#there’s a new season coming out on wednesday but like. i’m going to finish before then probably.

[lesbianlenas]

why do the majority of social reality tv competition shows have to be dating based…..i’m like i want competition i want ppl fighting no i don’t want to watch the worst heterosexual ppl on the planet make out…..i don’t want to watch regular reality tv bc i enjoy the competition aspect but then if i just watch a competition show there’s no fun social aspect to it…….and i’m like i COULD watch the international versions of big brother but i don’t want to bc i don’t feel like it……..basically i want to keep watching the circle but ive almost finished the last uk season and the france and brazil versions don’t have an english dub & i like to watch while doing other things ie not looking at the screen……i’m cursed and i’m going to scream and cry abt it forever……..

[steveslevis]

‘tis the damn season

AUTUMN

chapter contents/warnings: exes to whatever the hell this is, a little bit of smut, angst, weed and alcohol use, mutual pining, steve is an idiot and is afraid of commitment </3, barely proofread (sowwy)

w/c: 5.3k

The first big frost of the season blankets the town of Hawkins when you arrive on Wednesday night, the bits of ice glittering on the orange and brown leaves making the barren streets seem less intimidating as you make your way through your hometown for the first time in months. 

There’s a sense of anticipation and dread that fills your stomach while navigating the streets you know so well, knowing you’re going to be asked the same mundane questions about college in the big city a thousand times over during the next three weeks. You know that’s not the only thing filling you with dread for the weeks to come, but keep telling yourself that’s all you have to worry about — right?

The first evening you arrive in town is jam-packed, since your friends insisted on having a so-called “Friends-giving-mas” as the night that you arrived, due to your anticipated absence on the aforementioned Christmas. You spend a few hours with your mom and dad before leaving, enlisting your mom to help you make some cookies for the party, promising you’d leave her and your dad some behind. 

The clock hits 7 p.m. and you’re finally finished getting ready, having just thrown on a red velvet, long sleeved dress that hit just above your knees and your best black boots, Robin had requested everyone to look their best so she could take photos with her new camera throughout the party. You grabbed your secret santa gift and jacket, checking yourself in the mirror one last time before leaving your room. 

“Alright, I’m leaving.” you call out as you bound down the stairs and into the kitchen.

“Don’t forget your cookies, sweetheart! They’re on the table.” she replied from her place next to your dad on the couch, watching some rom-com while he was dozing beside her, “if you need us to come pick you up, we will.”

You let out a laugh at her remark, knowing that you were only walking to the next house over on the road, so picking you up would be ridiculous. 

“Oh, I think I’ll manage just fine.” you joke in return while grabbing the plate of cookies, “love you guys!”

—————————

The outside of the Harrington’s house is gleefully lit with warm string lights, wreaths already adorning the front windows and main door to the house in anticipation of Christmas in a few weeks. You always admired the way their house looked during the holidays, but knew it was only a cheery facade to hide the dysfunction that lay within the halls of the residence.

You knew the family all too well, having grown up next to Steve your entire life. You were the same age as him, grew up attending all the same parties as him, but ran in completely different circles than him — well, up until your senior year of high school at least. 

Long story short, being best friends with Robin led to you ultimately becoming so-called friends with Steve Harrington as well. The two of you had what you now called a stupid summer fling before you left for Chicago in August, but the rest was history. The two of you had agreed to stay civil and not let the remnants of any unresolved feelings come between your friendship and the rest of the friend group.

So here you were, knocking on Steve Harrington’s front door on a random Wednesday in late November, cookies in hand as you stood there, shivering. You faintly hear Robin say that she would get the door, then hear footsteps pad towards the entrance. 

You’re greeted by your best friend with the strongest hug you swear you’ve ever experienced, and you feel like you might not ever be let go if she has anything to say about it.

“Oh my god! I missed you so much.” Robin exclaims, the widest grin on her face as she grabs for your hand, “everyone’s in here, we’re just waiting on Nance and Jonathan then we’ll be ready to eat but come in! I have so much to tell you about everything you don’t even know—” 

You follow behind her wordlessly, smiling to yourself as she rambles on about college applications and band and Vickie — who just so happened to be in the kitchen helping finish making the mashed potatoes so you had to be quiet — and everything that she can think to fit in a conversation to catch her best friend up on after months without. She leads you to the dining room after dropping off the cookies, where you hear two familiar voices having a very passionate conversation. 

“I’m telling you, man, I’m cursed—“

“You’re not cursed, Harrington. I’m telling you, you’re just looking in the wrong place for love.” Eddie retorts to his frustrated friend, rolling his eyes at him.

“Oh yeah? And where should I be looking?” Steve snorts, haphazardly tossing forks, knives and spoons atop the napkin at each seat of the table.

“I’ve been saying ever since what happened this summer, you should be going after — oh shit, Y/N!” Eddie interjects, cutting himself off when you trail in behind Robin.

The metalhead pulls you in for a bear hug, whispering in your ear about how he promises not to ask you boring questions about college like everyone else. As you’re being engulfed in his embrace, you hear the sound of silverware tumbling to the ground from the other side of the table, followed by a string of mumbled curse words from the dropper.

You pull away from Eddie’s hug to look at where the noise is coming from, only to see Steve fumbling with a fork and spoon while trying to stand up from where he was just kneeling. Your gaze lingers on him for a moment too long, taking in everything about him that you told yourself you didn’t miss. Eddie gives you a knowing look and you roll your eyes, knowing that he’s trying to tell you to not make things weird, so you try your best.

“Stevie, how are you?” you call to him while walking around the table, putting on the best oblivious and excited face that you can.

“H-Hey, Y/N.” Steve says, feigning coolness as he pulls you in for a quick hug, nearly stumbling over his words when you use the nickname you always loved to tease him with, “I didn’t know you were coming tonight.” 

His eyes flicker over to Robin momentarily, who shoots him a guilty grin before mouthing ‘sorry’ over your shoulder.

“Yeah, it was kinda last minute on my part, I just so happened to be coming home tonight since my finals were all at the beginning of the week. I kinda forced Rob to tell me when it would be so I could crash it,” you lie, trying to throw the blame on yourself instead of her, “sorry if I messed anything up, I-I’ll lay low and won’t eat if that messes up numbers or something—“

“No!” Steve rushes to retort, shaking his head at you adamantly, “I mean, shit—sorry. No, you’re not messing anything up at all, you know you’re always welcome here.” 

The smile on Steve’s face is genuine as he speaks, but there’s a glint of sadness in his eyes while he scans yours for any sign of hesitancy. You give him a small smile in return, quickly moving your gaze from his to push down that sinking feeling in your chest you know is coming. Your chest aches as you focus your eyes downward, realizing that this night would be a lot harder than you had convinced yourself that it would be. 

“Well!” Robin interjects, interrupting the growing awkward silence filling the air of the dining room where you stood. She reached for your hand while smiling over at you sympathetically, beginning to drag you towards the kitchen as she spoke, “gotta go say hello to everyone else before dinner!”

Your best friend whirled you around to the rest of the guests–which was just Nancy, Jonathan, and Vickie–who were all in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the meal. 

A slew of awkward questions about Chicago ensued in the moments leading up to and during dinner, but you took them in stride as they distracted you from the bright eyed boy across the table who kept sneaking glances in your direction any chance he got. You explained your major, what you did for work outside of class time, and talked about all the new friends you met in the short few months you’d been gone. You could’ve sworn Steve’s jaw clenched at the mention of a date you went on prior to leaving for break, but you didn’t put too much thought into it. 

Dinner goes by fairly quickly, and then it’s time for Secret Santa gifts in the living room. Robin begged everyone to participate, and even went through the effort of making sure you and Steve didn’t get each other, partly to not ruin the surprise of you being here and partly to diminish any awkwardness that might arise from it. 

You had drawn Jonathan’s name, so you gifted him a few rolls of different camera film. Each person had to guess who their Secret Santa was, but apparently your gift was pretty obvious since he hadn’t been able to find any film like it anywhere near Hawkins, so he guessed you first. 

Your turn rolled around and a small red gift bag was sat in your lap. You immediately knew who your gift was from, halfway from the grin plastered on his face and halfway from the smell lingering from inside the back in your hands. 

“Thank you, Eddie.” you giggle out while pulling out four perfectly rolled blunts from the gift bag, courtesy of the best dealer in Hawkins.

“It’s always a pleasure,” he jabs back, “we can fire one up after presents if you’d like.” 

You nod quickly at him, grinning widely before turning back to the circle where Robin was handing out gifts.

—————————

It’s not long before drinks are flowing and laughter is spilling through the Harrington residence, something that’s happened very few times within those halls. The night seems to go by too quickly, you notice how quickly when you check and it says 11 P.M. already, even though it feels like you’ve only been there a few hours. You’re sitting on the couch with Robin and Vickie, giggling their way through a story about some guy in the Hawkins band, when the sight of the back door sliding open and closed catches your eye. 

You turn your gaze to see Steve stalking into the cold on his own, head turned down as he walks towards one of the ice-slicked pool chairs on the deck. A frown passes over your face as you furrow your brows, excusing yourself from the couple on the couch as you slip outside to follow him with your bottle of wine, one of your newly gifted blunts and a lighter in hand. 

It’s the last thing you should be doing tonight, really. You shouldn’t be following Steve Harrington – the man who was too afraid to say he loved you and too afraid to commit to you – onto the porch. You should’ve stayed inside and drank some more wine with the rest of them and let yourself cut loose for once, but you just couldn’t do it. You just had to talk to him – you weren’t so sure what you wanted to talk about, but you just felt the need to.

“You alright?” was all you could slip out as you closed the sliding glass door, watching the brown haired boy from afar, making sure you weren’t making the wrong decision.

“Yeah–Yeah, just needed a little bit of fresh air.” Steve stammered, eyes widening for only a moment when he notices that it’s you that followed him outside.  

You only hum in response, stepping closer to him as you sense no annoyance or anger in his voice, finding a spot on the chilled pool chair next to his. After setting down the bottle of wine you’d been nursing throughout the night, you took the blunt you’d brought as a peace offering between your fingers and waved it in front of his face.

Steve looked up for a moment, gaze shifting between the blunt between your fingers and your lips that curled up into a mischievous yet friendly smirk. His own lips perked up in a lopsided smile, raising an eyebrow at you when you brought the blunt to your lips, followed by the lighter.

“Would you like to partake?” you joke while puffing smoke through your lips, mixing with the cold puffs of breath coming from Steve’s. 

“I’ll never say no to that,” he retorts, reaching to grab the blunt from your fingers. 

There’s a breath of comfortable silence between the two of you as he inhales, then lets out a long exhale before focusing his gaze back onto the pool in front of him, onto the ice forming on the pool cover as a way to avoid your eyes. 

“So, how’s the Stevie Harrington been faring since I’ve been gone?” you joked after a moment more of the quiet, shoving any nerves down that were threatening to force you to run back inside. 

Awful, utterly dull and extremely depressing, was what Steve wanted to say. 

He wanted to tell you how he fucked up so badly, how he hasn’t been the same since the last time he saw you, how he hasn’t even been able to look at anyone without thinking of you. He wanted to grab you by the cheeks and pull you in for a kiss and never let go. He wanted to scream and tell you how much he regretted ever letting you leave without knowing how he really felt, but he couldn’t now. It was too late, so he just said; “Oh, y’know. I’ve been fine. Just the same shit, different day.”

Steve wanted to kick himself for saying something so lame, something so uninteresting when the most interesting person in the world was sitting right in front of him. 

“Does ‘same shit, different day’ just mean you’re stuck being the same old chauffeur-babysitter you’ve been for the last two years?” you tease, reaching down to grab the bottle of wine at your feet. 

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” Steve chuckled, giving you a warm smile as he took another puff. 

It only took a few moments to finally break the ice between the two of you, then things fell right back into place, right back into a comfortable normalcy. There was something that put you so at ease being outside with him, being able to talk to him without the looming thought of who would be the first to say “I love you” or who would be the first to leave waving over both of your heads. 

The next hour went by in a breeze, and it seemed the party inside died down by the time the two of you decided to walk back in. Steve closed the sliding glass door behind you two and you noticed only Eddie and Robin were left standing in the living room. Vickie was presumably in the guest bed, where Robin was about to head to. Jonathan and Nancy had left twenty minutes prior, only popping their heads out to say a quick goodbye before driving off.

Robin said a quick goodnight to you before heading up the stairs, along with a promise to see you tomorrow for a girl’s day. Then, it was just you, Eddie and Steve in the living room, Eddie at the couch setting up his bed for the night while the two of you stood in silence by the sliding glass door still. 

“I–I guess I should probably head home for the night,” you say, breaking the silence between the three of you as you start towards your bag and coat on the other side of the room.

“Why don’t you just stay?” Steve interjects a little too loudly, the weed and wine in his system instilling some false confidence in him. “It’s so cold out and I’m sure at this point your parents already think you’re staying anyways.”

You stop on your toes at Steve’s voice, cheeks heating at how interested he sounded in you staying there for the night. It’s not like it was a far and dangerous walk, Steve just wanted an excuse to be around you for longer. You turn around to look at him, then to Eddie, who was giving you a tired smile.

“We can have a sleepover on the couch,” Eddie chuckles, reaching for one of the pillows he was setting out for himself to move it to the other side of the couch for you. 

“I don’t have any clothes,” you suggest, looking down at your velvet dress that would be extremely uncomfortable to sleep in. 

“Oh, I’m sure Stevie has some clothes that you can sleep in!” Eddie says, shooting a smirk in his direction.

“O–Of course I do, I’m sure I still have your favorite pajama pants up there if you want them.” Steve says hurriedly, as if you would change your mind if he didn’t answer quickly enough.

You give the two of them a smile, pretending to contemplate the decision for a moment before nodding. You could’ve sworn you heard Steve let out a breath of relief at your nod, but he turned towards the stairs before you could acknowledge it. Without a word, you follow right behind him up the stairs, slowly realizing the effects of the cherry wine and weed are coming to the surface. 

Steve steps into his bedroom and you follow behind him, a situation the two of you knew all too well. 

—————————

You don’t know what led to this, but there you were, in Steve’s bedroom, him towering over your space on his bed as he pulled you in for a heated kiss. Tongue against teeth, hands against cheeks, legs tangled together, just like they were meant to be. 

This wasn’t supposed to happen, you swore to yourself you wouldn’t come crawling back every time you were in town, but here you were. 

Somehow coming upstairs for a stupid pair of pajamas led to Steve giving you that look of lust and utter desire, led to you becoming a willing participant in his games once again after swearing you would never touch him again, led to you letting him sneak his way into your heart – and pants – yet again. 

Your head is spinning as he kisses you, his lips slotted into yours like they belonged there, a perfect fit. You’re unsure if it’s the wine, the weed or the sheer yearning that’s making you feel like this, but you don’t want it to stop any time soon. 

There’s a gnawing feeling in your stomach when Steve props his knee up on the bed next to your hip, you know you should stop before he gets any further, but the ache between your thighs is outweighing any thought of what would come after he spreads you open. 

Steve groans into your mouth when you pull him closer, fingers intertwining with and tugging the hair at the nape of his neck, and you only smirked against his lips in satisfaction. You knew everything about the boy who was turning to a puddle just from the touch of your fingers. You knew exactly how to make him tick, and him the same for you.

“Fuck,” Steve breathes when he finally pulls away from you, full lips parted as he stares down at you. There’s a twinkle in his eye that you haven’t seen in so long, one you used to mistake for love but now only know to be pure lust. “I–I’m sorry I just, I need–I need you.”

You stare at the desperate, doe-eyed man in front of you for a long moment, mind wandering to a place of fear as you think about what you’re about to do. 

Instead of saying anything in reply, you close the space between the two of you once again, smashing your lips into his in a feverish and bruising kiss. Steve is on you in an instant, gently pushing you back and up on the bed, letting your head fall on his pillows. You can tell by the way he stumbles on his way up to you that he’s intoxicated — on the weed or the wine, or you, you’re not sure — but you soon realize that you are too.

A hand wanders toward the hem of Steve’s sweater, tugging at it quickly as he pulls away from the bruising kiss. He wastes no time in pulling the cable-knit up and over his head, tossing it to the side while sitting up on his knees to take you the sight of you in. Your skin was hot and your eyes were blown with lust, cheeks flushed and lips parted as you stared up at him.

You’d only been under him for a minute and had completely folded to his touch. You cursed yourself for letting your inhibitions crumble so quickly, but another part of you didn’t actually care, the same part of you that wanted to claim him as yours forever. 

Steve’s eyes trailed over you, from your cheeks to the low neckline of your dress, over the curve of your hips, ending on your thighs spread on either side of his knees. The crushed velvet of your skirt bunched where your leg met your hip, letting the fabric ride up enough for Steve to see exactly what he was searching for. 

He sucked in a breath at the sight of your white lace underwear beneath, having to hold himself back from diving in right that second.

“You’re so beautiful,” he groaned, hands tracing over your hip bones while lowering his lips to yours once again.

A moan falls from your lips as his meet yours, his knee coming up between your thighs, creating friction against your core.

“Fuck—Stevie,” you say, choking back a pitiful whine while grinding against his thigh desperately, “please, I need you.”

You swear you hear Steve nearly choke at your words, three words he’d been dying to hear from you for months. 

“I know, I know, baby.” he coos at you, trying to keep his cool as he strains against his pants, “I’ll take care of you.”

You nod feverishly as he leans down to pepper kisses along your neck, taking his sweet time while trying not to get drunk off the scent of you.

“This—This doesn’t mean anyth—this doesn’t change anything,” he stammers between kisses, peering up at you as he speaks, “we can still stay close—keep being friends after this.”

You hum in agreement, ignoring the dread building in your gut as you do. You want to be more than friends, you want to scream at him until he admits that he loves you too. But he nearly said it doesn’t mean anything, so you’re convinced he wants nothing to do with you after tonight, nothing but a friend to laugh with and a pretty face to fuck on every break from college. 

You push the thoughts from your mind, focusing on the boy in front of you as his hands begin to massage your inner thighs, inching closer and closer to your core with every circle. Steve chuckles lowly as you let out a whine of anticipation, teasing you silently as he gives in to your desires.

Steve knows your body like he knows his own, so what comes after pulling off your dress is nearly second nature to him. One large hand trails to the waistband of your underwear while the other reaches for your breast, nipple peaked from the exposure to the cold air conditioning. You moan in surprise when he wastes no time in putting his mouth to work on your other nipple, tugging your underwear down your legs simultaneously. 

His fingers immediately fall to your core once you’re free of the underwear, fingertips circling the bundle of nerves at the top as you let out another whimper. 

His moves are careful but quick, he knows you want to waste no more time, and you’ll whine about his teasing if he doesn’t act soon. 

He’s out of his boxers in an instant, one hand keeping contact with your clit as he situates himself above you.

“You look so good like this, sweetheart.” Steve says, voice low as his eyes raked over your body, “so pretty spread out for me, all fucked out for me even though I’ve barely touched you.”

“Stevie…” you whimper, reaching a hand up to him, but he pulls from your reach with a smirk across his face.

“Tell me what you want from me,” he says, leaning down to press a kiss to your cheek as he lines himself up with your slick, teasing the tip against you slowly.

“I—I need you, Steve.” you beg, cheeks flushing at the admittance, “I need you to fuck me, please.”

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” he retorts with a smirk, sliding into you with ease.

You both let out a low moan as he bottoms out, filling you in a way you haven’t felt in a long time. You forgot how thick he was in the time you’d been gone, your body wasn’t used to the stretch of his cock inside you, but it still felt like he was meant to be there. Like he was the only one who could make you feel this way.

And you were right, nobody could make you feel that way. Nobody else could touch you and make you fall apart in less than five minutes like he could. Nobody else could get you so riled up over a few praises thrown in with some condescension (which you embarrassingly loved too much) like he could. Nobody could hold off from cumming long enough to give you three orgasms before getting one of their own like he could. 

Nobody did it like he could.

This doesn’t mean anything you repeat in your mind, clinging to his arm like your life depended on it after the two of you calmed your breathing and cleaned up. You weren’t sure if you were repeating those words to convince yourself or to ease your own mind about what just went down, but you knew they stung your heart more than any fighting words the two of you had ever exchanged.

“I missed this, cuddling with you, holdin’ you like this.” was all he slurred out against your hair, pressing a sleepy kiss into the crown of your head.

“Yeah, me too.” you mumble in return, accepting the warmth of his embrace as sleep finally took you in, ignoring the gnawing pain growing in your chest.

—————————

The spice of Steve’s cologne mixes with the familiar scent of his room, filling your senses when you wake, nearly sending you into a panic. You sit upright in the bed, turning to face the boy you claimed you wanted nothing to do with romantically just a few hours ago. Steve is sleeping peacefully next to you, plush lips parted and brows furrowed as he subconsciously pouts about the loss of your touch. The alarm clock behind him read 2:03 A.M., meaning you hadn’t been out for too long, but long enough to sober you up somehow. 

Shit. Shit. Shit. I gotta get out of here. Is all you can think as you stumble out from under the comforter, knowing you would never live it down if anyone found you’d slept in his bed, especially with your limbs entangled like they just were. You quickly dress in the clothes you’d originally come into the bedroom to fetch, and snuck out of the bedroom without a sound. 

Before making it to the living room, you turned toward the dimly lit kitchen for a glass of water. What you weren’t expecting to be faced with in the kitchen was Eddie, but there he was, leaning against the counter with disheveled hair that probably mirrored your own. 

“What a night so far, huh?” he jokes as you shoot him a knowing glare while trudging across the tiled floor. 

“Don’t even start with me, Munson.” you warn, absentmindedly reaching your hand up to the cabinet for a glass while shaking your head.

“Woah, don’t get that attitude with me! I didn’t say anything,” he laughs, setting his own glass into the sink, “but that also doesn’t mean I didn’t hear anything.”

“You did not,” you snap back, eyes wide and cheeks flushed with embarrassment as he gives you a shit-eating grin, “there’s no way you heard anything because nothing happened.”

“You’ve always been such a bad liar, Y/N.” Eddie laughs, stepping out of the kitchen to walk towards the living room where the two of you would be sleeping. 

A sigh escapes your lips when Eddie leaves, letting you be alone with your thoughts finally. There was an ache in your chest that wasn’t going away any time soon, and it was in that moment that you wondered if you would ever be able to get over Steve Harrington, or if you would be in a continuous cycle of hurt and comfort for the rest of your damned life.

You collected your thoughts as you downed a glass of water, throwing back two ibuprofens with the last chug for good measure, before finding your way back to the living room. Eddie was on his side on the long side of the L-shaped couch, leaving the shorter side for you to sleep on. His eyes were closed as you laid down with your feet next to his own, but you knew he wasn’t asleep yet. 

“I won’t tell anyone, I promise.” you heard through the darkness after turning off the table lamp once you were settled.

“I know.” you sigh in return, staring up at the ceiling that was only lit by the streetlights flowing in from outside. “I just don’t want to live like this forever, I–I can’t keep being the secret that Steve is too embarrassed to talk about.”

“He’s not embarrassed of you,” Eddie said, voice barely above a whisper, just loud enough for you to hear, “he’s just afraid of fucking everything up even more than he already has.”

If only he could say that to my face, then maybe I’d believe it, you thought to yourself, chest tightening at just the thought of the brown-eyed boy who was fast asleep upstairs. 

You don’t reply to Eddie, unsure of what to say back, unsure of what you could squeak out without breaking down. 

“Goodnight, Eds,” is all you say in return, though you know you won’t be getting any sleep. 

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

—————————

After falling asleep for all of fifty minutes around 5 in the morning, you decided you had to leave. 

The entirety of the almost four hours you laid on Steve’s couch consisted of staring at the ceiling and fighting off tears while thinking about how you regretted everything you said and did over the last twelve hours. 

Coming to the Harrington house was a mistake, even stepping foot back in Hawkins was feeling like a mistake at this point. 

The only words repeating in your mind were This doesn’t mean anything. This doesn’t mean anything. This doesn’t mean anything.

You eventually had enough of the self-loathing and inability to sleep, so it was time to go. It was time to hastily change out of the pajamas that smelled too much like the boy you loved too hard, and time to go collapse in your own bed. There was no telling if you’d actually fall asleep once you made it there, but that was beside the point.

It was when you finally made it back to your parent’s house, to your childhood bedroom, that you swore that you wouldn’t see Steve Harrington again for the rest of Thanksgiving break, and hopefully would avoid seeing him again for a long while, for the sake of saving yourself from another heartbreak.

---------

tags: @carinacassiopeiae

[overtrred28]

Gnomeo and Juliet | alanna kennedy x reader

Summary; Two players steal each other's hearts and keep it from everyone because they know how controversial their relationship could be to their club’s rivalry. OR Y/N and Alanna soft launching their relationship over time until they decide to share it. *Features social media posts.*

Pairings; Alanna Kennedy x Manchester United reader

Words; 2.2k

Warnings; swearing (i think that's it)

A/N; i literally love alanna so much and don't think there are enough posts about her so naturally i write one. i just thought this was cute and different from a chealse v arsenal rivalry (though i really love those). enjoy and please give it some love and feedback xx

Lioness star Y/N Y/L/N set to leave her club of four years, Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C, and join Manchester United W.F.C on a two year contract at the beginning of the 2023/2024 season. 

You had really valued your time at Brighton, starting your senior career there and blossoming into a strong forward for both the club and the England Senior Women’s team, better known as The Lionesses. 

But when the offer from Manchester United came in at the end of last season, you knew it was the right move. Leaving the team you had come to know and love was tough to say the least but the adventure before you sounded a lot more exciting. So during the break before pre-season began, you made the move to Manchester and took a few days to settle into your new home and surroundings. 

Manchester was very different from Brighton; no beach and much bigger city life, but it was a good different. You had found that everything in Manchester was so much closer, and in great reach of your new club and housing. 

You had officially settled into your new home, very quickly making it feel just like your last one, then decided to go exploring through the city. The first thing a person would normally do would probably be going shopping or searching for a new café to become the regular, but you had spotted the Manchester Art Gallery and decided to go in. 

It was quiet, as expected for midday on a Wednesday when most people were at work, but you found it peaceful. It was a break from the regular hustle and bustle of your regular life as a professional footballer. 

It wasn’t until a particular painting caught your eyes that you realised someone else was in there, because you quite literally walked into them. 

“Shit. I’m so sorry.” You apologised quickly to the taller person, picking up their phone you had knocked out of their hand, from the floor. “Here…” Your voice trailed off as you met bright blue eyes while handing them their phone.

“It’s all good, thank you.” The woman met your eyes and she also felt the world pause around her, you were no longer in the gallery but just in a moment of time with each other. 

“Sorry the painting distracted me.” You snapped out of your trance and nodded to the painting on the wall; the story of Romeo and Juliet portrayed on a large canvas. 

“Well it is quite captivating.” Alanna spoke, still looking at you, now at the side of your face as you looked at the painting. 

“It is.” Your eyes fell back to hers and realised she was still staring at you, a slight blush rose to your cheeks, both smiling at each other. “Hi.” You extended your hand out, indicating a handshake. 

“Hi.” She laughed at your chivalry for a second before shaking your hand. “Nice to meet you.” She spoke softly in the quiet gallery.

“You too.” You smiled up at her, quite literally encapsulated by her. 

That was three weeks ago before you decided to get coffee after finishing a self led tour of the gallery, then the conversation kept going and you ended up at dinner together, continuing to learn about one another until the night ended. 

What you didn’t seem to bring up was that you both knew who each other were, but there was a mutual agreement that it didn’t matter. You weren’t professional footballers who had gone up against multiple times in the past at both national and club level, you were just two people who met and wanted to get to know each other. 

Now you were both deep into pre pre-season, you at Man United, her at Man City, and there wasn’t as much time to meet up for fun dates every night, now relying on text messages and late night calls before bed to catch up. 

The first kiss took a while to get to, but boy was it worth it. 

You had both decided to keep whatever this was between the two of you, soaking in the quiet moments shared in one anothers apartments and over long phone calls. It was still labelled a friendship, you both knew you wanted more, both scared of what the other might say if you revealed your feelings. But when you both had a free long weekend, you decided to take Alanna down to Brighton and show her your old home, soaking in the last of the warm weather before winter began to creep in. 

It was the best decision you could have made, relishing in being able to spend time together away from your normal lives. You had rented a small air bnb right near the beach, enjoying the solitude together as you cooked together and watched the sun rise and set each day by the ocean. 

It was on the second night after dinner that she finally made her move, unable to swallow the feelings bubbling inside her. You sat on the beach alone as you waited for Alanna to join, wrapping your arms around yourself to shelter from the cool breeze. 

A blanket had been wrapped around your shoulders and a warm body nuzzled into your side, a small smile on your face as you rested your head on her shoulder, Alanna looking down at you as you watched the waves crash. No words were said for what felt like ages, the only sounds being the waves and the seagulls heading off to bed. 

“Y/N.” Alanna suddenly spoke, a thick Aussie accent breaking the silence. 

“Hmmm.” You hummed in response, keeping your head in its place. 

“I want more than this.” Her statement made you move your head, turning it to meet her blue eyes. 

“More?” You spoke softly. 

“More.” She nodded with a small smile before she moved her hands from her legs, twisting to cup your face before moving closer. You thought she was going to kiss you straight away but her forehead came to rest on yours, both closing your eyes as you basked in the silence. 

“Just kiss me already.” You breathed out and she smiled before closing the gap, joining your lips in a strong kiss. Her hands cupped your face, yours held her waist before trailing up to meet her face. It was passionate but soft, saying so much without any words and your heart grew. 

y/n.y/l/n.. just posted a story

alannakennedy just posted a story

Since you were both heavily in the public eye, it was an easy decision for you both to keep this new found relationship to yourselves, not wanting to receive any unwanted attention from the media, fans and even your own teammates. 

You were able to keep it that way for a while, without you guys being on the same national team or at the same club keeping this secret relationship a secret was quite easy. And since no one thought you would even know each other personally, there were no fans sifting through evidence to put two and two together. Of course though, you both wanted to show each other off, you were so happy and so was Alanna, so maybe a soft launch would be best until you decided to go fully public. 

It started small.

y/n.y/l/n.. just posted a story

alannakennedy made a post

alanna kennedy almost as good as home

y/n.y/l/n.. made a post

y/n.y/l/n.. felt like a fairy tale

alannakennedy just posted a story

Your teammates began to ask about the secretive posts, hammering you about it in the locker rooms at training, Alanna's friends and teammates doing the same.

“When are you going to tell us more about these mystery posts?” Mary had asked Alanna while she was tying her boots before training. Alanna paused for a second before sitting up and looking up at the other Australian. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Alanna simply shrugged with a straight face before standing up and walking away. 

“Oi mate.” Ella Toone had caught your attention as you walked out to the carpark after a late friday night training session. You paused and turned around, waiting for her to catch up, instantly wrapping an arm around your shoulder as she met you. 

“What’s up?” You turned to her as you walked towards your cars.

“Few of us are going round Zelly’s to watch a movie, you in?” She asked with hopeful eyes. 

“Sorry love, got plans.” You apologised, knowing you had a certain blonde already waiting for you at your apartment.

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with a possible mystery woman you refuse to tell us about, would it?” Ella asks with a suggestive smirk, nudging your shoulder as you remain stoic. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You simply shrugged and patted her shoulder as you let go of her, walking to your car door. “Goodnight Tooney.” You waved before getting in and racing home to Alanna, preparing for your own movie night of Gnomeo and Juliet and a weekend spent in each other's arms.

The day had come, the one you and Alanna refused to talk about until the night before.. It was the Manchester derby day. The day every City and United fan had waited for and the one you and Alanna dreaded. 

y/n.y/l/n.. made a post

y/n.y/l/n.. Derby day. Let's bring it on home red's! ❤️

alannakennedy made a post

alannakennedy The day we've all be waiting for. Come on blue! 💙

Sure you had come up against each other in the past at both club and national level, but you had yet to do it since being in a relationship together. So it was going to be different this time; harder. You both decided it would be best for your teams if you didn't interact with one another from the moment you joined your teams for the match, and until that final whistle blew.

The plan was going well during the first half of the match; Alanna had started with City in the defensive line and you were sitting on the bench waiting to get subbed on. Katie Zelem had secured the United side a goal through a penalty early on, but City fired back and took the lead 2-1 at halftime. 

You got subbed on for Nikita Parris at the very beginning of half time, taking her place as the left forward and a strong striker. Though this became a slight issue because of who was currently defending the City goal and in charge of blocking your shots at goal; your very own girlfriend. But in that moment you had to act like you didn’t know who she was on a personal level, right now you were just opposing players who both wanted their teams to win. 

It was hard for you both to act like that, stealing glances on the pitch, brushing past each other ever so slightly without anyone noticing too much. You had both been able to get away with this secret relationship so far because you’ve haven’t had to be in the same place yet, but maybe it was time for that to change. 

The final whistle blew and City had won 3-1, your side not being able to score any further goals despite your best efforts. You looked around at all your teammates, defeated looks all over as City celebrated together before exchanging handshakes with the other team. 

You and Alanna had purposefully left each other till last, waiting until you could be alone with each other in a busy and full stadium. You had finally found the blonde Australian and began walking towards her and she finally locked eyes with you. Seconds before you had very different expressions, one filled with happiness and one filled with disappointment. But as soon as you got closer the one expression you both shared was one filled with love, and your heart melted as she brought you straight into a hug rather than a friendly handshake. 

Her hands wrapped around your waist as her slightly taller frame leant down, your hands found their way around her neck before you buried your head in her neck. An instant feeling of warmth and security flowed through both of your bodies as you hugged, Alanna pressing a soft kiss to your neck as she buried her own face in your shoulder. 

Confused looks fell to both sets of teams at the interaction, at first because of the more than friendly hug and second because of the familiarity they could sense between the two of you. 

“I’m so proud of you.” You murmured, still holding tight around Alanna’s neck. 

“You played so well, it was a tough game.” She spoke back instantly, squeezing your waist before slowly pulling back to look at you. You smiled at her as you exited the hug, genuinely happy for her but still very upset your own team couldn’t secure the win like they wanted. 

“You should go celebrate.” You nodded to the City team who gathered in the middle, preparing for their post-match huddle, your team doing the same further down on the pitch, all players still watching the interaction with lost eyes.

“I’ll find you after and we’ll go home together.” Alanna nodded to you, looking down to your now interlocked hands, a small laugh leaving her lips. “This is going to be everywhere tonight.” She looked back up at you as a small smile grew on your face. 

“Definitely.” You laughed too. “Are you okay with that?” You raised a brow at her. 

“Yeah. I’m ready to show off my girl.” She winked playfully at you, now both of you laughing, shaking your head at her before playfully pushing her shoulder and walking over to your team. 

y/n.y/l/n.. made a post

y/n.y/l/n.. the gnomeo to my juliet

tagged @alannakennedy

alannakennedy made a post

alannakennedy my girl in red

tagged @y/n.y/l/n

THE END

[cuttergauthier]

Fresh Start

Jack Hughes x Female Edwards Reader

Warning: cussing, fluff

word count: 1.0k

let me know what you guys think🤍

I was starting my last year of University, I used to go to the University of Michigan but after a bad break up I ended up transferring to Columbia University. 

Columbia university is only a few minutes from Jersey, the team my brother was drafted by. My younger brother and I are pretty close, I could have stayed in Michigan and spent my last year with him there, but I needed a change, and to be somewhere I wouldn't run into my ex.

My brother will be in Jersey in a few years and I can't wait.

Since my brother started playing for the Michigan Wolverines he became close with his teammates, he’s pretty close to Luke Hughes, who was also drafted by the New Jersey Devils, now there roommates in Michigan, Luke playing in his last year before he joins his brother jack in Jersey who already plays for the devils.

Because both Luke and Ethan got to Michigan at the same time, along with a few others they stuck together, and are really close.

My brother introduced me to his teammates and I became friends with them, mostly the older ones. Now when I told the guys I was transferring to Columbia they were all sad but they understood why. Luke and Ethan both made it their mission to tell Jack, Luke’s brother to make sure he looks after me, they don’t think I know but it was pretty obvious.

Last summer when Ethan was invited to the Hughes Lake house, they also invited me, since according to Luke I became like a sister to him. That’s where I met Jack for the first time, Luke introduced us. Jack and I didn’t talk much that summer but I know for a fact that Ethan and Luke told him to look after me when I was at Columbia, I’m not stupid even tho both Ethan and Luke are younger than me, ever since my break up they’ve been protective.

Now I've been in Jersey for about a month and a half. University started a few weeks ago, Jack came by my apartment during my second day here, he said he wanted to show me around but I knew Luke told him. 

Jack showed all the best places to go to in New York, he also introduced me to his teammates, they're all really nice and welcoming, so is Jack.

Ever since I got here, we’ve been spending a lot of time together when he doesn’t have practice and I’m not busy with homework. 

Today is Wednesday. I had class from 8:30 to 10 a.m. This morning, Jack had the day off so he asked if I wanted to hang out after class and I agreed.

I just got back to my apartment. It's now 10:30 p.m. Jack said he’d be here at 11 a.m. so i went and changed out of my jeans and put on a pair of black Lululemon leggings so I could be more comfortable.

Once I was done I went and sat down on my couch, I turned on Netflix and put on the new season of Outer Banks so I could watch before he got here. 

Thankfully I didn’t have any homework to do since I finished it last night. Ever since i’ve gotten close to jack i started to get feelings but there’s nothing i can do about it since i doubt he feels the same way. My brother will be his teammate in a couple of years and I also don’t want to make things weird between them.

At around 11:02 a.m. there was a knock on the door, I paused the show and went to open the door.

“Hey, this is for you” Jack greeted me smiling with an extra coffee in his hands, when I opened the door.

“Hey, come in and thank you, you didn’t have to get me a coffee” I replied smiling and taking the coffee from him, while opening the door wider so he could walk in, once he did I closed the door. Jack took off his shoes and we made our way to the living room.

“ it’s nothing, i know you had class this morning so i thought you might need one” 

“I really did, so thank you” 

“ What are we doing today?” He asked 

“I have no clue, what do you want to do?” I said

“I was thinking maybe if it’s okay with you, i could take you on a date” he said looking at me waiting for my response. I was shocked. I didn't think he felt the same way.

“I’d love that” i said smiling softly

“Perfect, do you want to go after we're both done with our coffees?” He asked

“That’s perfect” i said nodding

“How have you been? How are your classes?” 

“I’m good, my classes have been a bit stressful but it’s normal since it’s my senior year.” 

“Makes sense, are you excited to be graduating in May?”

“Yes, I can't wait,” I said eagerly, making him chuckle.

“Jeez, it is that bad” he said sarcastically making me chuckle 

“No, i’m just excited to be able to do what i love full time” i said smiling

“I’m glad”

“Are you ready to go out?” He asked once I took the last sip of coffee.

“Yeah, let’s go” i said smiling

We put on our shoes and jackets before making our way out of my apartment. I grabbed my hand and I looked at him smiling.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked curious

“It’s a surprise” he said smiling

Jack ended up taking me out to one of my favorite restaurants that he showed me when i first moved here, it was an amazing date, i had a lot of fun. 

Now Jack dropped me off at home. He walked me up to my door.

“I had an amazing time tonight” I said, turning and looking at Jack who already had a smile on his face.

“Me too, any chance I can take you on another date soon?” He asked.

“I would love that” i said blushing 

“Perfect,” he replied. 

He leaned in and kissed my cheek.

“I’ll talk to you later, have a good night Yn” he said before leaving.

Once I made it in the apartment and closed the door I couldn't stop smiling.

Another date? I like the sound of that!!

[alexfromjersey]

ℂ𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 ℙ𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕋𝕨𝕠 | 𝕁𝕖𝕟𝕟𝕒 𝕆𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕘𝕒

Jenna Ortega x Black!Reader

summary: you and jenna have been in a relationship for the past eight years when suddenly everything starts to get rocky.

warnings: mature language, angst, alcohol consumption. cigarette smoking

a/n: by popular demand I give the second part of Cheated. appreciate all the support this got 🫶🏾

“I love you, Luis”

You couldn’t get those words out of your head no matter how hard you tried. It kept echoing in your head like an annoying song stuck on repeat. You’ve tried every method of forgetting by either drowning in alcohol or overtime at work. It only suppressed it for a little while before it clawed back into your brain.

You didn’t know where you went wrong in the relationship. You kept wondering if you did something wrong. What could have you done better? You were stuck with questions with no answers.

You took another sip of whiskey from the glass as you scrolled through the thousands of death threats and hate tweets you got on Instagram and Twitter.

You're used to it though, when you and Jenna first started dating a small portion of fans didn't think you deserved her. You never paid them any mind knowing that they were only upset that they didn't get a chance with her.

jennaortegafanduel: you don’t deserve another peaceful day in your life

mxortega: you attack a man unprovoked how much of a coward are you

guiterriezortega: I told y’all from the beginning that I never liked Y/n. Luis and Jenna were always better looking together

No one knew the truth. The truth as to why you attacked Luis in the first place. No one seemed to care to ask why you did it. They only focused on the fact that their dream man was hurt. Jenna nor Luis's team bothers to put a stop to the narrative being spun.

You had half the mind to leak all the pictures you had to the world. To show them the real Jenna Ortega. But the sensible side of you advised against it.

Eight years down the drain…eight years. Those years didn’t just represent you and Jenna being together. It represented you finally taking back your life after your mother snatched any happiness you felt. It represented a start over and finally experiencing a life and a love you never experienced before.

EIGHT YEARS AGO

“Come on Don put your back into it” You struggled as you and Donny tried to carry a dresser to his apartment.

“I’m trying. This shit is like 200 pounds” Donny grunted as he tried to get a good grip on the furniture.

He was definitely exaggerating about the pounds. But it was heavy as hell. You were helping Donny move into his new apartment downtown. You wanted to be a good friend but you were starting to regret helping out.

“Is it stuck on something?” You grunted.

“No I just can’t get a good grip-wait I got it!” Donny shouted excitedly. He finally got a good grip on the dresser and the two of you finished bringing the dresser inside the apartment.

“Never…again” You stated out of breath.

It was about 7:45 and you and Donny were nowhere near done. You just wanted to return to your comfy bed and finish watching that new Wednesday, Netflix show. It was an addictive show, with the lead actress selling Wednesday Addams really well and in a creative modern way. You grab a box and go to walk back into the apartment when a body collides with you.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry" You apologized to the woman.

"No, I should be the one saying I'm sorry, I collided with you," The woman said. You look down at her and you recognize the woman as the actress of the show you're currently watching.

"Oh...you the new Wednesday Addams," You said nonchalantly.

"Guilty" Jenna smiled sheepishly.

"Aye your show is fire except for the love triangle...no offense but it wasn't really needed." You told her.

Jenna chuckled, "Thank you and duly noted. We're scrapping the whole love triangle in the next season anyway."

"Good choice" You stated with a smile and adjusted the box in your hand.

“Moving in?” Jenna asked you, pointing to the box in your hand.

“Nah I’m helping my best friend move his stuff in. I live like 10 minutes away from here” You answered.

Jenna nodded at your answer.

The two of you just stood in front of one another in an awkward silence. You didn't know what else to say to the woman. You were kind of too busy checking her out subtly. She wore something simple: Samba Adidas, an oversized jacket, and some loose-fit jeans. She had her headphones around her neck and a purse around her shoulders.

"Uh...I don't want to take up any more of your time. You have a nice day" You politely smiled and turned to walk away.

"Wait" Jenna called.

You stopped and turned back towards the girl.

"If you're not doing anything tomorrow. There's a new coffee shop that just opened not far from here. You don’t have to say yes or anything I was just wondering if you would like t-”

You smirked at her rambling and placed the box down. You ripped a piece of paper from the box and wrote your number down. “Text me and I’ll meet you there.”

"Okay," Jenna smiled.

PRESENT TIME

Abruptly, you were brought out of your thoughts by a familiar ringtone.

My love ❤️ is calling…

Perfect timing. You had to change that contact name and photo immediately.

It was your first picture together ever, you took Jenna on a date to the fair. You called ahead to at least get two hours of park time before the general public came. It took some money but it was worth it. You weren't a picture person barely having any photos of yourself anywhere but that day the two of you took so many pictures.

You declined the call for the hundredth time in the past week. Ever since you left Jenna at the police station she’s been calling and texting you nonstop.

You place your phone on silent and screen down on the motel bar counter. You’ve been at this motel for the past couple of days. You were staying at Donny’s but you didn’t want to be a burden on him and his family. So you got a motel after much protest from them.

You finished your drink and left the bar. You stepped outside the building for some fresh air and a smoke break.

SIX YEARS AGO

“Smoking kills you know that right?” Jenna commented when she saw you leaning against the building with a cigarette hanging from your lips.

You shrugged, “We all die someday.”

“True but why speed up the process by smoking these cancer sticks,” Jenna said.

“I’m sorry…didn’t you get caught in the media smoking a cigarette with Gideon” You smirked at the girl.

“One time. It was one time. I haven’t done it again especially not after the way my mother embarrassed me on her Instagram stories” Jenna grumbled.

You let out a laugh, you remembered that day. When you saw her mother’s stories you teased Jenna about it for a good week. It was funny but also sweet that her mother was thinking about her health.

“It’s not funny” Jenna mumbled. Her being mad still made you continue to snicker before you gradually stopped.

PRESENT TIME

You finish your cigarette and flick the bud to the ground. You stomp it out and turn to go back inside when you hear a car door shut.

“I’ve been calling you,” A familiar voice said from behind you.

You freeze in your tracks at the sound of her voice that used to make you swoon. You turned around and faced the neutral-faced woman.

“Yeah, I know but what are you calling me for? We ain’t got shit to talk about” You said and placed your hands in your jacket pockets.

“We have a lot to talk about…I want to explain myself” Jenna revealed.

“Whatever you got to say, keep it to yourself” You stated. You turn around and go towards your room when her voice stops you again.

“I’m sorry Y/n. I’m sorry for everything” Jenna exclaimed, her voice cracking at the end.

You stopped again in your tracks.

“I fucked up severely. I should’ve never cheated on you” Jenna said. Tears were pooling in her eyes.

“Why did you? Why did you cheat?” You asked the millionaire dollar question.

Jenna sighed and shifted on her feet, “Because he was there. I wanted to feel something different. I was tired of being stuck in the same cycle. Going away for months and then coming back home to you working 12-hour shifts, barely getting any attention from you.”

“So to sum it all up, it’s my fault that you cheated” You spoke.

“No, I just-” You interrupted Jenna.

“You just wanted someone that wasn’t me. You wanted someone who could give you all the time and attention that you wanted. Someone who didn’t have to work a regular job to sustain themselves. Someone who could afford to take you to these expensive places. Someone that you wanted to be seen in public with. Someone that was enough for you” Jenna interrupted you.

“That’s not true Y/n” Jenna exclaimed.

“But it is true Jenna. If it wasn’t you wouldn’t have cheated. If you were happy in our relationship, the idea of sleeping with someone else would have disgusted you” You spoke.

Jenna stood in front of you, lost in her own thoughts.

You sniffled, “I told you from the start that I don’t tolerate cheating. There’s no second chance with me if you cheat. My trust in you has dissipated and I don’t know if you’ll ever get it back.”

“Y/n please I’m sorry. We can fix this” Jenna sobbed and grabbed onto you.

You gently tried to push her off you but she had an iron grip on your clothes. She then pulled you down by your jacket and connected your lips together. Salty tears were all you tasted on her lips. For a moment, you felt yourself get lost in her lips.

“I love you” Jenna mumbled on your lips.

Back then she brought you back to reality, you pulled away from her. You managed to get yourself out of her grip.

“I’m gonna come tomorrow to get my clothes and stuff,” You told her and walked into the motel. For the second time, you left her standing there sobbing away.

THREE YEARS AGO

“What’s like your ideal wedding?” Jenna asked you as she cuddled up to your naked side.

“Hmm…I always said that I would like a beach wedding. Have the wedding during the sunset and the reception at a place that has a pool and just vibe for the rest of the night” You answered and rubbed her back.

“Oh, I love a beach wedding. The only problem I got with it is the sand in your shoes” Jenna said.

“No shoes. Easy fix” You shrugged.

“What if they don’t want to have no shoes?” Jenna questioned amused.

“Well, tough tits don’t come” You chuckled. Jenna let out a giggle. The two of you just lay there, cuddled up next to each other in a comfortable silence. Cherishing the warmth of each other you rarely get to feel.

“I love you Y/n” Jenna gushed.

You sat up on your elbows and looked at her with nothing but love and happiness in your eyes. You love this girl like you never loved any other girl before. She was the love of your life and you would do anything for her.

“Baby?” Jenna’s voice pulled you from your thoughts.

“Hmm?” You hummed while still staring at her.

“You okay?” Jenna questioned softly.

You smiled at her and connected your lips to hers, “I’m perfect.” You deepened the kiss by putting all your love into it. You slowly move on top of her, holding your weight up by your palms. Jenna wrapped her legs around your waist pulling you closer.

PRESENT TIME

“Hey Apollo, how you doing boy” You gushed as your dog Apollo jumped on you excited. You brought Jenna a dog for her birthday a couple of years ago. He was a Golden Cocker Retriever (Golden Retriever + Cocker Spaniel).

Apollo nudged you with his nose and licked your face. You chuckled at the excited dog. You stood up and saw Jenna and Gideon at the kitchen counter watching you with Apollo. Gideon had a sympathetic look on her face when she saw you.

“Hey, Gideon” You politely said to the woman.

“Hey Y/n and Donny” Gideon replied to you and Donny.

You ignore Jenna and make your way to your former bedroom. You and Donny start to pack up your clothes in the boxes you brought. You packed up your game, anything you wanted you packed.

Thankfully, Donny had a truck to put everything in even though you didn’t really have a lot of stuff.

As you were loading the last box in the truck, you felt someone watching you. You turn around and see Jenna behind you.

You sighed, “I’m not doing this again Jenna.”

“Can you please just listen to what I have to say?” Jenna pleaded with you.

You sighed and leaned against the truck with your arms crossed.

Jenna nervously played with her fingers, “I know that saying I’m sorry isn’t going to undo what I did or ease the hurt that you’re feeling. I didn’t want to hurt you. I just wanted to feel how I felt when we first got together before my career and your job started getting in the way. And instead of me coming to you and talking to you about how I felt, I went to the first person that gave me what I wanted and I shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have accused you of cheating. I shouldn’t have distanced myself. I shouldn’t have done any of it. I wish I could take it all back. I regret everything.”

“Let me ask you if you didn’t get caught, would you still feel guilty?” You asked.

Jenna opened and closed her mouth trying to find the right words to say. You grabbed a small box from your pocket.

“I wanted to marry you. I wanted to have kids with you. I wanted to grow old with you. I never felt love like I did with you. As much as I would like to fix this and move past it…I can’t. I can’t do it because every time I look at you…I just see you and him together” You said and grabbed her hand. You then placed the box in her hand.

“Despite what happened I’ll always love you but we can’t be together anymore” You kissed her on the forehead and gave her hand a tight squeeze. You then hopped into the truck with Donny in the passenger seat.

Jenna looked down at the small box in her hand. With shaky hands, she opened it to reveal a diamond engagement ring. She covered her mouth as sobs escaped. She felt Gideon hold onto her as they watched the truck you were in disappear around the corner.

It confirmed to Jenna that she’s lost you forever.

a/n: sooooooooo i went through like seventeen different versions of this lmao but i hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm gonna go rage on call of duty now :)

[santanasaintmendes]

“typa girl that make me drop dead on the floor. . .”

“this is the only girl that i love and adore, this is the type of love that you can’t ignore. .  .”

wc!: 1.8k

sebastián montoya x driver!reader

warnings: arvid lindblad is done with sebastian being oblivious (in a funny way), let me know if there are any other warnings

type: fluff mainly, sebastian in denial 😔

requested by @pha55ed

a/n: im so sorry this took forever to finish! I have a million other things i’m also doing at the moment and i only for the chance to write this yesterday! I hope you enjoy xx sorry again!

Developing a crush on his teammate was definitely not on Sebastian’s to do list for that season. It had crept up on him so unexpectedly it hit him like a truck to say the least. He'd always had a liking toward you ever since you both became teammates this season. But that had just been a friendly mutual liking, but this?

Absolutely different. 

The first time Sebastian ever met you was at a meeting at the Campos Racing headquarters during the break. He’d been called down to meet his new teammate that would be joining him and Pepe for the next coming season. He hadn’t heard much of her but that she was guaranteed to add more competition to the grid. As Sebastian entered the building that had become like a second home to him over the last year he passed the front desk, greeting the lady there. But just as he was about to go up the stairs he paused, attention caught. At the glass window he saw a girl waving up at something. He frowned, she was getting frustrated, that’s when he realised that she thought the giant window panes were the sliding doors. 

He chuckled to himself before walking to the doors and sticking his head out, the girl was cursing at the window with an agitated look on her face. Her eyebrows knitted and hands balled up as she shook her fists angrily.

“Looking for the doors?” he interrupted, you turned to him eyebrows raised, the anger disappearing from your face instantly. There was a long moment of silence before the two of you burst out laughing. He recognised you from the Instagram post Campos Racing has posted when they announced your join to the team.

“Day 1 and I’m already embarrassing myself.” you joked, cheeks flushed with embarrassment as you joined him inside. Sebastian let a smile overtake his face as you stuck out your hand for a shake. 

“I’m Y/N L/N.” 

He took your hand and shook it.“Sebastian Montoya.” he grinned from ear to ear. Your face lit up and that’s when Sebastian knew that you were sure to be a great teammate. 

You guys had been halfway into the season when Sebastian invited you over for dinner with his family. Neither of you thought much of it so you agreed, it was just dinner . . .  with his family. To be fair his Mother had been the one to ask him to invite you over for a meal, so on a Wednesday when you’d both been on the flight out to Barcelona he invited you for dinner the next week. 

By that time the two of you had gotten to know one another pretty well considering the fact that you were both teammates and spent a lot of time together. But Sebastian liked you so it was fine. . .  not like that, well he wasn’t really sure yet. But when you came over for dinner that week he knew he felt something for you, he just wasn’t sure exactly what. 

Maybe it was because his mother absolutely adored you or that you got along well with his sisters or that you complimented his father’s cooking. He didn’t know. 

“Ahora entiendo por qué hablas tanto de ella.” (Now I understand why you talk so much about her).

Sebastian’s train of thought was crashed by his younger sister Paulina who was wiggling her eyebrows at him from across the table, a giant grin on her face. Sebastian quickly glanced over at you, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw that you were still talking with his Mother and Father. His other sister Manuela nudged him playfully, “Estas tan enamorado, dios mio.” (You’re so in love, my god.) she grinned, looking over at you who was still oblivious to their little gossiping.

He shook his head. 

Was he in denial?

Perhaps, but his sisters most certainly didn’t need to know that. You guys were friends, nothing more, nothing less. He was trying his best to remain professional, for both of your sakes. If you guys were to be a couple it would certainly raise a lot of questions and create unwanted drama. Maybe it was better that you both just remained friends.

“No sean chistosas.” (Don’t be silly) he scoffed, but Paulina rolled her eyes, she knew better. 

“Somos tus hermanas, sabemos más que tu. Y yo se cuando estas enamorado.” (We’re your sisters, we know more than you. And I know when you’re in love.) she batted her eyelashes at him all knowingly, being the annoying younger sister she loved to be. 

Sebastian looked over at you. Whatever these things he felt for you were sure to go away soon, he was sure of it. 

Watching as you helped his Mother wash the dishes or play fetch with his dog certainly didn’t help at all. The way you smiled and your whole face lit up when you looked over at him made his stomach do flips and his heart felt like it was going to shoot out of his chest and fly away. He felt like a 5 year old girl when he was around you. Yet he still wouldn’t admit he had feelings for you. It all seemed too weird, too foreign to him. And it definitely didn’t help that his friends insisted that he had a massive crush on you. 

Pepe looked down at him as if disappointed, his hands on his hips and a disappointed scowl on his face. 

“What?” Sebastian asked, his arms folded across his chest as he leant back into his chair. 3 sets of eyes stared at him as if he should’ve known exactly what they were talking about. 

Dino sighed and met eyes with Arvid who was sitting next to him.

“What’s it going to take for you to admit you like her?” Arvid asked, clearly wanting to get straight to the point. Sebastian frowned, “Who?’ he asked, making all his friends groan. 

“I will quite literally punch you in the face if you’re being serious right now.” Arvid warned with an eyebrow raised. 

“Okay. . . fine. But I’m not sure what you want me to do about it.”

“Bloody hell this is going to be harder than I thought. Someone hold me back before I throw him through the window.” 

“Wait, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. He’s just kinda hopeless with girls. We can help him though, right?” Pepe asked the others, ignoring Sebastian’s offended frown. The other boys nodded in agreement, mutters of yes’s passing around.

“You have to ask her out.” Dino looked at Sebastian, his face dead straight, giving him a scare. He never thought his friends would take this so seriously. To be honest he wasn’t even sure how he got into this situation.

“Uhhh, I don’t think so.” he laughed nervously, looking around at his friends.

“What do you freaking mean, I don’t think so?” Arvid asked, clearly getting agitated by the minute. “Have you seen the way you look at her, or should I say have you seen the way she looks at you? It’s like you hung up the freaking stars or something.” he grumbled, folding his arms across his chest. 

“Look, even if I did ask her out, what if we break up? What then?” Sebastian asked, there was a moment of silence. 

“Well that’s just a chance you’ll have to take.” Pepe said slowly, instantly cringing at how bad it sounded. “Yeah no. Never say that again.” Arvid told him, Pepe winced. 

“Duly noted.” 

The three boys looked at Sebastian who had never felt more distressed in his life. He most certainly knew that he liked you, it had just happened he wasn’t even sure how. It was all making sense now, why he would linger around after sim racing just to talk to you. Or arrive at the same time as you to races just to see you. 

He now knew, he liked you. 

He liked everything about you, the way you smiled, the way you laughed, the jokes you telled, he liked you. And it had been obvious to everyone but him. Hell even his sisters had known it before him. 

“I do like her,” it felt so relieving to finally admit it out loud, “and I think I want to ask her out.” he admitted slowly. 

“Asi es!” Pepe clapped him on the back, a giant grin on his face. 

“Go find her now.” Pepe told him as he pushed the trailer door open, everyone’s jaw dropped and their eyes seemed to pop out of their heads as you stood at the door. Like a deer caught in the headlights you were frozen. You didn’t mean to eavesdrop on their conversation, you just so happened to pass at the wrong time. 

“I was . . .  was going to knock. . .” you trailed off, meeting Sebastian’s gaze who was still stunned. 

“Well, my job here is done. I’ll leave you to it.” Arvid stood up and saluted Sebastian before passing you and disappearing. “Have fun.” Dino smiled, winking at Sebastian as he patted your back and followed after Arvid. 

“I know I said I’d be with you through everything but I’m not staying for this, sorry.” Pepe joked as he ran to catch up with the others, leaving the two of you in silence in the trailer.

“I didn’t mean what I said.” Sebastian blurted out, you frowned. He felt like he wanted to run out the trailer door and never look back. 

“No wait. I mean, I did but you’re making this 10 times harder by not saying anything.” Sebastian looked at you helplessly. You couldn’t help but laugh at how lost he seemed to be. You’d liked Sebastian since the day you met him, everything about him just seemed to pull you in. His humour, his looks, his personality, his dumb jokes that weren’t funny at all. The way he was with his family, you’d never seen a guy so close with his siblings before. And it only made you like him more.

“That’s okay, we don’t have to say anything.” you said as you took a step closer to him, unable to keep a smile off your face. Sebastian chuckled, “You think you’re so smooth, don’t you?” he said as he pulled you closer to him.

“I do, actually.” you joked, as you locked eyes with him. They looked like shiny pools of honey under the sunlight that peeked through the trailer door.  Your hand came up to his cheek as you admired his eyes, his arms slinked behind you and around your waist as he pulled you closer. 

“Oh, you’re hilarious.” Sebastian murmured sarcastically, his face inching closer to yours. 

“Why thank you.” you whispered as you closed the gap between you, catching his lips with yours. If only the two of you had confessed earlier- 

“LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOO!” a voice screeched with a gleeful laugh, making the two of you turn around, frowning. Three heads peeked out from behind the trailer door, Pepe with a giant grin on his face before he got hit over the head by Arvid. 

“Well now you’ve ruined the moment.” he scowled. 

“Sorry guys, go back to kissing.” 

a/n: i hope you enjoyed, have an amazing day xoxo santanasaintmendes

[totallyunidentified]

Friendly Fire

This is the longest thing I've written yet.

I started this right after episode 14 came out early Wednesday morning.

Enjoy my little Echo ficlet/Prophecy

HEAVY SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 14 OF TBB SEASON 3

When they finally make it inside Tantiss, Crosshair's hand is shaking worse than ever. He had tried everything he could to not return only for his worst nightmare to happen. He’s back and Omega was there because of him. Because of his misfire. He had hoped that he wouldn't have had to even talk about Tantiss again but here he is. They run through corridor after corridor simply taking out whatever stormtroopers they come across, they can’t afford anything going wrong. 

“We have to find Echo!” Crosshair calls to Hunter and Wrecker as they keep up their search. They had gone completely com silent so they have no idea where the reg could be. 

Emeri had led Echo to the vault. Despite her warning him, he’s shocked at the conditions the children are being held in. 

They walk in together and another female doctor walks up to Emeri looking at her with thinly veiled disdain 

“Doctor Karr you are aware that stormtroopers aren't allowed in the vault with the specimens. I shall have to report this to Dr. Hem-,” 

Before she can finish her sentence Echo is astounded when Emeri pulls her arm back and knocks out the other doctor in one hit. 

“I guess you really are a clone!” He comments as she uses the incapacitated doctor’s datapad to turn off all the security measures. 

Omega, seeing Emeri take action, immediately jumps on top of the medical droid and reprograms it telling it to shut down. She then jumps off and rejoins the other children moving to stand between them and the man in a stormtrooper uniform in front of her. 

Echo sees Omega standing in front of four other children as if she's guarding them. She’s watching him suspiciously and he realizes he’s forgotten to take off his helmet. 

“Echo!” Omega almost sobs before throwing herself in his arms. When he wraps his arms around her, Omega notices he has two hands holding her. When he lets go she grabs his robotic hand and twists and turns it trying to get a better look at it.

“This is new,” Omega comments and starts to ask but Echo just shrugs. 

“It grew back on its own,” Echo says with a straight face making Omega arch her eyebrow at him. 

“Suuuure” Omega says, rolling her eyes and grinning at him. She turns to Emeri,

 “So you finally decided you wanted to help us?” 

Emeri looks down at the floor frowning and then back up at Omega

 “I- I am a clone like you. I realize my actions have been counter to what I should have been doing, but I swear I’m ready to do better” Omega smiles at her and gives her a quick hug, shocking Emeri

 “I have…never gotten one of those before.”

“Better get used to it” Echo quips, turning to the rest of the kids in the vault. 

“…Hello. Are you guys ready to get out of here?” 

The kids look at each other and nod apprehensively. The Pantoran girl holding the baby moves closer behind the green boy, hiding. 

“We’re just kids, how are we supposed to help get us out?” she asks in a quiet voice. She's scared, they all are. Echo can see clearly. He remembers a similar situation on Kamino; while these kids weren’t soldiers, they still had something about them. Echo just had to make them see that.

Echo kneels down to see eye to eye with the kids.

“You guys are here because there’s something special about you right? Even the Imps could see it. They needed you for a reason, just like right now I need you to be brave. I need you to have courage. Be strong. You have the hearts of clones and the strength of the Jedi. Whatever it is that makes you special was in their blood and is in your blood. It’s in Omega’s blood, which I'd say is close enough to make you honorary clones. You aren’t some helpless children, you are strong and have heart! Now we need to get out of here!”

Echo starts to herd all of the kids plus Emeri to the doorway to get them out of there. 

“Wait!” Omega stops Echo. “I know a way we can get out of here. I have a distraction planned.” 

”Do you?” 

“Uh huh. The Zillo beast that they have in one of the containment areas, we can free it and let that distract the rest of the base.”

Echo just stands there for a moment and grins “You know, you remind me so much of someone that it almost scares me. He came up with these hair-brained schemes all the time too”

Omega stands up just a little straighter. “He sounds like fun”

“He was.” 

Echo turns to Emeri “You take the kids to the hangar and wait for us there.”

“Ok I’ll try. Come along, we have to hurry!” 

They run out of the vault together before Emeri points Echo and Omega in the right direction to go before urging the children to walk faster in the other direction.

As they run to the Zillo beast enclosure, Omega can't help but ask,”Where are the others?” She fears the worst but is relieved when Echo slows, “They are here…somewhere. We've gone com silent since we got here,” Omega nods at this, understanding the need to be untraceable. They fall into silence as they run through hallway after hallway with no interruptions. 

“After this…I want to be done. I want to find somewhere even more remote than Pabu and just stay there. Maybe we can find wherever Cut and Suu went! You and Rex can even join us. I'm sure Hunter wouldn’t mind,” Omega says to break the silence.

“...Omega, We-” 

“You have your mission, I know. I just want us to all be together again.” 

“Rex and I won't be done until all our brothers are free. If I'm honest even after that I don't know if I'll stop fighting for what I feel is right. There are the makings of a larger rebellion against the Empire, maybe I'll join them. I’m a soldier, ’Mega, it’s what I’m made for.”

“Yeah, but…” 

“Listen, after we get you out of here we can talk more about it but we need to find the beast and your brothers first.” 

Crosshair, Hunter, and Wrecker knew that they needed to find Omega then Echo, and fast. They run through the hallways and corridors turning corners and shooting the stormtroopers with barely a second glance. “Nothing from Echo?” Crosshair asks yet again. “Nothing!” Hunter answers as the men keep running, finding fewer troopers as they get deeper into Tantiss. Echo guides Omega through the halls keeping his new hand on her shoulder, his real hand holding his blaster. 

Crosshair is starting to panic. Omega is nowhere to be found and Echo hasn't checked in yet. He must have gotten off the ship and be somewhere in the facility. 

Omega and Echo are running towards a corner.

Crosshair comes to a T in the hallway 

They turn the corner. 

Crosshair sees a stormtrooper with a blaster in one hand and Omega grasped by the shoulder in the other.

Crosshair acts on instinct and doeswhat he had been doing the whole time they were running through Tantiss. 

His sister is in danger again. This time he wouldn’t fail her. 

His aim is sure and his hand steady as he immediately raises his rifle. 

The stormtrooper raises his hands as if to try and stop him but Crosshair has had enough, he briefly notices the strange stiffness of the trooper’s right hand but his mind is moving too fast to stop on that thought. 

He just wants to get Omega, find Echo, and get back to Pabu

He wants to leave Tantiss and blow the place to the Maker.

All these thoughts run through his head in a split second. 

Crosshair does what he does best: he shoots.

And this time. He doesn’t miss.

Hitting Echo in the chest. Directly over his heart. 

Crosshair watches the stormtrooper collapse. 

Omega screams and pushes Crosshair away when he runs to grab her.

He doesn't understand.

Until she takes off the stormtrooper’s helmet.

Crosshair can only watch in horror as Echo’s face is revealed. Somehow he is even paler than before. He lies on the ground and Omega puts her hand over his wound desperately trying to help.

All three clones rip their helmets off, dropping them to the ground. 

When Crosshair tries to step forward to try to help, Omega yells at him to just stay back. She sits on the ground beside Echo, he’s practically in her lap

Just this once Crosshair wishes that his hands had shaken.

The one time he wished he could have…Crosshair didn’t miss.

Echo knows he isn't going to make it. 

He can’t help but chuckle to himself over the way that this had occurred. It sounded all too familiar to what Rex had told him so long ago on Anaxes after he had been brought back. 

Rex walks into the room where Echo is getting a final look over by Kix and the other medics. Echo looks up at his captain, his brother. “Finally decided to tell me huh?” Rex can only nod and raises his hand to the back of his neck, his nerves all over the place. “Echo listen, I-,” Echo puts his hand up stopping him. “I know. You can tell me how but it won’t make a difference. He’s gone. He would've been here if he wasn’t. Just, just tell me he went down fighting,” Rex grimaces and brings his hand down putting it on his shoulder. He makes eye contact with Kix who moves to clear everyone else out of the room before leaving himself. “You know Fives, was there any other way?” Rex and Echo chuckle remembering Fives’ personality. “Tell me Rex…” Echo says seriously after a moment. Rex sighs but moves to sit next to Echo on the bed. “In the end…Fives didn’t die on the battlefield. I’m sorry Echo, but he was killed by a brother. By Fox. At the time we had no idea about the chips, but somehow Fives found out. We- I didn't believe him, I was there when it happened and he- well he died in my arms,” Rex says this without looking at Echo. When he finally does he sees Echo’s face not filled with anger as he suspected, but with sorrow? Even a bit of pity. “It isn't your fault Rex. You had no way of knowing, not even the Jedi knew and they were supposed to know everything.” Rex had looked at him and nodded. Echo had wanted to say more but couldn't, internally reeling about how Fives had been killed by a brother, and how he had died assuming he was the last domino to fall. 

Returning to the present, Echo’s eyes focus back on Omega and her hand on his chest. Once again reminding him of another blond clone who had left their handprint on his chest. 

Echo’s eyes move across the room and land on Crosshair, who can’t even look at him. “Hey Cross… I’d say that intel earned your hug.” And suddenly all the men are surrounding Echo and Omega. Crosshair has his hand on Echo’s scomp. He leans over and puts his forehead to Echo’s and whispers “I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t be, I would've done the same thing,” Echo says firmly and hopes that Crosshair believes him.

Crosshair can’t look at Echo as he stands up and turns away from him, wiping his hand across his eyes. Erasing the tears that Crosshair would refuse to say came. Hunter and Wrecker can’t even say anything. It’s Eriadu all over again. This time they are in a medical facility without their medic, and they can’t do anything to save Echo. Both take their turn to say goodbye and to put their own foreheads to Echo’s as the tears stream down both their faces. They’d gotten so used to crying around each other they barely even noticed it anymore. Unlike Crosshair who was still hiding his face.

Omega looks up just above where Echo is lying. Tears streaming down her face she swears she feels a familiar presence, one she had felt years ago as a young child back on Kamino. She looks back down at Echo who is looking at the same spot, a slight smile on his face. 

“Took you long enough you Di’kut,” Echo chuckles wincing. “You know, Fives, I never thought I'd be the last Domino to fall. Can’t say I’m glad for it.” 

Omega is the only one to hear this. Her other brothers stay back knowing that there is nothing they can do. She looks at them, scared, “Who is Fives?” The men all freeze. They all feel their stomachs drop. She looks back down towards Echo who is already watching her. The rise and fall of his chest is slowing. “Vod’ika, I-I’m… I don't want to go but, My brothers, they’re here. Fives, Rose, Hevy, Cutup, Droidbait, 99... They say I can march with them.” Echo’s eyes are glistening, unfocused. He wants to go with them but he has so much to do here. Omega can see his struggle and pushes her feelings away. 

“It’s ok Echo. You are done fighting, you can march with them.  We will be ok.” Omega’s eyes are full of tears but she doesn’t let them fall. She lays her head on Echo’s chest holding his hand in one of hers and putting the other hand on his chestplate. Feeling as his breaths grow shallow, his heartbeat slows and eventually fades away. Echo’s hand slowly lets go of Omega’s but grabs onto his twin’s. Echo barely notices the lack of metal weighing him down as Fives helps him up, grinning as he pulls Echo into a hug before he turns and leads Echo away with an arm around his neck. 

Omega looks up at Echo’s face. She doesn't think she ever saw him look this peaceful before.

The final domino. Fallen. But rising to join his brothers as they march on to forever.

[lovekz]

dirty laundry

syn -> it’s a sunday, which (apparently) meant the house needed to be deep clean.

warnings : rin has a dirty ass house, yelling and cursing, not proofread

~

rindou personally liked to sleep in on sundays.

he knew he had a day off, and no one would need him until after three o’clock.

ran sees him all hours of the week, so he definitely wouldn’t have to see him or hear his mouth until wednesday.

thank god.

the only thing that would need him on this wonderful sunday is his bed and the sleep he constantly missed out on.

of course, after giving you the key to his apartment on your third anniversary, he should’ve saw this coming.

he jumped up, hearing the loud beat of lovers rock by tv girl begin to blast from the sound system downstairs.

rindou blinked a couple times, before groaning loudly in annoyance.

who the fuck had the bright idea to come into his house with a key he gave them, and blast music in his living room on his off day?!

at seven in the morning?!

rindou got out of bed and stormed his way downstairs, obviously fucking pissed.

his face faltered when he seen you shuffling around the house with a basket in your arms.

okay, maybe he wasn’t as mad as he really was when he first heard the beat of lover’s rock upstairs.

was that.. clothes?

you were humming along to the beat on the tv, swaying your hips as you tossed every article of clothing you could find into the basket.

rindou grabbed up the remote from off his counter and muted the speaker, squinting at you in confusion.

“what are you doing?” rindou asked, watching you spin around to look at him.

and that look was not nice in the slightest.

“fuck does it look like? in here looks like a fucking pigsty!” you shouted, dropping the basket on the floor and glaring at him.

oh you were pissed.

rindou frowned, rubbing his eyes and listening to you carry on like a mad woman.

“i’ll be damned if i sit in this dirty fucking house with you rindou! you know what- go brush your teeth and get the fuck back down here. i’m not doing this alone.” you ordered, glaring at him.

rindou has never moved faster.

~

by now, ten songs have played and now stuntman by tyler the creator was playing.

“i don’t fight hoes! i don’t buss down, i don’t like those!” you yelled along to the song, tossing out the old food from in the fridge.

rindou was on the couch, still exhausted and folding some of his clean clothes to put right back into his dresser.

you had already shampooed the couch once you got everything off it, and even brought him new throw pillows to match the new rug you brought.

“rindou why the fuck do you have the empty mason jar in the fridge?!” you yelled over the music.

rindou looked up from the socks and frowned, squinting to get a good look at the mason jar in your hand.

“i have to make more seasoning, babe.” rindou replied, before looking back at the socks.

“yeah well wash it at least! it’s not hard!” you complained.

rindou nodded, muttering a small apology though he was sure you didn’t even hear him over the music.

you slid the mason jar across the counter, before digging back into the fridge to pull out the spoiled garlic.

rindou heard the dryer go off, making him sigh before grabbing his white clothes out of the machine.

he tossed them into the clear basket and started to shake the wet clothes out like you instructed, before tossing them into the dryer.

when he was finished, he walked back over to the living room and began folding the white clothes.

“look at you, didn’t even have to tell you this time.” you cooed, closing the fridge and beginning to wash the dishes.

rindou rolled his eyes and smiled, quickly finishing up to aid you in washing the dishes.

~

the two of you finished cleaning and restocking the house by 5:30, making the house smell nice once more.

“you gotta start taking better care of yourself, rin.” you muttered, laying on the couch with him.

rindou nodded, rubbing your hip in slow circles. the two of you had just finished vacuuming and mopping the house.

now you were waiting for the floor to dry.

“i mean it. that wasn’t okay.” you said, sitting up and looking rindou in his eyes.

“i know baby. i’m sorry. i’ve just been busy.” rindou said, stifling a yawn while he was talking to you.

you nodded and laid your head back down onto his chest, humming quietly along to the song that just started playing on tv.

snooze by sza. 

“i’ll touch that fire for you.” you began, immediately making a smile grace rindou’s face.

“i’ll do that three more times again, i testify for you.” rindou sang along, squeezing your thigh playfully.

you lifted yourself off of his body, grabbing the broom and holding it as a microphone.

rindou laughed immediately grabbing his phone to record you.

“i told that lie, i’d kill that bitch!  I do what all of them around you scared to do, I'm not.” you sang, gripping the broom.

rindou held his phone, grinning at you as you give him a little show.

it was better to see you happy then complain about his living situation.

but he had to admit, this house was a fucking pigsty before you came in to save the day.

[a-smol-cosplayer]

Okay here is my master list of Wyler fic recs cause literally two people asked and I cannot control myself.

Psa I have probably read at least 70% of the fics on this tag in ao3 however these are my bestest/favourite ones. most of them are ongoing bc this fandom is hella new but still :) pls check ratings and tags before u read obvi. Also none of these fics are out to hurt u (as far as I’m aware) some of the longer ones might have angst but I’m here for relationship, plot and fluff rather than angst and pain (we go enough of that in the show). Some of the ongoing ones have updates every two/three days? Some haven’t updated since I have read them but most of them are under a week and a half old so I still have hope. There are ordered in shortest to longest in each category 

alright enough chitter chatter, buckle ur seatbelts people here we go!!

Finished 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43546942

Ocean Blue Eyes, Looking In Mine (I Feel Like I Might, Sink And Drown And Die) - cute Wyler one shot where they are dating at nevermore, after season 1, {1,876 words}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43494253#main

Grocery shopping in c minor - alternate au grocery store, Tyler works there, love the fact that he’s still super sweet but slightly unhinged, characterisation on point, {3,759 words}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43386558/chapters/109065348

A Half Life - Tylers pov of the first ep or so, kinda angsty bc its Tyler and he’s struggling, but still nice, not sure if its technically Wyler but its got the vibes {4 chaters but only 4,272 words}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43332840 

Yeah, all you did was smile (��cause I’m a mastermind) - canon divergent but still similar story line, Tylers pov, love how they have chemistry, no hyde Tyler but still really good, {8,536 words}

In progress - y’all don’t understand, I religiously check these for updates every single day

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43333995/chapters/108929727

What if… you helped me change? Basically what could have happened after the kiss in ep 7, minor kidnapping but we forgive him bc he was freaking out, no real ‘hyde Tyler’ more like ‘idk how this happened but I want to make it better Tyler’ {3 chapters, 3,592 words so far}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43353318/chapters/108979656

I never fell again - only really the set up so far, Wednesday comes back to school and finds that Tyler has come back and is enrolled in nevermore, she hates (misses) him so much, na they love each other {4 chapters 5,505 words so far}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43278591/chapters/108783186#workskin

On Wednesdays we dance - wednesday buys a laptop and enters a horror writing group, and yet, one prompt is about a date, and Tyler offers so that he can have real life experience, another wednesday style date which is so cute, I really love this fic its super fluffy and nice {2/3 chapters 5,733 words so far}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43470636/chapters/109282542#workskin

Perfect Match - READ THE TAGS (is rated T but really should be M/E) not much plot just wyler smut, and unholy use of the gates mansion, set after season 1 ends, also slightly off topic, but I like the hc that wednesday eats dried strawberries, idk why but I love it, anyways, read at ur own warning, {3/4 chapters finished 7,387 words so far}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43286737/chapters/108804511

Frump Family Curse - from ep 8 into post season 1, we get some obsessed wyler at the start, and then, build on each of the characters for upcoming chapters, shaping up to be a really good fic. Also surprise Gomez and Donovan friendship over there cute murder children, 100% support {4 chapters 9,111 words so far}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43354401/chapters/108982119

Woe to do with two soulmates - Wednesday has 2 soulmate marks (writing of their first words to her, I think we know where this is going👀) and doesn’t know which one she wants yet, deals with Wednesday and feelings and well and our adorable barista, some angst cause ew laurel but still really good, sort of plot twist?/something I didn’t expect but I’m glad it happened in chap 8 {9 chapters and 11,498 words and counting}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43284108/chapters/108797994

My unconquerable soul - wyler, mostly after season 1 in the break, tags!! And ratings!! Please!! They are psycho but psycho for each other, some light kidnapping, the hyde side of Tyler appears a little, some angst but mostly dark fluff {10 chapters, 12,749 words so far}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43482336/chapters/109313109

A Girl and her Monster Of Woe - post season 1, wednesday realising that she actually liked and missed him, in her own dark way obvi, setting up for them to meet again, sort of adresses how Tyler can stay and not be charged, yet again pls read rating and tags {7 chapters, 13,266 words so far}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43424209/chapters/109164106

Woeful - wednesday comes in wondering about Hydes and the cute barista seems to know an awful lot about them👀 basically, Tyler knows he’s a hyde, but!! He isn’t the one murdering people, developing some alternate plot line which seems really good so far, plus wednesday and Tyler being cute in the weathervane {7 chapters, 13,906 words so far}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43328175/chapters/108913881 

She’s mine - I know I keep telling y’all to check ratings but I don’t want any ‘I didn’t realise’ complains, basically Tyler realised that he fucked up and wednesday is actually his mate (I dislike that word but oh well) and basically fixes his mistakes in ep 8 ect ect, goes slightly further, loving the surprise Tyler/ajax friendship that comes with dating enid/wednesday, also good Adams adopting Tyler vibes {10 chapters 20,203 words and counting}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43466823/chapters/109273329 

Just the Two (Three) of Us - wednesday if she’s known about the hyde from the beginning, I really love this fic, lots of wyler connection and chemistry and stuff, trust me, its good, the characterisation and writing is excellent {7 chapters 22,728 words so far}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43329579/chapters/108917643

You can occupy my every sigh - wyler!! Literally my fav fic rn, Tyler already goes to nevermore, has its own plot line sorta, pls check the tags and rating before reading, Wednesdays characterisation is so good, got some Tyler/enid friend vibes as well, soulmates? Bonded? Something? idk its really good and super long - {11 chapters, 123,607 words and counting}

okay thats it!! let me know what u think in the comments, also if u have good fics that I haven't put on here I'm always open to more recs :)

[canonicallyobserving911]

Several Sentences Sunday

Fanonwriter2023 on AO3

Where CANON and FANON collide!

This is an EPIC LOVE STORY!

Season 7 FANON Speculation: Buddie Multi-Chapter Fanfic - Hiatus Reading: “I’m still in love with you but... I needed to learn how to love myself too!”

Chapter 19 will be posted soon; hopefully tomorrow.

Currently 18 chapters completed: 673.4K Words Rated: Mature

One chapter will be posted at a time.

[Previous snippet from WIP Wednesday]

____________

I'm excited to finish writing Chapter 19 because there are only 21 days left until Buck and Eddie get married.

For anyone who hasn't read Chapter 18, here's a brief overview: Since Eddie had to work a 4/10 from Monday through Thursday, Buck and Chris went to the Diaz family's Thanksgiving celebration without him. After Helena was rude to Buck the Sunday before the holiday, he was completely nervous about the way everyone else would treat him too and he hoped he wouldn't end up standing in the backyard alone but Eddie reassured him the Diazes would love him. Also, Eddie, Buck, Adriana, Antonio and Sophia had a meeting with Helena the day after Thanksgiving and the proverbial $hit hit the fan.

Buck and Eddie will tie the knot before Christmas 2023 but they are NOT getting married in the U.S. and they won't have a wedding ceremony until May 2024. They've revealed their relationship, their engagement and the fact that they're going to Europe to their found family during the 118's Thanksgiving dinner and now to Eddie's parents, his sisters, his abuela and Tia Pepa but they didn't tell them everything. No one knows they're getting married in three weeks, not even Chris because they haven't told him yet.

Have they revealed their relationship, engagement and European vacation to everyone or is there someone else who'll find out in Chapter 19? 👀

___________

Here's another snippet from Chapter 19 of Buck and Eddie being romantically fluffy while they're lying in bed.

___________

Eddie says, “You know I’m right here by your side and I’ll support whatever decision you make.”

“I know and you know I’ll do the same for you.”

“I do know.”  He emphatically admits. With their faces only millimeters apart, he asks, “Have I told you how much I love you?”

“You have but uh… I always love to hear you say it and I’ll never get tired of hearing those words come from your lips.”

“Ti amo cosi tanto.”  [“I love you so much.”]

“Ti amo con tutto il cuore! " [“I love you with all of my heart.”]  Buck replies then he leans in and French kisses his fiancé.

They get lost in it and as they gasp and moan into it, Eddie begins to roll his tongue and Buck feels like he’s entered a realm of pure unadulterated ecstasy. 

He rolls onto his back and gently maneuvers Eddie so that he’s on top of him.  Every part of him wants to feel Eddie and he longs for the next 19 days to pass quickly because they’re getting married and on the night of December 17th, their emotional, physical and romantic intimacies are going to collide and it’ll be spectacular.

He breaks the kiss, moves his head to the side so their cheeks are pressed together and whispers, “Fai l’amore con me!” into his ear.

Eddie leans back so he can meet Buck’s eyes, he furrows his eyebrows and says, “My love… I’m still waiting for you to tell me what…”  He trails off because the alarm sounds and it interrupts them.

He thinks the timing of the alarm sounding sucks since they are in the middle of making out and he’s trying to find out what the new Italian phrase Buck said means in English.

Instead of translating it, Buck kisses his neck then lays his head back onto the pillow and gazes into his eyes.  He lifts his hand and cups Eddie’s cheek then replies, “I promise I’ll tell you what it means after we get to Rome and we’re back at the villa”.

“I love you.”

“I love you too… so much.”

Since the alarm is still sounding, Eddie silences it but he leans in and kisses Buck one more time because he can.  After they break it, he says, “19 more days”.

“Yep, only 19 more days.”

Will Eddie find out what "Fai l’amore con me!” means in English before they leave for Rome? 🤷🏽‍♀️

___________

Fic Summary: Months after Buck and Eddie were hit by the same lightning strike; they’re still struggling with the aftermath of it.  But before they make their love confessions, they’ll spend time getting to know themselves as individuals first. Eddie learns to enjoy the simple things in life as he participates in activities on his own and with new friends while Buck learns the rest of the 31-year-old deep dark family secret about his conception and birth. Their journey to forever is still a work in progress but once they finally admit they’re in love with each other, everything that follows their love confessions will be cataclysmic.

__________

Chapter Summaries

Chapter 1 - Eddie makes a new friend while Buck receives devastating news regarding the sperm donation he made for Connor and Kameron.

Chapter 2 - Buck does a lot of research to learn more about the abnormalities found in his red blood cells and Eddie starts a new therapy journey that’s all about him and not the traumas he’s experienced.

Chapter 3 - After more than a month, Buck and Eddie finally spend time together outside of work but it doesn’t end well and they part with a lot of uncertainty regarding their places in each other’s lives.

Chapter 4 - Eddie has a few realizations about his life which causes him to consider moving back to El Paso, TX while Buck continues to be reminded of his past which causes him to take an impromptu road trip across America.

Chapter 5 - Both Buck and Eddie have difficult conversations with their parents and Buck finally learns the truth behind the reason why his mother despised him while Eddie finally tells his mother about the way she tries to control him.

Chapter 6 - More than two weeks after Buck pushed Eddie away after suggesting they needed a break; Eddie decides to try again. Eddie’s there for Buck when he’s at his worst just like Buck was there for him when he was at his worst and he won’t let Buck give up.

Chapter 7 - After Buck’s mental breakdown, Eddie has his back the same way Buck had his when he had his own breakdown more than a year ago.  They share several vulnerable and emotionally intimate moments with one another and they begin to realize their small, sweet and caring gestures matter just as much if not more than any grand gesture ever could because these are the foundations of a long-lasting love relationship.

Chapter 8 - Buck, Eddie and Chris all have their own therapists and during their sessions, they reflect on their pasts while they’re in the present so they can prepare for their future together as a family.

Chapter 9 - Buck and Eddie are there for each other when Buck has to testify as a witness during the trial.  But by the end of it, they’ll both realize their individual and shared traumas are going to keep resurfacing until they talk about them, deal with the fact that they’re in love with one another and face the fact that they can’t live without each other.

Chapter 10 - As Buck and Eddie finally begin to confront their past traumas, they realize how much they need each other to fill in the gaps of their memories.  Additionally, the universe screams at them for what appears to be the one hundredth time so Buck can realize he doesn’t have to ‘find it’ because he already ‘made it’ and Eddie’s reminded tomorrow isn’t promised and he doesn’t have to die alone if he doesn’t want to.

Chapter 11 - A “virga” or dry thunderstorm is in the forecast but once the rain starts, the thunderstorm happening outside won’t be able to match the storm brewing inside between Buck and Eddie.  It’s the universe’s final scream and when the tumultuous winds begin to blow, they’ll have one last chance to hold onto everything they’ve built over the last six years or they’ll lose it all forever.

Chapter 12 - Buck and Eddie have always shared a deep physical attraction and an emotional intimacy that’s unmatched but now that they’re in a relationship, they’re learning how to navigate the romantic intimacy they’ve been waiting for six years to explore. The love they have for each other is a once in a lifetime, soulmate, love of their lives type of love that transcends space and time.

Chapter 13 - While navigating the newness of their romantic relationship, Buck and Eddie take advantage of every moment they spend together. As their individual lives, people from their pasts, time constraints and the possibility of losing each other again make attempts to interrupt and interfere with their journey to forever, they love, care for, support and hold onto each other even tighter to withstand it all.

Chapter 14 - Buck and Eddie can see the lights at the end of the tunnels regarding the results of Buck’s Cancer Screening along with everything else they’re dealing with. But are the lights they see exits to the tunnels or are they headlights on different runaway trains that are speeding towards them in an effort to interrupt their forever?

Chapter 15 - Buck and Eddie have known they were exactly who the other one wanted in a partner since they met six years ago when they agreed to have each other’s backs. They’re in a romantic relationship, they’re both preparing to ask the other one to spend forever with them and by the end of the seventh week into their relationship, together they will plan their most important and greatest adventure for their future.

Chapter 16 - As Buck and Eddie begin to prepare for their marriage ceremony that will take place in Rome, Italy in December 2023, they start planning their first international adventure as a romantic couple. Even though Chris is still the only person they’ve told about their relationship, several people who know them have already witnessed the love they share and as the days continue, others will witness it too.

Chapter 17 - As Buck and Eddie get closer to departing Los Angeles for their international adventure, a moment in time will remind them; life is fragile, tomorrow isn’t promised and every second of everyday should be cherished because everything can change in an instant.  The result of that realization will cause them to hold onto each other even more.

Chapter 18 - As Buck, Eddie and Chris prepare for family gatherings before and during the Thanksgiving holiday, the “Santa Ana Winds” start to blow and all sorts of expected and unexpected familial drama ensues.

Chapter 19 - Will be posted soon.

__________

Read chapters 1-18 are available on AO3.

Continue reading on AO3

Chapter 19 will be posted soon. My goal is to post it tomorrow. I'm currently proofreading and editing it.

[eddiediazes]

wip wednesday

okay!!! i was tagged today by @spaceprincessem @sibylsleaves @gayhoediaz @clusterbuck and @rewritetheending (all of whom posted just incredible excerpts that continue to blow me away and i can’t believe all of you tagged me what a collection of writers i adore gosh) and it took me ages to post because!!! i had a new idea today for a longer fic i am hoping to finish before the three week hiatus is over so uh. i present to you all. season six post-lightning pining buck fic:

Sitting on the new couch actually makes it difficult sometimes for Buck to pay attention to conversations, which is why he only tunes in when Eddie says, “Are you busy on Saturday?”

Buck perks up a little. “Uh - no, why? Does Chris have a project or something?”

Eddie flashes a smile, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “No. Uh-” He switches his beer from one hand to the other, and stretches his newly free hand out. “It’s more that - I’m asking for me.”

It’s something about the way Eddie phrases it. Something about the combination of his words and the way he’s staring down at the floor, and the flush in his cheeks and the way he’s fidgeting. Buck thinks, abruptly, he’s going to ask me on a date. 

He has no idea where the thought comes from, because - he’s never thought that Eddie would ever - but in that moment, he becomes certain, abruptly, that Eddie’s going to ask him to hang out, just the two of them, and it’s going to change everything. Just as quickly, Buck realizes, I’m going to say yes. Aside from a passing attraction when they first met, Buck can’t remember the last time he consciously had an explicitly romantic thought about Eddie - but as soon as he realizes that Eddie wants to take him on a date, Buck wants to go so badly his palms start to ache with it. He sits up, and scoots a little closer, and rubbing his fingers over his sternum, right over his own pounding heart.

“For - you?” Buck asks, nudging Eddie along, encouraging him to clarify.

“Well I - wanted to tell you first, and I need someone to watch Chris, anyways - I know he’s getting old enough now he doesn’t like feeling like he’s got a babysitter, so I was hoping - sorry. Not the point. Uh. I have a date on Saturday."

Just as abruptly as his own hopes had come soaring up above the cloud cover of his own unawareness - they go crashing back down to the floor - to the basement, and into the mud. “A date?” Buck rasps out.

i am going to tag @colonoscopys and @fallingthorns simply because i love you both, and i hope if this excerpt makes you want to kill me you’ll at least wait until i finish the fic kasmdlf love you all happy wednesday <3

[laylajeffany]

Thank you for always answering our questions, and since you said you have lots of free time here’s some more ;)

1) How did you come up with the idea for The Black Menagerie? As I’ve said before, it’s delightfully weird in the best way, I don’t think I’ve ever read an AU fic with a plot like this. I’m very much enjoying it though and look forward to the next chapter.

2) When you’re writing longer fics, how do you stop yourself from rushing the plot? If I try to write linear stories I always end up rushing to the part I’m looking forward to.

3) Do you think we could have a sneak peek at a page or two of the holy scriptures? Of stuff that you’ve already written, of course, just so we can see how the outline looks.

4) Do you have any other tv shows outside of Wednesday that you enjoy at the moment?

5) Who was your favourite character in the Wednesday series? Outside of your fic lmao.

6) Do you have any little rituals for when you write? Like a specific place or drinking coffee idk.

7) Not really a question in itself, but I have LOTS of questions about teaching and I’m deeply considering going into the education world. Do you think you could send me a private message so I can ask the questions there instead of pestering all your followers inbox? If you’re uncomfortable you don’t have to :)

Thanks again!

1 - The Black Menagerie is in part inspired by this print I’ve had in my house forever, Morgan Adams’ vlog on YouTube where she has had issue after issue with contractors trying to renovate her own house, and the first little beginning arc is inspired by real life in a big city - I live in one of the “top rattiest” cities in the US according to the 2023 Orkin data. It’s a daily occurrence to run into some sort of vermin here. This was an average day in my classroom last year:

They are not afraid of the kids, but they are afraid of loud music. The children requested Ozzy Osbourne and I’d turn the speaker at them and they’d go back in the pipes where they came from. (We have a new custodian this year and we have significantly fewer pests but I did have a cockroach go crawling over a kid having a meltdown already in the cozy corner in my classroom on Tuesday - that did not help the meltdown.) Rats are a huge problem on our playground and one day I heard bickering under the slide only to discover the children were fighting over who was going to get the ‘magic powers’ from a disembodied rat paw they found. I put it in the compost and still I’m waiting for it to come back to me in some way - I just don’t feel like I’ve seen the end of it.

But largely I just wanted to write something cute and different! Chapter two (just finished this morning) has some surprises so I won't give that away yet, but a little bit just inspired by the idea of local drama and tapping into Enid's vlogger side. AND ALSO - the Amy Adams and Emily Blunt 2008 movie "Sunshine Cleaning" ;) you'll see.

2 - I love to torture the reader first and foremost because it’s fun and I enjoy it, but also I LOVE building constant rising action and climax and then back to rising action. To me, character development is key and I can’t rush them through situations. That said, as I write my stories out of order I do often write the first draft of a scene that I’m looking forward to in order to get it out of my system, then I know what I need to do to ‘get them to that point.’

3 - Absolutely not lmfao my handwriting is atrocious and I’m not showing it off lol.

4 - Spirit High on Netflix was cool and I’m looking forward to the second season, I just finished Harley Quinn S4 on HBO, and I’m re-watching House, M.D. at the moment, and I often put on the OG Addams Family before I go to bed, it’s a 24/7 channel on Amazon Prime’s free TV service. I really don’t actually watch much TV ordinarily I have a hard time focusing on it if it’s not something I already have seen, I usually need to watch with Tracey to enjoy something new. 

5 - I hadn’t related to a character as much as I did to this interpretation of Wednesday in a long time (hence the 1.4 million word exploration of what was next for her) haha. I thought Eugene was cute. Hated what they did with Moritica, which again - is the resulting 1.4 million word story to fix that. Morticia is usually my favorite part of the franchise. 

6 - I write best in quiet, honestly “silence would be appreciated” - not even instrumental music playing in the background (though I’ve gotten better at tolerating that on the green music application). I also prefer to write in my bed against my skull reading pillow thing. And of course I need my Toasted Graham coffee from that awful “Seattle based-brand” I’m sure I’m supposed to be boycotting with just a splash of unsweetened oat milk in it in a 20 oz black Yeti rambler (NO HANDLE). I’m very exciting and…ritualistic haha. Honestly I /can/ write anywhere, I managed to write in my childhood bedroom that has since been painted a putrid shade of blue while my parents were arguing about how much money to pay the pastor for a funeral this morning. 

7 - Maybe, reply to this with an honest answer if you are 18+ (not that I’m asking for verification but I’d feel better lol). 

[yell0wsalt]

Iroh II/Asami, #10 for the intimacy prompts please :)

Hi hi thanks so much for sending the ask! :) the prompt was so cute!

#10. Neck Kisses

——

Tonight was Iroh and Asami’s typical Wednesday date night. Midweek dates were appreciated to provide a small break from the couple’s hectic work schedules and reconnect. Especially now they wanted to get as much time together as they could. They were in the midst of getting ready, Iroh in their closet grabbing his clothes and Asami in the bathroom.

His progress in buttoning up his top was disrupted when he heard a few soft sniffles coming from their bathroom.

“Asami?”

Still half dressed he stepped out from the closet and made his way over to where she was. “Are you okay?”

Leaning her weight on the bathroom counter, she nodded her head. A harsh sniff in an attempt to pull herself together, she took a hand to delicately wipe underneath her eyes. “I- I’m fine, Iroh, don’t worry about it.”

Her words didn’t make him feel any better seeing her in such a state of distress and he frowned. “Asami, please talk to me, what’s going on?”

A heavy sign of resignation. “My- my rings don’t fit anymore.” At the admission, the frail dam broke and she burst into tears, burying her face in her hands.

He rushed over to turn her around and pull her into a bracing hug and rub her back up and down. “What do you mean? Your wedding rings?”

She nodded into his shoulder and mumbled something unintelligible.

“Asami, darling. Look at me, I can’t understand you speaking into my shirt,” he half-joked.

Peeling her forehead from the junction between his neck and shoulder, she looked up at him through glassy eyes, and cracked a watery smile.

Iroh thumbed away the tear stains on her cheeks. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

“It started off with me having taken off the rings earlier to do work in the garage. When I finished freshening up and was getting ready to put on some jewelry for our date tonight, it made me realize my fingers have gotten so puffy, putting my rings back on is too hard, now.”

There was a moment’s hesitation before she continued. “It sucks being pregnant sometimes. Spirits, I feel like I can’t do anything anymore! Morning sickness is a blatant lie when you’re sick throughout the entire day, your body changes so much, everything is getting swollen, hairy, and gross and I don’t–” she paused her train of thought, gnawing on her lower lip.

“You don’t… what?” Iroh tried to pry; a gentle squeeze to her hands.

A heavy pause as a lone tear broke free. “I don't feel like myself anymore,” she quietly admitted.

Hearing her confession was a knife twisted into his ribs. “Asami…”

“I’m sorry, Iroh. I felt like I could handle the clothes and shoes not fitting anymore because, hey those are all trivial items that can be replaced. Shopping is fun, too, so that’s fine. But when the rings didn’t fit…” a drawn out sigh, Asami’s gaze fell to the floor. “Not being able to wear them anymore felt like the straw that broke the moose camel’s back.”

“Hey–” he cupped her face with fierce affection, tenderly thumbing her cheeks.

“Never ever apologize for feeling this way. This is a new season full of rapid changes. I can only understand so much of what it is that you’re going through, but what you’re saying and experiencing makes sense and feels very real to you and I appreciate you telling me.

“Asami, you’re just as beautiful as the day I met you, even more so if I’m being honest. I wish you could only see yourself how I see you.”

Asami wanted to believe Iroh’s words and the corners of her lips turned up in a smile. She took his hands from her face and brought them down to the taut curve of her growing belly.

His heart fluttered imagining the life growing within. “I love you so much, Asami. You're going to be an amazing mother.”

“And you, just as wonderful of a father.”

Eyes met each other’s, full of adoration.

The standstill moment of intimacy was broken when Iroh cleared his throat and moved their hands to occupy the space between.

“You know, we don’t have to go out for date night tonight if you don’t feel up to it anymore. We can keep it relaxed and order in. Does that work with you?”

A final sniffle followed by a small nod. “Yeah, that actually sounds perfect.”

“Fan’s Dumplings? he suggested. “Whatever you’d like is fine with me.”

Immediately her spirits lifted and she hummed happily. “So long as we can also order some ice cream to have after.”

He couldn’t help but smile seeing his wife already start to feel like herself again.

“Any flavor, or flavors, you like,” an enticing waggle of eyebrows.

“Spirits, I love you so much. Now, help me out of this dress, please. Comfy loungewear is calling our names.”

****

“Asami, I’m home.” Iroh called out to his wife making his way through the entryway of their house announcing his arrival from work the following day.

“Hi babe, welcome back.” A chaste kiss in greeting. “How was your day?”

“It was routine business. Major positive to being in peacetime, so cannot complain. How about yourself?”

“Same here. No major fires to put out today plus I didn’t feel too sick and at this point we’re taking days like these when we can.”

A nod in agreement. “Of course, of course. Glad you’re feeling okay today. Hey, I got you something.”

She raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Oh? What’s the occasion?” Immediately her gaze was drawn to Iroh’s hand held behind his back.

He shook his head. “Nothing special. Something small I'm hoping you’ll like.”

Expression brightened. “Can I see what it is?”

Iroh brought his hand from behind his back to reveal a small white bag with purple tissue paper. On the bag painted in silver was the signature logo of Hei Bai’s Jeweler.

Lips loosely parted in a small o. “Iroh...”

Carefully she peeled away the tissue paper revealing a small jewelry box.

“I stopped by the Little Ba Sing Se Shopping District after work because I know you’ve been struggling a bit. This idea crossed my mind earlier and I figured it could be a potential solution.”

At the same time Iroh was speaking, Asami opened the box, revealing a thin gold chain. A light gasp escaped her.

“You could put your wedding rings on the chain, so you’ll still have them on you even though they may not fit your fingers for the time being.”

Her gaze broke from the necklace to face Iroh. Waterline already brimming with tears.

“I’m guessing you like it,” he mused.

She looked at him incredulously. “Like it? This is a wonderful idea. Iroh, I love it!”

Asami eagerly made her way to their bedroom to grab her rings from her jewelry box, Iroh following right behind her. Once she found the rings, she threaded the chain through them. Standing in front of her vanity, she held up the necklace in front of her in awe.

“The idea came to me when I recalled that a coworker does something similar who works with their hands a lot and would often worry about getting their own rings dirty.

“Does the gold match?” he asked. “I only had my own band as a reference and needed the jeweler's help for picking it out, but I’m hoping it looks okay. If not, I’m sure it won’t be a problem for us to make an exchan–”

Asami turned and cut him off with a pointer finger pressed to his lips. “Don’t you dare. It’s perfect. Would you help me put it on?”

A soft smile in relief. “I’d love to.”

Gingerly he took the opposing ends of the chain from Asami and circled behind her so they faced the mirror. He carefully brought the necklace down in front of her as she gathered her hair up, exposing the column of her neck.

A second to clasp the necklace securely around her, he smoothed it out, gently massaging her shoulders. “There you go,” he whispered in her ear, providing a long loving kiss to her pulse point on her neck. Another one just a little higher.

She shuddered at his breath on her skin and blushed. When he pulled away, Asami released her gathered hair and looked down, gliding her fingers delicately along the chain and her rings.

“How does it look?” she asked.

He circled around to face her, fingering the chain and rings. Eyes floated up to meet hers and he smiled. “Perfect. How do you feel?”

An easy smile blossomed on her face. “Like I’ll always have you close to my heart.”

——

Prompts here

[3pirouette]

So, just a stupid little update…

I’m on tumblr now, what, once every two or so weeks? I think it’s an improvement over the last few months.

My next wrist surgery is on Wednesday. After that, I’ll be 100% organic again. Sadly, my MD doesn’t think they’ll let me keep the plate once they take it out.

My Steggy secret Santa is finally coming along nicely. With the extension I think I’ll even get it in on time. The tough truth is, I don’t really think in terms of Steggy anymore, the ideas just don’t pop up and live in my head like they used to. Maybe that’s why this secret Santa’s been so hard to get out, I’ve told the majority of the stories I want to about them. Dunno.

This tends to happen with me when I’m satisfied with how the canon of the story goes. When my ‘ship ends up together, it’s less satisfying to write the what-ifs.

I’ve never really questioned my fic writing impetus before. I usually just go with what inspires me and makes me happy.

…which, apparently, is this Last of Us JoelxReader fic I have going. It’s now officially the second longest fic I’ve ever written (it’s currently 99k, longer than Nobody’s Baby by 2k and shorter than Innocence and Beauty by 24k) and while I’ve managed to get most of the main plot out (yes, the end is somehow written…don’t ask) I still have a lot of the softer plot and interesting moments and yes, sexy times, to write still.

I also haven’t decided if I’m ever going to publish it. If I do it will be 100% before TLOU season 2 comes out, so I’ve got some time.

Same goes for the MandoxReader fic I’m writing. It’s somewhere in the 65K area, and I haven’t decided when or if I’m finishing and posting it.

Damn you Pedro Pascal and your sexy characters.

Oh well. I think that’s it.

Happy New Year, all!

[sashred]

Hey

Do you have any chenford fics that never made it on here or AO3? If yes, please share, cause you write them so damn beautifully and I can't get enough. Or if not, can you write a "chenford +multichapter angst"(desperately pleading)

Bless you

Hi! There is actually one thing I've never posted, and probably won't finish. Think...early season 2 cannon divergence where Tim reevaluates his relationship with Lucy after she left "those" things he said while thinking he was going to die of the plague out of her report. OF COURSE it's angsty, but this is prob all that will come of it. Might as well set it free lol.

Enjoy!

“So just like that, you’re giving up on me?  I break one small, stupid regulation to try and cover for you.  To protect you, and that’s it?  I’m suddenly not worth your time?” Lucy exclaimed, desperate for some kind of reaction from him.  Something other than the stoic façade, that demeaning roll of his eyes.

“Leave it, Boot.  I am not having this conversation with you.”  Tim shook his head, grimacing as he downed the last of his beer.

“Like hell you aren’t,” she yelled, ignoring the startled looks nearby customers were giving her.  “You won’t even look at me when we’re at the station, in roll call, and meanwhile the entire department is avoiding me like the plague.  Like I did something wrong.  Like I’m a problem.”

“They’ll get over it.”

“Yeah, but I won’t.”  Lucy pulled out the stool across from Tim and sat down.  She was hot with rage, anger.  It’d had been building since two days ago when he announced that Lopez was her new TO, that he was taking Jackson on as his boot, no questions asked.  No room for argument.  She wasn’t even exactly sure he did it because of how she left it out of her report – that he’d told her he would rather end things himself than go out like that poor bastard who’d died such a horrible death right in front of him. 

She might have made plenty of mistakes in her short time as a rookie, but that moment when he cornered her about it, when she lost her temper…was by far the angriest she’d ever seen him, and it made no sense.

She’d covered for him before, she knew about his problems with Isabel.  They bickered plenty, he was hard on her, and expected more from her than anyone else ever had, and yet there had always been a weird comfort in it.  A sense that he actually cared about how she did, about her training.  That he took it seriously.  Took her seriously.

And now?  He was treating her like she’d failed.  Like she was untrainable, that she wasn’t worth his precious time, and it made her damn furious.

“We’re done here,” he bit out, refusing to even look at her, digging bills out of his money clip as he stood.  “Thanks for ruining my night.”

“Ruining…what?  This sad little pity party you’re having?  Because that’s what it looks like.  Nursing a beer by yourself in a bar on a Wednesday night, alone, actively running away from the first person that talks to you?  Please.”

“Except this isn’t talking, Boot.  This is you attacking me and working your way towards getting your ass fired.”

 “Is that what you want?  Me gone?  Would that make life easier for you?  End up with a boot that doesn’t call you out on your bullshit?  Because I am not going to apologize for trying to talk to you like an actual human.  Just like I’m not going to apologize for covering for you.  Because it was the right thing to do, whether you accept that or not.”

“Move out of my way, Boot,” he closed his eyes, “before you end up saying something you’ll regret.”

“No…see I don’t think I’m going to respond to that anymore.”  Lucy crossed her arms and planted her feet.  “You lost the right to call me ‘boot’ when you gave up on me.  You want to ask me something, try using my actual name, Tim.”

“Would you stop saying – ” he huffed once, his words trailing off.  “Move, Chen,” he said again, his words tight, jaw tense as his pulse jumped out of his neck.  She was finally getting to him, and she couldn’t deny the small pleasure it gave her.  Lucy hated that this was what they were now, that she’d lost whatever progress they’d made in those months they spent together.  All over something that made no freaking sense.  She wanted to shake him, demand he just tell her every last thing that was going through his head, hound him until it made sense, because whatever was happening there, in that bar as he looked half-ready to toss her out of his way, she wondered if there was a way back from it at all.

She wondered just why in the hell it mattered so much.

“You really won’t talk to me?  I don’t deserve at least that much?” she said, softer this time.  She felt herself deflating, the stubborn set to his eyes and tense way he held himself all too familiar.  All too final.  She was the rock and he was the hard place, and a damn adamantium wall at that.

“Goodnight, Chen,” he said stiffly, walking quickly around her and out the door, the bell clanging harshly as it slammed shut behind him.

The anger rose again.  The hurt.  Lucy could never claim that she was at her most logical when she was upset, angry like that, and she wasn’t about to start, either.

“Yeah, you’re so not getting the last word,” she mumbled to herself, launching after him.  The door closed just as forcefully behind her as she jogged towards where his truck was parked, tucked into the back corner of the lot, the flickering streetlamp above barely illuminating his figure against it as he fought with his keys.

“Hey!” she shouted at him, the satisfying clink of his keys dropping to the pavement ringing out.  “I don’t care who you think you are, but there is absolutely no reason for you to be acting like this and I am not done with – ”

Lucy froze.  A foot between them, probably less.  Uncomfortably less.  His eyes were blazing, but anger wasn’t the right word.  There was something else in them as he stared down at her, something that scared the ever-loving hell out of her.

He didn’t even bend to pick up his keys, not that he would have had the room with how close she was.  His lips parted like he was going to say something, and she would have sworn his eyes softened fractionally.  Her stomach flipped, her heart was racing, and everything suddenly seemed exponentially more dangerous than they had only moments before. 

“Chen, I need to go,” he said lowly.  Licked his lips.  His eyes were darting across her face, drinking her in it seemed, and something finally clicked into place.

“Oh,” she answered softly, willing herself to back away from him and failing.  “I…yeah.  Yeah I guess you do.”  She crouched down, scooping his keys up, watching as his eyes followed her.  Widened as she rose slowly.  “Here.”

She shivered when his hand enveloped hers, taking the keys, holding her in place, his warmth seeping into her skin.

“I didn’t give up on you, Chen.  I just…I can’t be the one to get you there.  You’re better off with Lopez, trust me.”

“You’re wrong,” she responded flatly.  “And before you argue…I know she’s good at what she does, and I would learn plenty from her, but it’s not the same and you know it.  She won’t make me better like you do.”

“I think you’re underestimating her…”

“I know you’re underestimating yourself,” she cut him off.  “And me.”

“Chen – ”

“Lucy,” she cut him off, sighing heavily.  “My name is Lucy.  I’m not your boot, not a cop, not your trainee.  Not here.”

“You’re not getting it, Chen, you have to be.  This…us doing favors for each other, covering for each other…it can’t be like this.”

“Like what?  Like we’re human?” she scoffed.  “We’re not robots, Tim.  I’m not a robot.”

“And I’m not your TO anymore,” he said, voice raised again.  “Simple as that.”

She stepped closer, her neck craned as she stared him down, noting the half step he took backwards.  She curled her fingers, the moment of panic that crossed his gaze urging her on.  He didn’t need to be afraid of her, she didn’t want him afraid of her, but there was absolutely no denying the silent, deadly current running between them.  They’d both drown if she didn’t act, like find something better for them to lose themselves in.

“I know a place a little ways from here.  A real hole in the wall, cheap drinks and crappy food, but cops don’t frequent it.  You want to talk it over there?”

His eyes widened, mouth opening and closing as her words settled between them.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” he finally managed, but the deer in headlights was fading.  Rolling into something darker, something that made her stomach clench and pulse quicken.

“Fine.  Then…we don’t have to talk.”

He was nodding, that dark gaze now traveling across her in a way that made her skin tingle.

“What’s it called?”

“The Red Baron.”

“I’ve heard of it,” he said.  “Over on the other side of town.  It’s a complete dive.”

“Yeah.  Nothing we’re used to going to.”  Or anyone they knew.  “Too much for you?”

That did it.  His eyes sparked at the challenge, his head tilting ever so slightly as he considered her.

“It’s not really…my thing,” he shook his head, but it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than her. 

“Not mine either.  But I think I’m willing to make an exception.  If you’re up for it.”

“You sure about this?” he asked, his voice low, tone softer than it had been.

“Yes,” she answered quickly, firmly.  “I’m sure.” 

“Fine.  I’ll meet you there.”

Lucy ordered a gin and tonic, and Tim ordered a whiskey, neat.  Sure, maybe hitting another bar wasn’t necessary, more a stall tactic than anything else, but she needed to be away from any prying eyes, and she needed that extra fortification to build her nerve.  Time to flick that switch in her brain.  She’d always thought Tim was attractive…hell it was a damn running joke in the precinct and everyone knew it.  And yeah…sometimes, late, late at night, and after a few glasses of wine, she could let her thoughts wander to less platonic situations between them, but this was the first time she felt such a visceral reaction to simply sitting beside him.

They didn’t talk.  Not when she came up and sat beside him at one of the spindly tables in the corner.  Not when she pressed the length of her leg against his and leaned into his solid warmth.  The waitress didn’t look twice at them as she took their drink orders and dropped a basket of stale pretzels in front of them, and there were enough people in there that she didn’t hover.  Lucy shivered when Tim brought his arm around her waist, his hand resting on her outer thigh, leaning his face into her hair, his lips at her ear as he breathed her in.

“So how are we playing this?”

“Playing what?” she asked, turning towards him.  His face…his damn lips were only inches away from hers.

“This,” he squeezed her thigh for effect, and she swallowed hard.

“Not playing, just…going with it.”

“What?  Like a one-time thing?  Scratching an itch?”

“You don’t have to make it sound so romantic,” she scoffed, and he squinted at her.

“So this bar is supposed to be romantic?  That’s what you’re looking for?  Because that’s not what – ”

He was talking entirely too much, the mood was slipping, and Lucy would be damned before she let her one chance to kiss him slip her by.  She didn’t have to move much for her lips to slide over his, stopping him mid-speech, relishing his surprised grunt – quickly followed by a soft sigh as she trapped his bottom lip between hers, his stubble rough under her palms.  They startled apart when the waitress clanked their glasses down, marginally louder than she needed to, and Lucy felt the blush rising in her cheeks as Tim cleared his throat.  He took a healthy swig of his drink before facing her again.

“So…it’s like that, then.”

Lucy paused with her glass poised at her lips.  “Like what?”

“You did say we don’t have to talk.”

“I’m…I’m sorry…” she said, placing her glass down and closing her eyes.  “Are you bothered by what I just did?”

“Not at all.  It was fine,” he shrugged, swirling the amber liquid in his glass.  “I guess I just figured, you being you, we needed to iron some things out first.”

She wasn’t sure what irked her more, the “you being you” comment or that fact that he’d just called her kiss “fine.”  Either way, the possibilities the night had promised only moments before now seemed to be fading, and quickly.

“Wow,” she said aloud, moving her leg away from his.  “I guess we’re even, now.”

“What does that mean?” he asked, his tone affronted.  It wasn’t supposed to be like this.  He wasn’t supposed to be like this, and disappointment settled in her stomach like a lead plate.  What were they doing?  What had she done?

“I think I should go,” she said, the words bitter on her tongue.  She thought she’d read it in him so clearly…the want, and it had woken something up inside her too…and no she didn’t want to pick it apart and talk things over in that dingy bar, she wanted to jump his goddamned bones and go from there, but now…

He pulled back from her, his expression hard and closed-off.  Yeah, they were done, and Lucy could only hope she hadn’t just obliterated the last of what he thought of her.  It stung, she was embarrassed, and if she sat another damn minute beside him the real emotions were going to start flowing.  It wasn’t until she snatched her purse up that he seemed to think he should say something, but she wasn’t interested.

“Lucy just wait a minute – ”

She tossed a few bills on the table.  “Drinks on me.  Enjoy.”  He stood up so quickly he almost knocked the chair over, but no one paid them any mind.  Certainly not Lucy, until she almost ran smack into him as he blocked her path, much in the same way she’d done to him earlier.

“Would you stop for just a minute?” he hissed at her.  “Look I already said this isn’t my thing, okay?  I don’t know how to do this.  I thought we were here to talk first.  I – I don’t understand what you need from me.”

 “How about maybe not insult me right after I – ” she waved her hand, clamping her mouth shut, the word “kiss” still to foreign.  Too loaded.

“It surprised me.  Maybe I had a bad reaction but I’m struggling here.”

“Then why did you come?  If it’s such a struggle then why in the hell did you look at me like that in the parking lot?  Why did you abandon my training, me after everything we’ve gone through these past few months?”

“I didn’t…I didn’t abandon you, I was trying to protect –”

“Yourself,” she finished for him.  “Don’t act like it was anything else.”

“Excuse you,” he sneered, “but you have no idea what my reasons were – are.”

“Then why not actually try some basic communication and tell me,” she said back.  “That’s all I wanted was a goddamned reason and you couldn’t even give me – ”

Lucy stopped talking when he took a step towards her, his hand grasping her upper arm as she was forced to take a step backwards, and another, and another until they were both in the short, darkened hallway by the bathrooms and a supply room. Tim kicked an empty crate out of her way, the noise startling her just before her back met the wall and he crowded in on her, his hand still firm on her arm as he brough the other to her face, tilting her chin upwards.

“You want a reason?” he breathed against her lips, her head beginning to spin as the reality of what they were doing, about to do and where stirring her insides until her core and chest clenched together.  She was dizzy with it, the want, but she managed a shaky nod before he closed the remaining distance between then, his mouth overtaking hers. 

[blueskrugs]

length: 1.9k words

full fic

december

Tyson usually dreads January. It’s a long, cold, and dark month. The grind of the season feels like it’s at its…grindiest. The game days and travel days start to run into each other and turn into one exhausting, never-ending blur. Someone’s always getting sick, or injured, 

He’s perfectly happy to throw himself back into hockey when the new year finally rolls around after so many weeks without it, but he hates how quiet his apartment is without Kacey hanging around, being annoying. He leaves his Christmas decorations up, anything to make his apartment feel lived-in.

Tyson lasts until the team gets back from Chicago on the fifth before he calls Madison again. She doesn’t answer. Tyson stares at his phone after it goes through to voicemail, bewildered. That is, until Madison texts him back and reminds him that she has a “normal job with normal hours.” Right.

Madison calls Tyson back on her way home from work. His groggy, mumbled “‘ello?” makes Madison smile when he answers, voice tinny over her car’s speakers.

“Did I wake you?” she teases. 

Tyson scoffs, but says, “...yeah. Sorry for calling you earlier,” he adds. “I’d just gotten home and wasn’t thinking.” “You can’t just call at 10:30 in the morning on a Wednesday, Tyson,” she admonishes. 

“I know, I’m sorry, I was just—” missing you. Tyson dismisses that thought. Too earnest. “I was just bored,” he finishes. Not much better, actually. 

Madison’s quiet for a while, focused on driving. She realizes she should figure out where she’s actually headed. “Were you calling for any particular reason earlier?” she asks. “I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about me.”

“I could never forget you,” Tyson says quickly. “I just wanted to see you,” he admits after another moment. 

Madison turns on her blinker at a red light. She should be turning left, towards her apartment. She turns right, towards Tyson’s place. “Did you want me to come over,” she asks, wanting to hear Tyson say it.

“I mean, obviously, yeah. I can make us dinner.”

Madison laughs. “Oh, sure, you’re gonna make me some toaster waffles, huh?” She had seen the Instagram stories. “You really know how to woo a girl, Tys.”

She can practically feel Tyson’s playful outrage on the other end of the phone. He sputters for a minute before saying, “Okay, I can order us dinner.” 

Madison’s almost to Tyson’s apartment building. She hates that she already knows how to get there so easily. “Are you going to get your ass out of bed and meet me downstairs?” There’s the sound of something hitting the floor, like Tyson actually rolled out of bed.

“I’ll be right there!” Tyson says, before hanging up. The radio cuts back in, music playing softly to fill in the abrupt silence of the call ending. Madison parks and turns her car off, sitting in silence for a minute. She wonders just what the hell she’s doing, what she’s getting herself into. 

Tyson sprawls onto his couch and pulls Madison into his lap almost immediately after they’re both through the door. Madison rolls her eyes, but she goes willingly. Tyson’s perfectly content to just make out for a while, all sense of urgency gone as soon as he gets his hands on Madison. He’s not sure how long they’re there before he realizes something and pulls away.

“Have you ever been to an Avs game?” he asks.

“What?” Madison lost her shirt at some point, and Tyson’s thumb has been fiddling with one of her bra straps for the last several moments. She’s admittedly a little distracted. She processes what Tyson said. “Tyson, are you seriously thinking about hockey right now?” She tries to roll off his lap, but he digs his hands into her thighs and refuses to let her move.

“I’m always thinking about hockey, a little bit,” he defends. Madison rolls her eyes at him again. What Tyson had really been thinking about was introducing Madison to JT, then he’d remembered that she said she didn’t watch much hockey, and somehow that’s what had come out of his mouth. Madison still looks a little bit like she wants to smack him. “I told my best friend about you,” is what he ends up saying next. “He’s actually the one who pointed you out to me at the bar that night, and he wants to meet you for real.” JT had actually said that, in between chirps about Tyson’s hooking up habits. Some of the other guys had picked it up, too, but Tyson wasn’t ready to subject Madison to them yet. Except maybe, like, Cale. And maybe after a game at the arena wasn’t the best place to introduce Madison to his friends, but Tyson could get tickets for Madison and a friend, ask Mel to introduce herself or something, and then meet Madison after with JT. 

Tyson realizes Madison hasn’t answered him. She’s still in his lap, but she’s tense. Tyson squeezes her thighs again. 

“You don’t have to, obviously,” he says softly. “I dunno, I just thought you might want to meet the guys.”

Madison relaxes a little. “You really want that?” she asks. 

Tyson can’t help but grin at her. He kisses her again, slowly. “I do.”

Later, when they’re sitting at Tyson’s little table eating dinner—that Tyson did actually cook, thank you very much—Madison knocks her ankle into Tyson’s. Tyson swallows his mouthful of food and traps her foot in between both of his. Madison had gotten re-dressed in one of Tyson’s sweatshirts, and Tyson’s doing his best to feel normal about it. 

“So, did you have a day in mind for me to come to a game, or had you not thought that far ahead?” Madison asks. 

Tyson tries to run through their upcoming schedule in his head. “Uh?” They’re home for a lot of January. “Next Friday, maybe? The…14th?” He can’t remember who they’re playing, but that’s not really important. Tyson squints over at the printout of their schedule he keeps on his fridge. “We wouldn’t be able to hang around because we fly out that night, I think.”

Madison looks faintly overwhelmed suddenly. It might be for the best that the guys will only be able to say hi briefly, actually. “Sure? Whatever you want, Tyson.”

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Tyson reminds her. He feels a bit as if he’s thrown her off the deep end, even though she’s the one who pushed Tyson to tell JT in the first place. 

Madison shakes her head. “No, it’s okay, I just didn’t really expect it.” 

Tyson pulls a face. “Maybe I’m tired of keeping you a secret.” He doesn’t know what he was trying so hard to protect, now. 

Madison stares at him for a long moment, face unreadable. Tyson stares back. Finally, Madison drops her fork with a clatter and leans across the table to kiss Tyson. The fierceness of the kiss surprises him, Madison’s lips hard against his, her hand sliding around the back of his neck. Tyson cups her cheek and tries to soften the kiss, but Madison pulls away just as quickly as she’d kissed him. 

Tyson blinks at her, bemused. He’s not sure what just happened. It feels significant somehow, something unspoken changing between them. Tyson turns back to his dinner.

Madison sees Tyson a few more times over the next week and a half before the game. Tyson acts the same, but Madison feels like she’s on edge, counting down the hours until Friday. Tyson doesn’t seem to notice.

“What the hell am I supposed to wear to a hockey game?” Madison complains over the phone to her older sister, Emma, who she’d asked to come with her on Friday. Emma just laughs at her. Madison’s seen what WAGs wear to games—cute outfits with leather pants and heels. Madison doesn’t own that type of shit, and she’s not really a WAG, besides. She doesn’t own a jersey, either, and it would probably be weird to wear a jersey that’s not Tyson’s anyway. Madison’s pixie pants from Old Navy and sensible work shoes aren’t going to cut it.

“What were you wearing when you met Tyson?” Emma asks, as if she doesn’t know they met in a bar.

Madison snorts. “Nothing that’s appropriate for a hockey game.” Madison regards the handful of sweaters she’s pulled from her closet. One of them is close enough to Avalanche burgundy, maybe. Somewhere in her dirty laundry is one of Tyson’s sweatshirts. Madison’s not bold enough to wear it.

Game day is overwhelming, to say the least. Tyson had gotten them good seats, but Madison’s not used to being around so many people, and it’s noisy all around her. It’s easier to follow the pace of the game in person than on TV, she learns, and her eyes follow Tyson whenever he’s on the ice.

Tyson scores a goal late in the first period, and Madison’s probably the one who cheers the loudest for him. 

Madison waits outside the arena for Tyson after the game. Her sister’s waiting in the car, telling Madison it was too cold to stand around. She watches some of the other players make their way past her and onto a waiting bus. It’s cold, and she hates Tyson briefly. It’s only another few minutes until Tyson appears, closely followed by someone. They’re arguing, but Tyson breaks off as soon as he sees Madison waiting for him.

Tyson forgets himself for a moment. He runs over to Madison and wraps his arms around her waist, picking her up and spinning her once. Madison laughs at him. He ignores JT snickering behind him in favor of leaning down and kissing Madison quickly. 

Madison’s blushing when he pulls away, but it might just be from the cold. 

“Nice goal tonight, babe,” Madison tells him. Tyson just shrugs. 

Behind them, JT clears his throat. Tyson kinda forgot about that part. He drapes an arm around JT’s shoulders and drags him closer. “This asshole is JT,” he tells Madison. “He’s one of my best friends.” To JT, he says, “This is Madison, be nice.”

JT scoffs. “I’m always nice.” He grins at Madison. “I’m also the reason Tyson went up to you at the bar, so I guess you could thank me for whatever’s going on here.” Tyson smacks him. 

“You can get on the bus now, actually,” Tyson says. JT’s laughing again as Tyson tries to elbow him out of the way. Madison’s smiling, too, though, amused by their antics. 

JT does leave, then, and Madison and Tyson are alone. Or, as alone as you can be with half of Tyson’s teammates watching them through the bus windows. Tyson steps closer to Madison.

“Thanks for tonight,” she says. Tyson barely did anything, but he’s not going to say that now. Tyson should really get on the bus, but he can’t tear himself away. Madison’s hand finds his, tangling their fingers together and squeezing once before letting go again. “Text me when you get to the hotel, yeah?”

Tyson has to kiss her again. “I will, I promise.” He really needs to go. One last kiss, pressed to Madison’s cheek this time, then Tyson forces himself to step away.

Madison’s gone when he turns around as he steps on the bus. Tyson shakes himself and goes to find JT, flopping into the seat left open for him. 

“You’re in deep, bud,” JT says. Tyson glares at him. 

“God, I know.”

february