#this took a lot out of me and it's only 1/6 of the chapter...

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Wildflower (OP81 x fem!reader x LN4)

Chapter 3

CHAPTER SUMMARY: You’ve reached your breaking point with Oscar, but an unfortunate grand prix changes everything you thought you wanted. 

WORD COUNT: 10.3k

WARNINGS: Conversations about sex and but no actual smut, degradation, angst. Mentions of cheating. Oscar is literally horrible. Mention of unhealthy family dynamics. Lots of cursing. Pain, so much pain. Mention of injury. I’m so sorry for all the emotional suffering this chapter will cause. 

TAGLIST: @at-a-rax-ia @henna006 @linnygirl09 @cassielikereading @judelina @supertrashbread @fastandcurious16 @widow-cevans @czennieszn @irisesinthegarden @wierdflowerpower @sweetwh0re @reginalaufeyson-holmes @honethatty12 @suns3treading @obxstiles @mimiastroos @mrs-reeves-17 @milkysoop @amalialeclerc @starksztony @llando4norris @ginsengi @angxlzinthesky

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

Accept message request from Lando_Norris?

Your fingers hovered over the “accept” button, nervous but curious. What would Lando ever want to talk to you about?

He had avoided you like the plague since that night in Italy, and you hardly blamed him. But as far as you knew, no one except you and Nicole knew that Lily was no longer in the picture; still, what would have changed to cause Lando Norris, of all people, to be messaging you at night?

“Who are you texting?” 

You jumped, not having noticed that Oscar had turned over to face you, seemingly unable to sleep.

“No one,” you said. “Just scrolling.”

Oscar confirmed your suspicions. “I can’t sleep.”

“Me neither,” you said, short and annoyed. 

Oscar didn’t respond, instead just moving on top of you, holding your chin in his hands to force you to look at him.

“You can’t even sleep until I fuck you like the little whore you are, huh?” He leaned down to kiss your neck, lips grazing over where only hours before he had left dark marks in the supple skin.

“Get off me, Oscar,” you said, and he immediately pulled back.

“You okay?” he asked.

You weren’t okay. In fact, you were furious. “You realize that you never even asked me if I was okay with you talking to me like that?”

The look in his eyes said only two words: Oh shit.

“YN, I… I’m so sorry, I didn’t even think of it like that. Shit, why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“I shouldn’t have to tell you to treat me with respect.”

“I thought you liked it?” he said, running his fingers through his hair out of nervousness.

You sat up, the anger burning within you. You hadn’t planned to confront Oscar so soon after what you had overheard, but now that you’d gotten started, there was no stopping you. 

“That’s not the point. Maybe I’m tired of feeling like your personal sex toy, Oscar. Oh, but I forgot. My feelings aren’t your problem.”

Oscar exhaled angrily. “Is that really what this is about?”

You just looked at him, bewildered. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” you asked.

He began, “Look, I don’t know what you think you heard—”

“I heard you talking shit about me on the phone to your own mother.”

“It wasn’t like that, YN.”

“Then what was it like? What’s your excuse now?”

Oscar tried to begin, his mouth opening with no words coming out. He truly didn’t know what to say. “It’s been a hard time.”

“I know. I’m well aware, Oscar. Because I made your feelings my problem for years.”

“I know, and I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life—”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses anymore.”

“I’m not making excuses. I’m just trying to explain it to you.”

“Of course, you want to talk now that I won’t give you sex anymore,” you said, rolling your eyes. 

“Oh my God,” Oscar huffed, and it took every ounce of your strength not to curse him out then and there. “You act like I’m some fucking villian. You can’t get mad at me for fucking you when you wanted this too.”

“But how do you know that, Oscar? How do you know what I want? Have you ever asked me what I want?” Tears began prickling at the edge of your eyes. “You haven’t, because you don’t care.”

Oscar looked at the wall, his jaw tense. “I’m not doing this right now.”

“Am I not even deserving of an honest conversation?” you said, the tears now flowing down your cheeks. It had been years since he’d seen you cry, but Oscar wouldn’t even look at you. 

You got up from the bed and started changing from your pajamas to your regular clothes. “If you don’t want to talk, fine. I can’t make you. But I’m going home.”

“YN—”

“Leave me alone,” you said, grabbing your purse and exiting the bedroom. You heard him call for you again, but you ignored his pleas, walking ahead out of the apartment and to your car.

When you slid into the driver’s seat, you finally broke down, resting your head against the steering wheel. No thoughts went through your head. You weren’t much of a crier, so when you finally gave in, it was more of an act of your body giving up.

So you took a few minutes to compose yourself before driving the short distance home through the streets of Monaco, a place you’d grown to love. But his presence was everywhere. The car. The streets. Your apartment. Oscar was inescapable.

And when you felt your phone buzz as you sat with a cup of tea on the balcony an hour or so later, this reality was confirmed. He was calling. 

You didn’t answer the first call, or the second. But by the third you knew that your only options were to turn your phone off, block him, or answer.

Well, what did you have to lose?

“What do you want?” you asked upon picking up the call. 

“I’m sorry, YN. Can we talk?”

“Say whatever you’re going to say.”

He paused. “In person? I’m in the hallway.”

“I don’t know…”

“Please?” he asked. You sighed. Why could you never say no to this man?

“Fine. Give me a sec.” You hung up the call, took another deep breath, and opened the front door before immediately turning around to go back to your balcony. You couldn’t bear to look at him, and you welcomed the sound of the soft waves lapping at the harbor as a buffer.

He sat down beside you, and even before any words were said, you felt the tears returning. Something about this felt…final. And your intuition had hardly ever been wrong before. 

“YN, I’m so sorry. When I get frustrated I say things I don’t mean. I was really out of line earlier.”

“Thank you,” you whispered, unable to truly accept his apology.

He continued, “And you’re right. I shouldn’t have just assumed that all the rough stuff was okay. And I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

You waited a moment for him to continue speaking, but he didn’t. “Is that all you have to say?”

“I just…don’t know what else you want me to say.” You looked over to him. His head was hung low, like a child in trouble at school. Not like a man who was taking accountability for his actions.

“You really don’t get it, do you?”

“What?” he asked. 

You just stared at him for a moment, gathering the courage to ask your question.

“Did you talk to Lily like that?”

“Huh?” he echoed.

“Did you call her all those names? Degrade her?”

“Don’t ask me that.”

“Why not?”

“Because that’s…personal. I don’t think Lily would appreciate me talking about it.”

“She didn’t appreciate me being in your life, either. But look how that turned out,” you said, the malice lingering on every word. 

Your statement cut a little too deep for comfort. But Oscar finally relented, answering, “...I would, sometimes. She didn’t care for it. But I just…get frustrated a lot. It helps me get all that pent up energy out. Half the time I don’t even think about what I’m saying.”

You hummed. The implication of his words hung in the air; you were a relief for his frustration, a thoughtless passtime. 

When you didn’t respond, he got nervous. “Did I…hurt you?”

“Not physically, no,” you answered, your eyes never moving from the sight of the harbor in the distance. “But I don’t think you really care.”

“Of course I care.”

“No, you don’t.” Your lip quivered. You tried to swallow the tears that came up, but you couldn’t.

“No, don’t cry,” Oscar said, reaching out to embrace you, but you avoided him, getting up to lean on the railing. He followed you, this time not offering any comforting touch. 

“What the fuck are we doing, Oscar?” you said, barely able to get the words out. He grasped for words but wasn’t able to find them before the flood of emotions spilled from you. 

You began, “I used to think that the fabric of our lives was…like, sewn together. Like we were destined to always be in each other's lives. But ever since the breakup I’m so afraid that everyone who ever warned me about you was right. I feel like all these years you’ve just been using me, stringing me along so you could have someone there when things don’t work out. Like I’m just your backup plan. Like I’m not even good enough for you to treat me like a human being.”

“You really feel like I’m using you?” Oscar asked, his surprise horrifically genuine. “Was I just using you when I went out of my way to call you every week for 4 years when I was away in school, even during exams and races? When I got you this place because I wanted to live close to my best friend?” His tone went from gentle to frenzied—not angry, but desperate, like he couldn’t even fathom it. “I mean, YN, what, did you want me to cheat on my girlfriend with you?”

You looked up at him, and he realized again that he had messed up again.

“No, that’s not what I wanted. I’d never do that to Lily because you know it’s been done to me.”

“I know, and was I not there for you when you needed me?” In a way, Oscar was right. When you had broken things off with your unfaithful ex, Oscar was the first to your rescue, staying with you for days while you could barely even function. “YN, what else do you want from me?”

“I want you to be honest about what’s going on between us.”

“We’re…. hooking up, I don’t know.”

“Is that all I am to you, a hookup? A friend with benefits?” Your soft tears became full on sobs now. “Oscar, I am in love with you! You are the love of my life. And you can’t tell me that you haven’t known exactly how I felt, for years now.”

“Of course I knew,” he whispered. 

“Then why would you do this to me? Why would you take advantage of me like this?”

Oscar had started crying now, too. 

“I don’t know. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“This isn’t fair, Oscar.”

“I’m sorry.”

A thick silence fell over the balcony. You knew that the conversation should be over now. There was nothing else you needed to say. But you couldn’t stop yourself from continuing the pointless hurt. 

“Do you even love me?”

“Don’t—”

“Can you even look me in the fucking eyes and tell me that you don’t love me?”

“YN—” 

You didn’t even let him complete his sentence, instead walking back into your apartment and slamming our now cold mug into the sink. “Just go,” you said, your voice stern.

“YN, please—” Oscar said, following you inside the apartment. 

“Go!”

“You want the truth?” Oscar said, raising his voice to you for the first time since you’d ever known him. His eyes now flooded with tears, staining his cheeks. His hair was tousled, his under eye bags puffy and pronounced. He looked like a mess. 

“All I’ve ever wanted is the truth.”

“The truth,” he began, swallowing, his voice cracking as he spoke. “The truth is that I’ve been in love with you since we were sixteen.”

“No—”

“Yes, YN,” he said, his voice raising again.

“No, fuck you, Oscar, that’s not true!” You were both sobbing messes now. 

“Yes it is,” he begged, his voice ragged.

“Then why would you do this?”

“Because…” he paused, taking a deep breath and sniffling, trying to regain his composure. “Because we were best friends, and you lived with us, and I was so scared of fucking things up.”

“So you went and just found a girlfriend instead?”

“No, it…” he looked away from you and took a sharp exhale. “It wasn’t as simple as that. You…” He let out a frustrated sigh. “It was just…complicated. You were the girl who lived with us, like another sister, I mean, I couldn’t have feelings for you of all people. So I was so scared.”

He looked at the wall, scarating his neck, and continued. “And when I met Lily, it was all just…simple. Everyone liked her, she was nice, she’s smart. When I brought her home she fit right in, the fans loved her. She was everything I needed her to be, y’know?” He exhaled. 

His gaze fell to the floor and lingered as he continued. “I didn’t love her at first. I mean, I liked her, she was great, but it was more about just…filling a need, I guess. But I did fall in love with her later. I tried to love her with my whole heart, I really did. I thought that what I felt for you would just go away but obviously it didn’t. And then she fucking left me. As she should, honestly.”

Oscar nervously looked around the room until he could no longer avoid your piercing gaze, face frozen in disbelief.

“You’re horrible, Oscar.”

“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“You used me. You used Lily. And all of this from the very beginning was about… my family? I’m sorry you all had to take me in because no one else would. I’m sorry I didn’t go to a fancy boarding school in London. I’m sorry that my parents are two pieces of shit that didn't want to take care of me when I was a literal child.”

“It’s not that—”

“But it is. That’s what you said.”

“It’s not you, YN. I mean, it was, but we’re not kids anymore. I love you. It was just… awful circumstances.”

“And now? What’s your excuse? I cut off my parents. And Lily fucking left you. So why are you just using me now?”

“It’s just too much right now. The breakup, the championship…I know if I try, I’ll just fuck it up. I lost Lily, I can’t lose you too.”

“Why? Because then you’ll have no one to warm your bed when you’re sad?”

“You don’t know what it’s like to lose someone that you thought you’d spend the rest of your life with!”

“You’re right, I don’t. Because the person I want to spend the rest of my life with is you, Oscar. But you don’t want me. You never have. I’m your backup plan until something better comes along. That’s all I’ve ever been. I’m not good enough for you, you don’t love me. I don’t even know who you are any more.”

“You said I was the love of your life,” Oscar said, his voice lowered now. 

“You are. But I’m not yours. I don’t care what you say you feel. If you really love someone, you don’t treat them like that.”

“I’m so sorry. That’s all I can say.”

You let out a shaky breath, exhausted of all energy from the fighting. You didn’t even have it in you to be angry anymore. 

“We shouldn’t do this. We should just go our separate ways and be done with it.”

“No, YN—”

“You have a championship to focus on, don’t you?” you said. 

“You’re my best friend,” he said through his tears. “I need you.”

“I’ll finish out my employment contract through the end of the season. You can sell the apartment. I’ll pay back Mum for anything she had to spend on me when we were younger.”

“YN, please,” he begged. 

“Don’t, Oscar,” you said, your voice soft now. “Just let me go.”

“Can I kiss you?”

The correct answer should be no. You should have told him to get the fuck out of your apartment and never come back. But it was Oscar. 

You didn’t answer him, instead just walking up to him and embracing him, letting him hold you in his strong arms as his lips met yours one last time. His lips were salty with tears, but for once his touch was soft and gentle.

When you pulled away, he stayed close to you, pressing his forehead down to yours. “I love you,” he whispered.

“Go home. You’ve got a flight to catch in the morning.”

You could call in sick to the United States Grand Prix in Miami; Oscar could not. 

Well, theoretically, he could. God knows the reserve drivers would be happy to take his place and show off in front of the teams that were always scouring for new blood. But he couldn’t back down now. Not with a trophy looming so ominously over his head.

And especially not in Miami. Everyone hated Miami. Everyone except Lando, that is. 

And as Oscar mindlessly paced the paddock back and forth, praying to God that no journalists would pester him for an interview, he couldn’t escape the reminder of his teammate’s victory. 

“Well, things seem to be heating up here in Miami! The race continues between McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in this early battle for the World Driver’s Championship. Piastri is putting in a valiant effort, but who can forget Lando Norris’ first victory here last year? It’s incredible to see how far he has come in such a short amount of time—”

He really needed to stop walking past the commentator’s box. 

This is usually when Oscar would try to find you in the paddock, or send you a text from halfway across the world. But he couldn’t do that anymore; you hadn’t quite barred him from communication, but what could he say?

He just needed to focus. Perform. Drown himself in the work. That’s what he told himself as he made his way back to the McLaren garage, away from the prying eyes of the media and the haunting words of the commentators. That’s what he told himself as he slipped on a set of headphones and nodded along as his race engineer spoke, acting as if he was paying attention. 

That’s what he told himself as he climbed into the car, took a deep breath, and pressed his foot to the gas. 

Thousands of miles away, in Monaco, you were supposed to be having dinner. Actually, you were supposed to be in Miami, taking photos of Oscar in all his glory.

But you couldn’t face him. You couldn’t eat. You couldn’t even sleep.

In the corner of your living room sat a box with Oscar’s old stuff in it. You stared at it as if it had the eyes to stare back. Your hand mindlessly swirled your fork around your remaining food, now cold and mostly uneaten.

Why did this feel like a breakup?

You wanted to scream, but you’d already gotten noise complaints from the fight days prior. So instead, your apartment was deadly quiet. 

You sighed, moving to your bedroom and collapsing in the soft covers, having decided to give up and indulge yourself with a night of bed rotting. But even your bed felt empty. The sheets held a faint trace of Oscar’s scent. It would come out with a simple wash, but laundry was the furthest thing from your mind right now. 

You needed a distraction. You grabbed your phone and immediately went to social media to mindlessly scroll. 

But in your notifications was one you had nearly forgotten about: that message request from Lando. 

You opened it without even thinking, unfortunately sending the read receipt even though you weren’t in the mood to talk to anyone right now. 

Hey, not to be weird but do you know if anything’s going on with Oscar? He’s been acting odd recently.

You groaned in frustration. You couldn’t escape your best friend. 

The message was sent a while ago—when the pair were in Bahrain, actually. You should have just deleted it and acted as if you never saw it. But you felt horribly awkward leaving Lando on read. 

Yeah, he and Lily broke up :(

Was the frown really necessary? Should you say more? You didn’t have the energy to think, sending the message without much fanfare. You locked your phone and put it back on your nightstand. 

But only a few moments later, it buzzed. Another message from Lando.

But…Lando was in Miami? At the circuit? He should be driving, not texting you. You opened your phone and clicked on the notification. 

Damn, that’s rough. I thought they were endgame. You in the paddock?

You raised an eyebrow. Why would Lando Norris, of all people, want to know where you are?

No, I’m back in Monaco. 

Another nearly instant reply. Ah, I was hoping to make a cameo on Oscar’s Instagram haha. You’ll be at Imola though?

This whole interaction felt…weird.

I will! I’ll be sure to get some good team shots lol

You tried to match his energy with your reply, but you couldn’t shake the odd feeling that this wasn’t right. But as you finally did put your phone down and retire for the night, your mind kept racing, coming to wildly different conclusions.

Maybe Lando did want to be friends. Maybe, now that Lily was out of the picture, he felt more comfortable around you. Maybe he was just trying to smooth things over with Oscar in the championship battle. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

Or maybe you were so used to Oscar’s lying and manipulation that you couldn’t imagine someone talking to you just for the sake of friendship. 

You huffed to yourself as the thought crossed your mind. You pulled your blanket up and buried yourself in it, as if the thoughts were something physical you could hide from. You fell into a tense sleep.

Oscar couldn’t sleep, though. He could barely sleep back when he had you at his beck and call, let alone when you all weren’t speaking to each other.

How had he fucked up so badly? He brought his hands to his face and roughly exhaled. Like you, he had resigned himself to spend his night scrolling, until he too noticed an unanswered message. 

Except it wasn’t from Lando. It was from Lily. As if things couldn’t get any worse. 

She was brief and to the point.

I just wanted to let you know I’ll be at Imola for a company event. I doubt we’ll run into each other. Hope you and YN are well. 

Her words stung. The professionalism where there once was warmth and love. The perfectly petty dig at him and you, assuming that he had already moved on (though, she wasn’t exactly wrong). 

He wanted to throw his phone off his hotel room balcony. From the slight crack in the blinds, he could see palm trees, and the ocean far off in the distance. And he knew that back in Monaco, you’d be staring at the same moon, hearing the water in the distance as it lulled you to sleep. The miles between you during race weekends had always been numerous, but the distance wasn't—not until now, at least. 

He slammed his phone on the nightstand and took yet another sleeping pill. 

It was going to be a horrible week. 

And, unfortunately, the morning wasn’t much better. Another oh so friendly interaction with his teammate. 

“Hey, Oscar, wait up,” the Brit called, jogging to catch Oscar as they both entered the paddock. Oscar slowed his pace but didn’t stop, hopeful that this would be a clear sign that he wasn’t here for conversation.

When he did catch up, Oscar just gave Lando a small nod as a greeting. 

“Hey, I, uh, heard about you and Lily. I’m so sorry, mate.”

Oscar turned, making a confused and irritated face. “Who told you?”

“YN. Well, I asked her if you were okay.”

The Aussie made a small grumbling noise. 

“I was just worried, you know. You just seemed like you were going through some stuff. You know I’m always here if you need me, right?”

“I need to beat you,” Oscar said, but his words had no bite to them. There was no snappy anger anymore, just exhaustion. 

“Of course,” Lando said, smiling, as if he thought his teammate’s championship ambitions were nothing more than comic relief. “But for real, man, I’m sorry and I’m here for you.”

“Thanks,” Oscar said, though he didn’t really mean it. He just wanted to be alone.

In Monaco, you were breaking your first cardinal rule of a breakup (even a friendship breakup) and turning on your TV to watch Oscar drive. 

You had managed to go without watching the free practices and even quali, but you couldn’t bring yourself to not watch the Grand Prix. 

And it was good that you tuned in, because he won. 

You nearly threw your phone across the room when he finally passed the checkered flag. You had been practically holding your breath since he secured the lead in a masterfully timed pit stop mid race, beating out Max Verstappen to bring home his second win of the season. 

So, maybe he wouldn’t hate Miami as much anymore. 

Your phone—secured now on your nightstand to prevent any race-related breakage—loomed in the distance as you debated sending him a congrats text. It wasn’t like you all had gone through a true breakup; you weren’t even together. But you knew you couldn’t let yourself end up in his bed again. You knew that he was a broken man, and you couldn’t fix him. 

So your friendship had come to occupy this odd liminal space in which neither of you knew exactly where you stood. At some point, this would have to be discussed, but clearly neither of you had learned your lesson on healthy communication. 

You wanted to tell your best friend that you were proud of him. Was that such a bad thing?

It wouldn’t be, if you could ignore that voice now echoing in your mind.

Since when are her feelings my problem?

You nearly gagged at the thought. Yeah, you weren’t texting him.

And back in Miami, Oscar anxiously awaited a text that would never come. 

“Oscar, mate, quit staring at your phone and let’s celebrate!” Lando teased, patting his teammate on the back. 

Oscar just sighed, opening his phone again to find no messages from you. 

“She’s not coming back,” Lando said. “So either you get drunk enough to call her, or you get drunk enough to find someone to replace her. Either way, you’re getting drunk tonight.”

“Really, Lando?” 

“She destroyed a five year relationship over some stupid shit, and you just won another grand prix. So yes, I think you should get fucked up with me tonight!”

“Don’t talk about Lily like that, mate. And besides, I’m not even waiting on her.”

Lando raised an eyebrow. “Then who are you waiting on?”

Oscar’s defenses were wearing down, even while sober. “You know who.”

“And you still want me to believe that you two aren’t hooking up?”

“It’s…complicated.” 

“Spill.”

Under normal circumstances, Oscar was never the type to discuss his personal life at work, much less with his rival for the championship. But as the plan of going out was abandoned in favor of a nice bottle of Cuban rum ordered to the room, Oscar found himself spilling his secrets like a teenage girl at a sleepover.

“And then I just…” he hiccuped, “I told her everything. And she didn’t believe me, and I don’t blame her, but it fucking hurt, you know? And we were just screaming at each other, she said we should go our separate ways. What am I supposed to say to that? And I still haven’t heard from her, but her and Lily are gonna be at Imola. I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do.”

“Mate,” Lando said, slurring his words, “You fucked this up worse than I fucked up the championship last year.”

The two drivers laughed—otherwise, they’d have to cry at the peril poor Oscar had put himself in. 

But the time flew by, and soon enough Oscar found himself on a flight to Italy, which he secretly prayed would crash so that he could avoid this entire charade. 

Of course, on all your respective flights, the feeling was mutual; neither you, Oscar, nor Lily really wanted to be there. But duty called, and you were nothing if not professional. 

It was an odd place to be; on one hand, you loved this job. It was fun getting to explore the world with your best friend and get paid to take pictures and make silly videos. The electric atmosphere of the paddock was one that had always felt like home, like you belonged there.

On the other hand, every time you thought about seeing Oscar again, you wanted to puke. 

Thankfully, when you did inevitably see him again, your lunch did not resurface. You operated like a robot; no banter, no friendliness, just stark professionalism. 

And Oscar didn’t know what was worse; not having you there, or seeing you act like a stranger. 

The one silver lining, at least, was that Lily was nowhere to be found. He couldn’t handle those emotions too. 

So, again and again throughout the weekend, he repeated that manta to himself: Just focus on work. Just focus on work. 

He said it to himself one last time before he hopped in the car for qualifying. Just focus. 

But he just couldn't. From the seat of his car, the chaos of the pit lane and the gaggles of photographers were just blurs, unidentifiable blobs. I had always comforted him to think that one of those was you, watching him. Now it was haunting. 

And somewhere, buried away in the paddock, Lily was there. Oscar could imagine it; her polished and professional demeanor, almost perfect, as she schmoozed up to that one executive from the company that he swore always had a thing for her. 

He wanted to scream. Instead, he had to pull the car into the garage as the session was stopped due to an accident. It was raining heavily. Extra caution was advised, his engineer explained, but Oscar couldn’t focus. Not because of his thoughts—although, those certainly didn’t help—but rather because of what he saw across the garage.

You were chatting with Lando. 

“Hey, YN!” Lando greeted as he hopped out of his car, seeing you in the back of the garage taking photos. “It’s nice to see you.”

“You too,” you said, though it wasn’t particularly true. 

“Looks like we’re going to be a while,” he said looking over his shoulder at the storm brewing in the distance, “want to walk the paddock with me and get some candids?” 

“Sure,” you agreed, though the request confused you. 

The two of you left the garage and Oscar felt like punching the wall. 

At first you walked in silence, your only emitted sound being the soft click of your camera. It was kind of pointless, though, since you were supposed to be getting shots of Oscar. You knew this. Lando knew this too.

“Can I ask you something, Lando?”

“Yeah?”

“Is there any reason that you’ve been pretty…friendly lately?” you asked, controlling your tone so it came off as genuinely curious rather than suspicious.

“Honestly,” he laughed, scratching the back of his neck with nervousness, “I felt really bad about everything that happened on the trip. I was afraid I might’ve scared you off.”

Well, that didn’t make much sense. Lando was the one who had been avoiding you since the trip. But, after dealing with Oscar, you had simply accepted that men in general made no sense. 

“You didn’t,” you said. “And, I mean, the only reason we ended up like that is because Lily was trying to get rid of me. But, you see how that worked out.” 

“Really? She didn’t have the balls to tell you to leave her man alone?”

“Not until after you left,” you said, exhaling in exhaustion.

“Damn,” he said, looking away from you. You snapped a few photos of his candid side profile, admiring how the light hit his curls just right. “You know, the only reason I ran off in the club that night like that was because I didn’t want to get involved in all that? I mean, I wasn’t about to steal Oscar’s side chick.” He laughed.  “But from what I hear, things have changed?”

You laughed. “Oscar’s side chick?”

Lando raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t sleeping together?”

“Why do you want to know?” you laughed. Was Lando…flirting with you? No. He couldn’t be. He was Lando Norris, the most notorious playboy of the 2025 grid. 

“Aw, c’mon. I want to know the drama!” he teased, flashing his boyish smile. 

“Well, what if I want to know your drama?” you teased back, taking the opportunity to snap a few photos of him as you continued walking. 

“Psh, I’ve got no drama. Just keeping to myself, trying to win.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“You’re avoiding the question, YN,” he said, smirking. Holy shit, he was flirting with you. But did you really mind? It felt nice to have that playful banter, to see a man who wanted that back and forth more than he just wanted your body. What was wrong with having a little fun?

You sighed and told him the most technical version of the truth. “Oscar never cheated. But you really thought I was sleeping with Oscar and you didn’t say anything to Lily?”

“Wasn’t my business. Besides, I thought it was pretty obvious.” His comment left a bit of a sour taste in your mouth, especially knowing the fears that Lily had confessed to you so long ago.

“No, I wouldn’t do that to Lily,” you said, and it was true. After all, you were both women. 

“And what about Oscar?”

You rolled your eyes. Having a nice conversation with Lando helped you remember how not nice your time with Oscar had been recently. “Oh, fuck him,” you said weakly. 

“Well, did you?”

You paused, unsure of whether or not to confess. “I already told you that he didn’t cheat. Is what, or who, I do in my spare time really any of your business?” you playfully teased.

His lips curled upwards. “I like to know what I’m getting myself into.”

The double entendre wasn't missed on you. You glanced over your shoulder, scanning the crowds to ensure that no one was paying too close attention. “You don’t have to worry about me and Oscar. But you know I run his social media, right? So I see all the gossip pages, all the shit you get yourself into. It’s a bold claim to say you’ve got no drama.”

“Oh, darling, they don’t even know the half of it,” he smirked. You all had turned around by now, walking back in the direction of the paddock. The crows were thinner now. 

He continued, “But what about you, huh? You’re all bored with Oscar and now you want some real fun?” He let out a small laugh. “No, you’re not like that. Too much of a good girl.”

“You think I’m too good? I’m here flirting with my best friend’s rival for the championship.”

“Are we flirting, is that was this is?” he asked, as if he didn’t know exactly what he was doing. “I thought we were just having a pleasant conversation, catching up on the gossip.” Unbeknownst to you, Lando had gotten all the gossip from Oscar after their drunken celebration in Miami. But he wanted to see exactly how much you’d reveal to him. 

“Well, sure then. I’m sure you get tired of race talk all day, anyway.”

“You say that like you think race talk is boring. But I’ve seen you at enough races to know better. Don’t play coy, you love it, don’t you? You know more about racing than most of the drivers’ girlfriends.” 

It kind of unnerved you, the way Lando knew exactly how to push your buttons. The subtle you’re not like the other girls implication; both you knew it wasn’t a compliment, but rather a statement meant to rile you up and see how you’d react. And it worked.

Your voice lowered, steady yet quieter. “It’s a bit sexist to assume that women don’t know anything about racing. And knowing more about racing doesn’t make me any better than anyone else.”

“I never said that, love.”

“Hmm, but you thought it.” 

“Are you in my head now?” You playfully rolled your eyes. “So tell me about all the race talk between you and Oscar.”

“Is that a euphemism for something?” you chuckled.

“D’you want it to be?” he smirked. “No, no, really. Tell me what groundbreaking F1 opinions are inside that pretty little head of yours.” Yeah, he was definitely flirting with you. 

“I’ve got nothing groundbreaking,” you said as your smile loosened, contemplating how you wanted to arrange your words. “I think Oscar has a good shot at winning the WDC this year, if he can get out of his own head.”

“And what about me?”

“I think you’ll give him a run for his money. But you care too much about what random people on the internet think,” you said, ending the statement with that on the nose jest.

“You’re probably right,” he smiled. “God, you sounded like my PR manager for a sec there.”

“Not exactly dirty talk, is it?” you joked.

You arrived back at the McLaren garage. Lando walked in first, seeing that Oscar’s back was to you, and positioned himself so that when Oscar looked around, he’d see him instead of you. You were none the wiser. 

He leaned down to whisper in your ear. “You still haven’t answered my question. How was he?” Lando’s face was plastered with a mischievous grin. 

You playfully hit his shoulder. “Don’t ask me that!” you cooed, though you didn’t mind his closeness, the warmth of his breath on your ear. 

Oscar didn’t like it, though. And when he turned around and saw your back to him, Lando leaned down next to you, and smirking, he wanted to run him over with his car. 

Lando looked up for only a split second, but his eyes met Oscar’s, as if to acknowledge what he was doing. Or, as if to say, yes, I’m doing this, and you can’t stop me. 

Oscar couldn’t handle the audacity of watching Lando flirt with you in front of his own eyes. Thankfully, you were tapped on the shoulder by none other than the new guy, who had broken his extremely expensive camera, and you were called away to help him figure it out. 

Oscar crossed the garage to face Lando, never breaking his line of sight. 

“Oh hey, mate, what’s up?” Lando asked, innocently.

“Why are you talking to YN?”

“Oh, she wanted to take some photos—”

“Don’t talk to YN,” Oscar said, his voice plain but stern. 

“Mate, we were just having a chat. It wasn’t like that. Don’t be so paranoid.”

“I’m serious,” Oscar reiterated. “Don’t cross that line, Lando.”

“Okay, my bad,” Lando said, nervously laughing and carelessly throwing his hands in the air. Oscar still wouldn’t shift his gaze, even as both drivers were called to get back in their cars to resume the qualifying session. 

There was something up about Lando, he could tell. But it’d have to wait. Now, he had a pole to get. 

Well, he tried, but only managed to come in fourth. Lando got pole. Of fucking course. 

Another sleepless night passed with no messages from you. 

And the next morning, there you were as usual, staring at him only through the eye of your camera lens. 

But then, across the garage, you had no problem chatting it up with Lando. He threw you a glimpse of his award winning smirk and Oscar felt violent. He didn’t like this. Not one bit. 

You were doing it to spite him, that was obvious. You’d never be interested in a guy like Lando; too much of a playboy. And honestly, Oscar knew deep down that he deserved this. But it still made him sick to his stomach. 

The feeling only dissipated when it was replaced by that primitive need within him to win. The lights before him went out and reason gave way to instinct. 

Lando bottled the pole, losing the lead to Max after the first corner. Oscar fell back one place, narrowly avoiding a collision between Charles and Lewis, before overtaking them as they struggled to reorient their cars. 

So it was just him, Max, and Lando. He could do this. 

His body moved automatically. He could hear the roar of the engines, the chattering of the radio, and the screaming of the fans in the distance, but in his mind all was quiet. Laps blurred as he sped along the track, pushing inch by inch closer to overtaking Max. 

Eventually he did, getting DRS and flying past the Redbull driver, pushing hard to get a good lead over him. 

All that was left now was his own teammate. 

“Okay Oscar, you’ve got enough space between you and Verstappen,” his race engineer said.

“I want to overtake.”

“A 1-2 is our goal right now—”

“Then he can be 2nd. I want to win.”

Silence befell the radio channel for a moment. 

His engineer returned. “Okay. Papaya rules.”

Papaya rules. The phrase that haunted his dreams. 

There was really no need to use the coded language anymore. The world knew what it meant—race, but keep it clean. Put the team above yourself. Don’t do anything reckless. 

But Oscar was sick of being the good teammate, the one who always let Lando win for the sake of the team. He was tired of being gifted wins. Team orders were bullshit. This wasn’t about McLaren anymore. This was about his pride. This was everything. 

So he pushed harder than he should have. He was wearing his tires out, he knew, but Lando just coasted along, as if nothing was amiss. As if his teammate wasn’t out for blood and gaining on him with every lap. 

Lando glanced in his mirrors and saw Oscar behind him. 

“Oscar’s getting close,” he said to his engineer. 

“We told him papaya rules. Remember, our goal here is a 1-2.”

“He’s gonna wear out his tires.”

“Let’s just focus on keeping P1.”

But Lando knew it wasn’t that simple. This was no longer impersonal racing, just the best of the best competing against each other because it was in their nature to do so. 

No, this was personal now. 

Lando rounded the corner, feeling Oscar hot on his heels, but managed to defend his position. He knew that with DRS enabled at the next stretch, he wouldn’t be able to hold him off. 

But in front of him, he was already close to lapping the backmarkers of the grid.

Oscar could see them in the distance; the familiar teal of Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin, and an even more familiar fumble as he drove erratically due to some mechanical issue with the car. 

Lando slowed down, but Oscar couldn’t react. He swerved, hitting the barrier. 

Back in the garage, the breath left your lungs. 

You couldn’t resist the temptation of watching. You’d slid the headset on after Oscar had driven off, and you’d planned to leave before he got back to the garage and discovered that you’d ever been there. No harm, no foul. The allure of the purring engines and adrenaline-fueled racing was just too much to resist.

But now, hearing the violent scrape of carbon fiber against metal as Oscar’s car screeched along the barriers, your heart sunk into your chest. 

“Are you alright, Oscar?” you heard his race engineer ask, his voice filling your ears. 

But the silence afterwards was deafening. 

“Oscar, can you hear us? Are you alright?” 

All that came through was a metallic gargle of noise, a sign that the radio had been damaged in the impact. There was no way to know if Oscar was hurt or not.

A hush fell on the track as the safety car was brought out. Lando had effectively secured his win, with so few laps remaining. 

Your eyes were glued to the screen, praying to whatever God would listen that Oscar would be okay. You watched as the marshalls rushed to the site of the car, huddling around the lump of broken parts that stood still on the sidelines. 

Because of the force of the crash, the medical car had been deployed as well. You were frozen in place.

You had never been much of a believer in God, but all you could do now was beg.

Please, God. Please let him be okay. If he’s okay I can forgive everything he’s ever done. If he’s okay I will never let him out of my life ever again. Please, God, please let him be safe. 

You chanted the prayer over and over again to yourself as the seconds ticked by like hours. 

Finally, after an agonizingly long wait, you saw the marshalls carrying along an orange-clad form into the medical car. 

You didn’t even think. You just reacted, taking off your headset and booking it towards the medical tent. 

You weren’t the only one there, though. The tent was already swarmed with media, all craning their necks to see Oscar. You pushed your way through to the front, only to be stopped by security, since you had your media pass instead of your usual VIP pass as one of Oscar’s friends. 

You panicked—to the eyes of security, you were just another reporter who was rudely trying to cut through the crowd to get to the injured driver.

“Please let me by,” you pleaded. “I know Oscar—”

“You can wait at the media tent.”

“C’mon—”

“Ma’am, we need you to leave.” You groaned, and you were about to leave before you heard the voice of your savior from out of nowhere. 

“Hey!” he called. You turned your head to see who it was—the familiar, friendly face of Zak Brown. 

He was on the other side of the barrier, but Oscar was still nowhere to be found. 

“Oh, YN, am I glad to see you!” He turned to the security officer. “Let her in.”

“Sir, media personnel are not authorized—”

“She’s VIP, not media.”

“Sir—”

“Do you know who I am?” he said, an unusual sternness in his tone. The security officer glanced down at his pass and silently let you through. 

“I’ve always wanted to do that,” Zak said, his boyish grin returning as he patted you on the back and led you along to the private area where they’d be bringing Oscar any second now. 

You sighed as he pulled the medical curtain closed. 

“Boy, was that a nasty crash,” he said.

“Is he okay?”

“Well, he’s alive. That’s as far as I know.”

Your heart sank again. But as if on cue, you heard the rumble of camera shutters and reporters chattering outside the tent as the marshals escorted Oscar into the tent. When he came up, the room was flooded with medical personnel, pushing you and Zak back to the edge of the curtained-off room. 

A nurse rushed in. “Who’s his emergency contact?” she asked Zak.

“Her,” he said, gesturing to you. You were confused. Since when had Oscar made you his emergency contact? 

“Stay here,” the nurse instructed, but even if you wanted to, you couldn’t move an inch. You resumed your prayers as Zak blabbered on and on, mainly to himself. One thing that you’d learned very quickly about Zak Brown once Oscar had gotten to McLaren is that he really liked to yap. 

As the doctors and nurses filtered in and out of the room, you caught a brief glimpse of Oscar in the hospital bed, his eyes rolled back into his head, slumped over into his shoulder. 

You wanted to wail. 

But it was only a few minutes before everyone began to filter out of the room, creating enough space for you to finally see your friend. And when you did lay eyes on him, it wasn’t nearly as bad as you feared. 

His eyes were closed; an attempt to rest, rather than a state of unconsciousness. 

A nurse at his bedside turned to you. “Don’t worry. He’s going to be fine. We’re going to sedate him and transport him to a hospital, but he’s not gravely injured. He just needs some tests done that we can’t do here.”

You nodded along, not once taking your eyes off Oscar. 

“And, yes, you are his emergency contact, so we’ll need you to come with us. He’s authorized you to make decisions in the event that he's unable to. But that is unlikely, of course.”

“Is he…?” you asked, gesturing towards him. 

“He’s still a little shaken up. The best thing right now is to get him into a calmer environment.”

You nodded. “I’ll make sure that new guy doesn’t lose all your stuff,” Zak quipped, and you threw a smile out towards him. “I’ll meet you all there when we’ve wrapped up here.”

Ah yes, the grand prix was likely still going on outside, and Lando would have to climb the podium and take his P1 trophy home. 

But as you sat in a hospital room in Italy next to your best friend, the podium was the last thing on your mind. 

Oscar was still completely out of it. The doctors had come and gone, confirming that all of his tests had come back normal. No broken bones, no concussion, nothing major. Just a shit ton of bruises and a shock to the system that left him too exhausted to stay awake for more than 15 minutes at a time.

Outside, the sun was setting, but you couldn’t sit still. You held Oscar’s limp hand in your own, tracing patterns into the cold skin. You hadn’t held his hand since you were kids—no, Oscar had held your hands above your head as he pinned you to the wall only weeks ago. 

You flung the memory away. Now wasn’t the time. Besides, you promise you’d forgive all that. 

Either way, you couldn’t focus on that now. Oscar’s eyelashes were fluttering open, his eyes squinting at the fluorescent light above him. 

“Osc!” you said, truthfully too energetic for the occasion. You dropped his hand, got up, and turned off the overhead light, leaving only the swiftly fading daylight from outside the window to illuminate the room. 

He groaned as you sat back down, but still mumbled a small thanks. 

“Where am I?” he asked, bringing his hand up to rub his eyes.

“A hospital in Imola.” 

“Shit,” he sighed. 

“Yeah. You had a pretty bad crash.”

“I remember that,” he said, his throat dry and cracked. He took a sip of water. “Lando brake checked me.”

“Is that what happened? I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Yeah. Fucker,” he cursed, his voice dripping with contempt. You didn’t know what to say. 

“How are you feeling?” you finally said, tired of the lingering tension. 

“Awful. Everything hurts.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m just glad you’re here,” he said, reaching for his call button to request painkillers. “I’ve missed you.”

It was bold, doing this when he knew you couldn’t exactly be cruel to him. So, instead, you were honest. 

“I’ve missed you too. I’m just glad you’re okay,” you said, reaching forward to smooth his hair away from his sweat-stained forehead. Your touch felt better than any painkiller. “We were really scared.”

“Nah, you’re not getting rid of me anytime soon,” he joked as the nurse arrived and wordlessly administered his meds. He let out a sigh as he felt the painkillers enter his system. “I run on pure spite. A little wall isn’t gonna take me out.”

You gave him a small smile. “You didn’t say anything after the crash,” you said, your voice just a quivering whisper, giving away the true depths of your fear.

“I had the wind knocked out of me. And then, everything just went black, I was fading in and out.”

“I was praying you’d be okay. It was so scary.”

“Hey, I’m okay. A little busted up, but I wasn't exactly a looker anyway, huh?” he joked, a feeble attempt to make you laugh. You sniffled and smiled.

He continued, “Can I use my near-death experience as an excuse for us to make up?”

Your smile dropped and you bit your lip.  “Osc…”

“I just want my friend back,” he said, cutting you off. “Look, I can’t be the boyfriend you deserve. Not right now, at least. And I think, after all the shit I did, you wouldn’t want me to anyway. But I miss my friend.”

“I miss my friend, too.” 

Your heart to heart was interrupted by a knock at the door. The same nurse from before poked her head in. “Excuse me?” she asked in an Italian accent, and you looked up. “There is a visitor asking to be let in. She said her name is Lily?”

You couldn’t help the face you made. What on God’s green Earth was Lily doing in Imola?

“Um, yeah, let her in,” Oscar said. He didn’t react, though you scooted away and sat at the edge of your seat, ready to leave at any second. “Stay,” he whispered to you, and you did. 

A few moments later, you saw her walk in, and the atmosphere was thick. 

“Hi Oscar,” she exhaled, grateful to see him okay. He greeted her back, but she didn’t even look at you. You got up to give them a moment, but Oscar reached out and grabbed your wrist. “Don’t go,” he said, and the look in his eyes was impossible to refuse. You tentatively sat back down. 

“How are you feeling?” Lily asked, and the two exchanged pleasant conversation back and forth. You wanted nothing more than to jump out of the window that now showed the sunset over the trees. Normal visiting hours would be ending soon. 

“Well, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay,” she said, getting up to leave. “I’m glad you’re doing well. You too, YN,” she added on the end, but you didn’t believe it. You gave her a flat but polite smile. 

“Actually, YN, could we have a word?” she asked, cocking her head in the direction of the hallway. 

The look on Oscar’s face told you that this was a horrible idea. But one of you was confined to a hospital bed, and the other wasn’t. You ignored him and followed Lily into the deserted hallway.

She turned to you, voice full of venom. “How long have you been sleeping with Oscar?”

“What?”

“You heard me,” she said, plain as day. 

“I’ve told you before, Oscar never cheated on you.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

You turned your head in confusion. “What are you getting at?”

Lily angrily sighed. “You think that you can just waltz around the paddock talking shit about me with Lando, and that I’m not going to hear about it?”

Had Lily been at the paddock? Or even worse: had she somehow heard you?

“Well, if you actually heard my conversation with Lando, you’ll know that I stood up for you.”

“I thought you were a girl’s girl,” she said, deflecting from your defense.

“I am.”

“Then why were you in bed with my boyfriend 4 days after we broke up?”

“Your ex boyfriend,” you said, meeting her level of venom. “You left him.”

“I just thought, after all that talk, you’d have the decency not to prove me right.”

“Lily, I was honest with you. If you’re mad at Oscar, don’t take it out on me. He’s the one who suggested it. I told him it was a bad idea.”

“But you did it anyway.”

“And I felt horrible about it. So I stopped.” Your voice was sharp. “Who told you any of this?”

“It doesn't matter. I hope you’re happy.”

“I hope you are, too. Genuinely.” You lacked the words to say what you really wanted to. He treats both of us like shit. He used us. I am not your enemy. She wouldn’t want to hear it anyway. She wordlessly walked away, scoffing and mumbling to herself. 

You didn’t say anything either as you walked back into the hospital room and slumped in the chair.

“I’m guessing that didn’t go well?” Oscar said.

“Nope.”

“Well, we were in the middle of something…”

Oh, right. The conversation where Oscar was trying to get back in your pants. 

“I’m not going to fuck you, Oscar.” 

“I’m not asking you to.”

“We can let anything lead to that. Not again.”

“I understand,” he said. “I just want my friend back in my life. Like all of that never happened.”

“Could we even do that?” you asked. It felt like a line had been crossed, moving your friendship in a way that couldn’t be undone. 

“I promise. And I know my word doesn’t mean much, but really, I promise. Never again.”

Haven't you promised that you’d forgive him?

“Okay,” you said, “Okay.”

Oscar smiled at you, showing off his bunny teeth. You still loved him. You couldn’t help it. But true to form, you could never stay away.

“Oh, and by the way, congrats on Miami.”

You fell asleep in the chair, having refused to leave Oscar’s side. He’d be discharged in the morning to make his flight back to Monaco, though it was questionable whether or not he’d be able to race in the iconic Grand Prix. 

True to his word, though, Oscar got one final set of visitors in the dead of night.

The first was Zak Brown. 

“Oscar!” Zak yelled, before Oscar shushed and pointed to your sleeping form. You stirred but didn’t fully wake, and Zak placed his hand over his mouth and raised his eyebrows as Oscar let out a quiet laugh.

“Hey Zak,” he said, his voice hushed.

“Glad to see you’re doing better.”

“Yeah, I made it,” he mused. “Hey, what did the FIA say?” Oscar’s phone had died since you had fallen asleep, and his charger had been left at the track.

Thankfully, Zak had brought his (and your) belongings, and he placed the bag at the foot of the hospital bed. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, the penalty, from the crash?”

“No one got a penalty.”

“But, Lando brake checked me.”

“Lando barely avoided a crash with Stroll.”

“I know, but he didn’t swerve, he slowed down. He had room to swerve, I didn’t. How did no one get a penalty?”

“That's just racing.”

“He intentionally slowed down to stop me!”

“Oscar, I highly doubt that that’s what happened. It was a crowded track, and you all had to react in a split second. These things happen, you know this.” 

Oscar wasn’t at all pleased with this answer, and it was worsened by the appearance of his second visitor: Lando himself.

“Ah, there’s our grand prix winner!” Zak said, giving him a hearty pat on the back. 

Lando smiled, and Oscar wanted to throw up. 

“Had to bring it home for the team,” he said, smiling at Zak. “You doing alright, mate?” he asked. 

Oscar was already tired of people asking him how he was feeling. “I’m fine,” he said.

“Lando gave Stroll an earful after the race.”

“Oh yeah, probably getting fined for that one…”

“Why? I didn’t crash because of Stroll. You brake checked me.” The pain was making Oscar more irritable. He’d need another dose of meds soon. 

“No, Stroll was driving like an idiot out there, I had to slow down.”

“No, you had to move. You’re not stupid. You just didn’t want me to overtake, didn’t you?”

“Okay, boys, let’s save this for the track,” Zak interjected. Oscar just grumbled. “I’ll meet you outside, yeah?” he said to Lando, who nodded but stayed behind. 

The Brit glanced at you, still fast asleep in the chair by Oscar’s bedside. “D’you tire out your babysitter?” he smiled. 

But Oscar was relentless. “Don’t talk about her.”

“I thought you all weren’t on speaking terms?” 

“Lando, mind your business.”

“I don’t know what your problem is, mate.”

“You think I don’t know what you’re up to.”

“I’m not up to anything. I’m just trying to be a good teammate. Jesus, Osc, they should check that you didn’t hit your head too hard, you’re so paranoid.”

Truthfully, Oscar was bluffing. He had a horrible feeling about his teammate, but no evidence to back it up. But his intuition was hardly ever wrong. 

“I ran into Lily after you left,” Lando said. “I hope you don’t mind, but I told her you were here.” His tone of voice was so gentle that Oscar began to wonder if maybe he was being too paranoid.

“Yeah, she came by earlier.” 

Lando’s eyes glanced back to your sleeping form, and Oscar felt his anger rise again. He didn’t even want Lando to look in your direction, let alone be speaking to you. 

“Your heart rate is up,” Lando said, gesturing to the monitor that now showed the physical effects of Oscar’s anger.

“Look, Lando,” Oscar said, shifting to sit up in bed. “Stop acting like we’re friends. Stop talking to YN, stop trying to play this buddy-buddy game. We’re here to beat each other.”

“I was just trying to be kind, but I guess if you really don’t want to be friends, I can’t make you.”

“I’m serious. Leave YN alone. Don’t even go there.”

“She’s an adult.”

“And she’s mine.”

Lando laughed. “Seriously? That’s not exactly what she told me.”

The monitor beeped again as Oscar’s heart rate continued to rise. “I don’t care what she told you.”

“You can’t tell me what to do.” 

“Try it. See what happens.”

A nurse gently knocked on the door, and Oscar was grateful for the distraction and relief of pain meds. 

“Well,” Lando said, leaning on the door, “I guess I’ll see you all in Monaco.”

[fairytaleendingss]

Room for One More?

Chapter 9

Summary: Secrets are revealed on New Years Eve.

CW: Alcohol consumption, sexual references, mention of cigarettes, swearing, lots of drama.

Pairing: Poly!Marauders x fem!reader

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8

--

"YOU SLEPT WITH SIRIUS?!"

"Shh! Mary keep your voice down," you uttered, looking around to see how many of your coworker's heads had swivelled towards you in response to Mary's loud exclamation.

"Sorry," she grimaced. "I'm just.. I'm in shock."

You sighed and leaned back where you were perched on the corner of her desk. "I think I am a bit as well."

There was a pause.

"Well, was it good?"

"Mary! Oh my god!" you groaned and threw a hand over your face to hide your mortification.

"What? I'm just asking. I can't say that I haven't imagined it once or twice myself-"

You slapped her gently across the shoulder with the back of your hand. "You're distrubed. You know that?"

She smirked. "You know you love me."

You rolled your eyes affectionately at your friend. "Anyway, we'd been drinking and it was Christmas and we were having such a wonderful time. I think we just got swept up in it all and now I don't know what to do. Things have been kind of... weird between us."

"Well have you guys talked about it?" Mary inquired.

"That's the thing. Afterwards he just kind of moved on like it never happened. I don't know if he thinks it was a mistake or something but it's stressing me out."

"Hmm," a thoughtful look crossed Mary's face as she took everything in. "Well how are you feeling about it? Do you think it was a mistake?"

You bit the inside of your cheek. "No? I-I don't think so. I dont know."

A look of realisation washed over Mary's face. "Do you like him??"

"I mean, of course I like him. I'm just not sure I like like him."

Your friend sighed exasperatedly. "Oh my god! We're not in Primary School, just answer the damn question!"

"Fine! I guess the answer is... yes?" you sighed. "But whatever! Does it even make a difference? He's made it exceptionally clear that he doesn't feel the same way."

"Look," Mary huffed, her expression growing sincere. "Sirius is great. He's fun and friendly and a total flirt but he's also been known to be a little emotionally constipated. Just be honest with him. Talk to him about it. He's not going to be able to pick up on any signals you're trying to send him."

You squeezed your eyes shut and let out a breath throught your nose. "Ugh fine."

"Good girl," Mary smiled. "Now go away. I actually have some work to get done today."

"Oh fine. I suppose I know when I'm not wanted," you teased, getting up and walking back towards your desk.

"Love you!" Mary called lightheartedly as you walked away.

"Yeah, yeah," you joked in response.

As you arrived back at your desk and slumped down in your chair, prepared to get back to work, a head peaked down at you over the cubical.

"Oh, you're back, I see."

You jumped slightly at the unexpected voice and looked up to see its perpertrator.

"Yes, Glenn. Hi. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Glenn was a new employee in your office and he sat in the cubical opposite yours. He was only a few years older than you and he was tall and fit with short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. In the few weeks you'd known him for, he'd been particularly friendly towards you and recently you'd been getting the idea that he had taken a liking to you.

You weren't interested of course. He was an attractive guy but not really your type. And with everything going on with Sirius over the last week, you'd been making a effort to put some distance between you. You definitely weren't looking for anything of that nature right now and you didn't want to give him the wrong impression. However, Glenn was nothing if not persistant.

"Actually, I was just wondering if you had any plans for new years tonight? A few of my mates are throwing a party and you're welcome to join us if you're interested."

You sent him you're most empathetic smile. "That sounds lovely but unfortunately I already have some plans with my friends."

He sighed, flashing you a grin that looked suspiciously rehearsed. "Oh well. No problem. It was worth a shot. You have fun tonight."

"You too, Glenn."

As the man dissapeared back over the divider, you let out a heafty sigh. Tonight was surely going to be interesting.

--

The view was impeccable from the bar where your friends had gathered to spend New Years. In fact, seated beside a huge floor to ceiling window, you suspected you'd have a clear view of the New Years fireworks.

It was a classy joint, one that Dorcas had managed to get you access to through one of her fancy lawyer contacts.

Everyone was assembled on stools around a table, looking out over the London skyline. It was about four hours until midnight and the group was chatting excitedly in the lead up.

"I've got shots!" Mary called out and everyone cheered as she returned to the table with a tray.

She passed the drinks around and then took her seat beside you.

"Well, I suggest a toast!" James called out, grabbing the attention of the group. "To a wonderful year ahead, and many more memories with old, and new, friends!"

He emphasised the last line with a pointed look in your direction and you felt your cheeks growing hot.

"Cheers!" Marlene shouted enthusiastically and the others echoed her sentiments, clinking glasses and swallowing their drinks.

The burning of the liquor was welcomed as the drink ran down your throat. You'd been thinking a lot about what Mary had said to you in regards to your situation with Sirius. And as he sat beside you, laughing animatedly at one of Peter's stories, it only confirmed your worst fears. Maybe you were starting to develop feelings for your roommate. You grimaced at the thought. Things were bound to get messy in situations like this.

"So guys," Sybil piped up from across the table. "Let's all go around and say our New Years resolutions."

"Oh, I'll go first!" James volunteered. "I hope my team continues to play a great season annnddd... I want to work out more."

There was a collective groan.

"Come on, James. That's not a real one!" Mary complained.

Sirius chuckled, taking a pointed sip of his drink. "Yeah! You already work out like 7 times a day!"

"Ugh, okay fine!" James responded with groan. He thought for a moment. "How about this one. I'd like to fall in love this year."

You didn't miss the way his eyes flickered across the table towards Lily and you felt your heart sink. Lily seemed to take notice a well as she averted her eyes, taking a heafty gulp of the drink in her hand.

"Aww, James. Always the romantic, aren't you?" Marlene chuckled.

"Shut up." James rolled his eyes playfully. "Your turn then, Marls."

"Okay," She took a deep breath. "My goal this year is to become super rich and famous and sucessful."

"I second that!" Mary called across the table and you giggled as they clinked their glasses.

"Y/n. Your turn," Dorcas announced.

"Oh okay, um..." you thought for a moment, your gaze flashing to James and Remus across the table, then over to Sirius, who was watching you expectanly, a playlful glimmer in his stormy eyes.

You then looked back towards the rest of the group. "This year, I'd like to spend some more time with you lovely people."

A round of cooing echoed across the table and Mary threw her arms around you.

"Well aren't you just the sweetest!"

"Oh, and I'd like to work more on my novel," you added.

"Alright, alright. Sirius, you're up!" Marlene chimed.

The boy beside you pursed his lips, looking off into the distance as if deep in thought. Then, after a long moment, he turned back to all of you with a mischievous smirk on his lips.

"This year, I want to have lots of amazing sex!"

"Ew. Sirius, you're so foul," Lily exclaimed, followed by a symphany of similar sentiments from the other members of the group.

While everyone else was distracted, grumbling and groaning about Sirius' bluntness, the man leaned down towards you.

"You look great tonight, by the way." He whispered into your hair.

You gulped thickly, not quite sure what to do with yourself. You opted for downing the remainder of your Vodka, Lime and Soda.

--

As the evening drew on, you found yourself growing more anxious in Sirius' presence. You weren't quite sure what his game was, whether it was the alcohol or he was just feeling extra bold tonight, but he'd been suspiciously flirtatious.

You didn't know how to respond. Part of you wanted to let him. To let him woo you and go crawling back for more of what you'd had together on Christmas Night. However, the other, more logical part of you, told you that was a terrible idea. He was your roommate afterall. The last thing you wanted was to start some complicated friends-with-benefits situation with a guy you lived with, especially one that you had sort of, maybe, possibly had caught feelings for.

You downed another drink, feeling the alcohol grip you and hoped it would help to ease the nerves ever so slightly. You realised then, that you were staring.

Sirius had gone to the bar to order another round of drinks and you'd been watching with bated breath as he sent his signature smile to a girl wearing an explicitly tight black dress. You noticed the way she leaned forward, pressing her cleavage up against the bar as she spoke to him. God, could she be anymore obvious?

"Calm the hell down, y/n!" You thought to yourself. "It's not like you guys are together. He can flirt with whoever he wants."

"Hey, are you okay?" you raked your eyes away from the scene as a voice came from beside you.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," You muttered absently, too distracted to notice that it was Remus who asked the question.

"Okay, never have I ever... made out with more than one person on the same night!" Mary's voice rang out and you forced your attention back to the group.

You weren't sure when this game had begun but you suspected it was suggested by one of the girls (likely Mary or Marlene) as a way to pass the final hour until midnight. You hadn't participated in this game since probably highschool, but you were all a few drinks in at this point so you figured, what the hell?

You watched as Marlene, James and Dorcas all took a sip. Then Lily sent Mary a pointed look.

"Come on, Mary. That's not how the game works. You have to say something you haven't done."

"I haven't!" Mary responded. Then she paused. "Oh wait, yeah I definitely have."

Everyone chuckled as she took a drink.

"Alright! Dorcas! Your turn." Mary nudged the girl in the side.

Dorcas rolled her eyes. "For the record, I just want to say, I think this game is stupid."

"Come on babe. Don't be a party pooper!" Marlene exclaimed, leaning in towards her girlfriend. "How else are we supposed to learn everyone's deepest darkest secrets."

Dorcas sighed and shook her head but there was a hint of a smile on her face. She really could never say no to Marlene.

"Ugh, fine. Never have I ever stolen something."

"Well that's a hard one," Mary muttered. "What do we count as stealing? Because I've stolen stuff from James a ton of times."

"Oi!" James shouted, looking positively affronted. Mary sent him an apologetic smile.

"No, not like that," Dorcas clarified. "It had to have been from an actual shop."

You all sat up straight for a moment, curiously looking around the group to see if anyone had. Hesitantly, Peter lifted his glass to his lips.

"Pete! What the hell!" James exclaimed.

"I don't know, I went through a phase in highschool!"

"What sort of stuff did you take?" Marlene pressed.

Peter shrugged. "Chocolate and ciggarettes, mostly."

There was an eruption of laughter that rippled across the table at Peter's revelation.

"Wow, I didn't know there was a degenerate among us," Lily teased, watching Peter's face flush bright red.

"Okay, okay. My turn!" Marlene said, once the laughter died down. "Never have I ever... gotten really sloshed and fallen down the stairs at my 18th birthday party"

"Hey! That's not fair!" James moaned, taking a sip of his beer. "You can't do targeted ones!"

Marlene just shrugged. "Sorry, but I don't think that was established in the rules."

James smirked. "Fine then! Never have I ever had sex with someone at this table."

Your blood ran cold for a moment as you glanced back towards the bar. You sighed in relief when you saw that Sirius was still over there. In that case, you technically hadn't slept with anyone at the table. You were off the hook for now.

Marlene rolled her eyes at James and took a drink, as well as Dorcas, Peter and Sybil, however, you watched James' eyes widen as Mary also took a long sip.

"Mary!" Lily hissed across the table. Your heart plummeted.

"What?" Mary shrugged, the alcohol clearly having gone to her head. "We have to! It's the rules."

"Wait! Hold on," Marlene murmered, her eyes drifting between the two girls. "Did you guys..."

There was a heavy anticipatory silence that hung over the table as you all awaited Lily's response. The girl grimaced, as she tried to muster some kind of explanation.

It was then that her eyes drifted up to meet James' pleading ones.

"Lily?" the boy asked softly. Your heart broke for him.

"So I guess the cat's out of the bag huh?" the girl sighed. "Mary and I have sort of been seeing each other. Romantically."

"Holy shit!" Marlene shouted, candid and straight to the point as she usually was in these situations.

"How long has this been going on?" Dorcas questioned.

"It's still really new," Lily explained.

"We were just trying to figure out the right time to tell you guys," Mary added.

"So you're the one Mary has been seeing?" James murmered.

"Yes," Lily responded. "I'm sorry James but you had to know it was never going to work out between us."

The boy sighed, running a hand through his unruly curls. "Yeah, I know."

Then he started to stand. "I think I just need some air for a minute."

"James, wait-" Remus reached out to grab his arm but James shook him off.

"I just need minute," he repeated, grabbing his coat from the back of his chair and hurrying towards the exit. Part of you wanted to go after him but the other part recognised that he probably needed some space to process things.

"Sorry, everyone. I didn't mean to ruin the night," Mary murmered folornly.

"No hun! you didn't ruin anything," you comforted.

"Yeah, we're really happy for you two," Dorcas added.

"Really?"

Everyone nodded.

"Absolutely. You both deserve to be happy," Remus confirmed.

Wide smiles crossed over the girls' faces.

--

It was two minutes until midnight and Sirius was nowhere to be seen. Despite your better judgement, you couldn't help but feel slightly disapointed. You supposed that there was some small aspect of your mind that hoped Sirius would be your New Years kiss.

You knew it was wishful thinking, especially when you hadn't even spoken about what happened between you, but with how he'd been acting towards you throughout the night, you'd allowed yourself to nurture that flicker of hope.

As people crowded around the window and the countdown began, you found your eyes searching the room for the dark haired man, wondering if just maybe, he'd make a last minute appearance.

"Five, four, three, two..."

You scanned the space one last time.

"One!"

You're last flicker of hope died out as your eyes finally landed on his form.

"Happy New Year!"

The shouts and cheers faded into the background as you watched Sirius press his lips to those of the boob-y blonde you'd seen him flirting with before.

The moment seemed to go in slow motion. You watched from afar as he tangled his hand in her hair, just as he'd done in yours only a week prior.

"Of course," you thought. "Typical"

It was Sirius Black you were talking about. You were stupid to think you meant anything more to him than a casual night of fun.

In an instant, you turned on your heel and walked towards the door, the sounds of the party fading into the background. You decided, instead of bumming around waiting for Sirius to notice you, you'd go look for James, just as you should've done much earlier.

The cold hit you like a block of cement as you stepped outside onto the street. It didn't take you long to find him.

He was sitting on the curb, outside of he bar, arms resting on his knees as he looked up towards the sky. Another explosion sounded and a flash of colour filled the air. In the distance, you could hear the cheers of excited people all around as they celebrated.

"Happy New Year, James."

He turned to look at you and in the flash of light, as another firework flickered across the sky, you were able to notice the faint tear tracks that lined his cheeks.

"Oh hey." he sniffled, rubbing a hand beneath his glasses and trying to regain a semblance of composure.

BANG!

You flopped unceremoniously onto the ground beside him as another flash filled the sky. You gave him a sympathetic smile. Funnily enough, in that moment, you knew exactly how he felt.

"Are you okay?" You asked him gently.

He let out a dry chuckle. "Yeah. I will be."

BANG!

"Good."

You both turned your gazes back to the display, taking in the beautiful array of colours filling the air. It wasn't quite the view you'd expected for the night, but somehow, that didn't seem to matter.

As you continued to watch the fireworks, you felt the gentle touch of a hand wrapping around your own. You smiled slightly as your fingers intertwined.

BANG!

Slowly, you shuffled closer and leaned into him, gently resting your head on James broad shoulder.

You stayed like that a while, just taking in the show, and each other's company.

--

Taglist:

@hisparentsgallerryy @navs-bhat @shushbruv @magicwithaknife @eeviee4 @notapoetjustscar @gugggu6gvai @robertsmithclone @ilovesugurugeto69 @taytayy178 @its-notkiee @bugworldsworld @switchingfandomslikecrazy @evangelquill, @delusional-4-fake-people, @ch4rlotte35, @insideoutjulie, @hiireadstuff, @laniirackssss, @starrystormwritings, @strategicsweetheart, @1800brat, @sammyreid, @frootloops1213, @ill-be-okay-soon-enough

[f1fantasys]

Thought you were mine all along, guess I was wrong - Part 8

Summary - angstttt

A/N - I may or may not have teared up writing this chapter. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it! Let me know what you think!

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7.

''The baby isn't mine''

''What?'' you asked, all the air leaving your lungs.

Lando's eyes held a sadness for a split second before he turned to look at the floor. ''Yeah'' he whispered.

You on the other hand we reeling, a rush of emotions flashing through your body as you tried to comprehend his words.

''I heard her on the phone then confronted her about it..'' he trailed off as you sat in silence.

He chuckled. ''Ironic really. Get thrown into a new life only to have it snatched away, oh and losing the person you cared about most. Fits me well, don't you think?'' he said, eyes looking up at yours again.

''Lando...'' you said softly, trailing off yourself because you really didn't know what to say. Your heart ached at the fact that something that was 'supposedly is' or was has been taken away from him. But you still felt like you were sitting next to a stranger, someone you had to protect yourself from.

You both sat there in silence til you started talking, needing some space of your own.

''I-I..I'm sorry that it's not yours'' you said sincerely, ''but I need to go'' rushing the words out your mouth because you felt the need to throw up all of a sudden. Too much had been said in the last 20 minutes and you felt like you couldn't breathe.

Before Lando could react you stood up and open the door to his drivers' room quickly, his voice calling your name getting softer and softer with each step you took.

You made your way back to the hotel, practically running up to your room, taking a few deep breaths as you finally made it, tears streaming down your face uncontrollably.

Lando was right. Ironic how this whole situation had unfolded. How the fuck had you ended up here? Your mind was a mess. Too many different thoughts and emotions drifting between each other. You won't lie, hearing the baby wasn't his had lifted a weight off your shoulder. No matter how wrong that sounds, just the thought of hum having starting a family with someone else crushed your soul, so it was an understatement to say that you were happy not to have to picture going forward. Not that anything had changed between the two of you - no. You still thought Lando to be the selfish prick who hurt you more time than you could count, having to now shield your heart from him, and that wasn't going to be easy. Yes, the truth is out now - you coming clean about your feelings and Lando somewhat admitting he felt - for feels - something for you too. Your brain was more than happy to hear those words leave his mouth. but it wasn't so easy to just give in. You owed it to yourself to protect yourself from heartbreak all over again.

Just as you were getting ready for bed that night, your phone lit up with a message from Lando.

''Please can we just talk. I'm so fucking sorry for everything and I miss you so bloody much. I know that makes me sound selfish but please Y/N''

Honestly? You weren't ready to see him or talk to him again. You needed to give yourself time to come to terms with everything, it wouldn't be right to just give in and let him have his way.

''I'm not ready. Maybe when we're back in Monaco'' you replied to him, with his next message coming in within seconds.

''I get that..please just..reach out when you're ready? I'll drop everything to meet you''

3 weeks later, Monaco

Winter break, finally the F1 year had come to an end and you had a whole 3 months of holidays, minus the handful of events here and there for team sponsors.

Since the last time you saw Lando, he'd sent you a beautiful bouquet of flowers with an apology note, while you'd spent a lot of time reflecting on yourself. There was definitely few things you wished you had handled differently -

Firstly, both you and Lando knew that feelings were involved, everyone saw it, though you never addressed it yourselves. Maybe if you did, none of what happened would have occurred in the first place.

Second, the night you saw Lando and Magui, you should never have got with Mitch - the high lasted all about five seconds, and then you were back to square one, and thinking about it now, you were guilty for having used Mitch like that, even though he assured you you were all good.

You wished you were stronger and let your feelings for Lando go through this whole debacle, it would have been easier. You wouldn't have thrown dirty words at each other, and you'd actually have been friends with Magui and him, especially when he made you choose.

BUT, scratch that, you did what was right for yourself at that time, and you sure as hell were better off NOT being friends with Magui.

You also wished Lando had handled this better. He was never one to come clean and show his true feelings especially when he felt vulnerable like that. But you just wished he talked to you about the whole thing, used you as his friend, instead of pushing you away and breaking your heart further each time he saw you. It wont be easy for forgive him, at least not right now, but a part of you will always have a special place for him.

Then your heart broke when he told you the baby wasn't his. It was a relief, yes, but you knew he was hurting. It couldn't have been easy on him, but as much as you wanted to be there for him, you had to put yourself first.

There had been no contact between the two of you since then. Qatar and Abu Dhabi had been amazing races for him, McLaren winning the constructors championship, and you were elated for Lando, but you held your ground, not messaging him in case he got the wrong idea and thought you were ready.

Each day, you willed yourself to move forward, not let the events of the last quarter of the year hold you down, but it was tough. You missed him. So much. You missed everything about him. Things as simple as his presence, once always there for you, listening to you rant, cry, laugh, or be the person in your life that scolded you when you made stupid decisions. You missed his laugh. His crazy, animal-like laugh that always put you in a better mood, his eyes crinkling at the corners as his dimples shone through his gorgeous face. You missed his warmth, strong arms that held you close even when there were unspoken words between the two of you. His ability to make you feel safe and secure.

As much as you tried to hate him , forget him, a split second of a memory would pull you in again, and with each passing day, you craved his touch more and more.

Today was Carmen, George's girlfriends birthday party. She was a close friend of yours, and knowing Lando would be there, you were on edge all day.

A lot of your very close mutual friends had told you just how withdrawn Lando was, somewhat lost without you, and you'd decided that if they two of you talked, you would let him know there'd been a thaw. You weren't ready to be best friends again, no matter how much you craved it, but you would at least be civil, start off slow and build up from there.

He look heavenly.

Beautiful, really. His mop of curls sat perfectly in his head, his eye lashes were as long as your fucking heels, his slight stubble contouring his jaw stunningly, his lips plump, looking oh so delicious. Damn, get a hold of yourself you said to yourself, walking over to your seat, a few away from where he was standing. But god, those biceps on the tight white button up he was wearing.

Your world stopped when his eyes met yours. Deep green, piercing, you legs becoming jelly quickly as he sent you the most beautiful smile.

You smiled back as he closed the gap to you, now a mere three feet away and you were about to fold onto the floor. It should have been awkward, but it was anything but. Instinctively, you both leaned in, kissing each others cheeks, Lando's lips feeling like fire on your skin. You held your breath as you pulled back, smug smile on both your faces as others also moved beside you in greeting.

Finally, you broke the ice.

''Thank you for the flowers'' you said softly.

''You're welcome. It was nothing, really, but a step forward, i hope'' he said, eyes trained on yours.

Before you could say anything more, you were both being ushered to your seats at the table by a very strict Carmen, who hated things running late. And right now, it was dinner time. You loved her though.

Lando was sat a few seats down from you, on the opposite side of the table. More often than not, your eyes would catch one another, and at one point when he was engrossed in conversation with Charles, Carmen nudged your side.

''You doing okay?'' she asked. ''I sat you further away on purpose''

You chuckled, knowing she was only doing what's best for you.

''I'm ok. Promise'' you said when her eyes said they didn't believe you.

The evening was going well, eating, drinking, mingling. At one point you saw Lando stepping outside. This was your chance, you thought. You wanted to speak to him.

You stood beside him on the balcony, over looking the beautiful Monaco coastline. He didn't turn to look your way but his face still broke out into a smile, knowing it was you. Funny how just the presence of someone you adore can comfort you. After everything that happened, Lando was still your everything.

''I know things have been fucking tough lately, can only blame myself for that, but i hate that we've been through so much. Y/N I want you to know that nothing has changed how I've felt about you, for a very long time, before we even got together. If anything, it's only made me realize how much you fucking mean to me. I don't want to keep pretending like this connection isn't there, like we're just 'okay without each other,' even though my actions showed the opposite. I care about you so deeply, adore you so much, and I don't want to lose what we once had'' he turned to look at you, the words spilling out of his mouth as he ran a hand through his hair.

''No pressure. No expectations. I just need you to know that no matter what, I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere'' he continued, a hand cupping your face.

You leaned into his hand, your skin tingling with electricity from his touch as his words hitched your breath. You took a moment to take them in, not react impulsively, while you bought your hand up to rest on top of his, your fingers tangling together as you took a deep breath.

The look in his eyes told you he was being sincere, honest for the first time in a long time with you. They held a warmth and a type of longing that you'd never seen before, not even in your most private moments together.

Something in his demeanor told you that the Lando standing in front of you wasn't the old Lando which yes, you did fall in love with, nor was it the man you'd come to not recognize. This was a new, improved version of himself. He seems wiser, more grounded and carried himself with a quiet confidence, all of which wasn't there before. Yes, he was an amazing person, that was how you grew to love him. But seeing him like this, honest with himself - it only makes you fall deeper in love with him.

You want nothing more than to pull him in for a hug, let him be that safe space for you again. But you still felt like you owed it to yourself to protect yourself, take things slow and not jump into the deep end in fear of getting hurt again, even though your gut feeling was that Lando would never do anything hurtful to you again.

You hands were still intertwined at your side, his thumb rubbing circles on yours as he waited for you to say something.

''Thank you for being honest. I'm sure it goes without saying that I never stopped caring about you either, as much as I tried to get you out of my mind, hate you even, i never stopped. I can't pretend that I wasn't hurt, and I wont ignore the fact that it's been difficult for me to move past everything that's happened. But I don't want to shut us out. I just.. need time. Time to heal, to trust, to feel like we're on steady ground again. There's something here, something that still matters to both of us, and I'm willing to take the steps to see where it leads. I just need to go at a pace that feels right for me, I hope you understand that. If we're going to find out way back to each other, I want to do it the right way'' you said softly, a single tear rolling down your cheek.

Lando wiped the tear away before cupping your face again, with both hands this time. He leaned down so his eyes were level with yours.

''I hear you, and i don't take any of this lightly. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you, and I bloody hate that I did. I know my words alone aren't enough..I need to show you, and I will. You matter to me so much more than I can put into words, and I don't want to rush you into something you're not ready for. No matter how long that takes, you know I'll be here waiting for you, yeah?''

You nodded your head as more tears fell down your face.

''Thank you, that means a lot'' you whispered.

He wiped away the rest of your tears and smiled at you, so genuine that you could help but smile back.

Then he held out his pinky finger. ''Friends?'' he asked, which made you chuckle. ''Friends,'' you said, locking your finger with his.

You looked back over the balcony, your skin heating up knowing he was still looking at you.

''Can a friend ask a friend for a hug?'' he asked softly.

You turned back to him, ''Always'' you replied, opening your arms up as he leaned down to wrap himself around you.

His hold was one filled with relief, tender, but tight, as if he never wanted to let you go, as your arms went around his neck and held him close, breathing in his scent and calming your breathing.

Funny how a single hug like this makes you feel safe, and you were so glad to hopefully be moving forward in the right direction, Lando at your side.

Taglist - @somanyfandomsbruh @lanf1an @annimausi @ernegren @plotpal @hurtblossom @rbv3rstappen @tylerstacobell @wanderingreigns @bowielovesyou @alexanderachillesisgay @sarx164 @xoxomansee @hurtblossom @ihtscuddlesbeeetchx3 @msimpala-67 @jxnellat @chlmtfilms @abq654 @ernegren @stav2004 @myformula1addiction @ayap4paya @l0nelyhe4rts-club @callsignwidow widow-cevans meglouise00 @hoeforsirius @hahdb8 @cmleitora @oscahpastry @maxv33rstappen @saythename-sm @htpssgavi @xoxomansee @anayaverse @rendezvoushn @allywthsr @f1petra @alexisquinnlee-bc @justlando @strawberryy-kiwii @landosnosescar @martygraciesversion381 htpssgavi

Pleeaase let me know what you all thought!!

[winifreddinh]

A fanart collection in which each drawing represents a chapter of the Wyllstarion multiverse fic Be My Mirror. Every Wyllstarion fan who has not read it please go do it now!!!

This fic is really something special, so I want to make something special for it too. This idea was floating in my head from the beginning of my reading, but it took a while for me to get started. I have worked on this on and off since November last year. 

Below are each drawing with some of my notes:

Chapter 1 (partingxshot) - Original universe 

Chapter 2 (thecheeseburgercat) - Ballet AU

Originally, I set the scene in a ballet studio, but it felt too plain. I couldn't use colorful ballet outfits either, since they were only practicing. So, I decided to place them on the stage instead, as they did run on it in the chapter

Chapter 3 (shadowfell) - Dream Sequence AU

This art style was an imitation of the comic Dream Sequence from Carla Speed McNeil's Finder, the one on which this AU is based. I read the comic and thought it was very interesting, but I don't think I was able to understand all of it. This tumblr post by the chapter writer - shadowfell - really helped me out.

Chapter 4 (new_space) - Vampire zombie AU

Chapter 5 (not_whelmed_yet) - Ghost Wyll AU

Chapter 6 (partingxshot) - Disney World AU

One of the hardest parts about drawing these is figuring out what Astarion and Wyll are wearing, since some writers write in detail about that, and some don't. And I want to make sure each AU is recognizable immediately when looking at it. I went back to the original fic this Disney AU was based on to look for what Astarion was wearing here. From what I can find, he basically covers himself from head to toe in dark clothing to avoid the sun.

Chapter 7 (SophiaMancer) - Role swap AU

Chapter 8 (GlassThreads) - Twilight AU

Chapter 9 (Rimeko) - Dragon cult AU

Chapter 10 (jellyfishline) - DnD AU

Chapter 11 (ushauz) - Redwall AU

Mouse Wyll is the best thing I have drawn for this whole fic

Chapter 12 (stygius) - Elemental AU

Chapter 13 (odessacastle) - Regency romance AU

Chapter 14 (leyside) - Skyrim AU

I have never played Skyrim so I was honestly lost and needed a lot of advice haha

Chapter 15 (GlassThreads) - Revolutionary Girl Utena AU

Revolutionary Girl Utena is one of my favorite anime, so I was really happy to put them in these outfits.

Chapter 16 (PopcornCrimes (Emi1y_Rose)) - Evil Durge AU 

Astarion wears the Bhaalist Armour here, to hint at how Durge is in the party now.

Chapter 17 (Acephalous) - The Thing (1982) AU

Chapter 18 (anonyhex) - Slay the Princess AU

I tried to imitate the art style of Slay the Princess

Chapter 19 (Aeona, karlachian) - Disco Elysium AU 

Putting UI of Disco Elysium in the drawing. And of course, the skill is Empathy.

Chapter 20 (jellyfishline) - Ascension

It's hard to portray chapters 20 and 21 in just two drawings, so I made multiple ones for both.

Chapter 21 (partingxshot) - Return

There are more details I would have liked to add in some drawings, but I think if I worked on this more I would have gone insane haha. I really hope you guys love it!

Edit: I'm happy for Fanlore to use this with proper credit!

[im-not-a-ghost]

FS series : the context of your meeting

Deck used : White Numen tarot.

Group 1 - White Numen, The Fool, The Star, 6 of swords

Okay this feels pretty clear and to the point! A travel is involved. An important one at that. The combination of The Fool and The Star tells me that this is something completely out of the blue, almost unseen. Like you've never done such a thing before in your life. Not only that but also where you're going is definitely abroad. Water is significant as well as mountains. So the place where you're going is known for either one or both of these two things. If we analyze this a bit further, I'm thinking of places such as Manhattan, Miami, London, Paris, Seoul, Tokyo and prefectures around Mt Fuji, Mt Rushmore, Niagara falls, islands in general and so on. It will be a period of your life when you're taking a new start, you're in an energy of being optimistic and open to what the future holds, trusting the Universe and your guiding star that somehow you are on the right path and will make the right decisions at the right time. Serendipity comes to mind. I did some research because I felt like sometimes we might misunderstand this concept and I found out the origin of this word and somehow I thought this was relevant to the reading. This word comes from an oriental tale entitled The Three Princes of Serendip. Serendip is another name for Sri Lanka or Ceylan island. It means golden island. In this story, three princes are sent abroad by their father and live a certain amount of adventures in which their education allows them to make astute assumptions and solve mysteries. They often times find themselves in trouble but each time a fortunate event that they did not ask for or provoke allows them to know a positive outcome. These findings that they make seem irrelevant to their purpuse in appearance but in realty they are of very important significance.

Getting back to your reading, what I mean is that this meeting with your FS feels very coincidental. You are not looking for them and expecting to find them at such a time, in such a place and yet, here they are. Also, this time of your life is going to be very unexpected and tiring for you. The reason I'm saying that is because my computer ran out of battery as I was doing your reading and I wasn't prepared for it lmao. So this travel or move will be something that you hadn't planned. For some of you, this could be something that you are somewhat "forced" to go to, like a business event or a family celebration. But for others this could just be something that you decide to do on a whim. The sign of Taurus could be significant. First quarter of the moon and full moon are also significant. So this could give us a time frame where this is happening. This feels like a very fated meeting. Your meeting could involve something creative. There are other people around you when you meet this person. I get a feeling of both of you writing a new chapter of your life and leaving behind a period of dissatisfaction. You and your FS are in similar energies when you meet. It's like both of you acted on a whim and decided to do something they would never have done before and boom magic happens. I really love this energy, this is so cute.

Group 2 - 10 of wands, ace of swords, 8 of wands, 6 of pentacles

Okay I feel the need to tell you this : if some of you knew me in my baby stages as a tarot reader, we already had a similar reading maybe you'll remember it. Yes, I this isn't my first tarot blog. I had tried one time but something didn't feel right so I deleted my blog and took a break from tarot. Now onto your reading. This feels work related. There's a lot of pressure surrounding this meeting. There are a lot of people around. Either you or they are in a rush. One of you needs to quickly communicate something or feels desperate to get a message across and the other will be helping in clearing the way so that this person gets the opportunity to state their truth and/or do their job. This is just one example among many but imagine someone working in a grocery store. And there are a lot of people in a certain area that are doing something that shouldn't be done or blocking the access to the staff room. Anyways, the employee is in a rush and needs to get these people to move but somehow the customers aren't listening or they don't care. I see someone else barging in and telling everyone to fuck off lmao. Another scenario is someone just doing their job and receiving a lot of hate or mockery for no reason whatsoever and someone steps in to defend them and restore balance. It could even be as far as someone being hurt and in need of medical attention and while everyone is panicking or like filming and stuff, one guy/girl just barges in and actually helps the person while yelling at others for being so dumb. I don't really sense a timing for this group so I guess it varies for people. But I have a hunch it could be happening sooner than you'd expect. I heard November for some reason. This person could have a dog or you could have a dog. (For some obscure reason I wrote god instead of dog the second time...lmao). That's also very specific but for some of you your person is very influential. Quite rich. Who's been asking for a sugar daddy/mommy? lmao.

Group 3 - ace of wands, Hermit, 8 of pentacles, king of pentacles

For this group I'm also getting a work related meeting. But the context is different. I'm getting more night time vibes, especially night clubs and such. One of you is partying, celebrating and very horny I must say. The other is working and not really in the mood for flirting. I see one person trying to get the other to break character or to get out of their comfort zone, while the other is not budging and doing their best to keep their cool. I sense power dynamics but also age and status differences. It's like one is afraid of being seen in a state of vulnerability while the other just doesn't care and is pretty much vibing. There might be alcohol involved. Also for some reason I'm picking up on medical shifts and police patrols. So maybe some of you will be hitting on very respectable people while you're drunk lmao. I see the more reserved person being very respectful and uptight. More than anything they want to make sure you are safe and their job is done correctly. This context doesn't feel like the best for them to meet their FS. If one will be definitely feeling the attraction right away the other might not because they're too busy working. They're not emotionally receptive because the other isn't in their usual state. Again I'm not getting any timing here except for night time so this could happen any time depending on the people. However the sign of Virgo is showing up as well as Taurus so it feels like it will take quite some time for you to meet this person. It will also take time for the relationship to progress. I guess you won't be meeting this person a lot in the beginning stages of your connection. Like maybe you could meet them once randomly at a party and then a lot of time passes before you see them again. Maybe through work connections can you get to know this person a lot more. I see some of you investigating lmao and coming back to this person's work place regularly until they finally let their guards down. This feels very funny. Kind of an ennemies to lovers vibe.

[ladysharmaa]

Wild hearts

Jasper Hale x original character

Summary: When a new girl arrives at Forks, she seems to catch Jasper Hale's attention. However, he and his family are hiding a secret. What they don't know is that Evelyn has a secret of her own

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8

Evelyn and the Cullens were getting closer, especially Evelyn with Jasper. The family had taken her in and that seemed to be the biggest news at school. The Cullens, who had never spoken to anyone, had become friends with Eve in a matter of weeks. And that only brought even more attention to her.

Jasper would often come to her house to help her study and would also bring food made by Esme, who Evelyn had yet to meet. It wasn't that Jasper didn't want to take her home with him, but he already had to share Evelyn with his siblings, even Edward who had finally gotten over his frustration with not being able to read Eve's thoughts due to the static. He didn't want to have to share her at home too.

However, Evelyn had not forgotten her first friends at all, and made a point of dividing her time between the two groups. Despite being asked about the Cullens' secrets, especially Jessica and Mike, Evelyn never said anything, just rolling her eyes playfully and changing the subject.

She was now in biology class, Jasper by her side, extremely close to her. In fact, it was just to smell Eve's vanilla scent and not focus on the blood circulating through the other students' veins.

They were dissecting a frog, something Evelyn didn't really appreciate from her expression. Jasper laughed slightly at Eve's antics, who almost refused to cut the poor animal's belly. She handed the scalpel to the vampire, telling him he should do it. He accepted without complaint.

However, in the middle of the class, a distracted student slightly cut his finger with the scalpel. Evelyn saw a small drop of blood escape from the cut, and her eyes widened. Beside her, Jasper tensed, his jaw clenched and fists closed. He immediately pulled away from Evelyn and held his breath. The only thing that was stopping him from attacking was Evelyn, but even so he wouldn't be able to maintain control for much longer.

However, Evelyn didn't let him get too far, quickly grabbing Jasper's hand. She suddenly stood up in her chair, making a loud noise that caught the teacher's attention.

"Sorry! Blood, dizzy. I have to leave." She explained as succinctly as possible. The teacher nodded, looking at her strangely. She pulled the vampire with her. "Jasper has to come with me. To help me."

Without waiting for the teacher's answer, the two hurried out of the classroom, going as far away from the room as possible. They were at the end of the hallway, close to the exit doors.

Jasper, who was letting the scent of his mate consume his body, looked at her in surprise. "You know." he whispered.

"Surprise?"

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗

Jasper quickly took her to his car, heading to their house. He received a text from Alice saying that they were behind him, having heard what happened thanks to their sharp hearing.

The two remained silent, as Evelyn had said that she would explain it to everyone at the same time, as it would be easier if everyone was present.

Jasper nodded, but asked only one question. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"No," she answered with certainty. "You don't know, Jasper, but there are many monsters in this world. You and your family are far from that."

They finally arrived at the Cullen mansion, and Evelyn looked at the house in adoration. They lived a little isolated from the rest of the city, near the edge of the forest. The house was large, with lots of glass that let in light. The walls were made of wood, giving it a rustic and classic feel, perfect for the Cullens.

The door opened and Evelyn saw two people, looking older but still extremely beautiful with their pale skin and amber eyes.

"Jasper? Is everything alright?" the woman, who Evelyn realized was Esme, asked. "Is that Evelyn?"

"Yes, hello!" she smiled at the couple, letting Jasper put a hand on her back and lead her to the entrance of the house. "It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. and Mr. Cullen."

"Please, call us Esme and Carlisle. You really are as beautiful as Jasper said." Esme said, opening the door wider for them to enter. Behind them, the rest of the Cullens' cars had arrived and everyone was heading inside, their eyes fixed on Evelyn.

"What's going on?" the clan leader asked, confused.

"She knows." Jasper said simply, but never taking his eyes off Eve.

"Well, I certainly have to tell you the truth now." Evelyn tried to calm her pounding heart. "I wasn't sure what you were, because I've met some of your kind who were… different. But the pale skin, the fact that you never ate, all signs pointed to you being vampires."

Evelyn saw Rosalie open her mouth, but cut her off before she could speak. "Don't worry, Rose, I won't say anything. After all, I have a secret too. And I really don't want it to be revealed."

"You can trust us, darling." Jasper promised, taking a small step toward her unconsciously. He needed to be closer to her.

"I know." She smiled slightly. "I am, this is going to sound weird I know, but I am the daughter of Aphrodite, goddess of love and fertility."

"So you're what? A demigod?" Emmett asked, his mouth slightly open. When Evelyn confirmed, he turned to his wife, "See? I got it right!"

Rosalie rolled her eyes at her husband's antics. Alice was the next to speak, "What does that mean? What can you do?"

"Quite unlike the children of the other gods, I have no powers. I know how to fight, but only because I've been trained since I was three. Demigods, those who are recognized by their parents at least, go to a camp. There we train to… to kill monsters."

"What kind of monsters?" Lucas crossed his arms, bringing Alice closer to him. Jasper glared at him, when he saw Evelyn's face fall.

"Oh, not you. Another type of monster. You know Furies, Minotaur, Mimas, and the list goes on." She revealed, seeing the shocked looks of the vampire clan. "Anyway, I'm just pretty. I attract attention. But the children of Athena are smart, the children of Poseidon can control water. We all live together. And we go on quests to kill monsters and send them back to hell. That's also why I have dyslexia, all demigods have it. We are hyperactive, something that helps in battles."

"You're not just pretty. You're much more than that." Jasper quickly said, completely amazed by the girl.

"Thanks, Jasper. Well, on my last quest I went with my friends, but it didn't go well. I was the only survivor." Evelyn looked up to keep the tears from falling. "I had to get out of there. Try to live a normal life, for them."

The vampires looked at Evelyn sadly. "I never knew demigods were real." Carlisle whispered. He was completely surprised, as was the rest of his family.

"Yes, we try not to let anyone know. Our life is dangerous enough." Evelyn said, after controlling her emotions. What she didn't know, was that Jasper was helping her calm down. "The monsters chase us. They can sense that we are demigods. But here, in Forks, none have found me yet. I think it's because of the presence of so many supernatural beings."

"This is wicked!" Emmett exclaimed.

"So that's why I can't see what you're thinking?" Edward questioned. "Or because Alice didn't see you coming in her visions?"

"Sorry, what?" the blonde raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Some vampires have gifts, darling." Jasper explained, now walking the rest of the distance to stand next to Evelyn. His amber eyes looked at her with admiration. "Edward can read minds, Alice can see the future and I'm an empath."

"Oh, wow. That's — wow." The vampire family laughed at Evelyn's reaction. "But yes, maybe that's why. What do you hear in my mind?"

"Just static. It's like a barrier I can't get past." Edward explained.

"That's cool." Evelyn murmured, her eyes wide. "What about you? Do you have another form besides your human one like the vampires I know?"

"No." Carlisle replied, his curiosity heightened by the knowledge that there were other species. "Are you able, if you can, to tell us more about these... vampires?"

"They are extremely beautiful and seductive women under the control of the goddess Hecate. They are known to feed on the blood of men. Their true form is a woman with flaming hair, white skin, glowing red eyes, fangs, one prosthetic Celestial Bronze leg and one donkey leg and wings." Eve explained succinctly. She remembered the first time she had fought an Empousa, it wasn't fun. "The demigods can see her in her true form, so I can tell your species apart. But I don't know a lot about you, we focus more on the mythical creatures."

"We glow when exposed to the sun. And we don't drink human blood, only animal blood, hence the color of our eyes." Evelyn nodded, already knowing that last part. "And we're immortal, of course."

"Same." Evelyn shrugged. The family looked at her in confusion, their eyes wide and eyebrows raised. It seemed as if she was discovering a new world after so many years of life. "Demigods are a bit stronger than a mere human. And we have a few more abilities. But we can still die if we are injured. At twenty, we become immortal, which is when our powers are at their peak."

"How old are you?" Alice asked.

"I'm nineteen." Evelyn informed with a small laugh. "My ritual isn't until next year. So now you know."

Rosalie was the first to snap out of her shock and pulled Evelyn into a hug. Evelyn quickly hugged her back, happy that there were no more secrets, or so she thought. Alice hurried to join them, the three of them giggling, while the rest of the vampires watched them with smiles. They acted like real teenagers when they were together.

After talking to the Cullen family a bit more, she and Jasper went for a walk in the woods. He was somewhat relieved that they had an eternity together, and that he wouldn't have to watch her grow old without him.

"So you can feel what I'm feeling?" Evelyn found the courage to ask. Jasper nodded. "That's a little embarrassing. I don't know why I feel this way around you."

"I know why, darling." He stopped walking, causing Evelyn to stop as well. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Evelyn lost herself as she looked into Jasper's eyes. They held so much pain, but also adoration for her. But why? The forest had gone silent, even the birds had stopped singing, as if they knew something was going to happen.

Jasper's cool touch on her cheek was soothing, and it made her stomach turn. It was as if every time the vampire touched her, an electric shock spread through her body. All rational thoughts were forgotten and she could only focus on him.

"We're mates. I'm yours. And you're mine."

"I think I need to sit down."

[mc-cookies]

Silk & Dagger: A Sensible Drow RPG casts Drow (as they're portrayed in a lot of Forgotten Realms media) as a society of fucked up, comically over the top warrior women with deeply repressed insecurities and extreme superiority complexes. It is very good at portraying these types of women! One media example of this genre of woman is Queen, from Deltarune, and as an exercise to test the robustness of S&D's character creation, I tried to recreate her. It took me all of 15 minutes to create a very accurate and mechanically supported version of her, and most of that time was just me thinking about how to transplant her into S&D's setting.

In particular, the character creation process means that this Drow would be very likely to lounge around on her throne, laugh at people condescendingly, hang around with other people who she shows off to, unpredictably succeed or fail at certain tasks, and do silly bullshit that makes real-world audiences laugh. Any fan of Deltarune will tell you that that is a reasonably good description of how Queen acts throughout most of Chapter 2, and it was effortless to put together in S&D.

Character creation in this game is very easy, and on the Drow mistress side of things, it's very good at creating weird, domineering, hilariously over the top women. Check out the Traits I gave her (listed below the cut) to get a sense of what this game does!

Authoritative Idleness: This Drow gains a +1 Contextual Bonus to any Interpersonal Roll (besides Social Cues) if the Skill check is made while they are the only one in the chamber who is sitting or otherwise lounging casually, such as with her legs crossed, or laying on her side propped up at the hip. She gains an additional +1 Contextual bonus if she is on her throne, and/or an additional +1 bonus if whoever she is speaking to is at a lower elevation.

Laughtracker: This character gains 1 Favor Point every time their actions or dialogue result in at least one player laughing out loud,[1] to a maximum of 1 time per Scene. [1. Sidebar] Meaning players in the real world, not any of the characters in the game world. If any spectators who are not directly participating laugh, that counts too. [Favor, in Silk & Dagger, is a metacurrency that can be exchanged for Boons, which grant advantages on future rolls.]

Noblewoman's Laugh: Up to once per Scene, when this Drow gets a haughty laugh in,[1] partially covering her mouth with her hand, she gains a +1 Contextual bonus to all Interpersonal rolls until the next time she loses Reputation or the end of the Scene. [1. Sidebar] This has to be a situation where it makes any sense for her to be doing a haughty laugh. [Reputation, in Silk & Dagger, is a stat representing how much a Drow is respected, loved, and/or feared by her peers. A PC's Reputation reaching 0 is the main fail state of the game.]

Showboater: This Drow thrives on showing off. Add a +1 Contextual bonus to any Skill roll this Drow makes as long as two or more people are watching her. However, she takes a -1 penalty to all rolls when nobody is watching.

Unpredictable: All rolls for this Drow must be made with a 1D12 instead of the usual 2D6. If using a Boon, add an extra D12 instead of an extra D6 and only count the highest die. [If you're unfamiliar with how probability works with multiple dice, this essentially makes extreme results more likely. With 2d6, the range of roll values is from 2 to 12, but values closer to 6 and 7 are most likely, which in S&D means that Partial Successes are more common. Using 1d12 means that every value from 1 to 12 is equally likely, so the character is more likely to get unexpected full successes or failures.]

[queenofmorningstar]

See You in Hell

Lucifer x Overlord! f! Reader

Summary: Lucifer and your bonding time gets a fatal blow.

CW: Canon-typical Violence. Reader is Injured. Reader has cryokinesis (ice) powers for plot reasons. Striker (Helluva Boss) (Eventual Smut & SlowBurn)

Word Count: 4.5K

Part 1| Part 2| Part 3| Part 4| Part 5| Part 6| Part 7| Part 8

CHAPTER TWO

The morning in Hell was a strange thing. There was no soft light spilling through the windows. Just a dull red glow filtering in through the curtains. You looked over the Pentagram City, hands fisted on your balcony. You had come for him . Lucifer. The first and only being you’d ever truly believed in.

Your entire life, that belief had been your anchor. Through alienation, through rage, through the sharp sting of being othered, your faith in him had been the thing that kept you from being crushed under the weight of expectations.

You swallowed hard. It was foolish, you knew, to have built so much on an image. But wasn’t that what belief was ? A flame you held in your chest and fed with hope? You should leave. Go back to your district. You didn’t need to be here.

Except…

You’d wanted so badly to stand beside him. To matter to him. To be seen by him—not as another damned soul—but as someone who understood. The worst part wasn’t the awkwardness. Or the silence. Or even the let-down. The worst part was the grief. Grieving a version of him that had never existed—except in your head.

The shadows in the corner of the room began to stir. You didn’t flinch. You didn’t need to look to know who it was.  No footsteps. No fanfare. Just the eerie quiet of something long used to moving unseen.

“Ma’am,” came the low rasp of your spy.

You turned, calm and sharp. “You’re late.”

The spy straightened. His face was mostly hidden, but the tension in his stance betrayed urgency.

“Well?”

“There’s been movement,” he said. “In your district. The Markets. Word spread fast that you’d left… and the roaches started crawling out.”

You narrowed your eyes. “Who?”

“No name worth remembering. He’s putting up a trap; you’d sawed through his horns through two years ago. Apparently, he’s forgotten the taste of fear.”

Your lip curled. Hell had a way of never staying still. When the cat went away, the mice start to play.

“And?” you said coldly.

“He’s rallying remnants,” the spy said. “Broken gangs, failed lords, exiles. All bottom feeders, and your enemies.”

Your laugh was bitter and low. Well, that does it. You’ve to return. These bitches won’t stand still otherwise. “I will return shortly. My assistant…?” 

“She has completed the protocol you put in these kinds of situations. We have all the sinners under your employ armed and ready.”

The spy only nodded once, and vanished.

You started to prepare yourself,  strapping on your boots, slow and methodical, each buckle clicked into place like it might anchor your resolve. You fastened the last strap of bracer, testing the weight of it with a flex of your wrist.

A knock interrupted your thoughts. Three taps. Slightly uneven. Hesitant. You opened the door and came face to face with Lucifer, adjusting his top hat. “OH SHIT–” he said, quickly standing straight. “Uh – Hi! Hello.”

You arched your brow. “Good morning, your majesty.”

“Yes! Right. I am. That’s me.” He cleared his throat.

There was a beat.

You didn’t say anything. Just stared, guarded but curious. He took that as permission to continue, fidgeting with something behind his back.

“I just wanted to, um… apologize,” he said. “For yesterday. I was a bit—well, a lot—off my game. Normally I’d make a much grander entrance. Maybe some fireworks. Dancing goats. An organ solo.”

You blinked, slowly. “Dancing goats, yes. Very…attractive. Well, sire, I’m kinda busy–”

“I’m serious!” he insisted, chuckling nervously. “I granted one of my summoners his wish when he made his goats dance instead of slaughtering them. Which, honestly, isn’t it better? Anyways…what was I saying?”

You shook your head. “I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

“Oh ho, yes!” He hesitated… then pulled the object from behind him with the dramatics of a magician revealing his final trick. “Ta-da!”

He presented you with… a rubber duck. Bright yellow. You stared at it.

“It’s not just any duck,” Lucifer said, beaming. “This is the one and only magic-tastical backflipping rubber duck! Ha ha! That spits fire! Patent pending.”

He flicked it, and the duck squeaked . Then it backflipped in his hand and let out a tiny puff of harmless but impressively red fire.

You blinked again. He looked so genuinely proud of it, and it was contagious. Somehow, you were proud of him too.

“I enchanted it myself,” he said, lowering his voice like he was sharing state secrets. “It detects hostile intent within ten meters, and bites people if they get too close. Very reliable.”

You stared at the absurd little creature. Then back at him. “...You’re giving me a duck.”

“A magic duck,” he corrected. “To help you in anything. You know. Protection. Fire support. Emotional support, if needed.”

The smile was slow, involuntary. A slight curve of your lips. But it was there. Lucifer froze.

His heart stuttered so hard— damn that traitorous organ — actually fluttered. Like wings beating against his ribs. Oh no. You were smiling. At him . Abort mission.

“Well, great! Wonderful! That’s—duck received!” he blurted, spinning on his heel with a flustered laugh. “ You look very stabby. Impeccably stabby. Love the suit! Big fan of murder!”

He practically bolted down the hall.

You stood there in the doorway, duck in hand, not believing what had just happened, but…the smile lingered as you put it near your table. You ran a gloved hand through your hair and turned back to put on some more knives, when another knock came — lighter, more rhythmic. 

“Come in,” you said. Charlie peeked inside with her usual hopeful glow, holding a clipboard and an excited little bounce in her step. “Hey! I was wondering if you’d like to join us? We’re about to start a new activity — it’s kind of silly, but it’s meant to help with trust building. There are pillows involved. It’s… uh, interpretive.”

The smile was genuine. The optimism in her eyes was a little too bright, like she was trying extra hard today. You offered a small, respectful shake of your head. “I appreciate the offer, princess. But I have other responsibilities.”

Charlie’s face fell, only slightly and she nodded. “Right. Of course. It’s just, um, it could help ease you into things here?”

You nearly laughed, but caught yourself.  Instead, you offered the same polite smile you’d mastered long before death. “I’m afraid duty calls.”

You walked past Charlie gently, making your way down the winding staircase. Charlie scrambled to follow, clipboard hugged to her chest. “Maybe just stay for the first five minutes? You don’t have to participate if you don’t want to. It’s just… everyone’s downstairs, and it’d be nice to show them we’re all trying. Together.”

They reached the bottom steps. The hotel lobby came into view. Niffty dusting something that didn’t need dusting. Angel Dust lounging across two chairs like he owned them. Husk nursing a drink, clearly done with everything. Vaggie pacing as usual. Alastor smiled too broadly to be trustworthy.

And Lucifer. He straightened the moment he saw you, hand rising instinctively to smooth his already-perfect hair. 

“I’m grateful for your hospitality,” you said, addressing Charlie with usual poise. “But my district has become vulnerable while I’m gone. Sinners there need my help, and duty is a noble cause. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Charlie hesitated. Angel raised an eyebrow. Alastor’s smile didn’t falter but his head tilted with interest. Lucifer clenched his fist.

“I… guess that’s true,” Charlie finally said. 

You nodded once. “Then you understand.”

You moved to the door. You didn’t hear him approach, but felt the flicker of magic behind you before his voice tumbled out, rushed and slightly winded. “Wait!”

You turned slightly, just enough to glance over your shoulder.

“You’re… leaving,” he said, slightly breathless.

“Yes,” you said evenly.

“Right.” He rubbed the back of his neck, swaying on his heels. “Of course. Yes. That’s… that’s what doors are for. But I had a thought. A terrible one, really. Absolutely ludicrous.”

You raised your brows. “…What?”

Lucifer paused. Drew in a breath and then, brightly he said, “I’d like to come with you!”

You stared at him. The door behind you clicked back into place as you released it, stunned. “You,” you said carefully, “want to come… to my territory?”

“Yes!” he said, with far too much enthusiasm. “You’re going to help your people. Very valiant. Very noble. Very… uncharacteristically decent for Hell. And I thought — maybe — I could lend a hand.”

A beat. Silence. No. Your mind rejected the idea instantly. He hated sinners.

Lucifer Morningstar hadn’t lifted a finger to help a single soul in centuries. He let this system of eternal punishment be, and then abandoned all of them. Abandoned you.

Lucifer cleared his throat and straightened his collar. “I just… look, not that you need any help — clearly, you’ve got the whole ‘powerful overlord who strikes fear into all’ thing down. Very chic. Very commanding.”

“You don’t care about sinners,” you said, not cold, just… numb. “You gave up on them.”

Lucifer blinked, his smile faltering at the edges. And in that moment, behind all the glitz and theatrics, you saw the weariness. He took a small step forward, lowering his voice. “I did. I gave up a long time ago.” They didn’t change. I thought they would. I wanted to believe in them… but all they did was prove Heaven right. The words hung in his throat, unspoken. “But,” he said instead, forcing his voice lighter, “maybe it’s time I… un-give-up.”

Your brow twitched. That wasn’t a word.

Lucifer fumbled onward. “You’re doing something good, which I believe most Overlords wouldn’t–” Well, you weren’t being entirely selfless either. You wanted to maintain your authority, but also without you, it would be all chaos again, leading to more death.

He tried a smile. It didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I thought maybe I could start small. Just… help you. Help them. Or at least try.”

You didn’t respond immediately, your thoughts were racing. Why now? Why pretend to care? Is this for Charlie? For himself? Or maybe, he was seeking his redemption too.

You searched his face for a trace of mockery. There was none. You crossed your arms. “You don’t have to do this, sire.”

He let out a breath. “No. But maybe I should. And please, call me Lucifer.”

Another beat of silence passed between them. Then finally, you stepped away from the door. “Very well, your majesty , follow along.”

You still didn’t call him by his name, but Lucifer thought he would make you say it eventually. Lucifer lit up. “Oh ho! A partnership! Our partnership!”

“I’m not calling this a partnership.”

“Temporary alliance, then. Battle buddies?”

You rolled your eyes and moved past him, but he caught the faint curve of your smile as you moved ahead.

Charlie watched them go, blinking.

“Well,” she whispered to Vaggie, “that’s… happening.”

_____________________

You regretted it within the first ten minutes. Not because of some grand mistake or sudden betrayal, but because Lucifer Morningstar, King of Hell, had apparently not walked the damned streets in centuries… and was treating everything like a carnival attraction.

“Ooooh! What’s that ?” he asked, pointing with both hands toward a neon-lit sculpture of a tentacled goat climbing out of a coffee mug.

“A cursed espresso stand,” you said flatly.

“Amazing! What a creative twist!” he beamed. “You know, back in the early days, I wanted more artistry in these districts. Glad to see someone listened—what’s that ?”

“Bone polishing service.”

“And that ?”

“Overlord-themed ice cream parlour.”

“And that?”

“That’s a dumpster, sire.”

“Oh.”

You sighed.

The back alleys of your district spread ahead of them in crooked angles and sharp shadows. Lucifer practically skipped beside you.

He still wore his coat and vest as usual, though he told you he’d conjured a little charm that will make him appear as any sinner. His hands were clasped behind his back, his steps light and gleeful.

He suddenly halted, letting out a loud gasp like he’d seen the gates of Heaven open before him. “Oh! OH! Stop — stop, stop, look at that! ”

You turned, more out of dread than curiosity. He was pointing toward a crooked convenience shop, buzzing green light. The glass window was plastered with bright stickers and product ads. One ad stood out in particular: “ Lucky Cumilicious Cereal! Now with DUCK TOYS inside every box! ”

Lucifer slapped a hand to his chest like he’d been moved to tears. “They made duck toys again?! Look at it! It’s wearing sunglasses! It’s glorious!”

“…It’s cereal,” you said. You were more worried about what the cereal contains, after that horrendous name. 

“With ducks! ” he whispered reverently.

Then he turned to you, eyes suddenly large, lashes fluttering, “Please. Please, please, please. Can we go in? Just one box. Maybe two.”

You blinked. “You are the King of Hell.”

“I’m aware.”

“You could will that cereal into your hand.”

“Yes, but that would be rude.”

You stared at him in dead silence. Then, finally, with a long-suffering sigh, you rubbed the bridge of your nose. “Fine.”

“YES!” he cheered, practically bouncing. “You’re the best.”

You muttered something inaudible and walked toward the shop. The bell above the door gave a pitiful jingle as they stepped inside. It was a cramped, crooked little place. Shelves leaned dangerously to one side, some barely holding together. Glowing jars of unknown liquids pulsed on display, and a giant taxidermy eyeball in a top hat watched them from the ceiling.

The shopkeeper, a gangly sinner, glanced up from the counter. Then his eyes widened. “You,” he choked, backing into the wall like he’d seen death itself. “You’re—You’re her—”

You stopped just past the threshold, looking more exhausted than furious… which somehow made you even scarier. The shopkeeper whimpered and dove under the counter with a squeak. 

Lucifer blinked. “Oh my. That’s a new reaction.”

You sighed. “It’s not.”

Lucifer peeked over the counter and called cheerily, “No need to panic! She hasn’t smited anyone all morning.”

No response.

“I’m serious!” he added, “I’ve been with her for a whole hour. Only scowled. Didn’t eviscerate a single sinner. Remarkable restraint, really.”

Still no answer.

You let out another sigh, walked to the counter, and leaned against it. “…I’m just here for the cereal,” you said, voice dry.

There was a pause. Shuffling.

“…Just…cereal?” the shopkeeper whispered.

You gave a glance toward Lucifer, who was standing beside a cereal pyramid with the biggest, most ridiculous, sparkly-eyed expression of glee you’d ever seen.

You looked back at the shopkeeper. “…Ten boxes.”

Another pause.

“…Ten?”

“Ten.”

A beat.

“…Of the duck one?”

Your eye twitched. “Yes. Of the duck one.”

The shopkeeper’s head slowly emerged from behind the counter, still wary, but utterly baffled. “You… You want to buy them?”

“Is that not how shops work?” Lucifer asked brightly.

“I— I guess? I just thought you’d, y’know, blast me into ash and take ‘em.”

You stared at him, utterly unamused. “If I was going to kill you, you’d already be dead.”

The shopkeeper whimpered and fumbled to the shelves. While Lucifer was looking doe-eyed at the cereal packs, you whispered. “It doesn’t have the…uh…”

The sinner sighed, looking like a lot of people asked him that. “No. The one who named it just wanted to relate that it tasted good…like that.”

“...Right.” That guy must have some food porn fetish.

Within a minute, ten boxes of Lucky Cumilicious Cereal: Duck Edition™ were stacked neatly on the counter, complete with gaudy cartoon ducks. As the shopkeeper rang them up with shaking hands, Lucifer turned to you and whispered, “Thank you.”

You only gave a half-shrug, voice low. “Don’t thank me yet. You haven’t seen the calorie count.”

But when she glanced at him again, genuinely beaming at you, something in your chest shifted. Softened. How ridiculous.

____________________________

The sky above your district roared with fire and smoke.

By the time they arrived, the scent of gunpowder was already thick in the air. Your once-orderly streets had erupted into chaos: overturned carts, black banners fluttering where her crest should’ve been. Fucking assholes.

“Shit. I need a full overview of things.”

Lucifer gleefully accepted this. “Don’t worry!” he called down, already soaring above. “I’ll scope things out from the top! You take the boring side of things—logistics, planning, subordinates—whatever you Overlords do!”

Before you could stop him, his disguise charm broke as he spread his wings and with a dazzling whoosh , he shot upward, leaving a faint sparkle trail in the smoke like a firework.

You… stayed grounded. Your assistant emerged from a nearby alley, panting. “Ma’am!” she shouted, rushing to you. “They came two nights ago—stragglers, armed –”

“Where’s their base?”

“Near the industrial quarter. They took the outer spires first, then moved inward. We’ve been pushing back, but they got allies.”

You narrowed your eyes. “Allies?”

Your assistant hesitated. And that’s when the bullet whistled past your cheek. A whisper of metal and smoke. You didn’t flinch, but your assistant dove to the ground.

You turned slowly. And there he was, standing tall on a twisted street lamp, rifle resting cockily on one shoulder. Straw hat tilted forward, long tail flicking behind him like a rattlesnake with rhythm. Striker.

“Now that’s a face I didn’t think I’d get the honour of greeting today,” he drawled, teeth glinting. “Didn’t reckon you’d crawl out of that fancy hotel just to come slum it with the rest of us.”

Your gaze was steel. “I don’t entertain rodents. And you’re standing on my property.”

He gave a low whistle. “Still got that bite, huh?” He spun the rifle, pointing it toward you again with casual, confident aim. “Didn’t think you'd bring royalty either.”

You didn’t answer, not yet. You were calculating.

From the air, Lucifer weaved through plumes of smoke and gunfire, magic flaring from his palms in bursts of red-gold light. He wasn’t fighting — This time, he was protecting. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Though some took advantage of the chaos… but he saw something else too.

A husband shielding his wounded wife with trembling wings. A sinner trying to drag a friend to cover. Another woman not able to get out of the rubble telling her girlfriend to flee.

Lucifer floated above them, breathing hard. Lucifer blinked in beside her; with a flick, the stone turned to ash. The couple cried and nodded at him gratefully as he vanished again in a red ripple. And something turned inside him. Not just guilt. Shame.

These weren’t the irredeemable filth he once believed. He had let exterminations go on for centuries. Told himself the worst were being culled. Told himself that Hell was punishment, and he wasn’t its warden, only its unwilling king.

But now, watching the streets run with blood, seeing innocent sinners fall under crossfire they didn’t ask for…He realized something dark and bitter. He hadn’t just stood idle. He’d been wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong.

*

Ice hissed as it struck hot metal, steam rising in thick clouds. You rolled behind a broken fountain, barely missing another shot. Striker was relentless; quick on the trigger, voice a constant taunt. "You're slowing down, little Overlord!"

Your eyes narrowed. You didn't reply. Instead, you rose and let the frost take over.

The ground cracked beneath your feet as a wave of cold spiralled outward, elegant and brutal. Your fingers splayed, and in an instant, the fountain behind you transformed into a wall of jagged ice, catching Striker’s next bullet mid-flight.

He cursed and jumped back. You stepped through the mist like a wraith, one arm lifting, a spear of translucent ice shot forward, pinning his long coat to the wall of a ruined storefront.

His eyes widened. “Shit—Fucking bitch!”

He raised the rifle, point-blank. But you were faster. Your hand shot out, encasing the weapon in solid ice. It cracked under the pressure, a shriek of metal and frost and you wrenched it from his grip before shattering it to dust.

Striker staggered back, breath ragged.

"You picked the wrong bitch," you said quietly, frost curling from your fingertips.

He looked cornered, panting, coat ripped, one boot skidding slightly on your ice. You turned, breathing steady, ready to order him dragged off by your soldiers.

But then you heard it; a faint shhk . The unmistakable sound of a blade unsheathing.

Your instincts flared. Too late. A sharp line of fire bloomed across your cheek as something impossibly hot and divine kissed your skin — slicing with a hum that your soul recognized before your mind did. You stumbled back a step, fingers flying to your face. Blood. You hadn’t bled in years.

The smell of it was wrong. Burned . Your gaze snapped to Striker.

He stood tall now, a wild grin back on his face, twirling something that didn’t belong in Hell. A curved sleek, unnatural blade. It shimmered with celestial light, the metal humming with power. Your chest tightened.

“Where the hell did you get that?” you demanded, voice quieter, deadlier.

Striker shrugged, the blade catching the dim sun as he spun it lazily. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

You narrowed your eyes. That was angelic steel . Carmilla Carmine was the only one who traded in them. And she sure as shit wouldn’t hand one to some errand boy with a cowboy hat.

You stepped forward. “You’re going to regret that.”\The air cracked as your ice daggers shot toward Striker, each one a razor-edged shard of fury.

He dodged deftly, rolling between a pair of shattered pillars, boots skidding across frost-slick stone. He sliced through two of the blades mid-spin, divine steel singing as it clashed with your magic. 

You were faster this time. You slammed your palm into the ground, ice erupting upward in jagged walls, trying to trap him in. Striker leapt, twisting in the air, but you were already there, meeting him mid-motion with a kick to the ribs that sent him sprawling.

You surged forward to end it, hand raised, frost already forming your next strike. But he was quicker than his battered form suggested.

A flash of white steel came for your throat, sudden and reckless. Time slowed. You didn’t think. You reacted .

Your hand swept upward and an ice-forged sword burst into being in your palm, catching his blade inches from your skin. The impact rang out like thunder.

Both of you froze, faces inches apart, breath mingling in the space between. You stared into his eyes — wild, defiant, but gleaming with something darker than pride. 

He grinned. “That’s the problem with people like you,” he drawled, pushing his weight against your blade, the angelic steel hissing as it clashed with your ice. “You think you’re in control. That you know all the moving parts.”

Your eyes narrowed, muscles tensed. “What are you talking about?”

He chuckled darkly, pressing his weight harder against your blade. “Y’know… maybe I am just a pawn. A little gun for hire. But I ain’t stupid.”

He jerked his head to the side." 'Specially when someone brings a king to a war he should’ve stayed the hell away from. Tch…royalty don’t do good on battlefields, now do they?”

You followed his gaze, and saw him. Lucifer was still in the air, magic flaring as he shielded a group of terrified civilians. Too focused and exposed. 

And then you saw them. A cluster of armed demons, camouflaged against the rubble. You hadn't noticed them before. But they were aiming directly at him. And the weapons they held gleamed white …. Angelic guns.

Shit, shit, shit.

Your breath hitched. The frost around you stilled, your heart did not.

Striker chuckled, still pressed to your blade. “Oops,” he said with mock surprise. “Now how did they know the king will come along today?”

Who is talking about?! Dread settled in your gut like a stone. Because no matter how powerful he was, you doubted even the King of Hell could take that many angelic shots.

Your grip tightened around your sword. This wasn’t just about your territory anymore.

You didn’t think. You shoved Striker back with a burst of frigid wind, sending him skidding across the battlefield on a slick of ice. The second he hit the ground, you were already running.

Your boots pounded against scorched rubble and frozen debris, lungs burning, heart louder than any explosion in the distance. You didn’t even register the blood still dripping from your cheek. You only saw him.

So unaware. So damn unaware.

“Sir–LUCIFER!” you shouted, voice raw. “ABOVE YOU—!”

He turned, smiling that you finally called him by his name. For a moment, your eyes met in the smoke and flickering firelight. His expression changed from confusion…straight into fear .

Because in that same heartbeat—You felt it. The divine burn.

Striker’s sword rammed through your lower abdomen, sliding between your ribs with a sickening ease. You felt everything.

His breath was on your neck. “Tsk,” he whispered with a grin in your ear, voice practically humming with glee. “Letting your guard down for him ?”

You gasped but didn’t scream. Didn’t give him the pleasure. Striker twisted the blade as he withdrew it, slow and deliberate. Blood poured from the wound, soaking into your clothes.

Striker’s boots crunched as he stepped back. His thoughts burned with satisfaction. An Overlord... dropping her shield for the King? Now that’s leverage. That’s a story worth telling."But not now. He was tired, wounded, and she wasn’t dead yet. Time to vanish.

You staggered forward, one step at a time, your hand pressed tightly to your bleeding side. Warmth trickled down your fingers, soaking through your hands. The angelic wound hissed against your flesh, deeper than you'd first realized. It was spreading. Burning.

Your breath was shallow. Each inhale felt like it scraped the inside of your lungs.

Behind you, the battlefield simmered into silence. Somewhere, your forces were cleaning up the remnants of the rebellion. You didn’t look back.

“Ma’am!” your assistant rushed to your side, panic clear in her voice. “Please, you need to sit down—”

You shoved her hand away with more force than you meant to.

“I’m fine,” you muttered, even as your knees wobbled. You bit down on the sharp throb beneath your ribs and kept moving. You had to.

Not where your enemies could watch you fall.

The truth rattled in your chest like cracked ice. You weren’t going to make it much farther. You were bleeding from the inside, and divine magic to top it all. 

I need to crash, you thought. Somewhere safe.

You blinked upward just as Lucifer landed in front of you, panting, wild-eyed. “ You’re hurt,” he gasped, voice pitching high with panic as he crossed the space to reach you. “Why would you do something like this for them?!”

Your knees buckled. Your legs finally gave in. You didn’t fight it.

Because your eyes found his — frantic, flooded with worry and something inside you eased. You didn’t know when it had happened, or why , or even if it made any damned sense…But in that moment, as your vision blurred and the sounds of the world became cotton-soft—

Your last thought before the darkness took you was simple: Safe in his arms.

Everything felt… cold. And not from your magic this time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next>>>

Taglist: @atlantis-just-drowned, @uniquecutie-puffs, @elegancefr, @petalsrdead, @jazztato

[animasola86]

LOST & FOUND 🫂 CH8

To further guide you into your new life, Mommy takes you to a sex shop, introducing you to the benefits of certain toys...

soft!Daddy!dom x Mommy!domme x little girl!reader

WARNINGS: F!Reader insert. NSFW! Explicit sexual content. Mommy/Daddy kink. Dd/Md/lg dynamics. Dom/sub undertones. Pet names. Sex shop. Sex toys/vibrators. Semi-public assisted masturbation. Vaginal fingering. Fluff. (More notes under the cut!)

WORDS: 5.8k 🔷️ READ ON AO3 🔷️ 1–2–3–4–5–6 7–8–9–10–11–12

A/N: Mommy POV incoming! Age and name reveal (again) because she is an original character (inspired by the women I tagged). We learn a bit more about her life and the world she lives in. (Reminder that this is a fictional relationship borrowing elements from Dom/sub and caregiver/little dynamics. I'm taking massive creative liberties here!) By the way, the next two chapters will have no Daddy in them, I'm sorry, I don't know what happened, Mommy took over. He'll be back soon though! (More info on Reader in previous A/Ns.)❗ (Please READ THIS if you're confused about the tags I listed this under!)❗

Chapter 7 🔷️ Chapter 8 🔷️ Chapter 9

After lunch, Isabella decided to finally confront you with the things she only ever teased at, the implications, the ideas, the expectations. She knew you still had no idea what it really meant to be a submissive, their submissive even, as eager as you were, and as grateful to be off the streets and heading towards a new chapter of your life. It was cute how clueless you were.

She knew that Noah had already taken it further than she had initially planned their little arrangement to go, the horny bastard, but that was part of his charm, and luckily you hadn't shied away from his advances. Indeed he seemed to have pulled you in fully, with whatever he had done to you. So as furious and jealous as she had been when he had whisked you away over night without telling her, she was glad about it too.

Now she didn't have to beat around the bush anymore.

And so she took you to Lady Noir's Naughty Needs, a horrible name for a sex shop, but the selection was good, it was discreet (she preferred to enter the store through the back entrance like she preferred to enter most things, to be honest) and subtle enough to trick you into a sense of safety.

Lady Noir, who was a very tall and very creative transwoman, with a voice that was either like nails on a chalkboard or a good scratch down the back, had done a splendid job in dressing the shop in elegant blacks and reds, lots of velvet and lace, it was extravagant like herself, but also comfortable enough to soothe the nerves of an anxious girl – and you were indeed quite taken aback as Isabella took your hand and led you through the door along the black velvet covered hallway into one of the 'testing booths'.

You took a timid look around the small space, wide eyes scanning the black leather couch as she motioned you to sit down. You looked so cute and fashionably out of place with your pink sundress, side braid and white frilly ankle socks. Soft lighting illuminated the otherwise dark room, but nothing could hide the dusting of heat on your cheeks.

On a low table in front of the couch sat a thick catalog, and as Isabella sat down next to you, she pulled it towards you and flipped it open. “Now, shall we talk openly, cariño?” she asked, turning back to look at you. Your eyes were glued to the selection of various sex toys on the pages in front of you.

You blinked before you met her gaze. “Yes?” you mused, looking at her like a deer in headlights.

“You agreed to be our submissive,” Isabella started quietly, “and while I did explain a few details to you, I just want to make it clear what it is we're expecting of you.”

You nodded, listening closely, your bottom lip pulled between your teeth.

“You, the submissive, are to give up control to us, your Dominants, me and Noah, your Mommy and Daddy. You will do as we say, you will trust us to know your limits, you will let go for us. We want you to be our little girl, someone to cuddle and pamper and take care of, someone to make us feel good. While we might be considered your caregivers, we will not only guide you through life, we will also do with you as we please.”

She watched you as she talked, and when she paused, she tapped her fingernails on the catalog on the table. You held her gaze, anxious but curious, attentive and alert.

“This is first and foremost a sexual arrangement, mi amor, this shouldn't be a surprise to you considering the things we did already experience together, hm?” She leaned towards you a little, her hand moving to rest on your thigh, fingers curling around it. “And as you never said anything against it, I can assume you are okay with us touching you like we did?”

“Y-yes, Mommy,” you murmured without hesitation.

“Are you a virgin, darling?”

“No,” you said, averting your eyes as shame crashed through you.

Isabella knew, or at least put the pieces together in a way, that you were raised rather conservative with how you struggled to talk about things that should be natural. It still came as a surprise to her that you apparently already lost your virginity.

She raised her eyebrows in a questioning fashion, and you added: “High school boyfriend, didn't last very long after...”

“Ah,” she made, squeezing your leg. “I see. What a shame, I'm sorry. But trust me, we will appreciate you for much longer, as long as you will let us.”

“B-but I don't... don't have much experience...”

“And that's okay, you don't have to. You just have to be open to new things. Are you open to new things, honey?” Isabella whispered, leaning closer, a smile on her lips.

You bit your lip, but quickly nodded again. “Yes.”

“Good,” she said, giving you a quick peck on the cheek. “Can I assume you never had sex with a woman before?”

Her question made you flinch a little, which she laughed softly at. “I... uh, I kissed a girl before, before you, obviously, but no... uh... no s-sex...”

“And do you want to have sex with a woman?”

You just nodded, staring at your lap, at her hand firmly pressed between your tight thighs.

“And what about being sandwiched between a man and a woman, at the same time?”

You looked up then, still chewing on your lips. “If... if that's okay... with you...”

She chuckled. “Sweetheart, it's what we want! Both of us. We will have our fun individually, but mostly, we want to share you. This is for us too, you know? Trying out new things. Like you, sweet girl.” She slipped her hand lower, under the hem of your dress. “But don't think it'll just be you and Daddy having fun while I watch, or you and me with him watching, no, I really mean share. You were made to handle both of us at once, you know?”

You frowned at that, squirming a little against her hand.

Isabella sighed. “Okay, let me be blunt, my dear,” she started, scooting closer, retrieving the hand from between your thighs to wrap her arm around your shoulders, pulling you against her. Her other hand found your chin, turning your head so she could whisper into your ear. “Have you ever had anything up your pretty little bum, mi amor?”

The heat that radiated off you was instant. She laughed softly, brushing her lips against your ear. You croaked out a barely audible “No”.

“Mhmm,” she hummed, tracing the tip of her tongue along the shell of your ear. “A sweet little virgin bum... the things I will make you feel, cariño. I can't wait...” She pressed her cheek to yours and made you look back at the table. “We're here to buy some new toys, you know? I'm in need of a new strap, and as it's going up your butt, you're here to pick one out. That okay with you?”

Your face was positively burning. You were staring at the catalog, at the picture of a woman wearing a strap-on with another woman kneeling in front of her, ass up, aesthetically positioned to only suggest the action. Then you started shaking, your breaths rasping past your parted lips. “I... I don't know...” you whimpered quietly, unable to pry your gaze away from the scene on the table.

“Hmm, I know it sounds scary, but it will feel so good, darling. Just imagine riding Daddy's cock, his hands on your hips, you looking deep into his pretty eyes, and I'm behind you, stuffing your other hole, filling you up so much you can barely breathe. But oh the sensations... I can assure you it will be like nothing you've ever experienced...” Sighing deeply, she rubbed her cheek against yours, feeling the warmth burning under your skin. Her arms wrapped fully around you, pressing you against her chest. “Don't be afraid, sweet pea, it'll be amazing. Your head will be so empty, you will not have a worry in the world!”

She felt you swallowing hard, your breaths still a little labored. Your heart must be beating out of your chest. It amused her more than she wanted to admit. She could imagine this to be absolutely terrifying for someone who'd only had her cherry popped unceremoniously by some clumsy boy, dumped after and never had any real sexual adventures since then. To fall into the hands of an unconventional couple who enjoyed all aspects of kink in a very excessive way must be quite overwhelming.

But you had to see the benefits of it too. One day you would. She knew for a fact that sex in any form was a great way to battle any kind of anxiety, having been there herself. When she was your age (which was only about ten years ago), she found herself in a world where she didn't belong, or got told this by anyone around her. To not just be a woman, but a Latina, in a world full of old white men, trying to convince conservative and sometimes racist people to see her vision, had been exhausting and discouraging to say the least.

But then she had met Noah, also still a greenhorn, a young man with great potential, working harder than anyone she'd ever come across. While she was battling prejudices and stereotypes, he'd battled the fierce competition, but he still managed to push his company into higher spheres, network his way around, grow roots in a world full of gardeners who loved to cut down anyone to even attempt to toss them off their thrones.

She had been drawn to his dominant aura, to the way he filled a room, became the center of attention without doing much. At first she'd submitted to him, wanted to learn and soak up anything he could teach her, but he soon turned her into craving more, make her own success, dominate as well, become the one to turn heads, and not just for her looks and aura, but also for her sharp tongue and brilliant ideas.

He gave her the confidence she needed (by sharing the power, both in the office and in bed), and she was grateful, and she knew it could benefit you as well. She wanted to make you shine again, be someone, find yourself, let go of all the crippling fear and doubts, and the only way how was by being pounded senseless. She'd gone there, and she'd see to it that you went there too. It would help you so much to just let go and take whatever she and Noah gave you.

You still seemed anxious, though. She hugged you tighter, kissed your warm cheek. “Don't be scared,” she whispered once more. “We'll ease you into it, one little push at a time. It may sound like a lot, but I'll make sure you won't be overwhelmed, unless you come to the point where you want to be overwhelmed, of course. Oh, cariño, it's the best feeling to let go and just take, to let it happen, to lose control. Trust me, I've been there. You'll love it.”

Your breathing eased a little as you leaned into her, but she could tell it would be a long journey to get you to be completely comfortable with anything sex related. Maybe it hadn't been the best idea to take you to Lady Noir, but you were here now, so why not throw you into the deep end and get it over with.

As if she'd been waiting for her cue, the store owner then entered the small room, rapping her knuckles on the door. “Well, hello there,” the tall woman cooed, her deep voice thrumming through the air. “Who have we here? Aren't you the cutest little bean I've ever seen!”

You stared up at the towering presence of Lady Noir who was wearing a tight black skirt and an even tighter black top, accentuating toned arms and an impressive bust that even rivaled Isabella's, who leaned back and crossed her legs, smiling. “This is Lady Noir, darling, say hello,” she whispered, nudging your side gently.

You cleared your throat, attempting something of a bow that made her smirk. “H-hello,” you said quietly, introducing yourself.

Noir leaned in and grabbed your extended hand with both of hers, so large they dwarfed your small one, her dark skin shining in the dim light. “Oh I am delighted, little one.” She smiled at you, squeezing your hand before releasing it again and sitting down on the edge of the table, where she crossed her legs and faced you and Isabella on the couch. “So, what brings you here? Need any new toys, Bella?”

Isabella laughed softly, tilting her head. “You know me so well,” she said. “Well, as you can see, we got ourselves a little girl, finally. And she is so perfect, the perfect little thing, aren't you, honey?” She looked at you, and you met her gaze, highly embarrassed. “So humble and shy,” she added, raising her hand to pat your warm cheek. “Obviously, we want to ease her into it gently,” she said, turning back to Noir.

The other woman nodded, her chin resting on her palm with her elbow on her knee, her long legs toned and smooth, exquisite black high heels on her feet that swayed with her motions. “Of course, don't want to break the precious thing, hm?” she mused, her dark eyes gleaming. Today she had her black locks arranged in intricate rows of thick braids that swirled around her head like large snakes. “Do you have any experience with sex toys, my dear?” she addressed you with a soft tone.

You looked up, blinking in confusion (such a cute look on you). Then you shook your head.

“No? Not even improvised one? Ever stuck a pen in there? Or a cucumber?”

Your eyes widened, and you looked down, shaking your head more furiously, your hands clenching around the hem of your dress.

“What about fingers? Come on, baby girl, I'm sure you have at least tried your tiny little digits before? Rubbed a little? Dipped a bit?”

Isabella saw you swallowing, watching you curiously. You gave the tiniest of nods, just a jerk, a shudder through your body. Noir chuckled deeply.

“That's all good, little one. No one's born a porn star, right? Well, I was, but let's not talk about me,” she laughed. Her words made you look up with something like confused interest. She took the catalog into her hands and flipped through the pages. “You know, this should be obvious, but self love is so important, such a natural thing. Best to relieve tension, to clear the mind, to focus on other important things. Flicking your bean really is nothing to be ashamed of. But if you prefer to let others work for you, I can only recommend a variety of these,” she added, holding out the catalog towards you, open on two pages full of various vibrators.

Your eyes scanned the items, and Isabella could see the heat crashing into your head. You were shaking like a leaf. She pulled one arm around you, settling her hand on your waist, scooting closer to you. “It's alright, honey,” she soothed quietly. “Do you want to pick something?”

You blinked, your eyes watering the longer you stared at the items. “I... I don't know...” you breathed shakily.

“Pick a color,” Noir chimed in. “We'll pick the rest for you, hm, sweetheart?”

It came to nobody's surprise that your finger hovered over the more subtle colors, a light pink, a faded purple, a soft blue. Isabella gave you a kiss on the cheek. “Good girl, good choices,” she whispered before she looked up at Noir. “Can you give us some of the smallest now? We'll come back once she's more accustomed.”

The other woman nodded with a wide smile. “Of course. Shall I slip in one bigger one, just to test the waters?” She gave Isabella a wink, who nodded with a smirk.

“Please do, I know you know best.”

“I do, darling, I do.” She stood up then, flipping the catalog as she turned slightly. “Oh, how about these? I can get them in all sizes and the colors she chose?”

Isabella laughed, following the finger pressed to a page full of strap-ons. Normally she'd prefer black ones, harness and dildo, but these came in soft pinks as well. If it would ease your nerves, she'd switch out her old set-up. Not that you would see a lot of what would be going on behind you, but maybe the idea of having something girly stuck in your butt would help with the sensations. (It would also be better to train your other holes, including your throat, with something that didn't look as intimidating.)

“Good thinking,” she said. “I'll take these, and two of those,” she said, nodding at Noir, showing her her selection. She'd go for pink, but the sizes were non-negotiable. You'd get used to it.

The tall woman nodded. “Anything else?”

“Get us a lot of lube,” she added with a wink, leaning back, her arm still around you. “I'm sure we'll need it.”

A shiver crashed through you, but you didn't show any more reactions, probably stuck in your own head, worrying your little brains out. This wasn't to humiliate or embarrass you, it was to show you aspects of your new life, of the world you had entered. She hoped you'd see that one day.

“Can we stay here for a moment longer?” Isabella then asked as Noir turned to leave, ready to prepare her order.

“Of course, anything for you, my love,” she said with a soft smile. “Do you need anything? To take the edge of?” Her last words were lower, only meant for Isabella's ears.

She just looked at the other woman, who understood without words before she bowed her head and gave her a wink, then disappeared through the door. You seemed to relax a little once Noir's towering frame had left the small room. Breathing deep, you settled against Isabella.

“Relax, mi amor, Mommy's got you,” she cooed, pulling you closer until your head rested on her chest, her fingers gliding over your head. “Why are you nervous?”

You took a shuddering breath. “It... it's all so new... to me...” you replied quietly.

She nodded, leaning down to press her lips to the top of your head. “I bet, but don't be overwhelmed. Like Noir said, this is all natural. Nothing perverse or filthy about self pleasure, or pleasure in general. It'll help you.”

Before you could say anything to that, the door opened again, another woman, one of Noir's assistants, came in, carrying a tray with two glasses of champagne and a small (bright pink) egg-shaped object next to them. She put the tray down and bowed her head, before leaving without a word.

You stared at what had been brought in. “Want to pick it up?” Isabella asked quietly. You sat up straighter on the couch, swallowing audibly. “It's just a little vibe, honey, feel its texture, its weight, turn it on, test it out.” She grabbed one of the champagne flutes and took a sip, watching you.

It took you a long moment before you reached out to the item, tentatively sliding your finger over it. She could tell you'd never used anything like this before, you even held it by its thick tail as you finally picked it up. She leaned in and switched the sides, letting the heavier egg-shaped part rest on your palm while she pressed the button on the end of the tail. You flinched when the vibrations buzzed in your hand.

“You wanna test it out?” she mused softly, pressing her shoulder into yours. “Don't worry, it's clean and safe. You can trust Lady Noir, she's the best.”

“She's a little... intimidating,” you whispered, skillfully ignoring her question. “So tall, and her voice...”

“Wait till you see her naked,” Isabella laughed, letting it slide. “She has the biggest cock you'll ever see in your life. And that thing is intimidating!”

You stared at her, confusion washing over you. “But... she's a...”

“She was born a man, dear,” she said with a gentle smile. “Started in the adult film industry when she was just eighteen, then quickly figured she didn't like being an anonymous cock. I still envy the boob job they did on her, so impressive. She moved into the spotlight, made quite a name for herself, The Black Switch, they called her, but as all things are eventually, she left the porn biz to start her own, creating the best sex toys you'll ever use. The softest feel, the most power,” she added, stroking the vibrating item on your palm. “Do you want me to help you with it?”

You bit your lip, staring at the pink object before you blinked and looked up at her with wide eyes. “Here?” you squeaked.

“Why not? We're all alone here. The walls are thick, nobody is coming in. It's just us, sweetheart, and you've been alone with Mommy before, haven't you?”

She took the vibe off your hand and turned it off, scooting back on the couch. Then she pulled you into her lap, your back resting against her shoulder, legs draped over her thigh. She nudged them apart and gently pushed the hem of your dress up.

“Do you trust Mommy?” she whispered into your ear, her breath ghosting your skin.

“Yes,” you replied quietly, settling against her, allowing her to push your legs further apart until they fell open over her own.

“Good girl,” she praised, the hand holding the toy pressing against your stomach, the other moving under your dress, her fingers teasing at your crotch. It was warm and damp already. As much as you fought these things, you were still clearly affected by them. Her dirty talk, the pictures of the toys, the prospect of using them. It got to you, and she was glad.

She rubbed your mound for a moment, feeling the fabric of your underwear sticking to your slick skin. You tried to relax on her lap, but your breaths came out labored, your lips parted and trembling, your body stiffening under her ministrations. She moved her fingertip along the edge of your panties, slowly pulling them away from your cunt, exposing your hot skin.

Her other hand shifted the vibe and turned it back on, on the lowest setting, a gentle hum, but when she brought it down between your legs and teased it against your hooded clit, you gave a sudden jolt, almost slipping off her lap.

“Easy, mi amor, just relax. Let it happen,” she cooed. You inhaled deeply, leaning into her. “Good, just breathe, let me make you feel good...”

She pressed the vibrating object back against your smooth mound, sliding it along your slit, letting you feel the soft buzzing. Little gasps escaped you that made her stomach tense. So adorable. Her fingers soaked in your wetness when she moved the toy against your core, and as she gave your clit a little prodding, she imagined feeling it throb against her tongue, the idea of licking up your slick making her close her eyes, a low moan rasping through her.

“Oh my precious little girl, you feel so sweet, I bet you taste just as amazing. I can't wait to dip my tongue into you,” she whispered into your ear, relishing in the shudders crashing through you, both from her words and the constant buzz against your sensitive bud. “Will you let Mommy eat you out, sweet girl? Can I have you for dinner tonight?”

You gasped, your body shivering against her. “Yes, Mommy,” you moaned quietly.

She continued holding the vibe against you, imagining the flush of your skin, the constant drip of arousal, the sweet scent filling her nostrils when she would eventually bury her face in your cunt. She couldn't wait, but she had to. This was not the place for something so intimate and new to you, no matter how private they were right now. This was just to get you to relax, let go, feel the power of pleasure wiping the worries away.

When you started grinding your hips against her hand and ultimately the vibrator, she pressed it harder between your labia, nudging your clit, letting it slide up and down, every thrum sending little shivers up your body while little mewls slipped out of your throat. Your hands were gripping the fabric of your dress bunched up in front of your stomach, chest heaving as your breaths quickened, and when she finally pushed the egg-shaped toy lower, against your entrance, you gave a shrill little squeak as it slipped into your cunt, swallowed by greedy muscles, clenching tightly.

Isabella added a finger, wanting to feel the contractions of your sweet pussy around the buzzing item, and you threw your head back against her shoulder, moaning quietly, your noises tense and muffled, and she told herself to teach you to be really loud, to let it all out, to not care about anyone hearing you. One day. For now she quite enjoyed your little squeaks and yelps and gasps, the way your body squirmed on her lap, your thighs twitching, itching to snap together if it wasn't for her hand holding them open.

“Feels nice, doesn't it?” she whispered, kissing the shell of your ear. Her index finger nudged the toy a little deeper, its thick tail coiled around her pinky to hold it in place.

She pushed and prodded, watching your reaction, and when you suddenly stiffened, a voiceless shriek parting your lips further, she knew she'd found the right spot. Holding the vibe in place, letting it buzz softly against your sensitive nerves, she savored the fight you fought, struggling against the pleasure building up inside you.

“Yes, just like that, baby, let it happen. Purr for me, kitten...” Her pinky curled, pressing the button at the toy's tail, increasing the vibrations.

You mewled, moaned, gasped, writhing against her, your hands grasping for her arm, to hold it there or pull it away, she wasn't sure, and neither were you.

She watched you, how you tilted your head back, eyes squeezed shut, lips trembling, cheeks aflame, chest rising and falling faster, straining against the stiff fabric of your dress, your legs kicking uncontrollably, little twitches all through your body, and she held the vibrator inside you, along with two of her fingers, feeling the soft clenching of your walls, the slick amassing in her hand, dripping out of you with every new wave of pleasure.

You came with a soft gasp, melting into her embrace, hips stuttering, thighs spasming, your hand tightening around her wrist before you relaxed, let go, slid away into the bliss pulsing through you. She tugged at the toy and pulled it out, then turned it off, cradling it in her hand for a moment, warm and wet, as she let you come down from your high.

“My good girl,” she sighed softly. “That was beautiful, so beautiful, just like you.”

You turned your head and buried your burning face in the crook of her neck, your body boneless on her lap. She wrapped her free arm around you, and you settled against her, legs pulled up, your hands clutching at her waist as you held onto her. Your breaths were still labored, hot against her neck, but any kind of tension was gone from your body.

She brought the wet vibe to her eyes, watching your slick glistening in the dim lights. Inhaling deeply, she filled her nostrils with your sweet scent, she even moved it closer, cradling it in her hand but then only extended the fingers that had been inside you. Her tongue swiped along her fingertips, her moans loud in your ear as she licked your wetness off her skin.

“You taste divine, my sweet,” she whispered, breathing deeply. “Thank you for indulging me.”

You hummed into her, a sleepy little thing in her arms, cooing softly. “Thank you, Mommy,” she heard your faint voice. “I think... I needed that...”

She chuckled. “I'm sure you did, always happy to lend a hand, mi amor. You can just ask, okay? I will give you anything you want. You are my sweet little girl after all.”

You gave another hum in response, snuggling into her.

She allowed you a few more minutes, just sitting with you, holding you, enjoying your presence. You leaned into her, so fragile in a way, such a cute thing, slipping more and more into your role as if it was an inborn instinct to act like this. She'd known you were perfect, from the moment she'd seen you sitting on the street, so lost and lonely and anxious, your eyes so hollow and hopeless. If she'd believe in it, she'd say it was love at first sight.

Whatever one would call it, it was the moment she truly felt the need to nurse you, help you, pamper you. She had spent the last decade on top, dominating, putting people down, showing them their place, always below her. But with you, it felt different. She'd still be telling you what to do, but for the first time in her life, it would be in a nice way, a caring way. It was all new to her too, but it felt right, you made it so easy to hug you and care for you, to let her own softer side shine through while she vowed to make you feel good.

Whatever the future held, she knew it would be glorious. She couldn't wait to feel you come undone on her tongue or on her strap or on her fingers again, over and over, until she was satisfied and you were a trembling mess with an empty head. That was the goal. Fuck those worries right out of you.

Inhaling deeply, she rubbed her hand over your back. “Did you fall asleep, cariño?” she asked softly. You mumbled something in response, and she laughed quietly. “Do you think you can walk now, baby?”

“Yes, Mommy,” you muttered under your breath, slowly shifting on her lap, sitting up, stretching your legs before you clambered off her, holding onto the armrest of the couch.

The skirt of your dress was wrinkled and bunched up, your panties still pushed aside, showing the soft glistening of your folds. She leaned in and fixed you up, rearranging your underwear and smoothing your dress down, then gave you a soft pat to your bum and stood up too. The used vibrator vanished into her purse.

“Now, what are you in the mood for next?” she whispered as she put her hands on your warm face, looking down.

You pursed your lips, thinking. “I don't know. Anything you want, Mommy.”

Your voice was so soft, almost sleepy, she couldn't help it, she had to lean in and brush her lips against yours. The kiss was short but sweet, and she had to lean away with a sigh as her own desire flared up inside her.

“Hmm, what do we do...” she mused, pulling you against her as she started walking towards the door of the small room. “Shopping again? Or... oh, ice cream, maybe? Or a milkshake? Though we should probably get a smoothie, something healthier, huh? I could show you my gym, or we could do some yoga? Have you done yoga before, baby?”

She kept talking as she led you through the velvety hallway again, nodding to one of Lady Noir's assistants who came forth with two large bags. The young woman followed them, through the backdoor and over the parking lot to the car, where her driver took them off her hands and stored them in the trunk.

And Isabella walked with you in her arm, leisurely making plans or suggestions, knowing you wouldn't be able to choose anything in your current state of mind. It didn't matter either way, she'd be content just walking with you, sitting next to you, spending time with you. It was relaxing to cradle you against her, to focus on you instead of her own busy mind.

She settled you next to her in the car, pulling the seat belt around you, before her hand slipped automatically between your legs, rubbing against your damp underwear. You turned your head to her, your cheeks flushed, but your eyes a little clearer now.

“Can we go home?” you whispered then, biting your lip.

Home. How fast you'd adjusted. She smiled at you, parting her lips to reply when you continued:

“Do you think Daddy is back yet?”

She froze, turning her head to hide the scowl on her face. Something about the way you asked that didn't sit right with her. This was her day with you after all. He had already brought you back late, cutting off precious hours she could have spent with you. And he was still on your mind, even though you had her fingers at your cunt.

“He's probably still working. He's a busy man, mi amor, don't get your hopes up.” She couldn't make her voice sound any less resentful, so she cleared her throat and looked at you, forcing herself to smile. “But I'm here for you, cariño, isn't that enough?”

Your eyes widened before you blinked quickly. “Oh, of course, Mommy, I didn't mean –” Sure you didn't, she thought bitterly, but smiled all the same, curling her hand around your mound.

“It's okay, baby, relax, no harm done,” she said, tilting her head as she watched your warm face, an idea swirling through her mind. “Oh, I know what we can do. Unless you really want to go home?”

You swallowed, shaking your head. “I... I want to be with you, no matter where,” you replied quietly.

Your words should have eased her doubts, but instead they were tainted and she couldn't take them seriously. And deep inside, her old ways flared up again, wanting to prove to you who she really was, that you wouldn't need anyone but her. She knew she was flawed in that way, and while you did bring out the good in her, her not-so-good side was still very much alive inside her.

And so she gave your cunt a gentle rub, smiled sweetly and leaned forward a bit to tell the driver:

“Take us to the Pet Cafe.”

Chapter 7 🔷️ Chapter 8 🔷️ Chapter 9

End notes: Hey, so, I made Mommy a Latina because I love Latinas and I want to throw in more Spanish pet names and “show off” the Spanish skills I honed after almost two years of Duolingo "classes"... (Needless to say: I mean no disrespect, I truly admire Spanish-speaking people and I always wanted to write a character like this. Also I am aware that some of these pet names differ from country and region, so let's just imagine Mommy having a Spanish mother and, I don't know, a Mexican father, or vice versa, or from another South American country. Again, please don't take offense, I am just a humble European admiring other cultures because my own sucks so much..., I'm bound to make mistakes, so I apologize in advance.)

On another note: I have no idea what Mommy and Daddy do for a living, what kind of company they have, what kind of business. Any kind of economics or economy talk makes my writer brain hurt, so I ask you to imagine whatever you want them to do. The important thing is: they are successful in whatever it is they're doing (and unlike a certain other man from another story of mine, all they do is very much legal). In the end, it doesn't matter too much, I hope. It's about their relationship with Pumpkin after all.

Thank you for reading! New chapter every Saturday!

Up next: You're going to the Pet Cafe, whatever that is...

MASTERLIST 🔷️ AO3 🔷️ ORIGINAL WORKS

[facets-and-rainbows]

Blue Exorcist Character Guidebook 2: Mephisto

Info on Mephisto from the new guidebook! Each character has a profile followed by relevant questions from fans, and then there's an interview section later where Kazue Katoh gives commentary on each major character and each manga arc. I have more guidebook than time, so I'm skipping the parts that are just like...summarizing who he is and stuff. So this will mostly be fan questions and Katoh's commentary

Biographical info

Gender: Male Age: (°w°) Rank/Titles: Director of True Cross Academy and head of the exorcism cram school, Honorary Knight for the Knights of the True Cross, King of Time Anniversary [T/N Katoh gives demons these in lieu of a birthday]: August 28 Blood type: ( ʹ - ʼ ) Height: 195 cm (184 cm without the "horn") Weight: 74 kg Skills and interests: movies, manga, anime, games, music, toys, miscellaneous subcultures

Fan Q&A

How do members of the Knights of the True Cross usually find out that Mephisto is a demon king?

I think some people might find out from books, the internet, etc even before they become exorcists. They do publish demon field guides that you can find at regular libraries, and Mephisto seems like the type to mention it in online interviews. Rin was the only one who didn't know.

How long has he had his current body?

About 200 years.

Which media from Assiah has had the greatest impact on him?

I imagine he would have been shocked the first time he saw a cinematograph.

Mephisto really likes all sorts of entertainment; has he ever tried making something himself?

Demons in general (not just Mephisto) tend to be bad at creative pursuits, though there are exceptions. Mephisto has a certain respect for human creativity.

Why is he so fond of Beelzebub?

Beelzebub just kind of struck a chord with him. Meanwhile, Beelzebub also likes being spoiled by Mephisto.

Which other demon kings get along with Mephisto the best?

In order: 1. Beelzebub 2. Amaimon 3. Egyn 4. Astaroth 5. Iblis 6. Lucifer [T/N it took me like an entire minute to work out that Azazel is the one missing from this list. Presumably because he's a rock]

Has Mephisto ever altered the past?

He sure does say a lot of things that imply that! [T/N: Katoh. Katoh. Katoh.]

How rich is Mephisto exactly?

He's actually one of the world's top businessmen and investors. His total assets are probably over one trillion yen [T/N: Jesus f*ck][T/N: that's about US$6.7 billion]

Author interview

Mephisto is a character who can solve just about anything; does that make him hard to write? Honestly, he's super easy to deploy. Mephisto has the plot in the palm of his hand and can fix stuff behind the scenes; he's the one pulling the strings. For adaptations and spinoffs, I just say "if you need to fill in a plot hole, make it Mephisto's fault" (laughs). But I do think it's dangerous to overdo it.

He even took on a sort of narrator role in chapter 44, didn't he? Around Volume 10, I was trying to treat each chapter like its own self-contained oneshot. Mephisto didn't even feel out of place as an omniscient narrator for one chapter, and for me that really drove home what a convenient character he is. Though I'm always wondering when and how to show Mephisto's own serious motives and inner thoughts, since he does fall into that eternal comic narrator role.

He can suddenly turn terrifying just when you were thinking he was comical. Hidden depths. Fundamentally he's on the humans' side, and he's often in charge of comic relief, but I do want to show his demonic side too. Same with the familiars; I want to portray the demons as something humans are afraid of.

[fairytaleendingss]

Room for One More?

Chapter 7

Summary: The group Christmas party takes a few unexpected turns.

CW: Swearing, alcohol consumption, mention of boobs?, sexual references.

Pairing: Poly!Marauders x fem!reader

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6

So I may have stayed up until 2am finishing this last night so that I could have it posted on schedule but it also might be my favourite chapter so far!

--

The apartment looked amazing. You'd gone all out with decorating in preparation for this evening's Christmas party. There were lights and candelabras adorning just about every available surface in the room. A garland was laid out across the TV stand and the table was set with your favourite Christmas place setting. You'd even hung mistletoe in the entryway.

You looked yourself over in the mirror once more. You were dressed in your brand new dress, your hair pinned up in a simple, yet elegant updo and you're favourite red lipstick coated your lips. It was important to you that you made a good impression tonight. Despite having already spent a significant amount of time with the group, this was your first time hosting and you'd put a lot of effort into making it perfect.

You took one last deep breath, adjusting your dress slightly where it sat on your shoulders and stealed yourself for an entrance.

The smooth notes of "Last Christmas" filled the air around you as you pushed open the bedroom door. You could hear voices drifitng from the living room. Your guests had arrived.

Exiting the comforting confines of your room, you couldn't help the nerves that wracked through you. That was only amplified when eyes fell upon your form.

"Oh my god!"

Mary was the first to speak, exclaiming loudly with that endearing enthusiasm that she always seemed to exude.

"You look incredible!"

She charged towards you and engulfed you in a warm embrace. You melted into her touch, her excitement helping to ease your nerves ever so slightly.

"Thanks, Mary. So do you!" you told her earnestly. She looked stunning in a silky, red, wrap dress.

"And look at this place!" she continued, pulling away and gesturing around the room. "Did you do this?"

"I had some help," you responded, glancing over at Sirius and James. They were standing beside the tree, chatting to Peter with drinks in hand.

It was at that moment that Sirius looked over to you and his eyes almost bulged fair out of his skull at the sight. He blinked at you senselessly for a moment, completely zoning out of the conversation he'd previously been a part of you. You chuckled lightly, winking and sending him a flirtatious wave across the room.

Unbeknownst to you, Mary was observing the interaction, a curious look of suspicion crossing her features.

"Well, then," She stated after a moment. "Shall we get you a drink?"

You nodded, smiling back at her. "I'd love that."

The two of you linked arms as you headed into the kitchen. Sirius' gaze followed you the whole way there.

--

The room was filled with people dancing and laughing and drinking. The party so far seemed to be a smashing success. You were sitting on the couch, positioned next to Lily while Dorcas sat on the oveseat, Marlene huddled in her lap. Mary was perched on the coffee table, engrossed deeply in a story about a man who'd attempted to ask her on a date in a bookshop earlier that week.

"I could tell he was hovering," she explained. "But I chose to ignore him for the most part. I was in the Crime and Thriller aisle when he approached and I kid you not, he looked me dead in the eyes and said 'I have a library card, can I check you out?'".

The group erupted into fits of laughter.

"But you weren't even in a library! It was a book shop right? That doesn't even make any sense!" Dorcas pointed out.

"I know!" Mary chuckled. "I just looked at him like he was crazy and told him I'm seeing someone. Not that I would've ever gone out with him even if I wasn't!"

"Ugh, men are ridiculous," Marlene remarked. "Luckily for me, they aren't something I have to worry about."

She leaned up and planted a sloppy kiss on Dorcas' cheek causing the girl to flinch away and groan dramatically, eliciting another ripple of laughter.

You took a sip of your cocktail. It was lovely and sweet; a combination of gin, prosecco and canberry juice. Mary had insisted on making them for the party. She called it a "Gin-gle Bell Fizz."

"So, y/n," Suddenly attention was on you as Lily piped up from your right. "Have you been seeing anyone recently?"

You inhaled sharply, accidentally swallowing wrong and causing yourself to sputter for a moment as you placed your glass down on the table.

"Oh no. Not at all," you chuckled, once you'd managed to regain your breath. "I've been lacking in the area of romance for quite some time, honestly."

"Really?" Dorcas pressed, and you nodded sheepishly.

"I'm surprised to hear you say that," Lily respoded kindly. You were sure that in the time you'd known her, you'd discovered the lovliest person on the planet. "You're so beautiful! Anyone would be lucky to have you!"

"I concur!" Marlene agreed. "You're a hit, babe. It's only a matter of time. I'm sure half of London has the hots for you by now."

You chuckled lightly. "Thanks everyone. Careful or you'll give me an ego."

"Don't worry. No matter how inflated it gets, it'll surely never be as large as James'," Dorcas announced, prompting another round of laughter.

"What's as large as me?"

As if on cue, James appeared behind you, leaning down over the couch so that his head was pertruding into your conversation.

"We were just talking about how hot, y/n is," Marlene chirped.

"Well you aren't wrong there," James smirked. "What'dya think I bought her that dress for?"

Mary raised a brow. "You bought her that, did you?"

He winked at her slyly. "Call it an early Christmas gift."

That's when Sirius appeared, Remus by his side.

"Speaking of gifts," he chimed in. "Who's ready for Secret Santa?"

"Oooh yes!"

That came from Peter, who was just returning from the kitchen with drinks for himself and Sybil.

"I call Santa!" James exclaimed, jumping up from his spot and rushing towards the tree as everyone took their seats.

__

"What on earth is this?"

James was surpressing a laugh as he ripped the last of the wrapping paper from his gift.

"They're shot glasses!" Marlene exclaimed as if that much wasn't obvious. She was leaning back in her chair, arms folded and a smug smirk across her face.

"They have tits!"

"I know! Classy aren't they?"

He held one of the glasses up so everyone could see and sure enough, they were shaped like the curves of a female body. You couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of the gift.

"And there are four in there, so each of you boys can use one," Marlene stated. "You know, just in case you were forgetting what they looked like-"

"Oh come off it!" Sirius responded, giving Marlene a playful shove from where he sat beside her as she giggled. "I get plenty of action, thank you very much. I'm the lead singer of a band, remember?"

She shrugged. "Sure, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night!"

"Okay next!" James shouted, sitting his gift aside and rumaging once again under the tree. After a moment he retreated, his lop-sided santa hat (that he'd insisted on wearing) snagging on one of the branches and causing everyone to burst into a flurry of laughter.

"Alright," he announced once his hat was righted. "This one is for y/n!"

He passed you the gift, a small box wrapped in shiny gold wrapping. Excitedly, you pulled off the bow and began to tear into the paper, all eyes on you as the gift was unvailed.

Inside was a small, red box. On top of it was a tag, decorarted with the words, "For your new beginning here with us."

You pulled it open and couldn't stop yourself from gasping at what was inside.

It was a gold necklace with an ornate dragonfly charm, one that matched almost exactly with the orament on your tree. You pulled it out to inspect it closer.

"Oh my god! This is beautiful!"

Your eyes scanned the circle of people, looking for an indication of who might have given you the gift. You knew that your roommates were the only ones who new about your Christmas ornament so it had to be one of them. You already knew that James had Mary so that just left... Sirius. It had to be Sirius.

It made sense now as to why he didn't want to help you with your shopping. He apparently didn't want to give anything away.

You caught his eye across the room and sent him a genuine smile. One which he returned. You're heart felt fuzzy at the sentiment.

--

Secret Santa had been a hit, if you did say so yourself. Dorcas had absolutely fawned over the set of paintbrushes you'd gotten her and everyone else seemed reasonably satisfied with their presents.

You then sat down to eat dinner, and having each brought a plate of food, the meal seemed decently well-rounded. As you tucked into the turkey James had prepared, you said a silent prayer of thanks that you hadn't been made to serve this entire group. Let's just say you were a much better party host then caterer.

After dinner, your guests had retired to the couch where slightly tipsy game of 'Cards Against Humanity' had commenced (at Sirius' request, of course. According to Marlene, he'd been pulling that game out at every group gathering since high-school.)

You and Peter had volunteered to tidy up the plates before you joined them and ended up in a surprisingly interesting dicussion about the Botany course he'd briefly taken during University.

Towards the end of the conversation, you'd recieved a message from your Mum double checking the dates for your Christmas visit and you realised that your phone was down to 10%.

"Could you excuse me for a moment?" You asked Peter as you placed the last of the dishes in the dishwasher.

"Sure," he nodded gently. "If we're finished up here, I'll go join the others."

"Yeah, go for it. I'll be there in a second," you told him and quickly ventured down the hallway with the intent of plugging your phone in in your bedroom.

You responded to your Mum's message on the way and absentmindedly threw the door of your room open without even thinking to knock.

"Oh my god!" you shouted as you entered.

Mary and Lily pulled away from each other in a flash, from where they'd been interlocked in a passionate kiss only a moment prior.

Mary shushed you quickly, pulling you into the room and Lily rushed to push the door closed.

You all fell silent for a moment, listening as to whether anyone outside had heard you, however, a ripple of laughter told you that they were still absorbed in the game.

"What the hell?" you questioned, eyes wide as you looked between the two of them. Lily looked extremely embarassed, her face almost as red as her hair as she bit her lower lip.

Mary, on the other hand, just shrugged. "Surprise, I guess?"

"Are you two together?" You questioned, still trying to process the scene unfoldng before you. A realisation dawned on you a second later. "Mary, is Lily who you've been secretely seeing?"

Mary sighed, taking a seat on your bed as she thought over her next words carefully. "I wanted to tell you. We just weren't ready for it to come out in the group yet. We didn't want to make it a whole big thing."

You nodded thoughtfully, taking a seat on the bed beside her. Lily stood in front of you, fiddling with the rings on her fingers nervously.

"This is kind of new to us," she gestured between them and instantly you understood what she was referring to. "And we're still just figuring everything out."

You gave her a small smile, eyes drifting between the two girls. "Well... I'm really happy for you. You guys are a good match."

Mary smiled, wrapping a friendly arm around your shoulder. Lily seemed to relax a little.

"Thanks, girl," Marry said softly. "We appreciate that."

It was then that another, more invasive thought entered your mind.

"Oh god, Lily. James is going to freak out! He's been pining after you since forever!"

Lily let out a lofty sigh, looking immensely guilty. "I know. Which is why you can't tell him, okay? Or anyone."

You furrowed your brows. "Of course I won't tell anyone... but guys, these are your best friends. You can't keep sneaking around forever. You're going to have to tell them at some point."

"We know," Mary muttered. "We're just trying to figure out the right time to do it."

"But we promise we will," Lily added. "Soon. I mean, someone was bound to catch us sooner or later."

"Although, I'm glad it was you and not Sirius," Mary joked. "He cant keep a secret to save his life. Especially from James."

You chuckled lightly. "Yeah, you're right about that."

"So... you're really okay with all this?" Lily questioned. You could tell on her face that she was worried about putting you in an uncomforable situation.

You sighed and sent her a small smile. "Yeah of course. It's not my place to tell anyone about your personal situations. You have to do that when you're ready."

"Thanks, hun, you're the best!" Mary exclaimed, wrapping her arms around your shoulders and pulling you into a sideways hug.

You just chuckled as Lily gave you a warm smile.

"And just so you know, I think you guys make a really cute couple."

Lily turned bright red once more.

--

A few hours later, the party drew to a close. Peter and Sybil were the first to leave, followed shortly after by Dorcas and Marlene.

You said goodbye to Mary and Lily around 1am and the four of you who lived at the apartment stayed up a little while longer to tidy up before you went to bed.

Remus said goodnight earlier than the rest of you, as he was having trouble with his knee again. And you sent James off after him when you noticed how his eyes were falling shut while he was picking up wrapping paper.

Eventually, you and Sirius were all that was left. It was the dead of night by that point, and the city had grown silent. There was something peaceful about it, you observed, being awake while the rest of the world was sleeping. For a moment, it felt like you were the only two people in the world.

Sirius smiled when he caught you gazing out of the widow at the cityscape. There were a few cars still driving on the road below, a few stray lights on in apartment windows, a few little signs of life peering through an otherwise silent metropolis.

Sirius approached you slowly, coming to stand behind you as you looked out at the night-covered skyline.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked softly. His warm breath fanned the back of your neck.

"Those people down there, driving," you responded. "I wonder where they're going?"

Sirius chuckled. It was a deep, rich sound that welled from somewhere in his chest.

"It's a bit late for a drive, you'd think."

You hummed in response. "Isn't it odd to think about how life doesn't just exist around you?"

Sirius frowned. "What do you mean?"

You shrugged. "Like, the idea that every single person that you see through their apartment window, or pass on the street, or who's driving one of those cars down there, is living their own individual life. They each have their own stories; their own friends and family and lovers. There's just so many people in the world and most of them, we'll never cross paths with even once."

Sirius pursed his lips. "Wow. That is odd. I can't say I've ever really thought of it like that."

You turned around towards him, the countours of your face highlited in the dim lamp-light.

"Don't you ever wonder about your fans? Who they are? What their life is like? To think that there could be all these people out there listening to the music you created, and you may never even know their names."

Sirius pushed a low breath from his lips. "What a philosophical way to end a Christmas party."

You scoffed loudly and rolled your eyes. "Sorry to ruin the mood."

"It's no problem, love. As long as you had a fun time."

He placed his large hands on your upper arms and you couldn't fight the smile that arose. "I had a wonderful time. Did you?"

He returned your smile. "Best Christmas party yet!"

You giggled softely and he placed a kiss on your forehead. "Come on, it's getting late. We should head to bed."

You nodded and pulled away to gather your things. As you did so, your eyes fell on the box containing the necklace you'd recieved for Secret Santa. Another smile graced your lips at the sight of it.

"Hey Sirius?" You called out, just as the boy began to head towards his bedroom door.

"Yeah, doll?"

"I just wanted to say, thank you so much for your gift. It's so wonderful and thoughtful. I absolutely love it!"

A slight frown came over Sirius' face. "Uh... as much as i'd love to take the credit for it, I didn't get that for you."

Your brows furrowed. "Really?"

Sirius shrugged. "Sorry. I had Remus."

"Well then who..."

Your question trailed off as your eyes fluttered to the aformentioned man's door. No. Surely not. It couldn't be!

Remus?

He'd never get you a gift that thoughtful... would he?

You looked down at the necklace as Sirius bid you a final goodnight. Your finger gently drifted over the dragonfly pendent and then to the note that was stuck to the top of the box.

"For your new beginning here with us."

--

Taglist:

@hisparentsgallerryy @navs-bhat @shushbruv @magicwithaknife @eeviee4 @notapoetjustscar @gugggu6gvai @robertsmithclone @ilovesugurugeto69 @taytayy178 @its-notkiee @bugworldsworld @switchingfandomslikecrazy @evangelquill, @delusional-4-fake-people

[its-avalon-08]

the paths we didn't take (cl16)

part7!

multipart story! part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6

Summary : Years ago, Charles Leclerc and Y/N promised to let each other go—for his dreams, for her freedom. No calls, no texts, just memories they buried deep. But when fate reunites them in Monaco, old scars and unresolved feelings resurface. Some loves are unforgettable, but can they find their way back, or is it too late?

✦ pairing - charles leclerc x female reader

Chapter 7: "Unraveled"

Y/N stood by the curb, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, the cool night air doing little to calm the storm inside her. Her thoughts were a chaotic mess, replaying the brief, heart-stopping moment she had locked eyes with Charles.

The intervening years had not been able to prepare her for the tidal wave of emotions that engulfed her when she encountered him there. She shut her tearful eyes, suppressing the flood threatening to flow, wishing her taxicab's engine to go faster.

“Y/N! Lando’s voice called out behind her, his footsteps quick as he caught up. “Hey, where are you going?” She turned slightly, her composure faltering when she saw the genuine concern etched on his face. “I just... I needed some air, she muttered, trying to keep her voice steady.

Lando frowned, noticing the glistening tears in her eyes. Without hesitation, he pulled her into a tight hug, wrapping his arms around her as if shielding her from the world. “Hey, hey, what happened? Are you okay?” Y/N held onto him, for just a moment, comfort of his body grounding her.

She made a shaky breath, and she spoke only a whisper. “I just... I ran into him all these years later, and I don't know what to do. Lando pulled back slightly, his hands resting on her shoulders as he studied her face. “You mean Charles?” She nodded, suppressing the urge to tremble by biting her lip. “Yeah. I thought I was over it, you know? But seeing him... it just brought everything back.”

Lando smiled gently, reassuringly, and looked at her with sympathy. “It’s okay. It’s a lot to process. You do not need to know it all right now. Y/N shook her head, wiping at her eyes. “I thought I moved on, Lando. I really did. But tonight... it was just so unexpected.”

“You don’t have to explain,” he said softly. “You’ve been through a lot. It’s okay to feel confused.” Standing there, Charles leaned against the balcony rail below and observed the scene occurring beneath.

His face dropped to see Y/N in Lando's embrace, how she nestled into him, how Lando cradled her with such warmth. The sight of her tears stirred something deep inside him, but the rational part of his mind told him to let it go. “She’s moved on, Charles whispered to himself, a bitter smile tugging at his lips. “She doesn’t care anymore.”

Closing his eyes he took a deep breath turned away from the door way, shaking his head to dismiss the final confusion. The weight of their history still pressed on him, but he forced himself to focus on the present.

If she was fine, if she had someone like Lando by her side, then he had no reason to dwell on the past. It's time release it, he mumbled, walking back into the club, the loud music and flashing light soon encircling him again.

Outdoors, Y/N backed away from Lando and, with a humble smile, gave him a small smile of thanks. “Thanks for being here.” “Always,” Lando replied, his voice gentle. “You sure you’re okay?” “I will be,” she said, nodding.

“I just need to get home and clear my head. “Alright,” Lando said, giving her one last reassuring squeeze. “Text me when you’re home, okay?” “I will,” she promised, her voice steadier now. When her cab at last pulled over, she made a quick salute before getting out of the vehicle in order, leaving the night and its curious feelings in the open.

When the cab drove off, Y/N pressed her head to the glass, releasing a deep breath. She had encountered him, confronted with a past she thought she had called off. But now, more than ever, she realized the journey to truly moving on was far from over.

----

A booming noise reverberated through the walls of Y/N's apartment, jarring her from a head pounding migraine. She wheedled, pushing her face against the pillow, longing to get free from the sunny morning light coming through the window.

A second knock, this one more persistant, prompted her to reluctantly sit up. Alright, alright, I'm comin’! she mumbled, grabbing a hoodie and dragging herself toward the door. When she swung it open, the view in front of her caused her to blink twice.

Good morning, sunshine! Lando laughed, gesturing with a smile toward the two mugs of steamy coffee. His grin was as cheery as the day's rays she was desperately trying to keep out of sight. “Figured you could use some caffeine.” Y/N squinted at him, rubbing her temples. “Lando, it’s barely morning. What are you doing here so early?”

He strolled in without a request of coming in he laid the cofffee on the tabletop. “It’s almost noon, you lazy bum. Besides, I thought you’d need this after last night’s little adventure. Y/N whimpered and plopped onto the couch, covering her head with a blanket. “I’m officially never drinking again.”

Lando laughed, getting off the edge of the couch and giving her a nudge with his elbow. “Oh, come on. You were alive on the dance floor until, uh. you know. Just peeking out from under the sheets, she glared playfully at him. “Don’t remind me.” Fair enough, he said, handing her a cup of coffee.

“Here, drink this. It’ll help.” She took it gratefully, sipping the warm liquid. “Thanks. You’re not so bad for a nosy friend.” “I aim to please, he quipped, leaning back with a satisfied smile. They did so for a split second in comfortable silence and then Lando's face went serious.

“Actually, I came by for a reason.” Y/N raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What’s up?” Uh," he drawled, building the suspense with a sly grin, "it appears that McLaren is eager to partner with your company. Y/N nearly choked on her coffee.

“What? Are you serious?” Lando laughed at her reaction, nodding. “Completely serious. They have asked for a meeting with you to discuss some possible collaborations.

She stared at him, wide-eyed. “Lando, this is huge! How did this happen?” He shrugged, trying to downplay his role. “I might have mentioned your work to a few people. "They were really impressed.”

Without thinking, Y/N launched herself at him, pulling him into a bear hug. “You’re amazing! Thank you so much!” Lando laughed, wrapping his arms around her in return. “Hey, hey, easy! You’re going to crush me!”

She pulled back, her face glowing with excitement. “I can’t believe this. I owe you big time.” “Don’t mention it, he said, brushing it off with a wave of his hand. “Just promise me one thing.” “Anything,” she replied eagerly. “Don’t forget about me when you’re swimming in all that McLaren money, he teased, winking.

Y/N rolled her eyes, laughing. “I could never forget you, Lando.” He grinned, standing up and stretching. “Alright, I should get going. But seriously, congrats. You deserve this.”

“Thanks,” she said, her smile softening. “For everything.”

“Anytime,” he replied, heading towards the door. “Now, go get ready. You’ve got a big meeting to prepare for.”

After he went, Y/N resumed her seat, her thoughts flying in a frenzy of excitement and what could be. The hangover was now the least of her worries, replaced by the thrill of a new opportunity—one that she wouldn’t have imagined even in her wildest dreams.

🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️

taglist : @jenxjar @noam-rosier-icr @prttylight @gluecksbaerchieee

@janeh22 @tobucina @ihtscuddlesbeeetchx3 @weekendlusting

@wisestarfishbouquet @ricciardosheart @leclercdream @sltwins

@vyctorya @mel164  @dazecrea @lol6sposts @raynetargaryan2

@ricciardosheart @leclercdream @sltwins @vyctorya @f1fantasys

[ladykailitha]

Heartbreak in Overdrive Part 9

I am having too much fun with this story, guys. All my other stories have 3-4 chapters backlogged, this one has SIX! So yeah, lot of fun to write!

In this we have Eddie going home after the shoot and getting the love and support he was craving during the shoot.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

~

Eddie had been home a couple of days before Wayne finally asked the question. “What the hell are you even doing here, boy? Not that I don’t mind you hanging around, God knows I don’t see enough of ya. But for Christ’s sake, you’ve been moping on that sofa for two whole days!”

Eddie flopped dramatically on the sofa, to lay across it like a fainting maiden. “I met the most beautiful man, inside and out and struck out before I could even get up to bat.”

Wayne looked at him for a moment. “I didn’t know you could even make that metaphor without fucking up some part of it. You hate sports.”

When Eddie ducked his head, Wayne’s eyes went wide. “Oh! He’s a sports fan, is he?”

“Yeah,” Eddie huffed. “He even played baseball and basketball in high school as well as being on the swim team.”

Wayne raised his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side. “So you learned baseball to what? Connect with this guy?”

“You’re missing the point!” Eddie snapped and bolted up right, swinging his feet over the side to the floor. “It doesn’t matter because he turned me down. I was only teasing flirting with him and he told me that he doesn’t date models because he’s just getting started in the fashion business and doesn’t want to cause any trouble.”

“Ah.” Yes, he supposed he did miss the point of the metaphor because it was executed well.

Suddenly Eddie’s phone rang out in the small house. Eddie startled and dove for his phone, nearly fumbling it before he manged to answer it and get it to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Hey, babe,” Chrissy greeted brightly. “I know you have the week off, but I could feel you overthinking the shoot with Steve from here. So I’m calling to let you know that I’m coming down to Hawkins to go over some very juicy deals that popped up because of Ravenscroft deal.”

Eddie moaned and threw his head back against the sofa. “I’m exhausted, Chris. I feel burned out and stretched thin. I really don’t want to be thinking about work right now.”

“Wow,” Chrissy whistled. “You had the perfect opportunity for a Lord of the Rings quote and didn’t use it. You must be really upset.”

Eddie’s head sprung off the back of the sofa with lightning speed. “I said I was tired, not upset, what the hell?!”

“Ed, babe,” she cooed. “I love you, but you do realize that Steve said he didn’t want to kiss you while you were working together and not that he wasn’t interested, right? He gave you his number for fuck’s sake!”

Eddie blinked for a moment and cocked his head to the side. “Oh.”

“So, what’s going to happen is that you’re going to hang up with me,” Chrissy said cheerfully, “then you’re going to call Steve, then when I get to Hawkins Wayne and I are going to talk baseball to avoid watching you get goo-goo eyed!”

“Yes, boss,” he replied meekly and then said goodbye. He put his phone down and looked over at Wayne who was trying really hard not to laugh. “Oi! I’m going out for a smoke.”

He grabbed the pack on the end table and stood, pcoketing his phone as he went as soon as he was out the door Wayne burst out into laughter.

“Asshole,” Eddie growled as he lit his cigarette and took a drag. He looked at his phone for a minute or two before he opened the contacts and dialed ‘Pretty Boy Steve’.

“Eddie!” Steve chirped happily in Eddie’s ear. “How is your vacation going?”

“Well you know,” Eddie said, grinning, “Hawkins is same as it ever was, boring as hell.” He leaned on the handrail in front of the porch, being careful where he flicked his ashes. “But it’s been good seeing my Uncle Wayne again.”

“It must be nice having family you can rely on,” Steve said wistfully. “I don’t remember the last time I saw my parents.”

“So what’s the story there?” Eddie asked, genuinely interested. To hear Robin tell it, they kicked him out at nineteen for being queer, but Ellie and Max said that Steve was at the still called on holidays and birthdays stage.

“Kicked me out when they found out I was bisexual,” Steve said with a snort, “then when I started making real money with the photography and being in dangerous places, my mom forced my dad to reconcile. Then we just kinda drifted apart, I think the last time I saw them together was the Christmas before Rob and me got kidnapped, but I saw my mom when we got back to the States and she said she had been so worried about me.”

“Damn, man,” Eddie huffed and then took another drag. “How did it go from that to just phone calls?”

Steve burst out laughing. It was bright and as clear as a bell and Eddie fell a little farther in love with him.

“I got a job photographing for Emilé St. Just. A very gay, very over the top fashion designer my mother detested and she begged me not have her son attached to such a man. I think she thought I was fucking him or something.”

“And that was worthy of banishment in the Harrington household?” Eddie said with a dry chuckle. “Damn it doesn’t take much does it?” He took another drag from his cigarette and blew out the smoke slowly.

“Not quite,” Steve said, “I still talk to them and my mom is at least good at pretending she cares about what I’m doing. She was excited when she heard about the Ravenscroft deal. She will probably clutch at her pearls when she finds out the nature of the shoot, but it is what it is.”

“I think that was what they wanted, if I’m honest,” Eddie huffed. He straightened up and stretched.

“Oh it absolutely was,” Steve replied. “I’m hard at work editing the photos I took. They are incredible, Eddie. I can’t wait for you to see them.”

“I’m excited to see them,” he said with a grin and then finished the last of his cigarette, grinding out the rest of the ash from the filter and tucking it in his pocket to throw away once he was inside. “You’ve got a really great team there, Stevie.”

“Thanks,” Steve huffed. “They’ve literally saved my life, so... I think I’m going to keep them.”

“I tried to lure them away,” Eddie admitted, “and now I know why they wouldn’t budge. Look after them, that kind of loyalty cannot be bought in this industry.”

“I’m starting to see that, yeah,” Steve said softly. “Do you have people who are loyal to you, Eddie?”

That stopped Eddie cold. No one had asked him that before and now he really had to think about it.

“Not as many as I would like,” he admitted shyly. “But both Vickie and Chrissy for sure. And I have friends outside the business who are loyal and of course my Uncle Wayne.”

“I’m glad,” Steve murmured. “It’s just seeing people dismiss you as hysterical when you aren’t really bothered me. Like the pin incident where they left a fucking sewing pin in the shirt you were suppose to wear or even the having your skin zippered for the GQ ad incident two years ago. They call you a brat, obnoxious, dramatic. You aren’t any of those things, Eddie.”

There was a beat or two before he spoke again and Eddie was breathless. “It’s even worse knowing that some of that pain comes from people I like. I hate to think why they don’t treat you with the same respect they give me.”

Eddie snorted, tossing his hair back. “It’s because they don’t respect models full stop. Being a photographer takes skill and can be learned. But they think anyone can model. Put a pretty face in some nice clothes and it’s going to be the same regardless of if they are someone off the street, an actor, a sports star, or a musician. It’s all the same to them.”

“Oh god,” Steve breathed. “That’s not true at all. You would think that actors would be the easiest because they know about giving certain kinds of expressions can change a happy scene into a sad one. But they don’t know where to put their hands or how to tuck their elbows when they put their hands in their pants’ pockets. I’ve only had a couple of actors who knew their body as well as a professional model.”

Eddie blushed and pulled a strand of hair in front of his face even though Steve couldn’t see him. “Thanks for that.”

A car pulled up into the drive. “Look, I’ve got to go, my agent is here and it looks like she brought the cavalry.”

“Oh?” Steve said. “I hope you don’t have too much fun without me.”

“I could never,” Eddie promised and then they said their goodbyes and Eddie hung up. He leaned on the railing again and watched as Jeff, Brian, AND Gareth get out of Chrissy’s car.

“Look at what I found hanging around the baggage claim like lost sheep,” Chrissy said brightly.

“Uh huh,” Eddie replied skeptically. “Like you didn’t know they were coming.”

“Complete coincidence,” Gareth huffed with laughter. “Everyone heard you were taking the week off, and everyone decided on their own to fly out here to hang out. And don’t worry, we aren’t going to invade Wayne’s place.” He held up his hands in surrender. “We’ve got rooms at the Carlton.”

“Well, I’m certainly pleased to hear that,” Wayne said from the front door. “I heard a car pull and wondered who that could be.”

“Especially since we surprised you?” Jeff said with a grimace.

“Right in one,” Wayne said gruffly. “Now get your asses in here and help me make dinner for the lot of you.”

The four of them hussled up the stairs and into the house. Wayne calling out things he needed as they got to work helping to make enough food for all six of them. There was some scrambling as things had moved some in the bigger place, but they all got to work making enough spaghetti for everyone.

“You gonna just stand there, boy,” Wayne huffed as he stirred the meat that would go into the sauce, “or are you gonna help?”

“I’ll set the table in a bit,” Eddie said with a grin. “Right now, I’m just enjoying having my family all together in one place for a change.”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and all of them came over to hug him tightly. He just clung to them, feeling a little less hopeless then he did before Chrissy called.

After dinner Chrissy sat him down and pulled out her briefcase. “I know the shoot won’t be out for weeks, but it is already generating buzz.”

“What do you mean?” Eddie asked, cocking his head to the side, like a confused puppy dog.

“Dottie Cox has been praising the shoot to anyone who will sit still long enough,” Chrissy explained pulling out three contracts. “So there are some very important people who are interested in booking you where you weren’t on their radar before.”

“Like who are we talking about here?” Eddie asked leaning forward on the table.

“Well, Luis Del Le Vega for a start,” she said handing him the first contract.

Eddie’s eyebrows shot up as he reached for the document. He flipped through it and his jaw dropped. “An exposé? He wants to do a fucking exposé on business practices in the fashion industry?” He paused for a moment and looked up. “Is this about the DuPont shoot?”

Chrissy grinned and then leaned on her fists, batting her eyelashes at him. “With it coming out that Henry Creel won model of the year due to that shoot, and after your shoot with Harrington he wanted to tell his side of the story about that whole fiasco.”

“Chris this is amazing,” he breathed and wiggled his fingers for a pen, which she gleefully handed him. He signed it with flourish. “What’s next?”

She took the signed contract and replaced it with another. “This is Georgie Vincent, they’re a non-binary designer who specializes in accessories. They are putting out a line of boots that they want you to model.”

Eddie read through the contract carefully, noting the pay and when. “Three days in Milan?”

“Yeah,” Chrissy said, “they’re having a fashion show to highlight their new line and wanted to get some shots of the boots ahead of time.”

Eddie nodded as he finished reading the contract and then signed it.

“So...” she hedged, hand over her brief case, hovering, “when was the last time you walked in a fashion show?”

His head snapped up in shock. “Shit, Chris, I don’t know. A couple of years probably. New York Fashion Week.”

She pulled out a forth contract. “You don’t have to sign this immediately...you can do it after the shoot, but Georgie has wanted you to walk in their show since they got their first start in the business.”

Eddie blinked at her for a moment. “Really? I didn’t think I was that famous if I’m honest.”

Chrissy laughed and shook her head. “I never took you for modest, Ed. Of course you’re that famous. Everyone in the biz knows your name. And yeah most of the photographers know it so they can curse it, but that’s not true of brands, designers, or hell even other models.”

“Not modest,” he snorted, leaning back in his chair and huffing dramatically. “Realistic. Yeah, I’m a Top Model this year, but what about next year? Or the next?”

“Well once people see the spread for Ravenscroft,” she said brightly, “there is no one on the planet that won’t know your name.”

Eddie let out a sigh and they moved on to the final job which was a commercial for some designer’s fancy new perfume line. One which he passed on when he found out the actress involved, Emma Sharp. He was essentially going to be her boy toy and while he didn’t mind that type of ad most of the time... just not with her.

She annoyed him for reasons he couldn’t describe much less fathom.

Chrissy had brought it to him because the designer was someone Eddie had worked for in the past and had a relatively good time.

Then they were pulled into a discussion on who was hotter, Lee Pace or Luke Evans and all talks of work got left behind.

~

Part 10 Part 11

If we're talking The Hobbit films, Lee Pace all the way. Outside Tolkien? Luke Evans.

Tag list: CLOSED

1- @itsall-taken @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @sadisticaltarts @dolphincliffs

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @irregular-child @cryptid-system @kultiras

3- @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji @dreamercec @blondie1006

5- @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @genderless-spoon @fearieshadow @thesecondfate

6- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

7- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

8- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @beelze-the-bubkiss

9- @chaotic-waffle @steddieislife @oh-no-its-danger-gays @ollieolive @micheledawn1975

10- @little-birch-boy @alfhitchblonde @tartarusknight @chocolateracconlights @spookycollectorcandies

[bedlam-barbie]

Flesh

Or Attention part 8

Pairing: In-ho x recruiter!reader; The Salesman x recruiter!reader

Warnings: Graphic violence / physical assault (punching, facial injuries); psychopath!Salesman; obsessive!Salesman; possessiveness; jealousy; voyeuristic obsession; self-stitching

Word count: 4.3k

Summary: After In-ho walks in on them mid-act, the fallout is brutal—blood, silence, and something none of them can take back. The next morning, the boardroom turns into a battlefield of stolen glances and sharp words. She stays composed. In-ho seethes. And Gong Yoo? He bleeds, smiles, and watches her start to pull away—because now, the real game begins.

Author’s note: Hello hello, I apologize for this chapter being posted so late, I planned to have it done Friday, but I had a lot of Easter preparations to do and I also got violently drunk with my friends so I spent Saturday in pain. Anyway, I hope everyone who celebrates had a good Easter. And now let’s get on with the debauchery. This chapter is more a filler, it’s written from Gong Yoo perspective because I wanted to write the aftermath for the last chapter from the lens of a psychopath. I hope this was interesting for you! 

Masterlist

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

Headquarters; 02:45 AM; the training center showers

The pain didn’t come right away.

She had screamed—sharp and high, a jagged sound that barely pierced the haze thick around him. He remembered it only in flashes. Her voice was like a storm, shouting something he couldn’t hear through the rush of blood in his ears. And then footsteps—In-ho’s, heavy, furious—thundering out of the room just as fast as he’d come in.

And then silence.

That was the thing about adrenaline—it softened the edges. It dulled the bruises, blurred the blood, numbed the way his jaw now clicked every time he moved it. It wasn’t until that silence wrapped itself around him like smoke, after the slam of the door and the echo of chaos faded, that he really felt it.

The ache. The heat. The triumph.

And then Gong Yoo laughed.

Head tipped back against the tile, he let it pour from him—full-bodied, cold, ecstatic. It vibrated through his ribs, sharp enough to make him wince, but he didn’t stop. Water was still cascading over him, pooling beneath his hips, washing diluted blood across the white floor. The metallic tang of it coated his tongue. His knuckles were split open, stinging. He hadn’t lifted them once.

That rage hadn’t been his. Not this time. That rage had belonged to the man who used to pretend he didn’t feel. And now? Now he’d broken the mask wide open.

Unmasked.Unhinged.Unraveling.

A shadow shifted in the corner of his vision.

“Leave it to you to laugh in a situation like this, psycho killer,” her voice muttered, low and rough—still breathless from everything they hadn’t finished.

She dropped to her knees beside him, bare and soaked, steam rising off her skin. Her hair clung to her shoulders, droplets trailing down the curve of her collarbone. She didn’t look afraid. Just lit—eyes still wide, chest still heaving, wildness dancing behind the worry in her expression.

Her fingers touched his chin, tilting his face up gently to assess the damage. Her brows drew together, the little crease between them deepening as she took in the busted lip, the swelling jaw, the blood.

Gong Yoo didn’t flinch. He just watched her.

Watched her worry.

Watched her touch him like he hadn’t just been torn from her body minutes ago.

“You’re cute when you worry, princess,” he rasped, voice rougher than he meant it to be. “Almost makes me think you care.”

His hand moved, slow and deliberate, reaching up to tuck a wet strand of hair behind her ear. His knuckles brushed her cheek, still damp with water and something else neither of them would talk about.

She didn’t pull away.

Not even when his fingertips lingered. Because whatever this was—this thing between them—it wasn’t about winning anymore.

“I think you’ll need stitches.”

Her voice was low, flat. The adrenaline had burned off, and what was left behind was cold water, flickering lights, and reality sinking its teeth in.

Gong Yoo exhaled through his nose, a short, sharp puff of breath that passed for a laugh. “No shit.”

It wasn’t funny. Not really. But the laugh came anyway—dry, cracked, almost bitter. The ache in his jaw bloomed fresh, hot and sharp, and still, he didn't mind.Pain didn’t register in the usual way. It was just data. An inconvenience. If anything, this kind of pain grounded him. It clarified things. This—all of this—felt like it had been a long time coming. Karmic, maybe. Deserved. And he wasn’t one to fight fate.

He’d been hit harder before. Bled more.But none of those wounds had come while he was still inside her heat, his hands on her skin, his breath tangled in her throat.

Gong Yoo leaned back against the slick tile, letting the hot water spill down his chest, mingling blood with steam. The sting sharpened the edges of his thoughts. He could still feel the echo of her wrapped around him—her breath in his ear, the tremble in her thighs, the way she hadn’t let go.

He could’ve focused on the fracture in his jaw or the ache in his ribs.

Instead, he watched her.

The water kissed its way down her chest, running over her skin like it had every right to. Her mascara was smudged into smoky bruises beneath her eyes, hair plastered to her cheeks in wet, tangled waves. She looked feral. Half-fucked. Bare.

And he couldn’t stop staring.

Gong Yoo tilted his head slightly, a slow drag of his gaze up her body, across her face. She wasn’t soft. She wasn’t perfect. But in that moment—wet and wild and burning beneath the surface—she was breathtaking.

It should’ve unnerved him, how much he liked looking at her like this.

But it didn’t. It thrilled him. It made something deep and dormant curl inside his chest like smoke through a locked door.

“I guess we made your boyfriend mad,” he muttered, the words half-muffled through a cracked grin. It stung to smile, but he did it anyway, because he didn’t get to look wounded. Not in front of her.

She let out a laugh—a single, bitter note. Then silence again.

She rose slowly, and something in her shifted as she did. Like whatever had cracked open between them in that shower was already hardening again. She offered him a hand.

He took it.

Her grip was steady, and she didn’t flinch as she helped him to his feet, her body brushing his as he leaned against the wall for support. Together, they moved through the steam and back into the locker room, dripping and wordless.

They walked back toward the lockers in silence. The echo of their steps bounced off tile and metal, the aftermath lingering in the spaces between. Gong Yoo wrapped a towel around his waist, grabbed another for his jaw, but he didn’t stop watching her—covert, careful, fascinated.

She didn’t speak. Just pulled her button up shirt over her damp skin, slow, methodical, as if layering on armor.

And still he watched. He always watched.

“You look good like that,” he said, voice low. “All ruined and pretending not to be.”

She paused, just slightly. Not enough to answer. Just enough to confirm she’d heard.

Gong Yoo smirked faintly, the expression dulling into something colder. He pressed the towel harder to his jaw. Blood bloomed into the cotton like ink in water.

It wasn’t the sex that haunted him. That had never been the problem. He’d fucked her before. In locker rooms, in hotels, against glass and mirrors and desks. Fast. Hard. Cruel. Gentle. Drunk. Sober. It didn’t matter.

But this?

The way she had looked at him just before In-ho walked in?

That wasn’t fucking.That was connection.And that was dangerous.

He didn’t feel fear. Not in the normal sense. But he understood risk. And she was becoming one. She was a liability he couldn’t stop touching.And for a man like him, that meant only one of two things.

Keep her closer.

Or burn her out before she got beneath his skin.

“You speak too much for someone who just got punched in the face and slammed his head into a wall.”

Her voice cut through the steam like a scalpel—sharp, sterile, emotionless. Mechanical, almost. Like she wasn’t talking to a man she’d just had wrapped around her body, but to some fractured, inconvenient machine that needed repair.

Gong Yoo’s eyes tracked her as she pulled her trousers over wet skin, her movements efficient, unbothered. But he saw it. The tiny falter in her fingers. The way her jaw clenched just a little too tightly. She was masking. Just like he was.

She didn't look at him.

She never did when she was putting herself back together.

“You might have a concussion,” she added, tugging at the waistband and zipping up with a sharp motion. Still not looking.

Gong Yoo leaned his shoulder against the cold lockers, one arm across his ribs, towel now stained red in his other hand. His lip throbbed. His jaw ached. He could feel blood trickling down his side from where In-ho’s knuckles had landed with surgical precision.

He watched as she pulled on her shirt next, wet fabric clinging to her body in a way that made it hard to focus on anything but the heat he hadn’t burned off yet. She smoothed it down like she could erase what had happened. Like putting herself back in black cotton and control would overwrite the taste of her name on his tongue, the feel of her nails down his back.

And then, under her breath—quiet but cold enough to frost glass:

“Or maybe that’s just your personality.”

He let the silence hang.

She was baiting him. Testing how far he’d snap before losing control again. She wanted him to rise to it, to throw something sharp and cruel back at her like he always did.

But he didn’t.

He just smiled. Slow. Bloody. Crooked.

“Now that’s the voice I missed.”

She finally looked at him.

That was her mistake.

Because the moment their eyes met, his smile darkened—turned into something more feral, more personal. His pupils were blown wide, eyes glinting under the harsh lighting, raw and unreadable.

“You act like you’re stitched together better than me,” he said, voice low and even, “but you were shaking just as much as I was.”

She didn’t answer. But she didn’t deny it either.

He stepped forward—barefoot, towel low on his hips, chest streaked with blood and water. Every muscle in his body burned, but none of it stopped him. He didn’t limp. Didn’t stagger.

Predators don’t show damage. Not even when they’re leaking red down to their knees.

He stopped just short of her, close enough that the heat between them rose again—less lust now, more warpath.

“You’re terrified of what this is,” Gong Yoo murmured, tilting his head. He leaned closer, his breath ghosting her ear, voice barely a whisper now.

Her exhale was sharp, like a slap. But she didn’t move away. Not yet.

He reached out, fingers brushing the hem of her shirt, not enough to grab—just enough to remind her.

“You don’t run from things you regret,” he said. “You run from things you want too much.”

Then he pulled back, slow and deliberate, letting the distance grow like smoke rising between them. He turned toward his locker without another word, tossing the bloodied towel aside like it meant nothing.

But his mind didn’t drift. His thoughts didn’t fade.

They stayed anchored—tied to the memory of her body, the tremble in her voice, the way she tried to leave without flinching and still looked back.He’d bled for her. Now he’d wait.

Because obsession wasn't something Gong Yoo fought.

It was something he fed.

Headquarters next morning; 09:00 AM ; boardroom number 013

The room smelled like control—polished steel, burnt coffee, and tension no one dared acknowledge.

Gong Yoo stepped inside without hesitation, a coffee in his right hand, steam curling lazily into the sterile air. His hair was perfect, not a strand out of place. Coral-grey suit, crisp white shirt, black tie knotted with military precision. He looked immaculate.

Except for his face.

The bruising along his jaw bloomed like watercolors beneath the skin—deep, violet, fresh. The stitches across his lower lip and brow were clean but unmistakable. Hand-stitched. Unmedicated. Personal.

No one said a word about it.

When he entered, the others were already seated. Il-nam sat at the head of the obsidian table, fingers steepled, eyes gleaming with unreadable amusement. To his right: the Frontman, silent and stone-faced, arms crossed over a charcoal suit. To Il-nam’s left, the Masked Officer—a presence more than a person.

Gong Yoo offered them a polite nod, smile, lazy, undisturbed. Then, without waiting, he slid into the seat next to her.

Her perfume hit him first, warm amber and vanilla with that unmistakable cigarette smoke. She didn’t look at him. Didn’t flinch. But her posture shifted, just slightly. Enough for him to notice. 

“Salesman. Nice of you to join us,” Il-nam’s voice broke the silence like a grin with teeth. “I trust you had a… restful evening?”

Amusement dripped from every syllable. The Host didn’t even bother to hide the gleam in his eyes, watching Gong Yoo like a king indulging his favorite jester—dangerous, but entertaining enough to keep around.

Keep laughing, old man, Gong Yoo thought coolly, taking his seat without a glance at anyone but her. I’m not the one circling the grave.

He didn’t say it, of course. He had no need. Not yet. The room was already pulsing with unspoken aggression. Everyone could feel it—the crackling fuse of succession anxiety, made worse by Il-nam’s looming death and the blood still fresh under Gong Yoo’s fingernails.

Instead, he let out a perfectly-timed laugh. Smooth. Unbothered. Dangerous in its charm.

A lazy smirk curved his lips, though it tugged hard at the split in his mouth. The pain was a sharp reminder—but he didn’t flinch. He liked pain. It was honest.

“You know me, Host,” he said casually, like they were discussing the weather and not last night’s near-homicide. “Trouble always seems to find me.”

That earned a twitch from In-ho.

“Alright,” the Frontman cut in, voice like steel. “Let’s get started. We can save the gossip for after business is handled.”

There it was. Tension, coiled and sharp, slicing through the table like a wire pulled too tight. Even behind the mask, Gong Yoo could feel In-ho’s stare drilling into him like a threat.

Good.

He didn't bother to look away. Instead, he leaned back, spreading himself in the chair like he owned it. One arm draped lazily across the backrest. His body language was a study in studied arrogance—bored, amused, inviting war.

He took a slow sip of coffee. Then, casually, as if a thought had just occurred to him:

“Say, Host—do you remember the 2015 winner? The one with the dying wife I recruited?” His tone was curious, even wistful. But his words were acid.

In-ho didn’t move. But the shift in atmosphere was immediate. There were only four people in the room who knew exactly who he was talking about. Only four who knew the Frontman’s name.

Il-nam’s smile widened. The bastard lived for this.

“Ah yes,” he replied, leaning back with a hum. “What was it about him that made you bring him in?”

A beat.Then: tap. In-ho’s fingers hit the table. Once.

A warning. Measured. Sharp.But Gong Yoo had never cared for rules, and he despised warnings. He paused, drawing out the silence, letting it fill the room like smoke. From the corner of his eye, he felt movement. Her.

She turned slightly in her seat—no words, no glare. Just a subtle shift. Under the table, her foot found his ankle, nudging—not hard enough to hurt. Just enough to interrupt. To pull. A leash, maybe. Or a lifeline.

He ignored it. Instead, he smiled wider—stitches straining against his skin.

“I could see the rot,” he said, voice silken and cold. “So thick you could smell it. Hiding under the badge. I think I recruited him the day he was fired, actually. Poor bastard. Broken down. Wife dying. Hands shaking. Just waiting for someone to hand him a knife and call it mercy.”

Il-nam laughed quietly, but Gong Yoo wasn’t finished.

“Cops have always been my favorite,” he continued, turning slightly toward In-ho without looking directly at him. “There’s something poetic about it. A man meant to protect the rules, reduced to breaking them just to survive. They fall the hardest. And the loudest.”

Another sip of coffee. Still smiling.

“In the end, he wasn’t hard to flip. Men like him never are. Give them a reason and they’ll burn down everything they swore to protect.”

He didn’t say In-ho’s name.He didn’t have to. Because the only thing louder than the words spoken… was the silence that followed.

Another sip of coffee. Still smiling. The words hung in the air, heavy and pointed. And though Gong Yoo didn’t look directly at In-ho, he felt the reaction before he saw it.

A flex of the jaw beneath the mask. A subtle shift in posture—shoulders squaring, spine rigid. The kind of micro-expression only someone studying him would notice. The kind Gong Yoo lived for. A flicker of movement at In-ho’s fingers—tapping once more. This time slower. Not a warning. A promise. He wouldn’t retaliate here. Not in this room. Not in front of Il-nam. But the Frontman didn’t forget slights.

And Gong Yoo had just carved a fresh one across his throat. But before the tension could fully calcify, a voice broke through. Cool. Measured. Feminine.

“Perhaps we should refocus.” Her voice didn’t rise. It didn’t cut. It didn’t need to.It slid through the room like a scalpel—precise, cool, deliberately measured.

Gong Yoo didn’t look at her immediately. He didn’t need to. He’d felt the shift the moment she spoke. The way the room stilled. The breathlessness that only came when a predator stepped into a cage full of other predators and still dared to take control. He turned his head slowly.

She still hadn’t looked at him once—until now. And when she did, it wasn’t fury he saw. It was something far more dangerous.Composure. Her face was a mask. All poise and professionalism, not a crack in sight. But her eyes—her eyes were sharp enough to draw blood. There was steel in them. The kind that cut quietly. The kind that never missed.

Beneath the polished black table, her foot found his ankle again.

Not flirtatious.

Not playful.

A push.

A command.

Enough.

And still, the corner of Gong Yoo’s mouth twitched upward. The pain from the stitched lip was immediate, but he welcomed it. A reminder that restraint was never his strong suit. Especially when it came to her.

“Much as I love this trip down memory lane,” she continued, her gaze fixed on him with unwavering control, “we need to begin monitoring the shortlisted players for the next cycle.”

There was no tremble in her voice. But there was something else. Something he recognized—resistance. She was trying not to show how deeply last night had rooted itself under her skin. That made it better. Sweeter. She didn’t want him to know he still lived in her blood. That’s what made it fun.

Gong Yoo took another sip of his coffee, slow and unbothered, letting the silence draw out just long enough to make it feel deliberate.

“Of course, princess,” he said, voice soaked in false sweetness. “Some of us have been particularly distracted these days.”

It was a shot across the bow, and they both knew it. She didn’t flinch. Just blinked once. But her hand—resting perfectly still against the cool surface of her tablet—tightened ever so slightly.

Barely noticeable. But he noticed. He always noticed.That’s what made him good at his job. And devastatingly good at this.

Across the table, Il-nam chuckled lightly, breaking the stillness like a blade dulled by time.

“She’s right,” the old man said. “Let’s not dwell on the past. Not when the present is proving to be so much more... interesting.”

Gong Yoo tilted his head slightly, giving the Host a smile that was all teeth and elegance. No warmth. Just shape.

“Apologies, Host,” he said smoothly, reclining back in his seat. “I got nostalgic.”

It wasn’t nostalgia. It was dissection. It was control.

He finally allowed his eyes to drift away from her, though his mind didn’t follow. Not fully. He was still watching her—the way her shoulders stayed squared, how she didn’t meet In-ho’s gaze either, how her chin tilted just a fraction higher than usual. He could almost hear her heartbeat. The rhythm had changed. She was masking it well, but he knew her tells.

And In-ho? Still hadn’t moved. The Frontman was a monolith of silence. The kind of stillness that made most people think he was calm. But Gong Yoo knew better. Stillness like that wasn’t calm. It was concentration.Waiting for the moment to strike.

Gong Yoo’s eyes flicked briefly to the hand In-ho had tapped against the table. No motion now. Just the faintest tension in the knuckles, as if he were resisting the urge to carve a hole through the wood.

Good. Let it fester.

The room exhaled around them, but the tension didn’t dissolve—it coiled. Tighter. Quieter. A noose slipping unnoticed around every neck. Let them breathe. He’d tighten it later. Sure, In-ho had landed a few hits last night—impressive, if predictable. But bruises faded. Stitches healed. And the game?

The game was nowhere near over.

Not when the prize was sitting just inches from him, composed in sleek black and silence, looking like sin draped in professionalism. Her. Gong Yoo didn’t bother pretending to care about the meeting. Numbers. Projections. Logistics. He’d read the files already. Memorized them, actually. He always did. But paper didn’t interest him the way people did. And the room today was buzzing with people pretending not to come undone.

So instead, he watched. The Frontman sat stiff and silent, flanked by authority and tension, his mask unreadable but his energy loud. Controlled. Compressed. One spark away from combustion. And her—the dancer. His dancer. Not in claim. But in the way she moved through the room like she owned the floor and didn’t care who bled on it.

She addressed the table, spoke to Il-nam, reported data in that honey-dipped, glass-shard tone of hers. But when it came time to acknowledge In-ho? She didn’t look at him. Not once. Not when he clarified her points. Not when he gave direct orders. Not even when he said her name.

She nodded. She smiled. She performed.

But never for him. It was brilliant.It was brutal.

And Gong Yoo watched it all like a man admiring a well-placed blade in someone else’s back. That was the first crack.Small. Almost invisible. But he saw it. No anger. No bite. Just neutrality. Indifference. A polite mask drawn over something that used to burn hotter.

And that?

That was so much better than rage. Rage meant she still felt. Neutrality meant she was starting to let go. And he knew what that looked like—he’d cultivated it in countless others. That slow withdrawal. That deliberate unhooking of emotion from obligation. A woman peeling herself out of a bond that had once meant something.

She was unraveling. And not because of Gong Yoo. Because of In-ho.

He didn’t need to do anything. Not today. Not yet. The Frontman was digging his own grave with every command, every stiff glance, every silent expectation she no longer cared to meet.

So for now, he was content to watch.

Not listen—Il-nam’s voice was just white noise now, a dull drone swallowed by the hum of the overhead lights and the faint tick of the polished clock. Gong Yoo’s coffee sat forgotten, cooling untouched beside his hand. He had no need for caffeine. What stimulated him was seated to his left, exquisitely unaware—or pretending to be.

Her.

His eyes traced her like a map he’d already memorized but still found himself redrawing—over and over, each line deeper than the last.

The way her hair framed her face like a halo. An illusion, of course. There was nothing angelic about her. She wore ruin like perfume and carried danger in the press of her lips. But still—he watched as a lock slipped free, and she tucked it behind her ear with that same absentminded grace she always did, exposing the soft line of her neck.

Delicate. Vulnerable. Designed, almost, to tempt a blade.

Her blouse clung just right—tailored to accentuate without revealing, framing her body in soft lines and sharp edges. Beneath the table, her legs crossed. Fabric shifted. Her skirt rode up just slightly.

Not enough to be indecent. Just enough to invite imagination.

And Gong Yoo, despite the restraint he wore like armor, was not without imagination.

But his wasn’t the kind that lived in fantasies. No, his was darker. Hungrier. Focused not on possession, but on the slow unraveling of control. On what it looked like when something perfect cracked.

He didn’t think about touching her.Not here. Not now. This was better. Watching was better.

Because here, in this glass prison of power and silence, she didn’t know he was studying her every movement. Or maybe she did. Maybe that was part of the performance too. Either way, he was in no rush. He had learned long ago that the most beautiful things were always the slowest to bleed.

And Gong Yoo? He would wait.

Because he knew her well enough to understand that once she detached? She wouldn’t run into In-ho’s arms. She’d fall.

And he’d be the one waiting to catch her. Not with safety. But with fire.

[hellfire--cult]

Edit of Eddie: Sofiiel

Stripper!Eddie x Shy!Fem!Reader

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 (end)

WC: 22.4k (please take your time while reading this)

⚠️ +18 MDNI, Stripper!Eddie, nervousness, fluff, self doubt, flirting, soft touches, mentions of vomit, drinking, skin on skin contact, kissing, kissing with tongue, pining, sexual tension, smut, a lot of it (i won't spoil it)

Plot: You thought you were cursed with your shyness, but after one embarrassing night, you decide it's time to change, and you believe someone might be able to help with that.

Summary: You realize what you're feeling for Eddie, and your relationship finally shifts, as you finally let go. You finally let yourself go.

A/N: This chapter... took it's time... Its long, but IT'S WORTH IT I PROMISE. I hope you all take your time to read it, and enjoy it. I enjoyed writing it so and I hope the feelings I tried to put into words can be felt through the screen.

You can always support me by hitting the reblog button with tags, and I always enjoy reading your comments!

Taglist is closed - Follow me for updates and put notifications on!

PART 6

You felt like you were floating on air.

Your limbs were completely relaxed, your muscles felt as if they were gelatin on your body, and you were warm. Slowly gaining back your consciousness as you stirred slightly in bed, groaning as you stretched your arm forward, over the comforters that were hugging your body tightly, providing you with their heat. 

Slowly, your senses started coming back, touch first, feeling the soft texture of the comforter, hugging it tightly against you. But then, your sense of smell came back, picking up a sweet scent. A sweet yet manly scent. And that’s when your hearing came back, soft snores that were very close to you, extremely. So your eyes shot open.

And your sense of sight came back.

Eddie’s face was facing yours, but he was still asleep, comforter over his body as well and your heart and breathing stopped. The tension came back to your muscles in an instant, as you felt your stomach begin to contract in itself, and your fingertips became cold from the nervousness, from the overwhelming realization of what happened yesterday.

Oh god, yesterday.

He caressed you, and you let him. He kissed you, and you let him. He touched you, and you let him. He made you feel good, and you let him. You let your friend touch you. You let a friend touch you in a way that only happens intimately, only because you were curious. You took a sharp intake of breath to forbid yourself from screaming as nausea invaded your stomach.

You needed to get out. How can you face him? How can you possibly face him after he– Your head began to spiral, maniacally. Your legs shifted and your eyes widened when you felt your wetness still there, having not changed or cleaned yourself from what happened last night. Another wave of embarrassment washed over you remembering you fell asleep on him. 

You didn’t even return the favor.

You felt your body heat up at the thought because you didn’t even know if you should have. He did it by his own accord, didn’t he? He just wanted to help you, that’s it, that was it. But, oh god, you moaned. You let your voice out, he heard you moan, without any restraint and– Your blood immediately left your system as you kept remembering the night before.

You moaned his name. 

You had to immediately leave. Your body and your heart cannot take it. You ruined it, everything is ruined, there is no turning back from this. There is no way you can see him eye to eye any longer, because friends don’t do this. No matter how much you are burning at the moment, you can’t take a friend’s help as an advantage. You are despicable, you are horrible, and there’s no way Eddie would forgive you for it.

You looked at Eddie’s face again and you stopped your movements and thoughts. You focused on his steady breaths as soft snores came out from his mouth, which was just partially open. His eyelashes are long, and some strands of his hair were on his face. You could feel your heart pounding in your chest again as you stared at him. His arm was draped over his head, and you could see the tattoos all over his skin. 

Your hand unconsciously reached out and your fingertips touched his bicep, finding the part of the tattoo sleeve where a dragon lays. You were entranced by his art as you looked all over it, mentally taking screenshots of every single trace. You looked back at his face and your hand immediately shifted towards him, your nails gracing his cheek, gently, and you took one of the strands of his hair out of his face.

You felt your face heat up watching him. You won’t deny, ever, that he is gorgeous, probably the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen, and not once in your life you thought you would be able to touch someone like him in this way. Not even in your wildest dreams. Yet, it was so easy with him, talking to him, touching him, even kissing him. 

Your fingertips suddenly went to his bottom lip, softly gracing it with your index finger, feeling his hot breath hitting your skin, and you licked your lips not really noticing your movements. You just felt like touching him, and the burning started happening once more. Why was it happening? Why is the heat there? 

But your brain was not cooperating with your body right now. There was a growing need as your fingertip felt the plushness of his lip, a need to taste him again, a need to get closer again, get his arms around you, tightly, holding you and feel yourself tremble against him once more. You wanted more. It seems that’s the only word that is persistent in your head when you’re with Eddie.

More. More. More.

Why wasn’t it enough? Why wasn’t it ever enough? What more can you want? He is your friend, what else could be there that you wanted? And why just him? Why didn’t you feel this heat with Steve or Billy? Why didn’t you feel it with Austin? Why haven’t you been feeling it for every man you crossed paths with since you met Eddie? You had talked to men, be it at the grocery shop, or at a cafe, men working there, or simply greeting you. 

But it’s only with Eddie that you feel this unbearable heat, these flames that just spread like wildfire everytime he touches you, even with just a brush of hands. You can’t remember a time you felt this way for someone else, this hunger that you can’t satiate no matter how much you wait for it to go away.

Your eyes darted downwards, where his pelvic area would be and you gulped heavily as you remembered the night before again. You felt him, and you had enjoyed rubbing yourself on him, even if he didn’t know you were doing it consciously. Your breath picked up as you felt an impulse in your chest, wanting it to move your hand, wanting to explore. Not just his lips, but his shoulders, his bare chest, his back, his legs, and then–

You felt a sharp small pain in your fingertip, making you wince, completely taking you out of your trance and thoughts, out of the cloud that was in your mind, and your eyes darted up again as your hand moved away by instinct only to see brown eyes staring right back at you, and your blood drained once again, as the heat immediately was dampened with a cold bucket of ice water.

“Was I drooling or something?” He questioned with a hoarse morning voice that instantly went to your belly, knotting it up, and your hairs stood on end, embarrassment filling your chest and your brain immediately triggered the flight mode. You immediately threw the comforter off your body, moving away from him, and sitting up quickly. 

Your breathing quickened as you shot up from the bed, only for your limbs to feel like jelly, and you tumbled slightly, Eddie’s eyes widening as he saw the panic setting in your body. He really wished he was the first one to wake up today, because he knew you would probably have a lot of thoughts in your head, just racing uncontrollably. He sat up as you started stammering in your words, looking for your jacket, not realizing in your haze of a panic that it was downstairs.

“I-I should– I should go! I– what– yesterday–” Eddie got up from the bed, wearing the same clothes as last night. After you fell asleep on him, he had moved you so he could lay you on his bed, pulling the comforter over you. He had thought of dressing himself for sleep, but he was afraid you would feel even weirder with him having changed into comfortable clothes when you didn’t have the chance. 

He opted to go to the bathroom real quick to wash his hands and relieve himself, to then come back to his room and then he nestled inside of the bed as well, seeing you sleeping peacefully next to him, and just like you did to him this morning, he had traced your face with his fingers, softly and gently, remembering every twitch your face did.

Last night does feel like a lucid dream to him, and he really cannot believe you had let him touch you like that. He couldn’t believe you had let him touch you in a way he’s been craving for a month now. At first he tried to dismiss it, but now he really can’t deny that everything with you is different, so different. He was changing too, not that you knew about it, nobody knew this change in him.

Now, he knew that a line had been crossed, and that you realize that too, and you’re freaking out about it. He doesn’t want the relationship to be different, but he feared that maybe it was too straightforward to do that to you last night. But he just needed to touch you, he absolutely needed to, and he can’t lie to himself and say he doesn’t want more, because hell, he wants so much more.

But right now,

“Angel, look at me.” He rushed to your side as you kept your gaze down, your panicked eyes trying to look anywhere but him. You shouldn’t have let last night happen, because what if he felt obliged to do that with you? What if he pitied you so badly that he felt like doing it? You can’t bear that embarrassment, not with Eddie.

“I-I’m sorry– I’m your friend and–” You stutter out, feeling the air in your lungs slowly fading as you feel your heart beating in your throat. How were you going to look at him? What does this all mean? Friends don’t do the thing you did yesterday, did they? Your head is a mess, and you just want to run away. 

“Yes, you’re my friend, and sweetheart, yesterday was–” He clenched his eyes tightly, the words in his mouth stinging like a thousand needles on it. “I wanted to let you know that there is nothing wrong with you. You can feel good with someone.”

He was in front of you now as you stood in the middle of his bedroom, still staring at the ground, blinking at his words. Did he read your mind yesterday? How easy are you to read? But what you are failing to notice is that it’s just Eddie the one who can read you like this. He loves that fact. Just as he knows how you’re feeling right now, knowing you need reassurance that everything is okay, even if inside of him there was a storm, wanting to yell that he wanted to actually touch you. He wanted to feel you, hear you, hold you and kiss you, all of it. 

“I– Is…” The lump in your throat made you sound so little, so weak, but you had to make sure, because losing Eddie felt like losing a part of yourself now. The thought felt like a punch to the gut, and you didn’t want it to happen, but how does everything go back to how it was?

“Darling, breathe.” His arms were reaching out to you but not touching you, which you didn’t know if you appreciated or not. Your body was burning with anticipation, but anticipation for what? What exactly were you anticipating? Your head doesn’t know, but when you see his hands, the memory of last night comes back again, but not in a way that makes you want to run away. It is rather making you want to lean closer, let him touch you, graze his skin on yours.

You took a few deep breaths, closing your eyes as you put your palms over your face, completely ashamed for what had transpired last night, but you also felt guilty. Guilty for liking it. Guilty for not regretting it. Guilty for desiring. Guilty for wanting more. Why does this hunger and this fire not satiate? Why is it lingering there? Why doesn’t it go away?

But Eddie didn’t seem like he wanted to run away. He wasn’t kicking you out, and in fact he wanted to talk to you, which made your brain slow down, even for a second, trying to register that he wasn’t going anywhere, and that he didn’t want you to go away either.

“I… Eddie– Yesterday–” 

“It’s okay, look at me…” Could you even do that? Your stomach was twirling, almost in nausea as you even imagined the look in his eyes. Suddenly, you felt your wrists being grabbed, gently, very carefully, and it made you jump slightly. The skin where he was touching was burning, but your heart was so grateful for it, and everything became steady, after feeling like the room was spinning on its axis.

He gulped nervously, taking a step closer to you. The only thing in his mind right now, is for you to be okay. He only wants you to be okay, and for you to be able to look at him. He needed you to look at him again, his heart was aching for it, and his gut was contracting in itself each second you didn’t look up. 

So, he was greedy again, guiding you to slowly pull your hands down, uncovering your face, and he cursed at himself for wanting to pull you in, wanting to hold you in his arms but he has to be patient. He wants you, but he has to do it right. You’re not just anybody. 

Not anymore.

“Look at me Angel… It’s just me.” Your bottom lip shook slightly out of nervousness, but you complied, slowly driving your eyes up. First on his black shirt, then his collar and neck, to then finally land on his brown eyes which were looking at you intensely, with worry, same as yours. You had expected your body to flinch away, to run away even more so than before, but it did the entire opposite. Your body relaxed, your gut turned but it was not nauseating as before, and your brain went blank as he gazed down at you. 

You got lost in his eyes, trying to find the regret of what happened last night, trying to find the slight bit of discomfort, but there was none. There was just reassurance, looking at you like he always did, talking to you like he always did, and that made your body lose some of its tension, Eddie noticing it instantly.

“I– I don’t want everything to be weird– I really don’t want to…” Your eyes were teary now, making Eddie’s heart clench as his grip on your wrists tightened slightly from the emotions he was feeling at seeing you like this. His lips curved up in a soft smile, and he shook his head once.

“It isn’t going to be weird… I wanted to show you that there was nothing wrong with you, and I just– I just wanted to help you learn about yourself, help you trust in your body and sensations.” He wanted to chop his tongue off. He helped you, yes, but he wanted to tell you that he liked it too, even if untouched, he loved it, and if you asked, he would do it again. 

“I–” You felt yourself heat up as embarrassment and shame invaded your mind. “I didn’t… I didn’t do…” You gazed down again, not wanting to look at his face. You didn’t even reciprocate anything to him, you just fell asleep right on his shoulder after he made you feel so blissful, after he made you see stars, after he made you tremble for the first time in the hands of someone else.

Eddie’s heart soared as he listened to you, as he saw that you cared, that you indeed thought about him and how he was feeling. He didn’t even expect you to think about giving something back to him, and his body relaxed as he melted towards you, one of his hands letting go of your wrist to slowly rise up towards your cheek. You didn’t even flinch, but you actually pressed your face slightly onto his fingers, at his touch.

“I didn’t expect it. I didn’t want anything back Angel… I was just caring for you last night, okay?” He did want, but he wasn’t going to say that to you. At least not now, because that is not what you needed. Yet, in your head, there was a question that fell at the tip of your tongue at his words. You looked up at him, locking eyes with him again,  but your mouth didn’t open to voice out what you wanted to ask.

Did he not want anything back because he really didn’t expect it from you, or because he didn’t actually want YOU to give anything back to him?

The thought made your skin grow goosebumps, mind whirling at the thought of some type of rejection. Why did you feel like that? Why did you feel like he just said something hurtful to you? Why did you suddenly feel unwanted? Undesired? 

“And… And us? Does this… make everything–” His palm was now resting on your cheek as he stared down at you, the smile still on his lips, very small, subtle, but yet so emotional and caring, that it made your heart jump at the sight.

“It doesn’t make it awkward… I promise… Which reminds me–” He put his hand down and your other wrist was let go of, making you almost sigh at the loss of contact, wanting to gravitate towards him again. “I don’t think our private dances from yesterday should go unpaid, and as I recall, you make the best fucking pancakes ever, and I’m dying for a chocolate chip one.” 

The tension left your shoulders as he talked, a small smile spreading on your lips, watching him straight up with his arms over his chest. You copied his stance, squinting up at him in defiance which made him raise his eyebrows up, hiding behind some of his messy fringe.

“I believe I never actually ASKED for those dances. You guys were very greedy for just one dollar.” You say and he glared down at you before shooting his arm up, poking you on the side, causing you to flinch and giggle, the butterflies exploding in your stomach, and again, they were not on the nauseating side.

“You make some pancakes or…” You raised a questioning eyebrow at his words.

“Or?”

“I’ll start saying mistaken facts about Harry Potter. Like, for example, Harry Potter and the prisoner of alcatraz was a masterpiece.” You winced at the mistaken title, but you knew he was doing it on purpose. He had let you rant talking about Harry Potter for one whole evening through a video call. He just started asking questions to you, and you didn’t even know that he did that just to hear you talk.

He loved hearing you talk when you were excited, when you were confident in the topic, when you were passionate and loving about it, but he also loved the fact that you cared for his interests too. So one day was Harry Potter, and the next day was Dungeons and Dragons. He had explained to you as easily as possible but you were learning pretty quickly and you retained information like a champ. 

And as he liked to hear you talk, you liked to hear him.

“Okay, I’ll make the pancakes, so shut up.” You say to him with a shake of your head and he grinned widely at you, knowing he got away with what he wanted, which weren’t the pancakes. He got you to loosen up again, and when you turned around to open the door, a sigh of relief escaped his lips, soft and you weren’t able to hear it. 

You tiptoed out of the room, followed by Eddie and you immediately heard the loud snoring from the living room. You giggled while looking back at him and he was just smiling, shaking his head. You walked down the stairs, as quietly as you could, and you saw Robin, now looking up, splayed on the floor over the fluffy carpet as Steve used her tummy as a pillow, in the position of a starfish. 

You covered your mouth as you approached them, trying to hold in the laughter. Eddie was next to you after a second, having retrieved his phone from the kitchen counter, and he pulled up the camera to take a picture of the two people on the floor. He was going to keep this and show his brother, because the little shit idolized Steve for a reason, and he never knew why.

He wanted to break that enchantment.

“I bet they’ll wake up at the smell of food.” You whisper and he smirks, shaking his head.

“Steve needs a bucket of ice water to wake up from a hangover.” You grinned and turned your head to look at him, biting your bottom lip. Eddie had to hold back from swallowing, the blood rushing south immediately.

“Wanna bet?”

“A dollar.” He put his hand inside his front pocket and took out the wrinkled dollar you stuffed in there last night. The memory came back like a flash, making you flush all over as the butterflies turned into hungry wolves.

“Deal.” You immediately turned around, trying to hide away from him, but he had already seen your reaction. His chest puffed with hope as he followed you towards the kitchen, and he was next to you in a second, helping you get everything for the pancakes. 

Then, the scene turned quite domestic, and normal. Way too normal, and easy, as if it were a puzzle just putting itself together in a perfect match. You beat the eggs, he preheated the pan, he poured the flour in, then mixed for you to start making your batch of pancakes, sprinkling the chocolate chips on top. 

“You had to put the chocolate chips inside the batter.” Eddie growled as you shook your head at his whine. You flipped your pancake and looked to your side and up at him.

“Last time I prepared them like this and you didn’t complain.” You say to him, and you remember that afternoon almost everyday. You came with Robin because Steve invited her over, and said that if you wanted to join, that it was okay. You didn’t have any other plans, and the thought of probably seeing Eddie urged you to come over. 

Twenty minutes after your arrival, Eddie and Billy stumbled inside the apartment, groaning as they complained they hadn’t eaten anything for the past 3 hours, and dancing was not helping them. So Robin, sweet Robin, thought it was a great idea to tell them that you prepared killer pancakes.

You cooked 22 pancakes that afternoon.

“It’s because I didn’t see you making them. I was showering and getting myself pretty and presentable.” He says with a teasing smile on his face and you shake your head, putting one of the last pancakes on the plate. 

“Steve, get the fuck up, I smell pancakes.” You grinned widely at Robin’s voice, looking back over your shoulder, Eddie following your motion, putting his fist over his mouth to hold in his laughter as Robin pushed Steve off her and the poor man groaned almost in pain as he sat up. His hair was completely messed up, and Robin’s wasn’t far behind. They had two bird’s nests on their heads.

“Morning.” Eddie says and you look at him, putting your hand out. He raised an eyebrow up at you.

“Pay up.” You say and he scoffs, shaking his head at you.

“I don’t think so. Robin woke up, then made Steve wake– Oh.” You smirked up at him and he bit his bottom lip, yet a smile was on his face as he looked down at you. He definitely felt the change. The bantering before was light hearted, but now, there was this hidden elastic band that was stretching out, slowly, further and further.

“Exactly.” You drifted your eyes towards his lips, just for a second, and then back at his eyes. You were feeling it still, that pooling heat at the bottom of your belly, trying to tell you something which you weren’t sure of. He put his hand into his front pocket again, and slapped the bill on top of your hand. 

“This seems rigged, sweetheart.” He whispered towards you as he put his face closer to yours, glaring at you in a playful manner. Something took over you, something that snapped in your gut, in your mind, a sense of confidence that you never felt before, leaning towards him as well, your face closer to his.

His eyes went wide as you got closer, the tension suddenly rising in between the both of you, not expecting you to mimic his movements at all, but his heartbeat was on his ears, his throat going dry as your breath mixed with his, and he felt the palms on his hands sweating, almost heavily.

“I just outsmarted you.” You leaned back, putting batter onto the pan again, looking as if you hadn’t just turned Eddie into a mess, his mind reeling at how close you got by your own accord, his blood burning into his veins as he kept staring at you, completely dazed. 

Did you even know you did that?

“I need a fucking Advil, or something to end my suffering.” You hear Steve grumpily say with a huff. Eddie snapped out, looking over at his friend, who was now sitting on the couch with an arm over his eyes, probably to avoid the intense light from pouring through his eyelids. He sighed, passing behind you but his greediness got the best of him, and he decided to test the waters.

He put his hands in the small of your back and hips, gently, to push you forward so he could walk between you and the counter, even if he had enough space to do so, but he just needed to touch you. You stiffened slightly, shivers being sent to the tip of your toes, a wave of flames engulfing your entire body as he passed behind you.

And you didn’t see it, but a smirk formed on his lips as he walked away from you.

You took a sharp intake of breath, looking at his broad back, going into the bathroom to probably look for some Advil at Steve’s request. You knew your breath had quickened and that your heart was tugging at your chest, trying to move you towards him, but your thoughts were cut off by Robin who rested her chin onto your right shoulder, looking down at the pan.

“It’s burning.” Your eyes widened, looking at the pancake and flipping it over quickly, and Robin had been right. It was almost black on the other side. You groaned as you heard some steps coming down the stairs. 

“Morning.” You heard Billy say, Robin lifting her head up to look at him, giving him a nod and hoarse ‘morning’ only for her eyes to turn at Eddie’s return and hearing the pill bottle in his hand and a glass of water on the other. He walked towards Steve and Robin followed right behind, trying to snatch the pill bottle from Eddie.

You tipped the last pancake onto the plate, grimacing at it with disgust at the failure as Billy stood next to you, getting hold of it, taking a rough bite making your eyes widen at him.

“Billy, it’s hot!” You say to him with worried eyes and he blows the smoke out up at the ceiling. He swallowed after three bites and shook his head with a wince.

“I just needed food, my stomach is a fucking mess.” You sighed, turning off the heat and putting all the utensils you used in the sink to wash. You grabbed the sponge as you began cleaning, Billy still next to you as he kept eating the burnt pancake. “At least I don’t have a headache like those two.”

You turned your head to see Eddie sighing heavily as he rubbed Steve’s back while sitting next to him, Robin slumped on the arm chair, staring at the ceiling, and Eddie probably trying to make him swallow his vomit, making you wince in disgust again and turn your attention back to the dishes. If Steve barfed, you didn’t really want to see it.

“That’s what you all get for drinking too much.” You say to Billy, which made him chuckle, finishing the pancake that was in his hands. 

“Did you have fun last night?”

You almost dropped the bowl onto the sink at the words that came out of his mouth. Your body went stiff, feeling a cold sweat all over, as your belly turned with nervousness and embarrassment. Did he know? Did he hear? 

“I– Uh…”

“I mean, did you forget about your awful date? You were laughing so I assumed you did.” You gave a sigh out of relief, returning to clean the bowl in your hand. He was talking generally, making your shoulders lose the stiffness once more.

“Yeah, I had fun. Thank you.” You gave him a smile as he took the last piece of pancake into his mouth, and nodded at you, grabbing the plate with a stack of those delicious chocolate chip pancakes you made, heading over towards the group. 

You continued cleaning the utensils which weren’t a lot, to then dry your hands, walking towards them, catching Eddie as he stuffed his face with the third pancake in a row. Steve was looking at him with disgust but Billy was trying to coarse a piece into his mouth. Robin was pitifully eating one, groaning at each bite. 

You grabbed one of your pancakes, and even if the space between the armrest and him was little, you walked towards it, sitting in between. Eddie scooched a little bit, fighting back the grin that wanted to spread on his lips. You, once again, came to him. He bumped his knee against yours as he munched on his pancake, and you reciprocated, bumping it back. 

You giggled as Steve kept trying to push Billy’s pancake away, and the blonde finally gave up, eating the pancake himself, flipping Steve off as he walked to get some water for himself in the kitchen. You finished your breakfast and looked at Robin who was still groaning, her hangover taking all over her body and you sighed.

“We should go. Robin might vomit all over if we stay here a minute longer.” You say, trying to not let your voice sound desperate to stay. Desperate to be here a little bit longer. Desperate to stay with him, just one more minute. You look at Eddie and he sighs, giving you a nod.

“Yeah, Stevie here is not looking good either… Seriously, what did you guys drink last night? Poison?”

“Definitely.” Steve says and he regrets it the minute he does, because opening his mouth made the breath intake swirl in his stomach, and he immediately shot up from his place, rushing towards the bathroom to finally hurl everything out of his system. Eddie, Billy and you shared a look and then at Robin.

“Please, take me home.” Robin says and you nod, getting up from the couch and heading over to put on your heels, and your jacket. Eddie got up as well, holding in a breath at the sight of your legs in the morning light that's shining through the blinds. 

Legs that trembled under his touch last night.

“Come on Robs.” You walked over to her, both of your purses on one hand while the other stretched towards her. She groaned but grabbed it either way and you pulled her up, and she almost knocked you over as she stumbled forward. Eddie was behind you in a heartbeat, pressing his front on your back, as you pushed Robin on steady feet.

“Whoa, the last thing I need is a trip to the hospital today.” You hear him say behind you, and his hands were pressing on your arms, holding you, and your belly wanted to scream, tell him to keep holding you, or yell at him to move his hands, to satiate the hunger.

More.

You pulled away from him when you saw Robin almost falling again and you rushed to her side, pulling her arm over your shoulder. All the heat was gone in an instant as worry flashed in your face, Steve’s vomiting echoing in the room and you felt Robin’s body tense as she gagged and you gasped, looking at Eddie alarmingly.

“We need to go, I will babysit Robin all day.” You say to him and he nods, rushing towards the door to hold it open for you.

“I’ll push the button for the lobby, go before she paints the walls green Angel.” You give him a nod as Robin lurches forward, another gag rushing through her body and you winced, walking towards the door. The ache in your belly reappeared as you looked at him again. Your lips were tingling, and you cursed the fact that you had to hold Robin up because you just wanted to hug him goodbye, or kiss his cheek. 

“I’ll– I’ll talk to you later, okay?” You say but don’t move from your place, almost as if waiting for something. His features softened as he gulped a nervous lump in his throat, leaning down to press a kiss on your forehead, very fast, soft, yet burning as if he lingered there for a while.

“Yeah, I’ll talk to you later sweetheart.” You were stuck to the ground, your heart not wanting to move as you looked at him, and the only thing that made you return to your senses, was Robin’s gagging once more. You groaned as you walked out and headed towards the elevator, which was gladly already at your floor. 

Eddie gave you a small wave and you returned it with a smile, finally disappearing into the elevator, the doors closing as Eddie closed the one of his apartment. He heard Steve again, and he wondered how much more he had in his stomach, because it felt never ending.

With a sigh, he walked towards the fridge, getting the water out to fill a glass for himself, and one for Steve. Billy was eating a pancake next to him, his hip resting against the counter, and Eddie froze, putting the water bottle on the counter, his head slowly turning to look at Billy.

“Weren’t you sleeping on the couch last night?” Billy nodded and then shrugged, looking at the pancake in his hand.

“Got up in the middle of the night, wanted to sleep on my bed.” His blue eyes finally looked up at Eddie’s, a pair of shocked brown orbs staring at his friend’s face as if he were a ghost. Billy smirked, taking a bite out of his pancake again, grabbing the glass of water for Steve, walking behind Eddie to head to the toilet, but not before he whispered into his ear the same question he asked you before.

“Did you have fun last night?”

You took off your work headphones, finally finishing the meeting and work for the day. You sighed heavily, looking up at the ceiling. It had been some heavy days of work, but gladly you had asked for two days off, one being tomorrow, Thursday, and then Friday, giving you an extended weekend.

You stood up from your chair, turning the laptop off, shutting the top, and finally taking a deep breath. You smiled as you walked towards your kitchen, getting a glass and your bottle of wine. It was already opened, so you just took the cork off and poured yourself until it was halfway full. 

Austin talked to you this afternoon, asking for a second date. You didn’t even hesitate when you declined it politely. It was hard to do so, asking Robin for advice on how to do it, but being honest was the best option. You told him you just didn’t feel it that way, and he kindly understood or that’s what you could read from the texts on the work chat.

If he was mad, he didn’t show it.

You took a sip out of your glass as your phone vibrated and you looked down at it to see Eddie sending you a direct message on Instagram. Probably a meme. You smiled slightly at it, but then it immediately fell and you took a large sip out of your glass this time, as you felt the knots in your belly turning at his message, but there was also some sort of frustration behind it.

At first you didn’t know why you felt it. Sunday he had messaged you about his lunch and what he was going to wear for work that night. Monday, he video called you to tell you that he bought a new expansion for his DnD game, while he wore a tight turtleneck. Tuesday, he was excitedly telling you about his uncle Wayne coming to visit soon, and how Eddie wants you to meet him. And now, today, he’s been sending you memes all day, as if nothing ever happened between you two.

And that was what was driving you insane.

You had almost ripped your brain cells trying to figure out what was happening or why you felt this way, wanting to tell Robin but for some reason you just wanted to keep this to yourself. This is a very confusing feeling, not knowing what is happening, and much less towards a friend.

But you also wondered why Eddie had been so nonchalant about all of this, about everything, and you couldn’t help but want that shift that you felt on Sunday morning. The soft touches that weren’t always there, the small playful bantering, and the closeness. God, the closeness. You shivered every time you remembered his skin on yours, his lips on yours, on your neck, which you noticed as soon as you left Robin at her apartment that you had a few marks on there, very subtle, but still there. 

They were now gone, and you found yourself mourning those marks. Did he want to mark you again? Would he touch you again? Kiss you again? Make you feel good again? And even so, you didn’t feel embarrassed or nervous about that situation anymore, because it was replaced with an anxious feeling, with a feeling of anticipation, with a feeling of ‘What will happen next? Will there be a next time like this?’.

And after your night with Eddie, you found the burning even more unbearable than before, and electric shocks were added into it too. You tried, you really tried to make yourself feel good just like he showed you, but every time you closed your eyes, the memory of his fingers came back, as well as the kissing on your neck, and not even a vibrator could compare. 

Your thoughts were cut off when your phone started vibrating wildly, and you looked over to see Eddie calling you through video. Butterflies exploded in your belly, nervousness filling you up and you cursed at yourself for not putting on a single gram of make up today. You glanced at your reflection in your toaster, wincing as you fixed your hair a bit, putting some strands in front of your face. It was all you could do.

You grabbed your phone and slid on the screen to answer Eddie’s call. His head popped up, his curls tight on a bun on top of his head and you could only see from the bridge of his nose, and up, as he wiggled his eyebrows up and down onto the camera, making you snort, looking away from the screen. You heard him laugh as he pulled the phone away from him, showing his entire face to you.

“Hello there Angel.” You heard his voice and your eyes immediately found his through the communication device, seeking him out again as your pet name was said.

“Hi Eddie. What are you doing?” You asked and he shrugged, giving you an offended fake look.

“I can’t call my favorite girl in the whole world just cause I feel like it?” His favorite girl in the world. His girl. You knew you blushed at those words, giving a huff as you looked towards the glass on your counter and distract yourself from the aching heat that was already beginning to spread. You held onto the glass and took a sip of it, putting it down to look back at him.

“I bet you could have texted me about it.” You didn’t deny his advance at you. In fact, you didn’t deny any of the advances he did on you this week. Showing you what he was going to wear for the night at the club? Putting on a tight turtleneck that would surely show off his pecs to you? Tell you he wanted you to meet his Uncle? He knew it was selfish, and he knew it was risky, but you had actually shown reciprocation that made him smile in victory. You were very brief with his work clothes selection, making small ‘hms’ and ‘that’s good’ as if you were not liking what you were seeing. You complimented him on his black turtleneck, telling him it looked great on him and that he should wear it more often. And then, you told him you couldn’t wait to meet his uncle, so that’s why today, Eddie, has reached a boiling point.

“I thought a call would be quicker, sorry for interrupting your lonely drinking session.” He jokingly replied to you which made you roll your eyes. He licked his lips as he took a deep breath in, his throat closing in on him as he looked at the screen. He stripped for a living, almost completely naked, and talking to you made him more nervous than he’d ever been before.

“Right, so, what is it? I got a glass of wine and some Kirby to play.” You say to him, and his chest warmed at the thought of you, just playing on your switch, while he played on his, both on the couch. He would be resting against the back of the couch while you rested your head on his lap, showing him your accomplishments on your game. And that thought, that small little image in his head, made him finally talk.

“I got the day off tomorrow as well actually.” You raised your head to look at him again, and Eddie sucked in another breath, feeling the palm holding the phone tensing and sweating up, but he can try to play it cool. He always did. “So, I was wondering if you wanted to go to that bar near your apartment, I am missing how they prepare the Negroni there–” 

“Yes.”

Silence. Both of you were stunned at how quick you responded. You didn’t even process it, you didn’t even think about it, you didn’t even hesitate. Your whole body had a sudden cold sweat, and you almost dropped to the floor in embarrassment but Eddie finally recovered himself, straightening up as if you hadn’t just accepted going out on a date with him so casually. Well, he didn’t tell you it was a date, but he kind of hoped it was.

“Okay then! Someone’s excited to keep drinking it seems.” He had to lighten up the mood, he had to make you laugh again, lose the tension on your shoulders, and that he did. You giggled through your burning cheeks, your heart beating into your ears, but happiness was replacing your embarrassment, followed by excitement. Was it a date? Or was this just two friends getting together to have a drink? Or maybe you weren’t even going to be alone, maybe he invites Billy if he has his day off or something.

“I just– I don’t have plans for tomorrow, okay?” You say to him hiding your face behind the big glass of wine, and he couldn’t help but smile at you, dimples and all, making your stomach explode with so many things that you couldn’t even name them all. 

“Okay, alright, fine. I’ll just park near your apartment and we can go walking from there.” Your heart soared at that. Austin had told you to simply meet him there, when Eddie wasn’t, not only picking you up, but offered to go walking, and you hoped that it was because he wanted to spend more time with you. And you were right.

“Alright. Can I go play Kirby now?” You needed to hang up, you needed to yell, you needed to jump around with excitement, not being able to contain yourself for much longer. He was feeling the burning sensation on his face now too, so he clenched his other hand on the bed, tightly to hold his emotions in.

“Go play your stupid Kirby, I’ll see you tomorrow Angel.” You gave him a nod, putting your glass down to be able to send him a soft smile, and his eyes almost bulged out of his sockets when you bit your bottom lip, very subtly.

“See you tomorrow Eds.” You hung up and Eddie was staring blankly at the screen. You had accepted his invitation, rapidly, no doubt there, sure you were embarrassed and he could see it, but it meant… God, it meant you were letting go. A wide smile spread on his lips, teeth showing as he threw the phone on his bed, his arms raising towards the ceiling as he plopped backwards, falling onto his mattress with a laugh.

You weren’t far behind on his excitement, putting the phone on the counter before you did small little jumps in the same place you stood, a wide grin spreading on your cheeks. You weren’t this excited when Austin asked you out, and even if you didn’t know if Eddie meant it that way, you realized that if it was indeed a date, you didn’t mind. 

You didn’t mind. Oh my god… You didn’t mind.

Realization hits you like a brick to the face. It couldn’t be that, could it? He is your friend, someone who helped you all along this journey to find yourself, it’s impossible to feel– feel this for someone you consider a friend right? Well not impossible, but it shouldn’t happen, because he obviously doesn’t see you like that. He is just inviting you out to a bar to drink with his friend.

You were just excited to see Eddie, nothing more. But the anticipation was there again. What were you anticipating to happen? Your feelings were not cooperating with what your brain knows, so you cannot even describe what was going on inside of you. When did this shift happen with Eddie? This didn’t happen before, did it? You can’t remember now, because the present was just blurring everything from the past month.

You grabbed your glass of wine again, taking another sip, and the heat was all over your body again. You were going insane not knowing what was happening to you, and that leads you to stomp towards your living room, and take your Switch out of its charging dock, and plopping onto your couch, the glass on the coffee table.

You just needed to distract yourself. Eddie is a friend, and you are going to the bar as friends.

You walked out of the bathroom with the towel wrapped around your body, with a shocked expression on your face. 

You just wanted to be tidy, that’s all, feel clean. So, you shaved again, even if you shaved last week, you did it again. But it was all to feel clean, you liked that soothing feeling, your smooth legs and everywhere else. You looked at your full length mirror, scanning your body and the back of your legs if they were properly shaved. It isn’t the first time you shaved when seeing Eddie, but it is the first time you shaved your private parts. 

You shook your head, trying not to think too much about it, as well as the building heat in your belly. You double tapped your phone that was on your night table to look at the time. 5 PM. You had time, okay. You walked over to your closet and opened the underwear drawer, looking through your panties and bras to finally land on something you hadn’t opened yet.

The black laced lingerie set.

Why were you even considering it? Why were you even thinking about putting that on? It was Eddie, just Eddie… Sweet Eddie. You can’t put that on, because it wasn’t what this was. It wasn’t that at all. You grabbed your white set, the cotton pair and you sighed heavily with a nod, pushing the drawer closed. 

You stepped away to throw the set onto the bed but you stopped midway. You looked towards the drawer again. There was something inside of you that was tugging you towards it again, your mind wanting to go against it, but it felt as if it were an impulse, not being able to control it. 

Why can't you control it? You’ve always been able to control your feelings, so what was this? Why is it always frustratingly there? Why doesn’t it ever go away and why is it always there with Eddie? Your body moved to the drawer again, taking the black lace set out and immediately throwing your towel away, stepping onto the thong first, which you almost never used, and then putting on the bra, with embroidery stitched onto it, the edges of it a nice thin lace that stuck to your skin.

You walked towards the mirror again to stare at yourself, the burning sensation returning to your body as a thought appeared in your head. Your eyes widened, slowly, walking towards your reflection to touch the crystal with your fingertips.

You wanted him to see it.

You didn’t think of wearing this set with Austin, and in fact you were saving it for a serious relationship, when you had spent months building the trust and the confidence between one another… Yet, with Eddie you already had all of that. It was always there. It had always been there, and you realized at this very moment, just what was happening.

It had occurred to you many times, that the feeling inside of you was something you never felt before. Something Eddie mentioned that night, and that you didn’t know how to describe it to him. Something that shouldn't happen with friends, and you knew that, that’s why you had been denying it all along, because admitting it would only lead to pain.

You were attracted to Eddie. Painfully so.

Oh fuck… You sat on the bed, looking towards the floor as the butterflies exploded in your belly, your heart beating into your ears, a buzzing noise filling your brain as you tried to think, tried to put your feelings back together, but all you could think about was him. His touch, his scent, his eyes, his lips, his voice, his tattoos, and–

You wanted to see more. So much more. 

You weren’t hiding yourself at the thought of seeing more, not like you did before, not like the nervous and anxious panicked self you were before, because the difference from those times is that you weren’t sure of what you wanted. You weren’t sure if you could do some stuff. You weren’t sure if you would look nice. You weren’t sure if he would enjoy himself with you…

But you remembered that night, and you couldn’t help but hope, wish that he in fact felt the same way, the same attraction you felt for him. You covered your face as flames invaded your cheeks and towards your ears. You were desperate, and it was the first time you were experiencing it. You wanted him to the point of not being sure if you could control yourself with him. Not anymore.

What are you going to do now with this realization? You want his friendship yet you don’t. You want this to not be a date, yet you want it to. You aren’t anticipating anything, yet you are. And there it was, the anticipation of wanting him to do something. The need for him to not act like nothing happened last weekend. The need for him to show you he wants you as much as you want him.

But what if your mind is creating this idealization of him that is not true? What if he doesn’t really want you? What if it is just your brain creating that fantasy that he does just so you could feel good about yourself? It can happen, right? But, fuck, he was hard that night, but men get hard with everything and anything, and you knew that much. 

“Oh god…” You took a few deep breaths in, feeling your chest just palpitating and you were sure you were going into a cardiac arrest. You got up from the bed and shook your hands as you paced back and forth in your room, breathing deeply and exhaling, trying to calm your nerves as they started settling in your body.

Stop thinking. Stop thinking. Stop thinking.

He even taught you this. You think too much, you dwell too much on the infinite possibilities on how something might go, when the only thing you have to do is let yourself go, just like you did that night with him, as well as when you let him kiss you almost a month ago. 

You looked at yourself in the mirror again, stopping on your tracks. Just act like you normally do, don’t let it show, but it was impossible. What if he put an innocent hand on the small of your back just like he did when you were cooking pancakes? That touch, that simple and soft touch almost made you lose your mind. How can you possibly do this? How are you going to act now that you know? Should you tell Robin? No, there’s no time, she doesn’t even know you and Eddie kissed, she would absolutely flip and you need to get ready.

The weather was still warm but chilly when the wind blew, so laid out on the bed was a nice long sleeved black dress that reached your mid thigh, there was no cleavage, but your collarbones showed on the collar of it. It was a casual dress, but it wasn’t. You groaned now that you realize you had been anticipating everything about going out with Eddie tonight. 

The shaving, the dress, the lingerie, the excitement of him inviting you to a bar, the perfume you were going to use, the makeup you were going to do on yourself, the hairstyle you looked a tutorial for, the accessories you were going to use and the small heels you were going to wear. Was it all too much? What if he is casual, in some jeans and a band T-Shirt and you make him feel bad about it?

Okay, maybe change the heels for some sneakers and don’t overdo the makeup. You can do that, you have to be more casual. What if he sees through you? What if he thinks you got attracted to him right after he touched you? Will he think you are delusional? That just because he kissed you and touched you meant he wanted more with you? 

What did more mean?

You jumped on the spot when your alarm rang, making your eyes go wide. You had set the alarm to go off at 5:30 PM and you realized you had been walking all around and thinking for half an hour. Precious time you needed to get ready. You rushed to your vanity desk to start pulling out everything you needed for your makeup and hair. 

The time went on as you got ready, your nervousness building more and more as each minute passed. You were nervous, but it was a good nervous, as well as excited but terrified. You slid on your sneakers and looked at yourself in the mirror again. Your hair was down, but neat, a little bit styled, more than usual, but not overdoing it. Your makeup was kept simple, neutral eyeshadows with a tinge of black, with your eyeliner and mascara. Your lips were a natural red tone, a lip tint. 

You looked at your phone and it marked it was 6:42 PM. Your hands started sweating as you began to pace around the room again. It was almost time, and you were trying to regulate your breathing. This wasn’t a stranger, it was Eddie, but the turn of your belly was way worse than any other time you were with another man. 

Just act normal. Like always. It’s just a night out, with your friend, no funny business. But fuck, if there is no funny business, why did you get dressed like this? Your phone vibrated and you rushed towards it to see Eddie’s message. 

‘Arrived a little early 😅’

A smile spread on your lips, long gone was the fear you felt seconds ago, replaced by adrenaline as you sprayed more perfume on the back of your ears, grabbing onto your purse and sliding the phone inside as well as the small tube of gloss just in case you want to reapply. 

You grabbed your keys and rushed out of your house, locking after you left and you slipped into the elevator as fast as you could, pressing onto the bottom floor quickly until the doors closed. You looked at yourself in the mirrors of the wall of the elevator and fixed your hair again, giving one small nod as you waited for the doors to open again. Once they did, you walked out and out of the glass doors of the lobby, you could already see him.

Shit.

He was wearing that tight turtleneck black t-shirt you saw on him the other day, his black leather jacket on top, ripped black jeans, with his handcuff belt on his waist. He was looking to the side as he rested on the street lamp waiting for you. His hair was up in a bun, small strands falling around his face, and you felt your knees wobble slightly. 

He dressed up, in the same manner you did.

You gulped and punched the nervous lumps down your throat, walking towards the door and finally opening it. His head immediately snapped at the sound, and he had a smile on his face, ready to greet you, only for his breath to be knocked out of his lungs as if someone had kicked him on his chest cavity. 

He was absolutely stunned as he scanned your outfit, and he was sure that you were trying to kill him. He didn’t expect you to put on a dress for him, and he didn’t expect you to come out as quickly as you did. He also didn’t expect the perfume you were using, and he just was not prepared to see you like this. You were always beautiful, but now that you made yourself look good for this outing with him had his heart in his throat.

Do you even realize what you do to him or are you completely unaware of it? 

“Hi Eds!” Your cheery voice broke him out of his trance, finally feeling a cold sweat invade his feet, all blood leaving them to rush north, making him curse inwardly at himself. 

“Hey Angel.” He leaned away from the lamp post, and your heart soared when he reached out to you to pull you into a hug, face planting on his chest. You were afraid he could feel your heart against him, but you could definitely hear his. It was rather quick for its normal pace, but you guessed that maybe he walked to get to your door, having parked around the corner or something. 

Your arms wrapped around his waist and god he wanted to push you into your complex again, just go to your apartment and spend alone time with you instead of going into a bar with other people. But that would be too dangerous, being alone with you was not good for his own heart, nor his body, not when he had already heard you, tasted you, touched you.

He pulled away from you after taking a deep breath from your perfume, keeping his arm around your shoulders as he guided you to start walking the three blocks towards the bar. He was more nervous than he thought he’d be, but he had to stay calm, try to not show you how his hands were slightly trembling with the need to pull you into a kiss, or an even deeper hug.

You didn’t expect the arm to rest there, setting your body on fire as you started taking the first steps towards the bar. Your voice for some reason was caught in your throat as you looked at the floor. Talk to him, say something, anything at all. You raised your head up to ask him about this day off but your eyes caught onto the dark clouds that were coming from the distance.

“Eds, do I go get my umbrella? Just in case.” You say while pointing at said clouds. He looked over and indeed saw them, but he shrugged with a shake of his head. 

“Nah, it didn’t say it was going to rain. I bet it will just go around or it will be very little rain, we’ll be fine.” He says as if he were a meteorologist and you rolled your eyes at him, still staring at the clouds as you both walked.

“So those big black clouds it’s just a sprinkle of rain. That’s what you’re trying to tell me.” You say to him and he looks at you with a wide smile to his face, his arm falling from your shoulder, and your chest contracted in itself, missing the touch and the pressure that it had created. 

“I am an expert with weather. If you take a sniff, there’s no rain smell! It’s common sense sweetheart.” 

And that’s how you both arrived at the bar, bantering at Eddie’s poor sense of instinct but you still trusted him with not going back for an umbrella. It was the same bar you met Austin at, and when you both entered Eddie guided you to a similar booth, letting you both sit next to each other instead of in front of one another. 

You gulped and took a deep breath in as you slid into the booth, him sitting right next to you. This… This looked like a date, didn’t it? It had to be, but he didn’t say it was, so maybe it isn’t, but you want it to be. Should you ask? But it’s too early, maybe ask that at the very end just in case you make everything awkward between the two of you. Maybe you’re just–

“You’re thinking again.” He says and you look to your side and at him, a nervous heat engulfing you from being caught red handed. You had to think of something, anything at all.

“It was just a very stressful three days at work. Had to leave everything completely tidy for these two days I’ll be gone.” It was actually the truth, you weren’t lying, but you did lie about this being the thing you were thinking about, and you felt slightly guilty about that.

“Wow, they really can’t go without you sweetheart.” You shrugged at that as the waitress came over to get your order which was a rum and coke for Eddie and a beer for you, with a side of fries. 

“Yeah, I also had a nervous attack yesterday.” You didn’t even register what you said until it was out of your mouth. He raised an eyebrow at you, worry displayed on his face as he put a hand on your shoulder, making you look at him.

“Nervous? What happened?” Your eyes widened slightly and you cleared your throat, looking down at the table again, biting your bottom lip nervously. There it was again. You do not want to tell Eddie about another man. How stupid you were before for not realizing this. 

“I uh– Austin asked to go on a second date.” You began and he immediately tensed up, his stomach dropping as his shoulders fell slightly. “But I panicked because I didn’t know how to say no… So I called Robin completely crazy, and she– You wanna know what she fucking suggested?” You turned to look at him and his mood immediately lifted up as he heard you rejected the other man. For a second there he thought you had said yes.

“What did she suggest?” He says, putting his elbow on the table, his head resting on his hand as he looks at you. 

“She suggested that I tell him I am actually an undercover agent, trying to look into company secrets and that I was just using him.” Eddie snorted, followed by a chuckle and shaking his head while you giggled at Robin’s stupid suggestions, telling him one by one, making the laughter increase between you two, until Eddie’s laughter ceased but he kept a smile to his face.

“And what did you actually tell him?” He asked and you were just staring at him. He was absolutely beautiful, and your heart was trying to tug you into him, grab his face and pull him towards you, kiss him, wrap your arms around him. You sighed and shrugged at him.

“That I just felt like it was more of a friendship thing than something more.” At that Eddie’s heart soared, and the question was at the tip of the tongue. Did you feel that with him too? God, he really wanted to know. The waitress finally came back with your order and Eddie straightened up, thanking her as she placed the drinks and the food on the table.

You immediately launched to take a fry into your mouth and Eddie smiled as he watched you. Before, you would have waited until he got the first bite, because you didn’t want to seem desperate for food, and you were very tidy with it too. You took fries with your fork before, and now you’re dipping in with your hands. 

He was just hoping you were like this with him. Just him.

The two of you fell into your natural talk, even if nervous, even if anxious, it was always so easy to talk. So easy, that you were already on your second drink, asking him if his uncle was coming soon or not.

“Actually, yeah, maybe in a week. I am so fucking excited, it’s been way too long since I’ve last seen him, Claudia and the little shit.” He says with a laugh as he takes another sip of his rum and coke. You giggled at how he referred to his little brother, but you knew he cared deeply for him, still calling him three times a week to know how he is, and sometimes to help Dustin write a campaign of his own. “Still want you to meet him.”

You blushed at that, but you felt yourself growing excited at the thought of meeting part of his family, and that he wants you to. He really wants to introduce you to his Uncle, his father figure. His eyes were on you, body fully turned to face you, your own in the same manner. You smiled up at him, moving your head in a small nod.

“Can’t wait to meet him.” 

His arm was over the backrest of the booth, his hand resting right next to you. Your eyes locked with his and that need for him to wrap his arm around you came back. His fingers finally softly touched your shoulder, slow small circles being drawn with the tip of them and you shivered, feeling the goosebumps go all over your body at this small bit of touch from him.

Eddie’s eyes almost widened when he saw something different in the way you were looking at him. Did you even know what you were doing? Looking at him with your pupils a little bit wider than they were before, your fingers on the glass fidgeting, as if trying to do something with them but not having the strength to do it. Oh, everything changed. It definitely changed.

He moved one inch, just one towards you, but his cell phone started vibrating non stop, making him curse under his breath, pulling his arm away from the backrest to face the phone on the table. You didn’t realize that you weren’t breathing, releasing the air that was jailed up in your lungs. You almost reached for him. You almost leaned in, just out of impulse, out of craving. What have you become? 

“Fucking christ.” He swipes the phone screen to reject the call and that makes you snap out and look at him with a confused look in your face.

“Who was it?”

“The little–” The phone began vibrating again, and Eddie groaned while throwing his head back, grabbing his phone and answering the video call. 

“Eddie, what the fuck! This is important and you haven’t been answering my texts!” You hear the other voice say and you look at the screen, seeing it was Dustin, Eddie’s brother. He raised his head to look at the camera with an angry look on his face and his little brother simply rolled his eyes at him. “What are you doing so important you can’t answer me?”

“Does it look and sound like I’m home, you fucker?” You giggled, covering your mouth with your hand to stifle it but Dustin heard it, a smirk appearing in his face.

“Are you on a date?” 

Oh that made Eddie blush, and your giggle ceased again. The thing you both didn’t ask or say, and now you wondered what Eddie was going to say. You gulped, looking up at him and his eyes were already on you. You were waiting for him to answer, you were giving him the option of letting this evening be a friendly one, or something more. 

His heart was on his ears as he felt his gut turning with nervousness, but now, he felt hopeful that this feeling was not one sided. If you let him choose, it’s because you wondered if he had asked you out as a friend or not. He opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by Dustin, who gasped, making Eddie’s head turn back to him.

“Is it her?” Dustin suddenly says your name and your eyes widen slightly, while Eddie blushes with a roll of his eyes, followed by a nod of his head. “I wanna meet her!”

“What, no! I’m–” 

“I just wanna ask her what house she is in!” And that caught your attention, making you sit up straight and snatch Eddie’s phone out of his hand. He groaned again, a little bit pissed that Dustin completely ruined the moment, and now he was butting in, on the date he didn’t say it was, but it definitely was.

“Hi! I’m Dustin!” 

“Little shit.” Eddie corrects and again puts his elbow on the table, looking your way as he rests his head on his hand. 

“Eddie told me you like Harry Potter!” Dustin says and you smile into the camera, widely as heat fills your cheeks. Eddie talked about you. He talked about you to his family.

“Yes! I am a potterhead, full fledged.” You say to the curly headed boy in front of you, and Eddie knew he had become non existent at this point, but seeing you smile widely while talking to his brother was making his heart beat faster and yearn for you even more than before. 

“I am too! I mean, I am a fan of all nerdy things, but Harry Potter is one of my top 3!” He says with a smile which was super contagious to you, making you smile at him. “Okay so, I am a Hufflepuff, and my Patronus is a dog!” He says and your eyes widen at him, your mouth falling into a surprised one.

“Me too! I am a proud Hufflepuff, but my Patronus is actually a Hippogriff.” Dustin’s eyes widened.

“No fucking way! That one is fucking difficult to get!” Eddie was smiling as he heard you talk, completely entranced by you, excitedly moving your free hand as you talked to Dustin. He wondered if you would be this care free with Wayne and Claudia. God, he really wants to introduce you to them, and the thought scared him before, but seeing you right now he is simply growing impatient for it to happen already.

He used this time to go to the bathroom and relieve himself, looking at himself in the mirror, taking a deep breath in to calm his nerves. God, what is happening right now? You were talking normally, he knew that, but there was something else. It was as if you were expecting something, watching him, and you even scooted closer to him. He wasn’t going to complain, but… Should he make a move? Should he first talk to you? 

He chuckles at himself, feeling like a complete hypocrite. He always talks to you about letting go, to stop thinking, to stop dwelling on things in your mind and here he was. But the difference was that he was risking so much if he decided on making the move. But weren’t the signs there? You waited for his answer if this was a date or not! So why is he hesitating so much?

He walks out of the bathroom, walking back towards the booth and he sees a smile line of people outside the bar, waiting to enter. He knew you two were going to get kicked out soon, and he groaned at the thought, sitting in the booth, sliding next to you again as you giggled at Dustin, Eddie’s heart warming again.

“Yeah, but I can’t ever beat him at Mario Kart. He sucks at everything else, but Mario Kart is a fucking pro isn’t he?” You tilted your head at that, and Eddie’s eyes widened at his brother, already cursing him as Dustin kept talking. “Yeah, he told me you couldn’t beat him either.”

Your mouth fell open in surprise, looking at Eddie with complete shock in your face. His eyes were panicked as he looked at you, an innocent small smile appearing in his lips and you bit your bottom lip with your eyebrows raised up and nodded at him, only to snap back at Dustin.

“So he told you he beat me? Cause I don’t remember it like that at all!” Dustin’s face fell, his turn to tilt his head in confusion and Eddie’s arm immediately wrapped around your shoulders, pushing you into him with his hand covering your mouth, rather harshly in order to shut you up as he snatched the phone out of your hands, putting his face on the camera again as your screams and mumbles were muffled into his palm.

“Okay, Dustin, talk to you tomorrow, if this is about the campaign we’ll talk later!” 

“What did she mean–” Eddie hung up before Dustin could finish and he dropped the phone on the table with an exasperated sigh. You were wriggling in his grasp and he took the hand off your mouth but his arm was still holding you close. He looked down at you with a frown to his face as you laughed, your hands pressing onto his thigh for support.

“He beats me at every game, he is not going to let me live it down if he knows YOU beat me at Mario Kart!” You were still giggling as you looked up at him.

“But I did beat you at Mario Kart!” You now noticed how close his face was to yours, his arm still holding you close, with his hand now on your shoulder. Your whole body is turned, which was rather uncomfortable, but you didn’t care. You were just inches from touching his lips again, and the burning in your belly ignited, first like a spark, and it was expanding into flames, all over. 

“Yeah… You did… But he doesn’t need to know Angel… Let’s keep that secret between us, okay?” His voice lowered, talking to you, privately, intimately and that made your legs clench slightly, already knowing why you were always fidgety with him. Why you were always uncomfortable in that area of yours. 

You were aroused.

It was just you two in the bar right now, that’s how it felt like. No one around you. No clients, no waitresses, no barman, no cook… There was no one. You just needed him to close the distance, you were begging him with your eyes to close the distance between you two, but he wasn’t doing anything. Why isn’t he doing anything? You were growing desperate now, and you knew it, but what do you have to do for his lips to be on yours again?

“Can I handle your check?” Eddie wanted to curse at whoever was playing a joke on him from above. Probably his fucking father or something. He sighed as he pulled away from you, looking at the waitress before him. He nodded and you felt as if your breathing had picked up a pace now, feeling your heart hammering in your chest, as you sat straight once more.

You were… Irritated. Why isn’t he kissing you? He’s done it before, why isn’t he doing anything? Maybe he doesn’t want to? But he didn’t say it wasn’t a date, because if it weren’t then he should have said a simple no. You were too into your head that you didn’t notice Eddie paying the waitress until he tapped your shoulder. 

“They are basically kicking us out.” He gave you a small smile and you looked at him, still with a lost look in your eyes and nodded, grabbing your things and getting out of the booth with him. You wanted to glare at the people that were in line, because thanks to them they had to start to clear up tables to fill them in. 

“You didn’t even let me pay half…” You pouted at him as he walked next to you, but your steps were slow, not wanting the night to end. You didn’t realize that you’ve been sitting there with him for two hours, time passing by way too quickly for your liking. 

“Next time is on you.” He says with a smile and your heart jumps at that, making you smile towards the floor trying to hide how flushed you just got. Next time. There will be a next time with just the two of you. You looked up at him, both of you still walking.

“Maybe next time you can help Dustin before so he doesn’t have to interrupt.” You said to him and he was baffled by your answer. You saw Dustin as an interruption when he was close to you. His heart hammered in his chest, and none of you were paying attention to the small concrete boulder on the ground, and when you stepped on it, you tumbled to the side, flailing your arms everywhere.

“Shit!” He grabbed your arms, pulling you into him to steady you as your heart felt like exploding. You felt your world tilting when you stepped on that, giving you a complete heart attack. His chest rumbled with laughter and you looked up at him with a frown and pout in your face.

“Don’t laugh at me! I didn’t see it!” You were embarrassed at your display, but seeing him laugh was making you want to get on the tip of your toes, and plant a kiss on him. God, you want to kiss him, really bad.

“I’m sorry, you just moved your arms everywhere and it was funny.” His laugh slowed down as his head turned to look at you and there was that look on your face again. You were blinking slowly at him, and his blood began rushing south because it almost looked as if you wanted to eat him alive. 

Just like he wanted to do to you.

“Eds…?” You were dazed, eyes hazed while staring up at him and your mind was turning into gelatin, coherent thoughts no longer processing in your head, and your palms were splayed on his chest, and you just wanted to rise them up, glide them on his torso and to the back of his head.

“Yes, Angel?” His voice was low, your frame still in his arms as you two stood in the street, and he really was trying to keep himself under control here, but when you were looking at him like that… The only thought that was processed was… Fuck it. 

But you flinched, your eyes blinking rapidly as you touched your cheek with your index finger, water covering it. You frowned at it and Eddie was about to ask what happened when he himself felt something on his cheek. He unhooked one arm from you to wipe his face, noticing the drop of water on his hand, and as soon as you both looked up, the sky decided it was time for a waterfall to happen. 

The drops were heavy, soaking you both in the lapse of five seconds and you pulled away from Eddie with a squeal, followed by a glare towards him and he was taking off his jacket in a hurry, cursing under his breath to then flop it on your head to cover you from any more rain.

“I TOLD YOU SO!” You yelled at him and he grabbed your hand to start running towards your complex, and he couldn’t help but roar with laughter as he ran. You wanted to murder him and he was laughing at the situation. The streets had puddles already from how heavy was raining as thunder roared in the sky above you both.

“JUST RUN!” He yelled back through his laughter and you couldn’t help but laugh with him as you kept running under the rain, Eddie’s jacket over your head, keeping the rain out of your hair and face. Many people were running from the sudden downpour, some cursing, some laughing, and then some just accepted their fate and walked under the rain.

You two were just running like crazy, laughing hysterically as his hand squeezed yours, your sneakers already full of puddle water which was making you wince in disgust and made you keep whining at him, telling him off that you were right and that you should have gone inside for an umbrella. You took the keys out of your purse desperately as you both reached the complex and he let your hand go.

“Well, Angel, I should–”

“Nope, you’re getting inside and we’re gonna dry ourselves before we catch a fucking cold!” You yelled at him and he wasn’t going to say no, following you inside the lobby as you opened your door. You both rushed to the elevator as you kept laughing at how stupid Eddie had been about the weather. 

In the elevator you took the jacket off your head and he grabbed it, trying to shake the water off it and you covered your face to then slap his arm to make him stop. He was laughing at the reflection of the two of you and you noticed that your makeup was running, making you gasp in embarrassment and fix it with your index fingers.

The doors opened at your floor and you grabbed his hand to walk the two of you out of the elevator, rushing towards the warmth of your apartment, your heart beating loudly in your chest, as you opened the door to finally head inside. Eddie closed the door behind him and you motioned for him to take off his boots as you took off your water filled sneakers.

“God, okay, I am not a weatherman, okay? I can make mistakes.” He says with a chuckle, taking off his boots and his socks that were completely drenched. You put your sneakers and socks aside as you looked at him. 

“You said you were an expert–” 

“Experts can make mistakes sweetheart.” He says to you with a smile, that dimpled smile that made your knees buckle. You studied him, his hair was stuck to his forehead and cheeks, some curls were wet bouncing off, but his bun was still in place. You felt your breathing picking up a pace again, and it wasn’t because of the running. His chest was going up and down, his shirt now completely stuck to his body, letting your eyes roam all over him, and the flames never extinguished. Even when you were running towards here you still felt them, in the hold of his hand, in his laughter, in that moment between the two of you.

You didn’t even turn on the lights of the apartment, but the streetlamps of the street were bright enough to bring some light into the place, and thunder every now and then flashed through the windows. He ran a hand over his face to take off the excess water, and even if you were drenched from head to toe, you were burning. You were really burning as if you had the worst fever ever.

Your consciousness was drifting away again, your body wanting to move as your belly and your need yelled at you. He hadn’t made a move on you all night. He didn’t kiss you, he had touched you but he did go farther than that. The anticipation of him doing something, the anticipation of fully crossing the line, the anticipation of something happening tonight. That’s what you were waiting for, but you were irritated already because of how desperate you were for him.

You want him.

You desire him.

You need him.

“Angel, we should get some towels.” He was oblivious to you, not realizing the desperate look on your face, the fast pace of your breathing, the twitching of your hands, and just because he was looking all over at himself and how incredibly drenched he got from some rain in just a minute. 

Your body was trembling almost as you stared at him, your belly burning as you felt the heat right at your core. This, you never felt this before. This intense feeling of wanting someone, of craving someone, of wanting to touch them in every possible way. The thought of that scared you before, but now, you would do anything to see him in the light, bare before you, and you wanted to make him feel good, in the same way he made you feel that night. 

Stop thinking.

Stop waiting. 

Let go.

Let fucking go.

Eddie looked up only for his eyes to widen when he felt both of your hands reach up to his face, cradling him, and he didn’t even notice you had walked closer to him at all. He stared down at you, seeing that look again in your face as you pulled him down towards you, and you tipped toed upwards.

And you kissed him.

It was soft, yet with pressure, and he was in complete shock, his eyes still wide as you kissed him, in a long peck, your lips not moving, yet he could feel the desire in the kiss, because he could feel how hot your hands were, despite the heavy cold rain that poured on the two of you. You made the move on him. You kissed him. Out of your own accord, no help required, no favor asked. 

Your hands trembled as you slowly pulled away, breathing heavily and taking a step back to scan his face. Your body was shaking slightly, not because of the wet clothes on you, but because you wanted to simply jump on him. This new feeling inside of you was making you feel like an animal, and you didn’t know how to control it, not anymore. 

He was still looking at you with surprise in his face, his chest increasing its movement as his breathing picked up, and locked eyes with yours. The tension in the air was palpable, and the room grew hotter, and hotter as you two scanned one another. You didn’t think, you let go with him. 

Fuck it.

He dropped the wet leather jacket to the floor with a thud, and gave a heavy step towards you, one hand flying towards your waist, wrapping his arm around you while he took the other towards the back of your head, pulling you towards him. You sighed of relief as your arms immediately wrapped around him as his lips clashed desperately against yours.

This kiss was different. It was needy, rough, and it was already burning your lips as you both moved with one another, your fingernails digging into his back as you pressed your body against his, feeling his hand grip onto the small of your back. His fingers went into your wet hair, pulling you deeper into his kiss.

There was no room for thoughts, no room for being conscious of what was going on. You just need this fire to be over, you need it extinguished, but it only grew its flame. You need more, so for the first time, you licked his bottom lip, wanting to feel more of him. He groaned into the kiss, his chest exploding at the thought of you making all the moves today.

You wanted him, you were experiencing desire for the first time ever, and he now understood. You were letting go, letting your instincts take over, letting your body move for you, and you were being consumed by those flames you were annoyed of for the past weeks. 

He moved the both of you, your hips slamming against the counter behind you as your tongue danced with his, heavy breaths mixing with one another’s, his hands wanting to roam all over your body but there was still some control in him, even if it was a very thin line. So he kept his hands where he originally put them, while your fingernails were scratching on his scalp, wanting him closer onto your body, feeling his hip against yours and you couldn’t help but whine at the need for more, his blood rushing south in a fast pace as he heard that coming from you.

You had to have more, it’s not enough. God, it’s just not enough. He groaned into your mouth when one of your hands slid down from his head to grab onto his bicep, harshly and without breaking the kiss you pushed yourselves off the counter. You want to take what you desire, want to lose yourself in the feeling so you start taking steps, small steps, guiding him with you, your lips still attached as if your lives depended on it. 

He was hesitant to follow you, wanting to pull away to ask if this is what you really wanted, but he didn’t want you to think he didn’t want this. It’s the only thing that’s been in his mind ever since he kissed you back at his apartment, maybe even before that. So the fact that you are the one, guiding him into your bedroom, was making that small control he had in himself slowly begin to snap.

The back of your knees hit the edge of your bed, and the kiss only broke for a second as you fell back, body hitting the mattress below you with a soft huff as you tried to get your breathing back to normal, to get oxygen into your brain so you could think, but Eddie was close behind you, following you as he got on top of you, each knee on the side of your thighs, right on the edge of the mattress, as he leaned down hungrily to take your lips again with his.

You moaned softly into the kiss, making him groan as you wrapped your arms around his shoulders again to pull him close. He wrapped one arm around you, going in between your body and the mattress to lift you slightly up so he can guide you up into the middle of the bed, your legs no longer dangling at the edge and he crawled with you in the movement, trying to never leave your lips.

You were both breathing heavily into each other, tongues mixing in a wild dance, battling for the prize, but it was still not enough. He was hovering over you, not pressing his body against you, and you needed that. You arched your back upwards, looking for him, not knowing yourself for a second there but you were just desperate for him, you needed him, terribly. 

He felt your chest hit his and he groaned into the kiss, but he had to be first, and foremost, the good friend you met at that coffee shop. The good friend you trusted from the beginning to help you. The good friend you could be yourself with no matter what. So he slowly, painfully, broke the kiss, his lips still hovering over yours as he spoke, eyes searching for yours.

“Angel… Are you–” And you finally locked eyes with his, and he almost died right then and there. All your features and the wide dilated pupils in your eyes made all of his doubts wash away. 

“E-Eds– I–” He knew that if you talked you would think and your mind would start working in search of words, so he immediately clashed his lips on yours again. He was so selfish, but he wasn’t going to miss this chance of you letting go with him. For whatever this evening takes you both, he wasn’t going to miss the chance of experiencing it. 

His arm was still wrapped underneath you, so he kneeled up, making you sit up while the kiss never broke between the two of you. He pulled away once more, looking into your eyes to see if there were signs of regret, of panic, of uncertainty, but in your eyes the only thing you could see was him. Just him. The eye contact never broke, as his hands slowly started heading to the back of your dress, finding the zipper at the top of it.

You were both almost panting now as you stared at one another, and when he didn’t see you move away, when he didn’t see you look away, and when he didn’t see your gaze change on him, he held onto the zipper and began pulling it down, slowly. Your body shivered as your belly turned with an anxious feeling you didn’t know how to really describe, but it wasn’t bad, it was the complete opposite of it. You wanted him to take your dress off, and it made you nervous, you knew it by the way your hands trembled, but you still wanted him to take it off, let him touch your bare skin, skin that was burning you almost agonizingly at each soft teasing touch.

Once the zipper was down, and you still haven’t stopped him, he sucked a deep breath in to calm his heart as he grabbed onto the collar of the dress, and started pulling it down. He was going to save your breasts for the final show, first helping you get out of the long sleeves, which was hard to do because of how wet the fabric was, sticking onto your skin.

You took this time to glance at his arms, wanting to bite onto them, wanting him to wrap them around you again as he slowly took the top of your dress off. Fear finally struck you as he pulled the top part down to finally see you in your bra. Your body flushed, feeling bare before him, yet you still looked up to look at his reaction, and his eyes were almost wide, completely clouded at your sight.

When he pulled that part of cloth down, he didn’t expect you to have something like that underneath. That black lace fit you as if it was made specifically for you, and you… You picked that for him. You had chosen to wear this underneath that dress of yours, all night, while talking to him. He cursed under his breath when he felt his bulge twitch in his pants, wanting to break free. 

He grabbed the back of your neck, and leaned down towards your face, making your eyelids drop as his breath hit your face. He gave your lips a small peck, yet longing as he slowly pushed you down onto the bed once again. He pulled away from the kiss as he hovered on top of you, both elbows holding himself up to not crush you, fighting his hips upwards so you wouldn’t feel his hard on against your thigh. 

His lips found your cheek bone, and you sighed with almost relief, closing your eyes as his lips went further down, going towards your neck, leaving soft breathy kisses all over the skin. He gave a soft tentative nip on your skin, making you jerk upwards, your chest hitting his as he groaned against you.

“You’re so beautiful… God, you’re so fucking beautiful Angel…” You gasped as you held onto his biceps, swallowing the words he just said to you. His lips went even more south, kissing onto your collarbone and the flames just expanded with that. If he kept going you were sure you would combust from the intense burning that was all over your body. His kisses kept going, kissing all over your torso until he reached the top of your breasts. He looked up at you with a lost look in his eyes and you looked down at him, breathing heavily as you gave him a nod. 

“Please…” You begged, almost whined, and he didn’t have to be told twice. He dipped his hand behind your back, and you lifted slightly so he could get access to the hook of your bra. He expertly snapped it open with one movement, and you dropped onto the mattress again. He could feel the heat that was radiating off your body, how flushed you were.

Your mind started moving its gears again when you felt him pull the first strap down. What if he didn’t like them? What if they are too bland? Too boring? Maybe little more than what he normally is used to? Not perfect and perky? What if he–

A kiss on your cheek stopped your mind from reeling any further, and you looked at Eddie who had a lust filled look in his features as he breathed a little heavily over you. He now decided to let you know how bad you had him in the palm of your hand, how incredibly turned on he was with you underneath him, so he pressed his hip against your thigh. Your eyes widened when you felt the bulge hitting on your skin, and your control left your mind once more.

“You’re perfect… So fucking perfect.” He whispered to you as he took the other strap down and your body relaxed as he took the constricting device off your body, the breeze hitting your wet skin, making your nipples stand up at it. Reality hit you, now being conscious that Eddie was seeing you half naked right now. You were going to start talking but his lips hungrily found yours again.

He took one glance, just one glance at your breasts and he was gone. He needed to feel you, he desperately needed you now, his heart tugging on him so intensely that he believes he is going to die on the spot. He threw the bra away, not caring where it landed as his hand pressed onto your waist, to let you know he was there. You breathed softly against his lips as his fingertips started trailing up on your body.

Your eyes widened when you felt his cold hand come in contact with your left nipple, sensitivity shooting a shockwave through your body, making your arch your back towards his touch. His tongue was in your mouth, swallowing your soft moan, making him hold a groan back as he greedily rubbed himself on your thigh once, to get some friction.

His index finger started circling your nipple, perking it up even more, and you couldn’t help but pull away from the kiss to throw your head back onto the pillow, a low moan escaping your lips. You never felt this when someone touched your breasts, but you felt this a hundred times more, even more than when you touch yourself there. Eddie was basically doing magic on you right now. 

He was panting as he looked at your blissed out face, and he pinched your nipple once, gently to see you jerk up, another moan escaping you and he licked his lips as he hungrily stared down at you. He used your exposed neck, planting a kiss there, and then on the other side as his thumb and index finger kept pinching you, rolling your nipple in between his digits. 

He was too hungry for you, trailing his kisses back down towards your collarbone, and you were too distracted into the bliss of his fingers, that you didn’t notice his kisses at the top of your right breast, kissing now all around the mound, and he looked at you one last time before he placed his mouth onto your nipple. 

Your eyes snapped open at the feeling, looking down at him and your core burnt with the sight of him, groaning, almost moaning against your skin, enjoying every lick and bite he did to you. Your hands were gripping his shoulders, tightly as moans ripped from your mouth and your back arched at him.

Your taste was something he was never going to forget in his life, nor get tired of. He was in pure bliss as he gave you this pleasure you never experienced, and he hoped he was going to be the only one to give that to you. He sucked on your lip to then let go with a pop, letting his tongue flick onto the nub a couple of times, making you shiver under his touch, your eyes closed as your head was to the side, enjoying his ministrations.

He dragged his tongue to the center of your breasts to then land a kiss there. He then began trailing more kisses, going downwards and your breathing hitched when he grabbed onto the lower part of your dress. He gave you a look as he sat up, letting you choose again if he continued or not. Your answer, even if nervous, even if thoughts wanted to go off in your brain, your instincts and your body didn’t let it. Your hips raised up from the bed and he sucked in a sharp intake of breath as he began pulling the dress off you. 

He dropped it somewhere in the room and he had a perfect view of your body now. You were almost naked, on your bed, giving yourself to him in a way he didn’t think was possible. His chest was going up and down rapidly, fingertips trembling. He wanted to devour you, take you, make you his, and ruin you, absolutely ruin you for anybody else. Ruin you to the point you wouldn’t be able to forget about him. Ruin you with the intent of branding himself on your skin and mind. 

No one can have you, but him.

Your body burnt at his gaze, and you were about to cover yourself out of embarrassment and he shook his head at you, running his hands on your thighs.

“I am admiring you Angel… You– You don’t know what you’re doing to me.” You didn’t expect to hear that from him, but as your gaze looked downwards you could see how big the bulge underneath his pants were. You didn’t even touch him, and yet he was there, turned on by just touching you. 

He leaned down again, crawling a little bit downwards as he placed a kiss on your stomach, and then at your waist. You covered your mouth as his kisses started going beyond the elastic band of your thong, kissing over your thigh, and then moving onto the other one. His fingers moved upwards and grabbed onto the edge of your thong.

Your eyes widened and you flinched away from him, fear striking you suddenly as the nerves took over you. He looked up at you to see if you were regretting it, if you wanted to stop, but your eyes were simply confused, nervous, and doubtful. He licked his lips as he kneeled up again, to lean over you so he could gaze at your eyes more closely.

“Do you want me to stop?” Did you? You definitely didn’t, but he was going to see you there, he was going to be able to see it. Last time he couldn’t and just touched you, but now he wanted to be face to face with your center. Yet, as you looked up at him, you could see some desperation in his eyes, almost a plea, a beg. You shook your head slowly at him and he gave you a small smile. “Trust me…”

You nodded gently at him, and he looked down again to hook his finger at the band of your thong. He sat back and lifted your legs so he could slowly slide it away from you. Your eyes clenched together and before you could move and hide yourself by clenching your legs shut, he placed himself in between them, your knees hitting his hips. 

He crawled down again, looking down at your center like a starved man. He couldn’t just dive in, even if he were as hungry as ever, he couldn’t. You were nervous, and he knew that, so he looked up at you and saw your eyes just looking everywhere at the ceiling. 

“Eds— I– No one has ever…–” And he knew what you meant, so he started his kissing again, trying to soothe your tensed up legs, bending your knees slightly as he kissed the top of your thighs first, soft kisses and tender bites to let your relax, to tell you in his own way that he is going to take care of you, that he is not there to judge you, and that you didn’t make him do anything. He is doing it out of his pure greediness, his own selfishness, his own hunger and his own fire. 

“I’ll make you feel good love… It’s just me.” Those last words always relaxed you, always made your nerves slip away even if slightly, because he was right. It was just him. And you were glad it was always him, you were happy it was just him, you were excited that it was only him. His lips were now in your left inner thigh, kissing you gently, longingly, moving towards your center, and then repeating the actions on the right inner thigh, making you tremble with anticipation, your core clenching on nothing as you waited for what he could do to you.

And then he took a deep breath in, taking your scent in, seeing how wet you already were for him, and finally pressed a kiss over your clit, a gentle one, but it was enough to make you jerk at the sensation, your hands gripping onto the sheets below you. Your eyes were wide at this new sensation, and your belly turned from finally getting something to numb the burning ache. His arms were now under your thighs, and his hands gripped your hips to keep you in place as he finally gave in to his hunger and dove in.

A moan escaped your lips when he licked all along your slit, flicking your nub at the end, and repeating the motion again. Your mind turned into mush as he pressed himself into your center, licking and tasting you. You could feel his tongue flicking on your clit, and he started doing a motion you didn’t think it was possible to do with tongue. Your moans escalated as he moved his head up and down on you, gathering your slick as he groaned at the taste, the tip of his tongue sliding in between your folds repeatedly to feel your walls clenching on nothing.

He couldn’t believe how sweet you tasted. He could spend a lifetime here in between your legs if he could, if you’d let him, just taking orgasm after orgasm from you, never satiating his hunger for you. He was listening to your moans, to your panting as your back arched upwards and then it fell back down on the mattress. Your hips sway slightly against him. 

He then pressed his face against your center, nose against your clit as his tongue went inside of you and your eyes widened as stars filled your eyes. You could feel him move inside of you, and it was different from his fingers, but still made you moan even louder than before as your belly was building up that tension, slowly, that needed to break.

“Ed-Eddie–” Oh god, his name is on your lips again. He pulled his mouth away from you to flick your clit with the tip of it. His arm let go of your thigh, to bring it in between your legs. He sucked on your clit, your back arching as he coated his fingers in your wetness, first pushing his middle finger in.

A whimper came out of your lips at the feeling of your clit being stimulated as he plunged inside. The room was definitely on fire right now, the heat of it all being too harsh, but yet feeling so good. This is what you wanted. You didn’t want it extinguished, you wanted it to burn you alive. His finger started thrusting in and out of you as he kept stimulating your clit with his tongue and mouth.

He looked up and he almost came in his pants at the sight. You were moaning with no restraints, some ‘god’ and ‘fuck’ came out here and there, and he couldn’t help but rub himself against the mattress for some friction, because he was going to explode if he didn’t. His eyes looked at your hand on the mattress, so with his other hand, he let go of your thigh to guide towards your hand, getting hold of it.

Your eyes opened and looked down at him. His eyes closed as he guided your hand to his head, dropping his own to wrap around your thigh again as he pulled you into him once more. You were seeing him devouring you, his finger still going in and out of you as your body rocked slightly against him. Your hand immediately closed onto the top of his head, nails going into his curls, a groan being pushed inside your center as you did so.

The elastic band was slowly growing wider and wider, ready to snap in your belly, as your body heated up at the orgasm that was building inside of you. He felt the clenching of your walls around his middle finger, so he decided to help even more with his index finger, now both fingers stretching out as he pumped them in and out. His mouth never leaves your sensitive and throbbing nub.

Your eyes widened again, your hand pulling his head into you and then your other hand found itself into his curls as well, your belly now burning as he kept eating you as if your substance was the elixir of the gods. And for Eddie, it definitely was. He was still rubbing himself against the mattress as he felt your walls clenching around his fingers and your body twitched several times.

“I– I– Eddie, I’m gonna–” You were stammering in your words, not being able to think straight at all as he kept mouthing at you, fingering you, even faster than before, curling his fingers inside of you so that he could hit that spongy part within you, that part no one but him has ever touched before. 

He groaned in approval and moved his head up and down on you to move his tongue even faster, and he felt you moving your hips against him, trying to reach your climax and help him get to it faster. The coil finally snapped and your back arched all the way up as your walls clenched onto his fingers, tightly, and he could barely move them from how tight you were, groaning onto your clit as his eyes looked up to see you like this for him.

You were moaning his name, loudly, your hands still on his hair, gripping onto it as he helped you ride your orgasm out, tasting your fluids on his tongue. He slowly felt your walls unclench on his fingers, and he could take them out of you, but before he would completely detach himself from you, he licked a wide stripe of your slit to collect your juices, groaning in delight at the taste as you flinched away from the over sensitivity.

You were panting heavily, looking at the ceiling with half lidded eyes, and you thought the flames would be gone, that after that they would simply fade away… But they didn’t… And as you saw him crawling back up, his face over yours again, your slick being wiped off by his wrist, and that made you tremble slightly once again. 

So, have you got the guts?

“We can stop here… There is no need to keep going if you don’t want to.” You looked up at him, searching to see if he wanted to stop, if he wanted to really end the night here, unlike yourself. You didn’t want to stop, you needed more, you wanted more, this wasn’t enough, because you wanted to make him feel good too, but overall… You wanted to feel him. 

Your hands reached up to grab onto the hem of his shirt, and he immediately realized what you wanted. He sat back, and throwing his hand over his head, he grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled it off in one swift move. You slowly sat up, your breathing still heavy from the orgasm that exploded in you a minute ago, but for the first time, you could see him. 

Tattoos lingered all over his body, a few patches of uncovered skin were there, but now you found yourself amazed by all the tattoos you had to trace. These new markings you wanted to mentally take a screenshot of to always remember them. Your hands lifted up, your mind filled with desire and lust, as you finally touched his abdominal area, making him throw his head back in a circle, a groan being restrained in his throat. 

Been wondering if your heart's still open, and if so, I wanna know what time it shuts.

He’s been touched like this before, but this is the first time he felt cared for, as if you were making sure to touch every little piece of skin that there was so that he knew you desired him as much as he desired you. Remember every small part of you, every little twitch, every marking, every mole, freckle… 

Your hands traveled upwards towards his pecs, running your hands over them and Eddie’s eyes widened when he felt your lips kiss over his belly button. He couldn’t wait anymore. He really couldn’t. He grabbed your shoulders and gently pulled you off him, so he could grab the back of your head, pulling it back so he could dive in and press a deep kiss on your lips.

You moaned into it, your hands still on his body as you ran your fingertips all over his waist, making his skin grow in goosebumps. With his free hand, he guided it towards his belt, the clinking of the buckle opening catching your attention, pulling away from him with a gasp. You were looking at how he took the leather strap off him, throwing it to the side, a clank being heard from the metal hitting the floor. 

Simmer down and pucker up

He licked his lips in anticipation as he tried to keep his breathing under control, but fuck, he never felt this way when having sex before, and he was afraid of fucking it up. His eyes widened though, when he felt your trembling fingers touching the button of his jeans. He gulped audibly as he looked down at you, pulling the button off and then slowly gliding the zipper down, just like he did with the zipper of your dress.

He stood up from the bed, right next to you to be able to take his pants off, which were a still wet mess, and you just stared at him, standing in your room in his boxers only. Your eyes widened at the prominent bulge that were covered by the black fabric, and you felt your mouth salivate, for the first time in your life, while looking at someone’s hard on. It didn’t happen with the men you dated before, but with Eddie, everything was just pure craving, pure desire, pure and absolute want. 

And you weren’t shying away from it.

He saw how you were watching him and he took a step closer to you so you could make the final move on him, the one that will determine how the rest of the night is going to go. You looked up at him, and the only person you saw was Eddie… Your sweet Eddie… And your hands moved by themselves as they grabbed onto the hem of his boxers, slowly dragging them down until you could finally see him, in all of his glory. It was large, and you really don’t remember enough to compare it to your exes, but this one, you knew you would remember. Before, you would have died to have complete darkness in the room, so you didn’t have to see them, but as the thunder struck against the sky and illuminated the room through the windows, it was like a camera flash to you, taking pictures of him, scanning him all over.

And you wanted him, you really wanted him.

You looked up at him, and he immediately knew what you were trying to tell him, with just one look into your eyes. He leaned down to grab onto your jaw with his thumb and index finger, leaning down to press a soft kiss on your lips. You moaned against the touch and he groaned as his dick twitched, not being able to handle the anticipation any longer. He pulled away from the kiss to mumble against your lips.

I'm sorry to interrupt, it's just I'm constantly on the cusp of trying to kiss you.

“Condoms are in my jacket–” You couldn’t afford the seconds it took for him to go get his jacket, so you opened the drawer on your night table to show him the box of condoms you had there. He raised an eyebrow at it and then directed it at you. Nervousness broke into your body as you looked down. 

“I-I bought them after we– you started giving me advice…” He smirked at you and then grabbed onto the box, closing the drawer. An unopened box of condoms. He opened the pack and took a foil out, and then pushed you to lay back down onto the bed as he kneeled in between your legs again. Your breathing picked up again as you saw him rip the foil off with his teeth, taking the latex out of the package.

I don't know if you feel the same as I do.

He threw the rest somewhere on the floor, and you watched as he slowly rolled the condom on his shaft, your center clenching at nothing as he groaned at the friction of finally being able to touch himself. If he was this sensitive with just rolling the condom on himself, he was sure he wasn’t going to last with you. Your legs were bent and spread, him coming closer to you to finally cover your body with his, his elbows keeping him up in order to not crush you.

He leaned down to take your lips in his again, this time softer, tenderly, and your eyes closed into the feeling, wrapping your arms around his shoulders. Your lips moved with one another’s, feeling your heart beating into your throat as you lost yourself into his tongue, but then your eyes widened when you felt him line himself up against you. 

He groaned into the kiss when he felt his tip going in, just his tip, and he was already moaning at the feeling of it. This was definitely different from any other times he had sex. This wasn’t just that, it was way more, because he felt his whole body being run over by electricity and fire included. 

But we could be together... if you wanted to.

“Angel, you need to relax– Relax for me…” You didn’t notice how tense you were until he pulled away from you to tell you that. Your eyes locked with his and he was looking down at you with care, with so much care and worry that you sighed, feeling your heart warm at his thought, and your muscles relaxed on him. One of his elbows was keeping him up, while his other hand was pressed on your waist to have some leverage on reality.

He looked down to where you two were beginning to connect as he sunk further, holding in a groan in his throat again, closing his eyes at the feeling, and your mouth fell into a voiceless gasp, staring at the ceiling. It felt good, yet it was a big stretch, but god it felt good. It was painfully good. You could feel him going deeper, each second that passed, your hands all over his back, nails scratching onto his skin.

He leaned down into your exposed neck to make him think of something else as he pulled back slightly, to then thrust into you again, this time further, letting a choked moan escape your lips. He kissed your skin, as he groaned into it, feeling your chest heaving up and down from the intense pleasure you were starting to feel. 

Do I wanna know, if this feeling flows both ways?

“Pl–Please Eddie–” He raised his head to look down at you, to look into your eyes when he finally made the final push, and he bottomed out inside of you, a gasp escaping your lips as a groan escaped his.

“Fuck…” He couldn’t help but curse at the extreme feeling he was experiencing with you. You were full of him, and you loved it, god you were loving it. Your heartbeat against your chest as your legs raised up against his hips to feel him even more into you. He looked at your eyes again and you nodded slowly, not wanting to wait any longer, the room already becoming hell from how hot it was, and he sucked a deep breath in as he threw his hips back, and slowly thrusted back inside of you.

Moans filled the room, volume increasing at each slow thrust of his, a pace that was driving him insane, but when looking down at your face, he knew you were loving. He leaned down to kiss your cheek as he kept moving his hips against yours, your hands gripping the back of his head as he moaned into your skin, his muscles flexing at the intensity of it all. 

You needed more, more, more, you couldn’t stop chanting that word in your head, so your hips started moving, going against his rhythm to fasten the pace, to make him go deeper into you, because your belly was screaming for more, your heart was tugging for more, your body needed more of him, more of Eddie.

Sad to see you go, was sorta hoping that you'd stay.

“You don’t know– You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this… To have you like this– fuck.” He moaned into your ear and you whimpered at the words, tears prickling in your eyes as he caught your message and his pace quickened, now the slapping of skin being louder, causing your body to flush all over, and you wanted to tell him the same, you wanted to express to him that you wanted him, that you took some time to realize it, but it had always been there.

He pulled away from your skin to put both hands at the side of your head, staring down at you, as his hips started snapping against yours, the feeling of him inside of you deeper than before, the force of his thrusts sending you into a crazed state, into a place in your mind where you didn’t know who you were, or where you were at.

Your legs wrapped around his waist and he moaned a curse when he felt you pushing him into yourself, your nails scratching onto his arms now, your mouth open with moans coming out of it, eyes closed and lost in the pleasure. He gulped heavily as he looked down at your body, taking mental pictures of how you bounced, of how you moved, of how your body twitched and yearned for him. 

Baby, we both know… That the nights were mainly made for saying things that you can't say tomorrow day.

“Eddie– Eddie, god–” You moaned loud, your senses all filled with him, your body marked by him, your insides being full of him, each hard thrust, every change of pace, every moan you heard from him. You couldn’t have enough, and your belly was already coiling again with that elastic band, wanting to break loose. 

He was breathing heavily, sweat now prickling on his skin instead of the water rain from before. He felt himself getting close, how could he not? He had rubbed himself on you, on the mattress, and pleasuring you was almost enough to make him finish right then and there. He stopped his movements to wrap his arms around you, lifting your upper body off the mattress, as he sat back, making you sit on him in a straddling position.

“Ed-Eds, I don’t know, this position–” You breathed heavily as your mind tried to think again but he shook his head, holding onto your hips as he kissed your neck softly, mumbling onto your skin.

“I’ll guide you, I’ll help you—” And he started guiding you up and down on him, slowly, as your hands clenched on his shoulders, your mouth falling agape at how deeper he was than before. You never changed positions, and this was very new to you, but your embarrassment was completely overshadowed by the incredible lust you were feeling, by the desire of wanting to keep making him feel good. 

Crawling back to you. Ever thought of calling when you've had a few? 'Cause I always do.

You followed his guidance, your hips moving up and down, almost bouncing on him, his thighs clenching at the feeling as his moans filled the room. His arms were wrapped around you, pulling you flushed into his own body. He just wanted you close, closer, wanting to feel your skin on his as you both tried to near your climax. Your hand creeped up onto his hair, and just like that first night you saw each other, you grabbed his ponytail, with no guidance, and pulled his hair off the bun he had, letting his curls fall down onto his shoulders. He smiled up at you, shaking his head as you leaned down to capture his lips with your own, licking onto his bottom lip as you kept your pace on him.

Your walls started clenching on him, and he knew he was going to lose it. He pulled away from you and then he leaned down to take a nipple of yours into his mouth, sucking on it, and that made you throw your head back with a loud moan escaping your lips, the coil in your belly about to break, about to make you see stars once more. Your nails were digging into his skin, and you needed more friction, you needed more.

“Eddie– Eddie–” You asked for him, you asked for help, and he nodded, pulling away from your chest to look up at you. He pushed your hips down, not letting you go up again, and started motioning you to go forward and back, rubbing yourself on him. Your eyes widened when you felt this new feeling. This position was letting you rub your spongy part on him, your g-spot, repeatedly, and that was making your mind lose complete control of your body.

Your hips started grinding against his, faster, and faster, trying to reach that climax, and he was almost whining underneath you, trying to hold in his own orgasm to be able to feel you around him first. He needed to feel you clench around him, he needed it. Your upper body was thrown back slightly as one hand was gripped onto his shoulder and the other on his arm that was still holding you.

“Fuck, Angel–” You looked like a goddess to him right now, using him for your own pleasure, grinding faster and faster until he felt your tense up, the elastic band in your belly breaking again, your vision going completely white as your walls clenched tightly around him, a new type of climax, one that would not compare to anything else in your entire life.

Maybe I'm too busy being yours to fall for somebody new, now, I've thought it through.

“Eddie–!” You screamed his name and he was moaning as he felt your walls sucking him in and he couldn’t hold it in anymore, your name falling off his lips in a chant, in a prayer as his own body stiffened, and he finally released himself inside of the condom, his heart exploding inside his chest as you both rode your orgasms with one another.

Heavy pants were heard all over the room, and Eddie held you up as your body felt a little wobbly from everything you just experienced. Your mind was almost gone, drifting away, slowly, your eyes heavy but there is so much you want to say, so much you want to do, but the fire was gone. For the first time, the fire was gone for a while.

“Angel–” He breathed out, and he felt you clench on him again, making him curse. “Don’t do that… Sweetheart, let’s get cleaned up…” He really didn’t want to move, but he knew you two were completely soaked in sweat, in rain, and that you needed to clean yourself. He helped you off him, pulling out of you earning a whimper from your part at the loss of him. 

He got up from the bed and he noticed the hazy look in your eyes. You were drained, he knew that, so he guided you into the bathroom for you to clean yourself up as he took the wet comforter off your bed for the two of you to lay on dry sheets at least. His heart was wildly beating in his chest, taking the condom off him and tying it up. He looked at the tissues that were on the other night table, grabbing some to put the condom inside to hide it in a ball of paper, before cleaning himself with some tissues. 

He heard the toilet flush, and he looked at the door to see you walking inside in still a dizzy state, and opening the sheets to finally get inside. He smiled at you, knowing how much energy was just drained from you. He pulled the sheets open to move towards you. You were looking at him, trying to keep your eyes open to talk to him, but only one thing came out.

“I want to kiss you…” He felt his whole body relax at that, leaning down to place a soft kiss on your lips. You gave a sigh out of relief as you immediately fell asleep. His heart was in his throat as he looked down at you, breathing evenly now, and he took a deep breath in as he laid down on the bed himself, and he looked at you again.

He never cuddled after sex. Cuddling after sex meant you cared for the other person, so he never felt the need to do such a thing, but now… He needs to keep you close. He needs to keep you with him at all times. He needs you to be in his arms at every time possible, because he can’t ever let go of you again. No, he can’t let you go.

He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you close to him as you mumbled something in your sleep, finally making you rest on top of his chest as he stared up at the ceiling. His heart was exploding, he knew that, but he wanted you. He really wanted you. He had wanted you for the past month. He got you, and it wasn’t enough, and he knew it wasn’t going to be enough. 

With a smile to his face, he closed his eyes, succumbing to sleep, knowing that tomorrow everything will change between the two of you, and there was no escaping it, no way of avoiding it. Now, it was time to face it all, and Eddie was going head first because for you… Everything was worth it when it came to you.

Do you want me crawling back to you?

End of part 6

A/N: So... yeah. Here you saw the reason why this fic is called Do I wanna know... and if it wasn't specific enough, it is indeed Eddie's feelings towards Reader.

I hope you liked this chapter, i hope you stayed far enough and always reblog your artists!

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