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#why am I flipping coins
lildoodlenoodle · 8 months
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Ok but why does engineering have to be difficult
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dandyshucks · 2 months
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took me an entire month but I have finished the basic outlines for all 39 fae courts!!! now I can move onto the really fun part and come up with some more in-depth world- and lore-building for Dandy and Wardell >:3
one fun fact i can share is that fae names are put together in this way: [first/chosen name] ain [fae court]. so my self-insert's full name is "Dandy ain Taraxacum" :]
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mishy-mashy · 2 days
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Just the fully-text version of this post
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Quotation marks on names because those names are aliases. Different Resistance fics (OCs) focus on,
"Ray" - The direness of what Japan is like back then. Not meant to make you feel good or have fun when you read it
Feat. Ability drawbacks do exist, being forced to earn survival, and it's impossible to survive in Japan alone.
Though light-hearted, each time he spoke swerved right back to getting answers from Shinomori.
Anything Ray said that wasn't a question gave little room to continue that conversation, leaving his inquiries as the only thing to keep away the discomfort of awkward talk.
Naturally, that would mean answering his questions without thinking.
"Did you hear from another person wearing a flak jacket?"
It was casual enough to miss as simply friendly wonder. But from his flak jacket alone, Shinomori knew; he was a member of the Resistance.
The original owner of X-Ray Vision was a Resistance member who often did recon; a logical, careful person.
Said person was putting him under investigation so naturally that Shinomori would've missed it if he didn't know better.
His Danger Sense wasn't even going off.
Himura - The discrimination of Meta Humans (treated as sub-normal) and being left behind over and over
Feat. Metas are called monsters, Bruce intervenes in the transportation for a Meta Human trading ring, and abandonment issues
What were those big words? Why did he talk so strangely?
These were all things the young Himura couldn't understand. For the words she couldn’t grasp, all that flooded her was sick relief. Her chest became quiet, in all the wrong ways.
Even her justification that they were monsters had been rejected. Then, what was the reason for everything to be this way?
"Why, is everyone leaving?"
Say something. You're an adult.
If I can't be right, and you're all I have left, then you, you you youyouyou–!
A single look at his face was enough answer for her.
—There's no reason at all.
That dreadful realization lulled out everything. Because Shinomori didn't know what to say.
Struggling with the words, Shinomori looked down, away from her. Then, he looked up at her. As if he might find the answer in her face.
Ha..
She wanted to laugh.
All he had done was reveal to this young child that even adults could not be trusted.
".. Sometimes, they have something more important than their lives that they have to do."
Hahaha…
It didn't matter if Bruce or Leader trusted this man. Because everything about him was wrong.
"Boss" - A safe space and a kind hand can be everything to someone
Feat. Kudo breaks down after the sewer incident, an "If you have any respect for me" moment, and lots of boba.
He laughed wetly.
"Sorry, everyone. Thank you, too—it's just the onions."
Someone picked up a peeled onion. "What the fuck did you do to our Bossman?"
Kudo stared numbly. One, he's fascinated and quite frankly, amazed at the respect and care the Boss received from everyone.
Two… are his enemies really this stupid?
(Context: Bossman was crying while chopping onions. Everyone is concerned and wants to know who made him cry)
Shiki - The whole package of the aboves, and what the Resistance was like, both on-duty and in moments of calm. Lots of ugly humanity whenever pressure starts to come down.
Feat. The first Three (+ OC) get to meme, Yoichi is the prettiest bastard in the world, Kudo is a snarky bitch obsessed with Disney, and Bruce is the parent of the Resistance. Reality will hit like a truck at times and the humor will be nowhere in sight then.
"Sorry. I'm sorry."
Was her voice really so weak then?
As if that were all she knew how to say, she just apologized. Even this was something Izumi remembered herself.
All she wanted to do was apologize. It was all that filled her head—that singular thought. Regret that she put him in this stressful position, and worry for how he was doing.
"I'm really, sorry."
How could she sound so near tears already?
"Batman" - The irony of having a cliche, aesthetic Meta Ability, and no one (including the wielder) even realizing it exists for over half the story.
Feat. Dressing like a cool, hip vampire, Yoichi calling OC "Batman" unironically (much to Bruce's delight), and iron deficiencies.
"Batman?" he repeated incredulously. How was he just like an orphan who stood atop buildings in a bat costume, with the creepy voice of a rusty car?
Bruce snickered, while Yoichi nodded enthusiastically. This was the first time they'd seen the sickly man so animated. "Yes! Like Captain Hero's friend, who wears only a cape and briefs!"
For some reason Yoichi couldn't understand, Bruce just fell in laughter, clutching his gut.
An odd sight it was, to see his face turn pink. They didn't think he had enough warm blood to do that anymore.
"Yoichi."
"Yes, Batman?"
Bruce cackled louder.
"Please never call me Batman again—please, never, ever, say any of this again."
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p2harmony · 1 year
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now tracking : #oknana
  / after much difficulty keeping up this comeback season (and a much longer contemplation period), your local enthusiast has (finally) made a tracked tag ! please use for visual content eg. gifs, edits, gfx etc. if not obvious already, the main content I will reblog for are : p1harmony / cix  but also : ab6ix / treasure 
thank you !
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my-biggest-disaster · 2 years
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…I’m gonna do a coin flip.
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sluggsy · 10 months
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ol si who's soooo excited to take Cove's last name (even though they agreed on hyphenating) that they r just constantly introducing themselves as Cricket HoIden and Cove's like "ITS HOI_DEN-(L/N) >:("
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luveline · 2 years
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𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 | 𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫
part one | part two | part three | part four
summary you’re a single mom living three trailers down. eddie thinks you’re the prettiest girl he’s ever seen. queue the movies, nachos, cherry cough syrup, and a couple of moments of clarity. [10k]
warnings teen mom!reader, fem!reader, r is junie’s birth mother, fluff, hurt/comfort, eddie being a total girl dad (<3), mutual pining, yearning etc, tw for not having much money, general mom struggles :(, slowburn friends to lovers, idiots in love!!! tw sick fic
𓆩❤︎𓆪
Eddie has the most peculiar curl tucked up by his neck. Where most are frizzy and loose, this one falls in a perfect shiny ringlet below his ear. He shifts and it's out of view, a curtain of dark hair falling forward and hiding his face as he puts your car in park. 
"Remind me why you had to drive?" you ask, ducking down to look at the glaring white lights of the movie theatre across the street. 
"You were gonna fall asleep behind the wheel." 
For once, Eddie might not be exaggerating. He grins at your lack of rebuttal and throws an arm behind your shoulders, twisting in the driver's seat to set his sights on Junie. 
"Are you ready?" he asks her. 
She wiggles. It's an ecstatic movement. Her clothes are prim and sweet if you do say so yourself, a long sleeved shirt under a pair of the world's cutest dungarees. They crinkle as she moves, pressed to perfection. 
You and Eddie open opposite doors in tandem and step out into the brisk, early night. The sidewalk shines with rain, a black slickness stretching in every direction. You shiver and pull your thin jacket tighter to your torso as you turn back to the car, intending to retrieve Junie and rush into the theatre before you can freeze on the spot. 
Eddie's already swung open the door and rescued your daughter from the confines of her car seat, neatening up the hem of one of her socks with her face pushed over his shoulder. 
She giggles about something and Eddie says, "Sorry, June. 'M tickling you, am I?" so fondly you have to avert your eyes. 
He locks the car and hands over your keys with a smile. You smile back, heart flipping like a spinning coin. Head over tails, over and over. 
The big, ring-heavy hand he holds to Junie's back reaches for you suddenly enough that you flinch.
"I'm sorry," he apologises, suppressing a laugh, "your necklace is twisted." 
He moves in a second time and you raise your chin, chest aflame as his fingers glance off of your bare skin. He slips the chain over his index and pulls, encouraging the links around until the clasp is hidden again. 
"Thank you." You huff an awkward, sheepish laugh.
"You owe me," he says, mock-severe. 
Your laugh is much more genuine as you follow him across the road. 
You're squinting as you approach The Hawk movie theatre. The title cards are hard to look at, aggressively white with black capital letters that read, 'The Great Mouse Detective 7'. 
There's a small line of families waiting by the front. You realise it like a shock, that the three of you must look like a family too. 
Eddie carries Junie with the surety of a dad that's carried his child a hundred times before; he strokes the back of her head with the affection of one, soothing the mess of flyaways she'd acquired by squirming in her car seat. Junie responds with familiarity, hands tucked into his hair and tugging. She's trying to be nice but his hair won't allow it, all his long curls tangled at the ends from a day at work. 
Still, he says, "Thanks, baby. Make sure you get the back, okay?" 
"Okay," she echoes. 
You look down at your wringing hands. There's ink smudged up the side of your writing hand. You scratch at it half-heartedly, blinking against your fatigue. 
You're exhausted tonight and it's only Wednesday. You can't imagine how you'll fare tomorrow considering how little sleep you're expecting tonight — there are a thousand things to do when you get home. Laundry to wash and press, cleaning to do, dinner to make. 
You'd been writing cheques for due bills when Eddie had come knocking, well-dressed, stupid-handsome, and announced that tonight you would be accompanying him to the movies. He'd actually said 'accompanying'. 
Despite a full agenda, you'd said yes. You're not very good at saying no. At least, not to him. 
It takes you a moment to realise you're at the front of the line. You pay for the tickets before Eddie can try it, and with his hands full he can't really stop you. He whines about it all the way to the concession stand. 
"You can buy the snacks," you say. His face lights up, and you amend, "If you're reasonable." 
"I'm always reasonable…ly over the top," he says, chided by your hard stare. 
"Yes, you are." 
He follows you down the two steps to the concession and cuts in front of you. "How did you do that? What face was that? I felt my soul leave my body." 
"That's my disapproving mom look. I'm disapproving." 
"Ah." He pats Junie's side sympathetically. 
She pulls her head from over his shoulder and smiles at you. Her arms vy for your hold. You steal her from Eddie and kiss her all over her tiny face, uplifted by how much she loves you, how happy she is to be in your arms. 
"What snacks do you want? Do you eat popcorn with butter? Without?" Eddie asks, his newly emptied arms already posed thoughtfully, a hand under his chin as he thinks over his options. 
The theatre has a huge array of jellies, an even bigger array of candy bars. There are more brands of soda than there are glasses in your kitchen cabinet. 
You're daunted. 
"Whatever you want," you say.
Eddie groans and tips his head back. "Don't play with me like this. Butter or no butter? It's an easy question." 
"I don't know. Without?" 
"You are so weird," he says happily. 
You pout and pull Junie closer. 
Standing at the side while he gathers concessions, too many things, you watch in awe as Eddie stacks it all against his chest with the sure confidence of someone who's done it before.
He grins at you from between two huge cups. "Are we ready?"
If you could, you'd leave him here in the foyer with his jumbo deluxe popcorn. As it stands, you like him too much to leave him behind. You juggle Junie and your bag to push open the doors for him outside of screen two. 
"Thanks, babe," he says outside of screen two. You bite your lip, surprised by his easy tone. 
You climb up the stairs and into your seats. You're high enough for Junie to sit in her own chair between you and Eddie and see the screen comfortably but she adamantly refuses, stretching out in your lap like an alley cat hungry for affection. 
Eddie moves into the ragtag velvet seat beside you, a million things in his lap and at your feet. He's pretty enough under the theatre lights to dull the panging ache at the back of your head. "If she won't sit here, I will. I got you a lemonade, is that cool?" 
If it weren't you'd hardly tell him. 
"She's being extremely well-behaved," Eddie notes, an inkling of pride in his tone. 
You could sucker punch him. Why does he do this to you? 
"I know," you say with a shy smile, "it's suspicious, isn't it?" 
"I don't know. If I were in your lap I might be well-behaved too." He raises his eyebrows, an over-exaggerated show of flirtatiousness. 
You reach over the arm to take a handful of popcorn. Eyes on Junie, you offer her your stolen goods and say, "I've got two thighs." 
"Don't tempt me." 
Junie all but snatches the popcorn and tilts her head back. A kernel falls from her hand and disappears between the seats. You make a mental note to pick it up afterward, ears full of her chomping. 
You'd worried she might be a little loud for the movies but there's a bunch of kids and none seem keen on keeping quiet, a cacophony of childish complaints to hide your conversation. 
"Are babies supposed to eat popcorn?" 
You freeze up. "Oh- I don't know," you say, turning Junie toward you so you can watch her swallow.��
"I thought I read that somewhere, but-" 
"No, I think you're right. Um…" Junie looks at you with obvious confusion. "Was that yummy?" you ask. You hide your concern with a strained bubbly attentiveness. 
"I guess she's old enough." 
Eddie's being very casual – it is casual. He's just thinking out loud. You know he's not criticising you. He never has, though sometimes you think he should. 
It must show on your face anyhow that you're having a 'I'm a bad mom' crisis. A mean stroke of insecurity.
"Sweetheart," Eddie says suddenly, brows pinched, "it's alright. It was just a thought. And she had no problem eating it, I'm sure she's gonna be aces. Better than aces." 
Junie climbs out of your lap and into his. He sets the popcorn on the floor to take her, and when her hands reach for his drink he holds the straw to her mouth. All the while his eyes move between her and you. 
"Okay," you say, because you're being silly. 
Junie is fine. Eddie was only saying something that's very well true. Babies aren't supposed to have popcorn, but June's not a baby, really. She knows how to chew properly. It's unlikely she'll choke. 
Eddie has to keep his focus on her to avoid getting soaked – she barely knows how to use a straw and keeps trying to turn the cup upside down. 
"Not like that, trouble. Right way up. You got it." 
You pick at the loose stitching at the end of your shirt and have to change the subject before the embarrassment of it all swallows you. Such a small thing. 
"Can I try one of these?" you ask, grabbing the first bag of candy you can find. They're a bag of Super Sour Suckers. 
He looks at you over Junie's head, startled and hiding it poorly. Then, a smile so bright it increases the embarrassment you're feeling tenfold.
"You have to! Robin said they're even worse than the normal ones, I don't wanna go through that alone," he says urgently. 
Robin is one of his friends. You're not jealous that he has friends (though you are, because you want your own, but not jealous that he has friends that aren't you). He's mentioned her in passing before. When you'd asked as bravely as you dared if they were anything more than friends he'd laughed maniacally.
"We're definitely just friends," he'd said.
You fight to stay smiling and pull open the bag of candies. Ironically, the jellies inside are shaped like pacifiers. Covered in sugar packed densely and looking almost wet with what you suspect to be citric acid, you shake the packet wearily and search for a candy that won't ruin your tongue.
Eddie holds out his hand. You drop a green one into his palm. Your fingertips ride up the curve of his thumb. 
He's unflinching as he eats it. After a few seconds his eyes screw up and he clutches June tight to his chest, raising an unhelpful hand to his jaw. 
"Holy sugar," he says, wincing. 
You bite into a pink pacifier unfortunately layered in sugar and wait nervously for the sourness to kick in. Sure enough, it comes quick and torturous. It's a knife cutting through fog. 
It's hard to feel tired when there's something this sour in your mouth.
"You can't spit it out!" Eddie says.
You stop with your hand halfway to your mouth. "What?" you ask incredulously, trying not to dribble. 
"You gotta eat it! Chew and swallow!" 
You chew miserably. He laughs at your expression – a warm and hyper sound, practically giggling. Junie joins in as she always does. His joy can't be overstated. 
The lights go down while you're still fighting for your life. Your eyes water and you have to smother the taste with a quick drink and a gasping breath. 
"You're sick. I can't believe you let me eat that," you whisper. 
"You saw me eat mine! You knew what you were getting into… Think June wants one?" 
Your outrage has him laughing again. It's a magnetic sound. Every time he does it you want to touch him, his arm one pole and your hand another. 
Junie gets comfortable on his right leg, head tipped expectantly against his chest and eyes drawn to the screen as the trailers begin. You don't bother with jealousy; in ten minutes she'll be climbing over the arm to sit with you again, or want to sit in her own seat. She may even try to walk around. Toddlers are indecisive and easily distracted. 
Even if she weren't. Even if she sat there in his lap for the next hour and a half and didn't look your way, you're not sure you could harbour any envy against him. His hand spreads over the front of her torso with fingers splayed against her ribs, stroking thoughtlessly through the fabric of her thick clothes.  
He tips his head toward your chair. "There's nachos." 
"I saw." 
"Wanna eat some before they get cold?" 
"Subtle." 
He snorts. "Yep. That's what they call me. Eddie Subtle Munson." 
You reach over the dark floor for the tray of nachos and balance them carefully on the armrest between your two seats. Eddie digs in without fuss, you fret over which ones have jalapeños on them, and Junie gets mad that nobody's sharing with her. She puts her hands straight in a mound of orange cheese. Her face is a picture when she brings it to her mouth. She's discovered molten gold. 
"Junie," Eddie says lightly, carding hair away from her ear so she can hear him properly. "Don't get cheese on your pretty clothes. It took your mom a week to get the rocky road out of your strawberry jammies, you know?" 
He doesn't care that she's mauled the food. He's worried she might stain her dungarees. Your heart goes crazy, another sudden surge of clarity.  
Junie climbs back into your own lap as the movie begins. You whisper to her about proper theatre etiquette in your mommy voice and she doesn't do too bad a job at listening. She finds the appearance of the Great Mouse Detective himself quite funny, and laughs at his grave features and expressions every now and then. It's a golden sound. 
Try as you might, you can't keep your eyes open. Junie's having such a good time and Eddie whispers funny commentary beside you, but eventually your eyelids creep shut and Eddie squeezes your arm, skin braceleted by his thick, warm fingers. 
-
"C'mere," Eddie prompts, hands vying for your daughter where she's perched in your lap. 
"Why?" Junie asks. 
He's surprised at her inquisition. "You don't want a hug?" 
She nods voraciously. Eddie lifts her off of your lap before she can use you as a climbing frame and into his own.
"I think mommy's sleeping," he tells her. 
Junie looks at you curiously. You've got a wet wipe in your limp hand, which he takes and discards, and your head's fallen to one side. You'll have an awesome crick in your neck when you wake up.
Junie gives him a hug. He loves her hugs. They're so small and sweet, she's genuinely an extremely loving little girl. Her smile when she hugs people is beautiful as yours is, though her affection is less hesitant. 
Everything's going well until she catches a look at the huge, scary bad guy Professor Ratigan somewhere in the middle. 
Eddie's crunching through a greedy mouthful of popcorn and almost chokes as she turns around and hides in his chest. He brings a hand up to her back protectively though he doesn't know what happened, eyes moving between her and the screen at lightning speed. 
"Aw, June," he murmurs sympathetically. He really is a scary looking guy. 
"Eddie," she says, dangerously close to tears. 
"Sweetheart, it's okay! He's only on TV." 
She says something that might be, "Don't want." It's not quite there but Eddie thinks she's doing a great job lately with her talking, patting her back in a silent well done as he attempts to reassure her. "Basil's gonna outsmart him, Junie. The Great Mouse Detective is gonna save the day, scout's honour." 
"No," she whines softly. 
He covers her unhappy face with his hand. 
"It's okay," he murmurs, melted and bemused. "It's okay, junebug. I swear." 
Despite his best efforts, she starts to cry. Eddie freezes up because she doesn't cry often, not with him. When she does you're always there to find a solution. He supposes the novelty of being a new person has long worn off, and that he's going to have to make more of an effort than just tickling her or petting her hair to make it better. 
Her volume increases. He shushes her, clumsy and awkward but earnest, trying the best that he can to make it up. He offers candies and drinks, he rummages through your baby bag for Mr. Bear. She takes it all but none of it lasts.
Someone in the chair behind him coughs pointedly. 
Eddie turns to wake you up. He gets one good look at your face and can't follow through. 
You're sleeping deeply, at the movie theatre of all places. How tired are you, and why hadn't you said? He'd known to some extent — it's why he'd offered to drive — but with the movie blaring and all the kids and noise and now Junie's crying, he realises you must be exhausted to sleep through it. Why hadn't he noticed? He kicks himself.
He lifts her up with his head angled down, giving your shoulder a swift squeeze and then bumping down the steps with Junie until he's out into the lights of the hallway. The door swings closed. 
It's oddly quiet and extremely bright. Junie stops crying to blink, and starts to cry again once she's adjusted. 
Eddie does not know what to do. It's a kick to his ego that he quickly accepts, though he does murmur a rueful, "Babe, I thought you liked me." 
Lost on deaf ears, his comment hangs in the air. 
He pats her back some more, wracking his brain for how you take care of her when she gets like this. Mostly, you're patient. You hum and you wait. Eddie tries to emulate you and your kind heart, walking her up and down the hall as he taps the bottom of her spine. 
"It's okay," he repeats. The more he says it the easier it feels. It is okay. He has to find a way to help June understand that, is all.
She grizzles. It's a long process. A couple of times he wonders if he's in over his head, if it's even his place, if he should wake you up and admit defeat. 
But Eddie Munson is trying to prove something. 
He works Mr. Bear out of Junie's iron grip and pinches his back taut so that his face and arms wiggle when he wants them to. 
"Baby June," he begins, in as gruff a voice as he can manage. He tries to channel his uncle's sternness, and his fondness. "Won't you quit crying? You're getting tears on the neck of your t-shirt and all over your cheeks." 
Junie quietens. She still cries, but the severity of the situation noticeably shifts. 
Eddie keeps on. "I got just the thing," he says, pushing Mr. Bear forward and making smacking sounds as he kisses both of her cheeks. "Gotta kiss these tears right off a'you." 
She laughs as Mr. Bear kisses her face dry and laughs some more when Eddie kisses the top of her head.
Eddie loves Junie. 
He knows it for a fact. 
She's very easy to love. She's beautiful as you are, she's loving, she's sweet. Her laugh is adorable and her smile is more. When she cries, Eddie finds he's never annoyed. Grated by the repetitive sound, maybe, but he can't find it in himself to be mad with her ever. He wants to help her work through it. To get you both through it. Eddie wants to be good at this.
He has Mr. Bear kiss Junie all over her face. 
"See?" Mr. Bear asks. "Isn't that better? No more tears, little girl, or we'll never see the end of the movie!" 
As Eddie says it, he wonders if taking her back into the theatre is a good idea. 
"Hey, junebug?" he says, all drama set aside. 
Junie lifts her flushed face. 
He smiles gratefully. "Do you wanna go back inside? Go check on mommy?" Leaving you by yourself doesn't exactly sit right with him.
Ah, there's the face he was expecting. Puzzlement, surprise. Junie frowns at him and looks over his shoulder, her own, searching the empty hallway for you and finding only reflective floor lights and patterned carpet. 
Eddie starts back into the screen room before she can cry over your being missing, chatting quietly but in a way that commands her attention. He's effective in the art of distraction if nothing else.  
The mouse detective and his friends have defeated Professor Ratigan, though Eddie shields Junie's head from the screen in case he's thinking about making a comeback, finding his way back to you in the dark. He picks over other people's snacks and then the abundance of your own, finding you still sound asleep. The sight doesn't spell good tidings. 
"Here she is," Eddie tells Junie, "here's mom. You wanna give her a kiss?" 
He sits down in his seat and squishes a bag of gummy worms under his boot. Junie immediately bends over the armrest and grabs at your front. You'd worried to him once that she had separation anxiety, and Eddie didn't know anything about it to agree or not. This display makes him think she might. She's clinging to you, desperately wanting your attention. 
Eddie winces as she grabs your face. She's obviously not trying to be cruel, hand stroking over your cheek as you'd stroke hers. 
"Mom," she whispers, the action itself enough to get Eddie laughing. Her version of whispering is almost like a character in a pantomime. 
He doesn't laugh for very long. You're not easy to wake up. Junie squishes your cheek and tries again. "Mommy," she says.
You groan in your sleep and your eyes scrunch together. "What?" you murmur finally, voice scratchy. 
"You're missing the movie," Eddie says, patting your thigh. 
Your arms come to life before you do. You wrap them around Junie's short torso and encourage her up your chest until you can nose at the top of her head. You rub slow lines, a steady back and forth. Eddie would bet money you don't have a clue in the world where you are. 
"S'loud," you complain. Your voice is weak with sleep. 
Junie looks at Eddie weirdly. He suspects it's her way of asking him to help out without asking. 
He tenses his hand where it rests at your thigh. "Do you wanna go home?" 
You don't answer. You go limp under his touch and Junie's weight, nose and lips set in a frown but otherwise near languid. 
Eddie's small (and alarmingly ever-present) worry for you multiplies by a hundred. 
He grabs up a bag of chips and entices your daughter back onto his thigh. She digs through half the bag as the movie draws to a finish, distracted if not happy, her face and fingers swiftly flaked in corn dust. The lights are thrown up and the noise is immense, a hundred pairs of shoes over tipped popcorn, babies and young kids unsettled, their parents eager to head home and watch their own movies no doubt. 
Eddie can't say he'd really watched the film besides precursory glances, his focus on you and your fidgety offspring. He'd been excited to tell you about his Junie success, but now he just wants to get you home.
He says your name as clearly as he can, his hand finding its way to your thigh for the third time. He rubs down toward your knee and gives your leg a shake. 
Junie climbs off of his own. Now the lights are on she can see the grand assortment of snacks laid out before her, and she seems eager to try them all. 
You eventually, thankfully rouse, you drag a palm over your eyes and cross your legs, squishing his hand in the process. He steals it back.
"Babe, you gotta get up. The attendants are looking at us funny. I think they think I've run you ragged, and while the dad tag doesn't bother me, 'cruel husband' doesn't suit me." 
"What?" you ask. 
He shrugs. "Junie pissed her pants." 
Your eyes open, lashes parting clumsily. You move like the air around you has turned to glue and moan in a quiet display of agony as your neck clicks. "She leaked through?"
"Nah, I'm messing with you. Movie's done. Getting some weird stares." 
You're quiet, but you shrug on your jacket and Eddie packs what he can of the leftover candy into your bag. He swings it over his shoulder. 
"You wanna come up?" he asks Junie. 
She raises both arms. 
You stand on shaky legs. Eddie stations Junie on one hip with one arm wrapped around her and holds out the other. You let him fold you up into his side.
"You okay?" he asks. 
Your face drops into his shoulder. "I'm so tired." 
"You're alright to walk out to the car?" 
His worry is like a rubber band. You snap to attention, disengage from his hold. It's a foreign and really uncomfortable feeling to see you out of sorts. 
Eddie walks behind you with a hand nearly but not touching your back. If you topple, he's not sure how he's gonna save you. Determined anyways, he guards you down the hollow stairs and through the hallway, one step behind you. 
It's a cool, crisp night outside. 
The smell of rain sticks around. You lift your chin. It's much colder now that night's fallen. The breeze kisses your damp skin. When did you start sweating? 
He presses his hand to your shoulders and guides you across the road. 
Junie starts her lovely babbling in his ear. "Mouse 'tective," she says at one point. You don't react, affirming his theory: you're more than tired. You're sick. 
"Mouse detective," he agrees, arm around your shoulder to assuage his own worries as he gives Junie the best of his attention. "You liked that one, huh?" Besides the evil Professor. "Better than the Muppets in New York? Junebug, you little traitor. How easily your favour changes." 
"Are you surprised? She took to you like," — you yawn wide enough that Eddie feels it under his arm, a full body thing — "a duck to water." 
He beams, relieved to hear your voice. "Yeah, well, I'm special." 
"That's true."
Eddie walks you around to the passenger side and opens your door. 
"Flirting! Awesome. You're not too sick to forget how much of a catch I am. Watch your head." 
"I gotta do Junie's straps," you say. 
"I think I can do it by now."
He's only sort of bluffing. It takes him much longer than it would've taken you. He celebrates his win by pinching her cheek lightly and then whacking his head hard on the roof of your car. 
"Fuck," he mutters as he jogs around the hood, scrubbing at the back of his head. 
You're staring at him as he opens the door. 
He puts the baby bag in your lap and shoves the key in the ignition, trying not to buckle under the weight of your gaze. He cracks quicker than he should, hand paused in its action.
"What?" 
"You tryna give yourself a concussion?" 
"Kiss it better?" 
You kiss the tip of your finger and touch it to his head. It's an instant healing potion. 
Getting you both home is easy enough, it's the trying to leave that's hard. You collapse heavily into the couch, Junie drapes herself over your lap and begs for her clothes to be taken off. Your second wind has worn away to nothing, leaving you plainly exhausted. 
Eddie can't go home, not until he knows you're alright. 
He slinks into your bedroom and tries not to look around too much. It feels like an invasion of privacy despite having made it in here a couple of times, always with his hip to the door as you search for something. He fails spectacularly and straight away, always hungry to know more about you. These days especially. 
Your bed looks like you shook out the duvet but never tucked the corners. Your pillow's on the floor, your thin throw blanket is screwed up in a ball. There's a bunch of Junie's stuffies against the headboard. He grins at their straight backs.
He makes for your wardrobe, a cheap bit of cherry wood with one sagging door. As much as he wants to outfit Junie in her goodwill band t-shirt, he pulls a soft pair of cotton pyjamas out from a neatly folded stack, thumbing the blue fabric fondly. There's a noticeable disparity between her clothes and yours. One work skirt and one work shirt hang from two lonely hangers, accompanied only by your infamous 'best jeans'. He frowns at a small stain at the knee and scratches it fruitlessly. Not her best jeans, he thinks in horror, picturing your unhappy face. He can see it so clearly, the pinching of your brows.
Junie squeals happily from the living room. Eddie remembers himself and follows the sound, finding you both on the ground. You're kneeling, blowing raspberries into Junie's naked stomach where she lays on her changing mat, a discarded diaper and her dirty clothes to the side. 
There's a big break between raspberries where your eyes drift shut sluggishly. Junie whines for another.
Eddie sits next to you. Stupidly close, his crossed leg kisses your thigh. He could wrap you up in a hug easily right here, and he wants to. Your tired face has his stomach aching with guilt. 
"Sweetheart," he says to you firmly, "get back on the couch. You look like you're gonna fall asleep right here." 
You don't argue, leaving Eddie the impossible duty of dressing your baby. Junie hates the shirt more than he can describe, loathes the fabric as it covers her face. He has to pick her up to get her into her pants, another fury. She forgives him easily once he's done, lingering by his side with Mr. Bear in hand. She pinches his back and imitates Eddie's low growl, laughing at herself as she does. She finds it very funny. Eddie can't help giggling with her. 
"Eddie?" you ask. 
He turns. You look miserable. 
"What?" he asks softly, startled by your intense expression. 
"Thank you." 
"Oh, baby," he says, loud and brash as he twists where he is to grab both of your knees. He practically throws himself at you, at your feet, ducking his cheek to your leg. "You really are sick as a dog." 
You look visibly embarrassed.
"Listen," he says, insistent, "If we start saying thank you to each other, we won't stop. We'll be a loop of thank yous." 
"I think I have more to say than you do," you murmur. 
He shakes his head, exasperated at your inability to see him for what he is even now. It's funny. Eddie thinks you've a better view of him than anybody else, that you see him more generously than anyone has ever seen him, and you still haven't noticed he's a boy in love. 
You must feel his grin as he kisses your knee, his thumb stroking over the ridge of the cap. 
"If I started to say thanks for all the things you've given me I wouldn't stop. I'd talk myself hoarse," Eddie argues. 
You laugh at his dungeon master dramatics, but reaffirm, "I haven't given you anything." 
"You don't know what you've given me," he says into your leg. 
Eddie lifts his head, weary of his chin digging into your leg. 
Now isn't the best time to declare devotion, or drop kisses into you when you can't offer any in return. Not that he's expecting you to. Not that he wouldn't receive them gratefully. 
"I should go home." 
You reach for him. Your hand moves slowly like you've a weight around your wrist, but your fingertips curve over his cheek; you move from the corner of his lip, under his eye, and then finish your circle at the skin beneath his ear. 
"Can you hug me?" you ask. 
"Yeah," Eddie says. He doesn't waste any time.
He gets up, slides a knee between your knees and rests his full weight on the couch between them as his arms curve around you and his hands feel for the dip of your lower back. He clutches without any hesitation. 
"Can I? Did you mean it like that? My arms work fine." 
You curl your arms around him and groan. "You're gonna crush me." 
"Really?" He pulls you closer. "How 'bout now?" 
"Ow," you whine. 
He laughs and pushes his face toward your ear. "Liar," he whispers. "No way that hurts." 
"Why's everybody always on top of me?" 
"That's your issue?" He pulls back. "You want to sit in my lap?" 
"No!" 
"Aw, my poor girl. You totally wanna sit in my lap. Alright, get in it." 
He sits down beside you and waits, one arm still behind your back. He gives you an encouraging tug. 
"I'm not sitting in your lap." 
"I didn't think you would, just- Just c'mere," he prompts, pulling your face into his chest. 
Your arms slide around his waist. He can feel the scratchy skin on your left index finger, a scar of a recent kitchen accident, against his hip where his shirt has ridden. 
"You're really handsy. Has anyone told you that before?" Eddie asks, trying to cover the entirety of your back with his arms alone. 
You push your face as far as it'll go into his chest. Eddie keeps you there, and soon a little body has found its way onto the couch next to you both, demanding to be included. Eddie quickly drags her in. 
Long minutes of quiet hugs. 
"Wish we could stay like this forever," you murmur.
"Well, I'm not going anywhere. If you were worried." 
He massages over the slope of your shoulder, a tight looking muscle. You sigh inaudibly, a hot patch over his heart. 
"I wasn't," you say. 
Eddie thinks you might finally be on the same page. 
-
You get really, really sick. 
"On my days off!" you croak, the injustice too much to handle. 
Eddie laughs from the end of your bed, a bandana tied around his face like a doctor from one of his awful horror movies, though the bandana is far from a clinical white. "That's exactly why you're still sick. Your body sensed the weekend." 
Hadn't it? You'd been achy and awful on Friday and Benny had sent you home at lunch, citing a need to keep his patrons from infection. Which sucked, because you'd really wanted to stick around for the very beginning of the Friday night rush and get some payday tips. People are generous when they're high on the buzz of a forthcoming weekend, especially to over obsequious waitresses.
It had sucked worse when Junie came out of daycare in the best mood ever and demanded kisses. You'd had a headache the size of a tennis ball behind your eyes and didn't want to pass anything over, and the crushed look on her face had made you cry in the car on the way home. 
Eddie dropped in particularly early that night with soup. "I had a feeling," he'd said. 
And now here he is again the day after. 
"At least one of us is enjoying this," you say. 
"You think I'm enjoying this?" Eddie asks. 
You give his precautionary outfit a once over. "Yes." 
"This is just something I had lying around." 
"Shut up! Shut up, no it wasn't!" You're voice cracks, giggly and giddy even with the spikes of pain to your tender head. 
"It was. We did a campaign, I was a plague doctor-" 
"That is in terrible taste." 
"It was perfectly appropriate, thank you very much. You're determined to vilify me. Need to slow down with the cold medicine, I think." 
You shriek as he tries to take the bottle. "No! No, please, my throat hurts." 
He takes the bottle. It is a hurtful defeat. You curl your fingers around nothing and sulk, slouching down into a sanctuary of pillows and blankets to hide from him. Extra pillows provided by Eddie. With fresh covers, duh. They smell like him anyway. You turn your nose into it indulgently. 
"You've had too much to safely be responsible for any further consumption." 
"Further consumption," you echo, eyes closing in defeat as he leaves. 
"You okay, June?" you hear him ask, voice occluded partially by the sound of the TV. 
"Okay, Eddie?" she asks. 
You grin to yourself. 
"I'm great. This looks very fun. I'm gonna make mom a cold pack for her head and then you can help me make dinner, okay? Does that sound fun? Tell me, June." 
The 'Tell me, June,' isn't a command so much as a gentle reminder that she can answer the question if she wants to. 
"Fun," she says.  
"Hey, great. Oh, thank you. Thank you." 
They better not be cuddling without me, you think bitterly, grin swiftly replaced by a self-pitying frown. 
You cough into your hand, roil in your own misery for a second and then grab the big glass of water Eddie had insisted on from the night stand. You tip it down yourself in your hurry. 
"Missed your mouth," Eddie says, appearing at exactly the wrong moment. 
"Don't baby me." 
He pads into the room with a cold pack wrapped in a hand towel. "For your head." 
"This is silly. I don't need to be in bed."
"Obviously you do. You're sick, did you notice? Stupid question," he adds regretfully, gesturing for you to lie back. He sets the pack to your forehead. "You wouldn't notice a hole in your stomach. You'd be dripping entrails in the freezer aisle wondering if Junie wants corn on the cob or mashed potato with dinner tonight." 
"What does she want for dinner tonight?" 
"Boo! Exactly my point." 
"I'm gonna go ask her-" 
Eddie puts an unapologetic hand in the middle of your chest and pushes down. "You will do no such thing." He lowers his face to yours. "I'm willing to get physical. So behave." 
You flush with heat because you're sick and not because he says it a certain way, dropping back down into your fluffed pillows without another word. 
Eddie's hand climbs up to your collar, your neck. His fingers slide one after another behind it. It's a blessed cold. You can't find a comfortable temperature today, moving between chills and hot flashes at the drop of a hat.
Or a bandana. Eddie unties the dark fabric from his neck and leaves it where it lands, staring at you without saying anything. 
His thumb presses into your sore throat carefully, the barest hint of pressure, and his lips part. He doesn't say anything for a while. It looks like he wants to. 
"Do me a favour?" he asks finally.
"Of course." Anything to feel useful right now. 
"Take it easy." He again lowers his head, talking to you with a private smile. "The sooner you chill out, the sooner you'll beat this thing." 
"Don't say that. Like I have something serious." 
"The sooner you'll beat this moderate-" 
"Mild-" 
"-affliction." He strokes quarter-circles into your neck.
"I don't need to lie down. There's things I have to do." 
"On a Saturday?" 
"Yes. There's things I need to do everyday." You clear your throat. It's useless, the lump remains and your voice stays scratchy. "I have- I always have laundry. So that first. Gotta wash it and put it out and bring it in and press it. I gotta make sure Junie has lunch for daycare this week 'n if she doesn't I have to go get it, I gotta," — you cover his hand with your own thoughtlessly — "make sure her rash is getting better. And I promised we'd do a tea party tomorrow, I have to make sandwiches!" 
"We both know she doesn't remember the tea party." 
"I promised." 
"And if I… If I tried to get all those things done, would you stay in bed?" 
"You can't." 
"But if I tried it? I can do laundry. I'm good at it. Get oil stains out of Wayne's coveralls every Sunday." 
You slump into a lump of sadness and achy arms. "Don't do my laundry. Don't do any of that stuff. I'll punch you if you do." 
Eddie bursts into laughter. "You'll punch me? You horrible woman." 
"I will," you promise, fingers curling around his arm to hold him in place. 
"Why don't I believe you?" 
"I don't know. 'Cos you're a know-it-all who dislikes me." 
"I far from dislike you." He grins at you, all dimpled and pretty. "I don't believe you'd hit me because I know you, idiot." 
"Name-calling." 
"Uh-huh. Are you sleeping or am I helping you out onto the couch?" 
While you're happy for the compromise, you have one problem. "I don't think I can move." 
Eddie lets his face fall amicably to your collar. "No, I bet you can't. More reason for me to get you on the couch. I think you've genuinely had too much cough syrup," he worries, warm breath fanning over your skin. 
You bring your spare hand to his head. He has so many curls. 
He lifts his head and you're close enough to kiss. There's no other reason anyone has ever been this close. 
"I can see your beauty mark," you say, hushed. You don't wanna breathe on him too much. 
"Freckle." 
"Your freckle." You lift and drop his curls, fingers toying through the softness towards his roots, the frizz at the ends. 
"You- You smell like fucking cherry syrup."
You abandon his hair to clap a hand over your mouth. "I'm sorry." 
He covers his own mouth. "It's okay," he says, similarly muffled. "I like the sweet stuff." 
What the fuck does that mean? Your stomach doesn't flip — it leaps right up into your throat. "You're an idiot," you breathe, caught off guard. 
"What was that?" he asks, taking away his hand. "Didn't catch it." 
"I said, 'You're an-" 
"Amazing friend and confidante?" 
You try to talk and he says, "A real stand-up guy?" 
You try again and he says, "A total rockstar? Baby, if you really think all this you should've said." 
You flop completely onto your back, away from his hands, his jokes and his lovely brown eyes where they bore into your own. Eddie hums and rubs brashly over the top of your arm until the skin glows with heat. 
"Please stay in bed," Eddie says as he stands. 
Medicine or his touch, you're feeling pretty tired. You pull up your blankets and sink like a stone, head disappearing into a mess of pillows and throws. 
-
It's much later when you wake. You move into the land of the living abrupt as whiplash. 
Eddie seems very sorry. "Sweetheart, June's past due for a new diaper, and I-" 
"Oh, right," you say, sounding much more alert than you feel. You're a girl made of sandpaper. 
"I would've, I mean. If it wouldn't make you uncomfortable, I would've tried. But I've never changed a diaper in my life." 
You scratch your flaky eyes, disorientated and head like a boiling saucepan with the lid glued on. 
"That's okay," you say. Your voice refuses to cooperate with you, gruff and too quiet. "It wouldn't bother me, but it's also not your job, so… Um." You yawn wide and cover your entire face. 
You spend a minute rubbing your eyes. 
"Fuck, what time's it?" you ask, squinting at him and bringing your hands to either side of your face.
"Like, seven. Ish." 
"Eddie…" 
"I know. I thought you could use the rest. I knew you could. And it's not urgent, you know? Come around, first. Everything's stellar." 
You peel back the sheets. You're a clammy, too-hot mess with weak legs. 
Eddie sees you wobble and rushes to wrap an arm around your waist. Completely unnecessarily, heart-achingly kind. You wince at the dampness of your shirt under his touch.
Junie sits on the couch in her jammies with a yellow-green soup stain down the front. She's propped up like a princess, a pillow behind her head between the armrest and her blanket covering her legs, cheek pressed to the cushions. Eyes trained on the TV and her bottle propped in a slackening grip, your baby is peaceful, near luxurious. 
Only a little wiggle might suggest she's uncomfortable.
You part from Eddie's side and sit down beside her, the seat warm. She doesn't even look up. 
"What, no hi for mom?" you ask tenderly, hand falling to the top of her head. She's lovely. 
She gasps, little lungs fit to burst. It's pure excitement, her bottle dislodged and the blanket pushed away immediately. She doesn't bother getting to her feet, throwing herself into your lap and assuming you'll do the rest. Of course you will. You pull her up and kiss the top of her head, though you quickly hold her at arm's length. 
"Sorry, mommy's still sick," you tell her, sympathetic at her crushed expression. 
"Mis'd," she says. 
"Yeah? You missed me?" you ask hopefully. 
Her lips part in comprehension. "Missed you," she confirms. 
You throw your gaze over your shoulder to Eddie. He stands by Junie's changing station with a smug smile. "What?" 
"You're not very convincing." 
"I'm not trying to convince you, thanks," he says, holding up two hands in surrender. 
"She didn't learn that herself," you argue. 
"She might've. You tell her enough." 
You go back to your girl, pleased at her own smug smile. "I missed you, too, I missed you so much. Missed you millions. Sorry I've been sleeping all day, you've been such a good girl. She has, hasn't she?"
Eddie sorts through a nearly empty bag of diapers and brandishes one with fish printed on the back. "Oh, yeah. Junebug's been amazing. She came in with me to see you earlier, took your temperature." You frown. "From a distance. Kind of. I held her above you. It was… acrobatic." 
You close your eyes at his absurdity, your laugh prompting another spike of pain. 
Junie forces herself closer and gets both arms around your neck. 
You sag into the contact, defeated. "Aw, June," you mumble ruefully. "M'trying to make sure you don't get sick too. Wasting my time." 
"Mommy," she says into your neck. 
"That's me." 
You know she has something she wants to say. You can't wait for the days where she can. Exciting, to think that one day she'll be able to share all of her thoughts. 
Right now, she's probably thinking, Woah, mom, you smell weird. And you look weirder.
You feel her back with your hand and cringe. Definitely time to get her changed.
Afterward, you sit with your back to the open front door on one of the porch steps. Physical exertion of any kind seems to be inadvisable; you're sweating up a storm. Junie sits beside you at her own insistence, her hand clasped in your hand and her head on your arm. You look down at her thighs next to your own and marvel at their small size. The evening breeze is a blessing. 
Eddie stands in front of you with his backpack slung over his shoulder and a checklist. 
"Tea party sandwiches are badly made and saran wrapped in the fridge. Junie doesn't have lunch for Monday but I can go tomorrow if you want me to. Her clothes are folded in the hamper. Uh, some stuff got left out, you might need to press them. Not tonight though, please." 
"Thank you." 
He talks around a smile. "Soup's on the stove. I'll come back later, if-" 
"You don't have to." 
"I want to. I wouldn't actually leave, but-" 
"Eddie-" You cough into your shoulder. He waits for you to finish. "You- You didn't have to take care of me." 
"What does that mean? Of course I did." 
He hikes his backpack higher up his shoulder and pads back up the steps, not all of them but enough for him to lean down and stare at Junie. 
"Thanks for the best day ever," he says seriously, looking out of the corner of his eye at you. "Almost. See you later?" 
Junie nods voraciously and reaches up with her empty hand. Eddie takes it and kisses her temple. He does the same to you, lips brushing soft as downy-feather over your skin. 
"I'll come back around ten? Is that cool?" 
"Don't knock too loudly," you mumble, very aware of his proximity. 
He backs up and bows like an idiot, hand moving in circles. 
You and Junie wave him off. 
"To work?" Junie asks.  
Your eyebrows jump as you pull your gaze from his retreating figure. "Huh?" 
"To work?" 
You play with her fingers. "No, he's not going to work. He's going to take care of someone else, now." 
Wayne, Eddie said, in a fondly exasperated tone that explained everything you needed to know. His uncle's self-preservation must come in similar disinterest to himself as yours does to you. 
"We'll see him tomorrow," you say. It's not even a lie, you will both see him tomorrow. 
But apparently he's coming back tonight. 
-
True to his word, Eddie Munson knocks your door carefully at nearing ten o'clock. 
Wayne's dismissal chases his heels. He'd spent an hour worrying about you at the dinner table with his uncle, fingers curling anxiously in his hair. 
Wayne had been talking about some gab the boys in the shop had heard about killer mice or killer lice or something when he'd suddenly cleared his throat and snapped Eddie to attention. 
"You're a good kid. Notice how I said good, and not smart," Wayne had said. 
"Gee, thanks. You always did know how to make a guy feel loved, Wayne." 
"You don't wanna be here." 
Eddie had frowned. "Obviously I do." 
"Kid, what I mean is, you gotta," — he'd nodded his head hard to one side and raised his eyebrows — "you know." 
"Haven't brushed up on my mysterious gestures lately. Translate that one for me?" 
Wayne had flicked up his newspaper and sighed. "Don't be dumb." 
"You keep saying that." 
"You keep being dumb, boy." 
"I don't know what you want me to do." 
"Think you better go look after your girl, don't you?" Wayne had asked finally, clearing his throat. 
So here he is to look after you. A tad early, worried you'll be sleeping on the couch with a misbehaving baby in your lap or passed out in the bathroom after an impromptu cleaning. 
Thankfully, you open the door in different clothes than he'd left you in, the neckline dark with run-off and face damp under your eyes and by your ears. You dab at your tacky skin with your index knuckle. 
"You look better," he says. He wishes he could take it back instantly, though you don't take any offence. 
"Hot shower," you explain. 
You step back to let him in. Eddie closes the door behind him without turning, eyes glued to your fresh face. He's depressed by the lingering fatigue he finds lining your darling features. 
"You okay?" you ask him, perturbed by his silence. 
Eddie's better than okay. 
He steps close. You look like you might step back, make room for him he doesn't want, so he reaches out for your face and holds it in one hand, the other landing in tandem on your arm.
Your cheek lists into his hand as he wipes away what's left of the dampness on your face. He's not sure you know you're doing it. 
"Did you take any more medicine?" he asks quietly, rubbing under your eye carefully with the tip of his thumb.
"No, I- I think you fixed me, Munson. Me and Junie had your soup, and after a shower I felt way better. It was really nice. She slept easy." 
He presses the back of his hand to your forehead. "You don't feel too hot." 
"Like I said. Fixed me. My hero." 
He looks over your shoulder at your life — at his life, or at least where a majority of it seems to take place. All his favourite parts these days happen right there on your couch, or at that table, or knee to knee with a baby that isn't his but- but-
"You said that to me the first time we met," Eddie recalls, shaking his head. It's like there's water in his ears. A few strands of hair drift into his eyes. 
You catch his elbows in both hands. "It feels like a really long time ago now." 
Months. Only months. "I feel like I've known you for years."
He strokes over your face, chin to cheek, the tip of his thumb pressed to the corner of your mouth. 
"That's how I feel, too," you whisper. Utter. Hushed, your words ring loud anyway. "You're my best friend." 
Eddie doesn't take it for a door closing because it isn't. It's a door kicked wide open. Split on its hinges. You and Eddie stand on equal ground, and, for once, the same page.
"You know I don't mind taking care of you?" he asks, hand passing over your ear to hide behind it. He wants to see all of your face. 
Predictably, you drop your eyes to his neck, pupils wobbling as you search for somewhere to plant yourself. "I know. I'm not sure I deserve it." 
"Why wouldn't you deserve it? Everyone deserves taking care of." 
"Even murderers?" 
"Maybe not murderers-" 
"The evil guys from your game? Necromancers?" 
"They're not all evil." His left palm skirts up the curve of your neck, encouraging your face back to his. "Don't change the subject." 
You press your lips together, caught.
"I actually…" — he gathers as much bravery as he has — "want to take care of you." 
"You do." 
He holds your face in both hands. "You know you- You know you started it, right? You know it's- that without your-" He cringes internally at his stammering, but he has to get this part right. "You have gold where your heart should be." 
"Y/N The Golden Hearted. Doesn't have the best ring to it," you muse, hands clinging to the crooks of his elbows like twin pooled teardrops waiting to fall. 
Eddie stares at you, floored.
"What about you?" 
"What about me?" he asks. 
"What's your name?" you demand, grinning. 
"Eddie the Subtle. Munson the Mad."  
You huff a laugh. "That's a cop-out."
"Maybe." 
"How about…" The air feels thick as jelly. Light from under the bedroom door stops short of your legs, your toes almost touching. His rubber soles, your socks. "Eddie the Indomitable?" 
He crinkles his nose. "I'd almost think you were trying to flirt with me, that's how bad that is." 
Your blinks are slow. Your eyes soften. 
"What if I was?" you ask. 
A stock-still silence pervades, filled only by the hum of the refrigerator and the droning of the bathroom light, left on. He could tell you the contents of this room by its sounds alone. 
His hand moves of its own accord, up and down the slope of your neck. "I'd say you needed a better pick up line."
"Like what?" you ask, chest rising too fast. 
Eddie takes a step and feels his jacket zipper cut into the cotton of your shirt. It's your matching band t-shirt. 
Eddie drags his gaze slowly to your widened eyes, your lashes as they move almost imperceptibly upward. Taking him in as he inches closer. 
"You're so fucking pretty," he says. 
He leans in. He closes the gap. Eddie Munson takes the leap. 
Your hand comes quickly to his upper arm and you turn your face just enough to force his lips, his kiss landing a centimetre shy of your nose. 
He struggles to keep his eyes closed. His heart thrums like a blown amp. 
"You can't kiss me," you say. Eddie struggles to discern your tone. 
His nose presses to yours. Not desperately, but almost. "I can't?" he asks, throat thick with emotion, a stickying, cloying taffy. 
"I'll make you sick." 
He turns your face with his palm, lips hovering above yours, a hair's width. Close enough to feel their heat. 
"Can I trust you'll nurse me back to health, in the event that that happens?" Would you take care of me? His hands tremble where they're touching you. He's too scared to open his eyes. 
You don't answer. 
You cover his hands and the seconds stretch endlessly, a thousand moments of terror and pining and want suddenly flattened into one as you kiss him.
He exhales against you. His relief is a palpable, viscous thing as he pulls you in and his nose digs into yours. Lips soft as he'd imagined, as he'd known they'd be, you kiss back tentatively. Sweetly.
You're kissing him like he's something that needs a careful touch. 
Eddie screws his eyes shut tight enough to see stars, firecrackers, a shattering bouquet of colours as you move beneath him. He can't believe he's kissing you. He can't believe there was a time where he wasn't.
He yields, leaning back just enough to see your face. You keep your eyes shut, your eyelashes kissing the delicate skin beneath. They move like blades of grass in the breeze as Eddie tries to catch his breath, regaining some of his composure. It's hard while he's here, this close. 
You make a small sound, a breath like a barb. The shaky demarcation of tears. 
"Okay?" he asks, more movement than sound. His lips skip over your own. 
You have to feel it. 
A laugh bubbles up through your parted lips like a hiccup. "I'm definitely gonna make you sick," you mumble regretfully. 
"Make me sick, sweetheart," he says, begs. Whatever. 
Whatever word you want to use. He doesn't care if he pays for it afterwards, he wants to be close to you now, unapologetically close. And kissing you — kissing you like this, your reciprocation, it's everything because it means you feel the same as he does. 
Or a fraction the same. He's reassured either way. If you felt a fraction of what he felt, that's enough. 
It's a lot. To be touching you, finally. He grabs at the nape of your neck and kisses, kisses, kisses. He goes slowly, not quite sweetly. He's never been as sweet as you have, never as soft or patient.
It doesn't feel like it matters. 
You pull his hands from your face, press his and your own, all four hands to the collar of your shirt. 
"It wasn't just a, uh, pick up line, was it?" you ask breathlessly. 
"Wh- No." Eddie massages the back of your hands. "No, you're the fucking prettiest girl ever. I think you're aces. Killer. Everything." 
"Everything," you say, an almost indecipherable glassiness to your eyes. 
"Everything," he says. He spreads his hand over your heart. 
You don't throw yourself at him, but you move alarmingly quickly. Arms over his shoulders, hands crossed and buried in his hair. Your laugh is magic, a bright and exuberant sound loud in his ear and then the skin underneath. He's barely got an arm around the small of your back when you start to kiss him, repetitive, chaste pecks over his pulse. It capers under your lips. 
"I don't know what kind of girl you think I am-" He begins deadpan and breaks abruptly, your second wave of laughter impossible to ignore. 
Your arms tighten at his laughing, palm cupping the back of his head. 
"You're my best friend, too," he says. "But you knew that." 
"Maybe," you murmur, your smile wide against his skin. You're uncharacteristically mischievous. 
He lets his back bend under your weight until your heels lift and you're scrabbling to stay on your own two feet and is rewarded by your shrieking laughter. 
Oh, god, he thinks, ecstatic. 
"Wait," you say, bargaining for freedom as he squeezes you hard enough to make you laugh again, and again, "wait, wait! Wait, let go. I have something to tell you." 
Eddie sets you down. He's reluctant to let you go, almost desperate to hug you now that he knows he can, but his curiosity gets the better of him. What could you have to tell him now that isn't confessional? It's like being promised something good. 
You stand sure and sweet in front of him.
"It's…" You look shyly at his lips. 
"What?" 
"I…" 
He shakes his head gently from side to side. "What? Tell me." 
"Nothing," you say, beaming. Act dropped, you take his face into both hands and kiss him soundly. 
Eddie's barely got his hands on you before you're pulling back. 
"Just wanted to do that," you say. 
𓆩❤︎𓆪
thank you for reading! | my masterlist | this fic is multi-chapter 
if you enjoyed (i I really hope you did), please reblog! i promise it makes a difference ♡
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werywrenniethoughts · 6 months
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Help Wanted 2: Lets Talk About Sun (Spoilers for Help Wanted 2!)
Okay,
I've had some time to digest Help Wanted 2. What a freaking roller coaster. I'm assuming you all have played/watched/seen Help Wanted 2, so be advised if you haven't seen everything we have access to so far, I'll be bringing it up.
One thing I'll say upfront is its nice to know Sun and Moon ARE older like I theorized. They're tied to the Fall Festival which took place in 1970 per one of the prize collector posters and the fact they deal with the carousel. I think Steel Wool also tried to point out and confirm Moon is patient zero for....I guess I should say Vanny's influence in the PizzaPlex. He's definitely the favorite to be pitted against us. I'm STILL losing my mind over the Princess Quest Ending.
So, the DCA fandom has been all across the board, ranging from "I love sassy Sun" to "Sun is SO mean. This ruins my headcannon." I don't think it really does. At least, it doesn't have to.
Our first encounter with Sun in front of us is Arts and Crafts. This minigame is located in the world we eventually learn is AR. We also are clearly a new FazBear hire. Sun is definitely sassy, and let's face it, VERY critical of what he defines as a mistake. BUT the flip side of that coin is he is still nice when you do the art correctly. He calls you friend, he wants to help you. If the player eats the crafts, he loses his mind. It's because he's worrying for the player due to the effects eating the crafts will have on them, ie: "That is how you get ulcers!". (By far, MY FAVORITE line of Sun's btw. Kellen stated that line and the indigestion line were both improved btw- genius.) He still doesn't want Moon to get you, he doesn't want to get in trouble. The one threat is after you've been hitting him several times and you've outright pissed him off. (I personally, think the "I should turn off the lights myself" was a drama king being a drama king.) Then we take the mask off. We see everything destroyed and Sun acts like the Sun we've always known. "I'm perfectly fine where I am. It's better this way. It's safer this way." "Keep the generator on. Without it I won't be able to help you." He's the same as he's always been. We've just seen a new layer.
What we ultimately have to come to terms with, is that Sun is a control freak and a perfectionist. He thinks he "has" to be. He doesn't want you to move from your craft table so he can watch you like a hawk. Do the job you are assigned. Get in, get out. Do the art HIS way, and follow HIS rules. If you don't, bad things can happen. Bad things HAVE happened. Another explanation could also be that maybe he isn't as free of the glitch trap virus as we thought? He can be sassy, he can be brutally honest, he can be concerned for us, for children, and his own darkness can rear its head, all at the same time.
Steel Wool could also be trying to slam into our faces that Sun is incomplete. He is one-half of a whole. He has good intentions, he means well at his core, but he cannot stop, regroup, and act rather than react. He gets stressed, and can't cope and adjust. Instead, he demands control back when he feels like he's about to lose it. Moon is calm, calculating, and logical. It's why they need to be whole and why Sun is so grateful to Cassie when she fixes them to become Eclipse. As Eclipse, they both find the parts of themselves they've so desperately needed.
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tiyoin · 2 months
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pt.4 | 📍pt.5
rewrote, edited and proofread chapter five cause I thought it was horseshit and you guys deserved more from me. 🫶
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numb.
you tried to feel numb.
doing everything in your power to push down any kind of emotion that was ready to slip through your mask.
look ahead, stand tall, put one foot in front of the other so no one would know you were wearing a confidence coat that was 2 sizes too small.
don't breathe too loud they'll hear you.
don't step too loud they'll think about your weight.
don't blink too much they'll think you're fluttering your lashes at them.
don't tuck your chin in they'll think you're gross.
gross for what exactly? everything.
don't mess up the stepping pattern or else you'll look like a bumbling idiot as you try to get back on the rhythm.
don't clench your fists they'll think you're mad and unapproachable.
don't smile because you're not in front of a mirror where you can control how much you want to give away.
don't think too hard or else you'll become enraptured with your daydreams and you won't be able to take part in reality.
don't do anything with your lips or else some air will come in and create a sound that sounds similar to a fart. then they'll think you're extra gross.
all these rules you had to follow to 'be normal,' weren't an actual set of rules, but a lifestyle. you wouldn't get collared if you didn't do one of the rules, you wouldn't get yelled at or reprimanded.
you were okay. to your knowledge that is.
on the outside, you probably looked like you had a stick up your ass. always in a rush to get to where you needed to go. like one of those rolling backpack kids back in your world. whenever they would pass they'd take casualties with them. rolling over toes, pencils, teachers- there was nothing in their way they couldn't bulldoze through.
you were just missing the wheels and will of iron it took to be seen with such a… what’s the right word- atrocity, in public, let alone an all-boys school.
underneath the habits and self-induced numbness, past all the anxiety and fear there was a tickle. not an actual tickle, but a sudden feeling you couldn't identify. it wasn't rage or frustration. you weren't sad or envious... you think- it was something gentler than that.
something softer yet just as negative was infesting your heart and mind like a slow-acting poison. poisoning your thought process, your habits, your attitude, and your livelihood.
though the breeze and sunshine walking to class supplied your flesh with warm- there was a chill over your heart. the beams of warmth too short to reach into the many cracks and holes that were created. sometimes you thought there was a bug. a big, juicy parasitic bug that would suck away your hopes and feast on your memories. It had a sweet tooth that was for certain, only targeting happy memories as it kept you with the bad ones.
did you ever have happy memories?
there was nothing you could do about the pestering leech. it wouldn't go away with Kalim's warmth and silver's calm. two sides of the same coin.
but no matter how many times you flipped: heads or tails, heads or tails, heads or tails would never work.
yes, you would smile, you would laugh- put on a poor show to convince yourself and others that there was nothing wrong. Everything was okay deep down and inside your twisted little mind. 
sometimes, you weren't sure who exactly you were performing for. 
"why am I scared to laugh" you remembered asking yourself one night, putting down your jester's hat for the evening. 
looking in the dusty mirror, your eyes carefully roamed your face, ticking off imperfections as you scanned every feature, scrutinizing every fold, and every slight bump on your skin. saving the most obvious imperfection for last, you finally acknowledged the brewing red horn ready to grow on the side of your forehead.
you knew it was a normal thing that teenagers of all ages experienced. but you felt especially helpless now, with the lack of beauty supplies and makeup. but with a quick brush of your hair, the brewing red horn disappeared behind some tresses of hair.
"I look like a demon"
...
"though if it was on my nose, i'd look like rudolph"
there was no punchline. yet the observation- not even an original comparison, made you laugh. 
A tiny huff puffed from your chest. though the more you imagined yourself with deer ears and a bright lobster red nose, you could feel your thoracic region start to shake. trying to push the sixth sense of judgment the walls were giving you, you forced yourself to laugh. holding onto this artificial laugh as long as you could. you hadn't laughed in a while. hadn't smiled in a minute. you'd barely look at yourself in the mirror most days.
gripping onto the vanity you watched your eyes crinkle and smile stretch. tripping and stumbling over scattered objects in your room you were still clenching your stomach nonetheless.
you felt like a tumbling tornado. clumsily tripping over everything with no set destination or concern for the things in your path. a shoe got kicked up. a pen you remembered liking got stepped and rolled on. a book you read a few nights ago kicked to the door as you set your eyes on your bed. with a few more violent acts towards inanimate objects, you carried your shaking body to bed.
this was it. you were going insane, weren't you?
all you needed was a canvas and paints and you'd truly become insane.
flopping down unceremoniously you let it linger for a second. sighing in contentment as you stared up at the ceiling.
you loved laughing, it was fun! but you were afraid to laugh, to live. remembering Kalim's quote of 'Everything is fun when you make it fun,' you wanted to scoff at his naivety. but Kalim was right.
if you made things miserable for yourself that's how they'll be.
directing your mind back to your head, you blinked owlishly.
oh. you were so caught up in the daydream you forgot you were in the hallways.
peeking through bumping shoulders, you tried looking towards the wall to check the room number.
"shit"
making a giant u-turn with as many 'excuse me's' and 'pardon me's,' you rerouted yourself back to your class. never having walked this way to class you were a bit hesitant. what if you walked by it again? what if someone is watching you and making fun of you for being a daft idiot?
breathe.
but what if you're late for class? crewel will have your hide- skin? doesn't matter what it is cause it'll be his. what if they all laugh when we're late-
we're not late yet it's only-
but when we get to class we'll be late!
perking up when you noticed the assigned numbers to your class, you weaved through the chattering sardines and beelined it to class.
no bell. no expectant crewel. no eyes besides from the easy-to-ignore front row. perfect.
the sigh you were holding in finally set itself free as you adjusted the grip of your books, and you strolled down the isles.
don't walk too fast they'll think you're strange.
but also don't walk too slow so they don't think you're lazy.
head down absent-mindedly adjusting your books, you followed your hand's cue and put your attention on a fixed thing. aka: your books.
but to your relief, you soon found your seat. with a huff, you unloaded the cargo pulled out some loose-leaf paper, and started writing.
writing what? not even you knew. but it made you look busy and that was important.
you didn't lay around in bed all day. you didn't continuously scroll through your phone to distract yourself. you didn't cry at night looking at everyone's socials, wishing it was you having fun. envy bubbling like a nasty tar in your bloodstream as you scorned everyone for having fun when you're miserbale-
"y/n!'
"oow"
sliding in next to you was silver. hair disheveled and tie ever so crooked, though he still looked really good-
pervert a voice whispered. tensing, you looked around and saw no one paying attention to your little corner.
"I tried calling you in the hallway." his boyish smile eased a beat in your rhythmic heart, only for it to take 2 more beats.
"y-you did?" you gulped.
silver nodded as he organized his books. "Yeah, but it's so chaotic and loud I'm guessing you didn't hear me" you nodded in agreement, tongue slipping over itself as you tried conjuring up an excuse.
"I- uh I'm really sorry I didn't hear you. I didn't even know you were there! I was kinda worried about not being elbowed to death." you didn't know why you were chuckling at the end but it felt scene-appropriate. you weren't sure if you believed what you told silver despite it being the truth.
was he going to refute it? was he going to give you a once over and mentally think 'how dare they ignore me' because all the diasomnia students you'd interact with had that very haughty, entitled personality?
 but to your slight dissatisfaction, silver only nodded in understanding.
"I'm real-"
"There's no-"
you both started at the same time, sharing a shy smile at the pause.
"you can go ahead" he nodded. Waving your hands, you disagreed. "you were talking first, I'm sorry, go ahead"
even though you gave the green light, silver still heisted to go. giving the air another few seconds before he started talking.
"there is no need to ask for forgiveness. I understand if you couldn't hear me, I'm not the most vocal after all. if only sebek were here" he mulled the last part. wincing at the name, you wanted to pinch yourself for slipping up. damnit you showed that you didn't like a person he was friends with- he'll hate you now. you're screwed, you screwed yourself. don't you understand that he's probably planning on running to sebek as soon as you leave? then everyone in diasomnia is going to hate you-
you nodded, tiny little yellow sponges in white shirts and red ties ran around your brain as a fire roared throughout- wherever they were inside your head.
you tried to push the flood of incoming thoughts into a box, a big red crate with a crab lock to be exact. you were feeling antsy, looking for anything to focus on besides the silver-haired upperclassman in front of you. 
sometimes you wish you were a computer. unable to feel and to only run on logic. it seems easier that way.
a thought bubble popped into your brain like an internet pop-up ad. 
did they even have computers in twisted wonderland? duh of course they do, they have phones after all.
the thought of twisted wonderland's technology started to swarm and hijack your train of thought. effectively taking out the conductor and changing its course.
did they also have an Industrial Revolution like the United States had? what was the start of it? which kingdom had it first? was there something to set off the alleged revolution? How is it the same and how is it different from your world's?
did magic have allay in it? of course, it did. but how did magic make it different than-
"y/n"
snapping your head at the familiar voice. you looked to silver. only able to take in physical information as the new conductor saw a hole in the tracks, pulling the breaks almost immediately.
"you okay there?"
slowly you nodded, as a few members of the hijacking team jumped out of the train- some ideas and questions with it.
"yeah.. sorry about that, kinda got lost in my train of thought there"
nodding with understanding, silver started talking about how he would sometimes start nodding off when he was talking to someone. half paying attention, half trying to save the train- your brain was split in half as you took in all internal and external information.
until you heard the magic words everyone loves to hear: "what were you thinking ab-"
"The Industrial Revolution"
"... pardon?"
anddd you failed, the train fell into the deep deep gorge that the tracks would normally allow the said train to glide over... but alas! they were gone! blown to smithereens as it guided the train into the deep cavern. a big explosion followed soon after. 
"dont worry about it" you brushed him off. saved by the bell as Crewel stood up, riding crop in hand yelling out orders like a drill sergeant.
silver scooted closer. you scooted back, the original distance between you two doubling. you were focused on writing your name, date etc & etc, on another loose-leaf paper.
the dreamy-eyed second-year made some noises before he knew what he was going to say. he started softly "are you okay"? but then grew slightly louder as unease set in "from... last class? I mean I know yuu told me it was a touchy subject but... i just wanted to check in"
your pencil screeched to a halt as the words 'yuu told me-' chanted in your head. it was the only thing you could focus on because what did he mean 'yuu said-'. "what did yuu say." you spoke, voice stable for the first time that morning.
silver's tongue tied itself as he fixed his hair a bit. "well..." he straightened up slightly, "after you stormed... no, escape is a better word. after you escaped the classroom yuu followed before i could. but crewel ended up stopping me before i could even move. and i asked yuu what happened the next time i saw them and asked how you were doing.. to sum it up: they told me you get nervous around new people soo"
dread set over you like a fast-approaching shadow.
oh no. he thinks you're a weird socially inept loser doesn't he? he thinks you're some kind of loser that doesn't go out weekends, weekdays, any day for all that matter. he probably makes fun of you with sebek. right?
"ah well," you cleared your throat. a lie already on the tip of your tongue "I mean it's like- a yes and no kinda thing. I didn't have a lot of guy friends when I was younger so being thrust" you thrust your hands in emphasis "into an al guys school has been quite the adjustment."
quickly, your mind conjured up a painting of a small house in a meadow filled with wildflowers. it was the only thing you could see for miles. it was a nice house with a straw roof, a smoking brick chimney, and a little garden outback. the only problem with the house is that you blew it up.
 with nuclear missiles. 
and the intensity of the blast was so strong that it created a small crater in the earth, no traces of the house were left as it's entire existence was reduced to ash and rubble all because of you.
the urge to bash your head into the nearest wall like intruding hornets slipping through a crack in an attic to terrorize a small family. there goes your social life right?? what soil life? you killed it before you could even nurture it!
your mouth and mind were running on autopilot while your conscience went blank.
your mouth was a fountain that spewed water everywhere. trying to get yourself out of the hole you dug yourself- crater, more specifically.
"but uhhh yeah, no you're good! you're different and I'm quite glad I got partnered with you since you're not as..."
"boisterous?" silver quipped.
you nodded. silver chuckled, leaning further away from you. "yeah me too. if I got paired with one of your friends only the sevens know how much damage that'll do to my physical and mental well-being"
you both discreetly looked over at the rest of the class watching as all pairs seemed to be in some kind of chaos. whether it's floyd being impulsive, grim trying to add the wrong chemical into a potion. (you didn't even need to know what they were making to know that whatever he's trying to sneak in- doesn't belong there.)
and you were thanking whatever god the people of twisted wonderland worshipped that you weren't paired with one of the adeuce combo. ace would try to take control of the project, pretending he knew what he was doing while simultaneously giving you backhanded compliments on your intelligence. only to ruin the entire project and somehow find a way to blame you for it. 
meanwhile, deuce and you would be two peas in a squished pod: not knowing what you're supposed to be doing and ultimately winging it as you tried to match your hot barbie pink potion to crewel's muted blush potion. knowing the both of you, it would end up navy blue and when crewel went to fix it he would add a pinch of fleabane- a literal pinch, and it'd be fixed. embarrassing the both of you for all eternity.
"I wonder which group is gonna blow up the lab first mused quick to shut your lips, you were quick to wish for a sewing kit to forcefully shut you up.
but a small voice whispered 'it's better to take risks than stay comfortable.'
and silver seemed... nice.
silver looked out at the crowd for a moment longer, turning to you he started slowly, "while the yuu, grim, and ace trio seem to be the most obvious choice...." he thought carefully, "epel and deuce seem to be at a loss of what to do and are about 6 shade off. which surprised me since epel is in pomfiore"
"he's actually sh- really-" you started again, taking a moment to think over what you were going to say "I heard that epel's not that great at potions despite being under vil's careful watch...." silver's eyes widened, replying with a soft 'really?' as he looked back to the groups with newfound interest.
you to yourself "never judge a book by its cover" you shrugged, immediately turning to your work. anxiously, you waited for a response. 
although circumstances are vastly different- is this how people felt when in the talking stage? if so it was a dreadful experience. 
before your pessimistic thoughts could even start, silver responded with a chuckle, enviably agreeing with your statement. you could almost sweat with relief as an invisible weight got lifted from your shoulders.
silver seems nice...
a new voice, meek and unsteady although louder than the usual pessestimic ones in control. and for once, you allowed yourself to feel the slight comfortable tingle it gave you.
the hope and drive to that you haven't felt or experienced in a while.
you wished to get closer to him.
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charlesswife · 11 months
Text
Una Noche En Monaco v
unem masterlist
5 Dias De Prueba (5-day trial)
pairing: charles leclerc x latina! reader
summary: after a one night stand between you and Charles, he continues on with his formula one career. until two months later, you come back claiming to be pregnant with his child.
word count: 7.6k - not proofread.
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April 2023
"Do you wanna come to the next race? I can get you tickets, you can be my guest."
His words replayed in my head like a broken record. Why would I be interested into going to the race in the first place?
As I opened the door of my apartment I was greeted by the smell of something sweet.
I checked the time on my watch. 9:45 pm.
"Isn't it late to be baking Naughty Brownies?" I called from the entrance. I heard a small "Oh no" from Mateo and a "Busted" from Steph.
I heard Mateo's footsteps around the kitchen, "Tia you have to hide me."
"Okay, okay."
As I entered the kitchen, I saw one of the floor cabinets a little open. Steph had a smile on her face.
"Why is Mati awake?" I asked her. I heard a small gasp coming from the cabinet.
"Awake? He's not awake. He's in his bed with Percy." Steph answered, holding her laugh. Just as she said that Percy walked into the kitchen wagging his tail. I petted his face and he licked my hand, then he walked to the slightly open cabinet and stuck his head inside.
Mateo tried to push him away with his tiny hands. "Go away, you're gonna get me caught." He said in a serious tone, the Rottweiler started to lick him as well. In the end, the cabinet door opened, leaving Mateo in full display.
"Oh, Mati. I didn't know that was your new bed. Should've told me before I bought you that big bed you have." I said as I brought the brownie to my lips. Steph loves having slutty brownies before bed, but ever since Mateo was born, we had to change the name to naughty brownies.
He stayed quiet for a second, his green eyes started to gloss. "Am I in trouble?"
He is so cute, I wanted to laugh for a second. "No, mi amor. Come out so you can have a piece and go to bed."
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When my mom was alive, she used to say 'When in doubt, leave your destiny in the hands of a coin, flip it and carry on' and while usually I would do it, sometimes I wish she was here to tell me what to do.
Heads - I go to the GP
Tails - I stay
I was never good at flipping coins. All the time I flip it and let it drop to the floor. So that is what I did. I didn’t dare to look down, at least not until the coin stopped circling around the floor.
I picked up the coin. This is my destiny and so be it.
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The next day I decided to meet up with Charles, to tell him my answer.
I expect our meeting to be short and easy, so I told him to meet me at a parking lot. It sounds very sketchy now that I think about it.
I saw his car once I got into the parking, I tried to open the door but it was locked - which made sense - I knocked on his window and when he finally saw me he unlocked the door and I got in.
Europeans kiss both cheeks to say hi, and in my culture, we do it just once. But I am not in my country and I do not want to say hi to Charles, let alone kiss me. So when his body approached mine to greet me with kisses I stopped him. His body was close enough that I smelled his perfume. It smelled like a drug... very addicting to the point I wanted t smell more.
"Sorry," he murmured. "It's a habit." he tried to explain.
"Yeah, whatever." I responded. "This is what's going to happen. We are not co-parenting. Mateo is my son, so you don't get a say here. If you really say that you are ready to be a man and be responsible and be a father, that's fine, but you have to prove it. I will decide when is the right time to tell my son you're his father," I saw his Adam's apple go up a bit as if he was nervous.
"His name is Mateo?" he asked.
"Yes," I said.
"With one T?" My heart stopped for a second. The last time we spoke, he told me he saw a kid in the car, but he never said he met Mateo or even spoke with him to the point he knows his name is with one t.
"How did you know-?"
"Is it really?" his voice was higher this time. "I met him. At the bookstore. And I- I- I felt this connection the moment I saw him, and I asked his name and he said 'Mateo with one T'" His smile is so wide that I wondered for a second if his cheeks hurt.
I stared at him. I don't know if I should curse him out, or simply get out of the car and forget this meeting ever happen, because how dare he say he felt a 'connection'. He's full of shit. "Don't ever say that again. Especially not in front of me. You don't have a connection, you don't know him. I don't know which god or angel is on your side to the point that you found us and you even talked to him. I'm nice enough to actually give you a second chance, but I have my limits, so you better be careful with the things you say."
I took my phone out and opened the Calendar app. "Today is the 19th and most likely you have to be in Baku on the 25th. So you have five days you can spend with Mateo, with me present, of course. If you want to spend time with him, that is."
"Yes! Sorry, yes. Of course." He nodded. "Is it possible to have a dinner with my family? I want my family to know you and Mateo. They don't... they don't really know about any of this,"
"Your family doesn't know about us?" Us meaning Mateo and me, not Charles and I. He shaked his head. "I wouldn't be too worried about your family. If I were you, I would be more concerned about how the public would react to this. The truth will come out sooner or later, and God knows what they are going to say."
His face was blank. He knew I was right, or maybe he was thinking that I would release the information to the public. "I'll protect him. No matter what."
I wanted to say a sarcastic comment but I didn't want to. At least just for today. I saw the way his eyes became a bit red when I told him he doesn't have a connection with Mateo.
He cleared his throat a bit and then he looked me in the eyes. Oh, his big green eyes. "I just want to thank you, for giving me a chance. I will prove to you that I am worthy of you and Mateo." Why is he talking this way?
I texted him the address of my apartment, once it got sent I said, "That's my address, be there at 9:30"
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Thursday 20th - Charles' POV
Am I early? Will she be mad that I am early? I stand in front of her door, debating whether I should knock or come back in thirty minutes. Just as I was about to leave the door open.
"Okay, Mati, see you later!" The woman said as she stepped out, she turned around and faced me. "Oh," she looked at her watch and said, "shouldn't you be here in thirty minutes?"
"Yeah, um I wasn't- um I was going to come back in a bit," I said.
"There's no point, you are already here so I might as well let you in. Just go inside and wait, and whatever you do, don't open the curtains." She opened the door again and pushed me inside.
The inside of her apartment was nice, but it makes me wonder how she can afford the place if she only works at a bookstore. I got into the kitchen first, it has an open area that leads to the living room. The tv was on showing a cartoon of what it looked to be a blue cat. On the kitchen counter, I saw what looked to be a tiramisu. I tried to be strong but I am weak when it comes to a good tiramisu.
I quickly found what I needed, a knife, a spoon, and a plate. I don't think Y/n would notice if it just take one tiny little piece. I got ready to cut and I heard someone say.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I looked up and saw him. Mateo. He was beautiful. He made his way toward one of the couches shaped like an L and sat there. "My mami is very protective over her tirmisu and only lets me eat the tirmisu," he said as he mispronounced the name of the dessert, he then looked at me. "You're the guy from the store."
"You remember me?" I asked hopefully.
"I remember you are the guy from the store," he said like it was the most obvious thing.
"Do you remember my name?"
He was quiet for a second. "No, should I?"
His comment did make me sad for a second but then he let out the biggest gap and came running towards me, he put his arms up. "Lift me up,"
My heart is beating so fast, I lifted him up and secured him in my arms. Up close I could see the freckles on his nose, he looks a lot like me. He looked around the kitchen and then he pointed to the microwave. "Take me there. Go, go." Once I did what he asked, he opened the door of the microwave, and inside was a plate of brownies. He took two pieces out and closed the door. "Okay, put me down. Down" He started to squirm in my arms. Once I put him down on the floor, he looked at the brownies in his hands and gave me the smallest piece. "Thank you for the help" He then ran back to the couch to sit down. In front of him was a coffee table, there was paper and crayons all over it.
"Where's your mommy?" I asked him.
"Probably with Percy," he said, without pulling his eyes away from the TV. Who's Percy?
"Do you wanna see my drawing? My mami says I'm the next Picasso," he left the brownie on one side of the table and got one of the papers. I walked to the couch and saw the paper. It was a big house, 4 figure sticks and a small black figure with four legs. "This is Mami," he pointed at the tall figure stick, "This is my tia Steph," he pointed at the second tall figure stick, probably the woman that let me in, "This is me and my brother," he pointed at the two small figure sticks. Brother? He has a brother? "And this is my dog, and this is my new house, but they are building it right now so we live here."
"This is really good Mateo," I complimented him, but my thought are on the brother he mentioned.
"I know, you can have it. I'll sign it for you. Mami says I have to sign all my art so people know I made it," he explained as he grabbed the black crayon.
"Your mom is a smart woman,"
"How do you know mami?" he asked. "If you are the bad man that wants to take me away from mami I won't let you have the drawing. I don't like bad people that want to hurt mami."
"I'm not bad, I promise. I'm a nice person."
"Okay!" He wrote his name on the paper and then grabbed his brownie. "Are you my papi?" he looked at me.
"What?" my eyes widen.
"Yes. Are you my papi? If you're not bad, and you know my mom, then are you my daddy?"
How is this four-year-old so smart and how do I even respond to that? Before I could say anything, someone interrupted me. "Mati! Come here so I can put sunscreen on your pretty face." He got off the couch and went running into the hallway.
I grabbed the paper and stared at it. Did she have another child with someone else after me?
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Y/n's POV
Mateo came running into the bathroom and the first thing he did was rub his face against Percy and give him kisses. "No, Mateo no beses al perro, mi amor. Ahora te tengo que lavar la cara otra vez." (No, Mateo, don't kiss the god, my love. Now I have to wash your face again.)
"Percy es tan tierno que solo le quiero dar besitos, mami" (Percy is so cute that I only want to give him kisses)
"Well you are cute too and you don't see me giving you kisses all do time," I said as I washed his face.
"You do give me kisses Mommy." he laughed.
"Alright, that's enough. I'm going to put sunscreen on you." I put sunscreen on my three fingers. "Where do we put sunscreen?"
"On the faceeeee" he said. "On the neeeeeck, y en las orejaaaas" (in the ears) I laughed at the way he explained it. Once I was done putting on the sunscreen, we both walked out of the bathroom and into the living room.
I started to open the curtains.
"Mami this man tried to eat your tirmisu" Mateo said. I turned around and saw Charles sitting on my couch with a brownie on his lips, just frozen, like when Mateo gets caught doing something he shouldn't.
As he was chewing, he said, "I um- I was, Wow these brownies are good. I didn't eat your tiramisu."
"So you eat my brownies instead?" I asked.
"NO no, no. Mateo gave me one."
That wasn't surprising. "Who is he?" Mateo asked.
"He is a friend," I said. "He is going away soon so he's going to hang out with us for some days. Do you like that?"
"Okay! Then he has to meet Percy!" he ran off to the hallway again. I looked at Charles.
He looked like he wanted to tell me a lot of stuff, and ask me a bunch of questions.
"How long have you been here?" I asked.
"Um, maybe like 10 minutes? Your friend let me in and then Mateo got me the brownie and this drawing," he showed me the paper. It was all of us, the house, Steph and I, my two babies, and my dog. "You look really pretty, by the way. Your boyfriend must be very lucky," Boyfriend? "I thought you only had Mateo, you didn't mention having a second child," he murmured the last part as he ate the last piece of the brownie. He thinks...
Before I could answer, Mateo came running back, "Look! This is my little dog, Percy!" Little is an understatement since Percy is a four-year-old Rottweiler. When the dog came into the living room, Charles got up and backed away.
"Mateo, I don't think Charles likes Percy." I told him.
"Why not?" he looked at Charles while his lips quivered.
"No, no. I love Percy! Percy is a good boy!" I know he wouldn't dare to pet the dog.
"Mati, grab your bag, we have to go." As he walked back to his room, Charles said.
"Did you name your dog Percy as in Perceval?"
"Don't flatter yourself, I named him after a book character."
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At the end of the day, Mateo was tired. Reasonable. He was very entertained by all of the stuff the museum had to offer. But one moment kept replaying in my head.
My phone went off, remaining me to reapply sunscreen on Mateo, as I was applying some on his face I saw Charles, and how his face was a bit red.
"Do you not wear sunscreen?" I asked him.
He shrugged, "Only when I'm on the beach," he responded.
I gasped, and for a moment my mother self kicked in, "Charles, your face is red. Jesus, come here," Once he got close to me, I put the sunscreen on three of his fingers so he could apply it himself. He rubbed the sunscreen on his hands and started to rub it on his face.
"Acaso eres un animal?" (Are you an animal?) I told him as I stopped him from doing more damage to his skin. "You can't rub your face like that," I explained as I spread the sunscreen on his face, "You put on your face, on your neck y en las orejas," (and the ears) I murmured. Once I was done, I realized what I did and how close we were to each other.
“Is he going to meet Jules?” Mateo came out of nowhere. 
We visit Jules every week, I was planning to visit him once the day was over with Charles. 
“Who’s Jules?” Charles asked. 
“He’s my brother!” 
I looked at Charles for a second. He has no idea he’s one step closer to the truth, at least a part of it. 
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Friday 21st
I had everything ready for the visit to Jules. I prepared some sandwiches and fruit to eat. The favorite snacks for Mateo and Percy. 
I loaded everything into the car, Mateo was in his baby seat with the window rolled down and I was waiting outside the car for Charles to appear. For being a Formula One driver, he is very late right now. 
“Well, I guess he’s not going to come. Maybe next time.” I told my son and his face deflated, I, on the other hand, am very happy, but that didn’t last long because Mateo pointed and something behind me. 
“He’s here!” I turned around and saw Charles with a visible line of sweat on his forehead. 
“Sorry, I’m late,” he said. 
“Don’t make it a habit,” I responded. I opened the passenger seat and said, “Get in.” He approached the door and I placed my hand on his chest to stop him. “Wasn’t talking to you,” I smirked, he looked down and saw Percy get into the seat. “You go in the back,” 
He didn’t say anything and simply did what I said. 
The drive wasn’t bad, Charles got to find out more stuff about Mateo. I, on the other hand, became more nervous the more we got closer to our destination. 
Once we got to our destination, confusion was obvious on Charles’ face. 
“Why are we-” 
“To see Jules,” I responded as I got out of the car, Charles following suit. 
I went to the back of the car and open the truck, I gave Charles the picnic basket. I opened the back seat door and took Mateo out of the car seat and set him down. I opened the passenger seat and got Percy out of the car. With my left hand, I was holding Mateo’s hand and with my right hand, I had the dog’s leash. I locked the car and we began walking. 
Charles hasn’t said anything yet, maybe he’s confused or maybe he’s just trying to process. After walking for an eternity, even though it was like seven minutes, Mateo let go of my hand and ran to our spot. I took Percy out of the leash and he went to be next to Mateo. 
As I was walking I turned around and saw Charles stuck to the floor. 
“Are you coming?” I asked, “I need the blanket that’s on the basket so we can sit down,” I continued walking. 
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Charles’ POV
Jules Alexander Y/L/N 
6th November 2018
Loved Son and Brother. 
Ahora eres una estrella mas en el cielo (now you are one more star in the sky) 
Y/n didn’t have a boyfriend or a son with someone else. She had twins and she lost one. I had twins and I lost one. I didn’t know it was possible for my heart to break even more. 
I left her alone during this horrible time. 
“Look, Jules! We brought a friend. His name is Sharls,” Mateo said excitedly to the tombstone. “We got you floweeeers, and we have shanweches to eat,” he explained. Y/n was busy setting up the blanket and taking everything out of the basket. I didn’t dare to speak, if I did I would start crying. How much has this woman handled? 
“Mi principe, porque no vas tu y Percy a jugar un ratito while Charles and I talk for a moment, okay?” (My prince, why don’t you and Percy go play for a bit) Y/n said. The kid nodded and ran with Percy somewhere a bit far but still close enough so we can see them. 
I sat down next to her, still not able to speak. “Jules was the second one to come out,” she said. “There were some complications when I gave birth to him. He passed away thirty minutes after being born. He was only alive for thirty minutes and I wasn’t even able to hold him. Originally Mateo was supposed to be Mateo Agustin, but then Jules died so I changed his name to Mateo Alexander Jules. Alexander Agustin Y/L/N was my father,” She explained. 
“And Jules?” I dared to ask, my voice breaking. 
“I may not know much about you, or your family, but I know about Jules Bianchi,” she said. “I got Percy two months later. Percy was born on the same day. I thought it was a sign,” 
“What about your family?” I asked her. 
She laughed humorlessly, “This is my family. Steph, my son, and my dog. My parents died in a car accident, then I came to Monaco to start again. Getting knocked up wasn’t part of the plan, especially when the father can die the same way my parents did. I wasn’t expecting you to be an asshole either,” 
With tears in my eyes, I said, “I am so sorry. I-” 
“Yeah, me too” 
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Y/N’s POV 
After he calmed down, I called Mateo back so we can eat. Everything was great until Charles asked me a question.
“Do you guys want to go on my boat tomorrow? Spend the day at sea?” I stopped eating and Mateo gasped loudly. 
“Can we, mami?!” 
One thing about me is that I am utterly terrified of the ocean. “No,” I said as I continued eating. 
“Mami, please, please. I’ll be good, I promise,” 
“I’m not going to be able to go with you baby,” I said.
“Why not?” he asked. 
I looked at Charles, who also had concern in his eyes. “Well, mommy has this fear of the ocean, and she doesn’t feel well, so she has to stay,” I tried to explain to him. 
I looked at Charles, who also had concern in his eyes. “Well, Mommy has this fear of the ocean, and she doesn’t feel well, so she has to stay,” I tried to explain to him. I could tell Charles wanted to say something but he didn’t dare. “If Charles promises to take great great GREAT care of you, then you can go with him,” 
“Sharls! Take care of me so I can go!” Mateo yelled excitedly. 
“Yes! Okay! Yes, I promise,” he assured me. 
On the way back to the car, I pulled Charles aside and told him. “I am trusting you with my life. Don’t fuck this up.” 
“I won’t. I promise,” 
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“Was I stupid to trust Charles into taking care of Mateo?” I asked Steph.
“No, girl. You did the right thing. He’s going to be responsable of Mateo sooner or later,” I didn’t want to admit that she was right. 
I looked at the list I made for Charles so he can take care of Mateo. There’s only three things to follow. 
i - mateo will complain about the weather no matter what
ii - he doesn’t like sodas but loves orange and cherry juices, loves chicken but hates seafood. 
iii -  don’t forget to reapply his sunscreen, don’t loose the bottle. 
“Am I missing anything else?” I asked. Steph took the note and read it. 
“Why don’t you just send it on a text? What if he looses the paper?” She asked. 
“If he doesn’t loose the paper then he’s not going to loose my child,” I responded. 
“Fair enough. I think you got it all cover. That’s pretty much it - I mean, I thought the whole point was for him to get to know Mateo on his own. Why are you making him a list?” Why am I making him a list? 
I crumbled the paper into a ball and thew it at her. “I have to get Mati ready to bath. I’ll be back,” I got up from the chair. 
“Wait! I forgot to tell you, a cute guy passed by the bookstore, asking about you,” she wiggled her eyebrows up and down, “His name is Arthuuuuur," I know who she was talking about. "I gave him your phone number. I told him you are free tomorrow so you guys can go on a date,” she giggled. 
I rolled my eyes and left the living room and went to the bathroom to get the water running. “Mateo,” I yelled, “time to take a shower,” I approached his room, once I opened the door, I saw him playing with his toys, “Come on, little guy. Gotta get you nice and clean for tomorrow,” I waited for him to get up and grabbed his hand. 
Mateo is not the best singer, he’s just a kid, but he likes to sing in the shower. Once I was done with his shower, I wrapped him in a towel and carry him to his room, while I was getting his pijama ready, he started to jump on his bed. 
“Mami, I have a question,” he said. 
“Yes?” I asked. 
“Is Sharls my daddy?” I stopped for a second and looked at him. 
“Why do you ask that, love?”
“Well, he looks like me,” I laughed at his explanation. 
“Oh yeah?” 
“Mhmm” 
“So just because he looks like you, you think he’s your daddy?” 
“Well…” he stopped jumping and his gaze fell on the floor. It looked as if the hamster in his brain was turning the wheel. “Where is my daddy?” 
I sighed. Do I lie? Do I tell the truth? Am I ready for my kid to know the reality of what happen?
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I texted Charles a little but after my shower. 
To CL: He knows. 
I heard a pin instantly. I thought it was Charles texting back but instead it was an unknown number, my eyes widen once reading the message.
From +377 3847502839: hey, this is Arthur. i hope this isn’t weird, i asked for your number to one of the girls from the store. i heard you’re free tomorrow and i want to invite you to some coffee. 
From +377 3847501839: if that’s okay with you of course. 
I added his phone on my contacts and replied “Not weird at all. I’d like to have coffee with you” I smiled a bit. 
From Arthur Cute Guy: great! see you tomorrow then ;) 
To say Mateo was excited was an underestimate, he was thrilled to spend the day with Charles. Once he got home, Mateo jumped into his arms and I think I saw his eyes tear up a bit. 
“Well,” I cleared my throat. Charles put Mateo on the floor, to pay attention to me. “I have his bag ready with towel and clothes,” I passed him his bad, which he was quick to put on his shoulder. “Have fun, and please, please don’t forget to put sunscreen on him every two hours. It’s in the front pocket of the bag. He can only use that sunscreen so for the love of god don’t lose it,” 
“I won’t.” he said. 
“Okay,” I let a long breath out, “Well, have fun,”
Mateo was tugging Charles by the arm, “Come on Sharls we have so much to talk!” I closed the door behind then and ran to my bedroom to get ready for my date. 
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“Thank you for meeting me here,” Arthur greeted me with two kisses. “I haven’t been able to get you off my mind,” 
“That’s very bold of you to say,” I giggled. I looked at the menu, “Have you been to this Cafe?”
“A few times, they have good pastries,” he said. 
“Do they have a good tiramisu?” I asked as I looked at him, I feel like I have seen him before, like if I met him before our first encounter. He reminds me of someone, but who? 
“It’s good, but it’s not the best,” he told me, “I heard this popular restaurant L’Incantato,” I perked up at the name, “has the best tiramisu.” 
Curiosity got the best of me, “Have you tried it?” 
He made a disappointed face, “I wish. You would think that just because there’s three restaurants in Monaco that there would be any availability in any of them but no, it’s always packed. I can never get a reservation. I wanted to take my mom for her birthday last year but couldn’t get a seat, unfortunately.” 
I know the restaurant is always busy, and I felt a bit sad to hear he couldn’t take his mother to eat there. He’s very sweet. “Well, next time you go there. Tell them I sent you,” I winked at him. 
“What, why?” he asked. 
“You thought I would just own a bookstore? I also own all three L’Incatato restaurants,” I smiled, his eyes got so big I was wondering if they would come out of the sockets. 
“No way!” he laughed, “What are the odds?” I shrugged. “What else do I need to know about you?” he smiled. 
“Let’s get coffee first,” I said.
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Charles’ POV
Everything was quiet. 
All I could hear was the sound of the waves. 
I felt at piece. 
The piece was interrupted by the alarm going off from my phone. I turned it off and looked at Mateo, “Sunscreen time,” I said. He got up from his chair and walked to me. I looked around me but I couldn’t find the sunscreen anywhere. Where did I put it? “I can’t find the sunscreen,”
“Oh-oh,” he said. 
“I think I have another sunscreen around, wait here,” I got up from my chair and looked into one of the compartments of the yacht until I found one sunscreen, I went back to Mateo and opened the cap. 
“I don’t use that sunscreen,” 
“I can’t find your sunscreen so we have to use this one,” I explained. I put some on my fingers and applied it into his face, gently. 
“It smells funny,” he giggled. I did as well. 
As I blended the sunscreen into his face I said, “What do you think your maman is doing?” 
“What’s maman?” he asked. 
I laughed a bit, “your mom,” 
“Oh!” he shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably on her date.” I stopped for a second. “Hey, why did you stop?”
“Your mom is on a date?” I asked. 
“Mmhm,” he nodded. “I heard Tia Steph talking about it. My mom sounded very excited,” 
Y/n is on a date? “And do you know who he is?” he nodded. “Who is he?” 
“I don’t know,” he shrugged. 
I smiled for a bit but I was so confused. “What- but you just-” 
“My face feels funny,” he scratched his cheek, “its itchy and burning,” my smile started to fade. 
His face was becoming very red. I have to call Y/n 
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Y/N’s POV 
“So let’s see if I understand,” Arthur said. “You own a bookstore,” he counted with his finger and I nodded, “You own one of the most successful restaurants in Monaco,” 
“And Italy,” I added 
“And Italy!” he said, adding a finger to his count. “You are a bestseller author,” I nodded. “Your parents were also authors and they were like the Stephen King of murder mystery books,” 
“Mhmm,” 
“Wow,” he let out, “Simply wow. You amaze me.” I laughed. “No no, truly. You are incredible. You are too perfect,” 
“Oh no! I am far from perfect. I also have a son,” I said slowly. “His name is Mateo. He likes to said Mateo with one T after the daycare wrote it with two T’s” I laughed a bit. “He’s very special to me.” Arthur had an intense look on his face, like paying attention to all the words I am saying. As if whatever I was saying matter to him. “You would like him, he’s very smart for his age. 
“He sounds amazing, just like you,” he smiled. 
“Here,” I pulled up my phone. “Let me show you a picture,” just as I was about to show him one of the newest picture I took of him, eating the naughty brownies, I got an incoming call from Charles. “Sorry, I have to take this call,” I apologized. 
“No, no. Go ahead,” 
I thanked him and answered the phone, “Hello Cha-”
“Y/N something is Mateo on his face,” 
“What? What’s going on?” 
“I don't know! His face is all red and he says it’s itching. He’s crying and I don’t know what to do, please” In the background I could hear Mateo crying. My heart broken a little, I knew what was happening. 
“Wash his face and keep him under the sade if possible, bring him to me now. This play date is over,” I hung up the phone and looked at Arthur, there was concern in his face. 
“Is everything okay?” 
“I don’t know why I thought it would be a good idea for my kid to spend time with his father, and now he got an allergic reaction, I’m sorry to cut this short, but I have to get going,” he felt bad having to leave like that. 
“Don’t apologize, I understand. I might not know the entire situation but from what you just said, it sounds like the father of your kid is a bad father,” he said. 
“Thank you for understanding,” I didn’t deny what he said because I don’t really know how Charles is as a father. 
“Please let me know how your kid is doing and if you need to talk, I’m just one phonecall away,” we said our goodbyes and I rushed to my car to get to my apartment. Once I got there, I got the aloe vera out of the freezer and got the aquaphor ready. Once I cut and slided the aloe vera, I put it was in the freezer. 
A little over an hour, Charles got home with Mateo in his arms, who was still crying, and the backpack I gave him on his shoulders.
Once he saw me he yelled, “Mamiiiii” he extended his arms towards me. 
“Ven aqui, mi amor, (come here, my love)” I carried him in my arms to the kitchen and sat him on the kitchen counter, I took out the aloe vera from the fridge and said, “This is going to make you feel better, okay?” he nodded as he scratched his eye with his fist, I pulled his hand out immediately. “You can’t do that Mateo. Youre gonna make it worse.” I put the aloe vera all over his face. 
“Why would he do that?” he asked. “I thought you loved me,” he looked at something behind me. I turned around and saw Charles standing behind us, bewildered after what Mateo said. He was only wearing his swimsuit, but none of that really matter now. He had the most sad face I have every seen. “But you don’t love me, that’s why you left me! You are mean! You are a mean dad! I hate you and I don’t wanna see you again!” he yelled. 
“Mateo, calm down, let’s get you in the shower. You need to rest.” I carried him in my arms again. Before I got out of the I turned to Charles and lipped a small ‘wait here’ 
I gave Mateo a quick bath under cold water, put his pijamas on and applied the aquaphor and aloe vera on his face, I brough one of the fans close to his face. 
“Are you okay now?” I asked him. 
His green eyes were red from crying. “Mami, am I going to be okay? Am i gonna die?” 
“No, mi amor. You are just having a reaction, nothing bad. You’re going to be okay in a few day,” I reassure him. “Now I need you to sleep. I’ll be checking up on you.” he nodded and closed his eyes. 
I got out of the room and saw Charles pacing back and forth. “He’s fine,” I said, my voice made him stop and look at me, “What happened to the sunscreen I gave you?” 
“I lost it, so I put another instead.” He took out the sunscreen out of Mateo’s bag. 
I took the sunscreen in my hands and examined the product. “You put a chemical sunscreen on his face,” I looked at him. “Mateo has extreme sensitive skin, he can’t use this type of sunscreen.” 
His eyes widen after that, “Why didn’t you tell me that?! I should’ve known that!” 
“Charles, I gave you one rule, just one. It was so simple. ‘Don’t lose the sunscreen’ that’s all.” I looked at the sunscreen again. “For fucks sake Charles, this sunscreen is expired too!” I threw the sunscreen at him, “Are you out of your mind? What is wrong with you?” I sighed. “Just… Go home,” I told him. 
“I-”
“Go!” he looked at me in the eyes and I knew he regretted everything that happened today. He nodded and left the apartment. 
I let myself drop on the couch, and fell asleep there. When I woke up, it was dark outside and Steph has just got home, I told hereverything that happened. 
“Mati said a lot of bad stuff to him, I thought Charles was going to cry on the spot,” I told her. 
“This kind of stuff could’ve happen to anyone, it’s nobody’s fault,” she said. Although I wanted to believe her I though that maybe I should’ve told him about Mateo’s situation. “I’m going to check on Mateo, you go to rest.” 
I got up from the couch, and stretched a bit. “Thank you, Steph.” I gave her a tight-lipped smile and made my way to my room. 
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Monday’s are always difficult with Mateo. He never wants to get up, and just wants to keep sleeping. 
“Mateo you are not going to school,” I said as I tried to drag him out of bed, “I just need to face your face and then you can go back to sleep!” 
“I’m not going to school?” He got up and and started jumping on the bed, “Yes! Yes! That means I can hang out with Sharls more! Yes! Yes! Ye-” he stopped jumping and started at the wall. He gasped and covered his mouth with both of his hands, he turned to look at me. His eyes were less puffy and started to peel but his face was still red. 
I got in front of him and pulled his hands away from his mouth. His lips started to quiver. He hugged me so fast and so tight I always fell back “Mami I was so mean to him. I told him I hate him but I don’t hate him, and now I’ll never see him again,” he was crying so hard on my neck. I pulled him away from me and dried his tears. 
“Mateo I cannot have you crying right now, it’s not gonna be good for your face.” I pulled his hair out of his face, “Charles is busy today,” I lied, but I don’t think I’m ready to see him yet after yesterday, “But we can call him later on and you can talk to him and tell him you didn’t mean what you said, okay?” Mateo nodded, more calmed this time. “Okay, let’s go wash your face,” 
I love spending my days with Mateo, when we are just hanging out in the couch and we cuddle and he falls asleep in my arms. It reminds me when he was a tiny baby. 
We are cuddling on the big couch while watching Doraemon, a cartoon I saw while growing up. I heard Mateo murmur something I didn’t quite understand. 
“What did you say baby?” 
“I said you are my mommy and I love you so much,” he looked at me. 
“Yes baby I know,” I giggled. 
Mateo sat on the couch. “No mami, you have to say it baaack,” 
“Say what back?” I laughed. 
“You have to say that you love me too!” He pushed me a bit, he got on top of me and gave kisses. 
“No Mateo, your face!” I laughed now. “Okay, okay. Fine I love you!” He stopped and smiled. 
I was very tempted to text Charles and let him know about Mateo. I looked at the time, 6:32pm. I think that’s a good time to call him. 
“Mateo do you wanna call Charles now?” I asked him. He looked down at his lap and then at me again. I could tell he was being shy now. “I’ll be there with you,” I told him, this time he nodded. I put my phone out and press the phone button, I looked for his name and press call, at the second ring he answered. 
“Y/n?” 
“Hey…” 
“How’s Mateo? Is he okay?” I could clearly hear the concern in his voice. 
“Mateo is fine, he’s getting better,” I looked at my son for a second, “He actually wants to talk to you, I’m going to put you on speaker, hold on.” I moved the phone out of my face and put the call on speaker, I moved the phone towards my son. 
“Hi Sharls…” his voice was small. 
“Hello Mateo, your maman says you are doing better,” 
“Yes…” 
At the other line, Charles let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to take good care of you. I never wanted to hurt you”
Mateo’s lip started to tremble, “I didn’t mean the stuff I said to you yesterday. I was very mean, I’m sorry,” 
“I forgive you, Mati,” 
“No, you can’t call me that, only mommy calls me that,” he was quick to say. 
“Mateo!” I said. 
“Okay, you can call me Mati,” Charles laughed through the phone. 
“Y/n, can I talk to you?” I pulled the phone back and told Mateo to get the cream and aloe vera to apply it to his face again, after he left the living to get the stuff I took the phone out of speaker. 
“Yes?” 
“Is it okay to still have the dinner with my family tomorrow?” Tomorrow is the last day. The day next day Charles is leaving to go to the Baku GP. 
“Yes, I thought that’s what we agreed on. How many are you guys?” 
“Ehh… It’s me, my mum and my two brothers,” he said. 
“Okay, you can be here around seven or eight,” I told him. 
“Okay, then I’ll see you tomorrow, say goodnight to Mateo for me,” 
“Alright, bye.” I hang up. 
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I got everything ready, I got catering from the restaurant. I have the table ready. 
Steph came out with Mateo next to her, once she saw me, she stopped walking and covered Mateo’s ears. 
“Girl, you look so hot,” I was wearing a black satin dress and low shoes. 
“Really? I think it’s too much, I have to go change.” Just as I took one step, I heard a knock on the door. 
“No can do, ma’am. You have guests outside.” She let go of Mateo and pushed me towards the door. “Now be a nice hostess and open the door,” after she said that, she made her way into the kitchen. 
I took a deep breath, fixed my dress a bit, and then opened the door, but this wasn’t exactly who I expected to see on the other side. 
“Pascale?” 
“Y/n?” she asked. 
“Maman?” Charles asked. 
“Maman?!” I asked. 
“Y/n?” Charles asked again. 
“Charles, you’re…” Pascale started. She looked at me, and then at Charles. She knows the truth about everything. I feel my eyes burning. What the actual fuck is going on? Can this get any worse? A little far back, I could hear the voice of two guys speaking French. 
“Y/n, you know my mom?” Charles asked. I think I’m going to puke. 
Before I could answer, the two guys got behind Charles, still talking in within themselves. Is that…? 
“Arthur?!” The blond guy turned his face so fast. I was wrong, it can and it did get worse. I felt my whole body start to shake. I want to run far far away from this dinner, I want to floor to open a hole and swallow me whole.
“Y/N?” Seeing Arthur next to Charles, I could see the resemblance. The dimples, the smile. His face went pale and his eyes looked at me and then his brother. What are the odds? This can’t be right. 
Everyone was in some sort of shock, except for the other guy. He was just confused. He pushed Arthur behind and got in between Pascale and Charles. “I’m Lorenzo, very nice to meet,” He greeted me with two kisses on the cheek. 
“Yeah…” I managed to say. “Same…” 
What the fuck do I do now? 
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Author's Note - Please please read.
AHHHHHHHH I hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter. This is the longest chapter I have written so far. This chapter has been so intense for me to write because of how long it is. It has taken me two and a half weeks to write. I would really appreciate to know what you guys thought of the chapter.
I love writing, I love the idea of Una Noche En Monaco a lot, and I really wish I could update more frequent. You guys are so lovely with the messages you sent me. Your comments, your praises and your support on this story is what makes me want to continue to write, truly. I mean the absolute world to me and I want to thank you guys for that. You guys are the best!
I have so many ideas for new stories of Charles that I wish I could be able to tell you. Like the royal!Charles x low class!reader, royal!Charles x royal! reader, Charles x Ferrari driver! reader, and two more that I can't even say.
If you guys let me vent for a bit, these past few weeks have been a bit of a struggle for me because I am not having that much work at my main job because we work with school and if there's no school, then there's no money, and my second job doesn't have events available to work. So I'm kinda jobless which is really really bad because I have tons of bills to pay and Miami is freaking expensive. All of this is freaking me out a bit and I just can't wait for school to start again so I can have work 😭😭
On better news, I have 736 followers! That is a lot! Like if I had one dollar for each follower I have, I would have 736 dollars?! That's a lot! I can't belie the amount of love you guys have given UNEM, you guys are the goat and I am sending a big kiss to each one of you! 🫶🏻🫶🏻
I'm also thinking about creating a discord group so I could let you guys know about future projects, let you know whenever I update and all that jazz. The reason behind it is that tagging can be messy and Tumblr doesn't let me tag more than 50 people, and some tag don't even work? But I know the people are there because I see their likes and comments. So it's confusing. So pls let me know what you think about the discord.
Also I saw my notes app the other day and remember the bulletpoint draft for UNEM and this whole series was going to be COMPLETELY different from what is it lmaoo, should I show it to you guys? 👀
AND TO ALL THE GIRLIES THAT WRITE ABOUT SEBASTIAN VETTEL, TOTO WOLFF AND FERNANDO ALONSO I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND PLS UPDATE MORE BC THAT IS MY SOURCE OF LIFE RN SPECIALLY RBR!SEBASTIAN FICS AHHHH
TAGLIST IS CLOSED.
@mac-daddy-210 @infinite-wanders @rbrsavage @itsyogurlkel @bbygrlllllll  @nerdreader @imnotcryingyouare1 @killerangel88 @obx-mylove-things-blog @triorion @daniellarogers @insssanemind @bosinclairsgf @rb-danny @shyshva @booksobsess @ogfangirl @ravenqueen27 @masonspulisic @yunnie-f1 @simxican @ushygushybaby @graceverstappen11 @maximoff-xmen @severenswife @ferraribabe @pjofics @harrysdimple05 @mloyer @teti-menchon0604 @imagineadream @tinydancerjj @reidsworld @scentedskydreamer @christianpulisic10 @formulas-bitch @topguncultleader @hc-dutch @moonclaine @miureiz @tall-tanned-tattoo @madisontaxarn @bisexualbith @diasnohibng187 @im-just-here-toread @tyskills @rafaaoli @heavengirls111 @lighttsoutlewis @leclerc13 @c4ssi4-luv @livsans @ynbutbetter @marigoldgasly @vita-di-moda @sbrn0905 @yesshewrites1 @AmsOffTrack @fandomxs1 @ludmisorella @japanesekel @leclercsbae @padfootsiriusorionblackthethird @celestialams @dreamcarsound @bhiees @empathypostsf1 @marauderlover22 @zendayabelova @lord_leclerc @itsmesofia @sebbybucky12 @notleclerc @dicaprio-leo @starkeyellow  @spngi @karina-v20 @mskeisha69 @prrttyposts @vex-et-soleil @dessxoxsworld @thesurielscheesecake @btwimmel  @67-angelofthelordme-67 @buckleyverse @mickslover @formula1-bichyslut16 @allgaslynobrakess @Rossy1080 @staris23 @CelestialCharles @glitterf1 @f1-futurewag-16-3-4-63 @buckystwilight @Alionova @btwimmel @thebluegoddess
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riediaries · 6 months
Text
you hate your scars.
it is clearly imprinted on your body. mosquito bites that turned darker and darker until it became a noticeable dark spot on your legs and your thighs, the one you got from childhood on your knees because of playing too much and there are some scars you didn't even know you got.
it's not your fault that your skin is so sensitive but you still suffered body shaming because of it so you started hating it too but your boyfriend loves them a lot.
he call it sometimes battle scars even though it's just a mosquito bite.
"satoru, it's just mosquito bites.." you laugh.
"you had a rough battle with mosquitoes!" he defended his answer as he sits down beside you on the couch.
you face him as he faces you. "don't you hate my scars, satoru?" you asked, curious of what he really thinks of it.
he gasps dramatically like he just heard you say he hates you.
"how... how could you say that!" he points a finger at you, still on his act of being dramatic about your question.
you stare at him, still waiting for his answer.
"satoru, i'm serious. what do you think of my scars? are they ugly or inappropriate?" you add.
he cleared his throat and leans to you, inches away from your face. "baby, i love them.."
that brighten your face and chuckles.
"you sure are different." you brought your hand on his cheeks, your thumb rubbing the smooth surface of his cheek.
"sure i am, baby." he smiles cheekily and kisses you shortly as hugs you, sharing his body heat to yours.
"but seriously babe..." he pauses and looks at you in the eye. "why the sudden question? are your scars bothering you?"
you could only hum and remembers the hurtful words that you heard from the past, insulting your body because of your scars.
"you have a lot of scars, those will automatically turn off the boys."
"did you see some rust coins? 'cause i sure did some when i looked at your body."
"who will even love those disgusting dots in your body?"
ever since people started noticing your scars, you will unconsciously hide or cover it. you even avoided using your cute little dresses or skirts that you love in order to not attract people from body shaming you.
"it's not like that.." you looked away but he immediately puts a hand on your cheek to stop you from cutting the eye contact. "then why?" he asks.
"w-well.." you started. "some people makes fun of it.." you admitted.
"who the hell–"
"but you're the first one who said you love them."
"that's because it's true."
he kisses you again, slow but passionate until he pulls away to breathe. "is that why you don't wear your cute little dresses that's been hanging on your closet?"
you raises an eyebrow. "you opened my closet?"
"w-wait, let's not get into that, hm?" he avoids the suspicious looks you are giving him. "i'm not like that, okay?!" he defends.
you are still giving him that suspicious looks when he started talking again. "so, is it the reason?"
you slowly nodded.
"oh, my baby.." he coos. "wear those when we go on a date sometimes? want to see you in those, please?" he kisses your cheek.
"w-wait, what i-if people–"
he cuts you off immediately. "you have me. i will not let anyone insult you." he seriously said.
"y-you sure?"
"of course. who do you think i am, baby?" he flips his unfounded supposed long hair which got you laughing.
"i'll try." you promised.
the next few dates, you starts wearing those stocked dresses you bought before and satoru's menace fingers are so into you.
"look so cute, babe." he coos. "what a cutie girlfriend i have." he praises you too well.
"should we buy more?" he excitedly pulls you into a store and bought every dresses that matches you.
you did see some people looking at your legs and thighs from time to time whenever you two go out but it does not bother you anymore as your very good looking and loving boyfriend goes down on you to kiss every scar you have every time he got the chance.
you suppose you love your scars now because your boyfriend loves them too much.
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coco-loco-nut · 2 months
Text
Mister England
Paring: Lando Norris x Reader
Summary: One more time you involved your boyfriend in something American, and two times the coin flipped.
requests open masterlist part one
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“Baby, why am I awake so early?” your sleepy boyfriend asks, rubbing his eyes as you take seats in front of the entertainment.
“Because it’s Groundhog Day, silly. Phil is going to tell us if it’s an early spring or more winter,” you smile, his tired eyes looking confused.
“Like that movie?” Lando asks causing you to snort.
“That’s blasphemous,” you chastise him, a lighthearted laugh escaping your lips.
“Even so, are the groundhog hats necessary?” an amusemed smile graces his face.
“Yes!” you gasp, mocking offense. You used to come to Punxsutawney as a kid and somehow convinced Lando to come with you. He bought the VIP tickets so you could be close, but he didn’t want to show up even earlier to fight the general admission crowd.
“How long?” he yawns, his sleepy demeanor slowly taking over. You had already been here for an hour and despite the live entertainment, there is nothing he would like to do more than cuddle up to you in bed.
“A couple more hours, Babe,” you kiss him, putting a smile back on his face.
“I’m gonna go get some food and hot chocolate, I’ll be back,” he squeezes your hand and disappears. Half an hour later he reappears, handing you a warm cup.
“Are you Lando Norris?” a soft voice causes both of you to turn around. You heart melts as a young girl holding a groundhog plushie looks up at the two of you. Lando imagines this is what you looked like as a kid. He bends down to her and nods.
“What’s your name,” Lando asks, holding his arms out for a hug.
“Marie,” the girl says and you see her mom, tired and frazzled, approach.
“Would you like a photo?” you ask her with a small smile, and the mom nods gratefully, quickly snapping a picture of the hug. “Lando, turn and face the camera,” you tell your boyfriend, who is more than happy to take pictures with the young fan.
“Thank you,” the mom says, “let’s go Marie, tell Lando bye,” she takes the girls hand and leads her away. The last hour or so passes by quickly, and Lando is much more enthusiastic about the day.
“Early spring!”
“Let’s go!” Lando yells, getting it all on camera.
“SPRING!” You cheer. “Love you, Lan, thank you for bringing me,” you hug him.
“Anything for you, I love you, Y/n,”
“I’m sorry, Lando, repeat that?” you ask, utterly confused.
“I cleaned the hob,”
“The hob?”
“You know, where you cook with pots and pans?”
“You mean the range?”
“My love, you have lived with me for over a year, at this point, take the piss,” Lando says, rummaging in the pantry.
“LANDO!” you gasp, completely scandalized.
“Ah shit, the bread’s gone off,” you toss the towel you’ve been holding on the counter and walk out of the kitchen, brain not comprehending his words anymore.
“Baby? Y/n? What did I say?” Lando whispers the last bit to himself, rethinking the conversation and coming to a silent realization. “No, god, I really have to teach you slang,” Lando laughs, sitting beside you on the couch and pulling you into his arms.
“That might be helpful,” you pout, causing him to laugh more and kiss you.
“Taking the piss means you’ve embarrassed yourself, maybe not a good choice of words to say to my long-term girlfriend and future wife,” Lando says causing you to raise your eyebrows at him, he just brushes the comment off. “Bread’s gone off, it’s moldy, not really supposed to be fuzzy,” Lando explains the terms he’s used.
“Thank you, I think I need to spend more time here,” you blush a little and Lando holds you tighter.
“Forever would be nice,” his voice drops a little, kissing your cheek.
“Mmm, maybe when you finally propose,” you wink, Lando has half a mind to propose right now. He knows that you wouldn’t mind, but he wants to make a big, romantic gesture.
“Not before I ask your father, gotta make it official,” he lies, fully knowing he asked last month.
“Lan, I would rather watch the most boring F1 race than this. Even a tame grand prix has more action than this,” you groan, sipping your beer.
“It’s the better football,” you give him a look, “yeah, I guess I do like going to your alma mater’s football games more, but this is the real football,” Lando says and you shake your head.
Truthfully, you were just lost. You knew hockey, but that wasn’t helping as much as you thought. Lando noticed how uncomfortable you were and slowly started to subtly explain things to you.
Before you knew it, he was explaining almost play by play what was happening so you could understand. He knows how much you love sports and hate that you didn’t know it. To be fair, you suggested a rugby game instead, but he already bought these tickets.
“Thanks for explaining it to me,” you blush in embarrassment, not quite meeting Lando’s eyes.
“Of course, Love. You do the same for me,” he wraps his arm around you, as the game progresses you are able to get into it more, his guidance lessening as time passes.
“Halftime!” You cheer at the end of regulation and Lando blushes. Maybe he still has work to do.
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yourmidnightlover · 10 months
Text
getting it over with - ch 1
pairing: bucky barnes x reader
summary: after relentless teasing and being the butt of too many jokes, you ask bucky to help you become more experienced in… a particular area of your life
warning: precious bucky, virgin shaming?, virgin reader, slight male!oc x reader, sexual harrassment, illuding to sex, talk of sex
w/c: 2.5k
a/n: i am working on part 2 in my other series, timeless. i've been debating two different ways i could take it and it's been an internal battle trying to figure that out. that being said, i can't help myself and started writing this and so here it is! this will likely be a simple mini series with smut in the later parts, probably the next one tbh. anywho... enjoy!
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another night with the girls, and yet another night of beng singled out and ridiculed over a miniscule part of your life. 
you were a well accomplished woman and yet all of your hard work has consistently been overlooked in nearly every conversation because of your extracurricular activities. or, well, more like your lack of extracurricular activities. 
you had been working with the avengers for five years now as their pr manager, living there for a little over three after finding it was easier to represent and present the team in a brighter light when you knew more about them. it was after you moved in that you got much closer to james ‘bucky’ barnes, who you’ve coined the nickname of ‘jamie’ for. your friends also began to question why you hadn’t, in their terms, “banged,” one of the avengers you happened to live with.
truth be told, you did enjoy spending time with them, especially bucky. but, that would be crossing a line. you were practically employed by them. well, technically you were employed by tony, but that didn’t change the fact that they were your clients. it was just particularly easy to find the good in the people who constantly saved the world. well, that, and you were supposed to make them look good anyway. 
the most difficult one to paint in the golden light was definitely bucky. you were great at getting the media to lean into his humanity and reminding them of how he had been tortured into what he became. you’ve imagined him to the public as “sargeant bucky barnes,” giving him back the title he earned rather than the name he was branded. he was still wary of venturing into the eye of the public, but everytime he did there were less people yelling at him and more people giving pitying looks and whispers. sure, he would rather not be recognized at all, but whispering was a hell of a long way from harassment. 
bucky was grateful for everything you’d done for him. truth be told, you were grateful for everything they had done for you anyway. hell they had repeatedly saved all of humanity, helping their reputation was the least you could do for them. 
but regardless of how well of a job you’ve done making the avengers’ reputation way lighter, somehow the only thing your old friends could talk about is how you’re somehow still a virgin.
“god, i can’t believe you’re still a virgin sometimes. especially being surrounded by hunks like him,” stephanie spoke up as she flipped her bleached hair behind her shoulder. “i would’ve tried my luck long before i cleared their name, girl. i mean, that sergeant guy has the prettiest blue eyes, and have you never wondered what he could do with that metal hand of his?” 
you rolled your eyes, “he’s more than a pretty face, steph. he’s actually really sweet, too. his humor’s a bit old, kinda like a grandpa.”
“well, if he’s a grandpa then i’d gladly be his sugar baby,” she squeaked as she sipped on her vodka cranberry. 
“can we not talk about him like that?” your face furrowed in embarrassment and you only hoped that she would take your blushing as remnants of the alcohol running through your body.
“why?” she scoffed as she rolled her eyes. “do you want him or something?” she paused, seeingly waiting for your response. clearly, your silence was answer enough. “oh my god you like him, don’t you?” 
“no, no, it’s not like that,” you shook your head as you downed the rest of your drink. “i just spend a lot of time with him because of the job, y’know?” 
“why don’t you just get him to pop your precious cherry?” she ventured as she stood from her stool. 
boy, had you wished for that. mostly in your wildest dreams, but part of you hoped it could maybe happen. but then, you would wake up and were reminded of your place in the world. besides, jamie was over 100 years old. there’s no way he’d want someone who didn’t know what they were doing in the bedroom. 
“or,” steph interrupted your thoughts. “we can get out there and find you a different guy to pop your cherry,” she finished with a wink as she grabbed your hands, pulling you from your seat and to the dance floor. 
you managed to sneak a glance at the clock before the crowd surrounding you made it more difficult, reading the time being 11 pm. you told the guys you’d be back before 1, so that gave you enough time to please stephanie and then politely excuse yourself. 
surprisingly, you had begun to enjoy yourself. the music wasn’t so bad with the surge of confidence the alcohol running through your veins gave you. after a few too many drinks, you were in your own world. finally unbothered by the nagging thoughts of your friends and the weight of your job on your shoulders. 
you felt a gentle tap on your shoulder before turning to see a sweet smile. he had big, brown eyes and shaggy hair, broad shoulders, none that compared to the men you lived with, but they were nice nonetheless. 
“hi,” he said even sweeter than his smile, keeping his hands to himself politely. “i-i’m noah.”
“well, hello, noah,” you smiled as you stepped closer to him, uncharacteristically throwing your arms around his neck as you continued to sway to the music. “y/n.”
“i-uh-you-you’re gorgeous,” he stuttered as his hands modestly found your waist.
“you really think so?” you said teasingly before leaning up to his ear. “i think you are super cute, yourself.” 
at this point, you had nearly forgotten all about stephanie’s presence at all. maybe she had already left with another guy, herself? who knows. right now, all you knew was that you didn’t know brown eyes could be so pretty. mayb you didn’t want to wait anymore. maybe you didn’t want to be the old virgin in your friend group anymore. maybe noah could change that.
“you’re unreal,” he chuckled as he continued to sway with you for the next song until you began to kiss on his neck. 
“you taste so sweet,” you commented in his ear before kissing right below it. he pulled back, giving you a sweet smile before connecting your lips together. 
“you taste sweeter, believe me,” he huffed out a breath as you reconnected your lips with his. 
“i think i want you, noah,” you whispered against his lips so softly he wasn’t sure he even heard you. “pretty please?” 
“ye-yea, sure,” he guided you out of the bar, you needing nearly all of his support to even walk out of the threshold of the door. 
“think ‘m sleepy, noah,” you mumbled against his neck as the cold air hit your face, as if it had began to sober you up.
“you just said you wanted me…?” he perplexed as he pulled you aside into the ally to gather yourself. 
“‘m sorry, noah,” you shrugged as the cold air hit you again. “‘s cold outside, can i go back in?” you turned to walk back inside when he grabbed your arm, probably a bit more harsh than he intended to. 
“what the fuck?” he sounded disappointed. “i complimented you, i let you make the first move, and now you just wanna back out?” he pulled you closer to his body. “what the fuck is wrong with you?”
“i-i dunno, i just got confused i think?” you stumbled as you tried to back away once more. “it’s too cold out here, noah.” 
“maybe this’ll warm you up,” he grabbed your pliable face and brought you back in for a kiss before you tried to push him away again.
“y/n?” you heard a raspy voice call out. “what the fuck?” you turned to see your jamie confused.
“jamie!” you tred to wiggle out of noah’s grasp once more, a disgruntled look on your face as you did so. “jamie…” you were now limply wrestling out of noah’s grasp as he scoffed at the situation in front of him. 
“what?” he said in disbelief. “you wanna lead me on and leave with this guy?”
“noah-”
“i think you need to back of the lady, alright, man?” bucky spoke up as he stepped closer towards you. “she’s clearly a bit drunk, just let me take her home and we’ll be on our way. no harm, right?” he tried to reason with the douchebag. 
“no harm?” he grasped your arm tighter before he continued, making you wince slightly. “so this bitch is able to fucking lead me on and then leave me high and dry and there’s ‘no harm’?”
“okay, i’ve tried to be nice about this,” without a second of hesitation, he had noah’s arms behind his back, not enough to seriously injure him, but just enough to harm him enough to not tempt him to do any more harm. “you will apologize to miss y/n for talking to her the way you did, you will walk away, and you won’t do anything like that to any woman in the near future, understood?” noah nodded. “am i understood?!” 
“yes, yes!” bucky nudged him further in your direction as you were leaning your back against the brick wall for stability. “i’m sorry, y/n.”
“for…?” bucky taunted.
“i’m sorry for talking to you the way i did.”
“good boy,” bucky teased as he released the man, letting him run away and not sparing him another glance before he made his way closer to you. 
“‘m sorry, jamie,” you stumbled forward and threw your arms around him. you had never been so openly affectionate, especially with bucky since you knew his aversions. since you were so drunk, you simply didn’t register the unspoken boundaries you had unintentionally set in place for yourself. “didn’t wanna make him mad. jus’ changed my mind s’all,” you buried your face in his neck. 
“you have a right to change your mind, doll,” he soothed as he gently rubbed your back, leading you to steve’s car he borrowed. 
“y/n?” you snapped your head to look at bucky as he spoke. “i don’t want you to be so late again, doll. it’s almost 2 am. had me worried sick about ya,” his hand danced on your knee, you assumed to comfort you after the events of the night.
“i didn’t know,” you shook your head. “i swear, i just lost track of time. s’not like me to do this. i just got so mad and wanted to get it over with, y’know?”
“get what over with?”
“you won’t laugh at me?” you grabbed his hand that was resting on your knee and turned in your seat to face your body towards him. “never, doll,” he chuckled at your serious tone.
“i’m tired of bein’ a virgin,” you said with a sense of disappointment. “don’ want people makin’ fun of me anymore.”
“that’s nothing to be embarrassed about, doll,” he shook his head as he put the car in park before running to your side of the car and helping you out. “some people want to save that moment, i get it.”
“no,” you groaned as you leaned into him. “i don’t wanna save it. i was just scared at first, and then i didn’t want to, and now it’s too late because nobody wants to be with a virgin.”
“that’s not true, y/n,” he shook his ehad as he pressed your shared floor on the elevator. 
“would you wanna have sex with me?” you wondered aloud as bucky began coughing loudly. “don’t be mean,” you huffed and crossed your arms, figuring he was trying to hide his laugh. “steph said i should get you to ‘pop my cherry’ but i knew you would’t wan-”
“hey, that’s not what i meant,” he stopped your train of thought. 
“so you do wanna ‘pop my cherry’?” you awed at the man as the elevator doors opened. 
“i wan’ you to stop referencing it as ‘popping your cherry’,” he grimaced as he said it himself. 
“you wanna have sex with me? bang? do the deed? take my virginity? make love?”
“stop it,” he groaned as you giggled, leaning into his chest even more. “i wanna have this conversation when your sober, if you even remember it.”
“i’ll remember, my sweet jamie,” you held onto his arm as he walked you to your room, helping you get into bed before going into your bathroom and returning with your bin of skincare. “this is why you’re my sweet jamie,” if you didn’t know any better you’d think he was blushing. 
he began using your makeup wipes to remove the remnants of makeup that had survived the night, followed by micellar water to remove the excess remover from your face. you knew he had seen you do your skincare routine after having so many late movie nights with one another, but it was still flattering that he had remembered it all so well. he finished applying your toners, serums, and finally your moisturizer with gentle hands, his metal one providing a nice cold surface that woke your skin up a bit more. it wasn’t until you reached up to grab his flesh hand that he noticed the bruises lacing your arms. 
“god,” he sighed as he looked down at his lap. “i’m so sorry i was too late, doll.”
“you weren’t too late,” you shook your head at his negativity. “you were perfectly on time. you saved me. i don’t-i don’t know what would’ve happened had you not shown up. i-”
“i don’t wanna think about what could’ve happened, please,” he shook his head as he held onto your bruised wrist softly, tenderly rubbing his cool metal hand over the damaged skin before pressing a kiss to it. 
“will you stay with me tonight?” you asked softly, as if you were scared he would say no. as if he would ever tell you no. 
“only if you’re sure,” you nodded eagerly with a grin before he crawled into bed with you. 
bucky’s arms wrapped around your waist as you laid on his chest, breathing in his scent as his soothing heartbeat calmed you down after the nights antics. 
“i’ll remember tomorrow, jamie.”
CHAPTER 2
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billysgun · 6 months
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your girl
billy the kid x cowgirl!reader |requested!|Ciara is a childhood friend turned lover one drunken night...he lives with the consequence daily and now, with his eyes set on you, you do too.|
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"how 'bout this one?" Ciara smiles, curls bouncing as she picks up an obviously rotten fruit
"mm, it looks ripe!" Billy smiles back at her as she lets out a soft laugh, placing the moldy fruit down as her painted nails skim the apples
"can 'ya check over there for some oranges, there in season" she purses her lips before pointing down ways way, he nods and passes through civilians before finding the citrus
well, not just the citrus.
your hair was out of the bun you usually kept it in, he knows because it's tucked under the cowboy hat you usually have cemented on when you ride.
he saw your horse when they walked in but he only prayed he'd be able to see you.
you're Jesse's sister. he's been riding with you since he can remember and also felt his heart race around you since he can remember
all this time and he's only stuttered a few words to you.
"sir, are you gonna buy that?" the cart owner asks and he shakes his head to get you out of it, flipping a coin to the owner as he takes the orange he'd been gripping for a few minutes.
he loves Ciara...but he doesn't love her.
they were friends until a drunken mistake and awoke no longer virgins and suddenly a couple.
he hates himself for it. taking her virginity when he had more whiskey than blood in him and now he pays the price with this relationship they never questioned.
he assumed the pet names and touches would stop after a few weeks, but then he heard from the townspeople that they were together.
he'd go up to her and tell her...but he feels too guilty. and now you're here and he can't think straight
"Hey Billy" your southern accent rings through his ears and he turns to see you, hand on your gunbelt and a smile on your lips. he can feel his face burn at the sight
"hey, Y/n. what 'cha doin' here?"
"gettin' food." you snort out the obvious and he shakes his head, feeling like an idiot around you
"I assume you doin' the same with your girl?" you tilt your hat toward Ciara.
even you knew about this.
"uh- yeah, I am- we are..." he corrects, staring at the sand beneath him as you let out a giggle that always makes him smile
"well, I'll see you back at the cabin" you grin before spinning on your boots and walking back toward your horse, he wants to punch himself...but when he turns to see an awaiting Ciara, he wants to punch himself even more.
"Billy!" she calls out, he makes his way toward her, but after he turns and gets one last look at you.
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an: thank you for requesting! I already talked about this, but I'll reiterate it again...because billys character would 100% break it to Ciara that he doesn't love her, but because he took something irreplaceable from her and she loves him he just feels too guilty. and he's also a mess around y/n because he knows it's awful to feel the way he feels about you, but he can't help it. SO, that's why he might seem a little ooc!! <333 ilysm! <333
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its-your-mind · 7 months
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Some Thoughts on the importance of physical touch and connection for the Hells: A reflection on the new animated intro.
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In general, I think the Hells are a really strange and special group, especially for a dnd party. They pretty much laid all their baggage on the table within the first week of meeting each other (What the Fuck is Up With That?) almost as a litmus test: "hey, here's all the shit that comes with being me, last chance to run away if that's too much."
and none of them did. and they all kept choosing to stay, even as shit got even weirder and more and more disturbing answers came to light. I think that continued choice from all of them - to stay - is what makes the bonds between the Hells so deep and so special.
okay trauma analysis and party dynamics is a DIFFERENT POST but it was all RELEVANT INTRODUCTION bc the CHOOSING TO STAY and the KNOWING EACH OTHERS' SHIT are like. key components to understanding why I am so feral about this. okay hopefully you will understand. the body of my essay is below. it has pictures. it got... too long. so. it went under a read more. yw. anyway click below if you want a very detailed analysis of an animated intro that is literally only one minute and thirty seconds long
For the first bit, character intros for Fearne, Orym, Imogen, Ashton, there’s no physical contact.
BUT. First intro of hells as a team. Ashton Trauma Flashback interrupted by laudna approaching slowly from beside him with her hand gently in front of him to signal her presence without startling him, and THEN just talking at them. Bringing him out of those flashbacks. Reminding him where he is and who he’s with.
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And tbh? For Ashton? Touch is always iffy, so this is almost a more understanding and kind way to bring them out of the flashback. Just physical presence is good! UNLESS. (unless) first actual touch. Fearne stealing their coin purse, so gently that they don’t even notice it (FLIRTING THROUGH THEFT callowmoore my beloved)
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(also grabbed the cap that shows her with his coinpurse these fucking ANIMATORS)
okay pt 2 FLYING OFF THE AIRSHIP
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Ashton's first instinct and priority is grab laudna’s hand bc he KNOWS she is made of paper mache and he is ALWAYS watching out for her out of the corner of his eye bc she is breakable and he’s not gonna let her break bc he KNOWS what it’s like to be breakable and need someone to catch you when you’re falling but ANYWAY. he grabs her he uses his hammer as a fulcrum to throw her at Imogen
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because OF COURSE he knows that the safest and most comfortable space for laudna is in imogen’s arms. and the two of them wrap their arms around each other and hold tight Superman style bc ofc they do and once laudna is in imogen’s arms she’s absolutely delighted by this whole situation bc OFC SHE IS
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(tf do you mean I can’t add more than ten images on mobile UGH fine I’ll finish writing then draft and move to PC the images are IMPORTANT TO MY POINT anyway insert lesbians here) (note from future mind: I have decided that these pic descriptions i left for myself to grab the right images are fucking hilarious so they’re staying in yw)
Then fearne (who had been on her way in that direction already) swoops under Ashton to catch him as he flips over from the momentum so he can land on her giant bird back and she can fly him away.
(Pics: It’s fine to touch Ash if you’re saving their life)
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(also not pictured: chet staying on the ship but losing his hat, orym grabbing it out of the air, imogen casting fly on fcg right before she catches laudna, fcg flying over to grab orym) All of this happens in six seconds by the way. One round of combat. These animators are fucking incredible.
BACK TO CHARACTER INTROS laudna who is ofc alone and in the dark at the bottom of the Sun tree, reliving her past…
(Pic: sad lonely laudna)
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right up until Imogen puts her head on her shoulder, and the darkness burns away into light. She doesn’t say anything, or talk with laudna - all it takes is that physical reminder that she’s not alone anymore, that there is warmth, that she is surrounded by a family who loves her so much they chose to turn down comfortable beds in a lord’s manor so that they could join her in sleeping at the bottom of the Sun Tree. (Fav lil detail - fearne wrapped around Orym like he’s a teddy bear, and holding tight to laudna’s blanket to make sure she can’t go anywhere.)
(Pics: THE POWER OF LESBIANS AND FOUND FAMILY)
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fcg. Fuck. Starts with their flashback, with their red eyes and their buzzsaw, but almost immediately we see Ashton reach out to grab their shoulder and Orym whip out a vine to tie up their saw.
(pics: reaching out even if it might hurt youuuuu)
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Imogen goes on her knees and wraps her arms around FCG’s other side, and the rest of them all gather around him, holding him to keep him and each other safe, but mostly just grounding him in the present by surrounding him physically until the flashback fades and he’s once more aware of his surroundings.
(Pics: what the fuck they just need to be held)
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(once shit has calmed down fearne uses this opportunity to pick Ashton’s pocket again. Flirting through theft).
(Pic: fearne is a menace to society)
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final fight scene. fuck yes.
(Pic: IT’S THURSDAY NIIIIIIIIIIIGHT)
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This is mostly just giving all of them room to be badasses (as they deserve) - but there are some things!! First!!
(pics: THESE WITCHES BE BITCHES minus fearne sry fearne we miss u but you are on fire and laudna is made of wood currently)
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Imogen and laudna casting spells back to back, trusting each other to take care of what’s on their side. Inseparable, even in a battle where their party has scattered to fight other enemies.
BUT. The BIG thing though in this sequence. Maybe my favorite part? Idk I don’t have a favorite. But!! Orym. taking out four of Otohan’s shadow knights. then facing off against her personally!! And it’s one-on-one, because this was Orym’s task alone - to find the person who attacked his leader and killed his family. He’s angry, but mostly he’s honed-in and focused and determined. This is his mission.
(Pics: WHO’S JUST A LIL GUY NOW HUH)
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But then, when Otohan pushes him back…
(Pic: fuck. shit. fuck. im. fine. anYway. them.)
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FCG and Ashton are there right behind him, and they put their arms out and catch him so he doesn’t fly back any farther. And there’s this look of surprise on his face, because once he lost Will, he never expected there to be anyone else standing behind him, ready to catch him. And yet, here they are.
(Pics: fuck yes fuck yes fuck yes GOOOO ORYM!!!)
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They give Orym a push forward and follow behind him, and he walks back towards Otohan with confidence. Lil grin on his face, brisk walking pace - he even does a little fancy sword swoosh! Because maybe he’s not strong enough to take out Otohan on his own. But the thing is, he’s not alone anymore.
(Pic: THEY.)
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None of them are alone. And whenever any of them forget, or slip into old habits and memories, the rest are right there to reach out a hand to remind them.
Building a family out of broken pieces is difficult even without an apocalypse. But the Hells have shown each other, over and over and over, often with their actions even more than their words, that they really are dedicated to this family that they've built together. This intro fucking slaps so hard and the animators deserve so much praise for how incredible this intro is
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sserpente · 4 months
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A/N: What if you accidentally pickpocket the wrong person? What if that person… is a rogue vampire elf who will demand something in return? Something… red? (Astarion's not ascended in this one)
Words: 1180 Warnings: mentions of prostitution
Your stomach was rumbling. How many days had it been? Three? Four? Truly, it had never been this bad before. Ever since Gortash had become archduke, the city was drowning in chaos and misery. Benevolent and generous people who’d usually slip you a coin or two walked on now, avoiding your quiet pleas to spare some change for a starving woman.
You didn’t want to do it but what other choice did you have but to pickpocket people? In the dead of winter, merchants rarely left their food out for too long and the taverns were not busy enough to slip your hand into a bag or two.
The streets were your best bet now that the sun was retreating and lit torches threw their warm light on the cobblestones, creating eerie shadows wherever you looked. Your victim would have to be someone rich, someone who could afford to part with currency. Someone like… him. Heavens, he was gorgeous.
A noble, for sure. He was elegant. Full white hair, pointy ears indicating he was a high elf, no doubt… clean and sophisticated clothing. Surely his pockets would be full and he wouldn’t miss a couple of gold coins disappearing to fill your belly with food tonight.
You approached, snaking past a passer-by to wait for the right moment. The elf turned… giving you just enough movement to dip your fingers into the small pouch attached to his belt. One, two, three, four… five gold pieces should be enough to buy yourself a warm meal tonight and perhaps some bread to feed you for the days to come.
“Why, you insolent little…” Panic washed over you when he spoke with a start. The elf’s gaze met yours as he flipped around—red orbs boring into your own, anger flickering in his. His hand snatched your wrist in a tight grip before you could yank it back and flee.
“You have picked the wrong target, darling.”
“I’m sorry… s-sorry, don’t… don’t tell the Steel Watch, please! I’ll leave.”
But it was a different kind of hazard this stunningly beautiful elf was radiating. Red-eyed elves were rare in itself but there was something else—something that told you that you had just made a very grave mistake in provoking this particular stranger before you.
“The Steel Watch?” The elf laughed. “I have no interest in reporting you to the Steel Watch. But in all honesty… you could help me out with something else.”
He was charming—more than you would have liked to admit. There was a sweet tone of seduction in his voice that went down like honey, so much so that you almost wanted to agree with him. But if there was one thing you had sworn to yourself, it was that you would never sell your body to ensure your survival.
“I… no. I don’t do… that.”
“What?” Anger appeared on the elf’s face. No, you realised… it was actual appalment. “I didn’t mean… I am talking about your blood, dear. You smell delicious.”
The thought of him being a vicious murderer on the hunt for the next thrill crossed your mind like a slap in the face—but your theory was rapidly disproved when he flashed you a disarming smile. Fangs. He was a vampire.
Your eyes widened, fear now fuelling your body more than the adrenaline ever could. You twisted your wrist, desperate to break free from him. But the relentless hunger had made you weak.
“Now, now, darling, no need to be scared. I am very, very… nice,” he said slowly, purring each and every word.
Dragging you after him before you could utter another word of protest, he slipped into the shadows and a dark side alley. A rat fled as you stumbled against the wall, abandoning the rotten carrot it had been gnawing on.
“I told you, I’m sorry. Please… don’t kill me,” you breathed out.
“Kill you? I’m not going to kill you. I just need a little taste. I was going make do with a drunk tonight but this… this is much better.”
He sighed when you squirmed, resulting in his large body pressing you even further against the brick wall. Your dirty dress scraped against the rough material. You lifted your head, biting your lower lip.
“How about this? You let me have a little nibble and in exchange, I’ll let you have the gold pieces you were going to steal from me. I’m not much for charity but I can work with a little… transaction.”
He would… was he serious? You blinked at him, surprised at yourself for even considering his words. If you accepted, would this truly be any different from selling your body in more intimate ways?
“I promise I’ll be gentle. You won’t feel a thing.”
“You know, most vampires would have ripped my throat out already,” you said. Your voice was a little shaky but you stood your ground. You had no choice, after all.
The stranger smiled. “I’m not most vampires, darling. Besides, I’m only a spawn, so you should consider yourself lucky. So? What do you say to my little proposition?”
“I…” Your stomach growled again, making the decision for you. “F-fine.”
“Excellent. My name is Astarion.”
You told him your name with a stutter following his seductive smile. Each and every muscle in your body tensed when he leaned forward, brushing your hair out of the way to reveal your neck to him.
One moment you could feel his hot breath against your skin, in the next you felt his sharp canines breaking it to draw blood. He’d held his promise. The initial pain subsided so fast that you questioned whether it’d been there to begin with. His mouth closed around the wound he caused, sucking your life essence out of you sip after sip after sip.
It felt… good. You’d expected it to be uncomfortable, to be dancing on the edge of unconsciousness or even death but this… perhaps he’d been just as hungry as you. Perhaps he’d been just as desperate as you. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps…
Your eyes fell shut as you gave in to the soothing sensation. Astarion moaned against your neck, a wordless sound of approval of your taste. You couldn’t help but feel flattered when he finally pulled away and licked his lips, a small trickle of blood staining the right corner of his mouth.
“Hmm… thank you, darling. That was…”
“Astarion! Astarion! Where the hells did he run off to now? I swear if he’s stealing scrolls from Rolan again, I will…”
The vampire rolled his eyes all the while you kept catching your breath from this unusual and strangely… erotic experience.
“I’m coming, Gale. Gods, the man is a nuisance.” He paused. “I shall hope to see you again, darling. You were delightful.”
Astarion slipped away gracefully, leaving you to sink down against the wall but before he did, he gently placed the entire gold pouch he’d been carrying in your palm with a sly smile.
Against all reason… you were hoping to see him again too.
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