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fangirl-dot-com · 6 months

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Charles Leclerc - Arthur, you are not French...yeah Charles, drag his ass!

I’ve been excited to write this chapter! I know that reader is a Red Bull driver, but I am a Tifosi through and through. Charles holds such a special place in my heart (but so does Max). I feel like one of those “breaking my silence – how I got into F1,” low and behold, I got into the sport from that one Ferrari thirst trap where Charles is lying on the couch. Yeah, you know, that one.

Anywho, I write these little things before I even get to writing the story and sometimes I don’t even know where I’m going with it. I know it's not Christmas yet, but the people spoke - SO HERE WE GO!

Sadly, the tag list is closed to do us reaching the 50 people mark! I never thought that I’d get there though with my story! So thank you to every one of you for making that happen!

Like always, comments, questions, concerns, likes, and reblogs are always appreciated! Love you all <;3

Your beanie had started to itch. You had needed it outside due to the cold weather, but now that you were in the car with the heat cranked, it was starting to get a little too warm. As you pulled up to the red light, your hand quickly yanked the hat off. Not to your surprise, your hair was sticking in all directions. That’s ok, you could fix it before you walked into the house. The light turned green, and you had to remind yourself that this was a regular car, on a regular street. Not a hybrid-engine-ran rocket ship that exceeded 300 kilometers per hour on sweet Grand Prix asphalt.

This year, you had finally accepted Arthur’s invitation for Christmas. Earlier, you had done Christmas morning and afternoon with Max, Kelly, and Penelope. It was everything you could have wished for. And now you were going to spend the rest of the evening with your best friend and his family. You were a tab bit nervous. Sure, you had met them on a handful of occasions, but you tried not to get too close. They were always at grand prixes for Arthur, not you.

You glanced at the presents that were stacked on the passenger side. The most important one, however, was placed in a bag on the floor. You were not about to let that fall over and possibly break. You knew it was made to be sturdy, but you couldn’t be sure. Arthur had given you the gate key. You pulled up to the little black box and pressed the numbers. You rolled your eyes as you realized that it was just Charles’s and Arthur’s racing numbers squished together.

Arthur had also reminded you that Lorenzo was not going to be joining due to him being at his wife’s family’s for the holiday. That was one less person to impress you had told yourself.

You pulled into their driveway and parked your car. It was not as impressive at Charles’s custom 488 Ferrari Pista Spider. It wasn’t as if you were almost drooling at the sight of it. Knowing yourself, you’d probably be too scared to drive it to actually enjoy it. Max also had a Ferrari, maybe he’d let you drive it.

In a parking lot and not exceeding 5 kph. You snorted. Yep, that was Max.

You did however, have your eye on two special cars. But you wanted to wait a bit before purchasing. You Pinterest board was full of different ideas, but you had to be careful. Maybe Christian could help you out with purchasing. You technically hadn’t bought this car, it was a gift from Lorenzo. You wouldn’t trade it for the world, but it might be nice to have more than one car. Besides, multiple drivers had multiple cars. You’d just join their ranks.

Juggling the presents, you walked to the front door and pressed the doorbell. Your face was hardly visible over the tops of the boxes. The door opened and a familiar voice sounded.

“Mon Dieu, let me help you.” Presents were being taken from the big stack.

“Thank you Charles.” You prided yourself on being one of the few people who could recognize the difference between Arthur’s and Charles’s voices. He didn’t reply as he took the presents farther into the house. You followed him through the door and toed off your shoes. Your eyes caught all the lights and decorations in the house. Growing up, you didn’t have such things. Your family always said that being in karting was always going to be your present. Nothing more, nothing less. There were no cookies for Santa and no tree to decorate.

As you walked more into the warm house, the decorations just kept getting better. Where Max’s house was decorated by Kelly who like a clean Christmas aesthetic, the Leclerc household leaned towards the warmer decorations. The lights didn’t necessarily match and flickered colorful light. The stockings weren’t the same color: they showed personality that matched their owner. Even the ornaments weren’t all from the same container. You found Charles staring down at the presents that he had taken from you.

“Who are these for?” he turned his head to look at you.

You snorted, “They’re for your family.” His eyes widened as he rubbed his chin.

“You didn’t have to.”

You only shrugged as you began to take off your coat, “I felt like I did. You all have been so kind to invite me here on a holiday that I couldn’t come empty handed.” Charles gestured for your jacket and you gave it to him.

“You can look around some more if you’d like to. Arthur and maman will be back from the store soon.” Your cheeks heated at the thought of him catching you ogling at his home. You shook the thought away and looked at everything a little bit closer.

Like all homes seemed to have, there was a wall filled with picture frames. Some were of each child; some had the full family. It was nice to see all 5 of them together in the center one. You cocked you head at one of them though. You all but tiptoed to get a closer look. It was one of Charles and Arthur, and then an unfamiliar but familiar man stood between them.

“That’s Jules. If you were wondering.”

You jumped in place, not noticed that he had snuck up behind you. You looked over and saw that a sad smile had graced his face. Arthur had told you little about him. Charles and Lorenzo would always have been much closer to him.

“I met him once. During karting,” you trailed off. Charles raised his eyebrows.

“Really?” It seemed as though the breath had been knocked out of him.

You gave him a comforting smile, “Yeah. My race was right after yours. I think it was back in 2010,” you looked back at the picture, “and you won that day. I watched him cheer for you like he was the proudest person there that day. He was in a racing suit and had a helmet. I thought that he had come straight from a race or something. But, I only remember wishing that I had someone there for me like you had.”

Charles now had a guess as to what day that was. He vaguely remembered finally beating Max and feeling so happy. But, he didn’t remember Jules having a helmet. He took the picture down so that the two of you could look closer. It was definitely not taken the day that you were talking about, but the way you talked about him intrigued Charles. He gave you a head nod, silently saying to continue.

“That day, I also won my race. It hadn’t been the easiest, but the boys were too busy pushing each other off that they didn’t even notice me. I was able to overtake and win. The boys though, weren’t the only ones who didn’t notice. My parents weren’t around when I looked for them. I must have turned around so many times, just trying to find them, but I never did. I had taken my kart back to my station when someone tapped me on the shoulder. He scared the ever-loving crap out of me, but he held my shoulder and told me that I did a great job.”

Your eyes were slightly watering at the confession. Charles just continued to look at you.

“I knew who he was. He was the man who always cheered for the Justin Bieber look-a-like who liked to push a certain Dutchman off the track, into a puddle, and claim it was just an inchident.” Charles snorted.

“I did not look like Justin Bieber.”

“Whatever floats your boat.” He gave you a look. “American expression. Anyway, after he said that he gave me a hug before my dad came stomping over, complaining about something, I don’t even remember. But all I know is that he made my entire day. My godfather wasn’t able to visit that much or come see me race. So, it was nice to have someone in my corner, even if they weren’t truly there for me.”

Charles hung the picture back on the wall. The two of you stood there for a quiet moment before Charles spoke up. “How’s your godfather?”

You inhaled sharply. “He died in 2020. Caught some illness in 2018 and wasn’t able to recover.”

It broke Charles’s heart to hear you talk about it so nonchalantly.

“Does Arthur know?”

You nodded your head. “He caught me crying the first year of his anniversary. Made me spill the beans about what happened. He thought he needed to go beat someone up.” You let out a wet chuckle. When did you even start crying? Looking at Charles, you saw that he was crying too. You continued, “Lorenzo, he, uh, died the day before I debuted in F2.”

Memories hit Charles like an 18-wheeler. That was you? He remembered that most of the F1 drivers had been invited since the F1 and F2 races were so close together. Hell, even Max was given the opportunity to give the winner the trophy. He remembers watching you dominate that race. He watched you offer that trophy to the sky. He saw a hunger that he hadn’t seen in a long time.

He finally spoke up, “You were incredible.”

“Thank you,” you paused before adding, “he’d be proud of you. Jules, I mean.” You looked back at the picture and how it seemed right at home amongst the others.

“Lorenzo would be proud of you as well.” You flashed him a grateful smile, full of teeth. He mirrored, dimples prominent.

You threw your head back and laughed. Charles cocked his head.

“What’s the matter?” he barely got out as he began to laugh as well.

You poked his cheeks, “You and Thur have the same dimples.” Charles rolled his eyes and ruffled your hair. You pouted. “Rude.”

He was about to reciprocate but the sound of the door opening caught the two of yours attention. Charles quickly pushed you into a dark room. You gave him a confused look before he put a finger to his lips. You smirked back and stayed silent.

Pascale walked in first followed by Arthur. Charles greeted his mother and then brother.

“I saw Y/n’s car in the driveway. Where is she?” Arthur looked around the house.

“She went to the bathroom, but hasn’t come back. I think I scared her off,” Charles faked a sad look.

Arthur flashed a comforting smile to his brother. “I’ll go find her. Hopefully she didn’t fall in or something.” That almost made you laugh.

Arthur flipped on the lights to the hallway. This was your chance. He barely got past the doorframe before you jumped out onto him.

His squeal echoed through the room, laughter following it. In your grand scheme, you had accidentally fallen on top of him. Your giggles continued as Arthur tried to push you off. He finally gave up after a few moments. You knew you probably looked ridiculous, but honestly you didn’t care. You swear you heard a click of a camera, but you disregarded it.

“Are you done?” Arthur sarcastically asked.

“No, I’m actually quite comfortable. Thank you for asking though,” you smirked. After a few more moments later, Arthur quickly rolled you off and got up. You let out a huff before making grabby hands at him. He rolled his eyes and pulled you up.

You were finally able to greet Pascale. She brought you into a hug and did the two kisses. You reciprocated. It came naturally after being teammates with Arthur for so long. You smiled at the memory of him doing it to you for the first time. He was so embarrassed after until you calmed him down enough to say that you didn’t mind. You knew it was a part of his culture and that he shouldn’t feel embarrassed to do so.

“Thank you for inviting me.” You shot her a shy smile. She rubbed your back before exiting the hug.

“There is no need for thanks. Arthur has been begging for years.” A noise of protest rang through the air.

“I have not.”

“Non, it’s true. He has.” Charles looked at his brother. Arthur had a look of betrayal that sent you spiraling into another laughing fit.

By the time you were finished, Arthur gave you a look.

“Where’s you Christmas sweater?” You looked down at the one you were wearing. You thought it looked just fine. It was a nice dark green and Kelly had complimented you many times.

“I thought this looked nice?” You were beginning to doubt. Maybe you couldn’t do this Christmas thing.

Arthur shook his head before disappearing down a hallway.

You glanced at Charles and whispered, “I ruined it didn’t I?” You looked down at your feet.

“Non gosse, you didn’t ruin anything. Just look.” You looked back up and saw that Arthur now had another sweater in his hands. (translation : no kid)

“I can’t believe I forgot to give you this. Sorry Y/n, we normally wear ‘ugly’ Christmas sweaters to celebrate. The one you have on is fine, but this is the Leclerc celebration now.” He all but shoved you towards a bathroom so that you could change. You slipped the other dark green sweater on after you took off your first one.

The front made you laugh. It wasn’t ugly per say, Arthur must have toned it down for you. On the front was the Grinch. It was actually kind of cute if you thought about it. You folded your first sweater and walked out. Now you noticed that Charles’s had a bright orange sweater with a gamer Santa on it; Arthur’s actually lit up; and Pascale had a cute one with a reindeer on it.

When he noticed your return, Arthur’s arms shot up. “Now you look festive!”

“How long did it take you to find that one TurTur?” You motioned your finger up and down, pointed at his sweater.

His arms crossed protectively around it as he let his jaw hang. “I’ll have you know that this is imported.”

You gave him a bombastic side eye. “Sure.”

Pascale clapped her hands, “Picture time by the tree!”

You kind of awkwardly stood there as she took pictures of the two boys. You warmly smiled as she gushed over the two of them. You made your way to the kitchen and picked up two bottles. Were these alcoholic? You squinted at the label.

“Y/n!” You froze and looked at the family of three. Arthur was snickering.

“You know you’re not allowed to drink yet.” You rolled your eyes.

Charles shot you a mischievous smile. “Gosse, come, we’ll send a picture to old Maxy. Maybe give him a heart attack.”

You smirked back as you walked with the two bottles. You posed in front of the tree with the glasses on either side of you. The four of you laughed as you set them down. You wanted to make a run for it, as to not ruin the pictures, but Pascale insisted that she wanted one of the three of you.

Your heart swelled as she took a picture of you in the middle of Arthur and Charles. She also insisted to get one of just you and Arthur. Your cheeks heated as you caught her muttering about a picture to show your kids one day. You only hoped that Arthur hadn’t heard.

He did and his heart soared at the thought.

Once the pictures were done, everyone was able to have a few snacks and drinks, yours of course being non-alcoholic.

Then it was time for the presents. The thing you were worried about the most. You soon found yourself seated on the floor in a half circle. Pascale was the only one in a chair, but you didn’t blame her. The boys were the ones to pass out the presents. To your surprise, you had received three presents. Your eyes wanted to water, but you blinked the tears away.

They all opened the ones from you first.

Arthur lit up like a Christmas tree (pun intended) when he saw what you had gotten him. The two of you had been shopping earlier in the year, when you had come across a watch shop. Arthur had wanted to buy a specific one, but was heartbroken when they said that they were sold out. But, while Arthur was having a crisis about it, you secretly asked to be put on the waitlist. They had said that they couldn’t be 100 percent that you’d get one, but there was no harm in asking.

Surprisingly, when you got back for a small break, there was a package from the store waiting for you. You had also taken it to another watch store to have something added.

“Turn it over,” you whispered, scared of his next reaction. He inhaled sharply at what the engraving read.

January 25, 2020 – Best Friends for the Rest of Our Live, Keep at it TurTur!

Arthur quickly clamored over to you and wrapped you in a deep hug. Again, you heard the sound of a camera, but dismissed it.

Next Charles opened his. It wasn’t as sentimental as Arthur’s but you tried your best. Before hand, you had asked what type of jewelry Charles likes. You knew he was a ring and bracelet guy, but had rarely seen him with a necklace. So, you got him a simple one that he could wear with any outfit.

He thanked you with a warm smile.

Pascale was very happy with hers. Knowing that she had a hair salon, you googled many gift ideas for her. But every sing one of them to come up was always a pair of scissors. Wanting to do better, you did some more digging. Finally, you decided on one of those fancy circle vacuums that moves by itself. You knew how your back hurt after sweeping up a floor. You couldn’t imagine how her’s might feel. She also gave you a hug.

Now it was your turn.

The first present was from Arthur and it had you in tears. There in a rectangular box was a new pair of Lightning McQueen crocs.

“You know this is like my third pair right?”

He only nodded, “Yes, but are those pairs signed by Lightning McQueen himself?” Your eyes bulged as you turned them over.

You were expecting Owen Wilson’s signature, but when you read it, you laughed even harder. There on the bottom, in fancy script, was Charles’s signature. You looked over at Charles as you wiped your eyes.

“I’m honored sir.”

Charles rolled his eyes, and touched his heart, as to accept the thanks. His present wasn’t as funny, but it was appreciated. You guessed that Arthur had told him what your favorite restaurant was because his gift was a hefty gift card. Your eyes widened when you saw the total.

Pascale’s was very sentimental though. In her present were multiple pictures in frames. Some you noticed that she must have gotten from the internet or had Arthur reach out to Vito. The one that made you tear up was one of the last pictures taken of you and Lorenzo. Your smile was so bright as you held you trophy. You were looking into the camera, but Lorenzo was looking and smiling down at you. Your fingers traced his face.

You placed the pictures down and brought her into a giant hug. After you were done, you wiped your eyes, overcome with emotion. Arthur clapped his hands to bring everyone’s attention to him. You almost jumped out of your skin.

“All right, party time!” He raised his arms and started to walk toward the kitchen.

Your eyes widened as you remembered something. “Wait!”

The three of them stared at you. You inhaled.

“I have one more thing. For all three of you.” They looked at you with a puzzled look. You walked over to the counter where you had placed the black bag that you came with. You gestured for them to come over.

Arthur cocked his head, “Y/n, why’d you bring a helmet bag? We swapped helmets already.” His accent got thicker as he got more confused.

You shook your head slightly as you let out a shaky exhale. You carefully started to unzip the bag. It was true, what Arthur said. The contents were a helmet.

“Gosse, is this your new helmet for next year? It’s very outdated and I don’t think this is safe, ” Charles questioned, confused as to why you’d bring a helmet to Christmas.

However, Pascale let out a gasp as her eyes danced over the helmet, now in your hands. She put her hands to her mouth. She had recognized it immediately.

“Is this?” The rest of the question went unsaid, but you knew what she was going to say. You nodded you head and handed it to her. She turned it around, expecting all the angles. She let out a wet laugh as she carefully and slowly handed it over to Charles. Arthur stood close, looking at it as well.

“Arthur, before you got here, I was telling Charles of how I was able to meet your godfather,” you started. “And I wanted to tell you how thankful I was for his encouragement. I knew that he had come straight from a race, because he was still wearing his suit and he carried a helmet.”

Charles made a confused face, “But he didn’t have a helmet. His hands were both empty, because he caught Arthur when he ran over to him after he showed up.” You could tell that his mind was trying to connect the dots.

“Well. He wouldn’t have had the helmet,” you trailed off. Arthur’s head shot up.

“Because he gave it to you,” Arthur finished. Charles inhaled sharply as he looked over the protective gear in his hands.

Pascale had come close to you, a hand around your shoulder that rubbed up and down, trying to give some comfort.

The two boys looked as if they were going to cry. Charles let Arthur hold it.

“How? Why?” Charles questioned, tears threatening to fall.

“Well, I thought it had gotten destroyed or thrown away. I left it at my parent’s house, and when I told them I was moving out for reasons, they didn’t react well.” You didn’t want to give too much away. “I was sure that they were going to burn all of my things. But, I went back to see just in case. I was mostly correct; except they didn’t touch my closet. It was hiding in the back behind some clothes.” You remembered crying when you found it, holding it close for comfort. It had been one of the few things that you took from the house back to your apartment in Nice.

“I also wanted to bring it back, where it belongs.”

Charles glanced at you and then the helmet between Arthur’s fingers. “But, he gave it to you. You need to keep it.”

You shook your head. “Jules told me to keep it safe and to hold onto it for safe keeping. I always thought that I’d be able to give it back to him one day. I guess this is the closest thing I can do.”

Arthur gave the helmet back to his brother and walked over to you. You looked into his big blue eyes, filled with tears. Unable to hold back, he tucked his face into your neck, holding you tight. You squeezed your eyes closed, tears falling down your cheeks.

You knew that Arthur always felt bad about not being as close to his godfather, like Charles and Lorenzo had been. He had been 15 when Jules died, and you always wished that the family had had more time with him. Pressure was added on your other side. Looking over slightly, your eyes caught sight of Charles’s brown hair. You managed to put your other arm around him. You held the two brothers close, your heart melting.

Is this what a family is supposed to feel like?

Max’s family was a different dynamic. Yes, they enjoyed hugs and being close, but it wasn’t like this where you could hold each other for hours. Well, maybe Max would let you, he was so overdue for a giant group hug.

Arthur couldn’t get over the fact that you were so close. He hoped that you didn’t hear his heart racing. He’s waited this long; he can wait a little longer. His tears had dried up, but he never wanted to let you go. Your heart was too big and too fragile for anyone else to have it. But here you were, opening it up to his family. He couldn’t have asked for someone better to hold your place in his heart. He could only dream that you held him close to your heart, as he did with you to his.

You would never tell him, but you did.

Charles on the other hand could not stop the tears. He wondered how long you had waited. Shy, quiet you. Before this, he had seen you a couple of times before with Max at the beginning of the break. He’d often run into the two of you shopping or getting groceries. You’d always find a way to give a small wave, before turning to do something else while Max talked to him. He wondered what was so special about you. Max, in all his life, had never looked at something as he looked at you. It was different than the way he looked at Kelly. Heck, he even looked a Penelope differently. Charles had rolled his eyes a few more times than he’d like to admit whenever Arthur would bring you up in conversation. But now, as you tried to comfort him and his brother, he finally understood. You were the family that they were missing.

Pascale watched as the three of you broke your little hug. Smiles adorned your faces as you held the other close. She wished Lorenzo would have been here to meet you. She had a feeling that he and Charlotte would like you, as her other two sons did.

Their little celebration started moments after, the helmet at the center. Your smile never left your face for the rest of the night. You were sad that they didn’t let you sneak in one sip of the bottled drink.

“It’s probably not even good,” you told them as you took a sip of your drink.

“Y/n it is good. We French know what good alcohol is,” he took a sip. You raised an eyebrow and smirked as you saw Charles gawk at him.

“Arthur, you are not French,” you watched as Charles put an arm around Arthur’s neck. You were quick to grab his drink so it wouldn’t stain the carpet. “Yeah Charles, drag his ass!”

Arthur held out a hand, dramatically going down. “My best friend betraying me for my brother. Could this day get any worse?”

“Charles, you should have heard all the times he said that he was French when we would do videos.” You smirked evilly at the two.

“Y/n! You weren’t supposed to tell him!”

“Arthur, how many times to I have to tell you? WE ARE NOT FRENCH, WE ARE MONAGUESQE!!

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ATTENTION: TAG LIST IS CLOSED

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thepersonnamedsam · 1 year

Note

you already know how much I love gen z driver! could you maybe write something of how would it be if gen z reader’s birthday happened to be during one of the gp’s? how everyone acts and makes it all about her?

happy birthday!

pairing: the genz!driver x '23!grid

summary: it’s the genz!drivers birthday, and it just happens to be the miami gp!

word count: 1.7k

warnings: some swear words and some google translated spanish and dutch :)

note: oh i just love all of your request, especially that one, bc i’m a birthday lover myself! have fun reading it and feel free to request more!! <3

masterlist/ taglist

The first people to congratulate her, were her parents. They called her, in the middle of the night; they forgot that time zones exist. But her heart was full when she picked up the phone at 3AM and both of her parents where singing ‚happy birthday‘ to her. What wasn’t so good, was that she had to be asleep, because it was a Sunday and race day! But it didn’t matter, it was her birthday!

Two hours later, her phone was ringing again, but this time not because someone was wishing her a happy birthday, no, it was her alarm. But today it was okay. 5AM on your birthday doesn’t feel that early, does it now? At least it didn’t for her.

Andy, her personal trainer, knocked on her door at exactly 6.30AM, holding a tiny cupcake with a candle in it. „Happy birthday, y/n!“, his voice cheerful and happy. Her smiled widened and her heart full with love again. „Thank you, Andy.“

„Are you ready for the race?“, Andy asked her. She nodded and closed her hotel door. „I’m excited to see Danny again and Nando and all the other people of course. Oh and definitely Lewis.“, Birthdays were her thing, she always missed them in school, either she had them on a weekend or she was on holiday. So, being surrounded by people who are important to her, was the best present she could’ve gotten.

On the way to the paddock, Andy let her pick out the music, her car playlist was blasting on full volume. Tongue Tied by GROUPLOVE was her favourite song at the moment, that’s why she was singing at the top of her lungs to the lyrics.

„Take me to your best friends house, go around this roundabout, oh yeah“, she looked at Andy as if he would follow the orders of the song.

The music died down, as they arrived at the paddock. Press was already waiting on her, they knew it was her special day and hoped to get some good footage of the birthday-girl. Usually the media annoyed her this early in the morning, but today, nothing could’ve ruined her day. She smiled and waved to the camera, spoke to some press people and had nice conversations with all of them.

The media always tried to find some gossip, especially on the young driver, but not today. They were happy to see her this happy.

As she set foot on the paddock, people were congratulating her. Pads on the back, some strokes on her arm here and there, everyone was nice to her, and who doesn’t enjoy some attention sometimes. Especially if it’s for something you didn’t work for. It was her favourite day of the year, Christmas is second.

„Danny!“, she shrieked as soon as she saw him. She sprinted towards the Australian and jumped into his arms. „I missed you so bad!“ Daniel just laughed and hugged the young driver. „Happy birthday, y/n.“

Her smile was consistent and contagious, every person she smiled at, they just had to smile back. Even Max smiled at her. Well, he always smiled at her, she was one of the persons that could make him smile.

„Max, can you give me a piggyback ride?“, she looked at him with puppy dog eyes and he just couldn’t deny her. „Of course, zus sister.“

As Martin Brundle spotted the two, he motioned to his cameraman to put the focus on them. „And now we see Max Verstappen carrying the birthday girl y/n. It is not rare to see the young driver interact with the different drivers. Let’s wish her a happy birthday“, he talked into the camera. „Hello you two, happy birthday y/n, am I the first to congratulate?“, the older man looked at her with an amusing look on his face. „Martin, as much as I love you, you are hopefully not the first person to wish me a happy birthday“, she looked at him with a serious face.

„Did Max congratulate yet?“, a challenging look on Martins face, he pointed at the camera and said: „Remember, this is a livestream.“, Max‘ cheeks turned a pretty pink colour and y/n gasped. „He did not!“, she gasped. „Max, you didn’t wish me a happy birthday?!“ - „I’m sorry, schat darling. Happy birthday, my dear.“

But how could she hold a grudge against a face that looked like Sid from Ice Age?

Fernando was the next person she saw, and he instantly grinned at her. „Oh Nando, do you know whose special day it is today?“, she singsang to the oldest driver on the grid. „Hmm, let me guess, is it Roscoes?“, he laughed as he saw her shocked face. „How could you, I thought we were friends?“ - „We are, we are, cariño darling. Feliz cumpleaños happy birthday, y/n.“

„How old are you now, 5?“, he laughed at her. „Har har, very funny Nando. How old are you turning this year, 60?“ She was always getting irritated fast. He grabbed her by her hip and pushed her into a side hug of his. „Don’t ever change, cariño.“

„Don’t have a plan for that, who’d change something as fabulous like this“, her hands were pointing to herself. „But on a serious note, Nando, do you know where Lewis is? I’ve been searching for him.“ Fernando only shook his head, he didn’t know where the British driver was. He rubbed over her hair as she left his side to search for her mentor.

„Oh Lewis! Your favourite person is looking for you“, she shouted over the paddock, with no luck. She didn’t even see a trace of Lew, none. But what she did find, was a monegasque driver with the number 16 and a spaniard driving under the number 55. They were arguing over some bullshit, as always, as they spotted her. „y/n! Over here“, Charles shouted over to her and waved his hand. She ran over to them and greeted the older drivers with a side hug. Carlos quickly kissed her head as he wished her a brilliant birthday. Charles even sang the first to lines of the song.

She was a bit embarrassed, but she enjoyed the attention of the two Ferrari drivers. „I love you guys, but have you seen Lewis?“, she smiled at the two as they rolled their eyes. She just wanted to see her favourite person on the paddock. She loved them all equally, but you couldn’t deny that Lewis definitely was her favourite. „I think I saw him at Mercedes, his motorhome“, Charles told her, she totally missed the sarcastic undertone of his and just skipped along to the Mercedes garage.

Before she even set a foot in the motorhome, Toto Wolff approached her and squished her into a hug. „Alles gute zum Geburtstag, liebes! Happy birthday, darling! How are you, so happy to see you“, he whispered into her ear. She loved Toto. „Hi Toto!“, she grinned up at him, „I’m good, thank you. Do you know where Lewis is?“ Toto laughed and pointed to his drivers room. „Thanks!“, she yelled as she took off.

She hasn’t been to her own motorhome, just wandering around the paddock and taking in all the attention from the others. And as she knocked on the door, she knew she’d receive the best attention of them all.

„It’s open“, she heard and busted into the tiny room. „Hello, your favourite human on this planet has arrived and will be gracing your presence from now on!“ She grinned at him and he only laughed and embraced the girl. „I have a present for the birthday girl? do you know where she is“, he joked and turned around to grab her present. „A present? Aw Lewis, you shouldn’t have, you totally should have.“

The present contained some gag gifts, such as a Mercedes hat and shirt, or some shirts with funny pattern on it. But the original present was a necklace. It wasn’t anything special, really. It was a simple silver necklace with a tiny turtle as a pendant. Her eyes were tearing up, so she quickly wiped them away.

„Is this one of the necklaces that makes you a godparent of a sea turtle?“ - „It sure is, have fun with“ he turned the pendant around and looked at the engraving on it „Yertle. He is now your godchild“, he smiled at her and motioned to y/n to turn around, so he could put the necklace on. „Thank you so much, it means a lot“, she hugged him as a thank you. He smiled at her, he adored the young driver and was grateful that he was apart of her journey.

„Thank you, love you Lewis!“, she yelled to him as she sprinted out of the motorhome. She was finally headed to her own garage. They had planned a surprise party for her and Lewis was the distraction. As she reached her motorhome, she didn’t see anyone. „Hello, is it not race day?“, she joked into the dark.

„Happy birthday, y/n!“

She jumped, her heart was racing, but she had a giant smile on her face. Her heart, once again, was full, full with love.

„Ahh, thank you guys!“, she squealed and sprinted into the engineers and mechanics, just like she won a race, which she hasn’t, by the way. She hugged all of them, thanked all and smiled the biggest smile she ever smiled. „I’m so grateful for all of you! And now, let’s win this race!“

She didn’t win, but was one of her best birthdays so far. And the after party was her personal highlight of the day. There was a huge pile of presents, just for her of course.

Lando was the DJ, Max was standing on a table, preparing to do a toast for her and Danny was laughing and pointing his camera at everybody.

The evening was definitely something she’d remember, maybe not Max‘ toast, as it was very embarrassing;

„Dear people, we have gathered here to celebrate not only my win, but also a birthday of some special person. She is not our girlfriend, which we are all happy about, but they’re all jealous of her, y/n! Happy birthday, you beast, come up here!“

The alcohol definitely made it more bearable, but the fact that Pierre had to drag you to Mac spoke for itself.

„Pierre, let me be, go back to your boyfriend“, she spoke harshly to the French man, but he ignored her with a smirk on his face and brought her up to Max.

„Ladys and gents, the birthday girl herself!“

It was one of the better party’s she attended and when she looked at all the posts she’s been tagged, she found one particular that she liked the most.

daniel3.jpg

Liked by yninsta, charles_leclerc and 473’827 others

daniel3.jpg happy birthday to my personal favourite female driver of all time! let’s raise a glass or two, to all the things i’ve lost on you ;)

View all 4638 comments

yninsta i am the only female driver…

landonorris that’s why your his fav

yninsta rude af

daniel3.jpg don’t fight kids

charles_leclerc happy birthday y/n!

carlossainz55 yeah, feliz compleaños to our fav girl

pierregasly liked by pierre gasly

f1girly we love all the drivers in the comments, y/n is definitely the paddock princess

likedbypear oh yes, idk if i want to be her or with her

yninsta be definitely with me, c’mon

neymarjr happy birthday y/n!

°°°

taglist: @ironmaiden1313 , @topguncultleader , @missskid , @gulabjamooon , @lovelyy-moonlight , @peachyplumsss , @mistrose23 , @copper-boom , @love4lando , @champomiel , @serenityleah , @iloveyou3000morgan , @angelwithoutmywings , @elleeeee21

#f1 x reader #formula 1 #f1 #charles leclerc x reader #carlos sainz x reader #fernando alonso #genz driver #daniel ricciardo #lewis hamilton x reader #lando norris #lando norris x reader #daniel ricciardo x reader #max verstappen x reader #pierre gasly x reader #fernando alonso x reader #toto wolff x reader #female driver

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poppadom0912 · 5 months

Text

FBI

Characters: Kelly Severide x Reader, half of firehouse 51

Warnings: Brief mentions of a crime idk.

Summary: This wasn't exactly what they were thinking when an fbi agent strolled into their firehouse.

A/N: I had such a nice plan for this little beauty but then I messed up and then I remembered I had homework due tomorrow that I haven't done so please enjoy this ugly piece of writing. Kinda don't want to publish this but I need to feed you lot before I get swamped in holiday homework.

"Hey, I'm looking for a Kelly Severide."

You said, asking the first person you found. It was your first time in the firehouse and this definitely wasn't how you planned it to be but you could make this work.

"Lieutenant Kelly Severide?" The woman rose her brow, her voice coming across as soft as she looked. You couldn't deny she was pretty and taking into account her blonde hair and the word paramedic on her uniform caused your brows to rise ever so slightly.

"Oh! You must be Sylvie Brett." You smiled, holding out your hand for the paramedic to shake which she did with much confusion and slight fear. "Agent Y/N Y/L/N."

"You work for the fbi." She stated, fidgeting with her fingers once your hands were released. It was clear she was shocked and you could understand why; your gun in its holster, your shiny golden badge and the bold yellow letters printed on the back of your government issued jacket.

"Yes I do." You replied with a tight lipped smile, annoyed that your job was the first impression everyone at the firehouse would be getting from you; these men and women were family to Kelly and greeting them for the first time ever in your uniform wasn't what you wanted.

Before Sylvie could fully shake off her shock, someone butted into the conversation, having spotted and recognising you.

"Y/N, you're back." Matt smiled, his arms wide inviting your for a hug which you immediately accepted. The captain was the one person in Kelly's life that knew of your existence since there was no hiding you from his roomate, especially since your stay became more permanent.

The hug was what caught everyone's attention. Sylvie talking to someone was normal but Matt hugging a stranger wasn't, hence all the heads turning and when all their eyes widened, you weren't surprised.

"Feds." Two men whispered in sync upon laying eyes on you, the others stood out of their seats and came around to you in the middle of the common room.

"What do the feds want with us now?" One man asked, crossing his arms with an attitude that you could smell from a mile away. Maybe it was his accent or it could've been his snarky tone which got him a quick reprimand from the captain but you knew his name.

"Christopher Herrmann, right?" You pointed at him, your smile brightening when he did a double take at the name you guessed correct.

"It's probably creepy that I know all your names and I really wished that we could've met under better circumstances but I will explain everything." You said, sheepishly smiling at the very confused group of firefighters.

"Y/N! What are you doing here?" Kelly noticed you from afar, it was hard not to recognise the three yellow letter the second he turned the corner.

Within seconds, Kelly enveloped you into his arms and despite the reputation that you wanted to maintain, you folded and accepted the hug, wrapping your arms around his waist, contently inhaling the comforting scent that always followed your boyfriend.

"Okay I'm sorry but who are you?"

"Agent Y/N Y/L/N." You replied automatically, not even thinking about leaving out the agent. Biting the inside of your lip, you internally cursed at yourself.

"She's my girlfriend." Kelly smirked, his arm happily resting across your shoulders where he could keep you close to him. "Whose actually supposed to be in Texas right about now, what happened?"

"Everything's fine. We apprehended our guy earlier than expected and there might've been a gunfight and there's a small possibility I was in the middle but a graze is nothing." You said with ease since it was your job and you loved everything it entailed but to your crowd, you seemed like a lunatic and a hero combined in one.

"You're kidding." Kelly looked down at you in concern, his heart rate picking up at the mere thought of you getting hurt, even if you brushed it off as a papercut.

Before you could explain further that a graze inflicted zero pain, a man you could name purely based off the aura that surrounded him entered the common room.

"Agent, what can we do for you?" The tallest man came forward and asked, his hands shaking yours before they were on his hips. From his stance and the way his voice was so gentle but commandeering made it easy for you to deduce his position in the firehouse; it also helped that Kelly continuously boasted about the men and women of 51.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your day chief." You firstly apologised, sheepishly smiling at the firefighters who were shocked at Kelly's arm still wrapped around your waist. "I need nothing but a few minutes with lieutenant Severide and I'll be out your hair."

"Don't be silly." Kelly shook his head, looking down at you with a slight frown. "Why don't you stay for lunch, you can't just appear out of nowhere and not eat with us."

"I have so much paperwork I left behind. My boss will have my throat if they're not done." You tried fighting Kelly but he looked at you with such big eyes that you wanted to drown yourself in and a slight pout was making itself known and before you knew it, you were caving in.

"Alright, just a few bites and then I have to go."

It was safe to say, some feds were okay.

#one chicago #one chicago imagine #one chicago x reader #chicago fire x reader #chicago fire #kelly severide #kelly severide x reader #kelly severide x y/n #kelly severide fanfiction #kelly severide imagine #one chicago fanfiction #kelly severide fic

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coco-loco-nut · 6 days

Text

Book Club - Part 9

pairing: grid x reader

summary: you just got your wisdom teeth out, just in time for winter break fun with headcanons

a/n: thanks for the request, I missed the club❤️ ALSO! the original post just hit 1,500 notes??? like guys🥹 ilysm, you don’t even know. you are still reading my silly little writings, and i appreciate that more than you know. every like, comment, and reblog is the reason we are here 9 parts later (seriously you should see how happy i am when i see comments)

requests open masterlist

——————

- You didn’t tell anyone else on the grid other than Lance, obviously

- They were all surprised when it was announced that you were going to be missing Abu Dahbi

- Your oral surgeon only had that Wednesday free before Christmas

- …and let’s be real, your seat was secure, you weren’t going to win the WDC, and the constructors championship was locked in

- You would raise hell if you couldn’t enjoy the food around the holidays, so missing the last race it was

- You were exhausted from the season and appreciated the early break

- Lance just let it slip to the drivers on Friday a couple of hours after he got there

- You were sitting at home with Kimi, swollen and in pain all Friday

- “What do you mean she won’t be here? We have our presents for her” Fernando pouts

- Charles one day ships you cases of his gelato with a note telling you to feel better, he’s trying to get into the club for the gossip

- Lance gets invited to the club meeting to his surprise

- He assumes that they want to check in on you, despite them blowing up your phone

- No, he was VERY wrong

- Lance got roped into showing them videos of you on drugs

- Their favorite was the one of you when you first came out from being under

- “I’m married? Oh my god, I married Nico Hülkenberg? This is the best day of my life”

- You were sobbing tears of joy

- Nico was sent the video immediately, you gave him permission via text to post it the next day

- The second favorite was your favorite to laugh at

- You went on a massive rant about how Susie Wolff is a MILF and how you hoped Toto could fight because the female driver was your woman crush and you WILL have her

- Susie loved the video (George and Lewis sent it in the Mercedes family gc), Toto… not as much but he was amused

- You got a lot of fussing drivers on Facetime during the meeting

- You were loopy af from the painkillers and general exhaustion during it, it wasn’t your fault they called you late

- Kimi forced them to shut up and hang up so you could sleep

- Carlos joked about being relieved that there wasn’t another race for you to follow his trend during an interview

- You won the first race the next year

- Your phone started blowing up with messages on social media wishing you a quick recovery

- Most of the book club showed up to your home after Abu Dahbi, wanting to make a quick stop to check in before the break

- “Hello, wife,” Nico greets you when he sees you

- You joked you were about to file for divorce from Lance, who just sighed and went to get you a carton of LEC

- You had to film you opening your secret santa gift and send it to the F1 social team

- You got a quilt blanket that had a square for each book you read with the club since it started

- You actually started sobbing (you blamed the meds, even if you were actually crying)

- Lewis got the biggest hug ever, he enlisted help from Valtteri for all the books

- You forced them to cut the parts of you crying out of the video

- You got Logan an old iPod full of popular music (you hacked into his phone to check the genres he liked) from his childhood and now

- Obviously you added headphones and a couple chargers

- Logan used it all the time, he called you immediately to thank you

- You had the honors of choosing the first book over winter break

- You chose an F1 romance novel

- Boy oh boy were those meetings fun, just tearing up the book for its inaccuracy

- Daniel vowed to write an accurate one and sell it

- Spoiler Alert: he never did

- But Fernando did

- It was an international bestseller

#f1 imagines #f1 x reader #f1 imagine #f1 grid #f1 grid x reader #daniel ricciardo #george russell #logan sargeant #nico hulkenberg #kevin magnussen #valtteri bottas #lewis hamilton #fernando alonso #lance stroll #lance stroll x reader #book club #book club is back #silly little headcanons

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sourcherryandsprinkles · 1 month

Note

please write some conrad fics, the tag has been DRY

Is there a Aaron Dessner that has produced that is not heartbreaking? The Great war, Tolerate it, Right where you left me, You’re losing me, Would’ve could’ve should’ve. I have nothing against Jack, but when Aaron is involved, things…hit different.

The acronym switching from love of my life to loss of my life *UGLY CRYING*

Warnings: heartbreak

my taglists are here + you can send requests here at any time

—

When coming to Cousins for Belly and Jeremiah’s wedding, you knew it would be impossible to go through a whole weekend of wedding festivities without speaking to Conrad. You tried to avoid him, but he was always right there. In the kitchen talking with Laurel. In the living room with Jeremiah and Belly. In the backyard with Steven helping set up the chairs and tables under Taylor’s instructions.

At least he didn’t come to the wedding with a girl. It would have hurt too much.

‘’I can’t believe our Belly is getting married,’’ you said as you all sat in the living room for the smallest bachelorette party.

There was no male stripper dancing or crazy alcohol consumption like you see in movies. Just matching pajamas, a plastic ‘bride’ crown Anika got online, and sparkling mocktails. Laurel felt out of place among the younger girls, but it was her daughter’s bachelorette. She couldn’t not be there.

Taylor took a cupcake from the table, all decorated to perfection by you. ‘’I would have never guessed she would be the first of us to marry. We all thought it would be you and Con—’’ She stopped herself when she saw Belly looking at you, realizing that if she finished her sentence it would hurt you.

A silence fell and a lump settled in your throat. You brought your drink to your lips, wishing there was alcohol in it. Drowning your sorrows in alcohol is not the solution, but it’s good at temporarily numbing the pain.

I thought that too.

Your parents bought their holiday house in Cousins where you were ten and you had known the Fishers and the Conklins since. Susannah had invited you over to play with her kids — to make friends. Although you were closer to Jeremiah and Belly in age, it was Conrad who got along with you the best. He taught you how to play Uno, came to get you when you swam too far at the beach and helped you clean your dress when stained it eating a blue popsicle. He was always nice to you. Patient and caring. As you got older, he was only looking at you. Everyone noticed, but no one said anything. He’s just always been yours.

Until he wasn’t.

You didn’t want to sour the ambiance or steal the attention from the bride-to-be, so you got up and excused yourself to the bathroom. You closed the door, feeling the quiet sanctuary of solitude envelop you. Memories of you and Conrad flooded your mind, each more painful than its predecessor. Nothing would ever compare to the pain this breakup felt.

Leaning against the sink, you stared at your reflection in the mirror, tears welling up and blurring your vision. You tried to make them go away by fanning your eyes, but they overflowed, carrying with them the weight of five years of heartache.

How could it still hurt after all this time?

With trembling hands, you reached for a tissue, dabbing at your eyes, but the tears kept coming. ‘’Please, stop.’’

In the morning, you woke up on a blow-up mattress in Belly’s room. Your eyes were sensitive from crying and red. You tried to cover it with eye-drops and makeup, but when you came down for breakfast and Belly pulled you in a tight hug, you knew you didn’t do a great job.

Jeremiah eyed the two of you, raising an eyebrow and silently asking what was up, but Belly shook her head.

The rest of the day went without any downpour of tears. A part of the afternoon was spent tanning under the sun and drinking lemonades, relishing in the last moments of tranquility before the evening's rehearsal dinner. The place was going to get filled with family members and other guests soon and it’ll get very crowded.

Steven joined you in Belly’s bedroom as you were getting ready for dinner, still wet from being at the beach with the boys. He tried to get a kiss from Taylor, but she pushed him off as he was dripping water all over her makeup bag. Jeremiah laughed in the doorway, blowing a kiss to Belly before parting to his own bedroom to change.

Although you weren’t the only single person in the room, you never felt more alone.

At the dinner, you sat listening to the speeches about Belly and Jeremiah’s love. Without surprise, Steve made sure to embarrass the couple and Laurel was unable to hold back her tears when her turn came. Childhood stories and teenage anecdotes about their early moments of relationship made the guests laugh and smile.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly until Adam inadvertently attributed a story to Belly and Jeremiah, when in fact it was about you and Conrad. The frown on Jeremiah’s forehead as his father continued to speak matched Belly, both of them not knowing what he was talking about.

‘’Eh, Dad, Belly didn’t come to my prom…’’ Jeremiah whispered to his father. ‘’I went to hers and she was wearing a purple dress, not green.’’

Adam paused, his realization dawning slowly. ‘’Oh. You’re right. That was Conrad. I caught him and his girl making out outside the house when they came back. Susannah was out of her mind for allowing her to sleep over…’’

The revelation hung in the air, accompanied by an uncomfortable silence. Your grip on the glass of wine tightened involuntarily, the pressure causing it to shatter in your hand. Shards of glass cut into your skin as crimson droplets mixed with the spilled wine.

Beside you, Taylor gasped in concern, her eyes widening at the sight. ‘’Oh my god, are you—’’

Ignoring the sting of pain and Taylor’s voice, you excused yourself and hurried inside to tend to your injury. You grabbed some paper towels and pressed them over your cuts.

Unbeknownst to you, Conrad followed after you. As you stood there, watching the white soak and turn red, you felt his presence behind you. ‘’Don’t do that.’’ His touch was gentle as he took your hand and removed the soiled paper towels, placing them on the counter. ‘’Never apply pressure to an injury that’s not clean of debris. You’ll push them further in,’’ he advised, the doctor in him speaking. ‘’Let me see.’’

‘’I’m fine. Don’t worry about me,’’ you insisted, attempting to brush off his concern. ‘’Go back to everyone else, it’s almost time for the best man’s speech.’’

But Conrad didn’t budge. ‘’Sit here. I need to check if there’s glass in it.’’ he urged, his tone firm yet caring.

Knowing there was no way out of this, you sat on one of the kitchen stools and let Conrad check your injury. He turned on the kitchen tap and you hissed as the water hit your freshly cut skin, the cool liquid soothing the sharp ache.

You sat there as Conrad tended to your wound in silence, his fingers gentle as he inspected your hand for any embedded glass fragments. You couldn't help but notice the warmth of his touch and the upgraded woodsy cologne, their familiarity causing your heart to flutter despite the pain.

His focus was entirely on your hand, his brow furrowed in concentration. It reminded you of that one time you fell from your bike and he patched up your knee and elbow. Once he made sure there was no glass in it, he went to fetch an antiseptic and gauze from the bathroom.

As he was wrapping it up, you thanked him. A simple ‘thanks’.

‘’Be careful drinking wine, next time.’’ Conrad meant it as a light teasing, but you weren’t in a mood to laugh.

‘’Don’t say anything. Please,’’ you pleaded, your voice barely above a whisper. ‘’It hurts seeing you — it really hurts. So much that I didn’t want to come to the wedding, but I couldn’t miss Belly’s big day. I couldn’t do that to her. What type of friend would I be?’’ The weight of your words hung heavy in the air between you, the truth of them echoing in the silence of the room. ‘’But being here, watching her and Jeremiah getting married is killing me because that should have been us,’’ you continued, your voice trembling with emotion. ‘’This house is where we met; every corner holds tons of memories of us and it’s haunting me, torturing me since I got here.’’

‘’I never wanted to hurt you. I’m sorry—’’

‘’You’re sorry? No sorry will be enough,’’ you said. ‘’You told me I'm the love of your life about a million times. You said you would never leave. But you did. I loved you so much— You were it for me, Conrad. It was always you. But now you’re the loss of my life.’’

He said your name, but once again, you didn’t let him speak.

You got down from the stool, the stinging pain in your hand still present. ‘’I should get back outside. Hopefully Laurel knows a way to get blood out of my dress.’’

—

All and more taglist: @kenqki @hawkegfs @gillybear17 @black-rose-29 @fudge13 @cece05 @laylasbunbunny @gemofthenight @beautyb1ade @mellabella101 @vxnity713 @bisexualgirlsblog @queenofslytherin889 @thatbxtchesblog @softb-tterfly @ethanlandrycanbreakmyheart @xyzstar @graceberman3 @mikeyspinkcup @jackierose902109 @daisydark @laurasdrey @mischieftom @fanatic4niall @peterholland04 @idkwhattonamethisblogs @lexasaurs634 @notasadgirlipromise @zoeynicolas @thejuleshypothesis @multi-fandom-bi-bitch @lexasaurs634 @notasadgirlipromise @thejuleshypothesis @katherinejess @rafesgirlstuff @lafleshlumpeater @iamluminosity Anouk nani-2305 @books0fever

TSITP taglist: @msmarvelknight @maritaleane @dingus0401 @idontknowwhatimdoing777 @nomorespahgetti @lomlolivia @5sosbands @bloodyhw @depthsofdespairr @a-band-aid-for-your-heart @gilbertscurls @brandirouse86 @leilani-nichole @bloody-mf-bsc @papayaboyluvr @bchindureyes @bellysbeach @slytherinambitious @darylscvmdumpster @johannelis2302nely @aqshua @foockingasshole @straberryshortcake143 @luiise @sickntiredtoo @adrluvh @mymultiveres @Rosekar16 @hopeurokays @amysangrl @hopelessromantic727 @beth-gallagher22 @lonelywitchv2 @arinexeisnotworking @cloudrainy342 @theflcwer @alllriseabove @angelxxrose @angelxxrose-blog @r1vrsefx @sierraluvzz @rodriqos @cruzgrecia @evelestrange @aesthetixhoe @hoeforsirius @sarcasm-and-stiles @tristanswildcat @bingsbitch @buckyswhxre @rehead1180 @krissyrae

#conrad fisher imagine #conrad fisher #conrad fisher fanfic #conrad fisher x reader #the summer i turned pretty imagine #the summer i turned pretty

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siriuslovebot · 5 months

Text

˖ ࣪⭑˖ ࣪𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒌𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 ➸ 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒖𝒔 𝒍𝒖𝒑𝒊𝒏˖ ࣪⭑ ˖ ࣪

𓏲 ࣪₊♡𓂃 𝑨𝑵𝑶𝑵𝒀𝑴𝑶𝑼𝑺 𝑨𝑺𝑲𝑬𝑫: hello my love! ik you’ve already made a couple but i was wondering if you could make another one of those mouse ones, if you’re not up for it that’s completely fine! thank you for taking the time to read this!

𝑨𝑵𝑶𝑵𝒀𝑴𝑶𝑼𝑺 𝑨𝑺𝑲𝑬𝑫: we all need more remus x mouse!!!

𝑨𝑵𝑶𝑵𝒀𝑴𝑶𝑼𝑺 𝑨𝑺𝑲𝑬𝑫: please write another remus lupin x mouse fluff please. i love your writing style. it's just perfect<33

𝑾𝑨𝑹𝑵𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺: injured reader, the nickname 'mouse', some embarrassing (possibly?) moments, nothing else i can think of??

𝑺𝑼𝑴𝑴𝑨𝑹𝒀: after convincing the reader to go ice skating, things end up going a bit sideways for the marauders.

𝑨/𝑵: merry christmas (and happy holidays) everyone! here is a bit of a late gift for you all! i was astonished to see the amount of requests for more remus x mouse! i didn't even include all of them here. i'm sorry i've been mia for so long! this one may be a bit rusty, but i hope you all enjoy even if i am a little out of practice! (also this is unedited so if you see any typos/mistakes no you didn't)

𝑾𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝑪𝑶𝑼𝑵𝑻: 3.3k 𓂃♡₊⭑

·͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺��͙•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺

“it’s bloody freezing out here,” mutters sirius, his voice gruff in the early morning air.

you roll your eyes, glancing at him out of the corner of your eye. in your peripheral, you can see his mussed hair and dark circles, as well as the scowl that colours his handsome features.

“you should’ve stayed behind if you’re going to whine, sirius,” you respond, raising your brows.

he wrinkles his nose, looking an awful lot like he’s smelled something foul. “are you mad? i’m not staying cooped up in that castle when you lot are out here having fun. where’s moony?” he looks at you expectantly.

“running late, i suppose,” you glance at your watch, a christmas gift from remus. it’s charmed, the tiny mice printed on the watch frolicking around as you get the time. your face turns pink, embarrassed although you love the little watch. you hope sirius doesn’t see. you’d never hear the end of it.

“well, it’s half eight. earliest i’ve been up in weeks.” sirius yawns, swiping his sleeve across his face.

you roll your eyes again. you knew the lot of them would be menaces upon returning from the christmas holidays. sirius spent the two weeks of holiday break at james’s house, the two of them likely driving the potters out of their minds. the pair of them had clearly suffered from a lack of sleep, made clear by sirius’s incessant complaining about being up early.

you wanted to spend the holidays at hogwarts, hoping that remus might convince his parents to let him do the same, with no luck. you suffered a miserable two weeks at home, your parents refusing to let you out of their sight for a second. you hardly even had time to respond to the owls sent by your friends; notably, a muggle christmas card of lily and her family, an odd photo of sirius and james wearing charmed elves’ hats, and a sweet note from remus wishing you a merry christmas and promising you a gift upon your return to school.

thus, you are excited to spend a few hours having fun with your friends without worrying about lessons. if only you can wrestle sirius out of his grumpy mood.

there’s a chorus of boots crunching through snow behind you, and you turn to find lily approaching. james and remus trail close behind, with marlene at the back.

“what’s with the frown?” lily makes a face at sirius, who makes another disgruntled face.

“hasn’t got his beauty sleep,” you warn, a smile playing on your lips.

“you’d know about that, wouldn’t you?” sirius says crossly.

you raise your eyebrows at him.

“simmer down, pads,” james says, bright as ever. “don’t mind him. he’s just peeved because of that detention mcgonagall gave him.”

he pats his friend on the back, accompanied only by a grumble from the long-haired boy.

“yes,” says remus, “who knew she would catch him trying to turn marie littletree’s quill into a bowtruckle?”

“all right,” says sirius. “i get it. i’ll paint a stupid little grin on my face like prongs here. can we get on with it?” he grins at the confused half-smile on james’s face, then nudges his friend in the shoulder.

“right,” says marlene. “lily’s got an itinerary.”

“yes,” says the redhead. “first hogsmeade weekend back, and i’ve got plans. now, the three broomsticks is going to be absolutely swimming with people.”

“it’s always swimming with people,” james chimes.

“right,” she gives him a sharp look, and he scratches his neck awkwardly. “i was thinking, we should skip the morning crowd, and have a go at ice skating.”

“ice skating!”

“ice skating?”

james and your exclamations mirror one another, as you both gawk at lily. james looks like a child on christmas morning, and you look… well, terrified.

“oh, godric, i’m going to be so embarrassed. i can hardly walk, lils, much less skate!” you groan, feeling the exasperation sirius has been bleeding all morning.

“c’mon, y/n!” james gives you a shake around the shoulders, looking excited. “you’ll be fine. a little arresto momentum, and you’re saved.”

“right, and which one of you is going to babysit me to keep me from face planting?” you glare at him.

“sounds like a job for moony, if y’ask me,” says sirius smugly. he’s already strutting towards the pond, james close on his heels.

marlene grins, and lily looks at you pleadingly. “c’mon, y/n,” she begs, pouting like a child.

“it’ll be fun,” marlene adds.

you huff, not wanting to feel like a buzzkill.

remus places a gentle hand on your shoulder, squeezing gently. you sigh.

“you’ll be all right,” he urges, voice soft.

you sigh, but concede. “fine.”

lily and marlene cheer, taking off behind james and sirius on their way to the pond.

you frown, glancing over at remus as you fall into a slow pace following them.

“do i have to?” you wonder aloud, hooking your arm through his as you crunch through the hardened snow.

remus smiles down at you, a gentle smile finding his lips. his cheeks are pink from the cold already, his honeyed hair sticking out in tufts from beneath his knit hat. your stomach does a flip, and you have to force yourself not to look away.

“don’t tell me you’re scared, mouse,” he says, raising an eyebrow.

“scared? pfft, i don’t get scared,” you mutter, rolling your eyes.

“oh, really?”

“really. but i know my strengths. and ice-foot coordination is not one of them. i’m preparing to embarrass the wits out of myself.”

“it can’t possibly be that bad,” he says.

“have you met me, rem? i tripped over the air just last night.”

“i actually think that was a badly timed jinx from sirius.”

“i hope you’re joking.”

“afraid not.”

“oh, he’s got it coming.” you shake your head, remembering the burn of your cheeks as you tumbled in a heap in the common room. remus came over, smiling to himself as he helped pick up your things. you’d wanted to crawl into a hole and hide for the rest of the night.

as you approach the pond, you blink at the sight of a few other students gliding over the frozen water. you blink, not feeling confident in your abilities. you can feel your legs wobbling already, hearing the sound of yourself crashing into the ice.

“okay,” you stop in your tracks, grabbing remus by his wrists. he faces you, eyes expectant.

“yes?” he humours you, looking as serious as you feel.

“promise you won’t laugh if i fall.”

his features crack into a smile, his head falling as he laughs softly. “c’mon, mouse,” he nudges you, draping an arm over your shoulders. he’s warm, and you lean into him as he leads you closer to the water’s edge, where your friends have already conjured up their ice skates.

“if you laugh, i’ll never forgive you.”

“i’ll keep an eye on you,” he says, “and i promise i won’t laugh.”

“holding you to it,” you say, joining marlene and lily by the pond.

“here,” marlene takes half a second and conjures you a pair of skates, untied on your feet.

james and sirius are already on the ice, flitting around faster than you can keep up with. they’re a pair of blurs, their laughter ringing through the air.

you make a face, your ears burning just at the thought of how you’re going to look trying to keep your feet beneath yourself. you don’t even notice your untied laces as you wobble towards the ice.

“just a second, mouse,” remus says softly, his large frame stooping to tie your shoes.

your face goes red as you glance down at him, feeling sheepish. “sorry,” you say, “i could have done that.”

“i’ve got it,” remus hums, his scarred hands tying your skate laces with expertise.

he’s towering over you again in half a second, winking at you as he reaches down to grasp your hand. his skin is warm, even through both pairs of your gloves, and you feel a bit better.

“y’alright?” remus wonders aloud, guiding you to the edge of the ice. he steps on gracefully, somehow able to keep his feet from sliding beneath him. you stare down at his skates, nervous.

you frown. “i’m scared,” you admit, face darkening with embarrassment.

“don’t be scared,” remus says.

he tugs your hand, smiling warmly. you hate how persuasive he is; his soft voice and gentle smile have a way of turning you into a gushing mess in the palm of his hands. no one knows how to make you feel better like remus does.

“you’ll still love me if i make a fool out of myself, right?” you wonder aloud, stepping slowly onto the ice. you tuck your bottom lip between your teeth, focused on keeping yourself upright.

“i’d love you even if you made a fool out of the whole world, love.”

he’s laughing as you join him on the ice, the velvety deep sound sending butterflies rampaging through your stomach. he grasps your hand, ever so gently, and pulls you to the center of the ice, where fewer of the other students are. your classmates fly by, agile and quick on the ice. you feel somewhat like a baby deer, your legs wobbly beneath you.

“see, not so bad, is it?” remus encourages, his features now split in a jovial grin. his tawny eyes glitter with amusement, the corners crinkled by his big smile.

“no, i guess not,” you agree, fingers still gripping the sleeve of his coat in a vice.

“d’you want to try on your own?” he inquires. his long fingers loosen their hold on your wrist, but you tighten your own around him.

“no–not yet!” you squeak, moving closer to him and throwing your arms around his middle. he laughs, his chest rumbling against your cheek. you take a deep breath.

“sorry,” he chuckles, smoothing a hand over your hair. “i’ve got you, m’little mouse.”

you blink, peeking around his frame to see sirius and lily engaged in a race across the pond, their speeding frames silhouetted by the snowy landscape behind them. a grin spreads over your features, watching as james and marlene cheer them on.

“i don’t know how they do it,” you muse, shaking your head.

“you’ll be racing them in no time,” remus says teasingly, slowly unraveling your death grip around him.

“if you say so,” you murmur.

remus pulls you along gently, gaining some speed as you become more comfortable at the feeling of being on the ice. after several minutes, you’re no longer as unstable on your feet. you hardly even shriek when james charges at the pair of you at full speed, spraying you with a shower of ice as he stops at the last second.

“you git,” you hiss, sending a snowball his way with a flick of your wand.

he curses loudly, already halfway across the pond when it hits his back. lily and marlene dissolve into a fit of giggles, while remus chuckles gently.

you don’t even notice that he isn’t holding you steady anymore. distracted, you’ve released your grasp on his sleeve, and are slowly gliding alongside him. you’re closer to the edge of the pond, your feet steady beneath you as you gather confidence.

“feeling okay?” remus has spun around, facing you as he skates backwards.

what a showoff, you think, but you say nothing. he doesn’t know it, but you adore just how easily he picks up on the things you find to be absolutely mind-boggling. despite his insistence that he’s nothing special, he picks up on skills with ease. he’s a talented wizard, quick-witted and good at solving problems under pressure. it’s precisely why he excels in school, despite being out around each full moon and sometimes struggling to come out of his shell.

“thanks to you,” you say, flushing. “i wouldn’t be out here if it weren’t for you, you know.”

he smiles sheepishly, his wind-chapped face going a deeper shade of pink. “sure you would.”

you laugh, shaking your head. “i’m serious, rem,” you say. “thank you.”

“don’t thank me,” he says, looking more than a little embarrassed.

you reach for him, wanting to hold his hand, but you see concern flash in his eyes. your eyes widen, but before you can say anything he’s already reaching for you.

“watch out–”

but you’ve both reacted too late. another student slams into your shoulder, knocking you off kilter. you squeal, falling to the ice too quickly for either you or remus to react. the air feels as if you’re caught in slow motion for a second; the ice is approaching your face with extreme speed, glistening in the morning sun. without thinking, you brace with one hand, the other halfway reaching towards remus.

your arm breaks your fall, and there’s a sickening crack as you hit the ice. it’s harder than you thought. you shriek, a sickening pain rocketing up your wrist and shoulder as you finally collapse completely.

“shit,” remus hisses, crouching as you feel his hands on your shoulders, trying to help you up to a sitting position.

you’re too focused on the excruciating pain in your arm to realize that you’re crying. the tears are hot against your skin, burning your cold cheeks as you sit up. you clutch your arm with your other hand, looking at the horrible purple lump already protruding at your wrist.

“merlin,” you sob, “it’s broken!” the sight of the bone jabbing at the inside of your arm makes your stomach do a turn, and you force yourself to look away. remus crouches in front of you, his worried face swimming in your teary vision.

you hear your friends shouting, and several nasty words directed at the student who slammed into you. you glance over, seeing marlene dragging sirius away by his scarf as he tries to throttle the poor third-year student.

lily skates towards you, slowing as she approaches.

“oh, dear,” she says, as she sees your arm.

“it’s bad, isn’t it?” you ask, glancing between remus and lily. you can’t force yourself to look back at the arm, feeling as if you’re going to faint if you have to see the bruises blooming over your arm.

“not so bad,” lily lies, offering a forced smile.

“we’ve got to get some help. you need to see madam pomfrey.” remus says. he’s crouched, one hand coming out to wipe the tears from your face. you breathe in his scent, trying to ground yourself.

james, sirius, and marlene finally join you, sirius still cursing the student as marlene drags him over.

“ugh,” james says as he sees your injury.

sirius peers over remus’ shoulder, his eyes blazing with fury as he sees the extent of your injury. “i’m going to curse the bollocks off of that kid!” he hisses, reaching for his wand, tucked into his coat pocket.

“sirius, stop it!” marlene scolds. “we have to do something about that arm. there’s no way y/n’s making it back to the castle in this state.”

“i’m fine,” you insist, though your stomach is rolling unpleasantly. you think you’d likely vomit if you had to stand.

“you’re not fine,” remus says, his voice stern. “your arm’s gone sideways. you need to be in the hospital wing.”

“we can’t move her like this,” james says, sounding as sick as you are.

“let lily have a go at it. she put my pinky right when that bludger hit it at practice,” says sirius.

“your pinky?” remus says incredulously. “i think an arm’s a bit more important than a pinky.”

“rem,” you say, nudging him with your foot. “it’s fine. i trust lily. besides, i think i’ll be sick if we don’t do something now.”

remus sighs, his eyes dark with worry. he places a hand on your knee, shifting slightly to let lily get closer. “fine.” you can tell he’s not happy about it.

“marlene, go get some help, will you?” you say, your head swimming. you feel closer to fainting by the minute, shock setting in.

“‘course i will.” she’s gone in a flash.

“okay,” you breathe, closing your eyes as you wait for lily to fix your arm.

“right, then,” she pulls her want out of her pocket, leaning closer. there’s a second of silence before she says, “episkey!”

only, the spell doesn’t go quite right. a blinding hot pain blooms in your arm, and you shriek again. this time, you’re not strong enough to keep from fainting. white spots bloom behind your vision, and you collapse.

you wake hours later, in the hospital wing. you stir, your throat dry as you turn over in the cot. your vision is blurry as you peel your eyes open, finding your arm wrapped in some kind of sling. madam pomfrey is nowhere in sight, but remus is slumped in a chair at your beside.

his eyes are closed, his breathing steady as he sits. his head rests lazily against the back of the chair. you study his face; his scars shine in the sliver of evening light that spills in from the window behind you. you groan as you move, your entire body aching.

your muscles throb, the fall having taken its toll on you. you watch him for a few minutes, the delicate rise and fall of his chest. his hair falls in golden wisps over his forehead and his ears, tickling the nape of his neck. you smile, glad he’s getting some rest. you’re sure he’s been perched in that uncomfortable chair all day. he’s probably missed all of his meals, crouched by your bed worrying.

you smile to yourself, wondering how you’ve ended up with someone so perfect.

he stirs finally, his eyes crinkling as he yawns.

“rem,” you say softly, catching his attention as he opens his eyes.

“hey, sleepyhead,” he says, a tired smile painting his features.

you reach for him with your good hand, his long fingers reaching out and enveloping yours with ease. his skin is warm as he brings your hand to his lips, holding it there for a moment. your face heats up. embarrassed, you want to sink down into the cot and disappear, but you can’t run from him. he knows you too well.

“have you been here all day?” you wonder.

“of course,” he says, as if you’d be crazy to think otherwise.

“you didn’t have to do that.”

“yes i did,” he says, frowning. “it’s my fault you went out there in the first place. you wouldn’t be hurt if i hadn’t convinced you to go skating.”

“hey,” you scold, “don’t say that. it’s not your fault. none of it’s your fault.”

he shakes his head, looking apologetic. you sigh, squeezing his hand.

“i’m serious, rem. i don’t blame you. i had a lot of fun, until that kid ran into me, at least.” you grin, trying to lighten the mood.

he can’t help the smile that creeps onto his features. “poor guy,” he says, “sirius wanted to hunt him down so badly. said he was willing to have detention for the rest of the year, if it meant he got his revenge.”

you roll your eyes. “what a hothead,” you laugh.

“yeah, think the kid was pretty scared too. he send a card up, and some chocolate frogs.” remus passes you a card. you open it up, and a flock of little birds explodes from the paper, as well as a bright, sparkling message that says get well soon!

you smile, feeling much better already. you squeeze remus’s hand again, closing the card as he passes you a chocolate frog.

“thank you,” you say in response, though both of you know you’re not just thanking him for the chocolate.

he nods in response, leaning over to press a kiss against your forehead.

tags: @delulu4marauders

#remus lupin #remus lupin x reader fluff #remus lupin fluff #remus lupin x reader #remus lupin imagine #remus x reader #remus lupin fic #marauders era fic #marauders fanfiction #marauders fic #marauders era #the marauders #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter #slb.works #slb.requests

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blues824 · 6 months

Note

🏃‍♂️💨 I Was TAG so of course I'll be joining in this mutual event~

All I can think about is Rollo F. With a sweetheart!s/o with number twenty~ I find it a bit funny but sweet, I just need more Rollo writings 🤧

Hoping you have a good winter holidays, I'll be back to request more~

You requested: Fake dating for Christmas Ball.

Gender-neutral reader

Rollo Flamme

It came as a surprise to no one that Crowley wanted to host a Christmas Ball for all the schools to attend to, just because Noble Bell hosted the Masquerade Ball.

There was a bit of a twist, however: Everyone attending needed to have a date. It could be a friend, it could be a romantic partner, it could be someone’s parent just to piss them off. However, everyone needed to go with someone.

To say that you had received many letters asking you to be someone’s partner would be an understatement. You have turned each of them down as politely as you could, making sure that you parted on friendly terms.

There was one that you were looking for, but if you did not receive it in three day’s time, you would accept someone at random.

Well, your silent prayer was answered in the way you didn’t expect, nor in the way you wished.

Rollo Flamme had sent you a letter via a pigeon. You rushed to go get it some food after you untied the letter from the bird’s leg. Opening the letter, you read it, just to feel your heart beat a million times and break just a few seconds later.

Dear Y/N,

I am writing to you to ask if you would be my partner for the Christmas Ball. It has come to my attention that in order to attend, one must have a partner. I would like to keep up appearances that say I am not letting the past… events… affect me or the social relationship of our respective schools negatively. I am hoping that we come to an understanding on this, as I am coming as a guest on behalf of Noble Bell College.

Should you accept, I would forever be in your debt. After all, you helped me here in Fleur City as well, and I do not believe I have paid you back for that. Ask anything of me afterward, and I will see to it that your wish is granted.

I apologize for the inconveniences this may or may not bring you.

Rollo Flamme

Well, a win is a win. You were gonna be able to go to the Christmas Ball with Rollo, the man you had harbored a crush on since the Masquerade Ball. He made you feel appreciated when no one else did, and while that was because you had no magic, you were going to take what you could get.

You immediately wrote a small note in return as the pigeon feasted on small breadcrumbs. Your hand was shaking a bit, but that might have been because your wish was finally coming true… in the most heart-shattering way possible.

Dear Rollo,

I accept your invitation to be your partner for the Christmas Ball. I await your arrival with eagerness. I ask for nothing in return, as this is what friends do for one another.

By the way, I fed your pigeon so that it may not be tired on its way back to you.

This does not cause any inconvenience to me.

Y/N L/N

~~~~~~~~

Rollo kept clicking his pen as he read your note. The brevity of it was appreciated, but it was the way in which you said that you were excited for him to be there that made his face feel warm. He was lucky that no one was around because they would have seen blush on his face.

Preparations were being made for his departure, and he was glad that he finally had a partner so that he may attend the event. He originally did not want to go, and should you have refused him, he wouldn’t have gone. Now he had a reason to go, as he did not want to disappoint you in any way.

His bags were packed, but his mind was unpacked. Ever since you had saved him from the dark space he had succumbed to, his mind was filled by you. Images of casual dates with you flew about in his brain, and all he wanted was to be with you.

However, what would everyone think if he began dating you? Everyone would know that he had a soft spot, and he would be with someone from a rivaling school. There were too many risks with that. Plus, your friends would think you were insane by choosing him. To be fair, he would think you aren’t right in the mind either. After all, who would want to be with a person who set his entire school on fire out of pure, blind rage (you, apparently).

~~~~~~~~

The day eventually came, and the cafeteria was completely cleared for the event. It was transformed into a festive room, an elegantly gothic Christmas tree in the corner to match with NRC’s aesthetic.

Grim opted to skip this event, as you bribed him with some fancy tuna. You had spent hours making sure your outfit was perfect, and that you had everything waiting to go.

Everyone was gathered outside of the cafeteria, waiting for their partners to arrive so that they may be admitted into the building to escape the cold. You were looking around to find Rollo, and you were thinking that maybe he didn’t come after all.

After a few moments of searching around and giving up, heartbroken, you started to head back to your dormitory. However, a hand reached out for your shoulder, and you jumped in surprise. You turned to see the man you had been waiting for with an apologetic look on his face.

“I apologize for making you wait this long. I couldn’t find you in this crowd of idiots.”

His statement made you laugh, as you knew a few people who would agree with him.

“It’s alright, Rollo! I’m just glad you came. I’ve missed you!” You pulled him into a hug, and the man was too stunned to speak. Your perfume or cologne that you had chosen to wear brought a feeling of comfort in his heart and lungs, making him feel as though he could actually breathe.

Once you pulled away, he extended his arm out for you to take, and you wrapped your hand around the crease in his elbow. Then, you both were allowed into the room at the Christmas Ball. It was definitely very grand and elegant, and you found yourself twirling about to take in the entire venue.

A few people let out gasps upon seeing you on the arm of Rollo Flamme, not sure what to make of it. You saw Ace and Deuce standing with each other as well, knowing that they went as friends. Attending the event meant that you got to skip the day’s classes, so obviously they were going to go.

~~~~~~~~

About an hour into the event, the DJ hired took the mic off the stand.

“All partners, head to the dance floor. The waltzing is about to begin.”

Rollo was nervous as he put his left hand on your waist and his right held yours. You put your left hand on his shoulder, and you smiled at him with that absolutely radiant smile of yours. The sight alone had the man internally on his knees, praying to whatever being was up there that you would be his and his alone.

The music started, and he took the lead. It was simple enough, only having to go by a count of three. You turned to look at your friends all around you, and you could feel the awkwardness between everyone. However, you were completely fine with where you were… even if it was under a pretense.

“Those idiots don’t even know where to place their hands… How did they even get in?” He asked, seeing Ace and Deuce.

“They are my friends, and it’s because I didn’t want to go with them. A lot of people surprisingly ended up asking me, but I refused them.”

You telling him that just made jealousy bubble up in his chest, but the fact that you turned each of those bumbling fools down made him feel better. You accepted him.

“I can’t say that I blame you,” He said.

He pulled you impossibly closer to him, making you a bit flustered. He got close to your face, looking very serious.

“...I’m not sure how I would react to someone who isn’t myself dancing with you.”

“And why is that, Rollo?” He let loose on his grip to twirl you around before you went back into position.

“Because I have fallen in love with you and I am not sure I want to get back up,” You had never been so happy that his face was so close to yours because you placed a kiss on his lips as you both danced.

The man’s face went bright red, but he reciprocated the display of affection tenfold, happy that you were his.

Once you pulled away, you smiled and asked, jokingly, “Do you think we convinced everyone that there is a feeling of goodwill between our schools?”

“I think we did more than that,” He said, smiling as well.

#twst #twst x reader #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #twst wonderland #rollo #rollo x reader #rollo flamm #rollo flamm x reader #twst rollo #twst rollo flamm #twst rollo x reader #twst rollo flamm x reader #rollo flamme #rollo flamme x reader #twst rollo flamme #twst rollo flamme x reader

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lilacmingi · 3 months

Text

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

My works are 14+ ONLY. If you’re under 14 DO NOT interact with me or any of my works

Pairing: Hufflepuff!Yunho x Hufflepuff!fem reader

Word count: 4,968

Note: Seems kinda silly sharing this one considering its March lol but when I was writing these Hogwarts AU imagines, they were being posted around November/December 2022 and I felt bad for not having anything festive written so I made this one take place around Christmastime to add some festive flair. Hopefully you guys can still enjoy it, even in March haha

"You need to dress warmly, Y/n. It's getting colder these days." Yunho tugged your scarf around your neck, making sure you were all bundled up.

You merely chuckled, amused at how much he cares for you.

"I'll be fine." You assured him.

"We have to walk all the way to the greenhouse for herbology. You should stay warm."

You gave him a reluctant smile, allowing him to adjust your scarf to where it would cover your chin.

"Okay." He gave a small nod of approval before linking arms with you. "Let's go. Don't wanna be late."

Leaving the warm corridors of the school, you stepped out into the chilly air. It was nearing the end of autumn and would soon be winter, though based on the bitter temperature outside it felt like the season had already arrived. You and your fellow housemate trekked across the school grounds, stepping over leaves that had long fallen off the trees, their color now a dull brown. The holidays were just around the corner and Hogwarts had rolled out the Christmas decorations, decking the entire school out in holiday cheer, the colorful array of twinkling ornaments and other baubles giving the castle a cozy feel. The Great Hall was the most beautiful with large Christmas trees throughout the room, holly and ribbons hanging along the ceiling, all topped off with white snow falling from above, the magical icy clusters not feeling cold at all.

The greenhouse came into view, you and Yunho hurrying over desperate to get inside and out of the chilly air.

"Good afternoon." Professor Sprout greeted you with her usual warm smile, her jovial personality shining through as always.

"Afternoon." You greeted, making your way further into the greenhouse, taking your place at the long table that stretched along the length of the greenhouse.

You and Yunho began unpacking your supplies, your fingers brushing against his by accident.

"Your hands are freezing." He commented, grabbing them with his larger ones.

A faint heat creeped onto your cheeks as he squeezed your icy palms between his, warming them a little. You were so focused on him, you didn't notice the other students filing in the greenhouse, preparing for class.

"Alright. Now that everyone's here let's get started." Professor Sprout spoke up, causing Yunho to release your hands.

You exchanged sheepish glances before the both of you turned your eyes away out of embarrassment.

"Since Christmas is approaching, I thought it would be fit for us to study mistletoe. As you all know, this parasitic plant is used for decoration, but you can also use it for antidotes for the forgetfulness potion and common poisons."

"Ha. Mistletoe." You chuckled softly. "How festive."

Professor Sprout proceeded to explain more facts about the plant, allowing everyone to examine the white berries on the herbage, cutting them open and grinding them for potions.

The greenhouse, though slightly warmer than the chilly outdoor air, didn't offer much heat for your cold fingertips. Suddenly you missed the warmth of Yunho's hands, wishing he could hold them one more time.

Professor Sprout filled the silence in the greenhouse by giving a brief history lesson on mistletoe, talking about how it was used as a holiday decoration in the 1700s, then she proceeded explain how wizards used it for potions, though at that point you started zoning out.

Her voice became mere background noise as your eyes lingered on Yunho, who was closely examining the leaves on his plant which was held between his slender fingers.

By some miracle, you managed to pull it together long enough to make it through class.

You rubbed your hands together on the trek back to the school, tugging your scarf up to cover your nose and shield it from the chilly gusts of wind that fiercely hit your cheeks.

Once back inside Hogwarts, you let the heat from the torches lining the hall to warm you up a little. Yunho noticed the way you rubbed your hands together, wiggling your fingers around a bit.

"Here." Yunho held his hands out to you palms up.

You placed your smaller hands in his and allowed him to warm them the best he could, though his fingers were pretty cold as well, but they were warmer than yours. Plus, you can't possibly pass up the opportunity to have his hands holding onto yours.

You chuckled softly at Yunho's appearance, noticing a tint of pink on the tip of his nose.

"What?" He asked amusedly.

"Your nose is pink."

"It's freezing too. Wanna feel it?" He teased, leaning in closely preparing to press his nose against your cheek. You were quick to pull away, laughing at him.

"Come on. Let's go to the dining hall and see if we can get some hot chocolate before our next class." He stated.

"That would be fantastic."

The both of you went straight to the Great Hall where thankfully you were able to get a hot beverage to warm you up, the drink doing wonders for you.

"This was a good call." You sighed contently, grateful that your friend had suggested the idea. "I needed something that would warm me up quickly."

He hummed in agreement, his face covered by the mug as he gulped down the chocolate beverage. Once he set the cup down, a small amount of whipped cream dotted the tip of his nose as well as his top lip, the sight making you giggle.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" He asked, knowing there was whipped topping on him.

"Come here." You beckoned, grabbing a napkin and cleaning his face.

Yunho's heart fluttered at your simple yet very effective actions. His eyes lingered on your face, taking in all your beautiful details, from your lashes to your soft-looking lips, his mind beginning to wander as he imagined what it would feel like to kiss them.

"Yunho?"

He blinked himself from his daze, humming in response.

"You zoned out. I asked if you were ready to go. We've got just enough time to get to class."

"Oh. Yeah I'm ready."

It was early morning, right around breakfast time and you were sat in front of the fireplace in the Hufflepuff common room with a letter in your hands and a heavy feeling in your chest.

The sound of feet shuffling along the floor above could be heard over the crackling fire before you, Yunho's voice following after.

"Oh, you got something from your parents?" He observed.

"Yeah." You sighed as he descended the stairs, taking a seat beside you.

"Must've been important if it was delivered straight to the dormitory."

"It was."

Based on your discouraged tone and small frown, whatever news you got wasn't good.

"What's wrong?"

"It's a letter from my parents. They work for the Ministry of Magic so they're really busy and it seems they're not going to be home much. Looks like I'm going to be staying here for Christmas."

Yunho frowned. He hated seeing you upset, even more so he hated that you would be stuck at Hogwarts over Christmas break instead of spending it with your family.

"Come here." He beckoned softly, pulling you into a hug, which you happily accepted.

His hugs were always the best. He was bigger than you, so being in his embrace always felt nice, warm, even safe. You've always joked that his hugs were magical because they always seemed to melt your problems away whenever you were upset about something.

Yunho rubbed your back soothingly, allowing you to stay in his arms for as long as you needed.

If you were forced to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas break, he would stay with you.

Or maybe...

He let out a sudden gasp as a lightbulb went off in his head, making him pull back.

"Why don't you spend Christmas with me and my family?"

You took in a quick breath at his sudden proposition, looking at him with a shocked expression. At your response, or lack thereof, Yunho continued.

"You can send an owl back to your parents and let them know you're going to spend Christmas with me."

You continued to sit there, your mind processing everything.

Spending Christmas with Yunho?

The idea sounded great, honestly. You'd be able to spend the entire break with your crush. What more could you ask for?

Judging by the hopeful expression on his face and the expectant gleam in his eyes, he really wanted you to accept his offer, so you did.

When Christmas break rolled around, you found yourself boarding the Hogwarts Express with Yunho and a suitcase of clothes and other necessities for your visit.

The both of you made your way into one of the roomettes, sliding the door closed behind you before moving to sit on one of the benches.

"Sit next to me, Y/n." Yunho patted the spot next to him.

Softly smiling, you moved across to Yunho's bench, seating yourself beside him.

"I haven't seen your parents in years." You commented.

"I'm sure they're excited to see you, especially mom. She asks about you a lot."

"She does?"

He nodded.

The train departed from the station a few minutes later, rolling into motion. You watched as the school got smaller and smaller the further away you got. Your heart started to beat a little faster at the thought of being with Yunho for two weeks at his home.

The snack trolley rolled by not too long into the ride making the Hufflepuff beside you perk up, an excited gasp leaving him.

"Y/n, do you want something?" He asked.

"Yes, please."

Yunho asked the lady pushing the cart for your favorite candy along with some of his favorites before she went on to the next roomette. It didn't take long at all for the both of you to tear into the sweets, enjoying them as you watched the trees and valleys pass by.

An hour into the train ride, you felt your eyelids begin to droop as a feeling of drowsiness slowly washed over you. Not wanting to fall asleep, you turned your attention to the view out the window and started watching the scenery, a vast field with mountains in the distance, each one a different size. Unfortunately, that didn't do any good and you ended up allowing yourself to rest your eyes for a moment, which of course resulted in you falling asleep.

Yunho's gaze was glued to the landscape outside when he felt a weight on his shoulder. Upon glancing over, he found you sound asleep, your body slumped over on him, head resting on his shoulder.

A soft smile of adoration tugged at his lips as he allowed his gaze to linger on you for a few moments, taking in your features up close. It was only when you stirred slightly that he averted his gaze back to the view outside, his cheeks slightly warm.

When he didn’t feel you move, he peeked over at you once more as soft breaths pushed past your slightly parted lips.

"Y/n. We're here."

You squeezed your eyes shut tighter, nuzzling your face into whatever you were resting on.

A deep chuckle sounded afterwards making you peel your eyes open.

Yunho was gazing down at you, eyes gleaming with amusement. It was then that you realized you'd fallen asleep on him, your head resting on his chest. This realization caused you to push yourself off him in a rush.

He only laughed, standing up from his seat.

"I'm sorry." You apologized.

"You seemed to be sleeping well, so I didn't wake you." He responded, offering you his hand. "Come on."

After a short taxi ride, you arrived at your destination, welcomed by strings of beautiful multicolored lights strung along the eaves of the house, the sight giving you a warm feeling in your chest.

You stepped into Yunho's cozy abode, the warmth from inside brushing against your cool cheeks, the smell of gingerbread and cinnamon reaching your senses.

"Come in, come in." Yunho's mom beckoned, ushering both of you inside. "It's freezing out."

Christmas music played softly throughout the home as you removed your scarf, your eyes roaming the house, taking in your surroundings. The feeling of someone tugging on your coat grabbed your attention, it was Yunho. You thanked him quietly, shrugging off the thick jacket and allowing him to hang it on the coat rack by the door.

"My Yunho, come here." His mom cooed, pulling him into a tight hug. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, mom."

After pulling away, she turned to you with a warm smile. "Y/n."

"Hello." You greeted.

"I haven't seen you since you and Yunho were in fourth year." She gushed. "You've grown into such a beautiful young lady."

You muttered a shy thank you before she escorted the both of you into the living room, going on about how excited she was that you'd be joining them during Christmas break and how she had prepared snacks for your arrival. Sitting on the coffee table in the living room was a plate of small sandwiches, crackers, and sliced fruit along with two glasses of water.

"Sorry. She gets enthusiastic when we have guests." Yunho murmured, cheeks tinged pink.

"It's fine. It's actually really nice. I missed her hospitality."

Just then, the front door swung open and Yunho's father walked in, shrugging off his jacket.

"Are they here yet?" He inquired before glancing into the living room where you and Yunho were seated on the couch. "Ah. I missed the welcome party."

"We just got in." Yunho informed him. "You didn't miss much."

"Good, good." His father nodded, making his way over to greet both of you, asking how classes were and how you'd been—just the usual small talk. He then grabbed one of the tiny sandwiches Yunho's mom had made.

At that moment, she entered the room and caught him in the act, immediately scolding him.

"Those are for Y/n and Yunho."

"Alright. Sorry." He chuckled, heading towards the kitchen.

"Y/n, why don't I take your bags to your room?" Yunho's mom offered.

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

"No, no, I insist. You're our guest."

You didn't have time to protest as she grabbed your bag as well as Yunho's and left the room.

After resting for a moment and finishing the finger foods that were prepared, Yunho's mom offered to show you where you'd be sleeping during your visit. Yunho wanted to unpack his things, so he got up and followed you and his mom down the hall, not expecting her to come to a stop at his bedroom.

"You'll have to share with Yunho. I hope you don't mind." She mentioned, opening the bedroom door. "Don't worry, though. I've set up a mattress on the floor so everything should be fine."

"I thought we had a spare bedroom." Yunho spoke up hastily.

"Oh, I've been using it as a storage room."

Yunho's face got hot at the thought of sharing a room with you, but at the same time it was a dream come true. Back at Hogwarts the boys and girls dorms are separated; the girls' dormitory is charmed so no boys can enter, though it's not the same for the boys' dorm, which is odd—but you've never stayed overnight with him before, even at school, so this would be a whole new experience.

Your palms started to get a bit sweaty as you took in the information you were just given, your slightly wide eyes staring at the sight before you. Alongside Yunho's bed was a small, inflatable mattress with a few blankets and pillows on it. While it did look comfortable, it was directly beside the place where Yunho slept. Judging by the giddiness in his mom's voice, she was more than okay with the both of you sharing a room.

"Well, I'll let you two get settled." She spoke up and excused herself.

As soon as she was out of the room, Yunho's head dropped as he let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine." You waved him off.

You and Yunho have been friends for years, sharing a room shouldn't be weird... it only feels that way because of your feelings for him.

"I'm gonna unpack. You can make yourself comfortable."

Yunho moved across the room to his bed where his suitcase laid, unzipping the beg before removing items from it. You started to do the same, taking a seat on the blow up mattress in the floor, taking out your toiletry bag.

"You can put that in the bathroom across the hall." Yunho mentioned. "As for clothes, you can leave them in your suitcase or I can clean out a drawer for you to store them in."

"It's fine. I can just leave them in here." You responded, not wanting Yunho to go to the extra trouble.

Once settled, the both of you were called into the kitchen to have dinner, which smelled so good. It had been a while since you had a home-cooked meal. Though, Hogwarts had exceptional food, there's something different about having something made at home.

"You really went all out." You commented, your mouth watering at the spread before you.

"Of course. It's Christmas, plus we have a special guest. It's the least I could do." Yunho's mom smiled warmly, pouring everyone a drink.

After a nice meal, you spent the rest of the afternoon watching TV with Yunho and his parents. Turns out they found amusement in muggle television programs and enjoyed watching them. You unexpectedly got hooked on a particular show, the ups and downs of the plot pulling you in immediately.

After watching a few episodes, you and Yunho decided to get ready for bed and settle in for the night.

You watched in mild amusement as Yunho arranged his pillows in a particular order, one lying flat in the middle and one propped up on the bed frame on either side. A chuckle slipped from you by accident causing the tall boy to turn, eyeing you.

"Sorry." You apologized. "I didn't know you had a system going."

"I do. My bed fits me well so I arrange my pillows like this, but in beds that are shorter where my feet stick out, I arrange them like this." He began shuffling the pillows around, moving the ones that were resting on the bed frame flat on the mattress lying vertically, giving him somewhat of a barrier on either side of his main pillow.

"I have to do this at Hogwarts since the beds are smaller." He mentioned.

It may be silly, but his specific pillow arrangements were extremely endearing to you. The way he had a whole system figured out based on the size of the bed was too cute.

He didn't seem to notice your love-filled gaze as he fluffed his main pillow, shimmying underneath the covers.

"Are you settled in?" He asked.

"Mhm." You hummed.

Yunho raised his wand in the air, using it to turn the lights out before snuggling down into his bed.

"Goodnight, Y/n."

"Goodnight, Yunho."

Getting to sleep proved to be a bit harder than you had originally thought. You were hyperaware of Yunho sleeping so close to you and that prevented you from getting relaxed enough to rest.

It's not a big deal, Y/n. You told yourself. Yunho is your best friend. You've known him for years. There's no reason to be nervous.

Minutes passed and you tried different positions, lying on your back, your left side, then your right side. Nothing was working.

Movement on the bed caught your attention as Yunho's head popped up, peeking down at you.

"If you're not comfortable, we can switch spots." He offered. "If it's me you're uncomfortable with I can sleep on the couch and you can have my bed."

The thought of sleeping in Yunho's bed under sheets that probably smelled like him drove you crazy, but the inflatable mattress was just fine, plus you didn't want to take Yunho's bed from him.

"I'm good." You assured him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. This is fine."

"Well, the offer is still there if you change your mind."

You murmured a thank you before rolling over, finally getting comfortable enough to go to sleep.

You woke up the next morning to Yunho shaking you awake.

"What is it?" You groaned.

"Get up. Hurry!" He pulled you to your feet, your knees nearly buckling, not used to all the sudden movement right after waking up.

Yunho wrapped his arm around your waist, pulling you downstairs to the living room window.

"Check it out." Yunho gawked as he gazed out the glass pane.

"Wow." You gaped at the amount of snow that had blanketed the front lawn, the sight instantly waking you up.

"Oh, how pretty." Yunho's mom marveled. "You two should go outside and enjoy it."

The both of you exchanged glances, but before either of you could speak, Yunho's mom did.

"Go on." She gently ushered the both of you towards your room, telling you to bundle up. "I'll start on breakfast and you two go have some fun."

You had no choice but to do as she asked, going right back to Yunho's room.

"I'm so glad I packed warm clothes." You commented, pulling out a sweater and thick pants.

After layering up and putting on your coat and house scarf, you stepped outside hearing the many inches of snow crunch beneath your boots.

"That's one way to wake you up in the mornings." Yunho chuckled, his breaths coming out in puffs due to the frigid air.

"That's for sure." You shivered slightly, the icy weather flushing out the last remnants of sleep from your body.

"Come on." Yunho's gloved hand grabbed yours, tugging you out into the yard. "We should build a snowman."

"With all this snow, we could built three snowmen."

Yunho retrieved his wand from the inside of his jacket with a smirk. "You wanna try it?"

A knowing grin spread across your face as you pulled out your wand. "Let's do it."

With a simple locomotion charm, the both of you had large spheres of snow rolling across the lawn, getting bigger and bigger.

"Bring that one over here." Yunho pointed. "We'll use that for the base."

You nodded, moving your snowball to its designated spot as Yunho stacked his on top, using his wand to place the last and smallest sphere on top. In no time, you had three perfect snowmen built in front of the house.

Using your wands, the both of you gathered sticks and rocks to use for the arms and face for each snowman, placing them accordingly.

"These looks great." You beamed. "It's been so long since I've done this. I feel like a kid again."

"Me too." He huffed out a laugh. "You think breakfast is ready?"

"I hope so. I'm starving."

"Come on." Yunho held out his hand. "Let's go."

Later that night, the air inside the house was cooler than normal thanks to the piles of snow outside. The double layer of blankets wasn't doing much to keep you warm, no matter how much you curled up or how high they were bunched around your neck.

"Are you cold?" Yunho asked.

You assumed he was asleep, so his voice startled you a bit.

"Just a little." You responded.

"Would you like to sleep up here? It's warmer when you're not close to the floor."

"I don't know. You've got that pillow fort up there, I don't think there's any room for me." You teased.

"I can always make room."

You were so desperate to get warm and Yunho's offer was very appealing, so you agreed.

Yunho shuffled around, adjusting his pillows as you got up off the inflatable mattress and joined him in the bed, which was noticeably warmer than your makeshift one on the floor.

You let out a content sigh, tugging the covers up over you.

"Better?" Yunho asked.

"Much."

At this point, the fact that you were sharing a bed with Yunho didn't phase you, in fact, it was the last thing on your mind. You were just grateful to be warm. Yunho shuffled a bit, giving you some extra space before rolling onto his side, his back facing you.

"This is so much nicer than that air mattress." You commented blissfully.

"I imagine it is."

"You don't have to be so far away." You told him, noticing the distance between the both of you.

"I just wanna make sure you're comfortable."

"I am. Come on." You tugged at the back of his pajama top, making him scoot towards you.

He kept his back facing you, too nervous to turn around. Yunho felt bad that you were cold and simply wanted to help out, but now that you were right beside him, things were starting to sink in.

"Goodnight." You murmured sleepily.

"Goodnight."

It was only when he was sure you were asleep that he turned around. Your cheek was squished against the pillow as small snores moved past your parted lips. His hand reached out towards your face, his slender fingers barely ghosting over your cheek. Yunho found himself unconsciously moving forward, his gaze focused on your lips. Before he could get too close, he came to his senses and pulled away, choosing to go to sleep.

It was finally Christmas Eve and things were in full swing at the Jeong household. Yunho's dad has just placed extra logs in the fireplace while his mom laid out all the sweet treats she had baked, going on about playing some board games later. Presents had been wrapped and placed neatly underneath the tree, each present with a different decorative wrapping.

"There's supposed to be some muggle

Christmas specials on tonight." Yunho's dad mentioned. "We should watch some."

"That'll be fun." You agreed.

"Oh, darn." You heard Yunho's mom mutter.

"Is everything okay?" You inquired, poking your head into the kitchen.

"I'm out of eggs." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "The store closes in half an hour. I need to go."

You and Yunho watched from the living room doorway as she hurriedly slipped on her coat, calling for his dad to come with her.

"You two will be alright staying here by yourselves for a little while, right?"

You both nodded.

With that, she pulled out her wand, both she and Yunho's dad apparating in the blink of an eye.

"I can't wait to get my apparition license." You commented.

"Me too. It'll be so convenient." Yunho agreed.

Letting out a sigh, you turned to face him.

"So, what should we do?"

Your question went unheard and unanswered by Yunho who was more occupied with something above you.

"Ah." Yunho glanced up with rosy cheeks.

Following his gaze, you spotted a small bundle of mistletoe hanging from the top of the doorframe, sucking in a deep breath at the sight.

"I'm sorry." He muttered embarrassedly. "My mom must've put that there."

The tips of his ears were a deep shade of pink while his cheeks were almost matching.

"It's okay." You shrugged it off, acting as if it wasn't a big deal to help Yunho feel a little more at ease even though you were internally freaking out just like he was.

Pulling your bottom lip between your teeth, you weighed your options. Either you could walk away and pretend this didn't happen, noting to avoid the mistletoe for the rest of your visit, or you could try and kiss Yunho and see what happens.

Before you could make a decision, he started to lean in closer, your breath catching in your throat.

Yunho's lips met yours, pressing softly as if to test the waters. Though there wasn't much force or pressure to the kiss, you could feel the pliant softness of his lips as they dragged slowly against yours before he pulled away, the lack of contact leaving you wanting more. Without hesitation, you leaned forward, reconnecting your lips. The action clearly caught Yunho off guard but he was quick to respond, his arms sliding around your waist pulling you into his broad chest.

Your mind clouded over immediately, the feeling of his mouth on yours was almost too much to handle, but still you wanted more.

You got your wish, because it was at that moment Yunho stepped forward, pressing your back against the frame of the walkway as he began kissing you more feverishly.

Your fingers found purchase in his dark tresses, tugging at his hair. He let out a grunt in response, pressing closer to you.

"Yunho." You murmured against his lips.

He pulled away for a moment, gazing drunkenly at you with half-lidded eyes.

"I like you a lot." You confessed breathlessly. "I have for along time."

"Me too." He sighed, leaning in to capture your lips with his once again.

Your leg wrapped around his torso, your fingers grabbing at the fabric of his sweater.

Yunho pulled away again, making you frown slightly at the loss of contact.

"You're so pretty." He stroked your cheek.

Your eyelids fluttered closed as you sighed out his name.

"I'm not sure how long your mom will be gone, maybe we should go somewhere else." You suggested.

"Say no more." Yunho began tugging you along through the living room and down the hallway to his bedroom.

The both of you collapsed onto his bed with a grunt.

"I think this was my mom's plan all along." He admitted.

"Me too. Maybe we should thank her." You chuckled.

"Maybe we should." He grinned, diving in for another breathtaking kiss.

Hongjoong ⟡ Seonghwa ⟡ Yeosang ⟡ San ⟡ Mingi ⟡ Wooyoung ⟡ Jongho

Masterlist ᝰ — enjoyed this imagine? reblogs & comments are very much appreciated!

DO NOT steal, plagiarize, copy, repost, alter, or translate my works in any way

🏷 @h3arteyes4mingi @weird-bookworm @poppy2007 @parkjennykim @evidive @mxlly143 @lizzymizzy-blogg @minhanbyeol @dinossaurz @laylasbunbunny

#yunho x reader #yunho x you #yunho x y/n #jeong yunho x reader #jeong yunho x you #jeong yunho x y/n #ateez imagines #ateez scenarios #ateez oneshot #ateez hogwarts au #harry potter au #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #kpop oneshots

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rebouks · 3 months

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Previous // Next

Robin: I had an idea at dinner-.. stand there. Clementine: I’ve never been good in front of a camera… Robin: It’s just an experiment. Clementine: Oh? Robin: You’d think there’d be more proof of ghosts existing if people could take pictures of ‘em, right? Clementine: Then perhaps we already know the outcome of this experiment? [Robin hummed, staring at the screen of his camera with a mixture of resignation and disappointment] Clementine: Well? Robin: You’re not there. Clementine: You don’t sound too surprised. Robin: I s’pose I’m not-.. do you even exist, Clem? Clementine: Ohh, that’s a loaded question, isn’t it? [Robin threw himself onto the couch, letting out a sigh far too wearisome for someone his age] Robin: No one else can see or hear you, and you’re technically not tangibly here either… What if you’re just in my head? What if there’s something like, majorly wrong with me? Clementine: I think you’re just special, darlin’. Robin: Weird, you mean. [Robin flexed his fingers against his chest, wondering what on earth had made him so different from everyone else] Robin: Did I tell you I made a friend on holiday? Clementine: How lovely! Robin: I guess-.. ‘cept I couldn’t even talk to her. Clementine: Oh. Robin: I always thought it was a choice n’ stuff-.. I’m starting to think I might just be broken though, like someone didn’t put me together right, or forgot to turn off creative mode before saving my character. [Robin’s comparison to a video game went straight over Clementine’s head, but it seemed more like he was thinking aloud than expecting a reply, so she didn’t interrupt him] Robin: I bet Alex would believe me-.. I got the feeling she was different too, maybe… Clementine: What makes you think that? Robin: I don’t know, vibes-.. wishful thinking? [Robin could have gone on, but someone had finally discovered that he wasn’t in bed…] Oscar: It’s way past midnight, what’re you doing up here? [Robin shrugged despondently; talking to himself, imaginary friends, ghosts? Each excuse more insane than the last] Oscar: C’mon, we’re not on holiday anymore… … Oscar: It’s only been a few days bud-.. she’ll write soon enough. Robin: How’d you know what I was thinking? Oscar: I’m a super good guesser. [Robin would’ve liked to believe that his father possessed the same abilities as him, but he’d be much more perturbed by his son’s presence if that were the case. He closed his eyes with a morose sigh, deciding that sleep was about the best escape he could hope for]

#ts4 #sims 4 #simblr #ts4 story #sims story #forever in between #fib #oscar finch #robin finch #clementine stanton #he's far too young for an existential crisis PLZ #fjfk #ig you would start to question your sanity if you were the only one who could see/hear someone tho #and he misses his lil bestie too #bwuh #;-;

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justmystyles · 11 months

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Hi, could you make a fic about something to do with money maybe Harry dating a girl who came from not much and she still isn’t used to the fancy things in life like he is and so when there dating she feels bad ever spending his money.

I’m currently having to sell most of my Harry merch because we can’t afford to fix things in our house and I am very sad over it so I just need some comfort but if you decide not to write this, you’re still one of my favorite writers. Thank you for all the comfort you bring me.

Love Don't Cost A Thing

read my other work here

pairing: Harry Styles x plus size reader

word count: 1.1k

warnings: a couple of curse words, but other than that, it's tame.

a/n: to my anonymous requester, i am so sorry for the hard times you have found yourself in. i wish i had something i could say that would help you through. just know that hard times don't last forever, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel, and i am hoping and praying that you reach it soon.

also, thank you so much for your kind words. i am so incredibly honored that you consider me one of your favorite writers, that compliment made more than just my day, i think it may have made my whole summer. i hope this blurb is what you are looking for, and provides you the comfort you need right now.

if you ever need someone to talk to, i am here. i may not be able to provide much, but i am happy to be a listening ear (reading eye?) if you need one. 🖤

tags: @allthelovehes @ameerakane20 @ash-craze @bethanysnow @blue-ballad @brightlightsinlife @creativelyeva @cute-as-ducks420 @fanficismydrug @gem1712 @golden-hoax @gothmingguk @groovychaosavenue @hillzrry @iceebabies @indierockgirrl @jerseygirlinca @jng4kook @jooniesbabie @kaverichauhan @lexiecamposv @mrs-anna-styles211994 @n0vaj3an @rach2699 @ravenclawdirectioner @stylesfeverr @superchrystaldrug @tenaciousperfectionunknown @tiaamberxx @thechaoticjoy @theekyliepage @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @youknowwhaaat

The waiter drops the check at your table, thanking you for coming in and continues on his way. You reach your hand out to grab it, but Harry beats you to it. Again.

“Harry, you don’t have to–”

“I know, baby, but I want to. I love spoiling my girl.” He reaches his free hand across the table, squeezing yours gently.

Ever since you and Harry started going out, you hadn’t paid for a thing. Not only that, but the things he’s been paying for have been extravagant and way outside of your comfort zone. The gifts, the meals, the flowers, the flights. He has taken you around the world and back, and has refused to let you pay for any of it.

Holidays and birthdays had been hard too. Harry always gave you multiple extravagant gifts, you could never even come close to matching it. He told you he didn’t care, that your gifts were always so meaningful, and that’s what was important. You knew he meant it, that he didn’t need you to buy him fancy things. He was more than capable of doing it himself. But it didn’t matter to you, you felt an imbalance in the relationship that was only growing with time. And you were sure that the gossip blogs and fans noticed it, talking about how you were just with him for his money. It wasn’t true, you and Harry knew that and it should have been enough, but it wasn’t.

You didn’t grow up poor, you were grateful for what you had and knew that there were others that were worse off than you. But you didn’t even have half of what you were experiencing now. Your parents raised you to be practical with your money, to save and not to spend frivolously. You always had what you needed, but weren’t always able to have what you wanted.

Now that you were with Harry, even if you just made an offhand comment about a cute piece of jewelry or clothing, all of the sudden it was yours. You love Harry, and you know he was doing it because he loves you too, but it still didn’t sit right with you.

Later that night, you were laying in bed together. Harry was talking to you about his schedule for the upcoming month.

“So I was thinking you could come meet me in Paris. We could go to that little cafe we love, do a little shopping.” He suggested with a smile, loving the idea of walking through the most romantic city in the world with the love of his life.

“Sure,” you agreed. “I could probably swing the money for a round trip ticket.”

“You’re not swinging anything,” he pressed a kiss to your temple. “I’ve got you, baby.”

“Harry, I can afford a flight.” You’re not sure you really can. You’ll probably eat canned goods and boxed mac and cheese for a month, but it’s better than the guilt you feel every time Harry opens his wallet for you.

“I know you can, but you shouldn’t have to. I’m asking you to come spend time with me, it should be my treat.”

“Yeah, but everything is always your treat, Harry.” You say with a slight bite in your tone.

Harry looks at you confused, and a little bit hurt. “Angel, are you alright?”

“No Harry, I don’t think I am,” you confess. “I can’t keep doing this, it doesn’t feel okay.” Harry stays silent, allowing you to say what you need too. “I love you so much, and you have the kindest, most generous heart of anyone I have ever met. I just, it’s just too much. The meals, the gifts. You don’t let me pay for anything, I feel like… I don’t know. I know you don’t see a problem with it, but I do. It just makes me feel… uncomfortable. I’m basically living off of your money, and I don't feel right about it.”

“Baby,” he said as he let out a breath. “I had no idea you felt this way.” He brought his hand up, brushing your cheek gently.

“I know you didn’t. And it’s a me problem, I know that too.”

Harry shakes his head sharply. “No it’s not, it’s an us problem. You’re my girl, we’re in this together.” You look down, overwhelmed by how tender he was being with you despite the way you unloaded on him. “Why haven’t you told me about this before?”

You shrug, “I don’t know, it sounds kind of crazy when you think about it.”

“How?” He asked.

“Because, there are girls that would kill to be in my position, who would love to be spoiled and given all these extravagant gifts, and here I am complaining about it. I sound so ungrateful.”

“Hey hey hey,” Harry holds your face in his hands. “You do not sound ungrateful.” He strokes your cheeks with his thumbs. “I love you, I love you so much and I give you all of these things because you deserve the world.”

“I love you too, but I don’t need all these things, the fancy dinners, the clothes, I just need you.”

He smiles softly at you, the adoration clear in his gaze. “I know angel, and that’s one of the things I love most about you. Your heart is so pure and good. I am so incredibly lucky that you have given it to me to hold, and I don’t ever want you to feel uncomfortable, especially not because of my actions.”

“I know, and that’s part of the reason I didn’t tell you, I knew you’d feel bad. I don’t want you to feel bad about doing nice things for me.”

“Tell me what I can do, how I can make you feel better.” He asked, willing to do anything to make you happy.

You take a deep breath as you try to articulate your needs. “When I offer to pay for things, let me.”

Harry nods in agreement, pulling your face to his and kissing you softly. “Anything you want, love.”

“And just because I say something is cute, doesn’t mean you have to buy it for me.” You add.

“Got it,” he kisses you again. “But I can still spoil you sometimes, right?”

“Sometimes,” you say in a subtle warning tone. “Just not all the time.”

Harry smiles, his brow arching mischievously. “How about I spoil you right now, and it won’t cost a cent.”

Your breath catches in your throat at the implication of his words. “Sure, I guess I’d be okay with that.”

#harry styles #harry styles x reader #harry styles x fem!reader #harry styles x plus size reader #harry styles headcanon #harry styles fluff #harry styles angst #harry's house #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fanfiction #harry edward styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles one shot #harry styles x you #harry styles x y/n #love on tour #harry styles blurb #harry styles fic

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onlymingyus · 1 year

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Hallmark Moment (SVTHUB; Snowventeen Collab)

❆ pairing; singledad! kim mingyu x singlemom! reader ❆ genre; fluff, angst, romance, crack, parent au ❆ warnings; singledad!mingyu, singlemom!reader, kids, food, alcohol, sickeningly sweet moments of cuteness and romance, some cursing, kissing, light touchy moments ❆ svthub snowventeen collab master list - snowventeen tag list ❆ part two ❆ w/c; 19k and some change ❆ a/n; this is all fluff and I really do hope you enjoy it. I thought I might step out of my smut comfort zone a little bit and write a bit of fluffy stuff for the holiday season. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season! a huge thank you to @housewifehui for reading along the way and then proofreading this beast and also thank you to my dear @onlyseokmins & @wonwussy for also reading and giving me confidence. fluff is not my strong point by any means.

“Let’s go, honey. Say goodbye to Amy so we can get out of Mr. Kim’s hair.”

Mingyu smiles at you, shaking his head while you both watch the girls start to complain about having to end their play date. You were always grateful for him picking them up after school so that you could take your time leaving work, but that didn’t change the guilt you felt. No matter if you enjoyed seeing him and Amy every weekday just as much as Mina did.

“Neither of you are in my hair. Besides, we really do wish you two would stay for dinner. I made enough spaghetti to feed a small army. Are you sure you won’t take us up on the offer Y/N?”

Mina whines, turning towards you to tug at the ends of your dress looking up at you. “Mommy please? Mr. Kim’s spaghetti is so much better than yours. I mean all of his cooking is better than yours, no fence mommy but it’s true.” You sigh into a laugh reaching down to tug at your daughter’s loose hair that had fallen from her ponytail. She had such a way with words and candor, something she had learned from you.

“Offense, not fence baby, and none taken. I know Mingy–Mr. Kim is a great cook.” Mingyu grins as you start to use his first name in front of the kids. He didn’t mind; he actually would prefer it, but he knew how much you wanted to teach Mina respect so he didn’t push the subject. When you sigh again and nod, Mina giggles moving back towards Amy to take her hand allowing the other small girl to pull her towards the dining room where dinner was already waiting.

You watch with adoration, trailing slowly behind them until Mingyu takes the spot beside you just inside of the dining room. Your eyes move over the freshly decorated Christmas tree just on the other side of the arch into the living room. Mingyu’s eyes can’t help but to mirror your eyes on the tree, but only, his stay on your face and your smile as it spreads across your face.

“It’s so pretty Mingyu. You put it up today?” Meeting his eyes, you feel your cheeks go warm at his attention already so focused on you causing you to look away when he laughs nodding towards the girls. “Yeah, they helped me. I just need to put the star on the top. Maybe after dinner you can help me with that?”

Nodding, you wrap your arms around yourself, making Mingyu’s eyes move over you once again with a smile. “Mm, perfect. Here, go ahead and join the girls, I’ll turn up the fireplace. You all get started with dinner.” You can’t help the shiver that runs through your body when his hand brushes over the small of your back causing you to smile, a smile that doesn’t go unnoticed by Mina or Amy who giggle in hushed tones.

“I know, I saw!”

“Tomorrow we will hang it up!”

Your brows furrow as you catch bits and pieces of this secret conversation, sitting down across from your daughter who had made sure to place you as close to Mr. Kim’s seat as possible. Her smile only fades slightly when you sigh and shift your plate and seat down a bit in order to give him more space. “You guys know how to set a table. You have to give people room to eat. What are you two whispering about?”

“Nothing mommy, and your seat was perfect. I don’t know why you had to move it…” You watch your daughter pout as you lean to begin putting spaghetti on Amy’s plate then her’s. “Okay, Mina. Napkin in your lap and eat slowly, both of you.” Amy smiles at you adoringly when you meet her eyes, making your chest feel warmer. You find yourself wanting to push her hair behind her ear and make sure she is well taken care of though, you know for a fact that Mingyu does a fantastic job of that even on his own.

“Yes, Miss Y/L/N. Thank you for staying for dinner. I really like when Mina is here for dinner and you too. I want you to do it more, please?” Your heart beats a little faster, your brain trying to come up with the right words, not wanting to hurt her feelings or give her any false hope. You simply smile, starting to speak when you feel warm wool around your shoulders.

“Amy, I’m sure Y/N and Mina will eat with us when they can and want to. Now eat up before all this hard work gets cold.” Your hands go to the shawl around your shoulders that Mingyu had placed there, your eyes meeting his to find him smiling. “You seemed cold, I hope you don’t mind.”

Mingyu’s hand slides over yours to take the pasta server out of your hand, gesturing for you to sit down. “And please, you are a guest, let me serve you since you served the kids.” You glance quickly at the girls as they giggle, spaghetti sauce covering their cheeks while Mingyu places a serving of spaghetti onto your plate.

“Girls, use your napkins. They aren’t just lap weights.” Mina sighs faux annoyed while Amy laughs, picking up her napkin wiping at her face. Mingyu grins as he watches you with the kids, enjoying the help with Amy and just watching you interact with them both. You were a good mom, attentive but still loving. It was clear that Mina loved you very much and that Amy had a special place for you in her life already.

Dipping out enough spaghetti that could feed two people onto his plate, Mingyu laughs when he finds you looking at him, his fork already twisting the pasta around it eagerly ready to bring it to his waiting mouth. He only stops at your look as you hold a much smaller bite an inch from your own mouth, a small amused smile slightly hidden by the spaghetti. “What?”

Shaking your head, you laugh before taking your bite, picking up your napkin to cover your lips and wipe them clean of any sauce at the same time. Mingyu takes his bite, filling his mouth with audible sounds of appreciation, making your heart once again feel full in your chest. Amy giggles drawing both yours and Mingyu’s attention while she watches her father eat with a shrug before pointing her fork at him.

“He always eats like this. Worse if you weren’t here Miss Y/L/N. Seriously, you could ask Mina. One time I think he inhaled an entire chicken off his plate. The whole thing!” Mingyu’s cheeks warm, he is quick to reach for his water taking a long sip looking at his daughter over the glass as she grins at him with one to match his.

“I think–” You can’t help but to laugh along with the girls when Mingyu has to clear his throat between talking before continuing, “Excuse me, I think that Amy is a bit dramatic. It wasn’t an entire chicken. I am just a person who enjoys a good meal.”

You nod along with his words, your smile as bright as the lights on the Christmas tree in Mingyu’s eyes while he watches you working to get another bite of food. “I like knowing you eat so well. It’s good, you are a very healthy man.” When you look up to find him watching you once again, your fork slips in your hand, causing you to drop what little spaghetti you had managed to gather on it, making the girls giggle at your clumsy nature.

“Thank you Y/N. Girls, eat your food. Stop giggling so much and actually put food in your mouths.” Amy and Mina mutter their okay to Mingyu’s words before going back to their meals, leaving you to regain your composure. A shared glance between the two of you and slight smiles hardly unnoticed by the two girls who kick at each other’s legs under the table before quickly laying down their forks, asking to be excused to go play.

A sigh falls from Mingyu’s lips before he smiles and looks to you for your opinion. “I–okay, but only for a little while longer. Mina, we can’t stay too late. You have school and I have work. I’m sure Mr. Kim would also like to have a peaceful evening before putting Amy to bed.”

The girls laugh nodding the entire time they run away from the table and towards Amy’s bedroom to play, leaving you and Mingyu alone to finish your meal. Mingyu smiles into his water once again before daring to let his eyes grace yours again. “You really aren’t bothering me by being here Y/N. I love having you and Mina in the house. It’s really nice. Amy loves having Mina here to play and I think, no I know, that she loves having you here too. She talks about it all the time.”

You shake your head, feeling your cheeks burning under his attention while you reach for your own glass of water, wishing it was something stronger. “Well we both really love her as well, and you. I mean we love spending time…with you. Mina hasn’t had a good male figure in her life in a long time. It’s really nice for her to have someone to look up to like you.”

‘...and you’ Those words take Mingyu’s breath away, causing him to sit back in his chair with a small grin, his eyes watching your fingers play with the glass of water. “Amy feels the same way about having a woman in her life. When you took her and Mina to that little nail salon a few weeks back? She couldn’t stop talking about it for days. She called my mom and talked about it for hours, about how Miss Y/L/N took her out for a girls' day. Y/N?”

Your eyes find Mingyu’s though you are smiling at his story about Amy and his mother when he says your name in a question. “Hm?” Mingyu’s grin widens at how your eyes widen slightly in a question to him as he stands to go to a small cabinet in the corner of the room. “Red or white wine?”

“Oh…I couldn’t. I have to drive home, and I told Mina we couldn’t stay for long.” Mingyu laughs softly, glancing back at you still taking out two wine glasses while you watch, a smile on your lips before you sigh. “Red, please? Just one glass.” With a nod, you watch the attractive man hold the wine glasses between his fingers and the bottle of wine in the other while he makes his way back towards the table and you.

Mina kicks her feet when she runs back to Amy’s bed falling down on it out of excitement. “Your daddy got out one of those big bottles we aren’t allowed to touch and mommy looked really happy. I seriously think Santa got the letters.” Amy smiles just as brightly as her father had while looking at you before falling back on the bed to lay beside her best friend, both girls letting out an almost dreamy sigh at the thought.

The two girls had spent many of their evenings after homework watching the Hallmark channel since they were playing Christmas movies. It all seemed so easy for people to fall in love and for families to have their happily ever after so why couldn’t they have that too? Why couldn’t their mommy and daddy have the same thing?

They had both watched you work so hard to support them even when you didn’t realize they were watching. They had seen you sad, crying when you thought no one else was watching, they might be young but they knew what loneliness felt like. Yes, you had lost a husband and Mingyu had lost a wife, but they had lost a mom and a dad.

Then something magical happened, they were put into the same class and quickly became best friends. You worked later than Mingyu, so it just worked out that he could keep Mina, making it easier for you to pick her up on your way home. The fact that you two seemed to get along so well was just another seemingly magical moment for the girls, a Christmas miracle. Just like one of the Hallmark movies.

Turning on her side, Mina reaches for the sprig of mistletoe that she had painstakingly tied the red ribbon around, her small fingers smoothing it while Amy watches her lost in thought. “Like you said, we can hang it up tomorrow. They have to walk under that archway like 100 times a day when your mommy comes by to get you. We will make sure it’s really visible so they won’t have any other choice but to go by the Christmas rules.”

Amy smiles as Mina does, her friend putting the mistletoe back down for safekeeping before sitting up on bed to reach for a small notebook that the girls now shared. “Okay so, we did plan one. Dinner as a family, check. Mistletoe tomorrow…oh the star tonight. Maybe we can get your daddy to help mommy to put it on the tree like in that one movie. Oh my gosh, Amy, did you see him put that pretty blanket on her shoulders?”

Mina watches the smile fade on her friend's face only slightly but she still nods. “Yeah, it was my mommy’s. At least that’s what daddy told me once when I asked. I mean I don’t mind your mom wearing it. She looked really pretty in it. I liked it, seeing her wearing that, instead of it just laying in my daddy’s room.” Mina leans to hug her friend making her smile once again, both girls laughing when the mood cheers back up.

“She did look really pretty, I think your daddy thought so too. I wish he’d just tell her. The girls in the movies seem to like it when the boys tell them how pretty they are. Maybe we can figure out how to get him to do that?” Nodding, Amy takes the notebook from Mina’s lap in order to write down the new idea on their list, knowing she was better at spelling out of the two.

“Daddy is a gennleman, he tells me that I’m pretty all the time. I’m sure he will be happy to tell your mommy.” A smile creeps along Mina’s lips at Amy’s words and her mispronunciation of gentleman while she watches the girl write slowly on the thick lines of the notebook. “Gentleman, like gentle. Mommy taught me that once. You know like when you touch a kitten, you have to be gentle?”

“Oh…that makes sense I guess? Daddy is gentle with me and you. He would be gentle with Miss Y/L/N and he’s a boy or a man.” Mina nods along with Amy’s words as if she made all the sense in the world, her smile just as bright as yours while you sipped at the last of your wine and leaned against the kitchen counter, taking a break only to dry plates as Mingyu washed them.

“Mina told me that you all don’t put up a Christmas tree?” Mingyu watches your face shift like a deer caught in headlights while you reach out to take the last plate from him, drying it slowly. “Okay, I’m not a Grinch if that’s what you are thinking, Mingyu. I just…I literally do not have time to put up decorations knowing that in a couple weeks I would need to take them all back down. You know how much I work.”

Putting his hands up defensively, Mingyu laughs, taking the towel from you along with the plate so he can put them away. “No, seriously I get it. I’m lucky to work from home most of the time. Mina can enjoy the tree here, I told her the same. She didn’t seem that upset about it honestly. Though she was more than happy to help decorate ours. I hope you don’t mind that she did.”

Shaking your head you pick up your wine, nursing the last new sips and watching Mingyu move around his kitchen as he puts away the last few dishes. Your eyes linger over his back and his face until he turns around to meet your eyes when you speak. “No, I don’t mind at all. It’s good she gets that piece of Christmas somewhere. She usually only gets it with my parents so it's nice to have it here too.”

Mingyu smiles once again with a nod, picking up his own glass of wine to take a sip. His eyes linger over your fingers and lips as you drink the last sip from your glass before setting it to the side. “It’s my pleasure Y/N. Are you sure you don’t want another glass of wine?” He watches a smile spread across your features while you consider his question.

“As much as I’d love to say yes, I have to say no. You understand, I’m sure.” Mingyu nods, taking your glass from your fingers, letting his fingertips trail from yours seemingly on accident when he turns to take it to the sink. “I do. Another time, a rain check? When you don’t have to work the next day. Maybe on a Friday? The girls are always asking for a sleepover.”

You watch his hands move over the fragile glass with such care that you can’t help but to tilt your head in wonder. How this large man could look like he was going to break something without even meaning to and yet hold something or someone like they were a cloud he wanted to keep forever. “They sure are. I keep telling Mina sometime later in the school year.”

Mingyu laughs, nodding into his wine, finishing it so he can wash his glass before setting it to the side to let it dry. “I wouldn’t mind it earlier, but of course it’s up to you.” You watch him take a deep breath, his hips leaned back against the counter mirroring you against the island causing him to smile. “Should we get the girls and put the star on the tree?”

Amy is mid laughter when Mingyu knocks on her open door, drawing both of the girls' attention towards him. “Hi daddy, what’s up? Are you and pretty Miss Y/L/N having good juice?” Mingyu laughs scratching the back of his neck realizing that the girls had been spying on the two of you. “Mmhm. We did have…good juice. Did you two have fun playing or did you spend your entire time spying on me and Miss Y/L/N?”

Mina sits up from the bed with a giggle while Amy tries to play innocent by picking up her doll running a brush through its overly tangled hair. “That’s what I thought. Come on, it’s time to put the star on the tree before you head home with your mom, Mina.” With a whine from both girls, Mingyu mimics them ushering out of the bedroom back down the hall towards the living room where you were already waiting.

Your eyes were on the tree, flicking from the different ornaments that had dates, some that were picture frames holding pictures of Mingyu and Amy. Your fingers pull the shawl tighter around your shoulders as you step closer to the fireplace, enjoying the warmth against your body and letting out a content sigh when Mingyu comes around the corner. Though neither of the girls seem to notice he stops in the tracks and has to take in a sharp breath at the sight of you like this.

Mina moves to pull on your dress moving to hold at the shawl also enjoying the warmth causing you to laugh. “Where is your sweater?” Amy laughs, moving towards you as well letting you hold her just as close as she speaks looking up at you. “She forgot it at school. I told her she would when she took it off. She can wear one of mine home tonight, I don’t want her to get too cold.”

Mingyu’s chest tightens when your fingers brush over Amy’s cheek. Your voice soft as you whisper your thank you to her, shrugging off the shawl to put it around both of the girls who curl up under it, enjoying the warmth and smell of your perfume you had left behind on it. Swallowing hard, Mingyu moves further into the room, his hand shaking slightly when he reaches for the box holding the golden star so he can take it out.

“Oh…it’s beautiful, Mingyu.” He grins into a laugh that is cut short when he has to swallow hard once again as you step closer to him and the tree. Your gentle fingers run over the star before you look up at him as if asking for permission which he gives with a nod of his head, allowing you to take the delicate tree topper from the box to show the girls who ooo and ahh.

“I love it daddy! It’s better than that stuffed elf we had last year. Did grandma give us this one?” Mingyu shakes his head no, a soft smile on his lips watching you move back towards him and the tree. Your eyes looking up at the top of the tree, you were clearly thinking there was no way you’d reach the top of it like this. “No baby, I bought it a few days ago from a shop in town. Y/N…wait, let me get a step stool.”

When you start to speak, Mingyu puts up his hand moving back to a hall closet to bring out a small stool unfolding it near the tree before offering you his hand stepping closer to you. “Carefully, I have you though, okay?” You laugh as you step up on the small ladder with a nod, your fingers delicately clinging to his while his other hand grazes your lower back.

Mingyu watches you carefully until you reach the top of the stool, his hands holding onto you gently but firmly enough that you could tell he would never let you fall. Never on his watch. Mina and Amy’s hands link under the warm shawl, happy smiles reaching their eyes while they watch you place the star on top of the tree making sure it is perfect. “How does it look, girls? Do you like this?”

Did they like this? Seeing the potential of a family in front of their eyes? “I love it mommy.” Amy squeezes Mina’s hand tighter, sensing the tears in her eyes helping her to hold them back. “Miss. Y/L/N, it’s almost as pretty as you. Don’t you think so daddy?” Mingyu looked at his daughter with a laugh playing on his lips but she was right.

“Mmm, almost but not quite.” Your cheeks warm, almost as if you were sitting right next to the fire, when you look down at Mingyu. His smile broadens into a grin before he takes a step back, helping you to carefully descend the step ladder. “Thank you for helping us put that up Y/N, it completed it. I could have never made it look that perfect.”

You watch Mingyu carry the step ladder away, your fingers nervously moving along your arms you now have wrapped around you with no shawl to hide under. “I’m sure you would have. The girls did a great job with the rest of the decorating. I’m sure they could have done the star just as well, but I am happy to help. It was nice to have a little taste of Christmas.”

Mingyu watches your hands move along your arms and he wonders if you are cold again, his eyes moving to the shawl around the girls but he knew he would never get you to stay for much longer. He found himself wanting to wrap you in his arms and hold you by the fire while the girls curled up next to each other under the shawl warm and happy by the tree.

Shaking his head, Mingyu pushes the thought away and smiles at you. “It’s my pleasure, just like I told Mina, you can always have Christmas with Amy and me. We do Christmas with my parents on Christmas Eve then spend Christmas here…I don’t know what your plans are…so I…don’t feel obligated.”

Mina sits up a bit looking at you longingly which makes your heart beat faster, an actual Christmas tree on Christmas for her. That would be nice…the thought plays through your head. “Uh we actually go to my parents on Christmas Eve as well so maybe. We will just have to see. Let’s not make any plans just yet.”

You watch Mingyu’s smile tighten every so slightly but he nods even as the girls start to complain. “Amy, stop it. Don’t whine like that. It’s almost time for bed anyway.” You nod agreeing with Mingyu taking a step towards the girls to collect the shawl folding it carefully. “It is, we’ve stayed far too late tonight Mina. Time to say goodnight.”

Amy and Mingyu watch you and Mina leave, a bit of sadness in both their eyes when your car pulls out of the driveway. Mingyu isn’t surprised when his daughter leans against him, a soft sad whine slipping off her lips. “You will see her in the morning. Time to brush your teeth, and I mean all of them, even the back ones.” Amy groans looking up at her dad with faux annoyance before smiling at him with his matching grin when he runs his finger over her nose only to tap the end of it.

You watch Mina in the rearview mirror any chance you get on the drive home. She looked sadder than normal and you weren’t sure why. Though you felt sadder than normal after leaving Mingyu’s house and once again, you weren’t sure why. Shrugging off the feeling you make it home with your daughter making sure to take extra care with the borrowed sweater she had worn home. “I’m going to put this in your bag, make sure you give it back to Amy tomorrow okay?”

Mina nods at you, her feet dragging while she walks past you towards the hallway making you lift your head and follow her. “Are you okay baby? Talk to me…are you that sad to leave Amy tonight? I know you want a sleepover but that just can’t happen on a school night. I really hope you will try to understand why?”

A sigh leaves your daughter’s lips, her small body plopping down on her bed before she looks up at you shaking her head. “I’m okay mommy. Can I say something and you won't be mad at me?” Your own sigh matches hers when you squat down in front of Mina to reach up, running your fingers over her soft cheek to offer her some comfort.

“Why would I ever be mad at you for saying something you feel like you need to say? Of course you can tell me something.” Mina swallows hard, leaning into your touch, her almost doll-like eyes avoiding yours, you know she is trying to keep her courage to speak. “I really like being at Mr. Kim’s house with Amy, almost more than here.”

Your stomach tightens, your brows knitting together at her confession but you nod starting to speak but Mina does first. “With you though Mommy. I like when we are all there together. When you get home from work, that feels like home. Coming here after leaving there feels like leaving home again.” Some of her words made you feel some better but others made it worse, but you’d never let that show not in front of her.

“Oh, I see. Is it our house? You don’t like your room maybe?” Mina shakes her head and finally meets your eyes letting you see a trace of wetness covering them, your heart feeling like it is going to shatter at her apparent sadness. “Oh baby…what’s wrong?” Shaking her head again the tears spill over Mina’s cheeks and she is unable to find the words only allowing her body to fold into yours.

Your own tears burn at your eyes but you keep them pushed back refusing to show weakness in front of your child. Fingers brushing through her hair, you hum rocking her softly until she calms down and soft snores take the place of her tiny sobs. Still you keep your own feelings at bay while you get her changed and tucked into bed making sure she is safe and sound, her door cracked when your back hits the back of your own door and the tears finally slip down your own cheeks.

Mingyu raises his brows looking up from his laptop to the sounds of hushed children’s voices. Taking off his glasses, he pinches the bridge of his nose with a sigh trying to make out what the girls are saying just a room away but instead he hears the sound of wood scraping along wood. “What in the world are they doing now?”

A small pained grunt falls from Mingyu’s lips causing him to put his hand on his lower back signaling he had been sitting at his desk for far too long anyway when he stands and moves towards the sounds of giggles. He stops short only to watch as Amy balances on the dining room chair, Mina trying hard to keep her held tall but still safe while she attempts to place something as high on the doorframe as possible.

“I need to get up higher. I’m gonna go on my tippy toes. Don’t let me fall, ‘kay?” Mina makes an unsure sound of approval going to hold Amy’s legs. Mingyu takes a step in closer only to stop again when he realizes that his daughter is holding a sprig of mistletoe in her little hand. “They have to see it here right Mina?”

“Oh…” The word slips from his lips just as a breath unheard by the girls when Mingyu understands what they are trying to do. A smile spreads across his lips only to be covered when he wipes his hand over his lips still concerned with the scene in front of him. He waits until Amy has placed the mistletoe on the side of the doorframe pointing outwards, as far up as she can get it before he clears his throat looking down at them instead of what they were hanging.

“Girls, you know better than to play on furniture. What if you fell down?” Amy panics, afraid her daddy will see the mistletoe before he should but when he doesn’t seem to notice she lets him lift her off the chair placing her safely on the ground next to Mina. “Sorry daddy, we were just…we were…”

Mingyu waits for an explanation but he knows it will be a lie and his daughter had been taught not to lie from an even younger age. “Playing on the furniture, I know. Now run on and finish your homework. I know you two can’t be done yet. We’ve been home less than an hour. I’m going to start dinner soon.” Amy lets out a breath of relief at not having to lie, making Mingyu smile, lifting the chair to take it back to the dining room when he feels a hand tug at his shirt.

A glance down makes his smile grow wider seeing Mina looking up at him, his heart warmer with her close to him. “What’s up Mina?” Her laugh is so similar to yours it makes him miss you being here. “Can you maybe text my mommy and see if we can stay for dinner again? Amy said tonight is soup night? I really like soup.”

God, how could he say no to that little face and that sort of request. Hell, if you said no he’d send home a bucket of the soup with you so that Mina could eat it for the next few days if he had to. “Of course sweetie.” His hand brushes over her head before he gestures with a nod towards the living room where Amy already was. “Now, go. Homework is waiting.”

Your phone vibrating on your desk was a welcomed distraction from your work computer letting you lean back and take a breath. You only had a couple of hours left but it felt like you had 8 more to go. When you see Mingyu’s name as the person who sent you the text you find yourself unable to hide your smile even when you know you are in your office alone.

Kim Mingyu: Hey, hope work isn’t too rough today. Mina wanted me to see if you two could stay for dinner again tonight. We are having homemade soup, a house special.

You swallow hard reading over the words a few times ready to decline him. You already had the words plotted out in your mind, ‘So sorry but I already kept Mina out too late last night. We’d love to do it another time.’ but another text comes in making you let out a soft sigh.

Kim Mingyu: I really hope you will stay for dinner. I enjoyed the adult company if I can be honest with you. I know you stayed out a bit later than normal so I will keep a better watch on the time tonight, scouts honor. What do you say?

“I doubt you were a boy scout Mingyu…” You whisper to yourself and the phone, your thumbs running over the sides of the device in thought. Another steadying breath taken you let your thumbs move to the keyboard so you can answer him not wanting to leave him on read knowing for a fact he would be waiting for a response.

Y/N: If you keep that promise cub scout. Soup sounds really nice, Mina really likes soup…but she probably told you that. Thank you for being so kind to us. You really don’t have to but I really appreciate it. I don’t tell you that enough.

Mingyu grins at his phone, raising a brow to your wording. Were you flirting with him? Shaking his head he chooses not to linger on that as much as your thoughtful appreciation. Which to him wasn’t even something you needed when it came to him. This was as easy as breathing for him. He wanted to do it, ever since he had met you and Mina it had always been on his mind. You had no one to help take care of you, not that you needed a man to “take care of you” but maybe you wouldn’t mind it once in a while to even have a friend lend a hand.

Kim Mingyu: You don’t even have to say it. You are a joy to have in my life.

The text comes through followed quickly by a second as your heart beats quickly into your throat. The correction calms you down but only slightly as you wonder if he had meant the first or second reply.

Kim Mingyu: *Our life. You and Mina are a joy to have in our lives. Haha…autocorrect.

Mingyu swallows hard, cursing himself for his quick wording and then his chickening out. His eyes watch the three bubbles pop up then fade several times before finally your response comes through.

Y/N: You and Amy are a joy in our lives too. See you later this evening.

You set your phone to the side, hands trembling slightly from how many times you had re-wrote that response. It had gone from, ‘But was it autocorrect Mingyu?’ to ‘You are a joy in my life too.’ before you finally landed on making you and Mingyu feel more comfortable with a safe response.

Mina and Amy giggle between spoonfuls of the soup while you and Mingyu share the occasional glance. Not much had been said between the two of you out of the ordinary. He had asked about your day, you had told him about it. You had asked about the kid’s evening and their homework and as usual it had gone pretty much the same as always except for a little mishap with climbing on furniture.

Now you felt warm and content in your chair, the same shawl from yesterday back around your shoulders while you sipped at probably the best homemade soup you had ever tasted. You had made Mina promise to not tell her grandmother that Mr. Kim’s soup was better than hers, causing a smile to grow on Mingyu’s lips before he met your eyes. Your heart racing ever so slightly under his gaze making you wonder how quickly you would be able to run away because you weren’t supposed to be feeling like this, not for him or anyone.

“Mommy, tomorrow is Friday.” Your attention brought back to the table you laugh nodding at your daughter's observation gesturing for her to continue. “And that means what to me Mina?” Her slightly annoyed sigh causes Mingyu to snicker into his water, getting a playful side eye from you before you give all of your attention back to the small girl sitting across from you.

“Well I was wonderin’ if maybe I could have a sleepover with Amy? If Mr. Kim says it's okay too?” Mingyu watches your lips tighten into a thinner line as you consider your daughter's question carefully. Your fingertips brushing together, a habit he had noticed you had when you were lost in thought. “I really wanted you to wait until near the end of the school year Mina…” You watch her face begin to fall and remember the night before, how you had held her in your arms while she cried herself to sleep. Your heart is tightening to the point of pain when you lift your hand to stop her from complaining or getting upset.

“If it is okay with Mr. Kim, then yes but only for one night.” Mina’s eyes glisten anyway when you say yes, her head turning towards Mingyu who was looking at you in almost disbelief. “Mr. Kim, can I?” Mingyu laughs quietly tilting his head, his hand moving to scratch the side of his neck. “Yeah, it is okay with me.”

Amy squeals in delight, putting her spoon down near her empty bowl before tugging Mina into a hug. The girls quickly begin to talk about their sleepover plans while you and Mingyu share glances then fond smiles. “Girls?” Your voice draws their attention causing them to stop for a moment with their rambles of excitement to look at you in question. “Yeah mommy?”

Clearing your throat, you wipe your lips with your napkin gesturing at their empty bowls speaking quietly but with authority. “Put your bowls in the sink and go play. Mina we are leaving in an hour. We aren’t staying as late as we did last night, especially if you are wanting your sleepover.”

Both girls smile at you quickly following your request before you and Mingyu listen to the sounds of their feet heading towards Amy’s bedroom leaving you two seemingly alone. “You know, I’m surprised you said yes.” You smile at Mingyu’s words leaning towards the table beginning to help clean up dinner, his chair lightly scraping along the floor so he can help you do the same.

“I’ve gone soft cub scout.” You listen to Mingyu laugh, it’s unlike his normal laugh, not as robust but instead it's almost warm and makes your skin tingle like a good sip of wine. “I’m glad, you deserve a little break once in a while Y/N. What will you do tomorrow evening?” Mingyu watches your brows furrow in thought, your back straightening while you hold bowls in both hands moving towards the kitchen and the sink.

“Huh…you know? I hadn’t even considered that. I have literally no idea. I haven’t had a day really alone in 6 years. I mean there have been afternoons but never really a night. Mina never wants to stay with my parents overnight, this is the first time she has wanted to stay overnight somewhere.” Mingyu follows behind you to the kitchen, the rest of the soup in his hand. He nods, only stopping to grab a few pieces of tupperware from the cabinet before turning towards you listening.

“Which, by the way, if she is a problem or has any problems obviously do not hesitate to call me. Literally it could be 2 in the morning. I will drive over here.” Grinning as he separates the rest of the soup into the leftovers containers, Mingyu nods then meets your eyes. “Don’t worry, you know I will keep in touch. I’m sure she will do fine but if we need you I will call you right away. I will always keep her safe Y/N. You are both very important to me, I–to Amy and I both. You know that.”

If he were any closer he would feel the heat coming off your cheeks. You were surprised it wasn’t boiling the water while you washed the dishes. “Oh…I, yeah. I, we know that. You are both very important to us too and I trust you completely Mingyu. She can just be a little sensitive, or you know, even dramatic sometimes. I was just wanting to warn you.”

Mingyu bites at his bottom lip pressing down on the lids of the containers glancing up at you to watch you rub the tips of your fingers together, soap dripping from your hands. “It’s okay. They are young, they’ve both already been through a lot. We can let them just be kids, can’t we? For one night?”

Your gentle smile and nod causes Mingyu to mirror it moving to the fridge to put one of the containers away, placing the other next to your purse on the counter. “This one's for you to take home. You don’t need to cook tomorrow. You said you don’t know what to do with yourself alone? Put on your most comfortable pajamas, heat up the soup, get a glass of wine, turn on the tv, and turn off the world for the night.”

It sounded like a dream. Something you never had time to do. Most nights after you got Mina home you barely took time to wash your makeup off completely before you fell into bed exhausted only to wake up the next morning, rise, and repeat. Mingyu grins, lifting his hand to cautiously push a piece of your hair from your eyes. “Then take a bath, not a shower. Take more than ten minutes to take care of yourself. Relax for once…”

When you laugh and don’t pull away from his hand, Mingyu takes a subtle breath in gaining some courage. “I mean…I could try those things. It will be easier said than done.” You watch him laugh, a nod of understanding, his body leaned up against the counter next to you, closer than he had ever dared to stand before.

“I get that but if you want to text me or call me to see how she is doing I won’t judge you. I will understand it completely. I will expect it actually, you are a great mother.” Your brain was running a million miles an hour. Has he always smelled this nice? When had his hand wrapped around your wrist? Why did it feel so nice to be touched by someone again?

“Thank you, Mingyu. Really, like I said, I don’t say it enough. You literally make it possible for me to have the job I do so that I can take care of Mina.” Mingyu smiles so bright even as his brows furrow, his hands moving the towel along yours to dry them off. “I already told you that you never have to thank me for that.”

“I know what you said but…” You walk with him, his gentle hand on your wrist leading you towards the living room only to stop short when he glances up to the doorframe then down the hall towards Amy’s room. Your eyes follow his making your words fall short into a small laugh when you see the poorly placed mistletoe that makes your chest and stomach feel warm and full.

“Climbing on the furniture?” Mingyu nods, his fingers very softly tapping against your pulse point keeping you close but never making you stay. “I think they are trying to tell us something.” You chew at your bottom lip considering that and how Mina had acted the night before when you hear the sound of whispers from behind you and Mingyu.

Neither girl was as quiet as she thought she was but both you and Mingyu could pretend for them to help them keep their little Hallmark moment. Tilting your head, your eyes narrow very slightly at Mingyu when you take a step backwards towards the living room bringing him with you under the doorframe and the mistletoe.

Mingyu chuckles quietly under his breath, his glance over your shoulder barely finding the girls as they peek over the sofa waiting with baited breath for you both to follow the Christmas rules. When Mingyu looks up at the mistletoe showing faux surprise you can’t help but to laugh quickly covering it up by pressing your lips together. “Well, Miss. Y/L/N we seem to have found ourselves under the mistletoe. There are rules about that aren’t there?”

Amy squeals only for Mina to elbow her side, muttering for her to be quiet while they watch. You roll your eyes at the perfectly charming and silly gentleman in front of you. His hand moves from your wrist to your cheek so he can push your hair over your ear waiting for you to speak but he almost renders you speechless with one simple act. “I–oh. Mistletoe?”

Mingyu watches your eyes move to glance at the mistletoe before they meet him again taking his breath away. The Christmas light plays off the color of your eyes making them sparkle. “There are rules, I believe you owe me a kiss Mr. Kim.” You watch a smile spread wider across his lips when you all but ask for him to kiss you. He had been waiting for that moment for months.

“You’re right, I’m such a fool. I knew that, may I?” His thumb on your cheek, his fingers splayed along the side of your face next to your ear Mingyu leans towards you when you nod and whisper yes and a small please. Mina is the one who lets out a small squeal this time when Mingyu’s lips brush over yours.

“It worked Amy…” Her little eyes threatening tears once again, she clings to her best friend while you two share your first simple kiss. It wasn’t anything they hadn’t seen in their movies but it felt more important even when you two stepped away from each other and laughed. You both seemed to glow in your daughter’s eyes. To them it was like seeing you both really happy for the first time in possibly forever.

Mingyu rubs his lips together, having to fight the urge to want to kiss you again and more fully. His eyes meet yours as you laugh, the warmth of your cheek under his thumb making him laugh when you reach up to move his hand down. Clearing your throat you carefully step away fixing your hair back from around your ear turning around pretending to be surprised when you see the girls behind the couch. “Girls! Were you spying?”

Both girls giggle loudly and duck back down making your and Mingyu’s hearts feel impossibly warmer and larger that night. His fingers brush over yours again causing you to look up at him meeting his gaze when he winks at you. He was entirely unfair. You look away like a shy school girl hearing him laugh moving his hand away walking into the living room to look for the girls as he leaned over the couch.

“Now how did that mistletoe get there hmm?” Amy looks up at her dad with a grin and a laugh only to be picked up and pulled over the couch in a fit of giggles. You watch as Mina moves around the couch trying to playfully help her friend, Mingyu letting the two girls quickly over take him beating him in “fair” combat before he surrenders only to pin them both, tickling them into another giggle fit.

You rest your hand against your chest over your heart leaning against the door frame still under the mistletoe while you watch. Tears threatening your eyes much like they had for Mina as you listen to her giggle louder than you had in months or maybe even years. If anyone had asked you what you wanted for Christmas at that exact moment you’d tell them nothing because you had just been given it.

“Mistletoe, add a big check. In fact, I think we can use the red colored pencil.” Amy laughs at Mina’s enthusiasm, the notebook on her lap, colored pencils laying on her bed next to her. “Got it. So, the teacher today was talking about how at holidays we get presents, right?”

Mina nods along with Amy’s words, her eyes following the other small hand as Amy makes the check mark next to the word mistletoe. “But she said that mommy’s and daddy’s don’t always want toys or games like we do.” Mina furrows her brows because this had been something she understood even though she did very much want a new doll from her list she also knew she wanted her family plans with Amy more.

“Yeah, she said to write them a letter telling them how much you love them.” Amy smiles, her brows wiggling much like Mina had seen Mr. Kim’s before after he had told them he had a surprise only for it to be dessert. “What Amy? Do you have an idea?” Nodding, the other girl moves to her knees on her bed, tearing out two sheets of paper from the notebook and handing one to Mina.

“We write letters to them and tell them why we think they should get married. I think they are already there. If this were on Hallmark we’d be only like two commercials from the end of the movie and the wedding. Your mommy needs time to pick out the best dress and my daddy probably already has a ring. He’s super smart like that.” Mina looked at her piece of paper before picking up a purple pencil considering her best friend’s words. She did have a point, if they were living by their movie logic this was all very much to plan but their parents could use a little push in the right direction.

“So a list of props and coms?” Amy nods excited, already scribbling on her page with a green pencil. “Yeah if you want to do it that way. Like they should get married because then your mommy wouldn’t have to worry about driving as far to work anymore.” Mina makes a sound of appreciation before nodding. Her pencil moves across her own page as she starts her list.

“Seriously, Amy…this is why you have all the stickers on your grade sheet. You really are one of the smartest people I know. Like mommy is the smartest then your daddy but you are right up there with them.” Amy beams at the compliment only looking up from her letter to her dad to watch Mina work for a moment. This was already the best sleepover either of them had ever had ever had, even if it was the first.

Mingyu had fed the girls dinner over an hour ago, leftover soup, before letting them go off to play. He had already told them they could stay up for a little while longer than usual but that he wouldn’t be tricked into letting them pull an all-nighter. Deep down he knew that neither of them would be able to do that no matter how hard they’d want to try.

Now he found himself stretched out on his favorite spot on the couch, his phone on his chest while he flipped aimlessly through channels on tv. Nothing had really caught his attention yet but mostly because he couldn’t get you off his mind. He had sent you a text just letting you know that everything was going well, you had responded happily to know it.

His lips pursed, Mingyu had told himself not to bother you beyond that. He himself had given you the advice to turn the world off. How could you do that if you had him texting you the entire night? It didn’t stop him from kinda wishing you would, even if it wasn’t about Mina. He had started to wonder if you hadn’t felt the same way about the innocent kiss as he had.

You were staring at your phone ignoring the tv completely. It would be so easy to just pick up the phone and text him, or even call him. You could even use the excuse of wanting to check on Mina. God that felt cheap, using your daughter as an excuse. Picking up your wine you all but pout into the glass taking a long sip of the alcohol lost in thought.

Why were you being such a wimp about this? He was just a guy, but was he? Of course he wasn’t. It was Mingyu. Mr. PTA, Mr. drooled over by every single other mother even the ones who weren’t single. This was Amy’s dad and at the end of the day that’s what really mattered.

Your wine sat down next to your phone, you swipe up the empty soup bowl taking it to the kitchen to wash only to glance back over your shoulder to the phone. “Fine…fine! Jesus, maybe he won’t think I’m completely pathetic.” Plopping back down on the couch you pick up the phone, pulling your legs under you before beginning to plot out what you’d try to text first.

Y/N: Hi, please don’t think I am a helicopter mom. How are things with Mina? How is your evening going?

God, had you sounded desperate? Was there an unsend button? There really was no way to put in an “autocorrect” mistake with how you had typed this. It was pretty clear and to the point that this was how you had meant to type the message. Picking up your wine you take a larger sip and wait, your knee bouncing lightly against the material of the couch from nerves.

Mingyu felt his phone vibrate on his chest causing him to jump slightly glancing around as if someone was going to point and laugh at him for being startled by it. When he saw no one else, he cleared his throat and grinned seeing your name. Of course you had asked about Mina, he had expected nothing else but you had also asked about his evening.

Kim Mingyu: Hey! Please, I’ve told you that you are a great mom. That will never change. Things are great, the girls were playing in Amy’s room. Quiet, perhaps too quiet but they are good kids. I don’t think I have much to worry about. Do you want me to tell her you said hi? I’m doing pretty good, just watching some tv. How about you? Are you trying to relax? Did you follow my advice?

Y/N: Yes, please, and tell her that I love her. Your evening sounds a bit like mine but yes I am trying to follow your advice. (picture attached)

Smiling Mingyu looks at the picture of the wine in your hand, the base resting against your leg that was covered in fuzzy Christmas themed pajama pants decorated with candy canes. His stomach felt tighter knowing you were comfortable and he hoped that you had little to no worries. It made him feel good to know that maybe he had helped you feel that way at least for a little while.

Kim Mingyu: Of course I will tell her. Very cute. I think I have a matching pair. Oh I think that there is some cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie on. If you are into that sort of thing. It looked pretty sweet. Just another recommendation.

‘Very cute’ This was fine. You were fine. Your cheeks were simply burning from your face from your wine not his text. Sure, and you hadn’t thought about kissing him again all day long. Sighing out a long slow breath you take a sip of your wine shaking your head to try to clear it.

Y/N: Oh? I will have to take a look. Is that what you are watching? A cheesy romantic movie alone on a Friday night?

Again, why was there not an unsend button on phones? You would think that the creators of such technology would know that people could not be trusted with their own words and needed at least a minute between each text being seen to consider what they had done. Instead you watch the message go to read and the three little bubbles pop up signaling that Mingyu was typing back to you.

Mingyu laughs, reaching behind his head to scratch at his neck. Was that a burn mixed in with a flirt? Is that what is happening right now? He didn’t want to presume but at the same time he was so tired of being afraid to do or say anything around you. He had shown that last night, granted a lot of it had been to not disappoint the girls but also to not disappoint himself for the 100th night in a row.

Kim Mingyu: Sometimes, all I’m missing is a glass of wine and someone to watch it with. I’d invite you to join me but I already gave you the night off. Should we do a rain check?

Was that a date invitation? Has the world begun to spin in the other direction? You were incredibly off kilter staring at your phone and his text in thought. Your fingers rubbing together, you chew on your lips trying to weigh out the pros and cons of accepting and rejecting him. If you accepted the rain check, pros would be; a lovely evening with a movie, a nice glass of wine, perhaps another kiss, who knows what else. Which then led you to the cons; who knew what would happen. It could end miserably and ruin your friendship with Mingyu while also ruining a friendship for your daughter.

Y/N: As much as I’d like to say yes to that, perhaps we need to remember who we are and who is around us.

His hands felt like weights but Mingyu understood what you were saying even if he didn’t want to. Leaning his head back on the couch, he sighed heavily when he heard a soft whimpering sound from behind him. Laying the phone down Mingyu shifted to look seeing Mina standing in the hall rubbing her eyes, tears running towards her lips.

“Mina, honey, what’s wrong? Come here.” The small girl wasted no time moving towards the couch curling her smaller body up to his making Mingyu take in a deep breath, his hand pushing her hair back so he could check her over for injuries or any signs of what was making her upset. “Talk to me, why are you crying? Did something happen with Amy?”

Shaking her head Mina whimpers looking up only resulting in making Mingyu coo in concern. His large thumbs wiping away her tears that seemed far too large for her small eyes. “Amy’s asleep. I was too but I had a bad dream and woke up. Mommy’s not here.”

Mingyu frowned but nodded, holding the little girl closer trying to comfort her like he had with Amy many times before. “You want me to call your mommy? She already told me to tell you hi and that she loves you but I know she’d be over here in just a little while to get you if you want her to. No one is making you stay the entire night Mina.”

Mina whines, shaking her head fervently, her hand gripping at Mingyu’s sweater. “I don’t wanna go home yet. I miss mommy but I don’t wanna leave. I wanna do the sleepover.” Mingyu nods, leaning to pick up his phone, pressing your picture on the screen to call you, making your brows furrow when you see his face pop up on your screen, having only expected a text message back.

“Hello?” You clear your throat answering the phone, the screen pressed to your ear, nerves eating at your stomach making you wonder even more why he was calling. It isn’t until you hear Mina’s tiny sobs that you sit up more in concern. Your voice quickly changes pitch, “Is she okay? I’m getting my shoes.”

“Y/N, no no, she’s okay. She just had a bad dream. She said she’s missing you. I thought if she could talk to you on the phone it might help. She was adamant she didn’t want to leave the sleepover.” Your whine reminds Mingyu of Mina’s causing him to close his eyes before he hands the phone to Mina who holds it with two hands to her wet cheek to meet her ear.

“Mommy?” Her shaky voice almost breaks your heart but also warms it at the same time causing you to sink back down on the couch. “Baby, are you okay? Talk to me. Min-Mr. Kim said you had a bad dream?”

You listen as the little girl recounts what she can remember of her dream. Something about a dark room at school and no one remembering to pick her up. Something that had never and would never happen, she knew that even as you promised and explained it. “Baby I will be there first thing in the morning to pick you up, I swear. Are you sure you don’t want me to come get you tonight? You know it doesn’t ruin the sleepover right?”

Mina whines causing you to smile, “Mommy no, please and if you come too early that isn’t good either. I wanna eat breakfast here. I’ve never had Mr. Kim’s breakfast. Wait Mommy you come eat breakfast too, like a family? Please?”

Mingyu watches Mina curiously, his brow raising at the word family. He was surprised how much it made his heart tighten and how much he wanted you to agree to the invitation. You chew on your lip with a sigh bringing your fingers up to pinch at the bridge of your nose considering everything that had happened, including turning Mingyu’s date invitation down.

“Mina…” The sound of your voice makes Mina start to tear up because she’s heard you say her name that way so many times, that is your ‘I’m about to say something disappointing’ tone. “Mommy, please!” The panic in her voice causes your heart rate to speed up when you realize how important this is to her, you weren’t stupid you had heard her call it a family.

“I–okay. I’ll be there for breakfast.” Mingyu watches the smile form on Mina’s lips making it impossible for him not to smile. “She said she’ll come to breakfast. I’ll even set the table Mr. Kim, I promise I’ll sleep the rest of the night. I love you Mommy. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Mingyu takes the phone back, able to hear you tell Mina that you love her too, so much, just before the girl slides off the couch running back towards Amy’s room and bed. “She’s back to bed I guess.” You let out a tired laugh feeling a bit caught by your daughter, leaning back on to your couch with a small groan.

“I told you she’s dramatic. I’m sorry Mingyu, I’m sure I can just take her out for breakfast once I get there. You don’t have to cook all that food for us.” Mingyu frowns when you start to talk your way out of breakfast, his disappointment clear in his voice. “I won’t make you stay for breakfast but I would very much like for you to be there too. It really did seem important to Mina…and now I’ll be honest it’s starting to feel important to me as well.”

The silence on the phone is almost deafening to Mingyu, he can hear your soft breath but he has no idea what you are doing or thinking. Had he crossed a line? “Y/N? I’m sorry if I–” You shake your head and speak up to cut him off when he starts to apologize. “No, I’m sorry. I’m really guarded for myself and for Mina. It’s been hard Mingyu, but I’m sure you have your own understanding of that. It’s easier to push away than it is to let anyone close.”

If there was anything he understood it was that. There had been other opportunities in the past for relationships but he had never even truly considered them, not until you. He was terrified to hurt Amy and in honesty he was afraid to get hurt. Now he was afraid to hurt you and Mina though he knew he’d never do it on purpose.

“Yeah, no I get that completely. But if I can tell you something without you maybe thinking that I am a complete idiot or hell, that I’m going too fast…” You feel yourself start to panic at his words but you stay silent wanting to hear what he has to say. “Don’t we deserve a chance? Don’t the girls deserve it maybe? I don’t mean to use the girls like that, because that isn’t what I’m trying to do so please don’t think I am, but it’s very clear to me that they are trying to say something.”

You know he isn’t wrong so you nod but then remember it’s a phone call. “You are right. They have been…trying. Dinners, mistletoe, “family”. Mingyu, what if things don’t work out for us? That’s all I can think about. I’m truly the worst when it comes to this. I make a list of pros and cons and even if my pros list is 100 times longer than my cons list those cons weigh 1000 times more. “

Mingyu sighs into a laugh and you can picture him nodding, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ve thought about that too, but I’ve also wanted to give this a try for months. Kissing you yesterday was more than just because of some mistletoe and because the girls wanted us to. I should have asked to kiss you long before that. There is so much I want to give you in your life and in Mina’s…because you have given Amy and I so much already.”

“Mingyu, please.” He smiles when you almost cut him off, your voice pleading in such a soft way it makes him wish you were beside him so he could touch you. “I’m serious Y/N. One step at a time maybe? We don’t have to say anything to the girls yet, we can just see how we feel and we can also remember that no matter how it goes for us we aren’t the important ones at the end of the day. What do you think?”

More of that deafening silence, god you were good with suspense. Mingyu chewed at his cheek looking over the lights of the Christmas tree, the gentle flickering almost memorizing him until you finally spoke. “Okay, I’d like to try, as long as we really do promise to remember to keep the girls first and not ruin their relationship.”

“I promise, with my entire heart I will not let that happen. I also will do my best to never hurt you, I think you’ve had enough of that in your life.” You close your eyes and mutter under your breath making Mingyu’s brows furrow while he leans forward looking down at his hand between his knees. “What did you say? You were really quiet.”

Your laugh makes him smile once again even as you sigh. “I was mainly talking to myself but I was just saying, please don’t say that to me Mingyu.” He shakes his head letting his teeth pull at his bottom lip not willing to give up that easily. “Sorry, no take backs. I mean what I say.”

Mingyu couldn’t help how many times he looked at you during breakfast. He hadn’t had the chance to see you early in the morning on too many occasions and if he had to admit it to himself he would love this opportunity more often. If it were possible you were even more beautiful in the early light, the sunlight in your hair, that soft smile on your lips any time you caught him staring at you.

Your cheeks had not stopped burning from the moment you had stepped inside the Kim residence an hour or so ago. Mingyu’s handsome smile kept catching your eye and you kept finding him unabashedly watching you. There was no way his attention was going unnoticed by the girls so you just did your best to keep yourself calm and not give off the wrong impression.

“So, did you enjoy the sleepover girls? What did you do?” Mina smiles at you, glancing between you and Mingyu before stabbing at her pancake while Amy answers your question. “We painted our nails, oh and daddy’s. Show Miss. Y/L/N how pretty we did daddy.” Mingyu sighs before extending his fingers out to you to show the pink nail polish covering some of his nails.

You laugh reaching to take his fingers into your hand running your thumb over his index fingernail appraising their work with a nod. “Mmm yes, this is good work. You will have to keep helping him out. There is no way he can look this pretty all on his own.”

Mingyu’s thumb grazes your palm causing you to look up into his eyes, your hand slowly moving from his. A smile growing larger on his lips when you clear your throat looking back at the kids. “What else did you do?” The girls go on to explain how they colored, played dolls, and made you both a present drawing Mingyu’s attention with those final words.

Even with his mouth full of pancake he makes a questioning sound tilting his head. “What sort of present?” Mina laughs at his muffled words shaking her head, “Mr. Kim! Don’t talk with your mouth full, bad manners.” When you laugh putting your fingers over your lips, Mingyu smiles looking over at you nodding before looking back to Mina after swallowing his bite of food.

“Mmm you are right, I apologize. My manners have returned, I promise. Now explain these presents.” You can’t seem to take your eyes off of Mingyu until Amy starts to speak, talking about how you two will have to wait until after breakfast. “They are like early Christmas presents but you have to get them before Christmas, you understand?”

Neither of you really understood but yet you both nodded to keep the girls happy telling them to finish their breakfast. Shared looks of some concern, you and Mingyu sip at your coffees when he nods and gets up to start clearing the table. “Well I can tell you this, no matter if we are getting early gifts or not, that does not mean anyone else is getting early Christmas gifts. I will not be bribed.”

Watching the girls finish their pancakes, you smile at Mingyu’s playful words before you stand to start helping him clean up. Each girl handing over their plate giggling when turned with a small surprised gasp to find Mingyu right behind you. “Sorry, I was going to…” Mingyu takes a step back so he isn’t breathing on to your cheek, his gaze unconsciously lingering over your lips.

“It’s okay, I’ve got the dishes this time. Why don’t you and the girls just enjoy the Christmas tree for a little bit while I finish up? Then we can figure out this present ordeal…” Mingyu smiles when you nod, taking a step away from him. Your eyes glancing back over your shoulder even as the girls pull on either of your hands to drag you towards the living room excited to turn on a movie with you.

By the time Mingyu finishes and makes his way to the living room he stops short in order to just take in the scene. Mina curled up against your right side and Amy on your left, both of the girls watching some Christmas movie on the tv while your fingers brush over their hair. This was what Mingyu wanted for Christmas, no one had asked him of course but they never needed to. He didn’t want physical possessions, he wanted this with you.

You smile when you look up realizing Mingyu is leaning against the wall watching you. Gesturing with your head you signal for him to join you with the kids. Amy is the first of the kids to notice her dad smiling brightly when he moves to sit beside her putting his arm behind you all on the couch. Her eyes meet Mina’s across your lap where they share an enthusiastic smile. Neither one wanted to move just yet, this was the closest thing they had to a “complete” family for their entire life.

Logically both of them knew that not every family had a mommy and a daddy. All families were built differently but it hadn’t stopped them from wanting that dream and when they had become friends it all had started to fit together like a puzzle that somehow no one had lost any of the pieces. Mina nuzzles against your stomach making you smile, your fingers threading through her soft hair while Amy drags your hand from her head down to her side where Mingyu’s free hand is, your hands brushing lightly.

Mingyu takes in a deep breath meeting your eyes, a gentle smile on his lips as the small girl’s hand tries to hold both of you closely. Neither of you had the heart to move them now. Not while they watched their movie, not while they seemed so content and happy. You wanted more happy days for Mina. Mingyu wanted them for Amy.

When you lean your head back and to the side, finding Mingyu’s arm behind you, the corner of his lips turn up. “I can move if you want.” He smiles a bit brighter when you shake your head no but you also don’t move your head. Instead he watches you lean your head against his arm while you watch the movie. Mingyu isn’t sure what the movie is even about, he isn’t sure he’d even care now. He can’t take his eyes off you or his mind off the feeling of you against him.

If it wasn’t for the cheerful music signaling the end of the movie not even the kids would have really realized the movie was over. They too had started to enjoy the warmth of the four of you curled up on the couch, the fire crackling nearby. Amy stretches, finally letting go of your and Mingyu’s hands leaning up to stretch, Mina quickly mimicking her. You both watch as smiles spread across their faces before the girls slide off the couch. “Both of you just…stay here.”

Mingyu laughs though he glances at you a bit sad when you sit up and slightly away from him but he knows why. “We won’t move Mina.” Amy grabs her hand dragging her towards her bedroom to presumingly grab the ‘early Christmas presents.’ You take a breath stretching a bit on the couch before feeling his eyes on you causing you to look over at Mingyu.

“Hi…” Just a simple word from his lips makes your skin prickle and a shy smile to creep along your lips. When you glance down at your hands Mingyu laughs, glancing back towards the hall to check on the girls before sliding closer to you. His fingers gently tilting your head back up to look at him. “I’m really glad you are here Y/N. I’m glad you came to breakfast and that you haven’t left yet…this is really nice seeing you for longer. Not feeling like you are always rushing out the door needing to get something done.”

His fingers push your hair along your neck causing your eyes to move along his face, from his lips to his eyes while you listen to him talk. “And I hope you don’t find me to be too forward and possibly an ass but if I don’t just say what I’m thinking with you I’ll chicken out and never say anything.” You laugh finding yourself just barely leaning into his delicate touch. “I think…I’d rather you just say it Mingyu. I can’t play games. Like you said I’m always rushing and there is a reason for that usually.”

Mingyu’s thumb glides along your cheekbone while his eyes seem to trace over your face like he wants to commit it to memory. “But we also have to be careful around the girls and not forget our promises. Remember?” He nods but doesn’t move, he simply points to his ear and smiles at you. “I’m listening for them and you can see over my shoulder. I just wanted a moment and I’ll move back, but I have to tell you that you are so beautiful. You always are but this morning you have taken my breath away every single time I have looked at you.”

Mingyu laughs when you try to look away, his thumb catching your chin turning your head back up to him. Your shy eyes meet his once again while he speaks. “And I know you know I have been looking at you quite a bit today. I apologize for that, I know it’s forward of me, but again like you said, no more games.”

You start to speak but Mingyu drops his hand and slides back a couple of inches, clearly hearing something you hadn’t but then you see the girls move around the hall. He smiles at you giving you a quick wink when you sit up a bit more trying to make it appear as if nothing was going on. You both quickly find out that neither of the kids would have noticed anyway, both of them holding a decorated piece of folded paper in their hands, their eyes on the paper.

“What ya got girls?” You smile at Mingyu's voice that seems to bring the kids out of their concentration and back to reality. Mina looks to Amy for her to take the lead knowing she had the most courage of the two of them. You feel your heart tighten slightly leaning forward reaching for Mina who takes a step towards you but doesn’t offer you the paper just yet.

“So we were learning about how not everybody wants toys and games for Christmas in school.” Mingyu nods along with Amy’s words reaching up to push her hair behind her ear, a smile on his lips. “Mm, that's very true.” She smiles finally meeting her dad’s eyes, most of her courage returning when she shows him the piece of paper. “Mina and I don’t just want those either. So we’ve made these for you.”

When Mina hands you the letter, you tilt her head up with your free hand smiling at her gaining one in return. “Did you decorate this too?” She nods, chewing at her lip causing you to laugh. “It’s so pretty, so many colors. Do you want us to read them now?” Mina nods, clearing her throat in an attempt to gain her own courage.

“Yes, please. They are very portant. I mean important.” Mingyu reaches over to brush his hand over her head when she corrects her word, a smile on his lips as Amy lays her letting in his hand. You watch the girls link their hands taking a few steps back choosing to sit on the floor, their eyes on you both in anticipation. Mingyu sighs a bit nervously, his glance meeting yours while his fingers unfold the letter carefully. You follow his lead doing the same with Mina’s, your eyes beginning to move over the page and her obviously carefully written words.

‘Dear Mommy,

First of tall, I love you very much. You are the best mommy in the whold wide world. Thank you for being my mommy. I do want dolls for Cristmas but I want something else too so I know how you make lists. I thoght I could do that too.

Props and Coms to you and Mr. Kim getting married: ‘

You look up at your daughter, your cheeks burning warm even though she smiles at you. Her spelling has gotten much better, that was your first observation. You were very proud of her but the context of the letter while not surprising was still a shock. Mingyu glances over at your letter, unable to stop the smile that crosses his lips before he returns to his own.

‘Dear Daddy,

I love you mostest. Even more than chocolate ice cream. I know you are the smartost person in the world so this won’t be a surprise. I don’t think I want anything for Cristmas. I mean if you ready got me presents that’s ok, I know Santa will bring more. I have been real good. But I want you to marry Miss. Y/L/N. I want her to be my mommy. I know she makes you smile like when I tell you a joke even though she is not funny. She’s really pretty. I know you tink so too. So I figure you ready have a ring like the boys in the Hallmark movie so maybe you can give it to her on Cristmas. Be a gennleman daddy.

Love, Amy’

Mingyu takes a deep breath finishing his letter while you are still going over the list of pros and cons or as Mina had put them props and coms for why you and Mingyu should be married. Less time on the road for you, she could have a daddy, you could have a husband. You sink into the couch continuing to read, realizing there were no “coms”.

Mina chews on her cheek watching you carefully finally moving to her feet to come to your side looking over your arm. Her little finger pointing to the last “prop” on her list. “That one is my most important reason. I like to see you smile and Mr. Kim does that the most.”

You swallow hard, attempting to keep yourself composed while you nod at her explanation. All eyes following your hands when you fold your letter back up and put it in your lap. “Um…girls.” That tone in your voice, the disappointing one that Mina knew. Amy watches Mina’s bottom lip start to tremble, the girl sliding from your grip but you aren’t quick enough to catch her before Mina is down the hall.

Mingyu frowns a bit folding his own letter, he wasn’t sure how to react to it all either. He hated to disappoint the girls but it wasn’t as easy as they wanted it to be. He watches you run your fingers through your hair before you stand and follow Mina down the hall, the soft click of a door opening and shutting then silence.

Amy doesn’t look up at her dad, the disappointment hanging in the air like a heavy fog. “Amy?” Hearing her name, she still doesn’t look up, instead Amy makes a sound to acknowledge that she had heard her dad causing him to slide off the couch into the floor with her. “It was a very nice letter, from both of you. A wonderful gift, thank you baby.”

She was strong, rarely cried so when tears slipped down her cheeks Mingyu had to hold his own back. “Oh, no honey. Listen, Y/N and I…adults are complicated. It’s not like the movies. Baby no one is trying to hurt you or Mina. I would give anything to give you the family you obviously want so badly…but things don’t happen for anyone in two hours like you see on tv. I know what you and Mina are trying to do and it’s so sweet of you both but can you do me a favor and try to let me and Y/N worry about the heavy stuff?”

Amy lets her dad hold her close, his fingers brushing away her tears while she nods. His heart still beating quickly listening to her soft sobs. “You are so young, don’t worry about playing matchmaker right now. Just worry about having fun with your best friend, about school, and about how much you are going to enjoy Christmas.”

Mingyu watches his daughter shrug her shoulders, his cheek meeting her forehead while he listens to her talk between soft whimpers. “I will try, but daddy I just wanted us to be…” He nods as her voice trails off because he knows what she wanted and honestly what he was wanting too. “All I can ask is that you try.”

Mina clings to you, both of you sitting on Amy’s bed surrounded by stuffed animals and dolls. Her little hands hold tightly into your sweater even though you knew she was upset at you. You hadn’t pressured her to talk, you had only told her how much you loved her and how sorry you were to disappoint her. It felt like you were always disappointing her.

“Did I not write it good enough?” Your own eyes close tightly, fighting back the urge to let tears slip from your eyes. “You wrote the letter so well. It was beautiful, Mina. I just need for you to try to understand that life doesn’t work that way. No matter if we want it to or not.”

She didn’t understand that, not when you looked so happy around Mr. Kim and then when you were at home you seemed sad. This was just logical to Mina. “I have so much to think about when it comes to who I would be with. My own pros and cons list would be much different, baby. You didn’t list a single con but I’m afraid there are always going to be cons.”

Mina shakes her head glancing up at you like you are speaking gibberish. “Like what? He’s so nice. You are nice. He cooks good and he has Amy. He’s a good daddy.” Your fingers work to untangle her hair while you sigh nodding. “You are right, I don’t disagree with those baby, but what about if Mr. Kim and I don’t end up getting along? I have to put you first always. Everyday I wake up with you in my mind and how I can make your life better.”

You watch her eyes blink out large tears that trail over her cheeks only to be wiped away by you. “My life, our life would be better with them.” You didn’t disagree with her but you couldn’t give her false hope when you were so uncertain of everything. The relationship with Mingyu had barely even begun. “Maybe, yes, but how about we just take this all one day at a time? Can you do that for me?”

You get a skeptical look from Mina who only when she meets your sad eyes does she nod. “Thank you. I love you so much, Mina and I would never hurt you. Not if I can help it, it is my job to keep you safe and healthy. That’s why I have to make decisions you might not like or go slowly with things even if it’s not how you want it to be right now. I know that’s a lot, maybe for you to understand but let’s just get through Christmas okay?”

Mina sighs, reaching up to wipe her nose with the back of her hand making you sigh. “Okay but only if you promise we will come here for Christmas.” She was so good at trapping you when you were weak, truly your child. “Okay, we will come here for Christmas, but only if you put this behind you and work hard at school.”

Sitting up Mina offers you her pinky drawing another sigh out of your mouth. “It’s serious business mommy.” You laugh, nodding when you link your pinky with hers, both of you leaning to kiss the top of your fingers sealing your promise. “No take backs.”

There were a few days when you were able to sleep in. Very few holidays that were deemed important enough that your work actually allowed you to have them off but Christmas was one of them. So you hadn’t set an alarm, instead you had planned foolishly to allow yourself time to sleep thinking you would get to sleep in to maybe even 8 in the morning.

When Mina’s body lands on top of yours, her excited voice in your ear all you can manage is a whine. Your hand pulling at her to tug her under the covers trying to make her realize it was far too early for this. “Mommy, Merry Christmas! We have to get up, what? No! No, under the covers silly. It’s already 5 in the morning. We are going to be late!”

“Late?!” You whine out the word and tug your daughter back to you hugging her tightly making her laugh. “I promise you Mina that Mingyu and Amy are not getting up right now, and if Amy has, Mingyu has done this exact thing to her. Now shh, sleep more.” Mine smiles curling her body into yours nuzzling under your chin listening to you talk.

“Mommy?” Her voice makes you let out a tired questioning sound, her fingers playing with the fabric of your night shirt. “You said Mr. Kim’s first name. You’ve been doing that a lot more.” Shaking your head, you pull her closer turning on your back. Mina watches you throw your arm over your face in the low light, a laugh on her lips. “Go back to sleep Mina. Give me at least another hour. Your mom is tired, and all she wants for Christmas is sleep.”

Mina smiles at your words nudging up against you with a small yawn, she had been wide awake but why was your bed always more comfortable than hers? It was so warm and you were so warm and felt so safe. She only nods a couple times before Mina is back asleep on your chest in a few minutes.

You hadn’t been wrong that Amy had attempted to wake Mingyu up just as early only to be wrapped in a blanket now squished up next to him softly snoring. Mingyu had managed to get around an hour more of sleep but as the sun began to rise he couldn’t help but open his eyes along with it. It seemed unusually bright, Mingyu had to squint sliding out of bed carefully not to wake Amy making his way over to the window to peek out. He can’t help but to smile a bit seeing a fresh layer of snow on the ground. “She’s getting everything she wants for Christmas it seems…”

Amy whines making Mingyu turn around seeing his daughter waking back up. She was struggling with his blanket that he had wrapped around her in attempts to in his own way swaddle his 6 year old daughter. A laugh falling from his lips he moves to help her untangle the fabric letting her sit up and stretch, her hair pointing in all different directions while she squints from the same light that had woken him up. “It’s bright…”

Mingyu runs his hand over her hair trying to tame some of the hair but he knows only a brush will really do the trick. “Mmhm, you should go into the living room and see why.” Amy grins, beginning to catch on to her dad’s meaning. Mingyu chuckles following behind his daughter, her feet hitting the hardwood floors quickly in excitement, a happy gasp leaving her mouth when she finally crawls up on the couch to look out of the window seeing the snow.

“Christmas miracles! Daddy, I asked Santa for snow!” Mingyu pretends to not know everything that Amy had asked for, simply letting his eyes widen in surprise. “And it seems like he probably left a bunch of the other stuff under the tree.” Amy giggles when Mingyu sits down next to her before she glances towards the tree in awe at all the different gifts.

“Woah! Why are there so many?” Mingyu can’t help but to cover his amused smile with his hand shrugging a bit when Amy crawls off into the floor to look at the gifts. “Oh my gosh, daddy! Santa brought Mina’s gifts here! How did he know? That’s so cool! You should call Miss. Y/L/N and tell her right now.”

Amy keeps carefully digging through the gifts, almost beginning to sort them while Mingyu shakes his head suppressing his laughter. “Should I? I will send her a text. How does that sound? Then I will start breakfast and you will keep your little paws off the presents. You will instead go take a brush to your hair and try to make it look like you didn’t get electrocuted.”

Pursing her lips in confusion, Amy turns to sit on her knees looking up at her dad as he pulls his phone from his sweatpants. She watches him send you a quick text, her head titling before he meets her eyes and laughs at her expression. “What’s that look for?”

“What’s lectrocuted?” Mingyu sighs and shakes his head trying to think how he could explain it, reading a text back from you, a grin spreading over his face. “It’s uh…you know what electricity is. The lights, when you get shocked. Your hair goes all over like that. Now go brush your hair Einstein. Mina will be here soon.”

“My name is Amy, you know my name Daddy. Just because you were reading your phone…gosh boys are so weird.” Laughing Mingyu simply puts his phone on the counter getting to work on Christmas breakfast hoping he will have at least most of it done before you arrive.

When you and Mina finally make it inside you are pulling her back to get her out of her jacket and shoes before letting her run off to find Amy. The smell of food hitting your nose makes you take in a deep breath, your mouth watering almost instantly. Walking through the house you find Mingyu in the kitchen, a smile on his face when you are finally close enough. “You finally just let yourself in for once.”

He laughs watching you roll your eyes, his own eyes surveying behind you only to step closer his hand running along your hip to pull you in a bit closer. “Morning…” Your cheeks warm instantly at his touch and attention. You still weren’t used to it and having to hide it from the girls made it even harder, but you still can’t help the smile on your lips. “Good morning.”

Mingyu’s lips press to yours gently and briefly before he lets you turn your head to see what he is working on at the stove. “It’s almost done. I thought I’d go a little traditional and a little not. I made some waffles, bacon, eggs, kimchi fried rice, and pajeon.” You shake your head reaching to pick up a piece of the bacon, biting off a piece then putting it to his mouth letting him take the rest from your fingers.

“You cooked enough for 10 people, Gyu.” He laughs swallowing the bacon, his neck heating up when you shorten his name. He still wasn’t used to it but he loved hearing it but he thought to himself there would be other names for him from you he might like even more. “Maybe but we can eat what we have leftover for lunch and then some of this like the rice will heat up really well for snacks.”

Always thinking ahead. One of the many things you found out that you loved about him. No, that you liked about him. You have to correct yourself even in your head clearing your throat nodding to his words. Taking one of the serving dishes you watch him carry three balancing one plate on his arm making you shake your head while you follow him into the dining room. Your eyes follow him but do seem to travel over his body until he makes a sound having caught you.

“Hmm, remind me later that I need to give you a Christmas present when we can be alone.” You start to complain but the girls running into the room at the smell of food cuts you off. “Oh my gosh! Mr. Kim, this looks so good!” Mingyu grins at Mina’s complement reaching over to ruffle her hair while the two girls take their seats. You start to move back to help him get the rest of the food but find him standing behind you.

“I’ve got the rest. Let me get your chair.” Amy makes an ooo sound causing Mina to giggle when Mingyu pulls out your chair for you, letting you sit down. “Daddy, so gentleman like.” Mingyu shoots finger guns at his daughter with a wink playfully making you laugh. “You said it right, I’m proud of you baby.”

Amy laughs rolling her eyes at her dad’s antics, her gaze finding you while you run your fingers over your hair trying to regain your composure. “Miss. Y/L/N, did daddy tell you about Santa bringing all the gifts here?” You smile at her and nod, leaning to start dishing out some food to the girls while Mingyu brings in the rest taking his seat.

“He did, that’s very exciting and convenient.” Mina laughs at how you choose to answer Amy picking up her fork stabbing at some of her food. “Amy said there are presents under the tree for you too Mommy and some not from Santa.” You furrow your brows glancing at Mingyu who tries to act innocent shrugging only to hand over the syrup to you.

“Is that so? Well we will have to take a look after breakfast is all done and cleaned up.” Amy nods in agreement while you raise a brow at Mingyu who simply smiles at you taking a big bite of pajeon. You shake your head amused with him deciding to pay more attention to the girls when you feel his free hand on yours under the table resting on your knee. His thumb gently glides along the back of your hand causing you to pause what you are doing.

Mingyu smiles at your reaction but he keeps the girls entertained talking to them both about the snow and the possibility of playing in it once all the presents are opened. When you turn your hand over letting his fingers lace with yours it’s his turn to be surprised. Mingyu’s breath catches, his eyes lowering to the table and both of you are pleased to hear the girls continue talking between themselves about their plans.

With your eyes on his, Mingyu doesn’t even hear when Amy speaks to him until you tap at the back of his hand and gesture with your head towards his daughter. “Mm what did you say sweetie?” Amy laughs, raising a brow at his reaction, some egg on the corner of her lips making him smile. She doesn’t budge even as her dad leans over to wipe them away, her mouth still moving to speak, “You two always take longer than us to eat but today can we maybe just go all together to the living room?”

Mingyu smirks into a sigh at her question, his hand falling from yours so that he can use both of his hands with his food for a few moments. “Yes, if we make a deal. When you two are finished, go start on dishes. We can work on them together then go open presents. You two always get out of dish duty. Give back since it’s Christmas, help me and your mom.”

You breath catches at how he says that last sentence and you notice that he seems to pick up on it too. “Mina’s…mom. You know what I mean.” Amy raises her brow even higher if possible glancing at Mina, both girls nodding but not before sharing a look of interest once again. You take a large sip of coffee meeting Mingyu’s eyes over the cup while he shoves food into his mouth only to glance away silently cursing at himself for a slip of his tongue.

Amy was right in knowing she and Mina would finish first. You and Mingyu watch the two girls gather their plates heading towards the kitchen only to hear the sound of water and their chatter when they leave the two of you alone in the dining room. “Sorry…” Your eyes lift to find Mingyu looking from you to his plate while he pushes around the last bit of food, concern written on his features.

“For? Why are you apologizing?” Mingyu sighs and almost whines making you laugh, it never ceases to amaze how a man so large could be so small sometimes. “Gyu, it’s fine. Nothing you said was…wrong really. I am a mom and they are now helping out. So where was the reason for you to say sorry?”

He picks up his coffee finishing off the last bit before sitting the mug back down, a soft breathy sigh slipping from his lips. “I’m trying so hard to keep my promise and keep everything from them but I also just want to be with you. I’m tired of having to pretend like I’m not falling in l..like I’m not in a relationship with you.” You watch him quickly backtrack on his words, your heart racing in your chest.

“I know, I don’t like it either but we said we wouldn’t tell them anything until we were sure about everything. We can’t risk hurting them. At the end of the day how we feel about each other is the least important thing.” That stung a bit, Mingyu’s face shows that just as much as it felt for you to say it. “Do you mean that Y/N? Or are you just trying to make it make sense?”

Mingyu watches you swallow hard, your head shaking while you try to come up with words only to fall short. His hand moves along yours on the table to hold it, his thumb sliding gently along your skin. “I won’t make you answer that right now. Let’s just have a good day with the girls and go from there, huh?” You nod in response, leaning your cheek into his lips when he leans to kiss it quickly.

The table slowly clears leaving you to grab just your own plate and a couple of leftovers so you can join the others in the kitchen. You find Mingyu at the sink having taken over the main washing duty letting the girls dry the dishes. A soft smile forms on your lips even though your stomach was in knots from your earlier words to him. Did you mean it?

You shake your head answering yourself in your head, no you hadn’t. He was important to you. The way you felt about him and how he felt about you was important, incredibly so. Over the past few weeks he had quickly become someone you looked forward to seeing as often as possible. You never thought that your relationship with him could make him an even better friend to you but you proved yourself wrong once again.

With the dishes washed and put away, leftovers safely secured for later, you and Mingyu follow the girls into the living room where they are given the go ahead to start going through the gifts. You join Mingyu on the couch sitting a few inches away from him watching Mina and Amy placing gifts into piles. “Are you going to take turns or just open them?”

Amy considers your question and picks up a gift with a grin that always reminded you of her dad, her eyes finding yours. “Take turns. This one is yours.” You furrow your brows reaching out to take the small long box from her hands to read the tag with a sigh looking at Mingyu who glances away towards the fireplace to avoid you. “Open it mommy.” Your fingers work over the wrapping paper slower than the girls would like but you find Mingyu’s eyes back on you when you finally reach the box under the paper and are able to open it, finding a thin gold bracelet inside. Small delicate gems hanging from the chain in different colors that shimmered in the light from the window making you take a deep breath.

“Do you recognize all of them?” You nod but quickly shake your head. You knew some of them but there were two you didn’t. Two stones were your and Amy’s birthstones, the others were different but it quickly made you realize who they belonged to. “You and Amy…” Mingyu smiles, reaching to take the bracelet out of the box, setting that to the side so he can put it around your wrist while the girls watch.

“So you can have everyone with you no matter where you are.” Mingyu isn’t aware of the tears in your eyes but Mina is. Her face falls in concern when she starts to move to her feet only to stop when you surprise everyone in the room by turning Mingyu’s face to yours pressing your lips to his. “Mommy…”

Mingyu smiles against your lips as the girls gasp and begin to talk excitedly until you pull back realizing what you have just done. “Oh my gosh! Santa got the letters for real. I mean it’s not a wedding on Christmas but…” Your cheek is warm under Mingyu’s thumb, his laughter helping to keep you grounded while you listen to the girls beginning to pick up other gifts.

“Seriously if he got that letter that means that I got a laptop Mina. Also we have like an entire wedding to plan. Daddy can’t do that and your mommy, oh my gosh she might be my mommy soon too!” You lean your head back and Mingyu lets you rest your head on his shoulder while he looks at the kids. “Hey what did I tell you before? Let us be adults and you two be kids. Open your presents.”

Amy gives him a sly look nodding while pulling one of her presents into her lap. “Whatever you say daddy.” Mina laughs almost matching her friend’s look before finding a gift with her name on it ripping at the paper. “Yeah whatever you say. You two just let us know when you need help. Cause we have an entire notebook ready. We’ve watched a lot of Hallmark movies.”

You sigh into a laugh finally looking up to see your daughter's eyes smiling when you see how happy she is. “I bet you have.” The rest of the morning goes almost as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Only a few glances from the girls and the occasional squeal of joy when they noticed that you and Mingyu were holding hands. It didn’t take long before they were both begging to go into the backyard to play in the snow.

Mingyu was more than happy to let you rest on the couch while he wrapped too many scarves around each of the girls. Both of them complained about needing to be able to move to play but he simply mocked them playfully tugging their hoods over their heads. “Stay where we can see you. If I look out that window and you are out of sight I will come find you and then melt all the snow.”

Getting a sour look from Amy, Mingyu smirked, pinching her nose before opening the door to usher both of the girls out into the cold. You watched from the couch, smiling when you saw them both come into view Mina instantly falling down to make a snow angel quickly followed by Amy. You don’t notice Mingyu joining you until his hand slides over your leg to your knee drawing your attention back to him.

“We will keep an eye on them, but they know the rules.” You smile with a nod watching him carefully and curiously when he leans up to reach behind a pillow to bring out another small wrapped gift. “You didn’t remind me but I remembered anyway.” When you laugh Mingyu’s smile grows exponentially, his eyes following your hands take the gift from him to set it on your lap.

“First of all you didn’t give me time to remind you and secondly I literally didn’t get you anything Mingyu. We said no gifts and you lied right through your perfect teeth.” Mingyu grins shrugging, reaching up to push a piece of your hair behind your ear while he glances out of the window to watch the girls playing. “I already got everything I wanted so maybe I did lie, but I think I like spoiling you a little bit. It seems like you’ve never been treated like this and I kind of like the look on your face when it happens.”

Your cheeks warm causing Mingyu to smirk when he feels it under his touch. “You are blushing again.” The sound of his laughter is music to your ears even as you elbow him playfully causing him to jokingly double over only to place a kiss to your cheek. “Open your present.” When you sigh, Mingyu taps at your nose while biting at his bottom lip watching you.

“Stop looking at me like that.” Another laugh slips between his lips at your words, Mingyu’s hand moving from your face to the back of your neck while he watches you opening the present. “How am I looking at you?” You shrug moving the wrapping paper to the side first before opening the top of the box avoiding his eyes. “Like a school boy in love or something.”

Mingyu raises a brow and shrugs his lips considering your words. “Interesting way to put it, but not far off.” You start to say something back to him but when you move the tissue paper in the box you find yourself speechless. Plane tickets along with another small unopened jewelry box sit on more tissue paper waiting for you to touch. “Gyu?”

“Hmm?” He watches you lift the box first, putting it to the side, then your fingers pick up the plane tickets where you read the dates of the flight, seeing two round trip tickets to New York City for a long weekend during New Years Eve. “Oh…how could we even do that? We both have kids and that’s just a few days…like literally…”

Mingyu hears you start to spiral so he takes his eyes from the window where he had been watching the kids playing to look at you. His hand moving to gently grasp your chin turning your head towards him. “Promise not to get too mad at me but I already took care of that. I spoke with my mom and yours. They want to split the time between them and take care of the girls. I believe your mom’s exact words were to “whisk you off your feet” so I’m here to whisk you off your feet Miss Y/L/N.”

Your hands were shaking so Mingyu took the tickets out of your hands reaching to pick up the jewelry box putting that into your hand instead. “It’s not an engagement ring. I’m not that crazy, yet, but please open it.” You look at the box using your thumb to push open the box only to have your breath taken away once more when you do find a necklace inside. “The girls found this one the other day and kept saying how it would look so pretty on you. I have to admit they have really great taste.”

You watch Mingyu’s fingers take the necklace from the box, he only makes a small questioning sound and you already know what he wants. He smiles when you lift your hair and turn your back to him so he can put the necklace around your neck clasping it only to let his fingers trace the delicate gold chain. Your fingers run over the small teardrop diamond pendant now resting on your chest, surprised when you feel Mingyu’s lips gently press to the side of your neck only once before he pulls away and lets you drop your hair.

“So are you mad at me for planning behind your back?” Mingyu watches you shake your head, not making him smile a bit brighter. He finds himself leaning his cheek against your palm when you reach up to run your thumb along his cheekbone. “No, I’m not mad. I’m just honestly really happy. You asked me something earlier and I avoided it. I didn’t mean what I said. You are so important, this is important. I’m sorry.”

Mingyu’s brows knit together, his face turning to press his lips to your palm causing your stomach to tighten to the feeling. “It’s okay. I know why you said it, but I’m so happy to hear you say this now. You are important to me too Y/N. Amy, Mina, and you are the most important people in my life and when I said I got everything I wanted for Christmas I wasn’t lying. This is what I wanted.”

You turn your head towards the window in order to stop yourself from letting tears fall from your eyes at Mingyu’s words only to find yourself watching as Mina and Amy throw snowballs at one another. Mingyu moves your hand into his, holding it at his chest, his eyes following yours to watch the girls playing until they notice you both watching and wave. “This is what I wanted too, Gyu. Merry Christmas.”

Mingyu smiles, meeting your eyes once again when you speak, your words going straight to his heart and stomach. When you lean towards him brushing your lips against his gently, he can’t help but to smile against your lips. Mingyu’s free hand moves to hold the side of your face gently while the snow starts to lightly fall on the happy girls playing outside making them laugh joyfully.

“Merry Christmas Y/N.”

❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆❆

tag list; @bangchanbabygirlx @just-here-to-read-01 @niktwazny303 @strawberri-uyu @yeritheloml @tis-niki @noraehey @hoohoohope @otterpopchan @xuxibelle @foxdaisy @smileysuh @vern0nsworld @synthetickitsune @enhacolor @pandorashbox @yeosayang @gyuhanniescarat @yoonguurt @jwnghyuns @xoxodino @sakurasangcl @woniewhite @fantasy2wonderland @midnightvalentines @junhui-recs @woozis-wife @cheolsbestie @sunnyteume @sakurasangcl @multi-kpop-fanfics @noseblowersanonymous @whyokoa @baldi-2 @misssugarlips @rubyscoups @httpswonwoosglasses @nikkell @midnightvalentines @onlywonus @raevyng @sstarryoong @dkakapizzaboy @noniestars @hoohoohope @kinohohoho

please note that I am doing my best to tag all of you who have filled out the tag list form but tumblr won’t let me tag some of you. I think that is because either you have tags turned off or possibly a blank tumblr page. consider reblogging some of the fics you like from me or other writers. ♥

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f1version · 5 months

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ONCE UPON A DECEMBER ‧͙*̩̩͙❅ CS55

pairing: prince!Carlos Sainz Jr. x princess!reader ( she/her )

summary: Once upon a December, be loved by Carlos was something your heart used to know.

warnings/info: royalty au — not in the present, angst, fluff, non explicit character death (you don’t see it happen), fighting, revenge, reader is 20 and Carlos is 22. also lewis and lando are extras in this, charles is mentioned.

word count: 1.2k

note: literally how did we get here. this was supposed to be holiday-themed, but i guess is just winter-themed, kind of. In my defense, the story starts on the 25th and mainly happens in December. I couldn't resist, this song just transported me to another reality.

i was deeply inspired by the song: once upon a december by christy altomare. i listened it for as long as it took me to write this. enjoy!!!

snowglobe, a holiday special

You stood by the window, red dress covering the high heels on your feet. Almost eight minutes had passed since you asked to be left alone in your chamber. You are anxious; a small part of you is afraid of the royals in the ballroom, which is why the golden band on your finger is twirled over and over again. It's calming. Fourteen days ago, there was a red diamond surrounded by white. Fourteen days since those lovely days in early December, warm brown eyes shimmering as your world watched you walk down the aisle.

You smile. Loving Carlos is past, present, and future now, wrapped in his arms for an eternity.

“Mi amor,” a deep voice reverberates around the room; it’s not foreign, yet you give a small jump out of your feet, caught off guard. You turn around, and Carlos is standing before you in a black suit, adorned with medals and a sash wrapped around his figure. He gifts you that blinding smile of his as tender fingers reach your hand, prompting you to twirl for him. “You look beautiful." There’s a pause. “I don’t believe there are enough words to let you know.”

“Thank you, mi vida,” you smile. “So do you.”

Hands travel to your waist, holding you close. His fingertips slide down the red fabric, roaming your corset as he leans down to press a chaste kiss on your lips. “Are you ready?” He asks, “It’s almost time to greet our guests.”

“I am ready,” you answer, looking down, verifying your theory that Carlos doesn't have shoes on. “Though you don’t seem so ready, Carlitos.”

“Pequeños detalles, mi amor,” Small details, my love, he teases, and you laugh, “It’s snowing, did you see?” He changes topics, holding your waist firm as he turns you around, avoiding any small incidents. “White Christmas for us.”

You had barely noticed, too focused on remembering. The gardens, kingdom, and beyond are covered by a thin layer of snow, the sun glimmering over them. “It’s beautiful”

“It is,” he mutters, walking forward so his chest is pressed against your back, his chin resting on your shoulder. “Almost as beautiful as you, mi princesa,” he plants two kisses down your neck. “Soon to be Queen."

You giggle, never been happier. Having Carlos by your side, giving you all the love one could wish for—the love that you deserve—is calming, so for the first time in months, you allow yourself to think about turning 21 early next year, the crown falling over your head as the rightful ruler of this land, Carlos by your side as Prince. It isn’t as nerve-wracking as it used to be.

You turn around, lips looking for his and falling in perfect rhythm. “I love you.”

“I love you more.”

You’re home building in the eyes of the others when there's a knock on the door, and as permission is given, Ms. Danielle appears. “Excuse me, Your Majesties, it’s time for your entrance."

“Oh god, Carlos, please go put on your shoes!" you exclaim, pushing him slightly. Carlos laughs, sneaking a small kiss on your lips before running away. “Thank you, Danielle."

One blink of a memory takes you down the stairs, the dim glow of the ballroom wraps around people you know and soon will. You and Carlos have parted ways to create small talk with said people; he's across the room, laughing at one of the awful jokes the Prince of Monaco loves to tell. Around you, there’s a group of kings and queens, dukes and duchesses, lines of royal blood enchanted by your presence, questions and anecdotes, laughter, and gossip taking your attention.

A firm grip on your arm turns you around, and now Sir Lewis Hamilton, Head of Army, is in your line of vision. You smile, except unsettling eyes meet yours, and suddenly, if you remember well, laughter fades into screams. People you know, will know, and could’ve known run frightened. You are under attack, and soldiers start defending. Carlos is screaming, giving them orders. He's helping people get to safety, but nobody is giving it to him.

You want to run towards him, but you are ushered away. You can’t see him any longer; the hands keeping you safe are not the same as they used to be. And you try to leave the safe room, knowing you are trained to fight for it, but they don't let you. They don't let you fall by his side.

Memories fade, jump, and dance. You’re in a meeting room, tension is building up as seconds prance through time. Sir Lewis is defending a point. You feel anger strangling your body. “You must have kept him safe!”

“They took him way before we could reach him, Your Majesty,” he argues.

“How?” You scream. “Do we not have enough people? Where were those who swore to protect his head?”

“They were defending, protecting, or dead before we noticed,” he defends. “Carlos was focused on protecting the people too.”

“I do not care.” You feel lightheaded, fury arrogating your body. “He must have been moved to the saferoom with me.”

“You are more valuable than he was."

“He was soon to be your prince!”

“And you are our future queen,” he shouts back.

Silence falls over the room, and you've never hated your future title so much. You feel eager for it, yes, but not for the right reasons.

“I wish for you to look me in the eye and repeat all of it, Lewis,” you say. He stands still, dropping his tense shoulders, and doesn't say anything. You walk closer, eyes buried in his, searching for malice—there’s none; they’re grieving. “Know your place, Lewis.”

He nods. “My apologies, Your Majesty.”

“I want you to find him,” You demand, not breaking eye contact, “No matter what you must do or how much time passes, I want the man who killed Carlos gone.”

There’s a sudden hunger in his eyes as he nods, leaving the place. You turn around, but you’re no longer in the meeting room. Scaping the sea of memories, you face your reality.

You stand by the window, red dress covering the high heels on your feet, patiently waiting for the right person to enter the room. There’s no anxiety in it; there’s anticipation—the golden band twirling around your finger over and over again.

It’s a beautiful snow day. Fourteen years ago, you were standing right here, mid-December, with a pair of brown eyes loving you, caressing you, and not having enough words to describe you. That type of love is barely a memory, buried six feet below his statue in the gardens he so dearly loved.

There’s a knock on the door. “Your Majesty?"

“Yes, Lando?"

“Sir Lewis is back; no severe injuries,” the boy announces. You hum, already knowing his next announcement: “He’s dead.”

You smile, looking down at your ring. “Thank you, Lando. Get back to your duties now.”

And as the curly-haired leaves, you wonder if this is what revenge feels like. Cold loneliness with a sense of fulfillment. There’s a crown heavy on your head with a target on it, but you are not bothered enough to care about it. Long ago, you could have held mercy over the man terrorizing kingdoms around you, fought until his defeat, but now feelings as such are things your heart used to know.

Your faint memories of Carlos lie in rest, avenged on a white December morning.

taglist — @smartstupyd @ziarah @nouvellevqgue @iloveyou3000morgan @carsgovroomm . . . add yourself here

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heyitsdoe · 5 months

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A/N- Happy Merry Holidays, @xisum! I am (obviously) your secret Santa for the discord exchange. Thank you for some lovely prompts, and I hope you enjoy the one I chose to write about. I hope you have a lovely day, and please enjoy this not so little piece I put together for you. <3

WARNINGS: None, enemies to lovers, hints of hurt/comfort but nothing serious

“This place is a fucking maze…” You growl as you run, Killer only a few steps behind you. The halls of the marine base were confusing and seemed to have no clear pattern to them. That, or the adrenaline currently coursing through your veins was just causing you to lose all sense of direction.

“Or you just don’t know where you’re going.” Was your masked companion’s biting reply. You manage to fix him with a steely glare even while still being pursued by the group of marines calling for your blood 30 paces back. You wished you could see the way his stupid face behind that mask looked so you could punch it.

“Shut up and keep running!”

“Go left.” He points up ahead towards a branching hallway.

“Why that way? Straight is our best bet!”

“Because the ship is west, and we’re running north!”

Ugh!

“Fine!” You gripe, veering left and plunging headfirst down the hall. Killer gains ground and now leads your wild escape through the interior of the base. A fact you aren’t particularly thrilled about, but you’d save your breath on getting the hell out of here first, you guess.

There’s no end in sight, and unfortunately, you begin to hear the tell-tale signs of more marines from somewhere up ahead of you. At this rate, you’d be cornered between two groups of marines with nowhere to go. The both of you come to the same conclusion together, and stop midway down the hallway.

“I guess we’ll have to fight our way out.” He swears under his breath.

“That’s an idiotic plan. We’re severely outnumbered.” You bite back.

“We’re kind of out of options here, Y/N.”

Eyes searching frantically, you scan the nearby doors for some sign of what they might hold behind it, but alas, they’re all just as nondescript as the next. Frustration and adrenaline rising, you throw your hands up and let out a noise of irritation.

Making the executive decision, you roughly grab Killer’s arm and the knob to the door closest to you. Ripping it open, you shove him inside none too gently, causing him to bump into something on the inside and curse at you. The next moment, you squeeze inside and shut the door behind you, locking it for good measure and plunging the both of you into darkness. At first, it’s too dim to see where the two of you had even ended up, but as your eyes adjust to the lack of light, and the tightness of the space becomes more apparent, you realize.

A supply closet. Great. And of course you’re stuck in such tight spaces with the man you could barely stand. Was this how you died? Cornered in a South Blue Marine Base supply closet? You’d haunt Killer for all eternity if so.

“Quit squirming around.” Killer mutters in a hiss as you shimmy and move so that you can try finding a more comfortable position to stand. The space is narrow, and with your size and his broadness, it’s not exactly roomy. “Do you want us to get caught?”

“Me?” Your gaze swings to the vague outline of him in the dark, and your arms cross. Try as you might, it doesn’t seem like there’s any way to not be touching him in this tiny closet. The places where your body touches him feel itchy and uncomfortable. “You’re the one with the bright idea to infiltrate the base to begin with. We wouldn’t be here if not for you.”

“They had intel we needed.” He ground out in a harsh whisper. “It was a smart plan, if we’d actually been able to execute it without problems. Like someone deciding to trip an alarm because you couldn’t keep your thieving hands to yourself!”

You open your mouth to retort, but a large commotion silences you. From the muffled voices, you realize that both groups of marines had met one another halfway down the hall, just outside your door, and were discussing your whereabouts. Killer stood as still as possible, mask trained on the door. You could feel his arm tense, blade ready to go should they start using their brains and attempt to open the door.

Forced into silence but still pissed off at him, you resort to glaring and thinking all of the negative thoughts. Perhaps if you felt them hard enough, they’d telepathically translate in his head and he’d know what an ass he was.

Insufferable, pig-headed, arrogant bastard!

Unfortunately you don’t possess the ability to project your thoughts, and so he stands there unaffected by your stewing irritation with him. Too preoccupied listening to the marines outside, or just intentionally ignoring you. Somehow, that thought was infinitely more annoying.

You shift, trying to reach for your weapon as well—you were still deciding if it was to prepare for a possible marine infiltration or you’d just whack Killer with it instead. His mask flickers to face you and he grabs your shoulder in a tight grip.

“Stop moving.” He whispers furiously, but you only try yanking yourself out of his grip. He lets you go, then focuses back on the door in case the noise had caught anyone’s attention. However, the marines beyond continued to report as normal, your shuffling gone unnoticed.

Soon enough the two groups came to a new plan, and went separate ways once more. You hadn’t been paying enough attention to have an idea of what they’d decided. All you cared about now was getting the hell out of here and back to the ship. You had a choice few words for your Captain about being paired up with his first mate ever again.

A minute or two of silence persisted outside of the door, until you reached over to unlock it. Another 30 seconds of waiting, with only the quiet as answer. Readying your weapon, you reach for the knob and yank the door open in a rush, Nothing came up to attack you, and the lack of shouting meant no one had heard you either.

No point waiting around for someone to fight. Without so much as a glance at the man who held your ire at the moment, you took off down the hallway, resuming your search for the exit once more. And, when that fails, Killer resorts to busing a window on the western side of the building. He doesn’t bother waiting for you and jumps out onto the pavement beyond it. You huff, using your weapon to clear out more of the glass since he hadn’t made enough room for you to get out.

He stood waiting outside with crossed arms, as if impatient. He didn’t bother doing anything other than watch. You flip him your middle finger and finally make it through to the other side yourself.

“Thanks for the help, asshole.”

“You managed, didn’t you?” The bastard even sounded bored about it.

Oh, you’d wring his neck when you got back to the ship. “I hate you.”

“Likewise. Now, keep up.”

It takes a few moments for the dull ringing in your ears to fade and the rest of your senses to return. The aches and pain didn’t hit until a few seconds after, and you grimace at the way your leg throbbed and stung.

“Fuck me…” You mutter, out of breath and coughing out puffs of dirt and dust that had made their way into your mouth. On shaky and painful limbs, you prop yourself on to sit up, eyes adjusting to take in your situation.

The cave had collapsed, by the looks of it. Only the dull blue illumination of the strange mushrooms that covered the walls allowed you to see anything at all. That damn treasure chest had been booby trapped, just like you’d suspected, sending everything tumbling down around you. You blink, taking a second to get your breath back, before you suddenly realize you hadn’t been alone.

You spot Killer’s unconscious form a few feet away. For a second, you only stare. Serves him right for triggering the trap you’d explicitly told him was likely there, you think. Then, you sigh. Kid would be devastated if his first mate and best friend were to die. And as much as you disliked the guy, you didn’t necessarily want him dead. He was useful in a fight and cooked a decent plate of spaghetti.

Shuffling over on your knees, you place a hand on his arm and shake none too gently.

“Hey.” Your voice is hoarse and scratchy, and you cough a few more times to clear it. “Killer, get up.”

It takes a bit of shaking to finally rouse him, but he comes to in a similar fashion to yourself. The mask shakes back and forth slowly as he gets his bearings. You hear him groan as he sits up himself, looking around at the small space the two of you currently were currently enclosed in. You hear his heavy sigh, and can’t help the glare.

“For the record, I blame this on you.”

He doesn’t deign to respond to your verbal barb, and instead takes better stock of your situation. He tries to stand, but can’t make it more than a few feet above his head before his mask thuds against the top layer of rock, sending several skittering down over you. The structure’s integrity was in question, and the possibility of collapsing what little space you have left leaves you both hesitant to go battering at the walls.

With a groan, he eases back down and sits. “Not a big space.” He mutters. “Which means not a lot of air.”

You pause, looking around and seeing your peril a little closer. You hold up a hand and keep it there, waiting to feel any sort of breeze cross your skin. But the air remains stale and still, chilly despite the hot summer’s day that had raged on the island you’d resided on. How deep in the ground were you?

Things were looking bleaker by the second, and your anger surges and rages alongside your creeping fear that this was the end, that you’d die here in a hole in the ground and no one would know where to look for you. Instinct wanted you to yell at your unfortunate companion, take him by the shoulders and shake him until his head spun, rip off that mask of his and give him a good punch.

At the very least you could get out all the feelings through a yelling match. That always seemed to ease some of the anger. “Stubborn idiot, I told you it was trapped. But no, you couldn’t have just listened to me.”

Killer gives a long sigh, quiet for a long time. Part of you were surprised he didn’t counter with an equally scathing retort. Your bickering had become second nature with how much the two of you verbally sparred.

“Can we just…not fight? For once?” When he does speak, his voice is quiet and exhaustion permeates through his whole being. “We just…that’s all we seem to do, is fight.”

You stare back, unsure of what to say. So used to the bared teeth, you don’t know what to do in the face of his sudden reluctance to fight back.

He continues when you don’t respond, shifting in place so he sat with his back facing you. “Kid knows where we went, but we’ll have to hope he puts two and two together to realize the cave collapsed and we’re underneath it. So if this is it, I don’t wanna spend my last few hours arguing with someone who hates my guts.”

The truth weighs heavy, just as the slimness of your chance of making it out of here cuts at your fearlessness. The Grand Line was a dangerous place. More notable pirates than you had died in better conditions. If anything, you should have shoved him away from that trapped chest instead of sitting back and letting him see what happened if he messed with the damn thing in the first place.

This was as much your fault as his.

Most of the anger that had been clouding your head dies down to a simmer, before dissipating entirely. Replacing it was an exhaustion to match Killer’s, and the aching of your body began to settle in place alongside it. Only the sound of his breathing can be heard, slow and shaky.

You make a decision then.

You adjust your legs underneath you and turn, sitting with your back facing him and close your eyes. Over time, your backs eventually rest against one another, but neither of you comment on that fact. If you were being honest, having someone here with you was infinitely better than being stuck in this collapsed cave on your own, where the chances of your disappearance wouldn’t be nearly as alarming. And not even just for that…but you at least were all alone down here in the dark.

“I don’t hate you.” You eventually mumble, realizing as you spoke the words that you meant them. He may piss you off in more ways than you can count, constantly try to show you up and just generally get in your way, but he was still a crew mate, and your Captain’s best friend. He had your back when things got dangerous, and despite an antagonistic attitude towards you in return, he’d never done anything to completely break your trust in him.

You don’t expect a response, and don’t receive one for a very long time as you wait for rescue to come. Better to conserve the little oxygen remaining in this stupid cave and keep quiet, you think to yourself, until Killer’s quiet words break the silence, and whatever hard feelings the two of you had held up to this point.

“I don’t hate you either.”

The cell door locks with a resilient clang. The Marine who’d thrown you both in here looks particularly triumphant and pleased with himself as he walks away down the hallway, casually swinging the key by his finger. You send a glare his way, hoping he trips and falls and chokes on the damn thing.

“Kid’s gonna be pissed at us. And it wasn’t even our fault this time.” You mention, forehead pressed to the iron cell bars morosely, ignoring Killer’s bored pacing. With the space so small, he couldn’t go more than three steps in either direction.

“Nothing to be done about it now.” He grumps, head turning as he paced to stare up at the ceiling. “There’s gotta be a way out of here.”

“Right.” With a glance at the sturdy and well-maintained set of bars currently holding you in the cell, you give a scoff. “You gonna stretch these things apart with your bare hands or something?”

Silence meets you, until you lift your head from the metal and glance at Killer behind you, who was testing the durability of the bars you’d mentioned. Shaking your head you can’t help a mirthful grin.

“Face it. We’re stuck in here until someone breaks us out.”

A dull thud denotes Killer’s frustrated kick at the metal, followed by a mumbled swear as his foot radiated pain where it had met the bars. The marine further down the corridor yells for him to knock it off.

He finally takes a seat in front of you, back to the bars as he accepted your fate for now. Lowering your head back to the bars, you watch your companion with a patient and appreciative stare. His mask is tilted to face outwards at the hallway leading to your freedom, until it suddenly shifts to point directly at your instead. Perhaps he’d noticed your staring.

“What?”

“Thanks. For earlier.” Noticing the way his mask tilts to the side in confusion, you explain. “That marine who was getting handsy?”

“Oh.” He turns away with a shrug, head shaking dismissively. As if he hadn’t one-punch KO’d the guy who’d been sneaking feels at your ass on your way to the jail cell. “It was nothing. You could have handled it. I just…got to him first.”

“I know I could’ve.” You agree, smiling a little. “It’s still appreciated.”

He hums in reply. Crossing your arms over your chest and settling in to get as comfy as possible in such a small cell, you stretch out your legs and cross them at the ankles, right beside where he is seated. Seeing your posture, Killer mimics it, letting his legs straighten beside your hip. There isn’t even a bench in the cell to sit on, so the both of you have to make do with what you can.

The distant bustle of the marines, whatever they were doing, kept your attention until the unexpected sound of chuckling beside you made you turn to look at Killer. His shoulders shook minutely, and you gave him a confused look.

“It’s always like this, isn’t it?” He gestured to the cell around you with one hand, before letting it drop back down in his lap. “Just you and me and some uncomfortable little space we’re forced into.”

“Just our luck.” You mutter as if bitter about it, but the tone in your voice is obvious that you find it a little funny too. And the uptick of the corner of your mouth makes that even more evident. “I guess I could be stuck in places like these with worse people. You’re not too terrible.”

“I’d take you over Kid any day to be stuck somewhere with. So, I guess you aren’t either.” He muses, and you can’t help the snort of laughter that leaves your mouth. The visual of Kid being caged somewhere with you was too nightmarish to think about. You’d go insane in an hour.

Another silence overtook the space between you, but this wasn’t uncomfortable at all. You’d grown so used to having Killer nearby in some capacity. Even when you didn’t find yourselves in situations like this one, you’d noticed he was around you a lot more frequently nowadays. Even Kid had remarked on the lack of hostility that had so distinctly accompanied so much of your relationship.

You felt a sort of ease being near the man, now that you didn’t feel like bashing his helmet into the nearest hard surface at any given time. Most of his quirks, you’d come to find, were amusing and to a degree…endearing.

Hell, you’d even call him a friend. And you had so precious few of those nowadays.

You settle in for the long-haul, knowing Kid and the rest of the crew would tear the place apart to come and rescue the two of you. All you had to do was wait.

You’re not sure what wakes you from unconsciousness, perhaps the gentle rocking of the waves or the slow drop in temperature as the sun finally dipped below the horizon and set the sky ablaze a warm orange. Whatever the reason, your eyes squeeze tighter before cracking open to peer at the side of the little rowboat you and Killer had stashed away on in your effort of escaping the disastrous events of Sabaody.

As the memories come flooding back from the day before, you rise in a rush and look out over the edge of the boat at the waters beyond. Not a single thing in sight, you realize with trepidation. Your heart beats hard in your chest with a thud, and your aching back protests as you stretch into a sitting position.

You turn to wake Killer, but are surprised to find him already awake and sitting up, watching you with a patient expression. It’s still jarring to see the blonde man without his helmet in place—a habit he’d only recently started around you—but you don’t squander the opportunity to see him in the flesh.

“Why didn’t you wake me?” You asked with alarm coloring your tone, but he holds up a hand.

“Relax, Y/N.” You can see the little log pose bracelet secured firmly in place on Killer’s wrist, and you breathe a little sigh of relief. “We aren’t lost at sea, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“How far from Sabaody are we?”

“No more than half a day’s rowing east.” He points in the direction the log pose is fixed to, before lowering his hand back to his lap. “It’s just a matter of waiting out the Admiral they called to the island. I doubt he’ll leave immediately after all of that. We’ll meet with the others at the rendezvous point in Grove 68.”

You sigh, shaking your head and holding it as an impending headache began to form. “I hope Kid and the others made it.”

“I saw Kid reach the ship. He would have gotten the rest to safety too.” The confidence and assuredness made it just a bit easier to breathe. Killer never had any doubts in your Captain. It was one of the things you liked about him so much.

Despite that comfort, you can’t help but wrap your arms around yourself protectively, mind straying to just how close you’d been to annihilation. A stray spark of light from Kizaru had nearly taken your head clean off. In the blink of an eye, your life would have ended, and it would have all been so fast and needless, you think. The heat from the bolt had nearly seared your eyebrows off.

“Hey, hey, come here.” Killer’s voice cuts through the rising panic, noticing your sudden change in demeanor, but you still feel like you’re drowning in emotion. The boat shifts, and his arms are quick to wrap around you a moment later. You settle into his embrace and shiver, letting the overwhelming grief of such a close call wash over you in full force. You’d never seen your impending death so closely before.

“You’re ok. Let it out.” His chest rumbled beneath you with his quiet words, unbothered that your silent tears were soaking his shirt. Fingers dug tightly into the fabric, holding him even closer to you, if at all possible. Shaking off the excess fear and anxiety, you stutter in breaths as Killer soothes you with his voice.

You cling to Killer like a lifeline, like the sturdy rock in a turbulent stream, using his steadfastness to anchor your unstable emotions. The way his heart beats on, strong and solid beneath your ear, the gentle rise and fall of his chest with every breath, and the feather-soft touch of his thumb trailing your arm up and then down again.

His scent fills your nose, calms your senses, eases your nerves as much as they could in the moment. Slowly, over time, as your breaths deepened and the panic that had gripped you faded, you lay there against his chest with closed eyes and so much appreciation for him in your heart.

How could you have ever hated a man like this, who held you without complaint so tenderly? What an idiot you’d been.

“Can we…stay like this for awhile?” You ask in a rough voice, swallowing back the warmth in your heart and the lump in your throat as you came to realize what it meant. “Please?”

“We’ll need to start rowing back towards the island if we’re going to meet up with the others…” He says, pulling away just enough to look into your face. And at first, you think he’ll gently ease you away from his chest, but something in your expression softens his, and he gives a gentle smile as he pulled you back into his arms.

“…but that can wait until morning.”

It was sweltering underneath the wagon’s canvas cart. The fabric of your clothes clung to every inch of skin on you, making every subtle shift of your position all the worse. And to top it all off? This operation required silence, so you couldn’t voice your displeasure aloud. Killer, who’d been tasked to accompany you in setting up this ambush position, was no doubt quite thankful of that.

You glance over at him just a foot away from you, wondering if he was suffering just as much if not more in that mask of his. Even his body language didn’t give much away. Thus far, the man didn’t fidget or shift around much at all. Remarkably still and calm, given the circumstances. You’d never been able to quite sit still just before a big fight. And this one would prove to be a rather big one, if the meeting of pirates to come was any indication.

It’s hard to resist another glance at your companion, and so yet again your eyes trail his muscled arms and broad frame, weapons rested easily on his knees to await the signal. His chest rose and fell in steady measure, the shirt taut over his muscled chest and offering a delectable sight.

It had gotten increasingly difficult not to let your gaze wander to the first mate over the past few weeks. Or to try not thinking about how he’d held you until you’d eventually fallen back asleep in his arms. The beat of his heart had lulled you back into that cocoon of safety and warmth.

And something in him seemed to change as well. He went without his helmet more and more around you. Your eyes met and held for several seconds before a timid smile would break the spell over you and cause one or both of you to look away. Fleeting little things, those moments. But enough that you knew something was there, surely.

He hadn’t said anything yet. Neither had you. The right moment hadn’t come, you thought. But perhaps soon.

Killer’s helmet tilted towards you curiously—realization hits that you were still staring at him—and you shot him a smile. Miming how hot you were with your tongue out and one hand fanning your face, he nods in agreement. His finger reaches up and taps the mask covering his face, head shaking ruefully.

You point towards his head, mouthing for him to take the damn thing off if he was feeling it too. He hesitates, no doubt wondering if to do so would leave him unprepared for the fight yet to come, but discomfort seems to win out in the end. Carefully, so as not to knock into anything in the cart or the canvas top covering it, he reaches up and lifts the blue and white cover from his face, revealing his handsome-yet-sweaty face. Another swift sake of his head sends sweat drops dripping from his face, before he gives you an appreciative look.

Your smile widens, glad to see him not so uncomfortable in this damn cart. Then, you reach for the bandana secured to your arm and untie it. Shaking it out, you lift it to his face and gently wipe away the excess sweat from his forehead and cheeks, watching the way he closes his eyes and allows you to touch him as you see fit.

It would be so easy, you think, to just lean down and kiss him like this. In the quiet, alone with no pesky crew mates around to interrupt you. You wonder if his lips are as soft as they look. If his kiss would be as gentle as you’ve started imagining it would be. In all your musings, you’ve stopped wiping at his sweat, and his eyes open to look at up to you tenderly.

The silence is thick, but the tension between you is thicker. Killer’s eyes drift down once to your lips, before meeting your gaze again. You feel his hand close softly around your wrist. The heat of the cart, coupled with the feelings getting caught in your throat makes you dry swallow. Your voice is scratchy and barely more than a whisper as you speak.

“Killer, I-“

The sound of a nearby gunshot startles you both in place. Another beat, before you realize the significance. That was the signal to break cover and support the crew. You scramble apart from Killer and grab your weapon as he swiftly jams the helmet back on his head. Sharing a nod, the two of you jump out from the canvas and attack anyone who dares step close enough.

The wind was brisk as you sailed away from the shores of Wano. Leaning against the Victoria Punk’s front observation deck, you watched as the island became smaller and smaller in the distance. While the beauty of the country couldn’t be denied, you never wanted to see the damn place ever again. Not after all of the heartache and grief you’d gone through while within its borders.

You’d nearly lost everyone. Your Captain, your crew, and…with a glance at Killer who stood beside you, face now split in an unending grin, you can’t help but wonder what was on his mind. He’d given up so much, lost some part of himself that no one knew if he could reclaim. A hollowness in your heart wouldn’t go away, no matter how hard you tried willing it to.

You should feel at peace, far away from Kaido and his beastly crew. For the first time in weeks, there was room to breathe, time to rest, and safe enough to let your guard down for just a moment. But there was no peace with the Kid Pirates. And there likely wouldn’t be for some time after.

“I can feel you staring.” Killer mentions suddenly, eyes still riveted on the place that had stolen his freedom of expression and his ability to swim all in one. You blink, the silence up to that point shattered.

“Sorry.” You mumble, shifting in place at the railing and giving a sigh. Perhaps you’d inadvertently made him feel uncomfortable. His laugh was already a sore spot for him, and now his altered appearance probably even more so. Your throat clears, desperately trying to fix the situation. “I just…was wondering how you were holding up.”

“As well as can be expected.” Is his colorless reply, face never breaking the supposedly happy expression. But from the side profile, you can plainly see the pain in his eyes. “I’m sure it won’t be easy getting used to me this way.”

You’re not sure what to say to that, and he seems to take your silence as something else, closing his eyes for a long while before turning to face you.

“Y/N.” Your name on his lips sounds so mournful all of a sudden, and you look up into his glistening eyes, struck by the juxtaposition of his smile in comparison. “I know that we almost…had something…before.”

Your mouth opens to reply but he troops onward, as if he’d never get the words out if he didn’t do it now. His hands take your own, thumbs brushing over the back of your palms. You squeeze his back in response.

“I’m sorry, for the person I’ve become. I’m sorry if I’ve changed too much for you to still feel…whatever you may have started feeling before Wano. But given the choice again, I wouldn’t change what I did. I would still eat that damn fruit if it meant all of you could be safe, even knowing what I’d be after.”

“Killer…” You mumble, heart-stricken. A tear slides down his smiling cheek, and almost instinctually you reach up to brush it away.

“You’re someone I cherish, and to know you’re safe, and happy, is all I want.” He concluded, eyes closing again. “I…still want to be your friend, if you’ll have me. But if you can’t, then I-“

“Look at me.” Is your firm command, and he stops mid-sentence, staring at you with such a sad gaze and brilliant smile. Hands reach up to hold his face, and you step closer to him, hoping he could see through to the depth of your feelings beneath. “I would give anything to return what was stolen from you; I’d trade places, cut off a limb…whatever it might take.”

You can already see the protest bubbling up from his lips, so you slowly shake your head and don’t give him the chance to interrupt.

“But even if there’s no way to do that, to give that part of you back,” you continued, ignoring the way your chest welled up as you laid you feelings bare after these months of holding them in, “you will always be enough, just as you are.”

The tears run anew in his eyes, and his chest heaves once with a stuttered breath as he grasps the weight of your declaration. He surges forward and wraps his arms around you in a crushing hug, squeezing you to his chest with a force that has you struggling to breathe. But you let him hold you so tightly without complaint, hoping that he would never doubt how much he meant to you again.

You think you hear him sob once into the crook of your neck, but you only hold him tighter, arms wrapped around his neck protectively.

“I think I love you.” Is his muttered, muffled confession.

A part of you always wondered, always assumed, that your attraction was mutual. The two of you were so closely bonded, love seemed like such a natural result. And yet you still feel that little skip of your heart as you pull him away just enough to looking into those beautiful eyes of his, and see the same adoration you felt for him reflected back.

And for once, his wide smile finally matches the emotions in his gaze.

His hands take hold of your head, gently, tenderly, and tilt your face as he leans in close. “I love you.” He says again, barely more than a whisper, eyes flicking back and forth across your face, searching for the answer to a question so obvious.

Your reply is an assured and determined meeting of your mouth to his. A kiss, so simple but with so much emotion and passion behind it that you felt something shift entirely. Even as his mouth molds to your, kissing you like he was savoring the moment, you could feel the upturn of the corners of his lips.

The next day may bring ruin and tragedy yet again, the journey ahead was fraught with mystery and danger, and yet you feared nothing, because after all this time, you had this man to have you and hold you and kiss you like he couldn’t envision anything sweeter. There in his arms at the front of the ship’s lower deck, everything felt right.

And when you finally did have to pull away to fill your lungs with breath, you matched his smile with a bright one of your own.

“I love you too.”

#one piece #one piece x reader #g/n reader #killer #killer x reader #massacre soldier killer #scenario #secret Santa exchange #secret santa

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