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#They think that school will be cancelled for the entire year.
maximoffcarter · 16 hours
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Your type.
Pairings: Casey Novak x Alex Cabot.
Summary: Alexandra Cabot was known as the top of her class and the good girl of Law School. Casey Novak was known as the famous softball player and the tomboy of Law School. Both meeting each other at a coffee shop, both in different stages of their lives. Would it work?
A/n: I needed to do some kind of college au for our babies. I thought it was cute, so here is my creation of it hahaha. I dunnp if it's any good or not, but I enjoyed writing this, it's been a while since I've done a college au, they used to be my favorites before haha. Hope you guys enjoy this, leave comments, hearts, whatever you like and reblog so this gets some love🫶🏻
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*not my gif*
Alexandra Cabot was top of her class. Many selfish and jealous people thought that she was the best just because she was a known person because of her last name. But the truth was that Alex was dedicated to school, she had always been, since she can remember; she spent her free days with books, she loved them. It wasn’t entirely a lie that her family had influenced her in getting into law school, but she was happy with her decision, and she was going to do anything to get to her goals, meaning, she wouldn’t let anything distract her from getting what she wanted. She was probably the only person in her class that didn’t go to parties or gatherings with her classmates, she didn’t go to the games the school held, she just focused on her studies. Did she regret it? Maybe. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to have a social life, she had her friend, but she knew that university was not about parties.
For two whole years it stayed that way, nothing had changed her mind, and she was still very much focused on her studies; that was until her eyes landed on a redhead. One of her classes had gotten canceled, meaning she had 2 hrs free to do whatever she wanted; so she decided to finish homework she had. She had thought about going to the library, but she decided she’d go for a coffee near her building, and she’d spend the two hours there. This was a coffee shop that she normally visited every now and then when she wanted to be at the library, the coffee, and the food in there was really good, and the environment was actually calm, and it helped her concentrate on the things she had to do. But as she sat down in her usual spot and looked around, she noticed a redhead taking an order. She had never seen her here, clearly, because she’d remember that beautiful smile. For a moment she was too stunned by how beautiful she was, she had stared way too longer that she didn’t notice her friend sitting right in front of her.
“Alex?”
Alex snapped out of her thoughts and stared at her friend. “H-Hi! Sorry. I uh…when did you get here?”
Erin chuckled. “I’ve been here for like 3 minutes. How long have you been staring at the redhead?” She grinned as she got her notebook and book out of her bag.
“I- what do you mean?” Alex chuckled nervously. “I was not staring at anyone, just…a bit lost. Thinking what I’m ordering.”
“Uhuh…as if you never order the same, Cabot.” Erin chuckled. “But okay, I’ll believe you. What are you ordering?” She raised her brow.
Alex sighed as she grinned. “Black coffee and a chocolate croissant.”
Erin laughed. “See? Why is it wrong that I caught you staring at the redhead? She’s really pretty.”
Alex shrugged. “I have never seen her here before.”
“She hasn’t been here for long. I saw her the day I came to buy us coffee. I think I heard she’s a law student too.”
Alex raised her brow. “Law student?” She nodded. “I can actually see that.” She said almost in a whisper as she got her things out.
“Alexandra Cabot is getting interested in someone after two years.” Erin smirked.
Alex looked up and shook her head rapidly. “I- Erin no! I just- I was-“
“Hi ladies! My name is Casey, can I offer you anything to drink or eat?” Casey smiled at both of them and then her eyes landed on Alex’s.
Alex cleared her throat as she looked up at Casey, trying to talk but all of a sudden, she forgot how to do that. Erin wanted to laugh but cleared her throat too, getting Casey’s attention. “I’ll get an iced latte with sugar please. And to eat, I’ll just get a muffin.” She then looked at Alex. “Alex? What are you ordering?”
“I- uh…black coffee and a croissant, please.” Alex offered a shy smile.
Casey grinned as she nodded. “Comin’ right up.” She then walked away, but not before she turned to look at Alex again, offering a smile.
Erin laughed and threw her head back. “Oh my, I never thought I’d live to see the day of seeing Alexandra Cabot getting nervous for someone! So.” She looked back at Alex. “Is your type redheads?”
“Jesus, Erin, drop it.” Alex sighed as she covered her face, blushing. “Let’s just-“ she sighed as she looked back at Erin. “Let’s get this done, we have class, and we need to hurry.”
“Avoiding. It is true that you always learn something new from people.” Erin chuckled teasingly as she opened her book.
Alex bit her lip as she looked at Erin for a moment, and then she turned her head to look at Casey. She had come out to Erin just a year ago, admitting that she had always been attracted to girls, but she never said a thing because she didn’t think it was relevant, but when Erin asked if she wanted to go on a double date with some guys, Alex thought it would be good to let Erin know that she was not into guys. She was relieved when Erin accepted her and never judged her, it was the other way around, actually, she was pretty much trying to get a date for Alex in every possible chance, but Alex refused reminding her that she only cared about school and not some dumb romance in university. But now…she had to admit that maybe a little crush on someone wouldn’t hurt. She didn’t actually have a type, she didn’t know if she did. But until now, all she knew, is that Casey could be her type.
********************
Alex sighed as she tried to keep her mind concentrated in the book she had in front of her, she was studying for finals and Erin was supposed to meet her at the coffee shop so they could study together, but at the end plans had changed and now Alex sat at her same spot, trying to focus on her book and hoping to not get distracted with the redhead. She didn’t even know if she worked that day, but the last time she had been going to the coffee shop, Casey was right there, and even if there was someone else taking orders, Casey was always the one that took their order. What Alex had been trying to avoid had happened; she had accepted to herself that she had a crush on Casey. She had been trying to avoid it, she had been trying to not think about her, but it was impossible after learning that she was also a law student, she was in her first year, so it’s not like they’d ever have same classes, but she had caught her in the hallways every now and then.
How did she know about this? Because of course Erin was encouraging her crush. She teased her every possible chance she had. She had also found out that Casey was in the softball team of the university, and it honestly made sense with how beautiful her body was. Alex tried hard to not think about Casey and about the new information that Erin had provided her, but in the last 4 months, it was kind of impossible not to think about Casey. That smile, those eyes, that voice. Alex was now lost, and she knew it. There was no turning back from this, unless of course, she tried to get over it or she found out that Casey had a boyfriend or something, which could break her heart…break her heart was probably too much. But she would feel sad? She was confused to say the least. It was just a stupid crush. That was it. A crush.
“Alex!”
Alex looked up from her book and her heart stopped for a moment as she stared at Casey, who was smiling at her. “Casey…hi.”
“You remember my name!” Casey chuckled softly.
How could I not remember it? “Yes, I do.” Alex chuckled. “You’re not working today?”
“Oh, I worked earlier. But I have finals, so they let me leave early. I actually just finished my shift and was going to stay around to study.” Casey smiled as she looked at Alex’s book. “I take it that you’re also studying.”  
Alex looked down at her book and smiled. “Yes…I uh…I am.” She looked back at Casey. “I’m just reading again, I already studied.” She chuckled nervously.
“Well, I’ve heard that you’re top of your class, so I believe you’re more than ready for any exam.” Casey grinned.
“You’ve…heard about me.” Alex frowned as she smiled.
“A little, yes.” Casey smiled. “I’m sorry I don’t wanna take your time. I- oh! I brought you this.” Casey placed a coffee and a small bag beside it. “Some encouragement to study.” She grinned.
Alex looked at the coffee and the small bag and smiled. “Is that…”
“Black coffee and a chocolate croissant. You always order the same.” Casey smiled. “I’ll see you around?”
Alex nodded. “Hey…do you…maybe want some help with studying? You can sit with me if you want to.”
Casey smiled. “Really?”
Alex nodded again. “Sure.”
“I’d actually appreciate that.” Casey smiled as she placed her backpack on the floor and sat down in front of Alex.
Alex knew that this wouldn’t really help her crush, but at this point, who really cared about it? She was going down, bad, and she knew it. Casey had heard about her, she knew her name, she had even learned her order. And the funny thing was that the very first time she met Casey, she had brought her a plain croissant because Alex had not mentioned she wanted a chocolate one, but suddenly Casey started bringing her the right order, and now she learned it, and even if it seemed nothing, it was everything to Alex. But then her mind started playing tricks on her. Why would someone like Casey want to be with Alex? Even hang out with her? It was surprising enough that Erin was her friend, they were totally different but similar at the same time, but they were able to build a close friendship. But Casey, she was younger by two years, but why would she find any interest in Alex? She was probably just being friendly, maybe she just wanted to know people who were older to have some sort of help in school, but the reality was that Alex didn’t care. The thought of helping Casey and being able to spend time with her made her feel good. This was so wrong, but she didn’t care.
********************
“Where are we going?” Alex asked as she sighed, crossing her arms as she waited for Erin.
Erin smiled as she walked to Alex, closing her closet. “We’re going to a softball game.”
Alex frowned. “We never go to those, Erin.”
“Now we are.” Erin grinned as she handed Alex a shirt with the softball team logo.
Alex stared at it and then realized what Erin was doing. “Erin.” She looked up at her. “No.
“Alex. Yes.” Erin smirked as she threw Alex the shirt. “C’mon, we’re gonna be late.”
“You made me come all the way here so you can embarrass me and take me to a game. Casey’s game.” Alex grabbed the shirt from her shoulder, looking down at it.
“It’s just a game! You get to see Casey play. You’re gonna tell me you don’t wanna see her.” Erin smirked as she turned to grab the rest of her stuff.
Alex sighed as she took off her hoodie and put the shirt on. “You’re gonna pay for this.”
Erin laughed. “You’re gonna tell me you haven’t been spending more time at the coffee shop.” She turned to look at Alex. “Oh, wait. With Casey, actually.”
Alex frowned. “I…haven’t.”
“Oh, yes you have. I saw you two days in a row, sitting with her.”
“I was helping her study!”
“So you introduced yourself?” Erin raised her brows.
Alex cleared her throat as she looked down at her hoodie. “She heard about me and knew my name…” she whispered softly as she looked up at Erin.
Erin smirked. “Oh, someone’s got a crush on you.”
Alex rolled her eyes. “Can’t we just go? Please.”
Erin chuckled. “Fine, let’s go.”
As they got to the field, Erin tried to get them to good stands so they could get a perfect look of the game. Erin went crazy buying food and snacks, but Alex was truly nervous that she’d be seeing Casey playing. In one of their meetings, Casey had talked about her playing softball and the training she had, which meant that she barely had any time to do anything at all, between school, work and practice, her days were pretty busy. So the fact that she had stayed hours with Alex meant everything to her, even if they had been mostly studying the whole time. Alex looked around as she sat down, her eyes suddenly landing on the redhead who was stretching. Her breath hitched as she noticed the tight uniform and how it hugged her body perfectly; she wanted to give herself a slap as she was focusing on her body, which was definitely not right. Her eyes went back to Casey’s face, and to her luck, Casey was already staring at her, a smile on her face as she waved. Alex blushed slightly as she waved back, smiling back at her.
Eventually, the game finally started, everyone around them screaming and clapping for the team. She didn’t even know what was supposed to happen in the game, but she was willing to stay focused for Casey. Erin tried to instruct her what was happening, but even if she tried to listen to Erin, she really didn’t understand a thing. Finally, Casey put on her helmet and grabbed her bat, earning loud screams as she walked to her base. Alex’s eyes lit up as she looked at Casey, smiling as she positioned herself; she had seen some baseball games with her father before, and so far, she knew that Casey’s team was winning, and if she hit a…homerun? Something. They’d win the whole game. Or that’s what her mind made up. She couldn’t help but scream and stand up when Casey started running fast around all the bases, the whole crowd going insane screaming Casey’s name. Erin and Alex jumped and screamed together as Casey’s team surrounded to celebrate the win, everyone cheering for them and throwing food and water. Alex’s eyes focused on Casey for a moment, and her smile slowly faded as she noticed a girl hugging Casey and placing her hand on Casey’s cheek, leaning in to kiss her cheek. Alex cleared her throat and looked at Erin, offering a small smile as her heart sank.
Alex had asked Erin if they could already leave, not wanting to stay there anymore, even if it meant that they’d lose the celebration and the team. Erin had drunk a lot of soda and water, so Alex was waiting for her outside the restrooms, wrapping her hoodie around her waist and crossing her arms as she looked around. A bunch of people kept celebrating and screaming, running around, and jumping. Alex never understood sports, and she couldn’t believe that Erin had convinced her to come just to have her heart hurt at the sight of another girl kissing Casey. She sighed softly, rubbing her face, and groaning softly.
“Alex!”
Alex uncovered her face and her heart stopped for a second as she saw Casey running to her. “Hey.”
Casey smiled widely as she stood in front of Alex. “Hi. I’m so glad I caught you. I wanted to say hi since I saw you at the start of the game.”
Alex cleared her throat. “Oh. Uh. Well hi.” She smiled. “Congratulations, by the way. Good game.”
Casey chuckled as she looked at the ground for a moment. “Thanks.” She looked back at Alex. “I didn’t think Alex Cabot was a sports girl.”
Alex huffed a laugh. “I am not.” She shook her head. “But uh, my friend Erin, she dragged me here. I’m waiting for her so we can go.”
Casey nodded. “Oh, got it.” She smiled. “Hey, uh. So…later we’re throwing a small celebration party, since this was the last game of the season. I was wondering…if you wanted to come.”
Alex stared at Casey for a moment, thinking that maybe she had heard wrong. “Uh…a party?”
“Yes.” Casey smiled. “I mean I don’t normally go to these parties, but you know, we won, thought it could be fun for once. I don’t really have to work tomorrow so. And I was actually going to call you, you saved me a phone call.”
Alex smiled softly. “So…even if I didn’t come…you were going to invite me?”
Casey shrugged. “Why not?” She grinned.
Alex nodded. “I uh…well, I don’t normally go to any parties. I don’t…really get invited but uh-“
“We’re definitely going!” Erin said as she walked out of the restrooms, smiling at Alex and then at Casey. “That’s if I’m invited too? If not, I’ll drop of Alex.” She grinned.
“Of course! I mean, the team is inviting a lot of people so.” Casey chuckled. “So, yes?”
Alex looked back at Erin and then at Casey, smiling as she nodded. “Sure. Where?”
Casey’s smile widened. “Uh…Tina’s house. Back Bay area, there’s going to be a big sign outside the building, so you won’t miss it. I can call you later and tell you the right address.”
“Sounds good.” Alex smiled.
Casey nodded. “Alright, I’ll see you then. Bye Erin.” She smiled before she walked away.
Erin’s mouth opened in surprise as she turned to look at Alex. “Alexandra Cabot going to her very first university party! Oh my! We gotta find you a perfect dress!”
Alex rolled her eyes as she sighed, turning to look at Erin. “Don’t get too excited, Er. I think I saw a girl kissing Casey’s cheek.” She started to walk, trying to hide the excitement she felt.
Erin frowned. “Oh, c’mon, Alex.” She followed her. “That doesn’t mean anything! I kiss you on the cheek too, doesn’t mean we’re dating.”
“I know but…” Alex scoffed. “Why would Casey Novak be interested in someone like me? Like seriously. I’m older than her, I’m…literally a nerd.”
Erin raised her brow. “You do realize that it’s obvious that younger people are fascinated by people of our ages. Plus, it’s two years. And!” She jumped in front of Alex to stop her. “You’re not the only nerd. Casey is top of her class.” She grinned.
Alex frowned. “What?”
“Uhuh. Laura was telling me the other day. We go to the same hair salon, and she was talking about how Casey was the smartass in their class. So her asking you to help her study? Yeah, that was definitely just to spend time with you, Cabot.” Erin smirked.
Alex shook her head as she tried to hide her smile. “Okay…even if she wanted that. I still don’t think she’d be interested in me.” She shrugged. “So…this. The party? It’s just a party and that’s it.”
Erin rolled her eyes. “If you say so. But. We’re still gonna dress you nicely. Comfortable. But nicely. If Novak doesn’t lay eyes on you tonight, we’re getting you someone else. Maybe we can get another redhead.” She smirked.
“Fine.” Alex grinned as she rolled her eyes.
********************
“You’re not gonna leave me alone, are you?” Alex asked as they walked to the house, looking at Erin.
Erin looked back at Alex and smiled. “I believe you’ll leave me at some point. But no, and if you want to go, we can go. Promise I won’t drink much.” She chuckled.
Alex sighed as she nodded. They walked inside the house and Alex was pretty surprised to find a big crowd, the music was a bit loud and there was barely any lights. Erin took her hand so they wouldn’t get lost in the crowd, trying to get to the middle of the house or somewhere where they could actually move and hear each other. They finally got to what seemed to be the living room, people were dancing and drinking, some were playing with the cups, some were making out. So this is what a university party was like, Alex was really not missing anything, this was just a mess and they seemed horny teenagers. In every single part, there were about 2 or 3 couples just making out. She thought that she only saw this in movies but no, it was pretty much real, and she was sure more people were upstairs, and she did not want to figure out what they were doing up there.
As she looked around the room, she saw Casey’s team gathered around in a corner, laughing and with drinks in their hands, and then there was Casey right in the middle. She smiled softly but then her smile fainted again as she saw the girl from earlier right beside Casey, her arm wrapped around her shoulder. Alex knew she had no point in getting jealous, but she was. But then Casey’s eyes landed on her, and Alex swore her smile widened as she saw Alex; she didn’t know if she had imagined it or not, but Casey’s eyes traveled down her body, and she nibbled on her lip as she started walking to Alex; she was thankful that she had let Erin dress her, Alex normally liked wearing nice clothes, but the skirt and the blouse along with the long boots that Erin had picked for her, were showing a little too much, but if that was getting Casey’s attention, then she didn’t mind one bit.
Her breath hitched as Casey got closer to her, her eyes also traveling down Casey’s body; Erin had joked before about Alex being into girls that didn’t exactly dressed girly, she had now seen Casey wearing her softball uniform, she had seen her wearing a skirt with a blazer for a presentation, her work uniform, and casual Casey. Party Casey looked like those girls from movies who were the ones that ruled over people, with a leather jacket, jeans and boots, and Alex couldn’t skip the shirt she was wearing, that showed Casey’s cleavage.
“I thought I’d have to call you to make sure you were coming.” Casey grinned as she stood in front of Alex. “You look nice.” She whispered softly but enough for Alex to hear her.
Alex chuckled nervously as she blushed. “You look nice too.”
Erin cleared her throat as she smiled at both women. “I’ll see myself out for a bit.” She grinned as she walked away, going to Casey’s friends.
Casey chuckled. “Can I offer you a drink?”
“I uh…I actually don’t drink that much.” Alex bit her lip as she looked at Casey.
“Oh, such a good girl, Cabot.” She grinned. “They have nonalcoholic drinks too. We can go to the kitchen to check.” Before Alex could answer, she grabbed her hand and pulled her to the kitchen, walking through the crowd.
Alex tried to stay as calm as possible, and then thought that a drink wouldn’t hurt, it could actually help her calm her nerves. Once they got to the kitchen, she stood close to Casey and smiled. “Actually, a drink wouldn’t hurt.”
Casey turned to look at Alex and smiled. “I can mix some vodka with soda or juice so it’s not too strong.”
“Whatever you drinking.” Alex grinned.
Casey couldn’t help but stare into her eyes, grinning softly. “You look beautiful with or without glasses, you know?”
Alex’s breath hitched again as she stared into green eyes. “Your eyes are beautiful.” She smiled.
Casey bit her lip as she smiled. “Thanks.” She then cleared her throat as she grabbed the drinks she was going to mix and two cups.
Alex looked around trying not to stare too much at Casey, and noticed Erin staring at her, a smirk on her face. She shook her head, a quiet laugh leaving her lips. She returned her stare to Casey once she saw her raising the cup and handing it to her. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” Casey smiled as she grabbed her own drink and took a sip of it. “So, is this really your first party?” She leaned over the counter.
“You said it, I’m a good girl.” Alex smirked as she huffed a chuckle. “I uh…I focus a lot on school. I rather keep myself busy with studying or with books.” She shrugged. “I don’t know…I was just never an extrovert.”
Casey nodded. “I get that. I mean…these parties can get pretty crazy.” She chuckled. “I normally don’t come to these, and if I do, I literally leave early.”
Alex tilted her head. “I thought you were one of those athletic girls that liked to party and be a heartbreaker.” She grinned. “But I heard you’re also sort of a nerd.”
Casey blushed slightly as she looked at Alex. “I uh…I mean…yes, I just.” She huffed a chuckle. “Who told you?”
“Oh, a little bird.” Alex smirked. “So, you asking me for help…?” She raised her brow.
Casey shrugged. “Maybe I just…wanted to have an excuse to talk to you.” She grinned as she tilted her head, green eyes never leaving blue ones.
Alex knew she was probably blushing, but she couldn’t look away from Casey, she could stare at her for as long as she possibly could. “Nice excuse.” She simply said.
They stayed in the kitchen for a little longer than they expected, finding that it was the most quiet place in the whole house, and they just wanted to talk. They were talking about everything but nothing specific at the same time, just making each other smile and laugh. Even if Alex hated the fact that there were a lot of people surrounding them, she loved that she was with Casey, and that she was actually willing to stay with her. But then there was a moment where they literally dragged Casey away from Alex, and Casey made sure to tell her that she’d be back with her as soon as possible. Alex just watched her being dragged away and back into the living room, leaving her a bit sad but also understood that this was a party for them after all. Her eyes finally landed on Erin who was already walking to her, a smirk plastered on her face.
“I see you’re having a good conversation with Novak. Guess we won’t have to find you anyone else.” Erin smirked.
Alex rolled her eyes playfully. “We’re just talking, Er. Nothing more.”
“You’re seriously still in denial that she’s interested in you.” Erin chuckled. “You’re literally perfect, Alex. You’re top of your class, you’re beautiful, you’re nice. Damn, you’re a good girl, anyone would want to have you.”
Alex chuckled as she took a sip of her drink, trying to hide her smile behind her cup. “She did mention that.”
Erin raised her brow. “That you’re a good girl?” Alex nodded. “She does not lose time.” She chuckled softly.
“Well, I think I lost her for tonight. So, whatever was happening between us, is over.”
“Don’t lose hope, Cabot. She could come back any time soon. They’re just doing the typical winning ritual.”
Alex frowned as she looked back at Erin. “Ritual?”
“They take shots, depending on the score they made.”
Alex raised her brows. “Is that even safe?”
Erin shrugged. “Not sure, but don’t be too surprised if your little redhead comes back all drunk.” She chuckled as she took a sip of her drink.
Alex sighed. “I guess.”
“Everybody!” Tina got up on the table in the living room, getting everyone’s attention as they turned the music down. “Those who want to play the bottle, gather around! We got drinks and dares!”
Erin turned to look at Alex. “Let’s go play.”
Alex frowned. “No way. I don’t want to have the bad luck of having to kiss some drunk person.”
“And what if that drunk person turns out to be Casey?” Erin smirked as she grabbed Alex’s hand and pulled her to the living room. “Count us in!”
Alex sat beside Erin and sighed as she looked at the people that gathered around. She was sure that these people were either the ones that were way too drunk, or were somewhere in the middle, and the rest just decided to ignore it or were too into their own things. Her eyes landed on Casey for a moment who was in front of her and laughing with Tina as the people started to play. The first few rounds were stupid things like ‘take off your shirt’ ‘drink two shots’ ‘kiss this person on the cheek’, making Alex realize that these people were a bunch of teenagers and couldn’t believe that most of them -if not all- were law students. She couldn’t help but laugh the moment the bottle landed in Erin, and it so happened that the other side landed on one of Casey’s friends, who dared her to go to a room with her. Alex’s eyes widened as Erin agreed, telling her that they had to loosen up, and then followed the girl. She was too distracted as she saw in surprised how they disappeared, but her attention was brough back when she heard yelling and clapping, her eyes landing in the bottle who was pointing at her, and the other end happened to be on Casey.
“Cabot and Novak!” Alex’s lips parted as she tried to say something, but right away Tina spoke up again. “Since Alex doesn’t know what to say, I dare you two to seven minutes in heaven!” Everyone started cheering on.
“What?” Alex simply said, her eyes landing on Casey who was already standing up, chuckling, and telling Tina something. She shook her head and walked to Alex, extending her hand to help her get up.
“C’mon.” Casey offered a sweet smile.
Alex gulped but grabbed Casey’s hand, standing up and following her upstairs. She could hear everyone yelling and clapping, some of them screaming both Alex and Casey’s names as they went up the stairs. Before she knew it, she was being pulled into a room, and as she looked around, she was sure that this was Tina’s room. She cleared her throat as she turned to look at Casey who was closing and locking the door, leaning her back on it as she looked at Alex, smiling softly.
“Casey…”
“We don’t have to do anything.” Casey smiled.
“Are you- seriously?”
Casey chuckled. “Seriously. I sat down there for Tina, it’s just a stupid game.” She shook her head. “And…I hate having to force people into doing something they don’t want to.”
Alex cleared her throat. “What can you get done in seven min, anyway?” She chuckled.
Casey shrugged as she laughed. “I’ve never been in this situation. But I do know you can do something. Make out maybe.”
Alex stared at her for a moment, biting her lip softly. “And would you?”
Casey frowned. “Would I what?”
“Want to make out with me.” Alex snapped.
Casey wetted her lips, her lip lingering between her teeth as she stared at Alex. “I might be a little drunk but…definitely.” She walked to Alex slowly, stopping just in front of her. “Would you?” She whispered softly.
Alex’s breath hitched as she stared up at Casey. She knew she was tall, and probably the boots that Casey was wearing made her a little taller, and she herself was tall, but she loved the fact that she had to look up at Casey. She bit her lip for a moment as she thought about her answer; she knew she had to think fast, the seven minutes could end any time soon. She nodded softly as grinned, and suddenly Casey’s hands were on her waist, and she leaned down to close the gap between them. Alex’s hand went to Casey’s neck to pull her impossibly closer to her, their lips moving against each other’s just perfectly.
Before her mind could register what was happening, Casey was pulling her to her and turned her around to press Alex against the door, Alex moaning against Casey’s mouth which gave Casey’s tongue access to dive in. Alex’s hand got lost in Casey’s short her, pulling her impossibly closer. Casey’s hands rubbed Alex’s sides, accidentally making Alex’s blouse rise up and she took the chance to make contact with Alex’s skin. They finally broke from the kiss, both panted heavily, but as Alex opened her eyes to look at Casey, Casey’s lips landed on her jawline, throwing her head back against the door as a quiet moan left her lips. Casey trailed kisses down Alex’s jawline to her neck, kissing and nibbling softly, she then looked up again to kiss Alex again, and just as her hand traveled down Alex’s hip, a loud knock on the door made them part away from each other.
“Seven minutes are over guys! Get your clothes on!”
Alex panted heavily as she looked at the door for a moment and then her eyes returned to Casey. She couldn’t help but chuckle at herself as she figured she was now part of those horny teenagers she was judging when she got to the party. Casey ran her hand through her hair as she grinned, looking down at the floor as she tried to hide the redness on her cheeks.
“We should uh-“ Alex cleared her throat as she fixed her blouse. “We should probably…”
Casey nodded. “Yes.” She chuckled as she looked up at Alex. “We should go back.”
Alex nodded, offering a shy smile. As she turned to open the door, she felt Casey’s hand on her wrist, bringing her attention back to Casey. Casey’s hand went to Alex’s neck and pulled her close to her, kissing her lips slowly and tenderly, as if they had all the time in the world. Their lips once again met in a perfect rhythm, making Alex’s stomach turn in a good way. Casey then smiled against her lips, pecking them once more before she pulled away.
“Now we can leave.” Casey grinned.
Alex nodded. “Sure.” She breathed out as she smiled, accepting Casey’s hand in hers.
Alex felt everyone’s eyes on her as they walked down the stairs, but her eyes were only focused on Casey. Casey never let go of her hand, walking back to the kitchen, both quietly deciding that they didn’t want to be involved in the game anymore. Alex tried to find Erin for a moment before she brought her attention back to Casey, smiling softly.
“I’ll get you something to drink.” Casey smiled.
“Can I just get some water, please?” Alex smiled.
Casey nodded. “Sure. I need to sober up a little.” She chuckled as she kissed Alex’s hand before she went to find more cups.
Alex sighed happily as she watched Casey moving around the kitchen. The smile never leaving her smile as she leaned against the countertop, but her moment was interrupted as she felt a hand on her shoulder, making her turn thinking that it was maybe Erin. And then she frowned as she found the girl she had been previously jealous of right in front of her.
“Hi?” Alex offered a small smile.
“You really think you got Casey just because you got seven minutes in a room with her? You’re not Casey’s type. We know who you are, Cabot.”
Alex frowned as she shook her head. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“You’re daddy’s girl. I’m sure you’re in school just because of your last name, and if you think you’re gonna get Casey, you’re very wrong. I might’ve let Casey have her fun tonight, but she’s normally always with me. Casey belongs to me.”
“I can definitely tell. Because she’s been with you the whole party, huh?” Alex raised her brow, giving her a defying stare as she crossed her arms.
The girl laughed as she shook her head. “Just because your friend dressed you up for tonight and you got read of your glasses, doesn’t mean you can take Casey. Didn’t you hear? She was supposed to get your attention, a bet was made.”
Alex frowned. “What?”
“Oh, you really think Casey was interested in you? Please. Look at you and look at her. Gotta say that you left it pretty easy for her to win the bet. So congrats to you too. Maybe if Casey chooses, she’ll give you half of the money, but you don’t need it, do you?” The girl smirked as she walked away.
Alex suddenly felt lightheaded as the words played in her mind over and over; she had to be lying. Casey wouldn’t do that. All this time, all those meetings they had, Casey inviting her here, being so sweet and kind even if she’s not fully sober. Did she really do this for a bet? Was she just being nice to win some money? She had to be joking, this was definitely a lie. But…it also made sense at the same time. The sudden interest in Alex, wanting her help to study even if she didn’t need it, her inviting her to the party, and coincidentally the bottle landing in them while she was distracted. They had planned this. She had fallen in Casey’s game. The thought made her feel sick to her stomach.
“Alex?” Casey placed her hand on Alex’s shoulder to get her attention. “You okay?”
Alex took a deep breath as she looked back at Casey, her eyes getting teary. “How much?”
Casey frowned. “What?”
“How much…was the bet?” Alex snapped, trying to hold back her tears as she stared at Casey.
Casey shook her head as she looked at Alex, confused. “I don’t…what bet?”
Alex scoffed. “I knew it was too good to be truth.” She grinned. “You, suddenly taking interest in someone like me. You also believe I’m nothing more than my name, right? Was it fun, Casey? To drag me into your stupid high school game so you could get some money?”
Casey placed the cups on the counter and looked back at Alex. “Alex, what are you talking about? I don’t think that. I-“
“Save it, Casey. I knew this was way too good to be truth. But don’t worry, the bet ended the moment you took me to the room, right? So whatever this was, ends here. I don’t wanna see you again.” Alex gave her a cold look before she walked away from Casey.
Casey frowned as she tried to follow Alex. “Alex! Wait!”
Just as Alex was walking to the door, she ran into Erin who was just coming down from the stairs, her laugh died the moment she saw the look on Alex’s face. “Alex?”
“Let’s go. P-Please.” Alex cried out.
Erin’s heart sank as she turned and saw Casey trying to get to them. “Let’s go.” She placed her hand on Alex’s back and they both walked out of the house as fast as they could. Leaving behind a confused Casey.
The whole ride back to Alex’s apartment was quiet, Alex staring at the window as she quietly cried, her arms wrapped around herself. Erin kept checking on her but decided to save her words, she knew Alex needed a moment to process whatever had happened back there. There had only been one time that she had seen Alex this way, and she thought she would never see her like this again, so it broke her heart. As they made their way to Alex’s apartment, Alex let out a heavy sigh and opened the door, letting Erin walk in first, followed by Alex. She closed the door behind her and leaned her head against it, her whole body shaking as she cried once again. Erin dropped her bag and walked to Alex, wrapping her in a tight hug as Alex sobbed, turning to vanish in her arms.
“Lex, what happened?” Erin whispered softly.
“I-“ Alex sobbed as she shook her head. “I was an idiot.”
Erin pulled away enough to look at Alex. “Did Casey did something to you?”
Alex looked at Erin at the mention of Casey, feeling her heart breaking even more. “I was a bet.”
Erin frowned. “What?”
“That bitch…the one I saw Casey with…she told me that there was a bet, and that’s why the sudden interest in me. I knew it was too good to be truth, Erin. I just knew it.” Alex cried out, covering her face.
Erin sighed loudly. “Lex, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. I let myself fall.” Alex sobbed as she shook her head. “Why did this happen?” She whispered softly.
“I don’t know.” Erin kissed her head softly as she wrapped her in another hug.
********************
Alex walked through the hallway to get to her classroom, feeling like everyone was staring at her and were laughing at her. She was sure that half of the school already knew what had happened back there, and it now made sense why all of them were cheering for them to go upstairs. They were cheering for Casey to win the fucking bet and she was so proud of it. She played it so well that she was so ashamed of herself for not seeing it, focusing on how sweet, kind, and beautiful she was, it never crossed her mind that she could do this to Alex. After all, her assumption of Casey wasn’t entirely wrong. She was indeed a heartbreaker. Her trance was interrupted as she ran into someone, almost losing her balance and making her books fall to the floor.
“I’m sorry!”
Alex knelt to pick them up but the person in front of her got them before her, making her look up to find Casey in front of her. “It’s fine.” She snapped as she stood up, followed by Casey.
Casey handed her the books and nibbled on her lip for a moment. “Alex…”
“Save it.” Alex snapped as she looked at Casey for a moment before she walked away.
Casey sighed loudly as she kept walking. This was truly a nightmare for her. The fact that Alex really had believed everything that Rachel had dared to say hurt her and made her a bit upset, but she understood where Alex was coming from. The moment she laid eyes on Alex, she knew she was completely fucked, not being able to take her eyes away until she realized she was being a creep. For months she just stared at Alex and tried her best to always be the one taking their order. She cursed herself once she realized that she had gotten Alex’s order wrong the first time, so she learned it for her, and was happy whenever Alex showed up at the coffee shop. Taking a chance to talk to her had been a real challenge, thinking that Alex would completely push her away and ignore her, but was happy once she realized Alex might be interested in her too. But now, that was all gone.
Erin walked into the coffee shop and looked around, trying to find Casey who was behind the counter. She walked to her and leaned over the counter. “Can I talk to you?”
Casey looked up from her notebook and nodded. “I’m taking five!” She walked to the back door and walked to Erin, sitting with her at a table in the corner. “Erin-“
“What the fuck were you thinking? Are you seriously in middle school to make a fucking bet with my best friend?” Erin snapped, not giving Casey a chance to speak.
“Let me explain.” Casey sighed. “There was no bet. There never was.”
Erin frowned. “What?”
Casey bit her lip as she tried to hold back tears. “I never had the intention of hurting Alex. Everything I did, I did it because I wanted to. Because I had been looking at Alex for so long and I took my chance.” She shook her head as she looked at Erin. “I was never involved in any bet. Rachel was jealous when she found out I was into Alex. She’s-“ She scoffed. “She was fucking childish. I’m too old to do those fucking bets. I like Alex. I never meant to hurt her, or even take advantage of her.”
Erin sighed as she leaned back in the chair. “Well, shit.” She shook her head. “I knew Rachel was no good.”
Casey scoffed. “She thinks she can get whatever she wants.” She shook her head as she looked down at her hands. “And now Alex hates me.”
“She’s hurt, Casey.” Erin shrugged. “She really believed every word Rachel told her. Alex…she overthinks. She has anxiety. She couldn’t get in her head why you would be interested in her.”
Casey sighed. “But you believe me, right?” She looked back at Erin.
Erin offered a small smile. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone being so consistent with Alex. The way you two look at each other…nothing I had ever seen.” She shrugged. “I love Alex. But I believe you. And you gotta make this right, Casey.”
Casey nodded. “I know. But…she hasn’t been here in two weeks.”
“I can give you her address.” Erin shrugged. “She’ll probably kill me but…I hate seeing Alex so sad.”
Casey smiled. “I’d be forever thankful.”
Erin grinned. “And I thought this shit only happened in movies.” She got a piece of paper out of her bag along with a pen. “Our classes end at 4 pm. She should be home by 5 pm.” She handed it to Casey. “And you know better than to fuck this up, Casey.”
Casey nodded. “I know.”
********************
Alex groaned as she walked to the door. “Erin, I told you I wanted stay in today. I’m tired of you coming at this hour and trying-“ her voice died down as she opened the door and saw that it was not Erin.
“I’m…sorry. I just ended my shift, and I…couldn’t come earlier.” Casey offered a shy smile.
Alex shook her head. “What are you doing here?”
Casey sighed. “You’ve been avoiding me. And I want to talk to you.”
Alex scoffed. “Casey…seriously. We’re old enough to do this and-“
“And then you know I’m old enough to be doing some stupid things as getting involved in a high school bet.” Casey snapped.
Alex stared at her for a moment and sighed softly, stepping aside as she let Casey walk in. “Come on in.” She whispered softly.
“Thanks.” Casey said softly as she walked into the apartment. She turned to look at Alex and smiled a bit as she noticed she had never seen Alex dressing so comfortably.
Alex closed the door and turned to look at Casey, frowning. “What?”
Casey looked down at her hands as she smiled. “You uh…you look really cute.”
Alex tried to hide her smile as she crossed her arms. “Can I offer you a drink?”
“Are we switching roles now?” Casey grinned.
Alex couldn’t help but grin slightly. “Case…”
“I never meant to hurt you, Alex.” Casey said almost in a whisper. “There was never a bet.”
Alex sighed as she looked down at the floor. “Why should I believe you?” She then looked back up at Casey.
“Because I don’t lie.” Casey shook her head. “I know better than to lie. And I never once lied to you. I…” she scoffed. “Everything that Rachel said, it was all a lie. She was jealous. She hated the fact that I was falling for you, and that I was trying to get your attention, and I-“
“You’re falling for me?” Alex frowned.
Casey stared at Alex with wide eyes. “I- Alex. I uh-“ she cleared her throat. “I just-“
“Who’s nervous now?” Alex grinned.
Casey huffed a laugh. She looked at her hands for a moment and nibbled on her lip. “I really didn’t want to hurt you. I didn’t take you to the room because they were going to pay me.” She smiled shyly as she looked back at Alex. “Tina noticed you were distracted, everyone was drunk. I moved the bottle.”
Alex raised her brows, a smirk appeared on her face. “Makes sense.”
Casey laughed softly. “I was scared that you’d reject me. I didn’t want to take advantage of you. I just…really wanted to kiss you.” She smiled.
Alex tilted her head. “So no bet?”
Casey shook her head. “No bet. And yes…I am falling for you, since the first time I saw you, I knew I wanted to do anything in my power to get your attention.”
Alex smiled sadly, looking down again at the floor. “I really believed her.”
Casey walked slowly to Alex, her fingers going under her chin to make Alex look up at her, smiling softly as she fixed Alex’s glasses. “You look beautiful without glasses but…I really like to see you with them.”
Alex blushed slightly as she smiled. “You should be upset that I snapped at you, and that I didn’t believe you.”
“That’s childish. We’re both old enough for those games.” Casey grinned. “I’m sorry, Alex. I really am. But if you give me the chance…I want to make things right. I want to take you on a date.”
“You’re cheesy.” Alex smirked.
“And you like that, don’t you? It’s the type of thing you only see in movies.” Casey chuckled softly as she placed her hands on Alex’s neck.
“Yes. I want you to go on a date with you.” Alex smiled, placing her hands on Casey’s waist, and leaning in to kiss her lips softly.
Casey smiled for a moment against her lips, but brought their lips back together, the same butterflies as the first time showing up in her stomach.
“Cabot being the good girl and Novak being the tomboy.” Munch laughed along with Fin.
Alex rolled her eyes. “We stuck with our roles.” She smirked as she looked at Casey.
Casey shrugged. “And we made it work perfectly, even now after all these years.” She smiled as she leaned in and kissed Alex’s cheek, fixing her glasses. “Only took a date to have her wrapped around my finger.”
“Oh, says the one that was the cheesiest of the both of us. Bringing me chocolate croissants with my coffee, flowers almost every week, prepared unexpected dates.” Alex smirked.
“And you loved those. And still do.” Casey leaned in to peck her lips.
“Just get married already.” Elliot teased as he took a sip of his drink.
“This is really out of a movie, you two are too cliché.” Olivia chuckled as she looked at them.
“We wouldn’t want it any other way.” Alex grinned as she chuckled, rolling her eyes at the teasing.
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megamindsupremacy · 6 months
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DP x DC AU where the entire JL thinks Danny a dead high school student tragically still haunting his school and pretending to live out the life he never had but he’s just a fucking teacher at Casper High
Reasons they think this:
Danny’s ghost form is permanently 14. Reasonable enough for them to think he’s a high schooler, considering he looks like a high schooler
His schedule operates around a standard school schedule (only free in the afternoons, weekends, and holidays)
Occasionally slips up and mentions “school” as a location (“back at school”, “i was by the school”)
He seems to have a lot of beef with high schoolers, like, as a concept (because he is a teacher. tell me high school teachers do not have beef with The Concept of High Schoolers)
Danny teaches science at Casper High, mostly ectobiology and other science classes. He absolutely loves his job except when he hates his job because he has to cancel class because one of his ghost buddies is tearing up city hall to get his attention or whatever. His identity is kind of an open secret in Amity where We Pretend We Don’t Know Mr. Fenton Is Phantom And He Doesn’t Give Us A Pop Quiz.
Danny CAN change his ghostly form. In Amity he shows up as an adult ghost but he had the Brilliant Idea to disguise his identity by appearing as a 14 year old to the JL, also to lean into the timelessness of his ghost form, because he’s been reported as a 14 year old for over a decade now.
Danny doesn’t know the JL thinks he’s haunting his old high school or something. This is because his a) lying and b) observation skills have not improved since he first died. He thinks he has them fully convinced he’s an immortal being from like, 1000 BC, a la Captain Marvel. He does not.
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bluebeary-jay · 8 months
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Damage done
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Pre/No-outbreak!Joel Miller x f!Reader
Summary: during a fight with Joel, he unknowingly sends you into a panic attack caused by your previous experiences. he deeply regrets it. (based on this wonderful ask!)
Tags: heavy ANGST, hurt/comfort, angst with happy ending (there's also fluff), established relationship, petnames, soft!Joel (he's trying his best fr 🥺). Several years pre outbreak. please read the warnings carefully
Warnings: fighting, talk and mention about previous abusive relationship, panic attack, emotional distress, self-destructive thoughts
Word count: 4K
A/N: i wrote it partially based on experiences with my own panic attacks, but i know everyone's is different. if there's a warning i missed, please let me know. also i want this man to take care of me so much 😢 anyway, stay safe, darlings, and as always: happy reading and i hope you'll enjoy!! 💕 comments and feedback are greatly appreciated 😌
It had been a rough couple of weeks. Things at your work were rocky to say the least, what with your boss firing several people every week and cutting your salary. Joel didn’t have it much better – from what you understood, two clients suddenly canceled their order, and Tommy got himself thrown into jail, again, breaking his longest record to date. On top of that, little Sarah went down with some kind of flu that was raging in schools recently, and for the last two weeks one of you had to be home with her almost all the time.
So it was probably no wonder that the tension and stress became too much at one point, and you both snapped.
It was about the play at Sarah’s school.
“You promised her, Joel! She was talking about it for the entire week.”
“It’s not my fault we have to go out of town on this date,” he answered through clenched teeth, pinching the bridge of his nose and not looking up at you. “I tried to reschedule, but the commissioning party refused. I can’t help it, for fuck’s sake.”
You were glad Sarah wasn’t home right now to listen to your fight. You dropped her off earlier at her friend’s house because she wanted to practice lines for the play they were doing next week. The play that Joel was apparently planning to miss.
You adored Joel – god, you loved him with all that you had – but he could be so stubborn sometimes, it was driving you up the fricking wall.
“It’s your kid, Joel–”
“Yeah, it’s my kid!” he raised his voice, only now lifting his head. His stare was cold and hard, so unlike how he usually looked at you. “Not yours.”
“Are you kidding me?!” you shouted, hurt by his words and the tone he used. “I’ve been taking care of her, loving her– She is like a daughter to me!”
“But still not yours,” he repeated harshly. That was a low blow, especially when he told you so many times that you might not be Sarah’s biological mother, but it’s obvious you love her like she’s your own blood.
“You’re only saying that ‘cause you know I’m right,” you snarled angrily, and Joel huffed a humorless laugh.
“Of course. You always know better, dont’cha?” He stood up, towering over you, but you didn’t back down. If anything, it only made you more mad, as if he was doing this to intimidate you. “I’m sorry I’m such a terrible father in your eyes, but I have to think about earning money. Especially since it’s only a matter of time ‘till that asshole boss of yours will fire you, too.”
“What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?! You really think so lowly of me to say it won’t be long until I get fired?”
“I don’t– Christ, you’re puttin’ words in my mouth again.”
“Again. Of course.” You spat out and took your sweatshirt from the couch, done with him and this conversation. “I’m going to my home,” you told him dryly. Joel’s nostrils flared and he took a step forward.
“No, you’re not.”
“Fuckin’ watch me,” you muttered under your breath, but loud enough for him to hear.
“We are not finished!!” Joel screamed, his booming voice echoing throughout the house.
It felt like a slap. In one second you froze, all your muscles seized up and a feeling of coldness gripped your heart and throat, sending panic flooding your veins. The sweatshirt you were holding slipped out from your stiff fingers.
Joel has never raised his voice at you like that. Never with such anger and fury. There was a bite to his tone that you couldn’t explain, but which you knew very well – the telltale sign that you went too far, and the other person’s patience was at an end, that now you were going to pay for it.
Your previous boyfriend taught you what it means. It meant bruises and split lips, and screaming when you started crying…
Joel noticed the shift in your behavior right away, and his anger immediately ebbed, replaced by confusion and concern.
“Darlin’?” he murmured the pet name, though it rolled off his tongue heavily and with difficulty.
He was still furious at you and your refusal to understand what he was going through, but it all died down when he saw how wide, how empty your eyes were. Your knees buckled, and you looked like you could fall down at any moment.
Joel didn’t have any idea what was happening with you – but knew that whatever it was, it was his fault.
You, in the meantime, felt like you couldn’t breathe. The man in front of you – you weren’t even sure anymore who that was – took a step forward with his hand lifted, and you quickly backed away, stumbling in the process.
“No! N-no, no, please, I’m sorry–” you started blabbering and sobbing, wrapping one arm around your middle to protect all the main internal organs. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to–”
“No, you didn’t…”
“Please… I’m sorry, I swear,” you cried, trembling at this point, but not daring to escape the room. “I’ll be better, just don’t… Please, don’t…”
Joel’s heart broke when he saw you bursting into tears and trying to make yourself as small as possible. All his anger disappeared in a cloud of smoke, replaced by the overpowering need to comfort the girl he loved.
But you seemed so scared when he wanted to come closer… And he didn’t know how to proceed.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he repeated in an even softer tone, his eyebrows scrunching in worry. “Sweetheart… M’not gonna hurt you.”
He took another slow step forward, but that seemed to already be too much, because the trembling intensified and you practically slumped against the wall, one arm around your stomach, and the other squeezing your throat tightly. Joel feared to know the reason why you would do that to yourself.
“Stop, plea– I can’t– I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
“No, it’s okay, my baby, it’s alright…”
He fell down to his knees next to you and reached to take you in his arms, but you started shaking your head violently, backing away and squirming out of his reach.
“No, no, please, I’m sorry! Don’t– don’t touch me!!”
A bile rose up in his throat, and he retreated his hands, holding them low in front of him to show he’s not going to do anything.
“It’s alright, babygirl,” he muttered chokingly, feeling completely helpless and lost about what to do. “You… you’re safe.”
You were crying uncontrollably now, though it seemed like you tried to stifle the never-ending sobs and tears flowing out of your eyes, in result making your entire body shake. You flinched – actually flinched – when Joel opened his mouth, and your fingers around your throat tightened their grip.
“No,” Joel said decisively, breaking your wish and grabbing your wrists, moving them away from your neck where red crescents started to form. “Baby, please, don’t.”
“Let go!!” It was hard to distinguish the words from between your cries, but the message your body language was conveying was clear as day. “No, don’t… me…” You sobbed again, quickly weakening despite your efforts. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
“Come ‘ere,” Joel whispered in a voice full of pain, carefully shifting closer and wrapping his arms around you, though being careful not to make you feel too crowded or trapped. “Shhh… it’s Joel, darlin’, m’here.”
Surprisingly, you let him hold you – maybe it was just because you didn’t have strength to resist and fight back anymore, Joel thought, but maybe you recognized him. Maybe it was both. But the tears didn’t stop. No matter how gently he stroked your back or whispered reassuring words, you couldn’t seem to stop crying.
Several times in the next couple of minutes you tried to grasp your neck or arm again, but every time he delicately, though firmly, moved them away. You still babbled half-intelligible apologies and pleas, and each time your voice broke or hitched on another fearful word, Joel’s heart was shattering into a million pieces all over again.
“I’m sorry…” you sobbed again, trembling in his arms. “I’m sorry, don’t hurt me, p-please–...”
“My darlin’...” Joel held you closer and more securely in his arms, rocking you back and forth. “Sweetheart, my sweet, sweet girl… I’m never gonna hurt you, I swear.” He planted soft, delicate kisses on your hair. Even though he wanted to hug you tightly, to show you how much he loves and cares about you, he restrained himself and tried to keep his touch as gentle as possible. “I swear, my babygirl, m’sorry, so sorry for screamin’... Didn’t mean to.”
You were still crying, albeit weaker now, in his arms, clinging to him like your life depended on it. Joel could feel your nails digging themselves into the skin of his back, but it was the furthest thing on his mind – hell, he could start bleeding and still it wouldn’t be as important as comforting you at this moment. Better him than you.
“I love you s’much, my babygirl, my life,” Joel continued murmuring into the top of your head, feeling close to crying himself when your tears seemingly couldn’t stop flowing. “M’so sorry. I won’t ever hurt you like that again, I swear…”
His words, though full of love and compassion, rolled off you like water off a duck’s back, and you still couldn’t locate yourself, couldn’t tether your being to this world and make sense of the difference between what you knew should happen, and what was actually happening.
Your whole body was hurting, yes, but it wasn’t the pain of being repeatedly hit. You could barely hear your own cries, but it wasn’t because of vicious and cruel words being thrown at you. You knew it was Joel you were clinging to, and he never hurt you in this way, but… but you also were never so angry at each other. You never fought like this – and experience taught you that crossing that invisible line will carry certain consequences.
You weren’t angry now. You were scared. And confused.
“Joel,” you whimpered between gasps, struggling to breathe through your rapid sobs. “I’m sorry. Please, don’t– don’t go.”
“M’not leavin’ ya, babygirl.” He spoke into your hair, closing his eyes. “M’not goin’ anywhere.”
You were calming down a little now, the sobs wrecking your body and breaking Joel’s heart dying down, though you were still shivering. Joel continued to hold and soothe you the best he could.
And wondered who must’ve hurt his darling so much that you’d react so badly.
“I’m sorry,” you whispered after a while, sniffling into Joel’s chest, but trying not to get snots on his shirt. Joel sighed sadly, but his hold on you just tightened.
“No, babygirl, my darlin’...” He pressed his lips to your hairline, stroking your back with his other hand. “You have nothin’ to be sorry for, I swear. It’s okay.”
“It’s not,” you whimpered pitifully, unable to stop another wave of tears from falling. “I’m sorry I reacted like that. I know… Joel, I know you won’t hurt me. Baby, please.” You took his head in your hands, searching his eyes with fear painted across your face. “I’m so sorry, wasn’t thinking and…”
“Hey. Love, it’s fine.” He placed his own hands on your cheeks, stroking lightly your damp skin with his thumbs. “Don’t say that. M’not angry at you and would never be because of that. It’s… it’s okay.” He petted your hair, trying to relax for your sake, but his chest remained tight. “It’s gonna be okay, I promise.”
You nodded weakly, though you weren’t sure if you believed him. Joel swallowed heavily and nodded after a while, too.
“Okay. I… I’ll run you a bath,” he whispered, but you held his hand tighter and shook your head with tears gathering in your eyes again.
“No, no! Just s-stay with me, please.”
Joel took your face in his hands, but you closed your eyes, feeling too vulnerable and exhausted to even try to maintain eye contact.
“I’m here, baby. C’mon, just hold onto me.”
He waited until your arms were around his neck before slowly standing up and tucking you securely in his arms. You hid your wet face in the crook of Joel’s neck, breathing in his soothing smell and trying to calm your breathing, which you still found difficult.
Neither of you said anything when he took you to the bathroom, sat down on the toilet seat and started to fill the bathtub with water and soothing oils. You just watched him, wiping your nose every once in a while.
Still remaining silent, Joel extended his hand and helped you stand up. Then, almost with fearful hesitation, he touched the hem of your shirt, sending you a questioning look. You just nodded, not having strength to undress yourself, and lifted your arms, letting him take your clothes off.
You didn’t let go of his hand even after he guided you to sit in the tub. You couldn’t bear being alone with your thoughts right now, and Joel, being as wonderful of a man as he was, stayed by your side as the warmth from the water seeped through your tired bones.
Another several minutes passed before he finally asked the question that was gnawing at him since the very beginning. You must’ve subconsciously known it was coming, cause it didn’t even surprise you.
“Who was it?” he asked quietly. His hand was still caressing your palm with the gentlest of touches, but his eyes were like ice, full of hidden rage and hatred. “Who did this to you, darlin’?”
You wrapped your arms around yourself, not sure whether to answer or not. Ever since you got to know him, Joel has been nothing but kind and understanding, never pressuring you into doing or saying something you didn’t want… but you had a feeling he wasn’t going to let the matter drop.
And honestly, you were afraid to tell him. To admit how your previous relationship looked and what exactly happened to make you act so strongly about something so small. Because… what if he’ll realize how broken you are, how much effort it’d take to put up with you, and he’ll leave? Even if he was willing to take care of you, it was really unlikely that he’d stay – even if he says that now.
You were doing good until today. You managed to hide the issues you had with yourself and all the pain you carried inside, never letting Joel know that something was wrong with you. But now he… he will…
You didn’t want him to leave. He made your life so much better and you loved him to pieces with all your heart, as weak and broken as it was.
You couldn’t lose him.
“Oh, baby…” Joel’s hands cupped your cheeks so carefully and lovingly that you almost started weeping again. “M’not goin’ anywhere. I love ya so much. You’re never gonna lose me.”
You didn’t realize you said those words out loud, but even so, somehow his affirmations didn’t make you feel any better. You wanted them to comfort you, but if anything, they just made you feel sick.
“I’m afraid you’re gonna leave someday,” you whispered hoarsely, keeping your eyes on the slowly disappearing bubbles. “I know I’m being selfish, but I don’t want you to. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Joel. I…” Tears spilled from your eyes again and you shook your head. “I know I’m too much. And… and broken. And I know it sounds like I wanna guilt-trip you, but I’m not, I’m just–” You choked on a sob, and wrapped your arms tighter around yourself, hugging your knees to your chest. “I don’t– don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“Sweetheart, look at me, please.” Joel’s hands were rough to the touch, but so incredibly gentle when they guided you to meet his eyes, and a big pit formed in your stomach when you saw how they shone. He was on the verge of tears, too. “Don’t say things like that. Nothin’ is wrong with you. Who…” He sighed again. “Who made you believe such things?”
You didn’t answer at first, but Joel kept staring at you, and – finally – you relented.
“My previous boyfriend. The one I didn’t want to talk about. He– Look, I know he was a horrible person.” You let out a short laugh, but without any joy – or emotions altogether – in it. “And I hate him so much, but he… he was right. About some things.”
“He’s not.” Joel didn’t back down, feeling despair growing inside his chest as he saw the girl he adored with his whole heart put herself down like that. “You’re… fuck, you’re perfect, darlin’, and you didn’t deserve to be treated or talked to this way. M’so sorry it happened to you.”
He brushed some of your hair to the back and sighed silently. He seemed so lost and sad, it made you feel even worse.
“What can I do?”
That stopped the train of your thoughts, and you looked up.
“What?”
“What can I do?” he repeated softly. “To prove t’you that I’m not goin’ anywhere.”
Your lips parted, and you were unsure what to say. Joel took your hand in his, delicately tracing patterns on the back of it.
“Babygirl, listen to me. You’re the most precious thing t’me. I don’t care what this asshole told you, but… but none of this is true. And it’s not gonna drive me away from you. Nothin’ is gonna make me leave,” he repeated more firmly, never taking his eyes off you. “Because I love you. More than anythin’ else in the world”
Joel sounded so sincere and desperate, tugging at your heartstrings with his gentle, sad eyes and loving words. The water became cool some time ago, but your insides felt like they were on fire – as if the next breath you were about to take would be your last.
“I’m sorry for everything I said.” You took a shaky breath, trying to keep your voice steady. “I don’t think you’re a bad father. I think you’re the best and most amazing dad Sarah could ever ask for. I didn’t want…” You sniffed and your shoulders started to shake again with silent cries. “I didn’t want to hurt you, I’m so sorry, I didn’t–”
The sob that you tried to stop with all your might suddenly escaped you, and Joel’s forehead scrunched in worry. He pulled you closer, leaning over the edge of the bathtub. Neither of you concerned yourself with water dripping off your skin, only feeling relieved from each other’s closeness.
“I know, babygirl. M’not mad.” Joel left a lingering kiss on your tearstained cheek, and then a second one on your forehead. “I’m sorry, too. For how I acted and for–” he sighed heavily into your shoulder, “for shouting at ya.”
“You couldn’t have known,” you mumbled, but he shook his head.
“That’s no excuse. I shouldn’t ‘ave done it in the first place.” He relaxed in your arms, and somehow it made your muscles less tense, too. “I’ll see what I can do about that job. So that I can see Sarah’s play.”
You nodded and let your eyelids drop, giving in to the feeling of calm and security that always came with being with Joel.
“Can I sleep here tonight?” you asked quietly. You still were a little afraid that he’s going to turn you down after what happened, but you really didn’t want to stay alone. “With you?”
“‘Course you can. D’ya want to go now?”
You nodded again. Not bathing seemed like a big waste of water, but you didn’t feel strong enough to actually wash your body. And Joel didn’t pressure you – he just bent over and wrapped his strong arms around you, practically pulling you out of the tub by himself.
His clothes were completely soaked when he put you down and reached for the fluffiest towel you had, wrapping it around you like a little cocoon. He got rid of his wet shirt, kissed your head gently and, without a word, scooped you up into his arms again.
“I can stand,” you offered when he started walking towards the bedroom, forcing you to wrap your hands around his neck for support.
“I want to take care of you.”
“But your back pains…”
“I’m not that old yet, sweetheart,” he answered with a half-smile, slowing down and gazing into your eyes softly. “Let me take care of you.”
You brushed his cheek with your fingertips tenderly, eyes flickering across his face. “But you’re always taking care of everyone, Joel.”
His throat bobbed and he almost immediately looked away. It was clear what he was thinking – that according to himself, he wasn’t doing a good enough job. Because you got hurt. Because he was the one who unintentionally hurt you and sent you into a panic attack.
He was silent when he put you down on the bed with care, turning around to fetch one of his shirts from the closet. During this whole time you didn’t say anything, either. Your mind was still a little closed off from when you tried to separate yourself from the painful memories that started to haunt you, and despite Joel’s efforts, it was still difficult to move past the experience.
But your head snapped up when Joel, after helping you put the shirt on, knelt in front of you, took your hand in his and leaned forward to kiss your knee gently.
“M’sorry,” Joel whispered with pain tinging his deep voice. “I’m sorry for sayin’ all those things about you and Sarah. I know you love her.” He pressed his lips to your knee again, and lifted his head, revealing how misty his own eyes were, which in turn made your heart ache even more. “My sweet girl. I swear I won’t ever hurt you again.”
“You didn’t hurt me,” you answered quietly, but Joel shook his head and took a deep breath.
“What can I do?” he repeated his question from earlier, and this time you knew exactly what you needed him for.
“Can you… can you hold me?”
Without missing a beat, Joel raised from his position and enveloped you in his embrace, making you feel safe and protected like never before. You sighed heavily, breathing in his scent and feeling like just by touching you with such love that only he was capable of, he helped you to lift some invisible load from your shoulders.
Despite the headache from all the crying and your chest still tightening with every shallow breath you took, you felt a little better now. You didn’t feel alone.
You knew you were safe with Joel.
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It took some time for you to fall asleep, but even when you did, Joel could not find peace in the silky darkness of the evening.
Before you dozed off, Joel vowed again and again how much you mean to him, how you and Sarah are the best things that ever happened to him, and how he’ll never let anything happen to any of you – and he could clearly see that you believed his every word, and that you weren’t mad at him. You weren’t flinching when he rocked you back and forth, or later when he pressed small kisses to your forehead.
But you still were quiet and your face miserable, and several times Joel tucked you in closer to himself when he felt you shaking and sniffing. There wasn’t anything else he could do but hold you and whisper soothing promises into your hair. Once your eyelids started to drop, he began humming a familiar melody he knew you liked, and you nuzzled your face into his neck, curling up in his embrace.
And you whispered ‘I love you’ before you drifted off to an uneasy sleep in his arms. And before he could even answer, you thanked him for loving you.
When he heard it, he had to keep himself from breaking down with the last bit of his strength.
“You mean everythin’ to me, love. Everythin’,” he murmured after a couple of seconds, not even knowing if you were still awake. The guilt in his chest made it hard to breathe, but he pushed through it, and then he softly kissed your forehead, making a promise to himself.
He will find time to go to Sarah’s play with you. And he’ll make it right.
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inkskinned · 4 months
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she's three years younger than i am, and i put on cascada as a throwback, cackling - before your time! i've been borrowing my brother's car, and it's older than dirt, so the trunk is like, maybe permanently locked. when the sun comes through the window to frame her cheekbones, i feel like i'm 16 again. i shake when i'm kissing her, worried i won't get it right.
in 2003, my state made gay marriage legal. where she grew up, it wasn't legal until 11 years later - 10 years ago. if legal protections for gay marriage were a person, that person would be entering 5th grade. online, a white gay man calls the fight for legal marriage boring, which isn't kind of him but it is a common enough opinion.
it has only been 9 years since gay marriage was nationally official. it is already boring to have gay people in your tv. it is already boring to mention being gay - "why make it your entire personality?" i know siblings that have a larger age gap than the amount of time it's been legally protected. i recently saw a grown man record himself crying about how evil gay people are. he was begging us, red in the face - just do better.
i am absolutely ruined any time my girlfriend talks about being 27 (i know!! a child!), but we actually attended undergrad at the same time since i had taken off time to work between high school and college. while walking through the city, we drop our hands, try not to look too often at each other. the other day i went to an open mic in a basement. the headlining comedian said being lesbian isn't interesting, but i am a lesbian, if you care. as a joke, she had any lesbian raise their hand if present. i raised mine, weirdly embarrassed at being the single hand in a sea of other faces. she had everyone give me a round of applause. i felt something between pride and also throwing up.
sometimes one thing is also another thing. i keep thinking about my uncle. he died in the hospital without his husband of 35 years - they were not legally wed, so his husband could not enter. this sounds like it should be from 1950. it happened in 2007. harassment and abuse and financial hardship still follow any person who is trying to get married while disabled. marriage equality isn't really equal yet.
and i don't know that i can ever put a name to what i'm experiencing. sometimes it just feels... so odd to watch the balance. people are fundamentally uninterested in your identity, but also - like, there's a whole fucking bastion of rabid men and women who want to kill you. your friends roll their eyes you're gay we get it and that is funny but like. when you asked your father do you still love me? he just said go to your room. you haven't told your grandmother. disney is on their 390th "first" gay representation, but also cancelled owl house and censored the fuck out of gravity falls. you actively got bullied for being gay, but your advisor told you to find a different gimmick for your college essay - everyone says they're gay these days.
once while you were having a hard day you cried about the fact that the reason our story is so fucking boring to so many people is that it is so similar. that it is rare for one of us to just, like, have a good experience across the board. that our stories often have very parallel bends - the dehumanization, the trauma, the trouble with trusting again. these become rote instead of disgusting. how bad could it be if it is happening to so many people?
i kiss my girlfriend when nobody is looking. i like her jawline and how her hands splay when she's making a joke. there is nothing new about this story, sappho. i love her like opening up the sun. like folding peace between the layers of my life, a buttercream of euphoria, freckles and laughter and wonder.
my dad knows about her. i've been out to him since i was 18 - roughly four years before the supreme court would protect us. the other day he flipped down the sun visor while driving me to the eye doctor. "you need to accept that your body was made for a husband. you want to be a mother because you were made for men, not women." he wants me to date my old high school boyfriend. i gagged about it, and he shook his head. he said - "don't be so dramatic. you can get used to anything."
the other day a straight friend of mine snorted down her nose about it, accidentally echoing him - she said there are bigger problems in this world than planning a wedding.
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cupid-styles · 4 months
Note
I feel like grumpy H gives off a snow day vibes
and you're 1000% right for that
word count: 1.7k
content warnings: smut (dirty talk, mentions of anal and squirting, slight size kink, degradation if you squint, riding)
grumpy h masterlist
main masterlist | talk to me
. . .
Y/N thinks this may actually be heaven on earth.
She's bundled up beneath an array of cozy blankets, burrowed into a plushy bed, and every time she wakes up, she feels her boyfriend's chest pressed against her back. His slow, even breathing is always enough of a lullaby to get her back to sleep in minutes, but especially when the world around them is entirely silent, too.
It's only then that she shuffles a bit, stretching out her ankles and straightening her back. Beside her, she hears Harry stir, pressing a light kiss to the side of her head.
"'s a snow day," he murmurs groggily into her ear. "Go back to sleep."
"Snow day?" Y/N echoes, her eyes peeling open immediately. Harry grunts, though she knows he's just being dramatic, as he always is, as she rises up to her knees, pressing them into the foamy bed. She sits up and leans her elbows against Harry's headboard and peers through his curtains to see that he's correct — their small college town has been inundated with inches of snow, granting them a rare, unplanned day off in the middle of the week.
Y/N loves snow days. Mainly because growing up, the only people who loved them more than her were her parents. She's always been a busy bee, aiming for near-perfect grades, volunteering, tutoring, and working, supplying her with limited free time in her schedule. Even from a young age, Y/N demanded to be in multiple activities to boost her college application.
(Y/N's parents were never sure where such anxieties stemmed from, considering all they wanted was for her to be happy, even if that meant backpacking through Europe for two years after graduating high school.)
So when it snowed hard enough to the point where everything was canceled, Y/N's mom always had activities on deck as a source of stress-relief for her. Hot chocolate, face masks, fuzzy blankets, and her favorite movies queued up. So, naturally, when Y/N's face glowed as she told Harry about these fond memories the second the campus buzzed with the potential of a snow day, he did the same thing.
His girl worked too hard. She was exhausted every night, sometimes even falling asleep on the phone during their evening conversations when she was too tired to come over. While she was at her last class of the day yesterday, Harry quickly ambled to the grocery store, picking up ingredients for her favorite soup, matching pairs of fuzzy socks, and hot chocolate mix. He told her that he would pick her up from her lecture and bring her straight to his place, just in case they ended up getting snowed in.
(Realistically, the thought of having a day off without Y/N by his side all day sounded painful. He'd never admit that this whole plan was as much for him as it was for her. When his housemates snooped through the grocery bag Harry brought home, teasing him about the matching socks, he sent them a deadly glare, muttering out something about them being lonely, annoying assholes.)
Harry's not sure how long he lets Y/N inspect the falling snow through his bedroom window, but he does know that when he glances at the alarm clock on her side, it glowed an angry 8:02 a.m.
"It's way too early to be awake on a day off, lovebug. Come lay back down with me."
She huffs in discontent like a disappointed child. "'s so pretty though."
"You know what's also pretty, though?"
A hum leaves her throat, only to be quickly cut off by Harry grabbing her by the waist and pulling her back down to the bed. She squeals, a giddy, shocked expression on her face as she reaches out to gently bat at his naked chest.
"Harry!" she yelps.
"What?"
He delicately molds her to the side of his body, lightly pushing her head down so it's on his chest. He keeps his arm wrapped firmly around her shoulders, giving them a small squeeze.
"I could've gotten hurt." she mutters stubbornly, her words slightly muffled. Harry chuckles.
"I'd never let that happen," he presses a kiss to her forehead. "Are you gonna go back to sleep now?"
She shrugs her shoulders. "I don't think I can, to be honest. The snow makes me excited."
Harry resists the urge to roll his eyes, "You're like a puppy, I swear to god."
“Meanie.” Y/N murmurs through a teasing smile. He raises his eyebrows, tilting his head to look down at the girl below him.
“I’ll be mean if you really want me to,” he nearly purrs, trailing feather light strokes over her hip, “But a meanie wouldn’t fill your cute ass with a plug and make you squirt.”
She gasps at his crude words and it makes him smirk. Ever the innocent girl, she always acted as if she wasn’t just as filthy as him.
He makes quick work to roll her over onto his front, almost manhandling her as he parts her thighs to straddle his waist. Her cheeks warm and he chuckles, folding his arms behind his head. “You’re being mean.” She grumbles, hips twitching over his brief-clad length.
“How so?”
“Because!” She whines, swallowing tightly, “You know what you’re doing and you’re not doing anything to help it.”
Harry's chest vibrates with a low snicker, shaking his head at his girl's stubbornness. His hand slips underneath her — his — tee-shirt, his cold fingers sending a shiver down her spine.
"Baby, you know I never wanna be mean to you," he says softly, "I'll help you get what you want, hm? Does that sound good?"
She nods quickly and it makes him smile. Using his free hand, he nudges her sleep shorts to the side, cooing when he feels the damp fabric.
"Needy," he murmurs. "Take me out, puppy."
Wordlessly, she sits up a bit, granting just enough room for her to dip beneath his briefs and pull his hard cock out. The tip is already flushed pink with pre-cum bubbling at the top. The sight is a small ego boost, letting her know that she's not the only one being affected by their current position.
"Do you need any prep?" he asks quietly, jaw clenching when she makes a few slick passes over his tip. Quickly, she shakes her head.
"No— can put it in, I can take it."
He smirks. "Yeah? Not too big for you?"
"Harry—"
He cuts her whining off by nudging his hips up to meet her core, silencing her pouting with a breathy whimper. Despite the tightness, she's slick enough between her legs that he's able to slip in with minimal resistance. (Besides, after recent experimentations with anal, Harry's realized that she likes small bites of pain.)
They both moan quietly when he bottoms out, his length pressing deep into her g-spot. Her eyes flutter closed as his hands find her hips, giving them a gentle squeeze.
"I know, 's deep, isn't it?" he purrs almost mockingly, "Need me to help you?"
"P-please."
With a grip on her hips, he begins to help her bounce on his cock. Instantly, a series of mewls fall from her lips and he presses a hand to her mouth, a teasing smirk curling at his mouth.
"Those noises are mine, sweetheart. Try to keep quiet."
She nods quickly as he starts to nudge his hips upwards to meet her thighs, his other hand maintaining a stiff grasp on her skin. He's doing his best to keep his own groans in as she bounces up and down, but her tight, wet pussy is almost too much for him to take. He shuts his eyes, knowing he's already far too close to coming from the sight of her in his shirt riding him.
"Lemme— fuck, lemme grind on you," Y/N mumbles. Harry nods, slightly relieved from the intensity of their previous position. He removes his hand from her hip and she almost instantly reaches to intertwine their fingers together, eyes rolling back as she rubs her pelvis against his. His cock is still impossibly deep, feeling as though it's deep in her tummy, but now her clit is being stimulated against his pelvic bone, too. Gradually, her muscles start to contract faster, and she feels her orgasm beginning to grow in the pit of her tummy.
"You look so pretty like this, fuck," Harry mutters, lifting his hand to bite his knuckles. "So obsessed with you, baby, you're so good. Gonna make me cum."
"'m gonna cum," she slurs, echoing his words. "Y-you're so deep— feel you so deep, oh—"
He bucks his hips up once, twice, three times to meet her grinds and that's all it takes to send her spiraling. Her head ducks back as she moans out his name, her pussy spasming around the girth of his cock. He tries his best to keep his eyes open so he can watch her, his own personal wet dream, but the sensation of her muscles squeezing him triggers his own orgasm. Quickly, he pulls out, reaching down to pump his slick-covered cock once to paint her mound with thick spurts of cum.
"Oh!" she breathes, her pussy still contracting as he uses his tip to smear his cum over her skin.
"S-sorry," he stutters, swallowing harshly, "Didn't wanna come inside."
She nods understandingly as she catches her breath. They hadn't had that conversation yet, so she appreciated him being respectful of that, even if she wasn't able to finish around his cock.
With a deep breath, he sits up slightly to press a light kiss to her lips. "You always look so fucking pretty when you ride me."
She blushes. "Shush, you."
"Budge up, I wanna get you cleaned up," Harry murmurs, helping her part her legs so she can roll over and lay back against the bed. He gets up and grabs a spare towel, sitting down on the edge of the mattress. "Also, I picked up stuff for that soup you love. And hot chocolate... and I thought maybe we could watch some of your favorite movies and stuff."
Y/N's eyebrows raise. "Really?"
As he wipes the mess from her skin, he nods wordlessly.
"That's what my parents used to do with me—"
"I know, baby. You told me," he pauses to swallow. "I wanted to do the same thing for you. Or at least something somewhat similar."
A toothy grin covers her face. "Have I ever told you how perfect you are?"
"Hm, I don't think so. You can do it now, though."
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ultraviolencced · 2 years
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lmao🫥🫠
#the government thinks $25 is enough money to live for a month <3#they cut my food benefits significantly while groceries are so fucking expensive#and still won’t give me cash benefits bc $25 is more than enough :)#gas is almost $5 and most of my specialists are not in my town they’re all 40+miles away#social security application i started in MAY OF 2020#and it’s still not processed even tho i’ve had phone calls and paperwork and a physical examination with one of their doctors last year#like im gonna have to cancel my car insurance bc it went up and they just said it’s inflation <3#so hopefully at least one family member can drive me to appointments no more fun drives to the mountains no more protests no river trips#might have to cancel my watch plan maybe my entire phone plan and just use wifi when i’m home and hope i don’t need to call or text anyone#not gonna have my neurologist renew my medical marijuana license bc there’s a fee that’s $25 :) and weed is expensive med and rec so no more#being able to be hungry or able to have anxiety relief or good sleep#it’s to the point that i’m just gonna say fuck it and stop going to my rheumatologist bc she’s far and i don’t even care about my treatment#same goes for gastro bc it’s even farther and i’ve survived the years of throwing up all day everyday like only one time i ended up having#to stay in the hospital bc i lowkey almost died but here i am so i can deal#with it again and neuro surgery is far away so tumor who#even the doctors i have here i’m just gonna stop it’s too expensive to drive and i’m still sick i still don’t ever feel good so like what’s#the point of all of this shit it’s just tiring#i need to just deal with it and cancel my social security application and work again bc i can’t afford to live like yeah i had seizures at#work and yeah they had to call 911 but again here i am i survived#i was able to throw up easily at my first school bc staff bathrooms were right next to my office so no one even had to know so fuck it#i can’t afford to live without a job disabilities suck but everything sucks and i always feel bad so i need so suck it the fuck up and work#my mom doesn’t have money either she lives paycheck to paycheck i can’t really ask her for help bc she also doesn’t have a lot of money#i see shit one here about how they wanna stay in bed all day and not work and like yeah i get it but when you can’t work and you have to be#in bed half the time bc you feel like shit it’s not fun it’s not relaxing it’s soul crushing you feel like a useless inconvenience who cant#even afford to see doctors bc of the distance and gas being expensive like i wish i could fill my tank but i can’t i wish i could help more#with food but i don’t get enough ebt money to make a full grocery store trip#being poor and disabled in america is really fucking shitty#shut the fuck up taylor
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jqngkooz · 4 months
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tis the damn season’ (2) | jjk
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pairing: jungkook x reader
rating: 18+ (no smut in this chapter just a makeout scene 🙈)
genre: f2l? more like idiots to lovers, mutual pining, angst, fluff, eventual smut
warnings: infidelity and just general bad decision making skills lmao, jealousy, arguing, swearing, one mention of a dick, kissing, making out. jk’s a bit of a player but he has his reasons.
w/c: 3.2k
a/n: pt.2 is here!!!! so sorry it took a while. enjoy :)
summary: When Jimin convinces you to spend christmas in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with your entire friend group, you’re forced to face the feelings that you’ve been suppressing for your best friend Jungkook after all these years.
“I must say, you’re the most stable person I know and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you crumble like this.” Yoongi is kind enough to be up at 6 am with Jungkook, making him coffee as he sits at the kitchen island with his head on the cold surface.
He spent the whole night tossing and turning next to the girl he’d stupidly invited in an attempt to not seem like a loser to you. Clearly, you didn’t feel the same way, that was evident by the fact that you almost married another man and still didn’t even reach out when you broke the engagement off. He just didn’t want you to think he was a loser who had spent the last three months sulking. He had.
“I know, I’m a mess,” Jungkook starts, face pressed into the table, “and she’s nice, Isabelle I mean, and I like her…”
Yoongi places the cup of coffee next to Jungkook and finishes his sentence for him, “But she’s not y/n.”
It’s weird. In senior year Jungkook had gotten a girlfriend. She was a cheerleader with a swishy ponytail that had latched onto your friend group, always wanting to be around him. You’d gotten weirdly distant at that time, cancelling your after-school study sessions only for him to find out you were doing them with Jimin instead. It’s like sometimes he got the feeling that you didn’t want him to be with other people and that gave him hope that you might have felt the same, but you never told him. No angry love confessions in the rain, nothing. You never made a move. And it messed with his head until he felt dizzy and utterly confused about just what the hell you wanted.
“Did you invite her here just to make y/n jealous?” Namjoon’s voice booms a little too loud as he comes down the stairs and into the kitchen, causing Jungkook to sit up and wince.
He sighs, “Yes, well- no not exactly.”
“Then why?”
He looks up at Namjoon who looks slightly disappointed and his heart pangs a little, suddenly feeling like that 15-year-old who would do anything for Joon’s approval again.
He groans, “I thought she’d be mad and ignore me or something.”
Namjoon shakes his head, he knows you would never.
“I just thought if I brought another girl she’d think that I moved on and we could just go back to being normal again.”
Jungkook looks up at Yoongi as if he’s checking for approval, he’s met with a very disapproving stare. Yoongi sighs, “Jungkook, are you stupid?”
He frowns, big round eyes staring at Yoongi. “No?” Maybe he was, waiting 10 years to tell you he loved you when it was far too late was kind of stupid.
“She loves you, you realise that right?”
Jungkook sighs, “Yeah I know b-”
Yoongi cuts him off, “No, not as a friend idiot. She loves you.” He shakes his head rapidly.
“You know she messaged me every week asking how you were after you fell out? She made me send pictures of you and Bam because she missed you. Jungkook, you put her in an awkward situation, she was engaged. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t feel the same way. You never asked her how she felt, did you?”
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Taehyung knows Jungkook like the back of his hand. He knows that his guilty pleasure is chilli cheese fries, he remembers a time in college when that was all he ate for an entire week. He knows that Jungkook unwinds on a weekend by watching crappy reality tv because he caught him one time before he could change the channel. He also knows that Jungkook doesn’t like losing. And that’s how he knows this plan will work.
Truthfully, Tae has always been flirty with you. He’s flirty with everyone, but you usually laugh him off, never taking his compliments seriously. That’s why Jungkook’s a little confused at your sudden interest in him. All day you’ve been clinging to him and laughing at his jokes like he’s the funniest guy in the world. Jungkook knows he’s not that funny. Even now as you all attempt to build snowmen in the cabin’s garden you both look like something out of a hallmark movie, all bundled up with hats and scarves as you throw snowballs at each other.
It’s Seokjin who notices Jungkook’s frown as he stands next to his snowman watching you and Tae.
“Why is your snowman buff?”
Jungkook breaks his gaze away from you two, turning to Seokjin. He can still hear your giggles as Tae shoves snow down the back of your coat and chases you with another lump of it that’s probably big enough to knock you out.
He shrugs, “Wanted it to look like me. Why does yours have a dick?”
“Wanted it to look like me.” Seokjin remarks, eliciting probably Jungkook’s first smile today. “What’s got you all frowny?”
Jungkook shakes his head, the tassels on his woolly hat shaking with him, “Ah, nothing.”
“Does that ‘nothing’ have to do with those two?”
Now his attention’s back on you again. You’re far too close to Taehyung’s face, brushing snow off of his cheeks and apologising, saying you hadn’t meant to actually get him in the face.
“Just didn’t know they were that close.”
“They’re not usually.”
It’s when you come jogging towards Jungkook and Seokjin that the conversation stops. You’re a little out of breath from all the running as you stand in front of them, admiring Jungkook’s snowman with a smile.
“Always the perfectionist. Mine’s already fallen apart. How is yours so stable?” You laugh.
“I dunno.” He answers, unusually sharply and it has you turning to look at him with a cock of your head.
“Everything okay?”
That’s Seokjin’s cue to leave and he busies himself with trying to kick Jimin’s work of art down.
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t it be?” He doesn’t know where to look and settles on his shoes. At least they’re not boring into his soul like your eyes are right now.
“Okay yeah, I don’t know. Just checking.” You smile again as if you truly have no idea why he seems upset. Of course you do, yours and Tae’s whole act is painfully obvious to everyone else in the cabin, but Jungkook isn’t exactly the most rational thinker when it comes to you. “Where’s Isabelle?”
“Oh, she’s uh, inside. She doesn’t like snow.”
You frown, “Who doesn’t like snow?”
He shrugs, finally looking up at you.
“I think my toes are gonna freeze off if I’m out here any longer. I’m gonna go warm up so I’ll check up on her.” You add.
No. That’s the worst thing that could happen. You and Isabelle alone? Talking? She’d surely tell you that she wasn’t actually Jungkook’s girlfriend, just a casual hook-up and that she has no real idea why he invited her. He shudders at the thought.
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“So you’re not dating?”
Once you’d pressed yourself up against the heater until your fingers gained some colour again and double-layered on fresh socks, you padded down the stairs to find Isabelle sitting on the couch alone.
“No. He made it very clear it was nothing more than sex for him, which is fine, but I don’t know if that’s what I want anymore, in life you know?”
You nod. Isabelle is lovely, she’s sweet and gentle and you’re sure you would have been friends in another life if she wasn’t fucking the guy you’d been pining over for years.
“And I guess I’m a little confused. When I brought up getting more serious he avoided the conversation and things got awkward. Then he invites me here, it’s all a little confusing. I don’t wanna talk badly about him, I know he’s your best friend and he’s a great guy but- I feel like he’s messing with me.”
“Isabelle, this is our first conversation and I can already tell how good of a person you are. I care about Jungkook too but you’d be crazy to think that hook-ups are all you deserve,” You sigh, “If you want something more, go and find someone willing to give you that.”
And you truly mean that. Sure, you’d had conversations with his past girlfriends like this, and maybe those times you had an ulterior motive when you advised them to go and find someone else, but seeing her sit in front of you so vulnerable, you mean it this time.
She nods, “I’m well into my 20’s, I’ve never had a serious relationship and I want it. I want kids one day. I want it all. How do you do it?”
That makes you laugh.
“Not very successfully. I was engaged, for a while. I broke it off a few months ago. He was a nice guy, he was stable and he was always there, but I never had that feeling you know? That teenage excitement. I never felt that with him.”
Well, that’s not entirely untrue. He never did give you that electric feeling that you’ve always been searching for, you just leave out that only Jungkook seems to give it to you. You’d had endless arguments with Mark where he’d pressed you to just tell him why you weren’t putting your whole heart into it. He could always tell that he was far more invested than you were, and he knew the reason why. He knew exactly what, or who, was stopping you from fully committing to him. He hadn’t blamed you as you left him, he understood that you just don’t pick who you love.
When everyone starts piling in from the garden, you excuse yourself into helping an almost frozen Taehyung warm up.
Jungkook can’t bear the sight. You carefully take off Tae’s hat and scarf as you rub his arms in an attempt to warm him up while he watches you far too lovingly. He’d rather retreat upstairs to his room and let his head spin with the image of you and Tae and the worry of what you and Isabelle had been talking about while he slips further and further into madness. He doesn’t expect you to follow though, bumping into you in the hallway.
“Hey,” you start, “can we talk?”
“About what?” He’s still pulling on a fresh sweater as you stand in front of him in the quiet hallway. All the noise of the house is coming from downstairs and he worries you can hear his heartbeat in the quiet up here.
“What are you doing with Isabelle?”
That catches him off guard and he frowns down at you. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t you think it’s unfair messing with her like that? I’m only saying this as your friend, she’s such a nice girl. What exactly are you doing?”
“I don’t understand what you’re insinuating?”
You cross your arms. It’s one of his more frustrating traits, pretending he doesn’t understand when he doesn’t want to talk about something.
“Jungkook.” You deadpan.
He runs a hand through his hair, “No, I’m sorry, I don’t understand why you’re interfering with my love life. I don’t know what she said to you but what we have right now is working perfectly fine.”
You scoff, loudly. How very rich of him, to criticise you for interfering when that’s all he’s done to you your whole life, interfere with every guy you’ve ever liked. “Seriously? You wanna talk about interfering?”
He laughs dryly, looking away from you. He knows you’re right. All he can do is attempt to deflect.
“I didn’t interfere with you and Mark. I never did, I told you how I felt. It’s different.”
“What and you think I was able to just carry on after that confession? You think I brushed that off like it was nothing?”
“Sure seemed like it.”
Now he’s just being hurtful, and he knows it. He can see it in your eyes. Whenever he’s mean to you, you get a look. Eyes glossy and eyebrows peaked in confusion.
“That’s not fair Jungkook.”
“What’s fair about any of this?” His voice is louder now and you pray everyone downstairs isn’t listening in on the conversation, especially not the girl he brought here. “What was fair about you turning me away that night? Do you think it was easy for me to see you with him? It was fucking horrible, okay? I hated every second you were with him. Now today you’re hanging off of Tae’s arm. So excuse me if I’m not being fair, I’m not exactly having a nice time right now.”
Tears threaten to spill down your cheeks and you mentally scold yourself for being so damn emotional. You know he can see right through you right now. He stands with a hand on his hip, looking like he’s mad at you and you hate it. You hate it so much that your face tells him just how much you hate it.
He continues, a little softer this time, “I just mean that maybe I’m not exactly over what happened, okay? You didn’t even hear me out. You dropped me from your life. That’s hard to get over and I’m- I don’t know.”
“I had to drop you Jungkook. There was no chance of me having a successful relationship with you in my life.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
You’re exasperated now, frustrated that you have to spell everything out for him. This time your voice is louder. “God, every single boyfriend I’ve ever had has hated you. You have literally ruined all of my relationships and you don’t even realise it. I couldn’t physically bring myself to commit to anybody with you looming over me, always like a damn question mark in my head, okay?”
Truthfully, he had no idea you felt like that. He’s always been pretty poor at picking up on hints and cues and he completely missed that. He always felt that you meant so much more to him than he meant to you. You went about your life and your relationships just fine while he sat at home and yearned for you, that’s what he had thought up until now.
“What?” Is all he can manage.
“How am I supposed to be with other people when you’re always a possibility? As soon as I think I’m finally over you, you come back and-”
“Over me?” He steps towards you, like a reflex at your words. “What do you mean over me?”
“You know what I mean.” You’re practically whispering now. It’s somehow embarrassing to be so vulnerable and you feel even more sympathy towards the Jungkook who turned up at your door and confessed to you now that you’re in his place.
“You never even told me you liked me, now you’re telling me you’re over me?”
“How could I tell you Jungkook? I was engaged.”
His head is a complete mess, spinning and cartwheeling.
“You’re telling me that that night, when I told you I loved you, you didn’t turn me away because you didn’t feel the same?”
“No!” You shake your head, “I thought it was so obvious, how was it not obvious to you? I turned you away because breaking one guy's heart was easier than breaking two. If I told you I felt the same, Mark would have left. That’s why I had to leave him because it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair being with him when I’m in love with someone else, okay?”
He’s completely silent. Just staring down at you. There’s a lot he wants to say, years and years worth of things, but his brain can’t even string two words together. Maybe he is stupid, but he never thought that you felt the same. Of course, he considered it a possibility, but a far-fetched one. Hearing you say that you love him doesn’t even feel real, he’s not even sure if he’s awake right now.
“You love me?”
“Yes. And you’ve moved on and I know that’s my fault because I missed my chance to tell you I felt the same but-”
He cuts off your rambling, “I haven’t. Moved on I mean. Not at all.”
“You invited a girl. Obviously, you have, and that’s fine.”
Now he has that desperate look again, bottom lip tucked between his teeth as his eyes dart across your face. “We’re not serious. I’m in love with someone else.”
It’s your turn for your head to spin. Sure, he’d said it once before, but you never expected he’d still feel the same way. It’s weird, how you two always seem to pull together. No matter how bad of a time it is, it’s like you can’t stay away from each other. Even now with your faces inches apart, you’re spiked with the horrible feeling that you’re doing something bad. Even if he’s not serious with her, it’s not right for her to be sitting downstairs while he’s up here with you, yet again confessing his love.
“What’s going on with you and Taehyung?” He says quietly.
You reply far too quickly, “Nothing. Was trying to make you jealous.”
That’s enough for him and he steps impossibly closer again. He sucks in a sharp breath, looking down at your face as if he’s weighing up whether or not this is a bad decision. The little devil on his shoulder wins because he’s grabbing your face and crashing his lips on yours. It’s hungry and desperate the way he kisses you like he can’t bear not being on your lips for a second longer. You melt into him as you wrap your arms around his neck and deepen the kiss. You can taste just how sweet this moment is and you savour every second of his vulnerability.
“Bad idea” You mumble onto his lips as his hands move from your face to wrap themselves around your waist and pull you flush against him.
“Don’t care.” He replies, pulling back for a second to catch his breath. You pull him back in, afraid that if he has even a second to think this through you might lose him, but he kisses like he wouldn’t dream of letting you go. He lets none of you go to waste and it’s a dance of tangled breaths as he finally softens, slowing down a little. He pulls away again, looking at you for a while before planting a small kiss on your mouth, pulls away, and plants another one. You feel winded, you’re out of breath, your lips a little swollen and your chest heaves slowly with an endearing warmth that you swear you’ve never felt before. It’s Jimin calling your name from the bottom of the stairs that makes you both jump and pull away from each other.
“We should probably go down.” He breathes out, scratching the back of his head. It’s so charming, how he kisses you like you’re the last meal he’ll ever have and almost immediately regresses into his shy self the minute he pulls away. His cheeks are dusted red and his lips are covered with your pink, smudged around his mouth and down his chin a little.
“You have lipstick all over you.” You point out, giggling quietly.
“Oh shit. Get it off.”
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fckoffjakegyllenhaal · 2 months
Text
how long can we be a sad song? (till we are too far gone to bring back to life)
modern day high school au
// your girlfriend lottie has always made it clear soccer is her main priority. when nationals near and she begins ignoring you, your final straw seems to be when she lashes out at you. //
warnings: angst but kinda fluffy at the end, breakups, asshole!lottie, jock!lottie, she’s mean for like a minute lol
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you let out a quiet sigh as you sit on the bleachers and watch your girlfriend and laura lee continue to practice on the soccer field. even though practice ended an hour ago. finally, laura lee announces she needs to get home, and she waves at you as she makes her way off the field. you look over at lottie who’s offering you a smile. it’s way too late to go and watch that movie in town you wanted to see, so you know now your only option is hanging out at one of your houses.
you stand up, making your way down the bleachers and over to your girlfriend. “did you still want to hang out?” lottie asks, “i’m a bit tired, maybe we can just catch the movie tomorrow?” lottie offers and you feel your entire mood sour even more than it already was. “i just waited two hours to hang out with you.” you point out, and the raven haired girl frowns. “i never asked you to wait. i told you i have to really focus on nationals.” lottie states sternly, and you nod. “i know that. i know nationals is super important to you… but you’ve blown me off for three weeks now because of it. i just thought… i don’t know, you’d make a little time for me too.” your voice is quiet, and soft. you don’t sound angry but you sound disappointed.
lottie feels a wave of guilt wash over her. “i’m sorry. tomorrow i’ll leave as soon as coach ben ends practice. promise.” she insists, sounding so sincere you actually believe her. your dismal expression is quickly replaced by a happy one. you nod, “okay. can you meet me at my place tomorrow after practice? i have a piano lesson at my house so i can’t watch you practice.” you admit and she nods, flashing you the same smile you fell in love with. “of course, babe. come on, i’ll drive you home.” she offers kindly, and your heart skips a beat as she reaches for your hand, interlocking her fingers with yours.
the next day at school you spent the entire day eager for it to end. you couldn’t wait to see the barbie movie, and you had been going on and on about how excited you were about it. you even missed going with your friends, in order to see it with lottie because she promised. after school, you give lottie a kiss goodbye and made your way to your sisters car.
what you expect after your piano lesson is lottie to text you that she’s outside and waiting for you. but what happens is you get ready for your date, and you end up waiting two hours. two hours and not a single text or call from lottie. you don’t even bother texting her more than once because you feel so emotionally exhausted. she’s been putting you aside all year for soccer, and sure, at first you understood. this could get her a scholarship… but she’s rich! she could afford to get into any school, and play on any college team…
maybe she just doesn’t want to hang out with me.
“honey, why are you all dolled up? you have plans?” your mother asks you, walking out of the kitchen wearing an apron that’s stained with some sort of red sauce. “no. not anymore. i was supposed to hang out with lottie today, but… she canceled for soccer practice again.” you confess hesitantly and your mother nods. “that girls gonna burn herself out with all the practice she does.” she comments jokingly, but you’re not in the mood to laugh. your mother realizes something is wrong right away.
“mom, do you think… do you think lottie likes soccer more than she likes me?” you question, your voice laced with insecurity. your mother laughs as if you’ve said the funniest thing on the planet. “that’s absurd, mija (sweetheart), that girl once walked all the way here just to give you flowers.” your mother reminds and you feel a pang of hurt hit your heart. “she… she just doesn’t do those things anymore. she’s always been so serious about soccer but this year? god, she’s been a nightmare. did i tell you allie broke her leg during a practice scrimmage? that’s how serious they’re taking this…” you trail off and the older woman’s eyes widen a bit at the revelation.
“she’s just a different person these days. it doesn’t feel like she likes me very much anymore.” you admit sadly, and your mother frowns. “have you talked to her about this?” she inquires uncertainly, and you nod. “not all of it, but i have told her i feel like she puts soccer before me and our relationship a lot.” you explain, “she always says it’s just in my head, and that she loves me… but she stood me up again after promising she wouldn’t and i—“ your voice cracks and your mother rushes over to you. “honey, no. this— this isn’t right. you need to talk to her about this. all of it.” the older woman says sternly, and you sniffle as you wipe a tear away. you’ve always been so sensitive and this entire situation was getting to you.
“what if— what if we break up? or what if she confirms that she does think soccer is more important? i… i don’t know if i can handle that.” you whisper the last part and the raven haired woman shakes her head. “well you’re going to have to, because the longer you let this fester, the worse you’re going to feel.” she comments stringently, causing you to look up at her with sad eyes. “y-you’re right. i’ll talk to her tomorrow.” you assure her, and just as your mother is about to respond, your phone starts vibrating.
the screen lights up with texts from lottie, and you look at your mom. “it’s her.” you say, and she shrugs. “don’t respond for a few hours. come help me with dinner, it’ll get your mind off her.” she suggests, and you press your lips together. “isn’t ignoring her just as bad?” you question and she shakes her head, “you’re just giving her a taste of her own medicine. come on; leave the phone there and come help me.” your mother insists, helping you off the couch and gesturing your towards the kitchen.
all your mother let you do was chop up some zucchini, and set the table. still, talking with her about other things than lottie was nice. and talking about lottie definitely gave you some perspective. you were definitely going to talk to your girlfriend about this, and you were going to put your foot down. you weren’t going to make her choose between you and soccer; you’d never even consider doing that. you just wanted a little time, and to maybe be prioritized a little better.
after dinner you end up going upstairs, taking a shower, washing your face, and brushing your teeth. you wander around your bedroom, nirvana blasting on your speaker as you dry your hair. your phone chimes again, signaling you got another text.
(7;56 p.m) lottie: tai made us practice late again, i’m sorry. can we reschedule?
(7;57 p.m) lottie: this saturday is all yours! i promise!
(8;12 p.m) lottie: hello?
(8;15 p.m) lottie: my texts are delivering, so i know your phones on.
(8;20 p.m) lottie: i’m really sorry about the movie
(9;33 p.m) lottie: no phone call tonight?
(9;35 p.m) you: hey, i got caught up with piano practice, and helping my mom with dinner, and then being stood up by my girlfriend
you know your response is petty, and unlike you, but you were still upset. lottie has never just pushed you aside like this, and to do it so consistently all of a sudden made you feel so bad. especially about yourself. it made you wonder if she was losing interest. if maybe she was only using soccer as an excuse to stop hanging out with you.
(9;38 p.m) lottie: well, i’m glad you’re alive. i didn’t stand you up, you know how tai gets when she decides something. i have to take nationals seriously.
you scoff at her response, and quickly get to typing.
(9;40 p.m) you: i understand that. but you’ve promised me four different times about this movie, and at this point i don’t even want to go anymore.
(9;42 p.m) lottie: i know you’re upset and i’m sorry. but if i want to win nationals i have to practice really hard. harder than usual. right now that’s my main concern
you toss your phone onto your bed, not even bothering to respond. it was like talking to a brick wall. tomorrow you’d have to face her and talk about this in person. the thought alone causes a nauseous feeling to settle in the pit of your stomach. there was this wave of dread that washes over you, and for the first time in your relationship with lottie, you feel as though you two aren’t on the same page.
the next day at school was hell for lottie. you barely spoke to her; you didn’t sit with her and the team during lunch. she knew you were upset but she didn’t think you were this upset. you’ve always been so understanding about her passion for soccer, and you’ve never acted this way before. but… then again, lottie has never taken practice this serious. she just doesn’t want to let her team down, and she can see how much the girls want this. she wants it too, but she knows they have more on the line. tai wants a scholarship, and going to nationals will look great on a college application.
you’ll get over it. lottie tells herself. that day she sees you waiting for her by the bleachers; there’s an unrecognizable expression drawn onto your features. she just finished changing into her practice clothes and cleats, and she tries to smile at you, but it doesn’t quite meet her eyes. “hey.” she says as she leans in to kiss you, but you tilt your head to the side in order for her lips to land on your cheek. “hi… we should talk. i’ll make it quick.” you promise and she nods uncertainly, a feeling of unease creeping up on her. “i don’t really like the way i’ve been feeling lately…” you start, and she opens her mouth to talk but you stop her.
“… i’ve always felt like you and i have been on the same page, but lately i just feel like your mind is strictly on soccer. for the entire year you’ve been spending extra time practicing, and you barely talk to me about anything other than it. you blow me off for practice and you’ve missed all of our date nights for the last three months.” you point out, and lottie shakes her head. “y/n, do you understand what’s at stake here? not just my future, but all of my teammates. i’m not just working this hard for me, it’s for my team. i’m sorry if you’re feeling a little ignored and craving attention, but until nationals are over, you’re just gonna have to suck it up and deal with it.” she states, sounding a bit frustrated.
you look shocked with her words; she’s never been that blunt and cruel. here you were telling her how you felt and she was being like this. lottie can see the look on your face, you look as though you’re about to cry. though she’s much too stressed to care, so instead of deciding to apologize like she normally would, she scoffs. “i don’t have time for this. every day is another problem with you. it’s getting annoying.” lottie snaps, and you try to blink away the tears as you clench your jaw. she sounds so much like her father (who she hates), it nearly makes you laugh.
“well, i’m sorry for wanting to spend some time with you. i’m sorry i actually believed you when you promised me you’d make time and put in the slightest bit of effort for me. that was clearly my mistake. don’t worry, matthews, i promise i won’t be a problem for you anymore.” you hiss, tears in your eyes as you sound angry and hurt. lottie watches you leave and she stands there, feeling like a complete asshole. before she can even consider chasing after you, coach ben blows his whistle, signaling for all the girls to get on the field.
so here’s the thing, when you promised lottie you wouldn’t be a ‘problem’ anymore, she wasn’t exactly sure what you meant. but the next day, you came to school with a small box of her things in your hands. you march right up to her, there was nothing but determination on your face. lottie wasn’t stupid; she knew what this meant and it causes her heart rate to pick up anxiously. “the rest of your stuff you can come pick up whenever. it was too big to bring to school.” you say, keeping your voice quiet so no one can hear. lottie looks like a kicked puppy, “wh-what do you mean?“ you almost feel bad about the clear fear in her tone as she realizes she’s losing you.
“it didn’t fit in the box, so you can come and pick it up whenever.” you repeat more clearly, as if you hadn’t been clear as day the first time. “i know that… i just mean— why are you giving me my stuff back?” she asks, completely afraid of the answer. you don’t respond, and the silence tells her everything. “you’re breaking up with me over a fight?” she asks a bit angrily, and you shake your head; your poker face faltering. “i’m breaking up with you because you act like you don’t want to be with me! i’m not asking you to stop prioritizing soccer, i just wanted a little effort, lottie. you couldn’t even give me that.” you point out, pushing the box into her arms.
“like i said, you can pick up your other stuff whenever you’re not too busy.” you practically hiss at her, before you turn around and leave her standing there. lottie feels as though she’s been slapped in the face. the one person she had figured would always be there, was now walking away from her and disappearing into the hoard of bustling students. natalie, who had been watching the entire ordeal from her locker, walks up to lottie. “what was that about? it looked serious…” natalie starts cautiously, trying to make sure her best friend is okay. lottie looks worse than when becky martin started telling the entire school about lottie being schizophrenic. but you were there for her throughout all of that; never caring about her diagnosis or thinking of her any differently. she was always your lottie. but now she wasn’t your anything.
lottie starts to tear up, and natalie’s eyes widen at the sight of the broken-hearted girl. “she dumped me.” lottie admits in a frail tone, a tone natalie has never heard from the raven haired girl. “shit… seriously? what happened?” natalie asks, and lottie proceeds to tell her best friend everything. she tells her all about how she began neglecting you at the begin of the year, and you being you, always let it slide. yet as she became more and more emotionally and physically unavailable, she began leaving you alone.
she tells natalie about how these last few weeks she was a total nightmare. she even forgot to text you some days. natalie looks shocked at this revelation; you two always seemed like such a great couple. you hadn’t even let anyone know there was trouble in paradise. the bell rings, and natalie clasps lottie’s wrists and begins to lead her towards the schools exit. natalie knew the last thing her friend needed was to be surrounded by a bunch of annoying students in class.
as soon as they get to the bottom of the bleachers, natalie flashes her a stern look.
“alright matthews, you screwed up, but i’m gonna help you fix it.” lottie looks shocked at natalie’s declaration, and she shakes her head. “why? why do you wanna help me?” she questions, and natalie shrugs. “you’re my best friend. plus y/n is a good person who actually gives a shit about you. you’re never gonna forgive yourself if you don’t fix it.” natalie’s voice is stern, and lottie nods in agreement.
“what should i do?” the yellowjackets sweeper asks uncertainly, and natalie offers her a mischievous smirk. “i have an idea that could work.” natalie admits, as she begins to give lottie a list of ways she could romance you. lottie listens, clearly very interested.
that weekend is the hardest. lottie has never gone longer than a day without hearing your beautiful voice. you two never really fought throughout your relationship; you learned pretty early into your friendship with lottie that her home life was mean and harsh enough. you never dared add any hurt to her life. when lottie was upset she quickly realized she could talk to you about anything; you were so easy to open up to, and no matter what you were doing you always made time for her.
the entire weekend lottie feels like trash. she realizes that she doesn’t even know how you’re doing. you two barely broke up, yet it feels like she hasn’t truly talked to you for months. god, maybe she was a terrible girlfriend. she put soccer before you, and now she doesn’t even feel like going to practice. though she knows she has to. she has an obligation to her friends and team… but she can’t help but feel like she let you down, and you didn’t know it but you were one of the most important people in her life.
now she fears that if none of natalie’s ideas work, she’ll lose you for sure. she’s tried to text you nearly every day since the breakup on friday, but you refuse to answer any of her texts. she even tried calling you on saturday night, but you didn’t pick up. when monday rolls around lottie comes to school with a huge bouquet of sunflowers and red roses. your two favorites. she hasn’t felt this nervous since she first asked you to be her girlfriend, except right now she knew you didn’t want to talk to her or even see her.
everyone looks at the raven haired girl as soon as she walks into school. surely everyone knows about your breakup by now, because mari is your best friend and she also seems to have the biggest mouth. not to mention she had been glaring at lottie all throughout practice on friday evening. she could tell you told mari everything and by the looks she was receiving she could tell everyone else knew now too.
as soon as she sees you standing by your locker talking to mari and akilah, mari’s eyes zero in on the tall raven haired girl making her way up to you. your best friend taps on you, and nods in lottie’s direction. you turn your head, and instead of your eyes lighting up at the sight of her and the bouquet, your large orbs fill with dread. her step falters a bit but she keeps her head high as she approaches you. “y/n… these are for you. i’m really sorry.” lottie’s voice is small, and you shake your head.
“they’re beautiful, but they aren’t going to fix anything.” you deadpan and lottie frowns. “i know that. but i thought maybe they could be the first step to fixing things?” she suggests and you glance at akilah and mari. you reach for lottie’s free hand and lead her to a secluded spot in the hall. “why are you doing this here? in front of everyone?” you ask her with supplicating eyes, and she knits her brows together. “because you won’t return my calls, and i haven’t stopped thinking about you. y/n, if you’d hear me out, i know i could fix this.” she pleads with you, and those eyes nearly make you cave.
you quickly remind yourself how you both ended up here, causing you to shut your eyes and take a breath. when you open them, lottie has a hopeful expression etched onto her features. “i gave you plenty of chances to fix it when we were together. for the last two months i’ve given you nothing but chances. you told me time and time again that soccer was your priority, and i respect that. so please respect my decision and leave me alone.” you whisper the last part a bit harshly as you turn around and storm away.
lottie stands there, heartbroken and ashamed. she looks at the flowers that seem to be taunting her. she crushes the stems in her hand as she approaches the nearest trash bin, tossing them in. so much for flowers and a heartfelt apology. lottie feels like a fool for even trying.
a week goes by and lottie is practically a walking zombie. she’s barely been eating or sleeping. she was so used to falling asleep on facetime with you, or falling asleep texting you… now she can barely get a wink of sleep. all she can think about is how mean to you she was the day before you two broke up. god, she can’t get that sad, puppy dog expression you flashed her out of her head.
“come on, lottie! where’s your head at!?” tai snaps in the middle of a scrimmage. lottie had been paying less attention to anything that didn’t have to do with you these days. it’s ironic, it took her losing you to realize what she had. her notes for her classes were empty lately, her parents didn’t even notice she was barely saying a word at home, and practice was the worst. lottie was so used to seeing you in the bleachers during most of her practices; you’d be watching her with this big smile on your face, or doing homework. you always looked so pretty. now you weren’t there and lottie never realized how happy seeing you sitting on those bleachers made her. how important she felt that you spent time watching her practice because you didn’t want to be away from her.
lottie doesn’t get her head in the game even after being yelled at by tai. in the locker room, its worse. “what the hell, lottie?? we’re this close to winning nationals and you choose now to start slacking??” tai asks harshly, natalie steps in before lottie can respond. “hey, leave her alone she’s had a shitty week.” natalie states sternly and tai rolls her eyes. “so have all of us! newsflash, the world doesn’t stop because lottie matthews is going through a breakup. we’re a team, meaning you need to get your mind together and focus on the game.” tai’s voice is angry and demanding.
lottie feels a surge of rage wash over her. “not everything is about soccer!” she snaps back loudly, taking the curly haired girl and most of the girls by surprise. “god, you’re all so worked up over this fucking game next week that we’ve all been nightmares! jackie, you and shauna have been at each offers throats for weeks, tai you’ve barely talked to van about anything other than nationals, laura lee has been praying to god for nothing but us winning, mar’s been a bigger cunt than usual, natalie is stress drinking again, and my girlfriend dumped me because i was ignoring her for months! for a sport i used to have fun playing, with a team who used to actually give a shit about each other!” lottie lets it all pour out like a leaky faucet, and everyone stands there dumbfounded by the outburst.
“lottie—“ tai starts but lottie slams her locker shut. “fuck this.” she hisses as she swings her nike duffle bag over her shoulder and storms out of the locker room. she doesn’t even bother changing out of her uniform. lottie’s blood is boiling and her teeth are gritting all the way to her car. she feels as though in a week her entire life has spiraled downhill. she’s been downhill more times than she can count, but she’s never been there without you. this sucks.
she seems to be so upset that she doesn’t even realize she’s driving in the direction of your house. she feels so lost, and it seems she ended up where she feels the safest. with you. lottie aimlessly approaches your door; she’s still in her soccer uniform and her hair is in loose pigtails. the way you always said made her look undeniably cute. she knocks on the door and looks down at her dirty cleats. she thinks about how unhappy you’re probably going to look to see her; she isn’t used to that. she hates it.
her eyes well up with tears and she sniffles, the door swings open before she can think to cover up the fact that she was crying. you had seen her through the peephole, putting on your best angry face before you answered the door. but as soon as you saw the broken girl in front of you, and you heard the sad little sniffle, your face softens immediately. “are you okay?” even though you know it’s a dumb question, you still ask because you don’t want to sound harsh. she doesn’t look like she needs anymore of that.
“i— i didn’t know where else to go.” she admits lowly, roughly wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. you give in quickly, stepping aside for her to come in. “what happened?” you ask her as she steps inside, taking her shoes off politely in a way that makes you smile. even in her sad state, she still remembers your mothers rules. “i got into a fight with tai… you were right, lately we’ve all been terrible. i’ve been terrible. to you especially. i’m really sorry, y/n.” she sounds sincere and sad, you can see her staring hopelessly at you; waiting for you to say something.
you press your lips together before letting out a sigh, turning your head away from her. “it’s okay. i understand. nationals are a lot of pressure, and i just think maybe right now it’s better if we’re just friends. i want a normal relationship, and i want my girlfriend to be as excited about prom as i am. i want to be able to go to the movies and have date nights without worrying about getting in the way of your schedule. i just think we want different things now.” you explain, trying to keep your voice light but she can hear the sadness laced through your tone clear as day.
lottie shakes her head rapidly, standing up and inching towards you. “i want those things too. i love our date nights, and you never get in the way of my schedule. i promise. i am excited about prom— at least i was… when i knew i was going with you.” lottie’s response is quiet and low, making you frown. “you never even asked me to prom, lot. it’s next month!” you point out and lottie flashes you those puppy eyes you could never resist when you were together. why does she have to be so cute?
“please go to prom with me.” she insists and before you can decline, and goes on. “i want to prove to you we still want the same things! if you still don’t want to be with me after prom… okay. i’ll respect your decision. but you have to let me try. please.” lottie sounds desperate, and she’s borderline begging. you let out sharp exhale, “fine. fine. i’ll go to prom with you, matthews. but i swear to god if you mess this up again, we’re done.” you warn her and she nods eagerly, reaching for your hands.
“i promise! i’m not gonna let you down this time!” she swears as she leans in and places a kiss on your cheek. “this times gonna be different.” she assures you, and you allow her to pull you in for a hug. you melt into her embrace, and you hesitantly wrap your arms around her. you can’t hope but help she’s telling you the truth this time. you suppose the only thing you can do is wait and see.
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beetlejuicyy · 4 days
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Eraser | Ryomen Sukuna x reader
3. Only Memories
Summary: happy memories of your relationship come to haunt modern!Sukuna (featuring money hungry Toji)
Warnings: gaslighting, toxicity, mentions of cheating
Word count: 3,052
Series masterlist: 1. Ultimatum 2. Wash Away 3. Only Memories
Read on AO3
Notes: here goes part three! this is mostly flashback before the angst coming in the next part. that you for reading!!
General Masterlist | Divider @rookthornesartistry
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​answer the fucking phone
Two weeks ago
you’re playing hard to get for too long
Two weeks ago
good morning
Two weeks ago
can we just talk?
One week ago
 i swear things are not the way you think
One week ago
don’t get that bastard’s hopes up you’re mine
Three days ago
i miss you
Yesterday 23:47
good night
Today 05:51
i’ll give you anything just talk to me
Today 16:23
Rereading Sukuna’s messages had become the only consolation you could afford in this unbearable ordeal you were bringing upon yourself. Biting at your fingernail, you scrolled up to the first messages after the night you broke up. Despite all the contradicting tones and emotions his choice of words expressed, from anger to begging to pity, he never missed a day to tell you good morning and good night, even though his nights could have been anywhere between midnight and 6 a.m. while his mornings could start at ten or 4 p.m. But a part of you liked that.
Maybe that foolish woman inside you who didn’t think she had a chance with such a handsome man was rejoicing in seeing him beg for your attention. And you kept refusing to make up just to see him crawl even more to you. You had been tutoring Yuuji for his college admission for three months before he broke his leg and couldn’t go to school anymore. That was more than a year ago, when you would offer private lessons to make some extra money besides your corporate job. You accepted continuing the sessions at his house, since it was hard for the poor kid to move. That’s where you first saw Sukuna.
You knew Yuuji had an older brother who was not home that often. But you would have never thought in your entire life that, the moment he walked in, arriving from the gym just in time for dinner, you would feel so attracted, so fascinated by him. He was tall and muscular, body covered in tattoos, even his face. He looked just like Yuuji but very different in the same time, his eyes sharper, his look more tough. He was so manly. So addictive. He only greeted your formally, without paying much attention to your presence, but to you the world had stopped. A classic case of love at first sight, which you didn’t believe in.
Ever since that day, the only thing brining excitement into your life was your next tutoring session at his house. Would he be there? Maybe you could exchange some words. What should you wear? You should try that new lipgloss and put a bit more effort into your makeup. Soon, you started bringing homemade treats. You would play the nice, selfless elder sister card, staying overtime for Yuuji to finish some more exercises, just in case Sukuna would arrive later and you could see him. You even cooked once, at their house, hoping Sukuna would be home sooner or later and you could impress him with your skills. The next day Yuuji texted you that his brother enjoyed your meal very much, when he came back home at 3 a.m.
You were pathetic. Desperate.
Sukuna must have seen all your efforts to get noticed. They were so obvious, so shameless. Yet, he never showed any interest. You would dream about him, all kinds of dreams from harmless romantic type to wet dreams. Your brain was intoxicated with him and your limited interactions, eager for more. You couldn’t concentrate at work. You had lost your appetite. You were acting like a schoolgirl that never had a crush before.
You decided to overstep your boundaries when Yuuji informed you he would be at a friend’s birthday party so your session for the following week would be cancelled. Of course you mindlessly forgot that aspect, that you even noted in your calendar, and presented yourself at Sukuna’s door, dressed in the shortest pleaded skirt you owned and a tight blouse. Of course you prayed he was home. Of course you played dumb, asking about Yuuji when, in fact, your outfit was a hundred times more provocative than anything you ever wore in your student’s presence. Of course Sukuna humoured your cheap theatre and welcomed you in, offering you a drink since you had come all that way. At last, when it was only the two of you, you could notice his pupils dilating as he looked at your body, the sexual tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Sukuna later confessed that he enjoyed seeing you yearning so badly for him that he played with you a little longer that he should have.
Now, you were the one toying with him. But this wasn’t a game and it wasn��t fun for any of you.
"What is this supposed to be?" You asked him for the tenth time and Sukuna couldn't help but smile at your cuteness. You had been going around his room for the past 15 minutes, as if you were on a quest. This time you picked an unlabelled jar that looked like it belonged on the kitchen counter.
"It's protein powder. Strawberry."  He indulged your curiosity, enjoying the warm feeling spreading all over his body while your short bare legs took you around his personal space, your small hands touching everything, eager to get to know him better.
"Shouldn't it be in the kitchen?"  You asked as you opened the lid and sniffed. Sukuna had to press his lips together to contain a chuckle as your lips pouted cutely when you noticed the strawberry scent. "It's the same colour as your hair!" You exclaimed excitedly, putting it back in its place and moving to the next drawer.
"Yuuji would steal it if I leave it in the kitchen." He explained and you nodded, showing him that you understood his reasoning. Sukuna would have never imagined you could be this adorable, especially after he just had you sprawled on his bed and moaning his name only half an hour ago. Maybe it was just the after sex glow, or maybe you really were bewitching him right now. In any case, he would have never imagined allowing someone to look into his personal space so closely.
"Ah, I shouldn't be looking here." You said as you pushed the drawer shut after a few moments, your energy dropping significantly. Sukuna's eyebrows raised in surprise and disappointment, as it seemed that your fun, consequentially his, was about to end.
He didn’t spend much time at home. Always busy, phone buzzing with calls from his informants everywhere, travelling between locations for meetings with possible partners, he rarely even slept at home, not to mention bringing a woman to his room. That’s what hotels were for. It was a habit he developed when Yuuji was still too young to be exposed and their old house too cramped.
"What's there, baby?" He asked, eager to answer your every question just to have that excited and curious girl back. He had nothing to hide in his room, nothing that he wouldn't want you to find.
"It doesn’t matter.” You said, your voice dropping with every word, as you turned around to face him, back pressing against the drawer. He tilted his head to the side, trying to read the answer in your eyes. “It’s a family photo.” You bit your lip as you gave up to his inquiring eyes. Sukuna never talked about his family, or lack thereof, to anyone.
He gestured for you to come back to bed, and you slowly crawled closer to where he was sitting with his back against the headboard. He took his time to look at you a bit longer, hair still messy, the hickey on your neck already purple, his oversized t-shirt hiding all your curves while your doe eyes watched him in anticipation. He smiled, realizing he was completely defeated in front of your raw beauty. He would give you anything.
“My parents died in a car crash when I was sixteen.” He said, pushing a strand of hair behind your ear. “Yuuji was still in primary school so I had to take care of him.” Your eyebrows raised in a pitiful expression.
“Don’t you have other relatives?” You asked, taking his hand into yours. It felt strange for him to talk about these things. But he was looking at you and all he could see was a loving and merciful goddess that he could confess to. The thought brought him unexpected comfort.
“A few, but they live in the countryside. Yuuji deserved to have the best education and opportunities.” Sukuna explained. There was something new about him as he talked in a gentle, low voice, as if he didn’t want to upset you with his sad story. The sunlight coming through the thin curtains in his room bathed his hair in a soft cotton candy pink shade, contrasting even more with his darker undercut.
“What about you?” You asked and he felt how you tightened your grip on his hand. It was cute, how your gentle fingers clung to his larger hand. No one had worried about him at the time, he realized, only now that you articulated the question after so many years. Yuuji was the child, the innocent eight year-old whose parents were taken away from him when he needed them most.
“I tried to get a job. But they didn’t pay enough, obviously.” You shifted on the sheets, moving closer to him. One leg over his waist, straddling him, arms wrapped around his naked torso and your head on his shoulder, holding him in a tight hug.  He welcomed your comforting gesture with his palms creeping under the t-shirt, fingers aimlessly caressing the soft skin of your back. “So I started stealing.”
Your chest was pressed right below his, your heartbeats synchronizing like one.
“I got really good at it.” He chuckled as he placed his chin on the crown of your head, his eyes looking out the window at the peaceful neighbourhood drowned in bright sunlight. “I made all sorts of connections so I could quickly sell stuff at half the price and get some money. One time I stole a watch from a man that looked really rich. I thought it was enough to pay rent for some good years.”
His calloused fingertips were slightly cold on top of your warm back.
“He found me the next day. Had me beaten up by his henchmen then gave me a choice. Leave me dead in the alley or come work for him. Apparently I impressed him with my stealing skills. He didn’t even want his watch back.”
Your heart started beating faster against him as your mind vividly imagined what he had gone through. On the contrary, he was calm and composed, like he had been over these things a long time ago.
“He had a strip club and had me steal from the clients while the girls kept them distracted. He paid me well, even helped me get Yuuji moved to a better school.” He was fond of his old boss, you could tell from the way he was choosing his words.
“Wasn’t it dangerous?” You asked, one of your hands moving away from his back to caress the tattooed skin of his muscular arm. He lightly chuckled at your innocent concern.
“It was, yeah. But it was more dangerous for the poor girls working there. I learned how to fight thanks to all the obsessed bastards stalking them.”
Another kind of concern took form in your mind, one that you didn’t voice. How many girls had he seen naked, working in a strip club? How many of them did he like, did he touch? How beautiful were they? Were you even half as attractive? It was a selfish thought, born out of your own insecurities. Ever since you first laid your eyes on him, you knew. The realization came along with the undeniable attraction you felt towards him, that he was desired by many and well experienced with women. When you asked Yuuji, he told you his brother never introduced him to his girlfriends, if he ever had any stable relationship, but one look was enough to tell how popular he was.
“Where’s your boss now?” You chose to ask instead, feeling guilty that your strongest emotions uncovered by his honesty were jealousy, insecurity and doubt.
“In prison.”
Sukuna rested his forehead on the palm of his hand, a freshly lit cigarette between his fingers. He had been smoking way too much in your absence. A thin cloud of smoke floated in the air as he exhaled, his tired eyes resting on a thick folder full of documents on the table. At the top of it, a single piece of paper that mattered for him. 
Business Authorization
You would have been so happy.
At the bottom of the page, a big round stamp and a hand signature contrasted with the aligned black text. The signature of the board director, granting him the legal right to start the business. A clean, spotless business. A perfectly legal cover-up for everything else. Now he could rest more, stop worrying as much. Maybe he could finally take you on that overseas vacation you often talked about. Two weeks only for the two of you, away from everything.
Of course you wouldn't be so happy to know how he got that. Blackmailing the director with information he got from his own daughter that he seduced in a club. You had a video of it. He couldn't even enjoy this achievement. Everyone congratulated him, everyone was happy and he should have been most delighted by this. But all he could think about was that he earned it at your expense. 
You don’t love me!
Your strained voice would reverberate inside his brain like playing an old broken record. How could you say that? How could you doubt him when all he ever did was shower you with gifts, dedicate all his free time to you, think of you in every moment. He was infatuated with you. And you discarded him so easily just because he couldn’t say some words out loud.
Sukuna didn't fuck anyone else since you became his girlfriend. He didn't flirt with anyone, didn't make out with anyone else but you. But that night, when he was at the club for a completely different business, some of his men informed him that the daughter of the big guy was a bit too drunk a couple of tables away. All he had to do was throw in a few words in her direction and she already ate from his hand like an oblivious bird in the park. It came so natural to him, taking advantage of her. He had put so much time and effort and money into this, he couldn’t walk away from the opportunity. Life was giving him this chance on a silver platter.
He didn’t even waste a moment to think about the implications. First of all, you would never find out. Second, he was sure that you trusted him enough, that you loved him enough to get over it even if, through some kind of bad luck, you found out. He never showered you with words and empty promises, he was aware of that. He couldn’t. Every time he realized how much he loved you, how important you were to him, his feelings would get stuck in his throat, unable to be conveyed out of his mouth.
“Payment’s late.” The voice of a man interrupted his train of thought. Rising his face from his palm, he noticed Toji standing in the doorframe. Half of his cigarette was already burnt away.
“Must be the bank’s fault.” Sukuna answered, stubbing out his cigarette. He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms.
“The bank?” The other man asked, walking closer. The scar across his lips stretched as he smirked mockingly. “When did you start using bank transfers?”
“Today.” Toji peeked at the papers scattered on the table and nodded, impressed. “My men made you a new account for the contract. As a bodyguard.”
“I am not your employee.” The raven haired man spat the last word like it was a curse.
“You are, because I pay you. Any news?”
Ever since you kicked him out of your house, Sukuna had Toji follow you everywhere. Since he didn’t have the time and you would have seen him stalking you anyway, he offered the man an obscene amount of money just to have your every move recorded.
“Your little girl goes home from work and back around. If she’s feeling spicy maybe she’ll hit the convenience store.” Toji replied sarcastically as he sat down on another chair, legs spread comfortably his hands gesturing in the air. “I really don’t understand why you want me following her. She does nothing.”
“Yet, when she was out with another man you failed to report.” Sukuna said as he stood up, walking around the table to lean against it in front of the other man.
“Oh, come on, I was on a break. I’m feeling very lucky with betting these days.” He looked up in the pink haired man’s eyes, unfazed by the threatening look. On the contrary, Toji felt like irking him just a little. “Besides, she is so breedable. No wonder men-“
All of Sukuna’s pent up frustration and fatigue over the past few weeks culminated with those words. In a moment, his foot was on the chair Toji was sitting on, the tip of his shoe threatening to kick him between the legs, while his hands wrapped around the other man’s neck, choking him. Toji gasped for air, that irritating grin still splattered on his lips as Sukuna lowered his head to growl in his face.
“I don’t pay you to fantasize about fucking my woman.”
Toji raised his hands in a peaceful gesture, not trying to fight back. Sukuna let him go, pushing the chair with his foot, but the other man was already steady on his legs, sitting up before the chair fell on the floor with a thud.
“Good thing I don’t have to pay child support anymore.” Toji said as he waved a playful goodbye.
《previous: 2. Wash Away next》 Ascension |
True Form! Sukuna x Reader
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tags: @sukunasleftkneecap @domainofmarie @nicxl333 @st4r-s4r4
@vinnieswife @rosaryia @iluvoaldmen @rowrowrowyourboat13 @sterzin @siriuslyblackonback
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AITA for choosing to spend Christmas with my girlfriend instead of my family?
I (22M) have been dating my current girlfriend H (22F) for a little over 5 months now. We met in college and were friends, hooked up a few times during school, but we weren't official until July this year. We don't live together, we currently live in different cities in the same state, and we see each other just about every weekend. Her family really likes me and always tells me how happy I make her.
Last weekend (the weekend before Christmas weekend, for context), while I was visiting her and her family, they were telling me about some sort of family tradition they have each Christmas, and they would really like me to be there if I didn't have any plans. I accepted immediately as I felt it was a good thing to do for H. Her entire extended family lives in her city, and H really wanted to introduce me to everyone since I wasn't able to be with her on Thanksgiving and she was upset (I was traveling to visit my extended family out of state).
Here is where I may be the AH. I originally had plans with my family for Christmas (meaning my parents and my twin sister). When I told my family that plans have changed and I'd be spending Christmas with H instead of them, they didn't take it well. Mostly my mother. I've heard my mother cuss at me almost every day since I broke the news. My sister and father didn't seem to be as upset, or at least they weren't verbally making it known to me, but I could tell they're disappointed every time I talked to them about Christmas.
I found out from my father today that my sister is more hurt about me not being there than she's been showing. She also lives away from home but in the same city, and apparently when she visited for dinner last night, she started sobbing about how selfish I'm being about "choosing a girl he hasn't even been dating for that long over family" and how "do our Christmas family traditions not matter to him anymore?" I thought my sister liked H, they seemed to get along well. My sister isn't replying to any of my messages and has canceled our usual gaming sessions until at least after the holidays. My father said that while he will support my choice, changing plans on such short noticed wasn't smart.
I feel bad about making my sister cry. I've been talking to my friends about it and while some are supporting me, most are saying I made an AH choice and I'm thinking with my dick especially because of the short amount of time we've been dating. One of them said that spending holidays with your GF's family is for long term relationships. AITA?
What are these acronyms?
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zepskies · 1 year
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Never Say Goodbye - Part 3
Pairing: Dean x Female Reader
Summary: The first time you and Dean sensed each other’s thoughts and feelings, you were just kids. It would take years to realize that you both were bonded for life, and even longer to finally meet. [Soulmate AU] (Rated M for eventual scenes – 18+)
Word Count: 4,500 Warnings: Language, fluff.
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Part 3: Contact
As it turned out, your life started to get better after you missed that shift at the coffee shop.
Oh, you still got fired. But the experience of nearly getting splattered on the pavement by an oncoming truck gave you some unexpected clarity about your life.
Mainly, you needed to stop wasting it. You were tired of jobs that would pay your bills but not bring you closer to your career. And frivolous thoughts of coffee shop boys and…the hope of running into your soulmate.
Maybe one day, you could dare to hope, but from now on, you wouldn’t let it rule your thoughts. You wouldn’t hope too hard either.
It could save you from the disappointment of never hearing anyone’s thoughts but your own.
So you decided to check the University of South Dakota’s career board for jobs, and you discovered an opening in the history department! A research assistant for one of your favorite professors, who was writing their dissertation on the strange, superstitious, and sometimes down-right disgusting social practices of the Ancient Greeks (including bottling up the sweat of their best athletes, because they thought their musky body oils contained magical properties).
Since you were already majoring in history, you were a shoe-in for the job. And working directly with your professor gave you a great resource for future classes.
Four years later, you had earned your bachelor’s degree in History. You even decided to further your education when you were able to get a scholarship for graduate school.
Now you were just one semester away from finishing your master’s. You still worked in the history department, but you had been able to upgrade—to Executive Secretary to the Dean of Ancient Studies.
It sounded fancy, but really, you were a glorified slave. Or at least, your boss seemed to think so.
“I need you to cancel my meeting at two,” said Dr. Birch. She breezed into your tiny office without knocking, startling you from where you were hunched over your laptop.
“Good morning!” came your reflexive greeting, though it was a bit too loud and sharp. You internally winced at yourself and relaxed your posture, like a bird unruffling its feathers. “Cancel your meeting with Dr. Wells?”
Dr. Wells was a nice man, and an important one. He was the Head Dean of the entire History department. Technically, he was above Dr. Birch. It wasn’t a good look to blow him off, but you weren’t about to say so.
“Yes, I have an important lunch, and I already know it’s going to go overtime. Gary will understand,” she replied. She was looking at her phone rather than at you. For all she cared, you were just a calendar with hands.
Dr. Helen Birch was a brilliant woman. She’d published no less than five books, had won awards for her peer-reviewed articles, and she had been your academic advisor all through graduate school.
She could also rival Meryl Streep for “bitchy-ass boss” in The Devil Wears Prada.
“I also need you to grade the final exams for one of my classes,” she said. “Greek Studies this time.”
You held back a sigh. Again? I’ll never finish my own finals at this rate.
But what you said was, “Sure, I can do that. And I’ll email Dr. Wells to reschedule.”
“Yes, make sure it’s not on Thursday,” she said, brushing a finger through her thin blonde hair. “I have to leave early to get my roots touched up before I go away this weekend.”
“That’s fun,” you chatted while you revised Dr. Birch’s calendar on your computer (and sent an apology email to Dr. Wells). “Where to?”
“Oh, I have this tedious conference in Chicago. But then my boyfriend is taking me skiing in Breckenridge.” She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I simply can’t wait. This semester has been a drain on my psyche, and just terrible for my migraines.”
With the email sent, you took a little breath and gathered some courage as you got up from your desk and gathered a handful of papers you had stapled together. It was a rough draft of your thesis, which was only a bit worse for wear (including a suspect coffee stain that you didn’t remember accidentally putting there).
“Actually, I was going to ask you if you got my email about my thesis. I just wanted to go over some of the feedback you gave me on the draft,” you said, trying to sound more confident than you felt.
Dr. Birch raised a brow. “What of it?”
“Well.” You showed her the front page, which was covered in red ink. “Mainly the part where you crossed out the first three pages and commented, ‘Missing the point.’”
She nodded. “Yes. I’m afraid I have nothing to add about that.”
Well, that didn’t exactly help you. The first three pages was your entire introduction to your thesis, “TV & Film: The Modern-Day Mythology of the Masses.”
You must’ve had a pitiful, lost look on your face, because Dr. Birch finally took pity on you. She sighed.
“You are a creative girl. I’ll give you that, but your degree is not in cinematography. You are a historian,” she said. “And while the ‘Well of Souls’ in Raiders of the Lost Ark may be based on a real historical place in Jerusalem, that does not mean Indiana Jones can, or should be described as a ‘religious experience.’”
My ten-year-old self would bed to differ, you wanted to retort, but you kept your mouth shut and lowered your eyes. Dr. Birch nodded to herself and was about to leave your office, until she stopped short and gave you her Amex card.
“Oh. And get me a coffee, would you, dear?”      
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The moment your day ended and you were able to get into your car, you let out a long sigh of relief. While you waited for your car to warm up, you massaged your hand, aching from grading papers for Dr. Birch’s class.
You rubbed your hands together, this time to warm them as the frigid air draining from the car still bit into your skin. A shudder tingled through your body, and not in a pleasant way. Honest to God, I hate the winter.
On reflex, you toyed with the silver ring on your right hand—your mom’s ring. It usually comforted you, but today, remembering her made your heart heavy. Because today was the anniversary. 
You still remembered that snowy day when you were fourteen, could picture it so clearly, like a scene painted on glass.
With one last sigh, you fished out your phone to call your dad. It rang for a few seconds (it always took him an eternity to answer his phone, and it drove you crazy).
“Hello?”
“Hey, Dad,” you said.
“Hey. Just got off work?”
“Yeah, I’m headed back to Sioux Falls. Want to meet at home and go together, or do you just want to meet me at the cemetery?”
The other line was silent for a moment. Longer than you would’ve liked.
“You’re coming, right?” you pressed.
“Look, I’m gonna have to work late tonight,” Jack said. “Don’t wait up for me.”
“Really?” Your voice was terse. “It’s one day a year, Dad. You can’t even manage that?”
“I told you I’m working a case.” He sounded annoyed. You didn’t care.
You were pissed.
“Whatever,” you dismissed. But then, you realized you weren’t willing to let it go just yet. “You know, I just find it interesting. On her birthday, Christmas, today, somehow you just can’t be bothered to visit your wife.”
“Hey, drop it, all right?” your dad snapped back.
“Sure. It’s none of my business, I guess.”
“I don’t need your sarcasm either.”
You silently fumed, but you weren’t willing to hang up the phone first. You didn’t want to look petty, and apparently, neither did he. You both could be stubborn like that, sitting in a tense stretch of silence instead of just…
Instead of just, I don’t know what, you could admit, if only to yourself. Eventually, his voice reached your ears.
“I’ll go when I can,” he said.
“Fine.”
And you really did hang up this time.
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What should’ve been an hour drive back into your hometown took almost two with the traffic.
Oh yeah, you still lived at home with your dad. It wasn’t ideal, especially with a long-ass commute every day. But unfortunately, being a full-time student with a part-time job didn’t give you the budget to have your own life.   
At least you had your car—a dark blue Camaro your uncle had restored and gifted you for your twenty-first birthday. You didn’t talk to your Uncle Bobby as much as you would like. Between work and school and taking care of the house for you and your dad, you didn’t have much free time on your hands. You did see Bobby around town sometimes, and occasionally shared a beer with him when your demanding schedule allowed.
Your dad had never liked it, you hanging around your uncle. So you didn’t tell him.
That seemed to work out better for both of you.
In fact…
You reached for your phone again and found your uncle’s number.
“Stop badgering me, Rufus. I’m busy.”
Your lips curved into a grin. “Uncle Bobby?”
“Oh. Hi, darlin’. Sorry, thought you were some riff raff that keeps spammin’ me.”
“What did Rufus do now?” you asked.
“He knows,” Bobby said. The surly edge to his voice made you smile in amusement.
“What’re you doing later? Up for a beer?”
“Usually I’d take you up on that, but I’ve got some people coming in pretty soon.”
You scoffed. “You have people? What people?”
“You’re not the only number in my cell, you know,” he said dryly.
“What, you mean Rufus?” you teased.
“All right, now you’re just runnin’ up my minutes,” he said. “If you really want that beer, you’re welcome to swing by, if you want. I’ve got a stocked fridge full of cold ones.”
You laughed, then you considered his offer. Did you really want to go home and deal with your dad (whenever he bothered to come home)?
“Well, I’m going to the cemetery first, but I could maybe swing by after,” you replied.
“Right, that’s today, ain’t it?” Bobby said. “Give your mom my respects.”
A more genuine smile grew on your lips. “Thanks. Will do.”
You hung up with him just as you got to the cemetery. It was hard not to feel melancholy here, especially in the winter. All the graves were lightly dusted with snow, and it felt like the world came to a quiet stillness here.
You bundled up with your scarf and gloves as you braced yourself for the cold, stepping out of the car. On your way in, you heard the rumble of a car going by. It was loud enough to make you turn your head and see a flash of black speeding away.
You shook your head. People drive like maniacs nowadays.
You were about to continue on your way towards your mom’s grave, when you finally heard it.
Say goodbyeee…never say goodbye-y-aaayy. Holdin’ on we gotta try, holdin’ on to never sayyy goodbyeee.~
Someone was warbling a Bon Jovi song in your mind, and it certainly wasn’t you.
But you did come to a dead stop in your path. Your eyes widened as shock claimed your heart and your brain. Soon enough though, your heart warmed as you became aware of something new. It was like a low hum at first, reverberating inside your chest.
You and me and my old friends, hopin’ it would neeever end. Say goodbye—
The singing continued, but all you could focus on was the thrumming in your skull, the thread of connection you could sense and feel inexplicably. You didn’t realize you were crying until you felt warmth trickling down your cold cheeks. Sniffling, you wiped your tears with the back of your hand and smiled tremulously.
You were finally feeling your soulmate.
Which meant, he was close by…and with that realization came an important question:
What the hell do I do now?
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They were in South Dakota again.
Dean knew coming back here was…potentially dangerous. He hadn’t heard his soulmate’s thoughts in four years, since the last time he was in this state.
Truth be told, he hadn’t wanted to come here. After the last hunt though, he could use some R&R at Bobby’s for a couple of days.
This time Dean had his brother with him, albeit the circumstances weren’t…great. Their dad was missing, and Sam had lost his girlfriend in the process of trying to find him.
Sometimes, Dean really regretted going to find his brother at Stanford. Part of him thought, if he hadn’t hooked Sam into coming with him to try and find John, maybe Jessica Moore would still be alive.
A more selfish part of him (one he wouldn’t name) was glad to have Sam with him. Dean was actually having fun hunting with him. And maybe, Dean was having to get to know him again too.
“You think Bobby will have any intel on Dad?” Sam asked from the passenger seat of the Impala. They were about five minutes away from Singer Salvage, the old man’s tow business (and his house).
“Doubt it,” Dean replied, changing the radio station once Bon Jovi turned to REO Speedwagon. He could get down with some pop rock from Jovi, but REO was pushing it.
“Then why are we here?” Sam turned to him with a frown. “We just ganked a poltergeist in our old house and…we saw Mom. You think we should be wasting time right now?”
Dean’s lips pursed. Leaving their old house behind in Lawrence, Kansas was exactly why he needed a minute before jumping into the next case. As much as he wanted to find John, Dean just…he needed a minute to breathe.
Revisiting those old (painful) memories wasn’t easy for him. He wasn’t sure that Sam completely got that.
“Bobby’s got a stack of lore books to Kingdom Come. Who knows, he might have a way to help us find Dad,” he said.
Sam shot him an unimpressed look. “And if he doesn’t?”
Dean resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He got why Sam was so fired up. Really. The fact that the kid was having weird…premonition dreams about the near future was concerning. And he wanted to find the thing that killed Jess, that killed their mom, but this was clearly going to be a marathon. Not a sprint.
“In the meantime, we crack open a couple beers,” Dean said, “get one or two of free nights on actual beds, and then we’re on our way to the next gig. How’s that sound?”
Sam let out a sigh through his nose and faced the road ahead. They both knew he wasn’t happy. Dean couldn’t exactly blame him.
When they finally got to Bobby’s, the old man greeted them with a casual wave, beckoning them inside. He offered them the contents of his fridge—a few beers and a frozen lasagna defrosting in the fridge. Dean scoped it out while Sam dropped off his bag in the upstairs guest room.
“That for us?” Dean pointed to the lasagna with a grin. “Didn’t know we merited the red-carpet treatment.”
“’Cause it’s not just for you,” Bobby said dryly, then he hesitated. “...My niece might be swingin’ by later.”
Dean raised his brows in curiosity. “Didn’t know you had a niece.”
Or any family, for that matter. He knew the old man had a wife, once upon a time, but he assumed she’d passed away. No kids. Bobby had never talked about having an extended family. He didn’t have pictures on the walls, and the shelves only had books and locked boxes.
Bobby took a long sip of his beer after opening a bottle each for himself and Dean. He had one ready on the counter for Sam, who came into the kitchen looking tired. The kid hadn’t been sleeping well for the past few weeks, to say the least. Dean handed him the beer.
“I don’t see her much,” Bobby conceded.
“Why’s that?” Dean asked.
It took a moment for the other man to answer. Eventually, he was honest. “Well, she's grown. Going to school, got a job. But you could say I had a fallin’ out with her dad, a while back.”
“You have a brother?” Sam said.
“Brother-in-law,” Bobby corrected. He didn’t say anything more about it though. Sam and Dean shared a look that said they agreed: There’s something off there, but I’m not gonna pry.
“You still see her though?” Dean asked.
“Every now and then,” Bobby said, sipping at his beer again. “It’s a small town.”
That kind of pissed Dean off. Bobby was a good guy. He’d watched Sam and Dean a lot when they were kids, their dad on a hunt. He’d made sure they had decent food to eat, good movies to watch, and even played catch with Dean a time or two.
So what kind of assholes did Bobby have for family, that they couldn’t be bothered to check in on the old man every now and then? They must’ve been off living their lives, in their own little world. Must be nice.
Dean brought the bottle of Heineken to his lips, only to realize it was empty. Couldn’t have that, could we?
He went to the fridge and opened the cap, only to jump as the beer fizzed and leaked over his hands.
Damn it!
Bobby sighed. “And I just mopped the damn floor.”
“All right, Martha Stewart. Keep your slippers on,” Dean teased. “Sam, get me a paper towel.”
Bobby tried to get by him to get the mop, but beer was still dripping down Dean’s arm.
“Would you move to the sink, already?”
Sam finally cracked a small grin as Dean rolled his eyes. “Fine. Jesus. You’d think Miss America was comin’ into town.”
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Damn it.
You heard him again. And this time, you could hear his voice, so you knew the thought belonged to a him. The voice was pleasantly deep, and annoyed. You actually felt his irritation and were able to recognize that the emotion didn’t belong to you.
Excitement bubbled in your throat, almost making it hard to breathe as you drove your car down the road. You had been too worked up to go see your mom, and technically you were supposed to head to your Uncle Bobby’s house, but this was too important.
You needed to figure out how to talk to him—your soulmate.
So you pulled over on the side of the road, and even turned the radio off. Okay, now what?
You didn’t know what you were supposed to do. They taught about this subject in school, sure, but that had been years ago! You’d spent the past six years filling your head with college and work and learning how to be an adult.
Okay, just breathe. You calmed down a bit with some deep breaths, and you closed your eyes. When you first heard your soulmate’s singing in your head, you remembered feeling warmth spread through your body, emanating from your chest. Then in your mind, you’d noticed a…a thread, of what could only be described as energy.
You felt it now. You could almost visualize it with your eyes closed. In your imagination, it was bright and beckoning. You focused on it, and it grew brighter, thrumming and soft.
You thought of what you wanted to say, and you tried it—sending your thoughts and your will through the connection.
Having a rough day?
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Dean was still wiping beer off the floor in Bobby’s kitchen when he heard your voice ring through his mind.
Having a rough day?
His entire body tensed, and he paused with a ball of wet paper towel in his hand. Sam had taken the mop from Bobby and was about to finish off the floor, until he noticed Dean blanking.
“Dean?” he asked.
It shook Dean out of his shock, enough for him to look up at his brother. “Hmm?”
“What’s up? You were staring off into space.”
Dean feigned innocence. “Nothing.”
Sam’s brow rose, but he didn’t press the issue and went back to mopping. Dean took the opportunity to toss the wet paper towel in the garbage.
“I’m gonna hop in the shower,” he said, and made his swift exit to the bathroom upstairs, so quickly that he didn’t see Bobby watching Dean curiously from the living room.
“Don’t use up all the hot water!” Sam called after him.
Once again, Dean found himself locking the bathroom door and staring at himself in the mirror. His green eyes were conflicted as he tried to calm down. Maybe his heart was starting to beat a tick faster. Maybe a trickle of nervous sweat was making its way down his spine. Maybe he didn’t know what the hell to do.
His dad’s warning was still clear as a bell in his mind.
“Unless you’re prepared to hang up your gun, and stop hunting, don’t open that door.”
Dean knew why John had said it, and even agreed with him…at least, logically he did. His life was complicated, and insane, and bloody. How could he put someone else through what he went through? What he still went through every day? It wasn’t right.
But his chest was aching. He rubbed at it absently.
He could feel your worry again, he realized. You were anxious, probably waiting for him to respond. Dean could feel you. Having a rough day? you’d asked him.
So as usual, he made an impulsive choice.
You could say that, he carefully replied. He remembered the way your voice sounded, smooth and pleasant in his mind, and he couldn’t help smiling a little. But not for long, I’m thinkin’.
Your relief hit him in a slow, but powerful wave. It almost made him feel guilty for taking so long to answer.
Well, it’s not every day you hear someone else in your head. Maybe you’re going crazy.
She was teasing him. You were teasing him.
It brought an incredulous smile to Dean’s face. You’re one to talk. Maybe you’re just talkin’ to yourself right now.
Hmm. I don’t usually warble to Bon Jovi, but maybe you’re right.  
A beat of surprise, another to remember what he and Sam had been listening to in the car earlier, and then embarrassment prickled at the back of his neck.
You heard that, huh? he asked wryly.
Maybe, you giggled. It was a cute sound, and it cut through some of his embarrassment. He wasn’t used to being put back a step by women. He was good at reading people’s body language, and usually it didn’t take him more than one look to figure out what a woman thought about him, and what they wanted to do with him.
So the fact that he couldn’t see you was a challenge. With that realization, a slow smile spread across his face. He was game for a challenge.
Well, I’m likin’ your voice so far, he said. Think I could get you to sing for me?
He felt you pause, a flutter of warmth through a tendril of shyness. I’ll leave the performing to you, Romeo.   
Come on, it’s only fair.
Who said life is fair?
Dean sobered a bit at that. Ain’t that the truth.
Hmm, so you were having a rough day.
Make it a week, he said.
Yeah, I know the feeling…I wasn’t having a good day today either.
Dean sensed your melancholy and didn’t like the feeling. Well, now you’re talkin’ to me. So it should be smooth sailin’ from now on.
He could feel you brighten at that. It made warmth bloom once again inside his chest, especially because he sensed you were smiling—a bit shy, but genuine.  
…What’s your name? he asked.
It took you a beat, but eventually you gave him your name. It wasn’t what he expected, but he liked it. Your name rolled through his thoughts, and he tested on his tongue.
What’s yours? you asked predictably. Somehow, Dean didn’t anticipate the follow-up.
Suddenly he realized exactly what he was doing: he was talking to you. (Something he’d told himself he wasn’t going to do.) Not to mention, he’d been locked in the bathroom for about ten minutes and hadn’t even showered yet. Pretty soon either Sam or Bobby was going to come knocking to see what the hell he was doing, so he might as well shower for real.
He answered you as he turned on the showerhead and started undressing. I’ll make a deal with you…if you can guess what I do for a living, I’ll come by and introduce myself in person.
Dean felt your shock, so he let you think as he stepped into the shower. Eventually you came back, annoyance coloring your emotions and your voice.
That’s stupid.
Dean smiled. Aw, come on. It’ll be fun.
For you!
Don’t you know, sometimes the best things in life come after some delayed gratification.
You paused for a moment, in which Dean didn’t know if you were in shock again, or just pissed. Maybe a combination of both.
Great, I got a comedian, you deadpanned. …You’re not a comedian, are you?
Sweetheart, I’m hilarious, Dean replied. But no. Good guess, though.
He sensed the equivalent of you rolling your eyes.
Just then, Sam knocked on the bathroom door.
“Hey, you better not use up all the hot water!”
“Twenty minutes of peace, Sammy. That’s all I ask,” Dean shot back. Sam made a sound of annoyance, but he went away, leaving Dean almost alone with his thoughts.
Look, I gotta go, he said regretfully. But I expect you to have some guesses cooked up by the time I get back from work.
You were still annoyed, but you begrudgingly agreed to his terms.
Fine. Just…don’t wander too far off. I can’t win the game if I can’t hear you.
Dean sensed your underlying worry, and your fear. You were afraid he was going to leave.
His heart softened. As a result, he ended up promising things he didn’t know if he meant.
Don’t worry. I’m not leaving town until you win, he said.
He felt your warm smile, along with your excitement.
Goodnight, sweetheart. We’ll talk soon.
Okay…goodnight.
He hung onto the feeling of your presence for a few seconds longer, before he let go of the connection. For now.
Dean caught himself smiling, but it quickly turned to a frown.
“Nobody should be waiting on men like us to come home bloody.”
When he once again remembered his dad’s warnings, that new warmth in his heart chilled, and it sunk like a stone. He leaned against the cool bathroom wall and pressed his forehead against the tile, while lukewarm water beat the side of his face and body.
Shit.
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AN: Oh, Dean. What're we gonna do with you? lol
I hope you enjoyed Part 3! I promise they'll finally meet soon lol. What did you think of their first conversation?
To keep reading: Part 4
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Series Masterlist
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anotherdragon · 5 months
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you know, I was thinking earlier.
At first I was thinking about how desensitized the residents of Hatchetfield are to death and dissapearances. Grace said it herself: "This is Hatchetfield. People Go missing every day!" And you see it, too: how Max going missing and Richies death almost seems like an afterthought; and its played off as a joke, as 'oh haha look they care more about some football game than a kid going missing' but it really gets sadder if you think about it? Like imagine knowing that any day you or a family member or one of your closest friends could go missing at any time, and just needing to...except that. And it would explain Pete's admittedly little to no reaction to Richie and Ruth's deaths, while he still might be upset over it, he came to terms with that possibility years ago. everyone did. always at the back of each residents mind, that today it was a stranger, a name you wouldn't even remember an hour from now, but tomorow? It could be you. It could be someone you love.
And then i got thinking a bit more: we see a lot of shit like this throughout Hatchetfield (while its probably for the sake of keeping the episodes seperate, im pretty sure nmt2 all takes place in the same timeline, and like. Thirty people are mentioned to have died in Killer Track??? The honey queens go missing every year[well, leave town the day they went missing and never contact anyone in hatchetfield ever again but you have to admit thats suspicious] People just. going missing at Abstinence Camp and no one looking into it???) but all that aside. What I cant wrap my head around is 'Hatchet Town'. the entire song is about the citizens of hatchetfield getting paranoid and pointing fingers and in general getting aggressive over the murder of two teens. But??? 'By Best Of You' everyones just. stopped caring. Shapiro can be explained away a bit by her seeing Max, but with the killing of three teenagers, the mayors secretary and the 'disappearance' of the mayor any normal school would probably. Cancel homecoming. (I could probably also go into a whole thing about how the specific way richie was killed and the MESSAGE WRITTEN IN HIS BLOOD point towards the killer being a student. which you would really think would lead to the canceling of an event like this). And they just??? Decide to still hold the event??? (which is even funnier knowing that ANOTHER STUDENT GETS KILLED AT HOMECOMING)
So uh. Not even sure what the point of this post is anymore. I refuted my own post and then refuted that. Now im just confused. What The Fuck Is Going On In Hatchetfield. Why did all the residents of hatchetfield fucking swing to the other extreme for three minutes and fourty seconds. huh.
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fruity-pontmercy · 6 days
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So my university was blockaded yesterday morning (the first blockade of the year! which is surprising since we usually blockade a lot, but our campus is notoriously hard to block) which made me think a little, I ended up doodling a little blockading Enjolras, continuing my tradition of enjolras headcanons that arent headcanons at all but rather just a projection of my uni experience.
Anyway, hope you like it :).
By the way, since blockades ARE political, my university (Paris 1) is protesting the passing of a new internal reform that would make it significantly harder for underprivileged students to continue studying, and would further social selectivity in higher education, which has been an issue in France since the implementation of the ORE law in 2018: The reform aims to cancel the ability to retake your finals, doesn’t allow for compensation between subjects or semesters (aka if you fail one subject you fail the entire year) and would only allow you to skip class if you have either a serious illness, if a close family member has passed, or if you have a competitive exam.
This new reform is obviously ridiculous, and would mostly affect students who are already in difficult situations. According to surveys led by students, approximately 26% (if I remember correctly) of students would not have been able to pass the school year if not for grade compensations, final exam retakes and allowed absences.
If you have the time of day, do consider signing this petition :3
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thebearchives · 2 years
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daddy day care | PG10
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PAIRING: dad!pierre gasly x mom!reader
REQUESTED: [X] yes [] no
WORD COUNT: 3.3k
SYNOPSIS: you and charlotte leave your children home with their fathers to go and enjoy a day out. what could possibly go wrong?
WARNINGS: fluff!!!, dad!piarles (need i say more?), piarles banter, kids being kids, french + translations
as always, don't be a ghost reader!
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“are you sure?” you couldn’t hide the worry seeping out of your words, “i can cancel if you want, we could just spend a night in with the leclercs.”
pierre’s hands rubbed up and down your arm in an attempt to soothe you, “mon coeur, we will be fine. you and charlotte have been planning this day out for weeks, you deserve to go out.”
to ease your apprehension, he couldn’t help but crack a joke, “i feel like i should be insulted you think i can’t handle being at home with anthoine.” 
you let him pull you close, resting your forehead just under his collarbone. you couldn’t help but feel guilty, “it’s not like that, i promise. i’ve just never been away from him for this long.”
pierre squeezed you into a soft hug, “i know, ange. we’ll be fine, though. really.”
you felt small hands wrap around your leg, and a small voice called out from beneath you two, “maman! tenez-moi!” hold me!
you opened your eyes to see your mini blue-eyed devil staring up at you, hands tugging on your pants. you felt all your worries melt away, a smile replacing your earlier frown as you pulled away from pierre to pick him up.
“you’re getting to be quite the big boy, twannie, i don’t know if i can hold you anymore.” you teased the four year old in your arms. the younger boy looked rather confused, looking over at his father for some help.
“ta maman se fait vieille,” pierre couldn’t help but laugh when not one, but two hands swatted his chest, one significantly smaller than the other. your mommy is getting old.
anthoine wrapped his arms around your neck, a pout on his lips, “maman est petite! vous êtes vieux!” mommy is small! you are old!
you giggled at his words, and the shocked look on pierre’s face, planting a kiss on your son’s head, “merci, mon grand. et c'est jeune, pas petit.” thank you, big man. and it’s young, not small.
the boy in your arms basked in your affection, “maman est jeune!” mommy is young!
pierre tsked, hands reaching out to take his son out of your arms, “look at what you’ve done, y/n.”
“tu as passé trop de temps avec maman,” he frowned at anthoine, who giggled and tried to unfurrow his father’s eyebrows. you've been spending too much time with mommy. 
“papa n'est pas vieux,” daddy is not old, pierre turned to you with a pout, “what are you telling him? i’m only a few months older than you!”
anthoine grabbed his father’s cheeks, turning pierre towards him, “papa! je ne comprends pas.” i don’t understand.
before anthoine was born, pierre and yourself had decided that you would raise him up to be fluent in french, before integrating english into his day-to-day life when he began school. pierre had been the one to bring up the idea, and after four years of pierre blurting out the most inappropriate sentences in front of your unassuming son, you could easily tell why.
you smirked, “papa dit qu'il est beaucoup plus âgé que maman.” daddy said he's much older than mommy.
pierre rolled his eyes and grumbled, “i’ve had it with you. you need to leave so i can unbrainwash our child.”
anthoine’s pout intensified and you cooed. he was so much like pierre it was entirely unfair. 
“twannie, papa est jaloux que tu sois le petit garçon de maman.” daddy is jealous that you're mommy's little boy.
anthoine gasped, turning around to wrap his arms around pierre’s neck, “c'est bon, papa! je t'aime aussi. je peux être le petit garçon de maman et de papa!” it’s okay, daddy! i love you, too. i can be both mommy and daddy's little boy!”
pierre’s expression was utterly soft, his eyes filled with adoration for the little boy in his arms, “te t'aime plus que tu ne le penses, mon petit coeur.” i love you more than you know, my little heart.
the beautiful moment was interrupted by the doorbell chiming.
anthoine gasped, kicking his legs as a sign to be let down, “juliette est là, papa!” juliette is here, daddy!
you followed the speedy four-year-old to the door, moving him aside to open the door. on your porch stood a pierre’s best friend, his wife, and a little girl. juliette leclerc.
said girl exclaimed loudly when she saw your son, “tony!”
“jules!” 
the two met in the middle, arms wrapped around each other as greeting. your son pulled back first, intertwining his hand with juliette’s before tugging her further into the house.
“mon dieu, they’re like two peas in a pod,” charles shook his head at the two kids before giving you a smile and a hug, “nice to see you again, y/n.”
“likewise,” you returned the hug, “and don’t act like you and pierre aren’t the same.”
charlotte stepped inside the house, giving you a quick hug and greeting, “yeah, you two are just as bad, if not worse.”
“yeah, yeah. if it weren’t for us, you two wouldn’t be the best of friends either.” pierre came around, giving the couple a nice welcome, “come on in, guys.”
in the living room, the two four year olds had already pulled out all of anthoine’s blocks, building a large building.
“papa, look!” juliette had all but shrieked when she saw charles walk through the corridor, “regardez ici, c'est un podium!” look here, it’s a podium!
unlike pierre and yourself, the leclercs had decided to integrate some english into little juliette’s vocabulary, but with the amount of french-speakers in her life, she tended to only speak in french.
“wow, ça a l'air tellement vrai! est-ce que ma voiture va être sur le toit?" charles gasped to entertain both kids. wow, that looks so real! is my car going to be on the top?
anthoine shook his head, pointing at the alpha tauri car held in juliette’s hand, “non, tonton ferrari! c'est papa! il est le plus rapide de tous!” no, uncle ferrari! it’s daddy! he’s the fastest of them all!
initially, charles had been dubbed “tonton char”, until anthoine found out that his aunt was “tatie char” and felt that they both deserved to not have to share the same name. since then, charles became “tonton ferrari” and honestly, the monégasque couldn’t have been happier to be called as such.
“papa?” charles was flabbergasted, “mais, anthoine, tonton ferrari est tellement plus rapide! il conduit une ferrari!” but, anthoine, uncle ferrari is so much faster! he drives a ferrari!
“papa, tonton pierre is super fast! très rapide!” juliette took the car in her hands and pretended to drive it in the air, ultimately stopping at the top step of the podium.
charles gave pierre a dirty look, the frenchman smiling smugly, “you’ve brainwashed my daughter.”
“she’s just got good taste, charles.”
before the two adult children could start arguing, charlotte clapped her hands, “alright. so, y/n are you ready to go?”
you couldn’t stop your eyes from trailing to pierre, who nodded his head and threw a thumbs up. you took a deep breath before turning back to charlotte and gave her a curt nod, “yeah, i just need to go grab my bag and jacket from my room,” you smoothed out your outfit, “this is fine, right?”
“more than perfect. you’re the hottest mama!” she threw you a wink and you laughed when you heard pierre pipe up with a damn right, she is! 
with your jacket on and bag over your shoulder, you kneeled down next to the two kids playing, calling anthoine over. on the other side, charlotte did the same with juliette.
you fixed anthoine’s shirt and hair, “maman s'en va, d’accord? je vais passer un peu de temps avec ta tatie char,” you gave him a soft smile. mommy is heading out, okay? i'm gonna go spend some time with your auntie char. 
“vous partez?” his lips slipped into a pout, hands reaching out to play with the button of your jacket. you’re leaving?
“oui, mais tu seras ici avec papa, tonton ferrari et jules,” you lightly pulled his hands away and gave them a squeeze, “tu vas t'amuser comme un fou!” yes, but you will be here with daddy, uncle ferrari and jules…you will have so much fun!
“je peux vous appeler si vous me manquez?” can i call you if i miss you?
you couldn’t help the soft coo that escaped your lips, “bien sûr, tu peux m'appeler quand tu veux.” of course, you can call me whenever you want.
anthoine had always been rather attached to you, seeing as you two would spend a lot of time at home together while pierre would be out for his work. you and pierre had been working on his separation anxiety little by little, and he had gotten a lot better, but as pierre would softly smile and say, “anthoine loves his maman a lot, he wants to be with her all the time. just like papa.”
and so, with a kiss on the cheek from anthoine, and one on the lips from pierre, you were off, getting into the car with charlotte to enjoy a day out.
at home, pierre and charles gave each other a look.
“well, let’s hope this is easy.” charles sighed, heading straight to the gaslys kitchen, “did you by any chance stock up on those pudding cups that anthoine eats? they’re really good.”
“that anthoine eats?” pierre scoffed, following charles into the kitchen, “you singlehandedly finish every pack we buy. tony eats only like, one a week.”
charles stared at him expectantly and pierre sighed, “top left cupboard, next to the pantry.”
“you’re saying that this delicious, processed cup of sugar,” charles took a big bite of the pudding, “tony only eats once a week?”
pierre nodded, “sometimes, not even.”
charles gaped, and pierre groaned, “close your mouth, c'est nauséabond.” that’s nauseating.
“i’m sorry, how does anthoine exist without this?”
 “same way juliette does,” pierre sat down next to charles.
“but that’s only because charlotte doesn’t let me buy anything for jules,” charles waved his empty spoon in the air, “something about organic and healthy food; no processed sugars, that sort of stuff.”
“who do you think told y/n about that stuff?” pierre smirked, “but y/n is less hard on the healthy eating than charlotte is. she says that we weren’t held on that strict of diets and we turned out fine.”
charles laughed, “her? sure. but you? you are anything but fine.”
pierre smacked charles’ head, “don’t forget that both jules and tony think i’m faster than you. i wonder why?”
charles’ face instantly dropped, “it’s all because of that day we left her over at yours. i can’t believe you would teach a kid lies like that.”
“oh, shut up,” pierre rolled his eyes, “it’s not a lie, i am better than you. who started in f1 first?”
it was charles’ turn to roll his eyes, “that’s because you’re old.”
“papa! maman says it’s not nice to talk about ages!” juliette walked into the kitchen with anthoine trailing behind her, tugging on her dress as if asking her to translate. she turned towards him, “mon papa a appelé ton papa vieux!” my daddy called your daddy old!
it was as if a lightbulb went on his head, “papa est vieux!” anthoine continued, “même maman le dit.” daddy is old!...even mommy said so.
charles laughed loudy, and the younger leclerc looking visibly confused. her mother had never prepared her for such a situation. next to the older leclerc, pierre visibly slumped, head coming down to rest against the cool counter.
“ta maman est très intelligente,” charles leaned over to ruffle the young gasly’s hair. your mommy is very smart.
anthoine smiled widely before turning to his dad, “papa, jules et moi avons faim.” jules and i are hungry.
juliette nodded hurriedly, “si affamés que nous pourrions mourir!” so hungry we could die!
charles pulled juliette up into his lap while pierre got out of his seat and placed anthoine on it instead, “nous ne voudrions pas ça maintenant, n'est-ce pas?” we wouldn't want that now, would we?
both kids shook their heads, giggling behind their tiny hands. 
pierre searched through the kitchen, unsure what to feed the kids, “qu'est-ce que vous voulez manger?” what would you guys like to eat?
anthoine bounced in his seat, “spaghetti!”
“yeah! yummy spaghetti,” she turned to her father, “on peut avoir celui que tatie y/n a fait?” can we have the one auntie y/n made?
charles looked at pierre who pulled his phone out, “well, can we?”
pierre held up a finger, holding his phone up to his ear, “hey! hi, amour…no, no! everything is fine…well, you see the kids are hungry an-...no, i didn’t…but jules said she wants the spaghetti you make…then what do i do now?”
charles watched pierre in amusement, his everchanging facial expressions making him chuckle lightly.
“alright,” pierre put his phone back into his pocket, “je viens de parler à la maman de tony et elle a dit spaghetti pour le dîner, pas pour le déjeuner.” i just talked to tony's mama and she said spaghetti for dinner, not for lunch.
both kids slumped down in their seats and pierre opened the fridge, “alors, à la place, pourquoi pas des sandwiches?” so, instead, how about we have sandwiches?
“okay, can we play until you are done making the sandwiches?” jules asked, already moving to get off her father’s lap.
charles laughed, “okay, but come when we call you okay?”
anthoine copied his friend’s movements, nodding–though he didn’t understand a thing–before running off with the leclerc girl.
“he did not have a single clue what i just said,” charles threw away his pudding cup.
pierre nodded, “nope, but jules will probably explain it to him.”
“do you not forget that he can’t speak english sometimes?” charles grabbed two pieces of bread to make juliette’s sandwich.
“mm, occasionally,” pierre smiled, “but tony always has the cutest face and then goes ‘papa, je ne peux pas vous comprendre!’ and it’s the cutest thing ever. i hate to say it, but sometimes we do it on purpose because his pout is just so adorable.”
charles hummed, “anthoine’s gonna be the biggest heartthrob when he grows up.”
“i mean, he’s already got jules wrapped around his finger,” pierre elbowed charles.
“absolutely not.” charles stopped assembling the sandwich, “if anything, jules has him wrapped around her finger.”
“as if!”
the argument continued on for the rest of the sandwich making process…and the clean up process. by the time the ingredients had been put back, charles and pierre had just barely ceased their banter.
“anthoine! juliette! les sandwichs sont prêts!” the sandwiches are ready!
charles’ helped both kids with washing their hands. while pierre helped them get seated and put their sandwiches in front of them.
the two fathers sat down across from their kids, snacking on their own sandwiches while participating in the discourse between their children.
not long after, the kids had migrated to playing outside in the backyard. their plates had long since been abandoned, bread crusts and crumbs littering the colourful plastic. pierre had tried so hard to convince the two to eat the crusts but lost the battle.
the frenchman, alongside the monégasque, moved to the outside as well, monitoring their children as they went up and down the slide, and played with their cars. conversation flowed smoothly between the two, bouncing from one topic to the next.
after a few bathroom breaks and trips to the kitchen for some water, the youngest pair of best friends retired to anthoine’s room, bored of the sun and playground outside. 
“they’re so energetic when they’re together.” pierre groaned, head tossed back in exhaustion.
“they’re four,” charles retorted, nearly in the same position as the frenchman, “i can’t help but feel bad for our mums. we were probably just as bad.”
“yeah, but we weren’t four. we were at least seven and higher,” pierre yawned.
“you were seven. i was six. you’re old,” charles laughed when pierre’s hand blindly tried to hit his arm.
“i’m sick of you and y/n calling me old. you’ve got my son doing it, too. what has the world come to?” 
charles’ laughs grew louder as pierre complained, never not basking in his friend’s misery, “you’ll live…”
“oh, for fuck’s sake,” pierre huffed, “do not make another old joke. i will literally kick you out.”
before charles could get a word out, juliette came running back out, anthoine hot on her tail.
“papa! papa!” she grabbed her father’s arm and shook it hard.
charles winced, pulling his arm away from her hands and instead grasping her hands in his, “on ne secoue pas les gens comme ça, juli.” you don't shake people like that, juli.
she stopped, a pout on her face, “okay, but papa, guess what! devinez quoi!”
charles hummed, “je ne sais pas. pourquoi tu ne me le dis pas?” i don’t know. why don’t you tell me?
the girl shook her head, “no, vous devez deviner,” she turned to pierre, “tonton pierre! vouz devinez!” you have to guess…uncle pierre! you guess!
the frenchman made a show of thinking by rubbing his chin, “hmm, tu as mangé tout ton pain?” you ate all your bread?
anthoine giggled, “non! papa, c'était si mal!” that was so wrong!
pierre abruptly rose, grabbing anthoine and hoisting him into the air, shrieks of laughter erupting from him, “une mauvaise estimation? comment osez-vous!” a bad guess? how dare you!
juliette looked at charles expectantly. charles scratched his chin, stumped, “vous avez cassé quelque chose?” did you guys break something?
juliette stomped her small foot, “no! you guys are so bad at guessing.”
she moved towards anthoine, who had just been placed back on the ground, and pulled him in front of her dad, “anthoine a dit que nous aurons un mariage!” anthoine said we will have a wedding!
charles choked on his spit, and pierre’s eyebrows raised at his son. 
anthoine nodded, bouncing on the balls of his feet, “je vais épouser jules! tout comme toi et maman, et tonton et tatie!” i’m going to marry jules! just like you and mommy, and uncle and auntie.
“absolutely not,” charles reached over and pushed pierre’s shoulder, “pierre, get your heartbreaker of a son away from my daughter.”
“but papa!” jules frowned, having heard the refusal, “je l'aime et nous allons avoir beaucoup de bébés!” i love him and we’re going to have a lot of babies!
“merde,” charles felt like his heart was going to explode. 
on his left, pierre’s face was turning red from how hard he was holding back laughter. he did not want either kid to think he was laughing at them.
charles chuckled awkwardly, “vous n'êtes pas un peu trop jeunes pour discuter de ça?” aren't you two a bit too young to be discussing this?
“l'amour, c'est l'amour!” anthoine pumped a fist up in the air, “c'est ce que dit maman.” love is love!...that’s what mommy says.
pierre couldn’t help it, the laughter bubbled out of his chest. charles sat next to him, slack-jawed, unable to believe that the gasly boy had proposed to his daughter so soon. he hadn’t even had the chance to tell her no dating until she was thirty.
with the way charles sat there unmoving, pierre decided to do some damage control, chuckles still escaping his lips, “et si on attendait que vos mamans soient rentrées et qu'on puisse en parler?” how about we wait until your moms are home and we can talk about this then?
both children nodded, running back into the house hand-in-hand.
charles placed his head in his hands, and pierre slapped his back, “mon ami, i think we’re going to share the same grandchildren in the future.”
“pierre, je vais devoir vous demander d'arrêter de parler.” i'm going to need you to stop speaking.
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concerningwolves · 1 year
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Also, this talk about scapegoating ND people because of "incorrect" or "weird" behaviours vividly reminds me of this time in middle school when our entire year group did this desert island survival team-building exercise.
I've blanked most of it from my memory because the whole scenario was unspeakably miserable, but I don't think I'll ever forget what happened when the teachers introduced a Traitors-type mechanic. Basically, they randomly picked a student who would "sabotage" the "supplies" by stealing some (iirc, these were a stock of those little beanbags we used in PE), and we were supposed to work together to salvage the situation.
What actually happened was a witch hunt for the saboteur, and because I (undiagnosed autistic) wasn't reacting "correctly" to the situation, everyone came down on me. I remember standing in the corridor while a bunch of people that I called acquaintances, and some who I considered friends, all crowded around asking me if I was the thief. I think I might have been almost hysterical, because I started laughing and grinning in that painfully embarrassed way while I protested my innocence, and they took this as further "proof" and pressed me harder. I remember feeling absolutely filthy with hot-and-cold sweat, so frustrated I wanted to cry, because nobody would believe me. They were convinced it was me, because I'd committed some social transgression or other that I didn't understand, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.
The teachers put a stop to it in the end. (I think they actually cancelled the entire exercise, but maybe it was just that particular aspect they scrapped). Our form teacher gave everyone a very disappointed talk and revealed that the real thief was someone nobody had even glanced at, because he was popular and well-liked. I don't remember if anyone ever apologised to me. One of my friends told me I'd been "over-reacting", because it was "just a game", but to me it'd felt like a microcosm of my social life with the stakes dialled up a 100%.
I will always be able to point to that instance as the first time I became really, excruciatingly aware just how Different I was. For some reason, I'd put a target on myself, I thought. I know now that it was actually a case of ableism and inherent biases against neurodivergent behaviors, but that's a recent revelation. And my heart breaks when I think about how that kind of thing happens every day, all across the world, because so many societies train people to see ND traits as red flags.
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writingstoraes · 1 year
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someday 🌅
pairing: charles leclerc/fem!reader
type: written imagine/drabble (angst)
notes: was in the mood for some angst so... lmk what u guys think!
warnings: none that i know! plain angst, unrequited feelings, mutual pining (??) and all that
about: charles has loved you since he was 18.
Charles has done many stupid things in his life. Emphasis on the many — he's lost count, and doesn't even bother to recall which foolish decisions had made its way to his list.
But if he had to name one, if he had a gun to his head and his life depended on it, he has one extremely stupid decision he regrets every single day: not telling you how he felt from day one.
You would think that the Charles Leclerc had the greatest moves of all time, swaying people with his words and charming personality, wrapping people around his finger effortlessly. But when it came to you, he stops in his tracks and forgets the entire English, French, and Italian vocabulary. It was the exact opposite: he was absolutely smitten for you, you've got him completely wrapped around your finger to the point that he'd cancel his plans when you call.
But you were his friend. His greatest friend. More than great, because you've been with each other since you were children, and he'd be damned if he risks losing you by telling you how he really felt. It's stupid, he knows. It's been what, 7 years? He has the courage to drive around a racetrack in a car that goes 300 kilometers per hour yet telling you the three aching words he's been keeping to himself for so long seems to be harder than driving a car with no steering wheel. It's the typical book trope of slowburn and pining, except he thinks he's all alone in this battle.
The moment he met you, he knew he wanted you in his life for a long time. You were his first friend, you even came before Pierre, before any teammate he has ever had. You've witnessed his highest highs and lowest lows, the days he cried over losing a karting competition and even the day he knew he had a spot in the Formula 1 grid. You knew each other better than you know yourselves. Sometimes, no words need to be spoken for you to know what the other needed.
The first day he realized he liked you was a day of intense denial. You had just started dating someone from your high school and it was fair to say he didn't like the guy very much. He'd tell you he thinks the guy was bad news and you should stay away, jokingly might he add. He would get unfamiliar and displeasing twists and turns in his stomach when you mentioned someone else's name. Sooner or later his brother Lorenzo would notice the dagger of a look he sent your "premature" boyfriend, and would make Charles realize that he was just jealous. He didn't want to believe it — you were his best friend, and he can't like his best friend. He tells himself it's just an unwritten rule.
He was in F2 when he realized he loved you. More than a best friend, not just platonic. He had lost a race that was crucial to his chase for the F2 championship and the unrelenting expectations were piling on his shoulders. He runs away, far from the track, ensuring no one else finds him. His family was looking for him, team principal and engineers ringing his phone without halting. But you, you refuse to let Charles wander around alone. Sooner or later you find him, and you don't say anything just yet. You sit down beside him, letting his head rest on your shoulder as he silently let the tears fall down from his eyes. He was craving comfort that day. He wanted someone to just listen, to make him feel that he was still human, capable of mistakes and it's okay — and you did just that. You did more than that.
Ultimately, he decides to never tell you how he felt. He hopes it'll pass, because he was sure you didn't feel the same. But it didn't, it just grew more each day he spent with you.
There was a day he realized his love for you pained him. You knock on his door, tears laced with mascara ink running down your cheeks. In your hands was a torn-up present you were supposed to give your boyfriend. At the time, Charles has made his peace letting you go, to someone you loved, if it meant seeing you happy. He sends you smiles when you run into him and you're with someone else, he helps you pick your outfit for dates, what gift to buy for your boyfriend because you needed a guy's opinion. He tells himself he's okay with it, as long as you're happy, as long as you're in love — even if it's not with him, as long as he gets to keep you in his life. But all that comes crashing down when you face him at his door completely heartbroken. It shatters him to see you this hurt, and he realizes it pains him, greatly, to let you go and be with someone else. He's furious at him for ever hurting you, furious at himself for letting it happen, when he's right here and he could treat you so right and so well.
Charles has loved you for as long as he can remember. He's loved you since he was 18, back when he hasn't grasped the entire concept of love yet. But he knew what it was, and it was you.
He still loved you when he was 20, when he saw you laugh from across the table during family dinner. He's captivated by your smile, eyes almost disappearing as you laugh at Arthur's not-so-funny joke.
He's loved you when he turned 21, the day you flew out to surprise him on his birthday, cake in hand with a cheesy smile on your face, after having stuck only 20 candles on it because you dropped the other one.
Even when he was 23, he loved you still. He finds you at your hotel room in Abu Dhabi, desperately trying to stay awake because you made dinner plans. You greeted him with a smile, even though he was kept late by a team meeting.
He's loved you in every scenario, in every which way. Even now, especially now.
He'd be lying if there weren't times he thought you'd finally reciprocated. The longing stares, touches that radiated comfort yet felt like sparks, he felt it all. Just when he thinks he can come out and say it, he remembers you're just a really good friend. Charles was just merely too afraid to give in to his assumption and face you. Even if he's contemplated about it a hundred times, he chooses to stash his feelings for you in a box and stow it away it in a little compartment in his head. He thinks it's better to just be your best friend, because losing you is something he can never handle. He thinks someday this will pass, but it never has. He doesn't think it ever will.
Charles looks at you — he gets reminders of why he's immensely in love with you. To him, you were his person. His soulmate, his peace in human form. You were his favorite place to go to when he searches for comfort or peace, or even when he's mad, frustrated or sad; being with you just makes it all better. He gets to be his truest self with you, a version of himself separate from the car and behind the whole world who watches him like a hawk, and you love him for it still. His heart swells every single time he sees you in the crowd, looking up at him proudly as he celebrates with champagne and a trophy on the podium. But he loves it even more when you stay with him at his worst races, when his car suddenly stops or he delivers a terrible lap time. You stay amidst the chaos. In the middle of all of it — there you were, with no plans of ever leaving him.
He looks at you — and it shatters him that he cannot love you the way he wants to. So he reminds himself, what's love without a little pain, right? He's willing to go through it, as long as he doesn't lose you. Just as long as he does not lose one of the biggest reasons why he chooses to keep going every single day.
It's not like he hasn't tried to move forward himself. There were desperate tries to get over you. He's opened himself to dating other women, but every time his relationship with someone else progresses, he feels like he's committing infidelity. He had went on dates and dated some, but it never worked. He feels tethered, like there was something pulling him back, and it was you. No matter how much he's tried to move forward, he will always choose to come back to you. Even if it aches him to do so. What a martyr, right?
If he had to take a shot every time a reporter has asked him why he's still single, he would be passed out on the sidewalk for three days. There were conspiracies, theories; complex ones at that. They wonder how can someone so deluriously handsome like Charles Leclerc be single? He's got it all, so how the hell does he not have a girlfriend? Charles Leclerc has definitely not got it all, he thinks. He's got the looks, the talent, all good things except for one — the woman he loves does not love him back. Charles often sends them a laugh, a light chuckle. Their theories were so complicated as to why he was single but the answer was simple. The answer was seated in the motorhome of Ferrari, red headphones on, silently cheering for him.
The thing is, Charles can be a good pretender. But not to the people dear to him. His brothers, Carlos, even Fred, all see the way his gaze lingers on you. They all see the small smile that forms in Charles' lips when you're around or how he laughs at the corniest jokes you tell. They were all thinking the same thing. Charles, was not a good liar. So they wonder, why couldn't you see it?
They wonder to themselves, because not only do they see Charles, they also see you. How your body tenses when Charles seem to get a little to close to a girl, how your eyes sparkle when you look up at Charles on a podium, how relaxed you seem to be when you're in Charles' embrace.
Were the two of you such good friends that the thought of being something more becomes negligible, just so you don't lose each other? Or were you just plain oblivious? Was Charles just wrong?
Charles blinks. He spaced out, yet again. He faces the interviewer, giving her a smile as he adjusts himself on his seat.
"Are we ready?" The interviewer sends a nod to the camera man.
"For the first question of the day, and I am pretty sure you are sick and tired but I will ask you anyway - why is Charles Leclerc still single?"
And there it is. The dreaded, over-asked question. Why was he single? Ah, because there's a small part in him that believes that maybe someday, the two of you could be something more. He hates to admit it, but a part of him hopes, and hopes a little bit more each day.
He lightly laughs, and he looks at you once again. You were a few meters beside the cameraman, watching him be interviewed.
"Ah well, I am proudly single, thank you for asking." He chuckles.
He smiles.
"Maybe when the timing is right. Someday."
He shifts his gaze to you again, smiling small, eyes sparkling. The look of love. Painted on his face was the exact portrayal of love in movies, in books, and in songs. He does not realize it, but maybe he loves you more than he thinks he does. As long as it was you, he does not mind waiting for the right time, even if there's a possibility it won't come.
You send him a smile back, ignoring the butterflies in your stomach. You tell yourself to snap out of it, to stop looking at him like he hung the stars and invented love itself. He was just your best friend. He probably does not feel the same way. You can't feel this way. It's an unwritten rule.
But there's a reason why you've stopped dating other people for the past 3 years. There's a reason why you look at him ever so dearly and why you were out of reach and out of it when he dated other people. You just haven't realized it yet.
Maybe, Charles was right. All you needed was time.
Someday, you'll realize it. That's when the time aligns, that's when timing becomes just right.
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tagging: @slytherheign mwah ily! this is dedicated to her bc not only do i love her but she LIVES for angst so 🫣
notes: my first charles angst? i think? let me know what u guys think! this idea did not stop pestering me so i had to write it before i study, anyway, thanks for reading 🤍
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