#cuteasducks9

[jmflowers]

Please dedicate to @lacallemojada

For APF, who underestimates how cute I can make disgusting things. And for Ducks, who humoured me and my ridiculous ideas.

Solemates

One of her socks goes missing the day after she wins gold.

Maya doesn’t notice right away, not until she’s packing her bags to leave the athlete’s village. Not until there’s only one sweaty, blood-covered sock in her pile of dirty clothes.

She looks for it, at first, because she isn’t really thinking about that. Isn’t thinking about anything except how her father probably wants to frame them, wants to hang them above the mantle in the living room as a testament to what a Bishop is capable of.

What a Bishop can win.

What a Bishop can overcome.

She gives up, after a while, when it’s clear there’s no sock to be found. Instead, she shoves her sports bras and her leggings and her training gear into her duffel bag, ignoring the sharp stench of sweat laced into the fabric.

Ignoring the sharp pinch of her ankle in the bandage wrapped around it.

When she steps out of her room for the last time, gold medal hanging heavily around her neck, she doesn’t look back. Doesn’t think too hard about the missing sock.

Doesn’t think at all about dropping the other one in the trash.

~

Carina’s living in Milan when it arrives.

Actually, living in is a generous term. She’s more gravitating, lugging herself between hotel rooms and friends’ couches with only a suitcase to her name.

It hurts too much to put down roots, still.

And she’s not really thinking about what anything means, when it shows up on the bathroom floor. Isn’t thinking anything beyond the grief sticking in her bones.

Or maybe that she should really find better accommodations if the cleaning staff would miss a disgusting, sweaty, bloody sock on the bathroom floor.

But then it does come rushing back, all at once. Her mother’s voice, soft and familiar and comforting, weaving a tale of soulmates and eternity and meant to be.

She isn’t expecting it, when it arrives. Has given up expecting that such a thing is even meant for someone such as her. But she doesn’t deny it, when it appears.

It’s too hard to ignore when it smells so bad.  

~

Her bra goes missing a couple months later, when she’s settled back into the spare room at Gabriella’s. And that Carina does notice right away, because she’d washed it and hung it in the bathroom with the intention of wearing it and the whole draw of moving back in with Gabri is that she doesn’t touch her stuff and –

Gabriella stares at her like she has grown an extra head when she asks. “Why would I take your bra?” she mutters, strolling past into the kitchen, “It wouldn’t fit me.”

She remembers again, then; remembers the sock wrapped in a plastic bag to hide its smell, shoved into the very bottom of her suitcase. It feels unfair, just a little, to know that someone, somewhere in the world, has gotten her nice bra and in return she’s received their disgusting sock.

Their bloody, sweaty, stinky sock.

At least her bra was clean.

~

Maya finds it in her pack while she’s sorting through her things on a hostel bed in Nepal.

She pales instantly, shoving it into the open pocket to hide it from her bunk mate. Shakti has been too intrigued by everything Maya has done in the last few days they’ve been together – from brushing her hair to doing sit ups on the floor.

Shakti doesn’t need to see the rather lacey bralette that’s somehow magically appeared in Maya’s pack.

Unless Shakti is the one…

No, Maya thinks instantly, there’s no way. It must’ve been one of the other girls, one of the other many people she’s crossed paths with in the last week of her travels.

A funny joke.

The fabric is soft beneath her fingers, despite the lace. Warm, almost.

And tiny; far too small to fit her own breasts.

She keeps it without much more thought, wondering if maybe she’ll cross paths with the girl who put it there. Wondering if maybe she’ll get a bit of practice removing it from the body it belongs to.

She doesn’t think about what the appearance of an undergarment is supposed to mean.

~

Andy gushes about it years later, grinning over a shot glass on her front porch.

She’d found her sock as a child, tucked beneath the covers of her bed. She thinks it belongs to Ryan, Maya knows, thinks the flirty glances they’ve been sharing across the front lawns of their parents’ houses mean they’re meant to be.

It all sounds ridiculous to Maya, though. Too far-fetched to be true.

Even if Vic has found one, too. An undershirt, stained with sweat, buried in the bottom of her gym bag while she was at the academy.  

“I bet that means he’s in really good shape,” Andy suggests, smirking salaciously.

“What about you, Bishop?” Vic asks, handing over another shot of vodka.

Maya laughs, throwing it back quickly, drinking away the memory of soft lace beneath her fingers. “Monogamy is for the weak,” she declares loudly, eyes shifting to Andy’s face and the sharp fall of her smile. “Or the very, very dedicated.”

“Not quite monogamy,” Vic challenges, glancing off towards the approaching form of Ryan.

“Yeah,” Andy whispers, “It’s soulmates.”

~

She doesn’t think about it, when Maya’s warm hand slides into her own, a drink and a story hovering between them. Doesn’t think about it when they talk on the phone, or over dinner, or beneath the covers of Maya’s bed.

Carina doesn’t even think about it when Maya shows her the gold medal for the first time, her fingers soft and her kisses softer.

In fact, she forgets about it at all until she shoves her hand into the bottom drawer of her dresser, searching for the last of her things to pack, and lands on the plastic bag instead.

She knows what’s inside without looking. Remembers the sweat stains and the blood and the smell. It’s ridiculous, to have hauled it along with her for all these years.

Ridiculous, that she drops it into the box alongside the rest of her clothes, destined for their new home with Maya.

~

Carina is very good at packing, Maya finds, but less so at unpacking.

Her boxes of things litter every surface of their newly-shared apartment, the only indication of Carina’s organization the carefully written labels stating that they are, at least, in the right rooms. Like the box of toiletries in the corner of the bathroom.

Or the one that’s taken up residence on top of the dresser instead of in it.

Maya starts there, carefully extracting articles of clothing Carina has deemed okay to be folded. Her other things – the nicer things – have already been hung safely in the bedroom closet, Maya’s own collection of rarely-worn dresses and jackets relegated down the hall to the living room.

She stops when she reaches the bottom, confused by the plastic bag nestled amidst Carina’s intimates. It smells a bit, even though it’s been carefully wrapped up, completely out of place within the gentle scent of Carina’s laundry detergent.

“Carina?” she calls before she can think better of it, before she can even really register what it might be, “Is this yours?”

“Oh,” Carina murmurs when she appears in the doorway, a spatula still in her hands. She lowers it slowly, considering.

“Is this yours?” Maya asks again.

Carina frowns. “Sort of,” she nods, “It’s my… sock.”

“Oh,” Maya repeats, glancing down at it in her hands, “Oh.”

“You can throw it out,” Carina suggests, turning back towards the kitchen, “I don’t need it.”

“Hey, wait,” Maya calls after her, following, still clutching the offending object tightly. “How long have you had this?”

Carina shrugs, suddenly indifferent as she resumes unpacking her kitchen boxes, carefully arranging items in drawers. She’s good at it, now that she’s trying to deflect.

“You don’t even want to open it?” Maya offers. “One last time?”

Carina shakes her head. “I don’t need to.” She looks up, smiling softly, effortlessly yanking the breath from Maya’s lungs when she promises, “I love you, Maya.”

“Besides,” she adds on as an afterthought, waving her hand between them as though dismissing it, “It’s stinky and sweaty and covered with blood. I should’ve thrown it out years ago.”

“Now I have to see it,” Maya laughs, grabbing hold of Carina’s wrist to pull her closer.

“It doesn’t change anything,” Carina argues, tipping into Maya’s arms, “I am still choosing you, bambina.”

“But what if we’re sole mates,” Maya chuckles anyways, teasing even as Carina’s words send a flood of butterflies through her stomach. “What if it’s my sock inside this bag?”

“If it is,” Carina whispers, nuzzling closer, “I’d like my own sock drawer, because yours are very gross.”

She unwraps it slowly, both of them recoiling slightly as the years-old sweat reaches their noses. It’s plain looking, beneath the blood stains; simple.

Except for the Team USA logo on the toes.

“Oh,” Maya mumbles.

She steps away, slowly at first and then quickly, her feet picking up speed as her mind does. She dashes towards the living room closet, reaching on her tiptoes for the box tucked into a corner on the shelf.

She should’ve known, she thinks. Should’ve considered, that first night. The first time she pulled lace up and away from Carina’s body. The first time Carina’s array of bras appeared along the top of the shower door, hung to dry.

The first time her fingers felt the warmth of soft fabric beneath them.

Maya opens the box slowly, uncovering the bralette she’s kept for all these years.

“Oh,” Carina echoes when she turns. “Oh.”

“My sock,” Maya whispers, stumbling back across the room to Carina’s side, feeling the pull of her like gravity. “My Olympic Gold Medal sock.”

“Now I definitely want my own drawer,” Carina declares, dipping low to capture Maya’s mouth with her own, “And my favourite bra back.”

#look what a stinky sock can do #solemates #all the puns #trope challenge #fic writing challenge #ye doubt me???? #very nearly had that thing in the trash at the end there #fic by me #minefic #tumblr prompt party #janelle's asks #cuteasducks9

[englishstrawbie]

Marina 47 for @cuteasducks9

“i’ve had a terrible day at work so just kiss me”

Carina is still asleep when Maya gets home from work, lying on her stomach with her head tipped to one side, arms and legs splayed out. Maya tiptoes into their bedroom and strips her clothes, pulling on her pyjamas without bothering to take a shower, and slides into her side of the bed. She curls up on her side, facing her wife, and glides the tip of her index finger across Carina’s cheek. Her face twitches as she is slowly coaxed out of her slumber. She wakes with a frown, about to grumble when she sees Maya’s solemn face looking back at her.

“Bambina, what’s wrong?”

A single tear falls down Maya’s cheek and she knows immediately that it has been a bad shift.

“Maya…”

“Don’t,” Maya says. She doesn’t want to talk about it. “Just… just kiss me.”

She pulls Carina into a kiss, hard and messy and desperate – the kind of kiss to make her forget everything she saw during last night’s catastrophic fire. Except the images haunt her and she can’t stop the tears from falling.

“Oh Maya,” Carina says gently, shifting her body so that she can wrap her arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. “I’ve got you.”

* * * * * 

a hundred different kisses

#station 19 #maya bishop #carina deluca #station 19 fanfiction #my fanfiction #prompt fills #a hundred different kisses #cuteasducks9

[lacallemojada]

💚💚HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVOURITE AMANDA💚💚

HAVE THE BESTEST DAY EVER !!!!

Much love xo

Thank you so muuuuuuuch my fav Amy!!!!! 🧡🧡🧡🧡 Look at me, I'm that lady hahahaha

#ask #cuteasducks9 #happy birthday to me

[swiftsdelucaa]

Top 5 TV shows 😄

Thank youuu <3

1. Grey's Anatomy

Well I have an addiction for it lol, I love this show so so so damn much, even it make me cry :') Yes it's changed but IT'S MY SHOW.

2. Gilmore Girls

I fell in love in the first episode, I have a thing for this show too!

3. Station 19

Is Maya Bishop enough to explain it?

4. Private Practice

Initially I started to watch it just for Grey's, but I liked it in a few time! And watching baby Amelia Shepherd <3

5. Victorious

It's funny ahaha, and Jade West is EVERYTHING.

#thanks for the ask! 💕 #cuteasducks9 #ask #greys anatomy #station 19 #gilmore girls #private practice #victorious

[spampisavrex]

Danielle or Stefania 😜

you just did not !!!! okay i deserve it after mine i guess 😂

and i choose.... Stefanielle hehehe

#I really can't choose between them #well played amy well played ;) #ask #cuteasducks9

[heyfarfallina]

1, 4, 9, 30

1. what color are your socks?

— white with batman logo printed on it 🤧

4. do you believe in love at first sight?

— errr. it’s such a cliché for me. love is something you build up over time. so no.

9. do you currently like someone?

— YES! 🥰

30. what’s something you’d like to be better at?

— communicate? when i’m emotionally overwhelmed, i shut down.

grazie mille, Amy! 🤍

#ask meme #@cuteasducks9

[slipperygaloshes]

Thanks for the tag @cuteasducks9 & @capitano-marina ‼️

Your name: Molly

Your star sign: Taurus (bday plan includes watching 6x15 and absolutely nothing else 🥰)

Last thing you listened to: Golden Prophet by Roxiny, apparently (I tend to just listen to songs, add them to my liked songs playlist and shuffle that…currently at 2439 songs and counting and I can probably name 40 of them?)

How tall are you? Recently discovered I’m a half inch taller than I’ve been telling people, so 5’6

Piercings? Double lobes.

Tattoos? None; have had some ideas over the years but I’m too big a commitment-phobe to pull the trigger.

Glasses? Yes, mostly for driving/unfamiliar circumstances. Otherwise we’re flying blind because I hate wearing them when not stationary and have yet to invest in contacts or lasik.

Last drink: Good old room temp water.

Last thing you ate: A slice of New York’s finest delicacy, pizza.

Pets? Dogs, all my life. One good boy at this point in said life. (His sweet big sister is my profile pic atm). They really embodied Older Sister/Younger Brother vibes together.

Do you have a crush on anyone? Not really, no. Trying to take interest in myself right now

Fave fictional characters: I’m not usually good at favorites but Carina DeLuca & Maya Bishop take that prize these days.

A movie you think everyone should watch: Every movie I’ve ever seen has left the building… let’s go with Sandlot because it’s the only thing coming to me and I quote it a lot.

A book you think everyone should read: Ah, another question relying on my very questionable memory… let’s say Night by Elie Wiesel .

#personal #about me #feel I should maybe change my ao3 un after this

[thebroken--soul]

TAG GAME : EIGHT SHOWS TO GET TO KNOW ME

Tagged by @spampisavrex, merci 😘

1. Game of Thrones

2. One Tree Hill

3. The Haunting of Hill House

4. Smallville

5. From Scratch

6. This Is Us

7. Sense8

8. Schitt's Creek

tagging @lacallemojada @sweetixsblog @cuteasducks9 @jmflowers

#i was tagged #tagged #about me #I love too many shows

[englishstrawbie]

18 & 15 as one prompt for Marina 😇😘

grabbing your lover by the collar & messy kisses, destroying furniture trying to reach the bed

“Oh merda,” Carina mutters as the lamp falls and smashes against the hard wooden floor of Maya’s office.

Maya is too busy trailing a line of kisses down her neck and into the dip between her breasts to care, her fingers fumbling with the clasp of her bra. Carina grabs a fistful of hair and pulls Maya’s face back up to kiss her, their lips crashing together messily as she spins them, pushing Maya against the edge of her desk. She leans into her, pressing her thigh between her legs and smiling triumphantly when Maya lets out a small gasp, breaking their kiss.

“I should wear my dress uniform more often,” Maya says breathlessly.

Carina’s lips twist into a smirk.

She grabs the collar of her shirt and pulls her back into a kiss, slipping her arms around her body and lifting her off the ground. Maya wraps her legs around her waist and lets Carina carry her to the captain’s bunk.

“You really should.”

* * * * *

a hundred different kisses

#station 19 #maya bishop #carina deluca #station 19 fanfiction #my fanfiction #prompt fills #a hundred different kisses #cuteasducks9

[englishstrawbie]

🎀

🎀 give yourself a compliment about your own writing

I am usually pretty good at getting the voices and characterisation right. It always makes my heart happy when I get a comment saying the same thing.

Thank you for the question!

Fic writer asks

#(at least I hope so - now I'm doubting myself!) #fic writer asks #cuteasducks9 #my fanfiction

[englishstrawbie]

20, 31, and 53 😎

Chat away friend haha

20. what is your favourite song at the moment?

I watched Top Gun: Maverick a couple of weeks ago and have listened to Hold My Hand by Lady Gaga pretty much every day since.

31. 3 random facts

If I see a penny press, know that I'm going to squash a penny. I have a whole book full of them.

I have a scar on the index finger of my right hand from when I was washing a glass and it broke in my hand. I was 13 or 14, I think.

I really want to experience Christmas in Australia one day.

53. 5 things that make me happy

Spending time with family and friends; hanging out with Jasper (our family dog); writing; being at the beach; long walks out in nature 😊

get to know me meme

#get to know me meme #thank you friend! #cuteasducks9

[englishstrawbie]

If I met you I would make you a bangin' mug of hot chocolate. Then we'd go for a dog walk - only neither of us own a dog so we'd have to borrow one 🤔😂

Oh yes please, this sounds amazing. We can totally find a dog... we'll borrow Jasper from my mum, he'd love it too. 🥰

#cuteasducks9

[englishstrawbie]

Ok soooo...

Doctor Who or Orphan Black?

Carina Deluca or Arizona Robbins?

Marina or Lucy/Kate (do they have a ship name??)

Marmite or peanut butter? 😛

Doctor Who or Orphan Black?

This one is tough. I've loved Doctor Who for so long but Orphan Black is just so good. Argh! I can't make up my mind. I think it has to be Doctor Who (but really I refuse to choose! 😝).

Carina Deluca or Arizona Robbins?

Arizona Robbins. I tell you, she has such a big piece of my heart.

Marina or Lucy/Kate (do they have a ship name??)

Lucy/Kate are generally known as Kacy. And I love them - but I'd choose Marina.

Marmite or peanut butter?

Neither! I don't like either of them. 🤢 But if I absolutely had to, I'd pick peanut butter over marmite.

make me choose

#thank you! #cuteasducks9 #make me choose meme

[lacallemojada]

Me 12 seconds to midnight just really fast:

Green ones!!!! You need green ones and this fast:

This usually happens to someone (I hope it won't be me this year 🙏🏻):

GOOD LUCK AMY!

#Ask #cuteasducks9

[lacallemojada]

4, 5, 20, 31, 49 & 53

You ask and I shall serve hahaha 🧡

hahahaahaha thanks for serving Amy <3

4. what are you looking forward to?

CHRITSMAS!!!!! I'm a Christmas person, I can't help it. My cousins come from abroad every year and we get all together, we sing carols, eat and drink a lot, we go partying, we laugh laugh laugh. I love being with my family during the festivities (even with the typical "fights").

5. is there anyone who can always make you smile?

Does my cat count???? hahaha My cousin Andrea for sure. We always teasing each other and remembering all the funny things we have lived together.

20. what is your favourite song at the moment?

Don't tell my mom by Reneé Rapp

31. 3 random facts (another 3? haha)

Sunflowers are my fav flowers.

Sometimes I look at my mom and my aunt and how well they get along because they are always together and I wish I had a sister.

I don't really like reality shows.

49. where i want to be right now

In Venezia drinking Aperol spritz and eating pasta.

53. 5 things that make me happy

My cats.

My family.

My friends.

Watching my fav shows and movies.

Singing and dancing.

Adding a 6th thing because I forgot lol making gifs, making gifs about Maya and Carina makes me happy.

#ask #cuteasducks9 #gracias bella persona ;)

[lacallemojada]

MAYA OR CARINA AMANDA????

MAYA

OR

CARINA!!

(hahahahahaha I'll be back later with some proper ones 😛)

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck you Amy 😘

#ask #cuteasducks9 #i refuse to answer this again #you are all evil people