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random-fandoms-fanfics · 2 years

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Can I request a male reader bonding with isabela luisa and mirabel? (And can he be in a poly relationship with julieta and agustin)

“Mi Mariposa, where are you?”

“Up here Papa!” looking up you saw the young girl standing behind the rails, covered in dirt and plant life, “there you are, papa has been searching for you forever,” jogging up the stair you rushed over to the small girl, lifting her up into your arms and carrying her to the nursery, “what did you get into this time, a beehive?”

“No it was a tree that had fallen over, and it had these like bumpy plate things on them and I wanted to see what they were but I tripped and broke some off, so I grabbed some and now it’s on my shelf,”

“Mariposa you grabbed mushrooms, again, stop bringing mushrooms home you have enough,” sitting her down in front of the vanity, you plucked the items from her hair while looking at the collection of plants on the vanity and surrounding shelves, “but they’re so pretty, I can’t help it,”

“I know but you have too many, we’ll talk about this later but for now we have to get you cleaned up, your abuela wants you to look decent in front of her friends,” she blew a raspberry before reaching into her draws, pulling out a comb and handing it to you, “I know but your Abuela loves you, she just wants to show you off," after pulling out the last big twig you combed the piece of wood through her hair, watching small bits of dirt fall out of her hair "hey once her little party is over we’ll get papi and drag him into the forest and have a little adventure,” braiding her into two and tossing them over her shoulders chuckling at her bouncing “oh yes please, can we search for the glowing mushrooms?”

“As long as you don’t take anything, we can do anything you want my fairy,”

“Mariposa, can I have a word with you?” Stepping into the flowered covered room you made your way over to Isabela’s bed, looking all around the room to try and find her, “Mariposa? Are you here?”

“Yes papa I’m coming,” the young woman walked over to you, wearing a beautifully pink dress, the shoulder straps covered in flowers and slowly fading out as it went further down the fabric, you couldn’t help but frown at her hands as they scrambled around her body, constantly trying to fix, “did you need something?”

“Well me and your papi are going on a walk in the forest and we wanted to know if you wanna come, I know this little cave filled with glowing fungi,”

“Sorry papa I’m actually going on a date, Abuela set it up and she says he’s a really nice guy so wanna give it a try,”

“Oh ok, are you free any other time, I really miss our walks?”

“Ah no I got a lot going on and I just don’t have to time to go on silly little walks, I’m sorry,” your smile dropped for a second before being replaced by a forced smile, “no it’s fine, you’re nearly a grown woman and you should be able to do what you want, have fun on your date my fairy,” smiling she wrapped her arms around your chest, the gentle smell of moss radiating off her “I will, I love you papa”

“I love you too,”

Closing the door behind you, you felt a hand grab your shoulder, it turning you to face the loveable man dressed in blue, “what happened to my little girl who loved playing in the trees and exploring every nook of the forest,” holding your face Agustin brushed the tears that hung in your eyes, “she grew up and changed, every kid does it,”

“Not this drastically, she loved mushrooms, the bark off trees, moss, dried sap, pretty leaves and funky rocks, and she liked me brushing her hair, I can’t remember the last time she sat in my lap to get her hair done,”

“As you said she’s nearly a woman, sometimes they get too big for mama and papa,”

“Guess that’s why it hurts,”

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —— — — — — — — —

Lifting a crate filled with chopped logs up into your arms you gave Agustin a kiss on the cheek, telling him to be careful as you left for the houses that ordered wood.

“Thank you (Y/N),”

“No problem senoria,” picking your box back up you continued your job, reaching the open pathway you began humming something as you walked down the cobblestone path, soon picking up on the pitter patter of small feet next to you. Looking besides you saw your youngest with three logs in her arms and a determined look on her face, “what are you doing love?”

“Helping,” you watched her struggle with the logs, not only with just holding them up but she kept dropping them, at first one but then she would drop another as she tried to pick up the one that was already on the ground. Once she got all three logs back into her arms she would scramble back up next to you, her little legs moving unreasonably fast to just catch up to you, after the third time this happened you stepped in, reaching over to grab the logs from her, “poor thing you can barely carry them, let papa help,”

“I got it,” she pulled the logs away from your grasp, almost falling over as she moved away from you, “Luisa you can’t over work yourself like that,” picking up two logs from her arms you added them in your pile causing her to pout, “don’t worry, the stronger you get the more I’ll let you can carry,”

“Promise,”

“Of course, I’ll need a lot of help in a few years and getting it from my little cariño would be the best,” you started out serious but your tone quickly turned babyish, her whining and running ahead of you.

— — — — — — — — — — —

“You good papa?” Luisa appeared besides you, a crate filled with wood in her arms and a brow cocked, “yep, just struggling a bit,” jumbling the logs in the crate held in your arms Luisa worryingly looked down at you, reaching over to you and into the crate, “here let me help,” Luisa grabbed a few logs from you, chucking them into her crate, sighing in relief you smiled up at your second eldest before letting your head hang and whispering to yourself, “god I’m getting weak,”

“You know I have a few exercises that could help,” chuckling at her you looked down into your box, frowning at the small amount of logs, “while I love you sencerness cariño I doubt it will help, you can’t lift age away,”

“Oh, well at least you can still do it,”

“Not for long, your mama is getting more serious about me not lifting any more, so she limited my arepa allowance, I only have three left for my back, after that Julieta won’t give me anymore,” leaning back you heard your spine crack, “I’ll actually have to deal with back problems if I don’t start lifting better,” she patted your back, her hand resting on your shoulder blade, “I could teach you some lifting methods, so we can keep delivering wood together,”

“That would actually be really nice, thank you mi dulce niña,”

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

You walked into the nursery with a plate of food and a smile but it instantly dropped, as the only one you saw in there was Camilo playing with a couple of wooden toy men, “oi camaleón, where are my girls?” he shrugged before going back to his toys, placing the plate down on Mirabel’s desk you left the nursery. Standing there you looked around Casita from your position, seeing a little face watching you from around a corner, “oi what do you think you’re doing?” stomping over to her you watched as she was pulled away, making it around the corner you saw the floorboards moving underneath her, “Casita give me back my daughter,” running after the giggling girl you tried scooping her up into your arms but every time Casita would either pull you back or jerk Maribel away.

Just as you were about to grab her Casita jerked Maribel away again but this time Casita did it too hard, tossing her over the balcony with you going right after her, pulling her against her chest and rolling over onto your back, you expected to fall flat on your back but you were caught by Casita, it safely sliding you down onto the ground. Panting you stared into the sky, feeling the small girl wiggling against your chest, she appeared above you giggling in your face, “papa!” her hands pressed up against your face, grabbed at the hair on your face, frowning you lifted the girl up over your head, “you little menace stop doing that,”

“But it’s fun,”

“Getting tossed off the railing isn’t fun it’s dangerous, do it again and I’ll telling your mama,” she gasped in shock she pointlessly kicked at you, “you wouldn’t,”

“I would,” getting up you carried her back to the nursery as she tried hitting your face, “meanny, we’re just playing,”

“You don’t play games that include people throwing you, just play some safer games with Casita please,” reaching the nursery you sat her down next to Camilo, the young boy handing her one of her toys, grabbing the food that was now picked at you sat on the ground next to Mirabel, passing her the plate as you sat with the two.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Knocking on the nursery door you called out to Mirabel, hearing a rustling coming behind the door, “Miraboo?” about to open the door Mirabel opened it instead, widely smiling at you, “hey papa, what’s up,”

“Look I gotta ask you something, may I come in,” she moved to the side allowing you into the small room, you watched Mirable move over to her dresser and lean against it, “ok, what are you doing asking about Bruno?”

“Oh I’m just curious, there’s just has so much interesting stuff about him,”

“Mirabel don’t lie to me, you asked Pepa and Felix about the meanings behind Bruno’s prophecies, what are you doing, you know everything surrounding Bruno is really dangerous,”

“Well yeah I kinda figured that out from experience,”

“What does that mean?”

“I went into Bruno’s room,”

“YOU WHAT, Mirable there’s a reason we closed that door off, you could've died!”

“I know, everything was crumbing under my feet and I was almost drowned in sand, pretty dangerous place,” she stood there confidently, it quickly fading as she noticed your rapid breathing, “papa,”

“You were almost killed! you were, trapped under sand, in a place we never would have found you,” she took your hands in hers, peering into your eyes,

“Papa?”

“Why did you do that? we could’ve lost you,”

“I just wanted to figure out my prophecy,”

“Your prophecy? our kids only have their prophecies told at ten and Bruno left when you were five, how could you have one,” staring down at her she gulped, she lead you over to the dresser and removed the clothes on it, revealing the green glass plate sitting there, brushing your fingers over the green glass you slowly turned towards Mirabel, you were about to yell at her but was stopped by the door flinging open with Agustin happily dancing in but froze in shock when he saw the glow of the glass he, standing there as you, Casita and Mirabel tried to block his view.

#encanto x male reader #encanto x reader #encanto #luisa madrigal #isabela madrigal #mirabel madrigal #encanto luisa #Isabela #julieta x reader #agustin x reader #julieta x agustin

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theriu · 2 years

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The Miraculous Madrigals - Superhero AU

So I can’t be the only person thinking of a superhero AU for the cast of Encanto, can I? Well I’m gonna share my thoughts anyway before someone does, so if they draw them before me I can still say I thought of it XD

(P.S. Forgive me if any of the Spanish superhero names I come up with are grammatically incorrect, I am not a native speaker, blame Google Translate)

(P.S.S. And no I am not modeling them after Miraculous Ladybug, the name is for alliterative and thematic purposes only. Not that someone else can’t if they wanna!)

Los Madrigales Milagrosos

Alma/Abuela: Original founder and spearhead of the team, though not superpowered herself. After realizing her triplets had been blessed with amazing powers, she trained them to use those gifts for good. She’s like Nick Fury, organizing and egging people on, always thinks she knows what is best for the team/family (and often does) and isn’t afraid to be tough, but can be a bit shortsighted about relationship damage out of her greater desire (and fear of failing) to keep everyone safe and protect their home from evil.

Mirabel: Apprentice to Abuela. It took a lot of time for her to be accepted into that role due to Abuela’s aforementioned shortsightedness and prejudice about her not inheriting any powers, but after they reconciled their differences, Abuela recognized Mirabel’s leadership abilities. She gets to play Person In The Chair for the other kids’ smaller missions and Assistant PitC for bigger missions. Sometimes sneaks out in her own self-made suit to try and help, which gives everyone heart problems. She also makes and mends the crimefighting costumes and comes up with catchy catchphrases (which some of the team use and others try desperately to ignore).

Julieta: Mirabel’s mom stays at headquarters and helps run things. Her healing baked goods ability isn’t great for active combat, so she bakes supply reserves for the rest to take out with them on patrols. Depending on the complexity and intent she puts into a dish, it can heal greater wounds faster, so she’s always finding little ways to improve her craft. She and her husband Augustine and her sister’s husband Felix keep the homebase cleaned up, help monitor the cameras and scanners, and make sure their kids actually get proper schoolwork done between missions. Very calming and kind, excellent bedside manner, and is the first to put her foot down about sending the younger kids out on missions that are likely to be too dangerous for them. Doesn’t bother with a superhero name, prefers to help in the background and offer her services (and baked goods) to medical clinics around the city.

Pepa/Tempestad: Always saying she should retire soon, she has enough to deal with, but secretly likes the action and being able to keep an eye on her kids. (No one fights her on this because even if she WERENT a valuable member of the team, he worry and drama would keep headquarters perpetually flooded.) The others have to treat her carefully to help her control her moods and thus her powers, but ironically, this also means they have free license to tick her off when she needs to get a really powerful wind or storm going. She knows this and lets them and usually forgives the worst offenses. Her most powerful move is creating small tornados, which she can direct to sweep up enemies. Pepa’s volatile moods and subsequent weather bursts in and out of costume are also a major reason none of the Madrigals bothered trying to keep a secret identity.

Bruno/Visionario: Estranged from the team for a while, partly due to being misunderstood but also partly because he enjoyed messing with people using his visions and sometimes went too far. Fortunately the family has reconciled and he now uses his visions as a way to predict the worst threats the family may face on each patrol. The visions aren’t always clear ahead of time but often provide hints that prove useful in the moment. He comes on patrols with the team because his micro-visions help him predict enemy moves a few seconds to a few minutes early. Likes to use multiple costumes and pretend to be different heroes, so a lot of people are confused about exactly how many Miraculous Madrigals there actually are.

Isabela/Flor Fuerte: Original super name was Flor de Belleza from back when she was placed on a pedestal most of her life due to her beauty and practiced grace. She acted more as a public relations figurehead for the team, charming the townspeople and doing photo ops. A recent revelation about the true extent of her powers led to her becoming a much more active member, and she is much happier and more genuine for it. One of the most powerful of the MMs, she can cause plants of a vast variety to grow anywhere. Bigger and more complex plants require more power, but she can do a lot just by absolutely flooding enemies with tons of flowers. Her other favorite tricks are pollen-bomb plants and strangling fig vines (not actually strangling people come on), but really, her repetoire of plant-based attacks and defenses is so far only limited by her imagination.

Luisa/Piel de Diamante: Has the most powerful physical gift of the family. Her sheer strength is astonishing and beyond superhuman, as she also seems capable of keeping whatever she lifts in perfect balance without crumbling under its own weight, even when simply lifting a building off its foundations by one small corner. Also has incredible aim, can peg a moving jet out of the sky from a thousand feet below with one well-thrown chunk of concrete. Luisa/Diamante is the solid rock of the team (haha puns). She has a level head and is calm under pressure, and while she will take on whatever task Abuela or Mirabel ask of her without wuestion, she still has good judgment and can make difficult decisions. Unfortunately tends to take on too much responsibility and be too hard on herself, especially when they suffer a loss or a criminal escapes. The others are learning not to take her strength and helpfulnes for granted as much after she about had a nervous breakdown and broke the entire west wall of the county courthouse.

Dolores/La Oyenta: While her gift of super hearing doesn’t give her enhanced fighting skills, Dolores is very useful in finding people. Few criminals can hide from her super sensitive ears, and sometimes she can detect crimes in progress from a mile away even before theyve been noticed by technological channels. She tends to stay back with Tio Bruno, who has been teaching her martial arts tricks he uses in tandem with his visions. She may not have future sight, but Doleres’s amazing hearing allows her to react inhumanly fast to attacks, and she is nearly impossible to catch by surprise. La Oyenta also frequently works with disaster teams and the police to locate lost kids, people trapped in wreckage, and even kidnapping victims deep inside buildings.

Camilo/Muchos Hombre: Able to shapeshift into any person he has seen for himself, Camilo’s power has very versatile uses. In a straightforward fight, he can shift between shapes with great speed and precision, disorienting enemies as he changes height, weight, and muscle mass to counter different problems. In sneakier situations, many lairs have been strolled right into by someone apparently on the guard rotation. He greatly enjoys the confusion he causes and routinely pranks friend and foe alike by changing his “base” appearance and costume between mutiple looks. Sometimes he and Tio Bruno will wear each others’ (or the same) outfits, further confusing everyone on exactly how many Miraculous Madrigals there actually are.

Antonio/Animal Amigo: Having just recieved his gift of communicating with and directing animals (and being only 5 years old), Antonio isn’t allowed on patrols yet, although he does want to help. However, his connection with any animal in the area gives him an incredible source of information. Since gaining his abilities, he frequently report suspicous activity that the rodents, birds, and other wildlife share with him to Felix, Abuela, and Mirabel. On rare occasions (and only with his mother constantly guarding him in a thundercloud of fretting), he gets to go on farther-out trips into wilder areas where his gift is much more reliable than any other information-gathering tools the team possesses. Even his oldest sister’s hearing powers can only extend so far and discern so much through dense, noisy jungle; Antonio can learn about enemy movements many miles away through his animal network. And his safety is generally assured because even if he were to be separated from his family, every animal that senses his distress will rush to protect him. His trusty jaguar rarely leaves his side and generally makes any would-be attackers think twice about approaching the adorable little kid.

———

Is that all of them??? Did I get them all??? OKAY COOL wow that took like two hours to text XD; THAT WAS FUN. Maybe art later??? Or maybe some talented and motivated person will draw them first, in which case I only beg you not give the ladies scanty outfits, the movie does a WONDERFUL job of authentic outfits that aren’t skimpy! And you don’t fight villains in heels dangit!!! Okay I’m ranting now, it’s 1 AM and I’m ready to call this done. THANKS FOR READING!

(P.S.S.S. If you like my nonsense ramblings, I have a bunch of random stuff over here along with a few more Encanto posts. =D Enjoy!)

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sneakystorms · 2 years

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I have such a specific headcanon for Mirabel and camilos relationship but I really wanna make it into a comic but I know that'd take me forever with how busy I am 😭 so I'll just dump it here and hopefully find the time to draw it later

They were indeed close as kids because same age! Same age! And obvs they shared a room for most of each others' first five years. I feel like while Camilo isn't unkind by nature, he can easily go too far with his teasing jokes without realising it, and especially once he got his gift that showed clearly. He's a few months older so he'd show off his shapeshifting (and his cool new room) to no end and taunt Mira about not having hers yet, getting her riled up and jealous but all the more excited for her birthday. After her failed ceremony, he didn't know how to react and tried to go on joking around as he had before - I see Camilo as the type who's uncomfortable with vulnerability or seriousness and is always trying to defuse the situation with jokes, which is great when someone needs a pick-me-up but can be counterproductive and hurtful if the other person needs sympathy or to talk seriously. So he tried the same "oooh lookit me I'm Mira and I'm sulking because I don't have camilos super cool gift" routine - in a way trying to show Mira that nothing has to change between them - which ofc just made her more upset, so he quickly fled the scene. Over the time it took for Mira and everyone else in the household to at least somewhat come to terms with what happened (including Bruno's disappearance!) the two drifted apart, Mira spending more time with her parents + Luisa and Camilo doing his best to cheer up his mom and sister with his theatrics. Ten years later they've obviously both matured a bit and mostly moved past that hurt but there's still a hint of tension between them and they're not as close as they used to be

Additional headcanon: isabela felt terrible for Mirabel after her ceremony and started using her power much less out of guilt/solidarity/sympathy, but abuela softly discouraged that reaction once she noticed, leading to isabela putting on a pretty smile and using her powers to their fullest like we see her doing in the movie. Luisa I think would be the most outwardly concerned - contributing to them staying close all through Mirabel's childhood - although of course she was also not "allowed" to stop using her gift

#s #encanto #mirabel madrigal #camilo madrigal

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urmomditcum · 2 years

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Perfect (part 2) || Isabela Madrigal x black-gn!reader

Genre: enemies to lovers

Warnings: denial, abandonment, bullying, etc.

(Isabela is 16 you are 15)

PART 1

P.S. I wrote some trash lyrics for y/n’s part in The Family Madrigal..yeah.

You woke up to the rhythmic knocking on the door. The way Mira woke us up to make sure we wouldn't rise late every morning. A New family had arrived in the town. Which meant Mirabel would go through with her melody introducing The Madrigals. Mirabel pushed through the door singing enthusiastically, You stretched and put up your hair into a bun, then turned to wave at the two kids crowding our door. As they left, You turned to Isa, her hair moved slowly looking just as perfect as everything else about her.

“Morning,” Isa said, growing vines to slip her shoes on.

“Mor-” You grunted, reaching to grab the slipper that you had somehow managed to slip under the bed. Vines suddenly sprouted where it was, pushing them towards you and placing them on your feet. “..ning” You looked up to see that Isa was already out of the room, you couldn't be late. You quickly threw on your dress, A white top with a yellow skirt, embroidered paint brushes on the hem.

You found Isa at the top of the stairs waiting for you. You always walked down together. Abuela wanted the most perfect Madrigals to always be together. Isabella did too but in a completely different way. She wanted to hug you shower you with all the love, care, and affection you deserved. Isa walked down slowly covering the railing with roses as you slid down the other, color emerging onto the railing in patterns that looked like butterflies. You slid down the railing as you painted a calm smile on your face as your eyes relaxed still adjusting to the bright sun outside.You and Isabella walked to the kitchen. You grabbed your cup of tea from the kitchen table, “Thanks Casita!’ You said softly.

Walking into town you looked around for places that needed to be patched up or re-painted. You began working on a house close to the mural Mirabel stood in front of. You had painted that Mural. It was some of your best work. Your favorite piece so far. After Mirabel introduced Abuela, Pepa, and Julieta, She skipped over to you as you painted the small details on the door of Casita. “Her recipes are remedies for real.. Woah! Y/n paints and draws around the town..Woah!! They've brought nothing but joy since they were found! Woah! You wanna see art? Then just look around! If you're impressed, imagine how I feel-MOM!” Julieta took Mirabel by the cheek and kissed her. They spun around as Mirabel continued into the chorus of the song. You continued to paint, humming along having heard the song numerous times before. “I think it's time for a grandkid round up!” The town musicians chanted, singing along with Mirabel as she sang her joyous song.

Mirabel introduced her cousins as the kids looked at her eagerly excited to see the magic around them. “..My older sisters, Isabella and Luisa-” As Mirabel sang the town chanted Isa’s name angelically. You were always annoyed at this part. Isabella spun flowers growing all around her and her hair flowed in the wind. Nothing out of the normal you tried not to stare at the beautiful sight but failed. You then looked up, on a balcony leaning down was Mariano Guzman. You scowled, he looked at Isabella with lust, basically hearts in his pupils as he sighed. This shouldn’t have gotten under your skin as much as it did.

Isabella doesn't like him…right?

rules for requesting

#isabela madrigal #encanto isabela #encanto #encanto 2021 #disney’s encanto #encanto x reader #isabela x reader #luisa madrigal #mirabel madrigal #julieta madrigal #pepa madrigal #fanfic #camilo disney #camilo fanfic

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stardustpinkart · 2 years

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Encanto Fanfic Reccomendations!

I’d like to reccomend some really well written fanfics on Encanto :) I mean theres probably loads out there but, finding them can be hard and I dunno I just feel like, I wanna share these two with people.

Extended Family is Still Family

First one I like becuase, what IF Mirabel started to become withdrawn and quiet, instead of her usual cheer and being brave? Only so much a person can take Like what if “Dont draw attention to yourself, best to stay aside, for the family.”

But people also notice and dont want history to reapeat itself? A lot of fics really DEMONIZE the Madrigal family. I cnat imagine they would truly be so openly cruel? Abuela certainly can be mean and Isabela but I doubt her entire family would just ignore her? Her parents alone seem very loving people to all there daughters. And why would Antonio suddenly turn on her after getting his gift when its clear he loves her so much?

Spiolers ahead, I like in this one we get diffrent interpretations. Like Pepa not talking about her brother is more painful than being mad? Maybe its easier NOT to say anything thinking it wont hurt? Which is usually incorrect, sometimes talking helps and, pretending things are okay dont?

How the kids band together later on in chapters in nice seeing them all interact together. Getting a little look inside all there heads, how her Tia Pepa is determined, and Camilo come to think of it, that Mirabel not feel she hasta hide away or there better off without her.

I feel like canonly, Abeula would always keep a certain distance from Mirabel? The thing is, shes not very kind to her but its not exaclty obvious? Its like tolerating a stray puppy. She doesent shout or hit her but, she “politley” puts her down? Or acts like shes just waiting for her to mess up. Its a more subtle passive agressive thing? And, ANYONE could fall under it, if they step out of line or suddenly prove to be useless(Bruno falls under this).

Its easy to dislike Isabela but Im glad for her character non the less? Siblings often dont get on and can be mean to each other like that, talking from experience here. Just cuz your born into a family doesent mean you’ll get along?

And can also understand a bit WHY she is the way she is. I think its partly not wanting to get rejected too, jealousy her little sister has so much freedom(I mean if Mirabel messes up no big deal, if Isa does wont people come down on her WAY harder cuz shes supposed to be PERFECT?), and a little of conditioning. Isa was still a little girl growing up when Mira lost her gift. Being Abuelas favourite and seeing how she treated Mira, she probabaly felt like it was okay? To do so, because she wasent “special”. Following by example

But the mean spioled princess doesent seem to be the real Isabela either, thats another plus. We only see a little in the film but it suggests the REAL Isa is someone a lil more wild, happy.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/36291331/chapters/90472465

Two Butterflies: Gone with the Wind

Second fave is WHAT if Mirabel was taken away and prevented from growing up in this toxic enviroment? This is Bruno, knowing of course first hand expereince what thats like. She grows up instead a happy, vibrant girl. Honeslty not too diffrent from her canon self but she doesent have that sense thats shes worthless or hasta try to hard, and because she didnet grow up scared of Abeula, shes not scared to speak her mind?

Its always easier to see problems from the outside and, to stand up to people if your not conditioned to be afraid of them? I get why its hard for anyone in the family to stand up to Abuela, most of them were children themseleves with her hardnosed ways.

BUT again we also get to look into peoples heads, including Abuelas, and understand WHY they do the things they do? Its not like there trying to be cruel they just dont quite see what there doing? Heck we all do this, especially when we dont know all the facts. Have you ever decided you hate someone but then later on discover some things that make you see it ina diffrent light, realise yoru wrong? And other times even with it, it still doesnet mean you can forgive them.

Its well written without being overly anylitcial like a textbook? People dont talk so seriously and they dont just suddenly work out becuase you say so? Often its butting heads and arguments. So this feels like yeah this is REAL people and difficult emotions?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/36060313

#encanto #encanto fanfic #REALLY good #mirabel madrigal #encanto au #bruno madrigal #camilo madrigal #pepa madrigal #dolores madrigal #isabela madrigal #luisa madrigal #GO READ you wont be sorry

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ash-writies · 2 years

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Una Famila De Oruguitas Ch. 2

Chapter Two: Dos Oruguitas Paran el Viento Mientras Se Abrazan con Sentimiento (Two little caterpillars stop the wind while they hug with feeling)

Ch. 1, x, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch6,

A/n: I added the is also on ao3! Here's the link! I hope you enjoy!

Summary: You work the entire day of Antonio's Gift Ceremony. Exhausted the only thing you can think to do after is sleep, but after Mirabel's discovery sleep is the last thing on your mind.

No warnings!

1k words

You broke away from Mirabel, leaving her to do whatever she was going to. “Y/n! Come help light this candle!” The person gestured towards a candle high up on the wall. You floated there, trying to look as elegant as Isabela usually does.

After lighting the candle, you sunk down so you were standing, a child tugged on your shirt, “yes?” you asked, trying to lace your voice with honey.

“Can you lift me?” the kid asked. You looked behind them and noticed a line, suppressing a sigh, you nodded and lifted the child up with a smile.

The sun began to set and the line got shorter as people began to explore the rest of the house. Right before you were going to head to your room to get some rest, Antonio came up to you.

“Hola mi favorito primo,” you smiled as you crouched down.

“Hola!” he greeted, “Is it- can you make me fly?”

“Of course Tonito!” you scooped him up and flew above the house, “Is there anywhere you wanna go?”

“Can we see the town?” he asked, wrapping his arms around your neck.

“Of course!” You flew slowly over the town, letting him point out places he’s been. You enjoyed how the wind felt on your face and laughed as you did small ariel tricks. You landed on the top of the bell tower to catch your breath. The sun set on the small town, as you put Antonio down. “Did you have fun?” you giggled.

“Yeah!” he gasped, attempting to stand on his shaky legs. You chuckled, picking him up and resting him on your hip.

“It’s a shame we have to leave this view,” you huffed shooting one last glance to the town, as you moved Antonio to your back.

“Yeah, I don’t really want to go back,” he whispered, gripping your shoulders. Your heart ached as you heard that, you didn’t want to take him back either but you knew you had to.

“lo sé,” you reluctantly began to fly towards the house, “How about I set you in the nursery?” That seemed to be a middle ground you thought.

“Okay,” he mumbled. You hated that you had to take him back, but Abuela had made it clear that mistakes were forbidden. Especially for you. On the flight to la casita, you regained your composure. You made an effort to land as far away from the nursery as possible so you wouldn’t draw too much attention to it.

“Y/n!” Abuela called as you began walking to your room, “Come help finish the decorations!” You wiped the look of despair off your face before the look finished appearing.

“Sí, Abuela!” you shouted and went over to her general direction. You worked up until the beginning of the ceremony.

As la casita shone its lights on him you could see how nervous he was. He looked behind him and stuck his hand out. Worry involuntarily washed over you as Mirabel stepped forward and grabbed his hand. You tried to push the thoughts about how she could ruin this for him out of your mind but you couldn’t. What if she gave him the same bad luck she had on that day? No, you forced a smile on your lips and stealthily knocked on the wooden railing in front of you. You held your breath as he walked to the door and touched the candle. Abuela gave him the speech she’d given everyone except you and stood up. You focused solely on him as he touched the door handle and his image appeared on the wall. You sighed and smiled as a bird landed on his arm.

Your shoulders began to sag with relief once the door opened. The socializing all day was starting to run its course on you as you reluctantly walked into his room. Abuela had insisted on taking a “family” photo which la casita happily helped with. You tried to back up but Isabela pulled you in and smiled at you. You smiled back and got into your signature pose for the photo. Out of the corner of your vision, you saw Mirabel walk out of the room. After being blinded by the flash you went to follow her but a few kids crowded you and asked to be flown around the room. You glanced at the doorway then at Abuela, who gave you a subtle glare. Maybe her gift is to read thoughts, you smiled down and picked up the first kid. You gave them a small tour of his room. As you picked up the second kid your powers faltered a bit. You wrote it off as you being exhausted from the day’s work. Right when you set the second kid down Mirabel burst back into the room.

“The house is in danger!” she screamed, voice coarse from hollering, “There were cracks everywhere and the candle almost went out!”

“Show me,” Abuela muttered as people gasped and stared at her. You were eager to see as well but you waited a few beats before following, seeming uninterested. As you stepped out of the room you looked around and saw the same casita you always saw, no cracks, the same glow on every door and everything.

“N-no,” Mirabel whispered, “the cracks were there, a-and the tile was-” She spun around and looked at Abuela. “There were cracks everywhere, Abuela you have to believe me- I swear.”

“That’s enough,” She cut her off as she raised her hand to silence her. You just barely made out the glare she cast at Mirabel before she turned around, “La Casa Madrigal is fine! The Magic is strong!” she cheered raising her hands to address everyone, “and so are the drinks! Let the celebration continue!”

With that Luisa came over with a piano and Tio Agustin started playing an upbeat tune. You walked down the stairs to Mirabel who looked very self-conscious and insecure, “Hey,” you whispered, resting a hand on her shoulder, “I believe you, I felt it.”

After hearing you say that she wrapped her arms around your waist, “Thank you,” she whispered as she all but cried into your shirt.

You hugged her back and smiled into her hair, “Always my pleasure.”

#Mirabel Madrigal #Mirabel encanto #Mirabel #Bruno Madrigal #Antonio Madrigal #Abuela alma Madrigal #abuela madrigal #Familial Relationships #Bruno encanto #Antonio Encanto #Abuela encanto #encanto #Madrigal family #Madrigal #Maribel Madrigal #Maribel Encanto #bruno my beloved

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just-some-fiction · 3 years

Text

Just You and Me Part 30

Many wanted to know what happened while they were separated... Vince will be explained in another chapter, that I’m currently editing

"What was it like to fuck Beth Boland?" she asked him one day. Rio who was drawing lines on a blueprint froze. Lucia walked into the office one afternoon and took a seat on the couch, watching him for a few minutes before she posed the question.

They were still working through a lot of things. She disappeared after the news of him sleeping with Beth came to light, which occurred a few days after she signed the divorce papers Gretchen drew up. Rio would never ask her what she got up to after she left Detroit. If she wanted him to know, he'd know.

"Scuse me?" he pulled his face.

"Just curious," she shrugged before wringing her hands together, "I read an article that suggested couples who were separated for a period should talk about what happened."

He stopped what he was doing, rolled his shoulders and came to sit next to her, "You really wanna know?"

She nodded.

"It was different," he shrugged, "it was like those times I fucked girls in high school, just physical," licking his lower lip, "and the universe got back at me," he chuckled, "treated me like some whore the second time I slept with her."

Lucia knew about that part. She sighed, so far she hasn't told him what happened when she left Detroit.

"I saw Vince when I left," the room suddenly got tense, the pencil that he was twirling suddenly snapped.

"Thought you said you saw Alfred," was all he said.

"I did," she sighed, "but that wasn't planned," looking at him, "I ran into Vince just before we split up and we exchanged numbers, it was innocent."

"Then when I left I needed time to think," swallowing, "I called him, stayed with him and one night we slept together."

She knew this was different. Vince and her had a history. They almost got together in high school. Then there were a few times in their twenties where he popped up and tried his luck. Rio has given her an out each time, knowing Vince was a safer bet and could give her a more stable life.

Now she came clean, "The next morning I woke up, threw up and left before he woke up and drove to the cabin to clear my head," by now she had a lump in her throat, "a few days later I was back at work and they wheeled you in with three bullet holes in you."

He rested his elbows on his knees and listened to her. Slowly the sinking feeling that started when she started her story, got deeper. The entire time she was speaking he didn't look at her. Continuing with her story.

Flashback to earlier that morning

Lucia stared at the message and her stomach dropped. Feeling Rio's arms around her, she locked her phone and leaned into her husband.

"Gotta go check something real quick at this porcupine place aight," he kissed her neck.

"Sure," turning around she wrapped her arms around him, "I'm gonna take Marcus with me to the market," she smiled at him.

He smirked and kissed her gently. Lucia smiled and felt the tension leave her.

As she and Marcus were walking around, her phone went off again. This time it was a phone call., which she let go to voicemail.

"Mama can we get this for daddy?" Marcus pointed at a hoodie in a store window. Lucia smiled at him and nodded. Before they could go in someone called her name.

Turning around she felt dread wash over her. Vince walked towards them, a smile on his face. She's been avoiding his calls since that night and this morning he messaged, announcing that he was in Detroit and would like to see her.

She knew eventually she'd have to talk to him, and explain that what happened was a mistake. Marcus' hand tightened around hers and she pulled him close. Her son was nervous around people he didn't know or people he found strange.

"Vince," she kept her voice neutral.

"What are the odds I run into you here," he smiled, his eyes landing on Marcus, "and you must be Marcus, what's up little man?"

Her son looked at the man skeptically. Before Vince could say anything Lucia jumped in.

"Papi this is Vince," she smiled down at him, "he went to high school with daddy and me," she saw Vince falter at the mention of Rio.

Marcus waved and Vince smiled, "So what you two doing?" he looked at Lucia, "wanna grab a bite to eat?"

"We buying my daddy a hoodie," Marcus smiled.

"Papi why don't you go ask if they have daddy's size so long."

Marcus ran into the store and Lucia kept an eye on him. Turning to Vince she took a deep breath.

"Have you thought about what I said that night Lucia?"

"No," she was being truthful, "I haven't because it was a mistake Vince."

"Come on Lucia," he stepped closer, "I could give you a better life than Rio."

She shook her head, causing Vince to scoff, "You can't tell me your life with Rio is perfect," he gestured to where Marcus was, "or that his lifestyle doesn't put your kid in danger."

Lucia squared her shoulders and looked Vince dead in the eye, "That's enough Vince," she snapped, "I love Rio and sure the life ain't perfect and we fight at times but we built something together over the years," she sighed, "so if you care about me at all and care about the friendship we had, you'd respect my decision and leave me and my family alone."

"Lucia just think about it OK," he said, "I'm here til the end of the week."

End of flashback

Rio rocked his jaw, he had no right to be angry or upset, but he was. More with himself than anyone else.

"Lucia," he looked at her and noticed her eyes were watering, "mama, I'm giving you an out," her eyes widened in surprise, "if you wanna go and wanna take Marcus with you, I won't stop you, put you through enough over the years, it's time I stop being selfish," with that he kissed her, before getting up, "I got business to attend to."

With that he walked out of the office and a few moments later she heard the door to the apartment slam shut. Her thoughts were racing. Not once in the last twenty years has she ever heard Rio sound defeated. Looking around the office, her eyes fell on a photo frame. Walking over to the desk she picked up the frame and smiled. It was of them on their wedding day. They were looking at one another, Rio's arms wrapped around her as they laughed.

Placing the picture down, she wondered out of the room and towards her son's room. Marcus was by his grandmother, Lucia having dropped him there before heading home to talk to her husband. There was a picture on the chest of drawers of the three of them taken on his first birthday. The little family was sitting on the porch steps of Yolanda's house, Lucia between Rio's legs with Marcus on her lap. There was another picture on the drawers, one of Marcus and Rio at the park.

She sat on the bed for a few minutes, lost in her thoughts when the door bell rang. Opening the door she smiled as her son smiled back at her.

"Mama," he grinned, holding a large gift bag, "abuela had a bag to put daddy's hoodie in."

That evening she and Yolanda sat and spoke after Marcus went to bed. Rio was still handling business with the artist at the Paper Porcupine. She could confide in her mother in law and she did.

"The two of you need to talk, Lucia," Yolanda said matter of factly, "you need to decide what you want."

Lucia just listened. After Yolanda left, Rio came home not long after. She could tell he was surprised to see her.

"Marcus waited up for you but couldn't keep his eyes open after dinner," she smiled.

Rio nodded, removing his gun from his jeans and placing it on the counter. He simply walked around her and grabbed a water from the fridge. She watched him walk towards the bedroom and something in her snapped. Marching into the room she shut the door behind her.

"Rio," she snapped, pulling him towards her, "if I were to leave you it would be for me, not cos I wanted someone else," her hands dug into his jacket, "I don't give a shit about who can give me a better life or whatever else you fucking said this afternoon, I want you," she felt her emotions bubble up, "I love you and you are my home and my family, we protect one another," she felt the tears roll down her cheeks, "you and me."

Rio's face was hard and his brows creased together as he listened to her rage in, "I don't care about fucking Vince," she spat, "you are mine and I'm yours, you're the father of my kid, you're the one who protected me from my fucked up uncle and deranged brother all those years ago, I don't need anyone else," she felt her breathing start to speed up.

"Aight Lucia," Rio pulled her close, "I got you baby," he rested his head against hers."

"It's you and me," she whispered.

"I just want you to be happy," he said, his voice low and she could hear the slight tremble, "Vince could give you a stable life."

"If I wanted that I would have taken that," she cut him off, "I told you the day you asked me out," she stroked his jaw, "he isn't you, he'll never be you and I want you."

Rio nodded, "Old fears are hard to kill at times."

Lucia wrapped her arms around his neck, "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too baby," he kissed her, "for everything."

"I love you," she whispered.

He nodded and instead, kissed her, slipping his tongue into her mouth. Her hands immediately started undoing the buttons of his jacket. His jacket fell to the ground along with his t-shirt and her hands roamed the expanse of flesh. She felt him tense up when her fingers grazed against the marks the bullets left. Pulling away, she looked at him, before behind down and placing kisses all over his chest and neck. After a few seconds Rio tangled his hands into her hair and pulled her lips back to his.

Soon his jeans were kicked off and her dress was pulled over her head. She pushed him onto the bed and climbed on top of him. Straddling his waist, she reached behind her and unclasped her bra. Rio pulled it down her arms and threw it somewhere, his hands sliding up her torso, cupping her breasts. Rolling them over, he pushed his briefs off, before kissing a line down her body, his tongue licking at the skin. His nose trailed down her stomach as he hooked his fingers into her panties, sliding them off of her. Kissing the junction between her pelvis and thigh, he traced her opening with his fingers. He settled between her legs and placed a kiss on her centre, letting out a groan as he tasted her. Staying in that position until her thighs shook, Rio ate her out, massaging the skin of her inner thighs as he did so, getting lost in her heat.

Needing more, Lucia tugged him up towards her, their mouths crashing together. Slowly he pushed into her. The both of them shuddered as he filled her, Lucia placing kisses over his shoulder and along his inked neck, her nails raking down his back as he started to move against her. She felt him hit deep inside of her. Her body took him naturally, like they were made for one another.

“Christopher,” she moaned, her heels digging into his thighs, their hands clasped together above her head, “yes,” it was more of a plea than anything else.

“Who does this belong to Lucia,” he growled against her neck.

“You,” she moaned, tears starting to gather at the corners of her eyes, her mind hazy with the feeling.

“Who makes you feel good?”

“Only you baby,” she sobbed.

“Say my name,” he looked at her, “say my name mami.”

“Rio,” she cried, her heels digging deeper into his thighs, “i’m yours Rio.”

His breathing was ragged and deep, teeth scraping against her neck as he moved in and out of her. This wasn’t the first time they had sex since getting back together, but this time it was more than that. It was as though they were cleansing one another, ridding the other of their past transgressions. They came together, moaning into the others mouth as their releases overtook them. He pulled out of her and rolled them over. Lucia was tucked into his side. The bed was ruined, the duvet laying on the floor, the fitted sheet having been pulled off at one corner and most of the pillows scattered various places over the room. Rio managed to pull the bed sheet over their middles, placing a kiss on her head as she traced patterns over his pecs.

“Only want you,” she whispered, reaching up and kissing him. Rio said nothing, simply deepened the kiss, his hands running over her body, pulling one leg over him.

“Baby, it’s gonna mess,” she protested, feeling his load start to seep out of her and onto him, but her husband didn’t seem to mind, his hand trailing between them, a finger slipping into her, causing her to tuck her head into the crook of his neck. He made a satisfied sound in the back of his throat as he made her come again. Lucia took his fingers and sucked them into her mouth, cleaning them off.

“Fuck baby,” his mouth hung open as he watched her, “we taste good?” she nodded, pulling his head towards hers and kissed him, slipping her tongue into his mouth.

They laid like that for a few minutes, sharing kisses and whispering into one another's skin. Rio pulled away and looked at her, rocking his jaw.

“So I gotta ask,” he swallowed, “how was Vince?”

“It was different,” she shrugged, “not the same.”

“Did he make you come?”

“Rio,” she scolded, stroking his chin, she was laying on her stomach on top of him, staying silent for a few moments before answering, “only once.”

Her husband scoffed, “Dumbass.”

“What bout you,” she looked at him, “you think of me while you were fucking Beth?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” he didn’t hesitate and she laughed.

After that the topic was dropped and they made love once more before Lucia fell asleep. In the dark, Rio watched her sleep, stroking her hair, taking in her calmness. Before he fell asleep one of their phones lit up. Reaching over he saw it was Lucia’s and he almost threw the phone across the room when he saw whose name flashed across the screen. He was very tempted to answer but decided against it. Before he put the phone down, a message popped up on the lock screen and he rocked his jaw.

‘Please meet me for lunch tomorrow, we can talk and I can help you leave him.’

In her sleep Lucia moved closer to him, “Rio,” she moaned in her sleep, smooshing her face against his skin. He smirked, placing a kiss on her head, before setting her phone down and picking up his. Calling a number he waited.

“Yo Cisco,” he greeted, “need you to do something for me.”

The next morning

Lucia woke up to the feeling of someone placing kisses against her shoulder. Smiling, she shifted closer into the feeling, reaching her hand to the back and stroking her husband’s head.

“Morning papi,” she greeted as he rolled her onto her back, bending down to kiss her.

“Morning mama,” he smirked. Lucia sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck, before she could do anything, there was a knock at the door.

“Mama, daddy?”

Rio groaned, “If we stay quiet he might go away,” Lucia hit his shoulder.

“Or he might walk in and wonder what the hell is daddy doing to his mama.”

Letting out a sigh Rio answered, “Be right there pop,” before getting up and pulling on his boxers, while Lucia found her panties and pulled on his shirt. She proceeded to pull the sheets off the bed too, deciding they definitely needed a wash after last night.

Rio opened the bedroom door and found his six year old grinning at him, holding a gift back. However, the little boy’s face dropped when his eyes fell on his father’s chest. Rio internally cursed, forgetting that Marcus didn’t know he was in hospital.

“Daddy are you hurt?” the little boy asked in alarm. Lucia froze as she pulled the sheets off the bed and turned to the door, watching Rio kneel down in front of their son.

“I just had a little bit of an accident pop but I’m all good now okay,” Rio pulled his son into his arms, who held onto his father, “so what’s this?”

“We got this for you yesterday,” Marcus explained, handing his father the gift bag, “it was my idea.”

Lucia walked up to them as Rio scooped Marcus up, “Thanks pop,” he kissed his son’s forehead, “and thank you mama,” he pulled her close to them as well, “cos it was probably mama’s card that paid for it right,” he mumbled into her hair, chuckling a bit.

She rolled her eyes laughing, looking at her family. That morning they showered together while Marcus was preoccupied with his cartoons. Rio had her bent forward in the shower as he rammed into her from behind. Lucia braced herself against the wall as she felt herself climax against him. When they got out of the shower and dried off, she wrapped her arms around him, placing a kiss in the middle of his chest.

“I wanna talk to you bout something else later,” she looked at him, biting her lower lip, “it’s something that’s been on my mind for a while.”

“Aight,” he squeezed her hips, “just gotta meet Cisco for something real quick then we can talk.”

“Does it have anything to do with the late night phonecall and message from Vince,” she raised an eyebrow, “I know my husband well enough Mr Ramirez,” she kissed his cheek, “and I know he has a thing for sending his boys to keep tags on people.”

“Lucia,” he sighed.

“It’s fine,” she stroked his lower lip, “I know you gotta do what you gotta do,” she kissed him, “besides, maybe this will help drive the message home.”

The rest of the morning the family spent watching cartoons and making pancakes. Rio’s phone rang just before noon and with that he slipped out. Before he did, Lucia pulled him towards her, kissing him slowly, deepening the kiss slightly.

“A reminder,” she told him once she pulled away, “I can’t do that if you’re behind bars, so don’t be reckless.”

Vince was waiting at a cafe for Lucia, hoping she’d come and bring her son along as well. What he wasn’t expecting was Rio Ramirez to be sitting across from him. The gangster had a smirk on his face, reminding him of the seventeen year old boy he competed with for Lucia’s attention. Only now, he was a fully fledged gangster, sporting a very large neck tattoo and his eyes seemed colder than it did in high school.

“Been a long time Vince,” Rio’s voice was low.

“Ramirez,” Vince nodded, “what are you doing here?” he had a feeling he knew exactly why Rio was here.

“I hear you can’t take no for an answer,” Rio smiled as a waiter brought them coffees.

“She told you?” Vince suddenly felt skittish, his eyes darting to the exit.

“Yeah she did,” Rio showed his teeth as he grinned, before turning serious again, watching the other man try to figure out how he was gonna get out of there, “don’t even try it man,” he picked up his cup, “now I promised her I wouldn’t do anything to land me in jail,” he grinned again, “cos according to her, it would be difficult to fuck me while I’m behind bars,” chuckling lightly he sat back, “so what ima do is give you a warning,” Rio sat up straight, “ever try and contact my wife again I’ll make sure you never existed.”

Before Rio got up Vince stopped him, “You don’t deserve her,” he sneered, “the fuck you ever do for her,” it seemed like something snapped inside of him, “you a fucking low life.”

Rio smirked, “We’re done here,” with that he got up and left the cafe, Cisco was waiting for him by the G-wagon, “keep tabs on him, have a feeling he’s gonna try something.”

That afternoon, Rio found Lucia in his office, going through some books. He leaned against the door frame and watched her for a few minutes. The afternoon light hit her just right, highlighting her skin and turning her brown eyes golden. Licking his lips he walked into the office and sat on the couch watching her.

“Mick was here earlier,” she said, not taking her eyes off the books, “said the disposal went well,” she placed her pencil down, “who’d you off this time.”

“Had to deal with a rotten egg baby,” he sniffed.

“You had him off that girl that works at the Paper Porcupine,” she stated, “she was really sweet.”

“You know the rule Lucia,” she simply nodded and got up, straddling his lap.

“I know,” she smiled, “and if it means keeping us all safe, you gotta do what you gotta do,” her hands cradled his head.

“So what you wanna talk to me about,” his hands rested on her waist, his eyes trailing down, resting on her cleavage.

“Focus papi,” she snapped, holding his chin in place, “it’s about Beth and her little operation.”

Before he could jump in she went on, “I don’t trust her and I don’t like her attitude,” she snapped, “fucking entitled bitch,” shaking her head she continued, “anyway, we need to keep an eye on her and her dealings, she needs to know we aren’t kidding around and that there are consequences to ones actions.”

This was a side of Lucia he hasn’t seen in years and it made him smirk as he listened to her, “Something tells me she isn’t gonna take you coming back and messing up her plan lightly and she definitely won’t like the fact that we’re back together,” Lucia scoffed, “that woman had some fucked up sexual obsession with you.”

“Can you blame her?” that earned him a whack against the head.

“Anyway,” she sighed, “from now on I wanna be involved in what’s going on,” she stated, “think I’ve been out of it for too long and clearly you and your little gang can’t keep it together,” before he could defend himself she continued, “arrested, your cash destroyed and three bullet holes Christopher.”

That seemed to shut him up. Lucia stroked his head.

“I can’t lose you,” she stated, “if I need to do things in order to keep you alive then I fucking will.”

Thinking back to what Vince said, Rio chuckled, “Sometimes I forget how ruthless you can be baby,” he pulled her face down towards his, “but you my queen, my fucking bad ass boss bitch,” he growled, before devouring her lips. They were so caught up in one another, they didn’t hear the pitter patter of little feet.

“Mama?”

The couple pulled apart and looked towards the door, where their six year old son was standing with his eyes shut tightly and the model plane in his hands. Rio laughed at his son’s reactions to them kissing.

“That’s gross,” Marcus pulled his face once he was over his initial reaction, walking into the office.

“One day when you’re older,” before Rio could finish his sentence Lucia elbowed him in the ribs, “what, come one baby you know the kid is gonna,” that earned him a pinched, “fine, jeez, he’s gonna be your little baby forever, happy?” she smiled, kissing her husband on his cheek, before scooping her son up.

Rio watched her and smiled, if Vince really knew her, he’d know she was just as ruthless as he was. Marcus pulled him out of the office to play, while Lucia finished up with their books. Before he left, he swatted her on her behind and kissed her neck.

“I’m hitting it tonight in this office aight.”

Lucia winked at her husband and got back to work. She was getting into it when her phone rang and she groaned. Deciding she needed to end this right now she answered the phone.

“Hello.”

“Lucia hey,” she could hear the tremor in his voice and suppressed another groan, “I was hoping you’d meet me for coffee earlier.”

“Vince,” she sighed, “I think I made myself very clear.”

“He’s dangerous Lucia,” Vince snapped and she heard a tone from him which reminded her why exactly she cut ties with him all those years ago.

“My husband is anything but dangerous towards me,” she got to the point, “the only time he’s ever dangerous when I’m involved is when people try to disturb our peace, goodbye Vince,” with that she deleted and blocked his number. Deciding she was over work, she got up and joined her husband and son in the lounge.

That night he took her just like her said he would, in the office, bent over his desk and papers, with her panties pulled to the side and her hair clutched in his hand as he fucked her. When they eventually made it to their bedroom, Lucia draped herself across his chest, her fingers tracing his lower lip, trailing down to his tattoo. Rio was playing with the fingers of her other hand, twirling her wedding ring around her finger.

“We should go to the cabin for a weekend,” she bit her lip.

“Yeah?” he asked, “could leave Marcus with my ma and have a redo of your eighteenth birthday.”

Lucia rolled her eyes, “We aren’t leaving our son behind,” she paused, “besides, no way can your stamina now, compete with your stamina back then.”

Rio froze, turning his head to look at her, “Scuse me?”

She smirked, knowing that her comment was far from the truth. Her husband rolled them over, so they were spooning and she could feel his want against her back.

"I'll show you stamina," he growled and with that he pushed into her from behind. Lucia couldn't help but tense up as he stretched her from this angle. Waiting for him to start moving, she turned her head and looked at him expectantly.

"So mama when do you wanna go to the cabin?" he asked casually. The mother fucker was cockwarming! Not able to stop herself she let out a whine and Rio smirked, kissing her cheek.

She tried to move but he held her in place, "Nah baby we ain't fucking now," he laughed, "we're talking."

He fell asleep buried deep inside of her, with his fingers on her. The next morning, before the sun came up, he simply rolled them over and took her from behind, with her biting into the pillow.

"What was that bout my stamina?"

Unable to speak she simply kissed his neck, "Mm yeah that's what I thought," Rio swatted her ass, causing her to gasp, her body still recovering from the aftershocks of her orgasm.

"I don't wanna go back to work today," she pouted, "wanna stay here with you."

"I got work too baby," Rio massaged her head, "and Marcus has school."

Lucia pouted, "Fine," snuggling deeper into his warmth. Rio seemed to always run hot, it was both a blessing and a curse. On cold winter nights she'd wrap herself around him, enjoying the heat. During summer however, it forced her to sleep with the bare minimum which always seemed to get her husband in the mood. Either way as she dozed off again, she knew she wouldn't trade what she had here for anything in the world.

#rio #rio good girls #lucia x rio #good girls nbc

23 notes · View notes

thisissirius · 4 years

Text

If you’re taking requests, I’d love to see something where Chris is fed up of waiting and brings adoption papers home for Buck and Eddie to sign 🙈

oh man, thanks to @hearteyesforbuck who, as always, is my best sounding board and @the-wardrobeintocamelot for always suffering out fic fits lol

helping hands [AO3 LINK] eddie/buck, chris + adoption/getting together

“Did you have a good day at school?” Buck looks at Chris through the rearview as he pulls out of the parking lot. It takes a while sometimes, but it’s alright; the ride home is fast becoming Buck’s favourite part of the day.

Chris nods with a grin. “We drew pictures. I brought mine home to show you and Dad.”

Buck raises his eyebrows. “You’re not gonna let me see first?”

“Nope," Chris says. The expression on his face is all Eddie when he's trying to be devious and Buck doesn't know to do with his emotions. "You have to see it with Dad. At the same time."

"Okay," Buck says, drawing out the word. Sometimes, Chris' excitement builds so much it just bursts out of him.

For once, Chris manages to keep it quiet all the way home. He still talks, tells Buck about his lessons, the trouble he's having with his history assignment, and whether Buck will help him.

"I'll take a look," Buck says. Which probably means he's gonna be researching pyramids well into the night. "We can work on it together tomorrow, okay?"

"You're the best, Bucky," Chris says. He sounds a little more earnest than he usually does, and Buck's gotta concentrate on the road in case he starts crying.

He needs to get a grip. Being emotional about Christopher isn't new, but sometimes it just hits him, how much he loves his best friend's kid. He's all the best parts of Eddie and Shannon both, and Buck adores him for that. Together, they've raised the kindest soul Buck knows.

"Alright," he says, "we're almost home, but I'm thinking takeout? It's your dad's turn to cook."

Chris makes a gagging noise. "He'll try something new and we'll all end up sick, Buck."

Buck snorts. Eddie tries, he really does, but it's a hopeless cause. So many people have tried to help him; Buck, Bobby, Abuela, all to no avail. Eddie just steps into the kitchen and appliances throw themselves off of counters to get away from him.

"Text Eds. Getting takeout. Sorry."

The car complies, probably adding Chris', "Yes, Bucky," just before Buck asks to send and he awaits Eddie's response. He catches Chris' eye, sticks out his tongue.

"We're gonna be in trouble."

"Probably," Chris says. "But we can take him."

Buck laughs and makes the way to the nearest Thai place. It's Eddie's current favourite, which will help when they have to go home and make nice.

Evan Buckley. You can't get takeout every time it's my turn to cook!

Why, Buck texts back. You do.

Chris laughs, looking the happiest Buck's seen him thus far, and he pulls into the takeaway parking lot.

"Come on, buddy. Let's get your dad lots of his best foods."

It doesn't take long, but they eventually grab the food and Buck gets Chris settled back in the car. He's just about to close the door, when Chris grabs his sleeve. "Bucky?"

"Yeah, buddy?"

"Do you like staying over?"

Buck frowns, doesn't know where it's coming from. "Of course I do, Chris. Did someone say something? Your dad?"

"Don't be silly," Chris says, "Dad would cry if you didn't."

Buck touches Chris' cheek. "You're the best thing that happened to me, buddy. I love you."

"I love you too," Chris says.

Buck feels confident backing away, but the question stays with him. Why does Chris think that? Is he staying too often? Buck actually can't remember the last time he spent more than one night at his apartment. Usually, he just rides home with Eddie and falls into bed with him. It's not a thing. It's just something that happens.

So what if he wakes up covering Eddie, and Eddie always burrows deeper.

It doesn't mean anything.

Buck pulls into the driveway. There's been no further text from Eddie and Buck can imagine the kind of face he's gonna make when they open the door. "Let's face your dad's wrath."

"You go first."

Buck uses Chris as a shield. He lets Chris start up the path before him, and then pretends to fumble with the bags as the door opens. Chris glares at him, so he knows exactly what Buck's doing. Buck's man enough to admit he's a coward when it comes to Eddie's disappointed face.

It's just awful.

Eddie's standing in the kitchen, arms folded across his chest. He raises an eyebrow. "Well."

"Thai?" Buck asks, holding the bag above Chris' head.

"Bucky, you're dripping sauce."

Buck makes a face, wiping away whatever dropped onto Chris. "Oops."

Eddie snorts, rolling his eyes, but when he steps away from the table, he's already laid it. "Wash up for dinner, buddy."

"I have something to give you after food," Chris says. "Both of you."

"A picture," Buck tells Eddie as Chris disappears to the bathroom. "Apparently I wasn't allowed a sneak preview."

"He took away Buck privileges?" Eddie snorts, settling up against Buck's back, resting his forehead in the middle of Buck's spine. "Must be tough."

"Shut up," Buck says, grinning to himself. "How was work?"

"The worst," Eddie whines. "You weren't there, and Chim spent the whole time talking about babies."

Buck laughs. "Don't pretend you didn't love every second. I don't know who's more excited about this baby; Chim, Maddie, or the rest of us."

"Everyone," Eddie agrees, letting Buck take all his weight. Buck shifts, wraps his arms around Eddie's shoulders. "You can nap after our picture surprise."

"Ew," Chris says, coming back into the room. "Actually, wait."

Buck lets Eddie go, and Chris places a piece of paper on the middle of the table.

"This is the perfect time," Chris says. "Can you look at this please."

Buck tugs the paper closer, so that both he and Eddie can see it.

It's a picture of a figure wearing a fire helmet, curly blond hair sticking out of the sides. Next to him is a crude representation of Chris with oversized glasses.

You're my dad now is written across the top, with a line next to it.

Buck can't breathe. His hands are shaking. "Chris."

"You have to sign it," Chris says calmly, like he's not pulled Buck's world from beneath his feet. "Then Dad can take it to a judge and it'll be real."

Eddie's gone still beside Buck. His hand's still on Buck's back, and Buck can feel his fingers twitching. Buck doesn't dare look at him, can barely see the picture for his eyes blurring.

Chris wants him to be his dad.

Chris. Dad. Buck.

"Evan," Eddie says gently. "You with us?"

"No," Buck says, voice sounding far away.

"I'm sorry," Chris says and no, that's not what Buck wants.

"I'm not sad," Buck says.

"Oh." Chris is leaning against the table, eyes on Buck, then his dad. "Dad?"

Eddie takes a moment to reply and Buck risks a glance. Eddie looks shellshocked, eyes wide and his throat bobbing a couple of times as he swallows. "I'm not mad. Chris-"

"Please don't say no," Chris says quietly. "I really want Buck—”

"I wasn't gonna say no," Buck says, then looks back at Eddie. "I mean—”

Eddie is torn and Buck can see it. He looks like he's got so much to say, words that won't come, and he rests a hand on the back of Eddie's neck.

"I'm grateful," Buck says, hoping it prompts Eddie into replying. "He's your kid, Eddie. Whatever you want."

It's not fair, he realizes, that Chris is still in the room. Eddie's not gonna say no while Chris is right there.

Chris takes the picture off the table. "I can put this in my bedroom."

Eddie stops him, pulling away from Buck and bending down. "Is this what you want?"

"Yeah," Chris says, sounding exasperated. "I kept asking you why Buck didn't just move in."

"Chris," Eddie says gently. "Buck and I—”

"Love each other," Chris says, like it's simple.

Eddie balks, and Buck closes his eyes. This is all gonna go so wrong and he needs to leave before—

"Yeah,." Eddie says.

What.

"Really?" Chris says, surprised.

Eddie nods, running a hand through Chris' hair. "Wanna go put that safe in your room for Buck to sign later?"

Chris looks over his shoulder at Buck, and then nods. "Okay."

Buck still feels like he can't move. He doesn't actually know what he's feeling right now.

"Buck," Eddie says. "Talk to me."

"I don't know how to be a father," is what he goes with.

"Wrong," Eddie says, like it's a fact. "You do it with Christopher every day."

"I'm sorry."

Eddie sighs, and steps closer to Buck, who lets him crowd him against the counter. Eddie's hands are on his face, and Buck feels like he's floating. What the fuck is going on?

"I love you," Eddie says.

Buck sucks in a breath. "Eddie."

"I'm sorry that I didn't say it sooner." Eddie's thumb presses to his pulse point. "I thought we'd have time, that you would figure it out, but Chris wants it just as much."

Buck doesn't think he's been able to breathe since he looked at the picture. "I'm scared."

"I know," Eddie soothes. "But you won't mess it up."

Buck snorts. "I will."

"Maybe," Eddie says, and Buck's grateful he didn't outright deny it. "But so will I. So will Chris. That's what family is, Evan. Messing up, forgiveness, love."

"You trust me with Chris," Buck says, because it's a fact.

"I do."

"You don't mind that he wants to be my son?" Buck asks tentatively.

"No," Eddie says, touching their foreheads together.

"You love me."

"I love you," Eddie affirms.

"I think I love you too," Buck says. He laughs, holds Eddie closer. "I know I do."

"Good," Eddie says, and when he kisses Buck, it's like this was where they've always been headed.

Eddie runs a hand through Buck's hair, and Buck just watches him. It feels like a Moment. He almost doesn't wanna break it by saying something stupid.

"Dad," Chris pipes up. "The food’s getting cold."

"Who's fault is that?"

"Yours for not being able to cook."

Buck bursts out laughing, burying his face in Eddie's neck. He can almost feel Eddie's outrage, but then Eddie's shaking with laughter and Chris looks too pleased with himself.

Except for how he has every right to be.

Buck's grateful for Eddie, for Chris, and his love for them feels neverending.

#eddie diaz #evan buckley #buddie fic #buddie #christopher diaz #fic by me #christopher diaz is a national treasure #otp: i forgive you #otf: you're my kid #otf: his buck #I LOVE THIS #also reposting because trumblr sucks

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hawthornsybil · 4 years

Text

You’re Gonna Have a Great Time

Title: You’re Gonna Have a Great Time

Summary: Chris leaves a list of 20 things Buck can do to cheer Eddie up while he's at camp; somehow it turns into a 20 steps plan to woo Eddie.

Read on AO3

So, I read these amazing posts and just had to write something for it. Thanks to @theleftboobgrabber @pan-buck for letting me use their ideas as prompts. I hope you both like it! t when they walk inside the house.

The thing is, Eddie forbade him from going to see Chris off to summer camp because he didn’t think Buck would keep it together but Eddie has yet to learn how to say no to Buck and Chris when they team up. So, they strike a bargain where Buck will be allowed to have Chris for the afternoon before he leaves for camp. After having visited the zoo (for the third time), getting ice cream, and catching a movie, they’re now sitting together in Eddie’s living room waiting for him to come home.

“You sure you packed everything?”

Christopher rolls his eyes (something he totally learned from all the times Eddie has rolled his eyes at Buck) and then pats Buck on the knee. “I have everything I need.”

Buck has been high strung ever since Eddie told him about the camping trip and as much as Chimney has turned his overprotective act into just another thing to tease him about, Buck has no shame in caring so openly for Christopher. Plus, he figures that if he shows how worried he is, Eddie will either feel compelled to keep his cool (because Chris seriously doesn’t need them both to fret) or will feel supported in his fears.

“And did you remember to pack the mosquito spray?”

“Yes, Buck.”

Buck ticks it off the list he’s made on his phone and watches confusedly as Chris gets off the couch and heads to his room.

“Chris where…”

“I made something for you,” Chris answers on his way back.

He climbs back up on the couch and leans against Buck’s side. “I made a card for dad and I have one for you too.”

Buck always thinks he can’t possibly love this kid any more than he already does, and then Chris does something like this, and Buck ends up loving him that much harder.

He takes the purple card Christopher hands over and opens it, already excited about what sweet message he may find inside. He stares confusedly at the list in his hands.

“Chris, what is this?”

“It says at the top.”

Such a sassy kid, another thing Buck knows he takes after Eddie.

At the top of the card, scribbled in yellow crayon, Chris has written how to cheer up Dad while I’m at camp. Speechless, Buck looks between the card and Christopher’s determined face.

“Daddy said you’re going to miss me even more than he does,” he shrugs, pats Buck on the knee again comforting in a way no 9-years-old has any business being. “So, you can cheer up daddy and take care of him instead of missing me.”

“Chris…”

The front door opens before he can find the words to say, Eddie’s voice calling cheerfully from the hall, “I’m home!” He rounds the corner to the living room and his face softens when he sees Chris plastered to Buck’s side and Buck’s teary face. “Buck, we talked about this.”

“It’s okay daddy, I was just telling Buck how much I’m going to miss him.”

Eddie smiles and comes over, ruffling both his hair and Buck’s. “You guys had a good day?” They both nod. “I’m going to hop in the shower and then we can order dinner, okay?” He heads off when they nod again.

Chris turns to Buck and looks at him seriously. “Don’t tell dad.”

Buck nods solemnly, carefully folds the card, and puts it away in his pocket.

***

coffee with TONS of sugar so it’s not gross

It takes Eddie approximately one day to start losing his cool and collected demeanor. They’ve just got back to the station after a call where a kid had fallen in the pool and Buck can see Eddie continuously checking his phone.

Buck thinks back to the list Chris left. Point number one was making Eddie coffee and that’s easy enough. He leaves Eddie to go change into dry clothes and heads up to the loft to start off the coffee machine.

He idly chats with Chimney and Hen while he waits for the coffee to brew and by the time Eddie has changed and has joined them, a steaming mug is sitting on the table.

“Buck made you coffee, isn’t that sweet?” Chimney teases them.

Eddie ignores him completely. “Did you put…”

“Five spoons of sugar, yes. Just drink it.”

They’ve made each other coffee enough times to know how they take it, so he finds Eddie’s distrust appalling. Buck stares as Eddie takes the first sip and seems to relax a little bit. He smiles when Eddie looks at him.

2. tell him about your day - he smiles when I tell him about school and stuff

Eddie takes a fall while on a call and Bobby sends him to the hospital to get checked for a concussion. He’s fine but gets signed off for the next shift so the others have to deal with Buck on their own.

Chimney tells him at least twice that he’s insufferable when Eddie is not at work and Hen tells him to go run some drills to kill time. Bobby takes pity on him and tells him he can help with the cooking.

At the end of the day, he puts on his jacket and is heading out when he remembers the card still in his pocket. Number two on Chris’s list is telling Eddie about his day so that’s what he will do. He calls him from the car, his voice barely carrying over the sound of the wind as he drives.

“Today was horrible,” he starts off by saying, even before Eddie has time to say hello. “I was bored, we had one call, that was it, can you believe it?”

Eddie chuckles. “You’re insufferable when you’re bored.”

“Yeah, that’s what Chimney said too. How was your day honey?” he asks sarcastically.

“I finished painting abuela’s porch, then I painted mine. Were you really that bored?”

Buck stops at a red light still undecided on where he’s headed. “Yeah, I mean it was nice to have a quiet day, but you know, I need my adrenaline fix.” The light turns green and he makes a split-second decision to turn left instead of right. “Hey, are you home now?”

“Yeah, wanna come over?”

Buck smiles at that. “Turning in your street now.”

Eddie is waiting by the door when Buck pulls up to his house, an amused grin on his face, arms crossed as he casually leans against the doorframe, long legs crossed at the feet.

“What if I had someone over?”

He does a very bad job of masking his laugh at that. “I’m the only someone you ever have over.” He playfully bumps him with his shoulder and makes his way inside. “Wanna hear about all the different ways I’ve annoyed Chimney today?”

Eddie can’t do anything but follow.

3. ICE CREAM

Buck loves LA and has done all the touristy things except taking one of those tours where they show you where famous people live, but he has to admit, he fell in love with the city all over again when he started showing it to Eddie.

Walking alongside Venice Beach in the evening with the warm breeze coming from the ocean has to be at the top of his favorite things to do. He checks Chris’s list daily and when he saw that today’s idea was ice cream, he knew exactly where to take Eddie.

Their shoulders bump every other step, drawn together in a familiar way. Buck is eating his ice cream from the small cup Eddie made him order (“you’re gonna get chocolate all over your shirt if you get a cone, Buck”).

“Chris called from camp today.”

Buck perks up at that. “You didn’t tell me”

“You were in the shower after that last call.”

Buck wants to tell him that that was no excuse, he could have still gone to get him but decides to let it go. “What did Chris say?”

“That some of the other kids are staying until the end of the month.”

He can guess what he said to that from Eddie’s dejected sigh. “You said yes.”

“Of course, I did, I’m not a monster, Buck.”

Buck bumps into him again and inadvertently makes Eddie drop his cup. “Buck!”

“Oops, here.” Buck scoops up some of his ice cream and shoves it in Eddie’s mouth before he can object. He can’t cover up his laugh at Eddie’s outraged face. “We can share my ice cream, don’t worry.”

Eddie pushes him playfully and when a girl skating by almost runs into him, Eddie closes his hand around Buck’s wrist pulling him back close to him.

It feels like a date, that’s all Buck can think about as he stares at Eddie stealing Buck’s cup, mumbling about not giving it back because it’s all Buck’s fault if he doesn’t have his anymore. Buck would happily let Eddie steal everything from him.

4. draw him a picture!!

He’s never been good at drawing anything, not even stars which everyone seems to be able to do, but Eddie has been staring forlornly at the drawings Chris made appositely for his locker and so here Buck is, at twenty eight, trying to come up with an idea for a card.

“Whatcha got there, Buck?”

He shrugs at Hen’s question, so she comes over to the table and stares from over his shoulder at the crumbled pieces of paper in front of him.

“Are you trying to draw something?”

“Yeah” he replies sheepishly. “It’s for Eddie.”

She smirks and shakes her head. “Of course it is. Why don’t you go for a stick figure and a simple message? Can’t go wrong with that.”

He ponders it for a moment and then nods. “Thanks, Hen.”

When half an hour later Buck sees the smile on Eddie’s face as he opens his locker and Buck’s card fall out of it, Buck feels just as accomplished as if he had just rappelled down a building for a rescue.

5. tell him a joke - I got a book of jokes for my birthday last year you can borrow it if you want buck / 6. tell him a knock-knock joke - I don’t have a book of knock-knock jokes :-(

“Hey, Eddie, have you heard about the new restaurant called Karma? There’s no menu: you get what you deserve.”

Eddie looks at him as if he’s finally lost it. They’re in the middle of a call and really, Buck should be paying more attention but all he has to do is hold a bar in place while Bobby saws it, so no big deal.

“What the…”

“It’s a joke,” Buck says with a big grin. “I’ve got another one. Did you hear about the claustrophobic astronaut? He just needed a little space.”

Eddie snorts and tries very hard not to show that he’s laughing but Buck sees it.

“Aren’t I supposed to be the one with the dad jokes?” He asks.

Buck shrugs, unrepentant. “I’ve got more.”

“Why?”

Bobby finishes with the saw and looks amusedly between the two. “Maybe wait until after we’re done saving someone, yeah?”

“Copy that, ‘Cap.” Buck does a little military salute and Eddie can’t help but laugh at him again.

Two hours later, while they’re laying in their bunkbeds trying to sleep between calls, Buck continues.

“Hey, Eddie?”

He gets a grunt in response and that’s enough for him to proceed. “Did you hear about the actor who fell through the floorboards?” He waits for dramatic effect and then goes, “He was just going through a stage.”

“Buck, I swear to God…”

“Knock, knock.”

Eddie grunts again. “Buck…”

“You have to play along. You can just not answer when someone says knock-knock.”

Buck hears the bedsprings creak as Eddie shifts in the bed next to his.

“Eddie?��

“Who’s there?”

Buck grins broadly. Eddie can’t ever say no to him doesn’t matter how annoying he’s being. “Leon.”

“Leon who?”

“Leon me when you’re not strong!”

He gets a pillow thrown in his face which makes the book of jokes he borrowed from Chris’ room last time he was over and the phone where he was looking up knock-knock jokes, fall from his hands and hit him right in the eye. “Ouch.”

“That’s what you get, Buck,” Chimney’s voice pipes up from the other side of the sleeping quarters. “Go to sleep.”

Buck doesn’t even mind because he hears Eddie sniggering from the other bed.

7. ask him a funny question - one time I asked him if dogs know they’re dogs, and he smiled a lot!!

“Do you think cats have regrets?”

Buck’s question is so random that Eddie’s face turns into that confused squinty expression he always makes that Buck absolutely loves.

They’re on day 9 of Christopher being away at camp and Eddie is particularly grumpy. He’s snapped at the woman they were trying to save because she kept trying to tell them what to do because she’s a big Chicago Fire fan and thought she knew better.

Chris hasn’t called since the time he asked to stay at the camp longer and Bobby keeps shooting looks at Buck that say “fix it” so Buck took out his list, checked what was on the agenda for today, and asked the first question that popped into his head.

“I would love to be in your head for a day,” Eddie tells him, but Buck can see at least a bit of tension leaving him; he’ll take that as a win.

“I mean, think about it,” he continues, closing one of the compartments on the truck once they’ve finished expecting it. “You see so many photos of dogs looking ashamed because of something they did, but cats will maintain eye contact while dropping your favorite trophy off the shelf.” He shrugs. “What’s your take on it?”

Eddie stares at him as if trying to understand whether Buck is being serious or not. Buck looks back, an expectant grin on his face, and Eddie can’t help the laughter that starts bubbling out of him.

“I swear, this is why you and Chris get along so well.”

Buck looks proud of himself as he watches Eddie completely fail to remain grumpy.

8. watch a movie with him - his favorite is emperor’s new groove I think

It’s not often that they don’t have the same days off together, but it can happen. Buck ends up covering someone on third shift and doesn’t see Eddie for two days. So, as soon as he’s done with his shift, he heads straight over to Eddie’s. He knocks once and then lets himself in and he’s not surprised to find Eddie laying on the couch, a film playing on the tv that Buck knows he’s only half watching.

He places the six-pack he brought over on the coffee table and Eddie startles. He’s wearing his old army t-shirt and grey sweatpants, one foot resting on the floor and the other on the armrest. Buck forces himself not to stare for too long.

“When did you get here?”

Buck rolls his eyes. “Nice to see you too.” He kicks Eddie’s foot until he gets the message and lifts his legs, barely waiting for Buck to be sitting down before he unceremoniously plants both his feet in his lap. “Is this seriously how you’re going to spend your day off?”

“I’m only on film 3 out of 8.”

It’s then that Buck looks at the TV again and realizes that Eddie is watching Harry Potter.

“Do you think they let the kids watch films at camp?”

Buck snorts, hands subconsciously closing around Eddie’s ankles. “I’m pretty sure that would go against the child labor program they have in place.”

Eddie kicks him and rolls his eyes. “Growing vegetables and then eating them is not child labor, we’ve been over this.”

Buck’s fingers dig into Eddie’s ankle and he lets himself relax against the couch. “Agree to disagree.”

He’s never seen the Harry Potter films prior to meeting Eddie and Christopher and watching it now without the youngest Diaz is making him think about all the other things he has never done before Eddie appeared in his life, stripping in slow motion in the middle of the fire station (he knows that’s not exactly how it went but that’s how he remembers it so sue him).

“This is making me sad.”

“The Prisoner of Azkaban cannot make you sad,” Eddie retorts.

“Whatever. Let’s watch something else.” He remembers Chris’ suggestion and he smiles. “You know what we haven’t watched in a while? Emperor’s New Clothes. I like that one.”

Eddie glances at him and studies him for a few seconds before grinning back. “Okay.”

9. clean up - sometimes when he looks stressed, I clean my room and he smiles??

Carla told him once that Eddie hates it when she helps cleaning around the house, so she discretely helps out but leaves enough that Eddie thinks she hasn’t done it just so Eddie can then spend his days off tiding up. Buck knows that when you join the army they drill it into you to keep everything tidy and so he knows how important it is for Eddie.

However, with Christopher off to camp, Carla hasn’t been around in a while and Buck can see that there’s a load of laundry to do and Eddie’s clothes were left in a pile after being in the dryer. But Eddie spoke with his parents that morning and Buck is not privy to what was said in the conversation, but he can see how stressed Eddie has been ever since getting off the phone.

Chris’ list has a suggestion for what to do in this case too, so, while he’s at Eddie’s waiting for him to come back from having gone to the shops to get beer and food, Buck starts tidying up a little. He puts the clothes in the washing machine, folds the ones Eddie left out and puts away the dishes that have been collecting dust on the drying rack.

When Eddie gets home, Buck looks at him like a deer caught in the headlights, plates in his hand halfway through being put away. Eddie frowns for a second and then darts his eyes around, goes to check in his room, and then comes back.

“Did you tidy up while I was gone?”

Buck shrugs, unsure if he’s overstepped some boundary. Eddie just stares at him, shoulders sagging and eyes searching.

“Thought I could help a little. You’ve got enough on your plate.”

Eddie walks over to him and hugs him, and Buck hopes Eddie can’t feel his heartbeat accelerating.

10. play some video games - but don’t let him win he always knows when you let him win

Buck hasn’t played the ambulance simulation game in ages and he’s always been horrible at it; Hen can be his witness but playing with Eddie is different. He’s probably the only person who’s worse at it than he is but he was mopey after talking to Chris, so Buck wants to cheer him up which means he has to fake being worse than Eddie and let him win.

“Oh no, drove right into the pedestrian.” Buck was never a good actor.

Eddie looks at him suspiciously. “Buck, I know you’re letting me win.”

“Oh c’mon, I’d never do that to you.”

Eddie doesn’t even dignify that with an answer just drops his controller and lets the ambulance drive off the road and into a building.

“Well, that will be hard to explain to the Chief,” Buck jokes.

He only has a moment to take in Eddie’s unimpressed face before Eddie tackles him and starts digging his fingers into Buck’s sides.

“Yield!” Eddie orders, unrelenting in his tickling.

Buck can barely breathe. “Okay! Okay! I will play for real now.”

Eddie pulls back but stays close in Buck’s personal space, eyes full of mirth and a little dopey, and Buck can’t look away, not until Hen walks past and throws a pillow at them.

11. the aquarium!! he really likes going to the aquarium with me!

“I haven’t been here since the last time we brought Chris.”

Buck had shown up at Eddie’s that morning and dragged him out without even telling him where they were headed.

Since it’s a Wednesday, there are not many kids despite it being the summer holidays, so they’re enjoying a leisure walk between the various exhibitions.

“Did you know that a blue whale is the largest living animal on Earth?”

Eddie looks at him with a fond expression when Buck asks him that. He shakes his head, falls into steps with Buck and their shoulders bump as always. “No, I didn’t know that, Buck.”

They stop in front of the penguins and Buck stares at them, not feeling Eddie’s gaze on his face. “I used to think that penguins were really big, you know?” he glances up and catches Eddie’s eyes, finds himself blushing a little under the scrutiny. “Like as big as people and then I watched Madagascar and my mind was blown.”

“I’m more surprised that you watched Madagascar if I'm being honest.”

Buck smiles at him. “It’s one of my favorites. Maddie and I sneaked out of the house to go see it when it came out.” He feels himself grow nostalgic at the memory and looks back at the penguins so he doesn’t have to see Eddie’s expression. “It was one of the last things we did together before she married Doug.”

He’s not ready when a hand lands on the back of his neck, Eddie’s thumb pressing down on his pulse point.

“When I watch it with Chris, he makes me do the King Julian dance,” Eddie confesses.

Buck appreciates the distraction more than he’d be able to express. He turns his head to the side, his cheek coming to rest on the back of Eddie’s hand. They’ve been more tactile lately but, this makes Buck feel as if it’s just the two of them in the world in that moment.

“I’m going to have to see that,” he teases just as a little kid comes running straight into his legs and almost knocks him over.

12. LOTS OF HUGS

The minute Eddie is out of the building, Buck shrugs Bobby’s hands off and runs up to him, pulls him into a tight hug even as Eddie starts coughing against his shoulder.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Buck…”

“No, we’ve been over this, we can’t both be reckless.” He pulls back, starts opening up Eddie’s turnout coat to check him for injuries. “Next time Bobby says to fall back, you fall back, understood?”

Eddie grabs Buck’s wrists and squeezes hard enough to get his attention. “Buck, I’m fine.”

Buck’s eyes are still wide and his pulse is racing, he knows Eddie can feel it where he’s holding him, but Buck hasn’t been this scared in a long time. He pushes forward, wounds his arms around Eddie’s neck, and hugs him again.

“You’re an idiot.”

Eddie’s arms come up, hugging him back briefly before Buck is pulling away and Eddie’s hands slowly fall to his hips. This is Buck’s favorite thing about hugging Eddie, how he always leaves one hand on Buck’s flank. Buck is not used to being hold; Maddie is not a big hugger and unless Chris is around, the only person he ever gets hugs from is Eddie.

“I’m okay, Buck.”

He wants to drag him home and make him rest but Bobby calls out to them, tells them to start packing up and it takes Buck a lot longer than a second to be able to look at anything but Eddie’s face.

Eddie doesn’t look away either.

13. do something adulty with him - I don't know buck I'm 9

So, the thing is, Buck has been crushing on Eddie for the past two years. Maddie likes to tease him about it all the time, it’s all in good spirits and it’s mostly about how Buck pretty much imprinted on Eddie the minute the guy told him how good he was at his job. So, these feelings, wanting to kiss Eddie, wanting to hold his hands, nothing new there. They’ve had bumps in the road, Buck tried and failed to date someone else and it hasn’t been easy, but Buck is done waiting for what he wants. He knows Eddie enough to be sure that even if he’s been reading the signals all wrong, they will be able to move on from this.

When he checks Chris’ list and sees the point about doing something adulty, Buck’s mind goes straight to one thing because he wants to date the shit out of Eddie Diaz and goddamnit he will.

So, when they’re halfway through their shifts, Buck flops down on the sofa next to Eddie and asks. “There’s a new restaurant near my place, do you wanna check it out?”

Perhaps he should have phrased it better, but Eddie makes him nervous.

“Yeah, sure.” Eddie barely looks up from his phone where he’s texting Lena.

Buck is like 80% sure that Eddie is not getting it. “We can go home and change and then I’ll come to pick you up.”

Eddie frowns, looks at Buck in confusion. “Why don’t we just go together from here?”

“I’m coming to pick you up,” Buck insists.

He can feel Chimney staring at them and when he looks in his direction, Buck finds him with a spoon halfway up to his mouth that might as well be popcorn considering he’s looking at them as if he was watching a movie.

“Can I help you, Chimney?”

“No, no,” he raises his hands in surrender. “Carry on.”

Buck looks back at Eddie raising an eyebrow expectantly.

“Okay, you can come to pick me up.”

Several hours later, halfway through their dinner, Buck realizes that the issue with spending so much time together is that this won’t feel like a date because they do this all the time. Eddie is dressed in a flannel shirt over a black shirt and well-fitting black jeans and Buck loves the look, he honestly does, but he’s thanking whatever deity made me forgo the suit he had originally planned.

Eddie trails off in the middle of what he’s saying and stares at Buck. “Are you okay? You’ve been glaring at your food for the past five minutes.”

“All good, you were saying?”

Buck drives him back home, and Eddie asks him if he wants to come inside, and apparently Buck is a sucker for punishment because he accepts even though he knows that Eddie didn't get that Buck had asked him out on a date.

14. ask abuela how she makes the Magic Soup - dad really likes it

Buck has had Pepa’s number saved on his phone for the past two years because sometimes he’s the one going to pick up Christopher from their place. This time he uses it for a different reason. Eddie has canceled on him because of a cold or so he says, but Buck is pretty sure that it’s just the fact that Christopher has been gone for almost three weeks now. So, he texts Pepa and asks if he can drop by so Isobel can teach him how to make the magic soup Eddie loves.

She says yes and Buck finds himself standing between her and Isobel a couple of hours later, attentively following all the steps and taking notes.

“This is really nice what you’re doing, Buck.”

He shrugs because praise always makes him feel so out of depth. “Thank you, Isobel.”

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me abuela?”

He can’t help but smile at her. “Sorry, abuela.”

“Thank you for taking care of Eddie while Chris is away.”

“What else would I do?”

She smiles warmly at him, pats him on the arm, and then goes back to guide him through the next steps.

Two hours later he’s letting himself in Eddie’s house. “Honey, I’m home!” he calls jokingly while he uses his foot to close the front door.

When he walks in the living room, he doesn’t see Eddie, so he puts the soup down in the kitchen and then checks Eddie’s bedroom and finds him curled up under the covers watching Netflix on his phone.

“Are you actually sick?” he asks, leaning against the door.

“Maybe.”

Buck scoffs. “What if I told you that I have your magic soup waiting for you in the kitchen?”

That gets Eddie’s attention. He lets his phone fall on the bed and looks suspiciously at Buck. “How?”

“I might have stopped to Pepa and Abuela’s house.” He walks over, reaches out, and grabs Eddie’s wrist pulling a little. “C’mon. It took us hours to make and you have to eat.”

Eddie looks at him in a way that makes Buck think he’s about to be pulled down into bed in retaliation, but the moment passes, Eddie tugs his hand free and stands up. “You better not be lying, Buck. How did you even get her to give you the recipe?"

Buck scoffs. "You should know by now that Diaz's can't resist this face."

Eddie can't say anything in return.

15. cuddles on the couch

Buck is a cuddly drunk, he usually turns into some sort of over joyous puppy who walks around and starts up a conversation with anyone who will give him attention. Eddie had to quite literally drag him away from where he’s explaining in detail to a couple what a compound fracture is.

“I’m sorry about him.” Eddie grabs him by the back of his shirt and pulls him out of the bar and pushes him towards Buck’s jeep. “Get in, I’ll take you home.”

Buck stumbles five times while attempting to get in his car, but his size seems to be too big for his drunken self so Eddie has to help him in. He dozes off leaning against the window as soon as Eddie turns the ignition on and doesn’t wake up until Eddie is pulling him out of the car once they’ve reached his building.

“Buck, c’mon, help me out.”

He blinks slowly and then more or less manages to follow Eddie all the way up to his apartment. Eddie helps him lay down on the couch and goes to get him water and painkillers. He’s about to leave when Buck grabs his wrist and tugs so hard that Eddie falls on top of him.

“Chris said to cuddle you on the couch.”

“What?” Eddie tries to push himself up, but even drunk, Buck is strong enough to maneuver them around until Eddie is laying with his back against the backrest, and Buck is perched precariously on the edge.

“What, what?” Buck sighs, face squished against Eddie’s neck.

Eddie has no choice but to wrap an arm around Buck and pull him closer; it’s either that or letting Buck fall off and bang his head against the coffee table.

“Shhh, Eddie, sleep time.”

He can’t help but smile and grip Buck a little bit tighter.

16. build a fort! / 17. cuddles IN the fort!!!

Buck and Eddie are laying on their backs, staring up at the string lights that Buck has attached to the top of the pillow fort.

“Why are we doing this?” Eddie asks.

Buck had shown up, going on about how he had found a guide on how to build a pillow fort on IKEA’s website and how they had to practice because Chris was coming back and he wanted to be the best at it by the time that happened.

Eddie had helped him out, going around the house collecting pillows and bedsheets and now there they are. It would be big enough for Christopher and another child, but two adult men are a tight fit.

Eddie shifts, his shoulder bumping into Buck’s chest.

Buck is beyond pleased with himself. “Chris is going to be so proud of you at his next sleepover. He loves pillow forts.”

Eddie turns to look at him and when Buck turns as well, their eyes meet. The twinkling lights are making Eddie’s eyes look brighter, but his face looks younger and softer. Buck really wants to kiss him right now, but he’s read the rest of the list and Chris put kissing for last so Buck looks away.

“He already knows how to build a fort, Buck.”

“I know, but this is like pro pillow forting or something.”

Eddie shakes his head at him. “So, what’s the plan, what are we doing now that we’re in here?”

“Well, I’m getting us snacks, you’re putting on a movie and we’re going to pretend we’re not boring adults for one night.”

“You never became a boring adult.”

Buck crawls out of the fort, throwing a pleased smile over his shoulder. “I know.”

When he gets back and lays down next to Eddie, Buck is hyperaware of how little space they have and he fidgets around until Eddie grabs his arm and makes him turn on his side, his chest pressed up against Eddie’s back.

“Stop moving,” Eddie orders him and Buck doesn’t have to be told twice.

He settles down and leans his chin on Eddie’s shoulder so he can look at the screen. Every once in awhile, Eddie will raise the bowl with the popcorn so Buck can get a handful and they don’t talk, they don’t need to. Buck is more aware of all the places where his and Eddie’s bodies are touching than what’s going on the screen, but he doesn’t mind.

He’s not sure when Eddie falls asleep but gradually his body goes slack in Buck’s hold and Buck can’t help but rest his head on the same pillow, his forehead touching the back of Eddie’s head and his arm tightening imperceptibly around Eddie’s waist. He closes his eyes and lets Eddie’s breath lull him into sleep.

18. tell him it’s gonna be ok

Buck finds him leaning against the side of the truck, pensive as his eyes stare at the phone in his hand. The bay is quiet, and the sun is warm. Buck hands him a cup of coffee and leans next to him.

“That Chris?” he asks, nodding to the phone.

“Yeah.” Eddie puts the phone away and takes a sip of coffee before sighing heavily, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

They’re at the end of their shift, one hour to go before they’re free and Buck feels just as exhausted as Eddie looks.

“Is he okay?”

“He sounded happy. Kinda got the impression he doesn’t want to come home.”

Buck can’t stop staring at him, kind of wants to take all his worries away, help him carry the weight. “Well, on the bright side, he has to live home for at least the next nine years.”

Eddie snorts. “Why do I get the impression you’ll be the one doing the shovel talk once he starts dating?”

Buck feels his heart double in size at the thought that Eddie thinks Buck will be around in the distant future to see that happening; very distant future because Chris is only nine and he has to stay a kid for as long as possible.

“I’m bigger so I can totally intimidate these future dates.” He puffs out his chest waddling around in an awkward robot dance that makes Eddie laugh. He takes a step closer, right into Eddie’s personal space and he feels like they’ve been dancing around this for the past month to the point where Buck is pretty sure Eddie is just waiting for him to take the first step.

“Hey, Eddie?”

Eddie arcs an eyebrow and hides his smile in his coffee. “Yes, Buck.”

“It’s going to be okay.”

Eddie’s answering smile is everything to him.

19. tell him you love him!!!

Buck stares at the nineteenth point on Christopher’s list and tries to figure out a way to make it happen. As far as he’s concerned, he feels like he’s been telling Eddie he loves him since he introduced him to Carla and Eddie had given him that smile in return. He’s been saying ‘I love you’ since Eddie told him that it wasn’t his fault Doug had gotten Maddie, ever since he argued with Maddie until she let him go to Eddie’s shield ceremony despite the broken leg and the pain he was in; ever since he organized a Christmas party so they could be together with Chris, ever since he’s built the skateboard, ever since he tried to dig at the ground to get to Eddie. He’s been saying ‘I love you’ for so long he doesn’t remember what it felt like before.

He spends the day observing Eddie, seeing him joke around with Hen, giving Chimney advice on fatherhood, looking annoyed when Bobby doesn’t let him help with lunch.

Buck is just so in love with him. But the words are stuck somewhere in his throat, scared because he’s never felt this way about anyone ever. He knows that if Eddie asked him to jump, he’d only ask how high, but even more than that, he knows he would stop taking risks at work if Eddie asked him not to because he wants to stick around.

So instead, he tells him he loves him without words.

He gets up from where he’s sitting at the table in Bobby and Athena’s garden and goes over to where he’s animatedly talking with Karen. He puts a hand on his lower back, jumps into the conversation they’re having, and smiles softly at Eddie when Eddie looks at him.

20. try kisses??

Christopher is coming back tomorrow, and this is it. Last day. Eddie has been brimming with excitement at the idea of having his kid back home and it’s all he can talk about. He doesn’t shut up about it during calls, and neither does he while they’re grabbing a drink with the others. Buck lives to see Eddie this happy. Buck is talking to Albert or at least trying to because his attention keeps being pulled over to where Eddie is dancing awkwardly while sandwiched between Chimney and Karen.

“So, how long have you guys been together?”

Buck does a double-take when he realizes that Albert is speaking to him. “What do you mean?”

“Eddie and you. I asked Maddie but she just giggled and said to leave it.”

Buck rolls his eyes. “Ignore whatever she says. Eddie is my best friend.”

Albert nods solemnly. “They always say the best relationships are born from friendships. They also suggest to marry your best friend.”

Buck, who was in the middle of taking a sip, chokes on his beer. He coughs loudly, and before he knows what’s happening, Eddie is right beside him suddenly alert and sober.

“Buck, what is it?”

“He was just drinking,” Albert intervenes. “He’s okay.”

Buck coughs once more and rubs the middle of his chest but he can’t look away from Eddie’s panicked look. “I’m okay, Eddie.” He grabs Eddie’s hand and tugs to bring him out of whatever panic he's slipping into.

“I think we should go,” Eddie says, already pulling away from Buck and getting his jacket.

Buck frowns but if he’s being honest with himself, he’s tired and he’s more than happy for them to leave now.

Albert gives him a look like he knows something is going on.

They quickly say goodbye to everyone, and they step outside the bar. Buck follows Eddie over to his truck ready to tell him that he’s only had one beer so maybe he should be driving when Eddie stops and turns around so suddenly that Buck ends up bumping into him.

“Are you sure you’re okay? We can stop at the hospital on the way home.”

Buck shakes his head, rests his hands on Eddie’s shoulders to get his attention. “I’m okay, I just want to go home, okay?”

Eddie scrutinizes him and Buck lets him look for whatever it is he needs to see to believe that Buck he’s okay. After a minute, he finally nods and pulls away. “You drive.” He tosses his keys at Buck.

They don’t talk on the way over to Eddie’s and they’re still silent when they walk inside the house.

Buck heads for the living room but Eddie grabs his wrist, turns him around, and hugs him. His arms are clutching at him tightly and his nose is buried against Buck’s pulse point and Buck knows there’s no way Eddie is not feeling his heart pick up.

“I didn’t think you were okay.”

Eddie’s voice is nothing but a whisper and Buck finally hugs him back, understands where Eddie’s mind went at.

“I’m okay, Eds.”

Buck is not sure how long they stay like that but when Eddie pulls back, his eyes are clear and determined as he stares at Buck, and Buck can’t help himself. He cups Eddie’s cheek with one hand, uses the other around Eddie’s hip to push him back until his back hits the wall, and finally, finally, after months, maybe years of buildup, Buck kisses him. He swears every sound disappears and all he can feel are Eddie’s hands gripping his shoulders, fingers digging in enough to hurt but Buck is all muscles and strength.

He has pictured kissing Eddie in his mind about a million times and nothing, no dream or hope or fantasy ever even came close to what he’s feeling now with Eddie pulling him in closer, their lips moving together slowly, kiss growing deeper and deeper.

Buck pushes him a bit harder against the wall and they knock one of the frames down and they couldn’t care less.

Eddie’s hand slides up into Buck’s hair and his fingers scratch his scalp and Buck has to pull back and breath or he’s going to drown in this kiss.

Eddie’s eyes are half-lidded, his lips shiny and swollen and Buck wants to kiss him again immediately and so he does because now he can.

***

Chris throws himself into Eddie’s arms the minute he’s off the bus. Buck has been allowed to come to pick him up and he can’t stop smiling, trying his best to stop himself from nudging Eddie out of the way so he can have his hug.

Chris looks at him from over Eddie’s shoulder and god but has Buck missed this kid.

“Buck!” he screams, right by his father’s ears.

He comes over and the second Chris has freed himself from Eddie’s hold, Buck is scooping him up. “How are you doing, little guy?”

“It was awesome.”

Eddie picks up Chris’s luggage and the three of them start making their way back to Buck’s jeep. While they’re walking, Chris leans closer to Buck and whispers in his ear, “Did you use the list?”

“Yes, thank you so much for it.”

“And did you guys kiss?”

Any other time and Buck would have blushed but he’s so happy that all he can do is nod. He and Eddie haven't decided how to tell Chris but Buck assured him that it wouldn't be a problem.

Chris looks delighted and pats him on the cheek. “I told you it was going to be okay, kid.”

#buddie #daily buddie #buddie fics #911 #my fics #eddie diaz #evan buckley #evan 'buck' buckley

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artificialqueens · 4 years

Text

2003 (1/2) (Vanique) - Ortega

a/n: VANIQUE MUST RIIIIIIISE!!!! ayo team, welcome to this. i pulled this ship from virtually nowhere when i was writing n19f and people seemed to like i as much as i did, so i wrote these two together for the fic challenge. i’ve split this fic into two halves, as they’re two very different vibes. this part follows Vanessa and Monique as they go through primary school and then start their first couple years at high school, so it’s definitely more platonic than anything else but it’s cute! also overall this was inspired by two songs, one being 2003 by Todrick and the other being I Choose You by Kiana Ledé which will be the title of the next part, so look out for that. i so so sosososo hope u enjoy, bc i highkey love this pairing a lot. lots of lo-ove, by-ee!

tw: implied child neglect and drug use

summary: Vanessa Mateo and Monique Heart start school in the year 2003. They love girlbands, superheroes and football, and they’re best friends forever. At least, that’s the plan.

***

The room smells of squeaky floors and play-dough. It’s not like anything she’s ever smelt before, but it’s weirdly comforting. She’s sat on a carpet patterned with all kinds of fruit. It doesn’t have pineapple (which is her favourite), but that’s okay. The walls are covered in colourful paper, an arts-and-crafts rainbow explosion. There’s words too, different curly and spiky shapes making letters. She knows one has a “V” in it because that comes at the start of her name and it looks the same, but she can’t read any of the writing yet. Some of the kids in nursery could already read and one of the boys could even write stories. Vanessa couldn’t. She still can’t, but that’s okay. She can write her name and say please and thank you in two different languages and she knows how to count up to 12 (she gets stuck after that, but she’ll learn the rest).

She looks around the carpet. There’s a girl nearby her with two huge black plaits and huge brown eyes to match. Her skin is dark, and Vanessa feels comforted by the fact she’s not alone in sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the Snow Whites and Cinderellas and Auroras and their matching porcelain-skinned Disney princes that are sitting on the carpet with her. She scratches her head, feeling the bow her Mama tied in dark her hair shift. She hopes she’s not made a mess of it. Then Mama would be mad.

Her teacher’s been talking for a while now. It seems like she’s been talking for two hours. Maybe she has been talking for two hours. Vanessa looks up at the clock, even though she doesn’t know how to tell the time yet so the information is less than useless to her. Bored, her eyes drift towards the girl she was looking at before. She’s wearing a white polo shirt and a red pinafore, and her white socks have got red bows on them. Vanessa is jealous. Her new jumper with the school logo is scratchy on the inside and she told her Mama that her leggings have a hole at the knee but they can’t get any new ones until she gets paid.

She bum-shuffles across to sit beside the girl, keeps her eyes trained on the teacher like a sniper as she leans in and whispers. “You look like a princess.”

The girl gives her a big smile. Vanessa knows she should say thank you, but maybe she doesn’t know as much about manners as Vanessa does. The girl whispers to her. “You look like Meg from Hercules.”

Vanessa smiles at her. She’s seen Hercules- it’s not her favourite, but she’s seen it- and Meg was her favourite character. “Thanks.”

“It’s okay,” she whispers. There’s a pause before she hisses to her again. “My name’s Monique, what’s yours?”

“I’m Vanessa,” she replies quietly. Vanessa picks at the hole in her leggings. It’s now about the size of a 1p coin. She knows about coins, at least. “Hey, you wanna play princesses at playtime?”

Monique nods excitedly, then whips her head around, scared. Vanessa looks up at her teacher. Her eyebrows are almost joined-up and there’s little lines on her forehead and her eyes have gone all hard. Vanessa knows this means she’s feeling cross.

“Vanessa, Monique! It’s rude to talk while someone else is talking. We don’t do that in school.”

Vanessa knows she should nod, but her stomach feels all fizzy and she finds herself frowning at her teacher instead. Monique says sorry. Maybe Vanessa should say sorry too. She decides she doesn’t want to.

“She’s been talking for about 5 hours. Maybe even 4 years,” Vanessa whispers to Monique again. Monique covers her mouth with her hands and lets out a tiny giggle. Their teacher gives them a suspicious look again and Monique shuffles away from Vanessa. Vanessa knows this means she doesn’t want to get into trouble. As soon as the teacher starts talking again, Vanessa hisses over to her.

“Monique!”

No answer. “Monique!”

Monique turns around a little bit to face her. “What?”

Vanessa cups her mouth with her hands so the girl can hear her. “Do you want to be best friends?”

Monique gives her another big smile. It makes Vanessa feel happy too. “Okay!”

She’s only been here for five hours, maybe even four years, and she’s already made a best friend. This school thing is easy.

***

It’s the two of them for life. Vanessa just knows it. They’re BFFAEAE (best friends forever and ever and ever). They get in trouble for chatting at school and their long-suffering teacher monitors them like a hawk. They’re banned from sitting near each other on the carpet because even when Vanessa tries to listen (even if it’s P.E., her favourite), she’ll think of something funny she just has to share with Monique, and of course Monique is incapable of laughing quietly so she lets out a screech that completely disrupts the whole lesson and earns them both five minutes off their reward time. Vanessa doesn’t even mind losing reward time. They sit at the same table while everyone else plays and they write out the class rules, but Vanessa doesn’t mind because it’s the only time they’ll ever be allowed to sit together in class.

In the playground and after school it’s a different story. In Reception they play princesses and animal rescue with their threadbare, well-loved stuffed animals they sneak into school in their schoolbags. By Year 1 they’re popstars learning dance routines and designing album covers and falling out because Monique wants to call their double-act The Strawberry Babies and Vanessa knows that obviously The Starlights is a far superior name. In the Summer between Year 1 and Year 2 Vanessa’s Mama takes them to the cinema to see Fantastic Four and so for the whole of Year 2 they’re obsessed with superheroes, rolling around on the tarmac play-fighting with each other and getting bruised knees and scraped elbows and so far removed from the girly girls they were when they started school.

Vanessa knows everything about Monique and Monique knows everything about her, because that’s what it means to be best friends. Vanessa knows that Monique’s brother is eleven and goes to Big School and doesn’t play with her and slams his door and plays rap music that Monique can hear when she’s in her room with the door closed. Monique stays in the high flats with her brother and her gran.

“Do you have a Mama?” Vanessa remembers asking her one day in the playground, drawing in the dirt with sticks.

Monique’s voice had been quiet. She hadn’t looked up from drawing in the dirt. “Uh-huh.”

“Where is she?”

Monique had shrugged, scribbled out the happy face she’d drawn. “Gran says she’s not allowed to see us any more.”

Vanessa could tell talking about her Mama had made Monique sad, so they don’t talk about that any more. Dads are off the table too. Vanessa doesn’t know hers and Monique doesn’t either. Vanessa doesn’t really need a Dad. Her Mama works in the supermarket and keeps their tiny pebbledashed council house in the estate spotlessly clean and is always on time to pick Vanessa up from school. She drags Vanessa kicking and screaming to mass every Sunday (Vanessa doesn’t like it because all the chanting scares her) and threatens her with El Coco until she’s blue in the face. Monique goes to church too but hers sounds more fun- they laugh and clap and sing their hearts out. Monique sings the songs in school. Vanessa thinks she sounds like she could be in the Sugababes, not that she’s allowed to listen to the Sugababes.

Monique comes round to Vanessa’s house every few weeks or so. She lives close, and Monique is allowed to walk round on her own. Vanessa is jealous of that. She wishes her Mama would let her go places on her own. She tells her that one day and Mama howls with laughter, says she’s not allowed out on her own until she’s at least twenty-one. Vanessa thinks she’s joking. Thinks.

Vanessa gets excited when Monique visits because she knows her Mama will make an effort with the dinner. That’s unfair and disrespectful, she knows; Mama works hard to put food on the table, but her stuffed arepas are just better than rice and beans (and microwave meals if it’s near her pay day, which her Mama makes Vanessa promise she’ll never tell her Abuela they eat). They sit and eat with their bowls on their laps on the sofa in front of the TV and watch The Weakest Link. They sometimes get the questions right even though they’re only 7 and the people on the show are fully-grown adults. Monique is smart, though. Smarter than Vanessa. Vanessa thinks she’s smarter than their teacher. She’s the best at writing in the class and the best at maths too, and she can read any word at all.

Vanessa’s not that smart, but she knows Monique is, and she thinks she’s amazing.

It’s a grey-clouded day in July in the Summer of 2007 when Monique pulls up outside Vanessa’s house on a brand new bike. It’s blue and the seat is close to the ground and the spokes are all shiny. Vanessa runs out to see her, sticks her feet in between the bars of the rusty iron gate at the front of their house and swings back and forth as Monique talks.

“My brother got me it. Someone from the skatepark didn’t want it any more and it’s too small for him, so I guess it’s mine now,” Monique shrugs happily. There’s a smudge of dirt on her face that Vanessa knows her Mama will wipe off with a hot cloth if she sees it. “It’s kinda big for me but it works okay. You got a bike, right?”

Vanessa cringes, thinks about the pink bike with streamers at the handles that lives in their back garden and is probably crumbling away with rust. “I got one, but it ain’t as cool as yours.”

Monique smiles, satisfied with the compliment. “Well, go get it an’ we can go for a ride.”

Vanessa blushes and thinks of how many cool points she’s going to lose when she tells Monique that she has to ask her Mama first. Monique laughs at her good-humouredly, sticks her tongue out at her and calls her a baby. Monique turned 9 two months ago and Vanessa has to wait four more to catch up with her, so the comment stings but she pretends it doesn’t.

To her surprise and delight, her Mama lets her go out on her bike with Monique but only if they just go round the estate and they’re back before dinner time. Vanessa has never been able to follow the rules, though, so when Monique tells her she knows a place by the river under the bridge with a scrub of sand like it’s the seaside then Vanessa doesn’t hesitate to follow her. Vanessa wonders how Monique seems to know the city so well: she takes her on a journey through dark underpasses with yellow strip lights and bright scrawls of graffiti, narrow bridges above busy roads that Vanessa tries to pretend don’t scare her, secret little paths through the big park Vanessa goes to with her Mama sometimes. They pedal wildly and everything zooms by so quickly that even though she has no idea where she is, Vanessa feels safe. Any vaguely scary things they see (big dogs) are gone a second later, and Vanessa knows Monique would protect her if anything scary did happen. She would protect her too. That’s just what best friends do.

They arrive at the place Monique had been talking about. The brown stone bridge hangs high above them but Vanessa can still hear the cars on it pass by. They’re drowned out slightly by the babbling of the river, inky and cold and black with jaggy rocks underneath its surface. There’s huge clusters of boulders that they both have to climb over to get to the sand and they have to leave their bikes leaning against the wall on the path. It’s not a pretty place, but it’s still a little bit magical. It has the aura of adventure rather than beauty and they’d be more likely to discover pirates here than fairies, which is just how Vanessa likes it. Together they chuck stones into the water haphazardly, their hands growing more grubby by the minute and the dirt black under their nails.

“What’s that?” Vanessa narrows her eyes, reaches down to pick up the object she’s spotted. It’s embedded in the sand and she can’t really see what it is, but it looks like what she got her injections with at the doctor’s. Monique races over to see what she’s talking about and pushes her hand away quickly. Vanessa snaps. “Hey!”

“You’re not s'posed to touch that, it’s dangerous!” Monique cries, outraged. “What if you got stabbed?”

Vanessa snorts a laugh. “It’s ain’t a knife, M'nique, it’s only a stupid needle."

Then, almost as if Monique’s warning had been a dare, Vanessa picks it out the sand with her thumb and index finger, holds it by the plastic tube. Monique’s face falls. "Stop it, ‘Ness, that’s creepy.”

Vanessa laughs, starts making the needle float about while making spooky noises. Monique takes a step back, her face all panicked. Vanessa gives a giggle. Monique’s acting like a scaredy-cat; she does that sometimes and it’s funny to wind her up. She usually takes it well but she’s growing more distressed than she usually does. Her eyes are all wide and Vanessa stops playing the moment she sees tears start welling up in them. She immediately drops the needle into the river and crosses over to her, her trainers leaving huge Nike ticks in the sand.

“Hey, what’s the matter? I’m sorry,” she mumbles. She regrets joking around now, and Monique is wiping at her eyes and sniffing and smearing dirt across her face.

“They used to be all ‘round my house before we lived with Gran,” she sniffs. Vanessa gets a churning feeling in her tummy. She doesn’t really know what that means, but it makes her feel frightened just hearing about it. She can’t imagine how frightened Monique felt seeing them for real. Slipping the sleeves of her hoodie down over her hands, she gives Monique a hug, pats her back in the hope it’s comforting.

“I threw it in the river. Don’t worry. You don’t need to see it ever again,” Vanessa says. She’s not Monique, she doesn’t know what it’s like to have a sibling, but Monique is the closest thing to a sister she has and she wants to keep her safe. Monique is smiling at her when she steps out of the hug, and Vanessa feels relieved.

“An’ if it does come back we’ll just stab it before it can stab us first!” Monique jokes. It’s a silly joke but Vanessa still bursts out laughing.

“We’ll stab it with a stick!” she joins in, and soon the two girls are laughing and anything vaguely threatening has been forgotten about.

They end up cycling a lot that Summer, Monique showing Vanessa all sorts of hidden places all round the city. Vanessa never feels freer than when she’s racing around on dirt paths behind her best friend, and worries are a distant memory. Vanessa’s life is good and she has a lot of things to be thankful for but she knows she looks different and doesn’t fit in, she knows there’s a lot of things that the other kids have that she doesn’t, she knows that there are times when her Mama sits up at night time with her bills spilling out across the kitchen table and a calculator in her hand. Monique is a bright smile and a sense of adventure and she makes Vanessa feel happy.

They don’t go out on their bikes as much when they go back to school after the holidays. Year 4 flies by almost as quick as they used to cycle, as does Year 5. They don’t pretend as much in the playground anymore, preferring to run riot on the astroturf with the boys in their class and play football and get bruises on their shins from being tackled to within an inch of their life. Not much changes by Year 6; their last year of primary school when they should be responsible and conscientious and yet they’re still getting in trouble for giggling in class and playing pranks on the other kids and whispering swear words in Spanish (that one is Vanessa’s fault).

They’ve only got a month left of primary school and Vanessa’s allowed to walk home with Monique now as long as she keeps her phone on loud and texts her Mama to tell her if they’re stopping by the park or the snack van. Today is one of those days. They’re sat underneath the huge cherry blossom tree at the park; Vanessa wants to climb it but Monique’s saying that’s too babyish. They’re too old for that now, so they’re bluetoothing each other Tinchy Stryder and N-Dubz songs and blaring them at full volume out of their tinny phone speakers instead. Vanessa’s about to show Monique a parody somebody’s made of You’re Beautiful by James Blunt when Monique breaks the not-quite-silence.

“You gotta crush on anyone?”

Vanessa wrinkles her face up, snorts a laugh. “Ew! Nah. All the boys in our class are gross. I ain’t ever had a crush on any of ‘em.”

Monique gives a quiet laugh. “Me neither. They all use that Lynx Africa like it’s gonna cover up their B.O.”

Vanessa lets out a howl of laughter. She wasn’t lying to Monique; she doesn’t have a crush on anyone. If she thinks about it, she’s never really had a crush on any of the boys in her class. It’s just not something she thinks about. She cares more about her best friend than she’d ever care about any boy.

Their laughter dies down, and Vanessa gets a knot in her stomach. It happens every so often when she thinks about high school. Their class went up to see the school last week and it felt like such a terrifying maze of identical-looking corridors and crowds of kids so old they looked to be mini adults. Their teacher had told them to write down three friends they wanted to be in the same form class as, even though she said she couldn’t guarantee they’d get to stay together. Vanessa had written only one name on her form- Monique Heart - in her curly, barely-legible handwriting, the “i”s dotted with hearts. It’s been on her mind ever since, though. They’ve been together since Reception, Monique is all Vanessa knows. She wouldn’t begin to know how to make any other friends. She doesn’t want any other friends.

“M’nique,” Vanessa says, and the other girl looks up. “What happens if we ain’t in the same form class next year?”

Monique gives a small, humoured laugh. “Well then we ain’t in the same form class.”

Vanessa rolls her eyes and shoves her. “Duh, idiot! I mean like…with us. We still gon’ be best friends?”

Monique laughs dismissively, shakes her head at her. “Now who’s being the idiot?”

“I’m serious!” Vanessa objects, annoyed that Monique’s still got her eyebrows raised at her like she’s a little kid. She’s going to be 12 in October; it’s not like she’s a baby. “What if you find other cool girls to hang out with? What if you get a new best friend? What am I gonna do?”

“You’re gonna do nothing, cuz that ain’t gonna happen,” Monique insists. Her face lights up as she gets an idea, jabs a finger against the tree trunk. “Okay. If I carve our initials into this tree, it��ll be like a promise. That we’re always gonna be best friends. I don’t want to hang out with cool girls. It’s fun just me an’ you.”

Vanessa smiles, her heart feeling all warm at the reassurance. Monique rummages around in her bag and produces her keys, starts stabbing at the bark of the tree relentlessly. Vanessa flinches a little, part of the reaction a residual memory from watching Pocahontas too much when she was really little; she used to believe that trees could feel things like humans. She shares the memory with Monique who doesn’t laugh at her, even though she probably has every right to.

“Well humans feel things an’ they get tattoos. So this is like a tattoo for a tree,” she shrugs. She’s chipped a big capital M in the bumpy bark so far and is starting on an H.

“Hey, you think we should get matching tattoos when we’re grown ups?” Vanessa suggests, the idea exciting her. Monique frowns as she drags her key over the wood.

“Don’t they use needles for that?”

Vanessa regrets the idea as soon as Monique says it; she’d forgotten about her friend’s fear. She decides to commit to the idea. “They do, but they’re all clean an’ safe. An’ you wouldn’t have to be scared cuz I’d go with you.”

Monique nods as she starts on Vanessa’s name. “I never feel scared when I’m with you. Except when Mrs Del Rio yells at us.”

“She’s a big baby. She just hates us cuz we would be better teachers than her,” Vanessa shrugs. It’s true.

“Well, what tattoo are we gonna get? We need to decide now so we can start saving up for it,” Monique questions her. Vanessa scoffs.

“How much do you think a tattoo costs? It’s like ten pounds, God!"

It’s Monique’s turn to laugh. "Nah, it’s way more than that! My brother’s got one and his cost a hundred and fifty.”

Vanessa lets out an outraged screech. “That’s a damn lie! You’re gonna go to the bad fire if you keep tellin’ lies like that.”

“An’ you’re gonna go to the bad fire cuz you just cussed.”

“Well, see you down there,” Vanessa shrugs. She considers Monique’s question. “What about we get BFFs in cool writing?”

Monique nods enthusiastically. “Yeah! With a heart maybe.”

“Yeah!” Vanessa agrees, excited about the prospect of their matching tattoos. She Googles “when can i get a tatoo” (spelling’s never been her strong suit) and lets out a groan at what she reads. “Ugh. We have to wait seven whole years.”

“You have to wait seven years, I only have to wait six!” Monique boasts, Vanessa sighing. She hates being one of the youngest in the class. She doesn’t have time to feel down for long though, as Monique shows her her handiwork with a flourish; MH + VM, scratched into the tree forever. “There! Best friends forever.”

Vanessa feels as if her smile is going to break her face. It feels like her body is made of the sun’s rays. When Monique says that, high school doesn’t seem so scary any more.

“Where we gonna get these tattoos anyway?” Monique speaks again. Vanessa’s smile turns wicked and she can barely get her thoughts out without laughing.

“Imagine we get them on our butt!”

Vanessa thinks Monique’s Gran might be able to her them screeching with laughter from the top floor of her tower block.

***

Things change though, despite the promise they make. Monique doesn’t think either of them mean to break it but life gets in the way and God has other plans. It’s what she believes at least.

Though she doesn’t know what his plan was for separating her from her best friend. Monique cries for forty-five solid minutes when she receives the letter telling her what form class she’s in; she knows it’s different to Vanessa’s. Her Gran holds her tight and rocks her against her chest on the sofa while her brother yells at her to shut up and slams his bedroom door. Her Gran is full of comforting words: you’re a strong girl, and you’ve been through worse in your life than this, and this isn’t going to change a single thing, hush now. But it is going to change things. When she’s with Vanessa, Monique feels like she can take on the world. She brings out her confident side when she feels shy, matches every shriek with a screech, takes her mind off the fact that she lives in a shoebox fourteen storeys high in the air where the elevator doesn’t work and the stairwell smells like piss. She can’t imagine starting high school without her. She doesn’t want to imagine it.

Monique batters out of the flat despite her Gran shouting after her, dashes down the stairs like her life depends on it. Her heart feels ready to give out when she reaches the lobby and bursts out into the open air but she still unchains her bike from the rack outside, pedals madly to Vanessa’s house. The bike is too small for her now and it’s uncomfortable to ride but it’s all she has to get her to the person that matters most. She reaches the house and Vanessa’s Mama lets her in, and Monique takes the stairs up to Vanessa’s bedroom two at a time where they hold each other tight and bundle up in Vanessa’s duvet and sob and sob and sob.

But looking back, Monique knows she’d been a little dramatic that day. Not being in the same form class as Vanessa really is not the end of the world. They walk there together on their first day and give each other a tight, nervous hug before they each head to their own form rooms. Monique pushes down on the doorhandle and anxiety fills her body as she walks in, freezes at the doorframe. There’s about twenty other kids already in the room and the whole scene is a bit chaotic. There are two boys chucking a ball to each other across the classroom, some girls with hair in high ponytails screeching and playing Katy Perry out of their phone speakers. Even though Monique has sat through countless interviews with social workers, child psychologists and police officers, this is one of the scariest experiences of her life.

“Hey. You wanna sit with us?”

Monique’s eyes fall on a table of girls with skin just like hers and hair to match. Monique instantly feels 80% more reassured; she’s never seen a classroom with a colour palette like this in her life. She and Vanessa had been the only two girls in their year at primary whose skin colour had deviated from the sea of pink or almost-translucent. There’s one girl who fits that mold at the table with the others, and Monique thinks it’s funny that she’s got pale skin, blonde hair and blue eyes and still happens to be the odd one out.

The girls take her under their wing that first day, and the next, and the next. They’ve all gone to a different primary school from Monique and so are already closer than close, but they never make her feel like an outsider. Asia with the sleek, black hair that tumbles down her back has a sweet smile and explains all the in-jokes that Monique doesn’t understand. Antonia, the girl who invited Monique to sit with them, has an intimidating face and a skinny frame but a kind heart and always shares her snack and pens with her. Roberta- Bob- has a huge untameable afro and personality to match, and her cousin Monét isn’t dissimilar apart from the fact that her hair is wavy and caramel instead of jet black and curly. They bicker with each other and gossip about their teachers and make Monique laugh when she’s down. And Brianna is kind and caring and is always able to put a smile on Monique’s face.

Before long, it seems like Monique has made five new friends without even having to try. She wishes she could say she’s friends with Vanessa like she always used to be, but that would be lying.

Because Vanessa’s made friends too. They’re the girls Monique’s Gran always warned her about- friends with the devil and they’ll lead you on a path straight to him. Akeria and Silky make a reputation for themselves at high school within a week of the year beginning. They mess about in class, text during lessons, Silky starts fights with other girls in the corridors that her victims never have the balls to finish. Akeria flirts with the boys and the rumours say she’s had her first kiss already. They backchat teachers and keep cans of spray paint in their bags and walk along the train tracks to the depot after school to spray their wobbly initials on the side of freight trains.

But despite the fact they don’t hang out as much in person any more, that doesn’t diminish the light that Monique keeps burning in her heart for Vanessa. They bump into each other in corridors and chat excitedly in the five minutes they have between lessons, smile and wave at each other from across the lunch hall, and they still text each other and walk there and back from school together. Well, until just after the start of Year 8. Vanessa starts getting a lift from Akeria’s Mum in the mornings and hanging out at the shopping centre with her and Silky after school. It’s not her fault, and Monique supposes she’s no better- Monét lives on Monique’s route to school so the two of them start walking together instead, and after school the girls often go to the chicken shop in town and shovel down wings to make up for the disgusting school lunches.

By her second year of high school it’s almost like Monique has a new best friend.

But she doesn’t want to think like that, so she’s overjoyed when it gets to the start of Summer, just before the last term of their second year ends, and Vanessa’s texts change from general small-talk chit-chat to an invitation to have a sleepover at her house at the weekend. Monique feels embarrassing levels of excitement as she texts back confirming she’ll be there.

M: Are your other friends gonna be there??

V: nah just me n u

And it is just her and Vanessa. It’s a gorgeously sunny day and Vanessa’s Mama puts up a tent in the garden that they can camp out in. It’s nice to be back with her, talking and giggling and laughing about stupid stuff. Vanessa laughs uproariously as she tells Monique about Silky and Akeria’s latest exploits and Monique listens nervously, anxious just hearing about them.

“Do you join in when they do stuff like that?” Monique asks her, after a story about how Silky signed her name in the same Sharpie she does her eyebrows with on a toilet cubicle door and got detention. Vanessa shakes her head, smiles bashfully.

“Nah. I tell ‘em it’s good to keep someone onside in case we get into trouble. The teachers’ll let us away with more if they like one of us. 'Least that’s my excuse,” she explains. Monique smiles, reassured.

“I didn’t think you were like them,” she says, relieved. She thinks Vanessa narrows her eyes at her, but she blinks and her expression has changed. Vanessa’s started wearing makeup and it suits her, even though her foundation is maybe a little off-colour. The mascara she’s swept onto her lashes opens up her eyes a little more and lets Monique see the twinkle that seems to be permanently shining in them.

She is so pretty, and Monique wishes she could look like her.

They talk as if nothing has changed over dinner, various barbecued meats grilled on a disposable barbecue Vanessa’s Mama got from her work. Monique has never had a barbecue before and she decides that burgers charred to within an inch of their lives are the best thing she’s ever eaten. They make smores from chocolate digestives and marshmallows for dessert and Monique howls with laughter as the chocolate and marshmallow melt down half Vanessa’s hand and she licks it off as her Mama rolls her eyes, goes to find her a hot cloth and mutters in Spanish that Monique doesn’t understand but knows is long-suffering. She has almost forgotten the way Vanessa can make her belly laugh just by acting the fool. Monique has spent two whole years not even knowing how much she’s missed her friend, too distracted by her new ones.

When it’s time to go to sleep they both cosy up under Vanessa’s duvet that’s been dragged outside and a sleeping bag each under that. Every available pillow and cushion in the house has been utilised in lieu of a blow-up mattress but the set-up is still comfortable, even though it’s pitch-black both in the tent and outside. It might be the end of June but it’s still cold once the sun goes down, and Vanessa has shuffled up near to Monique in a bid to try and keep warm. Vanessa being so close makes Monique feel warm on the inside as well as the outside.

“Hey, you know that rumour about Akeria kissing Dean from Year 9?” Monique pipes up, interested. “Is that true?”

Vanessa rolls onto her tummy to face Monique, and her eyes are sparkling with mischief even in the dark. It makes Monique’s stomach do a flip. “Yeah. They did it at the food court after school one day. You wanna know what else?”

Vanessa’s face is so full of glee that Monique can’t help but nod in anticipation. She’s almost in fits of laughter as she tries to get the secret out. “He tried to get her to touch his…you know!”

Monique lets out a screech that is equal parts horrified and amused as Vanessa dissolves into giggles too. “GROSS! Did she do it?”

“Ew! What do you think? Of course she didn’t. That shit’s nasty.”

There’s a pause in which Vanessa lets out a few more giggles. Monique doesn’t. She’s silent. She’s thinking.

“I wonder what it’s like.”

Vanessa’s voice is loud in the silence of the night. “What? Touching a boy’s-”

“No, idiot!” Monique laughs, explaining herself. “Kissing someone. Wonder if it’s as nice as people say it is.”

Vanessa falls quiet as well. Monique wonders what she’s thinking. She decides to break the silence. “You ever kissed a boy?”

Vanessa lets out a snort. “Come on, M’nique, you know I ain’t.”

“No I don’t!” Monique protests, her voice dropping to a murmur as she feels herself pout while she speaks. “I feel like I don’t know anything about you anymore.”

They both fall silent, and there’s a shift in the atmosphere that Monique can’t quite put her finger on. Vanessa lets out a sudden giggle.

“What?” Monique asks awkwardly, unsure if she’s meant to be in on the joke or the butt of it.

Vanessa’s face is scheming. She laughs a little, buries her face in her pillow before she speaks. “You know we could practise?”

Monique is slow on the uptake at first. “Practise? Practise what?”

She realises as Vanessa lifts her head and gives another giggle. Monique lets out a screech, takes the pillow from underneath her head and thumps her friend with it. “Ew, Vanessa! Ew, ew, ew! You’re so weird!”

“Oh, c’mon! I don’t wanna go kiss a boy and then be really bad at it, then he’s tell his friends and they’d tell their friends and then the whole school would think I’m shit!” Vanessa insists. Monique’s heart gives a very loud thud as Vanessa inches her face close to Monique. She’s not taken her makeup off and her mascara is all smudged around her eyes like makeshift eyeliner. She looks really pretty.

Monique shoves her away back onto the pillows. “I ain’t doin’ that shit with you! Ask Akeria since she’s so experienced.”

“But I don’t wanna practise with Kiki! I wanna practise with you!” Vanessa says matter-of-factly. Monique’s stomach gives another churn. Something is different, something has changed. Monique isn’t sure what it is or what to make of it.

“Well, tough shit. We ain’t…practising,” Monique huffs, turning her back to Vanessa and letting her eyes burn holes in the flimsy tent walls.

Vanessa’s voice comes from her side of the tent. “Fine! But if they call you…shit, I don’t know…Washing-Machine Mouth Monique…don’t say I never warned you!”

Monique lets out another huff, squeezes her eyes shut and wills herself to sleep. She feels weird. Her heart is going too fast and her stomach feels fizzy and it takes her a moment to realise her face has gone all hot.

“M’nique?” Vanessa’s voice comes from the darkness. She ignores it. “You mad at me?”

She sighs, rolls her eyes even though she knows Vanessa can’t see. “No.”

“Okay,” Vanessa says. Her voice is soft, and she rolls over onto her side. She rests her head against Monique’s back and puts an arm around her. They hug all the time, but this one feels different. It’s nice, though, and Monique feels warm and safe. “I’m sorry we haven’t hung out much. You know. Like we did in primary.”

“I’m sorry too,” Monique sighs, bringing a hand up to pat Vanessa on the arm. She ends up simply leaving it there.

“Hey, we should hang out more in the Summer! You know you can always come round to mine,” Vanessa continues.

“Yeah, that sounds nice,” Monique murmurs, letting out a heavy sigh. She’s not lying- it would be nice. She knows she could never have friends back to her flat because they don’t have the space and besides, most of them wouldn’t even want to set foot in the high rise anyway. Monét’s parents are doctors and Asia’s Dad is a barrister and her Mum is a lawyer, and Bob’s parents work in something accountant-y, and they all live in big houses with sweeping paved driveways and garages and gardens the size of the Emirates stadium. Granted Antonia’s Mum and Dad both work two jobs to pay the rent and Brianna’s Dad is a dustbin man while her Mum stays at home to look after her baby sister, but at least their families are happy ones. Monique has never known the luxury of a fancy house or a private garden or a car or a perfect, cookie-cutter family. She wonders if she ever will.

She’s pulled out of her thoughts by Vanessa giving her a gentle squeeze, cuddling closer. She didn’t think it would be possible but she somehow manages it, and Monique isn’t complaining. “G'night, M'nique.”

Monique is too tired to think any more. Vanessa’s arms feel comforting around her, and she chooses to settle in them. “Night, 'Ness.”

#rpdr fanfiction #ortega #2003 #vanique #vanessa vanjie mateo #monique heart #best friends to girlfriends #lesbian au #high school au #fic challenge #diversity fic #s10 #black girl magic fic #tw mentions of implied child neglect #tw brief mentions of drug use

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justsmilestuffhappens · 4 years

Text

Marry and be merry ³

*n s f w implied but not detailed

@seaofashes @snorlaxishere @memoryofalifetime @cateyesinlove @nilshki

It was only a few days before the wedding. Maddie had to fight with Gisela, Eddie's eldest sister, but they managed to stop butting heads when Isabel asked how things were coming along for her only grandsons second wedding. She hadn't been able to make the first impromptu one before with Shannon and still felt bad about it.

The two women decided then to put aside their differences of what colors were best and food choices that'd agree with everyone.

With that settled all that was left was for a new tux for Eddie since Bobby had already gotten ordained and they started their paperwork.

"Should I be here?" Buck asked while standing next to the mirror.

"You don't want to be?" Eddie asked.

"No. I do. It's just, isn't it bad luck to see you before our wedding day?" Buck asked.

"Buck, that applies to like the day of the wedding and don't you want a say in what I put on and you help me take off?" Eddie raised his eyebrow.

"In that case. No waist thingy those are weird and would grey bring out your eyes or black?" Buck asked while looking at the one Eddie had on.

"I like the grey."

"Good. Do we still do that old new borrowed blue shtick?" Buck thought about what they could use.

"Our rings are already old. Could you swap cufflinks with Bobby or Chim that day?" Eddie asked.

"We've going through with it then?" Buck asked with a smile. "Yeah. I'm sure they won't say no."

"You're eyes are blue. So we just need something new."

"Your suit's still new." Buck looking Eddie up and down. "And it's- good" he gulped as the associate came towards them.

"Are you both okay?"

"We like this one. We're done." Eddie said knowing buck was staring at his ass probably.

Buck looked in the mirror as he adjusted his tie. It was already straight but he needed something to do to keep him busy.

"You okay Buck?" Hen asked.

"Buck we know you're nervous but it's going to be fine." Maddie said while buck looked at his shoes.

"What if I mess up my vows?"

"You memorized them. We're all gonna be there, just look at us." Hen soothed him.

"Buck you're gonna-" a phone beeped it was maddie's. "Oh. Umm, aunt debbie was able to get a hold of mom. Buck she's-"

"She's here!?" Buck asked.

A knock on the door drew their eyes.

"Oh evan."

"You came?" Buck's mouth stayed open.

His mother all 5'7 of her stood there in a green dress.

"You look so handsome. Are you ready so I can hand you off?" She smiled.

"We're not doing that. Even if we were it'd be maddie who would. Where's Dave?" Buck corrected her.

"We're on a break again. But you know how those go." She laughed but it was hallow.

"I'm glad you could make it but we just wanted it to be simple and quick. Did you and him keep that letter from Gramm's?"

"What letter?"

"The one about the money she was gonna leave me. That I was never told about. Which I could use right now. That lead me to finally realizing what I had right in front of me."

"Evan. I never got a letter like that. You have to believe me." Ada Buckley said.

"Then it was him. He probably thought it was nothing and trashed it or he knew but either way it was him. Look mom. I'll always love you but maddie was more of a parent to me than you. I'm sorry."

Ada looked hurt but didn't correct buck. They knew what he'd said was true. Even if she'd never meant to hurt her kids like that.

"I'll just. I'll go find, debbie. I hope this wedding is wonderful, like you deserve." With that she left with a sad smile.

Maddie moved to hug him.

"I'll go tell them it'll be a few minutes but your ready. Remember buck, your family's here for you." Hen said patting his arm before going to join the others.

After a few minutes maddie came out with buck drawing everyone's attention.

Christopher was sitting between abuela and pepa at the front as the others sat with their families except Bobby. Maddie joined Chim as buck took to the alter.

Bobby began the ceremony as Eddie quietly mouthed "are you okay."

Buck replied with a nod "I am now."

"Now, Eddie it's your turn." Bobby instructed.

"I promise to love you fully with all my heart for this day and forever, to build a better life together than we've already have been. I trust you completely and know you truly care for me and Christopher. I will always have your back and be in your corner Buck, I love you" Eddie saw tears forming in buck's eyes.

"I knew from the first moment I saw you that you were special. At first I saw it as competition but I was wrong. You were looking for a place to belong just like me. I will always love you and Christopher and look forward to each day we spend together. I will always be by your side both at work and at our home. You two make me happy"

Buck smiled and waved his thumb across Eddie's hand where they were linked.

Chim and maddie were both sharing tissues with Karen as hen was barely holding on.

Only Chim and Karen would hear her whisper "Look at you buckaroo" then sniffle with a smile.

Bobby had to wipe his own eyes. "Sorry boys." He cleared his throat.

"No Bobby-" "It's okay cap."

"Now then, if the ring bearer would please step forward,"

Christopher was already up and coming over on his crutches before Bobby finished his sentence. He handed them over with a smile and since they were almost over with the ceremony stayed up like they'd planned between them both.

"Ok then. Eddie and Buck. By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may now kiss the groom"

The others cheered and clapped as they kissed before Christopher asked "does everyone have to kiss my dad's?" causing a fit if laughs.

The party hall was already set with the light grey and light blue decorations.

After eating a bit and before they could cut the cake Eddie and buck would have their first dance.

"So, mr. Buckley-Diaz were you as nervous as me during the ceremony?" Buck asked.

"Nope. Mr. Buckley-Diaz I was too busy being excited to call you my husband. But yeah, Chim reminded me to breathe and Bobby said the jitters can come back just like the first time but not to be afraid because my partner will be right there. He was right." Eddie watched as Christopher came over from Eddie's parents table.

"Can we eat the cake now?"

"No Christopher. In a little bit. Wanna dance with me and your dad."

"You mean my dads" he smiled.

"Yeah. I can say that now huh? Do you want to dance with your dad's son? It'll take some getting used to but I like it." Buck knelt down to kiss Christopher's forehead.

Christopher was safely at Athena and Bobby's for the night with harry.

"So. If you're into the old tradition, do we carry each other across the threshold of the house?" Eddie joked as they came in both tired walking slowly on sore feet to the bedroom.

"Right now I don't think you could carry me even with our training. I'm beat Eds."

"Christening our bed will have to wait." Eddie said sitting down to take off his shoes before the rest of his clothes as buck did the same.

Buck woke to Eddie spooning him in the morning light.

"Morning" Eddie said alerting him to his being awake also.

Buck rubbed himself back against Eddie's morning wood.

"You're up for it?" Eddie asked while buck turned around to kiss him.

"I'm always up for it with you. Last night was extenuating circumstances that's all."

"Good, because I'm already thinking of round two." Eddie moved to hold himself up and over buck as he kissed his way down his body.

"I had a dream like this once" Buck mentioned as Eddie came up and started taking off their boxers.

"Really? Was it good?"

"The best. Until I woke up before the end of it."

"Your dreams were trying to give you blue balls?" Eddie asked.

"Apparently. The best part was you talking sexy to me in Spanish, I understood all of it easier than when I'm awake."

"Oh really? Well that can be arranged mí corazón,"

Buck's smile grew wider.

Eddie was getting water and a snack, of the literal kind, when he heard noise at the front door.

He checked the peephole to see the maillady walking away. On a whim he opened the door to quickly grab everything before anyone looked.

The second letter from the top said urgent as they scattered on the table.

Buck came over in only his boxers as well. "You okay?"

"The mail just came in. Something for you." Eddie said handing it over.

"I just changed my mailing address a few days ago, that was quick." Buck ripped it open.

Eddie drank as buck read.

"Holy shit!"

"What's wrong?"

"It's about my medical bills." Buck said reading it more. "They charged me more than they were supposed to and it was shown wrong on the billing. 'As the mistake was at no fault to you we have waved fees for lateness and will take away an additional ten percent for the inconvenience also.' Eddie looked at buck crying.

"Babe?"

"I- this is a big relief. I thought it was too much but medical stuff can be pricey. I didn't want to ask you for anything either, Gramm's money was my last chance but now it's more than enough." Buck smiled at Eddie.

"But I would have helped for the record, marriage or not. So would the others for what cost was left or if the wedding didn't work out for your inheritance thing. On another note I'd say this calls for celebration cariño." Eddie took the letter and put it down before buck pulled him into a kiss.

"I'll get the whipped cream." Buck raised his eyebrow.

"I like the way you're thinking. We should still have time after for food and a shower before we pick up Christopher." Eddie let buck lead him by the hand.

"Good. Because I know Bobby will expect us to be professional at work. We better get as much in, or out, as we can now." Buck winked.

"Like I'd let you talk me into doing anything at work." Eddie sounded offended.

Buck pulled out his pretty blues and pouted.

"Maybe you're right." Eddie laughed.

Buck closed the door with his foot as he and Eddie didn't separate on the way to the bed.

#buddie #buck Buckley #Eddie Diaz #911 #evan Buckley #evan buck buckley #nine one one #tags #thats it i feel like i can't write sex now but they're totes boning more before getting Christopher and telling everyone the other Good new #marry and be merry #nice stuff for writers #nice stuff from writers #solo mio #my writing #ficlet #fic #long

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