#i’ve done a lot today ok (read: i have done absolutely nothing other than have a few breakdowns and cry into my cat) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pensat-i-fet · 2 years

Text

The Journalist’s Footballer- Chapters Eleven and Twelve (Rúben Dias)

Word count: 2339

Chapter 11:

Rúben

On Friday, I’m too excited about Christina’s arrival. All my teammates are looking at me like I’m crazy. They never really see me like this.

“Are you ok?”, asks John when we are getting ready to leave.

“Absolutely fine”, I say with a big smile.

“Why are you smiling like that? You are scaring me”.

I laugh. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“Sure”, he says leaning down so I can tell him.

“Christina is coming to Manchester today”.

Now he has a big smile too. “You lucky bastard. No wonder you can’t wait to leave!”

“I mean, I don’t even know if anything is going to happen between us but…”

“What? I assumed you invited her to, you know”.

“No, it’s not like that. I mean, I’d be happy if it was like that too but…I’m just letting her stay at my place to run away from some London problems for a second”.

“Serious problems?”, he asks.

“A fight with a friend. The one I thought was her boyfriend, actually. He is into her but she doesn’t like him that way and, well, you know”.

“Well, he’ll love finding out she’s staying with you. Even if nothing happens, anyone with half a brain will assume it did”.

“I know”.

A part of me wants him to find out, but it will only complicate things for Christina. So better if it stays between the two of us. And Sarah and John, I guess.

“You like her, don’t you?”

“What?”

“Christina”, John says. “You like her. She’s not just another girl. I can see it in the way you talk about her”.

“Yeah”, I mean, what’s the point in hiding it?

“Well, good luck with her”, he says with a wink before leaving.

I take my bags and go to my car. Christina’s train won’t get here for another hour. So I have time to go home and drop my things there to make room for her stuff. It’s just three days but maybe she’s one of those people who pack as if she was leaving for a month.

I spray some cologne on before leaving and check my outfit in the mirror 20 times because, again, why pretend? And I finally head to the station. Better to be early than late.

10 minutes after I get to the station, she’s finally getting out of the train.

“Hey”, she says, hugging me.

“Hi”, I say, not wanting to let her go. “Good trip?”

“Yeah, pretty good. I got a lot of reading done”.

“You’ll need to give me some book recommendations one day”, I say to her and with the way her face lights up, I know I gave her the perfect answer without even trying to.

The car ride home is totally different to the one after the interview. We still don’t know each other that well, but it is easy to see she’s a lot more comfortable now.

“Are you feeling better about…you know, everything?”, I ask, worried it's too early to touch that topic.

“Yeah, I guess I am. It’s weird to go to work and be ignored by Matty but I can’t really do much more. I’ve tried talking to him and he just goes back to the same thing. Me lying to him”.

“I guess it’s not easy to know your friend has feelings for you that you don’t share”.

“It isn’t”, she sighs.

I hope we don’t get to that situation as well. Though I like to think I’ll be a bit more mature than Matty but…you never know.

“Anyway, what about you?”

“Me?”, I say surprised at her question. “I’m good. No complaints”.

“Have you been doing anything fun lately? Some dates or something?”, she asks, looking away after she’s done it.

“Not really. Just went out with some of the boys the other day. For dinner”.

“Cool”.

“Did I pass the test, then? Because that sounded like a test question”, I say, making her laugh.

“Maybe”.

Christina

Rúben’s apartment is incredible. He shows me around after taking my suitcase to the guest room where I’ll stay.

“I thought we could go get some food for you now? Just have a look around the kitchen to see if there’s something you like I don’t have”, he says, surprising me.

“Rúben, that’s too much. I’ll just eat whatever you already have. It already feels strange to do that, to be honest”.

“Don’t feel weird. I invited you. I need to feed you too”, he laughs. “And I need to go buy some stuff anyway, so might as well use the trip for both things”.

“Ok then, let’s do a shopping list”.

There are definitely a lot of things I like to eat that he doesn’t have, but I only make a small list. No matter what he says, it’s weird.

When I see him parking in front of a huge M&S I laugh remembering Sarah’s comment. But then I realize I can’t spend so much money on groceries.

“Can we go somewhere else?”, I ask.

“Why? You don’t like the food here?”

“No, I love the food here but it’s a bit expensive”, I admit.

“I’m paying for it, don’t worry”, he says, getting out of the car.

“What? No, Rúben, you’re not!”, I say, trying to catch him. Is he walking fast on purpose? My legs are shorter than his.

“Rúben!”, I finally catch him and grab his arm. “You are not buying my bloody milk. I already feel bad about staying at your place and getting free tickets and all that stuff”.

“Christina”, he says, grabbing the hand that was still on his arm and holding it with both of his. “I get it. But think about it this way, if my mum finds out I had a guest and made her pay for her own food, she’ll disown me”.

He’s pretending to be serious but I see him holding a laugh. I’m not strong enough and can’t help laughing.

“You’re so silly. Honestly”.

“Take me or leave me”, he says, raising both hands. “But that’s who I am. Now let’s go shopping. And I know that list is too small. Get whatever catches your eye. Don’t be silly yourself”.

When he leans down to say that last sentence, my heart flips. Why is he getting so close to me? But he just flicks my nose.

I bat his hand away from my face and leave him to go get a shopping cart.

20 minutes later, we are ready to pay for our shop. Sure, he’s added some stuff he needed for himself but…damn, seeing that total gave me the shivers. That’s how much I make in 3 weeks. Probably how much he makes in a minute.

On the way back home, Rúben asks me about who I’m interviewing next and I can’t help but freak out telling him I’ll interview Eric Dier soon.

“Is he your favourite Spurs player?”

“Um…not really. I think that’s Son, but honestly, I love them all with all my heart”, I say, making him laugh.

“I guess you’ll be rooting against me soon, then. We are playing Spurs at home”.

“I’ll never talk to you again if you win”, I joke, which only makes him laugh more.

“After that match you are going to the World Cup, right?”

“Yeah. If I get the call up for it”, he says, showing some vulnerability, maybe?

“Oh, give me a break!”, I say, rolling my eyes dramatically to make him laugh again. I can get used to hearing that sound often.

Chapter 12:

Rúben

"Are you good at cooking?", I ask Christina while we put the groceries away.

"Sure. Just a bit lazy. I usually eat pre-made meals. Why?"

"I thought we could cook dinner together", I suggest.

"Yeah, that sounds fun. What are we eating? I'm guessing something healthy, after seeing your fridge".

"You are guessing right", I chuckle. "How about a veggie stir fry with noodles and some shrimp?"

"My body can definitely use the veggies", she giggles. "That sounds amazing. Let's start cooking. It's getting late".

We quickly fall into a good rhythm of getting ingredients and pots ready and chopping and preparing things before cooking them. In no time we got everything cooking and Christina makes herself a cup of tea that she keeps forgetting about until I give the cup back to her. She laughs telling me her place is full of half-empty mugs of cold tea.

When we are done, we sit at the kitchen table to eat.

"This is the best meal I've had since the last time I visited my parents. Thank you".

"You are welcome", I tell her, happy to be able to provide something that makes her happy.

"Do you mind me posting my food on IG? I won't tag you", she asks. As if I would mind people knowing she is with me.

"You don't need to ask. And I mean that for the whole weekend. It's up to you whether you let people know where you are or not".

By people, I obviously mean Matty. And that Lewis guy too, I guess.

"You sure?", she says, sounding surprised. "I mean, footballers don't usually like people showing any aspects of their private life, which I totally respect".

"Most of them do that when they have something to hide", I say, making her laugh. "I would appreciate it if you didn't show my underwear drawer, you know. But I don't mind anyone knowing you are here with me".

She holds my eye contact and I notice her breathing faster. But then she looks down to pick up her phone again and pretends to type on it.

"Remove showing people Rúben's underwear off the to-do list", she says, making me snort. "That's a bummer. That post was likely to get a lot of likes".

I shake my head, which only makes her laugh harder.

Once we finish eating and tidying up, I suggest watching some TV. And that's how we end up sitting on my sofa watching an old rom-com. Christina made another cup of tea, but this time she just holds it in her hands and takes sips every couple of seconds.

I try not to be too obvious with my staring, but I just can't help stealing glances. She looks so relaxed. A massive difference from the girl that was trying not to cry on our facetime call a couple of days ago.

We make some small talk before falling into a comfortable silence. Just watching the movie and laughing at the fun parts. Until I feel Christina's head touching my shoulder, and I turn to find she's fallen asleep. I should wake her up and tell her to go to bed, but I selfishly use this moment to just look at her. To imagine seeing her like that when I wake up in the morning. Every morning.

Christina

One minute I'm watching the movie, and the next I'm being woken up by Rúben. Did I fall asleep on his shoulder? Jesus, how sexy of me. I just hope I didn't drool too.

"Sorry", I say, rubbing my eyes.

"No need to be. Let's go to bed, it's late".

When we reach the door to the guest room, he turns to me and gives me another one of his gorgeous smiles.

"If you need anything, let me know", he says.

I need to get in bed with you and be your little spoon, how about that?

"I will, thanks. Good night".

"Good night", he says, turning to go to his room.

The next morning I wake up feeling more refreshed than I have in a long time. I see it's still early, and I don't want to make noise and wake Rúben up. So I just take my laptop and work while I stay in bed.

Half an hour later, there is a soft knock on my door.

"Come in!"

The door opens to reveal a still sleepy Rúben, who asks me if I want something in particular for breakfast.

"Whatever you are doing is fine", I say. "Just give me a second to finish this and I'll join you".

"Ok", he says before leaving. Not very talkative in the mornings. Noted.

When I join him in the kitchen I see he's making some eggs for the both of us. I also see he's only wearing a pair of Calvin's and a t-shirt. I try to keep my eyes above his waist. I have a feeling there isn't much left to the imagination if I look down.

"Are scrambled eggs ok?", he asks me, startling me slightly while I was thinking about where not to look.

"Perfect. Where is the bread? I'll make us some toast".

"There", he says pointing to the container that has the word bread written on it.

I laugh. "I swear I'm smarter than what this interaction might suggest".

"I know", he chuckles.

We eat in silence until I ask him about what he's doing today.

"Well, I got training at noon. And then we'll go to the hotel and just stay there. Pretty boring".

"For you maybe, I find all this fascinating", I say laughing, and I wish I could understand the look he's giving me. "What?"

"Nothing. You just reminded me of something that I was told once. It's just a silly thing", he says. "How about you? Anything you plan on doing today?"

"Sure. I just thought about exploring the city a bit. I have only been here a couple of times and never had time to see much. And I'll do some work too".

"It's still early. Do you want to do something with me before I leave? We could go for a walk around the neighbourhood. It's quite nice, and you could grab a coffee somewhere. I remember offering to pay for one the next time we saw each other".

He remembers that?

"Sounds good".

And so we finish eating and go on our walk.

#ruben dias #footballer x reader #ruben dias fluff #ruben dias imagine #ruben dias x reader #footballer imagine

29 notes · View notes

littlemessyjessi · 2 years

Text

“Completely Bananas” : Jeon Jungkook : PS Single Mom: Part Three: Imagine (Includes some Fake Text as well)

Jeon Jungkook Imagine with potential for a story if you’re interested.

Plus Sized, Single Mom Character with a sweet precious little son.

Author’s Note: This will contain some fake texts in the midst of the imagine. So just keep reading the imagine after them, lol. I felt like that was self explanatory but I’ve done it before so I thought I’d just save you the hassle. I figured some fake texts would just be simpler than typing out the texts in the imagine, ya know. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. You can lemme know if you prefer it this way or the other way.

—–

Jungkook ran the towel over his face again, gathering the sweat that had accumulated there.

Rehearsal had been a disaster but he tried to remember to take that as a good sign.

He'd heard it said more than once that a bad rehearsal was lucky for a good show.

He crashed down into a chair to catch his breathe while he rooted around for his phone.

A smile tugged at his lips when he noticed a text from Daisy.

He hurried to open it.

Jungkook pocketed his phone with a smile on his face.

"Jimin-ssi!" he bellowed out mischeviously.

"Ugh, Jungkookie!" the other laughed. "What?"

"You wanna go out later?" Jungkook smirked.

"We have a show tomorrow." Jimin said eyeing the younger suspiciously.

"It won't be too late." Jungkook said, pretended to inspect his nail beds. "I mean, there is a child involved."

Jimin absolutely lit up.

"Jax and Daisy?!" he asked and Jungkook nodded.

"It's Jax' birthday today and she's taking him out to eat. She invited all of us to join them." Jungkook explained.

"I'm in." Jimin instantly agreed. "I'm sure the others will come too. Want me to ask?"

Jungkook smirked, "Let's divide and conquer and meet in the middle with Yoongi. I don't think he'll say no if we both corner him and start begging."

"Evil Jungkook-ah. I like it." Jimin said rubbing his hands together devilishly. "I'll start with Namjoon. He won't tell me no if I'm cute."

"Confident are we?" Jungkook snorted.

"Hey, I know my strengths." Jimin shrugged. "Hobi and Tae will go if they know we're going out. You go fight with Jin until he caves. I'll meet you later to team up on Yoongi."

"Team up for what?"

The two of them slowly turned to look at the man in question.

Yoongi lifted an eyebrow at them, "Whatever it is, just know that I will retaliate."

"Abort! Abort!" Jimin whispered.

"Nothing, hyung!" Jungkook said and the two them took off.

Yoongi shook his head at the two of them before snatching Jungkook's leftover chips and making off with them.

No less than an hour later, everyone had agreed to go out tonight.

Even Yoongi, who claimed they should've just asked rather than try to act like they were spies and this was Mission Impossible.

Jungkook had happily texts Daisy to let her know that everyone was in and all but skipped back to the hotel.

He'd napped, showered, put on a nice outfit and some cologne and he was beyond excited.

Eventually the lot of them were piled into the car and headed for the restaurant.

Jungkook had been a little disappointed when Daisy had text him and let him know they just meet them there.

Especially, since they were in the same hotel and he felt like it would be a good opportunity to spend a little more time together.

But he guessed she had her reasons.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he dig it out to see another text.

Daisy: Hey, when you get here, come around back. I talked to the owners and they have a room set up for us. That way y'all dont get mobbed when you walk in.

Jungkook laughed but he knew it was true.

He guessed that was her reason for leaving earlier than them.

He relayed the information to the driver.

"That was considerate of her." Namjoon said.

"She's great, hyung. So nice." Jimin piped up. "And her little boy is the cutest."

Another text.

Daisy: Just tell them your here for the Jones party and they'll take you straight back.

Jungkook: ok, will do. We just pulled up. Be in in a second.

The seven of them made quick work of entering the building, guided through the establishment by a young host named Andi.

The place was definitely kitschy but Jungkook understood why Jax had been dying to go.

For his little jungle obsessed self, it must've been like a dream.

The place was made up to look like you were smack dab in the middle of the rainforest.

Complete with water features, animatronic animals and even sporadic "thunderstorms".

He was sure that the little boy was having the time of his life and he couldn't wait to see it.

It wasnt something he had to wait long for.

They rounded the corner and the little boy was excitedly bouncing around.

Cute as ever with his dark hair and big eyes .

A dapper little gentleman in his white shirt and loose yellow plaid pants.

"Jungkook!" He squealed and took off towards him.

Now, more than ever they were glad that Daisy had thought ahead.

Jax's little squeal would've been a beacon for attention if they had been in the main area of the restaurant.

It wasn't that they disliked it or disliked being with fans.

The members were extremely loyal to Army but there were times when they did want to blend in and of course they always had to be aware of the crazies.

"Hey, Jax!" Jungkook grinned as he scooped the little boy up into his arms.

"You came!" Jax cheered, hugging Jungkook around the neck.

"Of course I did! Did you think I was gonna miss out on your birthday? No way, man." Jungkook said, fingers tickling Jax's sides.

The little boy erupted into giggles… effectively melting the hearts of anyone within his general vicinity.

"And Mr. Jimin!" he squealed once he spotted the man.

Jimin reached up to pinch at the little boy's cheek, "Happy birthday, Jax!"

"Thank you!" Jax grinned. "Do you like my pants? I picked them out and Mommy helped me pick the rest."

"I do. You look very handsome." Jimin complimented.

"I picked out Mommy's dress!" Jax said pointing to his mother.

Daisy shook her head before turning a smile towards Jungkook.

"He actually did." she said gesturing to the banana print sundress. "I'm beginning to think the banana milk obsession is starting to become an actual problem."

"You look beautiful." Jungkook said sincerely.

"Thank you." she said softly. "You look very handsome. As you always do."

There were a few looks shared amongst the group.

A few members had the tact to look away while others outright gawked.

"Jungkookie!" Jax erupted, gaining his attention. "I thought you said you had a friend for me to meet! Who is Tae the tiger?"

Taehyung's head snapped around, "Me?"

His dark eyes widened in response of the adorable little boy, features morphing from fierce to adorable quite quickly.

No one was surprised by this as Taehyung absolutely adored children.

"Hello, Tae the tiger." Jax giggled as Taehyung came closer to where he was perched in Jungkook's arms. "I have a present for you." "For me?" Taehyung asked. "It's not my birthday though."

"He loves to give others gifts on his birthday." Daisy said. "His love language is gift giving so every year we get a big party pack of little toys and he hands them out to people all day on his birthday."

"It's healing for me." Jax said matter of factly making everyone grin at the little boy. "Plus mommy says it's good to be kind and generous to others when we can."

"Your mommy is right." Taehyung said. "Apparently, she is raising a little gentleman."

"Mommy says that we are just people but in our hearts we are all good and sometimes we can give goodness to others. So I try my best to be a good boy. Sometimes I'm not but I try my best." he said.

"You're the best boy." Daisy said leaning over to kiss her son's cheek.

"Aww, mommy." Jax said. "And you're the best mommy. I love you. Please hold me when we have cake later."

Daisy chuckled at her son, "Ok, baby."

"Ok." he said before turning his attention back to Taehyung, "Ok, Mr. Tiger man. Please take me to the table. You wanna help me pass out presents? I promise I'll let you have first pick!"

Taehyung, who needed no bribing at all, easily took the little boy from Jungkook's arms and off they went to the table where it seemed that Jax has spread out an assortment of jungle themed party favors.

Everyone began to settle around the table all the while Taehyung was being instructed to pass out all kinds of favors from animal print sunglasses and slap bracelets to jungle animal rubber duckies to bubble containers shaped like bananas.

"Jax, baby, come decide what you want to eat." Daisy said about to sit between Jimin and Yoongi.

"No, mommy!" Jax erupted and she turned to look at her child as he shot out behind her and started shoving her down the table.

Surprisingly stout for such a small child.

"What? What are you doing?" she asked as he kept shoving. "Jax, stop pushing me. Now."

"I want to sit next to Jungkook." he said.

"Well, you can. The chair is open." she laughed. "Go sit there."

"But mommy!" he whined, stomping his little foot. "You said you would hold me."

"Jax." she laughed.

"Mommy." he whispered, crooking his finger at her until she knelt down. "I want us both to sit next to Jungkook."

He widened his dark eyes at her pointedly and she narrowed hers at her child.

His whisper wasn't as quiet as he thought and Daisy could see the others trying to hide their laughter.

Jungkook was biting the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling….but he was doing a horrible job at it and soon enough that massive grin was tearing across his face.

Daisy shook her head at her child's ulterior motive before she scooped him up and sat them both down between Jungkook and Seokjin.

The latter of which did not hesitate to entertain the young child.

The night progressed peacefully with each one feeling a bit merrier.

There was plenty of laughter, courtesy of the company and the conversation as well as the lot of them being decked out in Jax' jungle party decorations.

What kid could say he had the personal experience of having BTS attend his birthday party and sing him happy birthday no less?

Though, truthfully, Jax as a little too young to really grasp the concept of that.

He just knew that he liked Jungkook and he liked his friends.

And he also really liked the way his mommy lit up around Jungkook.

So as the night dwindled on and a certain little birthday boy's bedtime drew nearer, he snuggled into his mother.

"Mommy, I'm tired." he sighed, tucking his face into her neck.

Daisy pressed a kiss against his forehead, "Ok, baby. We'll go home soon."

"Ok, mommy. I need to potty before we go." he said, making her chuckle at him.

"Alright, little man." she said before looking at the others. "We'll be right back, guys."

Jungkook waited until the two of them before he was whipping out his card and flagging down a waiter.

Hoseok laughed at him, "Whoa, Jungkookie. What's the hurry?"

"Because dinner is on me." he said anxiously trying to do it before Daisy could return and argue over the subject.

"Someone is trying to impress her." Jimin smirked knowingly.

He was well aware of the situation with the maknae.

"Sir? Is there something I can help you with?" the waiter asked.

"Yes, please." Jungkook said, handing over his card. "I'd like to get everyone's meals tonight."

"Alright, sir. I will be right back." the waiter said before turning away.

Jungkook relaxed into his seat with a smile, nodding to the others as they gave their thanks to the youngest for his generosity.

Soon enough, Daisy was making her way back with a sleepy little boy on her hip.

"Sir, um, the meal has already been paid for." the waiter said, appearing again to hand Jungkook back his card.

"What?" Jungkook asked, eyes flitting to the others who slightly shook his head.

"Oh, I already paid for it." Daisy said, settling back into the chair. "As a thank you to all of you for coming to his party."

"What?" Jungkook asked. "But I-"

Daisy shook her head, "It was my treat. I was the one that invited all of you so it was my pleasure."

Everyone echoed their thanks though it was tinged with surprise.

Jungkook, while grateful, was kind of put out.

"Why are you pouting?" Jimin teased him.

Daisy turned to see that Jungkook was, in fact, slightly pouting.

"Why ARE you pouting?" she laughed.

He sighed, tan cheeks tingeing a bit red.

"Yeah, Jungkook-ah. Why are you pouting?" Seokjin added.

Yoongi hid his laughter in his drink while Hoseok all but kept it together.

Jungkook glared at his hyungs.

He sighed, "I wanted to pick up the tab. As something nice to do."

Daisy gave him a soft smile, "The fact that you wanted to is more than enough. That, in and of itself, was a wonderful gesture and I greatly appreciate your kindness. You have a lovely heart, Jungkook and I'm happy to have met you."

Jungkook melted and it was visible who anyone who looked at him.

Daisy turned to the others, "I'm happy to have met all of you. Jungkook has told me so much about you and how you've had such a huge impact on his life. It is easy to see why he is such a beautiful soul and compassionate man. A true product of those he loves and cares for so much."

Jungkook just stared at Daisy even as he grew more and more red.

It didn't really matter.

There was something that burned inside him.

He'd been in love before.

He knew what that felt like but this was different.

A feeling he'd never experienced before as he looked at Daisy and Jax.

"Mommy, let's go home." Jax mumbled. "You still have to sing me my bedtime song."

Daisy shushed him softly as she tucked his face into her neck.

"You sing?" Yoongi asked curiously.

"Not really." she laughed. "I'm just his mother and it's a routine, I guess."

"Mommy sings to me every day." Jax mumbled. "She sings me Tarzan every night."

"Tarzan?" Namjoon asked.

Daisy sighed, "It's the 'You'll Be In My Heart' song by Phil Collins. I sang it to him when he was a baby to get him to go to sleep and it just stuck. Then he watched the movie when he got a little older. So it may actually be my fault that he's jungle obsessed."

"Mommy sings good." Jax mumbled.

"He only says that because I'm his mother." Daisy laughed and patted his dark hair.

"I'm sure that's not true." Taehyung said.

"I would love to hear you sing sometime." Jungkook piped up.

Daisy smiled at him in amusement, "Maybe someday."

Jungkook left it after that, holding on the idea that there was a chance of a day in the future where he might hear it.

Soon enough everyone was heading out with another thank you to Daisy for inviting them and treating them and another round of birthday wishes for the sleepy little boy clinging to his mother.

"Jungkookie…" Jax whined reaching out for him before looking up at his mother. "Mommy, I want Jungkookie to take me back."

"Baby, Jungkook needs to go back to his room. He needs to sleep." Daisy said.

"Actually, um, I don't mind." Jungkook said. "I could ride back with you two instead and walk you to your room."

Daisy looked at him for a moment before she smiled, "Alright, then."

Jungkook bid his hyungs good night, trying his best to ignore their smug knowing looks as he got in the car with Daisy and Jax.

Daisy strapped Jax into his carseat in the back of the uber and he fell asleep almost instantly as she and Jungkook slid in the back together.

"But he didn't get his bedtime song." Jungkook teased.

"Oh, don't you worry. He'll snap awake the second we pull up. It doesn't matter where we are in the world, about five seconds before we get there, he wakes up, is cranky and then won't go to bed until we've done the whole routine. Car rides just completely knock him out." she explained.

Jungkook smiled, looking at the little boy, "He really is adorable."

"Thank you." she said. "He is pretty cute."

"Hey, uh, Daisy, can I ask you something?" he asked, glancing at the driver in the rearview mirror.

The driver smirked as she looked away, well seasoned enough in life to recognize a man hopeless for a woman.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt. I'm just gonna slid the partition up." the driver said. "Maybe it'll help cut out the headlights for the little one."

"Oh, thank you." Daisy said and Jungkook gave the driver a grateful look through the mirror.

"Now, what were you saying, Jungkook?" Daisy asked.

"What? Oh, uh, yeah. So, well, look I know we haven't known each other for very long and I realize that we both kind of have crazy schedules and I mean, that's not even the half of it but ya know, I just kinda feel like- I mean, I could be wrong. Oh god, I hope not. This would be so embarassing. Oh god, maybe you don't. You know what? Uh maybe- "

"Jungkook?"

"Huh?"

"Take a deep breath and just say what you wanted to say." Daisy said.

He pulled a deep breath in through his nose and let it go.

"Daisy, I like you. I really like you and I adore Jax. And I know it's not been that long and I know life is complicated but I've never felt like this before. I've been in love before but this is different and I'm not trying to say that I- ugh, why is this so hard?" he said. "What I'm trying to say is that I really love spending time with you. Both of you. And I don't want to just head our separate ways after the tour. I want to stay in contact. I want to be around. I want… to be a part of your lives and for you to be a part of mine."

Daisy blinked at him, "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes. I'm sure." he said instantly.

"Cause I mean, I'm a mom, Jungkook. I mean, my son is top priority. He has to come first. And I mean, he's gonna have days where he is a brat. And there would be days where dates would have to be cancelled because he's sick or he's moody or any other kind of reasons. Like, I have to be a mom first. I can't just turn it off." she said.

"I know." he said. "I know and I can't say I understand first hand but I know that and I'm good with it. Whatever it is… I would just like a chance… if you.. want that?"

Daisy stared at him for a long hard moment.

Jungkook for all his dashing looks and his charm… looked so innocent in that moment.

His eyes were as big as ever and he was gnawing on his bottom lip.

And then she smiled.

"Jungkook, I would love that." she said. "I just, ya know, want you to realize what you're getting into."

He breathed out a laugh.

Relief, happiness, disbelief.

All emotions that rushed through him.

"I think you're the one that doesn't realize what you're getting into." he half joked. "I mean, I get that dating an idol is a lot. But Daisy, I don't really feel like that when I'm with you. I'm just Jungkook and I'm hanging out with this woman I really like and her amazing son who I can't wait to hear what he got into that day. Like, I'm serious. Those calls when he's telling me about something that made him happy or complaining about something he didn't like… those are so cool to me. I mean, I know I'm not his dad but-"

"Jungkook, stop." she said, making him grow tense. "No, of course, you're not his father. "But I will say in the short time that we've known you, you have been more present and invested in either of us than his birth father ever was. I can't promise that things will be perfect. It's reality we live in. But Jax does seem to have taken quite a shine to you and I - well, I really like you too."

"You do?" Jungkook asked, not quite believing his luck.

"Yeah." she giggled. "I, uh, I really do. You're sweet and kind. And you're funny even when you're not trying even if you admittedly a goofball. But you're sincere and you make me laugh genuinely. And, ya know you're not exactly hard on the eyes."

Jungkook flushed and was suddenly very grateful for the darkness that the night provided him with.

He fidgeted with his fingers for a few moments, not quite able to collect his thoughts when a freckly hand slid in between his.

Jungkook looked down as Daisy interlocked their fingers.

His tattoos and her freckles looked like their were made for each other, like stars and constellations just waiting to find one another.

He grinned before bringing her hand up to his and pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

"Thank you." he whispered.

"For what?" she asked.

"For everything." he said. "For following our tour route, for giving me a piece of your mind, for being kind when I was an asshole, for opening up to me, for giving me a chance, for making me fall in love again."

"Love?" she asked.

Jungkook sighed, "Yes. I know it's early and I know you literally just agreed to give me a chance. I know it's too soon but it's how I feel. I'm usually not this open but with you, I just feel like I can be."

"I know the feeling." she said, squeezing his hand. "I haven't felt this safe or at ease around someone in a long time."

"You are safe with me," he said.

"I know." she said. "And you're safe with me."

"With each other." he said.

"With each other." she echoed and Jungkook couldn't help but smile the rest of the way back.

WIth each other.

The very thought made him absolutely giddy.

When they pulled up to the motel, Jungkook tucked Jax ( who just as she said, woke promptly before they reached the hotel and started grumbling) into one arm while the car seat hung from his other hand.

Daisy fought him on it but he wasn't having it and she eventually conceded.

He admitted to walking painfully slow just to prolong their time together.

The little boy in his arms whining about bedtime snacks and pajamas and songs the whole way.

Soon enough they were inside and Jungkook was sitting the little boy down on the couch.

"Go get your pjs on, Monkey. I'll be in to help you brush your teeth in a minute." Daisy said.

Jax rubbed his eye for a second before he came over to hug Jungkook's leg.

"Good night, Jungkookie. Thank you for coming to my birthday. Night, night. Sweet dreams and I love you." he said.

Jungkook melted instantly and glanced at Daisy who only gave a soft smile.

"Good night, buddy." he said, squatting down in front of him and giving him a proper hug. "Thanks for inviting us. We had a lot of fun. Sweet dreams to you too."

"I love you." Jax repeated. "You know you supposed to say that to people before you go to sleep at night so that you can leave them with something sweet for dreamland."

Jungkook looked to Daisy, silently asking her if it was ok for him to repeat it back to him.

It was still early after all and he didn't want to push any boundaries.

However, she nodded.

To Daisy, if he felt it, he should say it.

"I love you too, buddy." Jungkook said before ruffling his hair.

"Ok, night night. I gotta brush my teeth." Jax said and promptly walked away without another word.

"Was that ok?" Jungkook asked. "To say that?"

"Is it true?" Daisy asked.

Jungkook nodded, "It is. I'm not trying to overstep. But I do."

"Then it's ok." she said before she glanced up at him. "But Jungkook, please. Just remember, if you don't plan on sticking around… just please tell me now. I know what you said but also, the last thing I want is for my kid to get hurt."

This time he didn't hesitate.

He gathered Daisy's soft form into his arms and stared into her eyes, "Daisy, I am one hundred percent serious. I meant everything and I don't want to go anywhere. I'm… I'm in this now."

She nodded, placing her hands on his chest, staring rather pensively at his collarbone.

"Ok, well then Jeon Jungkook, do you want to be my boyfriend?" she asked, mischief in her eyes when she looked at him.

Jungkook smirked, "You know, I was actually planning on doing the asking first… but yes, yes I would. Nothing would make me happier."

She nodded, "Oh I bet there are other things that would make you happier."

Jungkook's eyes widened and he choked out a laugh, "You are a cruel woman. How are you gonna do that to me knowing you're gonna send me back to my hotel room?"

Daisy shrugged and leaned up to peck his cheek, "Down boy. We haven't even been on a real date or had a first kiss."

"And yet you feel the need to torture me like that." he teased.

"Well, from the tidbit I heard from Jimin the other day, you are apparently a little bit of a masochist." she said.

Jungkook sighed, "This is really getting cruel."

She winked at him, "Well, it'll give you something to look forward to I guess. Be a good boy and maybe you'll get a treat."

Jungkook groaned a bit, "You better stop or we're getting married tonight."

Daisy laughed but it was cut off by a whine.

"Mommy! My bedtime song!"

She sighed, "Well, it seems that I am being summoned."

Jungkook nodded, arms still wound around her.

"You're gonna have to let go." she pointed out.

"I know." he sighed. "I'm just not ready yet."

"You'll see me tomorrow." she pointed out.

He nodded, "In person?"

Then something hit him.

"Actually, do you want to come to the show?" he asked. "I mean, I can arrange that. No problem. And I'm sure everyone else would love to see you both again. And there will be staff around. I can arrange-"

"Sure, Jungkook. We'll come and support you but you don't need to get staff involved. I can look after us." she said.

He smiled, "Ok, awesome. I'll set it up. I need to talk to a manager tonight though so unfortunately as much as I have been trying to weasel my way into staying longer… now I actually do have to go."

Daisy laughed at his words and untangled from his arms, "Alright, alright, get your butt outta here and I'll see you tomorrow."

She had to all but push him towards the door before he turned around, popping his head in once more.

"Breakfast tomorrow? Or maybe brunch?" he asked. "Come on. I'll get you french toast…"

She grinned, "Ok, sure. Brunch is good. Now, go if you want us to come."

He hesitated a moment longer and she could see him thinking.

"What is it now?" she laughed.

"Can I have another kiss?" he asked, impishly.

His excitement was getting the better of him and he was feeling a bit hyper.

"I haven't kissed you." she pointed out.

"Not like our first kiss." he said but you kissed me on the cheek. "Can I have another? For the road?"

"The long road down the hallway?" she teased.

"Yeah." he grinned. "That's a long, dangerous journey. You know, that kiss might be on the only thing that gives me the strength."

"Well, in that case." she said taking his face between her hands. "I supposed I need to give you extra." Daisy's lips landed on his face multiple times.

First his forehead, then the tip of his nose, each cheek, his jaw and finally another on his cheek that was dangerously close to his mouth.

"You know that was just cruel. A few centimeters would've killed you?" he accused.

"We'll be saving the lips until the time is right, Mister. Now scoot. I got a little boy who is going to be cranky if he doesn't get to bed soon." she said gently pushing him out the door.

"Alright, alright, alright, I'm going." he said.

However, he popped back in and smacked a kiss right to her cheek.

"Just one more!" he called before shutting the door behind him and dashing down the hallway.

Daisy shook her head as laughter tumbled from her lips.

She stepped into the bedroom to see Jax already laying in the bed.

His hair mussed and his little yellow pjs on.

"Hi, mommy."

Daisy laughed, "Hi, Jax."

"Did Jungkookie leave?" he asked.

"Yeah, baby. He left." she said sitting down beside him.

"I like him, mommy." he said.

"Me too." she agreed. "He's a very nice man."

"Mommy?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"I think you should marry Jungkook."

Daisy blinked, "What?"

He nodded, sleepily, "I think so. Because he's nice and you seem really happy when he's around. Like I know you're happy with me but it's like extra. You're sparkly when he's around. It makes you very pretty, mommy."

"Sparkly?" Daisy asked.

Jax nodded, "Mmhmm. Your eyes are sparkly and you light up like a fairy. It's very, very pretty, Mommy." he said matter of factly.

"Well, we might be seeing more of Jungkook from now on." she said.

She wasn't about to have 'the' conversation with her child at that particular moment but she was just feeling the situation out.

"I would like that. I know that I don't have a daddy and I know Jungkook is not my daddy but that's ok. I don't have a daddy but it would be nice to have a Kookie." he said.

Daisy nodded.

It didn't really require an answer.

Motherhood wasn't always easy and there were times when she felt inadequate but something she had always stuck to with Jax, no matter how hard it was at times, was to always be open, honest and vulnerable with each other.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, baby?"

"I'm ready for my song now."

Daisy nodded, scooping her little boy into arm and singing him their song.

She didn't know what would come of this but things were changing.

But this… this moment… it didn't have to change right now.

So she held him a little tighter, sang a little sweeter and enjoyed the moment with her baby just a little more.

"Come stop your crying

It will be alright

Just take my hand

Hold it tight

I will protect you

From all around you

I will be here

Don't you cry

For one so small

You seem so strong

My arms will hold you

Keep you safe and warm

This bond between us

Can't be broken

I will be here don't you cry

'Cause you'll be in my heart

Yes, you'll be in my heart

From this day on

Now and forever more

You'll be in my heart

No matter what they say

You'll be here in my heart

Always

Always"

=======================

Hello loves and thank you for checking out my work! If you'd like to see more Kpop content, just check out the navi link in my bio and click on Masterlist 2.0! I hope you're doing well and I would love to know your thoughts!

@toomanyfictionalboyfriends

@thickemadame

@blackirisposts

@therealmrshale

@thegreatirene

@angelus320

@disneymarina

@sullybot

@kalliravenne

@alisoncdariel

@amethyst09

@gruffle1

@leah-halliwell92

@queenlexusloverofbts

@owenniasstars

@adventuresofnight

@tacobacoyeet

@glassesandthunderthighs

@lyn-g

@poopypantsmcgee666-blog

@milkshakelol

@sunnysidesblog

@speedyhandsbonkpalace

@mwitsmejk

@pinkcherrybombs

@abc-abc1234-a

@vj21

@kelly-fushiguro345

@minshookie29

----------

#jeon jungkook #jungkook x ps #jungkook x plus size #jungkook x single mom #jeon jungkook imagine #jeon jungkook x plus size #jeon jungkook x ps #jeon jungkook x single mom #jungkook imagine

20 notes · View notes

gaildaley · 20 days

Text

Artificial Intelligence--Yes or No?

2024 04 09

There is a lot of controversy these days about using artificial intelligence in your work. I’m not just talking about driving a car or reading your contact list. I’m talking about in the creative arts. There are many artists and writers who claim that artificial intelligence draws from a free association of words and visual items off the Internet. Undoubtably this is true and a lot of cases. These artist and writers contend that anyone who uses artificial intelligence to assist in their work is stealing.

This controversy over Artificial Intelligence is quite similar to the controversy that arose when photographers starting demanding a place in fine art shows, and it got worse when creatives discovered they could alter an existing photo creating digital art.

What they’re talking about is something called intellectual property rights. What is that? Basically it’s your creative ideas. And there is no doubt that they belong exclusively to you. However, it has been proven over and over again that more than one person can come up with the same general idea concurrently, so which one of them is stealing from the other? If we want to prevent our intellectual property rights from being stolen, instead of simply barring anybody who uses artificial intelligence, we should learn how to use it, and teach creative people how to use it so that they can use it effectively withoutstealing someone else intellect property rights. If we write that into law correctly, artificial intelligence can be a useful tool.

While it is true, today’s Artificial Intelligence cannot create on its own without assistance from an artist or a writer, it’s going to happen sooner or later. Deal with it. No, I do not believe that Artificial Intelligence will replace human writing or human skill with a pen, pencil, or paint. One of my Facebook friends once said that she wanted an Artificial Intelligence that would do her dishes and her laundry so that she could write, not so that it could write or paint for her. That sounded good to me. Let’s face it People, Artificial Intelligence is not going to go away any more than digital art did. It’s here. I suggest everyone learn how to use it so they can decide for themselves how it would be helpful to them without theft.

Can this be done? I think so. We’ve all discovered over the past 20 years just how useful computers can be, and I personally see nothing wrong with using an Artificial Intelligence to spark your own creativity any more than watching a TV program or reading a book. Or, in the case of writers, to go in and edit a written manuscript. There is no doubt a well written manuscript, edited properly, improves it. Now, does it create it? No, absolutely not. I personally have used the Artificial Intelligence on Kindlepreneur to improve my blurbs. All this really does, is take what I’ve already written and revise it. It shortens sentences, tells you where you’re unclear in describing your book, and it’s certainly some help in correcting grammar and spelling. And the Lord knows, we can all use help with that. I don’t care how good you think you are at spelling or grammar, all of us allow colloquialisms to creep into our writing, especially when we emphasize something.

OK, I’ve been talking about the written word. Now let’s talk about the Visual Arts. If you think the controversy over using Artificial Intelligence for writing is nasty, wait till you try to talk about it in context of the Visual Arts! when people first started mentioning using Artificial Intelligence to assist in making book covers, I tried to ask a few questions. You would have thought that I was advocating selling their firstborn child when all I really wanted was some information! It’s true Visual And Graphic Arts are a fuzzier area than the written word. The construction of an imaginary world is difficult; visually many artists experience (and non-artists too) difficulty translating what they see in their head onto paper. And yes, there are Artificial Intelligences out there who do draw from other people’s images on the Internet, especially if the writer has not been clear about what they’re asking for. If you are looking for an original image to visually explain your new world, DON’T use an image from someone else’s creation to describe it!

Now, one of my favorite photo resources Shutterstock, also has an Artificial Intelligence that will help you create your imaginary animals and scenery from the text you write. It was free, so I decided well. Why not try it. If nobody will answer my questions. I’ll figure it out myself. It was an interesting experience. The first thing I learned was that the little darlings (Artificial Intelligences)are stupid. If you want an original creation, then you have to refrain from using anything it can grab onto. For instance, the first time I used it I tried creating a creature I made up called a Powderpuff gargoyle. It’s very small. Unfortunately, I when likened it in size to a teacup poodle. Everything I got as a result looked like a poodle dog using that description. So the first thing I learned was do not compare the image in your mind to anything that actually exists. I did much better when I substituted the words a small mammal.

Learning to use an Artificial Intelligence is very similar to what I experienced When I was in high school; My creative writing teacher had us describe a car without using the words car or motor vehicle. We couldn’t use the word tire to describe it what fit on its wheels. Instead we had to say a round, air-filled rubber-like substance instead of wheel. So if you want an alien looking plant, don’t call it anything that resembles an earthly plant. Instead it is a green growing thing; you could say fungus, but you might get a mushroom. if you use something like broccoli it’s, It’s gonna look like broccoli. Needless to say, the first time I tried to use this thing on Shutterstock, in trying to correct the image so I wouldn’t get a poodle, I gave it fits. It froze up, in effect, I overpowered it. If you want, say an alien looking woman, don’t call her a woman; say a female bipedal with whatever color skin you’re gonna be using. whatever her hair is going to look like, if you say hair, it’s gonna look like human hair.

No, I don’t think Artificial Intelligence is any danger to us artist or writers. The fault lies in our ability to use it and how we use it. if you give a very general description and you say your alien looks like a Klingon you’re going to get a Klingon. If you say an elf, well, there’s a lot of different descriptions out there to draw from and what you actually get back will depend on what that individual Artificial Intelligence has available for sources.

The fault lies in ourselves and our training, not in the tool.

#ArtificialIntelligence

0 notes

lipstickstainedred · 3 years

Text

Champagne 1 🥂 (dark!Steve X Reader)

So this is my first time writing in a super long time and I’m so excited for people to hopefully read it haha. This is going to be a series and it is a total slow burn. Lots of angst and there will be eventual smut. I’ll try to add warnings for each chapter just because as I write this story more warnings may need to be added.

I want to give a shout out to @darkficsyouneveraskedfor for being just an amazing human. Thanks for helping me work through some ideas for this series and helping me make necessary edits.

This work also will eventually qualify for the @basementwiveswritingchallenge.

If you would like to be added to the taglist please just drop me an ask. :)

Word count: 1318

Warnings: angst, DUB-CON/NON-CON (eventual), smut (eventual) NSFW (eventual), violence (eventual), kidnapping (eventual)

A few months ago you started a new job as an assistant rep for a marketing and advertising company. This was your first REAL job! Of course, you had had other jobs but nothing like this. Prior to this job you had worked as the occasional babysitter, worked at coffee shops, or grocery stores. Nothing of substance or promise, until now. You had almost cried when you had gotten the job, having little to no experience.

You didn’t grow up privileged but you were always taught that if you kept your head down and worked hard, you could create a better future for yourself. And that’s what you had done, despite being in and out of foster homes for the better part of 10 years, you kept your head down, got decent grades in school, did well at your previous jobs, and was even able to pay for some business and marketing classes down at the local community college.

You shifted uncomfortably in your seat. Your blouse and skirt unrealistically tight against your slightly sweaty skin. The outfit fit you correctly but your nerves made it feel uncomfortably snug. This was the first time you’ve worn some of your new work clothes.

“I apologize for the wait, they are ready for you now.” The busty blonde assistant said approaching your boss and snapping you out of your thoughts.

Your boss, Phil, glanced over at you and the couple other coworkers present for the pitch meeting. It was a huge deal for your company. Stark Industries was a multimillion conglomerate and if this ad proposal went well, all advertising and marketing jobs would be contracted through your company exclusively. It would be a big account and make your boss and your boss’s boss a pretty penny.

All of your team gathered the materials needed for the pitch. You followed closely behind Phil with your notebook and pen in hand. Since you were new, barely having your foot in the door of the marketing worlds, you were a glorified note taker at the moment.

“Right in here.” The assistant ushered your boss and you into the elegant conference room as the rest of your team followed. As you walked into the room, you stumbled nearly tripping over your heels. Stupid uncomfortable shoes.

You straightened back up and readjusted your skirt that had ridden up a tiny bit. Feeling eyes on you, you glanced around the room of lawyers, accountants, and assistants. Seated at the other end of the long conference table was none other than Tony Stark himself! You had no idea that your team's meeting was important enough for Mr. Stark to actually attend.

You still felt someone watching you, someone unseen. Your eyes fell on the man seated next to Stark; Captain America. Your breath caught as you realised he was staring directly at you. You catch the slight smirk on his lips. He must have been the only person to see you trip.

Everyone else was looking through paperwork and making casual introductions.

Your breath hitched as Steve Rogers’ eyes took you in, traveling up and down your body, before meeting your gaze. You averted your eyes away from his turning toward your boss to help him set up the presentation.

🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂

As Phil and some coworkers pitched their plan, you took notes of any important details your boss would want to review over later. Occasionally, you felt someone’s eyes burning holes straight through you.

You tried to ignore it but against your better judgment you glanced up to find the same blue eyes looking you over. It was extremely unsettling and for the second time today you wished you were wearing something more comfortable, something less tight.

“I like you people!” Tony exclaimed, as the meeting drew to an end. Standing from his chair he continued, “The ideas you pitched are innovation and exciting, I like it. Just give us a few moments to discuss, and we’ll let you know our thoughts.”

Instead of asking your team to leave the room, Tony and Steve along with what you would guess to be a couple of lawyers and accountants just spoke in semi-hushed tones huddled on their side of the conference room. Your team gathered their things with their eyes elsewhere, as to give them privacy.

You, on the other hand, couldn’t seem to take your eyes off the first avenger. His eyes flickered over to you as he spoke with Stark, diverting your gaze as your cheeks warmed.

As if on cue, Tony stole a glance your way, as if Steve had said something about you. Realizing staring at these two men was a bad idea, you joined in the conversation your boss and coworker were having beside you.

“Well, we are all set.” Tony stood up, clapping his hands together. “We are having our lawyers draw up all the contracts now. We at Stark Industries really value teamwork and accessibility. So I’ve made the executive decision to do things a little differently with this agreement. Normally I wouldn’t require this but we really need dedicated staff here on sight.”

“Requiring all of our team on sight? That would be a little difficult to swing with the higher ups, Mr Stark. Our team currently has 3 other contracts we manage.” Phil said, seeming a bit confused by Stark’s announcement.

“That’s exactly my point.” Stark explained. “I need a dedicated team focused solely on our needs. Your company has plenty of other people to manage those contracts. If you want to sign on with us, I need your full attention to be on Stark Industries.”

“Ok.” Phil sighed, “We should be able to have another sector absorb our current contracts.”

“Great!” Stark exclaimed, “So we will be expecting ALL of you to be signed on as consultants as part of the contract. That just means that your team will be exclusively working on Stark Industry projects from now on. You’ll each be getting a desk and/or office down in our marketing department.”

Your boss shook Tony’s hand as everyone in the room clapped that the deal went through. You joined in, a little shocked from Tony’s change in plan. Normally, as contractors you would work in your office building where all the employees worked.

Instead, your boss, you and your three other coworkers would drop all other projects to work with Stark Industries alone. You wondered if it had something to do with what Steve said to Tony, but quickly shook that thought way. They probably just want to make sure you were dedicated to their company.

It wasn’t until your boss called your name that you returned to reality. You hadn’t noticed that Tony had his assistant bring in a few bottles of champagne and some glasses.

“Y/N do you want a glass?” your boss asked.

“Um sure. Thanks.” You mumbled, taking the champagne flute from his hand.

“Cheers,” Captain America said, raising his glass as everyone followed suit. You lifted your glass as well, eyes trained on him as he continued his toast. “To new relationships.” He added with a subtle smirk, his icy blue eyes gazing straight into yours. Your breath hitched in your throat, unsure of why his words made you so nervous. He averted his eyes and you felt like you could finally breathe again.

“Business relationships, That is.” He chuckled and so did the rest of the room. His laughter spread contagiously.

Bringing the bubbling liquid to your lips you took a small sip. It was absolutely delicious. Probably the most expensive drink you’d ever had. The rest of the room continued to celebrate and talk boisterously about ideas while you and all of your team signed the contracts required by Tony.

As you left Stark Tower, you couldn’t help but feel weird. Despite the success of the meeting, you couldn’t help but wonder why you felt so on edge?

#steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers #captain america #dark fic #dark!steve rogers #dark!steve x reader #marvel fanfiction #steve rodgers x reader #dubcon/noncon #basementwife

316 notes · View notes

kiwibirbs-library · 3 years

Text

Nightmares

a/n: so like.. uhh... how’s your day? Cause mine said work and think of this babe the whole time. Oh you too? Cool cool.

YALL THIS IS AFTER I WROTE THIS ITS SO LONG OMG OK I NEED TO GO READ THROUGH WOW

Pairing: Keith kogane x reader

Warning: uhh nightmares ya ya that. That’s it

Summary: you get nightmares, fairly bad done at that. And one night you just can’t do it anymore and go to the nearest occupied room. And suddenly it becomes a tradition.

You were rescued from a prison break. The only thing that made you special was that your entire planet was massacred and you had absolutely nowhere to go.

That was almost 6 months ago.

That’s how you ended up where you are now. In a near empty room of the castle, trying to fall back asleep. This was the fifth time you had a nightmare this week. This was the fifth time you had had to relive the vivid torture. The fifth time you’ve been curled up in a ball, tears streaming, trying to just breath through it.

After about 10 minutes you sat up. You couldn’t keep doing this. You couldn’t keep going off of two hours of sleep. You really couldn’t keep hearing Shiros ‘you ok?’ Every morning when you showed up looking like the living dead.

You grabbed your blanket and wrapped it around yourself before waking to the door. The faded walking lights were enough to keep you from hitting anything as you stopped at the nearest door. Hopefully it was someone who could help you. Just to talk to if you could. In other words— as much as you enjoy him— not Lance. You gulped as you knocked on the door. You weren’t expecting it to open as soon as it did.

Keith stood in the open door way, rubbing an eyes slightly as his vision adjusted to see you clearly.

“Y/n?” His voice was raspy from not talking for a while.

“Um hi,” your voice broke in the middle. His brows furrowed as he noticed your stained cheeks and red nose.

“Are you ok?” He squinted at you a bit, still not completely able to see you.

“Uh actually could I um... stay here for a bit.... please,” it all came out whimpery and cracked. You felt kind of pathetic. You half expected him to tell you where Shiro was and go back to sleep with how long he took to respond. But no. He backed up a bit and gave you room to come in. You smiled a little up to him and shuffled in. He sat on his bed and watched you slightly as you made your way down to the floor.

He didn’t exactly know why but he didn’t like the idea of you laying there. It was clean sure, and he definitely would have let anyone else sleep there, but he couldn’t in good conscious just leave you there. Especially with how red and wet your face was when you passed him. He cleared his throat a bit and you looked up at him from your spot. He patted the mattress beside him and you got the idea, getting up and sitting next to him.

“So... what’s wrong?” He looked at your hands as they twisted into each other. You bit your lip.

“Um well, lately I’ve been having these.. um... nightmares. There of the time in the prison. And the um... things that happened,” you gulped. There was a slight pause.

“You don’t have to force yourself to talk if you can’t,” Keith sighed a bit. You looked over to him to find a surprising look of worry on his face. You were taken aback by how understanding he looked. From what you knew of him he was that loner of the group, the one that didn’t talk much and did his own thing, only worrying about himself (and Shiro as you observed). But sitting next to you wasn’t someone that didn’t know feelings of others. It was more like someone who could understand what was happening with you.

“I get nightmares too you know. Of course I’ve never been tortured like you or Shiro were, but they still get to me pretty bad,” he said bluntly, leaning back on his hands. You sighed and brought you knees to your chest, a tired look in your eyes. “You can go to sleep if you want, it would be good for you,” he said without looking at you.

“Thank you,” you smiled a little. “You know, your a lot nicer than I thought you would be one on one,” you laid down slowly.

“I’ll take that as a complement?” His words had the slightest sound of amusement with them. It brought a calming blanket down on you.

In no time your were completely knocked out, Keith leaning up against the wall, also falling asleep as he made sure you didn’t wake up.

~~~~

There was a vibrating from under your head, waking you up. You weren’t fully awake as you felt the air on your skin without opening your eyes. You felt something come underneath the pillow and stop the movement before leaving. Your brows furrowed slightly as you moved even closer to wherever the thing had come from. Without moving much you hit something, immediately running a hand down the back of it before falling back to sleep.

Keith was also awakened by a vibrating. More than you obviously as this was his alarm every morning. So when he turned it off to keep you to sleep and you moved closer he very much noticed. And then your hand ran down his back and made him shiver. He was a blushing mess. He couldn’t even say anything as you stuffed your face into his chest and stayed asleep. Without even knowing it he was smiling at you, moving some hair from your face before he thought about it. You pushed yourself forward a little more, turning him onto his back as you used him as a body pillow. For the first time in a while he had to hold back a laugh at the movement.

You both stayed like that for almost an hour before you groggily got up finally. When you saw the position you immediately started apologizing for what happened. He waved you off, his normal stern face back as he sat up and met you in the middle of the room.

“Calm down its fine, I don’t really care. Anyways we should leave, we’re about to have the morning meeting,” as if the castle could hear him the intercom turned on with a loud beep and Alluras voice came on.

“Meeting time! Hunk made food as well,” and she was gone. You smiled at the idea of Hunks cooking.

“Oh shoot I need to change,” you looked down to your pajamas.

“Meh Lance Never does don’t worry about it,” in truth Keith was just stalling to continue seeing you in them. He really didn’t understand why but he liked the sight. You both left his room before walking the halls to kitchen. Mostly everyone was there, the only one not was Lance unsurprisingly. You waved a bit as you took a seat next to Pidge, Keith to you. They looked at you both with a smile before going back into their talk about something technical.

You tried to listen as you ate but your thoughts drifted to the night before and this morning. A light pink hit your face at the thought. You smiled a little as you put the spoon to you mouth.

~~~~

These sleepovers quickly became something usual. In some instances you wouldn’t even go back to your room, just straight to his with him. At one point he told you to bring some clothes over to change so now you had your little pile in the corner of dresses and shirts. The most awkward part of it would have to when you both began cuddling consciously. You felt hot as Keith put a very hesitant arm on you, his constant ‘is this ok?’s making you laugh a bit.

You didn’t know when but at some point you started taking the sessions in for more. You would always smile at the thought of Keith. Your eyes would always wonder the room in search of him. If the found his you would gaze for a moment before looking away.

Keith knew exactly when he took after hours for more. He knew exactly what he was doing when went to his room at the end of the night, waiting impatiently for you to show up. He knew exactly what he wanted when he asked you to bring some clothes over, his idea for you to spend more time there working amazingly.

The day you got found out though was the most embarrassing moment of your life. Even worse than Pidge calling you out for staring at the boy. For one thing you were more tired than usual that morning due to training the previous day. So while reaching for a pair of leggings you missed and grabbed Keith’s spare sweatpants. Honestly you didn’t even think about how big they were as you threw on your jacket and left. Keith had left before you to meet with Shiro so you were alone and the first in the breakfast hall. By the time you stood up everyone was there as well. Keith’s hand flew to his face to hide the bright red that flushed his face when he noticed. He wasn’t going to say anything, he didn’t really want to. He would have to resist the urge to hide your normal pjs in favor of you wearing his for the next week.

“Aren’t those a little big on you?” Pidge commented.

“Huh?” You looked down and blushed a bit at the clothing. “O-oh ya, haha. Um i saw them at the mall we went to the other day and picked them up,” you coughed.

“Wow really those look like what Keith was wea—“ Lances mouth was covered and his head was dragged down by Keith’s arms. Everyone looked between you two with skeptical look before you slip out the door with a ‘well then’.

That was the catalyst of Lance following Keith to his room and hour later. He was droning on about something when Keith stopped in front of his door. He never had time to clean up this morning. Your clothes were probably still scattered in different areas. He cleared his throat.

“What?” He looked to Lance you was waiting patiently for the door to open.

“Oh I wanted to see what your room looked like. I’m bored and have nothing to do today,” he gave a dramatic sigh. Keith blocked the door.

“No.”

“Whaaat?? Why nooooott? How long have we known each other? Shouldn’t we have more trust????” Lance whined. “Besides whaaat Y/n in here the other day?”

“No,” Keith stayed. Then you came down the hall. You had went to your room in search of a pair of pants before realizing they were still sitting on the edge of Keith’s dresser. Maybe your other jacket was still on his bed if you were lucky. When you saw Lance you made a turn to leave the way you came too late.

“Y/n?” Lance called. You stopped and turned back to him.

“Hey Lance, what’s up?” You smiled a bit and walked a little closer. Keith was happy to hear your voice but also bit his lip at the predicament. You were probably looking for your favorite leggings. The ones you left here the other night. Bad timing.

“Oh I was wanting to see inside Keith’s room! What about you?” You continued talking to Lance, at one point giving Keith a side glance to say to go in. He quickly slipped into his room and started picking up your things and hastily putting it places, most went under his bed. In all honesty he didn’t mind too much about everyone finding out about your sleepovers. He did mind however about the teasing that would come with it.

The door clicked and slid open, Lance walked in with a nervous you glancing around after him.

“Wow it’s so boring in here,” Lance sighed, draping himself over on top of you. “There’s nothing in here how do you live like thi—“ he stopped when he looked over the floor. He saw something light blue poking out from under the bed. Keith tensed when lance moved it out with his foot. The jacket dragged out a few more clothes with it, all definitely not Keith’s and very obviously yours.

“Y/n did you know your clothes are— OH MY GOD NO WAY!!” He jumped away from you and looked between you and the mullet boy. “YOU TWO ARE A THINGGG??”

“No no we’re not!” You held up your hands and tried to explain. You missed Keith’s small and inaudible ’yet’.

“Then why are your clothes here? Are there more?!” Lance asked, gesturing to the small pile on the floor.

“Um well, sleepovers?” You rubbed your hands together. Lance turned to Keith.

“What does that mean?”

“Well what do you think a sleepover means? Honestly,” he crossed his arms. Lance turned back to you.

“How many times??”

“Ah ha ha um... multiple?” You looked over to Keith to find he was already watching you. You whipped back to Lance. As if the universe told you you weren’t getting out of this easy, Pidge and Hunk passed by the open door. They peered in a you heard a little laugh.

“He finally figured it out? Hah we knew weeks ago,” the small girl laughed a little, pushing her glasses up.

“You two knew?!!!” Lance whined as he left the room to join those two in the hall. Keith, quicker than you would have thought, moved and pressed a button to close and lock the door. You heard a muffled ‘hey’ before footsteps that eventually faded away. He sighed. You gave a little laugh.

“That your first choice in hiding?” You giggled.

“Shut up,” he gave you a smile and a glance before flopping down on his bed with a groan. “This is why no one comes in here.”

“Aww I feel so special,” you giggled again as you climbed on top of him. You laid you head down as he dragged you completely on top of him. “By the way, about what Lance said.” Keith looked down to you. “What are we anyway?”

“Well, I’d prefer the privileges of boyfriend all the time. But if you wouldn’t then I don’t mind waiting,” you put yourself up on your arms at his directness.

“What?”

“What?” He repeated.

“Aren’t you supposed to be the closed off feelings guy? What was that?” You look at him bewildered.

“I will not hesitate to leave you here alone,” he gave you a playful glare. “Answer my sentence though.”

“What?”

“Do I get privileges?”

“I wouldn’t mind,” you looked away before sitting up fully. “You get to tell everyone though,” you smiled a bit.

“Ugh why,” he groaned and put his head to the side. His hands naturally rested on your hips. You both had been doing this so long you never even took it as something weird with the way you straddled him. You laughed a bit at him when he pinched your sides a bit.

“Deal?”

“Deal,” he smiled before pulling you a little closer and finally doing what he had been wanting to for the past month, finally kissing you.

#voltron #keith kogane #keith kogane x reader #Keith x reader #lance #Pidge #hunk #shiro #Allura #Coran #team voltron #voltron fanfiction

418 notes · View notes

theunholygrails · 3 years

Text

Foolish Games Part 2

Masterlist

A/N: Introducing new characters and some drama! Percy is still sexy as ever :'(.

Warnings: BJ

I woke up to a door slamming so hard it joined the symphony of my pounding headache. I groaned, hoisting myself over the back of the couch to investigate to intrusion. A brunette head of long sweeping hair rushed through the foyer, barreling towards the kitchen. A familiar mop of black hair hurried after.

Reyna was speaking so fast in Spanish my brain scrambled to keep up. I noted lots of curse words followed by a series of sentences too fast I was surprised she even knew what she was saying. Percy was answering in slow measured words, probably fighting a hangover of equal measure. I ducked behind the back of the couch, reaching for my phone plugged in on the coffee table.

It was noon. 2% battery and a couple messages from friends. Nothing from my ex thank gods. Five from Annabeth being nosey. I opened my uber app, squinting in the sunlight breaking through the cream curtains. I managed to get my driver secured.

A door slammed and I winced, peaking to check that they were in another room. I did not immediately spot my dress in the chaotic. I grimaced remembering the midnight swim. When I sat up I finally noticed the white tshirt I wore and the basketball shorts. And then I went rigid remembering what happened after the swim.

“Motherfucker,” I whispered.

Now I really had to get out of this house. I checked the arrival time of my driver. Three minutes away. Great. I made my way on shaky knees to the large wooden front door. My keys were still in the collection dish. I grabbed them quietly and turned the door handle a fraction of an inch before another door slammed open and Reyna came barreling back into the foyer, brown eyes landing promptly on my guilty ass. Behind her, Percy pursed his lips into a thin line and raised both of his hands to lay on top of his head. His biceps strained nicely against the thin t shirt.

“The fuck is this?” Reyna whispered.

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing,” I babbled.

“It’s just Noa, Rey. Gods,” Percy said.

“I can see that, Percy!” She snapped. I was glad her spear was not strapped across her back this morning. “Why is she sneaking out of my house in your clothes?”

“People were swimming last night. Her clothes got wet.”

“I’m sure the fuck they did.”

“Zeus, Rey! You ended it with me. Why does it even matter?”

“Because I still fucking love you! I’m sorry, okay?” She burst out crying and Percy instantly pulled her against his chest. The memory of being in those arms drove me out the door like a nest of hornets.

~~~~

“I’m just saying. You have nothing to feel sorry for,” Annabeth paused to sip her iced coffee. “Unless they get back together and then you sleep with him. But as of right now, you��re good. Trust me. Been on the Percy train. We’re still friends. You’ll get over it. Just a harmless rebound for both of you.”

I groaned, laying my chin on the cool metal table parked outside our favorite coffee shop positioned between our New York apartments. Just two Manhattan women enjoying their Sunday afternoon. The air was cooling as fall neared. I pulled my baseball cap closer to the top of my sunglasses.

“Should I call him?”

“Maybe tomorrow. Let him deal with his relationship drama. Reyna is a lot to deal with. Still nothing from fuckface?”

“Nope and that’s fine.”

“Good for you. We will hydrate you, get you a good dinner, hit the gym before work in the morning and then get back on our bad bitch mental track. Agreed?”

~~~~

“Good Monday, yogis,” I chirped from my desk at the corner of my studio.

The third class was beginning to trickle in and I was settling into my rhythm. Hot yoga was next and hopefully I would sweat out all the negativity I’d allowed lately. I was in the middle of emailing back a potential client when someone rapped at the wood of my desk. I glanced up to a blonde male who waved gently.

“Heya, sansei Noa,” he said.

“That’s karate. Can I help you?”

“Do you do trial classes?”

I hit send on my email and closed my laptop. The guy was built like a poser with the defined muscles and chiseled jaw but his voice was soft and tempered. He was clean shaven and dressed like a basic gym bro.

“Normally you have to schedule them beforehand because of class size,” I gave my standard answer.

“Right, my bad. Sorry. I was just passing by the front and it looked like the kind of place I needed right now. Can I go ahead and pick a date then?”

I was staring too long into his pale blue eyes, honed in on the polite response. A nice change from the daily demanding consumers. “You know what? Ive got space right now if you like? Have you ever done hot yoga?”

A brilliant white smile showcasing sharp canines. “My favorite.”

“Perfect. I just need a name, number and email to get you a file started.”

He leaned large hands on my desk. “It’s Luke Castellan.”

Before he could give the contact information, I cut him off. “Wait. I know you.” His tanned skin paled significantly.

“I…”

“You’re supposed to be dead!” I blurted out.

His eyes skated around the room and he leaned in closer. “That’s not supposed to be public knowledge. I assume you’re a demigod?”

“Luke, you trained me. We took fucking sculpting together. The Apollo table was right next to the Hermes one for fuck’s sake.”

He winced. I heard a murmuring from the rest of my class I was disturbing with my volume. I collected my shock finally. “Take a seat if you want. We should talk after class. I need to start.”

“Okay. Thank you. I’m sorry Noa.”

I waved him off and walked over to my yoga mat. I sat cross legged and drew in an even breath to smooth out my emotions.

It was a slow 30 minute class. Each pose and movement dragged on. Finally, I dismissed the group and nodded Luke outside. He was waiting on the bench outside of the studio I split renting with a few other instructors. I sat next to him, wiping sweat from my face with the towel slung over my pink sports bra.

“Alright, talk,” I said.

“Not much to say. I was given a second chance at my hearing. Here I am. Starting over.” A shrug of well-defined shoulders. The muscles flexed beneath his gleaming sweat. His red tank top stuck to his chest and stomach. “I wish I remembered you, truly. That time is such a blur in my life.”

“It’s ok. You were a lot older than me and to be honest I had a massive crush on you so I probably hid most of the time.”

A surprised smile slipped across his lips. “I’m assuming the betrayal helped you get over that?”

I laughed outloud, slapping his knee. “No shit! So where are you staying these days?”

“Just around the corner actually. Got a job at the local gym.”

“Yeah I bet the fuck you did.” I squeezed his forearm between both of my hands. I wanted to roll my eyes at me falling back into my school girl giddy at him. Betrayal of the gods aside. He was even more gorgeous than ever. The scar down his face gave him a dark sexy vibe. Like a bad boy even though he claimed he was rehabbing himself now.

“So how, did you feel about the class?”

“I mean, I’d like to sign up for it a couple times a week, that’s for sure. And I’d like to take you out to dinner to make up for not remembering a beauty like you.”

I almost bit my cheek biting out the response of “Yes!”

“You’ve got my number,” he said, chuckling quietly. “I’ve got to get to work.” He shouldered his gym bag and excused himself.

The bike back to my apartment was spent reliving my tween fantasies about bad boy Luke. I opened my apartment door and screeched seeing a man sitting at my kitchen counter. Percy turned to face me.

“You know you live in New York? You should really lock that.”

“It was!” I snapped.

A quick grin. “Yeah. But it was easy to break into.”

I dropped my bag onto the floor and brushed past him to get a protein shake from the fridge. “I have to shower and get prepared for my night classes.” I told him.

“I know. I’m sorry I didn’t call earlier.”

I shrugged. “I didn’t either.”

He paused, studying my face in the shitty lighting of the single bulb hanging between us over the counter. “Are we good, Noa?”

“Of course. What’s a little head between friends?”

“Okay…I can’t read you. Can you not play tough just for a minute?”

I chugged the shake and set the bottle down between us. I leaned my arms on the chilled counter, bun knocking against the light. “Honestly, Percy. I’m fine. We are good.”

“Reyna moved back in.”

“You’re engaged again?”

I drank from the empty bottle to give myself something to do. He watched me with those green eyes. He’d known me for far too long. He was nearly impossible to deceive, but I was determined today. The fact that I had dreamt of fucking him two consecutive nights was irrelevant if he was off the table. Even if his lips did look incredibly juicy tonight. Even if they had done near illicit things to me just nights ago.

“I don’t know. She said she wanted to work on things. And it’s her dad’s house, so I can’t ask her to go and I don’t want to go to my mom’s and admit defeat.”

“You know you could stay here, Perc.”

He worked his jaw silently, then rubbed his hands over his face. “Thanks. I do know. Even if we aren’t officially back together, I think we should work on it…” he trailed off.

“And not tell her about you eating me out?” I leaned closer because I was mean to both him and myself. Because I knew this top combined with this angle gave him a simple opportunity. And he took it.

His tongue slid out between his lips as his eyes flicked down, stayed, then dragged deliberately back up. “Probably not,” he agreed.

For a long moment neither of us said anything. He had more to lose now than me. We were no longer on equal playing fields. So, I left the ball in his court. “I’m going to go shower.”

I was done washing in the first ten minutes. The second ten was giving him a little wiggle room to decide. I had my hand on the faucet to cut off the water that was beginning to go cold when I heard the door creak open. I watched through the fogged glass, catching a hold of my breath. I watched as he tugged his shirt off. My stomach flipped over itself when he reached for his jeans. What had I done?

The opening door let in a rush of cool air, perking my skin to attention. My eyes raked unapologetically over his naked, aroused body. His dark hair quickly slicked against his stubble covered jaw. His eyes were no longer the sea green but murky like the deep water of the ocean.

“Hey,” he said quietly, cautiously.

“Hey,” I giggled, reaching out to touch his rough jaw. He winced, catching my hand with his. “We probably shouldn’t kiss again.”

“Sure, whatever you want, Percy. What can I do to you?”

He groaned, turning his mouth into my palm, scraping teeth against the vulnerable skin. “Touch me,” he said.

My free hand instantly planted against his chest, scraping at the muscle. His eyes fluttered closed, head tilting back to expose his throat. I slid my other hand into his thick hair, tugging it tightly between my fingers and pulling to grant myself more access to the strong column of his neck. I bit it first, backing him into the tiled wall when he shuddered. I kissed over the reddening skin and moved my hands to his flat stomach, feeling the shuddered breaths beneath my touch.

“Like this?” I asked.

His reply was unintelligible. I kissed down his chest, moving my hand lower still as I went. When my fingers brushed over the v-line of his hips, I shifted my route away from the center and to his thighs. An annoyed grunt escaped his lips. “Hush,” I scolded, getting my knees under me. The now cold water was hitting the back of my neck and flowing down my body. I placed my hands on the inside of both his thighs, trailing them upwards and upwards until he nearly contorted when I gripped him. He let out a scandalous string of curses that quickly turned to moaning silence when I took him into my mouth.

He unraveled in minutes and I let him cum all over the breasts I had teased him with earlier. I rose in front of him, my own rosy cheeks mirroring his. “Now we’re even.”

#percy jackson smut #percy jackson fanfiction #percy jackson #logan lerman smut #logan lerman fanfiction

242 notes · View notes

dizzyduck44 · 3 years

Text

This week’s Lando based rant

OK deep breath. I thought I was getting a week off. Should this become a series at this point?

I appreciate for some of you this is the first time you have come across a driver outwardly appearing to bad mouth their teammate, but please trust me, what has been said today is nothing and people are taking it far to seriously.

I actually believe that Lando said what was reported, clearly in context to Daniel joining the team and not as some people are trying to claim about mental health. Why do I believe it?

Well last year he was asked did he feel sorry for Charles Le Clerc and how bad the Ferrari was. The interviewer was obviously expecting he would have sympathy as he was a “friend”. Lando’s response was “No. Charles has had podiums and wins poles that other drivers would kill for so why would I have sympathy for him now?” That was a televised driver’s conference and bears a lot of similarity to what has been said today.

Let’s not forget, Lando had no sympathy for Carlos when he failed to start the Belgium Grand Prix last year, quipping “one place up”. This attitude is nothing new from Lando.

Do I think that Daniel feels exactly the same? Yes. He has gone from team to team in recent years. He has never expected his teammate to help him. It is not Lando’s responsibility to help him get familiar with the car, it’s not up to Lando to solve issues Daniel has. Asking does he have sympathy is ridiculous, of course he doesn’t and Daniel probably isn’t looking for it.

Daniel comes across as someone who owns his own mistakes. He knows full well that he laid it on thick with Lando last year telling him he’ll “end him”. Now he’s eating a bit of humble pie but Daniel knows the only one who can fix the issues right now is Daniel.

Daniel himself has sat in press conferences and taken the piss out of Lewis and Seb and Fernando to name but a few. He dishes it out but he can also take it. I’m pretty sure fans are more upset than Daniel himself will be right now.

Why do I think this is nothing? I’ve seen drivers put themselves first for as long as I’ve watched the sport. If you watched the last race so have a you. Wasn’t what Bottas did exactly the same?

I’ve just finished reading a book that explained in the 2007 season the relationship between Lewis and Fernando got so bad that when the press cottoned on to the fact Fernando was complaining to the team, Lewis would fan the issue in press conferences painting himself as the angel of the story. The mechanics started hating both of them for their behaviour as Lewis was stirring up as many issues in the garage as Fernando.

Please go and look at some of the comments Juan Pablo Montoya had about other drivers. If nothing else they were hilarious but did he have sympathy for anyone, no, absolutely not.

Ayrton Senna once told his team principal, either I come out of the first corner first or I’m not coming out of that corner. This preceded him taking out his championship rival at the first corner.

Let’s not forget that George Russell has said things to put Lando down more than once, Lando has done it to George. Do you think when Lando managed to single handily screw his own F2 championship up and effective hand the title to George in Russia, George had one tiny bit of sympathy? God no! You go to the wrong pit box, line up wrong on the grid and then crash out, not my problem but thanks!

The winners in this sport get there because they are willing to climb over everyone else to win. It’s ugly yes, but only one person is World Champion. That means that everyone else’s misfortune (including your teammate) is your advantage. “Friends” in F1 are not the same as we know the meaning of the word. It literally means I don’t despise you, I’d miss you if you left, I might even apologise if we crash into each other rather than outright blame you, but if it’s you or me for the win, it’s always me. Best example of that, Hamilton v Rosberg.

So let’s stop acting as if Lando has done anything wrong here. This just feels like this week’s excuse to hate on Lando if you want to hate on Lando. Same thing happens with Lewis. People need a second hobby.

#f1 #formula one #f1blr #lando norris #daniel ricciardo #mclaren #herewegoagain

191 notes · View notes

watchyourbluesturngolden · 3 years

Note

I would love to see Harry jealous because his wife give a man ( Kindergarten teacher ) a compliment that he deals really well with Stevie.

this got kind of long oops, hope you like it :)

it's kind of cute

warnings: none

word count: 2k

“Time to go, Stevie!” You called, adjusting your coat in the mirror by the door. “Come get your shoes!”

You heard her feet pattering on the hall floor before Harry yelled, jumping out at her and scooping her up. She screamed in delight, laughing as he hoisted her onto his shoulders.

“Look at me!” She yelled, holding her arms out to her sides. “I’m so tall!”

“You are,” you laughed. “Is my tall girl ready to go?”

“I think our tall girl needs some shoes first,” Harry said, lifting her down. “The pink ones or the yellow ones?”

She thought intently before picking up the yellow shoes. She beamed when she got them on the right feet on the first try.

“Good job!” Harry said, reaching down to high-five her. Shoes were a tricky thing to learn. There had been a lot of struggling, but she was finally getting the hang of it.

She smiled, jumping up from the floor. Harry held her coat, helping her slip her arms into the sleeves.

“Let’s go! Come on, mom,” She said, bouncing on her feet. “Go faster!”

“Yeah, mum, hurry up,” Harry said jokingly. You shot him a look, opening the door so Stevie could run to the car.

Harry put his arm around your shoulders as you walked towards the car.

“She’s getting so big,” he commented. “Why can’t she just stay our little baby?”

“Very unfortunate,” you sighed. You made sure Stevie was settled before getting in and buckling your own seatbelt. Harry got in the driver’s seat, starting the car.

“I’m in the mood for some Moana,” he said, handing you his phone before he pulled out of the driveway. “What do you think, Stevie?”

“Moana!” She yelled, eyes lighting up.

You shared a smile with Harry as she began belting out the lyrics.

“I wonder where she got her singing voice?”

“No idea,” he laughed.

-----

He pulled into the school parking lot, stopping the music to grandly announce, “We’re here!”

Stevie gasped in excitement, already fidgeting with her seatbelt. Harry opened her door for her, holding her hand so she could jump down. You took her other hand, swinging her arms between you as you walked toward the school.

“Alright, Stevie, where are we going?” You asked, even though you knew where her classroom was.

“Yeah, we don’t know where it is, you have to help us!” Harry said excitedly. “Lead the way, princess!”

Stevie let go of your hands as she marched down the hall.

“Look at her, so grown up,” he said sadly, taking your now empty hand in his.

“I know, she’s practically an adult. Oh, she’s going to be in middle school soon, and then high school, and then college, and then she’ll be gone,” you said, getting emotional already.

“Wait, wait, we can’t get ahead of ourselves yet, this is a kindergarten parent-teacher conference, we have a few years.”

“Right, you’re right,” you smiled.

“Here it is!” Stevie announced, pointing at the door, which was decorated to look like a box of crayons.

“Oh, how cute!” You said, noting that each crayon was labeled with a student’s name. “Stevie, you’re the yellow one! It matches your shoes!”

“I know!” She said excitedly. “That’s why I wore them!”

“Very smart, Stevie. Very fashionable,” Harry said, ruffling her hair.

He opened the door, allowed both of you to walk in ahead of him.

“Hello! Hi Stevie, it’s good to see you!” Her teacher said, waving you over to his desk.

“Hi Mr. Jeffery!” She said, running over to him. “Is it here?”

“Of course it is! It’s right over there on the drying rack, if you want to show your mom and dad,” he said, pointing across the room.

She ran in the direction he pointed. When she came back, she was carrying a painting of a butterfly.

“Did you make that?” Harry asked, crouching down to inspect her artwork. “Wow, this is amazing, love! We’ll put this on the fridge so everyone can see it,” he promised, smiling.

“Yes, Stevie loves our art projects, don’t you?” Mr. Jeffery asked, smiling when she nodded enthusiastically.

“I have to talk to your mom and dad for a few minutes, Stevie. What would you like to do while we talk?”

“Color!” She said, shoving the butterfly painting into Harry’s arms.

“Alright, do you remember where the crayons are?”

“Yes I do!” She ran over to the art section, busying herself immediately.

“Yes, she’s very into art,” You said, smiling as you and Harry settled into the chairs behind Mr. Jeffery’s desk.

“I’ve noticed! She’s taken a particular interest in painting. Does she do a lot of that at home?”

“Oh, yes,” Harry laughed. “Y/N isn’t so happy with that, though, she’s ruined quite a few shirts.”

“We try to steer her towards more... dry activities,” you said, smiling.

“Well, that’s understandable,” Mr. Jeffery laughed, clicking around on his computer. “So, today I just want to talk about her progress. As you probably know, she does extremely well in several areas. She can do some sight reading, which is not something we see very often at this age. She is also doing very well with her numbers, colors, and shapes.”

Harry beamed as Mr. Jeffery laid out how well Stevie was doing. Of course, he already knew she was the most amazing child in the world, but it was nice to have outside validation.

“That’s great, we tried to expose her to as much reading as we could, we really wanted her to be prepared,” you said.

“You did an excellent job,” he smiled, looking at you.

Harry didn’t like this, even though he knew it was this man’s job to reassure and praise parents. He just didn’t like the way he looked at you. He was smiling a little too much.

“Yes, we did,” Harry said, leaning a little closer to you. He looked at the teacher with a face that was just a little less than friendly.

Mr. Jeffery cleared his throat, turning back to his computer.

“As for her social skills, she is also doing very well there. Aside from the normal kindergarten spats, she has no issues getting along with the other children. She communicates very well with the other teachers and myself. We really don’t have any problems,” he smiled again, this time making sure not to look at you for too long.

“Looks like we did a good job,” you beamed, nudging Harry. His intimidating face dropped and he smiled as he took your hand.

“Look at us go,” he said, looking across the room to where Stevie was still coloring.

“You’re very good with her,” you said, following his gaze. “I know she can be a handful sometimes,” you laughed, turning slightly to Mr. Jeffery.

Harry’s jaw tightened when he saw your face. He knew you were smiling from looking at Stevie, but he still didn’t like how happy Mr. Jeffery looked. He squeezed your hand a little tighter, causing you to shoot him a confused look. He kept his eyes fixed on Stevie, willing himself to stay calm. Y/N hasn’t done anything wrong, he reminded himself.

“No, she’s usually very well behaved,” he said, flipping through his notes. “Again, we’ve had very few problems.”

“I’m glad to hear,” you said, running your other hand up and down Harry’s forearm.

“Well, that’s all I have for you today, unless you have any other questions?” He asked, looking you and Harry. You looked at him, both shaking your heads at the same time.

“I think we’re good,” you said, turning back to him with a smile.

“Alright, well it was good to see you today,” Mr. Jeffery said, standing to shake hands with you. Harry watched intently, not blinking until the man pulled away from you. When he reached for him, Harry made sure to squeeze a little tighter than necessary. Not too hard. Just enough to make him nervous.

“If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact me,” he said, smiling tightly.

“Yes, we’ll do that,” Harry said, not breaking eye contact. Finally, Mr. Jeffery stepped away to get Stevie. Harry moved his arm to rest over your shoulders again, smiling at Stevie when she skipped over.

“Did you make us a pretty drawing?” He asked, removing his arm to bend down. “Absolutely gorgeous,” he beamed. “Another one for the fridge, I think!”

Stevie giggled, taking your hand as she turned to wave at her teacher.

“Bye Mr. Jeffery! See you later,” she said, completely unaware of how tense Harry was behind her.

Harry placed his hand on your back, shepherding you both out of the room. Once the door was closed, you stepped away to look at him.

“Are you alright?” You asked, concerned at how tight his face was. “You’re not acting like yourself.”

Harry shook his head, flicking his eyes towards Stevie, trying to communicate not now.

You frowned, but silently agreed, taking his hand as you walked down the hall.

Harry was quiet the entire ride home. He didn’t sing along to the Disney music, even when Stevie yelled out “everybody!” before the big chorus. This was concerning. He usually sang even when Stevie didn’t want him to, and he could normally never resist her cheering him on. Something was definitely wrong, but you could tell he didn’t want to talk about it right now.

It couldn’t be that bad, though, because he was still holding your hand like he had been since you left Mr. Jeffery’s room. He had only let go of you when you had to get in the car.

Once you got home, Stevie ran off to her room, yelling something about “a tea party with Mr. Snuffles!”

“Harry?” You asked gently, approaching your husband. His back was facing you and his hands were braced against the counter. “Harry, really, what happened? Did I do something?”

“No,” he turned around quickly. “No, I’m sorry,” he said, reaching for you. You wrapped your arms around him, listening to his deep breathing as he held you.

“Ok, then what’s the problem? You looked so mad when we were talking to Mr. Jeffery,” you said. “What?” You asked again when felt him tense up at your words.

“Nothing, it’s just- it’s stupid,” he said, shaking his head.

“Harry, nothing that upsets you this much is stupid.”

“It’s just- ugh,” he groaned, dropping his head to rest in the crook of your neck. “I just hated how he looked at you.”

“You- what?” You said, pulling back. He looked at you, embarrassed.

“I told you it’s stupid,” he said, blushing. “I just didn’t like how you were talking to him, saying how good he was with Stevie, and how happy he looked. I don’t know, it’s dumb,” he mumbled, looking at the floor.

“Hey, come on,” you said, taking his hands in yours. “I don’t think it’s dumb.”

“No?” He asked, looking at you again.

“No, it’s not,” you said, smiling. “It’s kind of cute.”

“It’s not cute,” he said grumpily. “I feel like a child.”

“You’re not a child,” you promised, standing on your tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Maybe a little immature, but-“

“You’re so mean!” He exclaimed, laughing. “I’m so nice to you, and you repay me how? By hurting my feelings.”

“I’m sorry,” you smiled, kissing his cheek again.

“I’ll forgive you,” he said, pulling back to look at you. “But only if you give me a kiss.”

“I think that can be arranged.”

#Harry Styles #harry styles/reader #harry styles/you #harry styles/reader fanfiction #harry styles/you fanfiction #harry styles x you #harry styles x reader #harry styles x you fanfiction #harry styles x reader fanfiction #stevie #stevie fics #one direction #one direction fanfiction #dad!harry

370 notes · View notes

nah-she-didnt · 3 years

Text

JILY AUGUST CHALLENGE | @nah-she-didnt vs @floreatcastellumposts

summer + ok so I almost drowned in the sea whilst body boarding and yeah you saved me but hEY don’t laugh

Read here or on AO3

Lily Of The Sea

Absolutely mental. He must have been absolutely mental to agree to any part of this.

First, there was the fact that he had chosen to spend a week in Wales with Remus when he should have been training for football season. That decision alone would surely ruin his life when he showed up back at school completely out of shape and got booted from the team.

Second, while James liked spending time with one of his best mates, Wales was bloody boring. Remus lived in a charming little cottage with his charming parents in a charming town that had absolutely nothing for a couple of teenage boys to do. There wasn’t even a damn cinema for them to waste away in for the summer. Really, how did people live like this? It was only out of sheer boredom that he’d agreed to spend the day at the beach in the first place. He usually made it a point to avoid the beach at all costs, but these were desperate times indeed.

Herein lay James’ third, and stupidest, decision. He must have been absolutely bloody mental to agree to wade out into the frigid mass of water before him that was the sea.

He turned to throw Remus another reproachful look. “Do I have to do this?”

“Yes!” Remus called over from his spot on the shore. He looked perfectly content, and dry, as he watched James’ slow march to his certain death. “Your fear of open water is, frankly, embarrassing. It’s high time you nipped it in the bud.”

James winced as the water lapped at his shins, blistering his sun-warmed skin with icy cold. “I thought you said you were right behind me?”

Remus grinned. “Oh, you don’t need me. You’re doing brilliantly.” James couldn’t help but notice the mirth in his friend’s voice.

It was true, he did harbor an embarrassing fear of the sea. And why shouldn’t he? The water was so dark you could barely see three inches below the surface. Surely some unknown horror came closer with every step.

James swore loudly. “Rem, I hate this. It’s bloody freezing!”

“It’s the Irish Sea, what do you expect?”

“Damn the Irish then!”

“Mate, you’re English, I don’t think you’re allowed to say that.”

And so, James plowed onward, cursing Remus under his breath. The water was now up to his knees. He could feel the hair on his legs standing at attention as goosebumps emerged from his skin.

However, as he became more and more submerged, something in James began to change. The water was so cold it nearly took his breath away but it also filled him with a new resolve. It wasn’t so bad, really. He could do this.

With that thought, he plunged forward, brought his hands together above his head, and dove straight into an oncoming wave.

He hadn’t been prepared for how quiet underwater was. He was vaguely aware of the wave crashing above his head, but the force of it merely rocked him backward gently. He tried his best to open his eyes but the saltwater stung so fiercely that he shut them tight again. After a few moments of floating beneath the waves, James found his feet below him again and pushed up toward the surface.

He heard Remus’ triumphant whoop as his head broke the surface. He straightened up, embarrassed to find that the water was only about three feet deep, and shook his hair out of his eyes like a dog. “There,” he shouted in Remus’ direction, “I’ve done it. Now, will you come out here with me, please? I don’t need a bloody babysitter.”

Remus sighed loudly. “Yeah alright. Plus, if you drown, I’m sure you’d rather be saved by a fit lifeguard than by me.”

“Too true.”

They spent the next half hour lounging in the water. It was still freezing cold, but James found that it did not bother him so much now. The sun, in a rare moment of favor, had decided to shine bright and warm on the beach today. Remus showed James how to lie back and float so that his top half could be drenched in warmth while his back half rocked with the waves. The effect was actually quite lovely. Perhaps he wasn’t so mental after all.

It was at this very moment that he heard the muffled sound of a whistle.

“Wha-?” James said stupidly as he sat up from his float, pulling his head and ears out of the water so that he could hear properly, “what was that? Remus?”

But Remus was gone. It was only then that James realized how far he had floated from the safety of the beach. He was at least twenty yards away from the shore now, and Remus was not only a few feet away as he previously thought. James whipped his head around frantically. “Remus!”

“Riptide!” Remus’ voice called from somewhere behind him. He turned to see his friend scrambling up the beach through the surf. “Swim parallel to the beach! Now!”

Shit.

This was why he avoided the ocean. What the hell was a riptide? It certainly didn’t sound good.

James flapped his arms wildly as he swam, trying his best to stay parallel to the shore. Now he could feel the pull of the water on his body, coaxing him further and further out into the vast sea. He had to keep swimming. He had to, otherwise how on earth would he be able to murder Remus?

“You’re a bloody bastard, you know that?” James screamed to his friend as he fought against the sea, “You made me come out here!” He was closer to the shore now, almost at the wave breakpoint, only ten yards from where Remus stood.

“I know, I know, keep going!” Remus called, “You’re almost there.”

James fought with all his might to keep swimming. He really was out of shape after all, but he forced the thought from his mind as he struggled. Nearly there.

Finally, he made it back to the shallows. He stood with a great effort and began to stagger drunkenly toward Remus. “I can’t believe you left me out there alone! You smug toss-”

WHAM.

The wave hit James squarely in the back, knocking him hard into the rough, rocky beach.

His cheek caught the edge of a sharp rock. He felt his skin rip and sting fiercely, but he had bigger problems before him. The strength of the retreating wave was dragging him, helplessly, back into the deep. He tried to stand but he had no idea which way was up. The fall had knocked the wind out of him, and for a moment he truly wondered if he was about to drown.

Then, suddenly, there was warmth. Hands - yes, small, warm hands - wrapped protectively around his chest. Then there were arms, a torso pressed against his back. The last thing he felt before everything went dark was the mysterious body pulling him up, up, up.

...

“Is he dead?”

“Don’t be daft.”

“I’m not. Look at him. He looks dead.”

“He’s not dead, you idiot. He’s breathing just fine. What did you leave him out there for? He can barely swim.”

“We were floating! I didn’t know how far he’d drifted.”

The first thing James noticed was the warmth. His whole body tingled with a warm glow in sharp contrast to the freezing water. The water. Where was the water?

James snapped his eyes open. Two blurry faces swam above him. Remus, who looked concerned, but James only had eyes for the other face that hovered above him. A girl’s face. A very pretty girl’s face.

James blinked. “Am I dead?”

“Apparently not,” Remus sighed, “Christ, James, you really know how to make a scene.”

James barely heard this comment. The girl continued to stare at him, her brow furrowed. She didn’t look all that excited to find that he was alive. The more she looked at him, the more James felt that he’d seen this girl somewhere before.

“Who are you?” He whispered up to her. He hadn’t meant to say it, but he still wasn’t sure that she was not a dream.

“Hold still.” She spoke with a practiced, authoritative voice as she turned away from him to rummage through a red bag at her side. She withdrew a white package that she tore open with her teeth, pulled out a wet cloth, and brought it to his face.

James gasped as the cut on his cheek seared with pain. “Ouch! Blimey, what is that?”

“Rubbing alcohol,” she said, again with that focused voice, “don’t want it getting infected. What month is it?”

“Uh-”

“Evans, let him rest,” Remus protested, “he’s just had a shock.”

The girl shook her head. “We’ve got to make sure he’s not concussed. The month, Potter, what month is it?”

“August,” he said stupidly, “it’s August.”

“Who’s the Prime Minister?”

“Wilson.”

“What’s your name?”

“James Potter, what’s yours?”

This seemed to surprise her. The look of concentration slid from her face as she regarded him cautiously. “Lily.”

James squinted up at her with curiosity. “Of the valley?”

Get it together, you prat said a voice in his head, what a stupid thing to-

To his surprise, she smiled, and his heart did a backflip. “Yeah, sure.” Then she shook her head as if to rid herself of the distraction. “You’re going to be fine. Can you stand?”

James nodded and allowed Remus to pull him roughly to his feet. He steadied himself and reached instinctively up to his throbbing cheek. Lily smacked his hand away.

“What did I just say about infection? Blimey, maybe you are concussed.”

James wracked his throbbing brain. Everything was still a bit fuzzy, but now he was sure that he’d seen this girl before. “How did you know my name?”

Lily shot Remus a knowing look. “We go to school together. In Scotland. Remember?”

James felt his cheeks grow hot. That’s how he knew her, he’d seen Remus hanging around with a cute redhead before. “Ah - yeah, ‘course. Sorry I didn’t recognize you.”

She shrugged as she bent down to pack up her first aid kit. “Why would you? I’m not a footballer, not a posh kid, no big deal.”

James frowned. “I have plenty of friends who aren’t footballers or ‘posh kids,’” he said as he made quotation marks with his fingers. It was hard to keep the defensive edge out of his voice. She made him sound quite shallow. He motioned earnestly toward his friend. “Take Remus over here.”

“Thanks, mate.”

“Anytime.”

“Look,” Lily straightened back up, a look of annoyance on her face, “I’m sure you’ve got lots of friends and all, I just meant that we don’t exactly run in the same crowd.”

“But you know Remus. I heard you call him an idiot before.” James glanced at Remus, who looked like he wasn’t sure if he should stay for this tense conversation or disappear back into the safety of the water. “He only lets his very best friends call him that.”

Lily raised her eyebrows. “Really? His friends sound swell.”

Remus, still looking uncomfortable, finally cut in. “We knew each other before school,” he said quickly, looking from James to Lily, “from when we were kids.”

Lily nodded. She was starting to look downright testy now, but James could not for the life of him figure out why. “I used to spend the summers here with my aunt, and we met as kids. We used to go swimming on this beach all the time.” Her face softened at the memory. “It was lovely, actually. I used to love to swim. Haven’t had much time for it lately, until today.”

“Why not?” James persisted. It seemed that every question he asked did nothing more than to elevate her already defensive mood. He couldn’t help it, he had to keep talking to her. Had to keep making her cheeks flush like that.

Lily jerked her head back toward the lifeguard stand. “Don’t have much time, I spent most of my days working here ‘till sunset.”

“Ah,” James pulled what he hoped looked like a sympathetic face, “I see. Not a fun way to spend a holiday, I can imagine.”

Very unfortunately this seemed to be the worst thing he could have possibly said.

“Yeah, well. Some of us have to work to live.” She caught Remus’ eye and said with purpose, “Right. I’ll see you at school, Remus.” And with that, she turned and stalked away, leaving a very stunned James in her wake.

...

“You really cocked that up, huh?.”

“Cheers.”

“No, I mean it. Now she probably thinks you’re some stuck-up, rich brat. Really excellent job on that one.”

“I’m leaving.”

Remus laughed as he grabbed James’ elbow and pulled him back down to sit on the beach. “Christ, you’re touchy today. I’m sorry I almost let you drown, alright?”

James stared out over the glowing pink water. The sea was no less ominous even in the light of the early sunset. He could still feel the waves lapping at his shins, the force of the water smacking his bare back, the pull of the water as he struggled beneath the waves…

He shook his head at the memory. He was safe now, anyway. Thanks to Lily.

“Do you think I’m a stuck up, rich brat?” He refused to look at Remus as he asked the question. Instead, he picked up a large, rough stone and chucked it into the water.

Remus put a hand on his shoulder. “No James, I don’t think that. I think you’re a kind, loyal, and caring rich brat.”

James laughed. “Cheers, mate.”

“Anytime.”

“Give her some time and Lily will see it too. Speaking of...” Remus nodded in the direction behind James.

He turned to see Lily Evans walking toward them. She had pulled a pair of denim shorts over her red lifeguard’s bathing suit, slung a large blue tote bag over her shoulder, and held a half-melted vanilla ice cream cone in each hand.

“Hiya,” she offered as she took a seat next to Remus. James couldn’t tell if it was nerves or embarrassment that kept her from meeting his eyes. “These are for you two. I’m sorry I was a bit harsh before. I mean, you did almost drown, after all.”

James smiled as he accepted the ice cream. “Thanks. And thanks for this, too.”

Remus, however, waved her away as she offered him the cone. “No thanks, I don’t eat dairy.”

James frowned. “You love dairy. I’ve seen you put away an entire wheel of brie in under ten minutes.”

Remus shook his head and stood up, stretching. “No, really. Can’t stand the stuff. I better go find something else more digestible, leave you two alone to talk.”

Lily shot him a dirty look. Remus could not be more transparent if he tried. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”

But Remus was already walking back up the beach. “Too late, see you in a bit!”

“Rem!” James called to his friend, but he merely waved his arm wildly over his head in farewell.

They sat in silence for a few moments with only the crashing of the waves to break the tension. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. James watched her fidget as he finished his cone. He wondered if it were uncomfortable to sit in those shorts with the back of her legs pressed against the small, jagged rocks that made up the beach. But he couldn’t let himself think for too long about her legs.

“So,” she broke the silence with what sounded like a great effort, “why can’t you swim?”

James sighed. “Oh, let’s just say it’s none of your concern,” he couldn’t bring himself to admit something so embarrassing, “why don’t you like posh kids?”

Lily, to his surprise, laughed. “None of your concern.”

“Are you sure about that? Since I’m apparently an insufferable rich kid maybe I can provide an inside scoop.”

Lily did not laugh this time. Instead, she stared out over the ocean, her vivid green eyes suddenly orange, reflecting the sunset’s light in the choppy water. “I’ve got a friend from school. Well, a friend from home, really. He’s like me, doesn’t have a lot of - of money, and stuff.” She was starting to shift even more now, clearly uncomfortable. James opened his mouth to stop her, but she plowed on. “He made some not-so-nice friends at school. They care a lot about status and all that, so he doesn’t want them to know anything about his home life. Doesn’t want them to know about me.”

James blinked. He’d known this girl only two hours, and he’d seen her in about fourteen different emotional states. He was quite sure he liked them all and wanted to see even more.

“That bullshit,” he said emphatically, “if he doesn’t value you then he’s an idiot. What a prat, giving up a true friend just to social climb.”

Lily smiled sadly. “You’re right, of course. Still hurts, but you’re right.” She shrugged, trying but failing to seem unphased. “Anyway, I think that’s why I was a bit, uh, prickly earlier. Forgive me?”

James just waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. I’d be prickly too if it were me. He sounds like a disappointment.” He smiled at shyly, glad that they were approaching something like a friendly conversation, “plus, Remus assured me it wasn’t my finest moment either.”

She smiled again, and another shockwave shot through James’ body. “I forgive you. Friends?”

“Friends with the girl who saved my life? Absolutely.”

Silence fell between them again, but this time the air around them seemed more relaxed. Lily seemed to have found a comfortable position at last. She sat with her legs crossed and her hands placed on the ground behind her, propping her up toward the sea. She had her eyes closed and her head leaned back like she was savoring every roaring crash of waves or whiff of sea air.

“How can you not just love the sea,” she sighed, leaning her head back even further as she sunk into her surroundings, “I don’t know what I’d do without it.”

A few seconds passed before James realized that, at some point, he would have to stop staring at her to answer. “I guess it’s just not for me. You make it look pretty good, though. The sea, I mean.” he said quickly. Very smooth.

Lily, thankfully, ignored his comment. “Tell me the truth,” she turned her head to fix him with an intense look, “why don’t you like the ocean? I shared my trauma, now it’s your turn.”

James sighed. “Alright, I suppose I owe you. I’ve got to warn you, it’s pretty embarrassing.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Try me.”

James paused, trying to decide at the last moment if there was any possible way to tell her the truth and still be respectable in her eyes. There wasn’t.

Finally, he looked at her. “Have you ever seen a movie called ‘Jaws’?”

She pursed her lips, obviously trying not to smile. “Uh, yeah James. I think everyone’s seen that one.”

“Well,” he closed his eyes, preparing for her worst, ��I had nightmares for weeks. I don’t know why, but it really got me. I could barely walk through campus puddles on a rainy day. Kept thinking some bloody shark or something was gonna come up, grab my ankle, and pull me in.” He opened one eye to cautiously scan her reaction. “Well? I’m mad, aren’t I?”

He was shocked to find that she was not laughing. Not much, anyway.

“It’s a completely rational fear,” she said thoughtfully, staring out across the blazing water. The sun was almost entirely set now, and soon they’d be engulfed in night. “It’s the fear of the unknown, innit? The anxiety that there’s something unseen lurking around the corner. It’s why people are afraid of spiders and centipedes. All the hidden things that might be there to hurt you. It’s why we wish we could see the future, to be sure that everything is going to turn out alright.”

He knew she was right. He followed her gaze out over the waves. It wasn’t the water that scared him. Wasn’t the searing cold, the slippery rocks underfoot as he plunged further and further into the deep. It was the unknowing, the darkness below him that scared him shitless. “Lily Evans, you are very wise.”

“I know.”

They were silent again, but not uncomfortably so. A strange sense of serenity washed over him. He wasn’t the only one who didn’t know what was out there.

“I could help, you know,” Lily said without looking at him. Instead, she seemed very interested in picking at a hangnail on her thumb.

James raised his eyebrows. “Help me? With swimming?”

“Swimming, the sea, all of it,” she chanced a glance up at him. She really did have the most staggering green eyes he’d ever seen. “I’m pretty good out there, and you clearly need help.”

James laughed. “That bad, am I?”

She grimaced. “Yes, that bad.”

He sighed and glanced back toward the sea. The sun had fully started to set now, and the pink and orange waves looked as menacing as ever. “I dunno… I’m not keen to repeat my near-drowning.”

“Oh, come on,” she winked at him, “a strapping lad like yourself should have no problem swimming in there.”

Strapping? She thought he was strapping?

James forced himself to focus. “The sun’s almost set. What if it gets too dark to see?”

“So?” She pushed herself to her feet, then offered his hand to pull him up. “You can’t see through the water anyway. What’s a little more unknown going to hurt?”

She helped pull him to his feet then began unbuttoning her shorts. James had the self-control to look away, though his hands shook just a bit as he removed his own t-shirt. Together, fully outfitted in their swimsuits, they marched toward the now-purple water.

“Don’t worry, we’ll go slow,” she murmured as they reached the shoreline, “I’ll hold your hand through the whole thing.”

James smirked, “Figuratively, of course.”

As if to spite him, she grabbed his hand and squeezed hard. With a jolt, James remembered that very hand on his chest not two hours ago, pulling him up and out of the same water they charged into now.

“The trick,” Lily said decisively as she stared out at the breaking waves, “is to choose the right moment. You have to wade in past the break line between waves. If you time it wrong, you get creamed. That was your problem last time.”

“Thanks for the reminder.”

“No problem. Ready?”

“Actually,” James hastened, suddenly feeling sick. He wanted to drop her hand and run back, but he found that his skin felt glued to hers. “I think not. Thanks for the offer, but I’m fine being a coward for the rest of my life.”

“Not a chance!” She cried, gesturing out over the water, “Look how far you’ve come! You can’t go back now. I’m not going to let you drown.”

James tried to shoot her with a mischievous grin, but he knew it more closely resembled a grimace. “Promise?”

“Promise. Go!”

And so, Lily pulling at his hand, they sprinted out into the shallows together. The remains of the previous wave rushed merrily alongside their feet and legs as they sprinted into the water. James did not stop running until he could feel the water at his collar bones, his feet skimming the bottom of the seafloor. He felt around with his toes. No sharks or monsters as far as he could feel.

“See?” Lily laughed and splashed him a bit with water, “it’s not so bad. Jump!”

He turned to look just in time. A wave was coming at them fast. He barely had time to push off the ground to sail over it. The two of them soared through the water, over the wave, and back down again as it crashed onto the shore behind them. He laughed with glee and disbelief. His lungs felt icy cold as he gulped down air to keep himself from panicking. It felt like flying, and James suspected he’d been meant to fly all his life. This was easy. This was wonderful.

Suddenly, a wave larger than the rest descended upon them. “Alright, James,” came Lily’s confident voice as she squeezed his hand tighter, “we have to go under this one, alright?”

“What?” He just managed to yell before she pulled him under the wave. Again, there was that eerie stillness, only this time James wasn’t alone in the silence. Lily’s hand was still warm and sure in his own.

And so they flew through the water, dodging and riding and floating over the waves. It was exhausting work which was not made any easier by their fits of laughter every time the other received a faceful of icy water. Finally, when the sky had turned a deep navy, they dragged each other back out of the surf and onto the shore.

Brilliantly illuminated stars scattered across the night sky as they threw themselves back down on the beach. Lily reached into her large tote and produced a beach towel that they shared, taking turns to wipe the saltwater from their eyes and faces. They had barely talked the whole time they swam, just laughed, and gasped for air.

“See?” Lily sighed as she flopped back onto the beach towel, “I told you it’s lovely out there.”

“I stand corrected,” James said as he laid down next to her. He could see her chest and stomach rise and fall with the effort of breathing. “You were an excellent teacher. You’re not Lily of the valley, you’re Lily of the sea.”

She looked at him with a look that he’d come to learn meant she was about to make fun of him. “Have you been thinking of that line the whole time?”

“No!” James said with mock indignation, “No, it’s true. You made me see what all the fuss is about. Thank you.”

Lily grinned at him. She turned onto her side to face him, her head resting on her outstretched arm. He could see her freckles even in the dim light from the stars. He hardly stopped to think before he leaned in, his mouth inches from her own. He could feel her breath, still coming in sharp gasps, against his lips. “Do you think it would be alright if I kissed you?”

She smiled, and his whole body lit on fire. “I’m going to insist that you do, Potter.”

Her lips tasted like the sea. Her hair, when he took the back of her neck into his hand, was coarse and tangled from their swim. The shock of her warm hands on his cold, bare chest nearly caused him to cry out, and she smiled into him. God, she knew exactly what she was doing to him.

It was impossible to know how long they stayed entwined in one another. James had lost all sense of time and space. All he knew was Lily. He knew he could stay like this forever and be just fine.

Unfortunately, Remus had other plans.

“OI!” Came the shout from the darkness. Lily and James jumped apart in alarm. Remus stood a ways up the beach with his arms crossed. It was hard to tell in the dark, but James would bet anything that he was smirking. “You’re not snogging my best mate down there, are you?”

“No!” cried James and Lily in unison.

“That’s what I thought. I hate to break up the party, but James, we’ve got to move. Mum will flip if we get the car back late.”

James nodded. It was a horrible thought, leaving Lily, but he’d seen Remus’ sweet-tempered mum angry only once before. He didn’t wish to repeat the experience.

“I’ve got to run,” he whispered apologetically to Lily. He grabbed her hand in the darkness, and for a moment they could have been back in the water, soaring over waves together. “I’ve got a few more days in town, then back to school. Can I meet you here again tomorrow?”

Lily beamed at him. “That sounds lovely. Maybe at school I’ll even allow you to be seen with me.”

He laughed, then kissed her once more. Remus’ exaggerated cough told him that it was, really, now time to go. “Do you need a ride home?”

She shook her head. “I’ve got my bike. See you tomorrow, then.”

His chest felt like it was fit to burst. They could do this all again tomorrow.

“See you then, Lily of the sea.”

He turned before he could see her roll her eyes again and made his way up the beach toward Remus. He put his hands in his pockets and tried his hardest to stifle the grin that was permanently etched upon his face.

Perhaps he wasn’t so mental after all.

#jilychallenge #we made it folks!#Feeling very clever bc I'm late but it's still technically august #nina writes #jily oneshot

55 notes · View notes

mindofharry · 3 years

Text

in which you’re acting in olivia’s wilde’s new movie and harry happens to be a big fan.

SO EXCITED FOR YALL TO READ THIS!!! :D feedback is welcome as always <3

fluff!!!! and just a lot of stuff about hollywood and the industry etc!!

You remember being eighteen and getting your first acting job on a big series. The most popular series on netflix at the time. You were so young and so new but you couldn’t let this offer go, so you took it and it was the best decision you ever made. It started you career and you ended with a job you love and are so very passionate about.

Soon enough the show decided that they would do one final season, you were 20 and had only done two movies since then. They were good movies but there was nothing much to them, you were just the best friend in them and nothing more.

When the job the series ended your agents were looking high and low for auditions and ideas etc. Everything was going pretty well, you had secured a place on a movie (again only a best friend) and you were pretty confident with what the future was going to hold. Doing that movie, that you thought you would only be a side character - was the best thing that had ever happened to you. You were praised for your role in the drama, and ended wining awards you never could even dream about. You also picked up a lot of lifelong friends.

Things were going so well. You had auditions and managers wanting you from every corner of the states, directors and producers calling up your agents. You felt as if nothing could stop you or get in your way.

Then COVID struck.

You were so grateful that you had a roof over your head and friends living with you in such a depressing and emotional time, but you couldn’t help but be upset. You were so excited for your career to finally take off and for you to get properly working.

But you just had to make do with what you had. You were in lots of lives on instagrams and still did lots of press for you latest movie and tv series. Although it was basically just the same questions, but you had something to keep you busy.

***

“Now don’t get too excited, but i got you an audition for a movie olivia wilde is directing” Alexia, your agent and bestfriend said over the phone. You grabbed your other friend, Danny, arm grinning at his confused expression.

“I love you so much, y’know that” you say listening to laugh alexia let out.

“I said don’t get too excited, but i think you’ve got this. just do your usual set up and clean face and hair out of your face ok?”

You nod and then answer back with a quick yes and a goodbye before hanging up and squealing. “i’ve got an audition for an olivia wilde movie” you yell making danny stand up and bring you into a hug.

“Fuck yes!” he yelled and then suddenly he stopped looking you dead in the eye. “This is the first time i’ll see you in your zone, Ms Emmy award winning actress” he teased making you hit him with a soft smile.

“You’re gonna have to help me dan, like read my script out when i get it. And help me set up lighting and shit”

“Sounds important, you sure you don’t want sara to help you with that?” he asked referring to his sister, and your partner in crime. You had all been friends since middle school all living in the same neighbourhood and going to the same school.

You were together through everything.

When sara got denied from her top college, when danny came out as bisexual, when your mom had died. Of course you had fights, like every friend. But you always came back to eachother. Sara and danny stayed with you when you were done with acting, when your mom had died very suddenly, when your dad lost contact with you and your brother. They were really the best friends you could ever ask for. You were so grateful.

“Should be ok, will probably need sara’s opinion seen as shes a film major. But it’s pretty easy stuff dan” you insisted picking up your laptop from the couch and opening it up.

Danny nodded and sat beside you placing an around your shoulder.

“i think you’ll get it. don’t know what it’s about, but you’re definitely fit for an olivia wilde movie”

You grin at him and open up your email to see alexia has sent you some lines to record.

“i’m going to go over these a bit, but i’ll let you know when i need you”

***

Danny and sara helped you with the audition tape and calmed your nerves and frustrations. Usually your anxiety is high when waiting for a call back, but now with covid and not getting the work you want it’s beginning to get a little worse. But you had your best friends there to guide you through it.

Weeks went on and no news came and honestly you forgot all about it moving onto different projects and stuff for 2022.

Then you got a call.

“y/n. you got the part”

And with that, you, danny and sara celebrated. You were beyond grateful and couldn’t believe you had gotten work — let alone with olivia wilde.

A bottle of wine and chinese takeout was the best you guys were going to get, but you didn’t complain one bit. Love island was on in the background while danny painted your nails and sara did your hair. “I can’t believe i’m going to be working along side olivia fucking wilde” you squealed making danny laugh and sara pull your hair. You yelped. “Olivia wilde gets to work along side Y/N fucking L/N” she corrected earning a couple of laughs out of you and danny. You guys celebrated anything and everything, it was like your tradition.

Danny got a haircut - celebration. sara finished editing that video that she had in the background for a good morning - celebration. you finally getting rid of those horrible earrings - celebration.

it was also an excuse to order unhealthy amounts of takeout.

“y’know i feel good about this”

Danny nodded putting the nail polish on the coffee table. “i can see that. look more confident” he added sara agreeing with him.

“just don’t forget about us when you get to go to the met gala. you’ve already done one hit movie, let’s hope this this another”

***

The script you received was absolutely amazing.

you couldn’t explain it, how it made you feel. You just couldn’t wait to play this character - although it was very different to your last character, you still felt so connected to it. A thriller was something you could never see yourself in, even now you have a hard time believing you’re going to be in one. And the amount of sex scenes thats in it, it did get you a little excited, albeit you were a tiny bit nervous.

“Harry styles” Alexia said over zoom, you grinned and danced around your sitting room.

“What are you dancing about?” danny asked putting the groceries on the counter.

“i’m gonna be having pretend sex with harry fucking styles!” you yelled making alexia cackle and danny dance around the room with you. “this is definitely something to celebrate. i’ll get the wine!” danny said dancing his way to the kitchen.

“well i’m glad you’re not shy. Olivia said harrys quite nervous about it all. obviously he was in dunkirk, but this is his first proper movie” she said making you nod “i know you’ll make him feel comfortable, but you are so confident so please don’t scare him off” alexia teased making you pout.

“i can’t help it. but i’ll make him a gift basket or something” you shrugged and alexia smiled.

“this is why i love you”

“ok so, harry styles, olivia wilde and y/n l/n in one movie?” sara asked making you smile as danny cheered. “my baby is making me so proud” sara cried dragging you up off the floor and spinning you around. you giggled and poured.

“i love you guys so much, y’know that?” you say putting an arm around both of their shoulders.

“eh, we love you too” sara said shrugging her shoulders.

“eh? shut the fuck up. say you love me like you mean it” you say tickling them. “ok! we love you, so much” danny yelled making you stop and put your hands on your hips.

“good to know”

And so the days went by you video chatting with olivia and the other producers. Making sure to check in with everyone as well. Olivia was the sweetest person ever, she called to just talk or to go over any queries or notes you had. She was honestly such a genuine person and you were glad you got to work with someone so kind.

Today was the day you would be meeting some of the cast and producers etc. You hadn’t really seen anyone other than alexis, sara and danny so you were excited.

You’re an outgoing, extroverted person so covid really hit you hard. You get bored easily too, so you really needed this lunch.

Deciding to dress up a little, you put on your favourite flare jeans and white tank top. You tucked it in and placed your red cardigan over it. And obviously your go to shoes were your white converse — your feet haven’t grown since high school, so you call these converse your lucky converse since you’ve worn them at every event. even at a red carpet!

Placing your hair in a braid, you did some natural looking makeup and then placed your rings on your fingers. “I’m going now, sara!” you called out only earning a groan — she had been working late last night so there was no seeing her until at least 2:30.

Danny was out on a hike clearing his energy or some shit he read online.

You were a bit nervous to drive there as you had only gotten your license recently, usually sara insists on driving everyone apparently it’s therapeutic, you’re in actual hell while driving. luckily the restaurant is only 10 minutes drive, so hopefully you make it there alive. you didn’t know how many people would be there, with covid and all you didn’t really know what to expect. You knew olivia would be there, and probably harry too. Which weirdly enough you weren’t too nervous about.

you had made a post on instagram about being excited to work with olivia and harry and the many other amazing people - and the harry fans of course went crazy. But overall everyone took the news really well.

When you arrived at the restaurant there were a few paps, probably there for harry and not expecting you. You’re a new popular actress, so this would make the paparazzi a lot of money. Once word got out that Y/N L/N and harry styles were having lunch together it would probably end it mayhem.

“y/n! over here!” a voice called out as you walked into the restaurant.

You smiled as you saw olivia wave at you. “ah! i’m so sorry i’m late” you say and olivia shook her head bringing you into a hug. “don’t worry about it! we’ve ordered some drinks, got you a coke” she said.

“i’m harry” a deep voice said from behind you, making you look around and see - harry fucking styles - introducing himself to you.

“i know who you are!” you giggled pulling him into a hug, which he obviously didn’t expect, but took it anyways. “i’m y/n” you say pulling back and sitting down infront him crossing your legs.

“i know who you are too” he blushed making you laugh again.

“you’re vegan, right?” you asked and he nodded “yeah, have been for a while. trying hard to stay somewhat healthy over quarantine” he said sipping on his water.

“well, i get a takeout probably two times a week and haven’t been to a gym in, i’d say 5 years”

Harry laughed loudly, making you laugh too. Olivia and the producers gave each other knowing smiles. They really hit the jackpot with this one.

***

“that wasn’t as bad as i thought” you mumbled as you got your first covid test done. It was very uncomfortable to say the least, but it didn’t hurt and you didn’t pass out so that was a plus.

you were going to start working next thursday, if everything goes to plan. If someone has covid then they obviously have to push it back.

You were so excited to get to work, it wouldn’t be like any other set you’d worked on. But you had a feeling it was going to be one you’ll remember forever.

“how was it?” danny asked as you got back in the car.

“better than expected. uncomfortable, but ok” you mumbled sitting back in the seat. Danny noticed how tired you were so he turned off the music and put down your window a little and let you sleep the whole journey home. You had been at all hours going over your script. This is what happened with you last role, and it was just the way you worked.

By the time you go on set you had everyone’s lines memorised.

The days went by slowly. It was actually quite painful. But your covid results came and you were negative and so was everyone else on the set and in your household. So you could finally get into work.

You were driven to work on thursday by a very nice man called john. He talked non stop, but it was nice to get to talk to some other than sara, danny and your agents.

“Have a good day john” you called out stepping out of the car your new pink mask adorning your face.

you had to get bangs the other day — you never heard the fucking end of it off of danny and sara. you had bangs in high school, along with some really badly done piercings and you told yourself never again. Of course the bangs looked good, they were amazing and you actually suited them this time. But that didn’t stop sara taking out all of the pictures of your freshman year and making you do a side by side for her instagram.

“you look tired” a voice called making you turn around a stick up the middle finger. You recognised the voice immediately, harry styles. He laughed coming beside you in his white vote shirt and tracksuit bottoms.

“i have to go and get my tattooes covered now” you sighed placing your phone in your tote bag, harry nodded “me too, the only time i’ll ever hate getting these tattoos”

“y’know i like them. the tattoos, they suit you” you say opening up the trailer door. harry stopped and smirked “hmm. see you later”

Covering up the tattoos didn’t take as long as you thought. The makeup and hair took a good hour and was painful with the mask - you did nearly pass out from the heat, but luckily harry stopped by with a cup of tea just in time.

God.

That man was something else. Seen as he’s never properly done this before, you thought he’d be full of first day jitters. But no, he’s going trailer to trailer, with tea’s and coffees.

“you nearly ready? we have our first scene soon” harry said leaning against the trailer door. All of you were practically ordered to wear a coat to cover the clothes as some paps had been spotted. It was a rather cold day so it didn’t make a difference to you.

“eager?”

He nodded holding your hand helping you down the steps of the trailer — heels were a real bitch you decided.

“paps and heel are assholes” you say making harry laugh. “you can say that again” he said dropping your hand and walking beside you.

You wanted him to hold your hand.

“don’t worry, i’ll go easy on you” you tease getting a pinch in return.

“more like the other way”

“yeah, christopher nolan movie ey? proper actor”

Harry rolled his eyes with a small smile on his face placing an arm around your shoulder.

“come on, wife.”

***

The days were long and some days were hard. But harry made everything so much better. Hugging you when you needed it, joking when you needed a laugh. There was paparazzi pictures of harry speaking and you laughing - which was a horrible cackle that made harry laugh. The fans were going crazy for you guys, and you were both asked constantly on whether there could be something more going on with you two.

“Another headline, H”

Harry shook his head with a small smile, placing the chinese onto the plate.

“your first drama headline, i’m so proud” Danny said placing an arm around you. Danny, sara you and now harry had decided to celebrate the first two weeks of filming and now apparently your first drama headline. Something about harry joining in all your tradition and not complaining about the awful food or very obnoxious and rude chats that go in, makes you soft and weirdly enough besotted.

“oh shut up, i’ll tell the paps that i’m dating you again. they’ll never leave you alone” you warn and danny backed off.

“again?” harry asked laughing slightly and passing you the plate full of food.

“everytime danny’s mean to me i tell the paps that we’re dating, even told one i was pregnant and that he didn’t want the baby”

“fuck off. remind me to never get on your badside” harry cackled sitting down beside you his food on the coffee table and his wine in the other. He had, had a good few drinks before hand too — he said “it’s my cheat night”.

Soon enough danny and sara went off to bed, not before danny teased you about how in love you and harry are. “oi! fuck off” harry yelled making danny squeal.

“please chase after me, daddy” danny said running down the hall.

“don’t humour him” you giggled sipping out of your wine glass.

“i’m in love with your friends” he said pausing to take a big gulp of his wine. “they’re just so genuine” he finished leaning back and placing a pillow on his lap. you nodded in agreement.

“we’ve been friends for years, before any of us were like somewhat famous”

“y’know i’ve seen your first movie about 100 hundred times” harry admitted making you flush. “shut up. you’re talking out of your ass” you say taking his wine glass away and pausing netflix.

“i’m serious. had a proper crush on you too” he laughed shaking his head.

“i don’t know if you remember, but i think it was a teens choice awards. and you had gone on stage to get an award and i helped you up the stairs thinking you had heels on” he said and you remember it vividly now.

“oh shit yeah! no, i wore my lucky converse. they’re pretty cool too”

“i think youre pretty” harry whispered moving closer to you. you bit your lip to try and stop yourself from squealing.

“hmmm. ok mr styles”

Before you could come up with another joke harry placed his lips on yours. You didn’t even hesitate in kissing him back, your hands flying to his hair. He moaned at the feeling of you tugging on it.

“you have no idea how long i’ve been wanting to do that for” harry said slightly out of breath.

“don’t worry, darling” you paused.

“me too”

#AHH #hope you like!!!! ☺️#harry styles #harry styles fic #harry styles imagines #harry styles x reader #harry styles x you #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff #asks #requests #imagines #fic #fics #fanfic

297 notes · View notes

itsthewritergal · 4 years

Text

Does He Know? F.W. x reader

This is part two of My Lips are Sealed!! I am loving how this is coming along, I’ve got so many ideas! Let me know what you think is going to happen next :)

Trigger Warnings - mentions of abortion, as always please don’t read if it may trigger you!! I’ve got many other Fred fics instead :) xx

You can find part one Here

or part 3 here

Y/N felt sick, she jogged her knee up and down in attempts to slow her nerves. Every bone in her body told her to run, but she sat in the plastic uncomfortable chairs. Her eyes grazed over the couples who sat together, whispering with each other. Y/N knew that if George was here he’d make some fun out of it, he’d try to imitate some of the other patients, or ask ridiculous questions which no doubt would make them both laugh. She knew he’d be able to make her laugh, her mind drifted over to Fred. He’d be trying to chat up the nurses. She pushed the thoughts of him out of her head quickly. She watched as one couple were laughing with each other, they gave Y/N a small smile when they caught her eye, she smiled back politely; silently wishing the ground would swallow her whole.

She just wanted this to be over, she wanted to go back to work and laugh with Fred and George like she would usually do, she didn’t want to have this weighing heavy on her heart. Picking up a magazine she began flicking through the pictures. Nothing could stop her mind wondering though, what would her life be like if she left right now. Would she buy a little house, and paint the nursery all by herself. Pushing the thoughts out of her head, she didn’t want to think about that right now, she couldn’t back out, she didn’t want to. Turning her attention back towards the magazine, she forced herself to read the words printed.

“Y/N would you like to come through?” The nurse said kindly, Y/N smiled as she followed her out of the waiting room.

-----

Y/N hurried her way towards the exit of the hospital, she just wanted to go back home and sleep. Emotionally she was drained, more than she had expected, her mind was running continuously wondering whether she had made the right choice.

“Y/N!” A voice called Y/N turned around and was greeted by Caitlin, George’s girlfriend “How are you?” she asked quickly making her way towards Y/N

“Good! I haven’t seen you for a while” Y/N plastered a fake smile onto her face, she could tell that Caitlin saw straight through it.

“George told me you had an appointment today, he said I might see you” She grinned “Do you fancy a coffee? I’m on my break and am dying for one” She asked

“I’d love to” Y/N said honestly, Despite not wanting to talk she really didn’t want to be alone, she knew as soon as she was her mind would wonder to places she didn’t want it to go.

Caitlin sat herself opposite Y/N in the hospital cafe. The waitress set two large mugs down on the table, Y/N thanked her gratefully. Caitlin and Y/N sat in silence for a few minutes waiting for the other one to start the conversation.

“George told me” She said quietly, Y/N smiled slightly, George never could keep a secret from Caitlin

“I thought he would” Y/N answered, her eyes entranced by the cup of tea in front of her

“He swore me to secrecy, but he thought that you could use a friend” She gave Y/N a sympathetic smile “It can’t have been easy”

“It’s done now” Y/N said quietly, stirring another spoonful of sugar into her tea

“You could have asked me to come with you” she said kindly, Y/N avoided her gaze knowing that she was going to burst into tears at any moment “Or George, either one of us, you know that don't you?” She said sympathetically

“I know, George said he would come with me” Y/N said quietly “It was something I needed to do alone” Y/N answered fighting to keep the tears inside

“I understand that” Caitlin smiled “George is worried about you. Kept texting me this morning making sure that I wouldn’t forget that you were coming” She chuckled

“He’s a good friend” Y/N said simply,

“Do you know who the dad was?” Caitlin asked after a few moments of silence, Y/N felt her heart crack a little as her mind drifted back to that night

“Fred” Y/N whispered, feeling a weight lift once she said his name

“You two are together?” Caitlin asked confused

“No” Y/N said sadly, pushing the thoughts of that night out of her mind

“I didn’t know you two even” Caitlin trailed off slightly

“It was once, at their summer party” Y/N explained

“But you left early because you weren’t well” She said replaying the moments of that night

“Fred took me home” Y/N said simply “He stayed with me, we were both drunk and it just happened”

“Does he know?” Caitlin asked

“No” Y/N said quickly “He can’t know. It didn’t mean anything to him, it was just a bit of fun”

“I wont say anything” she promised giving Y/N’s hand a friendly squeeze “George hasn’t told him about your appointment either” She added

“He hasn’t?” Y/N said knowing that the twins didn’t have secrets between them

“No, he hasn’t. He said that you didn’t want anyone to know, so he never told him”

Y/N smiled a little, knowing that her friendship with Fred would still be in tact.

“I ought to get back to work” She said

“Of course” Y/N said quickly “Thank you for the coffee” Y/N smiled kindly

“How about you come over tomorrow night, let’s have a girlie night” Caitlin suggested

“I’d love that” she answered honestly knowing that it was just what she needed

“Perfect! I finish at six so come over around 7?” Caitlin said

“I’ll be there” Y/N smiled as Caitlin left the cafe quickly.

------

Y/N paused for a moment before she stepped into the shop, a few customers wandered their way around the shelves. Fred was animatedly talking to a young boy about one of the products, Y/N had to tear her eyes away from the interaction, Y/N made her way up to the staff room. Closing the door behind her, she set her bag and coat down. Wiping underneath her eyes in attempts to remove the mascara which had run slightly, she pulled her hair into a tight ponytail. Plastering on the best fake smile she could, she walked out into the shop. Waving at Fred as she walked over to help a confused looking customer. Fred waved back animatedly, grinned as he did. Y/N finished with the customer, pleased having gotten her to spend double what she had planned to.

“I knew there was a reason why we employed you” Fred laughed, leaning himself on the counter in front of Y/N, who smiled in response.

“Fred I’ve got a lady upstairs who’s driving me mad, can you go work your magic?” George asked

“I’m on it” He grinned, bounding off upstairs, eager for the challenge

“Hey” George said quietly drawing Y/N’s attention towards him “How was this morning?” He asked

“Fine” She said blankly, not wanting to talk about it

“Was it all ok? He asked, his voice was laced with concern

“It was fine George, I really don’t want to talk about it” She pleaded

“I”m you’re friend. It might help to talk about it?” He suggested

“I doubt it, I just want to forget it all” She said honestly, pulling her eyes away from George’s gaze

“Are you ok?” he asked

“I’m fine. I’m absolutely fine” She knew that she didn’t sound very convincing

“Promise me?” He said “Swear it?” He said

“George” she wined “I’ll be fine” She said

“You know where I am if you want to talk about it” George said

“I’ve got a girlie night with Caitlin tomorrow, after some ice cream and lots of wine I’ll be back to normal” She said with a forced laugh.

Taglist (also I’m really hoping it works because I’ve never done it before!)

@asuperconfusedgirl @obsessedwithjustaboutanything @fuckthenewyorkpost @manuosorioh @gingerspicetalks @fred-weasleys-bitch @whorotional @n3ssm0nique @hey27 @unadulteratedfirellamapanda @ellsxwilkins @rosaliepostsstuff @whitewineandpizzapuffs

#fred weasley x reader #fred weasley #fred x reader #fred weasley x y/n #fred weasley angst #fred weasley imagines #fred #harry potter imagines #harry potter imagine #hp fandom #hp #hp fanfic

420 notes · View notes

thoughts-on-bangtan · 3 years

Note

being honest i dont get jm using a award to say he misses tannie... we don’t know 90% of their lives but they are very close to the point of still sleeping together sometimes. and going deep if they were really a couple jm woudnt miss taes dog right? and even as friends he could visit it. unless its because of their schedule right... this kind of comment sometimes confuses me and haters will use it as “they arent close” lol. i just wanted to know your pov.

Judging by Admin 2's reaction, as well as some others in our asks, I have a feeling I was the only one with a more realistic expectation, or lack of expectations, as I waited for the BTS profiles to be posted. Based on last year's, I knew expecting something grand out of Tae, and especially Jimin, would just be me setting myself up for failure, which is what I think happened here.

But, let's discuss it.

I spent a solid couple of hours making an excel table last night that contains everything every member said about every member (sourcing 3 translators for maximum insight) to see if really what Jimin chose for Tae is so "bad" that suddenly people are sending us asks like this one, and another one I'll add later down the line. And the conclusion I've come to is that...what he gave to Tae, as well as Hobi and Seokjin, as awards are the only ones that have any actual emotional/personal connection to them.

With Namjoon and JK Jimin basically states the obvious--Namjoon is tall and JK has gained muscle mass, meaning nothing new or with a proper emotional connection was stated; to Yoongi he made the same request many other members have made, so a work connection, nothing inherently personal.

Now, compared to that--Seokjin teases him/them, which isn't new info, so Jimin asked him to stop or do it less, a valid request which I'm sure he also voiced to Seokjin outside of this FESTA profile and also shows a degree of personal connection; Hobi gets requested to not walk away after asking Jimin a question, which again shows a personal connection and that it's a reoccurring thing; and lastly Tae with Tannie.

Something I've noticed is that some ARMY, who are used to our western celebrities and draw conclusions about idols based on those parameters, forget that BTS are busy, like whatever you consider busy, take that and multiply it by ten. During his vlive with Hobi and Yoongi back in April, Tae said that they are much busier and their lives far more hectic than any of us realize. Taking that into account, and the fact that one of the members (I think it might have been Seokjin) mentioned they work at least ten hours a day for 360 days a year with practice, MV and CF filming, photoshoots, interviews, recording and working on music, meetings, and many other things we have no idea about, do you really think Yeontan lives with Tae full time? A dog needs to get walked and fed but if Tae is out of the house every day for at least ten hours, what would happen to Tannie? He'd just sit around at home alone all day which just isn't fair, so I'm sure Tannie lives with Tae's parents much the same way Micky lives with Hobi's parents and/or his sister, JKs dog lives with his family, Holly lives with Yoongi’s brother, Moni with Namjoon's, and years ago Seokjin had to give his sugar gliders to his parents because he was too busy to take care of them.

Based on that of that, I'm not sure how often Tae get's to see Tannie. Probably not all that often, to be honest. So, if Tannie's owner doesn't get to see him often, I'd assume Jimin gets to see him even less (if we work on the assumption that Tannie lives with Tae's parents and thus Tae could only really see him when visiting them or when they visit him, that means Jimin wouldn't be able to see Tannie just like that either, since that would be like intruding on family time, right?). And we know Jimin loves Tannie, so him using that award to say he misses him and is asking about him shows care and an emotional connection to Tannie. Do I think Jimin also asks Tae privately about Tannie? Absolutely. And still, while Jimin didn't give Tae the, I don't know, "hot body Award" like Yoongi did with Namjoon or the "person I love most in the world award" (which we should know by now would never happen, and if you expected something of that intensity level, than I'm sorry but you've set yourself up for disappointment from the start), he still drew a personal and emotional connection between himself and Tae, as well as the pet Tae loves dearly.

More below the cut:

Jimin could’ve asked about the other pets of the members, but he didn’t, he only ever really talked about Tannie, and here he does it again, so doesn’t that show that he has a bond with him, a closer one than the other members since they don’t/didn’t ask about him (except for Hobi that one time on weverse)?

Speaking of Hobi, am I the only one who finds it interesting and cute that he only drew little hearts for Jimin and Tae when writing down their awards?

Also, we have to remember that these profiles are for us, fan content (remember when Jimin asked Tae last year to post more pictures of Tannie on weverse because ARMY miss seeing him, so what if this is drawing a connection/parallel to that?), and not meant as the members “confessing” something to each other that they otherwise wouldn’t or don’t have the chance to do so. It’s not meant to be all that serious and instead just be fun and nice for us to read, show us a bit of their dynamic and that’s it, no world shattering revelations to be found, from any of them. Or do you really think Yoongi doesn’t like Jimin just because he told Jimin he’s trying too hard to be funny? It’s just part of their dynamic. Or that none of the members have anything else to say to JK besides commenting on his body/appearance? As for vmin, I’d like to remind us of this moment from their Friends subunit interview for FESTA 2020:

Whatever Jimin and Tae want to say to each other, they don’t need FESTA to do it, or us to be there as witnesses. Like Tae didn’t already say enough by telling us that 95z is love. Or Jimin by writing Friends.

From anon: because of you I came back da Namjin. I am a senior army and 2 years ago I left Namjin because I thought they broke up. You made me three Vmin but after what JK wrote about Jimin and after Jm himself about his chances I think that vmin are not together or Jimin withdrew. I think Jk would not dare to write about Jm that he has cute fingers etc if vmin were a relationship. it goes too far and confuses Jk too much. I don't want to say that J / k*ok is real because it certainly isn't !!!!

Now this is where I just sit and sigh heavily because it’s exactly what I expected and I will admit it irks me to no end. Let’s establish a little timeline:

Based on the FESTA Mission! BTS 4 Cuts Teaser that was posted earlier we can deduce that at least part of FESTA was already being prepared back in the first half of March, since on March 12th Jimin, Namjoon and Seokjin had their salad making vlive. Let’s suppose that everything FESTA related was prepared and written out by the members around that time as well. Sometime later BTS filmed YOU QUIZ followed by LET’S BTS and BTSxGame Caterers and everything else we’ve seen after that.

Or going a little further back to sometime in November 2020 while they were preparing for MMA 2020 and the Black Swan performance. We got the practice video today and if you pay attention to Jimin and Tae even there you notice that while Tae is waiting for his turn in the choreography, Jimin runs past him after his part is done (0:55) and they pat each other or do a “high five” or something along those lines as a way to cheer each other on. A very “we’re broken up” or “I will break up with him soon” thing to do, right? Or in min-January when Tae posted seven pictures out of which three were of just Jimin after an ARMY on weverse asked if anyone had any nice pictures they could use as wallpaper for their phone. Between all that I’m having a hard time honestly finding any moment where either of them seemed sad or “cold” toward the other the way you would be and feel if the person you love pulled away from you or broke up with you.

If you are still unconvinced and still think that is what Jimin tried to communicate to us, would Tae really have gone on national TV and said he likes Jimin the most? And would Jimin have agreed that he likes him a lot as well? Or looking at the making video of their Kloud Beer CF that was posted today as well, would Jimin really be looking and interacting with Tae this way if he decided to end things between them?

Also, going back a little, your mention of Jimin reflecting upon opportunities/chances now that it’s a new year. My question is based on what you made the judgment that this comment has to be about vmin and not about something entirely different in Jimin’s life, or maybe something connected to BTS as a whole? Just because of him asking Tae about Tannie? Jimin, as well as Tae and the other members, have entire lives outside of just their bonds with each other, entire careers, passion projects, families, friend groups, and that little bit of time they have to themselves, so immediately thinking Jimin’s comment must be related to his relationship/bond with Tae basically makes it seem like Jimin’s life is a romcom or a TV show in which the only thing that matters is if the main character will date or remain in a relationship with character B or not, but life isn’t like that.

Personally it reminded me of something Tae said during their Bring the Soul documentary about how BTS had the opportunities to go higher faster but they decided against them. Perhaps Jimin’s comment was about something like this as well, especially since we know Jimin is a very private person and very selective of the personal things he shares with us and the ones he doesn’t.

For the FESTA profile JK decided to give Jimin the “Cute Award” with the explanation that his “Face, height, fingers are cute” which, honestly, is just saying something that a) is true and b) has been said in millions of ways by every member across the last couple of years. I don’t see what the issue here is? During one of the episodes of BTSxGame Caterers Seokjin said that Jimin is very cute and that he has a small, beautiful face, so really he even added the word beautiful in there, which JK did not, so what really is the issue here? The fact its JK, right, that’s where the issue lies, to which I ask why? On this blog we’ve already established that there is (in our opinion and based on everything we’ve seen and heard) no romantic connection between JK and Jimin (nor Tae), not now and not in the past either, so why is him saying that Jimin is cute (which he is known for even by people outside of ARMY, or like James Cordon calling him his cute baby mochi) is an issue but Seokjin or any other member is not? Either we use the same measurements for everyone or we don’t compare or make such assumptions about any of them.

What I find curious, because this does make it seem like you, anon, are someone influenced by J*k*ok shippers and their opinions, see an issue in JK saying that about Jimin, and how that’s “proof” that Jimin and Tae can’t possibly be together, and yet you took no issue to Namjoon basically saying he wants to give Tae an award because he is so handsome he is above every list or Yoongi comparing him to Michelangelo's David, both of these being much more superlative and grand complements/awards than JK saying Jimin’s face, height and fingers are cute.

It’s funny how things that Jimin and Tae have said about and to each other that make their bond very clear (I want to live with my lovely Taehyungie forever or here is my love for you while handing Tae a bunch of red heart balloons or 95z is love, a statement I’m sure he wouldn’t post if that sentiment weren’t mutual) are all questioned or ignored, but something as basically trivial as a comment about Jimin being cute is turned into a major issue. The mental gymnastics is fascinating.

Lastly, going back to the first anon and their mention of how haters will use Jimin’s Award for Tae as “proof” that they “aren’t close anymore”--why do we care? Like Namjoon said in the Mic Drop lyrics Haters gon’ hate. They will say a lot of things about a lot of things and even make things up if they feel like it to push their agenda, so really, regardless of what Jimin would’ve said, or not said, they would’ve found a way to twist it and make it fit their narrative. Besides, what haters think has no actual effect or bearing on what Tae and Jimin have with each other, and neither does what other shippers claim. Haters and other shippers don’t control the narrative, BTS do, and everything Jimin and Tae have shown us in 2021, as well as the last eight years, shows me that their bond has only ever grown stronger and closer and more beautiful and awe inspiring, even while haters claimed they stopped being friends years ago, so why should you or I care what they think?

Like Yoongi once said in one of his vlives about how haters can write all they want, he won’t read it while they will get sued.

#Taehyung #Jimin #vmin #FESTA 2021 #BTS FESTA 2021 #answered ask #answered ask by admin 1

67 notes · View notes

rein-ette · 3 years

Note

Are you still working on your Commonwealth study? Do you have any thoughts on Arthur's relationships with his colonies apart from Canzuk + US?

Not properly, unfortunately with exams and then work I haven’t had mental/emotional capacity to do real research (and probably won’t for a while 😔). But I have continued to think about and develop certain relationships, and I think I also have old hcs I’ve never shared, so I’ll put those down!

Born into the Empire

Australia

@oumaheroes has already done such great hcs on him idk what I can add, but basically he was a little bit of a rowdy child, always breaking windows and shattering fancy pots, never able to sit still. I think rainbow once mentioned that Ken (short for Kenneth, my name for Aus) was a lot like England as a child in his curiosity and energy, and I wholeheartedly agree. But I think Arthur’s intensity was more inwardly directed, pushing him to pursue and master new talents and learn whatever he could, while Australia is a little more carefree in his love for the outdoors, exploring, jumping around and off things, little wild animals. Unfortunately for him, he was born in a period of the empire when Arthur was very serious about his kids education, and therefore often praised those who studied hard and learned fast, which really just wasn’t Australia’s cup of tea. Australia took this kinda hard and thought he was the “dumb” one in the family that Arthur was always scolding, but in reality Arthur knew and appreciated that Australias interests lay elsewhere — he was just a frustrated, tired, parent who really wanted to give his kids the best while also holding his empire together, two goals that were never going to fit well in the end and would completely exhaust him.

As Australia’s grown older he’s realized a bit of this (not entirely, though) and also that 1) he really did break a lot expensive things and cause general mayhem 2) scolding us Arthur’s way of showing he cares, if he didn’t he wouldn’t have payed attention to him at all 3) despite being a penal colony, he was still one of Arthur’s more “legitimate” children (being white and a boy) and was therefore still incredibly privileged — never having to question, for example, why it was that Arthur was his dad, if it should be this way, or if he had a seat at the family table at all (more on this later).

New Zealand

Zee, from birth, was a clear favourite. Obedient, calm, quietly intelligent, he would also later develop a blistering sense of humour which combined with his appearance made it overwhelmingly clear who’s child he was. If Ken questioned his place in the family because of his poor academic record and others did because of their appearance/race/other complications, Kaelan never had such problems; his siblings called him the “prince.” Zee, however, also had a charm that, like Matthew, endeared him to his siblings and mostly protected him from jealousy, though he certainly still had issues with being called a try hard, daddy’s boy, bossy, arrogant. Certainly as a child Zee was a little prideful and, under that unperturbed demeanour, willful, but he grew out of it by the 20th century and became one of those most trusted by Arthur, second only to Matthew. He’s also always been inseparable from his brother Australia despite their differences, and today they both have one of the healthiest and most amicable relationships with Arthur of any nation, let alone former colonies (family road trips, every summer).

Bermuda

I absolute fell in love with this girl after reading about here, once, in this fic by @shachaai, and after that my mind just ran away with me. For me, her human name given to her by Arthur just has to be Ariel — for the little mermaid reference, yes, symbolizing her connection to the sea and stunning good looks, but also because:

1. Ariel is a biblical name, meaning lion of God. This makes sense to me, because Bermuda began as a Portuguese trade post, so Arthur definitely consulted our resident bad catholic Port before naming her.

2. Ariel used to be boys name. This also makes sense, because I hc Bermuda was and still is a tomboy. Bitch is fierce, takes no prisoners, and has zero filter. Her letters to Arthur, which all the colonies sent so Arthur could keep an eye on things, were full of shit like “I swear to god if the Spanish don’t get out of my waters I might eat one of them,” and “father, I asked you for destroyers two months ago, and yet you sent them to Hong Kong — could you explain this most unusual occurrence, surely it’s not that you forgot”, and “thank you for the harpoon on my birthday, I caught a small shark a couple days ago and have sent you some of its teeth for your collection.” Arthur tolerates this attitude because he’s weak when it comes to girls; he absolutely spoils his daughters (and flushes like a 16 year old when a woman so much as bats her eyelashes at him). Yes, p*ssywhipped Arthur is a hill I will die on.

3. It also suits her because? Ariel? Shakespeare? The Tempest? Bermuda Triangle? Shipwrecks? Daughter-like figure of powerful and vengeful sorcerer? Yeah. And this girl is a fire spirit — she is so lively, snarky, clever. As she’s grown older she’s mellowed out a little, but still: a no shit taken, no fucks given type of gal.

4. Speaking of growing up, she’s also become quite the beauty. Shacha, if I’m remembering correctly, described her as dark skinned, wavy-haired, and green eyed and that image has been burned onto the back of my eyelids ever since. Those Iberian genetics really be pulling through for her, that’s for sure. Engport love child if I’ve ever seen one. Definitely one of the prettiest in her family.

Singapore

I’ve already mentioned this to needcake, but I’m not too big a fan of canon Singapore, so this is my oc version. Singapore is fascinating to me because it had only a very small local population before it became a colony (The original settlement had actually been destroyed by the Portuguese about two centuries before the British started building a port there.) So nation-tans like Singapore and Bermuda really are Arthur’s children in the most direct sense of the word. And yet, Singapore is mostly ethnically Chinese, with Malays being the second largest group. Growing up Asian in a white, Victorian era family surely cannot have been easy and more than once Singapore probably wondered if there hadn’t been some mistake. To make up for the constant fear that he wasn’t “really” British, Singapore studied ferociously and had a truly terrifying work ethic. I’m not sure if this is common knowledge outside Asian circles, so I’ll mention that this hc comes from the fact Singapore is well known for having truly exceptional students and some of the most prestigious schools. Singaporeans score highly in literally everything and they have an advantage with good English learning environments, a highly desirable trait in Asia, but these results come from brutally long hours — and its really saying something that they’re known for working hard, considering the studying ethic of students in Korea, Japan, and China aint nothing to sneeze at, either. To me this actually fits really well with Singapore’s upbringing in Arthur’s household, because Arthur himself prizes intelligence and hard work above all else, being a workaholic himself.

As for their relationship, it was probably the best when Singapore was young and peaked in the 1930s with the massive naval base the British built at Singapore, at the time the largest dry dock in the world. Singapore was a well-behaved child, not necessarily introverted but not rowdy either, and all the way into his teenage years he truly admired Arthur and was proud to be a part of the British Empire, despite his lingering unease and insecurities. The British defeat in World War II, however, was a massive turning point. He had worked his ass off to be a good son, a good brother, to contribute to the only family and system he had ever known, and he had thought by the 30s he was finally on his way to becoming a fine adult. And suddenly, the British surrender brings his entire world crashing down. He had followed the rules faithfully thinking it was his destiny, but suddenly it was clear that all rules were made up. Of course, his insecurities exploded. If the empire was a ruse, what the hell was he? A part of the illusion? He couldn’t have a truly Asian identity, because many of the old East Asian nations shunned him for his Western upbringing, and he could not entirely understand their values either. So he was a kid who kinda had to figure out late and very very suddenly who the fuck he was and wanted to be.

And, well, he’s done pretty well for himself, hasn’t he. After having a total crisis and questioning everything, I think Singapore slowly started to realize that just because the British Empire as a political entity didn’t last forever, that didn’t mean that his entire childhood and identity weren’t real. The love he gave to his siblings and the love he got back, the hard work he put in, his bond with Arthur and the safe, happy childhood he had — those memories and feelings didnt have to be diminished by what came after. Essentially, he learned the lesson all nations have to learn, which is that one needs to be able to discern between duties as a nation and feelings as a human being, and to some extent keep them separate to protect both.

Whoooooo ok I’ll stop there because this turned into a dissertation, sorry. Let me know if there are any specifics u want me to elaborate on or anything I missed, but I’ll leave this here for today :)

#hws england #hws Australia #hws new zealand #oc: hws Bermuda #not gonna tag anymore I’m lazy #fun times with the commonwealth #I probably won’t write so much for all of them I just put it there to remind myself #needcake #ask #my hcs

43 notes · View notes

wiypt-writes · 3 years

Text

Stark Spangled Rebirth

Chapter 4: The Star Spangled Man With A Plan

Summary: As the SSR deals with the aftermath of the attempted theft of the serum by Hydra, Steve finds himself side-lined until he’s offered a golden opportunity to help fight the good fight…but it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be as he quickly finds out.

Warnings: Bad Language words.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Word Count: 7.5k

A/N: This series is my contribution of sorts to the CATF 10 Year Anniversary Challenge. As always, some creative liberties taken.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Star Spangled Rebirth Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 3

“Absolutely not!” Katie blazed her hands on her hips “That is NOT what Erskine was going to do.”

“Well Erskine isn’t here is he, in case it had escaped your notice.” Phillips bit back “And neither is the serum after the last vial of it was smashed out on Brooklyn Pier.”

Steve sighed, his head bowing a little.

“Erskine said that post the transformation, Steve was supposed to be monitored for twenty-four hours before he did any major physical activity.” Katie continued, “Given that, and what just happened, you seriously want to take his blood?”

“She has a point.” Howard stepped in. “Personally, I’m not sure it’s wise. Private Rogers should be given the rest of the day at least under observation as was the original plan, where we can run the physical tests Abe had been planning to do.” He took a deep breath and bowed his head slightly.

“We owe it to him to do this right.” Katie spoke again, her voice loaded with emotion as she turned her eyes to the Colonel. Phillips gave a little groan, dragging his hand down his face “We can take the samples tomorrow.”

“Do I get a say in any of this?” Steve spoke, surprising himself with his sudden forthright nature and Katie glanced at him.

“No.” She said simply, turning back to Phillips. Steve’s eyebrows shot up and he turned to look at Howard who was silently chuckling at his sister’s bossy nature. He gave a little shrug of his shoulders, and then his brown eyes turned back to watch as Katie stood looking at Phillips expectantly.

“You know, I’m beginning to rue the day I ever asked you two to join this team.” The Colonel shot, and Steve watched as Katie turned to Howard, smirking. “And wipe that look off of your face right now, Agent.”

“Sir.” She nodded, and then everyone’s attention was taken by Agent Carter as she walked back into the room.

“We have it.” She nodded, “The HYDRA Sub. It’s in the Tech Lab.”

“You wanna wait until tomorrow to work on that too? Perhaps, give that time to recover as well?” Phillips looked at Howard who snorted.

“You know they say sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.” He arched an eyebrow as he looked at Phillips, “But I prefer to think of it as a metric for potential. You’ll be a great man someday, Colonel Phillips.”

Katie’s shoulders began to shake and she turned back towards Steve who was watching the scene play out in front of him, utterly perplexed. He still couldn’t get his head round Katie’s blatant disregard for her Commanding Officer’s authority. Howard, well, he could understand that a little more as he wasn’t in the man’s chain of command but Katie was. And she seriously didn’t seem to give a shit.

“Do we have any more intel on Schmidt?” Phillips turned to Peggy who blinked and looked at him.

“No, Sir. Nothing,” she took a deep breath, “but I think after today it’s safe to say that was another thing Dr. Erskine was correct about. Schmidt clearly has ambitions beyond simply being Hitler’s Chief Scientist. I think we should consider the fact that he’s equally, if not more dangerous.”

At that Steve heard Erskine’s words from the previous night as clear and as loud as if the man were speaking them to him in person. Schmidt must become that superior man.

He cleared his throat a little and felt all eyes in the room turn to him. “I think Agent Carter is right, Sir.” Steve took a deep breath “Last night, Dr Erskine was explaining to me about Schmidt. He said that Schmidt is convinced that there is a great power hidden in the Earth, waiting to be found...”

“So he’s bonkers.” Phillips looked at Steve. “Terrific.”

“You know, we have forces out there fighting the Nazis.” Katie pondered for a moment, “Maybe the SSR needs to concentrate on HYDRA.”

Phillips looked at Katie, “You wanna chase HYDRA?”

She shrugged, “it seems logical to me. A lunatic Schmidt might be, but he clearly has a vast amount of followers that buy into the same rhetoric. That makes them dangerous.”

“And let’s not forget, HYDRA is, or was, Hitler’s deep science department. Now, Steve stopped them from getting the vial of Erskine’s completed formula, but who knows what else they have in their grasp.” Peggy added, “I saw a lot of things when I was under, a lot of things that if perfected could be disastrous. We chose to concentrate on Hitler as he had control of HYDRA. But, if Schmidt is going rogue as we suspect, then I’m afraid Sir,that as Agent Stark suggests, he could prove to be far more dangerous.”

“Just what we need,” Howard groaned, “two enemies to be fighting.”

“Oh pur-lease.” Katie looked at him. “Like you’re doing any actual fighting.”

“Shut up.” Howard glared at her, “You know as well as I do that I was plucked out for this instead of going to the front lines, just like you were.”

“The pair of you can take your squabbles outside.” Phillips looked at them, “I’m done. I need to brief Senator Brandt.” With that he turned to Peggy. “Get onto base and tell them they need to get into the President, inform him of our intentions so that he can approve them. You,” he then looked at Howard, “take a look at that sub, see what we’re dealing with from a technology point of view. As for you,” he looked at Katie, then to Steve, then back again. “take Rogers for whatever observations it was Erskine wanted to do. Then I suggest you all get a good night’s sleep. Back here at Zero-Six Hundred.”

With that he swept from the room leaving the four of them behind. Steve turned to Katie, his arms folded.

“You know, I don’t need a load of tests to tell you I’m fine. In fact, I’m more than fine. I feel, well, I feel better than I’ve ever felt in my life.”

“That maybe, but I’d feel better if you went along with it, please.”

“Oh, she’s serious, Rogers,” Howard smirked, “she said the magic word.”

At that Katie turned to glare at her brother, who held her gaze, his expression not faltering in the slightest. She threw him a positively filthy look before she turned back to Steve and he looked at her as she once more began to speak. “Erskine wanted to make sure that everything was okay, monitor the effects properly at least for twenty-four hours. We have no idea if it’s permanent, what it’s actually doing to you, whether the effects and transformation is still ongoing.”

“Okay, okay.” Steve held his hand up, giving her a nod, “Fine, I’ll submit for monitoring. On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“Could someone please find me something to eat?” He looked around, his stomach giving a huge growl at the perfect moment to emphasise his point, “I’ve never been this hungry in my life, and believe me, I’m no stranger to living with an empty stomach.”

**** It turns out that Steve’s appetite had increased exponentially too, which was to be expected considering his metabolism was working far faster than it ever had before. He wolfed down a huge helping of Potato and Hot Dog salad, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy, an assortment of vegetables and a huge helping of apple pie. He had no idea where Katie had managed to conjure it from, and frankly he didn’t care either. All he knew was that in that one sitting he’d consumed more food than he usually ate in a day.

The rest of the day was taken up with him being poked and prodded and attached to all sorts of strange machines. Howard explained what each of them was for, but he wasn’t paying much attention. His mind was whirring, finally processing what had happened in the last couple of hours. He had been so sure about what was going to happen post getting the serum, that he’d be shipped out to help in the fight and now he didn’t have a clue where he was going to go, especially if they were now going to refocus their efforts on HYDRA. That said, it was all helping the war effort wasn’t it? HYDRA was a huge threat, if he was able to help take them down in any way, shape or form, then he was ok with that.

One of the doctors and Howard started explaining to him what the serum had done and at that point he tuned in to some of it, picking out the odd phrase like ‘super strength’, ‘increased stamina’, ‘enhanced metabolism’, ‘fast healing’, ‘super-sharp senses’, ‘memory expansion’, ‘logical improvement’. Howard looked at him and explained that as far as he could see, the transformation was complete, and was as permanent as they could hope. But Erskine had said that the serum wasn’t infallible, therefore how long the effects would last into the future they didn’t know. Forty, maybe fifty years or so. Steve wasn’t particularly bothered about that though, by the time that happened he would be well into his sixties or seventies and would he really care then?

Katie arrived back just as the Doctor who had been dealing with him had instructed the nurse to remove the heart monitor form his chest.

“Hi.” She smiled and Steve turned to face her, fulling intending on greeting her back, but before he could, the Doctor made a little noise of surprise.

“What is it?” Howard asked and Steve hastily turned towards them, wondering what was wrong.

“His heart rate just spiked.”

Steve gulped and hastily looked away from Katie as Howard turned to face him. His eyes flicked from Steve, to his sister who was stood in the doorway, a bashful smile on her face but to her credit she held her brother’s gaze as the man gave a groan.

“Seriously?”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” She mumbled, stepping into the room. “You done treating him like a guinea pig?”

“Hey, you were the one that insisted on the monitoring!” Howard pointed at her.

“Yes, because it was what Abe wanted,” she shrugged, “and I wanted to make sure everything was okay before you guys started stealing his blood like a pack of starving vampires.”

“Well you needn’t panic.” Howard arched an eyebrow. “The transformation seems to be text book. Your Super Soldier is as ready as can be.”

“Fuck you.” Katie shot back, and Howard gave a chuckle as Steve let out a little groan at the man’s teasing.

“That bad an idea huh, dating my sister?” Howard turned to Steve and he flushed immediately.

“That…no, I didn’t say that, I mean, not that we…”

“Ignore him Steve, he’s being a jerk.” Katie rolled her eyes. “And if he knows what’s good for him he’ll shut up before I knock his teeth out.”

“Threat received and understood, Kiddo.” Howard held his hands up as the Doctor bustled around and handed Steve back his t-shirt.

“You can leave now, Captain Rogers, but we would like you to stay here tonight.”

“Why?” Steve frowned as he pulled the SSR logo t-shirt over his head.

“Because I want to monitor your levels at complete rest.” The Doctor smiled. “Humour me, please.”

Steve shrugged as he swung his legs off the bed. “Sure.” It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to be.

“Your stuff is being brought over from the barracks.” Katie smiled softly.

“Any idea on where I’ll be going after that?” Steve stood up carefully, taking his time to pull himself up to his new full height.

Katie shrugged. “I suppose it depends on what Colonel Phillips and the President agree. I suspect we’ll head over to London HQ if we’re going after HYDRA in Europe, but we should find out tomorrow morning.”

“So, we have a free evening?” Howard looked at Katie.

“Well, sort of. Unless you want to get a head start on that submarine thing.” She waved her hand at the door.

“I don’t need a head start.” Howard shrugged, somewhat arrogantly, “I’m a genius, I’ll crack it tomorrow.”

Katie rolled her eyes, “You know I really admire your modesty.”

Howard chuckled, “Yeah, yeah. Anyway, what I was suggesting was that if we do have a free few hours, how about a drink? I got a bottle of vintage Macallan stashed in my lab.” He paused and Steve watched as his shoulders slumped a little and he took a deep breath before he looked back up at both Steve then to his sister. “Me and Abe had been saving it for tonight."

Katie took a deep breath before she walked over to her brother who wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, gently kissing the top of her head. Steve looked away for a second, not wanting to intrude on the moment as he watched the doctor and nurse leave the room.

“We should have a toast to him,” Katie spoke, her voice cracking a little as she stepped away from Howard. She turned to Steve and smiled, “he’d have been proud this had worked.”

Steve nodded a little side smile pulling at his mouth as he remembered the banter he and Erskine had shared about the schnapps. With a nod he looked at Katie, the smile spreading further across his face. “He owed me a drink.”

*****

It was a strange night.

The three of them had shared a glass each of the smooth whiskey, which Steve had thoroughly enjoyed. It had tasted so smooth yet crisp. And he wasn’t sure if that was down to the fact it was stupidly expensive and high end, or the fact his taste-buds simply worked better. Howard hadn’t raised the issue of him and Katie again, for which Steve was glad. If he had been asked, he couldn’t say how he would have answered because he wasn’t entirely sure what they were. A casual fling? A hook up? He knew what he wanted it to be, but once again he was brought crashing back to reality. They were in the middle of a war. It was impossible.

Despite the myriad of thoughts and emotions running through his mind, Steve slept better than he had ever slept in his life. His chest wasn’t bad, he didn’t struggle for breath when he lay down flat meaning that for the first time he could remember he didn’t need to sleep propped up. Yet, on the other hand, he felt like he was waking up every five or ten minutes. The slightest sound or movement made by the various SSR staff nurses and guards milling around the small medical wing of the lab woke him thanks to his now enhanced, fine tuned senses. The Doctors and Howard had assured Steve that whilst it might take a while but once he was used to the heightening of his senses it would start to feel ‘normal’ to him in a way and he would learn to use them and appreciate them.

With a yawn, he cracked his head side to side as he raised it off the pillow. Whilst he didn’t know what time it was thanks to the lack of any natural light in the room, he knew that this time he wasn’t getting back to sleep. He climbed from his bed, stretched and waited for the usual pain to shoot down his back, but nothing. He then stood up, a little too fast and pitched forward before he steadied himself and drew up to his full new height, squaring his now broad shoulders back as he stood tall in his new posture. Again, Howard had told him he would soon learn to adjust his movements to compensate for the fact that he no longer needed to put as much effort into them. No sooner had he done that, a nurse appeared with his breakfast and she was followed by Agent Carter who wished him a good morning and then handed him a formal Army Uniform in his new size. With a soft smile and a thanks, he took it before laying it down on the bed, admiring the green wool and crisp shirt.

“When you’re ready then we’d like to take the blood samples.” Peggy spoke softly, “but there’s no rush. Take your time.”

“Rather just get it over and done with Ma’am.” Steve said politely and truthfully. The sooner he was done being prodded, poked and stabbed the sooner he could find out what was going on.

With that in mind he ate, washed up, dressed and was ready in half an hour flat. He was led out of the bunk room he’d been sleeping in and down the corridor back to the observation room he’d been in the previous day where he was instructed to roll up his sleeves and lay back as they proceeded to siphon off his blood. When they had one bag full they then hooked him up to another, and then another, the Doctor instructing him to tell them if he felt light headed but Steve had a suspicion that the enhancements to his body would simply enable him to generate more as fast as they took it. That said, by the time the third bag was full he was bored. Peggy seemed to sense it and she turned to the doctor who nodded and instructed everyone that they were done.

“Think you got enough?” Steve asked, somewhat sarcastically.

“Any hope of reproducing the program is locked in your genetic code.” Peggy replied simply, “but without Dr. Erskine, it could take years.”

“He deserved more than this.” Steve replied a little sadly and he meant it. The serum had been Erskine’s life work and now there was nothing to show for it as the last vial of the serum had been smashed on Brooklyn Pier.

“Well, if it could only work once, he’d be proud it was you,” Peggy looked at him.

Steve glanced at her, feeling a little embarrassed at her praise but he didn’t dwell on it and neither did she. Instead, she told him that once he was ready she’d take him down to the main lab were Phillips and Katie were talking to Senator Brandt about the plans for the SSR going forward. Keen to understand, he quickly sorted his shirt out.

He followed Peggy into the lab, his ears picking up the conversation as they entered.

“Speaking modestly, I’m the best mechanical engineer in this country,” Howard shrugged. “But I don’t know what’s inside this thing or how it works.”

“So much for not needing a head start, huh?” Katie teased and Howard glared at her before he turned back to Phillips.

“We’re not even close to this technology.”

“Then who is?” Senator Brandt demanded.

“HYDRA,” Phillips responded simply. “I’m sure you’ve been reading our briefings.”

“I’m on a number of committees, Colonel,” Brandt replied simply, completely unabashed at Phillips tone.

“HYDRA is the Nazi deep science division.” Katie explained

“It’s led by Johann Schmidt,” Peggy picked up, “but he has much bigger ambitions.”

“HYDRA’s practically a cult,” Phillips stated, “they worship Schmidt, they think he’s invincible.”

“So what are you gonna do about it?” Brandt asked and at that point Steve took a deep breath, finally he was about to find out what he was going to be doing.

“Spoke to the President this morning. As of today the SSR is being re-tasked.”

Katie and Peggy exchanged excited glances and Peggy looked back at Phillips, seeking clarification as she asked, “Colonel?”

“We are taking the fight to HYDRA,” Phillips looked at the woman. “Pack your bags Agent Carter. You too, Agent Stark,” he turned to Katie, “you’re flying to London tonight.”

Steve hesitated for a second, but when Phillips didn’t turn to speak to him and inform him where he was going, he hurried forward a little.

“Sir, if you’re going after Schmidt, I want in.”

“You’re an experiment,” Phillips shot back. “You’re going to Alamogordo.”

Steve frowned a little, but then pressed some more, he wasn’t letting this go.

“The serum worked,” his voice rose a little.

“I asked for an army and all I got was you. You are not enough.”

Katie wheeled round to look at Phillips, her face angry, “Oh, come on Sir, that’s-”

“I have put up with your insubordination for long enough. I don’t give a shit what you think, Agent Stark.” Philips snarled, “keep pushing me and so help me God, I will have you taken straight outta this unit and you’ll be back home typing up the Letters of Condolence.”

“But-”

“Enough!” Phillips snapped. “Now I suggest you disappear and pack.”

Katie took a deep breath, an angry noise escaping her throat as she turned and stormed away. Steve watched her go before he opened his mouth to argue some more with Phillips, but the man had already moved away.

They wanted to send him to a fucking research plant? Seriously? This was ridiculous.

“With all due respect to the Colonel, I think we may be missing the point,” Senator Brandt spoke to Steve and he turned to face the man. “I’ve seen you in action, Steve. More importantly, the country’s seen it.” Brandt turned to his aide. “Paper.” His aide obeyed, showing them the paper in his hand. It was today’s copy of the ‘The New York Examiner’ which bore the headline "Nazis in New York - Mystery Man Saves Child" along with a picture of Steve holding the car door in front of him.

“The enlistment lines have been around the block since your picture hit the newsstands," Brandt smiled at Steve. “You don’t take a soldier, a symbol like that, and hide him in a lab.” Steve felt a surge of hope flood his system as the Senator continued. “Son, do you want to serve your country on the most important battlefield of the war?”

“Sir, that’s all I want,” Steve replied honestly.

“Then, congratulations,” The Senator held his hand out for Steve to shake. “You just got promoted.”

**** Steve’s hopes were short lived when Brandt explained what he had in mind - using Steve to boost recruitment and bond sales. But he knew he was getting nowhere with Phillips, so he decided to take the role and could only hope that it would lead to something else. Besides, it was important to gather support. The Forces needed all the financial and recruitment help they could get, and he could play a key part in that.

So Brandt said.

“Hey…”

Steve looked up from where he was packing the few items he’d unpacked from his trunk and looked at Katie.

“Oh, hi.” He said, turning back to his packing.

“I hear congratulations are in order,” she continued and Steve took a deep breath, straightening up.

“Who told you?”

“Good news travel fast, Captain.” She stressed the last word and Steve had to actively stop himself from rolling his eyes. “That’s a pretty good promotion considering you’ve been a soldier all of a week.”

“Yeah, well, it was too good an opportunity to turn down. In fact, it was the only opportunity to turn down.” He watched her as she took a deep breath, opened her mouth, before closing it again. And then Steve really did roll his eyes, “if you’ve got something to say, spit it out, Katie.”

“Hey, don’t get pissy with me,” she snapped back.

“I’m not being-”

“Yes, you are,” she folded her arms. “It’s not my fault Phillips won’t let you in on this. I’ve tried, believe me, but for whatever reason he’s not moving.”

“He’s not moving because he doesn’t like me.” Steve replied simply.

“Well, that’s his loss," Katie countered. “And what’s with the sudden display of self-pity?”

“What?”

“This, moping around, acting all deflated.”

“It’s easy for you to say.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well you’re off, over there. Fighting the fight but me, well, looks like I’m gonna have to play ball with Senators doesn’t it?”

“You don’t have to do anything.”

“Yes, I do!” Steve’s voice rose and Katie blinked a little, but besides that she showed no signs of having registered his angry tone. “What choice do I have?”

“There’s always a choice, Steve.”

“Oh, yeah?” He snorted. “And my choice here is what? Go to the damned White Sands Proving Ground where they can run more tests on me? Keep me locked up like some kind of lab rat?”

“I didn’t say they were always good choices.”

“Well what do you think I should do huh?”

“That’s not for me to say.” Katie shook her head. “But I can tell you one thing....”

“What?”

“That I have faith in you to do what you feel is right, and continue to be the good man I know you are.” Her words were soft but they hit Steve like a freight train and he swallowed, suddenly aware of how down right shitty he’d been. “And if you’re telling me that it feels right that you go where Brandt wants you to go then…” she shrugged.

“I have to try.” Steve replied.

“Well, in that case, I’ll say what I came to say in the first place," she gave him a soft smile, “good luck.”

Steve took a deep breath and sighed, “Thanks. Look, I’m sorry I snapped. I just, well, truth be told I’m a little jealous.”

“Jealous?”

“Yeah, all I ever wanted was to be a soldier and to fight on the front lines. Like my dad did, and Bucky.” He sat down on the side of the bed, “And I agreed to this procedure because I thought it was my ticket there, ya know?”

“I get it,” Katie nodded, crossing the room to sit beside him. “And I understand how frustrated you feel, believe me.” He turned to look at her to see her glancing down at her hands before she looked up at a spot on the wall opposite them. “I just can’t say anything to make it better, other than repeat what I said before. I have absolute faith and belief that you’ll do what you think is right. And that’s all any of us can do.”

Steve looked straight in her eyes as they flickered across both of his and he took a deep breath, her words echoing round his mind. Throughout this, she and Erskine had been the two people who had utterly believed he was the best man for the job so to speak. Now Erskine was gone, and he was about to be separated from her as well. And it pained him to think about it, as he realised that he was going to miss her, for more than the simple reason that she’d been a friend to him.

“You know I’m sorry we met the way we did,” his thoughts blurted out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Katie frowned, “what?”

“No, I err…” Steve sighed and then gave a snort. “Guess the serum didn’t enhance my ability to talk to a dame without completely making a total screw up of it.”

“Oh I don’t know,” Katie smiled, “you do a decent job most of the time.” She paused as Steve gave a little huff of laughter before she turned her body a little more towards him, “what’s on your mind, Soldier?”

“I meant, I’m sorry that we met when we did. And, you know, not sooner.” He shrugged, looking down at his hands, “or maybe even later, when all this is over.”

“If it ever is,” Katie sighed and Steve raised his eyes to hers as she licked her lips a little. “Steve, I’m not sad I met you when I did. Quite the opposite actually. It’s been…” she paused for a moment before she smiled “…a little ray of hope in an otherwise very gloomy world.”

“Hope?”

“Yeah,” she shrugged, “you know, a reminder that no matter how ugly the world seems or how much it changes, it’s still a beautiful place.”

Steve thought on her words for a second, a soft smile spreading across his face.

“What?” She asked as she noted his expression.

“You just remind me of my mom,” he smiled. “She was always a 'look on the bright side' kind of woman. No matter what life threw at us, she was always reminding me there were people far worse off.”

“She sounds like a smart lady.”

“She was,” Steve smiled with a short nod. “kind, compassionate. Just more ways you remind me of her.”

He didn’t miss the faint flush on Katie’s cheeks as she looked down at her hands and then raised her eyes to look at him, “I’m honoured.”

Steve took a deep breath, “I meant what I said the other night before we, you know.” He swallowed thickly, the lump in his throat felt like a tennis ball. “I like you, more than like you in fact.”

“Kinda sucks we’re about to be separated doesn’t it?” Katie looked at him, her eyes sad and he nodded.

“Yeah.”

“But, I’m a firm believer that if it’s meant to be, it’ll be.” Katie shrugged and at that Steve gave a scoff. She turned to him, a playful look on her face. “What, you don’t believe in fate?”

“Nope,” he shook his head, “you make your own luck.”

“Right.” A little side smile broke on her mouth, “you did a good job with that when you happened to be at the Expo the same time Erskine was.”

“Lucky coincidence.”

“And what was me getting accosted by a load of rapscallions in Brooklyn?”

“A not-so-lucky for you coincidence.” Steve shrugged.

“You know what the definition of the word coincidence is?”

“Not word for word, but I’m sure you’re gonna tell me.”

“Sass bag.” Katie nudged him with her elbow and he chuckled, “but you’re right, I am. It’s a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent casual connection.”

“And?”

“Fate is the development of events outside a person’s control.” Katie looked at him, her eyebrow arched, “just as a coincidence is beyond a person’s control. And if fate is what’s gonna happen to you no matter what you do, and coincidence is merely a matter of being in the right place at the right time, then what if you’re in the right place at the right time because it’s simply meant to be.”

Steve looked at her, utterly sideswiped at her sentiment. Whilst he wasn’t sure he agreed, the logic was surely there and the fact she’d laid it so bare, been so open with him knocked him for six. He saw her eyes flicker to his mouth again, and in a sudden surge of confidence he gently moved, taking her face in his hands and pulling her to meet him in a soft, gentle kiss that was loaded with meaning.

“Yup,” she sniffed a little as she pulled away and Steve was both surprised and horrified to see the tears in her eyes as she pressed her forehead to his, their noses bumping a little, “this definitely sucks.”

“Write to me,” he whispered, his thumbs swiping away her tears and she smiled, nodding, before she caught his lips again, this time the kiss was deeper, and Steve had to fight back the groan that was bubbling in his throat as he felt her tongue slide against his. They were interrupted by a loud noise outside and Katie pulled away, dropping her gaze a little before she sighed and stood up.

“Stay safe, Soldier,” she smiled, her hand gently cupping his cheek. “I’d hate for you to come back horrifically disfigured.”

At that Steve snorted, “would it put you off?” He teased, “I didn’t think you were that shallow.”

“I’m not,” she smiled as she made her way to the door. “It’d just be a helluva waste, a face like that.”

With that she was gone and Steve felt his smile fade, the warmth in his chest replaced by a hollow feeling which engulfed his entire body, as the realisation spread across him that he had no idea when he would see her again.

If indeed, at all.

****

November 1943.

“I already volunteered, how do you think I got here?”

“Nice boots, Tinkerbell…”

“Hey, Captain! Sign this”

The heckling from the assembled crowd rang through Steve’s mind as he sat dejectedly on the side of the stage, the miserable, cold rain matching his mood. His hand moved absentmindedly, shading in the drawing he’d sketched in his book. A very apt sketch of a Circus Monkey on a Unicycle clutching the damned shield he’d been given as part of his costume. It turns out the “battlefield” that Senator Brandt had been referring to was nothing more than a grotesque road show across the US and various other places on the Allied Map encouraging people to buy war bonds.

“The Senator's got a lot of pull up on the hill. You play ball with us, you’ll be leading your own platoon in no time.”

Yeah, a "platoon" of chorus girls and confetti cannons, complete with ‘Adolph’ himself. Steve had knocked him out countless times, and was still no closer to getting in on the real action.

He’d travelled all over the place during the last four months, the tour had been successful, and there was no denying that it was helping the effort in a way. “Bonds buy bullets, bullets kill Nazi’s bing bang boom.” But this wasn’t what he had signed up for. Nor did he believe for one second that this was what Dr. Erskine had in mind for how his serum would be put into use.

He’d made a few propaganda films, all part of the course according to Brandt who had then had the bright idea to send Captain America on the USO tour, to attempt to lift spirits. So here he was in Italy, five miles from the front line, having finally made it overseas as a soldier, only to be stood on a stage in front of the men he should have been fighting alongside, being pelted by rotten fruit and vegetables instead of bullets.

It didn’t help that he knew the SSR were fast ramping up their efforts on HYDRA, having been reassigned to somewhere in mainland Europe, not unlike himself at that point in time. He’d had a few letters from Katie, but he had no idea where she was. She didn’t go into details, which was to be expected, she couldn’t and her mail always reached him through the usual military channels. He’d tried to remain positive in his letters back to her, focussing on nights where had a particularly good show, meeting and greeting his ‘fans’ afterwards, carefully omitting details about the women that now seemed to be throwing themselves at him. Be it in bars, back stage or simply as he emerged from the venues; there was no shortage of ladies vying for his attention. And had he been that way inclined, he could have taken any number of them dancing and then back to wherever he was staying that night, but the fact was he didn’t want to.

Because no matter how pretty or forthcoming the girls were, his mind and heart remained with a certain green eyed agent.

It was ironic, when he thought about it. The Star Spangled Man with a Plan, the song dubbed him, yet Steve felt as if he had never had less of a plan in his life.

“Hello, Steve," a familiar voice spoke in his ear and Steve jerked his head up in surprise and turned, doing a little double take as he looked up at Katie.

“Hi,” he instantly felt his heart rate pick up dramatically in her presence, like it normally did as his eyes laid upon her. She was dressed in standard Army green wool pants that were tailored for a man with wide legs and long length that she tucked in to her well-worn mid-calf boots which were brown leather with lace protection straps and looked as if they had happily trudged through mud and been beaten until they broke in and needed new soles. Her unit issued jacket was the same colour green as her pants, but the harsh canvas material gave a weighted appearance across her shoulders as it was buttoned and zipped it up. Beneath it, she wore her wool tie and collared shirt, no doubt tucked into her trousers for a crisp clean look.

Steve noted how it was a stark (pun intended) difference to the previous smart pencil skirt and jacketed uniform he had seen her in at the SSR base which Peggy, who stood to her left, was still sporting. But then again, the two women were very different, and knowing Katie as he did, she wasn't one to conform and who knew what she had been up to whilst on the front line.

All it did was serve to make Steve feel even more self-conscious and ridiculous in his own outfit, designed for dancing and prancing around not active combat.

“What are you doin’ here?” He asked, his eyes flicking to Peggy before they returned to Katie again.

“Officially we’re not here at all,” Peggy smiled. “That was quite a performance.”

Great, they’d seen it. His shoulders slumped at little as he turned away.

“Yeah. Uh… I had to improvise a little bit. Crowds I’m used to are usually more uh, twelve.”

“Probably less full of jerks as well,” Katie snorted and Steve looked at her, his mouth curling into a slight smile as Peggy let out a sigh.

“You know what soldiers are like. Present company excepted of course,” Peggy quickly corrected herself as Steve had cocked any eyebrow at her sweeping assumption, before she turned to the other agent. “I warned you-“

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Katie replied with a roll of her eyes.

Peggy took a deep breath, before she turned back to Steve, swiftly changing the subject. “I understand you’re "America’s New Hope"?

“Bond sales take a ten percent bump in every state I visit,” Steve chanted off, the words flowing out of him the same way they did whenever he spoke to someone about the Roadshow and he grimaced as he realised just what a damned puppet he had become.

“Is that Senator Brandt I hear?” Katie teased and Steve took a deep breath.

“At least he’s got me doin’ this,” Steve felt a sudden need to defend his decision to take the role in the first place, especially after their conversation before he had left. “Phillips would have had me stuck in a lab.”

“And these are your only two options?” Peggy looked at him, nodding to his sketch book which was still open in his lap. “A lab rat or a dancing monkey?”

“You were meant for more than this, you know?” Katie added gently, and Steve looked at her, hesitating as his sarcastic reply died in his throat. Instead he looked away, a little dejected. She was right, he had been meant for more that was the whole point of him taking the serum. But even after he’d been turned into this Super Soldier, been given such power and capability, he still wasn’t enough.

“What?” Katie pressed gently, having noticed his hesitation.

“You know for the longest time I dreamed about coming overseas and being on the front lines. Serving my country. I finally get everything I wanted, and I’m wearing tights.”

Before either of the women could respond there was the sound of a horn honking which diverted their attention. Steve turned to watch as an ambulance pulled to a halt outside the medical tent. The back doors were flung open and several injured soldiers were pulled out of the back on stretches, nurses and medical staff rushing to help as they disappeared through the drapes of the tents, the walking wounded being helped down and aided as they limped behind.

“They look like they’ve been through hell,” Steve commented, a deep feeling of sadness at the sight of the injured men flooded his chest.

“These men more than most,” Peggy commented and Steve turned to look at her, a little confused as to what she meant.

“Schmidt sent out a force to Azzano,” Katie explained. “Two hundred men went up against him and less than fifty returned. Your audience contained what was left of the one-oh-seventh. The rest were killed or captured.”

Steve felt his chest tighten, as if someone had trapped it in a vice and his head momentarily span as the meaning of her words sank in.

“The one-oh-seventh?” He breathed out, begging it to be wrong. But Katie simply frowned as she gave a nod.

“What?”

Steve swallowed and looked around before he rose to his feet. “That was Bucky’s unit.” He turned to face her, his voice sounded alien as he almost choked on his words. Katie’s face slid into a look of recognition, her mouth falling open.

“Barnes?” She asked and Steve nodded, as he ran a hand down his face, once more glancing round desperately hoping for Bucky to appear and rip into him for his ridiculous outfit. But he knew that if Bucky had been in that audience, he would have already found him. Which meant that he was either amongst the injured soldiers in the tent or…

“Who’s Barnes?” Peggy asked form behind him.

“Steve’s friend from home,” Katie replied gently as Steve turned back to look at the women.

“I need to check if he’s there,” Steve nodded towards the medical tent.

“Not a good idea,” Peggy cut him off. “You saw their reaction to you before. If you go waltzing in you’re going to upset them.”

“I don’t really care,” Steve spluttered

“Well you should,” Peggy looked at him sternly.

“I have to know if he survived!”

“Okay, look…” Katie took a deep breath, and he tore his eyes away from Peggy who was still glaring at him to look instead at the other woman. “Phillips will have the list of the-“ she hesitated, clearly searching for the best word “-casualties. We can ask him.”

“Phillips is here too?” Steve frowned, although he wasn’t sure why that had surprised him. Decision made, he turned and started running across the camp shooting a, “come on,” over his shoulder as the heavy rain pelted down onto them all.

He busted into the tent, “Colonel Phillips,” and the man looked up, a disgruntled expression spread across his face before he took a deep breath and looked back down at the papers on his desk as Steve strode purposefully towards him.

“Well, if it isn’t the Star-Spangled Man with a plan, and what is your plan today?” Phillip’s voice was laced with sarcasm but Steve didn’t care. At the moment he had one thing on his mind, and that was Bucky.

“I need the casualty list from Azzano.”

“You don’t get to give me orders, son.” Phillips snapped, looking up at him once more and Steve ignored his angry tone, his stubbornness showing through as he continued to pres.

“I just need one name. Sergeant James Barnes from the 107th.”

“You two and I are gonna have a conversation later that you won’t enjoy,” Phillips pointed to both Agent Carter and Katie in turn.

“Can’t wait," Katie sassed back and Phillips’ head shot up to look at her as he once more fixed her with a stare that could freeze over hell, but Steve didn’t have time for this.

“Please tell me if he’s alive, Sir. B-A-R…”

“I can spell,” the Colonel stated harshly as he tore his eyes from Katie. He looked at the papers in his hand and with a sigh dropped them to his desk and when he spoke his voice was a little softer. "I have signed more of these condolence letters today than I would care to count. But the name does sound familiar. I’m sorry."

Steve swallowed, a feeling of cold washing over his body as the Colonel's words sank in. It might sound familiar but there was a chance it could be another Barnes. It was a common name, after all, and even if it was Bucky’s name on the letter, he could be missing assumed dead, not actually confirmed dead. Peggy and Katie had told him before that there were still men from the unit trapped behind lines.

"What about the others? Are you planning a rescue mission?" The words tumbled out of his mouth before he’d really had time to consider them properly.

“Yeah! It’s called winning the war.”

Steve frowned, “but if you know where they are, why not at least…?"

Colonel Phillips stood up, the expression on his face belonged to a man who had just lost his final bit of patience. "They're thirty miles behind the lines, through the most heavily fortified territory in Europe. We'd lose more men than we'd save." He moved around the desk to stand in front of Steve, his hands falling to his hips as fixed him with a stern and challenging glare. "But I don't expect you to understand that, because you're a chorus girl."

Steve took a breath, the anger coursing inside him at the dig that Phillips had just made, but before he could say anything, he heard Katie scoff besides him.

“And who’s fault is that?”

Phillips turned to Katie, his face contorted in anger “You are this close…” he held his thumb and forefinger up a fraction of an inch apart.

Katie’s jaw clenched and her chin tipped up defiantly as she glared back at the man. Steve, having had chance to compose himself slightly now the spoke in an attempt to draw the attention back away from her and onto himself.

“I think I understand just fine.”

“Well then understand it somewhere else.” Phillips turned away. “If I read the posters correctly, you got some place to be in thirty minutes”

As he spoke the last words, Steve took note of the map which lay on the table and he noticed a flag marked with an H which caught his attention. And then, he made his decision.

The Star Spangled Man finally had a plan.

“Yes, sir. I do.”

***** Chapter 5

#Stark Spangled Rebirth #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers fic #captain america #CATFA 10th anniversary challenge #mcu #mcu fanfic #fanfic #chris evans #chris evans characters

81 notes · View notes

startanewdream · 3 years

Text

A proper kiss

Prompt: "Oh, for heaven’s sake, girl, it wasn’t that good of a kiss, anyway."

Except Lily Evans can't stop thinking about it.

Read on AO3 or below:

_______________________

Oh, for heaven’s sake, girl, it wasn’t that good of a kiss, anyway.

It wasn’t even a kiss. More of a brush of lips, the tenderest of the touches, really.

It was more like the first kiss Lily had ever had, the one she had not counted because it was nothing like she had read about - no magic, no shivers, no tongues or hands embracing each other.

Very much like the not-a-kiss that she shared with James Potter.

Could it even be counted as one if it happened during a game? She reasoned that not - except the challenge was to kiss someone and then Sirius had chosen James and they had kissed.

No, not a kiss. Just a brush of lips.

One that cannot leave her mind ever since they shared it three days ago.

It happened for a stupid dare, one of those games that seemed to be popular that year and especially among Gryffindors. Marlene had accepted to gift mouse toys to Professor McGonagall, Mary had kissed Remus and Remus had kissed a flustered Sirius and Peter had performed surprisingly good dance steps for them. And then it was Lily's turn and Sirius was chosen to select her dare.

Sirius was always the worse when it came to ideas so Lily had almost laughed when he dared her to kiss someone; then her relief had vanished when a smirking Sirius had called for James.

James hadn't laughed, not even smiled and in general, James didn't seem to find this amusing at all.

He had frowned. 'Sirius, come on', he had complained, refusing to look in Lily's direction.

'You know the rules, Prongs', Sirius had said calmly. 'If Lily doesn't want she can give up'.

No one had backed down and Lily wouldn’t be the first. So she had raised and placed herself in front of the couch James was sitting, offering her hand.

'Come on, Potter'.

Her voice had been calm then, focused, practical. She certainly was more confident than James, that looked unsure, biting his lips and seeming like all he wanted was to disappear.

He wouldn't, she knew. James Potter never backed down from a challenge.

So he had raised, ignoring her hand, and Lily had raised her head - he was taller than her by half-a-head.

'Just a kiss, Evans', Sirius had reminded her, a note of provocation in his voice that Lily didn't have the time to understand, because suddenly she had realized how close she was to James.

They had been closer during their patrols, shared nights of working in the Head duties - once James had fallen asleep on her shoulder, or the time they had hugged after successfully organising the Halloween party and there was a dance they shared on the last Slug Club dinner. That proximity was not unusual.

But standing next to James, her head bent high to look at him, her eyes wavering between his hazel eyes and his lips - that was new.

The seconds seemed to last longer and her heart was beating faster because of - of what exactly she didn't know, but there was some sort of adrenaline and fear and elation. There was the same expression on James' face, plus one feeling she couldn't exactly define.

'Evans?', James whispered. 'Maybe you should…?'

He was right, of course, though Lily noticed he hadn't said what she should do.

Just a kiss. She could do it.

So she raised her hands, cupping his face so he could lower his head; then Lily raised on her tiptoes and pressed her lips on James'.

People cheered around them as they had shared for all the other silly dares, but Lily couldn't hear the sounds, couldn't feel anything other than the softness of James' lips, his woody scent, and the warmth of his body so near him.

It lasted three seconds before they broke apart.

It could not be considered a kiss with that shortness of time.

And still it hadn't left Lily's mind.

The game had continued normally and James had not given her any indication that something had happened between them; he had laughed and joked and done his dare (using the Floo Powder to go to Dumbledore's office) without a blink.

And Lily had stayed quiet with her lips still tingling from that touch, still wishing for more.

That thought was driving her crazy, and not because it was James Potter who once she had promised she would never go out with me. No, this was crazy because it was James, who was her friend, whom she trusted, and who absolutely had no feelings for her anymore.

And Lily wanted to kiss him again.

This seemed to be a unilateral wish. In the last three days since that kind of a kiss, James hadn't said anything, hadn't done anything to indicate he had been thinking about her too. Instead, he had been his bright funny self, talking to her normally (in that way that she couldn't help but grin because he was an expert in making her smile) and doing his Head Boy duties.

But today was Wednesday, which meant they were supposed to patrol the corridors until eleven. A time alone with James Potter, just the two of them - maybe if Lily did kiss him, that increasing urge inside her would just be appeased...

Once again, though, James didn't give any signal he shared the same urge. Lily saw him talking to the Hufflepuff Prefect, guiding her in changing the Common Room password, and Lily felt strangely crestfallen when she noted the way they were laughing, sharing some joke about the kitchen.

She was silly of thinking she was the only one that he made feel happy through any conversation. That was just James. It didn't mean anything. Like probably that kiss.

This thought clouded her mind so when they were alone in the Prefects Room, just before the patrols, Lily pretended not to notice, concentrating on finishing the report of the last detentions. She was painfully aware of the time, however, so she couldn't even be surprised when James called her.

'Lily? Shall we - I mean, patrol?'

He looked strangely flustered. Lily turned to him, but James wasn't looking in her direction.

'I can go alone if you want, it's no big deal -'

'No, no'. Lily raised, packing her things. 'It's my job too - I wouldn’t dare to leave you alone’.

It was supposed to be a joke, but the way James’ lips curved made his response seemed more like a grimace.

Lily fell quiet after that.

It was a long dull patrol where nothing happened, though for once Lily hoped they would meet someone out of bed - preferably a group of people who would try to fight them back, just so there was any emotion. But the halls were empty and they walked in peace.

Lily wished she could feel that peace too, but in the absence of any other sense, she was painfully aware of how narrow some corridors were and how much closer she was to James Potter. Not too close - that she had been already and she knew that being by his side was just a shadow of how she had felt when they were kissing -, but enough so she could feel his scent and his warmth in that cold night and enough so their hands would brush together at some point, sending a wave of electricity through her body that reminded her that she absolutely needed to kiss James again.

A proper mind-blowing full kiss. Just so that desire would be fulfilled.

But James looked startled when their hands brushed, though it usually happened a lot in other patrols, and he crossed his arms as if to avoid that happened again.

‘Sorry’, he whispered.

‘For what?’, Lily asked, confused, her voice echoing in the empty hall, and he didn’t answer.

They finished the patrol in silence and somewhat distant from each other; Lily felt that James was trying really hard to avoid being near her and this realization made her feel suddenly immersed on ice.

He didn’t want to be near her.

Perhaps she had been too focused on her own wishes to realize James had not cared for that kiss. She remembered how he had complained to Sirius, how he seemed opposed to the idea…

Lily had spent so much time thinking of a proper kiss with James that she never had thought that maybe he would hate the idea.

All smile and hope were gone from her face when she told the password to the Common Room and the portrait opened.

‘Lily?’, she heard James asking, but she didn’t turn, walking in the empty Common Room with just the thought of sinking in her own bed. ‘Lily?’, he tried again, this time grabbing her shoulder, carefully to not touch any of her skin.

‘What, James?’, she asked back, turning to him and wishing she could be as cool as he. James just looked concerned with her, not at all like they had shared a kiss right in the middle of the Common Room three days ago, very close to the spot they were.

‘You - I don’t - I’ve talked to Sirius, ok? I told him that was off-limits’.

She blinked.

‘What are you talking about?’

‘That - that dare. I told him it wasn’t funny and I am sorry - I don’t want things to be awkward between us’.

Lily bit her lip before sighing. James was right. Despite anything she had might felt, despite the fact he was really attractive looking so worried with her now, his hands grasping his own hair in that way of his when he was nervous, they were friends. She could ignore any urge that she felt for him.

‘It’s fine’, she said, her voice lighter now. ‘No awkwardness’.

He smiled, and Lily forced herself to ignore how warm that smile was.

‘Good. It was just a stupid dare’.

‘Not even Sirius’ most creative idea’, Lily agreed, sharing the smile with him now. ‘Kiss someone? He could have done better’.

‘And it wasn’t even a kiss, come on’.

That made her stop.

‘What do you mean, it wasn’t a kiss?’

James flushed, his hand once again on his hair.

‘I mean, people were saying we kissed and I told them it didn’t count. That was like a brush? A peck?’

It was all she had thought of in the last three days, all she had tried to convince herself, and still, hearing James talking about it as if it meant nothing, as if those three seconds their lips had met weren’t worthy of being the only thing on her mind lately -

‘I hope it counted’, she heard herself saying, her heart pumping furiously on her chest. ‘Or else I wouldn’t have completed my dare and I would have to kiss you properly this time’.

James blinked at her, looking uncertainly.

‘No one thinks you didn’t finish your dare, Lily’, he said in a low voice, shivering when she took a step closer.

‘You seem to think’.

‘I was just - just trying to convince myself it was nothing to lose sleep over -’

‘It wasn’t even that good of a kiss’, Lily murmured, ignoring how she had mostly certain lost a lot of sleep thinking about it.

‘Yeah, I mean - if we had kissed for real, it would be far better’.

That made her grin and James’ eyes fell for her lips for a second before he looked back at her.

‘Confident much, Potter?’, she teased, and he rolled his eyes, but he was grinning too. That was familiar for them - the pleasant retorts, the light mood, the teasing.

It was only that need of kissing James that was new to Lily.

‘On my kissing abilities? Sure. If we had really kissed you wouldn’t be able to think of anything else’.

That seemed dangerous, Lily thought. If that sorry excuse of a kiss was already making her lose her mind over him, she didn’t want to know what a real kiss would do.

But she was never one to step down a challenge.

And as far as she knew, neither was James Potter.

‘Fine, you got me curious. I dare you to kiss me, James’.

He blinked furiously, not seeming to understand.

‘I - what?’

‘A proper kiss, like you said. Not a peck. Not a brush’.

His smile slowly died and he lowered his head to look at his own hands.

‘No’.

‘James Potter refusing a challenge?’, she asked, trying to sound light, despite the fact that there was something unpleasant dancing in her stomach. When he didn’t smile, she took a step away from him. ‘Sorry, I thought - sorry’.

‘It’s not you, it’s just - we are friends’.

‘Oh’, she tried for a smile. ‘I get it, too friends to mess things up with a kiss that would be only… better’.

‘It would’.

He looked back at her, his eyes full of conflict, and Lily refused to look away first, to take another step back. After a long minute, James approached her, his expression still unsure.

‘I have something to confess, Lily’, he whispered, the words seeming to come out on their own. ‘I know it was not a kiss, not really, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it’.

‘Me neither’, she admitted, and then he paused. She wettened her lips before saying again, with all the courage she could muster. ‘Maybe… maybe if we kissed it would get better?’

He didn’t seem so certain, but he nodded. ‘It wouldn’t have to mean anything’.

‘Just for the dare’, she agreed in a whisper, raising her head, and then there was an inch between their lips and the same feelings she had felt three days ago were involving her. Adrenaline and fear and elation, but now also there was another one and she finally understood what James had felt that night.

He had craved for that kiss as much as she was craving right now.

And then they moved at the same time, their lips meeting just as the eyes were closed and that was a proper real kiss as Lily had been dreaming of sharing with James, all pieces coming together: his hands holding her waist, her wands on his neck, burying themselves on his hair; the sweet taste of his mouth, his tongue dancing with hers and making her moan softly; the way her heart was beating so fast it seemed to want to come out of her body and yet flushing her with happiness and joy; and the magic.

Above all, there was the magic she was hoping for.

And then she realized James had been wrong. That meant something.

Much earlier than she would like, James broke apart, keeping their foreheads together while he caught his breath, seeming to calm himself. Lily watched his face, the tiny shining smile on his lips, and the disbelief in his hazel eyes when James finally opened them.

‘Hey’, he whispered, separating himself just so he could talk to her, but Lily was glad he didn’t mind the way her hands were still around his neck nor did he lifted his own arms from around her waist. ‘Now that was a kiss’.

‘Yeah’, she agreed, her voice low too. ‘But I was wrong’.

‘About?’

‘I thought it would get better. But I - I still wanna kiss you’.

He looked at her, seeming to be looking for some sign Lily was lying, but she knew he would find none. Her need for kissing him had not been subdued by the kiss they had just shared.

It had only grown, in fact.

‘A proper kiss?’

‘A real one’.

‘Is that a dare?’

‘No’, Lily smiled tentatively. ‘It was a request’.

It turned out that very much like her dares, James wouldn’t refuse her requests either.

#jily fanfiction #Jily #this is all just fluff #the mummy #lily is so clueless #james is so in love #just kiss already #t: fanfiction

106 notes · View notes