—the Mark Of Athena

doubt to the point u cannot bring yourself to vent to people who swear they can be trusted/will listen to you

whats worse is that two parts of you are debating if they're right

This is beyond helpful... such a lifesaver.

So You Want To Read Batman Comics But Have No Idea Where To Start

So: you’re new to the DC Comics fandom and are interested in Batman and his family. Maybe you already know a bit about them and are just looking to figure out where to start reading actual comics. Maybe you know nothing. Maybe you know a whole lot about one character but want to start reading more about another one.

Whichever it is, I’m here to help! There’s a wide range of Batman/Batfamily comics (for all ages, moods, and types of people), and I’m happy to meet people where they are and help people dive into comics. On that note, brace yourselves, because this is going to be a long post. Recs start under the cut.

—IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT READING COMICS—

Superhero comics are traditionally written in what’s known as runs; an author gets to have an extended period on an ongoing (or limited) title where they (traditionally) write in 4-8 issue story arcs; think of these arcs as chapters in a potentially never-ending book. These individual issues are colloquially known as floppies. So when I talk about “Tom Taylor’s run” on the Nightwing title, for example, I’m talking about the (as of now) current writer, who’s been the main author on the Nightwing title since March 2021 and whose story arcs begin with Nightwing #78. Every so often, titles end, the principal author on the titles switch up, or they’ll have “guest/interim authors” come in to do single issues or a single story arc.

These story arcs are then collected in hardcovers or ‘trade paperbacks’ (generally referred to as trades, occasionally TPBs); both collect the entire story arc (plus bonus/behind the scenes material, in some cases) in a single paperback/hardback book. Trades are super useful if you want to read an entire story at one time, want to be economical about your comics spending, and/or want to read things in order. Occasionally, if a writer has a particularly long run on a title or a big company event happens, you get published omnibuses that collect an entire event or run (or part of it, if the event is big enough); omnis are very expensive up-front, but ultimately they tend to be good deals and are often curated well. These collections are all generally also released digitally. Frankly, unless you’re into comics collecting, want individual issues for their pretty covers, or are supporting a currently ongoing run, I would default to buying trades/omnibuses where possible. It’s simply cheaper and easier for reading.

List Notes: Each character list is sorted vaguely chronologically according to a combination of IRL publication dates and the character’s personal timeline. Big caveat that these are not all-inclusive reading lists nor are the inclusions inherently indicators of quality; I’m just trying to hit major character highlights. You should also note that many comics contain multiple Batfam members due to the ridiculous number of crossover events and the solid integration of the Batfamily as a whole into each others’ books in the post-90s era. Comic rec tl;drs are given at the end of each character’s list. Most of the links will take you to Amazon/Comixology, but I also talk about various ways to access and read comics at the bottom of this post.

Secondary Note: DC Comics works in three universes: the pre-Crisis universe (everything published from the beginning of DC Comics until the Crisis on Infinite Earths event in 1986), the post-Crisis universe (everything published between 1986 and 2011), and the post-Flashpoint universe (2011-now). 

In 2011, DC completely rebooted their universe following the ‘Flashpoint’ event. This new universe (interchangably called the New 52 universe, post-Flashpoint universe, or Prime Earth) drastically changed many characters’ histories, personalities, and relationships with each other (sometimes for the better, most of the time for the worse). The early years of the post-Flashpoint universe are an absolute incoherent mess continuity-wise; DC’s been trying to sort it all out over the past few years with the Rebirth and Infinite Frontier events (with varying degrees of success), and there are definitely some bright bits and pieces, but it is not my favored universe (though I will certainly recommend it where needed or when it’s good). 

Now: let’s get started, shall we? Lists below the cut (please click here to view the most updated version of this post on desktop via my blog instead of on mobile/the dashboard, for easy readability and formatting purposes):

Keep reading

Drunk Girls Do Cry - LN

Summary: Lando has to take care of his drunk girlfriend after she has a girls night out and it’s safe to say she’s very much a mess.

During their relationship, Lando has preferred to be present with y/n while she drinks. Not because he’s controlling or possessive but because she just can’t handle her drink. She is innocently ignorant to men who try to flirt with her, thinking they’re just being friendly and nice or trying to use her to get to her friends. They’re not. On more than one occasion Lando has stepped in and made his presence clear to the men thinking they have a chance.

But she promised she’d be with the girls so Lando told her to call if she needed him then decided to have Max over and livestream for Quadrant.

He does sort of keep tabs via her instagram and snapchat stories along with sending a couple messages to make sure she’s ok just for his own peace of mind.

Then a little after 2am strikes and the boys are still on livestream, that’s when they hear a racket outside making Max look at Lando with a small laugh.

“Is that your girlfriend?” Max asks making Lando smile.

“Probably-who the fuck is that?” Lando cackles checking the ring camera and finding the poor taxi driver trying to help her. “I have to go get her. One second.”

Lando disappears leaving Max to look at the chat then directly at the camera.

“Y/n is the messiest drunk, but she is so funny. We’ll see if he brings her in here.” Max whispers before hearing y/n shouting, though he’d bet she has no idea just how loud she’s being.

“Max? Where’s Max? No-Stop, I want to see him.” Y/n exclaims with thuds and Lando’s laughter following before she appears looking tearful making Max stop his own laughter to look at her in the same way a parent looks at a toddler who is hurt. “Max! Lando is laughing at me because…I fell out the taxi and-and at the club.”

“Lando, you horrible boyfriend. Don’t be so mean.” Max scolds just playing into it before he holds out his hand. “Are you hurt?”

“Yes, I’m bleeding!”

“Oh no. Lando, can you be a good boyfriend for once and actually take care of your girlfriend?” Max questions making Lando’s jaw drop since they both know Lando is one of the most tentative boyfriends. Max looks at her grazed plans which are actually bloodier than his expected while she seems to feel the pain set in. Eyes tearing up and lip quivering as he inspects the damage. “It’s alright, it’s not that bad.”

“It really hurts.” Y/n states with a wobbly voice thick as she tries to not cry on camera since she knows they’re on live but from hearing her voice like that Lando visibly grows concerned.

“Come on, baby. I’ll clean you up.” Lando states making her turn, lip jutted before she moves over as he shoots Max a look then guiding her out the room.

Lando takes her to the bathroom sitting her on the closed toilet lid before he smiles at her.

“Did you have a good time, baby? What happened to the rest of the girls?” Lando asks softly while cleaning up the blood from her palms and noting the fact he knees need a clean up too. But when he mentions the rest of the girls she was supposed to be with, she begins hiccuping and crying. “Hey, hey. What’s wrong? What is it?”

“I went to the bathroom and when I came out they were gone. Then I realised I’d lost my phone and my whole bag! So I went to security and they called me a taxi.” Y/n explains making Lando’s stomach drop. “I-I need to tell the bank to cancel my cards and block my phone.”

“Alright, we’re going to get it all sorted but it’s late so we need to wait for tomorrow ok?” Lando assures her then gently kissing her cleaned up palms. “Better?”

Y/n nods before smiling when Lando stands up to kiss her forehead.

“Better?”

“Yeah, better.” She nods then sighing softly as he moves over and picks up her toothbrush. After putting toothpaste on it he moves over and gently opens her mouth, pushing her jaw down before beginning to brush her teeth for her, much to her amusement.

“I don’t trust you to do it properly.” Lando states making her pout for a moment before helping to coordinate it for him.

He keeps brushing making sure he reaches all needed areas before he grabs a cup for her to spit in. “Ok, I need a bit of help with the skincare steps. I know how picky you are.”

“No. Not tonight, just get me a cloth and rub it off.” She mutters shaking her head while he laughs a little.

“We have to do some of it. Your sober self will be mad with both of us if we don’t.”

Y/n only grumbles before he moves over getting a cloth to really get the thick of her make up off and to just get her skin kind of wet. Then following up with cleanser since in a more sober state she has talked him through the skincare routine when he’s helped with it.

“We left Max.” Y/n murmurs as he gently rubs the cleaner around her face trying to focus on not missing a spot.

“He’ll survive. He’s probably spilling all the gossip about us.” Lando jokes while y/n breaks into a smile. “Are you feeling ok? Not feeling sick or anything?”

“I think I need food and water. We were meant to go get pizzas after we finished for the night but we didn’t.” She pouts earning a nod from him.

“I think you need some food and water too. What sounds good?”

“I just want a sandwich.”

“Ok. We’ll finish up in here and get you a sandwich.” Lando smiles earning a slightly dopey grin in return.

Lando gets her wait in bed while he finds the biggest bottle of water he has and makes her a sandwich. “Ok, water and a sandwich-“

It was definitely optimistic to expect her to be awake, but he is a little sad the sandwich will go uneaten. He instead he puts the water down and finds a bucket, just incase she is sick, and heads back to see Max.

“Hey, mate. How’s she doing?” Max asks still on live but knowing Lando has been gone for the better part of an hour now.

“Lost her phone and bag, lost the girls entirely and had to get security to call her a taxi…but I’ve cleaned her up, didn’t manage to get her to eat anything but I left some water there. No way she’s going to remember any of that in the morning but I just figured I’d come let you know that I’m going to go to sleep too. Just wanted to check, you’re staying here right?”

“Yeah, yeah. If that’s alright.” Max nods getting a thumbs up and a quick hug. Then Lando leaves, only just catching his friend’s last words. “He is very cute with her. Never seen my boy so hooked on someone, he’s obsessed with her but in the best way. I mean he just loves her.”

-

Y/n wakes up with the overwhelming ache of her hangover feeling like she fell down a flight of stairs.

“Easy.” Lando soothes making her head whip around far too fast for her eyes to cope making her clamp them closed and groan. “You were a mess-“

“Don’t. God. Please don’t.” Y/n whines shaking her head then hiding herself in the pillow while feeling Lando’s arms wrap around her. “Where’s my phone?”

“I wish I knew, you came back bloody and in tears after a taxi drive dropped you off. Told me you went to the bathroom and came out, had lost the girls, and your bag had disappeared. We’ll need to sort all that out today when you’re ready.” Lando hums while gently rubbing her back.

“Oh fuck. Fucking hell.” Y/n groans then hiccuping, clearly the hangover adding to her emotions while he kisses her temple a couple times just letting her have the moment because really it’s an easy. “I’m so stupid. The girls are probably worried sick.”

“I text a couple of them to let them know you were home and with me.” Lando assures her since he did make sure to let them know that she was safe and no wandering around without anyone else there.

“What a disaster.” Y/n sighs then looking at her hands and grimacing. “Oh christ, how much did I fall over?”

“I don’t know, but I know it was enough that you needed some serious cleaning up.” Lando chuckles then pulling her hands over and almost repeating last night’s actions as he kisses her palms. “You were caught on live pouting to Max when you came in.”

“Poor Max.”

“Ah he loves you. Although it was like watching a parent with a toddler.”

It takes another couple hours and a few litres of water, but eventually she is up getting up and showering off the night before while Lando moves out to find Max awake eating a bowl of cereal he must’ve found while Lando and y/n were still in bed.

“How’s the princess?” Max asks making Lando sighs gently sitting down as he looks at his best friend.

“She’s feeling the after effects of alcohol. Still need to call the bank and block her cards and her phone.” Lando shrugs then tilting his head in gesture of her. “She’s having a shower now.”

“Well, I just wanted to see you guys before I headed out. I’m glad she’s ok, I thought I might wake up to find a note saying you were taking her to the hospital for alcohol poisoning with the state she was in.” Max jokes though he did genuinely think there was a chance with that.

“Ah, Maxie!” Y/n gasps when she appears looking damp but cleaned up in a pair of shorts and a stolen sweater from Lando. “I’m sorry for interrupting the live.”

“No, it’s fine. I think everyone does believe that you’re using Lando to get to me though.” Max sighs while she sits down on Lando’s lap, her hand going up to his hair immediately while he smirks a little at the comment of her liking Max but she doesn’t even seem to have a second thought about it. “Too bad I’m taken.”

“Oh yeah, I’m devastated. I’ll just have to settle for Lando.” Y/n hums sarcastically before they all burst out laughing. “Oh shit, uhh…baby, can I borrow your phone please?”

“Yes. Of course you can.” Lando smiles then pulling his hand from his pocket before he hands it to her.

“Thank you. I’ll try and be quick.” Y/n mumbles before taking off to another room so she doesn’t interrupt the boys.

Lando and Max end up talking about something for a while but it’s not long later than there’s a suddenly loud bang and a curse from y/n that follows, and unbeknownst to her it makes Lando literally jump up to his feet.

“I’m fine! It’s fine, I just-I dropped your phone but it’s fine! Nothing is broken, it landed on my foot!” Y/n exclaims while Max laughs shaking his head as Lando seems to consider still going through to check she’s ok.

“What?” Lando questions finally sitting back down.

“Just I think you’ve found the girl you’re going to marry and you don’t even seem to know it.” Max shrugs innocently while Lando looks at him in shock for a moment. There was a few things he expected from his friend but the suggestion of marriage was not one of them. “Oh come on, don’t act like I’m wrong.”

“I really never even thought about it.” Lando states now not being able to think about anything else.

A few minutes later and y/n reappears sitting back down on Lando’s lap as she had before, handing Lando his phone back. Lando is silent just taking a moment to admire his girlfriend while y/n rambles about what she’s going to have to do to get everything figured out for IDs and cards along with replacing her handbag and everything else that was in it. The easiest thing to replace seems to be her phone.

Neither notice Max capturing the moment that he intends to keep for the wedding day or when they have a kid. Whichever comes first.

“But essentially everything is sorted.” Y/n explains with a soft smile finally looking at Lando before frowning. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing. I’m just glad you got everything figured out.” Lando shrugs as she grins and leans down to kiss him. “How are you feeling?”

“Uhh…better much better, but I could still use another nap just to really recover properly.” Y/n hums while shuffling down to mould herself against him. “Can I nap here?”

“Yeah, I’ve got no plans.” Lando smiles before raising his hand to Max with his middle finger up since he’s noticed they’re being recorded.

“I’ll leave the two of you to it. See you later.” Max states standing up while Lando hums and y/n grins at him, none the wiser to the video that was just captured of them. “Feel better, y/n. Don’t be mean to her, Lando.”

“I’m never mean.” Lando argues immediately as y/n sends his friend a small wave.

Apparently its canon that:

Dick and Jason look alike.

Dick is basically Bruce's carbon copy.

Can you imagine how many times Dick have been mistaken as Jason and Bruce? Or Jason being mistaken as Dick?

Dick, wearing a black tank top and sweats— looking exactly like Bruce, walks into the kitchen:

Damian: Morning, Father.

Dick, turns around, expecting to see Bruce behind him: ?????

——————

20 year old Dick casually picking up his 13 year old brother Jason from school:

Random teacher: Ah, Mr. Wayne. Are you here to pick Jason up?

Dick: Mr— It's me, Dick??? Dick Grayson??????

——————

Dick walking into the Manor after Bruce and Jason having an argument about something:

Bruce: Jason? You're back?

Dick in a leather jacket: He's out killing people wdym??????

——————

Dick just wanting to get some coffee, gets stopped by paparazzi, thinking he was Bruce:

Random reporter: Mr. Wayne!

Dick: STOP CONFUSING ME AS MY DAD

——————

Dick hanging out with Tim:

Random passerby whispering to their friend: That's Bruce Wayne and his son Timothy Drake!

Dick, who could hear it: ...

Tim: Calm down. Calm your tits.

——————

Jason walking into the kitchen, Bruce and Tim are there, both have been awake for 72 hours now:

Bruce: Morning Dick.

Jason: Did you just call me a dick????

Tim: But— that's your name?

Jason: My name is Jason. I'm NOT DICK.

——————

Jason and Dick getting de-aged, both wearing their Robin costumes:

Cassandra: Sooooo... which one is Dick and which one is Jason?

Bruce: I— I never realised they look so similar.

Duke: The angry and feral one must be Jason. Dick's the smiley one.

Tim: Nope. Dick's the feral. Jason's the happy. Been stalking them for years, I would know.

——————

Dick crying hysterically: Do I look old enough to be mistaken as Bruce?!?!?!?!

Bruce: *glares*

Jason: Exactly! I don't look that old to look like Dick.

Dick: FUCK YOU

——————

But of course, sometimes it's an advantage. Dick could get away with things like being Batman, getting his brothers out of trouble, etc.

While Jason could get away with being Nightwing and stuff. (ehem that time when he dressed up as Nightwing and killed people in the suit.)

Now Sam has NEVER questioned his sexuality like..ever.

And while fighting with team ironman, Sam doesn't really get to appreciate Tony, nor as he really hung around the man.

But one day, when everyone's signed the accords and the other avengers are trying to get back into Tonys good books like:

Natasha: I found that one Italian roast, stark. The one that you really like.

(And it's a really expensive brand shes payed with her own money flashing a small smile at him)

Tony simply raises and eyebrow

"I take decaf at the moment." He says dismissively.

Or Clint

"Hey, man. What did the-" and Clint gets cut off,

"Knock knock Barton" tony asks looking up from his starkpad

"Who's there, gorgeous?" He teased

"My tired legs. Stop dick riding." He snapped at him (Peter taught him that phrase)

The whole team gets ripped a new one,

One days Sam walks in, makes himself some coffee and starts drinking when stark walks in.

Tony simply glances at the mug and back at Sam, the man was dressed in a black tank top, sweaty and with loose sweatpants and simply goes,

"That's my cup, Wilson."

Sam splutters and looks at the cup, it being ironman merchandise and looking back up at Tony

"Ah, don't stress bird brain, your fine, drink out of it whenever you want sweet cheeks." He shrugged his muscles flexing for a second as he walked off

And Sam was totally staring at that ass.

“I’d let you if you asked.”

Jason Todd always had a habit of being in your space. It's something you didn't mind, but it is something you kept note of. He leans towards you, head angled down to catch every sound that comes through your throat, observing every twitch of your muscles with a sharp, intent gaze.

But even if he always seems to linger in your shadow, even if his eyes darkened with the desire for something more, he was careful. He never touched you before you touched him, and he always caught himself, when his fingers instinctively reached for you.

Something as simple as a hug, a brush over the back of your hand, a tousle of your hair, he denied himself over and over again. It was almost frustrating to see him denying himself something you never held back from him.

He melts into every hug you give, relishes when you thread your fingers together, nearly drops to his knees every time you kiss his cheek.

But then he'll falter, when you pull away, like he's snapping back to reality. He'll remind you that he's not good. In not so many words, he tells you he's poison. That he'll end up ruining you. Breaking you.

You think he's silly for it, because Jason Todd is nothing but good. But you indulge him, brushing the stray strands of hair falling into his face back, "I'd let you, if you asked."

He blinks at you, eagerly leaning into your touch, with dumbfounded eyes, "You would?"

You smile at him, devouring the way his eyes flutter when you do, "I would. If you want to ruin me, all you have to do is ask."

He frowns a little, his hand raising to rest on top of yours, keeping your palm pressed to his cheek, "I don't want to ruin you."

"Then ask for something else," you encourage, voice soft and fond.

"Can I kiss you?"

It makes you laugh, maybe he's not so scared of you after all. The hope doesn't leave his eyes when you do, and you're more than happy to answer him, "Yeah. You can kiss me, Jason."

He's quick to take advantage of your agreement, and it turns out, Jason's kisses are just as sweet as he is.

Petit Monstre

Lando Norris + Y/N Leclerc = In Love

LandY/N + Charles Leclerc = One very angry big brother

2.1K

Lando Norris x Reader

Masterlist

"Are you a member of the Leclerc Family? Have you had to put up with these jokers for your entire life? Well you could be entitled to compensation."

Y/N Leclerc had her arms crossed over her chest, sunglasses covering her eyes, as she gestured back at her brothers. It had been incredibly difficult to get Charles and Lorenzo to participate, but Arthur had helped her to convince them.

"Call today and we at the Leclerc Justice Foundation could make you filthy, stinking rich."

The Leclerc brothers nodded their heads, sending sunglasses from the top of their heads to in front of their eyes.

The video was one of Y/N's most viewed on Instagram. It was hilarious, showing off exactly how much fun her brothers were. Y/N spent all of her time following Charles and Arthur around the world.

Her brothers were her everything. Y/N spent more time than she should have in the Ferrari garage with Charles. As his baby sister, she was his everything. Charles didn't bring his WAG to the races, he brought his little sister.

"What's up, Mon petit monstre?" Said Charles as Y/N walked over to him.

She pulled his hat from her head and placed it on her own. "Charlie," she said as she sat in the chair beside him. The hat was much too big on her head, sliding forward over her eyes. Y/N pushed it back and looked at her brother. "Do you think maman would kill me if I got a tattoo?" She asked her older brother.

"If she doesn't, Lorenzo will," Charles answered and went back to scrolling through his phone.

Rolling her eyes, Y/N draped herself over his back. "I ditched Arthur for you, you know," she muttered, giving him back his hat. "Think I made a mistake."

"No, you didn't. I'm way more fun than Arthur is and you know it," he said, finally turning to give her attention.

The youngest Leclerc sibling loved following her brother around Formula One. Mainly, she loved his friends, the other drivers she saw walking around the paddock. Of course, Charles had that rule around the paddock: No going near his little sister.

Everybody listened to that rule, everybody but Y/N. She didn't listen to her brother because, well, where was the fun in that.

Y/N avoided Max and Pierre. She wouldnt dare flirt with them. They were Charles' best friends and the first people he would murder. So, her next target?

Lando Norris was interesting to Y/N Leclerc. She had no other word for it, just interesting. Different from anybody she'd met before. Full of life and excitement. Y/N didn't know much about him until her brother introduced them (And then threatened Lando's life when he was caught flirting).

What Charles didn't know was that the flirting had continued behind his back. And Y/N was loving every second of it.

"Danny thinks I should get a tattoo," Y/N said, somewhat bitterly. "He thinks I should get a little cat on my hip."

Charles gave her something close to a glare. "No, Y/N, you're not getting a tattoo," he said, putting an end to the conversation.

But Y/N didn't much care about what her brother was saying. Not when none other than Lando Norris walked past. Her eyes snagged on his body, but she didn't let her gaze linger.

Her brother could never know. That was what the fun was, keeping things a secret from her brother. There was a certain thrill that came along with keeping things hidden. The less Charles knew, the better.

Arthur Leclerc had always prided himself on knowing Y/N the best out of all of the brothers. This wasn't entirely true though. He was slightly too young to be as protective if Y/N as Charles and Lorenzo were. He pulled her hair and pushed her around while Charles and Lorenzo helped her to cross the street. Arthur thought the most, but he didn't know quite as much as Charles and Lorenzo.

Arthur, though, was the first to work out about Y/N and Lando. Well, it was less working out and more accidentally walking in on the both of them post coitus.

It had taken Y/N a lot of time, money and love to stop Arthur from spilling everything to Charles and Lorenzo. She knew what would happen; they'd go into crazy protective brother mode and send her back to Monaco to be watched over by their mother.

If Arthur, Charles and Lorenzo got their way, Y/N would never date. She had to hide her first couple of boyfriends from her brothers, which sucked because a few of them were only with her to meet the Charles Leclerc.

While Y/N was watching Lando, her gaze a secret, Lando was staring at her through her sunglasses. He was too busy staring, almost running into a wall as he did so. They were supposed to meet later that night and Lando couldn't wait.

"Do you think you could go and bother somebody else?" Asked Charles as Y/N stole his hat yet again.

Y/N shook her head. But when she put her finger to her head in mock thought. "Well, I guess I could go and bother one of your friends, then," she said. "Maybe Carlos or Pierre or Esteban," she teased and walked away.

The fact that Charles didn't see his little sister for the rest of the day was... worrying. She was off doing god knows what, disturbing whoever. At least she wasn't causing chaos in the Ferrari garage anymore.

Y/N checked her phone. A text from Arthur, using their secret code, asking if she was seeing 'You-Know-Who' tonight. She messaged him back a quote from Harry Potter and then answered his question. Yes. Yes she would be seeing 'You-Know-Who' tonight. She'd be seeing him right now, in fact.

Hands covered her eyes. "Guess who," said a voice.

"Oh Carlos! I've been waiting for you all day!" Y/N cried and turned around, a wide smile on her face.

When she saw Lando standing there, her smile dropped. But it didn't last long. The smile was back on her face as she stepped into his embrace. "Hey," she said in a singsong voice as she looked up at him.

"Carlos, huh?" Lando tightened his grip on her, rocking from side to side as he held her.

Y/N shrugged her shoulders and struggled her arms out of his grip. She wrapped her arms around his neck and played with his hair. "Just wanted to piss you off," she said and kissed him.

Lando refused to let go of her. "So, we on for tonight?" He asked, releasing his grip slightly.

As Y/N nodded her head, her phone went off. She reluctantly stepped away from Lando and answered her phone. "What the hell do you want?" She snapped at her older brother.

"Just wondering where you are, mon petit monstre," Charles answered.

Turns out Charles started to worry while Y/N wasn't causing chaos in the Ferrari garage. She was either missing or getting bad ideas from Danny.

"I'm fine," she somewhat snapped. "I'll be back soon." Hanging up the phone, Y/N placed it back in her pocket and turned to Lando. "Sorry, Lan," she muttered and wrapped her arms back around his neck. "I've got to go before Charles comes looking."

Lando let out a sigh and kissed her. "Okay. I'll meet you in your hotel room later," he said and kissed her once again. Lando released Y/N and walked away. She waited one minute before following him.

***

Y/N waited in her hotel room, sat on her bed in her favourite set of underwear. It was black with little neon yellow/green stars on it. The same neon yellow/green as Lando's LN4 logo.

There was a knock at her hotel room door. A specific knock that she and Lando had come up with so they knew it was them and nobody else. After the knock the hotel room door opened and Lando stepped in (Y/N had given him her spare key card).

"Wow," said Lando as he stepped into the room. "Wow, wow, wow." He pushed the door shut behind him and leaned against it. "How did I get so lucky?"

"Just shut up and come here," she said and grabbed a hold of him. Y/N pulled him close and pressed her lips against his.

Lando was underneath her, his shirt off as they made out. His hands roamed her body touching her waist and running his hand down her back, towards her ass. "My god," he muttered as he pulled away. "You're incredible."

"I know," Y/N said and returned to kissing him.

Suddenly, there was a knock at her door. Y/N and Lando froze. "Y/N? It's Charles!"

"Shit, fuck, shit!" Y/N whispered as she jumped away from Lando. She grabbed his shirt and pulled it on as Lando climbed off of the bed. "Hide somewhere!"

"Where?"

"I don't know!"

They were frantic, running around to try and make things look normal. Y/N made the bed look as though she had just climbed out of it while Lando hid on the floor beside it. The bed was between him and the door hiding his body.

Running to the door, Y/N checked one last time that everything was normal and pulled it open. "Hey, Charlie," she said, breathless. "What can I do for you?"

Charles walked into the room and sat on Y/N's bed. "Something's up with you," he said and looked at his sister. "There's something you're hiding and you've got Arthur in on it too."

But then Charles took a closer look at what Y/N was wearing. "Is that an LN4 shirt?"

"Maybe," she said and looked away from her brother. "I think Lando's merch is cool."

Charles shook his head. "Just tell me what's going on with you, please! I'm worried about you!"

"Well don't be! I'm a big girl and I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," she said.

There was a sneeze, a sneeze neither of the Leclerc siblings let out. Charles looked around the room. "Is somebody else here?" He asked and stood up.

"No!" Y/N cried, rushing over to the other side of the bed. Where Lando was hiding. Probably a bad idea, considering Charles now knew exactly where to look.

He stared for a full minute at the McLaren driver laying on the floor. "Lando," he said and gently kicked his foot. "What are you doing here?"

Lando was laying face down. It looked rather uncomfortable, but Charles wasn't ready to let him up just yet. "What are you doing here in my sisters room?"

Lando didn't answer.

"Lando?"

The McLaren driver pushed him up into a more comfortable position. "Oh, hey, Charles. What're you doing here?"

"I have every right to be here, you?"

"I..."

Y/N grabbed a hold of her brother. "Charles, he's dating me. We're dating."

Charles got up and left the room.

"Well, that went brilliantly," said Lando as he finally got to his feet. But Y/N was just staring at the door. At the door her brother had just left through. "Y/N?" He said, placing a hand on her back.

She just kept staring at the door. "He hates me."

"No, he doesn't."

"Yes, he does."

Y/N didn't speak to her brother until the next day, when she was down in the Ferrari garage, trying to get her to speak to him. "Come on Charles, you're overreacting," she said as she sat beside him.

"He's not going to talk," said Carlos as he came to sit beside her, sandwiching her in between the two Ferrari drivers.

Y/N turned her attention towards the Spanish driver. "Did he tell you?"

Carlos shook his head. "Lando did," he answered. "He's very happy."

Suddenly, Charles sat back and looked at his little sister. He stared at her, his green eyes staring into her soul. "Do you really love him?" He asked.

Y/N nodded her head. "Yeah, Charlie, I really do."

"Does he love you?"

"Yes!" Carlos answered for her.

Charles relaxed. He placed his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm going to say this one time and one time only, you and Lando have my approval. If he ever does anything to hurt you, Arthur, Lorenzo and I will murder him."

"That works for me."

This has got to be the cutest thing I have ever read

How much are we worth? | James Potter

Pairing: James Potter x Fem!Reader

Word count: 5.8k

Summary: Sirius bets that James can't get a girl to go out with him. James pursues you and falls for you. You are hurt when you find out that you were just a bet, even more when you realise how little they bet on you.

Notes: A classic: Strangers to friends to lovers, Angst, Bet trope, Fluff and happy ending because yey, I believe in second chances :) Existence of a wardrobe that works like newt scamanders suitcase and SPeLLing Mistakes

Masterlist

_________________

In hindsight, you should've known.

"Have you maybe considered giving up on her?" Remus' question caught James off guard when he returned to the marauders at the Gryffindor table after another failed attempt and rejection by Lily.

"Not until she's given me a chance at least," James responded, eyes trained on Lily's retreating figure. "Besides, this chasing game is sort of our thing now."

The marauders nodded sceptically.

"Not particularly the dynamic I'd want to have with the person I fancy," Peter whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear. James shot him a look as if Peter had just committed the greatest betrayal of the century.

Sirius snorted out loud. "Dynamic my ass, yeah." He threw a piece of bread across the table in James' direction.

"He's stuck with Lily now because if he decides to chase some other poor girl and inevitably get rejected, it'll prove that James Potter just can't get some," he added, wearing a shit eating grin on his face.

James pulled a face at Sirius. "Oh please I can get girls. It's just that contrary to you, I actually show commitment to only one," he huffed.

Sirius shrugged. "You say that, but you've never even had a girlfriend. Been pining over Evans since first year. Besides, commitment or being stuck," he weighed his hands in the air. "Same same."

James rolled his eyes and got up. When he turned around, he crashed into someone who had been standing behind him, tripping her, and he sent her crashing into the Ravenclaw table behind him. The Ravenclaw sitting at that table ducked out of the way. She stuck her hands out to brace herself and loudly hissed when her hand ended up in someone's scalding soup.

"Godric, I am so sorry," James scrambled to offer her a napkin. She snatched it out of his hands and dried her hands. James saw that they were scorching red and more apologies stumbled out of his mouth.

"Let me help you get to madam Pomfrey," he offered, concern lacing his tone. He reached his hand out to her and she jerked away.

"Fuck off Potter, I'd rather take a bloody bath in boiling water than go anywhere with you." She spat, and left, hand pressed against her chest, covered by the napkin.

The commotion had everyone turn their heads at him and despite usually being a fan of being at the centre of attention, he embarrassedly sat down again.

"Guess really no girl wants to go anywhere with you, Prongs," Sirius snickered. James offered him a sour look.

"This was just because I literally burned her hand, Pads. Any other time, she would totally go out with me." James boasted, but guilt and concern for the girl who he didn't know, lingered in his mind.

"Right, you wanna bet?"

"The usual?"

"The usual."

They sealed the deal with a nod. Peter and Remus shared a look but they knew that was no use trying to tell them to stop it already. Remus thought back to the scowl on the girl's face and prayed that she would stay headstrong and reject James.

After all, Sirius and James were from wealthy families, so money has never actually played a role during these bets. It’s just the principle of it that counts and is the reason why they only ever bet one galleon. It meant someone would get hurt.

The scowl on your face disappeared with the cool relief of the running water from the girls bathroom on your hand, but the bitter feeling remained when your mind wandered to James Potter. You scoffed to yourself. Arrogant, self pretentious, blood boiling bully. Though never having been a victim of their pranks, you lost several friends to Beauxbatons because of the marauders’ cruelty.

You glanced at yourself in the mirror one last time and left for your Ancient Runes class where you walked to your designated seat next to Lily Evans. You two unsurprisingly got along. Though your personalities were nothing alike, you being rather reserved, you could both value each other’s calm presence and even ‘maturity’ to a certain degree.

She offered you a smile and you nodded at her in acknowledgement. “I’m embarrassed to ask this, but could I maybe share your book? I didn’t have time to pick it up after lunch.” Lily gave you a surprised look but quickly assured you that you could to which you offered her a small but grateful smile.

She opened her mouth to tell you something, when something else, or rather someone else, caught her attention. Before he even reached the table, she had already attempted to ward him off in a monotone voice. “Go away Potter, I’m not interested.”

“Not here for you, Lilypad,” he smugly said and stopped right next to you. Lily raised her eyebrows and looked at you with a concerned look. Without looking up from Lily’s book, you also repeated Lily’s words. “Fuck off Potter, I’m not interested either.”

“I haven’t even said anythi-“

“And I don’t want you to.”

“Okay, but here me out, I-“

“I. Don’t. Want. You. To,” you pronounced every word clearly.

“Come on, just listen-“

You turned around, an incredibly sour look on your face. James couldn’t help but admire you for a moment. You looked pretty, contorted face aside. Especially when you had smiled at Lily. It had caught him off guard.

“Can you spare me a second?” He tried again. For a second, he thought he saw a look of appreciation cross your face at his formulated words, but it was gone in a split second.

“No. Class is starting, get back to your seat Potter,” you dryly responded. You turned back to your book and James walked back to his friends.

James potter was determined though, you had to give him that. You abruptly turned on your heels, ready to walk in the opposite direction, even if it would mean a detour of about 8 minutes to your destination. You were really not into his crap today.

“Y/N!” James called out to you and chased you.

“I told you to call me by my last name. We're not friends, Potter. I don’t want to be. In fact, I don’t want anything to do with you. So, for Merlin’s sake, leave me alone, or I swear on his balls that I will hurt you.” You spat the last part out through gritted teeth and

James took a step back in surprise. He looked at you for a moment, carefully considering his next words. “L/N.” He settled on, voice quieter. When you didn’t immediately walk off, he took it as a sign to continue. “I was wondering if you would allow me to sit next to you during our free period between Transfiguration and Potions.”

You raised you eyebrows.

“My friends all took classes and there’s like a two hour gap and I like company, that’s all,” he hastily explained before you could go and reject him.

“What are you, six years old?” You sarcastically asked him. “Can’t spend what, two hours on your own?”

James’ eyes averted to the ground. “Just not enjoying being alone,” he mumbled, almost embarrassedly. You looked at him, great, now you were being an asshole yourself.

“You know the big old wardrobe in the abandoned classroom on the seventh floor?” you eventually asked. James’ eyes lit up and nodded.

“It’s bigger on the inside.” You said.

“A secret room?” He asked while trying to recall seeing an extra room on the map. You nodded. “Not even visible on your map because it’s not Hogwarts. A pocket dimension, Dumbledore said.”

James’ jaw fell slack. “You know about the map?” he whispered.

“You can join me there between classes next week if you want, but I can’t promise you that it’ll be any different to passing the time on your own.” You said, completely ignoring him. You stopped in front of the library. “A word about the wardrobe and I swear-“

“-on Merlin’s balls that you’ll hex me, yeah,” he waved you off with a triumphant smile.

“Witty, are you now.” You looked at him. A small smirk lingering on the corner of your lips. James heart skipped.

“Just one of the effects you have on me, darling,” he winked at you. “L/N,” he quickly corrected when your face fell into a scowl again.

“I’m not kidding though, this is my spot to get away from everything. I don’t feel like sharing it with people.” James felt flattered. So you would share it with him?

“I solemnly swear I won’t tell,” he assured you, a serious expression on his face. “You can trust me, L/N.” He cringed at his own words. Trust him? He was only talking to you to prove Sirius wrong.

“I’ll hold you to it, Potter,” you nodded and entered the library. The door closed and James slouched against the wall next to him. A giddy feeling fluttered in his stomach at the thought of hanging out with you.

“So what happened to rather bathing in boiling water than going anywhere with me,” James couldn’t help but arrogantly ask while trying to keep up with your ridiculously fast walking pace as you two were on your way to the wardrobe. “I’m not going anywhere with you, you’re going somewhere with me,” you denied, your eyes narrowed at him. James put his hands up in mock surrender. “Lead the way, L/N.”

“I am,” you deadpanned.

James sceptically looked at the oak wardrobe. He and his friends had rummaged through this room already. It included the wardrobe, but it had looked pretty normal.

“Doesn’t look very special,” he said while you were busy locking the door behind you. You made your way over to James and pushed him out of the way roughly. He gaped at you with an offended look on his face. “You know, being a bit more chivalrous wouldn’t hurt you,” he exclaimed.

You shrugged and opened the door. James stared in amazement as he realised that the inside was in fact bigger. He walked to the wall that the wardrobe was standing against and squeezed his hand between the wall and the wardrobe.

“Why are you so surprised?” you asked. “We literally learned about the Extension charm yesterday?”

“We did?”

Maybe hanging out with James Potter wasn’t as terrible as you had expected it to be and so, it became a routine. James had finally realised that his persistence to flirt with you or try to impress you wasn’t getting him anywhere and had opted to actually be considerate of you.

He respected you when you not so kindly told him to fuck off and was sitting next to you quietly while you studied between hours in the wardrobe. He had read the book that he’d seen you read in the courtyard- and was surprised to find himself interested in the story- so that he could talk to you about something when your demeanour told him that he could speak again. He stuck to calling you by your last name and learned to read your mood when he could joke around.

Most importantly, he’d learned to enjoy himself in a comfortable silence that didn’t require him to do or say anything and just let him be.

You two were laying on the couch again, feet propped up, both on opposite sides, but feet touching in the middle. James was admiring you. The way your eyebrows crunched up in a frown, eyes squinted, and lips mouthing the words you were reading.

“You’re careless with spelling, Potter.” You eventually looked up from correcting his assignment. “But that’s a brilliant essay.”

James beamed up at you, relief, pride and happiness all washing over him at once.

“Also, you have a nice handwriting,” you added after considering whether or not you should mention it.

James was now fully grinning, pushing himself to sit up from his relaxed position. “Two compliments?” he asked teasingly and you immediately huffed and looked away. “Don’t let it get to your head, Potter. It’s big as it is.”

“But you think I’m brilliant and that my handwriting is nice.” He repeated happily.

“Your essay was brilliant,” you attempted to correct him, but he seemed to be lost in happy thoughts. You looked at him. He had his arms up behand his neck because he had laid down again. He was grinning from ear to ear and his eyes squinted in delight and satisfaction. He looked so... harmless.

“You know,” you began and James looked up at you, propping himself up a little in curiosity at the fact that you were starting the conversation for the first time.

“I used to think you were the biggest asshole ever. Astoundingly stupid and good for nothing but hurting people.” You were looking up at the ceiling now and missed the way James eyes flashed with mixed feelings.

“I had a few friends, you know. They were great, but everyone called them boring and a stick in the mud.” You turned your head towards James. “You and the rest of the marauders used to tell us to “lighten up already,” and pranked us separately, one by one until all five moved schools.”

James looked down, feeling horrible and guilty. It was true that in his early years at Hogwarts, he and his friends had been going too far with pranks. That kind of stopped after that prank.

“So I’ve held a grudge against you, like any good friend would do,” you smiled to yourself at the thought of your friends. “I think maybe I no longer have to.” James heart melted at your confession. Over the course of weeks, he’d become desperate for your approval and friendship.

“You’ve changed since then,” you concluded out loud. “Not cruel anymore.” You hesitated for a moment.

“James?” You then asked and James looked up at you with wide eyes. He knew that this was the first time that you’d addressed him by his name instead of ‘Potter’.

“Yeah?”

“I really value our friendship,” you whispered. “It’s worth a lot to me.”

James heart both warmed and tightened. “It’s worth a lot to me too,” he whispered back.

“Where were you,” Remus asked when he returned to the Gryffindor common room. “We looked on the map, but we couldn’t find you.”

“And we couldn’t find Y/N either.” James fought the urge to correct them and say that they shouldn’t use your first name like that. That he had worked for your friendship to stop calling you by your last name.

“Do I owe you a galleon now?” Sirius popped up from behind him. “What? No,” James said, thinking of another subject to talk about, wanting to ignore the existence of the bet in the first place.

“I was hanging out with Y/N,” he admitted. “But because we're friends now.”

“Yeah, but where were you hanging out?” Peter asked. “Because we weren’t allowed to leave Hogwarts today.”

“Did you find another secret passage?” Sirius gasped and James immediately shook his head to deny it. “Oh come on, we’re your friends, you have to tell us!”

Remus watched James shift uncomfortably and tried to intervene. “Let him be, Padfoot.” Sirius wasn’t having it though, and when James said that he promised not to tell, he responded with, “What, you value your fake friendship with that stick-up-her-ass girl more than us?”

“It’s not a fake friendship,” he weakly fought back. “Don’t call her that.”

Sirius sighed. “I’m sorry Prongs. I didn’t mean to call her that, hell I don’t even know the girl, she’s probably alright. But you’re keeping secrets, it’s not fair.”

You stared in disbelief at the marauder who wasn’t James, having a hook-up in your wardrobe. When he noticed you in the entrance, Sirius merely held his hand up at you in a greeting. “Thanks for letting me borrow this, this is the best spot for not getting caught.”

You backed away and slammed the door shut. James.

“Potter!” you yelled at him when you saw him leave the Gryffindor chambers. Your face was contorted in anger and you were seething.

He looked up at you, happy feeling in his chest and he was itching to show you the paper behind his back.

You stabbed your finger in his chest, effectively wiping the happy grin on his face off. “You promised,” you hissed. James immediately knew what you were talking about. “I’m sorry, I had to tell him,” he tried to justify his actions and you scoffed. “Fuck you,” you spat and walked off.

James stood there, frozen and stared at the empty spot in front of him. His arms hung by his side and he looked down at his essay which wore a big ‘O’ mark and right next to it in Professor McGonagall’s handwriting, ‘Keep this brilliant work up, Mr. Potter.’

James was watching you, sulking. He had made such progress and now it felt as if all those baby steps were for nothing, instead taking eight long strides back. You had closed yourself off again and James was too intimidated by your glares every time he walked in your direction, so he would change directions last minute every time you burned a hole through his head with your eyes.

‘This is so stupid’ he thought to himself when his body automatically steered him away from you again. He mustered up all of his courage and headed straight for you. He would rather face your wrath head on than go back to being strangers. Especially when tomorrow was free period again.

“Is it okay if I talk to you for a moment?” he asked, nervous.

You scanned him up and down. Everything about him looked remorseful, from his posture to dull eyes to his tone when he asked you if he could have a word. You waved at him to take a seat next to you, and he gratefully took the opportunity.

“I’m sorry. I swore I wouldn’t tell and I did and I shouldn’t have. I would go back in time and stop past me from telling Sirius, but I can’t, but I also don’t want to lose you because I meant what I said. This friendship is worth so much to me.” James took a deep breath. “So please let me make amends?” he finished.

“Okay.”

James blinked. “Okay?” he dumbly repeated.

“That’s what I said.”

“Wait, so that’s it? No grovelling? No conditions?”

“Would you like me to add conditions?”

“I mean..” James stuttered. “Sure?”

“Fine. Consider this your second chance , even though it technically is your third after your horrid behaviour towards my friends. It’s also your last.” You said that last part sharply. “Do you accept those terms?”

James nodded in relief and agreed. It was only when he laid in bed at night that he realised that he should’ve probably gotten clean on the matter of the bet right when he had the chance. He was on his last chance after all. But it would be alright. He would simply call off the bet and then it would be as if nothing ever happened. No one had to know, no one had to get hurt.

He waited after Transfiguration and grinned at you when you made your way to him. He had really looked forward to spending time with you again at your spot. Even if the marauders knew its location now, too.

“Lead the way, Y/N.”

“I am,” you retorted with a hint of amusement in your voice. James grinned and followed you, only noticing after a while that you were walking around on the third floor instead of the seventh. “Did you find a new spot?” he curiously asked.

“Yes. And no.” James huffed at your vagueness, imploring you to explain. “Let’s just say that Dumbledore got himself off my blacklist.” You turned the corner and moved a portrait to the side. James knew of the passageway. It was moist in there and cold so it hadn’t interested him and his friends very much. But behind the door you just opened, stood your wardrobe.

He looked at it, amazed. “You got Dumbledore to move a wardrobe for you?” he asked incredulously. You slyly smiled but didn’t say anything except for “I did the cleaning myself.”

“So what’s going on with you and James,” Lily curiously asked you. You shrugged and brought your water bottle to your lips. “Kept bothering me into a friendship, I guess.”

Lily laughed. “Well, whatever keeps him away from me,” she joked and you let out an audible laugh. She leaned in towards you. “But if he’s no longer fighting for my attention, but yours, I think it might mean that he fancies you.”

You choked on your water. “Most certainly not!” You strictly assured her and composed yourself. Lily laughed. “No need to get so defensive over his feelings. You make it seem as if I suggested that you fancied him,” she said, chuckling. You turned your head away and she gasped. “Do you fancy him?”

“What’s with all this gossiping and boys talk,” you grumbled, unpleased. “But for the record, I don’t think so.” You stuck your nose up.

“You don’t think so?” Lily repeated. “What do you mean?”

“I gravely appreciate him and I feel very comforted in his presence. We’re friends. It doesn’t mean I fancy him.” You answered. “Besides, I’ve never fancied anyone. Not sure I know what it’s like.”

“Okay, how would you feel if he starts dating someone, right now?”

You pondered over the question for a bit. “I guess he can do whatever he wants, but don’t expect me to share our spot with some random girl,” you said, the last part coming out more bitter than you expected. Huh. ‘Did you fancy James Potter?’ you wondered.

“I fancy her,” James told his friends while they were out in Hogsmeade.

“L/N?” Peter asked. James nodded in affirmation. “Well damn Prongs,” Sirius started. “What happened?”

“Y/N and I are good, I think. We fit and it feels amazing. It seems surprising, but we can talk for hours or sit in silence together without it being weird at all. Everything is comfortable with her, in like the good way,” James struggled to express all his feelings about you.

Sirius whistled. “Almost envious of you, Prongs. What about Evans though?”

James shrugged. “Not the kind of dynamic I want.”

“So are you going to tell her?” Remus asked. James puffed his chest. “Of course. I’m not shy about my feelings. I publicly chased after Lily for years,” he reasoned. But despite his big words, he felt like a nervous wreck. Because what if you rejected him?

James found you in the library. “Is now a good time?” he asked. You sat up straight. Last night, you had done a lot of thinking and came to the conclusion that yes, you fancied James Potter. “Yes, actually. I wanted to talk to you,” you replied. You got up and and started to gather your belongings. James grabbed your books for you and you left the library.

“I fancy you.”

James blinked. Were his ears deceiving him? Were you joking? Did you have a bet of your own going on with someone?

“I’m sorry?” he managed to get out, his voice an octave higher than usual.

“I fancy you,” you stated again. Matter of factly. “I came to the realisation yesterday and they do say honesty is the best policy.” James laughed softly at your sad attempt to lessen the awkward atmosphere.

“I actually wanted to talk to you to say the same thing,” he breathed out in a relieved manner. You stared at him in surprise. Okay. Definitely not what you expected.

“So you fancy me.” You repeated to make sure.

“And you fancy me.” James nodded.

“Do you want to go out with me?” you asked.

James’ heart leaped. He had spent so much time asking that question, he realised that how amazing it felt to hear the question directed at him. He grinned. “Glad you asked, darling. Yes, I’ll go out with you.” He reached out to you carefully wrapped an arm around you. You fully leaned into him in a hug and breathed him in.

“Think our relationship just went up in value.” You mumbled, your words slightly muffled by your face, hidden in his sweater.

You felt him laugh. “Well, we upgraded from friends to couple. How much are we worth now?”

You pretended to think about it. “We’re worth all the money in Gringotts bank.”

“That’s a lot of money,” he hummed.

You had taken James out on a date in the middle of the Gryffindor Quidditch stands at night, after curfew. James was the first to lean in and kiss you and when he did, he practically melted into you, your arms slung over his broad shoulders. He’d muttered something about how lucky he was and you’d told him that he better know it, before admitting that you felt the same way.

After you had left him several hickeys, scattered across his neck, he had insisted on returning the favour. He was only on his second when you two were interrupted by Filch, who had spotted you two. You two ran off to the third floor and decided to hide out in your wardrobe until he was gone all while continuing making out. You and James fell asleep in that position. You on your back on the couch, James draped over you like a weighted blanket with his face nuzzled in your throat, and your legs entangled.

Though very surprised at first, your fellow Hogwarts students quickly got used to the idea of you and James in a relationship. It wasn’t long before you were walking down the corridors together, James hand on your lower back and inching lower. You shot him a warning glare and he bit his check when he splayed his hand over your ass with a cheeky smile. You elbowed him in the ribs, earning a huff and let your hand rest on his ass in turn.

Everything was perfect, which is of course why everything had to become a disaster very quickly. James wasn’t even sure how such a perfect night had turned so horrible. One moment, you were partying, everything had been great, and he had been envisioning you and him for the rest of your lives, and the next, he was pleading with you through a locked door.

“Y/N, we can call you Y/N right?” Sirius had drunkenly slurred. You had rolled your eyes at his antics, but nodded. Though you would never admit it out loud, you appreciated the elder Black.

“I like you. We all like you and we’re happy that it’s you and not Evans anymore,” he mumbled on and he stumbled over his own feet, barely reacting in time to not drop to the floor.

You internally smiled at his words.

“I’m sorry that I was an asshole to you. You’re really great. If I had known, I wouldn’t have targeted your friend group for pranks or risked your feelings by making you part of a stupid bet.”

It was as if the world stopped spinning for a moment, music only barely in the background. “A bet?” you spoke in a dangerously low voice.

Sirius seemed to catch on to your change in demeanour and sobered up at an incredible rate. “Shit, no-“

But you had already turned around to find James, Sirius stumbling behind you to try and stop you.

“How much?” you spat out angrily when you found him. The music was luckily loud enough to hide your argument from other students.

James looked at you, confused. “How much?”

“How much are we worth?”

James frowned at you question. “All the money in Gringotts bank,” he calmly answered you and moved to embrace you, thinking you were just very drunk.

You pushed him away and he stumbled a few steps back.

“No,” you hoarsely responded. “That’s how much I think we’re worth. How much did you bet on me.”

James’ blood ran cold. “I-“ His words opened and closed like a fish. “Because the amount better have been fucking worth it, James,” you cut him off.

“Darling-“

You felt numb. “How little?”

“A galleon.”

You nodded and stepped back. “I was wrong,” you shakily breathed out. “You, James Potter, are still cruel.”

James chased you. “Wait, please,” he begged. You ran out of the room, towards the third floor and into the wardrobe hidden behind the door behind the portrait.

James followed you and pulled on the knob to open the wardrobe that you had locked. He sunk down against the doors and took a deep breath.

He had to explain. He had to let you know that you meant everything to him. And that everything was real. Honesty is the best policy after all, right?

“I’m sorry. Darling, I am so sorry. It’s so stupid how it happened. They were saying that I couldn’t get anyone to go out with me and then I accidentally hurt you with the soup incident, so Sirius bet with me that I couldn’t get anyone you to go out with me. I was never planning on hurting you, I swear,“ James rambled.

“I wanted to apologize and make up for your hand anyway. Not that it was out of pity or anything,” he immediately added.

“I did think you were beautiful. I did want to talk to you. And when you rejected me at first, yes, I did want to prove Sirius wrong. But then you were everything. I wanted so desperately to be friends with you because you were right. The bet was stupid, but it was never about money. It was never even about you per se, but I’m so fucking happy that it ended up being you, because I’m in love with you. Please believe me.”

You sucked in a breath at his words. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

James jumped at your voice from the other side of the door. “I wanted to, I really did. But I had already screwed up once and you weren’t going to give me anymore chances, so I thought that if I just never told you and called of the bet, pretending it never happened, I could keep you.” He leaned back against the door, eyes tightly shut. “And if we break up, then I don’t regret it, because the past months with you were perfect,” he whispered.

The door abruptly opened from inside out and he stumbled back, having leaned against it. He looked up at you, hovering above him. He knew you. He knew how to read you and right now, you needed space. “I’ll wait for you,” he said, hesitantly and left you alone.

You needed your friends right now.

When James didn’t see you the next day, he accepted that you didn’t want to see him. But by now, almost an entire week had passed and James and his friends were itching to apologize to you at least once more. He decided to ask Lily where you were and was absolutely not prepared for her answer.

“She went to Beauxbatons.” Lily pursed her lips at the boy in front of her in disdain. She knew what had happened but couldn’t help but pity him a little bit when he looked at her like that. Devastated.

James’ world stopped and for a moment he thought he couldn’t breathe. Did you leave? Had he managed to push you away to a whole different school? He thanked Lily for her answer and sat down at his own desk in a daze. His body moved on autopilot for the next few days. He was falling into a routine that he didn’t like.

During free periods, he hid out in the wardrobe, face up towards the ceiling as he imagined you were lying in his arms right then.

You had been gone for a week and a half and had returned to Hogwarts. Feeling lighter in your heart and decisive steps carrying you towards the Gryffindor Quidditch stands, right on time for the match.

You saw James and your heart jumped. He looked good. He had definitely looked better before, but all in all, he looked good. You bit your lip, suddenly insecure and doubting his promise to wait for you. Another twenty points for Gryffindor and admired James from the distance.

When you had arrived at Beauxbatons, you had wallowed in self pity for a day or two before your friends had pulled you out of it and reasoned with you. Surprisingly on James’ behalf.

You knew they were right. You were madly in love with James and he was undoubtedly madly in love with you too. Though it had all started off as a bet, how could you stay upset when it only brought you and James together.

James eyes scanned through the crowd, automatically trailing to the spot where you two had been sitting and kissed during your first date. He had to do a double take when he saw you in the crowds and almost fell off his broomstick when he rubbed his eyes with both hands to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

He started making his way towards you when his eyes locked onto the golden snitch. His eyes flickered between you and the snitch, but you had seen it too, so you flashed him a grin. His shoulders relaxed, and he started the chase.

“Darling?” James appeared in the doorway to the boy’s changing rooms.

“James,” you nodded. You were smiling at him, and your warm, inviting tone had him move forward until you were within reach.

“I’ve missed you so much, I thought I lost you.”

“Hm, you’re just lucky that I really really love you too.” You sassed back. James was in front of you in two big steps. “Yeah?” he asked a twinkle in his eye. “Just like that? No grovelling? No conditions?”

You kissed him. “Would you like me to include grovelling?” you laughed at him.

“Yeah actually. You see, I’ve already prepared at least eight different ways to make up to you.”

He pressed his lips to yours again.

“Get a room!” Sirius yelled and you shot him a sour look. He held up his hands in surrender, a shit eating grin still present on his face.

“Fine, but don’t expect your captain back for the celebratory party. He’s mine tonight,” you shot back.

“And every other night, I hope?” James coyly smiled at you. You shook your head in amusement and dragged him away, hand slipping to rest on his ass, his own hand finding its way to yours.

“Lead the way, Darling.”

@elsie-bells @charlie-weasley-is-underrated @dreamingofmarauders @moonyslibrary98 @wildernessflora @hollandweather @queerqueenlynn @locklyebrainrot @thisrandombitch @moonys0chocolate @grac3aph3lion @someonesuggestmeaname @mel-yldrm @yrseline @apiec @earfquak3 @yourvvenicebitch @venomsvl @leyla-ravenclaw @spacedangel @darrarii @shrekscrustybudassy @unsleptwriter @middle-of-the-earth @sirene-noir @bettytaylorversion @littlepoisonmushroom @faumpje @iloveutwice @katelebate @moonysupremacy01 @marina468 @fangirl-kimora @bellesowl @badasswlthafatass @sjprongs

@targaryenmoony @its-a-ittle-bit-cold @quackitysdrugdealer @gaysludge @acciotwinz @in2meijasworld @shadowbriar @kategables @prongsprincessworld @devilsnightz @lavandersblues @inesven

okkk max!!!!!!!!!

so the reader is a just a normal person no job that comes with fame, i think they are a artist and own their own gallery in monaco, she grew up with max and they have been best friends for ever basically max biggest soft spot and he’s the most affectionate with her, he thinks she will never return his feelings so never says anything because their friendship is more important. i’m inspired by maxs birthday today but maybe after they have a party with max’s friends and family they are still on the boat alone and reader made max his favorite cake and she sings him happy birthday just them as she has since they were friends and she ask what he wished for, he says this and kisses her :) and obviously she kisses back and he tells her what he feels and is pleasantly surprised when she’s always loved him to and was waiting for him

:)

So excited to write my first Max piece! Slowly but surely I am becoming a Max girly...and Toast is helping me along with that! 🤪 I hope you like this, love - I sure do!

TW: not proofread

Summary: After growing up together, it's only a matter of time before feelings come out...right?

Childhood Crush | Max Verstappen | MV1

A small bell chimes as you sit in your studio, a paintbrush in hand. Taking one more glace at your canvas, you set down your brush and palette. Quickly, you try to clean yourself up; swiping away your baby hairs, checking your clothes in the full length mirror that laid against the wall – hoping your weren’t covered in paint. Walking out to the gallery side, you notice a taller guy browsing the art on the walls. “Hello! Let me know if you want any information on anything, I’ll be here.” 

The guy turns, a familiar accent coming from his lips. “I’m here about a party?” He smirks at you. Max – your longtime friend, basically from the time you were learning nursery rhymes. “How you are, Y/N? I haven’t seen you in a while, you never come out.” His legs stride towards you, stopping just before you and giving you a hug. 

Throwing your hands up in a shrug, you respond, “I’ve been in the studio preparing a new collection. You know how it goes…” 

His hand comes up to your face, brushing away at your cheek. “Bit of paint there.” Seeming to need something a little more helpful to remove the paint, he licks his thumb – returning it to your face. 

“Blegh!” You blurt, shrinking away from his soggy thumb. 

His face turns to a fake frown, “Oh hush. It’s gone now.” Wrapping his arm around your shoulder, he pulls you back into your studio – sitting you both on the sofa. “You’re welcome, schat.”

Schat – something Max would say that would make your heart twist like someone wringing out a wet towel. You grew up with both of your guys’ parents calling you that term of endearment, but it always felt different when it came from Max. The little voice in your head always told you how wrong it was to feel this way for him, but your heart begged you for more. More time with him. More sweet nothings. More…everything. You had spent hours upon hours growing up, and even now, wondering what it would be like to be his schat. 

Shaking the daydream from your head, you fill the silence. “So…you said something about a party.” 

He grabs your hand excitedly, a wide smile spreading across his face. “Well, you know my birthday is coming up,” You nod your head. Of course you knew – you don’t just forget your lifelong best friend/crush’s birthday. “I’m having a party on the boat. Friends, family, you. I think we’ll make a day out of it. You’ll come?” His eyes are saying that he’s hoping to sway you. 

You already knew you would say yes to going, but you had to make it harder than that for him. As you usually would, like old times. “I don’t know, Max. A whole day?” You shake your head. “I’ve got to finish this collection, I launch in two weeks.” All lies, the piece you were working on before Max arrived was the final piece you needed to finish, and you were practically done. He gives you puppy dog eyes, knowing it would work on you. Pretending to give in, you sigh. “I think I can make it work…just for you Maxy.” 

* * * 

You loved Monaco. You loved the sun, the people, the buildings. It all what led you to set up your gallery here, instead of back in the Netherlands where you were raised. Another thing you happened to love was the water. Luckily for you, you had a best friend who had a boat, and occasionally, you were invited on said boat. 

The day had been full of fun. Your family had come down to attend as well, catching up with you both when time allowed. When not in the water, you were sunbathing with your mother and sister, laid out on the white cushions that sat atop every seat on his boat. As the sun went down, everyone sat around a table inside – a cake being brought to Max with a practical choir signing happy birthday to him as he blew out the candles. The day had finally wound down, the boat docking to let everyone go – you however had one birthday surprise you saved for just the two of you. 

You sat on a lounge chair that was arranged with another in the boat’s lounge space, checking the paper bag you had hid all day – making sure your surprise was still there and in good shape. Hearing a sigh, your head pops up to see Max walking into the lounge. “Maxy! I have something for you…”

He rubs his hands together, his face looking as excited as it could – clearly drained from the day’s activities. “Is it an exclusive piece from your new collection? I’ve already got a wall in mind to hang it on…” 

A frown finds its way onto your face. “Sadly, no. But I hope this makes up for it?” You reach into the paper bag, pulling out a single cupcake and a pack of birthday candles. Taking the cupcake out of the box, you stick a single candle on top. “Shit. I didn’t bring a lighter…do you have one here?” Max nods, getting up to dig through a couple of drawers – eventually coming up with one and handing it to you. He sits back down on the lounge chair across the coffee table from you, a soft smile on his face. You quickly light the candle, setting the lighter next to the cupcake on the table. Clearing your throat, you begin to sing a song you both made up – many, many years ago. 

Today is the day,

It’s Maxy’s birthday. 

We scream and we shake,

Because we want cake.

Ending your singing, you continue with the tradition. “Now let’s watch this…On three, Maxy will make his wish!” You giggle to yourself, Max’s smile wide as can be before he blows out the candle atop his cupcake. You clap for him, pulling the candle out of the cupcake so he can begin to eat it. “What was your wish?” 

Swiping a bit of the frosting from the top of the cupcake, Max eats it off his finger. “Umm…this.” He stands from his chair, leaning across the table and grabs your chin pulling you to meet his lips. The sweet taste of vanilla entrancing you, pulling you out of your seat more – you wrap your arms around his neck. The kiss deepens as you surrender yourself, puzzle pieces snapping together. 

After a minute he pulls back, shock on his face. “Wait, you’re okay with this?” Nodding, you kiss him once more before he pulls away again. “I didn’t just ruin our friendship…did I?” You shake your head, which triggers a smile on his face. “Y/N…this is -” 

You put a finger to his lips, shushing him. “Max, shut up…I’ve been waiting for this moment to happen.” You laugh as you once again find his lips, the two of you moving together perfectly, as if it were meant to be. "I love you, Max."

With a chuckle, he speaks through your lips. "I love you too, mijn schat."

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LIFE ADVICE FOR YOUR TEENS AND EARLY TWENTIES (and probably beyond but I haven't made it much farther than that so far):

GO OUT BY YOURSELF

LEARN HOW TO NAVIGATE PUBLIC TRANSIT WITH NO SMART PHONE

TAKE ONLINE CLASSES

MAKE PEACE WITH DISAPPOINTING YOUR PARENTS

GO TO THERAPY IF POSSIBLE

FOLLOW AFTERCARE INSTRUCTIONS FOR NEW TATTOOS AND PIERCINGS

EAT A MEAL BEFORE DRINKING

DON'T MIX DRUGS

IT'S HARD TO BE YOURSELF WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW YOURSELF SO JUST KEEP TRYING NEW THINGS

THROW EVERYTHING AT THE WALL LIKE SPAGHETTI TO SEE WHAT STICKS

YOU WILL DISCOVER YOURSELF THE SAME WAY YOU DISCOVER NEW COFFEE SHOPS AND NEW BANDS

YOU WILL GET THERE

DON'T MAKE A LONG POST IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE YOUR VOICE WILL START TO HURT FROM SHOUTING