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pingutats · 4 years ago

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be this close, forever and ever

you and harry have been together for a while. your nights at home are quiet and comfortable, and, well, you’re both just so in love.

warnings: sexual content (soft giggly sex), mostly fluff

word count: 2.5k

. . . . .

Living with Harry, the two of you start to fall into the same rhythm. It’s not easy with his schedule as chaotic as it often is and your lives so profoundly different, but the nights when he’s home are the quiet sanctuary you need from all of those stresses. His little rituals seep into your own. The evenings are for being together, enjoying each other’s company without distraction or pressure. It’s just you and him, and the routine you’ve constructed so delicately together.

It starts with a face mask. Just because he’s so famous, he receives packages from different companies hoping for endorsements. He doesn’t really do those but he keeps the boxes anyway and most nights the two of you pick out one to try. He reads through the ingredients while you wait for the prescribed fifteen minutes to pass: pumpkin extract, baobab oil, a white flower extract.

“Which white flower?” Harry asks, looking up at you.

His mask is wrinkled between his brows where he’s frowning and you reach up to smooth it out again, your hands coming away sticky. You wipe them on his sweatpants, which just makes him frown again. “Dunno,” you say, “but it must be a pretty powerful flower if it—” you snatch the packet out of his hand “—de-puffs, hydrates, and brightens our skin.” You scan the printed text for a moment. “I think this one’s supposed to be used in the morning.”

“Oh, fuck. The moon’s out. Was this all for nothing?”

After peeling off the masks carefully in the bathroom, you coo over each other’s soft skin ridiculously and move back into the living room for the next unspoken event of your night. Harry is borderline religious about meditating, somehow possessing the discipline to do it for twenty minutes day and night. You aren’t like him, but sometimes you join in. It is good for you, after all.

The two of you sit on the carpet, legs crossed and backs straight, side by side and within arms reach. The itch to reach out and touch him or lean over to put your head on his shoulder is strong, but you know it annoys him when you do that. He is so serious about it — “It doesn’t work if you keep poking me, the point is to be completely focused” — and even if you’ve never reached his fanaticism about the practise, you respect it so you keep your distance. Two minutes in, though, you’re starting to get bored. He can meditate for ages: twenty minutes is his standard, and you simply don’t have it in you to sit still for that long. Quietly, so as not to disturb him, you uncross your legs and stand up, padding across the soft carpet into the kitchen to turn on the kettle.

When the soft alarm he’s set on his phone rings and brings him back to reality, he blinks open his eyes to see you in front of him, holding two steaming mugs. It’s the tea he buys especially to have before bed, something a friend recommended to relax him. You aren’t sure if it really does anything, but it tastes good so you always have a cup too. When you think about it, you do almost always have a good sleep the nights that you drink it. Those nights are the ones you’re sleeping with Harry, though, so maybe it isn’t the tea. You set the mugs on the table nearby.

“Thank you, love,” he says softly. He reaches to take hold of your hand and then suddenly drags you down to the floor, a tangle of limbs as you collapse on top of him.

You giggle and then shriek as his fingers find the ticklish spot along your ribs. “Harry! Get off!”

His attack ceases very quickly when you accidentally elbow him in the stomach in your attempts to escape.

“Sorry, H.”

“’S alright. Probably deserved it.”

“You did.”

But he’s mostly quiet in the evenings — doesn’t like to talk too much as he decompresses from the busy-ness of his days, so he shows his affection more through his actions. As the two of you sip your tea (still on the floor, because with the plushy carpet he has it’s just as comfortable down here as on the couch) he reaches out to drum his fingers over your knee while he tries to remember all the things he needs to do tomorrow. He’s always written himself to-do lists and he got you hooked on them too. You were sceptical at first, but they do make life easier. The little thrill of ticking off boxes in your black notebook with your initials monogrammed on the bottom right corner (Harry’s gift) is a bonus. He’s less driven by those superficial rewards, so he chooses to keep his on his laptop, which is rose gold. His hand leaves you only to type the next line of his to-do list, then he’s back to tracing patterns over the fabric of your borrowed sweatpants. He emails the list to himself when he’s finished. You’ve always found that funny, and you tease him for being grandpa-ish, but it’s just another one of his eccentricities that makes him more endearing.

You probably wear his clothes just as much as you wear your own. He loves seeing you in his stuff. He’s practically throwing t-shirts at you as soon as you walk into the house. He’ll take your stuff, too, sometimes. Dating Harry comes with an unspoken agreement to merge your wardrobes. There are a couple of pieces — a hoodie or two, sweatpants that are too big for either of you, a pair of extremely fluffy socks — that have been passed between you for so long that you can barely remember who owned them first. The sweatpants you’re wearing right now (paired with just a sports bra) are his. The old band tee he has on is yours.

He carries the empty mugs back to the kitchen and loads them into the dishwasher while you finish the last of your planning. There’s no discussion around it, just like no one asked you to make the tea in the first place. The two of you just now how to work together now, with all the times you’ve practised this routine. Sometimes it’s him who makes the tea, sometimes you finish your list first, but you never really have to talk. Harry usually picks out an album to play in the background over these moments, and that’s the only thing you need to listen to. It’s good. It makes you feel more connected to him, like you understand each other on a deeper level than just being able to talk. You know Harry like the back of your hand. He knows you almost as well as you know yourself. It’s a quiet kind of euphoria, to love and be loved back. You don’t need the fanfares and the grandiose displays. You just need each other.

Later, you pull faces at each other in the mirror while you brush your teeth, bumping hips as you giggle around your toothbrushes. He’s finished in the bathroom before you are, so he lies in bed in just his boxers and watches you through the open doorway while you do your last couple of skincare and hair rituals. Satisfied, you switch the bathroom light off and enter the bedroom that you share, decorated with framed artworks you both chose, a bedspread that you picked out together. You quickly change into just a long loose shirt, then collapse into bed with him and crawl under the covers, his greedy arms pulling you to nestle into his side while he presses a kiss to your forehead. He likes to read before he sleeps, but you aren’t in the mood for that. You shuffle down until your head is at his chest and you throw your arm and leg over him, letting him rest his paperback against your bare thigh while he reads with you wrapped around him.

After a couple of minutes of just the sound of pages turning and your soft breaths, you start to sponge kisses over his bare chest. He ignores you at first, but you hear his breathing stutter as you move up to his collarbone.

“Let me just finish this chapter,” he murmurs. “Just a couple pages left.” His eyes don’t leave the page, but he gropes around until he finds your hand and brings your fingers to his mouth, kissing them before he lets your intertwined hands drop.

You don’t reply. You pull your hand out of his loose grasp and run your fingertips up the subtly defined lines of his abs, softened by the way he’s sitting. You trace the wings of the butterfly tattooed over his stomach, then draw a constellation between his four nipples — he chuckles and pulls your hand away, holding it tighter this time.

“Baby,” he says, a little firmer this time.

You kiss his shoulder again.

He sighs, closing the book (he doesn’t tear his eyes away from the page until it’s fully closed and you almost feel bad for distracting him until —

He throws the book on the nightstand and reaches over your body to plant his hand on the mattress, pushing himself up so he’s hovering above you. “You’re a pest,” he says, leaning down to nudge his nose against yours.

You giggle and bite your lip, wrapping one leg around his hip and pulling him closer to you. “Kiss me?”

He obliges, pressing his lips against yours. “That all you wanted?” His tone is slightly teasing. He’s always liked to see you squirm.

You shake your head, wrapping your other leg around him. You can feel the bulge underneath his boxers against your crotch and it sets a fire in your core. You thread a hand into his hair and pull him down to kiss him again, less chastely this time. You roll your hips against him, just slightly, and smile against his kiss when you feel him twitch.

He breaks away from the kiss and smears his lips over your cheekbone to your ear. “Tell me, angel, tell me what you want you want and I’ll give it to you,” he whispers.

You barely contain a whimper at how deep his voice has gotten. “Fuck me,” you say, gasping as he starts to place hot openmouthed kisses down your neck. When you first slept together, you were too embarrassed to ask him so openly. You don’t get embarrassed around him anymore. “Harry, please fuck me.”

He pulls back suddenly, smiling down at you. “See? All you had to do was ask nicely.”

“Harry!”

He’s laughing as he pulls his boxers down to free his cock, but his giggles fade into a low moan as he takes hold of himself and strokes a couple times. “Ready for me, baby?”

“Yeah.”

He pushes into you with one fluid motion, making your eyes roll back. He fills you so perfectly. Every single time he’s in you is better than the last, it never gets old — there’s no feeling that’s as good as how he feels. Sometimes it’s explosive, sometimes he’s brutal in how he fucks you, or passionate and needy, or the both of you get caught up in the roles you make up to play, but you treasure the times like this. The times where he’s on top of you, face-to-face, alternating between kisses and whispers and little giggles — this is where you feel the most love for Harry.

He takes his time, in no hurry to end this moment. The pace he sets is slow but he reaches deep into you on each thrust, his breath coming out increasingly ragged every time he buries himself to the hilt. You have your hands in his hair and splayed across his back — he has one clutching the pillow beside your head to hold himself up, the other roaming over your chest. It’s like he can’t decide what he wants to do with his mouth: he’ll kiss your lips, then along your jaw, down your neck, then back up to your ear where he whispers all the sweet little nothings he can think of.

“So pretty, baby, love you so much, taking me so well, always my good girl, my best girl, my girl, always feel so good…” He chants it like a prayer, his words taking on a firmer tone each time he thrusts in, starting to pick up the pace a bit. “Touch yourself for me, darling, want to see you cum underneath me.”

You moan and reach down between your legs, rubbing little circles around your clit while he starts to fuck you at a faster pace. “Feels so good, Harry,” you say, your words choked slightly by the intensity of what you’re feeling right now.

“I know it does,” he replies, kissing you again, swallowing your moans. That edge of cockiness, the way he knows how to take care of you, when you just need his mouth on you and he can’t keep off you — you love all these little traits. You love him. And he loves you. That’s maybe the feeling to triumph over all the others.

“I’m close, I’m close,” you chant, the hand on his back digging fingernail marks into his skin as the warm feeling in your core rises, threatening to explode.

He thrusts into you faster, his rhythm growing slightly sloppy. “Yeah? Let go for me, baby, let go, I’m right behind you.”

You cum, legs shaking around him and brows pinched as you stare up at him, while he watches you cum undone with an intensity behind his gaze that wasn’t there before. You say his name, over and over, trying to put all you want to say into just that one word. You hope it’s enough. You think it is. He gets you.

“I’m gonna cum,” he says, words cut off by a pant, as you feel the aftershocks of your own orgasm and the growing over-sensitivity. “You feel so good, baby, gonna cum so hard…”

You feel him spill into you as he cries out, his body collapsing over yours so his entire body is pressed against yours. You thread your fingers through his hair until he starts to come down from his high and rolls off you, his cock slipping out and you hiss at the slight friction.

“God…” he murmurs into the air. “That was so good.”

You giggle, twisting around and propping your head up with your hand so you can look down at him. “You say that every time.”

“It’s good every fucking time,” he says, a smile spreading across his face.

You poke his dimple and he tries to catch your finger with his mouth, biting the air playfully, but you pull it away. “You’re such a weirdo.”

He pouts for a second, but then his features soften. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” You drop your head back down to the pillow, watching him stretch his arm out to turn off his bedside lamp. After a couple of swats at the switch, he finally manages it, and brings the same arm back over to drape over your body. It’s totally dark now. “Love you so much,” he tells you, kisses your forehead.

“Love you more. Goodnight, H. Sweet dreams.”

“Night, angel. Sleep well.”

. . . . .

hope you enjoyed -- let me know if u did, i like reading ur replies/tags !! i rlly loved writing this fic, it’s just so domestic and sweet and happy. the meditating and the to-do list (including the emailing !! ) is from the real harry.

btw !! my ask box is open for requests & general chatter, so come say hi :D

#harry styles smut #harry styles fluff #harry styles x reader #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles #fic

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merrock · 2 years ago

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HAPPY FIRST OF AUGUST!

Just as fast as June went by, July flew by right after, and now we're in August! A hot, hot month, but thankfully we have fun things happening in our little town, and some stuff that we want to go over as mods, as well, that we think is pretty important! So, you know the drill. Read on!

HAPPENING IN AUGUST:

trivia night (august 6) -- for anyone who signed up, our trivia night will be happening at The Mirage on August 6th! We will be taking sign-ups still for a few more days, and although this isn't a huge IC event, it should be fun OOC to see how it turns out!

town-wide yard sale & classic car cruise-in (august 12 - 14) -- a fun way to just get out and have some fun with your neighbors, not to mention unloading your junk!

end of summer pool party (august 21 - 27) -- join everyone in town as they wind down summer with one last hurrah at the merrock public pool! adult swim every night after 8pm, with lots of fun happening during the day for the kiddos, as well.

mini events -- on August 3rd, we will be having Watermelon Day at the farmer's market! There's also the 1st day of school on August 29th, and eat outside day takes place on August 31st for anyone who really likes to picnic.

EXTRA BIT OF FUN:

This month’s development resource is all about music and how it relates to your character with our very first playlist challenge! As usual, this can be done anytime, but we are introducing it to our stockpile for the month of August. Might be fun to challenge yourself with! We will also have a task coming up later this month that has to do with our one year anniversary. Exciting! Stay tuned.

RULE CHANGES & REMINDERS:

as usual, I am asking that you please take a few moments to read over our rules -- just to refamiliarize yourself!

please do the leg work when it comes to your activity! don’t expect everyone to only come to you: reach out to others for plots, respond to plot calls, say hey to an old friend, ask someone for something new if a thread feels stale or outdated rather than ghosting them. it feels good!

& reply to open starters! we have made notes of who we do and do not see doing this, and would prefer avoiding handing out warnings. we want this group to be inclusive and foster a wide variety of interactions to discourage bubble roleplaying in any way. we have amazing characters -- you never know what could shake out!

our messages are always open for you to chat or ask for help or bring something to our attention, but if you need something that requires us to be logged into main and at a computer (some examples would be an unfollow, a development page addition, a hiatus request, an update to your bio, etc.), please send it to the ask box. it allows us, as a team, to set a boundary where we aren’t expected to be online 24/7, and helps us help you by having everything in our inbox that needs taken care of.

last little thing -- triggers should be tagged as “trigger tw” for ease of use. this includes dash and ooc interactions. (ex: blood tw, cancer tw)

THINGS BEHIND THE SCENES:

late august marks our one year anniversary of being open! at least for our soft opening. we're so grateful for everyone who has joined our group along the way, whether it was way back then, or during our wide opening this spring! and we're so excited to see what our second year has in store for all of us!

as we teased last month, we do have a little something that will probably be starting in september and should get some NPCs involved in the game (outside of the Benefactor, and less interactive, just kind of there for fun). stay tuned for more information, but Lindsey and I are excited!

another new location will be coming soon ish! we had two planned for july, but life got a little hectic, and I decided it made more sense to open up towards the cooler months, anyway. but it’s not forgotten, and I think that it will be a really fun nostalgia-inducing place the locals will love.

to give you a ‘free preview’ at the month ahead, we’ll be having our Sunflower Festival, with a fun added bonus of a music fest being thrown in there! Creek Fest, which is our annual fall festival will be happening, as well (don’t worry, it’s totally different from Sunflower Festival), and we’ll see the ushering in of fall and in true Maine fashion... another lobster day!

Overall, we are very pleased with our first (almost!) year here in the group, and have loved writing and creating and growing, and think that we’re going to have an amazing year ahead! I know that we can sound like broken records with reminders to reply to starters, not to drop a lot of threads, to reach out to others, to watch activity... but it’s because we truly love this group and our group of writers, and want to see this place continue to thrive for a very long time, and we hope that you understand that, and thank you for making this place amazing.

Let’s make it a great August! xx

#merrockadmin

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yandere-bastard · 3 years ago

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Coraline AU(Self?You?Y/N?) insert

//blood gore slight body horror? (button eyes you know coraline)

You're parents kinda suck ass they aren't the worst people but they've only gotten more distant since you came out, all you wanted was them to call you their son but they don't even call you their 'daughter' anymore. You have to move with them again it's not like you move a lot but you still didn't want to so here you were being decidedly angsty as you drive up to this ugly almost Victorian looking house, you hope there's asbestos in the walls so you'll just get poisoned and die that'd be nice.

You take your stuff to your room noticing a funny looking door beside your room so after unpacking (more or less) you decided to look into it, I mean it was getting late and your parents already seemed to be going to bed. so you found your way back quickly, you managed to open the smaller door and looked in, inside wasn't a closet like you thought but a tube like hallway.

against you better judgment you decide to climb through and you come out the other side and really you've got no clue what you had expected when you went through but it wasn't to come out in a new house the same size as yours,

"Y/N!~" you jumped at your name the voice sounded like your mom (ish?) but she never called you your name, never said a name in general at this point like if she ignored you the 'problem' would go away "Y/N! I made some cinnamon rolls come try one!" Okay not your mom, you kinda wanted to turn back but you stepped forward looking over the railing to see the kitchen light,

You decided to go down lured by the siren song of any sort of love, as you walk into the kitchen you a see a tall black haired woman standing beside the oven, she was bony and absolutely not your mom, "W-who are you?" you managed to ask, she turned smiling at you unlike how your mom actually did

well hello dear, you're so silly, who am I? It's your mother you dork, now you need to sit down and try these cupcakes?" You paused cupcakes? She said cinnamon rolls right? you look up and shes somehow standing right in front of you, smiling, "Do you not want any? that's alright why don't we go to your room and I'll sing a bit for you," of course you get scared and start to leave the room, if you ran you could totally make it back to that door right? but the moment you were past the doorway she noticed,

"yes let's go!" she quickly walked over lifting you up effortlessly

"If yo-you're my mom wh-where's dad?" you managed to stutter through your questions

"You don't need a dad, in fact you don't need anyone just me!" she set you down outside of a different room then what your actual mom had said was your room, "Silly little boy! you must need some sleep, but before you sleep I have a surprise just sit on bed and I'll get it!" you wanted to except the love but at the same time she was just wrong

"I just wanna go to bed I think," you stated looking away as she pulled you into the room, she laughed awkwardly moving you to a desk chair,

"No,no,no,no, I've got to get your present first just wait!" as she walked away you realized you hadn't actually looked at her face, you wanted to leave the room but before you could make an escape she walked back in with a box in her hands, "Now I've been waiting so long to give this to you!"

"We've never met before," you said determined, she was so damn tall you looked up and realized her eyes weren't eyes they were buttons, she was shaking her head and brushed long thin fingers through your short hair,

"Not yet we hadn't but it's fine, I've just been waiting too long my boy," the box felt more menacing then before as she set it in your lap, "Now open the box,"

"What's in it," you asked glaring up at her feeling trapped, not yet physically but it wouldn't take much on her side to change that,

"Just open it, trust me dear," she traced a sharp nail over the engraving on the lid it said your name, you slowly opened it inside was a pair of buttons, "Ah!" she cheered a little, "We match now love, I'll put it on for you!" she pushed you back taking the buttons out of the box and you frantically began fighting against her, you let out a yell of pain as the needle stabs through part of your skin,

"Stop it!" with a scream you managed to throw her arms back tearing the thread out of your cheek, she gasped a bit and you take the moment to try and run away, as you try and make it to the door you see her right behind you, before you can reach it it's slammed shut and three little kids are standing in front of it "Motherfucker!" You shouted but before you could try and get them to move the woman claiming to be your mother has pinned you to the floor,

"What's wrong? Do you not want me to be your mother? I can be your father?" her face shifts terrifyingly into a warm looking man, "Or a different looking mother?" she shifts to a similar face of her own yet kinder less sharp, "Your sibling? do you want two parents?" she contorts her body terrifying you more and more,

"Please!" You sob out, "What do you want from me?!" more arms split from her back as she begins to sew the buttons over your eye, you scream in pure agony as blood drips from the torn skin, you kick and struggle sobbing and screaming as your eyes are replaced,

"Don't worry my dear, I just want to take care of you, I swear, I lied to those children but you my son, will be different," she finishes sewing soon enough, blood covered your cheeks as it mixed with your tears, "I know it hurts, when I force it it hurts very much, but you'll heal my boy," you sobbed as your sight was robbed from you falling weakly to the floor.

"Why?" you groan sadly, you flinch when her cold hand touches your face,

"I love you don't worry, you'll be able to see when you heal more," you stay limp even when she gets off of you, "Y/N please I'm gonna protect you, you don't like your family anyways and now you have me, I'll never ignore you like them or misgender you, or hurt you, you are mine"

And you are. For good

#platonic yandere #coraline #transmasc reader #platonic

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screamting · 4 years ago

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Winter Break in Kansas [80s AU] 1/2

Bruce bade goodbye to Tommy and Harvey without telling them anything of his own plans for the holiday break.

(....both of them looked gaunt. Holidays hadn’t even begun. They didn’t muster much enthusiasm for the goodbye, and Bruce didn’t make them.)

He didn’t put on the hat or scarf until they were a good distance out of the building, where the other two wouldn’t see, and bundled himself up unrecognizably as best he could.

Nodded.

“Let’s go.”

Clark slung his backpack over his shoulder and started down the stairs where they could get a cab to the bus stop.

“Have you ever been to Kansas before?”

Bruce shook his head.

“No,” he said, tugging out a few dollars from his pocket and shoving them towards Clark.

He’d pay.

Clark took them without argument after seeing how that worked during Halloween.

Into the cab they went.

“Don’t blame you. Nothin’ there.” He joked, and away they went.

A cab to the bus station.

Then the bus to Kansas.

It would be a day’s ride.

Bruce had packed books.

...they had agreed, even if silently and grudgingly, that they would just have to give up on their research for the duration of the break.

...on the up side, they would finally have a little time to read what they wanted to, at least.

He tugged out two crime thrillers, passing one to Clark, along with one of the lunches-to-go he’d bought at the cafeteria for the trip.

For the first hour or so, he sat up primly, despite his disguise.

And then, as the bus ride kept going…

He tugged his legs up under himself and curled up in the seat with his book, letting himself lean a little into Clark’s shoulder when the seat was cramped, finally looking content.

Clark let him lean into him as much as he wanted, especially considering the crampedness of the seats.

He read a little and ate some of their packed lunch, and then for a lot of the ride he dozed. Riding in a bus or car had that constant hum that drowned a lot out that was easy to focus on and sleep to. It was better than the erratic noise of the city, that was for sure.

As they went on, the bus taking occasional breaks at rest stops, the hills died down and things became increasingly flat.

And then, early the next morning, they pulled in to their stop.

“Here we are.” Clark mumbled, grabbing their bags from overhead and passing Bruce his as they climbed off.

...it was surreal.

Absolutely surreal.

For someone like Bruce who had grown up with always something blocking the horizon, the sheer flatness of the world around him left him feeling a little… disoriented.

Vulnerable, even.

But he kept the hat and scarf on, holding his bags and exhausted from the bumpy ride, and followed Clark closely as he climbed off the bus.

Clark barely had to even look around before he motioned for Bruce to follow, ducking around the other people climbing off the bus. He went right to an old station wagon with a man stood leaning on the hood, arms crossed to keep in the warmth and an old truckers cap on his head. When he saw them he stood and waved.

“Hey Pa.” Clark smiled, and hugged him as a woman with dirty blonde hair opened the door and stepped out of the passenger side.

“There’s my baby boy.” She cooed, already grabbing Clark and kissing his cheeks while he groaned and protested.

“You must be Bruce?” Jon said, extending a rough hand towards him. “You can call me Jon. Clark’s father.”

His face was sun scorned and wrinkled less from age and more from working outside every day of his life, his hair cut short and dark brown.

He had that feeling again. Like he was floating, somewhere else entirely, only partly aware of what was happening in front of him. Only sort-of involved.

It was a familiar one, even if school sometimes lessened it. Sometimes.

He was hoping it would leave if he left Gotham. But here it was. Right away. Watching Clark run to his mother or her run to him, and his dad, and hugging--

He took the father’s hand, shook it, and said, “Bruce Wayne,” in the voice that was bigger than he felt in his head.

“So Clark tells me. Quite the name back out East.” He said, giving Bruce a firm handshake.

When Martha was finished embarrassing her son she walked over to Bruce. “I'm Martha, now let's get you boys where it's warm.” She put an arm around Bruce and gestured for him to get into the back where Clark was already piling in.

Oh.

He felt dizzy. And tight. His jaw tightened the smile onto his face to keep it there, even as his heartbeat rocketed up, until it was pounding in his ears.

(Waking nightmare)

He stumbled forward over his own feet, but followed where the arm took him, same as he did when Alfred started trying to guide him away from paparazzi anytime they glimpsed him. Anytime they got an excuse.

He held his bag tight and piled in beside Clark, regretting every step that took him to this conclusion.

While his parents got back in Clark looked over at Bruce with concern. His heart was like a drum suddenly.

“You okay?” he whispered.

Bruce’s face had fallen into a brutal neutrality once the eyes weren’t on him anymore. Blank and stiff.

But he nodded faintly, lying.

“... Okay.” Clark said, not believing it at all, but not prying further.

“So is it just as cold out there as it is here?” His dad asked.

Typical banter.

Him. It was him. He was being talked to.

Talk.

“Haven’t been here long enough to say,” Bruce said, lost somewhere over the horizon with no buildings to stop him.

“It’s colder in Gotham.” Clark added as they started to move once everyone was buckled up.

“We’re pretty tired from the trip though. Is the guest room ready?”

“Oh yeah it’s all waiting for you. Will you two want breakfast or you gonna collapse into bed?” Martha asked.

“Bed,” Bruce managed, even though he knew he should’ve said more than that.

But in his head he was already at a family breakfast. Staring at them over a meal. Having to talk more before he could think or control his heart or breathe and actually feel it filling his lungs, not just faintly keeping him conscious by a thread.

“Yeah we’re beat.” Clark said, although he wasn’t very tired. This was mostly for Bruce’s sake.

“We’ll just get some rest and then we can have lunch and stuff, okay?”

“Okay, that sounds good. I still need to run out and grab a few things anyway.” Martha said, and with that the conversation would taper off and away from the boys.

Clark did pass a look over to Bruce though, just to check on him.

...gradually, Bruce’s heartbeat started to slow again as the conversation moved away, and he didn’t have to drag himself to pay attention to it. Didn’t live scared of the response he missed. He could just stare blankly forwards and hover for a while.

But that was it, too.

He just… hovered.

The usual awareness wasn’t in his eyes. And he knew it wasn’t there.

And the part of him that wasn’t in front, that wasn’t keeping them in society, breathing, not being kicked out of the car of the only people he knew for miles and miles--

That part of him was screaming. A sound not even Clark could hear.

Wake up. Pay attention. It’ll happen while you’re not paying attention. It’s going to go wrong. If you don’t pay attention everything will go wrong.

But he couldn’t drag himself to the front yet.

He couldn’t do it that fast.

They drive for awhile before turning into a tiny little town that was just starting to wake up, and then they even drove away from that and down long barren roads onto a long dirt driveway, the farmhouse soon coming into view.

“Home sweet home.” Jon said as he pulled up to a stop.

“We’re here, Bruce.” Clark said quietly, trying to get his attention so they could climb out of the car.

It helped. His name. Instruction.

He shuffled out of the car, pulling his backpack back on, and at the very least managed to glance at the small farmhouse and and and

(he counted exits)

Before following Clark inside, looking dazed.

Like he did definitely need the bed.

“I’ll show Bruce to his room, he’s pretty wiped.” Clark said, leading his friend up the steps and… maybe putting an arm around his shoulders to guide him a little better.

“It’s up the steps. C’mon.”

He made a small confirming sound at his name, and

Arm.

Followed the arm. Pressed into it.

(Tommy guided him like this, sometimes. Alfred did. Away from the worst of things. Back to the manor, or their room, or--)

He was lost in three places at once. The farmhouse here, and the manor, and the academy and coming out of the alleyway under a policeman’s coat.

But he could make it up the stairs, and be guided to the guest room, at the very least.

Clark got him up the steps, paused only for a moment to point at the bathroom. “Bathroom is here. And this is the guest room.”

He opened it up to reveal a very old, dated looking bed with an empty dresser and bedside table with a lamp. Floral comforter and frilled pillow cover.

“Sorry it’s… very grandma.” He huffed. “But, uh, you get comfortable. You want something to drink?”

Looked fine. Normal, even.

He shook his head.

“...how long?” he asked.

“... How long what?”

...fuck. The word. Didn’t she say lunch?

“Til lunch,” he said.

How long to recover.

“Oh, like, uh… you still got awhile. It’s only eight right now so four hours? Ish? And if you need to chill in here longer you can.” Clark said, looking at an old clock over the door.

Four hours sounded like both an eternity and no time at all.

Bruce set down his bag and nodded, not sure what to say.

Not sure how to ask to start.

Alone.

Rest.

Privacy.

Please.

“I'm gonna bring you something to drink and then you can sleep or whatever.” Clark said, turning away and heading downstairs.

He came back a moment later with a cup of warm tea.

“Here. Just yell if you need anything.”

And then he would leave Bruce to recover.

“Okay. Thanks,” he said, letting the hot tea sit.

...he held it in his hands.

….the heat helped.

He could smell it.

...once he was alone, he closed his eyes and sat on the floor, holding the cup between his hands and just… breathing it in deeply.

He took a drink. Followed the heat as it traveled down his throat.

….

It was sort of like Alfred’s tea.

Two places, now. Only lost in two. That was manageable.

A little more color came back to him. He finished the tea. The cup cooled and it didn’t help anymore. But he was a little better.

...he didn’t have the energy to do much, though.

So he kicked off his shoes and climbed onto the unfamiliar bed, biting down on his hand as hard as he could, and once all he could think about was his hand, he closed his eyes on the pillow and let go.

And he would go to sleep.

And in four hours, he would be fine again.

In four hours or so, Clark would knock on his door.

“Bruce? You awake? We're gonna have some lunch now.”

There was a jump in heartrate as Bruce jerked awake, but he still understood well enough what had been said to him.

“Y-yeah-- just let me get to the bathroom.”

“Okay, just come down to the kitchen when you're ready.” Clark said, leaving him be. His footsteps could be heard going down the stairs.

...Bruce waited until the footsteps were down the stairs and a little fainter before crawling out of bed.

His clothing was wrinkled from sleeping in it.

He grabbed a new shirt and set of pants, and folded the two he’d been wearing on the bus. Grabbed his comb.

Bathroom.

He washed his face and combed his hair back, the way he always wore it, unless he ended up shoved under a John Deere hat. Made sure his shirt was flat and his clothing straight. Tied his shoes back on.

He hurried down the stairs.

This time, he was Braced for It.

Now that he was more aware of his surroundings he could take in the details.

Worn furniture. Warm. Lived in. Family pictures on the mantle over the TV that was playing The Price Is Right. Noises from the kitchen.

Clark and Martha were there, Clark over a bowl of soup and Martha watching the TV from her position in front of the stove.

“Well don't you look nice.” she grinned. “You hungry?”

Maybe ironically, Bruce wasn’t used to being complimented on his appearance.

Maybe because he grew up with Alfred, and he was wearing the bare minimum to please Alfred.

“Thanks,” he said, voice a little steadier than it had been that morning. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You like chicken corn soup?” She asked.

Clark was eating the same thing that was on the stove in a large pot; a homemade soup with bits of chicken, corn, and other things to make a hearty, white soup.

Without being asked Clark got up and started to get Bruce something to drink.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had it before,” he said honestly, watching Clark out of the corner of his eye.

“Well if you don't like it you don't have to eat it, okay?” Martha said, getting out a bowl and filling it with soup. She set it down in front of him with a spoon.

“We got tea, milk, or OJ.” Clark said, looking over at Bruce.

“Thank you,” he said again, sitting where she set it, and glanced back at Clark. “Tea?”

“...oh. I forgot the cup upstairs--”

“That's okay, just bring it down later.” Martha said.

“This is iced tea, but if you want more hot tea I can make that too.” Clark said, pulling out the jug to show Bruce.

Bruce blinked blankly at him, as if just confronted with something he had no idea about.

“Iced tea?”

The two looked at each other like Bruce was the alien.

Clark poured him a glass of iced tea and set it in front of him.

“Wondered why I didn't see it anywhere at school.”

Bruce looked down at the cup like it was a challenge.

“...”

He kept eye contact with Clark as he sipped it.

It didn't taste anything like hot tea. It was sweet with a tiny hint of lemon.

Clark stared him right back.

“... Well?”

…

Bruce stared down at it.

“...I think I felt one of Alfred’s ancestors disown me just now,” he said, and took another sip.

Clark laughed, “But do you like it?”

Bruce nodded.

“It’s good.”

It was a little like a flat soda, almost?

“Good.” Clark grinned and sat back down to finish eating. Martha looked to be scooping the soup that was left over into freezing containers and labeling them.

“You gonna give Bruce a tour of the farm when you're done?”

Clark looked over at him, “You want one?”

“Sure?” Bruce said, “Whatever the plan is.”

He had no idea if there even was a plan. He’d focused so hard on getting here he wasn’t really sure what to do otherwise.

Even Clark had admitted there wasn’t much to do besides bowling.

So his only plan right now was to run with manners and hope it got him somewhere.

He ate the soup and drank the tea, not finding it quite his taste, but eating and finishing it all the same.

Clark didn't really have a plan either. He had just heard his friend had what sounded like a really lonely holiday and invited him along.

So they finished their soup and set the dishes in the sink before bundling up to take the tour.

“You ever been on a farm?” He asked while walking down the front steps. The third one creaked.

He followed Clark’s lead. Ran upstairs to bring down the cup and wrap his own scarf (thick and dark) around his neck as they headed out.

“Gardens don’t count?” he asked rhetorically. “Then no.”

Clark chuckled, “No. Gardens don’t count.”

A man was pulled up in their driveway in a tractor with a plow hooked to the front talking to his dad, and Clark waved but didn’t go over. Instead he lead Bruce towards the barn.

“All the corn is down now since it’s winter, but we still got the cows I can show ya.”

Bruce nodded, following along behind him.

“Okay?”

He’d never seen a cow before.

...the sight and smell of them stopped him dead.

“...that’s huge.”

“How big did you think cows were, Bruce?” Clark laughed, closing the barn door behind them.

The cows were in their stalls for the winter, some laying down to sleep while others had their heads stuck through the bars to feed from their trough.

It did smell pretty bad, but Clark didn’t seem to mind. He walked over to one and pet between its eyes.

Bruce honestly didn’t know how the cows stood the smell.

...he followed up behind Clark, watching him pet the cow, though his curiosity was focused a bit more on the petter than the pet-ee.

“They’re nice once you know how to act around them.” Clark said, looking at Bruce. “Just, y’know, gotta be aware they can break your foot. Here-” He reached out to take the other boy’s hand and place it gently on the cow’s head where he had been petting it.

The fur was course almost. Rough. Not really soft but not really wiry either.

Bruce was honestly not even really thinking about petting the cows--

...but Clark’s hand was warm, and it startled him into complacency, hand being pulled out of his pocket like that and held, even just for a moment.

…

The fur was coarse. But she was warm. The cow. And even though the fur was coarse, the skin under it was soft as Clark’s hand on top of his.

… “Wow,” he said, knowing he had to say something.

“See? They’re nice.” Clark said, oblivious to what was going on in Bruce’s head right now.

“C’mon.” He said, leading him out of the barn and towards the backyard.

“That’s our own little garden even though it’s just a patch of frozen mud right now. We grow tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries, tons of stuff. Mom makes jam. I’ll have her give you a jar to take back if you want. It’s really good.”

He lead him into a smaller barn after that. It had a four-wheeler and a few tractors inside.

“This is where we keep some of the equipment.”

Bruce followed Clark around the farm, feeling a little dumb and dumbfounded, and not sure what to feel the rest of the time. The farm life was… very different from the world he knew. And he respected it, he was pretty sure--but he didn’t really know much about it.

So he followed politely, looking around.

He pretty readily agreed to the jam.

“Alfred will like it,” he said.

��Cool. Y’know you gotta show me around your mansion or whatever sometime.”

A dog barked and soon a dog with black and white splotches was running up to them.

“Oh, and that’s Daisy.”

She tried to jump up at Bruce in excitement, tag wagging.

“Woah--” Bruce took a step back as Daisy jumped up at him, but--

...it was a dog.

Bruce bent down a moment later and was scratching her behind the ears.

Daisy put on that ‘thats the spot’ face and leaned into it, grumbling happily.

“I don’t think I’ve ever asked, do you have any pets?”

Bruce… made a bit of a face. And shook his head.

“No. Not anymore.”

...he was content to keep scratching the dog behind the ear as long as she’d lean in.

Clark stood and just sort’ve… watched him for a moment.

It was nice to see him content like this. Away from pressure.

“You feeling better than you were earlier?” He asked, as though he somehow knew.

…

“Yeah. ...sorry about that. It won’t happen again.”

He’d bite it back as often as he had to.

“It’s okay, dude.” Clark shrugged. “You don’t have to pretend you’re okay when you’re around me. It happens.”

Bruce just… focused on the dog.

Clicked his fingers at her.

“I am fine, though,” he said, not even fooling himself. “...you didn’t tell me that’s what your mom’s name was.”

… It took him a moment. He looked confused, then his eyes went big.

“Oh. Oh, damn. I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about it.” He looked ashamed and ran a hand through the curls in his hair.

Bruce shook his head, not… looking at him, for that. “It’s fine. You shouldn’t have to.”

He should’ve been able to handle this on his own. It had been years. (six years.) He should be fine.

But his throat was dry, even after draining the whole glass of ice tea, and his fingers were getting cold, even in the warmth of Daisy’s fur.

Why was he still talking?

“Dad didn’t die first,” he said. “He kept calling her name.”

Daisy tried to lick his face, tail wagging.

“... I’m sorry, Bruce.” Clark said quietly. “Must be hard.”

He had never lost someone before.

He didn’t know how it felt.

He’d said it wouldn’t happen again, but he felt that creeping chill on the edge of his consciousness, threatening to drag him out of Smallville again. It wasn’t there yet. It hadn’t yanked him in violently like back at the bus station. But he could feel the prickle of it; the threat.

He sat down crosslegged in the field, and let the dog lick him.

When she stopped he just… shook his head.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” ‘it must be hard’ wasn’t… something he was used to hearing. “I’ve got money and Alfred to take care of me. I’m fine.”

Clark sat down with him on the cold, frozen dirt.

“Yeah but that’s just money and Alfred ain’t your dad. You might have what you need but not what you want. ‘N money can’t buy that.”

“So, like… are you fine?”

He looked over at him and tried to meet his eyes with his own bright blue gaze that somehow stood out even more than Bruce’s. The sun was high in the sky and there weren’t as many clouds to hide him like their were in Gotham, and you could see how much his skin almost glowed in the sunlight.

That wasn’t what people were supposed to say, and the urge to argue Kent down made a thousand things meant to be kept secret bubble up on his tongue.

But he swallowed them down.

...he seemed much smaller out here, under the big, clear sky. In Gotham, in its narrow streets and foggy skies, he stretched up and could fill a room. Here he was just a small, lost shadow: dark clothes, pale skin.

And when Clark tried to meet his eyes, they were glazed wet, and in the process of being blinked away, even as Bruce’s voice said, steadily, “Yeah. I’m fine.”

…

“When I’m eighteen,” he said, guiding Daisy down to lie in his lap for a belly rub, “I inherit everything they left behind. And I’m going to take it and run away, until not even you’d be able to find me.”

Daisy rolled into him and was very happy for the belly rub.

“... Why?” Clark asked, sounding sad. “Just to get away?”

...at least someone understood.

Bruce nodded.

Clark nodded too.

…

“Where you gonna go?”

Bruce shrugged.

He didn't know. He didn't care much.

“Okay.”

…

“Well-” Clark nudged him a little. “-I’d like it if ya kept in touch at least a little.”

He gave him an award-winning smile.

...Bruce found himself looking at that smile, and… it was hard not to feel some guilt.

“We’ll see,” he compromised.

Clark went quiet and just sat with him then.

…

After a few minutes though he blinked and stood up, looking down at his driveway.

Bruce looked up.

Glanced down the driveway. Saw nothing.

But he looked back up at Clark without any doubt. “What do you see?”

“It’s Pete ‘n Kenny.” Clark said just as you could start to hear the car. He offered a hand down to help Bruce to his feet.

“Friends of mine. Guess mom told ‘em I was coming home.”

Bruce didn't need the help, but he took the hand anyway, pushing Daisy off his lap carefully as he went.

“Yeah…?”

He was a little anxious about meeting Clark’s friends.

He was bad with people. And caring about Clark made things suddenly infinitely more complicated if he failed to make a good impression.

“Yeah. Don’t worry about ‘em, they’re good people.”

Clark lead him over to the car as it slid to a stop, two boys sat in the front.

“You’re back!” The passenger shouted.

“Yeah, for winter break.” Clark said, then gestured to them. “Kenny, Pete. Pete, Kenny, this is Bruce. Friend of mine from school.”

“Yo.” Kenny waved from the driver’s seat, Pete from the passenger’s side.

Bruce waved back with a “nice to meet you,” and hung back, not willing to overstep. He was already looking at Pete and Kenny’s haircuts and their clothes, and starting to get an idea how Clark must've felt, standing out in school.

They dressed a lot like Clark did. Layers. Worn clothes. Mud around the ankles and hand-me-down jackets.

“Get in, both of ya, we’re heading down to the tracks.” Kenny said, pointing to the back seat.

“Uh.” Clark looked at Bruce. “You cool with tagging along?”

He looked hopeful.

Bruce shrugged and--well. He had no reason not to?

“Sure.”

He climbed into the back with Clark.

“Nice.” Pete grinned, and once they were in, Kenny started to back up and turn around to head out.

…

At first they didn’t really talk to Bruce. They just filled Clark in on all the town gossip. Who was boning who, who was getting knocked up, who had fallen out or gotten in trouble.

But soon that did come around as they pulled into a gravel spot by some train tracks. Pete leaned back and looked at Bruce. “He tell ya why he ran off to Gotham?”

Clark might’ve gone a little pale. “Pete.”

“Said he was layin’ low,” Bruce said, picking up Pete’s accent a little bit from being surrounded by it for a little. He crossed his arms on the seat in front of him and leaned forward, asking for more without saying anything.

“I’ll kill you, Pete.” Clark warned.

“Yeah. Layin’ low after blastin’ a guys arms off with his eyes.” Pete grinned.

Clark threatened to climb over the seat and smack him, and Pete just kept laughing.

“Pete you fuckin’ dumbass, you know he can actually kill you, right?” Kenny huffed.

Bruce just… looked sort of confused for a bit at that.

What did that mean? If it was an in-joke would Clark be that upset, but if it was leaning closer to real, what did that even mean?

He knew Clark… was different.

But he didn't realize he hadn't seen half of it yet.

“...what?”

“You didn’t tell him?” Kenny said, a little surprised.

Clark stopped smacking Pete, who was laughing his ass off. “Kenny! What do you think laying low means?!”

“Well I mean, c’mon man, you brought him here. Damn near everyone knows you’re an alien.” Kenny said, unintimidated.

Clark just… slumped back into the seat, as far away from everyone as possible, and shoved his face in his hands.

…

You know what?

Bruce was going to unpack all of this later.

Right now, all he could do was turn, look Clark dead in the eye, and say, “suddenly I understand why you had such a hard time with ‘snitches get stitches’ with friends like these.”

Clark was rubbing his eyes. “God.”

“Ah c’mon Clark. We gotta embarrass our buddy in front of his new friend.” Pete grinned.

Clark glared at him. “You’re honestly lucky I trust Bruce not to say anything. You know how much shit I could get in if everyone in Gotham knew? Area 51??” He gestured wildly to himself.

“If it makes you feel better people are starting to say those three were just tripping on something and imagined the whole thing.” Kenny said.

Bruce was still just… running with this. As it happened.

Unpack later. Survive right now.

(From his position, he could get an arm around Kenny’s neck and choke him as payback for Clark’s trust being violated)

(There was a red mark against Kenny from this, against Pete. Snitches get stitches. Silence was golden. Loose lips sank ships.

Trust no one.)

(‘You’re honestly lucky I trust Bruce not to say anything.’ When-- when had that-- when had he earned that?)

“What did happen?” Bruce asked instead.

He was ten places in his head, and lost in none of them.

They all looked at Clark.

…

Clark sighed and rubbed his head.

“Some assholes shot up the gas station last year. Killed like five people. I knew where he’d gone, I could hear the yelling, so I tracked them down. One guy shot me in the face with a revolver. I tossed him through the front of the house. Next guy shot me in the chest with a shotgun. I ended up burning his arms off. Then Pete came around and ended up clocking the last one with a shovel.”

He said it all so… numbly. Like he had unpacked in awhile ago and could now just… recite it.

“They lived?” he said, deciding not to question the… burning. The being followed. The shotgun.

“... Yeah.” Clark said quietly.

Bruce had gone back to his Gotham accent. His voice had been falling into his harder, more serious tone.

Pete and Kenny called this story embarrassing to Clark.

“But you did it?”

Kenny and Pete were looking at one another, watching this unfold after they had set it into motion.

“... Yeah?” Clark said again. “I can do… a lot of weird shit.”

Maybe the new fragile city kid going hard and cold wasn't what they'd expected when they started talking about small town maiming.

“Yeah, no shit, you beat my mile,” Bruce said. “...but you burnt their arms off.”

…he waited for one more confirmation, looking Clark in the eye just as Clark had done with him half an hour earlier.

But once he got it--even just a flash of a ‘yes’ in a look between them, Bruce said, “Good.”

And Clark did say ‘yes’.

But then he looked confused.

“Good?”

That was the first time anyone had said that.

And Bruce said it again.

Firmer.

“Good.”

Clark blinked and stared at him, like a whole other option had opened up to him.

…

“Damn,” Kenny said. “Hardass Gotham.”

Kenny still had a mark against him, and he wasn't helping himself, so Bruce didn't feel bad when he turned the full weight of a glare on him.

Maybe his eyes couldn't ‘burn off’ anyone’s arms, but that just meant that his blue eyes were cold and hard as ice.

“They shot five people? They deserve what's coming to them.”

… Kenny backed up and put his hands up. “Not sayin’ they didn’t.”

“Yeah, no one is saying that.” Pete added. “I mean, if he hadn’t showed up then they were gonna kill like their whole family.”

Clark still didn’t say anything. He was looking down, like he had never been told that what he had done was good. Not really. Whenever they had mentioned how he had done well it was also interlaced with ‘but what could have happened to you’.

They were going to kill their whole family.

They were going to kill their whole family?

That part hadn't been said. Just: Clark tracked them down. Clark fought them. Clark got shot.

Clark lived.

(They were going to kill a family, and Bruce, already mentally exhausted from the morning, from bracing himself against names, from coping, found himself seeing it happen in an alleyway unlike anything he'd seen in Smallville, and he was so tired of spending the day in that place.)

“Cool. Cool, so… fuck this,” he said, and turned to Clark, seeing him spaced out. “Hey. Kent. Snap out of it. You said you guys got out more than us, right? Time to prove it.”

Find somewhere else to go.

Somewhere to lose this conversation entirely, before they got lost in it.

“Uhhhh fine.” Clark groaned and sat up. “Let’s go.”

Pete put the car in reverse. “Where to?”

“... Bowling?” Clark shrugged and looked at Bruce.

“I'll pay,” Bruce said, fine with that.

“See you throw every single ball down the gutter again.”

“You were last!” Clark pointed out.

“Yeah. I have nothing to prove,” he said, straight faced.

“But I might try harder out of revenge now that I know I wasn't wrong about my mile.”

“I was gonna apologize but I thought that would be saying too much!” Clark pleaded with him.

“They makin’ you take gym, Clark?” Kenny asked as they drove.

“Yes.”

“Oof.”

Bruce-- Bruce wasn't angry at Clark for it, not really. He'd been the one playing mediator at the time. Half of him just… needed something to keep going. To be huffy about--something that didn't matter--so he wouldn't be huffy about things that did.

“Tommy and Harv aren't gonna say anything even if they’ve figured something out,” he said, finally leaning back some and trying to uncoil the tight knot in his shoulders. “I told them not to that day.”

And no matter how loud Tommy was, no matter how much the teachers liked Harvey-- at the end of the day, Bruce was the one in charge. He didn't say much, but when he told them to not pry or talk, neither of the other boys would.

That weight didn't transfer to Kansas well, but after that conversation-- it lingered on him, some, in the back of the car, in his nice dark clothes, and the cold exhaustion in his eyes.

“They've been letting him skip for asthma, but running a four minute mile blew that out of the water some.”

“... Thanks.” Clark said, looking over at him.

“Guess since no one is in on it over there things are kinda hard.” Pete said.

“You have no idea.” Clark mumbled.

…

“This is kinda a relief. You knowing now.”

...he relaxed a little more.

“...I'm gonna be processing this for a while still,” he said. “...but I guess it at least makes sense now why you didn't think I was insane about the Talons being real.”

….somehow, the thought that Clark hadn't just been humoring him the last few months took precedence.

Clark huffed a laugh.

“Talons?” One in the front asked.

“Nah we’re not talking about that shit with you two.” Clark said firmly.

No way.

…

Bruce found himself smiling a little.

Mentioning it had been a kind-of permission, but… he was glad it wasn't taken.

Clark kept their secrets.

“So,” he leaned forward onto the front chair again. “Clark said something about corn demons?”

“What?” Kenny said.

“What?” Clark said too, then paused. “Oh, there's uh, that hell gateway over in Stull I think I mentioned.” Clark said.

“Eh, people just like to bullshit about angry ghosts that come out around Halloween.” Pete said.

“Our murder rate just spikes on Halloween,” Bruce said. “Why’s it a hell gateway?”

Said the Jewish boy.

“I have no idea.” Clark admitted.

“Isn't Gotham like one of the biggest crime places in the US?” Pete asked.

“Recently, yeah,” Bruce said, keeping it steady.

“What's it like there?” Pete asked.

“Ever been stabbed?” Kenny followed.

“Jesus, guys.” Clark sighed.

“I would probably not be walking around so great if I'd been stabbed,” Bruce said flatly, thinking of the caning in school, and the dread Tommy and Harv had of going home, and grisly pictures on the front page.

“You two sound like you watch way too much tv.”

“They do.” Clark said flatly.

They pulled into the bowling alley.

It was… very empty. The inside only had two people in staff with the radio playing and an arcade tucked in the corner.

“Same show that told you we were supposed to be out partying when we just snuck out for ice cream?”

Bruce pulled out a handful of bills and handed them to Clark mostly out of habit.

He could probably actually… buy things here without being recognized, maybe. But habit still won this round.

Clark didn't mind, walking up and paying. “Absolutely.”

“Snuck out for ice cream?”

“Didn't think you could get any lamer, Clark.” Kenny chuckled.

...it did make him think, though. A connection he hadn't been able to make, but that he'd made sure to hold onto the pieces, just in case.

“...what they said earlier doesn't happen to have anything to with how easy scaling the wall was for you, right?”

Clark waited until they were away from other prying ears to answer.

“Um, yeah. I might've been kinda… flying. For that.”

Bruce turned and stared at him again.

“What?” He whispered back.

Clark cleared his throat as if embarrassed. “I can fly.”

Bruce is going to need a long time to work through all this.

But right now, he's compartmentalizing like a pro.

“...what else can you do?”

“Uh,” Clark mumbled as he tied his bowling shoes. “I can see through things. Like x-ray vision? And can hear really far. Like--”

He looked up and his eyes glowed blue. “I can see one of the employees back behind the counter picking his nose. And he's humming that really annoying country song that won't stop playing on the radio.”

There was something in that which nagged Bruce. Being watched without being able to tell. Being heard. But--

But he had something to soothe it, a little bit. And confirm.

“I can hear the humming, too,” he said.

Not as a challenge.

But.

He believed Clark.

This was something most people couldn't hear.

And if he could hear that, Bruce would also believe the sight.

Clark looked a little surprised, happy even.

“Really?” He smiled a little, like he suddenly felt less alone.

“And, uh, I try hard to not listen in on private conversations and stuff if it makes you feel better. I don't want to hear everything. It just happens. I have to focus to pay attention to what close.”

...the apology was fine, but the second part still kept him a little on guard.

“Like the teachers meeting with students after class,” he said, and trying to not think of how close some private discussions had been to Clark. “...how far away?”

Clark made a face as though the answer pained him.

“Miles. Like… three miles? More if I focus.”

...not even Bruce’s razor hearing did that.

He felt the knot in his chest tighten almost imperceptibly.

“...but you don't.”

“No. I try to ground myself and focus on what's next to me.” He got up to get a bowling ball. Picked out the heaviest one and twirled it in his hands idly like it didn't weigh a thing.

“I try to keep it to like… a few rooms away sort of hearing. That's the smallest I can get without having to strain myself.”

A few rooms away.

(Kisses don't make sounds, Bruce told himself, but all the same, felt his heart speed up a bit at the memory.)

“A few rooms clearly?” he said, watching how Clark spun the bowling ball as if it were just a basket ball, meant to be tossed around in the air.

He picked up his own ball to wait his turn. It was lighter. But it was still heavy in his lap.

Clark made a face again. Guilty.

“I… I can hear your heartbeat through walls, so. Yeah. Clearly.”

He looked at Bruce, apologetic.

“I'm-- I'm sorry.”

...that.

That was… too much.

He could only hear his own heartbeat in his ears and thundering in his chest, and it was too much for him.

But he couldn't have this conversation here.

He couldn't have it anywhere, maybe.

He couldn't think too hard on that, on his very heartbeat always being listened to, on the illusion of privacy, and the thought of--

He picked up his bowling ball, numb and dead to the world, and with no distractions and a mechanicalness to his movements, he rolled a strike.

They weren't talking about this anymore.

… Clark looked down, not saying a word as Kenny and Pete 'oooed’ over the strike and wrote it down.

They wouldn't bring it up again, talking about random things and trying to nudge Clark back into the conversation. But he didn't say much. He just… rolled his ball a little too fast a little too hard until he got the hang of it again.

And when it was over, no matter who won, they would drive the two back out to the farm.

Bruce kept up what amounted to polite conversation if he was pulled in.

He didn't remember who won.

He didn't remember what they said, or if he shook anyone’s hands as they dropped them off back at the Kent farm.

He wasn't as cold and detached as he'd been that morning, but he knew he was wading further from shore, and that he should pull himself back.

But he didn't want to do that around Clark right now.

Hot tea wouldn't pull back this.

When they pulled back into the farm Clark hung back at the car, if only for a minute.

…

“Thanks assholes, now he hates me.” He hissed and slammed the door a little too hard. It rocked the car and they yelled, but he didn't care.

He walked in behind Bruce and tried to tell his parents yes, they had fun, went bowling, tired now.

Up to his room.

….

Bruce followed.

Up to his room. Guest room. It wasn’t lavish or high quality, but it smelled a little dusty, like the manor, and he could choke on that a little and feel a bit better in the familiar prison of old and carefully preserved items.

‘Granny’ Clark had called it.

(Bruce’s grandparents had died by the time he was born. Parents married late by parents who married late by parents who married late.)

…

He managed to sit on the bed for a full five minutes, hands held carefully in each other and breathing slowly, heart steadying, before he locked it in place.

And he left the room, footsteps quiet as he could make them on the carpet, and went back downstairs.

#aka bruce dissociates in kansas #if i hear a single martha joke i snipe on sight #batman #superman #superbat #80s gay superbat #rp logs #the total visit is like 70 pages lol

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zuzu-hotman · 5 years ago

Text

Ready To Love Pt.2 [[Zuko]]

Pairing: Zuko x Female!Reader

Warnings: More angst??? Dark-ish imagery?

A/N: Uh so I got asks for more??? I want you all to know most of my works are angst- but I live for good ends so dw (; I’ll link the first part after posting bc tungle is dumb. Anyways, probably gonna do a third cause there’s a bit more I want to do with this and I don’t want too much at once <3

Pt.1

“ Hᴇʏ, ᴡɪʟʟ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡɪʟʟ ʜᴏʟᴅ ʜᴇʀ ᴄʟᴏsᴇ?”

Seeing him again was like adding salt to deep wounds- rubbing the coarse grains deep into gashes, open and bleeding. You kind of hated that it hurt so bad- you were supposed to be over it. You were supposed to be completely done with him. With all remnants of him. His choice was clear- the truth was laid out bare for your eyes to see.

He was not who you thought he was. He was not the Zuko you knew in your mind- and maybe he never was.

No one who had once worn a kind smile could look like he did that day, right? There was no way someone like that could just... lose all sense of themselves? That look he held- the crazed fire in his eyes.. how those flames should have touched you- burned you. Perhaps Zuko was not as skilled as Azula. He didn’t bend the way she did, but that didn’t make him any less powerful. He had good aim- he knew you’d find it hard to even try to make an attack on him. He could’ve used that against you- it’s what Azula would have done.

You assumed that if he could so easily turn into Azula’s direction.. he’d be able to be as cruel as her. That he’d use your weakness to him against you. You felt the heat of his flames, you knew they could have scorched you. You weren’t that accustomed to fighting yet. For a long time you had suppressed your bending- scared of what it might bring you and what it meant for your future.

You came to regret that eventually. You could have told your parents- your Father could have shown you so much..

Fate was absolutely cruel- you firmly believed this now. She had no right to harm you like this- to drag you through the mud, already beaten down and tired.

She allowed him the chance to be in this group. You wanted to object, violently so. It wasn’t your place to though. Your personal ties to him had no place stopping him from teaching Aang about fire bending. The Avatar needed to know all four elements to bring balance. It was important to Aang’s journey and to putting an end to this long war.

That didn’t make you despise it any less. Hatred or anger- which was it you felt?

“Please talk to me..”

His quiet plea fell upon your ears in the dead of night, long after everyone else had retired to their own spaces. You had suspected he’d find his way to you soon- someway or somehow. With no one else around to bear witness. You hated how you froze in place- how all that anger just fizzled into nothing at the sound of him. So sad- so lonely. You were his only link to his former self, to who he should have become. A tiny string stuck on it’s last thin thread. You didn’t know that however. t’s not as if that was his only reason for reaching for you like this, and that you didn’t know of as well. You were in the dark on his feelings.

As you assumed you always had been.

“___, please..”, he whispers once more when he gets no response.

You make sure to keep your breathing even, to not move at all. Give him an inch and he’d probably take miles. Miles upon miles- stretch you until you break into tiny pieces. Yet some small pieces would still yearn- crave for what your brain told you not to.

You hear his breath hitch a bit, as if he’s fighting back overpowering emotions- him? The glorious crown prince who had slain the Avatar? The prince who turned a blind eye to you, to his good Uncle? The audacity- and yet you felt no actual anger. Not when he spoke.

“I- I’m so-- ___ I’m so sorry. I know that’s not enough. I know it will never be enough- I was wrong. I did everything so wrong and Uncle- I’m sure he hates me. I’m sure you do too. I never meant- I thought it was my destiny to.. to.. capture him. For my honor and my nation. I thought I was right and..”, he takes in a shaky breath. You’re glad you can’t see him. His face just might break you. “I hurt you. I hurt Uncle. I-I made you not trust me- I disappeared and I never responded to any of your letters- I still have them I- I don’t know.. I don’t have a reason or any excuse I just.. please. Please at least talk to me- say something! Anything! I’ve missed you- I was miserable- it’s not home.. not without you. I made mistakes even there I.. even she told me that I was wrong.. even..” and he trails off, gaining no response.

Little did he know he was close to getting one. She? He didn’t mean Azula.. he would have said her name. You hated how your chest burned- what mistakes could he make there? At home? No- not home. Not your home.

“...You’re sleeping.. I hope. I almost got loud. I’m..”, he sucks in a breath, “Okay. Another time.”

You choose to ignore the way he sniffs- knowing all too well it meant he’d shed tears. If you acknowledge it, you know what may happen. You know how it’d go- how weak you’d be. This isn’t how it should be, you should be able to ignore him without batting an eye. He should be able to just let you go. He’d already done so. What was the use in this? Hadn’t he decided already, who he was or at the least who you were to him?

Clearly nothing-

You let out a heavy breath, almost shudderingly so when you hear his footsteps fade away. You clench your eyes shut, banishing any trace of wetness from your eyes. No no no- you would not cry. Not again, and not anymore. Remember how he looked- remember those crazed eyes and harsh blasts of fire. Remember and hold it- no apology could fix it. Not so simply. It would take much more than words because.. you weren’t sure your aching heart could take much more of it..

Morning came quickly, with no remorse to any who had not slept in her absence. Specifically to you or Zuko. Luckily enough, you hid it well enough. Zuko? Not so much. Clearly he looked like he’d had a fitful sleep.

Hmph-

“Wow. I didn’t know it was possible for you to look even angrier than usual.”, Sokka pipes up, already at his usual antics of antagonizing the newest group member.

“Shut. Up.”, Zuko hisses in response, causing Aang and Toph to laugh a bit at his expense.

“You really should sleep. Set a good example for your new student.”

“I said shut up.”

“He is kinda right, you know.”, Toph adds in, “It’s not good to be up so late.”

Zuko freezes for a moment, but says nothing else. You’d almost forgotten- Toph was very attuned to the earth. Of course she’d know if anyone was up and moving. The only thing to question was if she’d heard him. At the time though, there would be no answer to it. He wouldn’t ask and she didn’t seem keen on pressing the issue. No one else was aware either. So it just faded into silence, not spoken of. It was replaced by Zuko barking at Aang that it was time to start his training.

“I lost my stuff.”, he says it so plainly. Uninvited and without any context.

“Wasn’t me.”

Zuko makes a face, “No I mean my bending- I don’t know I..”

You decide to tune him out, spacing away from his frustration and Katara’s laughter. Was he really that out of it? He suddenly couldn’t bend? What a load of garbage. If he expected you to feel bad, you didn’t. Not even the slightest. Serves him right for the look he gave you when he learned of your bending. When he saw the element of fire was not in you to control, but-

“___” , He speaks your name softly.

You look up to where he stands, a few feet away. You hadn’t noticed everyone else had already gone to bed. It was just you and him and the dwindling fire between you.

“I-”

“Goodnight.”, you say, starting to stand up, brushing your legs off.

“Wait-”, he gently grabs the sleeve of your shirt but you push his hand away.

“Don’t touch me.” You don’t look at him- you can’t. You must remain strong- don’t do what you did in Ba Sing Se. Don’t fall into that hole a second time..

“At least hear me out- get mad all you want. Scream at me- hit me I don’t care just-”

“I’m not going to do that. You made your bed. Lie in it.”

“I did, you’re right. I did and I’m so-”

“Don’t apologize. Teach Aang bending. I’m not a part of this- none of them know I knew you, which clearly I didn’t. I never did. I know you as this guy I bumped into in Ba Sing Se. This guy that I thought I was nice and had a good heart but I guess I misjudged. Maybe he just feels guilty or that apologizing to me might right his wrongs or whatever. If this is your way of getting them to trust you more, I’ll allow it. Anything to help Aang.”, you speak as calmly as you can. Not sparing a glance, “You already made your choices- you already let me go so just-”

“I don’t want to let you go though- I never wanted to. I just- I thought I was right. I thought that.. you’d come home. I thought that that was still home. I was wrong. I was so wrong-”

“Yet you still stayed, huh?”, you say, bitterly now, “You had a little life out there- you had your glory. Had the nation at your feet. The crown prince who slayed the-”

“I’m not that person! I never was!”

“You seemed to think you were! You acted the part! You were there for well over a month!”, you looked at him now, eyes burning, “You weren’t sorry enough to come back earlier! You didn’t think enough- you didn’t care enough! You were gone for three years! You never replied- I lost my Father! I lost what I thought was home and you weren’t there! I find you in Ba Sing Se- acting like no time had passed! Like we never grew apart! You talk to me like you still knew me, like you still cared! Yet you still chose to do what you did!”

He’d shrunk back a bit, shocked at the bass in your voice- how heavily it weighed on him. He didn’t know you felt all that. He had no idea..

“Your Father-?”

“Don’t.”, you hiss, quieting down, now aware you might have stirred the others from their sleep, “Don’t even. Don’t come to me with any apologies unless you really mean it- unless you’re ready to tell all you have to tell. I’m done with secrets and lies. Good night.”

You walk off now, leaving him to stand by the dying fire. His hand feels cold- his chest aches- your Father? That man he’d seen love you so happily- the home that was worn down but well loved? Gone? How had you suffered so without him even knowing- what had happened to you in his absence?

Why hadn’t he even thought of it?

How did he manage to screw up a screw up?

Zuko groaned to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose, “...what would Uncle have me do- what’s right..”

How to salvage this mess?

“Mʏ ᴍɪɴᴅ ɪs ᴀ sʜɪᴘᴡʀᴇᴄᴋs ғʟᴏᴏʀ..”

Pt.3

#zuko #zuko x reader #zuko x you #zuko fic #fire lord zuko #atla zuko #avatar the last airbender #ari writes #ready to love #oop #hi hiii

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punkscowardschampions · 3 years ago

Text

Edie & Billie

Edie: You’re not at home, are you?

Billie: Why?

Edie: ‘cos Rih has to babysit and you are the last phone a friend that needs to be eliminated 👾

Billie: 💀🔋 if anyone but you is asking

Edie: that’s the 👻

Edie: Even convinced Jun to get the fuck out

Billie: with what 👻? 👽 ?👾 🤡 ?🎃 🤖? madness

Edie: 👻 ish

Edie: there’s some exhibit at some museum, idk, it actually wasn’t my idea so I can’t take cred

Billie: 🦖 🦴 🦕 was next guess

Billie: safe that the 👻 🔮 came through with a plan

Edie: 👽 more like

Edie: that’s the best I can do with emojis anyway

Billie: 💬 💬 💬 💬

Edie: I met the most perfect boy

Billie: Dude not you catching a dose too 🚱

Edie: I’ve gone outside of the gene pool so it is not the same thing at all

Billie: 👍 start

Billie: Go on, what else has he got going for him?

Edie: Only everything

Edie: he’s perfect, I just said

Edie: You know that really tall, ridiculously good-looking boy in Rih’s year

Billie: 🤨 💭 ?

Billie: it’ll come to me

Billie: Aha! The one who [some rave story she’s heard of something wild he did]

Edie: I don’t know how you didn’t just KNOW but yeah

Edie: that sounds like him 🤩

Billie: he’s been working at ⛽️ [the location of said petrol station like whatever road it’s on] nights I’ve gone in

Edie: That’s good to know

Edie: I can go in too now

Edie: 💡

Billie: 👻

Edie: It’s so weird how we met actually

Edie: the thread has 90k people on it, what are the chances, how does that happen

Billie: spooky how many posts you could’ve missed before, weird if he ain’t wrote any til today & then replied to yours 🔮 🛸 🧲

Edie: He’s deffo been on there before, I recognised the username

Edie: but he mentioned somewhere in Dublin so then I knew he was at least from around here

Edie: I’d have never talked to him before, it’s deffo fate

Billie: fated if he agreed the monster was a copout reveal

Edie: He’s not 12, so duh

Edie: He’s so cool

Billie: It’s defs him?

Edie: Come on, like I’m gonna get catfished

Billie: this is wild odds, all I’m saying

Edie: It would be weirder if they worked out where I went to School, and then picked some boy who also went to that School to use

Edie: anyway, he’s sent me stuff today so I know it’s really him

Billie: he does look like someone to use for 🎣 but I can picture him on that thread loads

Edie: 🤤🤤🤤

Edie: Do you think he’ll come see me

Billie: yeah, why not

Edie: Aforementioned hotness, he could get ANY girl

Edie: I don’t know who he has gone out with before

Edie: didn’t he go out with one of Rih’s friends for a while?

Billie: [a pause while she has a convo with her friends about this because she has many and they’re mostly lads so at least some of them must know him or have some info]

Billie: Last seen with Lexie but that was time ago & nobody since

Edie: Hmm

Edie: I’m nothing like Lexie

Billie: he ain’t still with her & wasn’t for long, I’d assume he’s looking for different

Edie: and that’s me 🥴

Edie: charming 😏

Billie: 👽

Billie: She hasn’t said anything ☢️⚠️ I’m hearing now, that’s chill

Edie: she’s a bitch anyway, I wouldn’t trust her

Billie: if Blips is accurate on his timeline, even she couldn’t be that much of a bitch

Edie: ?

Billie: Everything with his sister was fresh then, apparently

Edie: Oh

Edie: I remember her, she had a nice smile

Billie: I don’t think I ever met her, it’s gone out my head if I did

Billie: the memorial he made for her is sicker than anything the teachers would’ve though, we hang there constantly

Billie: Take this info with 🧂 yeah? the source is Blips

Edie: She was a lot older

Edie: would’ve been, your paths probably didn’t cross

Edie: makes sense

Edie: he would’ve wanted someone around

Billie: makes sense he’s not thinking straight to pick Lexie to be that someone, but idk man, you can have your fill of pity quick enough

Edie: Maybe someone in her family died? I can see that and making that connection

Edie: not a sibling obviously or we’d know but she’s pretty dramatic, like all Rih’s friends are

Billie: not above milking a dead nan, bet

Edie: 💭 exactly

Edie: Poor Liam, that’s kinda fucking gross

Billie: bad taste in my mouth from being the messenger

Edie: I won’t say it was ages ago because that’d feel a bit like spitting on her grave but you know

Edie: fuck Lizzie or whatever her name is

Edie: she’s probably had 100 lads since then

Billie: Yeah, fuck Lizzie

Billie: what’s next for you & him?

Edie: I don’t know

Edie: I sort of asked him to come ‘round but not just like that

Edie: so his answer was as open-ended, I guess

Edie: I really hope he does though

Billie: he doesn’t know you’re unshockable & didn’t wanna freak you out by coming through the window on a real dark & stormy night

Billie: tracks if Lexie is his point of ref, she’s known for saying what she don’t mean

Edie: ugh, she’s really fucked that up for me

Edie: I should go cockblock her too

Edie: that’s a good idea actually

Billie: You could roll up if he’s working, let him know you’re not alike

Edie: If I roll up on her, he will 😈

Billie: 😶 cos idk how he rolls

Edie: You think he’ll be 😱 / 🤬

Billie: He could think you’re jealous, which would put you looking like her 🤡

Billie: lads always go to that headspace

Edie: most lads

Edie: like your mates who can’t spell their own names without checking with their ma first

Edie: I don’t think he’s like that

Billie: I’ll bite, what’s he like?

Edie: emojis weren’t covering it but I dunno if I even can with actual words either

Edie: he’s like no one else I’ve ever spoken to, I wasn’t bored, and he wasn’t weirded out

Billie: You weren’t even a bit bored?

Edie: nah

Edie: I felt like I was barely keeping up

Billie: 🤯

Edie: but he wasn’t trying to be impressive how lads do, because that isn’t

Billie: he was waiting for whatever he sent to impress you, which worked

Edie: he sent me lots of stuff

Edie: not 🍆 pics

Billie: he looks like he’d be a fuckboy

Edie: right?

Edie: he’s got too much about him though

Edie: I would’ve gone with it if he wanted, he had the chance

Billie: 🤯🤯

Edie: come on

Edie: you can see him

Billie: & I can hear you, you don’t say this kinda shit about anyone

Edie: I know, I’m deadly serious

Edie: 💀💀💀

Billie: What a day

Edie: Don’t tell anyone else yet though

Edie: I think he feels it too

Edie: but just in case

Billie: 🤐

Billie: he blatantly does, but that’s up to yous two to broadcast if you want, how you want

Billie: I’m just excited for the reveal 🎟 🍿 📺 🕹 📷 💻 📼 💿

Edie: He makes films too

Edie: and I’m writing a song right now

Billie: link me

Edie: [do, at least the ones that are clearly not private or whatever]

Edie: 😍

Billie: Cool, I’m gonna check these while you go 😈 on Lexie

Edie: If you hear her scream, no you didn’t

Edie: 😘✌️

Billie: not her 🩸 🦷 🦴 got it

Edie: only partly

Edie: she’s only 3rd on my shit-list, after-all

Billie: if I give you away with a new tic, no I didn’t & they’ll never convict 🤪✌️

Edie: so lucky you can shout ableism if it comes down to it

Edie: ADHD is an excuse for nothing except maybe being five minutes late 🙄

Billie: I’m not going for that with a free pass to shout out at the law 🐷 🐽 🐖 🥓

Edie: you can brag about your free pass, I only get caught when I want to ☠️✊

Billie: not a humble brag you can throw out to your new man, going off these locations I’m recognising, he’s got skills at never getting caught

Billie: How’d he get into [somewhere he should not be]?!

Edie: that’d be telling 🤫

Edie: I told you, he’s really smart

Billie: How didn’t we have a clue about him pretty much?

Edie: because he looks like a fuckboy, I suppose

Edie: you know Rih is gonna act like he’s a decade older than me because she thinks she’s so mature

Billie: 🙄

Edie: I can’t wait to call her out on her bullshit again with something new to add

Edie: can’t wait for the opposition like she’s got a leg left

Billie: She’ll run out fast, he’s cool

Edie: She’s not

Edie: but whatever, she can’t do anything

Billie: No chill, but he’s barely older, so if that’s her only 🔫

Edie: and he went out with Lexie ages ago, well, basically

Edie: she can’t act like she’s really good friends with him, I KNOW she isn’t

Billie: & she wasn’t in Lexie face not to go out with him, couldn’t cos there’s nothing wrong with him 🤷🏼‍♀️

Edie: you act like she’s rational but yeah

Edie: I don’t care, I know this is right

Edie: and what I want

Billie: She’s not, like, irrational enough to be hating on your happiness

Edie: I hate on hers

Billie: that’s different

Edie: not to her

Billie: Yeah but in terms of you & Liam

Edie: If she tries to be nice that’ll be even worse 😷

Billie: minding her own business isn’t gonna happen

Edie: I wish she’d keep hers to herself

Edie: I can’t stand it when he’s here

Edie: I’ll kill Lizzie and steal her bed

Billie: least you can stay at his soon

Edie: 😋

Billie: [frames of one of the videos cos the location is some end of summer event, why not] & you’ll be there together this year

Edie: You really think?

Billie: I don’t think you’ll be dumped quicker than Lexie

Edie: Damn fucking right

Edie: even if he was after one thing, I could do it better than her

Billie: [deletes that message like I don’t wanna read about your sexcapades thank you]

Billie: 🎧 🔊

Edie: [retypes it more vividly which I won’t subject you to lmao]

Billie: NAH

Edie: 😂😂😂

Edie: you’re alright, I’ve got another level to my mission now

Edie: [deets of the scavenger hunt thing]

Billie: Did he sort it for you?

Edie: Yep 😍

Billie: this lad

Billie: unreal

Edie: I think I’m in love

Billie: Someone offer to make him for you in a lab? getting sus otherwise

Edie: That would make sense

Edie: he’s way too perfect

Edie: not that I’m mad

Billie: 🏩 💕 💐 🧸 💞

Edie: 💍💒👶

Billie: [deletes that like calm down lol]

Edie: 👶👶👶👶👶👶👶 maybe

Billie: When’s the [some meteor shower or comet that’d feel very fated and cosmic and therefore we must]? invite him to that first

Edie: 🛸

Edie: I just need to think of a way to tell him where and when

Billie: You’ll be looking up for it, makes sense if he has to 👀⬆️ to find out

Billie: I’d put something on his roof

Edie: About the only place he’d genuinely have to look up to see

Edie: might be less literal

Edie: 💻

Billie: that’ll work too

Edie: plus if you reckon he’ll think I’m mental for hitting up Linda, finding out where he lives without asking will really tip it

Billie: romantic gestures are mental, less of a public ambush than most are

Edie: Everything fun is

Billie: Yeah, but nothing’s fun about getting asked out in the hallway between lessons or whatever 💩 is meant to pass for 😍

Edie: Well yeah, that’s too American teen drama for words

Edie: are his friends gonna be standing there pissing themselves at you believing it even for a sec

Billie: if it’s me his mates are stood about meowing cos some tics refuse to 💀

Edie: That’s cute

Edie: at least you aren’t saying some embarrassing untrue shit

Billie: my true form is 🐱 🐈 & I’m saying the truest shit since 👶🏼 🧒🏼

Edie: I know enough not to throw out suggestions for your head to grab but I’ve seen people saying wild things that you’d get eaten alive for

Edie: but duh, how else did we end up with you

Billie: I know not to watch that shit & maybe 🐦 it but yeah, love to my non-verbals 😝 😜 🤪 ✌️ 🖕 👍

Billie: & to ma for never meeting a stray she didn’t love

Edie: I’ll wait ‘til you wrong me ‘fore I add you to the shit list and send ‘em your way

Edie: tRIGgeRd ❗️❗️❗️❗️

Edie: 💗

Billie: Well I ain’t gonna develop a convenient new 👊 one OR pull a Lexie & wheel out my dead relative to steal your bf 💚

Edie: Ha, don’t

Billie: wouldn’t know what to do with him after using him as a 🛹 ramp & 🚴🏼‍♀️ jump

Edie: I’m the only one allowed to jump him tah

Billie: 😷

Edie: Okay I need to focus on this last one

Edie: see you at home

Billie: k

Billie: see you soon 🏴‍☠️

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putschki1969 · 5 years ago

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Hikaru Tsumugu ~ Live Report

Notes: Got a 2-hour train ride ahead of me so I thought I’d use the opportunity to write up a little report. Please note that I was very exhausted during the live so I wasn’t able to pay as much attention as I usually would. Also, I didn’t know 7 out of the 17 performed songs so I had a hard time appreciating them properly. I didn’t cry which kinda surprised me. Maybe I was too tired. Hikaru did get a little teary eyed during the Kalafina section but aside from that, she was mostly happy and excited. Overall I think this live was much more powerful and cheerful in comparison to Hikaru’s birthday event from last year. Maybe that’s why it wasn’t as tearful. Then again, I know quite a lot of people who were sobbing like crazy. Anyways, let’s get this thing started:

Goods: I didn’t buy much tbh. The pamphlet, the tapioca set, the pen and the badges. The other stuff looked a little cheap if I am being honest. A little disappointed with the quality of the pamphlet. Quite expensive but very thin and it’s made up of some sort of rough paper material. Some pages have ugly printing marks (;_;)

Stage production: Pretty simple I’d say. The musicians were lined up on either side of a small staircase. There were some walls in the back and curtains/fabrics on top. They played the PVs of Hikaru’s songs during each H-el-ical// performance, it was nice to have the lyrics on screen to sing along. and for the other songs they mostly used elaborate lighting.

Hikaru’s look: As you can see from the pictures, she had her hair down for most of the live. It was styled very nicely with big curls. She wore a bold red lipstick. The live started with her wearing the white gown/coat. Pretending to take a drink, she went to her little table and all of a sudden she started stripping XD (it was like the Blue Day “signal” performance). She quickly dropped the coat during her MC before “Fili” and revealed a sexy red dress which was very reminiscent of the old Kalafina days (laces, corset style). After the instrumental she returned with a long blue dress that kinda reminded me of Kalafina’s 9+ONE denim style outfits due to the colour scheme. For her anisong section she surprised us once again by dropping the dress and revealing the sexiest outfit ever!!! Black high waisted leather pants and a black leather bralette. *nosebleed* During the encore she wore a black denim skirt and a long sleeved H-el-ical// shirt. Her hair was up. I wish they would have sold that shirt too since it looked much nicer than the normal t-shirts she was selling. As for shoes, she wore shiny black pumps with white laces. Speaking of laces, laces were definitely the main theme of her outfits that night. The coat, the dresses, her leather outfit and even her pumps had laces everywhere. Guess it all boils down to Tsumugu = Spinning. In her pamphlet you can see all the threads spinning around so I guess she was trying to go for the same vibe regarding her fashion. So glad Hikaru was kind enough to provide pictures of everything!!

Musicians: Everyone was in such a good mood!!! Gussy (Hikaru’s composer and one of the guitarists) was particularly hyped, he seemed to be really into it. Was a lot of fun to watch them perform.

Overall sound: I think for the most part, the live sounded great. Hikaru was in good shape and sang her songs well. If you don’t like the studio version though you won’t like the live version either. Hikaru pretty much used the same singing style which she used for the recording. The backing vocals were playing in the background to create a little more harmony. I think Hikaru was far more concerned about having fun rather than delivering a technically perfect performance! Hence, she ended up sounding a little off key or frail at times. Nothing that took away from the performance though. With someone as engaging as Hikaru I really don’t mind if the singing is less than flawless. Just seeing her having a blast was making up for any missed notes XD Wasn’t a particularly big fan of her anisong section because I didn’t know the songs and she got quite shouty there but I guess that was on purpose. Apart from some slightly screechy shouts she also did some very powerful shouts!

Random observations: The live was completely sold out! BANZAI!! The goods were also sold out (including the H-el-ical// CD). So happy for Hikaru’s “major debut“. I hope many people will watch the anime so she can have a lot of success as H-el-ical//. As has already been established, Keiko and LiSA were there to support Hikaru. They sat in the first row of the second floor (at the very left). Akihiro Tomita was also there. I think he might have taken up the role of producer. Masayuki Ohashi was also there. He was the one taking the picture of Keiko and LiSA. Then we have Takeshi Kato of course. I am expecting a SPICE live report very soon. When Hikaru did her infamous goods corner she also introduced her CD. Once again she mixed up Kalafina and H-el-ical// when she said that there were eight tracks by Kalafina included (during the SPICE broadcast she also mixed up the two if you can remember). It was super cute. Old habits die hard.

Amanhecer: Great start for the live, I LOVE this song. She sat on top of the stairs and sang it beautifully. It almost seemed like she was sparkling in her white coat. Like an angel.

Splendore: The pace really picked up here. Hikaru was running around on stage, jumping up and down. It was amazing to see her so happy. You can tell she was born to be a solo performer (something that cannot be said about Wakana XD).

粉雪 (Cover: Remioromen): Didn’t know the song but it was quite beautiful. Hikaru did a great job. Definitely one of the more memorable performances of the night.

WINTER SONG (Cover: Dreams Come True): Another song I didn’t know, unfortunately I didn’t particularly like it. Can’t really remember any details.

Fili:The first unreleased song from the CD. I loved it. Hikaru said it made her think of the earth. Too bad I can’t listen to my CD while I am in Japan.

Avaricia: Probably my second favourite H-el-ical// song. Awesome performance. Her dress was perfect for the more mature and jazz-y vibe of the verses. But of course my favourite part of the song is the chorus!

yolcu: Hands down the best H-el-ical// performance of the night (and my favourite song so far). This is such a good song!! Can’t believe how much I loved it! The way she was pushing her arm in the air, I literally felt power surging through me. Also, damn, Hikaru was so sexy moving to the exotic rhythm in her red dress.

Instrumental: That was kinda all over the place, didn’t really like it. It started with some sort of extension of “yolcu” and then it became very slow with just Hirotaka Sakurada and the violinist. Then the pace suddenly picked up again and everyone was playing. No idea if it was a special song or them just playing random stuff. I didn’t recognise it.

ARIA & blaze & sprinter: The Kalafina section was super special as expected. Hikaru said that she consulted Yuki Kajiura on the matter, about whether or not it would be a good idea to sing Kalafina songs. Everyone agreed that she should sing them if she wanted to, after all, they made these songs together (as long as the songs aren’t released on DVD/BD I am guessing Hikaru is free to sinf as many Kalafina songs as she wants). Only fitting that she should sing them. Also, her live is called “Tsumugu” which means spinning. It’s about the future of H-el-ical// which she is spinning right now but also about everything that has been spun so far and of course that includes Kalafina. It was just Hikaru, Saku-chan and the violinist. They used the acoustic arrangements from past performances. “ARIA” sounded different from her Birthday Event performance though. It was even slower and more dramatic. I LOVED it. Every time I hear a new version of “ARIA” I fall a little more in love with the song and Hikaru. If you have seen that short snippet of “blaze” in the 10th Anniversary Film then you get an idea of what it sounded like. “sprinter” was super emotional. Not as tear-inducing as during the Arena Live or during Hi’s B-Day Event but still, incredibly powerful. I definitely teared up and so did Hikaru!! “ARIA and sprinter” were shortened considerably since Hikaru didn’t sing any Kajiura-go parts. For the most part she also didn’t sing the Wa/Kei lines. I think she sang“blaze” in its entirety though (except for the bridge).

History Maker & Paradise Lost & 青空のナミダ: I have a hard time saying anything about these songs. I knew “History Maker” from the Birthday Event but the other two songs were completely new to me. No idea how the originals sound like but Hikaru certainly knew how to make the songs her own. I just wish she would have chosen songs better suited for her voice. Occasionally her singing sounded quite off. Or maybe I am wrong and the original songs simply sound like that. Most popular anisongs sound quite noisy to my ears. Whenever I am in Akihabara I have to cringe due to the loud not very pleasant sounding music playing in the background (I feel like it’s always something by Ao Eir or LiSA...no idea)...Hikaru was sexy as hell with her leather outfit so I mostly focused on that. Thank God I brought my binoculars. She was really bad-ass during the anime secret so it was a joy to watch.

Existence: I don’t remember anything about this song tbh, except that it had a very rock-ish vibe. I actually thought it was another anisong at first but then I kinda recognised Gussy’s trademark style and concluded that it must be the other unreleased H-el-ical// song. I probably won‘t be relistening to this a lot.

pulsation: Nice powerful ending! Nothing else to say about it.

This is me: I had heard that song before but I couldn’t really place it. Either way, it was a very engaging performance! There are a lot of ooohhh parts in the song, Hikaru would sing one part and the audience would sing the other part. Everyone had a blast!! This was probably the most active song of the night in terms of audience interaction. Otherwise the audience was pretty tame I would say. Everyone remained seated during the entire live.

TSUMUGU: Not as emotional as I had expected, however, the lalala at the end killed me. We didn’t really sing along properly (neither were we asked to) but it was nice to have everyone waving. More teary eyes but no proper tears.

#hikaru #long text post #no read more because I have no idea howto add it #kalafina #report #hikaru solo live tsumugu #I am writing this while half dead #sorry for the weird formatting

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darksunrising · 5 years ago

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Sola Gratia (12/?)

Masterlist

Rating / Warnings : Nothing in particular.

Fandom : Bram Stoker’s Dracula, BBC’s Dracula, various Dracula and vampire lore.

Part 12/? (3386 words)

Author’s notes : Final episode of the second act, part one ! Those episodes will be longer than the others, hope you’ll like them either way !

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It was a strange feeling, watching over the kettle as a very tense immortal was sitting on my couch, seemingly engaged in a vicious battle of looks with my cat, himself sitting on the end of the bar. At least, his attention wasn't focused on the very pink dressing robe I slipped into as soon as I got inside. Leah bought it for me as a joke, but it was actually very comfortable. Vlad didn't comment on it, but I caught him hiding a laugh with a cough when I came out of my room, wrapped in it.

“Do you drink tea ? I mean, I know what you drink, but can you even drink or eat normal things, for all that matter ?”

“Eating regular food males me sick”, he answered, still fixated on the animal rather than me. “I can, however, enjoy a drink or two.”

“Good.”

I got two mismatched cups – the only ones available –, and filled them both. I handed him one, which finally had him turn his attention to me. His cool fingers brushed against mine as he took it.

“Careful, it's hot.”

“Half an hour ago, you accused me of multiple murders, and now you worry I might burn myself ?”, he laughed.

I sat on the other end of the couch, sneering at him. He had a point. I stared at my cup, bobbing the tea bag as if it made any difference.

“I am far from complaining, but why did you invite me in ?”

I tried finding my words, remaining silent a moment. He didn't press, politely waiting for an answer, giving intermittent looks to the cat.

“I... Haven't slept in days, Vlad.” I started, fighting against tears welling up. “Every time I close my eyes, I see them. I find myself jumping at every noise, every shadow in the corner of my eye, I-”

I only noticed how much my hands were shaking when he took my cup, and set it on the table along with his.

“When I believed it was you, I had at least the hope that you wouldn't hurt me, or Leah, or someone I care about. Now I...” I took a pause to take a breath. “I'm terrified.”

I risked a look. His brow was furrowed, but he had a little smile.

“If you let me in for that reason, you really must be desperate.”

I tried to laugh, but it got caught in my throat.

“Eris, you have to go to sleep. MINA tried to scare you. For all you know, they could have lied to make you talk.” He took my hand in his. “I am surprised, but glad you did not.”

He leaned over to catch my gaze. A feeling of peace washed over me as I looked into his eyes. I wondered if he could do that. Manipulate my emotions, just like that. I didn't have the time to wonder for long, as he suddenly picked me up in his arms. I had a squeal of surprise, and threw my arms around his neck as a reflex.

“Vlad, what-”

“You need a good night of sleep, you look less alive than I do.”

His tone was firm, but still tainted by amusement. “Well, that's ironic. And I don't need to be carried, I can still walk !” My protests were only met with a grin.

“I know, but I can hear your heartbeats, and I like to have my fun.”

I felt my cheeks burning up instantly. He stepped into my room, and laid me down on my bed. I slipped under the covers and he sat next to me, glancing around in the semi darkness. As soon as the sun set, I never turned off the set of fairy lights running across the walls, bathing the room in an ultraviolet light. His shirt was glowing, and I couldn't help but wonder what his teeth would look like.

“Can you tell me a story ?”, I asked.

He smiled, brushed a few strands of hair out of my face. My heart stopped a second, while he seemed to think a moment.

“Did I ever tell you about my first voyage into the New World ?”, he began. I shook my head, while he kept softly running his hands through my hair.

He did have a talent for narration. His voice was soothing, and as the story went on, I found myself drifting, along the waves surrounding the frigate, the wind in the sails, the first cries of seagulls as they reached the shore. He talked softly at first, but was soon caught in his own tale, and I couldn't help but smile at the passion in his tone. He started to fade, and I rested my eyes, just a second.

~ ~ ~

A familiar smell dragged me out of my sleep, and I blinked off my drowsiness, slowly sitting up. After a glance at my phone, I noticed it was already past 10am. Most sleep than I had in the whole week. I stood up, and turned off the fairy lights. Stumbling to my living room, I was surprised to not hear my cat's screaming, but a cheerful, definetly human chatter.I found Vlad sitting behind the bar, and Leah, at the stove, flipping pancakes, her hair shining like pale gold under the sunlight.

“Hah, told you food would wake her up”, she told Vlad, smiling. “Grab a plate, honey, you'll need strength for today !”

“What's today ?”, I asked, a bit confused.

“Renaissance faire, don't tell me you forgot !”

Ah, right. I had to admit some of the recent events took my mind off it. It might be a good distraction, now that I thought about it. I sat at the bar, and thanked Leah as she put a pile of warm pancakes on my plate, handing me a bottle of maple syrup, and a cup of steaming coffee.

“Well, good thing Vlad has a better memory than you, because apparently, he picked up some outfits”, Leah told me as she finished up her batch.

Oh no. That wasn't good.

“Can't we just go like that ?”, I asked, delving into the breakfast. As always, it was amazing, the absolute perfect balance in taste and fluffiness, an just warm enough. God, I had to marry her at some point.

“Are you kidding ?”, she indignated herself. “No way. Finish up and we're dressing up.”

Vlad was quietly laughing, and I gave him a killer look, to which he only responded with a wink. With a glance around the room, I noticed two large leather suitcases, probably holding the outfits. As soon as I was half done, Leah excitedly dragged me back to my room, as Vlad helped bring the suitcases in. He then left, closing the door.

“Ooh, this is going to be so much fun !”, she exclaimed, opening the first case. “This is yours, and the other is mine. We'll do you first, come on, get naked !”

I sighed, knowing protests wouldn't do much of anything when she was in that sort of mood. She threw an embroidered, white linen chemise, that she insisted I wore no bra with, because “the corset will do the job fine”. For fuck's sake, corsets. I glanced at the wooden box on my desk, holding the gun. As soon as this was done, I would shoot him.

The corset wasn't so bad, to be fair. Leah took care of lacing it loosely enough so that I wouldn't faint at the first occasion, and the back support actually made it comfortable. Dressing up in the whole thing was pretty fun, even with the struggle of lacing up everything, making sure the many layers sat right in place and the overall weight of the whole costume. The fabrics were soft, finely threaded, the silk shifting colors and patterns in the light. If they weren't “originals”, they had to have cost more than a year of my doctorate scholarship. If they were, well, as a historian, I had to say they were pretty much invaluable. Not an edge frayed, a thread misplaced. They looked almost brand new, yet I was certain none of the sewing was done by machine.

“This is great, where do you think he even found those ? Do you think those are reproductions, for his work ?”, she asked as she did my hair.

“I... Maybe. That would make sense. He must have picked them up while he was back in Romania.” God, I hope it was that, and not a dress from someone he ate back in the 16th century.

Trying not to think too much about it, I helped Leah get into her dress. I had to say, he had some taste. Hers had an overall pastel tone, in blues and greens, the hem of the skirt embroidered with small flowers, climbing like vines along the slits in the fabric, revealing a pale silver-ish blue silk underskirt. She looked absolutely radiant, and I took some time braiding her hair up, leaving strands here and there. She could have been a flower nymph. I was a bit more surprised by the color scheme he chose for me. The dress was in a rich golden tone, patterned in arabesques and embroidered in dark red thread. In a small box, I found pearl necklaces, hairpieces and earrings. Fuck, he went all the way into this. I mean, being immortal had to do wonders for your bank account, but still.

“Come on, I'm going first, I wanna see the look on his face when he sees you!”

Not leaving me the luxury of protesting, she slipped away, leaving me to put on the shoes he picked for me. Covered with silk, embroidered in gold thread, and, to my demise, heels. Not that high, but he still broke his damn promise. Can't trust men on anything. Leah called me over, and I sighed, preparing myself mentally. It was way more complicated to walk in this than the 19th century skirt – which I kept, after a trip to the dry cleaner's –. I glanced at the box on my desk again. I opened the lid, considering the ornate weapon a moment. I had no guarantee that this would even work. I had no reason to distrust Vlad at this point, not much more than before, anyway. However, if I was right, if MINA was right on at least the nature of the murderer running free... Fumbling around to find the slit in my underskirt, I slipped the gun in the large pocket attached inside. Now that I thought about it, it was rather infuriating that period clothing had more pocket space than our modern stuff, and they didn't even have smartphones to carry around.

When I stepped in the living room, Vlad had changed in his own outfit. Mostly black, with navy blue and silver highlights in embroidery. Across his chest, a livery collar bearing the enameled sigil of House Draculesti, and the Wallachian coat of arms. He had a soft “Ah” when he saw me, and didn't say anything for a while. I flattened the pleats of the skirt, nervously waiting for some kind of comment.

“Well ?”, Leah asked him, a mischievous smile on her lips. He seemed to finally snap out of it, taking a breath as if he had been holding it.

“This is fine. I'm glad it suits you”, he told me after clearing his throat. “Although, it misses something.”

He picked up a box on the table, handing it to me. I opened it to find what could only be described as the most dramatic statement necklace I'd ever seen in my damn life. The center piece was a red stone, the size of a small plum, encased in intricate gold work, and surrounded by pearls and other smaller stones. The rest of it was other stones, bound together by gold chains and pearls.

“What the fuck”, I couldn't help but breathe out.

Vlad took it out of the box, slipped behind me, and set it on my chest, the cool metal against my skin sending a shiver down my spine.

“Believe it or not, it was my mother's”, he told me as he worked the clasp.

“Vlad, are those real ?”, I enquired, containing a nervous laughter.

“Depends on how nervous my answer will make you.”

He had to think this was hilarious. Fucking rich people, I swear. “Very nervous.”

“They are fake, then.”

As he left, he negligently had a hand trail along my back. Leah obviously noticed, as I saw her eyes glimmering with evil intent from across the room.

“Now that we all are hot and ready, we should get going ! I don't wanna miss the joust !”, she exclaimed.

Of course, there would be a joust. I didn't even look at the program. I bid goodbye to Zardoz, burying my face into his fluffy belly, while ignoring his meows of protest, and we all left. I was almost expecting Vlad to have traded his Jaguar for a horse-drawn carriage at this point. He disappointedly did not, and Leah dragged me into the backseat. The whole drive to the small town, Leah told us about the programmed activities from a leaflet she printed out, giving us the very strict schedule she came up with so that we wouldn't miss anything.

While she exposed her thorough research, I let my eyes drift along the countryside's landscape. Even if we were still early in the year, most trees had regained their leaves. The sky was a pale blue, and if the air was a bit chilly, given how many layers of clothing we were wearing, that wasn't so bad. Vlad had even prepared capes for the evening, which was weirdly thoughtful.

I only went a few times to the city we were headed for. It was built around the 13th century, and most of the buildings ranged from that time to the 17th century. It was rather small, isolated, on top of a hill, which was pretty impressive in the overall flat landscape. About two or three times a year, they hosted medieval themed gatherings, encouraging people to come in costume, or rent some. Most of the town's activity was artisanal, and the main income was through tourism, which was fairly well developed. Going there truly felt like going back in time, as they made a big deal of using as little modern technology as possible, to give the “most authentic medieval experience of the country”. As such, it was an almost unavoidable checkpoint for every medieval history student in my university, and trips were organized every year, for the midsummer fest. I actually dreaded meeting some of my students today. I knew I would get no peace for months if I was spotted wearing that outfit.

We stopped a little outside the city, in a dedicated parking lot. There was a little train to make the rest of the way, all in favor of authenticity. That bothered Vlad a little, and he ranted about how if they wanted historical accuracy, they should have brought a hay cart and horses, that steam-powered locomotives were only invented well into the 18th century. When Leah told him this train was actually electric, he let out an outraged scoff. Oh, he was going to be unbearable the whole day, wasn't he ?

We took the historically incorrect train, getting some compliments from the crew, themselves in costume. I think they assumed we were actors hired by the city, which Leah played into with enthusiasm. She got used to her attire pretty quick, including the heels, which was much more than I could say for myself. As we went onto the cobblestone streets, she had no trouble trotting about, I had to hold onto Vlad's arm not to risk breaking an ankle, which seemed to delight him. I couldn't say I completely hated it either.

Every time we crossed a group of actors, we chatted a bit, and he spent the ten minutes following each encounter pointing out the inaccuracies in their costumes. He punctuated it with anecdotes of his time in Italy in the 1550s, which had Leah think he was really into character. When he talked about his affair with a Leonardo da Vinci, she burst out laughing, and he gave me a sideway glance, perfectly knowing I couldn't lose my mind until we were alone. It seemed like he had done everything, witnessed every historical moment from the day he died to the 19th century. According to what he had told me, his assassination attempt had him miss most of the 1900s, including both World Wars, which he was pretty pissed about when he finally rose again in 1953.

Even if he complained about details, I could tell he genuinely enjoyed the occasion. The way he carried himself inspired confidence, a hand on the pommel of his sword, the other arm focused on helping me stay in a relatively upright position. I got used to the shoes faster than I thought, but kept on pretending to be terribly at risk. I think he knew, but still kept playing into it.

At around noon, we arrived at the jousting lists, which took place underneath the city walls. Even Vlad had pretty much nothing to say against it, but then again, he hadn't made a comment in a while, only focusing on entertaining us with his anecdotes. Against the walls, they had built stands and placed chairs and benches. A couple, posing as King and Queen, were seated in a podium, a bit higher than the rest. Vlad suddenly excused himself, telling us to take a seat without him. Before he left, he handed me a fine square of silk, embroidered in red and gold. I took it, confused, but before I could ask for explanations, Leah caught my arm and dragged me off. Suspecting she was somehow in on this, I took a seat, keeping my eyes peeled for any incoming fuckery.

“So, apparently, this is actual jousting”, Leah told me, reading a pamphlet she picked up at the reception booth earlier.

“What do you mean, actual jousting ?”

“There's an equestrian center near here that has a jousting program, this doubles as a competition”, she clarified, visibly excited. “Not that there's a lot of them, but some of the contenders are coming from all over Europe, from what that thing says ! That's why I didn't want to miss it !”

Well, this faire surely took off in the last couple of years. Now that I thought about it, historical reenactment was getting pretty popular, these days. I couldn't help but worry, though, knowing how many horrific jousting accidents there had been in history, killing nobodies and Kings alike. Trumpets announced the beginning of the tournament, and the crowd started cheering. The bleachers were full, and a lot of people were standing on the sidelines to watch the show. An announcer started a little presentation, confirming that the jousting would not be acting, but an actual professional competition. Contenders came from Germany, Hungary, Italy and Switzerland, which didn't surprise me all that much, given the overall enthusiasm for medieval history in those countries.

The first contenders arrived, in full armor, their horses pawing at the ground, raising clouds of dust. They passed each other a few times, just for show, then were given their lances. Under the raging cheers of the crowd, they spurred their horses, and rammed into each other's shields a first time, went around, and back again. This time, one was thrown off his mount, his opponent's lance breaking in the process, and crashed into the sand in a clatter of metal. The victor raised the remains of his spear under the acclamations of the public.

A couple of more contenders confronted each other, sporting their country's colors. At some point, however, a rider came into the field, mounted on a dark horse, wearing a dark armor, which I didn't take long to recognize. Blackened iron, gilded, and chiseled, battle-worn, but still gloriously shining under the midday sun. On the chest piece, stylized, the very recognizable coat of arms of House Draculesti of Wallachia.

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Taglist : @carydorse @angelicdestieldemon @bloodhon3yx @thewondernanazombie @battocar @moony691 @mjlock @thebeautyofdisorder @festering-queen @paracosmfantasy @lost-girl-inc

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let-me-love-you-loki · 5 years ago

Text

Welcome to Oblivion--Ch. 8

Chapter 8

“Hey, baby girl,” Roman said as he dropped into the seat beside me in the cafeteria. He had a tray laden with food. There was so much that I couldn’t fathom how he was going to be able to eat it all.

A tingle ran through my limbs when he called me that. “Hey, Ro,” I replied, trying not to blush.

“Look at you,” came a lilting Scottish tone from my left. Drew appeared in my peripheral vision and took up the chair across the table from me. He directed his words to Roman. “All that on your plate and not a thing for Addy. You should be ashamed.”

I rolled my eyes, grinning. “I’m a big girl, Drew. I can get my own food. And for your information, I’ve already eaten.”

Black brows lifted over bright blue eyes. “Oh really?”

“Really,” I snarked. “I snuck three of Sonya’s donuts into my first class.”

Drew looked down at his watch, pointedly glancing back up at me. “That was five hours ago.”

Roman chuckled and pushed his tray so that we could both eat from it. “Don’t fight him, Addy. Just eat.”

Huffing, I grabbed a fork and dug into the food Roman offered. I wouldn’t admit how hungry I was or how absolutely broke I was. If it wasn’t for Sonya and her mysterious donuts, I probably would have gone most of the day without anything. Even though I had a meal plan, it was the end of the week, and my meals didn’t roll over until Monday morning. I was still trying to figure out how I was going to make two meals last over the weekend.

I let my head fall against Roman’s shoulder and tried to hold back the tears that were burning in the back of my eyes. Breaking down in the middle of the cafeteria was something I really wanted to avoid.

As if he could sense my discomfort, Roman reached down for my hand. Our fingers threaded together as he pulled me close enough for his lips to brush my ear. “What’s wrong?”

I blinked back the tears, doing my best to keep myself together. “Nothing,” I whispered, my voice cracking on the word. It was no good. I couldn’t lie to Roman.

To his credit, Roman didn’t pry right there. Drew didn’t say anything either, but I could tell he’d overheard. Shame rushed through me. I sighed and hid my face.

“Hey,” Roman’s voice lifted and fell. A moment later, he pulled me to my feet. Drew had somehow packed up the food that had been piled on the tray. Roman grabbed up the trays and his bag, then reached for my hand. “Come on.”

We walked in silence. Roman swept past the cashier girl with a wink and a grin… some privilege of football stars that meant they didn’t pay to take food from the cafeteria. As soon as the glass door shut behind us, Roman pulled me around the corner into one of the study rooms. He guided me onto a padded ottoman and squatted in front of me.

“What’s wrong, baby girl?” The way he said it just then, it was a soothing endearment. One that promised that there was more to this than the electric spark between us. His palms settled on my knees, almost as if the touch was keeping me anchored to the present.

I meant to just tell him I was stressed out. That my classes were getting harder and it was taking some time to adjust. But what I said instead was far more personal. It was the pure and simple truth.

The tears came harder with every word. I was homesick. Alone. So tired that I was barely sleeping. I was either eating too much or not at all, leaving me going days without something real to eat once I ran through my meal limit for the week on my plan. More than anything, I was lost. My life had been about cheer and competition. Everyone said my college career would be the same. But it wasn’t. I busted my knee and the whole world changed. I lost my friends, my future, and everything I thought I knew about myself.

I didn’t know who I was anymore.

Roman didn’t say anything at first. He just took my hands in his and squeezed my fingers while he let me cry. I was so embarrassed, so thoroughly ashamed of what I was feeling and what I’d said. If there had been a chance of something happening between Roman and me, I’d just gone and blown it.

“It’s okay,” he said at last. His thumbs gently wiped the tears from beneath my eyes, fingers tucked my hair back behind my ears. I sniffled, and he dug a napkin out of his bag. “It’s okay, baby girl.”

“Don’t call me that. Not if you don’t mean it.”

“Hey,” Roman cooed, tilting my face so that I looked at him. “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it. You…” He stopped and looked away. I could have sworn that there was pain in his eyes.

“What, Ro? Just get it out.” I sniffled hard, gripping the ottoman until I thought my nails were going to break.

Instead of answering, he stood up, pulling me up with him. He tugged me against his warm, solid chest. I felt his breath rustle my hair as he cradled me against him, one hand on my head, the other on the base of my spine. The warmth of his body swept into me, working its way down to my bones.

He pressed a lingering kiss on my forehead. “Addy… I don’t know if you… when I think about you…” His hold on me tightened. “You’re easy to fall in love with. No matter how hard I try… I can’t stop how I feel about you. All the time.”

His words burst into my brain like a firebomb. It took a long moment for me to realize what he’d said. I closed my eyes, trying to grasp onto this moment, to remember how I felt when he told me he was falling in love with me. That’s what he said, wasn’t it?

“Roman…”

He shushed me softly. “You don’t have to say anything. And you don’t have to feel the same way. If all you want from me is to be friends, I’ll be the best goddamn friend I can be.”

“Roman,” I said again, more firmly this time. “Stop talking.”

His black eyes went wide as I grinned up at him. My heart wanted to burst out of my chest as I stood on my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck. My fingers dug into the knot of his hair, pulling free the band and letting it fall free. I curled my fingers in it as I kissed him with every ounce of feeling I had in me.

Roman growled low in his throat as he clutched me tighter. He lifted me off my feet as he smiled into the kiss. The growl turned to chuckle as he pulled away.

“So… does that mean you like me?” The smile on his face was enough to brighten the darkest of days.

“Yes,” I replied, grinning right back. “It means I like you. A lot.”

For a moment, I thought he was going to start swinging me in a circle. Instead he gently sat me on my feet without letting go of me. He dropped another kiss on my forehead before he released his hold.

“Good,” Roman purred. He was quiet for a few seconds before his face turned serious. “Is there anything I can do?”

There was no hesitation when I stepped closer, wrapping my arms around his waist and resting my cheek against his chest. He enveloped me in his arms, and I was suddenly overwhelmed with the scent of his cologne and his laundry soap. His hold was warm and soothing. Steady.

“Call me that again,” I murmured against his sweatshirt.

I felt the rumble in his chest and smiled. He leaned down and settled his lips near my ear. “Anytime, baby girl.”

***

“Hey, Addy!” I looked up to see Ember poking her head around our shared bathroom door, a grin on her face. I couldn’t help it. I jumped.

“Jesus, Ember. Scare the shit out of me, why don’t you.” I laughed anyway.

“Sorry,” she replied, slipping into the room. “There’s a cookout in the quad. Dana and I wanted you to come with us.”

I glanced over at the pile of books that I had to read. At the notes that were waiting for me to study. It was Saturday afternoon and summer would be fading fast in the mountains. After the week I’d had, it was time to take a break. Plus, it was free food.

“Sure,” I quipped brightly. “Give me a few minutes to get ready.”

Ember bopped her way out of the room, promising to come check on me if I wasn’t out on the quad in five minutes. Rolling my eyes, I pushed away from my desk and dug into my closet to find something. I finally settled on a pair of khaki shorts and a blue tunic top with some flip flops.

After sweeping my hair up into a messy ponytail, I grabbed my room key and headed out. As soon as I stepped into the hallway, I could hear the music. Apparently, there was a DJ in addition to the food. People milled around in the lobby of the dorm, but it looked like most of the party was taking place outside. Sonya was sitting on top of a table with a pretty strawberry brunette next to her. I recognized the hair.

We’d finally gotten over that fight we’d had the day Roman came over to pick me up for the first lab. Even when we hadn’t been on the best terms, she still didn’t mind me swiping donuts.

“Hey,” I called, tucking my keys into my pocket.

Sonya looked up; a donut caught between her teeth. “Hey, Aththy. Isss ish Ey’on.”

I felt my brows lift in question. The girl smiled, rolling her eyes. “Peyton Royce,” she said with a beautiful Australian accent. She had big brown eyes and a winning smile. “I’m her girlfriend.”

I glanced over at Sonya and whispered, “Sparkly shorts?”

My roommate winked and gave me a thumbs up. I giggled. “Are you a pirate pom?”

Peyton nodded, her ponytail bouncing. “Yeah. I’ve heard about you. You’re Lynwood High Addison Holloway. You’re amazing.”

I felt the blush. “Just Addy. And I was okay. Until I blew my ACL.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ve seen your stuff. Sonya made me watch a bunch of it. At nationals two years ago, oh my gosh… is it true that you choreographed that?”

My face burned with embarrassment. Sonya just grinned indulgently as she munched on her donut. “Yeah, I did.”

Peyton let out a squeal that could burst eardrums. “You have to come to a practice. You must meet our coach. We just lost our choreographer, and with football season starting soon, we can’t afford to be without one. I’ll text you the schedule!”

Sonya took Peyton by the hand and pulled her back, as if she was trying to get a handle on her.

“Addy!” I turned at the sound of my name—just in time to get swept up in a tangle of arms. It took a moment to realize that it was Ember and Dana. “I can’t believe you actually came to the party.”

I made a face at Ember. “Geeze, what the hell, Ember? I know how to have fun!”

Dana grinned. “What’s this I hear about you being able to dance?”

#welcome to oblivion #roman reigns #roman reigns fanfiction #wwe #wwe fanfiction #college au #College!AU #College!Shield #addison holloway #addy holloway #sonya deville #peyton royce #drew mcintyre #ember moon #dana brook #ofc #oc #multi-chapter

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psychospeak-blog · 6 years ago

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Won’t Go Slowly // 59

One // Two // Three // Four // Five // Six // Seven // Eight // Nine // Ten // Eleven // Twelve // Thirteen // Fourteen // Fifteen // Sixteen // Seventeen // Eighteen // Nineteen// Twenty // Twenty One // Twenty Two // Twenty Three // Twenty Four// Twenty Five // Twenty Six // Twenty Seven // Twenty Eight // Twenty Nine // Thirty // Thirty One // Thirty Two // Thirty Three // Thirty Four// Thirty Five // Thirty Six // Thirty Seven // Thirty Eight // Thirty Nine // Forty // Forty One // Forty Two // Forty Three // Forty Four // Forty Five // Forty Six // Forty Seven // Forty Eight // Forty Nine // Fifty // Fifty One // Fifty Two // Fifty Three // Fifty Four // Fifty Five // Fifty Six // Fifty Seven // Fifty Eight

A/N: I don’t know what to say than I love you guys, thanks for sticking with me, and smut-ish warning

The first thing you noticed when you woke up the next morning was that the bed felt empty, and the house felt quiet. The second thing that you noticed was that the bassinet was empty, but you weren't worried, instead just grabbing a zip-up from the base of your bed, and wrapping it around your shoulders after you shook the dog hair off it. You padded throughout the house, noticing that it was incredibly quiet still, the house empty. You turned to look out your front window and you smiled as you saw Gerry's tail wagging as he sniffed around the tree in your front yard. You hummed to yourself as you turned on your coffee maker, gathering mugs for both you and Tyler. You added a couple of teaspoons of sugar to his and dash of coconut milk, and some chocolate almond milk to yours, and then you picked them both up, walking into your front hallway and then you took both handles of the mugs into one hand so you could open your front door, Tyler turning to look at you from where he was seated on you front steps, Bentley in one arm and held on his lap, half wrapped up in his blanket, and his pacifier hanging from his mouth. He smiled when he saw you, and it dropped from his mouth, Tyler trying to catch it but failing, leaving in resting against his leg.

"There she is," Tyler said, and you grinned at Bentley, coming in to sit next to them, and you sat the two coffee mugs behind you.

"Good morning," you said, leaning over to kiss Tyler, and then you planted kisses on the top of Bentley's head. "Yes, hi, Gerry," you said, laughing as all the dogs had to come up to say hello to you.

"You weren't supposed to get up yet," Tyler said, pouting a little.

"Why not?" you laughed.

"Because I was gonna bring you coffee in bed," he said, "and maybe see if I could figure out how to make you breakfast. "But these guys has other plans."

"You can tomorrow," you said, "I can't believe I didn't hear him crying."

"Oh, he wasn't really crying," Tyler said, bouncing Bentley a little, "I just woke up and Gerry was standing over me, and he wanted food pretty much as soon as he saw my eyes were open. And I checked on Bentley before i went into the kitchen and his eyes were open, and then he started whimpering or something, so I picked him up but and then he was fine."

Bentley now, though, started crying, his face scrunching up, and Tyler laughed, passing him over you, where he quieted.

"What?" Tyler asked playfully, leaning in towards Bentley, and using his thumb to wipe up a bit of drool, "We were all cool, then your mom comes and ditch me."

You laughed, looking at Bentley, who was now just watching Tyler. "No, he wanted me to hold him so he could look at you."

"Nah, he just wants you," Tyler said, kissing at Bentley's neck like he was trying to tickle him, and Bentley made a noise that was so close to being a laugh, but came out closer to a squeal and you smiled.

"How long have you guys been up?"

"I don't know, 15, 20 minutes?" Tyler said, "We changed him, and then we fed the dogs breakfast, and then they wanted to come outside, so we've just been watching them."

"Did you help feed the dog's their breakfast?" you asked Bentley.

"No, he didn't really do anything actually," Tyler said, "You're probably gonna have to have a talk with him, he doesn't seem to be doing anything to pull his weight around here."

"Well, good thing he doesn't weigh very much."

"Yeah, but he's gaining more and more weight every day," Tyler said, smiling, his eyebrows raised at you as he took a sip of his coffee. You were about to warn him to be careful when he went to put it back down, but he placed it out of Bentley's reach. "No, you don't want that, it's hot, it might hurt you."

You smiled, watching though as Bentley seemed like he really had his heart set on holding that coffee cup. "You want to hold this?" You asked, taking the pacifier from where it was resting on the top of the stairs moving the attached stuffed animal towards Bentley's open hand.

"Oh, that fell on the ground, don't give him that," Tyler warned.

"I'm just giving him the toy part, he doesn't know how to put it in his mouth yet," you said, smiling at Tyler's concern. "And he seems pretty happy right now I don't think he even wants his pacifier."

"Yeah, he's chill," Tyler said. "I thought he'd be hungry when he woke up. Well, I guess he could be hungry, but he's not mad about it."

"I fed him like an hour and a half or maybe two hours ago, so he might not be ready yet."

"You did?" Tyler asked, "how did I not know that?"

"You asked me if I needed anything."

"I did?"

"Yeah, you always do," you laughed, "and then you never remember it in the morning."

"Well, at least I'm still considerate in my sleep."

"Well, you get up when I ask for something," you said, leaning against him, a little to bump his shoulder. "And look at you, changing diapers and stuff."

"Well, I was trying to let you sleep," he said, "I didn't want to wake you up, so I'm glad he didn't want food, I wanted you to sleep." He leaned over to kiss you on the temple.

"Well, you could have given him a bottle."

"Yeah, I thought about that," he said, running his hand through his hair. "I didn't want to do that without asking you though."

"Why?" You asked, leaning around to hold Bentley's toy towards his hand. "You've given him bottles before."

"Yeah, when you're awake."

"Why does that matter?"

"Because you're his mom."

"Yeah, I'm aware," you laughed.

"Well, I don't want to mess up you feeding him."

"It won't," you said, "I can always pump if I have to, it's fine."

"Yeah, but I just don't want to.." Tyler started, "I don't want to overstep my bounds."

"Oh, you're not, Tyler," you said, laughing at just the thought that he was worried about it.

"I know, but.." he said, toying with a strand of thread that was hanging from the arm of your zip-up, like he was contemplating ripping it off. And you did know. That he was scared, and that he didn't feel ready, and that he was constantly second guessing himself, and that he thought he might do something wrong, or not agree with you, and then you'd end up fighting about it.

"It's not a big deal for you to make him a bottle," you said, but Tyler still looked tentative, and like he wanted to say something but didn't know how, so you leaned over, kissing him on the cheek. "I really, really love when you get to give him bottles, and spend your own time with him."

"No, I like that, too," Tyler said, his hand running over the back of his neck.

"You have really, really good instincts," you said, "You should trust them."

"Evidently if they lead me to you," Tyler grinned, and then paused where he was leaning towards you. "Is that the right word? Evidently?"

"Yes," you laughed, and he smiled right before he pressed his lips to yours.

"I just didn't know what you wanted me to do about that, and if you'd be okay," he said, "Mostly I was just worried about your boobs. And your milk and stuff. Also, you always heat it up and I don't want to burn him."

"I really, really don't think you would," you said, "and if he's hungry, I want him to eat. It's the same thing, anyways, I'd be a little pissed if you gave him formula without us talking about it."

"Well, I wouldn't do that."

"Exactly," you said.

"I don’t think he likes bottles very much though."

"Well, he takes it."

"Yeah, but he looks up at me like 'what the hell is this? This isn't the real thing'"

"I think you're projecting."

"Nope," Tyler said decidedly. "I promise you, he really, really like boobs."

You shook your head, your hands holding Bentley's chest and back so he was sitting up, watching him take in the June morning.

"Whatcha looking at?" Tyler asked, leaning in so he could see from Bentley's point of view, his hand moving over yours, and then he started pulling at that dang thread again.

"Don't," you said, pulling away from him, "You're gonna wreck my sweatshirt."

"Oh, your sweatshirt?" Tyler said, grinning like he was victorious, "Funny, it has my number of it."

"Well, you don't own the number," you retaliated, and Tyler started laughing.

"No, but I bought that sweatshirt."

"Did you though?" you challenged, grinning the whole time, and Tyler's expression dropped, a smirk creeping onto his lips.

"Okay, but the box had my name on it."

"And do you have proof of that?"

"Do you see what your mom's doing?" Tyler asked nuzzling against Bentley, "She's stealing from me."

"You said I could borrow your clothes."

"Oh, so now you admit that its mine," Tyler said, "and I'm never getting them back, am I?"

"Nope," you said, wrapping it tighter around you. "It's smells like you."

"What do I smell like?" Tyler laughed.

"I don't know," you said. "Like cozy, and warm and stuff."

"Awe," Tyler said, leaning around you, pulling the blanket around Bentley, and kissing you several times on the temple.

"Plus, your stuff is bigger so it's more comfortable."

"Are you calling me fat?" Tyler laughed.

"No, just like, broader," you said. "And none of my pre-pregnancy clothes seem to fit."

"Because your boobs are huge?"

"No," you said, and he gave you a stern look, "okay, maybe, yeah, but more so my stomach and my hips, I've probably got like 15 or 20 pounds left to lose."

"I don't know, your body looked pretty awesome to me last night."

You felt your face flash hot for a second, and then you realized that you shouldn't feel shy or embarrassed, not with him now. "No, I don't mean...my body's just different."

"Yeah, 'cuz your body made a freakin' human being," Tyler said. And while you still felt in awe of what the female body could do, you couldn't help but feel the awe he had for what you did, like you were the only woman in the world who had ever given birth to a baby.

"Yeah," you smiled at Bentley tucked against you, "I know."

"How are you feeling, by the way?" Tyler asked, tucking his head against your shoulder.

"I feel fine?" You asked, and Tyler chuckled a little.

"I meant after last night," he said, nuzzling against you, "you sore or anything?"

"Umm..." you said, and then you noticed Tyler looking at you sternly, and realized that he was going to know if you weren't 100% truthful. "A little bit, yeah."

"I'm sorry," Tyler said, nuzzling into you even further, placing loving kisses on your neck, his arm coming to wrap around you.

"It's not your fault," you promised. "I'm not, like, it pain, just a little sore. I've heard its normal, though. It might just be...different for a bit." Really, it was more like you were just very aware that he'd been inside you each time you'd moved now, which was not really something you wanted to talk about when you had your son in your lap.

"Well, like I said, I'm very willing to work through our differences," Tyler said, and then frowned as he pulled himself away from you, blinking, "That does not sound like what I meant."

"I know what you meant," you laughed, and then smiled when Tyler kissed you softly.

"Good," he said, whispering against your lips.

You looked into his eyes for a moment, a question creeping into your mind. "Was it different?" You asked, "For you?"

"Yeah," Tyler said, dragging out the word, and you felt your chest clench for a moment, until he laughed a little. "Before it felt kinda...like I was against the clock or something, like everytime I thought either you were gonna find out you were pregnant, and then we'd have to stop, or, like, she might not let me have sex with her again. This time was slower. Well, it was kinda not slow, but not as fast as I was worried about it being."

"Were you actually that nervous?" You laughed.

"Yes," he said sheepishly. "I wanted it to be good for you."

"Well, it's not like it's the first time we've been together, I know you're good."

"Well, duh," Tyler said, grinning. "Seriously though, I was googling all that shit like crazy and there's so much conflicting information,like it says oral sex is great but you weren't into it."

You laughed at Tyler running his hand his hand through his hair, making a face like this couldn't possibly make sense to him. "No, no that was good," you clarified, "it was more just-"

"Oh, so you do want it," he said, kissing playfully at your neck, and you felt the sudden rush of heat flow through you, only to be reminded of the babbling baby in your lap.

"Anyways," you said, "it was more just that I wanted to actually do it, like i didnt know what it was gonna be like, it if he was gonna wake up, or.."

"You wouldn't do that," Tyler said to Bentley, brushing their noses together. "Nuh-uh, not when we're doing adult things, you gotta help me get laid, huh?"

"Stop," you laughed, leaning to kiss Bentley's head, just wanting to keep him innocent forever.

"So he probably won't wake up when we're touching because we have a deal, but even if he does its fine," Tyler said, "well, not fine, fine I'd be a little sad its not like we can't just pause it, take care of him, then get back to the fun."

"Yeah, but..it like might kind of ruin the mood."

"For me or for you?" Tyler asked, his eyebrows raised and a sly grin creeping onto his face.

"Both?" You asked, and Tyler laughed.

"Yeah, I've got a beautiful girl, who totally loves me as much as I love her, and we're so good together, and we feel so damn good together," he said, "yeah, I can totally see why I wouldn't get turned on."

"Tyler..."

"Seriously, it's not an issue for me," he said, taking care to look you in the eyes, "I can see how it might be for you, though, because you're always thinking about him and worrying about him and stuff, and you could be having changes in sex drive.."

"Oh, could I?" You reacted, laughing at his expression.

"I don't know," Tyler said, holding his hands up like he was innocent. "That's just what I read. Although I don't really know what the point of the article was, it was all pretty much just common sense."

"Was it?" You said, laughing slightly just because of the topic of the conversation, "What did it say?"

"Just that you're going through a lot of changes, that things might be different but it's totally normal, and even when you've got kids, it's not like your sex life is just over, it's gonna get better," he said, "Also that there's plenty, plenty of ways to be intimate, and affectionate, which I 100% agree with."

He was kissing softly at your neck and jaw as he did said so, and you laughed when he just brushed his beard against your cheek playfully. "You really, really prepared for this, huh?"

"Well, I didn't spend hours on it or anything, but I got some stuff, you know."

"Yeah, how long have you had those condoms in your car for?" you laughed.

"Uhh..like since two or three days after you told me you loved me too," Tyler said, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh my god.."

"Hey, if stuff started happening I wasn't gonna say no," He said, "I didn't know you'd already figured out the whole birth control thing, when you'd get that done?"

"After he was born," you said.

"Like right after?"

"Mhmm..you were there."

"I do not remember any of this."

"Well, I think you were with him, when they were checking him out and stuff."

"Oh," he said, smirking, "So someone was already thinking about having sex with me after."

"No," you laughed. "it's for my endometriosis, but it just happens to be good birth control, too. But we always can use condoms, too, if you're worried. Like, I haven't had my period yet... but it's could be possible, I guess."

"Well, do you think we need to use two methods?"

"No, but it's not just my decision."

"No condoms, then," he said. And you looked away a little, and then back at him.

"What if we get pregnant by accident though?" you asked tentatively.

"Then we would probably have another baby," Tyler said, smiling just a little. "I mean, ideally we'd plan for number two when we're ready, but if it happened, I don't know, sometimes amazing things happen you weren't planning for. It wouldn't be the worst thing, would it?"

"No, no it wouldn't be the worst thing," you said, smiling down at Bentley in your arms, "But I am really not ready yet."

"Oh, me neither," Tyler said, "But you're on birth control. I think, I think it'd be good."

"Yeah, me too," you said, smiling, and Tyler leaned over to kiss you. "He needs to sleep through the night first."

And he kind of needs to call Tyler his dad, too.

"Mmmyeah, the more he sleeps, the more time we have for foreplay and we don't have to rush," he said, his eyebrows raised. "Although apparently moms like different types of foreplay."

"Wait, like what?"

"Putting the baby to bed, changing diapers," Tyler said, "I bet you couldn't stop thinking about how sexy I was when he peed all over me."

"Oh yeah, totally," you said sarcastically, and then a thought crept into your mind.

"Which is not why I'm doing that stuff, by the way," Tyler said a moment later, like he'd had the same thought, moving his face closer to Bentley and kissing his forehead. "It's just pretty cool that I get to help take care of you, y'know?"

"It's awesome, isn't it?" you asked, "Like even when he's crying inconsolably, I still can't believe I get to be his mom."

You smiled as Bentley screeched, moving his little hands up in the air, and Tyler mimicked him, while Bentley proceeded to try and stuff his entire fist into his mouth, leaving his hands and his cheeks all drooly.

"He's talking so much lately," you said.

"Yeah, he's got things to say," Tyler said, as Marshall came over to investigate, sniffing and Bentley's chest and then his face, and Bentley's eyes went wide as he made even more noise, and you took his hand in his, using it to run his hands over Marshall's fur.

"Can you say 'Good boy, Marshall?" Tyler asked, and then you both laughed at Bentley's babbling. "Uh...that's kinda close, but I think we maybe need to practice it a bit more...Gerry!"

Tyler immediately leaned forward, pulling the stuffed toy part from Bentley's pacifier. "That is not yours," he scolded, looking back at Bentley, "Okay, you need to learn how to say "'Good dog, Marshall and Cash' and 'Bad Dog, Gerry'"

"Oh no," you said, rubbing a rather guilty looking Gerry behind the ears. "Gerry's a good dog."

"Okay, I'll just give this back to him then.."

"No!" you said, snatching it out of Tyler's hand, and Tyler laughed. "That's the one thing I really don't want him to have of Bentley's and its the thing he wants most."

"What? So you're not gonna be mad if he eats all of Bentley's other toys?"

"Not really, no, they need to learn to..." you started. And then you realized you couldn't really say live together, because it wasn't like you were actually living together, it was more just like your lives were just kind of overlapping and blending at the edges, so you half of the dogs' toys had made their way into your house, while you had a stash of blankets and diapers at Tyler's house.

"They need to what?" Tyler asked, laughing at you.

"They need to learn how to share," you said.

"You hear that, Ger?" Tyler said now, "Mom says you're gonna have to be grounded because you weren't sharing with your brothers. You better go to your room. "

"No," you said, wrapping your arms around Gerry, who had started waving his tail a couple of times, like he was hopeful that he was no longer in trouble. "Look how guilty he looks, he's sorry."

"Well maybe he shouldn't have done that then."

"He didn't mean to," you said, "He's like 'Sorry Dad, I just don't know how to tell the difference between Bentley's toys and my toys yet, and I get really, really excited because I just want to play with him."

"Awe, it's okay," Tyler said, rubbing Gerry behind the ears and Gerry, seeing his in, started crawling on top of Tyler pushing him back onto the porch, while Tyler groaned and shut his eyes as Gerry started licking his face. "Oh," Tyler said, groaned and then grimaced, turning his head to look at you. "I don't know if we can have anymore kids, I think Gerry just decided we're done."

"Oh no," you laughed.

"Don't laugh, you don't understand," Tyler said, still wincing, and Bentley smiled like he found the faces Tyler was making amusing. "Hey, little man, you're supposed to be on my side."

"He saw what I went through to get him here, he has no sympathy."

"Yeah, but men aren't as tough as women, everyone knows that," Tyler said, wincing as he sat up now.

"Are you actually okay?" you asked, leaning towards him now.

"I will be, I just need you to hold me," he said, and you wrapped your free arm around him as he leaned against you, and you pat his head a couple of times. "You can kiss it better if you want," Tyler said, and then immediately started laughing at himself.

"Yeah, so you're totally fine," you said, and Tyler shifted a little against you, like he didn't want to move. He did move, though, once Bentley had decided he was ready for his breakfast, making the two of you some toast while you fed the baby, toes in the grass and keeping an eye on the dogs. You are your toast and finished your coffee and your breakfast enjoying the quiet morning, Bentley laid out on his blanket on the grass once he was done eating, both you and Tyler flanking him so that the dogs didn't accidentally jump on him. He seemed to get a little annoyed not too long after you'd finished eating that he was stuck on his back, so you picked him back up before he started full-blown crying. "You and I should probably go get ready to go, huh? Is that what you're thinking?"

Tyler groaned a little as he stood back up, but he extended his hand towards you for your plate, so you were free to grab Bentley's blanket as well. "Thank you."

"Mhmm," Tyler mumbled, kissing you softly, and you sensed him and the dogs following you into the house. He went into the kitchen while you took Bentley into his room, smiling when Gerry looked at you right before he jumped up into the glider.

"Oh, I'm not putting him down right now, Gerry," you laughed, going to pull out a clean onesie from the dresser to change Bentley into. You were just putting his arms through when Tyler stepped in the room, leaning against the door and frowning a little.

"What's up with him?" Tyler asked, nodding towards Gerry who was giving you puppy dog eyes.

"He thought it was time to rock."

"Awe," Tyler said, going over to move Gerry over to give him enough room to sit down, and then he started rubbing Gerry behind the ears. "I know, bud, it's not fair they're leaving us "

"Well, you're leaving, too," you said, picking Bentley up, and then all of the other boys got up, following you into your bedroom, where Marshall and Cash proceeded to jump up on your bed. Tyler made a whining noise from behind you, curling his body around yours from behind. "What's wrong with you?" you laughed.

"I don't want you to leave," he said, rocking back and forth with you and then smacking kisses along your neck. "Where are you guys going again?"

"Barre class."

"You're taking your baby to the bar?" Tyler gasped, and then he laughed, while you tried to press your lips together to keep from laughing.

"Your jokes are getting worse, I swear to god." you said.

"It wasn't a joke," Tyler said, and you could see him struggling to be serious, "I really don't think you should take him to the bar, you should stay home, and we can cuddle, or hang out and play with toys with Bentley. I'm gonna be too lonely if you leave."

"Well, you're going to the gym, Tyler, and I'm gonna take him, and then we'll meet back here."

"But I don't want to," Tyler said, flopping down onto the bed.

"Well, you kind of have to, it's your job," he said, and he looked longingly at you."

"Okay, I know we're in a relationship now, but I don't want to be a distraction."

"You're not distracting me," he said, "You could just come with me, then I could show off."

"Yeah, that's an awesome place to take a baby," you said, grabbing your leggings out of the drawer.

"Finnnneee," he whined again, rolling onto his side, a sly smile on his face. "Then take me with you."

You thought for a moment, looking for your sports bra now, "I mean you could."

"Wait, actually?" Tyler asked. "I'm allowed? I was just joking."

"Yeah, partners are allowed."

"Oh, am I your partner?"

"Well, yeah," you smiled, and Tyler grinned back at you, petting the dogs.

"So what is this exactly? Like legs?"

"Yeah, and core and glutes, and there's some upper body toning and stuff. It's kind of like pilates and yoga, and then there's some stuff with the ballet barre, it's alot of little stabilizer muscles and stuff."

"Are you sure I'm going to be able to do this?"

"Yeah," you said, going to set Bentley down on your bed so you could get changed, and Cash crawled towards him on the bed, sniffing at him. "You'll probably have to do your own thing after, I don't think it'll be too challenging for you."

"Umm..I'm pretty sure it will be, have you ever seen me try to do yoga or pilates? It's so hard."

"Well, this is for women who have just had babies, so it's not hardcore or anything."

"So are there no guys there?"

"Umm..I've only been to this class once, but there was a guy, at the yoga class," you said, looking over at him, "Is that gonna be weird?"

"Nope, I know at least one guy whose gonna be there," Tyler said, moving towards Bentley and tickling his chest and then grabbing his arm and then saying, "and one and two," as he moved it up and down, and Bentley gurgled at him.

"And they also just encourage you to do whatever your baby needs, so people change diapers there or feed their baby, and sometimes there's a lot of crying."

"Yeah, that's fine," Tyler said, easily propping his hand up in his hand and watching over Bentley. "That's kind of how I expected it to be."

"Well, there will probably be women breastfeeding."

"Yeah, I love breasts," Tyler said, "And I love fed and happy babies."

"Okay, but you can't, like stare at them, because it might make them uncomfortable," you said. "It's just supposed to be a really supportive environment for new moms. And you're probably going to be the only guy there."

A guy who happened to be a professional athlete.

Tyler looked up from where he was patting Cash, chuckling a little. "Do you not want me to come?"

"No, I do," you said, moving closer to him, so you could lean over and kiss him, "I just don't want you to be bored."

"I don't think I'll be bored," he smiled, shutting his eyes as he smiled.

"Yeah, it'll be fun if you come," you said, kissing him once more, and then you turned to Bentley. "Are you excited that Uncle Ty-Ty's gonna come with us? Are you gonna show him what it's all about?"

"Just remember it's my first time, so don’t judge my form too much," Tyler said to him, his finger slipping between Bentley's and then looked to you, his finger still grasped it Bentley's fist. "What does he think about it? Does he like it?"

"Yeah," you smiled, "He loves it, there's so many things to look at."

"Oh, I bet," Tyler said.

"He only really cried once but that was just because he got hungry," you said, pulling your hair into a ponytail as you went into the bathroom. You could hear Tyler talking to Bentley as you got changed through the half open door, hearing him saying that he didn't blame him, that he would start crying, too, if he got hungry. You heard the door push open as you were just pulling your yoga pants on.

"Mmmmyeah, I love those pants," you heard Tyler say from behind you. "Can I just put my mat right behind yours? This is the view I want."

"Stop," you laughed, standing up and then you saw him in the mirror, his arms empty. "Where's Bentley?"

"On the bed," Tyler said, looking out into the bedroom and then back at you, "Was I not supposed to leave him?"

"No," you said, stepping to the side so you could see Bentley on the bed, with Cash laid out by his side and Marshall curled up behind his head, not wanting Tyler to feel like he did something wrong, because you didn't ask him to stay there. "I just worry about him with the dogs."

"Oh, yeah, Gerry's the one I'm worried about, and he's not in here," Tyler said, but he went to go pick up Bentley anyways, kissing him on the side of the head. "You're okay, huh?"

"Oh, I'm not worried they're gonna hurt him, its just when they're on the bed, I'm worried they're gonna stand up and then he's gonna go flying off."

"Well, its a bed, not a trampoline, babe," Tyler laughed.

"Okay, I know," you said, laughing, "I just don't want him to get bumped accidentally, he's so little next to them, and know they're aware of him on the floor, but....I don't really even know when it's okay to leave a baby alone with dogs."

"Yeah, I dunno."

"I don't know if I really trust him on the bed when we're not watching, he's getting kind of wiggly."

"Nah, he's chilling," Tyler said, holding him with one arm easily. "We don't need to get his bad ready, do we? It's still got stuff in it from last time, right?"

"No," you smiled, looking down at Tyler's shorts and legs. "Do you need to get changed? I can grab his Dockatot."

"Nah, I don't have tights like yours, but I can get some though if you want," Tyler asked, his eyebrows raised, "I'd only wear them for you in private though."

"Oh wow," you mumbled, as you ran your hand over your face, and you could hear Tyler giggling behind you.

"Just get your cute butt ready, don't worry about me."

You finished getting changed, but you glanced at Tyler out of the corner of your eye, and started laughing. "What are you doing?"

"Practicing," he said. He was holding Bentley with both arms to his chest now, and then jumping up, doing some type of little flick thing with his legs, that you could only assume was meant to be ballet inspired.

"Well, be careful," you laughed, going to grab a clean pacifier from your nightstand.

"I won't drop him," Tyler promised.

"No, I know you won't," you smiled, "But he just ate, I don't want him to throw up on you."

"Oh," Tyler said,just swaying back and forth with Bentley now, whose eyes were on you.

"Are you dancing?" You asked him, and he smiled, his head jerking back a bit, and Tyler steadied it with his hand.

"He's gonna be really good once he gets complete control of his head," Tyler said.

A few minutes later it was you who was holding Bentley as you walked into the studio, and you felt all the eyes in the the room move towards you,and then to Tyler behind you. He didn't seem to notice everyone looking at him, though, instead he just grabbed a couple mats and then followed you over to where there was an empty blanket set out for the babies, setting the diaper bag down he had around his arm, and then seeming to take note of what else you needed. "What weights do you want,babe?"

"Uhh... two's?"

"Two's?" He repeated with surprise.

"Yeah, I just had a baby, Tyler, I haven't been exercising the same."

"Yeah, but you're strong, you carry him around all day, no problem," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "Now, I don't know what the hell....er, heck, sized weights I should use."

You cracked a smile, sitting down with Bentley, and then watching Tyler walk over to the weight rack, where he seemed to contemplate the selection, and then you tried not to laugh when he tried to grab a couple of balls and then proceeded to knock the others out of place, too, and had to try and stop them from rolling around with his foot, trying to carefully put them back so they wouldn't move.

"He looks nervous," Rebecca said from beside you, from where she was sitting with her little girl like you were with Bentley, and you laughed, turning Bentley so he could look at them. "Whose that? Is that your friend, Adrianna?" you asked him, looking back over your shoulder at Tyler, "Yeah, I think he is a little bit," you said, because Tyler was suddenly acting like he quite didn't know quite how to work his limbs.

"How'd you get him to come?"

"He just wanted to," you said, shrugging.

"Are you kidding me?" she laughed, bouncing her baby, "I've been trying to get my husband to come with us for weeks."

"Well...." you said, about to say that it was new, and that maybe that was why he was so eager to want to spend time with you, but then you'd have to explain that you had a baby together anyways, but you heard Tyler walking back behind you and turned just in time to see him set the weights down and have them tumble right onto his finger as he tried to set them down on the mat, and he sucked in a breath, rubbing his thumb.

"Are you alright?" you asked.

"Yes," he said, shaking in out, "Sorry, I've never worked out before."

You were still laughing as Tyler sat down, leaning into you "I was trying to stop the weights from slamming on the floor, I didn't want to scare the babies."

"Awe," you said, looking at Tyler, and then back at Rebecca, and you didn't quite know if you should introduce him, or how you would even do that.

"I'm Tyler," Tyler said, putting your thoughts to rest, his hand raised in a wave.

"Rebecca," she responsed. "And I know."

"Oh," Tyler said, grinning a little even as he ducked his head, his arms draped across his bent knees.

You started laughing when Bentley continued his babbling, moving his arms up.

"What's her name?" Tyler asked, nodding towards the other baby.

"Oh, this is Adrianna."

"Hi Adrianna," Tyler said, waving his hand open and so it was in her line of sight.

You smiled when Bentley stuck his arms out towards her and both you and Rebecca scooted closer to each other. "Did you say 'hi' to Bentley?" she asked, looking around to say her daughter's reaction, and she squealed in response, lurching forward and almost hitting Bentley in the face.

"Oops, be gentle."

You could hear Tyler laughed a little behind you as he came closer, watching their interaction.

"Oh no, no," Tyler said, prying Bentley's fingers off from the bow that she had around her head when he decided to grab in and try and pull it off, your hands holding Bentley under his arms. "Don't take off her pretty bow, she might not like that very much."

Tyler smiled at you when the instructor came in and you moved back into your spots, but Tyler leaned over and pressed his lips to yours in a quick kiss before he did so.

When you went to lay Bentley down, you made sure to move him so he was laying on a blanket that was placed so it was between the end of both you and Tyler's mats, so that you could both interact with him. You couldn't help looking over at Tyler and then Bentley and smiling as you were lead through the warm-up,, because it felt like you were doing something together as a family, and you only wanted more of it.

"Okay, let's go down to our mats and warm up our cores and spine with some cat/cows," the instructor said, "So big round through your spine, and then drop your belly, tailbone to the sky."

You repeated the movements a couple of times and then you made the mistake of looking over at Tyler the next time you arched your back and he caught you, like he'd just been waiting for you to look over at him, doing a wiggly thing with his butt, and you had to look away to stop from cracking a smile.

"And then return to a neutral spine, and extend your left leg behind you, keeping your core tight, and pulse," she said now, "And if you want to add a layer of difficulty, extend your opposite arm."

You were concentrating on trying to see if you could handle that, slowly extending your arm, when you felt a foot connect with you butt and looked over to Tyler next to you. "Sorry " he said, but you could tell by the smirk on his face that he had done it on purpose.

You focused instead on smiling at Bentley, who was laying on his back but had his head turned towards you, and you tickled him as you extended each arm out and then Tyler followed suit, and you watched as Bentley's eyes went to find you, and then Tyler.

When you stood up to do some upper body work, you looked over at Tyler again as you were doing bicep curls with your arms extended in front of you, and Tyler's eyes were looking at you with a bit of a wild look in them. "I am shaking," he confessed to you, and then you could hear him huff when the instructor said to try and lift your elbows up, dropping the weights if you needed to.

"You can put them down," you whispered, and he shook his head.

"You could trade me?" he asked, offering his weights towards you, which looked about three times the size of yours and you shook your head, Tyler sticking his tongue out of the side of his mouth at you. You noticed that he shook his arms out quite a bit once you were told you were done with the weights, and then stretched out his shoulder as he grinned at you, as everyone started moving themselves and their babies closer to the barre.

"Wheee..." Tyler said, looking down over Bentley as he drug both him and the blanket he was laying on across the wood floor so he was closer to where you both were, and you laughed at the confused expression on Bentley's face, like he didn't quite know how he had moved or understood that that was supposed to be fun yet.

"Hi," you said, waiting until he found you and then you repeated the word and he smiled big kicked his legs. Tyler smiled when he looked at you,making a noise that let you know that he thought it was the sweetest thing ever.

You could tell that Tyler felt completely out of his element when you were lead through a series of different leg lifts, but you could also tell that he was trying and the look of concentration on his face as he tried to keep his leg straight as he raised it out in front of him was really adorable.

"Okay, now squeeze that ball with your inner inner thighs as you slowly lower," the instructor said, "Now add in a relevé"

"What's a relevé?" Tyler asked you in a whisper, looking back over his shoulder at you.

"Go on your tips toes," you said, and then you could see him inhale as he did so. When you stepped out into a wide plie Tyler turned to face you, and you watched his face turn again when you had to lift your heels, looking at you and then out to the side, and then he stood back upright, bending down to pick Bentley up.

"He was fussing," Tyler said, as he stepped back to the barre, holding Bentley with one hand and the ball with the other for him, Bentley's fist coming onto the ball as he looked at it.

"No, he wasn't," you laughed.

"Well, he was about to," Tyler said with a big grin on his face, and you smiled back at him, as he held Bentley securely to his chest, catching back up the the squats you were doing with the class, although he left his heels on the floor, pulsing just a little. When you were told you could go back to your mats to finish up with a little bit more core work, Tyler pulled Bentley away from him, keeping on hand held underneath his head, bouncing him slightly. "Was that fun?" Tyler asked, and you didn't even have to see Bentley to know he was smiling, you could tell just by the expression on Tyler's face. Tyler laid Bentley back down on his blanket, and then ran his hand across his face once he sat back down on his mat. "I'm sweating so bad."

You laughed a little, reaching into the diaper bag and pulling out one of the many cloths you had for Bentley, leaning over and pressing it to his forehead. "Thanks," Tyler laughed, and you smiled at him, moving into the crunches against the ball everyone else was doing.

Bentley made a grumpy noise though, and both you and Tyler looked over at him, you reaching for Bentley's hand, probably annoyed that he was no longer being held.

"He's probably mad I got sweat all over his stuff," Tyler said, "And him."

"No, he probably just wanted you to keep holding him," You told Tyler.

"You want to roll onto your belly?" you asked Bentley, moving your hands to your side so you could flip him over and he could lift his head up to look around.

"Look at those strong neck muscles," Tyler said, placing his hand gently on Bentley's back to help give him something to lift up against, but Bentley was now just content at looking around the room.

"Okay, now we're gonna lay down on our backs, and this move is really great for helping to rebuild your core, as well as helping to strengthen your back body which can becoming weaker during pregnancy," the instructor said, and then paused, "And Dad, this'll be great for you too, for helping to strengthen all the muscles you'll need for carrying baby."

You felt a rush of heat go through you with her words, your heart caught in your throat, and all you could do was notice yourself freezing up, before you very slowly tried to look at Tyler. But he seemed so focused on the exercise that you weren't even sure he'd heard what had been said, intended for him, but he did glance over at you, like he felt your eyes on him, giving you a little smile.

Tyler's foot kept brushing against your leg again as you moved into hip circles, sliding his bum across the mat so he could reach you and you tried glaring at him but he was looking straight up at the ceiling, playing like he was completely unaware.

"Babe," you whispered, and you could see the corners of his lips turn up just a little, but he kept doing it every time he had to extend his leg to his left.

You looked at him once more when you were doing glute bridges and Tyler seemed to extend his hips even further, his eyebrows raising towards you before he started giggling, and you ran your hand over your face, which was growing hot with embarrassment, trying not to laugh.

You smiled at Tyler again as you stretched, and then at Bentley, who was just blinking as he continued to take in his environment. Your fingers brushed Tyler's as you got up, rolling up your mats as you talked with some of the other moms you've met. When you'd gotten back from putting away your weights, Tyler had scooped Bentley up, with his cozy blanket wrapped around him.

"Is he sleeping?" you said softly, leaning your head to look at Bentley's face where it was resting against Tyler's chest, his eyes blinking still, but they stayed shut for longer and longer each time, his mouth opening and closing peacefully.

"Yeah, he was going like this, like he was gonna face plant," Tyler said, imitating Bentley, his head falling forward and then jolting awake. "I need to go home and take a nap, Mom, watching you guys workout made me really tired."

"Awe," you said, running your hand over Bentley's head, and he snuggled against Tyler even more. "K, let's get you home."

Even though Tyler had Bentley he didn't let you take the diaper bag either, wrapping his pinky finger around yours as you walked back to the car.

"Soo..." you said, looking over at him, "What did you think?"

"That was hard," he laughed.

"It was fun having you there, though," you said.

"Yeah, it was," Tyler said, pausing and leaning towards you as much as he could, and you pressed your cheek against his lips. You stayed outside the car as Tyler put Bentley in his carseat, not because you felt like you had to watch over him, but because you didn't really want to get in the car without him. "We should do more stuff like that."

"Like that?" You laughed, leaning against the car door, "Does that mean you're not coming back with me?"

"I don't really think it's intended for me," Tyler said, standing up now that he had Bentley buckled in, one hand in the car still, rubbing along Bentley's chest and offering him his pacifier because he always fussed right when he got in his car seat. "Like, it was cool, but I think it's more a mom/baby thing. But I would totally do a private workout with you."

"Oh, yeah?"

"And I don't mean sex."

"Yes, i know what you meant," you said.

"I know how you think," he said, brushing a stray strand of hair out of your face. "My trainer would love you though."

"Why's that?"

"Because you make me want to be better," he said simply, his hands resting on your hips,looking at you softly for a moment before he pressed his lips to yours. Your hands came up, resting on his shoulders. "I would totally love to do more stuff with the three of us though, like-"

"Yeah,me too," you said, smiling at each other for a moment, and then you eased up on your tiptoes, kissing him.

"I'm surprised you can still lift up like that, my calves are dead."

"I wanted to enough," you said, kissing him once more,and then he held you to him, hugging you with his lips in your hair, and rested your head against his chest, smiling when noticed that he had a drool mark from Bentley on his t-shirt,staying there together for a bit before you pulled apart, Tyler shutting the back door softly, and then opening the passenger side door for you, waiting until you were secure inside before he shut it, too.

A few days later you'd gotten what you'd been wishing for, when you'd decided to do one of the the things you'd read of things to do with a baby as young as Bentley which was to go to a baby-friendly movie showing, which meant that it had dimmer lights and quieter sound as well as places for putting strollers, and changing diapers, and warming up bottles. Mostly, though, you were just happy about the fact that you wouldn't have to worry about your baby starting to cry and annoying everyone else in the movie theatre.

You let Tyler pick out the movie earlier in the week when you'd suggested this to him, because you didn't really care what you watched, you just wanted to get out of the house, so he'd picked out the new John Wick movie which you knew absolutely nothing about.

"We should go sit in the back," Tyler said, as you stepped up the stairs in the otherwise empty theatre.

"Why?"

"So we can make out," he responded.

"Tyler," you laughed again, "there's gonna be families."

"Yeah, that's why we're going in the back," he said, smirking at you and then laughing, although he led you to a seat located more in the middle of the theatre, his hand going to the side of your arm as you walked, and then holding down the seat for you, finally settling on your bare knee once you'd sat down. You'd gotten there earlier than you'd probably had to, because sometimes it felt like it took forever to get out the door with Bentley, but other times it seemed like you had everything under control.

Tyler didn't seem to be complaining, though, resting his head against your shoulder as you held Bentley up in front of you so he could look at both you and Tyler.

"Are you excited to be at your first movie?" Tyler asked him, "Or are you gonna fall asleep?"

"Probably fall asleep," you said, "it's almost naptime."

"Yeah,I know," Tyler said, and then you felt him sigh against him.

"What?" You asked, "you're not gonna fall asleep, too, are you?"

"No," Tyler said, "it just sucks that I'm gonna have to pack when we get home."

"Well, I'll help you," you laughed, because he could be so dramatic at times.

"No, that's not what i mean. I mean, obviously you're gonna help me. But I don't want to go."

"What?" You asked, pulling back from where he was leaning against you, simultaneously moving Bentley so you were holding him in a seated position facing Tyler. "But I thought you loved going. And you were looking forward to spending with your dad."

"Yeah, but that was when i was technically single, so it'd be weird if I said I didn't want to do anything but hang out with you," he said, "But now that we're together, I just want to spend time with my favourite person."

Your expression softened, and you would have reached out and touched his face if you weren't holding Bentley, so you settled for leaning against him now. "You know we can't spend every single minute together, right?"

"No, I know," Tyler said, nuzzling against you, "But we just got to be together, I think I deserve to be a little selfish."

"I know, I don't really want you to go either," you said, "but you kind of have to."

"But why?" Tyler whined again, even though you knew he knew he was going to go, but he just had to make a scene about it.

"Because Texas Hockey Day is in Texas, not Ontario for some reason."

Tyler laughed, before saying, "Yeah, Americans are weird like that," he ran his finger up and down your arm, "I guess there's no way I can convince you to come with me?"

You almost wanted to say "yes". But you also knew that if you were there, that it would take away from what he was there to do, and the time that he'd already planned to have with his dad. "You're gonna be busy, and he doesn't have a passport yet, so we can't go."

"What? You have to have a passport for babies?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that's dumb," Tyler said, "I don't think I'd let you come anyways, though."

"But you just said you wanted me to!" you laughed.

"I do, but you've got this guy, and that's too much for just a couple of days," Tyler said, "so if you could just call everyone and let them them know why I can't come,that'd be great."

"Tyler," you laughed, and he grinned back at you.

"I know, I know, I'll go," Tyler said, kissing you softly on the lips. "I'm just gonna fucking miss you."

"I'm gonna -"

"Don't swear in front of the baby," Tyler interrupted.

You shook your head a little at him, "Just think about how much those kids would miss you if you weren't there "

"Yeah," Tyler said, a smile creeping onto his face, because you knew he actually really enjoyed getting to go, "What about about this kid, though?" Tyler asked, wiggling Bentley's foot. "Are you gonna miss me?"

"Of course he is," you said, Bentley reaching his arms out towards Tyler, so you support him, letting him lean in, and Tyler moved his face into Bentley's outstretched hands, letting Bentley hit him in the face, and then when Bentley’s hand came close, exaggerating like he was going to take a bite,and Bentley gave him a couple of big grins. "Oh, I'm gonna eat your fingers, you better watch out, " Tyler said, playfully nipping at Bentley's fingers and he squealed, still waving his hands in the air.

You smiled, pressing your lips to Bentley's temple. "Is that funny?"

"That's almost a laugh," Tyler said.

"He loves it," you said, leaning your head around so you could watch Bentley's face as Tyler interacted with him, resting your head against the back of the seat. Both of you kind of grew quiet when the previews started, but you weren't even really paying attention, not until Tyler said, "Oh, you want to go see The Lion King when it comes out, Bentley?"

You laughed looking at Bentley, his mouth open a little like he didn't know quite what to think about this and his eyes wide.

"I want to see it," you said.

"Yeah, me too, but if we take him then we look all cute and sweet and I don't look like some dude who loves the Lion King."

You laughed, still watching Bentley take in the screen.

"Those are lions," Tyler said to him, "They've got four legs and four paws like your puppies do at home, but they're not as cuddly."

Bentley cooed back at Tyler in response, and you smiled, Bentley's hand clutching your finger.

"Do you want me to open your M&M's for you?" Tyler asked, because you'd been talking talking about getting peanut M&M's since last night night, and you'd gotten them pretty much soon as Tyler had finished buying your tickets.

"No, I'm saving them."

"Saving them for what?" He laughed.

"For the movie, I don't want to finish them before its over."

"I can go get you more," Tyler laughed.

"No, I just want you to stay here," you said, "and I don't want to eat more than one package."

"And half my gummy bears?" Tyler asked.

"Maybe..." you said, and you felt Tyler snicker next to you, even though you knew he was going to end up sharing yours too, Bentley resting against you now as you and Tyler leaned against each other as you watched the next preview, you hand running over Bentley's head, Tyler's thumb moving back and forth over your hand.

"We should go somewhere," Tyler said softly.

"Hmmm?"

"Like when I get back, we should go away somewhere, like a little vacation," he said, tracing circles on your leg

"With Bentley?"

"No, we're gonna leave him by himself, of course we'd bring Bentley with us," Tyler scoffed, and then laughed.

"I didn't know what you meant.."

"I just meant," Tyler said, kissing you on the cheek, "That we could go somewhere, not far, but just somewhere where we could say that we're actually on vacation. And I could take a week off, and we could just hang out, and be alone, and relax, and not have any commitments."

"That sounds...kinda amazing," you said.

"Yeah?"

"Mhmm," you said, kissing him softly, "We should definitely figure something out."

"I can't wait," Tyler said, kissing you on the head, and then he looked down and Bentley, who was leaning against you but rubbing his eyes now.

"You getting sleepy?" you asked him.

"Do you want me to go heat up his bottle?"

"Yes, please," you said, bouncing Bentley now because he was starting to whine, as Tyler was making him bottle for him.

"Well, if you would have told me you were starting to get hungry earlier, I would have made this for you sooner, bud " Tyler said, as he stepped quickly back up the stairs. "Is this okay for him?"

He pressed the bottle against your wrist, like he always did, even though he'd only made it too hot once, and even then he'd known to let it cool down for a bit before he offered it to Bentley.

"Yes," you said, waiting for him to sit down before you passed Bentley over to him, Tyler easily taking him so he was laying down, moving to give him his bottle, which Bentley took and sucked on for a moment before he started crying. Tyler bounced him, and tried to soothe him and offer him the bottle again, but he kept moving his head away.

"You want Mama to feed you?" Tyler asked, sitting Bentley up and then passing him over to you, and Bentley just immediately started rooting for your breast, Tyler leaning forward to put the bottle back in the diaper bag. "I think he just wants the real thing."

"But you gave him a bottle last night and he was fine," you said, even though you pulled the top of your dress away so you could feed him.

"Yeah, babies aren't really knowing for being logical," Tyler said.

"It's probably just because this is different than his usual routine," you said, "and I think he has to concentrate more with the bottle and he's probably more distracted because we're not at home..."

"Plus he knows you're right there, he doesn't want settle for the bottle, I know, I'm not offended," Tyler said, stretching his arm around the back of your seat and getting more comfortable as the movie started.

"That's good," you said, relaxing yourself now, "I can't believe there's no one else here."

"Well, it's the afternoon, people are probably out in the sun."

"Yeah, I guess, I just thought there'd be other people here with their babies."

"It's pretty awesome to have this whole place to ourselves though," Tyler said, setting his feet up on the seat in front of him, crossing his ankles.

You laughed, and Tyler shrugged at you. "What, you can have your boobs out but I can't put my feet up?"

"Tyler," you laughed.

"At least we're alone so you don't have some creep staring at you," Tyler said, as you were adjusting Bentley,and then you found him very deliberately staring at your boob as if he was examining it

"Stop," You laughed, "just watch the movie."

"'K," Tyler said, his hand running over your shoulder and then rubbing over the back of your neck as you fed the baby, which was really relaxing. By the time Bentley was done and you were wrapping him up on his blanket and and cradling him, Tyler was ready with Bentley's pacifier, letting him take it, and then running his thumb over Bentley's cheek and then up and down between his eyebrows as you tried to rock him as best as you could. Luckily, though, he was pretty relaxed, so it wasn't long before he was peacefully. You held him until your arm was falling asleep, and then you whispered to Tyler than you were going to put him down in his stroller, and Tyler nodded, you carefully walked down the few stairs and then laid Bentley down on the basinette pair of his stroller, turning on the portable white noise machine and pulling the cover over it so the movie wouldn't bother him.

"Well, that worked out well," Tyler said to you when you got back, holding his arm out like wanted you to cuddle up with him.

"I know," you said. You'd expected to have to put him in his baby wrap during movie and figured he'd probably be alright like that, but since you had the whole theatre to yourself, you'd knew he'd probably have a better nap in his stroller, and you kind of liked you and Tyler leaning against each other, the part of your legs that were not covered by your dress or his shorts pressed naturally together, sneaking little kisses and smiles at each other, your hands laced together.

Part of you felt like you'd been together forever, like you'd built a whole life together, but somehow it felt new, and fresh, and exciting too. You knew, too, that you didn't really want to be that annoying couple who was kissing and seemed to always have to be connected to each other in public constantly. But you just couldn't help it. And, in a weird way, you felt like you suddenly believed that there was one person out there for everyone, and you felt just so happy, that you felt like you needed everyone to know just how truly loved they could feel, that they shouldn't settle for anything less than this.

You'd never felt so compelled just to kiss someone though, and it seemed he kind of felt the same way, because you just seemed to keep kissing for longer and longer each time, until you seemed to realize that you were supposed to be watching a movie. When his hand, which had previously been settled in yours came up to cup your jaw though, all bets were off, and you found yourself turning in your seat, seeking more of his lips. It wasn't long before it felt like your breathing and the sound of your heart beat were louder than the sound of the movie, and when your hand curled around his bicep, your broke apart to breathe, staring at each other in the dim light, his chest rising and falling and his hips swollen, his eyes dark. It seemed like everything slowed down for just two deep breaths, like you, were trying to collect yourself, but then you couldnt even think about anything at all, not when both his hands cupping your face, tilting your head just right, your lips moving together, his tongue sweeping along the bottom of your lips and you felt him sigh, kissing down your jawline, your then you were holding onto his chest and his shoulder, feeling his beard scratch the sensitive skin of your neck, soothing it with his lips, and then when you sighed, he seemed to press into your further, his hand settling on the curve of your chest, seemingly intent on sucking a hickey into the side of the neck, like you were teenagers, but you weren't gonna deny that it didn't have the desired effect, a rush of heat flowing through your body.

"Tyler..." you breathed.

"Yeah, I know, I know," he said breathlessly, his hands roaming now and peppering kisses all over the swell of your breasts. It was when he started sucking at the flesh that your hand went to the top of his hat moving his mouth away from from hat, and then he looked at you in question, his tongue licking his lips fixing his hat on his head, almost looking like he was wondering if he'd done something.

"Not there," you said, your voice sounding more strained than you expected sweeping your hand across your chest, "It's sensitive."

"Sorry," he murmured, dropping his head again and placing a kiss in the centre of your chest and then soothing his hand over side of your breasts and then his fingers wove through your hair, his lips pressing into yours softly, and then more firmly, and you were vaguely aware that you were in public, that you were somebody's mother, for god's sake, but with his hand just above your knee, inching further up, your dress bunching up and the callouses from his palms rubbing against your bare leg.

"Tyler," you said again, but this time he was looking at you devilishly as his hand slid further up, toying with the band of your panties where it stretched over your hip. "Wha---?"

"There's no one here," he said softly, and your head just felt lost in a rush of feelings and sensations, like you'd never been touched before, let alone touched by him.

"This feels dirty," you said, and then you almost wanted to cover your face because you felt just completely giddy, and high, and like you just couldn't believe this was real.

But then you looked in his eyes and it was.

"In a good way or a bad way?" He asked, smirking at you.

"I mean..." you said, and Tyler laughed, yet you moved your legs for him to continuing taking your panties off, which he then proceed to lean forward with, his hand still on your knee, shoving them into the pocket on the diaper bag and ....oh, you thought, your eyes drifting to where the light from the movie was fluttering over the top of the stroller.

"He's sleeping, he's fine," Tyler said in an even voice.

"I know," you said, and Tyler gave little smile, the scent of his body wash invading you senses when he leaned in to nibble at your neck again.

"Wanna make you feel good," he said deep in your ear, and then you felt your body shiver, his hand coming to ease up your inner thigh. "Are you relaxed?"

"Not at all," you laughed, and Tyler did too, his hand moving as your legs parted, running his fingers between your lips, hip fingers seeking out your clit, pressing against it. Your muscles tremble a little as his fingers swept down, collecting your arousal, and then using it as his fingers circled your clit.

"Little excited, huh?" Tyler asked, his voice teasing.

"As if you're not," you choked out, wanting to look down at him to check for yourself, but it was really hard to focus on anything other than him touching you, the sensation flowing into your muscles now, and your breath stuttering a bit. You were so quiet, you didn't think he could even hear you, but he seemed to be watching you so intently that he picked up on the change in the rise and fall of your chest, his mouth kissing at your neck and then your lips as he rubbed slow circles around your clit, the noise of the movie in the background fading away. When your hips pressed forward, Tyler's finger traced your entrance slowing pushing inside, and your jaw when lax with relief.

"Oh god," you moaned quietly letting your eyes fall shut, and when he changed the angle to brush against your g-spot , your legs tremble already, your head resting back, and then going to rest near his chest wanting to feel even closer to him, and it was all you could do to focus on the the sensation of his finger filling you, his thumb rubbing against your clit, pulling your lips between your teeth in an attempt not to lose all control. You felt like you were getting close, so sensitive it felt like you could feel every inch of your breasts against your bra.

You jolted upward though, your head putting together the band of light and the noise of the door opened, you face feel incredibly flushed as your tried to frantically to arrange your face and your hair in someway to look presentable, Tyler's hand just somehow calmly removing itself, smoothing your dress down and then just resting it in your lap like it'd been there the whole time.

You didn't dare look at Tyler, not when you say the man in the blue uniform shirt step into theatre, looking up in the seats like he was just checking i anyone was there, but you could just tell that Tyler was relaxed beside you, his eyes on the screen, like he was so absorbed he didn't even notice anyone else was there. The guy nodded at the both of you though, before he turned to leave, and you lifted your hand in a wave, and then you felt Tyler laugh next to you, knowing that he'd been paying attention the whole time. You felt frozen until you heard the door close, waiting you could listen to the footsteps going down the hallway. You relaxed again, looking at Tyler out of the corner of your eye as he pulled his hand from your lap, taking it to fix his hat, and then moving it to the back of his neck, relaxing and watching the movie, completely oblivious to you, and then your eyes widened, flicking over to him.

"What are you-?"

"Oh, what you wanted something?" Tyler laughed, and you could tell he was trying to be serious but failing miserably, his hand moving between your legs again, "I thought you were thinking we shouldn't do this here..."

"Tyler," you said, a little more firmly this time, beginning to feel a little annoyed because you'd been close, and then he'd just taking all stimulation away. For good reason, of course, but now that you were alone again...

"Don't worry, I would never leave you hanging," Tyler laughed, his hand moving right back where you wanted, and you let out a breathy little "oh god" as he slid his long middle finger inside you.

Tyler murmured a sound of appreciation, his finger curving upwards inside you, his thumb rubbing circles on your clit. All you hear was the sound of your breathing, your pussy throbbing around his finger. "More."

"Fuck," Tyler said, adding a second finger slowly, and then thrusting against your g-spot once your leg started trembling again. You needing something to grab onto, so you reached, gripping his thigh as your head thrashed back and forth. You wanted to tell him that you were close, to not stop, but you couldn't find words, not with his fingers fucking in and of you.

"C'mon, baby," Tyler said, his voice a rush of soft syllables in your ear, "Cum for me."

You shivered as you let go, you eyes shutting as you peaked, gripping Tyler's thigh so hard it was probably painful but you couldn't stop, his continuing ministrations extending your climax, his movements moving with you as you came down, several small courses of pleasure still going through you.

"That was so fucking hot," Tyler said, once you'd become too sensitive, you legs opening and then closing, and he'd taken the hint, his hand now resting against your thigh, your wetness from his fingers against your own skin and he pulled your lips to his, somehow managing to kiss you both deeply and yet softly at the same time, only pulling back because you were still trying to catch your breath.

Your legs felt wobbly, even sitting down especially so when Tyler raised his fingers to his mouth, pulling your juices off of them, his eyes sliding shut a little. You felt a little dazed him kissing your lips once more and then his arm wrapped around you, pulling your head to rest on his chest, his lips rested against your hair for a moment before he raised eyes back to the screen.

You realized that your hand was still on thigh, near his knee and you squeezed it a little, feeling him do the same to your arm in a silent "I love you."

Your cheeks rose in a smile against the hard muscles of Tyler's chest, your eyes drifting upwards to where you could see his cock outlined in his shorts. You feel his sharp intake of breath when your fingers brushed his thigh, moving your palm over his hard length.

"Babe..." Tyler mutter, and you shifted up to look at him, his expression looking a little dazed, and he gave you a weak smile. "You don't have to...."

"You don't want me to?" You asked, sliding your hand back and forth over him, and Tyler blinked, like he was just aware now.

"Oh, hell yeah, I want you to," he said, "I was just trying to be a gentleman, caring about your needs, and..."

"Oh?" you mused, his hand coming to clasp the back of your head, pulling you in for a kiss, your knuckles rubbing back and forth over him.

"Mmmbabe," Tyler said, already shifting his hips so you could free his cock, hissing when you wrapped your hand around him. You pumped him slowly a couple of times, loving the way his body reacted to your touch. Your eyes looked to the side as you thought, slowly removing your hand, and you heard Tyler huff out a little breath.

"Jesus christ," Tyler swore loudly, his eyes going wide as you move your hands between your own legs, slicking up your hands, and then you moved back to grip Tyler. "Fuck."

"Good?" You asked, feeling a little bit drunk with power, the way his head fell back a little a he sucked in a breath.

"So good," he said, his eyes connecting with yours, eyelids heavy. "You can....a bit harder."

You tighten your grip, adding your other hand, twisting it in opposition.

"Oh fuck yes," Tyler groaned. With the way his hand moved shakily down over your hair and your shoulder and your arm, his breath coming in soft pants and little moans escaping his lips, although you could tell he was trying to be quiet as you jerked him off, not sure if he was even aware of the fact he raising his hips to meet your strokes. When your hand trailed deeper into his shorts, cupping his balls, you on felt his thighs tense.

"I'm gonna cum," Tyler let out, and you subconsciously clenched your thighs together, watching his face as he released, face screwed up in pleasure and then his mouth fell open in a silent moan. You felt like you were as as breathless as he was, your hand rubbing back and forth over his contracted abs

You were hardly even aware of his hand tangling in your hair before he pulled you to him, ignored the fact that you both were a mess, kissing you like you were in bed, contemplating round 2, not in the middle of a movie theatre. You both seemed to calm down though, probably from the force of your orgasms, slowly separating, but keeping your faces close, meeting for one more chaste kiss, your arms pulling away from each other, heads pressed together, his arms rubbing up down your back a little

"Do you have any napkins in your bag?" Tyler asked softly, and you pulled back a little, contemplating it, starting to laugh.

"I lots of baby wipes," you said, leaning forward into his chest as you laughed.

"Are you done?" Tyler asked, when you lifted up.

"I think there's tissues in the side pocket," you said, laughing again.

"What is wrong with you?" Tyler laughed. "I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing you laugh all the time after have sex."

"It's a good thing," you said, "a really, really good thing."

"Good," Tyler said, kissing you softly as you sat back properly in your seat, looking ahead.

"I'm just gonna go check on him real quick," you said, kissing Tyler’s temple.

"'K," He smiled, you walking softly down the steps using your hand to pull back the cover, finding Bentley still sound asleep. When you got back to Tyler he was sitting with his eyes on the screen, extending his arm to wrap around you.

“Still sleeping?”

“Yeah, he’s out.”

No sooner did you sit down though that the credits started to roll, and Tyler laughed ``So, what did you think of the movie?”

“I….” you said, and Tyler started giggling, his hand rubbing over yours.

“Maybe we should stay for the next one and actually do what we came here for,” Tyler said, waving your M&M’s in front of you.

“‘K” you said, smiling and kissing him once.

“Still can’t keep your hands off me?” Tyler smirked.

“Nope,: you grinned.

“I’m totally okay with that,” he said, kissing you this time.

#wont go slowly #Tyler Seguin #tyler seguin imagines #Hockey Fanfiction #hockey imagines #hockey imagine #nhl fanfiction #nhl imagines #nhl imagine

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