#//lydia loves her son so much

[archer-antiope]

also i cannot express how much lydia barkrock means to me. i love that woman.

[charminglygrouped]

For the past several years (and perhaps longer) in the P&P fandom I've seen a lot of people who want to rehabilitate Mrs. Bennet: like, sure, she's uncouth and seems greedy, but it's because she cares so much about her daughters' futures; her situation is actually really stressful and uncertain and she's powerless to change it and her husband makes fun of her, and so it's natural that it would cause her to be anxious all the time; maybe she doesn't have the intelligence or social awareness to understand that her behaviour is actually harming her daughters' prospects, but at least her heart is in the right place.

I'm usually not the type of person who argues that fandom is actually being too nice to a female character, but in this case I don't buy the counter-narrative (which I think is popular enough at this point to be fanon / a narrative in itself) about Mrs. Bennet.

For one thing, she was never really powerless in this situation. These people are rich even for gentry. Mr. Bennet's income was always good, at 2,000 pounds per annum (even though I can't believe he isn't neglecting some practices that could raise it higher). Mrs. Bennet had 4,000 pounds from her parents and a further 1,000 from Mr. Bennet. Invested in the 4 per cents (for example), this is 200 pounds per year in pin money that Mrs. Bennet could spend without touching the principle of her dowry, and without affecting Mr. Bennet's income. This is more than some people's entire yearly incomes.

The picture of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet that we get in P&P is not of people who are helpless against their circumstances, but of people who are extraordinarily neglectful. We're told that:

Mr. Bennet had very often wished, before this period of his life, that, instead of spending his whole income, he had laid by an annual sum, for the better provision of his children, and of his wife, if she survived him. [...] When first Mr. Bennet had married, economy was held to be perfectly useless; for, of course, they were to have a son. This son was to join in cutting off the entail, as soon as he should be of age, and the widow and younger children would by that means be provided for. Five daughters successively entered the world, but yet the son was to come; and Mrs. Bennet, for many years after Lydia’s birth, had been certain that he would. This event had at last been despaired of, but it was then too late to be saving. Mrs. Bennet had no turn for economy; and her husband’s love of independence had alone prevented their exceeding their income.

We also know that the "continual presents in money which passed to [Lydia] through her mother’s hands," plus her allowance and food, amount to about 90 pounds per year. Rather than saving up from the beginning in case the entail is not broken, rather than beginning to save once it's clear a son will not arrive, rather than making Jane's dowry the full 5,000 from her mother (which would be something) and saving up for the younger girls' dowries thereafter—which is what would be typical, and that's why Lady Catherine was so shocked that all the girls were out at once—Mrs. Bennet's housekeeping, dress, the girls' allowance, presents of money over and above their allowance, plus whatever Mr. Bennet is spending money on (and other expenses relating to servants, carriages, maintenance &c. which are unavoidable), add up to their entire income. The only reason why Mrs. Bennet doesn't overspend even that is that that's where Mr. Bennet puts his foot down.

Mrs. Bennet is actively harming her daughters' prospects, not even of marriage, but of living respectably if they don't marry, because she doesn't have the temperance not to spend all of the income that is allotted to her. It is the role of the woman in a marriage to take charge of the housekeeping, servants, cooking, furniture, and all expenses relating thereto (plus certain attentions to her tenants and any living in genteel poverty in the area, though presumably this will depend on her income and whether there's a parish church with a parson's wife who's doing some of these things). She's an adult who should be competent to manage these things in a reasoned way without needing to be dictated to.

It is supposed to be the role of the woman in a marriage to take charge of her daughters' education—and yet Mrs. Bennet did not hire a governess, and Elizabeth says that she didn't spend much time teaching her daughters anything (it's not clear to what degree she's educated herself). Granted, the girls did have masters—but, from the sounds of things, that was only if they requested them. No one was required to learn much of anything, which will probably further harm the marriage prospects of the girls who "chose to be idle."

I think the "point" of Mrs. Bennet is that she is one half of one type of bad marriage which the novel illustrates, in contrast with the Gardiners' marriage. These marriages are two possible models for the Bennet daughters to look to. At one point, Elizabeth's prospective marriage is explicitly compared to her parents', with her in the role of her father: Mr. Bennet says "My child, let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect your partner in life" (emphasis original).

We might wonder whether Elizabeth saw herself potentially in the role of her father, in a marriage that was very intellectually unequal, when she rejected Mr. Collins; or whether she also saw herself in the role of her mother, married to a man who insults and doesn't respect her, when she rejected Mr. Darcy. Ultimately, she accepts Mr. Darcy after she realises that he is nothing like her father; that he is diligent in attending to his responsibilities, and that he does evidently respect her mind.

This isn't me defending Mr. Bennet, who is also a bad parent and a bad spouse. I do, however, find it a little disturbing when people suggest that Mr. Bennet is at fault for not controlling or curtailing his wife. His wife is a grown woman. Surely we don't actually believe that a situation where a man is legally in complete control over his wife, merely because he is a man and she is a woman, is in any way natural, moral, or just? (This also goes for people who suggest that Mr. Bingley needs to get his sister 'in line' 😬😬😬.)

Mrs. Bennet should be competent to manage her household and her daughters. Given that she's not, yes, Mr. Bennet, according to Georgian and Victorian ideas of the role of a man in a marriage, "should" have stepped in and started dictating to her. But I don't really think that's what Austen is suggesting went wrong here. The models of good marriages we have—the Gardiners, the Bingleys and Darcys after their weddings—are all ones in which the women were basically sensible people to begin with. In the latter two cases, we are told of particular ways in which the men stand to benefit from some mental quality of their future spouse (Elizabeth's good humour and ease in company; Jane's steadiness and determination).

The ideal which some Georgians had of a husband's role being to shape his wife's intellect doesn't seem to be what's being advocated here. If Mr. Bennet made a mistake, it was in marrying a silly, selfish, ill-tempered woman to begin with, not in failing to browbeat her into submission once he found out that she was silly, selfish, and ill-tempered. The idea is that you should choose your spouse carefully. But that message doesn't work if Mrs. Bennet is just a woman in a difficult situation who has her heart in the right place.

[voltronisanobsession]

A small teen wolf thought I had

I’m really missing season 1 Stiles, so let’s imagine him having a crush on reader😍

We all know how Stiles had an enormous crush on Lydia, it was absolutely devastating tbh. Like this dude was lowkey devoted to her💀💀

So what if a new student (reader) moved into town and it’s love at first sight for him. He’d bump into you after rambling to Scott about whatever was on his mind and knocks your binder and books to the ground.

Helping you pick up your stuff, right when he’s giving you your notebook, he’d look up and just. Stare. Cuz ZOOWEEMAMA YOURE ABSOLUTELY STUNNING IN HIS EYES

You’re busy thanking him and apologizing for the collision, waiting for him to let go of the notebook, voice slowly fading out when you notice him just staring at you with his mouth slightly open.

“Thanks for helping me. Can I have my book?”

“Uh huh.”

“…”

“…”

“Stiles, you know you have to let go of the notebook.” Scott is trying his best not to slam his head in a locker when his friend still doesn’t let go LMAO

Your chuckle snaps him out of whatever daze he was in, causing him to blush and apologize awkwardly. You’d smile at him and in good nature, joke about it and walk away, leaving him in awe.

Most people would normally give him the stink eye, but seeing how you joked about it made his heart flutter a bit.

Everything is HISTORY after that. If you have any classes with Stiles, you already KNOW he’s gonna try and sit as close to you as possible. Teacher assigns partner or group projects? He’s springing out of his seat and going to you first. You both have the same lunch period? He’s inviting you to sit with him and his friends. You’re having trouble with a certain class? Man, he’s already offering to help you after school, you’ll nail that test with flying colors!

You just get him! You like his sarcasm and MIRACULOUSLY understand his random references from movies and video games! With all the time you guys spend together, his crush on you grows more and more.

You appreciate how Stiles is so interested in the things you like and dislike. You love how he asks why you enjoy a certain movie despite the terrible reviews it got. Why you dislike an artist he just began listening to. You both love the same things, but have different opinions on everything, every conversation flows so naturally with him that you can’t help but develop a crush on him too.

You’ve never met anyone as eccentric and energetic as him, he never fails to bring a smile to your face teehee

Stiles is the type to remember every little, seemingly insignificant, thing about his crush. When your birthday rolls around, this dude has so many gifts ready😭 a warm feeling fills you when you open one gift to see it’s an item you’ve mentioned in a passing convo yall had MONTHS ago

He’s so sweet and kind with you too like don’t get me started. Stiles just enjoys being around you and seeing you happy makes him happy. SEASON 1 STILES IS THE DEFINITION OF PUPPY LOVE LIKE UGGHH

Takes you out on late night drives, barges into your room through the window with any takeout food you’ve been craving. Hed even take you out on a mini ‘date’ to the local arcade!!! his dad sees how much you mean to his son and is super happy that Stiles is happy. Loves when you come over to study with him, he’s always telling you stories about when stiles was younger (he would definitely cover your ears with his hands and speak loudly over his dad LMAO)

I’m telling y’all, stiles having a crush on you is the cutest thing ever, especially if you reciprocate his feelings!!!When you guys get together, cuz it’s not a matter of if with his friends, you’re the ultimate duo.

He’d confess his feelings for you in the most cheesiest way ever, probably during or after a school dance cuz why not.

UGH I NEED TO WRITE MORE STILES STUFF I LIVE HIM SM‼️ HE WAS NEVER THE SAME AFTER SEASON 3😭😭😭

[natsvenom]

Hello! I'm new on your blog and I was wondering if you could do a Derek Hale x reader. Where reader and Derek have a child who is learning how to talk so when the child call for reader they make kissing faces because the child always saw their dad kissing their mom and one day where the pack come to Derek's loft for whatever reason and when the child saw stiles they growl or say wolf ( because they always hear stiles say sourwolf) and when the child see Peter they just hit or try to bite Peter when he takes them in his arms. Just something domestic, a little bit chaotic and fluff please.

Of course! I tried my best with this one, but I'm not really sure how it came out, so let me know if you like it! | @@bakakara666

Snuggles & Snarles | Derek Hale x Reader

Summary: The pack comes over to see your son, Eli, and things get a little chaotic.

Warnings: None! Just fluff <3

Requested: Yes | No

Chaos was not an uncommon visitor in Beacon Hills. Usually, you were used to the common threat of some unknown supernatural creature trying to kill you and your friends. Luckily this time, the only chaos you had to put up with was the babbled attempts of speech from your baby boy, Eli.

The whole pack was gathered at the loft, paying extra attention to Eli. They claimed they had come to see you and Derek, but you both knew the truth. Ever since you two welcomed Eli into your home, the pack had been over almost daily. You couldn’t blame them though, your son was adorable.

Scott and Stiles were sitting on the floor, saying random words to Eli in a baby voice to get him to speak. Eli had stumbled on his feet, toddling over to you, putting his hands in the air for you to pick him up.

“Traitor,” Stiles mumbled, pouting and crossing his arms over his chest like a child. Scott smiled, admiring how much your son had loved you.

“Hi, baby.” You said softly, picking your son up in your arms. Derek kissed your cheek, causing Eli to giggle. He puckered his lips, making kissy faces at the both of you. Scott and Stiles busted out laughing, finding the whole interaction amusing. Peter even smiled a little bit. As much as a pain in the ass Peter could be, he loved you and Derek a lot, and maybe Eli just a little bit more.

Lydia walked over to the both of you sticking her arms out for Eli. He instantly leaned over, going straight into Lydia’s arms, “Aw, do you love your auntie Lyds? I think you do!” Lydia said in a high-pitched baby voice. Derek rolled his eyes playfully, Lydia was probably the biggest baby hog the world would ever see.

You looked around the loft, smiling to yourself. You loved your chaotic little family and you wouldn’t trade any of them for the world. Derek put his arms around you, pulling you into him. It was moments like these that made everything you had all gone through worth it.

Stiles sat down by Lydia on the couch, pinching Eli’s cheeks. Eli growled at him, causing Stiles to throw his hands up defensively, “He started it.” Stiles said. Eli stuck his tongue out, spitting on Stiles’ face. Stiles had a disgusted look on his face, slowly wiping away the saliva.

“Babies… disgusting.” He muttered.

“Aww, are you disgusting? I don’t think so, Stiles is just a grumpy grouch.” Lydia cooed, bouncing Eli in her arms. Stiles rolled his eyes, looking the other way.

“Yeah, don’t be such a sourwolf Stiles.” You teased, remembering all the times Stiles had said that to Derek. He narrowed his eyes at you, giving you the finger. You sent him a playful smile in return.

“Alright, I think someone wants to see their uncle Peter,” Peter said, snatching Eli out of Lydia’s arms. Lydia scoffed, getting up from her place on the couch to chase Peter down for Eli.

Eli started biting and scratching at Peter, “Looks like someone takes after their father a little too much, huh?” Peter joked, referring to the time Derek had killed Peter by slashing his throat. You shook your head, watching as Peter tried to get Eli to quit biting him.

“Exactly, he doesn’t like you. Now hand him over.” Lydia argued, attempting to take Eli back from Peter.

“He likes me better than you.” Peter scoffed, dodging Lydia’s grabby hands.

Lydia gasped, “He does not!” Lydia protested.

“Put him down and see which one of you he walks to,” Scott suggested.

“Fine,” Peter said, setting Eli down in the middle of the room. Lydia and Peter instantly began calling out for Eli, patting their hands on their knees, signaling for Eli to come to them. Eli looked around the room, slightly confused. He started running in Peter’s direction, his arms in the air.

“Yes! I told you—”

Eli ran straight past Peter and up to Derek, “Dada!” Eli said, grabbing onto his dad’s leg. Derek bent down, picking up Eli into his arms. Peter looked back, looking at the baby offended.

“Guess we know who his favorite isn’t.” Derek taunted, sending Peter a smirk.

[deconstructthesoup]

Personal Ranking of the Fantasy High Moms, From Worst to Best:

Arianwen Abernant: -19999/10. She's not as bad as Angwyn, since she's convinced herself she's a good mother, but her "I just want the best for you" shtick isn't any better, and the fact that she's ignorant about how horrible she is doesn't make up for years of neglect. And she also attempted to rope her daughters into raising a being of pure nightmares because she lost her status, so.

Donna Applebees: 0/10. Conservative, racist, judgmental, only loves her kids conditionally... you get the gist. Also, she's absolutely a Karen.

Hallariel Seacaster: 3/10. Yes, I know, she's a MILF, she's got such an iconic vibe, she's a badass with a sword, but none of that excuses years of being emotionally absent from your son's life. She's not a bad person, but she unfortunately doesn't know how to be a mom. Sorry, Hallariel. I wish I could rank you higher.

The Last Phoenix: 5/10. Bird. She's a bird. We don't know enough about her except for the fact that she is the last phoenix, she started out as a "haha Arthur Aguefort is a crazy motherfucker" gag, and she gave us the incredible gift that is Ayda. I cannot rank her fairly, but given that she is Ayda's mom, she goes on the list.

Roz Last-Name-Unknown: 6/10. Same deal with Gorbag---we don't know enough about her for me to properly rank her, but we do know that she was a teen mom, and she's made the choice to reconnect with her son and be in his life. Props for that.

Sandralynn Faeth: 7.5/10. I am ranking her realistically, but let it be known that I love her so much. She is such a beautiful example of a flawed person who consistently tries to be better, and even though she does relapse into old behaviors, she's still growing---and outside of the serial cheating (that is a response to trauma, by the way) and occasional lapses in social skills, she's a pretty damn good mom, all things considered.

Cathilda Ceili: 8/10. She's the parent that Fabian needed, even if he didn't always realize it. She's sweet, she's caring, and if anybody hurts her boy, she will fucking rock your shit. (Also, the reveal of Cathilda being an incredibly fearsome and ruthless pirate outside of Solace was one of my favorites.)

Wilma Thistlespring: 9/10. She's a caring and supportive mom who writes songs, is sex-positive, and loves her son! Again, she does need to recognize when she's embarrassing Gorgug, and she needs to recognize that he's gotta learn how to be angry, but still! We all love her!

Lydia Barkrock: 9.6/10. While she doesn't quite get the full score due to the fact that her son was briefly an ass, it clearly was not her fault, and from what we've seen of her, she is a fantastic mom. She's a badass disabled powerhouse who cooks incredible spreads and cares about her son and his friends a lot. I love her a lot. She's amazing.

Sklonda Gukgak: 10/10. She took that spot in her very first scene, where she poured water in her cereal so Riz could have milk in his, and she's been holding it up ever since. Despite the fact that she's constantly swamped with work, Sklonda is literally one of the best moms you could ever ask for. She deserves the world and it's a constant injustice that she's not getting it.

Bonus: Garthy O'Brien, while having transcended gender and therefore not being able to fit into either of the "mom/dad" rankings, is an 11/10 parent---not just to Ayda, but to everyone younger than them who they've essentially adopted. Words cannot express my adoration for this person.

[naughtyneganjdm]

Love's Second Chance: A Holiday Reunion - Chapter 3

Summary: Joel and Y/N force themselves to get over their tension while they spend time together with their children at the Christmas event. Talking about their past awakens feelings inside of both them that they haven't felt for each other in a very long time.

Characters: Joel Miller, the reader (OC), Negan Smith (mentions), Lydia, Carl Grimes, Peter, Elizabeth, etc.

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60501985/chapters/154729198

Warnings: 18+, Swearing, Smut, Unprotected P in V, Rough Sex, Car Sex, Public Sex, Grumpy Joel, Loads of Angst, Bickering, Spanking, Slight Choking, etc.

Notes: This chapter starts sweet, but then it just becomes absolutely filthy. Lots and lots of smut. There are also incredible amounts of angst that are in this chapter with the two characters talking about their past together. There is NO Negan in this chapter, but they do talk about him a little bit. Thanks for reading!

Things were quiet. And not the comfortable kind of quiet. When Joel agreed to bring Y/N tonight, he never really considered how weird it would be having her here. It had been a while since they had spent time together like this out with the kids. Sure, Peter and Elizabeth brought two of their friends. Which meant they were distracted, but that also meant that it left Y/N and Joel alone together. Because of how things had been, Joel was uneasy with talking. Then again, he wasn’t really good with talking to begin with. But having an in-depth conversation with his ex-wife didn’t seem like it would be too easy.

“I was surprised that you accepted the offer to come tonight,” Joel walked side by side with Y/N with their children and their friends in front of them. On the ride to the historic village, they didn’t really talk much. The children did most of the talking and they just listened. Once they got in, things were awkward with the silence so Joel did his best to start a conversation. “I thought you would be too tired.”

“You’re surprised that I wanted to spend more time with our children?” she smirked, gazing over at him when Joel rolled his eyes with his own ignorance. Of course she would jump at more time with Peter and Elizabeth. Especially during the holidays. She was a good mother that loved her children very much so thinking back on it, that comment was kind of stupid. Joel shoved his hands into his pockets and she could tell that he was uncomfortable. “I was surprised that you allowed them to ask me to come. I realize that there are things you like doing with them alone.”

“They were pretty insistent,” Joel retorted with a frown, nodding forward toward where there children were looking. The village had old homes and buildings that were decorated to match the year and location of what it would have been like at that time for Christmas. Each section was lit up differently. The children seemed more interested in it than Joel did since he was trying to strike a conversation. “They want us to spend more time together as a family.”

Hearing him refer to the four of them as a family was strange because that wasn’t typical for Joel. Especially over the last few years. There was a clear separation between them with the children and that was something she had grown used to.

“I hate to admit it, but I ate most of the cookies you sent over,” Joel informed her with a weak smile seeing the amusement in Y/N’s eyes. Changing the subject to something more innocent seemed like the only way he knew how to keep the conversation positive. “Once I start eating them, it’s just addictive and I can’t stop.”

“And that’s why you’re getting soft,” Peter blurt out, turning on his heel hearing his father talking about the sweets that Y/N had sent home with him. Joel was surprised that Peter was paying attention to his comments at all since their son had a friend with him. Reaching out, Peter poked Joel in the stomach causing a scoff to fall from Joel’s throat. All four of the children giggled at Peter’s comment. Even though it was dark, Y/N imagined that Joel’s cheeks flushed over with red from embarrassment.

“Just wait until you’re older like me,” Joel grumbled stepping forward to place his hands in over Peter’s shoulders to give them a squeeze. “Sure, you’re skinny now, but once you get to my age you’ll see that it’s not as easy to keep the weight off. I reckon my body is average in the belly area.”

“Not if you keep up eating those cookies like you have,” Peter pointed out with a simple shrug, still working to tease his father. This was their attitude though. Peter and Joel would always give each other a hard time. In fact, Peter reminded her a lot of what Joel was like when he was that age. Except, Peter wasn’t as angry or closed off. Their banter drew Elizabeth’s attention and she also seemed amused with the joke that Peter pulled on Joel.

“Do you think I’m getting fat?” Joel directed the question at Elizabeth, who immediately shook her head and raised her hands up. Trying to opt out of the conversation all together. Elizabeth had no interest in getting into this or getting in trouble with Joel. “Come on Ellie, you’ve always been my biggest sidekick.”

“I’m taking no part in this,” Elizabeth choked back on her words, doing her best to hold her laugh in. All of the children seemed entertained that Joel was getting so worked up over the idea of being softer in the abdomen area. “I fully believe you still could knock out all my friends’ fathers. Does that help?”

“Yeah Mr. Miller,” Elizabeth’s friend blurt out, her head nodding when she gazed back at Joel. Throwing her arm up in the air, she pretended that she was flexing and scrunched up her face. “You have got those guns. So trust me, no one is going to be looking if you have a little bit of a tummy. They are going to be totally distracted by your arms.”

“Thanks Lydia,” Joel huffed, not certain of how he should feel about hearing that. There was the creeped-out factor that Elizabeth’s friends were checking out his body in any fashion. What had started as a joke had become successful in making Joel feel awkward. Especially since they had all confirmed he was a bit squishy in the middle. “I think.”

“Plus a lot of people really like your butt,” Lydia attested causing Peter to groan out at Elizabeth’s friend drawing attention to Joel’s body again. Y/N laughed at the outburst from the seventeen-year-old, noticing that Joel was incredibly embarrassed. “It stands out. And most people very much enjoy looking at it.”  

“That’s not funny,” Joel countered looking over at Y/N who was trying to bite back on her laugh. Just the thought that young girls were scrutinizing his body made Joel uneasy. “You shouldn’t be looking at my…at my butt.”

“Yes, please refrain from talking about my dad’s ass,” Peter scoffed out with a disgusted sound hearing his friend that he brought with him giggling. “Carl, it’s not funny. You wouldn’t want me talking about your mom’s breasts.”

“Peter!” Y/N corrected her son’s behavior watching Peter’s arms immediately fly up in defense of himself. The expression that Peter gave her reminded her of Joel when he was younger and did something cheeky. It almost wasn’t fair how much both Peter and Elizabeth looked so much like Joel. “Don’t say that.”

“I’m just saying Mr. Miller is one of the dads we actually enjoy looking at,” Lydia addressed the situation and Elizabeth eagerly tried to hush her friend. “It’s a compliment. You should feel honored to know that.”

“I don’t…I just…” Joel shook his head, noticing that they had stopped in front of one of the old homes that they were allowed to go into. How the hell was he supposed to respond to that? There was no easy way to respond to something weird like that. “I don’t.”

“Come on,” Elizabeth groaned, dragging Lydia into the house with Peter and Carl following not far behind. By the expression over Elizabeth’s face? She was embarrassed by what Lydia had said too. Under their breaths, the two girls seemed to bicker with one another, but Lydia didn’t seem angry. In fact? She seemed amused.

“You’re one of the hot dads,” Y/N teased Joel, nudging him with her shoulder hearing him groan out. This was not a situation that Joel was comfortable with. And he was probably thankful that they were taking their time in following the children into the home they were walking through. It kept some space from Lydia who had a hard time not saying exactly what was on her mind. “It is a compliment in some fashion.”

“I’m one of the younger dads,” Joel corrected her with a grunt, keeping far back enough so that when he whispered to Y/N only she could hear him. “You’ve seen most of the dads at the school functions. Most of them are a lot older than me. We had Elizabeth when I was twenty. So of course they are going to be drawn to the younger father.”

“Right, and even those that are your age aren’t as good looking as you,” she reminded Joel, lifting her hand to playfully pinch at his cheek. The glare she got from Joel’s dark brown eyes had her laughing out. There was a lot of color in his cheeks expressing just how mortified this whole thing made him. “I’m sorry. I think this is great that you are so embarrassed.”

“Well, I got called fat and then found out that seventeen-year-olds are checking me out. I don’t know how to handle that,” Joel professed, his hand placing in over the lower part of his abdomen seeing her eyes follow his movement. “I used to be ripped when we were younger.”

“I remember,” she noted with a smirk. For a long time Joel was slender and chiseled. As a teen and a young adult, Joel was very athletic and proud of his body. It was hard to forget what he looked like when they had first hooked up. Ahead of them, she saw that the children were surrounding a demonstration in the kitchen section of the house they were in. It was someone dressed accurate to the era showing how they would have made chocolate during that time period. Since they were still in the back, she reached up to playfully squeeze at Joel’s bicep. The movement surprised him, his dark eyes narrowing when he dropped his head down to look at her. “I think your arms are much nicer now. You went from a twink to a daddy.”

“Twink?” Joel repeated what she said, amusement flooding his features. Hearing something like that from her was entertaining. Especially since they hadn’t talked much in a very long time. “I’ll take that one as a compliment.”

“You should,” she still found herself amused that the moment got so awkward between all of them. Instead of continuing on the conversation, she moved in behind the children to watch the demonstration. They allowed someone to volunteer to try and they ended up picking Peter after Elizabeth said no. Of course Elizabeth teased Peter while he did it, but it seemed like Peter was enjoying this more as a teenager than he did when he was a child when they’d bring him here. After they were done, they headed out of the house. Everything was so dark which made it hard for Y/N to notice the patch of ice that was right beneath the last step out of the house. It had Joel reaching out to hook his arm around her waist to keep her on her feet. “Thanks.”

“No worries,” Joel hooked his arm with hers to keep a hold on her so she couldn’t fall. “That’s winter for you. Hidden ice, just waiting for you to fall and break something.”

“Second time I almost died today,” Y/N informed Joel knowing that Tommy had been the cause of the one earlier where Negan saved her. “This morning your brother was supposed to be holding a ladder while I was putting lights up and instead, he ran off after his crush. A gust of wind came through and almost killed me.”

“Tommy has a crush?” Joel probed and she was surprised that was the first thing that came to mind for him. “Sorry, he just…he hasn’t said anything to me about it.”

“Yeah. There is a girl that caught his eye. They are having their first date tonight,” she informed Joel who looked confused considering this was something Tommy obviously never spoke to him about. “I helped Tommy pick his outfit.”

“How?” Joel’s face scrunched up, trying to figure that out. Considering Tommy lived in the same house as him and Y/N had never showed up to the house, he found that hard to believe.

“He sent me a few photos and I told him what would look the best on a first date,” she explained to him seeing the sense of jealousy that flooded Joel’s body. It was hard to miss. Joel didn’t like to hear that she knew something he didn’t with his little brother. “Don’t worry about it Joel. I just…am the more romantic one and I think he views me like a mother.”

“You’re not his mother,” Joel clarified, his eyebrows bouncing up. How quick Joel was to remind her of that made her feel bad. Maybe she wasn’t Tommy’s mother, but she was the closest thing he had to one. She had been his adopted parent longer than Tommy and Joel’s parents had actually been in Tommy’s life.

“Yeah, I know that. But I did adopt him too,” she pointed out hearing Joel sigh in response to that comment. A lot of the time it seemed like Joel had forgotten that she adopted Tommy as soon as she could in order to help Joel keep Tommy from going into foster care. They had to prove that they were a family that worked well together. So she had been right there with Joel to be a good parent figure for Tommy. “I helped you raise him, so I’m the closest thing he has to a mom and a mother figure is the kind of person you want to talk to when you are having your first date.”

Joel was quiet. He didn’t know how to respond to the news. Especially since he lived in the same house with Tommy and he had no idea.

“I’m okay by the way,” she interrupted his thoughts since he hadn’t spoke of the fact she almost died. That statement had Joel’s face scrunching up, confused. “No scratches or anything.”

“I assumed you were okay since you were here,” Joel acknowledged, tightening his arm around hers while they walked together. The children headed up to the next building where it was full of a bunch of activities for them to do. Joel and Y/N stood in the back since it was more so a thing for younger people anyways. “Who is his crush?”

“Maria,” she educated Joel about the woman that his brother was interested in. Joel’s face scrunched up like he was trying to picture a face to go with the name. “It’s the mayor’s daughter. Apparently they ran into each other at the diner one night. They talked to each other all night and really hit it off. I guess they have been going there every night since. He seems really hooked on this girl.”

“That’s not good,” Joel claimed, loosening his grasp on her arm now that they were inside away from any ice. “The mayor hates Tommy. Always did. If he fucks up with this girl…”

“I don’t think he will,” she suggested knowing from the way that Tommy was talking about Maria that he really seemed to like her. “It’s not like Tommy’s past fascinations. You should have seen the way he lights up about her when he talks about her. It’s sweet.”

“My brother falls in love fast,” Joel reasoned with her, grumbling under his breath when she started to walk toward a hallway at the far corner of the building they were in. Following her not far behind, Joel could see that she was looking at the photos that lined the wall. “I don’t understand why he hid this from me. I’m his brother.”

“Maybe he thought you would have tried to persuade him not to do it,” she hinted since Joel was already being negative about things as it was. “I think he just wanted to feel good about this whole thing.”

“Are you saying that you think I make him feel bad?” Joel pointed toward the center of his chest, but instead of answering him she gave him a look that made him huff. “What?”

“Nothing,” she lied looking back to the wall and pointed toward the photo that she was looking at. Considering how heated he was getting about Tommy, she was attempting to change the conversation. The entire hallway was lined up with photos of the village’s staff from each year the Christmas event took place. From the very start all the way to the year before this one. “They put the photos of everyone who works each year in here. This was our first year.”

Stepping forward, Joel’s eyes narrowed when he gazed up on the photo that she was pointing at. Chuckling Joel found himself, Y/N and Negan in the back row of the photo, “I can’t believe our daughter thought I was lying when I said he was one of my best friends.”

Tapping his finger over Negan’s face, he saw Y/N leaning in focusing on the photo where Negan had both his arms wrapped around their shoulders pulling them in closer. It made Y/N smile as she looked to Joel again, “You should have seen her face when I pulled out the photos. How old were we again here?”

“You and Negan were sixteen. If you remember my family hooked us up with the jobs to make us feel a sense of responsibility,” Y/N noticed that the children were moving over toward them after they finished what they were doing. All four of them had candy canes in their mouths when they stepped in around them to look at the photo they were looking at.

“Hey, is this you Mr. Miller?” Lydia pointed toward the photo of Joel seeing him nod. “Look at you. Chiseled jawline and everything.”

“And if you look right next to me,” Joel urged his daughter forward so she could see that Negan was between him and Y/N in the photo. “There is the man that my daughter thought I wasn’t friends with.”

“How was I supposed to know you and mom were best friends with Negan Smith? It’s not like either one of you talked about it,” Elizabeth ranted and the surprised expressions on both Lydia and Carl’s faces drew them to both step forward to tip on their toes to eye over the photo.

“That’s Negan Smith?” Carl seemed shocked when he pointed at the younger version of Negan. “Holy shit. You guys are like cool by association.”

“I was a really good baseball player back then too,” Joel announced hearing Carl laugh before silencing himself when he noticed that Joel was offended. “I was. I was really good at football too. I got a full ride to a college with how good I was.”

“Which college did you go to?” Lydia was curious when she looked back at Joel and he suddenly felt small when she asked him that. Shoving his hands into his pockets, Joel seemed to shut down and Y/N picked up on it immediately.

“Joel’s parents passed away and he had to take care of Tommy,” Y/N answered for Joel hearing him clear his throat uneasily. Why Joel was embarrassed about that always confused Y/N. It was something to be proud of. Joel was a good brother. A good family man. Explaining that to people always seemed to make Joel feel bad. “Joel gave up his life for his little brother.”

“And me,” Elizabeth breathed so quietly that maybe only Y/N heard that.

“You were the hotter one back then,” Lydia suggested with an amused breath, completely ignoring the part about Joel giving his life up for someone else. Moving to the side, they went to the next photo and then found the three of them in the photo again. “How long did the three of you work here during Christmas?”

“I worked here until I was twenty-two,” Joel answered, shifting on his feet when he thought back on their history. “Negan stopped working here when he was eighteen because, well…I’m sure you know his history.”

“Where is he?” Carl stammered when they got to the third photo that included them in it. This time Y/N and Joel were up front, but there was no Negan. Y/N stepped in beside the photo and pointed to Negan who was at the opposite end of the photo pressing a kiss against a woman’s cheek. “Oh! He found love!”

“We both did,” Joel responded looking at the way Y/N clung to him back then. It made a breath catch in his throat when he looked over at her. “That school year, the two of us started dating and Negan started dating the woman that would become his wife.”

“Why aren’t the four of you together?” Peter was curious since he really hadn’t heard this story either. The only one who had details was Elizabeth. Peter’s brown eyes seem fascinated too when he looked back to the photo.

“We just…” Joel began, swallowing down the lump that grew in his throat. “Grew apart.”

“Love made you not friends anymore?” Lydia blurt out and it had Joel tipping his head from side to side. “Well that’s sad. You’d think you’d all be happy for each other that you found your soul mates.”

Lydia paused, looking back at Y/N and Joel knowing that they were divorced and no longer together. Her face went pale when she thought about what she said, “At the time.”

“What was his wife like?” Carl wondered since all of them were obviously interested in Negan and not so much about their experiences working there.

“We didn’t really know her,” Y/N explained with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Sweet,” Joel commented at the same time she answered. Giving her a look, Joel thought about it and took in a deep breath. “I think we knew her decent enough. She talked to us a few times. I thought she was nice.”

“Sure, we talked to her some, but we really didn’t get to know her because Negan wasn’t really around anymore,” she reminded Joel of their youth and it had Joel nodding his head before moving to the next photo that only had the two of them in it.

“Look at the way she looks at you,” Lydia moved to the next photo that Joel was looking at. It impressed her the way that Y/N looked at Joel in the photo. “You must have been doing something right. That’s the look of pure love.”

Instead of responding, Joel nodded and looked through the next few photos that involved them in it. Looking to Y/N, Joel could see that she was gazing over the photo where she was pregnant with Elizabeth in it. There seemed to be something in her expression changing when she lowered her head.

After some more talk about Negan, the children wanted to go off to the next destination and they followed them close behind. It seemed like Y/N was sad after seeing the photos and Joel cleared his throat, “So uh, one thing Tommy did tell me today was that me doing the Santa photos with the children hurt your feelings.”

“They don’t,” she immediately lied with Joel’s chocolate brown eyes locked on her reaction. It seemed like he didn’t believe her and she shook her head again. This was somewhat common. Anytime she would open up to Tommy about things, he would often try to help her but it only made things worse. “Really, they don’t. I don’t know why Tommy would say something like that.”

“Are you sure?” Joel wondered seeing that she had a hard time looking at him. “You know I’ve known you my whole life, right? Well, it feels like it’s been my whole life.”

“What’s your point?” they stopped when the children asked if they could get some snacks and hot chocolate. It seemed like she was eager to get away from the conversation to pay for the things. The children sat down at a table together. It was a heavily crowded area and the two of them stepped off to the side so they could talk.

“It means that I know when you’re lying to me,” Joel whispered, leaning in closer to her and he noticed the way the warmth of his breath made her shudder. “You have a hard time looking at me when you lie. It was always your give. I could tell that you were being honest when you didn’t break eye contact.”

“Yeah,” she breathed out, holding onto the cup of hot chocolate she had gotten for herself. “I’ll have to work on that.”

“If you wanted to come, you could have told me,” Joel offered, hearing her let out a long exhale. It was one thing for him to say that, but another for him to mean it. Especially after the photos had already been taken. In the past she had expressed wanting to go and he never wanted that. “The children would have had fun with it.”

“I didn’t think you wanted me to do it anymore,” she stated, her eyes looking sad at the idea of it. Truthfully? He told her that the first year of their separation. So his change of pace made her uneasy. “I distinctly remember you telling me that I couldn’t be part of it because Tess would get the wrong idea. Then when I did it separately, you got angry with me because you wanted special moments with them that were special just for you.”

“Things are different,” Joel reminded her, shifting on his feet uncomfortably after he took a sip of his hot chocolate that she got for him. “I’ve had time to…grow.”

With a nod, Y/N didn’t know what to say because she had grown used to a certain Joel over the last few years. This one wasn’t exactly the Joel that she was used to, “Things are actually a lot better when you are around. The children are happier. I’m happier…”

“Joel,” she looked to Joel seeing the way that his eyes were hooked on her. Those words had her heart fluttering in her chest. Everything inside of her still loved Joel so it hurt trying to think that there was a part of Joel that wanted her around. “Don’t.”

“What do you mean don’t?” Joel outstretched his free hand to curl his glove covered finger underneath her chin to try to urge her to look at him. There was tension in her body when her eyes locked with his.

“Time for the fireworks,” Elizabeth interrupted, reaching for her mom’s arm to tug her toward the opposite direction of the village. “We have to get good seats. I know it’s in like an hour, but you know right by the water is best for the fireworks and we should get there before everyone else does.”

“Sure thing sweetheart,” Y/N gave her daughter a one-armed hug, following Elizabeth and the other children toward the area they wanted to sit. When they were where they wanted to be, Joel moved in beside Y/N to drop down on the bench next to her.

“Can we talk?” Joel wondered, his breathing loud when she looked to the children. They seemed lost in talking to one another and probably wouldn’t bother to pay attention now that they were waiting for the most exciting part of the night. “We can just walk for a little bit. We aren’t going to lose them. They will be here for the next hour or so.”

Considering what Joel was asking of her, she knew it was probably for the best if they did get to talk. It had been a really long time since Joel had even attempted to have a conversation with her when the children weren’t involved.

“Hey, your dad and I are going to take a walk around the park. Watch your brother and call one of us if you need anything,” Y/N stood up from the bench seeing Elizabeth nod. Stepping in front of Peter, she reached out to brush her fingers through his dark hair and heard him huff. “Listen to your sister and stay here with her. Okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” Peter waved his hand about before going back to laughing with Carl about something.

Following Joel off into the distance, Y/N wasn’t sure what to say to him when he nudged her slightly as they moved through the crowd, “Does this place bring back memories for you?”

“Lots of memories,” she remarked knowing that this place meant a lot to them when they were younger. Their job would start the first weekend of November and every weekend up all the way until Christmas. “We worked Christmas six years here. Lots of memories to be had. It was something else.”

“You were always so big on Christmas,” Joel recalled, clinging to his hot chocolate hearing the music that was playing from carolers in the distance. “After my parents died, I hated it.”

There was a silence when Y/N looked to him surprised, “I never told you because you loved it so much. It always reminded me of the things that I lost with my parents. You know how they were when it was Christmas. I could never do what they did. They weren’t great parents. We both know that, but they made it special the best way they could. And Tommy loved them so much. Christmas just reminded me that there was a piece of me that was always missing.”

“I’m sorry,” she didn’t know what to say when they stopped at the tree that was at the middle of the village. It was the biggest one and it was decorated with so many lights that it lit up Joel’s face perfectly. “I didn’t know that.”

“I didn’t want you to know that. Because I knew it made you happy,” Joel reasoned with her, his shoulders shrugging when he thought about their past together. “I made myself love Christmas because you did. And then Elizabeth did too. You two were enough to lift my spirits with the way you would get excited.”

Swallowing down hard, Y/N nodded and wasn’t sure of what to say next, “You know, when I picked you up tonight it reminded me of when we were younger. How I would park the car in front of your house, wait to pick you up. You’d run out the door with a kick to your step and each night here felt like it was a date for us. We had fun with it. You reminded me of that girl tonight.”

“Just a lot older,” she half laughed, looking down at herself with what she was wearing.

“Just as pretty,” Joel retorted watching the surprise in her features. It had been a while since he had complimented her like that. By the way color flushed into her cheeks, he could tell that she liked it. “It felt like we were going on another date again when I picked you up. You look really nice.”

“Oh yeah? Bundled up like frosty the snowman?” she chuckled getting him to laugh. “I’m sure I look great after walking around in this cold.”

“You do,” Joel reached out to sweep his fingertips in over the side of her face and under her chin. “Do you remember when we would be working and the two of us would sneak off during the fireworks? We knew we’d have to clean up and close things down, but with everyone busy with the fireworks…”

“We could have been fired,” she exclaimed with a laugh, leaning into his touch. He couldn’t help but smirk with her reaction to his comment. “Especially when we’d go off to one of the houses or the buildings. They have cameras now. Back then, they didn’t have many.”

“We weren’t making that much money anyways,” Joel recognized with a wrinkle of his nose, tipping in closer to rest his forehead against hers when he laughed. “I wouldn’t have cared if we were caught because I was just…addicted to you.”

“We were stupid,” she thought back to their younger selves and the risks they used to take just to be with one another. “There were so many people here.”

“Yeah, but you put on a fireworks show and people just don’t care,” Joel stated with a shake of his head. Just like how things were now. Everyone was desperate to get a good seat to see the fireworks that they really didn’t care about the rest of the village and what it had to offer. “In a way, it was a different kind of sex every time we hopped into a different historical house or building. It was like time travel sex and it always turned me on.”

“You are so weird, what we did was crazy,” she swatted at his shoulder, enjoying the way that he laughed. It had been so long since they had been this relaxed with one another. A breath caught in her throat when she noticed the way that Joel looked down at her lips. “Joel?”

“Crazy or madly in love?” Joel debated, leaning in just enough for his lips to brush faintly over hers. A tremoring breath escaped her lips. Just by the closeness of him like this, it had her desperate to be near him. Sweeping his glove covered thumb in over her jawline had her tipping her head back. Her eyelashes fluttered to a close allowing him to steal a kiss from her lips. Both of her palms pressed in over the center of his chest to brace herself. It had been a while since the two of them kissed like this. Compared to the cool winter air surrounding them, the warmth of her mouth against his was very welcomed. Growing in strength, each caress of his lips over hers had her pressing in closer to him wanting to be near. After a few more kisses, Joel grumbled when she stepped back to pull away. She was trembling, her lips agape with her breathing heavy. “What is it?”

“We can’t have them see us kissing,” she cautioned reminding him of their children. Even though they were further into the village and not incredibly near the water, there was still that chance that Elizabeth or Peter could have gotten up to see them kissing there. “They might get the wrong idea with things and…”

“We’re far enough away,” Joel muttered, yet she still seemed worried. Tossing what he had left of his hot chocolate in the nearest trashcan, Joel waved her forward. Extending his hand out to hers, he could tell that she was deeply considering whether to take it or not. Once she finally did grab his hand, he hooked his fingers with hers leading her through the crowd. She didn’t know how to respond when he took her back toward the front of the village. Leaving wasn’t something they should have been doing with their children still there, but Joel explained to the guard that they had to grab something from the car. After getting the okay, Joel dragged her through the parking lot leaving her curious as to what was happening. It didn’t take long for her to find out because soon Joel had grabbed a hold of her, firmly pressing her back against the SUV. Stepping in close to her, Joel trapped her between him and the vehicle causing her to gasp out. Reaching for the cup that she was still carrying, Joel carelessly dropped it down on the ground beside them. Hovering his lips over hers told him everything he needed to know by the sounds that she made. “We have until the fireworks are over. The children are fine. They aren’t gonna move and there no cameras out here. I reckon you know that just as much as I do.”

“And what is it you want to do?” she exhaled loudly with Joel using his teeth to pull off his first glove. Shoving that one into his pocket, he hastily put the other one away as well. Lifting his hands up, he cupped at her face drawing her mouth closer to him. In that moment it felt like the world was spinning around her. There was something in the way that Joel Miller could look at her that took her breath away. His eyelids grew heavy with want, hovering his mouth just over hers. “Joel?”

“I think you know,” Joel slurred, dragging his bottom lip over hers and it rewarded him with a purr from her.

Sliding his left hand down had his fingers curling around her throat. Gliding his right up allowed his thumb to caress over her bottom lip, dragging it slowly over her flesh. Almost instinctively she started to press kisses against the pad of his thumb, wincing when he applied a small amount of pressure at her throat. Collecting her lips with his, Joel was passionate in the way that he kissed her. Barely taking time to separate between breaths. Nibbling at her bottom lip had her fingers sliding up over the back of his neck to sink them into his messy, dark hair. It seemed that talking about their past had rekindled the flame that existed between the two of them leaving them both hungry to kiss the other. Sliding his hand down, Joel’s fingers found the zipper in her jacket and he tugged firmly at it. Pushing the material aside, Joel dropped his hands grasping firmly to her hips. Taking a moment to break away from the kiss, Joel’s forehead pressed to hers. Sucking in a sharp breath of air, Joel liked the way she trembled in his grasp. Taking his time, Joel started to lazily palm up over the sides of her body. It drew her lips to part and he took advantage tracing the tip of his tongue over her sensitive flesh.

“I miss being able to touch you,” Joel confessed, allowing his fingers to slide up under the bottom of the sweater that she was wearing. Panting, she lowered her head to watch the movement and he nuzzled his nose in against the side of her face. Even though it was freezing outside, they both felt like their bodies were on fire. Once the roughness of his fingers collided with her flesh beneath the sweater, it had her whimpering out. Smiling against her cheek, Joel started peppering wet kisses over her jawline, toward the side of her neck. Leaving occasional nips at her flesh left her to start faintly moaning at the sensation. These were things he knew that she liked when they were younger. It was so easy to have her melting in the palm of his hand. Pressing his kisses closer to her lips, Joel stopped when he reached them. Hovering his mouth over hers, an arrogant smile tugged at his lips with how much she was yearning to be kissed by him again. Starting slow, Joel pressed tiny kisses at her lips. And she returned the gesture. “I miss being able to kiss you.”

Each kiss grew in strength having her lips parting allowing him to flick his tongue against hers. A sweetness still lingered from their hot chocolates, but it wasn’t something that either one of them were turning away. Sucking faintly at his tongue had Joel growling out, closing the distance between them more. In that moment, it had started snowing again. Small flurries were surrounding them and he tipped his head to look at it. Laughing, he buried his head against the side of her neck. Tracing his fingers down over her ribcage had her arching forward toward him.

“I see the way you still look at me,” Joel slurred, nibbling at her bottom lip when she clung to his jacket. Flattening out his palm, he traced a line from her navel, over her abdomen and toward her breast. Squeezing in over her breast through the material of her bra had her cooing out. “You still look at me the same way you did when we were young. I know how you feel about me. Like I said, you were never able to hide anything from me.”  

“Joel,” she panted when his fingers dropped down to open the button in her pants. She should have cared more that they were still out in the middle of a public place, but she didn’t. All that mattered in that moment were the two of them. A firm tug of the zipper in her pants had her hips pulling forward. Joel wasn’t being gentle about the way he was doing things. Locking his eyes with hers, Joel firmly pushed his hand between the material of her pants. The direct contact from the warmth of his palm had her eyes slamming shut. Caressing at the most intimate parts of her body through the thin material of her panties had Joel hissing out.

“Why deny ourselves the chance of feeling good? Of being happy?” Joel nipped at her jawline enjoying the sounds of her soft moans. Adjusting his position, he managed to get his hand beneath her panties. It had her burying her nose against the side of his neck, breathing out his name. “Let’s enjoy this moment. Act like we’re young again, running off together.”

Words were hard to form with how her body was reacting to Joel’s touch. Lowering her hand down, her fingers curled firmly around Joel’s wrist when she felt the roughness of his fingertips circling her clitoris. Dropping her head back against the car opened up her neck to allow his wet kisses to cover it. Involuntarily, her hips started to move against the sensations that he was building up inside of her.

It was then the sound of a car door closing in the distance was heard. A wet sound followed with Joel pulling his mouth away from her neck. Instantaneously, Joel pushed forward to hide what he was doing in case someone walked by them. Thankfully, he could see that the person was far out in the distance. Continuing with his caress had fear flooding into her eyes with him not stopping. There was no stopping him now that he started.

“Not out here,” she tugged on his jacket getting him to smirk. Following her toward the car, they managed to get the back door open of the SUV. Letting her get in first, Joel was quick to follow and even quicker to close the door behind him. Once they were inside, Joel was eagerly tugging at his jacket to get it off. And once he did? He was throwing it into the way back so it didn’t take up any space. Sliding forward, he helped her to get her jacket off. There was no haste to his movements. Immediately after he tossed her jacket aside, he was helping to get her sweater pulled up the lengths of her abdomen. “What if people walk by and see us?”

“They won’t,” Joel tried to assure her knowing that by her kisses, it wasn’t going to be much of a big deal for her.

Grunting out, Joel managed to get her to lift her arms so he could drop the sweater down beside them. Badly he wanted to touch her. Caress at the lengths of her body, but he was quick to reach for her bra. He wanted her. And he wanted her now. Tugging at the material of her bra, Joel got the cup down. His mouth eagerly covering the part of her breast that was revealed to him. Humming against her flesh had her crying out, her fingers sinking into his hair again.

Sweeping his tongue around her nipple allowed them to fall back into things so easily. He had always loved her breasts and enjoyed pampering them. Circling the taut nub with the warmth of his tongue had her back arching up toward him. Nibbling and sucking at the flesh, Joel’s hand pressed in over the small of her back to lead her closer to make things easier for them. Between them, her hands had dropped down working to find his belt. When she found it, she swiftly unhooked it with the material jangling. Adjusting his hips, Joel noticed that she was attempting to open his pants. They were craving each other like he couldn’t believe. She was shaking as she got the material of his jeans opened. Working with the denim she was able to dip her hand beneath his jeans to palm in over his manhood through his boxer briefs. Grunting against her breast led her to purr out which only fueled him further.

“Good girl,” he slurped at her flesh, his head tipping back just enough to watch what this was doing to her.  

Chills were flooding her body with how quickly they fell into this again. With every touch, his hips would arch forward into her caress. Leaving her to feel his erection growing harder against her touch. Nipping at her flesh a final time, Joel kissed up over her breast toward her collar bone. It sent a rush throughout her body. Sliding his left hand up over the opposite side of her neck, Joel led her to him so he could kiss her more passionately. Quickly remembering the things that she liked when they were together.

A loud surprised breath escaped her lips when Joel reached down to hook his fingers into the top of her jeans. The yank had her falling back against the seat with Joel pulling her hips up toward him while he worked the material of her pants from her legs along with her panties. In the cramped space it was hard to get it off of her, having to stop to pull off her boots when he got to her feet. Tossing her pants aside, Joel curled his arms under her knees pulling her in closer to him. It was amazing just how strong Joel was and he was showing his strength with how easily he was moving her around. Urging her legs up over his shoulders, Joel lifted her hips enough to start pressing wet kisses at the inside of her thigh.

It was an awkward position for her body to be in, but with Joel’s arms wrapped around her and holding her hips in place she knew that she wasn’t going anywhere. There was a soft scratching from his facial hair at her flesh while he pampered her thighs with wet kisses, each one growing closer to her core. Bracing herself, Y/N tried to make herself more comfortable. Most of her weight that Joel wasn’t holding onto was on her shoulders while Joel had her hips lifted up for him.

Slamming her eyes shut, she felt Joel’s mouth finally cover her most intimate parts with his growl of satisfaction following once the taste of her touched his tongue. Every kiss, every flick of Joel’s tongue over her body felt so much more enhanced. It had felt like it had been an eternity since the two of them fell into one another. Maybe with the idea of being caught lingering in the back of her mind made her feel everything so much more.

It had been so long since Joel had done this. And actually enjoyed doing this. Everything he was doing showed that he was determined. Clinging tightly to her made sure that she couldn’t wiggle free while he feasted on her pussy, eating her out and having her a trembling mess in his arms. Slurping faintly at her clitoris and folds had her arching up toward him. God, he loved it. Hearing her whimpering out his name while he pleasured her did a lot for his ego. When they were together in the past she had told him that he was a greedy lover toward the end of it, so he was doing his best to focus on her and show her what he was capable of.

Shaking his head from side to side, Joel tried to add some force to his movements. Desperately she was clinging to anything on him that she could grab. Breaking away for a moment to take a breath, Joel couldn’t help but smile at the way she squirmed. Desperate to have him go back to what he was doing.

Licking his lips, Joel lowered her slightly keeping his left hand still hooked around her while his fingers caressed at her sensitive bundle of nerves. Focusing on her entrance, Joel suckled and licked listening to her panting with the combined sensation of what he was doing. Prodding his tongue inside of her, Joel slurped at her body. Following was one of the most intoxicating moans he had heard in a very long time. Cries filled the SUV with him incredibly focused on getting her to an orgasm. And by the way that she was tensing up in his grasp? He could tell that she was close. Soon her hips started to rock against his movements, his mouth finding its way up to her clit. Focusing on and teasing it with his talented mouth.

And there it was, the repeated cries of pleasure once he got her to an orgasm. Having her hips shaking against him made him realize that he was perfectly capable of pleasuring her. Allowing her to lower her hips to the seat, Joel started to work open the buttons of the green flannel that he was wearing. How loud her breathing was showed him just how much he worked her body up with what he had done.

“You feeling good?” Joel wondered pushing the material of his shirt to the sides to reveal his torso to her. Truthfully? He didn’t need her to answer that question. He knew that she felt good. It was evident in every part of her body. She was already drunk on him and it turned him on so much.

Starting at her hip, Joel dragged his fingertips up over her side, under her rib cage and then cupped at the underside of her breast. Sweeping his thumb over the swell of her nipple had her arching up toward him and he hummed.

Realizing that her breathing was heavy, she just gave Joel a nod with her back arching up toward his touch. It was then she remembered something that Tommy said to her earlier in the day. Joel liked to be dominated. And she was letting him control every part of this.

Using the strength that she had, she lifted up pushing her hands into the center of Joel’s chest. Grunting out, Joel fell back against the door. Surprise filled his chocolate-colored eyes with her crawling in closer to him. Bracing his back against the door, Joel’s breathing grew louder with the way she looked. Fuck, her taking charge like that was incredibly hot. Hell, he was impressed. She had fire to her when they were younger, but toward the end of their marriage she had grown pretty relaxed and open to whatever he wanted. This? This was hot.

Hissing out with her fingers curling around his throat had his head tipping back against the door. A chill ran right through him with a wince falling from his throat. Pressure was being applied to the soft, fleshy part of his throat with her thumb as she moved in over him.

“You are so fucking hot,” Joel slurred, biting down on his bottom lip with her hovering her mouth just over his. She was teasing him, but he loved it. Attempting to press in closer to her to bring their lips together had her shoving him further back against the door.

Working his opened shirt down his shoulders, she purposely made the material get stuck near his biceps so he would have a hard time moving his arms in any fashion. His eyebrows furrowed, his chest falling and rising faster with his breathing growing louder.

Putting a bit more pressure at his neck had Joel wincing out, but something flooded into his eyes. Desire. It was burning in his veins when she forcefully lowered down to bring their lips together in a kiss that took her breath away. Joel was hungry. Passionate and it was all the things they had been missing in their relationship at the end. Kissing down over his jaw, her fingers remained around his throat until she reached his chest. Nibbling at his flesh, she allowed her fingers to slip from his neck down over his chest. It caused him to hiss out when she pinched at his nipple, but he arched in closer to her. Kissing down over his stomach, she took her time between her wet kisses and the tiny bites she left over his body. Once she got to his pants, she tugged them firmly down to his knees hearing him grunt. There was something in the way he was looking at her that had chills flowing down her spine. It had been a long time since Joel looked at her like that.

Stealing a glance at the dark green and red boxer briefs that were clinging to Joel’s erection made her smile, “Very festive.”

“That wasn’t purposeful,” Joel snorted, amused that they could still giggle about something as simple as that in the heat of the moment.

Lowering her head down she teased kisses over the material. Kissing over the shaft of his manhood had his hips bouncing up toward her, but she used a bit of force to push them down back into place. After a few more kisses, she reached for the black waistband of the boxer briefs to pull them down his hips and to his thighs. With a smacking sound, Joel’s erection rest against his lower abdomen. Tracing her fingertips over his shaft had his eyelids growing heavy. God knows how many times they had sex together, but the sight of Joel’s cock always took her breath away.

Keeping her eyes hooked on his for a moment longer, she started pressing feather like kisses over the shaft hearing his groan follow. They were wet, hot kisses that had his breathing getting louder. Curling her fingers around the base of his cock allowed her to start stroking over his flesh, sheathing him in her grasp. Teasing the flesh of Joel’s uncut, girthy cock in her hand had him groaning with his hips slightly arching up toward her.

“Be a good boy for Christmas this year, Joel,” she slurred, lowering down to drag her tongue across the tip having him hiss out. “Let me control this for a few.”

With a nod, Joel knew she was asking him to let her do her thing. Her lips were wet with her tongue flicking out slightly with every kiss. Watching her closely had Joel’s heart racing in his chest. More than anything he wanted her to take him into her mouth, but she was purposely holding off. Each caress of her lips over the ridges of his cock grew stronger and wetter. It had his length twitching with anticipation and she smiled. Finally taking him between her lips had him moaning out. It was a surprise since Joel was never much of a verbal lover. So she enjoyed hearing it. It was quiet, but it was loud enough to hear. It had her shuddering with excitement, the heat at her core aching. Unhurriedly, she lowered her head over his length, taking only a small amount. That alone had him inhaling sharply. Dragging her tongue along his flesh drew him to wiggle, but he couldn’t move much with his shirt locked at his arms like she had done it. Each drop down of her head had her taking him farther back into her throat. It was teasing him, but he seemed to like it. Pulling back with a wet sound, she caressed her palm over his flesh before lowering down to pepper kisses near the base toward his testicles.

“Shit,” Joel hissed out, his eyes slamming shut when she took her time focusing fully on him. When she started to kiss up over his hip toward his abdomen, he felt like he was breathless and his eyes were locked on her every movement. “You want me to beg, don’t you?”

“It wouldn’t hurt,” she smirked, looking up just enough for Joel to drop his head back with a grunt. “What do you want?”

“Please just suck my cock,” Joel begged of her eliciting a smile from her lips. Giving him a nod, she got more comfortably in over him. Curling her fingers around the base, she dragged her tongue across the tip. Forcing himself to keep his eyes open, he watched her closely with her lips wrapping around the tip. Exhaling heavily, he was glad that he did ask for it because she did exactly what he wanted. Her head lowered down slowly with a wet sound before pulling back up. Circling the sensitive tip with the warmth of her wet tongue before lowering down again. Each movement grew faster having his lips part. “That’s it…”

Watching her pleasuring him was intoxicating. Not only did it feel good, but it looked like she was enjoying herself. And that to him was so incredibly sexy. Doing as she asked, he let her have her way with him. But he had nothing to complain about, it felt good with her head bobbing over his length in steady movements. By the time she pulled her mouth from his manhood with a wet sound it had him moaning out.

Crawling in over him, she was careful in the way she moved. Getting her bra off of her completely, she dropped the material to the side. It felt nice to have Joel looking at her like this. And it fueled her. “You are so fucking hot.”

Smirking, she reached with her left hand to grab Joel’s hands in hers forcing them back over his head against the glass window. Keeping them braced there she reached between them with her other hand. Rocking her hips forward had the length of his shaft teasing through her wet slit and he winced out. When the tip teased over her clitoris it had her cooing with the sensation. Lining up their bodies, she took her time in lowering down over him. It had been a while for her so even though she was being dominant, she was going to take the time to let her body open back up to the man beneath her.

It was obvious that Joel wasn’t used to her taking charge. At least not for a long time. As she took all of him into her, bottoming out, it had his head lifting from the door. Staring down at their bodies, Joel’s lips parted and he groaned. It was short lasted before his lips desperately found hers. Circling her hips allowed his body to slightly pull from hers and then go back again. It was nice to feel full again with Joel inside of her. Stretching her.

“Does that feel good?” she purred with her slow and steady movements. Starting small before growing in strength. Joel’s dark eyes were locked on her, his fingers curling into fists from where they were pressed against the window. There was something arrogant about her in the moment and he liked it. She was using his cock in the ways that she pleased. Riding him with confidence in steady, firm movements. “Does it?”

“Yes ma’am,” Joel swallowed down, pressing forward to nibble at her bottom lip. Tugging faintly at it, Joel flicked his tongue out over the inside of her bottom lip getting her to purr. Her right hand was braced against his abdomen to steady her when she lifted her hips to the tip only to bury him deeply inside of her again. Repeating those motions got Joel to be more verbal than he had been in a long time. That was what she was aiming for. It made her feel good that she could draw that out from him. Once her movements started to grow in strength, Joel wondered if someone walked by they could tell what was happening. He kind of hoped they could. Then again, she was riding him so hard he assumed the SUV was likely shaking. “So good.”

Soon she was bouncing her hips over his, her cries of pleasure filling the SUV. Watching her fucking herself on his cock had Joel’s blood boiling inside of his body with absolute euphoria. It was quite the sight and he was so glad that she actually agreed to this.

“That’s it,” Joel coached with a growl, his brow line creasing when she took all of him with ease at this point. “That’s so good. Ride that cock honey.”

Leaning in over him, she dropped his hands and they instantly went to her hips. Her right arm hooked around his shoulders, her left sinking her fingers into his thick hair while she worked herself faster over him. Burying his nose against the side of her neck, Joel gifted her flesh with wet kisses. Each forceful thrust back over his cock felt amazing. There was still a chill in the car that was around them, so that contrast of her tight canal taking him repeatedly felt phenomenal.

“Don’t…” Joel whined when she pulled her hips up and away from him. Trying to stop her from leaving, she motioned him to sit up on the seat having him huff out. Turning away from him, he helped her lower her hips back in over him in the reverse cowgirl position. Her fingers curled tightly into the flesh of his thighs. “Goddamn…”

Joel’s hands slid up her abdomen toward her breasts to cup them firmly while he kissed at the side of her neck. There was that involuntary want to bounce his hips up toward her, but she was so focused in what she was doing and how she felt that Joel just let her have her way. Dropping his fingers down, Joel’s palm pressed between her thighs. Circling her clitoris with his rough fingertips had her mewling out, her fingers digging even further into his thighs.  

“You missed this, didn’t you?” Joel questioned, reaching up with his other hand to curl his fingers around her throat pulling her back against him. Quickening the motion of his fingers had her crying out with the sensation. “Brace yourself…”

Joel’s hips started bouncing up matching her movements. His testicles smacked up against her while he pounded into her matching the tempo of his fingers. Noticing her shaking, Joel knew she was on the verge of another orgasm. So he kept up at it until he heard her moaning out his name. Fuck, having her body tense up like that felt amazing. The contracting of her tight warmth that surrounded his cock was addicting.

“I missed this,” Joel alerted her, forcing her to get on her knees in the backseat. Grabbing her hips, he moved her how he needed her. Swiftly, his hips smacked up against her when he sank his length back into her tight body. Each thrust was hard having her bounce forward with a cry. “I’ve missed this ass so much.”

Joel smacked firmly over it appreciating the way her whimper followed. Watching his cock sinking into her and pulling out was a beautiful sight for him. One he hadn’t watched in quite some time. Soon his thrusts were strong leading her to crawl forward on the seat, but he reached out to press down into her shoulders to lower her face down against the leather. Sinking his fingers into her hair, he pushed at the back of her head getting her cheek to press firmly against the seat. A bright light flooded the sky making him smirk when he realized the fireworks started.

“We’ve still got a few,” Joel alerted her with a grunt, pounding into her at this point with her cries filling the air. Every hard forward thrust filled the car with a loud smacking sound. “Your sweet little pussy always took my fat cock so well, didn’t it?”

“Joel,” she muttered, her breathing growing uneven when he reached for her wrists to pull them behind her back. Collecting them in one hand, Joel’s other hand went back to keeping a pressure between her shoulders. Even though Tommy said that Joel liked to be dominated, she could tell by the way he was having sex with her that he still like having that control. “Please…”

“We’ll get you to come, don’t whine,” Joel hushed her using the strength that he had built up to continue to fuck her hard. Each smack of his hips against her ass was loud. Plunge after plunge of his cock had the wet sounds of their bodies flooding the car. It was a little uncomfortable with her face buried into the seat, her ass up and her arms behind her back. But Joel moving inside of her felt good and by his breathing she could tell he liked it. “You’re shaking. Don’t fight it.”

Breathless moans followed when he forcefully bottomed out inside of her when he felt her orgasm start. Staying still had her trying to pull her hips forward, but he didn’t allow her. Groaning out, he looked down with the light from the fireworks flooding into the car so he saw things differently. He was overstimulating her body. And he loved the way it looked and sounded.

“No one knows your body like I do,” Joel pulled out of her, leaving her a shaking mess after he brought her to another orgasm. “Lay back so you can see the fireworks. I want you to see fireworks when I come inside of you.”

Breathless, she tried to move, but everything ached. Everything was spinning, her heart was hammering in her chest. It was the best kind of hurting, but her body was shaking. A liquid warmth was still rushing through her veins, her core tremoring.

Of course Joel helped get her where he wanted her, lowering carefully down in over her. Resting himself between her thighs, Joel curled one arm around her waist to bring her up so he could sink his length back into her while the other braced against the seat. Tipping his head back, Joel bit down on his bottom lip and hummed.

“I don’t think you knew what you were capable of making me do with this pussy,” Joel admitted, lowering down in over her with her sinking her fingers into his hair. Meeting her lips in a sloppy kiss, Joel’s thrusts started again and he groaned out against her flesh. “You were always so capable of making me do whatever you wanted when we were younger.”

Hearing her moaning out his name had chills flooding his body. Bracing both of his hands on the seat, Joel’s hips eagerly bounced forward craving to reach his release knowing that the fireworks weren’t extremely long. Wincing, Joel felt his balls tightening up and he knew that he was close to coming. Having Y/N kissing at the side of his neck felt amazing when the first twitch of his cock inside of her had her whimpering against his flesh.

Continuing to kiss her through his orgasm, Joel’s hips kept up with the pace of his thrusts until he let out a final grunt against the side of her neck. Soft strokes of her fingers through his wet hair was felt. The cold inside of the car suddenly felt hot around them and smelled of sex.

“Fuck,” Joel’s breathing was loud with him pressing a final kiss against the side of her neck. It felt nice to have her touching him and holding onto him the way she was. It had been a while since someone had admired him like this. The windows were steamed over from their moment when he lifted his head and smiled. Grunting out, he pulled his hips away from her and got to his knees. She seemed to whine as his body left hers and it made him chuckle. Once his manhood hit the cold air, it twitched and he huffed loudly. Pulling her closer to him, he pushed her thighs apart and watched the way that his cum started to spill from her body. “We need to clean you up.”

Leaning over the front seat, Joel reached for the tissues and he gave a smirk when he started cleaning his release from her flesh. With a wink, Joel fell back against the opposite end of the seat. Tugging his jeans and his boxer briefs up over his hips had him sighing. “I reckon that’s the biggest orgasm I’ve had in a very long time.”

“So you liked it?” she inquired, having a harder time with working her clothes back over her body. Once she was done, she laid in over Joel and his fingers reached up to sweep at the hair that was clinging to her damp flesh. Leading her to him, Joel peppered her lips with small kisses and it had the both of them smiling.

“It was so much better than the last few times we were together,” Joel announced with a loud swallow nipping at her bottom lip. “If our sex was more like that toward the end of our marriage, we probably would still be together with a few more kids.”

Fuck. After saying that it had her tensing up over him. Cussing under his breath, he watched her head pulling back to look him over. What was once a euphoric expression now seemed to be replaced with a hurt one.

Hesitantly letting out an uncomfortable laugh, he lifted his hands in a defensive motion and shook his head, “I didn’t mean it like that.”  

“Yes, you did,” she visibly caught onto the comment that while may have been innocent insinuated that sex with her was not good while they were married which is why they were no longer together. Noticing the color changing in her face, Joel swiftly started to button up his shirt realizing that this was headed in a bad direction. Some of his buttons were fucked up and he was attempting to fix them when she started heading for the door. Extending his fingers out, he firmly curled them around her wrist to stop her from leaving the SUV. “Forget it Joel. You got your fuck in, now it’s over. Obviously, you were just horny and wanted to fuck.”

“Come on,” Joel almost begged of her. He was at a loss of words. “You have to admit that when we were having sex during certain parts of our marriage it was really boring.”

Shit. That didn’t work either with her face twisting with upset, “I just mean we used to be this spontaneous couple that would get to have hot, amazing sex and then we became two parents sneaking sex in on a schedule of when we could get it. Either when the children were gone or sleeping.”

“That’s what parents do Joel,” she reminded him hearing him scoff when she pulled her wrist back from him. Reaching up, he slicked his hair back and let out an uneasy sound. “I’m sorry sex from me wasn’t good enough for you.”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t good, I just said it was boring,” Joel repeated his earlier words, throwing his hands up in the air when he started to buckle together his belt. If he would have known he would upset her this much he would have kept his mouth shut. Which really? He knew he should have done. That wasn’t the kind of thing someone would want to hear right after sex like that.

“We had sex after we got divorced too,” she pointed out having Joel shrug his shoulders and shake his head. There were times when Joel would come over to the house. Sometimes they would fight and end up having sex. Other times he would show up drunk acting sad and they would sleep together. But every time? It never brought him back. “Was that boring too?”

“I don’t know,” Joel grumbled under his breath being flustered with the way she was asking the questions. Right now her feelings were hurt and he understood that. “Maybe I just don’t remember because you weren’t the last person I had sex with. Maybe I’m confusing you with Tess. I don’t know.”

“That’s great. You’re confusing me with your ex-girlfriend. That’s just great,” her eyes were damp and Joel regretted saying what he did because he clearly upset her more than she cared to admit. It felt like he was trying to throw a jab in there reminding her that he had an ex-girlfriend that he was sleeping with. “You know you’re the last person that I slept with Joel. Before tonight. It was still you.”

“As you like to remind me. I know I’m the only man you’ve had sex with,” Joel almost mocked her hearing the offended breath falling from her throat. Whenever Joel got angry his southern drawl would grow deeper. “It’s not my fault that you couldn’t find someone else after we got divorced. Maybe you wouldn’t be so uptight if you actually got laid sometimes.”

“And there he is,” she reached up to wipe at her tears that were burning at her face. “You make me believe that there is something between us still, you lead me on, you get me to sleep with you and then the old you just comes back out. I’m so fucking stupid for thinking that you still loved me.”

“You’re taking this too personal,” Joel tried to stress reaching for her again, but she was quick to leave the SUV. Groaning out, Joel followed quickly after her, snatching his jacket and pulling it on while he stumbled on the wet snow. “Can we just talk, please?”

“The fireworks are going to be over soon and the children will be looking for us,” she sniffled, looking toward the entrance of the village knowing that their children were at the opposite end of it. Keeping a good distance between the two of them, she knew that she didn’t want to talk to him right now. “We can’t do this right now.”

“Just fucking wait,” Joel demanded, grabbing a tight hold of her wrist, forcing her back toward him as the firework show still continued in the sky. “Ellie is seventeen years old. She’s not a baby anymore. And Peter is thirteen. She can handle him. They are gonna be fine.”

“Joel,” she placed her hand in over the center of his chest trying to put some distance between them.

“I was seventeen when we got together Y/N. We were still kids,” Joel started, drawing her to listen to him when he pulled her back. This whole situation had him frustrated. “And then we got pregnant young. We married young. The two of us were all we ever really knew.”  

“What are you trying to get at Joel?” she pushed struggling to get him to release her, but he wouldn’t. Right now it felt like the world was crumbling down all around her. What had started off as a hopeful moment had turned into something with a very shitty ending. “I was happy. I loved my life. You’re the one that was miserable and let me know it in every way possible.”

“I was depressed. I gave up my life,” Joel stressed, his voice growing raspier when his southern drawl grew just like it did every time he was upset. “I was the star quarterback Y/N. I was about to go off to college. I worked hard for it and then my life fell apart. I always assumed that maybe we’d break up when I went to college. We’d both go out, be young for a while and enjoy life. But my life fell to shit. I deserved that life. I know you meant well and you never gave up on me, so I never gave up on you. But not being able to do what I was destined for sucked. I could have been a sports star like Negan Smith. I could have become a singer like I wanted. Instead I got fucking stuck here in the town that I never liked to begin with.”

“You’re not the only one that didn’t get the life that they wanted Joel,” she recalled feeling an ache at the center of her chest hearing him just drop that bomb on her. “I’m just the only one that adjusted and dealt with it.”

“Yeah, but I was a sure shot,” Joel scoffed realizing that she had dreams too, but those were things she had to eventually work to try to get. He was offered a full ride to college for his skills. All he had to do was go and he couldn’t.

Tipping her head to the side, she angrily smiled and let out a tense laugh. That was his way of saying her dreams weren’t as important as his were.

Rolling his eyes, Joel let go of her arm firmly and rest his hands on his hips, “You know, I’m trying here. I’ve been a good dad. I never stopped being a good dad.”

“You’re right. You’re an amazing dad,” she stressed reaching up to rub at her arm where he had grabbed her feeling a sense of pain there. “Good for you Joel. I’m proud of you. Now please let me go get our children.”

“How are we ever going to be okay again if we can’t talk?” Joel called out when she went to leave again finding himself infuriated with the situation. “I’ve tried talking to you. I meant the things that I said to you. I miss the way things used to be. At the beginning of our relationship, it was so much fun.”

“Yeah, and then I got pregnant because we had too much fun,” she pointed out hearing him sigh again. “And then we had to have responsibilities. We had to be adults because we were raising a little girl. We couldn’t be that fun couple anymore.”

“I don’t regret being a father,” Joel claimed, reaching up to place his hand in over the center of his chest. “It’s the best thing in my life that I’ve done. Peter and Ellie mean everything to me. I don’t blame them at all for the things…the things that I lost in life.”

“No, you just blamed me,” she let out a whimpering breath causing Joel to drop his head down. “I’m not the person that made you have sex with me without a condom. You said that it felt better without a condom and I took the birth control like I was supposed to. It’s not my fault that it didn’t work. You did a good job hiding being miserable from the kids, but you never let me forget just how awful you thought your life was. You know what? No. I won’t say that. I’ll give you credit for the first part of our marriage. You hid it really well. It was toward the end that you let it show.”

“You know what I lost out on,” Joel reminded her, his dark eyes lifting when he shrugged.

“How could I forget? You reminded me so often,” she scoffed trying to wipe at her eyes again. Having hope for something that was never going to happen was one of the worst pains she had experienced. Hoping that something would come out of this was her problem. Hope got her a lot of heartache in the last few years and there was nothing that would change it now. “My mistake is thinking that you could ever love me again. Or that you never stopped loving me. There was a reason we got divorced. I just live in this fantasy world where I still believe that we can fix everything.”

“We can,” Joel suggested hearing her laugh and it frustrated him. “Our children hate us being divorced. If you weren’t so stubborn…”

“Dad!” a voice called out and Joel grunted when a weight jumped into his arms. Groaning out, he wrapped his arms around his son and pulled him up. Peter’s arms wrapped around Joel’s shoulders and he squeezed his arms tightly around him. In their fighting, neither of them noticed that the fireworks had stopped and people were starting to flood into the parking lot. “We were looking for you guys.”

“Sorry champ,” Joel pressed a loving kiss against Peter’s temple, his dark eyes locked on Y/N still when he braced his son in his arms. Elizabeth was approaching and Carl was with Lydia talking to her about fifty feet behind. “Your mother and I just started talking. We must have lost track of time.”

“Hey dad,” Elizabeth moved in beside Y/N who was doing her best to hide her hurt feelings from her children. It was something that she got really good at. “How about we take Carl and Lydia home and we all go out to dinner tonight? The four of us. Like we used to do after this event. We can go to that place that goes all out with the hot chocolates that we used to get. It’s been forever since we went there together. I know it stays open late. We used to have so much fun doing it.”

“That’s up to your mother,” Joel answered pointing in the direction of Y/N. He knew that she would never want to go anywhere with him right now, but it wasn’t going to be thrown on him if they didn’t go. “I’d love to go with all of you.”

“I’m sure you have better things to do Joel,” she suggested and he immediately shook his head, stroking his fingers over the back of Peter’s neck. “Things where you aren’t bored.”

“My night is free since the children were going to be with me anyways,” Joel repeated with a smirk, motioning Elizabeth closer to him. Balancing Peter in one arm, he managed to hook his other arm around their daughter to squeeze her close. “Ellie and Peter want to go, so come on…what do you say? Unless you have something better to do.”

“Liz, dad,” she corrected her father on what she wanted to be called and it had Joel huffing out. “Ellie just makes me sound like a little girl.”

“You are my little girl,” Joel grunted, nuzzling his nose against her temple. “You’re always going to be my Ellie. Your dad is old and locked in his ways.”

“I guess I’ll make an exception for you,” their daughter decided with a big smile and it hurt to see how much the children genuinely loved Joel. It wasn’t like he was abusive toward her. Just brutally honest. And they really had no idea how much he had broken her heart in the past. “Are we good to go mom?”

“Of course,” she agreed following them all into the car trying to hide her feelings by locking them deep down.

On the car ride to drop Lydia and Carl off at home, Joel outstretched his hand to place it over hers and she pulled it away from him. Trying to shut down, she stayed quiet until they were at the restaurant. Somehow she got lucky enough for them to end up in a booth and Joel hooked his arm around her shoulders while they sat at the booth. Having the children seeing them together like this was going to be bad. Especially since she could see it in their eyes when Joel kissed at her temple that they thought something was going on between them.

In the past, she would have swooned over this kind of opportunity. All she wanted over the last four years was to have Joel back. For them to be a family again. But after what he said? It just felt fake.

Even though this was his way of trying, it felt forced on her when she was upset and it made her unhappy. Pushing through dinner, she didn’t want to act miserable so she knew that she needed to talk, interact. After they had their dessert, they went home and the children wanted a movie night. Which meant they wanted to go back to her home and involve Joel. It was hard telling them no so she allowed it.

On the drive home they were quiet except for the children talking about what happened at the event. When they got home, it made her regret it because it reminded her of when they were younger coming home together as a family.

“Hey,” Joel stopped her when the children went in, grabbing a hold of the door. “Ellie, find something for us to watch, I want to talk to your mom for a second.”

“Got it!” Ellie called out while she bickered back and forth with Peter as Joel closed the door to give them some space.

“Y/N, I know I said the wrong thing,” Joel stammered from where they were standing on the porch of the home that they used to share together. With a frown, his hands went to his hips and he shifted his weight. “I have trouble saying the right thing. I know I do. Maybe tonight is a sign with me being here.”

Hearing his comment had a rush of heat flooding into her cheeks and Joel frowned, “I miss our home. I miss sleeping in my bed and I miss having you in my arms,” Joel reasoned with her and a hurt breath fell from her throat. “Maybe tonight we can try it again? When the movie is over. We can go to our bedroom. We can get ready for bed and we can sleep together. Like how things used to be.”

“Joel,” she began, folding her arms in front of her chest and lifting her head to meet the stare of the beautiful, brown eyes that she had fell in love with from the start. “It isn’t your bed anymore. This isn’t your house anymore. Your bed and your home are a block or two over with Tommy.”

Disappointment flooded his veins when she back stepped toward the door and grabbed a hold of the doorknob, turning it slightly to open it. It was then he realized how much he genuinely fucked up with what he said to her earlier.

“We can be civil with each other, but I know where this is headed. It’s headed in the same place that it is every time this happens. You are lonely. We have sex a few times. You realize it’s just the loneliness and you break my heart again. I don’t know how much of my heart is left,” she realized she sounded dramatic with the way that his eyes looked miserable while she spoke. “You can sleep on the couch after the movie is over. But in the morning, just go back home where you want to be.”

Going to open his mouth, Joel grumbled under his breath when she pushed open the door and stepped inside the home. Sure, what he said was honest, but he didn’t think it would ruin what they had been developing over the night.  But once again, there was no time for them to talk because they had to be with the children instead of getting to talk things out. And that made things hard.

----

Tags: @chainsawsangel @fancypeacepersona @violent-darkness @negansbestie @elegantfanficluv

@sanctuaryforthelost @dead-of-niight @dilfsandmartinis

[fuji09]

Stiles Stilinski isn't as... UNCARING as you think.

Part 1 of my "[character] isn't as..." series.

There are many things Stiles has said that gets used against him. Stiles uses humor and sarcasm as coping mechanisms.

We all know he has severe trauma like:

Losing his mom to an illness that made her not herself anymore and think her own son was trying to hurt her as she slowly wasted away.

Being physically attacked by his mom during a moment where she swore he wasn't her son and was trying to hurt her.

He watched her die in her hospital room while alone with her because his dad had to work.

The constant fear of losing his dad and trying to control anything he can, like what his dad eats to try to keep him healthy and alive for a long time.

The constant fear of losing his dad while he's on the job so he listens in on his dad's police calls, not only to be nosy but to know what his dad is dealing with and if he's in danger.

Living with his dad drinking too much after his mom dies and feeling like everything is his fault.

Seeing a dead body and thinking it was his dad for a minute until the sheriff finally appeared.

The constant fear of losing his only best friend Scott.

The fear in the back of his mind that he might get the illness that killed his mother.

Almost being killed by Scott multiple times when he first turned. (Not bashing Scott, just stating a fact)

Almost having to cut off Derek's arm.

His relationship with his dad slowly deteriorating because he has to lie and keep the secret about the supernatural, not only to protect Scott and Derek, but to try to keep his dad safe.

Finding Lydia bitten by Peter and when he tries to help her, Peter won't allow it and forces Stiles to go with him (abducting Stiles) to use him to find Derek.

Having Chris shove him against the wall and antagonizing him and Stiles mouths off about how the Argents killed Derek's family.

Being paralyzed twice by the Kanima and the first time it happened he was having to see and listen to a guy slowly die by being crushed by a car lift that his jeep is on.

Holding Derek up in the pool for 2 hours when Derek was paralyzed.

Almost drowning with Derek in the pool.

Erica bashing him on the head with a part from his jeep and he wakes up in a dumpster.

Feeling guilty when his dad is forced to stop being sheriff for a while because of all the supernatural shit which made him look incompetent.

Having to punch Derek awake multiple times.

Constantly harassed by Mr. Harris during class.

Abducted by Gerald and taken to the Argents basement where Erica and Boys are being tortured. Gerard beats the shit out of Stiles.

Almost losing his dad to the Darach.

Trying to keep Cora alive while she's dying from mistletoe poisoning.

Having reality slowly slip away from him, not knowing whether he's asleep or not, and having night terrors.

Thinking he got the illness that killed his mom (he literally had to live for a bit thinking he was going to die within a few years!) when it was really the nogitsune.

Being chipped away at and possessed by the nogitsune.

Living with the knowledge of what really happened with Scott's dad leaving and never telling Scott.

Committing himself to Eichen House to try to keep his loved ones safe but putting himself in danger and in a very toxic environment.

Being put into solitary confinement and sedated when he was trying to stay awake to keep the nogitsune from getting full control.

His first time having sex and it's not even really him doing it but the nogitsune, so he didn't really get to truly consent.

Almost having a hole drilled into his head in the Eichen House basement by his roommate.

Having guns and various weapons pointed at him.

Thinking Derek is dead multiple times.

Seeing multiple dead bodies.

Being infected during their SATs with some unknown illness.

Having a gun shoved against his forehead as his teacher counts to 3, saying if he doesn't tell him where his friends are he's going to pull the trigger and kill Stiles. Stiles stands there refusing to give in.

Stiles' teacher was shot right in front of him, blood splattered on his face and he thinks for a moment that he was shot. Then he sees Scott's dad who killed the teacher.

Taken hostage with Lydia by the Eichen House orderly Brunski and tied up in the basement and was almost murdered.

Stiles seeing Derek is dying in Mexico and he wants to stay with him but Derek insists he go save Scott, Stiles is trying to choose which to do but Derek tells him to go so he does, knowing Derek will be dead before he gets back.

Donovan attacking Stiles in the school parking lot and bites his shoulder. Then chases Stiles into the school library, trying to kill him and threatening to kill the sheriff once he's done with Stiles.

Stiles accidentally killing Donovan. It wasn't even self defense, it was an accident. Stiles pulled a clip to release polls to keep Donovan away from him but ended up with Donovan getting impaled.

Feeling guilty and scared about Donovan's death and worried someone will find out.

Theo blacking mailing Stiles.

Feeling like his worst fear of losing Scott was happening during the confrontation when Scott thought Stiles murdered Donovan and Stiles thought Scott saw his self-defense (technically accident) as murder.

Almost losing his dad when he was shot.

Being forgotten by everyone because he was taken by the Ghost Riders. Which was made even worse by him calling Scott and Scott had no idea who Stiles was and then Stiles finds his dad, thinks for a moment his dad remembers him, then his dad asks him who he is.

Being stuck where the Ghost Riders took him, some train station, and he's stuck with Peter.

Being shot in the foot.

I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting, but clearly Stiles has been through way too much in such a short period of time.

Stiles cares, he cares deeply, kinda to the point of too much. He neglects himself, his wants and needs, to take care of his loved ones. The guy would literally die for his dad, Scott, and Derek.

He lets himself hurt to protect his friends, he goes into fights when he is a human who has no powers but he doesn't hesitate to fight with his friends. He never tells Scott about Gerard kidnapping him and hurting him because he refused to be a message to Scott.

Stiles jokes about killing or letting Jackson, Derek, and Peter die. He doesn't actually mean it (except maybe a tiny bit with Peter, which is fair). He doesn't want anyone to die. He doesn't want to actually kill anyone. He jokes and is sarcastic as a coping mechanism.

He also keeps everyone at arm's length. Even his dad and Scott. He's got abandonment issues and he protects himself by not letting anyone in too much. He talks a lot but he doesn't actually say much. Gives the illusion that's he's an open person but he's really not.

Stiles says inconsiderate things, yes that is true. But what better way to keep people from getting too close than being a dick sometimes? Stiles isn't an asshole, but he can and does act like an asshole sometimes.

With his loved ones, he's loyal af too. Even when he doesn't agree with the plan, he stays loyal. Stiles cares a lot about the people he loves. He wants to protect them and keep them safe. He may not care about everywhere, which is fair, but he does his best to protect people. He will even stand in front of werewolves to try to protect them even though he is the squishy human.

Stiles has a lot of feelings that he shows, but he also has a lot of feelings that he doesn't show. He puts everyone's feelings before his own.

Stiles seems to always feel guilty about something. Usually stuff dealing with his mom or dad.

I see people saying how callous Stiles is but he's really not. Yes, he can be cruel if he wants to be, if someone really hurts him, but he isn't an uncaring person. He's a pretty sensitive guy who puts on an uncaring front.

[itsnathateasy]

Natt your headcannons are so cute and I desperately need comfort right now🙏 of course you write best with Armin... but can I beg you to write hcs for Erwin and a child/child-figure reader? maybe the rest of the veterans too, I love them so much</3

(although, honestly, Armin is so clearly Erwin's favorite lolol. hed be the kind of dad to very non-subtly talk to Armin about his kid who just so happens to be around the same age like a grandma trying to get her grandkid a partner...)

hi lydia! right into the hormones with this ask! i’m not apologising for wanting an Erwin daddy (for myself tehe😈) (i'm so glad you're enjoying the hcs so far!🫂 thanks for taking the time to read them!)

sorry for taking ages to write this, i've been all over the place lately and these headcanons have been my sole consolation!

warnings: mentions of pregnant reader in the beginning, otherwise mostly fluff! also, this is in a canonverse!

word count: 1,9k

So if you and Erwin had a kid, you’ve literally nothing to worry about. He’s a good daddy (to the both of you😈). He’s the best paternal figure for your kid and an amazing partner.

The moment you told Erwin you’re pregnant, you felt as if your entire world had collapsed. He literally couldn’t have appeared any more disinterested. Sure, he was tired from his mission, but… Didn’t you deserve some attention? All you got was a “That’s amazing sweetheart, I’m so proud of you” and a peck on the temple, before he returned to his newspaper. You were so upset and decided to get some sleep because, if you didn’t, he wouldn’t make it out of the house alive. Truth be told, he was probably trying to conceal his panic. He was going to be a dad!

To your surprise, you woke up to Erwin emptying your laundry room, measuring the walls, windows, door etc. “Just making sure this is a proper room for an infant. Won’t you take a look at those colour and fabric catalogues? I’ve marked a few choices I liked” you couldn’t help but smile to yourself. A man of action, indeed!

The first time Erwin saw your baby he was so conscious with his actions, scared to death that he might hurt them unintentionally. “Just support their head and torso and… You’re doing great!” you said as you fully let go of your baby in his strong arms. “This is so… God, y/n… This is the best day of my entire life!” This was the only time you ever witnessed the commander sobbing.

(This is genderless of course BUT I feel that Erwin would KILL for a son, but then he gets a daughter and goes all “I’ll make you a strong, independent woman”, you feel me? Back to the genderless kid now!)

Erwin is a tough love kind of person. While this still applies to him as a dad, you’ve seen tremendous change in him. He’s so caring and giving to your child, you almost don’t recognise him at first. (Although as the kid grows up, he kinda goes back to being more of a tough love type of guy, but mostly to teach them the value of hard work or something) (the type of dad to teach them a bunch of things, whether the kid likes it or not!)

I mean, if your kid isn’t doing their homework, Erwin will of course try to get to the bottom of things. “Why don’t you want to study today? Is something wrong at school?” but he’s also the dad to “Listen, I can plant the knowledge in your head, but I can’t make it sprout for you. You have to study on your own as well and you need to pay attention to your teachers. I’ll be in the living room if you’ve more questions”.

Erwin is the dad to plan Sundays in nature. Although he adores the sound of you and your kid playing indoors, while he’s reading his paper, he does love to actively spend time with you. He believes every outdoor activity is a great chance to teach you both some new skills, so do expect him to show you (and your toddler) how to chop wood. “Erwin, they’re three years old” “They need to know about these things, y/n. When I was their age, my dad made me carry the logs all the way home too” “You’re not making our three-year old carry logs Erwin” you protested with a slight glare. “I’m not making our three-year old carry logs, sweetheart”, surrendering with a smile.

While Erwin is more of a traditional dad, I don’t think this applies to how he sees you or his participation in housework and childcare. He’s traditional because he wants to teach your kid values and nurture them into a decent human being. That’s why he makes extra sure to help you fold clothes, clear the dining table etc. Especially if your kid is watching you. He’s trying to set the best possible example. If your kid is old enough to participate in chores, Erwin makes sure they do. “Chores are something we share. It’s like when dad’s on a mission with his team. Every team member has an important role to play. Our role inside the house is to make sure that the chores are completed.” It’s a good thing he was so attentive to the kid as he spoke, because you were on the verge of tears. Where did you even get this man?

He’s also traditional in the sense that he wants to be the provider. He’s the man to make a fuss when you say you want to get back to work, but he also respects you enough to recognise that you have to make your own choices on these matters.

Erwin is so big on rules, it’s almost annoying sometimes. “Why are you still in your pyjamas?” (even on a Saturday!) type of rules. Also, “There’s no dessert, if you don’t finish your lunch. Do you think your mother is obligated to cook for you? We should support mum, show her we’re grateful for all she does for us, not make her life miserable. Eat your peas, then we can all enjoy some pudding”.

“Same goes for mum. Mum has to finish her plate AND her pudding, so she can get some rest.” He gave you a playful smirk, knowing how you were desperate for a nap after your long day.

I KNOW IT IN MY BONES that Erwin is a sucker for activities he considers “smart”. Playing chess, reading books, solving puzzles and crosswords, that kind of games. He also tries to make up his own mind games. He thinks this is the best way to keep your kid’s mind as sharp as possible.

(He also makes them ACTUALLY strategise with him smh… He says that “a fresh, unbiased mind can share a fresh, unbiased perspective”. He’s always super impressed by the comments your child shares with him and how complex those comments become as they mature).

“Dad, how did you and mum meet?” You and Erwin exchange a look at the unexpected question. “Let me demonstrate...” he walked closer to you and held your hand in his. “Erwin we can’t really… Demonstrate this...” You admitted shyly, cheeks blushing, recalling one of your very first dates. “We’ll only demonstrate the suitable for work details, such as...” you inhaled sharply as he slammed you on his torso “How I asked you to dance with me and you didn’t know how to, so you kept stepping on my toes” “It’s not true Erwin! Don’t perpetuate the lie!” You couldn’t hold back your laughter at the sweet memory. “Dad, dad! Did mum go like this on your toes?” then proceeded to give him the worst toe-stepping experience of his life, as they stepped down on him with all of their force.

“The little devil almost threw my nails out! Can you believe how strong they are already?” He said rubbing his sore toes. “That was karma, Erwin, delivered to you in the best way possible!”

“When can I go out on my own dad?” “When you’re tall enough to reach things from the top shelf for your mother. Now go back to your studying.”

When your kid is sick, Erwin kinda loses it. Not in a hectic or panicky way. Mostly, he doesn’t know how to care for a sick person. He’s used to taking the sick or injured people to the infirmary, but how do care for a tiny person?

“Calm down, Erwin! It’s just a cold! Think of yourself. What do YOU do when you’re sick?” “I- Uhm...” He considered this for a while, deep in thought, his fist supporting his chin. “I don’t do anything, y/n. I’ve only ever been to the infirmary due to injuries” “You’re insufferable Erwin” you giggled as you showed him to your medicine cabinet. “They still weigh around sixty pounds. You pop one of these bad boys” you pointed to the painkillers, making the pills jiggle inside their paper box as you continued, “and you have to make sure they’ve eaten beforehand. It helps to drink some water as they swallow the pill. Take their temperature every few hours, make them drink some water, and that’s it!” All this time, his eyes were glued on yours, taking in every single thing you said. “Am I a bad father for not having attending to my sick kid before?” he questioned, eyes still deep in thought, obviously upset by his absence from your kid’s life. “You provide for us. And you risk your life for our entire community, every single day you’re not with us.” You said and touched your arm to his shoulder. “It’s no easy task. Besides, you’re here now and you’re here as often as you’re able too. You’re here for what’s important, trust me.” You explained earnestly. “You still do most of the work though, y/n. It’s not fair. You shouldn’t be doing this on your own.” “I’m not on my own now, am I?”

He really questions himself when it comes to finding a balance between work and family. I know it in my heart that he's doing his best for his precious family!

Erwin intervenes. A whole lot. “What is this book you’re reading?” “Do you have your eyes on any special lady/gentleman?” “Why didn’t you get the highest score in your class?”. Sometimes, he really puts too much pressure on your child. You have to pull him aside and explain that “You can’t control what another person does. Let them be themselves. They’re doing so well already, they’re just… Not as obsessed with succeeding in everything as you” you said and smirked at him. “I’m not obsessed, I’m just the best, y/n! Did you think I became the commander on accident?” He protested, in an almost defensive way, his hand on his chest. “I’m only saying, they don’t have to be as successful as you. They’re good enough and they’re doing their own thing. Let them be and don’t project on them.” He gave you a look as if he saw you for the first time. “Do you think I’m acting like my father, y/n?” (THE PANIC IN HIS VOICE!!)

When your kid receives a medal or does well in whatever they’re interested in, Erwin is the most proud dad to ever exist on the planet. His face is actually glowing and he’s boasting way more than the kid themselves. “I think they took after my sense of discipline. Look how far they’ve come y/n!” “Of course they take after you, Erwin! You’ve taught them so much!” “They wouldn’t be who they are without you, sweetheart.”

BONUS (when the child is 16+)

I do agree that Erwin is the type of person to try and introduce his kid to his favourite scouts. It’s also no secret that Erwin has a liking to Armin. A first, he’s not so sure that Armin is a good candidate for his offspring, as he used to be this timid, small boy. But as time passes, Erwin sees the brilliant mind and strategist that is Armin, he’s got to secure him, you know??

He’d make sure the offspring attends any formal ceremonies as an attempt to get these two to interact. Once he’s finally introduced them to one another, he tries so desperately to put in a good word here and there. It’s funny, because neither Armin or your kid has realised Erwin is doing this on purpose. “Can you not play match maker Erwin? Aren’t you a bit old for this?” “You don’t understand sweetheart. Armin’s a real catch! He’s going to be a commander after I retire, I’m sure! We just need to keep a close eye on him!”

[seen-the-stars]

thinking about gorgug and the thistlesprings. thinking about how wilma & digby have gone their whole life trying to raise gorgug as a sweet, non-violent kind if guy. how they were so fixated to prove their families wrong that they didn't realise it wasn't healthy for their son. that they've been loving gorgug despite his rage for so long that they haven't even considered to love him with it, because of it.

thinking about lydia barkrock who's been continuously raging for 20 years, and how her rage is so special and noble. thinking about ragh who's grown up with a barbarian half-orc parent. the fact that despite all he's been through, he was never ashamed of his rage.

thinking about autistic gorgug, who's been masking his rage for all his life, being in porter's class where he's told that if he isn't boiling angry all the time he's useless. how he sees all the kids around him having no issue engaging with their rage. if he ever thinks, "why am i the only person who is struggling with this?" or "fig's not even a barbarian why can she do it and i still can't fucking get it?" or "what does everybody want from me and can they just please fucking agree instead of pulling me in 5 different directions at once all of the time??"

wondering if gorgug ever sees the barkrocks together and feels that quiet jealousy bubbling. if he reprimands himself instantly because it's not fair and ragh deserves this and his own parents aren't bad people, they're just.. different. maybe a little too wrapped up in their families' prejudice to allow them to be even the littlest bit of right.

thinking about lydia barkrock looking at this kid who's never been taught that it's okay to feel his feelings, all of them. wondering if she sees ragh's struggle with his identity mirrored in gorgug. does she feel guilty, for not noticing her son was so afraid to be who he is? does she wish she would have been more there, more open, more supportive? does she ever look at gorgug biting down his rage and think "don't do this, kid, don't go down that path, look at how much damage it did to my son"? does she consider talking to the thistlesprings about it? does she know about their parenting?

thinking about gorgug and ragh, having support in the aspect of their life they didn't really need– gorgug in his sexuality, ragh in his rage. do they bond, over this? do they joke about swapping parents sometimes? do they support each other in the ways their parents couldn't do for them?

[literatecowboy]

The King With No Name

1. An Unconventional Princess

Part 2 here Summary: König - the king of Caldera - has been called upon by your father to choose a bride from his daughters in order to establish an alliance to keep peace over the lands they rule. When he arrives, he is enraptured by you, your father’s eldest child - an unconventional woman by all standards. He pursues your hand in marriage, doing his best to make you fall in love with him like he has fallen in love with you - much to your dismay Author's Notes: Inspired by the royalty fics I’ve been seeing around lately Warnings: Arranged marriage, eventual smut, pining, dogged pursuit of reader’s love and affection

-----

Kaustav Castle was well-positioned and well-fortified and as a result, had stood the test of time and war. Built at the intersection of three rivers on a large, grassy plain, it had served as the seed of a kingdom and a city had sprung up around it. 

Many kings had walked its halls and ruled from its throne. Blood had been spilled on its battlements and fires had ripped through the chambers but she stood strong through war, flood, and plague. 

The times were peaceful now and your father intended to ensure they remained that way, so he had invited a guest into your home. Gates creaked open and drawbridges crashed to the ground. Banners waved and fanfare played as the king of the neighboring empire, Caldera, rode his large black stallion into Kaustav Castle’s courtyard to be greeted by your father the King, and many of his lords. 

Your sisters gathered at the window above in the dining room, watching as he came into view. 

“Is that him? Why is he still wearing that hood?” Sadie asked, peering around Lydia to get a better view. She smoothed her hand through her hair and fanned herself slowly. 

“They say he never takes it off, not even in his castle. He must be quite the terrifying sight on the battlefield.” Lydia murmured, watching as König dismounted and shook your father’s hand firmly. 

“He’s so…big. The stories did not do him justice.” Sadie murmured. Her cheeks pinkened and she giggled. You rose from where you were seated by the fire, sharpening your hunting knife, and tucked the blade into its sheath at your side. 

“Let me have a look,” you grunted, pushing the curtain further aside and looking down on the scene with your arms folded. König knelt and kissed your mother’s hand through the hood - you knew she would be impressed by his chivalry. 

“You still want to marry him?” you turned to Sadie and leaned against the wall, concern etched across your face. 

“If he chooses me, I will go. He…intrigues me,” she said with a soft smile, blushing. 

“And what if he chooses you?” you asked Lydia. She frowned. 

“I know that you’ve been speaking to Lord Henry and father seems to favor him. What will you do if König wishes to marry you?” you asked. Lydia shook her head. 

“I will be making myself scarce, though I do not plan to avoid him outright like you do,” she admitted. 

“Father wishes for him to marry me and I wish for the same. I will charm him and distract him from you two.” Sadie said, a twinkle in her eye. You snorted. 

“Oh, Sadie, what would we do without you?” you said, smiling and embracing her gently. Outside, König and your parents walked into the castle. 

“I ought to leave before they get up here. I’ll be in the stable preparing for a hunt if either of you needs a break from the formality.” you offered. Your sisters bid you goodbye as you slipped into the hidden servant’s corridor and raced downstairs and towards the outside world. 

You had always been different from your sisters. Your father had hoped for sons, but when you were born and quickly followed by your sisters, he had elected to raise you like the son he did not have. While Sadie and Lydia had been raised as proper ladies and were doted upon by your father, he had raised you to ride and hunt and govern and had pushed you almost to the point of being controlling. 

Your mother was still unsure about her oldest daughter going about like a man, but as your father was in poor health and there were no male heirs to the throne, she was relying on you growing up strong enough to maintain power after your father’s death to protect her, Sadie, and Lydia.

When you reached the stables below you called out a greeting to the stablehand who waved back to you. Your family was beloved by your father’s people and you made sure to spend time socializing in the village to build good relationships with the people you would someday lead. 

“Going out for a hunt?” a voice called out to you from the back of the stable as you brought your little tan mare out of her stall and hitched her to a post. You raised your head and made eye contact with one of the lords visiting for König’s arrival. 

“Ah, good morning, Lord Marrick. And yes, I’m off to look for game before dinner. Will you be joining my father and König?” you asked. 

“Call me Ferdinand, please, my lady. And yes, I had planned to - will you not be attending?” he asked, leaning against the stable wall and offering your horse a snack. 

“I’m doing my best to stay out of sight of König,” you admitted with a laugh. “My father has offered him the hand of any of his daughters, after all, and even though I am not…conventional…I wish not to risk marriage being forced upon me.”

“Will you never marry?” Ferdinand asked, his voice softening. There was something in his eyes that you couldn’t read as he came a little closer to you. You hefted a blanket, then a saddle, onto your horse’s back. 

“No. When Father dies, I cannot risk having the control of my kingdom wrestled away from me by a man who means to harm the people,” you admitted. Ferdinand nodded slowly. 

“That is…a shame, I must admit,” he said softly. Your cheeks felt hot. You and Ferdinand had known each other since you were children and had always been close. He cleared his throat as you tightened the straps of the saddle and buckled your bedroll onto the back. 

“I have a gift for you,” he admitted. You turned and smiled at him. 

“Oh, Ferdinand, you didn’t have to get me anything,” you said. 

“Nonsense, your birthday just passed, did it not? This might help you on your hunt today,” he said, fumbling in his pocket. pulling out an item wrapped in cloth, and offering it to you. You took it and unwrapped it slowly, gasping when you saw the contents. 

A small charm on a chain laid against the leather, delicately carved from a deer’s antler and decorated with silver. It was the symbol of the goddess you held most dear to your heart - the goddess of the woods and plains. 

“It’s for good luck. I had it blessed by one of her priests in town before I came.” Ferdinand admitted, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. 

“Oh, Ferdinand, it’s lovely. I will surely have bountiful hunts with this attached to my quiver.” You embraced him warmly, smiling against his chest as he hugged you tightly. 

“Here, help me put it on!” you invited, slinging your quiver off your back and unlacing the leather at the top. You held tightly to it as Ferdinand gently laced the leather through the charm and tied it into place securely. 

“Get going now, before the sun sets!” he said with a laugh, smiling as you took your horse’s reins. 

“I’ll come see you later and tell you stories of my hunt should anything exciting happen,” you said, eyes gleaming as you led your horse out into the courtyard and prepared to mount up. 

—

König sat in the parlor with your family chatting idly with your mother and father as Sadie leaned forward attentively and Lydia busied herself in the corner of the room behind him. Movement outside of the window in the courtyard drew his eye and he watched as you led your horse outside. He was instantly enraptured by your beauty, your boldness as you waved goodbye to someone in the stable, and your strength as you controlled your horse.

“I believed you to have three daughters?” he asked suddenly, cutting off your father as he discussed local harvests. Your mother and father glanced at each other warily. 

“Yes, I do. The third is…a rather special case,” your father admitted, taking your mother’s hand. König watched as your horse nosed at your pocket and you laughed, pulling out the apple you had inside it and giving it to her. His chest tightened and he leaned forward slightly, gaze fixed on you intently. He watched the horse nibble at the apple in your small hand and imagined how it might fit in his.

“She is special?” he asked idly, his gaze fixed on you as you swung the reins around and mounted up. Your father followed his gaze. 

“I have had no sons. I suppose that as a result, I raised her as I would have a son.” The room lapsed into silence. 

König watched as you spurred your horse forward and took off at a gallop, laughing as you raced out of the castle gates and towards the open plains. His heart thumped faster in his chest and he was thankful for the hood that covered his flushing cheeks. 

“I should like to meet her.”

—

Your hunt was largely uneventful, and you spent more time enjoying the sensation of the wind flowing through your hair and shooting at random tree targets than you did hunting game. As hours passed and the sun set, you felt sure that it would be safe to return home now. Sadie had surely charmed König and he had declared his intention to marry her to your father. 

After reaching the stable and untacking your horse, you sorted everything away and fed her before bidding her goodnight. Ferdinand met you at the castle’s backdoor, concern in his eyes. 

“Your father is looking for you. König seems set on wanting to meet you - he kept asking after you at dinner tonight,” he warned, following you as you slipped inside. 

“Seriously? Do you know what he wants?” you asked, your eyes widening. 

“Just to talk, I guess. He didn’t seem interested in Sadie or Lydia at all,” he said, following you as you headed into the kitchen. 

“Fuck, Ferdinand, that’s the last thing I wanted,” you growled, snagging some leftovers one of the cooks had left for you and sitting down at the table in the corner. Ferdinand sat across from you. 

“Just lay low, okay? I’ll warn you if I hear anything else.” he offered before taking his leave. You ate quickly and quietly, lost in thought, before rising and hurrying out of the kitchen and going into the servant’s stairwell. You thought it best to avoid the main halls for now - who knew where König may have been lurking?

When you reached your room you breathed a sigh of relief, shutting the door behind you. You had failed to see the looming shadow in the hallway behind you, and as you stepped behind the partition in the corner of the room to undress, the door slowly creaked open. 

You froze - you were wearing only your underclothes - and slid your knife from its sheath on your belt which you had hung on its hook. 

“Sadie? Lydia?” You called out softly, stepping slowly around the partition. You squeaked and dove back to safety as you caught sight of the looming mass standing at your door. 

“Get out!” you whisper-shouted, doing your best not to wake your sisters sleeping across the hall. 

“I am sorry. I had to see you…to speak to you. You are a thing of beauty.” he said, his heavily accented voice almost breathless. 

“You have no right to come in while I am dressing!” you hissed, pulling your sleeping gown over your head so that you were covered and striding out into your room, your knife leveled at his chest. 

“Get out!” you snarled, jabbing at him and fixing your stance to hold your ground. 

“You are not capable of hurting me with that little thing, maus,” he murmured but did not come closer. Your hand trembled slightly as he drank you in. 

“You are even more beautiful up close.” he breathed, eyes wide. He clasped his hands together and fell to his knees. He had not felt so flustered since he was a young boy. 

“I would choose you from your sisters as my wife, maus, if you would have me. Please,” he begged softly, offering you his hands. 

“Get out. I won’t warn you again. Marry Sadie.” you hissed dangerously. His heart fluttered - he was falling for you hard. 

“If you will not agree now, you must come to know me and I will come to know you. Yes? I will come to see you tomorrow.” he breathed, the plea evident in his voice. You surged forward, pressing the tip of the knife where you guessed the base of his throat was. 

“Out.” you snarled. König got up slowly, and taking the knife by the blade gingerly, kissed your hand as it was wrapped around the handle. You jerked away, leaving him with the knife. 

“I will see you…gute nacht, maus,” he murmured, taking the knife with him as he left. Your heart thundered in his chest as you slammed and locked the door behind him. 

What the fuck?

[aphroditeinthesea]

this was a request from @annaizcool44 but i accidentally deleted it when i tried to post it

“ safe in my garden, an ancient flower blooms ”

jason grace x daughter of demeter ⚡️

reader expresses her feelings to the son of zeus through a shared love of books

tw none

⋆ ˚｡ ⋆୨💐୧⋆ ˚｡ ⋆

“Whatcha reading?” Y/N jumped at the sound of the voice behind her. She was sitting on the porch of the Demeter cabin when she noticed the blond approaching her.

She looked up and smiled, “Little Women,” she scooted over for him to sit next to her, “ever read it?”

He shook his head, sitting beside her. He leaned over her shoulder at the page she was on, “what’s it about?”

She felt her ears warm at the closeness, “these four sisters during the Civil War, and their dad’s fighting in the army so they're trying to adjust to their life now… I guess.”

“Can I borrow it sometime?”

Jason heard a knock at his door in the early morning. He yawned and rubbed his eyes as he stood up, walking to open it. He found on his doorstep a copy of Little Women with a sticky note on top that read “For Jason, with love Y/N” and he couldn't help but notice the fresh flowers that had sprouted around his cabin.

He smiled and looked around. He saw the girl peering from behind a nearby tree. She turned away, giggling, when he looked her way.

His heart warmed. He stepped back into his cabin and flipped through the pages, he found little notes in the margins and underlined quotes.

For the rest of the day, the book never left his hands. During breakfast, during training, his eyes were glued to the pages.

Just before the campfire, Y/N peeked into his cabin, “Jason?”

She noticed him wipe his eyes, “oh, uh, hey.”

She smiled and walked over to his bed, “Beth?”

He nodded, “yeah. Why would the author write that?”

She bit her lip, “Jase, it’s a true story.”

His eyes widened, “no.”

“Yes.”

Tears began pricked out of his eyes, “that makes it so much worse.”

She sympathetically laughed, wrapping her arms around him. He nuzzled his head into her neck. She couldn't help but smile at how the usual tough guy was now crying in her arms over a book. A book she had gifted him.

He pulled away, “your little note made it better though,” he grinned. He opened the book to the last page he had read, “Jason, when you get here, come to my cabin, I know you’ll need to.”

She laughed, “I think I know you too well.”

He nodded, “I think so.”

“You wanna read Pride and Prejudice?” she asked, “one more sister, happier ending.”

He chuckled, “might as well.”

She showed up to his cabin just before curfew, “the Bennett sisters, Jane, Lizzie, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia, search for love in 1813 England,” she announced in a pretend professional voice.

“No scarlet fever?”

She shook her head, “no scarlet fever. Jane gets a cold, but it's nothing serious.”

He hesitantly grabbed the book from her hands, “thanks, Y/N.”

“No problem, Jason, it's nice getting to share these with you.”

“Yeah, it's nice for me, too,” he trailed off, looking away, “I should get to bed.”

“Right, yeah, of course,” she smiled, “goodnight.”

“‘Night,” he replied, closing the door.

“Oh, uh, one more thing.”

He slightly opened the door again, “hm?”

She took a deep breath and placed a kiss on his cheek, “see you in the morning.”

He stuttered, trying to suppress his blush, “yeah- yeah, see you,” he awkwardly smiled, closing the door again.

The next morning she watched him sit at the Zeus table, reading the book. Her heart raced as she knew he was getting closer to the last annotation she had written. She started to regret it, what if he thought the books just made them closer friends? Of course they were friends, she cursed herself for thinking he could see her differently. He glanced up at her, he flashed a smile and a nod her way. She turned pink, looking away.

“Y/N!” the all too familiar voice called to her as she sat by the dock, watching the sunset later that day.

She turned around, “Jason, hi,” she shyly smiled.

He took the spot next to her, handing the book back to her, “I finished the book.”

She nervously looked into his eyes, “and?”

“It was great!” he beamed, “everything about it.”

She furrowed her eyebrows, “even the ending?”

“That was the best part.”

“Jason,” she laughed, “did you even read the annotations?”

He squinted his eyes in confusion, “of course I did.”

She opened the book to the back cover. She folded it open and showed it to him. There was written in pink ink, “Will you be the Darcy to my Lizzie?”

“I know it’s cheesy,” she muttered, closing the book and turning away.

“Yes,” he paused, “wait, no. Yes to the question, not to it being cheesy. Well, it is cheesy but it’s cute. You're cute.”

She giggled, “thanks, so are you.”

He held her cheek in his hand, their gazes met before their lips crashed into one another. She placed her hands around his neck as he now held her face with both of his hands. When they pulled away, their foreheads leaned against one another and they could feel the other’s breath against their lips.

The next morning, Jason walked out his cabin to find a field of multicolored roses had encompassed him. He looked around just to find the girl responsible standing in the middle of the flowers, holding a book. He breathily laughed and made his way over to her.

“Here,” she smiled, handing him the book.

He took it, “Mansfield Park?”

“Jane Austen, she wrote Pride and Prejudice, too.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her into a kiss, “sounds perfect.”

[honestlyspookytyphoon]

Moving In And Moving On

Summary: After months of being for sale, the house across Pascale’s is sold to a young woman, Y/N. When summer comes, both women have grown close and Pascale tries to set her up with her son, Charles. However, unbeknownst to Pascale, Y/N happens to be the woman who broke Charles’ heart not so long ago…

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x female reader, but Pascale turned out to be the main character lol

Warnings: Angst (fed by a cruel thing called reality) – Brief mentions of loved ones passing away – The ending sucks, but I could not come up with anything better for now

Word count: +/- 2.5k

Author’s note: This piece was initially written as part 2 to ‘Cake, coffee and…Charles’, but it can also be read as a standalone. English is not my first language, so please forgive me any grammar mistakes and incoherent writing.

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Pascale was surprised when the ‘For Sale’-sign disappeared out of the front garden from the house across hers. The house had been empty since the elderly owners – Philippe and Lydia, two 80-plussers who had been together for over 65 years - moved to a care home several years ago and after both of them passed away, the family decided to sell it.

For the entire 15 years Pascale has been living in the neighbourhood, the house has been there. She warmed up to the elderly couple living across her quite soon and since then, Pascale had been there many times to chat or to help Philippe and Lydia with gardening or housekeeping when they were having health issues. In a way, the house was a part of her life. That is why, in a fit of nostalgia and melancholy, she decided to get the spare key and cross the street to visit the house one last time, before it would be teared down.

Pascale starts her tour in the small garden at the back, in which rare flowers used to blossom. She lively remembered the times when Philippe and Lydia brought her a small bouquet of these flowers to thank her, just because. Now, these flowers are all gone, overgrown by weed. From the garden, Pascale spots the small balcony at the side of the house, from which you have an amazing view of the surroundings. Philippe would sometimes serenade Lydia from below, knowing these romantic things riled her up the wall. Another fond memory of ancient times.

When Pascale enters the house, it is pitch black and musty. She tries to open the blinds but they are rusted. The power is out as well, so she uses the flashlight of her phone to get one last look of the interior. Despite the deck of dust and the fact that it surely is outdated – the house was built somewhere in the 1960’s –, the interior still creates a feeling of coming home, a safe haven. This feeling also appealed to Pascale’s three sons, who visited Philippe and Lydia from to time when they were young as the house looked like their grandparents’, who passed away too soon. When reminiscing the fond memories of her sons with ‘Phi and Ly’, she spots a picture of the five of them on the dresser. She remembers taking the picture during one of the many cookie-baking sprees on Wednesday afternoon: Lorenzo’s eyes were shooting daggers at Arthur for eating all the cookies, Charles was nickering and Philippe and Lydia were looking fondly at the three menaces in front of them. She gifted them the picture on their 60th anniversary and she never forgot their heartfelt reactions. Feeling tears welling up in her eyes, Pascale decides to take the picture with her before exiting via the back door. It was a house full of memories and history and Pascale hoped that the new owners could feel that too.

A few days after Pascale’s visit, the new owner arrived: Y/N, a 26-year-old woman. Since the house Y/N bought was old, much work needed to be done to meet current requirements and increase the comfort. As Y/N is just at the start of her career and many of Y/N’s savings were used to buy the house, she could not afford professional contractors to renovate the house; with the help of her parents and family, she is doing it all by herself.  However, as she has a full-time job, all work needs to be done during the weekends and after work, disturbing the peace in the otherwise quiet neighbourhood. Hence, to make sure her neighbours do not hate her already, she decides to visit them all to inform them on the upcoming works and to discuss planning.

Pascale was the last neighbour she visited. Y/N had knocked on Pascale’s front door a couple of time during the past weeks, but to no avail. The other neighbours had told Y/N about the special bond between Pascale and the previous owners, so she knew that this talk could be hard; she had to be delicate. Not that she held any accountability to Pascale – Y/N bought the house after all – but she had felt similarly when her grandmother’s house was sold; it takes time to accept that a place one grew accustomed is no longer there. Hence, Y/N wanted to show Pascale what the house would look like in the end and ensure her that she did not expect Pascale to accept her immediately. Taking one deep breath, Y/N rang the doorbell of Avenue Paul Doumer 5.

--- Three months later ----

The construction works were in full swing. The facade stones were taken away, cleaned and reused, the house’s insulation was improved and the windows were replaced. Today, Y/N and her nephew were removing the roof tiles to check and repair the underlying woodwork. Pascale watches both of them through her window. In the past months, she and Y/N have grown close. Pascale needed some time to get used to the new situation, but Y/N had been very understanding and an absolute sweetheart. The construction works never started before 7 a.m. and always ended at 10:30 p.m. sharp as agreed upon with the neighbourhood, she informed everybody upfront when there were any changes in the schedules, and she insisted to pay for the water, electricity and utensils she used. Pascale and Y/N always had a small chat when they saw each other and Lorenzo and Arthur, who visited their mom every month, also grew fond of her. Y/N was yet to meet Charles though, Pascale’s middle son, due to his busy racing schedule.

If he only met her, Pascale thought, she is the type of girl he needs. With the F1 summer break just around the corner and the final phase of the construction works nearing, an idea popped up in Pascale’s head.

---- August -----

The day of the street BBQ had come. Pascale had been preparing this event for weeks: doing a tour around the neighbourhood to fix a date, visiting the town hall to get permission to close the street, rent the tables, seats and parasols, making decorations and, of course, preparing the food and drinks – it has been hectic, but she was determined to make this day perfect.  

It was now 3 p.m. Charles parked his Ferrari at the small parking lot at the church and jogged his way over to his mother’s house. He knew he was running a bit late - something that his mother always told him was disrespectful - but he was met with a little fan on his way to the BBQ and he just could not refuse the small boy’s request to sign his drawing. When he spotted Pascale on the street, a small smile grew on his face; he loved his mom so dearly and it has been way to long since the last time they saw each other.

Pascale has been chatting with Y/N for almost 30 minutes now, only interrupted by her two sons – who told her that Charles would arrive a little later – and some other neighbours. Y/N was dressed in a loose floral dress that came a little above the knees, paired with white sneakers. She was wearing very little make-up and, much to Pascale’s relief, no wedding or engagement ring. Together with the fact that she had never seen any men at the site except for family members and never saw another car in the driveway than Y/N’s, Pascale was convinced that Y/N was single. She knew Charles was too but not wanting to be too intrusive, she decided to just plant a seed between Charles and her new neighbour today and see it from there.

When she heard the deep sound of Charles’ Ferrari, Pascale told Y/N that her third son had arrived and that she would be right back. Y/N’s hands became sweaty. Ever since she found out Pascale was Charles’ mom, she had been dreading this moment. There was no turning back now though.

---- Flashback ----

When Y/N visited Pascale for the first time last winter, her eyes quickly landed on all the family portraits hanging on the wall. It were paintings of a family of five, probably made by her sons in preschool, and pictures of Lorenzo, Arthur and Charles in different periods of their lives. In the middle hung a beautiful black-and-white picture of her husband, Hervé, who sadly passed away when the kids were still little. “There has been no other man in my life ever since”, Pascale said, the love for her deceased husband still evident in her voice. Looking at the paintings and pictures, Pascale could not help but be proud of where her family was now. Arthur and Charles were professional athletes and Lorenzo was active in finance. Both Lorenzo and Arthur had a lovely girlfriend, the eldest already thinking about children. Charles, however, was less steady when it came to love. After two long-term relationships, Charles got a bit lost; it was not easy for Charles to maintain a relationship given his hectic and public life. Although Pascale was sceptical and warned her son many times – as there are always people who try to surf on other’s success –, it hurt her to see him like this, trying to erase the loneliness inside him with alcohol and volatile love. At the end of last season though, a little spark returned in Charles’ eyes. He did not disclose much to his mom, apart from that he met a girl in France whilst being out with Pierre and some other friends and that they were texting each other very often. She had not heard him talk about her since the new season started, so she assumed that she was just another fling.

“That’s Lorenzo, this is Arthur and that’s Charles. Aren’t they beautiful young men, Y/N?” Pascale asked.

“They are, Pascale, they are”, Y/N replied. She was still looking at the picture of Charles, all memories of last winter hitting her like a truck.

It was almost a year ago when Charles and Y/N met each other in a small café in the south of France. Charles was out with his friends, unwinding from the previous season and enjoying a short get-away to prepare for the upcoming winter testing. Y/N happened to be in Nîmes that week for work and that is how they met. She had been quite bold that afternoon, handing her number to Charles when she left the café, fully well knowing who he was. She never expected him to do something with it – he was one of world’s eligible bachelors after all – so she almost fainted when he called her the next day, saying how much he liked talking to her. They kept texting from that day onwards, throwing in the occasional FaceTime-call late at night. Despite the fact that they were both busy and lived in other countries, not a day passed without contact. Long story short, Y/N and Charles were falling for each other, hard.

Pierre did not stop teasing Charles about it, relieved to see his best friend happy again. The people at Ferrari knew that there was something going on, sensing that the fast laps Charles was setting were not only due to the changes to the car. His brothers noticed he was mentally somewhere else when he did no longer weep the floor with Arthur during their weekly tennis matches. The presence of Y/N in Charles’ life changed him, but in a good way. He was glowing.

Y/N grew fonder of Charles by the second; he was such a sweetheart. While she was not into F1 that much before she met him, she was learning about the sport and following the testing sessions in Bahrein, such that they could talk about it without her sounding like a complete and utter fool. She found a renewed motivation in her work, supported by Charles who was amazed by both her beauty and brains – and he told her that, every day. She got back into learning French such that she could – or, at least, try – to talk to Charles in his mother tongue. In return, he gave her cute, French nicknames that made her blush, which Charles found incredibly endearing. She was glowing.

However, when it hit Y/N that the F1 season would be starting soon, she started to think. She loved Charles, she was sure of that, but a long-term relationship would not work. She had her responsibilities at home and Charles would be busy travelling, training and racing - she had been in a similar relationship before and things ended badly. The media would focus more on him too after he finished 2nd in last year's championship, attracting the attention from (new) female fans. Not that Y/N was the jealous type or that she did not trust him, but she knew there are women out there who are better suited for Charles, beautiful women who are willing to make sacrificies. Women Charles deserves. Therefore, before Y/N would move to her new home and Charles would start the season, they met in Turin to talk about it all. Y/N told Charles about her sorrows and although he wanted to deny it, despite him wanting all her reasoning to be wrong, despite him wanting to tell her to listen to her heart instead of her head, he knew she was right. Therefore, Charles and Y/N used the rest of that week in Turin to feel what it could have been; they had date nights in cosy restaurants, strolled through the city, went on hikes together and made the sweetest love. After sharing one last kiss at the airport and promising each other to never forget what they shared, Charles and Y/N parted ways.

For good.

---- Present -----  

Pascale swiftly disappeared to find her son. The local cover band Pascale hired was giving it all on the small stage and people were chatting away and enjoying the delicious pastries from the local bakery shop just a few blocks away. Y/N started mingling with Sebastien and Amélie, a young couple that was also relatively new to the neighbourhood.

Once he greeted everybody at the party, Charles was finally able to give his mom a proper hug. After a preach on how she does not see him enough and once made sure that he does take care of himself and eating enough, Pascale started updating him on all the latest gossip. Charles loves to gossip, especially with his mom because he loves how invested she is in it. After 20 minutes or so, when she decided she told Charles everything he needed to know, Pascale started to look around. She spotted Y/N a few tables further away, entertaining little Kasper. “I want you to meet our new neighbour, Charles. She is there with Kasper and Amélie. Come on.”

Although Charles did not know his mom’s new neighbour, he felt like he already did based on the stories Lorenzo and Arthur had been telling. From what he heard, she seems to be a lovely young woman. When he looked into the direction of little Kasper, he spotted her. She was wearing a white dress, which contrasted nicely against her bronzed skinned. Her hair was up in a messy bun, showing the delicate skin of her neck and shoulders. When he heard that the neighbours’ name was Y/N, his thoughts instinctively drifted back to his Y/N, his lost love, the woman whom he shared to best week of his life with. However, he never thought it would actually be her but now that he sees her, her petite frame, he knows it is her. The woman whose body he knows like the circuit of Monaco. The woman who still owns his heart. The woman he said goodbye to in Turin.

For good.

At least, that is what they both thought. Pascale gently taps Y/N on her shoulder. She turns around. “Y/N, I want you to meet my son Charles. Charles, this is Y/N, the new neighbour I told you about”.

Their eyes meet, for the first time in months. 

Should they act as if they never met?

Should she tell him that she moved on?

Should he tell her that he has not?

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[wanderingsoul6261]

A Happy Ending

gif credit goes to supporter-of-my-fav-ships

james beaufort x reader (Requested by an anon)

synopsis: We all felt jipped by that ending. Admit it. This is a glimpse of the happy ending we wished that James and Ruby had gotten.

I hope I got these guys right, I'm trying.

warning: talk of suggestive activities, but nothing much, really.

-------

Many at Maxton Hall had wondered what exactly happened to James and Ruby after they had left. Ruby was keen on going to Oxford. James, however, was not. Maybe it had something to do with his father. Perhaps it had more to do with the fact that he wanted to be his own person. Of course, there was nothing wrong with that, and if anything, Ruby had preferred it. 

However, the true events of what happened were only known to a few people. The Beauforts and the Bells. Mortimer Beaufort had cut off all contact with his son after James abandoned them, hoping for a happier and more carefree life. Sure he still had the money that had technically still belonged to him, so no matter what, things would still be easy. Mr. Beaufort had attempted at even dictating Lydia’s ability to connect with her twin, but he was never able to stop her for long. The two siblings were always able to figure something out. Percy was also willing to take Lydia to “lunch” with her “friends”. 

Even if Lydia missed her brother heavily, she was happy for him. He had achieved the impossible and had escaped the life that two of them in the end, didn’t seem to have a care for. 

James and Ruby had both stayed temporarily with her parents, before they had found their own place. They both agree that something that looked nice, but wasn’t exactly over the top, would be good enough for them. The two of them didn’t have any need for a manor as large as the one that the Beauforts owned. 

And with what they had, James and Ruby were happy. 

—-

Ruby had just arrived home from a long day at Oxford. The workload was strenuous and had definitely kept her busy. James in the end had decided that he too would go back to school, but had vowed to stay as far from Oxford as he could. It reminded him too much of his father and expectations. He had a short day today, and had therefore beat Ruby home. 

Ruby set her stuff down by the front door, walking into the living room, where James had surprised her. He watched her with a large smile, splayed across the couch. The tv was on, likely to serve as some background noise for him, but now that Ruby was home, he’d be more likely to watch it with her. James never did care much for tv, although they didn’t have much of it when he still lived with his parents. 

“Hello and welcome home.” He jumped up from the couch to greet her. Ruby looked confused, turning her gaze from him, to the takeout on the coffee table, and the various candles lit around the room. She had actually appreciated the cozy ambience that it brought to the house. It had almost reminded her of home back with her parents and younger sister. 

“What is this?” Ruby asked. James looked around the room. 

“What? I can’t create a romantic setting for my girlfriend at home?” he asked. James paused slightly on the take out, then turned his head so that he could see her. “Do you not like it?” 

Ruby shook her head, took a few steps forward, and grabbed ahold of his hands. 

“No, of course I do. I absolutely love it. I just wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.” Ruby reasoned. The two of them went on plenty of dates when they had the time, even if they were often reserved for the weekend because of how busy they were with classes during the week. James had actually felt bad that their date nights had often frequented only the weekends, and thus therefore wanted to do something for her during the week, which is what sparked this very moment. The way that he had viewed it specifically, it was kind of an apology. Like, “sorry that we are so busy and can only really do anything on the weekends, I hope this makes up for it”, kind of thing.

“Well, whether you expected it or not, you deserve it.” James tugged her towards the couch and ultimately, where the take out was laid out in front them. Ruby took in the sight and smell of the food, a smile growing on her. She turned her head to James to thank him, only to find him already staring. 

“Thank you.” She spoke softly, a smile matching the one currently on James’ face. 

“The pleasure is all mine, love.” He leaned over and captured her lips into a quick kiss, smiling against her lips before pulling away. 

“But.” Ruby started. “I’d say that we both deserve this.” He flashed her a smile. “You know? We are a couple doing couple things.” 

“What happened to being ‘bffs’ ?” James teased her, resulting in her rolling her eyes. “Careful now, roll your eyes any further into the back of your head and they might stay there.” It was silent for seconds before James spoke again. “Although, if you want, I can definitely give you a reason to roll your eyes into the back of your head.” He whispered softly. It resulted in his receiving a smack to his shoulder and him laughing out loud as Ruby became a blushing mess. 

The two sat in silence and ate their food, often breaking said silence to ask how their day was, even if it always tended to be the same thing throughout the week. Attending classes, doing homework, turning in assignments, and so on. It was a never ending cycle throughout the semesters. 

“My parents did call me earlier though in between classes.” Ruby mentioned, before shoveling more food into her mouth. 

“Did they now?” James looked at Ruby, giving her a look of amusement as she hurried to chew her food so that she could respond. He let out a short laugh. “Slow down. I don’t need you choking and dying on me” 

She gave him an embarrassed smile after she finally finished chewing and swallowed. “Sorry. Anyways, they invited us to dinner next weekend. I told them I would talk to you and that we would see where we were with classes.” James nodded, agreeing. 

“That sounds like a good plan. Your sister won’t use me as another mannequin for her suit designs will she? I felt like I was a human pin cushion last time.” Ruby snorted, taking a sip of her beverage. 

“Hopefully not. But I can’t make any promises. You know her. She prefers the real thing over the fake thing, no matter how many times it’s suggested that she gets one. She’s stubborn.” 

“Oh. Much like you then.” James flashed her a cheeky smile, receiving another playful punch to his shoulder. He feigned being hurt, rubbing his shoulder. “Oh, you wound me so.” Ruby only rolled her eyes, a smile on her face. Then she blushed, remembering James’ earlier comment, and it had seemed that he had also remembered it, a smug smirk on his face. 

Once the two were finished eating their dinner, they had reclined back to watch a movie. James was laying on his back, his head tilted towards the tv screen, his eyes dancing across the screen as he watched it. Ruby laid on his chest, her ear pressed against his chest, hearing not only the movie that was playing, but also heard the prominent beating of James’ heart. Her fingers rubbed gentle circles on his clothes chest. One of his hands rested on the small of her back, while the other slowly and gently played with her hair.

 They had put on some romance comedy. Ruby was the only one paying much attention. James was also paying attention, but his mind was split between watching the movie and thinking about his life with Ruby. A small smile graced his lips. 

Sure, they’re relationship had gone through its ups and down, especially during their time at Maxton Hall, but they were at their happiest in this moment, that much was known, and he would do anything to keep things as they were. 

taglist: @honethatty12 @lifeonawhim @ashamedtobewhitemanswhore27 @maryvibess @wheredidmyeyesgo @imasimptoowth @avada-kedavra-bitch-187

[buckybarnesss]

So, Derek treasures Stiles' jeep and its a symbol of his love for Stiles. How the hell did he get it? Stiles leaves the keys with Scott.

Did Scott offer it to Derek? Did he abandon it and Derek snatched it up? I'm haunted by this.

there is a huge gap with this but i can offer some speculation

i think the issue was the jeep was literally running on stiles's willpower and belief. scott simply couldn't get the same results.

we know how much stiles's loved that jeep. it may have started out as claudia's jeep which she gifted her son as his inheritance when she passed but that jeep represents a part of stiles's soul.

it was his relic when he was taken by the wild hunt. it's where scott and lydia heard his voice. it's where he reappeared when he got out. it's state in s5 reflects his emotional state and the state of his relationships.

i think the reason scott last saw derek when eli was three was because that's when he gave derek the jeep. derek probably had established hale auto by then.

by the time of the movie the jeep is pushing 50 years old. it's a 1980 CJ5 according to the wiki so it'd make sense that it wouldn't run right for scott and would be a money sink to try to fix properly. scott wasn't in a position to care for it no matter how much he loved stiles and was fond of the jeep.

the significance of scott giving the safekeeping of the metaphorical representation of stiles's soul to derek is hard to miss. he knows it'll be safe and taken care of there rather than scrapped.

derek pouring his time, his money and love into restoring the jeep while both he and it wait for stiles to come back is top tier jane austen pining.

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 46 (Home to Henford)

Everett and Spencer Pancakes had worked hard on their marriage, but they still struggled in Oasis Springs so far from their families.

Then one day, Everett's phone rang. His hometown parish - the 400-year-old church in Henford-on-Bagley where he'd grown up listening to the scripture of the Watcher - needed a new priest. Though their sons were young for such a big move, they jumped at the chance for Greyson and Jett to grow up in their childhood paradise.

They moved in with Spencer's parents, Eric and Alice, at her childhood home in Old New Henford. With Lydia now in Brindleton Bay with the Goths, Spencer's parents had plenty of room for Everett, Spencer, Greyson, and baby Jett - and their dog, JJ, too!

Their first day back, Everett's twin sister, Malia, dropped by to visit and share some happy news. "Jamar and I are expecting!"

Everett knew his sister and her husband, Henford's young, successful doctor, Jamar Scott, had been trying for over a year. "That's fantastic!" Everett beamed, and Malia practiced holding infants by spending the rest of the afternoon entertaining baby Jett.

Spencer's work was primarily in Selvadorada and the only thing that kept her in Oasis Springs was the sun and Everett's old job, but being back with her family again meant everything to her. Not just having her parents, but her older sister Olivia lived with her own family just up the road on Old Mill Hill. Olivia's youngest was close in age to Greyson, and Spencer wanted their families near as they raised their own sons.

"I never realized how much I needed you until we unpacked our bags," Spencer admitted to her mother in the family room, while Jett snuggled with his grandpa Eric on the sofa. "Hopefully now that I'm home I can stop second-guessing everything I do as a mom."

Alice looked at her daughter with a generous smile. "You didn't need to come all the way home for us to know you're a good mother. Your boys love you, and we love them almost as much as I know you do."

Spencer dearly loved her sons, but she worried her ambition was too obvious. That maybe her sons knew she itched to fly to Selvadorada and immerse herself in her work, thousands of miles away from them. The way her sons and her job competed for her time left her overflowing with guilt, but now that she was home, she was more hopeful about the future than she'd been in years.

Everett's grandmothers, Agatha and Agnes Crumpcakes, were getting older. He was glad to be closer to help his father and stepmother take care of them. He felt a responsibility to his family as the eldest of his siblings, even if he was only five minutes older than Malia.

She was going to have a baby, Kash lived in Brindleton Bay with his husband, Wolfgang (Munch!), and Elizabeth was still in high school. Leaving his church and parishioners in Oasis Springs had been difficult, but being home with his family, and at the pulpit of his hometown church, felt like the choice he should have made when he and Spencer married five years earlier.

Everywhere they went they saw familiar faces, and their return began to heal Everett and Spencer's marriage even further.

They were home again, just in time for their dear friend Heather to bring Conrad to Henford to meet her loved ones... ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 1 Summary | Gen 1 Start

NOTE: The baby is Jett, Heather and Everett's biological child that she delivered as a surrogate. So far he looks like Heather. He even had her hair colour, but I darkened it because I'm already sick of it repeatedly showing up in Neal's descendants.

NOTE 2: Three days without Conrad and today without Heather, I know that's bold strategy, but I wanted this post to stand alone because a) I had to set up why they left the desert before Heather visits, and doing it in the same post was a little too verbose, even for me, b) that gorgeous church build needed to get some featured screen time, and c) we haven't seen Jett since he was born and the pic with his Aunt Malia above is the clearest one I have of him as an infant. Heather and Conrad (and Ash!) are all back tomorrow!

WCIF Henford's Church: Escombe Church in the Sims 4 Gallery by @simstruhistory/TeaWithTash (beautiful build, cc-free, and there's more historical content at their page!) This is a historical recreation of the real Escombe Church in England and I think it's got a perfect Henford vibe. It doesn't actually fit in Henford in my main save but I want to use it again to stage some funerals in the future and maybe weddings, too. I've referenced the 400-year-old church in Henford a couple times but never showed it because it didn't exist (*whispers*I didn't wanna build it) until I saw this one showcased here on simblr!

I'm so, so grateful to creators with build skills, mod skills, CAS skills, all skills, saving me time to do the Sim stuff I really enjoy. 🤗

(Also I'm not a spiritual person, but I have Lumpinou's Rambunctious Religions mod installed because I was playing Ultimate Decades for a while, and just because I'm not religious doesn't mean some of my sims can't be!)

[misseviehyde]

STEP-WIFE

Lydia loved how good it felt to be inside her step-son's sexy wife. Olivia's younger prettier body definitely suited her better than her old tired worn out body. She loved the feel of being thirty again and dressing in tight black latex. It had been years since she'd been able to squeeze into clothes like this - but now the bitch was back.

Turning this loser into a skin-suit had been the best decision she'd ever made. Even better was that Olivia'a own husband had betrayed her. Lydia had forced Jason to build the skin-ray gun for her. She'd been bullying and manipulating her step-son for years. He knew she was planning to use it on his wife, but he couldn't resist as she gave him handjobs and whispered evil ideas into his ear.

"Once I'm Olivia I'll give you pleasure you can only dream of. You were always jealous of your Daddy getting to fuck me weren't you? Soon my pussy will be all yours - if you help me. Make me your wife Jason, help me become her and take Olivia's life. She'll be so much better with me inside her."

Jason couldn't resist. He had been her slave for years. He loved and hated her in equal measure - and he was certainly too weak to stop her taking what she wanted. Especially as she knew how to ruin his orgasms and control him with denial.

The skin ray gun was soon completed and Lydia was ready to take what she wanted.

She had enjoyed the look of despair on Olivia's face as she blasted her and watched her turn into an empty skin.

The empty skin was now ready for a new and sexy owner to wear. She was going to be such a hot bitch.

"Don't worry Olivia," she'd grinned as she began to pull on the younger woman, "you're gonna love being me."

Olivia's skin had felt so good - Lydia was practically cumming as she slid the smooth flesh on. She felt Olivia's younger tighter pussy between her legs, enjoyed it as Olivia's young firm tits sucked over hers and she felt firm muscle and toned flesh throb with life.

She moaned in satisfaction as she pulled the familiar face into place and felt Olivia's memories merge into her own mind. She now knew everything the girl ever had but she remained the dominant personality.

With the skin on, Lydia now had assumed Olivia's place - but there were already subtle differences. Olivia's tits were now bigger, her face already more wicked. Lydia inside her was already transforming her in so many evil ways.

Indeed, transforming Olivia from a kind, loving woman into an evil bitch was going to be such fun. Lydia was already looking forward to riding Olivia's friends husbands. Seducing them and homewrecking so many relationships was going to be easy. Olivia was easily the most attractive of her friends and all the men already had a crush on her.

"With my experience and willpower inside your beautiful body - no one will be able to stop me," giggled Lydia.

She couldn't wait to become a mean bully at Olivia's work place... to dominate Olivia's team. The girl had been too soft on them. Lydia would get real results and then when she got promoted, she'd be even more evil.

Then... when Olivia's body was starting to age and grow weak she'd find a new skin to wear.

As she jerked Jason off with her latex gloved hand and laughed as she made him cum out his useless seed - Lydia enjoyed the thought of immortality.

Maybe she'd find some sort of incel loser and blast him too? It would be fun to own a pathetic skin and force Jason to wear it. She was certainly never going to let him fuck her... and torturing him forever by making him change skins would be amusing.

The future looked bright and Lydia was going to enjoy being the best step-wife she could be, starting with torturing his balls...