#‘I’m hoping your as much like your pop as I think you are kiddo.’

[gay-dorito-dust]

i love your hc’s about dante and reader being Nero’s parents!! can we get a backstory on how they became his found parents or more hc’s about dante and reader being Nero’s parents?

you and dante had found Nero at an orphanage in the town of Fortuna after a mission, the boy with the glowing demonic arm and white hair that made his blue eyes pop obviously had sparda heratige. There was no doudt about that, especially not to Dante, who was hellbent on giving him the upbringing he deserved.

You pretty much punched someone for calling Nero a ‘child of the devil’ nobody insults your baby and gets away with it.

Dante did the exact same thing when another person called him devil spawn for having such an unsightly arm, an arm only belonging to that of the devil itself. He didn’t take too kindly to religious folk spouting their bigoted rhetoric, especially towards a small child like Nero who was giving you flowers he had plucked from the ground.

Neither of you mess about when it came to Nero and you both were sure as shit to make it known to all that if they spoke ill of your son, they’d have you and Dante to answer to or walk away with a busted nose.

‘Are you my new family?’ Baby Nero asked, his big blue eyes peering up at you and Dante’s he tried to hide his glowing arm behind his back, but was stoped when you grabbed both of his tiny hands within his own and smiled.

‘Yes we are my sweet boy, and you’ll never have to fight for your spot at the table nor second guess yourself or your worth. Not anymore.’ You tell him as you pressed a kiss to his head. ‘Your family Nero and family never give up on each other, never.’

‘Yeah kiddo, you’re stuck with us.’ Dante says as he ruffles Nero’s hair, causing the boy to pout and swat away his hand but it was clear to you and Dante that he was happy to finally having gotten out of the orphanage when he did.

You spoil baby Nero rotten by getting him whether you he wanted while cuddling and smothering your baby boy in kisses until he was laughing, trying to push you away as Dante watched from the doorway, happy to see his little family he was blessed to get back home to after each mission.

It was something that Dante didn’t think he’d ever get with how fucked his life had been thus far, but he was grateful that you had given him a chance and stay long enough to the point where you now have a son that you two would absolutely go to war for just to see smile.

He had to pinch himself most days, hoping that this wasn’t a dream he’d wake up from, alone and without a loving partner and a sweet little boy who’d he knew would one day grow up into a man who’d teach him a few things later on in life. Either way he didn’t want to wake up alone, so he joins you and little Nero by bringing you both into his arms as it was his turn to shower you both in kisses, his stubble tickling you both as you and baby Nero were left laughing and melting into his strong protective arms.

‘I’m thankful for you both’ was a phrase that came out of Dante’s mouth more often then not as he tucks you both into bed, kissing you both on your foreheads before joining you and Nero and holding you to his chest while you held Nero close to yours, a small family sharing a crappy bed but none of that mattered when you were together.

Baby Nero did get a little cheeky sometimes and had eaten some of Dante’s strawberry sundae once, he was immediately proven guilty by Dante as he wiped the melted ice cream from Nero’s cheek, gave it a sniff and knew that his son had taken a little bite out of his strawberry sundae that he had been saving for a while.

Yet he could never bring himself to be mad when Nero was most likely suffering from a brain freeze, and decided to hold his son close to his chest, kiss his forehead and hum a small tune his mother use to use for him and Vergil just before they went to sleep as the brain freeze subsided and Nero fell asleep within the warm embrace of his newfound father.

From then on Dante would split his sundae with Nero, but making sure the boy didn’t have too much for another brain freeze.

You had come across the scene one too many times where Dante and Nero’s face were smeared in the sweet sundae, looking at you with wide eyes as you laughed at the pair, ruffling their hair as you stole some sundae for yourself before reprimanded Dante for indulging Nero into becoming a sweet tooth like him.

‘Guilty as charged sweetheart.’ He’d show off those little fangs of his that he knew made you go a little nuts.

‘Then you’ll be responsible for when he gets a sugar rush then?’ You asked playfully as you picked up Nero after hearing him yawn, nuzzling his nose with your own as he practically clings onto you, babbling his baby nonsense as you rubbed his back.

‘Do I have you?’ Dante asks, pouting.

You peck his lips. ‘If you’re going to indulge our son, then you’re responsible for what happens when he has one too many strawberry sundaes.’ You tell him sweetly as you pecked his lips once more before walking up the stairs to put Nero to bed.

Dante would tell Nero of the tale of how you and him got together, the half demon and the angel as he’s called it becuase what else would he call it? You were borderline perfect -if not- the definition of perfection in his eyes. He told Nero how you’d fell in love, how you were always there for him and how he recalled fighting Hell itself in order to get you back, all the way to the softer moments where you and Dante would cuddle closely and kiss each other before missions and after missions.

‘Our relationship might not be a normal one in any sense but it’s ours and we love it regardless because we couldn’t ask for anything more then each other.’ He tells the quarter demon, who had only baby babbled at him.

‘Exactly son, exactly.’ Dante replies, acting as though he could understand Nero as the baby squealed and laughed, making the red coated half demon smile himself.

Your family maybe small but you and Dante loved your little family more then anything as you had a family album dedicated to all the moments you got with little baby Nero, mainly to embarrass him in front of his future girlfriend, but that was neither here nor there just yet.

[daydreamerdrew]

It’s crazy to me that these bits from Captain America and Bucky (2011) #620 were from a story Bucky was telling to Natasha and his sister, Rebecca:

“A brave face… that was my first mask. Dad and I both tried to make family life as normal as it was before Mom died… And we had some fun years… Some good memories. Things I still hold on to. But that burden wasn’t easy for a little kid to carry. I may have pretended to be strong and happy… But I was angry underneath it all. Angry at the whole damn world. I knew I was letting Dad down every time I got in trouble.”

“Days moved fast after that… almost a blur. As they put Dad in the ground… and then explained some deal where my kid sister would get sent off to boarding school… but I would stay on the base with Dad’s old pals looking out for me. I used the mask Dad taught me to wear even more, then… to hide how scared and alone I really felt… I wore it for a long time after that.”

Because you know that he’s never been that emotionally vulnerable with Steve or Sam. They discussed the difficulty of holding an intervention for him in Captain America (1968) #606:

From Sam:

“Look, I know what it feels like to think you don’t deserve to be here… that you don’t deserve to wear the mask or fight the fight… But I don’t know how to talk to him about this stuff… Kid was raised in the military. He’s not big on talkin’ about feelings.”

And from Steve:

“Never could admit any weakness, could you, Bucky? Must be something you learned, growing up in the military. Deny pain. Deny fear… Deny it all. Even when your brothers in arms all know you’re lying.”

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Bitter Sweet Symphony 1

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

Character: Thor

Summary: you meet a god in real life but he's not the saviour you think.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging ❤️

You catch Joanie by her knapsack before she can disappear into the crowd. Your heart lurches as you just picture her tiny stature getting lost in the New York crush. You pull her back to you. 

“Joan, take me hand,” you demand shakily. 

“Sorry, I thought I saw...” she begins then shakes her head. The cat ears on her hat wiggle. She grabs your hand with her small one and you squeeze. “Nothing. I’m just excited.” 

“You know mom would kill me if I lost you,” you draw her out of the way of another pedestrian. The man in his suit doesn’t spare you a single thought as he charges by. 

“Ha, I’m not going to get lost,” she insists. 

You grumble but don’t voice your anxiety. She’s young and it’s all so big and loud to her. She’s still to young to be scared. You admire your half-sister for that but it also fills you with dread. 

“I did!” She squeals and jumps in her pink high tops. “I saw him, I saw him.” 

She points and her hand bounces off the hip of a woman strutting by. You apologise and once more redirect your sister. You squint and search in the direction she pointed. Yellow taxis honk as they roll by and jay walkers dodge between them. 

“Thor!” Your sister hollers and hops up again, waving her hand. 

That’s when you see him. You don’t know how you missed him. There’s so much going on that all the buildings and bodies blend together. For as long as you’ve been in the city, you’re still not used to the chaos of it all. 

“Thor?” You echo her. 

“Duh! God of Thunder! He hangs out with Iron Man.” 

“Right,” you shepherd her back before she can get underfoot. “You know what mom says about talking to strangers.” 

“He’s not a stranger, he’s a hero.” She argues. 

“Maybe but I’m sure he’s just trying to live his life. He doesn’t look like he’s hero-ing right now, kiddo,” you chide. 

“But...” her face falls. “But we don’t have heroes at home! What if I never see another one again? I just wanna say hi.” 

“I know, Joan, but I...” you pause and glance back. There are others clustering around the tall man. He smiles and welcomes them as he greets them all graciously. You just hate to be in others way. You should have considered that before you moved to one of the most overcrowded places on earth. “Alright, but we’re going to go down and cross at the walk, right?” 

She harrumphs and agrees begrudgingly, “right.” 

You take her down the sidewalk, clamped onto her as you steer her around the New Yorkers trapped in the tunnel vision of their own existence. You get to the corner and wait and cross with a cluster. You glance down the pavement as Joanie squirms. 

“Oh no, I think he’s gone,” she whines. 

You look desperately ahead and grimace. You hope you didn’t ruin it for her. You drag her along, hoping that long blonde hair will pop up again. It doesn’t. You get to the exact place you spotted him. He’s not there. 

“I’m so sorry, Joanie. I just wanted to be safe.” You turn to her, your chest dropping. “I’m so sorry.” 

“It’s fine...” she drones and hangs her head. 

You stumble as a man knocks into your hip. You try to make yourself smaller but it’s hard to dodge anyone on the sidewalk even without a little extra cushion. You peer around and your eyes catch on the hanging sign of a bakery. 

“How about a treat instead? You love cupcakes, right?” You coax her. 

“Mm, I guess,” she shrugs. 

Her disappointment stings. You feel horrid. You know she’s going to hold onto this. 

“Come on, let’s get out of this,” you pull her to the bakery door.  

As you enter, you sigh. You’re happy to be free of the city crawl. You look up at the menu above the counter. You’ve never been in here before. It’s a nice place and the desserts look immaculate. They’re also expensive. 

“Look they have a unicorn--” You begin and Joanie rips her hand away as she wiggles. 

“He’s here!” She cries out. “It’s Thor.” 

Her voice carries across the space and you cringe and you look over to find the man, or god, in question. His blue eyes round as he bites into a cupcake piled with icing. The sugary topping marks his nose as he pulls it away and gulps. He gives a goofy smile. 

“Joanie,” you whisper, “he’s just trying to enjoy his food.” 

“Little one!” He waves before you can deter her. “You know me.” 

Joanie giggles and squeals and skips over before you can stop her. You trail after her reluctantly as she hops up to his table, “your Thor, king of Asgard, God of Thunder!” She jitters. “I know you!” 

He booms with laughter and wipes the icing from his beard and nose. His cupcake is forgotten on a small saucer. “An honour to meet you...” 

“Joanie!” She nearly hollers. “My name is Joanie.” 

“Ah, a beautiful name,” he praises and his eyes wander over you as you hover behind her. “And this lady, your mother?” 

“Sister!” Joanie replies before you can and gives your name. 

You try to smile as he grins at you and his eyes seem to sparkle. You wonder if that’s a god thing. Your cheeks are hot as his gaze bores into you. 

“Are you here for the cupcakes? They are delicious. I recommend the confetti.” He puts his attention back to Joanie. “Would you like to join me?” 

“Oh, sir, thanks, that’s so kind but we’ll just be getting ours to go--” 

“But--” Joanie begins to whine and you lay your hand on her shoulder. 

“If you don’t mind. She’s a big fan.” 

“Not at all,” he assures you. “Allow me to treat you. What are we having?” 

He stands and you shrink as he towers over you. There aren’t many who can make you feel small. You can’t help but take a step back and herd Joanie with you. 

“Um...” you look over, “it’s really—I don’t mind. I can’t get ours. We’ve already bothered--” 

“I must insist. As a king, I prize courtesy above all. Please sit and allow me to bring you some sweets.” 

“I want the unicorn!” Joanie demands before you can stop her. You give Thor and apologetic look. He only seems amused by her awe. 

“That’s very generous of you, what do we say, Joanie?” You say. 

“Please and thank you,” she chirps. 

“Yes, thank you, Thor. I’m fine with something simple. Vanilla is good for me.” You move Joanie away from him, “come on, let’s sit down. We’ve done a lot of walking.” 

[somanyratsinthewalls]

Heyy! I’m new here and I absolutely love your writings wksiwksjwjshe is your 300 event still open?

if yes I would love to req a cinnamon + poplar ! hehe thank you! (If it’s already closed then don’t mind me)

*HI sorry this took forever! But I hope you love it ;) Ace is such a filthy boy in this one, EYE certainly enjoyed it*

Pairing: Ace x Fem Reader

WC: 2200

Prompt: “Shh I know baby, I know it’s good. You’re doing so good for me…” 

TW: SEX, shameless flirting in public, Ace being kind of a pervert, reader is a bit older than young buck Ace, p in v sex, unprotected sex (don't) creampie (also don't) fingering, teasing, pet names, filthy language. the usual?

— — 

You sat at your desk in the medical ward of the ship, up to your ears in paperwork. Blood test results to log, supply order forms to go over, you had so much on your plate and it was eating away at you. The rest of the crew was in the galley drinking but you were stuck working. 

Suddenly the door to the med bay swings open and in waltzes the crew’s head doctor. 

“Ok little chicken, that’s enough work for tonight.” Marco smiles warmly at you as he approaches your desk. 

“Please stop calling me that." You sigh and rub your eyes. "And I still have more releases to sign off on, and the IV tubing we use for Dad is on backorder, so I have to decide if we go up a size or down a size and did you know-“ You ramble on and on while Marco rolls his eyes. 

“I’ll handle it. Go out and have a drink.” Marco eyes your tired face. “Gods know you need it, kiddo.” 

You sigh. You feign a smile as you rise from your desk chair, the joints in your back and knees popping from how long you had been sitting. 

“Was… was that your back?” Marco asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes. Shut up.” You say as you push your way out of the med bay. You follow the sounds of music and riotous laughter towards the galley and enter quietly. You slunk between the groups of pirates towards the center of the room and grab a beer from the barrel full of ice. You pull your cigarette lighter out of your pocket and use it to pop the cap off your beer. You stow the lighter back into your pocket. 

“Hey, y/n! Over here!” 

You turn around and see a somewhat intoxicated Ace waving you over to his table. He had that stupid, goofy grin on his face. You smiled back and headed in his direction. He was standing around a wooden table with Thatch, Izou and a few other Whitebeard pirates and nurses. 

“Jeez y/n you look like you’ve been up for a week.” Ace teases you. 

“I think I have, now that you mention it…” You say and take a sip of your beer. 

“Man I haven’t seen you this down before, y/n. What the hell is going on with you?” Izou asks. 

“Well, since you’ve asked! I’m exhausted. I’m bored. I’m stressed. I can’t tell if I want 5 more beers or to fall asleep on the floor! I am wildly overworked and under-fucked.” You finish your rant and slam your beer. 

“Anyone else need another one?” You ask to the now silent group of people that surrounded you at the table. You were met with mostly blank stares, shocked at your sudden outburst. You turn and head to grab a new beer. 

“I’ll come with you!” Ace is quick to join with a mischievous smirk on his lips. 

He follows you like a puppy as you head towards the beer. 

“You know I can help you with that, right?” Ace grabs your arm and pulls you to face him. 

You laugh. 

“I don’t really think Marco would trust you enough to run my blood tests for me, but thanks.” 

“No no, the other part. The being under-fucked part.” Ace smirks down at you. Again, you laugh. 

“Haha, oh yeah? What are you, like 23? Like you’d know what to do with it if you had a chance.” You smile playfully and wiggle out of his grip, finally retrieving another beer. Ace does the same and sidles close behind you on your way back to the table. Suddenly Ace’s breath is hot in your ear as he leans in to whisper something to you. 

“Well I’ve got an 8 inch cock that might change your mind on that…” You stop dead in your tracks and your eyes widen. 

“Wha-?”

Ace passes by you and goes to join the table again. “Only if you want, though! Come on, let’s have another drink!” Ace beckons you over like he hadn’t just whispered the most crude, filthy thing in your ear 30 seconds ago. 

Convincing yourself you had imagined it, you snap out of your trance and return to the table to drink. 

You enjoy a few more rounds of drinks and you notice with each beer, Ace slides his body closer and closer to yours. You could attribute this to the size of your party shrinking as people headed off to bed, but at this point he was basically pressing his side into yours, occasionally grazing his warm hand over your hip. 

His touch was fleeting, but hot… it made you crave more. You found yourself leaning into him and he pulled you closer in return. He felt you shudder. 

“Oh man, y/n, you must really be tired. Do you need help getting back to your room okay?” Ace looks down at you with a devious smirk.  You knew what he was really asking.. and you were far too quick to respond. 

“Yes, I think I’d like that, Ace.” You smile and he wraps his arm around your hip and pulls you away from the table. 

Ace is all but giggling as he brings you back to your room, pinching and squeezing your skin anywhere he could tease it. He stops at your door and looks at you expectantly. 

You laugh. 

“Would you like to come inside, Ace?” 

“Hell yeah!” Ace practically jumps into your room behind you and slams the door shut. 

From the instant the door is closed, Ace’s lips are on yours. You barely had time to react to the kiss before he started tugging at your clothes. You laugh and pull back from the kiss. 

“Haha slow down!  We have all night Ace… I’m not going anywhere.” You purr at him and stroke his cheek. What a sweet, eager little thing he was. 

Ace nuzzles himself into your neck and plants a wet kiss. 

“‘M’sorry, just hate seeing you like this…” Ace continued licking and biting at your neck. You whimper. “Gonna fix it… gonna make you feel so good, baby.” 

Your cunt clenched in anticipated of what he was about to do to your body. Ace pulls your dress over your head and tosses it to the floor. He distracts you with more kisses as he unclasps your bra and pulls it off of you. Ace kisses down to your stomach and gently pulls your panties down. You step out of them and realize you’re completely bare in front of your friend. 

You covered your breasts instinctively. Those doesn’t go unnoticed by Ace, who was coming up to meet your eye again. He pulls your arm gently away from your chest and smiles. 

“Aww are you shy, baby?” Ace coos at you. You blush so hard you think your face might be on fire. Why was he having this affect on you? He was a young blowhard at least 5 years your junior, and yet he ended up with all of the control in this situation…

“That’s ok, come here…” Ace gets on your bed and sits up with his back against the pillows and headboard. “Let me show you why you don’t need to be shy.” He smirks and holds out his arms to you. 

You lick your lips and climb into Ace’s waiting lap. He positions you with your back again his chest, sitting between his legs. This position reminded you how Ace was still fully clothed and you were completely naked. Something about being so vulnerable in front of him was intoxicating… 

“Spread your legs, sugar. Show me that cute pussy.” Ace whispers in your ear as he pulls your legs over his own, spreading them as far as they could go comfortably. 

“Ace…” You whimper quietly, trying to turn your head away. You were embarrassed at how aroused he had made you, all while barely touching you… but not nearly embarrassed enough to ask him to stop. 

Ace wastes no time before his hands are on your dripping sex. 

“Holy shit…” Ace glides a finger up and down your slit. “Look at how wet you are, pretty.” His one finger turns to two fingers as he collects more of your slick from your hole and brings it up to rub firm circles onto your clit. 

“Ace! Fuck!” You throw your head back, body feeling like it was filled with static electricity. He had you so worked up that every little touch felt like it was amplified by 100. 

“You’re so wet that I bet I could just slip my fingers in..” Ace smirks and swiftly plunges the two digits into your hole. You moan. “And I bet that if I do this…” Ace begins to firmly pull and tap his fingers into that delicious spot inside of your cunt. “… you’ll cum.” 

“Shit, fuck, Ace! O-oh my- Ah! ACE!” You cry out and explode all over Ace’s arm and the bed in front of you. 

“Looks like I was right, huh baby? That’s a good girl, give it all to me.” Ace playfully reacts as he rubs at your clit to prolong your orgasm. 

“Fuck… Ace…” You lay heaving on your bed in Ace’s arms, the spasms from your climax finally ceasing. 

You feel Ace smiling into your neck as he peppers it with sweet kisses. 

“I wouldn’t know what to do with it, huh???” He chuckles into your damp skin. 

“Shut up and fuck me already.” You roll your eyes. 

Ace gently moves you out from between his legs and he rises from the bed to remove his vest and shorts. You audibly gasp at the sight of his huge member springing free from its confines. 

“Jeez you weren’t kidding…” You say softly, eyes not leaving Ace’s cock in front of you. 

“I’m a pirate, baby, not a liar.” He flashes you that stupid grin again. “Now face down, ass up, sugar.” 

You quickly oblige, grabbing a pillow to cushion your face that was now stained with mascara. The first thing you feel is a warm hand sliding up your spine and massaging your skin, then you feel the prodding of Ace’s thick cock at your sopping wet entrance, the heavy mushroom tip barely breaching your hole. Ace dipped his tip teasingly in and out… 

“Ace…. please…” You whine as you push your hips back to entice him to fully enter you. 

“Okay, okay, I’ll give it to you, you don’t ever need to beg for me, pretty.” Ace plants both hands on your hips and pulls your ass flush against his pelvis, sinking his cock as deep as it will go into you. 

Strangled moans leave the both of you as he bottoms out. Ace pulls out slowly, looking down to admire the wet mess you’ve already left on his cock. He pushes back in and you moan again, squeezing him involuntarily. 

“Gods you were right… this tight little pussy is under-fucked.” Ace speeds up his thrusts and you gasp, the wind nearly knocked out of you. “Don’t worry baby, I’m gonna make sure that never happens to you again… gonna fuck you every day… make you feel so fucking good…” 

Ace was slamming into you at an animalistic pace and you felt a second orgasm creeping up on you. You could feel the droplets of sweat from Ace’s face splatter on your back, as well as the crazed, possessive grip on your hips almost certainly leaving bruises. You couldn’t form words, only broken sobs and shrieks as your lover drilled into you, dead set on making you cum again. 

Tears fell from your eyes against the pillow and you whined, so close to reaching your peak again. 

“Shh I know baby, I know it’s good. You’re doing so good for me…” Ace coos at you. “Cum on my cock and I’ll fill you up, ‘kay sugar?” Ace leans forward and presses his chest to you as he continues his brutal assault on your pussy. He reaches one hand from your hip down and around to rub at your clit. The stimulation sends you over the edge and your orgasm rips through your whole body. “Ace!” You scream out and lurch forward, no longer able to hold your torso up with your arms anymore. 

“Good fucking girl! Now I’m gonna make you mine…” Ace praises you. 

You try to mumble out “please” but you truly have no idea if you were saying anything coherent.

“Haaa, fuck!” Ace cries out and spills his load impossibly deep into your warm hole. You whimper as you feel rope after rope of Ace’s hot seed filling you. Ace rubs firm circles into your hips as he calms down from his release. 

Suddenly, Ace pulls out of you and flops back into your bed and pulls you to his chest. You nuzzle into his sweaty pecs as you throw a leg over his hips. Ace pulls the blanket over the two of you, briefly leaning upwards to make sure your whole body was covered and comfortable before settling back on the pillows. 

“So you were serious?” You ask quietly. 

“About what, baby?” Ace answers as he strokes your hair. 

“About fucking me every day?” You chuckle. 

“Mmhmm…” Ace kisses the top of your head. “Tomorrow. And the next day.. and the next day… and the next day… and the next… and…” 

You hear Ace start snoring and smile. 

xx 

[thenoellebird]

The Dipper sick fic was so cute and sweet and I loved it 💖💞💖💞💯💯 can we pretty please have a part two 🥺🥺🥺🙏🙏🥺🥺🥺🙏🙏🥺🥺

PS platonic family bonding and platonic sibling bonding is the best💯💯💯✊✊✊💯💯✊✊💖💖💖 and also your fic are the best and I love reading them so much and I hope you continue to write for a very long time cuz once again I just love reading your fic you are the best in my favorite author💖💯 I hope you have a great day😄😄

*slams head on desk repeatedly*

I feel like I'm dying from being complimented too much <3

*freaking dies from being complimented too much and then pops up as Franken-Ellebird to write you a part two*

SO!

part two you say?

hehehe here you go. Multiple ppl asked for this. Maybe I'll make a part three. We'll see how much ppl like this bit <3

It's a lot longer than part one, and leaves me at a perfect spot to make a part three, if people want to see a third part to this.

---

PART TWO

Dipper dozed fitfully for the thirty minutes that Grunkle Stan was gone. He tossed and turned and sweated a bit, hearing himself whimper every few minutes.

But the door finally opened, waking up Dipper fully. Stan walked in and came across the room, sitting down next to the bed.

“Hey buddy,” Stan murmured gently, reaching over to put his hand on Dipper’s head, “how are ya feeling?”

Dipper moaned and leaned into Stan’s comforting touch with a small dry-sob. Stan ran his hand through Dipper’s curls as softly as he could, smiling at the child.

“You’re alright, kiddo. Shh, it’s okay,” Stan whispered, feeling the heated sweat on his nephew’s forehead, his face falling into sadness. The poor kid.

“Gr-Grunkle St…aan?” Dipper whimpered, his voice slurred and slow. Stan sighed, feeling even sadder.

“I’m right here, Dipper. Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay. Don’t try to get up. Just lay there buddy,” Stan murmured, putting a hand on Dipper’s shoulder to keep him lying down. “How are ya feeling? Do you wanna try something easy on your stomach yet?”

Dipper muttered something incoherent.

“What’s up, kid?” Stan said gently, leaning towards him to hear better.

“I still feel like…like Imma…throw up…” Dipper said slowly, his eyes mostly closed from the fever. He looked utterly miserable. He shivered beneath Stan’s hand, which was still on his shoulder.

“Hey, that’s okay buddy. Remember, we got the bucket over here for ya if you need it, huh?” Stan told him, gently running his hand through Dipper’s curly brown hair.

“Mmm…kay…” Dipper whispered. Stan sighed, knowing he should leave Dipper at least another thirty minutes or an hour or two before giving him anything, just to make sure his stomach was fully calmed down.

“Alright buddy,” Stan replied. “You think you’ll be all good for another thirty minutes? I’ll let you rest.”

Dipper nodded sleepily, the chills still wrecking his body. Stan gently pushed Dipper’s hair off his forehead and kissed his birthmark again as a goodbye.

“See ya in a minute, buddy.”

He walked out of the room, shutting the door.

—XXX—

Stan let Dipper sleep for two hours, checking on him every thirty minutes. Finally, he brought Dipper some ginger ale, sitting beside him and gently shaking him awake.

“Mm?” Dipper murmured, his eyes clearer now. When Stan felt his head, it seemed that his fever had gone down quite a bit.

“Hey, buddy. How are ya?” Stan asked softly, smiling at him. “Your fever’s gone down a bit. And your stomach is probably calm enough for you to start sipping somethin’,” Stan told him, running his hand through Dipper’s hair gently.

Dipper smiled tiredly, looking somewhat confused.

“Come on, sit up,” Stan said, reaching around his nephew to help him get into a sitting position. “You’re okay,” he added when Dipper moaned in discomfort. “Here, let’s try to get something in ya, huh?”

Dipper nodded, opening his eyes more and trying to squint around the room. Stan put his hand over the back of Dipper’s neck, tilting his head back just slightly and lifting the cup of ginger ale to his mouth as gently as he could. Dipper’s hand reached up and tried to grip the cup too. Stan was startled at how small Dipper’s hands seemed.

“Shh…that’s it…just a few small sips, okay? There we go,” Stan murmured gently, tipping the cup slightly to help his nephew take a small drink.

Dipper obeyed Stan to the best of his ability, slowly taking in ginger ale for a moment or two before Stan decided he’d had enough and set the cup on the nightstand, helping Dipper lie back down.

“Alright kiddo. You should rest a little more. Then we’ll see what we can do with more ginger ale and maybe something salty, hm?” Stan told Dipper quietly. Dipper moaned slightly and reached towards Stan, a pleading, frightened expression on his face.

It was clear he wanted Stan to stay and hold his hand.

Stan stared at Dipper’s small hand and drew a deep, long, shuddering breath.

“Oh…” Stan muttered, feeling tears sting in the corners of his eyes. Stan carefully sat down on the edge of Dipper’s bed and gently took the boy’s small hand in his large, rough one. He stared down at their hands, realizing just how small Dipper was.

Toughening him up, huh? He’s just a child. Just because you were roughed up as a kid doesn’t make it right, Stan thought to himself. He gently stroked the bridge of Dipper’s knuckles with his thumb, trying to assure the boy of any comfort he could offer.

Dipper closed his eyes, smiling in his sleep, his weakened hand briefly squeezing his grunkle’s. Stan ducked his head, turning his face away, his vision growing blurry.

Dipper wanted him. Oh damn, Dipper really wanted him there.

Dipper was comforted by him.

Stan’s body heaved in a singular, silent sob. But he stifled his emotions, promising himself he’d cry later where the kid couldn’t see. That didn’t quite matter, however, as Dipper was already fast asleep again, under his fever.

Stan covered his face in his free hand, squeezing Dipper’s small one as his shoulders shook and a small droplet traced its way down his cheek.

—XXX—

Stan didn’t realize he had fallen asleep until he was awake. The clock read 6:00AM.

He’d fallen asleep on his bed next to Dipper, and while they were both asleep his revered nephew had nestled in the crook of Stan’s arm, his small hands gripping Stan’s shirt in tight little fists.

Stan smiled at him and noticed that the boy was no longer shivering with fever, instead looking quite peaceful, even if his breathing was slightly irregular.

He didn’t want to, but Stan gently shook Dipper awake with the intent of getting something in the child’s stomach.

“Hey buddy. You wanna sit up and try to get something in that stomach of yours?” Stan asked softly.

Dipper made a soft whining sound and nuzzled his face more firmly into Stan’s side. Stan chucked.

“Come on. Up you get kiddo.” Stan helped him sit up and gently pulled Dipper into his arms, settling the small boy against his shoulder. “Let’s go find you something easy, huh?”

Stan took the young boy to the kitchen and settled him in a chair, which seemed to help him wake up a bit. He followed Stan’s progress around the kitchen as Stan heated some applesauce for him and set a small pack of saltine crackers on the table in front of him.

“Why don’t you try nibbling on one of those? Take it slow. And you can have small sips of ginger ale, okay?”

Stan went about warming the applesauce, and then brought it over to Dipper with a spoon. Dipper glanced at the applesauce and then up at Stan, his tired brown eyes slightly confused.

“It’s for you,” Stan murmured, pushing the warm bowl so it was right in front of him. “Hopefully you’ll like it. Or at least your stomach might.”

Dipper nodded, lifting the spoon to his lips and gently nibbling at the applesauce as though he were scared it would hurt him.

“Don’t worry, kid, it’s just a little bit of applesauce,” Stan chuckled, sitting down across Dipper with a mug of coffee.

Dipper nodded. “I know,” he said thickly, sniffling slightly. “Why are you…so…” Dipper trailed off, looking at Stan quizzically.

Stan glanced to the side and then back at his nephew. “Why am I so what?” he asked, bewildered.

Dipper sighed. “Why are you being so nice to me?” he asked in a soft, timid voice, staring down at his applesauce, his fever-flushed cheeks turning crimson.

Stan chuckled. “I’ve been pretty tough on ya otherwise, haven’t I?” he asked, feeling slightly saddened. Seeing his nephew so small tonight had made him change his mind. Of course, Dipper could still be roughed up a bit to make him tougher. But he needed more than that from his caretaker.

He needed to be built up too.

Stan was almost ashamed that he’d only just realized all this. He reached across the table and gently placed his hand on Dipper’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, kid. When push comes to shove, I care about you and Mabel, and Wendy and Soos more than anybody on the planet,” Stan said. He omitted one person, but that came easily. “I may not act like it. And I sure don’t like saying it–heck, it makes me look like a big ol’ sap, huh? But whether I like saying it or not, it’s the truth.”

And it was the truth. Most of it. Stan couldn’t tell Dipper about Ford. He wasn’t ready for that conversation.

Dipper looked down at the table, clearly unsure of what to make of this. Stan lifted his hand from Dipper’s shoulder and instead tilted his chin upwards a little.

“Hey, now. It’s okay, buddy,” Stan said with a small, weary smile.

“You’ve spent all night caring for me,” Dipper whispered.

And working on the portal. “I’d do it a million times over too,” Stan answered. “If it helped ya feel any better.”

Dipper’s face broke into a small, but genuine smile. He reached for his applesauce.

“Attaboy, Mason,” Stan said without thinking as Dipper took a bite of the applesauce.

Dipper nearly spat it out, but instead quickly swallowed and wiped his mouth on his sleeve, with an expression that reminded Stan starkly of a startled owl.

“H-How’d you know my name is Mason?” he spluttered, his eyes wide and his face flushed again. Stan grimaced nervously.

“I…uh…saw you and Mabel in the hospital just after you were born,” he told Dipper. “And it wasn’t like I was just gonna forget your names.”

Dipper was staring at him with a mixture of surprise and some type of hopefulness on his face. But he didn’t say anything else.

After a minute, Dipper went back to his applesauce. Stan gently touched the back of his hand to the kid’s forehead, discovering that his fever was fully gone.

“There we go,” he murmured with a satisfied sigh. “You’re gonna be just fine.”

---

hope u like it! lemme know if y'all want part three.

Peace out!

Part One

[rafedaddy01]

omg i love your writing and i am backkkk, i actually have another request if thats okay.

reader and rafe go to a wedding and when they are separated bc rafe is talking to his friends and she is too, he looks at her and sees her with a kid (4 years old or so) and it suddenly hits him how much he loves her and he wants to spend his life with her, so like when they get home he tells her and she feels the same and it ends with smut, like breeding kink and stuff!! thank youuuuu ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Notes: thank you so much! I love hearing stuff like this and I love getting requests from you guys!! I hope you love what I came up with ♥️

Please leave a comment and let me know what you guys think

Warnings: smut, breeding kink, daddy kink, mommy kink, unprotected sex, language

I looked over at my girl.

My girl.

I can’t believe I get to call her that.

She is mine.

She’s wearing a black flower pattern dress that is a bit too short for a wedding but she’s frisky like that. She’s got a white cardigan covering her sexy shoulders and she looks divine.

“Excuse me miss” a little boy tugs on her sleeve and asks her a question

She looks so much in her habitat. Maybe I should put a baby in her and show her what it’s like to be a real mom.

I let my thoughts ponder for a few minutes as I stand near my friends and watch her talk to the kids that have surrounded her now.

“And when two people love each other they get married, that’s what we are celebrating today. The love between two people” she looks at me when she explains this to the little boys and girls surrounding her that are just as mesmerized by her beauty and angelic voice like I am.

I smile as I walk up to her. “Excuse me kiddos, mind if I steal my love from you?”

All the little girls giggle as I take her outstretched hand and twirl her towards me, dropping her upper body down and holding her lower back as I dip down and kiss her.

“Let’s get out of here”

****

Back home I waste no time undressing my girl.

“Holy fuck, you look beautiful” I say as she strips down to a matching, lacy, black lingerie set that hugs her tits perfectly and wraps around her tanned skin deliciously.

“Shit.. please tell me you weren’t wearing this all night!” I groan as I think about being next to her and her wearing such a dirty piece of clothing

“All. Damn. Day” she says slowly as she lets her dress pool at her feet and crawls to me on the bed.

I quickly pounce on her and flip her over so I’m towering over her and pin her wrists above her head, I give her body one quick look over before meeting her gaze and speaking “you wore this while talking to those kids? You naughty little minx. Maybe I need to punish my sweetheart”

I lean down and kiss her neck and she lets out the cutest little moan I’ve ever heard.

This girl will be the death of me.

I let her wrists go and she runs them up my back as I drop my lips down to their breasts, pulling the lace bra down and popping a erect nipple between my teeth. She whines as I tease and twist her buds.

God I could sit here and play with her perfect breasts and listen to her sounds all day.

“Tell me what you want sweetheart” I tell her as I pepper kisses on her rose scented skin, down to her covered pubic bone.

“I-I need you to touch me rafey” she says

Fuck I love it when she calls me that.

“Yeah sweetheart? Where do you need my touch?”

“Everywhere” she says in a breath as she opens her legs and I shimmy her panties down.

As she takes off her bra I peel off my tux shirt and dress pants, leaving me in my boxers.

I immediately get back to my girl because being away from her is like missing a piece of my heart.

“Now.. where does my sweetheart need to be touched?” I ask her as I draw circles on her inner thigh.

“Rafey.. please”

“Ah ah, I need to hear you say it sweetheart. I’ll give you what you want you just need to ask” I can’t help but smirk after I say this because I love getting a rise out of my girl. It always turns her into a freak and she secretly loves it.

“I- I need you to touch my pussy” she screams out as I bring a finger to her entrance and dip it in her arousal

“Holy fuck sweetheart, you’re soaked. Is this all for me?”

She bites her lip and nods

Fuck teasing her, she’s wet enough and I just need to be inside her right now.

I take off my boxers and position myself ontop of her as she wraps her legs around my waist and pushed me closer.

“I watched you with those kids today and it made me realize how much I want to have our own kids” I say as I push a strand of her hair back and watch her expression change from lust to love

“Rafey that’s so sweet, of course I want to have your children” she says before pulling my mouth to hers and kissing me.

As we kiss I push my lower body into her.

She moans into my mouth and I accept it.

I pull away and look down to we’re we connect

“I want you to stop taking your birth control, starting today. I’m gonna fill you up with my cum so that your constantly leaking. That way I can make you a mommy and you can start calling me daddy”

“Fuck rafey! Right there” she scratches at my back as I pick up the pace

“You like that? You like thinking of me as a daddy and having my children growing in you?” I snap my hips harder as she clamps down on me with every word I say

“Shit sweetheart, your suffocating my cock. Such a dirty little whore. You like the idea of walking around with my cum dripping out of you”

“Yes!” She whines as I grind my hips and keep thrusting.

I lean down and bring her nipples into my mouth. “Can’t wait for these to leak milk so that I can suck it out of them” she moans at my words

“Holy fuck! Rafe! I’m gonna cum”

“Cum for me mommy, let go for daddy”

I snap my hips in a faster pace as i hit her sweet spot over and over again

“Shit sweetheart, do you feel me in your womb? I’m gonna fill you up now, okay?” She moans her agreement as she clamps around my cock and I let go.

Spurting my cum deep inside her and her womb sucks it right up.

I stop thrusting and pull out, some of my cum starts leaking out and I bring two fingers down and push it back in

“Rafe!” She whimpers as her legs shake

“Shh, it’s okay sweetheart. We’re gonna make you a mommy, yeah?”

She pouts as she nods and I pull my fingers out before laying next to her and cuddling her

“I love you so much y/n, I really do want to have kids with you. You’d make the best mother” I kiss her forehead as she snuggles closer to me

She sighs, “I love you too rafey, and you’d make the perfect daddy”

“Careful sweetheart, I’m already ready for round two”

She giggle and I could never get tired of hearing that sound.

We lay in bed for hours. Fucking, cuddling, fucking again and eventually sleeping.

Taglist

@f4ll-for-you @v21sstuff @rafeysworldim19 @baby19sthings @eventualoptimism @drewstarkeysbae @sevenwivesofrafecameron @rxfecameronsslut @findapenny

[askthelightsides]

okay off the love subject since we're making Roman feel bad, I'm coloring and wanna know, Roman! when coloring what is your preferred medium? Mine is crayons. And this is specifically coloring like the picture is already made up you just gotta give it that pop! I also inquire this to Remus, though I'm not sure if he would color, and anyone else who does color! That way no one who might is left out!

P: Crayons! Oh gosh I love crayons! When the school year would start and we’d have a brand new pack of crayolas. Mmmm such an amazing smell. Ooo! Remember the year we got the big 96 pack with the sharpener in the back?? Now I don’t wanna be over the top here, but hands down one of the top 5 best days of my life!

J: I so hope that isn’t true.

P: No it is we did get that pack! Don’t you remember Jan?

J: I was never much for coloring. If we’re going for drawing I always liked chalk. You can draw or write whatever you like and if somebody gets upset just pretend somebody else did it.

P: now the question was for coloring because if we’re going for just drawing then it’s finger paint all the way!

Ro: Call me old fashioned, it’s always colored pencils for me. The variety is wonderful, plus they’re less likely to break and being able to sharpen them with a sharpener that actually works allows me to make the drawing extra pretty.

V: I mean coloring kind of stresses me out a little.

Ro: How? How can coloring, a thing people do specifically to calm down stress you out?

V: I don’t know, I never know if I’m using the right color.

P: Well that’s the point, kiddo, there is no right color.

V: Yeah but there is, or at least there’s a wrong color. And once you realize it’s wrong you can’t go back and the picture is ruined. I mean I guess it I had to choose then those nice huge marker sets? They just seem like they have every shade so I don’t have to worry about not being able to find the exact color.

P: Markers! You guys remember those scented markers?!? They were so good! And they’d squeak whenever you’d use them!

Re: Oooo yeah and if you sniffed them hard enough you’d get kinda dizzy? Those kicked ass!

Ro: Somebody unfortunately included you on this question.

Re: Stains!

Ro: I don’t…like I never know if you’re actually contributing to a conversation or just yelling out things.

J: Give him a second

Re: I like to color with stains. Now I know you guys are gonna think that sounds easy, but it’s not! Trying to find the right household item to get the right color? Lots of trial and error.

Ro: That’s…awful but could have been worse I guess. Could have said blood or something.

Re: That’s a stain!

Ro: Why are we related?!?

[ash5monster01]

Truths of Our Past Part 5

Pairing: Older!Charlie Dalton x FemReader

Warnings: 18+, smut, mentions of nudity, mentions of suicide, depression, depressing thoughts, past trauma, facing trauma, romance, understanding, fluff.

Summary: You had met Charlie in University, were married shortly after, and had become accustomed to a beautiful life together. When you receive a wedding invitation to one of Charlie’s previous classmates weddings you discover that Charlie had a dark past, one he had been trying to forget. In the midst of it all you try to help him through it while finding out that he’s not the guy you thought you married at all. Maybe he’s even better.

word count: 2.7k

Part 4 ←→ Part 6

Masterlist

10/7/69

Day 5/8

Getting to know more about Charlie’s past had been wonderful. Obviously he was still reserved about some things but you could tell that confiding in you had been healing for him. Maybe now he could start considering Neil in a happy manor over a sad one. You didn’t want to push it anymore though especially since you all were getting ready for the engagement party tonight. It would be the first time the whole group had been together the whole week during wedding planning. You were actually excited, to dress up and go out with your husband, to just have a good time and not think about all the bad times this place reminded him of.

“How wrong would it be to already start drinking?” you grinned as you joined Chris in her and Knox’s shared room. She giggled as you moved in the room, silk robe fluttering behind you as you popped open a bottle of champagne.

“Not wrong at all, it’s a wedding. It’s what you do” Chris told you and you gave her a confused look.

“You don’t want a drink?” you questioned, probably pouring yourself too large a glass.

“Oh I want to, I just can’t” and then it dawned on you what she had meant. You felt all sorts of emotions rush through you but you quickly settled for the one most appropriate. Excitement.

“Oh my God! Are you serious?” you lunged towards her and she chuckled as you hugged her tightly.

“Yes, and I’m hoping it’s a little girl” she told you and you forced a quick smile on your face, happy but sad all at the same time. Happy because you loved Johnny more than life and you were sure to love this next kiddo just as much, but sad because you so desperately wanted to bring a kiddo of your own into the world.

“A little girl would be wonderful” and you forced a smile even though you were sure it was a little sad. Charlie would love a little girl, you could see the two of them now. He’d be so good to her. Just like he was good to you.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to rub it in. I’d just feel terrible keeping it from you too” she told you softly and you nodded frantically, not wanting her to read too much into your disappointment.

“Oh Chris you’re not rubbing it in. I’m so happy, you have no idea. Just ready for kids of my own too is all” you reassured her and she smiled, pulling you into a hug.

“How about this, you drink for me tonight too. Then you and Charlie can have wild drunk sex and I’ll make Knox sleep with ear plugs” and she had you giggling in an instant and your heart yearned to be near to her. Not just now but all the time. The distance sucked when Chris had become more than just family but your sister.

“I doubt he’d need ear plugs if he hasn’t heard us already” and Chris gasped before scooting closer to you.

“Oh my gosh, tell me everything!” she squealed and you could only laugh before telling her. Gossiping about everything from yesterday morning to the tour of Welton. Girl talk was something that was scarce for you so having this was more than enough.

Soon enough the two of you were ready. Having done each others make up and hair, zipping each other into your dresses, before giggling about your handsome husbands downstairs. They were bound to be awestruck by your appearances and you both couldn’t wait to spend the nights with them. Chris’ mother being a God send keeping Johnny for the night. The four of you shared a car to a local restaurant that had been rented out for the event.

“Y/N Dalton! About time I see you!” Todd said once you were through the door and you were giggling as you accepted a hug from him while saying a soft hello to Ann.

“Todd Anderson, you are handsome as ever. No wonder this beautiful girl said yes” you said and successfully he blushed a deep red, remnants of that shy boy still within him. You were always the best at bringing it out, especially Charlie. Chris always said that was a reason you two were meant to be.

“The others are already at the table waiting for you” Ann said as she accepted you in a hug as well and you couldn’t help but grin as she said this. Your eyes spotted the table, Meeks and Pitts waving cheerfully as you saw them and you giggled instantly.

You let Charlie, Knox, and Chris say their hellos as you rushed over to the two boys. They both stood to greet you and in seconds you were launched into their arms. Hugging them both was slightly awkward due to the height difference but you were so happy to see them all at the same time. “You boys! So handsome. No way you both are single”

“You’re too sweet Y/N” Meeks said, his eyes dropping and ears turning the same shade as his hair. You giggled at his reaction and Pitts could only smile at you.

“I’m happy to announce there is a girl. Kathy. I’m hoping she’s the one” and you were instantly awing at the sweet boy.

“She must be Pittsie. You’re too charming to leave behind” and now he was blushing too.

“See you boys have both managed to steal my wife already” Charlie said as he approached, his hand landing on the small of your back as he greeted them both with a handshake.

“We can’t help it Nuwanda. She flirts with us and we just fold” Meeks countered and Charlie raised his eyebrows at you to which you just shrugged.

“They both owe me a dance, that’s all I have to say” and Charlie was laughing while helping you into your chair at the table. Todd and Ann had left the door in favor for a small table at the head of the room, the two of them whispering and smiling wide as they looked at their guests. You noticed the wedding party had been split up by poets and family and friends. The table opposite of you holding Jeff Anderson, his wife Rachel, Maggie, and both Todd and Ann’s parents. That was when you realized the seventh chair at your table hadn’t yet been filled.

“They look so happy” Chris commented dreamily and your hand shook lightly as you moved to look at the name tag above the empty seat beside you.

Neil Perry

You could’ve sworn you were gonna throw up as you saw it. You tried to lean away, not bring attention to it, but you had been caught and you were also now white as a ghost. You didn’t know how Charlie could handle this. It was a sweet gesture but it was also a reminder. A reminder during the ten year anniversary of his death in the town of his death and Charlie was extremely fragile over it. “We waiting on someone else”

“Uh, no. Not exactly” you stuttered out and Charlie’s eyebrows drew together as he spotted your nervous facade. It wasn’t often you were uneasy. You were more put together than him usually.

“Who is it?” he asked you and when you finally locked your eyes with his you figured he knew. Chris leaned across to grab the name tag you had just abandoned and realization covered her and Knox’s face.

“It’s Neil” Knox whispered and Charlie’s stomach dropped at the confirmation of this fact. The table all experienced different emotions as they all glanced at each other to see how everyone else was feeling.

“I’m gonna get a drink” Charlie forced out, his voice clipped and eyes avoiding everyone else’s. You watched as he stood, his hand buttoning his blazer back together and before you could offer to come Knox was standing too.

“I’ll come with, boys care to join us?” he asked the other two Dead Poets and they nodded before all standing and following each other to the bar.

“I didn’t realize” Chris said as she put the name tag back down, her hand shaking lightly.

“It’s okay, no way we could’ve avoided it all night” you told her and she desperately wanted to scoot into the chair beside you but she couldn’t. It was Neil’s seat, and no matter what after world was out there she had a strong feeling he was sitting in it. He was there with his wide smile and dazzling eyes, lovingly watching his friends grow and grow their families.

“He’s here you know, whether his spirit actually is or the presence of him the boys carry around. I often wonder if he would’ve liked me” Chris told you and you smiled with teary eyes as you looked at the seat. Chuckling you retrieved the bottle of champagne you had smuggled in your purse and poured some in the empty glass in front of Neil’s seat.

“For Neil, you can have Chris’ drink cause she went and got knocked up again” you said to what you hoped was some version of him sitting beside you both. You hoped he would’ve liked you too, that you could’ve formed some alliance with him like you did with all of Charlie’s friends.

“I’d drink to that if I could” Chris said as she grabbed her glass of water and you filled your own empty glass. The two of you reached to clink it with the glass sitting in front of his seat before sharing a smile and drinking together.

“Alright, drinks on me” Knox said to Charlie, patting his back softly as he still shifted nervously. He was trying his best not to cry.

“It’s open bar Knoxious” he tried to say teasingly but all the boys could hear the uneasiness of his voice.

“Alright, here’s the deal Dalton. You’re gonna drink the whiskey I order you and then tell your feelings to the class. That’s how we’re doing things from now on” and Charlie chuckled, it sounding strangled due to holding back so many emotions. Meeks and Pitts finally caught on that Charlie was much worse than them when it came to grieving Neil.

“Better be a strong glass” Charlie told him and Knox smiled as he wrapped an arm around his shoulders, holding him like a brother would while he ordered drinks for all four of them.

“Okay, fess up” Knox said once Charlie had a good few sips in him and he relished in the calming feeling of the alcohol before looking at Knox.

“I’m not so good at the feelings thing” Charlie said and Knox sighed as he leaned against the bar.

“Just tell us Charlie, it really hurts to know you kept how much you were struggling from us” Meeks seriously said and Charlie realized he finally had to confide in his friends. He figured he might’ve sooner if he hadn’t been so quickly ripped away from them. So ten years later was as better time as any.

“I miss him. It hurts like it still just happened yesterday. That seat, it being set aside for him, makes me feel like he will walk through that door at any moment and then remembering all over again that he won’t kills me” Charlie admitted, not looking at anyone in particular before slugging back a sip of his drink.

“I don’t think Todd meant it in any way to be painful” Pitts said, large hand falling on his shoulder and Charlie nodded.

“I know, but I never got over it. So doing things in remembrance of him breaks me. I got to leave, I could pretend he was still alive and back at Welton with you guys. The rest of you faced the truth and we’re able to get used to it, are able to look at that seat and feel love” Charlie said and Meeks quietly sniffled.

“When I realized it was for him I got scared. I’m still so scared that life can hurt us as badly as it did Neil” he admitted and Charlie realized each of them were still grieving over Neil in their own ways.

“I got excited. I forgot for a moment. I thought he was going to come join us and I was excited” Knox said, tears burning at the back of his eyes.

“He did join us. He is always with us. I know it” Pitts told Knox and Knox smiled gratefully at him.

“If he is, Y/N definitely has him drunk by now” Meeks said and they rest of the boys glanced to see sure enough Mrs. Dalton had a smuggled bottle of champagne that she was generously pouring into her and Neil’s glasses.

“They would’ve been good together” Charlie said, trying to picture his oldest friend beside his wife. His most favorite person in the world with his other most favorite person in the world.

“Of course they would, because she is Neil” Knox said with a chuckle and Charlie gave him a confused look.

“What do you mean?” he asked and Knox gave him a dumbfounded look, shocked he hadn’t noticed.

“You wife is exactly like Neil. Energetic, strong, caring, hopeful. The first time we all met her we realized the only reason you fell for her was because she reminded you of Neil” and Charlie thought for a moment. Tried to remember the first time they met, when she sat next to him on that bus even though they had been moving already and he was deep into a book. He vaguely remembered thinking Neil would have no issue interrupting someone like this when he was curious enough to meet them.

Then all at once he realized why he had fallen so quickly, why he hadn’t shared most of his trauma with you. It was because you comforted the part of him that would always long for his best friend. He had found someone else that was so in love with the world and that thought made him smile. You hadn’t replaced Neil, no one ever could, but in a sense he realized he met you for a reason. Maybe it was coincidental, fate, or Neil looking out for his best friend, but he found you when he needed you most.

“Why didn’t any of you say anything before?” Charlie curiously asked and the boys just shrugged.

“We didn’t want to get into your head, in a way it was kind of nice spending time with someone that reminded us of all the good parts Neil was” Meeks told him and now you were looking at the boys, giving them a curious glance as to why they all stared at you and Charlie could only smile back.

“I guess you’re right, she makes me better. Just like Neil did” and for the first time in ten years it didn’t hurt as much to refer to Neil in the past tense. Maybe if was talking his feelings out, maybe if was realizing how much he saw Neil in you, or maybe it was just the extremely strong drink in his hand. Either way he was glad this week had done so much for him, so much for the both of you.

“We better join them, Mrs Dalton looks like she’s already moving onto her third drink and she hasn’t even hit the open bar yet” Pitts chuckled and Charlie just smiled, happy that even though this wasn’t what he imagined his future being like, at least they were all still together. Neil included. He had a seat at the table after all.

“Let her, she deserves to enjoy herself” Charlie told him and the boys went back to the table. Happily greeted by the girls who had missed them even if they were only gone about twenty minutes.

“Everything okay?” you whispered to Charlie once he was by your side, alcohol heavy on your breath. He gave you a genuine smile, something he was extremely proud to do.

“Everything is perfect” he told you and you smiled wide before pressing a kiss to his lips and then turning to the table.

“Who wants champagne?!”

[snkyou]

For this fic writer ask game:

#4, #8, #12, #17, #19

Sorry for sending so many! I’m a curious person, lol.

Hey <3 It's okay! I wouldn't reblog those games if I didn't want people sending many of these. ALSO SORRY THIS GOT OUT OF HAND---

4.a story idea you haven’t written yet

i think I have around of 3 semi-started multi-chaptered fics, and exactly 2 ideas I haven't written anything for yet: one because it's fairly recently it popped up in my head and the other one... I know it's gonna be a lot harder to write: I have only read 1 fic where Levi is Kuchel's caretaker at the end of whatever illness takes her. I want to give it a try and focus on that 'reverse' parent-child dynamic (with a bit of eruri in the background, of course lmao); so far, all I have in mind are random important scenes here and there, Kuchel's illness being something similar to Alzheimer's, maybe? It does have to be terminal enough for Levi to stretch himself thin to keep them both afloat. I still don't know if I want this to be from Levi's pov or Erwin's. That would shift the tone of the story a lot. What's been stopping me, partially, is the amount of research I have to do for this type of story, I've had first-hand experience of witnessing Alzheimer's develop and at a scarily rapid pace, but I also sort of blocked those memories. I could never write something this heavy on a whim.

8. if you had to write a sequel to a fic, you’d write one for…

<- going back to that Caretaker Levi, I can totally see it being a two-part fic where the first is about Levi and Kuchel and the second about Eruri getting/being together after her passing.

A fic that I've posted and want to write a sequel for is Coffee & Tea, this fic focused on Gabi and Levi, so I want to spotlight Falco in the next one!! <3 if Gabi and Levi were having their morning gossip (lmao), I imagine Falco and Levi can have a little treat in the evening.. (also set in this same universe, I do have plans of Levi being asked to be the godfather to one of the 104th's kiddos. I just love the idea of Levi being so present in their minds that he ends up being some sort of grandpa figure to their kids lol.)

12.a trope you’re really into right now

Let me take a look at my ao3 tracker---

My tracker tells me I'm a lot into first-times right now lmao. Honestly, other than that, I don't see any patterns repeating throughout many stories. Hmmm I guess the other trope I've been reading is a lot of Parent Eruri, be it single dads/married. Also... threesomes... I was in a miche rut at the beginning of the month and read like 6 fics of eruri/miche 🙂‍↕️. No tropes in specific tho.

17. talk about your writing and editing process

Hmm, I usually only write when I have an idea of what I want to cover in the fic/chapter. I'm not good at outlining my stories, I just go with the flow and hope the mood I inteded for the fic comes across. I have scenes/dialogues and I kind of build toward them. Because I don't write just because, most of the time I always end up with something that's 80-90% ready and not much editing needed. My editing consists of checking formatting and maybe word order here and there since I do tend to yap endlessly. I don't have a beta. The thought of sharing my wips gives me cold feet haha. I have a friend watching over my current wip and it's been nerve-wrecking but also really nice! (I accepted his checking it because it would be my first time writing a trans character and I am not confident enough of my knowledge of trans experiences to write about it).

19. the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic

Admittedly, doing research is my least favourite part of writing, only because I get side-tracked and tend to research stuff I want to know and not necessarily need. The most interesting and recent one is pregnancy! I am ignorant of lots of medical and biological processes (like... i know they exist and happen, but I've never questioned the biology of it, yk). More specifically I read a bunch of research articles on trans male pregnancy (since that's what my current wip deals with). And it's been very interesting to read those experiences! In my writing, I focus on feelings and experiences rather than the hmm physical aspect of things. I'm not trans and I can't say I have experienced anything similar to gender dysphoria and I have never been pregnant so it's two topics I'm fairly oblivious to haha and I want to get them right. If this was an omegaverse fic, I wouldn't worry with all this I think. But for this fic, I want the reader to feel pregnant hahaha 😂 that's my goal. And also just putting a mpreg fic out there that focuses on the journey of carrying instead of jumping into delivery.

[pikapeppa]

Hey! Hope you’ve been well!

I’ve been re-reading some of your completed works and was wondering if you have any head-canons for your own stuff!

I mean now that I think about it I wouldn’t mind any AloyXDrakka head-canons you may have, but I particularly came here to ask about AstarionXHalsinXBrynn & RolanXTav!

No pressure and no stress if you don’t have anything to share. Just figured I’d shoot my shot.

Also while I’m here, do you write any original works? You’re a great writer and story teller. I’d buy anything you published 😊

AW your messages are always so sweet and it took me so long to reply to this one😭❤ and sadly this is a very boring reply... but most of my headcanons are already in the fics, if that makes sense? Like, that's where my headcanons go, they just get popped right in there 😂

Actually, I take that back LOL. I do have some headcanons for Halsin/Astarion/Brynn, since I ran out of steam for writing for the fandom before they got to happen in the fics. But one headcanon is that Astarion eventually admits openly that he loves Halsin. I peppered the growing feels through the fics, but I stopped writing before a confession scene happened. I imagine it would be something along the lines of Astarion wracking up the guts to tell Halsin his feelings, and Halsin very kindly and lovingly telling Astarion that he already knew how he feels. Astarion gets kind of defensive because he's made himself all vulnerable, Halsin soothes him quickly because of course he does, and they make sweet sweet love. 😂❤

I also imagined that both of the guys prefer to spend more time as a trio with Brynn than just hanging out alone -- they don't have a TON in common after all, let's be very honest -- so most of their solo time together happens when Brynn is sleeping, or when she's dancing or otherwise having shenanigans with the kiddos in Reithwin 😂

I also imagined that when Brynn and Halsin spend time together without Astarion, Astarion goes to hang out with the other tadfools, but the one he hangs out with most often is Gale. He'll say it's because Gale has a posh tower with a proper guest bedroom, but really, he enjoys nerd time with Gale. (And Tara, since he's weak for cats.)

Anyway, that's all for now... Thank you for this ask, though. I mean that genuinely. It's not often that people ask about my BG3 fics, and if I'm totally honest, part of the reason I stopped writing for the fandom is that it felt like no one cared. So thank you for caring! I still have so much love in my hort for Halsin and Astarion, and it was nice to have the chance to talk about them again 🥰

-- love from your friendly neighbourhood Pika xoxo

[juliusschmidt]

I just stayed up all night reading I'll Fly Away" - again - it's one of my all time favorite H&L fanfics. I love these characters so much. You write the best, most realistic male dialogue/banter and have such a way with words. Perfect combo of humor, angst, emotional smut (that properly serves the storyline), human insight, and descriptiveness of setting. It brought me back to my childhood in WI and summers sent in the north woods, when Chicago seemed like such an impossibly big city. I could feel, smell, taste summer and autumn on the lake. This is truly an epic romance.

Two questions:

Do you have any plans to write another long fic in this fandom? I would be so thrilled to read more of your multi-chapter writing.

Would you mind sharing a new link to the playlist? The one you've posted on ao3 doesn't seem to be working? I know it's been awhile.

Thanks for sharing this beautiful world that you created with us.

What an ask to wake up to!! Thank you!!

My life feels super full in mostly the best of ways right now. I’m commuting to a full time job that I love, my kids are little and WILD— absolute chaos agents, I have friends who I see in person 😱, and, on the sadder side, my dad has a terminal diagnosis so I’ve been trying to visit him as often as we can manage. After years of angsting over the loss of Me Time that early parenthood inevitably brings on, especially with more than one kiddo, I am finally also seeing that my littles will not be little forever and settling into a different arrangement of priorities. Within the last month, I literally said to my therapist— “Maybe it’s okay to set aside my dreams of another novel length thing for right now.”

However!! It feels serendipitous that I spent the last 24hrs binging For the Right Reasons and wishing I was working on something new! And then this pops into my inbox. I recently night-weaned my youngest, and that might open up some time, but since the weaning we’ve been sick and now there’s stupid Spring Forward so 🤷‍♀️🤪 it’s hard to say.

Additionally, I live in the Great Lakes north woods and SAD is a communal experience so maybe 🤔 ☀️💻. My capacity feels different with the sun out.

tldr; No long fics in the works now, but who knows what the next six months will bring. I really love this kind of storytelling. And I have a parenting themed love story to write now, I think. 😂🤪

as to the playlist 🤔, I am at a loss. I have playlists for every single long fic in my personal Spotify (which I use professionally also and don’t share in fandom) so I was hoping to find it and screen shot it, but no luck. I’ll keep digging around to see where I might have it or even a list of the songs I’d used.

Thanks again for this very kind comment!! ❤️ I hope you make it through your day on minimal sleep. 🫣😊

oh and for anyone else who wants an I’ll Fly Away re-read, here’s a link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5390444/chapters/12451058

[callsignspark]

bumping into each other. mary and bradley

anon! you are so galaxy-brained for knowing that I wanted someone to send this one to me.

you'll be in my heart

pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Mariella “M&M” Vertucci (fem!OC)

warnings: 18+ minors DNI, fluffy with the tiniest bit of angst, this is set before they're together but they're already friends, also you don’t need to read Mar[r]y Me to read and understand this but you should anyway, also for your reference this takes place between part 2 and part 3/3.5 of the main storyline!

word count: 3.7k

note: happy Friday everyone! please enjoy this one which is dedicated to @gretagerwigsmuse who gave me this idea eons ago but I couldn't find a place for it in the main story!

The Bronco is peaceful and quiet. Or it had been until Bradley started humming along to some 90’s country song, half mumbling the words like a bad duet with the woman singing about the Fourth of July. It had been the week from hell, and this passenger seat was the last place she wanted to be.

“Will you shut up?! God, you’re so annoying!”

“You don’t like Martina McBride, kiddo?”

“You don’t like Martina McBride?” She mocks him, making her voice high-pitched and whiny. “I don’t care who it is, just stop singing!”

She watches him sigh, gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turn white. “Listen, I know this isn’t how you want to spend your Friday night, but please remember that this is a punishment for me, too. And given your options, I’m the lesser of two evils.”

“Oh! Please explain how you are my best option tonight.”

“If you had to go with Mav, you would be sitting around Wood’s house listening to the stories of their glory days while they get drunk! About how they used to pull women and all the dangerous maneuvers they did! So I think going to the grocery store and spending the night at my place is a much better option! At least I won’t tell you that you can’t go on your phone or watch a movie! And I’m certainly not going to make you listen to my best combat stories!”

She folds her arms and sinks down in the seat, muttering, “That’s because most of them are still classified.”

“Well! Yeah! But even if I could talk about it, I still wouldn’t make you listen to the time Phoenix, and I managed to-”

“Oh, Bradley, please!”

“I’m just kidding, Amelia! Geez!” He laughs, making the turn into the grocery store parking lot. “What did you do to piss your mom off anyway?”

“It’s so stupid! I forgot to clean the bathroom when I was supposed to.”

“Kiddo…”

“Okay! Okay! She may have told me to do it like five times, and I forgot until we were about to have Aunt Sarah over for dinner. But I had a big test on Wednesday, so I asked Mav to do it, and he didn’t do it either!”

Bradley parks, reaching into the backseat to grab a few of the reusable bags strewn on the floor.

“Why do you have so many reusable bags everywhere?”

“I- uh-” Amelia’s eyes narrow when he fumbles around, stuttering over his words for no reason. “My friend won them in a raffle and gave some to me because there were so many.”

“Your friend?” She deadpans, knowing he’s hiding something. He doesn’t have friends outside of the Daggers.

“Mmhm. Yup.” His head bobs like a puppet on a string, furthering her suspicions until it hits her.

So she waits until he’s about halfway out the door, hoping he gets so flustered he’ll trip. “This friend wouldn’t happen to be that pretty friend of yours that you have a crush on, would it?”

“How do you know about Mary?” He doesn’t trip, but when he pops his head back in the car, his face is a combination of shocked and scared.

“Her name is Mary?! That’s pretty! Do you have a picture of her?” Amelia bounces out of the car, slamming it behind her.

“Amelia…”

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to close it that hard! But can I please see her? Please? You know Mav doesn’t know how to work Facebook, and Mom wouldn’t tell me her name so I could look her up!”

He sighs as he grabs a cart from the corral, rubbing his forehead in frustration. “Only if you promise to not like any photos or do anything weird like friend request her.”

“Can we have pizza for dinner?”

She giggles in his face as Bradley blinks at her. “Only if you verbally promise me that you’re not going to be weird.”

“Promise. Now gimme!” Amelia snatches the phone as soon as he offers it, eyes glued to the profile of the woman her step-brother-god-son-in-law has a crush on.

“I’m being outmaneuvered by a teenager…” She hears him mutter under his breath before he tugs her close to the cart. “Hey! We’re in a parking lot; please pay attention so you don’t get run over! I’m not spending the night in the emergency room.”

“Sorry, Bradley.” She grabs his elbow and lets him guide her inside, her attention on the phone but knowing he’ll keep her safe.

He parks her and the cart in front of the bakery counter, getting a loaf of sourdough sliced before finally asking the question she can feel him holding back.

“So, what do you think of her?”

Amelia looks up, a snarky remark ready to fly when she sees his face. She hasn’t seen him this nervous and twitchy since the two of them were left to their own devices in Mav’s hangar after that mission a few years ago.

Holy shit, he really likes this girl.

“She’s really pretty, Bradley. She seems funny. I thought you said her name was Mary?”

“That’s her nickname; her full name is Mariella. Isn’t that pretty?”

“It is pretty.” You absolute simp. “Why haven’t you asked her out yet?”

He grimaces, directing them towards the bagged lettuce and tucking his phone away. “It’s a bit complicated. For starters, I don’t know if she’s interested. Which normally wouldn’t be a huge concern for me, but we have the same friend group, so I don’t want to make it awkward.”

She nods, appreciating how he never treats her like a dumb kid and explains things to her. “That seems like a very fixable problem.”

“It is, theoretically, but it gets a bit more complicated because we do work together, and she’s not Navy, so I’m not sure what the fraternization rules are.”

“Why don’t you just ask Mav? Don’t get that peach; look at that big bruise on it. Isn’t it part of his job to know those rules? And he could probably give you some advice.”

Bradley sets the bruised fruit to the side, choosing a better-looking one. “You want me to ask the man who is an enormous gossip and took over thirty years to get his shit together with your mom?”

Amelia blinks at him. “You should ask Warlock. He’d probably be better.”

“I think I’ll avoid talking to any of the admirals about it until there’s something to talk about. Alright, to the cereal aisle. Yes, you can push; just be careful.”

She heads out of the produce section, smiling that he knows her so well. “Hey, what did you do to make Mom mad? She didn’t tell me, just that I was spending the night with you.”

“I mowed over her new rose bush because Mav didn’t put up the little fence around it before I started.”

“We both got in trouble because of Mav. Why isn’t he being punished?”

“Don’t worry, if I know your mom like I think I know your mom, he’s definitely in trouble.” He rolls his eyes and puts a box of Cheerios in the cart. “Okay, pick out a fun cereal for me.”

“Fruity pebbles, duh. Now, onto chips!”

Amelia takes off, not running but still moving too fast for a grocery store at 5:30 on a Friday evening. She rounds the corner for the chip aisle and runs into a woman carrying a basket.

“I’m sorry!” She blurts it out over the woman telling her it’s okay, so flustered and embarrassed that she almost hit a stranger with their half-full cart.

Wait, isn’t that-

“Amelia! You gotta watch out! This is what I was talking about when we were driving last weekend!”

“You’re letting her drive? She looks a little young, Bradley.”

“Mary?”

Amelia watches in amazement as her normally calm and collected pseudo-brother starts blushing. Her head whips towards the stranger, who is no longer a stranger.

“Mary?!” She asks excitedly; the kind woman she almost ran over is Bradley’s crush!

And she’s even prettier in person!

Amelia admires the freckles dotting her cheeks and the cute earrings being shown off with her hair pulled back in a claw clip.

“Mary!” She says her own name, throwing her hands out in a ta-da move.

Oh, she is funny!

“Hi, I’m Amelia, his step-sister-by-marriage-twice-removed.” She shakes Mary’s hand, beaming when the older woman laughs at her joke. “Thank you. Bradley never thinks that’s funny.”

“That’s because it’s not.” Amelia turns around and sticks her tongue out at him, where he’s leaning against their cart. “Amelia is Penny’s daughter, which makes her not related to me at all but still occasionally my responsibility.”

“He says that like it’s some burden for him, like we’re not gonna eat pizza and gossip until he falls asleep on the couch at 8:30, with a World War II documentary on the TV.”

“You are just as funny as I thought you’d be.”

“You know me?”

“Of course I do! Your mom has told me all about you! Plus, you’re hanging on Mav’s wall, and Bradley’s got a photo of you on his desk.” Amelia watches Mary smile, crinkles appearing by her eyes, and she feels her heart warm.

She didn’t know that Mav and Bradley had photos of her in their offices. Her own dad doesn’t even have a photo of her. He has photos of his new family, though, she thinks bitterly before tucking the thought away.

“What photo do you have up?” She turns and demands.

Bradley rolls his eyes, straightening up from the cart. “It’s that photo of the four of us at your eighth-grade graduation last year.”

“It’s right next to the Dagger Squad official photo. It’s very sweet.” Mary adds.

“Oh, well, that’s Bradley. So sweet.”

“Knock it off or no more driving lessons.”

She wants to tell him to stop flexing; she can practically see him straining to make his arms look as big as possible. But she can’t take the risk of no dessert after dinner.

“You shouldn’t be teaching me to drive yet anyway. I’m only 14.”

“You’re almost 15! Besides, Mav was teaching me to drive at your age. It’s fine.”

“Fifteen isn’t even old enough to get your permit.”

“Behave, or I’m taking your phone away like Penny told me to.”

“Yes, Dad.” She exaggerates the name, knowing it annoys him.

Bradley slaps a hand over his eyes. “Please stop doing that. People are going to think I’m actually your dad.”

“Well, I mean, you are old enough to be my dad. You’re like, what, 53 now?”

Bradley makes incredulous eye contact with Mary, who has been watching the entire interaction with her hand over her mouth to muffle a laugh. “I’m 36, you little shit, and if you were my kid, I would have been 22 when you were born, Amelia.”

“People have kids younger than that,” Mary interjects, unable to stop the laugh at Bradley’s betrayed face.

“See! Mary gets it!”

“Mary is the same age as me, so she knows that having kids that young is possible but probably not a super great idea.”

“Actually, I’m 33, so I’m younger than you.”

“Oh my god, am I older than everyone?”

Amelia bounces over to the cart, patting Bradley’s shoulder where he’s dramatically resting his head against the handle. “No, don’t worry, Grandpa. Mav is still older than you.”

He peers up at her, a smirk spreading across his face. “No ice cream.”

Mary laughs at Amelia’s devastated face. “Well, I should get going. I don’t want to keep you guys.”

“No! Don’t go! Walk with us! Bradley is so boring; I wasn’t kidding about the World War II documentary.”

“Oh no, thank you, Amelia, but I couldn’t.”

“Yeah, you can.” Bradley clears some space at the end of the cart. “Here, put your basket in there, and we’ll finish out together.”

Amelia watches Mary hesitate, a silent conversation passing between the adults before she sets her basket in the cart. “Thank you, that was getting heavy. Where are you guys off to next?”

The trio continues making their way through the store, Amelia switching between riding on the end of the cart and walking behind the adults.

A scuffle catches her attention, and Amelia looks up from her phone to find Mary and Bradley smooshed together, Bradley’s arm wrapped around her waist as he presses her against the cart from where they bumped into each other.

“Oh, hey, sorry about that. You okay?”

“I’m fine.” Mary giggles, her cheeks turning pink. “We sure are graceful, aren’t we?”

“I think we could walk on stage at the ballet and fit right in.”

Oh my god. Is this his way of flirting?

Mary laughs at the joke, reaching down to put a can of tomatoes in her basket but making no effort to move away from his chest.

Oh wow, she’s into it. Weird.

“So what are you doing for dinner? Amelia Bedelia back there conned me into agreeing to pizza.”

“That’s not true, he bribed me.”

“Actually, you blackmailed me.”

“I’m making chicken parmesan,” Mary answers, grabbing a box of angel hair pasta. “Dani and I are having a girl’s night; apparently, the baby has been craving my mom’s secret chicken parm recipe.”

“What’s the secret?” Amelia hops back onto the cart, smiling as Bradley glares at her.

“You promise not to tell anyone?” Mary conspiratorially bumps shoulders with Bradley as they both agree. “Well… you have to use homemade tomato sauce, made the Vertucci family way. And when you bread the chicken, you add shredded parmesan to the breadcrumbs. It gives it extra flavor, and the cheese makes it nice and crispy when you finish it in the oven.”

“That sounds so good! I love Italian food.”

“Did you know that chicken parm is actually an Italian-American food? You won’t find it on the menus in Italy.”

“Really?” Bradley asks, paying close attention to her.

“Yeah! There’s some dishes that are kinda similar. Like melanzane alla parmigiana - made with eggplant - or carne pizzaiola, which is traditionally made with beef. But most restaurants in Italy have a menu that’s closer to the Italian peasant recipes that I grew up eating.”

“What are peasant recipes?” Amelia questions, unfamiliar with the term.

“They’re just recipes that peasants or the regular people would make. They’re very simple and made with ingredients that are easy and cheap to buy. My family didn’t have a lot of money when they came over from Italy and the Great Depression, so those are the kind of meals my grandparents grew up eating. And they’re still delicious, so they made things like pastina or pasta mollicata for us growing up.”

“What's your favorite?”

Mary lights up at the question from Bradley, her smile getting bigger. “Pasta e piselli, which is just pasta and peas. But it’s so good and filling and comforting.”

“Do you make it a lot?”

“I don’t actually, Amelia, even though it’s very easy to make. It’s one of those recipes I break out for a special dinner or when I need a pick-me-up meal.”

“Special dinner? You ever make it for a date?” Bradley asks as they turn into the last aisle.

Mary visibly flounders. “Uh- I- No. I haven’t made it for a date.”

“Why not? Amelia, what kind of ice cream do you want?”

“Chocolate chip cookie dough, please.” She answers, her eyes bouncing back and forth between the two adults, a bad feeling creeping up her neck.

“Well, honestly, it’s a special recipe to me - it’s my Nonna’s recipe. So, I wouldn’t make it for someone until I knew they were in it for the long haul.”

“Oh, that’s smart! You said it was easy to make. Would you mind sharing the recipe with me? I’ve been looking for a quality recipe that’s not too hard to make for an occasion like that.”

Amelia’s stomach drops as she watches Mary’s face fall.

Bradley! Get your head out of the ice cream cooler and pay attention! You’re making her sad!

She realizes that the situation is quickly devolving and pivots the conversation.

“Hey, Mary?”

“Yeah, sweetie?” The older woman pulls her eyes from Bradley’s back, which she’d been staring at dejectedly.

“You made those brownies Mav brought home a couple weeks ago, right?” She smiles when Mary nods. “Do you know how to make red velvet?”

“I do. Why do you ask?”

“Well, it’s my birthday next month, and I want red velvet cupcakes for my party. Could I order them from you?”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Those brownies were amazing, and Bradley still talks about that strawberry shortcake you made.”

Mary’s eyebrows shoot up to her hairline, eyes flicking to a sheepish Bradley.

“That lemon pound cake did things to me.”

“Okay, ignoring the weirdo. Do you think you could make them?”

“Of course! I’ll talk to your mom next week and figure out the details, okay?”

“Thank you!” Amelia jumps off the cart to hug Mary, sticking her tongue out at Bradley as she does. “My favorite color is red.”

“Noted.” Mary taps the end of her nose. “We should probably head for the checkout; I have a pregnant lady waiting at home that I need to feed.”

Nodding in agreement, Bradley pulls Amelia toward a cashier line while Mary grabs her basket and heads for the self-checkout.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“Oh, I’m just gonna do self-checkout so I can get going. But I’ll see you on Monday.”

Bradley cocks his head like a confused puppy. “Are you sure? If you wait with us, I’ll carry your bags to the car for you.”

“That’s sweet, but I’ve got it. Been doing this all by myself for years now! Enjoy your pizza, guys!” She waves, her smile not as big as it had been ten minutes ago.

The duo watches her from their place in line, impressed with how quickly she scans and packs her reusable bags, ones that match those sitting in their cart. It’s not long before she’s loading up her arms and flashing a quick smile at them as she leaves, which they return.

“I feel like I did something wrong.”

“Yeah, no shit.” Amelia scoffs. “Whatever makes you think that? How she ran away from us as quickly as possible? Or the fact that she was faking her smile for the last 15 minutes?”

“She was faking it? Why?”

“You’re not seriously asking me that right now.”

It’s their turn to checkout, so Bradley doesn’t get a chance to defend himself until they’re walking through the parking lot to the Bronco.

“Okay, want to tell me what I did wrong?”

“You didn’t ask her out. And she definitely would have said yes if you did.”

“I hinted at it!”

“No, you didn’t! You made it sound like you were asking for her grandma’s recipe - that’s very special to her - so you could make it for some other woman! There was no point at which you hinted at that woman being her!”

He claps a hand over his face. “Holy shit…”

“Now he gets it! Ladies and gentlemen, Bradley Rooster Bradshaw! One of the Navy’s finest! Let's give him a big round of applause!” Amelia mockingly claps after she tucks the cart back into the corral.

“Alright, that’s enough, smartass; get in.”

“In the cart? In the Bronco? You need to start being more specific with your questions.” She sasses as she climbs into the passenger seat.

Bradley doesn’t move once he gets in; just sits there staring out the windshield. “Do you think I fucked it up?”

“No.” She smiles at him when he whips his head in her direction. “Just ask her out to something small, like coffee or something. Then you can work your way up and ask her to dinner, but you make dinner. Maybe even the pasta and pea thing she was talking about. I’m sure there’s recipes online.”

“You’re pretty smart for someone so young.”

“Thanks, I get it from my mom. My dad is the worst.”

Bradley chuckles as he turns the car on. “She is a smart lady. You know, my mom would have liked you a lot.”

Amelia freezes, half-way buckled. “Really?”

“Oh yeah, you have the same sense of humor as her. She’d think you’re a riot.”

“You never talk about her.”

“It’s hard to talk about her.” He swallows hard, fiddling with the radio until he lands on a station playing old music. “I miss her so much. It’s gotten a little easier over the years, but there’s so few people left that actually knew her, it’s tough. Especially because I keep losing those people, too.”

They sit in silence for a few minutes until Bradley turns the radio up. “She loved this song.”

She listens, trying to place the song. “This is the Tarzan song.”

“It is the Tarzan song.” He laughs, his throat thick. “She loved Genesis and Phil Collins, but You’ll Be In My Heart was her favorite. We listened to it a lot towards the end.”

Amelia unbuckles, throwing herself across the bench seat to hug him. She surprises him; she can tell from the way he tenses for a second before hugging her back. She tries not to cry, but she can feel a few tears build up, upset that Bradley doesn’t have his mom or his dad anymore. That he’s lived longer without them than he lived with them.

“Oh, Ames. It’s okay.” He rubs her back when he hears her sniffle.

“It’s not fair!”

“I know, kiddo. But it happened, and at least she’s not in pain anymore.” He pulls back, wiping a tear off her cheek. “Hey, has Mav ever told you about the time me and my mom pulled a Halloween prank on him?”

“No.” She wipes her face. “Will you tell me more about her? I want to know more about your mom.”

“I’ll do you one better. We’ll watch embarrassing home videos while we eat pizza; how’s that sound? Good?”

Amelia nods, buckling back up. “Can we get Hawaiian pizza, please?”

“Course we can. So about this Halloween prank, it’s 1997, and the movie Anaconda had come out that year.”

“Mav hates snakes.”

“Yes, Mav does hate snakes. Which is why we…”

And Bradley pulls out of the parking lot and heads for the pizza joint, making his little sister laugh over the story of how it was discovered that Mav’s screams could reach a soprano octave.

tagged some extra friends/mutuals, and as always if you’d like to be added or removed from the tag list, send an ask!

@gretagerwigsmuse | @hangmanapologist | @hangmanbrainrot | @notroosterbradshaw | @princessphilly | @hangmanssunnies | @thesewordsareallihavetogive | @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby | @katieshook02 | @hellojameshowyadoin | @aristotles-butthole | @atarmychick007 | @whatislovevavy | @kmc1989 | @sometimesanalice | @laracrofted

fic tag | Mar[r]y Me masterlist | credit for dividers here

[louiesselfshipramblings]

I'll Be There [Personal]

Here it is! As promises, my first major personal work on this site, a lil hurt/comfort piece of my selfship with Toy Chica!

Gonna be honest, I was struggling a bit to come up with something for this, but I was suddenly struck by a beam of inspiration from—of all things—the ending scene of Some Like It Hot. You can probably see where I drew inspo from near the end of the fic, heh. Overall though, I'm very happy with how this came out! Hope y'all enjoy :]

Word count: 1884

Minor content warning, implied allusions to self-image issues

“Hey, Chica, sweetheart.”

Chica glanced back from her chair, and saw the wide smiling face of the manager peeking in. “Great work out there tonight. Believe me, you turned what coulda been a fiasco of a night into a major payday we’ve been hankerin’ for!”

 She blinked, and then gave a fake grin. Today was supposed to be her day off, but she had been called in following a string of no-shows; not only was Foxy out with a sudden bad leg, so was his understudy, Lolbit, out with a virus. She really didn’t feel like showing up, but she always fell for when her manager guilt tripped her about the ‘poor kiddos’ who wouldn’t get a good show on their birthday. She knew her work wasn’t exactly high entertainment, but it was worth it in her eyes if she would make one kid smile on their special day. Besides, the idea of a bit extra on her paycheck was certainly a motivator.

“Of course,” she remarked, trying her best to sound cheery. “Best job in the world! Always happy to pitch in!”

“That you are!” He chuckled. “And always happy to do it without overtime, yeah?”

Chica’s eye twitched, and her nails scratched against her dresser, enough to produce some wooden ribbons.

“Kidding! Kidding, of course,” the manager laughed off. “I’ll, uh, see what lil extra I can slip in your way, okay? Okay. See ya tomorrow!” He quickly slipped out as fast as he peeked in.

The moment he was gone, Chica’s face dropped to a neutral frown, followed by a groan as she dropped her head on the dresser. “Ugh…is this really it?” She grumbled, turning her head up to the mirror. “Gran was…mama was…guess kiddo’s gotta too, hm?” With a sigh, she lifted herself up, changed back into her street clothes, packed up, and headed out into the cool spring evening. The sun was still shining, but it was just beginning to dip under the horizon. She found herself glancing off at it, between the buildings, and into the far horizon.

She must have been rather lost in thought, as she didn’t even realize the car  that was parking right in front of her until the horn blared. Snapping back, she looked down to catch the window rolling down, and for Lou’s head to pop out. “Hey, there. Got a pick up for one pretty lady located at the corner of the finest eatery in the city?”

A genuine yet small smile spread across her face, and she chuckled. “Think you’re a little mixed up, my guy. Might wanna try the other corner, though?”

“Really? Huh, that’s a shame,” he replied, sounding mock-defeated. “Oh, well. Guess I’ll just take this delicious take out of beef-n-broccoli and the fresh order of spring egg rolls home all on my ownsome…” 

“Actually, on second thought, guess I am that pretty lady,” she noted, chuckling as she popped the door open and slid in. After a quick kiss, she slumped back in her seat as Lou started off.

“Rough day?” He asked.

“Sorta…” she sighed. “More so just didn’t wanna…”

“You know you’re allowed to tell ‘em no, yeah?”

“Yeah, but then he was talking about all the sad kids…”

“Again? God, that guy plays dirty,” Lou grumbled, brow furrowing. “You gotta like, complain to someone about that. Talk to HR. Or, I guess, AR, in your case.”

Chica chuckled. “I could, but I doubt it’d do much. It’s Fazbears all the way down, even in legal. If anything, they’ll just ping the tactic to the other locations.”

“Still…”

“Hey, least I’m getting overtime for this, so not the worst.”

“Fair. Still, next time, they try to pull that stunt and I’m around, hand the phone to me, alright?”

“Heh, alright,” she nodded, before turning to look out the window, her smile dropping to a frown. “Next time…” she whispered, just to herself.

The drive home was uneventful, and by the time they got to Lou’s apartment, the sun was further into the horizon, twilight soon to be upon the world. Chica was the first to step out, followed by Lou a moment later, the take out bags in hand.

“Hey,” Chica called out suddenly. “Thanks for the pick up. And getting dinner.”

He smiled at her, yet also seemed confused. “No problem? Toldja I was gonna, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, ya did, but still. I appreciate it.”

“Ah. Of course, love,” he nodded, and started up to the apartment. She watched him for a moment, before following behind.

Everything felt as if it was blurring together for a bit, from Chica’s perspective. One second she was looking at the stairs, next they were already walking into their third floor apartment. No sooner did slip her jacket off that she was already sitting down, her take out placed right in front of her. Even then, with how hungry she was, it felt like she popped the box open only to find it empty, the taste of seared beef and crunchy broccoli on her tongue as Lou went on about his day. She knew what all he said, but at the same time, it felt like white noise.

“...Lou?” She spoke up, glancing off into space. 

“Yeah?”

“Ya…ya know you don’t gotta stick with me, right?” She glanced up at him.

Surprise came over Lou’s face. “Wh-What? Chica, what are you talkin’ about?”

“Listen, I’m not gonna take it personally, okay?” She continued, suddenly sounding fairly casual. “Don’t get me wrong, last few months have been great, seriously, no complaints. You’re a great guy, you’re gonna make someone happy, so if you wanna—”

“Wait wait wait!!” Lou shouted out, waving his hands. “Chica. Love. Darling. Are you…do you…you think I wanna break up with you?”

“Eh, maybe?” She shrugged. “Probably should. Would be better for the both of us.”

His face continued to contort in confusion. “I—wha—huh—are you—I…” he blinked, and was silent for a moment, before smiling wide. “Oooh, I see. This is a joke, huh? One of those silly things? Did that lil scamp BB give you this one?”

“What? No! I don’t even—!” She groaned, rolling her eyes as she stood up. “This is ridiculous. You know what I’m saying here!”

“Sure, but I don’t believe what I’m hearing!” He shot back with a grin, standing up. “You think I’d let you go, after we had such a high-class dinner?”

“Lou, it was decent take-out.”

“But you enjoyed it, no?”

“That. Is not. The point!” She snapped, before pinching between her eyes. “You really don’t get it, do you?” She remarked, as she started to walk into the living room. 

“No, not one bit!” Lou responded in turn, following her out. “I am so largely ignorant on whatcha mean! Please, explain it to me! In great detail!”

“I’M—!!” She started to shout, turning on a heel only to stop herself when she saw Lou was right there in front of her. Her face was sharp and angry, while his was calm and easy. She tensed up a bit, before releasing. “Lou, listen…I’m an animatronic. Yeah, I’ve grown and changed like a human, but I’m not…real in the way you are.”

“You’re here talking to me,” he pointed out. “That seems pretty real.”

“No, no, I mean like…here, my arm.” She lifted up her arm, revealing the bare upper half. “Go on, flick it.”

With a raised eyebrow, Lou reached up, and flicked against her forearm. It made a thick click sound. 

“Hear that? Plastic,” she explained, and then indicated her whole body. “All of this? Plastic. This isn’t even me, technically, just the shell I wear over my endoskeleton. I didn’t even feel that flick, that’s how much not me it is!”

“Yeah? Well, same goes for me. I just wear this flesh skin over my skeleton,” he countered, indicating himself. “And the real me, technically?” He pointed at his head. “Up in here.”

She grumbled, grabbed his arm, and flicked against it.

“Ow,” he said flatly.

“See? You felt that! You did the same to me, and I didn’t!” She argued. “It’s not the same as your skin, get it?”

“Okay, sure, but you can still feel when we hug, right? Snuggle? Kiss?”

“Y-Yeah, but…” she agreed, seemingly reluctantly, before firing back quickly. “But you don’t even really kiss me! I don’t have lips!! See!?!” She stood on her tiptoes, flashing a wide grin, revealing her sharp metallica teeth and lack of lips.

Again, Lou raised an eyebrow, an inquisitive look over his face. “Okay, sure, but I still kiss something, and you always appreciated it,” he noted. “And maybe I can’t give you lil love taps or such as I like, but so long as the big moments get through, that’s far from a dealbreaker.”

Chica backed down, her chest starting to feel tight. “S-Seriously? W-Well…what about when I start breaking down?? My parts won’t last forever!!”

“I’ll buy new ones, and replace them myself,” he assured her with a loving smile.

“Wh-What about my job? Sure, I’m the new model now, but I’m gonna get replaced some day!”

“Then I’ll take more shifts at my job, or hell, get a better paying one. I got the degree.”

“But I’ll just be the bum you’re taking care of!! Kinda hard for an outdated animatronic to find work in the city!”

“I’ll help you search, and even if we can’t find one, I’ll take care of you.”

She staggered a bit, feeling butterflies in her stomach for a moment. Then, a thought entered her mind. “With you…I probably can’t have any kids,” she shot semi-smugly.

He shrugged. “We can adopt, then.”

Her expression dropped. “I…I…,” her gaze turned downward, her hands moving up to hold her head. She could feel water building up in her eyes as her knees felt shaky. “You…you just…don’t get it, do you…?”

“Chica…” Lou sighed, placing his hands firmly on her shoulders, much to her surprise. She looked up, and saw that same easy smile still on his face, yet his expression was one of comfort. “I think you’re the one who doesn’t get it here. I know you’re an animatronic, and I know what that means. I knew that since the day we met. I knew that when I first asked you out. And I still knew that when we shared our first kiss.” He moved one hand up to cup her cheek, her expression seemingly frozen in shocked surprise. “It was that day, too, that moment, when I knew…you were it, for me. There was no one in this world I wanted more than you. So I don’t care if the you I see is just a plastic shell, or if I have to replace every part of you three times over…whatever it is, I’ll be there, just for you. And no one else.”

Chica’s mouth simply hung open, looking as if she was going to say something, yet never did. Instead, she threw her arms around Lou, hugging him tightly. A bit surprised at first, Lou simply chuckled gently, and returned the hug in kind, squeezing her gently.

“I feel you, this time,” she whispered into his ears, as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“You always could,” he whispered back. “And so can I.”

————

Critiques and feedback are welcome, but please keep it constructive! If you have nothing additive to say, keep it to yourself please!

[bekoobove]

Fazbear Fears #19: Cretaceous Land

…Sawyer has been away from home for a long time, and hopes to reconnect with his younger sister…

 Sawyer tapped the steering wheel in beat with the music. Some pop song he’d never heard before, but he’d found it on the radio and it was catchy. It came to a close just as he pulled into his destination. He loved it when that happened.

 He stepped out of the car and headed towards the front entrance, but before he even made it to the porch the door slammed open and two figures ran at him.

 “Honey!”

 “Sawyer!”

 His mom and dad wrapped their arms around him, tears of joy streaming down their cheeks. “It’s been so long!” Mom weeped.

 Sawyer grinned and kissed her on the cheek. “Sorry, I know I was supposed to come back for spring break, but some of the other guys invited me and Jessie on their trip to Myrtle Beach. I just figured after two years at college, I’d earned that kind of vacation.”

 His dad sighed. “Oh, I get it. You prefer being around your fancy new friends and your pretty girlfriend rather than visiting your folks.” At this, Sawyer frowned, guilty. Then his dad chuckled. “Just messing with you, kiddo. I’m glad you’re getting out there and doing your own thing.”

 Sawyer looked around as they walked inside. “Where’s Alexis?”

 His parents frowned. Dad eventually spoke up. “She…was a little more mad about you not coming home. I think she’s trying to give you the cold shoulder.”

 Seeing the look of guilt fall over Sawyer’s face again, Dad smacked him on the back affectionately. “But there’s still the surprise! I’m sure after you take her there today she’ll forgive you. You have the passes?”

 Sawyer fished them out of his pocket and showed them to him.

 “Great! She’s just…in her room.”

 “I’ll get her.” Sawyer said. “And remember we’re meeting back up at the Ye Olde Steakhouse after for dinner.”

 Sawyer slowly traipsed up the stairs, tracing his fingers along the wooden railing. He just couldn’t get over it, how weird it felt to be back. He had so many memories of this place- Christmases, summer breaks, even the normal, boring grind of school felt nostalgic and warm. Most valuable of all was the time he had spent with his little sister, Alexis.

 She was much younger than him- he was 10 when she was born. He had always been by her side, like a third parent to her. They loved each other. But ever since Sawyer had left for college, things had been different. They’d been growing further apart. Sawyer had to admit that was probably his fault, but what was he supposed to do? College was his chance to assert independence; he couldn’t stay here and be her best friend forever.

 Maybe today would help. He arrived at her door and knocked.

 There was no answer.

 “Alexis? Hey, it’s me.”

 A voice sounded from inside. “Go away. I don’t want to see you.”

 “Come on, sis. I know you’re mad at me, but I’m here now. Let’s at least talk it out.”

 There was the sound of footsteps, and the door cracked open. Through it, Sawyer could see a sliver of Alexis’ scowling face framed by curly red hair.

 “Well? How’s college?” She growled. “Hope it’s pretty good, since you chose it over me.”

 “Alexis, I know I should have come home sooner, but you need to understand that I have a life outside of this family. I’m an adult now.”

 “Then why come back at all? Just stick with your new family.”

 She moved to close the door, but Sawyer stuck his shoe in the crack, holding it open.

 “Look, Mom and Dad want us to go and bond. And it just so happens that I got us tickets to a very special place.”

 Her eyebrow raised. “To where?”

 “Guess you’ll never know if you just stay in your room. Maybe I’ll just go by myself, if you’re not interested.”

 Sawyer whistled as he began walking away. As expected, the door creaked open behind him.

 “Ugh, fine. I’ll go.” Alexis muttered as she caught up to him.

 “Great. By the way…” He reached into his pocket again and pulled out a blindfold. “Put this one when we get in the car.”

 “Are you trying to kidnap me or something?”

 “It’s so you can’t guess before we can get there. That’s sort of the point of a surprise after all.”

 She sighed, and snatched it from his hand. “This better be good…”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 “Alright, we’re here! You can take it off now.”

 “Finally!” Alexis groaned, loosening the cloth strip from around her face. “I’ve been wearing this for like half an hour!”

 “I promise, this surprise is worth it.”

 “Come on, what could be so…” The blindfold fell in Alexis’ lap, as she dropped it, stunned.

 In front of their car, across the packed parking lot stood a large concrete building. It was a rather dull structure that must have been a warehouse at some point. But since then the outside had been painted with elaborate dioramas of a tropical, prehistoric landscape populated with dinosaurs. And above the entrance a large statue of a t-rex’s upper body protruded from the wall. In its little arms it held a sign: CRETACEOUS LAND.

 The new attraction had made a big splash when it was announced. Sawyer’s city definitely had a few tourist-trap-type attractions, but nothing on this scale. It was a large indoor jungle filled with animatronic dinosaurs. These robots were the main attraction, and justifiably. From a few advertisements that had been released, they were as realistic as scientifically possible, and some of the smaller models could even roam freely rather than repeating the same movements in one place. Sawyer had been amazed, and he’d never even had much of a dinosaur phase.

 Alexis, on the other hand, had had one for her whole life.

“DotheyhavedeinonychusesIknowthereweren’tanyinthecommericalsbuthowcouldtheynotdeinonychusesarethebest-”

 Alexis continued, barely stopping for breath. Sawyer chuckled. She was normally a relatively quiet girl, but when she was excited about something she would not shut up.

 “Worth the wait?” He asked somewhat smugly.

 Alexis instantly calmed herself, trying to keep up her cold front as she stuffed the blindfold in her pocket. “Oh, yeah, I guess it’s alright.”

 They quickly made their way to the entrance and passed through the sleek double doors.

 It was even more amazing on the inside. They had gone all out on the jungle theme- dozens of tall fake trees with thick canopies and long vines dangling from them. The floor was covered with exotic looking flora interspersed with large plastic rocks. A purveyor of smoke machines must have had a very profitable day recently, because there had to be dozens of them pumping out a warm mist throughout the building. Sawyer could hear interesting noises as well- the cascading thunder of an artificial waterfall, the squeaking and rustling of small, hiding creatures playing over the speakers, and, most excitingly, the roars of dinosaurs big and small.

 A bored-looking teenage girl took their tickets and waved them into the main area. A crowd was gathered there, listening to an energetic man of about thirty speak. Sawyer recognized him from the commercials- it was Garret Lowry, the owner and founder of Cretaceous Land.

 Sawyer and Alexis both paid close attention as he continued.

 “...for years I wanted to create robots like the ones you’ll see today. Advanced machine capable of bringing unique, incredible entertainment. You will be the first of many- I hope, at least.”

 This got a laugh from the group.

 “It’s for that reason that I’ll be your tour guide today.” Garret said enthusiastically. “It looks like we have enough people for a tour, so I suppose we can-”

 Another employee rushed up to Garret and tapped him on the shoulder, and whispered something.

 “Oh- sorry, folks. I just got a call from our sponsor. Gotta go answer it, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes.”

 Garret walked away.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 “Yeah, we opened about half an hour ago. Just got a crowd big enough for a tour.”

 Garret paced around his office as he held the phone to his ear.

 There was a pause, then an answer.

 “Fantastic.” Ms Armstrong replied. “I speak for everyone here at Fazbear Entertainment who was involved in this deal that you did not disappoint.”

  “Well, that’s thanks to you. You sure you don’t want me to put up some kind of advertisement or something? It feels weird that you’re sponsoring me and I’m not giving anything in return.”

 “The attraction itself is all the return we need, Mr Lowry.”

 That had been the deal after all. Fazbear Entertainment had sent its engineers to help make his somewhat-impressive models into some of the most advanced animatronics in the world, with smooth movements, realistic designs, and even security features like facial recognition for criminals. Apparently it went even beyond that, but Garret was interested in making entertainers, not bodyguards, so he’d let Fazbear Entertainment’s people cover it. All Garret had to in return was monitor their behaviors and see how they interacted with guests, so when the company utilized the technology for their own animatronics, they could better understand what made them tick.

 “Fair enough.” He responded. “Guess ol’ Fazbear doesn’t exactly need advertising from a tourist trap like mine.”

 “Actually, there is one request we wish to make of you.”

 “Alright, shoot.”

 “We wish to see how the robots will react to being with only one or two guests. Some of the higher ups are worried about how this could affect their behavior.”

 Garret raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying they may turn aggressive or something? Ms Armstrong, I can’t in good conscience force a guest to play guinea pig with stakes like that.”

 Ms Armstrong laughed. “You’ve been watching too many sci-fi movies or something. It’s unlikely anything worse will happen than they stop performing.”

 “Eh, if you say so.”

 “Keep a close eye and write down anything unusual. Good luck with your first day, Mr Lowry.”

 The line went dead.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Alexis was beginning to grow impatient, so Sawyer was relieved when Garret returned.

 “Again, sorry about that folks! Let’s get started, ok?”

 He pointed to the beginning of a concrete path, which snaked through the forest. “This way!”

 With that, the tour began.

 Only a few steps in, Sawyer felt like he was in a different world. They first passed a small lake. A long, scaly neck leaned down from above and placidly sipped from the water. It was an alamosaurus, who soon retreated back into the jungle thicket. A little further, they could see an oviraptor slink towards a nest, ignoring the crowd snapping pictures, and snatch an egg from the stick structure. And eventually, they came to a lowering guardpost with a large yellow sign with the silhouette of a triceratops which read CERATOPSIAN CROSSING. A large, hulking triceratops lumbered across the path, to the oohs and aahs of the tour group.

 “That was amazing!” Alexis yelled, running up to Garret and tugging his shirt as the post rose back up. “How do you get them to do that?”

 “Alexis!” Sawyer pulled her back. “Sorry, sir, she’s just really excited about all this.”

 “Oh, no. I don’t mind. In fact, we’re coming up on the answer to that question. Come on, everyone!”

 The group followed him for another minute, then essentially gasped in unison.

 They seemed to be against the back wall. The jungle scene sloped upwards into a small hill, which was topped with a leafy mass of green. Leaning over the bushes was the biggest robot they’d seen yet- a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex.

 It was coated in a scaly green rubber with no gaps, completely hiding its animatronic elements. The only machinery exposed was inside the mouth, but it was well obscured by the leathery tongue and sharp yellow teeth. It really seemed like a T-Rex had leaped out of prehistory for tourists to enjoy. One thing did seem off, though- its eyes glowed green, and they seemed to be constantly glancing around, never focusing on one spot.

 “This is our residential king of the dinos, or as we call him, Tyrone O’Saurus!”

 The joke was met with equal amounts of chuckles and groans.

 “Aside from being a beauty in his own right, Tyrone is connected to the mainframe. From his vantage point, he can observe the entire attraction and where guests are in it. Thus, he can relay information to all the other dinos like where to look, and- for some of more advanced models- when and where to walk. And that,” he looked pointedly at Alexis, “is how we ‘get them to do that’.”

 Content with this answer, Alexis returned to Sawyer’s side. The group continued onwards, passing more dinosaurs each step of the way.

 Finally they exited the jungle. Sawyer saw a gift shop, proving this was the exit.

 Garret grinned. “Alright, everyone, I hope you enjoyed your adventure through the primordial forests of…Cretaceous World! Now, we have lovely t-shirts, plushies, posters…”

 His pitch for the shop was interrupted by a flash of concern on his face, like he just realized he’d forgotten something important.

 “Oh! Uh…” He stammered as he thought. “Oh- oh wait!” Garret patted his pockets. “Darn it, I must have set my phone down near the exhibit with the spinosaurus! Would any of you be kind enough to run over and retrieve it?”

 Alexis jumped. “Me and my brother! We can get it!”

 “Wait, why are you volunteering us for this?” Sawyer growled quietly.

 “We can look at the dinosaurs more on the way.” she muttered.

 “If you two would go, I’d really appreciate that.” Garret prodded.

 “Alright, fine. We’ll do it. C’mon, Alexis.” She skipped off into the woods excitedly. Sawyer, a little exasperated, followed.

 About five minutes of walking along the path, the siblings reached the small clearing that the spinosaurus stood next to. It roared at them, and Alexis giggled.

 “Come on, we’ve wasted enough time already. If we don’t hurry, we’ll be late for dinner!” Sawyer scanned the area. “Huh, no tables or anything. Where would he have set it down?”

 “Maybe it’s not here.” Alexis suggested.

 “Maybe, but where else would it be?”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 In Garret’s hand, held to his ear, as it turned out.

 “It’s done, Ms Armstrong. I sent a brother and a sister back into the attraction alone. I’m heading to the security room now to monitor the results.”

 “Excellent. Call back if anything unusual happens.”

 The call ended and Garret finished walking up the steps. The security room was located up a flight of stairs, with windows that gazed out into the attraction. He could see most of it from up here, though some of the denser parts of the forest required cameras.

 He quickly began monitoring those. If he’d been looking out the windows, he may have caught a glance of Tyrone O’Saurus, in the distance, staring towards the spinosaurus exhibit with a distinctly predatorial look in its eye…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 There was a slight, mechanical grinding noise from behind Sawyer. He turned to see a set of long, skinny jaws lunging at him.

 Sawyer screamed. He grabbed Alexis by her collar and pulled her down to the ground as he did the same. The spinosaurus’ bite mostly missed them, but a tooth did scrape his arm.

 Alexis, now aware of the situation, also began screaming. The pair scurried away, and stumbled to their feet when out of range of its toothy maw.

 “What’s going on?!” Alexis panicked.

  Sawyer stared at the cut on his arm, which was bleeding. “I don’t know…” he whispered, “but these things have actual sharp teeth.”

 The spinosaurus maneuvered its body, leaning out to block the exit path.

 “Crud.” Sawyer grumbled, his mind racing. “Ok, we can’t come out the way we came in. Let’s just go all the way around to the main entrance.”

 “But what about all the other robots?”

 “This is probably some weird glitch unique to this one. There’s no way they’re supposed to do this.” Sayer said reassuringly, though he wasn’t sure he believed that.

 “Let’s just hurry. It’s best to keep moving.”

 Alexis and Sawyer dashed down the path, hoping things were better in the other direction.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 They weren’t.

 Though they didn’t have any calls as close, both siblings could tell this was not a problem affecting only the spinosaurus. All the dinosaurs which were immobile glared at them with a fierce, hungry look in their plastic eyes. The free roaming triceratops came for them, but it was quite easy to outrun the sluggish beast. They were safe for now, but Sawyer had a feeling that might not last.

 “Any ideas?” Alexis asked nervously.

 “No.” Sawyer said sharply. “Why are you looking to me for this, why should I know?”

 “You’re older.” She answered. “And you’ve been to college.”

 “Well if there was a course in how to deal with rogue robot dinosaurs, I must have missed it.” Sawyer perked up, though, at a familiar scaly face- the alamosaurus. “This is near where we came in! We’re almost out.”

 The dino growled at them, but was unable to do anything more. The siblings dashed past it, ready to exit and for this nightmare to be over…

 But were stopped by a large, metal roll-down gate.

 “Wh-what?” Sawyer stammered, slamming his fists in confusion and anger on the gate. “The attraction hasn’t closed yet! And why is this at the entrance to the jungle instead of the outside of the building?”

 “Maybe to keep the animatronics from wandering out.” Alexis suggested. She froze, then added shakily, “Or to keep people in…”

 “What are you saying?”

 “Mr Lowry told us to go to the spinosaurus for his phone, but we never found it. What if he wanted to be trapped alone with the dinosaurs?”

 Sawyer gasped. “Woah, I may not know Garret that well, but he doesn’t seem like he wants to kill people. Besides, he clearly loves this place. Would he throw that all away just to become a murderer?”

 “The robots are designed to be dangerous and this whole place is built like a maze! It’s a perfect death trap.”

 Sawyer couldn’t argue with that. He tried to think of a new plan of escape, but was interrupted by a growl only a dozen feet away.

 The pair turned to see two robotic raptors creeping up towards them. Their claws tapped along the ground as they stepped forward lightly. Weirdly, Sawyer didn’t remember seeing them on the initial tour, though that was likely because the animatronics were missing patches of their coverings, and looked to be incomplete. Nevertheless, they looked very capable of tearing their throats out.

 “RUN!” Sawyer yelled.

 “Where?” Alexis protested.

 “Into the forest, come on!”

 Sawyer sprinted into the thick woods. Alexis followed, hesitantly but quickly, and the raptors did as well.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Garret absentmindedly looked out the window, then did a double take. “Wait, why are the security doors down?”

 He began frantically checking the cameras. He had tried this before to watch the robot’s reactions to the people he’d sent in, but to no avail: the spinosaurus cam had fuzzed out, as well as seemingly random other ones as he flipped through. It was almost like they malfunctioned when looking at where the people were, but that made no sense. Still, he searched. If those people hadn’t left, then they were locked in and needed to be let back out.

 He was unable to find anything. “Ok, don’t panic.” Garret whispered to himself. “I’ll just open the gate. They'll find their own way out.”

 He leaned over and slapped the large red button, designed to open the doors in case of emergency. But nothing happened. A message popped up on his computer which read UNKNOWN ERROR.

 “What…”

 Garret racked his mind for a solution. “Oh, maybe I could go in through the maintenance hallway. I’ll just find them and lead them out.”

 Confident in this new plan and unaware of the danger he was entering, Garret left the office and entered into a discreet door painted to blend with the wall. The door slammed behind him, trapping him in utter darkness.

 “This isn’t right.” He muttered. “The lights should turn on automatically.” He reached into his belt and pulled out his flashlight. Clicking it on, he advanced, only able to see a few feet in from of him.

 As creepy as the environment was, and as concerned about what trapping two customers in his attraction could mean for his business, he couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgia as his light flashed over the artifacts of Cretaceous Land’s past. Some fake trees leaned against the wall, with cobwebs stringing between them. Old robotic parts littered the floor, some as simple as a piston, others whole animatronic skulls. Those got to Garret more than anything- remnants of his failed attempts.

 The simple fact was, Garret was good, but he was simply not good enough to create an attraction of this scale full of realistic dinosaurs, let alone some that would wander about. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, his role in Cretaceous Land’s creation- his dream’s creation- was minimal at best. Fazbear Entertainment was responsible for everything.

 That’s why he had to cater to their needs, even odd requests like the one that had kicked this whole situation off. It hurt enough being barely more than a spectator in the birth of this place- he didn’t want to lose it all if he upset the company.

 Something odd caught his eye. There had been three deinonychus models scattered around a workbench- the only Fazbear Entertainment animatronics to be currently unused, as they had not been functioning properly. But now, only one remained.

 “Did the staff move them? I told ‘em not to mess with the robots…” Garret grumbled. There were bigger fish to fry, though, so he turned to move onward. However, the noise of movement and machinery caused him to turn back. What he saw shocked him.

 The raptor had gotten up, and attempted to sneak up on him. There was a crazed look in its mechanical eyes.

 With no hesitation, the robot charged towards him.

 Garret leaped out of the way, and the robot charged forward into the wall. This shook the shelf above, sending tools and spray paint cans raining down on it, but it remained undeterred. It backed up to see Garret running away. It quickly began its pursuit.

 Garret panicked as he ran. “You’re not supposed to be able to do this!” He yelled at the bot, as if upon hearing this it would start behaving as it should. Finally, he reached the door, and slammed it in the deinonychus’ face.

 He locked it, but the animatronic continued to bang against the door. He grabbed hold of a large prop rock in the path and used it to barricade the door.

 “Guess I can’t go back that way…” Garret groaned. The full weight of what just occurred hit him, and he sat down on the rock, trying to regain his bearings. “Did…did Fazbear Entertainment do this?”

 The thought was ridiculous at first, but he had to admit the company had always been a bit shady- going to such lengths to conceal their involvement with the attraction, and the strange order given by Miss Armstrong. He also didn’t know what scared him more- the idea that Fazbear’s robots could so easily be glitched into attacking people, or the idea that they were working exactly as intended.

 From his left, the trees rustled. Garret stiffened, certain the other deinonychuses were stampeding towards him, with intent to kill. Sure enough, two figures came charging out of the thicket…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 “I think we lost them.” Sawyer panted, looking back into the woods. Alexis didn’t respond.

 “Alexis?” Sawyer turned. He saw her staring gaped-mouthed at Mr Lowry, sitting on a rock against the wall.

 “You!” He growled. “You’re the one behind all this, aren’t you?”

 Mr Lowry raised his arms defensively. “Woah, woah, wait! I can explain!”

 “Bro, hear him out.” Alexis suggested.

 “I didn’t design these robots.” Mr Lowry admitted, somewhat embarrassed. “I got help from an outside investor. They’re the ones who ordered me to send someone back here, to see how the animatronics would react. I had no idea anything like this would happen, I swear!”

 Sawyer read his face. He didn’t seem to be lying. He also noticed the door behind him.

 “Could we leave through there?”

 “Afraid not. I was chased by one of the deinonychus robots. The hall’s too narrow for us to dodge past it.”

 “I told you there would be deinonychuses!” Alexis cheered, smirking at Sawyer.

 “Well, I think I’d prefer it if they weren’t trying to kill us.” Sawyer snarled. “Can’t you ever shut up about your stupid dinosaur obsession?”

 Alexis froze, and stepped backwards, looking frightened. In a moment, Sawyer realized he’d gone too far.

 Mr Lowry, somewhat oblivious, continued. “No, I think the only way to get out of here is to deactivate the security system. I couldn’t open the main doors from my office, so I don’t think we can do it through any ordinary measures.”

 “What do you suggest?” Sawyer asked, trying to move past his harsh response.

 “Well, like I said earlier, Tyrone O’Saurus controls the dinos. Maybe if we could decommission him somehow, it could cause the security systems and robots to deactivate.”

 Alexis, making a point to look away from Sawyer, spoke up. “Wait, Tyrone controls the security doors too?”

 Mr Lowry sighed. “Yeah. Maybe these animatronics and the deal were fishy from the start.” He tried to brighten up. “Anyway, come on, it’s this way!”

 “We know, it’s just the one path.” Sawyer commented.

 “Sorry, it’s hard to turn off Tour Guide Mode.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 The trio stood in front of the dinosaur, which glared down at them from its hill. It was unnerving- all of the other robots’ glint of intellect and malice in their eyes were a place shadow of Tyrone’s- its uncanny plastic orbs, once forced to scan the attraction for tourists, now laser-focused on its prey.

 “Uh, what now?” Alexis asked nervously.

 “Er- guess I didn’t think that far ahead.” Mr Lowry admitted sheepishly. He looked around, contemplating. “Aha!”

 He pointed into a patch of undergrowth. “In there!”

 Upon closer observation, Sawyer and Alexis could both see a concealed metal ladder.

 “There’s some catwalks above for lights and stuff. Go up there; someone may have left something heavy. You could drop it and it would smash right through that stupid robot’s skull.”

 “What about you?” Sawyer inquired, confused.

 Only about twenty feet away, the sound of mechanical footfalls and rustling fauna could be heard. Mr Lowry rolled up his sleeves. “Tyrone’s calling his friends. I can hold them off, I used to box in college.”

 “Did you box robot dinosaurs?”

 “Nah, but how different could it be? Now go!”

 The siblings didn’t need much more convincing. They skittered up the ladder, as a battle began below.

 Garret started with one clean punch to the first deinonychus’ maw. He scratched his fist as he drove it in, but it resulted in a satisfying CRUNCH! The robot’s face, already partially gone from the attempted repairs, fully broke off, showing its skull deeply dented. It attempted to retaliate, swiping its claws at Garret’s head. Garret sidestepped it and tripped it, causing the reptilian robot to tumble to the ground.

 The other bot ran at him, catching him a bit by surprise. It tackled him, taking him down to the ground. Its jaws rocketed towards his neck, ready to chomp on his jugular- and then stopped.

 Garret was confused, but quickly snapped out of it, attempting to slide out from under its grasp. It still held firmly to him. After a moment of struggling, Garret heard a strange noise from inside its mouth. It was radio static, but it quickly dispersed, allowing him to hear a voice- the voice of Miss Armstrong.

 “Hello, Garret. You shouldn’t be here.”

 Garret gasped. “M-miss Armstrong? How?”

 “We never needed you to survey results, Mr Lowry. Tyrone relays everything he sees to us, at all times. When we saw you poking your nose where it didn’t belong, we decided to speak with you directly. We have access to this place’s files, so communicating through the deinonychus’ speaker is rather simple.”

 Any hope Garret had- that this was all some massive misunderstanding or coincidence, that his sponsor wasn’t just using him as part of some bizarre murder plot- melted away in an instant. “Why’d you stop the robot? Why not just kill me?” He said, trying not to sound dejected.

 “You can still be useful to us, Mr Lowry. We never intended to keep the attraction’s true nature and purpose from you forever- that’d be a bit impossible.” Miss Armstrong laughed, amused. “We merely wanted to wait until we had something to show, to help you to understand why we were doing this.”

 “Nothing is worth killing people like this!” Garret barked, angry.

 “Some things very much are. But now the truth is out. So here’s your choice. We’ll take away our sponsorship. Everything we’ve given you- the building, the robots, all of it. We both know you’ll never be able to create anything a hundredth this impressive on your own, and who else would want to sponsor you? Stick with us, and you keep Cretaceous Land and gain more than you could dream of. Leave us, and be left with nothing.”

 Garret was silent.

 “Well?”

 “Nah, go screw yourself.”

 Garret reached up quickly and grabbed the robot’s head, smashing it against his knee. It stumbled backwards.

 “You’ll regret this…” Miss Armstrong growled, her rage palpable even through the tinny speaker.

 Without another word, Garret punched it in its mouth, cracking the speaker and silencing her. The deinonychus was still functioning, as was the one Garret had knocked down. Even now it climbed to its clawed feet. Garret raised his fists, ready for the battle to continue. As long as they couldn’t get to the ladder, the others could destroy Tyrone and stop Miss Armstrong.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 What he didn’t remember, so caught up in the moment, is that there was catwalk access via the maintenance hallway…

 “I didn’t mean it.” Sawyer protested as he scanned the catwalks. There didn’t appear to be anything heavy enough nearby to smash the T-Rex’s head in.

 “You said my hobby is stupid.” Alexis muttered.

 “First off, I called it an obsession, not a hobby, and rightfully so. If you hadn’t been so driven by having five more minutes in this place, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

 “But someone else would probably be. Maybe they wouldn’t have even made it this far.”

 Sawyer couldn’t argue with that. “I guess. Maybe I went too far, this is just a stressful situation.”

 “Or maybe it’s just more of you not caring about me!” Alexis yelled, angry. “I mean, I haven’t seen you since last summer! You’ve been too busy with Jessie and Mark and Lucas and everyone else at college. Why can’t you make time for me?”

 “That’s just the way things are, Alexis. People grow apart. In a few years, I’m gonna have to get a job, get a house…I won’t be able to visit very often.”

 Alexis looked down at her shoes. “I know.” She said quietly. “I want to enjoy it while I can.”

 Sawyer was silent. What else was he supposed to say?

 A snarl pierced the silence. Sawyer spun around to see a deinonychus charging out of a door connected to the catwalk, with its hungry eyes focused on his sister.

 “Alexis!” Sawyer shouted. He ran in front of her, unsure of what to do but knowing he had to keep her safe. The robot opened its jaws and Sawyer grabbed them instinctually, holding them open. The sharp teeth dug into his palms, drawing blood.

 Sawyer growled. “Enough!” With all his strength, he twisted his arms, sending the animatronic crashing into the railing. The railing didn’t hold, and the deinonychus tumbled off.

 With the horrific sound of smashing metal and sparking electronics, the bot fell straight through the T-rex’s head, leaving an enormous hole. What remained of the skull crumbled to the ground in mechanical debris, which Mr Lowry below barely dodged. At the same time, the deinonychuses he’d been fighting fell to the floor, dormant, and the sound of angered roars from throughout the attraction faded as the robots returned to their regular mode.

 “Sawyer!” Alexis cried, grabbing his shoulder. “Are your hands ok?”

 Sawyer looked down at his hands in a daze. They were more cut up than he’d thought- he could see exposed tissue, and they continued bleeding.

 “N-no…” Sawyer stuttered, falling to his knees. “We need some kind of bandage.”

 “Oh, geez…” Alexis whispered. “Wait, I know!” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the blindfold.

 She grabbed Sawyer's wrist. “This might sting, but it’ll stop the bleeding for now.”

 Sawyer braced himself for what he was certain would be a rather clumsy job, but to his surprise Alexis delicately wrapped the cloth around his hand, with careful precision. By the time she was done, the makeshift compression bandage held tightly to his hand. It still hurt, but Sawyer could tell the bleeding was slowing.

 “How did you do that?” Sawyer asked, bewildered.

 “I took a first aid course over the spring. They taught us how to properly bandage wounds.”

 “I didn’t know you were into that stuff.”

 “Well, yeah. I want to be a doctor when I grow up.”

 “Huh.” Sawyer considered this. “You know, maybe you’re right. I probably should be more involved with your life. I’m sorry I've been kind of dismissive of you.”

 Alexis stared, surprised. “Th-thanks, big bro. Now, we should probably get you to a doctor. You probably shouldn’t be driving in with your hand in that condition, so let’s ask Mr Lowry for a ride.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 They asked and he provided, his pickup truck pulling up in front of Glendale Hospital.

 “Alright, guys. Here you go.”

 “Thanks, Mr Lowry.” Sawyer said as he hopped out.

 “No problem, and please, call me Garret. If anything can get people on a first-name basis, it’s fighting robot dinosaurs.” He sighed, a tired look on his face. “I’m sorry your only trip to Cretaceous Land ended so poorly.”

 “Wait, what do you mean by only?” Alexis asked.

 “It’s closing.”

 “Garret, you don’t have to do that.” Sawyer proclaimed. “Look, as long as you promise to make the bots safer, we won’t tell anyone what happened.”

 “The bots will never be safe.” Garret grumbled sadly. “And besides, it’s out of my hands.”

 Sawyer and Alexis exchanged a glance, then Alexis spoke up. “Well…thanks Garret. For what it’s worth, I did like Cretaceous Land.”

 “Nice to hear.” Garret gave a small smile. “Good luck with your hand.”

 “And good luck with whatever comes next for you.” Sawyer said encouragingly.

 Garret nodded, then drove off. His truck pulled out of the lot, and out of sight.

 “Anyway, does super-strong big brother need help getting inside?” Alexis teased.

 “Not really. But I am glad you’re here with me.”

 The siblings walked into the hospital, side by side.

 A FEW DAYS LATER

 As the workers loaded everything onto their truck, Garret couldn’t help but feel unsure. Was he happy these dangerous animatronics were being taken far away from his city (and hopeful away from the public), or was he heartbroken that his dream was ruined?

 Probably both, but Garret was lifted slightly by what Sawyer had said- Good luck with whatever comes next. He was already thinking of some ideas for what he could put his talents to. He wouldn’t be able to create anything a tenth as impressive as Cretaceous Land, but at least he would truly be the one creating it.

 Ultimately, what bugged him most was Miss Armstrong. Her plans with his attraction had been thwarted, but what else was she planning?

 Suddenly, he realized- why not call Fazbear Entertainment and report her?

 It was so obvious, he immediately felt stupid for not thinking of it earlier. The company was trying to rebuild its reputation- surely if he reported a sinister conspiracy lurking within itself, the higher-ups would do something.

 He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed the number for- well, he wasn’t exactly sure who to call in this situation. Eventually he just settled on customer service.

 “Hello?”

 “Hi, my name’s Garret, uh, Garret Lowry. I’m calling to report one of your employees for something.”

 “Alright, what pizzeria location?”

 “No, not like that. She’s some sort of sponsorship-giving-person, or some kind of boss…” Garret couldn’t quite describe it.

 “Ok, do you have this…boss’s name?”

 “Her last name is Armstrong. She’s a Miss, if that helps.”

 There were a few moments of silence.

 “Well, Mr Lowry, I’m sorry, but there aren’t any female employees named Armstrong in our database. None in any sort of major managerial position, at least.”

 “What?! Come on, she gave my attraction technology, surely that must sound familiar.”

 “You’re completely right actually. Any sponsorships involving the distribution of any sort of company tech would be a big deal, but I haven’t heard anything like that. The system would have to be actively hiding this stuff for there not to be any records. I’m sorry, Mr Lowry, but there’s nothing else I can help you with. Goodbye.”

 “But-” The line went dead before Garret could get another word out. Not only that, but he realized the truck had driven off- another possible lead to what was going on, solved.

 Garret groaned. “Guess you get away with it, Armstrong.” Without another word, he traipsed into his office to retrieve his belongings.

[nastybuckybarnes]

Riding Lessons  -  Two

Pairing: Dbf!Bucky X Reader

Summary: It’s your dad’s summer barbecue and all his friends are there. Including the man who’s spent every moment he can with his head between your thighs. The only problem? He’s brought another woman.

Warnings: Language, Light Angst, Fluff, Smut (oral (f receiving), pussy slapping, choking, degradation, kinda rough, breeding kink, slight voyeurism, name calling), Age Gap (Reader is 21, Bucky is mid-forties),

Word Count: 3.4K

A/n: here’s part two for you guys! I’m shocked at the response to part one, so thank you guys so much!! I love you all and I hope you enjoy this!

Part one

~*~

“C’mon down, Kiddo! Everyone’s here! You gotta make an appearance!” Your dad shouts from the bottom of the stairs, waiting until you finally emerge to head back to the kitchen.

He’s been planning this summer barbecue for weeks, and now the backyard is packed full of people who are all his age, drinking and laughing and having a good time.

And then there’s you.

You’ve been cooped up in your room since the first guest arrived, but it wasn’t his presence that made you hideaway. No, it’s the plus one on his arm.

Bucky showed up an hour early with a blonde woman clinging to his arm and kissing his cheek.

The smirk on his face when his eyes met yours was enough to hurt your heart and bruise your ego, so you took your leave.

Since that first riding lesson, he’s been around far more often, and each time he takes any opportunity to get you alone. Whether that’s to bury his face between your legs or push you to your knees in front of him.

But he hasn’t fucked you since that first night. The night when he ruined all other men for you.

And now he’s showing up with a broad on his arm as if he’s not your property.

As you walk down the stairs you realize that maybe he’s not your property, and if that’s the case then you sure as Hell aren’t his.

“There you are! Everyone’s been asking where you are,” your dad says when you step into the kitchen.

Your eyes dart around the room and relief and disappointment play tug-of-war with your heart when you don’t see Bucky.

Instead, Steve and Sam are there, each of them smiling at you.

“Your dad says you learned how to ride a motorcycle, huh?” Steve asks, stepping forward and offering you a drink.

You take the cool can from him and pop it open, nodding your confirmation.

“Yup! I went on the highway for the first time the other day. I understand why you guys like it so much.”

He chuckles and nods, “we’ll have to take you with us one day. Go for a long ride on a nice day. Nothing beats that.”

You nod again, your smile fading slightly when Bucky walks into the kitchen.

“This is where you guys are? I thought the party was outside?” He jokes, opening the fridge and grabbing a beer.

“Just getting a couple things ready. Sam, you wanna bring the steaks out to the barbecue, and Steve could you grab those two bags of ice for the cooler?”

The two men are quick to help your dad, and you feel your heart drop as you realize that you might be left alone with the man you’re avoiding.

Within seconds, it’s just you and him, and his eyes are burning holes into your forehead.

“If I didn’t know any better, baby girl, I’d think you were avoiding me.”

You purse your lips and shrug, stepping toward the back door only for him to step directly in your path.

You sidestep him and crane your neck back to look up at him, “I don’t see how it concerns you. You brought your own arm candy.”

His eyebrows raise to his hairline as you step outside.

“You jealous, sweetheart?”

You don’t answer, refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing the effect he has on you, though you’re sure he already knows.

Instead, you head outside and look for anyone you know that would make good conversation.

Settling on Steve and Sam again, you walk in their direction, only for a firm hand to come around your wrist and tug you backwards.

You inhale sharply, looking up at Bucky as he pulls you back into the kitchen and closes the door to the backyard.

“I asked you a question, Princess. You know I don’t like to repeat myself. Or do you not remember?”

You remember.

By God, do you remember.

He’d fucked your throat so hard that you couldn’t speak for two days, and you loved every minute of it.

“Let me go, James. You came here with someone, and I doubt she wants to see your hands on someone else.”

Shock colours his features and he stares at you for a long moment before grabbing you by the waist and shoving you over the counter.

He flips your skirt up and smacks your ass hard, once, twice, three times, until you’re biting your lip to hold back your yelps and whines.

“I don’t like this attitude from you. What happened to my good girl? Huh? Where did she go? Do I need to fuck this attitude out of you? Is that what it is?” His words are whispered harshly and you whimper, your eyes locked on the party outside.

“Y-you brought a girl… it’s not fair…” You’re not sure if it’s not fair for you or for her, but you know that this isn’t right.

Nothing about this is right, but that’s never stopped you before.

“Yeah, and she knows that she’s just arm candy, ‘cause a certain bratty twenty-one-year-old has the best pussy I’ve ever had, and that bratty little bitch has me addicted.”

Your cunt clenches at his words and you hide your face in your hands, hating the fact that everything this man does turns you on.

He slides his fingers over your centre and groans at the feeling of your wet core dripping through your panties.

“These are coming off. They’re mine now.” He yanks them down your legs then brings them up to his face, taking a deep breath through his nose and groaning lowly.

“God, I need to have this pussy in my mouth. Never tasted anything better, honey, I swear.” He drops to his knees behind you and pushes your legs apart slightly, then traces your slit with his tongue.

You pull in a shaky breath and push onto your elbows, dropping your head as his tongue finds your clit.

“Bucky,” you whisper, arching your back slightly to give him better access to your dripping heat.

He devours you like you’re the first meal he’s had in days, drinking up everything you have to offer and paying special attention to your clit.

“Cum on my tongue, pretty girl, c’mon. I wanna feel you cream on my face.”

You let out a choked moan, your eyes snapping open when you hear a voice approaching the kitchen door.

You push up until you’re almost standing straight, but Bucky smacks your ass once harshly in warning.

“Don’t even try to move, sweetheart. I’m not finished with you. Stay quiet, like the good girl I know you can be.”

You nod, reaching across the counter for a phone to make it seem like you’re busy doing something other than getting eaten out by your dad’s best friend.

“You found your way back inside, huh?” Steve asks after sliding the door open, an easy grin on his face.

“Yeah, it’s, uh, it’s really hot outside,” you whisper, terrified of bringing your voice any higher because you know you’ll moan.

Bucky’s lips wrap around your clit, sucking harshly, and you bite your bottom lip so hard you taste blood.

“Yeah, it’s summer. It’s usually pretty hot,” Steve says with a chuckle, reaching into the fridge to grab a bowl of potato salad.

“C’mon, food’s almost ready.”

You nod, squeezing the phone tighter in your hands when Bucky slides two thick fingers inside you.

“I-I’ll be out in a minute. I just gotta... sen a text...” It’s taking all your self-control not to reach behind you and thread your fingers through Bucky’s hair.

You’re so fucking close.

You can feel your legs trembling and your walls fluttering, but Steve is still in the fucking kitchen.

“You kids and your phones.” He shakes his head and leaves the kitchen, and you groan immediately after, pressing your forehead to the counter and leaning your hips back into Bucky's face more.

He fucks his fingers into you faster, massaging your g-spot every time his fingers slide into your heat, and his mouth works your clot in time with his fingers.

“Bucky… Bucky I’m gonna cum, oh fuck, please, please let me cum.”

He groans against your heat and sucks your clit harder, his tongue working over the bud while his fingers assault your walls.

A choppy moan leaves your lips and you bite your forearm to try and suppress the noise as you cream on his face.

Your legs tremble and your cunt flutters around his fingers, and he slurps up every drop of your essence that he can reach with his talented tongue.

“Fuck, you taste like heaven,” he whispers, placing a kiss on your throbbing clit then pulling his fingers from your core. You can hear the filthy sound of him sucking them clean, and then he’s rubbing the backs of your thighs gently in comfort.

“You okay, honey?”

With a soft whimper, you nod, allowing him to pull you into his arms and hug you softly.

“Good. Now, go on and eat.”

You nod again and he smiles before pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

“Good girl.”

~*~

You nibble on a piece of watermelon, eyes focused on Bucky as he talks and laughs with your dad as if he didn’t just have his face buried between your thighs.

“You okay, kid? You seem kinda distracted today,” Steve says gently, nudging your knee with his.

You snap your gaze to his and nod, taking a deep breath then smiling.

“Yeah, I just… I didn’t get a good sleep last night. I’m kinda tired.”

He nods sympathetically and pats your shoulder, ”do you want me to go grab you a red bull or something? Make you some coffee?”

You smile warmly at him and shake your head, “I’m okay, thank you though. I think I just need some water.” You rise to your feet and make your way inside, trying your best to walk normally even though you can feel eyes boring into your back.

When you get inside you go straight to the bathroom to splash cool water on your face.

You can’t keep doing this.

Keep letting him have his way with you and pretend nothing happened. You’re gonna slip up one day and then it’s gonna be game over.

As your mind starts to race to all the worst-case scenarios, the doorknob turns.

“Uh, occupied!” You call.

The doorknob continues turning and then the door is pushed open, and the man who plagued your every thought is standing there.

“Running away again?” He asks, a cocky grin on his face.

Your eyes go wide and you look over his shoulder to make sure no one’s coming.

“You’re gonna get us caught!” You hiss, yanking him into the bathroom and shutting the door.

He only laughs, “yeah, but that’s why you like it so much. Every time we almost get caught, you cum harder,” he says matter-of-factly

“Okay, what if I was peeing? And you just walked in?”

He shrugs, “then I guess I’d just wait till you’re finished to do this.” He spins you around and pushes you toward the bathroom counter, hoisting one of your legs up to rest your knee on the granite.

Your eyes meet his in the mirror as his fingers find your sore centre, rubbing gently.

“B-Bucky we can’t…”

He raises a single brow at your half-hearted protests and slides a finger into your abused heat, chuckling softly when you clamp down on it.

“Yeah, nice try, Princess. This,” he pulls his finger out to slap your pussy, making a startled gasp fall from your lips, “belongs to me. It’s mine. And I’ll use it whenever and however I want, got it?”

You nod your understanding, watching in the mirror as he slowly unbuckles his pants and shoved them down his legs.

His boxers come next, the material stretching over his thick, tanned thighs, and then his cock springs free.

All nine and a half inches -“that half is important, sweetheart, trust me”- of thick, cut, sinful glory, and he’s been saving it for you.

He shoves your dress up until you’re holding it at your chest with one hand, the other braced on the mirror.

You can see his cock sliding through your folds, the weeping tip rubbing against your clit with each pass, and the sight alone is enough to have your mouth watering.

“Yeah, you like that? Hmm?” He asks, his voice low and teasing as he watches your face in the mirror.

Your mouth is slightly open, heavy breaths falling from those fuckable lips, and your eyes are half-closed, focused on where his cock is rubbing against you.

“Gonna let me fuck a baby into you, pretty girl? You gonna be a good girl for me? Let me make you a mommy?”

He feels your cunt flutter and watches the way your brows draw together, a grin on his face.

Bracing himself with one hand on your hip and the other in your hair, he pulls his hips back entirely only to push them forward, spearing into you in one quick thrust.

The breath is knocked from your lungs at the stretch of his fat cock in your heat, and a long moan falls from your mouth.

He slaps his hand across your lips, silencing you as much as he can, and you huff a breath through your nose at the force behind it.

“Sorry, babygirl, but you know you can’t be that loud with so many people around. It’s like you wanna get caught. Like you want someone to walk in while I’m balls deep in your tight snatch. Is that what you want, you filthy slut?”

You shake your head but tears spring to your eyes as he starts moving his hips, each pull and push dragging against your g-spot and making your nerves burst.

“Fuck, you feel so good, babygirl. Like your pussy was made for me. Fuck... tightest little cunt I’ve ever fucked.” His words are whispered in your ear as he pulls your head back to be closer to his, his eyes locked on yours in the mirror.

“Yeah, that’s right. You watch as I fuck your tight little hole. Look at how well you’re taking me, honey. Like a champ.”

You nod desperately, tears falling down your cheeks and dripping into his hand.

A light sheen of sweat covers your body as you meet his thrusts, and the contrast of the cool tile against your knee and the mirror on your hand only add to the sensations running laps through your body.

“Tears again? C’mon, crybaby, I thought you were a big girl.”

Your pussy flutters and you whine into his palm, eyes stuck on where he's fucking you.

There’s a sudden, sharp knock on the door that has your heart in your throat and your cunt squeezing the life out of Bucky’s cock.

“Fuck,” he hisses, his thrusts not slowing.

“Occupied!” He shouts, his voice masking a vicious smack to your ass that has pain prickling. He soothes the sting, rubs the area, and presses a kiss to the back of your head.

“Hurry up, Buck, you’ve been in there for so long,” Steve’s voice rumbles from behind the door.

Bucky drops his head back and holds back a curse when you clench around him again at the sound of Steve’s voice.

“Yeah, I’m almost done. Can’t finish with you standing there.”

Steve grumbles something under his breath, and then his footsteps trail away from the door.

“You want him to catch you? You want him to know what a desperate cumslut I make you? How you turn into a stupid drool baby the moment you see cock? Is that what you want, crybaby?”

You nod desperately, more tears flowing as the coil in your belly tightens.

“Yeah, I bet you want him to fuck you too, huh? You want his cock in your tight little ass while I fuck this pussy? Or maybe, you want him to fuck that cute face so he can see how pretty you look when you cry.”

Your eyes roll back in your head as your release slams into you like a freight train, sending you spiralling through a tunnel of bliss that has you seeing stars.

Your body goes slack against the counter, chest falling forward only to be caught by Bucky’s strong arms.

“I’m not finished with you yet, crybaby.” The nickname shouldn’t make you gush around him, but it does.

He fucks you through your orgasm, not giving you even a moment to rest as his hips slam into your ass, surely leaving bruises.

You groan softly, rivers rushing down your cheeks and finding a new home in the neckline of your sundress.

He smacks your ass then wraps his hand around your throat, cutting off your air and watching your face in the mirror.

Your mouth opens as you struggle to breathe, the tears never ceasing, and Bucky can’t stop himself from cumming.

His hips stutter to a stop as he paints your walls white, his potent cum coating your cervix and warming you from the inside.

His hand drops away from your throat and you suck in a heavy breath, hiccuping a sob as you lean against him.

“Shh, it’s okay,” he whispers, his eyes closed as he holds you tightly against his body.

As he comes down from his high, his eyes find yours in the mirror.

All pretty and puffy and bloodshot, watching him intently.

“You okay, pretty baby? I wasn’t too rough?” He asks softly, his hands moving to cradle you against his body.

You sniffle and nudge him back with your elbow, giving you enough room to scoot off the counter and turn around in his arms.

You nuzzle your nose against his chest and settle in his arms, your tears slowly ceasing.

“You okay, honey?” He asks again, nervous he was too rough with you.

You sniffle and nod, looking up at him when he tilts your chin up.

“Words, Angel. I need words.”

You sniffle and swallow hard, “I'm okay.”

He raises his eyebrows and you nod.

“I’m okay, I promise.”

He watches you for a moment longer before nodding and kissing your lips gently.

“I’m gonna go get you a glass of water, sweet girl. You stay here. I’ll clean you up in a minute.”

You nod and lean against the counter as he fixes his clothes and leaves, still trying to catch your breath and calm your heart down.

A few moments later, the door opens again.

“That was quick,” you whisper, your voice scratchy and hoarse.

“Try again, crybaby.”

Your eyes snap up as Steve steps into the bathroom, shutting the door behind himself.

Dread swells in your stomach and you shake your head as his eyes roam your figure.

“I-I...”

He brings his eyes back to yours and cocks his head to the side, giving you a grin.

“C’mon now, you guys weren’t exactly quiet. S’like you were begging me to hear you.”

New tears well up and rain down your face and you shake your head desperately.

“Please don’t tell anyone. Please.”

He shushes you softly and steps closer, one hand cupping your face.

“I won’t, honey. I swear. I just... wanna get in on the action.”

Your brows draw together, and then the door opens again.

Bucky pushes inside, freezing for a moment while taking in the scene before himself.

“Outta the way, punk,” he says easily, coming up beside you and lifting you to sit on the counter.

He brings the glass of water up to your mouth and you drink eagerly, your eyes flickering nervously between the two huge men in the bathroom.

“Was wondering when you’d finally get your head out of your ass,” Bucky says nonchalantly, his gaze never leaving your face.

You choke on the water, coughing and sputtering, and Bucky sets the glass down while Steve pats your back gently, wiping a few drops from your chin then popping his finger into his mouth.

“Didn’t wanna interrupt. You guys sounded pretty busy.”

The brunet smiles, his hands coming up to cup your cheeks again.

“You okay?”

You nod slowly, a million questions in your eyes.

“Steve’s not gonna do anything you don’t want him to, okay? You say stop and he stops. And he won’t breathe a word of this to dear old dad. Scout’s honour.”

You nibble on your bottom lip for a moment then look over at Steve.

“What... what exactly do you want to do?”

He smiles and steps closer to you, pulling you to the edge of the counter then dropping to his knees in front of you.

“Lift up that pretty dress and I’ll show you.”

[katsu28]

dinner buddies

summary: Eddie can’t make it in time for dinner, so you decide to find someone else to share your cooking with. 

warnings: light swearing, so much fluff 

a/n: i hope this is good bc i’m quite literally drowning in unfinishable wips right now :') but hi hello i'm back to trying to write after a scarily long bout of self doubt and writer's block! pls enjoy this fluff as my apology <3

masterlist + taglist

(gif found on pinterest!)

You were half contemplating just turning tail and going back home as you climbed the steps of the Munson’s trailer, arms laden with bags of groceries making it a little harder to keep yourself steady on the creaky stairs. 

Eddie was supposed to come to your place for dinner, but had called you from the high school saying that Hellfire Club was running a lot longer than usual and that he might not make it to yours anytime soon, so you were stuck with a fridge full of ingredients for dinner and no one to make it for. 

That was, until an idea popped into your head. 

So now here you were, standing outside the trailer, knocking on the door to see if Wayne wanted to be your dinner buddy for tonight. You remembered Eddie telling you that Wayne worked the earlier shift on Tuesdays, so you knew he was home. The hard part now was gaining the courage to ask him. It wasn’t like you were scared of Eddie’s uncle, you’d just never really spent time with him without your boyfriend around. But it was something you wanted to change. 

Before you could chicken out and turn around, the door swung open slowly to reveal a weary looking Wayne Munson peering out at you. 

“Hey, kiddo,” He looked pleasantly surprised to see you, but still confused as to why you were here. “Whatcha doin’ round these parts? Eddie’s not here, if that’s who you’re looking for. Think he might still be with that club of his.” 

“Yeah, we were supposed to have dinner but he called me earlier to tell me. I was, um, I was wondering if you’d eaten dinner yet?” You asked timidly, shifting on your feet. 

“Oh, I was just gonna heat up some pizza from the other day. Why, what did you have in mind?” 

“Do you maybe wanna have dinner together? I was supposed to make spaghetti for Eddie and I, but since he’s held up, I was wondering if I could make it…for you.” Wayne was silent for a moment, and suddenly you weren’t sure if you were overstepping any bounds by showing up here unannounced, so you quickly backtracked. “Only if you want, though. I know you probably had a long day at work and I totally get if you’d rather have some alone time before Eddie comes home—” 

“Spaghetti sounds fantastic, kiddo.” He chuckled, opening the door a little wider and reaching out to relieve you of one of the bags in your hands. “Come on in.” 

You beamed, shuffling inside and beelining right for the kitchen to drop your stuff on the counter before washing your hands. 

Stationing himself at the counter while you prepped and cooked, Wayne kept insisting he help you with something, but after you kept telling him to relax, reluctantly gave up. Instead, he watched you bustle around the tiny kitchen like a whirlwind, occasionally snagging a handful of cheese or a noodle when he thought you weren’t looking. (You noticed every single time, but he thought he was being slick, just like his nephew.)

Wayne was a quiet guy—a lot quieter than his lovably rowdy nephew—but he was good company, entertaining you with countless stories of Eddie when he was younger as you cooked, some of which made you laugh so hard you nearly keeled over. Stories that you’d definitely be using as blackmail against your boyfriend sometime in the future. 

Speaking of the future, that was one topic Wayne brought up as you were waiting for the pasta water to boil. 

“So…you and Ed, you’ve been together a while,” He said awkwardly, drumming his fingers on the counter. It sounded like he didn’t quite know how to approach the subject, but was trying his best, and you appreciated his effort. “How’s that going?” 

You beamed, bobbing your head happily at the mention of your Eddie. “Good! Really good. He’s the best boyfriend a girl could ask for.” 

“That’s great to hear. And Ed, he’s treating you good? I have no doubt in my mind that he does, or else I’d whack him upside the head, but I gotta ask.” 

“He’s amazing, Wayne. You did an incredible job raising him. He’s always saying how lucky he is that he’s always had you, and he’s right.” You replied earnestly, placing a hand over his. And you meant it. Despite all the ways Eddie could’ve turned out with the things he’d been through, he’d always had one constant in his life. 

His uncle. 

The man who took him in without a second thought when Eddie’s parents had dropped him on Wayne’s doorstep all those years ago. 

The man who worked late nights, odd hours, and shitty jobs just so Eddie could have a decent childhood. Who bought him his first guitar, went to any Corroded Coffin gig that he could, and sat through Eddie’s endless D&D rants—not knowing what the hell he was babbling on and on about, but listened because it made Eddie happy. 

The man who was more of a father to him than Eddie’s good-for-nothing jackass of a dad ever was (Eddie’s words, not yours). 

You could tell that your words had touched the older man because of the way he fiddled with his fingers—just like Eddie did whenever you said something that made him feel loved. 

“Thank you, kiddo.” He said quietly, patting your hand. “Eddie’s lucky to have someone like you lookin’ after him. I guess now I am too, what with this absolute feast you’re making.” 

“You’re gonna make me cry, and it’s not gonna be pretty, Wayne!” You let out a watery chuckle, turning to toss the pasta into the now boiling water so the older man wouldn’t see you start to tear up at his kind words. 

Soon enough, the whole trailer was filled with a mouthwatering array of smells—rich tomato sauce with garlic and herbs, fresh pasta, buttery garlic bread. Honestly, you wouldn’t be surprised if the entire trailer park was able to smell what you’d cooked. 

“This…this looks fantastic, Y/N.” Wayne said softly, blinking down at the steaming plate of food in front of him like he wasn’t quite sure where to start. “Thank you for cooking for this old man.” 

“Oh, Wayne, you’re not that old,” You chided, passing him a hearty piece of garlic bread. “And it was my pleasure. I really like to cook, and Eddie really likes to eat, so…” 

Wayne gave an all-knowing grin, shaking his head fondly. “Don’t I know it. I used to be worried that boy would eat us out of house and home when he was younger. Still do, honestly. Ed’s got a black hole for a stomach, I swear.” 

“Wonder where he gets it from?” You snickered, to which Wayne let out a booming laugh that pleasantly surprised you. 

“You’re a real spitfire, aren’t ya, kiddo?” 

“I like to see it as Eddie rubbing off on me,” You shrugged. “Which he probably got from you. So really, who’s to blame here?” 

The older man sighed overdramatically, bowing his head in mock defeat. “That would be me, I assume.” 

“I won’t confirm nor deny that statement.” You smiled sweetly, picking up your fork. “Dig in!” 

-------

You’d both finished your food and were exchanging more Eddie stories by the time you heard heavy footsteps pounding up the stairs outside. Then the door banged open loudly, Eddie’s slightly winded and panicked voice filling the trailer immediately. 

“Speak of the devil,” Wayne sighed, barely heard over his nephew’s incomprehensible rambling. You stifled a laugh at his faux exasperation. “I can’t understand a word you’re sayin’, Ed!” 

“Sorry I can’t stay long, Uncle Wayne, I’m already super late and Y/N’s—” Eddie came to a screeching halt when he spotted you sitting across the table from his uncle, both of you with empty plates in front of you. “...here. She’s—you’re here. What—hi, sweetheart.” 

“Hi Eds!” You chirped, pushing back your chair to come greet him with a kiss on the cheek. 

He accepted your kiss welcomingly, arms sliding around your waist in an automatic hug like they always did when he saw you. “What’re you doing here?” 

“Hangin’ out with Wayne. We’re dinner buddies now.” You said it so casually, like it was a common thing for you to hang out with his uncle when Eddie wasn’t there. Eddie’s gaze slipped over to Wayne, who just nodded back.

“Hello to you too, boy,” He grumbled, but there was a small smile on his face nonetheless. 

“Hi Uncle Wayne.” Eddie mumbled sheepishly, tugging at the collar of his shirt. “I would say sorry I’m late, but you seem to have found some better company.” 

“Come sit down, baby, I’ll get you some food,” You nudged him towards the table, stifling a giggle at the way he tripped over his own boots in his haste to kick them off and hurry to take a seat. “Seconds, Wayne? There’s more than enough here. Probably even enough to last you both a few meals.” 

“I couldn’t possibly eat any more, kiddo, but thank you.” Wayne sighed, patting his stomach for good measure. Eddie squinted at his uncle, then you, then back at Wayne in pure confusion. “You just gonna stare at me, or d’you got somethin’ you wanna say?” 

“Did you—did she come over here on her own, or did you call her?” 

“Now how would I call her, Ed? She came here ‘round seven, sayin’ that you were held up and asked if I wanted to have dinner together. Obviously, I’m not one to say no to a nice home cooked dinner, so I said yes.” 

Eddie couldn’t help the wide grin that broke his face, casting a glance over at you at the stove scooping some pasta onto a plate for him and feeling his heart grow three sizes in his chest. God, you really were the most perfect person alive. 

“Here you go, love.” You slid the hearty plate of food in front of him, pressing a kiss to the side of his head before settling back into your seat. “Now, what were we talking about before this one barged in?” 

“I believe I was telling you how Ed used to run around with his pants on his head.” 

“Hey!” Eddie spluttered through a mouthful of garlic bread, gawking at his uncle incredulously. “That’s so not cool!” 

“Hush, eat your dinner, boy.” 

Eddie turned to you with wide eyes. “Baby, don’t believe a word he says, he—” 

“Listen to Wayne, Eds, eat your spaghetti.” You hummed sweetly, patting his knee with a smile. 

“You guys are so mean to me.” 

-------

Later, after Eddie had finished huffing and puffing about ‘my girl and my uncle ganging up on me’ and devoured two more plates of food (bottomless pit for a stomach, indeed), dinner had been packed away with firm instructions from you on how to reheat it the best way. The dishes were done and drying, leaving Wayne to retire outside to the porch for a smoke. 

The second the door swung shut behind him, Eddie all but tackled you, sweeping you into his arms and planting a messy kiss on your lips. You let out a surprised noise, but instantly returned it with much fervor, brain on autopilot. His hands splayed across the expanse of your back, pulling you as close as possible to him whilst you kissed, while yours clutched at his biceps to ground yourself. 

It was hard not to get lost in Eddie when he kissed you, with how much of himself and his love for you he poured into them. Sometimes felt like you’d float away if he kissed you for too long. You wouldn’t exactly mind it too much, to be honest. 

“What was that for?” You asked incredulously after he’d pulled away, bringing your hands from his arms to his shoulders to steady yourself after his kiss had chased the breath right out of your chest. 

“I love you so much.” He said earnestly, pressing another peck to your lips as if to reinforce his proclamation. 

“I love you too, Eds. You know that.” 

“I do! I do. I just—” He let out a dreamy sigh, squeezing your hip. “Thank you.” 

“For loving you?” You giggled, reaching up to brush a stray inky curl out of his face. 

“No—well, yeah. But for everything. For loving me so good like you do, for thinking of Wayne when I’m not here. For being the girl of my dreams.” Eddie continued, looking more serious than you’d ever seen him before. “My perfect, sweet girl, always takin’ care of us. Should hurry up and marry you now before you come to your senses and run for the hills, shouldn’t I?” 

“Oh, stop it, you kiss ass,” You huffed playfully, slapping his chest lightly. 

“I think Uncle Wayne would agree. He might love you more than he loves me now.” 

You laughed at that. “You’re so dramatic, baby. You’re his family, of course he loves you more.”

“I dunno ‘bout that anymore, not after today. Hell, you made him a gourmet meal, sweetheart! I’ve never made him a home cooked meal. Not like that, anyways. Most of my stuff ends up tossed out so we don’t get food poisoning.” 

“It’s the thought that counts, right?” 

“That’s what I say! He doesn’t see it that way though. Always grumbling about how I’m trying to send him to an early grave,” Eddie pouted childishly. 

“You are trying to send me to an early grave, boy!” Wayne’s voice came drifting in through the open window, to which Eddie swore. “Don’t act like you’re not dyin’ to get rid of me!” You both knew he was just poking fun at his nephew, but Eddie rolled his eyes, burrowing deeper into your embrace to alleviate his hurt ego. 

“Aw, did baby boy’s feelings get hurt?” You teased, squishing his cheeks together until his lips puckered almost comically. He struggled to still look upset, but it was no use with the way you were looking at him right now. Your smile turned his over exaggerated pout into a soft smile of his own. To him, your smile could make the clouds disappear on a dreary day. 

“Super hurt.” He nodded, mock serious. “Know what would make me feel better?” 

“I think I can guess, but tell me anyway.” 

“A kiss.” 

“Another one?!” 

“Yes, another one!” Eddie huffed, shuffling the two of you over to the kitchen counter, where he nudged you onto the countertop with ease. “There’s no such thing as too many kisses in this relationship, sweetheart. Unlimited kisses or I’ll die. You don’t want me to die, do you?” 

“I guess not.”

“You guess? C’mere, you little minx,” He growled playfully, pressing his lips against yours firmly. You were quick to sink into his kiss yet again, cupping his face in your hands to bring him even closer. And while Eddie always kissed you like he was trying to let you know how much he loved you, this one felt different. This one felt a little more special, and you wanted to bask in it for as long as you could. 

As long as you could turned out to be not very long at all, the loud thwack of the front door banging against the wall breaking through the silence. 

“Alright, simmer down, you two. I don’t need no mini Munsons runnin’ around anytime soon,” Wayne chided, very clearly back from his night smoke. “Still takin’ care of this one over here.” 

“Uncle Wayne!” Eddie groaned, cheeks flaming hot under your fingertips. The older Munson merely waved his hand aimlessly in response, shuffling toward the bathroom and muttering something about how the two of you better take your lovey dovey party into Eddie’s room before he got back from getting ready for bed. Eddie squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment, letting his forehead thunk against your shoulder miserably. “I’m sorry about him. He’s—” 

“He’s just like you, Eds.” You said softly, smoothing a fond hand along his curls. Eddie made an indignant noise. “Funny, caring, heart of gold. Rough exterior but a total teddy bear on the inside?” 

“I’m definitely better looking though.” 

“Yeah, yeah, of course you are,” You rolled your eyes playfully, to which he whisked you off the countertop with a growled hmph, marching the two of you down the hall to his room to toss you onto his bed like you were a sack of flour.

The rest of the night was spent talking, telling Eddie embarrassing stories of yourself when you were younger to remedy the ones that Wayne had told you about him. Sleepy whispered I love you’s pressed against each other’s skin right before you fell asleep wrapped in his arms, just the way you liked it. 

Soon enough, you popping over to the trailer to hang out with Wayne more often became a frequent thing, Eddie many times returning home to see the two of you sitting on the couch outside on the porch or huddled around the kitchen table, sipping hot drinks while telling each other more embarrassing stories about him. And although he wasn’t too keen on his uncle telling you about all the times he used to run around naked as a kid, he really did enjoy seeing the two most important people in his life growing closer. 

Even if it did result in him being unfairly ganged up on at times.

taglist!

@wittiestrain184 @pastel-abyss-x @milkiane @liltimmyst @lilygreennn @nia-um @pinkdaiisies @idli-dosa @mrstealuregirl @maciiiofficial @oliviah-25 @scoopsahoykeery @eddiesquinn @bubsonnobx @yearningforeddiemunson