#(and in turn coming at tiff she is in for some shit)

[vixlenxe]

Woe

A plague be upon she

[chefkids]

As much as I love sydcarmy, I really don’t think they’re going to become romantic. Especially after this season. If Storer really only planned for 3 seasons and had to split it into half, it doesn’t make sense. The show doesn’t have enough episodes to really develop them to where both realize their feelings (if they’re really there) and then be in a place to get together in a way that it doesn’t feel rushed

I don't think Storers big plan for this series is to leave Carmy in a miserable lonely place.

This season already set up a few things with Claire. Mainly that she does not seem interested in getting back together with him. She's a pushy person, she was not afraid to push him to be with her once. If she really wanted to she would have pushed again and talked to him to get him to apologize and be with her again just how she forced him to apologize on the phone for giving her a fake number. I think she's hurt he hasn't talked to her at all or apologized, but she does not want to be with him again. She told Tiff he basically said he would blame her if anything went wrong in his life. Which is really not what Carmy meant, and I think that will be part of their fight when he does apologize to her. She also told the Faks "it's done." when they were saying she's the peace and that he loves her and that she should get back with him to "take care of him because no one else does". I don't think she wants to be with him again and has accepted they shouldn't be together, and I think that will be the end of their relationship once he apologizes to her. I do not think Storer plans on making Claire his emotional caretaker. And the same goes for Syd. She's not his babysitter either.

She's running out of time to decide on her partnership offers. Which I think will be address right at the start of the next season and will be the turning point for Carmy to get his shit together.

This story is about family and found family, they have made that very clear and it has always remained true though out all the season. Sydney is stuck because she doesn't want to leave her found family, but Carmy is a toxic family member. Carmy left his family because of his toxic mother, but we've seen how Nat and her were able to rebuild their trust and come back to each other. Jimmy told him his mom wants to speak to him. He knows he's been avoiding her, but he will see her again, even if he doesn't fully forgive her for what has happened between them, I think Donna and Carmy will be on an okay place even if they don't stay close and speaking with each other. Which I think also mirrors Storer's relationship with his own mom that he has talked about.

We already know next half will be all about him rebuilding his broken relationships with everyone by apologizing to Claire and getting closure, fixing things with Richie, and reuniting with his mother. There has been evidence for all of these. And I'm sure finally fixing things with Sydney in the end will also be a part on the next season.

I think she will make moves to leave and tell him about the offer, and I think she will likely develop some sort of relationship with Luca. But we also know that he comes with an expiration date, he's only here for a few months. That was the set up, while Carmy was not paying attention to Sydney, she was getting scooped up professionally and personally. I really don't think her and Luca will work out long term. But I'm still uncertain about Sydney leaving The Bear. We know Jimmy was going to cut them off if they got a bad review, which is apparently what they got, and I think that might actually happen. I could still see The Bear closing next season and everyone going their own ways professionally, but remaining a family at heart.

That conversation about Legacy and family trees Carmy had with Marcus really seemed to me to foreshadow Sydney starting her own place and taking bits of The Bear with her and also Marcus perhaps starting his own place or going somewhere else. Carmy said he wants to leave behind something "panickless and anxiety free" and I do think he will get there in the end, but I think that might involve closing The Bear or at the very least him stepping away from it and handing the reins to Sydney. I think there was a lot of emphasis on his drawings especially from Chef Terry, and I think that will still play a role in his future and him pursuing his passions which might be beyond cooking.

I do not think this is all going to end on a sad and miserable note. If this part's theme was about funerals, Marcus's mom and Ever. The next will be about weddings. We know Tiff and Frank's wedding is coming. A big theme for Richie was the idea of him being alone/lonely. He's also very clearly starting something with Jess and I think that will continue in the next part. I think Syd and Carmy's "partnership", be it professional or romantic, working out will also be a part of these "weddings".

I don't think Storer is as stupid and oblivious as we sometimes think he is. He knows that Syd and Carmy have a crazy transcendental celestial bond that Claire and Carmy don't. He knew the implications of the Season 2 panic attack. As much as Season 3 felt like retcon to justify Claire and Carmy being true loved or something, he still doubled down on Syd and Carmy's invisible string, on her being his muse, and on her being his actual peace in panic attacks despite any lies Carmy tries to tells himself about it being Claire.

I think they will unambiguously break the platonic allegations by the end of the series. Will they have the guts to show us their relationship and partnership outside of the kitchen in the show beyond just them getting together at the last minute? Unsure.

I think he probably intended on ending the series with Syd and Carmy getting together at the last second. Especially if you consider John Hughes' Some Kind of Wonderful, which I do think inspired his Claire/Carmy/Syd dynamic, ended with them getting together and kissing right before the screen turns black. Which would honestly be a lame cop out and really quite offensive to Syd to not show their full partnership in motion after giving so much screen time to Claire/Carmy's romantic life and would only feed the people that will claim it's fanservice to end with sydcarmy.

I think that's what the ambiguity of there being a Season 5 or not is. We know the studios want it, sydcarmy is making them a lot of noise and a huge subset of people would love to actually see it play out on screen for more than 10 minutes at the series finale, but does Storer want to actually make a season about more than Carmy being miserable and show that people can heal and exist in a functioning relationships and a functioning kitchen and still be funny and exciting and entertaining? Who knows.

[sleepingdeath-light]

when she’s moved on from chucky hcs ; tiffany valentine

requested by ; anonymous (posted on 14/07/23)

fandom(s) ; slashers / child’s play

fandom masterlist(s) ; here

character(s) ; tiffany valentine

outline ; “Ooh so could you do a Tiffany x gender neutral reader where at the scene when tiff had chucky in his cage, she mentions how she got over him and is now dating reader who Tiff just rabbles about them?

And please take your time on this I don’t wanna seem like one of the impatient readers so do your best!”

note ; this is a repost from a now deleted blog, so apologies if you’ve already read this lol

warning(s) ; allusions to sex, suggestive content

minors and ageless blogs will be blocked

she hadn’t thought about her ex in a long time — mourning him for more than long enough when he’d initially passed away before making a point of trying to move on

she’d had plenty of flings over the years — tiffany was incredibly attractive so there was no shortage of men and women ready to hop in bed with her — but nobody ever stayed for long

not until you, that is

you, who was able to make her laugh without any effort

you, who didn’t judge her for her past and helped her take the steps she needed to fully detach herself from chucky

you, who kept a photo of her in your wallet/purse and who would proudly introduce her as your girlfriend to anyone you met

you, who watched all her favourite films with her and who would get wrapped up in the plot without complaining about them being ‘unrealistic’ or ‘silly’

you, who loved her for her mind and her humour and not just her body

you

just you

and yet despite all of that she still couldn’t seem to get away from charles for long because here he was, miraculously not dead and a hell of a lot shorter and more plastic-looking than she remembered

she’d seen his death reported on in the paper

she’d been going to therapy to talk about their relationship and how she was dealing with his loss

she’d moved on and was happy with you — even looking at wedding venues (even if you hadn’t been together very long, but when you know you know)

she’d done everything right and still he’d managed to come back into her life like nothing had happened

it made her angry

it made her sick

so she trapped him in a baby cage and went out for a smoke, ranting with the front door of her trailer open as she made some very pointed gestures and remarks to her ex

how dare he do this to her! how fucking dare he!

who the fuck did he think he was?

why couldn’t he just let her live her life in peace?

couldn’t he see that she was finally — fucking finally — happy after all of the shit he’d put her through?

the sheer audacity had her tonguing the inside of her cheek and reaching for her lighter — she didn’t have enough cigarettes to deal with his shit right now

frankly there weren’t enough cigarettes in the world at all to help her deal with his bullshit, but that was besides the point

she takes a drag from her second cig and now she’s stopped pacing — leaning on the doorframe and facing him head on with more disappointment and sadness that outright animosity

and somehow that scares him more than when she was ranting and raving and screaming at him

she asks why he can’t just let her have one good thing — but it’s not really a question and he knows it and he doesn’t even get to contemplate answering and manipulating her before she continues

she talks about you, about how she’s finally happy for the first time in forever and of course he has to come in and turn it all to shit (she spits the last word like it burns her tongue and continues in a dreamier voice, the ghost of a smile worming its way onto her lips)

‘they’re real sweet, ya know?’ (he doesn’t and she knows it but she continues), ‘they make me happy. we have fun together’

he says that they did too, jumping at the opportunity to reel her back in, but she chokes out a laugh and kicks his baby gate, causing his plastic body to stumble back

she scoffs at him and reaffirms that ‘fun’ doesn’t just mean being an adrenaline junkie — but even then that you don’t put her down or discourage her from doing what she enjoys

you let her have real hobbies, not just ones that benefit you — you even watch cheesy chick flicks with her and, pray tell, when did he ever bother to do the same?

never, that’s when

chucky tries to reel her back in again, recalling the fun they used to have — but he’s already lost

he lost before he even turned up at her front door because tiffany valentine has moved on

she doesn’t just want kinky sex and excitement — she dreams of domesticity and marriage and love

her days of bloodshed and murder are (mostly) over and have been since she settled down

since she fell in love with you

you with your smiles and your gentle touches and your humour that makes her laugh so hard her cheeks and sides ache

you who reaches out first and who doesn’t leave her high and dry and wanting like charles did

you who she loves, really truly loves, and who she’d never even dream of leaving

so she grabs a bottle of wine and tells chucky to keep on talking — because he may not have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning her over, but by god is it cathartic to watch him beg

… maybe she’d even call you up and give him a live show of every single reason, position and sound why you’re a far sight better than he ever was

[intimacyequalsdeath]

Bubz's Slasher Fictober Day 7 : (Caramel Apple) Charles Lee Ray

Day 7! One more day until we are rolling right into week 2. I put 8 days in the first week just to help keep it even, part of the struggle of doing a seasonal menu and not just a regular fictober.

Notes: Minors DNI, Canon typical anything to do with the character, movie or game. This is another one without a really fleshed out plot, just a bit of domestic fluff

Support Me: KO-FI

The bass of the song on the radio reverberates through the car, you tap your fingers along to it on the steering wheel as you gaze into the dark alley your parked in.

Finally after about 40 minutes, a door swings open into the alley, you can't see who steps out of it so you know it's time to finally get the hell out of here. The car passenger door swings open and the small figure hops inside.

"Jesus Christ Chuck, took you long enough."

"Oh shut the fuck up"

You smirk and peel out of the alley way, seamlessly slipping back onto the busy street without any hiccup.

"You get 'em all?"

"Did I get em all? of course I got them all. I'm a goddamn master at this shit."

"Well I'm just saying, it took you nearly a goddamn hour."

"You just fuckin bitch at me just like fuckin Tiff-"

"Charles Lee Ray, finish that sentence and so help me Jesus Christ."

Chucky laughs, clearly not threatened but he humors you.

"Fine, fine, but you do know how to fuckin' bitch."

You roll your eyes and flick them over to him as you pull up at a stop light. To be honest, the whole possessed doll thing was something you were still getting used to. When Chuck had first showed up at your door step you tried to smack him with a broom until through lot's of cursing and yelling he managed to prove to you it was really him.

"So uh, we any closer to solving this whole...doll issue?"

He glances up at you and it's his turn to roll his eyes.

"I told you, we need to find a body to transfer my soul into."

"Oh yeah I forgot, we could transfer you into anyone you're just so goddamn picky."

"Well it was supposed to be Andy but you know how that went."

"Yeah you cracked some dumbass scheme to put your soul into the body of a 6 year old boy."

"Hey how was I supposed to fuckin know I'd get sold to that snot nosed brat for Christmas."

"You put yourself into a doll! Not just any doll either, quite literally the hottest children's toy on the market."

"I was kinda bleedin out ya know, I didn't really have time to pick and choose what I wanted to be."

"Excuses excuses Chuck"

"Oh what fuckin ever."

You laugh as his exasperation as the red light turns green and you pull off. You drive for a few minutes in silence before speaking again.

"So where do you wanna go now? Any other personal vendettas you'd like to settle tonight before we go home ?"

"Nah we can head back, I like to save some so I have something to look forward too ya know?"

"Ever the opportunist Chuck, Maybe tomorrow we can go get that bitch Tiffany. She's been going around telling everyone about how she dated The Lakeshore Strangler."

"Of course she has, you know she's on the list, but we have bigger fish to fry."

"Oh come onnnnnn, please?"

"Christmas is coming up again, maybe if your good it'll be your Christmas present."

You snort and continue driving into the night down the familiar roads back home. Maybe being the getaway driver for your serial killer boyfriend who's soul is trapped inside a children's toy isn't the worst gig after all."

[thatgayb1tchwhosimps4her]

Through Many Miles/Of Tricks and Trials ~ Ep 3

(Part of this AU)

~~~

This episode opens up with, again, Thalia pulling ahead of the group, being curious about every element of the Road's landscape, since it's not supposed to exist, like??!!!!

But once the coven starts asking Agatha about what the Road's really about/like, she doubles back yet again, cause she wants to see how her mom will get herself out of this one.

And this time, catches the full sigil when Teen tries to say his name, and is lowkey freaked out, because what is that??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then Mrs Hart goes missing, so Thalia goes looking for her with the coven, and she helps Alice and Teen pull her out (first blow to the white dress, RIP).

She spots the house just after Jen, and again, looks surprised, because this shit is not supposed to be real.

Walks in right after Agatha, because this witch cannot be trusted by herself, for one second, at fucking allllllllll-

Chooses not to participate in drinking the wine, cause she's still a minor :)))), and also doesn't trust her mom by herself, to potentially get drunk, without someone (sober) to buffer her.

Then while Alice has that talk with Teen, Thalia's sat on the step between both couches, lowkey eavesdropping, then just before she says to Teen about missing his eyeliner/liking the hair, Thalia pipes up with a small "Fucking Colorado", which makes the three of them chuckle, before the scene/camera then pans to Mrs Hart.

Again, she's not really doing a lot, but then Thalia has to jump in when her mom's acting up (and lowkey being dramatic), like "We could die if you keep acting like the rules don't apply to you; is that what you want??!"

And then goes off with Agatha and Lilia to find their ingredients for the antidote, and comes up with the whole 'jelly' thing, when they can't find a car in the garage (I don't know if that makes sense, but oh well 🙃).

Kind of softens a little bit, I guess, when Agatha reacts to Lilia having that 'vision' of her mom's (or who I think is her mom???) dead corpse.

Joins the rest of the coven, before moving to the kitchen to make the antidote, helping add the ingredients, and getting borderline terrified at the look on her mom's face, when she's essentially having a breakdown over her vision.

Then once she's pulled herself (and Jen) together, Thalia gets Agatha to give her the knife, and cuts her palm for the potion.

Once the oven opens, she helps the others climb in, then has a brief like 'argument' with Alice, and gets her to go in first, before lifting Kojo in after her, and sliding down after him (second blow to that cute-ass white dress).

She's then sat in the back, with Kojo basically on her lap, while the rest of the coven is having their little tiff, and yeah, that's pretty much it honestly.

~~~

Bonus: Thalia's outfit for this trial.

~~~

Not gonna lie, this one was a bit less detailed as some of the others, but I'm pretty chill with how it's turned out, and I hope you guys did, too (I might add more to it later, later-on).

Also, felt weird to 'censor' certain words, but I wasn't 100% sure if it would count as a trigger warning for anyone/what Tumblr's guidelines with that stuff is.

-Harlow

[bearsinpotatosacks]

Saw this post and it inspired me to share my fic idea for Richie realising that he isn't alone and people do care for him. I might frame it as a 5 times people showed Richie he wasn't alone kind of thing. So here's Richie being ill and taken care of

Nat - Richie’s been under the weather for days. She’s not the only one who's noticed and she keeps trying to get to go home but he insists he's fine. Richie Jerimovich doesn't take sick days as he doesn't get sick he's never been able to there’s always been too many people relying on him. This is until he comes in very feverish, running solely on paracetamol and espresso until midway through service where Carmy forces him to 'calm down' as he looks like shit. He sits by the lockers to take a breather when he collapses. He wakes up a few minutes later with Nat & Ebra sitting next to him, someone gets him water and they insist on sending him home. Nat says she doesn’t trust him to drive home so drives him home, makes him something to eat, then rubs his back as he throws it up, then makes sure he goes to bed.

Tiff- She calls him when he wakes up, 14 hours later, shouting at him for not picking Eva up after ballet and for not answering his phone. Then he explains and she’s straight round with half a pharmacy's worth of supplies, Eva reluctantly with Frank so she doesn’t get ill, she helps him get into the shower, puts his clothes in the wash and generally looks after him. He insists that he'll be fine, that she, as his ex wife, doesn't have to. She reiterates that he's all the family she's got, and forces him to eat even when he throws it up after. He falls asleep on her lap, she covers him up in a blanket and leaves him to sleep.

Tina- Her and Sydney come over. They make more food, Sydney says she’s only there because he was disney+. Tina brings along a lot of home remedies she insists worked for her son, ginger, peppermint etc. He's at a very pathetic part of being ill, swaying when he stands, can't stand up, walking around with blankets on as a cape, pale and out of breath. She keeps him company for a few hours, even when he says she could get sick. When they go to leave, Syd sees how weak he is and doesn't have the heart to leave him there

Syd - I want to add for context, let's say this is post s3, I am unsure whether Syd is still working there but let's say this is after she takes Chef Adam's offer. She's on good terms with Richie & Tina, shaky terms with Nat & Marcus and no talking terms with Carmy. She’s also been kind of dating, kind of fucking Richie since part way through the month of services in episode 3, Doors. So her staying is a new step in their relationship, they binge watch Friends until he curls up on her lap. She makes him the plainest food ever, boiled vegetables and potatoes, and helps him stand up in the shower before cuddling him to sleep.

Carmy- As this is post s3, this is into Carmy’s "oh shit i've been acting like Chef David and need to sort out some shit" era. He's trying even though he no longer has Syd as his work partner, and his and Richie’s relationship is extremely fractured. So he turns up on Tuesday morning with Berzatto chicken soup that Mickey used to make when they were ill and is surprised to see Sydney there but forces all of those thoughts and urges down when he sees Richie shuffling in. There's some not-really-communicating communicating where Richie appreciates Carmy coming but won't say it, and Carmy feels bad for not being there, but also doesn't say it. He gives him the rest of the week off, heats up the soup, and leaves

[sitp-recs]

Thank you for all your recs! I was wondering if you had enjoyed any femslash fics recently? I’m open to any pairings! Thanks!

You’re welcome, anon! I haven’t read much this year but I definitely have some recent femslash recs for you. Enjoy :)

the press of heat by earlybloomingparentheses (Linny, E, 1.8k)

It's summer, it's late, it's hot, and Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood touch each other for the first time on the front porch.

Only One Bed at the Three Broomsticks by @thistlecatfics (Andromeda/Augusta, M, 2k)

Andromeda drinks only one day a week, when she doesn't have Teddy to look after, because she is a responsible grandmother and certainly not an alcoholic. Getting too drunk to Apparate home is expected. The presence of Augusta is not.

One Or The Other by @sleepstxtic (Dorcas/Narcissa, Dorcas/Marlene, E, 3k)

Dorcas becomes a murderer at eight o’clock on a Friday night.

collarbones like a bow, skin an arrow to the heart by @lqtraintracks (Ginsy, E, 4k)

Gin’s adjusting the lighting for their next shoot when in walks the new model Luna was so enthusiastic about, and that’s when they know they’re in deep shit.

Obscure Topography by montparnasse (Flonks, M, 5k) - not a new fic but I found it recently!

Sometimes, Tonks realizes, coming at each other from awkward angles makes you stick, elbows and all.

Green Light by @sorrybutblog (Ginny/Hermione, E, 6k)

What if the best way to get over Ron was to get under Ginny?

Looking For A Complication by The_wig_is_a_metaphor (Narcissa/Ginny, M, 8k)

“Mother, when I said you should get out more," Draco shouts, "I did not mean you should have an illicit affair with a scandalously younger woman!"

Nicotine/Linger by @teacup-tai (Pansmione, E, 26k)

Pansy has been living a slow Muggle life in Ireland for five years now. Managing her anxiety and trauma with one too many drinks, way more anonymous fucks in loos than strictly advised, wonderful Muggle friends and a job that keeps her hands busy. Life is kinda alright -though a tad bit fucked up- until she stumbles into Hermione Granger in the Muggle Hospital.

you will burn right now but then you won't regret it by @thistlecatfics (Flonks, M, 31k)

Eight years after Voldemort’s defeat, as the illegal potions trade ravages England and the government intensifies lycanthropic restrictions in response, Fleur and Tonks join forces to uncover corruption in the Ministry.

Passion, Patents, and Pen Pals at the Ministry by @violetclarity and yrfrndfrnkly (Pansmione, T, 32k)

After an extremely ill-timed lovers'-tiff-turned-food-fight at the Ministry leaves her less one boyfriend and suspended without pay for six months, Hermione pleads for some position–anything–to fill her days until her suspension is up.

[judeswhore]

whatever do what u want but she doesn’t want to just be ur friend and ur an idiot if u can’t see that”. and maybe things between u are a bit tense the next few days bc ur hurt that he cant see what his ex is doing

OMG LEIGH I NEED MORE! What happens after!!!! Maybe his ex tries to kiss him or something and he’s like oh shit💀

🤭🤭they go for lunch together but maybe jude’s doing a little bit of damage control and has invited another friend along just to be careful but that doesn’t seem to deter her and she’s so obviously flirting w him and keeps touching his arm/hand, giggling so loudly like just proper coming on to him and jude starting to see that maybe u were right. she’d even go as far as to mention u and maybe make a snide comment and jude’s like?? watch it she’s my girlfriend. the friend that’s there is like so awkward wondering wtf is going on. jude’s trying to be polite but he’s kinda rushing the lunch and then they’re all leaving and they’re outside and she goes to kiss his cheek to say goodbye but turns and almost gets his lips but he’s so fast to pull away and he’s furious bc he’s made it so clear this was just a friendly lunch and that he’s more than happy with u and he only wants u. them getting into a little tiff before parting ways but then when jude gets home he doesn’t actually tell u abt the almost kiss bc to him it was nothing and he doesn’t wna upset u further, he just says u were right abt her not wanting to be friends, he apologises for not listening to u and ur all “i told u so. i’m a girl. i know” and things are like okay between u bc to u jude’s just left the whole ex thing now and ur happy knowing u were right

BUT maybe she told some friends abt the almost kiss and somehow it gets twisted into an actual goodbye kiss and that somehow gets back to u and ur so angry and so hurt when u confront jude and he tells u she tried to kiss him but he stepped back bc why didn’t he just tell u that at first?? and maybe it causes another little argument abt him hiding things from u and in the moment ur telling him u want some space and time apart

[sydsaint]

Summary: The reader enlists help from Bron when Von Wagner won't leave her alone. Her plan ends up working a little too well for her liking and she develops some mixed feelings about Bron.

"I asked you to teach him a lesson, Bron. Not hospitalize him" You confront Breakker as soon as he comes stomping through the curtain.

"You didn't hear all the shit he was saying about you." Bron grits his teeth, still high off the adrenaline from the fight.

Bron walks right past you but you follow after him with an accusing finger pointed at him. "So that gives you the right to put a man in the hospital?" You ask him. "I just wanted him to stop hitting on me. Not.....not this!"

Bron stops and turns around to face you. "I did what I had to do to keep him away from you." He insists. "Don't forget, you asked for my help because you knew I wouldn't hesitate."

Bron's reminder shuts you down for the time being. He's right. You did come to him after it was clear that management wasn't going to do a damn thing about Von harassing you.

You wanted the harassment to stop. You wanted to stop being afraid to walk around the locker room for fear of running into him. But you didn't want this. You didn't want anybody to be seriously hurt. But that's what you get when you enlist 'Badass Bron Breakker' to help you out.

"You're right." You breathe an inaudible sigh. "Thank you, Bron." You give him his dues.

"You're welcome." Bron nods solemnly. "And hey, Y/N, listen." He places a delicate finger under your chin and tilts your head up to meet his gaze. "I know you don't like seeing people get hurt. But he wasn't going to stop. It was necessary."

You nod and turn to head back to the locker rooms. Shame is written plainly on your face as you retreat. But it's not because you had a hand in Von getting hurt. No. You're ashamed because you can't help but find Bron hot. This animalistic anger and violence he's been embracing as of late.

In the locker room, you are greeted by Tiffany Straton once you're through the door. She notices the shame written on your face and walks over to check up on you.

"Y/N, hey girl!" Straton offers you a cheerful smile. "What's up? You look upset."

"Hey, Tiff." You return her smile. "Do I? Weird, because I feel fine." You assure her.

Skeptical, Tiffany takes your arm and leads you further into the locker room. "Are you sure?" She presses you. "Is this about Von? I saw that match with him and Bron. It was brutal."

"Yeah.... It's kind of about that. I guess." You scratch the back of your neck.

"Did Breakker ask for something he shouldn't have for helping you?" Tiffany gets to her feet, ready to fight on your behalf.

You crack a small smile at the blonde's determination to defend you if you've been wronged. "No, it's nothing like that." You shake your head. "I just...I feel bad. I asked Bron to help me. But I didn't think he'd go that far."

"Yeah, it was pretty intense." Tiffany agrees. "But you can't blame yourself, Y/N. Von was harassing you and wasn't going to stop. You did what you had to do to make it stop."

"I know I know." You nod. "But that's only part of the reason I feel bad." You admit.

Tiffany tilts her head and sits back down. "Well then what is it?" She asks you.

"I thought it was hot, okay!" You blurt out your shameful answer while staring at the floor.

Silence falls over the room for a moment. Then it is followed up by Tiffany bursting out laughing. You narrow your eyes at her as she laughs at you.

"Tiffany! It's not funny!" You whine at her.

Tiffany gets in a few more laughs before she finally stifles her laughter. "It's kind of funny, Y/N." She insists. "Why are you being so hard on yourself? It's no big deal."

"Yes, it is!" You protest. "It's not...that's not who I am Tiff." You let out a loud sigh.

"Well the fact that you're into him says differently, N/N." Tiffany giggles.

You put your head in your hands and drag them across your face in frustration. Tiffany sets a hand on your shoulder and makes you look at her again. "Look, Y/N. I get it." She smiles at you. "Bron is an attractive guy. He's not my type sure, but he's obviously yours. And he stepped up to protect you when no one else would. So why wouldn't you be into him?"

"Yeah...I guess." You nod.

Fed up with your moping around, Tiffany pops to her feet and grabs your arm. She hauls you to your feet and drags you out the locker room. You dig your heels into the floor to try and stop her, but they don't call her the Buff Barbie for nothing.

Tiffany drags you all the way down to Bron's locker room and knocks on the door with her free hand.

"Yeah?" Bron opens the door and finds Tiffany standing in the hallway.

"Bron!" Tiffany grins at the champion while still holding onto your arm with a death grip. "Y/N here is super grateful that you helped her out with that icky Von Wagner. Plus she thinks that you're super hot and hunky! So here you go! You two have fun! Toodles!" She gives you a shove toward Bron.

Your words get stuck in your throat as Tiffany shoves you into Bron's chest. You regain your balance and watch Tiffany skip off while laughing to herself before you turn back to him.

"Ummm, hey." You blink a couple of times sheepishly at Bron.

"You look cute when you're being shy." Bron flashes you a sincere smile. "Come on in. Let's talk for a while." He offers.

You look inside the spacious locker room and nod. "Yeah, okay."

[amidst-wonderland]

LOVE ISLAND (THE GAME): CHARACTER PROFILE

just beaten litg: tempting fate, so thought it'd make a wee character biography for that specific season. (i've taken some liberties with islanders of my own making and some moments i've put in on my own).

BIOGRAPHY

full name : astrid / "ash"

location : edinburgh, now london

age : twenty-three

occupation : ex-playboy bunny, now event planner

relationship status (post villa) : still in winning coupling

ICONIC VILLA MOMENTS

astrid's vt intro showing her 'bedazzled saltire playboy bunny' suit.

bombshell entrance

sneaky kiss with jin in the corridor during breakfast

telling off sophie for being a shit-stirrer

getting luna dumped

'doing bits' with jin in the hideaway

being flirty with claudia during the challenge, kissing her during the challenge.

playfully shouting, "haul, dinnae you laugh at me!" at new bombshell arrival aiden, also, from edinburgh who'd asked her on a dinner date and she'd began to burn the chicken

her friendship with fellow scot, aiden and the girls look to her for advice on sussing him out

sleeping alone after jin's dumping, the night-vision camera catches her tearing up

snogging max in the casa challenge, then bea in the dressing room

being the first to find the infamous 'casa letter' from the main villa, seeing jin snogging sienna outside of a challenge but the camera initially only shows her reaction of a bitter, "oh you little shit.", followed by iain's vo comment, "hell hath no fury like a scots woman scorned."

"right well, he's just fucking lumped me in it. nevermind the fact he's back but he's having it on with another lassie? expecting me to sit here like the virgin-fucking-mary? that'll be right."

getting nippy with emel about max when she brings up jin

'doing bits' with max on the terrace in spite of jin

twisting with max, reuniting with jin for the first time and seeing him coupled up with casa girl, sienna. she's unable to keep save-face and the girls continue to exchange looks of confusion

her icy conversations with jin, pre and post movie night. reminiscent of wes and laura's final confrontation of the, "ah swear to fuck." / "don't fuckin' speak to me." because at the end of the day, she had to bring someone back

arguing with liam across the movie night tables over bea and her 'sling yer hook' comment

coming in as an angel-inspired playboy bunny for the 'racing hearts' challenge

confronting liam, this time in front of the boys in the bedroom (whilst the girls console bea) for embarrassing bea and making her cry (also the fact he's a just a prick in general and she's over it). pointing out that bea didn't have to bring him back and at the very least he should be considerate of that. arguably the villa's biggest bust-up. the argument continues until max is able to walk astrid out of the room, leading to their first tiff. the tabloids calling her "aggy ash."

pie-ing sienna and liam. she also pretends to go into snog jin, after he'd snogged her but quickly turns to aiden

her complete inability to hold a "poker-face" in any given moment. particularly when she hears the public are still stuck on her and jin as a couple

astrid, claudia, theo and oakley's ex's coming in as the final bombshells and max getting insecure about astrid's ex who's a 6'3" irish rugby player and clearly still into her

astrid and max continuously being touchy and the camera constantly cutting to them during group chats with either his head on her chest and astrid playing with his curls or astrid holding him from behind as he sits between her legs and her chin is perched shoulder shoulder, as the public being to warm to them

having sex with max in the hideaway

aiden and astrid teaching everyone ceilidh dances at the final party before the re-coupling / final dumping

jin and astrid's final goodbye after he's been dumped for good. he whispers, "i'm sorry." to her and she coldly responds, "i know."

max's reaction to her prom dress.

[evita-shelby]

The Troublesome Trio

Dad!Jack Nelson for @call-sign-shark @thegreatdragonfruta @zablife and all those who voted for him in the poll.

Dad!Tommy will come later today or tomorrow.

Happy new year's eve y'all ✨️

Cw: small mentions of past sexual assault by a priest

Everything had been set for New Years.

Having learned his lesson about inviting the Riley-De Souza-Rosales and other surnames attached to Eva’s family over for thanksgiving, now most major celebrations were to be held in Rockwood Hall now that it has become the seat of the Riley Clan.

Gina had come once during the summer but then got into a tiff with one of the younger girls over something stupid like all teenage girls do. It had been irritating, getting interrupted in the middle of the night because Gina had learned the hard way quiet little Nayeli was the daughter of a professional spy and assassin.

He loved his niece, his only family besides Eva and the children, but she was even more of a handful than their four children at seventeen.

“Will you two be good boys for Nanny?” he asks the twin boys who turn five in May. Joseph was the more active of the two, but Junior made up for his sickly nature by being the brains.

It had been Junior who decided their mama’s pearls and daddy’s pocket watch were going to be the buried treasure when playing pirates, that they should hide in the washing machine to scare Alice the maid and even worse, switch places.

Luckily Jack knew his namesake was slightly shorter than his older identical twin brother and Eva was magical and read auras or some shit like that.

Most people, especially Eva’s older relatives like her bitch aunt Livia or her uncle Benito with the bad eyesight confused them to hell and back.

Little Jack, being his father’s son, used that to his advantage.

“Yes, sir.” The boy said as he had taught them too and for good measure Jack asked to see their hands so they don’t cross their fingers.

Even Rosie made her trouble despite her delays in growth. Took longer to walk and talk and do things other children did, but she could give most nannies a run for their money if she didn’t like you.

“Rosemary, sweetheart, daddy didn’t hear you.”

She smiled mischievously and batted her eyelashes as she bit her new sleeve to shreds, a habit they found cute even if a bit concerning, and only nodded in response.

Didn’t help at all that Rosie looked like Gina, not his niece, but his baby sister who died of consumption so she got away with things the boys could never.

“Alright, if you don’t feel like talking this morning, I’ll let it pass this once.” The gangster turned millionaire relented as he always did.

Besides the most trouble Rosie would cause would be wanting to sleep with them because of those nightmares she has of the man in the white coat.

Jack wouldn’t begrudge her that, he still has nightmares about the priest who raped his sisters and tried to do the same to him.

“How long do you think they’ll behave for, husband?” Eva asks as she settled with one year old Katherine in the passenger seat of their car.

“Won’t even make it out of the street.” It’s not that the youngest bank president in America didn’t trust their word, he just knew he and his witch would never make angels.

And sure enough they hear one of the maids find a fake spider in Kitty’s basinet as Jack pulls out of the driveway.

“It was me! It was me!” Rosie admits with joy knowing damn well she won’t get disciplined for it.

Rockwood Hall is/was the country home of JD Rockefeller and until it was demolished, the second largest house in America. Was sold in 1922 after he died, and in this universe the Rileys bought it since they were all exiled from Mexico by then.

Rosemary Kennedy was disabled and lobotomized in the 1940s at the age of 23 after her impairment worsened, we don'tknow what she had as her family kept everything including her very hidden after the lobotomy left her permanently disabled. Rosie Nelson is disabled since she is based off her.

Jack's famous first meeting with Tommy, he tells him his first kill was the priest who tried to sexually abuse him, in the fic the priest had already sexually assaulted his older and younger sisters.

[bisexual-horror-fan]

Through The Heart Is The Only Way. Chapter Eight. "I Can Fix This."

Oh fuck, here it is! I know over a month without an update but shit has been wild for me as of late, creativity was sapped hard but hopefully with this job change that will fix things, I should know very soon if I got the job! So, let’s get into this juicy update and not take too much time to get to the goods. Masterlist for the whole series is, here.

—

Rating Explicit. Length. 8.4K. Charles Lee Ray X Tiffany Valentine X FEM! AFAB! Reader. She/Her Pronouns. Warnings: Manipulation. Gaslighting. Mild Stalking. Trent Is A Fucking Creep. Emotional Vulnerability. Making Out. Dirty Talk. Teasing. Banter. Blow Job. Guided Oral Sex. Swallowing. Praise. Tiffany Is A Sweetheart. 

—

He motioned for Tiffany to come closer and she did, leaning over, his hand hiding his mouth from your view as he whispers something you cannot hear to her. She considers it before doing the same action, she says something back to him that again you can’t catch and then they are both turned back to look at you head on. He speaks up and asks, “How exactly do you plan to make it up to us?”

A great fucking question honestly and one that you really should have given some thought to before you presented them with this offer. Luckily you were smart and you thought fast and so working off the model of first thought best thought you offer up, “How about you come over to my place and we can talk this all out?”

A glance between them, the silence too much, you worried it wasn’t enough so in a slight moment of panic you add on just a touch too quickly, “I’ll cook?”

The pair shared yet another look and then Chucky says, “I think I am thirsty now. How about you Tiff?” 

“Positively dehydrated. I’m practically withering away.”  She drawled with a slight pout and you asked quickly with a nod, “What would you like?”

“You’re pretty good at picking out drinks, surprise us.” He said easily and so off you scurry back to the bar to fetch them some refreshment pronto. 

They watch as you go and unbeknownst to you a conversation is struck, him inhaling deeply from his smoke before Tiffany plucks it from his fingers and he lets her, as she takes a drag he asks, “So what do you think?”

“Dinner at her place?” She asks on an exhale and he nods with a hum,“Yeah, thoughts?” And she responds as she glances at him with a big smile, “I can’t wait.” 

“Not gonna lie, I’m impressed with the idea too, seeing how she lives, having her cook for us, it’s got a certain kinda appeal.” He says with a nudge of his shoulder to hers, she smiles, nose wrinkling with a fond muttering of, “Course you’re into this.” 

He scoffs, “Like you’re not.” She shrugs and says, “Never said I wasn’t.” A deep sigh before asking, “So how do we play it?”

“Let me lead.” He insists and she passes back his cigarette as she sighs, tucking a loose piece of blonde hair behind her ear with the other hand as she says, “I dunnoooo-”

He lets out a small groan around the smoke in his mouth, “C’mon, trust me-”

Back with you, currently on edge as you stood at the bar, nervously tapping your manicured nails on the lacquered wood, nearly whining, “Logan, come onnnn man! I’m fucking busy, I need these drinks yesterday.”

“You wanna try asking that again a little nicer this time?” He inquired as he slapped the shaker to loosen the bond before pulling it apart and pouring the mixture into the first of the two laid out glasses. 

“Lo do not test me right now, please?” You begged and he got this look on his face that you had come to know that meant he was going to deliver some truly cringe worthy joke and you cut him off with a small stamp of your heel and a smack of the tray in your hands against the bar. “I mean it. Don’t.” 

“Jesus, who pissed in your punch?” He asked with a pinched brow and you groaned, “I’m sorry just, people at my tables are being difficult tonight-”

“How difficult? What kind of difficult?” The concern was immediate, he had paused his current action of passing the now finished cocktails to you so you could put them on your tray. You really didn’t want to expend a lot of time or energy reassuring him, you wanted to get your drinks and go back to them so you simply said, “Nothing serious Lo I swear, they just want their drinks strong and service speedy.”

“Honest?” He asked, still cradling those glasses as he looked you over and the response you gave came paired with a nod, “Yes, sorry for snapping at you, it wasn't cool.” 

He stared you down for only a moment more giving over the drinks, placing them onto your tray and said, “You are lucky I am so generous and forgiving you know.”

“Yes, yes I know, you’re the best, you’re the man, I’ll stroke your ego and verbally fellate you later, alright?” You said it with a big and actually genuine smile and he returned it, “I’ll hold you to that.”

“I’m so sure.” You call from over your shoulder and you speedily make your way back to their table to find them waiting for you just as they had been, smoke stamped out in the ashtray in the centre of the table and both of them looking expectantly at you. 

You set the tray down and gave over the drinks, Tiffany taking hers with a thank you and Chucky taking the next one as he says, “Pretty fast, did you sprint?”

“In these heels? You flatter me and my waitressing ability.” The joke earns a smile and you bite back one of your own. You can’t wait, so you ask, “So have you thought over my little proposal?” 

He speaks up and says, “Yeah we talked it over and decided we are open to it.”

“Really you are?” The excitement bleeds into your tone heavily, and Tiffany leans closer, her chin on his shoulder, “Really we are. But we aren’t sold on this all yet, you still got some work to do.”

You do let yourself smile now, “Oh don’t worry I know but thank you, I don’t think you’ll regret it!”

“We better not.” He threatened, the tone makes you laugh and after that your evening is significantly lighter, they stay for a while, finish their drinks, you tend to them and so it is decided in three days time they are going to come to your place for you to make dinner and all of you to talk this through. 

Which means that now, you have a menu to plan.

The rest of your shift is good, you feel lighter and before long it is after close and you are rushing through your closing duties and everyone notices how quick you are moving, Marcy calling you out as you are quickly counting out your tips, “Your train isn’t coming that soon is it?”

“What?” You ask as you keep your mental count, bills passing through your fingers swiftly, laying out the neat piles in front of you. 

Logan joins in, mocking you, repeating what you said in a high whiny tone, “What?”

You flip him off with a sneer that makes him return the gesture with a grin and Marcy expounds, “You’ve been running around like nuts tonight, what is up with you?” 

“Nothing, just a busy night.”  You lied, as if you weren’t used to working under pressure and flourished during busy nights, as you banded up your tips. “Yeah so you said earlier when you were rushing me through making those drinks, did they like them?”

“Yes they did and thank you again for that by the way.” 

“Oh yeah no problem.” He let it hang for a moment before saying, “I seem to recall some promise of verbal fellating and ego stroking?” He reminded you and you groaned, he refused to drop it, drawing out your name in this annoying sing-songy way that had you conceding, “Okay, okay! Fucksake-”

A deep inhale, Logan nudging Marcy as he says, “This’ll be good.”

You begin your praising session towards him, the words over the top and everything he wants to hear but your tone is less than impressed. Honestly it is hilarious to listen to, Marcy is trying to stifle her laughter behind her hand and failing. “Logan, you are the best bartender in the whole city, no one makes a manhattan as good as you, I am jealous and wish I was so talented. In fact that story you tell at parties about how you invented the drink sex on the beach is totally true and next time you try to impress a girl with that I’ll wingman and back you up. There. Happy?”

“You left out the part where I am a living God amongst men but I guess that is good enough.” He assured you with a shit eating grin so large you thought it might just split his face in two. A shake of your head as you say, “I’ll make sure to slip that in next time, kay Lo?” 

Marcy turned to you and asked, “What did you do that required you to say all that to him?”

“Don’t ask.” You tell her as Jackson walks up, his coat on and yours in his grip along with your bag having snagged it from the break area, “Ready to go?”

“Dear Lord, yes.” You got up from your stool as Rachel came up asking, “You not coming out tonight?”

“Nope, something important on the docket tonight, sorry.” You tell her as you take Jackson’s hand and tug him along, he waves with his other hand calling out, “Bye guy’s, see you tomorrow.” 

Thankfully Jackson was so busy on the walk to the train station filling you in on how well his date with that busboy went that he didn’t even think to ask about what was going on with you.

It has been two days and you are struggling to come up with something adequate to serve them. Everything just doesn’t seem right and you are getting more and more frustrated, the more you think about it. You look through cook books you own, pass over elaborate meals deciding they were too tryhard, you felt that vibe didn’t fit the occasion. You remember their rant over their shared distaste for New York city and all its pretension, you didn’t want to offend or alienate or  the last thing you wanted to do was to make them think you were trying to manipulate them into forgiveness by presenting some ridiculously fancy meal. Further even if it was right, it wasn’t like you had the skills to cook something of that caliber anyway.

You searched through your other books and again over and over nothing was quite what you wanted, or within your skill level or wheelhouse, hell you even went to the library and still came up empty. 

All this thinking about food had gotten you really hungry and you’d been running around all day and so you hadn’t had dinner yet, you needed to eat before your shift too so you went to that diner you liked to frequent, the same one you had run into the duo that one rainy evening a while back. 

You sit yourself at your favourite stool at the counter and a menu is handed to you, a thank you is uttered, your eyes scanning over the laminated sheet, trying to decide what you want, breakfast or a sandwich or an entree’ or-

Inspiration hits you like a freight train. 

They loved pizza, breakfast food, this diner, they loved more easy, comforting foods.

You were making this way, way too hard, you need to keep it simple. Your lack of complex cooking skills would actually be an advantage and an asset here. The gesture of you doing this is what is really important, the effort and care, you can make a stellar version of an old classic and wow them, you had this, you could do this.

Emboldened, confidence resorted, you allow yourself to enjoy your lunch, leave an ample tip and then you go shopping for ingredients. 

Work that night was a breeze, nothing could touch you, not a thing could ruin your mood, you even indulged your co-workers post shift, went out for a drink with them and you were very glad you did so. When you go to bed that night you feel ready for tomorrow. 

You have the whole day off, when you get up you devote some time to cleaning the apartment up, making sure everything is looking good, before doing some food prep and then ensuring you are looking good. You don’t go over the top, try to go for a bit more modest and understated just elevate something you would wear at home normally. The jeans fit well, the top a little low cut but not ridiculously, a few more well picked pieces of jewellery, makeup you thought Tiffany would like and hair half up you set to work on dinner seriously. 

You lose yourself in the music on the radio and in the meal prep, you are on schedule and speaking of on schedule, they show up right on time. You hear the knock on the door and drop what you are currently doing, dish towel picked up, hands dried as you walk to answer their call, one hand slinging the slightly damp fabric over your shoulder and the other opening the door. 

The smile that crosses your face upon seeing them standing there is as natural as breathing, said smile broadening slightly as they greet you, “Hey!” 

You respond with an enthusiastic, “Hi, you’re right on time, come on in.” Stepping aside to allow them entrance. 

“Wow, l love this-” Tiffany said with a point, gesturing up and down to your whole outfit, before her head turns and she is starting to look at the space you called home, “-you look great.”

She says it so easily, as if it still doesn’t blow you away that she thinks YOU look great when she is now standing in your apartment for the first time. She is removing her coat to reveal she is in a dress that looks like it could have been painted on her, that is in a colour that suits her so well, beautiful blonde hair piled up, exposing her neck, looking just stunning and so thoroughly her. You compliment her in kind, managing to keep your voice light as you take her and Chucky’s coats, “Amazing dress Tiff.”

He was a bit more dressed down, short sleeved button up shirt, with the first few top buttons undone and slacks, you still eat it up and make sure to let him know. “Here we are going around in circles and not telling ol’ Chuck here how good he looks.”

“Finally, some Goddamn recognition.” 

“Awe sweetface, sorry for not saying something sooner.” Tiffany cooed as she leaned over, a small kiss to his cheek and you wished for the same treatment but wouldn’t dare dream of pushing for that yet before you were sure you were back in their good graces. Since it is their first time in your apartment, naturally you give them the tour.

You really liked your apartment honestly, had found a lot of ways to make it your own, knick knacks, personal touches, pops of colour to place emphasis on certain parts, since you were renting and couldn’t paint of course. You had a few windows, two in the living room on either side of where you had placed your tv, coffee table, some book shelves, and your couch. Your kitchen was nice, if not just a touch messy from you being in the middle of cooking, window was open in there to help keep it cooler so you didn’t overheat when you worked, after showing them the bathroom and your bedroom you then led them to the separate table you had that occupied the space between the kitchen and the living room. 

They hold hands as they walk around, small moments of that easy affection they have and you do your best not to let your stare linger, it hurts too much. You are reminded of what it was like for you before you all got together, a weird layer of separation, on the outside looking in. 

Shrugging off those emotions and complex feelings, you instead provide some drinks and tell them dinner will be ready soon before retreating back into the space to finish up making the food. The pair of them have to admit, especially since you were away from them at the moment, “I like her place.”

“Right? I wasn’t sure what it would look like but it’s cute, totally her.” Tiffany praised as she leaned forward on her elbows, keeping her voice low and he hummed with a nod but the conversation they had didn’t last much longer than that before you were bringing out the plates. You set them down on the table in front of both of them, you had decided to make burgers and hand cut fries, had gone to the trouble to make the patties yourself and took a lot of care to get some ingredients and put your all into this.

Tiffany is in shock. Chucky is making some joke that she can barely hear, something along the lines of, “-this is the best you could do?”

But she didn’t care, wasn’t listening at all, instead she was picking up the burger, taking a close look at it, pausing before taking a bite and practically melting. 

It tastes perfect to her. It tastes like home and like the burger her favourite diner made back in Jersey, the one her mom would get for her whenever something good happened or they had something to celebrate, big milestones, birthdays. It hits the spot perfectly, she is barely able to suppress a moan of pure delight at the flavour exploding over her tongue, and after that first bite is swallowed, eyes back open and she realises her partner is still being kind of an ass to you she refuses to set the burger down and gives him a very pointed look as you turn to go fetch your own plate.

“What?” He asks quietly when you are out of earshot, and she says simply and firmly, “You know what. Cut it out.”

“But-” He starts and she cuts him off, “It’s time to stop, Chuck.”

“Ughhh, not Chuck-” He knows he has been beat. It’s time to drop the act and stop being such a dick. He sighs and says, a hand raking through his hair before he is holding both his hands up, “Alright, alright, fine. I’ll ease up.” He picks up his own burger and after taking that first bite he too had to admit that it was a really fucking good burger.

Dinner is good.

Sharing a meal with them that you crafted with your own hands is really good, you honestly can’t remember the last time you cooked for someone other than yourself. The act of it fed a part within yourself that you hadn’t expected. 

During the meal they feel much more like the them you had been getting to know previously, throughout dinner much conversation is had, and when they complimented what you cooked it made you preen under their praise. Tiffany was hardly able to restrain another moan after another mouthful, “This is so delicious.”

Chucky asked, “Seriously, where did you learn to make a burger this good?”

“Would you believe it was the first thing I learned to make when I started cooking?” You asked and he said, “No shit. You know how to cook a lot?”

“Oh God, no, hardly. I know enough to get by, how to make a few good things for myself,” You shrugged and he looked over to Tiffany and said, “Ooh you could show her a thing or two.”

“Do you cook a lot?”  You asked.

She gave a coy sort of smile, “Well not to brag but I’ve got some skills in the kitchen.”

“She is way underselling it.”  Chucky insisted before he complimented her further by saying, “You should see her knife skills.” She said to you with a fond look on her face, “He’s such a flatterer, isn’t he?”

“I think he’s just a fan of you and honestly I can’t say I blame him.” You pluck up a fry on your plate, raise your eyebrows and look back at Chuck who asks, “We gonna be the co-founders of the Tiff fan club, you and me? What do you say?”

“I say fuck yes, obviously. We can spread the good word and convert people like that.” Punctuating the end of your sentence with a snap of your fingers. 

As Chucky dragged one of his fries through the ketchup you had placed on the table earlier, he said, “Thanks for providing my supposed, what did you call it again? Juvenile?-” A nod from you remembering your lunch you had post skating date, he then finished the thought, “-Preference.” 

“Hey it’s what you like and I’m hosting, it is the very least I could do.” You say simply. “And you didn’t provide any mayo for me?” Tiffany asked, tone taking on the hint of mock offence and you laugh. 

“You just said that is what some people in the world do, not that you like it!” You defend and she says, tone still light, “Maybe I wanna try it?”

“Maybe we should all try it next time?” You offer, your previous stance on the subject softening along with your voice, “If there is you know a…A next time.” 

None of you had talked about the real reason they are here. For you to all hash out and talk through what happened previously and with dinner mostly eaten it seemed like as good a time as any.

A hard swallow, you asked tentatively, “Will there be a next time?”

The pair shared a look, he placed his hand on hers and Tiffany’s gaze broke away from his first, looking at you, “We think we’d like there to be.”

There it is again, that funny feeling, warmth and hope in your chest.

“We just want to understand where you are coming from.” He said and you had to admit that was fair, very, very fair. 

You did think a lot about this, had every intention of giving them more information and thought a lot about what you wanted to say. 

“So. Way back when I first came to Chicago, I had a string of not so great jobs, right? But then, I got this job at this really nice restaurant and things were looking up. I discovered I am really, really good at waitressing and was finally earning some decent, consistent money.” 

A small sigh, “And there was this thing that happened while I worked there that changed everything, that made me want to stop giving out my real name and be more cautious.”

You were going to hold some back but you hadn’t talked about this in full maybe ever? And being here with them, how they were looking at you, listening, you felt safe and like maybe it was all okay. So without you really making the conscious decision it all starts to come spilling out.

“I had this regular customer, Trent, he was in finance, he loved our restaurant, had a lot of money to throw around and decided that he wanted to throw a lot of that money around on me. I kind of became his favourite waitress. It got to a point he didn’t even have to ask, everyone just knew and he would be sat in my section, I’d serve him spectacularly and he would drop just stacks of tip money on me. He’d bring in business clients and I’d help him wow them and he’d close deals, ergo more money, ergo more tips for me. It sounds great right?”

A nod from them both and on you press, a gesture of your hands as you do. “And it was, for a while.”

You take a brief pause before continuing, “Trent was a charming and funny kinda guy, he could make you feel at ease and also important all at once and I thought we had a good thing going, a simpatico relationship between worker and patron but that is all it was.”

You wished you had a drink right now.

“He apparently didn’t see it that way. So this one night, months into me knowing this guy and him coming in, he closed the place down, like stayed for hours. I can’t tell you how much he spent but it was a lot. He clinched this huge deal that was months in the making, he was feeling good about it and so he celebrated it up late. I didn’t have a ride home, I usually didn’t, but he was there and when he found out I didn’t he offered. And, like an idiot, I agreed because I’d known him for like six months, I ‘knew him’, so it was fine, right?” 

You were feeling some serious nerves as you approached this part of the story, “He had a nice car. The drive started out okay but quickly then he started asking all these probing questions…Ones that were just uncomfortable and way, way too personal. I felt small and claustrophobic, and just, weird. It felt different when I was at work with him but now I was very aware of how uhm…”

Then this laugh breaks out, small and bitter before you said, “Fucking stupid this idea was.”

Eyes closing as you go further, “It really sunk in when he made the suggestion of taking a detour to his place, he put his hand on my thigh-” You were staring down at your hands, couldn’t look at them at this moment. “-he made what he wanted from me crystal clear and I started to seriously freak out, wondering just how I could get out of this, I was having what felt like the worst panic attack ever, I could barely rein in my breathing.”

You shake your head, fight off a shiver and then say, eyes opening again, “But thankfully, we stopped at a red light and I took my chance, I unlocked my door and fucking bolted from the car. I heard him calling my name, over and over as I fled and I ran until I couldn’t hear him any longer. I got home shaken but safe that night.”

You finally manage to glance up at them, their eyes still fixed on you, before your eyes go back down and you say, “I kept working that job. He kept wanting me to serve him, I kept refusing and kept my distance as much as I could but one night he cornered me near the bathrooms and he talked at me, not to me. At me. And I hate when people do that.”

Hands curl into fists and you pull your napkin into your lap and twist it in your hands. “He asked me what happened that night? He thought we were getting along well and clicking or something. When I ran off he was totally confused, I tried to tell him that he was imagining things, that we weren’t a thing but then he got angry with me. He told me that he deserved it, I owed him for all the money he threw at me and that clearly I wanted it, he put his hands on me and I-”

You stopped. A deep breath. “I ran again. I quit on the spot. I have never been back to that restaurant, I have never seen him again and I steer clear of the financial district where I know he works.”

Tossing your napkin back onto your plate you say next, “I started lying about my name at my jobs and keeping my distance, being careful about who became my regulars, what I said, what I did. I let myself be close to my co-workers and through that I learned my story isn’t the only one like that sadly, similar things have happened to similar people in my line of work.”

You have been talking for a long time, you realise, you try to rush through the ending “Anyway after that I have always kept customers at arm's length. I started to think that they were only good for what I was there at work for anyway, money. I used em as such and I didn’t feel bad about it either, I didn’t think there were any good people left who come into the places I work at. The only good people are behind the counter, not in front of it.”

Finally you gain courage to look at them again, “Until I met you both. I didn’t think there were any good people left until I met you two.”

You clear your throat, “So uh, again, I should have been upfront and told you my real name sooner but I hope you have a better understanding of why I hide my name the way I do.”

Of course they understood now. Your forearms are resting on the table now and then you feel them, each of them taking a hand, you look up and see them staring at you, concern and worry clear in their expressions.

“We had no idea it was all like that.” Tiffany said quietly. 

Chucky cleared his own throat, gaze shifting to his partner briefly before he said, “Right, no clue but it totally makes sense why you hide your name.”

You nod once, “Yeah I uhm…It’s just easier, makes me feel safer. Harder for someone to really track me down if they are looking for the wrong name.”

“Wait, did Trent ever try to hunt-” Chucky started to ask and you cut him off, “God no, when I stopped working there he dropped it, I mean it, I’ve never seen him or heard from him again, thankfully.”

The pair relaxed slightly at that, “Okay good. But fuck, the fact you had to go through all that.” 

Tiffany agreed, “Yeah, and thanks for sharing it with us.” 

“No small thing to admit all that, especially after what you have been through.” He added on.

You felt better, much, much better for sharing it, for them understanding you, hearing you out and being so reassuring. 

“So are we okay?” You asked and Tiffany said, “Of course we are! Everything is all good, right Chucky?”

“Naturally!” He said it so easily as if it was obvious.

You breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank you so much for hearing me out. I’m glad we could work through this, work on moving past it.”

“Me too.” Tiffany said and Chucky gave you a reassuring squeeze of your hand.  

So you were all going to keep seeing each other. You felt immense relief, so much lighter, you felt a smile spreading on your face, just happy this wasn’t over and you were going to see where this went. You ended up clearing the plates, and then set to making dessert. You brought out the tray with what you had made on it. 

“Seems like you are always bringing us drinks.” Chucky mused and Tiffany said, “Right? We should bring her some drinks sometime.” 

You let out a light laugh, as you set the tray down, saying,  “Oh I’d love that.” 

Taking your seat again as you said, “I made us malts for dessert.”

“Shut up, no you didn’t!” Tiffany exclaimed and you said, “I did! Chocolate, classic.” 

Chucky was already picking up his drink and he took the first sip and he was thoroughly impressed, setting it down before saying, “Holy shit.”

Tiffany took a drink from hers too before agreeing, repeating those two words in a shocked tone that made you laugh too hard.

“So malts.” Chucky started and you nodded, “Not milkshakes?” 

The straw popped out of your mouth and you leaned closer and said, “Okay so a milkshake is bullshit in comparison, a milkshake wishes it was a malt. A milkshake is a poor excuse for a treat, lacking depth and nuance. It is cloyingly sweet and just ugh, just fucking awful-”

The pair shared a small look as you continued, “-milkshakes are just so tired, so cliche’!”

“And what makes a malt better?” Chucky dared to ask and you said, “What doesn’t make a malt better than a milkshake?”

“Better question, what makes a malt?” Tiffany asked and you proceeded to expound on the process, a small thought in the back of your mind that you were happy that you managed to finally get your own rant about something when with them.

Once the malts were done, and the small heaviness from your previous confession about what happened to you back then had totally left, it was getting late. You were about to clear away the last of the dishes and an offer to help clean them was given but you refused, brushed them off saying, “I can do it, don’t worry, you are my guests after all.”

“She’s too much.” Tiffany said and he had to agree, pitching up his voice a touch and saying in an overly cheery tone, a small shake of his head, nose scrunching as he said, “The most.”  A joke made that got his partner rolling her eyes with a smile and him snickering from the response. 

You walked them to the door, another conversation struck, “So when are we gonna meet up again?”

“Oh we might be busy for a few days, got something going on but how about we give you a call when it’s sorted and figure it out then?” Chucky offered and as you leaned against the doorframe beside your front door you agreed, “That sounds great.”

It is quiet for a moment before you say, “Thanks again for hearing me out.”

“I am really glad we did and got the whole picture.” Tiffany said as she reached out, her hand on your arm and the contact made you feel warm. 

Clearly the now obvious date was coming to an end and you wanted to reach out, wanted to touch both of them, kiss them, say goodnight properly but again the trepidation was there, not wanting to overstep. Before you could try to really think about how to initiate it, you didn't have to figure it out because she asks so sweetly, “Are you going to kiss us goodnight or?”

You try to school your expression and not appear shocked, instead you just did what felt right and natural, what they wanted from you, leaning closer and into her first. 

The second your lips touched hers, the thought that ruled over all was: God, you missed this.

The heat of her body, the taste of her tinted with her lipstick and cigarettes and the heady smell of her perfume, it was floral but not too sweet, there was more to it. Your hand comes up, touches her face softly, cups her cheek, draws her closer, you can’t stop yourself around them both, they make you feel a little out of control in a very good and very welcome way. You are such a cautious and careful person, maybe being a little more reckless, a bit more spontaneous, giving into the moment a little more is good for you?

You think that they are both good for you. 

His hand is on your wrist and you are reminded of him, you break apart from Tiffany, he has moved much closer, you don’t waste time in making sure he feels included. You race forward and kiss him next and what should have just been a simple good night kiss didn’t stay that way for very long and it was shockingly not his fault, it was hers. Your lips were encouraged to move more fervently against Chucky’s when you felt her hands on you, pushing you closer to him, his own hands meet the back of your neck and you are pressed between them, can feel her against your back. 

Her curves are almost as distracting as Chucky’s mouth, his tongue parting your lips with a tilt of his head, the taste of him invading your senses. The heat sparks in you so quickly, you had been so nervous and keyed up and distracted you had been neglecting yourself, the last time you got off was with them, over a week ago at this point and now that you were kissing him, that need rocketed back into you at a blinding pace. In three short minutes that flew by you were feeling less than steady, hands on him, needing to cling a little closer to him to stay standing upright. Tiffany’s hands slide up your arms, squeeze your shoulders when she reaches them, she leans in closer and you feel her lips brush the shell of your ear, “Seems like you are really into this.”

A hum, refusing to break the kiss with Chucky, particularly when he bit your bottom lip, you were very into this. He was the one to break it, asking,  “Did you miss us?” 

“So much.” You breathed, “Too much.”

“Not sure I believe you.” His tone did something to you, made your need sharper. Still nearly pressed to you, from how you were holding onto him, 

“How can I prove M’ serious?” 

Tiffany says then, “I think I have a way you can.” You felt her hands starting to push down and you took the hint, sinking to your knees. As you sank down, your hands slipped with you, trailing down his sides until they were resting on his hips for a moment before you started to go for his belt. You had thought about this a lot, about finally returning the favour, you thought you’d never get the chance when your little lie came out, but now here you were in your apartment, things smoothed over, safe and warm and in between them, about to do what Tiffany suggested back in that diner, about to “indulge.”

“Oh she is so eager.” The mirth in the blonde’s voice made you smile, the belt in your hands now open, busying fingers with the fly and zipper you say, “Can’t help it, s’ been a long time coming.” 

The hands still on your shoulders squeeze again, “I’ll say, how many times have we both gotten you off so far?” She teased and you say, “Oh at least two each, I got some catching up to do.”

“Damn right.” Chucky affirmed, you could hear the grin on his face. 

You stifled a laugh as you started to pull the fabric down his hips, there was something about this, all of this, that made you feel good, the cocky confidence was worn much too well by him and you found it more amusing than you probably should. 

But the giggles died when you got his pants down, you had felt him, hell, you had him in your hand, made him cum, but you also had Tiffany partially undressed and grinding on your thigh so you were a bit distracted at that particular moment. In fact you had been pouring over that hook-up a lot after it was over, moments break into your mind unbidden constantly as you appreciate it in a way you couldn’t when so caught up with satisfying them and yourself, mind and body overtaken by baser urges to chase sensation.

Now, you could take some time, breathe, really take him in while still in this moment, rather than upon reflection. Fingers hook in the waistband of his underwear before you tug down and are greeted with a more than generous handful of him, hot, heavy and thick mere inches from your face. 

You look up, catch him already look at you and his stare, fuck, it’s intense, just like that first night you met him. It makes you clench around nothing, the still confident grin on his face almost screams, “It’s not gonna suck itself.”, even though he doesn’t actually say that, the energy radiating off of him showed he didn’t have to verbalise it, to get the point across.

More wetness seeps into your panties and without breaking eye contact your hand reaches out and closes around him, you watch the shift in his expression as you do, starting to stroke slowly, purposefully before leaning in, your tongue peeks out from between your lips and you lick, tongue on bare skin for the first time. The taste of salt and pre-cum is a good one, to be honest, one you hadn’t tasted in too long. It makes your eyes break away, wanting to roll back but instead you lean closer, tongue runs from base to tip before your lips close around the head of his dick, nestling into that sensitive ridge before it becomes the shaft and you suck. 

Tongue lathes over, he moans, you are further emboldened and you set to work.

The pace and rhythm is easy, it feels startingly natural considering the amount of time since you last went down on someone, but hey, you’ve known your way around a dick for a damn long time, it isn’t exactly something you forget, especially when you enjoy it as much as you do. 

Is oral your favourite thing? Hard to say, you think pleasing your partner is your favourite and being on your knees is a fantastic way to accomplish that, one you have a lot of skill and natural talent at, it makes whoever is receiving feel special, important, cared for, right? Appreciative of the effort being expended. You liked pleasing, feeling useful, it fuels you, turns you on further. 

Speaking of being turned on further, Tiffany sinks down beside you, her hands hadn’t left you this whole time, leaning in closer, clearly watching and that thought is amazing, her watching you please her man with rapt interest, more than all this, I mean she suggested it. 

“You really seem to be enjoyin’ yourself.” 

A hum around your mouthful, fingers still locked around the base as you bobbed up and down the length of him, another moan ringing out from above you and Tiffany asked, “Feels good sweetface?”

You suck harder, take him in deeper and he groans out, “Fuck! Yes, so good, she’s, ugh, so-” That same hand slides down, cups and toys, he feels full, heavy, you know the load is going to be impressive. 

“Sooo?” Tiffany asks, “C’mon Chucky, expound.” 

He opens his mouth to try and do so but you take him deeper still, tongue pressed to the underside of his shaft as you pull back up and any attempt at praise is broken into another strangled sound of pleasure. “Damn, you really are good! What a talented mouth on you. It isn’t easy to make him speechless.” 

“But I think it can still be better.” She sighs, she moves, fingers brush over your neck, you shiver before her hand is on the back of your head and asks so sweetly, “Can I give you some pointers?”

Who knew better how to please him than her? You also are very turned on by the idea. You nod, refusing to break stride and she says, “Good girl.”

Her fingers grip and she pushes and pulls you, changing up the rhythm, leading you as you blow him, and you follow along no problem. She speaks right in your ear, “Oh there you go.”

Her praise makes you squeeze your thighs together, “Okay, now, pull up more, mmhmm, good now I want you to-” She told you just how to swirl your tongue around the tip in a way that made his knees get visibly weak and you are dying over how great this all is. 

In another two minutes of her guiding you, telling you how good you were doing, how hot this was and you looked, Chucky had to lean against your door for more support as you practically sucked like your life was dependent on it. “Do you know how long we have been talking about this?” 

You hum with a small shake of your head, not wanting to stop, you could feel if you kept it up he would be at his end soon and you wanted it, so, so badly. 

“Wanna tell her?” She asked and he ran a hand through his hair, a nod, a hard swallow and he tried, “Fu-fuck, she kept going on and on this one night, God, about how she wanted to do fuckin’ this, this shit right here-” He gestured down to you and looking at you and her, staring up at him, his dick half in your mouth, it made him pulse on your tongue and you know he isn’t going to last. 

“About you, being on your knees and her watching, seein’ how you like to do it and how much I wanted to feel it an-and fuck, don’t stop-” The light thunk of his head hitting the wood of your door as another groan leaves him brings you so much satisfaction, “You heard him, don’t stop. He’s real close. Don’t you want him to cum in your mouth?”

Of course you wanted that, you wanted it more than you thought you wanted air in your lungs, your mind was swimming, so totally lost in this moment, in them and what they had confessed. They had talked at length about you in this very scenario, she was filling you in further. You hum the affirmative, hand moving in tandem with your mouth as you take him, a bit messy at this point, spit acting as lube, gliding along with ease, movements just a tad sloppy but undeniably passionate in a very endearing fashion, giving away just how invested you were in this, in the now. “Of course you want it.”

She was whispering in your ear, as if sharing a secret even though you know he knows whatever she is about to divulge, the act still makes you feel special. One of her hands running teasingly down your side as she tells you, “I was on my knees for him last time we talked about it, I played pretend and did to him what I thought you would do.”

Jesus fucking Christ they were going to kill you.

“But seeing it? I gotta say, I didn’t do it justice. You look so, so much better than I ever could have dreamt up.” Her praise is punctuated by that hand leaving your side and palming one of your breasts through the top you had on. 

Then you hear it, him above you, all your work and effort, which while it was impressive, wasn’t that long, him warning you, “Gonna cum, fuck-”

“Ooh, what are you gonna do?” Tiffany asks, louder so he can hear and you don’t even have to think, you look up at him, stare into his eyes and feel it happen, your hand slips away and you push yourself, take him as deep as you can reasonably allow without gagging yourself and he spills into the wet warmth of you. The moan of your name, your real name, the one that when revealed almost unravelled all this and fucked everything up, it passes his lips and the feeling it invokes is as if you have only just really heard it for the first. You didn’t think you could like the sound of your own name so much, but just like with many things you had experienced with them so far, you are proven wrong once again. 

You swallow him with ease, took all he had to offer before you slowly and carefully pulled him out of your mouth, looking up to see the state he is in; his pants open and sitting low on his hips, hair worse for ware from where he had dragged his hand through it, trying to catch his breath and recover post orgasm. 

You feel good, really, really good. You feel better when you hear the soft laugh beside you, her hugging you from behind, her chin on your shoulder as she says, “Oh she swallows! No prompting or anything.” 

Chucky laughed, this breathless amused kind of laugh as he began righting himself, pushing away from the door, doing up his pants, “Yeah she’s a keeper.”

Letting out a laugh yourself, the back of your hand smacks him gently on the thigh as you say, laced with affection, “Asshole.” 

Your knees ache from kneeling on hardwood, you lean back into Tiffany’s hug before asking him, “Help me up?”

“Yeah I gotcha.” He takes your hands as Tiffany untangles herself from you and he helps you stand up. 

You are wondering about what to do for her when she is handing him his coat and plucking up hers from your coat rack. “And what about you?”

“What about me?” She asks, you think she is playing dumb for a joke but you go further anyway, “Don’t you want me to-”

She leaned forward, cuts you off with a kiss that has you melting before she pulls back, “Appreciate the offer but I’m okay and we have to get going but this?”

“Was amazing, totally amazing.” He finished her thought as he pulled his arms through the sleeves of his jacket, and she agreed doing the same, “Yes completely, but it’s late and we gotta get going, I wish we could stay.”

You wanted to tell them,”So stay. If you want to, then stay.”

But you just fixed things, you didn’t want to push, you realise yourself and that tonight was a big step for you all, it’s fine, there will be time for more in the future. You need to give them space and honestly, you think you need some yourself. So you know it’s all good, especially when she says, “We mean it, we’ll call you soon about going out again.”

So instead you say, “Sounds great.”

Another goodnight kiss is shared, this one more chaste then the one previously, you joke, “Good to know you aren’t one of those guys who doesn’t kiss a girl after she swallows your load.” 

That gets a good laugh out of the pair, another joke from him, “You dunno how tolerant I am of bodily fluids.” 

“Yours or other peoples?” You follow up as you open the front door, and as they breeze past you and take a step out the door, she says as, “Wouldn’t you like to know? Goodnight-”

And she said your name, it makes you feel just like how it did when he said it earlier. He follows up with his own, “Yeah goodnight, get home safe.”

The jokes never stop and you say, “I’ll try, night.”

You close the door, walking into the kitchen you see the sink full of dishes and decide to leave them for tomorrow, you turn off the light and think about that question she asked. You go into your bathroom to start getting ready for bed and her voice vibrates around your skull, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

You think you really would.

[chefkids]

Have you considered making a list of all the predictions/possibilities and then checking off which are right?

Some of these are serious and some of these are not so serious

Tina goes full Mom on Sydney

We see flashback of Tina being a mom and starting off at The Beef

Mikey trying to set shit on fire

Richie flashback to Tiff leaving him because he's spending so much time trying to take care of Mikey

Richie accepts that it's over with Tiff

The staff hates Carmy, loves Syd

Richie plans on quitting but is convinced not to

Sydney gets sick/burnout and is forced to take time off

Carmy is put on time out for being insane

Nat, Tina and Richie threaten Carmy about how he's acting and how Sydney will leave him

Carmy meets Emmanuel

Syd meets Donna

Carmy helps Syd move to her apartment

Sydney throws up on Carmy

Sydney avoids signing the partnership agreement

Syd gets him to write up a new partnership agreement in her terms at the end of the season

Sydney calls out the I'm sorry sign for being useless

Carmy draws something specifically for Sydney, not just using the menu planning as an excuse

Carmy makes an overtly romantic move on Sydney

Nat, Tina, and Richie makes comments about the nature of Syd and Carmy’s relationship

Nat asks Carmy why he’s actually doing all of this when he had said “Fuck stars” and why he’s doing all of this for Syd and he finally opens up about his feelings to her

Carmy cooks for Sydney

Syd and Carmy table scene part 2 things go bad and she turns Carmy down

Big sydcarmy fight happens about her leaving and he basically says "I can't do this without you" and she says "Well I can, I did do it without you"

Sydney is offered a job somewhere else, tells Carmy she’s going to take it, but doesn’t in the end

Carmy tries to shut down The Bear cause he doesn't want to do it without Syd

Sydney has a feelings realization moment like Carmy did with the panic attack

Carmy tells Syd "I love you" while apologizing

Sydcarmy kiss goddammit!!! It's time!!!

They receive bad reviews that send Syd and Carmy in a spiral

Marcus receives some sort of high praise or award

Carmy gets credited for Syd's dish, rivalry/jealousy conflicts for how he's getting recognition and she's not

Power outage at the restaurant again

Carmy/Syd starts a fire at The Bear, probably Carmy sleep cooking

Carmy hallucinations/sleepwalking nightmares while cooking

Carmy ingests hallucinogenic mushrooms, accidentally

Sydney stabs Carmy

Someone yells at Sydney and then something awful happens to them #sydkarma

Carmy has a dream about Syd

Carmy's old Chef actually comes to The Bear

The Bear Cookbook offer

Natalie is mad at Donna because she thinks she didn't show up to F&F night

Ebra's sandwich window is popping off

OG neighborhood locals hate on the restaurant and try to sabotage it

Marcus makes a new donut

Marcus handles grief pretty well actually, meanwhile Syd and Carmy respiral with their own mommy issues/death grief

Carmy becomes paranoid about every guy after he finds out Marcus ask Sydney out

Luca offers Marcus a job

Carmy avoids going into the walk in for a while

Richie/Fak try to secretly set Carmy and Claire up in a “chance encounter” so he’ll see her again

Claire tries to get back with Carmy because Fak tells her that he loves her

Carmy turns down Claire and tells her he was not in love with her

The extended Faks try to beat up Carmy

Claire connects the dots between Syd and Carmy

Fak realizes Carmy likes Syd and is completely shook

Pete tells them they have a very very small chance of meeting Jimmy's payment deadline

Donna apologizes to Nat and Carmy

Donna gives them the money to save The Bear. Sells her house?

Chris Storer is forced to respond to his crimes

[vexic929]

Have an angst prompt!

"Shit- no, hey, don't move. I've got you."

Oh I do love an angst prompt~

info on Bernadette and Tiff here and here

OCs are mine but based on Titans characters

Break-ins at the lab didn't happen often. S.T.A.R. had some of the best security available, developed in-house and maintained on a regular basis. But, that was before the Sanguine Sister incident, when most of the personnel had been brutally and ruthlessly murdered, including everyone who'd ever maintained the equipment. It hadn't been easy to clear the blood from the electronics and there were still dark stains in the grout on the main floor but, Bernadette thought they'd managed well enough.

Bernadette jumped about a foot when the first alarm tripped, shaken from her late-night musings as she scrambled for the nearest monitor to switch on the security feed. Nothing. But the alarm was still going. She flipped it off with shaking hands and took a breath. Everything was fine, Sanguine Sister had been banished to some other dimension far away from here.

The alarm went off again. Bernadette pored over the security feed, searching for any sign of the mystery intruder but to no avail. Maybe a meta?

She pulled out her phone and checked the time. 2:30am, Tiff was probably busy on patrol right now, she didn't need Bernadette interrupting. She turned off the alarm again and set her phone down, trying to calm her racing heart.

The alarm went off again. Before her brain had caught up, her fingers had already picked up the phone and called Tiff. Bernadette tried to take a breath to compose herself but she felt like she couldn't breathe.

"Hey, baby, is everything okay?" Tiff asked, immediately concerned when she answered. Bernadette could hear the sound of the streets in the background, the low hum of city life that was usually a comforting sound.

"False alarm," Bernadette croaked, her voice tight with panic as she slammed the button to turn off the alarm again. "I think. I can't be sure, I can't find anything on the feeds but the alarms keep going off." She was trying to stay calm but her words were coming faster and faster and Bernadette could feel herself starting to hyperventilate.

"Stay where you are. I'll be there in five." Tiff said firmly.

"No- don't come here, please. You're busy. It's probably just a glitch in the system and I don't need you wasting your time on it." Bernadette argued weakly.

"Baby," Tiff's tone turned serious. "I'm on my way. Sit tight and try to breathe." She hung up before Bernadette could protest any further.

Bernadette scolded herself for being so irrational as she folded herself further into the desk chair and brought her knees up to her chest. The alarms hadn't even gone off when Sanguine Sister had attacked, she'd been undetectable until it was too late, so why was she panicking now?

The alarm went off again. Bernadette let out a little whimper and buried her face in her hands. The sound was too much, too loud, too much like screams and blood and death. She felt like she was spiraling, falling down the rabbit hole into darkness.

"Hey." A hand touched her shoulder and Bernadette jumped again. "Shit- no, hey, don't move. I've got you." Tiff's soothing voice filled her ears as she wrapped her arms around Bernadette's trembling frame.

"Oh god, Tiff-" Bernadette choked out before letting out a sob and burying her face in Tiff's shoulder.

"It's okay, baby, it's okay." Tiff rocked her back and forth gently, whispering calming words in her ear. "You're safe, you're here with me. I've got you."

"I-I'm sorry-" Bernadette gasped, trying to compose herself.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Tiff said firmly. "Do you want me to go have a look around or do you just want to go home?" She asked, rubbing circles on Bernadette's back.

Bernadette took a few deep breaths. "I can't go home, I'm not done-"

"Baby," Tiff interrupted, pulling back slightly to wipe Bernadette's cheeks. "You cannot work like this. You shouldn't be working yet anyway, it's only been a couple weeks. You need rest."

Bernadette sighed, leaning forward to rest her forehead against Tiff's and closing her eyes. "I know. I'm just-"

"Shh..." Tiff shushed her, brushing her lips against Bernadette's in a gentle kiss. "Come on, let's go home. We can cuddle on the couch, eat our weight in ice cream, and watch bad movies til we fall asleep." She grinned.

Bernadette couldn't resist a small smile, her shoulders relaxing slightly. "Okay. Fine. I love you."

"I love you too." Tiff helped Bernadette out of the chair and wrapped an arm around her waist, supporting her as they made their way out of the lab. "And next time, just call me right away, okay? I'm always here for you. Always."

[blckbarbiedoll]

Ghost Of You (M.B.)-Chapter 23

Wish You Were A Better Man

2020-Chicago, Illinois

Sunlight peeked through the drapes that sat in front of the windows. Angie yawned and reached over for her husband, just like she did every morning, but was met with her daughter instead. The eight year old laid next to her sound asleep. Angie carefully got up and headed into the kitchen.

"Morning!" Pete smiled as he flipped a pancake.

"Hey."

"You hungry?" Nat asked.

"Not really." She sat down at the table and poured a cup of coffee.

"How're you feeling?" Nat grabbed her friend's hand and squeezed it.

"I've been better."

"Hey, Mikey keeps calling me." Pete told her. "Should I answer?"

"No." The women answered in unison.

"Oh. Okie dokie then."

"Pete, we need to talk." Nat told her husband. "Why don't you go...do something?"

"Okay." He turned the stove off and took a plate into another room.

"There ain't one thought behind those eyes." Angie sighed, taking a sip of her coffee.

"So, are you gonna tell me the full story now?"

"I told you last night."

"You didn't tell me where you got that bruise from."

Angie pulled her sleeve down to cover the purple mark on her wrist. "It's not what it looks like."

"Did Michael hurt you?"

"No. It's not like that. He didn't mean to."

"Angie-"

"He just grabbed me."

"But-"

"I'm fine, Nat. For real."

"Okay."

"You got anything stronger than coffee?"

"It's eight in the morning."

"And?"

"Mommy?" Sophia asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, baby. How'd you sleep?"

"Good."

"Yeah?"

"When are we going home?" Sophia sat down next to her mother.

"We just got here, baby."

But I miss Daddy. Is he coming over too?"

"No, your dad's gonna be at home."

"Are you mad at him?"

"No, baby. I'm not mad at him. We just had a little argument."

"Are you gonna get separated like Uncle Richie and Auntie Tiff?"

Natalie looked at Angie and sighed. Angie grabbed Sophia's hand and smiled.

"I don't want you to worry about things like that. We just needed a little break. Everything's fine."

"Okay."

"How 'bout we do something fun today?" Nat spoke.

"We could go to the movies." Sophia told them.

"I think that's a great idea."

🤍

"Night, baby." Angie kissed Sophia's cheek and stood up.

"Mommy?" Sophia sat up against the pillows.

"Hm?"

"Can I say goodnight to Daddy?"

Angie sighed and sat back down on the bed. "Of course you can." She pulled out her phone and pressed on his contact.

Sophia smiled and took the phone as it rang.

"Ange?"

"Hi, Daddy."

"Hey, honey."

"You sound sad."

"No, no, no. I'm alright, baby. I'm just tired."

"Oh."

"You having fun at Auntie Sugar's?"

"Yeah. I miss you though."

"I miss you too, baby. But you're gonna be back home soon. Don't worry."

Angie rolled her eyes and looked down at her hands in her lap.

"Mommy misses you too."

Angie looked up at her daughter and gave her an unimpressed look.

"She does?"

"Mhm. Even though she won't say it."

"Soph, it's time for bed."

"I gotta go, Daddy." The little girl sighed.

"It's okay. I'll call tomorrow."

"I love you."

"I love you too, princess. Sleep tight."

Angie took the phone back and shut the lights off in the room before walking out. She held the phone up to her ear and sighed.

"You gonna come home?"

"I don't know."

"I've been sober for over twenty-four hours."

"Is that because you wanna get better, or because I flushed your shit?"

"Angie, cut me some slack here. I'm trying."

"Cut you some fucking slack?" She scoffed. "That's all I do, Michael. I defend you, and make excuses for you, and I lie to our daughter so that she won't know that her father's a junkie."

"Don't call me a fucking-" He paused and took a deep breath. "I'm not a junkie."

"I am tired, Michael. I'm so tired of-"

"Of me?"

"Of your problems." A tear fell down her cheek. "There was only so much weight I could carry before I cracked."

"And how do you think I feel?"

"Michael-"

"What happened to us, Angie? We were so good."

"You know what happened."

"Please, Ange." She heard his voice crack."I just want you back."

"I can't do this right now. I gotta go, Michael."

"Ange."

"What?"

"I love you."

"I know." She sighed. "I just wish you were a better man." She hung up the phone and buried her head in her hands.

Natalie walked out of her room and joined Angie in the hallway. "You okay?"

"No."

She sat down on the floor and patted her lap. Angie followed her actions and sank to the floor, laying her head in the blonde's lap.

"I got you." Nat whispered, gently running her hands through Angie's locs.

“I don’t think it’s worth it.”

"You have to ask yourself a question. Is the good worth the bad?"

That was the question that replayed in Angie's head. Was it worth it? Did the happiness outweigh the sadness?

"I don't know."

"It's okay. You don't have to know right now."

"I don't wanna talk about it anymore." She sniffled and wiped her face.

"We don't have to talk. We can just sit."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. We'll just sit."

[cas-skz]

Behind Closed Doors (Part 3.2)

Pairing: Choi San x Reader

Word Count: 1,057

Summary: Meeting again so soon doesn't give you much time to think about your new realization

Warnings/Tags: 18+, MDNI, Language, Alcohol, Mature Content, Fluff

Written by: @littleforeignaffairs

Writers note: Hi all, Thank you for reading and showing your interest! The story is not over, but this will be the last part posted for a short time. This is my last completed part. So please, stay tuned ❤️

Part 1.1 Part 1.2 Part 2.1 Part 2.2 Part 3.1

Walking from the office to your place felt like you had been set on auto pilot. Your mind empty from every though except why Mr Choi would be so upset. Other than the obvious: He's your boss. You probably put him in a really bad situation.

"Wait" You stop dead in your tracks. "He started it!"

You scoff to yourself, slamming your door shut after entering your place. You undress from your office clothing, dropping your panties down your legs. You stare down at them, stained with a mix of both yours and his cum. The thought of it was exciting still. But the thoughts of lust turned to guilt once again.

“No, stop it” You scold yourself. You’re both equally at fault. You nod once, reassuring yourself and get into the shower.

* *

You walk into the club, heading straight for the back. You catch Tiff’s eyes at the bar and lift your hand to wave. She raises her brows, motioning at the bar with her chin.

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

Of all nights, why did he have to come now. You sigh heavily, sneaking to the back room to change.

“He was asking for you” Tiffs voice cut the silence.

“Doesn’t he always” You retort. Tiff looks at you taken a back.

“Sorry” You say quickly. You tuck your stray hairs under your wig cap, resting your wig on top. Tiff lays a hand on your shoulder

“What the hell happened to you”

You groan and turn to face Tiff

“Well lets see, about 2 hours ago his dick was inside me and I rode the shit out of him”

"What!?" Tiff bursts into laughter “This is gold”

“Tiffany!” You scowl.

You rarely use her name in full, so she knew the frustration you felt. You turn away from her, pointing at your back for her to tie you up.

“Listen” She started “He comes looking for you here a couple times a week. Why don’t you just confront him. It’s clear he likes you”

You look at yourself in the mirror as Tiff tightens your corset top. You straighten your masquerade type accessory on your face and sigh, looking yourself over.

“Because” You sigh “Here, he is a client. I’m another girl here to serve drinks and entertainment. At the office..” You pause a moment thinking of how black and white your two jobs were. Yet they were the same. “I guess I serve his every need at the office too”

You breathe in deeply, preparing yourself and walk out front. You greet a few customers the same way you usually do: a couple smiles, some hands teasingly touching their chests or shoulders. It felt as normal as it usually does. But once you get to the bar and see San sitting there, the feeling of bricks lay on your chest. You swallow hard and resume your act. You touch your hand onto his shoulder, grazing your fingers from one to the other

“Papi, you came to see me” You smile sweetly at him.

He turns his head slightly to look at you. His face tinted with a rosy colour, eyes slightly heavy. He’s been drinking, clearly already had a buzz on. You kept your smile, though you felt a tinge of disappointment.

"Is he drunk because of what happened"

His arm slips around your waist, tugging you into him. His lips pull into a goofy smile,

“Always, for my number one girl”

You press your lips together tightly, sighing a little laugh.

"Even though an hour ago you were fucking your assistant"

You watch him as he picks up his glass, the ice clinking around. He takes another sip. You feel awkward, almost like you’re with a married man. But the longer you think about it, you feel like an idiot.

"I’m jealous… of MYSELF."

You sigh, slinging your arms around his neck.

“What can I do for Papi tonight?”

The smile on his face slowly disappears. He raises a hand at the bar tender, signaling for another drink.

“Sit with me” He murmurs, looking back to you. You purse your lips slightly and nod. You start to sit on the stool next to him, but he grabs your hand.

You look at your hands then to his face

“Can we use a back room” You stay silent for a moment.

You glance around the club, looking for Tiff. You see her across the way, you cock a brow and motion towards the back with your head. She nods. You smile softly at Mr Choi and start guiding him out back.

You allow him to sit in the solo seat, he keeps hold of your hand. You keep your eyes on him, watching him carefully. He doesn’t appear to be that drunk. He looks up to you and smiles gently. He pats his lap lightly and gives a tug on your hand to sit.

You sit on his lap, placing your held hands on your lap. The two of you sat in silence for a while. The room feels heavy. Though you're curious, you don’t want to push Mr Choi to speak. Your job is to do ask he requests, which right now is to sit with him.

Mr Choi leans back a little in the chair, keeping his hands with yours. He intertwines his fingers with yours and runs his thumb on the back of your hand. Every once in a while, you had a night like this with him. One where you just sat together quietly. You always assumed that it was just because of stressful days from work and life in general.

It made you feel sad for him. That he didn't have anyone to talk to, or just spend time alone with. It feels different knowing you may be the cause of his hindrance tonight. It hurt your heart more.

You separate one of your hands from his and rest it on the nape of his neck. You gently smooth the back of his hair. He closes his eyes as a small smile pulls his lips. The sight makes you smile as well, knowing that you’re able to be a comfort to him. Your mind thinks back to Tiffs words

“Do you like him. Like, you know LIKE like”

You chew on your bottom lip

I do…