#9 hours late but woohoo!!!!!!!!!

[sunnyie-eve]

9 | Crashing

Series: Unexpected

Paring: (Matt Sturniolo x OFC Brock!) (Chris Sturniolo x OFC Brock!)

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: none

| MASTERLIST |

~

Dani walks up to the triplets hotel room door knocking on it and Nick opens the door with a smile, "Good morning." He lets her in and she sees Chris and Matt were still asleep.

"Why did you tell me to come so early?" Dani asks as he takes her suitcase putting it aside since they said she could crash with them since Sam and Colby already left Austin and she was going to leave with the triplets.

"And let you wonder around since you already had to check out?" He gives her a look, "They should be getting up soon anyways."

The two sit in the bed watching tv till Matt wakes up, "Is Dani really here or am I seeing things?" He rubs his eyes.

"I'm really here. Been here for about almost on hour now." She looks back away him as she was at the end of the bed.

"What time is it?"

"Time to get the fuck up." Nick pulls the blanket off him.

"Like would they still have breakfast?" Matt asks so Dani looks at her watch and tells him yes so he gets up finding clothes to wear for the day before going to the bathroom to change.

"Guess he hungry." Nick gets up from the bed.

When Matt comes out of the bathroom he puts his shoes in and grabs his wallet and key to the room. "Nick, what are you doing?" Dani watches him record Chris asleep walking over to him.

"Dani, last minute breakfast. Come on." Matt whines for her at the door.

"I gotta put on my shoes dude." She walks over to them as Nick tries to wake Chris up asking if he wanted a drink of lemonade, "That's so rude." Dani slowly walks over to the door.

Matt gets annoyed and grabs Dani by the arm, "I'm hungry."

"Okay Matt!"

Going down to the lobby Matt asks if she wanted to go to the diner but it wasn't open, "That's fucked."

"Let's check the self serve breakfast." Matt turns away from the diner.

"Woohoo, I don't have to buy then." Dani celebrates as they walk and eat whatever they had in there that looked fine to eat.

After they eat and go back up to the room Chris was up and slowly get ready to head out for the day, "Oh, hello Dani." He gives her a tired smile.

"Morning Chris."

While they go out for the day the guys wanted to stop at a store they have been to in the past in their tour to get more clothe.

"Are you not going to get anything?" Nick asks Dani but she was in her own world dancing and singing a song in her head.

"OH!" She sees him looking at her, "Umm, I have too many." She tells him.

"You can never have too many." Chris tells her.

"Let me show you my closet."

"I've seen it on facetime so trust her." Nick tells his brother, "It's ridiculous and she still couldn't find an outfit for her date."

"Oh Nick, thoughts?" She fines a cute shirt and he agrees with her.

"That looks like it fits a toddler." Matt laughs looking at it as he takes the camera now.

"I'm a size of one." Dani giggles.

"You're like 3ft." Chris jokes with her.

"4'11!" She rolls her eyes walking off.

The day kinda flys by and soon it was night and they were going out to eat again. "We're about to eat nice Austin Tx pizza." Chris rubs his hands together cold.

"And she's paying for Matt still." Nick turns to film Dani walking down the sidewalk so she smiles, "We're eating pizza because we've had barbecue twice." Nick explains to the camera.

"I regret not doing anything alone because Matt gets free food." Chris huffs.

"Too late." Matt laughs at him.

"Maybe next time, who knows." Dani tells Chris before they go inside to eat.

While the boys sit at a table, Dani goes to the bathroom to clean up to eat. As she was leaving the bathroom her phone rang and it was Colby.

"Hey hey." She answers him.

"You're still in Texas? You didn't get a flight back home today or to LA to stay with Hallie for a while?"

"I don't know which place I wanted to go yet. But I got a flight for home tomorrow." She lets him know.

"So you're just wondering Austin Texas alone right now?"

"No, I'm with the triplets. We're at a restaurant right now." She lets him know.

"How did you find a hotel last minute?"

"I didn't. Nick is letting me crash with them in their room tonight. And before you lose your shit because I know how you are... I'll be fine. And I'm sure I'll share with Nick since we're friends." She huffs leaning against the wall as she explains to him.

"I'll see you when you get home. Love you." He hangs up so she goes over to the boys.

"I love meatballs." Chris eats his.

"I'm gonna rank this meatball. How I'd rank my children one day." Matt jokes getting his to eat.

Chris and Dani both make a face at that, "Bro is ranking his kids."

While they eat Nick had to get up to use the bathroom so he gives Dani the camera to film them eating, "Your rate?" Dani asks Chris.

"10/10 ball"

"10/10 ball, Matt?" Dani slides over in front of him, "What do you rate them?" She asks as he chews his, "Matty?" She leans on the table to move the camera super close to his face.

"An eight. I'd say 8 out of 10." he gives an answer as Chris takes the camera from Dani to film her.

"What do you say Dani?"

"They're alright." She nods her head eating hers as Nick comes back to the table.

"This is feeling like how grandma's balls felt." Nick says and the three laugh.

"10 is insane." Matt tells Chris.

"You're insane." Chris says so Matt stares at him.

"It's like a seven." Nick gives his rate.

"I pick a middle between 7 and 8 but definitely not a 10." Dani goes more into detail about a rate.

When their pizza gets to the table Dani smiled at it since it looked good, "I like the thin cut." Chris picks up a slice, "Ooh super..."

"That's not good." Matt looks at it.

"It's okay." Dani eats a slice, "I'm a pizza person after burgers." She tells them.

"Honesty..." Matt chews his bit looking at the slice.

"I'll tell ya, I'm enjoying this."

"Honesty, worst flop I've ever seen." Matt finishes his sentence, "I'm being honest."

"Harsh review." Chris keeps eating.

"Matt, shush and eat it because I'm paying." Dani tells him as she eats.

"The meatballs were good."

"I'll take the meatballs over it any day this is a 6.5." Chris says his take on the pizza.

Matt shakes his head no, "Five."

"I'll give it a 6. I've had better before." Dani says picking up her Dr. Pepper.

"I feel like..." Matt looks at the wall with the people.

"What you keep pointing at them for?" Chris asks making Dani laugh.

"Too much. They had something to do with this pizza." Matt says and that makes Dani laugh more.

After their dessert Dani lays down since Nick got up to use the restroom the same time as Matt had to go before the leave. Chris takes the camera off the table and records Dani laying down on the other side.

He leans over to see her under the table, "She's full. She's ready to leave." He laughs at her starring off into space till she looks over at him.

"Really Chris?" He just laughs at her so she covers her face, "Stop." She whines tired from being out all day.

Once they get back to the hotel, they guys fight over sleeping arrangements because Chris didn't want to share a bed with Matt.

"Every time we share a bed he steals the blanket." Chris points at him.

"Well you two have to because Dani is sharing the bed with me because we're friends and she hardly knows you two. Do you really want to make her feel uncomfortable?" Nick tries to get it settled.

"Honestly, I don't mind. I tired and as soon as my head hits the pillow, I'll be out." Dani says walking to the bathroom, "Now you two can fight about who shares with who."

Both Matt and Chris look at each other and before they could start to argue about who will share a bed with her out of the two of them, Nick points at Matt, "You'll share with Dani. Chris you're with me so they get the bed you had alone."

"Just curious why Matt?" Chris asks plopping down on the bed.

"Because the other day she spent more time alone with Matt, only cause the elevator stopped working, so she knows him the best second." Nick explains his reason. "You're sharing a bed with Matt." He lets Dani know as she walks out of the bathroom.

"Okay."

The whole night, Matt tries to make sure to stay far on his side of the bed and keep his back towards her so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable. And honestly Dani wouldn't have care if he got closer because she was freezing all night. Since he was so focused on stay far on his side of the bed, he accidentally hogged most of the blanket.

In the morning the other two wake up first and watch tv  till they hear the other two waking because of the tv and part of it was Nick messing with the blinds for Chris.

"Just shut the blinds." Chris films Nick so he closes them but the other three tell him it's too dark. Nick opens it halfway before stepping aside, "Are you gonna talk dude?" Chris asks him.

"I didn't know you were recording motherfucker. You've been complaining about the light." Nick snaps at him.

"Y'all make me wish I got my own room." Dani groans, "But no, just crash in ours." She rolls over putting the pillow over her head.

"Matt did you hog all the blankets from Dani this time?" Chris films the bed to show hoe Matt had all the blanket.

"I didn't meant to." He says as Dani gets up going to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

"Alright guys, we are wrapping up our trip in Texas." Nick says moisturizing his face, "And yes, Dani slept here. We told her she could since she had no where to sleep."

"Because my brother sucks." She jokes coming out of the bathroom.

"And we are headed to the airport in about an hour. We're gonna eat at one more place."

"Hey, Bite-size." Chris turns to film Dani sitting on the bed as Matt went to get dressed.

"Hey, that's actually a cute nickname for you." Nick looks over at her.

"I've been called nugget,"

"What's the worst nickname you've been called for your height?" Nick asks her.

"Fuckin Wee One," She says as Matt comes out and makes a face.

"Yeah, that's eww. Who would even think of that?" Nick makes a face as well so she said an ex called her that.

"What did he say it in a baby voice to?" Chris asks disgusted.

"Yep," She lays across the bed making Matt give her a look.

"Will you move?"

"Nope, there's a whole bed over there." She point at it.

"Get up Tarter-Tot," He grabs her by the legs pulling her towards the edge causing her to yell.

[simslegacy5083]

Not So Berry (Straud Descendants) Gen 9

Today's (9/12/2024) Episode: Vive la Resistance!

Luigi and Noemi were up late and took their time rising the following morning. After enjoying a delicious breakfast in bed, they strolled back to the Resistance camp section of the park to meet their next quest giver.

Thew, a bright pink Twilek “basecamp engineer”, asked them to disrupt First Order transmissions, providing the critical distraction his team needed to mount a rescue operation. It would be “very dangerous” but if they succeeded, they would win the gratitude of Vi Moradi, leader of the rebel outpost.

As they made their way back to the teleporter Luigi suddenly pulled Noemi into the shade of some tall vegetation. “You know” he whispered “Thew did say that this next mission was very risky. It would be awful for us to meet our end, never having tried “that” thing we’ve always talked about…”

Noemi grinned, immediately picking up on what her husband was suggesting. “Well…” she said “if it might be our last day in this world, I think we owe it to ourselves. Then as I’m being dragged to my death, I’ll have that memory to hold onto.”

Luigi didn’t wait for her to say anymore. Without further adieu he jumped into the bush with Noemi close behind, and they proceeded to make passionate woohoo as if they might never have another chance in this life.

 A little while later the flushed and slightly sticky pair of lovebirds snuck into the Cantina to meet their Scoundrel contact.

Noemi continued to push herself socially, volunteering to handle locating and talking to the other sim to obtain the data spike they would need to complete their quest while Luigi kept an eye out for any “suspicious characters” who might be looking to cause them trouble.

She stumbled a bit over her words, clearly nervous, but the scoundrel actor was as patient as Luigi had promised. With a little subtle prompting she successfully “negotiated” ownership of a “contraband data spike that will get you a date with an interrogator droid if they catch ya with it!”

As they tried to stroll nonchalantly out of the bar a booming voice called out: “Luigi Lawbourne, as I live and breathe!”

Noemi rolled her eyes as the pair turned towards the distraction, sure that one of her husband’s many fans had tracked him down, until she realized the figure headed their way was decked out in the vibrant costume of the “main character” of this particular theme park faction.

Luigi greeted the newcomer enthusiastically “Eugene, I mean, Hondo my man! It’s been to long.” A fellow fan of Sims Forever, Luigi and “Hondo” had spent many a pleasant evening playing sabbac and talking about their favorite videogame franchise after their shifts were over (and sometimes before).

“I heard you were here” Hondo said, “but legitimate business was booming yesterday, and I missed you. If you’ve got a few minutes I’d love to catch up over a hand of Sabbac. You can tell me about this Sims knockoff you’re making, and maybe I can win back some of my credits from you or the lady.”

Feeling inspired by the actor’s roguish air, Noemi counteroffered: “If you’re hunting for juicy details, then you should know that “the lady” is lead architect for Project Daisy, and she’s willing to dish on all sorts of secrets… as long as you’re letting her win.”

Luigi laughed as Eugene quickly produced an oddly shaped deck of cards and temporized: “Why, what do a few credits matter compared to the joy of sharing a relaxing evening with old – and new - friends!” He waved them towards a table in a quiet corner of The Cantina and managed to alternately beg off or find coverage from other employees for several hours as they chatted.

It grew late before Hondo could put off his duties no longer and had to leave. “Be safe you two, and if you get tired of the Resistance, remember that I’m always looking for trustworthy sims to help me with my completely legal enterprise.” he said with a wink, hurrying out the door.

Data spike in hand, the couple snuck back into the First Order district to complete their mission of sabotage.

Sticking to the route they’d used successfully the day before they made their way to a partially concealed control panel. Even after Luigi assured her that “I’ll protect you with my life!” Noemi still looked around carefully before starting her task. Once she began, she became hyperfocused on the work, a tricky puzzle customized based on her datapad settings to challenge someone with her high-level programming skill.

When, some minutes later, Luigi heard her softly cry “Yes!” he turned around, a big smile on his face to see her so elated at her success.

The sun had set by the time they returned to the bubblegum colored Thew at the rebel base with the “vital access codes” they’d obtained.

“Fantastic!” the actor exclaimed “You’ve proven yourself to be a true ally to our cause. Now, if you’re interested in helping us out with something even more sensitive, Vi is working on her X-wing right over that hill and she’ll be taking you on your next, and most dangerous, mission so far.”

Luigi and Noemi grinned at each other. Finally, they would meet the infamous Vi Moradi and get to play a key role in freeing the galaxy!

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[garbagefarm]

Garbage Farm (#48)

2024-03-25, session #48 of Garbage Farm! Spanning Winter 3 through Winter 9 of Year 4!

cast:

me (@mothmute)

E.B. (@blueherin)

Kimi (@2kimi2furious)

Highlights include, but are not limited to the following:

pre-game:

it's been a while, but Garbage is back, woohoo!

—oh. logistical difficulties. welp, it was bound to happen.

“so, uh, what'd you have for dinner?”

I did my Garbage Homework and I came prepared with a to-do list and everything! But nobody knows what we're doing.

(the song from titanic plays softly in the distance)

Possum is gonna be so so glad to see us, he might do a li'l hop and everything, maybe get all flat

Winter 3:

LET GARBAGE BE JOINED

oh god I've got clown shoes on and they jingle now, let's see how long before they notice

(spoilers: they don't)

I visit Marnie. Lewis assures me he is there strictly for business reasons.

Cringefail, one (1) more duck.

felled tree remains mysteriously appear in the graveyard??

Kimi finds a mystery door......

Clint caught me digging in the trash, who cares

Special order for Taro Root!

Alex is wearing his special shorts, but Kimi's are more special (hint: they are purple)

Winter 4:

Mr. Qi flies by on an airplane. Mystery boxes can now be found.

The Wizard Catalog is amazing.

I try to renovate my house, but all my stuff is in the way!

Made another shed big, though.

E.B. finds a mystery box. “what's inside?” “mystery, duh”

Honestly, a lot of the day is spent mindlessly wandering.

Big chests!! I'll miss the stone ones' aesthetics, but big chests!!

We all went to bed early

Winter 5:

Bookseller is in town???

Cool pig had an Elliott Portrait, that's not weird at all

(apparently had an Alex portrait, too)

I go ahead and max out the ducks

then I go consume all the books at once

Kimi finds powdermelon seeds??

Winter 6:

After moving all my furniture, I get a bunch of renovations to my house. To be honest, I have no idea what to do with all this space, my place was already a little sparse.

Kimi dies in the volcano because she didn't bring food!

(Somewhere in here, I suggest EB take the lead on the Taro Root quest)

Wind in the night...

Winter 7:

The big tree! Noooo! —eh, it was only there a few days.

A little hardwood turns it into a cute little house, though

Turns out, I'm the only one of us cool enough to explore the mystery cave 😎

It's wine night, and I drastically underestimate just how many kegs I have

Winter 8:

There's always so much to do! —and yet I can recall almost none of it!

Ice fest??

Kimi is running late to ice fest, but no worries. ... okay, maybe some worries, I am anxious-typed.

Hey, whole bunch of new dialog!

Evelyn is worried it might be the last time she make a snowman with Alex. That's so sad!! (It's okay, nobody dies here)

Harvey froze his face

Clint is completely useless at making snowmen

KIMI CAUGHT DOPING IN THE CONTEST AND STEALS 1ST PLACE

(it's okay)

I call out how nobody noticed my literal clownshoes and then realized, “shit, I sound like Clint,” 100% clown behavior

Winter 9?:

non-canon day!!

possum gives us a snail

MAYO CHUG hang on let's try and get a picture

Kimi tries and fails to count down

I suggest using a bomb as a timer; when the bomb goes off, drink!

we are so bad at this

over 12 in-game hours and no mayo chug picture, truly phenomenal

TO-DO:

crystalariums for coffee project and so many stairs

💀💀💀

I've been putting off kegs, preserves jars, and some tree-tap improvements for so many sessions, now

friendship!!

walnut room......

long-term projects, shopping lists

OPERATION MAGIC HAT (strictly confidential)

Keep exploring 1.6 content!!

Gotta defeat the ocean. The whole ocean.

... do we want extra garbage cottages?

oh right, darts

-

A short session, but it's good to be back, and I'm looking forward to exploring more 1.6 content with my friends

[elliemyun]

Friday, 5/5

SLEEP: 3.5 hours (5:30 AM - 9:00AM)

MEALS:

Lunch: BPlate chicken, strawberries, salad

Dinner: MYSTERY🤨🤨🤨

REFLECTION:

HELLO! today im writing my tumblr post a little bit early as i have a 24 hour event to attend soon😂😂😂 i would like to give a humble shoutout to my JP KELLY ZHANG! @treesbee33 hey kelly belly thank u for being the best JP eva i cant wait to continue to grow with you . you r truly so kind and fun to be around N our vlogs go crazy. see u tonight🤔 anyways today ash kash nikki and i stayed in rieber terrace till very late at night talking and slowly doing work😂 when i walked back to my dorm to sleep the sun had risen and that's how you know it's getting bad 😂 i took a mini nap then headed to film a tiktok with my JP Kelly. if you guys didn't know, we are both quite famous on tiktok due to our cooking videos and dances. thus we had to meet to do a quick collab for our fans. then i went to bplate with charlotte we are actually very similar she wants to english minor! she is so sweet. i went to chem and my head was throbbing 😂 i went to kerckhoff and my head was then spinning. but then i took a 30 minute nap and am off to the 24 hour event! i am writing this early because i probably cant later. i think itll be very fun woohoo!

TIME STAMP: 5:31 PM

[mostly-ghostly-murphy]

Tuesday, 12/5

Today was okay, given this weird state of limited-house-leaving functional-unemployment I'm in that I badly hope ends soon. I felt MUCH better after 9 and a half hours of sleep (and I could have gone longer!) but started my day to maximize my sunshine hours. I met with my regular doctor, who DID agree to keep giving me Wegovy, hooray, and then I spent 90 uninterrupted minutes trying to find a pharmacy that had it before realizing I could just... probably use Amazon pharmacy. I had my prescription sent there, so fingers crossed that works.

I took a shower, finished up the technical writing paper (woohoo!!) and went to the 12:00pm meeting. I wish there was a midday one closer, because they fuck with my schedule the least and people tend to totally ignore me, but it's hard to complain about having found a place where people totally ignore me. So, 19/30.

When I got home, I sunk down into the Doctor Who rewatch. I also ordered McDonald's, lol. I really can't emphasize how happy I am to have Davies back. There were some things I liked about Moffat despite myself, and Jodie is amazing and so much better than the material she got, but his stuff really is a cut above and makes this show feel so special. I love how soft 14 is! Be emotionally open, boy!!

I had Shakesnight in the evening, which was very chill and just had me playing a bunch of Varying Lords. Not bad!! And then I meant to go to sleep at a good time, but accidentally stayed up way too late getting sucked into a rabbit hole about Eugenia Cooney. You truly hate to see whatever's going on there. I feel like I'm gonna end up following her because... I mean, how long does she have?

[handelplayssims]

Oye. How many more days left with these vampires? 4 it seems. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Well, let’s look at Roxana’s whims. Prank and be mean to someone. As usual. Welp, pranking is easily done. Hey, Omar! Here’s this hand buzzer trick! Next is Omar who wants to have child, or get disliked by someone. Mm. They already dislike each other though. I’m going to refresh those whims and then have him focus on Harrison. ...the whims were to leave a note on the family bulliten board and become enemies with the person he disliked. -shrug- Emilie is up and at em and needs food, and it’s an hour until work and school. Let’s just wait out the time until we head back into work with Omar.

And here we go! Perhaps today, we might get that final surgery requirement. ...if I was mean, I would perform surgery on a patient that might not need it...but eh, let’s try to be a good doctor. WOAH, there we go! We got a guy who collapsed right at the front door. And he needs emergency surgery! There we go! And hey, the patient we’ve been working on also needed surgery. Nice! Finally! He’s got that promotion! And is now a specialist! Good for Omar.

Oooh, Roxana, while I did manage to queue and get her the plasma fruit salad she needed, she also just ran out and drank from a passing sim. Hee. Now she’s super-tense about drinking from others.  MAN. I keep forgetting about Emilie and the making-friends-at-school thing! Now it’s 8PM and I bet there would only be teens at the park at this time. Doing their teen hangout thing. Ah well, both parents have whims regarding kids so, I decided to have both of them lecture their kids about manners. They’re neat sims, they’d care about this sort of thing. And now the kids are asleep. I decide to have the parents chat about the struggles of parenting...and the struggles of being a vampire. But thankfully Omar has a very high logic and can logic away the stress of drinking from a random sim. And she has low fun so uh, let’s have a woohoo in the shower.

Harrison wants to meet someone new so lets see if any teens are hanging around the park at the moment. But if not, we’ll bring someone along because he needs to drink! Hmm. The Alluring Visage means he’s low on vampire energy now. Meaning he needs to sleep. But we just got here! But I guess we can go right back home.. because it’s pretty much time for-

Neighborhood Watch!

Devan Geiger in the Geiger household has died. No cliffhanger here; Devan slipped when rock climbing.

Hold on, let me check something…yep. This was the guy who just moved into a home. RIP!

Mack Newman in the Newman hosuehold has died. Mack tried to make cereal but it burst into flames.

Let’s see, it’s early in the morning, nothing much to do. The kids sleep schedule is all kinds of messed up but alas. Let’s make sure I actually remember to set Emile to make friends at school. Omar’s got work at 9 until 7pm. So that leaves Roxana alone to do her work. And we got a biography about a dude who very much wants someone to write about him. That’ll do. Huh, and evidently she’s excited about the project at least. So a drink break and then we head back to work. Annnd she’s sick. Stuffed up nose, it seems. Well, what is the recommendations, internet? Taking a steamy shower! Annd hey, it worked! Back to writing she goes! Kids are back from school and boy, are they tired! But Roxana wants them to volunteer with her and so what she wants, she gets!

Let’s see. Omar does want a promotion, again. Could think about just having him visit a library for a late-night study instead. Since hey, that does also work, in theory, for a doctor. You gotta research your medical stuff! Oh hey, we actually met a scientist, since we’re at Strangerville. There would be a scientist/doctor solidarity, wouldn’t there? Let’s play a game of chess, get the know the guy a little and then head home.

Home again, and Omar wants to eat some popcorn. It’ll go poorly but we can attempt to have some. Meanwhile Harrison wants another promotion. Which, fine and all but I guess let’s work on your charisma skill. Selena’s hungry and Emile, oof! Bladder failure! ...and Roxana’s whim didn’t clear because we left in the middle of it. Fair enough, I suppose! Also I am trying to have Omar mend his relationship with Selena but alas! She just thinks he’s creepy with that weird hissing all the time! Ah well. Anyway it’s time for-

Neighborhood Watch! Mizuki Maeda in the Maeda household has died. Mizuki was victim to a vicious chicken attack.

Ah man. She was one of my longest lived townies. Riiiiiip!

Akira Kibo in the Kibo household has died. Akira fell for a cowplant’s cake bait. He could not have his cake and eat it too.

Ha. I had a feeling this was going to happen to him sooner or later. RIP!

[televinita]

Update: it's been 9 days but there's enough change for this (mostly because I'm losing track of how damn many books I've started) so BOOM.

CURRENTLY READING / LISTENING

1. A Study in Drowning - Ava Reid: 40% in; there are aspects that annoy me and it's longer than my usual quick reads so I'm taking breaks in between bits, but overall enjoying myself.

2. A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking - T. Kingfisher: 40% in on ebook and I just got the audiobook, so woohoo!! Having a good time. I freaking love the sentient gingerbread man, he reminds me of the one in Shrek (the only good thing about Shrek) but silent

3. Graveyard Shift - M.L. Rio: 54% in via ebook -- I forgot I had a backdoor "cheat" and was able to get on the shorter Overdrive list in the county next door -- and god this is weird, why is it sci-fi horror, but there are some interesting turns of phrase and I am STUBBORN so I will finish. Not least because I only have 75 pages left.

4. Scrappy Little Nobody - Anna Kendrick: a random audiobook pick from my back-burner TBR, because I was DESPERATE last night (literally about 16 hours before Kingfisher's title popped up). 30% in; I'll progress further when my other audio(s) run(s) out.

AVAILABLE NOW

5. Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree: still a possibility

6. Passenger Princess - Morgan Elizabeth: still a possibility

7. In The Shadow of Lakecrest - Elizabeth Blackwell: still a possibility

8. Final Girls and/or The Last Time I Lied - Riley Sager: now at the bottom of my interest list but keeping just in case

9. The Book of Cold Cases and/or Murder Road - Simone St. James: same, though the odds of reading one of these are a bit better

10. What Does It Feel Like? - Sophie Kinsella: well look what got here surprisingly fast! Picked up today; I will be starting and maybe finishing it in the next 2 days; guys, even calling this a "novella" is a stretch; this is closer to a long short story. Exactly 120 pages + author note, visibly at least 1.25 line spacing, and a smaller-than-average-sized book.

11. The Woman in Black - Susan Hill: I completely forgot to mention that after rewatching the movie, I wanted to try reading this, and the weather now is frankly perfect. Picked this up today. It's 2nd highest priority in this category, though will be kicked down when books from the next one start showing up.

COMING SOON

12. Before We Were Us - Denise Hunter: in cataloging!

13. Beyond Ivy Walls - Rachel Fordham: estimated wait for audio (only option because it's far too long to tolerate an ebook) now ~4 weeks hmmm

14. Games Untold - Jennifer Lynn Barnes: releasing on November 12th! It's long too so I'm kind of nervous about whether I should freeze my hold and wait for 2nd round of checkouts (pushes me out 3-4 weeks), so I can get through all the new releases above first, or if I can realistically get to it in the next 4 weeks -- max. wait time before I pick it up + 3 weeks + if I need to be a dick and keep it a couple days late I will, since I'm sick of being well behaved about that while everyone else takes advatage.

COMING EVENTUALLY!

15. The Wren in the Holly Library - K.A. Linde*: the sprayed-edge version is beautiful and I have not learned any hesitancy yet about trying fantasy (romantasy?) if the cover is pretty and bookish enough. Although one glance at the reviews has me lowering my expectations to "3-star time with a 40% chance of DNF."

[*edit: I looked at it in the library and was immediately turned off by how long it is (this is a book for fantasy readers who like Bricks; it's 400 pages of small print, or a 15 hour audiobook). I skimmed the first chapter and was further turned off. I skimmed ahead and saw explicit content. This is why we investigate books before buying them no matter how pretty they are.]

16. 26 Ways To Come Home For the Holidays - Jennifer Joy: I refuse to pick this up for at least another week but I still can't wait!

Reading Triage

I'm in a bit of a reading slump at the moment (a word which here means: I have only finished 4 books in 2 weeks), so what better way to fix it than by chucking back all my library books, picking out a brand-new set and/or placing holds, and then talking out the options!

CURRENTLY READING / LISTENING

1. A Study in Drowning - Ava Reid: this was all the rage last fall and I shrugged it off as "fantasy, not my thing," but fantasy IS kind of turning out to be my thing this year. So when I saw the new special edition w/ stenciled edges (featuring shelves of old books) in a Goodreads giveaway, I immediately investigated it further and oh, we're starting in dark academia, in an architectural college?? There's a house design contest?? Well that sounds great! So I'm giving it a go; got about 40 pages in last night.

2. The Spellshop - Sarah Beth Durst: this is my 2nd time around with it, because I wanted to hear the audiobook version. About 90 minutes left, and I better hop-to because it's due in 2 days.

3. One Of Our Own - Lucinda Berry: this is a just-under-4-hours audio exclusive thriller (is thriller the right word, it seems like a pretty domestic mystery), and I am literally only here because it's dual narration and the main narrator is A.J. Cook. The plot looks bland and unpleasant and after only 8% in I can all but guarantee it would be a 2-star in print, but I might give it 3 because listening to her voice is a treat.

AVAILABLE NOW

4. Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree: attempt #2 to salvage the cozy coffee shop vibes out of an otherwise uninteresting story, now that the temps are finally about to drop down into at least the 50s, and if it doesn't work this time I quit forever because I have better fantasy places to be (but I really do wanna savor the romanticizing of coffee + baked goods).

5. Strongheart, Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen - Candace Fleming: I didn't buy it, but I am now more motivated than ever to read this. It's actually much shorter than I thought, being about 50% illustration, and I want to dive right in. Might even do so as soon as I post this, tbh.

6. Passenger Princess - Morgan Elizabeth: I feel honor-bound by winning it to read enough to offer a review. Honestly, the first chapter was quite fun, so if I just go in with determination to skip straight over the porn and judge the rest of the story on its own merit, I might enjoy it. (I will of course be judging more harshly for its Goodreads rating)

7. In The Shadow of Lakecrest - Elizabeth Blackwell: a 1920s Rebecca-esque novel that I own and have been meaning to read for 2 years now. I got so close to cracking it open this time...and I still might, but more likely the other books on this list will take priority.

8. Final Girls and/or The Last Time I Lied - Riley Sager: the references in Middle of the Night finally got me interested in these 2 I skipped the first time around, but it's still just...so hard to convince myself to try them, even when I crave a guaranteed good thriller. There's a reason I skipped over them the first time around, and that reason is they just look and sound generic as hell.

9. The Book of Cold Cases and/or Murder Road - Simone St. James: I spent literally the entire month of October a) not reading any ghost stories for lack of good options and being sad about it, and b) forgetting about this author literally every time I went to the library until the 28th. But now they're here! So...maybe! (more than likely pushed off til next year though. I don't feel particularly excited when I look at them, even though the first book at least has been on my TBR since its release)

10. The Widow of Rose House - Diana Biller: almost forgot one of the few remaining from my last round! A random checkout because it looks like an unusual sort of historical romance with like seven different appealing elements; lemme just copy the summary:

It's 1875, and Alva Webster has perfected her stiff upper lip after three years of being pilloried in the presses of two continents over fleeing her abusive husband. Now his sudden death allows her to return to New York to make a fresh start, restoring Liefdehuis, a dilapidated Hyde Park mansion, and hopefully her reputation at the same time. However, fresh starts aren't as easy as they seem, as Alva discovers when stories of a haunting at Liefdehuis begin to reach her. But Alva doesn't believe in ghosts. So when the eccentric and brilliant professor Samuel Moore appears and informs her that he can get to the bottom of the mystery that surrounds Liefdehuis, she turns him down flat. She doesn't need any more complications in her life--especially not a handsome, convention-flouting, scandal-raising one like Sam. Unfortunately, though Alva is loath to admit it, Sam, a pioneer in electric lighting and a member of the nationally-adored Moore family of scientists, is the only one who can help. Together, the two delve into the tragic secrets wreathing Alva's new home while Sam attempts to unlock Alva's history--and her heart

COMING SOON

11. Tracker's Canyon - Pam Withers: a YA novel about a teen using his outdoor/trailing skills to find his dad and evade people who may want to harm his dad (or him). It's been on my Goodreads TBR for 5+ years, picked when I was scrolling through looking for I.L.L. options. Looks fun and also relatively short, under 200 pages. Should be here in a week or two at the most.

12. A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking - T. Kingfisher: library doesn't have a physical copy so waiting on the e-book, estimated 3 weeks. I haven't read her before but I kept seeing this on BookTube and its title and cover looked so fun and cute. Probably a 3-star time but I still want in.

13. Piranesi - Susanna Clarke: this was on my original fall TBR at the beginning of September, and I've been slowly making my way towards it. No promises I'll read it this year, but if I don't get too distracted by the new shinies, the fact that this is much shorter than I thought has made me more willing to listen to its many rave reviews. Currently on a waitlist; "my" copy is due back on Halloween but I of course have zero faith in the people of this county at this point, so I'm going to bet more realistically on the second week of November (next copy is due back 11/9).

14. Before We Were Us - Denise Hunter: romance about an engaged woman who develops amnesia, not only forgetting her (relatively new) relationship but still viewing her middle-of-nowhere job at his family resort as a pit stop and ready to get the hell outta dodge; he must convince her to fall in love with him again. I WILL be going full Chuck/Sarah with this. Currently on-order at the library and I am first in line.

15. Beyond Ivy Walls - Rachel Fordham: This whole summary just sounds Immediately Great and like the kind of historical (1903) romance I love; wish I had access to a physical copy but waiting on the audiobook instead, estimated time 3 weeks. Love 2 have everything come crashing in at once!

All of Monticello believes Otis Taylor has been away fostering his musical genius. But the truth is that his father exiled him long ago, rejecting Otis's appearance and the scars that came with it. . . . At twenty-three years old, Sadie West left her family farm and found employment at the Hoag feather duster factory. Desperate to save money and help her family make ends meet, she trespasses and finds shelter in an abandoned building--and is thrown in the path of the town's mysterious bachelor. Otis's wounds are deep, but as Sadie's friendship with him grows, she begins to fall for the man beneath the mask

COMING EVENTUALLY!

16. Graveyard Shift - M.L. Rio: the reviews are so middling and I am also sure it will be a 3-star at best, but damn it, I got excited about this one months ago and now I HAVE TO KNOW (this is why knowing about new releases sucks! don't do it!). Waiting on an ebook copy because the library doesn't have a physical one. It is an absurdly long wait for such a short book (14 weeks?! i am PRAYING for a physical copy to be ordered soon).

17. Games Untold - Jennifer Lynn Barnes: on the other hand I am first in line when this releases in a couple weeks. Beyond excited for a collection of short stories and novellas aka BONUS SCENES for The Inheritance Games. (sometimes knowing about new releases doesn't suck)

18. 26 Ways To Come Home For the Holidays - Jennifer Joy: a "Thanksgiving to Christmas" novella romance about a department store in the 1940s. I have been excitedly waiting for it to be seasonally appropriate (for maximal impact) since spring. I still gotta give it 3 or 4 weeks though.

19. What Does It Feel Like? - Sophie Kinsella: 12th in line for 8 copies, at the library that doesn't show due dates so I'm guessing this may not arrive until December, at which point I might roll it over to the new year. Still, if it comes sooner, interested in this novella mirroring her real-life health crisis.

[misspearly1]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10

Jackson

Pairing: Joel Miller x You (Fem reader, Use of y/n)

WC: 5.2K

Warnings: NO MINORS 🔞 18+ Content. Smut. Rough and romantic sex. Unprotected PIV (Post apocalypse, there are no condoms left, sorry. LOL!) JEALOUSY. Lots of fluff.

Notes to readers: Aghhh! first day off work and I've got two fics posted in one day, woohoo! Yes, there is Jealousy within this chapter folks, I don't want to spoil it, but would love to hear your thoughts at the end. I'm excited for how I'm going to play this out too. Enjoy my lovelies.

Fair Trade Masterlist | Joel Miller Masterlist | Back to Main Masterlist

Fluttering your lashes open, you blinked back the sleepiness and cringed with the white light blaring into your eyes. Being a little disorientated and woozy, you slowly sat yourself up and rubbed your face with your hands, but looked through the gaps of your fingers to see a small, young looking brunette haired girl staring back at you with a big smile.

“Hi! How are you feeling?” She greeted you at the foot of your hospital bed while seated in a chair with her legs crossed. She had a notepad in her lap and waited for your answer, smiling still.

“Uhm, I’m ok?” you answered her and she heard your confused tone, the brunette sat up in her seat and explained “You’re in Jackson, if you don't remember. You’ve been asleep for sixteen hours and you have a hairline fracture to your ankle, so you’re stuck in a cast. I hope you don't mind but I signed it.”

“A cast?” Pulling back the sheets, you were surprised at hearing that you have a cast of your foot and sure enough you saw it with your own eyes. Wow, the doctors around here have done a good job, maybe you underestimated Jackson, y/n. But who is this girl? I wonder if she is a volunteer.

Speaking to yourself inwardly before looking back up to the girl, you cocked a brow and asked “You signed my cast as Savage Starlight?”

She nodded her head happily. After grabbing a comic from her bag and showing it to you, she pointed to a girl on the cover and you saw the words ‘Savage Starlight’ written on the front.

You thought to yourself that this girl must be younger than you thought, maybe mid or late teens. After smiling at her, the young girl relaxed and shared more. “I heard about what you did to the man who trapped your foot and I thought it was pretty cool.”

“Was it Savage Starlight kind of cool though? Because the girl on the cover of the comic looks awesome and I merely told a guy to have fun dying” Laughing to her, you quickly placed a hand to your mouth and apologize “I’m sorry, I shouldn't say those things to a kid”

“Pfft! It’s ok, everyone in Jackson has heard about it anyways”

“Oh” you lay your back into the pillow and look embarrassed. Everyone knows about how you told Max to have fun dying. You shouldn't really care, but you now wonder what people think of the new girl in Jackson, after quickly piecing together that you are going to be staying here for a few days, you’re not looking forward to meeting anyone.

This girl at the foot of your bed seems cool though. She grabbed a small handbook from her bag, showing you the front cover and read it out for you “No Pun Intended, Volume Too.” Then, after reading a few puns to you, she made you laugh. So she is funny too.

Some were good, others you have heard of before and a few were just downright cheesy, but you chuckled with her nonetheless and even offered one of your own “My dog can do magic tricks, it's called a labracadabrador” You ruined your own joke by explaining it to her but she laughed anyways. Then you asked where your dog was.

“Joel took her out for a walk, he shouldn't be too long.” She smiled and settled your arising anxiety on the whereabouts of Fizzy, but she could see your face light up at the mention of Joel's name and added “So, are you like boyfriend and girlfriend?”

Hm, it was just dinner and sex after all, nothing else Y/N . After shaking your head to her, she grinned mischievously and teased “Joel did the same thing. He said no but his face said otherwise”

Smirking yourself, you were just about to speak but Joel entered and addressed the young girl “Ellie. You know you shouldn't be in here, you have to let y/n sleep” She kicked up a fuss with the man while your dog jumped up at her, happily wiggling her tail.

With the curtain drawn, Joel didn't see that you were awake and only when you exaggerated a cough did he turn. Fizzy jumped onto the bed and whined during her licks on your face. She pushed you back through her excitement at seeing her mama and you had to stop her “Ok. Ok, I'm here girl, relax.”

Then you looked up to the pair staring at you. Joel greeted you shyly and Ellie laughed at him, she hadn't seen Joel nervous around a woman before and she found it hilarious. He sighed, closing his eyes and shook his head. You found it funny too and looked at Ellie to smile at her.

“So, this is the Ellie I've heard so much about then.” Speaking to them both, you looked down to your cast and chided yourself openly “I should have caught that sooner, Joel did mention you liked reading comics”

After looking back up to the pair, you formally introduce yourself to Ellie and she does the same before Joel interjects “All right young lady, It’s late and you’re supposed to be at home, so let's go.”

Joel told you to hang on a moment and Ellie said her goodbyes as he walked her out to the hallway. You loved how he spoke to his daughter and hearing him say ‘home’ felt wonderful but what made you giggle was when you could hear her taunting him outside. “Joel and Y/N sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes lo-”

“Ellie that is enough. You are fifteen not five”

She laughed more to him and defended herself “Well you’re the one who told her about me, that's getting serious Joel”

Their voices grew quiet as they walked away but you could hear Joel grunt to her. Laying in the bed with your dog, you bit your lip and smiled to yourself at what Ellie said. You knew Joel wasn't much of a talker so maybe it did mean something that he shared these personal details about his life with you.

At some point during your thinking you had closed your eyes and fell asleep. The next time you awoke it was from the touch of a cold hand running across your cheek, when you opened your eyes Joel leaned down and kissed your lips. He surprised you with how forward he was being as he slipped his tongue inside your mouth.

Craning the back of your neck with his hand, he sat on the edge of the bed and lifted your head towards him. His hands ran down your back and when he reached underneath your thigh, he squeezed your flesh, then he moved his hand further in between your legs and squeezed again.

“J-Joel…” moaning out his name, you went to shift your position to give him better access but grimaced over the pain in your ankle and pulled back “Fuck! That shit hurts.”

“Well I can't ever imagine being caught in a bear trap feels good y/n.” He chuckled to you and after pinching his side from his teasing comment, Joel jerked and apologised.

Judging from his reaction, you saw that he was ticklish and when you bit your lip, expressing a devilish smile he smiled too and warned you not to do it again.

Fizzy came up between you both before you could even contemplate doing it again, and he spoke to her “This little girl hasn't left your side until I took her for a walk to, uhh… You know”

You knew what Joel was implying and while it was funny to watch him avoid saying it, you thanked him and said it for him “Thank you. I can’t have my dog shitting all over Jackson, what will people think of me?”

He laughed and shook his head, then you looked at Fizzy and spoke to her while Joel listened. “That’s right, you can't be making a mess around here little girl. People already know the reason I am here, so we can’t give them another reason to judge, right?”

Even though you were joking, Joel had picked up your query. He no longer laughed or smiled, instead he looked as serious as ever and placed a finger under your chin, lifting your head to look into his eyes as he declared “Don’t worry darlin, no one would do that around here…”

He stopped midway what he was saying to brush his lips over your ear and what he said next, sent a surge of arousal straight to your heat. Joel dropped an octave and whispered into your ear “...If anyone were to say something to you or your dog, I’d hurt em’ anyways baby”

Pulling back to look into your eyes, Joel witnessed your irises expand. With your eyes wide, he knew it wasn't from fear but from surprise. You were surprised that hearing his threats of hurting anyone that may upset you, had actually turned you on, so much in fact that you pulled him in to kiss you again.

As you both came closer together, Fizzy moved away and that is when Joel began pulling down the strap of your vest shirt.

Kissing his way down your neck slowly, Joel nipped at the top of your breast and tucked your shirt underneath to have better access. Looking up at you, he licked his lips and stated “Still got my mark, huh baby?”

“Yes… It’s beginning to fade though” Closing your eyes and blowing out a sexual sigh, Joel attached his lips over your nipple and swirled his tongue around it while mumbling into your chest “let me fix that”

Your hands found their way through his hair and when he sucked on your sensitive skin, you grabbed handfuls of it between your fingers, moaning at the sensation.

Before it could go any further, Fizzy jumped off the bed just as Tommy entered the room with Maria. Instantly, they turned to look away while Joel’s younger brother jibed “Oops, sorry brother. Didn't mean to interrupt, we’ll just give you guys a moment”

Over Joel’s shoulder you could see that the couple had stepped behind the curtain to give you a second to cover yourself back up. When you cringed to Joel and tried to pull up your strap, he stopped you and shook his head.

You understood just how filthy he could be as he placed a hand over your mouth before ducking his head back down and biting onto your nipple, hard.

Thankful. That was how you felt towards him after he released your breast and pulled up your shirt. Placing his hand over your mouth stifled your moan and you were thankful that he did it, otherwise you would have looked like a deer in headlights to Tommy and Maria.

When they came back from around the curtain, it was Joel who did the talking and yet again, you were thankful. Tommy looked at you both and asked how you were feeling. Lifting your leg off the bed to show him, it was Joel who answered “Never better”

He chuckled nervously, and your cheeks began to redden. Joel and Tommy are brothers, they know each other like the back of their hands, so you know that with Joel answering for you, it was a silent message to his younger brother to kindly, fuck off.

“I uhh, I’ll make this quick. Y/N, you’ll be staying with us until you're healed up, after that we need to talk about making improvements to your bunker. To make it safer. We’ve thought that maybe setting up an alarm of some kind might help, in case you ever need to signal us.”

“Ok” nodding to them sheepishly, Tommy then offered to feed your dog. When you said yes, he said his goodbyes and called Fizzy’s name to follow. As soon as they were out of sight, you dropped your head and gasped.

“I can’t believe you did that!” with your hand over your mouth, your giggles were muffled as Joel turned to ask “Did I make you uncomfortable, doll?”

Dropping your hands and grinning to him, Joel realised that you weren't angry at him, just shocked. Then he was taken back by your questions “You really like playing with my nipples don't you? What is so special about them?”

Joel huffed a chuckle before shifting himself to sit behind you. He lay your head on his chest, like the same way he did when he bathed you after sex, then Joel admitted “It’s no secret that I find you and your breasts sexy y/n, that cat is out of the bag…”

Shaking on top of him as he laughed with you, Joel stopped to continue what he is saying more seriously “But I am not a man who has casual sex with women…” Turning your head to look at him, Joel’s voice almost broke “I’d certainly love another date y/n but I ain't beating round’ the bush anymore. I've wanted you since our first trade together.”

“Even though I damn near killed you? When I didn't believe you were Tommy’s brother?”

Joel leaned in to brush his lips over yours, whispering “Precisely. When you easily subdued me and pointed a gun to my head, you had me then and there”

You moaned to him and planted your lips on his. Joel slipped his tongue inside your mouth and began pulling your vest over your head, along with pushing your pants and underwear down to your knees. Joel opened his legs and trapped you between them as he ran a hand down your torso.

You stopped him from reaching your pussy and broke the kiss to tell him no. Before Joel could ask what was wrong, you spoke first “Please baby, just fuck me instead..” giggling into his mouth as you added “no beating round’ the bush”

He laughed too, shaking his head at your humour before lifting himself up off the bed to pull down his own pants. “Let me do the work baby”

After shifting positions to give you both easier access, Joel laid you flush against his chest and bent your knees, then he lined himself up and penetrated you deeply in one swift motion.

“God! You’re so fucking wet y/n” Holding onto the back of your thighs, Joel pistoned his hips up into you and set a steady pace. He could feel and hear your arousal squelching around his cock and he loved it. Very soon, he struggled to move as your walls began to constrict around him and he moaned “Nughh! So tight too baby”

“H-Harder Joel, P-Please - OH GOD!” Wailing out to him as he wrapped one arm under your legs, he slipped out when increasing his pace and lined himself back up and shoving his cock back inside of you. Knocking the breath from your lungs, you could barely speak as Joel fucked you deep and hard, “Yes. Just. Like. That, fuck, fuck, fuck!”

Joel kept to his brutal pace in and out of your cunt, even when you began clenching around him, he groaned deeply when penetrating through your tight grip. He kept hitting a spot so impossibly deep inside, that you felt a familiar sensation and warned “Joel, I think I'm gonna wet myself”

Joel didn't stop though. Gripping onto your leg tighter, he kept fucking you and slapped your ass, demanding “Squirt on me baby and cum on my cock”

Moaning highly to him as the stars erupt behind your eyes, your orgasm blows over your body beautifully and you do in fact squirt all over Joel. His hips falter before he pulls out and spills his seed between your folds, it feels warm and you wish that you could feel it inside but you know you can't.

“God damn baby. You are fucking perfect” he pants from beneath you and gently lowers you on your side, beside him. After catching his breath, Joel stands and removes his clothes fully then turns his attention to you. When he sees you avoiding his eye contact, he looks directly into your eyes and repeats what he said “you hear me baby doll? You are perfect y/n”

Joel removed your clothes too and was careful when handling your ankle. He ran the water in the shower that was in your room and placed a bag over your cast to keep it dry. While you were in there, he quickly replaced the sheets on the bed and joined you.

Wetting your body under the spray, Joel ran his hand up your back and rubbed them around to your front. Holding them out for you to give him the soap, he stood close to your back while washing your front. After bubbling up the soap around your breasts, he ran his hand down your stomach and towards your legs.

You wobbled slightly so Joel held you tightly while finishing off washing you. When he stood, you took the soap from his hands and returned the favour and ran the soap up his chest. Still holding onto your hips, Joel kissed you and let the water ripple down your bodies.

After telling you to hold onto him, he turned to let you get his back. When you were done, you had a very rude idea pop into your brain, so quickly acting on it, you slapped Joel's ass before he turned to you and teased “How does it feel, huh?”

He looked you dead in the eye and retorted “You wanna play games like that baby, then bend over and let me show you how to properly smack an ass”

Biting your lip, you were excited when you turned around and placed your hands on the wall. Joel kneaded the flesh on your ass but the spank never came, instead he held onto your hips and thrusted his dick back into your cunt.

"Oh fuck! Joel..." You wailed with content at the intrustion and it felt so good to be full of him again. Pushing yourself back into his cock, you whined "So fucking big baby"

“C’mere darlin” Pulling you back, he held you close to him while slowly grinding his hips. Joel never fails to surprise you, as he now changes his pace from earlier and makes love to you.

His thrusts are gentle and passionate when he wraps an arm around your chest to hold you still, and with his whispered praises into your ear, it didn't take long for you to climax.

Joel was a pleasing type of lover, and he loved to please you. He could have gone all night with you, but he couldn't as he knew the doctor would visit soon and didn't want them seeing you exposed this way.

Luckily, Joel had some clothes for you and he helped you get dressed after getting dried off. When he offered you something to eat, the doctor knocked on the door so he moved towards opening it and greeted her “Sam. Hi. Y/N’s just through here.”

“Hey there Joel, how have you been doing?” She came through and beamed a big bright smile to him, and he replied “Ok” Her smile dimmed down a bit when introducing herself to you, at first you thought it was a little weird but kicked yourself instantly for thinking it.

C’mon y/n, you might’ve not been around people for a while but that doesn't mean everyone is against you. She did take care of your ankle after all - Speaking to your inner voice, you thought that the poor woman is probably just a little nervous, like yourself.

Sam checked over your cast carefully and spoke to Joel about your fractures. Without addressing or looking at you. So you told yourself again - she’s just shy, y/n…

Joel turned and smiled obliviously at you, that eased your arising anxiety and you smiled back. After Sam was finished talking, Joel told you “I’m going to run to the canteen and see what I can grab for us. Won't be long, doll” Then he nodded to Sam before leaving you alone with her.

Looking at Sam, you smiled and spoke first “Thanks for patching me up by the way, you did a good job” She expressed a fake smile and replied “Thank you, I’m pretty good at what I do” Keeping the conversation going with her, you asked what it is like in Jackson.

“It’s really nice here. Safe and homey, the people are great too, especially the Miller family, why? You thinking about staying with us?”

Looking down to your cast briefly before looking back to her, you nodded your head and confirmed “Yeah, just a short stay until I can walk again.”

“Good.” She spoke back quickly and it left you feeling confused. Good for visiting Jackson or good for not staying?

You couldn't help feeling like this woman had some ill feelings towards you. It’s unexplainable but you feel something behind her fakery. Her tone when speaking to you sounds like it’s put on and you’ve caught her rolling her eyes twice now.

“So, where will you be staying?” her question pulled you from your thoughts and her face dropped when you said Joel’s house. Just as she was asking why you would be staying there, Joel himself re-entered and she went quiet.

With wrapped up sandwiches in his hand, he gestured them to you and cheered “We we lucky baby. They were closing” You saw her face contort even more when he called you baby, now you thought maybe she was jealous.

You thought a lot of things, maybe she was an ex of Joel, someone he’s affiliated with in the past or someone he has turned down, or maybe she’s just head over heels for him. The fact was, you weren't one hundred percent sure, so you couldn't let these thoughts of yours spiral.

“Am I good to go, doc? My ankle is ok?” Breaking the tension with a couple questions, you watched her face shift. Her whole body did too when Joel looked at her, she puffed out her chest, fluttered her lashes and smiled widely “Yep, all good. I should get going”

Joel looked back to you and even though it may have been a sly move, you pulled him down to kiss your lips. Opening your eyes during it, you saw Sam look over her shoulder and scowl at you before storming out, that was the hammer hitting the nail on the head for your thoughts. Sam was jealous of you.

Joel noticed something was off and asked if you were ok. Nodding your head slowly, you smirked and almost giggled “Mm-hm. I'm just hungry that's all, handsome.”

“Was she nice to you?” Joel was serious when asking you. He heard your stifled giggle and thought maybe she had made you feel uncomfortable. Pulling him to sit on the bed beside you and grabbing the sandwiches, you lied to him “Yes. She was nice to me”

You didn't want to lie to him, but when Joel told you earlier that he would hurt anyone that upset your feelings, you wholeheartedly believed him. After the incident with the bear trap and the bandits, Joel helped you stand and handed you over to Tommy to take care of the bastard who hurt you.

While he went over to Max, who was struggling to breathe on the floor, you watched Joel put the final, killing bullet into his head before he walked back over to you. He kissed you again and whispered into your ear “No one hurts you and gets away with it” So you know he means what he says.

You know he wouldn't go and kill Sam over her jealousy, that would be ridiculous but you didn't want to start any unnecessary drama or cause a rift between the residents here in Jackson. So if lying to him would keep that peace, then so be it. Sam didn't make you feel threatened anyways.

A little while later, Tommy called Joel through the radio and teased “Dear old brother of mine, is it safe to enter? Are you guys *ahem*... Decent?” In the background of the call, you could hear Maria telling him off and it made you laugh. Joel pinched the bridge of his nose and chuckled before answering him.

You wanted to tease Joel so bad during his answer but decided not to, just in case it’s not the type of humour Tommy or Maria enjoys. After he turned off the walkie, you admitted to him what you were going to say and he nearly spat his food out when laughing and asked “What made you change your mind?”

“I knew you would find it funny, just wasn’t sure about Tommy or Maria.”

Joel smiled at you and told you to listen when his brother gets there, that you would understand. As soon as Tommy entered the room with Maria and your dog, Joel began teasing him “Oh, come to interrupt us again, did you?”

“Shit, it didn't look like I interrupted much. No offence Y/N, but what you see in my brother is a mystery cause’ he’s a dull and grumpy looking motherfucker.”

Your mouth fell open over their brotherly bickering, both you and Maria laughed at the pair. They were like children. Two, fully grown man babies passing insults back and forth to each other.

It was all fun, nothing was said maliciously but you loved to see it. You loved seeing Joel act this way with his brother, it’s different to the way he treats Ellie but both were amazing to see.

He is protective over Ellie, and maybe even you, but you see Joel very differently here with his younger brother, it makes your heart open up more to him than it already has. Now you can understand a little more why he is so cheeky, it’s because he’s had plenty of practice with Tommy.

As he stood to laugh and talk to him, Maria came and sat beside you instead. She nudged your arm gently and joked “I've always wanted you to visit Jackson, but not under these circumstances.” Smiling to her, you shook your head and laughed. “Right?”

Tommy cut in on your conversation, adding “Y/N, if you really wanted to come see us, you should have just said so instead of sending Fizzy” Picking up his banter, you retorted while looking to her and stroked her head “Actually, I sent her to bring your brother back to fix my generator again.”

When Joel snickered, dropping his gaze, Tommy’s mouth fell open as he realised what you were insinuating. Tommy had a feeling something sexual had happened over dinner but obviously didn't ask his brother about it, it’s none of his business but he knew something happened. He could tell simply by the way Joel was walking, when he came back to the hydroelectric dam.

“We’re having a party tomorrow in the rec hall for Thanksgiving, would you and Fizzy like to come?” Maria pulled your attention away from Joel winking at you, with her kind invitation you smiled nervously “A party… Is the whole town going to be there?”

“Yes, and we promise that we will make sure you have fun.” Trying to convince you while she smiles, her use of ‘we’ made you chance a look over to Joel to see what his expression says about it.

It didn't help, because he only licked his lips in a sexual manner while he slowly looked up and down your body and leant against the door frame. You had to stop yourself from biting your own lip at the sight of him.

Looking back to Maria and telling her ok, she expressed her excitement when talking over the details with you. Tommy made a sexist jibe, muttering ‘women’ under his breath to his brother and they laughed. You and Maria heard it, so you handed her a pillow and together, you both launched them at the men.

Snapping your attention to each other after saying ‘asshole’ in unison, you both giggled about it. You saw that there was something in common with her, and that was calling either one of the Miller brothers an asshole..

After some more chatting with the leader of Jackson, you realised how nice she was when in her own environment. When she was comfortable, not at work with running a community of god knows how many people, basically, when she was just Maria. It was nice seeing her this way and you got along really well.

An hour later, the couple were saying goodbye to you and Joel. When they left, his lips were on yours once again and you asked what was wrong. He broke it off and pulled you close to him instead “Nothing is wrong doll, just nice to have you here is all.” After smiling at him, he got himself comfy on the bed beside you.

Laying together under the sheets with your dog, Joel told you he would take you to his home tomorrow as it was too late at night to go now. Ellie would be asleep and he doesn't want to disturb her, you didn't mind either way so long as it meant you slept next to him.

Surprising to yourself, sleep came fairly quickly but Joel was still awake. He figured that all the activity today was a lot more than what you were used to and settled his head onto the pillow after placing another kiss to your cheek. Then, sleep finally came to him shortly after.

The next day when you awoke, Ellie visited again and you were happy to have another conversation with her. More so now, knowing that she is Joel's daughter as you wanted to get to know her better.

Joel stood after a while of you two talking, more like listening to her joke about her old man, and made his way over to the canteen to grab breakfast for you all.

When he left, you asked Ellie an honest question “El, help me out here. I had a strange encounter with the doctor yesterday, but I don't want to talk about it to Joel or Maria. If I tell you what happened will you tell me if I'm crazy or not?”

“Was it Sam?” Ellie didn't even have to listen to what you had to say, she cut straight to the point and knew exactly who you were talking about.

When you nodded, she brought her voice down to a whisper and shared “She’s had a crush on Joel for a while, but she’s kinda crazy about it. Countless times now she has tried to come onto him and he always declines. She's weird, man. I’m telling you but listen, you didn't hear any of this from me”

“Of course.” Nodding your head and silently promising her that you won't say anything, you now realise why Joel was really asking if Sam was nice to you. It didn't anger you, but you worried about how the night was going to go at the party, knowing what you know now.

Just like the saying, call on the devil and they shall appear. Sam walks into the room and cheerfully beams to Ellie to greet her. She toned down her voice again to greet you. but Joel entered shortly after and her voice went up a notch again. You and Ellie looked to each other to cringe.

You had to turn your head away from the sight of Sam putting her hands on your man. She cackled to him and grabbed his bicep over their chat, you could see Joel looking to you in the corner of your eyes and you knew, tonight was going to be an interesting time…

Next Chapter

——————————————————————————

@marydjarin @extraneous-trip

[fanfic-collection]

Loki x Reader: The TA - 9

TA – 9

Please comment, woohoo I got it done tonight! this took a direction I did not anticipate soooo :)

-

The officer dropped you off at the emergency doors and you ran inside up to the front desk.

Your eyes must have looked wild for the receptionist called someone to walk around and talk to you.

“Listen, I’m Sarah, alright?” She spoke in a soft soothing voice.

“Where is he?” You cried out.

The other people sitting in the waiting area looked at you with mixed expressions. Some annoyed, some concerned, some too sick to care.

“Listen, you’ll have to tell me who you’re looking for. Then we can see about getting you to them, alright?”

“Loki Laufeyson, he was just brought in by the ambulance, right?”

Sarah looked over at the receptionist who typed for a bit. “Yes, he’s in the ICU currently.”

Your heart once more leapt to your throat. At this point you weren’t sure it had ever left your throat.

“Here, I’ll get you to the ICU waiting room. What is your relationship to him?”

“Girlfriend?” You tried to sound confident.

Sarah nodded. “This must be quite the scare for you.”

You nodded vigorously.

Putting her hand on your shoulder, she started to guide you down one of the halls. A sign overhead read “ICU” with an arrow pointing in the direction she was taking you.

-

You arrived at a waiting room, one or two others sitting in uncomfortable plastic chairs. One held coffee in their hands and looked up listlessly as they saw a new arrival.

“Now you wait here, alright? Someone will be here to get you when he’s out.” Sarah smiled reassuringly and patted your shoulder again before leaving back to the Emergency room.

You swallowed hard, legs shaky as you sank into one of the seats. Bending over, you put your head in your hands and tried to contemplate all that had happened in the last few hours.

-

Time passed achingly slow. You tried not looking at the time, but each attempt failed. Eventually you gave in and looked at the ticking clock on the wall or the one on your phone.

There was a flurry of activity coming from the direction of the ER and you wondered what it could be at so late an hour.

A tall man with blond hair came storming angrily into the waiting room, carrying an umbrella.

“Where is he?” The man demanded angrily.

“Sir.” You recognized Sarah behind him. “Sir, please, if you will, the accident was quite bad and he’s in intensive care.”

The man growled, turning towards her and brandishing his umbrella like a weapon. “I don’t give a damn. I want to see him now.”

Sarah looked around the room, hoping for an answer to spring out at her.

You stood up. “Uh, are you… the brother?” You guessed, hoping you weren’t asking a complete stranger about their life entirely unrelated to yours.

The man narrowed his eyes at you. They were intensely blue but that quickly fled your mind. “My brother? Loki. Yes. Loki Laufeyson. I was told he was here.”

You walked over towards the man, hands up in a placating manner. “Listen, uh,” you introduced yourself. “But the accident was pretty bad. He hit his head and I think he’s going to have some internal bleeding. I’m sure he’s got a few fractures. Or broken bones…”

Sarah looked at you gratefully, quietly edging away from the room.

“You know my brother?”

“I’m his uh, friend?”

The man nodded slowly. He seemed to be calming down now that he was getting answers. Only now did you realize how ripped he was: his coat barely containing his muscles. “He doesn’t have many friends, certainly none that he’s told me about.”

“Yea well, you know how things are.” You didn’t know how things were.

The man nodded again. “Yes. You are a shrewd woman. I am Thor, Loki’s brother. Though when he is upset he makes sure to remind me that he’s adopted.”

You blinked. It was turning out to be quite the revelation of how little you actually knew of the man personally. “Here, let me get us some coffee and we can talk about him. I’m just as worried as you are.”

Thor walked to one of the plastic seats and sank into it. The chair creaked ominously, as though a grown man were sitting in a child’s chair.

You hurried over to the free coffee stand and poured out two cups, one for each of you.

Before returning to your own seat, you handed Thor the other coffee. Thor took it gratefully and smiled weakly at you.

“I apologize for my behavior. I am worried, this has never happened before.”

“You’re telling me.” You shook your head and took a sip, burning your tongue. Making a face at the coffee you turned back to Thor. “Do you know any details?”

Thor shook his head and took a long drink. “I was contacted by police on my cellular phone that my brother was in the hospital. I believe I am next of kin.” Thor picked at the Styrofoam cup. “Our father is not in the country, and… Mother travels. So they contacted me, I must be in his wallet as some sort of emergency contact.”

You nodded. A brother made sense, that would be the person the authorities would contact.

“But I don’t know anything beyond he’s been in a car wreck and now in your peoples’ ICU.”

“Yea the intensive care unit. I found him at the scene of the wreck. It was… bad. There’s a full blizzard out tonight.”

“Yes. Driving here was difficult.”

“There was a drunk driver. He must’ve swerved into Loki’s lane and when he tried to avoid it, that’s when he hit the tree. By the looks of it, the other car still managed to hit his.” You told him all you knew.

“How is it that you came upon my brother’s wreck? What were you doing so close to his home?”

You felt your cheeks heat up and took a long drink, hoping to hide any evidence behind your coffee cup. When you lowered it, you looked at Thor shyly. “I uh.”

Thor raised his eyebrow. It was oddly reminiscent of Loki.

“Well, I’m his TA, so we had some things to discuss and I said I’d meet him there.”

“Oh? Is this not the last day of the semester?”

You mumbled. “Planning for next semester?” You tried to make it sound like a statement.

Thor nodded, appeased. “Then, we wait.”

Once more, now in shared silence, time passed as slow as before.

Thor shifted awkwardly in his too small seat, trying to find a comfortable position. Your chairs were against the wall so you tried to curl up in a ball and close your eyes, just resting them.

-

You were startled awake as Thor shook your shoulder, a doctor coming into the waiting room. “Are you the family of Mr. Laufeyson?”

Thor nodded then glanced at you.

“Kinda?” You didn’t want to lie, but you knew you mattered to him, if only a bit.

“She’s with me.” Thor stated imperiously. “We wish to see my brother.”

“How is he faring?” You asked at the same time.

The doctor looked between the two of you. “Well, we don’t want many visitors but I guess I can make an exception for both of you. He’s in his own room, out of intensive care right now. I’ll get a nurse to take you to him.”

“How bad is it?”

“He’s conscious, but it’s… not good.” The doctor looked between the two of you. Thor must have had some sort of dangerous look for the doctor quickly added, “he’s alive though, and he should recover. But it will be difficult.”

“That’s all that matters.” You said, tears welling in your eyes.

Thor glanced down at you before at the doctor. “Then take us to him.”

“A nurse will be out in a few moments.”

The doctor turned and left, leaving you and Thor in stunned silence.

Neither of you could sit after hearing that news. Both of you began to pace around, trying to get rid of the restless energy.

Then a nurse entered the room. “Are you two here for Mr…” She checked her chart. “Laufeyson?”

You nodded vigorously.

“My brother.” Thor growled.

“Alright you two, c’mon, let’s get going.” She took off at a speed walk, clearly having other things to do.

You wound this way and that through the hospital, getting on an elevator for a bit and then winding around some more.

Finally, in a quiet ward, the nurse held a finger to her lips and motioned for one of the shut doors.

You could feel the anticipatory energy radiating from Thor.

The nurse pushed the door open and you and Thor effectively flung yourselves into the room. She went around you, checking monitors and the white board and the IV.

And then you saw him.

Loki had a brace around his neck, there were nasty bruises on his face and one particularly large cut was covered with a bandage. You recognized the cut on his face as the one that had been bleeding. His sheets were pulled up to his neck, though his arms were out of the blankets. A sad solitary tube connected to his wrist steadily dripped fluids into him.

Your heart welled up, aching, as tears pricked at your eyes.

It was a race between you and Thor for who got to his side first. And despite being smaller than Thor, it was a pretty close finish.

“Wait.” You whispered as you both were by his side, Thor had just opened his mouth. “We should let him sleep.

Thor nodded and sank into one of the chairs, gesturing for you to have the large recliner.

Now the two of you sat expectantly, waiting for signs of movement.

“I can’t wait any longer.” Thor hissed.

The room door opened and a nurse walked in. “I need to take his vitals.” She explained with her cart. Once she was at Loki’s side, she lifted up one of his bruised arms and carefully put the blood pressure cuff around it.

Loki’s eyes fluttered open as he registered the movement.

You sprang to your feet, trying to stay out of the way but wanting to be at Loki’s side. Thor had the same idea.

Loki’s eyes lit up when he saw you, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. It quickly faded as it tugged at his stitches.

“Brother.” Thor said, despite his voice still booming, it was rather soft.

Loki’s eyes shifted over to look at Thor. “You came?”

“Of course, brother, the police contacted me and I could not let you be here alone.” Thor glanced at you. “I didn’t know your TA was so loyal to her job.”

A rush of blood hit Loki’s cheeks and he tried unsuccessfully to hide it.

You grabbed Loki’s free hand and squeezed it. How you longed to raise his knuckles to your lips and kiss them.

Loki’s eyes shone as he watched you, unable to move his neck.

“Is the brace…?” Thor trailed off.

“It’s temporary, rather precautionary. I just jolted my neck a bit. Nothing too serious.” Loki muttered.

“Oh good.” You mumbled, not letting go of his hand.

“What happened?” Thor demanded.

Loki sighed. “I was driving as usual, the blizzard started to pick up. I came around a corner and was able to see headlights veering towards me just in time to try and dodge it. There was black ice I believe, the wheels skidded, and then well, I hit my head rather hard.”

You managed a weak laugh.

“I’m not too sure what happened after that.” Loki glanced at you. “Though I believe I have you to thank?”

You shook your head, trying to fight back tears. “Well I mean, yea, but no. Oh I’m so glad you’re alright.”

“Alright?” Thor’s voice rose.

“My sternum is fractured.” Loki muttered. “There was a lot of internal bleeding. A few ribs had to be popped back into place and a concussion they said.” He looked at you. “What happened?”

“I uh, came upon the scene of the crash and called for help as soon as I realized what happened. You were pretty out of it.”

Thor looked at you curiously, a similar look mirrored on Loki’s face.

“I thought I would surprise you with uh, planning next semester?” You shot a pointed look at Thor before returning your gaze to Loki.

“Ah, yes. Thor, can you see if the nurses can get me some water?”

“Of course, brother.” Thor rushed from the room, leaving you and Loki.

Loki raised his eyebrow before wincing painfully. You pulled his hand up to your lips and kissed his knuckles gently.

“What were you really doing?” Loki asked, trying to shift so he could look at you better.

You felt your cheeks heat up. “I thought I’d surprise you. Make sure you didn’t spend break alone. I should’ve known you might be with your brother.”

Loki rolled his eyes and sighed, though the pleased look didn’t fade. “Well then, I guess I have you to thank for saving my life.”

“And your fingers. You nearly got frostbite.”

Loki laughed softly then hummed. “Yes, I believe so.” He flexed his hand looking at the long pale fingers, past the IV in his arm. His voice softened further. “Thank you.”

“I would do it again.” You wanted to hug him, to hold him. But for the first time since you had met him, he looked fragile, frail, like he might break if you touched him too hard. You straightened up and brushed some of his hair away from his face.

Loki smiled at the gesture.

“I… I would do anything for you, Loki.”

Loki’s eyes darkened. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“I’m not lying.”

Loki sighed. “I know.”

You sat back down in the chair, never letting go of his hand.

Thor returned, carrying a cup of water with a straw and smiled, looking between the two of you. “What did I miss?”

[simslegacy5083]

NSB (Straud Legacy) Gen 9 Ep 83: Babies on the Brain

The Story of a Family

Luigi and Noemi had been existing pretty much exclusively in their own little bubble since getting back together. When Denton called shortly after Chance’s memorialto invite them over to meet baby Markus Luigi realized how long it had been since he’d some spent quality time with ANY of his cousins and gladly agreed.

The little one was sleeping when they arrived, so the adults settled in the living room to catch up. Denton was happy to see Luigi so well settled in his relationship, while Luigi congratulated him on raising an impressive amount of simoleons for Team Farm’s foundation during a recent charity stream.

Hearing little Markus stirring Denton invited the couple to walk over and say hello. Luigi got to the bassinet first. He had zero experience with babies and hoped no one noticed the slight shaking of his hand as he gently reached out a finger towards his “nephew” in greeting.

The newborn seemed to sense his fear and released an ear-splitting wail, flailing his tiny fists energetically and making Luigi jump backwards before he even made contact. As the parents came to take over, he was mighty glad the tiny screaming thing in front of him was not his!

Denton chuckled, scooping his son up to give him a bottle. His paternal happiness wasn’t even ruffled when Markus let out a happy and messy burp that redecorated daddy’s outfit. He simply passed him to Bridget and went to change into less milk-soaked clothes.

Upon Denton’s return he could tell Noemi was having a much better time with Markus than Luigi had, holding him with confidence and chatting with Bridget while his cousin hovered anxiously nearby. When Luigi said they needed to leave to “get ready for afternoon classes” without trying to hold Markus again, Denton assured him he’d done nothing wrong. Babies were “just like that sometimes” and he’d get better with them.

Luigi did have an afternoon class to get to, leaving Noemi, who was done for the day, at loose ends for a few hours.

Having noticed that she’d been more tired lately she decided to try and build up some energy with an invigorating jazzercise routine.  Usually one of her favorite workouts, oddly that afternoon the high impact aerobics quickly made Noemi feel drained and almost sick.

Giving up, she instead went to lie down, falling asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

That afternoon Noemi dreamed that Markus was her and Luigi’s child. The smile on her face upon awakening quickly turned into a frown when she remembered the reality of her very much “not ready for babies” boyfriend. The frown deepened as she considered her recent exhaustion and the queasiness she’d written off as senior year jitters.

After her scare before Winterfest, she’d had an IUD put in and made sure Luigi also used protection during woohoo. Surely, there was no way she could be pregnant with all the precautions they’d been taking!?

There was only one way to find out.

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[awakendreamersworld]

Here’s Chapter 9! Missing Love

The next day, Doria had Maria go back to school so she could become stronger than she was before, "And don't worry about and her friends, I already had a long talk to them and their parents." Doria said and kissed Maria on the head and waved goodbye before swimming away to her post to protect the Sea Emperors and the kingdom. Maria swam towards her class a bit nervous hoping they wouldn't bring up her 'incident.' "Ok, class! Today we're gonna play a little game of hide and seek, the rules are simple: I'm gonna place these human stuff around and you have to find them, whoever has the most human items wins! I'm gonna be the human who's gonna try to find you all, don't get caught! You get caught, your out! So try to find some place to hide." Mr. Powell said and everyone began hiding, Maria hid next to Emily who was sitting behind a rock. "Hey." Maria whispered, "Hey, are your wounds ok?" Emily whispered back looking at her bandages "Yeah, they're fine." Maria said smiling. Maria then looked behind the rock and saw a human item, it was a nickel, she looked around for the teacher and quickly swam towards it and picked it up then quickly swam back behind the rock with Emily, "Got one!" Maria said and showed Emily, Emily pulled out a bag with dozens of human items inside, "Whoa your good!" Maria said amazed "Dorms have a very unique sense of smell to find objects." Said Emily. After a few hours of everyone collecting, hiding and getting caught the game was over and the teacher started tallying up who got the most. "Omar and Sebastian, first place! Maria and Emily, second place! Kristine and Danny, third place!" Mr. Powell announced, some of the class cheered and some remained silent, then it was time for lunch. While Maria was trying to eat her lunch with Emily, some of the other students came and started asking her questions like, "Is it true you were attacked by a shark?" Or "How deep was the Midnight Zone? How'd you get out? What creatures did you see down there?" Then some came and apologized about her mother's death and how cool she was and that they hope Maria will grow up to be like her some day. Maria thanked them then continued with her lunch break. After school, and being tired of everyone's questions, Maria just wanted to go to bed and forget about everything that just happened, forget about the questions they asked. She looked up at Alberto's record player, she reached up to the handle to turn it and it began playing the singing lady again. It made her smile, then she turned over and looked up at her seashell ceiling and thought about Alberto, "I wonder how he's doing..." She said.

Giulia opened her window and played her trumpet noises once again which, again, startled Alberto awake, "Could you please stop doing that!?" He shouted "Well, its the only way to get you up, big guy! C'mon, breakfast is ready!" Giulia said and hopped down from the window and began running downstairs to the kitchen with Luca and sat at the table waiting for Massimo to get done with the pasta. Alberto came downstairs and saw Luca and Giulia reading another boring book while eating next to each other, Alberto sighed and sat across from them and ate his pasta trying to ignore their conversations of what he thinks is useless and boring stuff. Once done, Massimo asked Alberto to come and help him hunt for some more fish and so that everyone can get the day started getting their jobs done. Once at the docks, Alberto and Massimo climbed onto the boat and started heading towards the open sea, Alberto navigated Massimo where the fish were and Massimo threw the giant net into the water to catch some fish. Alberto sat and waited for Massimo to finish when he turned to his right and saw something light blue, he thought it was Maria's dress attached to Maria, "Maria?" He said smiling hoping that was her, but it turned out to be a little kid wearing a swimsuit and holding up a bucket of clams. Alberto sighed in sadness and frowned and looked down. "I know, Alberto. I miss her too, she was good person. But we must wait till she heals, shark bites are very powerful and could tear you in two if your not careful. She's a strong woman, she'll make it through." Massimo said taking the net out to reveal a giant pile of fish and brought onto the boat. "I know but, how long do we have to wait?" Alberto said, "I don't know, but only time will tell. We must be patient." Massimo said and started the boat's engine and began heading back to town. Giulia and Luca were finishing their deliveries riding down the hill back to their home, "HA! A new record!" Giulia said looking at her stopwatch and then hopping of her bike, Luca hopped of the back of the empty cart and came up behind her "Wow, that was quick!" He said "Hehe yeah!" Giulia said and then saw her dad and Alberto return with another giant pile of fish they caught. "Woohoo! Another great catch!" Giulia cheered, "Thanks to your friend here." Massimo said patting Alberto's shoulder, "Its no problem" He said trying to act casual and went inside the house, Giulia and Luca looked at him knowing something was wrong. "He's just heartbroken. Just give it time." Massimo said, Luca and Giulia looked at each other with worry then walked back inside their home.

Alberto was up in the tree looking up at the sky, once again thinking about Maria, wishing she was right next to him like before. Luca came through the window onto the tree and sat next to Alberto.

"Hey Alberto." He said,

"If your gonna ask me about Maria, don't, I don't wanna hear it." Alberto said and turned over to his left side

"I-I wasn't!" Luca said "I just wanted to ask if your ok."

"I'm fine, now just leave me alone and go to sleep or read another boring book about whatever." Said Alberto

Luca looked down then left the tree back through the window into Giulia's room, "How'd it go?" Giulia asked.

Luca sighed, "He doesn't want to talk about it..."

"Let's just leave him for now, he'll feel better when Maria returns from recovery." Giulia said.

A few weeks later, Maria woke up the next morning feeling better but still felt like something was missing, like a big part of her, and she felt a little sick, but didn't bother and went to her aunt so she could check her wounds. Maria sat up on the table and Doria took off her bandages to see if her wounds healed, Maria's wounds turned into scars and seemed to be healed. "Ok, your healed, but we need to wait one more day for your scars to get used to being revealed without the bandages, otherwise they'll dry and burn." Doria said, Maria gasped and cheered and hugged her aunt. "Ok, now, go on ahead to school before your late." Doria said and Maria began swimming to her school. She told Emily the good news and said that she'll be returning to Alberto tomorrow morning, "That's great, Maria! I bet he's gonna be so happy to see you!" Emily said happily "I know, it feels like its been forever!" Maria said excited, "Oh, please..." A voice behind them came up, it was Alice with her friends "The only thing your 'boyfriend' is gonna do is expose you to the humans and get you captured, that's what Sea Monsters do." She said, "How do you know? I never seen you with a Sea Monster before, much less prove that they do that." Maria said "Because I know, I don't have to prove it." Alice said, "So... You just know, but won't show anyone any proof?" Maria said then bursted out laughing and so did Emily, "That doesn't make any sense!" She said still laughing, Alice blushed from embarrassment and looked around and saw everyone else giggling at her. "Y-Yeah? Well, prove me wrong then!" Alice yelled "Four words, 'ask the Sea emperors'" Maria said and turned back around giggling and eating the rest of her food "I mean, unless your too scared." Maria teased, Alice scoffed, "Fine! I WILL prove that I'm right and that YOUR wrong, shark bait!" Alice yelled and swam off towards the Sea Emperors' facility overconfident. "I can't wait to see the look on her face when she realizes that rules changed." Maria said, "Yeah, heh." Emily said "I still can't believe you used to be friends with her." Maria said "Yeah, well, your a better friend than she is." Emily said smiling at Maria "Thanks." Maria said "I'm actually gonna miss you when I'm gone." "Me too, but I can still come and visit!" Said Emily "That'd be great!" Maria said and then they finished eating and when school was done for the day, they waved goodbye and headed home.

Maria swam back home and ran into Alice with a grumpy face, "How'd it go with proving me wrong?" She smirked. Alice didn't say anything, she gave an angry look at Maria then swam away and Maria smiled with pride that she was right as she swam the rest of the way home. "Welcome home, Maria! How was school?" Doria asked, "It was great, I'm just gonna miss Emily when I leave." Maria said "Hop up here and let me take another look at your scars, just to make sure they aren't drying up." Doria said and Maria hopped up on the table to get checked out. Doria looked over Maria's scars, they seemed to be healing perfectly, but thought maybe another week should have them healed and 'used to' the bandages not on them. "Ok, just let me add this ointment and they'll be fine within a week!" Doria said grabbing the medicine from the rocky cabinet, "WHAT!? But you said-" Maria cried "Yes I know what I said, but I'm just trying to make sure your scars don't go bad and begin to wither, wrinkling your scales so that they look old." Doria said applying the medicine onto Maria's scars, Maria groaned in anger, how long must she wait? Seriously, she's starting to act like her mother, Firtha.

Once Doria was finished applying the ointment, she sent Maria to bed. Maria was very upset that she had to wait longer than expected, she sighed and turned over towards the record player again. Every time she looked at the record player, she can't help but think or feel like Alberto is right behind her, but he isn't. She missed him a lot, he was fun to hang out with, and willing to be in a relationship with her that easily, especially since he wasn't even in a trance. That's odd, usually the Siren Song would hypnotize their victims, but Maria didn't sing the Siren Song, she sang something else, something she felt besides the song. These feelings were something weird, Maria never felt like this before, like she's being left alone or forgotten, invisible from everyone and everything. But Alberto, when she first met him, he showed her everything, he wasn't ignoring her or making her feel invisible, he was helping her see for the first time in millennia that she was truly 'free' that she was able to be herself and that she didn't have to hide anymore! He was the actually the one who 'cared' for her and not keeping her away from the world, he gave her ice cream, knew that the rules were wrong and was there for her when she was on the edge of death. Its just like he said: 'I would follow you through ANY deep ocean depth.' It was so weird, besides her mother, she never missed someone so much in her life. What was this feeling? Maria knew she's seen and felt it before, but what? Was this feeling perhaps what everyone called... Love? Maria just had to see Alberto again, to stop all these weird emotions from circling around in her head, to be comfortable without worrying so much, but she didn't want to wait that long, so she came up with a plan.

Alberto was swimming in the water rounding up some fish for Massimo, he managed to get them entangled in the net and Massimo pulled them up onto the boat. "Perfetto, Alberto." He said "Yeah, I'm pretty much an expert on fish." Alberto said turning back into his human form. Then Massimo started the boat and they began heading back to shore just as Giulia and Luca were getting done with the deliveries. Once everything was finished, they went back inside and ate pasta. Alberto was back on top of the tree, not wanting to talk or hear Giulia and Luca going awe over some stupid books. Giulia climbed on top of the tree to see if she could try to talk to him.

"Alberto, can we talk? I know you miss Maria, and there isn't anything you can say to me that's going to get me to not talk to you." Giulia said "Can you at least tell me what's wrong? Besides venting about Maria?"

"Ugh, fine, since you won't shut up about it." Alberto sighed annoyed, "Look, I don't know what's wrong with me. I've just been getting these really weird feelings I don't know about, and they hurt, mostly in my chest. And every time I think of Maria these weird feelings race around my head, like I miss her or I need, like REALLY need to see her!" Alberto cried.

"Aye, Alberto. You have 'Broken Heart Syndrome.'" Giulia said

"What's that?" He asked

"Its when you miss someone so much that your heart begins to ache and you feel like you can't breathe, they're caused by stressful events." Giulia said

"So I'm stressed and... Brokenhearted?" Alberto said,

"Yes! Because of how much you love Maria, yet, she's not here and hasn't been here for a while, your brokenhearted." Giulia said,

"Love?" Alberto asked

"Yeah! Wait, you were really in love with Maria, Right?" Giulia asked,

"Well, most of the time I was just hanging out with her cause I saw you with Luca and it made me feel isolated... But then, after a while, when we were swimming to my island, I think that's when these feelings started, when we were having fun jumping out the water. Then there was a moment where we just looked at each other, I dunno, I thought I was just dizzy from jumping too much." Alberto said

"Yes! That's what love is! A great interest in something or an intense feeling of deep affection!" Giulia exclaimed.

Alberto looked down and thought about it for a moment, all those times with Maria, getting ice cream, fighting Ercole, swimming together, even down there in the Midnight Zone when he kissed Maria on the forehead, he really just did it cause he saw humans do it, but now that he thought about it, was that actually...? For once, he actually believed Giulia, he was in love with Maria! "But, how do I cure my 'Broken' Heart?" he asked "First off, STAND UP STRAIGHT! Just because Maria's been gone for a few weeks doesn't mean she isn't coming back, and it doesn't mean its the end of the world! Second, don't beat yourself up, its not your fault she left. She's injured and wounds take up time to heal. You need to stop worrying and get over it, Maria's fine." Giulia said. "Uhh... Ok?" Alberto said a little scared whenever Giulia yells like that, "Anyways, that's all I wanted to say! Goodnight Alberto!" Giulia said heading back to her window into her room and closing the window.

Alberto turned back and looked down, he was really thinking about what Giulia just said about 'love.' 'An intense feeling of deep affection' he thought, he layed back down and looked at the sky, for some reason he could hear Maria's song play in his head, he remembers the lyrics: 'Let's run away into the sea as I hold you close to me. Let's slide beneath the waves down into the caves. If you wanna escape with me, come take my hand. We'll run away to a better land, a better land.' He told her to sing something she felt, is that what she felt about him? To run away with him into the sea to some place better? After finding that out, it just seemed to worsen his affection for Maria, he wanted to find her, to tell her he's sorry for kind of faking his love interest in her, and that after realizing his great interest in Maria he wanted to tell her how much he really loved her, how much he 'needed' to be with her, to SEE her. Giulia's words echoed in his head, 'A great interest in something or an intense feeling of deep affection, that's what love is.' "So... these 'intense feelings' are...  love?" He said to himself looking down and then looking back up at the starry sky.

Link to other chapters: chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8

[mingisblackgf]

demo | k.m (part 1)

Prompt: You are a song-writer and producer with Seventeen alongside Woozi, when you begin to get some unneeded attention from member, Mingyu.

“I didn’t sign up for this. I want to sleep.” You grumbled in annoyance, chugging another water bottle. 

6. 

Jesus, that was the sixth water bottle you’ve downed in less than an hour. To be fair, it kept you awake.

You probably went to bed around 9 every night, let’s be real. And that’s only because you’re what your friends call an “old lady.” 

You had been hired by Pledis as stand-in song-writers for Woozi, who seemed to be going through a “writer’s block” of sorts. Whatever that meant. Point was, you’d been getting to know the boys through the period of creating “An Ode.” More specifically, the song “Fear.” A particular member had been getting your attention, Mingyu, but you chose to ignore that urge and focus on the point at hand: getting a hit.

Point is, you had to prove why we were useful to Pledis, so you decided to stay up all the hours after dinner writing music and producing for the entire group. 

In fact, you had pitched the vocals and beat behind fear. The lyrics and intonation were the problem tonight, to which you and Jihoon figured out together. Your chemistry was undeniable, but on a professional level, so there was no room for romance there, either.

You ran your fingers through you hair in stress, standing up and pacing around the studio. 

The rest of the group sat around on the couches, listening to the demo version of “Fear.” You had the whole song to yourself, and Mingyu was having a field day listening to it.

“Y/N’s voice is really pretty on this part.” Chan commented, bobbing his head back and forth.

It was late. Too late. And you were showing it. You were getting annoyed with Jihoon easily, and especially Mingyu, who was annoying. 

Besides the stress lines on your forehead, Mingyu found it cute that you looked a little bit of a mess. He used it to his advantage.

“Naneun wiheomhae neomu jidokhae, Nae jinshimbodan nalkaroun jinshiri jungyohae,”  Mingyu rapped in the microphone, clutching the music tightly. He did that cute little thing he did when he recorded, with the arms floating. You had to stop yourself from biting your lip at his voice. 

You suppose you didn’t hold back quite as well as you thought you did. “Stop enjoying it so much, Y/N.” He added on, letting it echo. “How did it sound, though? I didn’t follow the melody as you said.”

You squint your eyes, looking dead at him, not before pressing the key on the soundboard to let yourself be heard by him. “Yeah, I can tell. It sounds off beat because of that. Why didn’t you listen to me? This song is taking the longest because you guys aren’t listening. Try it again.”

Jihoon intervened from the desk. He was usually a passive guy, sitting at the table and listening. “Honestly, I like what he did. Don’t you think it’d be easier if he rode the beat instead of trying to fight it? He put his own flow on it, and you didn’t put a rap in the demo anyway.” Jihoon argued. 

You rolled your eyes, fiddling with a few of the controls as you two continued to argue about music stuff. “Let’s just take a break, yeah?” You decided after a while of deciding, taking off your headphones. The rest of the boys nodded, and Mingyu exited the booth.

A little later, you didn’t notice Mingyu had rolled up to you until I heard his voice: “Hey. Bored?” He moved your hair behind your ear and smiled. His eyes were sparkling and loving as he looked on at me, filled happily with all the warmth that was mirrored on his tannish skin. He was shining then, even at 5 in the morning in a dimly lit studio.

What the hell are you on about? Since when does Mingyu shine? Your stomach gutted at the thought. “Duh.” You responded, chuckling a bit.

“Seems like it. You’re pretty when you’re bored.” He responded lamely, patting your head.

You cocked an eyebrow as his response. “Oh, shut up.” You pushed his shoulder and stood up, walking away before you fell for his smile any more.

“Okay, we’re back.” Jihoon decided a little later, letting the rest of the members file back into the small studio.

“Vernon, real quick, can you really emphasize that? Gotta get away, can’t hesitate anymore.” You sung, rolling your finger, a thing you did when you got into your music. 

“I’d say add a beat there too, it’s powerful.” Jihoon added, looking at your intently.

“A pause? Right before everything?” She questioned.

“Yeah, I was thinking that.” Jihoon responded.

The members came in and out, but you couldn’t shake your thoughts of Mingyu. How his black shirt hugged his chest, the sweatpants that hugged his hips ever so slightly. You were going to be a madwoman by the end of the night, and it’d be because of him. 

And the way you looked back at him, you could tell he was thinking the same as you. _____

part 2 is coming soon! and it’s smut, woohoo!

[darlingpetao3]

Seducing the Gem (Nash Wells x Reader, Chapter 3/9)

Rating: M (Smut in Chapter 6 only)

Summary: When a mysterious package shows up at your front door, you (a famous Romance novelist) are hurtled from your virtually uneventful life and into one of danger and adventure. In a quest to save your captured friend Caitlin from impending harm, you run into a suave adventurer named Nash who helps you along the way. Or is the charming Nash simply after something in your possession…?

Tag List: @tardis-23​ @thecaptainsgingersnap​ @the-marvelatic​

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

You’ve been walking tirelessly for hours along the road from which you’d come, and at this very moment, your true enemy is the incline of the path. The Congolese rainforest seems to grow larger around you, and under different circumstances, you would be admiring its beauty. What’s presently stopping you is the tightness in your chest, dry mouth, and screaming feet.

“Tired, Princess?” the adventurer Nash calls over his shoulder.

You readjust the strap of your purse onto your shoulder and breathlessly huff, “No.”

Nash laughs. “It’s okay to admit it.”

“I’m not tired,” you insist, then sigh quietly. Maybe you should just relax. It’s all fine. He’s taking you to Kinshasa, you’ll find Caitlin and hand over Ronnie’s device to her captors. It’s going to be okay. You might as well try to get back on the right foot with this guy.

“Why don’t you tell me something about yourself?” you ask genuinely. “I feel like I should know something about the person who’s taking me back to civilization.”

Nash slows down his pace until you’re walking next to him. “I’m a Multiversal explorer with expertise in thermic excavation.”

You scrunch up your face a little. “What does that even mean?”

“I’d rather not get into it. Some of it’s top secret.” Nash gives you a flirty eyebrow raise.

“Top secret, eh? Well, now I really want to know.” You feel a wet drop fall onto your nose. Holding out your hand, you test to feel the rain. Of course it’s going to rain.

“You’d have to beat it out of me,” Nash tells you. “But what about yourself? What’s a beautiful lady yet mildly oblivious-as-to-getting-into-vehicles-with-strangers like yourself doing here?”

“Is that a roundabout way of saying I’m stupid?” you check.

Nash gasps. “I would never.”

You shake your head. “I’m a romance novelist. And I’m only here to save my friend. She’s in huge trouble and it’s down to me to get her out of it.”

“Romance novelist?”

“That was your takeaway? Not the friend-in-danger thing?”

“So what, do you write really corny, sappy, cheesy romance or the hardcore, explicit stuff?”

You scoff at the way he said that, as if writing Romance was less than.

“I’ll have you know, I’m an award-winning author!”

“You didn’t answer my question… I bet it’s the corny stuff.”

You make a series of exasperated noises and Nash is back to laughing at how riled up you get at his teasing. The now heavy rain is not helping your mood.

“Let me guess,” he continues, “the handsome leading man swoops in at the last minute and takes the beautiful heroine in his arms.” Nash says all this dramatically with emphatic gestures. “Her bosom heaves and then…”

And then you see a light go off in his eyes when he turns to face you.

“There’s a passionate kiss in the rain?” It’s almost like he’s making a suggestion.

“You wiiii-”

What you hadn’t realized was that you had been walking too close to the edge of the inclined road. And with so much rain, well, the path was bound to give way.

Everything is dirt, and rain, and mud - and it goes everywhere on your horrific slide down the steep hill. Amidst your screams, you hear a distant “Hang on!” from above. After what feels like falling forever, you slide comically on your rear to a halt. Resting back on your forearms, you look up to the sky, which is actually a cover of treetops. The rain doesn’t seem to be able to reach you down here due to the thick canopy.

The sound of “woohoo!”s grow louder from above as Nash confidently slides down the mud trail on his feet you had left behind. Though, when he reaches you the bottom, something goes awry in his landing. It’s an indecent accident - an ungraceful, face-first dive between your legs, stomach in the mud. Your eyes feel like they’re bulging out of your drenched head. Nash lifts his own head up and wears a shit-eating grin.

“Oh man!” he shouts. “That was incredible! This is turning out to be one hell of a day, am I right?!”

You simply stare back at him, still there, hovering with his face so close to your-

“Are you alright? That was one impressive fall,” he says.

You nod with a squeak, still in shock that you continue to breathe and aren’t dead from that “impressive fall.”

“Good! Welcome to Africa, Princess!”

The very second his nickname for you leaves his mouth, a speeding bullet flies past your heads.

“Shit!” Nash yells and scrambles to get both himself and you up out of the mud hole. Squinting up, you spot the familiar face amongst a team of army men.

Wade.

Oh God! Why?! You feel like throwing up. Nash spots the scary bastard as well.

“What the hell do they want? I haven’t done anything… lately, that is!” His hand has a vice grip on yours as he pulls you further into the brush to flee Wade and his apparent reinforcements. You nearly trip over the vines on the ground and have to bat away the gargantuan plant leaves, but Nash’s hand never leaves yours.

“Wait,” the explorer voices, and to your horror stops running and drops your hand, letting you bump into him, “he’s after you! Who the hell are you?”

“I’m just a novelist from Central City!” you stammer. “How many times do I have to tell you? I’m here to save my friend, okay?!”

“There they are!” comes an authoritative voice from behind you, getting closer. They’ve made it down the muddy slope.

You grab Nash’s hand once more and yell, “Now let’s get the fuck out of here!”

“I don’t know if helping you is worth it anymore!” Nash shouts, yet somehow unable to keep the excitement out of his voice.

“Oh, shut up and run!”

Fear and adrenaline propel you forward. Never once do you look back to check to see how far the goons are behind you. Nash busts out a machete attached at his hip and proceeds to slash at the massive plants in your way.

“What, did you wake up this morning and say, ‘today, I’m gonna ruin a man’s life!’?”

“Oh yeah, in fact, that’s my first thought every morning!” you yell sarcastically in reply.

You’re so caught up in your banter with the infuriating explorer that you both nearly fall off a cliff hiding behind the final pieces of plants in your way. Nash grips your forearm so that you don’t topple over down the chasm.

“Shit,” he curses and prepares himself by facing the advancing pursuers. “Just stay right behind me.”

Yeah, like hell. While he switches out his blade for the gun, you survey the area behind you and spot a bridge - if one could even call it a bridge. Keeping away from the cliff’s edge as best you can, you make it to the rickety-looking structure. Good God, am I crazy? At this point, attempting to cross a chasm sounds a lot better than getting shot to death by G.I. Wade and his men.

You set one foot on the swaying bridge. This thing does not look like it can hold the rest of your body’s full weight. It creaks with every bit more you add to the wooden plank. With two feet now, you’re suspended over what feels like a bottomless pit.

Inch by inch, you make your way across, holding onto the rope - string - because your life really did depend on it. So far, so goo-

“Ahhhhhh!”

A plank cracks in half and falls almost in slow motion down until you can’t see it anymore. You never hear an echo of it hitting the bottom. Gripping the rope for dear life, you wheeze in fright.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Nash hollers after finally noticing you’d left his side.

“FLEEING, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?!” you shout back, voice cracking atrociously.

Where is that snapping noise coming fro-?

“Nonononooooo!”

You reach for the fraying rope on its last strand and hang tight. The second it snaps, you squeal in terror as the momentum of falling propels you in a forward swoop.

I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die!

But when massive plant leaves slap your face and your ass hits the glorious ground, you take a second, patting the rainforest floor to see if it’s real.

I’m alive, I’m alive, I’m alive!

That’s when the hysterical laughter sets in. This seriously is one hell of a day.

More gunshots ring out from the other side and you scramble to peer through the bushes to find Nash. He’s running towards the bridge, but how will he…?

The charming man pulls out what looks like a gun, but when he fires it in your general direction, it’s apparent that it’s not shooting bullets.

Holy shit, is that a grappling hook gun? The hook catches on a tree branch and Nash swings over to your side effortlessly. His boots clunk onto the ground during his landing.

His highly impressive landing.

The man recalls the hook into his gun and exhales, “Well, that was-”

“-Hey-!” Another bullet whizzes close past his ear and in a split second, he dives forward to dodge the next several shots. Though, in doing so, Nash lands on top of you. Again.

His heavy breath fans your face, and while you are about to yell at him again, he presses a finger to his lips to signal to stay silent. All that hangs in the air are the voices from across the ravine, caws of the foreign birds, and both of you trying not to breathe so hard. The weight of his body on top of yours is all you can think about right now, even when it should be thoughts of survival.

His sparkling blue eyes meet yours.

You swallow hard.

“Let’s move out!” the sound of Wade’s voice echoes across the ravine. They’ll probably try to find a way around to get to you.

Soon, it’s quiet again, and Nash is the first to speak.

“We gotta stop meeting like this.”

You roll your eyes.

“Ugh!” Pushing him off, you get up and brush yourself off. Nash holsters his grappling hook, and in an effort to change the topic, you offer up a tidbit.

“You know, I wrote a character who uses one of those.”

“Is that right?” he says, amused.

“Yes, except he- OW!”

Nash’s face twists in concern. “What is it?” he asks. It was the moment you took a step forward and put pressure on your leg that you realize there’s a gash down it. Nash’s machete has been pressed against you when he fell on you. Blood soaks through your jeans.

“Oh my- shit, Princess, I’m so fucking sorry.”

You grimace again and suck in a breath through your teeth. Tears prick your eyes, but you refuse to let them fall.

“Sit down a second,” he tells you.

“No, I can-”

“(Y/N).” 

Your name, instead of the nickname, makes you stop. He searches your face. “No one is hot on our trail now. We have time. Let me fix this.”

“Okay,” you say quietly. Nash then takes out a pocket knife, a much smaller blade and shows it to you.

“I’m going to have to cut around your jeans to get to the wound, alright?”

You nod. He does as he explained, and executes it expertly as if he’s done this sort of thing countless times before. Then he shucks off his jacket and lifts his shirt up over his head, showing off a sliver of defined midsection until his undershirt falls back down to cover the impressive muscles.

Umm…?

The sound of fabric ripping shakes you back from your daze. Nash crouches down to tie his shirt firmly around your leg wound. You hiss at the contact and bite your lip. After he’s finished, Nash stands up again.

“There,” he says, voice softer than it usually is, “that will help... For now.”

“Thanks.” 

He shrugs on his jacket again and opens his arms as he nears you. You hold out a hand to stop him. “Whoa, what do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m going to carry you?” he asks, now unsure thanks to your tone.

“Um, no you’re not. What you’re going to do is hand me that machete.”

Nash raises his eyebrow at you - something you’re thinking is his signature move.

“Okay, okay. Here.” The explorer relinquishes his weapon, and you grasp the hilt, the thing that hurt you in the first place. You’ll show him how fucking tough you are. Romance writers aren’t prissy princesses. This one sure as hell isn’t.

“Lead the way, Princess,” Nash says with a forward gesture, to which you start limping. “Due west.”

[yakumtsaki]

Welcome, dear readers, to Part 2 out of 3 of the Union Comeback Season Premiere Episode (title under construction, part 1 here). Right off the bat, let me just admit what everyone is thinking, yes, mass-deleting default replacements was clearly a huge mistake. Looking good in the heart boxers, boys, especially Jojo! Very on brand and not at all ridiculous. On a lesser but equally annoying note, our windows have suddenly turned red while the exterior AND interior of the house are purple. Dark days ahead..

..but not for Goro, who has returned home since running away and is immediately being kicked out again. Good to see you Goro, now pack up your shit, D’vorah won the cat heir position so it’s time for you to move to Melody and Daniel’s farm.

-Well I’m a cat so I don’t have any possessions to pack.

Thank you for providing an example of why you lost the cat heirship via this painfully boring reaction to the news of your defeat.

-No, he’s right, we cats don’t have any possessions to pack.

Omg D��vorah shut up. How on earth you boring flops are Alegra/Ronroneo’s grandchildren AND Sophie’s children I’ll never understand. I’m this close to making Maxx the cat heir and he’s not even a cat.

-Correct, I’m a dog.

Worst group of pets e v e r. 

Oh look who autonomously woohooed for the first time in a century, I guess those base game heart boxers were simply too hot to resist. If one of you gets knocked up a week away from elderhood I’m gonna have a meltdown the likes of which the world has never seen.

-For the love of God, can we get some privacy here?

I’d love nothing more than to give you two bozos eternal privacy by never looking at either of you again, but the headmaster is here for Wulf so put some clothes on-

-WHAT THE FUCK. Why do we keep getting new headmasters instead of the ones we’ve already terrorized into submission?? Now we have to ‘show BJ a good time’ and ‘maybe we could give BJ a tour’, I’d honestly rather give BJ a bj and get this shit over with, I’m tired of threatening headmasters with murder. Hopefully it doesn’t come to sexual favors but if it does, Wyatt, you’re up. 

-Pourquoi moi???

Pourquoi toi still haven’t gotten promoted and toi sleep 22 hours a day, it’s high time toi pulled your weight around here. 

Good, that’s the spirit.

-Bonjour, monsieur Headmastér! I wòuld introdûce yoù to Wûlf but hé is très busý with unpàid çhild labόr.

-Haha, what a hilarious joke, Mr. Union!

-Alright Cinderello, after you’re done cleaning the flooding shower you’re going to need to jump out the second floor window and go study in the crypt, so the headmaster doesn’t see you and ask you any uncomfortable questions about whether I acknowledge you as my son. I have to go help your father charm our guest by giving my trademarked speech on how I never got impregnated by aliens and what a blow it was to humanity’s future. 

-Ok Mr. Jojo!

-For the last time Wulf, it’s not ‘Mr. Jojo’, it’s ‘Mr. Union’. God.

-Ah hello there Headmaster BJ, apologies for my lateness, I was tucking little Wulf in bed because I definitely acknowledge him as my son. As I do all 3 of my children and not just Cyneswith. Ask anyone! But not Wulf or whatshername.. I want to say Shenar? Anyway, now that that’s been cleared up, what are we talking about here? The fact I never got impregnated by aliens and what a terrible blow it was to humanity’s future? I assumed as much.

-Haha aliens?! Well you are just a family of crack ups, does your son share this amazing sense of humor?

-Oh yes yes he definitely does, and he is definitely OUR son, that’s exactly how I view him as well, not solely as Wyatt’s offspring just because he appears to not have a drop of my DNA. I mean who even cares about that? Not me, that’s for certain. Yes, Wulf was just telling me the funniest joke while I was reading Cinderella to him before I put him to bed-

-Man, it’s so hard to concentrate on math with a broken leg from jumping out the window and Grandpa’s disembodied head floating around.

Grandpa’s disembodied head?? 

OH FUCK KOMEI

-What?

Nothing! Looking good! The decision to delete default replacements didn’t affect you in any way!

-Thank god, have you seen Vic with that base game hair? Talk about scary. 

Yes, talk about scary indeed. Do you happen to know if the matchmaker performs the occasional exorcism?

-No idea.

Well she hates me anyway so that was solution was dead in the water. I have to go back to the headmaster fuckery now, but I want you to know I’m really sorry for what Salome did to you. 

-Sό, monsieur Headmastér, the όnly tràck reçord which est bettér than the όne we havé with bébés wόrking, est the oné we havé with our animàls rûnning awaý!

-Oh my.

-He’s joking, he’s joking Headmaster BJ, we’re both excellent pet owners and excellent parents, if you’ll excuse me the phone is ringing-

-Cyneswith darling! An adult bartender is calling for you and he has the Komei face! You might be 14 but he’s clearly future husband material!

-Be right there, daddy!

-Alright, I think I’ve seen enough here.

No you haven’t! Wyatt, take off your robe!

-No need, I’ve made up my mind..

-..you’re obviously a perfect match for our school! 

What the hell? How? Even by our standards we legit didn’t do shit.

-Headmaster Jitmakusol left a very distraught letter regarding your family before he was institutionalized, the gist of it being it is pointless to try and keep you people out of the school, and his successor should simply ‘roll with it’. 

Well ok then! Pleasure doing business with you, BJ.

-The pleasure was all mine, please don’t ever contact me again.

We’ll make sure to be in touch.

In the meantime, Komei has recovered his body!

-Why me? WHY ALWAYS ME? CYNESWITH IS RIGHT THERE

-Sorry honey, we play poker for it every night and Victor won dibs on Cyneswith.

-That’s right, the first one to scare everyone gets ghost-bingo!

Are you fuckers playing ghost-poker or ghost-bingo?

-It’s a hybrid, we have a lot of time on our hands, being dead and all, so we developed an overcomplicated gambling system for our scares. 

Yea ok congrats Victor, now can you fuck off before you actually do kill one of the kids?? They have 10/10/9 energy, they literally never sleep.

-No can do, if you actually kill someone you get Yahtzee!

How many fucking games are involved in this bullshit?

-We told you, we have a lot of time on our hands. SUCK IT VICTOR, I WIN FOR THE NIGHT

Win for the night? Who cares about that, you have Wyatt cornered, go for the Yahtzee!

-Oh, but you said our games were bullshit!

That’s before I realized Wyatt was awake for his allotted 2 hours per day non-sleeping time. Wyatt istfg bro, are you half French-Arab and half panda?

-Pandàs eàt for 14 hourès idiόt, ne pas slèèp.

Well look who knows a suspicious amount about pandas now! Almost like he’s descended from them.

Oh good, everyone’s favorite couple simultaneously has the day off. How about I take you two out for a nice date at Londoste since you’re about 55 years old?

-How about hard pass on that architectural monstrosity of a restaurant and we hang out for 6 hours in our front yard instead?

-Oui, oui! Très blanc garbagè of us!

Well at least we’re not forgetting our roots. 

Alright then, we’ve crossed into white trash territory unironically with the yard pda and we’re also freezing to death, how about we take this inside?

-Non!

-Yes, non indeed! I love how frozen your hands are, dear, it’s like you’re a real corpse!

Oh my G-

-Catch me, Creature!

-Je t'aime, dr. Frankènstèin! 

Ok, new suggestion, how about instead of going inside we visit a nice church?

-How abοùt you lôôk awày, pervertir!

Bold words from someone doing Frankenstein roleplay, and I’D LOVE TO, but the kids are at school and the animals are sleeping, so there’s no looking away from whatever the fuck this is. 

Oh thank god, Cyneswith is back from school and ready to cockblock her parents as always. First time I’m genuinely happy to see you, Cyn.

-Straight A’s again! Ah, we may only have one child but she is THE BEST. Wyatt dear, come here to congratulate Cyneswith and further inflate her ego. Wyatt?

-Why is he ignoring my straight A’s, daddy?! 

-Ugh, he’s probably jealous since everyone is jealous of you, darling. Pay him no mind, let’s go inside so I can give you the diamond tiara I got you for your birthday.

-But my birthday is in four months, what will you get me then?

-A throne to go with it and anything you want from Sihara’s and the other one’s rooms?

-They have no rooms, remember? They both sleep in the crypt.

-Right, well how about I act like I got them presents, give them to you and make them watch as you unwrap them?

-Aw daddy💗

-Je ne pas fèèl bien..

Yes, you’re dying, so it’d be some real Frankenstein shit if you did feel bien.

Is this Komei-clone bartender serious, first he calls while the headmaster is over, now he calls while we’re dying, FEEL THE FUCKING ROOM PAL

..and there we go. RIP Wyatt, it’s been sorta ok having you in the fami-

-WTF HOW ARE YOU ALIVE

-HA. I lièd, I AM hàlf pandà and mon beàr gènes protéct moi! 

GODDAMMIT I KNEW IT. Is that why the one child you gave birth to is your exact clone?

-Oui! Wulf est 1/4 pandà, et toi wènt et namèd him WULF. 

Well, to be fair, not a lot of famous pandas I could have named him after even if I knew. 

-Toi çould hàve namèd him Pandà!

Oh man, Panda Union does have a nice ring to it, especially next to the other names.. ~Shajar~, ~Cyneswith~ and PANDA. Thanks a lot for depriving me of the opportunity by withholding your genetic info.

-Je think Wulf est ontό it.. 

Onto the fact he’s 1/4 panda? I highly doubt that.

Yea nevermind, he knows. 

Oh great, Shajar has brought yet another uggo with a culturally appropriative hairstyle home from school. 

-That’s what you get for letting her out of the crypt.

Give it a rest, Jojo, we’ve had enough of your incredible parenting to last us 10 lifetimes at this point. 

-And then it goes: I send the thunder from the sky, I send the fire raining down, I send a hail of burning ice, on every field, on every town! I send the locusts on a wind, such as the world has never seen, on every leaf, on every stalk, until there's nothing left of green! I send my scourge, I send my sword, THUS SAITH THE LORD🎵

-Great, thank you, Shajar, for singing the entirety of the ‘10 Plagues’ song from The Prince of Egypt 27 times. I’m really sorry but I have to go home now-

-It-was-nice-to-meet-you noogie!

..Shajar, please, PLEASE see a doctor. 

-My sister Shajar may be super popular, spoiled and beloved-

WHAT LMAO

-but I have the friendship of animals and that’s all that matters!

Yea, Cyn, no offense, but it feels like you’re trying to cultivate an underdog Disney princess persona for yourself that is the exact opposite of actual family dynamics around here.

-What makes you say that?

Your tiara and throne vs Shajar sleeping in the crypt come to mind.

-So to be an underdog you need to be a loser?

I mean narrative-wise kinda, yea. 

-Message received. 

No, no that wasn’t a message-

-Yes it was and I got you, loud and clear.

Oh god.

-WHAT? YOU’RE REJECTING ME BECAUSE I’M TOO PRETTY? MY HEART IS BROKEN! I DON’T THINK I’LL EVER GET OVER THIS

-Uh, who are you again? Shajar invited me over, ordered a pizza and has been hiding in the bushes for 1 hour waiting to noogie the delivery guy. 

-I CAN’T BELIEVE WHAT I’M HEARING! I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO SING ABOUT THIS IN AN ENCHANTED FOREST FOR ABOUT 3 AND A HALF MINUTES

Jfc, where are the ghosts when you need them. 

-Mommy has dibs on you tonight, Jojo! 

-Mom please no! Your hair is so damn hideous! Just stay in your urn until the default replacement has been put back!

-Ah excellent, I have upgraded my robotic abilities up to cleanbot level! 

That actually is excellent, I really want us to fire Kaylynn. 

-Cleanbots don’t change cat litter. 

..UGH then why even bother, Jojo? The cat shit is 90% of our problems, make something that fixes that or stop wasting airtime with your nonsense. Istg some people. 

-Alright sis, how about we go out again tonight and ~play the field~? If I get rejected by a couple more mean boys I can earn my underdog princess badge!

-You are so stupid, Cyneswith, if you want to earn your underdog badge all you need to do is board a doomed ship, Titanic style, and then give the floating door to someone you’ve known for a couple of days while you selflessly and pointlessly drown in the freezing ocean despite the fact you could take turns sharing the door.

-But then I would be dead.

-I know right? Everybody wins. Let’s go get you some tickets.

Yea, let’s not, but let’s get out of here because the ghosts are out of fucking control and you two aren’t sleeping anytime soon.

-Shaj-and-Cyn-in-da-club noogie!

Shajar FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, ENOUGH. 

OMG IT’S SOPHIE MIGUEL. SOPHIE MIGUEL IN THE HOUSE

-Whaddup dildos, ‘tis I, Sophie fucking Miguel, the meanest townie teen there is. I’ve only taken 4 steps into this place and I can already tell I’m surrounded by a bunch of beta turbocucks. 

SHAJAR GO TALK TO HER!!!!!

-HEY BITCH, I’M NOT A BETA TURBOCUCK, I’M ALPHA AS FUCK. I’M NAMED AFTER SHAJAR AL-DURR! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO THAT IS?

SHAJ WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, WHAT IS THIS APPROACH

-Of course I do, the first Mamluk Sultana of Egypt. Nice. 

OMG THAT SHIT WORKED. LAND THE PLANE SHAJ

-Ohhhhhhhh😍 Do you want to talk some more?? Do you like the 10 Plagues song from the Prince of Egypt???

-Nop, as suddenly as I came into your life, I’m dramatically getting the fuck out for no discernible reason, cause that’s just how I roll. Gone with the wind, baby! I’m like an outdoor cat. You’ll never see me again.

-Oh but I will..

YES YOU WILL SHAJ. I’m so on board this particular Titanicesque crackship that it’s un.real. I mean Sophie Miguel literally came into this place, talked to Shajar for less than one minute and then left the bar entirely, in turn leaving us dick in hand. What.an.icon.

In the meantime Cyneswith.. did this. Game-changing night for everyone!

[kimjongdaely]

The Masquerade [Chapter 5]

All members; EXO

Genre: Mystery, horror, choose your own adventure

Warnings: Violence, blood, language, character death

Summary: What started as a fun Halloween masquerade turns out to be much darker than you thought. With all these masks, how do you know who is friend and who is foe?

Invitation│Chapter 1│Chapter 2│Chapter 3│Chapter 4│Chapter 5│ Chapter 6│Chapter 7│Chapter 8│Chapter 9│Chapter 10│Chapter 11

You have decided to 1. search the house and 2. stay up late 

That night you can’t fall asleep no matter how much you twist and turn. The look in Jongdae’s eyes keep haunting you, the sight of his blood dripping and pooling around your feet.

You can still hear the sound of his body hitting the floor, the sound of the arrows penetrating his body.

You feel sick, your stomach queasy. You take in several deep breaths, trying to calm the urge to vomit.

You close your eyes again, focusing on your breathing and trying your hardest to push the images, the memories away.

Please make it stop.

Please.

You keep your eyes closed for a while longer. Perhaps half an hour...one hour? You don’t know. It feels like forever. You realize you aren’t going to get any sleep tonight so you might as well stop trying.

And maybe...maybe you’ll be able to catch this K in the act if you stay awake but pretend to be asleep...

You keep your eyes closed at the thought, your heart beginning to race. You have to keep your breathing even, have to be convincing.

It feels like an eternity before you hear a soft thud above you. As if someone is right above your room. You try to resist gasping in shock or horror, trying to keep as still as naturally possible, keeping your breathing slow and even. Surely K won’t be able to hear you heartbeat, because it’s a dead giveaway otherwise.

You can hear soft footsteps move about. It sounds odd, like the person is walking in circles, over and over and over again...

Someone breathes down your neck.

You jolt, pushing yourself up and rubbing your neck, glancing around your room to look for the source.

Nothing. Even in the dark you can make out the room pretty well, since your eyes had time to adjust. You don’t see a soul.

You hear someone exhale heavily in your right ear, making you shiver and rub your ear against your shoulder.

“W-Who’s there?” You ask into the darkness, the emptiness of your room. You try to sound strong, though you’re shaking like a leaf. “...K?”

Silence.

And then...

A laugh. You recognize her voice, coming form a corner of your ceiling. There must be a speaker there...but that doesn’t explain the breathing you felt...or thought you felt.

“Well, well.” She chuckles, almost sweetly. “You’re a smart one, aren’t you? You keep trying to find loopholes, finding ways to get out of this.” Her voice seems to move about, like she’s walking around right in your room, moving behind you, around you.

You keep glancing about but she’s not there.

“Well,” her voice finally seems to stop...right next to you. You stare at the spot her voice sounds like it’s coming from, staring at nothing in horror. “You’ll find yourself disappointed. Everything is in my control. Everything will go as I want it to.”

“I’m going to find a way out.” You manage to find your voice, sounding stronger than you feel. “You can’t do this to us.”

“I can and I will.” Comes her easy reply before she pauses, almost like she’s thinking. “But...well...it would be interesting to see if you can worm your little way out. So I shall give you a generous hint. There is a way out, a hidden way that you will have to find. Your little friends can help you, but you will find that everything comes with a price.”

“What does that mean?” You ask, but no response comes.

You are once again alone.

Your nightmares are only just beginning.

When the sun finally shines in through your curtains, rousing you from sleep, you realize that you had, in fact, managed to fall asleep amidst contemplating what K meant.

After heading to the bathroom, you slip your mask back on, heading out. You hope the others managed to sleep better than you, but you highly doubt it. Especially poor Baekhyun, who already killed someone. You can hardly imagine how he’ll ever be able to sleep soundly again.

But as you walk down the hallway, you gasp, feeling your innards turn inside out, nearly barfing.

Chanyeol, who had come out just behind you, actually does vomit.

And now you really want to vomit.

You cup a hand over your mouth, unable to tear your eyes away from the sight. Poor Baekhyun lies at the end of the hall, slumped against the wall. From the way his shirt is stained, you can tell his neck had been slit.

His eyes are still open.

Someone else gasps, whispering, “Minseok?”

Your eyes slowly turn to the right, where Minseok had been standing still as a statue just in front of the staircase. In his hand is a knife, dripping blood. He doesn’t react upon the call, doesn’t react to any of you, as if he can’t hear or see you.

“Minseok!” Junmyeon manages to shake him, snapping him from his daze. His eyes are glazed, dark circles under his eyes. When he sees Junmyeon, he gasps, abruptly dropping the knife, letting it clatter on the floor, staining it with Baekhyun’s blood.

Once realization and reality hits, he begins shaking uncontrollably, knees buckled and giving out from underneath him. He slides onto the floor, hugging himself so tightly, eyes wide with terror. “I—I had to...I-I—” He stares at his hands like they’re not his, staring at them with so much shock. “I-I killed him...I’m a murderer...”

And then he begins to sob, doubling over onto the floor.

“That’s enough!” You flinch at Kyungsoo’s sharp tone, cutting through Minseok’s cries. He takes a deep breath to steady himself, obviously also shaken by the scene. “We can’t give in to hysteria. We...We have to move on from this.”

As much as it pains you to agree, you nod, “Yes...let’s go downstairs. I have something to tell all of you.”

Yixing and Junmyeon helps the limp, hysterical mess that is Minseok, practically carrying him down the stairs. Jongdae’s body is gone again, you can only imagine, but you don’t head towards the dining room anymore to find out. Two deaths have already happened there, and you’ve had enough of it.

Instead, you head towards the living room on the other side of the lobby, sitting down on one of the couches. The others follow you, silent, uneasy and shaken.

You give them some time to settle and to calm down, before you take a deep breath and break the silence. “I talked with K last night.”

They jerk their heads at you upon hearing that, and you are immediately berated by questions on how that’s possible.

“Wait! Let me explain.” They are eager to listen, looking impatient. “I couldn’t sleep, so I stayed up last night. She found out, and spoke to me. She said that it is possible to get out, that there’s a hidden exit somewhere.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Chanyeol shoots up like an arrow—ouch—looking more hopeful than you’ve ever seen him. “Let’s go find it and get the fuck out of here!”

“But!” You scream to regain his attention, halting him in his steps. “She said something else. She said that everything comes with a price.”

They fall silent again, mulling over the words.

“What does that mean?” Jongin finally asks, the question you yourself have been pondering over.

“I don’t know.” You admit. “But I don’t believe it’s anything good. I think it means that we need to pay something in order to exit.” There are so many possibilities on what that ‘payment’ could be. Another life, perhaps. It seems certainly possible.

“It doesn’t matter.” Junmyeon waves it off. “We’ll...get to that when we get to that. First, we need to actually find the hidden exit first.”

“Right.” You nod, standing up. “Let’s go look for a way out.”

Where do you look? Study/bedrooms/library/living room/dining room? Send your votes in!

Chapter 4 Vote Results:

1) - 3

2) - 2

4) - 1

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The Masquerade Mini Masterlist

A/N: Woohoo! Things are beginning to really kick off! We still haven’t gotten to the more twisted missions yet though...but they’re getting progressively worse!

Tagged: @always-wishing-for-rain​​ @fairyyeols​​ @yehettomyheart @foreverloey​​ @trishmarieco​​ @writingstuffandmore​​ @thalasoophilia​​ @ilovexiu​​ @twentyfifththought​​ @guardians-of-exo​​ @hour127​​ @chensuggababy​​ @wylke​​ @dear-fake-diary​​ @meryljill-111192​​ @pastel-kpop​​ @baek-byunies​​ @basic-cupcake​​​

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©kimjongdaely

[let-it-raines]

Not Your (soul)Mate {12/16}

Killian Jones doesn’t like the idea of soulmates. He sees how happy his friends are with theirs, but he still doesn’t like the idea, not when he’s found love and lost it time and time again only to still not know his sign. He has no markings on his skin, no voices in his head, but then one day he meets Emma Swan and everything changes. Because, well, he may not have ink on his skin to tell him who to love, but the very first time that he hears Emma’s voice he knows that she’s the one for him. Then again, that could simply be his desire talking. After all, for every word she speaks, he becomes aroused.

It’s not the worst thing in the world to be incredibly attracted to a beautiful woman, but things aren’t that simple when she doesn’t have any interest in being his soulmate.

He’s screwed. And not in the good way.

Rating: Mature

A/N: As always, thanks to @captainsjedi for all of the time and effort she put into making all of the wonderful artwork for this story! It’s the coolest thing to get to have❤️ And thank you to the organizers of @cssns!

Also, look! I add a chapter! You guys now get an epilogue! Woohoo!

Found on AO3: Beginning | Current

Tumblr: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

Tag list: @snowbellewells @karenfrommisthaven @skyewardolicitycloisdelena91 @scientificapricot @captswanis4vr @a-faekindagirl @emmas-storybook @searchingwardrobes @spartanguard @ultimiflos @jamif @idristardis @dreameronarooftop15 @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @tiganasummertree @wellhellotragic @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @captainsjedi @teamhook @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog @superchocovian @ultraluckycatnd @cs-forlife @andiirivera @qualitycoffeethings @jonirobinson64 @mariakov81 @xellewoods @thejollyroger-writer @galaxyzxstark @cssns

-/-

Killian: But categorically, you cannot tell me that cold pizza is better than fresh out of the oven pizza.

Emma: Ugh. I’m not saying that. I’m saying that if you get nasty delivery pizza, it’s just as good cold as it is warm.

Emma: If you’re getting wood fired pizza, obviously you eat that shit warm.

Killian: ‘Eat that shit warm’ is not a sentence I ever wanted to read.

Emma: Don’t make it gross.

Killian: It’s too late for that.

Emma: I seriously want Ariel to get a pizza oven in her house because I have to put on a bra to go to Eric’s restaurant.

Killian: I mean, I wouldn’t complain if you didn’t.

Emma: Again, don’t make it gross.

“Are you texting your boyfriend again?”

Emma jumps in her office chair, her phone tumbling out of her hands and onto her desk, bouncing around until it lands on top of her computer’s keyboard, jamming down on several keys all at once like a toddler that just got one of those toys that make too much noise when you press a button. That’s not going to mess the database she was going through up or anything. They finally got the funding to computerize their files, so she spends all of her days doing just that. She’s really regretting putting in that request right about now. She won’t in a few weeks, but she does now.

(At least they didn’t have to make a calendar or do a bake sale. She really doesn’t need to see a picture of David wearing, like, a “Kiss the Cook” apron and nothing else just to raise a little money.)

She also regrets tossing her phone in the air and how quickly her heart is beating. David’s going to see the nerves all over her face, going to see how frazzled she is, and he’ll see right through it. Hell, he pretty much already does. At least he’s a hell of a lot more chill than Mary Margaret.

Not like that’s hard.

(What, like it’s hard? Elle Woods for the win, always.)

Last night she was eating dinner with them at the farmhouse, and for approximately three seconds she looked down at a text on her phone and apparently smiled. She’s sure it was nothing more than a slight curve of her lips, a whisper of happiness, but Mary Margaret practically threw her fork across the table (which is a great way to stab someone in the eye) and demanded to know who she was talking to.

It was Killian. It always seems to be Killian.

She’s not sure how she feels about that even if she’s admitted to herself that she kind of (definitely, really, truly) likes him. It’s a very odd feeling that makes her soul feel like it’s not connected to her body.

She told Mary Margaret that it was Ariel complaining about how much it sucks to be eight months pregnant in the summer heat. The fact that Mary Margaret didn’t call Ariel right then and there and offer up every bit of advice was a miracle. Honestly, looking back, Emma knows that she should have said that she was talking to Ruby about a date that she has. Mary Margaret rarely asks for more details on Ruby’s dates than what Ruby offers up, not that the girl leaves a lot to be desired. It’s one of her best and worst qualities all at once.

But Mary Margaret believed her and got carried away talking about the joys and sorrows of motherhood, and if it weren’t for David, she would have gotten away with her lie unnoticed.

She feels like a freaking Scooby Doo villain thinking something like that.

If only she had a creepy mask to take off too.

Or maybe not. That could be weird. No, definitely weird.

“I don’t have a boyfriend, and you know it,” she says as calmly as she can, reaching forward and grabbing her phone only to look up at David and the smirk that’s plastered on his face with his hands behind his back. “What’s with the creepy look you’ve got going on there?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re a horrible liar.”

“So are you.” He moves his hands from behind his back to reveal a small vase full of yellow roses and whatever that white filler flower is. It’s some weird name like breath of a baby or baby’s breath because that’s totally what a flower should be called. “Because I don’t know about you, but I don’t send baskets of baked goods and flowers to my friends.”

She’s definitely going to kill Killian. The word is in his name, so it’s basically fate.

Murder should not be where her mind goes.

That is probably not the reaction most people have when they’re sent flowers by the man they may possibly have some major feelings for, but she is not most people. She thinks of murder when she should be thinking of...romance? Is that the word she’s looking for? Do these flowers signal romance?

It’s all confusing. Seriously. She has no idea what’s going on. She has no idea if there should be feelings of romance or murder or even friendship.

Okay, friendship seems like the best option. Murder seems like the worst.

“Those probably aren’t for me,” she lies, knowing that it’s a horrible one, especially since David already knows who sent them.

David rolls his eyes before placing them on her desk. “Your name is on the note.”

She glances toward the flowers and at the note, Killian’s handwriting largely penned across the envelope, before she looks up at David, nerves working their way down her arms. Which, technically thinking, that’s how nerves work, but she was never really very good at biology.

“Did you read it?”

“I can be an ass, but I’m not going to read the closed note that your not-boyfriend sent you.” David shrugs his shoulders and sits down in his desk chair, rolling it up underneath the desk. “And I’m not as nosy as my wife.”

“Which is why I can spend so much time with you.”

“You have to spend time with me. Did you notice that we’re missing the hard copies of the files for the Anderson case from two years ago?”

“Yep. I’ve already emailed the records office at City Hall to see if they have anything. I don’t know why it would be there, but it always could be.”

“If this town ever had serious crime, we would be screwed.”

“Hey no, I kick ass. We could totally work that thing out.”

“You’d intimidate everyone until they confessed.”

“I am a very intimidating woman.”

“Who receives flowers from men who are pining after her.”

She huffs, not wanting to even respond to that, but she grabs her empty to-go cup from her coffee this morning and throws it at David, hitting him in the back of the head. He doesn’t even acknowledge it, letting the paper fall to the ground and clatter against the tile floor all while he hums to himself a theme song that she recognizes from one of Leo’s shows…which means she’s heard that theme song far too many times since it’s not her kid.

Seriously.

And Killian Jones is not pining after her. Definitely not.

(David knows far too much, but at least he doesn’t know that Killian is her soulmate.)

They fall back into work after that since they are technically supposed to be competent professionals in a very loose sense of the word, and she tries not to look at the vase of flowers on her desk for the next few hours, telling herself that it’s not a big deal and she absolutely will not read the note until she’s finished getting through this section of files. She will do her job first…whatever it is with Killian can come second.

Surprisingly, working on her computer keeps her busy until her shift is over, and since it’s Friday, she picks up her vase of flowers and holds them in her lap as she drives home, hoping that there’s not pollen or anything to get onto her shirt since she knows from experience that it’s hard to get out. Plus, she really likes this shirt. And it’s not until after she’s changed out of it and into some shorts and a t-shirt that she remembers to check her phone and the note that came with the flowers.

The note with the flowers comes first. Priorities and all that.

Swan,

So I couldn’t decide between sunflowers and yellow roses. And before you get any ideas as to why I’ve sent you flowers (besides the fact that I imagine whoever delivers them to you will tease the hell out of you. I’m hoping for Dave.), just know that Luis and Luca made me buy a voucher booklet from their school, and the one to the floral shop was about to expire. So it was either you or Will, and Will isn’t quite as pretty as you are.

I hope they bring a little extra sunshine to your day.

Killian

She pulls out her phone and sends of a quick text, unable to stop the small smile that’s formed on her face. Unable to want to stop it, really, as she falls back against the couch, her legs hanging over the end.

Emma: I’m glad you used your flower shop voucher on me.

Killian: Yeah, well, like I said, the other option was Will.

Emma: If he comes over tonight, I’ll tell him they’re for him.

Killian: They viewing apartments still?

Emma: Yep.

Emma: I have ‘All By Myself’ playing on repeat.

Killian: That’s very fitting.

Emma: I thought so. Any fun plans for you tonight?

Killian: I am wrapping all of the gifts for tomorrow and then going to sleep early to celebrate the near end of summer and my mildly busy season.

Emma: You are the life of the party.

Killian: Just wait until the baby shower tomorrow. I’m going to crush all of those awful games. No one can change a diaper as fast as I can.

Emma: Is that on your resume?

Killian: Yep. Liam is a bloody stickler of a boss. The skills we have to have here are insane.

Emma: I thought you were co-owners? I don’t think of Killian Jones of ever being anything other than a boss.

Killian: I have that commanding of a presence, do I?

Emma: Well, your ego does demand a lot of the space in the room.

Killian: Luckily for you, I’m happy to share the space so your ego can have a little room to breathe as well.

-/-

When she wakes up the next morning, it’s to the sound of movement in Belle’s bedroom, and she instinctively pulls her pillow over her face. Maybe it’s to cover her ears. Maybe it’s to smother herself over the sounds that she’s hearing in the next room. Who knows? She certainly doesn’t. And as sad as she is to be losing Belle as a roommate whenever she and Will find a place of their own, she is certainly not going to miss the muted sounds of Will’s dirty talk.

Seriously.

A woman can only take so much.

(Belle can apparently take a lot. She keeps asking for more.)

Instead of suffering in silent misery, she gets up out of bed and slips into a pair of sandals, figuring she can go check her mail just to get out of the apartment while Belle and Will finish. She and Killian have mostly been texting over the last few weeks, their conversations going deep into the night and throughout the day, but they’re also still sending letters. It’s a weird thing, she knows, and every internal instinct that she has is telling her to burn the letters and run, but something keeps her from setting it all aflame.

Someone.

She’s lost her mind. She really has. Killian is…he’s Killian. He’s a nice, handsome guy who makes her laugh and causes the bricks weighing down her shoulders to lift one by one until she’s not feeling quite so weighed down anymore. He’s her – they match up well, and she still doesn’t know how to feel about that. She knows how she feels about him, she knows that she likes him, that she enjoys talking to him in the limited way that they can, but then, in the back of her mind that demon comes out and whispers in her ear that he only likes her because they’re soulmates, that the knowledge is tainting their...relationship thing.  

That’s been one of her worst fears ever since she found it.

Because what if she falls in love and he doesn’t? What if they break up? What if it doesn’t work out? What does she do then? What happens if the one person she’s supposed to be with forever doesn’t want to be with her? Is she supposed to then live out the rest of her life as the poor girl who was too broken for even the universe to help out?

The ‘what ifs’ kill her.

Not really. She’s obviously still alive and breathing and all that fun jazz, but they still keep her up at night wondering of all the ways this could go wrong. And she doesn’t really know how any of this can go right. She likes sex. It’s a great time, it feels freaking fantastic, but she and Killian can’t possibly live out the rest of their lives wanting to constantly have sex whenever they have conversations. Logistically, that’s not possible. And, like, she knows it’s better now than the first time they met, than the second time too, but every time she spends an extended amount of time with him, especially when they talk, all she wants to do is grab him by the collar again and kiss him.

Just without the clothes and all.

Definitely without the clothes.

If she could put into words how she’s feeling, she’d write it in one of these damn letters and never mail it simply so that she can maybe understand.

Understanding is never going to happen.

There’s no one at the mailboxes or in the laundry room, so before she even gets her mail, she runs back upstairs and grabs her basket of clothes and detergent, humming to block out the noises still happening, and then walks back to the basement, putting her clothes in the washing machine before getting her mail, taking the one letter that resides there, and propping herself up on the wall of unused machines as she reads.

Emma,

I’m going to blame the rum for this letter. I really am. It’s around two in the morning, the moon high in the sky. We’ve just spent the day together, which was bloody wonderful by the way, and I can’t seem to stop thinking of things. Even as I write, it seems rather foolish to put my thoughts onto paper, but hopefully I won’t think to mail the letter. Or maybe I should. I honestly don’t know. This is all uncharted territory for me, and I seem to be diving in headfirst even if I am wearing a life jacket.

You see, I rather fancy you, Emma (No Middle Name) Swan, and it’s been a long time since I fancied a woman for more than one night or possibly a few weeks. The last time that I did, I had my heart broken so horribly that I retired from the Navy and moved across an ocean. Quite dramatic, don’t you think? I’ve been told that I’m a dramatic ass. That may have been Liam, but it also may have been you. I can’t recall at the moment.

Her name was Milah. She was beautiful, absolutely stunning, and I loved her with what felt like every beat of my heart until her heart was no longer mine to love. We met at a Naval Christmas ball. She was there with her brother, and I’ll never forget the black dress that she was wearing. We danced, and as they say, the rest is history. But as you know, I’m a bit of a history buff, so I like the details. I imagine you might too. I always knew that she wasn’t my soulmate. I didn’t have a sign, but she did, a simple tattoo on her hand. It was something we didn’t talk about in our three years together until one day we came across a man with a matching tattoo. She didn’t leave me, not at first, but as she got to know him, she fell for him. And who was I to keep two soulmates from having each other?

I think that’s what makes it worst of all. There was nothing wrong between us, but she had someone who she belonged with. It wasn’t me.

So you may think you’re the only person with an aversion to soulmates. You’re not. We all have our issues, our baggage, but I’ve found that since spilling that iced water down your dress (you should wear that dress more often by the way) the weight on my shoulders seems to have lessened. I’m…happier, I guess. I have such a wonderful life, but lately, I’ve had more reason to laugh. I think it’s because of a certain blonde with a penchant for mismatching her socks and junk food that no sane person would ever eat so regularly.

But who knows? This could all be the rum speaking.

Love,

Killian

She reads the letter three more times before she truly allows herself to let all of it sink in. It’s been three weeks since Labor Day, three weeks of the two of them going on and continuing to text and write letters – ones other than this one – and yet this one has shown up in her mailbox this morning. Either the US Postal Service really sucks or Killian didn’t send this the night he wrote it. He was likely drunk, at the very least tipsy, but he’s the most well-spoken (written) drunk man she’s ever seen.

And he bared his soul to her.

Because she makes him happy.

She does that.

Her gut feeling is to run, not really sure where she’d run to since this town and these people are her family and she’d never leave them, but she wants to run from her feelings, from the way that her insides unpleasantly twist and the way her heart squeezes. She knows that she feels the same way about Killian, that he makes her happy, but seeing it written out like that, seeing the words in Killian’s handwriting, that’s an entirely different story. And it doesn’t matter that he was drunk. Drunk words are sometimes the most truthful.

How in the world is she supposed to handle any of this?

Does she push it away? Pretend she didn’t get the letter? Does he even know that he sent it? Does he remember writing it? Should she write something back? What the hell would she write back? How would she even do that without having a little liquid courage too?

She can’t get drunk today, not with Ariel’s baby shower, but she really, really wants to.

That’s the thing too. She’s not even sure if she wants to get drunk for herself or because Killian’s letter brought back every feeling of abandonment she’s ever experienced. He was left, just like her yet again, and whether she likes it or not, they do understand each other.

(Of course she likes it, likes being understood.)

Her brain never quite turns off after that, reading the letter over and over again so many times that she might as well have it memorized, and she only knows that she moves because she changes her clothes over into the dryer, cleaning out the lint filter before twisting the knob and listening to it rattle to drown out all of her thoughts.

Goodbye shower. The laundry room is now the place to have an existential crisis.

But she does somehow manage to turn her thoughts off enough to know that she really does need to shower, so while her clothes are drying, she heads back upstairs and takes one, quickly washing her hair and her body, shaving her legs up to her knees since her dress for today only really shows half of her calves. She’s got three hours until Ariel’s baby shower, but she needs something to do, so she tugs on her dress, letting the blue and white striped print hug her body, and takes the time to apply her makeup, going through an actual routine instead of simply slapping some mascara onto her lashes.

Today really must be shaping up to be a day.

“Why are you already dressed?” Belle asks when she walks out of her bedroom, making her jump at the sight of Belle sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal in pajamas that she definitely wasn’t wearing an hour ago. “And why do you look like a deer in the headlights?”

“Oh, I, um…”

She tugs at the waist of her dress, pulling the tie a bit to tighten it as she thinks of a lie. As much as Belle knows about she and Killian, she doesn’t know the half of it. She purposely hasn’t told anyone. She can’t. If everyone thinks that she and Killian are flirting and maybe fucking, that’s fine with her. That’s nothing. But if anyone were to know that they were soulmates, it’d make everything far more complicated. There would be expectations and hopes, and if others have those, how could she not? And why can she not figure her brain out?

But Killian told her he wouldn’t tell anyone, so no one else is going to know.

“I’m doing laundry,” she finally says, knowing that the best lies are routed in truth. “I needed something to pass the time, so I went ahead and got ready. Well, with everything but the mess of my hair.”

Belle’s brows pinch together, but she doesn’t say anything else, scooping her spoon into her bowl before taking another bite. “So Will and I think we found an apartment yesterday.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” she smiles, nodding her head. “It’s downtown, in that cute little complex across the street from Granny’s with the pink awning. I loved it. I mean, it’s bigger than this place, but it feels very homey. And there’s this built in bookshelf that I think I might love more than I love Will.”

“Oh good. That means I can keep the one here.” Belle rolls her eyes, and Emma walks forward to pull out her chair from the table before sitting down. “I’m so happy that you guys found a place. Like, obviously I’m going to miss you, but after the show I heard this morning, I think we might need a little space.”

Belle doesn’t even blush. All she does is reach into her bowl and pick up a dried strawberry, flicking it at her. “In all fairness, you never wake up that early on a Saturday.”

“I mean, how could I sleep through such a performance? Whatever you’re doing, you’re obviously doing very well.”

“You’re going to share all of this at the wedding, aren’t you?”

“Oh absolutely. And if you put a little tequila in me, I might even act out my own version of the events.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ll get arrested for that.”

“I’m on good terms with cops. Where is your partner in crime, by the way?”

“I left Ariel’s present at his place, and he went ahead and went home to get it and get ready. You want to drive there together?”

“Absolutely.”

-/-

“Why do you look like you’re dying?” Ariel asks, wrapping her arm around Emma’s waist as she stands in Ariel’s kitchen looking at the spread of food out ahead of her, Max wandering around the table in an attempt to get scraps.  

“Because I am. What’s up with the creepy pigs in a blanket snacks that are made to look like babies? Am I supposed to eat those?”

“No, no.” Ariel rubs her hand up and down Emma’s back, and if she wasn’t already thinking about the fact that one of her best friends is having a baby while the other is getting married, she’d definitely be thinking of all of the motherly instincts that Ariel possesses and how she has likely never had those even if she thought that she did at one point. “That’s just a weird thing that Mary Margaret brought. I think she saw it on Pinterest and thought it would be cute, but it’s super creepy.”

“I mean, like, the creepiest. And the deviled eggs are the same way.”

“I’d stick to other foods if I were you.”

“Anything not baby related.”

“Ah, yes, but save room because I believe there’s a game later where we have to eat baby food.”

“Just kill me now.”

“It can’t be that bad.”

She rolls her eyes and leans her head over to Ariel’s shoulder, wrapping her arm around Ariel’s waist knowing that she’s taking up too much time from the guest of honor, but everyone else seems to be just fine milling around the kitchen and living room, most of Ariel’s regular furniture pushed aside to fit in table cloth covered tables with flower centerpieces sitting in the middle of all of them. It’s cute, and she has to admit that Mary Margaret definitely knows how to host a party, weird food choices aside. But it most definitely hasn’t been the worst hour of her life, especially since she knows every single person here. The only real issue was when Killian showed up because she thought that she was going to have to stop talking, which isn’t the easiest thing in the world when she’s with her friends. But he stayed away from her, making sure to speak quietly instead of being his usual commanding presence.

His words, not hers.

And mostly she was thinking about how refreshing it is to have both the father of the baby and male friends at a baby shower. She gets that the woman pretty much does all of the work (she’d like to speak to someone about that because it seems fundamentally unfair), but both Ariel and Eric are having a baby. It’s not simply Ariel’s to raise. It’s Eric’s too. And yet most fathers don’t show up to showers, don’t put in the effort, and no part of her has ever understood that. But maybe she’s simply hoping for something that’s better than most people’s reality. She doesn’t know. She never had parents, never got to see it first hand, but when she thought…no, it doesn’t matter. None of that was real, and there’s no use in thinking of it now even if thoughts of Neal have been niggling themselves into her mind since this morning.

She’s simply glad that Ariel has Eric, that they have each other and baby Fisher.

They have a family.

“I’m not eating pureed food unless it’s, like, pureed donuts or something.”

“They don’t make pure sugar for infants. That would be a fundamentally awful idea.”

“Eh, I don’t think so. The babies would probably be super happy.”

“You’re going to be the person who gives the baby sugar right before you send them back to me, aren’t you?”

“You bet your ass I am.”

“Alright,” Mary Margaret claps, making Emma turn her head to look in the living room, “who wants to play a game?”

The game isn’t eating pureed baby food, but somehow it is much, much worse. In reality, she knows that it’s really not that bad. It’s cute and funny, and if she wasn’t who she is, she’d be thankful that this is the game that Mary Margaret picked out because it’s damn fun.

Who’s That Baby?

She’s got a large board full of baby pictures, some of them adorable, others a little scary (not that she would ever say that out loud), and everyone is having to guess which baby is who. She hasn’t guessed a single one because, really, she’s selfish and can only think about the fact that her picture isn’t up there.

And she knows this because, well, Mary Margaret never asked her for one. While Mary Margaret can work wonders, it would be pretty much impossible for her to gather baby pictures of everyone without anyone knowing, so she must have asked everyone to send them in. But Emma was never asked, not at all. Sure, she could pass it off as an oversight, as a mistake, but she knows that none of that is true.

Mary Margaret didn’t ask for her baby picture because she knows that she doesn’t have any.

Today was not supposed to be emotional like this. Today was supposed to be…a sob suddenly catches in her throat, one she has to force to keep down, and when she feels hot tears forming in her eyes, threatening to escape, she quietly excuses herself from the room, knowing that she won’t be missed if she ducks into the bathroom for a moment. But the bathroom is locked, and since she sure as hell isn’t going to go into the nursery right now, she opens Ariel’s bedroom door and collapses against the wall, letting her legs bend until she’s sitting on hardwood and pulling her legs to her chest as she tries to breathe.

Breathing is seeming pretty difficult at the moment.

So is not crying.

Why does she want to cry?

That’s a dumb question. She knows why she wants to, why she’s about to, but it’s been almost eight years. Things like this shouldn’t hurt anymore, should they? She should be over it. She has to be over it.

She isn’t over it.

Another sob rumbles through her, this one escaping from the confines of her throat, and when she hears it, even she notices how ugly of a sob it is. It’s one of those where she can’t breathe, can’t think, can’t do anything but let her shoulders tremble and tears fall down her cheeks. The more she tells herself to calm down, the more uncontrollable she gets, the more she feels like she has no control over anything.

And then there’s a click, a turn of a knob, and she’s paralyzed in fear and embarrassment that is only exacerbated when she sees tight blue jeans over muscled legs and a simple white button down with small light blue stripes that she knows belongs to Killian.

Words don’t come out of her mouth even though she’s got an excuse on her tongue, a pathetic one about being allergic to the weird baby themed foods, and while she expects him to be snarky, he’s not. It’s so much worse because after she takes one look at the raised brow on his forehead, he slides down on the wall next to her, their thighs hitting each other as his arm wraps around her shoulder so tentatively that she nearly grabs onto it and pulls it over her shoulder herself.

She definitely has gone crazy.

But when she doesn’t flinch, doesn’t move away from his embrace, he moves closer to her, his embrace a little tighter, and she can feel the heat of his body all over her as his hand rubs up and down her shoulder while she buries her face in his shirt near the slight exposure of his collarbone and the chain that resides there. He smells like the spice of his cologne, something warm and comforting, and even though it’s ridiculous, that’s what calms her, what makes her stop crying, just the smallest of whimpers and hiccups occasionally escaping her lips.

It should hit her that she’s having a meltdown in her best friend’s bedroom at said best friend’s baby shower in front of the man who she has…something with. But honestly, she feels puffy and exhausted, and she’s more concerned with the fact that her mascara is going to ruin Killian’s shirt and the way that his hand seems to be large enough to cover every inch of her as he comforts her.

And she focuses on the fact that he’s silent.

Well, he was.

“You know, darling, I think that you should cry in here a little longer so that Ariel and Eric can get some practice with someone crying in their bedroom at weird times.”

She huffs into his chest, rubbing her nose into his collarbone as his scent consumes her. “That’s bold of you to assume that there’s not already someone crying in here on a regular basis.”

There’s a thud against the wall as Killian’s head falls back with laughter, his chuckles deep but light, and she hiccups again in response, not really able to do much else.

“Now, Swan, I don’t think their sex life is that bad. They are having a baby.”

“Believe it or not, an orgasm is not required for conception.”

“No, it’s not.” He rubs his hand up and down her arm again, squeezing her bicep before continuing and moving along her back so that his nails trace patterns into her skin. She must be really upset and out of touch with herself right now because they’re talking, and she feels no shivers running down her spine or heat curling between her thighs. Maybe all it takes is for her to be having a meltdown. That makes it even worse. It’s probably just that they haven’t talked enough. “Would you like to talk about what’s got you hiding away in here, or do you want to talk about our friends’ sex life for a little longer?”

“Can I have the option of neither?”

“No.”

“That’s unfair.”

“So is life.”

Emma rolls her eyes knowing that Killian can’t see it, and maybe that is the reason why she rubs her eyes into his shirt some more. “Aren’t you going to get a boner if I talk too much?”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

Ridiculous man.

(Sweet man.)

“I got your letter about Milah this morning.” Killian’s hand stills and his tongue clicks, but she keeps going, knowing that if she’s going to talk, it’s got to be while she can’t control her body and emotions and her tongue basically has free range. “I don’t know if you knew that you sent that, if you did it on purpose or got drunk again, if the mail was just late. I don’t know, but I read it while washing clothes and I hated it. I hated that you were screwed over, that you were screwed over by the whole soulmate thing. I mean, you were in love, and it ended because of what? Because she had a tattoo that matched another man? That’s such bullshit.”

“It’s okay, love.”

“It’s not. Nothing about any of this is okay. But, like, that’s not even why I’m having a meltdown. I mean, you definitely put me in a confused mood because you talked about your heartbreak and how I’m helping with that, and I – I can’t deal with any of that right now when all I can think about today is the fact that there are all of those baby pictures up on that board and not one of them is of me. Mary Margaret didn’t even ask because she knows that I don’t have one, that no one cared enough about me to take a picture and give it to me. And obviously I’m spiraling because then I get upset about a baby that never even existed. I’m not even one of those people who desperately wants a baby or something.”

“What are you talking about, Swan? What baby?”

The only reason she has the bravery to say this is because she’s not being forced to look at Killian, to look at the blue of his eyes, and if she can’t see his eyes, none of this is real, right? It’s like the texts. They’re separated enough that it’s not all overwhelming for her.

“When I was seventeen, I met a guy, Neal. You’ve probably heard of him from our friends. They’ve never met him, but I guess…he’s kind of a legend in the group. Anyways, we dated for three years, and when I was twenty, my period was late. So obviously I’m freaking out, probably having a panic attack, but then I take a test that says I’m pregnant. And weirdly, I feel calm. I feel calm because, you know, I’m going to have a family, have something I’ve never had.”

“Swan – ”

“I wasn’t pregnant,” she interrupts, not wanting him to stop her and ask any more questions. “It was a false positive, a cheap test. But I didn’t know that until after I told Neal, and he basically told me that I should have kept my legs shut before packing his bags and leaving to go live with his father in fucking Tallahassee. So I was left alone with no boyfriend, no kid, and a hell of a lot of bitter thoughts because I thought the man was my soulmate and I’d never have to feel alone again. I thought I was done being abandoned. The joke was on me.”

She’s not crying anymore, not even sniffling, but she feels cold and stiff and like she can’t really breathe through her nose. Here she is baring her soul to this man who has all of the power to break her, and yet she still told him, still let the words pass her lips are they were spoken into his skin. But he did tell her about himself too, tell him how he was broken too, and maybe that comforts her.

Maybe it also comforts her that she knows Killian’s got to be pitching a tent right about now. She’s been talking for ten minutes at the very least with her long pauses and ramblings, and there’s no way that he isn’t struggling. And yet he’s sat in almost silence listening to her and comforting her all the while he wants to fuck her.

What the hell even is their lives?

And that’s why she starts laughing, a chuckle bubbling up through her throat while her shoulders shake, the corners of her mouth curving into a smile, and she moves her head up to look at Killian even though she knows that she probably looks like a raccoon would after a night out at the bar.

That thought is unsurprisingly not the weirdest thought she’s ever had, not even the weirdest this week.

“There’s that smile,” Killian encourages, nodding his head and thumb at her chin while his own smile appears on his face, making eyes crinkle. She likes that a lot. It makes her stomach twist in unfamiliar and yet not entirely unpleasant ways. He complains about them only being there because he’s older than her, but she doesn’t mind in the slightest. “The sun would rise early to see your smile.”

“But then I would literally get less sleep or have to spend money on blackout curtains.”

“I’ll buy them for you.”

She chuckles again and shakes her head even as Killian’s thumb moves from her chin to beneath her eyes, wiping away the tears that remain and probably still continue to flow. She feels like jelly or a blob or something else shapeless, something else that can’t be contained. They haven’t been this close since…she wants to say since she kissed Killian on the fourth of July, but it’s most likely as close as they were on Labor Day.

Summer holidays seem to be a pattern for them.

But it’s nearing autumn now, and her breath hitches as she looks at the scar on his cheek, the freckles near his nose, the long, dark lashes contrasting against blue eyes. He’s such an attractive man, almost so much that it would take her breath away if it wasn’t already gone. She’s not going to kiss him now. She knows that he’s not going to kiss her. But their breaths are intermingling, and she can still feel the warm presence of his hand on her arm.

“I’m sorry that you were hurt like that,” he whispers, her gaze flicking up from his lips to his eyes. “I’m sorry that you were hurt by Neal and Walsh and your parents and every other person who doesn’t deserve you and your funny sense of humor and kind heart.”

“It’s fine. It was all a long time ago.”

“Wounds made when we’re young tend to linger, and it very obviously isn’t fine. You’re having a bit of a time hidden away in our friends’ bedroom, and that’s okay. You’re allowed to be hurt. I wrote you a drunk letter about my ex because I was hurt. I still get angry over my dad leaving and my mom dying. The universe has fucked me over in a lot of ways, but I think it did something right in letting me meet you.”

Oh well damn. That’s just not fair.

“No one should be as good with words as you are. Like, even your drunk letters were basically professional novels.”

He shrugs at the same time that he reaches forward to tuck her hair behind her ear, the warmth of his touch sending shivers down her spine. “I was a wonderful English and literature student if I do say so myself. And for someone who reads as many books as you do, I’m surprised you’re not always speaking in limericks.”

“Yeah, well, besides the occasional historical romance, I read a lot of books about murder and mystery. They’re not exactly teaching me to speak like Shakespeare.”

“All I got out of that was that you know how to murder me and get away with it.”

Emma chuckles, shaking her head as she gently pats his chest, their faces still impossibly close. “I’ve told you before, I’m not someone you really want to mess with.”

His brows raise in the way that they always do, the lines on his forehead appearing. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I’ve told you how I quite fancy with you even when you’re yelling at me, haven’t I?”

“You fancy my ass,” she deflects.

“I am a fan of every part of you,” Killian sighs, rubbing his hand over her back in the way that he does where his hand nearly covers all of her, his forearm pulling her closer. “If that includes your ass, so be it. Though, I always considered myself a breast man. You seem to have converted me to both.”

“I’m not sure if I should be flattered or completely and totally disgusted.”

“You can compliment my ass if it makes you feel better.”

Rolling her eyes, she pulls back from him, putting more space between as she moves back to sit a little closer to the bed, her limbs still a little shaky. “I’m not falling for that.”

“Damn, I really could have used the ego boost.” Killian stands from the ground, and she’s not at all distracted by the way his thigh muscles look under his jeans. But maybe she kind of is as she doesn’t notice the way he holds his left hand out, the one covered in scars from the accident, until he’s looking down at her expectantly. She takes his hand, the warmth and roughness overwhelming her, and he helps her stand so that her legs are a little more stable. “Do you think you’re ready to go back to the party? I’m sure they’ve moved onto A opening up breast pumps and someone doing something entirely inappropriate with them. How could we miss that?”

“I mean, the only thing that could top that would be if there were more weird, baby-shaped food.”

“Isn’t that bloody disturbed?” Killian laughs, his face lighting up with joy in that way that makes her stomach twist yet again. Her intestines must really hate her. “I mean, why would I eat that?”

“Because it tastes good.”

“You should not say things like that. I can’t look at you the same way hearing those words come out of your mouth.”

“Hey now.” She holds her hands up before reaching back and tucking the hair that keeps falling in her face behind her ears. “At least there’s not one of those cakes with the baby’s head coming out of a frosting vagina.”

“Swan,” he groans, leaning forward and resting his head against her shoulder while his own shoulders heave with muted laughter, “please don’t talk about that. I’m rather fond of that particular area, and I’d rather not imagine things coming out of it.”

“That sounds kind of painful for all of your sexual partners if you can’t pull out.”

“Well, the baby does have to be made somehow.”

“That’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever said.”

“You can’t say that about everything that I say.”

“I can if you keep getting that ridiculous.”

Killian laughs once more before leaning back off of her and wrapping an arm around Emma’s shoulder, the weight heavy and comfortable while he opens the bedroom door with his free hand. “Come on, love. Let’s go see if there’s a cake depicting Ariel giving birth. If not, I hear Mr. French takes requests.”

Ridiculous.

Such a ridiculous man who is making her laugh and feel comfortable with his arm around her shoulder after she just spilled her guts to him about some of the darkest parts of her life. She should feel uncomfortable, awkward, ready to run. She’s been waiting for all of those things since she read his letter. They’re not coming. They could later, but for now, all she can do is laugh at Killian telling her about Liam nearly passed out when Elsa gave birth.

In all of this, all that has happened, all that she has revealed, only one cohesive thought truly remains.

She and Killian are inevitable, always have been, always will be, and she’s fallen into the trap of liking him much more than she ever intended to.

Maybe even loving him.

That’s the craziest thought of them all.

But she has to wonder about the fact that she didn’t feel aroused once in that conversation when she always thought that was the thread that was holding the two of them together.