#Above Ground Pool Installation near me

[seacoastcustompools]

Seacoast Custom Pools | Swimming Pool Contractor | Inground Pool Builders in Berwick ME

Seacoast Custom Pools is a premier Swimming Pool Contractor in Berwick ME. With a commitment to quality and attention to detail, our team works closely with homeowners to create unique and beautiful pools that enhance outdoor living spaces and increase property value. As one of the skilled Inground Pool Builders in Berwick ME, Seacoast Custom Pools excels in designing and constructing bespoke inground swimming pools tailored to each homeowner's vision and landscape. Our experienced professionals ensure seamless execution from initial design to final installation, providing durable, stylish pools that become the centerpiece of your backyard. Contact us to explore how we can transform your outdoor space into a stunning aquatic retreat!

[hauntedhowlett-writes]

title: marked me like a bloodstain | part three

part one | part two

pairing: dark smuggler!joel miller x smuggler!female reader

rating: explicit (18+ MDNI)

word count: 2980

summary:

You save Joel’s life when the two of you are attacked on a smuggling run.

He has an interesting way of saying thank you.

author’s note: another installment for my dark!joel series. please please please heed the tags on this one, y’all. reader discretion is advised. if you like this story, please consider leaving a comment or reblogging - they make my day

you can also buy me a coffee if you want

content warnings/additional tags: explicit sexual content (18+ minors do not interact), explicit language, canon typical violence (including death of raiders), no use of y/n, mentions of blood, degradation, pet names, MEAN MEAN MEAN joel, knife play, blood play, dom/sub dynamics, choking, gagging, spanking, oral sex (m & f receiving), fingering, ass play, unprotected p in v, dirty talk, bondage, no aftercare. please let me know if any have been missed.

The raiders appeared out of nowhere.

One minute, you’re canvassing a new building for trade supplies and the next you’re hiding beneath a desk, the sounds of Joel struggling to fight off the three men who’ve ambushed you echoing in your ears. It’s just the two of you this run, Tess having stayed back to deal with a personal matter, which leaves you outnumbered. 

When the men had burst into the room in a shower of glass from the windows, Joel had shoved you aside and demanded that you hide. Your hand grips your Bowie knife tightly as you try to steady your breathing.

You peer around the desk. Joel’s on his knees, two of the men standing over him while the third lays in a pool of blood that’s slowly growing in size, Joel’s knife sticking out of his chest. One of the men holds a goddamn machete, his lips curled in a sneer as he regards Joel.

“Fuckin’ old man here thinks he can fight, huh?” He asks his companion with a laugh, heavy Boston accent grating to your ears when you’re used to Joel’s Texan drawl. “Fuckin’ dumbass.”

The other man spits on the ground, near Joel’s hand. Your grip grows impossibly tighter on your knife. 

You’re about to make a dumb decision. A colossally stupid decision. One that is going to get you into so much trouble with the asshole whose life you’re about to attempt to save.

Both of the raiders have their backs to you. One of them doesn’t have any visible weapon, he’s just a big fucking guy with a mean bark and meaner fists. 

Which means you have to target the one holding a twenty inch razor sharp blade and incapacitate him before he can chop off any number of body parts.

No sweat.

You stand slowly, quietly, hardly daring to breathe as you leave the safety of your hiding spot. You creep with careful steps as the two idiots continue to taunt Joel. You twist the knife in your grip, turning it in your palm until your thumb is positioned on the bottom of the hilt. You wrap your other hand on top for stability and power.

When you’re right behind the oblivious man you raise your arms above your head and bring the blade down into his neck. He goes down to his knees with a surprised shout, dropping his weapon as you twist the knife and savagely rip it from its entry point.

His hands wrap around his bleeding throat. Joel launches for the machete, grappling with the other man as you bring the knife down again and again and again, stumbling forward in your efforts until you’re straddling the man as you rip your blade into him.

There’s a shout behind you that drags you from your vendetta, and you look up to find the accomplice standing above Joel, trying to press the machete to his neck. You take a running start at the man, colliding with him to knock him off. The machete clatters to the ground as you pin the man to the ground with your body, a knee digging painfully into his back as you press your blade to his throat.

“You don’t fuckin’ touch him,” you growl, sliding the sharp edge over the thin skin and watching in satisfaction as he sputters and chokes on his own blood. 

You stand, wiping the blood across your jeans. Joel stands a few feet away, chest heaving with labored breaths. His eyes are dark as he stares you down. 

“You’ve got some blood on your shirt,” you say, a stupid observation to break the thick tension as he continues to stare at you. He takes careful heavy steps in your direction.

“You stupid fuckin’ girl,” he says lowly. “You could have gotten yourself killed.”

“Yeah, and a thank you would be nice!” You snap back. You clench your jaw as he stands toe to toe with you, looking down at you with derision.

His hand grips your wrist, squeezing so hard you yelp and drop your knife, the blade clattering to the ground. He crouches, picking it up and advancing on you. 

You stumble backwards, hitting a wall with a thump. He presses the tip of the blade to the delicate skin of your throat.

“You wanna listen to me now, baby?”

_______

Joel smirks at the flash of fear he sees in your eyes, high off the feeling it gives him. He’d been ready to accept death if it meant those men didn’t get a hand on you, and here you go throwing yourself at them like a rabid animal in his defense. The image of you savagely slicing each man up is burned in his brain, his cock hard as a rock in his jeans as he stares down at you. 

Christ, he’s a monster. But his beast seems to call to yours in perfect harmony. 

You swallow, the tip of the knife pressing deeper with the motion. Joel drags it down your chest, lightly scraping it across your clavicle, down between your breasts. He dips it under the hem of your dingy tank top, using it to draw the fabric up your stomach. 

“Tell me somethin’,” he says, eyes fixed on the glint of metal against the skin he slowly exposes. “Did it make you wet?”

“D-did w-what make me wet?” You stutter. 

“Killin’ those men.” Joel lifts the fabric above your breasts and pulls down one cup of your bra to expose your nipple to the cool air. He presses the flat of the blade against the taut little bud, earning him a hiss. “If I slipped my hand down into your panties, would they be soaked?”

You shake your head, and Joel smiles.

“Liar.”

________

Joel’s smile is terrifying. It’s sharp and mean and sinister as he looks down at you with dark eyes and darker intentions. 

He’s right, though. You are a liar. A dirty, filthy liar.

“Take off your pants,” Joel commands. When you don’t move, he presses that goddamn blade against your skin again. “Now. Or I’ll cut them off.”

That gets you moving, if only because you have a very limited amount of clothing and can’t afford to lose a pair of perfectly good pants. Definitely not because your heart beats in triple time at the thought of what Joel might do to you once they’re off.

You clumsily remove your shoes and tug your pants down your legs, pushing them off to the side. You press your thighs together, hoping to hide what you’re certain is a sizeable wet spot.

But he notices. He always notices.

The blade is dragged up your thigh, a light scratch to your skin that leaves goosebumps in its wake. Your mouth goes dry as he slips the sharp edge beneath the waistband and pulls. 

The elastic snaps against your skin, the fabric hanging limply off your hips. He holds your gaze as he does it to the other side before reaching roughly between your legs to pull it free. 

Joel inspects the fabric, holding it up to his face. He rubs a thumb over the gusset and you can see the string of arousal that his thumb collects. He makes a disappointed noise.

“When will you learn, huh?” He asks. “When will it get through that pretty little head of yours that you can’t fuckin’ fool me.” You don’t reply, your mouth too dry and brain too fuzzy to form words.

“On your knees,” he demands. You drop heavily to the ground, the sting of concrete on your knees making you wince. “Hands out.”

You hold both hands out to him and he twists the mangled fabric of your underwear around your wrists, binding them together. The elastic cuts painfully into your skin, making you whine. He grips your cheeks and forces you to look up at him.

“Not another goddamn sound,” he snaps. He unbuttons his pants, pulling them down only far enough to free his cock. It slaps against his belly before he takes it in hand, pumping himself roughly. “Open that pretty mouth, sweetheart. It got you in trouble by lyin’ so now we have to teach it a lesson, don’t we, baby?”

You let your mouth fall open, sticking your tongue out for him. He runs the ruddy head of his cock over your tongue, the flavor and heat of him exploding across your tastebuds making you groan. 

You don’t realize your mistake until it’s too late.

His fingers tangle in your hair, digging against your scalp and tugging your head back with a rough grip.

“What did I fuckin’ say?” Joel growls. He crouches, getting right up to your face. “I said not another goddamn sound. If you’re not gonna listen, I’m gonna leave you here as a treat for the next group of raiders.”

He releases your head and grips your chin, sliding his thumb over your lips. “Can you behave? Answer me.”

“Yes, sir.”

_______

Joel groans, slipping his thumb between your plush lips. He loves to see you like this, so pliant to his depravity with your eyes wide in fear but dark with lust. 

He presses your mouth open by squeezing your cheeks, tilting your head back with a rough jerk of his hand. He gathers the spit on his tongue, pursing his lips and letting it fall into your waiting mouth. Your lashes flutter as it hits your tongue, depraved little thing that you are.

“Dirty fuckin’ thing,” he teases. You’re silent this time, staring up at him with desperate eyes. 

Good, he thinks. He wants you desperate. For him and him alone.

He releases your face and takes his cock in hand again, feeding it between your lips. He groans at the feel of your hot mouth, the press of your tongue against the underside of his dick, the scrape of your teeth as he draws back out. 

Joel’s thrusts are slow but deep, pressing as far back into your throat as he can, until he feels it constrict and flutter against him. He groans, low and deep in his chest like it’s conjured from his very soul. You gag, tears sliding down your face in mesmerizing rivulets.

“That’s it, sweetheart, see? Guess this mouth is good for more than just lies, huh?” He says, voice taunting. He withdraws completely and you gasp for breath, falling forward and catching yourself with your bound hands. 

“Stand up,” he commands. You stand slowly with uncoordinated movements, listing slightly to the left. Joel catches you, scooping you up with an arm behind your back and the other beneath your knees. You sag in his arms, head against his chest, and he carries you to the desk you’d been hiding under.

Joel sets you on your feet and turns you to face the desk with a harsh grip on your hips. He presses a hand between your shoulder blades, shoving you down on the grimy surface. He takes a step back, kneeling on the ground and spreading you with a broad palm on each cheek.

“Would you look at that?” He says. “You’re just drippin’, baby.” He leans close, licking you from clit to quivering entrance. “You taste like sin, you know that?”

You whine, squirming on the table. Some unintelligible words float through the air, but Joel can’t decipher them. He slips a thumb into your soaked cunt and you gasp, clenching around him. He withdraws, sliding the slick digit to your ass, pressing against the tight ring of muscle. You squeal, trying to wiggle away from the intrusion and he brings a palm down on your ass with a harsh smack that echoes in the building.

“Quit squirmin’. If I want to play with all your little holes, I will. And you’ll scream for it,” he growls. 

“Joel,” you moan. You sound drunk, his name nothing but a slur of letters from your lips. “Please!”

His responding smile is sharp. Mean. More animal than man.

______

You can’t fucking think. Joel’s hands are everywhere except where you want them most. They trail across your back and ass and thighs, but never once does he get close enough to your aching center to give you any sense of relief. 

“Please,” you sob. “I need it, Joel.”

“What do you need?”

“Need your cock, need you to fuck me, need you to split me open,” you babble. There’s the clink of his belt and the sound of his zipper drawing down, sounds that make your pussy clench and drip in anticipation like goddamn Pavlov’s dog.

“Beggin’ me for my cock like a greedy little slut,” he teases. He notches his thick head at your hole. “Well, if you want it so bad, better get to work.”

You blink, confused. “But—“

You’re cut off by a sharp smack to your ass that makes you shout. “You heard me.”

You swallow before tentatively working your hips back against his length. He sinks in slowly, stretching you harshly and you suck in a tight breath as he slowly fills you until you finally don’t feel so empty.

“That’s it, sweetheart. Just like that,” Joel groans, a rare phrase of encouragement that makes your brain buzz. You rock forward and back along his cock, moaning as he drags across that spot inside of you that makes you see stars and forget your name.

“Hold still,” Joel commands, breaking through your brain fog. You obey with a whine that sounds pitiful even to your own ears. He withdraws completely and while you can’t see what he’s doing, you can feel his eyes scorching your skin. “Just wanted to see how hungry this little cunt was for my cock. Clenchin’ on nothin’.”

You feel a tear slip from the corner of your eye. Your wrists ache beneath the elastic of your panties, your throat burns from his earlier abuse, and you want so badly to come you think you might go insane with it. 

He slams back inside of you with no warning. The smack of his hips against the back of your thighs rings through the air and you gasp and try to escape the onslaught of sensation, wiggling forward and rising on the tips of your toes. He yanks you back with a rough grip on your hips, fingertips pressing so hard you’re sure to find evidence of him long after he leaves you.

Joel’s weight shifts, pressing to your back until he can wrap a rough palm around your throat, dragging your body upright with him, your back bowing dramatically as he holds you to him. 

“I’m feelin’ generous, baby,” he says in your ear, voice rough like gravel. “I’m gonna let you come all over my cock like I know you’re dyin’ to. But I’m not gonna touch that achin’ little clit. You come on my cock or you don’t come at all. You understand?”

You nod your head, clenching around him at his words and his tone and his possessive grip on every facet of you. Your vision tunnels as you chase your release, an easy enough task when every sharp thrust of his hips is making you see stars. 

The fingers on your throat tighten the slightest bit more and his hips drive into the slightest bit harder and it’s enough to send you over the edge. You shake in his arms as your muscles tighten and your pussy flutters around him, crying out as his cock continues to split you open. You’re whining, oversensitive as he pounds into you with rougher, more uncoordinated thrusts as he finds his own pleasure.

He withdraws suddenly and simultaneously drops the hand around your throat, making you collapse forward without the support. A wet hot heat lands on your back, thick ropes of his spend marring your skin.

You feel Joel drag his fingers through it and he brings his hand to your lips. You open your mouth to him, the digits slipping across your tongue and leaving behind the salty taste of him.

You feel him step away and you stand slowly, head still spinning from the adrenaline and the orgasm and the experience that is Joel fucking Miller.

He comes back with your discarded shoes and pants, tossing them both at your feet. He reaches for your hands, slipping the flat edge of the blade beneath them and slicing them off.

“Get dressed,” he growls, leaving your blade on the table. Your eyes drift to it as he stomps away. 

With jerky movements you step into your pants and pull them up your legs before sliding your shoes back on. You pick up the knife, testing the weight of it in your hand before heading outside.

Joel stands with his back to you. Your fingers twitch around the handle of your knife. With careful, quiet steps. Your brain runs through a million scenarios, but you decide on one.

With a harsh kick to the back of his knees, Joel collapses with a surprised shout. You tackle him, his surprise giving you an upper hand as you wrestle him between your legs, knees pinning his biceps to the dirt. He looks up at you in surprise, the first time you’ve seen such an expression on the formidable man.

Joel’s tense muscles ease the slightest bit when he sees its you. His chest is heaving with labored breaths as you press the tip of the blade beneath his chin. You drag it up his jaw, mesmerized by the glint of metal against his tan skin. You caress his cheekbone with the sharp tip, like a lover would with their thumb. 

He hisses as the skin breaks in the wake of the blade, a small line of red bubbling to the surface. You grin at him.

“Next time I save your life? Just say thank you,” you murmur. 

Joel Miller tag list: @huffle-punk @johnwatsn @hopelessromantic727  @whereasport @pedr0swh0r3 @yellingloudly @dragon-of-winterfelll @thedeadsingwithdirtintheirmouths @mydailyhyperfixations @liati2000 @ghostofjoharvelle @cutesyscreenname @morgaussy @letsgroovetonighttt @endlessthxxghts @fake-bleach @brilliantopposite187 @mattmurdock1021 @str84pedro @justsomeoneovertherainbow @loquaciousferret @milly-louise @not-a-unique-snowflake-blog @kirsteng42 @caatheeriinee07 @eternallyvenus @midnightswithdearkatytspb @evyiione @leeeesahhh @tloubarbie @afterglowsb-tch13 @loveliestofthoughts @theviewfromtheritz @brittmb115 @uncassettodiricordi @pedritosgfreal @adriennemichelle98 @mxtokko @gingersince97 @switchbladedreamz @casa-boiardi @tonysterco @rvjaa @ladymunson @sexpoisoned @trisaratops-mcgee @decemberdolly @spookyemorockbabe @reader-without-a-story @katmoonz @simping-soldat @mswarriorbabe80 @orphanbird95 @shatteredbaby @tusk89 @gingersince97 @mssbridgerton @internetobsessed1234-blog @sloanexx @manazo @bigboiseason123 @bean-is-reading @darlingpedro @silkiers @pascals-cat @bbyanarchist @therealcap @pedrosgrogu

Want more Joel Miller? Check out my masterlist

[queenofcats17]

im not the same anon as the drowning one but please consider this a formal request for it, because i am very 👀 at the concept and love your writing

Aw, thank you!

Warning, this does depict a near drowning.

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

Sammy had never been afraid of drowning. Mostly because he'd never really thought about it. He hadn't had much opportunity to go swimming when he'd been young. His family had never been big fans of the beach or public swimming pools. His adult life hadn't offered many opportunities for swimming either up to this point.

So he hadn't thought about drowning.

Not even as the flooding in the studio increased in frequency. After all, it wasn't like the flooding ever reached any higher than his calves. Drowning in liquid that shallow had to be extremely unlikely, he thought to himself. It would be fine.

Until it wasn't.

"You have to be fucking kidding me..." He groaned, staring down into the flooded infirmary area.

When he'd come into work that day, he'd found Jack in the breakroom instead of down in the sewers as he usually was. When he'd commented on how strange it was to see Jack above ground, Jack had told him the news.

The sewers had completely flooded overnight.

"It could be worse," Jack said. "At least I wasn't down there when it flooded."

"That...is true," Sammy conceded.

"It's gonna be fine," Jack assured him, patting his back. "Mr. Connor will get it drained and then I can get back to work!"

"But how long is that going to take?!" Sammy was trying very hard not to have a breakdown but it was really not working.

Technically, this didn't affect him. But it was a change. A change in the routine. A change in his environment. And he did not do well with those things.

"Do you want me to go ask him?" Jack suggested. "Just so you'll know what to expect?"

Sammy let out a long groan, covering his face. "That...would be nice, thank you."

"I'll go do that." Jack patted Sammy's back again before quickly darting off to go find Tom.

Sammy groaned again, letting his hands fall to his sides. He did not have enough coffee in his system to be able to deal with this properly. He hadn't even had any coffee yet!

...He should do that, actually.

He turned away from the flooded area, ready to head up to the breakroom and get that sweet sweet caffeine.

Only to find himself slipping on a puddle of ink.

In another situation, Sammy might have viewed his fall in slow motion, painfully aware of his descent but unable to do anything to stop the inevitable pull of gravity. That was not what happened here. It all happened incredibly fast. Before Sammy could fully process what was happening, his back was hitting the ink and the wind was knocked out of him.

He let out an involuntary gasp as he sank beneath the surface, ink flooding his lungs. He began to panic, trying to get back to the surface, but he couldn't force his limbs to move. His body was in shock. The ink stung his eyes, forcing him to close them.

He could feel himself sinking lower, his feet dragging on the submerged stairs.

Was this how he was going to die?

Ever since that machine had been installed, he'd had a feeling it would be the thing to kill him. But then again...He hadn't thought the day would come when he would actually die from the ink. Every time he'd been in genuine danger, someone or something had saved him.

There was no one to save him this time, though.

No one had seen him fall. Jack wouldn't know where he'd gone. He was going to die here.

He instinctively let out a sob, which only drew more ink into his lungs. He was feeling lightheaded, his lungs burning for oxygen. He was starting to be able to move again, but he still didn't have the strength to get to the surface. His body was screaming at him to get up, to get out. He needed to get out of here.

The back of his head hit the floor at the bottom of the stairs.

He was going to die. He was going to die here. He wanted to cry.

Suddenly, he felt the ink around him move, as though someone had dived in. He tried to call out, to tell whoever it was that he was there. Nothing came out.

Soon, though, a hand found his shoulder and he felt himself being dragged upward. He was pulled out of the ink and laid on his side on the floor.

"Lawrence, can you hear me?" He heard Tom saying.

Sammy responded to this by coughing weakly.

"Do you think he inhaled any ink?" Jack asked.

"He might've." Tom gently hauled Sammy up.

After a bit of first aid, Sammy was coughing up ink and breathing normally again.

"Are you alright?" Jack knelt at his side, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Sammy coughed, his hand resting on Jack's. "I thought...I thought I was going to die..."

"I'm glad you didn't." Jack smiled weakly.

Once he was sure he could talk normally again, Sammy turned his attention to Tom. "...Thank you, Connor. I...I very much appreciate it."

"No problem." Tom nodded curtly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get this drained so no one else gets hurt." He quickly excused himself, leaving Jack and Sammy alone again.

"Let's get you some coffee," Jack suggested, helping Sammy to his feet.

"That would be nice," Sammy said, leaning heavily on Jack.

He really needed that cup of coffee.

[anotherdayforchaosfay]

One of my grandparents has a private in-ground pool...and they live in southern California.

The relatively cheaper version is the above ground swimming pools, but they're considerably fragile and high maintenance unless you decide to be creative and use something other than the kits found in places like Walmart. I've seen several made of metal and look like massive lined pipes. One particularly impressive one was about six feet deep, outer part was six inches of metal, then a hollow six inches between that and the inner part. Another I saw looks like a big box, about four feet tall, and made to appear of stone. It was lined black rather than blue or white because the black makes it damn near impossible for algae to grow, and fewer animals try using it. Both of these are still expensive, but they hold up significantly better than the standard plastic above ground swimming pools.

These sort of things are rather luxurious though. They require considerable maintenance, shit loads of water, and need to be used frequently to be worth the funds. If I could afford something like this, I would absolutely have on installed. Public pools are not an option for me, and at home I can have it customized, like a big roof over it for shade. Indoor swimming pools trigger asthma attacks because of the fumes from the chlorine, and those locations are a great way to contract covid19 due to all the people present, not to mention various skin infections (like plantar warts) from the shared wet surfaces. Outdoor swimming pools result in me getting serious sunburns if I don't reapply sunscreen every hour (and wait 15 minutes before going back out in the sun because it needs time to active on my skin). Plus, again, covid19 and shared wet spaces. I also worked at a public outdoor pool and know too much about the water (red eyes are caused by the chemical reaction between ammonia and chlorine, and the ammonia is from urine).

Places without freezing winters, like some parts of the Pacific Northwest, California, and most of the southern regions of the US are about the only places where private pools are common. Nowadays, some folks will rent out their swimming pools to people for a few hundred dollars for the day. I know someone who's rented their neighbor's swimming pool for $300, with up to five other people, and they get it for around six hours.

for a literature essay im writing im inexplicably looking up a lot of articles abt private pools and american culture and now im curious.

i'm dutch, and to me a private pool seems like the height of ostentatious luxury. i don't know anyone in my country who has a private pool, i grew up swimming in public pools or whatever random body of water was nearby, lakes or rivers or canals or whatever. american media has so many private pools though, are they really that common?

[luxpool11]

Dive into Luxury: The Ultimate Guide to Swimming Pool Construction

Imagine lounging by a crystal-clear pool on a hot summer day, the water shimmering in the sunlight. A swimming pool is not just a luxury; it’s an investment in your home and lifestyle. Whether you're considering a new build or renovating an existing pool, understanding the intricacies of swimming pools construction is crucial for achieving your dream oasis.

Planning Your Dream Pool The journey to a perfect pool starts with meticulous planning. First, assess your space and determine the ideal location. Consider factors like sunlight, wind direction, and proximity to trees to avoid excessive debris. Deciding on the pool type is next. Options range from in-ground pools, which offer a more permanent and customizable solution, to above-ground pools, which are quicker to install and often more affordable.

Choosing the Right Design Design is where you can let your creativity flow. From sleek, modern lines to natural, free-form shapes, the possibilities are endless. The materials you choose will significantly impact both aesthetics and maintenance. Concrete pools are highly durable and offer design flexibility, while vinyl pools are budget-friendly and quicker to install. Fiberglass pools provide a smooth finish and require less maintenance over time.

The Construction Process Once the design is finalized, the swimming pool construction process begins. This typically involves several key steps:

Excavation: The first step is to dig the hole where the pool will be placed. This must be done with precision to ensure the pool's structure is sound.

Installation of Plumbing and Electrical Systems: Proper plumbing and electrical systems are vital for the pool’s functionality, including filtration, heating, and lighting.

Forming the Pool Shell: Depending on your chosen material, this could involve pouring concrete, fitting a fiberglass shell, or installing a vinyl liner.

Finishing Touches: This includes tiling, coping (the edging around the pool), and installing any additional features like waterfalls, lighting, or decking.

Adding Features and Finishes To elevate your pool from standard to spectacular, consider adding features like a waterfall, spa, or integrated lighting. These elements not only enhance the visual appeal but also improve the overall experience. Finishes such as tiling or pebble coatings can add texture and color, making your pool uniquely yours.

Maintenance and Care Owning a pool requires regular maintenance to keep it in pristine condition. This includes routine cleaning, balancing the water chemistry, and servicing the filtration system. Investing in quality covers and heating systems can extend the swimming season and protect your pool from the elements.

Click here for more information:-

swimming pool companies near me

swimming pool builders near me

[citizenplumbing]

Citizen Plumbing: Your Trusted Source for Comprehensive Plumbing Services in Ontario

When it comes to keeping your home's plumbing system in top-notch condition, there's no room for compromise. From ensuring proper drainage to installing new fixtures, every aspect of your plumbing needs expert attention. That's where Citizen Plumbing steps in, offering a wide range of professional services to residents in Oshawa, Toronto, Vaughan, Brampton, and beyond.

plumbing services oshawa

Living in Oshawa, you understand the importance of having a reliable plumbing system year-round. Whether it's repairing leaky faucets, installing new pipes, or upgrading your bathroom fixtures, Citizen Plumbing is your go-to solution. With years of experience serving the local community, our team is dedicated to delivering prompt and efficient services tailored to your specific needs.

Drain Clearing Service in Toronto

Clogged drains can be a major inconvenience, disrupting your daily routine and causing potential water damage. Fortunately, Citizen Plumbing offers professional drain clearing services in Toronto and the surrounding areas. Using advanced techniques and state-of-the-art equipment, our technicians can quickly identify and resolve any blockages, restoring proper flow to your plumbing system.

Pool Installation Near Me

Dreaming of a backyard oasis? Look no further than Citizen Plumbing for expert pool installation services. Whether you're considering an inground or above-ground pool, our team has the knowledge and expertise to bring your vision to life. From initial planning to final installation, we'll work closely with you to ensure every detail is perfect.

Gutter Drain Cleaning in Vaughan

Maintaining clean and clear gutters is essential for protecting your home from water damage and foundation issues. At Citizen Plumbing, we specialize in gutter drain cleaning services in Vaughan and the surrounding areas. Our skilled technicians will remove debris, unclog downspouts, and ensure proper drainage, keeping your home safe and dry, even during the heaviest rains.

Kitchen Drain Cleaning in Brampton

A clogged kitchen drain can disrupt your daily routine and lead to unpleasant odors and potential water damage. Fortunately, Citizen Plumbing offers professional kitchen drain cleaning services in Brampton and beyond. Using safe and effective techniques, our technicians will quickly clear any blockages and restore proper flow to your sink, dishwasher, and garbage disposal.

In conclusion, when it comes to your plumbing needs in Oshawa, Toronto, Vaughan, Brampton, and beyond, trust the experts at Citizen Plumbing. With our commitment to quality, professionalism, and customer satisfaction, we're here to handle all of your plumbing challenges, big or small. Contact us today to schedule your service appointment and experience the Citizen Plumbing difference!

[oregoncity]

Deck Builders Lake Oswego - Oregon City Decks

Deck Builders Lake Oswego

Oregon City Decks is one of the best places in the Oregon City area to build and fix decks. Our skilled team of deck builders Portland Oregon, has made and fixed up hundreds of decks in Oregon. Every job is done with the utmost care.

Composite deck builders in Oregon City can fix your deck, so it stays safe and beautiful for a long time.

Call us today to get in touch with the best deck repair contractors and installation experts in Oregon City, Clackamas, Happy Valley, West Linn, Wilsonville, and the Lake Oswego area.

Swimming Pool Decks

Swimming pool deck contractors is a well-known company that comes up with ideas for and makes above ground swimming pool decks. We ensure that every swimming pool deck ideas and water feature meets all local, state, and federal rules. We work closely with our clients to discuss their pool decks' design. 

We finish every part of the project and give accurate costs for your deck projects. We use the most cost-effective and energy-friendly answer we can find. That helps us get our projects done on time and within budget. Our deck builders lake Oswego in Oregon City, can help you find concrete pool deck contractors near me.

Residential Deck Builder

Custom Deck Builders Oregon City is the deck builder whose skilled and experienced deck-building team can make anything happen. We are the best choice for deck projects in Oregon City, Clackamas, Happy Valley, West Linn, Wilsonville, and Lake Oswego.

We have crews working in different parts of the Portland metro area who are thoroughly trained and have a lot of experience building decks. We believe in giving our clients benefits and guarantees that no one else does.

You can contact us if you are searching for a pleasant Affordable residential fence & deck near me. you can call at 503-683-8500 to get basic information.

Best Deck Repair Contractors Portland

Are you looking Best Deck Repair Contractor Portland? Oregon Deck City company is the best company with years of experience in oregon city, Clackamas, Happy Valley, West Linn, Wilsonville, and Lake Oswego.

We have best team for different services in different areas, of portland and oswego.we believe in giving best and affordable Decks services with guarantee that no one else does.

We finish every part of work of every project and give accurate cost of your deck repair projects.

You can contact us if you are searching for a pleasant best deck repair contractors services near me. you can call at 503-683-8500 to get basic information.

Decks Are Our Specialty

A deteriorating deck can often signify other problems, like dry rot, underneath. Oregon City Decks is the most knowledgeable and experienced deck repair company in Oregon. No matter how you want to fix your deck, you can talk to our team about your needs, and we'll devise the best way to do it. We have everything we need to build or fix decks of any size, whether for a home or a business.

Deck Staining

Deck Building

Deck Leaks Repair

You can contact us if you are searching for a pleasant best deck installers near me. you can call at 503-683-8500 to get basic information.

[spyral-out-keep-going]

Sledding down the only good spot in town during the winter. Unfortunately the only 2 hills big enough were next to each other and there was a creek that ran through the bottom between them. That meant you better stop your sled or prepare to abandon ship if you couldn’t stop in time. Otherwise you were going in. (It wasn’t huge body of water, like you could stand and not drown but who wants to get wet in winter??) Near there was an area that flooded and froze so that was where we skated. Though by skated I mean slid on our snow boots because we didn’t have ice skates.

Hide and seek, kick the can, sardines, capture the flag (or whatever scraps of cloth we dubbed the Flag). These were all more exciting played at twilight and into the early dark in the summer evenings. Sometimes we’d separate into our factions of Big Kids (me and the other oldest sister from the 2 other families) vs Little Kids (all our little sisters) and by god did the rivalry heat up some times. But we mostly got along together.

Swimming! My Oma and Opa had installed an above ground pool for which I’m forever grateful. I remember swimming in it before we moved there.

Also lawn darts, soccer, basketball/horse, badminton and volleyball over the clothesline. Played softball or just catch. I broke my thumb trying to catch a grounder that bounced up. After that we had to use gloves.

Continuing the info dump of my memories in: Maybe my experiences were not universal?

The other posts were getting too long so starting a new one!

I feel weird about sharing this one because it’s so dumb lol but we would take the bad crab apples from the ground and throw them as high as we could in the air. The goal was to get them up on the roof of the barn so we were really chucking them up. Then we stood below and basically it was a game of chicken to see if we’d get hit by the falling apples or would we look up and move and lose? I can only assume boredom was the origin story behind this game lol

Climb up into the hayloft and jump down using the ancient rope and pulley with only a thin layer of eggshell foam we found to break our fall. I legit do not know how we did this without breaking any ankles or other bones. Eventually we got a trampoline and would jump onto it. (What’s a safety net? Never met her!)

[aquamechanic12]

Customize your swimming pool with the best swimming pool equipment

Creating the perfect swimming pool experience does not end with only the simple installation of a pool. Putting in the best equipment and accessories in your swimming pool will help you individualize your backyard into a unique, luxurious haven. Selecting top-of-the-line custom equipment for swimming pool will result in improved performance and attractive pool designs to meet all your needs and specifications.

Understanding the Power of Customization

Ideal customization is everything in creating a swimming pool that will not only be beautiful to look at but also perform really well. The right kind of equipment and accessories make a huge difference in all your swimming experience—added comforts, conveniences, and efficiency to get the desired performance. Now, to change your pool into a serene retreat or an entertainment space for fun-filled days with family or friends, one would have to install premium equipment and accessories for pools.

Customized Equipment for all Your Needs

One size does not fit all when it comes to the equipment required. Customizing your swimming pool means choosing equipment that best fits your needs. Several components are involved in this process, including:

1. Filtration

Adequate filtration is essential in ensuring that the water remains clear and clean. Customized filtration systems, capable of managing various pool sizes and types, are geared up to purge out debris and contaminants from the water effectively. Advanced options include variable-speed pumps and cartridge filters for better energy performance and ease of maintenance.

2. Heat-Provide

If you want an extended swimming season, therefore, provide yourself with a custom heating solution. Heating could be customized solar heaters, heat pumps, and gas heaters and further adjusted upon usage in respect to the size of the pool to cover you all round. A good number of heating systems in effectual use have been universally designed to be energy preserving such that you do not use a lot of money on their power.

3. Water Features

Custom water features can be designed or chosen to enhance the aesthetic value of the pool basin. From cascading waterfalls to elegant fountains, soothing bubblers to attractive lighting effects, water features can be fashioned to enhance your pool's design and serve its purpose beautifully. Customizable features can be chosen which will uniquely fit into your landscape and make a personal statement.

Enhancing with Swimming Pool Accessories

Other than the core equipment, you might want to consider several other swimming pool accessories. Here are a few examples:

1. Automated Cleaners

Automatic pool cleaners save a great deal of your time and effort by taking up scheduled maintenance activities. Robotic types or suction-side cleaners are fabricated to fit all the different geometrical shapes and surfaces of a pool. When installed with an excellent quality automatic cleaner, it assures you that the pool is extremely clean with minimal involvement.

2. Safety Equipment

Safety should always be a priority when considering specialty features for your swimming pool. Safety covers, pool alarms, and fencing specially designed to fit your pool's size and shape provide even more safety for the protection of your family and guests. Advancements in safety technology, including threat detection sensors and remote monitoring, deliver greater peace of mind and increased safety.

3. Lighting

With the right lighting, your pool area can turn into a beautiful nighttime getaway. By addressing single lights with adjustable spectrum LED lights, away or underwater lights and accent lights, you can revolutionize an area that showcases your special pool and provides you with enough visibility for nighttime swims. By varying the color and light intensity, bring the setting alive; genau. Teamwork with Experts This will help in getting the best results. Only experienced professionals can help you choose and install the right equipment and accessories for your pool. Their experience will ensure that all components are working in sync with one another to achieve greater standards of quality and performance.

Conclusion

Remarks Equip your pool fully with every accessory that is needed for overall comfort and enjoyment. Tailored components fulfill functionality, beauty, and an all-around experience to add to each pool. Right from filtration systems to heating solutions, water features to safety equipment for swimming pool, it's the right choices that turn the backyard into your personal paradise. Bring all these professionals on board to create a pool of your dreams that will give you the perfect blend of luxury and practicality. Fitted with right equipment and accessories, a swimming pool will, without a doubt, become a haven full of coziness and delight.

[conclubiltz]

POOL BUILDERS ATLANTA. SWIMMING POOL DESIGNS IN A FULL ARRAY OF STYLES. From simple projects to complex masterpieces, you can choose any inground pool shape, size, depth, and configuration. All kinds of styles—rustic/organic, lagoon, traditional/classical, modern/contemporary—are possible. You also have a full spectrum of decorative and functional features ranging from tanning ledges to rock waterfall grottos. For details visit: https://sapphirepoolsandspas.com/

[lokisninerealms]

Close for Comfort

Summary: A new hot tub is installed at the Avengers compound, intriguing you for a feel. You find yourself sneaking a dip at the same time as a particular God. But how much room can steaming water truly hold for two?

Pairing: Loki x F!Reader

Warnings: (18+ Content) Heavy heavy smut, slight degrading, mentions and descriptions of fingering, handjob, details involving heavy intercourse

A/N: this was longer and juicier than i expected but as they say, the fic tends to write itself.

MASTERLIST

taglist: @lokisgoodgirl @vbecker10 @lokiprompts

Glistening sweat formed a thin line above your hairline, a few drops slowly running down the nape of your neck.

The heaving of your chest as you wiped the remaining sweat from your face. Still in need of a dip in Starks newly installed hot tub that he just had emplaced. Your body bruised and aching from how intense the workout you had just finished was.

A shade of purple and blue spots aligned various spots on your body. Some held a greener tint due to the start of healing. You hated the look, but nonetheless, you were one of the strongest mortals that made the Avengers.

Slipping on a emerald green bikini, the fabric was snug accentuating your curves. A towel in one hand while another held a water. Closing the door to your room, making way towards the other side of the compound. It was late at night, nearly one o’clock. You knew everyone else was bound to be asleep or doing their own thing.

At least that’s what you hoped.

Sliding the back door shut before passing the in-ground pool that Tony had also splurged on. The cool marble of the backyard patio on your feet with every step. Only to halt at the sight of someone else in the hudson bay spa.

His blue-green eyes turning at your direction, perfect hearing picking up at your presence. Arms rested on the tub’s edge like an eagle spreading its wings to fly. The muscles in his biceps visible, a few veins poking out as well. Your eyes dropped down to his chest, strong pecks on full display. The dips in his broad shoulders giving away the idea that he was fit and worked out frequently.

“I know I’m quite exquisite to look at but there is room for one more in this tub, do care to join me,” The sound of his velvety-voice snapped you from drinking him in.

Your cheeks heated up, a faint blush painting them red with embarrassment. Mentally kicking yourself for gawking at the God in front of you, though you knew he found pleasure in the attention.

Placing your towel and water bottle down before nearing towards the tub. Carefully sinking down into the water, the heat instantly burning your skin. Sighing in content. You leaned against the back wall. The scorching temperature numbing the ache in your exhausted limbs.

Opening your eyes to make instant eye contact with the Asgardian. A smirk pulled his lip, relaxing further back into the tub with a puff in the chest. Pushing his pecks further out, the defined lines of his abs peaking beneath the water.

“Enjoying yourself?,” He spoke after a moment of silence between you two.

Eyes slowly dropping to admire your chest, the cups of your top pushing them slightly higher.

Clearing your throat at the sight of his chest slowly rising up and down with a trickle of sweat running down, “Yes, the water feels very nice.”

“Indeed, it feels very nice. I like the heat…against my thighs,” His voice suggestive, dripping in lust.

Your breathe hitched at his flirty remark. Clenching your thighs together in need, forcing yourself not to drop your eyes any further. Noticing his damp curls sticking to his forehead with droplets of sweat forming. Every bone in your body fighting to run your fingers through his dark-raven hair.

A deep cough snapped you out of your filthy thoughts, his thick brow quirking at you. Posing a question of ‘what are you thinking?’ yet he remained silent.

Both of you scrutinizing each other, drinking in another’s appearance. Atmosphere around you growing thick and heavy, yet all you could do was blame it on the heat. His eyes never leaving yours as you sunk further into the water. The temperature engulfing you like a warm blanket on a cold winters night.

Shutting your eyes closed, in hopes that you’d brush away the burning heat that traveled its way to your core. Along with the dirty images that flooded your mind.

The slosh of water snapping them open, Loki’s body now right next to yours. Stiffening at his sudden move, you turned to look at him. A smirk still plastered on his face.

“Can I help you?” You asked, a bit more blunt than you intended to.

“There’s too much clothing on,” Loki drawled.

“Excuse me?” Your eyes widened at his reply, caught off guard by what he meant.

“You have too much clothing on.” His eyes slipping from your face to stare at your breasts, covered in thin fabric.

“I don’t understand how exactly that’s a problem here.”

“Oh, little dove…” he purred, twirling a piece of your hair with his finger, “I see the way that you look at me. You crave intimacy but most of all, to be touched by me.”

The air knocked from your lungs at his bold statement, your chest tightened as he exposed you. Confused on how he of all people would know about your deepest desire. To be completely and utterly fucked at the hands of one God, the Asgardian Prince himself.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you choked.

His intense gaze burning into your side, mentally forcing yourself to look anywhere but him. You needed to get out. Yet your legs stayed mounted to the charcoal tub.

Intoxicated by his smell, a hint of cologne and cypress with every inhale you took. A staggering breathe from how close you were to the inviting man beside you.

Lips lowered to the shell of your ear. “Oh. But I assure you, my dear, you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Closing your thighs shut, you attempted to scoot away from him. Desperate to get out before he could tantalize you any further. Hearing the snap of his finger before the material of your top disappeared along with the bottoms.

Yelping in shock, you quickly turned around. The devious look of his amused at your embarrassment.

“Relax love, I prefer you this way. Naked and on display for my pure enjoyment,” he teased. Eyeing your bare breasts, nipples hardening as a chill breeze blew by.

Bubbles arose blasting at the quick speed that projected into the water. Just your luck, the jets had turned on.

Giving you slight coverage in attempt to hide your bottom half. The fast pressure massaging your muscles as you still remained in shock over what just occurred.

You felt completely exposed to the dark-haired trickster in front of you who held no shame.

A few bubbles had splashed up, dripping down his chin while he waited for your next move. His eyes hunting his prey like a meal in need of devouring.

The look he sent you sending an electric shock to your core. A burning arousal stirred inside of you, a temperature that even the water inside of the tub could not satisfy you. The familiar ache of yearning to be touched and pleasured by a man growing by the second.

Your next words even surprising you, a surge of boldness leaving as you spoke. “Well, come fuck me then.”

Closing the distance between you two, moving each leg to straddle his lap. His fingers sliding down to grasp the sides of your hips. Grinding your cunt to ease any friction against his trunks. A moan leaving your lips at the rough material and growth of his erection from underneath you.

Palming his clothed length, a strangled moan could be heard against your ear. A smirk forming in satisfactory from earning the reaction that you craved from him.

Slowly lifting yourself up off him, “I’m afraid that you have too much clothing on,” you whispered.

Moving a hand down to tug the waist of his swim trunks, setting his cock free. Grasping his shaft before slowly working in a pumping motion, up and down. Repeating the movement hastily.

The water becoming a lubricant that slipped through your nimble fingers with ease. Taking note of how easily your soft touch affected him. His breathe staggering with every jerk of your hand.

Lokis hand tugged your own releasing you from his cock, hunger burning in his eyes. He needed to touch you.

“Allow me,” he murmured.

His lips attaching themselves to the side of your neck, hungrily sucking the sweet spot below your ear. Moaning in approval at the magic of his tongue.

Grazing your folds, he delicately ran his fingers through them. Teasing you with one last draw before dipping one inside, your walls welcomed his touch. Adding another digit inside of you. Pumping in and out, a moan leaving you every time in a serene of pleasure.

Digit after digit. He pumped four fingers inside of you.

Moaning with every pump of his delicate fingers, getting lost in not only his touch but the feel of his lips on your skin. His cool fingers sliding in and out of you. Sucking the flesh of your neck to mark up your breasts.

Pulling his fingers out swiftly, you whined at the absence. Chuckling at your reaction to missing his touch. Loki pulled his face away to wave his hand, shutting the jets off.

“Such a needy little one, you are,” he crooned at you.

The bubbles stilled around your naked bodies. Both of you drenched in a mix of salt water and sweat.

“Loki…,” you cried.

“I need you….I need you, Loki,” you began to beg.

Feeling utterly humiliated as you pleaded for the God to fuck you. Your body craved to be full of him.

Loki snickered, “Look at you. Begging for a God’s cock like the filthy, little whore that you are. Is that what you want? For me to fuck you? Fill you with every inch of me until I have you screaming, pleading to your one and only for more.”

His mocking words fired something in you, arousal practically dripping as it soaked your folds. Nodding eagerly, you began to grind your hips ferociously against him. A spill of ‘yes’s’ and ‘fuck me please’ coming from you.

Pulling you up at the grasp of your hips, Loki drooled at the sight of the water that dripped from your breasts. His mind spiraling, completely filled with lust and arousal.

Your focus shifted from leaving kisses on the pale skin of his neck to centering his cock at your entrance. Gently running his shaft along your soaked folds before sinking down. His girth stretching your walls leaving you to fully adjust, taking every inch of him.

A loud moan coming from both of you of immense pleasure. The assumption about him being the perfect size becoming true. Slipping a hand behind the nape of his neck, you steadied yourself for support. Running your fingers through to feel the soft texture of his curls

Beginning to bounce up and down, the water sloshed around you.

“Fuuuuck…Loki, you’re so big,” you moaned.

Your praises fulfilling his ego, boosting him with pride.

Loki thrusted beneath you aiding you both to a hot release. The tip of his cock piercing your cervix with every bounce and thrust that occurred.

His grunts and moans filling your ears, a mix of your own joining with him. Both of you too lost in the pleasure of ravishing another to care about anyone who could hear.

Up and down, you continued to bounce on top of him. Breasts at eye level while he looked up at you in lust and admiration. A cluster of soft moans fell from your lips at the slightest touch of his cool fingers circling your clit.

“Come on love…don’t be shy. Let me hear how good I’m making you feel, let’s put on a whole show,” he coaxed in your ear.

A scream erupted from you, the sudden change in position hitting a different spot than before. Your chest now flushed against the wall as the God of Mischief pounded into you from behind. His attempts at getting you to be more vocal succeeding as your pleasure was heard for the whole world.

Moan after moan, shout after shout, you cried as each thrust that was entered became harsher than the last. Tears brimming in your eyes at the brutal force that Loki used to reaching your climax.

“You feel so good, taking all of me like the good girl that you are,” Loki praised.

Water splashing with every hurried rock of his hips against the flesh of your skin. His heavy balls slamming against your ass, destined to create even more bruises.

The sound of waves crashing around you drowned out by heavy pants and whimpering moans.

“My pretty girl. You look so beautiful filled of my cock,” he moaned. Feeling so full at the warmth of your cunt.

Thrust after thrust, his dick disappeared inside of your folds. Pulling out just before the tip only to slam right back in. Your body jerking every time while you gripped onto the ledge for dear life. His sweet praises and taunts tipping you over as your stomach tightened.

“F-fuck…Loki, I’m gonna…I need to cum,” you panted.

“We shall come together, hold on just a little bit longer my love,” he rasped. Feeling his own stomach coil.

The nickname falling from his lips like honey. Turning your head back to look at him, his dark curls framed his face. His face contorted in sweet pleasure, heavenly moans leaving his lips at the same the. Your walls clenched around him at the scene of you two.

Loki deeply inhaled feeling his cock twitch aggressively as he coursed you to cum. Screams and moans could be heard as the both of you reached your high together.

After performing a couple more lousy thrusts, Loki laid to rest on top of you. Raven curls laying to fall on your shoulder, his breathe warm. A mixture of both of your juices slowly sliding down your thigh. His length still buried deep inside of you.

“That was…..,” he breathed.

“Amazing,” you finished the sentence for him.

Running a hand through his hair, the cool touch of his lips grazed your collar bone.

Slowly he pulled out of you, the ache between your thighs causing you to flinch at the retraction of his length. His lips kissing your cheek in the process. A wave of his hand to clean you both up while also sealing a contraceptive spell.

Turning around to settle your back against the hot tub, exhausted, a well-spent mess of Loki’s doing. As you allowed yourself to relish in the presence of his.

“And I thought it’d take a lot more than me being drenched in a hot tub for you to finally give in,” he jested.

Slapping his chest lightly, scoffing as he teased you. A sudden splash of water hitting you.

“You’re going to pay for that!,” you shrieked.

“I just paid you by ravishing you with my delightful cock,” he rolled his eyes dramatically at you.

Before you could quip back, his greedy hands pulled you to his lap, already missing the touch of your skin on his. You squealed, feeling his lips close the gap between you two at the exchange of a heated, yet passionate kiss.

Pulling away just before your tongues could fully intertwine, Loki sent a wicked grinned your way. The mischief glint in his blue-green eyes clearly evident.

“So next time, we’re fucking in the pool,” he smirked.

[luxpool11]

A Comprehensive Guide to Swimming Pool Installation in the UK

Installing a swimming pool in your home can transform your outdoor space into a luxurious oasis, perfect for relaxation, exercise, and entertainment. In the UK, where summers can be mild but enjoyable, a swimming pool can provide endless enjoyment. However, the installation process requires careful planning and consideration. This guide will walk you through the essential steps of swimming pool installation uk, ensuring a smooth and successful project.

Planning and Design

The first step in installing a swimming pool is thorough planning and design. Consider the purpose of the pool—whether it’s for fitness, leisure, or family fun. This will influence the pool’s size, shape, and depth. Additionally, think about the location of the pool in your garden. Ensure it receives adequate sunlight, is sheltered from wind, and complements the existing landscape.

Choosing the Right Pool Type

There are various types of swimming pools to choose from, each with its pros and cons:

Above-Ground Pools: These are generally more affordable and quicker to install. They can be moved if needed but may not have the same aesthetic appeal as in-ground pools.

In-Ground Pools: These offer a more permanent and attractive solution. They can be customized to any shape or size but are more expensive and take longer to install.

Indoor Pools: Perfect for year-round use, indoor pools can be integrated into existing structures or built as standalone pool houses. They are the most expensive option but offer the best protection from the UK’s unpredictable weather.

Permits and Regulations

Before starting construction, check with your local council regarding permits and regulations. In the UK, planning permission is generally not required for private swimming pools, but it's essential to confirm specific requirements in your area. Adhering to safety standards, such as installing fencing or covers, may also be necessary to prevent accidents.

Excavation and Groundwork

For in-ground pools, excavation is the next step. Hire a professional contractor with experience in pool installation. They will ensure the ground is properly excavated and leveled. Proper drainage and soil stability are crucial to prevent future issues.

Pool Installation

The installation process varies depending on the pool type:

Concrete Pools: These are highly customizable and durable. The process involves building a framework, pouring concrete, and applying a finish, such as tiles or a liner.

Fiberglass Pools: These come pre-fabricated and are lowered into the excavated hole. They are quicker to install and have a smooth, non-porous surface.

Vinyl Liner Pools: These pools use a metal or plastic frame with a vinyl liner. They are cost-effective and offer some customization options.

Plumbing and Electrical Work

Professional plumbers and electricians are essential for installing the filtration system, heaters, pumps, and lighting. Proper installation ensures the pool operates efficiently and safely. This stage may also involve setting up a pool cover or automatic cleaning system.

Finishing Touches

Once the pool is installed, add finishing touches to enhance its appearance and functionality. Surround the pool with decking, tiles, or paving to create a beautiful and practical space. Landscaping, such as planting shrubs or installing a fence, can provide privacy and improve the overall aesthetic.

Maintenance and Safety

Regular maintenance is crucial to keep your pool clean and safe. Invest in quality cleaning equipment and consider hiring a professional pool service. Establish a routine for checking water quality, cleaning filters, and inspecting the pool for any damage. Safety measures, such as pool alarms and non-slip surfaces, are essential to prevent accidents, especially if children are around.

Conclusion

A swimming pool installation near me can significantly enhance your home and lifestyle. By carefully planning and working with experienced professionals, you can create a stunning and functional pool that provides years of enjoyment. Whether you choose an above-ground, in-ground, or indoor pool, the key to a successful installation lies in attention to detail and adherence to safety standards.

[djarinsbeskar]

Counterstrike - Boxer!Din AU

Definition -  a strike that retaliates against an earlier strike.

A/N: Finally back with a long awaited instalment for Boxer!Din. I’m floored by the response he has received since I posted him first and I just wanted to thank you all so much for showing him (and me) so much love (and lust). In particular, I’d like to dedicate this instalment to @bestinbeskar @honestly-shite @3frontier and @pedro4ever for the gorgeous art of Boxer!Din they each made! Links can be found on the Boxer!Din masterlist below.

Word Count: 3.5k

Rating: 18+ (NO Minors)

Warnings: SMUT! Unprotected sex (do as I say, not as I write), semi-public sex, rough dom!Din, dirty talking, no beta.

Main Masterlist | Boxer Materlist

Ever since he first fucked you in the middle of his boxing ring, Din had developed a bit of a bad habit. A habit that involved finding some way to bury his cock inside you ever time he saw you; an inconvenience since you mostly came across each other in less than private settings. His gym, the sports clinic, or the massage studio you worked at.

It was sweltering, the city falling under the hold of a heatwave that no number of cold showers would help cool. Din ran hot by nature, and the heat only served to make him two things: irritable and horny.

That might explain the near instant reaction he had to the tempting little sundress you wore to combat the suffocating heat when you popped your head around the main doors of the gym. Your day off if the lack of uniform was anything to go by. A vision in coral pink and flushed skin, you beamed against the metal and muted, dark tones of the boxing area.

Sweat dropped down his temple from where he lay on the bench press, bare chest glistening and muscles taut as he lowered the barbell down slowly to his chest. Trained, expert eyes – honed instinct to notice every miniscule move of an opponent – picked up the flash of color and immediately flickered over to where you were approaching him.

Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck.

His jaw clenched as he turned his attention resolutely back up to stare at the ceiling, focus Djarin. With a measured exhale, his muscles bunched to press the heavy weight back up away from his body, held it for a beat, and let it lower once more on a slow inhale.

Three more.

His head turned towards you to admire your form as you traced your hand over the dumbbell stand, skilled fingers walking along the progressively heavier weights while your eyes met his in the wall of mirrors behind the stand. You smiled. And it lit your face up.

Jesus fucking Christ.

His eyes dropped from yours down your body indulgently, content to hold the weight of the barbell a beat longer. The way that dress clung to every damned curve he wanted to sink his fingers and teeth into, the swish of the skirt barely reaching the middle of supple thighs that looked better thrown over his shoulders. The fucking nerve you had to not bother concealing the faded mark on the top of your breast where it peeked out from over your neckline where he left it several days ago.

His mouth twisted into a snarl, his mark. Damn fucking right.

You were teasing him, crossing one ankle over the other to turn towards him with a dainty twirl of your skirt. Don’t get distracted on the bench, he growled to himself internally, and with a grunt, he pushed the barbell back up, the lines of muscles that cut across his triceps flexing taut and his pectorals pulsed from the strain of exercising them.

The pulse of his cock in his gym shorts on the other hand, that wasn’t a muscle that was supposed to be engaged for this particular exercise.

Two more.

“Miss me already, sweetheart?”

He ground out, voice rough and strained—keenly aware of the sway of your hips as you walked back towards the bench, his eyes at perfect eye level to thighs he wanted to wrap around his waist. You passed his head – fuck, he could smell you from here – to stand by his hips. He brought the barbell back down slowly towards his chest, breathing more labored than it should be and his jaw clenched in frustration. You were getting to him.

His grip on the metal bar almost slipped entirely when you hiked up the skirt of your dress to kick one leg over the bench and straddle his hips, the sudden weight and heat making him grunt in surprise.

You were soaked—he realized at the same time it dawned on him that you weren’t wearing any underwear.

“Does this answer your question?”

Voice as light and airy as the lavender scent that suffused the room you gave massages in—making his teeth grind and his hips struggle to remain still when memories of that same voice breathless and gasping with moans he elicited rose in his memory.

You rubbed yourself over the thick outline of him through his gym shorts – you little fucking tease – and sweat wasn’t the only thing dampening them anymore.

“Finish your workout, Din,” you sighed breathily, hooded eyes scanning the empty gym floor appreciatively—basking in the ability to rock so openly and languidly over his throbbing cock. It was a sunny day. It was the end of the week. No one was in the gym—and that was precisely why Din chose to work out now.

His eyes never left yours, molten pools filling with dark promise clashed with yours as your small hands found the planes of his tight abdomen, the muscles clenching sensitively under your touch,

“Keep your back straight… don’t want to injure yourself again—” you purred and received a warning growl in response when he pushed the weight back up, a ripple of heated arousal gathering low at his spine and tightening to a coil beneath your hands that indulgently ran over toned muscles and tawny, inked skin.

One more.

Fuck… but you felt so good. Grinding on him like that.

Din’s hips rocked up against you despite himself, his heels pressing into the grate metal flooring to push his clothed cock against your dripping cunt, your soft gasp when he caught your clit music to his ears and the last bit of motivation he needed to drop the barbell back to his chest. You focused your ruts on the tip of his bulge, the fucking audacity you had to use him to get yourself off—grinding your clit over his soaked shorts and digging short nails into his stomach while soft, gentle eyes darkened with lust bore into his.

He lowered his hips again, smirking at the soft whine of annoyance you couldn’t mask in order to adjust his posture correctly. With one last exhale, a panted curse as corded muscles tensed and released with a final burst of energy, his arms straightened once more above him.

Finally.

He had a hand tangled in the length of your hair before the clatter of the metal barbell hitting the hooks of the stand above him died out, yanking you down until your breasts were flush with his heaving chest. His other hand – calloused and rough – grabbed a fistful of your ass, the soft material of your dress bunching effortlessly in his hand,

“Didn’t get enough last week, baby?” he growled against your mouth, guiding your hips over his cock harder now that he could thrust shallowly against you, grinning darkly at your keen of frustration when his mouth glanced yours, avoiding kissing you, “fuck, you’re soaked for me already—”

Teeth grazing your jaw, you arched your neck back in blind submission, the hand caught against his stomach shifting down to tug at his shorts, succeeding in getting them only halfway down. You both groaned at the contact when wet, slick heat burned around the leaking head of his cock, making the heatwave outside feel like nothing more than a warm breeze.

“Din…” you moaned when a perfectly timed grind of his hips knocked the blunt tip against your hooded bundle of nerves, “a week is too long…” you admitted to the boxer’s delight. Finally. He wasn’t the only one going stir crazy only seeing you sporadically.

“Yeah?” he rasped, tightening his hold in your hair so he could keep your head pulled back while he licked a small trickle of sweat that was slowly making its way down to the hollow of your throat, “thinking about my cock all this time?”

Feral pride filled him at your immediate nod, his chest swelling with a primal snarl – why the fuck did you have to agree so easily, he’d never stop thinking about it now – and captured your lips heatedly with his own. Growling your name, he plundered your mouth—lapping along your tongue and groaning at your taste, swallowing your soft sighs and mewls of satisfaction at finally having his lips on yours again.

His hand dropped from your hair to drag down your spine, down the thin fabric that clung to your heated skin until he was dipping two thick digits between exposed cheeks to swipe through your drenched folds. Circling, spreading, coaxing whines and groans of his name with every press of his fingers. Music more beautiful than even the most skilled pianist could create, and all from the fingers of a fighter.

Conversation from elsewhere in the vicinity carried through empty corridors and with a dip of his fingers into your quivering entrance – chestnut eyes sharpened to dark amber watching doe eyes flutter shut in pleasure – his words breathed into your mouth when your lips parted against his,

“Locker room. Now.”

What followed was a heated scramble, a need to be close—to remain in this transcendent bubble of scorching touches and burning attraction. He practically dragged you with him across the gym floor, weaving between machines with his hand wrapped firmly around your wrist. You already looked wrecked, thoroughly corrupted with mused hair, and crooked clothing. Your legs wobbled as you followed his menacing frame, eyes glued to the shifting muscles in his back, an apex predator dragging his prey back to devour in rapture. You went willingly.

The tiles of the shower cubicle were cold when he shoved you against them – the only place remotely private in the locker room when he tugged the thin curtain closed behind you – his hands flexing around your jaw when he turned your face up for him to kiss. Free hand pressing into the small of your back, he made you arch against him, and you mewled at the solid length of him throbbing against your stomach.

“Fucking gorgeous,” he rumbled, hand snaking around to disappear beneath the skirt of your dress again as he rocked his hips against you slowly—cupping your cunt and his teeth leaving a trail of bites down your throat as his words whispered across the tiles.

You blushed.

He saw it—even above the flush of arousal, he saw your cheeks darken and your eyes flicker to the side at his words. Avoiding his gaze, expecting a hunter’s response of claws and teeth to your doe-like display of weakness—and his eyes softened minutely. Some of the aggressive tightness bled from his gaze which he hid in a nip to your jaw, the heel of his hand rubbing in tempting circles over your swollen clit while his fingers split along your entrance, smearing your slick over puffy lips.

You rocked your hips over his hand needily, fingers scratching down the sides of his neck, scoring passion into the tanned skin and whispers against his lips – please Din, please – along with the pleasurable pain rippling from your nails compelled him to shove two fingers knuckle deep into your tight cunt.

He covered your mouth quickly with his palm when an unadulterated moan ricocheted off the tiles, echoing louder – “fuck baby, quiet” – was hissed against your cheek even as his fingers picked up a merciless pace of pump pump pump, his thumb swiping across your clit, his speed building—making it harder for you to stay quiet as you whimpered against his hand.

Nails digging into his shoulders, you buried your face into his sweat slick neck when he dropped his hand from your mouth to hike your leg up over his arm, spread you wider for him to thrust soaked fingers into your sopping core.

When you came the first time, you bit his neck—his teeth baring from the sting while his fingers scissored against your convulsing walls, dragging you through contractions of pleasure that sent spikes of electricity to cloud your brain in a muffled babble of yes yes yes sobbed into his neck.

Condensation misted the tiles by your head as heat lifted from sweltering bodies. Din growled praise, rough rasps of “good girl, that’s it…” into your ear as you relaxed around fingers that were lazily curling up inside you, your mouth working lazily over the sensitive point where his jaw met his neck, nipping—licking, begging him to fuck you.

His brain short circuited.

His large body caging you against the wall, you preened and arched and tempted him into you with soft sighs of his name and your hands tracing down to the hem of his shorts. Heavy, lust-pooled eyed followed your hands, watching you pull him from his shorts and stroke him with expert fingers that never failed to make him fall apart—on your table, in your bed… you bewitched him with touch since first he met you. He was a slave to it.

“Fuck, baby—” he groaned, his head falling back before he swiped your hands away from his swollen length, giving it a few hard strokes as he ran the head between your exposed folds. He filled you with on thrust, a filthy squelch as your pussy accepted him – unable to be gentle, unable to take his time when all he could think of was claiming you over and again, of meeting your counterstrike with a knockout and hearing your surrender in cries of his name.

He was big—so big that every time he filled you, it felt like he was splitting you apart. The smallest hint of pain, the breach of his cock melting into a delicious fire that licked and coated your nerves as the fat head knocked against soft tissue inside you. He found his pace with a slow rut that dragged his cock along tight walls where you could feel every single vein throb enticingly against you.

His facial hair sanded across your cheek as he panted how good you felt, how tight—how addicted he was to the feel of you, how he wanted to fuck you for hours. Your nails curved down over the muscles of his shoulder blades, along his waist—basking in his size, his strength—his head lowering to scrape his teeth over the swell of your breast, sucking over the ghost of his previous mark and drawing blood back to the surface as he snapped his hips back into you.

And then the door to the locker room opened, and conversation filled it.

Din didn’t even think before slamming his fist onto the water pressure, drenching the two of you in seconds with cool water and drowning the sounds of his cock slamming into you with the hiss of water falling in rivulets down your bodies.

You moaned, too far gone to know – or care – that you weren’t alone, and his hand came back up to cover your mouth with a warning growl into your ear, “Shut up, unless you want to give them a show.”

Even as he said it, his pace grew harder—punching gasps and sounds of surprised pleasure from parted lips that were only mitigated by the calloused palm he folded over them. Your nipples pebbled through soaked fabric, drawing his eager mouth down to suck it raw through the dress, whimpers for more echoed in the tight clench of your cunt around his glistening length.

Steam filled the shower, bleeding out into the locker room where laughter and conversation blended to mask the wet slaps of his skin against yours, the sodden movement of clothes and his guttural groans around your nipple as you clawed at his undulating back.

“Din—” you whispered, panting as strands of your hair fell into your face—fucked out and divine when his mouth slanted over yours again, your chest heaving while one hand lifted to cup his jaw, keeping his mouth on yours. He snapped into the dripping grasp of your pussy hard, shoving you up the wall onto your toes, the graze of the short coarse hairs at the base of his cock tickling over your sensitive clit.

“So fucking loud…” he growled on a whip of anger, the sound cracking down the feral possessiveness of his tone and making you moan. He would spank that pretty ass red, your pussy pink if there wasn’t the risk of the sound carrying to the other athletes getting changed for their workout.

Oh well.

That just meant he would have to take you again later.

His balls tightened and his stomach clenched at the thought, fuck. He wanted you again and he hadn’t even cum yet—your tight little cunt already quivering and tightening around him with your oncoming orgasm as he lost himself in eyes flooded with open desire— disarming him with the candor he saw reflected in them. He swallowed thickly.

“Gonna ruin you, sweetheart,” was his immediate reaction, the only way he could think to reciprocate. A gush of wetness pushed around his cock drilling into you, your walls getting impossibly tighter, and he smirked darkly—his nose pressing into your cheek, teeth bared and feral, “you’d like that, huh?”

Delirious nods were all you were capable of as silent gasps kept your lips parted, eyes rolling back when his thumb dropped to draw tight, fixated little circles on your clit—forcing you over the edge with a final blow that sucked the breath right out of you, the boxer taking and taking and taking everything he wanted from you with wet thrusts and brutal bites to your already marked neck.

He swallowed your orgasm with his mouth, the wet strands of his hair dripping water onto your pretty face as he sucked your tongue into his mouth, dropping his free hand to slide down the length of your side as his thrust turned erratic, chasing his high—chasing that bliss he could only find buried deep inside you.

“Cum, Din—cum,” you breathed, cupping his face as you smiled—exhaustion written plain on your face and his brows pinched in concentration, dropping his forehead to your shoulder with a gasp of your name, breathless as he pulled out—his hand moving frantically over the swollen length of him until he coated your mound and dress with his release. It washed away in streaks of milky white down your body, a subtle pang of fatigued frustration to see it disappear so quickly flashing though him.

The locker room was silent when he turned the water pressure off.

Apart from your labored breathing, the locker room was silent—the prior occupants leaving none the wiser or – if they had heard anything – wisely leaving.

Din dropped your leg from where it remained hooked over his arm, his hands fisting in the skirt of your dress to drag the sodden material up and over your head with a shiver at the uncomfortable feeling of wet clothes.

The sight of your naked body made his softening cock twitch, dammit. You were all gentle curves and soft skin, clothed in the marks of his mouth and bruises of his grip.

He wanted you again.

And caged within his arms, trapped with his hands pressed either side of your head, his shaggy head of soaked waves falling into dark, guarded eyes—you could admit you wanted him again too.

“I’ll wash your dress,” he rasped gruffly, taking a step back from you and kicking off his shorts to wring out and toss into his gym bag. He left the shower with effortless calm, as if he wasn’t stark naked but returned with a towel for you to wrap yourself in.

You flashed him a grateful smile that stuttered when he tossed another – smaller – towel on your head, rubbing it quickly over your soaked locks despite your complaints, a crooked smirk your only indication that he was playing.

“You don’t have t—”

“You can wait for it to dry at my place.”

His words brokered no argument as you padded after him into the empty locker room, the boxer rummaging through his own locker to pull out a simple white t-shirt—long enough to cover you… just about. The hem fell shorter than your dress and you were distinctly aware of your lack of underwear when you pulled it on.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he rumbled as he tugged a tight black muscle shirt over his head, looking down at you with a devastating smirk and sinfully half-lidded eyes, “I don’t share. No one will see you.”

Taglist:

@sarahjkl82-blog @gracie7209 @nova646 @theflightytemptressadventure @wantingtobekorra @computeringturtle @slayerette26 @kesskirata @greatcircle79 @boxdyeblonde @fangirl-316 @niiight-dreamerrrr @tanzthompson @theamuz @the-scandalorian @gallowsjoker @helmet-comes-off @jesfreedark @amyk-37 @altarsw @feminist-violinist @spideysimpossiblegirl @lazybeeches @shameless-h @girlimjusttryingtoreadfanfics @mamacitapascal @the-ginger-hedge-witch @disgruntledspacedad @asta-lily @aesnawan @frannyzooey @gaiuswrites @beskarboobs @sherala007 @cats-are-a-girls-bestfriend @missminkylove @pedros-mustache @krissology @headinthestarz @leannawithacapitala @sharkbait77 @radiowallet @librariantothejedi   @day-off-inkyoto @mandocrasis

[misselko]

Got this idea from Dimitri’s conversation with Byleth before Fort Merceus battle with the Death Knight. Put some angst, fluff, and a pinch of smut spices into the dish and let it simmer down! At least, that’s what I want! But it turned out... different ;) Sorry not sorry

Please kindly leave some of your comments or ideas for my next fic! Your warm and loving words gives me energy to write more!!

RECKLESS

Genre: Angst, Fluff

Warnings: Mention of blood, violence, a little smut

Words: 3316

 

POST TIMESKIP

Empire will be the only remaining enemy and to move on to the Imperial Capital, Enbarr, capturing Fort Merceus is a must. Praised as the strongest defense with its fortified military installation  in the Empire, seizing it won’t be an easy feat.

Liberating Arianrhod, calming down Holy Kingdom of Faerghus political issues, winning over the Leicester Alliance and gained their support. Getting a lead on Lady Rhea’s location. Although things were a rough go, but thinking back on it now, Blue Lions sure has really come a long way. Things have been wonderful in these past moons that it almost feels like dream too good to be true.

You don’t know why but you can’t shake your uneasy feelings and dread. War is raging and everyone knows there is a big battle on the horizon.

“We must not falter in our assault. The Death Knight is the enemy commander in Fort Merceus. He’s an unpredictable opponent. A dangerous one. Please proceed with caution, (Y/N).”

“I will, Dimitri. No need to worry.”

“I have not come this far just to lose you here. I’m serious. Do not be reckless out there.”

“Will you save me if I’m in trouble?”

“Of course, (Y/N). You were the heart of the Blue Lions, and the same holds true for the Kingdom Army.”

You smiled at his concern and hold his hands gently.

“I will do my best as well to support you, my Dimitri.” His cheeks turned into rosy blush at your words.

 

“Whoaa!! You’re getting pretty chummy, aren’t you, Your Highness? Go get a room!” Sylvain winks and got punched HARD, dragged away by Ingrid. You make mental notes on giving her a delicious roasted meat from that famous new shop in the town later as your gratitude. Serves him right!! ...But you wouldn’t trade them for anything in this world. Everything will be alright with them. Blue Lions are your precious family. It will be fine. Everything will be fine.

---

Capturing Fort Merceus is a daunting task. Endless enemies are approaching and relentless. Felix and Sylvain are working together cut through the snipers and mages. Ingrid and Ashe are doing their best to handle the pegasi knights. Dedue, Annette, Mercedes, and Flayn makes great combo on cutting through enemy reinforcements while providing healing to everyone. Slowly but sure, you and Dimitri managed to push Death Knight on the corner. But it doesn’t make things less difficult for both of you.

 

“You dare stand between me and my pleasure?”

The beginning of it was barely a bellow that grew steadily to a deafening roar, piercing the air and shaking the ground. Areadbhar crack in deafening clash against Death Knight’s Scythe of Sariel. They raised their weapons, waving them overhead.

 

“Yes. I dare stand against you, Death Knight!!”

 

Dimitri decides to face Death Knight head on as you tried your best to keep his back safe from the Imperial soldiers assaults. Keeping a close eye on him... just in case, following from a few meters back, cover his blind spots that way, look out for any potential danger. You could see them coming around, carefully and quietly trying to find their way to Dimitri.

 

Landing sharp blows, you bring the blade down on the head of another mage. Slashing your way through numerous enemies, you start to feel fatigued. Countless enemies lying dead behind. You looked around, among the sea of red and black, a swordmaster is sneaking his way behind Dimitri, ready to ambush him.

 

But you wouldn’t let it happen!

 

You were fully offensive, rapidly swinging your sword down on the swordmaster. You were able to deflect, parry, and block most of his attacks until his foot swept across your ankles, knocking you hard to the floor. The swordmaster stood above you, ready to press his sword into your chest to end your life. Fatigue made it harder for you to evade his deadly stab completely. Sound of a weapon piercing through flesh filled your ears, followed by an intense pain in your side. He pulled it back out with a triumphant smirk on his face. Despite the searing pain, you made it in time to grab your own weapon and thrust it up to his neck, your arms shaking as you tried to counter the weight of his attack. Grimace crossing your face as he fell, blood painting the earth a sick shade of red.

 

You sat up, wincing at the searing, burning hot pain on your side. The stab wound was way too deep. Your hands trembled, desperately attempting to put pressure on the wound as heavy flow of your blood is trickling through your fingers, colors your skin and clothes. The world had turned blurry, and your body felt weak. Ignoring the excruciating pain, you rush forward to help Dimitri. He has won against the Death Knight. But in his brief reverie, the Tempest King failed to notice two opposing snipers are approaching him, expression intent to kill, aiming their arrows at his back.

 

You acted on instinct, rushing forward, sprinting to intervene. To protect him.

‘We have been through so much together and he’d been through hell and back... I want to ease his pain. Knowing he’s safe... I can be at peace.’

You thought to yourself, launching forward. You barely has energy to stand up, but you tried to muster your last remaining strength to dove in before Dimitri. The arrows managed to easily make it’s way through your armor, landing in your chest and abdomen. ‘I have no regret when it came to protecting Dimitri.’

 

Your body slammed hard on the ground, careening across the battlefield. A sharp cry pained noise escaped you; that was all it took. Dimitri stiffened at the sound. It pulled him from the high of the battlefield down to reality in an instant.

 

“(Y/N)!!!”

 

He turned; filled with horror and rage. The fires blazing around him didn’t give off any heat. The battlefield around him turned black and white. His ears were ringing as if he’d been caught in an explosion. Dimitri went after the snipers and thrust them both at their hearts. After a quick glance to make sure no more surprise attacks happen, he kneels and pulling you into his chest. You looked so small, felt so limp that it sickened him. Broken and battered with littered scars and large wound on your side. Arrows jutting out of your chest, much too close to the heart, and another one lodged deep in your abdomen.

 

Dimitri watched as the blood pooled around you. Blood... there is so much blood. Your blood.

“Goddess... what were you- MERCEDES! FLAYN!! SOMEONE...HELP!!”

 

He pulled himself up, beside you, staring at your face. You were so pale. Oh, Goddess, you were dying. Were you already dead?

 

“I’m sorry.” There isn’t a reason to apologize, you aren’t sorry, but it still came out like the blood that is on Dimitri’s hands now.

 

“Don’t you dare apologize to me right now,” his voice choked off in his throat feels raw with emotions, barely able to hold back the sob which demands to escape, “not when you are like this. What were you thinking, (Y/N)? You have promised me to not be reckless.” He phrased it in a question, but both know why.

 

“Y-You... haven’t seen the... swordmaster... and those snipers. Y-You...were going to die...if they attack you. I want to protect you.... and I don’t regret my decision.“

 

You opened your mouth to speak but immediately coughed, feeling globs of blood on the corners of your lips. Dimitri gripped your hand, his hold so tight that it hurt, but you wouldn’t waste your breath on telling him. You could barely see Mercedes scurried over to your side as quickly as she could, Flayn follows behind her, leaving the Death Knight behind with tears running down her cheeks.

 

“Please stay awake for me a little longer, please.”

He choked out, pulling you closer if possible as it would keep you from leaving.

 

The chaos around you went mute as your eyes grow heavy. Maybe a quick nap would suffice.

 

“No...no, no, (Y/N)!! You can’t do this to me, you can’t-! Please, (Y/N), I can’t lose you too.....”

 

You felt like you were fading, and the sounds around you faded along with your hazy consciousness. You fell asleep.

---

Every second was filled with anxiety; you’d lost so much blood. The wounds were too deep to heal completely. There was little to no possibility of survival. Not after what you’d been through.

The days turned to one week, then two...then three. The physical wounds had healed, mostly repaired and faded to scars. There was potential for things to return to normal, and you may wake up sooner rather than later.

When you opened your eyes again, you found yourself in a dimly lit room, your upper body covered in bandages. The first thing you’re aware of is a dull throb radiating throughout your entire body. You were confused, and moved your head, unintentionally shifting your body and sending a wave of pain through your chest and stomach as you tried to get up. You closed your eyes tightly in response to the return of extreme pain, much worse than you had ever felt before. With much struggle, you sat on the edge of the bed shakily trying to stand up. The door creaked open and you looked up to find Dimitri peering inside.

 

”You’re awake,” he said, a look of surprise on his face. You tried to stand up and walk to him but failed, Dimitri ran in and caught you before you fell over. “I thought I was going to lose you, (Y/N),” he said, lifting you up effortlessly, settling you gently onto the bed and pulled up a chair. 

 

As cautiously as you could, you managed to sit yourself up. You kept a careful eye on the young king, noting how dark the circles under his eyes have become and how hollow his cheeks have turned. The fact that rest had eluded him for however long you were unconscious was as plain as day.

 

“You nearly died because of me. I have no right to be... you of all people shouldn’t-!” He managed to say, his voice shaking as his fingers trembled.

His head shot up to look at you, cerulean blue eyes dampened by tears that pooled in them. Your eyes were open, though weakly, looking at him and his disturbed state. You sensed his worry, but also his relief as he hovers next to your bed, engulfing you in his embrace and squeezing you against his chest for all he was worth. He was mindful of your wound, but that wasn’t enough to keep him away. No, he needed you. He needed to be beside you, to feel you, to know you were there.

 

“I’m okay, Dimitri...” You whispered, resting a hand on his chest where his heart thundered. You closed your eyes against him, relishing the feel of his tender warmth.

 

You felt how hard and rapid his heart was beating, almost deafening. Your arms wrapped around his heaving back weakly, rubbing it soothingly. He pulled you closer in response—closer, closer, closer, until every inch of you was smothered by him. Hesitant, trembling fingers graced your tightly wound bandages and you felt something warm and wet splatter onto your exposed shoulder.

 

"I could not stand to lose you,” he spoke slowly, holding your hands so tight that it hurts.

“But I fear that I may if I tell you what is on my mind.”

 

His voice was as quiet as it could be and it made you frown your eyebrows in worry. You were happy to see him alive, that was your goal when you decided to protect him from the approaching enemies. However, seeing him so distraught and afraid twisted your insides uncomfortably. The way he held your hand so desperately, afraid to let go.

 

“Dimitri.” You call him quietly, which makes him look at you with those gorgeous eyes of him.

 

You move your hand to his cheeks, caressing his soft skin, trying to bring him even the tiniest amount of comfort. Leaning to give him a soft chaste kiss on his lips. He reciprocated by open-mouthed kiss you with such fervor. There’s an undercurrent of desperation in the way Dimitri kisses you, as if this is the last moment he’ll ever feel it. It’s almost as if it pains him to be this close to you. You were alive, yet he couldn’t help but doubt it. Perhaps it was once again due to the vicious noises he still heard, though faintly. However, he was glad that they allowed him this moment of happiness.

 

“I won’t leave you, Dimitri.” You promised between ragged breath, your chest heaving.

 

“We are so close to ending this. Please, promise me you’ll stay safe. Rest, for now, my beloved.” Leaning down, he pressed a lingering kiss to your forehead, holding your hand to his chest. “I promise, I will never let you be hurt for my sake again.” Covering you with a  blanket  and tucking you into bed to retire for the evening.

 ---

After your awakening, the Blue Lions and Professor began incorporating regular infirmary visits into their schedule. They showered you with kind, encouraging words and occasionally bore small gifts (flowers and snacks), always encourage you to get better soon. But your most frequent visitor of all was your beloved gentle king.

It was two weeks since you have gotten better. Mercedes promised to take care after your bandages this evening.

“Are you ready, (Y/N)?”

You met Mercedes’ warm gaze with your own. With a firm nod, you replied, “Ready as I’ll ever be, Mercedes.”

 

The healer moved closer to you, her skilled hands undoing the set of bandages for the last time. Dimitri averted his frantic eyes to the wall when the dressing loosened just enough for your breasts to peak through. A cold, unforgiving breeze whipped the newly exposed skin, jolting a shiver down your spine. Mercedes sighed, slowly traced the scars your chest and stomach.

“I’m sorry but we will never be able to remove the scars. The wounds all healed, but... the scars will never go away completely. I’m sorry (Y/N).”

 

Your eyes immediately flashed over to Dimitri’s stiffening frame.

“It’s okay. I will never regret such a thing.” You smiled, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear.

“Do you need anything else, (Y/N)?”

“No, I’m all good, Mercedes! Thank you for your help.”

“All right, then. Annette said that she needs my help with her baking this evening. We have to finish it before midnight! Should you need anything, please feel free to call me.” Mercedes gave you last smile before excusing herself politely from your quarter.

 

“Dimitri.”

His jaw clenched tautly; his eyes crunched into a pain-stricken wince. Refusing to look at your scar, a harsh reminder of his failure.

“Look at me.”

He stilled and won’t budge to look at you.

 

“I will never regret nor blame you for this. It was my decision and if it means saving you, I’ll gladly do it again in a heartbeat. Or... perhaps.... I can understand if you find that my... scars are disgusting, appalling, even....” you whisper softly, almost inaudible. Your surroundings whizzed right past you before you were unceremoniously slammed into your bed.

“DON’T SAY SUCH THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF!!” He growled “I will not allow you to throw your life away for me. If.. If something ever happen to you.. I’ll live a life worse than death itself, (Y/N).”

 

Not a moment later did you feel something warm and soft press against your lips. His mouth moved awkwardly yet full of affection. Hands planted  on either side of your body, ridding any hope of escape from his ravishing kisses. Dimitri pressed his lips further into yours, swallowing your moans. His lips left yours to trail down around your neck, breasts, and stomach lovingly. “This wounds... I cannot lose you again, my beloved.” His body quivered.  The King kissing the scars on your cleavage and abdomen, worshiping them reverently with tender touches, almost like touching a porcelain doll. Afraid to break you with his almost inhuman power. Biting and sucking wherever his heart desired until you were covered in nothing but love bites, leaving you a panting mess.

 

Dimitri held you in his arms, stroking your hair and mumbling whispers of ‘I’m sorry’. Bittersweet smile formed on his lips. He gazed at you, eyes lidded with desires and need, mixed with guilt and love. “(Y/N)... My beloved...” You pulled away slightly to look up at him and smiled.

“Dimitri...” You cupped his cheek in your hand, in which he immediately melted into.

“I love you, Dimitri.”

 

He blushed at your words, then it dawned on his realization. Suddenly becoming very aware of the... intimate position you were in. “Um, w-well...” As he came to his full senses he released his hands from you, as though from fire and stuttered, quickly pulling away from your panting form. He wasn’t making eye contact anymore, and you followed his gaze downwards on your body. Oh. Without the dreamlike stupor a d hazy feeling to distract you, you realized just how naked you are. Nightgown pooled beneath your waist. Feeling an onset of bashfulness, you also brought an arm up to cover as much of your chest as you could; despite what you had just done with him, the reality of the situation was catching up to you.

 

He flinched, breaking eye contact and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Ah—Urghh!!! I’m sorry, (Y/N)!! I don’t know what came over me but.. but... P-Perhaps we should... stop... before it escalates any further...” The King unclasped his furred cloak hurriedly and put it over your naked body unceremoniously, hiding his flushed crimson face in his hands again, absolutely brutalized with shame. 

 

“Er.. Be certain to rest for now. We may have undone some of your healing.” Then he said hurriedly, almost inaudibly. “When your strength returns to its fullest, we can pick up where we left off. I promise.”

 

“Fine...” You giggled, finding his attempt at being serious too adorable. The heat and passion was still very visible in his eyes, and it was obvious that anymore teasing on your end would send him over the edge.

“Thank you for this lovely evening, Dimitri.”

You pulled his hand to your lips and give each of his fingers soft kisses, gazing at him lovingly. Dimitri’s jaw and pants tightened, the poor King desperately clinging onto the last thread of sanity and reason which threatened to snap at any moment.

 

“Good night, my beloved (Y/N).” Casting one last glance at you and bashfully looking down when he caught your eye, the Blue Lions Leader left with a haste that was probably unbecoming of a gentleman, his long legs taking the steps to the second floor dormitory two at a time. He somehow,  somehow  managed to reach his room without incident or interruption, locking his door behind him, leaning back against it and covering his burning red face with his hands. His body felt like it was on fire; nerve endings alight with sensations he had long believed were dead.

 

The pit of his stomach tangled in knots when he thought of (Y/N). All he could think about was your pure unadultered love, beautiful (E/C) that is gazing at him affectionately. Goddess, he was such a sinner. It made him want to put his hands on you. All over you. Repeatedly. Savoring the taste of your lips as  you moan into his mouth. Feeling your warmth and love. Unclothed. His mind is running wild. This frantic sensation in his blood, while half-forgotten, was not new. It will be another sleepless night for the poor king. And it’s all because of you.

[imjustwritingg]

pillow talk part 2

Hi friends! This second installment was highly requested here on tumblr and I figured after what happened in 8x14, it was a good time to write it. So here you go friends! I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think! 🥰

Also on AO3 and FFNet!

----------

“You jammed me up. That’s not okay.”

His words play over and over in her head as she drives to his apartment. She knows he might not want to see her, the look of disappointment on his face at the crime scene enough evidence of that possibility, but she can’t let the night end without talking to him or at least trying to.

She parks her car and goes inside his building, heart beating wildly in her chest as she makes her way to his door. She rattles her knuckles against it and waits, knocking twice more a few moments later, when there’s no answer, but the door still doesn’t open and it feels as though someone has just punched her in the stomach.

She pulls her phone out of her back pocket and calls him, brings the phone to her ear, but it goes right to voicemail. She ends the call and waits a minute or so before she redials, hoping that maybe he’s on another call and is distracted, but she just gets his voicemail again.

He doesn’t want to talk to her. Doesn’t want to see her. And her stomach lurches, shoulders heaving raggedly as her breath gets stuck in her throat.

She can’t blame him. She had put him in the most compromising position tonight, taken unnecessary risks, and made questionable choices to say the least.

She looks at his door longingly, thinking if maybe she stares hard enough it’ll open and he’ll appear out of nowhere, but the door remains closed and he’s nowhere to be seen.

She turns on her heels and wipes under her eyes at the burning tears threatening to spill over, a horrible ache pulsating inside of her as she walks back to her car and starts to head home, ready to crawl into her bed and try and sleep this night away.

When she finally turns down her street sometime later she spots his truck parked up outside of her building. He’s standing next to his driver’s side door, arms crossed over his chest and head tilted towards the ground. He’s waiting for her and the sight of him makes her heart nearly stop beating.

She can just barely make out the look on his face in the glow of her headlights, but it resembles something a lot like betrayal and it sends a rush of guilt through her immediately.

She parks a few spots behind him and takes a deep breath as she gets out of her car. She tries to somehow prepare herself for whatever he’s about to dish out to her, but she’ll take whatever he has to say because at least he’s there.

“Wasn’t expecting to see you tonight,” she says quietly, approaching him with slow moving steps and a once again fast beating heart as she shoves her hands into her coat pockets.

As she stands in front of him she takes in the soft look of his eyes and the anguish that curtains his face. She realizes it wasn’t betrayal she had seen just moments ago, but sheer disappointment instead, just like earlier at the crime scene, and it guts her again.

“Figured we should talk. I didn’t wanna leave things the way we did at the scene,” he tells her, his voice a matching tone of quiet and reserved.  

“I went to your apartment. Tried calling.”

“My phone died so I just came over,” he says.

She responds with a tilt of her chin towards her apartment building in silent invitation and he follows a few steps behind her inside.

They ride the elevator up to her floor without uttering a word, him standing in one corner and her in another, time seeming to pass too slowly as if taunting her. She glances over at him, but his eyes are down to the floor, lost in his own mind and thinking too hard.

When the elevator finally halts and the familiar ding chimes through the car they step out onto her floor and head for the door of her apartment, him still a few steps behind her and keeping his distance.

She lets them into her apartment, closing the door after him and turning the deadbolt, but she’s quick to notice he doesn’t move any further inside than where he stands by the door.

She steps away from, pulling off her jacket and tossing it over the back of the couch before throwing him a look over her shoulder. “Water? Beer?”

He shakes his head and stays planted where he stands, hands in his pockets now and staring back at her as Hailey moves towards the kitchen island. She leans back against it, crossing her arms in front of her as she looks at him. He still doesn’t move or take off his jacket, and it makes her stomach churn at the memory of them standing in similar positions not too long ago when she had been so certain he was going to leave her.

She knows she made a mistake, a few of them, and she knows she hurt him and the last thing she wants is him to leave or think she wants him to, so she blows out a deep sigh and walks towards him.

“I’m sure you might want your space from me after what happened and I have no right to ask,” she says, words coming out in a rush before she hesitates, breathing out and looking at him with near desperation. “Will you please stay?”

Jay stares back at her for a fraction of a moment and it’s long enough to set her mind reeling in fear that she’s jeopardized everything between them now, but he surprises her like he always does and gives a slow nod.

“If I wanted space I wouldn’t have come. I didn’t think that’s something either of us needed right now.”

His tone is sincere despite the sadness looming over his face and she breathes out in relief as she offers a small smile and takes another step closer towards him. She reaches for his arms, pulls his hands from his pockets, feels his eyes burning into her as she pushes his jacket down over his shoulders.

She drapes it over her arm and holds onto one of his hands, her thumb brushing over freckled skin as she lifts her eyes to his, then whispers, “I’m really glad you came.”

He nods again and gives her hand a quick squeeze, but doesn’t say anything more, just follows her with his eyes when she lets go of him and goes to place his jacket down over hers on the couch. She makes her way back to him and reaches for one of his hands again, twining their fingers together as she leads him into her bedroom.

They fall into their usual routine, one they’ve created and perfected with one another since that first night together many months ago, although tonight it’s silent between them. There’s no mindless small talk or teasing one another from across the room, but it’s still so domestic and easy and somehow comfortable despite the circumstances. It sends an ache through her chest as they do their own thing, but they still do it together. As if they’ve been doing it for a lifetime already.

She strips and changes into a pair of clean underwear, and grabs a t-shirt from the basket of fresh laundry on the floor that has yet to be put away. A mindless chore she’ll save for tomorrow when she has more energy.  

She pulls the t-shirt over her head and when it falls to just above her knees, it’s only then she realizes that the garment doesn’t belong to her, but to the man standing across the room in just his boxers.

She glances over at Jay who quickly catches her eye and looks her up and down as he settles beneath the sheets and leans back against the headboard. “Is that my shirt?”

Hailey makes her way to the bed, pulling her hair out from its ponytail and dropping the tie on her nightstand as she climbs in beside him. She sits in a pretzel position as she faces him and gives a shrug of her shoulders. “I just grabbed it from the basket. I can change if you - “

He shakes his head, smiling fondly at her. “You look good in my shirt Upton.”

The corners of her mouth tip upwards at his comment, but she can’t help fiddling with her hands that rest in her lap.

“I’m sorry,” Hailey breathes out, not able to withstand the awkwardness in the air between them any longer and needing to talk to him, really talk to him. “I know I messed up. I shouldn’t have gone into that house. I put you in a tough spot tonight and I’m so sorry.”

“God, I hate that word,” she scoffs then before he can say anything and runs a hand through her hair. “Sorry. It doesn’t fix anything and I know it’s not supposed to, but apologizing still doesn’t condone what I did tonight.”

He gives a slow nod and glances down and she can tell he’s trying to find the words. The right words because he won’t be mean or raise his voice to try and make a point. Not with her.

She watches the way his shoulders rise and fall with each deep breath he takes, and then he looks back up at her with tired eyes from the stress and the chaos and the worry of the day behind them.

“I accept your apology, but I don’t want you to be sorry Hailey,” he says quietly before releasing a dejected sigh. “I want you to be safe. I want you to be smart. You crossed a line tonight and it was the same exact line you crossed that got you shipped off to the Feds last year.”

“I know,” she says quickly. “I got caught up in it. The case and Voight coming down on me and I started second guessing myself, and then that kid was killed and all I could focus on was finding the guy who killed him. I just didn’t care about doing it the right way. I felt like I had to prove something, but I just ended up losing control again.”

“I get it Hailey. Trust me, I get it. Especially when it comes to kids. And I know the system is flawed and it doesn’t always work the way it’s supposed to, but if tonight had turned out any differently than it did, we’d be screwed right now.”

“You’re right,” she says with another nod, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes because she knows how bad a turn things could have taken with her behavior and the thought alone makes the guilt inside her thicken. “I was so blinded by all of it and I just reacted. I don’t know why I keep doing these things. Crossing lines and pulling people down with me. Pulling you down with me. I was so stupid. I was reckless and I put you in jeopardy.”

Her heart is pounding in her chest, anxiety creeping up on her, as she lifts a hand to run it through her hair again.

“Voight’s not stupid though,” she continues a moment later. “He knows you covered for me. He knows we lied. I don’t want you getting in the middle of those crosshairs, not for me. I don’t wanna cause problems for you. I don’t wanna change who you are because I make dumb decisions.”

He shakes his head at her and leans forward, reaching for one of her hands and holding it tightly between both of his. “I’m not worried about Voight. He’s not exactly the poster boy for doing the right thing. I chose to get out of the car. I chose to follow you inside that house. I made my own decisions and I take full responsibility for that.”

“I put you in that position though!” She groans, blowing out a deep sigh of regret. “You know I didn’t do that intentionally right? You have to know that.”

“I do,” he confirms with a squeeze of her hand. “And you know I’d follow you anywhere Hailey, but it’s a slippery slope that you’ve been walking on and what happened tonight? That can’t happen again.”

“It won’t,” she whispers.

She knows her words are meaningless, but it’s a promise she can still make. One that she’ll follow through on. Because of him, because of them, because he really does make her better. Makes her want to be better.

She’s not sure she deserves the softness of his eyes or the warmth of his fingers wrapped tightly around hers, but she’s never been more grateful for the way he anchors her in place in that moment. The way he keeps her from spinning out completely from the frustration and the guilt of her bad decisions and the events that have transpired over the last few days.

“Um, there’s something else you should know,” she says with caution in her voice and he raises an eyebrow at her curiously. “I had to stop off at the district earlier after we wrapped at the crime scene for paperwork and I told Voight we’re together. Officially I guess.”

“Didn’t he already know? Or at least assume anyways.”

“Yeah, but I also sort of made the suggestion of getting a new partner,” she confesses. “He said he wasn’t gonna split us up though. Said we’re a good team.”

“Well, that’s one thing he’s right about. We’re good together. Always have been,” he tells her. He glances down at their joined hands and then looks back up at her, a curious gaze lingering in his eyes. “Do you really want a new partner?”

She gives a slow shake of her head and a look of regret comes over her face. “I only suggested it because I thought I couldn’t have both worlds, ya know? You and me on the job, you and me here like this. I’m trying to figure it all out, us and the work stuff. I thought I had to give up one to have the other and I’m really glad I didn’t have to do that tonight.”

“That’s good because I don’t want a new partner. I just want you, but I need you to hear me when I say you’re not alone. You don’t have to deal with these things on your own. The cases, Voight, any of it. I know that’s not how you’re used to things, having someone on your side like that, but I’m here Hailey. Let me help you carry some of it, okay?”

He squeezes her hand for good measure and stares at her with his bright green eyes, soft and sweet, one of the only ways he ever looks at her these days. It sets her skin on fire, chest aching, every nerve ending shooting off with so much love and appreciation for the man in front of her. She’s not sure what she’s done to be so lucky to have a partner like him, not just on the job, but in life as well, and it makes everything inside of her ache in the best possible way.

She nods, looking back at him with a teary eyed smile and bringing her free hand up to her face to wipe at her eyes.

“I really love you, you know that? I swear I don’t deserve you,” she tells him. “And that’s not me being self-deprecating or cynical, it’s just me appreciating what I have. What we have. I got really lucky with you.”

He grins at her instantly, the sound of her saying she loves him being one of his favorite things and because he knows exactly what she means. Their track records in dating and relationships and love have all been a wash. Nothing tangible, nothing to hold on to, to depend on. But this thing with them, this unadulterated thing with its strong foundation and an ability to communicate so perfectly, even when it’s hard, reminds him that this is the kind of thing they’ll be talking about years from now.

When they’re old and grey and still together, still talking, still loving, still trusting. Their story will be the one people ask to hear about at parties and dinners and holidays. The one that people will hear when the question is asked, “How’d you do it for so long? How’d you make it work?”

He already has his answer for when those questions are asked. It’s the same one he whispers to her now in the quiet of her bedroom and the soft glow of a bedside lamp.

“It helps having a good partner.”

Her smile widens at his words and she drops her free hand down on top of his, plays with his fingers and squeezes them against hers.

“This is becoming our new thing, ya know?”

“What’s that?”

“This pillow talk business. Our old thing was some dive or Molly’s over beer, but I gotta say I much prefer my bed,” she tells him with a grin that matches his.

“Well, I do love your bed. I might love you just a little bit more though,” he says.

It’s tooth achingly sweet the way the words roll of his tongue so easily and it has her rolling her eyes, but she can’t rid herself of the smile stretched out over her face.

It still amazes her, still makes her head spin, how they can go from talking through such serious topics of conversation, of hashing things out, to teasing one another so playfully, so intimately.

The last few days have made her second guess everything. Her ability to be a cop, to be better, to separate her work life and her personal life with him. She knows it won’t be easy, but she knows they’re going to make it. They’ll make it work.

She doesn’t have much time to dwell on the thought of it not working out with the way he smiles at her still. His eyes soft and glistening with so much love and affection as he stares at her.

“We’re gonna be okay,” Jay says then, as if reading her mind, but she doesn’t even question it. He’s always been able to read her. Know exactly what she’s thinking. Exactly what she needs.

“Yeah, we are,” she agrees with another tight squeeze of their joined hands.

“Come here,” he says with a tug of her hand.

She lifts herself to her knees to crawl the short distance to him and he pulls her down beside him. He helps her settle under the covers, their bare legs tangling together beneath the sheets, and his arms wrap her up in a cocoon of love and safety that only he has ever been able to provide her.

Her head lies against his shoulder and her arm falls across his torso, hand resting on his stomach and their eyes stay on one another in a tender gaze. She drags her fingernails over his skin in feather light caresses and he moves his arm up her shoulder to glide his hand through her hair.  

“This is my favorite part of every day,” she mumbles into his shoulder.

“Mine too,” he says, angling his head down to press his lips against her forehead. His lips linger there, pressing into her skin again, then once more before he pulls back to look her in the eyes.

“I wish I could do tonight differently,” she finds herself whispering as she stares at him. “I wish I could take it back.”

He knows instantly by the sound of regret laced in her words and the sudden appearance of sadness clouding her eyes again.

“What’s done is done. Whatever happens as a result, we’ll deal with it together,” he says squeezing her side. A gentle nudge reminding her they’re okay, that he’s got her, that things will be okay.

She turns her face into his shoulder, pressing a kiss against his bicep and moving her hand up to his chest, right over top of where his heart lies under skin and muscle and bone. It beats slowly beneath her palm, another steady, gentle reminder that he’s still there with her, that she hasn’t ruined this, them. That he’s still in it.

He stretches over her for a moment to switch off the lamp on the nightstand on her side, and then his arm falls back around her. He tightens his hold on her just a fraction more around her body as he tilts his head and kisses the top of hers before they settle into the softness of the bed and each other.

She’s always wondered how couples could sleep this way, cuddled together so closely like they show in movies and on television. She had always thought it couldn’t be comfortable for either person, but as she lies in bed with him, nestled under covers with her body pressed up against his and his arms holding her tightly, she realizes she wouldn’t want to fall sleep any other way. Wrapped up beside him is her favorite place to be. Her own little safe haven where nothing can hurt her or cause her pain or make her feel like less of who she is.

She’s never been dependent on anyone. Hasn’t ever needed anyone until him. But it’s not because she’s that kind of person, someone who needs a relationship or a significant other to make her feel better about herself or to quiet the voice in her head that whispers she’s not good enough, not worthy enough.

It’s because he makes her better. Makes her want to be better despite her actions tonight. He makes her feel invincible. Like she could face any battle and win a million times over because he has so much faith and trust in her, so much unwavering love for her.

She’s certain that regardless of everything that has happened over the last few days they really will be okay. That this thing between them is going to last, both their relationship and their partnership, that they’re it for one another. They’re the endgame.