#Best Disposable Brush Pot

[digitalsinc]

# Dishwashing Brush Washing Pot Brush Cup Kitchen 

[adamsobservatory]

Ok, um, I'm hoping you still do requests as I have a Howl one.

So, like, we all know how Howl gets upset when his bathroom is cleaned right?? So I was thinking, of like, and angst to comfort one, where reader spends the whole day cleaning the house, including the bathroom, so when reader is finally done and just wants to relax, maybe take a nap after the exhausting day, Howl comes home. Now, reader is happy to see Howl, and after greeting him and everything, goes to take a nap. Howl goes to take his shower, and when reader is finally about to fall asleep, Howl shrieks, and comes storming into the room, upset about his hair changing color (again). He starts yelling at reader, upset obviously and being a bit over dramatic. But, reader has had a stressful day, and genuinely thinks Howl is mad at him, hence a small panic attack filled with tearful apologies from reader, and promises to never do it again, all while reader is begging Howl not to leave them. Howl realizes the distress, and forgets about his hair to comfort reader as much as possible. Hence fluff and cuddles and promises and such ensue.

It's alright if you can't do it, i understand, but uh, I hope you can!!

·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ -•̩̩͙-ˏˋ⋆ 　✩ 　⋆ˊˎ-•̩̩͙- ✩ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙

Character/Pairing: Howl Pendragon x Male!Reader Pronouns: You/Yours but reader is male-leaning Summary: You wanted to do something nice for Howl while he was out for the day. You rolled up your sleeves and deep cleaned your shared home, scrubbing the counters, cleaning all the ash build-up around Calcifer and even cleaning the rooms. You knew Howl liked to have the bathroom organized in a specific way with all his potions so you tried your best to keep it the same way How left it but there was a small mix-up. Warnings: Angst to Comfort, suggestive parts at the end, brief description of a about panic attack, i can write an alt-ending with make-up smut if anyone wants that lol Word Count: 2555 Authors notes: things will never be done in a timely manor with me and reqs sorry guys :sob: im so so sorry this is a year late omg. [P.S] lets all love lain!! [P.P.S] lmk if anyone wants a fic where reader proposes to Howl As always I love Howl yall

·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ ˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ -•̩̩͙-ˏˋ⋆ 　✩ 　⋆ˊˎ-•̩̩͙- ✩ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙

·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ ˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ -•̩̩͙-ˏˋ⋆ 　✩ 　⋆ˊˎ-•̩̩͙- ✩ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥

"Watch it!, I doubt Howl wants to lose his resident fire-demon!"

Calcifer hollered as you moved him out of the fireplace and into an iron cast pot with a couple of logs in there to keep him lit.

Today you were surprising Howl with deep cleaning the moving castle, that meant the whole castle. Rooms, the kitchen, the bathroom, everywhere. You had already told Markl your plan and he told you to stay out of his room, he'd clean it himself he said nervously as he backed up to the door and ran in as soon as the conversation was over. Markl was a good kid so you didn't have a doubt in your mind that he'd clean it.

As you quickly brushed all the ash into the disposal bag, Calcifer grumbled about how Howl needs to come home quickly and stop his clean-freak of a boyfriend from wreaking havoc around the castle. You chuckled and finished up, placing some big logs into the fireplace and putting Calcifer right back where he was. He rolled his eyes and blew a raspberry at your back as you walked out the room, flames flying off his tongue before dying as they hit the air. The witch of the waste, now in her powerless form sat on the green couch in front of the demon. She laughed quietly before her old eyes trailed you as you walked out the living room.

"Young love..." She said wispily, a smile on her face. Calcifer rolled his eyes again before grumbling, the old woman chuckled at his sham disgust and took a sip of tea.

With motivation and pep in your step, you walked to the next room to clean as you smiled at Calcifer's antics.

Soon enough you had made your way through the house, cleaning the rooms, sweeping the floors and even coming back into the kitchen and mopping the floors. After Markl came out of his room, making sure the door was closed shut behind him, he came and helped you out wherever you needed it. He helped clean the counters and washed some dishes, lightening the cleaning load for you.

Soon the room you were least excited for was left, the bathroom. The bathroom was always Howls domain, nobody ever messed with anything in this one. Howl had designed the house to have 3 other bathrooms just so nobody bothers his potions, he has the potions set in a way that he can mix them with ease and keep his vibrant blond hair.

Slowly, you opened the door to Howl's bathroom. You guys share a bathroom but the room you now stood in was solely Howls, the walls covered in shiny jewels he found interesting and hung up, bottles after bottles covered the shelves and counters of the sink and tub. Stains covered the walls, hues of reds, pinks, blues, greens, all types of colors covered the four walls that made up that room. You grimaced a bit, the room resembled how it once looked before you arrived.

As you began to clean, you picked up a bottle, cleaned under it, then put it back where you picked it up from. You were very careful as you cleaned, not wanting another freak-out like when you first arrived all that time ago. Howl's appearance still mattered to him some even with so much time spent together. Slowly but surely you made your way through the bathroom, as much as it wasn't organized the way you'd have it you can't judge how Howl keeps his space.

You swept the floor and soon finished up the room. The room was still disorganized but at least the stains were gone.

You strut out the room, rag and broom in hand as you shut the door soundly against its frame. Soon you found the whole castle spotless, leaning against the kitchen counter and watching Cacifer blow raspberries at you from across the room. You sipped at your glass of water as you chuckled at the flames behavior. Soon the empty glass was washed and put away and you turned to stretch your limbs. You really did a lot of work today, maybe you could make Howl’s favorite for dinner tonight..

The witch of the waste gentle laugh snapped you out of your thoughts before you could truly decide,

"Now Now, don't think so hard! Your face furrows in such a cute way but if you keep it up, you'll end up with wrinkles!"

She lightly teased you as a light blush covers your face,

"I know what you're thinking, no you shall not be cooking dinner as well. You worked very hard today, lay down and rest for a bit. I'll take care of dinner with Markl."

Markl, who you didn't see walk in from how deep in thought you were, nodded and told you to stay put and relax.

A chuckle left your lips at that, you raised your hands in surrender to the two as they walked past and into the kitchen. A clink sounded from the door as you fell silent, Howl was home!

The door opened and in walked your boyfriend (fiancée if you could work up the courage to propose.) At that thought, you immediately smiled and walked over to the door to greet him. His blond hair and pale skin with even paler freckles greeted you as you two hugged.

"Honey, I'm home.."

He whispered softly into your ear, a smile on his face.

"Hi.. I missed you."

You whispered back sweetly as you embraced, a yell from Markl soon brought you back into reality. He waved a big hello to Howl from his step stool, a wooden spoon in his hand with a big smile.

Howl took a look around the living room, taking note of how clean it is.

"Love? Did you clean the living room?"

He asked you sweetly, you answered with a nod and a small explanation to all that you did today. Howl smiled brightly as he led you to the coach and listened to you talk about your day. His face slightly shifted after you mentioned going into his bathroom.

"You didn't move anything right?"

"Oh no, I made sure to keep everything in the same place you left it. All I really did was.."

A yawn cut off your sentence as you finally relaxed from running around all day.

"Oh how sweet.. Come here dear, let's get you to bed."

You yawn again as he picks you up into his arms. You wanted to fight, to tell him to let you walk on your own but limbs felt heavy as the weight of the work you did today finally set in. Maybe you shouldn't have moved furniture to clean the castle better... You questioned in your mind after yet another yawn.

Howl kept mumbling sweet praises as he looked in and saw every room that was cleaned by you, a 'good job, my prince' to 'dazzling my darling, you truly impress me' was whispered into your ear as you giggled and laughed at the tickling breath. Soon you felt the comfort of the bed you and Howl shared, you felt yourself relax as Howl set you down softly. With a kiss to your head and whispers from him about going for a bath after such a tiring day, he left. You turned your head at his back as he left before letting your head fall into the sheets with a smile.

You reached over and grabbed the pillow Howl usually sleeps on and brought it to your chest. You missed him dearly today and couldn't wait to hold him in your arms again. A childish smile graced your lips as you tucked your head into the pillow and took a deep breath. Howl always smelt of vanilla chamomile tea, you didn't know why but it was just the scent that he had and left on everything like the pillow you held in your arms. Sometimes you stole his jacket just because it reminded you so much of him, keeping you warm while you sluggishly walked the halls of the castle in the early winter mornings.

A yell cut through the air, snapping you out of your sweet dream.

Oh shit.

Howl's screech got closer as he sprinted into your shared room, tugging on his hair as he cried,

"How could you!?? You told me you didn't mess with anything! You lied, Why would you mess with my potions AGAIN?? I specifically asked you Y/N- "

Howl continued ranting and raving but you couldn't hear it anymore, ringing filled your ears as the noise overwhelmed you. You didn't mean to, honest! You only wanted to surprise him and make him happy, You truly didn't mean to upset him like this again. Did he want to break up with you now? Would he break up with you over this? You knew Howl was dramatic and all but to break up over some hair color didn't seem too far out of Howls ball park. The ring box flooded back into your head as you remembered it in your front pants pocket of tomorrow's outfit, what about your proposal? Would he reject you over this? What if he didn't want to marry you anymore?

A sob cut him off, his head darting to look back over to you. The sight made his heart squeeze with guilt, fat tears rolled down your cheeks as you stared at him. A gasp sounded from you as you tried to fill your lungs with air, you tried and struggled as it felt like the world around you was closing. You couldn't lose him, not over this.

Howl's hands fidgeted as he came close to you; he didn't want to touch you suddenly and freak you out worse. Your chest felt tight as your heartbeat drummed loud in your ears, tears tripped fast down your cheeks as you sobbed.

"Hey, Darling, Listen to me.. Slow down and take a few deep breaths for me."

His soft voice slowly bringing you back into the now, He pulled you into his bare chest and pressed a soft kiss to your head as he rocked you back and forth gently. Quiet sobs of 'im sorry's left your mouth, voice soft and shaky as you slowly but surely calmed down, Howl only mumbled back telling you not to apologize and that he was the one that was sorry.

Soon nothing but sniffs left you and Howl took that as a sign to really apologize.

"I'm.. I'm so, so sorry, my love. I shouldn't have gotten so upset with you, I know you didn't mean to mess anything up. I saw how you left things completely the same minus the stains on the wall, I believe it must've been my own mistake. You know my theatrics but that doesn't excuse my overreaction, I sincerely apologize."

"Please don't leave me, I'm so sorry please!"

You pleaded with Howl as you slowly started to panic. You'd do anything to make this better, to make sure he wouldn't leave you. Howl was quick to shush you at that, His now black locks coming into view as he hugged you close.

"Whatever made you think it'd leave you over this?My heart is forever yours, it matters not if we have an occasional couples spat, I could never lose you, my love. For you complete me. You are my other half, my everything. Without you, I feel like my world has dulled, I see no point in living if I do not have you by my side. You are everything to me, please never doubt that. If you ever have doubts like this again, please I am begging you, come to me about it. I swear on my honor as a wizard that I cast those shadows of doubt away."

He was such a cheesy romantic, it almost made you giggle but you were far too tired from crying so you gave him a smile instead.

"There's my handsome love.. I'm so glad to see that smile again."

He hugged you close as he rubbed your shoulders, a comfortable silence fell over you two as you finally calmed down. Your hands running up and down Howl's bare back, his skin warm against your cheek as you rested your head on his chest. It was always so much better to hear his heartbeat without clothes covering him, a chuckle left Howl's lips as he leaned down close to your other ear.

"I promise, I will never freak out like that on you ever again."

"You better not, The Witch and Sophie will tear you a new one. Lucky she isn't here tonight, though I doubt Calcifer won't tell her about it come tomorrow when she's back."

A nervous eep left Howl as he realizes the earful he's going to get, he whines that he won't hear the end of it from her and goes to beg you to tell her to go easy on him. You simply giggle and tell him too bad. Another kiss to his head that slowly moved you his ear as you quietly asked if he was going to make this up to you.

"Is that why you're still naked? Are you trying to make it up to me with your body?"

You teased before getting up, laughing your way out the room as you watched Howl's face burn bright red.

You found your way out to the garden, Howl's childhood study. You sat down on the ground, looking up at the stars, the wind blowing calmly as the night grew cooler. A hand on your pocket as you felt the ring box you purchased for Howl, You knew you wanted to marry him, it wasn’t a difficult choice but you felt like you didn’t know what to say just yet. Howl soon greeted you, his hand covering yours as a way to spook you. You let out a yelp before realizing it was him, you gave him a playful shove before giggling along with him. 

“What brought you out here? Are you… still upset?”

“A bit but no that's not why I’m out here.”

You look over to the now raven haired man, your boyfriend, your other half. You truly loved and adored everything about him even if sometimes he was a brat. You smile softly at that thought. Howl was truly yours through and through without a single doubt in your mind, while you knew it’d taken a long time to get to this point, you thought yourself ready for the next step and you hoped Howl would say yes.

“You’re staring.. Is there something on my face?”

You giggle as you watch him touch all over his face, trying to find what's on it.

“No, there's nothing there, love. I just..”

Deep breath in and out. You can do this Y/N, just four words.

“Darling..”

Howl took your hands into his, his blue eyes meeting your own shining eyes as you took another deep breath.

“Tag, you're it!”

You got up and ran farther down the hill, a childish giggle leaving you as ran. A yell sounded from Howl as you caught him off guard and destroyed the peaceful atmosphere but he soon gave chase after you.

You’d propose.. Someday.

·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ ˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ -•̩̩͙-ˏˋ⋆ 　✩ 　⋆ˊˎ-•̩̩͙- ✩ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥

·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ ˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ -•̩̩͙-ˏˋ⋆ 　✩ 　⋆ˊˎ-•̩̩͙- ✩ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥

NOTES: So, its done almost a year late but done. I'm glad to be back for good so enjoy this! I plan on pt2 to my other Howl fic to be done in a few days if I'm feeling better.

lmk if anyone actually wants a proposal fic / make up smut

[ghosts-bandwagon]

If you write poly relationships can I request a ghost x soap x gn reader? Just some morning fluff filled with cuddles! Have a good day/night!

MY BOYS 😭 YES!!! (I love writing poly relationships tbh)

Mornings are so soft, they’re so quiet and peaceful and warm, and so sacred. You’re sandwiched in the middle, Johnny’s on your right, head on your chest, arm draped around your waist, Simon’s lying on his side with his back to the door on your left, he’s been awake for a while now but he hasn’t wanted to move, the warmth of your shared bed far too comforting to leave.

He brushes a strand of hair from your eyes and gently kisses your cheek before getting out of bed to start the day. He sees you stir slightly before turning over on your side and wrapping yourself around Johnny, legs tangled and arms wrapped around him. He smiled softly and quietly walked to the kitchen

Simon gets the coffee pot and the kettle going, silently humming a song to himself while he gets your cups of coffee and his tea ready. His humming is cut short when he hears the bedroom door move,

“Mornin’ Si.” You yawn, your scratching your stomach sleepily as you trudge over to him and pull him down for a kiss on the cheek,

“Mornin’ love, sleepin’ beauty still out?”

“Like a light.” You laughed with a yawn, you sat on the kitchen island, legs kicking while you watch him make your morning beverages,

“Fuckin’ hell, sleeps like no other, that one.”

“I was sleepin’ not dead, ya numpty.” Johnny walks in and kisses your head and Simon’s too, he leans against the counter and gratefully takes his cup from Simon and passes yours to you. You all touch mugs and take a cautious sip, and you each hum in contentment.

“Do we have anything to do today?” Johnny asked drumming his fingers on his cup,

“Hmm. Groceries, I’m on laundry today, Si was gonna take a whack at the garbage disposal, and what did we wind up settling on for you?” You listed off, Simon nodding along with you,

“Helpin’ with groceries, food and support.” He answered drinking his tea, Johnny nodded as well.

“Now that I say it out loud it kinda sounds like a drag.” You groaned, Johnny laughed and hopped up on the counter beside you, wrapping his arm around you and bringing you in close.

“You said that last time, which is why we’re doing it today.” Argued Simon, you gave him your best pout but he steeled his nerves, “Doesn’t mean we have to get started right away, though.” (That’s how it happened last time too)

[egexoo]

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Conclusion

Choosing zero-waste products is an essential step towards reducing your environmental impact and promoting a more sustainable lifestyle. Kitchen loofah sponges offer a fantastic eco-friendly alternative to traditional cleaning tools, with Egyptian loofah sponges standing out for their superior quality and sustainability. EGEXO is your trusted source for high-quality zero-waste kitchen loofah sponges, offering a wide range of options, bulk ordering, and customization services.

For more information about our eco-friendly loofah sponges and to explore our range of products and services, visit www.egexo.com. Discover how EGEXO can help you maintain a sustainable kitchen with the finest zero-waste loofah sponges available.

Where to Buy Loofah?

EGEXO is considered one of the best Egyptian Luffa sponge wholesale Producer, Manufacturer, Supplier and Exporter in Africa and the Middle East.

You can check the product categories by clicking here, Also Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, or for inquiries and quotation click here. Also you can learn more by Checking Our Blog Section by Clicking Here.

[kitchencabinets1]

Your Ultimate Guide to Choosing Perfect Stainless Steel Kitchen Sinks

Why Stainless Steel?

Long-Lasting Durability: To begin with, sinks made of stainless steel are remarkably resilient. Your heaviest pots and pans and that beetroot salad will go down without a hitch since they are resistant to stains, scratches, and corrosion.

Timeless Design: Stainless steel has a clean, polished appearance that complements almost any type of décor. Its style is timeless. Stainless steel looks good with both more classic and modern minimalist styles.

Easy to Maintain: You wouldn’t want a kitchen fixture that needs a lot of maintenance on a hectic day. Thankfully, stainless steel is quite easy to clean. A quick clean with soapy water can bring back the shine of your stainless steel kitchen sinks. It is also completely bacterial-free, which is great for hygiene.

Choosing the Right Stainless Steel Kitchen Sinks

Gauge Your Interest: The thickness of the stainless steel is measured in gauges. Lower numbers mean thicker metal. Most home sinks range from 16 to 24 gauge. A good rule of thumb? A 16 or 18-gauge is ideal for residential use — it’s sturdy enough to handle your kitchen needs without denting from your favorite cast iron skillet.

Size and Configuration: Think about how you use your kitchen. Do you cook frequently, or do you eat quick, easy meals most of the time? Do you occasionally find yourself wanting additional space to clean dishes? Sinks are available in a variety of shapes and sizes, with single and double bowl alternatives as well as built-in attachments like colanders and chopping boards. To choose the optimal fit, measure your area and take your cooking habits into account.

Finish and Style: Stainless steel is not a one-size-fits-all material in terms of finish and appearance. Based on which finish goes best with the hardware and appliances in your kitchen, you may pick between a polished or brushed finish. For those who are meticulous about maintaining a flawless appearance, brushed finishes are a godsend since they effectively conceal water stains and fingerprints.

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Top Picks to Consider

- The Classic Chef: For those who love to cook and entertain, consider a large, single-bowl sink. It’s roomy enough to soak your biggest roasting pan or chill several bottles of wine for your next dinner party.

- The Efficient Duo: If multitasking is your style, a double-bowl sink lets you soak dishes on one side while rinsing veggies on the other. It’s a game-changer for your cooking flow!

- The Compact Wonder: Running tight on space? A smaller, deeper sink can be incredibly efficient, offering enough depth to prevent splashing and keep everything tidy in a smaller kitchen.

Making It Last

Care Tips: Keep your stainless steel sinks looking its best with regular cleaning. Avoid using harsh chemicals which can damage the finish. For more difficult cleaning tasks, use vinegar or light soap and water. Following is an expert tip: You can keep the surface shiny and prevent fingerprints by lightly rubbing it with olive oil.

Ready to Upgrade Your Kitchen?

With all of this knowledge at your disposal, why not use BuildMyPlace to get the stainless steel sink your kitchen needs? To meet the demands and aesthetics of every kitchen, we provide a range of sizes and designs in stainless steel kitchen sinks. Additionally, our specialists are available for a video conference to provide additional assistance if necessary to assist you in making the best decision.

FAQs

1. What gauge is suggested for a kitchen sink made of stainless steel? A kitchen sink made of stainless steel with a gauge of 16 to 18 works very well. These gauges are sufficiently thick to endure intensive usage without being too vulnerable to scratches or vibration, which strikes a reasonable balance between manageability and durability.

2. Can sinks made of stainless steel rust?

Sinks made of stainless steel are very resistant to corrosion. This is because of steel’s nature. On the other hand, rust may occasionally show up on them if they are stored near objects that are high in iron or if they are subjected to harsh chemicals. Rust may be avoided and the sink’s original beauty may be maintained with routine cleaning and upkeep.

3. How can I keep my stainless steel sink free of water stains? It’s important to wipe the sink dry after every usage to avoid wet marks. Spots that do appear can be removed with a vinegar and water solution or a mild cleanser. To lower the mineral content of your water, take a more proactive stance and think about installing a water softening.

4. Which sinks are preferable, shallower or deeper?

- Your sink’s depth should be determined by the things you do in the kitchen and the space you have available. Shallower sinks may be more suitable in areas where under-sink storage is a top concern, but deeper sinks (around 9 to 10 inches) work well for cleaning big pots and pans.

5. How can I decide between a sink with one or two bowls? Depending on your cooking habits, you may choose between a single and a double bowl sink. A second bowl might help if you have to multitask and would rather wash and rinse in different locations. A single large bowl can be more appropriate for your requirements if you frequently handle large dishes or would rather have a larger sink space.

[affordablekitchensink]

Various Options to Customize Your Kitchen Sink

The kitchen sink is often considered the centerpiece of the kitchen – it's where we prepare meals, wash dishes, and gather with family and friends. But beyond its practical function, the kitchen sink can also be a design statement that reflects your style and preferences. With a wide range of customization options available, homeowners have the opportunity to create a kitchen sink that is not only functional but also tailored to their unique needs and style preferences. We will explore the various options for personalizing your kitchen sink, from materials and configurations to accessories and finishes.

Materials: One of the first decisions to make when customizing your kitchen sink is the choice of materials. Stainless steel, granite composite, fireclay, and porcelain are among the most popular options. Each material offers its own set of benefits and characteristics, so consider factors such as durability, heat resistance, and ease of maintenance when making your selection. For a sleek and modern look, stainless steel is a popular choice, while granite composite sinks offer a durable and stylish option with a variety of color choices.

Configuration: The configuration of your kitchen sink refers to the number of bowls and their arrangement. Single-bowl sinks provide a spacious basin for washing large pots and pans, while double-bowl sinks offer versatility for multitasking and separating clean and dirty dishes. Options like farmhouse sinks, which have an apron front and a deep basin, or undermount sinks, which are installed beneath the countertop for a seamless appearance, can provide further convenience.

Accessories: Enhance the functionality of your Affordable Kitchen Sink with a range of accessories designed to streamline your workflow and make daily tasks more efficient. From cutting boards and colanders to dish racks and sink grids, there are numerous accessories available to customize your sink to suit your specific needs. Additionally, consider options such as built-in soap dispensers, garbage disposals, and touchless faucets for added convenience and hygiene.

Finishes: The finish of your kitchen sink can have a significant impact on its appearance and durability. Common finishes include brushed stainless steel, polished chrome, satin nickel, and matte black. Choose a finish that complements the overall style of your kitchen and coordinates with other fixtures and hardware for a unified look. Keep in mind that different finishes may require different maintenance routines, so consider factors such as ease of cleaning and resistance to water spots and fingerprints.

Custom Features: For those looking to truly personalize their kitchen sink, custom features offer endless possibilities for creativity and innovation. Consider options such as integrated cutting boards, built-in drainage channels, or custom-designed apron fronts to add a unique touch to your sink. You can also explore options for custom colors, patterns, and textures to create a one-of-a-kind center point of attraction for your kitchen.

Are There Any Trends or Emerging Innovations in Kitchen Sink Customization that Homeowners Should Be Aware Of?

Smart Sinks: With the rise of smart home technology, there's a growing demand for "smart" kitchen sinks that offer advanced features such as touchless operation, integrated sensors for water temperature and flow control, and even Wi-Fi connectivity for remote monitoring and control.

Multi-Functional Accessories: Homeowners are increasingly looking for kitchen sinks that come equipped with built-in accessories and add-ons to enhance functionality and versatility. These may include integrated cutting boards, colanders, drying racks, and composting bins, among others.

Hybrid Materials: Manufacturers are experimenting with new materials and composite blends to create sinks that offer the best of both worlds in terms of durability, design, and performance. For example, there are now sinks made from a combination of stainless steel and granite composite, or ceramic and acrylic materials, offering unique benefits and design possibilities.

So why settle for a standard sink when you can create a truly personalized centerpiece for your kitchen?

[bathroomstoragesolutionspa]

Transform Your Home with Kohler Kitchen Faucet Accessories

The premium line of Kohler kitchen faucet accessories includes beverage faucets, air switches, pot fillers, and soap/lotion dispensers. These accessories can augment the design of your kitchen and streamline your daily tasks, making them a valuable investment for any homeowner seeking to enhance their kitchen’s aesthetic appeal and efficiency.

Beverage Faucets

For those needing to fill up glasses frequently, Kohler beverage faucets offer sophisticated convenience to improve your daily routines. Beverage faucets create a dedicated water dispensing area next to the main sink faucet. These faucets are typically smaller than regular kitchen sink faucets and provide a high flow rate, allowing for quick and efficient filling of glasses and cups.

The Kohler Purist collection is an example of simplicity and elegance combined with a sleek and contemporary design that blends seamlessly with any kitchen decor. The Graze collection is more industrial, with a bold, robust look that adds an industrial edge to your kitchen. On the other hand, the Artifacts collection is ideal for those who appreciate a vintage aesthetic with its classic and timeless design.

All Kohler’s beverage faucets are crafted with superior-quality materials, ensuring durability and longevity. In addition, the beverage faucets are also easy to install and maintain, making them a hassle-free addition to your kitchen.

The available finishes range from Polished Chrome (CP) to vibrant Titanium (TT), embracing different stylistic preferences. Whether you are an aficionado of the classic Matte Black (BL) or seeking the modern charm of Brushed Brass (2MB), Kohler delivers.

Air Switches

Some homeowners can run into challenges when disposing of garbage using traditional methods. Kohler’s air switches make garbage disposal simpler and safer. An air switch is a simple on-off switch that uses air to turn electronics on or off rather than a traditional wired connection. When you push the button on an air switch, air travels along a connected tube and activates the controller of the garbage disposal.

Air switches are also safe, eliminating the need for electrical outlets near your sink and reducing the risk of electrical shock. Moreover, because the switches are air-activated, there is no risk of water getting into the electrical components, which could cause a short circuit.

Kohler kitchen faucet accessories are renowned for being functional and aesthetically appealing, and air switches follow that tradition. The switches come in various finishes that can seamlessly blend with your existing faucets and fixtures, providing a cohesive look to your kitchen.

Pot Fillers

Filling a pot at your stovetop is a small task that can make a big difference. Kohler’s pot fillers simplify this chore and make filling large pots with water more convenient. A pot filler is a wall-mounted faucet above the stovetop, allowing you to fill heavy pots or pans with water without carrying them across the kitchen, which can be tiring and dangerous.

Kohler’s pot fillers come in various designs and finishes, from the sleek and modern Polished Chrome to the luxurious French Gold finish. So you can choose the one that best matches your kitchen décor and style. By installing a pot filler, you can enhance the ergonomic efficiency of your kitchen and add a touch of sophistication to your space.

Soap/Lotion Dispensers

When washing their hands, most people use bars or bottles of soap near their sink faucets, which can add clutter and take up space. A soap or lotion dispenser built into the sink provides the same level of hygiene more conveniently.

Built-in kitchen soap dispensers free up valuable countertop space and are conveniently positioned within arm’s reach of the sink, promoting continuous hand hygiene during food preparation. Using a built-in soap dispenser also reduces the likelihood of soap residue accumulating on sink and faucet handles, making cleaning and maintenance easier. In addition, the convenience of a built-in dispenser can encourage more frequent hand washing, improving hygiene practices.

Kohler offers soap and lotion dispensers in various finishes. Some finishes include Vibrant Stainless, Brushed Moderne Brass, and Brushed Bronze. Whether you have a traditional, transitional, or contemporary design, Kohler has a dispenser that will complement your faucets and add to your chosen aesthetic theme.

Visit Weinstein Collegeville for Kohler Kitchen Faucet Accessories

If you are looking for Kohler kitchen faucet accessories, we invite you to visit our showroom at Weinstein Collegeville. You will be able to see these accessories in person and get a hands-on experience of their quality, functionality, and aesthetics. Our team of experts will be on hand to guide you through your options, answer any questions you have, and help you choose accessories that meet your exact needs.

Blog is originally published at: https://www.betterbath-kitchens.com/transform-your-home-with-kohler-kitchen-faucet-accessories/

It is republished with the permission from the author.

[theplumbnerd]

Clearing a Blocked Toilet Without a Plunger

Introduction

Dealing with a blocked toilet can be a messy and inconvenient problem, especially if you don't have a plunger on hand. However, there are several effective methods for clearing a blocked toilet without the use of a plunger. In this guide, we'll explore these methods and provide step-by-step instructions for tackling toilet blockages with simple household items.

Methods for Clearing a Blocked Toilet Without a Plunger

Here are some practical solutions for clearing a blocked toilet without a plunger: 1. Hot Water and Dish Soap One of the simplest and most effective methods for clearing a blocked toilet is to use a combination of hot water and dish soap. Start by boiling a pot of water on the stove. Once the water reaches a near-boiling temperature, add a generous amount of dish soap to the toilet bowl. Pour the hot water into the toilet bowl from waist height and allow it to sit for several minutes. The combination of heat and soap should help break up the blockage and allow it to flush away. 2. Toilet Brush If you have a toilet brush on hand, you can use it to manually break up the blockage and clear the toilet. Insert the toilet brush into the toilet bowl and use a plunging motion to agitate the blockage and dislodge it from the drain. Be sure to wear gloves and exercise caution to avoid splashing or coming into contact with any waste material. 3. Homemade Drain Snake You can also create a makeshift drain snake using a wire coat hanger or a piece of flexible wire. Straighten out the wire and bend one end into a small hook or loop. Carefully insert the wire into the toilet drain and maneuver it around to dislodge the blockage. Once the blockage has been cleared, flush the toilet to ensure proper drainage.

FAQs

- Can I clear a blocked toilet without a plunger if the blockage is severe? While some methods for clearing a blocked toilet without a plunger may be effective for minor blockages, severe blockages may require professional assistance. If you're unable to clear the blockage using household methods, it's best to contact a plumber to avoid causing further damage to the toilet or plumbing system. - Are there any household items that should not be flushed down the toilet? Yes, certain household items should never be flushed down the toilet, as they can cause blockages and damage to the plumbing system. Examples include paper towels, facial tissues, baby wipes, feminine hygiene products, and cotton swabs. These items should be disposed of in the trash instead of being flushed down the toilet. - What should I do if none of the methods for clearing a blocked toilet without a plunger are effective? If you're unable to clear a blocked toilet using household methods, it's best to contact a plumber for professional assistance. Attempting to force the blockage with excessive force or using harsh chemicals can damage the toilet or plumbing system and lead to costly repairs. - How can I prevent future toilet blockages? To prevent future toilet blockages, avoid flushing non-flushable items down the toilet and ensure that only toilet paper and human waste are disposed of in the toilet. Additionally, consider installing a toilet with a larger flush valve or a pressure-assist mechanism, which can help prevent blockages by providing a more powerful flush. - Can I use chemical drain cleaners to clear a blocked toilet without a plunger? While chemical drain cleaners may be effective for clearing some types of blockages, they can also damage the toilet and plumbing system if used improperly. It's best to avoid using chemical drain cleaners and opt for safer, more environmentally friendly methods such as hot water and dish soap or a homemade drain snake.

Conclusion

Clearing a blocked toilet without a plunger is possible with the right tools and techniques. By following the practical solutions outlined in this guide and consulting the accompanying FAQs, you can effectively tackle toilet blockages and restore proper function to your toilet without the need for a plunger. Learn more from Plumbnerd Read the full article

[bippot]

Doppel

Story Summary -> Working with his wife usually comes easy to Spencer but when a woman identical to her is found dead, it becomes a little bit harder to deal with. Especially when she's determined to find the guy by whatever means she has at her disposal.

Tags -> Married Couple, Fluff and Smut, Kidnapping, Serial Killers, Canon-Typical Violence, Spencer Reid Needs a Hug, Brief weight gain mention, Pregnancy, Reader is a Member of the BAU (Criminal Minds), Protectiveness, Angst with a Happy Ending

Would you prefer to read this on AO3? Click here!

In all her time of knowing him, Y/N had never seen Spencer be rageful. He was annoyed by small minded cops constantly. Any case that had anything to do with kids caused everyone to be on edge. And he had a sore spot whenever schizophrenia came up in conversation.

He was kind and gentle and frequently had a smile on his face whenever she needed a friendly face, but Y/N knew that deep down, there was a sadness lurking in his soul. He was a lonely man at his core so she tried her very best to make sure she always was there to listen whenever he wanted to rant and tell her facts and vomit word soup out in the open.

Sure, the fact that he was cute was a factor in Y/N's interest in her coworker's words. But it was his genuine need to use that big ol' brain of his to help other people out that really captured her attention. He had a big heart to go along with his big brain, that's why he was so special.

And why she fell in love with him.

"Sorry, one of the officers cornered me and forced me to endure a way too long conversation about bitcoin and now your coffee is getting cold," Y/N announced as she placed Spencer's drink on the desk in front of him. He immediately pulled his focus away from the papers he'd been staring at and shifted it to his wife, causing his entire being to go from slouching down in his chair to perking up in attention.

"How did you get away?" he asked her with a gleam in his eye.

Y/N sat down on the edge of the desk and shrugged. "His shift ended," she answered with a chuckle, taking a sip from her coffee and holding back a wince at how bitter it was.

Whilst she was making it, she had been faced with a decision - use up all the remaining sugar on Spencer's cup so he has it the way he likes or share the sugar between them both and have the one coffee she allowed herself to indulge in per day to taste better. Luckily, he didn't see her distaste for her coffee, or if did, he didn't mention it.

But she did notice when he made a face that she'd seen far too many times. His brows furrowed and crinkled his forehead. Y/N's hand brushed the back of his shoulder tenderly. "Migraine?"

"Just a headache right now."

"Do you want me to go get you anything?"

"No, no, I'm okay," he waved her off. "I'll be fine."

Bullshit. She knew him well enough to know that he was in more distress than he wanted to admit. She jumped off the desk, gave him a scratch right on the crown of his head, and moved to find her bag, rifling through it until she found what she was looking for with a satisfied, "Ah-ha!" Whatever Y/N had found was being shoved in Spencer's direction. He took it without looking, knowing exactly what it was from the crinkle and soft jingling sound that accompanied it, and popped the magnesium out of the packet and tipped a vitamin B gummy from the pot.

"Thank you, honey."

"It's my job to make sure my husband's brain doesn't explode," Y/N told him as he threw the gummy in his mouth. "You're welcome."

"I certainly am," Spencer replied with a cheeky grin, before taking a large gulp of his coffee. His wife rolled her eyes but couldn't resist smiling back.

By the time Y/N had finished her coffee, Hotch was calling for everyone to gather because there had been bodies found. The squad listened as Garcia gave them the update. Four bodies had been found, all of whom had very similar features. As he was watching the photos of the dead women pop up on the screen, Spencer's hand made it to his wife's back, curling her shirt into his fist. Y/N didn't seem to react. Not even when all of the team had looked at her as soon as they realised too.

The victim they'd deduced had been the first of this serial killer was a doppelganger of Y/N. The others looked similar but the first was almost identical to her. Same hair colour, same nose, same eyes, same smirk. There were a few obvious differences due to styling and body weight distribution but they could be sisters. Twins even. Well, at least Y/N knew what she'd look like after being strangled to death and dumped in a mass grave in the middle of nowhere. She never had wanted to know that. Now she did.

Whatever morbid curiosity she had, it had never got that detailed. Hotch knew that Y/N would be able to deal with this. However, he had no idea if Spencer would be. Judging by Reid's clenched jaw and the mortified look in his eyes, he wasn't dealing with being presented with an image of someone who looked like his wife dead in a ditch very well.

"I'll point out the elephant in the room," Y/N began before anyone could say it out loud. She gestured in the general direction of her face. "We could use this to our advantage."

Yeah, she'd been a decoy before and was prepared to do so again. Her situation was slightly different now though.

Spencer's head whipped up. A thousand million zillion alarm bells went off in his head, which was not very pleasant mixed with his headache. "Y/N..." he warned, his voice low and shaky.

"It's an option. That's all I'm saying."

"We'll try a more traditional approach at first, but it may be beneficial for us to keep Y/N out of the public eye just in case we need to go down that route," Hotch stated, which was met with some relief. Not much. Some. He turned fully towards Spencer. "Is that agreeable?"

Humming his agreement - though it didn't sound all that enthusiastic - Spencer was mostly quiet during their discussion about the unsub. The usual points were hit. The unsub is anti-social. He won’t look anyone in the eye. He’s not confident. He's a white male in the 30-45 range. He probably doesn't like his mummy. Spencer spoke up when he thought he had new insight that nobody else had brought up yet, but as soon as Hotch told everyone to get some sleep for the night, Spencer got the hell out of there.

Derek sighed. "Want me to cool him down?" He offered, bumping her in the shoulder with his own. Y/N shook her head and gave him a bump back.

"I will power through the silent treatment,"she told him, and he gave her a few seconds to change her mind before chuckling and stepping away.

Back in their hotel room, Spencer was in the shower when Y/N got back. He'd had a five minute head start and was not wasting that precious time, it seemed.

Officially, the FBI booked two rooms for the married couple as agents have their own rooms instead of sharing most of the time - unless the hotel is fully booked or they're in a romance novel and need to huddle for warmth - so whenever the squad touch down in a new city and settle in, there's a guarantee that one of the Reid's rooms are abandoned. It was a waste of company money.

Working together whilst married had been a weird thing in the beginning. There was a review of how effective Y/N and Reid were by the unit chief when they first declared themselves as a couple to HR, and then another conducted after their wedding. It was decided that there weren't any glaring problems with the two working together - they weren't half as flirty as Morgan and Garcia so maybe that helped them out a bit - so they were allowed to stay in the same unit. That report had said that Agent L/N's reckless nature often conflicted with Dr Reid's anxiousness. Which had been true enough. Sometimes those traits worked well together. Other times...

A pin drop could be heard as the couple got ready for bed. Y/N climbed into her side of the bed and Spencer into his. The room was dark and quiet, and in that silence, Spencer could hear the sound of his heart and that drum beat of terror, and it was almost as loud as a thunderstorm. Could she hear it too? Or was he just afraid that she could?.Both sat with their backs against the headboard, Y/N read her book quietly while Spencer stared into space and tried his best to ignore his wife. The silence stretched on and on, until finally, Spencer felt a hand on the back of his head and fingers softly stroking through his hair. He let out a sigh of relief.

Instantly, the drum in his head stopped. He pressed himself into her side, morphing his body to fit the contours of hers, and - without losing her spot on the page - she let her head tip downwards to give him a kiss on the crown of his head. It was a soft, brief peck and Spencer felt himself yearn for more. "Pay attention to me?" He whined.

An amused huff came from her nose and she placed her book on the bedside table so both hands were free to lavish him with so much petting and loving caresses that he began purring like a cat in no time.

"Better?"

"Much," he said, closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling of her warm fingers tracing patterns along his temples, his nose, his cheekbones. Her fingers moved to his chin and tilted it so she could give him a smooch, and Spencer thought he would melt at the pure sweetness of her lips on his.

"I love you," he said, and it felt so natural to say it. It felt so right.

"I know," she replied, sounding just as serious. "I love you too."

Spencer felt a shift in the atmosphere as the tension that had been there evaporated, leaving them to cuddle together and enjoy the rest of the night in each other's arms. Though the issue hadn't been solved, that was okay right now. They'd deal with that tomorrow or whenever it had to be dealt with. Not right now. Not before bed. They'd never gone to bed angry at each other and they weren't going to start today.

Despite seeing her dead doppelganger, Y/N fell asleep pretty quickly. Her husband was so warm at her side and the hotel pillow was so fluffy and comfortable that she was out like a light in no time. Spencer lay awake for a long time, his eyes staring at the ceiling, his thoughts racing as he traced a line from one of her hips to the other and back again over and over again, feeling the pouch of her stomach with the very tip of his finger, and his chest was tight with worry.

He didn't know why his mind kept going back to that photograph. Why would his brain choose to relive that? Did he want to torture himself that badly? Maybe if he stayed awake he would be able to protect her from anyone who even thought about hurting her. He'd catch this killer if it was the last thing he ever did.

"I can hear you thinking." His wife's sleepy voice interrupted his thoughts and Spencer let out a small groan. How long he'd been unravelling in his own brain, he had no idea, yet it was long enough for the hoarseness that she usually got after a nap to enter her voice. "Go to sleep, baby," she said. "You're going to be exhausted tomorrow."

"Can't."

"You can."

Y/N pulled his body so that he was fully on top of her and wrapped her arms around him. Spencer felt her start to move her hand up and down his spine in a gentle rhythm and her other hand cupped the back of his head, holding him close as she slowly rocked them side to side. She began to hum a tune, cradling him almost like he was a 6'2" big baby, and let him relax in her arms. It worked. It always did. Within minutes, he was snoring into her shoulder. He did that thing that men do when they suddenly spasm for no apparent reason because their body can't believe it's finally getting some down time, but eventually it evened out.

Once the early morning arrived, Y/N was beginning to stir. She awoke to the soft gentle presses of her husband's lips against the skin of her stomach, his head lifting up the bottom of her sleep shirt to plant a kiss on her belly. For the past month or so, she'd often woken up to him mumbling a hushed conversation to her abdomen. She'd pretended not to hear it and let him continue for as long as he wanted to, thoroughly enjoying his affection and the way it would send a shiver of pleasure straight through her body. And today was no different.

Only when it became clear that he wasn't planning on getting up anytime soon did she begin to move and acknowledge the fact that she was actually awake and aware. Massaging his shoulders, she cooed, "Morning handsome," and he mumbled something unintelligible as he buried his face in her stomach again, his stubble tickling the sensitive skin there.

Reid was not a morning person. Not in the slightest. Y/N had learned very early on that the best way to force him to get up in the morning was to get herself up and he would mimic her. It usually worked like a charm. But this morning, he'd trapped her legs beneath his body and was keeping her hips pinned to the mattress with his. This man was heavy. He was gangly and lanky and looked like a twig but could feel like a tonne of bricks when he wanted to. And he was trying to keep her pinned down, which meant he wanted something.

"Let me up, you big brute," she teased as she wriggled her hips to try to get away from him. Spencer laughed at her attempt and she gave up the moment his big hands landed on her hips to keep them still. He lifted his head up, the smile on his face making his eyes crinkle.

"Morning beautiful."

"I take it you're not ready to get up for work just yet?" He shook his head as he ran his hand up and down her waist, keeping his eyes on hers. "You know we'll have to eventually, right?"

"I do. I also know I'm going to have to be pretty convincing to get you to stay." He pressed a kiss to her navel. "But."

One more kiss placed just under the previous one on her abdomen. "I am."

Another on her pelvis. "Willing."

Two more, one on each thigh, his palms pushing her legs apart to give him more space to settle in the gap. "To. Be."

Finally, he let his lips fall to her underwear-covered pubic bone in the barest whisper of a kiss, one that set off a small firestorm of desire that shot straight to her core. "Very, very convincing."

At the beginning of their relationship, they'd come up with the rule that they wouldn't give in to their desire whilst on the job. When they first got together, that was mostly a way to make them seem as unsuspecting as possible. Their coworkers were profilers for god sake! Even the slightest smudge of her lipstick on the corner of his mouth and Derek would be giving Spencer a patronising clap on the back and a "My man."

Now it was out in the open, it was mainly a professional courtesy. It would look awful if two FBI agents comforted a grieving family with mussed hair and incorrectly buttoned shirts. There were exceptions, though. And why not? They had plenty of time before they were expected to show up at work. They were in the privacy of their hotel room with the nearest member of their team (Emily) six rooms away. The rule could be morphed into a suggestion, and it's easier to ignore suggestions.

"Can I convince you?" He let his lips curl upwards at the corners as he gave her a kiss over her underwear with an exaggerated 'mwah'. He added on a desperate sigh of "Please?" to seal the deal.

"You can try."

"Well then, lie back and enjoy yourself, Mrs Reid," he responded cheekily, pulling her underwear down her thighs and off in the general direction of her suitcase that sat by the dresser.

With that, he got to it. He started by licking and nipping at the inside of her thighs, making sure to get up higher with each bite until his lips touched her clit and he flicked it with his tongue. Her head fell back as she arched into his mouth, giving him better access to do whatever the hell he wanted to her. His hands cupped her butt, keeping her pressed up against his mouth as he worked her into a frenzy.

"Mrs Reid, you are so beautiful."

Her eyes fluttered shut as she let herself go. The pressure of his mouth, his hands, his stubble. Her man could make her come in no time at all. The more he gave her, the more she wanted. And the more she wanted, the more he gave her. It was a lovely cycle that gave them both what they wanted.

The slow slide of his fingers moved under her shirt and up to her bare breasts. He teased her nipples into hard points, his touch sure and demanding, and just was needed to make her moan out his name. "Spencer, oh god, Spence."

Thanks to one particularly forceful suck on her clit, Y/N was grabbing at Spencer's curls, trying to hold him to her while he drove her towards the edge. But it wasn't enough just yet.

"Fingers too, baby."

"Where are your manners, honey?"

"Jesus fucking christ, are you serious?" She huffed and had planned to fully argue some more but gave up almost immediately. "Fine! Please finger me, my loving husband."

"That is more like it."

He kept his eyes locked on hers as he used two fingers to part her folds and slip them inside of her. She was wet and ready for him, and he made quick work of finding her G-spot, mumbling a little "Ah, there it is," when she got a smidge louder. He curled his fingers at the same pace as his tongue swirled around her clit. It was a rough and slow rhythm that made her writhe and squirm.

"Can feel these legs shaking. You close, pretty girl? You want me to keep going, don't you?"

"Uh-huh, keep going."

"Tell me. Say it. Say it all pretty like you always do."

So, she did. Her voice was all breathy and whiny as she got out the words he wanted to hear. "You're so good, gonna cum, gonna cum. So good to me."

Y/N felt her orgasm catch up with her, her muscles tensing up as she was taken over by the wave of pleasure. It swept over her in seconds, stealing her breath and leaving her weak in the knees. She dug her nails into Spencer's shoulders, curling her toes into the bed to keep herself grounded as she felt the aftershocks ripple through her.

"Good job, baby," she praised, grinning down at him. "What's next on the agenda this morning?"

Spencer's smile was so goofy - looking as if he drunk off the taste of her, and maybe he was - as he moved himself back up the bed to kiss her neck, his grin making it impossible for the kisses to be anything but a press of teeth against soft skin. He kissed up and up and up until he reached her ear, whispering, "I’m not done with you yet, honey. If you ask me nicely, I'll fuck you so good," against the shell.

Whenever Spencer swore, it was always surprising to her. And when he swore like that, it sounded more dirty than if a frequently swearing man had done it. As if his mouth was filled with those words but had been pushing them down and down - they'd been sitting there for a while, just brewing - and in the wait, had grown a mind of their own.

"C'mon, Spence, get your cock out and put it in me already. I wanna feel you, please?" she asked, exaggerating the 'please' so he couldn't call her rude again.

"Yeah, you want more?" he teased, squeezing her ass in his big palm.

"Damn right, I do."

"I'll get right to it then, my pretty baby."

As he nuzzled his face into her neck, kissing the skin there, let her head fall back on the pillow, let out a giggle when he bit at her jaw and pushed his head away, laughing even harder when he tried to playfully bite her fingers.

"Weirdo."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But you're married to me so that makes you Mrs Weirdo by default. You signed yourself up for all this, honey."

"We should shower."

Tugging his boxers down, she gave him a light a slap on the ass, the sound of smack loud in the quiet of the room. "Married you just for the marital tax deduction," she joked, but she couldn't help but mischievously grin so he absolutely knew she was just messing around. Obviously she told him that she loved him lots yet he still struggled to comprehend that some days. So, she made sure whenever she teased him that he was fully aware that she didn't mean it.

"And I married you because I love you," he responded, far more sincerely than she had thought he would've, and positioned himself at her entrance, his cock jutting up against her, and she wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him in deep. "And I love making you feel good."

The slow, teasing pace of their foreplay was broken by his sudden, hard thrust as he entered her. It was so intense, and the way he held her hips pressed against his, grinding into her and pinning her to the bed with his weight, was so possessive and so deliberate that it left her breathless.

At first, it always took a moment - just a small one - where he rested his forehead on her shoulder and let them both adjust to the feeling of him inside her. But then, he was never one to rush, and he'd make sure they both felt entirely comfortable. And once they were, his hand gripped her ass cheek, and he pumped into her in a slow, steady rhythm. "I love fucking you, Y/N," he murmured, the words thick with feeling. "So goddamn perfect, you. I'm never letting you go."

It was a line he'd used on her a lot. I'm never letting you go. You are my world. My universe. My life. And I am yours, and you are mine. They were such simple statements but they said exactly what they needed to. Because she knew they were true.

Y/N wrapped her arms around his back, curling her body against his as he began to move, his thrusts getting more frantic and his kisses more desperate. Her fingernails dug into his back, and she arched her back in a desperate attempt to bring him closer, to feel him even deeper, to feel him harder. His breath was harsh, his face buried in the crook of her neck, his hands gripping the backs of her thighs and pulling them closer to her chest as he fucked her.

"I love you so much, Y/N. You're my everything. You're my... my..." he trailed off, hitting a hard thrust into her. " You're my life. I can't believe I get to wake up every morning next to you. Let's quit our jobs and stay in bed forever, you and me. Just you and me. Don't you want that? Don't you want that more than anything?"

One thing is for certain, he'd go mad if he had no cases to figure out like a sinister rubix cube. But Y/N, well, she'd often thought about what her life would be like if she left the BAU behind. Profiling was in the very fabric of Spencer's DNA, and without his cases, he'd be lost.

"Forever in bed with you, baby? I'll take it."

"Uh-huh, you take it, honey," he mumbled into her skin, his hips hitting a spot that sent a shockwave of delight through her core. "You take it so good."

A whimper escaped her lips as he increased his tempo, his hips slamming against her in a way that made her feel cherished, like she was his only source of joy in their hectic, difficult life. Y/N arched her back, her orgasm building, her body tensing, every muscle tightening in anticipation. They were both so close, so desperate for each other, that Spencer used his one hand to keep his wife's ankle over his shoulder and the other was pushing her thigh as far open as her flexibility allowed to get as deep as he physically could inside of her. "Baby, I'm going to..." he managed to say, his voice strained, his breathing heavy.

Then, with a final thrust, he came. Not just the usual orgasmic feeling that came with a good fuck, but a burst of energy so strong it knocked the breath out of her and sent her tumbling over the edge of pleasure, falling into a blissful, fucked out headspace for the next however many minutes.

Spencer collapsed on top of her, every muscle in his body tingling. "That was..." he couldn't even believe it. "So good. I'm not sure I'll ever top that." He laughed, a full-body, carefree sound that was the best thing she'd ever heard. Y/N laughed, too, watching as he rolled off of her and onto his back, his hair falling in a ruffled, sexy mess around his face. It was impossible to resist running her fingers through his hair, the feeling of his thick, curly locks against her hand so comforting, so calming.

"I thought you wanted to quit our jobs and stay in bed forever?" Y/N parroted his words back to him, rolling onto her side to face him.

"We smell of sex." He got out of bed and held his hands out to his wife to help her to her feet. "Come on, stinky."

By the time they were showered and dressed, none of their coworkers would know how Spencer had made her go briefly brain dead that very morning.

This case wasn't solved on their first visit. The unsub had either been tipped off or was closely following the investigation and went dormant for enough time that Hotch moved them on, which wasn't an unusual thing to happen. It was annoying, though.

There was some guy out there whose perfect victim was Y/N. Even as they got on with their lives and solved other cases, that fact remained in the back of Spencer's head. He couldn't forget it - mostly because he doesn't forget anything - but he knew that if he hadn't been born with this gift, that it would be the same. With this guy still out in the world, Y/N was in danger every time she went out in public. It was hard to breathe while he was thinking about that.

Two months later, the unsub killed again and the team was brought back. This time Spencer was determined to find him.

The same officer who'd lectured her about bitcoin once again cornered Y/N, but this time, she had her husband by her side. Previously, he'd been a little pushy but once Y/N had told him that she was in a relationship, he backed off. Now, he greeted her with, "I remember you being slimmer."

What? Did he think that was an acceptable way to say hello?

"Funny, I have an eidetic memory - that means I remember just about anything I deem important - and I don't remember you. Weird," Spencer shot back, his tone icy.

Instantly, the officer's jaw dropped. "I, um, I just - "

"We've been on the jet for the past few hours, mind giving us some space?" Spencer suggested and the officer flushed a bright red, backing off immediately. Y/N caught Spencer's eye and gave him a quick squeeze on the bicep to say thanks, and was rewarded with a wink that was far too flirty for a work environment.

Garcia gave them another rundown of the case, briefly going over what they had before and adding the new revelations at the end. The killer had fucked up. The most recent victim had bite marks on her shoulder so they had a very good insight at what the killer's teeth looked like. Whoever he was, he was missing his top canines and if they were to look into his mouth, there would be an obvious gap.

Part way through Garcia's rundown Spencer very subtly reached into his pocket, pulled out a granola bar and slid it towards his wife. She ate it with a smug little smile on her face.

"That's new," Emily pointed out. "There was no bite mark at the last crime scene."

"Biting as a form of attack is usually used as an act of self defence," Derek added.

Hotch let out a gruff noise, one that was toneless and no indicator of whether he thought that was a correct assumption or not. He had a talent for that - bland, unemotional responses that encourages more discussion without leaning the conversation one way or the other.

"That would only make sense if the marks were inflicted perimortem or pre-mortem, but judging by the lack of redness and blood splatter around the puncture of the skin, this bite was done post mortem," Spencer explained, gesturing with the tip of his pen at the area around the teeth marks.

"This guy has escalated to biting his victim's after he's killed them, why?" Y/N posed the question once she'd finished chewing and the room was silent for a second before Rossi spoke up.

"A killer I interviewed back in the early 90's did the same thing. For him, he believed he was absorbing the life essences from his victims, he was consuming what little of them remained when he bit them."

Emily let out a bitter scoff. "Even after taking their lives, it's still not enough for this guy. He needs to annihilate what's left of their soul."

"Maybe he thinks he's collecting souls for the afterlife like how Zodiac believed his victim's would become his slaves once he passed on?" Y/N thought out loud and the room went still, all of them thinking it simultaneously.

"Whatever the case, the guy is a freak," Derek stated, and they all nodded in agreement because yeah. He was a freak.

Just before they'd gone off into their own research teams, Hotch called put, "Y/N, would you mind holding back a few minutes? I need to speak with you," and although she knew she hadn't done anything to warrant a stern talking to, it still felt like being sent to the principal's office.

"I'll catch up with you in a sec, Spence."

Closing the door once Spencer was on the other side, Hotch sighed. "I know what your answer will be but I feel obligated to ask, do you want to give this one a miss?"

Y/N looked over at him and the corners of her mouth turned up just a little. "You think I'm going soft, Aaron?" She teased, and he grinned at her.

"I know Reid's been giving you an earful."

"He always does."

Something that sounded like a chuckle came from Hotch's throat but it died before it could fully form as his eyes caught the opened case file on the desk, the photo of Y/N's dead doppelganger paperclipped in the corner of the page. "And if we run out of options?"

"As long as you can guarantee that I can blame everything on you so Spencer doesn't stay mad at me for the next year, I'm still up for being a decoy," she clarified. "We've got to catch this guy."

"I will take the blame."

"You better."

Eventually, they found everything about the guy. Garcia cross referenced this with that and then that with this to find out the guy's name was Leyton Hart, his father died when he was young and his mother was an addict who he was still living with despite the fact he was raised mostly by his next door neighbour, a young girl that was only a few years older than him. This neighbour, who they became aware was once called Isla Wiley, was the first victim. She was Y/N's doppelganger.

Infuriatingly, the only thing they couldn't find was where the hell he was now. He wasn't at home, nor at the smart car customer help desk he worked at. They checked his credit cards, they tried calling his cell, they checked with his boss and his mum, nothing.

"You think he's left the area?" Derek asked.

"It's not impossible," Emily replied. "He went dormant for months once we'd caught his scent, he may be prepared to do it again."

Spencer began, "If we could draw him out -" and stopped as soon as his brain caught up with his mouth. He cleared his throat. "Ignore that."

Rossi could see the silent conversation Y/N and Hotch were having and decided that he'd be the bad guy in this scenario to save both of them from doing it. "No, that could work, Reid. And we have an asset to do so," David announced, readying himself for whatever was about to happen to happen.

"Y/N is not an asset, she is a person! And we can't risk a member of our team in the hopes of catching this guy! Her being on this case is risky enough as it is!"

Reid's chest was rising and falling faster as he tried to keep his temper in check. His vision was getting more red by the second. His fingers were drumming against the table. The blood was rushing to his ears. He felt sick.

"We are not risking my wife's safety to catch this guy!"

Y/N rested her hand over Spencer's, her middle finger tracing over his wedding ring. "This could be our best shot," she said quietly, and he knew at that exact moment that the subject had been brought up with her beforehand and she hadn't mentioned it to him.

He felt sicker than he'd ever felt in his life.

"I don't care!"

"Spencer," Y/N said sternly, her tone made it very clear she was warning him to stop and think about this before he said something he couldn't take back. She squeezed his fingers gently, her thumb rubbing along his knuckles before he whipped his hand away.

"God, I can't believe you're putting this before everything else."

"We could save a bunch more women. Think of the families, Spencer. We have a chance to give them some peace."

"What about my family? Do you really think I'm going to just -" He was shaking his head as he spoke, trying his best to find a way to reason with her, to convince her to stop. He knew he was failing. And because he was failing, he decided to take himself out of the situation before he said something drastic and lost his job. "You know what, good luck, honey. I'll be waiting for you if you come home."

And he walked out of the conference room, slamming the door behind him. Y/N rubbed at her eyes, taking a few deep breaths and letting out a groan. "Well, that went spectacularly," she mumbled, then rubbed her neck as she looked over at Hotch. "Sorry about that."

"He'll come around," Morgan said.

Prentiss agreed. "Eventually."

"If I had to guess, putting this bozo behind bars will speed that process up." Rossi reached across the desk and patted Y/N affectionately on the hand. "Trust me, I've been married enough times by now to know."

Raising an eyebrow, Hotch posed the question 'Are you still on board with this?' with just his face and only confirmed, "Let's start planning," when she nodded.

While the squad figured out the details, Y/N went in search of her husband. They may have differing opinions on what should go down but she still wanted to comfort him and make sure he was okay. She found him in the back seat of their hire car outside eating a sandwich, taking big aggressive bites, and staring off into the parking lot bush in front of the windscreen. He didn't even look up when he heard her open the door and sit in the seat on the other side of the car. He chewed, swallowed, and kept on looking.

Wordlessly, she slid across to the middle seat and let her head fall onto his shoulder. He didn't move, just kept on chewing, his Adam's apple bobbing as it swallowed the last of his food. After a while, he sighed and leaned back in the seat, resting his head on the headrest as he closed his eyes.

"I know you're worried, baby," she said softly, stroking his arm to get a little more of his attention. "But I can do it, and I will. I don't need you to protect me but I'm very touched that you did. Thank you for looking out for me."

"You're welcome," he replied bitterly. "I'd say you're all set to go then, yeah?"

"Babe..."

She smiled sadly, cradling his head in her palm. He'd been through a lot in his life, she knew that. She'd been there for a lot of it. A lot had gone on back when they were just pals. And even more had happened now they were something different. Going off the basis of his experiences, his concern was fully warranted.

"I'm so selfish. I care about you and I love you and I don't want anyone to touch a hair on your head. This guy... this guy shouldn't get to breathe the same air you do after what he's done." He opened his eyes and finally focused on her, the light of the setting sun illuminating his face in such a way that it made him look like a sad angel. "I can't lose you too, baby."

"If I don't, more women will die."

"If you die, my entire world ends," he choked out, his entire face contorted with misery. "It would be like the sun went out. As if I was a pontifex and my Goddess had been suddenly ripped from my hands, and there was nothing I could do about it."

Obviously, she couldn't guarantee her survival. They both knew that. Y/N closed her eyes and held her breath, trying not to cry as she felt him grip on her jacket, digging his fingers into her elbow as if to anchor her there. She couldn't bring herself to say anything though. She could hear the anguish in his voice, the horror of it, and it was all her fault for being born with the face she had.

The hand on her elbow moved down to find her hip as he pulled her closer into him, resting on her stomach when he was satisfied with the lack of space between them. She rested her head against his shoulder and let herself feel his pain.

"We'll get him," she whispered. "We'll catch this bastard. And we'll get through this."

Tilting her chin up, she caught his lips with hers in a gentle kiss and held on for just a moment before pulling back. "You had a club sandwich," she pointed out playfully, tasting what was left on his lips and feeling her smile broaden. "Making me kinda hungry."

"Let's go get you some lunch."

Before she had comprehended what he said, he was getting out and moving into the driver's seat. They left to get some food - getting in an order for what everyone else on the team wanted whilst they were there - and smoothed out their emotional spikes to settle into a more stable state to prepare for later on.

Then later came. Y/N had been dressed up in an outfit similar to one that Isla had been photographed in - a stripy shirt, denim dungaree and espadrilles - and told to phone the customer service desk for the smart car they'd given her for breakdown help. Once Leyton Hart, who'd managed to reroute the calls that were supposed to go to his work computer to his personal cell, had confirmed that he was on his way to the secluded patch of road Y/N had 'broken down' at, it was a waiting game.

Most of the team were not that far away, around 30 yards behind a thicket of trees. Far enough away to not be seen if he wasn't looking too hard and close enough that they'd be able to make it to help Y/N out in a minute if she needed it.

Sitting in the car, Y/N listened to the hum of the radio and let her legs dangle off the seat and out into the opened door, swinging them to the beat until Penelope warned her, "Incoming!" through comms and she stopped immediately. Y/N could feel him coming, sense him even though she couldn't see him just yet. "Here we go," Penny told the others, keeping her voice low and her eyes glued on the road ahead as his pickup truck came into view.

There was no mistaking the man in the truck. Y/N's gut twisted and she tasted bile in the back of her throat at the sight of him as he got out of the truck and strode towards her. She painted a smile on her face, greeting him with a friendly, "Hi, you are a lifesaver! This stupid car just -"

Before she could finish her sentence, he did something they never predicted he'd do and whacked her in the temple with a ratchet wrench. Y/N's body went limp and she slumped into Leyton's waiting arms as her vision went dark.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" was all Spencer could manage to get out of his mouth as he ran forward to reach her before she was placed in the back of the truck. Hotch raced after him and managed to tackle him to the grass before Leyton noticed them, which would compromise Y/N even further.

Spencer's worst fears were becoming a reality. A serial killer just drove off with the love of his life and his boss had prevented him from intervening.

However much time later, Y/N winced herself awake and looked blearily around. She had no idea how long she'd been out, but she knew for sure she was not in a good situation. She had a throbbing headache and her neck was sore from being arched over for what felt like hours. And she was on a very dirty and gross floor with one hand cuffed to a radiator. It was dark, which she thought was probably for the best for her headache, and cold. She was shivering as she tried to blink the blurriness out of her eyes and get her bearings.

For now, she was alone.

There was no telling how long she'd been out for. Minutes? Hours? A couple of them? It didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that she was alive and that she had to get out of here..Grimacing against the pain, she rolled onto her side and pushed herself to a sitting position. The world tilted a bit and she grabbed the edge of the nearest wall to steady herself. The cuffs cut into her wrists and her ankles were getting achy. Overall, it wasn't a great time.

Then, the sound of a key in a lock and the door to the warehouse creaked open, light from the outside glinting dully off the metal floor. "Hello Isla," a deep voice said. "Didn't expect you to be awake."

Going along with this fantasy of his would probably be best. That would give the team time to find them. If there was one thing Penelope was good at was finding a needle in a haystack and, by the look of her surroundings, they were a small needle.

Wherever she was, it was so basic that nothing really stuck out. There was only the radiator she was attached to, a sturdy looking wooden chair, and a cardboard box with a children's book on the top. No windows, concrete floor, metal door, and an industrial overhead lamp that Leyton switched on with a flick of his wrist.

"I knew you'd come back to me," Leyton said, a gleam in his eye. "I knew you would if I gathered enough souls to bargain. You said we could watch cartoons when you came back, can we watch cartoons?"

"Of course we can," Y/N said with a grin. She struggled to ignore the aching in her neck and the twinge in her arms and legs as she spoke. "We can watch whatever you want to watch."

"Whatever?"

"Yeah. Whatever."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

Leyton smiled, leaned his head in closer to hers, and whispered, "I'm so glad you're back." Y/N shivered and pushed away the sudden urge to puke, not only because his breath wasn't the best but this creep was so close to her face she could see his spit in his mouth. "You know, you're not going to leave me ever again, right?

"I wouldn't dream of it," she said softly.

Like a child, he jumped up and down on the spot. They'd classified this guy as an organised killer, a sophisticated guy that plans his kills and chooses his moments. But his current demeanour had proven otherwise. This guy was someone who had been stunted socially as a young teen and desperately needed this kind of affection and approval. Maybe he'd devolved.

"I'm sorry I hit you. I didn't want to."

"You did what you had to. I understand that," she lied. "You were protecting me."

"Yes! I was! I'm so glad you can see that now!"

Y/N coughed, hiding the way her face fell by itching her cheek with her shoulder as soon as he looked away from her. As soon as he heard her cough, all of a sudden, he scrambled onto the floor and plonked his head down in her lap. "There, there, Isla," he said, stroking her thigh. "I'm sorry for what I did. I'm so sorry."

Having a serial killer cuddle up to you was weird, to say the least.

"I f-forgive you," she stuttered, before looking down at him with shining eyes and hesitantly reaching her free hand towards his hair. His eyes widened and he leaned further into her hand as he waited for her to touch him. Her fingertips brushed against his thick hair as she caressed the top of his head.

They stayed in that position for more time than Y/N would care to admit.

There was a pang of something in her chest as she watched him nuzzle into her hand and close his eyes as if in bliss. She didn't have time to really feel any sort of pity for Leyton since the metal door suddenly burst open and Spencer came into view, his gun out in front of him.

"Step away," Spencer hissed as he came to a stop in front of her. His face was furious as he cocked his head to the side. "Keep your hands off her."

"But she's mine," Leyton said, a look of innocent bewilderment on his face that soon changed to mindless fury as he pulled himself free of her lap and charged at this random guy pointing a gun at him.

Instead of shooting the killer, Spencer chucked his weapon to the ground and swung at the guy, his fist connecting with Leyton's cheek and then getting another blow to his stomach as he doubled over. Spencer landed punch after punch after punch on the killer's face and body, and Leyton got a few good jabs in before he dropped like a sack of potatoes, blood gushing from his nose and mouth. Yet, Spencer still wasn't done. He was vicious. It was cruel.

And it was the most spiteful thing she'd ever see her husband do.

Derek rushed into the room with Emily hot on his heels. Morgan got Reid by the waist and yanked him away from the fight just as he got another shot in. He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and backed away from Leyton, who was coughing and spitting up blood onto the concrete floor. Spencer gave a look of disgust as he stepped away from the twitching Leyton and came to a stop in front of Y/N. His chest heaved as he wiped his bloody nose on his sleeve, slumping to sit in front of her as he dropped to the ground.

"Hi honey," he said, leaning in and touching the bump on her forehead with his index finger. "You're bleeding."

"So are you."

"That was... that was..." He shook his head, not knowing how to describe the fight.

"It was," she replied. "I'm glad you won."

"Me too."

As Derek cuffed Leyton Hart, Emily was searching around for the keys to let Y/N out of her cuffs. The moment she was free, Y/N flung herself into her husband's arms and buried her face in his neck, breathing in his scent and listening to the steady rhythm of his heart. She pulled away and looked into his eyes. "You didn't sleep," she commented, seeing the heavy bags under his eyes and noticing how strong the scent of coffee emanating from him was. He always smelt a little like coffee but this was, BANG, right in your face and kind of overwhelming.

"Couldn't."

The floor was a thick layer of grime and old blood covering it so Y/N guided Spencer to stand and pushed him out of the door. In the heat of the moment, he seemed to be fine with all the germs but once his adrenaline depleted itself, he would get very agitated about it. She knew that for certain.

Soon enough, Hotch sorted everything out and after a quick trip to the medic, the couple were allowed to retreat to their hotel room to clean up and rest. On her way past her boss, Hotch stopped her to ask if she was okay, how many days off would she like and, "Who knew Dr Reid could be that - what's the word? - defensive?"

"Leyton Hart put his wife and child on the line, that's a lot to defend, I guess."

"Get some rest, L/N."

"Aye aye, captain."

They got to the hotel room in no time, both in desperate need for a reprieve from other people.

"I'm sorry," Spencer said, his breath hitching as he spoke. "About everything. I just... I couldn't control myself. I don't know what happened."

"This is totally fucked up for me to say but you looked hot - totally scary and intense and, honestly, I could go through my life and be happy if I never saw that side of you again - but, yeah, kinda sexy," Y/N admitted, bending over to start the taps on the bath tub.

"Oh. I, uh, I don't know how to compartmentalise that."

"That's okay. I don't either."

After having a preliminary shower to get most of the dirt off before Y/N got in the bath, she sunk into the warm water, leaning her head back against the tile wall as she closed her eyes and let the stress of the day wash over her. She tried not to disturb Spencer who had decided that it was now his turn to take a shower. He would be scrubbing himself with antibacterial soap for the next few minutes so she could just lay back and listen to the odd sounds her husband would make every now and then as he scoured every inch of his skin with his silicone bath brush that he brought with them wherever they went.

If he was on a deserted island - first off: sand, ew - and he could bring one thing, he'd probably bring that brush. ...Or a flare gun.

When he was done, he wrapped a towel around his waist and knelt on the tiles next to the bathtub, looking at her as she lay there, soaking in the water.

"You okay?"

"Mm-hmm."

"You sure?"

"Yep."

"We need to talk about this, you know?" he retorted, running his hand down the length of her arm and conjoining their hands. He perched his chin on the porcelain. "Did he hurt you?"

"No."

"Did he do anything that might've hurt the baby?"

"Not that I know of. We should make an appointment just to make sure."

Her thumb rubbed against his knuckles, hoping to ease some of the redness from his skin. "Let me kiss it all better, baby," she murmured, letting her lips fall to his bicep. Then to his forearm. The wrist. The palm. Then she turned his hand over so she could press gentle kisses to his busted knuckles. His fingers were long and slender and looked too delicate to hurt - or cause such damage - but they had, and now they were all busted up.

The few punches Leyton managed to get on him were mostly to the face. He had a black eye on the right and a red jaw on the other. Y/N was quick to cover those areas with love. Spencer watched her attentively, a million emotions and reactions dancing across his face as he tried to reconcile all the things he was feeling. But, for now, all he could do was accept whatever affection she thought he was worth.

He leaned forward and gently kissed her, tasting the faintest hint of blood on her lips, then he kissed her again, and again, and again, until she was drowning in the taste of him and had to break apart for a moment to breathe. When they finally came up for air, Y/N guided her husband's head to rest in the crook of her neck and shoulder, kissing his temple and running her fingers through his hair. They stayed like that, embracing in the bathroom, until the water grew cold and they moved their embrace to the couch.

Spencer pulled Y/N onto his lap, her knees digging into the crevice between couch cushions on either side of Spencer's hips as she settled in. He started by moving his hands up and down her back but couldn't resist the paternal urge to focus his attention on her stomach. His thumbs caressed the underside of her belly, sliding across the stretch of her bump.

For now, she'd been able to hide her pregnancy with baggier clothes but it was soon going to become apparent what was happening.

"I may have let it slip about little Reid to Hotch."

"Well, you're beginning to show and you've been very vocal about how hungry you always are in the office... I assume he already knew," Spencer reassured him, lightly trailing kisses down the side of Y/N's neck and pausing at her collarbone. "I'm sure he knew before we figured it out."

"I'm sure he did.”

She tilted his chin so he had to look into her eyes, smiling when he did so. "It's going to be okay, you know," she continued, eyes bright. "You're going to be a great dad, and we'll get through this." Spencer didn't respond but his eyes were so bright and full of love that she knew he heard her.

Y/N smiled wider, her eyes fluttering shut as she leaned in and pressed her lips to her husband's. It was a long, slow, tender kiss that said everything it needed to.

*Click here for my Spencer Reid masterlist, or here for the entire masterlist*

Wanna be added to a taglist? Either comment on this post or send me a message!

[interlligrosupplies]

A Comprehensive Look at Landscape Supplies Every Gardener Needs

When it comes to creating a picturesque garden that draws oohs and aahs from every passerby, having the right landscape supplies at your disposal can make all the difference.

Whether you're a seasoned gardening pro or just starting with your green journey, this guide is here to help you navigate through the essential Best landscape supplies Christchurch that every gardener needs.

Let's dig right in!

The Foundation: Soil and Mulch

Imagine building a house without a solid foundation – it just wouldn't work. The same principle applies to your garden. Good quality soil is the cornerstone of any successful garden. When selecting soil, make sure it's nutrient-rich and well-draining to provide the best growing environment for your plants.

Mulching is like giving your garden a cosy blanket. It helps retain moisture, suppress weeds, and regulate soil temperature. Organic mulches, such as wood chips or straw, not only provide these benefits but also enrich the soil over time as they break down.

Planting Perfection: Tools and Equipment

Just like a painter needs brushes, a gardener needs the right tools to craft their masterpiece. A sturdy set of gardening tools is essential. Shovels, spades, pruners, and trowels are your best friends in this green adventure. Remember, investing in quality tools now will save you frustration down the road.

To ensure your plants get the right start, consider investing in seed trays, planters, and pots. These containers not only help with organisation but also make transplanting and rearranging a breeze.

Bringing Life: Plants and Seeds

What's a garden without the stars of the show – the plants themselves? Depending on your climate and personal preferences, select plants that thrive in your area. Whether you're aiming for vibrant flowers, lush greenery, or a mix of both, make sure you're choosing healthy specimens.

Seeds are like tiny bundles of potential. They're cost-effective and offer the satisfaction of nurturing a plant from its earliest stages. Keep a variety of seeds in your landscape supplies Christchurch stash, from vegetables to flowers, to add diversity and charm to your garden.

Hardscaping Harmony: Paths and Structures

Landscape design isn't just about plants; it's about creating a harmonious environment. Paths, walkways, and structures like pergolas or trellises add a touch of elegance to your garden. These features not only enhance the visual appeal but also provide functional spaces for you to enjoy your outdoor haven.

Nature's Quench: Watering and Irrigation

Plants, like us, need hydration to thrive. A watering can or a hose with an adjustable nozzle is essential to provide your plants with the right amount of water. Consider installing an irrigation system for larger gardens to ensure consistent hydration without the hassle.

Warding off Weeds: Weed Control Supplies

Weeds are the uninvited guests of your garden party. To keep them at bay, have weed control supplies on hand. Mulch, as mentioned earlier, is a fantastic weed deterrent. Additionally, keep a weeding tool in your arsenal for those stubborn intruders.

The Finishing Touch: Decorative Elements

Once you have the essentials sorted, it's time for the fun part – adding decorative elements. Garden ornaments, decorative rocks, and garden lights can transform your space into a magical oasis. Let your personality shine through these touches, and make your garden an extension of yourself.

A garden is more than just plants in the ground – it's a living work of art that requires careful planning and the right tools. Building up your collection of landscape supplies Christchurch is an ongoing process that evolves as your gardening skills grow. Remember, gardening is a journey, not a destination.

So, roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty, and let your garden flourish with the help of these essential landscape supplies.

Source : A Comprehensive Look at Landscape Supplies Every Gardener Needs

[tipsforeco-friendlyliving]

Tips for eco-friendly living

According to the EPA, the average American generates about 4.4 pounds of trash a day. This totals to about 1,606 pounds of trash per person per year. The majority of this trash consists of packaging materials, food waste, yard waste, and paper products. While it may seem like a daunting task to reduce the amount of waste you produce, even small changes can make a big difference. Here are some tips for living a more eco-friendly lifestyle: Reduce: One of the easiest ways to reduce the amount of waste you produce is to simply use less. For example, try to use reusable items instead of disposable items whenever possible. You can also reduce the amount of packaging you use by bringing your own bags to the store, or buying items in bulk. Reuse: Another way to reduce the amount of waste you produce is to reuse items instead of throwing them away. For example, you can use a reusable water bottle instead of buying bottled water. You can also bring your own coffee mug to the coffee shop instead of using a disposable cup. Recycle: Recycling is one of the best ways to reduce the amount of waste you produce. Most communities have recycling programs that allow you

1. Evaluate your current living situation 2. Determine what areas you can change 3. Invest in eco-friendly products 4. Make a plan to reduce your carbon footprint 5. Educate yourself and others on eco-friendly living

1. Evaluate your current living situation

The first step to making your lifestyle more eco-friendly is to take a step back and analyze your current living situation. How much energy are you using on a daily basis? What is your carbon footprint? Are there areas where you could reduce your consumption? One way to save energy is to install solar panels or wind turbines. If you live in an area with a lot of sun, solar panels can be a great way to save on your energy bill. Solar panels can be used to power your home, and they can also be used to heat water. Solar panels can be expensive to install, but they will eventually pay for themselves. Another way to save energy is to use energy-efficient appliances. These appliances use less energy than traditional appliances, and they can save you money on your energy bill. Energy-efficient appliances are available for everything from refrigerators to light bulbs. You can also reduce your carbon footprint by driving less. If you can carpool, ride a bike, or take public transportation, you will save on fuel costs and help to reduce emissions. You can also make your home more energy-efficient by insulation and sealing Drafty windows and doors. Making small changes in your lifestyle can have a big impact on the environment. Evaluating your current living situation is the first step to making your home more eco-friendly.

2. Determine what areas you can change

Assuming you want tips for living a more eco-friendly life: One way to determine where you can change your habits to be more eco-friendly is to consider your daily routine. When you wake up in the morning, what do you do first? Do you make coffee? brush your teeth? take a shower? Consider each activity and research more environmentally friendly ways to do them. For example, switch to an eco-friendly toothpaste or water your plants with leftover water from your coffee pot. In addition to your daily routine, think about the products you use on a regular basis. Do you have a favourite shampoo or conditioner? laundry detergent? body lotion?See if you can find more natural alternatives for these products. cruelty-free and - biodegradable options abound, and it’s likely that you’ll find an option that works just as well (if not better!) than what you’re using now. Of course, changing your habits is only part of the battle – we also need to be conscientious of the way we vote with our dollars. When you’re at the grocery store, for example, make an effort to purchase items that are locally sourced and/or produced in an environmentally sustainable way. This might mean opting for organic produce or selecting fair trade coffee. little changes can have a big impact, so don’t get discouraged if you can’t make all the changes you want to right away. Just do your best and know that every little bit counts!

3. Invest in eco-friendly products

When it comes to eco-friendly living, one of the best things you can do is invest in eco-friendly products. There are a lot of great eco-friendly products on the market these days, and by investing in them, you’ll be doing your part to help the environment. Some of the best eco-friendly products to invest in include eco-friendly cleaning products, energy-efficient appliances, and green transportation options. Eco-friendly cleaning products are a great way to reduce your impact on the environment. There are all-natural cleaning products available that are just as effective as traditional cleaning products, but without the harmful chemicals. Look for cleaning products that are cruelty-free and made with renewable resources. Energy-efficient appliances are another great eco-friendly option. by investing in energy-efficient appliances, you can save money on your energy bills and help reduce your carbon footprint. Look for appliances that have energy star rating. Green transportation options are another great way to reduce your impact on the environment. There are a lot of great green transportation options available these days, from electric cars to bicycles. If you can, try to use green transportation options as much as possible. Investing in eco-friendly products is a great way to help the environment and reduce your impact on the planet. There are a lot of great eco-friendly products available, so take some time to research and find the best products for you and your family.

4. Make a plan to reduce your carbon footprint

Most people are now aware of the devastation that climate change is wreaking on our planet. We see the effects of it all around us – in the news, in our communities, and even in our own backyards. You may be thinking, “What can I do to help? I’m just one person.” But the good news is that even small changes can make a big difference when it comes to reducing your carbon footprint. Here are a few tips to get you started: 1. Drive less. Whenever possible, walk, bike, or take public transit instead of driving. You’ll not only reduce your carbon emissions, but you’ll also get some exercise in the process! 2. Recycle and compost. Make sure you’re recycling everything you can, and composting organic waste. This keeps valuable resources out of landfills, where they produce methane – a powerful greenhouse gas. 3. Save energy at home. Turn off lights when you leave a room, unplug electronics when they’re not in use, and invest in energy-efficient appliances. A little bit of effort goes a long way towards saving energy – and money. 4. Make a plan to reduce your carbon footprint. Before you make any changes, it’s important to sit down and figure out where you’re starting from. Calculate your current carbon footprint using one of the many online tools available. Once you know your starting point, you can set some goals and make a plan for reducing your emissions. 5. Get involved. Talk to your friends and family about climate change and what you’re doing to reduce your carbon footprint. The more people who are aware of the issue and taking action, the better! You can also get involved in your community by attending public meetings, writing letters to elected officials, or lending your voice to local or national campaigns. Making even small changes in your daily life can add up to a big difference for the planet. So get started today and do your part to fight climate change!

5. Educate yourself and others on eco-friendly living

There are a number of things we can do to live more eco-friendly lives, but one of the most important is to educate ourselves and others about living eco-friendly. By learning about the impact our choices have on the environment, we can make more informed decisions that will help to protect our planet. One way to learn about eco-friendly living is to read about it. Books, articles, and websites are all great sources of information on the topic. You can also talk to friends and family members who are already living eco-friendly lives, and ask them for tips. Another great way to learn about eco-friendly living is to attend workshops and seminars. There are often these kinds of events happening in your community, and they can be a great way to meet like-minded people and learn about this lifestyle. Of course, you don’t have to wait for an event to start living eco-friendly. There are many things you can do right now to start making a difference. For example, you can start recycling at home, or composting your food scraps. You can also start using eco-friendly products, such as reusable shopping bags and water bottles. Perhaps the most important thing you can do to live an eco-friendly life is to educate yourself and others about it. By sharing what you’ve learned with those around you, you can help to make a difference in the world.

There are many ways to live an eco-friendly lifestyle, but it can be difficult to know where to start. The most important thing is to be aware of the impact your lifestyle has on the environment and to make small changes that will collectively have a big impact. Here are some tips to get you started on your eco-friendly journey: • Reduce your energy consumption – turn off lights when you leave a room, use energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs, and considering solar power for your home. • Cut down on water waste – install water-saving showerheads and toilets, and water your plants during the cooler hours of the day. • Recycle and compost – recycle items whenever possible and compost organic waste to create fertilizer for your garden. • Choose eco-friendly products – look for items made from recycled materials, organic cotton, and other sustainable materials. • Be a conscientious consumer – don’t buy what you don’t need, repair items instead of replacing them, and support businesses that are environmentally responsible. Making small changes in your lifestyle can make a big difference for the environment. By being mindful of your impact and taking steps to reduce your ecological footprint,

"Explore our website to find downloadable resources and templates related to Fitness."

[futurakitchensink]

5 THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN A QUALITY KITCHEN SINK.

The kitchen is usually where people unknowingly spend a lot of time when they are at home and a good kitchen sink is absolutely crucial to keep your kitchen functioning optimally. You must ensure that your kitchen sink is fantastic and ideally suited for your kitchen in order to clean huge pots and prepare food. If you’re looking for a new kitchen sink, you’ve certainly noticed there are many options available. perhaps too many. But this blog is here to assist you in your quest for the perfect sink! The material, installation type, configuration, bowl depth, size, and location are among the five factors to be taken into account when selecting a quality kitchen sink.

1 Sink Material:

Numerous aspects need to be taken into account when choosing the ideal sink material for your kitchen. Budget, durability, and simplicity of washing should also be considered in addition to aesthetics, of course. Sinks are frequently made of stainless steel, but composite granite is becoming more and more popular because of its sturdiness, cleanliness, and attractiveness. Materials like copper, quartz, natural stone, and coloured stainless steel are available for those looking for a sink that makes a statement. When choosing the material for your sink, consider the cost, and functionality as well. Stainless steel is by far the most popular material for kitchen sinks. It is heat and stain resistant and comes in a range of varieties, designs, and sizes. A brushed or satin finish is advised over a mirror finish since water stains and scratches will show less on the former. Stainless steel sinks range widely in price, but you can obtain one of decent quality for not a lot of money, making it a popular option for people on a limited budget.

2 Installation Type:

Your choice of sink installation will have an impact on the surrounding countertop and cabinetry in your kitchen. Undermount, drop-in, integrated, and apron-front installations are among the configuration choices. The latter can also be installed as a drop-in type, as seen in this instance, or as an undermount type. Each type has benefits and drawbacks. Because it is the simplest to install on the lot and can be fitted in less expensive laminate countertops, a drop-in sink is the most cost-effective option.

An integrated sink, which is built from the same material as the countertop and is fabricated to look seamless with it, is at the upper end of the price spectrum.

3 Sink Configuration:

How many bowls (or sinks) you require is another crucial factor. You probably prefer a double- or triple-bowl sink if you wash dishes by hand the majority of the time. But keep in mind that a sizable single-bowl sink makes it simpler to wash bulkier items. Multiple sinks may be useful if you frequently cook for a big family. However, adding additional sinks and the necessary plumbing will increase the cost of installation. A large kitchen is also necessary to prevent overcrowding and to guarantee that there is still enough countertop space for cooking operations.

4 Bowl Depth:

When it comes to your kitchen sink, you might believe deeper is better, but that isn’t always the case.

For instance, if a food waste disposal is installed, a super-deep sink requires additional cabinet space. Additionally, working for extended periods of time over a really deep sink may be difficult for people who are exceptionally tall or short. However, other people might find that a deep sink works best for concealing dirty dishes.

5 Sink Size:

When choosing a sink, the width should also be taken into account. The normal range for width, which is measured from left to right, is 24 to 36 inches. The obvious approach is to size the sink to meet your budget, but you need also need to think about the size of your kitchen, your utensils, and if you want to place it close to a window or another fixed object. In other words, the sink should be sized appropriately for a kitchen.

6 A BONUS TIP! — Location of your sink:

Location is crucial in your sink-finding process. A person should ideally be facing a pleasant view, such as a nice view out a window or of the rest of the room while standing at the kitchen sink.

Try to center your kitchen sink under the window unit or one of the panes if the window has many panes while installing it under a window. The dishwasher must be close by; ideally, it should be placed right next to the sink, with enough space for the door to open completely without obstructing foot traffic.

Finding the best quality kitchen sink for your needs might seem like a daunting task but use the tips mentioned above to make the process a little easier and to ensure you are happy with your purchase! Happy shopping!

[ridhearts]

constraints. {vamp!leona x reader}

!! information !!

characters: leona

reader: gn!

cw: none!

masterlists ⇿ requests  

Pat. Pat. Pat.

Leona’s tail rhythmically smacked against the backrest of your couch, the only sound coming from your small living room. He lounged over the entire couch on his stomach and rested his arms on one of the arm rest, peering at you over them as you shuffled around your kitchen. The pots occasionally smacked against each other or clanged when you set them on the stove too harshly, each sound making his ears twitch. He could already smell the beginnings of what you were making, and though he didn’t feel the need to eat, he had to admit it smelled…passable, as far as human food went. He was even considering humoring you and trying a few bites when you inevitably offered the portion you made explicitly for him.

From the corner of your eye, you caught his gaze and smiled mischievously. Leona kept his face impassive, but his tail thwacked against the couch a little more forcefully than before as he wondered what you were up to. He watched you rummage around for a moment before holding up a singular clove of garlic. Leona narrowed his eyes, stilling in a way that told you he would pounce if you intended to take your teasing any further. Instead, you huffed out a laugh and turned back to the oven, garlic back where you had gotten it from.

“One of these days, I’ll do it. Teach you to freeload and invite yourself into my house all the time,” You commented, mostly to yourself. Leona only sighed in response, deciding to dispose of the garlic once you were asleep as the comfortable silence resumed.

As did his tail thumping.

Pat. Pat. Pat.

Leona didn’t get it. He should be perfectly content with things the way they were. Your home was warm, comfortable, and you let him stay in it. The heavy curtains he bought specifically for himself hung in their places, placed there with little fuss from you. In fact, you complimented him for his choice, saying they matched the colors of your living room nicely. (As if he wouldn’t know what you might like. Psh.) You let him feed off of you basically whenever he wanted, and your blood tasted nice, too. When he ruined one of your shirts, staining it deep crimson, you barely huffed in annoyance (even before you got used to him presenting you with a new one sooner or later.) Things never stay good forever, but things seemed to be staying good with you.

Because you were a pack animal, raised in a world that both praised and punished altruism.

Because you were the furthest thing from a Savanaclaw vampire.

Because you were human.

Pat. Pat. Thump!

Leona winced at his own obvious irritation. You didn’t seem to notice, but then again, you held more information than you let on. Begrudgingly, Leona lifted himself off your couch and stalked to you wordlessly. He stepped closer than you were expecting, close enough that you brushed against him every time you inhaled. His arm reached across your back, hand resting on your waist, while he bent down and dug his chin into your shoulder, stopping just before it started to hurt. You hummed, doing your best not to elbow him as you worked.

"What's this about?" You asked, distracted.

Leona froze, considering for a split second before relaxing once more. His words came out in a low growl as he lifted his chin and instead began to gently nuzzle his head against your cheek. "...hungry."

It was close enough. There was an emptiness swirling inside him, lingering and voracious in the void where his soul should be. He couldn't satisfy it with food or blood, and attempts only made it seem to grow larger. Leona was struck between an impossible yearning and uninhibited greed, the desire to take and take and take everything you were against the horrible softness he felt towards you. Leona knew that if he turned you now, he might not mind what you'd become but he'd miss what you were terribly; yet the thought that you night be more fleeting than he thought - that nothing good ever stays - fills him with a different, insufferable longing.

But he'd never tell you that. It's the one thing you may never know.

"I'll be done cooking here shortly," You teased instead. Leona huffed, breath puffing against your neck and making you flinch.

"I'm not eating your human food," He said, pulling the sleeve of your shirt down. A few threads popped audibly, and you almost swatted him away - but he already sunk his teeth in, and a sudden warmth clouded your brain and flooded your bloodstream before the pain could truly settle in. 

Leona had to be careful. With how badly he wanted you, any distraction could easily mean him losing control of his magic and you being turned tonight. He didn't want that, not yet. Your blood tasted too good (he'd miss your warmth). It'd be annoying to have to watch over you as a fledgling (he doesn't want to watch your face twist with all-too familiar vitriol). 

So he settled for having you lean against him while he took his modest fill, occasionally drawing his tongue over your wound carefully, to soothe you. With a feather-light kiss to your wound, so gentle you probably didn't even feel it as his venom released its hold on you, Leona made a silent promise to come back for you once he figured himself out.

He wasn't letting you slip through his fingers like everything else.

[dontfeeltoohot]

Would honestly love a continuation of your first fic where they actually go out on a date/beginning of the relationship. Or if you’re going for something shorter I think a sick or allergic Steve would be precious. Just Eddie bringing in patients every few hours and he always comes up from the cafeteria with a cup of tea, a snack, or maybe some antihistamines for his bb

i have a LOT of sick nurse Steve requests, so here's something to hold you over!

XXX

Not entirely sure how Robin's roped him into night shift with her and Nancy for overtime; taking a whole day off away from him, Steve trudges into the ED freezing and exhausted. December in Hawkins has brought ice and slush and eventual snow, and, along with it, a pretty nasty strain of the flu. Even with the flu shot every year, the nurse still manages to catch it without fail sometime between November and January.

Navy scrubs on and a long sleeve grey thermal underneath, he heads to the nurses lounge, trailing his best friend. Steve's ninety percent sure he's got a fever, his body is aching, his throat's sore and he thinks if he closes his eyes for more than ten seconds he'll be out for the rest of the night. Rubbing his face as he dumps his bag into the assigned locker he's got, Steve goes to the coffee pot and grabs a disposable cup, pouring some into it and pouring creamer after. Fuck he's tired even just doing such a simple task.

"You sure you'll be ok tonight?" Robin looks at him with a furrowed brow.

He's aware he looks just as bad as he feels. His complexion is pale, his cheeks are slowly getting more and more red. That, combined with slightly dull eyes and an overall air of sickness, there's not really any way to deny he's sick.

"I'll be fine, Robin, just...hopefully it'll be a good night." The word 'quiet' is on the tip of his tongue but he refrains- anyone in the medical world knows not to say 'quiet' because all it will do is jinx the situation and make it forty times worse. Steve sighs and rubs his face, taking a sip of the coffee, wincing as it hurts his throat.

An hour into their 7pm-7am shift, Steve gets a silver lining through all the crap he's dealing with- Eddie Munson.

The paramedic walks in with his partner, both handling the stretcher, Chrissy at the head and Eddie at the foot. The teenager lying on his side seems to be in a great amount of pain. Steve's first instinct is to get up for intake but remembers Robin had volunteered earlier so he could mostly sit unless absolutely needed aside from rounds. He watches the long haired man pat the patients arm and then start walking towards him, Chrissy moving the stretcher into room 3.

"Well well, didn't expect to see my two favorite nurses here tonight," Eddie beams, and it makes Steve feel like of like a bowl of jello...or maybe that's because he's sick.

"Yeah, we took some overtime," Steve explains, wincing at how raspy his voice sounds.

Eddie must hear it too, because suddenly his bright smile falls, and his big brown doe eyes look Steve up and down.

"You sick, Harrington?"

"Uhh, just a little," the twenty six year old mumbles, feeling suddenly self-conscious. Sometimes he forgets Eddie and Chrissy work full twenty four hour shifts- hell, sometimes Eddie will do a 36 hour just to get overtime.

"A little?" Robin snorts, rolling her eyes when she walks back over, signing things on the iPad Chrissy is holding out. "Try a lot, Steve. You kind of look like a zombie."

"Hey! I do-"

"A very cute, nurse zombie," Eddie butts in, laughing. His aw furls fall into his face and he brushes them away lazily. "But seriously man, you look pretty sick. Take it easy tonight."

The way Eddie's voice drops a little quieter than usual makes Steve's heart clench. God he's got the stupidest crush on Eddie and he's never going to have a chance, not when Chrissy is right there, and they're both so beautiful. No, Eddie and Chrissy are obviously a thing, and it sucks. Brain hazy with fever, he looks between the two and huffs, coughing into his arm.

"We'll see you later," Chrissy informs, when Eddie's radio crackles to life again.

Around 11:30 PM, as Steve is finishing up making his rounds to check on the seven patient's they've currently got, an outstretched arm stops him. The arm in question has numerous random tattoo's all over it- Steve spots a few flowers, a jack'o'lantern, a heart with a dagger. Looking up finally, he's face to face with Eddie, who looks concerned. A hand goes to Steve's forehead.

"You weren't kidding princess, you should have called out, definitely have a fever."

Steve continues just to look up, eyes wide as he stares at Eddie unashamedly.

"Earth to Steve?"

Blinking, the nurse clears his throat and rubs his face.

"Sorry, I uh...zoned out." The hand on his forehead was nice, but Eddie's already dropped it now, looking far too worried for his own good.

"Yeah, seems like it. How're you feeling?"

"Like shit," Steve admits, knowing he can't pass it off anymore. Eddie looks genuinely concerned, and for once, the other doesn't feel like a burden.

"Alright killer, how about you ask the RN if you can take a ten minute break? I'll get you some tea from the cafeteria and maybe a muffin....you probably need some sugar."

"Tea sounds kind of nice," Steve admits, shivering. His cheeks feel too warm when he rubs his face.

"Alright, go at least sit down, I'll be back in five."

[kitchenscene]

sick + kitchen bc i'm sick in the kitchen <3

combining with "sick + eddie's house" from @cm1031sr

[ao3 link]

Eddie wakes up sweating. The thermostat reads 68 degrees but he wakes up sweating. The alarm on his phone rings and rings and rings, and echoes in his pounding skull long after he shuts off the sound. He’s completely uncovered, the sheets thrown off the bed some time in the night, but he still wakes up sweating.

There’s two options. Two non-options since, although he has a choice, he doesn’t really have a choice. He could shove his face into the pillow and sleep for another three, four, five hours, ignore his life outside these four walls, and wake up to a colder world that doesn’t leave his head throbbing. But it’s five-thirty a.m. on a Friday, Chris needs breakfast and a packed lunch and a ride to school, there’s a terrifying stack of dishes in his sink, and dangerously low stock of groceries. He opts for option two, despite his best wishes.

He slips on a t-shirt and jeans and drags himself into the bathroom. He should’ve showered first, but it’s too late now. The lights are too bright and the counter is too cluttered and there’s some stranger in the mirror, looking too tired and too pale. Eddie brushes some stranger's teeth and pretends to be alright.

“Good morning,” Christopher calls as he walks into the kitchen.

“Good morning,” he replies, and pretends to believe it. There’s a sink full of dishes. He decides it can wait.

Sandwiches and lunch boxes, peanut butter toast and packed bags, Eddie follows a routine, albeit, slower than usual. If Chris notices his silence, his tired eyes or heavy head, he says nothing and eats his breakfast instead. The morning passes in a blur and it’s nearly seven-thirty. He has to leave, but there’s still dishes to do.

They’re in the car, and then they’re not. Chris is staring out the windows of the backseat, then he’s not. Eddie kisses him on the forehead, or maybe hugs him or waves goodbye, but Chris is at school and he’s in the car and there’s still dishes to do at home. The A.C. shrieks from his dashboard and he’s shivering, but he’s sweating, and his skull is still pounding and there’s still dishes to do at home.

A car honks at him on his way back, and the sound refuses to leave his head. It’s loud and it thumps, harder, harder. He switches from cold to heat and turns on the seat warmers. He’s shivering and sweating and he still needs to go shopping.

The key gets stuck in the door. He shakes until it finally turns.

There’s a mess of blankets on the couch, evidence of a movie night gone too late. The blinds remain shut and the plants sag by the window, but he couldn’t bring them to life if he tried. Eddie moves to the kitchen and is faced by the morning, by the open cabinets and empty pantry and pile of dirty dishes.

One at a time. He takes it one at a time.

Big dishes soak. Cutlery sorts randomly into the dishwasher. Mugs of yesterday's cocoa form rows on the top rack, dripping through to the bottom.

Scrub, rinse, carry on.

It’s beyond him how two, three people could fill the sink so easily. Plates fill the bottom rack. Bowls stack, unevenly, alongside them. The knives stay in the sink to be washed by hand.

Scrub, rinse, carry on.

He finds a spoon stuck underneath a pot. He finds chopsticks slipping down the drain. Somehow there’s still another mug in the sink.

Scrub, rinse, carry on.

The garbage disposal hisses, and he nearly lets it out down the drain. The pots need to soak and he needs groceries, so that’s exactly what he does.

Despite his behavior, Eddie is a medic, and he knows he must be sick. Fever, headache, cold sweat. A bit of nausea too, but he decides to ignore it. His pantry is still empty and he has a kid to feed. Irresponsible, yes, but there’s no other option.

He finds his way back to the driver's seat, empty grocery bags piled in the passenger’s seat. The sun is bright against his windshield, he can barely see. It’s silent as he drives, it’s for the best. He rolls down the window but no, he refuses to vomit out of it.

The truck rolls to a stop in the parking lot. His phone vibrates in the cupholder.

Buck (10:32am): are you still coming over for lunch?

It shouldn’t be a loaded question, but it is. The truth comes with explanations, but there’s no lying to Buck.

The text goes unopened, he saves the hassle for later. For now, there’s groceries to buy.

He’s grown accustomed to shopping with Buck, who will gladly join him for any and all chores and errands. Even when it’s his groceries, Buck is more organized than him with his checklists and simple patterns, though there’s always a few extra items thrown on top of the cart as they pass through the aisles. There’s jokes and exasperation and Buck, without fail, will always stand on the back of the cart to roll down the cereal aisle when no one's watching.

Eddie tries to follow the same pattern, but it’s duller than usual and the fluorescent lights burn when he turns his head to the top shelf.

If it were Chris who was sick, he would file through the pharmacy in search of cherry cough syrup, the only flavor he can stomach. There’d be a cart full of tissues and soup cans and anything that could ease the pain, even just a bit.

If it were Buck, he would let himself in his apartment and shove him into the shower. He’d wash the sheets and make him lunch and resist the urge to leave a kiss on his forehead, a little sweaty but still sweet.

Eddie bypasses the pharmacy and makes the bold assumption that there’s some sort of medicine at home.

Checkout goes by quietly, he leaves non-responses to the cashier’s small talk and only feels a little guilty about it. He does smile as he leaves though, but remembers too late he’s wearing a mask.

He’s in the car, and then he’s not. He’s shaking and struggling with each breath, but still, he refuses to vomit out the window.

Deep breath in, he takes two handfuls of groceries and adds soreness to his growing list of symptoms. Soreness and nausea and an ever-worsening headache. Deep breath out, he struggles to unlock the door, to turn the handle and key.

It takes several trips to get everything inside, several more than he’d usually take.

His phone vibrates in his pocket. Buck sends another message.

Buck (11:49am): should i take your silence as a no?

Three dots appear and disappear as he opens the message. Yes, he considers, no. It’s confusing, too much to handle for now. Eddie can’t handle truths, but he can handle groceries. He leaves the phone on the counter.

He should stop. He should rummage through some medicine cabinets and lay down and maybe drink a cup of that tea Buck always leaves in the kitchen. He bought an infrared thermometer a few months back, the touchless, forehead ones, but he can’t remember what drawer he left it in and the counter is covered in the reusable grocery bags Buck left behind and never claimed and he did the dishes, he knows he did the dishes, but somehow there’s still dishes in the sink.

He should rest. Eddie unpacks the groceries instead. He can never brew the tea quite right, anyway. Burnt leaves, oversteeped, cold before he can finish his cup. A simple task, and he still can’t get it right.

It’s inevitable, the way he breaks. He wants to laugh because really, it’s hilarious how a sniper blew clean through his shoulder, but a headache and a cold sweat is the thing that breaks him.

Eddie got shot, spent hours, days, weeks bouncing between hospitals, doctors, and physical therapists. He recovered, well enough at least, and came back to work. One panic fed into another and suddenly he was single. Soon after, so was Buck, and they like to pretend it means nothing when surely it means something. Bad days and bad calls, headaches and heartaches, nightmares and pointless daydreams of love and a kinder life.

All the suffering and this is what breaks him: a fever, a pile of groceries, and a sink full of dirty dishes.

His phone vibrates on the counter.

Buck (12:24pm): are you okay?

There’s no good answer. The time difference catches him, the time spent thinking and slowly shifting between the cabinets and the bags on the counter. Eddie knows the truth, but doesn’t know what to say. There’s still so many bags. There’s still dishes in the sink. It’s a mess, it’s all a mess.

Eddie starts to type out a response: I’m fine, I’ll be over soon.

He deletes the message.

I’m fine, but I think I have to cancel.

He deletes the message.

I’m fine.

Three dots flash, then disappear. He deletes the message.

I can’t make it. Sorry.

He barely finishes typing the last word.

I don’t know what’s wrong with me.

He lies, deletes the message.

I’m trying to get better, but I still see my blood on your hands.

He deletes the message.

I’ll be fine.

He deletes the message. Three dots flash on the left side of the screen.

He tries one more time, nearly pleading: Help.

The phone falls to the floor before he can press send. It’s easy then, to fall along with it. Eddie’s knees hit the floor with a thud, and he’s bent over the trash can, gagging and choking and trying to forget the taste of this morning’s breakfast. The plastic bin shakes as he grips the edge, strong enough to leave his knuckles white and press marks along his palms. His hands are numb and he nearly slips off the edge.

It’s pathetic, really, the way he collapses and spits into the bin. It’s even more pathetic, how he wishes he weren’t alone.

And worse than that, when that bullet tore through his shoulder and left a pool of himself on the pavement, Eddie didn’t cry. He passed out in his best friend’s arms and woke up under a doctor’s care.

When he broke up with his girlfriend in this very kitchen, by the sink, against the fridge, Eddie didn’t cry. They both said goodbye and soon, he forgot they were ever together.

Through and through, he never cried, can’t remember the last time he did. He’s hurling his guts into a plastic bag. A few stray tears fall with it. It’s pathetic. It’s all pathetic. But at least when he was bleeding out, he wasn’t bleeding alone.

His phone vibrates again on the kitchen floor, just out of reach. The vibration continues, either a phone call or a series of texts. The sound resonates through his legs, bent to the side and all sorts of wobbly.

All he wants is to answer the phone, or at the very least, shut off the sound. The shaking doesn’t make him cry, but the combination of the shaking and gagging and dirty dishes is what breaks him.

Footsteps shuffle behind him, but there’s no way he can turn. His forehead stays pressed against the plastic bag, sweat building on his hairline, skin paling by the minute.

“Eddie?” he hears, and then there’s a hand on his back, on his shoulder, pressing soft circles into his skin. Eddie breaks, yet again, at the touch. Choking turns to gasping, and then he’s collapsing sideways into the same arms that carried him off that street.

Buck shifts his arms, gentle hands pressed flat against his back, hugging him close. It’s the only thing keeping him upright, and even then, he can’t help but drop his forehead against his shoulder, hiding his face in the hoodie.

“I got you,” he murmurs, hands tracing up and down his back. There’s still vomit in his mouth and tears in his eyes, but right here, there’s safety. Eddie fists his hands in the back of Buck’s sweatshirt, scared of holding too tight, but terrified of letting go. Buck continues his reassurances, always knowing how to set him at ease. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Years pass before he leans back, or maybe just twenty minutes. There’s too much fog in his head to really tell the difference. Buck traces a hand from his back, over his shoulder, over the scar, up to his forehead. His brows furrow in concern as he checks Eddie’s temperature.

“Do you have a fever?” He asks, voice soft and a little raspy.

“I don’t know.”

“Headache? Cold sweat?” Buck reads through a laundry list of symptoms. “Or a sore throat? Stuffy nose?”

“Some of those,” he mumbles, closing his eyes, biting back the returning wave of nausea.

“Have you taken any meds?”

Eddie shuts his eyes impossibly tighter, falling forward into his chest. “No.”

He can feel the breathy laugh rise from Buck, something between exasperation and disbelief. “For someone who takes care of people for a living, you’re pretty awful at taking care of yourself.”

“I’m fine,” he lies, barely audible. The words struggle against his throat, and he knows Buck can hear the rasp in his voice.

“No, you’re not,” Buck shakes his head, gently pushing Eddie up to look him in the eyes. They’re red and they burn with brightness and tears. “You don’t have to be.”

Eddie shakes his head too, sees stars in his blurring vision, but Buck holds him steady, he always does. There’s a trash can full of vomit, a counter covered in melting groceries, and dishes in the sink. The thought of standing, leaving this tile floor, leaving Buck’s reassuring hands makes him sick all over again.

“No, I’m not,” he admits, choking on his words and the cracks in his voice. Eddie collapses once more. It’s become a regular occurrence, for Buck to catch him the way he does, strong arms and steady hands. There’s bile in his mouth and tear stains on Buck’s hoodie, but he doesn’t seem to mind, still whispering soft assurances into his ear.

“I’m sorry,” Eddie breathes out.

“For what?”

He almost laughs. What is there not to be sorry for? He shakes his head instead, still hidden in the cotton hoodie. “I don’t know.”

And he can feel it, he can feel the twitch of Buck’s face, the gentle smile. He moves a hand to the back of his head, brushing the hair at the back of his neck. “Well, let me know when you figure it out so I can say something like, ‘you have nothing to apologize for,’ and you can go on and say, ‘I’m such a mess,’ or something, and I can tell you, ‘you’re my favorite mess’.” Buck lets out a breath. “Or something like that.”

Eddie looks up so he can see Buck, not just feel, but see him. Maybe it’s just the light, or maybe there’s tears in his eyes too. There’s definitely some worry, and just a bit of fondness. Maybe it’s the fever, or maybe it’s the truth, either way he speaks his mind.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Buck’s breath hitches before a smile graces his face. “You’ll never have to find out.”

And God, it’s unfair how Buck is so effortlessly kind even while he’s throwing up his guts in the trash, and it’s unfair how he can wipe away every last tear and promise him it’ll all be alright, and it’s unfair how he wants to kiss his best friend while his mouth still tastes like bile and acid.

Buck kneels before him, beautiful and warm, and Eddie wants him, wants it all, even when he’s sweating through his shirt.

“I need to put away the groceries,” he says, strained and tired.

“I know.”

“And there’s still dishes.”

“I know.”

“And that tea in the cabinet is only good when you make it,” he admits. Eddie lets out something between a sigh and a laugh. “And I’m such a mess, and I hate that you knew I would say that.”

Eddie’s still holding his sweatshirt, hands somewhere around his waist. His fists are tight, returning to their white knuckle grip. But Buck holds him softly, a light weight against his cheek, thumb pressing away any stray tears that dare to grace his cheekbone.

“You’re my favorite mess,” he says, as promised. Buck’s good at wiping his tears and giving hugs and reaching the top shelves, but he’s even better at keeping promises. “I’ll make that tea everyday for the rest of your life. If you wanted.”

“I don’t even like tea.”

Buck nods. “I know.”

Eddie nods too. No one knows him like Buck. There’s so much he wants, but so much he can’t do. He’s stuck on the floor, still shaky, still sweaty and tired, but he’s not alone. No, he never has been.

“I would kiss you, but I don’t want to get you sick,” he says, and this time he really can blame the honesty on the fever. “And there’s still some vomit in my mouth.”

Buck laughs and presses a soft kiss into Eddie’s hair, letting his lips linger across his scalp. “I’ll be right here when you’re ready,” he assures, his voice echoing softly against his still-throbbing head. For once, Eddie believes him, that it’ll all be alright.

For now, Buck brews a cup of tea and leads him to the couch. He cards his hands through Eddie’s hair until he falls asleep, and he truly believes it’ll all be alright.

all word + place prompt fills can be found here (ao3) and here (tumblr)

[cowboy-turtle]

Handyman

Part 7 of the La Parca series

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Javier Peña x f!Reader

Words: 4k

Tags: Smut: unprotected piv, orgasm denial/edging, (blink and you miss it) choking; blood mention; sweaty, pink shirt Javi (!!!)

A/N: This is...straight out of a porno lol, enjoy!

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“Those cheap fuckers didn’t stay to install it?” Javier huffs over the phone. “The embassy’ll do anything to save a few bucks.”

His gravelly voice rasped his displeasure against your ear enjoyably, especially when he had whispered You like it? in regards to his gift just moments before.

You’d called Javier to thank him after stumbling into it that morning, your bleary eyes not alerting you of your new roommate in the early hour of your alarm clock. The large box takes up a majority of floor space in your bedroom, dumped there carelessly by the two delivery men after you signed your name on the dotted line.

Even with your stubbed toes, your heart somersaulted from where you could see the edge of the cardboard corner peeking out from down the hall, curling the phone cord in your fingers.

“Well, I’d like it better if it was installed into my window,” you laughed, “but yes, I love it.”

That had been yesterday, the call ending with Javier’s promise to come over later this afternoon to help you unbox the new air conditioner and secure it into the window. He’d seemed tired, unable to drive you to campus lately because of his work. His voice grew scratchy and deep from lack of sleep, one of your tips having led to a promising address and after-hours surveillance was quickly turning into back-to-back all-nighters. But it’s nothing a little coffee can’t fix, he had said, and you feel slightly selfish in your excitement to see him again.

But his offer to help could not have come at a better time, the weatherman on your television announcing it’ll reach triple digits today while you sip your morning coffee, a late heat wave that’s crawled it’s way into September with a vengeance. You’re thankful you can at least spend some of it inside the office of the professor you’re assisting, grading pop quizzes in the freezing temperature she keeps on her thermostat.

You’re deep in thought, reading out an answer for her opinion while you tap the business end of a red correction pen against your lip, not noticing the scarlet splotch blooming in its wake until Anita stops you with a laugh. She announces a break, handing you a paper cup of the lukewarm sludge that’s been idling all morning in the old coffee pot sputtering beneath piles of essays.

“Have you given any more thought to the position?” she asks.

You hum around the disposable rim of your drink. “We’d have to go to America next year?”

“Just over the summer on a research fellowship. Their government is paying for it as some display of unity against the war on drugs, and how it’s impacting the children of Colombia.” she sighs then, shaking her head. “As if we need their support helping our own people.”

“So they’re basically going to parade us around, is what you’re saying?”

She shoots over a look, but can’t stop the conceding smile she gives you. “It’ll look good on your resume, okay? And you’re one of my best students, I’m not asking just anyone.”

You brush away the compliment with a quick shuffle to count the remaining quizzes to grade. “And I’d have to learn English?”

“Yes, if you don’t know it already.”

You smile to yourself. “I know some words, but I have an idea on who can teach me.”

The idea in question had beat you back to your apartment after class was dismissed, hiding in the shade of the faded candy-cane striped awning of the corner store, heat shimmering off the asphalt between you encasing him like a mirage. The pink shirt he has half-tucked into dark jeans is already sticking to him, darkened with sweat in the peaks and grooves of his body. His hair looks damp around the edges as you approach and you already want to feel it through your fingers.

“Someone ring for a handyman?” he calls to you as you cross the street, smirk adorning his face.

His hand reaches out when you’re near and gently cups your face, humid palm on your cheek and thumb rubbing against the corner of your lip as concern draws his expression inward.

“Is that blood?”

“What?” you turn to the storefront window to squint at your reflection and laugh. “Oh, no, it’s just some red ink.” You wet a thumbpad and press it against the offending stain to no avail as Javier relaxes beside you.

You feel the faint trickle of cool air escaping the open doorway of the bodega and consider convincing Mrs. Martinez to let you hide out in the freezer. Anything to avoid the stifling heat that’s been collecting in your apartment all day, but Javi is already taking your hand to lead you upstairs.

It’s like the weather has sucked all of the enjoyable air out of your place the second you step in, suffocating humidity using it as a safehouse until the moment you step inside, blasting your face with heat. Javier grunts unhappily behind you as he makes his way to your bedroom while you detour to the kitchen, pulling out the small toolbox underneath the sink.

You watch as he slices through the tape adorning the package, bubble wrap and cling film soon decorating your bed and the remaining real estate of your floor. The curves of his arms flex when he hauls the old unit out your window, the sounds of outside traffic rushing in through the open crevice it leaves behind. He wipes a palm across his forehead, silver watch glinting in the harsh afternoon sunlight and dripping hair sticking to the corners of his temple. He looks over to you then.

“Help me with this?”

You assist hoisting the new appliance onto the windowsill stained with the dusty outline of its old predecessor, its shiny plastic exterior contrasting the aged wood framing. Javier smiles down at you when you make a pleased sound at the perfect fit. You look up at him and don’t know if it’s the heat heightening your senses or driving you delirious, but you never thought sweat could make a man look more attractive, the sheen of it highlighting the dips and curves of his neck to his exposed chest. You’re leaning towards him before you realize it, head dipping to brush your lips against his throat and you hear his breath change when you run your tongue against him to lick up.

The air conditioner teeters between you and he lurches to grab it, chuckling when you scramble to hold onto your side too.

“Let me take care of this first, cariño,” he promises, “then I’m all yours.”

He leans to plant a chaste kiss as a placation to your lips and you hum against him, reluctantly pulling yourself away and up to your feet when he turns his attention back to the task at hand.

You try to stay out of his way while you hear him mumbling through the instructions, busying yourself around the apartment to the sounds of tightening screws and ruffling pages. You’re pouring yourself a glass of water when something clangs to the floor in your bedroom, a quick Fuck! punctuating the action. The drink in hand suddenly turns into Javier’s, your hand digging into your ice tray to plunk in a few cubes in hopes of easing his annoyance with something refreshing.

Your request to take a break dies on your lips when you reenter, the mesmerizing stretch and pull of his shoulders underneath the soaked fabric of his shirt rooting you in place. You start to have other ideas of how to relieve his tension, watching him from the doorway as he leans back on his haunches, eyes squinting at the instruction manual as sweat glistens on his neck. He wipes a hand across his damp mustache (not much unlike the motion he does after certain other activities, your brain and other body parts respond) and turns to you when you let out a tiny sigh.

“Can I help you?” he asks, eyeing the dripping water glass in your hand.

“Mmm, I don’t know,” your low voice husks at him, winking. “Can you help me?”

He shoots you a disgruntled look. “Don’t distract me,” he instructs.

Instead you dramatize a simper into the doorway, throwing the back of your hand against your forehead.

“Oh, strong handyman,” you drawl, “but I’m just a lonely housewife. Won’t you keep me company?”

The sweaty grouch of a man doesn’t play along, only grunting out “Yeah? Do you want the a/c or not?”

You bite back a laugh at his grumpiness and double down on your performance, much to his chagrin.

“Oh!” you exclaim, clutching your chest as he eyes you warily. “But I have no money! Handyman, how ever will I pay you?”

He doesn’t grace you with a response, turning back to the manual instead. You pout, searching for another approach, something that’ll grab his attention. The cool glass of water slides against your palm as you dip your fingers in to retrieve an ice cube.

“Do you take other forms of payment?” you ask suggestively. He huffs at that, fighting back a smile that refuses to face you.

“You think you’re hot shit, don’t you?”

“Well, I am hot. So. Hot.” You hold the ice cube to your lips, puckering around it to offer a soft sucking sound. He turns to you then, whatever biting remark he had dying on his lips when he sees the way your tongue darts out to lick against the quickly melting ice. It runs down your fingers, a rogue trickle escaping the plush of your lip to dribble down your chin, dripping onto your chest.

“Don’t you want to cool off with me?” The slippery ice rolls around your fingers as you draw it down past your mouth, tracing a melting path to your cleavage. Javier sucks his bottom lip between his teeth, watching its descent with heated interest in his dark eyes.

“Cariño,” he warns, “I’m almost done, I promise.”

You step forward to set the glass of water down at your nightstand, the last remnants of your ice running down your arm as you peel off your sweat-drenched shirt to his tense-jawed observation, your bra slipping down your shoulders not soon after. You level him with a challenging gaze.

“Then we’ll just have to see who finishes first.”

He vaults over the bed before you have time to dodge his grasp, your laugh turning into a squeal when he tosses you backwards onto the sheets with ease, bubble wrap popping and sticking to your slick back. The mattress bounces then dips as he plants his knees on either side, hovering over you.

“Javi!” you gasp around a disbelieving laugh, “but the a/c!”

“I guess that can fucking wait,” he growls, “it seems like someone needs to learn a lesson about patience.”

He dips down, tongue searching for any hint of coolness left behind on the trail you’ve made, but it’s already merged into the sweat glistening across your chest. He voices his discontent with a bite against your neck, sucking skin between his teeth hard enough to make you arch into him with a moan.

The dampness of Javier’s calloused hand slides against your breast, his hot mouth consuming the peak of it but the overwhelming sear of his flicking tongue on your fevered skin only makes you whine.

He gets an idea then, reaching towards your nightstand. His fingers dip into the cool glass of water sweating away, dripping onto your mattress as he pulls out an ice cube. You gasp as he runs it up the center of your torso, goosebumps shivering down your arms that grasp his shoulders when he circles it around a nipple. He scowls at you, free hand knocking your wrists away and planting them above your head. You grip the clammy sheets instead, bucking up into his touch when he presses the ice down onto the sensitive, pebbling bud.

His tongue follows the path carved by the melting ice up to where he’s swirling it now, replacing the cold bite of it with the plush warmth of his tongue and you let out a desperate sound, the contrasting sensations tingling straight down to your cunt.

“J-Javi…” you breathe, his teeth grazing against your nipple while his fingers circle the quickly dissolving cube against the other one. He draws back, pulling the hardened peak with him between his lips and it edges on pain until he relents, popping it out of his mouth to soothe it with the remains of his ice. He tuts softly.

“You think begging will work right now, princesa?” he chuckles darkly, already reaching for another ice cube. He alternates between your two breasts, the shock of ice followed by the swelter of his mouth, unaffected by your whines and hips grinding against nothing in search of friction.

“Always so impatient for the next thing,” he sighs, drawing away to begin unbuttoning your shorts. “We couldn’t even make it to the bed the first time.”

“Can you blame me?” you pant, and he hides his acknowledging smile with a bite against your hip as your lower half is freed of clothes. You lie nude and breathless beneath his assessing eyes, a fully clothed Javier sliding off the bed to hook his hands underneath your knees and drag you to the mattress’s edge. You see his mischievous glint between your thighs and panic for a moment over whatever he has planned, his mouth drawing towards you in anticipation.

You almost shout and jolt away when you aren’t met with the comfort of his tongue, a shock of cold pressing through your folds instead. You hadn’t noticed him reaching for the glass again and he chuckles, running the ice chunk held between his lips against your pussy, reaching to hold your jutting hips down as the ice quickly thaws on your hot cunt.

He draws his head away once the ice is gone to spit, watching it run down to join the shine of melted water and your quickly accumulating slick. When his tongue finally lathes into you, still cold from the ice it held, you shudder beneath him and grip onto the sheets, the deflating pop of the bubble wrap beneath your fingers doing little to distract you from the sudden changes in temperature against your most intimate area.

Javier eats you out like he’s on a mission with a singular goal in mind, the sloppy noises of his lips and tongue loud over your gasps and cries. He cranes his neck to push further into you, like he wants to be smothered by more than just your shivering legs clamping onto his ears. He eases them apart to look up at you, to see how close you’re getting as he suckles on your clit. Two fingers slide into you, thickness stretching you just on the right side of pain as your orgasm begins to build and climb in the deep of your belly. Your toes begin curling on the breadth of his back as you bite down on your bottom lip, nodding down at him to signify your imminent release.

He pulls his mouth off, biting into the meat of your inner thigh as his dark eyes devour your quivering lips and pinched brows. Just as you begin clenching around his fingers he rips them away, your pleading whine shuddering out into a frustrated cry as the beginnings of your climax float away.

You whimper out his name but he only shakes his head.

“I think I’ve been spoiling you too much, cariño,” he says, reaching for another ice cube. “Maybe you need to remember how nice delayed gratification feels.”

You groan, head falling back onto the littered plastic on your bed as his icy mouth presses onto you once again, and it’s not long before you’re almost tensing up against his fingers in anticipation that he pulls away from you once more.

He’s been edging you now for what feels like hours, the heat of your slick soon joining the dripping sweat of Javier’s face as he brings you right up to the edge, gasping and crying when he jerks away right as your thighs begin to quake. You’re a mess of tumbling pleas and drenched skin sticking to the sheets, especially between your legs, where he’s taking his sweet time driving you to madness. You’re not even sure when he’s shucked off his jeans or shirt, but you’re well past the point of comprehension to shy away from the moan you offer when you feel the hard length of him press against you as he stands.

The box’s discarded film wrap clings to the heat of your back as Javier pulls you up, bubble wrap popping underneath your shaking knees as he positions to take you from behind. He eases into you, your bodies a mess of melted ice and sweat and desperation as he smothers his groan in a bite to your shoulder.

“Fuck,” he shudders out when he bottoms out inside you, “squeezing me so tight, cariño. Maybe I should do this more often.”

Your resulting cry makes him chuckle as he draws his hips slowly back, gripping onto yours as he starts fucking your desperate pussy. The harsh smack of his thrusts bounces you on the mattress, his curling hair dripping onto your back with each onslaught, your face pressed against plastic as you whine and beg and plead for him to let you cum. The sopping wet sounds of your quivering cunt swallowing him over and over fill the room over his grunted questions of Yeah? You want it?

“Yes,” you cry, “I want it, Javi. I want it so bad.”

The amount of times you’ve been so deliriously close has you catapulting towards the edge again in no time, your babbling words signifying as much. He hauls your torso up then, slick back sticking to the sweat of his chest as he pants into your ear.

“If you weren’t so fucking impatient,” he grunts, “we could be fucking with the a/c on right now.”

You want to laugh as much as you want to sob when he changes the angle of his cock, knocking against the sensitive spot that has you crying out, scrambling to grab onto his arms holding you up.

Your abdomen burns, tensing and flexing with each hot lick of pleasure coaxing you to a finish he won’t let you cross.

“Please, please let me,” you beg, “I’ll make it so good, please, Javi.”

“Yeah? You’ve been doing so well for me,” he smiles, brushing his lips against your neck. “Are you ready to cum?”

“Yes, yes,” you sob, nodding against him.

His cock slips out of you then and you could crumple into a blubbering mess but he’s flipping you over, back bouncing onto the bed as he sinks down on top of you. He slides back into you in one long thrust, slippery skin slapping down onto yours. He pulls your legs up, ankles crowding his ears and he leans to almost fold you in half. He pounds into you even deeper, your face scrunched around a wordless cry at his relentless face.

“Let me see it then, cariño,” he demands. “Give me a good one.”

He falls forward, hand encasing your throat as the other reaches between you, thumb finding your throbbing clit and grinding into it. His eyes scan your face, enjoying the way your eyes darkened with an urgent need before he nods, allowing them to explode with light as your body shudders with wracks of pleasure. You’re vaguely aware that you screamed, your climax hitting you hard and racing across your body in unbroken waves. It’s like all of your denied orgasms have accumulated into one, shooting through you as you gasp and tremble underneath Javier.

He’s not far behind you, letting out a choked sound as his rhythm stutters, eyes consuming your wrecked face when he thrusts deeply, spilling inside you. He grips your calf, groaning as he can’t help but grind shallowly into you until he’s fully spent, head drooping as your shivers slow to a crawl, small jolts clenching you around him before he slowly pulls out.

He eases off you and falls onto the bed, pulling you up and onto his chest once he’s situated. You feel pliable and softened, melting in the sweat and fluid of your combined efforts as he absentmindedly pets your arm, heart hammering under your ear.

You lie together in this embrace, your eyes beginning to droop when he shifts beneath you.

You curl into him, mumbling against his skin.

“What was that?”

You pull away, unable to meet his eyes.

“Stay,” you whisper, already prepared to be rejected. “Please stay?”

He’s quiet for a moment, brushing his fingers down your arm.

“Okay,” he finally says. “I’ll stay.”

You sit up, gleaming in delighted disbelief at him and his responding lopsided grin set upon his open face almost makes him look younger until he ducks away, sheepish with a soft, “C’mere.”

You mould back into him, head slotting onto his shoulder and leg sliding between his, like it’s always belonged there. Like this is the most natural thing you’ve ever done, cuddling into your lover to feel his chest rise and fall beneath your cheek, breath evening out as you relax into him. Drowsiness laced from the heat pulls at your eyes, eventually falling under with Javier.

When you finally come to, the first thing you notice is the orange haze of the setting sun blanketing your room, the quiet peacefulness tempting you back into slumber. The second thing you notice is the cool sheets laying across you, clean of any plastic debris. Cool, empty sheets. Your fingers slide across the expanse but find no source of warmth beside you.

After a brief moment of resigned sadness, the third thing you notice is the sudden whir of the air conditioner breaking the stillness of your room. You turn over onto your back, squinting your sleep-heavy eyes to find Javier kneeling at your window. Unbuttoned jeans are slung low on his hips as he sits back to admire his handiwork, your new air conditioner blasting a cool breeze against his face.

“Handyman,” your groggy voice calls out, “come back to bed.”

The look he shoots you is an affectionate Fuck you but he gets up regardless, sliding in next to you and encasing you in his arms. The cold air hits your skin then and you sigh into him. He rubs your back in slow circles and the soothing feeling could lull you back to sleep, but a new thought settling into your brain has stirred you awake. You take a deep breath and spill it out.

“Do you want to go on a date with me?”

Javier shifts to look down at you.

“I want to say thank you,” you continue, “for the air conditioner.”

He smirks, gesturing between you. “You mean the sex wasn’t the thank you?”

You shake your head, pushing at his shoulder lightly as he chuckles, continuing, “you don’t need to repay me, cariño.”

“But I want to,” you insist, “if you’ll let me take you out on our first date.”

“Our first date? Don’t you feel like that’s already happened?”

“I mean, an intentional date. One where we both know exactly what it is.”

Your heart thumps at his continued non-answer.

“So, do you want to go on a date with me?”

The question hangs in the air for a moment before he finally grins.

“Sure. Pick me up at seven?”

You snort. “You can pick me up at eight. You know where to find me.”

He smiles down at you then, leaning to kiss you and you hum against his lips. You smile coyly when he pulls away.

“So what were you saying earlier, about fucking with the a/c on?”

He growls and you laugh, but it’s quickly turned into a moan when he takes initiative.

And god, do you love when he takes initiative.

--

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