#HELLO! i hope this works for u!

[asmogorna]

"Please pass the pills🍷"

close ups + process thingies as a bonus :3

originally i TO MY SHAME didn't think about the "please pass the pills" line and instead normal?? will?? norman?? was passing the other guy napkins ..

[doctorwhommm]

I hsve an idea. Could u draw rose and ianto as besties

absOLUTELY I CAN

they’re chatting shit (lovingly) about their tall, long-coat-wearing, time-travelling, death-cheating, alien boyfriends who have spikey hair

[egoarc4de]

homecoming

[itsjaywalkers]

i will take the sun in my mouth

jegulus | explicit | 33k | for my beloved @imdamagecontrol <3

Regulus is nothing if not a liar. And a really damn good one at that. Or he tries to be, at least. You see, making mistake after mistake isn't as easy if you don't have a certain amount of delusion. How do you think he manages to stay on that stupid branch until it breaks each time? Of course, it doesn't really work with Sirius, because his brother has always been able to see right through him. And as luck would have it, James Potter also appears to be somewhat of an exception.

[thedeafprophet]

Finished drawing my character designs/ line up of the Light Fingers Crew to formalize my drawing of them

Overview/ Design talk under the cut if anyone is interested in that sort of thing

For all the designs I used the art given for them in the game as a starting point and then went from there. For all but Hephaesta of course that means using a non character specific art. I also wanted all the colors to sort of fit together so where i would have done more vibrant stuff and i strayed away from that.

Clara and Her Sister

Putting the discussion for these two together, as their designs recieved similar thoughts because they are identical twins. ('She is wearing the Fading Music-Hall Singer's face, which seems rude.')

The basic art of the bohemian faction is used to depict the sisters.

So this was my basic starting point for the visual design. I ended up diving further into research into bohemian fashion, which of course lead to me reading up on the history of the term and the connection to the Romani people. According to wikipedia, the word comes from the french term 'bohémien', which was the word for the Romani people.

This of course put a complex spin when i looked into the clothing used in the time, as theres a question between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation, and one I don't have the full understanding for.

Nevertheless i did take some inspirtation for the clothing here, Clara with having her hair loose and down and looser clothing, the singer with the hair scarf and the necklace among some inspirations.

Inbetween the two I imagine the singers appearance to be more reserved then Clarabelle's. For one, my interpretation of the singer is as someone who uses her singing as a backdrop for sneaking and gathering information (per her role as a 'contact' of the player). The other being that we are told Clara's title is the 'eccentric opera singer' to me implies a grander sense of creatativity and wilder clothing. In less stressful times I imagine her wearing brighter clashing colours and skirts with patterns on them and jewlery (which i intend to draw at a later time when i get better at adding patterns to clothes lol).

We also know the two of them are 'not young' so i attempted to not make them appear so.

Hephaesta

Heph is of course the one character of the group with a personalized art, which i used as the base for my design.

Hephaesta is supposed to be a large figure, as she is a strongwoman, and is described as towering over even jasper and frank. So of course I had to make her tall compared to the others of the group.

And of course i can't go without bringing up Katie Sandwina (again), a real strongwomen of the time who serves as a great inspiration both in body type and height.

What a woman huh.

Dr Vaughan

The Campaigner template art was the one used to depict her when you first speak to her and was a starting point here.

To me i always pictured her as a fairly older women given her experience and amount of time she's been researching. Clearly someone with a lot of exprience. And also i just vibe with it.

I kept her outfit simple, as i dont figure her as someone to put too much into the latest fashion given her focus on her work. I took the green from the art to use as her skirt to tie in that colour. I also looked up some photos of female doctors of the time and that partially influenced my art direction here.

Obliging Silverer

I debated including him or not given that you only have him as part of the team if you use the light fingers exclusive option to access the parabolan basecamp. But given the fact that he literaly dies defending the camp, I think its only fair that he gets included.

i just had a bit of fun with the design as there wasnt too much to restrict off. I dont draw a lot of characters with mustaches depsite them being a thing of the time, so I figured this was a good excuse as any. I kept with some orange colours within his colour scheme for further callbacks to parabola and his work.

Also hey did you know that people of an ashkenazi background can also have red hair? Fun fact heh.

[sttoru]

ok now that those exams are done GET TO WORK

[imflyingfish]

Audio On

- original spore chao by @zeezu-ix

[majoris]

hi 🌚

[spearxwind]

Feels good to be home.

[applejuiceyjuice-art]

parasocial

[albatris]

well I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to investigate the Mystery Agony

[wildlysilver]

hi there!! nice to meet u !! uhh random icebreaker: what's your favourite kind of animal?

Hi!! It's wonderful to meet you too!!

My favourite animal are Pigs, but I have a soft spot for pretty much every animal aside from Grasshoppers and crickets 👁👄👁

I especially was obsessed with horses for a long time, and I grew up around parrots because my parents were in a birdclub and raised birds, so birds and horses are almost as important to me as Pigs are.

I'm not sure what specifically I would categorise these as, because while Horses and Pigs are farm animals, parrots are decidedly not.

Though I also like goats.. so maybe it's farm animals with a exception for Birds? Oh, but I love fish... yknow what I'm just gonna stop here, but thank you for asking!! Do you have a favourite animal?

[theunconcernedembalmer]

Slides this doodle out for a bit

[paimonial-rage]

My favorite works in no particular order:

Tipsy Tales (Anemo Boys)

Symbiosis (Ayato)

What Destiny Has Brought (Fischl)

Hello How Are You (Gorou)

Follow the Wind II (Kazuha)

Of the Same Coin (Mika)

Songs of the Wind (Venti)

Nothing Lasts Forever (Yae Miko)

Sharing a Drink They Call Loneliness (Zhongli)

Of Hopes and Prayers (Zhongli)

[linkvcr]

Good evenin all. Thinking abt those blonde guys again. [Coughs up blood] ignore that

[johnsbleu]

Hold My Hand: John Wick x Reader 162

warnings: none hmh masterlist

NYC at night is a whole experience. The cars honking, people laughing together and yelling at one another the next minute, the man on the corner near the bookshop who always plays the sax--you always drop a few bucks in there every time you pass him. It’s just…magical. John doesn’t find it so magical but he’s a kind of a butthead sometimes. That was said with affection, of course.

Jimmy has been talking about doing a pub crawl for years, and he’s finally planned one all out. You’re not much of a drinker, no one in your group really is, but it’s the experience and atmosphere that everyone is looking forward to the most, and of course getting to spend time without kids around. You’ve already been to two bars now, and you’re on your way to the third right now where Aurelio and Amanda are waiting.

Holding hands with John, you swing your hands back and forth and grin when he looks over at you. He leans down to give you a kiss, then he wraps his arm around your shoulder to pull you closer.

John leans closer and whispers in your ear, “You look beautiful tonight.”

“Thank you,” you tilt your head back, smiling at him.

Jimmy holds the door open for you all to head into the next bar, and you look back to see him whispering to John. He says something back to Jimmy and shrugs his shoulders, and Jimmy claps him on the back. Suspicious. You stop and raise your brows, and John smiles and wraps his arms around your waist.

“What was that about?”

“Nothing.” he whispers in your ear, then he kisses your cheek, “Gonna get something to drink. Want anything?”

You shake your head, “No, I’m good. I’ll sip off whatever you have.”

“Whiskey?” he asks, and you scrunch your face a little. “Whiskey sour?”

“Yeah! I want the cherry!” you smile, and he presses a kiss to your lips before walking over to the bar.

Jimmy is standing near the table with everyone else, so you walk over to him and lightly punch him in the stomach. He dramatically doubles over and groans before he stands up and looks at you with a goofy grin on his face.

“Look, I'm not usually nosy, but I am tonight, so what are you whispering to John about?”

“Nothing.” he laughs, glancing over at John at the bar.

You put your hands on your hips and give him a stern look, “James.”

“Nothing, I promise. It’s nothing bad.” he says, and you squint your eyes at him in hopes that he’ll spill something. “I promise, Y/N. It’s nothing bad. Would I lie to you?”

“Well, no, but you two are best friends and if he’s talking to you about something and not me, then I wanna know what it is. I know that makes me an overbearing wife, but he would do the exact same thing with Tess--he has!”

Jimmy laughs, “What makes you think he’s talking to me about something?”

“You two have been whispering to each other all night and he was at your place for hours yesterday!”

“I just needed his help with something. You were more than welcome to tag along.”

You frown a little, “I don’t think he wanted me to tag along.”

“He did,” Jimmy smiles softly, “When doesn’t he want you to tag along?”

You frown even more, “Wait, he wanted me to come with?”

“Of course he did! I don’t think John feels like John unless you’re around.” he says, and you put your hand over your heart, “Dude, I’m not kidding, the guy is obsessed with you. So, trust me when I say, it’s nothing bad. We just had a talk last night.”

You immediately perk up, “A talk?”

“Fuck…” he puts his hand over his mouth, “Seriously, Y/N, I promise it’s nothing bad.”

“He hates me.” you say, and Jimmy starts to laugh, “Nope, he hates me and he wants a divorce.”

Jimmy continues to laugh, “No, he just needed to talk to me about something that he couldn’t talk to you about, okay? He just needed a guy’s advice.”

“Well…that doesn’t make me feel any better.” your voice is so quiet that it’s easily swallowed up by the music, and you look up at Jimmy.

“Fuck, you look so sad…”

You shrug, “Why can’t he talk to me? I’m his wife.”

“It’s not like that,” he says, then he looks up to see John coming over, “Look, I promise it’s not bad. I know he’s my best friend, but I wouldn’t lie to you.”

You slouch a little when John brings drinks over for everyone, then he turns to you and holds up the drink, showing you that he got an extra cherry. You give me a small smile and try not to cry when you feel your eyes starting to burn.

John doesn’t keep secrets and you don’t either, so you’re wondering why he won’t talk to you but he’ll talk to Jimmy about something. Sure, it could be something totally male related that he doesn’t want to talk about with you, but you’ve shared some pretty gross stuff with him and have always felt he’d do the same thing with you. Now this puts you in the position of spiraling all night.

You could just ask him, pull him aside and talk to him, but you already know he’d never want to talk about it while you’re out with friends, and whatever it is that he talked to Jimmy about wasn’t something he wants to talk to you about anyway, so there’s no point.

“Having fun?” John whispers in your ear, and you nod when you look at him. He rubs his hand on your back and pats it before he walks over to Aurelio when he holds up some darts.

Sitting down at the table, you look over at John and watch as he chats with Aurelio, then he looks at Jimmy when he walks over. He says something to make Aurelio laugh loudly, but John just chuckles a little, only a smile spreading across his face.

“Oh!” Amanda gasps, and you look over at her as she runs off to hug Lauren when she walks in with her husband, Anthony.

That has to be it! John was probably just nervous because Anthony would be hanging out with you guys again, which you don’t really care about. Anthony used to work with John, but you don’t mind him. He’s pretty cool and you like his wife, Lauren.

You catch Jimmy’s eye when he looks over at the table--most likely checking on Tess--and you gesture to Anthony. Jimmy furrows his brow and shakes his head a little, and you gesture to him again.

Jimmy laughs and walks over to you, “What?”

“Is that why he talked to you? Because Anthony is here?”

“What? No. Y/N, stop worrying about it.”

“I can’t!” you yell over the music, holding Jimmy’s gaze, “Why can’t he talk to me?”

Jimmy sighs and kneels down so he’s eye to eye with you, “Listen to me, he loves you. If I’m telling you that it’s nothing to worry about, then it’s nothing to worry about. I wouldn’t lie to you. You’re like my little sister.”

You nod your head as you look down, “You’re right.”

“Come on, we only have one more bar to go to.” he nudges your arm and smiles, “Have a drink.”

“Okay.” you force a smile and nod your head.

John is standing over with Aurelio still, and you look over at him just as he looks at you. He gives you a small smile and holds up his drink to show you the cherry in it, and you shrug and turn your back to him.

__

The car ride back to Mill Neck wasn’t bad since you rode back with Tess and Amanda. Aurelio and Jimmy are in the car with John--both of them are absolutely wasted, so you’re sure John is loving that. Amanda had a few drinks and doesn’t feel fit enough to drive home, so they’ll be crashing at Tess’ house.

“Hey,” Amanda turns around and taps your leg, “You okay? You’ve been so quiet.”

You shrug and look at her from the backseat, “I’m okay.”

“Goose…” Tess leans up to look in the rearview mirror, “Talk to us.”

“Jimmy said that John needed to talk to him last night for ‘guy advice’ and I’m pretty sure he’s going to divorce me now because he probably thinks I’m hideous or he’s just sick of me being clingy, or these last two weeks without me around all the time has made him realize what a mistake he made and now he’s ready to just walk out and leave,” you sigh loudly once you get it all out, “He needed to talk to Jimmy about something that he couldn’t talk to me about.”

Amanda looks at Tess for a moment before they both burst out laughing. You watch them from the backseat and cross your arms over your chest until they stop.

“I’m sorry,” Amanda looks at you and reaches back to touch your knee, “But that is just plain stupid.”

“He’s crazy about you. Are you kidding me?” Tess adds, and you look at her, “You know he’s crazy about you.”

You shrug, “Maybe he’s not anymore.”

“These last two weeks have been a lot for you, babe,” Tess smiles softly, “But I’m sure it’s not what you think it is. Talk to him when you get home. I’ll bet he’s just waiting for a moment alone to talk to you.”

You shrug one shoulder, “Maybe.”

Tess pulls into her driveway and puts the car in park, and you hug her and Amanda before heading across the street to your house. Just as you come around the hedges, you bump into John’s solid chest.

“Oh, I was coming to get you.” he wraps his arm around you to keep you from falling, and you look up at him, “I thought you’d wait for me.”

“I didn’t know you were coming to get me…”

John laughs, “Of course I was. It’s almost 1 in the morning. I wasn’t going to let you walk over here alone in the dark.”

That’s love. John definitely still loves you.

“Oh.” you blink a few times and shrug, “Well, we better get home.”

John takes your hand and walks with you up the driveway, but he lets go to unlock the door. He steps in and turns on a light, then he smiles when you walk past him. You’re barely in the door before you bend down to take off your shoes. You scoop them up and quickly head up to your room, only stopping for a quick second to pet Bleu. Just as you stand up from putting your shoes in the bottom of your closet, you hear John come up to the bedroom.

“Are you upset with me?”

You turn around and look at him, “Are you upset with me?”

John laughs, “No. So, are you upset with me?”

“No.” you look at him before you pout a little, “Jimmy said you needed guy advice from him…”

“God, Jimmy…” John rubs his hands down his face and sighs, “Did he tell you what we talked about?”

You shake your head, “No, but I always thought that when you’d need someone to talk to, you’d come to me. You have before in the past, and I’m not sure if there’s been a shift in our relationship lately, or I’ve done something to make you feel like you can’t talk to me--”

“We haven’t had sex in almost two weeks.” he says, and you look at him. He puts his hand over his mouth, rubbing his beard before he throws his hands up a little, “We haven’t had sex and I was worried something was going on, so I went to talk to Jimmy. He’s talked to me about that stuff before, so I wanted his advice.”

“Oh.”

John lets out a small laugh almost like he’s embarrassed, “Yeah.”

“Well, were you planning on talking to me?”

“Yeah, tonight when we got home. We stayed out later than I expected.” he says, and you nod your head. He takes a deep breath and lets it out before he steps closer, “You’re still…into me, right?”

You scoff as you look at him, “Are you kidding me? Yes, abso-fucking-lutely.”

This makes John smile, which makes you smile even more.

“You’re still into me, right?” you ask, and John grins as he nods. “I know it’s almost been two weeks…”

“Why?”

You walk over and sit down on the bed, and John joins you. He reaches for your hand and holds it, gently rubbing his thumb against your skin.

“I’ve been so tired…”

John laughs as he nods, “Me too.”

“I feel like I’ve barely hung out with you for the last two weeks. I feel like I’ve barely even seen Ronan. I get called into the shop here and have to drop her off with my parents while you’re in Manhattan.” you look down at your hands and sigh, “The Manhattan shop was such a bad idea. We just struggle.”

“I know,” he sighs, then he looks at you, “But I don’t want to get rid of it.”

You smile, “I wanted one shop. The dream was a shop.”

“I thought having only a few people out there would be the way to go but it’s just getting too busy. I need to hire more people who know what they’re doing.” he admits, and you bite your cheek, “Baby, look at me. It’s all handled, okay? I also talked to Jimmy about that, about running a business, and he was a great help. He gave me some advice, so I’m going to follow that advice.”

“It’s gotten more popular than expected. Word must have gotten out that it’s John Wick’s shop,” you say, and he lets out a small laugh. “People probably come in and search through books for hidden weapons.”

John bumps your shoulder as he laughs, then he wrap his arm around you, “I have some interviews lined up for this week. We’ll figure this out.”

“Didn’t we just deal with this?”

“Hey, it’s not my fault that your bookstore is gaining so much popularity!”

You start to laugh as you look at him, “I thought you hated me or something.”

“What?” he looks genuinely baffled and a little hurt, “Baby, that’s not going to happen. Ever. I have missed you more than you can even know lately. My time has been so divided between the shops and I’ve barely gotten to see my two favorite girls.”

“So, what are we going to do?”

John takes a deep breath, “I have it all figured out. That’s why I was at Jimmy’s house last night for so long. When I came home, Ro was in bed and so were you.”

“You could have woken me up…”

“For sex?” he asks incredulously before he starts to laugh, “I’m not an idiot, peach. And I’d like to keep my arms.”

You laugh, “I wouldn’t have broken your arms and I would have totally been up for sex.”

“Well,” he shrugs as he looks around, “We’re alone now.”

You let out a loud laugh as you flop back on the bed, “Not as hot when it’s planned.”

John hovers above you and rests his hand on your hip, “Why don’t we go down and finish the last of the chocolate cake you made the other night?”

“Cake. Great foreplay,” you whisper as he leans down to kiss you. You pull back and look at him, but he rests his hand on the back of your neck and brings you back to his lips for another sweet kiss. “I love you, John.”

“I love you too,” he smiles softly and pecks you one before he gets up and reaches for your hands to pull you off the bed.

You walk over and grab some pajamas from your dresser, then you quickly undress and put them on while John undresses down to just his boxers and a t-shirt. You both smile at one another as you walk to the door, and John gestures dramatically for you to go first, which makes you laugh since he’s kind of a dork.

“I was surprised to see Anthony and Lauren tonight.”

“Yeah, me too,” John says from behind you as you head down the stairs, “She’s really close with Amanda. I’m sure you’ll start hanging out with her more.”

You shrug, “She’s okay, but she feels more like Amanda’s friend than mine. I don’t think she likes me very much.”

“What?” John looks at you with his brow furrowed when you look at him, “Why wouldn’t she like you? You’re amazing and sweet, and you’re always kind. You’re funny. Did she say something?”

You start to laugh, “The fact that just two minutes ago I was questioning whether you loved me or not is insane.”

John grabs your waist and pulls you to him, “Yes, it is.”

“I just mean…it’s obvious.” you admit, and he starts to laugh as he nods. You close your eyes and shake your head, “It’s so fucking obvious how much you love me. I don’t know why I question it. I don’t know why I’m like this. I’m sorry.”

“Hey,” he smooths your hair back and moves you until your back is against the counter, “You don’t need to apologize, but you do need to just let me love you already and just accept that I do love you.”

You laugh, “Same goes to you, Mr. Wick.”

“Lauren has no reason to not like you.” he says, and you nod. “And I’m sure she does.”

“Yeah, but don’t some of Jimmy’s friends feel like his friends and not yours?” you say, and John nods. “Like that one guy, ugh, what’s his name?”

John laughs, “I know who you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, so he’s more of Jimmy’s friend than yours. You wouldn’t hang out with him without Jimmy.” you shrug your shoulders, “That’s how I feel with Lauren. She’s super nice but I’m not sure what we have in common.”

“I can think of some things, actually.” he leans against the counter and crosses his arms. You hold his gaze and nod when he raises his brows. He’s talking about himself and being with someone just like him; a retired hitman. “Sure, you two might not have everything in common, but you have a few big things in common.”

You chew on your bottom lip a little, “Yeah, that’s true.”

John moves past you to get a plate from the cupboard, then he places a piece of cake on it, “But at the end of the day, I don’t think she doesn’t like you. She’s just Amanda’s friends and that’s okay. When you do hang out with her, she’s nice, isn’t she?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then that’s all that matters.” he says, handing you a fork with a smile on his face, “There’s not a single person in this world who doesn’t like my peach.”

You snort with laughter, “That’s just not true.”

“Is too.” he pecks you quickly and smiles, “Everyone loves you.”

“No, pretty sure that’s not true either.” you laugh, and John shakes his head slowly, “But if you say so…”

John pulls you closer to him and kisses you deeply, “I love you.”

“I love you more.” you kiss him quickly and take a bite of cake while he watches you.

“If you say so.”

__

When John said the new shop was getting busier than usual, he was not joking. There’s no where to park anyway, but the few spots that are out front of the shop are all taken. John says that he can drop you off, then just park behind in the alley and enter through the back door--yes, you made a joke about it.

As soon as you walk inside, you’re faced with a shop full of people. Thankfully none of them are really paying attention to you since they’re actually looking at books. Maya smiles and waves at you, and you give her a wave back before quickly heading downstairs to the office. You drop your things off and head back upstairs to see if they need help with anything. Some people want to see some books in the cases, but John is already there helping someone.

You stand back and smile while you listen to John describe the intricacies of the binding, and you see him light up every time he talks about it. He loves it so much, and it’s something he’s so proud of. After he’s gotten those few people taken care of, he looks over at you and smiles.

“You’re so cute,” you wrap your arms around his waist and smile, “Telling them all about your work. It’s adorable.”

John presses a kiss to the top of your head, “You ready for some interviews?”

“Yes, sir.” you let go of him so you can stand up straight, “Any of them here yet?”

“Not a clue,” he looks around the crowded shop. “Probably best to get most of these people out of here first.”

You and John both branch off to help the remaining customers until there’s only a few people left. It’s usually never this busy, but again, word has clearly spread about John owning the shop. Part of you wonders if he’d want to sell. You wander around the shop to see if there’s anyone else in need of help, then you go downstairs and find John sitting at the desk.

“Hey,” he glances over from his laptop, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” you smile at him, then you take a deep breath, “Do you think we should sell?”

John immediately looks at you, “Not at all. Why? Do you think we should?”

“I mean, if this is going to continue to be a stress for us, then yes, I do.” you admit as he looks at you, “I don’t want you to be stressed out.”

“Baby,” he gets and walks over to kneel in front of you, “That’s why we’re hiring even more people. I’m hiring managers now, so those will be the people who can take care of the big things when we can’t.”

“I guess sometimes you just think of the glamorous side of owning your own business and forget about the other shit that comes with it.” you sigh and look down at your hands, “I’m so sorry I’ve put you in this position.”

John shakes his head, “You did not put me in this position. I wanted to do this. I never knew I wanted to own a bookshop until we started talking about it one day. I want this too. Just because you said it was your dream first doesn’t mean it isn’t mine now too. We’re doing fine.”

“But are we going to hire managers and still have these problems?”

“No, because they will know how to handle it.” he reaches for your hand and squeezes it, “This is what I should have done in the first place. It’s why I asked Jimmy for help. I didn’t want to come to you, like a failure.”

You meet his gaze, “John, you are not a failure at all. At all. You hear me?”

“I do,” he laughs, leaning up to kiss you, “I hear you. Look, there’s a few people coming in today, so it would be nice if you stayed here for that.”

“Of course.” you stand up and watch as John moves the chair over to the other side of the desk so you’re next to him, and he kisses your cheek before you sit down.

John sits down and pulls your chair even closer to him, “You gotta make sure I don’t fuck up and hire someone horrible.”

You scoff, then you turn to him, “If you and I weren’t married and you still owned--”

“Yes. 100 percent yes, I would hire you.” he says before you can even finish your question, which makes you laugh loudly. “And I’d keep you late after work some nights so you could help me with something that I really didn’t need help with just so I could spend time with you, and maybe I’d even sneak in a touch here and there--obviously after I knew you were interested.”

“I’m interested. In whatever life, whatever scenario. I am interested.”

John grins wide, “Then I’d kiss you one night.”

“What kind of kiss? Because there are different kinds.”

“Want me to show you?” he whispers, and you nod your head as you lean closer.

John places his hand on the back of your neck and pulls you closer to him, but he lingers just above your lips for a moment before he lightly brushes his against yours. You let out a little pout that makes him smile, and he looks into your eyes for a moment before pressing his lips to yours. He reaches for your hand and pulls you from your seat to stand in front of him, then he slides his hands down to your knees where he pushes a little to get you to straddle his waist.

“I would kiss you like this, then…” he whispers as he moves to your neck, “Then I’d kiss you here. Then I would move my hands up to your waist and pull you closer so I could feel you against me. I’d slide my hand down to your ass and give you a little spank since you’re being so naughty.”

You laugh as you sit back and look at him, “You like when I’m being naughty though.”

“I do, I like it very much,” John pulls you closer and wraps his arms around you tight so you can’t move, “I love you.”

“Hey, John? Y/N?” Maya calls down the stairs, and you move off his lap and sit back down. She smiles when she gets to the bottom of the stairs, “I have someone here for an interview.”

John clears his throat and nods, “Send them in.”

“Ooh, you sound so professional.” you tease, and John winks at you, “I think we might need to do a little role-playing tonight. Boss and employee.”

“Hmm,” he hums, then he smirks, “I was hoping to see my favorite student Veronica again.”

You puff up your chest and cross your legs, “Play your cards right and you just might see her.”

That makes John laugh, which makes you smile. He reaches over and taps your leg, then he grabs some papers and gets ready for the interview. You grab a pad of paper and pen to put in your lap so you look professional or something, then you sit back and wait. Your phone chimes on the desk and you lean forward to look at it; a text from your mom who is watching Ronan this afternoon.

Helping Grandpa in the yard.

You smile as you look at the picture of Ronan clinging to your dad’s hand as he waters the flowers. You lean over and show John, and he smiles.

“Look at her,” he whispers, zooming in on Ronan, “She’s getting so big.”

“I can’t wait to see her after this,” you look at the picture and smile, “She loves her grandpa.”

Footsteps are coming down the stairs, so you quickly put your phone away and look up at the door as a younger woman, probably around her mid 20s, stands there. Her dirty blonde hair is up in one of those effortlessly messy buns that you can never figure out how to do. She smooths down her skirt and fixes her shirt a little as she steps into the office. You perk up and smile at her, then you stand up and introduce yourself.

“Hi, I’m Y/N. This is John.” you say, gesturing to him as he stands up to shake her hand.

“Macie,” she smiles and shakes your hand, then shakes John’s.

You gesture for her to sit down as you sit back next to John, and you look over at him as he starts the interview. He’s so much better at it than you, and he always knows exactly what to ask them. They go over her past work experience, her experience in management--she previously managed another bookstore, so that’s a good sign! They talk about why she’d be a good fit and how she could help improve the store. She’s willing to work whatever hours she’s offered and she’s flexible.

To you, you think she’s kind of a perfect fit.

“We’ll definitely give you a call.” John says, and you smile at her as she shakes his hand and yours one last time before she leaves. He looks over at you and smiles, “She seemed good.”

“Yeah, I liked her a lot. You’re so good at this stuff.”

John shakes his head as he laughs, “No, no, you’re way better. You get to interview the next one.”

You roll your eyes, “Fine.”

Maya hops down the steps and smiles warmly, “Got another!”

“Send her in!”

You cross your legs and look over at John as he grins at you, then he leans over and kisses your cheek a few times before moving down to your neck where he munches playfully. You scream with laughter and try to push him away but he just pulls your chair closer. You finally move away from him and widen your eyes in warning.

“Stop it,” you whisper at him, “This is so unprofessional.”

John scoffs, “Okay.”

You squint your eyes at him when he looks back at you, then you both start to laugh. You try to suppress it as best as you can when you hear footsteps on the stairs, but John reaches over and squeezes your thigh, causing a laugh to burst out of you.

“Jonathan Wick,” you warn him with a point of your finger, “Stop it!”

“You’re so cute when you try to be serious,” he leans over to kiss you, then he looks up at the door.

You fix your hair a little and smile when a woman walks in. She walks straight to John and shakes his hand, then she shakes yours.

“I’m Rachel,” she smiles as she sits down.

“Hi, I’m Y/N, and this is my husband, John. We own the shop.” you say, and she nods her head.

John clears his throat and reaches for his phone in his pocket, “I’m so sorry. I forgot I needed to make an important phone call.”

“Oh?” you look up at him and glance at Rachel, “Right now?”

“Yeah, it can’t wait.” he says, and you nod. “I’ll just be upstairs.”

You nod your head and smile when he kisses the top of your head. You can handle this. Interviews aren’t that hard to do. You smile at him when he walks to the door, then you give him a little wave before he closes it behind him.

__

“I don’t know, babe. I really like them both. They both have really good qualities.” you say as you clean off your plate, “Macie knows all the ins and outs of working at a bookstore, but Rachel is very charismatic and friendly. I think she’d be great out on the floor to help people.”

“We’re not looking for charismatic and friendly, we’re looking for a manager who can run the place when we’re not there.”

You furrow your brow and look at him, “You don’t like Rachel?”

“I would just prefer Macie.”

“Well, why don’t you like Rachel?”

John sighs and shakes his head, “Because I think Macie would be a better fit.”

“Now that I know you don’t like Rachel, I want her even more.” you say, and John scoffs before he looks at you and chuckles. “Why not both?”

“I mean, yeah, but…” he shakes his head, “That would be fine, but I think one for now would be good. Macie just makes more sense.”

“Should I be concerned by how badly you want Macie? Because I’m not, but let me know if I should be.”

John looks over at you and raises his brows, “Are you serious?”

“Uh,” you think it through for a few seconds.

“Because you know damn well that you have nothing to worry about,” he says, and you shrug. “Peach, you know you have nothing to worry about. I love you.”

You walk over to John and sit in his lap, “Let’s just hire both and see how it goes. If a month from now, it’s not going well, we’ll let one of them go.”

John lets out a small sigh and nods as he looks up at you, “Okay.”

Ronan squeals from her highchair and smacks her hands on the tray, and you smile as you look at her. Her face and hands are all sticky and covered in food, so you’re not even going to attempt to pick her up yet.

“Are you sure about this?”

You look back at John and hold his gaze, “Yes, I am.”

“Okay.” he nods and pats your thigh, “I trust you.”

“As you should!” you smile smugly, and John wraps his arms around you tight and pulls you closer to kiss your cheek. “Who gets to give this little bug her bath tonight?”

Ronan looks at you and John, then she smiles and smashes more food between her hands and stuffs it into her face--she’s absolutely filthy at this point. John chuckles and rests his cheek against your shoulder, then he hands a napkin to her. She simply looks at it for a moment, then stuffs more food into her face.

“She said no thanks, dad!” you laugh as you get up to get a washcloth. You walk back over and start to wipe her face off but she just cries and kicks her legs, “I know. I know you don’t like when we clean off your face.”

“Her face is so red,” John laughs, cleaning up the dinner plates on the table. He leans down and kisses the top of her head, then he walks over and starts loading the dishwasher, “So, are you going to the shop then?”

You nod, wiping Ronan’s hands off so you can at least get her out of the highchair, “Yeah, I think we should go out there for the first few days. I’m going to give them both a call later and let them know they got the job.”

“Hmm,” he hums, and you look over at him with your brows raised in question. “No, nothing. I just told Jimmy I’d help him with something tomorrow.”

“Oh, well, that’s okay. Just take Ro with you.” you say, setting Ronan on the floor. “I can handle it.”

John nods, “You sure?”

“Absolutely.” you smile as you walk over and kiss him, “I got it, Wick.”

“Okay,” he says softly, then he hugs you tight and kisses you again. He tucks a strand of hair behind your ear and looks deep into your eyes, “I love you.”

You start to laugh since he’s being so damn serious all of the sudden, “I love you too.”

John holds your gaze for a few intense moments, but he looks away when Ronan tugs on his jeans. He looks down at her and laughs, “Yeah, you need a bath.”

“I got it.”

Reaching down, you pick her up and kiss her cheek, but she reaches out for John. He takes her and hugs her tight and kisses her before she squeals loudly in his face, yanking on his beard.

“She might be a little hyper,” you laugh as you take her back, “I’m gonna get a bath started for her.”

John gently runs his hand from your shoulder down your back, “I’ll be up shortly.”

You furrow your brow a little, “What’s goin’ on with you?”

“Nothing,” he smiles sweetly, “I’ll be up soon.”

You squint your eyes playfully and turn around, stage whispering to Ronan, “Daddy is being so weird.”

Glancing over your shoulder, you see John laughing as he turns around and continues cleaning the kitchen.

__

Since you want to see how Rachel and Macie are doing, you decided to show up before they get to work. Rachel opens today and Macie will be in around 2 this afternoon. From the sounds of it, they’re both doing really well and fitting right in! It’s nice that they’re being welcomed with open arms here.

You quickly unlock the door and lock it behind you otherwise people will try to come in, then you head down to the office. There are several things on the desk that need to be put away, so you grab them and take them to the filing room that is around the corner.

“Oh my god…” you groan a little when you see the room is a little messy. This room always gets so damn messy. You open the filing cabinet and begin to organize everything since it desperately needs it.

You organize the invoices and other things, getting completely caught up in it until you realize you’ve lost track of time and hear Rachel coming down the stairs. You put things away and get up to close the cabinet up when you hear her voice.

“Okay, no one is here, but he’s literally so gorgeous, I can’t believe it.” she laughs as she walks into the office, “I think he’ll be in today.”

You perk up a little with a smile on your face. Rachel totally has a crush on someone here.

“I haven’t seen him in a few days, but I don’t know, I just think he’ll be in today.” she says, then she’s quiet like she’s listening to whoever is on the phone, “No, no, remember I went on a few dates with him. Things just weren’t right at the time, but I’ve been checking his Instagram a lot lately and he hasn’t posted much of his wife or daughter--oh my god, I did too! I told you he was married.”

Furrowing your brow, you inch towards the door more and listen in. There’s no one here who is married and has a baby except…no, no, it can’t be.

“Yes! But he hasn’t posted much of her lately. He posts his daughter, but not his wife that much anymore.” she says, and your heart sinks to your stomach.

You reach into your back pocket for your phone and go to John’s Instagram. His last picture of you was from two weeks ago, but to be fair he hasn’t posted anything lately. You haven’t either. It’s only been pictures or videos on your story. John has no idea how to work that.

Rachel. It clicks. The moment you close Instagram. It clicks. Rachel was the girl John dated right before he met you. The one who wouldn’t take no for an answer until he blocked her one night.

“Whenever he’s here, she isn’t. I think they’re having trouble.”

You roll your eyes and whisper to yourself, “No, we take turns coming out here because we have a fucking baby and don’t like lugging her back and forth if it’s not necessary.”

That’s it. This is the craziest shit that has ever happened to you. This is crazier than anything that has happened in your relationship. Finding out the sweet guy you were dating was John Wick? Yeah, crazier than that. Well, kind of. That was pretty insane.

“Yeah, I think he knew. I mean, he looked at me when I came into the office, then he got up and left, so I think he knew. I mean, it’s not like he’d forget me! When he was here the other day, another girl was with him, so I didn’t talk to him.” she says, and you furrow your brow, “I think it’s his sister-in-law.”

Tess would go feral if she knew that Rachel worked here.

“Do you think I should talk to him?” she says, then it goes silent for a few minutes, “Well regardless of his wife, I’m going to talk to him. I saw him looking at me, so…”

You roll your eyes so hard that they hurt. Absolute bullshit.

“Yeah, I’ll let you know how it goes.” she laughs, “Fingers crossed I get something from him by the end of the day. I’ll keep you posted. Okay, bye.”

Time to be petty.

You slam the door behind you and walk to the office, and Rachel looks up and smiles until she realizes it’s you. The smile fades quickly from her face.

“Oh, hey, I didn’t realize you were here.”

“I didn’t think so,” you say, crossing your arms and leaning against the door frame.

Rachel is nervous, you can tell.

“Is John here today?”

You shake your head, “Nope, just me. So, uh, are you going to pretend like I didn’t hear that whole conversation?”

“I didn’t know you were here.”

“Oh, so if you knew I was here, you would have just waited until I was…what? Upstairs? Not here?” you raise your brows, “You would have just waited until I wasn’t here and John was, so you could…let me quote you, ‘get something’. Whatever that means.”

Rachel stares at you for a few minutes before she sighs and narrows her eyes a little, “He never posts about you.”

“He hasn’t posted anything, Rachel. And believe it or not, our lives don’t revolve around social media. John doesn’t give a shit about that stuff. He posts pictures because he knows our family and friends like to see pictures of us and our daughter, but if he deleted it tomorrow, he wouldn’t miss it. He doesn’t care about that stuff.” you say, and she rolls her eyes, “You can be mad all you want, but I don’t care. Our relationship is not measured by how often we post pictures of each other. What John and I have is real. It’s not something that we just flaunt on social media for people to see. How we feel about each other is real and it’s something very fucking important to not only me, but to him.”

“Well, when he’s here--”

“Rachel…” you stare at her, “We’re at work. We keep it professional. He isn’t going to bend me over the desk and fuck me. We have a business to run. We wait until we’re closed to do that.”

Maybe you added in that last part just to piss her off. It absolutely works.

“He was mine first,” she seethes.

You start to laugh, shaking your head, “He was never yours. He went on a--”

“Three!” she holds up three fingers, “We went on three dates! Then you came along.”

“I am so confused right now.” you put your hand on your head and look up at her, “You just decided out of no where to apply here?”

Rachel shrugs, “I saw that he wasn’t posting about you anymore, so I figured he was single.”

“But when you saw me here, that should have been your answer. You should have turned around and went home! He’s not interested! He never was. I hate to break it to you but he never was!”

“He was! We went out!”

You tilt your head back and laugh, “Rachel, holy shit. It’s been how long? We’ve been together for almost three years! We’re married and have a baby. We are the happiest we’ve ever been right now!”

“People get divorced all the time.”

“But we’re not. Because we’re happy together. Because John is happy with me.” you say but she just stares at you. You’re being way too nice, you realize, so you decide to put it as brutally honest as you can, “John is not interested. If hell froze over and we got divorced for some reason, he still wouldn’t be interested. He didn’t like you! He went out with you twice--it was twice, Rachel--because he was new to the dating game and because he’s nice. He wanted to give you a second chance but you blew it! He met me and I am what he wanted and needed. I still am, and I always will be. You won’t change that. No one ever will.”

Rachel finally breaks away from your gaze and looks down, “Well, then he’s stupid.”

Shaking your head, you roll your eyes, “Get your shit, leave your keys, you’re fired. You cannot sit here in my fucking shop and talk to me like that. I’m your boss. I own this shop.”

“You can’t fire me without John’s approval. He owns the shop, not you. You can’t do this.”

You walk to the desk and lock eyes with her, “Watch me. Get your shit and leave. Now.”

Rachel tosses her shop keys onto the desk and grabs her purse, walking to the door. You stand with your back to her until you hear her stop, and you turn around to look at her.

“When he divorces you, he’ll reach out to me. They always do.”

You scoff and let out a laugh, “Okay, Rachel. I’m not sure that’s something to be proud of.”

She turns back and heads upstairs, so you follow behind to make sure she doesn’t cause a scene or anything since some staff are getting here. Her heels clack on the wooden floor as she walks to the front door, and you hold your breath until she leaves, hurrying down the crowded street.

You finally let out a big breath and feel your entire body shaking with adrenaline and anger. So much anger.

“Mrs. Wick…”

You jump when Maya’s voice comes from behind you, “Oh my god, I didn’t know you were here.”

“I…I heard you two talking, so…” her eyes soften, “Is everything okay?”

“Um,” you nod your head and look down at your shaking hands, “Yeah, yeah, I think so. You know how to open, right?”

Maya nods her head, “Of course.”

“Macie will be in soon, so…” you walk aimlessly around before turning back to her, “Um…”

“Mrs. Wick, I think you should go home.” she says, reaching out to touch your arm, “Or at least sit down.”

You nod your head as you look at her, then you head back downstairs. As soon as you plop down, you get your phone out and send a text to Macie to ask if she can come in an hour early--she immediately answers and says yes. You grab your purse and keys before you head out to your car.

Not only was Rachel being dishonest, John’s been lying to you.

__

You’re beyond pissed right now. Rachel obviously kept it a secret that she knew John, but she slipped up. John hasn’t even mentioned it to you that he knew her. You feel so stupid. You advocated for her! You rallied for her to get hired as well. Yes, John wasn’t on board with it, really, but still. At any moment, he could have told you that he knew her, and he should have.

Taking a deep breath, you walk into the house and see John sitting on the couch. He perks up when he sees you and smiles wide.

“Hey, you’re back early.” he smiles, setting the remote on the coffee table, “I’m glad. I was missing you.”

You set your purse in the chair and toss your keys onto the table while John watches you closely. It doesn’t take him long to figure out something is wrong.

“What happened?”

“Well, I had to fire Rachel.” you say as you look at him, holding his gaze, “I think you can probably guess why.”

John inhales deeply and scoots to the edge of the couch, “I didn’t tell you because--”

“No, no, no, I don’t want excuses. You didn’t tell me. That’s it. You didn’t tell me.” you shake your head, “I don’t need your excuse as to why. The problem is that you didn’t tell me. So while I’m sitting here saying how great I think she is, how she’ll be a good asset to the shop, you sat there completely silent and let me look like a fucking idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot.” he says, reaching for your hand, but you pull away.

“John! You fucking knew the woman and went out with her! Like, you realize how stupid that makes me look?” you hold his gaze when he looks at you, “How would you feel if we hired someone I dated?”

John shrugs, “If we talked about it…”

“Stop! You would not be okay with it.”

“I would be!”

You scoff, “So, you think I’m overreacting then? Since you’d be so cool with someone I dated working at the shop.”

“No, I just think…” he stops and shrugs as he looks at you, “I just don’t want you to be mad at me.”

“Well, I don’t care what you want right now, unfortunately. I’m mad, I’m embarrassed. I don’t trust you right now. But you know what? I’m allowed to feel those emotions, so let me feel them.” you say as he looks away, “My husband has lied to me and pretended not to know someone he’s dated and someone who has completely disrespected me. I didn’t forget how she’d comment on your posts--even on pictures I was in--and ask to go out again. I remember all of that! I’m tired of pretending like it didn’t hurt my feelings, because it fucking did! I get that it was almost three years ago, and I am over it, but I never really brought it up. I hated how you didn’t defend me and call her out. You just left her comments there. It made me look stupid.”

John just looks down at his hands, “I didn’t…I don’t know what to do in these situations. I’d never been in this type of situation before. I’m sorry, I’m really sorry.”

You sigh loudly, “I’m really upset, John, and I’m trying so hard not to cry right now because I’m so hurt by what she did this morning.”

He immediately looks up at you, his expression changing to genuine concern, “What did she do?”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now! Right now, I just want to be left alone so I can calm down a little. I’m really fucking upset and I’m only not yelling because Ro is sleeping.”

John nods his head and exhales, “First off, I am so incredibly sorry. Of course I don’t want you to be mad at me, but I will respect your wishes and let you be upset with me even though everything inside of me is screaming to fix it right this minute. I know I can’t. I know you’re not ready, so I won’t try. I’ll give you the space you need so you can do what you need to do. But just know that the second you’re ready to talk, I’m here and I’ll apologize as many times as you need me to.”

If there’s one thing John understands, it’s needing space to calm down.

“I appreciate that, I really do.”

John stands up from the couch and cautiously walks towards you. He just lightly touches your arm and presses a kiss to the top of your head. It’s just something sweet to let you know he understands and he’s ready to talk when you are.

“I’ll be here when you’re ready,” he whispers, then he turns and heads into the kitchen.

Your chin wobbles as you walk to the side patio door and step outside, heading down to the lake. You sit down on the dock and wait a few seconds to make sure John hasn’t followed you. It’s only when you realize that you’re alone that you let yourself cry into your hands.

__

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