#I shall see if I have the creative juices to work on the other two prompts I got tonight
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okay let's go-- 'Songbird+ the Old Guard' for the ask thingy cause I know you're into that and after I watched the movie yesterday I can't get enough of that shit 👌👌
1100 words of half fic/half summation of an au? Sure, here ya go Mati, just for you <3
(like I say further down, I don’t know anything about the source material outside the movie, so maybe this is more something that could’ve actually happened, but I kinda hope it didn’t so I’m calling it an AU)
The Old Guard - Congratulations - Blue October, Imogen Heap
I want to give you something // I've been wanting to give to you for years // My heart
So this song is all about this guy who visits an old best friend, someone he really loved, and he discovers she is with another man and she is the happiest she’s ever been in her life and he wants to congratulate her on her happiness, but he hates that he can’t actually be happy for her cause he has loved her all this time.
And I hate to break up Nicky and Joe, but I also hate having to fabricate some romance that isn’t there for anyone else, so let's imagine Joe and Nicky didn’t get together right away (Or however long later it was, I think this movie was based on a comic book? I don’t know anything about these characters outside of what is presented in the movie and they didn’t explicitly say how long between killing each other *many* times and them falling in love was)
(continued under the read more)
So this is what I imagine: They don’t immediately fall in love. Or Nicky doesn’t anyways, Joe is smitten the moment Nicky’s helm gets knocked off during their *second* fight, their first fight having resulted in both of their deaths, neither of them know how but they woke up and returned to their own armies. During the night they dream of each other and Andy, and drowning with Quynh, and they’re both just traumatized by these dreams, confused by what it all means.
During their second fight though, they don’t immediately recognize each other in the heat of battle. Not until Nicky’s helm goes flying moments before he wipes Joe’s feet out from under him and he’s staring up the sharp edge of the Italian soldiers blade pointing at his throat, knowing that face so familiar from his dreams. Then the blade pierces his throat and he dies for a second time. Nicky is gone and the field is quiet when he awakens.
They meet three more times, Nicky getting more and more exasperated every time Joe appears in front of him. Joe thinks Nicky is cute when he’s frustrated and teases him constantly. He’s seen others get hits on Nicky that should’ve killed him, and maybe they do cause sometimes he drops for a moment or two but this persistent little asshole keeps getting right back up, just like he does. So he keeps bugging him, pressing buttons to see what really makes him fly off the rails and meets him in the middle when Nicky has had enough of his bullshit and wants to shut him up. If Nicky kills Joe, Joe always makes sure he gets a killing blow in before he dies. And then oh so cheerfully greets Nicky on the battlefield later, to the Italians dismay.
Eventually they realize this isn’t going to end for either of them and the fourth time Nicky wakes up after killing Joe, Joe is sitting next to him lost in thought as he chews on some of his rations. Joe’s face cracks into that stupid grin that makes Nicky want to commit homicide for the umpteenth time, why does he look at him like that.
They talk and agree that it is a moot point for either of them to return to their armies, it was getting harder and harder to explain to everyone how they could still be alive, witnesses having seen either of them skewered through with a blade or thrown from a cliff that most certainly would’ve killed them. Maybe they should just disappear. Together? Joe hopefully asks. Fine. Nicky reluctantly agrees.
Joe is terrible at flirting. But Nicky is equally terrible at realizing he is being flirted with.
They become friends through circumstance, always together as they are, but Joe is still too nervous to make any actual advances. And then suddenly he’s too late, it’s ten years later and they’ve been in the same area for the past three and Nicky introduces Joe to his boyfriend? Before now Joe wasn’t even totally sure if Nicky liked men or if he liked anyone at all cause that just wasn’t something they talked about, Nicky never brought it up first and Joe had been too scared to ask first.
And Joe is kicking himself for delaying so long, he sees Nicky being so happy with this man, the happiest he’s ever been but Joe’s blood boils with jealousy. He wants Nicky to be happy, he really does.
He leaves.
He tries to find Andy, this woman he still dreams of. He knows she’s looking for them and she’s been getting closer. He meets her in the middle and convinces her to travel with him and just leave Nicky be for now. He thinks maybe if she doesn’t meet Nicky, she’ll keep dreaming of him and can give Joe glimpses into what Nicky is up to.
She humors him for a bit but doesn’t offer information, only sharing what she dreams of when Joe asks. He stops asking after hearing “he’s happy” too many times.
Nearly twenty years later Andy finally says they’re going to find Nicky. Joe is conflicted, dying to know why they’re looking for him now.
They find him a long ways away from where Joe last saw him, not having aged a day since then. His boyfriend had died and without him Nicky had no reason to stay in that town where people questioned how he hadn’t aged in over twenty years, no new creases in his face, no grey hairs on his head, no body aches that came with age. His boyfriend had been the same apparent age as him when they met. When he died, he looked like he could’ve been Nicky’s father. He had left that town a year before, starting out on his journey to find Andy, through whom he occasionally caught glimpses of Joe.
Andy’s heart breaks for him, knowing the misery of falling in love with a mortal that would grow old and die. She had similarly learned not to grow so attached, not to stay for so long to see them age or for them to notice her lack of aging.
So Nicky learns his lesson. And he grieves. And Joe is there for him.
And eventually Joe gets to say everything he has ever wanted to say, decades of longing dripping from his lips as sweet as honey, his words building castles and visions of the future, infinity together. He gives him his heart.
And Nicky melts in his arms and they’re inseparable for centuries to come.
#thank for for the ask~!#I shall see if I have the creative juices to work on the other two prompts I got tonight#but it's already 1 AM so I shouldn't#if I don't finish them tonight I'll work on them tomorrow at or after work#whump-my-dear-watson
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Chapter 11 : Fedora
The reader is Aberama Gold’s eldest daughter, Esmeralda Gold in this fic.
Warnings: tense situations, possible kidnapping, manhandling
Gif by @twvstedsouls
This fic might have dark themes which may irritate or offend some readers. But if you’ve seen Peaky Blinders and are familiar with Thomas Shelby, you’ll be okay. The story, plot, character histories and back stories might not be relevant to the original “Peaky Blinders” . Warnings will change per chapter. This is my first fic. Hope you all like it. English is not my first language.
Author’s note: I apologize for the late posting of this chapter.😔 I wasn't feeling well and which is probably why my creative juices had dried out too. 😓 Will try and post the next one earlier than the promised timeline.😊😉💙💙
Do not hesitate to comment, reblog and engage. It works as fuel for my writing. 😉💙💙
Synopsis: Your father’s one mistake shall alter your life’s direction forever.
Word count: 3031
Thomas hadn’t been okay with sending Charlie away with the others to the country side hideout, but Polly had convinced him at the last minute to do so. Esmeralda was not okay with parting from him either, the little munchkin had grown on her like Fungus, but she too did not protest knowing that it was for the best after all.
Charles had fussed a lot in the beginning. But after a few difficult days he had stopped, so everyone had assumed he had compromised according to the situation.
“Charles is unwell.” Polly had rushed into Esmeralda’s room after softly knocking the door, quite early in the morning. “What do you mean?” Esmeralda got up. “I don’t know for certain but I think he is missing his Father.” You nodded. “Ada says he hasn’t been eating properly and has reduced his milk intake as well. Doesn’t cry a lot anymore, only at night. But he’s been having fever since yesterday which I find alarming. That poor child has been through so much. First his mother and now his father isn’t near him.” She shook her head sadly. “So Thomas has asked me to get him. Arthur is coming with me, he wants to see Linda. She’s been chewing his ear off for not being there at all as her delivery is due any day now. She’s pure trouble that one. God knows what Arthur was thinking when he married her!” Polly said pacing in the room, then she finally came to sit by Esmeralda. “But that’s not why I’m here. We’ll be staying there overnight Thomas has to go on a formal political event of some sorts, will be back quite late in the night. So I wanted to know if you’d be okay by yourself here.” ‘With Thomas alone’ she seemed to omit but say through her eyes. “You can come with us if you want...” “It’s fine Polly. I’m used to being alone by now. You should go. And don’t worry about me. Just bring that little monster back as soon as you can. I can’t wait to see him.” Polly smiled and touched her face adoringly. “I just need to go into the city for something. You think Thomas can lend me his car for today?” She asked batting her eyelashes.
-----
Esmeralda hadn’t lied. Technically she did have to go to the market to get something for Charlie but, after a small detour. The car stopped where the road ended near the woods. There were only two ways to get to where she was going, either by foot or on a horse. “Wait here…” she’d asked the driver and started her small but tough journey by foot into the woods.
Just a few miles into the Lee territory, she saw Esme waiting for her with two horses.
-----
“Does Polly know you are here?” Esme asked, looking ahead as her grey horse moved rhythmically. “She knows I am to go somewhere, but not the exact details.” Esmeralda replied, “And I’d like to keep it that way if you don’t mind.” She said looking at her plainly. Without a response Esme pushed her horse to increase speed. Esmeralda too encouraged her black stallion to move faster. She was quite familiar with horses, the only animals her Fa… Aberama allowed to be kept. She knew how to take care of them and rode pretty easily too. Esme seemed impressed by the her riding skills but did not comment.
After riding fast in the mountainous woods, they stopped near a black caravan on a small hill top. Both of the ladies got off and tied the horses to a tree nearby. Esme walked closer to the caravan, “Jal…. Jal” she called out loudly as she looked behind the caravan too. “ieși tu,puternic. avem nevoie de ajutorul tău!” ‘Come out you powerful one. We are in need of your help!”
Esmeralda quietly watched her, standing still. Suddenly, it grew darker, as if the clouds were trying to give him cover from the sun or could it be the other way around? Out came a man of a tall and lean build with worn out cloths which were in desperate need of cleaning. His long hair, which hadn’t been washed for weeks Esmeralda was sure, had little trinkets and beads in them. His ribs were literally protruding from his sides, edges of which were obvious from his worn out filthy white shirt. “Sunt aici, sunt aici, încetează să țipe și să-mi sperii prietenii. Ei dorm dimineata...” ‘I’m here, I’m here, stop screaming and freaking my friends out. They sleep in the morning you see…’ He was wiping his hands on a cloth much dirtier than his hands. He spotted Esmeralda and started walking towards her. “And how did a pretty thing like you end up on a doorstep of a sinner like me, eh?” He smiled. His yellow teeth, except a gold one on the left, made Esmeralda gag, but she controlled her expressions as best as she could. Esme stood beside her, “She needs your help…”
“I need you to put a curse on someone, some people actually.” Esmeralda spoke up straight-forwardly. Jal came even closer to her, looking into her eyes as if he was trying to read her. “What makes you think I can do that eh? Didn’t mama ever tell the little girl that the fairytales she reads at bed time aren’t true?” He cocked his head, “Except the monsters though… That part is very much real” he nodded with wide crazy eyes. “There’s no need to pretend friend, she knows about your talents. I told her.”
He turned to Esme, ”And hadn’t I warned you about telling people about my whereabouts child? Especially people who are not kin?” He was angry as he took step after step into her direction forcing her to step back each time, “It shall have consequences!” Esme looked like she was about to faint. “sunt rudă!” Esmeralda shouted. ‘I am Kin’ He turned and marched back towards her. Keeping a hand on her temple he closed his eyes and when he opened them a freaky smile graced his lips, “I see her, I see Sybill.” Esmeralda’s breath hitched after hearing her birth mother’s name on the strangers lips. His face had softened, as if in just a few moments he was able to see her mother’s history behind his closed eyelids. “And I see the fire inside of you. You want it gone. You want to feel like your old self again.” He rather stated than asked. “Let me remind you young one, it’s you who hones it and owns it. If used wisely, this pain, this sorrow, and everything else it is, can turn into a weapon no one can defeat. You’d be the queen, with the world at your feet” His voice was hypnotizing her. Or maybe it was his movements. He tended to move his limbs with quite a lot of femininity and flourish. As if he had some kind of a hold on everything around him. When Esmeralda simply stared at him with a gaping mouth and did not respond, He sighed loudly. As if he was deeply disappointed.
“Alright, I will help you, but you have to know girl, there is always a payment.” He said turning around and looking at the skies. “How much?” Esmeralda asked, mentally thinking of ways she could ask Polly to lend her some cash and then how to repay her. “Not cash child, never cash…” She did not understand him calling her a child. He did not look like someone who was that old, but when she looked at him again she chose not to point it out. “Anything… you name it.” Esmeralda spoke without losing a beat. “Careful now little one…” he pointed a digit at her. “You may regret it later. And remember these, payments can never be taken back.” He warned. “Just say it…” she gritted. He once again closed his eyes for a few moments. His expressions seemed as if he was concentrating on some mental argument. “Your motherhood.” He said opening his eyes and watching intently at Esmeralda’s reaction. Her eyes flashed.
Esmeralda wasn’t expecting this. She knew exactly what he was asking for. It meant she would never be able to become a mother. But the question was, was it worth it? She was about to speak when Esme stopped her. “Wait! I think you are not grasping exactly what he’s saying Esmeralda! You…”, “I do know exactly what he’s asking for. You don’t understand Esme…” Esmeralda cut her off, “And I’d appreciate if you stayed out of it!”. Esme rubbed her temple, “You think I don’t understand? Why do you think I’m helping you eh?” she rasped. “Those fucking Shelbys! They ruined my life too you know…” She sighed
Jal simply watched both the girls in amusement. “I’ll tell you what, let us decide the details of our… arrangement right now and you can have till tomorrow to decide, if you want to go through with it or not. What ya think?” He said with a tilt to his head.
Esmeralda contemplated for a few moments then nodded solemnly. He asked her to come into the caravan with him. When Esme tried to accompany them he shook his head and continued leading Esmeralda inside his dark caravan home.
-----
Esmeralda walked out of the shop with just the right thing for Charlie. She was absolutely sure that the little munchkin would love the toy horse she had bought for him. She was still thinking about Jal and everything that had transpired when suddenly she felt someone cover her head with a black cloth and muffle her mouth with a hand. She felt the person gradually drag her somewhere and then plop her on a chair. Heaving, she tried to calm herself as much as she could. In that moment she had a realization, she wasn’t scared. ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ she’d thought. She did feel baffled as the person had attacked her quite unexpectedly but other than that she wasn’t freaking out. This revelation itself disturb her but brought a weird sort of calm in that terrorizing situation as well.
When the cloth was taken off of her face she squinted at her surroundings. It was a warehouse of sorts, filled with boxes and dust. It was dark as dimly lit bulbs glowed in some corners. Four armed men stood around her at a safe distance. She held her purse tightly in her hands as she heard footsteps gradually approaching her from her behind.
“Who are you and what is the meaning of this?” she asked, her voice steady but vary. “Make a guess signorina”, his voice sounded familiar or was it the accent. And that word ‘Antonio called me signorina!’ He chuckled at her glowering face. “I’m Luca Changretta.” Esmeralda’s heart sunk. This was the man the Shelbys were looking… no, hunting for everywhere. And he was in the city. ‘Fuck!’ He sunk in his seat a bit, resting one leg on the other. “And why have you kidnapped me?” Esmeralda still did not falter and that irritated Luca. “Oh signorina, you misunderstand! This isn’t a kidnapping. This is just a… meeting. I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. And I have to say, I am not disappointed” his eyes roamed her form making Esmeralda’s skin crawl but she simply stared into his dark eyes, not giving anything away. “Is this how you treat your allies? Picking them up whenever it pleases you?”
“So this is our latest recruit in our team against the Shelby’s…” a tall, slender man came and sat on a chair in front of her. His face was concealed under a black fedora which he wore quite abnormally low on his head. He tilted his head before taking of the hat. He had long defined features with a toothpick on the side of his mouth. “Dios Moi! No wonder he bet on you.” His eyes sparkled. Esmeralda looked at him straight in the eyes. In that moment, she was very much aware of the possibility that she might not get out of there alive. Yet she could not feel her heart race or palpitate.
“Look at her. Just look at her. How enticing is her temper right now eh?” he called his men standing around them as they all snickered and laughed. ‘Prick!’ Esmeralda had established that much but she still could not figure out what the purpose was of all this so she just decided to shut up and let the arsehole have his fun after all, she did work for him. “You don’t look like your father’s daughter at all. I bet even he doesn’t like what he sees in the mirror.” He waited for a reaction which never came. Sighing, he realized it was time to get to the point. “I needed to make sure we were on the same page regarding our agreement, against Thomas Shelby.” He got up and started pacing in front of her.
“Antonio told me about your request, and I’m afraid I’ll have to deny it.” She closed her eyes. “As the tradition of a black hand goes, I have to be the one to pull the trigger. And danm! I can’t wait to do it” he rubbed his hands in anticipation. Contemplating for a moment she said, “Then our deal is off.” She stood up, making the men around her point their weapons at her. Luca laughed. Looking around at the gang members ready to shoot at her. A small smile played on her lips as she gradually walked towards the main man himself. She stared right into his eyes as she abruptly took out and pointed her own gun from her purse to his temple, the one she was practicing with every day, “If you think for a single second that these guns intimidate me, that these guns can make me change my mind, you are absolutely mistaken”
Even though his men were truly tense, Luca raised his eyebrows, smirking. He was enjoying this, Enjoying riling her up. It’s not everyday someone, let alone a woman stood up to him this way. In a flash his fingers covered hers on the gun as he pressed it further into his own temple. It was his way of daring her to pull the trigger. “Do it…” he further enticed.
Esmeralda silently gulped. Her eyes unblinking. She knew what would happen when she did it. Luca would be dead, but the very second his body would hit the floor, hers would be next. His men would make sure of it. But she did not care, no one, absolutely no one would decide her actions or fate for her. If the last thing she ever did was wiping that filthy smirk off of this goon’s face then so be it. She’ll die proud and sated. Her finger stressed over the trigger as she loosed a breath. She saw fear in Luca Changretta’s widened eyes. That too because of her. The rush of satisfaction she’d felt in that moment could have been bottled and saved for later as well.
Just as the trigger was pulled, Luca had raised her arm towards the ceiling. A loud bang clanged throughout the big dark space. He pushed her away and got a hold of her gun. “Fucking hell woman!” he laughed like a luntic and paced forcing his men to laugh along with him giving them the impression he wasn’t effected at all. Esmeralda simply shook her head slightly, hiding her own triumphant smile as she had seen he was shaken up as he had underestimated her. And that he’d just seen a glimpse of what Esmeralda had become. She was fearless of consequences and fearless of death.
-----
Thomas Shelby
The dinner was a celebratory one, arranged by Mr. Churchill himself even though he wasn’t expected to be present himself. The purpose of it was to give these people to engage and make new connections which shall benefit everyone in the future. All the important political people were invited and so their presence was mandatory. Thomas did not believe in mingling and engaging in nonsensical long conversations, he had other ways to make connections which worked just fine for him. So he simply replied and nodded to questions directed directly towards him and otherwise simply stood as a brooding figure in a tux, in a corner near a bar, waiting for the appropriate time to leave without seeming rude. One particular man had caught his attention who went by the name of Oswald Mosley. His direct and indirect messages weren’t difficult for Thomas to decipher at all. But what exactly did he want from him had to be distinguished through a one on one meeting. He was certain of it.
On the way back his thoughts wandered. The truth was he had truly missed his wife by his side tonight. These sort of events were her kind of thing. She not only enjoyed them but simply flourished in them as well. He remembered how he would simply watch Grace in parties like this one. She would be in her element, in her zone. While taking a cigarette out his feet touched something soft in the car. It was a purse. “Robert whose is this?” He showed it to his driver. “Oh that must be Miss Esmeralda’s I think. She must have forgotten it after her trip today” He nodded. “Did you go with her?” he asked after a moment. “No sir, Oliver did.” He simply started looking outside when Robert continued, “He is new sir, and doesn’t know a lot of the routes yet. If Madame had told me earlier she was visiting the Lee territory I would have taken her myself…” Thomas looked up. ‘She went to the Lee’s? Why would she go to the Lee’s?’ As soon as the car stopped he asked Robert to call Oliver to his office at once. Something was bothering him, but he did not know what. And he had to find out.
#thomas shelby#peaky blinders#thomas shelby x reader#peaky blinders imagine#peakyxtommy#tommy shelby x reader#peaky blinder fanfic#thomas shelby imagine#thomas shelby x y/n#peaky fookin blinders#luca changretta#tommy shelby imagine#tommy shelby#charlie shelby#aunt polly#polly gray
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So I was wondering if I could request William from Moriarty. You can choose if you want it to be headcanons or a scenario. I don't mind either. 🥰🥰 But, basically Reader and William are in a relationship. However she has never seen William mad or express a lot of emotions. (Nevertheless he's always been a kind significant other.) So she decides that today she was going to tease him and try to get a rise out of him. Thus she does. Which William at these teases just sort of smirks. (Although there's a dark glint behind his eyes). At the end of the day when Reader and William are about to go to bed, as soon as the door closes.. Reader is in for some "Punishment".
So needless to say it's a but NSFWish. Feel free to decide on any k*nks and things related too! Of course if it makes you uncomfortable feel free to ignore it. 🥰
aHhh finally a spoicy request, i'm surprised the first one i received is for none other than william moriarty. man i just LOVE this show so much. alright enough chit-chat, let's get on with this, shall we?
dom! william james moriarty x bratty/sub! fem reader
warnings: smut, fingering, profanity, oral sex, degradation, consensual sex, & orgasm control
[ established relationship ]
- you and william have been an item for a good 6 months now, you've known each other since both him and louis were still part of the orphanage. you happen to be the silent type, much like his younger brother.
- as a toddler, you've silently observed william and louis from a distance, finding yourself quite interested in whatever they talked about.
- william had always been quite the cunning man and it still holds to this day, 24 years of age without a wrinkle insight. during the times you spent with him as a curious 6 year old, his facade doesn't shift unless his brother is involved.
- over the period that william was out of reach, you happen to go about your own simple life and managed to become a teacher at the local kindergarten. your free period spent around the walls of the orphanage.
- one faithful day, the moriarty brothers paid a surprise visit, offering to shoulder the school fees and monthly allowance. you were beyond grateful and william found himself coming every weekend just to see you.
- he wouldn't miss coming by until he eventually offered you to stay inside their manor. he figured it would save you from the trouble of ticket fees from the village your place used to be. little by little he told you about his plans, afraid you might run away from him.
- but you knew him well enough and nothing would push you away from him.
- william took his time with you, taking you out on proper dates and you enjoyed it. he was nothing but kind, sweet, and respectful towards you. that was until this evening.
- it was all because of your sneaky scheme of trying to get a rise out of him. william had to teach at the university today, you told him that you'll behave yourself and simply pretend like you're one of his students.
- you didn't stay true to your words though. teasing him slightly as you shift in your seat, rubbing your thighs and chewing on your bottom lip. you both held eye contact very well but william kept his attention on everything and everyone else but you.
- to your disappointment, your lover didn't pay you the attention you craved for. not until you finished supper and headed to your respective quarters.
!! nsfw, 18+ !!
" you look disappointed, my darling. have i done something wrong? " william whispers softly as he held you from behind, one arm around your waist as the other caresses your neck. you can feel him smirk as he trails open-mouthed kisses unto the exposed skin of your back. hearing your sweet little whimpers made him sigh as your clothed ass rubs against his hardened cock. a deep chuckle follows as he guides your body to face him, hands tangled with the laces that held your dress perfectly tight against the curves of your body.
you look up at him through your lust-blown eyes and heavy eyelids, pleading him to touch every part of your body for the relief you've been aching for. he presses a kiss on your cheek, whispering reassurances as he rids you of your clothes. once your dress falls off to the ground, his hands found your body. warm hands in contrast to that of the cold sea breeze from the small gaps on the windows. your hands found his cheeks as he slipped his tongue between your lips, sucking and tasting every bit of your mouth. yes it was sloppy but every movement of his ignited the warmth inside your chest and your dripping cunt.
" Liam, please. " you begged through your pants, pulling his hand to slip inside your soaked panties. a moan escapes his and your lips as two of his fingers easily slipped inside your pulsating lips. you've never seen william with a creased forehead and ragged breathing. he looked so hot with sweat dripping down his forehead. his eyes finally met yours, but the glint of his eyes were feral and angry. " Look at you begging like a pathetic little bitch. I would have never imagined that a sweet girl like you could beg this desperately. Huh? What was that --- fuck! Look at you choke on your own words. Be a good girl and keep those moans to yourself. " you bit down on your lip as william began slamming his fingers into your wet pussy. those words coming from his mouth sent you close to your orgasm. but you want to be his good girls so you held both your moans and your climax.
he watches as you squirm and held unto his arm as he curls his fingers, hitting just the right spot to push you over the edge. his red eyes peering over your pathetic irises as he mercilessly pull his fingers all the way out. the grin on his face made you tremble with arousal. " Go on doll, tell me what you want me to do. "
" Please sir, make me cum on your fingers. "
william smirks at your words, satisfied with the response you gave him, he bent down and licked at your throbbing clit before pushing his fingers back in. " Go on princess, beg for me. " you screamed for his mercy, wanting to reach your climax like the greedy woman you are. his fingers curled, reaching the sensitive flesh as he peppered small kisses unto your glistening cunt. only pulling away as your juices coated his hand. he chuckles, soothing your quivering thighs as he pushed his digits into your mouth. " Clean them up for me, my love. I'm not done with you just yet. "
well that was quite... 👀🤌 something. anyway it's my first timing posting, let alone finish a proper smut scene. let me know if i missed any warnings and i sincerely apologize for any mistakes grammar & spelling wise. i want to post at least more than twice a week so i'll work on my other requests in the morning. i hope you guys liked it! feel free to send in your requests and comment down any suggestions and creative criticism. i would love to work on my writing for both you guys & myself. ♡ have good day/night!
#moriarty the patriot headcanons#william moriarty#william moriarty x reader#william moriarty smut#william james moriarty#william james moriarty x reader#yuukoku no moriarty#william james moriarty smut#🌸☁️works
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zukka fics that live in my head rent free!
1. what did you bury before those hands pulled me from the earth (what were you digging) by draco_sollicitus status: complete (18k words) rating: mature pairing(s): sokka/zuko summary: Sokka is immortal; it's been tested, he knows that he can't die. He's immortal, but he's not quite a god like his sister, Katara. He's immortal, but he's not quite powerful like his friends Aang and Toph. He's just sort of Sokka: good at fixing things, good at playing pranks, good at helping people. When a bet against Toph goes horribly wrong, and an attempt to save him goes even worse, Sokka finds himself the unwilling guest of the Lord of the Underworld. And, strangely enough, every story Sokka's heard about Lord Zuko seems to be ... completely wrong. (Also, he's really handsome. Why does he have to be handsome?)
mythology nerds come get y’all juice. a very good fic. 10/10
2. Where I Want to Be by through-the-stars-to-the-pavement status: WIP (83k words) rating: explicit pairing(s): sokka/zuko summary: "'The fog was where I wanted to be.'" Everything is different. The pitch of his voice, his posture. The auditorium goes silent. No one can take their eyes off of him.… He's amazing. Zuko had to perfect the art of acting as a child to survive the horrors of his homelife. When he got older, it was only natural to take his talent to the stage for entertainment and escape. Enter Sokka, a craftsman and set designer with a giant heart who is haunted by plenty of ghosts of his own. A tale of trauma, disability, family, creativity, and love.
this is one of my all time favorite fics. it’s seriously so good and i think about it often
3. Teaching a Heart by @i-write-shakespeare-not-disney status: WIP (114k words) rating: teen and up pairing(s): sokka/zuko summary: Sokka is asked to go to the Fire Nation to teach the crown prince how to sword fight. When he arrives, he's surprised to learn he has to pose as a companion before he can teach the stubborn prince because he rejects every teacher. Far from home and among new customs, Sokka struggles to gain the prince's trust and friendship despite the uncertainties of the customs and dynamics he sees. As he slowly finds answers to his questions, his bond with the prince grows until it becomes something far more ardent than friendship. Doomed as it may be with the prince's approaching wedding ceremony and coronation, Sokka and Zuko find themselves consumed by what they find in each other.
i have no words, i just love this fic and it makes me weep.
4. The Road Between Action and Inaction by @donvex status: complete (17k words) rating: teen and up pairing(s): sokka/zuko summary: Sokka does a shitty k turn in the parking lot across from the bus station, pulls up to the curb where the boy is looking determinedly at his phone, and rolls down the passenger window. “Hey! Which way were you going?” He may die, but at least his conscience will be clear. The guy blinks at him. “Don’t.” Oh, he’s prickly. Or: the hitchhiker au, featuring Sokka and Zuko falling in love without even realizing it.
a classic. roadtrip fics own my ass.
5. purrfect for eachother by lesmiserablol status: complete (3k words) rating: general audiences pairing(s): sokka/zuko summary: “Let me teach you how to be a cat person,” Zuko says. “Learning from the master himself,” Sokka grins. “Alright, this can’t be too hard. Show me what you got.” (because sometimes, it takes going to a cat café four times to realize you're in love with your best friend)
this whole series is adorable, reading it is self care
6. Ashes Inside When You Finish Your Song by @muncaster status: complete (47k words) rating: teen and up pairing(s): sokka/zuko, aang/katara, mai/ty lee summary: Sokka writes lyrics for his sister’s band. Zuko plays piano and is unnecessarily nice. Fellas, is it gay to write love songs about your friend and his golden eyes? (AKA, a modern band AU featuring The Gaang, crappy software equipment, homoerotic lyrics, and the realization that maybe, if you think about a guy every night before you sleep, you just might be in love with him.)
i think this is the longest one-shot i’ve ever read and it’s so worth it
7. a study in matchmaking by @verdanthoney status: complete (12k words) rating: general audiences pairing(s): sokka/zuko, aang/katara, bato/hakoda summary: Zuko and Sokka try to play matchmaker, but things don't go exactly as planned.
this fic makes me want to scream, in the best way. it’s so cute
8. A Predictable Story by mindbending status: complete (7k words) rating: general audiences pairing(s): sokka/zuko summary: "On this night, you shall share a kiss with a great love of your life!” That lying, scummy Aunt Wu predicts a grand romance for Sokka. To disprove her "fortunetelling" once and for all, Sokka decides to spend the night with least romantic person he knows. Zuko.
again, i have no words. this fic is cute as hell
9. that’s murder, buddy by @bisexual-atla status: WIP (14k words) rating: teen and up pairing(s): sokka/zuko summary: Throughout the streets, on quiet nights, it was rumored the screams of those missing could be heard. Some say the sounds were coming from underground. Where were the young girls? And what was happening to them? Was an evil spirit haunting Gaoling, or something more human? More sinister? My name is Zuko, and you’re tuning into another episode of ‘That’s Murder, Buddy’. Or: Sokka has no idea that his crush is the host of his favorite podcast. (But everyone else knows.)
i love the entire concept of this one, we love oblivious sokka
10. We’ll play hide and seek (to turn this around) by @crosspin status: complete (5k words) rating: general audiences pairing(s): sokka/zuko, bato/hakoda summary: Sokka gave him a sheepish smile. “It’s…well, you see, there’s this boy…” Hakoda sighed and set down the sports section. This was going to take a while. “He works at Barnes & Noble. At the big information desk in the middle. Every Saturday. And I really want to ask him for his number, but it’s super awkward because there’s always this other guy working the information desk at the same time. He’s old, like you. But I have a plan." Sokka’s eyes lit up deviously. “You come with me to Barnes & Noble today when they’re working and distract the old man. And while you have him distracted, I’ll swoop in and get the goods!” Sokka has a plan to ask out the cute boy at the bookstore. Hakoda is a begrudging participant until he meets the boy's beautiful older coworker.
this fic!! this fic! adorable, incredible, magnificent
11. feels like we only go backwards by @oldpotatoe status: WIP (88k words) rating: teen and up pairing(s): sokka/zuko summary: [Time passes oddly. Between one second and the next, Sokka has the Fire Lord pinned to the wall with his hands around the bastard’s throat. Golden eyes (one gold eye, his mind whispers) widen in shock. “Sokka?” he chokes out. And then he smiles. What the fuck? “Sokka, I—” Sokka slams his head against the wall, once, twice, and the smile wipes off his face. Good. “What,” Sokka bites out, “have you done to my sister?”] Or: An injury leaves Sokka with amnesia. His last memory is of the failed invasion, of leaving his father behind in enemy territory on the Day of Black Sun. Of hopelessness. Rage. But then he wakes up, and the war is over. Suddenly, he must come to terms with the fact that years have passed, and that he's somehow the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador to the Fire Nation. He is also supposedly friends with banished-Prince-turned-Fire-Lord Zuko, of all people. Close friends. Yeah, nah.
if you’ve been following me for a while you know this fic fucks me up beyond belief
12. breakable heaven by @fruitysokka status: WIP (43k words) rating: teen and up pairing(s): sokka/zuko summary: With his twenty-first birthday looming just around the corner, the Southern Water Tribe Elders have decided that Sokka, next in line to be Chief, needs to get married. Sokka does not want that, but he does need to get them off his back until he can figure his way out of it. What better way to do that than to pretend to date his best friend (and newly minted Ambassador to the Southern Water Tribe) Zuko? Seriously, this is a foolproof plan. Maybe one of Sokka's best. Absolutely nothing can go wrong.
this just in: sokka and zuko being oblivious makes me want to yell
this turned out a bit longer than i expected but it also doesn’t even cover all my favorites. i had to stop somewhere, or i’d be here forever. maybe i’ll make a part two someday.
anyway, enjoy!
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ClassyfruitbASKet - Part 1
Hello, you lovely bunch! 😘 As the list of my asks keeps getting bigger, I wanted to come up with a solution to a) answer all of your lovely asks but b) keep it very lean and tidy so that my reactions don’t overpower my art. Thank you ALL for leaving asks and praise in my inbox! 💕 I cherish each and every comment and ask a LOT. It keeps me going and my creative juices flowing. And I ask for your forgiveness for taking so long to react to them! (The RE8 ladies are greedy when it comes to my time and attention. 😅) Today, I will stick to questions and requests concerning my art for the first 10 asks. I’m sure that’s the part you’ll love to see the most. Please know that I read EVERY ask I get. So if I didn’t answer YOUR ask yet, just stick around until next Tuesday.
Thank you VERY MUCH for your love and support, Anon! And as well for the delicious idea of a tied up Lady D. I will definitely consider doing something similar for my Twitter at some point! 😋 I’m sure Mother Miranda would like to prove her superiority just like that. Much love to you and take care!
Hey Anon, thank you for getting in touch and requesting something so cute! In fact I plan to do all of the four Lords as chibis at some point! Because we all need that in our lives! 💕 So STAY TUNED and you shall recieve!
A very valid question, dear Anon! I try to switch it up and draw as many different pets for Lady D (and now Donna and sometime in the future maybe even Miranda), so that everyone gets their chance to daydream and relate. 💗 I’m unfortunately a very shy bean, so I’d not really be comfortable with sharing art that shows how I look irl. 🙈 Thank you for your ask! 😊
Thank you so much for your kind words and your love & support! 😍 I’m super glad you like my version of Alcina - I love to do our Tall Vampire Lady justice with my art. 💪😤 In response to your question concerning our best bratty werewolf dilf Heisenberg, I’m not opposed to drawing him (he can be seen in at least two artworks of mine that I can think of and he will make a comeback for a lot of my other projects) but as I’m a lesbean myself, my focus is definitely more on the beautiful ladies of RE8! 🤤 Thank you for getting in touch, Anon, and have an amazing day! 🌞
@drippykiddworld, hi!! Thank you for sharing your idea with me! ✨ I hope you enjoyed my artwork with the three of our RE8 madames sharing a very willing sacrifice! 👌😌 And concerning me playing the game, I started out and went about as far as the Beneviento estate and then my time to play sadly ran out. I have been waiting to play desperately, I just can’t seem to find the time. 😅 But I’m not complaining, I LOVE spending my day drawing!
*snorts* Don’t mind if I do, Anon! 😂 I love your mind, keep up the good work! 👏
Hey there, @warmbloodinmarble, thank you for sharing your awesome idea! I think Alcina would make a SPLENDID french woman to draw! 💕 I’ll keep this idea on my list and draw it as soon as possible! Have a nice day and take care of your creative mind! 😘
Very important question, my dear Anon! I’ll still have to set it up but some time in the future, you will be able to commission me via my Ko-Fi page. Until I get around to doing that, you’re free to contact me via DM on Tumblr or Instagram! See you there! 💕
Ugh, my heart!!! 😍 I would draw this in a HEARTBEAT, all Beauty and the Beast style. I NEED to do this. It really fits in with my plan to do more romantic artwork for Alcina and her pet(s). Thank you for blessing me with this idea, Anon, and have an amazing day! 😘
Hi Anon, thank you for getting in touch and asking your question! 😘 As stated before, I try to vary everything about Lady D’s pets frequently so that everyone can belong and project themselves into our favourite fandom. Definitely go for it, if you’re planning to make art for reader inserts! The world needs more daydream fuel! 😍😍 _____ And that concludes the first batch of our new installment ClassyfruitbASKet! 🍉 🍇 🍓 I hope you’ll find it interesting and if you have a question yourself, feel free to DM me or send me an ask. I can’t thank you enough for all of your support and the insane amount of love I recieve from all of you on a daily basis! Thank you very much, I appreciate each and every one of you more than words could tell! 😍 See you next Tuesday! Much love, Classy
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Artists in Wonderland - Opening & Rules
Ladies and gentleman, June is coming to a close, and July is once again upon us. For those who do not recall, July 4th will not only mark American Independence Day, but International Alice in Wonderland Day. Once again, I wanted to do some sort of special event for the occasion, and after considering some possibilities swirling around in my head, I finally picked something: why not take a look at the original “Alice” books for a change? After all, the classic books have been printed and reprinted time and time again throughout the decades; the story itself has never been out of print since it was first published in the late 1800s. After more than a century and a half of existence, and with how deeply entrenched in popular culture the stories have become, it stands to reason that Lewis Carroll’s “Alice” books would be inspirational to artists everywhere. Something interesting about the original books, when actually read, is how LITTLE Carroll describes his characters. Carroll never really tells us what Alice looks like, herself, and when it comes to the other characters, his descriptions are vague and minimalistic at best. We know the Caterpillar is blue and smokes a hookah, but that’s all; we know the Hatter wears a hat, but that’s all; we know the White Rabbit has a waistcoat and a pocket watch, but - you guessed it - that’s all. In fact, in several places, Carroll deliberately leaves it up to the illustrator to show us what characters or creatures look like: for instance, instead of telling us what a Gryphon is, he tells us to refer to the illustration in case we don’t already know. This minimalist approach makes Alice virtually impossible to read WITHOUT illustrations of some sort, and dozens - probably even hundreds - of different artists have taken a stab at Wonderland throughout the ages. While certain ideas and elements remain constant through nearly every artist’s take on the characters and scenes from the stories, each artist also gives their own unique spin on things, since the nature of this world allows for great creative juice. Carroll’s words are the backbone on which all things rest, and the artists interpreting it have the job of breathing life into the wild worlds Alice adventures through. I decided, for this year’s upcoming July 4th, to pay homage to some of my favorite artists who have taken a stab at Wonderland over the decades. So, starting tomorrow and lasting until the 4th of July, I shall be doing a short event in which I will be counting down my Top 10 Illustrators for Alice in Wonderland. Now, a few rules have to be set: one, I will specifically be looking at the ORIGINAL “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland;” most artists who illustrate the first book also illustrate the second, but this is not always the case. So I’m looking particularly at the first book as my stance of judgment, since that’s the more popular one of the two and has most of the more familiar characters and scenes from the stories. Two, I will not be counting abridged copies of the story. It has to be the full novel. Three, sort of tied to the previous point, I won’t be including artists who have only done cover art for the books; sometimes you’ll find cases where the illustrations are not done by the same artist who does the cover work. It’s what’s inside that counts; if they did both (which is usually the case), then great, but that won’t be as important as the inner workings. Four, this will be for the ACTUAL “Alice” novel by Carroll; I will not be counting sequels, reimaginings, and so forth, so don’t expect to see “Pandora Hearts” or “The Looking-Glass Wars” here. Fifth and finally, similr o the abridged copies rule, I won’t be counting graphic novel or comic book interpretations; there’s actually a few out there, and while some of them are very good, I want to specifically focus on illustrations for the novel, not comic reworkings. With all those rules told, tomorrow I begin with my Tenth Favorite Illustrator for Alice in Wonderland. Welcome, one and all, to Artists in Wonderland!
#countdown#list#4th of july specials#top 10#best#favorites#alice in wonderland#lewis carroll#alice's adventures in wonderland#art#artists#illustration#illustrators#artists in wonderland
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Riding High
Ch18: Sugar
Chapter Summary: It’s July, and Fliss’ birthday…
Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words.!!!
Chapter Pairings: Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher
A/N: Ok, so I know you’ve all been on edge since He-who-shall-not-be-named was released on parole and I hope this chapter doesn’t disappoint. We’ll be gearing up for a bit of a rough time over the next few chapters for Friss so buckle up…
Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.
Riding High Masterlist // Main Masterlist
Chapter 17
July 2018
“So now what?” Mary looked at Fliss as the two of them sat side by side at the table, both looking at the laptop in front of them.
“See these spaces here…” Fliss said, pointing to two empty squares dotted in the unpublished Internet Page and then to the larger space at the top “Now we need to add the photos…”
They were working on a project of sorts for Sandybrook’s website. They’d decided to give Monty his own little weekly blog for the summer called “The Life of Monty” which Mary had eagerly said she wanted to write, something for her to do over the break. “Ooh, ok!” Mary nodded “I already know which ones I want to use!” “Yeah?” Fliss looked at her.
“I want that one that has me, you and Monty in…you know the one that Frank likes where we are both laughing.” Fliss smiled “Ok, we can use that one.” “And then the other one is the one where Monty had the Party Hat on because it was his birthday.” “Good choice.” Fliss smiled “And what about the one across the top.” “The one of him in the pasture.” Mary said after a moment “Where he is looking up and pulling the funny face, you know with all his teeth out?”
Fliss grinned “Yeah, it looks like he is smiling.” Mary nodded eagerly “Yup.” With a move of the mouse, Fliss set to work selecting the photos, ensuring that they were positioned and sized right for the frames. She couldn’t help but smile at the one of her and Mary. Mary was looking at the camera, laughing a lot whilst Fliss was, in turn, watching her and laughing too. Frank had been trying to take the photo of the 2 of them but Bill had been stood behind him, pulling stupid faces which had reduced Mary to tears, and her giggles had then set Fliss off. Frank said he adored the photo, that much in-fact it was now the screen-saver on his phone.
Fliss clicked save and then looked at Mary. “Wanna give it a final read over, check if you want to add anything else?”
Mary nodded.
“Ok, you do that I’m gonna start dinner.” “What are we having?” Mary looked at her.
“Carbonara. That ok?”
Mary grinned her approval as Fliss stood up, dropped a kiss to Mary’s head and walked into the kitchen.
It wasn’t long before Frank came home and greeted Mary before he headed into the kitchen area. He wrapped his arms round Fliss from behind, dropping a kiss to her neck.
“Good day?” he asked and she hmmed in agreement.
“Not bad…are you filthy, as usual?”
He chuckled as he let her go and moved to the fridge. She stopped what she was doing and turned to face him as he reached in for the water jug. He was, as always, covered in grime from his work and Fliss bit her lip. There was definitely something about seeing him in his dirty work jeans and grubby T-shirts that got her blood pumping.
“Stop it.” he said, giving her a look, knowing full well what she was thinking. She shrugged and with a grin turned back to the food.
“Oh, erm, wanted to check…are you if we use photos of Mary for her blog on the website?” Fliss asked, turning back to him.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” “It’s a public sight.” Fliss shrugged “Just wanted to check that’s all.” “It’s fine.” Frank said, placing a kiss to her cheek “I think it’s a really good idea anyway, give her something to do and practice her writing. Like Bonnie said, she’s sharp on the numbers but could do with honing up her English a little bit. She’s too logical, this should give her something to be creative with and keep her occupied over the break.”
And you…he refrained from adding. In the week following the notification that parole had been granted, John had been released. And this had set Fliss on edge. One night after she had snapped at Frank, causing a full scale argument over the fact he had bought the wrong type of salad dressing, she’d broken down and confessed that she wasn’t sleeping properly and this was causing stupid things, like Ranch v French dressing, to tip her over the edge.
The day after her spectacular salad dressing related melt down, Greg, who had already requested details of the terms of his release, came over and the 3 of them gone through, in detail what it meant realistically for Fliss.
“Basically it’s as good as you could hope for.” Greg explained “He is forbidden from contacting you or any of your family in any way, via any means. He is State-bound to Massachusetts, specifically the Boston area. He’s tagged, and on a curfew between the hours of 7pm and 7am. And moreover the authorities here are following the UK’s lead as well and trialling these new GPS tracking tags, which they’ve deemed him eligible for. So at any time, any place, they’ll be able to lock onto his whereabouts…”
“So if he does breach his conditions…” Fliss started and Greg nodded “They’ll be on him like a shot.” he said, with a gentle smile “Look, I know this is shit…but you really do have nothing to worry about. One breach and he’s back inside. And when he reaches the end of his parole, we’ll file for an injunction with the same conditions. Keep him away from you.”
Since the conversation with Greg, Fliss had calmed down somewhat but still, in week following her confession she didn’t spend a night away from Frank, seemingly coping better with the fact that she was around him, and even when he wasn’t there, the fact she was in his apartment gave her some safety and comfort.
So he’d asked her to move in permanently 3 days ago. Which he was still waiting for an answer on.
“What you thinking?” her voice broke through his thoughts.
“Honestly?”
“Always.” she nodded.
“When you’re gonna give me an answer to that question I asked you a few days back.” She took a deep breath and looked down at the floor before she looked up at him, a soft smile on her face.
“Are you sure you want me here, full time, and you’re not just asking because-“
“Lissy…” he cut her off, shaking his head “I’d have asked you move in here the day I did if I’d thought you’d have said yes. I’d love you to come live with us. And I know Mary would too…” “Ok, that’s blackmail.” she narrowed his eyes at the fact he’d dropped Mary into the equation and he grinned. “Is it working?”
She bit her lip and nodded “Yeah, ok, I’d love to…” “Yeah?” he said, a huge smile spreading across his face, warmth flooding his chest.
“Yeah…” she nodded, and grinned as he wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to her lips.
“Gross…” Mary mumbled as she walked past the pair of them to the fridge, retrieving a juice box. . Frank broke away to look at her as she stabbed the straw into the hole at the top.
“Better get over it Stack.” he smirked. “Fliss just agreed to come live with us.” “Really?” her eyes widened and she grinned as Fliss nodded. Mary moved over to the pair of them and wrapped her arms around them both, Frank’s hand falling to the back of her head as she looked up at him. “Does that mean I don’t need to eat any more of your cooking, like ever again?”
Frank rolled his eyes and glanced at Fliss who was chuckling slightly “Trust me Mary…” she said, grinning “I’ve no intention of eating his cooking either.”
***** Of course Verity and Bill were over the moon when Fliss told them she was moving into Frank’s, and the next week or so they all spent doing various runs with the things she decided she needed to take. Everything else she would be leaving in the annex to either throw or store at a later date.
Considering the amount of time they spent together, it wasn’t a huge change for them, it just meant that the comfortable routine they adopted when they were together became a daily one, and it suited the pair of them just fine. Frank also surprised Fliss by getting her a vanity unit which she had made a passing comment about, making space for it in their room.
After 3 weeks it had become the new normal for them. They shared chores, shared Activity Club runs, grocery shopping, bills…Frank had tried to object to that one but Fliss had put her foot down insisting that if she was living there she was paying her way so he’d caved in the end and agreed. Fliss felt happy, safe, secure, loved...and Frank was over the moon simply knowing he had her to come home to every night.
One particular evening, a few days before her Birthday they were due to meet Evelyn for dinner as she was in town again to visit Mary, but Fliss was running ridiculously late, and as a consequence was in a total flap
“Fuck, fuck…” she groaned, jumping out of the jeep and calling Thor to her. “Come on buddy…”
She hurried across the lawns and threw the door to the apartment open, Thor shooting in before her.
“I’m so sorry I’m late…” she instantly began apologising as she walked into the living area and groaned loudly “The last lesson overran and then one of the waterers broke in the livery barn, flooded Horatio’s stable…” “It’s ok, calm down…” Frank chuckled, dropping a kiss to her cheek. “How did it break?”
“He’s been scratching his arse on it.” she said, rubbing at her temple “He broke it off the wall. We turned the supply off but I had to sort his bed before I left, then call his owner to tell her…” she groaned “Fucking nightmare.” “Want me to take a look at it?”
Fliss shook her head “Dad’s gonna do it tomorrow, keep him busy. He always moans at me for asking you and not…” she trailed off as she spotted Evelyn who was sat on one of the chairs in the living room. “Oh, Evelyn…hi. Sorry, I didn’t realise you were coming here…I thought…”
“We were…” Frank explained “But Mary wasn’t feeling too good so I suggested to Mother she come here instead.” “Oh, no, is she ok?” Fliss asked.
“Too much sun I think, she’s been running around at the Activities Camp all day and hardly drunk anything, despite the lecture you gave her. She’s had some water and gone for a nap. She’ll be fine when it’s time for dinner.”
“I thought seeing as we can’t go out I’d treat you to take out.” Evelyn spoke, standing up. Fliss eyed her for a moment before she shrugged.
“I can make something.” she offered, and Frank shook his head. “No, Lissy…” “I can do chicken with that pear and blue cheese salad you and Mary liked.” Fliss said, “Surely that’s gonna be better for her than a take out if she’s feeling shitty?”
Frank looked at her and then to his mother “That ok with you?” “Sure, that sounds good.” Evelyn nodded “but only if it’s no trouble.” “It’s fine.” Fliss nodded “Let me go take a shower and then I’ll get started ok?” Frank nodded and dropped a kiss to her cheek before she headed off to the bathroom. Thor made his way into the living room and took his usual place on the rug, flopping down as he looked up at Evelyn as she followed Frank over to the kitchen area. He pulled a bottle of white wine out of the fridge and held it up.
“Sancerre?” Evelyn arched an eyebrow. “And a pretty good one too…” “Fliss’ choice, not mine. I assume that means you’d like a glass.” “I don’t want to put you out Frank.” she said, and he shook his head.
“You’re here now so…” he said “Oh, we normally eat outside but I’m not sure if Mary’s-”
“What, in open view of everyone?” Evelyn asked, horrified “It’s hardly-“ She stopped dead as Frank shot her a look, and held her hands up. “Point taken…”
Frank poured her a glass then got a beer for himself and leaned back against the counter as his Mother nodded appreciatively at the wine.
“So, pear and blue cheese…” she said and Frank looked at her “You hated cheese as a child.” “Well, I like it now.” he shrugged “And Mary loves that salad so…” “It’s not a dish I would normally associate with a child to be honest.” Evelyn mused.
“Well, I think we can both agree Mary isn’t a particularly standard child so…”
At that point Fred sauntered into the kitchen, straight to his food bowl. Evelyn eyed him, before she turned to Frank and smiled “I already took a Benadryl…” He snorted and a few seconds later Mary appeared.
“Hi Grandmother. Fliss said you were here.” “You feeling ok?” Frank asked as she walked over to him. He swung her up and she rest her head on his shoulder, nodding. “Want some more water?” “Fliss told me to ask for the elec…erm…the electo-” “Electrolytes” he said, nodding. “Not a bad shout…”
He set her on the counter and then reached into the cabinet to the right of the sink where they kept the medical supplies and pulled a sachet from the box. Grabbing a glass he pulled the Filter jug out of the fridge and made her the drink before he handed it to her. “Take it slow ok?” She nodded and took it from him with a thanks, sipping at it carefully, pulling a face. “What flavour is that?” “It says orange.” he answered, looking at the packet.
“Well it’s wrong. That’s disgusting.” “It’s good for you, so stop complaining.” Frank tossed the empty sachet into the trash.
To his surprise he heard his mother chuckling and he turned to look at her. “I remember giving you something similar when you came home with sunstroke from playing Baseball all afternoon. You spat it out and told me you’d rather die than drink it.” Frank gave a huff and then turned to Mary who was grinning ear to ear “Don’t even think about it.” he pointed at her.
She shrugged and then took another mouthful, grimacing as she drank. “Please can I get down?” Frank obliged and watched as she headed off to the sofa, Thor jumping up besides her, settling his head in her lap.
“Go and talk to her.” Frank looked at his mother “That’s why you’re here, to spend time with her. Not me.”
Evelyn nodded, and for a moment Frank thought he saw a flicker of emotion in the woman’s eyes, but as quick as it had flashed across her face it was gone and she turned and made her way into the sofa. Frank leaned on the edge of the archway which led into the living area and watched as she sat down in the chair she had occupied previously before he heard the door to the bathroom open again, signalling Fliss was out of the shower. He moved to start taking the different things they needed to make dinner out of the fridge and turned on the oven before he seasoned the chicken breasts just as she had shown him with salt, pepper, chilli and a squeeze of lime. He dropped it onto a tray, placed it in the oven and was washing his hands when Fliss walked dressed casually in a pair of shorts and a fading Guns N Roses tank top. She was barefoot and her damp hair was piled up on her head in a haphazard bun. This was Frank’s favourite way to see her. Completely relaxed and at home.
“Chicken’s in.” he said as he turned to the fridge and then poured her a glass of wine.
“Thank you.” she smiled, taking a sip.
“Can I show Evelyn around?” Mary asked, and Frank turned to her.
“Finished your drink?” “Yeah.” “Ok then yes, of course you can.” She stood up and Evelyn followed, giving the pair of them a smile as she passed by the kitchen area of the open plan living space
“Oh, Felicity.” “Fliss, please.” Fliss nodded to her as she turned back to what she was doing.
“Fliss, sorry, but could I be awkward?” Evelyn asked.
“No doubt you can.” Fliss mumbled between gritted teeth and Frank smirked to himself before she tuned to look at Evelyn.
“Could I ask for my salad dressing on the side?”
“That’s fine.” Fliss nodded “I’ll make you a separate bowl.” “Thank you, that’s very kind.” Evelyn smiled before she headed out after Mary.
“If she doesn’t eat this, then she’s gonna be wearing it.” Fliss looked at Frank who let out a laugh as he chopped up the slices of cucumber.
“Now that I would pay to see.” “I’ll do it for free.” Fliss narrowed her eyes.
Frank chuckled again as they continued to make their food. After about 10 minutes or so, just as they were dropping the salad bowls onto the table, Evelyn and Mary re-appeared.
“You’ve made a nice home, certainly considering the area anyway.” Evelyn said, as Frank invited her to sit at the table before he headed back to grab the bottle of wine, a beer for himself and more water for Mary.
Fliss rolled her eyes” The area is fine, and Frank did it all, not me. Well, him and my dad. I only moved in a few weeks ago.”
“Yes, he does speak very highly of your parents.” “Well they love him.” Fliss shrugged “But then again what’s not to love.”
Evelyn looked at Fliss for a moment as Frank made his way back to the table, and they all settled down and began to eat. As she had been at Mary’s birthday, his mother was polite, nodding appreciatively at the food, joining in the conversation and she sat with Mary once they’d finished so Mary could show he the latest installation of Monty’s blog. After another bottle of wine and a few more beers, Frank realised it was getting quite late and then told Mary she needed to be getting ready for bed. Evelyn took this as her queue to call for her driver, which Frank was pleased about as it saved him having to ask her to leave.
Mary headed for a shower and the three adults made small talk until she reappeared in her pyjamas just as Evelyn’s driver called to announce his arrival. She bid Mary goodnight and then Frank made to walk her down to her car when the woman surprised him and looked at Fliss.
“Could you…I’d like to speak to you.” Fliss looked at Frank before she shrugged “Yeah, sure…” Frank frowned, but didn’t object. He looked at his mother and nodded “Let me know when you want to see her again.”
“I was actually wondering if she could come to Boston for a few days.” Evelyn said and Frank took a deep breath. “Obviously, when it’s convenient.” “Maybe.” He nodded “Goodbye Evelyn.” “Yes, I’ll call you.” she nodded and then the two women headed out of the apartment. Fliss stuck her hands in her pockets as they walked.
“I’m glad he took my advice.” Evelyn broke the silence “Regarding you, I mean…”
“Yeah he told me what you said to him.” Fliss gave a snort “Gotta say I was surprised after I’d unleashed quite a nasty verbal tirade on you…” “Well I think all things considered at the time I deserved it.” Evelyn shrugged “And I’m not surprised you hate me so-“
“I don’t hate you Evelyn.” Fliss cut her off, shaking her head “I hate what you did to Frank and Mary, and honestly? I still don’t understand it.”
“I thought I was doing the right thing.” “But how?” Fliss pressed “How was tearing a girl away from the only father figure she has ever known, the man that has cared for her and loved her since she was six months old the right thing?”
Evelyn shook her head “I know Frank and I made an assumption-” “No, you knew Frank.” Fliss looked at her, “It was, what? Almost 8 years since you saw him last when you turned up…and how long was it before he left Boston since you actually had a conversation with him? I just…” Fliss trailed off and looked down at her feet before she glanced back at Frank’s mother “it baffles me how someone can be so callous towards their own child, that’s all.”
Fliss watched as Evelyn stopped and looked at her “What do you want me to say?” “An apology might not go amiss…” “I did that with his birthday card, paying the fees…” “Money doesn’t make it ok Evelyn.” Fliss sighed, “And a card isn’t the same as saying it to his face…” she scratched at her head “If you want to try and salvage something from this mess, have some form of relationship with your son…” “What makes you think-“ “Because I saw you this evening, at various points, watching him…you might be able to keep your face straight but the eyes don’t lie” Fliss said gently. Evelyn looked down at the ground as Fliss continued. “I suggest you start with a verbal apology, a very open and honest discussion, because that’s when you get the best out of Frank. On a face-to-face level, when he isn’t being lied or talked down to”
“You really do know him exceptionally well don’t you?” Evelyn smiled.
“Well, we’ve had enough of our own discussions recently with everything that’s been going on so…” “Right, your ex-husband.” “How do you-“ Fliss sighed, “Mary?” “No, actually, she never said a word. I looked you up.”
“Course you did.” Fliss groaned.
“I was curious about your family.” Evelyn shrugged “You have quite the back story.” “Yeah well, its history.” she said “And long may it stay that way.”
“Well I hope for all your sakes it does.” Evelyn shook her head “Nothing I can’t stand less than a man that deems it acceptable to do that. Lord knows I pushed Preston the extremes at times but he never once raised a hand to me…or his voice now that I think about it. He preferred to argue on a cerebral level...”
“Very like Frank.” Fliss smiled.
“Yes, the two are exceptionally similar.” Evelyn said as they reached the car. “Thank you for dinner Fliss, it was a very enjoyable evening.” Fliss smiled and then as Evelyn opened the car door the woman turned back to her “Just think about what I said Evelyn. You can’t turn the clock back but it’s how you go forward from here that matters.”
Evelyn nodded, and with that she climbed in the car and shut the door. Fliss watched them drive off before she turned and headed back towards the apartment. “You ok?” Frank asked, turning to look over the back of the sofa as she walked into the living area.
“Yeah, fine.” Fliss smiled. “Mary in bed?”
“She’s reading” Frank nodded “Told her you’d pop in and say goodnight.” Fliss yawned as she slid her arms round his shoulders from behind “I’ll go now, then I think I’ll get in bed myself. I’m whacked.” Frank smiled and turned his head to give her a kiss “I’m just gonna finish watching this and then I’ll be with you.” “What is it?” Fliss asked, turning her attention to the TV.
“A documentary on whales, funnily enough. You’d enjoy it…” “You’re such an old man” she teased and he scoffed.
“Not what you were saying last night.”
Fliss laughed “Well you keep yourself in good shape, what can I say.” With that she kissed his cheek and headed down the hall.
After bidding goodnight to Mary and Thor, who seemed very happy to remain in Mary’s room with Fred, she changed for bed and slipped into the sheets, stretching out before she got herself comfortable. She was dozing, drifting in and out of a light sleep when she felt Frank climb into bed behind her, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her to his chest.
“Finish whale watching?” she asked as he dropped a kiss to her shoulder.
“Yeah.” he said gently. “So you gonna tell me what my mother wanted?” “Nothing much…” Fliss turned in his arms so she was facing him. “She was actually quite contrite.”
“Course she was…” “No, I mean it, I think she’s genuinely sorry.” Her hand gently traced shapes on his bicep “Maybe you should give her a chance to apologise properly.”
“That must have been one hell of a talk.” Frank snorted “You were all for dumping salad on her head before!”
“We had a very honest discussion, I got a few things off my chest.” Fliss shrugged “And, well, like it or not she’s still your mum Frank.” “No, she’s my mother.” he corrected her “Your mom is a mom.”
“Was your dad a dad or a father?” “He was a dad.” Frank said, “Most definitely.”
“Do you remember much about him?” she asked.
“Little bits.” Frank’s hand tucked her hair behind her ear. “Mostly about stuff we did. Baseball, football, when he taught me how to ride a bike. All the fun stuff you do with kids really.” he took a deep breath.
“What did he do?” “He was a Surgeon” Frank said “Neurology.” “Really?” Fliss looked up at Frank as he nodded “Well that’s pretty cool!”
“Yeah.” Frank nodded “I wanted to be just like him when I was a kid. I sometimes wonder if I idolise him a bit more because he’s dead you know but…” “Have you ever asked your mother what he was like? You know, since he died?” “Once or twice.” Frank replied “For all of Evelyn’s faults she did love Dad. She gave up her own career and research partnership she had with Cambridge in London to move to Boston when she met him. Then they had me. I think she resented me a little bit at first because me and dad were so close, and then when Diane came along that was it, Daddy’s girl...”
“No longer his main woman.” Fliss smiled.
“Something like that. You know, I do wonder at times why on Earth she had us.” Frank snorted “if we were such inconveniences…” “It can’t all have been bad.” “Well we wanted for nothing. In fact, we were both very spoilt. And yeah, we had Birthday parties, fun, vacations, trips…but when dad died…I dunno, it kinda went to rat-shit.” “It must have been hard for Evelyn you know, losing him when you were both so young.”
“Yeah.” Frank sighed “I’ve no doubt it was. I remember the police coming round and breaking the news about the accident…only time I’ve ever seen her break down.”
“You know before, she said that you remind her of your dad.” Fliss looked at him.
“Yeah she’s told me the same, last time I saw her in fact. Probably why she doesn’t particularly enjoy being around me that much.” “I think she enjoys it a lot more than she lets on.” Fliss shrugged “And besides, I enjoy being around you. And so do my parents…so…”
Frank gave her a soft smile before she leaned up and gave him a kiss. “I know…” he said, as she snuggled into his chest “And that’s all I care about.” ******
Friday rolled around and with it came Fliss’ birthday. Frank was pretty sure Mary was more excited than Fliss to give her the gifts they had bought, and with good reason. Fliss beamed as she opened her various packages from them both, which included a bottle of her favourite perfume, a pale blue and white striped sleeveless button down which Frank had thought was quite nautical so very apt and a box of British chocolate. Bonnie had also stopped round the night before to give her a bottle of her favourite gin and a huge bag of sweets which she declared she was hiding from Frank as she didn’t trust him not to eat them.
Frank then handed her the envelope with her main present in and she opened it, her mouth dropping open as she looked at the Broadway Tickets.
“Lion King?” she said, looking up at him. “We’re going to see the Lion King?” He nodded, smiling “I know you wanted to go so…” “Oh my God…thank you!” she practically squealed throwing her arms round his neck, kissing his cheek.
“You’re welcome.” he smiled, winking at Mary over his shoulder. She gave him the thumbs up. Fliss turned back to look at the pile of presents arranged on the coffee table before Mary handed her another smaller wrapped one.
“This is from me…and Fred…and Thor.” she added and Fliss smiled, unwrapping the small black box. She opened it, and a small card fell out which she picked up and read out loud.
“We hope you enjoy your “Precious Paws” hand-made resin beads…” she trailed off, and glanced down at the charms in more detail. One was green speckled with gold and the other was blue speckled with silver.
“The green one has some of Heidi’s tail hair in it…” Mary pointed as Fliss gently took it from the box to examine it in more detail, clearly seeing where the hair was wound through the resin of the bead “And the Blue one has Thor’s in.”
“I…” Fliss felt herself choke up “Mary these are beautiful, where did you…” “Joanne told me about them.” Mary said, and Frank smiled at her “And then Frank helped me order them…” “They’re not officially Pandora but the woman said when we emailed her they’d fit the standard bracelet.” He said as she turned her head to look at him, her eyes shining.
“Thank you both, so much…” she turned to Mary and wrapped her up in a hug before she did the same to Frank, giving him a soft kiss “Love you.” “Happy birthday Sweetheart.” he smiled, hugging her again.
As Fliss had booked the day off, so had Frank so the three of them along with Thor and Fred spent the afternoon after visiting Fliss’ mum and dad on one of the boats belonging to Paul, the owner of the shop Frank worked in. Frank had deliberately chosen one of the smaller ones so they could access the small stretch of sand just off St Pete’s beach that they all loved. It was quieter than the main beach as it wasn’t reachable unless you waded or sailed over and they spent the afternoon on the beach with a few beers and a picnic, before they headed home. Mary crashed out on the way back, her head lolling on Fliss’s lap as she sat at the front of the boat, her bare feet resting on the bar in front of her, simply watching the dolphins. Thor was barking at them like mad, wagging his tail and then suddenly he shot to the bow of the boat, placing both his paws up on the metal, threatening to throw himself overboard. Frank’s hand shot out to grab his collar.
“Dumbass…” he yanked him back, and turned to Fliss “Does this mutt have a brain in his head?”
“Don’t’ talk about my baby like that…” she narrowed her eyes at Frank as she covered Thor’s ears with her hands as he sat by her feet, tail thumping on the floor. “Fred does his share of stupid shit too, like getting his head stuck in cereal boxes.”
Frank rolled his eyes “At least Fred knows not to jump in the ocean.”
“That’s because he has no sense of adventure.” Fliss shot back, causing Frank to snort. Standing up, Fliss gently moved Mary, so that she was led flat down before she stretched and moved next to Frank who tossed his arm over her shoulder.
“Had a good day?” he asked and she grinned, nodding.
“The best.” she smiled “I love it when you bring me out sailing.” “I’m driving.” he turned to face her, grinning. “You’re sailing.”
“Whatever” he mumbled as his lips pressed to hers. She snaked her arms around his neck as his slid round her back, pulling her closer to him as he kissed her deeply his tongue sliding against hers.
“You can unwrap your last present when we get home…” he said, grinning like a school boy as he rest his forehead head against hers.
“Yeah?” she asked, arching an eyebrow
“I’d let you unwrap it now but…” he nodded to Mary and she snorted.
“You know we’ve not actually done that.” she mused. “Sex on a boat I mean…” Frank let out a laugh “You harbouring a bit of a sailing kink?” “More of a sailor kink” she shot back and he shook his head, giving her another quick kiss before he turned his attention back to the boat as he guided it back into the Marina.
He made good on his promise once they got back, loved on his girl. Once in the shower and then again later on when he woke up as Fliss had done the same to use the bathroom. Frank knew he would never get tired of hearing the soft cries of his names and the various encouragements she gave him when she begged him not to stop or told him how good he was making her feel. As he tumbled right over that edge, behind her 3rd, or was it 4th orgasm, he’d lost count, his fingers tightened slightly on her hips as his head tipped back in ecstasy. He lay still, panting as she collapsed onto his chest, his hands stroking up and down her spine as she lifted her head, grinning as she caught his lips in a soft kiss before falling down onto the mattress next to him. She looked at him, her eyes flashing in the soft light that was sneaking into the room through the crack in the curtains, a look of pure love on her face, as if he had hung the moon and the stars in the sky, and it was enough to choke him up slightly. He still wasn’t sure he was worthy of her unadulterated adoration, but damned it, he’d try constantly to be the best version of himself if it kept her by his side.
He didn’t wake the next morning when Fliss’ alarm went off. Instead he woke to a gentle kiss to his cheek and as he roused himself the smell of freshly brewed coffee hit his senses. Blinking he smiled softly as Fliss placed a mug on his night stand.
“What time is it?” Frank asked.
“Just gone seven. I’ve got an early appointment with the Ariat rep at the stables, remember?” “Oh, yeah…” he yawned, rubbing his eyes.
“You told me to wake you before I left.”
“Yeah, I don’t know why I did that…” he moaned and she chuckled.
“You gonna bring Mary up later?”
“Yeah, I’ll leave he with you for the afternoon if that’s ok? Need to clean the boat and get it back.” “Course it is.” she smiled. With that she bent over to kiss him again and in a shot Frank’s arms were round her waist and she was flat on her back on the bed, laughing as he caged her with his arms.
“Frank…” she whined, as he kissed her softly “I can’t, I’m gonna be late as it is…” “One more kiss, come one…” he pleaded, and she relented as he pressed his lips to hers before she eventually pulled away and shoved on his chest. With a pout he moved allowing her to stand and she shook her head at him.
“You’ll be the death of me Frank Adler.” she said, straightening her top and he eyed her figure up as she did so and gave a shrug.
“What a way to go…” he smirked and with that she reached down, grabbed one of the various scatter cushions that lived on the bed during the day, and smacked him straight on the face with it.
He and Mary shared a lazy morning before they both dressed and headed out going via the bakery at the end of the high street to pick up a coffee and some Danishes for a late breakfast for Fliss as he knew she’d have left without eating any, she always did when she was out earlier than them. As he pulled up, Mary was out of the truck before he had stopped, something which he was fed up of telling her off for.
Frank walked into Fliss’ office where he placed the bag of food on the desk, along with the cardboard carrier which contained their coffee and gave her cheek a kiss. Mary shot into the tack room, grabbed her little box of brushes and shot off to go and see Monty.
“Bye then…” he said sarcastically, and she completely ignored him. He snorted, shaking his head as Fliss laughed.
“Busy morning?” he asked and Fliss nodded.
“I’ll say.” she nodded to the bag “Saturday’s always are…aww, you bring me breakfast?”
“If 11 am counts as breakfast” he snorted and Fliss laughed as she continued sifting through the pile of envelopes on her desk. There was one that contained a few clearly hand delivered cards, he could tell by the shape and the fact they had no post marks, and then another small pile that had arrived in the post. “Bill, bill…oh…” She stopped at a bigger envelope. “A card?”
Frank shrugged. She turned it over, ripped open the envelope and pulled out a white card with simple block writing on the front in multi-colours. With a frown she opened it and scanned the greeting, before her eyes grew wide and she threw it down onto the desk.
“Lissy?” Frank frowned, and he looked at her as she shook her head, taking a deep breath, before she swallowed and turned to face him. “Honey, what is it?” “It’s…” she swallowed, her eyes wide “That card…it’s…it’s from John.”
Frank’s face grew harsh as he grabbed the card and read the greeting. It was 3 words long. 3 simple words, but even he knew from what she’d told him about the name John used to call her, that it was from him. Happy Birthday Sugar. “Fucker.” Frank growled, tossing the card back onto the desk as Fliss turned to him and he wrapped her in his arms, letting her simply press her face into his chest. He rubbed his hand gently up and down her back as her breathing evened out and she stepped back. “You ok?” “Yeah…” she said, “Do me a favour and get rid of it.” “Don’t you wanna call the police?” he frowned.
“They’re not going to do anything about a card.” she shook her head
“He’s broken his parole…” “And they can’t prove its him.” she sighed “They’re not gonna DNA test or whatever on that…” “Fliss…”
“No, Frank…just…” she shook her head. “Please, do what I ask and rip it up, burn it, whatever, I just…get rid of it”
“Ok, ok…” he appeased and she nodded, before she looked to the doorway and hastily her face rearranged into a smile.
“Hi Steph!” she greeted. Frank turned to see a dark haired woman dressed in riding gear, Fliss’ next client. “DJ is ready, get Jo to get you on and I’ll be out in a moment.” The woman smiled and headed off down the yard. Fliss looked at Frank.
“I didn’t think about the fact this place was so easy to find.” she shook her head “The webpage…” Frank sighed, it was something if truth be told he hadn’t considered either “Look, the worst he can do is send you shit.” he said, almost trying to convince himself as well “He can’t set foot out of Mass…he’s clearly doing this to try and upset you so…” “Well he can fuck off and die.” Fliss said venomously, “Ass hole…a fucking birthday card? He’s clearly losing his touch.” With that she gave his cheek a peck and grabbed a Danish out of the bag before she picked up her coffee. “This lesson is only half an hour so as soon as I’m done Mary can ride Monty and then she can do her jobs and stuff. You go and clear the boat from yesterday or whatever it is you were planning on doing and I’ll give you a call later ok?”
“Sure.” he nodded.
“Love you.” she smiled at him, before she left the room.
Frank watched her go before he looked at the card. She’d asked him to get rid of it…but something was telling him not to. He pondered it for a moment before he tucked the offending item back into the envelope and then curled it up so it would fit in his back pocket, before he headed out to the jeep, pulling his phone free as he walked.
“S’up Man?” Greg greeted him as he opened his truck door threw the envelope onto the passenger seat.
“I need some advice.” Frank spoke quietly, glancing over to where Fliss was now stood in the middle of the paddock, the women on the large grey horse was walking around her in a circle. “Can we meet?”
**** Chapter 19
#riding high#frank adler#frank adler x ofc#frank adler x original female character#gifted#gifted fan fic
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One Night Lifetimes - Langris Vaude
word count - 4k
request - patpatlangit
warnings - Lime, no actual smut even though it says lemon juice, I'm sorry I got really tired and ended up making this 4k words and didn't have the brainpower or creativity to write smut, demand of abortion
a/n - of course enjoy, and let me know about any spelling errors please! Again sorry there no team smut❤️
~~~
“Hey, Y/n, you’re glowing a bit, you okay?” Looking up from your food you stared at Vanessa questioningly. Her sudden odd question caught the attention of some of the others eating at the table.
“Oh yeah! Did you do some new kind of body wash, Y/n? You’re shiny!” Asta exclaimed, stuffing his face as he looked at me for an answer, as did everyone else.
“No… I haven’t changed anything in my schedule- or any of my products.” The only thing different from my life is… I couldn’t be? He wouldn’t be stupid enough… Everyone else continued to talk and speculate before someone finally asked the Captain for his opinion.
“What do you think, Cap’n?” Yami eyed you up and down, his expression unreadable as he looked at you over his newspaper. Before going back to reading he folded to the next page saying;
“I know a thing or two about glowing women… I’ll call a good mage of mine to come to check you out.”
***
“Any change in foods?”
“Uhm, no not really.”
“And you said you haven’t changed any bathing products?”
“Yep.”
“No schedule changes?”
“No.”
“Well, then I’ll run a quick spell over ya’ and we should know what's wrong with you in a jiffy, Dearie.” The old woman smiled warmly, easing your anxious nerves and buzzing fingers, which played together tirelessly in your lap. The doctor's grimoire opened and the relief of her mana washed through your body, cleansing every cell leaving you with refreshed, rested bones and muscles overworked or exerted from missions with every touch, even the slight nausea you had earlier disappeared.
“When was the last time you had your monthly cycle, Dearie?” You look at the woman, confused but almost knowing what she was already going to say. Again that nausea was back, along with a new lump in your throat that burned and tightened the muscles around it, pulling painfully on the tear ducts of your eyes.
“Two- Two months.” Your voice was shaky, wavering weakly in reply.
“Oh, Dearie,” Reading your face she didn’t know what to say. All she did was hug you and rub your back consolingly as you sat frozen, still breathing and heart.
Time seemed to blur by after that when you came back to the hideout in your room, Yami and the mage talking outside, they’re murmurs coming through the wooden door taunted your ears. A few moments of silence passed before the door opened to show Yami. He came in as neutral as ever, lighting a cigarette and coming to sit beside you on the bed, which creaked loudly under his weight.
“Here, Gladys gave me these to give to you.” He handed you a glass bottle of small capsules. You looked at the bottle and read the label ‘Prenatal Supplements,’ yet another sign that what was happening is real.
“Are you going to keep it?” Yami asked, looking at the wall while blowing out a puff of smoke.
“I don’t know.”
“Are you going to tell him?” You snorted weakly.
“I think that's the only thing I’m sure about at this point.” You fell to the side and laid your head on his shoulder, holding back every tear that had been building up behind your eyes since you got the news.
“So am I gonna tell Finral he’s going to be an uncle or do you want the honors?” You turned to look up at him, head-snapping so fast you thought you broke it.
“You knew?” Yami turned to look at you, a grin pulling at his lips, teeth gripping his cigarette in place.
“Who do you think brought you back that night?”
***
“Captain Langris? A visitor is here to see you.” Langris frowned, he wasn’t expecting anyone today, he was supposed to be working on mission assignments and specifically freed up the day due to his lag in work as of late, a certain woman clouding his thoughts.
“Come in.” He wasn’t prepared for who came through the threshold of his office door. In you walked, legs striding with a confidence you didn’t feel at all, but you could have fooled him, with your head held high you met him head-on at his desk.
“What can I do for you, Y/n?” His chin came to rest on his pen that he held in front of him with his two hands, watching you with sharp, intrigued eyes, anyone else might have thought he was bored, but he was beyond curious of where this would go.
“I-” The words were stuck in your throat, a huge knot holding up the words from passing your lips.
“What is it?” He didn't mean to come off so rude but it was out of instinct, he wasn’t a patient man.
“W-Well.” Once again the words balled up in your throat, restricting your breathing as your eyes began to water, built-up anxiety and nerves ripping away at your nerves as you began to shake.
“Well? Get on with it-”
“I'M PREGNANT!” The scream seemed to clear your throat, but the shaking continued, as did the tears burning your eyes, blurring the reaction of Langris, but you didn’t need to see it.
“Get rid of it.” you blinked, breakdown halted for but a second, a second of clarity where you saw him, terrified and desperate, another blink, calm- angry eyes. You took a step back, disgusted, almost betrayed. You didn’t know what to expect when coming here, but it wasn’t this.
“Y/n wait-” He could see the disgust in your somber eyes, the regret for even coming here. He should've known, his mouth speaking before he even really thought about it, a mistake solely on his part.
“No, I-I’m sorry to bother you but I need to go.”
“Y/n no-!” You were just out of reach, just falling from his hand, his stumble almost made him run into the door which you slammed closed on your way out, by the time he opened it, you were already gone.
“Fuck…”
***
Three Years Later
“Thank you for coming in on such short notice.” Langris was quiet and hushed as spoke to Finral, essentially unnerving him.
“Langris? Are you okay?” Finral almost offered to get him a glass of water but held back in fear of insulting his younger brother, even after their bettered relationship, Finral still felt there were some lines he still didn’t get to cross.
“Fine, I’m fine. I’ve asked for you because I have a proposition.”
“A proposition?” Finral watched as Langris pulled out a long piece of paper from his desk, the edges sharp and lined with gold. As Langris laid the paper down slid it toward his older brother, Finral in return, brushing it closer, reading the words written with wide eyes.
“I-Is this some sort of joke?!” Finral shoved the paper away, glaring at his brother, not finding one of his usual pranks so funny. After everything he’d done, what right does he have to ask this of him- to ask this of you!
“Finral-”
“No! Do you have any idea what you said did to her? I’ve seen your lows, Langris, but I didn’t think you would go this far. I thought you had made it clear you didn’t want anything to do with-”
“It was a mistake! Those words were flying out of my mouth before I even had a chance to even think of what I was saying. I know that doesn’t make it any better, but it’s the truth. Y/n doesn’t deserve that, she doesn’t even deserve me, she should have nothing but the best but… well- goddamnit I love her and I’m going to try my damn well hardest to fix what I did!” Finral couldn’t believe it, the tears filling his younger brother's eyes only fueling the shock rippling throughout his senses, freezing him. Langris loved you? Langris didn’t love anyone.
“How do I know you're not lying, that you’re not just trying to get close to her and Lefric only to kidnap him and sell him huh?” Finral eyes his brother, suspicion ripping at his thoughts, training each opinion and speculation.
“Lefric? Is that his name?” The smile on Langris’ face was almost unnatural, something Finral hadn’t seen in so long, a genuine smile.
“Y-Yes.” Langris hummed, leaning back and seeming to drift away in his thoughts, probably his little paradise where he was with you and Lefric, a part of the family you had created, but the sadness clouded his eyes once again, reminded by the reality of which you hate him, and your son, his son, didn’t even know he existed.
“I don’t plan to sell my son, and I don’t plan on deceiving Y/n either, I just want another chance.” Finral sat back and looked at his brother for a long time, and several emotions ran through his eyes and face, sometimes his eyes contradicting the face he was making, and then he was completely unreadable. It was the first time Langris wanted to hear Finral speak.
“Okay, I’ll bring her- BUT if you so much as making a suspicious glance at her OR Lefric, we are outta there!” Langris almost could hold his joy in, feeling like jumping around and throwing his hands in the air, instead he settled on a face-splitting smile that frightened his older brother.
“Perfect! Shall we get you ready for your wedding?”
“MY WHAT?!”
***
Sitting in the white chair your blood boiled, simmering under your skin and scorching your veins. What was Finral thinking bringing you here, bringing Lefric here! You had the mind to struggle him in your seat right now if the music hadn’t started playing and everyone stood. Lefric hung off my you as you both turned to watch the bride walk down the aisle.
Finesse looks gorgeous, draped in a white fabric dripping from her figure in exact seams and hems. Her veil was decorative, lace flowers growing across, she looked like a goddess. Walking toward the steps of her future matrimony, gorgeous lilies in hand, you couldn't help but think if this deity knew about her future husband's bastard child. Everyone sat back down and the priest began, looking over at Finral, you realized why he might have brought you, clutching at his slacks, he couldn’t even look up at the ceremony, eyes burning into his legs. You only slid Lefric onto one hip and grabbed Finral’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly. You were happy to feel a small squeeze back.
The ceremony blurred as Lefric began moving, playing with your dress and hair, you couldn’t help but play with him too, making sure you were still quiet, but your playtime was halted when a sentence from the priest caught your ear.
“Is there anyone who objects to this?” The priest turned to the crowd looking for objectors, surprise pulling at his old face when someone did.
“I do.” The priest pulled back, babbling nothings before spitting out, “I beg your pardon?!”
“I object. I don’t love her and I don’t want this marriage.” Some people in the crowd gasped, some even laughed, others watched on in astound, frozen in their seats. You looked away from the others, catching the sad face of Finesse at the altar, as sad as she was though, the breath of relief was obvious.
“I wouldn’t want to put Finesse through that.” Confusion wiped at her eyes, some even dotting my face with furrowed brows. Langris turned to look at me, looking as though relieved and elated. His gaze went sideways finding Finral and nodding. The brothers wordlessly switched places, much to your annoyance as you whispered questions to Finral as he walked away. Panic and anxiety bubbled up and your hold on Lefric tightened a little watching as Langris walked closer, his final steps the only thing you heard over the blood rushing your ears.
“Y/n.” His voice was but a whisper, hesitant and tentative much like a shy child, which coming from Langris, was the least of what you expected. His eyes dropped from you and fell on your son, eyes suddenly ten times brighter. He looked as though he was going to pick Lefric up from me, but he stopped, his arms frozen awkwardly, before stiffly smoothing down his suit. His hand came down to grab my free one before turning back to the priest and saying,
“You may continue.” The priest looked off to the parents of Langris and Finral, met with angry scowls but nodding heads, so he continued.
Sitting beside you, he paid you no mind, never once letting go of your hand either. You thought of pulling it away, even moving your wrist a little to pull it away but you stopped. Why you don’t know, maybe it was because his hand was so warm, a warmth you’d been needing for a while.
“And do you Finral Roulacase take Finesse to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold till death do you part?”
“I do.”
“And do you Finesse Calmreich, take Finral to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold till death do you part?”
“I do!”
“I may now pronounce you as husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride!”
***
The reception was loud and joyful food and drinks passed around nobles and spectators mingling together, each going up and their own time to congratulate the married couple. When it came to be your turn, Langris followed you up, practically as attached to your hip as Lefric.
“Y/n I know I’m horrible but-”
“Congratulations Finral, I’m glad everything could work out. You two deserve each other.” You watched as Finesse smiled and squeezed at Finral’s hand. Finral smiled as he looked down at the hand clasping his, still not believing that this was truly happening.
“Thank you, Y/n.” You nodded.
“Of course.” you set down your wedding gift to give to them on the table before handing over a second present.
“So since someone has some explaining to do and you're busy, you get to watch Lefric while Langris does explain this all to me. Sound good? Good?” The end was a bit snippy, but you're already peeved off self sort-of had a right. Langris followed without command and followed you into the first empty room you could find, a simple guest room. You sat on the bed and sighed, staring up at Langis with squinted eyes, skeptical of his motives.
“You may begin.”
“I made a deal with Finral that if he brought you to the wedding, he would be marrying Finesse instead of me.” Never one to beat around the bush, Langris answered you with a bored tone, staring at you like he had done nothing wrong like he’d done nothing at all.
“And what in the hell were you thinking when you did that?” You were pissed, fuse lit and burning down fast, you were ready to explode.
“I was thinking that I love you and I want to be a family, I want to be a father to Lefric.” It was like a bucket of water had been dropped on you, efficiently washing out the burning fuse. Langris dropped to his knees and looked up at you.
“Please, give me a chance Y/n. You wouldn’t believe how sorry I am, honest. I didn’t mean to say what I did back then, and I'm so glad you didn’t listen to my foolish ass. Please, Y/n I don’t think I can watch him grow up from the sidelines.”
“You’ve done well so far,” you muttered, turning away from his pleading eyes which seemed to burn through you , pulling at the heart-strings you had thought you cut off. He looked away with a small sad smile, shaking his head.
“No, I haven’t. I was there when you had your seventh-month scare, even arranging a better doctor for you. I was there when you were recovering in the hospital after giving birth. I managed to catch glimpses of him at his first birthday party but that was a bit difficult, that boy Asta moves around too much for his good. It was his second birthday, I couldn’t make it, I was sent on an assignment near the kingdom's border, and god- I was so pissed. I don’t think I’d ever seen my men so scared of me.” He stopped coming forward to drop down in front of you. Langris Vaude, on his knees, looking up at you like you were the empress which ruled his life.
“I knew that I couldn’t do it anymore, I couldn’t watch him from the sidelines, I wanted to see him and me… I wanted to see you.” He finished shakily, eyes dropping to the thighs he leveled with, he was sincere, honest, there was nothing much he missed more than you, even if it was only one night, no woman has ever compared to you. Looking up at you now, sharp eyes glaring at him while slowly softening as he pleaded, Langris had never felt more at home then underneath you. He was so close, closer than he’d been in four years, he didn’t even feel his arm moving from his side moving to lay on your thigh, falling in slightly. Langris knew he had you when he spotted the shiver in your back run down your thighs closing them around the fingers that slipped to touch the soft skin of your inner thighs.
“Langris,” Your voice was stern but it wavered, frailty curving around your words as they fell from lips. “I don’t… I can’t just accept you into my life this is gonna take a lot of time. You hurt me Langris, scared me.” Your head pulled at his own, curling it up in your CV hands.
“But I can meet you halfway, as long as you promise to do the same.” Langris felt his breath stop, looking up at you he felt like crying, he felt like screaming in joy but he settled on smiling up at you, tears welling in his eyes slowly, making his eyes shine in the lowly lit room.
“Thank you,” He whispered, “thank you, thank you, thank you.”
***
Six Months Later
Langris met halfway, if not more which swept you off your feet more than anything, the second Langris met Lefric he had been nothing less than a loving father, spending time with him as much as he could and even taking him out, of course only with you or Finral’s presence. If Lefric became upset, Langris was there to ask him what’s wrong and comfort him before a cry even left his lips. Family dinner became a thing every Wednesday, usually held at the Black Bulls hideout but the times where you ate with Golden Dawn commanders sometimes evening the Captain coming to join, those nights were filled with just as rich food and laughter.
Then there were the dates, the nights Finral and Finesse took care of Lefric and left you and Langris to go out and eat, filled with flirty gestures and hearty chuckles. As much as he cared for Lefric, Langris equally cared for you, checking on you when you seemed stressed, coming to see you after coming back from a mission, even occasionally going shopping with you for small things or groceries because he wanted to be near you. With Langris as Vice-Captain and you being a guild member yourself, it was hard and there were some disagreements, old Langris even coming out a few times but he never failed to apologize, and neither did you if you were wrong, you both couldn’t afford to be petty, if he- if you both wanted this work, then you had to think about Lefric as well.
Six months doesn’t feel like much, but as you break down every moment, every decision, every soft minute, each building juncture in your budding relationship, you wouldn’t give it up for anything. To you, Langris had long proven himself and you were tired of waiting for the right time to thank him and forgive him.
“Are you ready?” You snapped out of the recollection of events, met with the questioning eyes of a certain Vice Captain, holding his hand out for you, ready to take you home after a refined night out at some highly rated nobility restaurant. The food had been great and the wine was sweet, heavy on your tongue and you never found your mouth closed, conversation buzzing the entire night, carrying with the wind that softly blew around you both. You had come as the sun was setting, dining and watching the sunset but as the dinner went on the sun long faded and the dark sky filled your desert with stars and a chill that ran up and down your spine, dressed a little too thin.
“Hmm? Oh yeah, sorry.” You move to get up, pushing your chair back in before taking Langris’ hand letting him lead you out, opening every door for you and letting you through first making you feel like royalty. He walked toward a carriage waiting for you both but you waved off the driver and pulled Langris back.
“Walk with me.” He looked stunned, almost pulling back from you before catching up, walking beside you and still looking questioning. Walking for minutes on end, Langris didn’t know where you were going, but he didn’t mind, he would follow you anywhere. It was when you shivered lightly while the harsh wind blew between you, shaking the trees around you, making the leaves swish a blow in an airy sound, did Langris speak.
“Maybe we should head back soon, it’s getting pretty cold.” He didn’t ask but he didn't pull you away either instead continuing to follow as you pulled him to a little inn. You walked in and straight to the desk lady asking for one room, pulling out your own money before Langris could think of reaching for his, he was annoyed with that and rolled his eyes averting himself from you for a bit before walking with you again when you handed the key.
“What about Lefric?”
“He’s with Finral and Finesse tonight.”
“Yeah, but Finral’s is an idi- ahem! Finral is... Finral.” He settled, taking the key from your hands gently and pulling up next to your room, unlocking the door and letting you in.
“Finral is very much capable of taking care of Lefric and if not he has Finesse! They’ll be fine, they always are, and if they aren’t, they know just how to get a hold of us.” You spoke, slipping off your thin coat and beginning to drop useless jewelry onto the side table. You stopped for a second turning to find Langris in the door staring at the room, analyzing every inch meticulously. “What?”
“What are we doing here?” He looked back over to you, suddenly you noticed the way he gripped the key, his eyes falling down your figure while you took your time to answer. Slowly you walked from the bedside table and sat on the bed taking off your heels promptly, and sitting back in the bed looking at Langris with just as much yearning as he did you.
“I think I’ve left you waiting long enough,” You unclipped your dress from your back and shrugged it down, bunching it at your hips halting as you looked back up at him. Watching his face fall, eyes widen and devouring every inch of naked skin they could scour, falling on your bare breast with a shuddering breath. “don’t you think?”
The door was slammed shut, you almost feared he broke the door frame almost waiting for the door to just swing back open but it held. Langris was on you in a second and suddenly you found yourself on your back, hands pulling your dress down your legs hastily. He pulled back taking a shuddering breath as he looked at you, watching you slide your legs open waiting for him to do something, anything. Becoming a little bashful with his long stare, your legs began to droop, almost falling closed but he caught them.
“Don’t cover yourself, Honey, it’s been so long.” His voice ending in a high whine as he slipped onto the bed, arms wrapping under your legs to set them on his lithe shoulders. Langris turned to look back up at me finding my eyes.
“Can I touch you?” you didn’t hesitate.
“Please!” and neither did he.
#black clover#black clover oneshots#blackclover x reader#Langris Vaude#langris vaude x reader#langris x reader#smut#lime#nosmutwhoops#request#original#4kwords#wow#xreader#Female reader
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Can’t Deny It, Who You Are Is What You’re Feeling
Word Count: 5685
Pairings: Demus, LAMP(and all variations thereof)
Janus is trying to settle into his new role as the makeup artist for a small off-off Broadway production, but he can't seem to figure out the relationships going on in the troupe, let alone what he has going on with the eccentric set designer...
AO3 Link
Janus squinted at the side of the stage. He should definitely be trying to make himself useful, it being only his second day, but he had just finished an eye test on Valerie and he was fairly certain he could pass off his staring as making sure it looked right where she stood in the spotlights. Hell, that’s what he’d been doing originally, before getting side tracked by the male lead sliding off the stage to the crafts table, where he’d sidled up to Patton, the costume designer Janus had met yesterday. Patton had beamed like Christmas had come early and promptly started breaking off pieces of his muffin to feed over his shoulder to the man who was now firmly attached to his back with his arms around his waist, visibly giggling the entire time. They looked carefree and besotted with each other in a way that made an ugly curl of envy build up in his stomach, but he couldn’t look away once he’d started. At least, until the props master interrupted him, that is.
“They’re tooth-rottingly sweet, huh?” Janus would deny the sound he made til his dying day, but he was fairly certain it could only be described as a yelp. The prop master cackled, holding their hand out to shake, which Janus took, grateful for the distraction. “Hey, it’s Janus right? I’m Talyn. Could you come back this way and give me a hand with moving some of these bigger pieces over to the wings for the next scene?”
“Oh sure Talyn, I don’t have anything until my next stage test in an hour or so,” he assured, carefully pasting a smile on his face that he hoped looked genuine.
Talyn threw a thumbs-up over their shoulder as they went towards the workshop and Janus took the opportunity to look back over at the crafts table where Valerie had now joined the two during a break and was laughing brightly as the actor playfully picked Patton up, throwing him over his shoulder to head over to the drinks table, and Janus could hear the shrieks even from his distance, “Rooooman, oh my goodness, you put me down right now, you big show-off!” Huh, so Mr. Leading-Man was named Roman. Good to know.
“You’re just so easy to toss around, Patton-cake. Maybe stop being so cute and I won’t be so tempted,” Roman shot back, opening a can of apple juice with an overexaggerated casualness.
“I’ll get you back for this, you heathen,” Patton cried, changing tactics to poking and tickling at Roman’s sides.
The laughter could still be heard even in the back wings of the auditorium where the workshop was, and Talyn had to raise their voice to be heard as they worked to finagle a fake-flower covered arch through the doorway, “Thanks for the help. The set designer, Remus, is out shopping for supplies today and he’s usually the one who actually moves this kind of stuff, but the director needs this for some sort of choreography today.”
“No problem at all,” Janus assured again, eager to prove his usefulness. “Happy to help when I can.”
By the time they finished getting the bulky prop to the proper side of the stage, the break was over, Roman was back onstage with Valerie, Patton had gone back to the far wings of the stage to continue working, and Janus had a new actor to meet and a fake scar to attempt to do in a transition that lasted less than 10 minutes.
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Less than a week later and Janus once again found himself squinting to the side of the stage, but this time it was up higher in the sound and light booth. Actors were scattered throughout the theater, running lines with each other, and the Technical Director seemed to be taking the opportunity to work with the Lighting Technician on setting up a few cues. Nothing out of the ordinary, most of the productions Janus had worked on in school worked the same way, no, the interesting part was just how close the Technical Director was to the Lighting Technician in the booth as they worked. They seemed to be able to communicate without speaking at all, effortlessly moving around each other and flicking different settings and somehow coming out with the correct configuration without ever saying a word.
The ease around each other was palpable, and that was what caught Janus off guard. He’d worked with the TD, Logan, once, and that interaction had been succinct, professional, and brokered no nonsense. Now, though, Logan’s shoulders seemed to loosen up the more time he spent up in the lighting box, and every once in a while, when the technician was triple or quadruple checking a light, Janus could see the TD huff and roll his eyes teasingly, then dodge an equally teasing swat to his side or shoulder. And he’d smile , a real smile, not a smirk or a placating pleasantry, and Janus felt that nasty longing that was tinged green with jealousy snake up into his throat again.
He forced himself to look away, finally, just to see Roman sitting in the makeup chair looking thoroughly amused and he was suddenly glad he’d chosen to wear a full face of makeup today, not just covering his left side like usual, because now he could at least hope that his thick foundation would cover up the way his face flamed up at getting caught staring at a couple again . “Hello Roman, did you need something?” he asked, going to his workstation to avoid having to look at the actor’s smirking face anymore.
“Hmm? Oh. Yes, yes, yes, I did, I was wondering if I would be able to offer up my time for you to practice the second act’s possession effects, as I know you were saying it would be difficult to practice on a dummy, and I am much further ahead in my memorization than the others,” Roman rattled off, and when Janus turned back to him, he quickly averted his eyes from the lighting box. Hm, so apparently he wasn’t the only one looking, that was interesting…
“That would be great actually, thank you. Getting that pallid coloring done three times in one intermission is going to be tough unless I do it a few times ahead of the show, I appreciate it.” He brought his rolling cart over to the makeup chair and crouched in front of Roman, watching carefully without giving away that he was focused on anything other than the makeup. After the third time Roman’s eyes strayed towards the light box he decided to speak up, “What’s the lighting technician’s name? Haven’t met him yet.”
“Oh you mean Tall, Dark, and Moody? That’s Virgil, him and Logan grew up together so they’re pretty used to each other by now, it’s really great to watch them work,” Roman enthused, and that made more sense, Roman was just appreciating the well oiled machine. “We all send Logan up there when it looks like he’s ready to murder the next person to say ‘slightly behind schedule’. Or when Virge gets new cues and gets so overwhelmed he starts gnawing on that giant hoodie he’s always got on. They really good at chilling each other out.”
Janus absorbed all of this as he brushed a small test bit of gray over Roman’s cheek bones, mulling it over and ultimately content to just let Roman talk. By the time he was done with the ghostly sheen, he had learned that Logan, Virgil, Patton, and Roman all went to college together and all joined the budding troupe together straight afterwards, even though they all had offers for separate larger companies scattered across the country. It was clear that Roman would talk about his little group forever if he were allowed to, had spent almost 10 minutes alone enthusing about some cosplay work Patton did in college with this adorably smitten twinkle to his eye, but Janus had to let him up from the chair eventually. When he stepped back to admire his work, though, Roman didn’t make any moves to get up. “Spent all this time talking about us, how about you? What brings you to our humble little company instead of some larger agency?”
Janus startled a bit, not used to getting asked anything about himself. “I suppose I was intrigued by the premise of the play, and wanted to do more hands-on work than most agencies allow new graduates.” It wasn’t quite a lie, and Roman didn’t need to know that this particular theater had been Janus’s saving grace growing up, how he owed the owner, Thomas, everything, how…
“My brother is the exact same way. Not happy unless he has full, creative control over his sets,” Roman laughed, and Janus tilted his head curiously. “I mean it’s better that he has an outlet for his thoughts. You don’t wanna know what he gets like when you try to stifle him, woo boy. Much better he swing a hammer at the scenery than at my head.”
“It was a wiffle ball bat, I only hit you once, and you didn’t even have a concussion. And beside that, you practically dared me to.”
Janus spun so quickly his beanie tilted slightly, and he fidgeted with his gloves to hide the fact that his heart was racing, but his face remained carefully even, “Remus. Speak of the devil and he shall appear.” The man had a way of blending into the shadows until you least wanted him to jump out at you. Janus had been too startled to even react the first time, but Remus had taken it as though he wasn’t scared at all and was now determined to make him scream. Luckily, Janus had great experience controlling his expressions, the few times he’d been caught daydreaming observing relationships around the theater notwithstanding.”Were you looking for Roman or are you just here to bother me?”
Remus swooned dramatically, “Bother! You wound me! Nono, Joan sent me, they want Roman on stage to help Virgey-poo calibrate the acoustics after I, er, nudged one of the speakers over. Accidentally, of course.”
Roman rolled his eyes and scoffed, “You pissing Virgil off has never once been an accident. But I’ll head over there before Tickle-Me-Emo has a heart attack.” He turned to Janus, patting him on the back, “Good luck with him, don’t let him near anything sharp or he’ll try to cut his own bangs in the name of creating a new hairstyle.”
“I can handle him just fine,” Janus drawled, and pointedly ignored the suggestive look Remus gave him in return. Instead, he focused again up on the lighting box where Virgil seemed to be ranting, hands flying in front of his face, as Logan patiently listened. Roman finally got up on the stage and Virgil started messing with the sound board, forehead creased in concentration, and Janus pretended there wasn’t a tug in his heart when Logan leaned over to smooth the skin out just between his eyebrows with his thumb, earning himself a small but genuine smile, before heading back down to work.
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Three weeks into rehearsals and Janus was really getting the hang of his new life. He and his roommate, Remy, the publicity manager for the theater, had moved into a new apartment closer to the theater with Remy’s boyfriend Emile, as between the three of them they could now afford more than what basically amounted to a shoebox. He’d made friends, something he’d thought was somewhat of a pipe dream before. He absolutely adored his job. Two to three times a day he would snag actors to do test runs of looks and see how they turned out on stage, tweaking things here and there when he could. The rest of the time he would help out around the theater, helping Logan with keeping Remus in line and on schedule(Remus would sometimes demand only Janus be allowed in his studio, and Janus had found that Remus was much more bearable when he felt he was paid attention to. Pleasant, even, if a little random and impulsive), shopping for props for Talyn, running lines with Valerie or Roman or Terrence or the background actors when the others were busy, or, most often, assisting Patton in costuming.
Apparently, Patton was supposed to have an assistant but they’d had a family emergency and Patton had brushed off the idea of trying to find someone else on short notice. Janus had noticed, of course, that Patton came in earlier and stayed later than almost anyone else and so he went out of his way to help where he could. He had some basic sewing experience and worked well as a sounding board for Patton to bounce his ideas off of while he worked, and Janus was thrilled to be able to be helpful. He had also noticed Patton was more willing to take breaks if he thought Janus needed one and Janus was not above being a bit dramatic with his yawns to get Patton to relax for a few minutes. He’d become fond of the guy.
He’d just gone to the craft table to grab something Patton would eat, intending to goad him into taking 15 minutes off. He’d gotten a bit sidetracked when Remus decided to “stumble” into him, leaving a large forest-green handprint right in the center of his chest and loudly declare that he needed to take it off (Janus made a note in his head to spend the next day in his workshop, he was definitely looking for attention, and he was missing the rowdier man a bit besides), but he had still only been gone about 20 minutes, so he was surprised when he heard another voice coming from the sewing room aside from Patton. “- and we need to make sure Valerie’s weighted dress is done before next Wednesday, she needs to rehearse the choreography with the added material-”
“Lolo, relax. I’ll get it done, I promise,” came Patton’s voice, light and almost teasing in a way Janus had never heard before. He’d almost describe it as… flirtatious? But that didn’t make any sense… “You’re starting to sound like Virgil with all that fretting. You know me, you know I never break a promise.”
“Y-yes,” and now Logan sounded flustered, which really was out of character, “Of course, Patton, I just wanted to make sure you had all the resources you needed and were not overextending yourself-”
Patton cut him off again, and this time Janus got the impression he was very amused, “I’ve got everything I need, right here, Mr. Berry. I even promise I’ll do something to relax tonight, sound good? Pick up a bottle of wine and have a night in, maybe watch a movie, something to really decompress…” Janus got the distinct feeling he was missing something, because Patton was speaking as though he had a completely different meaning behind the words, but they seemed completely innocent.
Janus finally decided to head into the studio then, feeling like he’d been eavesdropping on something private, and when he saw Patton he was leaning against his desk casually, no indication in his body language at all that he’d been flirting like Janus thought he’d heard. He thought maybe he’d been mistaken, but Logan was adjusting his tie even though the knot was perfect, like always, and had a very faint pink to his cheeks that he would have missed if he weren’t paying attention. He lightly cleared his throat before speaking, “Hello Janus. I was just heading out. Thank you for assisting Patton with keeping to the deadlines, it is much appreciated. Patton, we can continue our discussion later.” Patton smiled brightly, looking like the picture of innocence, and waved as Logan headed back towards Remus’s workshop and Janus repressed a wince. Yeah, he’d definitely visit tomorrow if Logan was going to get on his case about deadlines too.
He pasted a smile on, making sure not to indicate he’d heard anything before coming in, “Hey Pat, I grabbed some cookies and tea from the craft table. Remus sends his regards.” He gestured wryly to the graphic tee shirt he held in his hands, still grateful he’d worn an undershirt today.
Patton beamed and took a cookie, looking all the more innocent when he bounced a bit on his toes, curls catching in the light as they moved with him, “Woo! You rock, we definitely earned a few cookies today!” He tilted his head curiously at the stain, then nodded like he’d decided something, “I can definitely get that out, by the way, just need some vinegar and washing soda. Re does stuff like that to Roman all the time. Leave it with me and it’ll be perfectly fine by tomorrow!”
Janus smiled again, feeling taken care of in a way he hadn’t in a long time, and it felt more real this time, “Thanks Patton.”
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Janus was making good on his promise to himself the next day, lounging on a chair next to the open door of Remus’s workshop even though it was technically his day off. He came into the theater every day no matter what just in case anyone needed assistance, but it was nice to not feel guilty for not doing his own work. He people-watched between the points where Remus would ask for his opinion on a piece or start up a seemingly unrelated conversation, letting the silence fall when Remus needed to focus. He’d been watching Virgil up in the tech box, messing with the settings for the lighting of one of Valerie’s solo scenes while she rehearsed. He had that focused crease in his brow again but he didn’t look nearly as murderous as when Remus screwed around with his speakers, so Janus didn’t feel the need to get Logan yet, but when the door opened behind the engineer he’d still been expecting the technical director to come in.
What happened instead was much more confounding to Janus. Patton burst through the door, looking worn down and cranky, and paced the room a few times with his hands waving around. Virgil took his headphones off without turning around and nodded along, not breaking focus at all but still responding from what Janus could see. Then, seemingly out of steam, the costume designer maneuvered around cords and computers over to Virgil’s chair and promptly ducked under his arm and threw a leg over Virgil’s before burrowing his face into Virgil’s neck. Virgil didn’t flinch at all, continuing to focus on the lighting of the scene by simply arranging Patton slightly on his lap so he could tuck his own head over his shoulder.
At some point in the performance on stage, Valerie and the director aimed a thumbs up at the light box, and Virgil gave a self satisfied smile as he leaned back and finally wrapped his arms around Patton in return.
“Jannie?” Remus called, sitting back from his stage setting, a beautiful star-lit grove, “Do you think you could make me look like a werewolf?”
Janus blinked at him for a couple moments, not knowing how to respond, before he just shrugged, “Sure. Might look a little weird with your mustache though.”
Remus nodded, once, with finality to it, “How about a tentacle monster?”
“Same answer,” Janus replied, quicker this time now that he knew where Remus’s head was at.
“Huh. I think I’d like to try being a tentacle monster at some point. Could probably terrify the shit outta Roman. Not to mention all the benefits of tentacles.”
Janus laughed, charmed as always by Remus’s ability to just say whatever he felt like without hiding anything, “You name the time and place and I’ll be there, Remus.”
Remus gave him a blinding smile and Janus felt his breath catch a bit. God, this whole thing was so stupid but he couldn’t bring himself to care at all. He found that he’d do just about anything to make Remus smile like that again. “It’s really nice to have a partner in crime now,” Remus enthused, twirling his paintbrush without a care in the world if he splashed himself with paint.
“Yeah, Re, I get what you mean.”
By the time Remus had gone back to work splattering a blood stain artfully over a tree in the middle of the otherwise beautiful landscape, Patton had left the tech box and Virgil was back to his computer with his headphones on.
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It was one week til opening night, and Janus had been sent to find Remus, who had apparently announced he was going on a quest for inspiration which alarmed pretty much everyone who knew him, but instead he’d stumbled upon Logan, alone in the orchestra pit, looking like he was ready to scream as he tugged at the padlock on a crate. Janus made his way over and tapped Logan on the shoulder lightly, “Hey, everything alright?”
Logan’s eyes were fiery as he responded, and Janus was just a little bit taken aback, “The previous production group left the alternate curtain ropes in this container, nicely labeled and everything, except the box has this godforsaken lock and I do not want to have to pay for bolt cutters. Or have the time to buy them before dress rehearsals. It’s rather… infuriating.”
Janus laughed a bit and knelt down next to the box, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket and taking a long thin piece of metal out, “You don’t have to do that, rotation locks like this are ridiculously easy to pick.” He manipulated the piece of metal up under the last rotation dial and pressed up, trying to listen for the click even though Roman and Valerie were rehearsing their final duet up on stage. He finally got the lock to pop open and turned to show it to Logan, only to find him thoroughly distracted by the scene on the stage.
Janus could understand, he had no interest in Roman Prince( his brother on the other hand...) but even he thought the way he was waltzing Valerie around the stage was a bit hypnotizing, the lyrics soft and sultry and romantic for the final number of the performance. Logan seemed to be completely entranced, singing along under his breath to Valerie’s piece and following their movements carefully. His eyes were filled with nothing short of adoration as he swayed to the music and as Janus watched carefully, the movements matched up fairly evenly to Valerie’s part in the dance as well. Logan didn’t look away until the director had called for a cut for adjustments. He shook himself slightly, seeming to remember all of a sudden that Janus was there, and flushed brightly as he took the lock from Janus, “Oh. Um. Thank you, very much. Where did you learn to pick locks like that?”
Janus could practically envision his mask slipping into place, covering the memories of manipulating the door to the theater open for what must have been the hundredth time only to come face to face with the new owner…
“Oh it’s barely a party trick, just something I picked up along the line. Let me know if you need any more street-rat techniques,” he brushed off with a wry grin, waving a hand dismissively, “Anywho, any chance you’ve seen Remus around?”
Logan eyed him a bit critically for a moment then seemed to choose not to push it further, “Yes, I believe I saw him lurking back by your station actually.”
Janus repressed a disappointed sigh at himself. Of course, Remus had come looking for him if something had upset him. He took off for the makeup room quickly, leaving Logan behind to stare up at the stage again while Roman began rehearsing the solo piece of the song. He didn’t miss the small wink Roman aimed down at the pit when the director had turned to answer a question, and filed that bit of information away with Logan’s admiring gaze to analyze after he’d made sure Remus was alright.
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Janus was not used to anyone being in his station before him, but he was starting to become used to being surprised, so he didn’t even really react to seeing Roman and Virgil commandeering one of his makeup chairs, Roman’s hands buried in Virgil’s long black and purple hair, twisting it into intricate braids as they argued fiercely. “No, Virge, you don’t get to say ‘American Idiot’ is your favorite Broadway song. That doesn’t count.”
“It totally counts. You wouldn’t say ‘Honey, Honey’ doesn’t count, even though that’s just an ABBA song!”
“Don’t you dare bring Mamma Mia into this, that is a classic!”
“So is American Idiot!”
“Girls, girls, you’re both pretty,” Janus droned, smiling at the Venti Iced Mocha sitting on his rolling tray, ice not even melted yet, with a little doodle of a green dragon blowing fire at what he could only assume was Roman on one side, and a python wearing Janus’s signature beanie on the other. Virgil and Roman both turned to glare at him and he smirked back, lounging back in his chair and taking a long sip from his coffee in a loose impression of Remy, “What are you two doing in my domain aside from attempting to drive each other up the wall?”
“Princey was having a minor meltdown about opening night tomorrow, so I told him he could braid my hair,” Virgil told him, squinting curiously at the cup like he was trying to make out what the doodles were.
“Not true! Virgil was freaking out about opening night, not me, and he asked me to braid his hair,” Roman whined, though Janus noted that the whole time Roman’s hands never stopped moving and Virgil seemed to lean further and further into them, both their shoulders relaxing more and more as the braids took a more concrete form, “Though I will admit it is somewhat of a ritual for us at this point. Been doing this since freshman year of college when Virge first started growing his hair out.”
“Barely had enough for one braid back then, you would just do it and take it out over and over again while I ran lines with you,” Virgil commented fondly, fidgeting with the end of a piece which was left down.
“And I didn’t have the skills which I do now, of course.”
“Oh, no doubt. Maybe I’ll cut it so you could test that theory.”
“Don’t you dare!” Janus looked up from his thank you text to Remus(he’d responded with a giant squid emoji, followed by a dirty joke about proper thank yous which Janus found unreasonably funny), tilting his head curiously at Virgil’s smirk and Roman’s blush. “I-I mean, it’s your hair, obviously, but it definitely suits you being grown out.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll leave it be. Just for you,” Virgil shot back, and Janus felt like he could see the years of friendship in his smile.
Roman and Virgil stuck around for another hour until the director got there, ribbing each other over everything from music preference to sleeping habits to, bizarrely, the dark undertones of Disney movies, not even noticing when Janus slipped off to Remus’s workshop to have his own minor meltdown about opening night, lost in their own little world.
(Remus already had a hammer and some messed-up pottery out, actually encouraged him to smash stuff, cheering him on enthusiastically, and Janus thought he might have found his own pre-show ritual. He didn’t even realize he hadn’t felt envious of Roman and Virgil’s easy camaraderie and teasing affection at all until he was lying in bed that night.)
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Janus made a downright embarrassing shriek when he felt a mustache rub against his neck and Terrence broke off from their conversation to the living room with a playful eye roll, leaving the other two in the kitchen. “Come on Re, don’t start anything you can’t finish in public,” he teased lightly, patting Remus on the cheek, the adrenaline rush from three successful shows, the pure joy at being officially offered a full time position within the theater troupe from Thomas (from Thomas , who took a chance on the high school dropout who snuck in to the theater to use the big mirrors and the real theater makeup and listen to music echo through the empty stage. Thomas who so generously gave him the recommendation letter he needed to get the scholarship to cosmetology school. Thomas who found him a roommate so he wouldn’t have to stay with an older brother that didn’t understand him at all. Thomas who had seen his talent for deception and pushed him to turn it into art. Thomas who Janus owed his entire life to...) and the three vodka sodas in his system making it difficult to even begin to hide his flirtation, especially since he was fairly confident at this point he wouldn’t be rebuffed.
He felt more than heard the laugh that followed as Remus pulled away, still leaving his arms wrapped around Janus’s waist, a testament to the comfortable something (Janus refused to call it a relationship, even in his head, lest he burst the perfect bubble of happiness) they’d fallen into, “Come on Jan, you can’t deprive me of finally getting revenge on my brother for the years of cast-party-brand PDA he’s put me through.”
Janus stiffened and he turned to face Remus quickly, bracing himself on Remus’s chest when he started to trip a bit out of tipsiness. He also blamed the tipsiness for his lack of ability to cover up his curiosity, “PDA? What do you mean? I’ve spent the last 6 weeks trying to figure out who would end up with who in that group, but Roman’s already seeing someone?”
Remus smirked at him, clearly enjoying a less-inhibited Janus, and didn’t audibly answer. Instead, he laced their fingers together(Janus was not blushing like he was a middle-schooler. He wasn’t. If his foundation just so happened to help hide that lie then so be it.) and led him back towards the living room where a particularly rowdy game of beer pong was being played with Logan and Virgil on one side with only one cup in front of them and Joan and Talyn on the other with two, all four of them looking like a giant weight was off their shoulders with the last show of the first weekend over and done with and four whole days before the next one. Patton and Roman stood behind Logan and Virgil’s side, alternating between making ridiculous and distracting movements and singing along to whatever was playing through the speakers. The other team missed both their shots and Virgil snagged the balls, handing one to Logan before holding the other behind him. Patton leaned in and blew on the ball, then leaned further to press a kiss to Virgil’s cheek with a visible giggle while Roman mimicked his motions with Logan. Oh, ok, that kinda made sense for how the pairings worked out, he supposed…
Janus’s head tilted in confusion as Roman and Patton promptly switched positions and repeated their actions before they actually fell back. Logan and Virgil then glanced at each other from the corners of their eye, smirked, and sent both balls flying in unison. They didn’t even circle the rim, sinking easily, and the room erupted in chants to “chug” that Joan and Talyn took good naturedly on one knee as they emptied their cups.
Janus wasn’t watching the prop master and stage manager, though, instead focused on where Logan had apparently flung himself into Virgil’s arms in celebration, wrapped his legs around his waist, and promptly kissed him like he was trying to devour him, glasses tilted with no attempt being made to adjust them. Patton laughed brightly and tugged on Virgil’s sleeve to bring them both over to the couch with a practiced ease that said this was a fairly regular occurrence, Roman practically skipping as he followed. Logan transferred to Roman’s lap once they were settled, kissing him with the same amount of barely-restrained hunger, and Patton took his place in Virgil’s, pressing small kisses up his throat at the same time as he hooked his pinky with Logan’s and nudged his feet under Roman’s thigh, at which point Janus looked away, blushing furiously at just how shameless they all were.
He turned back to Remus with wide eyes just to find him openly laughing at him, “How long have you spent trying to figure that out, hm? For someone so smart you’re kinda a dumbass sometimes.”
Janus pouted, still feeling flustered and embarrassed that he’d somehow missed the idea of polyamory, but in the back of his mind he was delighted that the angry green jealous monster was no longer clawing at his insides at seeing so much open affection. He finally had someone who replaced that nasty curl with fluttering butterflies. Someone who gave a shit about him, and who was darkly hilarious and creative and didn’t hide anything but didn’t push Janus to be completely open in return. Someone Janus could truly see a future with, someone he felt he could trust.
He made a calculated decision, and his mouth turned up in a smirk as he grabbed Remus’s wrist and tugged him over to the pong table, “Tell you what, Re-Re. You help me win and you can have as much revenge as you want.”
Remus’s eyes went dark but his smile was blinding, “And if we lose?”
Janus grinned back, sharp and wicked, and easily sunk his first ball despite Remy’s boyfriend Emile jumping around ridiculously on the other side, “Guess you’ll just have to keep up so we don’t.” Remus’s grin widened even further at the challenge and he nodded resolutely, focus zeroed in.
For all the talk of revenge, they didn’t even notice Roman’s indignant squawk when Remus pinned Janus to the wall before Remy could even take the last cup off the table.
#ts lamp#analogical#logicality#prinxiety#moxiety#royality#logince#demus#sanders sides#sanders sides fic#sorry if you saw this on ao3 already lol#i wanted it in this format too#my writing#dukeceit
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January 7th, 2021 - Welcome To The Universe!
First impressions matter! From the good, the bad, the silly, to the incredibly awkward, everyone has a great ‘First Impressions’ story worth sharing!
Prompt - The First Time We Met
Backup Prompt - Our Last Goodbye
January 8th, 2021 - Force, Look At All The Alternate Universes.
Are we working in cafes? Or students in High School? Or, maybe, this time, we are all Sith Masters. What are all the different things we could be?
Prompt - Alternate Universes
Backup Prompt - “Historical” Setting
January 9th, 2021 - Do I Sense A Pattern?
A classic writing style in Fandom! The good ol’ 5+1. Five times we missed each other? Five times something caught on fire? Or, maybe, five different ways to say ‘I love you’! (Nod to Crystalfox)
Prompt - 5+ 1
Backup Prompt - No Backup
January 10th, 2021 - What Creature Is This?
Werewolves, Nagas, or Fae, Oh my! What other folks are hiding out here?
Prompt - Fantasy Creature
Backup Prompt - Animal AU
January 11th, 2021 - Oh, What Could Have Been.
Some say, that one choice has the ability to change the future. Which in-universe moment would you choose? Maybe Shmi is alive? Maybe the Rogue One crew made it off Scariff?
Prompt - Universe Alterations
Backup Prompt - Evil Twins
January 12th, 2021 - A Sneak Peek Of History In Colour.
We are People of Colour, our history is long and rich. We have stories to tell if you would sit and listen.
Prompt - Our Stories, Told Star Wars Style
Backup Prompt - Mythology AU
January 13th, 2021 - Race Bender Day!
What if all the Sith were Clones? What if Poe was Nautolan? Or if Grogu was a Twi’lek youngling instead? (Nod to Claudia)
Prompt - Bend it like Beckham!
Backup Prompt - Mirror!Verse Style
January 14th, 2021 - LGBT+
Since we aren’t given good representation, let us create it ourselves!
Prompt - Straight? Not a Chance.
Backup Prompt - Be an Ally.
January 15th, 2021 - Timeline? What Timeline?
Why shouldn’t Mace and Yoda get a chance to meet Finn and Poe? What about Quilan and Jannah? And how delighted would we be if Baze and Chirrut could meet Grogu??? (Nod to Crystalfox and ZachAttack)
Prompt - Star-Crossed Meetings
Backup Prompt - They Should Never Have Met
January 16th, 2021 - Disability Awareness Day!
Representation matters, so let us bring it to the table. Maybe Finn is Autistic, Maybe Jannah is Deaf. Maybe Mace is dealing with being an amputee. Here’s a chance, for those willing, to share how they see and navigate the Universe. (Nod to rebelfn2187)
Prompt - Disability Awareness
Backup Prompt - What Does It Mean To Be An Ally
January 17th, 2021 - Fan Cast For Days!
Toshiro Mifune and Devery Jacobs could have joined the Star Wars Universe! Who else would you cast alternatively? (Nod to ZachAttack)
Prompt - FanCast Day!
Backup Prompt - No Backup
January 18th, 2021 - Mental Health Day.
Mental Health is vital to overall health. Every day, steps are being taken to remove the stigma that has surrounded the topic for years. Let us use today and join in with those efforts.
Prompt - Mental Health And Me
Backup Prompt - Traditional Medicine
January 19th, 2021 - Into the Unknown!
There are so many stars in the sky! While we know not all can support life (Gas Giants), there have to be some out there that can! Pick one and tell me all about it! Either through mythology or by planting your favourite characters there. It’s a blank slate planet, your imagination is the limit. (Nod to Crystalfox)
Prompt - Let’s Discover!
Backup Prompt - Take A Deep Dive
January 20th, 2021 - It’s The Holidays!
Holidays mean different things to different people. Different cultures have different celebrations and different countries celebrate the same holidays differently! Let us share some of those, shall we?
Prompt - Our Holidays, Star Wars Style
Backup Prompt - Canon Star Wars Holidays
January 21st, 2021 - Free Day!
Woohoo! You did it! On our last day of the PPP, feel free to do whatever you’d like! Want to go back and add part two to previous work? Sure! Have a Historic AU you want to share? Let me see it! Want to go completely off the rails? Take a helmet and some tags. Let those creative juices flow, my friend.
Prompt - Whatever Your Heart Desires
Backup Prompt - No Seriously, Go Nuts
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Over cookies?
Charlie Barber x Reader
Summary: Charlie comes home after a long day of work and is greeted by his two favourite people. But a nice night is apparently the last thing the universe has in store for him.
Warnings: Angst? over the top drama?
A/N - My first time writing for Charlie, and I love this man more than anything. I’m posting this since I’ve been sitting on it for a while now and I’m hoping ya’ll can encourage me to continue? We shall see.
AO3 link: XX
Part 2: XX
Tags: @commanderbensolo
The sound of laughter echoed throughout the house, bringing a smile to Charlie’s face as he closed the door behind him and hung his keys on the little hook on the wall. A hook that you’d insisted on putting there after he’d forgotten his key three times last month, causing you to leave work early to let him into the house. At the time he’d argued that it was a one-time mistake, a lapse of memory as he rushed out of the house to get to rehearsal or a meeting. But he’d not forgotten them since the hook had been installed, a fact he could tell you’d been dying to point out.
Charlie shrugged off his coat and hung it between yours and Henry’s new favourite bright green coat that he’d insisted on getting because it reminded him of some cartoon character that he couldn’t name. Nicole would know, you probably would too, not that it mattered in the grand scheme of things, but he felt guilty that the name kept escaping him.
“Dad!” Henry called running towards him with a look of glee on his face. Henry paused to quickly hug him but before Charlie could move his hand to ruffle his hair as he usually did Henry pulled away and bounded towards the kitchen. “No time! Gotta move!” He called.
“You’re home early.” You said as you came down the stairs, folding your cardigan over body. It was getting colder out, not terribly so but enough that you couldn’t leave the house without a coat.
Call it his director’s brain, but he couldn’t help but think you looked angelic standing there, as if you were descending from the heavens to bless humanity. If he was in the theatre, if this was one of his plays, he’d make sure to have the lights dimed and have one singular spotlight on you, lighting you up so that everyone’s attention was forced to be on you, so they couldn’t look away. It was what someone as amazing as you deserved, not that you’d like that. You shied away from the spotlight. Something he failed to understand.
“Finished rehearsal early. Everyone’s in a foul mood, no point continuing so I called it.” Charlie explained as he toed off his shoes and pushed them against the wall. It wasn’t their proper place, and he’d rectify that later but right now he wanted you in his arms.
“Everyone seemed in a fine enough mood at lunch when we visited.” You said with a small frown as you made your way down the last few steps, pausing on the bottom one, leaving you almost eye level with him. A habit you had, stepping on anything you could to make the height difference between the two of you smaller. “I just think you missed me.” You said reaching out to him, your fingers hooking around his belt loops, tugging forward. Not forcefully, but enough for him to get the picture, enough for him to get excited.
He let out a hum as he moved towards her wrapping his arms around her pulling her tight, breathing her in. She smelt of coffee and something sweet that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
“There might be some truth to that.” Charlie said pressing a kiss onto the top of her hair. In reality, he had been the one in a foul mood, after the two of them left at lunch to go to the park he’d been disappointed he had to stay behind. She of course had to keep sending him photos of Henry having a great time causing him to be completely unfocused and instead constantly checking his phone for more. One photo of him climbing a tree which at first had his parental instincts going wild but then he saw how close he was to the ground and he calmed down. There had been one with Henry holding a rabbit at some pop-up petting zoo and finally a selfie of the two of them, Henry covered in cream from the hot chocolate in his hands. He’d saved that one as his lock screen.
In the end Wallace had suggested they call it a day, which Charlie didn’t try to argue against. Instead he’d nodded and packed his things up in record time to get home to his favourite people.
“Y/N!” Henry called running back towards them, he held something in his hands, an egg timer Charlie noticed. Y/N turned her head which had been buried in Charlie’s shirt. “Stop being gross and come help me! They’re going to burn!” Henry’s bouncing up and down trying to express the urgency of the situation.
Charlie raised an eyebrow at the pair as he allowed Y/N to disentangle herself from him. Henry promptly took her hand in his as he dragged her towards the kitchen. He followed of course; his curiosity peeked.
Charlie settled against the kitchen counter folding his arms. He watched the pair of them crowding around the oven. Y/n gestured to Henry to move back so she could open the oven. Charlie took the chance to grab him by the shoulders and pull him back against him. “What have you two been up to.” He asked his son, ruffling his hair as he had attempted to do just minutes before.
“We made cookies.” Henry said looking up at his father with a grin. “I wanted to add gummy bears but Y/N said that it might be a disaster and you’d be upset that we wasted your secret stash.”
It was true he always made sure to have a packet of Haribo’s in the house and in his desk at the theatre, it was a guilty pleasure for him. When he was writing or planning or working on something practically tricky. The chewy texture and sugar rush did wonders to help his creative juices flow. He wasn’t sure why he hid them, other than Nicole had always given him hell for having them. Claiming it was encouraging Henry to have unhealthy habits, and he suppose it had stuck.
“You know about-“
“We know about your stash, honestly honey just because you’re built like a fridge and the only one able to see the top of it but that doesn’t mean you should hide things there.” Y/n said as she placed the tray filled with possibly the worst cookies he’d ever seen. They looked slightly over cooked and had melted into wonky uneven shapes, but he knew he’d still eat as many as he could get away with stealing.
“They’re burnt!” Henry whines looking at the cookies disappointed.
“Only a little!” Y/n said quickly in response. “Besides we have the other half of the dough ready to go in, and we know not to put them in for as long.” She added taking her oven gloves off and draping them over her shoulder.
“Maybe if you and dad didn’t spend so much time being gross we’d have two batches of good cookies!” Henry pouted and stepped out of Charlies arms. Clearly in a huff. Charlie looked up catching Y/N’s eye, she seemed hurt by Henry’s outburst.
“Hey now kid, don’t be like that.” Charlie said pulling Henry back into his reach, he gripped his waist and lifted him so he was sitting on the counter. Charlie’s arms on either side to stop him wriggling out as he predicted he would try to do.
“It’s the truth!” Henry protests, but it sounded more like tooth than truth, he’d lost his front teeth a week ago and his new ones were still growing in.
“Henry, sweetie it’s okay, we can make some more.” You say taking a step closer.
“Mom wouldn’t have burnt them. I wish mom was here.” Henry snaps and Charlie’s breath hitches. Giving Henry a chance to break from Charlie’s body prison and run. He didn’t even try to catch his son as he bounded away and up the stairs to his room. “I hate you!” Henry shouts before slamming his bedroom door.
Instead he turns his attention to you. You’d never experienced one of Henry’s outbursts, or at least not one aimed at you. You’d been there for him whenever Henry had screamed at him, it had hurt at the time fresh after the divorce. It had taken Henry a good year to get over his “mommy phase” as Nicole called it. Meaning he seemed to hate every second he spent with Charlie, and had no problem being vocal about it.
You’d held as he wept one night in bed after a particularly bad day. He’d clutched your waist and pressed his head into your chest, your shirt was soaked with his tears but you didn’t care. You’d ran you’d fingers through his hair and told him Henry didn’t mean it, that he was still processing the separation.
He wanted to do that for you now. To be that solid rock.
“Sweetheart.” He starts seeing the hurt on your face. He wanted to reach out to you.
“No, it’s okay Charlie.” You force a smile and move to go past him and he stops you, instead taking you into his arms.
“you know he didn’t mean it, don’t you?” he presses a kiss to your hairline, his lips hovering just above your skin.
“I do. You should go check on him. I’m going to go for a walk.” You pull away pausing to cup his cheek allowing him to press a soft kiss to your palm.
“Stay. Please.” He all but begs, it was getting late and he didn’t want you walking the streets when you were clearly upset.
“I just need a break, honey. I won’t be long. I promise.”
“Okay.” He knew better than to try and stop you when your mind was set on something.Instead he watched as you slipped on your shoes and coat before leaving. You didn’t let the door slam behind you like he normally did, everything you did seemed gentle like that.
He waited until you’d made it to the bottom of the garden before turning away. Then he turned to the stairs and took them two at a time.
“Henry.” he called as he stopped outside his door, he raised his hand to knock twice.
“Go away.” Henry shouts back, Charlie knows by the wave in his voice that he’s crying. He’s torn between wanting to let Henry have his tantrum and wanting to deal with it now. He tried the door handle but Henry had clearly locked the door. Nicole’s voice plagued him then, berating him for letting Henry be able to lock his door.
What if there was a fire? What if he hurt himself and was trapped. You’re so irresponsible.
Fuck Nicole for being right, even if it was his made up version that did nothing but critisise his parenting. He took a step back, his back hitting against the wall with a thump. How had it all gone wrong so quickly?
He’d been looking forward to coming home all day, to your smiling face and Henry’s excited chatter about dinosaurs or space or whatever else took his fancy that day. He’d spent all day recounting the ingredients in the fridge thinking about what him and Henry could make for dinner while you folded laundry or hoovered or just sat and relaxed. But here he was, you’d left and Henry was seemingly distraught.
All this, over cookies.
#charlie barber x reader#charlie barber x you#charlie barber#wife me charlie barber YOU FUCKING BEAST#my writing#shut up caitlyn#Love of my life#adam driver#shatter my knees you fuckable redwood
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LERning New Things About Ourselves -- Pineapple’s Fics!
Note From August: With Pineapple taking a break from tumblr until she’s an adult, I will be hosting her fic on my blog for the time being. You can find them under tags like pineapple fics and pineapple writing. Once she is back, they will be deleted from my blog and reposted to her own. Thanks for being understanding to her during this time! Don’t forget to show her your love!
Word Count: 9111 words
Characters: lee!Virgil, ler!Roman
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Virgil’s heart thudded out of his chest as he stared up at the maliciously coy smile leaning over him. He had never been so excited yet so terrified in his life. “So, darling,” cooed his captor. “Shall we begin your destruction?”
~~~~~~~~~~
It all started on that fateful day when Virgil Anthony decided to post an ad for a new roommate. His previous roommates, Patton and Logan each got married and moved away, leaving Virgil with an empty apartment and no friends.
He was surprisingly content with that reality had it not been for a silly little thing called “rent” that incessantly found itself worming its way into Virgil’s life, and grew impressively large throughout the months. So, deciding he wished to eat this month, he begrudgingly settled on posting a chipper little advertisement on their community college’s website requesting a new roommate, provided they could come up with $450 a month. Weeks passed by and he was starting to lose hope until finally, he got a reply. After a quick online interview, he found himself with a new roommate. Before Virgil knew it, it was moving day.
And that was when he met Roman Prince. Roman was… eccentric.. to say the least, but despite their slightly awkward interview, Virgil knew he was the one. And maybe it helped that he made twice what Virgil made in a week, and brought with him a flatscreen TV and a Switch. Just a little.
“Ahh! Hello!” greeted the man as he set down his suitcase on the steps leading to the apartment. “You must be Virgil!” He stuck out the newly freed hand to shake Virgil’s. Virgil accepted.
“Hey, dude. Yeah, and you must be Roman,” he acknowledged with a smile. “Do you need help with your stuff?”
Roman waved his hand. “Nah, a couple of buddies of mine are coming by later to help me. For now, it’s just me and my suitcase,” he answered, pointing to the suitcase he left by the staircase. Virgil nodded.
“Okay, cool. Well, why don’t you come in, and we can chat.” Virgil wrung his hands slightly as he spoke, his nerves lit up from the social anxiety. He was trying his best to be friendly and not scare this guy off. Fortunately, Roman seemed to do most of the talking for the both of them. Only a couple hours in, the two found themselves seated on the sofa, sipping wine, and getting to know each other. Well, it was mostly Virgil getting to know Roman.
“So, how long have you lived in Cheyenne?” Virgil asked him.
“About three years now! We moved right after I graduated highschool, my parents grew up here, and I decided to go to college here too,” he answered, pointing to the east side of the apartment in the direction of the community college.
Virgil smiled. “That’s nice you all can live in the same area. You get along with your family well, I take it?”
Roman bobbed his head. “Oh yeah. I’m an only child, and it’s safe to say they spoiled me,” he chuckled, and Virgil joined him. Roman shrugged, smiling wryly. “I mean, I’m sure you figured that out considering no sibling should ever feel this confident,” he joked.
Virgil snickered. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Coming from a kid with three older brothers, I know.” He poured some more red wine into both of their glasses. “So, where do you work?” he inquired, ignoring the urge to ask where he makes so much money,
“I work at the bar across the street, Rattlesnake Juice Bar. I’m the manager,” Roman said, bringing the glass up to his lips. Virgil’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
“Wow, that’s impressive! Normally at twenty-one, employers don't offer management positions at bars,” commented Virgil, sipping his own drink. Roman swallowed his drink and shrugged.
“I guess it was because I had some experience, you know? I’ve been in management since I was seventeen.” Virgil nodded his head with a smile.
“Yeah, that’d do it,” he chuckled. Virgil shifted so he sat on his knees. “So, are you going to do management for a major?” he asked.
Roman shook his head. “No, actually, although it’d probably be a better career plan. Instead, I’m majoring in Journalism with a minor in Creative Writing.” Virgil brought the glass up to his lips, preparing to drink again.
“Oh wow, that’s cool. What do you like to write?”
“Tickle fanfiction.”
Virgil coughed violently, and spit the wine he just had in his mouth onto his shirt. Roman’s eyes widened in panic. “Oh, oh my gosh, are you alright?” he asked, hurriedly grabbing paper towels and handing them to the still sputtering man. Virgil snapped back to reality and finally noticed the spill.
“Oh, for heavens’ sake-“ he muttered, graciously accepting the towels and dabbing at his shirt. Roman furrowed his eyebrows as he helped Virgil clean up.
“Are you alright?” he asked again, his voice laced in genuine concern. Virgil looked up at him for a moment and examined his eyes for any signs of malfeasance. Nothing.
“Um, yeah, I-“ he coughed again, his cheeks turning a light pink. “Yeah, I just, you know, went down the wrong pipe,” he stuttered, gesturing vaguely to his throat. Roman nodded in understanding.
“Yeah, that happens to me all the time. Are you sure you’re good?”
Virgil nodded a bit too earnestly as he got up to go throw away the wine-soaked paper towels. Once safely in the kitchen, he refocused his breathing and tried to calm his beating heart. It was a good thing too, because as soon as he returned, Roman continued the conversation right back up where it had left off.
Virgil barely had time to sit down before Roman began speaking again. “Yeah, so anyways, back to our conversation, I write tickle fanfiction,” he explained with a smile. “It’s super fun. I have quite the following on Tumblr too! Over three hundred followers and they're growing by the minute!” Roman raved. Virgil just started in utter disbelief.
“Oh, well. That’s, uh, cool.”
Roman’s face lit up in excitement. “I take it you know what tickle fanfiction is?” he asked eagerly.
Virgil’s face heated to a thousand degrees. “No! I-I mean, no, not really. I just, I was being supportive. Yeah.” Virgil cringed at how painfully obvious he was being. This guy had to know his slip up. At least he clearly didn’t have to worry about being judged with Roman. But alarmingly, Roman actually appeared to believe him.
“Oh! Well, it’s the coolest thing. Basically-“ he paused for a moment. “Hm, actually, I guess the best way to explain is to start at the very beginning!”
And there Virgil sat, for an entire hour, as he listened to Roman in great explicit detail explain every aspect of the fixation of tickling, the community he was in, and everything he wrote about without a single stutter or slip up. And Virgil listened the whole way through, flinching at the subconscious wiggling of fingers as Roman discussed teases, and thanking whoever the genius inventor of foundation was, for it was the only thing keeping him from blinding his new roommate with the power of his flush as Roman described lees and lers.
Virgil also found out that apparently Roman was a ler. How…interesting.
Finally, mercifully, Roman stopped talking. “Oh goodness,” he laughed. “I’ve been talking for almost an hour, haven’t I!”
Exactly fifty-six minutes, thought Virgil.
“Sorry, I just get really excited and passionate about tickling and writing! Writing is my biggest hobby, and I love it so much. I try to be in touch with all my followers too, you know? I message back to anyone who messages me first, and reply to comments when I can.”
“Um, yeah. Well, I, uh, better throw this shirt in the wash,” Virgil interjected, leaping from the couch and scurrying out of the room.
Roman stared, watching his roommate in confusion, but ultimately shrugged it off and went to go find his new room.
It had been a week since the incident, and frankly, Virgil had not fully recovered yet. He didn’t even know how to begin to process the fact that a proud, confident ler was now living with him. He desperately wanted to know what Roman’s Tumblr account was to see if he could follow him. But discreetly of course, because even though Roman may be secure and confident in his quirk, Virgil was not, and that was just how it was. It would be easy, right? Just ignore him when he talks about it. Virgil was sure Roman was probably used to it.
Later that afternoon, Virgil was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, and was intensely scrolling through Tumblr on his phone trying to find Roman’s blog, when the man in question walked into the room.
Virgil all but threw his phone across the room in a panic when he heard the heavy footsteps behind him. He spun around. “Uh, y-yes?” he asked, closing his eyes in an attempt to slow his pounding heart rate. Roman didn’t seem to notice the odd behavior.
“Hey, Virge! So, you’re an English major, right?” He pulled up a chair at the dining room table and sat down. Virgil nodded, happy for the change of conversation.
“Yep. Whatcha need?”
Roman pulled out his phone and scrolled for a bit before handing it over to Virgil. “Do you mind proofreading this for any grammar or spelling errors?”
Virgil nodded and accepted the phone, squinting to try and read the tiny print. This wasn’t uncommon for Virgil. Many of his acquaintances often asked Virgil to proofread their emails and letters to bosses and businesses. It wasn’t until a few seconds of staring until he noticed.
It was a tickle fic. Virgil’s face blossomed into a bright red, as he glanced up at Roman who was sitting stone faced and calm.
“What-” he cleared his throat, “What is this?” he asked, trying to appear nonchalant.
Roman tilted his head. “One of my fics! I’m not the best with grammar, and I was really hoping you could help me edit. You know, as a writing major I really want to get better,” he responded with a smile. Virgil took a shaky breath. No, this was fine. Completely and totally fine. He was just reading a fic in the direct presence of a ler, and then giving him pointers on how to make it better.
“Well, um, you could, maybe, reword this better,” he finally said after a minute.
“What part?”
Virgil pointed to a sentence on the screen. “That one.”
Roman looked at him and giggled. “Virge, do you really think I can see that? Just read it to me, silly.”
Virgil’s face felt like it was on fire. “Oh, um. Okay. So you w-wrote, ‘He laughed, squirming all over the bed, as Chuni followed him, massaging his r-ribs.’ Yeah?” He glanced up at Roman to see him listening intently. Oh, this was hard. “Um, so, to make it flow better you can reword it slightly by changing, changing the order.” He cleared his throat again. “For example, ‘He laughed and squirmed all over the bed and Chuni followed him, m-massaging his ribs.’ Does that, um, make sense?” he clarified.
Roman smiled and nodded. “Yeah, it does! Thanks! Anything else?” Virgil shut his eyes in an attempt to control his breathing.
“Well you, um, spelt t-tormenting wrong,” he grimaced. Roman leaned over.
“Oh did I?” Virgil nodded, propping his head up on his arm in a weak attempt to hide his face. “Can you go over the rest with me?”
Virgil pinched his arm. “Yep, sure thing,” he squeaked.
That was by the longest afternoon of his young adult life. But if he thought that was bad, nothing compared to what happened a month later.
Virgil had still not yet found Roman’s blog, and he kicked himself for not checking to see what the title of the one fic he proofread was so he could search it up later. Regardless, he was still very closeted in his secret fantasy, and somehow managed to keep his cool throughout the many conversations where Roman brought up his ler moods, and writings, and such.
“Virgil!” exclaimed Roman, bursting into the room. Virgil jumped slightly from his seat on the couch, nearly dropping his phone.
“Um, yes?” He turned to see Roman holding a ukulele. “Why do you have a ukulele?”
Roman smiled excitedly. “Well, so you know how I talk about teases, right? How they’re essential to the wreckage of a lee?” Virgil forcefully shoved the embarrassment panic creeping up down his throat. “Well, I thought how cool it’d be, as a new type of tease, to write song parodies of nursery rhymes, but make them tickle related!”
Virgil’s stomach twisted in a pleasant coil as he sat in complete shock. Surely not. “I, uh-“
“You wanna hear some?” he asked, bouncing up and down excitedly on his toes. Virgil continued to ogle as he begged his
voice to work.
“Um, s-sure,” he stuttered out, his voice cracking at the end.
Roman beamed. “Perfect! Okay, so you know the song Tiny Tim, right?”
Virgil coughed. “T-the turtle song?” Roman nodded.
“Yep! But I changed it.” He did a strum of the ukulele before beginning to play the catchy tune. “I have a little feather,” he sang out, his voice ringing out with the chords of the instrument. “His name is Tiny Tim, I used him on my lee, to see if he would grin!” Virgil blanched at the teasing lilt in his voice. “I drank up all his laughter, it made him buck and squeal, and now he’s nice and flustered, his smile oh so real!”
Roman finished the song and looked at Virgil expectantly. Unfortunately, at that moment Virgil’s voice decided to duck out and leave him. Roman giggled at him. “Are you speechless at my talent or something?”
Virgil, horrified, frantically willed the embarrassment away as he finally found his voice. “Oh, no, sorry. Uh, yeah no. It was good. Good,” he took a breath while rubbing the back of his neck. “Job. Yeah,” he finished lamely.
Roman pumped his fists in excitement. “Yessss! I was super proud of it! You wanna hear another one?” Rather than wait for a response, he strummed the ukulele again. “Oh, so this tease requires a specific name for it. Do you mind if I just use yours?”
Virgil swore he was going to have a stroke.
“Oh I know a little lee,” he sang, this time playing a new tune. “His name is Wiggle Virgey,” he paused his singing to look at him. “Adding y’s at the end of names makes it teasy,” he explained.
Virgil said nothing.
“He is so very nice, but oh he is so giggly, and so goes his arms, and his arms go like so, and his arms are always so-oh-oh!”
Yep. Virgil was going to die.
After two more verses, Roman finally finished his song and Virgil was all but willing to sell both his kidneys to disappear from this conversation.
“So, what did you think? That one isn’t my best, but I liked it!” Roman commented nonchalantly.
Virgil simply stared and nodded. Roman furrowed his eyebrows in concern. “Are you feeling alright?”
Virgil blinked. “YeAh, why?” His voice cracked as he tried to speak. He quickly coughed to cover it up.
“I don’t know, you just seem sick or something. You’ve been coughing an awful lot. Your face is like bright red and you’ve been oddly quiet,” said Roman. That only made Virgil blush even more.
“No, yeah, no I’m fine,” he answered, waving him off. “Yeah, but I really gotta go work on, um that thing, for school, see ya around.” And with that, Virgil darted out of the room for the second time, leaving Roman standing alone in utter bewilderment.
Virgil had done his very best to avoid Roman after the whole tease incident, which was difficult considering they lived under the same roof. And even worse considering Roman was the most oblivious guy on the planet.
Virgil was in bed, scrolling through Tumblr on his phone, when he saw another post from his favorite writer, TheLeringPrince. He felt his lee mood spike as he saw it was a new tease post. Eagerly, he tapped the post and began to read. Slowly as he read though, something seemed off. The tease post was various nursery rhymes all modified to fit into the theme of tickling. And Tiny Tim was one of them.
Virgil’s heart began to race and his mind started spinning as he hurriedly tried to calm himself down. “No, Virgil,” he breathed out. “No, it’s just a coincidence. Roman probably stole it from this guy or maybe just thought of the same idea.” Ironically, he found himself wishing his roommate was a thief who stole credit from his favorite Tumblr user’s work, rather than admit that Roman was said favorite Tumblr user.
But right at the bottom of the post, there was a little bold sentence that truly made Virgil’s heart stop.
‘And many of you have been wondering about my sudden improvement in my grammar and spelling. Well, you can thank my brand new roommate for helping me proofread all my new fics and teases!’
What was Virgil’s luck? Of all the people on this planet of seven billion, he gets a roommate who, not only is a confident and charismatic ler who happily reads his teases and fics to Virgil, but is also the specific ler that Virgil had been daydreaming about being destroyed by for years.
Virgil wasn’t sure if he wanted to hug whoever ordained this or punch them.
Virgil contemplated it for a while before finally deciding to tell his anxiety to hit the road, and take this glorious opportunity by the horns. So with a deep breath, he clicked on TheLeringPrince’s profile, then DM’s, then opened his keypad.
Immenslee_Ticklish: Hey, just wanted to say that I really like your stuff, and that you seem like a pretty cool dude. Would you want to chat sometime?’
Immediately, he received a reply.
TheLeringPrince: Why thank you, Immenslee. And yes, I would love to chat ;)
Days went by, and Roman and Virgil were talking through their blogs constantly. Roman had taken to teasing Virgil quite thoroughly on the platform, and Virgil obviously ate it up. Roman even mentioned wanting to meet up sometime. Virgil would be lying if he said he didn't nearly pass out at that.
Of course they still talked in real life, only Roman didn’t know who Virgil was. Oddly enough, Virgil almost felt safer talking to his Tumblr handle rather than to him in real life. He had to laugh at that. Six months ago, Virgil would have fainted at the idea of living with his favorite ler. And now, here he was, finally having something to satiate his ever present, insatiable lee mood! And he was hiding.
He just wasn’t sure how to tell him! Leave his Tumblr open? Text him? Tell him through Tumblr DMs? For goodness’ sake, what was he so afraid of? This guy was clearly accepting and non judgmental about the whole thing. Most people would kill to be in this position. Well, most lees anyways.
Little did Virgil know, but Roman was already pretty suspicious. He didn’t have any evidence of the fact, but he was pretty certain that Virgil had to have some lee in him somewhere. His blush and stutters were getting increasingly obvious and even though Roman could be an idiot, he wasn’t stupid. It took him a while to figure it out, but once he did, there was nothing stopping him. Except of course, if Virgil for some reason just didn’t want to be tickled. That was fine too. But there was something in him that made Roman sincerely doubt that was the case.
Roman had never had a problem about being open with his fixation. He figured that if people were going to judge him based on a silly little liking, then they weren’t worth being in his life. He could understand why some people hid it, sure. It was scary to be so open about something other people found weird. But Roman just never had that fear.
But one day, Roman got a message. It was from a follower named Immenslee_Ticklish. Now Roman recognized this user, as they often commented, liked, and reblogged alot of his works. They were great fans, and apparently very much lee themselves. And all of a sudden, after two whole years of following Roman, they decide to message him.
Interesting.
But Roman ultimately decided to keep quiet about his suspicions because if Virgil wasn’t saying anything, then he didn’t want Roman to know. And Roman respected that. Even if he really wanted to tickle him.
Turns out he didn’t have to wait much longer.
Virgil had practiced it for weeks. He knew exactly what to say, and how he was going to say it. But that all flew out the window as he stared at Roman.
“Virgil, buddy, you’ve been staring at me for three minutes now,” commented Roman, raising an eyebrow at the man in question. “You came to tell me something.” Virgil inhaled deeply and tried to speak, but the words got caught in his throat. Roman gave him a sympathetic look. “Hey, it’s okay. No need to be scared.” Virgil just stared at him. Roman’s heart broke for this kid, who was obviously scared out of his mind. “I promise I’m not going to be upset, or judge you, or do whatever your pretty little head is thinking might happen.
“I’mImenseleeTicklish!” he spat out suddenly. Roman jumped in surprise, but as soon as it hit him, he grinned.
“Oh, are you now?” he hummed, a sly smile watching the flustered boy with great amusement.
“Wait, no, I meant like the username. I’m the user Immenslee_Ticklish. I didn’t mean it like I’m immensely ticklish, well, I might be, but-“
Roman’s amused look caused him to stop talking. “So, yes?”
Virgil nodded. “I’m, uh, I’m a lee. Yeah.” The two of them stared at each other, neither one breaking the deafening silence or the intense eye contact.
“Well that’s very valuable information,” Roman stated calmly, being the first to speak, and before walking away and into the kitchen.
Wait?! Before walking away?!
Virgil’s mouth dropped open as he watched Roman walk off. “Wait!” he called indignantly. Roman paused, smirking away from Virgil.
“Yes?”
Virgil just stared for a minute, waving his arms dramatically as if it would help him speak. “Aren’t you going to, um, do something?”
Roman turned around to face him, as Virgil paled at seeing Roman smile darkly at him. “Like what?”
Realization hit him like a truck, and Virgil gaped in absolute horror. He was going to make him ask, wasn’t he? Oh, this was mean. So, so, so mean.
But at this point the lee mood was so bad that his dignity was going to have to leave him.
“I- were you, um,” he covered his face with his hands. “Were you gonna tickle me?”
He could hear Roman’s evil grin. “Do you want me to?”
“Um, yes. Please.” He swallowed harshly.
Roman clapped. “Why look at those manners!” he praised, gleaming at the whining boy in the living room. “I would love to. But to be clear, what exactly do you want to happen?”
“W-What do you mean?” Virgil asked, peeking from behind his hands.
“Tell me exactly what you want for me to do. In explicit detail, or I won’t do any of it,” cooed Roman.
“You’re so mean,” Virgil whined into his hands again. Roman laughed at his expense.
“I’m waiting~”
Virgil glared at him through his hands. “I want you to wreck me and tease me and destroy my resolve, and I want you to do it now! Please.” He added, lest he be made to repeat his request in a more polite manner. Roman reeled back, a tad surprised at the direct request.
“Well, good for you. I’d be happy to,” he nodded, impressed. “Very well. Meet me in your room in ten minutes~” he teased with a wink.
After he left, Virgil let it sink in. He was about to be ruthlessly teased and broken by his ler idol in ten minutes.
Oh he was going to die.
Virgil’s heart thudded out of his chest as he stared up at the malicious coy smile leaning over him. He had never been so excited yet so terrified in his life. “So, darling,” cooed his captor. “Shall we begin your destruction?” Roman’s voice lowered significantly into a husky tone that sent shivers down Virgil’s spine. He tugged on his restraints, waves of excitement and panic flooding his body, and feeding his lee mood from before. He had waited years. Years and years and years for this day. To be in this position, and about to get wrecked into oblivion. He had no idea what Roman was going to do, but he was excitedly terrified.
Roman took a single finger and began aimlessly swirling around Virgil’s belly, going in zigzag patterns, curlicues, and idle shapes while he rested his head on Virgil’s chest. Virgil’s breath hitched, the gentle touches not quite tickling, but was setting an amazing precedent for what was about to take place. Roman let out a deep breath, purposely aiming it for Virgil’s neck, rewarding him with a satisfying squeal as the man scrunched up his shoulders as much as he could.
“I have a dilemma, Virgil,” sighed Roman melodramatically. “I feel like, since you’ve waited all this time for some expert ler to completely wreck you, destroy you, and undo your very resolve, that you ought to have a good experience, hm?” he commented, glancing up to look at Virgil’s wobbly smile. “I mean you’ve been so patient! It’d feel criminal to deprive you of the best possible experience. Don’t you agree?” He paused, waiting for a reply while still mindlessly twisting his finger on the pale expanse of skin, but all Virgil did was squeak softly in embarrassment.
Suddenly, Roman snapped his fingers, causing Virgil to flinch slightly. “I’ve got it!” he announced, smiling darkly. “Let’s let you choose.”
Virgil’s eyes widened in pure horror. “What?”
“Why choose your own teases, of course! Who better knows exactly how to tease and fluster you, and turn you into a giggling blushy pile of goo then yourself?” Roman enunciated his point with a few teasing pokes to his chest. Virgil squirmed in an attempt to get the pokes to hit his stomach but he had no such luck. “So, Giggles, you want to try it?”
Virgil bit his lip and bounced his legs anxiously. “No!” he whined, his wobbly smile growing by the minute.
Roman grinned. “No? But it’s like a choose your own adventure! You choose your own teases and tools! Won’t that be fun?” Virgil shook his head violently. Roman mock pouted. “But I think it will be fun!”
Virgil made a strangled guttural sound in reply. “I-“
“Yes, dear,” he urged, resting his chin on Virgil’s chest once again.
Virgil sighed and closed his eyes in frustration. “I-I can’t tease,” he mumbled under his breath.
“What was that?”
“I can’t tease!” he repeated, only slightly louder this time. Fortunately, Roman heard him.
“Oh well, that’s not a problem, silly. You aren’t saying the teases. I am!” he replied with a smirk. Virgil peaked one eye open.
“But I thought you said-“
“Oh, I know what I said,” he answered, cutting Virgil off. “No, I already know what teases you chose. You don’t have to say a word.” To Virgil's confusion, he pulled out his phone. It wasn’t until Roman started scrolling and grinning that Virgil’s eyes widened in panicked realization.
“No, no, no, NO!” Virgil called out, bouncing in anticipation. He tried lunging for the phone but his bonds held him back.
Roman pretended not to hear him. “Hm, let’s see. Posts, then notes, then-“ Roman grinned up at Virgil. “Ah yes, reblogged by Immenselee_ticklish! Oh, look there’s a comment too!”
“No! No, don’t read the comment!”
“It says, ‘Ahhhh!! Oh gosh, I’m blushing so hard!!’ Hold up.” Roman turned to look up at Virgil who was fire engine red. He smirked. “Would you look at that. Anyway, it continues to say, ‘I would die if anyone said this to me!’ And then there’s a blushing face.”
He smirked again as he faced Virgil. “So, would you say you’ve died?” Virgil whined longingly. Roman nodded while looking back at his phone. “I’d say yes.”
Roman continued to scroll only for his eyes to light up in delight. “Oh looky here!” Virgil slammed his eyes shut, not daring to.
“No, no, no, no.”
“Virgil look! It’s a gif! Oh wow.”
Oh yeah. Virgil definitely wasn’t going to look. He was strong, he was resilient, and nothing could break him!
“Aww and they’re getting their bellybutton tickled! Isn’t that your most favorite spot in the whole wide world?”
Um, yeah. It was easy, mind over matter. He wouldn’t look. Easy.
“Hey! And it’s your best friend! Mr. Toothbrush!”
Yeah, he... What was he saying?
“Roman, please,” he begged, eyes still clamped shut. The endless teases were killing him. His ever present lee mood had grown into a ravenous monster that he thought would never be satiated. His body screamed for tickles. It was more than a want, or even a craving. It was a need at this point. And Roman knew that and it only fueled his evil ler facade all the more.
“Aw, poor baby. Don’t worry, we’ll start soon,” he cooed.
Roman made Virgil lie there, flustered and helpless, and oh so terribly lee, and wait as he read out tease after tease that Virgil reblogged from his Tumblr, and even read the comments from the lee himself. Virgil wished with every second of every minute spent lying on that bed he had never made that Tumblr account.
After ten or so teases, Roman finally, mercifully, put the phone away. Virgil sighed in relief. Finally! He was going to be tickled to his limits, then past them, then have them pushed even further. He didn’t just want to be broken. He didn’t just want to be destroyed. No, he wanted so much more.
Roman marched up to the table and placed both hands on Virgil’s thighs. “So, a little birdie told me you like baby talk,” he teased. Virgil blushed, which Roman took for a yes. “So would a, oh I don’t know, little kitchy, kitchy, coo would get you all flustered, hm? A little-“ his voice dropped an octave. “Tickle, tickle, tickle~” his face morphed to a maniacal grin.
Virgil's face turned crimson as he wiggled around on the table. “Noho!” He barked out a laugh. Roman raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“No? Hmm. What about nursery rhymes, huh? You sure liked the ones I sang to you earlier this month! Do you want to hear some of those? ‘Cause I got some good ones~” Roman whipped out a feather seemingly out of nowhere and waved it teasingly in front of Virgil’s nose. Virgil yelped at the sensation.
“I have a little feather,” sang out Roman, his voice rising and falling with the feather. “His name is Tiny Tim. I used him on my lee, to see if he would grin.” He winked at Virgil who just blushed deeper. “I drank up all the laughter, it made him buck and squeal, and now he’s nice and flustered,” Another wink. “His smile is so real.”
Virgil was already softly giggling at the song, and it only encouraged Roman to keep going. “You got a little giggle button, right? I have another fun song, just. for. him!” he cheered, punctuating each word with a poke to his bellybutton, making Virgil squeal each time.
He took the feather and ran it in a large teasy circle all around the vast expanse of vulnerable tummy. “Ring around the belly, a button full of jelly,” he heard Virgil snort when the feathers hit a particular spot on his waistline. “-tickle, tickle, they all fall down!” Roman ended the verse with several flicks of the fluffy feather to Virgil’s bellybutton, causing him to buck and laugh, but it was still technically soft tickles. Virgil didn’t want soft tickles right now.
“Rohohoho,” he whined through the giggles. Roman ignored him.
“Let’s see. Oh, here’s another favorite of mine!” He cleared his throat and lifted the feather again. “Oh head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes! Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes~” He ran the feather all over the respective places, and it didn’t tickle much, but Roman’s plan was working. Virgil was getting more and more flustered, and more and more ticklish.
“Oh feet, tummies, arms and chins, arms and chins. Feet, tummies, arms and chins, arms and chins~” Roman watched in glee as Virgil’s face turned darker and darker with each song, and how even though the tickling was so light, his giggles were still sharp.
All of a sudden, with zero warning, Roman ditched the feather and attacked Virgil’s tummy with all ten fingers. “Oh, she’ll be tickling Virgil senseless when she comes! She’ll be tickling Virgil senseless when she comes-“ Virgil fell into deep belly laughter as he thrashed and pulled desperately. “She’ll be tickling Virgil senseless, she’ll be tickling Virgil senseless, she’ll be tickling Virgil senseless when she comes!”
Virgil had never felt more embarrassed in his life, but that made the tickling so much more fun. After two more verses, Roman stopped. Virgil whined again at the loss of contact.
Roman chuckled. “You really are a hopeless lee, aren’t you?”
Virgil scrunched his nose. “Shut up.”
Roman’s eyebrows raised in an accusatory way. “Do you want to say that again?”
“What? Shut up?” snarked Virgil, trying to wind him up to get wrecked and forced to apologize, but unfortunately, Roman saw right through his plan.
“Wow. You really are desperate. Stooping so low as to provoke me to lash out and wreck you right this minute?” Roman tisked lightly. “Imagine! You honestly think that I’m going to fall for the oldest trick in the book? I hate to break it to you, Stormcloud, but I’m far more experienced than you think I am,” he added, shaking his head in disapproval. “I ought to make you wait longer just for that.”
Virgil gasped and shook his head desperately. “No, no, please no! I’m sorry!”
Roman shook his head again. “Poor little lee. So desperate you’ve lost your dignity. Here you are, begging like this for me to so horribly wreck you until you can’t even remember your own name.” Despite his words of disapproval, he smiled. “Oh course, I don’t blame you. I am very talented so I understand your eagerness. For that reason, I will grant mercy and not punish you for your lousy attempts at brattiness.”
Virgil let out the biggest sigh of relief imaginable. At last! He was going to be wrecked!
“But I still have one more game before we start.”
Virgil threw his head back onto the bed with such a force it almost hurt. “Oh my gosh, Roman please,” he begged, whining at a new frequency.
Roman sighed. “One more! You can do it. I have to make sure your ticklish little body is at optimal sensitivity! So, here’s an easy game to finish you off.” He walked around to the side of the bed. “Just gotta warm you up,” he winked before wiggling his fingers menacingly above Virgil. Virgil asked, and sucked in his stomach, but Roman simply drew in closer. The fingers were so tantalizingly close to the tickle spot, and Virgil swore he felt them already. And in his mind, he pleaded and begged with Roman to hurry up and get on with it already, but on the outside he was completely stunned into silence.
Until Roman did a fake out.
Roman launched his wiggling fingers at Virgil full speed without any sort of warning, and Virgil lost it. He laughed, he snorted, he cackled, and he squealed. He jerked and thrashed all over his limited free space for a whole minute until he realized. Roman’s hands were behind his back, as he watched Virgil with the most evil look you could imagine.
“You're awful!” screeched Virgil, both mortified by his own reaction, and furious at Roman’s trick. Roman laughed out loud.
“Hmm, okay, okay. I’ll wreck you now. Besides, I can’t just keep you here, endlessly teasing and torturing you forever?” He paused with a smirk. “Actually-“
“Roman!” Virgil cried out, laughing in both frustration at his lee mood, and anticipation from what was coming.
Roman laughed at his panic. “I’m just kidding, jeez. You poor lee. Alright, I’ll wreck you, on the one condition you tell me your worst spots.”
Virgil’s eyes turned to saucers. “I-what?”
“You heard me! Give me those death spots or else no tickles~” he sang, thinking the nerves were from his tease.
But strangely, Virgil turned more bashful, rather than flustered. It was almost a sheepish look on his face that replaced the embarrassment. That certainly got Roman’s attention.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, eyebrows furrowing in slight concern. Virgil scrunched his face up and looked down.
“I-I well, I don’t know what my worst spots are,” he replied with a shy smile.
Roman was confused for about two seconds before it dawned on him. “You-“ he stared in utter wonderment. “You‘ve never tickled before, have you?”
Virgil’s face flushed under the attention. “Well, yeah, no not really,” he mumbled sheepishly.
Oh, this was a game changer. Roman beamed. “You mean to tell me, I’m your first time?” Virgil smiled again, and nodded hesitantly. Roman had never been so excited in his life. “Well then, I guess we have work to do!” he commented, a wicked grin and a twinkle shining in his eye.
Roman turned and walked down to the end of the bed, clicking his tongue as he examined the body in front of him. “I suppose the best thing to do would be to either go bottom to top, or top to bottom.” He tilted his head up at Virgil while smiling. “Would you by any chance have a preference?”
Virgil huffed. “I guess, I don’t know. Bottom to top?” he suggested, more or so not caring as he really just wanted to be wrecked already. Roman clapped.
“Perfect! That means I get to play with your cute little feet!” he cheered. Virgil blushed. Roman held tight of the right foot’s ankle and took the same pointer finger and carefully slid it from the tippy top of the toes all the way down to the heel. Virgil immediately started his giggles anew, wiggling his upper body at the light touches. “Oh good! It seems you’re ticklish here! What else can we try?”
Roman soon added the other four fingers into the fray and began ruthlessly scratching up and down and all around the soft tender arches, making Virgil snort and fall into deeper laughter at the feeling. He tickled all around the foot, being very thorough and detailed in his methods, making sure not one inch of ticklish skin was left unscathed. Then, without warning, he moved up to the toes. He wiggled each little toe and scolded them if they curled up. Eventually, he pulled them back and gave them a good scratching underneath as punishment for their misbehavior. Virgil thrashed like nobody’s business, finally getting exactly what he wanted, and it was so much better then he had ever thought. And he certainly didn’t complain when Roman informed him that his other foot was getting left out, and needed the same tickly treatment.
After both feet were thoroughly assaulted (Roman may have had to go back to the right foot again, it seemed to be getting lonely), he spidered his fingers all the way up to Virgil’s knees. Virgil smiled in anticipation, bouncing his leg as he waited.
“Ah yes, the knees. Such an underrated tickle spot! Very few people think about the knees being so terribly ticklish, but they can be! It all starts with this little pressure point, riiiight here.” Roman began rapidly wheezing the muscle right above Virgil knee, making him fall into deep laughter. “Oh wonderful!” shouted Roman above the loud laughter. “It seems as if your knees are just as horridly sensitive as I thought!” His squeezing fingers quickly switched to spidering ones, and darted right on the underneath of his knees, sending Virgil snorting.
Roman awed at the adorable sounds. “Aww, aren’t you just the cutest little thing? Are my tickly, tickly tickles making you giggle, hm?” he cooed, relishing in the deep red color that was Virgil’s face and the tiny snorts mixed in with the hysterical giggles.
“Nohohohoho!” Virgil giggled out, trying to kick his legs but the restraints keeping every inch of ticklish skin in place.
“No?” questioned Roman. “Well, that’s a shame! Why don’t we try something else then,” he pondered and immediately grabbed the young man’s thighs, squeezing sporadically and rapidly every area of muscle. Virgil’s eyes bulged out as he flung himself to sit up right and cackle.
Roman’s eyes lit up with mischief at the extremity of Virgil’s reaction. “Oh, what's this? Does this tickle? Are you ticklish here?” he asked, the teasing lilt in his voice making the ruthless squeezing at his thighs all the worse. Virgil fell back on to the bed to wheeze with laughter when Roman moved up closer to his hips. “Virgil!” scolded Roman. “Hello! I’m talking to you! Does this tickle?” he asked again, not for one second stopping the wretched attack on the loathsomely sensitive muscle.
When Virgil still didn’t reply, Roman felt a spike of worry, and slowed his squeezing fingers just a little. Virgil’s wheezy laughter died down, until it was more or less hysterical giggles.
“Yes!” Virgil called out. Roman was confused for a minute until he remembered the question he had asked a few minutes earlier. He took his hands off his legs, leaving Virgil limp and giggly.
“Oh good! See I guessed it did, but I was just checking,” he winked. “Congratulations, Virgil. I think you might have your first death spot.”
Virgil weakly held up a thumbs up, his giddy smile bright enough to blind someone. Roman smiled at him softly. “How about we take a break?” So he sat next to Virgil on the bed, gently rubbing his shin comfortingly, waiting for Virgil to regain all the breath he’d lost until finally-
“Um, I think I’m ready to go again,” piped up the younger man. Roman grinned.
“You sure?” Virgil nodded eagerly. Roman leaned next to Virgil’s ear, making him squeak. Oh he’d have to remember that.
“Well then,” he purred, his voice sending shivers down Virgil’s spine. “Allow me to continue your destruction.” He peered down the bed where Virgil was stretched out, and examined it carefully like a puzzle. He walked down the side to the right of his hips. “Now if my memory serves me, correct me-” Roman began, but Virgil barked out a laugh. Roman glared at him. “What?”
“Dude, what did you say?” he asked, laughing again. Roman crossed his arms.
“If my memory serves me, correct me. It’s a saying!” Virgil burst out laughing again. “What?!”
“The saying is, ‘If my memory serves me, correctly,’ not correct me,” he teased, still laughing at Roman’s miss interpretation.
“Okay, yeah, laugh it up, Virgil,” he retorted, immediately squeezing his right thigh again. Promptly the teasing man burst into laughter at the feeling, and proceeded to howl on the bed. “Don’t correct me again!” he playfully scolded before ceasing the tickling.
Roman crawled up on the bed in between Virgil legs in hopes of being able to navigate better. “Now, I say we try hips next. Some people overlook it, but they look wonderfully ticklish to me~” he sang, already the tone giving Virgil the giggles. Roman grinned at the pink color once again rising to his cheeks. “Aww, does mentioning the tickly tickles making you a little neeeervous?” he sang again, whilst skimming the skin of his waist and pant line. Virgil’s giggles greatly increased from both the tickling and the teasing alike, as he began wiggling around in the bed.
Roman’s scratching fingers followed the wiggly hips with great ease, smiling in adoration as he listened to the sweet soft giggles come from his captive. “You’re adorable,” he commented without really thinking.
“Nuhnuhnuhuhu uhuhuhuh!” the giggling man protested, yet his denial only further proved Roman’s point.
“Yeah huh!” argued Roman. “Alright enough softness, I want to watch you scream.” He put on his best evil ler face as he watched Virgil turn a bright crimson at the threat.
Roman crawled up further until he was practically sitting on Virgil’s hips. “So, let’s test the waters for what are the vast expanse that is Virgil’s tickle spots, shall we?” Virgil pulled up his legs out of reflex, but they were blocked by Roman’s back. He whined.
“Oh, whatever is the matter, dear?” he cooed, leaning in so close Virgil could feel his breath on his neck and ear. The man made a strangled noise in reply. “I’m sorry, darling, I don’t speak lee. Would you mind rephrasing your statement?”
Virgil just shut his eyes, trying to smother the wobbly grin that was slowly creeping up onto his face. Roman took that as a sign to continue.
He spidered his fingers up to Virgil’s sides, and kept them there, smiling as Virgil shuffled all over the bed in anticipation. “Gohohoho ohohohon, alreheheady!” he giggled out.
“Is that anyway to ask for something?” Roman playfully scolded moments before digging into the boy’s sides. Virgil bucked and burst into giggles, thrashing and pulling. Roman didn’t stop for even a second, mercilessly tickling, squeezing and scratching all over the sides and even migrating to the soft skin of the belly. Virgil was in proper hysterics and was loving every minute of it.
“Aww, aren’t you just the cutest thing! What? What’s the matter? Are you ticklish?” Roman teased, digging into the lower belly. Virgil squealed, and fell into even deeper laughter as Roman took to blowing raspberry after raspberry onto Virgil’s poor ticklish tummy. Virgil was in tickly heaven, for sure, but he still hadn’t been broken yet. And that was fine, but his growing hunger still hadn’t been filled, and he couldn’t help but wish deep down that there was somewhere to truly make him scream. He contemplated asking Roman to go for his thighs again.
But then.
As Roman paused the tickling on his sides and began to feel around, something happened.
Virgil could only possibly describe it as maybe a jolt of euphoric electricity that shocked him into the pit of his stomach. Something that found the roaring lion that was his lee mood and slapped it in the face. Something that sent shivers to his spine and butterflies to his stomach. Something that made him shriek at the mere feeling of Roman’s presence. If Roman’s dastardly laughter upon finding the spot was any indication, Virgil was screwed.
“Well, looky here,” he noted, looking up at Virgil with a gleam in his eye, further confirming the reality that Virgil was about to experience. “It seems we’ve found something.”
Roman tested the spot again: a rib, nestled warmly in between a tiny layer of fat, and the beginning of his armpit. He sharply poked the rib, eliciting a similar shriek as before. Virgil’s eyes grew like saucers as he fought with his own mind on how he felt. Was he terrified? Was the overwhelming amount of ticklish sensations about to course through his body like an electric current terrifying? Or was he excited? That after all these years of begging and pleading for someone to come into his life and do this very thing to him?
Virgil didn’t have time to decide, as Roman promptly dug in.
Virgil said he wanted to scream, and scream he did. His body was too overwhelmed to even thrash at this point, no, it merely fell limp and took every bit of torture Roman was giving to it. Roman took his pointer finger and thumb, making them into a claw motion, and pinching all over the bone. He pinched up and down, left to right, and repeated the sequence, soaking in every plea and beg and cry from Virgil. He wiggled in between the bone, and even took to scratching the armpits as well. Virgil was happily losing his mind. But it wasn’t over.
No, because out of nowhere, Roman pulled from under the bed a bottle of oil, and immediately began pouring it into his hands. Virgil greedily sucked in the oxygen as he waited for Roman to start again. His eyes followed him, watching Roman complete his moves with an eagerness about him. He was ready.
Virgil only had to wait a minute longer before Roman took his sweet time, slowly covering every inch of both armpits in the slippery liquid, purposely sliding his fingers and nails in such a way to make Virgil start to laugh. And then with both hands, he dug in again.
Oh, if he thought it was bad before, no, this was true torture. The oil made the fingers glide pristinely on the sensitive skin, and thereby ticking seemingly everywhere at once. Roman still concentrated on squeezing both top rib bones on either side at the same time, while allowing the nails to scratch along the armpits and other ribs as he did it.
And Virgil screamed. He screamed and screamed louder than he had ever before. He couldn’t even be concerned at the fact they were living in an apartment, and if they neighbors would be worried. Virgil screeched at the top of his lungs, his voice no longer even saying words or please at this point, just pure unshackled ecstasy in waves unmeasurable. He screamed and laughed his voice hoarse, kicking and tugging in desperation to escape the torture he was being subjected to.
“So,” commented Roman nonchalantly, yet very loudly to be heard over the booming laughter. “I was wondering if you could give me a quick performance review. You know, it is my first time and all.”
“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-“
“Okay, so that’s not too bad. Anything else?”
Virgil silently screamed as he felt Roman vibrate his fingers into both bones once more.
“Oh good! Well, I appreciate your input, thank you.”
Virgil was loving every solitary second of this, after all, this is what he had wanted. He wanted exactly this. But, unfortunately, he needed to breathe. So he called out.
“YEL-“ he stopped mid screech, his own laughter cutting him off. Roman stopped immediately.
“Was that yellow?” he asked, face contorting with worry. Virgil didn’t answer at first, only focused on taking in as much oxygen as he could get.
“Yeheheah,” he replied, the leftover giggles still dying out.
Roman’s evil ler face melted as a fond one replaced it. “Wow, I’m impressed. That’s definitely your death spot, and you only called out yellow. I could never last as long as you did,” he marveled.
Even with as winded as Virgil was, he was still trying to tease back. “Oho, so you have a death spot, then?” he teased with a smirk. Roman blushed.
“Oh shut up. Just so you know, you still technically haven’t called red yet,” he retorted cockily. Virgil nodded before laying his head down for a minute to rest. “Do you want water?” Roman asked him.
Virgil shook his head. “No, I’m almost done. I’d rather not get up then get back down.” His insatiable lee mood was shrinking drastically. But, there was one more thing he wanted. “So, um,” he looked up at Roman sheepishly. “Can I do a request?”
Roman smiled fondly. “Of course. This is your session after all.”
Virgil fidgeted as much as he could despite his hands being tied. “So, I kind of have a favorite spot. Like, after you tickled me. I realized I might have a favorite.”
Roman’s heart practically burst on the spot. “Oh yeah? Let me hear it.”
Virgil wrinkled his nose in embarrassment, and stayed quiet for a minute. Roman chuckled. “Come on little lee, I can’t help you out if you don’t ask,” he cooed, gently spidering his fingers on the tops of his feet, making him let out a quick giggle at the touch.
“Ohohokay, okay. Um,” he looked away bashfully. “Can you go back to, back to my stomach? You, you can tease. Too. If you want, or whatever,” he added quickly, still refusing to look Roman in the eye. Roman beamed.
“Why, I would love to.”
Roman sat down next to Virgil, and actually undid his cuffs, much to Virgil’s surprise. “Alright, now keep your arms up,” he whispered, sending a pink flush to his cheeks.
“W-what?” he giggled shyly. Roman poked his tummy.
“You heard me. You gotta keep them up aaaaall by yourself.”
Virgil giggled again, and cautiously raised his arms above his head and gripped the headboard. “Okay, I’m ready.”
Roman nodded with a smile and began lightly skittering his fingernails all over Virgil’s quivering tummy. Virgil immediately burst into soft, sweet giggles, the ones he could probably stop if he tried, but definitely didn’t want to, and rocked back and forth onto the bed. Roman kept the fingers teasing his sides gently, then lifted up his shirt slightly and started peppering cute little kisses all over the pale skin. Virgil squealed lightly and giggled slightly harder at the wonderfully maddening feeling, drinking in every bit of feeling he could.
Finally after about ten minutes, Virgil slowly lowered his arms from the headboard and Roman stopped. Overwhelming exhausted overcame him like an ocean and he yawned. “Thank you, Roman. This was the best day of my life.” Roman smiled at the compliment.
“Why I’m so happy it was, Virgil. We will certainly do it again.” He stood up to leave, but Virgil grabbed his arm.
“Stay with me?” he asked, pulling on his arm like a child. Roman chuckled.
“Of course.”
And the two of them napped together, each so peaceful and happy in that they found each other, and waking up wondering if it was all just a dream.
#tickle fic#pineapple anon#pineapple writing#pineapple fics#sanders sides tickling#lee!virgil#ler!roman#ticklish!virgil#sanders sides#virgil sanders#roman sanders#prinxiety#platonic prinxiety
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Come Over (1/7)
Summary: You’re new to New York City. Fresh out of post-grad and wanting a change of pace, and this change comes in more ways than one.
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader. Neighbor AU.
Warnings for Series: Fluff, angst, pining, the ush! Also, swearing, because nobody ever washed my mouth out with soap.
Notes: So I’ve daydreamed about a neighbor AU for an embarrassing amount of time, and I need something to get my creative juices flowing again. So, ta-da.
Series Masterlist // Main Masterlist
The elevator is rickety as it ascends, the gears and cranks squeaking ominously. Your lip stings from the endless assault of your teeth upon it, borne out of nerves that you’ll actually plummet to your death before even stepping foot into your new apartment. The box in your hands is only the first of many, but fortunately, your brother, Clint, had kindly offered to help move you in with the help of his friend, Sam. They’re in the moving truck currently, sorting through the heavier items to bring up first.
The hallway in your building is nicer than you’d been expecting. Your rent was the cheapest on the market and you’d been expecting a ramshackle building that needed numerous repairs. Instead, it’s clean, the carpet spotless, and there’s an underlying scent of fresh paint beneath the smell of carpet cleaner. You suppose, barring the rickety elevator, that maybe this won’t be such a bad place to live after all.
The key doesn’t stick in the lock, and you don’t have to jiggle the knob to get the door to open. It glides across the hardwood in your new apartment like a knife through warm butter, gentle, smooth, and soundless. The apartment itself is spotless, and the wood floors, though pock-marked in some places, gleams beautifully in the natural light that spills through the windows. The walls are a soft, neutral grey that make the place brighter.
You set down the box by the front door, which you leave open for the guys. Surely enough, you can hear Clint’s grumbled cursing as he and Sam bang and slam their way up the stairwell carrying who knows what. Moments later, they appear carrying your box spring between them. Both men are incredibly fit, but a sheen of sweat lines their foreheads as they pivot and enter your apartment.
“Damn, Y/N,” says Sam with a whistle as he glances around, “nice digs!”
You grin proudly as the two of them disappear into your bedroom. There’s a dull thud as the box spring is set down on the wood floor.
“Definitely going to need to switch movie nights from my place to yours,” Clint notes as he sets his hands on his hips. “You pay like half the rent we do and you’ve got more room!”
“You paying for a new couch to fit all of you?” you scoff jokingly. Clint grimaces in reply, and you hum. “Thought so.”
The three of you head back downstairs together to reload, Sam and Clint grabbing the couch next and you taking up another large box. It’s on the third trip that the door just down the hall from yours opens and a massive brickhouse of a man steps out, hair tied back out of his face and wearing a t-shirt, running shorts, and a pair of sneakers. Tattoos twist and turn up the length of both arms. He startles when he turns and sees you, ripping the earbuds out of his ears.
“Sorry,” you offer with a sheepish smile, “didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Uh, n-no, no big deal.” His eyes drop to the box in your hands when you adjust your grip. “Moving in?”
“Mhm,” you grunt as you shuffle forward towards your open door. The man seems to snap to attention, steps forward, and reaches for the box. You sigh when its weight is gone, and your neighbor drops it beside the other box. He then turns to you, and you’re stricken for a moment at how pretty his eyes are.
“James Barnes, but everyone calls me Bucky,” he says, extending a hand out to you. Jolting, you quickly shake his hand; it’s warm and encompasses the entirety of yours. Face warming, you clear your throat and drop his hand.
“Uh, Y/N. Thanks for the help with that.” You gesture towards the box.
“No problem.” God he has a nice smile. “Do you need any more help?”
Before you can answer, your brother and Sam come through the doorway, bickering back and forth until they notice the body standing next to you. Comically, they both freeze, mouths open and eyes bouncing between you and Bucky.
“Oh, Clint, this is my new neighbor, Bucky. Bucky, my brother, Clint, and our friend, Sam.” The three men take turns shaking hands, and when Clint waves Bucky out the door to the moving van, Sam wags his eyebrows, points at Bucky’s broad back, and gives you a thumbs up that makes you slap your palm to your face.
With Bucky’s help, you’re done unloading the van much sooner and, despite Bucky’s obvious running attire, he accepts the beer you offer him, Clint, and Sam for their help. He seems to get along perfectly with your brother and Sam, though the latter keeps making weird gestures between you and Bucky. Each time you roll your eyes and busy yourself with your beer.
“So, Y/N, what do you do for work?” Bucky asks, leaning back on the couch he and Clint rearranged. Clint grins proudly.
“My dear little sister here is about to start as Tony Stark’s assistant,” he answers for you, much to your embarrassment.
“Clint,” you hiss, cheeks flushing pink. Bucky’s eyes go wide and he leans forward in his seat.
“No way?! He’s like, a god among men! I mean, his tech is unparalleled.”
Both Sam and Clint groan when you eagerly reply, “You’re a fan? I started following him when he made that suit when I was, like ten!”
“Here we go,” Clint mutters, spluttering when you slap his chest in retaliation. “You two should get along fabulously, then. Sam, shall we?”
“Oh god, yes, if these two are going to talk about quantum physics and hari kari and all that other mumbo jumbo.”
You roll your eyes as the two of them stand, but you walk them to the door anyways. Hugging them both, you lightly slap the back of Sam’s head when he mouths ‘get his number’ with a subtle point to Bucky.
“It was nice to meet you, Bucky. I’m sure we’ll see each other again,” Clint says with a little salute. You stand in the doorway and watch them go, turning when you hear rustling behind you.
“I should probably go, too,” Bucky says and wipes his hands on his shorts. Just as he finishes speaking, his phone pings, but he doesn’t immediately check it, opting to say goodbye to your first. “Thank you for the beer, and welcome to the building. If you need anything, you know where to find me.”
His grin makes your stomach flip as it lights up his entire face, makes the corners of his vivid blue eyes crinkle. You swallow and nod shyly.
“Thank you for the help. I really appreciated it. I’ll see you around?”
“Definitely.” His grin widens if possible and it’s hell on your nerves. He gives you one last nod before he walks through the open door and saunters over to his apartment, disappears inside.
Once your own door is closed, you lean back against it and thud your head once, twice, against the wood. Fuck.
Chapter Two
#bucky barnes x reader#bucky barnes x you#bucky x reader#bucky x you#bucky barnes neighbor au#bucky barnes au#neighbor!bucky
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Riding High Ch 18: Sugar
Chapter Summary: It’s July, and Fliss’ birthday…
Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words.!!!
Chapter Pairings: Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher
A/N: Ok, so I know you’ve all been on edge since He-who-shall-not-be-named was released on parole and I hope this chapter doesn’t disappoint. We’ll be gearing up for a bit of a rough time over the next few chapters for Friss so buckle up…
Also, I noticed yesterday that Tumblr seems to be swallowing huge chunks of my work on SSB…so I’m going to try and publish this in one, but if it doesn’t work I’ll split it over 2 parts.
Chapter Song: Shogun by George Ezra
Series Masterlist // Main Masterlist
“And we got two in the front, two in the back, sailing along and we don’t look back”
July 2018
“So now what?” Mary looked at Fliss as the two of them sat side by side at the table, both looking at the laptop in front of them.
“Ok, so see these spaces here…” Fliss said, pointing to 2 empty squares dotted in the unpublished Internet Page and then to the larger space at the top “Now we need to add the photos…”
They were working on a project of sorts for Sandybrook’s website. They’d decided to give Monty his own little weekly blog for the summer called “The Life of Monty” which Mary had eagerly said she wanted to write, something for her to do over the break. “Ooh, ok!” Mary nodded “I already know which ones I want to use!” “Yeah?” Fliss looked at her.
“Yeah…ok so I want that one that has me, you and Monty in…you know the one that Frank likes where we are both laughing.” Fliss smiled “Ok, we can use that one.” “And then the other one is the one where Monty had the Party Hat on because it was his birthday.” “Good choice.” Fliss smiled “And what about the one across the top.” “The one of him in the pasture.” Mary said after a moment “Where he is looking up and pulling the funny face, you know with all his teeth out?”
Fliss grinned “Yeah, it looks like he is smiling.” Mary nodded eagerly “Yup.” “Ok…” Fliss said, and with a move of the mouse she set to work selecting the photos, ensuring that they were positioned and sized right for the frames. She couldn’t help but smile at the one of her and Mary. Mary was looking at the camera, laughing a lot whilst Fliss was, in turn, watching her and laughing too. Frank had been trying to take the photo of the 2 of them but Bill had been stood behind him, pulling stupid faces which had reduced Mary to tears, and her giggles had then set Fliss off. Frank said he adored the photo, that much in-fact it was now the screen-saver on his phone.
Fliss clicked save and then looked at Mary. “Wanna give it a final read over, check if you want to add anything else?”
Mary nodded.
“Ok, you do that I’m gonna start dinner.” “What are we having?” Mary looked at her.
“Carbonara. That ok?”
Mary grinned her approval as Fliss stood up, dropped a kiss to Mary’s head and walked into the kitchen.
It wasn’t long before Frank came home and greeted Mary before he headed into the kitchen area. He wrapped his arms round Fliss from behind, dropping a kiss to her neck.
“Good day?” he asked and she hmmed in agreement.
“Not bad…are you filthy, as usual?”
He chuckled as he let her go and moved to the fridge. She stopped what she was doing and turned to face him as he reached in for the water jug. He was, as always, covered in grime from his work and Fliss bit her lip. There was definitely something about seeing him in his dirty work jeans and grubby T-shirts that got her blood pumping.
“Stop it.” he said, giving her a look, knowing full well what she was thinking. She shrugged and with a grin turned back to the food.
“Oh, erm, wanted to check…are you if we use photos of Mary for her blog on the website?” Fliss asked, turning back to him.
“Of course I am.” he said, frowning “Why wouldn’t I be?” “It’s a public sight.” Fliss shrugged “Just wanted to check that’s all.” “It’s fine.” Frank said, placing a kiss to her cheek “I think it’s a really good idea anyway, give her something to do and practice her writing. Like Bonnie said, she’s sharp on the numbers but could do with honing up her English a little bit. She’s too logical, this should give her something to be creative with and keep her occupied over the break.”
And you…he refrained from adding. In the week following the notification that parole had been granted, John had been released. And this had set Fliss on edge. One night after she had snapped at Frank, causing a full scale argument over the fact he had bought the wrong type of salad dressing, she’d broken down and confessed that she wasn’t sleeping properly and this was causing stupid things, like Ranch v French dressing, to tip her over the edge.
The day after her spectacular salad dressing related melt down, Greg, who had already requested details of the terms of his release, came over and the 3 of them gone through, in detail what it meant realistically for Fliss.
“Basically it’s as good as you could hope for.” Greg explained “He is forbidden from contacting you or any of your family in any way, via any means. He is State-bound to Massachusetts, specifically the Boston area. He’s tagged, and on a curfew between the hours of 7pm and 7am. And moreover the authorities here are following the UK’s lead as well and trialling these new GPS tracking tags, which they’ve deemed him eligible for. So at any time, any place, they’ll be able to lock onto his whereabouts…”
“So if he does breach his conditions…” Fliss started and Greg nodded “They’ll be on him like a shot.” he said, with a gentle smile “Look, I know this is shit…but you really do have nothing to worry about. One breach and he’s back inside. And when he reaches the end of his parole, we’ll file for an injunction with the same conditions. Keep him away from you.”
Since the conversation with Greg, Fliss had calmed down somewhat but still, in week following her confession she didn’t spend a night away from Frank, seemingly coping better with the fact that she was around him, and even when he wasn’t there, the fact she was in his apartment gave her some safety and comfort.
So he’d asked her to move in permanently 3 days ago. Which he was still waiting for an answer on.
“What you thinking?” her voice broke through his thoughts.
“Honestly?”
“Always.” she nodded.
“When you’re gonna give me an answer to that question I asked you a few days back.” She took a deep breath and looked down at the floor before she looked up at him, a soft smile on her face.
“Are you sure you want me here, full time, and you’re not just asking because-“
“Lissy…” he cut her off, shaking his head “I’d have asked you move in here the day I did if I’d thought you’d have said yes. I’d love you to come live with us. And I know Mary would too…” “Ok, that’s blackmail.” she narrowed his eyes at the fact he’d dropped Mary into the equation and he grinned. “Is it working?”
She bit her lip and nodded “Yeah, ok, I’d love to…” “Yeah?” he said, a huge smile spreading across his face, warmth flooding his chest.
“Yeah…” she nodded, and grinned as he wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to her lips.
“Gross…” Mary mumbled as she walked past the pair of them to the fridge, retrieving a juice box. . Frank broke away to look at her as she stabbed the straw into the hole at the top.
“Better get over it Stack.” he smirked. “Fliss just agreed to come live with us.” “Really?” her eyes widened and she grinned as Fliss nodded. Mary moved over to the pair of them and wrapped her arms around them both, Frank’s hand falling to the back of her head as she looked up at him. “Does that mean I don’t need to eat any more of your cooking, like ever again?”
Frank rolled his eyes and glanced at Fliss who was chuckling slightly “Trust me Mary…” she said, grinning “I’ve no intention of eating his cooking either.”
***** Of course Verity and Bill were over the moon when Fliss told them she was moving into Frank’s, and the next week or so they all spent doing various runs with the things she decided she needed to take. Everything else she would be leaving in the annex to either throw or store at a later date.
Considering the amount of time they spent together, it wasn’t a huge change for them, it just meant that the comfortable routine they adopted when they were together became a daily one, and it suited the pair of them just fine. Frank also surprised Fliss by getting her a vanity unit which she had made a passing comment about, making space for it in their room.
After 3 weeks it had become the new normal for them. They shared chores, shared Activity Club runs, grocery shopping, bills…Frank had tried to object to that one but Fliss had put her foot down insisting that if she was living there she was paying her way so he’d caved in the end and agreed. Fliss felt happy, safe, secure, loved...and Frank was over the moon simply knowing he had her to come home to every night.
One particular evening, a few days before her Birthday they were due to meet Evelyn for dinner as she was in town again to visit Mary, but Fliss was running ridiculously late, and as a consequence was in a total flap
“Fuck, fuck…” she groaned, jumping out of the jeep and calling Thor to her. “Come on buddy…”
She hurried across the lawns and threw the door to the apartment open, Thor shooting in before her.
“I’m so sorry I’m late…” she instantly began apologising as she walked into the living area and groaned loudly “The last lesson overran and then one of the waterers broke in the livery barn, flooded Horatio’s stable…” “It’s ok, calm down…” Frank chuckled, dropping a kiss to her cheek. “How did it break?”
“He’s been scratching his arse on it.” she said, rubbing at her temple “He broke it off the wall. We turned the supply off but I had to sort his bed before I left, then call his owner to tell her…” she groaned “Fucking nightmare.” “Want me to take a look at it?”
Fliss shook her head “Dad’s gonna do it tomorrow, keep him busy. He always moans at me for asking you and not…” she trailed off as she spotted Evelyn who was sat on one of the chairs in the living room. “Oh, Evelyn…hi. Sorry, I didn’t realise you were coming here…I thought…”
“We were…” Frank explained “But Mary wasn’t feeling too good so I suggested to Mother she come here instead.” “Oh, no, is she ok?” Fliss asked.
“Too much sun I think, she’s been running around at the Activities Camp all day and hardly drunk anything, despite the lecture you gave her. She’s had some water and gone for a nap. She’ll be fine when it’s time for dinner.”
“I thought seeing as we can’t go out I’d treat you to take out.” Evelyn spoke, standing up. Fliss eyed her for a moment before she shrugged.
“I can make something.” she said, and Frank shook his head.
“No, Lissy…” “I can do chicken with that pear and blue cheese salad you and Mary liked.” Fliss said, “Surely that’s gonna be better for her than a take out if she’s feeling shitty?”
Frank looked at her and then to his mother “That ok with you?” “Sure, that sounds good.” Evelyn nodded “but only if it’s no trouble.” “It’s fine.” Fliss nodded “Let me go take a shower and then I’ll get started ok?” Frank nodded and dropped a kiss to her cheek before she headed off to the bathroom. Thor made his way into the living room and took his usual place on the rug, flopping down as he looked up at Evelyn as she followed Frank over to the kitchen area. He pulled a bottle of white wine out of the fridge and held it up.
“Sancerre?” Evelyn arched an eyebrow. “And a pretty good one too…” “Fliss’ choice, not mine.” he said, “I assume that means you’d like a glass.” “I don’t want to put you out Frank.” she said, and he shook his head.
“You’re here now so…” he said “Oh, we normally eat outside but I’m not sure if Mary’s-”
“What, in open view of everyone?” Evelyn asked, horrified “It’s hardly-“ She stopped dead as Frank shot her a look, and held her hands up. “Point taken…”
Frank poured her a glass then got a beer for himself and leaned back against the counter as his Mother nodded appreciatively at the wine.
“So, pear and blue cheese…” she said and Frank looked at her “You hated cheese as a child.” “Well, I like it now.” he shrugged “And Mary loves that salad so…” “It’s not a dish I would normally associate with a child to be honest.” Evelyn mused.
“Well, I think we can both agree Mary isn’t a particularly standard child so…”
At that point Fred sauntered into the kitchen, straight to his food bowl. Evelyn eyed him, before she turned to Frank and smiled “I already took a Benadryl…” He snorted and a few seconds later Mary appeared.
“Hi Grandmother. Fliss said you were here.” “You feeling ok?” Frank asked as she walked over to him. He swung her up and she rest her head on his shoulder, nodding. “Want some more water?” “Fliss told me to ask for the elec…erm…the electo-” “Electrolytes” he said, nodding. “Not a bad shout…”
He set her on the counter and then reached into the cabinet to the right of the sink where they kept the medical supplies and pulled a sachet from the box. Grabbing a glass he pulled the Filter jug out of the fridge and made her the drink before he handed it to her. “Take it slow ok?” She nodded and took it from him with a thanks, sipping at it carefully, pulling a face. “What flavour is that?” “It says orange.” he answered, looking at the packet.
“Well it’s wrong. That’s disgusting.” “It’s good for you, so stop complaining.” he said, tossing the empty sachet into the trash.
To his surprise he heard his mother chuckling and he turned to look at her. “I remember giving you something similar when you came home with sunstroke from playing Baseball all afternoon. You spat it out and told me you’d rather die than drink it.” Frank gave a huff and then turned to Mary who was grinning ear to ear “Don’t even think about it.” he pointed at her.
She shrugged and then took another mouthful, grimacing as she drank. “Please can I get down?” Frank obliged and watched as she headed off to the sofa, Thor jumping up besides her, settling his head in her lap.
“Go and talk to her.” Frank looked at his mother “That’s why you’re here, to spend time with her. Not me.”
Evelyn nodded, and for a moment Frank thought he saw a flicker of emotion in the woman’s eyes, but as quick as it had flashed across her face it was gone and she turned and made her way into the sofa. Frank leaned on the edge of the archway which led into the living area and watched as she sat down in the chair she had occupied previously before he heard the door to the bathroom open again, signalling Fliss was out of the shower. He moved to start taking the different things they needed to make dinner out of the fridge and turned on the oven before he seasoned the chicken breasts just as she had shown him with salt, pepper, chilli and a squeeze of lime. He dropped it onto a tray, placed it in the oven and was washing his hands when Fliss walked dressed casually in a pair of shorts and a fading Guns N Roses tank top. She was barefoot and her damp hair was piled up on her head in a haphazard bun. This was Frank’s favourite way to see her. Completely relaxed and at home.
“Chicken’s in.” he said as he turned to the fridge and then poured her a glass of wine.
“Thank you.” she smiled, taking a sip.
“Can I show Evelyn around?” Mary asked, and Frank turned to her.
“Finished your drink?” “Yeah.” “Ok then yes, of course you can.” She stood up and Evelyn followed, giving the pair of them a smile as she passed by the kitchen area of the open plan living space
“Oh, Felicity.” “Fliss, please.” Fliss nodded to her as she turned back to what she was doing.
“Fliss, sorry, but could I be awkward?” Evelyn asked.
“No doubt you can.” Fliss mumbled between gritted teeth and Frank smirked to himself before she tuned to look at Evelyn.
“Could I ask for my salad dressing on the side?”
“That’s fine.” Fliss nodded “I’ll make you a separate bowl.” “Thank you, that’s very kind.” Evelyn smiled before she headed out after Mary.
“If she doesn’t eat this, then she’s gonna be wearing it.” Fliss looked at Frank who let out a laugh as he chopped up the slices of cucumber.
“Now that I would pay to see.” “I’ll do it for free.” Fliss narrowed her eyes.
Frank chuckled again as they continued to make their food. After about 10 minutes or so, just as they were dropping the salad bowls onto the table, Evelyn and Mary re-appeared.
“You’ve made a nice home, certainly considering the area anyway.” Evelyn said, as Frank invited her to sit at the table before he headed back to grab the bottle of wine, a beer for himself and more water for Mary.
Fliss rolled her eyes” The area is fine, and Frank did it all, not me. Well, him and my dad. I only moved in a few weeks ago.”
“Yes, he does speak very highly of your parents.” “Well they love him.” Fliss shrugged “But then again what’s not to love.”
Evelyn looked at Fliss for a moment as Frank made his way back to the table, and they all settled down and began to eat. As she had been at Mary’s birthday, his mother was polite, nodding appreciatively at the food, joining in the conversation and she sat with Mary once they’d finished so Mary could show he the latest installation of Monty’s blog. After another bottle of wine and a few more beers, Frank realised it was getting quite late and then told Mary she needed to be getting ready for bed. Evelyn took this as her queue to call for her driver, which Frank was pleased about as it saved him having to ask her to leave.
Mary headed for a shower and the three adults made small talk until she reappeared in her pyjamas just as Evelyn’s driver called to announce his arrival. She bid Mary goodnight and then Frank made to walk her down to her car when the woman surprised him and looked at Fliss.
“Could you…I’d like to speak to you.” Fliss looked at Frank before she shrugged “Yeah, sure…” Frank frowned, but didn’t object. He looked at his mother and nodded “Let me know when you want to see her again.”
“I was actually wondering if she could come to Boston for a few days.” Evelyn said and Frank took a deep breath. “Obviously, when it’s convenient.” “Maybe.” He nodded “Goodbye Evelyn.” “Yes, I’ll call you.” she nodded and then the two women headed out of the apartment. Fliss stuck her hands in her pockets as they walked.
“I’m glad he took my advice.” Evelyn broke the silence “Regarding you, I mean…”
“Yeah he told me what you said to him.” Fliss gave a snort “Gotta say I was surprised after I’d unleashed quite a nasty verbal tirade on you…” “Well I think all things considered at the time I deserved it.” Evelyn shrugged “And I’m not surprised you hate me so-“
“I don’t hate you Evelyn.” Fliss cut her off, shaking her head “I hate what you did to Frank and Mary, and honestly? I still don’t understand it.”
“I thought I was doing the right thing.” “But how?” Fliss pressed “How was tearing a girl away from the only father figure she has ever known, the man that has cared for her and loved her since she was 6 months old the right thing?”
Evelyn shook her head “I know Frank and I made an assumption-” “No, you knew Frank.” Fliss looked at her, “It was, what? Almost 8 years since you saw him last when you turned up…and how long was it before he left Boston since you actually had a conversation with him? I just…” Fliss trailed off and looked down at her feet before she glanced back at Frank’s mother “it baffles me how someone can be so callous towards their own child, that’s all.”
Fliss watched as Evelyn stopped and looked at her “What do you want me to say?” “An apology might not go amiss…” “I did that with his birthday card, paying the fees…” “Money doesn’t make it ok Evelyn.” Fliss sighed, “And a card isn’t the same as saying it to his face…” she scratched at her head “If you want to try and salvage something from this mess, have some form of relationship with your son…” “What makes you think-“ “Because I saw you this evening, at various points, watching him…you might be able to keep your face straight but they eyes don’t lie” Fliss said gently. Evelyn looked down at the ground as Fliss continued. “I suggest you start with a verbal apology, a very open and honest discussion, because that’s when you get the best out of Frank. On a face-to-face level, when he isn’t being lied or talked down to”
“You really do know him exceptionally well don’t you?” Evelyn smiled.
“Well, we’ve had enough of our own discussions recently with everything that’s been going on so…” “Right, your ex-husband.” “How do you-“ Fliss sighed, “Mary?” “No, actually, she never said a word. I looked you up.”
“Course you did.” Fliss groaned.
“I was curious about your family.” Evelyn shrugged “You have quite the back story.” “Yeah well, its history.” she said “And long may it stay that way.”
“Well I hope for all your sakes it does.” Evelyn shook her head “Nothing I can’t stand less than a man that deems it acceptable to do that. Lord knows I pushed Preston the extremes at times but he never once raised a hand to me…or his voice now that I think about it. He preferred to argue on a cerebral level...”
“Very like Frank.” Fliss smiled.
“Yes, the two are exceptionally similar.” Evelyn said as they reached the car. “Thank you for dinner Fliss, it was a very enjoyable evening.” Fliss smiled and then as Evelyn opened the car door the woman turned back to her “Just think about what I said Evelyn. You can’t turn the clock back but it’s how you go forward from here that matters.”
Evelyn nodded, and with that she climbed in the car and shut the door. Fliss watched them drive off before she turned and headed back towards the apartment. “You ok?” Frank asked, turning to look over the back of the sofa as she walked into the living area.
“Yeah, fine.” Fliss smiled. “Mary in bed?”
“She’s reading” Frank nodded “Told her you’d pop in and say goodnight.” Fliss yawned as she slid her arms round his shoulders from behind “I’ll go now, then I think I’ll get in bed myself. I’m whacked.” Frank smiled and turned his head to give her a kiss “I’m just gonna finish watching this and then I’ll be with you.” “What is it?” Fliss asked, turning her attention to the TV.
“A documentary on whales, funnily enough.” Frank said, “You’d enjoy it…” “You’re such an old man” she teased and he scoffed.
“Not what you were saying last night.”
Fliss laughed “Well you keep yourself in good shape, what can I say.” With that she kissed his cheek and headed down the hall.
After bidding goodnight to Mary and Thor, who seemed very happy to remain in Mary’s room with Fred, she changed for bed and slipped into the sheets, stretching out before she got herself comfortable. She was dozing, drifting in and out of a light sleep when she felt Frank climb into bed behind her, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her to his chest.
“Finish whale watching?” she asked as he dropped a kiss to her shoulder.
“Yeah.” he said gently. “So you gonna tell me what my mother wanted?” “Nothing much…” Fliss said, and she turned in his arms so she was facing him. “She was actually quite contrite.”
“Course she was…” “No, I mean it, I think she’s genuinely sorry.” Fliss said, her hand gently tracing shapes on his bicep “Maybe you should give her a chance to apologise properly.”
“That must have been one hell of a talk.” Frank snorted “You were all for dumping salad on her head before!”
“We had a very honest discussion, I got a few things off my chest.” Fliss shrugged “And, well, like it or not she’s still your mum Frank.” “No, she’s my mother.” he corrected her “Your mom is a mom.”
“Was your dad a dad or a father?” “He was a dad.” Frank said, “Most definitely.”
“Do you remember much about him?” she asked.
“Little bits.” he said, his hand tucking her hair behind her ear. “Mostly about stuff we did. Baseball, football, when he taught me how to ride a bike. All the fun stuff you do with kids really.” he took a deep breath.
“What did he do?” “He was a Surgeon” Frank said “Neurology.” “Really?” Fliss looked up at Frank as he nodded “Well that’s pretty cool!”
“Yeah.” Frank nodded “I wanted to be just like him when I was a kid. I sometimes wonder if I idolise him a bit more because he’s dead you know but…” “Have you ever asked your mother what he was like? You know, since he died?” “Once or twice.” Frank replied “For all of Evelyn’s faults she did love Dad. She gave up her own career and research partnership she had with Cambridge in London to move to Boston when she met him. Then they had me. I think she resented me a little bit at first because me and dad were so close, and then when Diane came along that was it, Daddy’s girl...”
“No longer his main woman.” Fliss smiled.
“Something like that. You know, I do wonder at times why on Earth she had us.” Frank snorted “if we were such inconveniences…” “It can’t all have been bad.” “Well we wanted for nothing. In fact, we were both very spoilt. And yeah, we had Birthday parties, fun, vacations, trips…but when dad died…I dunno, it kinda went to rat-shit.” “It must have been hard for Evelyn you know, losing him when you were both so young.”
“Yeah.” Frank sighed “I’ve no doubt it was. I remember the police coming round and breaking the news about the accident…only time I’ve ever seen her break down.”
“You know before, she said that you remind her of your dad.” Fliss looked at him.
“Yeah she’s told me the same, last time I saw her in fact. Probably why she doesn’t particularly enjoy being around me that much.” “I think she enjoys it a lot more than she lets on.” Fliss shrugged “And besides, I enjoy being around you. And so do my parents…so…”
Frank gave her a soft smile before she leaned up and gave him a kiss.
“I know…” he said, as she snuggled into his chest “And that’s all I care about.” ******
Friday rolled around and with it came Fliss’ birthday. Frank was pretty sure Mary was more excited than Fliss to give her the gifts they had bought, and with good reason. Fliss beamed as she opened her various packages from them both, which included a bottle of her favourite perfume, a pale blue and white striped sleeveless button down which Frank had thought was quite nautical so very apt and a box of British chocolate. Bonnie had also stopped round the night before to give her a bottle of her favourite gin and a huge bag of sweets which she declared she was hiding from Frank as she didn’t trust him not to eat them.
Frank then handed her the envelope with her main present in and she opened it, her mouth dropping open as she looked at the Broadway Tickets.
“Lion King?” she said, looking up at him. “We’re going to see the Lion King?” He nodded, smiling “I know you wanted to go so…” “Oh my God…thank you!” she practically squealed throwing her arms round his neck, kissing his cheek.
“You’re welcome.” he smiled, winking at Mary over his shoulder. She gave him the thumbs up. Fliss turned back to look at the pile of presents arranged on the coffee table before Mary handed her another smaller wrapped one.
“This is from me…and Fred…and Thor.” she added and Fliss smiled, unwrapping the small black box. She opened it, and a small card fell out which she picked up and read out loud.
“We hope you enjoy your “Precious Paws” hand-made resin beads…” she trailed off, and glanced down at the charms in more detail. One was green speckled with gold and the other was blue speckled with silver.
“The green one has some of Heidi’s tail hair in it…” Mary pointed as Fliss gently took it from the box to examine it in more detail, clearly seeing where the hair was wound through the resin of the bead “And the Blue one has Thor’s in.”
“I…” Fliss felt herself choke up “Mary these are beautiful, where did you…” “Joanne told me about them.” Mary said, and Frank smiled at her “And then Frank helped me order them…” “They’re not officially Pandora but the woman said when we emailed her they’d fit the standard bracelet.” He said as she turned her head to look at him, her eyes shining.
“Thank you both, so much…” she turned to Mary and wrapped her up in a hug before she did the same to Frank, giving him a soft kiss “Love you.” “Happy birthday Sweetheart.” he smiled, hugging her again.
As Fliss had booked the day off, so had Frank so the three of them along with Thor and Fred spent the afternoon after visiting Fliss’ mum and dad on one of the boats belonging to Paul, the owner of the shop Frank worked in. Frank had deliberately chosen one of the smaller ones so they could access the small stretch of sand just off St Pete’s beach that they all loved. It was quieter than the main beach as it wasn’t reachable unless you waded or sailed over and they spent the afternoon on the beach with a few beers and a picnic, before they headed home. Mary crashed out on the way back, her head lolling on Fliss’s lap as she sat at the front of the boat, her bare feet resting on the bar in front of her, simply watching the dolphins. Thor was barking at them like mad, wagging his tail and then suddenly he shot to the bow of the boat, placing both his paws up on the metal, threatening to throw himself overboard. Frank’s hand shot out to grab his collar.
“Dumbass…” he yanked him back, and turned to Fliss “Does this mutt have a brain in his head?”
“Don’t’ talk about my baby like that…” she narrowed her eyes at Frank as she covered Thor’s ears with her hands as he sat by her feet, tail thumping on the floor. “Fred does his share of stupid shit too, like getting his head stuck in cereal boxes.”
Frank rolled his eyes “At least Fred knows not to jump in the ocean.”
“That’s because he has no sense of adventure.” Fliss shot back, causing Frank to snort. Standing up, Fliss gently moved Mary, so that she was led flat down before she stretched and moved next to Frank who tossed his arm over her shoulder.
“Had a good day?” he asked and she grinned, nodding.
“The best.” she smiled “I love it when you bring me out sailing.” “I’m driving.” he turned to face her, grinning. “You’re sailing.”
“Whatever” he mumbled as his lips pressed to hers. She snaked her arms around his neck as his slid round her back, pulling her closer to him as he kissed her deeply his tongue sliding against hers.
“You can unwrap your last present when we get home…” he said, grinning like a school boy as he rest his forehead head against hers.
“Yeah?” she asked, arching an eyebrow
“I’d let you unwrap it now but…” he nodded to Mary and she snorted.
“You know we’ve not actually done that.” she mused. “Sex on a boat I mean…” Frank let out a laugh “You harbouring a bit of a sailing kink?” “More of a sailor kink” she shot back and he shook his head, giving her another quick kiss before he turned his attention back to the boat as he guided it back into the Marina.
He made good on his promise once they got back, loved on his girl. Once in the shower and then again later on when he woke up as Fliss had done the same to use the bathroom. Frank knew he would never get tired of hearing the soft cries of his names and the various encouragements she gave him when she begged him not to stop or told him how good he was making her feel. As he tumbled right over that edge, behind her 3rd, or was it 4th orgasm, he’d lost count, his fingers tightened slightly on her hips as his head tipped back in ecstasy. He lay still, panting as she collapsed onto his chest, his hands stroking up and down her spine as she lifted her head, grinning as she caught his lips in a soft kiss before falling down onto the mattress next to him. She looked at him, her eyes flashing in the soft light that was sneaking into the room through the crack in the curtains, a look of pure love on her face, as if he had hung the moon and the stars in the sky, and it was enough to choke him up slightly. He still wasn’t sure he was worthy of her unadulterated adoration, but damned it, he’d try constantly to be the best version of himself if it kept her by his side.
He didn’t wake the next morning when Fliss’ alarm went off. Instead he woke to a gentle kiss to his cheek and as he roused himself the smell of freshly brewed coffee hit his senses. Blinking he smiled softly as Fliss placed a mug on his night stand.
“What time is it?” Frank asked.
“Just gone 7. I’ve got an early appointment with the Ariat rep at the stables, remember?” “Oh, yeah…” he said, rubbing his eyes.
“You told me to wake you before I left.”
“Yeah, I don’t know why I did that…” he moaned and she chuckled.
“You gonna bring Mary up later?”
“Yeah, I’ll leave he with you for the afternoon if that’s ok? Need to clean the boat and get it back.” “Course it is.” she smiled. With that she bent over to kiss him again and in a shot Frank’s arms were round her waist and she was flat on her back on the bed, laughing as he caged her with his arms.
“Frank…” she whined, as he kissed her softly “I can’t, I’m gonna be late as it is…” “One more kiss, come one…” he pleaded, and she relented as he pressed his lips to hers before she eventually pulled away and shoved on his chest. With a pout he moved allowing her to stand and she shook her head at him.
“You’ll be the death of me Frank Adler.” she said, straightening her top and he eyed her figure up as she did so and gave a shrug.
“What a way to go…” he smirked and with that she reached down, grabbed one of the various scatter cushions that lived on the bed during the day, and smacked him straight on the face with it.
He and Mary shared a lazy morning before they both dressed and headed out going via the bakery at the end of the high street to pick up a coffee and some Danishes for a late breakfast for Fliss as he knew she’d have left without eating any, she always did when she was out earlier than them. As he pulled up, Mary was out of the truck before he had stopped, something which he was fed up of telling her off for.
Frank walked into Fliss’ office where he placed the bag of food on the desk, along with the cardboard carrier which contained their coffee and gave her cheek a kiss. Mary shot into the tack room, grabbed her little box of brushes and shot off to go and see Monty.
“Bye then…” he said sarcastically, and she completely ignored him. He snorted, shaking his head as Fliss laughed.
“Busy morning?” he asked and Fliss nodded.
“I’ll say.” she nodded to the bag “Saturday’s always are…aww, you bring me breakfast?”
“If 11 am counts as breakfast” he snorted and Fliss laughed as she continued sifting through the pile of envelopes on her desk. There was one that contained a few clearly hand delivered cards, he could tell by the shape and the fact they had no post marks, and then another small pile that had arrived in the post. “Bill, bill…oh…” She stopped at a bigger envelope. “A card?”
Frank shrugged. She turned it over, ripped open the envelope and pulled out a white card with simple block writing on the front in multi-colours. With a frown she opened it and scanned the greeting, before her eyes grew wide and she threw it down onto the desk.
“Lissy?” Frank frowned, and he looked at her as she shook her head, taking a deep breath, before she swallowed and turned to face him. “Honey, what is it?” “It’s…” she swallowed, her eyes wide “That card…it’s…it’s from John.”
Frank’s face grew harsh as he grabbed the card and read the greeting. It was 3 words long. 3 simple words, but even he knew from what she’d told him about the name John used to call her, that it was from him. Happy Birthday Sugar. “Fucker.” Frank growled, tossing the card back onto the desk as Fliss turned to him and he wrapped her in his arms, letting her simply press her face into his chest. He rubbed his hand gently up and down her back as her breathing evened out and she stepped back. “You ok?” “Yeah…” she said, “Do me a favour and get rid of it.” “Don’t you wanna call the police?” he frowned.
“They’re not going to do anything about a card.” she shook her head
“He’s broken his parole…” “And they can’t prove its him.” she sighed “They’re not gonna DNA test or whatever on that…” “Fliss…”
“No, Frank…just…” she shook her head. “Please, do what I ask and rip it up, burn it, whatever, I just…get rid of it”
“Ok, ok…” he appeased and she nodded, before she looked to the doorway and hastily her face rearranged into a smile.
“Hi Steph!” she greeted. Frank turned to see a dark haired woman dressed in riding gear, Fliss’ next client. “DJ is ready, get Jo to get you on and I’ll be out in a moment.” The woman smiled and headed off down the yard. Fliss looked at Frank.
“I didn’t think about the fact this place was so easy to find.” she shook her head “The webpage…” Frank sighed, it was something if truth be told he hadn’t considered either “Look, the worst he can do is send you shit.” he said, almost trying to convince himself as well “He can’t set foot out of Mass…he’s clearly doing this to try and upset you so…” “Well he can fuck off and die.” Fliss said venomously, “Ass hole…a fucking birthday card? He’s clearly losing his touch.” With that she gave his cheek a peck and grabbed a Danish out of the bag before she picked up her coffee. “This lesson is only half an hour so as soon as I’m done Mary can ride Monty and then she can do her jobs and stuff. You go and clear the boat from yesterday or whatever it is you were planning on doing and I’ll give you a call later ok?”
“Sure.” he nodded.
“Love you.” she smiled at him, before she left the room.
Frank watched her go before he looked at the card. She’d asked him to get rid of it…but something was telling him not to. He pondered it for a moment before he tucked the offending item back into the envelope and then curled it up so it would fit in his back pocket, before he headed out to the jeep, pulling his phone free as he walked.
“S’up Man?” Greg greeted him as he opened his truck door threw the envelope onto the passenger seat.
“I need some advice.” Frank spoke quietly, glancing over to where Fliss was now stood in the middle of the paddock, the women on the large grey horse was walking around her in a circle. “Can we meet?”
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Mining for Unobtanium Chapter 23
It got eaten. Like the post was there but there was NO TEXT.
I screamed. I really did. This was a good chapter, I thought.
Well Feck. Good think I’m slightly compulsive.
Adults only 18 and over. Adult themes, teh secks and stuff.
Un Beta’d we die like my dreams ( too dark? )
At some point I , we must have passed out or fallen asleep. There he was, larger than life and in my bed, and I was surrounded by him. The perfect big spoon, arms wrapped around me, leg thrown over my hip,I felt petite, and I assure you, I am not. I could have stayed there forever. My bladder however had different ideas, and the lingerie, while beautiful, was not my first choice to sleep in. Extraction was going to be an interesting manoeuvre. If I wiggle too much, I risk alerting The Kraken. I didn't mind a second round, or a third of he wanted to go, but right this instant? Oh my gawd, I had to pee. I managed to slide myself out of his embrace and he rolled towards where I was just a minute ago. I wanted to stop and just look at him, sleeping, but, I suppose I could do that on the way back. Necessities taken care of, and a bit of freshening up while I was dishabille, at least this way, ~should~ one of his eyes inadvertently open, I looked 'artfully messy' as opposed to just fucked up. I'd settle for freshly fucked. Did you ever see "Torch Song Trilogy"? Oh my stars. Stop what you're doing and go watch that movie. There is a hole in your cultural education if you haven't. So, it's Harvey Firestein, it's autobiographical, and you're going to need tissues. Matthew Broderick is in it. But, there's this one scene where Harvey's character sets the alarm so he can get up before his boyfriend, brush his teeth, fix his face, do his morning routine so when the boyfriend wakes up, Harvey looks amazing. I have now reached the Harvey Firestein point of my life. Henry, of course, probably ,what was the expression? Woke up like that. I slid back into bed, using his shoulder to rest my head and curled my leg up over his hip. I kissed his neck lightly and whispered "sweet dreams". It was still dark out when round two began, he may have been half asleep. Well, parts of him were. Limbs were entangled, his head on my chest and his cock making its presence known. I stretched, and kissed his head, he curled his fingers into mine and in a fraction of a second he was above me, half smiling. "I thought I had dreamt you". "Oh, I'm certain you did" and I kissed his lips. I trailed my free hand down his back and kissed him more deeply. " I'm nothing but a figment of your imagination ". I could feel his erection at the juncture of my thighs and I rolled my hips up to try and slide him into my center. He was more entertained with sliding himself along my folds and driving me mad, taking his time. He bent his head to capture a nipple in his mouth and I rolled my eyes back in my head and shuddered. "Like that, do you?" " Oh God yes. . Umm you...uhh... Have no idea" and he took it in his teeth and tortured it with his tongue and I stopped speaking, I could just moan. The scoundrel looked up at me through his lashes and smirked. Then he went to work on the other one and I began to come undone. He could feel me getting wetter and then he went balls deep in one thrust, and I came. My pussy was clenching him and pulsing and he stroked slow and deep, bottoming out with every thrust. "Figments of my imagination don't come all over my cock like that". " They do when their nipples are hard wired to their clit". He arched an eyebrow at me and didn't miss a beat, slowly sliding in and out of me, feeling the aftershocks. "Oh at this pace, I can last forever" "You really ARE competitive. I already told you, I will not break " He leveraged himself up slightly on one elbow, and we were kissing, and well, I wouldn't call it fucking, but that sort of sweet sleepy sex, and he really was relentless in his pursuit of we are going to do this forever. I raised one leg to slightly change the angle, I needed more, and a little to the, OH YES.....exactly there.....I purred like a satisfied panther.... " Happy, darling? " mmm mmm right there, that's the perfect spot.... " "You mean THIS spot? and he snapped his hips and it was like lightning crossed that bundle of nerves inside me. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. He did it again, and again until I had another orgasm and then he began to chase his own release. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and bit him as he sped up his thrusts. I had proof of his Godhood now. Even his O face is breathtakingly beautiful. Still joined together he rolled me on top of him, wrapped his arms around me and stroked my skin as I buried my face in his fur and we drifted back to sleep. I awoke to coffee. Oh. Thank every benevolent deity I could think of, no one will perish this morning. I stretched, and reveled in every ache; recalling how I had earned them. I scooted up to a sitting position, made quick work of eight ounces of coffee ( yes, it was gone in minutes) and went in search of my guest. I heard water running in the bathroom, and the door was ajar, so I looked in. Sweet baby Ganesha, there he stood, with his back to me, in the shower. Rivulets of water cascading down the planes and angles of his musculature, and I could see that I had left a mark of three of my own. With a very self satisfied smile I joined him in the shower and slid my arms around his waist, kissing his back. "Morning darling. Thank you for the magical bean juice".
He laughed and turned and kissed me. " Fey creatures surely live on potions".
I looked up at this God in human form " You're a fine one to talk about being imaginary. "
"Oh these marks aren't imaginary!" " Was that a complaint ? "
"Madam, I shall wear them as a badge of honor, for the favour of being yours". The shower rang with laughter and we washed and kissed and played probably longer than we would have had we not been in a hotel. Wrapped in a towel I offered him more coffee, poured my self some and excused myself to go out on the balcony and smoke. I know it was a smoking room, but I was working at being super considerate. He stuck his head out to ask what I was doing. "Smoking, darling boy. Smoking. So I don't inadvertently kill you."
" Come inside. It's too cold out. "
" Darling I'm almost done and then you can warm me up. You radiate heat like a blast furnace". I put out my cigarette and as soon as I got back and closed the balcony door, I was engulfed by his warmth, and those muscles. A girl could get used to that. "So, what's on your busy schedule today mister international superstar?" He blushed. He ACTUALLY blushed. " Well, I'm going to put most of my suit back on and do the.... What's the term? Stride of pride? " I couldn't help myself. I laughed. No, scratch that. I howled. It was a belly laugh, holding my sides, I fell over on the bed, my face hurt, laughed. " God, Henry, someone has GOT to write you a fast paced comedy, you've got great comic timing! And then? " " Well I do want to hear all about Kal's date, take him for a walk, I think I've got my cardio in, but, I'm always angling for more" and he arched that eyebrow again.
"Cheeky monkey!"
" And after that, I'm at your service. " "Have you a disguise?"
" What do you mean? "
I shook my head. " Henry, we talked about this. How in six hells are you going to explain me? It's not like we're going to go out and you're going to keep your hands off me, are you? I certainly don't want to have to keep my lips or my hands off of you. You're in London, not Jersey."
" Look, if I can stand in Times fucking Square, in a Superman shirt and only two people stop.... "
"Darling.... That's New York. They give zero fucks. About anything. I do not want to be a cause for concern or a paparazzi problem. I don't want your PR team up my ass. We're creative. We'll figure it out. Now let me see that stride of pride. Work it! "
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How to Survive Mercury Retrograde in Pisces
Welcome to retrograde season, team. in 2 days, Mercury goes retrograde at 12°53' in Pisces to be exact. Now, retrogrades usually breed a certain amount of panic and understandably so., but this retrograde falls into the sentimental and some could even argue the overly sentimental sign of Pisces.
So let's break this down, shall we?
Pisces, the fishes (Think Tui and La from Avatar) are ruled by Neptune, the Latin name for Poseidon, god of the sea, dreams, illusions, etc. Mercury rules Virgo and Gemini, hence Mercury does not feel at home in such an emotional and watery sign. Mercury is in its fall. It prefers the critical and airy signs that it’s used to and at 29 degrees (the last decan of the constellation before it moves on to the next) it’s in a hurry to finish things up. In layman’s terms? There’ll be a sense of intense urgency for the next two weeks.
So what else can we expect during this celestial backspin?
Welp, with Mercury Retrograde in Pisces, this creates mental and emotional confusion, with strange erratic dreams and maybe even some psychic experiences. Mercury rules the [rational] mind and thoughts while Neptune ruler of Pisces lords over the unconscious. The subconscious. Addled states of being (so careful with your alcohol intake around this time or overindulging with drugs in general.)
Your mental processes will have a tendency to become merged with emotions and you might find it hard to separate ideas and opinions from your idealism. You feel as if things are unfolding behind-the-scenes but are not yet clear what they are.
So here’s what to look out for in general:
Sleeping patterns (as we mentioned), communication, and travel plans may be thrown off during this time.
People from the past may be reappearing sooner than expected and bringing with them Emmy winning displays of emotion and drama thanks to the Piscean influence. Don’t trip off this one too much, sometimes this means you could receive that ever-elusive closure you never got.
With upcoming Mercury retrograding in Aries (ruled by Mars, god of war), periods of combative attitudes are heightened as well as impulsive decision-making.
I cannot stress this enough: THINK before you speak.
Deceptive people will swarm like roaches ESPECIALLY with Neptune in Pisces. People show you their true colors so you know who needs to be removed from your life.
Arguments are more prone at this time..
Pretty cut and dry, right? If not, here’s what each of the signs should be aware of specifically during this watery transit.
Aries – Hello my fiery brothers and sisters. Take this time to relax, think things through and watch your tongue. I know it’s hard with our ruling planet being Mars and all but you would not want anything you say now to follow you through the remainder of your birthday season. Mercury retrograde is aiding you in redefining your emotional boundaries and making concise decisions on what to take into the next year of your life—just in time, too, because Aries SZN starts on the 20th, just a week before the retrograde ends. But do take a break from people who have been exhausting you, you don’t have to apologize for taking care of you. Chill.
Taurus – You might suffer from miscommunicating with friends and family members or just everyone in your radius. Or maybe it's just that no one gets how awesome your thoughts are. Either way, be as clear as possible with those around you so that you don’t get annoyed with the world. Mercury retrograde is testing your emotional capacity to open up. Testing your ability to refrain from being judgmental. Try being a little more accepting.
Gemini – You might be frustrated since no one seems to get your ideas but this will prove to be a fruitful period of time for you. Mercury in daydreamy Pisces fills your head with ideas of what could be and where you want to go in life, but you struggle to fit these dreams into reality. The good thing is, you’re trying. And A-for-effort, you little genius. Accept your status as the wise one amongst friends, school or even work. Mercury gives you some much-needed insight while everyone seems to be out-of-whack.
Cancer – Yeah, this bad boy’s gonna hit you guys pretty hard. There’s no sense in cloaking it. You, my clawed cousins, are probably the most emotional sign so not only are your feelings heightened, you may feel like you just want to get away from it all. Considering taking a nice trip? Stahp. Plan it now and go for it in the next few months. While Mercury is in Retrograde, you definitely do not want to take some crazy excursions. If you need to take a break, visit a museum, take up some yoga or work on that project you gave up on a while ago. These alternatives will help you cope in a healthy way instead of running from what you don’t want to face.
Leo – Tax season is coming up, so contemplate how you want those funds allocated. Yes, my preening feline. With Chiron (planet of wounds and healing) and Mercury in such close proximity, you might feel a bit wounded this time around. Self-help books could become useful this time as you try to decipher dreams or just memories from the past. Pay attention to things you normally wouldn’t. That includes friends and family you’ve been neglecting. This Piscean influence is sending you signals and forcing you to readjust the way you exchange emotional resources as well as your financial ones. The devil’s in them details.
Virgo – Oh Virgo’s my OCD loves: Try to loosen up this month. Not everything has to be perfect and you don’t need to go ghost in order to obtain it. With this Piscean influence affecting your relationships, people might be put off by your disappearing act and might consider whether you value their friendships. Reach out, be that person that randomly appears during retrograde. Heal those old wounds and reassure the ones you love with your presence. Chances are if someone’s crossing your mind it’s because you’re on theirs as well.
Libra – Mercury will add some irritation to your routines but you’re good at this, so it will not be such a big deal. Here you learn how to perfect things and redo them so that you will get the value months from now. You’ll do things you’ll thank yourself for later. Work hard even if you don’t feel motivated that way you can play hard later.
Scorpio – Good news arachnid fam, this is the time to relax and break free. I don’t think any of us can forget (or forgive) the things that happened during the last Retrograde. But now that we’ve healed, expect a lot of muses to inspire you. Your artistry is alive. Your creative juices are flowing and people flock to you this March. Social connections are highly likely as you make time to reconnect and steal the spotlight. Yes you’ll be affected by the watery influence but you’re ruled by water too so it’s nothing you can’t flex on.
Sagittarius – Miscommunications at home (which might be part of this issue since you guys are a ruled by the planet of expansion) can prove frustrating but no worries! This is temporary. This will help clear out the air and it will allow you to work on any family drama you have been ignoring. Relax, take notes. You guys are a sign that’s notorious for your blatant and cavalier honesty. Some appreciate it. Some just think you’re harsh. Listen to others and take a page from Libra’s book on this and practice being more diplomatic in your approach.
Capricorn – It’s highly unlikely that you will be on time for anything this month which is highly unlike you since you guys are ruled by Saturn, father of time. Sorry fam, the world seems to be against you, or maybe it’s just time being complicated. You as an earth sign just don’t rock with this watery retrograde. It may seem hard but attempt to go with the flow, don’t lose your cool. Mercury here will teach you some much-needed patience. Be clear, be concise and be patient.
Aquarius –Shmonnaayyyyy! Listen, this could prove to be a beneficial time for you as you see a surge of income from unexpected forces. Has your right had been itching? While others might be losing their mind, you might actually benefit from this period since mercury is making you remove the emotional baggage and clutter as you get your finances in order and learn from previous spending habits and mistakes.
Pisces – It’s about you, baby. Happy birthday. You are on Cloud 9. Yes, this year may have started with upsets and disappointments, but you’ve noticed that things have stabilized and you feel extra Zen with the universe. Mercury’s taught you acceptance, self-care and most importantly self-love (who couldn’t use more of that?) This unconditional joy you may experience throughout the month will allow you to bloom and heal for Aries Season.
So what have we learned today?
Number one: don’t resort to excesses but remain balanced and focused on building the right sort of relationships. Be it work relationships, old ties we thought were forgotten or family binds that will never break. Yes yes, nervousness and stress, fears paranoia may be stimulated, especially if you’ve been working or living in an environment hostile to your deeper needs. But let's all remember to keep our dignity and wits about us. Especially with such a murky and hazy fog that Neptune always blesses us with (note sarcasm) around this time.
Now, will second-guessing and trying to read between every line be hard to avoid? Absolutely. However, the best course of action around this time is to make as few assumptions as possible. Be open to your own intuitive hunches and be ready to take a new direction when it suddenly materializes. It may be closer than you think. And when the mist clears, you’ll have the opportunity to really make yourself seen and heard. Until then, I’ll be here to keep you updated on the latest celestial happenings. Good luck.
#Mercury retrograde#my writing#pisces season#aries#taurus#gemini#cancer#leo#virgo#libra#scorpio#Sagittarius#Capricorn#pisces#Aquarius#horoscopes#blvquesunscorpio
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