#I woke up this morning and spent 6 hours coloring

[monster-inside-of-your-head]

He's too easy to make fun of

textless versions under cut

[ateotd-izzy]

happy birthday - stiles stilinski x fem!reader part two

summary: a month (and 10 days) after stiles’ birthday came your own, and stiles wants to give you the best gift possible.

notes: it’s my birthday!!!

☾

6:00 am

your boyfriend woke you up at 6 am on your own birthday by kissing you on your cheek over and over.

you groaned and rolled onto your side, turning your back to him.

“go away.” you mumbled.

“happy birthday.” stiles spoke in an almost singing tune.

“what is with your obsession with birthdays at six in the morning?” you asked, rolling onto your back again and forcing your eyes open to meet his. “you never wake up this early any other day.”

that was when he smiled. “and i wouldn’t wake up this early for anyone but you.”

“or yourself.” you leaned forward and pecked him on the lips before once again rolling onto your side. “now can i sleep for a little bit longer?”

“but, babe, don’t you want your present?” he asked.

“i want to sleep.”

“you can sleep after, just please open your present?” he was sitting upright in your bed and you sighed, rolling over to look at him, and he smiled.

“fine.” you pulled yourself up and he almost fell off the bed reaching for your gift.

“here.” he handed you the present.

once you held it in your hands, you could tell how horrible his wrapping was. he had used wayyy too much wrapping paper for such a small gift, and probably an entire roll of tape to keep it down.

but you smiled, because you could tell he had tried. and you loved him.

you unwrapped the gift and grinned when you saw the book you had been wanting so badly for the last few months, along with a notebook and some colored pens.

setting your new items down on your lap, your hands reached for the sides of his face and pulled him towards you into a kiss.

stiles seemed to melt into you, one of his hands on the bed to balance himself and the other gripping onto your waist.

“thank you, baby. i love it.” you whispered against his lips, and he chuckled before kissing you again.

then he pulled back suddenly. “also, that’s just your first gift. i have another surprise for you later.”

you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him down so he was lying down on the bed with you.

“i’m going back to sleep.” you told him and he adjusted his body so he was comfortable beside you. “then we can celebrate more later.”

he closed his eyes and pulled you close to him before letting out a sigh.

“what?” you asked.

“nothing. i just love this.” he moved again so his head was right next to yours. “i love you.”

a few hours later, the two of you were lying across the couch in your living room, your parents out of the house.

the two of you were watching a movie, one of your favorites that you had wanted to rewatch.

“what’s the time?” you asked stiles and he lifted his arm from where it was resting underneath your head to check.

“11:42.” he read out from his watch and you sighed.

“and when does the party start?” you asked and stiles chuckled.

“not until 5.”

“fuck.” you muttered and stiles shushed you with a soft laugh, shaking his head. “what?”

“nothing. just watch the movie.”

you stared at him with an almost curious look on your face, but he just stared ahead at the tv screen.

and then, finally, after another movie and lots of time spent setting up, it was time for your birthday party.

and you were excited.

you smiled widely, holding stiles’ hand as you welcomed your friends into the house.

and moments later the party was in full swing, food was on the table, everyone had drinks and you had received many gifts.

you laughed with your friends, talking with lydia and kira about how stiles had woken you up that morning, or about how lydia’s dog tried chasing a squirrel.

stiles was once again across the room, this time at your house rather than his. he was once again sat with scott, who was once again talking. and stiles, once again, wasn’t listening because he was staring at you.

every thought in his head was about you, and the nerves coursing through his body were because of you, too.

and so, in the middle of scott’s sentence, he stood up.

“-and that was when kira… dude? are you okay?” scott asked his best friend, who hadn’t moved since he stood. “your heart is beating like crazy.”

“um…” stiles’ head flicked from you to scott for a second. “yeah. yeah, i’m fine. um, i just need to talk to… to y/n for a second.”

stiles’ voice was almost a whisper and he didn’t wait for scott to reply when he hurried across the room to you and laced his fingers with yours.

while lydia has started explaining some story, stiles leaned closer to your ear, his warm breath sending a shiver down your spine.

“can i talk to you?”

you were confused, because you were both right there. surely he could talk to you when you were right there.

“uh, i guess so-” the moment the words of confirmation left your mouth, stiles was pulling you away and out the back door.

he was quick, pulling you further away from your house and the music inside started to fade.

“stiles? what’s going on? are you okay, babe?” you questioned him as he stopped, his sudden change in behavior catching you off guard.

“everything’s fine.” he replied, staring you in the eyes. “i just, uh… i just needed to talk to you somewhere quiet. and alone.”

your lips turned up in a smile. “i get it. lots of people. it’s super overwhelming in there.”

“oh, yeah.” stiles’ answer was quick, and you weren’t sure if he even really knew what you said or if he was too deep into his thoughts.

“anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?”

when you asked that question, stiles froze up.

he knew what he wanted to say to you — to ask you. he had planned it out so long ago, so why now was he freezing up?

because now it was real.

“um, okay.” he started and took a deep breath. “do you remember a month ago on my birthday- well- like, do you remember what we talked about that night?”

you nodded slowly, then stiles lowered himself down so he was on just one knee.

“um, well, this is what i wanted to talk to you about.” he cleared his throat, and you stood in both awe and shock. “y/n, i love you so much and i want to love you forever, because you’re just the coolest person ever. and you’re smart, you’re funny and you’re absolutely beautiful.”

stiles gestured around your body.

“just… it doesn’t have to be any time soon, but, one day, would you marry me?” he asked, pulling the small box from the pocket of his jacket and held the ring up towards you.

“stiles stilinski.” you spoke and met his eyes. “of course i want to marry you.” you told him and it was like an ocean of relief just waved over him as he stood up properly.

“oh, thank god.” stiles sighed in relief then stood up in front of you. he took the ring out of the box and held it out to slip onto your finger.

stiles pulled you close in a hug and kissed the top of your head.

“i love you, stiles.” you told him, pulling back to hold his face in your hands. “and i want to love you forever.”

“i want to love you forever too.” he smiled and the two of you kissed.

“we’re gonna get married.” you grinned widely and stiles’ face mirrored your own.

“we’re gonna get married!”

a/n: idk it’s 1:27 am rn so it’s not even my birthday anymore technically and i’m so tired so idek if this is good i just wanted to finish it

[maddie7writes]

DONT WORRY, DARLING

summary: harry doesn’t ever want his darling to worry, and she doesn’t

warnings: this fic isn’t for everyone, y/n is a housewife (no i don’t hate women’s rights jack chambers is just really hot) also sorry this is short! mentions of smut

she would be a liar to say she hated it. she could lie and say she wished to work, wished to go outside the town they lived in. truth was, the only part she hated was harry leaving in the morning. she loved doting on him, making him his favorite breakfast in the morning, making sure the house was clean for him when he got home, making sure he had dinner on the table, making sure the mini bar was fully stocked. those were her second favorite moments of the day, the first of course being the moments she gets to spend with harry.

she always woke up first, mainly out of habit. the clock on the nightstand read 6:23, and the tattooed arm around her waist tightened at the different breathing pattern. she let herself close her eyes and breathe in harry’s scent. it was cruel to think that in three hours he’d leave her, and not return for another eight.

“your thinking is waking me up.” harry whined in her ear, she yawned out a laugh and turned in his arms to look up at him, her chin against his chest. “go to bed baby, you don’t want to be exhausted all day.” she tucked a unruly curl of his away from those deep green eyes glancing down at her lovingly. green was her favorite color.

“don’t worry, darling.” he whispered to her, pulling her impossibly closer. “it’s worth it, a little more sleepy, for a little more time with you.” he kissed the top of her head as she snuggled into him.

he would always whisper that phrase to her; don’t worry, darling. she never had to worry, not about him, not about her, not about them. all she had to do was exist and love. then harry would take care of the rest. it was blissful, why would she ever want anything different?

—

8:45 rolled around, all the husbands and wives began to step out of their houses, to either wish them off, or go to work. harry always followed behind her, wanting to bask in the sweet little dresses she would always wear for him. though she didn’t always find that fair, especially when he was wearing her favorite navy suit.

“do you have to go?” she whispered, blocking the handle to the car door, he leaned down and kissed her, her hands finding his jaw. “yes love, but i’ll be back. don’t worry, darling.” he repeated the loving phrase to her again. she sighed and let her forehead rest against his chest, taking in one more breath of his cologne before her senses were filled with the sweet smell of cleaning supplies. he kissed the top of her head before opening the car door, “i love you.” he told her, she kissed him one more time before reciprocating the sentiment and watching him drive off. their goodbye was always the longest in the neighborhood, not that they cared.

she spent the rest of the day cleaning. washing the suit harry wore the day before, cleaning the bathroom, making sure the wood wasn’t scuffed, dusting their photos, organizing harry’s record shelf, all of the daily things that needed to be done. she started on dinner at two, and when harry walked through the door at five, dinner had been set, and she had touched up her hair as she opened the door for him.

“god you look divine.” harry sighed, letting his briefcase drop to the polished floors, and using y/n’s back to close the door as he kissed her into it. her heels shuffling trying to keep herself up, to be met with harry’s hands to support her. she giggled at his enthusiasm, “i made lasagna.” she told him. harry nibbled her lip instead, “i’d much rather have you.” he told her, she felt the breath get knocked out of her at his words.

“you have to eat your dinner first baby.” she laughed, she felt like a mother scolding her child to eat their vegetables before they were allowed ice cream. now she was telling harry he needed real food, before he could have the woman he loved. “i like my idea better.” he picked her up bridal style and began carrying her to their bedroom. she whimpered as he set her down gently, “i worked so hard to cook for you.”

“don’t worry, darling. your food won’t go to waste, but i need to thank you properly for the care you take of me and this home.” his kissed her softly, before kneeling in front of her, and thanking her properly.

[blueberry-rose]

Dilf!Arlecchino x fem reader

Warning: smut, bondage, sesbian lex, gags, praises, and breeding kink.

Idk why but Arlecchino has a breeding kink. Also the first like half of this is fluff, with suggestive themes so I’ll mark where that starts. Also child Lyney is a little shit.

Forgive me I haven’t wrote a while 

Colors: Arlecchino, Lyney, Lynette, Freminet, you

Your babysitting for a ceo with three kid. You have been for almost a year, and every time you see her, Arlecchino you trip over your words she’s so tall and muscular it’s hard not too and it doesn’t help that you have a thing for older women. And her three small children Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet, tease you every time you stutter. Mostly lyney as he giggles anytime he hears you. And it doesn’t help that he just flat out asked you if you liked his father last time you badysat them. You went red and he started to giggle when Arlecchino arrived home not even 30 minutes later, you sometimes hate how smart that boy is. Which the arrived of arlecchino only made you more red, which then prompted her to ask if you felt ok, placing a hand on your forehead.

When you arrived to look after the kids the morning arlecchino was running late, and she looked off somehow. She was rushing and she seemed a bit flushed, you have never seen that woman running late she was very strict with timing. “Are you ok?”

“I’ll be fine, just make sure the kids get up and get food I’ll see you tonight.” She said as she adjusted her jacket before leaving. Then you saw lyney at the top of the stairs, always the first to wake up.

“Lyney do you know what’s wrong with your father?”

“She had a hard time sleeping last night.”

“Do you know why?” Lyney let out a little giggle.

“Nope, I’ll go get frem and Lyn up”

“And I’ll start cooking,” you couldn’t help but notice that you only saw Arlecchino grab a drink this morning and no dishes were dirty. You let out a sigh. You’ll have to talk to her tonight. The kids came down Lynette and freminet rubbing their eyes sleepily. “Morning kids how did you sleep”

“Good until Lyney woke me up.” Lynette sat down at the table.

“He threatened to pour water on me” freminet said as he hugged your leg.

“Lyney.”

“What? I wouldn’t actually do it”

“Well I’m going to have to tell your father”

“You can’t even speak to father without stuttering”

“Lyney!” He let out little giggles. “You are a brat sometimes you know that?”

“Father says I’m a little shit”

“You are, but don’t curse. You are like 6”

“7 actually”

“Go sit down”

After breakfast you dove Lyney and Lynette to school. And spent the rest of the day with Freminet at around 3:30 you drove to pick up Lyney and Lynette the same schedule as always. But Arlecchino got home an hour late and didn’t send you a text which you couldn’t help but get a bit nervous when 6 rolled around and she wasn’t home, then 6:30 then 7:00 then 7:15 she finally got inside.

“Arlecchino you didn’t text me saying you were going to be late today. Are you ok”

“I’m fine I would have. I” she let out a sigh “I got stuck in a meeting and didn’t think it would take as long as it did. How were the kids?”

“W-well um Lyney cursed, and threatened to pour water on his brother today.”

“I’ll talk with him about that. Have you guys had dinner?”

“N-no I know how much you like spending your one meal with them.”

She turned to look at you with those pretty “x”s that always made your heart flutter. “Then stay, it’s getting late and I know you don’t live in the most safe neighborhood, being a pretty young lady you’re in the most danger at night.” You felt your face heat up, and Arlecchino’s eye brow raised. “Of course the choice is yours but the kids always get so sad when you leave”

“I-I’ll stay but I don’t have any clothes”

“You can borrow some of mine and I’ll wash your clothes tonight” you just nodded. You heard her chuckle a bit, before walking to the kitchen.

It didn’t take long before hearing Lyney ask “is she staying the night?”

“Yes now got get ready for bed you guys are going to bed after dinner” you then saw Lyney getting his siblings whispering something to them then looking at you and giggling as the walked up the stairs. You then walked to the kitchen, seeing Arlecchino grabbing some pans and ingredients. “You good with some fettuccini?”

“Yeah, that sounds good but um Lyney whispered something to his siblings and started giggling when they looked at me” you swear you saw her smirk.

“Oh don’t worry about them,” she sighed. “Maybe I should just order food it’s getting late.” She started to put stuff up “maybe I should invite you to stay the night on a day I’m not late. Or maybe on a day I’m not working.”

“Oh why?”

“Lyney told me something the last time you babysat.”

“W-what did he tell you” you saw her smirk, before leaning down to your ear.

“What do you think he told me?” You’re face heated up,

“I don’t know”

“Why don’t I show you instead?” You just nodded you felt a little dizzy. Before she leaned in and kissed you, she was a bit rough with it. You felt so small under her tongue how it easily overpowered yours, her hand wandered down to your waist, and you could feel your desire pooling between your legs. Only to be interrupted by a sea of giggles. All three kids giggling as you went red again. Arlecchino just removed her hands and straightened up. “Change of plans kids we are just going to order some food” she leaned down and whispered “you should sleep in my room tonight” you just nodded. “Good girl” that’s it she teasing you and you hated how much you liked it.

Arlecchino just ordered some pizza. And after the kids went to bed, you sat downstairs with Arlecchino for a bit her hand on your waist. “You are so shy dear, you shouldn’t be it’s not surprising that I would be attracted to you. My kids love you, you’re so sweet, and absolutely adorable.” You just kept feeling your face go more red.

“C-can we go to bed?”

“Oh? Are you that excited for me to show you how much I want you?” You simply nodded. “No, no dear I want to hear it. Say it.”

“Yes I am” god why did you love being told what to do so much

“That’s a good girl” she picked you up easily and carried you upstairs. “You should get used to being carried around after all, I’m going to make sure you can’t walk tomorrow” you buried your head into her shoulders hiding your face. “Oh you better not hide from me when we are in bed” her voice was now whispered as she walked by the kids rooms. As soon as she had you in her room. She started to kiss your neck, locking the door. “I’m going to need you to be quiet. As much as I would love to hear you moan I’m going to have to gag you. Maybe I’ll take you on vacation and get someone to watch the kids, just so I can hear you sing for me.” She provocative words were enough to make you weak.

“Fuck” your voice was breathy, needy.

“I hope you don’t use that language around my kids”

“You’re the one who calls your son a little shit”

“He is”

“I think I know who he gets it from” she grabs you by the chin, firmly.

“Be careful pretty girl, you don’t want me to have to teach you a lesson in respect.”

“Yes ma’am” she finally placed you on the floor your legs shaking as you gained your balance.

“Aww you look like a baby deer, now go lay down I’ll be back, don’t take your clothes off yet” you nodded and went to lay down waiting for her,

she returned with a gag, placing it gently in your mouth. “Look are you I’m not even done setting up and you look irresistible” the bulge in her pants as clearly visible, and you couldn’t help but reach and touch it you ran your fingers over her clothed member. Making her let out a groan. Which made you let out a laugh behind the gag.

“Oh you little tease.” She grabbed your hands and pinned them above your head. “Behave this is your last warning” with her free hand she traveled up your stomach under your shirt, you let out a little whine behind the gag.

“Patience dear or I’ll just go slower. And you wouldn’t want that would you?” You shook your head no. She was so agonizingly slow removing your clothes, but finally she removed your pants. Chucking slightly running a finger over your panties makes you let out a muffled moan. “Your so wet dear, do I really make you this horny” she reached for your bra unclasping it and throwing it out of the way, and finally she removed your panties, then she removed her belt, and used it to bind your hands.

“Gods, you are going to be the death of me,” her eyes were glazed over, hungry, lustful. She lowered her head to eye level with your pussy, she looked at your face, “may I?” You nodded eagerly, she had no hesitation her lips were wrapped around your clit, sucking and licking like a starving woman. Making you buck your hips and moan loudly though muffled, Arlecchino’s hand shot up and covered your mouth. “Keep it down” she went back allowing her tongue to slip into your slit,

“You taste so good i could do this forever,” her voice was muffled, the vibrations shooting pleasure up your whole body. You body tensed as you came all over Arlecchino’s tongue. Arlecchino lapped it up greedily. Pulling back she unzipped her pants, rushing to get her cock out. “I’m going to fuck you, and I want you to count how many times you come over my cock. Do you understand?” You nodded your cunt was drooling at the thought, Arlecchino kissed your cheek, then slowly going down your throat,

As soon as arlecchino got her cock free she pressed her cock to your drooling cunt. And pushed inside letting out a groan. “Fuck, I’m going to get addicted to this, you’re so tight” you moaned out as well you couldn’t feel arlecchino stretching you around her cock. A whimper escapes, “ even with the gag you’re so noisy,” her hips snapped into you driving her cock deep in your pussy she hit your gummy spot without even trying. You moaned out, getting your mouth covered again.

“You feel so good, I could keep fucking you forever.” She was thrusting into you with reckless abandon, you could tell she was holding back her grunts. I didn’t take long for you so cum, a creaming ring forming on her cock, you shakily lifted a finger holding up a one. “Such a good girl you’re doing such a good job taking me so well.” Even as she praised you she didn’t give you a second to recover. Continuing to pound into your sensitive cunt, making you moan out, and the gag in your mouth was making you drool, soon the numbers of fingers that you were holding up went up.

“You’re really drooling over the feeling of my cock in that pretty pussy of yours?” You nodded, Arlecchino’s movements were growing unpredictable, you could see sweat form on her brow, she was clenching her jaw. “Fuck, I’m going to cum, I’m going to make you the mother of my four child, would you like that?” You moaned out as you felt her warm seed flooding into your cunt and your womb. She stilled inside of you, her breathing heavy. “Gods, how about you move in? So I can do this more often” She removed your gag.

“I-i would love that” your voice was quiet.

“Good,” she covered your mouth again pulling out slowly then removing her hand. “Fuck you look hot as fuck with my cum leaking out of your cunt. And even hotter with your hands bound” she undid her belt freeing you hands.

“Do you plan to tie me up every time?”

“Of course, though I hope you have birth control. Because if you don’t we are going to have a very big family.” She kissed you deeply again.

[starker-raving-mads]

For You: Part IX

im so sorry this took so long but everyone can thank @madeforstarker for kicking me in the ass to get it done. Thank you, princess <3

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX

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Peter didn't see Tony for three days.

This was partially his fault. His initial reaction to The Bedroom Incident, as he was calling it, was to flee the entire building, his feet scurrying him to May's apartment early the following morning. He spent a good few hours with his aunt - something he didn't actually regret, though the reason for the new time together soured it a little for him - and when she left for work he left for patrol. It was probably his longest patrol yet, capping off at 6 hours, and while it felt good to stretch his muscles and help the people of Queens, his mind constantly drifted back to The Bedroom Incident.

He couldn't face Tony after that.

And yet he couldn't not.

After weeks of living in the penthouse, it felt like home. It was the only place he felt well and truly free and comfortable, and Tony being there just made it even better. Even with the - awkwardness that now surrounded them, surely they could get over that right? It's not like he'd said Tony's name. Out loud, at least.

So, exhausted and starving, he swung by a 24/7 deli and grabbed two sandwiches. They wouldn't be as good as Mr. Delmar's but Peter was starving so he'd take what he could get. He ate one of them on the walk home in his street wear, taking his time by taking a circuitous route back to Stark Tower. It was just delaying the inevitable but Peter couldn't bring himself to speed up the awkward conversation he was no doubt gonna have once he got home.

And yet, once the elevator doors opened and revealed the penthouse, no one was there.

"Fri?" he called.

"Yes, mom?"

"Where's, uh - where's Tony at?"

"Boss has been dematerialized and operating within the bounds of his cognitive digital space, which I am unable to access. Would you like me to get him for you?" she asked, tone colored with curiosity. Peter had to wonder what she thought of the situation, but also did not want to know. He could only imagine the leaps in logic she would make that would hit too close to home.

He dawdled around the living room for a little while before heading down to the labs, half expecting Tony to be there, blue and glowing and insubstantial but present and, for lack of better words, alive.

This was not the case.

Tony was nowhere in the confines of the lab. Peter sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, slowly making his way toward the elevator. He stopped before he entered it and turned around, speaking aloud, "I, uh, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I - yeah. I'll be around." He felt like an idiot speaking to an empty room but he wasn't sure what else to do.

He spent the rest of the night in the penthouse doing his online course work in silence. When he went to bed, he had Friday tell Tony just in case he wanted to know where Peter was, and then fell into a very tense and restless sleep.

The following two days were much like the first. Peter woke up, had Friday tell Tony what he was doing or where he was, visited his friends or May, patrolled, and did his online coursework. He'd come home, have Friday update Tony - not that she ever got an affirmative response - and he went to bed. He slept like shit, he felt like shit, and it was really starting to drain him.

On the fourth day, when he'd about lost his patience and his nerve, Tony finally popped into existence in the middle of the living room. It scared the hell out of him but he didn't do much more than look at the older man, dumbfounded and slightly stupefied.

"Tony?"

"Yeah, uh," the simulation ran a hand through his hair, messing it up in an impossibly cute way, "hi."

"Hi," Peter replied, lame as fuck.

They stared at each other in silence, brown eyes meeting blue ones, before Tony finally broke the tension.

"I'msorryforintrudingandseeingyoucum."

It was only Peter's enhanced senses that made the jumble of words make sense and he blushed immediately, grimacing and trying to hide it.

"It - uh, it's okay."

"It's really not, this is your place and I should give you privacy and I didn't and - " Tony paused, looking at Peter again. " - and I really should not know you have a daddy kink, kid."

"Oh god," Peter groaned, grabbing a pillow and shoving it over his face. "You heard that?"

Tony chuckled and it somehow broke the tension in the room despite the topic. "Kinda hard not to when you're all breathy and moaning. Plus," he shrugged, still grinning, "I have this kickass new memory since it all gets stored and fragmented and saved now."

"Please, please let's change topics before I pass out from blood loss," Peter begged. And, suddenly, everything felt right with the world again. This was their thing. Teasing and being teased, having fun and making jokes between all the serious stuff. It felt good, like a breath of fresh air after three very long, very lonely days.

Peter tried not to analyze what that meant for the future of his sex life.

Long and lonely, he sighed.

But, they moved topics like Peter had wanted, only to something he had not really expected.

"You what?" he asked, perplexed.

"I sent Pepper a Cease & Desist," Tony said as if it made any sense at all.

"How? Did you tell her you were - "

"Oh no, no way," the older man shook his head. "I figured neither of us were ready to pop open that can of worms. I sent it through Friday on your behalf - which," he grimaced, "I probably should've asked first, but what's done is done."

"It's fine, I guess, just - why?" That was what Peter couldn't understand. Why would Tony be sending C&Ds to his wife of all people? And on Peter's behalf no less.

"Listen, kid, I fucked up when I made my will - and before you start thinking it was about your part, it wasn't that," he cut Peter off when he saw the protest in his eyes. With a firm glare, he continued, "She had no right doing a lot of the things she did and is still doing. I had plenty of time in the last three days to think about it, analyze data, check on sources - it's amazing what having all that extra time I'd normally be sleeping can do - and I'm very unhappy with her, Pete."

"Just, why?" Peter asked again, feeling like a parrot or an NPC who had no other dialogue.

"She shouldn't have taken your blanket," the older man glared. "And she shouldn't have said what she did in that meeting room, or any of the tactics she's employed since. I know Pepper, kid, like I know the back of my hand," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand. "That means all the good and the bad. I know that I loved her, or something like that - I must have, to have gotten married and had a kid and everything," he waved his hand like this was not a tremendous thing to be admitting. Might have loved his wife. Oh boy. "But she's taking my decisions out on you and it's not right and it's not fair."

"I don't - "

"If you say you don't mind, kid, I'm gonna figure out a way to kick your ass," Tony swore. "You matter, your persona matters to the public and the shareholders, your favorite things matter even when they're just blankets, and you matter enough to me to be able to see your own god daughter."

"I - thank you," Peter replied softly, curling into the couch with a not-as-cozy blanket draped over him. "I don't know what to say to that."

"Just accept it."

Peter chuckled. "I can do that."

A sweet smile was spread across the space between them, warm and something. After a moment, Peter asked, "So what exactly did your C&D say?"

"The majority of it was just getting her to stop her public and private attacks on you," Tony started. He sat on one of the couch cushions and it was weird seeing it not sink in with his weight. "There was a second petition as well, to get visiting hours with Morgan. I hope, uh," he looked truly nervous here. "I hope you don't mind. I really think you'll love her, Pete." His eyes were earnest as he said this, not really looking for acceptance to an apology that wasn't given. Tony wanted Peter to know his daughter and Peter wanted that too.

"Of course I will," Peter smiled. "She's part you, remember?"

[akwolfgrl]

I'm a great fuck but better lover part 6

Zoro entered the boys' room. It was late but still earlier than his usual time. When he placed his swords on the coach, he noticed a new extra large hammock strung up. Sanji lay curled up inside. It was safe to assume that this was the surprise waiting for him that Sanji had mentioned during dishes. Zoro slid off his shoes, shirt, and pants, leaving his boxers on before sliding into the hammock next to his boyfriend. He pressed Sanji's slimmer body against his own, his head tucked under his chin, the other man's long legs trapped his own snuggling closer. Zoro could get used to this.

When he woke, Sanji was gone, only Luffy's snores to keep him company, Usopp was on watch last night. Zoro grabbed the clothes he had on yesterday and grabbed his swords from the coach. He went straight for the kitchen, and he paused to look inside before he opened the door the rest of the way. Sanji left it open a cack so Mr. Noodles could come and go as he pleased. He was sitting at the table, a cup of tea by his side, a small plate with half a pice of toast with red jam on top, a cigarette in one hand and his pen in the other. His blond hair with it slight curls glowing in the morning light. Zoro opened the door and made his way inside.

“Your up early today,” Sanji spoke, taking a drag from his cigarette. “Come sit by me, I was just working on your notebook,”

“My notebook?” Zoro decided to lay across the bench the best he could and lay his head in Sanji's lap. His boyfriend's free hand ran his long fingers through his short hair.

“While in town I picked up a pack of colored notebooks to keep records on food prenceses for everyone, right now I'm just transferring the info I already have,” Sanji explained taking a sip of his tea. “Did you want tea or toast before bakefast? I made Rose Jam form the roses you got me."

“Nah, what's for breakfast anyway?”

“Soufflé pancakes and okonomiyaki for you, of course lots of meat for Luffy,”

“Okonomiyaki? I haven't had that in years, thire was a street cart that used to make the best okonomiyaki I had some when I said my goodbyes before I left,” Zoro had spent hours at Kuinas grave knowing he wouldn't see her again until he achieved his goal.

“Zoro, we need to talk,” Zoro sat up, that did not sound good. But he couldn't think of anything that could be worng. He knew he was new to realships but he couldn't have fucked up that badly alredy…the crows nest incident not withstanding. “About sex, we shuld have talked before and more. I really don't want anthoer crows nest cry to happen,”

“Oh…OK? What do we need to talk about? It's just sex?”

“It stopped being just sex when you started spanking me, let alone edging, tieing me up and me choking you with my thighs,” Sanji listed off his cigarette bobbing while he spoke.

“Yah, I guess you've got a point,”

“So I'm no expert, but I know a few things about this, we already talked a bit about what we don't like, I guess add degadison to the list. We need to talk before trying new things I think, as much fun as it was to choke you with my thighs it was pretty fucking treffing, what if you didn't pinch me? What if I didn't feel it in time? Also we need to get better rope for the next time, rope burn is very unpleasant,”

“But I did pinch you, and I didn't pass out,” Zoro pointed out. “But I suppose your right,”

“So I was thinking maybe write down some hard and soft limits to start with maybe stuff you wish to try, like for me a hard limit is the head and face coverings, soft is the gags. I don't like them, but well, we do live in a shared space, so they might be necessary,” Sanji handed him the feathered pen and some paper. “I need to start breakfast, so how about we talk again after dinner,” Sanji gave him a kiss before heading to the fridge, taking his dishes with him

Zoro shoved the papper and the pen in his Haramaki and escaped to the crows nest. Once thire, he took one of his weights and got to work. As he got into the rhythm, he thought about what they had discussed. He had to think back on his prior experience about what he did and did not like.

He honestly didn't like being called Master/Slave/Daddy/Sir he didnt like saying it, ethior. It was just weird to him. Zoro honestly never had thought about this before, but for his Love-Cook, he'd give it ago.

[virgo-mess]

Silver Thread Chapter 6 Part 1

Chapter 6 is going to have a couple parts to it because there's a lot that happens on this particular weekend for them and it's a little easier for me to manage.

Trigger Warnings: Fluff, Cuteness, Falling in love, Tame Consensual fondling in a heated/sexual context.

Veda’s Pov

Veda and Terry spent nearly every day together in the days leading up to her birthday weekend. All her coworkers took note of the change in their dynamics and made their happiness at the fact quite known. Their screaming matches were replaced by teasing, giggling, and flirting, they kept the kissing for the confines of his office or the elevator. They shared a few more intimate dates but mostly they just spent the time hanging out and enjoying the others’ company. Every night she got out of school he’d take her home and sit on her couch while she got ready for bed talking animatedly about various topics. He very rarely ever told her personal stories, everything he seemed comfortable expressing was rather surface level. Though Veda felt there were times he wanted to tell her more it seemed being open was still hard for him. They’d end the night kissing and cuddling until she finally fell asleep on the couch, waking up in her bed alone the next morning. Veda found herself frequently trying to stay awake on those nights because when she woke up in the morning Terry would already be gone, he always made sure to leave her a sweet note and a gift. Veda found she didn’t like him being gone, missing him quite a bit in the few hours they were apart. Even though she knew he’d be back to pick her up before work and after her class let out, she missed him anyway. She had thought about asking him to spend the night but thought it was too soon to ask such a thing of him.

Terry remained tight lipped about what he had planned out for her birthday. He let it slip that she would need pajamas, a swimsuit, at least two outfits, and a nice evening dress. Veda blushed profusely when Terry said she needed real pajamas and an evening gown.

“We’re going shopping baby girl” Terry smiled at her in the car Wednesday afternoon. Veda’s class had been canceled after Professor Ryan came down with an awful case of the shingles, Terry helped her put together a get-well package for him that morning.

“I don’t mind wearing my shorts and tank tops to bed Terry. I’ve got a couple nice cocktail dresses I could wear” Veda said with a shy smile. Terry had been trying to take her shopping for days now. Veda was still wary of him spending thousands of dollars on her. Terry let go of her hand for a moment and reached up to cup her face.

“Stop trying to talk me out of buying you things Veda it won’t work. The evening gown is part of your birthday gift, so you have to get one or you’ll ruin the surprise. I like your shorts and tank tops too, but I’ve been dying to see you in some cute little nightgowns and sets baby” Terry bit his lip as he looked at the outfit, she put on today. A mini black pencil skirt from Versace and a rust-colored spaghetti strap satin crop top that showed off a little bit of her stomach. Terry seemed to really like it and let his fingers caress her stomach a number of times today. Probably picking up on the fact it got Veda a little aroused when he did it.

“Fine, we can go shopping. Can we get food after?” Veda asked batting her eyelashes at him. Terry chuckled.

“Of course, baby, what kind of food would you like” Terry asked giving her a kiss on the cheek before letting his fingers brush against her stomach again. Veda tried to subtly clamp her thighs together hoping Terry didn’t notice. He had been very respectful and never tried to feel her up when they made out settling for tangling his fingers in her hair or stroking her sides. Veda hadn’t missed how hard he was afterwards, and she knew he didn’t miss she was just as aroused as he was. Veda was becoming more comfortable with the idea of letting his hands travel other places.

“Seafood, I think. Then ice cream after” Veda said with a giddy smile. Terry let his other hand stroke her hair affectionately, Terry had noticed how relaxing she found him stroking her hair and made a point to do it every night they were cuddled up on the couch. Veda would fall asleep not too long after he started.

“Anything for you baby girl” Terry whispered leaning into place kisses on her neck and shoulder. Veda let out a sigh feeling both aroused and relaxed as Terry continued it stroke her stomach and hair. Eventually he moved his hand off her stomach to stroke from her knee to the hem of her skirt, his face never left her neck. Kissing and nibbling, Veda let out a soft moan and felt Terry smile against her. Working her up seemed to be his favorite thing to do along with leaving a ridiculous amount of love bites for her to try and cover up after.

“I swear if you leave another hickey for me to cover up, I’ll kill you” she hissed feeling Terry chuckle against her neck before withdrawing to look at her, amusement, and lust swirling in his eyes.

“You killing me is something I’m willing to risk, doll. Marking you up is too beneficial for me to stop now” he said huskily, Veda arched an eyebrow at him.

“Oh, yeah and what are these benefits Mr. Silver?” she asked teasingly, Terry gave her a mischievous smirk.

“Well, they help ward off some of the miscreants who try to pick you up. I get to hear that pretty little moan I love so much, and I get to watch my baby girl pretend she’s not getting horny.” He said teasingly, Veda gasped as her cheeks tinted a darker shade of red. “I really find it so cute you cross your pretty little legs and try to play it cool, definitely my new favorite thing” he cooed leaning in to capture her in a sweet kiss.

“I knew you were doing it on purpose” Veda pouted crossing her arms as he pulled away, Terry chuckled tapping his finger on her nose.

“Don’t act like you don’t do it to me too, beautiful. You dig your nails into my neck, play with my hair and you leave marks of your own” he winked, Veda rolled her eyes repressing a smirk remembering how she stayed true to her threat. Terry walked into the office confidently displaying the four love bites she had given him as revenge. He seemed to love every second of it too, moaning her name repeatedly. Veda wasn’t sure if he really did or if he was just trying to make her feel comfortable on her first time trying something less than innocent. She was sure Terry would be more than happy to give her pointers if she asked, she just didn’t feel comfortable asking him those types of questions yet.

“It’s only fair” she quipped right as they pulled up to Rodeo Drive. Larry came around to open the door. Sometimes Veda forgot he was even there.

“Thank you, Larry,” Veda said hoping he didn’t feel too uncomfortable with what he heard back there. Larry smiled at her the same way he always did.

“You’re welcome little one. Thank you for keeping the kissing respectable this time” he said teasingly before motioning to the new spot appearing on her neck. Veda let out an embarrassed laugh as she searched through her bag for concealer and a mirror. Terry pouted.

“Larry, stop telling her where they are. I like people knowing what’s mine” Terry said with a smirk on his face. Veda rolled her eyes covering up the new spot and reapplying to one of the old ones.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake Mr. Silver just buy her a ring then” Larry quipped with a smirk of his own. Veda’s eyes grew wide with embarrassment before looking at Terry who looked to be considering it.

“Don’t do that” Veda said quickly, feeling very shy for some reason. Terry looked down at her with soft eyes, reaching out to draw reassuring circles on her back. Veda sighed relaxing into his touch her face still feeling hot.

“Larry’s just joking. It’s much too soon for that” Terry said with a reassuring smile on his face. Veda nodded letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Larry gave her an apologetic look.

“Didn’t mean to scare you, Veda. I was only half serious.” Larry said before hopping back into the car. Veda narrowed her eyes at him for a second before looking back at Terry. His demeaner seemed a little dejected probably because she was so quick to reject the idea of being engaged to him.

“I’m not saying you can never ask for my hand Terry. I’m just saying don’t ask me now, this is still really new for me, and I never pictured myself married in college.” Veda said shyly, this seemed to help because Terry looked at her with an amused look in his eyes.

“Well, you can be engaged and not get married” Terry said teasingly, Veda giggled pulling him to walk with her.

“I suppose you’re right” Veda said reaching out to hold his hand. Terry quickly laced his large fingers with her smaller ones.

“There’s always a promise ring too” he said coyly, Veda felt a blush spread across her cheeks. Pondering the idea of accepting a promise ring as Terry pulled her into one of the stores. A promise ring felt more fitting for their relationship, she didn’t even have to wear it on her ring finger if she didn’t want to. It was more a symbol of love and devotion rather than a set-in stone commitment which is what Veda was really afraid of.

“I’d be more willing to accept a promise ring if I could wear it on a chain or something” Veda said looking up at Terry with shy eyes loving the way his eyes lit up at her words. Terry smiled down at her before leaning in to give her a sweet kiss.

“You could wear it however you wanted baby girl. You wearing it at all would be enough for me. Heck just knowing that’s something you’re open to means a lot.” Terry said happily, Veda giggled she found his excited fits the most adorable.

They leave the topic of a promise ring alone as they happily rummage through various racks of clothing in multiple stores. Laughing and talking like they usually did, perfectly content in the others company. Veda blushed a deep shade of red when Terry pulled something from the rack, a lustful glint in his eyes.

“That doesn’t look like a pajama set, Romeo” Veda said rolling her eyes at the pink and white floral lace babydoll in his hands. Terry leans into whisper in her ear, Veda feels goosebumps raising on her arms at the action.

“I know, I’d just really love to see my gorgeous girl dressed up in a cute little babydoll for me” he said letting his lips brush against her ear. Veda bit down on her lip looking at him with shy eyes and red cheeks. Not missing the irony of him picking a babydoll which Carroll Baker made popular in a film where she plays a nineteen-year-old virgin. She has a feeling Terry picked it for that exact reason. Veda is aware she should find it creepy and predatory but can’t help but feel flattered in a weird way. Concluding that it’s because she actually likes Terry now. Her heart is beating so fast at this point and she wonders if he can hear it, Terry gives her a soft smile and starts running his fingers through her hair gently.

“When you’re ready to of course, baby girl” he coos, placing soft kisses on her shoulder in a way that has her biting back a moan as she feels that warm bubbly feeling deep in her stomach.

“Okay” she finally whispers feeling her clit throb; Terry makes that pleased rumble he usually does before peppering her face with kisses. Veda giggles letting Terry grab a number of pajama sets, rompers, and night gowns all of them equally expensive, cute, and skimpy. Veda doesn’t protest as they’re all prettier than her regular tank tops and shorts, and seeing Terry buzz around happily made her heart flutter.

“Maybe a few pants too” she says teasingly grabbing a few sets with pants from the rack. Terry chuckles.

“If you really have too” he said with a slight pout, Veda rolls her eyes repressing a smile as they finally head up to check out. The girl at the register perked up slightly at the sight of Terry and Veda can’t help the scowl that crosses her face.

“I take it you found everything you wanted, sir” she said in a flirty tone. Terry glanced back at Veda with a reassuring smile and a wink. His subtle way of telling her not to worry, Veda smiles back at him shyly.

“Yes” Terry said dryly, dumping all the sets and babydolls, he insisted on more than one, on the counter. The girl lets out a deep sigh.

“Ah, so you’re taken. Lucky girl” she said respectfully. Veda can’t hide the satisfied grin that spreads on her face. Most of the girls they encountered continued to flirt and gave Veda the nastiest looks and sometimes unsavory words. Terry would always jump to her aid when it happened of course. His favorite tactics were menacing glares, threatening to have them fired, or simply pulling Veda in for an incredibly passionate kiss that left her flushed and speechless. The girls would immediately back off looking scared, jealous, or dejected.

“Very much so, and she’s going to look amazing in these. I mean look at her” Terry said looking back at Veda his face looked incredibly prideful. She had noticed he always seemed eager to show her off to other people, like she was a beautiful art piece that deserved to be admired and cherished. Terry beckoned her towards him with a finger, the prideful glint never leaving his eyes. Veda looked at him with shy eyes as she walked towards him. Terry quickly pulled her in front of him wrapping his arms around her waist before placing his chin on her shoulder. The girl at the register looks Veda over for a second before smiling.

“He’s right you’ll look great in these, you’re very pretty” she said giving Veda a suggestive wink and a smile. Veda blushes giving her a shy smile back as she felt Terry nuzzle his face into her neck and kiss her shoulder.

“Thank you, so are you” Veda said placing her arms on top of Terry’s to rub soothing circles on them. Terry let out a content sigh in her ear.

“Thank you, cash or card?” the girl asks still smiling, Terry lets one of his arms drop from Veda’s waist to grab his wallet. Awkwardly trying to get a card out with one hand, Veda giggled.

“Which one do you want to use, silly?” she asked amused, reaching up to grab a card with one of her hands.

“Platinum please” Terry cooed with one of his cute smiles, Veda grabs the card still giggling as she hands it to the girl. “Thank you, my sweet girl” Terry said before kissing her cheek, Veda smiles before turning to give him a kiss on the cheek eagerly. Her heart always fluttered when he attached the word ‘My’ in front of anything he called her.

“Have a wonderful rest of your day lovebirds” the girl chuckled handing Veda the card and a number of bags.

“Thanks, you too” Veda said feeling bashful, before handing Terry back his card. Terry shakes his head reaching for the shopping bags instead.

“Why don’t you keep that one” he said with a coy smile, Veda quickly shook her head at him grabbing his wallet out of his back pocket avoiding eye contact. She shoves the card back in before putting his wallet back where it was not missing Terry’s amused smile.

“Absolutely not” she said with a finality in her voice holding the shop door open for him. Terry chuckled shaking his head at her.

“I’ve got plenty of other cards, doll. You can use it on whatever you want. I’d really like you to have it in case something happens and I’m not around.” Terry said honestly, Veda shook her head at him again. Although she loved how considerate he was towards her now, she didn’t feel making him pay for all her things was appropriate.

“Nope, not happening. Where to next?” she said quickly changing the subject, Terry sighed pouting at her which Veda ignored.  

“You’re so stubborn baby girl. I really want to see you model some dresses for me” Terry said teasingly. Veda rolled her eyes repressing a smile as she followed him into the next shop.

Terry’s Pov

Terry sat on one of the love seats in the dressing area placing the shopping bags on the floor. Feeling equal parts aroused and happy, which seemed to be the only emotions he was feeling these days. Being with Veda had been everything he was hoping it would be, she was fitting into his life perfectly. The way she stood by and enjoyed watching him pick out sexy little things for her to wear to bed, letting him dress her like a doll, had his heart racing. She rewarded everything he did with a new act of submission, innocent eyes, and an ethereal smile. She seemed just as happy being with him and had even passively agreed to let him put some claim on her. A promise ring, a symbol of everlasting devotion and faithfulness and she was keen to accept it, to accept him. She felt safe enough to fall asleep on his chest every night. Terry had the feeling she wanted him to stay, every time her beautiful tired brown eyes were fighting to stay open and look at him just a little longer while her small hands were clinging to his shirt. The early morning hours always crept in on them so quickly those nights and Terry never wanted her to be tired in the morning.

He'd run his fingers through her hair and whisper various versions of “It’s okay, go to sleep baby girl”, she’d make a noise of acknowledgment and be out in minutes. Terry always wanted to stay but he didn’t want to do it without her asking him to, (an overnight bag tucked away in the trunk if she did). So, he’d carry her to bed, write a note, leave a gift, and kiss her one last time before slipping out of her apartment. He found himself missing her before he even got home, wanting to turn around and hold her a little longer. Worrying about if the door locked behind him even though he checked it four times before leaving. Worrying about her getting cold even though he covered her gingerly with two blankets just in case she did. He supposed he could’ve scooped her up and taken her home with him. Feeding her a bullshit story about a black mold outbreak in her building when she woke up in his bed the next morning. Terry thought she might not even question it now but didn’t want to risk back tracking on all the progress they made.

Veda popped out of the dressing room in a simple black gown with little silver gems on it. She had cutely pulled her hair back to get a better look as she looked at herself in the mirror. Terry couldn’t help the smile that spread on his face just watching her, cutely furrowing her brows at herself.

“I don’t think it’s doing much for me. What do you think?” she asked looking at him with big eyes, Terry’s heart always fluttered when she looked at him like that. Terry let his eyes skim over her perfect body for a moment. Concluding she was right.

“Yeah, it’s too plain for you. You look good regardless baby girl, but I think bold colors suit you better.” he said with a charming smile, Veda blushed giving him a shy smile before retreating back into the dressing room. Stepping back out in a form fitting red satin dress with a very teasing slit on the right side. Terry bit back a moan as he watched her walk over to the mirror, feeling himself twitch against his thigh for about the millionth time. He watched her run her hands over her hips before turning to the side and making the same trail over her plump ass. Almost tauntingly, though Terry was sure she hadn’t done it with the sole purpose of teasing him. She seemed to be completely unaware of just how seductive she actually was. Something about seeing his innocent little angel in red had him feeling feral. Terry bit his lip as he made his way to stand behind her, Veda was still turning and glancing at herself from different angles. Fully wrapped up in herself the way Terry wished he was. Terry placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and felt her jump slightly in surprise as she glanced up at him in the mirror with big eyes.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. This looks so good on you baby girl” Terry breathed out, feeling himself grow harder as his eyes gazed down at her exposed back. Only a few thin strings laced over it and tied in a sloppy bow right above her butt. Terry couldn’t help running his fingers over her exposed skin as he met her eyes in the mirror an obvious blush on her cheeks.

“Is the red, okay? They’ve got a couple other colors in the same style” she said shyly, Terry bowed his head down. Loving that she cared enough to ask for his opinions on things now.

“The red is perfect, you’re so beautiful” he whispered before placing kisses on her neck and shoulders. Noticing the way her breathing picked up almost immediately.

“Terry” she giggled breathlessly; Terry snaked his arms around her waist.

“Hmmm” was all he said as he continued kissing her shoulder, Veda shifted in his arms turning to face him. Terry withdrew his neck for a moment placing a kiss on her cheek.

“You keep missing” she teased with a coy smile as she gazed up at him with big eyes. Terry chuckled under his breath letting one of his hands move up her back.

“I keep missing, huh. How about now?” he said, placing a kiss on her forehead. Veda let out another cute giggle. Terry had never had this type of playful dynamic in any of his other relationships and he had come to find he really quite enjoyed it. In fact, he found most of his past flames outright annoying, pretty to look at but nothing much going on under the surface. They never really sparked his interest the way Veda did, she kept him intrigued. Terry had considered himself a very learned man but sometimes Veda even seemed to surpass him. Always having random facts and opinions to fire at him on a whim, usually Terry hated this ‘know it all’ trait in other people. Always prided himself of being the smartest person in the room but with her he was willing to not be the expert for once. Allow her to be his clever little gem and show her off just a bit.

“You still missed” she said, a big smile breaking out across her face. Terry chuckled taking a moment to admire her, he loved when she smiled that big at him.

“And now?” he said placing a kiss on her other cheek, Veda rolled her eyes still laughing at him. Terry paused before placing another kiss on her nose loving the way Veda scrunched it up in response.

“Wow, your aim is really off today. Need me to help you out” she quipped; Terry nodded eagerly in response. Veda let out one last laugh before pulling him into a fiery kiss, Terry let out a pleased rumble as he kissed her back hungrily. Pressing his chest against hers firmly, stroking his hand up and down her back stopping right where her back dipped. Veda pulled away for air looking at him with shy eyes.

“You can go lower if you want to” she said shyly, Terry felt his heart warm at her words. As he gazed at her with awe and adoration swirling in his eyes.

“You sure” Terry asked feeling elated that she was trusting him enough to allow him to touch her more intimately. That she was craving his touch as much as he craved touching her. Veda blushed nodding.

“And higher, as long as we stay over…” she trailed, Terry gave her a reassuring smile. Usually, he’d be disappointed to hear that, he used to just push for more he hadn’t cared so much about consent prior. So willing to take what he thought he deserved, but with Veda it was different. He cared so much about her willingness to be with him it was a bit annoying.

“Absolutely, baby girl. Your comfort is the most important thing to me, always. If you ask me to stop I will, no questions asked” he said sincerely. Veda smiled up at him. “You make me feel so safe, my knight in silver armor” she quipped before pulling him into a sweet kiss that had his heart racing. She always had him feeling like his heart might just leap out of his chest.

Veda’s Pov

Veda woke up early Friday morning feeling a bit anxious and lovesick as she packed the last few things, she needed to spend her birthday weekend with Terry. He had left earlier than he normally did the night prior, insisting he had some stuff to finish up for her surprise and he’d be back to pick her up at 7:30 in the morning. Veda had tried coaxing some information out of him, batting her lashes, and playing with his hair while she sat in his lap. Terry refused, laughing at her with an amused glint in his eyes finding her attempts “pleasantly adorable”.  Veda rummaged through her closet settling on a flowy dark green mini sundress, Jimmy Choo wedges, and gold earrings. Before putting on some light make up and blowing out her curls for a more voluminous look than she would usually go for. Today was a special day after all.

Veda hummed to the Bruce Springsteen vinyl playing as she rechecked her bag to make sure she had everything she needed for about the millionth time. She couldn’t quite explain why she felt so anxious to see Terry today, she had grown very comfortable with him in the last few weeks but something about today felt different. Veda was pulled out of her thoughts by a knock on the door and she swore she felt her stomach do a million flips. She took a couple deep calming breaths before opening the door to find Terry leaning against the doorframe like always. He was holding a giant flower arrangement filled with dozens of pink roses, lavenders, iris’, hydrangeas, and her favorite lilies. Veda couldn’t help the gasp of surprise she let out; it was twice as big as the ones he usually sent her. Terry beamed down at her with bright blue eyes.

“Happy birthday, beautiful” he cooed stepping through the doorway. Veda felt a blush spread on her cheeks and gave him a bashful smile in return.

“Thank you so much” she sighed feeling butterflies in her stomach “You can put them on the kitchen table.” She said Terry nodded walking past her to set the large vase on the table. Veda waited for him to set them down before wrapping her arms around his torso in a firm side hug. “They’re lovely, thank you” she said with a cheery grin on her face.

“No thanks needed my sweet girl. This weekend is all about you” Terry said leaning down to pull her into a sweet kiss. Veda looked at him feeling a bit lightheaded as a dreamy smile spread upon her face. Smiling and blushing was all she seemed to do around him now.

“You already make everyday about me, silly” she said with an amused twinkle in her eye, Terry gave her one of his bashful smiles and a faint blush appeared on his cheeks. Veda loved when he looked at her that way.

“That’s because I cherish you baby girl. I want you to be happy because you deserve it” he whispered before placing a tender kiss on her forehead. Veda let her eyes flutter shut for a moment breathing in his sent, warm and woodsy with subtle notes of sandalwood, cinnamon, and jasmine. Noticing he made a point to wear more cologne after she said the smell of cigar smoke made her sick. Veda opened her eyes when she felt his lips leave her head a wave of genuine adoration overtaking her as she looked at him.

“I am happy. You make me so happy Terry, and I love spending time with you” she sighed happily before peppering his face with kisses, her heart skipped a beat when Terry’s whole face lit up.

“Well let’s go spend some more time together birthday girl” he said eagerly taking her hand in his. Veda giggled softly at his excitement as she reached to grab the duffle bag she packed and her purse. Terry shook his head at her.

“You already know I don’t like you carrying your own bags baby girl. And you’re definitely not going to start doing so on your birthday” he said in a teasing tone before placing a soft kiss on her cheek. Veda rolled her eyes at him with an amused smile on her face as they left her apartment.

“I gave Larry the weekend off so I will be your chauffeur this weekend princess” Terry said giving her a wink as he led her to his brown Rolls Royce Corniche. Veda chuckled watching him open the door for her.

“Thank you, kind sir,” she said teasingly before stepping into the car, Terry chuckled closing the door behind her and setting her bag in the trunk before getting in the car and starting the engine. Terry pulled away from the curb before placing a hand on one of her thighs rubbing soothing circles in a way that had butterflies and that warm bubbly feeling of arousal growing her stomach. Veda glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, a blush gracing her cheeks. Terry had his eyes trained on the road, a content smile on his face.

“So, what is the game plan for today?” Veda asked sweetly when they came to a red light. Terry met her gaze the same content looking smile on his face as he looked at her for a long moment.

“First, we’re going to the Museum of Contemporary Art, a friend of mine is letting us in to roam early. Then, we can check out the Natural History Museum and the Science Center and grab some brunch before we venture out of downtown. How’s that sound baby girl?” he said, searching her face with a smile. Veda gave him a shy smile grabbing his hand to kiss it before setting it back on her leg.

“Sounds great, Romeo” she chirped excitedly, Terry chuckled softly resuming the circles he was drawing from her knee to the hem of her dress. Veda bit her lip resisting the urge to clamp her thighs together when she felt her clit throb eagerly. She was sure Terry heard her breathing pick up as he gave her thigh a gentle squeeze, a small smirk gracing his lips. Veda let a smirk of her own grace her lips letting her fingers dance up the length of his arm in the same motions he was. Watching the way his body tense up in response, Terry glanced at her with dark lustful eyes. Veda batted her lashes at him innocently with a coy smile, Terry inhaled sharply returning his eyes back to the road.

“Veda, baby, don’t look at me like that” he said lowly, body still stiff. Veda repressed a giggle as she let her eyes travel down his body to see he was already getting hard.

“What do you mean Terry?” she asked innocently, Terry bit down on his lip tightening his grip on the steering wheel and giving her thigh another squeeze slightly under her skirt. Veda took a sharp breath and saw a satisfied smirk make it’s way on his face.

“You know what I mean baby girl” he purred pulling into the Museum of Contemporary Art parking lot, removing his hand from her thigh to put the car in park. Veda looked at him equal parts amused and aroused before she can say anything Terry’s hands are in her hair and his lips are capturing hers in a heated kiss that had her knees feeling weak. Veda whimpered against his mouth kissing him back fiercely, bringing her hands up to tangle in his ponytail and dig her nails in the back of his neck. Terry let out something resembling a growl letting his hands slip out of her hair before settling them on her breasts, pinching her nipples firmly through the thin fabric. Veda gasped in surprise feeling her hips buck up reflexively in response. She instinctively pulled away from him sharply, a blush burning her cheeks in embarrassment. Terry immediately placed his hands on her arms to comfort her.

“It’s okay baby, that’s normal. Are you okay” he said reassuringly kissing her cheek, Veda relaxed into his touch quickly a shy smile on her face. The warm feeling coursing through her was rather pleasant but foreign.

“Yeah, just surprised me” she said softly, Terry looked at her with soft eyes bringing his hands up to stroke her cheeks tenderly.

“I’m sorry, I get carried away and forget this is all new for you. I’ll be more attentive next time” he said resting his forehead on hers for a moment. Veda smiled reassuringly before placing a kiss on his cheek. He was already so attentive and sweet to her

“You don’t have to apologize, I liked the way it felt, and I appreciate your patience and consideration so much” she said giving him a soft kiss on the lips, Terry let out a content sigh against her mouth.

“I’m glad you liked it baby.” he whispered, still stroking her cheek softly. “Alright birthday girl, let’s get back to celebrating your amazingness.” Terry said in a cheery tone. Veda giggled feeling the butterflies in her stomach again as she watched Terry get out of the car and open her door. Terry shut the door behind her with one of his signature charming smiles. Veda looked at him with shy eyes reaching out to hold his hand which Terry accepted eagerly like always.

[writingpei]

wicked games (l.m.) - chapter five

previous chapter series masterlist next chapter

pairing: lee minho x reader genre: academic rivals to lovers wc: 3.2k words

roses are fine, but i like the harder stuff

as far back as he can remember, minho was never moved by any vested interests. he considered his attention and effort to be well beyond being caught by anything depthless, so he guarded himself against the world until something actually interesting got hold of his regards.

in spite of that, he discovered from an early age the taste he had for getting reactions out of people and seeing how much his actions could impact those around him.

he could recall the first people who went through the roller coaster of interacting with him. his endless list of babysitters made him realize the fun he got from it when he was little. none of the poor things managed to last more than 2 months taking care of him, and he wore the veil of guilt with pride and a mischievous smile on his face.

he always had a fondness for discovering who he really was, and his mind was sharp since he was a child. research has always been his strong skill.

It's because of this line of thinking that he found himself at the top of the huge stairs in his house with his entire collection of toy cars at his back when he was 6 years old.

the cars were beautiful. each one a different size, a different color. they were his greatest prized possession, he spent countless hours of his days playing with them, watching the sun escape from the sky through the large window of his room, giving way to the moon that indicated the hours he had spent on the floor moving them around from place to place.

minho positioned himself behind the toy cars at once. he was betting everything in the name of the investigation, and he also had an inexplicable feeling inside his chest as if he was silently begging to feel something different, but no matter how hard he tried, his premature mind couldn't put the words in order to understand whatever that was.

so he just lifted his leg, ignoring the flinching of his hands at his sides. in swift motions, he kicked one by one from the top of the step, the noise of them crashing at the bottom of the stairs deafening, and that only motivated him to keep kicking until they all resorted to being a colorful, shattered mess on the marble floor.

he didn't cry or go down the stairs, he just took a deep breath and looked down at his treasure until his heels pulled him back to his room, and his night's sleep was peaceful.

the morning of the next day, minho woke up to the sight of several boxes piled on top of each other next to his bedroom door. new toy cars stacked as if they were in a toy store window, every child's dream being paraded for him just like that.

minho decided he didn't like cars anymore.

his theory was correct.

he became troublesome from then on, and for a few months, he couldn't suppress the desire to break everything he came across. and so he did.

antique vases turned to dust in his hands. the bouquets of flowers that decorated the surfaces of the house were left bare when all their petals were found thrown on the floor. once he stained a painting that his mother had recently bought with marker pens simply because he thought the image lacked shades of blue.

he never heard anything about the destructions. dinner was always quiet like a funeral.

one day he thought it would be funny to stick his hand into the bowl of mashed potatoes and throw whatever he could grab onto the coal-black rug under the dining table.

the cutlery stopped making noise for a split second, but only silence dominated the room. anger invaded his childish body like a parasite, and he ran to his room because he thought he was going to vomit.

he sought the friendship of his parents' friends' children like he was a desperate boy before the beginning of his new school. he never fake smiled so much, his cheeks hurting from forcing himself to be pleasant to the other children in the upscale neighborhood. he played football with them on the sidewalk and allowed his knees to grate on the ground trying to protect one of the girls in the group from a ball flying toward her. as soon as he started being invited to do things by the snobby kids in the group, receiving acceptance, he lost all interest. he never spoke to them again in his life, much less gave them the acknowledgment to even say "hello" when they crossed paths on the streets near his house.

when he met the hot-headed girl in the new school when he tured 10, everything changed. march 1st, 2006, was an undeniably defining day in his life.

she was not a toy car, much less a delicate vase, and the idea of comparing her to a bouquet of flowers made him laugh.

he gathered as much when he noticed the way her shoulders shook as soon as she was ignored in spite of him, her hand shooting up faster than a bullet but the teacher chose his answer instead of hers.

something strange bubbled in his chest when he saw her turning to him with the deadliest look a 10-year-old could manage to cast, straight at his direction. he felt like laughing, and it had been a long time since he had caught himself genuinely humoured by something.

perhaps he should keep an eye on her.

but minho had grown to do much more than just keep an eye on her.

he was fully aware that he terrorized her, but he doubted that any possible feelings of guilt he might have would be as warm in his chest as hearing her screeching voice screaming at him as if she were being possessed by her rage.

at age 12 he discovered how much he liked pulling on her ponytail, figuratively (and sometimes literally, but he refrained from touching her because the girl actually seemed like the antichrist sometimes and that scared him shitless).

they practically played chess with each other on a board the size of the world at their feet. the amount of teachers that he insisted on assuming the position of teacher's pet fueled her to seek the approval of the same numbers as his, counting how many pawns were on each one's side. that determined who was winning their endless game, and while she seemed to play quickly with the intention of winning at last, he placed his pieces with exaggerated slowness, thinking deeply and eating up the expression of impatience that stained her face.

minho always finished his moves with a smile wide on his face. she always finished hers with knuckles white, practically waiting for a cue to punch him across his face.

he loved it, it was almost addicting. it made him sick the same amount it made him want it more and more.

he consumed it precisely because she was not a toy car and much less a delicate vase, and if he crossed her, he knew he would hear it for days upon days, his ears ringing with the amount of hatred being spewed at him. he felt seen, and at 14 he managed to calm down when he went into a spiral that perhaps he was obsessed with the attention he received from her by justifying to his own stubborn ears that even if he was obsessed, the greatest of crimes he was committing was that he was using her for his own selfishness.

being selfish was already normal for him, and he knew better than to phantom the consequences of his actions. so, the excuse stuck to the walls of his brain like a mantra, and every time she looked at him with disgust, threw a book at him, screamed, slapped his chest with a force calculated to make him feel as much pain as possible, he couldn't resist the urge to smile. he knew that he was the one above within the strange relationship and that he was the one setting the pace. therefore, the smirk bloomed on his lips without his control, and she only hit his chest harder.

at age 15 he learned the power of his words over her, and unconsciously, his own deeply guarded insecurities began to escape his lips in the form of spears aimed for attack.

thats's why he said things like "good thing we're having ethics class, yongie. some of our peers could really use it", starting without even fully sitting in his chair. yongbok just widened his eyes at him in a sign of panic, he always cowered in the presence of the girl, and minho couldn't bring himself to blame him for it.

"don't get me involved in this" he whispered to minho, lightly punching his friend in the shoulder. being deathly afraid of y/n, he couldn't understand how the boy played with fire carelessly like that.

"i wonder if the study of ethical norms can help someone understand how life in society works. perhaps it could make someone less of a wretch..." he whispered loud enough for the girl in front of him to hear, arching an eyebrow and waiting for any kind of reaction, but his comments were promptly disregarded.

minho unmistakably knows that she's making an effort to turn a blind eye to him, and that's never fun. seeing that it didn't do much good, he smirked, ready to use the joker from his deck, one that he knew she unquestionably was going to take the bait.

he places his elbows lightly on his desk and approaches her sparsely, face growing close enough to the back of her neck he could see her hair quivering with the rhythm of his breath. he noticed her shuddering almost imperceptibly. he cleared his throat.

"a little bird told me you have a boyfriend…" he started.

her shoulders tensed and he couldn't tell if it was because of his voice so close to her or if it was because of the words sung from his mouth. she wasted no time in answering his unspoken inquiry.

"well, you can tell your idle fan club that they should spend their time on useful things, and that what they said is a lie" she, as he already expected, turned punctually and looked at him with narrowed eyes, not letting herself be shaken by the proximity of the two. “your lack of maturity is severely aggravating”

"hmm, are you sure? from what i have been told, the scenario was something that looked like it was spewed straight out of a jane austen book..." he looks up in feign thoughtfulness, as if he's trying to remember something. "kneeling on the floor, crying at your feet. pathetically romantic, isn't it?" he smiled at her, who still wore the same disgusted expression she always seemed to have when interacting with him.

"get away from my face, i feel like vomiting just by looking at you" she hissed, crossing her arms. "i thought you were smarter than that, minho. believing in such idiotic rumors is a thing of dull-witted people. not that you're not like that either, it’s not that i expect much from you, in any case"

"you always have something sweet to say, don't you?" he says, imitating her and crossing his arms, using the union to leverage himself further on the table he was leaning on. "don't worry, i'm flattered by your idea of ​​my intelligence. i want to assure you that i didn't believe the rumors for a second. it's not like the male population didn't avoid you like the plague already, is it?”

"not all of us are sluts like you, minho" she said with venom on her tongue after a few seconds of silence. he was faced with her back once more, her stone barrier built as strong as ever. he knew she would no longer entertain whatever he tried to ask her, but that was enough.

when the class came to an end, in a matter of seconds she had already vanished from sight through the classroom door, as if he was going to follow her out and continue to give her the displeasure of making her ears tingle at the sound of his unbearable voice.

who really knew what lee minho was capable of these days. his attention-seeking behavior was honestly disturbing.

y/n finds herself cloistered all day.

she would feel the weight of the boy's gaze everywhere. he seemed to have woken up choosing to cultivate evil in his little playground and she was unfortunately involved in the plan, as fucking always.

she couldn't believe the lengths she was willing to put herself through simply to avoid him. when she saw him in the hallway on her way to her third class of the day, instead of crossing his path and being met with a despicable destiny, y/n ducked into the girls' bathroom closest to her before he had the chance to see her.

she closed her eyes feeling like an absolute coward and was met with a girl crying uncontrollably and being comforted by her friends in the center of the bathroom.

"yes, he's an idiot, you were right to break up with him."

"true. who tries to hook up with their girlfriend's sister?" and that made the girl cry unbelievably louder and her ears started to hurt. y/n couldn't wrap her head around the fact that her escape from a bad situation could turn out to be even worse than the audacity of lee minho.

when recess comes after the ethics class, y/n goes as quickly as possible to the back of the school, which is always deserted, in order to meet hwang hyunjin.

"you and time don’t get along very well, do you?" she asks when he finally arrives, 7 minutes late. her feet tap against the floor impatiently.

"oh, give it a break! look where you asked us to meet. i don't know you that well, i'm still scared that you'll kill me in a place like this" he wore a headband different from the one he had worn the day before and his hair had small braids hidden in the middle of his voluminous loose, almost white hair. he turned around to examine their surroundings and took a step back to simulate fear of the impatient girl who still scowled at him.

"you’ve managed to finish it?" she goes straight to the point, extending her arm towards him, which he dodged exaggeratedly as if she was going to attack him, soon laughing at his own joke like an idiot.

"god, you don't have any sense of humor, do you…" he whispered, placing the math textbook she had lent him the next day in her hand. "i managed to finish it. it's all there, my resolutions."

"good. take this" now she was the one holding something out towards him. hyunjin noticed that they were notes of more difficult formulas and exercises, slightly colored by markers and pens.

"oh, thank you very much" he thanked her genuinely, bringing them close to his face and studying them carefully.

"the test is in 2 days, do you think you can study on your own for it?"

"i'm trying, i solved the problems pretty easily because of your help yesterday" he says genuinely, and she can't help but wonder how can someone be so visibly peaceful.

"that's... nice" was all he got in response.

"sorry, but i have to ask. why are we meeting here? why not in the library like yesterday?" hyunjin asked, putting her notes in the pocket of his sports shorts.

"i don't know if you know, but because of your little show, people are getting the word out that we're dating, and i don't want to leave any room for that gossip to continue"

"oh, don't even tell me about it. a girl i was planning on asking out said she had no interest in dating guys she knew were already compromised earlier today. i almost lost my chance with her, you know? i had to explain everything. it's as bad to me as it is to you"

"good luck with her now, i guess..." y/n said rolling her eyes, turning around and heading back inside the school.

"hey y/n! session on friday? the next test is physics" he called her before she completely disappeared from his field of vision. he didn't make the notion of following her back inside, and she theorized he was going straight to the basketball field to play his recess away.

"it can be" she answered at last.

in one of the infinite halls filled with lockers, minho was craning his neck looking around not very discreetly, obviously in search of something. yongbok was starting to feel embarrassed to walk beside his friend.

"dude, pull yourself together" was what the blonde told him, pulling him out of his shameless search.

"what are you talking about?" minho snapped his head back to the boy.

"you look like a maniac looking around for her like that," he clarified to minho who just frowned in return, not looking ashamed of being called out, actually with an expression on his face as if he hadn't even realized he was doing it in the first place.

"her who, you weirdo?"

"you know what i'm talking about, you spent the whole day talking about her, looking for her to annoy to her, or looking for ways to look for her" he poured out of his chest, pointing at his fingers while counting everything. "we even sat at that table next to the window in the cafeteria so you could check if she was in the gardens"

"when did i do that? i didn't do all of those things, you are being ridiculous! and i actually really like the garden view from that table, thank you very much" he said in defense, but his best friend looked at something beyond him, behind his shoulders, closing his eyes soon after in disbelief.

minho took no time to look back, seeing y/n walking in the opposite direction from them with eyes glued to the ground, growing closer each second.

he smirked. he rehearsed a couple of sentences to provoke her, and now he finally could use them.

her eyes flew from the ground directly towards him as if she felt the weight of his eyes on her form. something palpable twisted inside her eyes and he no longer knew what to expect from her, her anger made her unpredictable.

"i swear by all that is most holy that i will stick your head in the concrete if you as much as breath in my direction" she said quickly as she passed beside him. he would think she was finished, but then her foot came in contact with the back of his knee in a swift motion and he was yanked forward, losing balance, making him clutch yongbok for support or else he was going to fall flat on the floor.

a fit of sharp anger invaded his senses this time, and he simply knew she was smiling just by looking at me back of her head, hair swaying gracefully with each step she took. his hands clutched his best friend's shoulders imperceptibly and he winced under his hands.

minho was petrified for a few seconds, eyes unmoving, but then he turned to yongbok with his mouth open in shock. "how fucking rude..."

"come on, let's buy you some water. you must be dehydrated to have gone so crazy overnight" said his friend, taking his hands from his shoulders and leading him forward.

stay tuned for chapter 6! ☆

[pbandjesse]

I am working at a wedding tonight! It's been a really nice evening. I am actually feeling pretty good. Like I'm a little tired but I'm fine. It was a pretty nice Saturday and I am feeling happy.

After feeling so sick last night I would end up sleeping pretty well. I did wake myself up a few times but it was not terribly hard to fall back asleep so I woke up feeling pretty good overall. I did sleep in until 930 like I wanted. And I woke up in a good mood.

I went and took a shower and got dressed. I would change into my dress for wedding later. For now it was just shorts and a tank top. I just wanted a chill morning. And I did my best to give myself that.

I spent a lot of time just chilling. James and me would be mostly doing our own thing. I hung out in bed for a while. They were downstairs working on their writing.

Eventually I would get dressed for real. And would go downstairs to work on attaching the last few squares of my mini blanket. Which I think has come out so cute. I'm going to attach a backing to it and add a rolled hem. I am not sure if the color yet but I'm very excited about it.

We would gather ourselves soon and head out into the world. I wasn't sure what shoes to wear and would end up bringing a few options and honestly they would all be bad. But it's fine. I have been powering through.

We went to whole foods first. I mostly just wanted more pasta salad. James would get a few real groceries. Which were of course overpriced but then I just wanted to get everything at the salad and hot bars. I didn't realize how excellent the ones at the harbor East location were. I will have to go back soon.

We would head to Southside diner for lunch. And honestly we had a really nice time. It was a bit loud in there but we had some nice conversations and the sandwiches were good. I didn't find eating as hard. I still had to pause and breathe half way through. But I finished my sandwich and that felt like a win.

We had a lot of time before I needed to be at the musuem. So we wandered around five below and I got a new calico critter blind bag. I ended up getting this fluffy cat with a turtle backpack who I love so much.

We went over to the museum and it was nice to have a chill hour to read and get emotionally ready for the evening. A very long shift.

James would leave and bike home. And I would chill in the education office and read my book.

At 2 I would text Meril to let her know I was her and she would soon come to find me.

And it's been a fun night! The first few hours are always go go go. And today wasn't any different.

We felt like a million people were here for a bit. Turns out it was because the couple was having family photos taken here. But soon the bride was here and she was beautiful and it was so nice.

And there was so much happening. There were alpacas delivered!! I was so excited to meet them. And everything was coming together really nicely. The tables and decor looked great. We would have an educator come at 6. And we were looking forward to a fun night.

Some things would go slightly off. Timing wise. But overall it was going well.

Except our educator didn't show up? So I had to be the educator but that was fine. I actually really enjoyed it. I got to talk to so many people and talk about the machine shop. And honestly I've had a really fun night.

The wedding just ended. The couple had a bubble run out ending which was so cute. And me and Meril spent the majority of the night talking and it was so great. I really love her company.

It was bit a very low key and a very busy night. The speeches ran long but everyone had a fun time. And I had fun. The catering wasn't my favorite food but I still had a lot of fun.

And at the end I got a tip. But not only for me, I got the docent tip too since I did both jobs! Amazing.

We are slowly closing down now. But I wanted to get this up so when I get home I can just clean up and go to sleep.

Because tomorrow we are visiting my family. I have missed them very much and I'm excited for a little travel day. I may have to close my eyes in the car but that's alright.

I hope you all have a great sleep. I love you all

Goodnight!!

[fantasticcloudcreation]

July 6

113.3 (115.5 when I woke up, same as yesterday, then tried again later in the day and it was lower lol glad it dropped bc I was about to get mad)

Spent the whole day knitting instead of doing anything productive and I don't even think its gonna turn out cute bc of the way this yarn changes colors but whatever I'm just gonna keep making it and see what happens :) still need to pack up the van and everything, waiting til the sun goes down a lil bit more, then I'm going to sleep by like 10 pm bc I was sooooo sleepy this morning....

Haven't eaten yet today, coffee this morning and 2 glasses of wine so far, do not let me get drunk tonight I gotta drive all day tmro....... Good news is bossman said it's fine to not do the osha cert before starting this gig so I don't have to worry about that anymore lol. So I'm just gonna drive 2 days (8h each) and then start work the next morning...... It'll be fun I need to relax :) realistically I don't have that much left to do, basically just putting shit back in the van, it'll take like 2 hours max, I just gotta stop procrastinating.

Also I think my period is starting which is maybe why I've been feeling so weird today, which is gonna make this week of driving + work really extra fun 😇

I've just been feeling so sleepy and foggy all day and maybe it's like a weed hangover?? I haven't been consuming any for like, at least a month now, so maybe the edible yesterday fucked me up? Idk. I'm just so sleepy and out of it. The first glass of wine helped and the second is reversing that hahaha. Maybe I should eat food but I don't feel like it.... Idk. I'm tired and I just want to sleep and I just want to keep knitting and I don't want to put all this shit back in the van lol. But whatever this is life and it's fine and once I do it it'll be done and then I can sleep!! Relax ❤️

[iskeaux]

Weekend almost-evening.

So, it’s Saturday almost-evening (5:32 PM), and I can feel the weekend already ending. I mean, I’ve done quite a lot last night and even got a massage, stayed at my favorite cafe, and did my hobbies before I slept. Then, earlier today, I woke up quite early (6:00 AM) and was able to do a lot as well — from my chores, to my routine, to watching series on my own, to playing Genshin, to writing and reading, to planning ahead using my planner and Notion, to watching Saving Grace’s final episodes for over two hours with Mami, to taking a 2-hour nap (which, I realize now, is well deserved considering the sleep debt I’ve accumulated over the weekdays), and then now to just chilling and doing my “happy” things in my cozy room, together with one of our dogs. So, yeah, in hindsight, it’s been such a day well spent so far, and I know I still have tonight, the entirety of tomorrow, and my usual Monday morning before I go back to work (which, I realize now, shouldn’t really be something to dread for, all things considered). It’s just, I’m finding it quite hard to fully unlearn the notion that I should almost always be doing extraordinary things just to consider my time well spent, when in reality, life is filled most with the little moments, and the key to contentment is making those little moments as happy as I can, to focus on them instead and forgo all preconceived expectations of an “eventful” life, and then to just be grateful for when something “extra-fun” comes up and decides to make my already-contented life even better and more colorful. Ultimately, it really is up to me to concoct a life that doesn’t rely on “big” moments (which, in reality, doesn’t actually come by that often for most people) and that instead relishes on the fact that we are here *now* and we have all these little, bright moments to keep us by and make our lives worth living.

I hope I made sense. Lol. I know I’ve probably made quite a lot of mistakes and that some things probably didn’t make much sense, but I hope I somehow got the message across. :)

[keefwho]

October 10 - 2023 Tuesday

6:05am Dream

Another silly little dream. This time I was on vacation with my parents to D.C staying in a hotel nearby Daisy. I did lots of activities with my family and my friend Will before I went to sleep that night. We had seen a lot of meteor showers on the drive into D.C. In the morning I woke up to Skype somehow broadcasting audio from Daisy's laptop. She and her friend were in another hotel talking about things and I was just listening. Daisy said something about having a date with a guy named Blake who was her boyfriend. Eventually I was discovered (now I'm in the room with them for some reason) and I apologized for unintentionally eavesdropping before asking about Blake. She said he satisfied motherly needs in her that I just didn't. I told her I was confused because I thought we had something going on but she told me to get over it and that I should find ways to cope with things not turning out how I wanted. I apologized again and left back to my hotel room. My dad made a side comment that D.C had been attacked by terrorists and even felt the explosion.

10:51 PM

This morning I tried making some kind of breakfast stir fry using eggs, little sausage patties I've had for awhile, a small vegetable blend, and rice. It turned out okay, maybe a 6.5/10. I wasn't feeling very culinary creative so I don't know why I tried this morning, I knew I should have stuck to something familiar. Maybe if I waited to make it when I was more inspired then it would have been much better. I'm out of eggs now.

Because that took so long to cook I was a little late to stream. I struggled to figure out what to do for Inktober but figured it out after a few minutes of staring at my canvas. I was also conflicted about whether or not I should keep pixelating these. The idea was to hide how rough and splotchy they were while also giving them a sort of retro look but some of them look okay on their own and the color compression usually doesn't turn out looking how I want. I'm decided to stick with my decision and pixelate them all after a few people said they liked the pixel version more. Mia and Me and He-Man had mid episodes today. I worked on the Venus comic and ended about 20 minutes earlier because I had started late and I can afford it on this commission. I made good progress too.

After stream I made the bold decision to cut my hair based on a new video I found that has him cutting it quite short on the back and sides and fading it down. I was afraid to make it as short as his so kinda just used the clippers to shorten my hair to how I'd usually cut it but for the entirety of my back and sides. Usually I use scissors for the sides. I think it looks a little weird having it so long on top still but I'll let it settle in a bit. If nothing else I learned I can use the clippers to get good results on the sides which makes it easier since I only have to use scissors on the top now.

I couldn't figure out what to have for lunch because I was worried about my hair so I made a cup noodle fried in the pan and a granola bar.

I had a hard time (as usual) with the request today because I just wasn't feeling creative but also as usual I got it done. I took a bit of a break before working on Spookality by waiting for a certain streamer to go live. I knew I needed that little break because I was dreading even more creativity. Eventually it was time and I spent an hour working on something I didn't like the result of and had to start over. What I got now seems okay, workable at least. I should have taken the time to plan things out a little better instead of winging it. Daisy called while I did this and it was a nice chill call like usual.

We got on VRchat after and world hopped. It's interesting how I used to pick all the worlds no matter what but over time she became designated world decider. Not that I mind, it's just something I noticed. Tag had joined before she showed up and I'm glad he left after dropping our first portal. I think he was mute anyways tonight so it might not have been that bad but I wasn't feeling like putting up with anyone and he is someone I put up with. If he didn't leave I might have said something because I truly to not want to entertain company that I don't enjoy anymore. I drain myself too much that way. During our hopping we did an actual fun maze and I got a little sonic.exe lesson. We ended listening to a poop song and I had the bravery to speak up and announce that sometime I want to just sit together and listen to music or something. It's not a crazy request and I feel silly that it's still a big deal for me to ask. I think I'm afraid of proposing anything in general with anyone because I assume if they say yes that they are lying to me, or they just say no. Obviously that stems from this glaring problem where I doubt myself. By plainly asking what I wanted to do with Daisy, I completed a small exercise in letting my desires be known whereas I'd usually hide them. When we got off and she was in bed, I played Mother 3 for her. I thought it was a good game at first but now I'm really captivated by the setting that was just revealed in a lore dump. Honestly sad it's ending soon because nights playing this for her have been VERY cozy.

[umichenginabroad]

Week 6: The finale- A lot of happy memories and choked-back tears

The number one thing on my Argentina itinerary that I made a month before coming here was to visit Bariloche, so it only made sense to save that trip for my final weekend abroad. I (along with two of my friends) packed my bags full of warm, winter clothes, and headed for the most visited city in Argentinian Patagonia. The first night we arrived, we immediately headed out into the town in order to test the ambiance. Bariloche made a significant first impression, as I instantly felt cozy in the beautiful ski-town setting. It almost reminded me of Colorado or even Switzerland towns.

There were so many different restaurants and bars lined up in the liveliest street in town, Calle España, but there was one that drew us in. The environment inside the restaurant was so tempting with the music, the people dancing, and the laughter. The music was a fire blend of lo-fi beats and slightly remixed indie songs, and we even asked the DJ for his spotify playlist link. As the night progressed, more and more people got up from the table and started dancing. It was such a wholesome moment, and I will forever cherish the memory of laughing and dancing with a room full of adults.

The next day, we drove up to Cerro Catedral with the expectation of skiing, but they crushed our very hopes and dreams when they told us there wasn't enough snow. With that being said, we still bought lift tickets to see the wondrous Andes Mountains up close, and it was a decision well-made. The top of the mountain was a flurry of snow, and there were a lot of people sledding and hanging out in the snow. My friends and I started a snowball fight, and twenty minutes later I was fresh out of breath and covered in snow. After some hot chocolate and time spent enjoying the view, we called it a successful day and headed back to our airbnb for some rest before the next day's tour.

We had booked a tour to take us around the famous Seven Lakes at 8:00 am, but when we finally woke up to our alarms, the clock displayed a distressing 8:21. We frantically ran five blocks and trudged up a monstrosity of a hill in order to reach the meeting point (the bus turned around to pick us up), and we barely made it in time. But the strenuous morning exercise was worth it for the breathtaking views of the lake, even though the first hour of the ride was nauseating. The eight hour tour of the seven lakes and the quaint town of San Martin was a delightful end to my long-awaited Bariloche trip.

Of course, Bariloche was probably the highlight of my week, but there were definitely some other top contenders. On my final Sunday in Bariloche, you know I had to stop by the electrifying Recoleta Market. Lined with colorful vendors and hustling people, I felt invigorated by the lively atmosphere. I made some damage with my shopping as well, finding perfectly artistic gifts for each member of my family. The day ended with a beautiful sunset overlooking the numerous tents.

I also finally visited the famous Japanese Gardens in Buenos Aires, one of the largest Japanese Gardens outside of Japan. Although it wasn't cherry blossom season, the beauty of these gardens did not waver. The soothing music and the tranquil scenery was a perfect combination for a quick afternoon visit. I even ate sushi for the first time during this trip at the restaurant inside the park, and it was absolutely astounding. It was also heartwarming to read all of the love messages the people left in the park.

The rest of my final week was filled with celebration and tears with my lovely friends. We made a return to Hype, the boliche where I got my phone stolen, and it was a definitely a better experience. They played strictly American music for an entire hour, and you already know my friends and I made the most of it. It is really funny to observe the differences in dancing culture, as no Argentines dance by jumping up and down or moving their hands in the air (as all Americans do).

We also celebrated with some good eats, including my final meal at Buller (our favorite restaurant) that ended with the infamous multi-layered nutella cake, as well as fresh and healthy lunches at Green Eats. We also "fine-dined" as best we could at two beautifully decorated restaurants: La Ferneteria and Garibaldi. La Ferneteria was a recommendation given by my wonderful friends from my nail salon, and it was a stunning atmosphere. The pastas were garnished elegantly, though the seafood pasta was slightly terrifying to look at, and tasted just as good as they looked. We had our final dinner at Garibaldi, a classy and cool restaurant located at the edge of the pier. We ate our steak (deliciously cooked to a punto) while overlooking the crashing waves under the moonlit night sky and listening to the hypnotic music the DJ was playing. It was a perfect night to end a wonderful time abroad.

But all things good come with goodbyes, and I was not mentally prepared for how hard it would be to leave the most wonderful, loving people that I met this trip. My friends through the program are scattered all throughout the United States, and I cannot say for certain if I will ever see them again. One of the hardest things to process was that these heartfelt friendships may have just been for a short period of my life, but I sincerely hope that I will reunite with my people again.

An even more difficult goodbye was to my lovely host mom, Teresa. Over these last six weeks, she filled the motherly figure role we were missing from being so far away from home. Her home-cooked meals were always made with love, and she never failed to make us feel like a family. We bought her roses, her favorite flower, and a bracelet that said "Mama" because she always told us of her love of being a mother, and then tearfully parted ways. I desperately hope that I will be able to see Teresa again in my life, but I know we shared a beautiful experience and will always have the memories. When I think about my time abroad, I feel an overwhelming sense of joy and love for the people, the culture, and the country. For anyone considering going abroad, I say with absolute certainty that it will be worth it. I am forever changed and better off after living in Argentina for six weeks.

[bratshaws]

through the hourglass 27. brb x oc

a/n: this man is not going to keep himself together once he knows :)

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: P U P P I E S

goodness gracious (pls read this one to know more what this fic is about!!)

chapter

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/25/26

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-

Jolene gave birth in the second week of November, a litter of two girls and two boys. Beatrice woke up in the middle of the night with the birth already happening and all she could do was take care of her dog until she was done.It was magical, and stressful, but Beatrice was crying as she saw the puppies wriggling about.

She wanted to take a picture to send Rooster but she remembered she couldn’t, not until he told her he was close to his phone again. So she just kept it to herself…amongst other things. She was so focused on Jolene she forgot to do the follow up at the doctor about the ultrasound, only remembering when she was cleaning the little pen Jolene and her puppies were. “Oh, fuck.” she groans, pushing herself to her feet and rushing to her phone to check if there was still time.

She had fifteen minutes and she looked a mess, “Fuck!” but she didn’t want to leave Jolene alone, she had to call someone! Shells? No, Shells was probably napping at this hour, Evelyn was working and couldn’t come over, Leonardo was out of the question…which left one final person: Michael. Michael worked at night, he spent most of his morning doing God knows what and he wanted to meet Jolene’s puppies!

Which also brought the question of what she’d tell him once he got there. She had to come up with something but…the pantry was full, she can’t say she had to go grocery shopping, nothing in the house needed repairs, “Oh!I know!” she looks down at where Jolene is with her puppies, her auburn pittie just tilting her head, “I can tell him I need more blankets for you guys! That’s a great idea!”

The fact that Jolene looked like she was in an actual nest could be easily ignored.

“That’s perfect, he’ll never suspect anything.” she presses the phone to her ear after finding Michael’s name in her contact list, ‘He’ll be too busy looking at you guys too so.”

“Hello?”

“Mikey!Hi, good morning!Listen, are you busy?”

“No, I’m out and about, what’s up?”

“Can you stay with Jojo for a little bit while I buy her and the puppies some more blankets?”

Beatrice could swear he stopped breathing when she said ‘puppies’ and was probably ignoring anything else that came out of her mouth, “I’ll be right over.” and hangs up after saying he loved her. Beatrice tries to fight the proud grin but there’s no use, humming in triumph as she slid the phone back into her pocket.

Everything was going well, all she had to do was stick to the plan. No one else - besides Ev,Shells and Penny - knows about her pregnancy and while she did trust Michael’s word when it comes to secrets she also knew how much being an uncle meant to him, so he was out of the list as well.

Beatrice looks down at Jolene and her four puppies - one white, one black and brown, one auburn colored and one pitch black - all nursing themselves on their mama, as Jolene wagged her tail once she meets her owner’s eyes. Beatrice smiles, gently falling to her knees to pet her head, “You knew, didn’t you Jojo?” she asks as she scratches under her chin, “You knew about me.”

The way Jolene stood close by and how she often placed her head on Beatrice’s stomach was enough of a sign. Jolene boofed softly, as if she was confirming her owner’s questioning, closing her eyes as Beatrice kept petting her.

She sighs, then pulls out her phone just to take a quick picture of the puppies so she could send Brad whenever possible, smiling when the white one stopped feasting to lift her closed eyed face towards Beatrice as if she knew where she was already. Beatrice smiles, taking another picture of the pink nosed puppy and gently petting the tiny white bean with the back of her fingers.

Beatrice gets a message from Michael letting her know he arrived, which leaves her a bit confused but she stands up, walking towards the door where she could see her brother’s face peeking through the window. “Jesus Mike,” she says once she opens the door, “That’s creepy, don’t do that shit.”

“Where are they?” he questions, walking around his little sister with his laser focus towards the puppies, “Where are the tiny babies?”

“In the kitchen,” his massive form disappears from her view and Beatrice grins when she hears the soft yet loud gasp from her brother…followed by the baby talk. She walks back into the kitchen where she sees Michael is on his knees, leaning a bit forward with his lips parted in an ‘o’ shape, pointing at each little puppy and then caressing Jolene with his huge hand, “Cute huh?”

“Yes. Oh my God,” he whispers, “Oh they are little angels Bea. Oh I love them so much.”

“Yeah I know, anyway, I just need you to stay with them for a little bit.” She explains while placing her bag strap on her shoulder, then grabbing her car keys “To keep them company and…you are no longer hearing me are you?” Michael was too busy lying on the ground to be on face level with the new babies, cooing the one that sniffed his finger through the crate and then petting Jolene.

Beatrice rolled her eyes with a grin, knowing that they’d all be okay there…and now there was time for her to go. She knew what to do, she knew what to expect and she waited a bit before going just to make sure everything was fine. She sent another bye towards her brother, receiving no answer as she expected, closing the door behind her and making her way to the red jeep.

Honestly the drive to the clinic was a bit quick, she barely remembers arriving there and she sat inside her car with her hands on the wheel, looking ahead, chewing her lower lip.

Why was she hesitating? Why was she nervous? 

Maybe because that’s the very first pregnancy she ever had and she didn’t want anything bad to happen. That was why. Beatrice closes her eyes for a second, smell the flower, blow the candle and then leaves the car towards the clinic. As she wanders inside, she feels a bit on the spot by the amount of women there, some heavily pregnant, some not but most if not all of them had their partners with them.

Beatrice bites her lower lip, reminding that Rooster isn’t there because he couldn’t be, not because he didn’t want to be and to not let her mind spew words in her brain that weren’t true. She talks to the receptionist who smiles and tells her that the doctor will see her soon enough and to wait a bit, which she does, almost squeezing herself away from the couple next to her chair.

She bites her lower lip again, tapping her hands together between her thighs as she waits, looking up at the clock on the wall, bouncing her leg anxiously until it was her turn. She hears the mother next to her coo to her belly, then her husband puts his hand on top and she tries to gaze away from them because the last thing she wanted was to be called a creep but she couldn’t help but imagine how Rooster would react.

He’d be happy, because of course he would…maybe more protective than normal- no he’d definitely be more protective than normal. Would he become one of those satellite husbands who would always- yes. Yes he would. Beatrice has to bite back her smile before the laugh leaves her lips, just at the thought. “Beatrice Bradshaw?” a woman calls from a room and it still jolts her how now she had his last name. She lifts her head to meet the woman’s eyes, then stands up when she smiles, “Come on in.”

She remembered when she went with Marina to have her ultrasound because Derek was working, she remembered how pregnant her sister was and…it was making her second guess this decision. Maybe it was too soon, she thinks as she lies down, maybe she should’ve waited more, she couldn’t hide the gasp nor the wince when she felt the cold gel on her navel as she pulled down her shorts, maybe she should’ve-

“Well, well, there is something there.”

Beatrice immediately lifts her head to check the monitor, widening her eyes when she finally sees it. It’s very small, it’s so tiny it was hard to recognize it but it was there. That was her baby! “Oh….oh wow.”

“It’s still really small, it’s just a month old after all.” a month old, so that means she got pregnant during Palermo! “But, so far it looks okay. I do think you should come back in a few months, when you reach the fourteen to eighteen week mark.” 

“So…so it’s okay?”

“Well, it is still the first month so there’s always the need to be extra careful.”

Beatrice blinks at the doctor, she gets a bit confused but nods nonetheless, “Okay, u-um, should I…refrain from something?” the doctor offers her a kind grin, then rolls away from the table to open a drawer on her desk, flipping through some papers before handing it back to her, “Oh.”

There was a list of do’s and don'ts for first time mothers, she had to pay attention to it on the way home so she’d donate what she shouldn’t have at the house. Hopefully there aren't a lot of things? She’s been researching some stuff herself so she could at least be prepared until then.

She thanks the doctor before leaving, holding the piece of paper in her hands as if it was precious and fighting the best she could to not send a message to Rooster. No, she had to wait until he was ready to talk, he couldn’t now so there was no need to do that…but what she could do was prepare something for him…and buy paints, and work on the baby room!! Oh she was so excited!

-

“I’m back!” Beatrice calls, her hands filled with bags that she was sure to hide from her brother by hurriedly putting them in her small studio room, playing it off as drawing supplies while she goes to the kitchen with a new blanket for the puppies just like she said she’d get. Beatrice sees Michael is seated on the kitchen watching a movie on his cellphone and Jolene is still in the little pen with her babies, tapping her tail on the futon as the brunette approaches her.

Bea’s brother, who was currently eating a sandwich, looks up at her when she leans closer to Jolene, a pastel colored blanket in her arms, “How was the day? You took a long time to get back.”

“Oh, I went to Mackenzie’s to get some art supplies.” she says with a smile and for the first time the lie comes out so smoothly she’s proud of herself. “And the blanket too of course.”

“Hm, alright, well, they all behaved.” he smiles down at the puppies who were snoozing silently against Jolene, “Hey, do you guys plan on keeping them or something?”

Beatrice sets her bag on the counter, then looks over at Michael ‘Well, probably not. The house is spacious but we can’t keep them all…why? Are you interested?”

“Well, I am and so is Bibi. Once she finds out they are born you know she’ll pester Leo about it. Nevermind she just had a little sister, a dog is way better than a sibling.” he jokes, leaning on his open hand as he watches Beatrice laugh to herself as she fills a glass with water. There’s a piece of paper sticking out of her back pocket but he can’t see what it was from where he was seated, “So, anyway, do you need me for anything else?”

“No, Mike, but you can stay if you want.” 

“Nah,I gotta work later tonight and I need my beauty sleep, so,” he grunts as he pushes himself to his feet, walking over to Beatrice and pecking her forehead, “I’m going to take my leave and go home, Bea. Bye babies!” he coos towards the sleeping puppies, his smile never faltering as he walks to the door with his sister in tow, “Anyway, do let me know if you need any more help, I’ll do my best.”

Bea smiles and hugs him one final time, watching until he gets to his car then drives off. She waits a few more minutes, keeping her eyes on the car that was so far she could no longer identify it then bolted back inside after locking the door. She rushes to her little art room, yanking everything she got at the department store and setting it in front of her on the ground.

There is paint, a lot of paint, tape, a small box, alongside baby items she was going to make Rooster’s gift with, “Okay.” she smiles, gathering everything in her arms and rushing to the outside so she could have space and keep an eye on Jolene as well. Her dog just followed her with her head, blinking her big eyes until she could no longer see Beatrice on the backyard.

Since Beatrice didn’t want to make a lot of noise, even if she wasn’t cutting anything or using her power tools, she didn’t want to disturb Jolene’s puppies nor the new mama. She takes in a deep breath with a smile, then grabs everything she bought that day as she prepared Rooster’s little surprise. “Oh, shit!” she stands up, running inside the house to their bathroom, “Almost forgot!” 

She kept the tests inside the bathroom drawer for safety, fearing that if she kept it anywhere else she might throw it away by accident. Once she has them in her hand, holding it up like it was Excalibur, Beatrice walks back outside to where she left everything.

She knew she couldn’t do much, she had to keep it simple because, well, he was somewhere else far away and it’d be a bit awkward to bring home a box bigger than he could carry inside his bag. So what she did was choose one that looked like a pen box, nothing unusual nor that it’d bring a lot of suspicion once he got it and something that could fit both tests without worries.

Beatrice felt the butterflies dance in her stomach, she was happy, she was excited, she was over the moon because she was pregnant! It was almost unreal how everything happened, how one year ago this was the last thing in her mind and now, she married her crush - her handsome, tall and sweet crush - and now had a mini Bradshaw inside of her.

“Mini Bradshaw.” she smiles, wrapping the two tests in light green colored paper, keeping it closed with a paw print sticker, “It is a mini Bradshaw, oh just you wait until your dad hears about you.” she was already talking to the baby even if it was as tiny as a grain of rice– “Oh! Oh great idea!”

Jolene just opens one of her eyes when she sees her owner open the pantry cabinets and rummage for a bit until she comes out with one single grain of rice, “Oh he’s going to lose it!” Beatrice then grabs a piece of paper and a copic marker, voicing the words she writes down on it, “What is the size of a grain of rice but not a grain of rice? Oh! I should ask him to not open until we are able to video chat…so I can see his reaction to it! Yes, great idea!”

She does write that down too, knowing that surprises are the one thing that eats on Rooster the most, he is like a little boy during Christmas eve eager to get his presents first. But hopefully, hopefully he will take on her request and wait until it is time.

Beatrice smiles once she is done, gluing the tiny grain in the middle of the paper and folding around it until it was just a thin square. She walks back out to grab the box, places the square on top of the folded paper and then clicks the box shut, “Perfect.” and now all she had to do was send it…she hoped it’d get there by the time they talk again, or at least the very next time they talk is what she is earning for.

As long as it reaches his hands she’s happy, she doesn’t have to worry about anything else.

Beatrice smiles at the little box, letting out a sigh through her mouth and then places her forehead on top of the gift, feeling like she was about to burst at any second now. She just wanted a safe pregnancy, a safe delivery, a safe baby, nothing else. And she’d do everything in her power for this baby to be born healthy, including keeping up with her yoga exercises in the morning since she’d seen it was good for the baby.

She sets the gift on the kitchen counter, preparing herself for the next step in her project, walking out of the kitchen and to the art room where the paint cans and brushes sat as if waiting for her return. She made a promise to herself to paint more this year, especially to finish that picture she never did - now thinking she should add more things to it before the baby was born.

As she walks back to the baby room, opens the door and turns on the light, she smiles seeing her sketches from a few weeks back, “Okay,” she looks down at her still normal sized stomach, “Time for us to paint your room, are you excited?”

And she decided that doing it now was better seeing she wouldn’t be very mobile by the next months after all. Beatrice looked around, pursing her lips and thinking where to start, “First, let me cover the floor.” she tells herself, spreading newspapers until she is surrounded. Beatrice then supports her chin on her hand, then her other hand on her hip, looking around with her eyes squinted just a bit, “Hm…hmmmm, I think I should start with the background first, that’s a great idea.”

Since she didn’t have work that day it was also a great way to pass the time, knowing this would take more than a few weeks to finish. Beatrice popped the paint cans open and got to work, even putting on her playlist as she did so, humming to Good Golly Miss Molly as she paid extra attention while painting.

Beatrice manages to paint most of the backgrounds until she feels her stomach beg for a snack, looking down at her cellphone to see it was “Holy shit, it’s past seven, oh God!” She closes everything and rushes down the stairs, greeting Jolene and the puppies when she enters the kitchen.

She’s covered in paint, there’s paint on her knuckles, her arms, under her fingernails and undoubtedly on her face as well, but she was going to take a shower after eating. She just decides to have some of the leftovers from last night’s dinner, heating everything up on her stove and checking her phone once she turns around.

There’s no message from him yet, the little ‘<3’ he left her being the last thing he said in weeks…she tried not to worry, she really did and she didn’t want to send him more than the message of support from a few weeks back. “I hope you are okay Roos.” she whispers, “For both our sakes.” 

What was she talking about, he was okay, he had to be. He said it’d take a while for him to talk back, there wasn’t anything going on, “Yeah, he’s fine.” she says with a firm nod, looking down at her stomach, “Your daddy is very brave. He really is, you know? He’s so smart too…I think you’ll be smart just like him. And probably musically talented.” she looks to where his piano was in the corner of the living room, imagining him and the mini Bradshaw seated next to him was already making her chest constrict.

He was okay. 

Everything was okay.

“God, Roos…talk to me soon.” she says against her phone, “Please.”

[filthforfriends]

Chapter 6: Guardian Angel

Alpha!Damiano x Omega!fem y/n

Word Count: 6.9k

The prospect of waiting another six days to be alone together sounded fucking ludicris. When Monday sucked, you knew that this shit mood would hang out all week without the proper satiation. Mostly you just felt under the weather, but burst out into tears at the smallest inconvenience on three separate occasions. You knew the mood swings were due to hormonal fluctuation as your biology became more in tune with your alpha. Damiano wanted to wait to knot, to mate, so you would wait until he was ready. There wasn’t even an alternative in your mind. He needed you to wait, so you’d wait. Meanwhile, your body was screaming what the fuck are you doing at full volume.

It was’t just on the brink of orgasam that you craved a knot. It was whenever you masturabated. Saturday night, you desperately tried to relieve the gnawing lust that burned in your cunt. By Monday, you thought about a knot whenever you thought about getting off. This morphed into the fixation on the idea that you shouldn’t shake. The idea of Damiano pining you to the mattress and snapping his hips to meet yours was so distracting that you walked into a door frame. You didn’t want a choice or for him to ask. Rather, Damiano would grip you tight enough to bruise and take, take, take until you couldn’t stand. Instead of stopping he’d just find a flat surface to rest you on and treat you like a cum depository. You’d be forced to contain it all by a knot so big it created an inescapable ache. Crying, screaming, scratching, he’d half to pause because the pleas for him to continue were nearly identical to the cries that might beg him to stop.

Needless to say, you locked your door when you arrived home and spent an hour searching for some other side of this feeling. There was no satiation to be found. Your hands couldn’t simulate the knot your cunt begged for, a knot that you weren’t getting any time soon. However, your fucking immune system recognized Damiano’s pheramones and made you crave him subconsciously. Your body had chosen Dami’s, and his yours, in a way that had nothing to do with conscious attraction.

One sexual fixation abated, only for another one to take its place. Early Wednesday morning, before dawn, you woke from a dream the color of Dami’s olive skin where warm sheets slipped between your bodies and through your hands. It was both abstract and deeply personal and found yourself thinking about the scent of Damiano’s cum. You didn’t like the scent of cum, you were ambivalent towards it. However, you began obsessing about it with such intensity that your reproductive organs ached from emptiness. 

You couldn’t remember another time when you fantasized about cum or a knot, or these specific aspects of mating. A primal part of you was wide awake and fighting for control. All it had taken was falling asleep on Damiano’s chest for your entire sexuality to shift. 

The David’s were protective of your rest. Especially Dami, who decided to let you nap and waited to eat lunch.

“Well, it’d be cruel to wake her up now,” Isabella sighs. “Her body can calm down from a state of hypervigilance because you’re here. She knows she’s protected so she can actually get deep sleep.” They’d decided to use a sleep tracker and wake you up after one cycle when it’d be the least abrasive. It was horrifying to know that so much attention had been allotted to this, but that hour and a half on Dami’s bare chest was more rejuvenating than a night by yourself. It also felt more intimate than sexual encounters you’d had with other partners.

You woke to Damiano forcefully rubbing your back and saying your name. His hand was under your tank top, against your skin. It was confusing because you hadn’t realized you’d fallen asleep. Of course he soothed by stroking your hair and cooing in your ear softly.

“Hey baby, you took a nap while I watched T.V. It’s okay.” Even though you’d startled initially, it was the nicest wakeup in recent memory. The waking up part wasn’t that hard. What was difficult was disentangling yourself from Damiano and being greeted with cold air. It felt like peeling your first layer of skin off. Immediately all you wanted to do was duck back under his sweatshirt and snuggle, face next to his scent glands. Everything felt too harsh: the lights, sound, necessity of fine motor skills. Dami was also visibly upset by the separation, but for you it was a moment of agony. 

“You know it costs zero ration points to not be a bitch.” That's what Cleo said to you while you fought over the diner dishes on Wednesday evening. It wasn’t an entirely unfair assessment either. You’d rather curl up in bed then try to function without Damiano. It felt like life was moving at a slightly faster speed than you were. All the lessons were paced quicker than you could comprehend. Your note taking was a little too slow. You spend 20 minutes on a single question, reading it over and over, but unable to come up with an answer. Your physics teacher looked genuinely concerned and offered you a chance to retake it next week. 

Instead of ranting to Xiema and Gia during break, you lay your head on your crossed arms, not even bothering to get lunch. Four days of this hell was unsustainable. The only choice was to disengage temporarily. The line, the food, the tedium of eating was too overwhelming. So you just closed your eyes, not even raising your head when they sat beside you.

“Are you alive?”

“Unfortunately.” Gia and Xiema seem to get up earlier than usual. Then again, your sense of time leaves something to be desired at the moment. The alert for your next lesson hasn’t sounded, so you decide to just look like a creepy lonier sleeping at lunch. However, by the time they’re a few paces away, someone else sits beside you. Damiano.

 You look down and see his black pants straddling the bench. Then you start to think about something else in that vicinity and press your eyes closed. It's too late, the idea had already taken root. You could drag him into a bathroom and fall to your knees. Dami hadn’t had a proper blow job in months so he’d probably be really vocal, yanking you around by your hair while you drooled on the tiled floor.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asks softly. Yes is dishonest. No makes for questions you can’t stand to answer. Please fuck me isn’t situationally apropriate. So you settle for a shrug, and a groan. Damiano’s hand traces its way up the back of your neck and onto your scalp. It's heavenly. Fucking fuck. His over hand comes to rest on your inner thigh. For a moment your brain short circuits and your head slips off your arms and audibly hits the table. 

“Woah, hey.” He shifts to rubbing up and down your back, scooting close enough he’s pressed against your elbow. It's so sweet it aches.

“Ow,” you squeak. Damiano still checked on you regularly. Instead of assuming you stayed up too late watching T.V. last night, he was skipping class to stroke your hair and make sure you were okay. You wanted to cry and not just because you slammed your forehead on a wooden table.

“Will you look at me?” He tries to coax you into lifting your head, but you’re still trying to wrangle the tears. From the time you woke up you’d felt fragile today, rubbed raw.

“Mm mm. I’m not this omega,” you sniff, trying to make your voice steady.

“This is my fault.”

“You’re doing your best. I’ll survive.” More careful hands trying to comfort you. 

“Have you eaten lunch?” You shake your head and he sighs, rubbing between your shoulder blades.

“You can go back to class Dami. I’ll call you tonight” He pets your head and kisses it, resting his chin on your shoulder. He’s stalling.

“Convince me that just leaving you here is the right thing.” You try to come up with an honest answer that isn’t I’m fine because he’ll call bullshit in a second.

“If something was really wrong I’d tell you. This is just making people stare at me unnecessarily.” He lets out a long sigh, kisses your head, and stands up.

“Call me after school, or I will.” As soon as Damiano walks off you wish that he’d insisted you needed to leave and skipped class to spend the day with you. Of course this wasn’t feasible, but it was a nice fantasy.

You got home from and ended up standing in your bedroom, in a state of half dissociation. It’s lonely and you wish he was here to hold you. The room is so silent that your phone’s ringer makes you jump. 

“Why didn’t you call me, baby?” 

“I – I just…I don’t know.” It's an honest answer and you’re holding back tears because crying will just make your heart hurt worse.

“Meet me at the amphitheater after practice tomorrow. You can have dinner with my family and stay the night. Use me as a pillow.” This sounded like a tremendous idea, which is how you found yourself walking down the main hall in the underbelly of the sporting amphitheater. Romero Soccor’s coach looked at you wearily as you walked by. He was having a hushed conversation on the phone, which you immediately gathered was serious.

“Due to issues of personal conduct we have decided Julio will no longer be a remember of Romero’s soccer team.” Immediately you winced. A couple younger alphas losing their tempers and tearing into each other was a regular occurrence. They accepted it as a part of life, but to betas and omegas it was gory. Damiano would have an interesting story tonight. After pushing past the doors, you scanned the field for him. Aside from one assistant coach standing awkwardly in the entryway to the locker room, everyone was on the other side of the turf. 

You make your way over then realize you might be intruding on something that isn’t your business. Maybe you should wait by Damiano’s car and text him. Deciding that seems like the thing to do, you turn around and walk back. 

“Dam’s girlfriend!” someone announces. You turn around to see possibly the youngest team member pointing at you. You’re about to ask what barn he was raised in, but Star beats you to it, smacking him upside the head. A couple more people turn around and which reveals what's inside the circle. The person you assume to be Julio or his assailant is crouched on the ground with blood profusely flowing from his nose. 

Star beckons you over with a nervous expression and you search for Damiano. As you walk toward him, he jogs over to you. Out of some morbid fascination you can’t take your eyes off of the wounded player. The bridge of his nose is curved harshly to the right.

“Is that broken?” you whisper. 

“Uh, probably,” Star huffs, shifting around with nervous energy.

“I guess Dami is getting ice somewhere, then. Should I go wait by the car? I don’t want to intrude.” Star is breathless and it can’t just be from that short jog over here. Maybe it's anxiety, maybe he broke up the fight. Which probably means your boyfriend did as well.

“No, no, it's good you're here. So, uh – shit, okay um…”

“Just fuckin’ tell her,” someone goads and suddenly you feel very observed. Star winces and Lars jogs up behind him.

“What the hell is going on? Where’s Dami?” Your chest tightens suddenly with the instinctual sensation that something is not as it should be. Despite scouring the field all around you, the only players are gathered here, and Damiano isn’t one of them.

“This kid threw a shit fit over some call coach made. It’s just how we get sometimes. Dam tried to help him calm down, but the little asshole shoved him to the ground and ran away. Dam was just trying to help, put his hand on the kid's shoulder to make sure he was okay and got punched,” Lars explains. So your boyfriend was somewhere, injured.

“Where is he? What the fucked happened?” you demand.

“Damiano David happened,” calls out the same voice that had heckled earlier. So your boyfriend had punched Julio because he’d been attacked. You try to process this information without staring at Julio’s crooked nose.

“Why don’t you shut the fuck up, Nikolai?” responds Star.

“Hey!” warns an assistant coach, sitting on the grass beside the injured player.

“It’s not like we haven’t heard the stories. My mom doesn’t think he should be allowed on the team at all.” Although you desperately wanted to know what this dickwad was referencing, you couldn’t listen to him talk this way about Damiano.

“Yeah, well opinions are like assholes, everyones got one.” The half second of total silence was deeply gratifying. Nikolai had never had an omega speak to him like that.

“Where is Damiano?” you repeat. Lars points to the furthest door in the amphitheater. You march past the team, only to hear Nickolai pipe up again.

“This is what happens when you don’t breed your bitch –”

“Nikolai, I will put you on probation,” warns the assistant coach. 

“And this is what happens when some mediocre alpha thinks the world revolves around him,” you bite back. Apparently your self preservation instincts have taken a vacation.

“It's a shame we’re not allowed to use corporal –” 

“You can’t just say that about Dam’s omega,” someone hisses.

“Nikolai, off the field!” You’re so angry that you can’t think of a response harsh enough so you turn around and spit on his cleats. Half the team makes encouraging sounds, but you barely register it as you run across the field. Alphas advocating for corporal punishment to dicipline omegas was something you’d endured as long as you could perceive it. If it wasn’t so unoriginal it might affect you.

Upon reaching the far door, you look inside and realize it's not made for inhabitants.  The space is unfurnished, all cement walls and harsh fluorescent lighting. It’s used for storage, which means there's no signage. The smell of all the equipment is making it hard to locate your boyfriend. 

“Dami? Baby?” When he doesn’t answer, you have to take a deep breath and imagine his predicament. Where would you go if you were injured and persecuted by assholes on your team? Probably not out in the open, so you begin ducking inside rooms. The first open door with some space behind it houses hundreds of pounds of salt for the slow plow. Had the place not been so echoey, you might have missed Damiano curled up between stacks of bags.

“Not now,” he croaks. He can’t smell anything with a bloody nose, doesn’t know it's you. So you try not to startle him, approaching slowly.

“Baby, it’s, y/n. Dami, it’s me.” When Damiano looks up, you startle, and you actually watch that break his heart in real time. It’s not that he’s in headspace, which you weren’t expecting, it's that the bottom half of his face is covered in blood. The stuff is even in his hair.

“You’re gonna be okay now. I’m here.” Truthfully, you didn’t know if you could make whatever this was better, but you knew that Damiano needed to hear it, to see a light at the end of the tunnel. You drop your bag beside him and smooth his hair back. The blood hasn’t begun to dry yet which means the whole debacle must have been very recent. It also must have been what triggered his alpha headspace. Using a hair tie, you secure the tangled strands out of his face, then dig through your bag.

You had a water bottle and a container of juice Gia had asked you to hold and forgotten about. Calories would be a good idea.

“Damiano, drink this. Let’s get you some glucose.” He stays with his head to his knees, arms around his shins. “I spit on Nikolai’s shoes like two minutes ago.” This makes him look up and this time you’re ready. “I don’t think you realize how much blood is on your face right now, that's what spooked me.” Damiano nods, and starts tugging at you, with his lips pouted, never meeting your eyes. He grabs your arms, waist, until you swing a leg over to straddle and find yourself squashed. Dami pulls you against his chest and wraps you in his arms, even bends his knees to keep you close.

You never thought you could feel suffocated by Dami, that there would ever be too close. But this, this was too close. In the moment, Damiano’s world had shrunken so small that you were his only comfort in it. He needed you so desperately that you had to regulate your own emotions not to get overwhelmed.

“I don’t know what's going through your head, but this does not negatively affect our relationship. We are fine. You’re going to be fine. We’re gonna go home, cuddle in the same sweatshirt, and watch a funny movie. You’re going to get a good sleep and tomorrow this will be a sucky memory.” Damiano takes a couple shaky deep breaths and loosens his grip from absolute terror survival mode. You lean over and pull the juice out of your bag, handing it to him. While Damiano downs it you rummage around in the bottom of the backpack for some spare towelette packets and rip one of those open. The packaging is crumpled and dirty but the seal hasn’t been broken so they’re usable.

It's challenging to figure out where the blood is coming from, mouth or nose, until you realize it's coming from both. Which would mean he was punched multiple times. 

“That was self-defense, Damiano.”

“I don’t get to practice self defense unless my life is in danger.”

“What the fuck!? Says whom?” You decide to try the tampon trick, since the blood flow has lessened from everywhere except his right nostril.

“I’m too strong. Did you see what I did to that kid? I broke his nose without trying!”  That explains why he’s so upset. He really injured someone and despite his biology, Dami didn’t enjoy violence. He’s choking up again. You hope the hilarity of having a tampon shoved in his nostril would help, but it doesn’t. What's worrying you more than his injuries is how long he’s been in headspace. Damiano allowed himself to shift in and out when you were alone together, but it never occurred to you that he’d, at himes, have no control. He could get stuck. 

There was no threat here, just his girlfriend sitting on his lap. He shouldn’t be in alpha mode. There was nothing to fight, no where to direct that primal energy. You grab the water and watch his face as he drinks. He’d stopped crying, which was good, but he was still periodically tenseing. Not tensing, wincing, like he was in pain.

“Baby, where else is hurt? Is it the way I’m sitting?” You start shifting around, but Damiano stills you. He scrunches his eyes closed and takes a deep breath. You try to breathe with him, but he falls out of sync.

“Are you hurt?” He nods before speaking, a single tear falling down his face. 

“Being like this, your blood pressure goes up. So my head is fucking killing me,” he whimpers. Damiano must have an excruciating, pounding headache right now. You didn’t have the type of medication needed to treat this, but after your rogue reaction to your HSIUD, you had learned about pressure points. Thalia had a previous special interest in holistic medicine and rattled off facts until you (lovingly) told her to shut up.

So you found his temples with your index fingers, and massage in slow circles. Dami’s skin is slick with beads of sweat. Perspiration not from athleticism, but from pain. The cuts on his nose and upper lip were the most superficial of his injuries. Damiano’s hands released and came to rest on the floor. His head lulled forward, resting against your own and only then did you realize how much blood was going to be on your clothes. That didn’t matter. Damiano was finally able to relax his muscles under your careful touch. You switched to gripping the hollows at the base of his skull between your forefinger and thumb. Damiano lets out a moan, and you know its not at all sexual, just from pain releif. Yet, the sound still throbs between your legs.

“This helping?”

“Mhm, hmm,” he confirms, head sliding onto your shoulder. In order to stop the both of you from tipping over, you guide Damiano upright, chin supported in one hand. The pressure point right above his tear ducts makes him wince. It’s the best one for this, but a little pain predates the relief. The sensation is invasive.

“Breath through it,” you coach, and can feel him relax under your fingers. His tendons and veins are no longer straining. Giving Damiano a break, you massage a straight line from between his eyebrows, up his forehead. On the way back down you notice his canines are no longer resting on his plush lip. That's good, because you’re out of ideas. Dami opens his eyes slowly then blinks hard, like the light is too bright. That beautiful hazel is back.

“No more Vampiriano,” you chirp, as if this was an easy fix. Someone blows a whistle outside and it reminds you that you’re in public. Both friends and assholes are ever so aware of your absences and no doubt gossiping. There was also the greater issue of getting Damiano home or to the doctor’s.

“Okay baby, do you think you can stand up?” He shakes his head. “Okay, well um…okay.” You stroke his undercut, the short hair making it easier to feel your touch. Damiano couldn’t drive, you didn’t have a license, so how are you going to shuttle him from one place to the other? Star and Lars were sympathetic and they probably had licenses. You start searching your pockets for your phone.

“Do you have Star’s number memorized?”

“Stop talking about that,” Damiano groans in excuiation. Pain, desperation, overwhelm. It’s a reality check that Damiano’s stress tolerance is at absolute zero. He bends over clutching his face, but you can see the tendons quiver in his forearms. Were the boundaries of the change really so feeble that he could slip back? Having your body force you into hypervigilance sounded not entirely dissimilar from a panic attack. 

A moment ago your touch had solved it, so you returned to the pressure points. He lets out a cry of frustration, and there's nothing calibrated about it. It might be the most honest sound you’ve heard from him, stuck in a moment of anguish. Unable to bear his pain, you scent him as a last ditch effort. It's hard to pull it forth unprompted, you don’t have a lot of practice. Still, you try to drown out Damiano’s sensory input with your pheromones. The intensity of his discomfort only lasts a couple seconds more, then Damiano takes a tear soaked gasping breath and relaxes against you. Operating on autopilot, you wrack your brain for stories about alpha’s experiencing headspace this way, and come up empty.

While you think, you pull up his jersey and begin stroking his back. If you were alone, you’d probably strip naked and get in bed. Not to have sex, but to hold him. Let your body tell his body that everything is okay, that there aren’t any threats to face. You needed a steady plan: adults, not teenagers. Speaking of, weren’t the staff supposed to manage players' injuries? Coach had been talking to Julio’s parents when you walked in which means he’d called Damiano’s parents right before or right after. They might be panicked and have no idea where you were.

“Damiano I’m gonna make sure a non-high schooler knows where we are, okay? I’ll be right back.” Dami is grabbing you in that panicky way again.  

“No! ‘Cause I might – I don’t want…” to lose control without you here. Damiano stops before saying the words, but you can infer from the way he’s avoiding your eyes. He’d allowed himself to need you, just a little bit. A person doesn’t cultivate themselves so completely unless there's something they’re trying to cover up, over power. Suddenly, you’re very aware that this is exactly what he hid under that sheek exterior. 

“What helps right now?” you whisper, stroking his head.

“I just – I just need a sec.”

“Do you want me to scent you again?” He takes a deep breath, and you can feel his ribcage shutter on the exhale. At the same time you also hear the echo of footsteps.

“Are those cleats?” you whisper.

“Damiano!? Damiano!?” The shrill sound of maternal panic is recognizable anywhere. It even makes a bystander’s hair raise.

“Take a left at the salt,” you call. Straddling Dami is not how you want his parents to find you, but he was so fragile that your social preferences didn’t matter. You pull his jersey back down and softly kiss his forehead, then stuff anything bloody under your bag. Your back is mostly to the entryway, but Dami must see them around the corner. He ducks his head against your neck, unable to face an audience. Very purposefully, you put on a calm, assured face with a closed lipped smile, hugging him casually.

Isabella, Matteo, and the coach rush into the room. It's better that Damiano doesn’t see his mother's expression. Matteo is holding a black, water proof case. He drops to the hard floor and opens it up to reveal the most elaborate first aid kit you’ve seen in your life. It's not just band-aids. There’s supplies to care for wounds, to stop major bleeding, even an ice chest for preserving fingers so they could be reattached. Isabella and Matteo worked in food engineering. They weren’t physicians or soldiers or harm reductionists or anything that would require this kit. 

Wide eyed, you watched Matteo open a pouch at the edge of the bag full of prescription bottles. He twisted the cap off of one, then another, then another while Isabella wrenched open a water bottle.  

“Damiano sit up,” she said, voice totally clinical. Her son might as well have been a stranger. It struck you as a bit harsh considering everything he’d gone through. Sure, she was the alpha of the pair, but shouldn’t that establish empathy? You felt movement under your hand and realized you’d been clutching the back of Dami’s head where he pressed his face against your neck in hiding. As he sat up, that same hand slipped to his jaw, always keeping contact and reassurance. For a moment, his parents froze. Your head immediately turned to see if anything had changed, but Damiano looked the same.

“He’s…he’s okay now.” You felt the need to defend Damiano. Maybe they’re staring because he has tampon sticking out of his nose

“This is just because I don’t have a first aid kit,” you explain, pointing at it.

“Inventive as always,” Isabella compliments, giving you a soft smile while handing Dami water. It seems odd, her warmth towards you, but not her injured child. Matteo dropped two red pills back into the bottle, but still placed three in Dami's hand. Two were round, one blue and the other white. There was also an oblong capsule that looked like Cleo’s morning vitamin. Damiano threw them all back at once and winced. You could feel his swallow hard which brought your awareness back to the fact you were sitting on his lap.

“I – I should um…” Awkwardly, you shift around, unwrapping your legs from Damiano’s waist. His free hand clutches your thigh. I should stay right here. 

“Sokoro, thank you for your discretion and understanding.” Matteo nods at Romero’s coach. 

“Julio, has been removed from the team and of course there'll still have to be a review, but I’ll make sure Damiano isn’t penalized for defending himself,” he announces.

“Thank you so much,” Dami finally speaks, voice broken.

“Of course, it's only fair,” the coah assures, taking his leave from the tense situation.

“But really, thank you, Coach Koro.” The amount of emotion in Dami’s eyes was so moving it made you tear up, so you could only imagine the effect on the person it was directed to. Seeing any alpha, especially one held in such high regard, humble himself was powerful. 

“And uh, y/n,” he clears his throat  self-consciously, hovering on the edge of the doorway. “You’ll be happy to know that Nikolai has been put on probation, so he won’t be at the next game.” You’d completely forgotten about that shit stain, but were filled with so much pride by the way your boyfriend had conducted himself. From being in too much pain to think, to then be communicative in just a few minutes was incredible.

“You did so good!” Daminao was bashful as you squeezed his arms in excitement, but his expression was conflicted.

“What did Nikoilai say to you?” Both his parents tensed and you knew better than to undo all of Dami’s progress.

 “He complimented my dress. His favorite flowers are sunflowers and I think he’d be hurt that you didn’t know that.” Dami rolled his eyes, but dropped it.

“You were lucky. Maybe we can let her go now, hm?” At first you don’t realize Isabella was talking about your position on Damiano’s lap. Immediately you’re embarrassed.

“Oh sorry, sorry,” you grimace, disentangling yourself from Damiano. “I was just um…sorry.” Panic sparks in his eyes so you lace your fingers together and sit so close you might as well be on his lap still. “I won’t leave until you tell me to go,” you whisper in his ear. Damiano squeezes your hand in response, shaking from adrenaline. 

“That could have gone a lot worse. Do you have any other injuries? How are your knuckles?” 

“No, I’m fine.” Matteo starts cleaning him up properly. 

“You got it under control by yourself this time, that was good.” His father is cautiously encouraging. “Scenting helped, I take it?” You stare at the floor, blushing so hard you could hear your heart rushing in your ears. Of course his parents could smell that you’d scented him. The fact that it would be perceptible to others hadn’t occurred to you in the moment.

“Y/n, cleaning the blood off, calming him down, you probably saved his place on the team,” Isabella says, emphatically. You scoff without thinking.

“Coach Sokoro obviously loves him!”

“That's because when he came in here, he saw Damiano. If he’d walked into something else…” She trails off, helping Matteo secure a butterfly bandage over Damiano’s split lip then dabbing on anti-edema gel. “Appearances are everything. Damiano being calm and collected, cuddling his doting girlfriend, no bloodied tissues on the floor. It really mattered that he saw that.” You don’t realize she’s complimenting you until you meet her eyes. For a moment, it's like looking into Isabella’s soul. She’s had to fight battles for Damiano that you would never understand. That's why she’s hardened.

“It must have been intimidating,” Matteo prompts. 

“What, coach Sokoro? No way,” you brush off, smiling because you’re happy to give an easy answer.

“No, coming in here. I’d have been frightened.” Looking around it does start to feel like a concrete coffin.

“I guess it's kinda creepy, but I wasn’t really thinking about it.” You’d been too focused on Damiano to notice those details. Matteo opens his mouth to speak then closes it and sighs. You were missing something.

“Seeing Damiano must have been…startling.” Isabella looks at you meainfully. Admittedly seeing Dami’s teeth covered in blood like the reenactment of one of Thalia’s TB documentaries was gross.

“Honestly, I’ve never seen that much blood in person. We don’t have an alpha at my house, but I’m sure it’s normal with two alpha sons.” Matteo stops packing up the kit and tilts his head, literally looking at you sideways. “I mean not ‘normal!’ Obviously it’s not normal, I just meant that uh, like more common. It could be a more common thing,” you try. Damiano squeezes your hand so you turn to him.

“They mean did I scare you.” His soulful hazel eyes are so beautiful. Touches of green and gold shone even in the harsh, synthetic light. People probably thought he had black eye lashes, but actually they were really dark brown, like the roots of his hair where the sun hadn’t lightened. He squeezes your hand again, reminding you that an answer was expected. 

“Why would I be scared of you?” you reply, dumbly. Damiano’s face lights up with so much affection. He smiles for the first time and if you don’t look hard, his teeth don’t appear to be stained with blood. The hand not clasped in yours caresses your knee. It was too easy to forget you weren’t the only people in the room, or universe.

“I told you she wasn’t scared of me,” he turns to his parents, saying the words with so much pride. Isabella purses her lips, like she had a lot of opinions to hold back.

“Oh you mean Vampiriano!” It finally clicks and you feel like a dumb-ass. “Yeah, I’m defective and not scared when I’m supposed to be.”

“Vampiriano?” Matteo repeats, incredulous. 

“Yeah! You know ‘cause –” you bring your hands up to your mouth and turn your pointer fingers into fangs. Bearing your teeth, you give your best angry vampire hiss. Damiano does that thing you love, where he laughs so hard he topples over and puts his head in your lap. Based on the way her eyebrows are raised you seem to have even thrown Isabella off. 

“You never thought he looks like a vampire? With his canines and black eyes and the – the super strength?” She blinks hard a couple times, struggling to process the comparison. “I really need to learn when to stop talking.”

“No, you’re perfect,” Damiano cackles.

“No, no, don't worry about that, darling. It’s just – when people are scared of something they don’t uh, describe it as you have. Like a um…”

“Comic book character,” supplies Matteo.

“Yes, exactly! I’ve just never heard an omega, not to generalize of course, but I’ve never heard an omega who wasn’t offput of the alpha transformation.”

“Well it’s only Vampiriano, that doesn’t scare me,” you clarify. “Ugh,” you make a noise of disgust as your hand runs through a lock of hair crusty with dried blood, wiping it on your dress.

“I can try to get the stains out of your clothes,” Matteo offers. “Any other biohazardous material?” You hand over all the stuff hidden under your backpack. Based on Damiano’s expression he hadn’t realized you’d purposefully concealed it.

“It's okay! This is a hand-me-down from Thalia.” It's actually your favorite dress, which is why you’d worn it, for Damiano.

“You love this dress,” Damiano counters, sitting up. Not as much as I love you. What.

“I’ll do my best then,” Matteo assures. He zips up the kit and stands, both parents ready. Damiano begins to stand and you pick yourself up off the floor. Walking out of the amphitheater into the parking lot, your brain starts to process the past however long. You had no idea that Daminano had a medical condition that required treatment. Why did he keep it from you? Did he not trust you? Immediately you chastise yourself for making this about yourself. Dami’s visceral reaction made it obvious that he was nothing less than completely terrified.

This is why he’d had to switch schools. Something had happened and the gossip between nosy parents had reached Nikolai. You think back to the man that rubbed your back when you felt exhausted at lunch yesterday and wondered what he was capable of. How much harm did a person have to cause for the event to be classified and warrant switching schools? His parents had a full battlefield triage kit in their car at all times to treat the wounds that resulted from Damiano losing control. Had he crippled someone? Had he accidentally killed someone? 

You’d become so distracted that you tripped on a parking curb and almost ate shit. Dami caught you by your collar before your knees hit the ground, pulling you upright.

“Woah, let me carry your backpack, baby.” He slipped it off your shoulders and slung it over his left side. This wrenched you from your hypothesizing. Maybe if he was young and it wasn’t actually his fault and he’d undergone preventative medical treatment you could live with it. You bargained with your morals until you found yourself seated inside the David’s family car with everyone looking at you.

“So, we need to have a talk,” Isabella announced. Dami’s hand was twitching like it wanted to reach out for yours, but he stopped himself.

“What did you do at your other school?” you blurt. Both his parents look at Damiano and you realize his hand is shaking, not twitching. He’s terrified to talk about this. No, he’s terrified to tell you. 

“People act like some big thing happened, like I had some testosterone fueled psychotic break and tore some innocent person apart, but that's not how it was.”

“Okay,” you let out a relieved sigh and folded your hands together. You slide onto the middle seat, bringing yourself closer.

“What's important is that these episodes have only ever been triggered by other alphas,” Matteo explains.

“I know he won’t hurt me. I’m not worried about that.” Damiano whimpers then brings his free hand up to cover his mouth and suppress the sound. Almost like he’s about to be sick. Dami must have been terrified that you would leave him, every day for almost three months. No wonder he couldn’t relax.

“Alright, let's take you home then.” 

“Can I – I wanted to stay for dinner, but I guess now…”

“I’m sure that your presence will be very, very welcome if you feel up for it,” Matteo assured, starting the car. Isabella elaborated upon Damiano’s confession during the drive.

“It started with these rage attacks at 11. Lots of alphas have anger issues so we took him to a specialist and found out it's a hormonal dysregulation. Usually they grow out of it, but around 13 alphas start being a risk to themselves and others. Treatment options have been…a journey,” she sighs.

“So that World War 3 med kit you have?”

“Standard issue with his diagnosis.”

“Right, okay.” There were a thousand questions you wanted to ask, but you wanted answers from Damiano, not from his mother while he sat right next to you. However, your boyfriend was the most drained you’d ever seen him, and you’d never seen him drained of energy at all. Even after a two hour grueling work out he was still bouncy and smiley.

“Maybe we should take this up again later.” Isabella nods slowly, visibly processing your words.

“That sounds like a very wise choice.” Damiano’s parents speak back and forth in low tones. Not so you’re unable to hear, but so you’re not distrubed. They plan dinner, future meetings with Romero’s collegiate sports board, reporting the incident to a small team of doctors. 

“You could have told me, Dami. I would have understood,” you whisper. His lower lip and chin tremble and he swallows hard.

“I know,” he says, barely audible. “I just can’t imagine what the fuck I’d do without you and its barely been – I just, I didn’t want to…to I don’t know.” You kiss his head and taste iron. 

“Mine.” 

“Yours,” he responds, voice breaking. It's important for Damiano to know, even covered in blood, even after keeping secrets, that you claim him. There isn’t anything else to be said right now, so you tune into what his parents are discussing. Isabella has pulled a checklist out of the glove box and they’re going over what needs to be replaced in the first-aid kit. This gives you an idea.

“Maybe I should carry a dose of the medication! I could get a mini first-aid kit. So if something like today happens again when Damiano’s away from his stuff, but I have my bag on me. 

“Sure, I’ll make that up for you tonight,” Matteo agrees, warmly. Isabella turns around to pat your knee. She doesn’t meet your eyes, but you can see her swallow hard. When you arrive at the house, her hand returns to your knee, signaling you not to get out as Damiano and Matteo do. 

“Y/n, this is incredibly intense and you’d already done a massive amount of emotional labor. So if you want me to take you home, everyone would more than understand.” You shook your head immediately.

“I want to be here for Dami.”

“And if that ever gets overwhelming come find me at any time, no matter what. Just because you can help someone, doesn’t mean you should expend all your inner resources doing so.” This felt like a conversation with your mother, except your mom had never had this talk with you. You nod to show understanding. 

“Can we go inside now?”

Notes: You might be asking why this chapter is little shorter than usual. It's because this was the only natural place I could cut it it between here and 13k. This chapter took two weeks because I couldn't condense it down far enough so chapter #7 will be here very soon. Enjoy!

Taglist:@asianhawkeye @biancathecool @bieberhoodforever @blackberryblossom @bohemianrainbow @boyswillbeexecutied @butkutee @ch3rryk4ii @cuzimitaliano @damoriaa @daisy0gf @donuts247usa @elvirabelle @ethaneskin @gr8rainbowpunk @hiraetheral @homesicam @iamtashaquinn @idyllicbutterfly @immrbrightsideeee @iosonoarina @ilwiwbysmv @katyldamusic @l0standn0tf0und @little-moonbeam-666 @maneslut @minnietmouse @obiw4n @ohdamiano @que--sera--sera @teacosea @teenyweenynightghost @thatonebraziliangirl @thegeminisgirl @theimpossiblehologramtree @solacestyles @stardustingold @superchrystaldrug @wasteddoubts @weareoddlydrawn @whore4damia @woahzz11 @xweirdxsceletton

[nelson-et-murdock]

HELLO JJ I'M HERE FROM THE PROMPTS LIST!

29. A and B babysit a child with reader and Matty pls 😌

I know that man would be the greatest, bestest, loveliest father!

he would be omg. i feel like babysitting would be how he realized he's ready to be a father too.

also sorry it took a while, life ended up kicking my ass these past few days. also not my best work because tumblr deleted half of it aka I didn't save the draft or something when I went to work on it last time

send me a character and a prompt from this list and I'll write something for you

You woke up later than normal as the sun shined in through your window. Sleepily rolling over, you noticed Matt was still in bed but awake. "Hey Matty, don't be mad but I thought you were going to work today and I may have agreed to helping out a friend because of it."

"Good morning angel. What did you agree to?" he responded as he sat up.

"I agreed to babysit here in like an hour. My friend called last night panicking about her sitter canceling and if she calls off work again she'll be fired. I can call and babysit at her place instead if it'll be a problem," you explained to him as you forced yourself out of bed.

"It won't be a problem baby," Matt told you with a smile before kissing your cheek.

The two of you spent the next hour getting ready and readying the apartment for your friend's 4-year-old daughter, Piper. When they arrived, you met them at the door with Matt following close behind. "Titi! Matty!" Piper exclaimed as she entered the apartment, immediately running to Matt as he knelt down to pick her up.

"Thank you again. It means a lot. Everything she needs is in the bag and I should be back to get her by 6. Call if you need anything," your friend said before leaving for work.

After closing the door you turned to where Matt was standing with Piper in his arms wearing his glasses, smiling as a small chuckle escaped your lips.

"What?" Matt asked as he took a step towards you.

"Nothing Matty," you said with a smile as you ruffled his hair.

"Can we color?" Piper asked, "I have crayons and paper."

"Of course we can," you responded, carrying Piper's bag to the table. "But Piper, Matty is gonna need your help with it."

You smiled as Matt carried Piper to the table. As you watched Matt interact with her, you started to wonder if that could be your future with him. You grabbed the coloring pages and crayons out of Piper's bag before setting up a coloring area for them. You watched with adoration as Matt accepted whatever crayon Piper would have him use for different parts of the pages.

After Piper grew bored with coloring, the three of you ended up laying on the couch together, your back against Matt's chest with Piper laying on you, falling asleep after a few stories that you and Matt told her.

"I want a kid," Matt said quietly. "I know I said I wasn't sure when we talked about it before but after today I think I may be able to do it."

You smiled as you leaned your head back to look up at him, "I do too" you said contently. "You'd be a great dad."