#I’ll just put my head down and work hard

[bruhnze]

ORNAMENTAL

summary: manivest anon wanted this.. i used the most inspiring line as inspiration 'idk i suck at this'. - it's a christmas fic.. yeah ik i said i wouldnt. It's just fluff, no warnings :)

wordcount: 1.7k

“I don’t know… I suck at this.” Lucy muttered the words, holding a tangled string of Christmas lights in her hands. She frowned at the green mess, squinting as if staring hard enough would magically untangle it.

Ona, standing on the other side of the small Christmas tree they’d set up on a small table in the corner of the room to keep it out of reach of their dogs, raised an eyebrow. “How? We did it in that one Barça video as a challenge!”

Lucy snorted. “Yeah, and did you see how ugly it was? Even the comments said it.”

Ona rolled her eyes. “It’s literally just putting the balls in,” she said, reaching for an ornament.

Lucy’s lips quirked into a smirk. “Oh yeah?” she teased. ‘’That’s-

Ona swatted at her before she could make a filthy joke. “Dumb ass.’’ She looked at Lucy with a mock glare. ‘’You know I was talking about the ornaments. It’s not that hard. Just hang some stuff on the branches, do the lights, and we will be done!”

Lucy shrugged, dropping the tangled lights back into the box. “My mom never let me do it. I broke too many ornaments when I was little.”

That made Ona laugh. Lucy, however, frowned, crossing her arms.

“Don’t take the mick at me,” Lucy said, nodding toward the tree. “I bought this because you wanted it. You do it. I’ll sit over here and watch.” She motioned toward the couch, clearly mentally having abandoned the task already completely.

“Luce,” Ona pouted, her voice mingling with the Christmas music playing in the background.

The tree stood half-decorated, and a little uneven, Ona put in the ornament she was holding after she had turned the volume lower.

“Babe, it’s not about how pretty it’ll be,” Ona said. “It is about doing it together.”

Lucy sighed, leaning forward to grab a pack of round chocolates meant for the tree. “I can’t do it,” she said, popping one into her mouth with a shrug. “I don’t want to do it. And I am here. We’re together. I’ll just watch.”

The words hung in the air for a moment, tension creeping in despite the cheerful tune playing faintly in the background. Ona’s expression shifted, a flicker of frustration crossing her face.

“Fine,” Ona muttered, stepping back from the tree. “I don’t want the stupid tree anymore anyways. Never mind.” She threw up her hands and let out a soft huff. “Perfectionist.”

With that, Ona grabbed her phone and purposefully walked out of the room towards their bedroom.

Lucy bit her lip, watching her go. Slowly, she dropped herself sideways onto the couch, letting her head rest against the armrest.

The half-decorated tree stood accusingly in the corner. Beside it, on the kitchen counter, the gingerbread house kit they’d planned to make after finishing the tree sat unopened. Lucy groaned softly and reached for another chocolate, shoving it into her mouth as she stared at the ceiling.

She let out a deep sigh, staring at the ceiling for a moment longer before gathering herself. She stood up, hesitating for just a second before walking to the bedroom door. Ona was sitting cross-legged on the bed, scrolling on her phone with a slightly furrowed brow.

“Sorry, Mrs. Claus,” Lucy said, leaning against the doorframe.

Ona’s frown deepened as she looked up, but the corners of her lips betrayed her amusement. “Don’t you start,” she muttered, before grabbing Lucy’s pillow and flinging it at her.

Lucy dodged it easily, grinning. “Ay, I was just about to use that.”

“Were you now?” Ona shot back, raising an eyebrow.

“Mm-hmm,” Lucy said, climbing onto the bed. She leaned down, lying half on top of Ona with a grin. “I guess I have to use you now.”

Ona rolled her eyes, trying to suppress her smile. “Is this your dumb way of saying sorry?”

Lucy snuggled into Ona’s neck, ‘’is it working?’’

‘’No,’’ Ona chuckled as Lucy nipt at her skin.

‘’I was kidding, sorry, just had to give you a kiss,’’ Lucy planted her hands on either side of Ona, planking over her. “For earlier I want to say sorry from the deepest bottom of my heart,” she said dramatically. “I’m really sorry baby, I know how much you were looking forward to decorating the tree.” She added honestly.

‘’Decorating the tree together.’’ Ona replied sharply.

Lucy nodded, slowly leaning in, ‘’decorating it together.’’ She repeated.

Ona sighed, her annoyance melting away as she met Lucy’s eyes. It was hard to stay mad at her, especially when she was this close, her warm breath tickling Ona’s skin.

“Okay,” Ona murmured, leaning up from the pillow to press her lips softly against Lucy’s. “I forgive you.”

Lucy smiled into the kiss, pulling back just enough to speak. “Sorry, baby,” she said again, softer this time, before lying fully on top of Ona. “I feel like it’ll go better after a break,” she admitted. “I think I was.. am still a bit overwhelmed from the Christmas shopping.”

Ona hummed, her fingers threading gently through Lucy’s hair, soothing her. “Do you know what I realized while I was sitting here?” Ona chuckled lightly.

Lucy tilted her head on Ona’s shoulder, looking up at her with a glint in her eye. “That your girlfriend sucks and you’re asking Santa for a new one this year?”

“No,” Ona laughed, her fingers giving a playful tug at Lucy’s hair. “I realized we haven’t had lunch yet. You‘re just hangry. Well, both of us, probably.”

Lucy reached for Ona’s phone Lucy’s eyes widened in mock horror as. “Four PM?!” she asked rhetorically, her voice full of exaggerated disbelief.

Ona laughed again and gently pushed Lucy back down. “Yeah. What if I make us a sandwich? We eat, we cuddle, and then we try again?”

Lucy smiled, pressing a soft kiss to Ona’s collarbone before looking up at her. “Mmm, I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Ona said, her fingers still tangled in Lucy’s hair. “But you will decorate that tree with a smile.”

Lucy groaned, burying her face against Ona with a grin. “I figured.”

‘’Enthusiasm?’’ Ona asked sternly.

‘’I cant wait to decorate the three with you, and it will be perfect even if its ugly, because, we did it together.’’ Lucy said as if she was reading an autocue.  

…

Once they’d eaten a sandwich and spend some time cuddling on the couch, they finally mustered the energy to return to their Christmas tasks.

The tree was a bit lopsided but that kinda had a charm, together they finished hanging everything in it before putting the lights on.

Then, they turned their attention to the gingerbread house. The box sat on the kitchen counter, ready for their hands to get sticky and their creation to either look like a masterpiece or fall apart entirely.

Unexpectedly this part turned out very good, Lucy took the lead and showed Ona how she always did it. Ona asked how it was that she was actually good at this and not at setting up a Christmas tree. Lucy had explained that it had been a yearly competition in the Bronze household and, ofcourse, held the top spot in most wins. It made Ona laugh, she remembered for herself to just put a game element to stuff if she wanted Lucy to participate in the future.

…

“Hey, what if we just order food? This kitchen is already a mess, and I’m tired.”

Ona laughed. “I was wondering what you where thinking for dinner.”

They cleaned the kitchen together, throwing away scraps of wrapping paper and spilled icing. The smell of gingerbread lingered in the air, but the mess was finally under control. When Ona went to put away all the bags with the wrapped gifts they got for eachother and for their family, she spotted something. It was a little mistletoe that she’d gotten for free from a vendor at the Christmas market earlier.

She smiled and placed it on the coffee table, before heading back to the kitchen to help Lucy with the final dishes before they where done.

Lucy, tired but content, leaned back against the counter, arms stretched out. “I’m absolutely knackered,” she admitted, a yawn escaping her lips. “But I had fun.”

She stepped towards Ona and wrapped herself around her from behind, resting her chin on Ona’s shoulder. “Was it like you wanted it to be? Like in the movie?”

Ona hummed softly in reply, her eyes fluttering closed at the feeling of Lucy’s kisses against her neck. It had been perfect, more than perfect, really. Then, suddenly, her eyes shot open as she thought of something.

“Wait,” Ona said, pulling away from Lucy’s embrace and quickly walking over to the coffee table. She grabbed the mistletoe with a shy smile, holding it above their heads as she returned to Lucy.

Lucy raised an eyebrow, but she smiled as she realized what it was.

‘’I’ve never kissed anyone under the mistletoe before.’’ Ona said as she was close to Lucy and held the branch above them both.

Lucy’s smile widened as she looked at Ona holding the mistletoe for a lingering second.

After the short moment of stillness, Lucy leaned in, ‘’me neither,’’ she whispered before closing the gap, her lips finding Ona’s in a sweet, tender kiss.

It was gentle at first, a soft meeting of lips, a pretty kiss, just how it was supposed to be under the mistletoe.

Then the kiss got more heated. Lucy’s hand cupped Ona’s face. Ona’s arms wrapped around Lucy’s neck, pulling her closer, deepening the kiss further, she didn’t even notice the branch prickling in her neck.

Lucy felt the familiar rush flood through her, and without breaking their kiss, she effortlessly lifted Ona, placing her on the kitchen counter. Ona’s legs instinctively wrapped around Lucy’s waist as she pulled her in closer again, her body pressed fully against hers.

But just as Lucy’s hand slipped under Ona’s sweater, the doorbell rang.

“Ugh,” Lucy groaned, pulling back with a pout. “What idiot decided to order food.”

[djarins-cyare]

(Angsty) WIP Weekend

Thank you to the following lovelies for tagging me in various WIP posts over the past month (you are all wonderful 💚):

@ace-turned-confused @almostfoxglove @quinnnfabrgay-writes

@secretelephanttattoo @the-blind-assassin-12 @the-mandawhor1an

Once again, I’m humbly offering up a snippet because I’m still eyeball-deep in the writing stage of my (now several months late) Secret Relationship fic for the Roll-A-Trope Writing Challenge. It now stands at just over 57k words, but I swear I only have two more chapters to write. Happily, I have a whole 3 weeks off work over the holidays, so I’m aiming to release it next month.

I won’t bore you with why I had to expand it again, but let’s just say angst fans will be well-fed.

In fact, since my previous WIP offerings from this fic (see here, here, and here) have mostly been smut-adjacent, I’ve decided to give you a taste of the angst for a change…

(Sorry it’s shorter than my usual snippets; it’s tough to find a decent chunk I can share without spoiling anything)

You fight for a week. Each day, he comes over, imploring you to calm down, eat something, see his point of view. He tries every tactic – soft words, hard orders, pleading eyes – but every attempt only feels like salt in a wound that will never close. Each day, you hurl back insults, curses, and even whatever objects are within reach. A glass shatters against the wall near his head. A boot catches him in the gut. You hope each impact carries a fraction of the pain he’s inflicted on you. You scream a lot. You scream until your throat is raw and you taste blood. Sometimes, your screams are molten with fury, blistering the air. Other times, they collapse into broken, keening wails, your voice trembling with the weight of all the misery you can’t contain. You cry a lot. You cry until there’s nothing left – until the tears burn instead of soothe. The memories torture you whenever your eyes close, echoes of your dreams being torn apart in a single evening. With every tear you try to blink away, your losses replay on the back of your eyelids with excruciating clarity. Your body can’t handle the strain. Your hands tremble constantly, whether from exhaustion or rage, you no longer know. Your chest feels tight; every breath is an effort. Sleep offers no relief; it’s a battlefield of nightmares that leave you thrashing and gasping awake. Yet you don’t stop fighting. You can’t stop. It’s the only shield against the endless void threatening to swallow you whole. Fighting is all you have left now.

The high level of angst will be balanced by an equally high level of smut, don’t worry 😏. But the good stuff needs to be earned.

As usual, if you’d like me to tag you when I release the chapters, please raise your hand or communicate your wish however you see fit. You can also join my tag list if you like.

Apparently, Tumblr is now limiting the number of links per post, which includes tags 😡. Since my WIP posts aren’t particularly frequent, I always try to tag as many people as possible, so I guess I’ll just put them in a reblog…

[rottenherbs]

Rumors and Lies // H.P x reader

Summary: Harry is frustrated that a new rumor is spreading in the hall about your relationship. You try to cheer him up in any way you can. 

Word Count: 972

Author's Note: Super fluffy! (Also sorry for the sentence with the “made made” i literally was wracking my brain for a better  phrase but it literally just works LOL 

[masterlist]

Much love, Saige 

———-

Being Harry’s girlfriend was not for the faint of heart. Obviously, many girls at school swooned over the boy, and jealousy wasn’t a trait of yours, but the bullying and quips that were whispered in the halls always hurt you more than it did him. It wasn't until something was circulating about your relationship that hindered Harry in a way you’d never seen before. 

“You know I love you for who you are. Okay?” 

“I know you do, it just frustrates me that they won’t just accept that I love you, i am with you!! Like ONLY you!” He scoffed, head in hands. His head was spinning, anger throughout his body. He was having a hard time maintaining his composure, kicking himself mentally in how he was behaving around you. He knew it wasn't that big of a deal, but it was… sorta. 

Unfortunately, its been the second time this week a peer of yours had gone up to Harry and attempted to swindle him into a date; well aware that you two were together. It was embarrassing, not only for the girl, but slightly for Harry. The situation was awkward and he hated being put in a position like that. A rumor had gone around that he was seeing the ravenclaw prefect.

Was this going to be an ongoing thing? Harry thought. 

He sat on the edge of his bed, his hands raking through his hair, pulling at the roots slightly. It kept racing through his mind that people had the implication that he’d leave you, at all, none the less for some Ravenclaw prefect. He worshiped the ground you walked on, constantly trying to be a better person for you. Even the idea of breaking your heart made his blood pressure rise. 

You could see how upset he was getting. You walked over and sat next to him on his bed. His body slumped slightly into yours as you sat, his head thumping on your shoulder in defeat. Wrapping your arms around him, you hummed lightly into his hair, planting light kisses. After a minute of silence, Harry took a deep breath in, his hands slowly moving across his lap to yours.  

“I’ll never leave you for someone else. I hope you know that.” He mumbled, his thumb rubbing his hand roughly in an attempt to calm himself. “No matter what people say in the halls” 

“I know love. Believe me, no one could rip you from my grasp.” You chuckle, whispering into his ear. Your arms snake around him, squeezing his body as tight as you could. Harry laughed, his arms bound to his sides, falling back onto the bed. You both laugh and tousle slightly, your arms racing around tickling any exposed skin. His face was twisted into a fit, his glasses askew on his face, his cheeks warm and red from laughing.

Somehow after a minute, the tables had turned, Harry was on top of you, your arms pinned above your head, both of you entirely out of breath. You smiled up at him, your armpits suddenly feeling very vulnerable to his touch, not knowing what his next move would be. 

Harry looked down at you, his eyes twinkling with a sense of power. He loved being on top of you. Your hair was disheveled and your lips were parted slightly, exhaling from your mouth. You were undeniably perfect, and he wished he could stare at you all day. Scrunching your eyebrows, you looked up at him sternly, becoming antsy under his touch. 

“Are you just going to hold me down all day?” You scoffed rolling your eyes sarcastically. The corner of your lip quivered in a smile, unable to hide your true feelings. 

“I might.” He chuffed, looking around the room. “Doesn’t look like we have anywhere to be.” Looking back down at you, his smile was more mischievous. Any movement he made - made you squirm under his touch, his hands only tensing around your wrists harder. The air in the room changed, the tension was palpable you swore you could taste it. 

Just as Harry was leaning down, itching his way closer to you, the door to the shrared dormitory swung open, slamming itself against the wall echoing around the room. Both of you turned your heads towards the sound, Harry's legs still straddling your waist. 

“Mate. You know the rules.” Ron scoffed, his hands flying to cover his eyes. He stood for a moment, his sight shielded from both of you. Harry didn’t move off of you, his head fell back, smacking his forehead with his palm.  You laughed at them both, the theatrics of the pair was beyond entertaining. 

“We weren’t even-“

”You’re ontop of her!” 

“No we were just”

“Listen.. I'll be back in an hour, but I swear if there isn't a sock on the door handle and you two are…… frolaking… believe me there will be a new story around the halls.” He shook his head, freeing one of his hands from his face miming around him attempting to find the door handle. You and Harry watched him struggle, both holding back laughter until he successfully closed the door. 

“Maybe a rumor about us “frolaking” wouldn’t be that bad huh?” You tapped your finger on your chin, inquiring playfully. Harry's smile grew, leaning back down again just inches from your face. 

“We ought to do it anyway. Wouldn’t want Ron to be a liar now would we?” 

[cinnaleaf]

「 Rouxed Up | A Very Merry Footballer Ficmas 」

summary: you bring your man home for an american christmas while you try to survive your chaotic family | MDNI 18+

warnings: smut, dom/sub dynamic, dirty talk, language, chaotic family, cultural specificity (black southern american), southern slang, food mentions, mentions of alcohol, humour 🎅🏾: my writer elf worked very hard on this to make it special for the american girlies | pt 4 of my ficmas series wc: ~5.9k

You should’ve known things were going to be chaotic the minute you turned onto the street where you grew up. Houston suburbs were excessive, especially during Christmas. There were overly large brick houses lined with lights that doubled the electric bill, inflatable Santas, reindeer, and other decorations fighting for space in every yard. Your parents’ house wasn’t any different: it was a sprawling 4 bedroom home with a front yard cluttered with holiday decorations, lights, and an inflatable football. Your mom swore it was festive enough to win the homeowner’s association holiday contest this year, but they lost to the neighbors across the street for the second year in a row. 

“I guess they do it big in Texas, huh?” Aurélien asked while sliding out of the car to stretch his long legs.

“Always” you answered back, reaching to pull a foil pan full of red beans and rice from the backseat. “This isn’t real Texas though baby. You’re about to step right into Louisiana as soon as we get inside the house.”

You weren’t exaggerating. After the hurricane, your entire family packed up and started over in Houston. They may have swapped New Orleans shotgun houses for oversized Texas bricks, but the food, accents, and chaos all came with them. Now, you were dragging your French footballer boyfriend into the chaos so he could see what a Creole Christmas looked like. He was hype for weeks, asking you nonstop questions about the food, NOLA bounce remixes, if your family had any relation to Beyoncé, and if anyone in the family still spoke French.

When you walked inside, the house was alive with uncles yelling at an NFL game on a large tv in the living room. Your cousins were running around playing hide and seek in rooms they knew they weren’t supposed to be running around in. The smell of seafood stock cooking hit your nose first – shrimp shells, water, and various aromatic vegetables and herbs were bubbling in a pot so big it could feed a small army. The kitchen was at max capacity as your grandma barked orders while your aunt Beverly was busy icing a pound cake.

“Y/N, baby!” Your grandma spotted you before you could even set the tin pan down. She quickly washed her hands and waddled over to you to pull you into a hug that smelled like a mix of cajun seasonings and White Diamonds perfume. “You finally brought him back with you! What’s his name..Leon??”

“Aurélien.” you corrected her politely, enunciating it so she could get it right.

Aurélien stepped forward with a polite, meet the family smile while your grandma looked him up and down quickly and then put on the glasses that were sitting on top of her head to get a clearer look. “Hmm..he’s tall. Very handsome too. Your taste ain’t too bad, I’ll give you that. You must’ve got that from me because your mama never picked ‘em right when she was your age.”

“I told y’all he was fine,” one of your aunts added while checking the pecan pie in the oven. 

“Nana..auntie..please don’t start” you muttered, trying not to laugh while Aurélien stifled his laughter next to you.

“I’m just saying!” your grandma gave you a dramatic shrug and then turned her attention back to him. “So do you know anything about real football? Not that soccer stuff.”

“Nana!” you hissed, feeling embarrassed by your family already. “He’s literally a professional footballer.”

“Uh huh” she said unimpressed. “I don’t know nothing about that.”

Aurélien grinned, leaning into his perfect boyfriend performance with an almost too good to be true charm. “I know a little bit about NFL. Y/N taught me a few things.”

Your grandma waved him off with a scoff. “Mhm, we’ll see. Don’t let my son hear you say that or he’ll have you on the couch talking about the Saints all night.” Then she turned her attention back to you with a no nonsense look. “Y/N, you’re making the gumbo this year.”

Your stomach dropped. “Wait what?”

“Gumbo. You heard me” she said, already making her way out the kitchen. “You’re always in the kitchen when I make it. Show your boyfriend you know how to cook so he doesn’t go back home thinking we raised you wrong.”

“Nana I’ve never–”

“Better figure it out!” she snapped over her shoulder, dismissing you with a wave. “The stock is on the stove and everything else is over yonder (nearby) in the ice box (fridge). Don’t mess my kitchen up.”

Aurélien looked down at you, amused by your predicament. “You didn’t tell me you were the chef tonight.”

“That’s because I didn’t know” you muttered while the panic set in. You knew your entire family would clown you for years to come if you fucked your grandmother’s gumbo recipe up. They were still talking about the mac and cheese you messed up three years ago by adding cottage cheese, so you couldn’t take any chances this year. 

“Okay..” you sighed and tied your braids into a bun as you made your way over to the sink to wash your hands. Before you could even start getting anything accomplished, one of your little cousins, Myles, came yelling and running through the kitchen out of nowhere.

“Y/N! My mom said your boyfriend has money for Robux. Can he buy me some? Pleaseeee?”

“No!” you snapped, holding up a wooden spoon. “And why are you running in here? You know you’re not supposed to be in the kitchen playing!”

“We’re just playing hide and seek,” Myles said while full of sugared adrenaline. “But I’m not hiding in here..I just wanted to see if I could get some robux.”

“Robux your ass out of this kitchen please” you commanded while wrangling him and the rest of your cousins out of the kitchen.

Aurélien cocked his brow, watching you as you ushered your cousins out of the kitchen area. 

“Baby.. I can buy them some robux, it’s not that big of a deal.”

“No. He’s always begging for something” you muttered, shoving flour and oil onto the counter.

“Y/N!” your other cousin, Gianna, yelled from the hallway. “Can you fix my hair? My mama bumped the ends and I don’t like it.”

“Girl, I just got here! Ask Nana!”

“She said no,” Gianna pouted, slowly dragging her feet toward the living room.

Your mom appeared from another room with her hands full of empty tin pans, scowling. “Why are y’all yelling in my house like this?” Her eyes landed on Aurélien and she softened immediately. “Hi Aurél. You hungry?”

Aurélien flashed the same smile he used on your grandma, but it worked a lot better on your mom. “No ma’am but thank you. It’s good to see you again.”

“Is my daughter treating you right?” your mom asked with a smile on her face while setting the pans down beside some plates. “I know she can be a little feisty…”

“Wooow…” you rolled your eyes, not believing your ears. 

“Is she treating me right?” Aurélien repeated with a laugh, glancing at you as he leaned against the counter. “I have no complaints. She’s perfect for me.”

Your mom raised an eyebrow, amused by his smoothness. “You like that? I guess there’s someone out there for everybody…”

“Mom!” you yelled, reaching for the knob on the stove with an exaggerated huff. “Can y’all chill on me?”

Your mom laughed as she walked toward the living room with the others. “Alright, I’m gone. Don’t mess up the gumbo.”

“Don’t burn the roux Y/N!” Myles shouted from wherever he was hiding.

Aurélien snickered, leaning down to whisper in your ear. “Yeah. Don’t burn the roux baby.”

You gave him a glare, pointing the wooden spoon toward him. “I don’t need your commentary. You’re here to chop vegetables and shut up. Got it?”

“Got it” he raised his hands up dramatically, but was still grinning like he was about to get on your every last nerve.

You turned back to the counter, yanking the fridge open to pull out the holy trinity. Just as you set the onion, celery, and bell pepper on the cutting board, your Aunt Beverly waltzed in with a glass of something that probably had way too much Crown Royal in it.

“Now why do you have this young man standing here looking like a guest?” she asked, plopping her glass down on the counter. “Aurélien you better start chopping! This ain’t Madrid.”

“I was just waiting for my instructions,” Aurélien replied, grabbing a knife. “I’m ready to work auntie.”

“Aww look at him” she cooed, giving you a look. “You better not mess this one up Y/N. He’s fine and he listens. That’s rare.”

You groaned, already regretting bringing him with you for Christmas. “Why is everyone acting like he’s the only man on earth?”

“Nobody said he was,” Aunt Beverly replied, sipping her drink. “But he’s the finest one I’ve seen you bring around.”

Aurélien didn’t even try to hide his smirk. “Thank you auntie.”

“Don’t thank her” you scoffed, shoving the cutting board closer to him. “Just chop.”

Before you could get into a good rhythm of chopping and stirring, Gianna came storming back in the kitchen, looking even more dramatic than before.

“Y/N!” she whined. “Pleaseeee fix my hair. Look at me!”

You glanced over at her, narrowing your eyes over the bumped ends while you tried not to laugh. “Gigi, you don’t need your hair fixed. It looks fine.” You were lying, she really looked like she worked in management at a call center.

“No it doesn’t!” she cried, stomping her foot. “I look like James Brown!”

You almost burst out laughing so you turned your head back to the stove, tucking your lips in to hide your smile while waving her off. “Just go sit down somewhere.”

“Fine” she huffed, stomping back toward the living room. “I’m telling Nana you’re being mean.”

“Tell her! I don’t care!” you yelled back, very unbothered.

Aurélien was at the counter chopping celery while all of this went down, but you saw him chuckling quietly to himself during the ordeal like this was the most entertaining family he had ever seen. “Do you talk to all of them like that? Is that normal?”

“Only when they act like this…” you muttered, dumping a pile of chopped onions into a bowl. “Which is every time I come home.”

“Your family is funny..I like them.”

“Just chop” you repeated while shaking your head. You were anxious your family would have scared him off by now, but knowing he was enjoying every second gave you butterflies.

While chopping, the sound of the NFL game blaring loudly in the background was interrupted by your uncle shouting, “Y/N! You know what you doing in there? It smells like something’s burning.”

You hadn’t even started cooking yet, and somehow your uncle was smelling phantom scents. You rolled your eyes again, ignoring his comments while you poured oil in the pan. A slow grin crept up Aurélien’s face when he saw how annoyed you were getting. “Burning the gumbo already?”

You whipped your head around, pointing the spoon at him. “Don’t start with me.”

With a heavy sigh, you turned your attention back toward the pan and swirled the oil around under the heat as you slowly added in flour. The roux was a life or death situation; you were either going to be a Creole princess, or your family would be on your neck for the rest of the night.

Aurélien stood close to you, leaning in with curiosity in his eyes. “So how do we do this? What’s the plan?”

“The plan is to stir this until its the color of dark chocolate” you said while moving the spoon in a steady circular pattern. “If I stop stirring it’ll burn and get all clumpy. After that, we add the veggies we just chopped to let it sauté, and then we add everything else and let it simmer.”

He nodded, leaning against the counter to watch you. “That’s simple enough.”

“It’s really not” you replied with your eyes locked on the pan. “And you’re distracting me already, so stop.”

“Baby I’m just standing here.” he smirked. “You’re that easily distracted?”

“No.” you shot back, side eyeing him for a split second. You were that easily distracted when he was around, but you weren’t about to admit to it.

“Are you sure?” He dropped his tone, teasing you. “Why are you gripping the spoon so tight?”

“Because I need to keep stirring..” you muttered while refusing to look at him.

“Hmm.” He paused, leaning in to whisper in your ear. “I know something else that grips like that. And it tastes good too.”

You froze for a second and then snapped your head toward him with your eyes wide. “Aurélien!”

“What?” he asked innocently, but his smirk was far from innocent. “I’m just being honest.”

“Stop” you voiced in a tight tone.

“Stop what?” he asked, sliding his hand to your hip.

“That.” you hissed, smacking his hand away with your free one. “I’m not fucking the roux up because you wanna play around.”

“I think you like it though..”

You were going to fire back but then your dad’s voice cut through the kitchen. “What’s it looking like in here?” Both of you stiffened when your dad walked in the kitchen with a drink in hand, eyeing both of you.

Aurélien straightened up and moved his hands back to his sides like he’d been caught. “It’s going well sir. She’s doing a good job.”

“Hmm” you dad walked up to the stove with his brows knitted in nothing but judgement while he stared at the roux. “Still looks too light to me.”

“It’s not ready yet!” you answered back defensively, tired of everyone getting onto you about the roux.

Your dad took a sip of his drink and shook his head. “I don’t know if I want to eat what you’re cooking…”

“Then don’t” you said under your breath so he wouldn’t hear you. Eventually, he wandered back toward another room. As soon as he was out of earshot, Aurélien leaned on the counter, smirking. 

“You look good in that dress, baby.”

“Aurélien....”

“What?” he teased, dropping his voice. “I can’t compliment my girlfriend?”

You huffed a breath and continued stirring the roux as it turned from a caramel color to a rich dark chocolate shade. “Not now.”

He stood behind you, towering over you as he brushed his lips up against your ear. “Later then?”

“Maybe…” you kept stirring with a vengeance, trying not to reveal how flustered he had you. 

When the roux finally finished, you let out a small sigh of relief. You had one hurdle down, but the gumbo was nowhere near being finished. You pushed the spoon against the sides of the pan to check the consistency to make sure it was smooth and velvety instead of clumpy.

Aurélien hovered over you, smiling like he was the one doing all the work this whole time. “You said it’s supposed to look like dark chocolate, right? Looks like it’s done.”

“Mmhmm.” You grabbed holy trinity mixture and tossed it into the pan with a satisfying sizzle and the aroma hit immediately.

He leaned in closer. “Smells good already.”

“It’s not even half done yet.” you said, pushing him back with your hip as you reached for the seasonings. You added cajun seasonings, thyme, and bay leaves into the pot. You reached for garlic powder, but Aurélien grabbed it first and held it out of your reach with another smirk on his face.

“Really?” you asked, giving him a look.

“I’m trying to help” he replied while sprinkling garlic powder in the pot like he was a pro chef before handing it back.

You rolled your eyes, dumping the rest of the ingredients into the pot while stirring. Aurélien watched you like he was mesmerized.

“Baby you look so good right now.”

“I’m literally sweating and I probably smell like filé powder so why are you lying?” you tried to keep your tone light but the look in his eye had you ready to bend over the countertop.

“I’m not. You look good.” He stepped closer to you and brushed his hand on the lower curve of your back. He tilted his head and traced small patterns against your dress. “And you keep bending over that pot like you want something else…”

“Aurélien.” you warned again, but it sounded more like a whine because his hand slid up to your hip at the same time.

“You’re doing such a good job baby.” he coaxed while gripping your hip to pull you up against him. If he wanted to play, you could too – so you lightly grinded up against him while the gumbo simmered on the stove. 

You could feel his breath hitch against your neck as he kissed you there, lightly nibbling on the skin. “Keep doing that.”

You pressed against him even more while his hands roamed over your dress. Just as you were about to push him off of you, the sound of your aunts’ voice drifted into the kitchen from the dining room. They were in a very loud and animated gossip session, so naturally both you and Aurélien froze in place to start eavesdropping.

“Girl have you seen Linda lately?” Your Aunt Kim’s voice cut through the kitchen.

“Who ain’t seen her?” Aunt Beverly shot back. “She’s all over town riding around in every man’s car but her husband’s. Makes no damn sense.”

“Chileeee…” Aunt Kim said with a dramatic drawl. “She has the nerve to be in church every sunday talking about the lord is her shepherd while she’s creeping with half the deacons.”

“Half?!” Aunt Bev cackled so loud it made Aurélien’s eyebrows shoot up. “Girl she’s hitting the men’s choir and the ushers too. And then she has the nerve to come in there with her wig sitting like a top hat. Baby, secure that wig first, then worry about your next man.”

“Not a top hat!” Aunt Kim howled. “She looks like she’s leading a marching band!”

“Mhm. I might tell you a joke but I’ll never tell you a lie” Aunt Bev continued cackling.

Your hand shot up over your mouth to keep from laughing as Aurélien leaned closer to you, confused. “What are they saying?” he whispered.

You leaned back into him, trying to explain without bursting into laughter. “They’re talking about the pastor’s wife. Apparently she’s been messing around with men who aren’t her husband. And her wig game is real bad.”

Aurélien’s face twisted with disbelief. “So she’s cheating and her wig is crooked? That’s crazy.”

You nodded with tears threatening to spill from how hard you were trying to hold back your laughter. “I swear nobody is safe in this family. They come for everybody.”

“She’s gonna end up in somebody’s sermon if she keeps it up” Aunt Kim said, taking a sip of her drink. “And I’m not saying a damn thing when it happens.”

“Nothing?” Aunt Bev smacked her lips. “Please. You’ll be the first one to say something. You haven’t been quiet a day in your life.”

Both women burst into a fit of laughter and you finally shoved Aurélien off so you could work on plating the gumbo over a bed of white rice. When you were finally done, you called everyone into the dining room. The table was already overloaded with food, but the gumbo was the star of the show. You set the bowls down in front of everyone, ready to hear everyone’s reactions.

“Alright” your grandma said as she sat at the head of the table. “Let’s see if my grandbaby did my gumbo any justice.”

Everyone started digging in and you heard the occasional “Mmm!” of approval from mostly everyone. You noticed your dad had his bowl of gumbo off to the side and he reached for some oxtail instead.

“You’re not gonna try it?” you asked.

He shrugged, unphased. “I don’t eat gumbo unless your Nana makes it. Especially if it has seafood in it. You know that.”

“Wow.” You crossed your arms, glaring at him. “You’re really going to do your daughter like that?”

Your dad glanced up at you with a smirk. “The last time you made a main dish for Christmas, you put cottage cheese in the mac and cheese. I don’t trust it.”

The whole table erupted in laughter, including Aurélien as he tried to cover his mouth. A look of defeat appeared on your face and you slumped in your chair. “I saw it on tiktok.”

“Tiktok doesn’t belong in the kitchen on Christmas day. Do that on your own time.” your grandma shook her head, cracking a crab leg to retrieve the meat inside.

When Aurélien dipped his spoon into the gumbo to take his first bite, his eyes widened. “Mmm” he hummed low and deep in his chest, dragging out the sound as his tongue darted to catch a stray bit of broth on his bottom lip. You froze mid bite, hovering your spoon over your bowl as he let out another groan of appreciation.

“This is so good,” he murmured in a smooth voice. His eyes were locked on yours the entire time, and the corner of his mouth curved into a smirk. “Baby you really did this.”

“It’s just gumbo” you tried to keep your voice even, feeling heat creeping up your skin.

“No,” he said, dipping his spoon back in for another bite. His gaze stayed on you as he savoured it, swiping his tongue across his lips in a teasing way. “This is perfect. I see why you were gripping that spoon now.”

You shifted in your seat, squeezing your legs together while your family was oblivious to the way your boyfriend was dismantling every bit of composure in you.

“Aurélien” you hissed low enough so no one else could hear. “You need to chill.”

“I’m just enjoying your cooking baby” he said, leaning in closer and dropping his voice just for you. “And thinking about what else you’re good at.”

Your spoon clattered on the bowl and you reached for your glass of water, downing it like you were dying of thirst. Aurélien’s hand slipped under the table, brushing against your bare thigh. “You okay?” he asked while continuing to rub your thigh in gentle strokes.

You glared at him, feeling the pool of heat in your core increase from his touch. “No. I’m really not.”

Aurélien didn’t stop his torturous strokes on your thigh as his fingers slipped a little higher. It was taking everything in you to control yourself and push his hand away, but you really wanted to grab it and pull it closer. Your family was still as loud as ever, conversing around the table and had no idea what was happening. Your uncles were arguing about the NFL game with one of your aunts, your grandma was fussing with Myles about trying to sneak a piece of cake before finishing all of his food, and your mom was going on about how she needed better lights next year in order to win the HOA decor competition.

Literally nobody was paying attention to you, and Aurélien took it to his advantage. He brushed his lips against your ear and whispered, “You’re tense baby. Maybe I should help you relax in a bit.”

“Let’s go.” you said under your breath, unable to take it anymore.

“Now?”

You shot him a look. “Now.”

Aurélien didn’t need to be told twice and stood up first, excusing himself from the table with an exaggerated excuse about how he needed to stretch his legs so his muscles wouldn’t get too stiff during the holiday break. It was bullshit, but either way nobody cared. You followed a few seconds later, pretending you needed to refill your glass of water.

When you met him in the hallway, his hand immediately hiked your dress up, gripping your hips from underneath while his lips met yours in a messy kiss. His tongue slid against yours as you arched your body into him, wrapping your arms around his shoulders.

“Your room?” he whispered against your lips, already leading you down the hall. You nodded but you could barely think straight when his lips started trailing down your neck. When you reached the door of your bedroom, you pushed it open quickly, expecting an empty bed but you froze in place when you saw someone’s random baby was asleep.

“Who.. whose baby is that?” Aurélien asked in a hushed tone, baffled.

“I don’t even know” you whispered back, shutting the door as quietly as possible before you started laughing.

You wasted no time grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the bathroom. Once you were inside, you locked the door and leaned back against it with a seductive smirk on your face. “We have about five minutes before someone starts looking for us.”

“Then we better not waste it” he said, sliding your dress back up around your hips. You palmed his dick over his jeans, stroking it against the fabric to make him hard while his hand found their way between your thighs. You couldn’t help the whimper that escaped from you when his fingers started teasing you through your panties. His lips moved from your jaw, then to your neck and you tilted back against the door to give him more access.

“Auréliennn” you whispered in a voice shaky as you dug your nails into his arm.

“You need to be quiet for me baby” His voice was low and filled with lust. “Shhhh.”

You nodded, but his fingers slipped under your panties and met with your wetness, causing you to let out a soft, desperate moan. He smirked against your neck, teasing your skin with the warmth of his voice.

“I said be quiet for me.”

You bit your lip to hold back but he wasn’t making it easy for you at all. He had two fingers inside of you while his thumb rubbed your clit, teasing you until your legs started to shake.

“Please” you whispered, still clutching his arm while you struggled to keep it together quietly.

He pulled back enough to look you in the eyes with a smug expression on his face. “Please what?”

“Please” you repeated, voice trembling with want. “Just hurry.” You gripped the belt loop of his jeans with your hand, quickly unzipping his jeans so you could speed the process up. You really didn’t have much time and you were not about to risk not having the orgasm that was pent up and wavering, ready for release.

Aurélien leaned into your ear, arrogantly whispering in your ear. “You were clenching that spoon like you needed something else to hold onto. I’m about to give you something better.”

“Shut up” you muttered, already struggling to keep composure.

“You don’t want me to shut up” he whispered, brushing his lips against your neck as he spoke. “You love this too much. Tell me how good I feel.”

You gripped his shoulders to steady yourself. “You feel so good,” you whimpered. “But we don’t have time.”

“I don’t care” he cut you off, thrusting his fingers inside you with calculation. Your mouth fell open in a silent gasp as he filled you with his fingers, curving just right in a certain spot that made your legs week. “Take it, baby. Good girl.”

You bit your lip to keep quiet but he was driving you wild. His thumb pressed against your clit, swirling with just the right amount of pressure to make your breath quicken into rapid gasps.

“Aurélien I can’t” you hissed quietly.

“You will” he growled, pulling his fingers out and flipping you around so the front of your body was pressed against the door. His hand smacked your ass and you gasped, feeling the sting disperse from pain to pleasure. “Don’t cum until I say so.”

“Okay” you breathed with your cheek pressed against the door as he yanked your panties down. You heard him pull his jeans down and the anticipation made you shake a little. Aurélien lined his dick up against you, pushing inside you in one deep stroke. You clenched around him the minute he was inside and a mewl escaped your throat.

“Damn. You’re squeezing me already? You don’t even want me to move yet?”

“Move.” you pleaded in a barely steady voice. “Please move.”

“In a rush?” He smirked against your shoulder, pulling out slowly before deep stroking back in. The door rattled under his force and he grabbed your hip to steady you. “You want it like that?”

“It’s too loud” you whined, still trying to catch your breath.

“You’re too loud” he shot back, gripping your neck to tilt your head back. His lips brushed up against your ear as he whispered in your ear. “Be quiet or you won’t get to cum tonight.”

The pressure in your core was building fast and he hadn’t even fucked you like he meant it just yet. You bit your lip hard, trying to quiet your moans. His thrusts were deep, hard and merciless with each one hitting deeper than the last. When he reached around to rub your clit again, your legs started shaking.

“I wanna cum” you whimpered in a broken voice. “Aurélien I can’t hold it.”

“Yes you can” he commanded with his grip tightening on your hip as he stilled his movements to an infuriating pace. “You’re my good girl, right? Hold it for me.”

Your whole body was shaking from the intensity of it, you could feel the coil threatening to spring free with every second. “I can’t,” you whispered with tears in your eyes. “Please let me–”

Your orgasm hit you before you could warn him again or finish your sentence. Your body spasmed and a rush of wetness made a mess on your thighs and his. He froze and looked down before letting out a filthy groan. “Aah, fuck” he hissed, smacking your ass again which made you cry out. “Look at you making a mess all over me. Didn’t I tell you not to cum?”

“I’m sorry” you gasped, still trembling from the aftershocks. He didn’t stop and gripped your hips tighter, thrusting into you harder to drag you to another wave of pleasure that had you reaching behind to try and warn him again.

“You like that? You like being punished for not listening??” His voice was raw as he fucked you into a dickmatized state. “I want you to cum again but you gotta wait for me baby.”

At this point your legs were nearly giving out and your body was barely holding it together as he pushed you closer to another orgasm. His hand slipped around your throat, squeezing lightly. “Tell me you want me to fill you up.”

“Fill me up,” you begged, barely audible. “I want it.”

He thrust into you erratically, burying himself deep inside you as he came while trying to keep his groans quiet. You felt the warmth of his cum and the sensation sent you spiralling into another orgasm even more intense than the last. Your whole body shook as you clung to the doorknob next to you, gasping. When he finally pulled out, you were both a sweaty, breathless, wrecked mess. Your legs were still shaking and some of your braids had fallen out of the bun you tied earlier. Aurélien smirked, brushing a stray braid out of your face and leaned in to kiss you softly.

“I love you” he smiled, looking at you in a teasing way.

“Um..are you sure??? I can’t believe you just fucked me like that…” You were still trying to catch your breath and get rid of the ringing in your ear after all that. You wiped a stray tear from your eye as you freshened up the best way you could. Aurélien’s quickie had you exhausted and ready for a nap after just one tiny round. When you exited the bathroom, you tried to keep it together, but you couldn’t even walk properly.

You stepped out of the bathroom first, trying to act as normal as possible while adjusting your dress. Aurélien followed behind you, looking way more put together than you did. Judging by his smirk, he knew exactly the type of predicament he put you in. The moment you walked back into the living room, all conversation stopped and several pairs of eyes locked on you. You barely made it to the couch before your family started pouncing on you like you were prime entertainment. Aunt Bev tilted her head and squinted at you like you owed her an explanation.

“Y/N, why are you walking like that? What’s wrong with you?”

You tried to wave her off as you sank into the couch, crossing your legs like that would make you any less of a target. “I’m fine auntie. Just tired.”

“Tired?” Your grandma’s voice cut through the room. She peered at you over the rim of her glasses, full of suspicion. “You sick or something? You look sweaty.”

“I’m not sweaty!” you shot back, running a hand over your face out of instinct.

“Uh, yes you are” Gianna piped up from across the room with her bumped ends still unbumped. “Why are you shiny like that? You was in there doing push ups?”

“Gigi!” you snapped in a cracked voice as Aurélien strolled past you to grab another bowl of gumbo. Myles came skipping over, still fueled with sugar. He stopped right in front of you and scrunched his face up in confusion. “Why your hair look like that? You look a mess.”

Your hand flew to your head, gripping the loose braids that fell from the bun you thought you tied carefully. “Myles, mind your business!” you yelled, trying to tuck the braids back in while your family cackled.

“I told y’all she was sick” your grandma said while shaking her head as if you had offended her. “Sweating. Hair messed up. Tired. She’s acting like she just ran a marathon and she hasn’t done anything."

“Could’ve climbed a big, tall mountain” Aunt Bev added in with a knowing smirk while sipping her drink.

“Or fell out of a tree” Gianna chimed in, snickering like she was hilarious when it really wasn’t all that funny to you.

“Or got hit by a truck” Myles added with dramatics, which earned a loud laugh from your Aunt Kim.

“Leave her alone” she said, waving her fork at the group before she turned to you. “Seriously though, what were you doing back there? You’re sweating like a whore in church.”

You couldn’t even formulate a proper defense before someone else chimed in, but this time it was your dad who was sitting comfortably in his recliner. “She probably fucked the gumbo up just like I said. I ain’t even touch it. I wasn’t in the mood for one of her little experiments today.”

Your jaw dropped as the entire room started laughing at you. Aurélien was silently enjoying every second of it and finally decided to save you, or so he thought. He leaned against the wall while eating his second helping of gumbo.

“Her gumbo is the best I ever had.”

Aunt Bev raised a brow, slyly smiling as she looked between you and Aurélien. “Mmhmm” she hummed, dragging it out while leaning back in her chair.

“I bet it is.”

[chloeangelbaby]

Snow day

Crybaby! Reader x Rafe Cameron

A/N- hey I’m so I don’t actually even know how accurate this is like do they even have snow I don’t know also I’ve never experienced snow before (cries in Australia) so that sucks for me but please enjoy

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The faint glow of dawn hadn’t even kissed the horizon yet, the world still draped in the inky quiet of night. It was cold—biting, really—but you hardly noticed. Wrapped up in your baby-pink snowsuit with matching mittens and boots, you were on a mission.

The backyard was pristine, the snow untouched save for your tiny footprints trailing from the house to the spot you’d chosen for your snowman family. The air was still, the kind of quiet that only existed in the early hours, and the snow glittered under the moonlight like a blanket of tiny diamonds.

You hummed softly to yourself, crouched over a small pile of snow, shaping it into the perfect body for your snow-mom. Two others—one slightly bigger and one smaller—stood nearby, already finished. Snow-dad was proud and tall, while the snow-baby leaned slightly to one side, giving it an endearing wobble.

Your fingers worked quickly despite the chill, adjusting and patting down the snow until the snow-mom was just right. You clapped your hands together, satisfied, before reaching for the bag of supplies you’d dragged outside. Tiny buttons for eyes, a carrot for a nose, and some twigs for arms. The snow-mom was officially complete.

“Perfect,” you whispered to yourself, beaming at your little family.

But the cold was starting to seep in. Your nose was numb, and your cheeks were flushed pink beneath your scarf. You sniffled, rubbing your mittens together, but the sight of your snow family filled you with too much joy to care about the discomfort.

You didn’t hear the door to the house open or the crunch of boots on the snow until a familiar voice called out, gruff with sleep.

“What the hell are you doing out here?”

You turned, startled, to see Rafe standing on the porch, his arms crossed over his broad chest. He wasn’t wearing a jacket, just sweatpants and a hoodie, his hair tousled from sleep. The harsh bite of the winter air didn’t seem to faze him as he looked at you, clearly baffled.

“Rafe!” you chirped, your voice muffled by your scarf. “Look at my snow family!”

He stepped off the porch, his boots crunching through the snow as he made his way toward you. His brows were furrowed, his sleepy confusion giving way to concern as he took in your snow-dusted mittens and the slight shiver in your shoulders.

“It’s not even six in the morning,” he muttered, glancing around at the quiet, frozen world. “You’re out here making snowmen?”

“Snow family,” you corrected, motioning toward your creations.

Rafe’s gaze shifted to the trio of snow figures, and despite himself, his lips twitched into a small smile. “They’re... cute,” he said, though his focus quickly returned to you. “But you’re freezing.”

“I’m fine,” you insisted, though your sniffle betrayed you.

Rafe sighed, stepping closer and reaching out to adjust your scarf, pulling it up higher to cover your reddened nose. “You’re not fine, Dolly,” he said softly. “Your hands are like ice.”

You pouted, looking up at him. “But I wanted to finish the snow family before the sun came up. They look better in the moonlight.”

Rafe chuckled, his warm breath visible in the frosty air. “You’re unbelievable,” he said, shaking his head. “Come on, let’s get you inside before you turn into a snowman.”

“But—”

“No buts,” he interrupted, his tone firm but teasing. “I’ll come back out with you later, and we’ll finish whatever you need. Right now, you’re shivering so hard I’m surprised you haven’t shaken your little snowmen apart.”

He crouched slightly, wrapping an arm around your waist and lifting you effortlessly off the ground. You squealed in protest, your boots dangling as he carried you toward the house.

“Rafe!” you whined, wriggling in his grip. “Put me down! I’m not done!”

“You are done,” he said, smirking down at you. “You’ve been out here for who knows how long. I’m pretty sure your snow family will survive without you for an hour.”

You huffed, crossing your arms as he carried you into the house. The warmth hit you instantly, and despite your protests, you couldn’t deny how good it felt.

Once inside, Rafe set you down on the couch, kneeling in front of you to pull off your boots and mittens. “Next time, wake me up if you want to do something crazy like this,” he said, shaking his head.

“I didn’t want to bother you,” you mumbled, your pout softening into a sheepish smile.

“Dolly,” he sighed, his tone softening as he looked up at you. “You’re never a bother. Especially not when you’re out there freezing your ass off to make a snow family at five in the morning.”

You giggled despite yourself, the sound bright and soft. “They’re cute, though, right?”

“They’re adorable,” he admitted, leaning in to kiss your forehead. “Now, let’s get you warmed up before you catch a cold”.

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[winchesterwild78]

On the Tenth Day of Christmas

Master List

Characters: Dean Winchester x Reader

Warnings: fluff, light smut (nothing too bad)

A/N: Day 10 of my holiday fics. I hope you enjoy this short series. I’m really excited about it. All work is my own, please don’t take it. Reblogs and likes are welcomed. 

I do not own the rights to the characters I use, these will not follow the story lines of the series the character appeared in. This is a work of fiction.

Written fast and edited fast, please overlook any errors. 

This one got a little long, sorry. Sorry it took so long to put this one up, I’m sick and was trying to get through the last few days before Winter Break. 

Minors DNI 18+

It had just started snowing in the lazy little town where I lived. A light dusting of fresh snow laying on any surface that didn’t move. 

I’d lived here my whole life so I was not surprised it was snowing in December. The air was crisp and clean. The snow always had a way of cleaning the air. 

The light crunch the snow made under my shoes were the only sounds I heard. My hands were in my pockets as I walked home from my shift at the diner and it was pretty late. 

I didn’t live far and I loved looking at the Christmas lights that lined the streets. 

In the distance I heard a low rumble of a car approaching. I looked up and saw a sleek black car with two male passengers. I looked at them as they passed by, they definitely weren’t local. The driver winked at me and my cheeks flushed red. 

Putting my head down I kept walking. Finally making it home, I showered and crawled into bed. 

The next morning I went to work like any other day. The snow had left a few inches on the ground so I knew we were going to be busy. When I walked in my co-worker Cheryl greeted me, “Oh I’m so glad you’re here. We’ve been so busy. Can you take table 4. They just sat down. Here’s their drinks.” 

I nodded and grabbed the tray. I approached the table and greeted them, “Hello, my name is Y/N and I’ll be your server. I have your drinks, are you ready to order?” 

The men sitting at the table were the same men I saw last night. They were even better looking up close. “Hey sweetheart, I’ll have a breakfast platter with extra bacon and a side of pancakes, and keep the coffee coming, please.” The one with piercing green eyes said. The other one just asked for an egg omelette and some fresh fruit. 

I nodded and took their order to the kitchen. 

I busied myself with other customers and when their order was finished I carried it over to them. 

Green eyes flashed his smile and it made my heart flutter. He was definitely good looking. The other man with him wasn’t bad to look at either. 

“Can I get y’all anything else?” “Just some syrup and your phone number, darlin’” He smirked as he said it. The other man with him shot him a look, “Dean, stop.” “Oh lighten up, Sammy.” 

So their names are Sam and Dean. “The syrup is no problem, Dean. The number you’re going to have to work for.” I winked and walked away. My heart is hammering in my chest. I didn’t dare turn around. 

Cheryl laughed, “Girl you’re being stared at hard.” I glanced over my shoulder and saw Dean staring at me. 

I grabbed the syrup and walked back over. “So, Y/N, what time do you get off?” Dean asked. “That depends. Are you talking about work or something else?” 

Sam almost spit his drink out. Dean smirked, “Maybe both.” 

I bit my lip, “I get off work at 4, as far as something else, that really depends on you.” I smirked and walked away. Dean’s jaw on the ground. “Damn, Sammy. I think I met my match.” “Seems like it, Dean.” Sam chuckled. 

Dean stood and walked to the counter. Cheryl looked at him and then at me. I grabbed some food to deliver to another table. He watched as I walked away. 

Dean was leaning against the counter when I returned. His back to me and I could see his toned back through the tight t-shirt he was wearing. I saw Cheryl and him talking. 

As I walked up Cheryl smiled at me and he tilted his head to the side to look at me. 

“So sweetheart, how about I pick you up at 7 and we grab some dinner or something.” He smirked. 

I smirked and stepped closer, “Maybe, but I have to warn you I tend to eat my dessert first.” Cheryl chuckled and Dean laughed, “Sounds good to me. I’ll bring pie.” 

Sam and Dean finished their food and paid their bill. On the ticket Dean wrote his number and then 7pm. 

I was a mixture of nerves and excitement as the time crept closer to 7. When I got off work I went home, showered and went through every piece of clothing I owned. I had no idea what had me so nervous. Dean wasn’t a local, so I knew this was going to be a one night thing, but here I was still trying to find the perfect outfit at 6:30. 

I finally decided on my favorite pair of jeans that fit just right, a band t-shirt, my leather jacket and my black low heel boots. 

My hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and I applied light makeup. Standing back from the full length mirror I looked myself over and nodded in approval. 

About 5 minutes to 7 there was a light knock on my door. I opened it and standing there was Dean. He’d changed his clothes since I last saw him and damn did he look good. His hair perfectly styled, a shirt that was just tight enough to show off his firm chest, dark jeans and boots. 

“Wow, you look amazing, sweetheart.” I blushed and smiled. “Thank you, Dean. So do you.” 

I grabbed my stuff and we walked to the car. It had started snowing again so the ground was a little slippery. 

As I got to the car door I slipped. Bracing myself for a fall that didn’t come. I looked up and saw Dean’s green eyes looking down at me, “Careful sweetheart. I was promised dessert first, not an ER visit.” 

I chuckled as he helped me up, “Thanks Dean, but I don’t remember promising you dessert. I said I always have my dessert first.” I winked at him and he laughed. 

He opened the car door and I got in. The inside of his car was beautiful. He slid into the driver’s seat, “So where to sweetheart? Know any good dessert places?” “I thought you were bringing the pie, Dean.” I smiled. 

He smirked, “I think I forgot it.” “Oh wow, and here I thought you were trying to get me in bed. What kind of man promises pie and doesn’t deliver? Makes me wonder what else you can’t deliver on.” The side of my mouth twitched up into a grin. 

“Oh believe me, sweetheart, I can and will deliver.” I touched his leg, “We’ll see.” 

Dean pulled off to the side of the road and put the car in park. I looked over at him and noticed his green eyes were dark with lust. “You’re playing with fire, darlin’.” 

My hand slid up his thigh, “I enjoy fire.” Before I knew what was happening, Dean’s lips were on mine and his hand on the back of my neck. The kiss was full of need, passion and want. 

We moaned into each other’s mouths. My hands slid into his hair at the nape of his neck. 

Dean pulled me closer to him and he moved to the center of the front seat. Just enough for me to straddle him. His hands firmly on my hips, his lips on mine, seemed to ground me in the moment. 

He pulled my jacket off and threw it to the side. His fingers are playing with the hem of my shirt. 

I nodded and he pulled my shirt over my head revealing my supple breasts confined by the lacey material of my bra. 

His lips trailing down my neck to the tops of my breasts, his hands and fingers delicately touching up my body. 

“You’re so beautiful, sweetheart.” My breath hitched. I’d never done anything like this before, but Dean was like a magnet. Pulling me closer to him and try as I might I couldn’t seem to pull myself away. Not that I wanted to. 

“Dean, I..” My voice trailed off as his lips trailed over my body. I felt him smirk against my skin. The heat pooling between my legs was growing and soaking my panties. 

“Darlin’, let’s take this back to my room. Sammy is out and we have the place to ourselves. I don’t want our first time to be in the car.” I smiled and nodded. 

I climbed off Dean, pulled my shirt back on as he slid back into the driver’s seat and took off towards his hotel. Once inside the room he was back on me, kissing and touching every inch of my body. 

Our bodies fell on the bed and tangled with the sheets. Dean was gentle but dominated me all at once. He took me places I’d never been and I didn’t want to let go. 

I laid in his arms, my head and hand resting on his chest as Dean wrapped his arm around me. Our breathing steady and I let out a sigh. “Whatcha thinking about sweetheart?” “Honestly, how I’m going to be able to let you go when you and Sam leave, because I know you two aren’t staying here.”

Dean lifted his head and looked at me, “Then don’t.” I sat up and looked at him in shock, “What?” “Don’t let me go. Come with me and Sammy.” “Dean, you don’t mean that, you can’t be serious.” 

He sat up and turned to face me, cupping my face, “I’m very serious, come with me. I don’t want to leave unless you’re by my side.” 

“Dean, we just met. You couldn’t possibly know you want me to come with you.” “Y/N. I’ve lived a hard life. One that doesn’t offer second chances so I’ve learned when you see something or someone you want you go for it. All in, head over heels.” 

“Dean, I need to think about it. This is my home. It has been my whole life.” Dean nodded, he understood. Not everyone grew up like he had. “When do you leave, Dean?” “In three days.” “Okay, I’ll let you know by the end of the second day.” 

He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on my lips, “I’ll be waiting, sweetheart.”

The next few days we sent as much time together as we could. I still had work, and he was in town doing whatever he was here for. 

The day before he left I was walking home thinking about my decision. That’s when I looked up and saw Sam and Dean in suits walking out of the Sheriff’s office. My brows furrowed in confusion. 

Later that evening I sat with my leg bouncing. I needed to talk to Dean but I also had a decision to make. To say I was nervous was an understatement. 

Dean arrived at my place looking incredible. He wasn’t wearing the suit, but damn did he look good. He pulled me into a tight hug and placed a kiss on my lips. “Hey sweetheart, I’ve missed you today.” I snuggled into his chest, “I missed you too, Dean.” 

When we pulled away from each other I nervously bit my lip. Dean noticed how nervous I was and it made him nervous. “Are you okay, Y/N?”

I looked up at him, “Yeah, um, can we talk?” Dean nodded and motioned to the couch.

We sat down and he placed his hand on my knee. His touch always had a way of grounding me. I took a deep breath and began talking.

“Dean, I don’t know what to say. You came into my life unexpectedly and now I can’t see my life without you in it, but I don’t know anything about you. You want me to come with you and Sam, but I don’t know what that means. Where is home? What do you and Sam do for work, because obviously you work together. Have you ever been married, or have any kids? I don’t know anything about you. I’ve poured my life out for you, so you know the answers to those questions, but you’re so guarded. I see myself falling for you, but I can’t be with someone who has secrets. Like why did I see you and Sam come out of the Sheriff’s office in suits today?”

His eyes went wide and I saw his shoulders tense. I knew I hit a nerve. “Y/N, there are things in my life that are ugly. Down right terrifying. I can answer your questions, but you have to trust me. Trust that I will spend every breath keeping you safe. Home is an underground bunker. We kinda inherited it, it’s not your traditional place to live, but it’s home and we make it home. I’ve never been married and don’t have any kids, I’d like to have both one day, and I see that now because of you. As far as Sammy and I, we travel across the country and hunt monsters. Vampires, ghosts, demons, all of it are real. We are hunters. Our mother grew up in the life, our dad did not, but after she was killed he began hunting the demon that killed her. I was 4 and Sam was 6 months.” 

I gasped and touched his arm. “Oh Dean, I’m so sorry.” My heart broke for him with the realization he’d been taking care of Sam since he was 4 years old. 

“So, all of the things in horror movies, the things that go bump in the night are real?” He nodded. “And you and Sam hunt them down and kill them?” Again, he nodded. “So that means something was here, and you two were here to take care of it?” 

His eyes flicked to mine, “We’ve taken care of it. It was a vampire that was trying to establish a nest. All those missing people were being turned.” 

“Oh my god.” I whispered. “This is a lot to take in, Dean. Now you’re telling me there was a vampire here, in the one place I felt safe.” 

He touched my face, “I’m sorry, darlin’. Just know you’re safe and if you decide not to go with me I’ll make sure you stay that way.” Logistically I didn’t know how that would work, but I knew Dean would keep me safe no matter what.

“Dean, where are you spending Christmas?” “Hopefully in your arms, but unless we get a case we will be at home, at the bunker.”

I smiled, “How about I spend it with you at the bunker, or wherever you are?”  Dean smirked, “Are you serious?” I nodded, “Yes, Dean. Let’s just jump head first into whatever this is. I don’t want to be anywhere else but with you.” 

He kissed my lips, “Great, come on, let’s go tell Sammy you’re coming with us. I can’t wait to spend the first of many Christmases together.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door to the car.

Before we got in the car he leaned me against it, tilted my chin up and kissed me deeply. 

“Dean I..” I couldn’t say it for fear it would scare him, but damn did I feel it already. “I know sweetheart, I do too.” He kissed me again, and we drove towards Sam to tell him we decided on forever.

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[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

For the totally not official not-blog-event, may I request some happenstance where Dilah and Lilia have to look after the other’s son for some time? (As for whether or not Lilia is disguised, I’ll leave it up to you)

Referencing this post!

I’m going to write some headcanons for this one! ^^

Curiouser and Curiouser...

Most would feel insulted when their dorm leader goes out of their way to find someone to supervise them in their absence—but not Deuce!! He’s stoked to have a wise mentor figure to tutor and guide him. (He needs good role models if he wants to be a good role model himself one day, right?) Deuce just wasn’t expecting Lilia to be picked! (“Everyone else I asked was unavailable,” Riddle sighed. “Now do not burn the roses down while I’m away, is that understood?”)

“Kufufu. You don’t need to be shy or scared around me. I’m just your cute and friendly neighborhood Lilia-chan 🎵” he insists with an angelic smile. Almost immediately, Deuce feels like something… bad… is about to happen. He brushes that feeling off and happily welcomes Lilia to Heartslabyul (albeit a bit too stiffly and formally)—he has to remain polite with his upperclassmen, after all!

He brings a suitcase full of "the essentials". Lilia proceeds to pull out a bunch of weird-looking ingredients and ancient items. He claims they're all necessary for old wives' remedies--in case Deuce needs them!--as well as extra nutrients for his "world class" cooking that Deuce will get to experience later.

Lilia is a senpai and therefore theoretically a good tutor when Deuce needs help with his homework. And he is, for the most part! Problem is, when it comes to history, Lilia has a tendency to ramble and start telling personal stories. He ends up going so off topic that Deuce forgets what the initial question he had was.

Gets all excited to help his ward train for Track and Field Club. Lilia makes his own obstacle course in the Rose Gardens and drills Deuce in it. Deuce thought it would be a regular track at first, but then he notices the spikes, the lava pit, and the venomous snakes littering the field. "What? But this is the most basic of the basic!" Lilia tells him--so Deuce takes a deep breath, steels himself, and charges through.

Lilia wears a frilly "Kiss the Cook" apron as he cooks up some food! Trey nervously watches him and offers to help, but Lilia turns him down at every corner. As Trey leaves the kitchen, he tries signaling to Deuce to not take a bite. Too bad it goes over his head. One bite, and Deuce is knocked out cold. Lilia unfortunately misinterprets this as his food being so good, it took Deuce straight to heaven!

They bond over music! Lilia blares some of his favorite rock and metal songs for Deuce, who really vibes with how wild and free they are! He even shows Deuce some compositions he put together with the Pop/Light Music Club, demonstrating on his electric guitar (yes, he packed that with him). At one point, Cater joins them for a jam sesh but clocks out quickly--he's not sure how much his ears can take the volume. Riddle shouts at them to "turn it down", but it's hard to hear him over the music!

Lilia tries to help out with the chores by enchanting the brooms and mops to move on their own. Deuce asks him to please teach him. He doesn't want Lilia to do all the work--he wants to learn how to pull off such spectacular magic too! Lilia commends him for being so proactive, and, with a chuckle, sets to showing him the ropes.

Wakes Deuce up the next morning up hanging from his ceiling upside down. He screams, waking up Ace and his two other roomies, which delights Lilia to no end. "Rise and shine," he chirps. "My, you're so energetic, even first thing in the morning!"

Silver’s used to taking care of after himself while his father’s away on long journeys of self/discovery all over Twisted Wonderland. If he ever gets lonely, he has his animal friends and the Zigvolts to turn to. So… how did he somehow end up with a classmate’s mother looking after him? “It’s good to broaden your horizons and to meet new people!” Lilia had told him (right before casually peacing out)

“Put’r there, kid!” Dylla seizes Silver’s hand and gives it a good, vigorous shake. Her energy and strength definitely startles him wide awake (he was starting to drift off)! Silver suddenly realizes where Deuce got it from.

She cooks up omurice for Silver. It's Deuce's favorite, so she figures it would be a crowd pleaser for him as well. Dylla even puts in the effort to pipe on a little ketchup heart on the omelet, just how her son likes it~ Silver's surprised by the cuteness and how... non-lethal the omurice is. When he compliments Dylla, she simply laughs and tells him to eat up, cuz growing boys like him need more protein!

Dylla's impressed by Silver's horde of animal friends! She's used to seeing wild rabbits and birds in Clock Town, but never so many tamed woodland creatures. She tries to clumsily greet them, with Silver serving as the mediary and coaxing the birds to hop on her fingers and head. "No way!" Dylla gasps, giggling at the blue jay nipping at her neck. "Quick--take a picture of this, I need to show Deuce!" (Better that Silver take it anyway, Dylla's not that up to speed on the latest tech.)

She rolls up her sleeves and sets to tidying up Diasomnia! Silver suspects Dylla must be used to doing many things on her own, because she refuses help from him even when she's actively struggling. He silently steps in and takes the heavy armchair from her. "Don't push yourself too hard. If we work together, we can get things done sooner. It's... okay to rely on other sometimes--so please rely on me. Mrs. Spade."

Dylla finds him sleeping on a couch in the lounge. Instead of waking him up, she sighs and slips off her jacket and hat, placing them on Silver to keep him warm as he dreams. "... What am I going to do with you?" she says with a soft smile.

Silver's a good listener. Dylla doesn't mean to, but one thing leads to another and suddenly she's sharing all about her experiences as a single mother and what it's been like raising Deuce. He validates her and expresses empathy, saying that his own father must have similar experiences. "I'm thankful to him for working so hard to provide me with this life. I'm sure Deuce must feel the same way about you."

She tells him off when Silver tries to head out for his usual rounds of night patrol. Dylla turns him right back around and orders him to march off to bed! She worries that he'll be off doing something unsavory--or, Sevens forbid--get caught up in danger, all things her own son has been through.

Oh no! Silver slept in and now he's running late for class. Not to worry though. Dylla pulls up on a bike and tells him to hop on, she'll drive him to school. Silver thanks her and climbs aboard... not knowing that he's in for the wildest, roughest ride of his life. Hey, at least he'll be wide awake when he arrives for first period.

[livelaughlouistomlinson]

Flights & Chain-smoking.

Genre: Fluff.

You had spent the entire morning doing laundry and packing both yours and Louis’ suitcases. You intended on spending the holidays in Doncaster until well after the new year which meant there was a lot to get done.

You knew he was stressed by the way he tossed and turned in bed all night, he had a deadline for his next album that he wasn’t going to meet, and contrary to what one might think, the holidays were equally as stressful on top of that.

Louis walked into your shared bedroom, letting out a sigh of relief as he noticed several of his outfits spread across the bed.

“My love, you didn’t have to do that.” His thick accent held onto the last word as he looked at you lovingly. His shoulders fell in relief as he wrapped you in a tight hug. The scent of his early morning chain-smoking hitting you immediately.

“Anything I can do to help you, I will” you hummed with a smile as he rocked you both back and forth slightly. His hands wander to your backside instinctively.

‘I’m just so in over my head with all this shit” he sighed, sitting down on the bed in the only free spot there was, still facing you.

“You have to learn to not be so hard on yourself. There is no album without you, they can only push you so far.” You stood in between his spread legs, running your manicured fingers through his soft hair, adjusting the stray strands you knew would otherwise bother him.

His bright blue eyes softened as he looked up at you, he knew you were right but it didn’t change the nagging feeling in his stomach of failing. “ I just feel like I need more time. I’m not happy with an album only having ten songs, that doesn’t feel fair to the fans.”

“Will they let you release a single in the meantime?” You didn’t always understand how these things worked but you were trying to be helpful and supportive and he knew that.

“I have no fucking clue, love.” He patted his pants down for his cigarettes, a tell-tale sign of his rising anxiety. “I’ll have to make another call and go from there.”

You motioned toward your patio door and he nodded in response, you followed him outside as he leaned against the house, lighting his cigarette. You eyed him up and down, the bags under his eyes telling you what you already knew a wave of worry coming over you.

“I think we should fly out Friday instead of tomorrow. Just so you have more time to rest before we are thrown right into everything.”

You were pleasantly surprised when he agreed with you, nodding in response.

“How do you do that?” A small smile immediately spread across his face as he put his cigarette out and walked over to you.

“Do what?” You giggled, looking up at him innocently.

“Know just what I need” he smiled feeling a wave of relief come over him as he held you close to his chest.

“It’s kind of my duty as your girlfriend, no?” You teasingly replied as he smirked, taking your face into the palm of his hands, kissing you softly, deepening each kiss.

“Have I told you lately just how much I fucking love you?” He mumbled between kisses.

“Truthfully? Yes, but I never get tired of hearing it” you giggled in response.

[haddonfieldwhore]

i swear i’ll never leave again - aleksander barkov

aleksander barkov x reader 🌴 part 2 to florida!!!

summary: an old flame has been rekindled; is the second time the charm?

warnings: a mixture of aleksander and sasha used throughout, angst/bittersweet, nsfw implied

word count: 1.9k

the cool water of the evening tide tickled your toes as it crept up the shore of the beach, the wind blowing softly over your bare skin and sending a shiver up your spine. the sun had begun to set, painting the sky in vivid shades of orange and pink, with fluffy white clouds stretching across the sky.

“do you want to head home?” sasha asked, sitting next to you and placing a kiss on your shoulder. you shivered again from his touch, and leaned into him, resting your head against his chest. his white t-shirt was slightly damp and clinging to his skin in spots where his torso had still been wet from the ocean when he’d put it on.

“not yet,” you sighed, closing your eyes and listening to the sound of the water.

if you went home - sasha meaning his house where you were staying - the night was over; your last night in florida.

it had been 3 months since you and sasha had first reconnected, and any chance that you could see eachother since then, the two of you had found a way to make it happen. whether he was in your hometown for a game, or he paid for you to come spend a few days with him in florida while he was home, like he had done now.

you had spent the last 3 days glued to him, and you were dreading waking up tomorrow morning, knowing you would be going home; and going to bed alone.

“it’s getting late,” he said, a defeated tone in his voice. “your flight is pretty early tomorrow, you should get some sleep.”

you knew he was right, even if you didn’t want him to be. he always was.

“can’t we just stay here like this forever?” you asked, crawling into his lap, straddling his legs that were outstretched in front of him. his large hands slid up your thighs, brushing crystals of sand off your skin in their wake, and up your sides until they cradled your face.

“i want to,” he agreed, smiling softly until he saw a tear fall from your eye, and his face fell. his thumb gently wiped it away, and he kissed your forehead, his lips lingering there for a moment.

“we must have something good here, or else it wouldn’t be so hard to say goodbye,” you sighed.

“it doesn’t have to be goodbye,” he offered.

“sasha-“ you looked down. “i don’t want to leave.”

“you don’t have to,” he replied. “i don’t want to watch you go again.” this was the first time he had said it out loud, even if you both knew it already. you thought back to finland, when you walked away from your life with him the first time, and the piece of you that had been missing ever since. until now.

“i want to, more than anything. but i have a whole life back home, a job, my friends…” you said, but you knew in your heart that your home was here, with him. you were just scared to admit it. if he asked you to leave it all behind and stay here, you knew you wouldn’t be able to say no.

“i know,” he pulled you close, kissing your neck softly as he nestled his face against your collarbone. “i know.”

if you could freeze time, you would have in that moment. you didn’t know what else to say, so you said nothing, opting to sit in silence and try to enjoy the feeling of being wrapped up in eachothers arms.

•

two months passed without seeing sasha again, and it was starting to wear on you noticeably. it wasn’t for lack of trying, but your schedules didn’t line up, and you could only afford to take so many vacations from work.

your friend jamie was currently over, and while you were trying to be a good host, you were not in the mood to entertain. you had told her about sasha when you got back from florida the first time, after you had spent the remainder of your trip spending as much time catching up with him as possible. you only had a week together to make up for the years you had spent apart, but you had fallen for him all over again, and he was just as head over heels for you as he had been in college. she was ecstatic that you two had decided to give things a second try, and had even met sasha when he visited you at home on the last panthers road trip.

“you miss him,” jamie said, unable to ignore the cloud of gloom that hung over you lately. at least, when aleksander wasn’t around. you thought back to when she had said the same thing on the phone months ago, before you had reached out to him again, and you had tried to deny it. but it wasn’t a question when she said it the first time, and it sure as hell wasn’t now.

“so much, j,” you agreed, your lashes wet with tears that threatened to spill over your cheeks as she embraced you in a hug.

“have you thought about moving out there to florida?” she asked.

“of course i have, i think about it all the time. but he’s away so much, and i’d be there by myself.”

“beats being alone here,” she offered, and you managed a smile.

“but you’re here. my whole life is here.”

“is it?” she asked. “i love you, you know that, but what’s really keeping you here? your job? is that really something you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life? can you see yourself living in this apartment for the rest of your life?”

“i guess not,” you sighed. you hadn’t thought about it like that. maybe you were just scared to throw everything away in case things didn’t work out with sasha.

“so what’s stopping you!” she smiled. “i know he’s on the road a lot, but wouldn’t it be better to be there waiting for him when he gets home, instead of being miserable here wondering when you might get to see him again?” she asked.

you knew you had been making excuses in your mind, but you were too scared to admit the truth until now.

“maybe im just waiting for him to ask me to stay.” jamie looked at you with a look that too you she meant what she said next with love, but it still stung, even if she was right.

“maybe he’s afraid to because the last time he did, you said no.”

•

“hey,” you smiled, as you wrapped your arms around sasha’s shoulders in a bone crushing hug. you had just landed in florida, and as always he insisted on picking you up at the airport, like a true gentleman. you kissed his lips gently, wanting nothing more than to melt into him completely, but knowing he wasn’t one for pda, that could wait until you were behind closed doors.

“hi,” he smiled back, his arms around your waist as he held you close. it had been three months since you had seen him, and it felt like an eternity, despite texting or calling each other every day. it was miserable to be apart for so long, emotionally and physically, and you couldn’t wait to get to his house so you could spend the next few hours showing him just how much you’d missed him .

he carried your suitcase to his car, loading it into the trunk before driving to his house. you spent the short duration of the drive (which somehow felt like forever) catching up on anything you had missed telling eachother. sasha always kept you updated on the team and how they were doing, as if you didn’t watch every game.

“we play the next five games at home, so i’m home for about two weeks,” he explained.

“that’s pretty nice,” you smiled, though you couldn’t help but think about how much you wished you could stay for the whole home stand. you were using the last of your vacation days for this visit, unbeknownst to aleksander, and in just four days had to fly home.

but you didn’t want to think about that right now.

all you wanted to think about was the man next to you, and as he turned into his driveway and led you inside, you quickly found it hard to think about anything besides the feeling of his lips on yours.

•

the next few days went by way too fast, and suddenly it was your last morning waking up in sasha’s arms. you snuggled closer into his chest and willed yourself to fall back to sleep, so that you could wake up here again, but it was no use.

“good morning,” he kissed the top of your head softly, his arms tightening around your body that still ached from the previous nights activities.

“good morning,” you hummed, your fingers reaching up to trace the outline of a love bite you had left on his neck.

“i wish i could wake up to this every day.”

“me too,” you whispered sadly, tracing patterns with your finger on his bare skin.

“maybe….” he trailed off, and he had spoken so softly, you wondered if you had imagined it.

“you have to go back today?” he asked, though he knew the answer. you had told him when you planned the trip that it would only be a few days.

“yeah,” you nodded, taking a deep breath. you were both silent for a few minutes until sure of what to say, until you found the words. “i love you aleksander,” you confessed for the second time; the first having been back in college.

“you do?” he asked, seeming surprised. of course you did - how could you not?

while you had made your relationship official only a month after your first visit to florida, you hadn’t said those three little words yet since getting back together.

you rolled over so you were laying on top of him, looking up to face him as he sat up slightly to lean against the headboard.

“i do,” you agreed. “i love you.”

he smiled at you, cradling the side of your face in his hand, and you closed your eyes, trying to memorize the feeling of his touch.

“i love you too,” he beamed. “i wish you didn’t have to go.”

“i know. me too.”

“is there anything i could do to make you stay?” he asked, and you blinked in disbelief.

“you mean.. stay here with you? like move to florida?” you asked, only for clarification; you didn’t want your emotions to misinterpret what he meant. his eyes refused to meet yours, and a light blush covered his cheeks.

“if you don’t want to i understand-“ he began, but you cut him off with a kiss.

“just ask -“ you smiled. “if you want me to stay, all you have to do is ask.”

sasha smiled back at you, pulling you up into his lap, and you slid your arms behind his neck, kissing him deeply.

“stay with me,” he whispered against tour lips when you parted for air. you smiled.

“i swear i’ll never leave again.”

disclaimer: all screenshots, events, and/or interactions depicted in this are a work of fiction. i have no association with any parties mentioned

[w0nderland]

I asked my advisor for a bunch of time off and he approved it but he is NOT happy with me

[puckpocketed]

Sharks 2024 11OA draft pick Sam Dickinson got featured in NHL.com’s CHL roundup. I’m putting it here for archival purposes <3 if you have a minute, please enjoy reading about Dickie bullying the shit outta children in the OHL during his D+1 year!!

Published December 1st, 2024 (link) CHL notebook: Sharks like what they see in London defenseman Dickinson, by Adam Kimelman.

No. 11 pick in 2024 NHL Draft 'just wants to be the best that he can be'

photo credit: Wild Ave. Photography

Sam Dickinson certainly had a solid season in 2023-24, finishing fourth among OHL defensemen in scoring and helping London reach the Memorial Cup championship game.

But he also had to deal with the pressure every player feels in his NHL draft season. But those feelings were alleviated when the San Jose Sharks selected him with the No. 11 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

A more relaxed Dickerson has his focus solely on playing, and the result has been a dominant start to the season.

Dickinson leads OHL defensemen in goals (13), assists (27) and points (40) in 23 games. He's tied for third in the league in scoring among all players, and is tied for the OHL lead with eight power-play goals.

"It's obviously a little bit of a different season, maybe a little more relaxed not having to worry about some of those [draft-related] things," Dickinson said. "But for me, it's always just been about focusing on hockey and kind of not really trying to let the outside noise and the outside stuff kind of get into my head.

"So I think that's been a big focus for this year, leaving the outside stuff for a different time, not worrying about it, especially when I'm showing up to the rink for practices, for games, whatever it may be. Just kind of leaving the outside noise, focusing on myself and on the team, and just kind of worrying about hockey and the London Knights and how I can help the team win as many games as possible."

Dickinson has done most of that with his offensive ability. He had 30 points (eight goals, 22 assists) during a 13-game point streak that ended Nov. 24. He has at least a point in 20 games, including a six-point game (one goal, five assists) in a 6-5 win at Saginaw on Nov. 23; it was the first six-point game by a defensemen since Pavel Mintyukov for Saginaw on March 11, 2022.

It also was one of Dickinson's 10 multipoint games, and he has two hat tricks.

But more than the offense, the Sharks have been impressed by other details in Dickinson's game.

"Obviously you want players to put up numbers and be successful," San Jose director of player development Todd Marchant said, "but it's some of the little things that we've been working on with Sam, with going back for pucks, on retrievals, shoulder checking and those sorts of things that you really need to have if you want to play in the National Hockey League."

Marchant and the Sharks development staff were able to but a plan in place for Dickinson earlier than other prospects because they were able to watch him last season.

"In a player development role you don't get a chance to see the players a lot usually in their draft year, but we did because we had another player in London in [forward] Kasper Halttunen," Marchant said. "So when he was available to us at No. 11, we were ecstatic. We were very, very happy."

Dickinson is just as happy to be part of what San Jose is building with a young core that includes forwards Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick of the 2024 draft, and Will Smith, the No. 4 pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. He got a preview during training camp, when he got into two preseason games, and is hungry to do what it takes to get even more as soon as next season.

"Getting in those preseason games and all that, it was an unbelievable experience, and kind of gave you a bit of a realization of really how close I could be to potentially playing in San Jose and in the NHL real soon," Dickinson said. "I think the big thing for me when I was getting in those games was taking everything in, seeing the speed, the strength, the physicality, how fast the game is played at that level. It was huge for me to kind of play at that speed and play at that level. A big thing for me was when I came back [to London] was continuing to play at the speed and at the level that was played in those preseason games."

The Sharks have seen that and more from Dickinson and are just as excited about his future.

"The National Hockey League has the best players in the world, and that's something that every young player strives to get to," Marchant said. "Sam is no different. You look at some of the things that he's able to do, both from an offensive standpoint and a defensive standpoint ... he's one of those guys that just wants to be the best that he can be every single night. And we're seeing that firsthand."

[trevisos]

rotating Scenarios in my mind but have no ability to actually write them. truly evil

[neo-nomatrix]

EAT IT UP !

HOW THE JJK MEN EAT P*$$Y

Multiple x reader

-> GOJO, NANAMI, TOJI, GETO, SUKUNA, CHOSO

warnings ⚠️ smut… duh. pussy eating… duh. 69 in getos. talks of bondage. talks of choking (on dick) overalll smut idk

GOJO SATORU AKA “kid in a candy store”

On his tummy, feet in the air, humming. His legs are swaying back and forth but you’re way too busy to notice. He’s looking up at you with those unmistakable eyes watching you fall apart on his skilled tongue. His hand use your thighs as handles and makes out with your sloppy, cute cunt. He’s trying to tease you but the words come out as gurgled mumbles since his mouth is basically superglued to you.

You’re throbbing on his lips and he slurps it up like honey. Sometimes he dips his fingers in but usually sticks with his mouth. Fucks his tongue inside of you and he’ll probably start gagging because of how far he gets. He has to hug your thighs when you cum because of how squirmy you get. Nips at your clit when it’s all sensitive and giggles.

“You’re so fucking cute squirming”

“Oh wow… feels that good huh?”

“Is this how it feels when you gag on my cock?”

NANAMI KENTO AKA “use me like a chair”

Wants all your weight on his face or else he’s not happy. And no- it’s not an option. Maybe you’ll suffocate him, but who’s to say that’s not the goal? He cups his hands around your thighs and pulls you down on him, immediately getting to work. He’s so sensual and romantic about it. Slowly licking from your entrance to your clit. Definitely kisses your clit before starting anything.

Gathers a whole bunch of spit before and globs it onto you. There should literally be bubbles when you get off of him. Tries his best not to snake his hand down his pants so he can focus on you. As much as he loves you grinding down on his face he always stops you. This is for him to do all he work, he should be making you feel so good you don’t need to think about grinding down.

“Let me do all the work, just sit there.”

“I know i’m hard, sweetheart. I’ll get to that later.”

“Stop hovering, do i need to tie you up?”

TOJI FUSHIGURO AKA “this is for him”

Even though it’s an activity meant to pleasure you, it’s for him. For him to melt away his worries into your sweet cunt. He uses it as a stress reliever, massaging your ass like a stress ball. will literally ask you why you were squirming so much, it disturbed his peace.

Never stops after you come. More flavor for him. Has you on your tummy, he’s spreading you apart and eating it. His hands are never still. Always running up and down your back or playing with the skin of your ass. Moves up to grope your tits and play with your sweet nipples.

“Put your face into the pillow and bite if it’s to much”

“You take my cock every day but my mouth is too much?” oh wait, that’s also too much

“Maybe i should leave some marks on this ass too.”

GETO SUGURU AKA “34 + 35”

SixtyNine KING. Can’t decide between being on bottom or top. On bottom he can get the pleasure of you sitting on his face. The only downside is your squirming with so much pleasure that you forget to suck his cock. He doesn’t care that much, eating you out is plenty of pleasure, but it would be nice. But he does hate it when your strokes get sloppy and they become borderline teasing.

On top he gets the added bonus of fucking your face. Thrusting in and out of your moaning mouth as much as he pleases. He loves hearing you choke while slurping you up. He just doesn’t like the blood going to his head while eating you out. He’s pretty simple when it comes to pussy eating. Loves to suck on your clit and use his fingers. Definitely makes you lick your own cum from his fingers. Finger fucks you until his hands are pruned.

“C’mon baby, at least stroke me baby. Look how hard he is for you.”

“I know it’s so much, huh?

“That’s fine, i’ll just throat fuck you with my cum soaked fingers,”

RYOMEN SUKUNA AKA “stop running”

Eats you out until you’re rolling around on the floor. And still keeps going. He hates it when you squirm, but also doesn’t do anything to stop it. Locks his arms around your thighs and presses a hand against your tummy. Sloppily eats your cunt with no technique. Spits soo much on it. The noises that come from your cunt and his mouth are insane. Dips his tongue real deep into your mess to get every drop.

Has you on the verge of passing out when you cum. And you guessed it, still won’t stop. He definitely pushes your thighs to your chest and wraps his arms around your whole body to keep you still. Loves it when you push on his head in desperation. It makes him so much harder.

“You keep fucking running and I’ll go for longer.”

“You’re only making it worse for yourself by squirming.”

“Fucking take it or I’ll make you.” yeah he definitely makes you

CHOSO KAMO AKA “kitten licks”

He eats you out like he’s scared. He’s so fascinated by your slippery pussy that he unintentionally goes super slow. Giving soft kisses to your clit and licking at your entrance like a popsicle. You have to tell him to go a little harder so it feels better. and once he does, no going back.

Starts to eat it like a starved man. He gets so mad he’s never done this before because he’s in heaven. Ruts his cock into the sheets because it feels so amazing. Moaning like a slut into your pussy. So much spit and his tongue is going wild on your pussy. He’s definitely making this apart of your routine.

“Oh my god it’s so wet baby.”

“Faster? but when i go faster with my cock you cry…”

“It feels good right, baby? Am I doing good?”

[classyrbf]

PART 2 OF PRISONER!GETO

prisoner!geto who can’t stop thinking about late at night, getting so worked up and horny, the most horny he’s been in a while. He’s pulling his pants down, closing his eyes while he pictures the way your scrubs clung to your body and showed off your ass. He thanks god he doesn’t have a bunkie or else he’d be in a real awkward position. He purposely gets into another fight a week later, the wound on his lip opening back up. He’s smiling to himself as he gets walked to the infirmary knowing he’ll see you there.

“Not you again,” you sigh.

“Told you I’d see you soon, doctor.” He sits on the small bed, watching as you put on gloves and examine his busted lip. He can tell you’re avoiding eye contact with him, trying your hardest to ignore his stares and slight touches. “Have you thought about my offer yet?” He asks.

You gulp, blinking as you rub the ointment over his wound. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.” You play stupid, but you remember your last conversation so clearly. It makes you nervous. All he does is laugh.

“Come on. I’ll even beg.” He grabs your wrist, slowing pulling it down, a smug smirk on his handsome face. “You telling me you haven’t thought about it once since we last seen each other?” He whispers. He parts his legs, pulling you in between them. And god, you smell so good. So sweet. He could just eat you up right here.

You stand there, unable to form words because as much as you want to say no, you want to say yes. He makes your heart race and your pussy wet. What a sly bastard. With his stupid tattoos, muscles, hair and chiseled face. You hate how much effect he has on you.

“Listen,” he rubs a hand down your waist, “meet me in the supply closet by the showers during lunchtime if you’re really down.” He flashed a smile before standing to his feet and walking out the infirmary. “Bye, bye, doctor.”

Come lunchtime, you walked through the halls of the prison, mentally cursing at yourself. It’s just one time, one time. You bet he won’t even be there, that he’s just playing a stupid joke cause he’s bored with himself. And as you reach out to open the supply door, your heart beats against your ribcage, looking around to find the halls empty. You step in, seeing him leaning against the wall, the faint rays of light allowing you to make out some of his features. “Well, look who it is,” he chuckles. “Came here to help me out, doc?” He walks over to you, trapping you between him and the door.

“Shut up already and let’s get it over with.” You smash your lips on his, kissing him with such urgency and fervor. His large hands grab at your ass, squeezing and groping it as he pushes you against the wall, knocking a few things over. You both pull away, breathing heavily, lips swollen. “We gotta be quick,” you whisper, undoing his jumpsuit while he pulls down your pants.

“More eager than I am, huh?” He teases, earning an eye roll from you. “Come here.” He bends you over the small wooden table, snatching your panties off and getting a good feel of your ass. His dick jumps, pre cum already leaking from the swollen tip. He’s already so worked up, so ready to feel your wet and tight cunt. “Fuck,” he grunts, running his head over your sopping slit, nudging your clit slightly. “Already so fucking wet.”

He pushes his throbbing tip past your folds, a small gasp leaving your lips when you feel how thick he is. Inch by inch you feel the stretch, you mouth agape as you try and grow accustomed to his size. Geto’s entire body shivers, his fingers pressing into your skin so hard you’re sure he’d leave marks. “Ohhh shit,” he lets out a shaky breath. God, it’s been so fucking long since he’s had some good pussy and he can already tell he won’t last long. He finally bottoms out, feeling your walls clench around his length, sucking him in. “My god,” he laughs in your ear. “Lemme just enjoy this feeling—fuckkk—for a moment,” he moans, eyes fluttering shut.

He finally starts moving his hips, feeling his tip press against your cervix with each thrust. With each passing second, he gets faster, fucking your harder and rougher, your pussy has got him in a trance. “Pussy feels so fucking good,” he grips your hips, pulling you back towards him so you can meet his thrusts. One of his hands reach around your throat, gripping it just enough as he pulls you back against his broad chest. “Do you fuck all of your patients or am I just special?” He jokes.

“Mmmm…shut—ah—up!” You cry out, whimpering when he presses up against you, finding a new angle that makes your eyes roll back. “Just keep fucking me,”you say with a raspy breath.

“Doctors orders.” He can feel the way your pussy leaks, your juices dripping down his shaft and make his cock ache like never before. It almost hurts. He hold you tighter against him, the sound of skin on skin filling the small room. “You take it so well,” he breathes against your skin, pressing wet kisses to your neck. “So fucking well.” His thrusts grow sloppier, chasing his own orgasm. But in the distance, he hears the guards walking down the hall. “Shh, shh, shh.” His hand covers your mouth, his thrusts becoming slow and deep, letting you feel every inch of his cock, every vein, every pulse before hitting that sweet spot deep inside of you.

Your eyes squeeze shut, trying your hardest to keep quiet, the guard getting closer and closer. Their keys jingle with each step and their voices grow louder. “Atta girl. You feel how fucking deep I am…shiittt. Keep fucking squeezing me like that—yeah, yeah you’re gonna make me fucking cum.” His brows furrow as he bites down as his bottom lip in attempts to contain his moans, but his abs tense up and his entire body shakes before he’s filling you up, stuffing you with his sticky, hot cum. “No, no, don’t you dare move. Just like thattt, oh yes!” His eyes roll back, still cumming. His pushes his cum deeper inside of you, feeling it leak back out before he finally pulls out.

Geto truly wishes he could’ve had more time with you. His mouth drooling over the mere thought of how you taste, wanting to make you cum on his tongue, but for now he’ll have to settle for this. “You came inside me, asshole!” You pull your pants back up, turning to face him.

“Couldn’t let it go to waste.” He reaches out and stroke your cheek. “Right?”

“Whatever.” You swat his hand away. “Where are my underwear?” You look around the dimly lit room before realizing he was holding them.

“I’ll be keeping these for later,” he swung them in your face before stuffing them in his pocket.

“You’re such a pervert.” You narrowed your eyes at him.

“You have my cum running down your leg right now.” He places a finger under your chin, tilting it towards him as he leans down and kisses you slowly, his tongue sliding over yours before catching your bottom lip. “Mmm, thank you, doctor.” He smiles before kissing you once more.

You push him off of you, trying to process everything you just did right now. It was so wrong but it felt so right, so good, so intoxicating. “If it makes you feel any better, I get out in six months.”

“No. This was a one time thing.” You place a hand on his chest, shaking your head.

“Was it? Cause I don’t think it was. Not with the way your pussy was squeezing around me. It was almost like she was made for me.” He cups your face, forcing you to look at him. His eyes searches yours, a smile forming at the corner of his lips. “Yeah…it definitely isn’t the last time.”

[satoruxx]

boyfriend toji asks you to workout with him all the time, but not in the way you’re thinking. you’re his incentive, a little prize for working so hard.

so of course he cages you underneath him as he does push ups, claiming a victory kiss each time he lowers himself to the ground. honestly the way you laugh and giggle is far more satisfying than the actual workout part of it, his lips quirking into a half smile each time he pushes back up.

“you’re so lame,” you laugh, patting his flexing bicep and he rolls his eyes.

“what’s wrong with havin’ a prize? i’m workin’ so hard,” he stresses the last word with an over exaggerated sigh.

“yeah right like this isn’t the easiest possible thing for you—”

a heavy kiss—his favorite way of shutting you up. he pulls back, expression going smug at your dazed reaction.

“you sure do talk a lot for someone who’s enjoying it.” he quips.

and you do enjoy it—honestly you’d take any excuse to steal affection from the hulking wolf of a man that is your boyfriend, especially when he’s always so willing to give it.

some days he’ll switch it up and ask you to get on his back as he does his push ups, because god knows he’s strong and he can handle you so easily.

and he likes the way you loop your arms around his neck, likes the way you squeal as he playfully tries to bite your fingers when they get too close to his face.

“i think i’ll just stay up here,” you comment from atop his back, and toji can hear your smile.

“oh yeah?” he grunts as he lowers himself to the ground.

“mhm.” your fingers drum over his back. “you look pretty good like this. i can boss you around and everything.”

“hah—” an evil smirk, even as sweat drips down his temple. “watch your mouth, kid. don’t push your luck.”

you laugh, he grins. somehow you just make the whole process that much more fun for him.

toji is selfish too. bad enough that he has you trapped either under him or on top of him as he does push ups for as long as he can. but once he’s done and you’re about to go do your own work he’s grabbing your wrist with that trademark smirk going, “hey i’m not done yet.”

and then you find yourself holding his feet down as he casually does sit ups, and of course each time he makes it back up he’s kissing you. you giggle each time, leaning your weight onto your palms to keep his legs steady as you peak over his knees. the sound tickles his ears—infectious.

“aren’t you tired yet?” you call out, tilting your head with a teasing smile. toji pulls himself up, abs flexing as his bulky arms stay put behind his head.

“tired?” he scoffs, lips brushing over yours. he pulls back just slightly, hooded eyes boring into yours. “i got my energy right here.”

he’s ridiculous. selfish and utterly ridiculous. it comes to a point where he refuses to do his exercises if you’re not there, claiming that “it’s no fun workin’ hard if there’s nothin’ to work hard for.”

but obviously half of the time he ends up forgetting about the workout anyway, grabbing at your waist to pull you into his lap as he presses his mouth to yours eagerly—one little prize already managing to distract him.

for someone so strong, toji can be embarrassingly weak when it comes to you.

oh well, no harm done. he knows he can get his exercise in a different way—and you have no problem with that either.

[feyburner]

I ??? woke up at 3am with this scene fully written in my mind palace and quickly jotted it down in the Notes app

*

Clark’s shaking his head before he realizes he’s doing it, and feels a twinge of embarrassment at his own bad manners when Bruce stops mid-word to look at him, brows raised.

“No?” he says.

“No,” Clark says, again without thinking, and again with the reflexive urge to apologize. Somewhere his mother is tutting without knowing why. But he doesn’t apologize, because he’s already saying, “No, it can’t—it can’t be that.”

“Okay,” Bruce says slowly. “Can you elaborate?”

He is, honestly, having trouble taking his eyes off the screen. The mockup design of his new suit is there, dark and sleek, ridged like tactical gear. The blue is like the last shade of evening before you can’t call it evening anymore, the color of nine PM in Kansas in July, so exact there’s a strong chance Bruce color-picked it from a photo. The yellow accents are the cool fluorescent yellow-green of lightning bugs. The red is dark as arterial blood. Every aspect of the suit has been updated—the colors deeper, the angles sharper, the S extending to the corners of its frame—but Bruce has done it without changing the fundamentals. It’s immediately recognizable as the Superman suit, just… well, a little cooler, maybe. A little more of the times. Even the tailoring is modernized. The neckline. The shape of the boots. Where the belt hits at the waist. Clark can tell just by looking that Bruce has not only spent a lot of time on this in general, he’s spent a lot of time designing it specifically with Clark in mind, Clark’s needs and preferences and the small discomforts of his current suit, things he might have mentioned offhand after a mission but never with the assumption that Bruce was listening or filing it away. No doubt the next slides of this presentation will detail all the hidden features of the new suit, and they’ll all be incredibly thoughtful if not slightly overkill, and Bruce will pretend his sole motive here was practicality and risk reduction and respond to any thanks with a curt nod.

And Clark wants to thank him. He will. It’s just.

“It can’t be… cool,” he says, inane. Bruce is watching him with that steady look that used to feel clinical, piercing, and now mostly reads as attentive. “It can’t be—like yours. Tactical, military-grade.”

“Lightyears beyond, actually.”

“It has to—Ma said once, a kid should be able to draw it with crayons. You know? I can’t look like a weapon. I have to—I want to look like a friend.”

He can feel himself flushing. It’s rare that he speaks like this, and rarer still that he does so while being stared at intently. Bruce may think of himself as the darkness, but his gaze is a spotlight: unwavering and revealing and more a little sweat-inducing, for one reason or another.

“Sometimes, when I show up, people laugh,” Clark says. “If it’s somewhere out of the way, where they haven’t seen me before. I show up and I look like a festival performer. It’ll be the worst day of their lives, and they’ve got no reason to trust my face, but when they see what I’m wearing—it goes from ‘Who are you?’ to ‘Who is this guy?’ And that’s a good thing.”

“Hard to be afraid of a man dressed in primary colors,” Bruce says, almost to himself.

“Exactly.”

“I see. Thank you,” he says, “for explaining.”

Clark tries not to show how surprised he is to hear that. Judging by the crook of Bruce’s mouth, his success is negligible. “Of course. Sorry I didn’t—I mean, thank you, obviously, for going to such trouble. I didn’t mean to come in here and—I really do appreciate it, I can tell you put a lot of work in—”

Bruce’s eyes cut away. “No. No need. I didn’t ask, before I…. It was only a first draft. If you’re amenable, I’ll incorporate your feedback into the second one.”

“Oh! Yeah. Yes, of course, but you really don’t have to—”

“If you have any further notes, I would like to hear them.”

There’s something determined in the lines of his face. Clark has the sense that this moment is important, that it’s a turning point, even if he’s not sure why. It feels like striking out into a sea of ice, a blank white expanse under which something precious and vital is hidden, has been hidden all along, just waiting for him to find it. To want to.

“Sure,” he says. He looks back at the suit and swallows, and knows Bruce will see the flicker of his throat and take some meaning from it, and wishes he knew what the meaning was. Or maybe Bruce won’t notice or read into it at all. Maybe Clark needs to calm down, in fact. “Um. I don’t want to assume, but does it… do things?”

“It does things,” Bruce confirms, after the barest pause. “Let me show you the next slide.”