#I’m scrappy I can take her

[deadleafpard]

i should be allowed to fist fight kathy hochul actually. lemme at her

[ragingbookdragon]

It’s not an odd moment for Simon to come sit in his office. He does it fairly often, either to get away from people wanting his attention or to cool off and relax. But this time, he looks more than his usual serious as he sits down and sets a file in front of Price. They make eye contact, and Price picks up the folder, looking it over, before a brief surprise flashes in his gaze and he looks over the papers.

“You’re not re-enlisting?” He asks in shock.

“It’s time to get out,” Simon simply says.

Price isn’t going to engage something so serious with lies. “This about her?”

Simon almost bristles. Almost.

“She’s a wreck without ‘im.” He looks at the old man. “The kids are strugglin’.”

“Morrigan and JJ—”

“They need their mother back,” he cuts him off. “She can’t do it alone.”

“So you’re stepping up to play dad.” It’s a bit of a low blow.

“I’m not replacin’ Soa—I’m not replacin’ John.”

“So this is about her then.”

“I’m not in love with ‘er,” he retorts and like a fool, realizes he just shot himself in the foot. “She needs someone.”

Price reclines in his seat, lights a cigar—he’s too old for this. “I can’t stop you.”

“But you want to,” Simon replies.

“Can’t deny losing you will be a walk in the park with every superior we have.”

Simon looks at him. “Price, I need to do this. I…I owe it to ‘im to do this. To be there. To look after them. It’s…it’s what ‘e would’ve wanted me to do.”

“I know, son,” he says gently. “I know.”

“I’m not in love with ‘er,” he says, uncharacteristically weak.

“It’s okay if you are,” he smiles with with a softness. “She’s a helluva woman.”

Simon chokes back a snort at that. “She was to wrangle a man like Soap.”

Price eyes him for a good moment, they stare back into each other’s gaze. “Can I tempt you with reserves?”

“You can try,” he shoots back with a grin.

He sighs fondly through his nose. “Go home, Lieutenant.” Before he can get up, Price adds, “To Soap’s.”

“Yes, sir,” he says quietly and stands, looking down at his sitting captain. “I care about ‘er. About the kids.”

He looks at Simon and sees the scrappy eighteen-year-old just out of boot camp standing before him, the chip on his shoulder, and a desire to take on the world.

“You’re a good man, son,” he commends. “Don’t ever forget that.”

“Yes, sir,” he replies and turns, pulling out his phone. He shoots her a quick text.

Leave a plate out for me on the table?

Her response is almost instantaneous.

Already waiting.

[itneverendshere]

you going to jj’s little graduation, and you’re giving proud mom. even if he’s towering over you in his cap, and you’re pinching his cheeks, and as always rafes in awe of how much of natural caretaker

i'm a sucker for these three dynamic 😭😭😭😭 so i also added a little kie bc jj deserves all the teasing in the world after he made rafe's life miserable the past year🤭 hope you enjoy!🩵🫂

you've got no reason to be afraid - r.c

pairing: rafe x pogue!reader (bartender!reader universe)

Rafe never wanted to go to this thing.

No, really. It wasn’t even one of those "I don’t wanna go, but deep down I actually care" moments. He genuinely didn’t want to show up.

Because honestly, why the hell was he going to JJ Maybank's graduation?

You dragged him here, and yeah, he was pretending to hate it every second of it, but...okay, maybe he was…a little proud of the guy for making it out alive. Sue him.

You’re buzzing around like a proud mom, and it’s almost hard to look at. Not because it’s annoying—okay, maybe it’s a little annoying—but more because it’s… god, he doesn’t even know. It’s just you.

You can’t help it. The whole natural caretaker thing, how you swoop in and take care of people like you’re born to do it. 

Rafe’s leaning against the wall while you’re annoying JJ, pinching his cheeks like he's still that scrappy little kid you saved from his old man’s rage. His stupid graduation cap keeps sliding off his head, and every time you fix it, he grins like an idiot.

The guy's taller than you, but it’s almost like it doesn’t matter. 

"You’re not gonna cry, are you?" JJ teases, standing there in his cap and gown like some kinda of scholar. It's hard to take it seriously, to be honest. 

You roll your eyes at him, "Shut up, Maybank. I’m allowed to be proud of you." You reach up again, smoothing down the collar of his gown, and it hits Rafe how much you care about this. 

He crosses his arms tighter over his chest, trying his best not to look too invested in the scene playing out in front of him. You’re still fussing over JJ, like some proud older sister at her little brother’s first big milestone, and Rafe… well, he’s trying not to roll his eyes for the third time in five minutes.

He pushes off the wall, just enough to glance at his phone, scrolling through his notifications to look busy, like he’s not watching this whole thing happen. He catches a glimpse of you laughing—JJ making some dumb joke about how he can’t believe he even graduated in the first place.

He didn’t get it at first. How could someone who’s been through what you’ve been through still have the energy to care about people like this?

Especially about someone like JJ? The scrappy, no-good kid from The Cut who spent more time getting into fights and drinking than actually passing his classes. But that’s the thing about you—you never gave up on people, even when everyone else had.

"You’re staring," you tease, glancing back at him with a grin, breaking his train of thought. "You okay over there, baby?"

Rafe straightens up, wiping the expression off his face before you can see too much. He’s quick to shrug, playing it off like he’s too cool to care about whatever’s going on. "Yeah, I’m fine," he mutters, locking his phone and slipping it back in his pocket. "Just wondering how long this is gonna take."

"Uh-huh." You’re not buying it for a second, but you let it slide. You know him better than anyone else, after all, “Get your ass here. We’re taking a picture.”

He sighs, letting out a dramatic huff like this is the worst thing he’s ever been asked to do. "You serious?" he groans, but he’s already pushing himself off the wall and walking over to where you’re standing with JJ.

“Dead serious,” you shoot back, giving him that look—the one that always gets him to do what you want, even when he’s trying to act like he’s above it.

JJ’s got that shit-eating grin on his face, the one that says he knows Rafe’s just playing tough. He slings an arm over your shoulders like it’s the most natural thing in the world, and Rafe’s eyes narrow, his possessiveness showing before he can even stop himself.

“Relaaaax, man,” JJ teases, catching the look. “You’re gonna burst a vein.”

He rolls his eyes but steps closer, standing right beside you as you hand your phone to some random kid to take the picture. The three of you huddle together and you pull Rafe in by his shirt, snuggling into his side like you always do, and despite himself, he can’t help the small smile that tugs at his lips. Not enough for anyone else to notice—he’s too stubborn for that—but you feel it.

You always do.

The camera clicks, and just like that, the moment’s captured—JJ in his stupid graduation gear, you looking like a proud mom, and Rafe standing there like he’s not sure how he ended up a part of this weird little family, but maybe, just maybe, he’s okay with it.

“Alright, picture’s done. Can we leave now?” Rafe grumbles, already half-turned toward the parking lot.

You step in front of him to block his way. “Oh no, you’re not getting off that easy. We’re going to the party.” Your voice has that no-nonsense tone, the one that makes him groan because he knows you mean business.

JJ laughs again, clapping Rafe on the back. “C’mon, man. You can survive a couple hours with us. Plus, there’s free beer.”

He arches a brow. “Free beer?”

“Yep. Keg’s already set up back at John B’s place,” JJ says, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Fine,” Rafe groans, but he doesn’t actually mind. Not when you’re looking at him like that—like he’s the only thing you want standing next to you, even if it’s at some ridiculous party in the Cut. In his little sister’s boyfriends house of all places. Sarah and John B’s on-again, off-again thing is enough drama for one lifetime.

 “But I’m not carrying your ass home when you get shitfaced.”

JJ smirks, patting his gown. “I’ll be fine, man. I graduated today. I’m an adult now.”

Rafe snorts. “Yeah, we’ll see how long that lasts.”

You’re already pulling Rafe toward the car, glancing back at JJ with a grin. “Come on. Let’s celebrate while you still have time to pretend you’re responsible.”

JJ’s talking a mile a minute, the entire drive, from the backseat, already planning out how he’s going to "run the party" and bragging about the free booze like it’s the highlight of his life. Rafe tunes most of it out, too focused on you, the warmth of your hand lingering even after you’ve let go. By the time you pull up to John B’s place, the sun’s starting to set and the yard is already half full with the Pogues. Kie’s there, Sarah too, probably.

You park, and before Rafe can even make a move, JJ’s already jumped out, tossing his cap onto the grass as he heads toward the keg. "Let’s get this party started bitches!" he shouts, and the small crowd cheers in response.

Great.

He climbs out of the car, walking around to meet you on the driver’s side. “You sure about this?” he asks, glancing toward the crowd. He’s not exactly best friends with these guys, and parties in the Cut… well, they’re not really his scene.

But you smile up at him, reaching for his hand and threading your fingers through his. "Yeah, I’m sure. You’ll survive, baby.”

He huffs, but when you start pulling him toward the party, he lets you. He always lets you. You weave your way through the small crowd of pogues, most of whom nod or wave at him but don’t bother trying to talk to him. 

You glance back, grinning as you lead the way toward the makeshift party area. “You’re not gonna hide in the corner the whole time, are you?” you tease, giving his hand a playful squeeze.

Rafe rolls his eyes but follows you, his free hand shoving into his pocket. “No promises,” he says, though a small part of him is already resigning to the fact that you’re probably going to drag him into the middle of everything by the end of the night.

Everything's already in full swing by the time you both find a spot near the keg. JJ’s surrounded by a group of people, handing out beers like it’s his personal mission to get everyone drunk. John B and Sarah are off to the side, leaning against the porch railing, sharing a laugh. Disgusting.

You flash him a smile before heading off to grab drinks, leaving him standing awkwardly near the keg, trying his best to avoid making eye contact with anyone.

He’s mid-scroll on his phone again when he hears JJ’s voice call out, “Yo, Rafe!”

Rafe glances up, already preparing himself for whatever shit JJ’s about to throw his way.

“Don’t tell me you’re just gonna stand there like some grumpy old man. You’re at my graduation party, man! You gotta at least try to have fun.” JJ’s grinning from ear to ear, clearly already a few beers in.

Rafe snorts, shaking his head. “I’m here, aren’t I? That’s gotta count for something.”

JJ laughs, clapping him on the shoulder. “Yeah, yeah. You’re right. Just didn’t think I’d see Rafe Cameron at a pogue party, y'know?”

“Don’t make me punch you in the face."

JJ grins again, but there’s something a little more genuine in his expression this time. “For real though, man. Thanks for coming. I know this isn’t your scene.”

Rafe’s about to answer with his usual sarcasm, but he catches the sincerity in JJ’s tone and decides to let it slide. He nods, his voice gruff as he says, “Yeah. Congrats, Maybank. You deserve it.”

JJ’s grin widens, and he raises his beer in a mock toast. “Thanks, man. Appreciate it.”

Before he can say anything else, you’re back with two beers in hand, nudging one toward him. “Here you go. Now you’ve got no excuse to look so miserable.”

Rafe takes the beer from you with a half-smirk, but his eyes are soft as he glances down at you. “I don’t look miserable.”

You raise an eyebrow, clearly not convinced. “Sure.”

He chuckles, taking a sip of his beer. It’s cheap, of course, and not exactly his taste, but he doesn’t complain. Not when you’re standing so close, looking up at him like you can see right through all his bullshit. He watches you for a moment, the way you light up around these people, the way you float between them like you’re the glue holding everyone together does something to his heart.

Rafe leans back, his arm draped loosely around your waist as you chat with Kie and JJ, laughing at some dumb story JJ’s telling about getting caught sneaking into class late one too many times. He can’t help but wonder how you do it. The nights you spent bailing JJ out when his dad got too wasted and violent. How you’d sneak him into your place, covering up the bruises and making sure he had somewhere to crash for the night.

“Hey,” your voice pulls him out of his thoughts. “You okay? You’re staring again.”

Rafe blinks, realizing he’s been zoning out, watching you again. “Yeah,” he mutters, clearing his throat. “Just thinking.”

You tilt your head, curiosity flickering in your eyes. “About?”

“How much I love you.”

JJ gags, “Shut the fuck up.”

Kie slaps him in the back, “Shut up, it’s cute.”

Rafe lets out a low chuckle, glancing over at JJ. "Jealous, Maybank?"

JJ takes a long swig of his beer, rolling his eyes dramatically. “Oh, please. I’m not jealous of your sappy shit.”

“Sure you’re not,” He drawls, leaning back with a smirk. “Not like you’ve been drooling over Kie all year or anythin’.”

Kie’s eyes widen, her face flushing just enough to make it obvious, “What the hell are you talking about?” She shoots Rafe a glare, but there’s no real venom behind it.

His grin only widens. “Oh, come on. You think I haven’t noticed? You two have been dancing around each other for what, months now?”

JJ chokes on his beer, coughing. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. That’s not—”

But Rafe’s not letting up. He’s enjoying this way too much. “Dude, just admit it. You’ve been into her forever, and honestly, we’re all sick of watching you act like you don’t.”

Kie crosses her arms, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, really? You’re sick of it?”

“Yeah,” Rafe deadpans, “Everyone knows. Hell, even John B probably knows, and that guy’s oblivious to everything except Sarah.”

JJ groans, rubbing his hand over his face. “You’re seriously gonna make this about me?”

“Yep,” Rafe grins, “Payback’s a bitch, huh?”

He knows Rafe’s just messing with him. He’s been down bad for Kie for as long as he can remember, but every time he gets close, something stops him. The friendship, the fear of messing it up, maybe just the fact that he doesn’t think he deserves her. Rafe’s seen it all before.

Kie, for her part, just rolls her eyes. “Boys are so fucking dumb.”

You laugh, nudging Rafe in the ribs. “Stop torturing him. It’s his big day.”

Rafe huffs, a smirk still playing on his lips. “I’m just saying, if I had to deal with all the crap about you and me, it’s only fair he gets his turn.”

“Yeah, well, maybe JJ needs a little push,” you glance between the two of them. “You gonna make a move, Maybank? Or you planning on dragging this out for another year?”

JJ looks at you, then at Kie, then back at Rafe, who’s clearly enjoying every second of this. “You guys suck,” he mutters, grabbing another beer and stalking off toward the keg, leaving Kie standing there, cheeks still a little red, though she’s doing her best to look unbothered.

Rafe watches him go, then turns back to Kie. “He’s a mess, but you already know that.”

Kie sighs, shaking her head. “Yeah, I do.” Her voice softens,“But he’s my mess, I guess.”

You smile, giving Kie a knowing look. “Took you long enough to admit it.”

Kie glares at you playfully, but there’s no hiding the tiny smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Oh, shut up.”

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

20 for the tav/astarion ask😊

A/N: Reminder that this is based off the Ace!Tav from "I Want It All" and therefor also a bard. I'm picturing this after they get together.

Also, small note. Obviously, I’m still happy to do the prompt, but in the future when making a request, remember to at least say please. I’m not a machine neither is any other writer on this platform.

Prompt: bandaging/stitching up an injury

Astarion x AsexaulBard!Tav Masterlist

Your hand was throbbing; a steady reminder of why you usually kept to the back in most fights. Your strength lie in talking, not throwing punches. Still, there were times it couldn’t be helped. Luckily for you, Astarion was there to give you as much grief about it as your body already was.

“You really ought to have Shadowheart take a look at this,” he said, carefully dabbing away the blood on your knuckles with a damp rag.

You shrugged. “It’s not that bad. Besides, she’s got her hands full with Wyll and Karlach.”

He hummed in obvious annoyance. He knew you were right, but he didn’t have to like it.

“It may have escaped your notice, but you have spells,” he pointed out. “Next time, I’d suggest using them.”

“Maybe,” you allowed, “but you have to give me points for efficiency.”

He let out an exasperated sigh as he grabbed a fresh bandage and began to wrap your hand.

“Have you always been so quarrelsome or am I just lucky?”

“I prefer the term scrappy. Has a certain charm to it.”

He scoffed. “What like a mutt?”

“A really cute one,” you elaborated. “One of those you just want to clean up and take home. Such as…”

Your eyes went to your joined hands and the very gentle way he was attending to your injuries.

His eyes narrowed before pulling the bandage just a little too tightly.

“Ow,“ you said, dryly.

He raised an eyebrow, daring you to argue.

You rolled your eyes. “Fine. If I get into a tavern brawl again, I promise to hide under the table and let somebody else do the fighting.”

He gave a low chuckle. “Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep, darling.”

He tied off the bandage, allowing you the chance to test the feel. Your hand still stung, but at least you wouldn’t have to worry about further straining it.

“Tell me doctor, will I ever play the violin again?” you asked, dramatically.

“It’s impossible to say,” he said, matching your performance. “But if there is any hope of recovery, I suggest you spend the remainder of the evening in the arms of the most beautiful man you can find.”

You nodded solemnly. "If I must, I must. Where is Gale?”

Astarion frowned and the next moment you were being pulled into his lap, as his arms wrapped tightly around you.

“Bold words for an injured mutt,” he growled into your ear.

“Woof.”

He didn’t have anything smart to say to that, deciding to silence you with a kiss. You conceded, happy to stay right where you were for as long as he’d have you.

You really needed to try punching things more often.

[amandacanwrite]

A Plain Stack of Parchment - Gale x Tav/reader

Pairing || Urchin Backstory Tav/Reader (unspecified gender) x Professor Gale

POV || Second Person

Length || 3,200 words

Scenario || Gale has tasked you with writing your wedding invites so that he can finally take them to the courier. The only problem is, you don't have anyone to send invites to. In hopes of smoothing over the conversation in which you finally tell him that you really don't have any family, you attempt to make dinner....and destroy his beautiful kitchen in the process.

A/n || This is my first piece of fanfic I've ever shared publicly, please be kind to me about it. I don't really know what the rules are. This has been brewing in my head for days, though and I must get it OUT.

“Are you asking me to marry you?” you’d asked. 

“Hah…I suppose I am,” he’d responded.

He’d carried on about how much Tara would love it, and of course his mother. Words to fill the silence while you’d found yourself bound in stunned silence; words to cover his nerves while you’d worked through the shock of having been asked to join his family. 

Family…a real family. You’d never had one before. It had been an easy answer to give, a joyful one to give. 

“I accept. I’ll marry you, Gale Dekarios.”

He’d begun to prattle on again in that way that you’d loved and it’d been impossible not to smile as he spoke about arrangements. That was until he’d said it. 

“--And you’ll have invites of your own to send out, I’m sure…but that’s all to come.”

You’d not had much time to worry about it, though. Moments later he was kissing you, his fingers curled into the hair at the nape of your neck in that way that always made you melt. You could worry about this conversation another time, you’d told yourself. 

But that time never came around. Gale had accepted his position as professor at Blackstaff, and you both had spent so many long nights on repairing the crown of Karsus so that he could finally be free of netherese magic inhabiting the space so dangerously close to his heart. The day Mystra cured him was one you’d remember forever, because you were both finally free of not only the danger looming over your love for one another, but from the ghost of the past Mystra had been since you’d met him. 

But now? Now you felt regret. 

Gale was working late–a problem student he took on as a project needed his help. He implored you for the umpteenth time to please finish your invitations. They really must be sent out, dearest, if our families are to have time to travel for the wedding. 

How could you tell him you had nothing to send out? How could you explain that you didn’t come with a family; didn’t come with any kind of support system? 

His mother had accepted you as one of her own so quickly. Tara had become just as doting and fussy over you as over the wizard himself. But you couldn’t give him that in return–with your there would be no inlaws, no great aunts, no distant cousins…no grandparents should you decide to have a family of your own one day…

You looked at the optimistic stack of parchment he’d left for you, the quills, two pots of ink. He’d even left you his very own signet ring to press the Dekarios clan crest into your sealing wax, so ready for you to join his family that he would let you claim his name prematurely. 

You wondered if that would change once he knew…once he knew that you’d always been scrappy and alone before the tadpoles and nautiloid brought you and the others together. That was why you’d done everything that you did. It was why you helped Astarion destroy Cazador, why you did everything you could to figure out how to fix Karlach’s infernal engine, even now. It’s why you lifted the shadowcurse for Halsin and helped Wyll rescue his father. It’s why you’d urged Shadowheart to endure the pain of her curse…

Because they all had family, and with time they’d become your family. You’d wanted so long to have one, to have a reason to be good. No one had ever asked after you–where you’d come from, how you became who you were. And you were relieved to not have to tell the truth of the matter. 

You were unloved. 

Thrown away by a mother who couldn’t care for you and living off of scraps you could find in the streets or coin you could slip out of the pockets of strangers. 

So all you could do was stare at that pile of parchment and try to scrape every recess of your memory for anyone; any single godsdamned person to send a wedding invitation to. Damn Gale Dekarios for sending off the ones for your old companions. At least you would have had something to show when he got home today. 

In the end, you gave up. You took the time to put the fine linen parchment away and place the ink pots back on the shelf with the others. You placed the sharpened quills back in the glass goblet he kept dozens of others and…and simply placed the signet ring in the middle of his writing desk where he’d left you hours before. 

And then you decided you would make dinner. 

Gale always cooked, even after his longest of days. You’d offered to do it many times but he always insisted that he liked to cook. That he liked to feed you. 

But the sun was setting lazily behind the Waterdhavian horizon, and Gale was certain to be exhausted after dealing with his problem student all evening. Dinner was the least you could do. Sure, you were never much of a cook, but it couldn’t be that hard to roast a chicken and some vegetables, right? There was certainly no shortage of recipe books in the tower. You were the savior of Baldur’s Gate, you’d taken down an elder brain! Certainly you could figure out cooking a bird. 

You got to work. 

Things seemed to be going pretty alright at the start of it, too. Coat the skin in butter and herbs; check. Scallop the potatoes; check? At least you thought that’s what a scalloped potato looked like. Blanch the asparagus…what did blanching mean?    

 Okay. No asparagus then. Gale could be a meat and potatoes man for one night, couldn’t he?

When you put the chicken and potatoes in the oven to roast and started working on reducing some red wine and spices for a sauce that things started to go south. Things started to go south very, very fast.

First, you realized the red you grabbed was not a Waterdhavian red as you’d thought, but a bottle of fire wine. Fire wine was already heavily spiced, so the the spices you added would be too much. Okay, okay–so, you would try again. 

But when you lifted the saucepan to…hide the evidence somewhere, you also spilled that fire wine directly onto the stove, directly into the flame. You eyes landed on the quickly spilling liquid just as the puddle ignited.

“Oh, for fuc–”

The explosion was nothing less than spectacular; it sent you sprawling across the room, smashing into the brick wall on the other end of the kitchen. The room filled up with black smoke as you tried and failed to get back up to your feet. Your head was spinning and you could barely get a breath in your lungs. 

Shit, shit, shit. You needed to get up. You needed to get up and figure out how to clean this up before Gale got home. He was no stranger to explosions, sure. But gods help the man or woman that prevented him from making his morning cup of tea and enjoying it at the kitchen table. 

You steeled yourself. “Come on. Savior of Baldur’s gate. Come on, get up,” you said. 

But as you slowly got up onto shaky legs you heard a familiar voice booming through the room. A second later, a great storm cloud formed above you and then doused the room in torrential rain. Your soft-soled boots caught on the wet tile floor and you slipped, falling to the ground again. Gale had casted Create Water. 

“Nine hells,” he shouted as he ran over to you, cupping your sooty face in his rough hewn hands. “Are you alright, my love?”

His hands patted over your body, then. Your arms, your hands, bending and extending your legs, checking your ribs. “Is anything broken?”

“I’m fine,” you coughed out. “Just…wet. And embarrassed.”

“Better than being incinerated. Did I leave something out–we’re working on disarming traps in class and–”

“No, no,” you said. “I–I was just trying to make dinner.”

His face contorted into an expression that looked almost affronted. “Make dinner?” he said, sounding confused. 

He looked back at the smouldering wreckage of his kitchen. “Oh no,” he said as he slumped onto his knees and slipped his hands into his wavy, brown hair. “What have you done?”

He must not have fully registered the room he’d doused, which you supposed was very sweet in it’s own way. He’d only hurried to make sure you were okay, he didn’t think for a moment on the damage. At least not at first. 

“I just…I thought that you would like to come home to dinner prepared for you, for once. I was trying to surprise you,” you said. 

“Well you most certainly succeeded in that, didn’t you?” he asked, his tone biting. “This is just what I needed after dealing with Jeremi all day. To leave a destroyed classroom to come home to a destroyed kitchen. Just–fantastic.”

“I’m sorry,” you said. “I just–”

“Tell me that you at least got your invitations done,” he snapped. “That this wasn’t some sorry excuse for a distraction from planning our wedding? That you didn’t destroy my kitchen and almost kill yourself and potentially Tara so that you could claim you forgot again?”

He looked at you, his brown eyes tired and a little sad. You almost wished you had been incinerated. You knew he didn’t need to use Detect Thoughts to read your mind. You were certain your expression said it all. 

“Your silence speaks volumes,” he said as he stood up and started cataloging the extent of the damage. 

You knew he’d just had a bad day, that the vitriol was more because of the late hours and the unpleasant surprise. The sharpness of his tone still cut like a knife. It was all you could do to sit there and watch him clean up after you. 

You usually loved to watch him do little mundane tasks with his magic. You found the delicate flourishes of his hands so charming, loved the spark of joy in his eyes as the weave spun to meet him. But watching him now, watching his sharp, staccato movements as he zipped recipe books back into place and disappeared broken glass into some pocket dimension…you felt like an utter failure of a partner to him. 

You just sat there while he worked, wanting to get up and help, but afraid that another sharp comment would eviscerate you. You’d had disagreements with him before, of course. And he had been sharp with you about a few of your more adventurous choices (he still brought up the time you licked a dead spider once in a while.) But he had never been truly, truly angry with you. Not like this. 

He opened the demolished stove and took out the raw bird sitting on the bed of potatoes. He hissed out a tight breath and brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. 

“I have a feeling I am not ready to hear the answer to this question, but have you changed your mind?” he asked. 

The question took you by surprise. “Changed my mind?” you asked. “About what?”

“What do you think?” he snapped, looking at you. “About the wedding. About…about marrying me.”

“What?” you asked. “Of course I haven’t changed my mind, why would you ever think something like that? I’m more excited than I’ve ever been to be a part of your family.”

“Then why?” he asked. “Why have you been avoiding writing your invitations. I have asked you to do them at least half a dozen times now, and every time you have some excuse to tell me. ‘Oh, I just got caught up in this book.’ ‘Sorry, dearest–the tadpole headache strikes again.’ And now? Now dinner?”

“Is it a crime for me to want to make dinner for my intended?” you said. 

“My love. My flawless, exquisite, darling,” he said. “You are many things. A gifted fighter, an astonishing leader, an excellent dancer, and none too shabby beneath the sheets. But you. Are not. A cook. I allowed you to cook ONE time. A singular time in our travels together and do you remember what happened?”

You pouted. “Everyone got sick,” you grumbled in a low voice. 

“YES! Everyone GOT SICK,” he shouted. “Everyone got so sick that we had to spend THREE DAYS in camp. And do you remember what you swore to me that day?”

“That I would never cook for people again,” you said. 

“THAT YOU WOULD NEVER COOK FOR PEOPLE AGAIN!” he shouted triumphantly. “So then, why, my love. Why would you be cooking now if not to avoid sending your wedding invitations? And why would you want to avoid sending your invitations unless you had changed your mind about spending the remainder of your days with me?”

You nibbled on your lip and exhaled, looking down at your soot-covered hands. 

“I don’t…” you said, almost choking on the words, almost looking for a lie. “Gale, I don’t have anyone to send invitations to. And every time I think to tell you that, I get terrified that you’ll realize the mistake you made in proposing to someone who brings nothing to the table.”

“No one to send invitations to?” he asked, seeming surprised. He looked at you with a quirked eyebrow.  “No, I’m sure that isn’t true. We’ve talked about your family before, haven’t we?”

“Not that I remember,” you said. 

“During our travels, you…we…we shared stories,” he said. “All of those times around the campfire. The nights alone between us.”

You watched as his eyes became distant, as if he’s searching his memory for some cache of data he’s stored about you. He smoothed his hand over his chin before covering his mouth with his hand. His brow furrowed and his expression saddened before he dropped his hand and crossed his arms. 

“Gods,” he said. “Every story you told us, everything you shared…tales of treachery, of bar fights and street brawls, the times you told us you almost lost a hand. All the times you told us about those…strange meals you would scrounge up with that glimmer of warm nostalgia in your eyes.”

He walked slowly over to you and kneeled in front of where you sat, still soaked to the bone and covered in soot. He took your hand in his and squeezed your fingers. 

“I may be an impressive scholar, but I am a fool, my love,” he said. “All of this time together and I was always so caught up in how lovely it felt to be truly accepted and understood. All the times you told me that I was enough for you as I am and I couldn’t even spare the proper courtesy of asking you about your family. You must think me an ogre of a man.”

You forced a little airy laugh from your lungs and shrugged. “Not much to tell about,” you said weakly, swallowing as your throat became uncomfortably tight. “Nothing really at all.”

You bit the inside of your lip and looked down at your hands again, willing yourself not to cry. You promised yourself a long time ago not to cry over this anymore. No one got to pick their hand in life, it was useless to cry over it. 

Gale cupped your cheek in his hand, angling your chin up again so you’d meet his eyes again. “I asked you to write invites to a family you didn’t have. Then you tried to make dinner for me when you couldn’t do it, and I shouted at you for ruining my kitchen. Please forgive me, my love. I have been a miserable, self-centered ass.”

“I’ll forgive you if you forgive me for ruining your kitchen?” you offered.

“You have yourself a bargain,” he said.

He leaned in, pressing his lips to yours. The kiss was soft at first; chaste, even. It reminded you of your first kiss with the girl who sold papers in the lower city. But then it changed. He scooped the hand cupping your chin back into your hair, curling the locks around his fingers before smoothing his free hand up your thigh, gripping your leg and pulling you closer. 

He hitched you up onto his hips and stood, still surprisingly strong despite the more sedentary life you both were living these days. You draped your arms over his shoulders, loosely hooking your fingers together as you tilted your head, parting your lips to breathe in that ever present scent of cinnamon and warm tea. 

He let out a low hum, the sound of his buzzing against your mouth. 

He parted from the kiss and pressed his forehead against yours as he sat you down on the charred countertop. “You are lovely,” he said. “Your beauty, your generosity? As intoxicating as any glass of wine.”

You let out a little huff and are surprised when you feel a few drops of wetness fall onto your cheeks. Gale tuts, backing up just far enough to swipe that wetness away with the rough pad of his thumb. “I’m so sorry,” you said. “I…I never cry.”

“Don’t you dare apologize,” he said. “Don’t you even think about it.”

You gave a sheepish smile and exhaled, nodding once. 

“You know what?” he said. “The kitchen can wait.”

“But your morning tea…” you said. 

“Tomorrow, you and I will get tea together at that little bakery I haven’t had a chance to show you, yet. And tonight? Tonight we’ll walk to the vendor down the road, we’ll get some delicious Waterdhavian street food and we won’t think at all about the origin of said food, trust me, it’s not worth it,” he said. “And then we will cuddle up on the balcony and I will ask you extensively and exhaustively about your life before you met me.”

“What if you don’t like what you hear?” you asked. “What if I was never honest, or smart? What if I didn’t have a wholesome youth like you did?”

“My love,” he said. “When you met me I was a man with a tadpole in my brain and an orb in my chest that would level the whole of Waterdeep if I didn’t eat your precious magic artefacts. I was a man who tried to become a god, and when I thought of making the same mistake a second time, you’re the one who talked sense back into me. You’re the one who showed me that I was worthy of love, just like this.”

You smiled and nodded as he kissed your forehead. “You’re a remarkable wizard of great renown,” you teased. 

“I’m just a man, and a teacher with a student who seems intent on torturing me,” he said. “I’m also remarkably humble.”

“And?” you said. 

“And nothing you do or say could make me stop loving you,” he said, “Not even you…destroying my beautiful, wonderful kitchen.”

“I thought I was forgiven,” you said with a look. 

“I have most certainly forgiven, but I have not yet forgotten, my love,” he said. 

“Perhaps I could remedy that tonight, after your questions,” you suggested, wrapping your legs around his waist. “Give you a bit of a distraction.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time you made me forget something with your diversions,” he said. “That sounds like the perfect way to end the night.”

“Well, then, let’s get cleaned up and go buy some of that questionable food,” you said. 

“With pleasure.”

[beneathstarryskies]

Word Count: 4k (and some change)

Summary: Reno is forced to go on vacation after getting pretty beat up on a mission. He takes advantage of his time off to visit the Honeybee Inn, where he becomes enamored by one of the waitresses.

Warnings: fem!reader, shinra counts as a warning, mentions of sex work (more implied than explicit i think), alcohol, kissing, over all pretty tame

A/N: This is part one! I know for sure there will be a second part, but I'm not sure if there will be more than two parts yet. I didn't even anticipate it being two parts, but it just kept getting longer!

Reno heard whispers about the Honeybee Inn for as long as he could remember. Especially once he started working for Shinra. Even the most button-down workers couldn’t resist heading down to Sector 6 to check out the shows. 

“It’s the perfect place for a guy to unwind,” he’d heard some middle manager say in the cafeteria one day. 

Pft. As if Turks have time for that kind of fun.

His luck changed when he found himself a little beat up after a mission, and Tseng had ordered him to take a vacation. There were many things for a young, scrappy guy like Reno to get into. He tossed around the option of heading to Costa Del Sol to hang out with the cute girls on the beach, or maybe even going to the Golden Saucer for some flashy fun. Then, he remembered the excited whispers surrounding the Honeybee Inn. He’d heard it can be hard to get into, but he was confident he could throw his status as a Turk around to get in, at least for a show. If it sucked, he figures he’d still have time to actually do something fun on his vacation. 

After a couple of days of mostly sleeping and ordering takeout, he headed down to Wall Market to see what all the fuss was about. He’d been here a few times for some missions, but he’d never been afforded the luxury of leisure time down there. 

There’s a crowd around the door, people trying to buy tickets or even just get a peek inside. Reno wonders if it’s truly that big of a deal or if people are just buying into the hype. He’s seen firsthand how easy it is for the masses to be swallowed up by something wrapped in shiny drapings and presented with the right flair. Hell, Shinra’s success depended on people succumbing to a bit of dazzle…Enough so that they’ll look the other way from the atrocities committed by the company. 

Now isn’t the time to get moral.

He pushes those thoughts aside and shoves through the crowd. He finds himself stopped by a security guard. If the guy up front wearing a bowtie with no shirt and an antenna headband could be called that. Reno was pretty sure he could take him in a fight, but he had to remind himself to calm down. 

“Come on, you wouldn’t say no to Shinra,” he says to the guard with a sly grin as he flashes his badge. The guard's eyes go wide and he swallows hard before moving aside. 

“Right this way sir,” the guard says and points him in the direction of the front desk. Reno is confident as he glides across the pristinely waxed floors to the desk. He leans on the desk and flashes a charming grin to the girl wearing a honeybee uniform. 

“One ticket to the show, please,” he says. 

“I’m sorry sir, we’re all full for the evening and…” 

“Uh, maybe we should talk to Andrea,” the guard butts in, and gives the girl a glance trying to indicate that Reno is someone who should get a ticket. 

“Andrea is getting ready for the show,” the girl persists. 

“I’m sure he’ll want to know who is here.” 

Reno realizes they think he’s here on business. It’s a little annoying that everyone assumes that just because he’s a Turk, but he also sees the benefit to it in this situation. The ticket girl nods slowly as the guard leans over to whisper something in her ear. 

“I’ll be right back, sir,” she says to Reno before going through a curtain. 

Reno looks around the lobby a little bit and peaks through the doors leading into the main bar. He sees the stage, vacant right now except for a couple of Honeybees practicing their steps for the performance tonight. He sees one girl wiping off tables. Her smile is bright and infectious when one of the girls on stage asks her what she thinks of their moves. He doesn’t have time to watch much longer before the ticket girl comes downstairs again. 

“Sir, follow me, please,” she says sweetly. 

Reno follows her upstairs. There are a few rooms closed off with ‘Do Not Disturb’ signs on the door. He imagined the illicit activities going on inside but did his best to seem disinterested. Then, she leads him up another flight of stairs into an opulently decorated dressing room. Some of the girls are gathered around getting ready, adjusting their costumes and applying makeup. A few of them coo at him flirtatiously, but before he can really enjoy the attention the ticket girl is leading him into a room off to the side with the nameplate “Andrea” on the door. 

She opens the door and ushers him inside. A man sits at a vanity, applying eyeliner meticulously. 

“Have a seat, Mr. Sinclair,” the man says. “I’ll be with you after I’ve made myself beautiful…Or should I say, more beautiful?” 

“Lookin’ pretty good to me,” Reno says with a cheeky grin before sitting down on the chaise lounge. 

“Ah, flattery. I didn’t know Turks carried that in their arsenal,” the man chuckles, then turns around in his chair. “I’m Andrea Rhodea, but I’m sure you knew that already.” 

“Yeah, I had a hint or two,” Reno confirms. “I’m Reno Sinclair, but I’m sure you knew that too.” 

“Mhm,” Andrea stands up and pulls on his waistcoat. “So, what does Turk want here?” 

“Nothing crazy. Just enjoying my vacation,” Reno shrugs. 

“I didn’t know Turks got those.” 

“Well, we don’t often. So you can see why I’d want to make the best of it.” 

“And the Honeybee Inn certainly is making the best of it,” Andrea boasts as he walks over to Reno. “You can sit in the VIP section. It has the best view, and is by invite only.” 

“And what do get from inviting me?” 

“Maybe a favor, if I ever need it,” Andrea smirks. Then, he snaps his fingers. A Honeybee runs in, the same one with the pretty smile he saw earlier. 

You smile up at Reno, “I’ll show you to your seat sir.” 

Reno’s smile widens, “Please do.” 

As you grab his arm, he feels his cheeks heat up a bit and he follows you obediently as you lead him out of Andrea’s dressing room. He keeps looking down at you, trying to figure you out. You seem so sweet and innocent, yet you work in a place like this. 

There’s no tragic backstory for how you ended up at the Honeybee Inn. However, sometimes you weave sad tales to interested customers to get better tips. You grew up in the Sector 5 slums, and had a relatively nice childhood despite living in poverty. The big dream was Loveless. 

Oh, how you longed to take the stage in a role within that masterpiece. 

But living costs gil, and one of the best ways to earn it in your opinion was at the Honeybee Inn. Andrea was a pretty kind boss compared to some other jobs you’d worked around the slums to save up for the move topside. If you fluttered your eyelashes and flirted just right, the people that came in here were willing to tip pretty nicely. Some of the girls were ambitious enough to offer further entertainment in one of the private rooms. While you respected their drive and ingenuity, you weren’t brave enough to go that far. 

As you guide Reno to the table at the very front, you put on your best carefree vibe. You have him sit down at the table and he leans back as you sit beside him. You caress his chest playfully. 

“The VIP section comes with your choice of a personal attendant for the evening, Mr. Sinclair,” you say sweetly. 

“Just call me Reno,” he blushes and bites his lip. “And uh…Are you one of the options, pretty girl?” 

“As it turns out I am!” you say cheerfully and lean closer. “Would you like for me to tend to you for the evening?” 

“Yeah, I think I’d like that a lot.” 

——

Despite his effort to play it cool, you can see a little nervousness in him. He’s different from most guys you’ve tended to in the VIP section. He likes the attention, but he’s not pushy about it. He’s not being as much of a pervert as most guys, even though his eyes do stay pretty well focused on your fishnet-clad legs. 

“Then, I’m all yours for the evening, Reno!” you say sweetly and lean against him. “Should I get you a drink?” 

“Yes please,” he purrs and watches as you stand up. His eyes are fixed on the graceful sway of your hips as you walk to the bar to get him a drink. He notices you don’t ask what he wants, but he trusts you to order something good. 

You talk to the bartender and one of the other girls comes up to you. 

“Got a VIP tonight?” she asks as she orders herself a shot to unwind before the show begins. Already people are starting to file in, and Honeybees are buzzing around to keep them entertained. 

“Yeah, he seems nice actually. I think it’ll be an easy night,” you smile. 

“Be careful, I heard he’s a Turk,” she whispers. 

“Oh?” you raise your brow. 

“Yeah, but I mean it just means he can afford to tip well,” she says before downing her shot. 

You watch her saunter away to deal with some of her tables. Before you have a chance to ruminate on what she’s said, your drink is placed on the bar. You try to shift back into work mode as you grab the drink. Reno’s eyes meet yours as he watches you come back, trying to play off the fact that he’d been staring at your ass while you were bent over the bar. You flash him a flirty smile as you slide into the booth beside him and set the drink on the table. You know this costume does wonders for your curves. It’s often been one of your greatest assets at this job, but has also been the cause of many issues too when creeps thought just because you were wearing the uniform that your body was for sale too. 

“So, how are you enjoying your visit?” you ask as you lean against his side. 

“It’s…Enticing, I suppose,” he smirks at you. 

Deep down, Reno finds the whole thing a little bit frivolous. Wall Market in general rubbed him the wrong way. This place was thriving with gil made off the backs of those in the surrounding sectors trying to escape the sadness and mundanity of their lives. Then, of course, he had to remind himself of his place in the world. Shinra was worse by far, and he was another cog in their machine. 

“Don’t worry, it gets better when the show starts,” you say and snuggle against his chest. 

Deep down you both know you’re buttering him up for a good tip, but Reno can’t help thinking how good it feels to have someone’s warmth against him. He almost feels like a shy teen when he drapes his arm around your shoulder. You keep him busy with light conversation, teasing him a little for how important he looks in his suit. 

Finally, the music starts playing. You sit up and clap your hands excitedly as you draw his attention to the stage. As the girl’s start dancing, preparing to introduce Andrea, he watches for just a bit before his eyes are back on you. The way your eyes light up and your body sways to the music he realizes how badly you want to be onstage. Your feet instinctively tap along with the steps of the dances being performed. 

You really come alive when the cue comes for you to jump on the table. As you do, Reno’s eyes are glued to you. He watches your body move to the music, but more than anything he notices how your eyes are lit up with pure happiness. When this portion of the performance ends, you sit back down beside him. You lean against his side and hold his hand as Andrea make his entrance and steals the show. Reno isn’t even intrested in what’s going on. He’s just completely enamored with you. For the first time in so long he wants to get to know someone, and maybe to be known in return. 

The music slowly comes to an end as the dancers perform their final steps and then take a bow. The curtain comes down, then rises a few minutes later to the house band playing atmospheric music. 

“Well, I suppose that’s that,” you say softly and kiss his cheek. 

“Can I walk you home?” he asks hopefully. 

“I’ve got to help clean up,” you explain as other honeybees start dutifully cleaning tables and sweeping the floors. 

“I can wait,” he insists. “I’ve got all the time in the world!” 

“Okay, I’ll be back in a jiff!” you smile before bouncing away from him. When you return, you’ve changed into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. The difference to him is astounding. You look like one of those cute college girls he sees sometimes in the city. Innocent and sweet and eyes full of hope. 

You help clean up the rest of the tables before going to the bar to collect your tips for the night. He fishes some gil out of his pocket and doesn’t even bother to count it. He just hands it over to you as soon as you’re close to him. 

“Oh! Reno, this is way too much!” 

“No it isn’t,” he chuckles as he stands up. “It’s not enough.” 

He reaches down to take your hand as he leads you out of the inn. You’re still arguing about the tip he gave you until you head out the door, and then you go quiet mostly out of the necessity of your surroundings. 

“I’m this way,” you lead him toward the shabby apartment building you call home. 

For a while, the two of you stand outside talking. It’s just innocent conversation, trying to get to know one another better. He holds some back due to his job but tries to impress you with some hints that he sees a lot of adventure. Throughout the conversation, you feel him getting closer to you. His eyes dart to your lips, wondering if they taste as sweet and juicy as they look. He stops himself from kissing you because he’s unsure how you’d feel about him doing such a thing. He has a fear that maybe even now you’re just humoring him since he’d been so nice to you tonight. 

“Well, I better get some sleep,” you say sadly. Reno nods weakly. 

“Yeah, I gotta head home too.” 

You both hesitate for a moment before you finally take the plunge. You stand up on your tiptoes and kiss him quickly. It’s nothing more than a little peck on the lips, but it’s enough to make Reno feel tingly all over. His mind spins just enough for him to bravely lean back in for another, deeper kiss. You’re both blushing when he pulls away again. 

“Do you think maybe I could see you again?” he asks, rubbing the back of his neck to appear nonchalant. 

“You know where to find me,” you giggle before kissing his cheek. “Good night, Reno.” 

“G’night,” he says dreamily as he watches you unlock the door and slip into your apartment. He stares at the door for a moment before shaking off the sudden coldness of the night that didn’t seem so present before.

——

“Go on a trip or something,” Rude says over the phone. 

Reno is pacing his apartment, trying to work off his anxious energy. He can hear the humming of a helicopter on the other line, and he knows Rude is on his way somewhere exciting even as they speak. His body tingles with anticipation, but he knows there’s not a target for it. 

“Goin’ on a trip alone is boring,” Reno groans. “Why can’t I just come back to work?” 

“Because Tseng says so,” Rude reminds him. 

“Maybe I could talk to Rufus?” 

“And have Tseng set you on paperwork duty for a month as punishment?”

“Fuck,” Reno growls. “You’re right.” 

“Why don’t you head to Costa Del Sol? You love all the girls in bikinis!”

“Hmph, that’s true…But…” 

He doesn’t know how to express it to Rude. It sounds crazy even in his own mind. The longing that he’d locked away for so long suddenly came rushing back the second you’d pressed your glossy lips to his. He can still taste the cherry flavor of your lip gloss, and the smell tickles his nostrils. The next day he’d had to resist the urge to run right back to your apartment. 

“But?” Rude pulls him from his thoughts. 

“I dunno, I guess I just don’t want to be alone.” 

Rude is taken aback by Reno’s sudden vulnerablity. He knew it was there, but Reno hid it well. To hear him express the feelings was surprising even after all their time working together. 

“Listen, buddy, I—” Rude breaks out. “Oh shit, I gotta go.” 

Reno doesn’t even get to say goodbye the call cuts out. He continues pacing long after he’s tossed his phone to the side, and then he gets an idea. He checks the time and realizes he can probably catch you before your shift starts. He throws his suit on even more sloppily than usual before running out of the apartment. On the way, he makes all of the arrangements over the phone to get the two of you to Costa Del Sol, including borrowing a helicopter so the two of you could avoid all the ferry travel. 

——

He’s running up the stairs to your apartment, taking two at a time, just as you’re coming out the door. You’re still dressed casually, but your makeup and hair is all done up for work. He practically throws himself at you, grabbing your hands as he catches his breath. 

“Come to Costa Del Sol with me!” he practically yells. 

“Uh, is that a question or a demand?” you chuckle softly. 

“A request?” he tries, and seeing your frown he put on his puppy dog eyes. “A plea?” 

“Reno, I can’t just drift away to Costa Del Sol. I don’t have any money, I have to work…I just—” 

“I’ll pay you!” 

“Reno!” you gasp. 

“No, no! Not like that!” he waves his hands in front of his chest. “No, I just meant like…Don’t worry about the money! I’m paying for the trip, I’ll help pay your bills if you need me to because I know this is crazy.” 

“But we just met. I don’t understand.” 

Reno sighs and places his hands on your shoulders, “I know, I know. But I like you a lot, and it’s been so long since I met anyone like you.” 

“So you just want to scoop me away on a vacation?”

“Yes,” he sighs. “I just don’t want to go alone, and I want to get to know you better. I’m scared I won’t get the chance if I wait.” 

“Okay,” you concede. “But I swear if this is some horrible trick!” 

“It’s not! I promise! I’ll even book separate rooms if you want!” 

——

It’s a whirlwind, but you shouldn’t be surprised considering how he’d arrived at your apartment. After packing a suitcase and calling a surprisingly understanding Andrea to tell him the news, you’re whisked away top side. You could’ve spent the whole day just staring at the immaculately designed city. You find yourself fascinated by seeing how the other half lives, but Reno doesn’t give you much time to take it all in. 

“There’s better to come, I promise,” he tells you as he guides you to Shinra HQ. 

You’ve never felt so out of place in your life as you did walking on those pristine waxed floors. Reno keeps his hand protectively on your lower back as you make your way up to the helipad. He wants to sign out one of the helicopters so he can fly you there, but the worker kindly informs him he can’t do that since he’s off-duty. Instead, he’ll have to let a pilot fly the two of you there. He considers making a fuss and calling Tseng or Rufus for clearance, but seeing you holding his hand excitedly he doesn’t want to ruin the day. 

“Alright, alright, we’ll wait,” he concedes. He guides you to the nearby lounge to wait for a pilot to become available. 

“So, you work here?” 

“Oh, yeah.” 

“You must be pretty high up on the totem pole to be able to use a helicopter.” 

“I wouldn’t put it that way, but I do have some perks.” 

The way you’re looking at him with such awe in your eyes makes him worried about what you’d think if he told you the truth. Almost everyone is scared at the mention of his job title because of all the secrets Turks know and their reputation for doing things a little more brutally than the average soldier is allowed. Instead, he distracts you with flirty comments and a kiss on your cheek. At one point President Shinra himself comes to the lounge for a drink, and you’re shaking from the nerves because he must know you don’t belong here. Instead, the President nods curtly before leaving the lounge.

“Wow…I thought he’d be…” 

“Taller?” Reno jokes. 

“I mean I was going to say more handsome,” you giggle. “All of the photos and TV appearances…” 

“They’re doctored,” Reno shrugs. “Don’t tell anyone though.” 

“My lips are sealed,” you giggle. 

Somehow it feels like it takes simultaneously forever and an instant before you arrive at Costa Del Sol. The sun is bright and you’ve never seen such a blue sky before. The harsh metal of the plates was the only sky you’d ever seen before this day. 

“Wow! It’s beautiful!” you gasp as you look around. Many people are hovering about, enjoying their vacations. The waves crash on the shore as the smell of sea salt fills the air. 

“Yeah, it’s pretty nice,” he smiles, enjoying your reaction more than the sight of Costa Del Sol itself. 

“Come on, we can head to the hotel first and then check out whatever you want,” he promises before getting your suitcase from you. The two of you head towards the fanciest hotel.

Once inside, he approaches the desk and true to his earlier word he requests two rooms. 

“Oh, I apologize sir, but we only have one room available at this time,” the desk attendant says as he looks over his computer monitor. Reno looks at you shyly. 

“Want to try somewhere else?” he asks. “Or I can sleep on the sofa?” 

“There is a pull-out sofa bed available in the room, and it’s quite cozy!”

You consider your options for a moment, then you kiss Reno’s cheek softly. 

“I think one room will do just fine.” 

Reno is surprised by your answer but feels a warm rush of excitement in the pit of his stomach. He confirms you’ll take the room available. He tells you to go ahead and check things out while he signs the paperwork. Mostly just so you don’t hear the price of the room. Someone comes to get your bags and begins leading you towards the room. You skip along happily, obviously having the time of your life. 

“First couple vacation?” the desk attendant asks as he helps Reno through the paperwork. 

“Oh…Uh, yeah.” 

“I hope you have a pleasant time. Payment will be due at check-out.” 

“Thanks, man.” 

Reno takes the keys and trails along to where you’d disappeared to moments before. When he enters the room, he finds you scurrying about checking out every last detail of the room. 

“This is amazing,” you gasp as you skip over to the window and look outside at the ocean view. 

“Yeah, it’s pretty great,” he smiles as he sets his bag down on the floor. “So, what should we do first?”

[cozage]

I hope you enjoy the beach and Legend of Zelda. Can I request a Koby x reader who is Garp’s granddaughter (same age as Koby) who wants to be a marine but Garp is overprotective and won’t let her. She and Koby train together and become friends then boyfriend/girlfriend. In the end, she is allowed to join and Garp is a proud grandfather. Just way too much fluff. Please and thank you. 😊

Hiiii! I really did enjoy both so much, thank you :) I’m happy to be writing again though! A break was much needed but I have missed it. 

Characters: female reader x Koby Word Count: 2.3k

To Be a Marine

“You wanted Luffy and Ace to be in the Navy!” you yelled. “Why can’t I?!”

“I already told you!” your grandfather yelled back. “A woman being a marine is much different than a man being a marine!”

“Sexist old man,” you grumbled under your breath. “Ace was right about you.”

“What did you say!?!”

A knock at the door saved you, and two young men entered your grandfather’s office. 

“Ah, my new recruits!” he cheered. 

“You’re joking,” you said, looking at them. “You’ll take them but reject me?”

“Garp-san.” The pink-haired boy bowed to your grandfather. “It would be an honor to train under you.”

“Koby! Helmeppo! Are you ready to go through hell?!”

They both stood and saluted. “Yes sir!”

You scoffed and stormed out the door. 

You saw the two recruits around the base often, but neither of them talked to you much. You were just a civilian on a Marine base, and you held much less stature than even the lowliest of Marines. 

After about a week of ignoring each other, something changed. Koby walked into the room, looking around. You glanced up to see him enter, but returned to your book quickly.

“Your Garp-san’s granddaughter, right?” he asked, startling you. You hadn’t expected him to speak to you. 

“Unfortunately,” you grumbled.

“What do you mean!?” he demanded. “I bet he’s a great grandfather!”

You scoffed. “He won’t let me be a Marine, but he won’t let me be a pirate like my brothers. He just keeps me locked up on this base. Great grandfather he is.”

Koby’s eyes widened. “You’re Luffy’s sister?!”

“Mmmhmm,” you nodded. “I don’t want to be a pirate though. I want to be a Marine.”

Koby laughed. “Yeah, you’re way different than Luffy! All that talk about King of the Pirates-”

“He’ll do it.”

Koby paused, looking at you. “But if you’re a Marine, won’t you have to stop him from achieving his dream?”

You shrugged. “If it comes down to it, I suppose so. But that’s a nonstarter, because I can’t even join.”

Koby hummed for a moment, thinking. 

“Oh!” he finally exclaimed. “What if you get stronger?”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s train! I can teach you what Garp-san is teaching me!” he offered. “And then he has no reason to say no!”

You laughed dryly. “I’m sure he’ll find a reason.”

“You have to fight for your dream!” Koby encouraged. “You have to do everything you can possibly do to make it a reality.”

“You sound like Luffy,” you groaned. “But fine. Teach me. I promise I’ll do my best.”

You could beat him in a fight. You had been able to from the very first day. Growing up with three brothers, you knew how to fight scrappy and dirty. But that kind of fighting didn’t really work in the Navy, and Koby helped you create your own fight style that was mixed between your past and your future. 

For weeks you spent the evenings with Koby, learning about haki and how to use it in an observational and armament sense. You refined your battle abilities, and worked to strengthen your weaknesses. The two of you didn’t associate outside of your normal training, but you still felt a strange tingling sensation whenever his hands touched your skin to correct your form. 

He was handsome, you couldn’t deny that. Even after hours of training when he was drenched in sweat and ready to collapse, you still found yourself admiring his physique. 

“Do you want to go get ice cream?” Koby asked, wiping the sweat off his forehead. “You certainly earned it.”

You looked at him curiously. “What do you mean?”

“I didn’t have to correct your form once today,” he said. “You did good.”

You blushed, pleased to be complimented by him after such hard work. “Thanks,” you muttered. 

“So, ice cream?” Koby grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder, starting for the door. 

You shrugged, trying to play it casual. “Sure.”

You walked side by side down the street towards the ice cream shop. Neither of you said much during your journey. You still weren’t entirely sure why Koby was helping you. He didn’t really have anything to gain from helping you, and it’s not like you all were friends beforehand. You almost asked him, but he turned into the ice cream shop, and you lost your courage. 

“Whatever she wants and two scoops of butterscotch in a waffle cone, please,” he asked, handing money to the cashier. 

“Butterscotch?” you asked, a smirk appearing on your face. “You sound like my grandpa.”

“Don’t knock it till you try it!” he said, grabbing his ice cream. “They have the best butterscotch you’ll ever taste.”

You frowned, looking at his cone. “I’ll just do a double-double chocolate in a waffle cone.”

You grabbed your order and the two of you strolled outside and down the sidewalk, still silent. 

“Wanna try it?” he asked, holding out his cone to you. 

Your face scrunched in disapproval, and you shook your head.  

“Come on,” Koby goaded, waving the ice cream in front of your face. 

You had to admit, just the smell was enticing. You grabbed the cone and took a lick. Koby was right, it was probably some of the best ice cream you had tried. It tasted different from the candy your grandfather used to hand you as a child; this was much creamier and lighter, with hints of vanilla and sea salt. 

“Delicious, right?” Koby asked, watching your face light up. “I told you!”

“It puts my double-double chocolate to shame,” you laughed. “I regret not getting that now.”

“We’ll come back,” Koby promised. 

And Koby kept his promise. The days grew hotter, and your trips to the ice cream shop became more frequent. You fell into a pleasant pattern of studying in the mornings, training in the afternoons, and going off on some kind of adventure with Koby in the evenings. Sometimes it was an ice cream shop visit, but he also liked to plan other activities like hikes, picnics, and walks on the beach. 

He taught you how to use and hone your haki abilities, and he held you when you cried out of frustration of failure. He bought your ice cream and held your hand when you walked around town. He picked flowers for you and spent every moment he wasn’t on duty with you. 

You never stopped to consider that friends don’t typically treat friends like the way Koby treated you. It was Koby, after all. The only person you really felt safe with besides your brothers. He was always reliable and he was always there. 

You realized he was more than a friend when you stood alone in the courtyard, waiting for him to show up. Sometimes he was a few minutes late, but it had been almost an hour, and he still hadn’t shown up. If he ever had to cancel, he always sent someone. But it had been radio silence. 

After two hours you finally left the courtyard, trying not to cry. As you entered your grandfather’s apartment, you saw Koby sitting on the couch across from your grandfather. His eyes found yours, and you could see the devastation in his eyes. 

“Y/N.” He stood, reaching out to you. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there. I-”

“Koby.” Your grandfather's voice was curt and authoritative, and Koby cut his eyes from you and sat back down on the couch. 

You opened your mouth to speak up for Koby, but your grandfather cut you off before you had a chance to get a word out. 

“Do you want to tell me why I had one of my subordinates inform me of your relationship?” he growled at the two of you. 

You felt your cheeks flush. You had just come to the realization that you had feelings for the man sitting on the couch. You weren’t sure how news traveled so fast when you hadn’t even told Koby yet, but your grandfather had to be the first to find out. 

“Me and Koby aren’t in a relationship,” you said.

Koby squinted his eyes at you from across the room. He opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. 

Your grandfather laughed a hearty laugh at your response. “Denial isn’t gonna work, kid. Koby already told me.”

“Told you what?” you asked. Your head whipped to Koby with fear in your eyes. “You didn’t tell him about-”

“No!” Koby rushed to say, looking at you. He gave Garp a quick side glance. “I mean, yes! I told him about how we’re dating and that’s why we’ve been spending so much time together.”

You could feel your grandfather’s watchful eyes on you. He knew you were hiding something, but he couldn’t quite tell what it was about. 

Koby walked over and grabbed your hand. It was something he had done hundreds of times before, but now it gave you butterflies. He gave you a reassuring squeeze and a small smile before turning back to your grandfather. 

“We didn’t tell you because we were afraid of the predicament it would put you in, Garp-san.” Koby lied. “We apologize.”

“You know you could get kicked out of the Navy for hiding a relationship with an on-base civilian, Koby,” Garp said, looking at him. “You sure this is the story you want to go with?”

“Yes,” Koby said confidently. 

You stared at him. This isn’t how you wanted it to go down. You couldn’t ask him to give up his dream just so you could have yours. 

“No,” you said, looking at your grandfather. “He’s lying.”

“Stop,” Koby hissed. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not!”

“Quiet!” Garp yelled, silencing you both and cutting off your argument. “Tell me, Y/N. What have you been doing with Koby all this time then?”

You swallowed, mustering up the courage to finally ask- no, demand a place in the Navy. 

“We’ve been training,” you said. You could feel Koby squeezing your hand to get you to stop, but you refused to back down from this fight. “He’s helping me become a Marine.”

Your grandfather stared at you for a few moments, and then burst out into his booming, room-filling laugh. He laughed for a long time, and when he finally settled down, he wiped tears from his eyes and looked at you. 

“A Marine, huh?” he asked.

You took a breath, deciding how to respond. As you were thinking, you sensed it. You jumped back, pulling Koby with you. The two of you got out of the way just before your grandfather’s fist slammed into the ground, creating light cracks in the floor from the source of impact. 

“Grandpa!” you screamed. You looked in horror at the ground, but your grandfather only began laughing again. 

“You taught her haki, I see,” he said, looking at Koby. 

“Yes sir,” Koby said. “She’s a fast learner.”

“I bet she is.” Your grandfather looked at you and gave you a sad smile. He put his hand on top of your head, ruffling your hair. 

“Alright. You can be a Marine.”

Your eyes widened and a smile spread across your face. “Really?!”

“Just answer one thing,” he said. 

“Anything!” you cried. 

“Do you really just see Koby here as your trainer?” he asked, looking back and forth between the two of you.

“I-'' you paused, exchanging glances with the boy whose hand you were still holding. Suddenly you felt dizzy and very aware of how clammy your hand was in his. 

“You too, Koby,” your grandfather said, walking out the door. “Is she just some girl you trained?”

The door slammed shut, and you two stared at each other in silence. 

“No,” Koby whispered. “No, you-I-We could-”

You smiled at him. You wanted to say something too, but you knew you’d be stammering as much as him. 

So instead you changed the subject. “Should we go get ice cream?”

Koby’s eyes glanced down at your lips, and then back up to your eyes. 

“Ice cream sounds good,” he said softly, looking a little disappointed. 

“Okay.” You gave his hand a squeeze, settling for an ice cream date instead of a confession. Words didn’t matter that much in the big picture. 

You all walked to the ice cream shop, hand in hand. Your hands still felt clammy, but the air felt lighter. You were going to be a Marine. You had Koby by your side. 

The cashier saw you two, and had your two scoops of butterscotch ice cream in waffle cones before you even stepped up to the register. 

Neither of you said much on your walk back. You talked a bit about what life would be like once you were officially in the Marines, but you already knew it all. Koby had spent the past few months answering all of your questions to help keep you motivated. 

You arrived at your apartment door, and you finally pulled your hand away from his. 

“See you tomorrow?” you asked, opening the door to your apartment. 

“See you tomorrow,” he promised, giving you a tense smile. 

You nodded and walked inside, closing the door behind you. 

It was only a moment later when there was a knock at the door. Thinking Koby must’ve forgotten something, you turned and opened it again. 

“Ye-” Koby cut off your question with his lips, lunging forward to meet your own.  

His lips smashed into yours, and you embraced every second of it. You hung there suspended in time, the two of you existing in the moment. Funnily enough, only one thought came to mind: Butterscotch tasted even better on his lips than on ice cream.

[princessbrunette]

ive been sitting on this for a minute but ugh i can imagine the reader being super jealous one day bc this girl keeps flirting with jj and it makes her feel so insecure because its like these others girls dont see her as a threat at ALL they think they can just swoop in and snatch him up like hes basically beating these girls off with a stick but they wont take the hint and hes not stupid he notices you getting moody and withdrawn

so one day he goes out to prove he only has eyes for you so he so he spreads you out in front of the mirror and fingers your poor little pussy until you cum over and over while he tells you how much he loves you and how pretty you look wrapped around his fingers and that nobody could ever compare to you - 🐰

thinking abt this so hard 😵‍💫😵‍💫

bc truly, jj gives you no reason to be jealous. his eyes don’t wander, and when girls come onto him he kind of just awkwardly laughs and turns his back — but that doesn’t stop them, and he doesn’t quite understand that it goes deeper than being possessive. it’s the way they look at you, that smug look, that ‘i’m gonna take your man and there’s nothing you can do about it’ look. it’s enough to send any girl into a jealous rage.

but you’re not the scrappy type, and you’re too shy to say anything— so you just sulk, sensitive and teary eyed by the time the two of you come home.

he’s not an idiot, he’s watching you sit on the couch avoiding his eyes and he feels like an idiot. maybe he should have said something? done more? he drags a hand down his face, lips pursed and approaches you.

“you’re not letting those chicks get in your head, right?” he drops down on the couch next to you, head tilted towards you. you sniff, looking at the ceiling to will the tears back into your eyes with a shrug. “alright.” he responds to your silence softly, pushing himself back up to stand and holding out a hand. “c’mon.”

and that’s where you end up, in the bedroom infront of the mirror, your legs held wide, jj’s fingers soaked down to the knuckles as he coaxes another orgasm out of you.

“y’think i’d wanna touch anyone but you? huh? shit, look at you baby. fuckin’ masterpiece. you’re my girl, yeah? all mine.”

[cherrybomb107]

Okay, so, I’ve been thinking about it for a while now and I think I’m finally able to articulate my feelings about Vi becoming an Enforcer. Stick with me, cause this’ll be a rant, but I promise it’ll all make sense (I hope).

As I’ve said before on here, I feel like the Arcane fandom across different platforms is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. Here, vs the subreddit is a whole world of a difference. That difference being so large is part of the reason why I feel how I feel about Vi becoming an Enforcer. It’s not so much that I don’t like it(cause it’s not that I don’t like it; I hate it actually. REAL BAD). But, if I tried to talk about WHY it bothers me so much, some dude bro with a superiority complex and 0 class consciousness is gonna be like “Um ackshully, Vi is trying to protect her community. Why are you mad about that but not mad about Jinx being a TERRORIST?! Huh? Huh?” Then I’ll be accused of being a moron who didn’t watch the show . And then if I tried to defend myself I’d get dog piled and downvoted to oblivion.

So, first of all, irdgaf about Jinx being a terrorist. So what? What goes around comes around. When she burns Piltover tf DOWN, Imma sip on an ice cold beverage and watch, cause fuck em. Secondly, I understand WHY Vi is joining the Enforcers. Just like I understand why women can be raging misogynists. And why immigrants become Trump supporters. And why poor people join the military. And why Black people perpetuate respectability politics. I understand why members of marginalized communities join the opposition responsible for their marginalization. I understand that at its core, these people understand, at least on some level, that the powers that be are punishing them for existing as themselves. So, in an effort to take some of the heat off, they’ll internalize the messages they’ve been force fed since forever. They’ll try to change. Try to be “better”.

But see the problem with that is, trying to become “one of the good ones” and “rise above it all” doesn’t work. For the simple fact of no matter how hard you try to assimilate, you’ll never be one of “them”. You can parrot all the talking points, you can change your hair, the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you dress etc. But no matter what, you’ll never be accepted wholly. You’ll always be on the outside looking in.

I say that to say, the thing I hate most about Vi becoming an Enforcer is that I’ll have to see a character that I love dearly fall victim to this mindset. In a show full of tragedies, is this not yet another one to add to the list? Piltover took Vi, a scrappy kid from the Lanes, slaughtered her family in front of her, locked her up and threw away the key, and convinced her that the only way to save her sister was to put on a uniform, and enforce the will of the crooked politicians who don’t care about her or her people.

That’s what’s got me somewhat scared for season two. I really hope they frame Vi’s reluctant decision to join the Enforcers as another tragedy in and of itself, instead of just “a necessary evil” or worse “the right thing to do”. Cause it wasn’t the right thing to do. It was just the only thing Vi felt she could’ve done.

[gingerjolover]

Dirty Shirlies - Julien Baker x fem!Reader

Sypnosis: Julien doesn't like when randos talk to her girl (possessive!julien in the house)

G's notes: this is a combination of like four requests, i am down to do a part 2 if y'all want it😏also unedited

WC: somewhere around 875 words (short king!)

Warnings: RPF, greta van fleet x boygenius crossover, alcohol, smutty language, no fundamental physical descriptors?

The bar was loud, people talking over the already deafening music, the lights hot and bright. It was almost comical, watching your friends and their partners attempt to dance on the small dingy floor. You're actually still shocked that your girlfriend wanted to come tonight, the idea of spending a night off in a bar in downtown Nashville, a bar full of straight dudes no less, made you giggle. You've lost sight of Julien, who left to go get you drinks only a minute and a half ago. 

“I don’t see your pipsqueak,” Jake snorts, getting on his tip toes to look over the large group of people. 

“Don’t let Jules hear you say that,” Josh chides his brother, looking at you, eyes shining and wide in jest. 

“What is she gonna do? Hit me?” Jake says, laughing loudly. 

“You don’t know my girl, she can get scrappy,” you tease, also looking over the sea of people trying to locate your girlfriend. “She’ll be fine…right?” you ask nervously, biting your bottom lip. 

“I’ll go get her,” Jake says, downing the rest of his beer, patting you and Josh on the back, going to search for his tattooed doppleganger. 

“Josh!” Phoebe calls, your friends pointing to the ceiling as his favorite song plays. Josh looks over at you, biting his lip, eyes moving into puppy dog territory quickly. “Just go,” you laugh, watching him down the rest of his salty dog before shouting, “Move over Luce,” and making his way to the dance floor. 

As quick as he left, his spot at the bar is taken. Your back towards the new occupant, eyes searching for any sign of Julien. “What’re you drinking?” a deep voice asks. You turn around, slightly startled, and see a tall man. His smile is kind, greenish eyes sparkling as they look around your face. 

“Oh um, a dirty shirley,” you respond smiling. “Tequila or vodka?” he asks. 

“Tequila…vodka is not my friend,” you joke. 

He lets out a belly laugh, shaking his head lightly before sticking out his hand. “I’m Ben, and I’m the exact opposite.” 

You laugh softly, “Really? How funny! I’m–” 

“Here you go baby,” Julien says, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, putting a new drink on the bar in front of you, kissing your jaw softly. 

Jake appears to Julien’s left, smirking at the tightness in her voice, patting her back. 

“Who’s this?” Julien asks, taking a swig of her beer. 

“Oh this is Ben, he’s anti-tequila,” you joke, watching your girlfriend’s jealous eyes. Your hand rubs her back up and down, feeling her tense up makes you frown. 

“I’m Julien, her girlfriend,” Julien says, sticking one heavily tattooed arm out, hand ready to shake Ben’s. 

Ben gulps, despite being at least a foot taller than your girlfriend, Julien’s glare runs through him, her eyes narrowing as she gives him a firm handshake. 

“This is Jake,” Julien says, dropping his hand. 

“Hey man,” Jake greets, lifting his hand up in a subtle wave. 

“Well it was nice to meet you all,” Ben says, collecting his beer and walking away. He turns back to look at you, as you give an apologetic smile. 

“Well…” Jake says awkwardly, lifting onto his tip toes. 

“Don’t even,” you start, not wanting Jake and Julien to get into it right now, the teasing smile on Jake’s face tells you everything you need to know. 

“Yeah yeah, sure, I’ll go find the girls and Josh… you’re definitely not jealous Jules,” Jake says as he walks away. 

“I’m gonna kill him,” Julien mutters, moving to stand in front of you, standing in between your legs at your spot on the barstool. 

“Oh stop… wait were you actually jealous? Babe!” you exclaim, laughing. 

“Shut up,” Julien murmurs, shoving her face in your neck and kissing it softly. 

“Baby,” you chuckle, pushing her hair out of her face, kissing her lips and cheeks, your hand squeezing her cheeks softly. “He said like… 5 words to me,” you reassure her. 

“Yeah, 5 words too many,” she murmurs sassily. 

“Julien!” 

“What? I can’t even leave you at the bar for 5 minutes by yourself without some guy trying to take my girl,” Julien exclaims.

You giggle, “he wasnt trying to take me!”

“You don’t know how pretty you are, baby,” Julien breathes out, her hands sliding up your thighs, settling on your hips, her lips sucking softly at your neck. 

A soft moan escapes you before you can stop it, you can feel Julien smiling on your skin. “You only moan for me, right, pretty girl? You’re all mine,” she murmurs, her teeth nipping at you gently. 

“I–” you breathe out, hand in Julien’s hair. 

“Answer me,” Julien interrupts, sucking a hickey in between your neck and shoulder. 

“M’all yours Jay,” you whimper softly, eyes closing. 

“Good girl, now finish your drink,” Julien smirks, pulling away. 

You grab the drink, confused, sipping through the tiny straw. “Why?”

“Because as soon as you’re done, we’re going to say bye to our friends and then we’re going home and I’m going to fuck the living daylights out of you,” she says in an even tone, kissing your nose innocently. 

Your jaw drops softly, moving to chug the drink, Julien laughing at your eagerness. “That’s my girl.”

[boldlyvoid]

Bigger than the Whole Sky | Part two: from Neverland to Wonderland

18+ Aaron Hotchner x Reader

Summary: she went from dreaming about a life where she was a mom and she's loved and appreciated for who she is... to actually being appreciated, being really, truly loved and a mom of not just the baby Aaron has helped her make, but Jack as well.

Warnings: canon typical violence, description of a case including torture, starvation and murder, Aaron gets shot in the arm, hostage situation, knife tw, needle tw. step-mom reader, dad hotch, Day dates with Jack.

(18+) multiple smut scenes, Shower sex, dirty talk, breeding kink, creampies, pregnancy tests, high emotions, anxiety attacks, crying

word count: 10.4k

Fic Masterlist

Everyone is already waiting on the plane when Aaron and Y/N finally arrive, they quickly hand their bags to the attendant and board the jet while trying to act like they weren’t madly in love with each other. 

“Don’t you look nice,” JJ catches it first, noticing Hotch is in a tux instead of his normal suit and Y/N’s in a stunning light blue dress. 

“Thanks,” she quickly brushes it off and takes the seat across from JJ, closer to the window while Hotch takes the aisle spot right beside Y/N. “We were celebrating my divorce being finalized.” 

“Oh, congrats,” Derek reaches over to give her a high five. “What’s it like to be a free woman again?” 

She just sighs as she relaxes back into her chair, “I wouldn’t know we barely got 3 bites into our dinner when the call came in.” 

“Sorry to ruin your date…” Reid teases from his seat. 

“It’s okay, we’ll have more, “Y/N can’t help but smirk. 

“Wait…” JJ’s eyes gleamed, “you’re not together, are you?” 

Aaron and Y/N stare at each other with similar smirks, “I don’t know, are we?” She asks. She knew they shared a wonderful kiss and they both admitted to loving the other, but they never got that far. 

Aaron just nods, reaching out to hold her hand over the armrest. “We weren’t going to tell you but—

“Leave it to the room of profilers to know everything,” Y/N teases. 

“We can keep it a secret,” Derek announces, knowing the other two would agree.

“Keep what a secret?” Penelope makes herself known on the little jet TV.

Y/N simply lifts her hand up, bringing Aaron's hand up with her own. “us.” 

“Oh, my god?” Penny can’t believe it. “I knew this was going to happen, but holy crap-ola!” 

“At first it was just nice having a friend and pissing Peter off but… but now I can’t imagine a life without being this close to Aaron,” she shares, unable to wipe the smile off her face. 

“How are we going to make this work?” JJ is the one to ask the serious question. “We can’t have our emotions compromised on the job… we worked 1 case with Will and I was a complete mess, how are you going to handle it?”

“Uh… well, I was thinking Y/N could report to Derek and when it comes to making decisions in the field I’ll take orders from him if she’s compromised,” Aaron admits. “If we file our fraternization paperwork, that’s what Cruz would have us do anyway.” 

“I’m fine with that,” Derek doesn’t mind taking on that responsibility. “But you’ve gotta listen, I’m not going to be able to hold you back like I did with scrappy little Jenny from the block, over here.” 

“Hey, I’m scrappy 'cause you taught me how to fight,” JJ reminds him. 

“You’ve always been scrappy,” Spencer teases.

“Excuse me,” the pilot announces from the doorway of the cockpit. “We’ll be taking off shortly, do we have everyone?” 

“We do, thank you,” Aaron confirms, giving them the go-ahead for takeoff. 

“Speaking of, are we ever going to hire someone new? It was nice having Emily back for that one case a few months back, but, we need someone.” Derek asks, “And I’m still fine taking over for Dave now that he’s gone… but we need someone to take my spot and Emily’s.” 

“I know,” Aaron sighs. “I’ve been looking over applications, no one seems right, yet.” 

“I have to agree… I’ve been stalking the applicants,” Penelope admits. “We need to persuade Emily to come home for good.” 

“I’ve been trying,” JJ rolls her eyes. “But she loves Interpol, she’s having the time of her life travelling the world. This week she was in Egypt catching—” 

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we have another abduction,” Penelope announces. “I think we should switch to talking about our case…” 

“Agreed,” Aaron says, letting go of Y/N’s hand and reaching for the files.

—

The case is an interesting one. 

Small, blonde women between the ages of 19 and 23 are being abducted, and held for 2 to 3 days, only to be dumped at Reaves Park in Norman, Oklahoma when they succumb to their injuries. They’re not sexually assaulted, however, they are brutally beaten, starved and dehydrated before being stuffed into cardboard boxes and left in the park. They’re found in common areas, the footpath, the playground, and even the softball diamond. Clearly on display but still discarded like trash.

It takes them a few days and one more murdered woman to figure out what’s happening, and when they do, they discover it’s a female unsub. It’s rare, but not a surprise when there’s no sexual aspect. She’s seeking revenge for all the time someone “prettier” and “skinnier” than she was picked over her in her life. She’s suffering from severe psychosis, she believes by torturing them like this she’ll feel better but the more she does it, the harder it is to stop.  

Putting them in boxes was the way Reid came to figure it all out. The boxes have serial numbers on the bottom flaps which Penelope traced back to an Amazon shipping warehouse in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The serial numbers on the boxes they have recovered all belong to a set of 20 which were bought and sold to a woman named Sarah Freeman and shipped to a P.O. Box also in her name. 

Sarah Freeman is the name of a woman who went to Oklahoma state university in 1998. Sarah was president of Cappa Delta Chi, one of the many sororities on campus. Not only was she in charge of the existing sorority members, she was also in charge of the pledges. Pledges are like nominees, they’ve applied to join the sorority but they’re only approved after a month of hazing. Hazing is just a term for the physical and psychological abuse each pledge is put through until only the strongest girls are left. Hazing is hard to go through, it’s even harder for the ones labelled as ugly ducklings… the girls who are bigger than a size 2, are typically non-white and anything but blonde. 

They interviewed Sarah, finding out that they not only starved their pledges for weeks because they weren’t a size 2… they made one specific pledge in ‘98 try, time and time again, to fit into a cardboard box without breaking the tape seams or ripping the cardboard to prove she was worthy. They made her do it at parties, in front of the fraternity brothers, and the other pledges, and they even made her sleep on top of a pile of broken boxes that she couldn’t fit into. 

Hence, why she now puts these women in boxes. Their final resting spot is one of complete humility, as well as a symbol of how she felt: sick and tired of trying to fit into society's idea of a perfect woman. 

This woman’s name was Nina Coleman. She’s their unsub. 

The only problem is that Nina Coleman hasn’t been seen by anyone in years. Her parents are dead, she doesn’t have siblings and her credit history seemingly stopped in 2003… then Penelope decided to run the name Sarah Freeman again, finding that there are 2 women with that name in Oklahoma. One who they interviewed, and is currently in police custody for her own safety and another, living in a run-down farmhouse just outside of Cleveland County. 

All 5 of them get suited up in their bulletproof vests and split up into 2 groups, Reid, JJ and Hotch are together in one and Y/N is partnered with Derek. It’s nerve-wracking, as every case is, but this feels even scarier than it should. She trusts her team immensely… it’s just hard watching Aaron enter the creepy farmhouse knowing that she’s taking the barn with Derek. She wants to protect him but she knows it’s smarter this way. 

Over the radio, Hotch announces that they’re inside, the first floor is clear and taking the basement. Derek says they’re still outside the barn, the perimeter is clear so they’re going in. She covers Derek's six, watching behind them in case the unsub is laying in wake and watching their every move. Derek kicks the barn door in, he checks both directions, “clear,” he whispers to Y/N. “I’ll go left, you go right, we’ll meet in the back?” 

“Got it,” she agrees, holding her gun and flashlight, she’s hyper vigilante of everything going on. She tiptoes around hay piles, she sees bloody footprints on the floor and she’s startled by a scarecrow hung on the wall with a metal stake… it’s so fucked up. 

In the distance, outside the barn and near the house, she hears 3 very familiar sounds. 

Gunshots. 

“Derek?” She calls out to him, “Did you hear that??” 

“Yeah!” He says, racing her to the barn door and back to the farmhouse. “HOtch!” He calls into the radio. “JJ? Reid!?” 

Nothing. 

They race to the house, through the kicked-in door and right down to the basement. JJ is on the floor, a bullet has grazed her leg, Hotch is bleeding from his arm and pinned up against the wall of the basement, knife to his throat and 2 guns by his feet… Reid, stands with his gun locked on the unsub, quietly trying to calm her, but it’s not working. 

She’s huge. Taller than Hotch, nothing but muscle and hatred, you can’t even really see him where he’s trapped. She’s so much more than they expected.

Both Y/N and Derek have their sights locked on her, slowly making their way down the last few steps, Y/N steps over JJ while Derek leans down to try and help her. One hand aims his gun, and the other works at getting his belt off so JJ can make a tourniquet and stop the bleeding. 

“Nina, Nina, please, we’re just here to make sure you’re okay!” Reid tries. 

“I’M NOT NINA!” 

“Sarah!” Y/N steps in, “You’re Sarah Freeman, we know that… Sarah, we just came because your sisters are worried about you. You never RSVP’d to the Cappa Delta Chi reunion newsletter and they thought maybe you were hurt.” 

Nina turns then, still holding the knife to Hotch but her face drops. She is full of concern and bewilderment at the same time, “they want me to come?” 

“Of course they do? You’re a former president, aren’t you, Sarah? You’re a legacy now, of course, they want you to come,” Y/N keeps her voice low and soft, she even lowers her gun and holsters it. “Can you let go of my friend Aaron?”

“But— but they called me Nina?” She says, gripping him tighter. 

“They were just confused, they thought Nina was going to hurt you, Sarah… Nina’s been hurting beautiful women just like you and that’s why everyone was worried, they thought Nina finally got the prettiest girl in all of Oklahoma,” she lies again, hoping to god that complying with ‘Sarah’s’ delusions would help them. 

“Oh,” she understands, dropping the knife she starts to back away from Aaron. “You think I’m pretty?” 

“So beautiful,” Y/N agrees, looking to Reid who agrees, even Aaron does. “See? Everyone here is just here to keep you safe… now, I actually spoiled the surprise, I feel so bad but… would you let us blindfold you and tie your hands behind your back so you can’t take it off, and we can take you to your surprise party at Cappa Delta Chi?” 

She nods like a child, giddy with joy. She puts her own hands behind her back and closes her eyes. Hotch reaches into his pockets for the cuffs and puts them on her pretty tight and then rips a part of his already torn sleeve off, using it to blindfold her. Once they get the cuffs on her, Derek radios for their backup to come down and then radios for an ambulance. 

“These nice friends of ours are going to escort you there, you’re going to have a police escort to the party,” Y/N continues to lie to her. 

They get her up the stairs and they pass her off to the local police just as the ambulance is rolling in. Y/N stops one of the EMTs, letting the other go down to JJ. “You’re going to have to sedate her,” she points to the unsub. “Once she knows she’s not going to a party she’s going to go crazy and she can overpower all of you.” 

“Got it,” the EMT says, heading back to the ambulance they get a vial of something and draw it into a needle. He follows Y/N to the ambulance and waits for the signal to inject her. 

“Sarah? It’s me, Y/N, you did so good getting into the car,” she points at the EMT and he jabs her. 

“What?! What are you— what… are…” and then she slumps forward. 

“There we go,” Y/N smiles, proud of herself. She closes the door and then taps the roof. “you’re good to take her to the station. Make sure they know she’s suffering from delusions and have a doctor present when they read her her rights.” 

The cops all nod, heading off while the other EMT races back into the house and down to JJ and Hotch. She runs then too, almost forgetting that Aaron was bleeding, she was so concerned with getting Nina away from him and now that she’s gone, she can freak out a little. 

Downstairs, Derek and Spencer are checking out the unsubs lair… it’s a lot creepier than they suspected. She took photos of everything, developed them herself and hung them on the walls. During the 3 days she had each woman, she’d make them get into different boxes. Some metal, some extra small… one that even resembles the chokey from Matilda. It’s horrific. But she’s been stopped. That’s all they can ever hope for. 

JJ gets help up the stairs and Hotch is just sitting on the bottom step, holding some bloody gauze to his arm, he’s going to probably need stitches when they get to the hospital. “Hey,” she makes her presence known as she sits beside him. “Are you okay?” 

“I think so?” He shrugs, not having a chance to look at himself… even when he’s covered in blood and his shirt is ripped up, he’s still the most handsome man in the world. 

She carefully lifts his chin to get a look at his neck, he has a couple small cuts from the blade and his arm is still bleeding. “Lift this up for me,” she says, taking his left hand and helping him lift his arm, “I don’t want you to bleed anymore, this will make it coagulate at the wound.” 

“Thanks, nurse,” Aaron teases her. “But really, you did an amazing job.” 

“Thank you… I knew she was delusional and she’s been living in a fantasy where she’s been making these pledges suffer, celebrating her was the only way she’d leave calmly,” Y/N explains with a shrug. “I really just wanted to make sure you were safe.” 

“I’m fine,” Aaron assures her, still holding his arm in the air. “I’m always coming home with you, remember?” 

She nods, “And me with you.” 

—

They get right on the plane after the case is wrapped, JJ wants to be home and not in a hotel room with her stitched-up leg and Aaron feels the same with his arm. Turns out, he wasn’t cut with the knife, a bullet grazed his arm as he pushed JJ down to the ground. Protecting JJ is what enraged the unsub and cause her to pin him to the wall… he was protecting a skinny, beautiful, blonde woman. Of course, it triggered her. 

She sits on Aaron's right side on the plane, she leans into his personal space and rests her head on his shoulder for most of the flight, she holds his hand too. She just wants to be close to him and never let him go. So when they land in the middle of the night, she makes him come home with her. 

She drives his SUV because he’s tired from the blood loss and the case in general. He’s pretty adorable when he’s this tired too. He cracks little jokes, tells her she’s beautiful and on the walk up to her house, he snuggles into her side only to cover her in kisses once they’re inside. He’s had to hold off on showing her affection for almost a week and he’s done pretending she isn’t the most kissable person in the world. 

“Okay, okay,” she giggles, gently pushing him back. “We have to go to sleep, you haven’t had a real rest in days… tomorrow we can spend the whole day making out, okay?” 

“Just making out?” 

Part of her can’t believe he said that and the other half really hopes he isn’t kidding. She looks up at him curiously, “are you sure you’re ready for that?” 

He nods, “Even if it’s just a few practice rounds… or we could start trying right away, I don’t mind either way.” 

“Is it even safe to get all your blood pumping like that when you have stitches in your arm?” She asks, more concerned about him than anything else. 

He shrugs, “We’ll see in the morning…” 

“Okay,” she smiles, happier than she’s been in a long time. “Come on, let’s get ready for bed.” 

She gets him up the stairs and into her room, she helps him get his shirt off and runs her fingers down his chest to his stomach, taking it all in as she reaches for his belt. “Did you want to have a shower?” 

“Are you offering to help wash me?” Aaron teases. 

She nods, feeling a little shy as the prospect of seeing him naked gets more real. "I can…” 

“Do you want to?” 

“More than you know,” she mumbles, taking in a stuttered breath, she really wants to help. 

“I’ll wash your back if you wash mine?” Aaron teases. 

“Always.” 

She takes him into the bathroom, she draws the shower curtain back and starts running the water all while Aaron pushes his dress pants to the floor and steps out of them. He takes a seat on the closed lid of the toilet and starts to pull off his socks while she works on the zipper of her dress to no avail. “Can you help?” She asks, making sure her hair is out of the way and her back is to him. 

“Mhm,” he hums, standing behind her he begins to unzip her dress. His free hand comes around to cup her stomach and once her dress is unzipped, he pushes the fabric to the side and presses a kiss to her back. 

He pulls her in closer and kisses her neck, breathing her in and taking it slow as the room fills with steam. He pushes her straps off her shoulders and lets the dress fall to the floor and the hand that rested on her stomach makes its way up to cup her breast, over her bra. She can feel his excitement as he grinds against her… 

She tilts her head to the side and lets him kiss all the way up to her jaw, taking it all in, she closes her eyes and hums, “You feel so good.” 

“You’re so much softer than I imagined,” he admits. 

“I’ll just get softer after we get clean,” she teases, stepping away from him and turning to face him. “Come on, I can’t waste all this water.” 

She reaches behind her back and unclips her bra, slowly she slips the straps off her shoulders and tosses it to the ground. She watches his eyes drop down to her chest and then widen, “Wow…” 

“Your turn,” she teases, referencing down to the tent in his boxers and trying not to look too excited… 

“I take it you’ve been imagining things too?” He teases as he pushes his boxers down and watches her eyes travel down to his newly exposed skin. 

She just nods, “Uh-huh…” 

“Come on,” he steps closer to her, placing his hands on her hips and toying with the hem of her underwear, “what did you say about wasting water?” 

“I don’t care, Derek is still technically paying for it,” she quickly explains and lunges for his lips again. 

This kiss is messy and wet, his tongue is so warm against her own. He backs her up until her heels hit the lip of the shower and he catches her so that she doesn’t fall backwards, making them both laugh. He breaks the kiss just to keep kissing down her neck and chest until he’s dropping to his knees and kissing her stomach and feels up her legs. He takes ahold of her panties and pulls them down slowly, instead, covering her in more kisses in place of the fabric. 

He’s up close and personal with her most private area and yet she has no fear for once in her life. He helps her step out of her underwear and then his hands trace back up her legs and he cups her hips. He presses another kiss to her lower stomach, the part where she feels the most insecure most of the time… but not today. 

“You’re so beautiful… so, so beautiful,” he mutters against her skin between kisses. “I can’t wait to get you pregnant and kiss your belly a million more times as you grow our babies.”

She runs her fingers through his hair, pushing it back off his face and making him look up at her with his big brown doe eyes. “Then get up here and show me how a real man loves,” she whispers back. 

She gets him to his feet and into the shower, he sighs at the feeling of the warm water cascading over him. He tilts his head back into the stream, giving her the chance to press gentile kisses to the marks on his neck and trace her hands down his big arms. 

He wraps her up in said arms and spins them around so she has a chance to get wet… as if she wasn’t already. “I only have girly shampoos and stuff,” she says. 

“I don’t care,” he replies with one hell of a smile. “Smelling like you might actually make me sleep better.” 

She doesn’t argue with that, for one because she knows that when she can smell him, either on her clothes or when he’s sleeping next to her, she sleeps ten times better. And for 2… she’s pretty sure he uses the most boring “just for men” shampoo and body wash that this will feel like time at the spa for him. 

They lather each other up between stolen kisses and fits of giggles, getting to touch every inch of each other in such a caring manner is so new to her but she never wants it to become old. So many things with Peter lost their spark, and so many aspects of her life dwindled to darkness that she’s absolutely terrified to overdo it with Aaron. She takes her time, she takes it all in and she lets herself live in the happy moment, never knowing when it’s going to come to an inevitable end. 

He spins her around to wash her back he runs his soapy hands all over her, around to her stomach where he pulls her in close and grinds his cock against her ass. “I can’t take it anymore, you smell so fucking good I could eat you.” 

She giggles, “is it really safe to fuck in the shower?”

“Mhm,” he hums in her ear. His hands drop lower and rest over her pussy. “Do you want to?” 

“Please,” she says with a breath. 

She leans forward, bracing herself with her hands on the shower wall, giving Aaron the leverage to line his cock up with her from behind. He slips into her with a little stretch that makes her moan as she pushes back against him, taking him as deep as she could. 

“Holy fuck, Aaron,” she whines. “Split me in 2, why don’t you?” 

“Not my fault you’re so tight,” he teases. 

“It’s mine… it’s been too long,” she shares, straightening back up so her back is to his chest once again, she looks over her shoulder at him and catches him in a kiss. She reaches back to place her hand on his cheek, she moans into the kiss as he begins to thrust. His hand glides up to her breasts, massaging them gently, he keeps his other hand over her stomach and then he drops it lower. His middle finger slips between her pussy lips and starts to circle her clit, enhancing her pleasure tenfold. 

The sound of their wet skin clapping fills the room, she breaks the kiss to lean her head back on his shoulder, still holding his cheek in her hand when he goes back to kissing her neck. “you’re taking me so well, baby.” 

“Aaron,” she moans again, “I’m so close already…” 

“That’s okay to let go, baby,” he encourages her. 

Her nipples harden at the sound of his voice, he doesn’t miss a beat as he pinches and tweaks her pretty peeks. His tongue drags along her neck, up to her ear where he nibbles, he groans, feeling her flutter and tighten around him. “Finish with me.” He says it more as an order than a question. He wants to feel her finish as he pumps her full.

Her legs start to quake as her orgasm builds, he keeps her steady, holding her flush against his body with his large hand on her stomach. She feels the rush of pleasure course through her veins, she can’t help moaning out his name surrounded by obscenities, they echo around the room. Her orgasm washes over her just as he stills inside of her with a moan of his own. 

Lazily kissing her neck, his breathing is heavy but he can’t help himself from saying: “I love you, I love you so much, Y/N.” 

“I love you,” she’s able to reply, equally fucked out and spacey. Her eyes feel heavy, and her limbs feel weak. “Oh, my god…” 

“I know,” he mumbles against her, still covering her exposed skin in kisses. “And there’s more where that came from.” 

—

When she wakes up the next morning, she’s in her bedroom surrounded by sunlight and the feeling of Aaron beside her. His arm is draped over her stomach and the feeling of his breath on the back of her neck. He’s been tucked in behind her all night now, it’s her favourite way to sleep, feeling so calm and peaceful in his big strong arms. 

All of her, all of him, intertwined. The golden daylight shines down upon them like magic. A fresh page of a brand new fairytale, one that doesn’t know darkness, one that only knows love and happiness and peace. Forever and Always.

She snuggles back into her pillow and shuffles back into him more so that he tightens his grip on her. He presses a sleepy kiss to her shoulder and squeezes her tighter just like she wanted him to. “Morning,” she speaks softly, still groggy with sleep. 

“Morning,” he whispers into her ear before pressing another kiss behind it. “How’d you sleep?” 

“Better than I have in months,” she admits. “That’s a lie, I slept okay all this week in that hotel with you.” 

“Yeah, but in that hotel I couldn’t just slip into you,” he teases.

She shakes her head with a smile, teasingly, she asks, “Why didn’t you tell me before you’re so into doggy—

“I’m not,” he starts to laugh. “I’m just always behind you lately.” 

“Okay, then,” she turns around in his arms so she could face him. She hikes her leg over his hip and he rolls onto his back, bringing her on top of him. 

His hands roam her naked back all the way down to her butt where he grips her tight and smirks up at her, “You wanna try again?” 

She nods, “if it’s always as good as it was last night… I hope it takes a little while to get knocked up,” she laughs. 

“It won’t take that long,” he’s sure of it. “And if you’re this horny now… you’re going to be even more insatiable when you’re pregnant.” 

“Oh yeah?” 

He nods, “oh yeah… not to go all Reid on you but with twice the amount of blood coursing through your body, you’re going to be the most sensitive girl in the world for 9 months.” 

“Mmm, that sounds fun,” she says with a wiggle of her hips. She lifts herself so she can reposition his hardened cock against her core and grind on him. 

He tosses his head back against his pillow with a smile, “god, I love you.” 

“I love you,” she smiles. Leaning in, she kisses his jaw and all the way up to his ear. With his hands on her hips, he helps her find a good rhythm. 

She covers him in kisses, and she sucks on his neck just gently enough to get him going but not hard enough to leave a mark. They only have 1 day off, there isn’t enough time to let any hickies heal before they have to see their friends and co-workers again… when they get a little more time, however, she’s probably going to be the one covered in little marks. Small reminders of how much he loves her and advertisements of who she belongs to. 

It doesn’t take much for them to get all hot and heavy. She lifts her hips just enough for him to position himself at her entrance and she slips down onto him easily. He squeezes her hips harder, little bruises in the shape of his fingerprints will surely show in a day or two, as he helps her ride him. He draws her lips closer, kissing her for real, this time. She moans into the kiss, rolling her hips to keep riding him… but her rhythm is off, she’s too into kissing him to do two things at once. 

He wraps his arms around her back and cradles her body as he rolls them over. He breaks the kiss just to look between them, he grips his cock and the base and taps her clit with his swollen head, “fuck,” she whispers. 

“Yeah?” He teases, rubbing his cock over her clit again, coating himself in her wetness. “You know, it’s easier to get knocked up if you’ve orgasmed already…” 

He kisses her lips one last time, he shuffles down the bed, he grips her tits, pushing them together and kisses her right nipple, then the left and then he lets them go, gravity separates them enough for him to kiss the centre of her chest and down her stomach until he’s laying between her legs. She’s dreamed about this moment, the way he’d look up at her with greedy, lust-blown eyes just as he licks at her cunt. And he does just that, only it’s 10x better than she ever expected. 

She reaches out to brush his hair off his forehead and grips it as best as she can at this length. It’s been far too long since anyone, including her, has focused on her own pleasure. Sure, she came last night in the shower but that was a mutual gratification. He’s currently just doing this for her. For the benefits it’ll bring her body. And fuck, is it ever good. He slips two fingers inside as his tongue toys with her clit, she moans in response, tossing her head back, “Aaron…” 

Her free hand comes up to grip her breast, she needs something to hold, she feels like her soul is going to leap from her body if she doesn’t writhe and grind up against him. She moves with the waves of pleasure that cascade over her, drowning in love, she feels so overwhelmed as her orgasm hits and floods her shores. 

“Aaron,” she whines. “Aaron, please…” 

He kisses up her body again, his lips glistening as he licks them, “yes?” He teases. “What do you need, my love, tell me.” 

“Fuck me, please, put a baby in me, Aaron,” she begs, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his hips. “Please?” 

“Good girl,” he praises, guiding his cock into her, he hisses with how sensitive he is as he pushes inside. “shit… I could live here— quit my fuckin’ job and make love to you all day long.” 

“Okay,” she doesn’t fight it, it actually sounds like a dream getting to stay in this feeling for life. 

He grabs the pillow from his side of the bed, “lift for me, baby?” He asks, shoving the pillow under her hips as soon as there is enough room to do so. 

He gets her at a new angle and situates himself on his knees so he can fuck her with a bit more power. Her arms slip away from his shoulders, and she traces down his arms until they reach the bed where she grips her sheets. He grips her hips, holding her steady as he does so, watching her arch her hips and toss her head back at the new waves of pleasure. She spreads her legs a little wider, feeling him as deep as humanly possible inside of her. He grips the inside of her thigh and squeezes the plush of her delicious thighs. 

“Aaron,” she repeats his name again, “I need… holy fuck, Aaron…” 

“Use your words,” he teases, enjoying how far gone she is from his touch. 

“My clit, I need… I need more, st-stim-stimulation,” she struggles to speak through the pleasure. “Please?” 

He’s quick to bring his forefingers to her clit in a circular motion, “There you go.” 

“Thank—thank you, oh my god,” she whines again. Her grip tightens on her sheets, she wishes she could hold onto him but he’s too far away right now. 

As if he can read her mind, he leans in closer, capturing her mouth in a sloppy kiss and her arms go right around him. She grips onto his back, dragging her nails over his skin, making him groan into the kiss. She can tell he’s close by the way his rhythm changes, he thrusts faster but offbeat. The hand on her thigh goes up to her knee pit, pushing her leg up against her chest he’s basically got her folded in half as he fucks her deeper than ever before. 

Her second orgasm hits her like a truck, out of nowhere she feels it rip through her, all she can do is toss her head back, mouth open in a silent moan as her body quakes. As much as he tries to hold back, wanting it to last forever, he succumbs to the feeling of her fluttering around him once more. He drops his weight onto her, he wraps one arm around her waist and ruts into her until he reaches his finish. His other hand comes up to cup her face in a deep kiss as he reaches his high, he stills deep inside her, filling her up. She feels every drop. And it’s everything she ever wanted. 

She giggles as she comes down, laughing against his lips and making him smile. “What?” 

“You fucked me silly,” she teases him. She wraps her legs around him again, holding him there. 

“Thanks,” he smirks. “you gonna let me go get cleaned up, or?” 

She shakes her head, “Uh-uh, stay here. Keep it all in there.” 

“You’re a freak,” he teases her. “Seriously?” 

She just nods with a smile, “says the man who just put me in a mating press.” 

“Hey…” he can’t even think of a comeback because he did just do that. 

“And last night you said you want to get me pregnant so you can keep kissing my big, round tummy… you have a breeding kink, Hotchner,” she profiles him. “How could you not tell me?” 

He shrugs, “I didn’t realize that’s what it was until now.” 

“So you didn’t fall in love with me just cause you knew you could keep me big and pregnant for the next few years?” 

His eyes roll back with a groan, “okay don’t say that I’m going to get hard again.” 

“Good,” she teases. “Fuck me like that again and I’ll be pregnant in no time.” 

“Okay,” he doesn’t need to be asked twice.

—

When they’re really done and cleaned up again, Aaron slips out of the room to give Jess a call. 

She hates the thought of him leaving but he does have a son and a place of his own to get back to. They were going to talk it all out before this last case, but that got cut short. So now, she sits in her room all alone, half-dressed, wondering what it’s going to be like when everything changes again. 

At some point, she’s not just going to be Aaron's girlfriend and co-worker. She’s going to be his co-parent. The mother to his new baby and a helping hand with his original child. She knows just how much he loves Jack and she can’t wait to see up close and personal the way he is as a dad, to get a taste of what he’s going to be like with their children, too. 

He gives her a kiss once he comes back in, “you okay?” 

“Yeah, just thinking,” she gives him a small smile. “How’s Jack?” 

“Good… he convinced Jess to take him to the museum today, so he’s been having the time of his life, he didn’t even think to ask if I was home yet,” Aaron shares with a smile. “He’s really getting into Indiana Jones right now, he’s moved from one George Lucas franchise to the next.”

“Oh, I remember when I wanted to be an archeologist, those were the good old days,” she can’t wait to talk to him about it. She too, loved those movies and not just because young Harrison Ford is hot… 

“Do you want to come out to dinner with me and Jack, later?” Aaron asks. “We don’t have to tell him anything, yet.” 

She nods, “Yeah, I’d love that… he’s not going to think it’s weird that you brought someone from work out—

“Dave and Spencer are at my house all the time, Jack's best friend is Henry… he’s very used to having my work friends around,” Aaron shares, calming her nerves. “And the more he gets to know you, the easier it’ll be when we tell him what’s going on.” 

“What is going on?” She asks, her voice so tiny and cautious. “Are we just dating? Did you ever want to get married again? Are you going to be okay if I stop working to just be a mom for a few years?”

“Y/N,” he walks over and cups her face in his hands, he kisses the tip of her nose and stares into her eyes. “I love you, I want you in whatever capacity you want to share yourself with me and I want us to be a family. You, me, Jack and the baby we’re working on.” 

She smiles, “I want to be a family with you, too… I just don’t think I can live through another heartbreak, so—

“I’m never leaving you, I’m like a scar that won’t ever fade. I’m going to stay here, attached to you, for the rest of your life,” Aaron says, he brings her in for another kiss and holds her there, breathing her in and sealing the promise. 

—

They go at it once more before they have to leave to meet up with Jack and Jess. They agree on a local place, Jess isn’t going to stay for the meal, she has a date of her own to get to so she just drops Jack off with them, she shakes Y/N’s hand and makes her acquaintance and then she's gone. 

“How was your day, buddy?” Aaron asks, hand on his back, he caresses his shirt with his thumb. 

“Really cool, I got to see the new dinosaur exhibit,” Jack says with a big smile plastered to his face… he looks so much like Aaron but more like his mom. Specifically the picture in Aaron's office of her smiling on their wedding day. Their smile is the exact same. 

“I’m so glad you had a good day… have I ever introduced you to my friend Y/N?” Aaron asks, extending an arm to her.

She waves at him, “Hi, Jack.” 

“Hi… are you my dads' new girlfriend?”

“Jack,” Aaron can’t believe he asked that, but then again he’s 10, almost 11. He’s smart too… of course, he would know. 

She nods, “I am. But I work with him too, so we’ve known each other for a while… are you okay with that?” 

He nods, “You can keep him safe from the bad guys.” 

“Yeah, I can,” she stands a little taller and smiles. “I heard this is your favourite place to eat with your aunt, so, can you tell me what’s good?” 

He nods even more enthusiastically this time. “Come on,” he takes her hand and drags her inside the restaurant. 

Inside, they get a booth and Jack sits beside Y/N, across from his dad, who always sits facing the door, watching everyone who comes in and who leaves. She never noticed it before, not until Jack tells her: “Dad says that if there’s ever a bad guy, he’d be the first to see it, so he’d be the first to help.” 

“Your dad is the best at getting bad guys,” she agrees, it’s something she’s always admired about him. 

“You know, Y/N is good at it too, she saved me from an unsub the other day,” Aaron shares. 

“Really?” Jack looks at her all concerned. “What happened.” 

“A crazy lady was keeping girls in boxes and she was like the size of a house… she would’ve snapped your dad like a toothpick but I convinced her she had a surprise party to go to, cause remember, she was crazy, and she willingly went right into police custody,” she shares like its no big deal. 

“Wow,” Jack is blown away. “You’re really cool…” 

“Why, thank you,” Y/N can’t believe he said that. “That means a lot to me.” 

Jack gives her another big smile. “Do you have any kids?” 

She shakes her head, “No… but I want to have some.” 

Jack looks right at his dad, “do you?” 

“Jack, buddy—

“It would be cool if you did,” Jack cuts him off. “We had sex ed last week so I know you need a boy to—

“Jack,” she cuts him off too and reaches out for his hand. “We can talk about it later, but not now, okay?” 

He nods. “okay.” 

Aaron looks at her with eyes that read “I’m sorry” She just smiles and shrugs as if to say it’s fine. Cause it is, she’s not embarrassed or anything. Jack is curious, he’s smart and he’s emotionally mature enough to see that his dad is in love with this new lady… and Henry has been learning about what it’s like to be a big brother. Cause JJ and Will are really trying to expand their family, so much so that she’s started doing IVF. 

Jack and Henry do everything together. They’ve bonded over having 1 workaholic parent and their love of superheroes. They spend their weekends playing and visiting museums and parks… it’s only natural for him to want to be a big brother if Henry is going to be one too. 

After that, they have a seemingly normal and wonderful meal. The food is good, just like Jack promised and their drive home together is pretty quiet. Jack stares out the window, the radio is on low and Aaron holds her hand over the middle console. They stop at a corner store for snacks, Jack has been wanting to rent the latest Marvel movie and so they pick it up too. 

The 3 of them all cuddle up on the couch, Jack sits between them, and Aaron drapes his arm over the back of the seat so he can rub her shoulder every few moments and keep constant contact with her. They blow through their popcorn and candy, Jack stays up for the whole movie because of all the sugar and then he wants to stay there with them. He snuggled into Y/N’s side, tucked under her arm and everything. Aaron’s not surprised… he’s like this with JJ and he was like this with Beth too. He misses his mom and this is the closest thing he gets to having her back, so Aaron lets him stay up. And when he falls asleep, they carry him to bed and tuck him in together. 

She has to wipe a stray tear once they close his bedroom door, overwhelmed with feelings… the biggest one is love. “He’s the sweetest.” 

Aaron pulls her in for a hug, “So are you.” 

“I loved tonight,” she says as she pulls back, she smiles up at him with gleaming eyes. “I loved all day with you, actually.” 

Aaron cups her face in his hands, “I love you.” 

“I love you, too.” 

“Do you want to stay tonight?” He asks, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs. 

She nods, “if that’s okay?” 

“It’s perfect… I’ll take the couch, you can have my bed,” he says with a half smile. “It would be weird for him to see us in bed in the morning. He typically tries to crawl in with me when I’m home, I don’t want him to think we’re moving too quickly.” 

“That’s okay,” she doesn’t mind at all. “We can still hang out for a while before bed, though, right?” 

He nods, “Absolutely.”   

—

She knew in her mind that getting pregnant wasn’t going to happen in an instant. She’s so used to going month after month with negative pregnancy tests and being over 35 and with Aaron in his late 40s… she didn’t think either of them would be able to produce a baby so quickly. But boy, was she wrong. 

During dinner she got a whiff of Jacks mack and Cheese with Dino nuggets and felt sick, the smell of the powdered fake cheese mixed with ketchup made her stomach churn and she had to excuse herself to the bathroom to clutch her chest and wait for the nausea to pass. It was so weird, she didn’t understand what was going on. At first, she suspected that she caught something in their latest case, and then she turned to look in the mirror. 

Her skin was clearer than it ever had been, her hair was shiny, and her boobs were perky as all hell… “Oh my god,” she whispered to herself as her hand traced down her chest to cup her stomach. “Oh, my god?” 

It took everything in her to act normal the rest of the night but Aaron could tell something was up. He offered to let her sleep in his bed once again, he still didn’t want to sleep together around Jack yet. He’s still getting used to the fact his dad has another serious girlfriend. After losing Beth as well, Aaron is not ready to rush things on him. So, she refused his offer, saying she was fine when really she was panicking. The plan was to call Aaron as soon as she got home, instead, she texts him to let him know she made it safely… but she didn’t send that text from home, she sent it from the parking lot of Target.

She needed to go buy and test and cry in her bathroom, alone, no matter the outcome. 

Her period wasn’t late, she didn’t test this month to know her ovulation window and this is nighttime urine. The best time to test would be in the morning, so she grabs 4 tests, a sleeve of red solo cups and a tub of ice cream and she heads home for real this time. 

She kicks off her shoes at the front door, puts the ice cream in her freezer and races to her bathroom upstairs. She tears the package of cups open and a few falls to the floor, she grabs one and immediately pushes her pants down so she could hover over the toilet and pee into said cup… no one ever said finding out if you’re pregnant was pretty.

With a good amount of pee in the cup, she places it on the counter and finishes her business. When she stands again, she reaches for the grocery bag on the counter and takes out the pregnancy test box, reading the back hastily, she tears it open for a test. It’s fairly simple, submerge the test strip in the urine for 30 seconds, wait 3 minutes and then check for two lines. 

So simple… so why is she freaking the fuck out?

She dips the test into the cup, counts 30 Mississippi’s and then sets it on a piece of toilet paper to do its thing. And instead of freaking out the whole time, she goes to her bedroom to strip out of her work clothes and into something comfortable so that the 3 minutes fly by. And they do. 

When she goes back to the bathroom, she does everything but looks at the counter… she’s not ready to be heartbroken again. She crosses her fingers, she takes a deep breath and she looks down at the test. 

At first, she doesn’t see a second line so her heart drops to her stomach, but as she picks it up and turns it towards the light, the second line is there but extremely faded. She can’t believe it. It doesn’t feel real in the slightest and instead of getting her hopes up, she believes it’s a false positive. She thinks maybe she left it in the pee too long or maybe she let it sit too long… maybe something different will happen in the morning? She has no idea but she doesn’t believe she’s pregnant. 

So she goes to bed. She doesn’t sleep. But she lays there, staring up a the ceiling thinking of all the possibilities until tears roll down her cheeks and into her ears. She has never been this close to a positive before. Every single dream she had about her baby was back in her mind, just rewritten with a better man holding their tiny child in his arms. 

Aaron is already such an amazing dad, thinking about him with another little baby is so easy to do. She can imagine lazy Sundays in bed as a family of 4, she can imagine trips to the store for groceries, and dinner somewhere quick like McDonald's, and screaming kids in the playroom trying to get along… she can imagine most of all the way he’d cup her gigantic tummy time and time again as they build a bigger family. She can imagine Jack helping around the house and getting her bottles and diapers from another room. She can imagine him holding the babies in the hospital, introducing his siblings to their new baby brothers or sisters and passing on the torch of older brother. She can imagine all of them in the crowd at Jack's graduation and surrounding him with all the love in the world. Because it’s what he deserves. 

All the dreams that would’ve been, the babies that should’ve been… they’re nothing compared to what she already has with Aaron and Jack. But a new baby wouldn’t hurt. Or a few more after that. 

—

When she wakes up in the morning, the first thing she does is pee in another cup. She dips the test in it for 30 seconds and leaves it upside down on a piece of toilet paper while she does the rest of her morning routine for the next 3 minutes. She really doesn’t want to stress about it, it’s going to be fine regardless of if she is pregnant or not. At least with Aaron, he’s actually willing to help her try this time and he had all the parts to do so… and boy, did he know how to use them. 

As much as she is excited to possibly be pregnant, she kinda wishes the trying period was longer. Having sex with him was fun. She hasn’t had fun, loving, enjoyable sex in years and the thought of it stopping made her a little sad. 

She heads downstairs to make herself some coffee and toast, her nerves aren’t making her hungry but she knows she has to eat before work. By the time the toast is popping up, her phone alarm is going off to tell her it’s time to check the test. Part of her wants to run up the stairs. The rest of her freezes. She’s really not ready. And she doesn’t want to find out alone. 

So she stops the alarm and she calls Aaron. 

He picks up right away, “are you okay?” 

She wants to start crying right away, her whole body is shot with hormones and feelings, she hasn’t ever felt like this before. “I don’t know,” she manages to say with a quivering voice. “I think I’m pregnant.” 

“Jess just arrived, I can be there in 15 minutes,” he says within seconds. “You’re okay, it’s going to be fine, I promise. I’ll be there as soon as possible— wait, do you have tests? Do you need some? Or anything else?” 

“I already did a test I just can’t look at it without you,” she admits. 

“That’s okay, love, I promise I’ll be there in a minute… do you want me to stay on the phone?” 

“No… no, it’s fine. I’ll see you soon?” 

“Yes, you will. I love you,” he says and she can almost hear the sweet smile in his voice. 

“I love you too,” she says back, hanging up soon thereafter. 

She doesn’t head back upstairs at all, she can’t bring herself to drink her coffee in case she is pregnant and it’s not like she needs it. The nerves alone have woken her up completely and also made her unable to eat anything she’s so anxious she could throw up… or is that from being pregnant? She doesn’t know. 

When he pulls up, she’s standing on the front porch with a cup of coffee for him. “I can’t drink it if I am pregnant.” 

“Actually you can have 1 a day,” he says with a smile, taking it anyway. He wraps one arm around her and pulls her in for a hug. He kisses her head and holds her there for a moment. “It’s going to be okay.” 

“I know, I just needed you,” she says as she pulls away. She reaches for the door and lets them both back inside, locking it behind herself. Even when she’s awake she doesn’t ever leave the door unlocked. She’s been at her job too long to know any difference. 

Aaron follows her up the stairs and into her bedroom, he takes a few sips of coffee and places it on the night table on his side of the bed. He notices she’s not even dressed for work yet, so he sends Penelope a text to let her, and the others, know they’d be late. 

“Are you ready?” He asks, watching her as she stands anxiously in the doorway of her bathroom. 

She nods. “I think so.” 

“Even if it's a negative, we have lots of time,” Aaron reminds her, he places his hand on her back and smiles. “And I’d be more than willing to go to your fertility doctor.” 

“Yeah?” 

He nods, “if we need a little help, there’s no shame in that.” 

“I love you,” she leans into his space and kisses him right on the lips this time. He tastes like coffee and hope… so she’s ready. “Let's go look.” 

“After you,” he says, letting her into the bathroom first. 

She stands at the counter, her hands gripping the linoleum top. She takes a deep breath and flips the test over. 

It’s positive. 

Very clearly and darkly positive. Two lines standing side by side, bright pink and happy to be there. 

“Holy shit,” Aaron is the first to speak. 

She just stares at it with her jaw on the floor… she’s never seen a positive on her own test in her entire life. After almost 80 tests. 8 years. She has a positive. She’s having a baby. 

Aaron’s baby. 

She turns to him with tears welling in her eyes, they slip down her cheeks as she starts to laugh… its absurd. She doesn’t know what else to do as she jumps into his arms and holds him tight. His big hands land on her back, he buries his face in her neck and gives her a few kisses. “We did it.” 

“We did it,” she repeats. “We fucking did it!!” 

They celebrate with a few more kisses and then she turns back to look at the test again. “I need to take a picture of this, I’m going to send it to my mom and maybe even frame it. Holy fuck, I’m pregnant!” 

“You’re so cute,” he reminds her. “God, I love you so much.” 

She can’t stop smiling. She does take a picture of it, she puts it in a plastic bag for safekeeping and slips it into her night side table. She’s so sidetracked, talking a million miles a minute about doctors' appointments and how they should tell their families and the team and so much more, Aaron can’t even keep up. She says everything while walking around the room, looking for something he would help her find but she isn’t talking about it, she’s stuck on the baby. 

“Baby,” he uses her pet name to draw her out of it, he holds her by her shoulders and looks in her eyes. “What are you looking for?” 

“I don't know… I can’t remember? What was I saying?” 

“Something about a baby registry? Honey, we have 9 months. Just get ready, we have to go to work.” 

“Right, sorry,” she’s so out of it. 

“It’s fine,” he doesn’t mind, at all, actually. He thinks it’s cute, he just knows the team will have more questions every minute they’re alone in the office. 

She picks out a pair of dress pants and a white dress shirt with muted blue and pink lines on it… subtle, but it also screams “A baby is coming” and Aaron wonders just how long it’ll take everyone to start placing bets. If they haven’t already. 

He finally gets her already and into his car, he makes sure she didn’t forget anything with everything that’s on her mind already… and then they’re gone. 

“Aaron, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to be normal today,” she admits as they pull up to the building. “I'm so scared to move or jump or do anything in case I miscarry.” 

“I know,” he reaches over and holds her hand. “You can take it easy and we don’t have to tell anyone why and when you start to get uncomfortable being in the field you can switch to desk duty… you can even help me hire your replacement and we need someone to still cover where Derek was before he took over for Dave.” 

“Yeah… yeah that sounds doable,” she agrees, trying to hype herself up. 

This is the furthest she’s ever gotten on the road to becoming a mom and it’s terrifying just how quickly it can be taken from her. She’s older than she thought she’d be when having her first baby but she’ll take it. She’s too excited while also terrified and in love with their baby and him and this whole situation. It’s perfect, no matter how scary it is. It’s perfect. 

“I can’t believe it’s happening,” she admits with tears in her eyes. “We did it.” 

“You’re the one doing it,” he reminds her. “you’re spectacular, you’re going to be a fantastic mom, this is all about you. I’m going to make sure you feel as special as I know you are, the whole time.” 

“Aaron,” she whines, eyes welling with tears. “God, I’m already so emotional I’m not even that pregnant?” 

“It’s been almost a month, hasn’t it?” He asks, “If you don’t mind me asking… when was your last period?” 

“When we were on the Nina Freeman case… I had it when my divorce was final, it didn’t last that long so… oh my god I was in my fertile window when we had sex in the shower?”

“And then 3 more times the following day,” he brags, smug as hell. “And then a few more times these last 3 weeks…” 

Thinking back to it, this is the most fun she’s had in years. This is how it was always meant to be. “I’m probably 4 or 5 weeks pregnant… no wonder I’ve been so tired and horny and why jacks dinner made me want to barf last night.” 

“I knew it,” Aaron teases, pulling into a parking spot at Quantico, he throws the SUV in park and turns to her. “I knew you didn’t want to sleep over for a reason.” 

“I’m so used to taking the tests all alone and doing all the work that I just resorted back to my normal routine and it made me really sad,” she admits. “I never want to do anything without you.” 

“I never want you to do anything alone ever again,” he reaches out to hold her hand, brings it to his lips and kisses her knuckles. “You’re mine forever now, I’m not going to let you feel lonely ever again.”

General Taglist

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@ssamorganhotchner @mrs-ssa-hotch @14buddy22 @spottedzebrasinpartyhats  

[richeeduvie]

Saw a vid of a mom asking her husband if he would babysit their daughter (as a prank tehe bc this one influencer made a vid ab how she has to bribe her husband to “babysit” their child and it was v upsetting bc she was just laughing it off :(() anyways the dad was like:

“??? what ru trying to say ¿¿¿ of course I’ll spend quality time with our daughter while ur out, don’t call it babysitting I’m not sitting on no baby 🤬”

He was so angry at the implication he wouldn’t want to take care of his baby for one night, it just gave ROMAN!! He would bite Baby’s head off if she tried to mess w him like this, and then he would bite her leg for trying to leave the house without her life companions. Why can’t he come with you to the spa? It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t want any services they provide, he is perfectly content to sit on a chair in complete silence and just stare at your face while u get pampered. That IS his preferred self care routine. And the baby? The misty air and soothing aura has her in a deep slumber, her chunky cheeks smooshed into her papas chest she’s securely wrapped against. She’s a perfect little thing, Roman is,,, a scrappy little thing BUT STILL! Baby mommy claims to love him anyway, so why does she want to go alone???

All of this just for Baby to not even have an actual evening away planned 😭 poor woman. She just upset her impish man, and saddened her angel who heard her papas wails of distress “Mama u want to go away 😞?” Stupid Roman when will he learn he can’t go on his tirades anymore, there’s a toddler who roams these halls! Baby pinches him and walks away pissed w her baby, he’s always ruining her fun. He comes to bed an hour later, she makes him grovel but puts him out of his misery because he did in fact book them a weekend getaway to the Hamptons yay! All 3 Roy’s are coming tho bc he’s still her ball and chain.

This took me so long to type and it’s supposed to be a request 😭 my apologies, feel free to change anything and everything you’d like, I gotta go take a test I’ve had all day to complete and pushed to the last minute.

I love when you people write drabbles. I get to be the reader. I get to consume!! And it's always great. I love this!

Babysitter

Roman Roy x Reader blurb - DogandBone!AU

He is her father. Not her fucking babysitter.

------

Roman watches your daughter just toddle around. She's perfect. And this is perfect. He's such a father.

He became a father when you had her, yeah. But here - just looking at her, something soft and swallowed in his eyes, it's all the more prominent.

She plays with blocks. Roman watches intently. It makes you warm and you think he's under the sun like this, he's getting red in the face for it. He can't handle her being cute, which at this point, you think that just means your little girl being a little toddler.

"Top blue. No red. Ba ba blue."

It almost breaks away the giddiness of a prank.

Roman's with your baby all the time. You are with your baby all the time. You're with Roman all the time. Safe to say, you think he'll call you an idiot whore for the idea that he's babysitting. That or it'll be meanie. Mean wife.

You smile.

"Roman, I was planning on going out tonight."

"...It's five. I have to get ready? You didn't want to plan on going out tonight yesterday? Look at her, she's not mentally prepared for being outside. Also, fuck the outside. It was smelling like sewage when we came in, but I think it was that guy who looked like his name was Eddie."

"I was just thinking by myself. I didn't make an appointment but I think they can fit me in for a semi-retreat."

Roman looks to the babbling toddler with her blocks. She's very focused on building it high. Then he turns to you.

"Are you sick of me? Fuck you. What did I even do?"

"Nothing. I just felt impulsive for a spa night."

"I didn't even do anything - like actually...nothing? And now you want to go get your feet rubbed by someone else? Whore. Whore Mommy."

"Ba!"

You roll your eyes. You know Roman has to remember that he gets too whiny and puppy-eyed whenever you mention a foot rub you've had from a spa day. You've taken your feet just for him.

"It'll be quick. Maybe a facial. You can babysit her for a bit?"

"I can literally give you a facial. If you make me, I can-"

Roman's shift with his hands, his attempt to convince, humor, and humiliate.

"...What did you just...what the fuck?"

His eyes get sorta squinty. He's riled. You like Roman riled - you can always get him small and defenseless when he goes too far in a defense. But here, in how you try not to laugh, you'll have to know when to settle.

Maybe now with the vein popping in his forehead.

"Daddy go swear. No swear, Daddy. Blocks like when ears are clean."

Her block tower is almost as tall as her. But she's come up to Roman, shaking her head at his bent knee. She's making sure her Daddy hears her.

You swallow when Roman's not bending his anger to his humor. He just squeezes your daughter's chubby little hand.

You don't think the word babysit has sat well with him at all.

"Did you just tell me to fu...did you kinda just tell me to babysit her?"

Yes, you do. It was funnier in the video. But the husband in the video wasn't Roman.

You should know better, you love him too much that you should know better.

"Why Daddy look crazy?"

Roman pinches his nose bridge and swallow again.

"You just piled a cock-load. A massive cock-load of hurt on me. Wow. Okay." He stands. He's gotten so seriously so quickly. "You're mean and you've been snorting my dead dad's blood clot medication or maybe you've had a brain aneurysm because is she not my kid?"

Your daughter, her sweet head looking up to her Daddy, looks just as confused as you.

"I have not left this place and I really didn't want to because she's my kid. It's not babysitting - I'm not a nanny. We agreed on no nannies? I'm a nanny?"

"Roman-"

"Is this your way of telling me I've been secretly cucked and she's not my baby?"

"...M' not baby?"

You and Roman both turn at the softest voice. It's sweet and genuine and so toddler-like. She is too cute and she is just a toddler. A perfect child who bites her fingers.

Then Roman looks sick - and even though you're the dumb one here, it serves him right for making your sweet girl ask the question in the first place.

"No. Honey, you're my baby. I'm not a babysitter. Do I look like I crush babies?"

Roman's voice tightens in a whine. Possessive and defensive. All of him in the small of his throat.

"Mommy just doesn't like us." Roman looks down, feigns a moment of thinking with his the line of his mouth pushing to one side. "Well, what are we gonna do? We just have to let her go away and do a spa day without us. It's just us now. Forever. Sucks for Daddy mostly cause I've always planned suicide for this route but-"

"Roman."

"Mommy?"

"Oh, sweetheart-"

Her tiny, perfect voice breaks. She's more confused than ever and your heart twists.

"Mommy. No go, I don't-I don't-" She looks to Roman. "...You go away? Why?"

She's very soft and shy in her voice, like she always is. Still too kind for a toddler as she gets teary-eye.

You look to Roman, it's easy to show disappointment along your face.

He looks like he's about to vomit watching his daughter.

You bend down.

"No, sweetheart. Mommy's not going anywhere. Nowhere, okay? I was just joking. Daddy was just joking."

"I don't- I don't know."

"It's okay. Now you do. Mommy's here forever."

She sniffles and unlike her father, she doesn't feign thinking - she thinks really hard. She nods and rubs her cheek against your chest.

"Sorry for crying. But okay." She wraps her arms around you as much as she can. "Daddy, I don't know why you tell that."

Now your little girl is back to a silly voice in questioning.

"Yeah, Daddy. Why did you say all of that? To a little baby girl?"

"...I didn't - Daddy didn't mean..."

Roman's voice fades and breaks.

Well, you've gotten him small this way. You sigh and stand up, taking your daughter with you. You don't think it'll bode well if you try to leave her by skin.

"Jesu-!"

"You love a good nipple pinch."

Roman rubs his nipple with a scrunched face.

"It's my sorry. I'm sorry, Rome - it was a joke. I don't even have any plans. I just wanted to see how much babysitting would fuck with you. And it fucked with you."

And not pinching the other nipple is his punishment.

You hear a little mm on your shoulder. You kiss your daughter's cheek.

"Sorry, baby."

"She's a smart baby, she understands now. No suicide talk, at least.

"...Sorry." Roman just looks to his shirt. You think it's because he can't look to you. "That was like...mean. She's my baby."

"I know. That's why it's a joke. I'm gonna be in the room. Come with your own sorry."

You're almost asleep with your baby in your arms when Roman comes. You don't know he's been swallowing the sickness down while staring into the threads of the couch. Cause he's just the worst fucking Daddy who can't take a joke. That's him. He's a cute, smart sort of guy that everyone should want with the one person he wants being a super hot Mommy-lady. His best friend. But he's also fucking stupid. He should die, maybe?

Roman scratches a digging sort of scratch at the image of his daughter in her almost tears, confused and reaching for her mommy.

He needs a kiss. He needs a kiss right now or he'll die. It feels like it. He can't breathe, stupidly.

Roman comes into the room and monkey cuddles you from behind. He manages to play with her hair. Her asleep, mouth slightly parted like her father when you watch him sleep.

"We'll go to the Hamptons and we can give facials there. Make them creamy. But it's all of us that are going. And you can't leave me. Like. Actually. Not out of my sight. You won't be able to perceive anything but me and our daughter and that means no stupid ideas.

"Roman."

"She's asleep. Also...sorry for being the worst Daddy. I really did mean for my quip to end up putting our baby in tears."

You sigh.

You know he's suffered enough. He's real in his insecurity.

You kiss his forearm and you hear a sharp breath from behind, it moves against your spine.

"You're the best Daddy. It was nothing. She'll make you play floaties with her forever in the pool."

"...Fuck yeah. She will do that. Hopefully, if, you know, I didn't slap trauma on her face at my attempt at humor against a toddler-"

"Roman."

It's not his name that shuts him up, it's just bite to his forearm. It's all the love in your teeth.

"Yeah?"

"We love you."

"I was hoping on that for my will to not throw myself over the timber Brooklyn bridge..."

You feel his cheek press into your back.

"I love you guys too. Tell her I said that if I fall asleep before she wakes up."

You smile against Roman's bitemark. You'll try your best. It's the least you can do after your mess of a joke. Your love in making more small and needy for you after everything never outranks the need for him to know that he is loved.

Roman nuzzles before there's a lick.

"Can do."

[soft-persephone]

A Fresh Start 2

Mother’s Milk x Fem!Reader

T // WC: 1.7k // pool day fun and one iffy convo // pt. 1

“TT, it’s going to be fun,” Momo did her best to comfort you, taking your hand she walked to in the to the entrance of the public pool.”

“What if no one likes me?” You grumbled. “I’m not as parenty as the other adults.”

The loss of your brother showed up in more ways then one in your life. The way the grief can creak into the everyday folds of your knew life with Momo was challenging, and on top of it all, you had to learn how to be a good parent on the fly.

The transition from fun aunt to mother figure had been challenging. Especially, when discipline had to come out to play. Momo wasn’t a bad kid, but she had been through a lot and her emotions ran all over the place, depending on the day.

So far, this summer has been such a relief for you both. As she relocated after her suspension, it was honestly a blessing in disguise. There was a community around the school district your brother was zoned for that you never knew was there. Momo made some new friends that she seems to love more and they loved her equally as much.

But youngest like a poser, that you’re pretending. You were constantly comparing yourself to other parents. What worse lace could exist for you to continue this new horrible tradition than a day at the pool.

The wholes are side of your swimsuit and how scrappy it was despite being a one piece felt too much, not at all something a mom would wear. You tugged the sleeves of the knitted wholey cover up you were wearing over your hands. It was made to give a dramatic end sleeve effect. Like very chic sweater paws.

“If you stay on your best behavior, you’ll have nothing to worry about.” Momo beamed up at you.

Despite being very cute, you took her bag off her shoulder with narrowed eyes.

“Go play.” You said in a deadpan tone.

“But what did i—“

“Now! Go play with your friends. Don’t make me tell you again.”

She huffed before giggling as Janine was already running towards her. Her soaking wet curls shining in the sun.

You whined as they started squealing at one another before skipping off.

“Hey!” A voice stopped them from your side, “don’t run around here or you’ll fall and bust your head open!”

You smiled your best polite smile.

“Someone’s looking rather fancy for a public outing at the pool.” Sheila looked at you over her shades.”

“What can I say,” you smiled, “I dress to impress.”

Being in with a group of parents really had its perks. They saved you a set and it was nice and cozy. Not too much sun and not too much shade.

“Hey hey,” look who it is.” Sheila introduced and everyone called out to you from their chairs.

“Someone’s looking all special!”

All the moms oohhhed and ahhed in appreciation.

You swallowed ignoring how hot your face felt.

“Hi.” You waved with a smile as you took your seat.

“Hey, I’m Monique.” She took of her shades, “Janine’s Mom.”

“Oh my god Hi,” you instantly perked up. “I’ve heard your name a lot over the last week.”

Janine and Momo exchanged numbers which were actually your number and Monique’s number, so you’ve only heard her voice several, several times, as she said, hold on let me get Janine.

“It’s nice to put a voice to a face.”

“Likewise.” You nodded with a smile and pulled your book out of your bag, just in case.

“What is it that you do again?”

It was nice to be able to talk about something like work and not.. your brother or how hard the transition is with Monice coming to live with you.

“Lawyer, started out with the criminal justice stuff and somehow ended up in the corporate conglomerate stuff, representing companies as they do who fuck knows with whatever they and such.”

“You know more than me, so I will not ask too many questions.” You both laughed.

“Heeheehee,” a strong voice mocked you from above, blocking the sun.

“You held a hand over your eyes and waved with the other. “Hey.”

“Don’t hey me and get your butt out here in this pool.”

“Why.” You scoffed and clipped the shades from your shirt, putting them on.

“We take turns chaperoning the kids.” He crossed his arms.

“Marvin please, give her a break. She just got here. It’s probably Sheila’s turn.”

He stormed off with a groan and waved Janine off.

“Sheila’s not getting in the pool is she?”

Monique tapped her nose with a smile and you laughed.

45 minuets or maybe one glorious hour into your book. A little voice broke your focus.

“TT can I have $20.”

“Why do you need $20.” You turned the page of your book not looking up.

“Because of the concession stand.” She huffed, giving her eight year old logic.

“But I packed you something.” You fake pouted back, grabbing the cooler bag.

“I mean, I brought these grapes,” you pulled them out and put them back in the bag, rummaging some more, “I cut up some strawberries and other fruit, making sure there were no stems or nasty bits because you hate that,” you put them back in the bag, “and then, I woke up extra early and made those ham and cheese balls you love so much.” You sighed dramatically.

“I packed all your favorites, but if you want to eat soggy fries drenched in a weird cheese sauce, I guess I can give you the money.” You put your hand in your purse.

“No-I’ll-take-these-thanks!” She eagerly snatched the goodies out of the bag, running off to be eat with her friends.

Victory.

You went back to your book.

“Nice one.” Monique said to you over her kindle.

You both read in silence.

Monique was pretty swell. She was the easiest to be around compared to the other mom’s.

“Thank you for the other day,” you were about to ask her for what but she explained further, “for keeping Marvin out of trouble at the cookout.”

“What.” You laughed. “I didn’t do anything. We just talked for a bit.”

She smiled at you.

“Marvin doesn’t just talk for a bit.” She went back to her book.

You were about to say something. To get some more answers, confront her, ask her to give it to you straight or interpret what she was implying, but Marvin plopped down between you both.

“Water.” He huffed.

Crushing the water bottle loudly in his hands, he pulled at the fabric of your cover up with his other hand.

“You need to take this off and get in the pool. It’s your turn.”

“Why do I have to go?” You smacked his hand away.

“If I have to drag you into the water I will.” He pointedly looked at you, “I already had to drag Sheila out there and I’m willing to drag you in too.”

You rolled your eyes.

“Fine.”

The water wasn’t too bad, the screaming kids not so much. But it was nice to see Marvin be around the kids.

“My turn!” A boy that was more hair than boy squealed as Marvin dunked him under the water and refused to let him go as he thrashed around for a minuet. He came above the surface of the water with a gapped grin, one of his front teeth missing.

He swam away back to his friends in glee.

“What a fun game.” You tried to be sarcastic but your grin was too wide and you were already laughing.

“You never went to the pool as a kid?” He splashed water on you.

You slammed the surface of the water back with both hands, getting way more water on him.

“Of course I did!”

“Well, I apologize if you don’t seem like the type, Ms Bougie.”

“I like to take care of myself, and I was raised by a woman who liked to take care of herself and her family. She had standards and she raised me with standards.” You defended. “Why is that a crime?”

He looked down at you with a smile, less mirthful than before.

“It’s not.”

Despite the chill from the water and the slight breeze every few minuets a warmth started to spread throughout you.

“When,” he started and quickly stopped, looking away from you for a second before putting a hand into a fist and pushing into the palm of the other. “You don’t have someone at home who takes care of you?”

“If that’s your way of masking if I have a boyfriend,” you started carefully, “then no.”

He looked at you as if he didn’t believe you. You would have laughed if it wasn’t sort of sweet.

“I did.”

His eyebrows rose, but he showed no other sign of suprise. Nodding in some sort of appreciation is what you guess what the nod meant.

“He doesn’t help you take care of Momo?”

“He left because of Momo.”

You started floating in the water, giving half of your attention to mindlessly floating in the water with a sigh.

He followed suit, crouching down in the pool, letting his legs flow at a bent angle so he could be at the same eye level as you.

“If he’s willing to leave you like that, with all your going through,” he locked eyes with you, then he doesn’t deserve you.”

You nodded giving him a silent thank you.

He made a step towards you.

“I just—“

“Daddy!” Janine jumped in her dads arms. Her face pulled taunt with a frown and her bottom lip sticking out.

“TT” Momo solemnly swam to you.

She rubbed her eyes as you pulled her into your arms.

“You tired?” You looked over to see Marvin murmur comforting words in Janine’s ear.

You gave him an apologetic smile.

He gave one back and made his way to the steps of the pool to take Janine home.

You kissed Momo on the head.

“Time to go home kiddo,” you moved her hair to the side to see her face. She was already fast asleep in your arms, giving her a light kiss on the head, you made your way out the pool.

[oneforthemunny]

can't stop thinking about sweet girl finding a puppy and bringing her home to cowboy!eddie. Maybe she found her at a gas station on her way home from work. She's a scrappy-looking mutt, but precious all the same.

Eddie spots her car flying up the drive, shaking his head at her speed and taking off his work gloves, heading to meet her up by the house. He's getting ready to scold her when she opens the door and puts her hands up in defense, "I know I was speeding but I have an actual good reason this time!" He raises an eyebrow and walks closer, hands on his hips as he says "Sure better, missy. You also better have a good reason as to why you're not wearin' a jacket in this cold. Gonna get sick walkin' 'round with just a short sleeve on." she kisses him quick and sweet, "There's a good reason for that too!". She's giddy as she turns and leans into the car, grabbing the sweet puppy that she wrapped up in her coat and presenting her to him. Eddie immediately shakes his head, looking away to gather his patience before turning back to her, "Aw, hell. Baby no, absolutely not." She pouts, "Eddie there is no way I was just going to let her freeze by the gas station dumpster! I promise I'll take good care of her, you won't have to do a thing. She'll be all mine." She scratches the fur on the top of her head. Eddie swore he saw the dog actually smile. He sighs and scratches the scruff on his chin, "We can keep her for the night, and talk about options in the mornin', but I'm not having a dog in the house, no ma'am, " He waves his arm out towards the barn and pasture, "Do you see all the animals we already have? And those chickens that were also supposed to be "all yours"?" She goes to argue again, but Eddie cuts her off, walking up to her and pushing her hair behind her ear, "Sweetheart I know she's cute, and I don't mind givin' her some shelter for the night. But first thing in the mornin' we're takin' her into town."

Later that night Eddie wakes up to her side of the bed empty. He goes searching for her in the living room and his heart pangs when he sees her curled up on the floor in the little pin he made for the puppy. The dog is cuddled against her chest, content as can be while they both sleep.

Safe to say he ended up not being able to say no to her.

UGH I need him

I don’t think he’d dare even say no because he knows what that will bring. like he knows he’s gonna give in any ways, so he’d fight with her on “she’s not staying in the house.”

“eddie-“

“nope. i’ll make her a place out on the porch. make it nice and warm, but she’s not staying in the house.”

“it’s freezing out here!”

“fine, the garage. she’s not staying in the house. she’s filthy.”

“i’m going to give her a bath!”

“no. she’s not staying in the house. i’m not having a dog piss everywhere and tear shit up.” he shakes his head. “we can take her to the vet tomorrow, get her checked out, but no. not in the house.”

“fine.” your lips snarl. “i’m staying with her.”

“the hell you are-“

“-she’s scared, eddie!” you shrill. “i’m not leaving her alone so you can either let her stay in the house, or i’ll sleep outside with her. your choice.”

and eddie is fucking fuming. he’d never had an inside dog before ever. ever. his grandparents were the old school type, the dogs stayed outside on the farm.

still, the dog slowly became an inside dog. your dog, that was for sure. you carried her around like a little baby, spoiled her.

definitely one of those situations where eddie ends up loving her. i love it.

[little-lovett]

sweeney todd round 3 details (nicholas christopher, delaney westfall, joe locke) 🥹

- first of all, a huge congratulations to the adorable and ungodly talented joe locke on an amazing broadway debut. when he started singing in pirelli’s i said “holy shit he sounds REALLY good” out loud. that VOICE!!! his voice is so beautiful, his accent and movements were perfect, and he really just nailed it overall. his ‘not while i’m around’ actually destroyed me. he sang it so gorgeously IN THE OBC KEY and was so genuinely our courageous, protective, vulnerable little guy. at the end he hugged mrs lovett and collapsed into her lap and i just melted :,,)

- AHHH nik and delaney. they are so good together!!!! they give such a classic sweeney and lovett vibe because they read as literally insane. just absolutely unhinged little devils. they know exactly what they’re doing and they enjoy it. it’s definitely a contrast to josh and annaleigh who read more as normal people who got themselves into an insane situation.

- delaney… omg. she’s a gorgeous little thing but she is fierce. she’s loud, brash, maternal, and sexy all at once. she’s very belty and she has this beautiful BEAUTIFUL vibrato. her lovett was super energetic and scrappy and tough as nails. but her love for nik’s sweeney was so softening and beautiful. she felt like a lansbury x ashford hybrid and i adored it.

- nik was absolutely wonderful. i loved that his sweeney sounds much more australian than british, it kind of makes him stranger and more mysterious. he was cold and angry and often stoic so he was definitely more unsettling than josh. and still, sometimes he’d let those delicious little peaks into his love shine through. i felt for him and absolutely believed him. but he really was chilling. his movements, his anger, his sadness, his MANIC MOMENTS!!! holy shit. everyone was screaming for a whole minute after his epiphany because it really was crazy. on “nor a hundred can assuage me i will have you” HE WENT UP A WHOLe STEP AND BELTED IT OUT HELLO he was fucking terrifying.

- whenever he and mrs. lovett are sharing an intimate little moment and someone walks in, nik really snaps up and tries to act normal. it makes them look so suspicious and i love it 👀

- the jump into hell really really got me today idk why. it always hits, but today it just made me burst into tears and start screaming my head off. them finally surrendering to eachother and just taking that final leap together. idk. it went really hard.

- daniel torres was on as pirelli and he’s gotta be in my top 3 fav ensemble members so i was SUPER excited. and he devoured. SO flamboyant and vocals were excellent.

the biggest of congratulations to joe and our incredible understudies on a beautiful brilliant show ❤️🩸🔪🥧

[aztarion]

oc in 15 (lying)

tagged by @nightwardenminthara thank you cole 🫶🫶 might be obsessed with their gideon after his oc in 15 but lets not get into that 👀 unless..

Rules: share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!

**after realizing Deva is not an articulate woman i chose to include other details alongside dialogue to get across her general “same shit different supernatural” scrappy doo-ness and what she gets herself into. these are all bits and pieces from a longfic milk teeth

…

1. “Ten minutes already? Time for a break,” she announces, rising like a phoenix from the chair Felix had similarly abandoned ten minutes prior.

-

2. “Oh, fuck you,” she says, precisely – as precisely as the blood runs rivulets between her teeth.

-

3. “You know there’s going to be complaints to Agency HR about us.”

-

4. Dev throws a mock-salute and opens the passenger door with a deputy cluck. "All forces now protecting our collective ass.”

-

5. The door thuds in its frame again as she arches, hands tugging on his hair. He hums at the pleasant ripple it sends down his spine, even as she demands: “Bed,” in a breathy whisper, with another pull.

-

6. “That's my job, Bobby—debate it, pick at my words, but don't conflate your issues with ours. What you're doing," Detective Deleón scoffs, flicking her finger back-and-forth, "has nothing to do with the case. This is about a dead boy. This is about an order you were given to stay the fuck away and a concession I had to make."

It’s slight, but Nate shifts uncomfortably. Felix, however, looks like he is watching good TV.

-

7. “Lose the shirt.” Her voice is even and demanding — it always is when she wants something, he’s coming to realize. Mason's also been realizing he’s kind of into it.

-

8. “Well.” Deva takes a step back to survey. The trapper’s head is black, misshapen, and greatly reduced, as if shaven away. “That didn’t work.”

-

9. The Mother Deleón looks a little forlorn. The Daughter Deleón wants to say something smart, nonplussed, but her throat is too thick and sour. She keeps her gaze on the volt burn in her jeans. Her palms, hidden safely by the clench of her fingers, throb. "I don’t want to talk about this anymore, mom."

-

10. “You need two for a game of Good Cop/Bad Cop," she says, scowling around a busted lip and a black eye. “So if you’re going to make threats just fucking make them. Don’t waste time pretending to look out for me.”

-

11. Deva pauses suddenly, drawing back a few inches so she can meet his eyes. Her lips press into palpable wickedness. "Make me."

-

12. Mason snorts and lazily rolls his neck to look at the second-in-command. “Just say it looks like shit, Nate.”

“And it smells like ass,” says Deva.

“It does smell like ass,” Felix agrees.

-

13. “No, it’s nothing like that,” she says, then pauses for a beat. “I mean, I don’t know – fuck, maybe it is like that – look I’ll explain later. I’m fine though, but I think – well, um, I think someone’s been here. In my apartment. While I was sleeping.”

-

14. “Kinky.” Deva shoots a jackass grin at Adam. “How medieval of you.”

-

15. “This is as good as you’ll get,” she whispers to the bathroom mirror. The reflection that looks back is merciless, staid — milkiness with a suggestion of something hollow, like a baby tooth.

hehe title reference nudging myself

tagging: @sorceresslodge @devilbrakers @nsewell @saintalessia @dietgabbana @nat-seal-well @serenpedac @swordbards @recents @wetusb @deepinifhell @fauville @agentnatesewell and anyone else w OCs out the wazoo‼️👯‍♀️

TLDR;