#My sister started reading and calls Ed a 'husband'

[jude-duarte-wannabe]

childhood sweetheart material

oh my god!!! it's finally here, i made sure to change the posting settings this time!! i know it's not a bakery request but i've been writing them and i have a bunch in my drafts, i've got my sister editing them for me and hopefully one will be out soon... but for now enjoy my lovely's <3

pairing; carlos sainz jr x childhood best friend viviana martinez [original character]

blurb; this is a list of cute things childhood friend turned husband carlos sainz jr and his childhood friend turned wife viviana martinez do in my smau series that i'm working on called since we were eighteen, this story features a original character but for your reading pleasure, i've used 'you' and 'y/n' in this little snippet <3

currently playing; everything has changed by taylor swift ft ed sheeran "cause all i know is we said, "hello" and your eyes look like comin' home, all i know is a simple name and everything has changed, all i know is you held the door, you'll be mine and i'll be yours, all i know since yesterday is everything has changed"

from day one, you were the one;

your families have been friends for the longest time and while carlos was born a few years before you, you've been friends since you could babble at eachother

carlos can in fact still remember meeting you for the very first time, how tiny you were and his mother still has the photo of three year old carlos kissing your forehead but her personal favorite was one of you two falling asleep on eachother in the backseat of a car when she was dropping you off after a play-date

and so the years kept passing;

as years go by, you and carlos slowly begin to drift apart pursuing different careers and life goals, you knew from a young a age that you loved carlos but didn't realize it was in the romantic way until far later in life

during your teenage years, your parents thought you two were dating and no matter how much your denied it, they never believed you but that was probably due to the platonic to you both kisses you would place on eachothers cheeks or foreheads

when you were nineteen and about to move away and not see carlos for the next four to five years, not that you knew that at the time, you'd begged him to be your first time, it was one of those cliche moments of not wanting to go to college a virgin but he turned you down, saying he didn't want to ruin what you had, what a joke that seemed like now

when you two were young, around the ages of fourteen and eleven, you joked about marrying eachother one day, you even made a contract about how if you were still single after you'd turned twenty two that you'd tie the knot with eachother but as you grew apart, that contract was long forgotten about

coming back to eachother;

you found eachother again at a family reunion, you'd arrived early and got talking with his mother, catching up about life when she brought out old photo albums and low and behold at the back of the album was a paper or contract that you'd long forgotten had existed

you'd been sipping a drink in the garden when you heard the familiar voice, you'd gotten to talking when the topic of relationships came up and you discovered the both of you were single

you joked about tying the knot but he joked back about taking him to dinner first, which you did for giggles but you just fell in love with talking to eachother and began to meet up more often which eventually led to confessed feelings that had been hidden for too long, this left the rest as history

telling your families;

you were both nervous to say the least, your parents had been friends since they themselves were children, little did either of you know both of your sisters had already started to notice the change between you, the little stares and stolen glances but they had noticed it too late.. about three years too late in fact

the two of you had been planning to tell them sooner but you didn't want to give them false hope in case you broke up but you began to like the privacy and how it was just the two of you and before you knew, the two of you were approaching your three year anniversary

it was actually at your anniversary dinner that carlos proposed, you had both just stepped off a twelve hour flight and decided that instead of going out you'd get pizza

carlos thought there would be no better time than when you both sat on the couch eating pizza in comfy clothes to propose, you however almost lost it, you knew your answer was yes but instead of saying the first words out of your mouth were "you let me do this sweatpants" [if you've seen this video, i love you]

it was a week later at the traditional joint family dinner when everyone found out, your younger sister basically screaming her head off when she saw the ring on your finger as you reached for your wine glass

"what is that!" she squealed to which you winced in return and carlos chuckled, your mother looked betrayed as she too just now noticed the ring adorning your finger "when did that happen, i didn't even know you were seeing someone" she asked flabbergasted.

"does this mean you and carlos aren't together" your youngest sister had asked, she was only ten but loved carlos so much, you and carlos shared a knowing look before he shrugged his shoulders and leaned over to kiss you... that set off a frenzy among your family members

when it comes to work;

you work as an actress in horror / thriller films but you absolutely hate being scared, your the biggest wuss carlos knows but his favorite thing about your job is that he has a video on his phone of when one of your cast-mates scared the shit out of you and you screamed like the scream queen that you are

you often come home from set covered in fake blood to which carlos can't help but panic every time thinking your injured before he catches his breath and then helps you wipe it all off but not without you covering him in fake blood first

carlos quite often comes to your photo-shoots and one time the photographer wasn't happy with how the photos were working out, said that their was no real chemistry between you and the male model you had been working with and so he called a break during which you hung out with carlos, sitting in his lap and just enjoying eachothers company when the photographer caught sight of you both and it was like a light bulb went off in his head, that was the birth of the photo you had forever pinned to your instagram account

carlos always insisted on watching your movies, no matter how often you told him he didn't need to you would still come home to find him curled up on the couch with pinon as he pointed and mumbled "there's our girl" in his rough tired voice

your not afraid to show your support to carlos at his races either, attending as a long lost but now returned childhood friend at first but then eventually as his girlfriend and then wife but nobody knew that

while lando was basically carlos's best friend, to you he was your paddock child and you never let him forget it either

one of carlos's favorite things about your job was getting to see you in the gorgeous red carpet dresses, you would always show him and if he happened to be off racing, you'd facetime him instead, he loved being able to zip them up and feel your warm skin as he did it, his favorite dress was this one:

you were honestly carlos's biggest fan and without both his and his fans knowledge, you'd started an account on instagram where you posted the most outrageous things about him like this: which is one of your more tame posts btw

whenever carlos wins a race, gets on the podium or just no matter what place he gets, your wrapping your arms around him as soon as you can and whispering in his ear "i'm so proud of you mi sol"

kisses + cuddles;

there's different kinds of cuddles when it comes to yours and carlos's relationship, these include;

straddled cuddles were your sitting in his lap and wrapped around him, there is nothing sexual about it, just the two of you enjoying eachothers company

hugs from behind no matter where you are, in the motor-home or even the supermarket, carlos just likes to be holding you

and your personal favorite is when he's so exhausted and turns into the little spoon

and finally there's just this;

and then there's all the different kinds of kisses you two share

there's shoulder kisses most of which occur when carlos is hugging you from behind but they also happen in the early morning when carlos is awake and your still asleep but he just feels the need to kiss you in some way

thigh kisses, he loves to kiss your thighs and not just in the sexual way which he does indeed enjoy giving you but it also happens when he's laying in your hold with his head half in your lap and half resting on your legs

then there's the tippy toe kisses, the height difference between you and carlos was adorable but you often have to either stand on your tip toes or wear heels in order just to kiss him

then there's the kisses that you place all over his face after race cause no matter what place he comes, your always so happy for him and just need him to know how much you love him

then there's the kisses you have to tug at his shirt in order to give to him

there's the one where your kissing in bed, not in a sexual way but the 'i've missed you' loving way that has you rolling around and giggling, never wanting the kisses to end

and finally there's the kisses that both of you moaning in-between, it's these ones that normally led to your sexual encounters with eachother

touches and intimate moments;

you two have a habit of one of you two laying in bed, watching the other change in the morning or after a shower, you once said you trusted no one like how you trusted carlos and that's why you let him watch you change

then there's the times when either of you come home either from work or a race, so you sit behind eachother and gently massage the others shoulders

if your ever in the way which carlos says that you never are, he'll hook his fingers into your belt loops and gently scoot you out the way

carlos is the kind of boyfriend where if your too tired to move at the end of the day or after an event, he'll sit and gently wash your makeup from your face while your falling asleep

during the races that happen in colder countries, your often caught on camera pulling carlos close to hug him in order to warm up

your also often caught on camera walking through the paddock together with carlos's hand tucked into the back pocket of your jeans if you happen to be wearing them

and then one of your favorite things about your relationship was taking baths with carlos after a long day, feeling his body pressing against your own just brought you a sense of comfort and peace

dates [of sorts];

one of your favorite dates or even just times that you spend together is having pancake wars; where you two always try to one up eachother with your pancake recipes

whenever you guys go out for dinner, carlos always makes sure to give you the first bite of his food just in case you want to switch meals like you sometimes did

you would also often bring him lunch and end half the time end up staying so that you could eat together

he'll also sit and read you poetry late at night from your favorite poetry books

whenever you guys stay home and have date night in, carlos will often hover over your shoulder and wait to taste test the meal your cooking

then there are the museum dates you guys go on, art museums in particular have always been a part of your love for italian and spanish culture, a fan once took a photo of you and carlos in a museum where he was holding you up so that you could take photos of some of your favorite works of art

and finally and personally carlos's favorite was whenever you two went out for gelato, carlos loved the stuff and you loved taking photos of him

the little things;

just a list of all the little things that you and carlos do slash remember about eachother

your carlos's lock screen and he's yours

he wears your hair ties on his wrist and carries period products in his travel bag just in case you need them in an emergency

he always messages you when your filming to make sure that you've been eating and drinking

the two of you know eachothers routines off by heart, like when he comes home from a morning run, you'll have the shower running and waiting for him

you have a love of classic literature and you often come home to find that he's deep cleaned your bookshelves

you take care of him when he's sick

he'd been whimpering and complaining of a sore throat all day, after a while you'd had enough so you decided to call his mother and ask what she once did when he was sick as a child, when you brought carlos a mug of manzanilla or homemade chamomile tea explaining you'd gotten the recipe from his mother, carlos knew right then and there that he was going to marry you

he once gifted you a stuffed bear and a bottle of his cologne for your birthday so that you had something to cuddle when he was gone and the cologne was for when you missed his smell.. he had to comfort you when you started crying

he loves knowing that you wear his shirts to bed, reminds him that your his

and finally with all the button ups that carlos wears, you often find yourself sewing buttons back onto them, carlos once found you on the couch furiously sewing buttons back onto around ten or so shirts that you'd discovered while doing the washing

no one touches the hair except for you;

when your bored, you often end up begging carlos to let you braid his hair... it's always a yes because ever since childhood, he could never say no to you

you also love to laugh at how messy and fluffed up his hair gets in the morning, the first time you'd seen it you burst out laughing which caused him to blush

down and dirty;

while not going to into detail, here's a list of some of the things you and carlos do in bed

carlos loves eating you out, as mentioned beforehand when discussing his love for giving you thigh kisses

another obvious one was the fact that carlos loved having his pulled during sex

then there's the guided grinding, where his hands gripped at your hips while grinding you down against him

carlos's favorite position to take you in is doggy and no, i personally think there's no explanation needed

carlos has a thing for choking too, you in fact introduced him to it

and finally while it not's something you explore very regularly, you also share a spitting kink

the wedding;

it's been described by friends and family as the most beautiful wedding they'd ever attended, there are photos in the wedding album of you and carlos shoving cake in eachothers faces and instead of a three course meal, you both served pizza at your wedding instead

nicknames;

your nicknames for carlos include; mi sol [my sun] mi vida [my life] papi and mi amor [my love]

carlos called you his wife all the time, including long before you two were married

his nicknames for you include; my wife, mi vida, mi amor and corazón [heart]

aesthetic playlist;

a list of songs that describe you, carlos and your relationship

young and beautiful by lana del ray

boyfriend by ariana grande ft social house

just friends by why don't we

we can't be friends [wait for your love] by ariana grande

never be the same by camila cabello

lay all your love on me by abba

senorita by shawn mendes ft camila cabello

older by isabel larosa

money money money by abba

too sweet by hozier

everything has changed by taylor swift ft ed sheeran [taylor's version]

teenager in love by madison beer

me gustas tu by manu chao

more songs like this can be found on their official playlist

and finally;

this is just how i picture you'd reveal your relationship to the public

movies.with.y/n

movies.with.y/n; my heart always knew it'd be you @ carlossainz55

[asmutwriter]

The Gangsta's Wife (Part 9)

DESCRIPTION: During you're time in the safe house you experience an event that'll likely cause your whole life to change.

WORD COUNT: 3110

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WARNINGS: pregnancy, giving birth, swearing, really bad writing to be honest

DISCLAIMERS

This is fiction. Please always talk to your partner before doing anything and make sure they are ok with what you are doing beforehand

This story does not follow the timeline of the show

You'd been living in the safe house for a little under 2 months now. Celebrated Christmas and the New Year inside of it. You saw the man who delivered you new food every week on a Sunday. Edward his name was. Asking him to buy some specific things for your sisters so they could still have a somewhat normal Christmas, given the circumstances. It was quite nice being the three of you though. Over the winter you spent the short days reading, the long nights playing cards.

It was mid January, like any other Sunday. You sat in the living room. Reading a book. Only a few days left before February came around. Which you were greatful for. This month always seemed to last ages and summer would always seem so far away. A knock at the door. Elizabeth calls out.

"I'll get it" she says cheerfully. You stand up. A weird pain going through you as you stand. Letting out a small huff of air as you rub your stomach. Paying it no mind before walking over to the door. You see Edward outside. Brown paper bag with various bits in as he talks to Liz. Who keeps playing with her hair. You half smile at the scene before waddling over. He sees you, a smile on his face. Different to the one he gave your sister but you pay it no mind.

"You life saver" you say. Holding your hand out for the bag. He shakes his head.

"I don't think you should be carrying anything unnecessarily in your condition" he motions at your rather huge stomach.

"Is it really obvious that I'm pregnant?" he laughs as you comically push your stomach out. Motioning for him to come in. He goes to the kitchen. He'd been here plenty of times before so knew where to go. Placing the bag down onto the side.

"I even managed to get you-" he reaches into the bag. Pulling out two oranges.

"Oh my god yes" you hold a hand out, him passing it to you as he starts to empty the bag. That's when you feel it. The same sharp pain going through your side. You brace your hands on the counter. Furrowing your brow before the pain stops just as suddenly as it had started. Edward watches you

"You ok Mrs Shelby?" you nod. Standing back up again, rubbing your stomach.

"Yeah just peachy. Or should I say-" you hold the orange up again "Orangey". He rolls his eyes.

"I thought the dad was meant to say the bad jokes?" you laugh, starting to peel the fruit. Going to say something but the pain comes back. Harder this time. Ed stops what hes doing. Coming over to you as he steadies you. You bend forward. Grabbing his hand and clinging onto it as if your life depended on it. "Liz call the midwife" you see her running off.

"No" you call out. A small plea in your voice "please don't.... fuck!" you say. Hearing her speaking on the phone.

"Lets get you sat down" he says. Pulling out a dining chair as Liz runs back in, shortly followed by Mary.

"Midwife is on the way"

"Good. Flo just breath"

"What the fuck do you think I'm doing?" you shut your eyes. Rubbing your stomach as you speak in a low whisper. "Please get them out of this room" you say, almost as a sob. He nods. Motioning for your sisters to leave. SHhtting the door behind them to the kitchen. He comes and sits next to you. You dig your nails into the wood of the table.

"We- We should contact my husband"

"I can't do that" you look at him. Focusing on your breathing as you give him a questioning look. "Mr Shelby was very clear on his instructions. We do not contact him no matter what. To keep you, your child, and your sister safe". You chuckle slightly. A shaky breath out as you look away from him. Another contraction hitting you. You bend over slightly. Hand going to your stomach as your nails scratching the table before balling it into fists. Feeling the pain of your nails into the flesh of your palm.

Letting out a crying laugh as the pain subsides. Shaking your head slightly. "I'm having his baby and hes to fucking busy to come and see me"

"Its for your safety Mrs Shelby" you run a hand over your face. Pushing yourself up from your chair. Starting to pace. Ed stands too, hands outstretched like your a stray dog hes trying to tame. "I think you should remain sat down" you shake your head. Swaying on your feet side to side. Hearing the front door knock. Ed stands up. You shut your eyes as you hear the door open. The familiar voice of your midwife being heard.

She walks into the kitchen. Smiling at you as she places a medical bag onto the dining room table. "Its nice to see you again Mrs Shelby" you nod. Breathing deeply through your nose as she continues to speak. "Why don't we go to the bedroom for a little more privacy, hmm?" you nod.

Letting her take your arm as she leads you to the bedroom. You stay standing as she goes and and moves your pillows around for you.You stand as she does so, swaying softly as you shut your eyes. Ed following with the medical kit. She looks at him, taking the kit from him.

"Thank you" she smiles at him. He stands, hands placed neatly in front of him as he watches. She coughs slightly, causing him to look at her "I'm going to have to ask you to leave sir. There's no men allowed in the delivery room"

"I can't do that. I'm sorry ma'am" she turns to face him fully.

"I understand your concern. But my only aim for this visit is to deliver the baby safely. Your men have already checked my person. I am unarmed. Now I need you to leave so that I can do my job" he looks at her.

"I'll be just outside the door. If I hear anything unusual I will make no hesitation to come in here" she nods. Him turning tail and heading out the door. Shutting it behind him as your midwife faces you. A smile back on her face. "Why don't you come and lie down on the bed Mrs Shelby?"

"I don't want to lie down"

"I'll be able to help you a lot better if you lie down and let me have a look at whats happening".

"Is it to late to not have it?" she half smiles.

"Unfortunately so. Come on" she gently takes your shoulders. Leading you to the bed. Helping you up and lie down. Going between your thighs as she examines you. You shut your eyes as you breath.

"You're 4cm dilated"

"6 to go, right?" she nods. You shake your head. Turning your legs to go back over the bed. Standing up and pacing again. Gripping the end of the bed frame as another contraction hits. Screaming out. Dorothy (the midwife) coming over and comforting you. Rubbing firm yet gentle circles onto your lower back. She continues to rub onto your back. Massaging the pain away as best as she could.

"I want my husband" you say in a choked sob. "Please..."

"I can't do that Mrs Shelby. I'm sorry. What you need to focus on is getting this baby out. Do you think you can do that?" you shake your head.

"No. No I cant do it. I cant do this" you grip the bed frame tighter. Crying out again. "I need my husband... Please..." She waits for this contraction to pass before helping you to lie down onto the bed.. Dorothy checks how dilated you are.

"You're at 10cm my lovely"

"What the fuck does that mean?" you say. Hand coming up and covering your eyes.

"It means that you can start pushing for me. Count to 3 and give a really big push. 1, 2, 3 - that's it. Good girl. Do that one more time for me ok? 1, 2, 3 and push. Well done my lovely. The head is out. Hold it there. You're doing so well. Ok. Now do it one more time. Do you think you can do it? Come on. 1. 2. 3. Push. Keep pushing. Keep going. Well done. You did so well"

You pant. Eyes opening as you look. Dorothy clamping the two ends of the umbilical cord. Cutting it. Your eyes follow her as she holds your baby. Her rubbing its back. Unable to hear its cries a fear washes over you. "Is my baby ok?". As if on cue you start to hear its crying. A sigh of relief as she wraps the small human up in a blanket.

"Congratulations Mrs Shelby. You have a beautiful baby boy". You get handed him. A smile on your face as you look at the child you had made.

"Oh my god" you say in a soft whisper. Gently stroking the babes features. You feel Dorothy help clean everything up. Covering your lower regions before opening the door. You cant see it but Edward, Elizabeth, and Mary all wait outside the door. They come in. Edward checking to make sure everything seems well as Elizabeth and Mary rush to your side. Looking at your baby. A smile on your features as you look at the child.

"Have you thought of any names?"

"Yes. We were going to see if it was a boy or a girl first" you look up at her. "We're going to call him Charles" looking back down at the baby. "Charles Shelby" you whisper the name. Closing your eyes as you kiss his forehead.

-

5 months had passed. You were still in the safe house. Your midwife had stopped coming regularly around 4 months ago. Although she did tell you that if you had any further questions to contact the doctors. Edward was still coming every Sunday. Delivering you all food as you remained on lock down. Liz and Mary outside in the garden. Happy to be in the summer sun.

You were sat on the living room floor. Holding a toy that Edward had brought you as a gift for Charles. You play with it. Booping it onto the childs nose causing him to giggle. That's when you hear the front door open. Turning to look at the hallway. Edward wasn't meant to come round for another 3 days and the men patrolling your house never came in. You stand up. Picking up your child as you hold him close to you.

Rubbing his back as you make your way to the living room door. Poking your head round you see someone you weren't expecting.

"Thomas..." you whisper his name. Him examining the pictures on the wall. Turning to face you at hearing his name. He smiles at you. His cold stare growing warm as they meet yours. "I- I wasn't expecting you today" he nods.

"I told you I'd come and get you once the threat had been dealt with. So here I am".

"So we're safe to come back home?" he nods. You smile. Hugging the child you were holding close to you. Shutting your eyes as you rest your head against Charlie. "We can go home" you whisper. "We can go home". Kissing the side of his head. You open your eyes. Seeing your husbands eyes on the child your holding.

"Shit" you look between the two of them "shit yes. Tom meet your son. Charles" he comes over fully. The baby staring at him as he gently strokes the babes cheeks. This close proximity you get the scent of whiskey and cigarettes from your husband. The familiarity of it causing you to relax as he smiles at his child. The baby smiling back at him. Mimicking his dads expression.

"I've come to take you, your mum, and your aunties home. What do you say about that, ey?". You kiss your childs cheek before stroking his hair. Turning to Tommy.

"Could you hold him whilst I get the girls and our stuff please?". He nods without hesitation. Hands coming out as he takes your child. A genuine smile on his face as he takes him in his hold. The child looks at you, reaching a hand out. You take it. Kissing the back of his fingers.

"I will be back soon my love" kissing his fingers again. "You stay here with your dad, ok? I'll only be a minute" Stroking his cheek. He looks at his father. The hand you were holding goes to his dads cheek. An unsure but small smile comes over the youngers face. You stroke his hair again. Kissing the top of his head. "I'll be quick".

You're husband drives you all back home. Pulling up outside your house. The back doors open as your sisters get out. You grab the handle to open the car door. Stepping out as you hold your son. Liz and Mary grab your bags as well as their own as the start going into the house. You smile as you look at the familiar building.

Thomas comes over to you. A hand going gently to your upper arm as he looks at you. You turn your head. Meeting his ocean eyes. "I have a present for you". Your brow knits together as you look at him.

"What for?"

"Many reasons. To celebrate our one year anniversary, the birth of our son, Christmas, plus the fact that the threat that separated us is now gone for good" he pauses for a moment. Letting the words hit your ears

"What is it then?"

"That defeats the point of a present if I tell you, ey? All I ask is that you and Charlie get into the car and I'll take you to it" you don't move. Instead just watching him. Trying to read him. It had been a while so you were a little rusty. "Trust me, Florence". You nod slightly.

"I trust you Mr Shelby" he smiles. You move to the side as he reaches behind you. Grabbing the car door, opening it for you as you get in. Shutting it behind you before getting into the drivers seat. Charlie watches your husband as he loosens his tie. Pulling it up and over his head. Turning to face you as he holds it in his palms.

"You still trust me Mrs Shelby?". You look at the tie. Then looking at his eyes. His soft, pulling you in as they scan your features. "Do you?". He repeats. You bite the inside of your lip. Looking at the tie again before nodding. Looking back at his eyes he smiles. You wrap and arm around your son. Holding him close to you as Tommy brings the tie up. Wrapping it around your head and tying it in the back. You reach a hand out. Gently touching his shoulder "Is that comfortable?". You nod. Feeling him shift. The car engine starting. A rumble going through you and the vehicle as you feel it starting to move.

"Where are we going Mr Shelby?"

"You're going to have to wait and see". You feel his hand go to your leg. Squeezing it softly before moving back again. Your hand remaining on his shoulder as a form of security for you.

You're unsure of how much time goes by before the car comes to a stop. He removes your hand from his shoulder. Placing it to join the other one wrapped around Charles. Hearing the door beside you opening. You feel him remove the child from your lap before a hand comes out and takes yours. Helping you step out the car.

"You know, making your blindfolded wife get out of a car whilst she wears heels may not be the best idea you've ever had". A chuckle escapes him. Causing you to smile "Well I'm glad you're enjoying yourself at this image"

"Very much so" he says. You can hear the smirk in his voice as you successfully get out the car. He turns you. Bringing your arms up as he places Charlie back into your arms. Not letting him go fully until he knows you have a good hold on him. Feeling him move behind you. You move your head, tilting it so you can hear him better when he speaks. "Are you ready?". You nod. Feeling his hands come up. Untying the tie around your eyes. Taking it and placing the material in his pocket.

You blink a few times. Eyes becoming re-accustomed to the light. Feeling his hands gently rest onto your upper arms. You hold Charlie as you manage to focus on a house standing before you. No. Better described as a mansion. He leans near your ear. Speaking into it. "Welcome to our new home - Arrow House"

"Our- Did you just say our home?" he nods. His hands still resting on your arms. Holding you as you whisper "This is ours...?" Scared if you speak any louder you might break the magical atmosphere. A smile on his face as drops your arms. He comes round to the front of you. Outstretching a hand, to which you take. Holding Charlie still.

Awestruck as he goes up to the front door. Leading you with him. Opening it you go inside the beautiful entrance way. "Your fucking kidding me" you say. Adjusting Charlie on your hip. Looking up at the grand staircase. He watches you. His hands placed comfortably in front of him. "This is a joke right? This is a friends house that you've borrowed or something"

"I had some spare money left over that I needed to spend. Given the circumstances of your pregnancy I thought it only made sense to buy us a house. One that could accommodate for us"

"Fuck me..." you whisper. He takes out a cigarette. Rolling it over his lips. Taking out a lighter and lighting the end. Drawing a drag from it before removing it from his lips. Placing the lighter back into his pocket.

"We have room for a few maids which should be starting at the end of the week. I've got a few cars to come by to deliver your personal items. They should be arriving later today" he places it back in his mouth.

"You've really set a high bar for presents. You realise that Mr Shelby?" he smiles. Watching as you bring a hand up. Feeling joyfully overwhelmed.

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TAGS

@whorecrux-of-slytherin @kkrenae @ireallydontcareanymorebrooo @frozenhuntress67

[secrets-of-everwich]

05-1 Interesting Coincidence

[Click]

[Electronic hum underlies the recording]

{Callie}

Hello, this is Callie Hewitt recording on the 11th October 2021! I’ve been looking for more interesting disappearances, and I’ve found one that may work!

Bartholemew Greene, Cassia Greene (neé Florence), and their children, around a year after the disappearance of the Florences, were the second major disappearances. They were set to inherit Everwich Manor from the Florences, and had only just moved in, when they also disappeared. This was what sparked the rumours that Everwich Manor was haunted, and it was left empty for years, but that’s a story for another time.

Cassia was Henry’s younger sister, and as their parents had died of old age a decade before, the Manor went to her husband. Technically it should have gone to her, but this was the Georgian era and so [sarcastically] obviously the women couldn’t inherit property! That would be absolutely stupid! [normally] Ugh, that’s one part I hate about the Georgian era. Anyway. You’re probably thinking right now ‘But Callie, what about Charles? The body was never found?’. Charles had been missing for a month when the other Florences died, and nobody really seemed to care about either the Florences, or just Charles specifically to look for him, so the house went to the Greenes. Obviously nowadays it doesn’t matter, since there’s no chance Charles is alive, so…

Anyway, the story. Cassia and her children, Ed-

[A knock on the door]

Yes?

[Door opens, sounds of someone walking in]

{Voice} Hi, uh, Asher gave a… Statement, I guess? For your little investigation podcast, I mean. I think I have something you’d be interested in?

{Callie} Oh, Rin! Yes, come in, sit down, actually I’ve been meaning to ask you about something too. Related to the podcast.

{Rin}

Right. Ok then.

{Callie} But, go on?

{Rin}

So, I was just with my grandfather, and he gave me this journal. It has some information on Everwich. Em won’t answer her texts, and X is about to go to work. Ash said he’d get bored, but you’d want to know.

{Callie} Oh my gosh, you came to the right place, yes! It’s your grandfather I was meaning to ask you about, he was involved in an almost disappearance ages ago, so I wanted to hear his statement firsthand, but if you have this, that can also work!

{Rin}

I see what Ash meant that you were obsessed with this. God this is embarrassing. Here

[Pages rustling]

{Callie}

Wait- ‘Jill and Harvey have been acting oddly today.’ … ‘I know why now’ Rin, this is it! This is the missing piece!

[Rustling]

{Rin} Stop hugging me. I barely know you.

{Callie} Sorry…

[More rustling]

{Rin}

… Right. Well. There was… Something else. I did read the journal before coming here, and…

[A pause]

Something’s wrong with Em. Oh, sorry, Emilia. I think it’s related to what’s written in there.

{Callie} Go on?

{Rin}

Well, it started about a week ago. First of October. Em missed school. Before you ask, no that’s not normal, yes that’s why I was worried. She never misses school, not even if she’s sick, she’s too worried about missing up. Believe me, we’ve had to force her to stay home before. So, when she just… Didn’t turn up, I thought that was weird. She’s my best friend, it’s the sort of thing you’d notice, right?

[A pause]

{Callie} Keep going, I swear I won’t judge if that’s what you’re worried about.

{Rin} God, you’re desperate for any little bits of information, aren’t you?

[Sigh]

Well, we called her. I mean, I called her. Ash and X weren’t worried – it was a Chemistry test that day. Asher was more worried about his score. He’s awful at sciences, so Em normally tutors him a bit to get their confidence up, but cause she wasn’t there, Xavier ended up doing it. This was during form time. She said she was ill. Nothing seemed wrong with her, but… I had a bad feeling. I just brushed it off as stress, cause it just so happened that day, both Jamie and Tyler- It doesn’t matter. I tried to talk to Aiden about Em- Oh wait, do you know Aiden?

{Callie} No? Wait- Is he that guy in Xavier’s rugby team?

{Rin}

Yeah, Em’s twin brother. So I tried to talk to him about her, but he said he didn’t know, and didn’t care, he had a big match.

{Callie}

Yeah, Xavier was at that match.

{Rin}

God, I can’t believe I’m talking to you about this, this is so stupid. Em was probably just sick, and finally learnt that we’d force her to go back home.

{Callie} Was there more or was it just that?

[A pause]

{Rin}

Yeah. We went to your haunted house, as you know, you were literally there-

{Callie} Good to get it on tape, though!

{Rin}

Hm. So, we went there, you showed us around. Em seemed pale. And yeah, she’s white, but like. Paler than normal. Her hair too, but I just kinda assumed it was a trick of the light. But over the next week, she kept avoiding us, and we kept finding her in the girl’s bathroom working on some experiment. I say we, I don’t mean X and Ash too, I meant other girls. It was weird. She normally goes to the chemistry labs to do her fun little experiments.

{Callie}

What was she doing?

{Rin}

I don’t know, she had a test tube full of something and was trying to drop some solution of something into it. With no regard for lab safety- You know she used to be my lab partner in year 10, she’d always bug me about how bad my lab safety was. ‘No Rin, you have to put on a lab coat’, ‘Rin, stop, you should put on goggles!’, ‘Rin why are you coming in here with food. It’s for me? Put it outside!’.

[A pause]

Ok, that’s a bit mean. She did appreciate the brownie I got her. But anyway, her severe lack of it in the past week was funny. And not in a ‘ha-ha’ kind of way. So. Yeah. She’s been acting strange. And freaking Asher and Xavier won’t listen when I say something’s wrong, they’re just pinning it down to GCSEs.

[A pause]

I guess I did need to get that out. Thanks for listening.

{Callie}

Wow. So, you think it relates to-

[Pages rustling]

This?

{Rin}

That’s why I had it bookmarked.

[A pause]

Oh yeah, I tried to put my arm around Em, and she ducked out. That’s another reason I think so.

[A pause, muttering between the two]

{Callie}

I think Emilia’s in trouble. It’s definitely that. I think this is the piece I’ve been missing, and it makes sense with what I already know! What with the paler skin, odd actions, something’s definitely up. Maybe Emilia is next to disappear! It’s what happened before C-

[Overlapping]

{Rin}

I don’t care if I sound crazy, you’ve convinced me. I’m gonna go tell X and Ash, I don’t care if they’re busy. I care about Em too much to lose her.

[Footsteps, voice getting quieter]

Thanks so much, Callie, you’ve helped.

{Callie}

Wait, let me take a photo of the-

[Door slam]

-Book.

[Sigh]

Well, that was an interesting coincidence. Um. I now have a lot more information about the Secrets of Everwich. Thank you for listening! I need to go now to update my theories wall.

[Click]

[Radio static for a moment]

[Click]

{Voice}

[Recording glitches, and cuts in and out]

Drat- No, do- Go- Stop- Don’t hur- -nyone!

[Click]

[girlinlotsoffandoms]

day twenty eight - rescue

notes: here we are, the penultimate chapter! Crazy that there's only one chapter left! Even crazier that I only have 4 days to get it done lol

read on AO3 or below

When Stella arrived at the firehouse with Violet, Trudy was waiting for her with the rest of the team. She was in full Sergeant mode and had her notepad out, ready to write down any information Stella could give her.

Stella told her all the basic information about Kelly’s car and his license plate and confirmed that he left the loft at 6:00 am to take Katie to the airport.

“And are you sure his sister made her flight?” Trudy asked.

Stella nodded. “She texted me about an hour and a half ago and said she landed.”

“What about any of his cards? Can you access the accounts and see if any of his cards were used?”

Pulling out her phone, Stella looked through their accounts for anything that could help them find Kelly. “The only thing I see is a charge for Starbucks. It’s not enough for two coffees so I’m assuming he went after he dropped Katie off.”

“There’s a Starbucks close to O’Hare so that’s a safe bet.”Trudy nodded and wrote the information down. “I’ve got a few friends in the 16th district, I’ll reach out and see if they can track him down on pod footage.”

Trudy stood up and grabbed her stuff to leave. “I’ll file a missing person report, just so it’s official, and get all this information sent over to the 16th. Then I’ll light a fire under all of their asses and keep it there until we figure this out and find that husband of yours.”

“Thanks Trudy.”

Trudy gave Stella a rare smile and squeezed her shoulder in silent support as she passed. As Trudy headed out of the firehouse, she left an entire shift of confused and worried firefighters in her wake.

Stella knew Trudy was good at her job and would give them updates as she got them, but that wasn’t going to make the wait for answers any easier.

… … …

Muffled voices calling out, some close by and others further in the distance.

The whirring of rescue equipment soon coupled with the cutting and groaning of metal.

More buzzing of equipment and the groaning and popping of plastic and the pressure was off of Kelly’s legs.

Hands began touching him, something stiff and plastic was secured around his neck and he was carefully moved out of the mangled car.

Kelly was hovering just below consciousness and despite how badly he wanted to wake up and answer the calls and questions being thrown at him, he couldn’t push through the last of the darkness.

The fresh waves of pain crashing through his body with each movement certainly didn’t help. His head hurt, his ribs ached, and the feeling returning to his legs were like electric shocks.

It was all intense and overwhelming and easily plunged Kelly back into deep unconsciousness.

… … …

It was barely an hour after Trudy left that Stella’s phone rang, an unknown number scrolling across her screen. She’d been all but clutching the phone in her hands since Trudy left, willing a call to come through with information on where her husband was.

The others turned to look at Stella

expectantly as she quickly answered the call. “Hello?”

“Hi, is this Stella Kidd?”

“This is…”

“Hi Stella, my name is Sarah and I’m a nurse at Lakeshore Hospital. We have a patient who was just brought into our Emergency Department and you’re listed as his emergency contact in his records. A Kelly Severide?”

“He’s my husband,” Stella perked up instantly and the rest of the team did as well. “Is he okay?!”

“The doctors are examining him now.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Stella said, standing from her seat. “Thank you so much.”

Stella turned to face the anxious group of firefighters. “That was a nurse from Lakeshore. Kelly was just brought into the ED.”

“Is he okay?” Violet asked.

“All the nurse said was that the doctors were with him.” Stella started collecting her things. “I need to get to Lakeshore.”

Before anyone could say anything or remind Stella that Violet had driven her to the firehouse, the alarm rang out.

“Go,” Boden ordered. “I’ll take Stella to Lakeshore. Meet us there when you can.”

“Yes, Chief!”

As the trucks rolled out to head to their call, Boden and Stella headed across town to Lakeshore.

When they arrived at the ED, Stella went straight to the nurse behind the desk and asked for information on Kelly. The nurse couldn’t tell her much, only that he was still with the doctors and she’d be updated when they had more information.

The cops who found her a few minutes later were much more helpful.

“Excuse me, Stella Kidd?” At Stella’s nod, the officer continued. “I’m Office Jacobs, this is Officer Winter. We’ve been assigned to your husband’s case.”

Stella nodded again and she and Boden shook their hands. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“We can’t tell you everything because there is an open investigation, but your husband was involved in what we believe is a road rage incident. His car was run off the road where it crashed into a tree.” Officer Winters explained. “When Sergeant Platt sent over the missing persons information, we were able to find him on the cameras around O’Hare and followed his car. After leaving Starbucks, he drove for about 10 minutes before the incident occurred.”

“That was what? Around 6:30 this morning?” Stella asked, concern and irritation filling her voice. “We didn’t know anything was wrong until almost 9:00 and it was after 10:00 am when I got the call that he was here.”

“The road he was on when the incident occurred was a more scenic road,” Officer Jacobs explained. “Lots of trees and not a lot of traffic, especially that early in the morning.”

“Was he trapped in his car that entire time?” Fear crept into Stella’s voice. The officers in front of her didn’t even need to answer; their faces told her all she needed to know. “Oh god.”

Boden wrapped an arm around Stella comfortingly.

“A couple of runners spotted his car and called 911.” Office Winters shared.

“What about the car that hit Severide?” Boden asked the officers.

“We got the make, model, and license plate from the camera footage and there’s an APB out for the car and the driver. We’ll get him.”

The opening of the ED doors and the arrival of one of Lakeshore’s doctors effectively stopped any additional questions. He walked over to the group and introduced himself as Dr. Morgen.

“You all here for Kelly Severide?” Dr. Morgen asked.

“He’s my husband,” Stella answered. “How is he?”

“Given the circumstances, he got lucky. He’s got a grade 3 concussion, whiplash, a few badly bruised ribs from the impact of the crash, and some severe bruising on his legs from the dashboard.” Dr. Morgen explained. “He’s regained consciousness and apart from the typical nausea, headache, and sensitivities associated with concussions, there are no deficits we’ve observed so far. There was some confusion when he initially woke up but his memory seems to be intact now.”

“So he’s going to be okay?”

“He’ll be off work for a few weeks and he’ll be dealing with the headache and nausea for a while, especially since his records indicate that this isn’t his first concussion, but I have no doubts he’ll make a full recovery.” Dr. Morgen shared.

“Can I see him?” The news from the doctor had calmed some of the anxiety and fear that had been threatening to crush her the past few hours, but she needed to see her husband.

Dr. Morgen nodded. “Of course. We’re going to keep him for observation for a few hours but unless something happens or his symptoms worsen, I don’t see us keeping him overnight.”

Stella moved to follow the doctor and so did Officers Winter and Jacobs but Boden stopped them. Stella could Boden tell the officers to give Stella a minute with Kelly alone and she, once again, found herself more than thankful for the older man’s support.

When they got to the treatment bay Kelly was in, Dr. Morgen left Stella to go check on another patient. When Stella pulled aside the curtain and saw Kelly reclined on the stretcher looking miserable but alive, all of her remaining fear melted away.

Tears flooded her eyes and Stella all but ran to his side. “God, Kelly!”

Kelly, despite the soreness and dizziness and nausea, sat up immediately and pulled Stella into his arms as soon as she was close enough. “I’m okay.”

“I was so scared. I didn’t even know anything had happened until Violet called and said you hadn’t shown up at work.”Stella sniffled, leaning back in Kelly’s arms so she could look him in the eyes. “I had to file a missing persons report so Trudy could get police at the 16th district to start looking for you and all I could think about was losing you and having to raise this baby on my own.”

“I’m sorry,” Kelly apologized and moved his hands to cup Stella’s belly. “Ever since we found out you were pregnant I’ve been trying to be more careful because there’s nothing more in the world I want than to raise a baby with you. I’m so sorry.”

“I’m just so glad you’re okay.” One of Stella’s hands joined Kelly’s on her belly and the other went to cup his cheek. “I am sorry about your car though.”

Kelly shrugged. He did love his car but if he had to choose between his car and his life and future, the car would lose every time. “It wasn’t the most practical car with a baby coming anyway.”

Before Stella could say anything else, there was a knock on the window of Kelly’s treatment room. After a moment, Boden entered with Officer Winter and Officer Jacobs. The officers introduced themselves to Kelly and took his statement on the events. It didn’t take long and the officers left soon after.

Boden didn’t stay long either. Now that Kelly had been found and was relatively okay, the District Chief needed to get back to work. He promised Kelly that he’d let the team know how he was doing and that they’d come up with a plan to get Stella’s car to the hospital for them to take home later before leaving.

It had been a long, hard day for the Severides but even the longest days eventually came to an end. Kelly was released to go home that evening. The few days after the crash had been the hardest of his recovery but after a painfully long week, he was feeling back to normal.

Just in time for baby Severide to make her grand entrance into the world.

[sunsunsunandsun]

Apr 30

Im on call w my sister her husband and my cousin because i decided to stop eating and get distracted in my room all day Because my Ed is controlling my life the first week of summer. I should've prepared better for this. Alternate note, learn to be okay with my body food and public perception.

That's not really an option. I'm sure no one follows me here, so this will just be the outpourings of a strange girl in summer, 2024. I have one month to myself (one month to make it all right- to bring it to the start where we need to be). I should try starting to read philosophy without an ink of an idea. Maybe that's where true intellectualism comes from, than the pseudo. I wonder how the summer's going to go. Tomorrow doesn't look so bright. But it's okay. Or something I keep thinking what the significance of an ed in my life means Maybe control or something probably

I'm rewatching Mr Robot. It feels so beautiful and real. I just realized it was released 2015, and a decade later its' truth is similarly pervasive. Too much so. I'm sure I'm Tyrell Wellick. Something strikes a familiar chord of taste in myself watching him, and seeing him but it can be indicative of nothing more than a long-strung web between capitalism and perfection and status. The last, which in this society, ultimately means acceptance. It ties back to community. It holds hands with the age-old truth, that humans need connection and love to exist.

Watching a system who throws up into the sky and sticks a translation of the modern world's technologies, warping into real-life dances of desperation and conviction. It's supposed to inspire, tell me. Oh my gosh these people are keeping me on call and I can't continue thinking here. Something horrible about choosing to be in thought than experience reality- something about looking at everything instead of getting more. I'm blatantly unperfect. I don't know why exactly everything in life feels peeled off. Laptop dying. This call is getting annoying. Why can't everyone leave me alone to think and recorrect? Why can't everyone just let me focus on being my own perfect. Why can't everyone

So that's it. The sad life I attracted here now in Miami. My shoulder hurts annoying. I don't want Xiomara to text me, I did, I thought I did, but now it's just one of those moments I'd just want everyone to avert their eyes from. Look away from Katheryne's crazy breaks. Look away from the famed eating disorder who keeps grabbing your wide hips into safety. Something like that I wonder if one day I'll get over this, or it will come back over and over every time I slip. I think I'll always remember myself insisting that how I look matters more than having fun or talking to friends or people who love you or spending time with them or anything. This call is hitting an hour. I just want to continue watching my show oh my gosh I probably should've never picked up. Oh WOW MY PHONE Just died this is great. That was freeing. I should call back, but I won't. This'll be another ugly photo for the books of my personality and behavior. I'm forgoing my summer goals. But does any of it matter if I don't like how I look. I looked at myself for the first time in my old Snaps, I really was small. I didn't even ever realize. All the time, it looked ten times more normal than my transformation into the other. I sobbed in front of the mirror in underwear and hyperventilated over my cards. Things are going down. It's okay. Give it a week and it'll be okay. One thing about me, I will lose weight. I will go into deficit I'll stop eating I'll stop paying attention I'll stop talking I'll stop being go lucky, Ill

I've gone crazy, I know this I admit it here, though if you asked me and I like you- if I trust you, I'll tell you the truth. But while it happens, I don't want anyone near looking. Let's keep things quiet, let's keep them away and we'll come back. I'm falling into an obsession of who I have to be before my internship. The tight hand of fear, from not being the correct fit, to falling out and losing money, holding hands with consequences of programs, all boiling down to stability. I think the correct answer is go with the flow. The flow constricts me. The bend can be wide arms across and I'll still get choked up in some neck of it. My writing is so subpar I need to see. A therapist. For how inane the words that string together are. Sometimes most of all, in an attempt to throw creativity, I hit grammar with the backend of my wheel, of this stalling vehicle. It's all drawing lines to my limbs and sticking into me at weird angles. I'm on my period, but I wouldn't blame this. It's been on its way. Actually, I should thank it for getting here for marking me focus on what matters. Do you know how boring restricting life because of your body, makes the real world boring for you and everyone around you? Highly boring. I give into it because, I don't really want to live life any other way. I want things lined up and I want their scent to elicit success. I have an awful feeling I'd drown, any other way. My writing is boring and it drones, tripping over its continuous ideas and frames of pessimism and fear. I was snappy with my parents, who are good to me. I'm a flat out mess. 9 30 PM

[panther-os]

I have So Many 911 wips open on my computer rn, list and snippets below the cut

Snow crunched under boots, and Razor swiveled. “Friendlies!” Neyo called, one of the 501st medics right behind him as he walked out of the woods. “Her name is Maddie Buckley,” Stak reported to the medic. “No obvious injuries besides that black eye and that shallow cut on her face. Blood’s not hers.” “Alright, Maddie, I’m Kix,” the medic introduced himself. “Let’s see what’s going on.” “Report,” Neyo ordered. Razor stood at attention. “Her husband was chasing her, armed with at least a slugthrower. We haven’t touched the body yet. She grabbed my blaster, said she wasn’t running anymore, and shot him.” “He hurt me,” Maddie cried, as Kix worked, apparently eavesdropping. “He killed that man - oh, God, he killed Chimney. He chased me across the continent, he wasn’t ever gonna stop.” “He’s stopped now,” Kix said gently. “He can’t hurt anyone ever again. Now, trauma is funny, you might feel trapped in this moment or in others from the past, but in every future moment, he’s stopped.” Maddie tipped over and sobbed into his shoulder.

Friendly reminder relevant for later: I'm mixed Chicane/Tsalagi. I don't know everything, I'm reconnecting and I'm not AMAB, but the argument between two Brown people about indigenous heritage reflects my own struggles and internal dialogue and Eddie's struggles with masculinity are based on insider understanding.

Untitled TCW crossover - The 118 keeps running into the 91st, just one of several clone battalions trapped on earth and trying to stay under the radar. Eventual Ponds/Josh

Nate (Star Wars crossover) - The 118 is called to a human trafficking sting because of their reputation for pulling off the impossible. They're led to Nate/Jangotat/Alpha-98 who has been tortured and has vital readings that shouldn't be possible. Eddie identifies him as a possible military project and refuses to let anyone take him away. Eventual Chimney/Maddie/Nate

“Eds?” Buck murmured softly. Eddie shook his head and started snapping out orders. “Get him down and put him on oxygen and a nebulized sedative. The minute he comes to, he’s going to start swinging and we don’t have the space or the numbers for that.” “Christ,” Hen cursed, readjusting her bag over her shoulder. “He doesn’t look like he has the strength to twitch, let alone swing.” “He’s a soldier,” Eddie said, pulling equipment out of his bag, “and he’s been tortured. Trust me.” “Seen this before, Eddie?” Bobby asked, not unkindly. Eddie scowled up at the unconscious man’s injuries. “Close enough.” Bobby nodded. “Alright, take the lead.”

Olivia - Buck 1.0's daughter surfaces while Eddie is still recovering from being shot. Eventual Buddie.

Buck shook his head, then sat beside Chris at the table. “I learned that I’m a dad. I have a kid.” Chris snorted. “That’s not new,” he laughed. “No?” “No.” “Who’s my kid then?” Chris shook his head, looking at Buck like he was being especially silly. “Me,” he said. “I’m your kid and you’re my Buck.” Buck blinked in shock, flopping back against the back of his chair. “I think your dad might have something to say about that.” “He said it first,” Chris said, then frowned to himself. “Not the kid part, though.” Buck chuckled nervously, interlacing his fingers over his stomach as he bounced his knee. “Yeah, I’m sure. Okay, but, if you insist, I have another kid. A little girl.” Chris tilted his head. “I have a sister? What’s her name?”

tiny black panthers - Mid-season 1, Buck joins the adopting post-Black Panther black cat adoption craze.

I don't have an excerpt for this one yet, but I did look through adoption listings currently in the LA area for inspo and found two black kittens I'm pretty sure I am legally required to give Buck - Sharpie and Athena. (Backup links because hopefully they get adopted soon. 🤞)

machismo - Eddie struggles with sexual, cultural, and gender identity. Buck thirsts and helps. Eventual distinguished bigender demi-uranic Eddie/disaster cis+ bisexual Buck. ("Cis+" here meaning "had a gender journey, wound up being a gender circle".)

“No, no.” Eddie sat up straighter. “You don’t understand. I literally cannot be gay.” Hen and Bobby shared a look. “Is there a problem I need to be aware of?” the captain asked. “What?” Eddie waved his hand in the air. “No, you know I’m supportive. But I can’t be gay.” “Why not?” Buck asked. Eddie struggled for words before landing on “I’m Mexican.” The others laughed. “Better tell Carlos,” Buck teased. Eddie sucked in a sharp, panicked breath between his teeth. “Have you ever been a gay Mexican man? I guarantee Carlos has his own problems, and I respect the hell out of him for however he deals with them, but I have Christopher to think of. Like I said, I cannot be gay.” He shook his head. “You all make fun of macho men, because to you it’s a negative stereotype. I was raised with machismo - the good and the bad - as an ideal to live up to. I cannot be gay.” [...] “But it does say it’s alright to be feminine, right? Which is usually the biggest worry about being gay?” Eddie sighed and knocked the side of his head against the truck window. “Machismo literally means masculinity. So if all those things are part of machismo, none of them are feminine in my culture.” “Oh,” Buck said. “You know it’s alright to be feminine sometimes,” Hen said. “Not for me,” Eddie said. “I’d really like to drop this.” Chim popped his gum in the uncomfortable silence that followed. “Hey, what if you topped?” Buck asked. “Buck!” everyone yelled.

Untitled 911 Fic - Chris helps Buck realize and accept that he has ADHD, just not in the stereotypical way.

Chris waved a finger in the direction of Buck's temple. "You don't have enough brain chemicals, but your brain makes more of them when you're happy. So if it's something you like, you can get hyperfocused on it; and if it's something you don't like, your brain starts ignoring it and looking for something you do so that you can get enough chemicals." "Yeah?" Buck asked. Chris nodded. "You like being a firefighter, and you like researching things, so you can focus on them and remember them. You like cooking now and can focus on it now, but you told me that you didn't like it before Captain Bobby starting teaching you, and Miss Maddie said you were worse than Dad when you didn't like it because you couldn't focus." Buck's mouth dropped open a little. "Because my brain didn't get the chemicals from it?" "Right," Chris said.

Untitled 911 Fic 2 Electric Boogaloo - A second generation Nahua immigrant (OFC) joins the 118, immediately pisses Eddie off, and then apologizes and works to earn his trust. They become friends. Established Buddie.

"Díaz, eh? Cualli tonalli. Notōcā Silvina Chavez, notōcā Nahuatl Citlalli. Nehua Guerrero. ¿Campa tihuala?" "…. I understood 'Nahuatl' and 'campa'." "Where's your family from?" "Texas." "Originally? Before the Annexation?" "Ah, no, Ciudad Juárez, my abuelo worked across the border in El Paso and they got green cards to be closer to his job. It's basically the same city, you wouldn't know you were crossing if not for Border Patrol." "Juárez…. Apache, then? Chiricahua Apache?" "Mestizo conversos." "Ahhhhh. You speak Ladino?" "Ladino is from the Sephardi who fled east first, to the Ottoman. My family fled west first, to the Americas." "I see. It's just a shame." "What is?" "So many self-identified Latinos are just brainwashed Natives. You have indigenous heritage, I can tell by your nose. It's there if you want to reclaim it." "I'm not lost and I don't need you to save me."

friends with miracles - Buck and trans!Eddie have a night together while drunk. Eddie winds up pregnant and decides to carry to term, though he's not sure what he'll do after that. Requited Unrequited Love and Friends to Lovers Buddie (Shannon and Eddie were open poly, and Eddie was the only one of her partners willing to marry her so she didn't have to deal with single mom stigma. Christopher is his kid in every way that matters.)

in your arms lies eternity - Buck winds up with custody of Connor and Kameron's kid for Reasons. Eddie sees him holding the baby and has a Gay Moment.

I don't have a snippet for either of these two, just empty titled and saved docs and a head full of daydreams.

[elfdragon12]

So I really enjoy @biteghost‘s  Backlash comic! Especially tall tooth man, Edwardo, and even taller toothman, Eustal. So many teefs in the cast and it makes me happy.

 You can read the comic here @backlashcomic  or here!

[sheetsonfire]

Intruder

Fandom: Chicago Med, Chicago PD

Pairing: Will Halstead x Reader, Jay Halstead x Sister-In-Law!Reader

Genre: drama, angst, romance, thriller

Warnings: violence, swearing, gunfire, stabbing, injuries

Word Count: 3770

Requested by @megafandomsxassemble: Hi! New follower here! Love your account btw ❤️ My request is as a nurse/Dr./Surgeon, you get off work and head home and Will having an hour left of his own shift. You call Will after you get home and ask him if he wanted you to grab dinner or just go to bed when he gets home. As youre on the phone with him, you hear a thud (intruders or serial killer...you pick). "Will, there's someone in the house. Call Jay." He does and Wil rushes home to find you stabbed/shot/hurt severely in some way. Jay runs in and tries to help. You decide the ending. (Inspired by Arrow 3 19 Thea Queen Stabbed) Thanks love. Im so excited to read this.

-

Walking up to your front door it was like your body knew it was time to creak into a defunct heap on the couch. Your back ached and your shoulders were stiff, your feet were in dire need of your husband’s hands to massage them - the perks of being an ED doctor.

Will, your aforementioned husband, had unfortunately been caught by a last-minute patient, leaving you to make the return home a solo journey.

You’re clutching a bag of takeout in one hand as you keep your phone pressed between your ear and your shoulder, using your other free hand to turn the key in the front door and nudge the door handle down with your elbow.

“Yeah I just got in, I’ve got us a few dishes to share from that Turkish place we like, I was just gonna have a snack and then eat the main bit with you when you got in.”

Will was sat in the on-call room, glancing over scans for what would hopefully be his last patient of the night. He smiled at your words, he wanted nothing more than to be on his way home to enjoy dinner on the couch with you, both of you resting and indulging in a film before bed.

“Honey, don’t wait for me, it’ll get cold. Just enjoy the food, and I’ll have it when I get in.”

You frown, plopping your keys into the bowl on the table by the front door, gently pushing the door itself shut with your foot. The bag of takeout rustling in your arms as you start to walk down the hall to the kitchen, “Will, babe, are you sure, I really don’t mind-” 

Your sentence is cut off by a loud thud coming from upstairs, icy cold fear strikes you in the gut. You glance upward, trying to steady your breath, searching for a rational explanation for the noise. Staring at the ceiling, ears straining to hear a second sound.

Had the neighbour’s cat got in again?

Will’s not focused on the scans now, waiting near impatiently for you to continue, the numbers on the call’s time still ticking upward. The sudden silence was worrying. “Y/N? Are you still there?” 

You feel your adrenaline remain on alert, your spidey senses won’t relent, knowing that it wasn’t just a random thud. Only to hear the sound of heavy boots, moving at speed towards the stairs, confirming your fear, 

The footsteps leave you no time to turn back towards the front door, placing the food on the table as quietly as possible, tucking yourself into the small pantry and pulling the door closed by the apron hook on the inside. The boots descend with resounding stomps, making you shiver, you whisper quickly and as calmly as possible to your husband, “Will, call Jay, there’s someone in the house. Please, call Jay.”

Will feels his entire reality spin, standing up and knocking the chair over he plucks the door open, stepping out into the ED. Maggie eyes him worriedly, seeing the urgency in his expression as he marches over to her. 

“Sweetheart, find somewhere safe to hide or get out if you can, I’m gonna hang up and call Jay, alright? It’s gonna be okay, we’re coming. Put your phone on silent, leave the line open, I’m gonna call you right back.”

“I’m in the pantry. I couldn’t get out to the front in time. I love you.”

“I love you, sweetheart. Stay put, find something you can use to defend yourself. I’m gonna call Jay, hold on.”

The line cuts, you are left alone as the sounds stop again, squeezing your eyes shut as your head spins. Waiting in anticipation of what could happen next, turning slowly in the dark to feel for the rolling pin you knew was on a shelf in the pantry.

“Will?” Maggie queries, reaching out to touch his arm, not liking the look on his face one bit. He stands, foot-tapping restlessly as he waits for Jay to answer. 

“Come on, Jay, come on…” Will glances at Maggie, 

“It’s Y/N, someone’s in the house. She’s hiding.” Maggie’s eyes widen, squeezing his hand as she waits with him. He exhales, trying to wrangle his nerves, almost jumping when a voice answers at the other end.

“Hey man, I’m just on my way to yo-”

“Don’t come to Med, go to the house. Y/N’s trapped in the pantry, someone’s in there, Jay. Someone’s in the house.” 

Jay barely lets Will finish the sentence before he flips the sirens on, swerving in traffic to turn around towards your and Will’s house. You and he had become really good friends, and he adored having you as his sister-in-law. “I’m on my way, she got a weapon?”

Will’s voice is frantic, shaky, “I don’t know, she’s in there with jars and tins, maybe a rolling pin? I told her to keep the line open and the phone on silent so I could call her back.”

Jay’s focus is solely on weaving in and out of traffic carefully, taking the quickest route to you. “Alright, man. Let me call her, okay? So I can hear what’s going on. I’m gonna get her, don’t you worry. I’ll call the team in too. You just get there safe.” 

“Ok, thanks, Jay. I’m on my way.” Maggie is practically steering Will out of the ED and towards the parking lot. 

“Go, it’s okay, I’ll get someone to cover your patient and I’ll let Goodwin know.”

“Thanks, Mags.” He drops a quick kiss on her cheek.

“Let me know what happens, Will” Maggie pleads.

“You got it.” He calls back, hurriedly running out of the building and to the car.

You feel a strange sense of relief when your fingertips brush over smooth round marble, the fancy and quite weighty rolling pin Will had bought you for Christmas was about to provide an altogether different use. You knew it wasn’t a match for a gun or a knife, but it was almost certainly better than nothing. Gripping it tight like a baseball bat, you waited with bated breath for the intruder to find you, ready to swing at either the crotch or the head with everything you had and make a run for it to the outside world. 

Your phone illuminates silently with Jay’s caller ID and you hastily flick the “answer” button up as your phone connects the call, resuming your stance and preparedness with controlled breath.

Jay doesn’t speak, only listens for any sound that might occur within the house.

After what felt like an hour’s silence from the boot steps, they continue down the hall towards you. 

“Come out, baby, I know you’re here, I heard you talking to loverboy and I’m not in the mood for games.” A voice teases. You swallow hard, a light sheen of sweat forming on your skin, it was hot in the space and that voice did nothing good for your nerves. You wished Jay would appear, so you could be safe with your brother-in-law until Will came for you. 

Staying ready with your ‘weapon’, hearing with each pulsing thud of your heart that the boots were stepping in time, getting closer. They were loud enough that, aside from the taunting, Jay could hear them on the other end of the line, willing time to pass faster as he drove to you. 

“Hang in there for me, Y/N.” He mutters, taking a turn to head towards your neighbourhood. 

-

The intruder is whistling now, a casual yet haunting tune that sends spikes of fear into your stomach, they stop outside the pantry door. The handle begins to turn and hot prickly fear runs down your spine, without thinking you take a swing as soon as the door is open, hearing the sickening crunch of the rolling pin against the flesh and bone of the masked man's face.

You let out a yelp as you sidestep his groaning hunched-over form, not stopping to see him clutch at his now very bloody nose. Running towards the front of the house in strides you don't even register. Just as you reach the door you hear the most enraged roar, which in turn has you screaming in anger and fear as the iron grip of a fist clutches at your hair. You don't stop, still attempting to move forward even if you could feel your hair being ripped from your scalp.

Getting outside renews your hope of escape, ignoring the throbbing at the back of your bleeding scalp, screaming for help instantly as you sprint down the path to the sidewalk. Between the hedge and the open area of the street you feel it, just an intense pressure at first, then a terrible, white-hot, burning that you register as having been stabbed in your side - between the top of your hip and the start of your ribs.

Your legs keep moving but your body gives way, falling sideways onto the concrete, your elbow and your knee take the brunt but they're the least of your worries. The angle of the knife is such that you cannot twist your arms or your body to hold the wound, crying out with each searing spasm, blood thundering in your ears as a dark shadow looms over you.

You try and push away, but even with your unrelenting energy to keep moving, you knew you would be caught again. Bracing for what comes next you’re startled by the sound of several gunshots, and a voice yelling at your assailant. Then, there’s an almighty thwack of something, someone, hitting the ground a few feet away from you.

Hurried footsteps approach your side, and gentle hands soothe your head as something soft is placed beneath it. There’s a different kind of pressure on your side, something is being padded and tied around the knife still pressing into your agonised flesh, still, it's a pressure that makes you wail in pain, eyes fluttering as wooziness washes over you.

You think you can hear the voice apologising and telling you to stay awake.

“Y/N, it’s Jay, I’m right here, I’m gonna take care of you, Will’s coming. Can you hear me, Y/N?” 

“Nh… J-Jay…You came.” You mumble, he squeezes your hand, looking at you worriedly as he sees how ashen you're becoming, wondering where the hell the Ambo was and where Will was. 

“Hang tight, help’s coming, it’s coming, Y/N. You’re gonna be okay.”

You nod feebly, feeling the cold settle into your skin, you knew you’d pass out soon, and your blood pressure starts to drop more than was acceptable for still being in the field. You exhale weakly as you hear the piercing sound of sirens even through your muffled hearing, feeling like it was okay to sleep now.

“No, no, it’s here, the ambulance is here, stay with me, Y/N!”  Jay squeezes your hand again, remaining firm pressure with his other on your wound, but you can’t oblige his frantic pleas. Letting your eyes drift with you into unconsciousness. 

“Detective?” The paramedic jogs over, making a swift exchange of hands with Jay as their partner begins to work on you as well. Jay exchanges details of your injury, how long you’d stayed conscious, the rate of bleeding, and your age. He stands, hands covered in your blood, a frantic look on his face as he spins around for a sign of Will. 

As if on queue your husband’s car comes speeding down the street, a factor Jay would absolutely overlook and fight anybody on if they queried it. 

“Jay!” Will yells, flinging his door shut, jacket half hanging off of him as he runs towards his brother, towards his home, towards you. 

“Will, thank god man, the paramedics are with her, she was stabbed in the right side, and she just lost consciousness.”

Will is moving past his brother at lightning speed, asking for an update from the paramedics who immediately recognised him from Med.

Jay does what he can only do in this situation, begin the investigation into your home invasion and subsequent stabbing, waiting for the rest of his team to arrive. It wouldn't be a complicated case as he had already taken out your attacker, but there were still processes to follow. You deserved closure and knowledge of who this was.

The sound of the gurney being brought to full height grabs his attention, hurrying over to Will to reassure him he'd be along to the hospital just as soon as the house and the scene were secure. The brothers exchange a caring glance as they part ways, Jay lets out an exhale as he watches you disappear into the ambulance, it was always harder when it was family. He was worried for you and worried about how his brother would handle seeing his wife in such a state.

-

The scene that meets your fellow colleagues leaves them all in a deeply shocked and concerned state for you, the knife had nicked part of your large intestine and caused significant bleeding, it had sent you to surgery for repair with Crockett.

Will was made to observe from the viewing room in the OR, Maggie staying by his side throughout the surgery as he paced anxiously back and forth, still covered in your blood and exhausted from a shift that had never officially ended.

After several hours the repair was complete and you were taken to a recovery room, in that process Maggie forced Will to change and take a quick shower, making the gentle quip that you didn’t deserve to smell his stink upon regaining consciousness.

Your husband sinks into the chair by your bedside, now back in his ordinary clothes, hair drying in a mess of red curls. He immediately clasps your hand, eyeing your pale and peaceful face, machines steadily beeping as they keep working to keep you stable. 

Those soft brown eyes fall closed for a moment, full of realisation that if Jay hadn’t arrived when he did you could have very well been taken from Will for good. The reality rolls around uncomfortably in his stomach, so much so that he has to take a moment to catch his breath and calm down. He soothes his thumb over your fingers, feeling the smooth metal of your wedding ring as a comfort to himself, letting a few stray tears fall. Head dropping as he focuses on the feel of you…

The sensation of wiggling fingers makes his head snap back up.

“Mh, no crying by my bedside, Mr Halstead…” Your voice is hoarse from the surgery, mouth dry and lips cracked. A small half-sob escapes your husband, smiling gratefully as he stands, leaning forward to kiss your forehead. You laugh a little too, but wince as you feel the strange tug of your sutures.

“Hey, you, take it easy.” Will coos, stroking your hair as he takes in the very wonderful sight of your open eyes and adoring smile directed at him. 

“I’m so glad to see you.” You whisper, humming gratefully as Will presses a straw and a cup full of water to your lips. 

“And I’m glad to see your beautiful face, honey. So glad.” He murmurs, taking the cup away when you’re done. Sitting back down in the chair so he can keep holding your hand and stroking his thumb over your wrist. 

You take a breath, as good as you can under the restriction of gauze and bandages to support your midsection. 

“Will…” You start, already feeling the emotions bubbling up to the surface. 

“Y/N, we don’t have to talk about it if you’re not ready.” He reassures, hating to see you in such distress. For all his vows, he still couldn’t protect you from this. 

You shake your head a little, “No, it’s just… Will, I thought I’d never see you again, I thought our future was done.” You’re crying softly, desperate to be in the safety of Will’s warm embrace, to feel his lips brush against your neck and his voice talk soothingly to you, cursing that you couldn’t do much of anything right now. 

“It’s not done, baby. And we’ll never come close to anything like that again if I have anything to say about it.” Will stands once more, cradling your face carefully in his hands, the comfort of his palms soothes your aching head and stinging eyes. You feel his kisses land all over your cheeks, your jaw, chastely landing on your lips. 

“I’m right here, I got you.” He murmurs, you nod feebly, letting yourself be vulnerable where normally you’d go out of your way to be headstrong. 

There's a knock at your door, and you both turn your attention to a smiling Crockett.

"Ah, Dr Halstead and Dr Halstead. Good to see you awake, Y/N. How are you feeling?" His voice is soothing like Will's, you always did commend Dr Marcel for his bedside manner. He had been a good friend to you, and Will had worked things through with him in the past few years.

"Pretty rough, but also I guess pretty great considering you did a wonderful job of not letting me die." You smile half-heartedly, the grimness of that reality still had a sting to it.

He lets out a small chuckle, patting your leg.

"Well, let's do some checks, shall we? And then I can let you get back to being alive and making this guy run errands for ya." He winks at Will which earns him an eye-roll, but really Will's still grinning, turning his attention back to you with a twinkle in his eye, coming to hold your hand again.

"She can have whatever she wants."

-

Crockett finishes checking that everything’s as it should be after your surgery, leaving you to sit and doze peacefully as Will finally feels able to do the same with his head on the side of your bed, you keep your hand on top of his curls, lightly stroking through them in bouts of awakedness. 

It’s a few hours later, virtually in the dead of night, when Jay manages to leave the scene, take his own shower and come along to visit you. The nurse on duty was ready to boot him back in the direction of the exit, but he of course sneakily used his badge and an explanation of being the rescuing officer to come and see you. 

Carefully he approaches, trying not to wake either of you but you were so in and out that you just happened to be checking the time when his movement caught your eye. Initially, your heart lept, not sure who would be poking around at this time of night, but you relaxed back into your pillows at the sight of your also very tired-looking brother-in-law. 

You silently wave at him with a tired, appreciative, smile. You pat the other side of the bed, inviting him to sit in the chair opposite Will.

He silently moves further into the room, groaning quietly as his tired limbs meet the comfort of being able to sit. He sighs, giving you a chastising look.

You raise your eyebrows with a smirk, a silent "What?"

He speaks in a hushed tone, "Let's not do that again, you're my favourite sister-in-law and I'd be pretty damn disappointed if I lost you."

You huff out a silent laugh through your nose, "Buddy, I'm your only sister-in-law."

"Exactly, I only got one and she's kinda important. Besides, my grieving brother would be insufferable and likely to be moping for all eternity."

"Well, I better behave then, huh?" You reach out for him, still soothing Will's tired head with your other hand.

He immediately takes it, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Thank you for being there, Jay. I could have-... Well, you know." You exhale, just thankful to have two of the most important people in your life with you.

"Anytime, anywhere, you're his family and you're mine too." Jay gives you an almost serious stare, just to convey how solid that pact was.

Jay's face then creeps up into a smile again, "And if you could come by the little league games for the Police Explorers and teach those kids how to swing like you swung that rolling pin into that guy's face, we'd be champions this season."

You laugh a little louder this time, surprised when you actually feel Will's shoulders shaking with laughter too.

"Hey! Are you fake sleeping down there?" You query, tugging gently on Will's hair.

"Ow!" He mumbles into the blanket, lifting his head with a sleepy expression.

"I wasn't fake sleeping, only for the last bit about your baseball swing into that guy's nose." He pouts and you shake your head, amused. Stroking along his tired face with a loving look.

Will hums happily, finally looking at his brother.

Jay grins, "Hey sleeping beauty."

"Hey, how're you?" Will knows Jay would have been at the scene until somebody forced him to go home, which is how he would have ended up here so late.

"All good, the scene's cleared up, the house is secure and my two favourite people are safe in this room."

Will looks around with fake confusion, "Y/N is here, but there's no Hailey. Me, your pain-in-the-ass smothering brother, I'm a favourite?" His smile getting more shit-eating by the second.

You fake gasp then, joining in with teasing Jay. "Wait, is Hailey not one of your favourite people?"

Jay scowls, "You two have been reunited for a few hours and you're already on my ass. I meant you two were two of my favourite people, of course, Hailey is one of my favourites, she just didn't have a near-death experience today." He huffs and you pat his arm with a small giggle.

"I think you need a nap now, Jay Jay." Biting your lip as you tease him with his childhood nickname, glancing at Will who's stifling his own laugh.

"You told her about Jay Jay?!" Jay glares at his brother.

"Oh come on, Jay, it's not the worst nickname ever, is it? Besides, I could have told her about-" Will mimes what he's referring to and Jay's eyebrows go up in disbelief.

"Say another word and you'll need a bed and a room too."

Will holds up his hands in surrender and Jay relaxes again, shaking his head at the two of you, but so very glad you were still here to keep spending your life with Will and the little family you had become a part of.

-

Fin.

[shorkbrian]

A Midsommar Night’s Dream

Prelude - I watched midsommar so have this.

Pairing - Izuku X reader X Todoroki males

Warnings - NSFW, dead dove, do not eat. Implied incest, cult-like behaviors. Dubcon.

Music - https://open.spotify.com/track/7clyJIrLkEbXUDwj1tC9zz?si=EK3gCdOHQ3WQeK-ed9eucg 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Izuku’s been officially dating you for three weeks.

Three weeks.

He’s known you for far longer - the two of you solid friends since you first met. The man doesn’t know when friendship had evolved into something more, but he’s sure glad it did.

You were sweet, and kind, and far too caring for your own good. You didn’t mind waiting up for Izuku when his nights ran late, studying for his masters or taking on extra shifts.

You would rub his shoulders when he got stressed, offer to make him tea or run him a bath or anything else he needed, anything to help out. You loved him, and he loved you.

Tonight was a night that many partners might fear - meeting the family.

But Izuku was hardly worried. He was best friends with your brother Shouto, a level-headed student with good work ethics and a dry sense of humor. The rest of the family couldn’t be that bad.

A simple dinner, you had told him, dress casual and no gifts required. Still, Izuku felt obligated to bring the finest bottle of bourbon his paycheck could afford him (he’d asked Shouto what your father’s favorite was, just to be safe).

The Todoroki household was impressive; massive and imposing in the countryside, surrounded by tall stone walls and looking straight out of a victorian romance novel. Izuku knows what those look like, because he’s seen them on the covers of the romance novels you like to read. He’s always doing his best to pay attention to your likes and dislikes.

“Izuku!” came your excited little voice as the door opened after his loud knock, and the green-haired man couldn’t stop himself from breaking out in a smile.

You were almost bouncing in excitement behind your older brother Shouto as he held the door open, taking the offered bottle of bourbon from Izuku with a nod before leaving you alone together in the foyer.

“Hey, missed you-” Izuku grunted as you attacked him in a hug, and a laugh bubbled out of you both when the solid man had to take a step backwards from  the push of your body.

“Missed you too! I’m so excited for tonight, it’s so good that Dad and the rest of the family are accepting you.” A quick kiss to his cheek distracted Izuku.

You were fairly comfortable with physical touch, resting your head on his shoulder, never afraid to snuggle up to his side on movie nights, or hold his hand out in public (especially now that the two of you were dating). But Izuku had honestly expected more.... sensuality once the two of you started seeing each other as lovers more than just friends.

He had asked to kiss you one night, after you’d made him dinner and rubbed his shoulders and listened to him talk about the latest subject he was studying. Izuku had felt his heart warm, like cold wax cradled over a flame, and his love for you was bursting out of his chest. He wanted to kiss you and hold you close, tell you how much he loved you.

You had just smiled shyly and shook your head, saying you wanted to wait a bit. Which Izuku understood! This was all new, going from friends-to-dating, and he didn’t want to rush you or make you uncomfortable in any way. He was willing to wait.

So the kiss to his cheek surprised him, made him stutter and blush and hug you a bit tighter.

Then you were taking his hand, leading him through the maze of a house. He couldn’t help but notice the old-timey decorations mixed in with the more modern features, but done in an elegant, timeless fashion. A good blend of old mixed with new.

Stepping into the large dining room hand-in-hand with you, Izuku was met with the sight of the entire Todoroki family.

“Everybody-” You started, catching their attention until every set of eyes was on you and the tall man by your side. “This is Izuku!”

Shouto stepped forward, closest to the pair of you, and set his hand on Izuku’s shoulder with a smile. “Glad to have you joining the family.” 

Izuku smiled back, pulling his friend into a hug and giving him a hearty pat on the back.

“This is Fuyumi-” A tap to Izuku’s shoulder had him turning around, stepping away from Shouto to shake your sister’s hand. 

“Hi Izuku, I’ve heard such good things about you.” Her voice was soft and gentle, almost like your own. Izuku could see the family resemblance between the two of you. 

“And this is Natsuo, he’s studying for his masters just like you.” A white-haired man approached him, friendly and open, ready to shake Izuku’s hand but ultimately pulling him into a hug. 

“Sorry, I’m a hugger.” Natsuo laughed, and Izuku shrugged, completely unbothered.

“Here’s Touya.” You introduced a redhead next, a man sitting almost sullenly at the table. He didn’t rise to his feet, didn’t even take Izuku’s offered handshake. 

“This is the guy you’ve been babbling about? He looks bori-”

“Touya.”  The room, already hushed, grew even more silent, almost heavy with the weight of the voice from the man at the head of the table.

The gangly redhead shut his mouth, looking ready to roll his eyes. You pulled Izuku past him towards the imposing man who was looking at the man at your side, appraising him.

“And this is my dad. Dad, this is Izuku.”

“A pleasure to meet you sir.” Izuku shook the mans large hand, and the man nodded solemnly.

“Sit down, we’re ready to eat.”

-----

Dinner wasn’t a quiet affair. Comfortable conversation flowed easily between everyone; questions about Izuku’s degree, about his goals, his dreams, his job. He knew it was just everyone getting to know him, assurance that he was suitable for their daughter. Izuku wanted to be perfect for you, anything and everything you needed.

Enji (Izuku was not about to call your father dad) asked only a few questions, otherwise decidedly quiet at his spot at the table, chewing his food while watching Izuku respond to the rest of his family. 

It was mainly Fuyumi, Natsuo, and Shouto keeping the conversation flowing, Izuku easily keeping up with whatever they decided to talk about, asking engaging questions of his own about the family members he’d just met, laughing easily whenever you made a pun or Shouto’s dry humor jumped out.

Everything seemed to be going well. 

Fuyumi asked to be excused, saying she needed to go prepare, and Enji waved her off easily, telling you to go with her. You rose from your chair easily, but not before catching Izuku’s hand and giving it a squeeze, eyes shining as you leaned close to whisper “See you in a bit.”.

“You really love her?” Touya asked as soon as the two women left the room to go prepare dessert, leaving Izuku alone with the male Todoroki’s. Izuku assumed this would be when he gets the shake-down, the usual “Hurt her and we’ll kill you” talk.

“So much. Sometimes I feel like I love her so much that I don’t know what to do with myself.” Izuku confessed.

“She talks about you a lot. I think she feels the same way that you do.” Natsuo supplied from across the table, and Izuku felt his cheeks flush, his heart flutter. It was one thing to know you loved someone - to feel the warmth and peace it brought to your soul. It was another to know that they loved you back; it made him feel whole.

“I've seen how you treat her, I think the two of you are a good match.” Shouto said, and Izuku smiled at his friend. Shouto had been his buddy since high school, truthfully was the reason that Izuku and you had met. You’d come along with Shouto one day when he’d come to hang out with Izuku, and the two of you had become fast friends.

Natsuo was rising from the table, walking back to the little shelf along one wall where various drinks sat (and Izuku’s bourbon gift). Izuku watched the man begin to pour out a red liquid, before his attention was caught by Shouto leaving the table as well, taking his plate and exiting the room.

Then Natsuo was placing a glass of the red liquid down in front of Izuku. “Don’t worry, this is nothing more than homemade punch.” He said as Izuku eyed it.

“It’s tradition.”  Touya growled and Izuku found himself taken aback at the heat in the other man’s voice. Was the redhead angry at him for some reason? 

“Touya, calm down.” The eldest Todoroki said, and Izuku almost wanted to cower himself at the sheer dominance exuding from the powerful man. “Izuku is becoming family. You will be happy for your sister, not jealous.”

Touya huffed, grumbling under his breath before shoving his seat away from the table. “Just don’t fuckin’ hurt her, got it? She’s my baby sister.” 

“I would never-” But Touya is already storming out of the room, uncaring of Izuku’s assurances.

Natsuo sighs. “Don’t mind him, he just.... doesn’t like change.”

“What is this again?” Picking up the red drink, Izuku swirled it around the glass, trying to change the subject and hopefully smooth over the tension. Most of the tension had dissipated when Touya left, but it never hurt to be proactive. 

“It’s a tea we brew and sweeten ourselves. We grow the plants in the backyard, you’ll see them soon.” Natsuo explained.

“It’s tradition?” Izuku parroted Touya’s earlier words, before taking a quick sip. It was delicious tea.

“Yes, we like to welcome those who are approved to join the family.” Natsuo laughed a little. “Fuyumi’s husband thought we were trying to drug him. It’s really just tea.”

Izuku snorted. It tasted like tea, why would someone think the Todoroki’s were trying to drug them? Sure, the family might be a little odd, but they weren’t malicious... right?

Before he knew it, his cup was empty and Natsuo had slipped out of the room, leaving Izuku alone with the head of the household, Enji.

Where were you? And why had everyone else left the room?

“I’m very particular about who I allow in my house, boy.” Enji started, and Izuku suddenly felt.... uneasy.

“Not everyone thinks the same way as the Todoroki’s. But you seem to be a bright young man. Educated. You aren’t going to be any trouble, are you?”

The last question wasn’t posed as such. It was a statement. 

Still, Izuku shook his head. “No sir, I have no intentions of causing trouble.” Why did this casual dinner feel so serious? there was so much emphasis on being accepted into the family, on being welcomed. Izuku recognized how big of a deal that was but still... it’s not like you were about to marry him. He was planning on that a few years down the road.

“Come with me.” Enji instructed, wiping his mouth with his napkin before his impressive bulk hefted itself out of his chair. Izuku felt tiny next to the patriarch, following the man through the dark, empty house.

He wanted to ask where Enji was taking him. Where you had disappeared to, where the rest of the family had gone. But that would be rude, so Izuku kept his mouth shut.

Outside it was dark, moon shining dimly through the sky, the residual warmth of the summer day still held in the air. Izuku followed Enji through the back door, down along a path, into the plentiful, green backyard.

To a grove of trees, torches flickering from within the grove, small bushes and beautiful flowering plants dotted among the trees. A garden, Izuku realized. Those must be the plants and bushes that produce the tea Natsuo had given him.

Then there you were, in a little clearing among the trees.

Sitting on a dark blanket, knees drawn to your chest and ankles crossed in front of you as you hid your body.

Izuku started - you were naked.

Touya was kneeling beside you, a hand on your shoulder as he talked to you gently, barely sparing Izuku and his father a glance as they strode into the torch-lit clearing, Touya’s attention truly focused on you.

Shouto and Natsuo stood in the light, watching you, watching Izuku.

“What is this?” Izuku sputtered, and upon hearing his voice you looked away from Touya, a smile lighting up your face as you saw your Izuku.

“This is tradition boy.” Enji laid a heavy hand on Izuku’s shoulder. “Now strip down, my little girl’s been waiting.”

Izuku’s head swirled.

Touya stood up, shooting the green-haired man a lazy glare before moving to stand by his brothers, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Izuku...” Your sweet little voice called for him, and green eyes snapped to your form on the ground, watched as, with a nod from Enji, you slowly unfurled your body to expose yourself to your lover.

A stab of arousal hit Izuku in his gut, watching your soft-looking skin be revealed. 

Pert breasts, a squishy tummy, glistening folds ready and twitching between your legs. 

You were drenched.

There was so much shiny slick, all over your thighs and dripped onto the blanket, Izuku couldn’t catch his breath, couldn’t think straight. It was impossible for you to be that wet on your own, you must have used lube or something to prepa-

It hit him; You and Fuyumi hadn’t gone to prepare dessert.

“You just gonna stand there all night like an idiot? Take your clothes off and fuck her you dwee-”

“Touya.” Enji growled, silencing his son immediately. Then the man turned to  Izuku, easily pushing him forwards towards you. “You’ve been accepted into the family; that’s an invitation you don’t want to refuse.”

With a sigh, you easily laid down onto your back, legs still spread for Izuku to look at you, hands coming up to rest shyly over your breasts.

“Don’t do that, let him see.” Shouto murmured, and immediately your hands dropped in obedience. Shouto hummed in approval, before bi-colored eyes swept up to look at Izuku, urging his friend forward with a tilt of his head down to your form.

With trembling hands, Izuku fumbled with his pants, unzipping them with a bit of difficulty, undoing his belt, working on the buttons of his nice shirt the he had worn to make a good impression when he met your family for the first time.

It took him a moment to undress, a red blush creeping up over his cheeks and down to his chest as he bared his body to the Todoroki’s.

He didn’t think he was small, but he wasn’t big either; average. Izuku was confident in his size, didn’t really know or are how he stacked up against other guys, and the girls he’d been with before hadn’t complained.

Still, he felt embarrassed to be naked in front of other people, to be on display. But there wasn’t another option, was there? (Izuku didn’t know if that was such a bad thing)

Two short strides before dropping to his knees in front of you on the blanket, his throat dry and his palms sweaty. 

“Are you-” His voice was barely above a whisper. “Are you okay with this?” 

Your head nodded yes, a pleased, yet shy grin on your face. “Of course. I want you.”

The softness of your voice, of your body, Izuku felt dizzy as he shuffled forward, close enough to touch. Still hesitant, worried about the male Todoroki members watching from the sidelines, brain racing to work through the strangeness of the situation, the utter oddity of this... ritual that was currently taking place.

But then you were sitting up, hands circling around his neck, pressing your lips to his with crushing finality.

He was a part of the family now.

It felt good to kiss you, soft lips pressed together, little huffs of breath from your nose as you kept going. Izuku took the freedom of circling his hands around your waist, almost gasping at the plushness of your flesh, melting against you with a groan as your lips kept pressing to his.

“I’m all ready, just-just put it in.” Your breathless little confession tumbled out as soon as you pulled away from your first real kiss with Izuku, a blush high on your cheeks.

But it was Izuku’s turn to blush, sitting between your legs like a fumbling virgin. “I’m not hard yet, but I can, uhm, finger you. Or we can kiss for a little bit mo-”

“You aren’t even hard? Touya’s sneering voice cut through Izuku’s babbling. “Look at my sister. She’s fucking soaking the ground. That’s not hot to you?”

Izuku stuttered, eyes flickering down to where your legs were opened, pretty little cunt twitching. It’s like you were begging to be touched, and Izuku was a sucker for begging.

“No, that’s so hot, oh my god.” He breathed, fingers instinctively reaching to swipe through your wetness, relishing the way you gasped and shuddered as his hand made contact with your body.

“She’s so soft too, got tits like little pillows. You should lick ‘em, she likes that.” Touya continues, and Izuku wants to point out that the reason he’s not completely hard yet isn’t because he’s not insanely turned on by the beautiful creature in front of him, but because he’s feeling weirded out by all her brothers and her dad watching intently from the sidelines.

Yet he does what Touya suggests, leaning forward to put his mouth on your chest, tongue darting out to drag against your skin. 

The eldest Todoroki was right about you being soft.

Izuku can’t stop his other hand from rubbing at your cunt more firmly, feeling your little hips twitch towards him, pressing your chest more firmly into his mouth.

“She’s so pretty.” Natsuo comments, but Izuku is hardly listening when he’s flicking at your clit, nursing at your tits. “She’s gonna feel real good around you Izuku, like a new fleshlight.”

“You better breed her good, boy.” Enji booms, and suddenly you’re scrabbling at Izuku’s arms, pulling his hair, whining “Please, Izuku please.”.

“Okay, shit, let me-”

“He must be really worked up, Izuku hardly ever curses.” Shouto announces, and fuck, he’s right -  but how could he not be worked up?

Izuku is hard, blood rushing so quickly to his cock that he feels lightheaded, taking himself in hand and giving his length a few dry pumps. He’s envisioning how sopping wet you’ll feel against him, staring, drooling over your cunt.

And then he’s lining himself up, kissing you hard, and pushing inside.

“Big, ‘s too big!” You panic, tears popping to your eyes but Izuku is quick to wipe them away, cooing at you and stilling his hips.

“Oh, don’t cry! Shh, I’ll go slow, ‘m sorry, I thought you were ready-”

“Natsu-” You cried, hand scrabbling into the ground above your head, reaching, searching for your brother.

“Hey, hey, I’m here.” The man was immediately on his knees by your face, clasping your hand fervently, leaning down to put a sweet kiss on your nose. “Breathe honey, in and out. It’s okay.”

“Noo I-I.... ‘M scared, he’s-he’s-ah!” A stuttered cry broke from your chest as Izuku shifted slightly, inadvertently pushing deeper.

“No, it's gonna be okay. It's just like when we do it, yeah? He's gonna be nice.” And Natsuo is looking at Izuku, fixing him with such a pointed gaze and Izuku gets the message. He’s going to be nice.

It’s not like he wasn’t planning on it - the green haired man loves you.

But then the breath is sucked out of his chest as he comprehends what Natsuo had just comforted you with, that-that.

That you’ve fucked your brother.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” Izuku chants, unable to stop his hips from inching back and forth, humnping into you in infinitesimal movements as arousal punches through his gut. “Sorry, I can’t stop-’h my god that’s-”

He can hear Touya cackle. “Damn, something really got him going.”

You were squeezing your eyes shut, clenching Natsuo’s hand so tight that the skin was whitening. Your brother didn’t seem to mind, more occupied with stroking your hair, eyes fixated on the soft jiggle of your breasts as Izuku humped you like a senseless virgin.

His breathing turned into wheezing, hitching when a presence was felt at his back.

“You can do better than that.” Enji’s hands were pressing against Izuku’s naked rear, making the green haired man flinch forward and away from the touch. But Enji merely pushed, propelling Izuku’s thrusts so that he would really fuck the warm, willing body beneath him.

“Izuk-Izu-Izuku-” You moaned, rocking your body to further spear yourself onto his cock, apparently finding the fast glide pleasurable as opposed to your hesitance earlier.

He leaned down to kiss you, both of you moaning into the kiss, hands wandering as you pushed to meet each other, Izuku’s stomach clenching tighter and tighter as he neared his release.

“She’s never had someone fuck her raw before...” Shouto mused, eyes glued to the scene in front of him, watching his best friend fuck his sister with the help of his family. “I wonder if it feels different.”

But his words were lost in the quick slap of skin meeting skin, Izuku’s grunts, your sweet little noises as you writhed and clutched at Natsuo’s hand, your other hand holding onto Izuku.

And then Izuku was gone, balls clenching and cock twitching inside you, pulsing as he shot his seed.

Your eyes fluttered shut, pulling your hand away from Natsuo to place it against your tummy, pressing right over where Izuku was still grinding against you. “Feels... feels so warm.”

Izuku was panting, sweat sticking his curls to his forehead, desire slowly swirling out of his body as he came. 

What the fuck had he just done?

Enji clapped him once on the back, before rising to his feet. “Welcome to the family, son.”

[favefandomimagines]

Too Old to be Jealous (k.m.)

Summary: after years apart, your older brother pays you a visit in New Orleans. the brother you didn’t tell Klaus about

AN: i hope this is good 😂 i haven’t written for klaus in a hot minute so i’m a little rusty

Request: @i-smoke-chapstick AHHHH YOUR WRITING IS AMAZING!!! Literally your style is gorgeous :) Since i saw requests were open, Id love to request a Klaus Mikealson x Reader! Maybe something were the readers brother comes to town (Even though no one knew she had a brother) and just kind of waltzs into the french quater and kisses the reader on the cheek. Everyone is like ??? and Klaus is SUPER jealous, and she has to explain that its just her brother? Tysm for taking the time to read my request, i read your ed nygma imagine and you have to be one of my favorite writers on the platform ❤️❤️❤️

There was no call, no text, not even an email. You had no idea your brother was going to be town or you would have prepared better.

When it came to Klaus Mikaelson, any male who gave you the slightest bit of attention was trying to take you from him. And Klaus was the jealous type. He always had been ever since he met you in the 40’s.

It seemed to escalate since the two of you got married after he left Mystic Falls. It didn’t help that you were very unforgiving when it came to him and Hayley and the fact they conceived a child together.

It took graveling and various apologies to get you back after that. So, he was holding on to you as if his life depended on it. Which in his mind it did.

If your brother would have given you any notice, you could have told Klaus that your brother was coming to visit and prepared him. Instead, you were ambushed. And Klaus Mikaelson was notorious for not handling an ambush well. 

“I think we should bring Hope here more often.” You commented as you and Klaus were walking through the quarter. “Love,” He started. “Yes, yes, I know. It’s not safe.” You interrupted in a more playful tone. “But we can get her that dress you liked so much.” He said. 

You smiled triumphantly, slightly getting your way and that was enough for you. You both continued walking down the cobblestone when you felt a pair of hands squeeze your waist, causing you to jump. 

“Hello, Y/N.” You heard before a light peck was placed on your cheek. You turned around and saw your older brother. “Matthew? Wh-What are you doing here? Why are you here?” You asked him.

“I heard through the grapevine that you were in New Orleans, thought I’d come visit.” He answered. As you were chatting with your brother, Klaus was fuming at the interaction. 

Who was this man? Why did he kiss you on the cheek? What was the history between you two? You didn’t even notice Klaus leave so quickly until you went to introduce him to Matthew. 

“Oh, uh, Klaus must have left.” You said, a slight sadness in your voice. “Who’s Klaus?” Matthew asked. “My husband.” You answered. “You got married and didn’t tell your older brother?” He teased. “You have been very hard to get ahold of the past ten years, Matthew.” You replied. 

You invited him back to your home in hopes that you could introduce him and Klaus the right way. You didn’t really know why he had just disappeared without saying anything to you. 

Maybe there was an emergency he hadn’t told you about. You and Matthew had arrived back to the compound and you looked around for Klaus. “He’s in the study, if you’re looking for dad.” Hope announced from her place on the stairs. 

“How upset does he look?” You asked. Knowing his mood would change how you approached him. “On a scale from one to ten, I would say a solid eight.” Hope answered. “Uh, Hope this is Matthew my older brother. Matthew, this is my step-daughter, Hope.” You introduced the two. 

As they were conversing, you went into the study and saw Klaus slowly pacing. “You disappeared.” You commented. “You seemed to be in good company.” Klaus rebutted. “Klaus,” You started. “Who was he? An old friend? An old flame? The two of you seemed very comfortable with each other.” He interrupted. 

“Klaus,” You attempted again. “Was this overdue payback for what happened with Hayley?” Klaus accused. “Klaus! If you’d stop with the accusations for half a second, I could explain to you.” You stopped him. 

“That was Matthew. He’s my older brother and I haven’t seen him in ten years. He just showed up out of the blue to surprise me. I haven’t mentioned him because I haven’t seen him.” You explained. 

You could see Klaus begin to calm down and look slightly embarrassed for how he reacted. “He’s your brother.” Klaus stated. “Yes, Klaus, he’s my brother. There is no other man I want to be with beside you.” You told him, approaching him slowly. 

“I apologize, love. I overreacted.” He said. “You did, yeah. But I can overlook this little outburst of yours if you let me bring Hope to the quarter more often.” You suggested. “You know I’d protect her with my life, there’s no need to worry.” You added.

Klaus sighed as he took your hands in his before looking at your smiling face. “I guess that would be okay. It will be nice for the two of you to spend time together.” He said. “Now, can I introduce you to Matthew now that you know he’s not a threat?” You asked. 

The man nodded his head slightly as you grabbed his hand and brought him out to the foyer. “Also, you’re too old to be jealous of anyone anymore.” You joked.

Introducing your husband to your brother was not the most natural thing to do. Especially since it had been a couple of decades.

But it seemed to calm down Klaus enough to have an actual conversation with Matthew. You and Hope were sitting on the steps as you watched Klaus and Matthew converse in a esther friendly manner.

“They seem to be getting along.” Hope commented. “I know. It’s weird.” You replied. Klaus and Matthew stood up and approached you and Hope. “I have to be heading off. It was good to see you, baby sister. And it was great to meet you, Klaus.” Your brother said.

The exchanged another handshake and Klaus almost seemed elated to have met Matthew. “You should’ve introduced us sooner, Y/N.” He added. You looked at him with wide eyes before glancing back at Klaus.

If you would’ve known the two would have gotten along so well, introductions could have been planned ages ago. But knowing Klaus he still would have found a way to be jealous.

[riversofmars]

Prompt: 13 and River babysit Anthony Williams (Amy and Rory’s adopted son)

This is such a cute prompt! I combined it with a similar one and hope this works for you, enjoy! <3

Rating: G

Word Count: 1800

Read on AO3 or below

All in the Family

“And you’re sure you’re up for this?�� Amy turned to River one more time, halfway out of the door of their flat in 1940s New York.

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?“ River crossed her arms in front of her chest challengingly.

“You’re not exactly the most responsible adult.“ Rory couldn’t help pointing out and glanced to his wife to find out whether they were going to change their minds at the last minute.

“I'll take that as a compliment.“ River smirked. “Remember this was your idea.“

“Yes but only because we don’t know many people here yet!“ Rory admitted.

“And having your baby stolen once, you don’t want to trust strangers, I get it.“ River gave her parents a kind smile. She was very happy for them. They deserved to have the calm family life that they had missed out on with her. Adopting baby Anthony had been a wonderful idea.

“It’s just been such a long time since we’ve been able to go out.“ Amy explained. “I just didn’t understand how hard raising a child would be!“ She sighed, running her hand through her hair. She was more exhausted than she ever had been while travelling with the Doctor. “We just really need to have an evening just for us.“

“Say no more and get yourself going before I change my mind.“ River ushered them out the door.

“You are a godsend, River.“ Amy kissed her daughter’s cheek. “Don’t get up to anything stupid.“ She wagged her finger at her.

“What, me? Stupid? Perish the thought.“ River feigned hurt but laughed.

“Just make sure Anthony is okay.“ Amy implored her and gave a little wave to the toddler that was just coming up behind River and wrapping his arms around her leg.

“You can count on me. We’ll have a brilliant time, won’t we, brother dearest?“ River smiled down at the child and patted his head.

“Ri-ver.“ The toddler nuzzled into her thigh.

“See, fast friends already.“ River chuckled and lifted him up.

“Does she… do you know anything about toddlers?“ Rory asked, insecure for a moment.

“I am married to the Doctor, does that count?“ River countered and the Ponds laughed:

“Fair point…“

“Relax, we will be fine, it’s just for a few hours.“ River kissed the forehead of her adoptive brother who was giving her a koala bear hug. “Tea, books, bed. I got this.“

“See you both later, look after each other.“ Amy smiled and kissed Anthony’s head, as did Rory.

“This is a bad idea…“ Rory hummed to his wife as they waved their goodbyes and made their way down the corridor.

“It’s a brilliant idea.“ Amy waved off his concerns.

“Right Anthony, there is someone I would like you to meet.“ River smiled at her little brother as she closed the door.

“Meet?“ Anthony echoed as River carried him back into the living room.

“Someone very special: Your brother-in-law. Well, I say brother… sister-in-law? Alien-in-law?“ River grinned,and as if on cue the TARDIS became visible in the lounge.

“I don’t know why you wouldn’t let me see them!“ The Doctor stuck her head out, having waited patiently for the Ponds to depart.

“Because they never would have left and they could do with a break.“ River explained with a chuckle as her wife skipped out of the TARDIS and towards them.

“Hello Anthony Pond!“ She grinned, ruffling the toddler’s curls who just giggled in response. He appeared fascinated by the sudden appearance of the blue box and pulled away from River, seemingly wanting to be set down.

“Williams…“ River corrected the Doctor as she sat her brother down who rushed to the TARDIS, circling around it in wonder.

“What shall we play with, Anthony?“ The Doctor ignored her wife and dropped to her knees in the middle of a pile of toys. “See, we’re gonna have the best time!“ She pulled her screwdriver from her coat and sonic-ed the toys. All of a sudden, cars and toy robots started moving on their own accord. Anthony giggled in delight and rushed over to the Doctor, the TARDIS no longer the most interesting thing around here.

“Guess that means I’m making tea?“ River chuckled as Anthony threw himself at the Doctor.

“Would you want either one of us close to a hob?“ The Doctor retorted, hugging the child tightly.

“Fair point.“ River chuckled.

——

“I don’t know why I asked you here, it’s like babysitting two toddlers.“ River was cleaning up the kitchen after tea had turned into a food fight.

“'Cause this is the closest thing you and I have to a family.“ The Doctor answered with surprising candour. Anthony was jawing, leaning against her.

“As much as I try to, I don’t really feel like part of them…“ River answered thoughtfully.

“Our lives are more complicated than that…“ The Doctor couldn’t help but agree. Neither one of them was suited to regular family dynamics.

“Would it be so bad though? Settling down for a time?“ River mused, looking from Anthony to her wife.

“Maybe at some point.“ The Doctor gave her a soft smile. This River hadn’t done Darillium yet. She had all of that to come and the Doctor missed their time there more than she would care to admit.

“Bed time?“ She asked, seeing as Anthony was virtually falling asleep next to her.

“I think so.“ River agreed with a smile and walked over to them. “Come here Anthony…“ She scooped him up. “Let’s get you into your PJs…“

Both the Doctor and River had presumed bedtime would be easy, considering how tired Anthony was, but they had thought wrong.

“Stop turning the light on and off!“ River pleaded, picking him up again to finally put him in his bed. Anthony appeared to have saved up his energy just for this.

“Still want kids?“ The Doctor tried her best to keep a straight face as she watched her wife struggle with the toddler.

“You know all of a sudden, being a big sister seems perfectly adequate.“ River retorted.

“I’ll get him a bottle of milk.“ The Doctor suggested, just as Anthony got up again and raced past River to the light switch.

“Stop it with the light switch!“ River groaned and scooped him up again. “Please, will you just stay in bed now?“ She tugged him in.

“Well well well, isn’t this a lovely sight.“ A voice sounded from the doorway that made River’s blood run cold. She whipped around, standing protectively in front of the bed.

“Madame Kovarian, how did you…“ She stared at the woman in the doorway.

“I knew I would find you eventually.“ Madame Kovarian smirked, walking further into the room. “And who is this little man? Tell me, am I a grandmother?“

“How dare you show your face here!“ River growled, regretting immediately that she left her gun in the TARDIS. She hadn’t anticipated needing it for babysitting duties.

“I believe you and I have some unfinished business.“ Kovarian retorted. “How is motherhood treating you, Melody? Where is the husband? Leaving you to do all the child care?“

“Right behind you!“ The Doctor called from the doorway, armed with nothing but a bottle of milk. She quickly accessed the situation in front of her, glaring at the unwelcome guest.

“Oh well, not your child then, is it?“ Kovarian retorted with a cruel smirk. “Now then, I think it’s time for some good old fashioned revenge…“ She pulled a gun on them.

Suddenly the light flicked off! Anthony had snuck out from behind River and gone for his favourite game again. River jumped at the opportunity. She flung herself at Kovarian and disarmed her quickly. The moment the light came back on, Kovarian was on the floor and River held her gun to her head.

“Never underestimate a Pond!“ The Doctor grinned and scooped up the child into a tight hug.

“You little monster!“ Kovarian spat.

“If anyone is a monster here, Madame Kovarian, it’s you.“ River retorted icily.

--

“Surprisingly quiet in here… maybe River managed to get him to sleep alright after all…“ Rory mused as he opened the door to the flat and they walked inside. It had been a lovely evening, just what they needed.

“What the…“ Amy stopped dead in her tracks as they stepped into the living room.

“Amelia Pond! And Rory the Roman!“ The Doctor exclaimed and ran towards them, pulling them into bone crushing hugs.

“River?!“ Amy exclaimed, needing an explanation. Who was this woman? What was she doing in their flat? Why did she know who they were? And why was Madame Kovarian tied to a chair in the middle of their lounge?!

“What can I say… Mum, Dad… when my husband regenerated into a hot blonde I started batting for the other team, hope that’s alright with you.“ River answered, gesturing to the Doctor who grinned widely, barely able to contain her excitement.

“What?!“ Amy and Rory exclaimed in unison.

“She didn’t want to tell you I was here cause she thought you’d be worried we’d set the place on fire…“ River explained a little bit more apologetically.

“Instead you have a tied up Madame Kovarian in our living room?!“ Amy gestured to the unwelcome guest.

“Ouch!“ Kovarian groaned when Anthony chucked a building block at her.

“Good shot, mate!“ The Doctor grinned and gave him a high five. Of course, Anthony had refused to go to bed after the excitement.

“Sorry, just got to finish building this transdimensional teleport. Teaching Anthony the basics of temporal engineering as we go. One way trip to Stormcage.“ River explained, gesturing to a circle of electrical components that had been erected around Kovarian. Long cables connected it to the TARDIS. “Unless I get the coordinates wrong… might end up in a sun instead…“ She mused.

“Melody, don’t do it, I…“ Kovarian pleaded.

“You have threatened my family for the last time. This is goodbye, Madame Kovarian, for the last time.“ River finished attaching the cables.

“Good riddance!“ Rory mumbled in agreement.

“Anthony!“ Amy called when the toddler skipped forward and hit a big red button on the contraption. Something no child would be able to resist. Kovarian disappeared in a flash of light!

“Was the teleport even calibrated?!“ The Doctor looked to River who gave a little shrug.

“I’ll check up on her when I’m in Stormcage next… she may have ended up in the cantina rather than an actual cell… but never mind.“ She looked to her parents. “So, how was your date?“

“Certainly less eventful than this.“ Amy shook her head in disbelief.

“Come on, mate, let’s get you to bed.“ The Doctor scooped Anthony up who nuzzled into her neck.

“Doc-tor.“

[rosaliepostsstuff]

Gingerbread men | G.W.

A Christmas Special

a/n: I've written this as a continuation of Weasley support system but you don't really need to have read it, it can be treated as a standalone piece. Pure fluff!

Summary: Christmas is coming, your eldest son has invited his crush over and all of you enjoy the Christmas Eve together.

word count: 1385

 Taglist general:  @izzyyy-1​ George:  @hufflepuff5972​ Weasley twins:  @pandaxnienke​

 “Just no teasing today, okay?” you said to your husband, standing in front of your open wardrobe and talking to him through the open bathroom door. “What?” he mumbled, his mouth filled with toothpaste foam. “I asked you not to tease our son in front of Dylan today, love,” you said softly, pulling a jumper you had picked out off a rack. George spat into the sink, “What do you mean ‘tease’?” he asked, puzzled, turning the tap on.

You put on your jumper and grabbed a hair elastic, then walked over to your master bathroom. You stood next to him in front of the great mirror and began to tie your hair up. “I mean that Dylan’s coming here as his friend and I want no interfering with Luke’s love life,” you looked into his eyes in the reflection, as he patted his face with a towel, to make sure the message’s coming through, “you know how it is with crushes at that age…” “Yeah, I know, I had one…” He walked over behind you to place his hands on your hips and plant a kiss to the back of your now exposed neck, “smart, pretty, always drove me wild” he smiled at you cheekily through the mirror.

You tsk-ed and turned around to face him, trying to fight a grin off of your face. “I’m serious, love. The tiniest embarrassments seem like the end of the world. He has enough on his plate, so no jokes, no suggestions, no funny looks – nothing that would put him on the spot,” you finished, putting up a finger in front of his face.

George studied your eyes for a second, “you have very little faith in me, darling,” he placed a gentle peck on the tip of your finger, “but alright. I promise.”

 ——————⁛⁙⁘◊⁘⁙⁛——————

 “Wow,” Dylan marvelled, after stepping into the main room and looking around the space, “This is brilliant, Mrs Weasley…”

They finally arrived after George and Luke set out together to pick him up and you’ve been waiting at home, occupying yourself with preparations.

You did take your Christmas decorating seriously. It wasn’t anything too over-the-top but the whole space was decorated with gentle garlands and some small decorations, illuminated by soft fairy lights. The main piece – Christmas tree, standing proudly by the window on the other side of the room.

You smiled widely, walking up to the boy.

“First of all, you can call me Y/N, I think you know me well enough. Secondly, it’s a group effort.” You said, meaning, of course, your whole family but giving very smug-looking George a look. “Welcome back, it’s been so long! But we’re so happy to have you,” you spread your arms wide to hug the boy.

“Shall I put the kettle on?” you asked excitedly and your son rolled his eyes in the back of the room.

   ——————⁛⁙⁘◊⁘⁙⁛——————

 “Oohh my goodness, why does it already smell so good…” groaned Ruby, leaning over the gingerbread dough as Vivian gave it a good poke.

You pulled the cookie cutters out of a drawer as Luke, Dylan and the twins took the stools by the kitchen island and then you poured them all out in front of the teens. You made yourself busy with rolling the dough as they each picked out their favourite shapes.

“George..?” you called out, not knowing where your husband was. You had talked to him ten minutes earlier and he knew you were about to start with the cookies, yet still, he hasn’t come to the kitchen.

No answer.

After a few more seconds of silence, you called out a bit louder, “George, darling..?”, getting ready to drop everything to look around the house for him.

“Coming, coming..!”, you heard from a corridor, then George appeared with a smile on his face and the sleeves of his festive jumper pulled up. You watched with your eyes a bit narrowed as he washed his hands.

“Where were you?” you asked curiously.

He pulled the rolling pin out of your hand and pushed you lightly with his hips to move you aside, “Talking to Jake,” he answered nonchalantly, resuming the work you had started.

 When you were done, and the cookies were sitting in the oven, he got around to placing all the gift boxes under the tree for the next morning. And instead of using the levitation or the locomotion charm he dramatically carried them by hand. Grunting and huffing, he glanced in your direction to make sure you saw him place an exceptionally huge package you haven’t seen before.

    ——————⁛⁙⁘◊⁘⁙⁛——————

 Later that day, after dinner, the whole house gathered around to decorate the cookies you had made earlier.

“Jacob..!” Vivian groaned as he grabbed a cookie off the tray and took a bite. “What? Stop being so tight and take a bite too…” he replied with his mouth full and on cue, Ruby appeared over his shoulder and swiped the rest off the cookie, which quickly disappeared inside her mouth as she high-fived her sister. “Daad!” Jake pleaded.

George looked between the three and sighed, trying not to laugh.

“See, dad knows I’m right, gobhead” Vivian teased before you came back with the rest of stuff needed for decorating. “All of you.” You said sternly setting things down on the island and sitting down.

The decorating passed alternately on playful banter in the warm atmosphere and in comfortable silence as everyone was working away, focusing on their tiny masterpieces.

Luke and Dylan spent especially long decorating a gingerbread man each, made to resemble the other, to exchange them later.

 ——————⁛⁙⁘◊⁘⁙⁛——————

 “Ahh..” you relaxed, sitting down on the sofa next to George with a mug of hot chocolate in hand.

He wrapped his arm around your shoulder and brought his other hand with his own mug close to yours. “Merry Christmas, my love,” he said with a relaxed smile on his face and you clinked delicately, “Merry Christmas, sweetheart,” you replied, then you melted into his side. The both of you were sipping your hot drinks contently, half-listening to the kids hanging out a bit further away.

“I really like Christmas,” George started in a low voice, only for you to hear. You hummed in agreement. “It all goes by so fast but in moments like these you can just sit back and look at all this,” he nodded his head, referring to your family. You turned your head, still resting on his shoulder, to look up at him. “I mean, we made most of these, remember?” he joked, pointing his head at the teens in front of you. You chuckled, “Eh, more or less…” you teased and he laughed at you. “I’ll let this one slide because you have a hot drink in hand.” “How gracious indeed. I knew I married right,” you brought your hand up to the side of his face and kissed his cheek.

You admired your little family for a moment. They were all growing up so fast. Jacob was your little baby just a moment ago, now he was bound to hit puberty any moment. Your beautiful girls, both apples of George’s eyes, growing to be strong, fierce women. They were almost the age you were when you first started dating George. Lucas and Dylan were almost adults now and you tried not to think about him moving out anytime soon. But you couldn’t help the warmth spreading in your heart when you glanced at their hands, fingers intertwined.

“But really,” you said after a moment, “when we were still dating, you were fresh out of Hogwarts and we were starting to get serious…” Your voice was soft and quiet as you went back to that time in your mind, getting a bit nostalgic. “I knew you’d be the one, and we started talking about future a bit more… I imagined the kind of life I wanted with you…” You looked back up at him to see him already looking at you with pure adoration in his eyes. “And it turned out exactly how I imagined it. Everything I dreamed of.”

George leaned down to softly press his lips onto yours and just like every other time, you felt as if you fell in love all over again.

“Yeah, I’d say we played it out alright.”

[anotheronechicagobog]

Functional Dysfunction - Rheese - Chapter 5 - It Isn’t Salad

written by @anotheronechicagobog

warnings: swearing, mention of abortion, mention of attempting to force abortion, unplanned preganancy, Connor and Robin are still together, Jimmy is still an ass, but now so is Chilli

The next day everyone was acting weird around her. Manning and Maggie were now running away from her, Halstead couldn't meet her eyes, Choi pretended to take a phone call when they were alone in the doctor's lounge, and Doris was completely silent. That never happened. She gossiped about anything and everything, until now Sarah hadn't believed there was a force on earth powerful enough to shut her up. 

A distraction came in the form of a mass casualty structural collapse at a construction site. Injured workers flooded in, while Sarah and Choi were tasked with going to the scene and treating people in the field. It was Sarah's first time working like that. So far it had only been fully stocked EDs or ORs with copious amounts of staff ready to jump into action. Here there were limited supplies, limited staff, and unlimited chaos.

So far the building they were constructing was a small five-story apartment building, it didn't have any walls or floors, it was just metal beams and underlying structure. Half of the crossbeams had just... Come off, taking the workers that were on them, towards the concrete foundation, where other workers were. It was a grizzly, awful site. There were going to be so many casualties, no doubt about it. She reached her first patient, a woman no older than twenty, whose arm was being crushed by a beam near the shoulder. It was purple. She had to amputate.

Red tag, red tag, black tag, red tag, black tag, black tag, black tag, red tag, green tag, black tag, red tag.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She hadn’t eaten in ten hours and there were two more action-packed hours left in her shift. While she was finally back in the hospital, she couldn’t help but feel like she was still at the disaster site. One wrong move, one wrong word, and tragedy would occur. Of course at Gaffney it would be social tragedy, but still, she felt like she was navigating a mine field. She’d been on her feet non-stop since her shift started and she was feeling more mentally drained than physically drained. The other interns looked at her the way she imagined vultures would, beady eyes looking at your dying soul, ready to devour your corpse. Except... She wasn’t dying. She was in perfect health, it was apparent that they thought her career was about to be drop-kicked into an active volcano. Boy were they in for a surprise.

“Dr. Reese, scrub up, I need you in the OR with me.” Chad Dovingly, the resident “legacy” intern, almost yelled at Dr. Abrams, but Sarah watched him stop himself. “Sam-”

“Do not call me by my first name, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that. Call me ‘Dr. Abrams’ or don’t speak to me at all.”

“Right, right, my apologies. Dr. Abrams, are you sure that Dr. Reese is the right choice? I mean, I was literally born to be a surgeon, I was in the top ten at my med school, and Dr. Reese, well... Is this because she’s pregnant-”

“Stop. Talking. You may have been in the top ten of your class, but she was the first in hers. She has shown far more dedication and skill than any of you here, and I will not stand here while you not only accuse me of favouritism, but belittle your colleague and fellow intern because of a matter that is absolutely none of your business. The reason you aren’t scrubbing in as much is that you’re not good enough to yet, so if you want to scrub in more, prove to me that you’re worthy of it, because honestly so far Dr. Reese and Dr. Kim are the only ones who have done so.” He dismissed the other interns with only a head nod, leaving the two of them alone in the hallway. “Dr. Reese, the surgery is in two hours. Read up on the procedure and eat something, then meet me in OR four.” The confusion must have been displayed on her face so he sighed and pulled her to the side away from the other interns. “Dr. Manning cornered me earlier and informed me that you’ve been on your feet all day, and you’re going to be staying late. So eat something and then join me in the OR.”

“Oh, okay, I’ll see you in two hours then.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She had a sandwich in her bag, but she doubted that the cold cut meats would still taste good after all this time. She debated going to the cafeteria but at this time all that would be available was heavy fast food. “Sarah?”

“Hi Dr. Manning, don’t worry Dr. Abrams ordered me to eat something before I join him in the OR.”

“Good. I was actually coming to get you, we ordered pizza down in the ED and I was wondering if you wanted to join us?”

“Something tells me you’re not going to take ‘no’ for an answer.”

“A correct assumption, come on it should be here by now.”

They were almost at the doctor’s lounge when Sarah couldn’t ignore the need to ask anymore. “... You know, don’t you?”

“Yes. We all do. I’m sorry that we’ve been avoiding you all day, we just didn’t want to ruin the surprise.”

“What sur-”

“SURPRISE!” Sarah jumped out of her skin and then looked around the lounge. There was a shiny blue ‘congratulations’ banner along the back wall, streamers taped to the ceiling and a stack of pizza boxes on the table. “We want you to know that we’re here for you and that we’re happy for you. I know that you don’t have a lot of time, she needs to scrub up at OR four in... one hour and fifty-one minutes, but celebrate with us a little now, we just want to make sure that you feel supported.”

“And that you eat, no one needs you fainting in an OR.”

“Thank you, all of you, so much... I really appreciate this, I was pretty scared at first, I still am, but I’m confident in my decision.”

“Trust me, we know Sarah.” Puzzled, she looked around at her co-workers and found them all snickering in the direction of Connor and Robin. Connor blushed and lowered his head with anawkward smirk while Robin rolled her eyes. “Doris tried to talk smack and I can honestly say that I have never seen someone get verbally eviscerated so viciously. Showed all of us not to mess with Robin.” Everyone around her chuckled and seemed to unanimously agree with Maggie. “Thanks.”

“No problem, Sarah. Besides I think it was about time someone knocked her down a peg. I mean, I know that gossip is just a part of hospital life, but she just takes it to a whole other level.”

Maggie and Nat were the least tense around her since this whole thing started, Choi and Halstead just seemed relieved that there wasn’t anything wrong with her, April and Noah just seemed content to make her laugh as loud as possible, Robin made sassy quips about the two of them sticking together, and Connor just made sure she always had pizza on her plate. They exchanged a smile when he made sure that she was the first one to eat ‘I know that it’s not salad but it’s still pretty good’. Sarah couldn’t have been more delighted to see Connor moving more freely, lighter, with an enormous weight having been removed from his shoulders.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The surgery... Did not go well, but it wasn’t anyone’s fault thankfully. Their patient had the largest tumor she’d ever seen in the centre of their brain and when Dr. Abrams removed it, it looked horrifying to be frank. There was literally a hole in this poor man’s brain which unfortunately resulted in brain damage. It was a serious risk from the beginning, so the patient and family had been informed numerous times in the days leading up to and of the surgery. Delivering that news had been assigned to Sarah and she was not looking forward to it. She left the recovery suite where the patient has just been examined after waking up and went to the waiting room where his husband was waiting along with his twin sister were after Dr. Abrams told them to wait while they examined him. “How is he?”

“He’s okay, right?”

“I am so sorry to tell you this, but he did sustain significant brain damage and it’s very likely that it’s permanent. There’s also a possibility that he could... Pass away due to the severity.” The second that the word ‘sorry’ was out of her mouth they both broke down in tears, holding onto each other for dear life. “You can see him, if you want, and I can explain a few things. Dr. Abrams will check on him again tomorrow at seven am, to give him more time to improve-”

“So, he could get better, my brother could recover.”

“I need to stress that while that is a vague possibility, it is incredibly unlikely, and I don’t want to get your hopes up. I’m so sorry.”

“... Can you take us to him? Or at least me? I totally understand if you can’t see him yet, he’s your twin, but... We- He’s the love of my life. I need to see him.” Sarah nodded and gestured for them to follow her, she wasn’t sure if his sister would at first, but she did, with a far-off, grave look in her eyes. Sarah tried not to think about it, after all, this poor woman was just told her twin brother suffered brain damage and would probably never be the same again, she was allowed to react however she needed to. Still... Sarah couldn’t help but feel like foreshadowing had taken physical form, like her patient’s sister knew more than she was saying. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sarah had forty minutes left in her shift when alarms started blaring. She knew before she even turned around who it was and what the outcome would be. Despite being in her usual ‘crap someone’s dying’ speed her ankles felt like lead, and her soul had stayed at the computer she was working on. Her mind was still there, still searching her head for the best course of action before conducting it, giving orders to nurses, telling someone to get his loved ones out of the room, and shouting for someone to page the on-call neurosurgeon... But it was no use. And from the way everyone was looking at each other that this was the outcome they expected. “Time of death, 21:37.” Her voice felt so out of place, the vibrations her thoat made were irritating. The late patient’s fiance and sister were in the doorway. He was sobbing so inconsolably, so loud, it made Sarah’s heart clench. She however, looked numb, like a part of her just died. She looked Srah dead in the eyes and Sarah’s heart broke all over again. She’d known. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you Dr. Reese... I know that you and Dr. Abrams did everything you could. Could- could we have a moment with my brother? To say... Goodbye?”

“Of course.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When she finally left the hospital she was in tatters. She wasn’t sure if it was the pregnancy hormones or if it was her patient’s death, but all that she really wanted to do was cry. No, she needed to cry. Sadness and despair was bubbling up inside of her and she just didn’t want to keep it inside her. But of course the universe had other plans. When she finally made it to her car the last two people she wanted to see were standing beside it and sitting on it. She sighed, on the verge of tears and not in any mood to deal with either of them. “Jimmy. Chilli.”

“We need to talk.”

“We don’t actually. We really, really don’t. You don’t want to be involved and that’s fine. When they’re born we’ll do a paternity test because that’s what’s required for you to sign away your rights, and then you’ll do just that, and then you’ll walk away. It’s okay.”

“No it’s not. I’m not okay with you having my baby.”

“And I’m not okay with it either, he’s my... Boyfriend and I don’t want another chick to have his child.”

“Okay, first of all, neither of you get a say and whether or not I have this child. My body, my decision, that’s it. Second, Chilli, you have absolutely no say here in anything. You are not the mother or the father and I’m not even sure if you guys are dating given your hesitation in calling Jimmy your ‘boyfriend’ and you have such a volatile on/off relationship, you get zero say in anything even remotely related to my baby.”

“HEY! DON’T TALK TO HER LIKE THAT-”

“Speak to me like an adult or don’t speak to me at all. You don’t get to yell at me, you don’t get to use that tone with me, it’s not okay.”

“I CAN SPEAK TO YOU HOWEVER I WANT! AND YOU ARE GETTING AN ABORTION EVEN IF I HAVE TO DRAG YOU THERE MYSELF!” In the next three seconds Sarah observed three things:

There were two of them and one of her

They were in a dimly lit, poorly monitored parking garage alone

They had to deal with violent people at their jobs more than she did and would likely overpower her

“The hell she is! She made her choice Borelli and you didn’t get a say in it!” Okay, so #2 was not true apparently, as Connor walked closer to them from the entrance. “This isn’t any of your business doc, so just go, okay?”

“You’re threatening my friend in a dark parking garage. Yes, it is my business. But it isn’t yours, you’ve said that you don’t want to be a dad, so you won’t be, and I don’t even know why Chilli is here, so you two need to get off of Sarah’s car and leave her alone.”

“No. We don’t have to listen to you. I’ll talk to her however I fucking want, I don’t have to move away from her car, and Chilli doesn’t have to get off it. Fuck. Off.”

“Connor, you worked a long shift, you shouldn’t have to stay for this, I’ll figure it out.”

“I appreciate the thought Sarah, but you worked a long day too and I’m seriously worried about your safety around them. Why don’t I just drive you home? It really isn’t a big deal.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am-”

“HEY! DON’T TALK ABOUT US LIKE WE AREN’T HERE! AND THIS ISN’T ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS!”

“Oh, go suck an egg, Borelli. Lead the way, Connor.”

“Gladly.”

They’d managed to make it to his car before the, quite honestly delusional, couple(?) realized they were seriously leaving, and Connor was pulling away with them shouting expletives and trying to chase the car on foot. “Thanks Connor, I really appreciate this.”

“Anytime Sarah, seriously. I care about you, you’ve become someone I trust and I want you to be safe and happy. I’ll help to make that happen if you ever need it.” Maybe it was the hormones, the encounter with Jimmy and Chilli, or the day just catching up with her, but she just couldn’t keep the exhaustion and gratitude out of her voice. “Thank you.”

[half-bakedboy]

Pairing: Evan “Buck” Buckley/Eddie Diaz Rated: General Summary: “I’ve recently found myself with a lot of time on my hands and since you don’t seem to have enough to romance someone,” Buck began, settling his drink on the table, “I think it only makes sense for someone to romance you.”

Eddie huffed out a laugh and shot back, “Yeah, and how are you going to find someone willing to put in that effort?”

“Oh, you’re lookin’ at him.”

Or… Eddie gets the romance he deserves in the form of fluff-filled dates with Buck.

For @911fluffweek - day six: “But you love me anyway” // In your lap

(read chapter six on ao3 or start from the beginning)

Eddie found himself to be just as nervous standing on the step to Maddie’s home as he had been those few months ago. Back then, he was terrified of meeting his team’s families and having to somehow keep himself at arm’s length. He glanced over at where Buck gripped his hand tightly and realized just how badly he had failed at that task. 

“You know, you have to knock on the door, Eds,” Buck said, furrowing his eyebrows in equal parts confusion and concern. 

“Deja vu,” Eddie muttered, raising his hand to do just that. Before he could, the door flung open and Maddie stood before them, a wide grin on her face. 

“Little brother!” She shouted and Buck rolled his eyes at the name before wrapping his arms around his sister’s waist and hugging her tightly. Eddie loved the way Buck hugged. He always put his entire body into it, rocking from side to side with his arms enveloping every inch he could. He loved watching Buck hug others and the way their smiles lit up their faces almost as much as he enjoyed being on the receiving end of one of his embraces. 

“Hey, Mads,” he muttered, kissing her hair as he pulled back. “Where’s my favorite goddaughter?” He asked excitedly. Before Eddie could even so much as say hello, he was already making his way into the living room and picking Jee-Yun out of her pack-and-play to blow raspberries into her neck. 

“Has he always been like that?” Eddie asked, giving Maddie a one-armed hug and holding up the bottle of wine he had to insist Buck pick up. He never went to a home empty-handed and Buck never felt like a guest anywhere, so it was a miracle Eddie had convinced him to grab it in the first place. 

“He loves kids. Babies, toddlers, eight-year-olds with cute dads,” Maddie teased, winking at Eddie when he tried to stifle a laugh. “Even when we were teenagers, he was always looking after younger kids. Saving them from bullies, playing with them when they had no friends, sitting with them at family gatherings. It’s probably cause he’s such a kid at heart,” Maddie said, watching her brother fondly as he set Jee-Yun back down and walked over. 

He wrapped his arms around Eddie’s waist before he said, “She’s the cutest baby I’ve ever seen, Maddie. Are you sure she’s yours and Chimney’s?” Maddie smacked him with the towel she had over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. 

“Here I was telling your boyfriend all about how great you are with kids, alluding to what a great dad you’ll be someday,” she said pointedly causing both of them to go wide-eyed, “and you insult me. Little brothers are always so ungrateful.” 

“I’ll be sure to tell Christopher that,” Eddie chuckled. He froze when he realized what he had said and had never been more grateful for a doorbell in his life. 

The rest of the team and their families arrived over the next few minutes and all of Eddie’s nerves washed away just like they had the first time. He was comfortable around his team, around the people he trusted every day with his life, and with much more than that if he was honest with himself. More importantly, Buck was a calming weight beside him that reminded him he wasn’t alone. 

“Howie and I thought it would be fun to do our little version of The Newlywed Game,” Maddie said once everyone had their drink of choice in hand. “So, everyone have a seat…” She gestured around, frowning at what Eddie assumed was the shortage of chairs. 

“I counted out before—” 

“You forgot to include yourself, didn’t you?” Maddie guessed and Chim didn’t say she was wrong. Eddie shrugged and stood behind the comfortable recliner Buck had planted himself in, reaching around to rest his hands on Buck’s shoulders and massaging gently. 

“Hey, that’s okay,” Eddie said quickly, not wanting to be the person that inconvenienced the rest of the party. “I’m totally good with standing and I’ll kick his lazy ass out of the chair if he gets too annoying,” Eddie added when Maddie stared worriedly in his direction. Eddie winked at her as Buck gasped dramatically, tugging on one of Eddie’s hands.

“You wouldn’t dare,” Buck challenged and Eddie wouldn’t admit he was right. “Besides, this chair is absolutely big enough to support the two of us, even if you’ve been eating extra bites of the desserts Christopher and I make when we’re not looking,” Buck accused. 

“No, seriously, Buck, it’s—” He was already tumbling onto Buck’s lap before he could finish his sentence. 

It was awkward at first as his hands flew out to try and grab onto the back of the chair and the armrest when he felt himself start falling. Eddie wasn’t a small guy, by any account. He was just under 200 pounds of muscle from years in the military and kept up with his physique with most mornings spent in the gym or hauling around 60 pounds of gear each day. Suddenly, though, he felt so small. 

Buck wrapped his arms around Eddie’s waist and rested his chin comfortably in the crook between Eddie’s neck and shoulder. He let his legs fall open so that Eddie could slot between them and Eddie let himself form to Buck’s warm body. He leaned into Buck’s touch, resting his own arms on the ones secured around him, and ignored the incredibly pointed gazes of his team.

Chim tossed his hands up in the air and defeatedly said, “Oh, they’re totally going to win.”

He wasn’t wrong, but Eddie attributed that to the fact that out of all of the couples around them, they were the newest. Hen and Karen had been together the longest out of all of the couples, working on ten years of marriage by the time Eddie joined the team. Bobby and Athena had six years under their belt and were just as ‘disgustingly in love’ as the day they met—Chim’s words, not his. He didn’t have much room to talk, though, because he and Maddie were almost at three years and it would take a crowbar to pry them apart when they were together. 

About an hour into the game, Hen made it clear that one of the happy couples would meet their bitter end while Maddie became increasingly more annoyed that Eddie seemed to know more about her brother than she did. 

“Why would you possibly know when Eddie and I had our first kiss?” Buck seethed as Maddie rolled her eyes in frustration. “You didn’t even know when you and your husband had your first kiss!” It was the wrong thing to say and they both knew it as Buck hid his face behind Eddie’s neck. 

Maddie didn’t care as she yelled, “He’s the one who didn’t know! I was right and I know it!” She grabbed a handful of popcorn from the neatly plated platter in between them and tossed it at Buck, effectively only coating Eddie in the snack. He held his hands up in defense just as Chim did. 

“Hey, I was in a hospital bed and I thought we had kissed then. I was on a lot of pain medication, Maddie, you can’t blame me for that!” 

“And you can’t throw food at me because your brother is a coward!” Eddie shot back, wriggling in Buck’s lap when he poked his fingers into Eddie’s sides in retaliation. 

“Can someone read the next question, please?” Bobby said in that commanding tone that had all of them muffling their laughter and ongoing arguments. 

“Alright, Bobby and Athena are up,” Chim said, clapping his hands together. “If you won the lottery, what’s the first thing you’d buy together?” Athena started to write down her answer and Buck attempted to it, leaning over a bit too far considering the space Eddie took up on his lap. Eddie elbowed Buck in the ribs and pulled a face he hoped clearly told him to stop cheating before the team got even angrier at them. Buck pressed a messy kiss to his cheek and pretended he wasn’t even trying to peek. 

“What d’ya say, Cap?” 

“Athena is too smart to let us spend money on anything. It’s going straight into a college fund for Harry and May,” Bobby answered, crossing his arms over his chest smugly. It was called for because Athena turned over her board to reveal the word COLLEGE spelled out in all caps. She cheered and pressed a big kiss to Bobby’s lips. 

“Lucky round, we all knew the answer to that one,” Hen teased, patting Karen’s thigh as she turned toward Chim for their question. “Hit us up, Han. We’re kicking all of your asses,” she commented. 

Buck chimed in, “Except for us!” It was a reminder that literally no one needed and they all glared daggers in Buck’s direction. Eddie didn’t mind the way Buck hid behind him that time. He laced their fingers together, bringing one up to his mouth for a soft kiss as Chim read out the next question. 

“What was the last date that you went on?” Buck stifled his laughter in Eddie’s shoulder the second both Hen and Karen’s eyes widened in panic. Athena was brazen as always and allowed hers to ring loudly over everyone. 

“Oh, c’mon ladies, really?” Athena shouted. Hen glared at her while Karen wrote down—and then crossed out and then wrote something else—on her board. She shook her head guiltily at her wife when the timer buzzed. 

“The reason we’re kicking all of your asses is cause you know the answers to those ridiculous questions about your partner’s childhood pet but can’t even remember when you last got them flowers,” Buck pointed out. The looks on everyone’s faces told Eddie that while he shouldn’t have said it, he was absolutely right. 

“Yeah, well, what was Eddie’s first job, then?” Maddie shot back to which Eddie sighed because Buck knew the answer to that. They had talked about it one night when Eddie was explaining why he enlisted in the army in the first place. 

Buck smirked and answered, “Easy. Technically, he worked construction with his uncle before he turned 18 but he was paid under the table,” he paused for only a moment before finishing, “and he enlisted in the United States Army almost the second he was old enough to.” He held up his hand for a high five but Eddie gauged the looks around him and decided his team already hated him enough for one night. 

“Hen, what’s your answer?” He asked, knowing that out of everyone in the room, Hen would be the one to get him out of the situation he found himself in. She took pity, if only so that they could get their round over with, and took a deep breath with her eyes closed. 

“Alright, I had the day off three weeks ago but Denny was sick and the day off before that was spent getting the foster twins settled…” Hen looked up at the ceiling and let out the breath she was holding slowly. “We went to that Japanese steak house and sushi bar a few months ago?” Karen cheered and flipped her board over revealing what Eddie assumed was the name of the restaurant Hen had been talking about. Karen leaned over and kissed her wife soundly, both of them glaring over at Buck who waved his hand dismissively. 

“Will you stop pissing off our friends, please?” Eddie whispered while Maddie and Chim prepared themselves for their round. Buck shook his head and hiked himself up a little in the chair causing Eddie to immediately panic. He had almost forgotten that the two of them were sharing a damn chair like teenagers who thought they were in love. Eddie made to get up as he said, “Do you need me to—”

Buck grabbed onto his arms and shook his head, smiling softly up at him. “I’m good, just had to reposition. Just let me…” As if Eddie weighed nothing, Buck moved him to a more comfortable position still on his lap and Eddie let out a very embarrassing yelp at the suddenness of the motion. He wasn’t used to being… manhandled, the way Buck had apparently been comfortable with doing. 

“We have a spare bedroom if you two need some privacy,” Maddie offered, gesturing over her shoulder and down the hallway. The entire team groaned in displeasure while Buck flipped her off, but she shrugged and mouthed, The offer still stands, in Eddie’s direction. 

“Babe, pay attention,” Chim began, earning an eyebrow raise from his wife. He grinned at her as he usually did, and asked, “Describe what you first thought of me in one word.” 

“Maddie, now’s your chance to really let him know how you feel,” Buck teased, egging her on with an excited nod of his head. Maddie rolled her eyes in response and as she wrote her answer on the board, she gestured between her and Chim’s heads as if trying to somehow start some telepathic connection. 

“I can’t believe Chim somehow found someone just as strange as he is,” Hen muttered much to the agreement of everyone around them. The couple in question didn’t care, though, because they were too busy staring at each other. Eddie thought it was cute, but apparently, everyone else was ready to get on with the game. 

“Hey, weirdo, what’s your answer?” Bobby shouted and Buck let out a huff of laughter. It was always nice when Bobby let loose a little and he was seemingly at that point if the name he chose said anything. 

“Cute. She thought I was cute,” he answered. Maddie turned her clipboard around slowly, beaming wider each second because she got the answer right. She cheered and pulled Chim into a very full kiss, both of them smiling into it. 

“Alright, boys, we’re three for four this round. You get this right or wrong, you still win, so we’re gonna pick the toughest question,” Hen commented and before Buck could argue, Athena held up a hand and raised her eyebrows at him. It was the easiest way to shut him up and everyone there knew it. 

“Oh, honey, this one. This is the one,” Athena said, laughter already brightening up her voice. Eddie winced even as Buck squeezed the arm still wrapped around his waist a little tighter in reassurance. Maddie let out a loud laugh before she read the next question out loud. 

“Which one of you would Buck say is the most attractive in the relationship?” 

“That is so not a fair question!” Buck whined immediately, grabbing the board from his sister to scribble his answer. 

Eddie eyed him and at Buck’s inquisitive look, he said, “You answered that incredibly quickly.” 

“Hey, no cheating. Eddie, what’s your answer? Who’s more attractive?” Chim asked and then let out a barely contained cackle. “Wait, oh my god, Eddie is either going to say himself which is going to sound extremely narcissistic or Buck is going to have his own name on that board which is the most egotistical answer and man, this question was genius. Athena, I would bow to you if I could.”

Eddie shook his head and glared at his captain’s wife, uncaring that he was there to witness it all. Bobby had a warm smile on his face that Eddie connected to the fact that he was there, with the family he said he wasn’t going to become a part of, laughing and teasing and cuddling up to his boyfriend of almost six months. It wasn’t where Eddie thought he’d be but where Bobby had assumed they’d end up. 

He made a mental reminder to thank Bobby later. 

“The answer is obviously Buck, but before you start with me,” he pointed at Chim accusingly before he continued, “it’s not because either of us are full of ourselves. It’s because he knows that I would never name myself in any situation. He knows we’re both equally attractive—”

“—And have tested it on many occasions!” Buck interjected but Eddie wasn’t about to explain to his team that they had competitions on who could get the most numbers when they went out together. 

“He knows we’re both conventionally attractive men who would possibly fight someone for thinking otherwise but would never actually admit it about ourselves. He also knows that I would just argue with him if he said anything else. So,” he took a deep breath before he finished, “that board says Buck’s name.” 

“I don’t think all of that could fit on a whiteboard, Eds,” Buck teased, but he flipped over the board to reveal his own name. Scribbled underneath was one short sentence, squished in the small space. It said, Because Eddie won’t let me say it’s him.  

He wasn’t sure what came over him, but all of a sudden, Eddie had his arms tossed around Buck’s neck and their lips pressed together passionately, uncaring that his entire team was watching him. He had never had a connection like the one he had with Buck and this stupid game had solidified to Eddie that the fact they knew each other so well wasn’t all in his head. It made every part of Eddie so incredibly happy. 

“Next game night, Buddie stays at home,” Chim said begrudgingly and Eddie didn’t mind that everyone around him agreed. He felt like a teenager again; sitting in the lap of the man he really, really loved, with warm arms wrapped around him, and what felt like a permanent smile on his face. 

“Eh, we’ll just take the guest bedroom next time,” Buck shot back. Eddie blushed darker than he had been already, but he didn’t say anything in return. He just let Maddie and Chim tease, Hen and Karen roll their eyes, and Bobby and Athena watch the people they considered their ‘kids’ enjoy the night together. 

It was as perfect as perfect could get, Eddie thought. Even when he felt his eyes drooping shut at the end of it all, he knew he would wake up to Buck in his bed and the feeling of family and home etched into his heart. He was starting to believe it would never disappear and he held onto it tighter just to be sure. 

[forever--rain]

*hops up and down excitedly* EVER I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ON HERE RN BUT FHDJKSFHA I CAME OUT OF MY CAVE TO SAY SUKKA PLAYLIST!!! DO IT DO IT DO IT I THINK WE ONLY HAVE ONE? ON SPOTIFY WHICH IS A TRAVESTY MAKE ONE PLEASE

BLUE, YOU ARE LITERALLY MY FAVORITE PERSON IN THIS FANDOM. YOU AND YOUR BEAUTIFUL BRAIN. I'M NEVER GOING TO GET OVER THIS ASK.

Footage of me creating this playlist:

Look. You guys know that I love Zutara. But I don't think you all realize that I love Sukka just as much. Their love is so pure and their vibe as a couple is just... *sigh* 💙💚💙💚💙💚 So putting together this playlist was so much fun. I'll put all explanations of songs below the cut because this reply is already long without what comes next (but you should read them because you'll get the full effect of this playlist).

All The Small Things by blink-182

Cross Me (feat. Chance the Rapper & PnB Rock) by Ed Sheeran

I Think He Knows by Taylor Swift

I Like Me Better (Spotify Studios Version) by Lauv

Ho Hey by The Lumineers

Jackie and Wilson by Hozier

Passenger Seat by Death Cab For Cutie

Stand By Me by Florence + The Machine

The Bones - with Hozier by Maren Morris

Yours - Wedding Edition by Russell Dickerson

Send me a playlist title and I’ll give you 5-10 songs I think would go on it!

All The Small Things

She left me roses by the stairs/Surprises let me know she cares

First of all, Suki would. Second of all, I firmly believe that Sokka and Suki would constantly be doing little things to show each other that they care. Sokka would send Suki his drawings and things he's carved for her. Suki would send Sokka little gadgets and pick up fun little accessories for him at the market. They'd leave out snacks for one another. And they would always, always be there to support one another 100% of the time.

Cross Me

Just know, if you cross her, then you cross me

"WHERE. IS. SUKI?"

I rest my case.

I Think He Knows

He's so obsessed with me, and boy I understand/Boy I understand

I love this song for Sokka and Suki because we all know that Sokka throws off major "THAT'S MY WIFE" vibes in regard to Suki. As he should. But if you think that badass, super cool Suki isn't also low-key super into Sokka in the same way you are wrong. She's the type of girl to totally get why he's into her. (Why wouldn't he be? DUH.) But she would also 100% be like, "Check out this hot, goofy genius! HE'S MINE. I LANDED HIM! THAT'S MY HUSBAND!!"

I Like Me Better

To not know who I am but still know that I'm good long as you're here with me//Damn, I like me better when I'm with you

I picked this song because of the influence Suki had on Sokka's character. Their interactions on Kyoshi Island really did change him for the better. Sokka spent so much of the series lost and feeling as though he didn't belong, but Suki brought out the best in him and helped his character evolve. He saw her, this incredible warrior with a heart of gold who wouldn't take his misogynist crap, and started working to be a better person. And I think we can all agree it was awesome to see him come into his own as a strategist and warrior. A large part of that is thanks to Suki. And Sokka would acknowledge that.

Ho Hey

I belong with you, you belong with me/You're my sweetheart

I don't think this choice needs much of an explanation. Just... They belong together, you guys.

Jackie and Wilson

She blows outta nowhere, roman candle of the wild/Laughing away through my feeble disguise/No other version of me I would rather be tonight/And, Lord, she found me just in time//She's gonna save me/Call me "baby"/Run her hands through my hair

Again, I'd like to point back to Sokka and Suki's first meeting. She comes out of nowhere, sees right through him, and it's thanks to her that Sokka changes his views on women (it takes time, of course, and loss, but he gets there). Also, the loss that Sokka experiences with Yue clearly affects his relationship with Suki in Book 2. He has to learn to be comfortable with the fact that Suki can save herself as well as him. And by the time Book 3 rolls around, we see them working together as a seamless team. He knows she has his back and she knows he has hers.

Passenger Seat

When you feel embarrassed/Then I'll be your pride/When you need directions/Then I'll be the guide/For all time

Oh, this song is so subtly Sukka. I hear these specific lines and think of Toph and Aang laughing at Sokka's Suki sand sculpture and Suki being proud of the fact that he even tried. I think of them being each other's compass, guiding light, and level head in stressful situations. They are so steady for and so true to one another. And I'm not crying, you're crying.

Stand By Me

If the sky that we look upon/Should tumble and fall/Or the mountains should crumble to the sea/I won't cry, I won't cry/No, I won't shed a tear/Just as long as you stand, stand by me

I chose this song because of how Sokka and Suki make one another stronger. They bolster each other. They face down certain death in the knowledge that their partner has their back and that's a beautiful thing. (Also, Florence Welch's voice on this track is incredibly emotive and intensifies the Sukka feels.)

The Bones

When there ain't a crack in the foundation/Baby, I know any storm we're facing/Will blow right over while we stay put/The house don't fall when the bones are good

This is my quintessential Sukka song. I always think of them older, maybe ten years after the war, when I hear this song. The two of them are as unshakeable as they've ever been. Was their first meeting great? No. But they grew together and formed something solid and real. I'm not one to advocate for childhood sweethearts or high school sweethearts (which is what they would've been in a "normal" storyline), but my god. These two would've been the teenage sweethearts who made it. They'd still be super into one another at 85 and just as in love as they'd ever been. If they had trials, they would've only pulled through stronger. These are two people who are capable of seeing past first impressions and loving one another for their true selves and... UGH. I LOVE them, okay?

Yours

I was one in a hundred billion/A burned out star in a galaxy/Just lost in the sky, wonderin' why/Everyone else shines out but me//But I came to life when I first kissed you/The best me has his arms around you/You make me better than I was before/Thank God I'm yours

Sokka said it himself: Compared to the others in the group, he didn't feel special because they could all bend and he couldn't. He lost his boomerang and had an identity crisis. That's the boy Suki met on Kyoshi Island--the boy who felt inferior to his little sister and to the Avatar; the boy who had to put on a false facade of bravado because he was scared... The boy who thought that it was a man's job to be the protector. The boy who thought a girl couldn't kick his ass purely because she was a girl.

Our girl ignited that change in him. Sokka knows full well what Suki's influence has done for him and he adores her for it. He's grateful for her impact on his life and he's obviously blown away by the fact that she loves him. You can tell it's the kind of relationship where he realized that if he was going to be worthy of her, he needed to prove it to her because she knew her worth. She wouldn't settle for a guy who thought she was inferior to him--she wanted someone who would see her as an equal. By the end of the series, she's his partner in every respect. He proves to her that he trusts her to have his back, that he trusts her judgement, that he trusts her in general.

Sokka knows that he's the best version of himself with Suki. He would 100% spend the rest of his life in awe of the fact that she loves him and that he's landed this miracle of a woman who has always seen him as an equal--even when he didn't feel equal to anyone else because he couldn't bend.

[emptysatellite]

breaking and entering according to hy + gar-bear

Ao3

one.

“This is a horrible idea.”

“No, it’s genius.”

Hyacinth was skipping ahead in the moonlit field while Gareth just mopped in amazement. It was midnight and they were at the one place they shouldn’t be; Clair House.

They were only there because of that stupid journal Hyacinth was translating. Gareth’s grandmother, Isabella, had written it throughout her entire marriage, when she moved to England with her new husband. The journal was written in Italian, a language Gareth couldn’t understand in the slightest, leaving Hyacinth to translate for him (although, as she made clear, she was not fluent). Most of the entries centered around Isabella’s daily life, but Hyacinth discovered a secret; a little while before her death, Isabella hid diamond jewelry in the house so her money hungry and gambling-obsessed son couldn’t sell them.

Once Hyacinth found this out, she rushed to Gareth’s, demanding they go to his father’s property at once. Lucky for them, Mr. St. Clair was out of town on a hunting trip, leaving the house completely empty.

“Hyacinth,” he attempted to reason with her, “we could get in trouble for this. Like real, legal trouble. Trespassing and breaking and entering are crimes.”

“Good thing my brother’s a lawyer. Anthony would defend us, no questions asked,” she retorted, hiding behind a tree to get a good look at the dark house.

“I think there would be lots of questions asked, Hyacinth. Lots of questions asked,” he leaned against a nearby tree, although completely in sight of any passerbys.

“I don’t think so. I’m Anthony’s favorite sister.”

“I don’t think that matters in the court of law… Aren’t you studying law? Shouldn’t you know this?”

“I’m studying politics and international relations, actually,” she tore herself away from the tree, strolling closer to the house. “Do you have a key to this place?”

“No.”

“What? Why not?” she froze in place.

“I don’t live here, why would I have a key?”

“I don’t know, you used to live here so I just assumed,” Hyacinth whisper-yelled, turning back to him. She gave Gareth a pointed look, “how are we supposed to break in if we don’t have a key?”

“We could break a window like they do in all those karate movies.”

“This isn’t a karate movie, Gareth! Besides, we can’t break a window; the neighbors might hear something and call the cops!”

“Like the neighbors wouldn’t call the police if they saw two suspicious individuals go through the front door when they know my dad lives alone and is out of town.”

Groaning, she said, “well, do you know anyone we could get a key from?”

“My grandmother, maybe?” he suggested, his calm exterior crumbling upon meeting her angry gaze.

“Professor D?” she demanded.

“I’m sure. She has a collection of keys from homes and apartments she doesn’t live in.”

“Perfect,” Hyacinth gave him a wide smile of pearly white teeth. “I’ll call her tomorrow morning and get the keys by lunch so that we can both come back at nightfall.”

“Aren’t we going on a date tomorrow night?” asked Gareth.

“Oh right! Well, we’ll come here after our date, then.”

There was no point arguing; when Hyacinth’s mind was made up there was no use debating it. They’d be back tomorrow, no doubt in Gareth’s mind.

two.

“God, I love your grandmother.”

“More than me, apparently.”

“Oh, knock it off,” Hyacinth gave Gareth a light shove, playing with Professor Danbury’s key to Clair House in her free hand.

“I wore the cologne you like to dinner and you still wanted to come here to find some stupid diamonds instead of back to my apartment,” he replied.

“Okay, well, three things. First, diamonds are not stupid, they’re my best friends. Second, I love the cologne you wore to dinner, it smells so Gar-bear St. Clair. And third, I still want to go back to your apartment, but when we get the diamonds,” she explained, taking a tangle of manila rope out of her bookbag, with a (seemingly) heavy rock tied to an end.

Her whole statement was questionable. Gareth barely knew how to respond. “Gar-bear?” is what he finally managed. “What is that ?”

Hyacinth laughed, covering her mouth with her hand in order not to wake the neighbors. “It’s your nickname,” she said at last. “Isn’t it cute? I think so. I came up with it last night, when I was making this!”

She pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of the pocket of her leather jacket. “Read it and weep,” she thrust it into his hands.

“ Breaking and entering according to Hy and Gar-bear? ” he demanded. “What the fuck , Hyacinth?”

“I’ve done loads of research on breaking into houses. I’m practically an expert,” Hyacinth replied, throwing the rope up onto the balcony with a huff. “I just thought I should add your name too, even though you didn’t contribute because we’re partners. Get it? We’re partners in crime .”

“Har-har,” his response was much more sarcastic than intended, “disrupting the peace is so funny.”

“We’re not disrupting the peace,” Hyacinth rolled her eyes. She added, “I can’t believe I’m stuck with you.”

“For better or worse.”

“Little early to be saying that, don’t you think, Bud?”

“Nope, your face is adorable.”

“Damn, you know flattery gets you everywhere with me.”

“I know.”

“Climb up the rope.”

“Wait, what?” he was shaken out of the blind flirtation. “You want me to climb that?”

“Of course,” said Hyacinth. “That’s why I brought it. I thought you’d be too wuss to scale the building, so I thought the rope might help.”

“Is it even secure?” Gareth asked, glancing upwards, for any sign (or omen) he should not pull himself up the rope because it was a risk to his health. “Like, will that rock support our weight?”

“Yes; I wouldn’t tell you to do something if I didn’t think it was safe. And the rock should support us… I tried like five other rocks before picking this one.”

“You’ve… already tried this?”

“Obviously.”

“How heavy is the rock?”

“Not sure.”

“Why are we climbing up to the balcony, anyway?”

“To go through the balcony door. Duh.”

“Why can’t we just go through the side door. No one would see us.”

“No one would see us go through the balcony door, either.”

“But going through the balcony door seems more complicated.”

“You know, we’re spending all this time arguing when you could just climb the damn rope and we could find the damn diamonds.”

“No.”

“Do you want me to go first?”

“Yes, that would make me feel better.”

Without another word, Hyacinth caught the rope, pulling herself up in a way that vividly reminded Gareth of secondary school physical education class. Still, she made it to the balcony.

“See, it’s totally safe!” she called down. “Now, come on.”

“I don’t know, I’m still nervous, Hy!” he replied.

“I’m holding the rope tight,” promised Hyacinth, “I won’t drop it!”

“If you drop it, we’re breaking up and I’m suing you.”

“Noted. I won’t drop you.”

And she didn’t. Gareth was able to scamper up the rope safely to see Hyacinth’s wide grin at the top.

“I told you that’d you’d be fine,” she said.

“Yeah, yeah,” he waved a hand dismissively. “You wanna do the honors?”

Hyacinth nodded, taking the key out of her pocket. Carefully, she put it in the deadbolt, twisting it unlocked, then doing the same with the door lever. “Aha!” she exclaimed, opening the windowed door. “It worked!”

three.

“Old Dicky may be an arsehole, but he has good taste in books.”

“Never once in my whole childhood did I ever see Richard in the library.”

“Well, then Grandpa St. Clair had good taste in books.”

“Right-o.”

“Hm,” Hyacinth ran her fingers along the book spines. “So much Shakespeare.”

“God, I hate Shakespeare,” said Gareth, fumbling with his flashlight.

“Literally stop. We’re breaking up. Right now,” she replied, turning her nose up. She sneezed.

“Bless you.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“I have dust allergies, just so you know.”

“Good to know.”

“Now, Isabella wrote that the diamonds ―or another set of clues that will lead us to the diamonds―should be in the place where the imagination can run wild,” Hyacinth said, “so I assumed it was the library. What do you think?”

“It could also be the nursery,” suggested Gareth, “because my brother and I would play there all the time; I assume Dick and Uncle Ed would have done the same.”

“That’s true,” she scribbled a note on her arm. “We’ll check the nursery after we finish here.”

“Hyacinth?”

“Yes?”

“It’s going to take us forever to go through here,” Gareth said, spreading his arms for dramatic effect.

Hyacinth seemed to think on this for a brief moment, tapping her marker against her chin. “Hm,” she finally replied, “it won’t take forever if we get started now.”

“Capital plan,” he commented, rolling his eyes.

“I know right,” she retorted. “Besides, even if we tear this room up, we can just leave it; we’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, too?”

“Of course. We’re not resting until we find these damn diamonds.”

“Dick is coming home in less than a week.”

“We’ll just have to be very thorough and efficient then,” she replied. “Now, do we want to start by ripping the books off of their shelves? Or go through all the drawers and cabinets by the desk?”

“I’ll do the desk and you do the shelves.”

“Works with me.”

They went to work, flashlights glowing in the dark library. They didn’t talk, concentration ruling their motions.

“I think I found something!” Hyacinth called, after less than an hour of searching.

“What?” Gareth replied, looking up from the stack of dust-covered papers he was flipping through.

“Hold on, I’m translating,” she paused. She looked up at him, saying, “basically, the hint is that the diamonds are in a washroom.”

“There are five washrooms in this house!” he groaned, collapsing onto the nearest chair.

and four.

“We’re literally going to jail. We’re going to spend the night ―and probably quite a few nights―in jail! ”

“It’s okay, Anthony will defend us in court. Simon will too, I’m sure; I’m his favorite sister-in-law. He got me a miniature pony for my sixteenth birthday, you know.”

“Hyacinth, I’m glad you and Simon and Anthony have good relationships, but we’re still going to jail! ”

“Lower your voice, you’ll upset the cop,” Hyacinth shushed Gareth, placing a finger on his lips.

“I think the cop is already upset,” he replied, grumpily, “because he just arrested us for breaking into my father’s mansion and we didn’t even find the diamonds.”

“Okay, to start, Richard is not your father ―” she started, waving her hand dismissively.

“Believe me, he’s made that clear―” Gareth interrupted.

“But Edward is.”

He blinked. “What?”

“Edward is your dad.”

“Edward? As in my uncle Edward ?” demanded Gareth.

“No, as in your dad Edward,” Hyacinth replied.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course I am.”

“Uncle Ed was my dad?”

“Yes, didn’t you hear what I said?”

“I did,” he breathed in amazement, “I just―it’s hard to believe.”

“You can come to therapy with me, if you want,” Hyacinth suggested. “I have my weekly sessions on Wednesdays.”

“Honestly, I might have to take you up on that offer…”

“There’s no shame in it. My therapist is the best, I’ve been working with her for years.”

“Nice, nice.”

“Oh! I forgot to add,” she reached into her jacket, pulling a trinket ―no not a trinket, a necklace, bracelet, and set of earrings―out of her pocket, “we did find the diamonds.”

“Holy shit!” exclaimed Gareth.

“Shh, the cop will hear,” she mumbled, untangling the jewelry from one another.

“I just… Hy, you’re amazing!”

“I know,” she flipped her hair with her free hand, “I’m told all the time.”

“Where did you find it?”

“In Clair House. Duh.”

“No, I meant , where in Clair House?”

“Under a floorboard in the nursery washroom. When we split up and you were in the master washroom.”

“We’re here, hooligans,” the policeman peered at the couple through the rearview mirror.

Hyacinth locked eyes with Gareth, slowly putting the diamond jewelry back into her jacket. She smiled at him and he returned a favor.

Still, they spent the night in jail.