#One minute activity game for kids and adults

[hoshigray]

It’s been almost a year, and I still can’t get ex-husband! Toji out of my head…

꯳⃘꤫⃛✿ contents: Toji x afab/fem! reader - explicit content; minors DNI - anal - backshots/doggy style position - fingering (f! receiving) - clitoral play (swiping) - [un]protected sex - creampie - pet names (baby, mama, sweet thing) - Toji loving on your body, even though he shouldn't be - mention of excess cum.

“What in the world are you doing?”

“What’s it look like I’m doin’?”

Tsumiki and Megumi weren’t at the house yet — the children were still busy at school with extracurricular activities. Ex-husband! Toji, the dutiful and responsible adult he is, swore to pick his kids up once the hour hand reaches the sixth hour and the minutes nearly touch the thirtieth number. In the meantime, he stays at your home, where you call up a pizza dinner order for the children to eat after a long day before returning home with their father. However, while the youngsters are away, the black-haired man takes the time to do what he does best: pester you with his company. 

“Like you’re about to stick your dick in my ass.”

“And if I am?” He sneers, teeth peaking under the deft scar of his lips. “Y’re the one that said y’r pussy’s off-limits.”

You lift your brow as your ex-spouse spreads your legs, sitting with his knees atop your bed in your room in your abode. Do you really want to be doing this, letting this brawny man strip you off your bottoms and unzip his jeans to free the erection poking under his boxers? You have to bite your lip to conceal the smirk you share with him, watching him rip the wrapper he pulls out from a pocket and screen his cock with a rubber. 

“And why are we doing this again?” Forest green eyes flick from your lower region to your face, having to suck in the gasp creeping into your neck. 

He scoffs, “Because we’re killin’ time.” Wrong: You were already killing time by reading and replying to emails on your bed, under the impression that this grown man before you could spend his leisure time watching sports highlights or something in your living room. Clearly, Toji had a different proposition. “What, can’t spend a few minutes with ya while the kids are away?”

You roll your eyes with a smile. “Last time you tried to spend a few minutes with me—“ A cold sensation near your entrance has you pucker involuntarily, Toji pushing the covered glans of his cock. “We missed Tsumiki’s soccer game by thirty minutes.”

“Still made it, didn’t we?” 

Had to fight rolling your eyes the second time. “Only one time.” You hit him on the back with your foot when he grins. “One time. And don’t—Mmmph!” Finally, the cockhead is inserted into your hole, stretching it with his girth as he pushes it inch by inch carefully. “…Make a mess, either.”

And you know he heard you perfectly well, a curt nod and a whisper before seizing your lips with his, “Yes, mama.” Sure, he can be a bit of a hard-headed dickhead, but his attentiveness is as strong as a titanium. Therefore, you can instantly trust him — an ex-lover you would depend on and rely on if it could come to it, and of course, you’d do the same for him and his kids. 

…But not as strong as his playful stubbornness as the man drills his raw cock inside your ass. 

“Dahhh!! Ahhh, fuck…God, this ass…!”

“Nnnmm! T-Toji, I said ONE time!!”

You should’ve known it would end up like this — the two of you were already glued to each other from the excess amount of come that coated his dick, burrowing to and fro from the innards of your rear channel. His firm hands grab hold of the flesh of your butt, and you can only grip the sheets beneath you while your face is smooshed to your pillow. 

God, you had a feeling this would happen, knowing that your ex-husband is the type to get all riled up like this and steer off course. Would’ve been best had you put your foot down when you had the chance; however, it’s too late now that you’re mewling under his bow, all desperate from his balls smacking onto your skin. 

“Good God, baby,” he exhales with a smile, massaging your butt in loving kneads, observing how his girth disappears inside you. Fuck, you looked too good, making his whole body itch with want. “Can never get over this sweet ass of y’rs.”

“Tojiiii…!!” His name leaves with shrills; you sense him bending down to your ear, and the added weight of him from behind makes you feel caged and submissive. “Shtoop it, we can’t…! Gotta st—Ooop!”

“Y’don’t want me doin’ that, sweet thing,” he murmurs to your ear, breath hot to your cold helix and lobe. “Can tell ya want this just as much as I do with—shit—how twitchy y’re bein’ right now…And, maybe here…Heh, thought so,” his chuckle, so close to you, has you moan with flat lips after he sneaks a hand in between your thighs to palm your vulva, fingertips teasing the lips of your vagina and feeling it pulse at the touch. “Can tell how excited y’ are fr’ me. Y’re twitchin’ so much, baby.”

“—Mmmff, b-because, you’re making—Hnnmm!!” You nearly wobble at his fingertips swirling circles around your clit, trembles forcing you to quake as he gently pinches and swipes the pearl. While Toji drives his length slowly yet precise, the tip grazing your wall so much you howl cutely. “F-Fuuuck, so good, Toji…right there, right thereee…!”

Toji coos, “Shhh, relax, baby,” kissing your ear as his fingers glide to your folds; you can’t stop spasming, so many senses putting you through an overload! “Right here, sweetheart? Ya want me here?” The tip of his forefinger taunts the opening of your cunt, and you can’t take it anymore!

“Oh fuck, yesss,” you turn over your shoulder to plead. “Please, stick them innn, g-gonna cum, wanna cum on your fingers!!” 

Oh, that dialed Toji’s excitement more than expected, slipping his digit into your slick, and you scream aloud. “There you go, mama…” A free hand grabs your chin so he can claim your lips. You pepper him with kisses enthusiastically, your mouth agape for him to shove his tongue to dance with yours. All the while, his thick finger scrapes around to scratch your texture, and the pace of his pelvis grows staggering. 

With every rushed push and grind is another wiggle inside your chasm, struggling to hold your balance on your palms as the shocks become irresistible with more clamps of your asshole. You release, your body shackling with the wave of pleasure and your nerves keen to the highest point. You can’t stop whimpering, so overstimulated almost to the brink of tears.

And Toji is right there with you, feeling you squeeze him with your holes and whining as he sucks on your tongue and nibbles on it with sportive intent. You felt too good to him, clenching onto him like you could never let go, so it’s no wonder he’s seconds away from climaxing alongside you. Hot groans fill your space, passionate saliva keeping you both stuck as he pumps his load into your fluttering anus once again.

Tense bodies fall into tranquility as the seconds go by, and the trembles subside, smacking lips with each other as if lost in desire. Until you remove away from his scarred mouth with a hum, shamrock eyes hooded like yours before a fit of laughter is shared.

“You done now?” You inquire as noses brush up. 

Toji lifts a brow and looks to the side, faux pondering before smacking a rut to your butt again. “Mm, not really.”

“Oh, for God’s sake, Toji!” You move to push him off you, yet you underestimate how easily he can maneuver you to your back. “Go pick the kids up so they can eat and go home!”

“They’re grown enough to wait on me,” he snickers and cages your hands above your head. “As fr’ me, I don’t got another two weeks to wait.”

No bothering hiding your annoyance in your eyes, even if you permit him to kiss you again. “Hopeless as ever.”

He chortles. “Y’re one to talk.”

© HOSHIGRAY2024 – reblogs and comments are appreciated wholeheartedly ⊹ dividers by @animatedglittergraphics-n-more.

[songmingisthighs]

your child called txt 'dad'

group : txt

pairing : txt (individual) × single mom!reader

genre : fluff

wc : 2.4 k

warning : kids being kids and txt being txt don't talk to me i am so soft for soobin rn and this is the start of my descent into absolute insanity because what the fuck

a/n : aight i might open request for reactions for both txt and ateez but i might have to work some things out first bc this is hella fun ngl

buy me coffee ?

soobin

Your son was uncharacteristically quiet. Usually, when your boyfriend, Soobin, is around, he's a regular chatterbox but not this time. While you noticed it since the day before, Soobin noticed it the minute he walked through the front door and asked for his regular hug that your son gave half-heartedly. It didn't worry you but it saddened Soobin a lot because he truly loves the boy. However, since he was about to go on tour, the next day, he figured he had to be the adult and just try to work through the boy's sulkiness.

From the moment Soobin arrived, he was determined to make your son, his best bud, go back to his usual giggly self. Hours spent on different activities that started indoors with stupid board games to Soobin trying (and failing miserably) to copy Taehyun's card tricks, and even outdoors to get ice cream from the convenience store (which was an excuse because he totally forgot to buy a travel size toothpaste and he needed to buy one while he still remembered). But absolutely nothing seemed to make your son crack a smile, his lips were in a permanently pursed form and his eyebrows furrowed. It was an understatement to say that Soobin was devastated because while your son was out in the living room, you and Soobin scurried to the kitchen so the giant of a man could bury his face in your stomach and let out a muffled scream while you held yourself from squirming, squealing, or even punching him due to being ticklish.

"Did you have fun with Soobinnie today, bud?" you asked as you scooped some food on your son's plate before moving to scoop food for Soobin who was on the other side of your son while you were at the head of the table. You could see your son peeking at Soobin from his bangs momentarily before nodding, quietly eating his food. It was almost comical how you started the day with one boy pouting and now you have two boys at your dining table. The fact that they looked so similar was hecking adorable though.

"You know, Soobin really wanted to spend the day with you having fun because we're not going to see him for a while because he has a tour. Remember the last time Binnie went on tour? He wanted to be able to play with you before he left because he's going to miss you," you tried reasoning with your son, hoping to at least get him to crack and pay attention to Soobin. But much to your and Soobin's surprise, your son finally looked up at you and then at Soobin with tears streaming down his face and bottom lip quivering as his tiny nose sniffled, "I don't want daddy to go," he whimpered before wailing, arms outstretched at Soobin, asking to be held.

Immediately, Soobin took your son in his arms and hugged him tightly, looking at you with eyes swimming in emotion. He didn't know how to react nor what to react to first, the fact that your son didn't wanna see him off or the fact that your son called him dad. The rest of the night they refused to be separated and honestly you wouldn't be surprised if Soobin bought your son a ticket to visit him while he was on tour. Just your son though.

yeonjun

"How can you say no to this? Baby, we're gonna be fucking adorable!" Yeonjun shrieked, following after you who was trying to evade him by going to the kitchen. Your eyes widened and you instinctively turned around and slapped Yeonjun on his arm after he cussed. Yeonjun's eyes widened and he too turned around to see the 3-year-old in pigtails looking up at him with her adorable eyes. "I mean, freaking," he chuckled nervously.

Going back to you, Yeonjun fell to his knees and hugged your legs, preventing you from walking away. "Yeonjun," you huffed, looking down at him, "Let me go." But Yeonjun shook his head, "Not until you said yes to either one of my ideas," he demanded, glaring up at you with determination. "For the last time, we are not going as Shrek, Fiona, and the little green ogre baby to your company's Halloween party!" You exclaimed exasperatedly. "And I told you we can go as Marlin, Dory, and Nemo!" He argued back. As if on cue, your daughter trod over to you and hugged your legs like Yeonjun with a giggle, "Nemo!" She exclaimed, grinning widely. "See? The little miss gets me," Yeonjun said, winking at the girl before pecking her on her cheek.

You do think that the three of you would be adorable in a group costume and you do think it would just be the best to see Yeonjun and your daughter together. You might actually look like a family even though you're not.

"Wait, if we go by Nemo," Yeonjun squealed through sealed lips in excitement only to stop when you gave him a look, "Are you Marlin or Dory? Because Little miss there is mine so I should be Marlin, right?" "What? Of course not, you're Dory, duhh," Yeonjun scoffed as he got up, feeling like he won because you were indulging him in the conversation. "Why am I Dory?" "Because you forget things all the time? Like you still haven't gotten milk so this morning I ate my cereal with americano," the look on your face only made Yeonjun nod, "Yeah, it was disgusting." Hearing the word, your daughter chimed in as she shook her head, "Yucky 'sreal."

"Whatever. Because of that, I'm not going as Dory or even Fiona. I'm Marlin or bust," you huffed, crossing your arms in front of your chest. Yeonjun was about to say something when your daughter screeched, "Mommy, no! Mommy Dory, daddy Marlin!" her cheeks were puffed as she clung onto Yeonjun's leg to make a point, startling you. While you were surprised, Yeonjun was simply amused, liking the sound of her calling him dad. He scooped her in his arms and bounced her slightly, "See? Daddy's little munchkin said daddy's Marlin so, boohoo mommy," he cackled turning to make his way to the living room with your daughter, leaving you baffled in the kitchen.

beomgyu

As a demon child himself, Beomgyu understood how you couldn't find a babysitter for your own demon child on such short notice. So of course, without thinking (at all) twice, Beomgyu offered to watch the little ankle biter (literally, Yeonjun's leg still has the mark) until you're finished with... Whatever important thing you had to handle. You mumble a lot when Beomgyu's daydreaming and he doesn't know why you do that when you end up scolding him for not listening. Knowing that Beomgyu has a rather special and unusual effect on your son (aka he's the only one who's able to calm him down), you decided why the hell not.

Somehow Beomgyu had managed to convince your son that he had a treasure buried in his room and the broom would make a loud beeping noise once he found it. Safe to say your son has been diligently sweeping Beomgyu's room while he and Soobin played a computer game. At least he's still paying attention to the boy. "No, no! Buddy, we don't go in the closet because..." Beomgyu trailed off, trying to think about something that would prevent the boy from ransacking the whole thing, "You'll leave your scent and the monster from the closet dimension can track you down when you go home?" Even Soobin was paying attention to see if your son would buy his bullshit. Thankfully, the boy gasped and immediately scrambled to Beomgyu's lap, "No, not the monster!" he whined, hugging Beomgyu tightly as he buried his face on Beomgyu's shoulder. Beomgyu couldn't help but chuckle and pat the boy gently on the head, loving how adorable he was and how absolutely similar they both were. Then again your son is 3 and Beomgyu has the same mental age, so...

"For someone who's able to come up with that L-I-E," Soobin peered down to see if the boy could understand his spelling only to see him furrowing his eyebrows at Soobin, "You suck at thinking on your feet in this game," he pointed out. Beomgyu scoffed and kicked Soobin's chair slightly, "Because I got you as a teammate, you're a bum!" he said. Determined to prove the other wrong, Beomgyu and Soobin soon found themselves in a fierce one-on-one battle while the little boy was perched on Beomgyu's lap, slumping as if Beomgyu was a couch as he sipped on his juice box. His eyes were darting between Beomgyu, Soobin, and their laptops, the colours and the clicking sound absolutely hypnotized him.

It wasn't until Beomgyu screeched loudly that the boy even noticed that he had lost to Soobin who was sporting a very smug smirk on his face. "Face it dude, you suck," Soobin teased. Your son looked between the smirking Soobin and the sulking Beomgyu before he puffed up his cheeks and reached over to slap Soobin wherever his hand could reach. "Daddy don't suck, Binnie sucks!" he huffed loudly, snarling at the shocked giant. Hearing how your son called him dad and was defending him, Beomgyu's defeated look was changed to a satisfied grin. Knowing how successful his babysitting was, Beomgyu was determined to share every single bit of detail so he can rub his success on your face.

"Yah! Beomgyu, help! He's biting my arm!" Soobin shrieked.

Well, maybe he could spare some details.

taehyun

It was supposed to be date night for you two. You had planned it down to the underwear Taehyun was going to take off of you but your daughter got sick out of the blue. She was fine in the morning when you confirmed your date with Taehyun on the phone but an hour before Taehyun was supposed to arrive with Kai and Yeonjun, your daughter caught a fever. While it sucked for you, it sucked for the little girl too because she was promised a cupcake frosting station back at the dorm. You had been so busy with your daughter that you forgot to tell Taehyun until he came knocking on your door.

"Taehyun, are you sure this is okay?" you were on the verge of another breakdown, feeling bad for making Taehyun stay in and also feeling dejected that you didn't get to go somewhere without a playground. But Taehyun just smiled gently, placing his coat on the armrest of your couch before enveloping you in a hug, gently kissing the side of your head as he spoke gently, "Hey, the whole point of date night is spending time together, are we not doing that?" And with that, you broke down sobbing again because of how sweet he was being. "If you're gonna cry, go cry in the kitchen, I'll get her back to bed," before you could ask what he meant, a cough and a tiny voice called out for you, "Mama?" Immediately, Taehyun let you go and rushed over to scoop the girl into his arms, "Hey there cutie, I heard you're sick, huh?" Taehyun asked gently. At the question, your daughter nodded her head slowly as she looked at Taehyun before she peeked at you and looked back at Taehyun as if asking what was wrong with you. Taehyun simply smiled and shook his head, "Don't worry about mama, okay? Let me put you back in bed," he was about to carry her off to her room when she squirmed and shook her head with a pout on her face. Looking down, Taehyun saw your daughter pointing at your room with glassy eyes and quivering bottom lip. Chuckling, Taehyun nodded and brought her to your room where her blanket was laid out in the middle of your bed, putting her down and tucking her with a peck to her forehead.

After you regain your emotions, you manage to immediately jump to your daughter's aid with Taehyun. It was a good thing too because apparently a sick child is a two-person job and Taehyun counted as three on his own. It amazes you how he was able to take care of your daughter well, knowing just what to give her and how to get her to eat and stay still as you flush the snot out of her nose. Despite her crying, wailing, and kicking, Taehyun managed to stay calm the whole time and even gave your daughter little praises whenever she managed to do what she was asked to. By the end, your daughter was clinging onto Taehyun with a cold patch on her forehead, her head rested on Taehyun's sturdy chest and her mouth agape. You couldn't help but take a picture of the absolutely endearing sight.

It was around 8 o'clock when your daughter finally calmed down and you both realized that you hadn't eaten dinner yet. "You go change into something less snotty, maybe wash the puke off your hair, and I'll order us some food, how's that?" Taehyun teased. Though you rolled your eyes at him, you nodded and left with a peck to his lips. As a man with taste and consideration, Taehyun decided to order something for not only you two but something your daughter can also snack on in case she woke up hungry and didn't want to finish her porridge. Taehyun was in the middle of placing the order in the delivery app on his phone when he heard tiny sniffles and sobs coming from behind. He snapped his head back only to see your daughter sitting up and crying. Her hands were outstretched towards him and her fingers made grabby motions, asking to be picked up. "Papa," she whimpered. If the crying child didn't melt his heart, him being called papa absolutely crushed him.

When you came back from your short shower, you were surprised to see your daughter draped over Taehyun's chest with her blanket covering her body and Taehyun scrolling on his phone. Sensing the attention, Taehyun shifted his gaze to you and grinned with a finger to his lips, "I've ordered something for us but I think you might have to go get it later," he explained. When you got closer to them, Taehyun grabbed your hand gently and he grinned so wide you were afraid that his face was going to split in half, "And she called me papa," he giggled, feeling happy which made you feel happy for him too.

huening kai

Honestly, you don't know why you agreed to Kai's suggestion in the first place. It wasn't that you don't like being in public with him, especially with staff around and his band members running around everywhere because you do. His members are some of the funniest people you've ever met and his job requires him to always be with staff so you acclimated because you love him. The same goes for how he acclimated with you and your son. Kai is a person with a big heart, he just wanted to have the people he loved around and get along well. Which wasn't hard at all because your usually shy-with-strangers son was suddenly being carried like a sack of flour by Yeonjun and you didn't even have to worry because Kai was there telling his hyung to be careful.

Within an hour, the initial doubt about your attendance at TXT's jacket photoshoot was scrubbed clean off your mind. Sure, it wasn't the first time you all met together with your son, but you were there to witness them working. You thought your son was going to hinder the work there but as it turns out, the staff loves him. Moreover, the staff loves him with Kai who insisted on spending as much moving time as he could spare with your son. Not only him, but the rest of the members seemed to like your little boy. You could only grin at the sight of your son playing with the members whilst waiting for directions.

During their group shoots, your son would sit by your side with his legs tapping impatiently. Kai seemed to speak the same language as your son, somehow managing to get the boy to sit quietly until Kai told him he could move around. You wanted to know what exactly he said. While it would be very out of character, you couldn't help but conclude that it's most likely a form of threat. It's not that you were judging or restricting Kai, you wanted to know so you could use it too. But then again, you didn't want to disturb whatever they have, it's better that it's just between them.

One thing you noticed most was the way your son was so intrigued with the wardrobe. While he stuck by Kai's side like glue in general, you noticed how he seemed to be very interested in Kai's jacket. While Kai was retouching his makeup, your son would play around with the material; tugging on it gently, putting it over his head, and even slipping himself between Kai and the material. When Kai went over to do his solo shoots, your son could only follow after him and stood by, watching your boyfriend work in pure awe.

You seemed to have lost track of time and attention because before you knew it, you heard your son squealing and running to the set but this time with a jacket and hair styled similar to Kai's. You thought that people would be mad and that your boyfriend would scold your innocent little rascal. But he laughed and crouched down with arms opened wide, happily gathering your boy in his arms and spinning him around. "Look, I look just like daddy!" Your son giggled, showing off the jacket he was wearing whilst tugging on the jacket Kai was wearing. You must've only expected the worst-case scenarios because while you thought that Kai would be embarrassed, you only saw him beam and wave at the photographer, asking for a couple of shots of them together for his phone wallpaper.

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[artsninspo]

FORGIVELESS - EPILOGUE - IT'S ALL LOVE 🩵

Full Masterlist

FINALE CHAPTER

RIO MASTERLIST

Pairing: Rio (Good Girls) X Reader

Word Count: ~1.1K

Dedications: To all of you who commented and made this story feel like an active community. This happily ever after is dedicated to you 🩵

9 YEARS LATER

Leaning into your vanity you squint your eyes to assess your makeup blending skills. You’re completely out of practice these days. Your music stops playing and you see Tias name flash across the phone’s screen.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes. I hope you’re ready!” She shouts over her blaring car stereo.

“Almost!” You respond, blending out your concealer.

“Alright see you soon” she shouts and you shake your head as your first born enters your bedroom. Time has blown by and it amazes you everytime you look at him how much your baby has grown. Taking all of the best parts from you and his father.

“You look pretty,” he smiles, charming as ever.

“Thank you baby” you smile, kissing his cheek and leaving a lipstick mark. He leaves it there when you go to wipe it off before laying one on you.

“But you’re gonna be back in the morning to see my soccer game right?” He asks for the third time tonight.

“Wouldn’t miss it” you promise.

“Okay, I’m going to bed now.” he nods, giving you a warm hug, nuzzling into your neck like the spoiled overgrown baby he is when his dad isnt looking.

“Sleep tight, champ” you smile, squeezing your eight year old tight.

“Love you” he says first.

“Love you too” you smile blowing him a kiss. Setting your face you remove your robe to reveal your outfit for girls night. The one you didn’t ask for but were roped into. Apparently your friends and family were tired of nights in and wanted to be outside again with you. For the sake of peace you’ve agreed. Dressed and ready you head downstairs where you find your husband with your newest edition awake in his arms and your twins out cold on the couch. His eyes drink you in the same as always, the eternal flame of desire in your relationship is too hot to burn out.

“Dont look at me like that, I have to leave soon” you warn, making him smile.

“You made mama even more gorgeous” Rio says standing with your youngest daughter, a nine month old chunk with a deep attachment to her daddy. You’re grateful for how RIo’s taken to the baby weight and your ever evolving body after 3 pregnancies and 4 children. Your babygirl coos making you smile.

“Thanks baby, I’ll call you if anything comes up. Tia should be here any minute.” You tell Rio before kissing him goodbye. He rids his lips of the lipstick, unlike his eldest son and you smile.

“When will you be home?” he probes.

“One - ish, I don’t want to be too tired during the game and I might be full” you explain touching your breasts to signify the ever present rounds of milk being produced to satisfy the baby.

“Alright” Rio nods, kissing the top of your head.

“Ugh, Christopher get off of her. Four kids is enough!” Tia says looking in from the screen door. Laughing, you unlock the door and she heads straight to the baby.

“Mommy you’re gonna be with me tomorrow” Tia coos, making your youngest smile. “Hello Christopher” she says acknowledging who’s holding the baby.

“You don’t start no fights or get too drunk. My wife isn’t rowdy like you” Rio warns getting to business.

“If she can handle your ass, she’ll be fine” Tis says fanning him off with her quick wit.

“Love you, night” you wave before leaving. Your marriage turned out to be even more than you knew you wanted. Rio hadn’t tied you down. Marrying him felt like being set free. Although, lately your girls begged to differ. You were knee deep in mom-life. Eight, four and nine months. Four kids are no joke and they occupy your weekdays and weekends. You’re always ready to cut out of adult only functions to spend time with them. Rio’s an incredible father too. Patient with perseverance. There’s nothing he won’t do for them, nothing too lowly to his attention. He’s a hands-on father that’s present for his family. Looking down he finds his daughter pouting.

“I know I don’t like it either” he tells her, looking at the sleeping twins.

At the club you feel the bass and smile watching the girls dance around you. You move along to the rhythm with them having a great time. You can’t remember the last time you were in a club without Rio. It had to be before you met him. Tia dances, putting on a show and summoning more male attention than you’re comfortable with. You laugh watching your friends try to settle the men down and check your watch to see you’ve lost track of time. It’s 12:30. Looking at Tia there’s no way she’s letting up anytime soon. 

“Want to dance” a man with a muscular physique says, reminding you of James.

“No” you tell him plainly causing him to walk away.

“You got your husbands I’ll kill you face down pat” Marisol jokes.

“He’s rubbed off on me.” You admit as the song changes. Marisol is something off the clock, she gets the rowdiest of all the girls. You guess listening to people’s problems all day will do that to you. Stepping out of the thick of it you head to the bar to get a virgin cocktail of your choosing.

“Virgin?” You hear after telling the bartender your order. You turn to see your husband seated beside you. He pays as the bartender slides you your drink. You have a million questions. But you relax.

“Mhm?” You nod sipping the drink with your eyes fixed on him.

“Are you sober or something?” He asks pretending to be a stranger. It reminds you of your first ever conversation all those years ago.

“Mother, I need to be clear headed” you correct over the music.

“Baby daddy let you out looking that good?” Rio says checking you out.

“Husband” you flash your rings. Rio pretends to be surprised at the size of the rings he put on your finger.

“Making money like that he’s probably a stiff fuck” Rio says, still the kind of spontaneity.

Shrugging you play along. “Can’t complain.”

“Well I think you’re sexy and with rings like that I know you have good pussy. Let me take you to a hotel huh. We can have a little fun and you can go play mom in the morning?” Rio says making you smile.

“You’re unbelievable,” you laugh.

“You’re crazy if you think I’m leaving you alone looking like that” he responds shamelessly.

“Why not?” You relent, unfolding your arms. “But you better not catch feelings, my husband is crazy” you agree continuing the charade.

“Can’t blame him” Rio says following suit.

“Ughhh” you hear behind you and find Tia hating.

“Don’t be like that!” You laugh heading out with your man. Hand in hand with Rio you head to your car. The G-Wagon is now an Escalade, because of the kids. When Rio takes the exit towards your favourite hotel you settle in your seat grateful for your life now. Thankful your first husband didn't keep you from the man of your dreams.

FIN

Author's Note: How's that for happily ever after my loves? I kept my promise and spoiled you like Rio. Shoutout to all the commenters and reblogers - you’re the real MVP’s and the story’s muses. If you enjoyed the Happy ending let me know. Sad to be finishing up with this story, but happy it's completed and something you all have enjoyed. You can also read the story on WATTPAD

TAGS: @meadows5 @wnbweasley @becauseimher @ariiaeltheedonn @woahthatshitfat @miniaturehideoutmentality @kokobells @ffenthusiastt @sowhatariyana @1xtral1983 @theegoddessofmelanin @fictionalreads @roxytheimmortal

[megalony]

You Invited Everyone?

This is an Eddie Diaz request by Anon, I loved writing this I'm so into writing for fluff dad! Eddie at the moment. Any feedback is always appreciated.

Taglist: @lunaticspoem @butlegendsneverdie @langdonzvoid @jennyggggrrr @rogmeddows @radiob-l-a-hblah @rogertaylorsbitontheside @chlobo6 @rogertaylors-lipgloss @sj-thefanthefan @omgitsearly @luckytrashgooprebel @scarsout @deaky-with-a-c @killer-queen-ofrhye @bluutac @vousmemanqueez-blog @jonesyaddiction @milanosaurus @httpfandxms @saint-hardy @7-seas-of-fat-bottomed-girls @mrsalwayswritex @rogerina-owns-me  @hellsdragon @im-an-adult-ish @crazylittlethingg @allauraleigh @onceuponadetectivedemigod @ceres27 @avyannadawn  @noonenuts @sleepylunarwolf @coverupps @justagirlthatlovedtoread @musicistheway

Masterlist

Summary: Chris is very excited about going out at the weekend, so much so that he manages to call uncle Buck at work and tell everyone where they are going.

Enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mummy,"

Turning on her heels, (Y/n) looked over her shoulder towards the kitchen where she knew Christopher was. She paused in her ministrations of tidying up the table where all his colours and books were spread out like a crafts explosion had taken place in the dining room.

Her back arched out and clicked into place and she rose a brow when her boy came into view.

Chris slowly walked around the island in the kitchen, one hand brought up to his face where he was biting down happily on his thumb, a cheeky but obscured smile on his face. And in his other hand, he held out the paper she had printed out only this morning which he had been obsessed with since he saw it.

He held the paper out in front of him and padded through to the dining room towards her, giggling loudly when he watched her stand upright and place a hand on her hip.

"And just what are you doing with that, mister?"

"We're going," Was all he could say, muffled around his thumb that he was about to bite through with how happily he was chomping down on it. He shook the paper until (Y/n) reached across and kindly took it from him.

She leaned down to kiss his forehead, ruffling his curls in the process before she bypassed him and headed back into the kitchen, knowing her boy would be hot on her heels. She could hear his hysterical laughter and his stomping footsteps catching up to her since she was purposely walking slower than normal.

"You know we're going on Saturday, baby." (Y/n) reached up on her tiptoes and pinned the paper back to the fridge with the Thomas the Tank Engine magnet Chris had picked out last month.

By chance when she was scrolling online, (Y/n) found an advertisement for an event happening at the park this weekend. There was going to be a dinosaur themed event from eleven until two in the park for anyone to join, free of charge. There would be a bouncy castle, some balloons and games and it was encouraging kids to dress up and bring toys.

With Chris's newest interest being anything to do with dinosaurs, it seemed like the perfect activity for him. He could go on the bouncy castle, he could join in the games like he did at sports day at school and he could show off all the fun facts he had been learning about the 'dino era' with Eddie.

It just so happened to be Eddie's weekend off work too and all morning since Chris noticed the print out stuck to the fridge, he had been in the best mood (Y/n) seen in a long time. He couldn't stop laughing, he was constantly clapping and rewatching The Land Before Time and he had gotten his latest colouring book out about dinosaurs so he could prepare himself.

The only issue was that he had to wait five days and waiting wasn't his strong point. They never told him about plans until the very last minute so if they had to adjust or change things, Chris wouldn't be upset or disgruntled. But (Y/n) knew even if Eddie couldn't end up going this weekend, she and Chris would and it was something for him to look forward to.

"Daddy, tell daddy." Chris tried to reach up to grab the flyer again until (Y/n) swooped down and lifted him up so she could sit him on the kitchen counter.

She stood between his swinging legs, placed her hands down on the counter either side of him and kissed his nose, then his cheek, then his forehead.

"When he comes home from work, you can tell him all about it and see how excited he will be."

"No, ring daddy. We need to tell him."

"He's at work, he can't always answer the phone. Remember, we only call for emergencies." She pressed another kiss to his forehead and leaned down to nuzzle into his shoulder when he looped his arms around her neck. He was trying to butter her up, to get close and make her go soft so he could get his way.

They only rang Eddie before or after his shifts at work, they didn't ring when he was on duty unless it was an emergency like when Chris slipped and had to go to the emergency room.

It was adorable just how excited Chris was about going to this event, but he was desperate to tell Eddie. He wanted to see how happy his dad was going to be when he found out what they had planned for the weekend. Chris wanted to tell everyone, he had already been promised that he could tell Abeula in the morning when they went to visit her.

"This is emergency, call daddy."

"No, pretty boy. You can tell him tonight before bed."

Chris whined and tipped his head back but he was still smiling and when he looked forward at (Y/n) again, he reached his hand out beside her head and made a grabbing fist.

"Mine," He pointed and grabbed towards the flyer.

They both knew what he was going to do. He would carry it round with him all day, keep it safe and stare at it over and over. (Y/n) would have to read it to him at least four more times today and explain what it said and what it meant. She would tell him what would be there, what he could do and where it would be.

"Alright, let me find the laminator."

"Yay!"

He clapped his hands when (Y/n) put him back down to his feet and he followed her like a puppy as she grabbed the paper and backtracked into the dining room again. If he was going to carry it around, which (Y/n) never minded him doing when he was in this type of mood, she was going to have to laminate it. Otherwise it would be drenched in dribble and spilt drinks and food and by the time Eddie came home the paper would be ilegible and (Y/n) would have to print off dozens more for him.

Chris sat next to (Y/n) at the table, watching eagerly as she ironed out the creases in the paper before she carefully placed it in the plastic sheeting. He always found it fascinating when either of his parents laminated his pictures or photos or anything he needed for school. It meant he could bend them and drool and crinkle and eat near them and he didn't ruin anything.

He started to pat his hands down on the table when it passed through the small rectangle heater and he started to laugh when (Y/n) shook it to make sure the creases were out and it was stuck together.

"Now it will last for daddy to see it tonight." (Y/n) handed it over and packed away the laminator while Chris took it happily and trudged through to the living room.

He sat himself down on the floor in front of the coffee table with the paper one side and a dino toy on the other side.

"I need a quick shower baby, can I trust you in here for five minutes?" (Y/n) ruffled his hair when she followed him through and she quickly went onto the tv planner and put on an episode of Land Before Time. It would keep him occupied and (Y/n) knew when the end credits rolled that it was her timer and she would have to hurry if she wasn't ready.

"Yeah,"

Chris would never do anything wrong or bad if (Y/n) had to clean up or go for a shower but she knew his attention span would differ.

If she took a while in the shower and they were home alone, Chris would start rooting through his toy boxes and litter the place to find something to occupy himself with. The last time (Y/n) had taken a while sorting through her and Eddie's wardrobe, Chris had took it upon himself to try on Eddie's uniform and spare pair of boots.

Safe to say when he fell in the boots and sprained his ankle, (Y/n) knew fifteen minutes was the maximum amount of time her boy could be left safely to his own devices.

"I won't be long," (Y/n) kissed his temple again before she headed down the hall to her room to get a change of clothes and a towel from the hamper. It was always easier for her to shower before tea and then after they ate, Chris would have his bath and a story in the living room and when Eddie came home, it would be time for him to go to bed.

A smile lit up Chris's face as he started to rock back and forth, shaking the flyer back and forth to hear the shimmying noise it made when the plastic creased and wiggled.

He wished Saturday was tomorrow so he could get up in the morning and go to the event as soon as possible. He didn't want to wait.

"Daddy…" Chris giggled to himself after a few minutes of watching the episode on tv. His eyes kept drifting to the flyer, he wanted to tell his dad where they were going at the weekend, he wanted to give him the surprise and hear how excited Eddie was going to be.

With his free hand curled up to his face and his thumb between his teeth, Chris looked around him, a cunning grin on his face that would have made for a perfect photo. A sparkle lit up his eyes like a magpie finding a piece of silver when he spotted his mum's phone lying unused on the arm of the chair beneath the window.

He could call his dad and surprise him.

Pushing up onto his knees, Chris shuffled across the carpet and flopped his stomach onto the chair so he could reach up and grab the phone.

He had his tongue between his teeth this time as he shakily swiped his finger across the screen to open it. (Y/n) had quite a lot of games on her phone, one section was the games she liked to play when she got chance, and the other page was for all of the games she downloaded specifically for Chris. If they were waiting in a restaurant or stuck in traffic, she would pass him her phone with a game open ready to entertain him.

But he had never called anyone by himself before. Whenever they called Eddie, (Y/n) got it set up and ringing before she handed him the phone.

"Daddy… daddy…"

Chris jumped back when a purple line lit up the screen and a voice answered. It was one of the apps, the one his dad always used in the car to get the phone to call someone.

"Call daddy. Call daddy." He repeated the mantra a few more times before huffing when the phone didn't do as requested. He clicked on a few apps but none of them were the right ones. Chris started to babble "Call daddy" until the words slurred together and became incoherable.

"Calling Buck." The app suddenly repeated before Chris peered closer and saw Buck's cheesy grin and thumbs up picture appearing on the phone and the dialling tone started to vibrate through the phone. He moved his hand and pressed the speaker button, smiling so wide he could barely see the screen.

Putting his glass of coke down on the counter, Buck shifted his weight off his elbows and stood up when he felt his phone vibrating in his back pocket. There was only a few people it could be ringing him when he was on shift, most of the time it was Maddie or the team ringing and since he was with the team, it was most likely his big sister.

Buck's brows furrowed and his lips quirked when he saw (Y/n)'s face lighting up his screen. He used a recent photo of her and Chris wearing sunglasses and sticking their tongues out for her contact picture in his phone but she didn't call Buck that often. She saw him so much that she didn't have to and things were usually arranged through Eddie.

"Hey, this is a surprise." Buck leaned his left elbow back on the counter when he answered the phone and crossed one leg over the other.

"Buck!"

"Chris? Hey bud, how are you? Can I ask why you're ringing me?" A very cheesy grin lit up Buck's face and his voice heightened a little when he heard his little friend on the other end of the phone. For all intense and purposes, Buck saw Chris as his nephew and he always called him uncle Buck.

He didn't usually call Buck up though, usually Eddie would ring and pass the phone over or the few times (Y/n) called, she would then hand the phone to Chris after having a quick word with Buck. She usually gave him the heads up of why they were calling.

"Mummy taking me out on Saturday!" The excitement was clear in his voice and Buck had to pull the phone away from his ear for a moment so he didn't go deaf.

"Oh really, where is she taking you?"

"Park, Dino Day on Saturday! Bouncy castle, dress up, big games. It's surprise for daddy." He could barely speak he was so happy and his voice had risen an octave or two.

Buck rubbed his hand over his jaw as if to hide his smile when he was the only one in the kitchen.

"That sounds amazing, I'm sure your dad will love it… Chris, does your mum know you've rang me?" He was happy for his nephew, but he was a little uncertain about Chris calling him because he couldn't hear (Y/n) in the background. If she didn't know he was on the phone, it meant Buck had done well teaching him new tricks and how to be stealth and sneaky.

And when a round of giggling and a high-pitched squeal came through the phone, Buck let out a chuckle and tilted his head back.

(Y/n) didn't know.

"You're a sneak, you know that? I think you should let her know I'm on the phone."

"She's in shower. Will you come park on Saturday uncle Buck?"

As it happened, Buck surprisingly did have the weekend off since he had worked the last three weekends in a row. He was supposed to be making plans with Maddie to go out for some lunch and spend some time together… but he could free up a slot in his schedule for his best little friend.

How could he refuse?

"You know what, I think I might be free on Saturday," He pushed himself up off the counter and downed the last bit of his drink, grinning when he could hear another round of laughing on the other end of the line.

"Bobby come too?"

"Give me a second, buddy." Buck held the phone to his ear and jogged over to the stairs. He could see the rest of the team close by the truck downstairs, they were all meandering about waiting for their next call to give them something to do. "Who's free on Saturday?" He raised his voice enough to let them all hear him as he hopped down the stairs with the phone still pressed to his shoulder.

"That depends what you have in mind, Buck." Bobby placed his hands on his hips, a sceptical look on his face. They never knew what to expect with Buck and all of them had learned not to agree until they knew what they were agreeing to.

"Apparently it's Dino day down at the park on Saturday, games and a bouncy castle. Christopher has invited his uncle Buck and the 118 to join him."

He held his arms out at his sides, a proud expression on his face at being the first to be invited to such a prestigeous event. He watched Bobby smirk and nod in agreement, Chimney silently laughed but nodded to agree. How could any of them refuse such a sweet offer?

"I think Denny would enjoy that," Hen nodded as she finished off cleaning the last speck of dirt off the truck. If she didn't get called into the station on Saturday she would most definitely join and bring her son along too. Denny got along very well with Christopher.

"We're all coming buddy," Buck waved his fist and pressed the phone back to his ear, wincing a little when Chris's squeal echoed just a little too loudly in his ear.

"What're you mouthing off about, Buckley?"

Eddie tucked his clean shirt into his trousers and tugged his fingers through his hair as he walked slowly back into the main area of the station. That last call had gotten water and smoke all through his uniform and he couldn't go another five hours in sopping wet clothes, he had to go change into the spare uniform he luckily kept in his locker.

"We're all having a day out this weekend, you included."

"Oh yeah, says who?" Eddie tilted his chin up at Buck and rose a brow. He wasn't free this weekend, he was promised to his wife and son this weekend and nothing was going to change that.

"Your son," A smug smirk flooded Buck's face as he watched Eddie's smile slip down into a frown.

"What?"

"Chris, you wanna tell your dad the surprise?"

Eddie scratched the back of his head, glancing around the station before his chest tightened when Buck held his phone out towards him. Why had (Y/n) rang Buck and not him? Why had she planned something and not told him about it? What had she and Chris been up to since he left this morning?

He took the phone and moved a few steps away, feeling his heart soften at the photo of his family that lit up the screen. It was a change to see that photo and not the ones Eddie had on his own phone. His lockscreen was him with his arms around (Y/n)'s neck, his chin on top of her head and the most beautiful smile he had ever seen on (Y/n)'s face while her hands were holding Chris's shoulders.

Her icon on his phone was a lot different though.

That particular picture was his wife kneeling up on the bed, wearing only Eddie's dark navy work top with her hair fanned out across her shoulders and a smile obscured by her biting her lower lip.

"Christopher?"

"Daddy!"

"Care to tell me what's going on? What have you been saying to uncle Buck?" Eddie moved his free hand to his hip like he would if his son were standing in front of him right now.

"Mummy taking us to park on Saturday, it's Dino day! Bouncy castle and games and I can dress up. Uncle Buck said they coming too. Surprise!"

Eddie could hear his son begin to clap his hands and his hysterical laughter made his heart jump in his chest. So (Y/n) had found an activity for them to do and Chris had decided everyone was going to share in their fun. It sounded like they were all going to have a fun, hectic weekend together. Eddie couldn't remember the last time the team did something together that wasn't running into burning buildings to save someone. And he could spend some much needed time with his family.

"Mummy did well finding that, where is she, can I speak to her?" If he was going to hear his son's voice, he wanted to hear his wife's melodic voice too and double check these details.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Chris, baby who are you talking to?"

Eddie could hear the panic in his wife's voice and it made his brows shoot up and he spun on his heels to look over at Buck. Either Buck rang (Y/n) for something or Chris had found out how to call people on his mum's phone without her knowing and if it was the latter, (Y/n) was going to have to put a lock on her phone.

"Christopher Diaz, did you call Buck without telling your mother?" Eddie's voice was stern but when he saw Buck roll his lips together and noticed the rest of the team start to laugh and cackle, he couldn't fight off his own small grin.

"Baby what have you been doing? I was gone five minutes!" (Y/n) held her hand out and waited for her giggling son to hand over the phone. She saw Buck's picture illuminating up the screen and she sighed. He had been making phone calls without her now. "Buck?"

"No, mi amor it's me. So… what's this Dino day thing me and the team are all coming along to then?"

"You invited everyone?" (Y/n) grinned down at Chris who hid his face in his hands to stop her from seeing his wide smile but he nodded through his hands. Barely able to breathe from how much he was laughing.

Their son was a menace.

[aph-centric-fixs]

Zane with a fem reader he thought was a guy because of her avatar online headcanons or smth? :3 I think that'd be funee

Not at all like the game!!

Sure!! I've seen this trope in basically every fandom I've been in, and honestly I've got no problem with it as long as it's not made into a weird thing.

Zane x female! Reader (referred to with he/him in the beginning)

CW// possible ooc? & writing

In all honesty, Zane never thought he'd get so hooked on a game, he was never the type. It just sort of ran in the family, not being too obsessed over games.

The only reason he even got the game was so he could play it with Aphmau, she wouldn't stop bothering him about it so he gave in. And here he is now, playing the game whenever he has free time. It was honestly embarrassing, especially after he reached a higher rank than Aphmau- she had been playing so much longer than him!

It wasn't all as bad as he expected. The story was decent, the characters customization was great, and the community wasn't all horrible. He had found a small guild to join pretty quickly, not too many active members but enough to go on raids and such. The boss of the guild was a high ranking player, good gear and all, and yet he never fit the stereotype of other high ranking players.

He always welcomed low levels into the party, and easily carried anyone who needed it. Zane felt a little embarrassed at times, having to ask him to help him defeat this one boss but he never once shamed Zane.

Over time a great bond grew, Zane and his new best friend raided dungeons and castles almost daily. It didn't come to that much of surprise when the question of hanging out in person was raised. Chatting in and out of the game led Zane to know he was an adult and not some kid, boy would that be horrible for him.

Setting a time and place was easy, though it came to a surprise on both ends that they lived in the same state, much more the same city. A park was decided to be the best place, nice and public while also not too far for either one. Plans weren't exactly made after that, Zane just figured it would be a go with the flow type of thing.

The hangout date came quicker than he thought it would, leaving him to be nervous all morning and on the way over. What if he didn't like Zane? If his voice was too squeaky or something? God, this was high school all over again!

When he arrived at the park he looked around at everyone there, no one looked like who he thought he was looking for, so he sat down at a bench and waited. He basically stared a hole into his phone waiting for a message to pop up. While he waited some one came and sat next to him, and he couldn't help but take a glance at the pretty girl next to him. With a scoff, Zane went back to looking at his phone.

With a small vibration his phone notified him of a text. Quickly opening it he almost laughed with the seemingly worried 'where are you!!' message. He didn't wait to type out a response of 'on a bench' and waiting for a reply. Imagine his surprise when he got back a 'me too!'. I mean there weren't many benches at the park, and most were taken up by families or couples. The only bench without one was...

Wait a minute. Zane turned to look over, almost stiff as he watched the girl next to him type... And his phone go off.

"You're a girl!!??!" He said, watching the poor person next to him jump and drop their phone.

It was silent between the two, him staring at you, you staring at him. Slowly reaching down and picking up your phone, you looked down at your phone then back at Zane.

"Your avatar looks so like you" Zane's eyes basically blew out of his skull with how much he was surprised.

"Oh, I could say the same for you" He bit back sarcastically, only to be met with a laugh. Rolling his eyes he put his phone in his pocket and crossed his arms.

With that confusion out of the way, the two of you started to chat, mostly about actual stuff rather than game stuff.

"So why'd you choose a guy character anyways?" Zane asked out of the blue, closing the small silence that had just passed.

"Well, girls in any gaming communities in general tend to get harassed. And the armor just looks so much better on male characters!" You replied, smiling and pulling up google to show him what you meant. With a hum he looked over your shoulder to see.

After a small bit of comparing male and female characters armor, Zane's stomach basically screamed out in hunger. It was embarrassing, but you didn't say anything other than a small laugh.

"Y'know, I know a good burrito place down the street" You suggested, standing up and stretching before looking back at Zane.

"Sounds good to me" He replied, standing up himself and following side by side as you two continued to chat.

[xuchiya]

"She's the manager" || song mingi ||

| genre: fluff. fluff. | mentions: bruise. lil bit of blood. this is me when i played fight with my boxing partner.

boxing has to be a well-known activity in your town and being part of the town for so long, you have taken lessons. Your grandfather encourages you to at least learn the basics to which your mother disagrees as it is too violent for her but you just stand there and balance the pros and cons. Though it all flew out when you saw your grandfather having the sparkles in his eyes disappear.

Sooner or later, if you would have known that boxing will forever be with you until you are an adult, your grandfather would be proud of you. From junior high up to your last years of your college years; boxing has one thing that stayed with you.

Now that you were working and had stopped training until your co-worker from a company that you were currently working at had left you a message about new members of the arena having enrolled. You were curious as to have the arena filled in with new athletes. The place is soon closing due to less and less people having not tried to enroll in the arena.

The same training arena that you grew up to. And now, you and the other people that you grew up with in training were managing it.

You - [That’s odd and exciting! We’ll be there in 5!] seen 15:45 San - [We’re back on business baby!] seen 15:46 Seonghwa - [We were always in business, San-ah.] seen 15:48 Wooyoung - [WAHAHAHAHA PABO SANNIE~!] seen 15: 49 San - [... shut up.] 15:50

You arrive at the training arena a few minutes late of what time you mentioned but with the noise and cheering from the inside court, you know none of them have any problem with your tardiness. As you adjusted the strap on your shoulder, you took upon yourself to see a rather tall— taller than Seonghwa— in a battle between Jongho. 

The bell clings and the fight ends with Jongho raising his gloved hand, you shake your head as if you knew no one can defeat the guy. Cheers from your friends made the other guy sigh and step out of the ring.

“Noona!” Jongho waved his free hand. You waved back, placing your bag down on the bench as Seonghwa approached you with four other guys trailing behind me, one of them was the guy that Jongho defeated.

San, Wooyoung and Jongho stood beside you as Seonghwa introduced you to the new members of the training arena. You bowed your head with a warm smile, “I’m not actually the owner of this arena—”

“She’s the manager.” San butted in. You chuckle, “Like he said but don’t mind it and also thank you. This is enough for us to save the arena as we have grown up here and been in this sport for so long.”

Hongjoong the one you notice because of his height difference with the two tall members, “These are actually my sons.  I’m just here to learn a few tricks and there. The eldest— Yunho here wanted to do it out of curiosity, Yeosang my middle kid is interested and my youngest here— as you have seen, he dreams big and wanted to be part of the Olympics.”

Your mouth gaped open as you trailed on the youngest, clapping in adoration, “That is quite a dream but in this place, we’ll do our best for you to reach your dreams.”

Mingi, beaming at your words, bows at least a ninety-degree angle, shouting, “thank you!” You wave at his enthusiasm a smile still there, “No need. We should be thanking you instead, so with this, are you guys ready?”

“Oh I forgot, this is Seonghwa—as you guys met him a while ago, he is actually the eldest among us.” You said pointing to Seonghwa who bows then pointing at Wooyoung and San, “San here is actually our fighter while Wooyoung here is our coach and manager when it comes to games but he also fights in the arena a few times and lastly, Jongho— he is actually our coach here inside.” 

Mr. Kim, you can go to Seonghwa here to learn the basics. San please help Yeosang with his lessons and advances, you too Wooyoung. Jongho?” You saw him eyeing Mingi to which Mingi cowers at his stares, you smack Jongho before you let him train Yunho instead. Mingi felt relieved to be away from his deadly eyes.

You swing your bag as you lead Mingi to your own training area. It was silent until Mingi cleared his throat, catching up, “So .. Do you compete too?” You look over your shoulder, your lips pursuing to the side as you shrug, “Yeah but not that much like San does.”

“So you know how to?” You flip all the light switches on then placing your bag down on the bench, zipping it open as you take out your bandage and wrap it around your wrist then up to your knuckles. “Yeah, I have been boxing since I was in my junior year.”

“You’re strong.” You chuckle, looking at him as you notice his eyes were sparkling. Your eyes trailed in his  features, reminding you of how your grandfather looks at you when you told him that you were training. The same sparkle, adoration and pride in their eyes.

Before you let yourself dwell in the nostalgic moment, you cleared your throat, nodding at the materials near the wall, “Go ahead and start getting ready. Warm up at 15.” You took your shirt from your bag before disappearing to the bathroom.

“You have to know which is your dominant hand…” You said, angling your curled fist on your face, then stretching your left hand forward in a fast pace, “Punching using your dominant hand will help you defeat your opponent, the non-dominant one will be like your guide to make an opening or helps you land more punch on your dominant.”

Mingi does a couple of punches before nodding, “I think left is my dominant.” You nodded, directing him to a body punching bag. You made a footwork drill for him that you knew for sure he would get it in a few minutes.

“When you land a punch, you land on your dominant then follow by your non-dominant then again and again until ... ”Your fist lands on the bag on the last part, you let out a hard ‘ah’ as you land a hard straight punch on the bag making it swing further.

Mingi could feel chills running down his arms as he watched you land punch after punch on the bag and only Mingi could do is nodded, gulping “Okay.” He stood on the other punching bag. You watch him executing the combination until you hum, standing beside him. 

“When you punch on your left, stand here on your right. It will make you swing better .. Go.” Mingi did, blowing a soft sigh before repeating the combination and earning a different result to which you nodded with a clap, “Good good. Do this combination but faster.”

In under 30 minutes, Mingi had picked up at least 4 combinations and you were, to say, impressed. You have taught kids and young teens simple combinations and it took them a while to do so but Mingi? It felt as if he was born to do this. Mingi is fast, his agility and stamina are no joke as he had you sparing the next minute.

So, being able to compete within six months is an achievement not only to benefit the arena but to Mingi as well. His dream was starting to build up and you were glad that it was slowly advancing, few athletes and local boxer competitors had recognized Mingi’s potential and had taken him for a few words and training in their own arena. You, being Mingi’s manager and coach, were proud of him.

Much more to his father and his two older brothers who had been supportive of his career from the very start. You saluted Hongjoong for making his kid's dream come true.

You landed a punch but he had dodge it before landing on your right side. You felt the punch surge through you before you took a step back, doing a small cross side and landing a punch around his stomach, combining it with an uppercut.

Mingi is shook making stumble backwards, “What the—” Mingi yelp retreating a few steps as you swing twice. You chuckle, exhaling sharply, “Focus.”

The spar the Mingi initiated lasted for an hour and half before you called time. Sweats drip down your forehead, trailing on your chin and neck. You were not out of shape but the fact comparing your stamina to his is beyond. It is nothing new when he and San spar and the round lasts for 4 when San taps out.

“Hey manager-nim, here.” You turn around to see San tossing you a towel. Catching it with ease, you wipe the sweat from your face and neck, feeling the cool fabric soothe your overheated skin. "Thanks, San," you say with a tired smile, draping the towel over your shoulders. Mingi is catching his breath too, leaning against the ropes of the ring, a wide grin on his face. "That was intense! You're really good," he praises, his eyes still sparkling with excitement.

"You never fail to impress me Mingi," you reply, stepping out of the ring and grabbing a bottle of water from the nearby bench. "You've come a long way, Mingi. I'm really proud of your progress."

He blushes slightly at your words, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thanks, that means a lot coming from you."

The two of you step outside the training arena, the cool evening breeze a welcome change from the stuffy air inside. Mingi takes a deep breath, looking up at the sky as the first stars begin to twinkle. "You know," he begins, his tone more serious, "I've been thinking a lot about my future and what I want to achieve."

You nod, taking a sip of your water. "And?"

"I really want to make it to the Olympics. But not just for myself," he says, turning to face you. "I want to do it for my family, for everyone at the arena and for you. You've been an incredible mentor, and I want to make you proud."

Touched by his sincerity, you place a hand on his shoulder. "You already make me proud, Mingi. Your dedication and hard work are inspiring. I have no doubt that you'll achieve your dreams."

He smiles, a determined look in his eyes. "And I'll keep striving to achieve not only my dream but yours too. I know you had to give up a lot to keep this place running. I want to see you back in the ring, competing and winning."

Your heart swells with gratitude and pride. You were so focused on your outside work that giving this a chance was slim to nothing and now that someone has to do it for you felt as if a part of you were reliving again and the same fire of determination were ignited. "Thank you, Mingi. That means more to me than you know. We'll make it happen together."

As you both stand there, taking in the peaceful night, you feel a renewed sense of purpose. The journey ahead might be challenging, but with Mingi's unwavering determination and the support of your friends and family, you know that anything is possible. Together, you'll continue to fight, to train, and to dream big, keeping the spirit of boxing alive in your town.

[thedisc0spider]

can u write spencer introducing reader to star wars💕💕?? ive never seen it 😭

Star Wars

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Summary: Spencer is really excited to introduce you to Star Wars.

Warnings: reader gets a little stressed out, cursing, pre established relationship, reader works at smosh, not proof read!

Fluff!!!!

Point of view: 2nd person

A/n: this request was so adorable and I had so much fun writing it! I took this prompt and ran (maybe a little to far) with it SO if this wasn’t what you wanted I’m so sorry!! Id be willing to rewrite it if so.

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You can already tell today will be very interesting. Well, the next few weeks actually.

A few days ago you had revealed to Spencer that you’ve never seen a Star Wars movie. Of course, he was shocked as to how this was the first he was hearing of it.

“You’ve never seen a Star Wars movie? How?”

“I don’t know, when I was a kid I wasn’t allowed to watch it and by the time I was an adult there were way too many and starting just felt overwhelming.” You shrugged it off as if it was nothing.

To Spencer, it was not nothing.

So he convinced, nay, begged you to watch with him.

“Come on, it’s like my favorite thing! We always watch (y/f/s) together, baby. Pleaseeeeeee.”

What were you gonna do, say no? How could you? He was right, you always forced him to watch what you wanted, so it was only fair that you comply.

However, you were still a little exhausted just thinking about the idea of committing to an entire film series. You looked it up, it will take you 25 hours and 7 minutes to watch all the Star Wars movies. This, however, includes the nine movies from the Skywalker saga and the two anthology movies, Rogue One and Solo. Excluding the anthology movies, it will take you 20 hours and 39 minutes to watch and Spencer gave in and promised not to make you watch the anthology films.

‘Okay,’ you think, ‘if we watch one movie a night it will only take a little over a week. That’s not bad, right?’

You tried to convince yourself, but you’ve always had issues with things like this. You’re a hard worker, so taking this much time to watch movies always felt like a waste to you. You felt like you could much easily find a better use of your time, like you were missing out on what you could’ve been spending on more productive activities. In all honesty, it stressed you out.

The work day is now over, you have just finished filming your last video of the day and you’re walking to the games pod to find your boyfriend. There he is, working on something on his computer. You walk up behind him, wrapping your arms around his shoulders as you bury your head into his neck.

He lets out one of his signature stupid laughs and gently rubs your arm. “Im almost done, then we can go home.” You nod, and he leans his head onto yours, “are you excited?” He whispers.

You raise your head from his shoulder so your faces are level, “hmm… depends. Are there any hot guys in these movies?” You squint your eyes.

Spencer laughs, “oh, yeah, definitely. Just wait ‘til you see Han Solo.” He raises his eyebrows, “or Anakin, he’s more your type.”

“Okay, now I’m excited.” You laugh, before placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

Spencer closes his laptop and begins to put away his belongings for the day while you sit in his chair. “Hey,” he says, still putting things in his bag, causing you to look up at him, “I really appreciate you doing this with me…” he turns to look at you, “like, it really means a lot that you’re letting me share something with you that’s important to me. I know you’re not really into all this… space stuff, but..” he shrugs, stepping closer, “it makes me really happy that you’re doing this, that’s all.”

Your heart melts hearing this. ‘How is he so perfect? I can’t believe I was being so selfish, making this about me when it’s not. Its about him. Who cares if it’s not productive in a conventional sense of the word? it’s productive for our relationship. That’s what matters. Us. Who cares about all this superficial shit? The only thing that truly matters is doing what makes you happy, and I’m happy with Spencer.’ You stand, walking to him until you’re standing directly in front of him.

You place your hands on either side of his face, looking up into his eyes. “You’re so sweet, you know that?” His hands find your waist as you lean into him, hugging him tightly. “Im honored you’re sharing this with me, sweetheart.”

You pull away from the hug and Spencer smiles at you, before kissing your forehead briefly. “I love you, (y/n).”

“I love you too.” The two of you kiss, lost in your own little world for a moment. Its deep, yet sweet. Not rough or hasty, but full of love and passion. “We need to leave if we want to have time to actually watch the first movie, Spence.” You say, after pulling apart.

He rolls his eyes, turning to grab his backpack. “Okay, okay. Let’s go.”

The two of you walk to the parking lot, hand in hand, saying bye to the various cast and crew members you see on your way.

As you get into the drivers seat and connect your phone to the auxiliary cord, Spencer suddenly speaks out, “oh, shit, I almost forgot. Do you want to watch the movies in chronological order or in release order?” He asks, looking over at you.

You look up from your phone, thinking to yourself for a second before you turn your head to meet his gaze, your eyebrows furrowed.

“They weren’t released in chronological order?”

[ideasarestuckinmyhead]

Ik its not ur post but the camp counselor hcs got me thinkin about the listeners being counselors for another camp and the boys camp and theirs have a friendly rivalry. The boys n listeners sittin around a campfire at night when all the kids are sleeping. End of camp counselor vs counselor tug of war. Pls its so cute

Tug of War.

Edit: just realized this is another camp au I didn't tag my moot @thetopichot in-

Both sides were whisper yelling at each other as they all pulled on the rope as hard as they could. Trying to be quiet since all the kids were put done to sleep, Auron could feel a headache coming on from all the grunting. Sighing he looks to his right to see Rook cheering, silently, on the group their friend's were on, while the boys were on the other side. The whole thing started because Alphonse was shit talking to Boo. Which usually didn't cause anything to happen but Boo decided why not take him up on his bet he said in the spur of the moment? First they had to convince Auron that it was a good idea.

"No." is what they got, the older man was looking over different papers of the children that came in making sure that none of the activities tomorrow would affect any of them.

"Auron, pal, budd-" A glare was shot at Alphonse to shut him up. It was clear they weren't going to get through to him as they were politely kicked out of his cabin. Boo had a plan B for situations for this, dragging Alphonse by his arm they started to hunt down Rook's location on the grounds.

On the other side of the camp, Rook was closing the last door of the cabin they were watching over today. But as they turn they almost screamed when Boo spawned out of no where, Alphonse seeing this hurried to cover Rook's mouth. The person with his hand on their face glared at both of them, it's funny how Rook can gather up energy to give them the 'Auron Stare' as Faust says. So Alphonse quickly got his hand off of their face as Boo explained the bet he said.

"Okay so, Al here, shit talker mother fucker." A eye roll is what they got as a response, "Said that the boys could beat us listeners in a tug of war game easily." Rook looked at Al and giggled. They wondered why both decided to tell them this...oh so that's what they need from them.

"And you couldn't convince Auron that it was a good idea?" The baker and pinkette nodded together. Rook sighed as they whipped out their phone and checked the time, "If I can't convince him in 5 minutes were going to have it tomorrow so the kids can have something fun to watch got it?" The other two nodded as they rushed to tell the other counselors the fun idea. It was easy to get all the adults at the campfire that they usually have when the kids all hunker down for the night. But it was kinda hard to convince them to play tug of war.

"Why would I want to do that and ruin my nail polish?" Faust said as Star sat next to him, but luckily his partner answered for Alphonse.

"What scared us listeners would win?" Faust looked at his partner unfazed, "Starlight you need to try harder than that." Some of the adults agreed with Faust, not with the nail polish but it was kinda late to be doing this.

"How about a reward for the group that wins?" Scout smirked as they spoke, this got everyone attention. "Losers....have to clean the bathrooms." They all looked at Scout who was glaring at Alphonse, "What you say candy boy?" Alphonse scoffed as he bend down to talk shit, "Be-" He was interrupted by a loud cough.

Auron was standing there with his arms crossed with a annoyed look on his face, along with a viewable kiss mark. Rook was smiling next to him holding one of his arms "I was able to convince him!" Auron rolled his eyes as he looked at Alphonse, Boo and Scout.

"So, losers clean the bathrooms? Fine." Alphonse sent a thank you to Rook but Auron spoke again, "Who's going to play?" Looking at the group of adults most of the listeners agreed to play but of course. Faust had to be convinced, what got him into gear was Auron whispering something to him and he got up quickly.

"Let's get this over with, I have paper work that needs to be done." And so here we are now on the boy's side is; Alphonse, Faust, Charlie, Finn, Seth, Jack, and Lucien. With the listeners having; Boo, Scout, Star, Casper, Sunflower, Buddy, and Angel. Auron and Rook were out because, Auron was the only one all of them were comfortable to have being the referee and Rook was automatically out to make the sides even.

"I want this over quickly so play fair, who ever crosses the line first is the loser. Wake the kids up 10 laps on the track, and now both sides ready?" Both sides held up the rope with determination in their eyes. Rook held up the flag waiting for Auron's mark "Ready....set....go!" The listener's were able to yank to rope a bit to their side but Lucien in the back of the boy's line anchored them down.

Grunts and quiet cursing on heard on both sides, along with shit talking of course. "Hey Boo, don't be mad when we win, ok?" He almost was yanked forward by Boo's pure spite, "How about you pull on that rope before I'll make you fall for me again, pretty boy." Rook giggled seeing the couple being competitive against each other. It was them that got the counselors in bets half of the time, like who can eat the most sandwiches. Lucien was happy with this one because he got to try making sandwiches that the kids might like.

Auron looked at Rook who was cheering silently for their friend's, maybe this wasn't so bad. The kisses he got to convince him weren't all that bad either, but he was getting bored quickly over this as neither side gave up the rope. But that changed when Alphonse told Big Red to pull harder, this caused the listeners to panic since Big was well, bigger and stronger than them. Angel trying to counter their partner pulled all their weight to Anchor everyone down.

Buddy and Sunflower started to do the same as they tried to pull the rope to them more. As the tug of war game was going on the ground was getting smashed more, and a pitter patter of rain started.

"Fuck." Alphonse said as he tried to focus on not slipping in the now forming mud at his feet. Rook giggled as they opened an umbrella "Poor guy didn't check the forecast, crazy that there was gonna be a bit of rain on this summers day huh, Auron?" Auron laughed a bit as he held them close and the umbrella as well.

"Hopefully this'll teach him a lesson to make make silly bets during the night." As he said this Alphonse slipped in the mud and Boo being a loving partner they are took this opportunity to yank hard on the rope as the other listeners did after them. The yank caused Red to fall on Seth, because Jack seeing the mountain of a man moved out the way. Causing all the other boys to fall forward.

"And the winners are...The listeners!" Auron said nonchalantly as he looked at Alphonse who was whipping mud off his face glaring at Boo. Faust was whinnying about the mud getting on his shirt from falling and Star rushed to help him, the others following after making sure their partners were okay. The only one okay with the mud on them was Finn, he had actually fallen in the mud earlier today during gardening time with his group.

After everyone got to their respectful cabins they all washed off and Auron told the boys "I want the bathrooms cleaned before the kids wake up, thank you." Rook followed him after to his office in his cabin with a giggle as they told everyone good night.

[urhoneycombwitch]

shelter thee to me

foreword: apparently I just love putting Steve in Situations™️ since this is the second back-to-back sick fic I’ve written for him. Hmm. Cheers to all u other hurt/comfort lovers this one’s 4 u <3 this piece was finished thanks to the inspo I got from Syl @thecreelhouse - she has a GREAT fic called Accident Prone that you totally should check out if you’re interested in this type of subject matter! ❤️‍🩹

cw: descriptions of a migraine, Steve is a bit of a depressed mess, there is comfort tho I promise, alcohol consumption, Steve actively does things to worsen his pain (but it does get addressed), gender neutral reader

wc: 4k

___

It’s the first warm spring day of 1987, and the Munson Bar-B-Q Bash is in full-swing.

Wayne flips burgers and rotates hot dogs dutifully on the grill, cigarette perched at his lips wiggling as he talks to El. Her doey eyes are wide with rapturous attention, like she’s never seen someone cooking outdoors before (highly likely; the world holds so much newness and wonders yet-unseen for a kid who’s been recently liberated from her windowless underground existence).

A few of the other Party kids are playing a raucous and complicated game of multi-player checkers, Dustin and Lucas kneeling in the grass while Mike and Will oppose, pressed in close around the small board. Max (inexplicably and suddenly) declares her piece as “knighted”, the chorus of boyish complaints quickly silenced the moment her hand flexes around the handle of the black cane at her side (in every possible alternate universe, you hope Max Mayfield always has a cool weapon to defend herself with).

The adults of the group are in various forms of relax around Forest Hills park- Joyce stacks paper plates at a nearby picnic table while Hopper is close behind, muttering things that make her laugh, earning playful little swats from her free hand; Jon, Argyle, and Eddie gave the classic “taking a walk” excuse to Mrs. Byers about twenty minutes back, the heady smell of weed drifting from the sparse forest nearly imperceptible over the smell of cooking meat.

Robin’s at your feet, the length of your legs supporting her torso as your fingers work to tie off the neat braid you’ve just finished on the left side of her hair. She’s been letting it grow, since the shitshow of last year- tawny brown locks swing just past her upper shoulders now.

“And I really mean it, this time- Keith’s out to get me,” Robin is saying, wiggling despite your instruction to “Sit still, or your right braid’s gonna be all fucked up,” gripping the strands of her hair a bit tighter in warning. She complies, then huffs out- “Steve, are you even listening back there?”

Steve hums. He’s by your side on the bench, a spot that you’d snagged early on for the both of you- under the comforting shade of a big willow tree, slightly on the outskirts of all the activity. Heat and direct sunlight can sometimes mess with Steve’s vision, loud noise has the potential to fuck with his hearing- facts of life he hasn’t so much told you rather than the result of many quiet observations about your partner over the course of a year.

Steve doesn’t like to talk about it. He’s not interested in rehashing the past, tunes out Eddie’s dramatics whenever the curly-haired boy’s story-telling nature arises; the only thing Steve hates more than remembering is being remembered- by Joyce, tearfully thanking him for being brave and saving her boys; by Hopper, with a firm pat to the shoulder and a stilted speech of unsung heroics; even by Robin, who gets in on the recollections in defiance of Steve’s glare, her hands arcing through the air to recreate the whoosh of his wooden oar.

Alcohol also tends to affect Steve differently, in this post-fight world that you all now live- but he’s taking sips from a cooler-chilled can of beer, thick-framed glasses resolutely off and buried in that nest of hair. You’d given him a look, earlier, when he’d walked back to give Robin a soda, hands still wet from digging around in the ice- but if Steve noticed your worry he didn’t respond to it, instead pressing a freezing can of Coke to the bare skin of Robin’s leg, backing down with a laugh when she squealed and got one good smack in against his arm.

“I’m listening, Robs,” Steve says, leaning forward to rest elbows on knees, condensation dripping off the can of Coors Light between his hands. “Keith’s been on one lately. I’ll fight him for you, if y’want.”

Robin snorts. You fit another elastic around her second braid, just as she brings her fist up to bump against Steve’s. “We’ll tag team him. Out back by the dumpsters. Great place to hide a body.”

“Jesus, Robin,” Steve chides, over the sound of your giggle.

She pushes herself up from off the ground, smoothing hands over her fresh braids as she thanks you, then turns to walk towards the huddled group of teens, winking over her shoulder- “Gotta show the kiddies what a real Checker Champ looks like.”

There’s a din of excitement as Robin joins, cheering and clapping echoing across the lawn- beside you, Steve stiffens, just slightly.

You pretend not to notice, instead scooching over until your shorts-covered thigh is pressing against his leg. Steve makes a happy noise in the back of his throat, wraps the arm not impeded by a beer can around your shoulders, tucking his nose to the top of your head.

“Feeling okay?” You try to keep your tone light, neutral, plucking a stray thread from Steve’s jeans absentmindedly.

He nods into your hair, squeezing your opposite shoulder- “Yeah. How ‘bout you?”

Ignoring his immediate deflection in the form of a question, you spread your hand flat over his thigh, thumb running up the side seam of denim, a bit more earnest in your questioning- “It’s just- are you okay? You’d tell me if you wanted to go home, right? You know I’m always happy to make some excu-”

“I don’t want to go home. I’m fine.”

Steve rarely ever interrupts you, even more rare that he speaks to you with any sort of anger, which is why the sharpness of those short sentences is enough to have you pulling back to look at him, incredulous and a little wounded (though you do your best not to show it).

He seems to realize his mistake as soon the words are out of his mouth; Steve winces, palm still warm over your shoulder blade, comforting squeeze as he cuts in, quickly- “Honey. Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. I’m just- I’m good, okay? You don’t have to worry about me.”

Your eyes roam over his face: the deep-set apology in those amber eyes, the soft lock of hair flopping over his forehead, the twist at the corner of his mouth. You fit your thumb to it, and the shape changes, your heart lurching as he smiles against your touch. “Steve-”

“Steve!”

The moment you say his name softly there’s a louder, more piercing version being yelled from a few yards away, Dustin waving frantically amidst Robin’s triumphant cackles- “Steve! Stop making out and come help, Robin’s whipping our asses!”

Steve blinks, and you can pinpoint the exact second he gives in, shuttering those walls back up with a straightened spine. One tender kiss to your palm, then he rises, leaving the beer in his empty seat- “Duty calls.”

After a robust round of Crazy Checkers surrounded by shrieking children, Steve’s energy is waning, you can tell- there’s this certain way he holds himself, little indicators of pain and discomfort that you’ve learned to pick up on; his finger taps mindlessly on the rim of his plastic water cup, the space between his neck and shoulders is one tight line, and his silence has been absorbed by the miasma of noise all around.

No one else seems to have noticed, too absorbed in eating and joking with mouthfuls of food, everyone crammed around two shoved-together picnic tables.

Robin jostles into your side reaching for the ketchup, which in turn makes you bump into Steve on your right; when you hear the sharp intake of his breath, you lean in, careful to keep up appearances, making it seem like you’re whispering a sweet nothing, hand cupped around his ear to dampen all the other sounds.

“Will you let me take you home?”

Should’ve known that wasn’t gonna work. Steve squeezes your leg under the table, his hand wracked with tiny tremors, smile tight and not reaching his eyes as he turns to whisper back, “Quit asking. Stop worrying. I’m fine.”

So goddamn stubborn. Well, so be it, Harrington. You scoff, as if he’s just told a joke timed to the beat of overlapping conversations, and peel yourself off of his side.

Cool air seeps up your bare arm where it had been kept warm in the crook of Steve’s own arm. It feels strange, to not have some sort of constant contact- but if Steve is playing the obstinate game, count you in.

Twenty minutes later, lunch and its accompanying mess has been cleared away, many hands making light work, and Eddie has brought out his stereo system to try and goad the anti-dancers of the group to join a makeshift dance floor.

Jonathan’s playing at being too post-meal sleepy to move off the bench, while Will and Eddie tussle and pull at him, and everyone’s laughing but you can’t focus on anything other than Steve- silent and stiff at your side, doing the bare minimum of human interaction to fly under the radar of suspicion.

Your radar, however, is finely tuned, and you know he’s minutes away from needing to be horizontal; it’s physically painful to keep your hands to yourself as they long to soothe, hugging arms-crossed around your own middle to keep from reaching for him.

Jonathan joins the dance circle with shambling reluctance, and when everyone cheers, Steve’s voice is at your ear, faint and sounding like a shadow of himself- “Gonna use the bathroom. Save me a piece of pie.” And with a final squeeze to your shoulder, he starts back down the path to the Munson’s new trailer.

Two minutes is a rather generous amount of time, in your opinion, to stay seated- until Robin splits from the jumping, dancing fray, light sheen of sweat on her forehead as she bends towards your seated form- “If you wanna go check on Dingus, I’ll make up a good excuse for you both.”

Overwhelmed with gratefulness and anxiety, you pull Robin into a quick hug, then make a smooth break for the winding gravel path.

The noises of the party fade as you walk through the door of the trailer, wiping your feet on the Welcome mat but keeping them on in case you need to make a quick exit with a sick partner in tow.

“Steve?” You keep your calling quiet, rounding the corner of the sun-warmed trailer walls towards the sliding bathroom door, then pull up short- Steve’s sitting against the closed door, on the outside of it, shoes planted on the rug, hands in fists at his side.

His head is tipped forward, resting on bent knees; his glasses are tucked by one arm into the neck of his collared tee, bellows of his breath coming shallow and quick.

Sinking to your knees beside him, you press a hand to the back of his neck, firm pressure against the taut muscle, attempting to bring some relief; Steve makes a choked, whimpery noise, and it almost breaks you.

A wave of helplessness washes through your veins; in defiance of the feeling, you suck in a steadying breath, grasping at adrenaline-fueled resolve as you run through the mental checklist of warning signs.

Thanks to Doc Owens (and the one-and-only appointment you forced Steve into last year, when you found him passed out on your kitchen floor from overheating in the summer sun), you know what to look for, and it gives purpose to your movements.

Steve’s breathing is rapid but not emergency-levels; he’s sweating, but not entirely through his shirt, yet; you get him to lift his head with murmured encouragement- thick lashes rimmed with tears, flushed cheeks reflecting heat back into your palms, and you find what you’re looking for- the black of his pupils equally dilated, twin moons almost eclipsing the almond-brown of his irises.

Last time Steve got a migraine, it lasted for hours, a whole sweltering afternoon of him pale and in pain on your couch, arm draped over his eyes while you kept a rotating supply of fresh ice packs to his temples and top of his spine.

The worst part of all, besides seeing Steve in pain, is the fact that he so resolutely denies himself the help that he would give others, in a heartbeat. Years of putting himself on a back burner, of making sure his nearest and dearest are taken care of before he even thinks about his own needs, have stuck firm.

Steve doesn’t have any heels left to dig in, now, as you feel the slide-grind of his teeth beneath your hands; you let your thumbs brush down his cheeks, a small movement to say I’m here, I’m not leaving you, and his eyes flutter shut.

“Gonna take you home,” you say, soft as your hands that drop to the broad width of his shoulders, “And this time I’m not asking.”

“Okay,” Steve manages, voice thin and strained, and you hate how much that single word is soaked in defeat.

Moving slow, you manage to get Steve on his feet- he leans heavy against you, waving off your offer to get Robin or Eddie to help with a simple and devastatingly earnest “Please, don’t, just want you-”; at a snail’s pace down the hall, in tandem down the front steps, Steve’s eyes slamming shut to block out the waning light of the sunset as you guide him to the Beemer, thankfully out of sight from the party.

You get him settled in the passenger seat, pocketing his glasses and sliding the seatbelt into place across his chest with a click; while you don’t want to make Steve feel any more childlike than he already probably feels, you can’t stop from pressing a kiss to his cheek before pulling away, adding in a voice that you hope is quiet enough-

“If you’re gonna throw up, do it in the glovebox, okay? This is my boyfriend’s car, and I can’t have him knowing I’m taking strays home. Especially since you’re so handsome.”

Steve smiles weakly at your joke- his eyes are still closed but he catches your hand wrapped around the seatbelt, brings your knuckles up to his lips- “Sure thing, honey.”

There are footsteps crunching up the gravel, and you straighten in the tight space of the partially open car door to find Robin approaching.

She stops a few feet away, hands planted on her hips with a shake of her head. “Jesus, Harrington, you look like shit.”

Steve, eyes still closed and leaning back on the headrest, says to you in an obvious, scratchy stage-whisper- “Maybe if we stay reaaaal still, she won’t know we’re here.”

“If you didn’t look ready to keel over at any moment, I’d punch you for that,” Robin snipes, rocking heel to toe in her converse, locking eyes with you- “Need a good excuse?”

Relief washes out any remaining traces of helplessness. You breathe a sigh. “Yes. Please and thank you, Robs.”

“I got you covered. Emergency at the office, sink sprung a leak, a goldfish death in the family- got ‘em locked and loaded.” She shoots you two exuberant thumbs up, then sobers a bit, expression dropping. “Just. Take care of him, okay?”

You shut the car door with the least amount of noise you can manage, bumping your hip into the handle so the inner latch catches, then squeeze Robin’s hand on your way to the driver’s seat. “I will, Robin. I’ll call your landline later, let you know if he’s up for visitors.”

With a final salute, the ends of Robin’s hair fan out as she jogs back to the party, outdoor sounds disappearing as you duck into the car.

The ride home is mostly silent as you listen for Steve’s breathing, taking each stop sign and turn in the road with measured slowness. Brake, check for signs of life, and creep onwards.

You’re less than three blocks from Loch Nora when Steve leans into the sling of his belt, one hand flat against the dash, the other to his stomach, and you’re quick to swallow down panic, asking in what you hope is a calm voice, “Are you gonna throw up?”

“No,” Steve says, chin dropping to his chest, huffing- then, quietly, “Maybe.”

You’ve already pulled off the main road, throwing the gear shift into park before unbuckling and scrambling around in the seat pocket behind you, plastic grocery bag you’d stashed months ago for occasions such as this crinkling in your fist.

Steve’s fingers on the dash curl into a fist. There’s a spike of alarm you claw at, capture, and shove back, unable to quell the rush of murmured comfort as you lean across the middle console- “Here, baby. ‘S okay. You’re okay. I’ve got you, you’re safe…”

Steve doesn’t take the bag that you press into his left hand, still in a fist at his abdomen; his eyes are squeezed shut under slanted dark brows, and tears begin leaking out, coursing in rivulets down cheeks gone pallid. His voice is barely more than a croak when he speaks.

“I just want to be normal.”

And then, Steve���s crying in earnest: short breathy sobs and strung-out whimpers, like the only thing that hurts more than the act of crying itself would be to hold it all in.

The plastic bag gets shoved to the side as you pull Steve in, hands soothing down the shuddering planes of his back, your voice soothing and breaking in equal measure- “I know, baby, I know, I’m so sorry…”

Hot tears drip down your neck as his forehead rolls against your shoulder. Steve’s hands ball into fists, fabric of your shirt caught in his desperate grounding attempt, fighting through the wreck to speak broken secrets against your bare skin-

“Jus’ wanna be normal. Just want to drink a fucking beer without getting a goddamn headache afterwards. I wanted to stay at the party, wanted to…”

Breath catching, a fresh jolt of pain, and Steve’s whimpering like a child against your chest, unspooling a release that’s been building for over a year- Steve never affords himself time for a breakdown, and it’s all coming to a head now.

“It’s not fair,” Steve grits out. He’s doing his best to ride the wave but it’s threatening to pull him under; you can tell by the sinking weight of his head at your collarbone, the way his hands loosen and go lax at your sides, sobs giving way to gritting teeth and steel-tight jaw as Steve battles back the slicing pain in his head.

You know this is a purging, of sorts, and you’re grateful that your boy feels safe enough around you to let go and feel, but you also know that him getting worked up is just going to prolong an already-bad migraine.

So you let your hands drift up again, take his face between your palms, let his forehead rest against yours, speaking low, stripped raw with honesty.

“You’re right, honey. It’s not fair.” Your thumbs smooth gentle against his cheeks, under the dark lashes that flutter into your touch. “I’m so sorry that you have to go through this, and you’re allowed to be upset- but right now, I need you to just breathe, okay, Stevie? Can you do that for me?”

It gives Steve something to focus on, instead of spiraling out- he’s obedient, clutching at your shirt again, eyes shut in concentration, trying to match his too-fast breathing to your steadied tempo. Your fingers wind into the longer pieces of hair at the base of his skull, notching against the pressure points Doc Owens instructed you on ages ago.

Steve shivers. Lets out a dry, choking laugh that sounds nothing like him. “Couldn’t even last one full afternoon.”

He sounds so disappointed in himself. It makes your heart ache, tears stinging at your own eyes as you respond, still gentle despite your first instinct to bite back against his self-loathing. “Steve, give yourself some credit. You’re doing remarkably well, considering the circumstances.”

Steve scoffs, makes to lean back and away but your hands stop him in his tracks, nose to nose with you now as you insist, “When you had to drive Max home because her leg was hurting during Will’s birthday party, you didn’t judge her, right? Didn’t question why she needed a ride home?”

With this proximity, you can see the light dusting of freckles spanning the width of his cheeks, color returning slow but sure. He doesn’t try to pull away again so you keep speaking. “And all those times you’ve taken care of me during a nightmare, or had to come home early ‘cuz I just couldn’t stand an empty room. Remember?

“You were there for me. Always have been, just like I’m gonna be here for you. Better or worse, Harrington. You’re stuck with me.”

There’s a puff of warm air against your lips, a half-laugh but you’ll take it, pulling him in by the elbows, nuzzling against the side of Steve’s tear-lined face for a close hug as you whisper, “I’m really glad you’re alive.”

Your nose follows the slope of his neck down, brushes at the rippled line of scarring, tissue healed but still lightly raised in a ring at the base of his throat.

“Really glad,” you whisper, fiercely.

___

Steve lets you take him home. Even lets you baby him, a bit; though you make a solid effort to not infantilize him, there lives in you a deep desire to swaddle Steve in a blanket and keep him there. Safe from all the swirling noise and light and too-bright colors of the harsh world.

You compromise. Get Steve stretched out on the couch, take his shoes off with a calculated swoop-tug, lay his favorite green knitted blanket over the length of his body.

There’s a pill bottle on the kitchen counter that you pocket, leaving his glasses folded in its place. Blue ice pack burning-cold until you wrap a thin dishcloth around it to take out the sting, you bring it to Steve’s side along with a glass of water.

He takes the pills you offer with a wince- sitting up causes the blood to pound at his temples so you help him back down, sliding the ice pack into place at the top of his spine where the pain is blooming.

From your place on the floor, you monitor Steve, one hand stroking soft at his chest to lull his breaths to normal. After a few minutes, his brows smooth out; a few more, and he’s taking careful blinks in the low-lit room.

“C’mere,” he says, voice still scratchy, doe-brown eyes pleading, catching your hand on the upstroke and giving a small tug. When you start to protest, he whines, sounding more and more like himself by the minute- “Come here, baby. Please.”

Another compromise. Keeping the jostling to a minimum, you settle into Steve’s side, ear pressed over the thumping beat of his heart, arms fit around his waist.

Steve holds you. Breathes. Says, “Thanks. ‘M sorry we had to leave so early.”

Nose tilting up, you kiss against his scar again. “It’s okay. I really didn’t want to dance, and Eddie was about to drag my ass out there against my will so really, you did us all a favor.”

Under your head, Steve’s chest dips and rises with a laugh. His lips press into the crown of your head, and you can feel his smile as he says, “You’re dancin’ with me next time. I wanna see some ass shaking at our next family barbecue.”

You exhale a laugh, too, kiss his jaw, his cheek. “Okay, Swayze. Next time.”

Eventually, you both fall asleep, winding down sleepy and safe in each other’s arms, Steve’s pain eased to near-extinction with the care you’ve given him.

Later you’ll call Robin, give her an update for her peace of mind, cuddle up to Steve some more and listen to a record.

But for now, you’ve got a boy in your arms and the warmth of his body as your anchor into the dreaming.

[artmolonara]

Snow Day - A Lumpy Where's Waldo Story

A continuation of the Uncle Waldo series I've been creating. You can read the last two chapters, Lullaby Bye and Peek-A-Boo, via the links.

Also shout out to @nami-ramen again for continuing to make awesome illustrations based on my writing. You can see their rendition of the Peek-A-Boo chapter here (I also love the idea that the Detective was awake :oD)

Ok, fair warning: this one is a doozy, and deals with some VERY HEAVY subject matter that may be uncomfortable to some (Nothing bad done by our titular Waldo tho, he a "good" boy in this)

*** Proceed with Caution, and Enjoy ***

Two years. Seemed hard to believe how the time was flying. Waldo felt it not in his own body, but saw it on those he had been watching. That being, the Detective, and their child, Junior.

Enough time had now passed since Wenda's death that grief no longer clung to the Detective like a shadow. Waldo now only saw it periodically, in the night.

And Junior, they were now walking and talking, kinda, all over the place. The pair of them had begun to take walks over stroller rides, and Waldo had enjoyed tagging along on their strolls as a distant watcher. Every now and again, Junior might spot Waldo, and he'd give a wave. The kid seemed better at finding him than the Detective was.

Truly an marvelous development.

...

The end of the year was upon the world, and with it, snow had arrived.

Waldo liked snowy days, and not just because he liked to paint the snow with stripes of red, or watch screams become visible in the cold air, but also because the world could truly be still on winter days. Never was anytime truly as quiet, calming.

Though quiet wasn't what he was seeking right now. What was bringing him more joy was the squeals of delight carrying on the breeze as Junior and the Detective slide down a snow covered hill on a toboggan for the 11th time in a row.

It was a popular spot in the park, and a bunch of other families were sledding and snowboarding there as well, all enjoying the winter break.

Waldo watched from the other side of the frozen pines, unseen by all.

It was a rather fun thing, sledding. Part of Waldo wished he could join in on the activity, but alas, he must remain unseen, as per the game. For now, he was content to just observe. Perhaps, if he was lucky, he might watch one of the sledders, other than his hunter and their ward, wipe out spectacularly.

The wish was clearly a premonition, as within the minute, a rambunctious teen lost control of their snowboard, tumbling and crashing into a tree at incredible speeds, leaving their leg twisted backwards. Waldo smirked to himself at the screams that filled the air.

The responsible adults there, the Detective included, were immediately drawn to the scene. The Detective turned to Junior, speaking and gesturing to them in a way that Waldo recognized as "stay put." They then walked over with most of the other parents, leaving a series of kids sitting on the slop.

Junior was well behaved, Waldo knew, and was very good at staying put when told to, so there was no fear of them wandering off.

...

That was when Waldo noticed the man.

He seemed to come from behind a tree, as if he had always been there. Waldo was surprised he hadn't spied such a festive sweater.

Slowly, he walked in the direction of everyone, pausing to look at the commotion. After a moment, he looked towards the hill, and all of the children there.

The hairs on Waldo's neck stood up straight in recognition. He knew a predator when he saw one.

It began to make a beeline for Junior at an even pace. Waldo's grip tightened on his walking stick.

Did it dare?

It crouched down next to Junior, saying something to them, to which the child gave no reaction. Then, with a final glace around, the dingo scooped up the baby, and began to walk briskly away.

Oh, it did.

No one else had seen, all their attention had been on the lame teen screaming their guts out. But Waldo had seen, and when he was done, he was going to make those wails sound like cries of joy in comparison.

Oh, this will be fun...

...

Waldo could move extremely fast when he wanted to. Teleportation was one mode he traveled, but he could move in the space between that as well. Were anyone to see, they might just notice a strange, slightly sparking, gust of wind moving through the park, and how the lamps it passed seemed to blink on for a second.

He tracked the creature to the parking lot, seeing just as the car began to turn out. It moved at an leisurely pace, obviously not wanting to draw attention to itself.

Waldo kept pace with it, until it came to the first stop sign right at the park exit. Then, Waldo made himself reappear, inconspicuously, right next to the sign. Feigning a smile, Waldo waved at the car, and began to cross the road, acting like a common pedestrian.

The creature in the driver's seat feigned a polite smile back, acting like a common human. Waldo got a better look at it. The person suit it wore was unremarkable, a rather convincing disguise. His gaze looked then to the passenger's seat, where Junior was sitting. The child's blank face of confusion suddenly turned up to a smile in recognition at seeing their Uncle Waldo.

Waldo felt his smile twitch into a sneer. They were sitting in a booster seat.

A damned booster seat.

It had done this before.

I'm going to take my time with this one.

Stopping directly in front of the car, Waldo leaned forward on his cane, and began to stare daggers at the driver, still keeping his smirk. The creature's grin faulted a little, and it gave a polite beep with the horn. Waldo just shook his head, and rested his foot on the bumper, smile now becoming much, much wider.

The dingo caught on now, all pretense gone. In an attempt at retaliation, the gas was floored, but the tires only spun in the slushy snow, unmoving against Waldo's heel.

Enough preamble. Waldo slammed the end of his cane into the compacted ice, and there was a sudden sparking light in and around the car. Streetlights overhead flared and exploded, the car's engine sputtered and died, and before the beast had time to react, another cane appeared from the dark of the back seat and hooked around the creature's neck, pulling it taught against the headrest with no hope of air.

Move, and you die.

It was a command said by him, but not by HIM him.

While the creature's struggling stilled, an arm, identical to Waldo's own, reached passed and hit the child lock button. Waldo nodded, walking over the the passenger's door and opening it.

Junior's eyes had been locked on Waldo, and now seeing him closer, they reached out their arms, "Wally!"

Waldo's smile softened, "Hey, kiddo. Quite an adventure you're on today, but I think it's time we go back to the Detective. Don't want them to think something," he glanced up at the tumor, "bad happened to you." His teeth bared a bit wider as the cane around it's neck tightened to the point it's eyes bulged; the gurgle was pleasant to hear.

He undid the straps and picked Junior up and out of the car. As soon as he kicked the door shut, the car came back to life.

Drive.

The vehicle took off, and Waldo took a moment to wave goodbye, Junior mimicking.

He would catch up later.

...

No less than fifteen minutes had elapsed since the start of the whole ordeal, and over the sound of the distant ambulance sirens, Waldo could hear the Detective calling out for Junior. Their voice was just starting to shift in pitch from worry to general concern, and there was at least two other voices calling out as well.

As they reached a spot nearby, still out of view, Waldo slowly lowered Junior down to their feet, kneeling beside them.

"You OK?" Waldo asked, taking a moment to look the child over to makes sure nothing was out of place.

Still in good spirits, glancing off in the direction they were being called, Junior just gave a distracted, "Uh huh."

Waldo sighed, a worry now filling his chest, which was a very strange sensation, "OK well... listen OK?" He put his hands on the their shoulders.

Bright eyes looked to his, focusing when they saw how serious he was.

"You have to be careful of people you don't know. There are adults out there that could-"

Another call for Junior. There wasn't time to go into a full stranger danger lesson, unfortunately. He hoped the Detective would do that for him soon after.

"Just try to stay close to your Uncle Waldo and the Detective, OK? And if anyone else tries to take you somewhere or do something you don't like, you bite them." He put up his hands to mimic claws, "Like a T-Rex."

Junior smiled, and made a soft "Rawr!"

Waldo chuckled, "Rawr, that's right." The worry still swirled in his chest, and acting on it, he hugged Junior to him protectively.

"Just... be careful OK? I can't always be around to protect you..."

Almost as if comforting him, Junior's tiny hand patted his arm, followed by a soft, "Oh kay."

The Detective called again, and Junior turned away as Waldo let go. He smiled, "Race you to the Detective, ready?" He faked prepping a sprint, to which the child bounded in place with new adrenaline, "ReadysetGO!"

Junior took off, leaving Waldo sitting in the snow. He took a moment, quelling the waves of anxiousness he wasn't at all used to, before standing up and watching again from a distance.

Junior was found immediately, the Detective seemingly going through the same motions and emotions Waldo just had with Junior, talking somewhat sternly before hugging with relief. The pair soon left the park in the wake of the ambulance taking the forgotten lame teen to the hospital.

...

Later that evening, Waldo visited the Detective residence. Junior had already been sent to bed, having just transitioned out of the crib. The Detective now sat alone in front of a small smoldering fireplace, staring into the embers with an exhausted expression, a half finished mug of hot cocoa on the coffee table before them.

Waldo knew what they must be thinking, as his thoughts were there too. And while Waldo could see down the current path and knew that things would turn out alright, the worry and looming fear of what could have happened or happen was as oppressive as the cold night.

When the Detective nodded into sleep, and a passing car's engine roared, Waldo let himself in. He put out the remaining fire, then found a blanket on the couch to lay across the Detective's from. Long hands rested gently on weary shoulders, giving them a soft squeeze.

"Don't worry, they'll be alright," a gentle reassuring pat, a thumb caressing the base of a neck, "They have us. And we are in this together."

Tension slowly left the sleeping form. Waldo smiled, picking up the mug and downing the rest of the lukewarm liquid, lips on the rim touching the ghost of the Detective's in an indirect kiss.

A grandfather clock began to chime twelve. Waldo smirked with his last sip.

Time to have some fun.

"I'll see you for the holidays," He promised before vanishing with a crack. The Detective stirred, blearily looking around, before getting up to check on Junior.

...

It was at the final stroke of midnight that Waldo materialized before the darkened building on the edge of town. The perfect playground where he and his selves wouldn't be interrupted.

A small concrete room awaited. Inside had been strung up with red and white lights, glinting off the various tools and blunt objects strewn about like x-mas toys. Seems his alters also couldn't wait for the holidays to begin.

They looked at him as he came in.

"Ah good, we're all here then." Five sets of eyes feel on the dangerous cancer tied to a chair in the middle of the room. It struggled against its bonds, whimpering out muffled pleas for mercy behind duct tape. All futile.

It was a shame this work was going to have to be unaccredited. He would have loved to string this monster up by it's intestines for the Detective as a present. But unfortunately, the game required him to be subtle. Still, that didn't mean he couldn't play.

The situation had already been explained to it, why this was happening, and what was going to happen. The horror in it's eyes was at it's peak. Good, now they could get the party started.

A small radio was switched on, the static of cycling through stations rung the room like a drum. After a couple channels of festive music were passed over, a station playing Queen's Don't Stop Me Now was selected.

The tune filled Waldo up with anticipation, and he began to prance about to the rhythm. He channeled it all, all the new emotions, into a feeling of righteous fury that fueled him. Oh, he would make this last. Last for a very, very long time.

And as the Waldos began to harmonize with Mercury, dancing towards the beast with canes and weapons raised, the inhuman thing screamed out in glorious terror.

...

"COLD" CASE BODY FOUND

Warning: This news story contains graphic descriptions of crimes that may disturb some readers.

A dismembered and decimated body was discovered on Friday, February 14th hidden in a snowman in a local park.

This killing, according to police statements, is connected to the body parts found in snowmen that have been found over the last few months. DNA testing has identified them as belonging to the individual, but identification of the victim has yet to be determined.

The first of the body parts, a thumb, was discovered in early January of this year, hidden inside of a snowman in a local picnic area. Several others were soon discovered in the area, including more fingers, toes, and teeth. All had minor stages of decomposition due to being encased in snow, and analysts determined that all were removed from a living victim.

More snowmen appeared over the next few weeks, including more and more body parts taken from a still living victim. Evidence of torture was found, including blunt force trauma, stab wounds, electrocution, asphyxiation, poisoning, removal of skin, insect and animal predation, and burning via gasoline.

The body recovered showed extensive abuse, according to witnesses. "It wasn't even a person anymore," one witness described, "just a torso with it's heart exposed, like one of those anatomy classroom statues, but burnt to a crisp and if the peeled muscle side was the whole thing."

The final cause of death was determined to be hypothermia, and set just hours before the body was discovered. It is possible that the victim was encased into a snowman while still alive.

The hunt for the perpetrator is still ongoing. Our reporters got the following statement from the chief of police during yesterday's briefing.

"The person who committed this heinous act will be brought to justice. The manhunt has been expanded to the neighboring counties, and we urge anyone with any information to come forward."

When asked if this is at all tied to the Waldo killings that occurred almost 3 years ago, the chief of police stated, "There is no evidence linking those cases at this time. This appears to be just a single victim over a long period, which does not match the MO of Waldo."

Identification of the body is expected to be determined next week.

...

Alert

Be on the look out for this man, Fred-----------. Last seen three months ago.

The assailant's vehicle was discovered in ---------- with evidence of child kidnapping and -------------- discovered in a hidden compartment.

If you see this man, contact authorities immediately.

...

Missing Children Found

5 children have been discovered after having been missing for months.

They are identified as ------------, ---------------, ---------------,----------------------, and ------------------------------. All were victims of kidnapping at various different times last year. According to reports, all have evidence of various types of abuse.

The children were discovered outside the local detective office, having apparently been dropped off.

The children have been reunited with their families and are expected to receive treatment for their trauma.

We reached out to the families and the officers on this case for more information.

"Well of course, we're really relieved that she's home, and she's safe now," the mother of one of the children told us in an interview. "According to ---------, she was saved from a bad man by a bunch of Santa's elves. I've never been one for praying until our baby was taken, and I think perhaps someone must have heard our prayer and returned our baby to us."

All children seem to identify that they were being held somewhere dark and abused by a man described as -------------------------, then being left alone a long time without food before being "rescued" by multiple different people. These individuals reportedly fed and cared for them for a short while before releasing them.

One child described the rescuers as looking like "Mr. Mint from Candyland".

At this time, no assailants have been identified. Investigation of this case is still ongoing.

...

It would be a couple weeks more before the Detective figured something out.

The placement of the snowmen seemed random at first, but after piecing it together in order of appearance, words began to form in red string upon the town map.

The last one, the body, was the final dot in the exclamation:

DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS!

~FIN/to be continued~

OK, a long one, I know, but god, I just needed a creep like that to suffer, and to make Waldo go full Dexter/Rorschach on them. Also if it wasn't obvious, old Freddy K was the inspiration for that guy (the remake one at that) F that guy!

I think I have just one more Junior focused Waldo fic planned, and perhaps a "X-mas special" involving the Detective and a sprig of mistletoe.

By the way, if you like my work, please consider supporting me on Ko-Fi, would really help me out a lot right now.

BUY ME A KO-FI

[toastling]

Ever wonder what would've happened if The Owl house aired in 2013?

That's right.

We would have had an OWLSTUCK.

They would've been rendered accordingly and there would've been a short-lived comic spoken of fondly by both fanbases.

Anyway here are some kids and their classpects.

Luz Noceda - Page of Light. Duh. Most obvious one on this list. You *could* make a very strong argument for Page of Hope too, but aside from her name literally BEING Light, I think it fits a bit more. Too bad you can't multi-aspect. Though let's be real, if anybody COULD, it would be Luz Noceda, so who knows, maybe that's her special Snest (in-world Sburb variant) given gift.

Amity Blight - Witch of Breath. Breath is a lot to do with one's self in the sense of self-actualization and understanding. She needed a lil help getting there but I feel Amity fits this quite well!

Willow Park - Mage of Life. In Homestuck, Life as an aspect is most closely tied to healing, but it can also be quite literal, as we do see Life aspected characters resurrect dead friends. I think if any aspect would allow one to wield life in the most literal sense via battle plants, it'd be, well, Life!

Gus Porter - Seer of Mind. This is a class and aspect wombo combo that fits him to a goddamn T. He's far sharper about others thoughts and natures than people think, including himself. Learning to trust in his intuition is his arc. He has a pretty good grasp of others, even if he does tend to try to focus more on the good bits than the bad, even when the latter may be pertinent.

King Clawthorne - Prince of Blood. Literal royalty in name and nature, with the Blood of the Titan running through his veins whether he realizes it or not. A Prince is an active destructive class with incredible offensive capability, one that destroys its aspect or through it, in this case, Blood. As a Titan, that potential is there for King. But we know the little guy wouldn't use it unless he had to. Right?

Hunter - Heir of Time. Of all the characters, no one fits the aspect of Time better than Hunter given his relations and just how many of him have existed throughout the ages. And as for Heir, I mean, could it be any more obvious?

Vee - Sylph of Space. Conceptually, Space means a lot of things in Homestuck, and is seen by the fandom as one of the "fundamental" aspects. A common theory is no game has a potential to win without both a Space and Time player. But one thing Space represents is Form and Boundary. It is the amorphous stage the play of reality is set upon. What better for a shapeshifter? Sylphs are essentially a Healer class.

Masha - Rogue of Doom. A Thief steals for their own benefit, and a Rogue for the benefit of others. Masha Stole Doom from the entirety of her Reality Check Summer Camp crew, *especially* Vee, giving her her very first friend, potential crush, and a new home and lease on life.

The Collector - Lord of Void. He is Everything and Nothing and can create or uncreate both at will. The Lord embodies their aspect to the absolute. They are a Master class, all-powerful and uncontested in their domain. He is a leftover from a previous game of Snest, one played between just two people, the other, of course, being...

Papa Titan - Muse of Life. We've never seen an adult play any variant of Sburb. But to deal with the Collector and his games, I think he may have had no choice. A Muse, too, is a Master Class, but far more passive. The Titan is how all life in the Demon Realm exists. The Titan *is* the Isles. How much more Life-aligned can you be? And as effectively just a corpse at this point, obviously, he's pretty passive.

Emperor Belos - Knight of Rage. A perfect mastery of his aspect to both directly harm and to manipulate, a truly terrifying foe. Again, adults aren't normally players, but, you better believe he's the reason this whole damn apocalypse happened in the first place.

Boom wrote that up in like 20 minutes, welcome to my special hell.

If by chance somebody actually *likes* this and wants more for some godforsaken reason, I'll give the kids a strife specibus too.

[sourpatchys]

Tea Prompts, Tomura Shigaraki

You can find the original prompt post here!

Let me know if there are any other characters you’d like to see any of these prompts for! This was really fun!

Warning: some adult themes are thrown in here! This isn’t a NSFW piece but I did include some references to sexual activity, please read with caution if that’s not your cup of tea <3 (most of these are completely SFW)

A/n: these were written with a F!Reader in mind, most of them can be read either way! Though occasionally she/her pronouns are used<3

Masterlist Guidelines

Lemon Tea; What are Mornings like with them?

Tomura isn’t much of a sleeper— so mornings together tend to be rare and far between— but when he actually manages to sleep a full eight hours, the mornings you have together are very peaceful.

He isn’t a morning person by any means. He’s groggy, grumpy and completely nonverbal for the first hour or more. With you he can loosen up a bit, sliding his cold hands and feet into your general space, switching fingers every few minutes just to make sure they’re all warming up properly.

Some mornings he’ll wrap you in a bear hug that your absolutely positive could crack a few ribs— though you love it all the same.

This is the time you two have just to yourselves— no league, no missions, no plans for world domination— just two people laying in bed waiting for the sun to fully rise.

—

Peppermint tea; What do they get excited about?

A pretty obvious answer would be video games, but in all honesty, Tomura loves to talk.

To speak and be heard, to engage in conversation and bounce ideas back and forth— that’s what really gets him going. He loves to plot, to scheme and gossip about anything and everything.

Outwardly it’ll be nearly impossible to tell, he really isn’t the kind of guy who would let anyone know something this personal (so vulnerable), though everyone notices the spark in his eyes when he really gets going on a topic he’s passionate about.

If you were to ask follow up questions, to engage yourself fully in his monologues and spiels, it’s just like giving a kid a candy bar.

And if you were to get angry for him?? To enrage yourself over anything he may say, to become furious at the same situation or person he hates so much— it’s almost enough to fully break his cover.

It’s one thing for him to be elated over the prospect of another person feeling his rage, but it’s another entirely if he starts to feel yours. Stupid highschool bully stories, that one girl in band class that broke your flute— it doesn’t matter— he’ll start eating it up as if he hasn’t had a meal in years.

—

Chamomile tea; What is their sleep schedule like? Does it change around their s/o?

To put it bluntly, Tomura doesn’t have a sleep schedule— he sleeps when his body gives out.

Even before his memories had re-emerged, blotchy nightmares plagued him. Every morning he’d wake up sick to his stomach, the itch under his skin growing by the millisecond. So— he learned to adapt.

2-3 hour power naps kept the nightmares at bay and gave him enough stamina for whatever was to come. His lack of sleep was a large driving force in his erratic behavior early on, grumpy and irritable.

With you though, he finds the nightmares to be less oppressive. He still doesn’t sleep enough, but he finds that taking a couple days out of the week to rest fully isn’t so bad.

If he has a nightmare, the cycle will break back to its bare bones and it’ll take awhile to resurface. As long as you’re patient and as long as he’s willing, he’ll be back to sleeping properly.

Though as a whole, it could take years before he’s ready to sleep regularly again.

—

Earl grey tea; How did they court their s/o?

He didn’t. He isn’t a romantic— he honestly hated you when he started to feel more than just average companionship towards you.

Not a single bushel of roses were bought, no dates were had— hell— you didn’t even know you were together until about a month in when he got pissed at you for getting injured!

“If you ever do that again we’re breaking up.”

Any confusion would only piss him off more— giving you the silent treatment for a few days before he’d finally cave in with some very dead and very wilted wild flowers in hand.

“What is this??”

“Shut the fuck up and take them.”

He honestly just decides that you’re the one he wants— it doesn’t really matter to him how you feel about it.

—

Milk tea; What are their kisses like?

At first, Tomura’s kisses are gentle, childlike and timid— like he isn’t sure what exactly he’s supposed to be doing.

Then— they become untamed— sloppy and harsh. He bites and slobbers, prods and maims, anything to get as close to you as possible.

He won’t kiss you unless you’re completely alone, far away from any prying eyes and peaked interests. He’s not going to show that part of himself to anyone but you.

Teeth and tongue, cracked lips that— if chapped enough— can cut into your own. Kissing is a frenzy, very rarely will you ever get a soft peck or a loving press of his lips onto yours.

—

Coffee; Do they get jealous easily? How do they show it?

Absolutely. Tomura— even as a rising symbol of fear— is extremely self conscious.

He’d never let you leave— as stated above— he didn’t even really give you a choice when it came to being together in the first place.

But even so, the insecurity of you looking away from him, finding someone better or more handsome— it makes his blood run cold.

If there’s someone who touches you and lingers a little too long, if there’s someone you smile at a little too brightly, he’s not above taking their life. Of course it always starts with a threat, either to them or to you.

He wants you to tell him you’ll never leave, he wants you to crumble and cry and tell him everything is exactly as it should be. He is not a kind man, and in times like these it becomes ever apparent that he never will be.

Tomura protects what’s his, and even with free will, you belong to him whether you like it or not.

—

Rosehip tea; How romantic are they? How do they show affection?

Tomura isn’t romantic. At least not in the traditional sense. You can tell he cares by the look in his eyes or his apprehensive nature towards your roll in whatever the league may be doing next.

He keeps you away from danger, even though he, himself, is the biggest danger to you.

If you were to ask for something— anything— he would get it for you. He’s very straight forward, and he wants the people he cares about to able to do, and have whatever they want.

His love language is physical touch, and even though he keeps all the affection he has for you behind closed doors— as soon as those doors are closed, he’s all over you.

Running his hands up and down your stomach, gripping at the squish on your thighs, shoving his head into the crook of your neck, palming your breasts just to remember the feel of them.

He treats you like a fragile porcelain doll.

—

Black tea; What do they look for in a person?

Honestly he wasn’t looking. The concept of romance was completely uninteresting to him— he didn’t want anyone and he didn’t need anyone— he was completely fine on his own.

Though, he wouldn’t date a fellow villain— at least not one notable enough to be a threat. Tomura doesn’t do well with competition, he loathes the thought of racing to the top, he just wants to be there.

Finding a person who he can corrupt, who he can make his own— is something he’d enjoy greatly. That’s not to say he couldn’t fall for a league member, but it wouldn’t be someone worth his time— at least not in the beginning.

He wants a person he can talk to, touch, and unload upon. Someone who will remain consistent and stick by his side no matter what the cost may be.

Although romance isn’t his forte, and finding someone to love wasn’t something he had ever envisioned, he wants someone he can be with for life.

—

Pomegranate tea; At what point did they know they loved their s/o?

Truth be told Tomura was wrapped around your finger from the moment he decided he wanted you— though it didn’t fully kick in until a few months into your relationship.

You were in a fight— it was over something stupid that any other couple could’ve resolved within the day— looking back neither of you could even remember what it was about.

He was pissed, stomping around, seething and destroying anything he could get his hands on. He wanted to yell at you, to scream in your face and make sure you know this was your fault. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Gradually, as the days passed and he became less and less bothered by whatever the two of you had disagreed on— he realized he wasn’t itchy.

He still had those rising tingles under his skin and he still had to rub away his discomfort from day to day life— but this argument, the infuriating way you had made him feel— it did nothing to his sensitive skin.

Slowly it became apparent that he hadn’t needed to dig into his skin at all. He was angry, he was upset and borderline furious with you— but he was comfortable.

For the first time in his life he was able to feel negativity without the pull of fire ants under his skin. That’s when he realized for sure— that he was absolutely, without a doubt, in love with you.

—

Matcha tea; How and when do they propose to their s/o?

The villain life has no room for any sort of eloping or marriage— so he doesn’t ever really propose.

Sooner or later you just start to feel like a married couple.

You bicker and fight, you sleep together and sneak away to have alone time. The love he has for you starts seeping out more, he becomes a new version of himself just for you.

Then, once the Paranormal Liberation Front is active, Re-Destro asks about your partnership. It’s a simple question, curious and wide eyed.

“Who is this girl to you?”

It makes sense given the environment— you were not nominated as a lieutenant, though you stood by Tomura’s side like a shadow, waiting and watching— clearly in the ranks but with no flashy title to show for it.

And then, as if it were as simple as breathing, Tomura calls you his wife. Telling anyone who was around that he was the King, and by default you were the Queen.

—

Chai Tea; How do they spice up their relationship?

All in all, Tomura is a pretty boring guy. He drinks straight black coffee, plays video games and broods in silence 90% of the time.

Though, when it comes to you, he does try to make an effort. He’ll try out the games you like or your hobbies, and he’ll introduce you to his own in return.

He’ll teach you how to play chess, and that will inevitably turn into tradition. Once a week (if time will allow) you’ll sit down together, play a few games and just talk.

In the underworld, romance never will be easy to manage, and even though you make his days a little brighter, you’ll never be his top priority. World destruction won’t happen on its own, and nothing in his life will override his goals.

But these special little moments between the two of you are by far the best part of anything he’s ever going to accomplish.

—

Hibiscus tea; What’s their favorite place to take their s/o?

The bedroom. As stated, Tomura isn’t a very outgoing person— he won’t take you out on dates or walks in the park.

But he will sit with you in a dark room, watch movies and eat junk. (Bonus points if there’s a blow job thrown in)

His favorite place to be with you, is when you’re alone and secluded. He wants to touch you freely, to run his lips down your throat and hold you close to his chest.

He wants to grab you, to hold and be held. To feel the warmth of your body completely engulfing his own.

Truly, his favorite place to be, is wherever you’ll allow.

—

Green tea; How do they comfort their s/o?

He really doesn’t. Tomura has absolutely no idea how to deal with you when you’re upset.

If you’re angry he’ll get angry with you! He’ll wind you up and let you take it all out on whatever you so please. (as long as it isn’t him)

Expect absolutely nothing in regard to his comforting abilities. He might take you to the side and ask you what’s wrong, he may even give you an awkward hug! But that’s really all he’ll be able to do.

If you ask for space he’ll give it to you, if you ask for cuddles he’ll do his best! But overall, you’re the one who has to call the shots, and depending on what’s going on, he may just leave you to deal with it yourself. Because as stated above— regardless of how wonderful you are— you are not his top priority.

—

Russian caravan tea; How experienced are they with relationships?

NOT AT ALL. You are his first (and final) attempt at love. You’re going to get all of his fuck ups, all of his learning curves and all of his shitty disposition.

He has no idea what he’s doing, and even years down the line he still won’t fully understand. Caring for another person isn’t the most insane thing in the world— he cares for the league and it works out fine!

But loving someone?? It’s just too overwhelming at times. Taking your needs into consideration without being asked, figuring out what you enjoy and how he can add that into his already insane schedule— it’s maddening.

You’re his first everything, and you’re just going to have to be okay with that— because you’re stuck with him whether you like it or not!

—

English breakfast tea; Would they want a family?

Tomura wasn’t even looking for love when he found it— let alone a family.

I really doubt he ever thinks about it at all, he’s never been someone who cared much about what the future would bring.

That isn’t to say if you wanted a family he wouldn’t cave. He wants the people he cares about to have and do whatever they want— if for you that means starting a family with him— he’s not opposed to it.

It wouldn’t be cut and dry though, and if you never pipe up with the interest he isn’t going to either.

If you do bring it up, he’d ask a lot of follow up questions. Such as,

“Why?”

Or

“What’s the point?”

He really wouldn’t know what to do if that situation occurred, but he wouldn’t say no— he may just need to think on it for a while.

If you were to become pregnant, be it a broken condom or failed birth control— he wouldn’t ask you to terminate. You belong to him— yes— but part of being in his grasp is being able to live your life any way you want. Aside from hero work or leaving him there aren’t many restrictions.

If push comes to shove he’d enjoy having a little family of his own! Seeing himself mixed with you in a smaller, separate, body— creating something after destroying so much. It would be one of the steepest learning curves he’s ever experienced, and he wouldn’t be the most present father in the early days of vomit and diapers— but he’d be there all the same.

—

Rooibos tea; What’s their favorite thing to do with their s/o?

Cuddling. He loves to touch and be touched. He doesn’t care if you play games with him, he doesn’t care if you kill and destroy— all he cares about is the fact that you’re there with him.

He loves when you run your fingers through his tangled hair, slowly separating any knots you find. He loves the feel of his hands rubbing against your soft skin. He craves your presence and he craved the feel of you.

It’s not always sexual— but those times when he can claim you, to mark you inside and out, he truly feels like he’s the most powerful man in the world.

He’s terrified of feeling vulnerable, so he pushes you away any chance he gets, refusing to do anything with you if there’s even a chance of someone else seeing. (And sometimes that person is you)

[lxfinty]

┊𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

xavier thorpe ; wednesday

pairing: xavier thorpe x hispanic!normie!fem!reader

warnings: pure (probably excessive and embarrassing) fluff, like one curse word

request: Can you please write a oneshot for xavier where the reader is a normie and he keeps seeing her everywhere whenever they go out to the town :) he develops a crush and so does reader on the mysterious boy from nevermore until one day he comes to like work at a shop or soemthing??? and when he does reader is also there and they spend time together flirting and pining until one confesses to the other ! ALSO IDK WHY BUT I FORGOT TO ADD THAT READER IS FEMALE AND HISPANIC (i just sent an xavier request ! ) :))))

summary: a few of the instances in which you met xavier before actually meeting xavier

a/n: since the reader is hispanic, there are slight character descriptions to get that across, such as a mention of curly hair and a bit of spanish dialogue (though not a lot bcs I don’t speak spanish and don’t wanna butcher it…). also, this takes place in scenes/places seen throughout the show, but xavier never liked wednesday because it makes more sense in context.

character credit: wednesday series

w/c: 1.5k

part 2: the awaited interactions

Even though you were still a few yards away from actually entering, the area around the fair has 10 different aromas wafting through the air. Flashing lights could be seen in every direction; vibrant colors swatched along every ride and carnival game.

As you enter the fairgrounds, you look around at the people: adults, kids, normies…outcasts. You knew it was likely for them to come, as it is every year, but it’s still a shock to see the so-called “weirdos” of Jericho doing such normal activities.

Regardless, it’s nice to see everyone together for such events. You don’t completely understand the separation between the town. Sure, the outcasts were different, but they were still beings in their own right. They were freaky by nature, but even then you find their freakiness pretty alluring.

You walk around for a bit, grabbing some food as you pass by certain stands, and sit down at an empty picnic bench. As you eat, you watch the people around you as they talk and laugh and play games. You find this particular pair of people interesting.

They’re outcasts.

It’s pretty obvious by the girl’s all black attire and creepy nature, though you wouldn’t be able to tell the boy was one if it weren't for his association with the former. 

You can’t help but analyze their features. The girl is actually really pretty, if you put her gloomy aura aside. Her hair is completely black and straight, a contrast to your own curls, though it’s in pigtails, and you swear you haven’t seen her blink this entire time. She seems like she doesn’t wanna be here, almost like she’s in a rush.

After you’re done looking her over, your eyes drift over to the guy she’s standing with.

He is gorgeous.

His hair is pretty long for a guy, reaching to about his shoulders. He’s currently hunched over, his hands resting on a carnival game table, but you can tell at full height he's freaking tall. He’s wearing a dark gray trench coat, which is extremely simple, yet somehow he looks like a male model and-

‘¡Ay, Dios! I need to stop fangirling over this random boy right now’ you think and avert your eyes, focusing back on your grease filled meal.

After a few minutes, you can’t help but notice the pigtailed girl hurrying away from the stand through your peripheral view, leaving the long-haired boy all alone. You stare at him again, zoning out to the point where you don’t even notice him staring directly back at you.

You snap out of your trance, quickly looking down at the table for a few seconds before slowly creeping your eyes back over, where he is still assessing you.

He gives you a small head tilt and wave, to which you shyly smile back before cleaning up your mess and heading in the opposite direction.

‘I cannot believe I just got caught ogling at a guy like that…por favor mátame.’

–

After the last encounter with the mysterious long-haired outcast, you honestly didn’t expect to see him. He seemed like the type to pop up once and never show his face again.

You wish you were right.

Today, you’re heading into town to study a bit at a local park. You find the scenery relaxing and way less stuffy than working at home.

As you’re settling down on a picnic table, taking all your necessities out of your bag so you can get started, you notice the blue and black stripes of the Nevermore Academy uniform walking into the general store down the street. 

You think nothing of it, focusing back on your materials and figuring a student going into a store is definitely not your business and absolutely none of your concern. 

About 25 minutes into studying, you notice the stripes once more, but this time it seems as though they are walking towards you. As you focus harder on the person’s form, you recognize the tall body and lengthy hair you’ve seen once before.

You look down at the plastic grocery bag he is holding, and though you can’t see its contents from this far, you’re sure it’s not actually groceries and is more along the lines of something music or art related. 

He just gives off that vibe.

You realize that he has stopped venturing towards you. Actually, he’s stopped walking altogether.

Your glance shifts up to his face to find that he has, once again, caught you staring at him like an absolute creep.

You let out a tiny shriek before ducking behind your computer screen. 

‘The universe must hate me or something because oh my god,’ you think, internally panicking once more. You take a small peek past the lit up screen just enough to see him laugh to himself and shake his head before heading towards…the woods?

“I must have killed Mother Teresa in my past life,” you mumble to yourself softly before resuming your studies, “that’s the only possible reason my luck is at negative freaking eighty right now.”

–

Pilgrim World was…grim to say the least. It was mainly a plot to attract tourists and make money for the town. Young kids did always find entertainment in the, probably inaccurate, history of the town, so you guess it’s not all bad.

For the normal townspeople that is. 

The students from Nevermore were forced to work the grounds each year. Yeah…not exactly “town building,” but it was mandatory for them.

You sat at the Weathervane café with your computer and a warm drink. Learning about the same white people every year wasn’t your type of fun – no disrespect to them – so you opt to just watch others from the window seat, maybe get a bit of work done in the process. You watch kids chase each other; families share pieces of fudge; individuals enjoying their beverages while trolling down the center lane. You were so focused on watching others, you completely forgot about your previous, most important task: to watch the entrance.

Not that you just wanted to stare at townsfolk all day, but you were anticipating a certain outcast’s arrival. You wanted to make sure that you could watch the long-haired boy walk in so that you wouldn’t embarrass yourself by randomly staring like you did previously. But with your low attention span and professional ability to zone out at the worst times, you completely missed the fact that just who you were looking for had not only arrived at Pilgrim World already, but had walked into the café minutes ago.

“Do you want me to wipe down your table?”

That was the question that caused you to jolt in surprise, turning your head to meet the mysterious Nevermore boy.

“I wouldn’t want you to get your computer wet. You know, just in case you need to hide behind it again,” he finishes with a small smirk.

"Cielos, me asustaste,” you exclaim, more as an instant response than an actual reply, and giggle a bit while looking at your lap.

You look up at him after doing so, only to find him softly smiling at you. You open and close your mouth a few times before internally taking a deep breath and looking him in the eyes.

“Hopefully I won’t need to hide from anyone any time soon. But yeah, sure.”

You set your computer on the seat beside you as the boy gives the table a few wipes. Funny thing is, the table was completely clean before he wiped it. Even more so since you dusted it off a bit before sitting.

“No more hiding, huh? I like the sound of that,” he remarks. He finishes wiping the invisible mess off of your table and stands straight again. “Do you need a refill?”

You didn’t even notice that your cup was a few sips away from empty.

“Oh uh sure. It’s just hot chocolate,” you smile and he slightly nods before making his way over to the counter.

You start glancing back out the window, though this time there are Nevermore students roaming around in addition to the previous bunch. Some people are outside handing out fudge while in pilgrim costumes. You had to do that one year…it’s as boring as it looks. You notice the gloomy girl you had seen at the carnival enter the Crackstone house down the road. You could have sworn that it was closed off…

A bump on your table causes you to look away from the historical building and down at the cup that has been dropped off. You pick up the cup and take a sip as the long-haired boy walks away to clean off other tables. You glance at the cup holding the warm chocolate, which is when you see the black marker along the side.

‘Xavier…xxx-xxx-xxxx’

‘Oh,’ you thought as you realized what this was. His name…and number. Your whole face felt warm as your eyes searched for the boy, finding him behind the counter already looking at you.

You smile and tip your cup in his direction before taking another sip and going back to staring out the window.

Honestly, I used this as an excuse to gush over Xavier bcs oml there is no reason I should find this man as attractive as I do. Also, possible pt.2 with them getting closer ???

Another question: somebody asked me if I had a taglist for Xavier, so I was just wondering if y’all would want that? 

I no longer support Percy Hynes White and will no longer take request for Xavier Thorpe.

[holybatgirlz]

The Cluedo Incident of '19

Read on ao3 here.

Summary:

Or: That time Bridgerton Family Game Night left five of the spouses contemplating the idea of divorce.

Words: 12k+

Notes: Been worked on this since January and finally finished it 😮‍💨😮‍💨. All credit to @bridgertonbabe for this.

“Unit 1813, please respond.”

“Go ahead, dispatch.”

“We’ve got a potential stabbing, an active labor, a few cases of smoke inhalation, and what looks like appendicitis at a home fire in Mayfair. Firefighters have made sure the fires have been put out and we’ve got a few units on the scene as well, but they’re requesting additional back up. Family on sight is giving them problems.”

“What’s the address?”

As Harriet continued driving the ambulance, listening to dispatch relay the address of the emergency, she glanced towards her partner Pete, an older and more seasoned paramedic, let out a loud laugh. Chuckling to himself, Pete told dispatch they were on route and were only a few minutes out.

Noticing her confusion, Pete only chuckled more. “Don’t worry. I’ve been to this address before.” 

“You’ve been there before?” Harriet asked, still concerned. 

“It’s the Bridgerton family’s address. Had a few calls to their home in my career. They're a nice bunch,” Pete explained. “And given the situation, my guess is they had another game night.” 

Now, Harriet was really confused. She vaguely recalled the last name.

“Game night?” she asked, clarifying.

“Every once in a while they have a family game night, which usually ends in some level of chaos. With injuries to match,” Pete continued. “Eight kids. All a bunch of high achievers and also incredibly competitive. Do not get into an argument with any of them. In fact, don’t talk to any of them when we get there. Two of them are solicitors, and another one used to be, and a fourth one is training to be. So, I’ll do the talking.”

As they pulled up at the scene, Harriet was taken aback by the amount of ambulances parked in front of a grand, white stucco home with pillars and a painted black metal fence in front, with a beautifully maintained garden of rose bushes outfront. Firefighters were coming in and out of the front door, which had soft trails of gray smoke escaping out from. They’re were two police cars parked in front as well, the lights of the cop cars along with the ambulances lit the home in blue hue. There was a noticeable crowd of people both watching from across the street as well as a small cluster by some of the ambulances, all of whom appeared to be arguing with one another.

“This was because of a game?” Harriet asked, stunned. 

“Yep,” Pete told her as he turned off the engine and hopped out of the ambulance. 

Making their way towards the home, and the crowd of arguing adults, they passed an elegantly dressed, yet soaking wet, woman sitting on the front steps of the home, unperturbed by the firefighters moving up and down the stairs next to her.

“Evening Mrs. Bridgerton,” Pete nodded. “How have you been?”

As he spoke, Mrs. Bridgerton held up a finger as she took a long swing from the wine bottle held in her hand, chugging a few gulps before pointing her thumb towards the other parked ambulances. A cigarette was burning between her pointer and middle finger. Harriet noticed that while she was soaked to the bone, she had no ash or soot on her. Let alone blood on her anywhere.

“There all over there,” Mrs. Bridgerton told them once she was finished drinking.

“Another game night?” he asked, knowingly.

Mrs. Bridgerton nodded sullenly, taking a drag of the cigarette before speaking. She didn’t even look up at them, just continued giving a thousand yard stare to the rose bushes in front of her. 

“Unfortunately.”

Receiving all the information they needed (and were going to get) Pete hoisted the large medical kit higher over his shoulder and made his way towards the group of arguing adults.

“This happens every other year?” Harriet said slowly, still shocked as she looked around the scene.

“Roughly. We’ve been getting calls here because of the Bridgerton Game Nights since the late seventies. You should have seen the father and his siblings when they lived here,” Pete whistled as he recalled that time. “They flooded the entire downstairs one year and blew up a microwave another time. This lot just seems worse because there's more of them.” 

As they got closer, Harriet was able to make out some of the arguing coming from the crowd. A group who all looked to be disheveled and soaking wet. Some even had blood on their clothes. Half the group was yelling at each other, while the others were silently observing. Looking, frankly, embarrassed and exasperated by what was happening in front of them.

“I cannot believe you would accuse my wife of faking contractions !” 

“Benedict, please get in the ambulance.” 

“Who has eyes on Hyacinth?!”

“ She stabbed my husband, Anthony !”

“Daphne, I’m fine. Now get in or we leave without you.” 

“At least”– cough cough –“At least I didn’t start a fire !” 

“Eloise, be quiet and let the paramedics help you!” 

“Who's driving Mum to the hospital?!”

“Where the hell is Hyacinth ?!” 

“Like I said,” Pete told her. “Let me do the talking.”

| Fourteen Hours Earlier |

BSSG Chat

Penelope: Good morning my fellow spouses. Are we ready for tonight? 🙂

Kate: Yes 😀😀😀

Simon: Not particularly, no.

Sophie: I guess.

Sophie: Ben and I may be late tonight. Our sitter canceled at the last minute, so Posy is going to watch Charlie after she gets off work. 

Phillip: Eloise made it sound like a lot of fun so I’m excited to see how this goes.

Michael: Yeah, same here.

Simon: …

Penelope: Well, we’re excited to have you guys. ☺️☺️☺️☺️

Kate: You guys are going to get crushed 😈😈

The Sane-y Bunch

Penelope: Before anyone asks, yes I have the first aid kit. 

Penelope: I got the biggest one I could find.

Penelope: Like almost professional grade.

Simon: Oh thank Christ.

Sophie: Is Violet really planning to stay for this? I thought she was going on a spa retreat with Agatha?

Simon: Canceled. Apparently the place flooded due to a burst pipe, so they had to close. Agatha’s trying to reschedule them somewhere else but at this point all they can get is a post-game night retreat next weekend.

Penelope: Lucky them.

Penelope: Alright. We all know the plan.

Penelope: Sophie you're on Violet watch tonight. The last thing we need is to call an ambulance for alcohol poisoning. She’ll be too busy fretting over your pregnancy to focus on drinking, and that way you don’t need to be on your feet too much or get involved in the game. We can keep you both in the lounge.

Sophie: 👍 That sounds absolutely fine to me.

Sophie: As much as I love Ben. I do not enjoy watching the man he becomes when game night happens. 

Penelope: I’ve got team pairings I think will work, so we just need to make sure they happen. Especially Kate and Anthony. They have to be paired together or God help us if they are on opposing teams. 

Simon: As much as I hate when they team up, they are better managed when they’re together then they are apart. 

Sophie: I do feel kinda bad for Phillip and Michael. They seem so excited. I really don’t think it's fair for us to not warn them.

Simon: Sophie, there is nothing you can do for them. The only way they will understand the hell that is about to break out tonight is by experiencing it first hand. 

Simon: WE all had to experience it blind ourselves. 

Penelope: You know they would never believe us if we tried to explain it.

Sophie: Still. I did warn Phillip that Eloise can get a little intense when Game Night happens. 

Penelope: I told him not to let her have any sugar before she gets there. 

“Pen! Have you seen my bag for tonight?”

“No!” Penelope yelled back, staring down at said missing bag.

The small plastic bag was filled with items that her husband had bought off Amazon to help him cheat at tonight’s game. How? Penelope had no idea, but she was currently looking at a small bag filled with items found in a Cluedo board game box, along with a packet of invisible ink pens.

He’d initially hidden the bag (and quite stupidly) under their bed, after excitedly informing her about how he planned to cheat and finally win at Game Night. Penelope had had to plan it perfectly how’d she’d get the items before Colin had enough time to replace them. 

Stashing the items into her Mom’s old, Valentino bag, one she’d given Penelope after Phillipa let a lipstick melt in it, knowing full well Colin would not dare go through her mother’s stuff after the last time he’d done so and found items he’d never needed to find in her mother’s possession, Penelope then shoved the bag deep into the back of the hallway closet as her husband came into the room. 

“I could have sworn I left it in our room,” he told her.

Penelope plastered the sweetest, most sympathetic smile she could as she watched him. “Are you sure you didn’t leave it where your siblings could see it?”

Colin cursed. “You don’t think Gregory took it?” 

“I don’t know,” Penelope shrugged, then faked a gasp, eyes wide with alarm. “You don’t think he’s in cahoots with Anthony?”

“You’re right,” Colin told her, falling for it. “He’s always been a stickler for doing what Anthony wants.” 

“You know, we should probably make sure they don’t team up tonight. I was thinking we do couple pairings,” Penelope suggested. “If he and Kate are together they’ll be too busy arguing to focus on winning.”

“You. Are. Brilliant,” Colin told her, coming over and placing his hands on her shoulders before kissing her on the forehead. “I love you. And I love when you get manipulative.” 

Oh, you have no idea how manipulative I can be, babe , Penelope thought to herself as she continued to smile sweetly at her husband. 

Familia Bridgerton Group Chat

Colin: All right Gregory made his pick. 

Colin: It’s Cluedo

“Daddy?” 

Phillip looked up and found his daughter standing in the doorway of his greenhouse. Amanda, only nine years old, was still dressed in her pjs. He let out an exhausted sigh, it was now almost one in the afternoon and Marina was going to be here in an hour to pick the twins up for the weekend. 

“What is it Amanda?” he asked as he continued misting his orchids.

“Mama Eloise has gone crazy ,” Amanda replied, dragging out the last word in an over the top tone. 

“It’s she always crazy?” Phillip teasingly returned, smiling fondly. 

Amanda thought it over for a second. “Well, yeah, but this time she’s gone really crazy.” 

Phillip frowned. That did not sound good.

Putting the spray bottle down, Phillip exited the greenhouse, Amanda following close behind, and made his way back into the house. Which was when he entered the home and found Eloise pacing through the halls, muttering to herself. Held in her hand was a bag of jelly babies that she was currently munching on. 

“–complete and utter incompetent ass,” he heard her say to herself as she popped another candy in her mouth and aggressively chewed it. 

“Good morning, Eloise,” Phillip said with forced cheer as he tried to hide the concern in his voice, slowly approaching his wife like she was suddenly a wild animal. When she began stress eating, it was never a good sign. 

Eloise’s head snapped up towards him. 

“There you are!” she said, suddenly charging at him, making Phillip quickly take a step back in surprise. “What’s your experience with Cluedo?”

“I’m sorry?” 

“Cluedo,” Eloise repeated. “You’ve played Cluedo before, yes?”

“Um…yes,” Phillip told her, hesitantly. It had been a few years, but he’d certainly played the murder mystery board game before.

“And you're good at it?” Eloise asked next.

“I mean, I’ve only played it a few times. It’s been a while since I last played it,” he answered. 

“Damn it,” Eloise cursed, turning away from him. “That ass. I knew it. I knew he would try to do this.”

“Do what?” Phillip asked. “Who are we talking about?”

“Gregory. It’s Gregory’s turn to pick the game and he chose Cluedo,” Eloise told him, furiously. “The little ass picked the one game he knew I hated.” 

Phillip’s frown deepened. “Don’t you love mystery novels?” he asked her. He had an entire shelf worth of them now in the library upstairs. 

“That’s different,” she snapped, as if it should be obvious to him his error. 

“Okay,” Phillip said slowly, watching Eloise continue to pace back and forth through the hallway, until he stepped in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Honey, are you alright?”

Eloise frowned. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, you seem…stressed,” he told her.

But his wife only rolled her eyes. “It’s fine, Phillip, you obviously don’t understand the importance of game night.” 

“I don’t?” he asked her. 

“Yes,” Eloise replied with an exasperated sigh. 

🐝 The Children Group Chat 🐝

Violet: Good morning, children ✨💗✨💗

Violet: I hope you are all ready to be on your best behavior tonight. Before you all arrive tonight. I wanted to make sure you all remembered the rules. 

Anthony: Of course, mother.

Violet: Would you all like to remind me what they are?

Anthony: No cheating, no weapons, no cursing, no threatening family members or significant others and no emotional manipulation or targeted insults.

Anthony: And especially no cheating.

Eloise: Love how you of all people feel the need to remind us about the no cheating rule. 

Anthony: Because I cheat???

Eloise: YES

Eloise: All the time!!

Violet: …

Violet: I will see you all tonight.

“Honey, did you really need to bring this much food?” Simon asked as he placed the stack of baking trays he’d been made to carry down.

Every available space in the kitchen at Number 5 was now covered in baking trays and containers Daphne had brought from their house. It was enough to feed a small army. 

“We could have just ordered pizza,” he added.

The glare his wife gave him over her shoulder was enough for Simon to be reminded that silence was the best option for him right now, as he watched Daphne continue to unpack the food and turn on the oven.

“Oh, Daphne,” Violet awkwardly laughed as she walked into her kitchen and saw the sight before her. Her pale blue eyes were wide with concern. “My…you’ve brought so much… food .”

“Well, whatever is left over you can save Mum,” Daphne told her as she continued preparing. “Everything is really good as leftovers.” 

Violet gave Simon a panicked look, but he only shook his head at her. A warning that Daphne was in no mood right now to be critiqued or questioned. 

“I’ve got a few more things I need to get out of the car. Be right back,” Daphne told them cheerfully as she left the room and headed back outside. 

Once she was gone, Violet looked towards him and asked. 

“How long has she been baking?”

“Since um…two nights ago,” Simon told her, having had to deal with his wife’s stress cooking as today’s game night got closer and closer. He’d woken up at two in the morning to find her baking a croquembouche, a bloody croquembouche , in their kitchen while she muttered away about how she was definitely going to win game night this time. 

“Well, she unfortunately gets stress baking from me,” Violet informed him, apologetically. 

THE Children Group Chat

Hyacinth: Alright, we placing bets on tonight or not??

Francesca: On who??? Ourselves?? We all ALWAYS vote for ourselves every time this question is brought up.

Colin: Tbh I think Kate might have a chance this year. We all know she spends most of her time plotting how to kill Anthony, she’s probably an expert at it by now.

Anthony: You win Cluedo by process of elimination not whether or not you know how to kill someone.

Colin: So you agree? That Kate knows how to end your life?

Anthony: I’m not dignifying that with a response.

Colin: You literally just responded to my question 😮💨 

Benedict: I’m calling dibs on being partnered with my wife tonight 🥰

Eloise: Omg we get it Benedict. You're whipped. 

Benedict: 🖕

Hyacinth: You ASS. You said I could be partnered with Sophie this time!!

Benedict: I have no recollection of ever having that conversation. 

“I’m just saying, I don’t think it’s really that big of a deal.”

“Honey, I love you, but I’m starting to think you just don’t understand how important it is that we win tonight.”

“Why? So you can laud it over your siblings that you’re better than them at Cluedo?”

“Yes.”

Sophie couldn't hold back the eye roll she gave her husband, but still accepted his hand as he helped her up the short staircase leading to Number 5. The closer she got to her due date, the more her round stomach and swollen ankles slowed her down, and stairs in particular had become quite cumbersome in recent weeks

“Benedict, it’s a board game. You’re supposed to have fun, not fight your siblings to the death like you're in the Colosseum,” she told her husband as he rapped his knuckles on the front door, watching as he bounced around in a manner that looked as though he desperately needed to use the restroom.

“Don’t you remember Pictionary?” he asked, smiling dreamily at her. 

Ah, yes, the Pictionary Incident. She'd conveniently blocked it from her memory given everything that had happened that night.

She'd been dating Benedict for a year when she got invited to her first Bridgerton Game Night. Right after everything with her stepmother finally hit the fan, culminating in her spending three days in jail before Benedict and his mother had found her and got her released. They'd helped her file a lawsuit against her stepmother for the fraud and harassment, but that very lawsuit had left her overwhelmed and unable to sleep. Add to it Benedict yelling at her for her quote, “abysmal” drawing skills and casting her aside in exchange for teaming up with Kate, she’d come to believe Benedict wanted nothing to do with her. 

And then Anthony and Colin purposefully dropped a mini keg on Benedict’s hand while she’d been wiping tears away in the bathroom, almost costing him his career (and the ability to use his right hand), and Sophie had been so exasperated by that point she ended up punching Anthony in the face hard enough to give him a black eye and slapping Colin. 

She’d been mortified by her actions. Sophie had thought she’d never be able to face his family again after what happened, but Benedict thought otherwise. As did his siblings, who had all lauded her as a hero for what she'd done. It had still taken Kate and Simon, along with Penelope, to convince her they weren't upset with her. 

Benedict proposed to her twice in the aftermath. First time after he woke up the next day and was still a little groggy from the morphine, which had led to the famous “soap bucket my finance” text that her in-laws still teased her about, and the second time after he’d been discharged and they had gotten back to the apartment. When he’d finally been able to give her the ring he’d been hiding in their side table. 

“You were so hot that night. Not that you aren’t always but God, when you sucker punched Anthony, I swore I could hear a choir going,” Benedict continued. 

She raised a brow up at him, unimpressed. “Honey, that might have been the morphine the paramedics gave you. Or the pain from having your hand crushed.”

“Or maybe you are just a literal angel,” Benedict replied, swooping down to give her a quick kiss before she could retort. And right as the front door finally opened. 

The sight of her mother-in-law, Violet Bridgerton, wine glass in hand, and a pained, forced smile on her face as she opened the door for them, was the first cause of concern for Sophie. It didn’t do anything for the mounting worry she felt in the pit of her stomach. That she’d had for the past two weeks, since the idea of tonight's game night had been suggested in the main family group chat.  

“Evening, mother. You look as lovely as ever,” Benedict said excitedly, greeting his mother with a kiss on the cheek before quickly bypassing her and throwing his coat off. Tossing it over the staircase railing as he passed by it and went straight into the living room.

A room where arguing could already be heard already coming from. 

Violet blinked as her son disappeared, turning to Sophie before sighing, giving her a tired smile. “How are you Sophie?”

“Well,” Sophie told her as she entered the Bridgerton family home, giving her mother-in-law a quick side hug (given her pregnant stomach made hugging tricky at the moment). “All good?”

“They are still deciding teams,” Violet told her flatly. “It’s been an hour.” 

“Sophie, come on!” Benedict called out from the living room. “You’re going to be on my team!” 

“Great,” Sophie commented flatly. There went her plan of staying out of the conflict. 

At least she’d be able to reign him in if they were on the same side, and things started to get out of hand. 

Violet, meanwhile, downed what remained of her half full glass of wine. “Good luck. I’ll be in the lounge watching Love Island if you need me. Do not find a need for me.” 

She then disappeared into the room across from the one all of her children were in, closing the door and returning to her marathon of reality TV in the hopes of distracting her from the noise which was her insane children.

Sophie sighed, pulling off her coat and hanging it up (along with Benedict’s) in the front hall closet, before making her way to the living room. Which was where she found her fellow Bridgerton spouses looking exhausted (Penelope) and exasperated (Simon), and a very alarmed looking Michael and Phillip. Kate, it turned out, was one of the loudest arguing voices at the moment.

Benedict, seeing her, patted the space next to him on the couch like an excitable golden retriever. He’d already grabbed another pillow to support her back. And thankfully, Sophie would be next to Francesca and Michael, meaning she wouldn’t have someone screaming in her ear for most of the night. 

Penelope flashed her an apologetic smile as she passed by, as Kate and Anthony continued to argue over being on a team together. From what she quickly gathered, the pair had unfortunately ended up on opposing teams. Kate with Gregory and Anthony with Hyacinth. And neither would agree to changing. 

“Alright, can we please just play the game!” Simon shouted suddenly, silencing the pair and the room. He blinked, realizing how snappish he’d sounded as everyone stared at him, then took a deep breath, saying in a calmer and quieter tone. “Now that Benedict and Sophie are here, we have everyone. Shouldn't we just start?” 

“Let’s. Please,” Phillip added, gently.

It was going to be a long night. 

| 20 Minutes Later |

Hyacinth Bridgerton to The Mothership

Hyacinth: Mother. I am texting you this because I wanted to make sure you knew that Gregory is a punk ass liar and anything he tells you or texts you tonight is nothing but a malicious attempt at slandering my name.

Gregory Bridgerton to Mama

Gregory: Hyacinth is the one who lost your diamond earrings last month. She wore them out to go clubbing and then lost them in Regent’s Park when she went skinny dipping with Gareth while drunk. 

Gregory: I should clarify that at no point did Gareth make her do any of this. Nor did he get in the pond with her. I’m also pretty sure it's the reason she caught a norovirus. 

Gregory: Also, do we have any antacids in the house? My stomach is killing me.

| Half an Hour Later |

The Sane-y Bunch

Sophie: And here I thought tonight wouldn’t be so bad 🙃🙃

Penelope: Literal clown behavior.

Simon: 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡 

Agatha Danbury to Violet Bridgerton

Agatha: How goes it with the chaos octonary?

Violet: Bickering and threats mainly, but the night is still young.

Agatha: What glass of wine are you on?

Violet: My fourth but I’m prepared to shift to hard liquor if they don’t stop yelling profanities at each other as if I’m not home right now. 

| One Hour Later |

“You are the biggest liar on the face of the earth!” 

“Well, at least I didn’t crash Mum’s car when I was fourteen!” Hyacinth yelled back.

“That was you?” Anthony shouted at Eloise, who only rolled her eyes and slumped back against the couch.

Putting his head in his hand, rubbing a hand over his face as he rested his elbow on the arm of the sofa, Simon desperately tried to think calm, relaxing thoughts before he finally snapped and went on a killing spree. If he didn’t, his in-laws were going to put him in the ground. Or he would put them all in the ground. It had been almost an hour of arguing, with no one being able to roll the dice or move they’re spots until the debates that had broken out had been resolved. 

Then, his phone vibrated in his back pocket. Simon pulled it out, hoping it was a call from work so he could get out of here.

It wasn’t.

Spouses (Minus Kate because WTF Is she on something???) 

Michael: Hey, Michael here. 

Michael: What the fuck is going on?

Penelope: Game night 😊

Penelope: And to answer your question. No Kate isn’t on anything.

Michael: I’m beginning to see that.

Michael: Again.

Michael: What the fuck???

Michael: Is this normal???? Because I don’t think I’ve ever seen Francesca this mean spirited. 

Michael: I didn’t even think she could be mean.

Sophie: Yes. This is normal.

Penelope: Unfortunately, yes.

Sophie: Does someone want to check on Phillip? He looks ill.

Penelope: He looks catatonic.

Simon: I think he’s a lost cause.

Sparing a glance towards his brother-in-law, Simon found Phillip staring straight ahead, looking stunned, with his hands clasped together on his lap, back stiff and straight as a board as he sat in a perpetual state of silent shock. Ever since Eloise had threatened to throw weedkiller on his ghost orchids. All because he dared to second guess her about the dagger being the murder weapon. He’d been sitting there like that for the past twenty minutes, since the threat had been made. The constant buzzing of his phone in his pocket, vibrating from each text it received, appeared to do nothing in snapping his attention back to reality.

“It’s Ms. Scarlet,” Benedict repeated for the sixteenth time, even louder than the last time he said it. 

“No it isn’t!” Kate (who it should be noted was currently Ms. Scarlet with Gregory) yelled back. Even louder than the last time she had yelled it. 

“Yes, it is,” Benedict snapped back. 

“I think Benedict’s right,” Sophie calmly said, from where she sat next to her husband.

“Sophie, I love you, but no one asked for your ditzy opinion,” Kate shot at her. 

Sophie’s dark blonde brows shot up to her hairline as she stared, stunned, at her sister-in-law and close friend's remark. 

“Ditzy?”

“Don’t call my wife a ditz,” Benedict ordered loudly. 

“Hey, hey ! Don’t yell at my wife!” Anthony shot back, pointing a finger at his brother from where he was sitting on the sofa chair next to his brother. His finger hovering inches away from his brother’s face.

Benedict only slapped his hand away. “Don’t point your finger at me Anthony. You’re not my father.”

For the briefest of moments, Simon was certain that Anthony was capable of shooting laser beams from his eyes with the glare his friend shot his younger brother. The vein in his forehead was certainly bulging right now and he looked ready to lecture Benedict about respecting your elders (i.e. elder brothers ), which would have gone on for the next twenty minutes if he wasn’t stopped, but Sophie interrupted them both before he could. 

“I think–” she announced loudly, moving to push herself up from her seated position. “–I’m going to get some water. Honey, can you help me up?”

Benedict was on his feet in seconds, having forgotten all about his brother as he moved to help his wife.  Offering out his hands for her to take and pulling her up to her feet once she’d grabbed them, and moving one hand behind her back to help support her while she found her balance again. Simon had to give it to Sophie. She was pretty good at knowing when and what to say to diffuse an argument between the siblings. 

“I’ll go with you,” Penelope said, rising to her feet as well. “I need to refill my glass.”

“Here too,” Simon quickly commented, jumping up to follow and snatching his bourbon glass off the coffee table. 

“I think I need another beer,” Michael announced. “Francesca, you want something?”

“Not now,” Francesca snappishly replied over her shoulder, before returning to her argument with Colin. They’d been arguing for the past fifteen minutes over whether or not his notepad had invisible ink on it. She'd apparently seen him flashing a UV flight over it. As had Daphne. 

“Alright then,” Michael said to no one in particular, before turning to Phillip, grabbing his elbow and pulling the man up to his feet. “Come on, Phil. Let’s get you a drink.”

“Sure,” Phillip replied weakly, still looking rather out of it. 

Dragging him to his feet, Michael subsequently was the one to pull Phillip along behind him as the spouses all made a quick exit and headed into the kitchen. They found Violet in the middle of pouring herself another very large glass of red wine, which was empty by the time she finished pouring. 

“How goes the game?” she asked them as they all entered. 

“No injuries yet. We’re still at the sin list period of the night,” Penelope told her. “Eloise was the one who crashed your car and Anthony’s the one who washed all your passports before your Bali trip that one time. I also want to make sure you knew it was Colin who accidentally killed Daphne’s hamster. Not Benedict. That didn’t come up tonight but I wanted to make sure you knew.”

“Oh, I know about the hamster,” Violet told her before taking a long sip of her wine. “Colin admitted to it during the Pictionary Incident.”

“Is there by chance any more wine?” Penelope asked. 

Violet lifted the empty wine bottle. “This,” she started, which was when they all noticed how flushed her face was. “Was the last bottle.” She then studied the bottle for a few seconds, lips pursed as she stared down the hole and into the bottle. “I should probably go get more.”

“I can drive you,” Simon offered quickly, before the other. 

“I think I’m going to walk to the store actually,” she announced to them. “That way I can stay out of here longer.”

Simon visibly deflated. There went his only escape, even if it meant abandoning the others. He was forced to watch as Violet left the room and headed towards the front door. 

“I’m going out!” her voice called out to her children, which was quickly followed by the front door slamming before any of them could reply back. 

Not that they did. 

“Well, this is turning into a wonderful evening,” Penelope commented.

Simon took a seat at the kitchen table, with the others following. Michael, after grabbing another beer from the fridge, pulled out a chair for Sophie, who slowly lowered herself down, one hand over her round stomach and the other clutching the chair as she slowly sunk down, before he took a seat next to her. Penelope made sure to get both Sophie and Phillip a glass of water before taking a seat next to Simon on the opposite side. 

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked the group. All of whom gave her varying looks of discomfort or awkwardness back. “What? We all know this needs to end before it gets out of hand.”

“Sophie, you don’t think there is a chance Benedict Jr could come a little early?” Michael suggested. 

“Michael, I can’t just make myself go into labor,” Sophie told him. 

“Well, if you fake contractions that will at least get you and Benedict outta here and he looks prepared to strangle Anthony right now,” he informed her. 

Sophie only ignored him, shaking her head as she turned towards the still catatonic Phillip. 

“Phillip, are you alright?” she asked him. 

“She threatened my orchids,” Phillip muttered slowly. 

“Yes. We all heard,” Sophie responded worriedly. 

“My orchids. My rare dendrophylax lindenii ghost orchids. Do you know how long they took to grow ?” Phillip looked at her fearfully. “Months. It took me months to grow them. I even had to get permission to grow them in the first place.”

Sophie, not the expert on rare plants the way Phillip, with his literal doctorate in botany, was, only nodded along politely, gently and supportively patting his shoulder. Simon pulled out his flask from his back pocket and offered it to Phillip, who took it with shaky hands and took a quick sip, before passing it back to him.

“So, let me get this straight,” Michael said to them. “This is normal for a Bridgerton family game night?”

“Yes,” Simon, Sophie, and Penelope all said back in unison. 

“Jesus Christ,” the Scotsman muttered, shaking his head in disbelief as he leaned back in his chair. Taking a moment to think, then asking. “Why are they like this?”

“No idea,” Sophie told him.

“I think they chose doing this over paying for family therapy sessions,” Penelope explained. 

“I think they're all just insane,” Simon said. 

“They’re an endangered species!” Phillip suddenly yelled, evidently still caught up on the threats to his prized flowers and surprising them all with his sudden outburst. “Does she even realize how much trouble she could get in?! How much trouble I could get in?!”

“There, there,” Sophie gently said, patting his shoulder as Phillip put his head in his hands. “There, there.” 

“Maybe we can get one of the babysitters to make up an emergency,” Michael suggested next, eyeing Phillip apprehensively as he spoke. A suggestion that had Simon bursting out into a brief fit of laughter, wishing he was as naive and innocent to this all as Michael was. 

“Trust me when I say, we will not be able to do that,” he informed Michael. “Agatha’s got my kids right now and she will not help us. She’d rather sit back with a glass of merlot and enjoy the outcome of tonight then willingly involve herself in this chaos. And Edwina’s babysitting for Anthony and Kate’s and I know she won’t help us either.”

“Edwina was present for the Password kerfuffle back when Anthony was trying to date her,” Penelope explained, seeing the confused look on Michael’s face. 

“Do I even want to know what happened?” Michael asked. 

“Besides it being the night Anthony and Kate finally hooked up by hate-fucking in the gazebo out back, and Gregory slashing Simon’s tires, not the worst game night we ever had,” Penelope answered with a shrug as she looked to Simon for agreement. “But it was enough for Edwina to never want to deal with it again. In any capacity.”

“You’re forgetting Hyacinth nearly falling out of the upstairs window and breaking her leg,” Simon added, impassively. 

Penelope blinked. She was silent for a moment as she recalled the minutes they’d all spent in a panic outside, watching on in horror as the youngest Bridgerton daughter, only ten at the time, clung to the railing of the balcony outside her room. If it hadn’t been for Simon racing upstairs and pulling her back over when they’d heard her all screaming, she probably would have fallen and broken something. Or worse. 

“I think I actually suppressed that part,” she remarked to him and Simon nodded back his understanding. 

“Posy might help us if I ask,” Sophie offered as she absently rubbed her hand up and down her swollen stomach. “Benedict would definitely believe something was wrong if she called.”

“The only problem with that idea, Sophie, is that you are a terrible liar,” Simon said.

Sophie gasped, appalled. “I am not.”

“Yes, you are,” Penelope told her. “Benedict might be blinded by your beauty and kindness to think you’d ever try deceiving him, but the others will see straight through it.” 

“And during Game Night of all nights, they’ll already be suspicious,” Simon said and Sophie frowned at him. “Their paranoia increases tenfold.”

Before she had a chance to respond, another voice interrupted their conversation. A voice that had them all tensing in their seats, like school children who’d just been caught misbehaving by the headmistress. 

“Oh, there you all are,” Daphne said, smiling, as she wandered into the kitchen. “I was wondering where you all had gotten too.” 

The redheaded Bridgerton daughter immediately bee-lined straight towards the oven, which had been on during this time cooking the little appetizers Daphne had made. Deviled eggs and a charcuterie board were already sitting on the kitchen island, with a smaller matching one in the living room, but Daphne (the uncontested queen of hosting) had also brought some impressive bite-size food items like little sliders and savory tarts that she’d been cooking throughout the night. 

If there was one benefit to the Bridgerton Game Nights, it at least came with good booze and Daphne’s amazing cooking. 

But Simon still eyed his wife suspiciously. When he’d left her in the living room minutes earlier, she’d been arguing fiercely with her brother and sister over an alleged invisible ink pen and now she was standing before them, the picture of perfection. Cheerful in fact.

Abnormally cheerful.

Concerningly cheerful. In the manner that Simon recognized as when his wife was going to get particularly passive-aggressive about something.  

“Hey, honey,” Simon started slowly, trying to act natural. “Need any help?”

“I’m good,” Daphne replied in her typical, cheerful bravado, but Simon could still hear the edge in her voice as she opened up the oven, pulling out the tray of food that had been cooking inside. 

“Can I just say Daphne,” Michael started, flashing his trademark charming smile. “You’ve done a wonderful job with the food tonight. Truly spectacular.”

“Oh, thank you,” Daphne replied sweetly with a nervous giggle. 

In any other situation, Simon might have been jealous of the subtle pink hue that developed on his wife’s cheeks, which only made her look even more beautiful, but if Michael’s compliments and charm kept his wife happy tonight, he was welcomed to endure it. 

“Are you sure you don’t need help?” Simon asked again, watching as his wife used a spatula to move the little pastries she’d been warming from the metal cooking tray to a small plate. 

“Yep,” was all she said.

“Daphne,” Penelope started. “I just want to say that I really did try to make sure Colin didn’t bring any invisible pens tonight. I made sure I had all of them.” 

“Oh, it’s fine Pen,” Daphne said back with her cheerful, mom voice, smiling brightly back at her sister-in-law. “What with your history with my brother, I knew you had a like 1 in 10 chance of reining him in. It’s not like he has a good track record of noticing you when you're speaking to him.”

And there it was. 

Penelope blinked as she registered the insult Daphne had directed toward her. The others sitting around her all watched on in stunned surprise, eyes all wide in shock. Even Phillip had lifted his head to look at Daphne in shock as the air around them became awkwardly uncomfortable. 

But Simon only closed his eyes as he leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath, wishing he’d pushed harder to escort Violet to the liquor store earlier.  

“See you all back in there,” Daphne cheerfully said in a sing-song voice and a wide smile as she carried the tray out of the room. “Don’t want everyone to think you guys are strategizing behind our backs.”

And then she was gone.

After a few moments, Simon sighed. “Penelope, I’d like to apologize on behalf of my wife for–” 

But Penelope only held up a hand, silencing him. She took a deep breath. “It’s fine. We all agreed to excuse anything that lot says on game night.” 

“I’m still more than welcome to call Posy,” Sophie offered again.

“If it comes to it, we’ll call her,” Simon told her with another sigh, relenting. They could make it work somehow if they had to. 

“We should all probably get back in there,” Michael said. “Before Daphne throws us all under the bus.”

“Which she will gladly do,” Simon replied in agreement, rising up from his chair. 

As he went to stand there was a sudden crashing sound from the other room, followed by loud and shocked expletives and shouting. Things were being tossed about and spilled, glass was shattering, as a loud high pitch scream was heard, followed by the other Bridgertons all yelling simultaneously. 

“Oh my God! IS THAT A KNIFE ?!” Daphne shouted. 

“Where the hell did you get a knife from?!” Anthony yelled.

“Hyacinth, put it down!” Benedict ordered. 

"Why does she have a knife!" Francesca screamed.

“That does not sound good,” Simon said, rising from his seat. 

As they all rushed to the room, Simon and Penelope were the first ones to make it in. Phillip and Michael had stayed behind to help Sophie out of her chair, meaning they were not witnesses to the sight that was Hyacinth holding a small switchblade in her outstretched arm as she stood on one side of the couch. Gregory stood on the other side, clutching his lower arm, a small trickle of blood slipping through his fingers as he stared at his younger sister in stunned shock. The rest of the siblings were all standing a safe distance away from the two, hands out in front of them as if they were handling feral dogs. 

“You bitch!” Gregory yelled. “You fucking stabbed me!” 

“You told Gareth about my lisp?!” Hyacinth screamed back furiously. 

“I thought he knew!” Gregory shouted back. “He’s your friend! I thought you told him everything!” 

“Not things he could use against me!” was the youngest Bridgerton loud, shrill reply. She tried to move around the couch to get him, but Gregory only moved at the same time as her, keeping the large sofa between them both as a makeshift barrier against his sister’s assault.  

“Hyacinth, put the knife down!” Francesca ordered this time.

“Where the fuck did you get a knife from?” Anthony shouted again, trying to approach them before stopping, unable to see a clear opportunity to get in between them.  

“Oh my God!” Sophie gasped as she came up behind Simon and Penelope, and saw what was going on in the living room. 

“Sophie, honey, stay out of the living room,” Benedict, hearing his wife, ordered. He was clutching his hand tightly from where Hyacinth had cut him after he tried to grab the knife from her. 

“Is someone going to stop her from killing me?!” Gregory shouted in a panic at his siblings. 

“Who gave Hyacinth a knife?” Michael asked, not to anyone in particular. And not that anyone answered.

But Penelope knew. She knew exactly who it was that had given Hyacinth a switchblade. A certain dumbass named Colin Bridgerton who’d bought the knife for his sister while he was in Japan, after Penelope explicitly told him not to. After she'd told him that it was a terrible idea to give Hyacinth her own personal weapon. 

And her dumbass husband currently could not meet her glare as he kept himself on the outskirts of the group. To remain, hopefully, unnoticed. 

Gregory, seeing an opening now that Penelope and Simon had moved out of the doorway, made an attempt to escape the room. With his sister hot on his heels. He dodged and weaved between the spouse with the skills one could only expect from a rugby player and fled out into the hallway.

And Hyacinth almost caught him as she went after him, getting close to grabbing him when she suddenly tripped over her feet, flying forward, the switchblade still grasped in her hand–

And stabbed the knife straight into Simon’s upper arm. 

An audible gasp was heard through the room, before it went dead silent. And it didn’t help that Simon barely even flinched, grunting as the knife stabbed through fabric and skin and into his arm, sliding through the muscle like a hot knife through butter. He was too caught up in the shock of what had just happened that all he could do was stare at Hyacinth in disbelief, brows furrowed and mouth partially open. And Hyacinth only stared back, equally just as surprised. 

The silence lingered a few more seconds, with Simon and Hyacinth both staring at one another in shock while the others watched on, before it was broken by Daphne screaming. 

“Did you just stab my husband ?!”

The noise immediately amped up again as the siblings all began to frantically yell and admonish their youngest sister for what she’d just done. Penelope slipped from the room to grab the first aid kit while they were all busy focusing on Hyacinth. 

Who said nothing as she let go of the knife, leaving it stuck in Simon’s arm, before fleeing the room and racing towards the stairs.

“Hyacinth!” Anthony roared, charging after her. 

As he rounded the coffee table and chased after his sister, followed by Kate, Benedict, and Colin, he accidentally knocked over the candle that had been burning on the table, which quickly started a small fire when the flame caught the alcohol soaked paper scattered over the wooden tabletop. 

Something that was overlooked in the chaos.

“Simon, are you alright?” Francesca asked.

Daphne rushed over to his side, hands hovering over the knife. “Oh God, oh God, oh God–”

“Honey,” Simon gently told her. “It’s alright. I’m fi–Do not pull out the knife!”

“But she stabbed you,” Daphne said, hand still clutching the handle of the knife. 

“I’m aware,” Simon replied, panicked eyes trained on her hands. “But when someone is stabbed with something you leave the object in. You do not pull it out .” 

“But she stabbed you.” 

“I’m aware, Daphne.”

“I got the first aid kit,” Penelope yelled as she rushed back into the room, carrying a medium sized red duffel bag with ‘first aid’ in bold white letters on the side. It certainly didn’t look like the tiny plastic ones you could get from the store. More like the ones professionals would have. 

“Where did you get that from?” Colin asked, confused.

“Phillipa. Her friend’s an EMT who told me where to buy these ones,” Penelope answered. 

“Why do you have it?” he asked next. “You could have just taken the one from upstairs.” 

Which was a simple store bought one that hadn’t been replaced in years and one Penelope knew did not have enough supplies to handle the stabbing that had just occurred in the home. And while Violet was smart enough to have enough first aid supplies for all eight of her children, she was the only one who knew where they were and was currently absent. 

But there were more important issues going on right now. 

“Um if I could just have everyone’s attention–” Michael started behind them, eyeing the growing flames building on the table.

The flames had begun to lick the arm of the closest sofa, blackening the fabric as it too began to catch alight. Smoke had slowly begun building in the room. Somehow unnoticed by the seven people still standing in the living room. 

“Because I suspected we would need it,” Penelope told her husband, looking at him in disbelief, as she ignored Michael. 

Colin’s brow furrowed deeper. “Why did you suspect we would need a professional level first aid kit for game night of all things?”

“Excuse me, if I could just–” Michael started again.

But Penelope waved a hand to what was going on in front of her, still oblivious to the growing problem behind her as she placed the bag down and began to unzip it. 

“Because of this!” she hissed at her husband. “Do you not see what is happening, Colin?!”

“I’ll just deal with it myself then,” Michael muttered under his breath, getting the sense he was on his own, as he hastily exited the living room and headed towards the kitchen. 

“Where’s Gregory gone?” Penelope asked. 

“Gregory!” Simon shouted. “Gregory, you can come out now!”

“Oh!” Sophie quietly gasped behind him as he yelled, pressing a hand to her stomach. Grimacing as she felt a thousand little needles stab into her groin before her eyes widened in panicked realization. “Oh no.” 

“Gregory!” Penelope called out again. “Gregory, seriously, she gone–”

She was suddenly interrupted by a loud shushing noise, which sounded like compressed air being released from a metal canister. They all turned to find Michael spraying the coffee table and curtains with the fire extinguisher kept in the kitchen. White smoke burst from the painted red can as it was released, the carbon dioxide lingered briefly in the air as it extinguished the flames, rolling over the furniture in soft waves as it slowly faded away. Leaving behind the burnt black evidence of fire damage; which was mainly on the table and the sofa that had been left at the mercy of it. 

“Mum is going to kill us,” Francesca remarked as she saw the destruction. 

“Yep,” Colin said, popping the ‘p’ as he spoke.

“Gregory?” Penelope called out again. "Gregory, come on! It's safe now!"

Down the hall, the door to the lounge cracked open. 

“Is she gone?” Gregory asked them, not poking his head. 

“I think the others are chasing her through the back of the house,” Penelope told him, which was followed by the sounds of glass shattering. As if right now cue.

The door creaked open further before Gregory stepped back out into the hallway. He looked pale and clammy, clutching his arm where his sister had gotten him.

And immediately threw up into the vase next to the door.

“Oh my God, Gregory, are you alright?” Penelope asked, worriedly as she came to his side. But Gregory only continued to heave into the porcelain vase.

“No,” he groaned out, clutching his side. “My stomach’s been killing me all evening.” 

Simon looked concerned as he studied the young boy’s symptoms. He’d noticed Gregory had been complaining of a stomach ache all evening. Add to it the vomiting and nausea, the fact he hadn’t seen him eat any of the food Daphne had brought when he usually plowed through them at the same pace as Colin did, only raised his suspicions. 

“Gregory, you’ve never had your appendix removed before, have you?” he asked and his brother-in-law only shook his head. 

“I think we should call an ambulance,” Penelope suggested. 

“Well, I think we can just get in the car and drive to A&E. It will definitely save us some time,” Simon replied. 

“Simon, you were stabbed,” Penelope pointed out. 

“I’ve already stemmed the bleeding and it doesn’t look like it hit anything vital,” Simon retorted as he studied the tourniquet he wrapped around his arm. “And Gregory’s wound isn’t too bad either.”

“Maybe it would be a good idea to call them,” Sophie said weakly.

“Sophie, I’m fine. It’s not too bad,” Simon assured her. 

“Oh no, not for you Simon. I meant for me,” Sophie replied politely. Which was an immediate cause for concern.

With the attention shifted to her, they all saw she was leaning against the sofa, gripping it tightly with one hand while the other was pressed against her stomach. She was breathing slowly. Slow, long exhales out her mouth and deep inhales through her nose.

And there was a wet stain on the carpet by her feet.

Penelope gasped, eyes widening as she noticed the stain. “Oh my God. Sophie, did your water break?” 

Sophie took another deep breath, grimacing. “Yeah...I think so.” 

“I’ll get Benedict,” Michael told them all before speedily exiting. 

Seeing his sister-in-law and dear friend going into early labor had apparently been enough to snap Phillip back to reality, and he quickly pulled out his phone to dial 999 while the others crowded around Sophie. 

“Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod,” Penelope said rapidly as she came to Sophie’s side, taking the blonde’s arm and leading her around the sofa so she could sit down. “You’re having a baby?” Sophie nodded. “Right now?”

“Yes, Penelope, right now,” Sophie returned, exasperated. 

“Hi, yes, I need an ambulance at Number 5–” Phillip started to say into the phone behind them. 

Sophie squeezed Penelope’s hand as she felt another wave of contractions hit, gritting her teeth as she tried breathing through the pain. She could feel herself begin to panic, her mind begin to race. She wasn’t due for another three weeks. Her baby was coming a month early. A month early!

“It’s early. It’s too early,” she said weakly, voice quivering. 

“You’re going to be fine, Sophie,” Penelope assured her. “You and the baby are going to be just fine.” 

“ Oi !” Michael’s voice was heard yelling over the arguing in the other room, which was quickly silenced. “If you all are done trying to kill each other, Sophie’s in labor.” 

“ What ?” Benedict’s voice yelled, followed by a quick scuffle, the sounds of something large being thrown and Hyacinth screaming. 

Before they knew it, Benedict was racing into the room, nearly colliding with the doorway as he did. A panicked look on his face as he scanned the room for his wife, spotting her immediately where she was sitting on the couch, and rushing to her side.

“Sophie? Are you–?” he started and she quickly nodded. “Okay, okay. This is fine. We’ll just call an ambulance–”

“Already on it,” Phillip told him, covering the phone with his hand as he did.

Benedict nodded, before turning back to his wife, crouching down and taking her hand from Penelope, much to the redhead’s relief. Sophie had been squeezing the life out of it. 

“I’m here,” he told her gently as Sophie began squeezing his hand. “I’m here. It’s alright.” 

Sophie took another few deep breaths as she gave him a worried look. “It’s early. It’s too early,” she told him this time. 

“It’s fine. You’ll be fine,” Benedict assured her. 

“You asshole!” Hyacinth suddenly screamed as she charged into the room and immediately threw something at Benedict. 

Whatever the hell it was that she'd thrown, it impacted directly with Benedict’s eye, causing him to curse loudly as he flinched back, slapping a hand over his injured eye, before bending over in pain.

“Ow, fucking hell, Hy. I think you got my eye,” he hissed, clutching his face. 

“That was for throwing me!” Hyacinth screeched. 

“For God’s sake, Hyacinth,” Anthony shouted as he came into the room, out of breath. 

Realizing she’d been cornered, and knowing she was in for one hell of a lecture from her elder brother, Hyacinth made another run for it. Speedily racing out of the room once more and in the direction of the kitchen. Again.

“HYACINTH!” Anthony yelled, chasing after her. Again.

“Hyacinth, stop running!” Daphne shouted. 

“So, nobody thinks that it's weird Sophie suddenly went into labor?” Colin remarked suspiciously. 

“Babe, shut up,” Penelope told him.

“I mean he’s right. I just think it's a little odd that right now is when the baby decided to come,” Eloise commented as she looked into the room and saw Sophie. 

“Eloise!” Phillip snapped at his wife, aghast by her indifference. 

“What?” Eloise looked back at him with confusion (and a little defensive as well). “It’s just a little too convenient. Isn’t it?” 

Penelope only sighed. Again. 

“Eloise. Please stop talking,” she told her friend. 

But Sophie was already crying at this point, her breaths becoming more ragged. It wasn’t apparent if she’d heard her sister-in-laws remarks but she was certainly descending into hysterics and panic. 

“It’s too early,” she gasped out. “Three weeks? That’s a month! That’s too early, isn’t it?” 

“Sophie, breath, it’s okay,” Benedict told her, trying to comfort her while also holding a hand over his still painfully injured eye. “You’re okay. The baby will be fine.” 

Sophie's distressed had seemed to be able to bring some sense back to the Bridgertons. Well, two Bridgertons. The other one besides her husband, who arguable was the second most likely to keep a level head.

Francesca.

“The baby’s going to be fine,” she assured Sophie, coming to her sister-in-law’s side. “I was two weeks early. So was Hyacinth.”

“Hyacinth was a breech birth,” Sophie hissed back. 

Francesca ignored her, taking deep breaths as she continued. “Following my breaths, Sophie.”

“Does anyone smell smoke?” Phillip, still on the phone with 999, asked them all. Seconds before the house’s fire alarm went off. 

“My quiches!” Daphne screamed before rushing out of the room to the kitchen. Eloise followed her sister to see what was happening in the kitchen.

“I got it!” Michael yelled from the kitchen.

“Shouldn’t the sprinklers have turned on by now?” Phillip commented, glancing up at the chunk of metal sticking out of the ceiling above them. 

“They’ve been broken for months and Mum’s still waiting for the handyman to fix them,” Francesca replied quickly as she gently pushed Sophie towards the front door. “But I think right now, the best course of action is for us all to leave before we get smoke inhalation.” 

They all nodded in agreement, beginning to make their way towards the front of the house, Simon and Penelope were assisting Gregory, who was still vomiting into the small bin, while Sophie was helped by Benedict and Francesca. 

“I mean at the moment I think we just have the three issues,” Phillip said politely into the phone as he followed them. “So, if you could just send two ambulances that would be greatly appric–”

Before he could continue, there were the sounds of an explosion from the kitchen, a loud bang followed by a multitude of expletives being yelled, and more screaming. Everyone currently in the hallway and living room could only stare in the direction of the kitchen with horrified concern and shock. None of them knew what it was that had just happened and frankly, none of them really wanted to know.

“You know what,” Phillip added, voice calm as he stared down the hallway. “Just send everyone. Fire, ambulance, police. Everyone you have.” 

As he continued to relay information to emergency services, the remaining Bridgertons began making their way down the hall and out of the smoking kitchen, all coughing and choking on smoke. 

And Anthony was missing his eyebrows. 

“Good lord,” Simon remarked. 

“What?” Anthony choked back, still trying to recover from his coughing fit, as he reached out and grabbed the back of Hyacinth’s shirt before she could make another attempt to run. 

Not seeing it worth telling his friend what had happened to his face, Simon just shook his head. “Nothing,” he told him. “It’s nothing.”

“What the hell just happened?” Penelope demanded. 

“Kate and Anthony just blew up the kitchen,” Hyacinth answered through her own coughing fit as she struggled against her brother. 

“We did not!” Kate shot back. “It was Daphne’s bloody quiches that did it.” 

“My quiches were already burnt to ash,” Daphne retorted, furiously. “You threw a rum soaked towel on to a candle!” 

“I need you to understand that that does not explain the explosion we just heard,” Simon told them flatly. 

But as Daphne opened her mouth, most likely to explain, she was interrupted by a panicked Francesca yelling. 

“Where the hell is Michael?” she asked them, alarmed. 

“Where’s Eloise?” Phillip added, looking concerned as he saw his wife was also not amongst them either. 

Before anyone could guess, there were the sounds of a pair of people coughing loudly as they came down the hallway. Seconds later, Michael and Eloise both appeared, choking as they covered their mouths, gasping for clean smoke free air.

“Fuck,” Eloise cursed as she choked, doubling over to rest her hands on her upper legs as she continued coughing. 

“Oh, thank God,” Phillip breathed out a sigh of relief as he saw his wife. 

“So no one here thinks it’s weird Sophie’s suddenly in labor?” Kate suddenly asked loudly to the room. 

“What the fuck, Kate?” Benedict yelled, appalled. 

“DON’T YELL AT MY WIFE!” Anthony shouted.

“FUCK OFF, ANTHONY!” Benedict shouted back. 

“Benedict, please–” Sophie started, breathing heavily. 

“I just think it’s a little odd that now is when she’s in labor,” Kate continued loudly and stubbornly. “Like, obviously, I know they were losing and everything but–”

“Kate. Shut the fuck up,” Simon ordered curtly, but another shouting match had started between Anthony and Benedict, with Sophie pleading for them to stop. 

“That’s what I said,” Colin told her and Penelope looked about ready to kill him. 

But Penelope focused on doing a quick head count, noting that everyone was now present in the hallway, and with the smoke still coming from the kitchen, it was probably a good idea that they all leave. 

“Okay, let’s all get outside,” she shouted over the alarm to all of them. “We can all wait for the ambulances outside.” 

“Well, now that the fire is out, we should all probably–” Simon started. 

“Oh no, Simon, the fire’s still going in there,” Michael interrupted him, still coughing.

“The fire is still going?!” Penelope yelled.

Michael nodded. “Fire still going,” he repeated back. Which was when it became apparent there was too much smoke coming out of the kitchen for it to have been extinguished.

“Okay, everyone– ” Simon started to yell but was cut off before he could order them out of the house. 

“What on earth did the eight of you do?” a voice boomed suddenly. 

They all froze, fourteen heads all turning to look towards and finding Violet staring at them all in horror as she stood in the front doorway, an unopened bottle of wine in one hand and a plastic bag from Tesco’s in the other. 

(A plastic bag that seemed suspiciously like it was concealing a box of cigarettes.) 

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), none of them had a chance to respond. Because the moment Violet had walked into her home and found her living room curtains smoldering, with smoke billowing out from her recently updated kitchen down the hall, two of her children injured (one of whom was also throwing up into a vase) with a son-in-law injured as well, and a daughter-in-law experiencing full blown contractions as she sat on the staircase—

The broken fire suppression system finally decided to turn on. 

Violet Bridgerton to Edwina Sharma

Violet: Hi Edwina. I tried calling but I must have got you at a bad time. Anthony and Kate are fine but they both landed themselves in the hospital tonight. They’re completely and utterly fine. There is no need to worry about them, but neither one is going to be able to come home tonight since the doctors want them to stay overnight for observation. Are you alright watching the boys and Newton? If not I can come get them or call a sitter.

Edwina: Hi Mrs. Bridgerton. Don’t worry. Kate told me you guys were hosting game night when she asked me to babysit so I sort of assumed something would happen. I already called Mum and she’s here with us right now. The kids are fine.

Violet: Wonderful. I’ll let them both know. If anything changes, do not hesitate to call me.

Edwina: When you talk to my sister again please tell her I said ‘I told you so.’

Violet: Will do.

Sophie Bridgerton to Posy Reiling

Sophie: Okay don’t freak out. 

Posy: What happened? 

Posy: Where are you? 

Posy: Are you okay?

Posy: Is Ben okay?

Posy: Omg it is the baby!?!? Is the baby okay?!?!

Posy: Pls tell me everything's okay. 

Posy: Sophie??

Posy: Sophie answer me!!!

Sophie: Posy breathe. It takes time to type up a text and I’m currently experiencing full blown contractions while texting right now so it’s taking me a minute. 

Posy: Omg Sophie. Are you in labor???

Sophie: Unfortunately yes. The little peanut decided tonight’s the night he wants to come into the world so I’m currently heading to the hospital with Ben. I’m really sorry to put this on you but can you watch Charlie a little longer?

Posy: Absolutely. It’s totally not an issue at all. Charlie’s already had dinner and is asleep upstairs right now. I’ll text work that I’m taking tomorrow off. You're sure you're okay? Cause I can grab Charlie and be at the hospital as soon as possible.

Sophie: I’m okay. I promise. ❤️❤️

Posy: ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Sophie: Ben and I will try to keep you updated as much as possible but it may be a little difficult as both of us are going to need to get checked out by a doctor. 

Posy: Is Benedict okay?

Sophie: It’s a long story. 

Phillip Crane to Marina Thompson

Phillip: Hey. Can you keep the kids till Monday? 

Marina: Of course. Is everything okay? 

Phillip: Besides currently sitting in an ambulance on the way to the hospital with Eloise, who is getting treatment for smoke inhalation right now, I’m doing great.

Marina: Omg is everyone alright?

Phillip: We’re fine. Don’t worry. Just please don’t tell the kids.

Phillip: And can you also please go to my house and lock my greenhouse?

Marina: What happened?

Phillip: Marina. You do not want to know.

Agatha Danbury to Violet Bridgerton

Agatha: How many casualties this time?

Violet: Nine. Do you mind watching the girls longer?

Agatha: Not at all.

| The Next Day |

🐝 The Children Group Chat 🐝

Violet: I know I already said this at the hospital but I am saying it again here.

Violet: I will never EVER host another game night. Never again. And to make certain of this I have stripped this home of every board game, deck of cards and bloody party game we own or have ever owned. You aunts have graciously taken your father’s old poker set and blackjack set and so help me if any of you use your children as an excuse to bring new games into this home I will write you out of my will.

Francesca: Mum, I want to say again that I am so so sorry about what happened last night. It will never happen again. 

Violet: I would hope so since five out of the eight of you ended up in the hospital last night. 

Violet: And the damages. Good lord I don’t even know how I’m going to fix this. 

Anthony: I’ll take care of that Mum. I’ve already called the contractor to come look at the house on Monday.

Anthony: I also want to say that I’m sorry. It was my responsibility to keep everything in order. I should have controlled the situation better and instead, I allowed it to reach the chaos it did last night. 

Colin: Sorry again Mum.

Daphne: I’m really sorry about the kitchen Mum. I swear I’ll pay for all the damages. I promise.

Violet: Hyacinth do you have anything you would like to say right now??

Violet: Hyacinth I know you have your phone with you.

Anthony: Hyacinth Amelia Bridgerton, answer your mother. 

Hyacinth: Omg jesus christ. I’m literally hooked up to oxygen right now. 

Daphne: As if Anthony, Eloise, Kate, Michael and Gregory aren’t as well.

Daphne: Michael was literally almost intubated, that's how much smoke he got in his lungs!

Daphne: Not to mention what you did to MY HUSBAND!

Francesca: I would like to clarify that Michael is fine. He didn’t need to get intubated. The doctors were just concerned about the swelling. He was discharged this morning. 

Hyacinth: 😮💨😮💨😒😒😒 

Violet: I’m still waiting.

Hyacinth: Fine

Hyacinth: I’m sorry I stabbed Simon.

Hyacinth: and Gregory. 

Anthony: And???

Colin: I believe you also stabbed Benedict

Hyacinth: I grazed him.

Colin: You hit him in the eye with the dagger piece after slicing open his hand. 

Hyacinth: AND????

Benedict: I’m glad to see that you're so guilt ridden by it. 

Violet: Benedict! 

Violet: How are you and Sophie??

Benedict: Mum. Firstly, I just want to say how sorry I am for what happened last night. We were all incredibly immature, unruly and out of line. Myself included. The damage we did to the house you made with Dad was inexcusable and our actions towards one another was appalling. It was completely unacceptable what happened and I promise it will never ever happen again.

Benedict: And if it helps.

Benedict sent a photo .

Benedict sent a photo .

Benedict sent a photo .

Benedict sent a photo .

Benedict: Alexander Richard Bridgerton got here about quarter after one this morning. Six pounds and five ounces and perfectly healthy. So is Sophie. She did wonderfully. We just got home. 🥰🥰🥰

Daphne: Oh, he’s adorable Benedict. Congratulations x 

Anthony: Congratulations brother.

Francesca: He looks so content. And Sophie looks as beautiful as ever. 

Violet: This certainly helps. Thank you Benedict. ☺️☺️☺️

Violet: But I’m still upset 😤

Violet: WITH ALL OF YOU 😡😡😡

Colin: Congratulations Ben.

Colin: And might I add I’m loving the eye patch.

Benedict: Shut up.

Hyacinth: Yeah Captain Hook. When are you returning to Neverland to get Peter???

Colin: 😂😂 I was going to say he already has with Charlie, but it looks like he’s too busy being Mr. Smee.

Benedict: Captain Hook is missing a hand not an eye.

Colin: Let me know when you find Captain Flint’s lost treasure? 

Benedict: Okay. That's enough. 

Anthony: Knock it off you two. 

Violet: The two of you. Stop harassing your brother. 

Hyacinth: 😂😂😂 Any ghost ships on the horizon?? Found the kraken yet. 

Colin: how’s captaining the Black Pearl been for you???

Benedict: All right. That’s it. Sophie told me to me to be nice but fuck you both. 

Benedict: Mother. The reason Hyacinth had a switchblade is because Colin bought her one while he was in Japan. I told him not to but he didn’t listen to me. She’s had this weapon for months and has periodically threatened us with it. Especially Gregory. 

Benedict: She also, for those who do not know, has an illegal taser hidden in the shoebox under her bed.

Anthony: THERE’S A TASER!!!

Francesca: Jesus Christ Hyacinth.

Hyacinth: You DICK!!! 

Hyacinth: Who told you??

Benedict: Gregory

Benedict: I went to check on him when Sophie was being discharged. He was high as a kite but very willing to tell me ALL of your secrets.

Violet: Hyacinth Amelia Bridgerton. When I get back to the hospital you and I are going to have a very long and frank conversation about safety and attacking your siblings. 

Violet: with WEAPONS!!!

Violet: And Colin. I don't even know where to begin with you on this.

Hyacinth: Well you’ll have to find me first. 

Colin: ✌🏻😔✌🏻

Colin: All I did was try and be a good brother and this is what I get. Betrayal. 

Benedict: Colin also refused to believe Sophie was in active labor and was just faking it. 

Colin:🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻

Benedict: As did Eloise and Anthony. And Kate too.

Eloise: what the FUCK Benedict??? 

Eloise: We all nearly died of smoke inhalation!!

Benedict: MY WIFE WENT INTO LABOR!

Benedict: I had to meet my son three weeks before he due date while wearing a fucking eye patch because SOMEONE has such severe anger issues that nearly resulted in a murder charge being issued last night. 

Benedict: Sophie had a panic attack last night because she thought our baby was dying. I have not gotten any sleep between getting treated for my eye/hand AND worrying over Sophie. At this point I’m running solely on very shitty hospital coffee and sheer spite! 

Benedict: And I also almost missed Alexander being born because of all this and now Charlie keeps demanding I play pirates and sword fight him while Sophie tries to get some sleep because Posy was so worried about him being emotionally scarred by all of this she told him I became a pirate!!

Eloise: I’m guessing you're making Barbossa the godfather.  

Colin: 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Benedict: Banned. You all are banned from visiting us save for mother. I don’t want any of you near Sophie or my children right now. And I don’t care how much you beg. None of you are ever allowed to be near us again. 

Benedict: And I’m not even going to start about being completely and utterly fucking right about Ms. Scarlet being the murderer with the fucking candlestick in the fucking library. I cannot believe you all almost convinced me I was wrong!!

Eloise: Omg did you check the damn envelope while we were being loaded into ambulances?!?!?

Benedict: Of course I fucking did!!!

Violet: Benedict. Sweetheart. I’ll come check on you and Sophie after I’ve dealt with the taser currently sitting in my house and then the owner of said weapon. Please get some rest and take it easy.

Benedict: Thank you Mum ❤️ Can I just say how incredibly grateful and blessed I am to have gotten you as my mother? You do a wonderful job every day at managing us and it is forever a testament to your strength and character. I truly do not know what I would do without you.

Violet: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Colin: Kiss ass

Eloise: Mama’s boy

Benedict removed Colin and Eloise from the chat.

Benedict: And one more thing.

Benedict: How are your eyebrows doing brother???

Anthony: You absolute piece of shit.

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Heya big brother! In honor of my birthday today(whoop whoop!), how about the m6 celebrating their kids birthday?

-🍼

The Arcana Mini-HCs: M6 and their kid's birthday party

Julian: wants his kid to feel like they have all the friends in the world, so he makes a blanket invitation to every parent he knows. gets so caught up in entertaining the parent guests that you get left to manage the kid's activities all on your own. feels awful for it later

Asra: sets up the most magical decorations you've ever seen, leaves all the social planning and logistics to you while they dream up their kid's fantasy party come true. spoils all the kiddo guests with too much ice cream, leaves their parents to manage the sugar high

Nadia: if you want to have a hand in planning this, you'll have to ask. she's going to ask her kid what theme they want, but how that gets executed is pretty much up to her. makes sure all the guests are perfectly accommodated, but vetoes all the louder party games

Muriel: if his kid wants a party with guests, he will help make that happen. he'll manage food, decorations, guest lists, budgets, activities ... and then disappear five minutes before the first guest shows up. will make occasional appearances for cake and gifts

Portia: oh, heck yeah! she's going all out, turning the garden into a play area, hanging streamers and balloons from the trees, planning a massive picnic, and coming up with the funnest games. she will turn into one of the kids, though, so you'll have to be the adult host

Lucio: trying so, so hard not to let his party reflexes kick in, because this party is not about him and this party absolutely must remain minor friendly. ends up getting caught up in his kid's excitement and gets along with their friends rather than with the other adults

[llamagoddessofficial]

DA au but MC is a kid? Maybe her parent keeps leaving her there for a very long time, sometimes for whole weekends and throughout the week?

tehe

Red: She’s generally quite a quiet kid. Especially considering she’s got parents who leave her in a robot daycare for days at a time. It took a long while for Red to work up trust with her, at first she found him overwhelming and she’d just sit in the same corner and not talk to him or any of the other kids.

Now, she comes to life when she’s with her best friend Red. They spend so much time together, they’ve got inside jokes and nicknames for each other. He’s concerned about her feeling neglected, so she gets so much of his time and attention, he makes sure to let her know that despite all the other kids she’s very special and his best friend. If all the other kids have already gone home he takes her on (probably not allowed) tours of the entire pizzeria- since she’s with the daycare attendant, she can play all of the games and do all the activities totally free. Red has spoken to the other animatronics, and they’re sympathetic to her situation, so they often let her come in for special one-on-one meetups to improve her mood.

He’s usually protective, but he’s markedly more protective of her. Other staff are getting a little concerned... especially since once or twice, it sounded like he called her “my kid”.

Sans: He doesn’t like that her parents leave her there for so long. So, in turn, he really doesn’t like her parents. Once, a parent came to pick her up, and entirely out of spite he pretended not to recognise them (he’s got a database of all parent faces) and refused to let them into the daycare without some kind of identification. They had to go back outside to their car and get their license before he let them take her home. He knows he can unnerve some adults, and he takes full advantage of that.

Sometimes, she’s the only kid staying there overnight. Holidays, some weekends, times when other families would all be together... it’s just her and Sans. He does his best to make those nights the most fun- he takes her on secret midnight tours of the pizzeria where she can see all the lights. He has a spare set of star-covered pyjamas set aside just for her. The little enclave on top of the daycare that’s usually just for the DCA gets hastily renovated into a sleepover pillowfort, they have midnight snacks and watch movies, he projects stars onto the walls from his eyelights. When she does finally fall asleep it’s curled up in his arms with chocolate smeared on her cheeks.

She’s started being unable to sleep unless he’s there.

Skull: Skull was the one who got her to come out of her shell and open up to the other two robots. They were concerned they couldn’t get her to talk to them, and after enough constant demanding to be let out, they waited until all the other kids were gone and then let Skull try. 

There’s something so calming about his presence. Even if he’s physically intimidating, it only took a few minutes for her to crawl into his lap and play with his hands, sniffling quietly. He spent some time with her, showing her around... and eventually, he asked her if she wanted to meet his friends, Sans and Red.

On days when she’s particularly distraught or quiet, they let Skull take care of her. It can be difficult to make him let her go and it’s usually up to Sans and Red to pull him back down because no way will he give her back to her parents when she’s clearly his baby. But despite the issues, it’s worth it, because sometimes it just seems like Skull is the only one who can get through to her in that way. 

He understands feeling like nobody wants you.