#Please I wanna go back to the days that if hollywood celebrities appeared in kids movies/shows it was because they fell off

[nothing-to-see-around-here]

Just wanted to share this gem because it is hilarious to see this:

In the desc and then see a white dude saying it in the trailer.

(sorry for the rant in tags)

[musette22]

Burning For You

Title: Burning For You Pairing: Chris Evans x Sebastian Stan (Evanstan) Rating: Teen and up Word count: 3.1k A/N: Written for Evanstan Week day 6, a late fill for the Alternate Universe prompt. This silly piece of fluff is entirely inspired by the wonder that is the Mountain Lodge candle from the Yankee Candle Company. Yes, the one that inspired this iconic Tumblr post. The one that smells like Chris Evans. 

I was lucky enough to receive one as a gift from the wonderful @howdoyousleep3 and my life hasn't been the same since I smelled it for the first time. Thank you for introducing me to such delights baby K, ilyyy 💖 Also BIG thank you to the @evanstanweek​ team and to my beautiful beta @rainbowsandcoconut who came up with the outline for this fic when I told her my idea! Love you, boo 😘

Summary: Evanstan AU. Sebastian gets a little carried away when raving about the Mountain Lodge candle to a friend. It leads to an unexpected, fragrant encounter.

Read on AO3

“Listen, D. You’ve gotta smell this candle.” Sebastian leans in closer, nearly knocking over his - third - glass of red. “You know I’m not usually a scented candle kinda guy, but this one…” He closes his eyes and tips back his head, an expression of pure bliss on his face. “Incredible. Glorious. Magnificent.”

“You look like you’re about to pull a Meg Ryan in When Harry met Sally over there, Seb.”

Sebastian straightens, giving Deirdre a meaningful look across the table at the low-key SoHo bar they’re having drinks at. “You kid, but I’m this close. It’s that good, not even exaggerating.”

“Sure you’re not,” Deirdre huffs, lifting her glass and taking a sizeable gulp of her Cosmopolitan.

“Fine, don’t believe me,” Sebastian shrugs. “You know, I pity you for not having experienced the delights of the Mountain Lodge candle, really. If you knew what it smelled like, you’d be singing its praises too, believe me.”

Deirdre rolls her eyes good-naturedly. “Fine, I’ll bite. What does it smell like, Sebastian, pray tell.”

Sebastian sits up eagerly. “It smells…” he starts, “like an evening in that lodge in the Green Mountains we rented with the others a couple of years ago. Remember that? How it felt to relax by the fire after a long day of hiking, the scent of cedarwood and toasted marshmallows in the air?”

“Hmmm,” Deirdre agrees. “That was nice, yeah. But hardly worth busting a nut over, I’d say.”

Sebastian holds up a single finger. “I'm not done. Because this candle doesn’t just smell like the lodge, it also smells like the lumberjack living at the lodge.”

Deirdre frowns. “There was no lumberjack living at the –”

“The metaphorical lumberjack, D, god. Work with me here a little.”

“Oh right, okay. Gotcha.”

“It smells,” Sebastian continues, undeterred, “like soft, worn flannel. Like beard oil and a hint of clean sweat. It smells like a big, strong, gorgeous man who just got done hewing a ginormous tree with his massive axe and cutting it down into firewood, which he’s now using to light the very fireplace in front of which he’ll make sweet, sweet love to you, on the rug that’s actually the skin of a bear that attacked his rescue dog and which this man fought off and killed with his own bare hands.”

“Whooofffff,” Deirdre says, fanning herself with a napkin. “Fine, I’m starting to see the attraction.”

“It smells…” Sebastian goes on, pausing for dramatic effect before delivering his clincher, “like Chris Evans.”

There’s a beat of silence, and then Deirdre groans loudly, sagging back in her chair. “Ughh, shoulda known this was coming. For chrissake, Sebastian, you literally cannot go even one night without bringing up Chris Evans, can you?”

“I totally can,” Sebastian protests, like the mature, professional, Times-employed literary critic he is. “But you don’t understand, D. This candle, it’s actually like they bottled the very essence of Chris Evans and then infused a candle with it. It’s life-changing.”

“Yeah, yeah, you have a permanent boner for Chris Evans, you wanna marry him and have his little bearded babies, tell me something I don’t know,” Deirdre sighs, draining the last of her drink and immediately starting to look around for the waiter to order a new one. Distantly, Sebastian notices the song playing in the background changing to The Smith’s ‘Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want'. Ah, if only.

“Listen to me,” Sebastian insists, unconsciously starting to speak louder, like he’s some small-town preacher trying to make his ignorant clergy see the light. “Deirdre, darling, you’re one of my oldest friends. I wouldn’t lie to you. I swear, when you smell this candle, you too will feel like you’re being engulfed in the embrace of the brilliant, spectacular, totally unique smokeshow that goes by the name of Chris Evans. It’s as if the man himself is wrapping those huge, muscled arms of his around you, crushing you to his wide chest as you tuck your face into the crook of his neck while his beard brushes your temple and you inhale his masculine scent of cologne, sex and clean, honest sweat, I swear to god – D, are you even listening?”

At some point during the last part of Sebastian’s homily, Deirdre’s eyes drifted to a point over his right shoulder and got stuck there.

“Did you just- zone out?” Sebastian asks indignantly, waving a hand in front of her face. She doesn’t even blink. “Hello? Earth to Deirdre.”

“Seb,” Deirdre says, still not looking at Sebastian.

“Oh, I see,” Sebastian barrels on. “Here I am, pouring my heart out, telling you I found a candle that smells exactly like the man of my dreams and you’re just… What are you doing, actually? Are you okay?”

At this point, Deirdre’s eyes have gone comically round, mouth hanging open just a little. “Sebastian,” she repeats, more urgently now – and just as he’s turning his head to find out what put that dumbfounded look on her face, someone nearby clears their throat.

Sebastian startles, looking up at the man who’s appeared next to their table.

“Hi,” the man says in a deep, rich voice.

A deep, rich voice that Sebastian knows all too well. A deep, rich voice that belongs to none other than Chris Evans, Hollywood heartthrob and actual smokeshow, himself.

Oh.

Sebastian gapes while Chris, dressed in dark wash jeans, a red flannel shirt and a brown shearling jacket, smiles at him patiently. He’s all soft-looking beard and strong nose and bulging biceps and long, lean legs, and Sebastian has died and gone to heaven.

“I’m sorry for interrupting,” Chris says, “but was just sitting a table over and I couldn’t help but overhear.”

And from one moment to the next, Sebastian crashes forcefully back to earth. His whole body goes cold, the blood draining from his face so quickly he feels dizzy with it.

Fuck. No. No, no, no. This can’t be happening. There is no way this is actually happening.

Except it is.

Sebastian had just been extremely, loudly and publicly horny about the very guy that’s standing next to him right now. The guy who is no doubt about to give Sebastian a piece of his mind at best, and a right hook to the jaw at worst. And honestly, he’d deserve it.

Since Sebastian wouldn’t even know where to begin apologizing, he says nothing. Just keeps staring at Chris in ever-growing horror, his pulse pounding in his ears so loudly it almost drowns out the miserable sound of Morrissey still pleading in the background.

Chris clears his throat. “So,” he says, bringing up a hand to rub the back of his neck. “This candle smells like me, huh?”

Sebastian groans, hiding his face in his hands. “Shit. Fuck. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean- Oh my god, please, please, please just forget you heard any of that.”

“Why would I want to do that?”

Puzzled, Sebastian chances a glance at Chris from between his fingers. He’s partly still covering his face out of embarrassment, and partly because Chris is so gorgeous in real life that Sebastian isn’t sure he could look at him directly without spontaneously combusting. It’s like staring at the fucking sun. He doesn’t seem too angry, though, thank god. In fact, there’s an amused twinkle in his blue eyes that makes Sebastian’s shoulders relax infinitesimally.

“Because it was incredibly inappropriate?” Sebastian suggests, honestly a bit confused about having to explain this to him.

“I don’t know,” Chris shrugs. “It sounded pretty great. Kinda want to smell it for myself now.”

For some unfathomable reason – probably because unexpectedly seeing his long-time celebrity crush in the flesh broke his brain, Sebastian blurts out, “Oh, I don’t have it with me. It’s back at my apartment.”

Slowly, Chris raises a single eyebrow. The look sends a shiver straight down Sebastian’s spine, from the crown of his head right down to his toes. “Is it now?”

“Yeah,” Sebastian replies breathlessly.

Chris’s gaze drops down to Sebastian’s brown leather boots before slowly travelling back up to his face. “I gotta say, normally someone would at least have to buy me dinner first, but…” He trails off, looking Sebastian straight in the eye before finishing, “I am really curious about this candle.”

“You are?” Sebastian says dumbly, and then “Ow!” when Deirdre delivers an impressively precise kick to his shin under the table. He turns to give her a betrayed look, but when he meets her eyes, with which she’s clearly trying very hard to communicate something to him, he finally catches on. “Oh!” Sebastian whips back around to Chris, staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. “I- you- you mean like…” He swallows hard. “You wanna come back to my place to, uh, smell the candle?”

Although Chris’s expression remains amused, there’s a hint of trepidation there as well. “Sure,” he says, smiling crookedly. “If… that’s something you’re up for?”

Sebastian’s mind races. The way he sees it, there are two possibilities. Either Chris Evans is actually standing here in the flesh, propositioning him, or Sebastian hit his head in the bathroom earlier and is actually just lying on the dirty tile floor, hallucinating as a result of severe head trauma. The second option seems by far the most likely, but then, his shin does hurt like a sonuvabitch.

Well, fuck.

Sebastian clears his throat and sits up straighter, running a hand through his longish hair. “I mean, yeah, that’s- wow. That. That would be okay with me, uh huh. You mean like, now?”

“If that works for you?”

Without thinking, Sebastian says, “Well, I’m here with Deirdre –” before letting out another sharp yelp as said Deirdre crushes his toes under her heel. “Jesus, D!”

Deirdre ignores him. “Ohhh, would you look at the time,” she exclaims, holding up her wrist which very much doesn’t have a watch on it. “Boy, it’s much later than I thought. I really oughta get going, early start tomorrow.” She yawns theatrically, then grabs her purse and throws down two twenties on the table. “It was lovely seeing you, Sebastian, Chris… Evans,” she adds, with a wooden nod in Chris’s direction. “Hope you two have a lovely evening, bye now!”

And she’s gone.

They both stare after her for a second, and then Chris chuckles – a low sound that reverberates pleasantly in Sebastian’s chest. “Well,” Chris says, turning back towards him. “It’s nice to meet you, Sebastian.” He holds out his hand. “I’m Chris.”

Sebastian stands, taking Chris’s hand, which is warm and big and ever so slightly calloused, and exactly like Sebastian always imagined. “Yeah, I know,” he says, because he’s cool like that. And then, in a show of bravura that surprises even himself, Sebastian holds Chris’s gaze, tilts his head a fraction, and says, “So uh, my place?”

Chris smiles, casually dropping a few bills on the table, more than enough to cover their drinks, before taking a step to the side to let Sebastian pass. “Lead the way,” he says, lightly resting his hand on the small of Sebastian’s back as they make their way towards the exit.

🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

It’s only once they’re outside and the cold February night air manages to cool down Sebastian’s overheated brain somewhat that it occurs to him to ask if Chris wasn’t at the bar with anyone.

“I met a friend for drinks but he just left,” Chris explains. “I was just waiting for the bill when I overheard you guys.”

“And you’re sure you don’t have any other plans?” Sebastian asks, because he’s nothing if not a self-sabotaging idiot.

They’re still standing outside the bar, the golden light radiating from a nearby lamppost decorated with a cluster of luminous orbs making Chris look softer, somehow. Still a Hollywood heartthrob, but also charmingly human. Unfortunately, it does absolutely nothing to make Sebastian any less infatuated. If anything, it only endears Chris to him more, which he really didn’t think was possible.

“Not really, no,” Chris replies, amusement in his tone. “I was just gonna go back to my hotel and read for a bit.”

Sebastian perks up at the mention of his area of expertise. “Oh, yeah? What’re you reading?”

“I haven’t started it yet, but it’s this history of space travel? I read a great review of it in the Times the other day, so I thought I’d give it a go.” With a self-deprecating smile, Chris adds, “I’m kind of a space nerd.”

Sebastian blinks. “Not ‘To Infinity and Beyond’, by any chance?”

“That’s the one,” Chris confirms. “You know it?”

“I wrote the review.”

Chris’s eyes go round. “You did not.”

In lieu of replying, Sebastian digs up his wallet from his pocket, takes out his Times-employee card and holds it up for Chris’s inspection.

“Huh,” Chris says, studying the card. “What are the odds.” When his eyes turn back to Sebastian’s, he suddenly breaks out into a grin, wide and boyish. “Well, I guess that explains a thing or two.”

“How do you mean?” Sebastian frowns.

“I mean, that review was brilliantly written so you clearly have a way with words.” With a sly look, Chris goes on, “which explains your colorful descriptions of that candle earlier. The masculine scent of cologne, sex and clean, honest sweat was especially vivid.”

Sebastian groans, dragging a hand down over his face. “Jesus Christ, this is so embarrassing.”

Chris eyes shine with genuine mirth as he laughs, “Hey, come on, don’t worry about it.” He takes a step closer, ducking his head to try and catch Sebastian’s eyes, which are now firmly fixed on the pavement in an attempt to conjure up a hole to swallow him. “Call me a narcissist, but I didn’t exactly hate overhearing a gorgeous guy describing me as the man of his dreams.”

“Oh god,” Sebastian mutters, feeling himself turn a fetching shade of crimson. Trying to hide his blush, he turns around abruptly and nearly walks into the lamppost.

Chris, his savior, his knight in shining armor, manages to grab him by the back of his coat just in time to avoid the imminent collision. Sebastian still stumbles, but strong, capable arms wrapping securely around his waist keep him upright.

Carefully, Sebastian turns in Chris’s embrace so they’re facing each other, though he can’t quite make himself look Chris in the eye yet. “I’m guessing you caught on to this by now,” Sebastian tells the St Christopher pendant resting on Chris’s sternum, “but I’m kind of a disaster.”

Chris just hums, lifting a hand to tilt up Sebastian’s chin with his index finger, a small smile playing on his lips. “A beautiful one, though,” he whispers into the negligible space between them, before he closes that space and presses soft, full lips to Sebastian’s own.

Sebastian can’t suppress the small sound that escapes him when their lips meet, eyes closing on instinct as he lets himself sink into the kiss. Lets Chris take charge and coax open Sebastian’s mouth by running the tip of his tongue along the seam of his lips. Sebastian doesn’t think twice about letting him in. When their tongues touch, sweet and soft and languid, he trembles, pressing closer. Chris tastes a little like beer, and while Sebastian’s never been overly fond of beer, it takes approximately two seconds of being kissed by the hottest man on the planet for it to magically turn into Sebastian’s new favorite taste. Ever.

The kiss starts off slow; a little cautious maybe, as if Chris still isn’t entirely sure it’s welcomed. But then Sebastian’s hands find their way to Chris’s waist, fingers gripping tightly, and Chris slides a hand into Sebastian’s hair, angling his head gently to the left to deepen the kiss – and suddenly, Sebastian’s entire body feels like it’s on fire. He moans, relishing the feel of Chris's soft beard scratching at his clean-shaven cheeks, and way Chris takes control of the kiss, like something right out of every embarrassing fantasy he's ever had.

When Chris hums against his lips, as if he’s enjoying this just as much as Sebastian is, Sebastian’s knees go all weak and useless. It’s a good thing that Chris is there, tightening his left arm around his waist and pulling him more securely against the hard lines of his own body – which actually doesn’t do a thing to help Sebastian’s current knee situation. He whimpers, curling his hands into the fabric of Chris’s coat to anchor himself.

When Chris finally breaks the kiss, he doesn’t go far. His breathing has deepened, warm puffs of air caressing Sebastian’s tingling, wet lips. Sebastian exhales shakily. The way his head is spinning might be partially due to the wine, but it's definitely mostly because of Chris sweeping him off his feet with his smooth, movie star ways.

Needing a moment to gain his composure before he speaks, Sebastian buries his face in the crook of Chris’s neck, taking a deep, steadying breath –

Oh.

“I fucking knew it,” he groans.

Sebastian feels rather than hears Chris’s quiet laugh; feels the vibrations of it shake his broad chest under Sebastian’s palms. “Yeah? Do I really smell like your candle?”

“Better,” Sebastian mutters. On instinct, he presses his lips against Chris’s exposed neck, eliciting a shiver from him.

“You know,” Chris rumbles into Sebastian’s ear. “I still think I need to smell this magical thing for myself. Make sure you’re not just flattering me to get into my pants, y'know?”

Christ.

“Yeah,” Sebastian nods. “Definitely, good thinking. Empirical evidence is paramount. In fact, it’s totally possible I’m just mixing things up right now because my brain’s all” – he makes a poof motion with his hands, trusting Chris will get his drift – “so I think maybe I’ll need to do some comparative research.”

Chris tilts his head in though. “Hands-on research?”

“I think that’s best, yes,” Sebastian concurs.

“Right. Well, out of the two of us, you’re definitely the higher educated one, so I’m just gonna take your word for that.” After a beat, Chris adds, “as long as I get to test a theory or two of my own.”

“Oh?” Sebastian licks his lips. “Such as?”

The wicked glint in Chris’s eyes is the only warning he gets before Chris is sliding his hand back into Sebastian’s hair and giving it a firm, experimental tug.

“Ah,” Sebastian breathes, his eyelids fluttering, the blood rushing south so fast he feels dizzy – again.

Chris grins smugly. “Such as that.”

“Okay,” Sebastian croaks. “Yeah, that seems fair.” Wasting no more time, he reaches out to grab Chris’s free hand and starts to pull him along the pavement in the direction of his apartment.

Chris, laughing as he squeezes Sebastian’s hand, follows closely behind.  

🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

Read on AO3

[residentlesbrarian]

The Second Book I Read In the Dark: Another YA superhero novel for me to squeal over forever...YES, Please! Gimme Gimme!

Dreadnought by April Daniels

So Day 1 in the dark continues onward and I have already finished 1 of my 3 library books with still so much day left so what else to do but soldier forward and continue without pause. Well there was a short pause for delicious chicken soup cooked on a blessedly gas powered range (never gonna live in a house with an electric range; I swear this thing has saved our butts in so many power outages), but I digress; I was ready! This time I was taking a break from the whimsical and witchy and diving head first into all things super with an extra heroic twist. 

I had heard so many good things about this book for so long but again it had fallen to the wayside of other distractions (a rainbow montage of movie and TV show gays runs back and forth through my head like the migrating fandom flamingoes). What finally made me make the decision to buckle down and do the thing was a video review done by one of my favorite YouTubers, Dominic Noble (Video Linked below). I love his series Lost in Adaptation, because as an avid reader I too find myself appalled by what Hollywood often does to my favorite books. Hearing him talk about Dreadnought was just the push my flighty brain needed to say, “Fine! Alright! We haven’t utterly obsessed over a teenage superhero book in like 6 months since we near bludgeoned our girlfriend with Not Your Sidekick! Fine! Let’s do it!” So...yeah if this intro is anything to go by this should be a fun one! Let’s dive right in shall we!

Unicorn Rating:

Blurb: She just wanted to paint her toenails in peace but then a superhero had to go and die and give Danny the one thing she never thought she’d have...her proper body. Now if only everyone else felt that way too. Life just got awesome and really really complicated all at once! Oh yeah and she can fly now. Bonus!

Disclaimer: I will try my best to not spoil anything from the book, but my book loving rambles may give more away than a traditional review. Here we go! Ramble time!

Review: 

Holy crap! After the last book this was exactly what I needed! This book was just...so good! The plot...the characters...the world...everything about it just pulls you in and doesn’t let you go. Now I may have felt that way because I didn’t have anything trying to pull me away from this book but I don’t think I would have been easily pulled away if there had been distractions. And so many facets of this story were things I didn’t expect because I had never seen them portrayed before. Like the fact Danny having to deal with the rampant day to day sexism of being a woman now that her appearance matches who she really is. I’ve never seen that in a book before and I absolutely loved it! I was so dedicated to Danny’s story from page 1 it’s ridiculous, and look at that, a perfect segue into the phenomenal characters of this book...look what I did there switching it up going out of order on ya...gotta keep ya on your toes.

Our protagonist Danny is such a phenomenal example of a genuine kind caring person who is also deeply scarred and angry. It was so amazing to read a character that was flawed and struggling and doesn’t see how much a hero she really is and the small moments when others take that double take and go, “You’re the real deal, huh?” But those moments just confuse the living hell outta Danny cause she’s just Danny, she got super powers as a fluke. She is also hilarious and courageous and smart but knows she isn’t perfect and has weaknesses. She may be the strongest person on earth physically now but she acknowledges that that isn’t everything someone needs. Danny is such a good bean, but she has issues and that isn’t glossed over which is so rare. Now the next thing I want to touch on is a very tough subject but is very prevalent in the book so I wouldn’t be a very prudent reviewer if I didn’t bring it up. Danny is, without question, an abused child. This isn’t even really a spoiler, it alludes pretty heavily to it in the blurb, but what I’m gonna touch on next does dip into that territory so I’m gonna break it into a new LONG paragraph so just scroll on by if you don’t want to read this bit.

So at one point in the book Danny mentions a health screening at school that revealed she had hearing damage in her right ear that has now been healed by the mantle of Dreadnought. At the time of the screening she didn’t realize why until her dad had another Mount Vesuvius day and she assumed her usual position of curling in on herself and turning her head to the left so he would yell into only her right ear. Now how loud and how often do you have to yell into someone’s ear to cause permanent hearing damage? I don’t know and honestly I don’t want to know. Why am I highlighting an overall tiny moment...because for me this moment jumped out and gut punched me. Brought literal tears to my eyes. Tears of pain. Tears of rage. Tears of hate. I’m a weepy bitch when I get emotional. I’ve read a lot of books that try and portray abuse and how Daniels wrote Danny’s abuse from her father took my breath away because it felt so real. There weren’t really any good days, there were bad days, there were really bad days, but most days were just anxiously waiting for the next bad day, because Danny knew there would always be a next bad day. Something that did surprise me was my feelings about Danny’s mother. I knew going in I would hate her father, before even meeting him I hated him, but her mother, that was a hate that lay dormant until it exploded onto the scene and froze me to my core. I’m not gonna get into my own demons here but there is one thing I cannot abide by and that is people turning a blind eye while someone abuses another. Danny’s mother is the textbook definition of someone who “goes along to get along”, she will do just about anything to keep the peace, but at what cost? Instead of protecting her child from someone who literally screamed so long and so loud at her child that it damaged her hearing she just sat back and let them. That’s not the worst though, no, after Danny’s transition her mom seems to be understanding of the fact she is happy being a girl and is buying her things she needs like bras and undeniably feminine shoes, only to reveal it was all to keep Danny docile so she wouldn’t cause more fights with her dad. That to me is unforgivable. Not worse than the abuse of the father, but still undeniably selfish. She never cared about Danny or listened to her and what she was really saying. She just didn’t want there to be anymore fighting. Well I’m sorry, but sometimes, as a mother, you should fight to protect your goddamn child when someone is hurting them. The last thing I’ll say before going back to the more spoiler free and fun part of the review is that the fact Danny can never make herself say she is being abused hits so close to home for me. As a reader looking in from outside, there was a scene with a member of the Legion that I felt like, as an abuse survivor myself, I was standing there begging Danny to accept her invitation. To get out of that house. To get away from her father. To see what he was doing for what it was. But I knew she wouldn’t, she wasn’t ready, and it broke my heart to watch her fly away.

Anyway moving on from all that heavy stuff lets talk about other things like some freaking superheroes and one particular vigilante. We have the Legion members: Doc Impossible, Valkyrja, Magma, Graywytch, Chlorophyll, and Carapice. Now How do I want to talk about these characters...in what order...hmmm...how about from best to worst. Okay? Okay. Great! 

I freaking love Doc Impossible! She is a character that from the moment I met her she gave me ‘kookie grandma’ character vibes and I get DOWN with kookie grandma characters. Now I know she isn’t a grandma character nor is she particularly crazy in the way she acts; it's just a vibe I get from her that I love. Now one thing I do want to say without spoiling anything is how Doc is one of the few characters that never tries to take away Danny’s agency in everything that happens around her in all this superhero craziness. Danny can always be her own person and most importantly a kid around Doc, and I feel Danny really needed that. I will stop myself now because I could go on for hours about Doc and how much I LOVE HER!

Next up we get a two for one, Valkyrja and Magma. We don’t see much of them but what we do get is pretty good. They are adult superheroes who have their own priorities surrounding what is going on with Danny, but aren’t mean or cruel and seem to genuinely care about Danny. Valkyrja is funny and surprisingly down to earth even though she is basically a scandinavian goddess of sorts. Also the hilarity of her being Danny’s long time celebrity crush never gets old. Oh Danny, you useless little lesbian. Magma is a precious big hot boy that seems like he’d give good hugs. Yeah, that's about all I got to say about him that won’t spoil anything. 

Now we have another two for one with Chlorophyll and Carapice. These two I'm between dislike and indifferent on.  They weren’t outright mean to Danny but they treated her more like a means to an end or down right refused to acknowledge she was the new Dreadnought whether they liked it or not, but we didn’t really get to see them enough to really learn more about their motivations. 

Finally to round out the Legion we have Graywytch. Excuse me while I get this out. *Exaggerated throat clear.* First of all, Imma slap that stupid robe of ya stupid head. Then Imma stab you with your stupid fancy atheme you like to wave around all the time. And don’t even start on your “Typical male, always resorting to violence” shtick, cause guess what, I’m a ciswoman and I still wanna stomp a mudhole in your ass. And for that...Imma slap your dumb bird too. *Deep breath in. Looooooong exhale.* Sorry about that. Mama had to express some rage. I have never had a hate-sink character that made me feel the fiery flames of rage quite like Graywytch...obviously. Her treatment of Danny had me gripping the book tightly and growling about slapping birds and “shanking bitches” more than I should probably admit. She is one of those characters that I love how much I hate her. She served the exact purpose she was meant to and it was never cast in a light that she may be right in her treatment of Danny, we are always aware that her mindset is ridiculous. Like the fact outside of her parents Graywytch is the only character to blatantly deadname and misgender Danny. To go off on a small tangent here I may relate too much here because I have a younger brother who is trans (don’t worry he is fine with me discussing it in reviews and such) and I went to a graduation party when my best friend graduated medical school and he was out to the family but not extended friends yet. After only referring to him by the proper pronouns for so long at home hearing the wrong ones caused legitimate eye blinking record scratch cognitive dissonance for me. I had the same feeling anytime Graywytch opened her stupid mouth and blatantly misgendered Danny. Because the way this is written Danny is Danny, she is exactly who she is meant to be. Suck it Graywytch!

Okay, I know you probably want to hear about the plot I know, but we have one more character we have to talk about and that is Calamity, the rootin’-ist tootin’-ist vigilante that ever did come through these here parts. Sorry, I have to talk like this now, it’s part of the persona, you have to commit to the persona. But real talk, I absolutely love Calamity as a look into “graycapes” and the real dive into the world of superheroes beyond the big heroes. We get to see how someone who doesn’t have the backing of the Legion goes about helping people, the little people, those that maybe the Legion way up in their tower can’t see from so high up in the clouds. And y’all know me, I love a morally gray vigilante with a heart of gold.  She had me at “You wanna go capin’?”

Now obviously I couldn’t get enough of the characters but the plot was pretty darn good too. It was so intricately woven in with Danny and her inheriting the mantle from the previous Dreadnought that she had no choice but to be an integral part of it. Now I obviously don’t have as much to say about the plot as I did the characters but know if you come for the plot you won’t be disappointed. It kept me guessing and threw me for an absolute curve ball at the end that I did not see coming! You won’t be disappointed.

So final thoughts...there isn’t much more I can say without going on an hours long squeal fest about how much I freaking loved this book and the characters and the intricacies of how Danny’s powers work and how she was written and how she interacts with different characters and just everything that would mean massive untakebackable spoilers! So I will end on this note; Danny is a character that it would have been easy to lean into the superhero aspect and let the reader forget that she was trans, but April Daniels didn’t want that. Danny was gifted the easiest transition in the history of the world. What takes most people years of HRT and surgeries and therapy Danny did in the passing of a mantle, but it never took away the fact she is and always will be trans. It was a unique reading experience that I have only been blessed with once before but that’s a story for a different review on a different day.

Queer Wrap-up: I would give my left kidney (that’s my good one btw) to give this book five unicorns, but alas I cannot, a one off conversation in an elevator hinting that a certain improbable doctor may have a one sided thing for a particular sadly straight scandinanvian god being is just not enough to count as additional rep. As much as I love this book, and I love it A LOT! We only have Danny as our queer rep and she is fantastic rep and our protagonist so a 4 unicorn rating was a no brainer on this one. Danny is the kind of trans rep I want to see more of in the world of books, YA and otherwise. Being a trans lesbian is a huge part of her character but she gets to do so much more than that in the breath of the story and that’s what I look for in great representation, so Danny easily earned these 4 unicorns on her own merit just being her amazing self.

Links: 

Goodreads

Dominc Noble’s Review

Alright so...this one got long. Ah hell, I ain't gonna apologize for it! This is a damn good book and I wanted to get my fangirl squeal on y’all. 

Oh no, I think I’ve been thinking about Calamity too much I slipped into the persona without meaning to! This book was just far too much fun to read to the point I started reading it out loud with a full cast of voices (hint: the Calamity parts were my favorite) because it flowed so well and was genuinely so funny at parts and heart wrenchingly sad in others and so action packed the next moment. I finished this book in less than a day and if I had been more present and not under a pile of blankets and wearing a headlamp I might have thought to keep a timer to tell you the exact number of hours it took me, but alas know it didn’t take me many. 

So the adventures reading in the dark continue on to the next review after this one but as always if you want to read this but don’t want to spend the money without knowing for sure you are going to like it, go to your local library. You’d be surprised what they have on their shelves just waiting to be discovered. Trust me, I’m a lesbrarian.

[royallyprincesslilly]

Title: Love, Maybe? {30}

Chris Evans X Reader OFC Vixen Giovanni

Warning: Cursing, Plot, Slow, Smoldering, Torturous Burn 😊, Angst, Fluff

Word Count: 5.9K

Summary: After a night of drunkenness you wake up next to warm, hot as hell body, a migraine and no memory of the night before. When you come to realize that the hot body belongs to none other than Hollywood’s golden boy Chris Evans you freak out. As events unfold you become even more panicked to find out you got married in your drunken haze. What else is there to do but get it annulled, right? Before walking away, you share one more night of molten kisses and passion. Three years later you are still living with the repercussions of your brash decisions, but the surprises don’t stop there. The past has a way of coming back and have you questioning is this fate that you’ve been running from, hell could it have been love, maybe?

Note: Italic texts is an inner Vixen thought. Bold Italic texts is an inner Chris thought.

**Slightly Edited/Proofread**

***Interactive***

Thank you guys for reading!!!! If you enjoyed this please LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG. 😊 ❤️  ❤️ ❤️

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

Chapter 30: This One You’ll Remember

-Vixen-

“We haven’t jogged together in months,” Nexus announced while you zipped past another clearing of trees.

  “Yeah, the restaurant has been taking all my attention and time.”

  “Not just the restaurant,” Nex added. You eyed her as a warning not to start.

  You’d decided on jogging because you needed the distraction needed to feel some form of control over something and loved the freedom you felt. Everyone in your life joked all the time the reason you loved jogging so much was that you were a gypsy at heart and loved to drift. Your mother said you had a free soul like your grandmother, who went her whole life bouncing from place to place, relationship to relationship until she found one man, but they drifted together. She’d told you at a young age that the only way you’d be happy in life is if you were able to keep your freedom and find a man who would either tame that desire for freedom or compliment it with his own love of it. Your response to this was, “No one will ever tame me; I’m the master of my destiny, captain of my fate.” Events of the last three years had really begun to make you question if, in fact, fate and destiny were the masters of you.

  “Let’s take a breather up ahead,” Nex suggested.

  After another half mile, you stopped and leaned against a tree. Nearby the sight of the sky caught your eye, and you slowly walked to it. After a few feet, you stepped beyond the last trees to the top of a cliff.

“Holy shit!” Nexus appeared beside you, then her jaw dropped.

  “Wow.”

  Before you was blue sky and as far as the eye could see tops of full, green trees and further was a body of water. You weren’t sure if it were a lake, river, or the ocean itself. All you knew was that it was breathtaking.

  “This is incredible.” You nodded in agreement with your sister.

  “Makes you just wanna relocate, huh.” Your head snapped to Nex and narrowed your eyes.

  “Nope!”

  Walking off back into the woods, she followed.

  “Still mad at Chris for last night?”

  “No, I was never mad.” She nodded and allowed the silence to stretch.

  “How are things going with Anthony?”

  Nexus’ smile lit up the entire forest, and you couldn’t help but smile. “Good.”

  “Just good? Nex, you’re dating your celebrity crush. Your celebrity crush is head over heels for you. That has to be better than good.”

  She smiled wider, and you could feel the giddy energy radiating off of her.

  “He’s great Vix, but I don’t want to talk about it, especially with what you’re going through.”

  “What am I going through?”

  “Everything. Chris’ family, integrating two families to possibly make a third, having to be around him while everything between you is still so—confusing.”

  You shook your head — "Nex stop. Okay yes, things have been—complicated lately, and I do have a lot going on, but when don’t I. No matter what is going on with me and in my life you are still my sister. It has always been you and me against the world, and that will never change. We can talk about your happiness and all of it because you winning and being happy makes me so happy.” Nexus studied you for a few moments then nodded.

  “Even if you’re not really happy, happy?” You knew what she meant and shook your head after a few seconds of adjustment and trying to hide any effects of her words.

  “I’m fine, honey,” you smiled warmly and took her hand, hoping this was enough of a reassurance. Looking at her, you knew she saw right through you. Knew she was not buying anything you were selling. Looking away you continued walking. “Plus, there is nothing confusing about anything. My kid’s father is in her life now, boom end of it.”

  “Vix--,” Nexus began before you cut her off.

  “Tell me about things with you and Anthony.” She smiled widely again then finally caved.

  She told you how much they had in common, how sweet and considerate he was. When she confessed to you that they talked at least three times a day and were always the last call of the day, you couldn’t help but release an audible sigh. She beamed when she spoke about him, and you could tell she was in love. Without warning you pulled her into a hug.

  “What’s this for?”

  “I’m so happy for you, Nex. I am so, so happy for you. You deserve nothing but happiness.” She hugged you back, and the two of you stood there surrounded by trees and nature just hugging each other. Soon Nexus pulled away and sniffled.

  “Don’t make it weird, you’re making it weird,” she said as she wiped her eyes.

  “You’re making it weird; I’m not making it weird.” You wiped your eyes as well and took a breath.

  “I know you hate my advice Vix--.”

  You snorted. “I don’t hate your advice. I hate when you’re right with that advice,” you corrected. Nexus laughed, which made you laugh as well.

  “You love being right and in control. Maybe you need to embrace not having all the answers and the chaos it brings. Maybe through losing control, will you see how rightly wrong you are.” Nex ran off, leaving you standing there to marinate what she’d just said.

  “Did you just give me a fortune cookie riddle? Nex?”

  ~~~~~~~~

When you made it back to the house and took a shower, it was nearing two in the afternoon. The knock at your door brought you out of all your thoughts. When you opened it there he stood holding a towel wrapped beaming Ella.

  “Pool.” Chris smiled then nodded. You shook your head. “All right come on little mermaid. Let’s get you in a bath.”

  You walked out of your room and to her room. When you got inside her ensuite bathroom, you began filling the tub while looking for the bubble bath mixture she loved.

  “Can you grab a fresh towel, please?” Chris nodded and put Ella on the bathroom sink before he walked out.

  After getting her undressed, you placed her into the sea of mounting bubbles. As you did Ella squealed with joy. When Chris returned, she shouted for him, and a broad smile spread across his face. You placed her toys into the bath just as Chris was turning to leave.

  “Da-da tay, gwive bat.”

  Chris looked at you to find out what he should do. You motioned for him to go ahead and slid on top of the bathroom counter. Chris hesitated but approached the tub where you’d laid out everything needed.

  “Pway fuwst, I awiel oo ewic.” She held up her ariel and Eric dolls, and he took one.

  You sat there and watched them reenact most of the movie, songs included, and just shook your head. You couldn’t tell who was enjoying themselves more. It was still insane to think about how alike they were. It was like two peas in a pod. When they reenacted the final battle between Ursala, their eyes turned to you.

  “What?”

  “We kinda need someone to play Ursala,” Chris informed. Your jaw dropped.

  “Are you saying you want me to play the evil sea witch? Of all the other roles, like Ariel’s umpteen sisters, even the darn blowfish that blows his horn, the sea witch is what I came to mind for?”

  Chris smiled as Ella giggled. “Please.”

  Ella then joined in, “Pweese mama.” You looked between them and shook your head as you hopped off the counter to sit at the side of the tub. You then began the scene and gave it your all. You and Chris fake battled using the dolls as weapons, and Ella clapped and laughed the entire time watching the live-action movie. When Chris delivered the final blow you exaggerated the pain and proceeded to the death scene that you dragged out until you were laid across the bathroom floor. Ella clapped wildly, and Chris closed the show with a deep bow.

  “And they lived happily ever after.”

  “Yaaay!” Slowly, you sat up and watched Ella hug Chris. “Da-da, pwince, mine.” You smiled again and thought to yourself how cute they were together.

  Once you were back in her room, you sat on her bed, doing her hair as she hummed to some made up song. Chris walked back into the room arms filled with several wet towels. “Floor is dry, and bath is cleaned up. I’m gonna take a shower.” You nodded and watched him walk out, leaving the door open.

  “Mama.”

  “Yes, princess.”

  “I wike da-da.”

  “Oh, do you?” She nodded.

  “Okay, that’s great, honey.”

  “Oo wike da-da?” Your hands stilled, and you thought about her question. What did you say to a two-year-old when they asked if you liked their father? Taking a deep breath, you forged ahead.

  “Yes, I like him too. She didn’t speak after that, and you were glad for it; your head was now miles away.

  ~~~~~~~

 -Chris-

She said she liked him. He didn’t mean to hear it. He walked out to put the towels in the laundry but turned back to ask you something, but he didn’t expect to hear those words. Now that he’d heard it he couldn’t forget it. The only thing is he didn’t know exactly what you meant by it. There were many ways you could like someone; there was platonic, characteristically, humanely, brotherly, sexually, romantically. There were too many ways to be wrong. You were incredibly hard to read. You were then, and you still were.

  Since he’d found out you were still married, he didn’t know what to do with the information, every day he went back and forth with a decision. One day he thought to tell his legal team to petition to see if the courts would be lenient because of the situation. Then the next he was so close to telling you to see what you wanted. He’d almost told you three times now, and each time he almost did —his heart beat out his chest. He was nervous, scared even. Part of him didn’t want you to want to proceed with the divorce, and the other part said it was the only way. Neither of you knew much about the other. A marriage couldn’t be sustained that way.

  When he thought that though he didn’t really believe it, he knew how he felt about you. Knew it wasn’t some whim, hell he even knew he wouldn’t outgrow it. He was now at the point where he wanted to find a way to make things work. He’d gotten everything he’d wanted one night three years ago and spend the next three years missing it, regretting his mistakes, wishing for them. Everything he’d ever wanted was his, and he didn’t want to let it go—not again.

  He couldn’t read you to decipher what you felt or didn’t feel, no matter how his mother believed you felt something for him. He couldn’t be sure, and the fact that he wasn’t sure stressed him out. The simplicity of the matter was that you could very well not want anything to do with him, including him with Ella. It scared him. He usually wasn’t a timid guy; he was able to read people better than anyone in his circle and would also be the outgoing one. He was never afraid to approach women or take one home. He was not this guy he was now. He didn’t like the fact that he now second guessed everything he did or said. He didn’t like that he double and triple thought everything when it came to you. It was upsetting, but he couldn’t stop. His instincts were all out of whack; nothing felt normal or like he was used to. You were a complete mind fuck.

  He’d thought he could get a better understanding of how you truly felt to make a better decision on what could be possible for the two of you—three of you, but he didn’t know to go about that. Every attempt he’d made thus far has been met with a stern Heisman from you. Every set back further added water to any fire he wanted to believe was still there.

  “You look constipated.”

  He spun around to see Nexus was sitting on one of the chairs in the backyard. He scoffed and shook his head. “I didn’t see you there.”

  “How could you? You were so wrapped up in your head; it was impossible. Everything okay?”

  He nodded and released a breath. “Yeah, all good.” Nexus snorted and shook her head.

  “You and Vixen are such bad liars. I have always been able to see right through her. You, I’m pleased are very similar.”

  “Does uh—does Vixen lie a lot?”

  “To herself mainly.” He nodded, thinking about what that meant when compared to everything from the last few months.

  “Can I ask you something, Chris?”

  “Anything.”

  “In this—fairytale storybook, what are you hoping for?”

  A few moments passed while he thought about it. “I didn’t start off with any wants—not really.”

  “And now? A few months have passed; you’ve been able to grasp things more firmly,  settle into them. What do you want? Remember that night in the diner where I told you to figure out what you want. Did you?”

  He sighed again and looked back to the woods. “I did.”

  “And?”

  He was quiet again. “Chris, I promise anything we talk about won’t go back to Vixen or anyone—unless it’s to protect her.”

  “Protect her? From me?”

  She nodded. “Do you think she needs protecting from me?”

  Nexus studied him for several long moments before she spoke. “Until you know what you want—really want, and it proves to be in the best interest of my sister and niece then you’re a wild card. Wild cards carry plenty of destructing power.” He nodded, understanding the context of what she didn’t say.

  “I want my daughter; I want to be in her life. I want to be there every step of the way. I want her to know me, and I want to know her. I want—to know her mother—to—to--,” he took a deep breath and blew it out before he continued. “I have no intention of hurting Vixen, Nexus.”

  “I believe that, Chris. The thing with the intent not to hurt; we usually unintentionally hurt. I don’t want them hurt. I don’t want it to be proven that it was better having you out of their lives than it was for you to be in them.”

  Truthfully, that was one of his fears as well, a very serious and terrifying fear. He already believed you’d been better off without him the last three years, and he didn’t want to think you’d still be that way for the next three years—three decades and beyond.

  “I want you to win Chris—I want you both to win.” She smiled warmly, and he knew there was no malic coming from her; she genuinely wanted what was best. Nexus turned and walked away, as she did she spoke one final time. “You know what to do.”

He nodded; he did.

  Thirty minutes later, he walked into the family room to see your entire family sitting watching TV. You and Ella were cuddled on the couch with Dodger on the floor beside the couch, with Ella’s hand resting on the top of his head.

  “This could be every day, you idiot. This could be your life.”

  “I have an idea.” Everyone turned to him, waiting for him to continue. “I was able to get some tickets to a carnival that is in town, and I thought we all could enjoy the day there.”

  The grownups looked at each other, but Ella kept looking at the TV.

  “Is that—safe, given who you are?” Your father’s inquiry was a valid one. A lot of times, when he went out, he was ambushed, even when he kept a low profile. The difference though was when he was here—home; no one bothered him. When he was here he was simply Chris, not Captain America, not a famous movie star. He was just Chris.

  “When I’m here, I’m just a normal guy. No one comes up; a lot of people respect me and let me go about my day. So I’m confident with saying it’s safe.”

  “Actually Chris, I have other plans with my husband. So we won’t be able to go,” your mother announced.

  “Okay, that’s no problem. Nex?”

  “Nexus has plans with us as well. We thought a family day,” she continued. Nexus looked to her, and the two exchanged a look. It was a look he couldn’t decipher, but as quickly as it happened, Nexus looked away.

  “Yeah. I can’t wait to spend time with them.” It was then you sat up on the couch as you looked at your sister quizzically.

  “That leaves you, Ella and Vixen. What do you say Kristella? Carnival, rides, games, cotton candy, prizes?” Your mother listed off the items, each item was said with way more enthusiasm than necessary. It didn’t take Ella long to stand on the couch and jump up and down.

  “Yeah, cawvival, cawvival, candy, wide, yayy!” Dodger began barking, trying to get on his hind legs to lick her.

  “Uh, if it’s a family day, mom, shouldn’t I be going with you, dad, and Nex?”

  “Vixen, can’t I spend time with my parents without you for once? God, it’s not always about you,” Nexus exclaimed. Your eyes widened, but you didn’t look hurt. You looked distrustful.

  “Chop, chop, sooner you leave the more carnival fun,” your mother added while clapping her hands. Ella leaped off the couch and landed on her knees. His heart jumped into his throat as he practically dived to her to check if she were okay. Ella stood brushed off her knees and ran around the room showcasing how fine she was.

  “Come on, Vixen, let’s get you changed,” your mother offered.

  “Changed? Why can’t I wear what I have on?” Your mother looked you over once and shook her head before ushering you out of the room.

When you came back down twenty minutes later, you were changed, and you looked as gorgeous as ever. The pleased look on your mother's face told him this had been her plan. He scoffed and shook his head. He’d never been set up with his own wife before.

  “That’s a first.”

  “All right you crazy kids, go enjoy the carnival,” your mother expressed with a smile.

  You rolled your eyes and took up your purse. Ella took his hand, and he held on to the bag that was packed for her, and they were off.

  Ten minutes into the drive, you snorted and began laughing.

  “What?”

  “You do realize we were set up, right?” He smiled and nodded.

  “Yeah, I picked up on it with how big your mom’s smile was.” The two of you laughed together, and the awkwardness was gone.

  ~~~~~~~~

 -Vixen-

He looked like he belonged pushing Ella in her stroller with her backpack on his back, and his hat tipped low. He looked like a dad, and it should not have affected you the way that it did. As you looked around the sea of people that were around you at the carnival you saw families of all kinds and even couples, and you wondered if any of their stories were as wild or complex as yours.

  “So games, food or rides first?”

  “Wide, wide!” You nodded, motioning to Ella.

  “Seems like the boss has spoken,” he teased.

  The three of you walked around on the hunt for a toddler friendly ride. When you came upon the Merry-Go-Round, you and Chris exchanged a look.

  “Merry-Go-Round still your favorite carnival, right?”

  Chris smiled widely as he rubbed the back of his neck that was turning a slight shade of pink.

  “Sad to say, yeah, hands down,” he responded. You smiled and nodded.

  “Then, let’s ride.”

  The three of you made it on the platform and walked around in search of the right animal to ride. Ella pointed out a pink unicorn with white flowers at its crown, and Chris nodded. Once he placed her on the unicorn and strapped her in, he climbed onto it behind her and held on to the pole with one hand and her with the other. You chose the black horse that was diagonal from them and strapped up. When you looked back to them Chris’ eyes were looking at your backside. Heat ran through you, and half of you wanted to play it up and poke out your ass some more to give him a better view while the other half wanted to wallow in the embarrassment of the moment.

  You looked forward, took a breath, and held on to the pole waiting for the ride to start. Once it did Ella, let out a loud squeal. Looking back, she had the hugest smile on her face as she held on to the pole. Your horse went up her unicorn went down, then vice versa. By the time you made your third go around, she and Chris were laughing and whispering together, and that was your catastrophic moment. The moment that packed the biggest punch. They both looked incredibly happy and so in love with each other. You knew she was better with him in her life, and for the first time you wanted him to be in yours too.

  Once you got off, your realization had you quiet and reserved for quite a while. You tried to remain present, tried to push it all from your mind, but every cute moment between them made it that much harder. Every game they played together that Chris helped her with made your heart warm, and every time Ella initiated touching him being a handhold or a lean, your belly did flips. When she initiated a hug, you were thoroughly fucked up. Who knew watching your child with her father could make you feel so much—all the things you’d buried.

  Two hours later you had eaten a high amount of cheese, carbs, starch, and ketchup, consumed almost Ella’s body weight in cotton candy, went on nearly every child appropriate ride, allowed Ella to pet and take pictures with the elephants and had a stroller filled with prizes of various sizes.

  “You, sir, one try to get this bulb all the way to the top. If you do, you get two prizes.” Chris snorted and shook his head while keeping it down.

  “No, thank you.”

  “What’s the matter afraid you’ll embarrass yourself striking out sending this three hundred pound bulb up in front of your wife?” He laughed and kept his head down.

“No, not afraid,” he confessed.

  “Then let’s see it, Superman.” The game controller held out the mallet to him. Chris looked to you, and you smirked.

  “Do it da-da.”

  “All right, the little princess has spoken,” Chris joked. You bent and lifted Ella as Chris took the mallet and prepared to slam it down. He looked up at the bulb and to the game controller.

  “Three hundred pounds, huh.”

  The game controller nodded with a smug look on his face; “Whenever you’re ready,” the game controller encouraged.

  Chris lifted his arms and his shirt rose just above his navel and the sliver of skin, and muscle had you ready to touch. Chris grunted as he slammed the mallet down. The sound was sexy, and your desire level rose exponentially. The bulb shot all the way up, lighting up the entire contraption, and sounding all the alarms. Nearby onlookers watched and gaped at the result of his stroke. Just like that you knew you were going to end up having sex with him. It was only a matter of time and dependent on how long you could keep your desires in check with the right thing to do, the sensible thing—the safe thing.

Chris came back over with two prizes in hand, a unicorn that was no doubt for Ella and Flit the bird from Pocahontas--your favorite Disney movie. Ella reached her arms out for him to give him a quick hug. “Dude, what the—how the--,” the game controller struggled to get out. Chris shrugged as he took hold of the stroller.

  “Guess I’m Captain America.” He walked off with you giggling as the man stood there, stumped to how it was possible.

  Your next stop was the Ferris Wheel. You tried to contain your glee once you stepped onto the ride, but when Chris looked over at you, as the ride began your face betrayed you.

  “How excited are you right now?” You squealed and laughed.

  “Oh my god, I am so excited. I love the Ferris Wheel!”

  Chris smiled widely and nodded as he held Ella. “I know, I remember.” You looked away and out to the horizon.

  When your cart made it to the top, you looked out and sighed. This was your favorite part. Ella stood in Chris’ lap and looked around.

“Wow!”

  “I can see why you love it so much,” Chris added.

  “Anyone who doesn’t like this is either afraid of heights or prefers to keep their feet on the ground, so boring.”

  He laughed loud while slapping his hand across his pec muscle. You smiled.

  “Wow, so they’re boring, huh. That is very presumptuous of you. They could be outgoing in other things.” You smiled and shook your head.

  “I said what I said. Boring. If you aren’t adventurous in something as simple as a ride, then you are boring in everything else.”

  “Everything?” You looked at him and knew what he was asking. You smiled and shook your head. This was how things started, his questioning, and the raised eyebrow.

  “Yes. Everything.” He laughed and shook his head then looked at Ella, who was so engrossed with the view she was practically pressing against the protective screen. As you watched him with your daughter, you took notice of how protective he was of her. He held her tightly, kept her away from the filthy protective screen, nodded his head along to whatever she was saying, even allowed her to use his face as a steadying force without cringing at her hands. It all screamed parental.

  “What’re you thinking?” Snapping out of it, you shook your head, trying to guide him from the topic.

  “No, I know that look. It’s probably one of the only looks I know. You were thinking about something. What was it?”

  You thought about cluing him in for a moment then looked down at your hands as you felt the wheel move again. “Nothing really, it was just seeing you and her—like this it—it looked very—paternal.”

  “Paternal? What do you mean by that?”

  “You look as if you’ve been doing this your whole life or her whole life. There was really no adjustment period with you. You—slid right in.”

  He looked to be thinking about your words then looked to Ella’s face. She looked at him and smiled, a smile he quickly returned. “Honestly it felt right. You ever had something just feel as natural as breathing? Like you knew all the answers, knew just what to do, what to expect, how to be, just knowing it.”

  You nodded. “That is what it felt like. Yeah, I was scared for a while when I found out, but after the night we watched The Little Mermaid for the first time together everything felt right. It felt more right than anything had felt in a long time. I can’t explain it.”

  “You just did.” You stared at each other, and time seemed to stand still with the three of you moving slowly through the air with the beautiful setting sun as your backdrop.

  “Stay on or get off?” The ride controller brought you back to the present, and the two of you spoke at the same time.

  “Stay on.”

  So that’s what you did, rode the Ferris Wheel until you and Ella had enough, which was three more times. There was no need for much conversation, so the two of you barely spoke, and it felt perfect. You appreciated that neither of you felt the need to fill every moment between you with conversation; silence was just as good.

Another hour found you sitting on a lawn with the rest of the carnival patrons watching the night’s firework show. It was incredible and definitely a competing force for Macy’s Fourth of July firework show. Every burst of color to the sky had Ella completely captivated. She sat there between you and Chris as still as a river just transfixed by everything she saw. Every time you looked over to her Chris’ eyes met yours, and you held each other’s gaze for longer than necessary. You loved the way he looked under the light of fireworks. Though it was dark his eyes were still intense and still did things to you that you should have been ashamed of. Part of you was ashamed, but the other part didn’t seem to care too much. You were always the one to look away. You mostly did it because you were afraid he’d see everything you held behind your eyes, everything you weren’t quite sure you were ready to show him.

  By the time you made it back to the house, it was nearing eleven, and Ella was knocked out. You sat in the parked car for a few extra minutes, just enjoying the silence.

  “This was great. Thank you.”

  Chris nodded. “It was great. Thank you for coming.”

  You smiled and stared at your hands. Nervousness filled you, and you felt like a high school girl being dropped home by her crush, wondering if he’d make a move. Every time you were around each other every moment felt like it was prime for either him or you to make a move, but neither of you did.

  “Should we get her in bed?” You nodded and climbed out of the truck.

  Chris got Ella, and the three of you went inside the house and upstairs. When you walked into Ella’s room you began pulling back the covers of her bed for him to place her in. Once he did, the two of you worked together to undress her as smoothly as possible to not wake her. Chris disappeared for a few moments then when you turned and bumped into him, he was there holding a pair of pajamas for you. Your hands grazed, and then your eyes met. You were so close all you had to do was tip up on your toes, and your lips would touch.

  You took the clothes and turned back to Ella and proceeded to dress her. After you finished it was Chris who tucked her in, and both of you kissed her at the same time. Again, your eyes met, and your belly did somersaults. You backed away, trying to keep distance between you. “Thank you again for tonight,” you whispered.

  “We make a good team.” He nodded to Ella’s sleeping frame, and you both watched her for a few moments.

  “We do. We created her; that was perfect teamwork,” you absentmindedly responded.

  “Do you regret it?” Your head snapped to him, confused why he’d ask you that.

  “Do I regret what? Having her or--,” you allowed the remainder of the sentence to hang in the air.

  “All of it.”

  What a loaded question you thought, but the answer was simple. “I regret nothing.”

  Chris looked shocked, then interested. He took a step to you. “Nothing?”

  After a few seconds, you took a step to him, leaving just a sliver of space between you. “Not a thing.” You watched Chris bite into his bottom lip, and next thing you knew his lips were on yours, taking control of the sultriest kiss you’d had in three years. It only took seconds for your knees to buckle and moments for him to take your breath away. You kissed him with the same fire and need that emitted from him. After barely a minute, the two of you were moaning in the dark, quiet room seeming to not care about anything else.

  You needed to get closer, so you lifted your leg, and his hand was there to grip your thigh, holding it in place against him. Chris then bent slightly and lifted you against him. Automatically your legs wrapped around him. Chris then moved from the center of the room and pressed you against a nearby wall. You moaned when you felt his growing hardness press into the apex of your thighs. With your moan Chris groaned and bit onto your bottom lip. You felt as if your skin was scorching, and there was a fire that was flaming out from your nether regions. The more intensely and expertly he kissed you, the more out of control the fire became. Chris pressed himself into you more forcefully, and you gasped, pulling your lips from his and hitting your head back onto the wall with an audible, “Fuck!”

  Chris took the opportunity to latch his lips onto your neck and suck just where he knew you craved his mouth. You shivered and felt wetness pool between your legs. He didn’t stay at your neck for long; instead his lips traveled to your clavicle where he peppered feathered kisses across it. Then Chris’ mouth moved down your sternum until you felt his teeth clamp onto one of your already needy nipples. You gasped again and couldn’t control your lower half from grinding against him. Chris groaned loudly and hissed when he felt your fingernails dig into his shoulders.

  All you had to do was continue the friction of his length on your crotch, and you’d come, you were that open. Chris allowed you to slide down from his body so you were on the floor then he began to go lower to your stomach. It was then you caught of glimpse of Ella sleeping peacefully in her bed across the room. The realization of what was happening and what would happen soon slammed into you like a ton of bricks. You gasped. Like a bucket of ice-cold water had been poured over your head you snapped out of it.

  “Wait—wait.” Chris’s actions instantly stopped. He didn’t look up at you though. It was as if he thought that if he didn’t move, things would fall back into place. After almost a minute, he looked up at you then stood coming face to face with you.

  “What’s wrong?” You took the time to study his eyes and go over every single aspect of his face. He was gorgeous, always had been, but he’d only grown better looking.

  “We can’t.” He didn’t speak; he studied you as you studied him.

  “We’ve already screwed things up so bad already. I’ve screwed up. We can’t—can’t do this. We have to focus on that little girl and only her. We can’t ruin things anymore.”

  His expression was masked as was anything he was thinking or feeling. He looked like a blank canvas. Chris looked down, nodded and then stepped away from you. Your eyes dropped to his waist, and you saw the strain of his pants. Again, your desire for him flared. Before you could drop to your knees and do what you wanted to, you scurried from the room with your head high and back straight. You were so thankful you’d packed your vibrator, tonight you’d need it.

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

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[kumkaniudaku]

Pop Off

Summary: Tasha ends up in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. 

Monday evenings in the Boseman household were typically quiet affairs. Now that CoCo had assumed the role of full-time stay at home mom, she was in charge of orchestrating the daily schedule. After all of the children had been assisted with homework, fed, bathed, and put to bed, the adults were afforded the opportunity to enjoy peace as the final hours of the day ticked away.

Tucked into soft Egyptian sheets on top of a spacious Wyoming king bed, Tasha and Chadwick lay cuddled in the middle preparing for sleep until the buzz of an unseen cell phone disturbed the atmosphere.

“Oh, what the fuck,” Tasha grumbled in the dark bedroom as she extended her arm to search the nightstand for her device.

Chadwick chuckled at his wife’s outburst and shifted in bed to flick on the bedside lamp, “Who is it?”

“It’s Tiana. She better have a reason for interrupting my sleep or I’m gon’ cuss her ass out.” Chadwick continued to laugh at his wife’s tantrum knowing that his sister-in-law was in for less than enthusiastic greeting. He’d been a victim of CoCo’s wrath after waking her prematurely on several occasions.

Reluctantly sliding her finger across the screen, she quickly tapped the speaker icon to answer.

“What, Tiana?”

“I’m gonna tell daddy that you yelled at me.”

“Sis, I have two kids and a husband. I can yell at who I wanna.” Realizing her statement’s implications, Tasha changed her tune. “But, like, we don’t need to get him involved. Stop being a tattletale!”

“If you take me with you to the spa, I’ll keep quiet.”

CoCo looked over to Chadwick who smiled and nodded. “Fine. But make sure you thank Aaron. Because your ass would’ve been grass. Now, what do you want this late at night?”

“Tasha, it is 9: 30 pm. The sun has been down for thirty minutes TOPS! Why are you already asleep?”

“My baby needs her beauty rest, TiTi,” Chadwick laughed. “Sixteen hours is the minimum for the lady of the house.

“I’ll never understand how you spoil her so much but I think it’s cute. Anyway, T, have you seen the season premiere of Basketball Wives Atlanta.”

“Girl, what,” Tasha exclaimed, turning her nose up at the mention of the franchise. “You know I don’t watch that trash.”

“Well, friend, you might wanna take a look at this one. It’s on right now. Call me back when it’s over.”

Before Tasha could press her sister for more answers, Tiana hung up with no further explanation. Chadwick was the next person to move, pulling the remote out of the nightstand drawer to turn on their seldom-used television. When the show’s main theme rolled through the soundbar speakers to signal its return from commercial break, Tasha winced at the sound.

Living in Los Angeles, especially after marrying into a lifestyle characterized by exposure to all types of celebrities, had resulted in a plethora of run-ins for CoCo. She’d met and partied with Hollywood’s elite at event after parties, sipped a beer at more intimate events with Black entertainment’s finest and, unfortunately, brushed elbows with those that desired fame and would do anything to attain exposure. Some of those brush ups were resolved with quick but concise warnings. Others took a bit more...convincing.

“Living in Atlanta and starting this new single period in my life is fun, so I called up a couple of my girls and we had a little roof-top party to bring the boys out.”

Tasha’s eyes snapped up toward the TV in horror, “Oh no.”

“Right. I think I see the lace in her wig. Is that what y’all call it? The shit that looks like a screen door? You gotta tell your girl Malaysia that she missed the mark with this one.”

Chadwick’s sudden interest in the reality tv show caused him to miss his wife’s obvious discomfort as memories pushed to the darkest recesses of her mind came forth.

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

“Tasha, you want another drink?” Wrapped up in scrolling through her cell phone to view pictures of her family, CoCo completely missed her friend’s question until her space was invaded with a tap to her shoulder. “Hey, d’you hear me? Want another drink?”

“Wha-uh, yeah. Please, be heavy on the D'usse this time. And a glass of water please.”

Malaysia nodded and smiled, “Ya know, for somebody who is hell-bent on sitting over here by their damn self, you sure are turning these back.”

“It’s just the cameras and shit. I’m not used to it like you.”

“Girl, don’t worry about them. They’re just here for some b-roll and then they’ll be out. Gotta catch me meeting some of these menzzzz!”

“You sure that’s it? None of that arguing shit the girls like to do for the blogs?”

Tasha was well aware of the typical reality show antics and wanted no part in them. She came out to celebrate her friend’s housewarming and decision to get back on the dating scene, not entertain a bunch of young girls looking for their fifteen minutes in the spotlight.

“That’s it, housewife!”

“Excuse me? That’s Mrs. Housewife to you,” Tasha laughed. “Alright, I’ll get up and mingle a little for my girl. My outfit is too cute to not be seen anyway.”

The pair shared a laugh as CoCo’s glass was quickly replaced with a new, stronger concoction. It wasn’t long before Tasha began to welcome conversation, moving between groups to discuss whatever was on the docket. She even served as the host of an impromptu speed dating game to help Malaysia narrow down the potential partners in the room. With a buzz from the dark liquor in her fourth glass, Tasha was the center of attention and unaware of the cameras that she spent so much time worrying about.

At some point, when the flow of alcohol and conversation were at their peak, Malaysia turned to CoCo to give the group advice.

“Okay, Tasha, tell us how you ended up with like, the best man available. I need the secret.”

“Girl, there is no secret. We’re a regular couple with regular problems.”

“Yeah, right,” Malaysia responded with an accusatory look on her face. “Let me tell y’all, those two will argue and make up in the same sentence. Then 3 business days later she’s in new Balenciagas. So, sis, I’ll ask you again, what is the secret?”

Just as Tasha prepared to offer up a little piece of advice her mother shared with her before tying the knot, a low murmur from an unfamiliar face across the circle caught her attention.

“I’m sorry, you wanna say that again? I missed the conversation.”

“No, I’m good. Continue.”

In her mind, Tasha wrestled with her next steps. Whoever the young woman was appeared to be well below the age where common sense was actually common but old enough to know the meaning of respect. Feeling loose and open for

“I insist, sweetheart. Please, share with the class. We could all use some advice.” Prolonged silence from the offending party drew curious stares from the rest of the group and a satisfied smirk from Tasha. “Nothing? Great. As I was saying, the secret is to su-”

“The secret is to steal another woman’s man right before he’s about to propose to his girlfriend. Right, CoCo?”

At the sound of her nickname, Tasha placed her glass on the table and straightened her back, “See, baby, you called me CoCo. That means you either know me or know somebody that wishes they were in my position. So, which one is it?”

“I know that your husband was in a relationship until you came around. I know that he was about to propose to my friend but you fucked him during your charity party to stop him.”

“What I’m hearing is not only are you dumb but you’re a liar too. You know what I do to children that lie in my face? I whoop their asses.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Malaysia exclaimed in an effort to deescalate the situation. “Tasha, let’s go get you some more water.”

Feeling like she’d made her point, CoCo allowed her friend to gently pull her off of the wicker couch and attempt to lead her away from the budding confrontation.

“Get her old ass out of here. All bark and no bite.”

“Bitch, please! Do you really think I’d scuff these shoes to fight a little girl in Fashion Nova leggings,” Tasha asked as she yanked away from the grip on her arm.

“I’m not gone be too many more bitches.”

“You gon’ be as many bitches as I decide to call you, bitch. Now what?” When her words were met with little more than a childing stomp and pout, Tasha took it upon herself to be dismissed from the festivities. “Malaysia, girl, I will talk to you later. How’s dinner tomorrow?”

“That works girl! Drive sa-”

The loud shatter of glass and subsequent debris from its collision made both women stop in their tracks and slowly turn to face the rest of the party.

“This little bitch gon’ make me whoop her ass. Hold my bag.”

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

Chadwick’s laughter and the television competed for Tasha’s attention while she hid her head underneath the duvet.

“Honestly, I’m not even mad at Tasha. I would have beat her ass too. But that’s my girl and she has a reputation to uphold so...unfortunately security had to step in the mix.”

“Okay, that’s enough. Turn it off. Please.”

“You ���re faster than I thought, baby. And that lunge was very graceful.”

“Turn it off, Chad!”

“Alright, alright.” His hands went up in playful surrender before shutting the TV off and turning to his wife. She’s finally emerged from her blanket coffin but with a glossy sheen covering her eyes and a pout identical to Micah’s. “Aww, come here, baby girl. Come here.”

“I’m a reality tv show bitch,” Tasha wailed as Chadwick pulled her into his chest for a hug. “I should just move out and be on B-bad Girls Cluuuub.”

“You are not moving out, Mike Tyson. I need you here to keep us safe.”

“Oh my Gooood. My kids are gonna think I some...some...guttersnipe!”

“A what?” There was no use in trying to calm Tasha while she was in full panic mode. Any words of encouragement would be disregarded and only serve to exacerbate the already tense situation. So, Chadwick absorbed all of her tears in the cotton of his t-shirt until she had cried all of her embarrassment away and unveiled a thin layer of anger.

“I can’t believe I let her get me out of my element like that. I mean...I’m me! I’m Tasha fucking Greene Boseman.”

“Greene Boseman! That’s right, baby. You are that bitch.”

“Right! I like when you say that. I’m that bitch! The motherfuckin’ prototype!”

“Gahdamn prototype!”

“These lil’ girls hope and pray to be this fine in their 40s.”

“God please let me be as fine as Tasha Boseman,” Chadwick chimed in a comically high-pitched voice.

“Tuh! I’m a bad bitch.”

“Mhmmm. Now come here and show me how bad you can get.” His little kisses up her arm on the way to her collarbone made Tasha giggle, nearly completing Chadwick’s mission. That was until the soft ring of her phone alerted her to an incoming FaceTime call. “Nuh uh. Let it go to voicemail.”

“It’ll be quick, babe. I promise.” Pulling his face from the crook of her neck, he gave her a look of disbelief. “It’s just the girls. I’ll get them off the phone in five minutes!”

Chadwick grumbled an incoherent sentence about never getting what he wanted before dramatically setting a timer on his cell phone and placing it in his wife’s lap. “Five minutes, Cookie.”

“I’ll make it four, baby,” she answered in the sweetest voice she could muster.

Pressing the answer button on the call, the line sat silent for a few seconds before all of the women let out a long “biiiiiitch” in unison. Chadwick knew what was coming and silently pleaded with his wife not to go any further. His attempts were futile as she began a lengthy rant that propelled her out of the bed and into her vanity area in the closet to finish the conversation.

When she was out of earshot, Chadwick grabbed the remote to rewind the episode and begin at the height of the conflict. He smiled at his wife’s aggression, feeling his heart soar and excitement stir in his belly.

“My girl, the fighter. Use your left, baby. There you go!”

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[cent-noah]

Sunset Blvd [Noah Centineo] - Prologue

Summary: After Y/N being her irresponsible self for one more time, her father has had enough of it and teaches her a lesson on responsibilities and living her life free of any worries. 

Now, with a job in her hands, she has to learn, the hard way, how to act like a grown-up. And, on top of everything, how to deal with the know-it-all employee that thinks she’s better off living in her princess bubble.

Word count: 1,998

Warnings: none

A/N: ah wow. This is weird. I’m here posting the prologue without having anything for the next chapter but oh well... I want to know how you guys will react to this story. So please please please, let me know what you think of it, ok? Also, if you wanna be added to the tag list, just send me an ask! Here goes nothing

The music could still be heard from the foggy sidewalk, people hurrying past the girl leaned against the wall as she waited for the car to pick her up, not a spare glance towards her. Her low cut tight black dress hugged her frame perfectly, a sight that would draw anyone’s attention, but not that night, as she did her best to hide in the shadows provided by the tall buildings, her eyes glued to the light up screen in her hands, eyeliner smeared in her right eye, the lipstick she had put on no longer tinting red her once luscious lips.  She was tired, done with the night and there was nothing in the world that could make her change her mind, not after everything that had happened so far.

For starters, she had just come back from a trip to Santorini, her head still function as if she was still there, her whole body screaming at her for the jetlag she was putting herself through. Then, she remembered it was Halloween and she had promised she would make an appearance in the party she was just leaving from. Something about the owner of the nightclub begging her to be there in the first place, apparently she was someone in that city.

It wasn’t that Y/N Y/L/N was someone overly known throughout the whole world, but she had connections; she had met celebrities left and right through her life, she was associated with some of the most influential people at the moment and that’s what everyone liked; she had an entourage following her, making sure she was in the right place at the right time, making sure she was having the most comfortable time, making sure that she was having fun. She was someone to be seen with.

Being that said, it wouldn’t make sense as to why she didn’t want to be seen, even if looking like someone who had just walked out of a night out, but when you live for your looks and what your whole life represents for the others, you don’t want to be seen walking out of anywhere looking like she did. The truth was, she hadn’t had the most smooth time ever since she stepped out of the airport, the car that was supposed to pick her up, bringing another surprise with it: her father.

To say that she was huffing and puffing the whole way home was an understatement. There was a time she used to have the best kind of relationship she could ever have with her father, one where they would spend most of their times together laughing and having fun, but something happened that changed her whole demeanor towards the man. It wasn’t that he had done something to upset her, far from it. It was just that Y/N grew up to be a completely different person than she used to. Maybe it was the friends she had made, taking her out every possible minute of the day, introducing her to famous people and to the most frivolous way of living. Her father couldn’t exactly say what had happened, but it was like she changed for good, always causing a trouble in every way she went through.

That was what they talked about most of their way back home, Y/N keeping her eyes locked out of the almost black window as she tried to drown her father’s words, but he could be pretty loud when he wanted to, even when he didn’t raise his voice. He had gone on and on about her not being the most responsible person to ever walking this Earth and how he wished she could be a little bit more like how she used to when she was younger. She could go out and have fun with her friends, he just didn’t want her running to the airport in the middle of the night to catch a flight to the other side of the planet to have some fun in the middle of a paradisiac island. She should have discussed that with him first and not jumped into any conclusion.

Of course, Y/N listened to all of it with deaf ears, not paying the slight attention to anything, her mind running a hundred miles per hours as she internally rolled her eyes at her father’s antics of trying to tame her. He could never do it. He would never do it.

That was probably why she had a migraine that night, from the constant talk the older man was giving, not giving her a moment to catch her breath. Not that she would say anything back to him, of course, because she could be better than that. Y/N had learned that when it came to making her way out of trouble with Alexander Y/L/N, all she had to do was look at him as a little kid, batter her eyebrows a couple of times and smile adorably at him. That would do the trick.

Either way, she didn’t stay around much to hear what else he had to say for as soon as she had reached their destination, she was already off to get ready, not a care in the world as she neglected every recommendation she was given. It was a night to have fun and not worry about anything else. And empty threats weren’t going to stop her.

A black car stopped by the sidewalk, a tall, broad driver getting out of the vehicle and walking to the back door, opening it before looking at the girl standing near the wall, her eyes rolling for what felt like the millionth time in the last five minutes.

“What could possibly have taken you so long?” she hissed, her hands going to the handle of the door as she climbed into the car gracefully, sliding to the other side of the seat without waiting for a reply from the man outside, her attention already turned to her phone. She had to keep her social media apps updated.

The drive back home was quite uneventful, the streets somehow empty even with all the people roaming around it earlier that night. Maybe they all had gone somewhere else by now, maybe the losers had already hit the Hollywood Blvd, something she would never do, something she would never think about. She had standards and for as much as the place seemed like a good thing, she would never let herself mingle with tourists and those who she thought of less than her.

The lights of the house were all turned off, something she greeted with enthusiasm. It meant she wouldn’t have to deal with complaints about being out so late or anything of the sorts.

But as soon as Y/N stepped in the living room, her high heels dangling from her hands as she tried to make her best to not make any noise, a dim light from the other side of the room was lit up, the shadow of a man sitting in the couch caught her attention, her blood running cold before she could listen to the words leaving his mouth.

“Where were you?” Her father inquired, his expression not showing any kind of emotion as he eyed the girl up and down, a small wrinkle in his forehead as he took in the state she had walked in; barefoot, smudged makeup and slightly drunk. That was not what he had hoped to see.

“Dad,” she breathed out, one hand reaching into her chest and grasping it as she tried to calm herself down. “You scared the hell out of me. What are you doing sitting there in the dark?”

“What a worried father would do, waiting for you to show up. Trying to calm myself down as I prayed and hoped you were alright because you didn’t pick the phone.” His tone was somber, his eyes, which she was trying to find, were hidden in the shadows cast by the lamp behind him. “I just didn’t go after you because I knew that if anything had happened, I would know by now.”

Y/N smiled inwardly, her heart warmed by the way he worried about her. There were moments she thought he would only care about the conglomerate of companies he had acquired over the years, the companies and stores he had worked so hard to put in the world. All the business meetings, all the trips and the nights away from her had made her believe that she was just there, barely cared for. But then... Whenever she did anything slightly dangerous, that was when Y/N would realize that maybe not all of it was true. Maybe he did care about her.

She took tentative steps towards him, her hands reaching for his as she uncrossed his arms and sat on his lap, something she always seemed to do when she was younger and needed to feel safe. She no longer needed the security anymore, but she liked to be close to him, to hear his soft breaths and the way his heart beat against his ribcage, reminding her that he was still there, that even when she did things wrong, he was still there for her.

Alexander took a deep breath, his eyes closing for a moment as he tried to organize his thoughts, trying to think what he was going to say first.

“You can’t keep pulling stunts like that, Y/N,” he said after a few seconds, the girl trying her best look at the wall in front of her and not to her father as if she was already bored of what he had to say. He was tired of that attitude. “You give me no other choice, kiddo…”

Blinking a couple of times, Y/N turned her face to her dad, her expression contorted in confusion as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. Maybe she had dozed off for a few seconds and didn’t catch the rest of his words.

“What do you mean?” she had one eyebrow up, a trait she had inherited from her mother, something she always seemed to do and that crackled the man in front of her for the resemblance the two women had.

“You need to learn some responsibilities,” he started with a sigh. “You need to learn that things won’t ever come to you as you wish, things won’t be played in your favor for the rest of your life. I lost track of how many times I had to rescue you out of a bad situation, Y/N. Like last summer in Ibiza.”

“That wasn’t-”

“I don’t care if that was your fault or not. The fact is that you made me get out of the country in the middle of the night to bail you out of jail,” he took a deep breath. “You’re a grown-up woman already, Y/N and I want to make sure you’ll be able to take care of yourself when I’m not around anymore.”

“Don’t say that, Dad.” she huffed. “You are around now.”

“For now,” he said with a small chuckle. “And I intend to be for many more years, but I won’t be here forever, sweetie, that’s just how life goes. And that’s why,” he tapped her legs a couple of times, telling her to get up as he also did so. “That’s why you’re starting a new life.”

Y/N looked completely confused, waiting for him to finish whatever he was going to say.

“What?”

“It’s gonna teach you some values and how you have to be thankful for everything that you have. It’s also gonna give you responsibilities, something I really want you to learn,” there was a pause as he walked up to the other side of the room, his hands fiddling with some papers sitting on the desk. “Y/N, you’re gonna start working in one of our coffee shops.”

Tag list: @disbestiles, @centxneo, @savage-stilinski, @apkavy, @akumakoronso, @hope-stilinski, @mf-despair-queen, @roscoeknows