#So my mom politely asked him to leash his dogs

[slasherfantasy]

Had a shitty confrontation/disagreement with a guy who wouldn't leash his dogs earlier today, and now that I'm lying in bed trying to fall asleep, my brain is supplying me with all the things I could have said to him and raising my blood pressure

[looseratinthegarage]

Dept (yautja x reader)

I’m much happier with this version then the last! Let me know if you like this one better

You lock your apartment door and put the keys in your back pocket. You walk down the mixed stone steps and wave to your downstairs neighbor having a smoke.

“Oi, it’s colder than a witches tit out here, get a coat on.” The young Irishman warned.

“I would but I don’t have one.” You laughed sadly.

He shook his head, taking his coat off and extending his arm to you.

“Here,” he huffed and tried to hand it to you.

“No, no, it’s alright-“ You stutter, rather flustered at his actions.

“Take the damn thing.” He holds his cigarette in between his lips and places the coat onto you.

You smiled shyly and nodded. You start to walk towards the street. He was rough around the edges but a nice guy. Quite the drinker though, also noisy, but you didn’t mind. He threw his cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out.

“Shits gonna get weird later,” he blurted out, causing you to turn around and face him.

“I’ve got a feelin,” he clarified.

You nod and shrug to him, shit always happens around here. The sun had begun to set and you started walking down the concrete sidewalk. You changed your pace to speed-walking. You make a left and walk through the emptying park, it’s a nice shortcut. You see families picking up their picnics and gathering their children. You turn your attention toward trash laying on the ground. You sigh, throwing it away, and continuing your journey for food. You place your hand in his pockets and repress a shiver.

You look towards the lush trees and admire them momentarily, then something takes you from your thoughts. You fall to the ground and feel something wet on your face. You push it off and see a tail wagging golden retriever.

Their owners run up frantically and put them back on a leash.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” She handed the lead to her partner.

She rushed over as the dog pawed at the other woman for attention. She looped her arm with yours and pulled you to your feet.

“We shouldn’t have let him off leash, I’m really sorry about that! You're not hurt are you?” She asked with a worried expression.

“Oh it’s no problem! I’m okay,” you laugh through the pain of your aching knee.

You lean down and pet the sweet pup. He wags his tail and licks your hands. You politely wave to the couple and their fur-baby.

You make a right and see your destination come into view. You happily skip up to the mom and pop diner and open the door, hearing a little jiggle.

“Ah, y/n, want your usual?” Mr Barone asked as he wiped the counter.

“Yes sir!” You smile and sit down at a table.

He chuckles and walks into the back. He begins barking orders at the chiefs and you shake your head fondly. You look down and pull out your phone. You scroll through social media for a moment and angrily sigh. You’ve been putting yourself out there, but you still couldn’t get a date.

You play a mindless game to pass the time while your mouth is practically watering. You look up at your battery and quickly turn the phone off. It was pretty close to dying and you’d really rather not walk home in the dark without a phone.

Mrs Barone walks out of the back with steaming food in hand. If you had a tail, it would be wagging. She giggled at your eagerness and placed the food down.

“Thank you ma’am!” You dig into your meal as if it would be your last.

“Of course, y/n! You really have to come more often.” She smiles and pinches your cheek.

You smile back and resume inhaling your dinner. She walks behind the counter and starts counting the money in the register. Mr Barone comes out of the back and is seemingly fixated on something outside. He squints his eyes into the darkness then clears his throat and moves his attention to you. He plops down at your table on the other booth with a groan.

“It’s gettin pretty late, I’ll walk you home, don’t want any weirdos messin with ya.” He offers and leans back.

You smile at his concern and roll your eyes.

“I’ll be fine, grandpa.” You joke.

“I just want you to be safe, if I gotta be your grandfather to do that then so be it.” He laughed and you felt your face heat up in embarrassment.

You’ve become rather close with Mr and Mrs Barone, to the point of viewing them like family. You liked the idea of Mr Barone being your granddad, but you guessed he was only joking.

“I have my phone with me,” You try to convince him but he interrupts you.

“And you got my number?” He asks as he crosses his arms.

“Yes,” you roll your eyes fondly.

“And what do you do if something happens?” He raises an eyebrow.

“I’ll call you,” you reassure him.

“And it doesn’t matter what time it is, eh?” He leans back slightly.

“If I ever run into trouble, no matter what time, you’ll be the first person I call.” You smile at the grumpy old man.

“That’s my boy/girl/kid.” He ruffles your hair and stands up.

He walks over to Mrs and kisses her on the cheek while she counts. At least he seems more at ease now. You finish up your food and begin walking to the back.

“Ah, ah,” he corrects.

You sigh and place the plate on the counter. You always try to clean up after yourself but he never lets you. It’s not like you weren’t allowed back there. You’ve gone many times, often when he proudly shows you new equipment or appliances. He just never wanted you to work, guess he likes taking care of you. Not that you're surprised, he had a son that died when he was young. Leaving a big hole in his heart, one that you happily filled.

You gave them both a kiss on the cheek and tried to pay, but as you expected he didn’t let you. He asked one more time if he could walk you home but you politely declined. He sighed and nodded.

You waved to them and opened the door, hearing the jingle once again. You took a deep breath and started your walk back home. Through the park is the easiest and quickest way, even though Mr Barone isn’t a big fan.

You enter and see that all of the families have moved on long ago. You hear a crunch underneath your foot and stop. You look down and see a brown paper bag, people really need to clean after themselves. You look around for a trash can and spot one. Sadly the light post above it had gone out. You walk into the darkness and throw the bag away, feeling rather satisfied with yourself.

You turn around and begin walking away then hear a bone chilling noise. Unnatural hisses. You slowly turn around looking for the cause. If it was a cat, it’s a weird freaking cat. Then something all black walks into the light of the moon. You gasp and start slowly backing up.

It lunged at you, you fled at full speed, but it chased you, your heart pounded so heavily you thought it’d explode. It trips you with its tail and you fall to the ground hard. You gasp for breath as the wind has been knocked out of you. The creature leaped at you, you screamed but managed to roll out of the way. Then out of nowhere a strange shape of a person jumps out and stabs the thing in the back of the head. It shrieks and turns around beginning to fight them. The figure wasn’t human, it was alien, just like the black thing.

Everything in your body told you to run, neither of them are human. But you couldn’t move, you were frozen. You snapped back to reality and grabbed your phone. You fumbled with it and went into the calling app. While you were distracted the thing had tried attacking you. Luckily the other creature blocked the attack and pushed you out of the way. You hit the floor and your phone goes flying.

You crawl towards it and grasp it in your hand. You hastily click his name and wait while it rings. He picks up the phone quickly.

“Are you alright-” He speaks frantically but you interrupt him.

“Please help!! I’m scared!! Aah-!” You roll out of the way from the two battling behemoths.

“I’m at the park!! Please!!” You cry as you watch the two fight.

You look down at the phone and your heart sinks, it died. He won’t know where you are. You throw the phone to the side and look around for something to defend yourself with. You see a fallen tree branch and bolt for it. The ‘good’ creature was on the ground. It took your brain a minute to figure out that it was going to kill him.

Without thinking you start running at the thing. You hit it over the head but the branch brakes on impact. You gulp and back up slowly as it turns around. It stabs you through the chest with its tail. The world went in slow motion and your eyes widened. Once it pulled it out of you, time returned to normal. You cry out and fall to the ground.

Then someone shoots it, and it wasn’t the other creature. You turn your head weakly and see Mr Barone with a shotgun. It only seemingly stuns the monster, but in that time the ‘good’ one was able to strike it fatally.

He threw the shotgun into the grass and ran to your side. He knelt down and cupped your cheeks. He pulls something that resembles a medallion from his loose shirt and shows it to the tall bipedal. It nods and walks over to you. The last thing you remember is being picked up by rough scaly hands and Mr Barone kissing your forehead.

———————————————————————————

He placed a hand on his forehead and grumbled. He followed the Yautja to their cloaked ship and walked up the mysterious metal ramp. He held no fear, well for himself, but he was terrified of losing you. He internally scolded himself. He knew something was out there, if he had just gone with you…. it would have been him dying not you, and that’s how he would have preferred it.

He clears his throat and walks down the strange hall. The both of them made a right and weapons were already pointed at them. He didn’t raise his hands, nor gasp or show any surprise.

“Your trial segugio infernale hurt my grandkid“ He paused briefly.

“And you're gonna fix him!” He raised his index finger and waved it.

The leader eyed him suspiciously, but held his spear tight. There was a long pause of silence before one of the others spoke up. They clicked with their leader about something.

“Has my face changed that much, eh?” He spat.

Barone ripped his button down open to reveal his tanned hairy chest. The chieftain wevered for a moment, the grip on his weapon faltering.

“There you go..” He grins angrily, the chieftains breathing increases.

Your body begins to shake violently in the Yautjas arms and foam bubbles from your mouth. Barone swiftly turns to you and puts a hand on your head worriedly. Unintentionally letting his fear seep out just enough for them to smell. The yautja holding you spoke to the chieftain, and his mood seemed to change.

Everyone lowered their weapons at his command and parted, making a path. He ran straight to the med bay and Barone was hot on his heels.

“He better be okay o ti tengo per le palle.” He eyed the chieftain.

[samuelroukin]

Okay fuck it, team Roach, the 006 to the 141's 007, is roughly:

Roach: Captain Sanderson. Very soft spoken, stuck with extreme baby face despite being a hardened combat vet, tremendously calm, rational and easy going even when being shot at. Very reasonable and inhuman levels of stealthy. Never raises his voice, which is often Worse. He's not really sure how he got here but he is unfortunately Very Good at This. Which is both leadership and Warfare. In his heart of hearts he just wants to be chilling on a pool floatie with a beer in hand but Alas.

His Second in Command: Handsome, Polite, Charming and Clinically Insane. As in they are 100% fudging this man's psych evals. He seems easy going and fun but this man is basically a monster, he is the type that signed up to kill people and not go to jail. Graves but Worse. He's only technically a Hero because Roach is holding his leash but. Seriously he seems fine until you're alone in an enclosed space with him and your lizard brain sends up a panic alarm akin to being trapped in an elevator with a lion. The more he talks the more you realize he... doesn't live in the real world. For Reasons Unknown Roach is pretty much the only one that does actually have a collar on him. He Gets Real Weird and Jealous over Ghost when they finally meet.

Tex: Your Killing Machine Has Anxiety. Possibly the world's best sniper and a true mathematical genius, who has next to no social skills, the legacy of a childhood stutter and growing up in a Very Rural Isolated area. Excellent at taking directions but it's hard to not pin a kick me sign on him despite him being, objectively, a very dangerous guy. A lot of people assume he's Like That because of warfare/soldiers get strange/ptsd etc. No he was always Weird, he is definitely Undiagnosed Neurodivergent, but so is his whole family. A Cheetah in search of a Dog in his Pen. Hypercompetent in the field, who let you out of your cage otherwise.

Doc: World's Bitterest Medic. Loves humanity as a concept and truly believes in medicine as a science dedicated to the betterment of life and wellbeing. Also Hates Every Single Human Being he has ever come across. Extreme Pissed of Mom Who Says Get Your Ass Down Here Now Or I Will Beat You to Death Myself energy. Means he generally keeps them in line socially as well as the Angry Mom Friend so Tex generally hides behind him. He grumbles but he secretly kind of loves it. Unfortunately, these Idiots are *his* idiots. You are Stupid and Embarassing and he Will Run Out Under Heavy Fire to Save You at the risk of his own life. Running in joke is "does the life threatening wound hurt enough to subject yourself to his bedside manner?" Absolutely terrible taste in music he subjects them all to.

There are at least one or two more guys in this train wreck but these are the mains. Unsurprisingly something this disfunction works out horribly well and they are incredibly effective. Tired Dad Energy Roach vs You Should Have Gone Before We Left Mom Medic plus Their Frail Victorian Son of a Sniper plus I Will Kill For You Please Ask Me To Kill For You and Give Me Attention 2IC means this shit is actually A OK by the brass.

lmao didn't you just say you put no thought into them? these guys are far more developed than my ocs, give yourself some credit! they all sound great and like i said i already love tex and doc but uh HI second in command 👀

[quill-of-thoth]

Due to a family game of telephone, my mom told me yesterday morning on the way to a family graduation that my cousin's in-laws' giant "service" dog is part wolf. Mom has always been kinda nervous around him, because he is the size of a small pony and extremely serious... and her mental picture of me is apparently of me at seven flinging myself bodily on every large dog I have the good fortune to see. In reality, this dog, who I see at baseball games sometimes, provides the "service" of obsessively guarding my cousin's mother-in-law. He assigned himself this job, and cannot be persuaded to stop. But it' genuinely helping the mother in-law, who is getting up there and starting to get frail. She got him the leash that says service dog before she recently got on oxygen, so people would stop asking to pet him because he's an abused rescue with a mouth large enough to do serious damage. And because he looks mostly like a german shepherd (size holy fucking direwolf,) and people are stupid. He also prevents crowds from knocking her over with her oxygen tank and cane, by dint of clearing a two to four foot wide halo around her with his glare. They're training him to fetch another human if she takes a fall, or at least trying to. It isn't going well, because he has an objection to leaving her unguarded. He will politely ignore other dogs, all preteen children, and the vast majority of women. Men are considered acceptable if they act calm and introduce themselves properly. Since I am no longer seven, my relationship with this extra large canine is that he arrives at an event, makes a growly little grumble at me to remind me that he is a bodyguard and I better remember it, then smells my hand and lets me pet him as long as he can keep an eye on his principal. You can bury your hand up to the wrist in his fur if he has decided you are an acceptable companion for his principal, so I did not necessarily question my mom's assertion that he was part wolf, because she said it came from a genetics test (so it could be a good few generations back) and also because after whatever trauma was in his previous life, someone hauled him to the animal shelter from fuck-nowheresville Wyoming. Where most people searching for a dog looked at him, staring at them, not wagging, and thought, like our prehistoric ancestors "If I'm gonna feed that thing, it's going to be strictly so he never gets hungry enough to bother trying to eat ME." My cousin's mother in law came in, in her bird-boned five nothing frame, and thought "he's perfect" and named him Panzer. Yes, she named him tank, but in German. (She also thought he was the Andre the giant of german shepherds.) Her husband looked at him walking out at her heel, and thought "it's been five minutes and that dog worships my wife and might be smarter than half my relatives" and gave in to the inevitable. Panzer treats him as the only acceptable substitute guardian for his principal, the queen of rescue dogs, which is the highest honor any man is gonna get from him. According to Panzer, her son and grandsons are mere servants of the queen. Trusted, but not sworn to her defense. Others (daughters in law, children, other old ladies with booze, assorted distant relatives) are allowed to petition the queen, with the strict understanding that bribing him with taco meat won't get him to change his vigil: He'll just take any bribe you're stupid enough to give him and get back to work. So at my cousin's kid's graduation party today, I sat on the stoop, nearly elbow deep in Panzer's ruff fur, thinking of gallusrostromegalus' wolfdog stories. I decided that Panzer's wolfy ancestor must be at least a couple generations back, and went back to chatting with the old ladies who were either gossiping, or heckling the teenage boys playing bags. One of my other cousins' kids barreled in, bearing a lizard for me to photograph, and Panzer inspected the lizard, found it harmless, and returned to his stoic watch. "Oh yeah," I said to the queen of rescue dogs, once I finished my duty as lizard paparazzo and the lizard was released from the red carpet, "My mom tells me you had a genetics test done on Panz. She said he was german shepherd and sheepdog and something else?" "Oh yes, he's German Shepherd, some kind of balkan sheepdog, and Czechloslovakian Wolfhound."

Needless to say, I teased my mother for confusing Wolfhound with Wolf dog half of the ride home. Before we left, Panzer reminded me that I should bring the queen food based tribute, and that he was her official food taster.

[virag-creations]

Digital diary 2023.10.04.

I woke up at 6:00. I went back to sleep and got up at 10:00. Ate cereal and mochi. The neighbor's son came to get his car lights fixed. My dog bites her leash in half, so we give her her new one. My dad stayed with the dog while my mom, me, and the neighbor's son to my neighbor. We bought 3 types of goat cheeses. The neighbor asked us if we wanted a kitten. We politely declined it. I grabbed a kitten. His name is Miuci. I laid back and put him on my chest. He liked me so much that he started purring. We said goodbye to him and the neighbor.

Feeling: Happy

[babymetaldoll]

I just want you (Chip Taylor / Reader)

Requested: Yes

Word counting: 3.5K

Summary: What would it be like to be married to Chip Taylor? Would it include a lot of women trying to hit on him?

Warnings: Cursing, spoilers of 68 Kill.

A/N: Hello, beautiful people! sorry, I've been a little absent here, but writing my series has taken most of my time! Also, I feel a little blocked, and my personal life has been a mess. But, here it is: my first Chip Taylor fic. Have you guys seen 68 Kill? I love that movie, and I love Chip so much. He deserves the world. I hope you guys like this little story!

Masterlist

---

It wasn’t like I didn’t know my husband was handsome, ��cos you had to be blind not to see his face was made by the gods, and all of his features were simply perfect. I just didn’t know every woman would flirt with him everywhere we were all the time.

And they weren’t even subtle about it. No. They made it very obvious when they looked at Chip each time they stopped by his work. They wanted him.

After all those years together, a part of me had made peace with that. I couldn’t stop them. He was hot, he didn’t want their attention, but he wasn’t rude or anything like it. Chip Taylor was a very polite man who was also very blind to the attention his looks gave him.

Chip owned a small pet sitting business that had started to really take off in the last few months. He had some savings that he used to buy a house when we first started dating. He lived there until we got married, and then we bought a bigger place outside the town. That’s when he decided to turn his old home into his own pet sitting business. And it was a hit. Chip is fantastic with animals. He is great with everybody, but pets just… melt with him. I think they can see the kindness of his soul.

Chip Taylor deserves the best things in life ‘cos he is the best man I’ve ever met. I’ve loved him since the day it took him almost half an hour to walk over and talk to me in the bar we met.

- “Every time a pretty face pops up, my brain turns into a potato- he explained, flustered ‘cos he kept stuttering as he asked for my number.

He was too sweet. Too cute. And he loved me. He had a ring that said so. But again, that didn’t stop most women who met him from flirting with him.

- “Here he is. Little Rascal had a great day today”- Chip walked to the front yard with a french bulldog, who kept barking, trying to get an extra treat from him. I smiled from a safe distance, reading a book sitting on a porch while Chip met with the dog owner. And she was as excited as Rascal was.

- “Hi baby! Did you have a good day today?”- the lady held the leash and caressed her dog’s head a few times before returning her attention fully to my husband.

- “Thank you for taking care of him.”

- “You are very welcome, Kim. It’s my job.”

- “No, it’s more than that. Rascal hates strangers, and he has been an angel with you since day one. I tell you, Chip, you are someone special.”

I know my husband blushed, ‘cos he is terrible with compliments. So he just shook his head and scratched the back of his neck. His shirt raised, showing his very toned midsection. And I swear, I had to force myself to stay put on that chair, ‘cos the way that woman looked at my husband was enough to make my blood boil. I wanted to run over and push her away from him. I wished I could tell her to get her dog and get the fuck out of our property.

But no. I didn’t. Instead, I tried to keep on reading, which was honestly impossible. But at least I didn’t move from my chair. I just stared at that scene, trying to control the urges of smashing that woman’s head against her car.

- “So, do you have plans for the weekend?”- the woman asked him, smiling flirtatiously

- “Not really.”- not the smartest answer, I’ll give you that.

- “Great! that means you can’t say no! I am having a small get-together at my place this Friday. You should totally come.”

- “Thank you, Kim, but...”

- “I’ll text you my address. I’m not taking no for an answer!”

Chip was awkward, he felt pushed to say he’d go, but I knew he didn’t want to. If he did, he wouldn’t have hesitated. Besides, he wouldn’t usually make plans without asking me first. A part of me wanted to run and help him out of that awkward situation, but I knew he had to do it on his own. Yes, he was a grown-up, but after knowing everything he had gone through before we met, a big part of me wanted to take care of him constantly. I didn’t want anything wrong ever to happen to Chip. He didn’t deserve anything bad.

- “Thanks, Kim, really, but… I think I should ask my wife first”- he whispered and smiled kindly at the woman, who didn’t hide the disappointment from her face. I have the feeling she never actually saw the ring on my husband’s finger.

- “Wife? I had no idea you were married, Chip”- he chuckled and nodded as the woman tried to act normal again. But she couldn’t.

- “Yes, I’ve been married for the last ten months.”

- “Just ten months? Well, she is a lucky woman…”

- “Thank you”- Chip petted Rascal’s head and added- “But I am sure I am the lucky one to have her. I still can’t believe she actually married me.”

- “Come on, Chip! Any woman would be happy with a man like you.”

And that was when that woman crossed the line and rubbed my husband’s arm for longer than necessary. He froze and looked at her, not knowing how to get out of that situation. Chip is a sweet soul who still has some significant issues when it comes to setting boundaries.

I jumped from my chair and walked over quickly, with a big smile on my face. The woman turned to me and raised an eyebrow, clearly not knowing who I was.

- “Hello, sorry to interrupt you, boo, but it’s getting late for our date.”

We didn’t have a date that night. But well, now we did.

Chip frowned, confused, and waited for me to explain a little more what I was saying. But, instead, I just smiled and held his hand, making sure that the woman’s hand was as far from him as possible.

- “Hi, nice to meet you. I’m (Y/N), Chip’s wife.”- I said and waved.

- “Kimberly, nice to meet you.”

- “So you are Rascal’s mom. He is a sweetheart”- I kneeled and petted Rascal’s head behind his ears, right where I knew he liked it. Kim just nodded and smiled.

- “Ok, we should go, it’s getting late. Bye Chip”- she waved quickly, walking to her car. My husband said goodbye and wrapped an arm around my waist as I stood by his side and rested my head on his shoulder.

- “We are not going to her “little get-together,” by the way”- I whispered, and he chuckled.

- “Good, ’cause I didn’t want to go either. I actually had plans for the weekend, but I didn’t want to discuss them with her.”- I looked at him, raising an eyebrow, and felt his big hands caressing the lower part of my back.

- “Which plans?”

- “I’m planning to stay in bed with my wife the whole weekend, watch movies, kiss her a lot, and maybe asking for pizza.”

- “You had me at ˝stay in bed,” Chip Taylor”- I giggled and kissed his cheek- “She was flirting with you, by the way.”

- “I don’t care if she tried to flirt. I only have eyes for you, moonbeam”- I chuckled at the cheesy nickname and felt his lips on mine. They felt warm and soft and filled with love.

But it wasn’t always so easy to shake off the thoughts of a woman flirting with Chip. Unfortunately, sometimes it was harder to remain calm. Some women were more aggressive with their flirting. Some were actually way hotter than me, and sometimes that makes you doubt yourself.

I didn’t know Liza or Violet, so I never knew if they were prettier, more intelligent, or sexier than me. I couldn’t compare or compete with them either, ‘cos they were dead. But some random women made my life a little more challenging from time to time.

- “Chip? Chip Taylor?”- a soft woman’s voice interrupted our conversation and forced my husband to turn around, feeling now also her hand on his shoulder. We were at our favorite bar, having a drink, celebrating the end of the week and another successful month of Chip’s small business. We were chatting about our days, sitting at our usual table, when interrupted.

- “Anna Davis? Hi! How are you?! Long time no see!”- my husband stood up and hugged the stranger like long-lost friends reunited. I had never heard of any “Anna” before. I was trying to remember if I did.

- “I haven’t seen you in ages! What are you doing here?”- Anna said and laughed- “I can’t believe it’s really you!”- and so, they hugged again.

- “Hi”- I waved from the table and smiled at the two of them as they moved apart.

- “I’m so sorry, babe. (Y/N), this is Anna, my neighbor when I was in middle school. Anna, this is (Y/N), my wife.”

- “Hi, nice to meet you”- she shook my hand and smiled at me for a second, and then turned to my husband again and continued catching up.

Chip looked happy and excited to see her. He didn’t have many friends, he still didn’t know how to trust most people, probably why he decided to work with animals instead. He had a good relationship with Jim, the boy who helped him clean, and with a few classmates from the community college. But that was it.

- “I can’t believe you are here!”- Chip was beaming- “Are you with someone?”

- “My friends were leaving. I’m visiting one of my best friends, who moved here a few years ago. But she has to work tomorrow morning, so she wanted to go home.”

- “Do you wanna sit with us for a while?”- Chip asked her and turned to me smiling. Of course, I couldn’t say no. Well, he didn’t actually ask; he just looked at me, and I moved my chair to make room for one more on the table.

- “I would love to! Thank you!.”

I loved the idea of meeting Anna, at first. I didn’t know many people from my husband’s past, basically just his parents. The fact she was his friend growing up sounded amazing, and it meant I could finally talk with someone who knew him when he was a kid and could tell me more stories about my husband.

But Anna had other plans. My husband blinded Anna. She basically ignored me, and he was so excited to see her and talk to her, he didn’t even notice I was being left out of the whole conversation.

At first, it was ok. Chip wanted to catch up with Anna, know what she was doing with her life, and all that. So he asked for her parents and family. Apparently, they were pretty close growing up.

- “Remember each Friday we had a secret sleepover?”- she asked and laughed. My husband nodded and sipped his drink.

- “Yeah! I would sneak into your house and watch a movie.”

- “You know, my parents knew you were coming to hang out after curfew. They just didn’t think it was wrong”- she added and laughed- “I’m just glad they didn’t know about the day we tried smoking for the first time!”

Chip burst into laughter, and so did Anna. I just stared at them and sighed. Neither of them explained the story. They were just too caught up in each other to even notice I was there.

Yes, I was feeling jealous of Chip’s long-lost childhood friend. I knew it made no sense, but somehow, he completely forgot I existed when she was there. Yes, it was probably ‘cos he was surprised to bump into her at a bar on a random night after so many years.

But the more I looked at her, the more I realized she was gorgeous. She had long legs, beautiful golden hair, green eyes. The girl could go to a freaking beauty pageant and win it. Besides, Anna wasn’t acting friendly, if you ask me. She kept rubbing my husband’s arm, repeating how excited she was to see him, and saying over and over again how good he looked… it was a little too much.

- “I tell you, Chip, you haven’t changed a bit!”- Anna smiled and looked into his chocolate eyes, and I swear she nearly sighed. I couldn’t blame her. He is dreamy. But he is my husband, and it felt wrong.

- “Neither have you,”- he added and turned to me for a second. I looked kindly into his eyes, knowing he was happy, and that was enough to make me feel happy too.

- “Can I get you another drink, moonbeam?”- he asked me and stood up.

- “Yes, penguin, please”- Chip nodded and blushed as I called him by his favorite nickname and then turned to Anna.

- “Another?”

- “Sure!”

And suddenly, we were on our own.

- “So, how long have you been married?”- Anna asked me and looked at me innocently.

- “A little over ten months.”

- “Just married! Congratulations. You must still be living the honeymoon!”

- “Yes, we are.”- I giggled and turned to look at Chip, waiting for our drink at the bar. It wasn’t hard being stuck at the honeymoon phase with him. Every day, he made every day feel like the first day we were together, even after three years of dating and ten months married.

- “We used to date when we were kids,”- Anna simply said and chuckled - “It was very childish, but I was his first kiss.”

- “Really?”- I smiled at her, making my best not to look jealous at all. “That’s so cute!”

- “He is adorable. He was the sweetest boy growing up.”- Anna added and kept her eyes on Chip. But for a few seconds, I could see the longing in them, and my struggle not to show how jealous I was got a little harder.

- “So when was the last time you saw Chip?”- I asked and kept my eyes on her, reading her expressions. It took her a few extra seconds to stop staring at him to turn and look at me.

- “When I moved out of town when I was fifteen.”- she sighed and chuckled- “Seems it was a lifetime ago.”

- “Ok, here are your drinks,”- Chip appeared and smiled- “Plus, I ordered some more nachos, ‘cos I’m getting hungry.”- I chuckled and held his hand upon the table, playing with his fingers between mine. Chip looked at me and opened his mouth to say something when Anna interrupted him.

- “Remember that summer you broke your arm ‘cos you fell from the tree in Shawn’s backyard?”

And my husband laughed, forgetting what he was going to tell me.

I stood in front of the mirror and tried to fix my makeup. I looked tired. I was tired. It was Friday night, and I wasn’t twenty-three anymore. I was weary, and all I could think of was getting into my bed with my husband and getting good twelve-hour sleep.

But he and Anna were still talking and having a blast together, remembering the good old times. Now, if you ask me, I had the feeling Anna wanted to do more than just talking to my husband, but he was oblivious to any of her intentions. That was until I walked out of the bathroom and saw Anna’s arm wrapped around Chip as they were dancing.

She was dancing with my husband, and he was laughing. Ok, that hurt. It hurt a lot.

I sat at our table and drank what was left of my drink. I stared at them for a moment and evaluated my options. I could storm out of that place, maybe make a scene and yell. But no, I trusted my husband. I knew he wasn’t trying to hurt me or even cheat on me with her. No. He was naive and a little awkward. But by the way Anna’s hands moved on his body, clearly, she wasn’t naive at all.

- “Oh! I’m sorry!”- Anna said laughing when they reached back our table- “I just asked Chip to dance with me ‘cos I love that song.”

- “That’s ok”- I smiled at her and held my husband’s hand tight upon the table.

- “But Chip is such a great dancer! He really knows how to move!”- Anna was asking for it. She wanted to be smacked. But I behaved.

- “He really does,”- I answered and smiled

- “I hope you are not jealous!”- I turned to her and frowned, pretending to be confused

- “Of course not! Why would I?”

- “I don’t know! It’s just that… he was mine way before he was yours and…”

- “He isn’t mine”- I cut her off, and for once, my voice stopped being nice and friendly- “And he is definitely not yours. He is not a dog, Anna, he is a person, and the only owner of his soul is himself.”

Anna stared at me in silence, and Chip wide opened his eyes, surprised by my tone of voice.

- “What I’m trying to say is that… I met him when…”

- “I know what you are trying to imply Anna, you’ve been trying to do it ever since you sat at our table. You feel like you need to prove something, but you don’t. Really.”

Chip held my hand tight and kissed it sweetly. He didn’t say anything to me. He just looked at me with apologetic eyes as I cut him a short smile.

- “Ok, I think I better go now”- Anna stood up and just waved- “It was great seeing you again, Chip.”

My husband smiled and waved as Anna walked away. Then, when he was sure she had left the place, he turned to me. I sipped what was left of my drink and sighed.

- “Sorry if I was rude”- my words were a whisper only Chip could hear.

- “No, moonbeam. You weren’t rude at all. I’m sorry.”

- “Chip Taylor, you didn’t do anything wrong”- I leaned and kissed his lips softly, cupping his face with both hands.

- “I feel like I did.”

- “No, boo, really. She was… clearly trying to get under your belt.”

- “I shouldn’t have danced with her, but she pushed me...”- Chip excused himself and kissed my hand again, as I still held his face and caressed her cheeks with my thumbs.

- “Yeah, you should work on that “No” thing a little harder,”- I whispered and chuckled.

- “Sorry if she made you feel jealous. I had a huge crush on her when we were kids.”

- “She said she was your first kiss”- Chip opened my mouth, but no word came from it for a few seconds.

- “Funny, I told her that just ‘cos she said I was her first kiss, but actually my first kiss was with her cousin Alice.”

I couldn’t hold back the laughter as Chip looked at me with guilty eyes as if that was the biggest secret he had about his past.

- “Well, I bet if I run, I can still catch her!! I need to tell her the news!!”- I said and stood up, just to feel Chip’s arms around me, protectively.

- “Let her think that. We all know who all my kisses belong to now.”

Chip held me tight and close to him as his lips rubbed mine slowly. I felt my head spin as his tongue slowly touched mine, deepening the kiss. I couldn’t help but moan at the sensation of Chip’s sweet and passionate kiss. He made sure to make me feel how much he loved him every time he kissed me. In a weird way, Chip’s kisses always felt like our first and last. I think he was always trying to show me his feelings, ‘cos his previous trauma taught him he didn’t know when a kiss could be the last.

- “I love you so much, Mrs. Taylor,”- he whispered, and the title made my knees feel weak- “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

- “I love you more, Mr. Taylor,”- I replied and kissed his lips sweetly one more time- “And just between you and me, I am completely yours.”- I confessed and giggled nervously.

- “I am yours too, moonbeam. You own my heart, and I only want you.”- he whispered and kissed me one more time.

- “You just want me?”- I repeated, and he nodded, looking into my eyes filled with love- “Of all those women who wanna do you, you just want me?”

- “Which women?”- he asked me, clearly confused

- “A lot of women out there keep giving you the fuck eyes.”

- “What?! No way”

- “Do you think Kim invited you to her house for a small get-together? She wanted to get under your belt, penguin.”

- “But I am your penguin, that means I am not looking for any other woman. I just want you.”

- “Just me,”- I repeated again, and he nodded.

- “Just you, Mrs. Taylor”- I sighed, pleased, and closed my eyes for a second “Wanna go home?”

- “You still have to dance with me,”- I pouted, and he held my hand.

- “Whatever my wife wants.”

--

General Taglist

@spenxerslut @ash19871962 @babebenhardy @meowiemari @archer561 @all-tings-diego

[dumdumsun]

And Dusk

A/N: Prayers for poor Olga 🙏🏾

Warnings: blood, violence, straight up murder

Word Count: 4096

—————————————

Chapter 13: Öga för Öga

Clicking steps echoed the hall Sir Reginald Hargreeves currently walked down, leaving a very discontent Five behind. Once the man disappeared down the hall, the boy left the lounge, growling and rubbing the back of his neck. Mind racing, he hopped on the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. Just as the doors were about to close, (Y/N) slipped between them, Pennycrumb under her arm, and grasped onto Five’s arm. Eyes wide, the boy watched her in shock. “(Y/N)? I thought you left already. What are you doing?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” She whispered. “Five, I’m sorry… about lying to you. I-I was gonna tell you all about living with Dad a-and being adopted by him again, but then I didn’t and it was selfish and stupid-”

“(Y/N)-”

“But what I’m sorry about the most was for not speaking up about us. It wasn’t fair to you,” She shook her head. “I just… I’ve been doubtful about us lately. It’s like, everyone’s saying we shouldn’t be together… And after hearing it for so long…”

Five placed his hands on her shoulders firmly. “No,” He breathed. “I’ve waited too long for this, dammit. Listen to me, (Y/N). Don’t let what others say determine your opinions. What we have is fine. I know it seems fucked up, I know it seems wrong. But does any of this ever feel wrong to you?”

Glancing up at him, she shook her head. “No…”

“Exactly. This… Our entire upbringing was so dysfunctional and confusing. Nothing ever felt like true family. We were strangers in our own childhood home. We’re just now behaving like an actual family unit and it’s still confusing. So, no one has the right to tell us how to love. Especially not Reginald Hargreeves. The man who caused this.”

The two rested their foreheads against each other as the elevator doors opened, but they didn’t bother leaving just yet. As the doors closed again, (Y/N) sniffled. “So, you’ve never thought this wasn’t going to last?”

“I’ve never, ever doubted us. I know… compared to you, I know next to nothing about love. But this? This is real. And I promise you, Starlight, once the timeline is restored… I’m making this official. If you’ll have me.”

Snapping her head up, (Y/N) let her tears fall. “Are you… You’re serious?” She grinned. When Five nodded, she quickly elevated herself on her toes and pecked his lips repeatedly. “Yes. Finally.” She whispered. Five grinned and tightened his hold on her, blinking them both out of the building and outside.

“Well, then, why don’t we speed up the process? Here’s what's going to happen,” He started and pulled away, gently wiping her tears away. “I’m about to meet up with The Handler. She offered me a deal to kill the entire board of directors of the Commission in exchange for a briefcase to get us all home to 2019. No more World War III, no more apocalypse.”

(Y/N) glanced down at her pup, who peered up at her, tongue hanging from his mouth. “How can you trust her?”

“I don’t know if I even should. But I’ll have to. She’s our only… our only option.”

From the way he sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets, she could tell he was already regretting his decision. Gently caressing his cheek, she offered him a small smile. “You don’t want to kill, do you?” She whispered, receiving the shake of a head as an answer. “I-I don’t even know what to say to that… Just… Just know that I won’t think any differently of you. You’ll still be my Five. And I’ll be right there beside you if you need me.”

“My god, I don’t deserve you…” He sighed. Quietly chuckling, (Y/N) set her pet down and pulled Five into a hug. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I appreciate you, I really do. I’m gonna get us out of here, but I don’t want you helping me on this. The Handler already knows about you. I can’t have her using you or anything like that against me. So… just wait for me.”

“Wait? Five, I can’t just let you do something like this alone.”

“I know I’ve asked you too many times at this point, but this will be the last. I promise I’ll get you as soon as I come back.” The boy tried a smile as he pulled away. When she gently bit her lip, he sighed. “(Y/N), you can’t come. I’m sorry, but you’ll be by my side after this is over. I promise, okay?”

She shifted her eyes away from him. “You don’t have to keep promising. I trust you.” She whispered. Five exhaled and gently picked up Mr Pennycrumb, placing him in her arms before pecking his love on the lips. With a small smile, he turned around to leave. Just as he blinked away, (Y/N) very gently pinched the back of his blaser, allowing herself and her pet to be teleported with him.

(Y/N) considered herself very lucky for the fact that Five hadn’t noticed her presence. Or maybe she had her stealth to thank. She would quickly duck behind walls, corners, tables and so on whenever she felt that Five was becoming suspicious of her. After all, she knew him like the back of her hand; she could tell when he was subtly glancing over his shoulder or out of the corner of his eye. She waited outside the door of the room the boy had entered, keeping her hand over her pet’s mouth to silence him as she attempted to eavesdrop on the muffled conversation between Five and who she assumed was The Handler.

She had to admit, it did set her blood boiling at the thought of him being alone in that room with another woman, but she knew he would never be disloyal to her. Not after his confession and proposal. So, she shook off her jealousy and hid once again when he exited the room, briefcase in hand.

She gave herself a great pat on the back when she successfully managed to blink with him for the second time. And the third. And when he used the briefcase to teleport. By this point, she was light-headed and nursing her whimpering pup as she followed Five from a distance. She had no idea where or when they were, but judging by the cars people drove and the hairstyles they wore, she wasn’t in the sixties anymore. Most likely the late seventies or early eighties, she assumed.

Setting Mr Pennycrumb on the ground, (Y/N) grabbed hold of his leash and kept a close eye on her love as she blended in as a teenage girl, in outdated clothing, walking her puppy towards an inn. After watching Five enter, she walked onto the porch and sat herself in one of the rocking chairs. She tapped her fingers and toes to the rhythm of the upbeat polka music sounding from the inside. To pass the time, she reviewed tricks with Mr Pennycrumb, clapping and excitedly petting him in praise whenever he’d succeed. What the puppy expected, though, was a treat. It was then that she realized neither of them had eaten in quite some time.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, baby…” She whispered to the pup, who only whined and pawed at her ankles. Huffing, she jumped to her feet and led the two of them inside. Everyone seemed to be dressed for polka dancing, considering their attire and the music playing from a nearby room. With a polka party, there had to be food. Turning to her left, she was met with a nest of blonde curls. “Excuse me, ma’am?”

“Well, hi there,” The woman looked up with a jolly smile. “I just told the young man before you, we don’t put out the cookies until three.”

“That’s amazing,” (Y/N) smiled. “I was actually wondering where the… polka dancing takes place.”

The woman assessed the young girl with a raised brow. “Very… interesting choice of clothing. And I’m afraid we can’t allow the dog.”

“Ah- Yes, my mom’s actually in there with my clothes. I just need to find her and change. And this is her… service dog.”

“He looks a little young to be a service dog, sweetie.”

“That’s what I told the doctor,” (Y/N) chuckled, smiling down at her pup. “But he does his job very well for the cute little thing he is. However, he cannot do his job if he isn’t at my mom’s side, so…”

Sighing, the woman gestured to her left. “All the way down that hall, dear. Just keep an eye on the dog, will ya?”

“Of course. Thank you.” She nodded before leading her and Pennycrumb in the direction of the room jumping with cheery music and the clicking of dancing feet. She found herself a table in the corner of the room after meandering her way past attendees. Just as she sat herself down, she was greeted by smiling faces, allowing them to gush over and pet her puppy. This eventually resulted in them wanting to feed him their scraps of food, much to her delight.

(Y/N) helped herself to the buffet as she watched the door carefully, wanting to keep an eye on Five’s whereabouts. What she didn’t expect after eating the majority of her plate was to be pulled onto the dance floor. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she genuinely had a blast learning to polka dance, as embarrassing as it was to her. She caught on rather quickly and allowed herself three dances before she politely excused herself, collected her dog, and crept out of the room. Just as she entered the hall again, she saw the blonde attendant from earlier storming away from a broken vending machine and into a room for a meeting labeled ‘Midwest Soybean Society’.

That doesn’t even sound like a real thing, she thought. That must be where the board is meeting.

Deciding to wait out Five’s ‘work’, she strolled over to the vending machine, wincing at the broken glass that once contained the delicious snacks inside. Squinting her eyes, she noticed a certain candy bar, the Fudge Nutter, was leaning just out of its slot. It was just hanging by a thread. That’s when (Y/N) realized, Five hadn’t eaten in a while either. This must’ve been his doing. Using her foot, she kicked the glass out of the way and stuck her hand in, plucking the candy out of its place and pocketing it. Just when she did so, she heard Mr Pennycrumb’s barks aimed in front of them. (Y/N) blinked at the sight before her.

A man- could she even call him that? - with a fish tank holding a goldfish for a head came running in her direction in a panicked hurry, huffing and puffing through what looked to be an intercom of some sort. Tightening her hold on the leash, she swirled her way in front of the fish-man any time he’d change his direction. “Out of my way!” He hissed, but (Y/N) continued to block his path until Five blinked right in front of her. From where she stood behind him, she saw that he was drenched in blood and could only imagine what he looked like from the front. The boy clutched a paddle in his hands, his movements fidgeting. The fish-man gasped in shock at the boy. “Surely, we can come to some form of agreement that benefits both parties,” His British accent quivered. “Quid pro quo? What do you say?”

“Why not?” Five shrugged. “Here’s your quid.” The boy swung the paddle into the man’s side, eliciting a shriek from him. “Here’s your pro.” Then to his leg, sending him to his knees. “And here’s your quo.”

“No! No! Please, don’t!” He whimpered as Five aimed the paddle to his glass tank containing the goldfish. “No!” He cried as the boy smashed the paddle through the tank, glass shattering and water pouring all around. The body fell to the ground with a thud as well as the goldfish. Five loomed over the fish just as Mr Pennycrumb happily barked and skittered to the boy. Blinking, he turned to the dog in confusion.

“Mr Pennycrumb?” He whispered. From his peripheral, he spotted (Y/N) joining his side. “(Y/N), what are you doing here?! How did you even-”

“I’m surprised I made it this far,” She hummed and crouched down, a bag of water in her hand she had fetched the moment Five had blinked into the hallway. “No, baby, you just ate. You fatty.” She chuckled and gently pushed her very hyper golden retriever away, preventing him from gobbling down the fish.

Five watched as she delicately picked AJ up with her index finger and thumb, plopping him into the bag of water before holding it closed. “What’s the poor bastard’s name?” She asked and stood to her feet. Five let out a deep breath and stared up at the ceiling.

“AJ Carmichael…”

“Well, then… It’s nice to meet you, AJ.” She whispered to the bag. The teens quickly looked up when two giggling women exited the polka association room. They stopped in their tracks, observed the scene, and headed straight back inside without a word spoken. (Y/N) sighed and handed the bag over to her love before picking up her pup’s leash. “Oh! I almost forgot.” She perked up and fished the candy out of her pocket, tucking it into Five’s instead.

“For your hard work.”

“Thank you, my love.”

Not a word was spoken between the two after Five took them back to 1963 via the briefcase. “Why couldn’t we just use this to get back home?”

“Because of that,” He pointed to the case that sat on the gravel before them. It shook and sputtered and crackled, an electric blue light emanating and swallowing it whole until it was gone. “She’d never hand me a ticket out of here until she got what she wanted.”

“Yeah, I guess I should’ve thought of that…” (Y/N) whispered and turned away.

They stood in the middle of an alleyway, awaiting The Handler’s arrival as (Y/N) took her handkerchief out of her breast pocket and began ridding Five’s face of the blood splatter the best she could. His eyes wouldn’t meet hers no matter how hard she tried to capture them. She could practically see the gears turning in his head, with the way his brows scrunched and his bloodied fingers rubbed against each other. Once she finished what she could of his face, she gently took his hands in hers and cleaned those as well. Their eyes finally met, both pairs filled with concern for the other, just before the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard.

The Handler, in all her glory, walked towards the two, briefcase in hand. Five wouldn’t even face her, even went as far as to keep his back towards her even after she stopped to stand in front of (Y/N). “We meet again, dear.”

“I had a feeling…”

“Do you bring the mutt everywhere you go?”

(Y/N) shrugged at her pet, who was busy scratching himself behind his ear. The Handler hummed and turned to Five. “Well?”

Without a word, the boy stretched his arm that held the bag behind him. The Handler gasped and set the briefcase down, moving her veil out of the way and taking the bag into her hands. She cackled, cooed and sighed at poor AJ before settling her sights on Five, who was now turned to face her. “You know, you’re really starting to fill out those tight little shorts of yours. Isn’t he, (Y/N)?”

Said girl only watched her love, who looked anywhere but at her. She realized he was ashamed, he was regretful. The Handler frowned at him, hand on her hip. “What’s wrong with him? He’s never this quiet after a job like this. I thought you’d be buzzing after this morning’s slaughter, Five.”

“All this killing,” Five sighed. “I’m done with it.”

The Handler raised her brows and moved forward, going to caress his cheek as she usually did, but (Y/N) stepped to his side, hand firmly on his arm. Chuckling, she turned back to Five. “Am I supposed to take that seriously?”

“What I did today, I did for my family. I did it to save the world.”

“Please. Spare me your little assassin with the heart of gold routine, will you?” She tapped his nose before picking up the briefcase and stretching it towards them. “Here. Per our agreement, this will get you, your siblings, and dear (Y/N) back to 2019.”

To spare him the humiliation of taking the briefcase, (Y/N) did it herself, glaring at the woman.

“You have ninety minutes.”

(Y/N)’s stomach dropped as Five snapped his head up. The Handler turned to walk away as he quickly followed her. “You said nothing about a time limit!”

Glancing at her watch, she smiled. “Actually, you have eighty-nine minutes and thirty seconds. Better hurry.”

“You fucking-”

“This is impossible, okay?!” Five interrupted (Y/N)’s insult in a panic. “My siblings are scattered across the city!”

“Nothing’s impossible. You proved that this morning when you killed the board.”

“I need more time.” Five rushed, glancing at his love for a moment, the girl clutching the briefcase in one hand, Pennycrumb’s leash in the other.

“Any more time, and people will start asking questions,” The Handler’s neutral tone contradicted Five’s rushed, panicked voice. “The sooner you get home and out of this time period, the better off we’ll both be, so ticktock, ticktock.”

Growling, Five charged up to (Y/N), the girl watching as the she-devil happily waved at them before Five blinked them out of the alleyway. The blood-scrawled message on Elliott’s floor was hard not to notice when they appeared in his home. (Y/N) widened her eyes at the message written in Swedish:

ÖGA FÖR ÖGA

Five snatched the briefcase from her hold and sighed before he hurried up the steps. (Y/N) followed close behind, the voices of Diego and Luther becoming more apparent the closer they got. Reaching the top of the stairs, they noticed a chair with a sheet-covered figure laying in it. (Y/N) dropped the leash and approached the chair, slowly uncovering the figure and gasping at the sight of a bloodied Elliott. His face was frozen in agony, the light within his dark eyes vanished. She and Five let out a simultaneous ‘damn’ before she covered him back up. “The three psychopaths…”

She looked up as Five wandered the lounge room, searching for a safe place to store the briefcase. As he did so, (Y/N) entered the kitchen, watching her brothers share a single brain cell.

“My name? Is, uh, Luther Hargreeves, and-”

Diego snatched the phone out of Luther’s hand and put it up to his own ear. “You killed one of ours, Olga,” The misinterpretation had (Y/N) rolling her eyes to the back of her head. “Now we’re coming after you. You will be dead by nightfall.”

“Hey!” Five called as he entered the kitchen, beginning to take off his blaser. “It’s Öga För Öga, idiots. Swedish for ‘an eye for an eye’.”

(Y/N) moved behind him and assisted in removing his blaser, glancing up at her brothers. “The Swedes killed Elliott. Not poor Olga.” As she pulled off Five’s vest for him, Diego slowly turned back towards the wall.

“Wrong number. Have a lovely day.” He smiled before hanging up the phone. (Y/N) scoffed and held the boy’s clothes out of his reach when he tried to take them.

“Shower.” She demanded, Five clenching his fists.

“(Y/N), we don’t have time-”

“We’ll have plenty of time. You shower while I wash the blood out.” She explained and began unbuttoning his dress shirt. Five gently swatted her hands away.

“I can undress myself!”

“Then hurry and give me your disgusting clothes!”

“Fine!”

Five scoffed and moved around his brothers, ignoring whatever they had been calling out to him. (Y/N) shook her head and set her love’s clothes into Elliott’s kitchen sink. Diego and Luther leaned against the counter on either side of her as she began washing the blood from the vest.

“You gonna explain what the hell happened?” Diego whispered.

“Why’s he covered in blood?” Luther leaned closer.

“I tried to clean it, I really did.” (Y/N) shrugged.

The brothers gave each other a look before moving their attention back to their sister. Luther cleared his throat. “How’d he, uh… get the blood on him?”

She didn’t give him an explanation, though, and picked up the pile of clothes Five had just dumped outside of the bathroom door before returning to the sink. When the two saw she wasn’t going to speak on Five’s behalf, they both sighed and left her to her work.

Despite his irritation, the boy couldn’t help the swelling of his heart when he cracked the bathroom door open to find his slightly damp, but clean clothes neatly folded on the floor. Grabbing the clothes, he quickly tugged the uniform back on, save for the tie and blaser. Swinging the door open, he was met with a smirking (Y/N). He rolled his eyes as she approached him, taking his tie and putting it on for him. “Doesn’t that make you feel a bit better?”

“No,” He mumbled, but caught the amusement in her eyes. “Maybe a little… but it doesn’t matter because we’re losing time.”

“Well, sorry for not wanting you to smell like you just killed twelve people.” She whispered and pecked his lips, exiting the bathroom after his tie was fastened. Glancing in the mirror, Five adjusted his clothes as Luther did the same just outside the bathroom.

“So, I found a way home.”

“What? How?”

“All the details are irrelevant, but… I made a deal to get back to our timeline.”

(Y/N) watched from the lounge room as the boys spoke, gently petting her dog. Diego joined in the conversation as he pulled a jacket on. “What about doomsday?”

“Won’t happen.”

“And the 2019 apocalypse?”

“Everything will be back to normal,” Five sighed and exited the bathroom, blaser in hand. “Now no more questions. We gotta go. We have to find the others, right? Luther, you get Allison. Diego, Klaus. I’ll get Vanya. Now, we meet back in the arrival alley in seventy-seven minutes.” He pulled on the blaser and picked up four watches, handing one to each person in the room. “I’ve synchronized these watches.”

(Y/N) stood to her feet once the watch was given to her. “Five, what should I do?” She raised her brows. Five shook his head and busied himself with fastening the watch on her wrist.

“Starlight, I want you to gather your things, say your goodbyes to Mr Pennycrumb, and meet back in the alleyway as soon as possible-”

“Wait, what? We’re leaving Penny?” She widened her eyes. Five exhaled through his nose and wordlessly nodded. “Five, why? N-Nothing will happen, he’s just a dog.”

His eyes flicked up to her when her voice broke, his hands coming up to hold her jaw. “He may be just a dog, Starlight, but he isn’t insignificant. Every little yawn he takes, every bark he makes… it all matters, okay? We can’t risk it. I know Mr Pennycrumb was a comfort for you and I’m so sorry… but we can’t take him.”

(Y/N) shakily inhaled, desperately trying to blink back the tears in her eyes, but Five saw them long before she even noticed. Glancing down, he saw the puppy chewing at the toe of his shoe. With the utmost care, Five picked the puppy up and placed him into her arms before leaning down to look into his eyes. “Thanks, buddy… for taking care of her,” He reached forward, Pennycrumb instantly nuzzling his nose into his hand. “You did what I couldn’t. And for that, I am eternally grateful. Goodbye, Mr Pennycrumb.”

“I’m glad you two met.” (Y/N) whispered. Five smiled and sweetly kissed her before stepping back. Clearing her throat, she held her puppy close and walked down the stairs. She only allowed herself to cry when she stepped outside, the door shutting behind her.

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Taglist: @unfortu-nate-ly @sapphicsyn @m00n-sh @starcurrent @alexander-hamilhoe @youcandalekmyballs @wonderlandfandomkingdom @yrdadjstcallsmekatya @sm0kingcrack @a-t-h-r-e-e-n-a @moatsnow @bubblegumflamingos @starstormssymphony @meowiemari @magicalgothpandamaker @keayastitties @hehehehannahthings @harrystylescherrie @rhain3 @himikaphoo @xxeiraxx @camerondiaz48104 @isawachickeninatree @theyaremorethanjustfictional @that-can-of-fizz @luckyzipperscissorsbat @cuupiid

[yourmcu]

Mesmerized (ii)

Pairings: Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Request:

@lostaurorax​ said:

hii!! i love ur writing i was wondering if u could write a natasha x reader fic were reader is part of the guardians of the galaxy and they come to the compound and natasha is just starstruck but reader plays kinda hard to get and then just a bunch of fluff !

Word count: 2,551

A/n: basically a day out with Natasha. you like having her around. she likes having you around. Part 2/? (more notes at the end of the fic!)

Warnings: mostly fluff, but ending’s pretty angsty (help), some thor fluff in the beginning, jealous!nat if you squint

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

gif not mine!! credits to the owner^^

After Natasha left your room she immediately goes straight to hers. She barely falls asleep.

She stares at the ceiling, absorbed in her own thoughts. She tries to shake away the heat rushing to her face whenever the moment you kissed her on the cheek replays on her mind. All it took is someone like you to get one of the toughest people in the compound turn into mush.

She never believes in the ‘love at first sight’ bullshit because, well, it is bullshit. It’s impossible to love someone you just met. But who knows, right? You might just be an exception.

No, Natasha frowns. I just like her... a lot. It’s different.

The next morning, her run consists of her planning out the date day with you, where she’d take you first and stuff. She stops by the front gate of the compound, suddenly worrying. She wants to impress you. But what if you don’t like what she had in store? What if you think she's boring?

You're the type of person that almost likes everything and you’d express it kindly if you don’t. Boring you should be the last thing on Natasha’s mind.

Natasha walks into the kitchen to hydrate herself but halts once she saw the mess you and Thor had all over the counters.

“Wait, hold on- no, that’s - oh god, Thor, that’s too much batter!” You smack him on the arm and laugh, tilting your head a bit to figure out how you’d get the large pancake out of the pan.

“Oops,” Thor says sheepishly, turning around to put the bowl back on the counter, noticing Natasha’s confusion. “Oh don’t worry, Natasha, we’ll clean up after we’re done.”

The mention of the redhead makes you turn as well. “Good morning, Nat.” You beam. Normally, Natasha would sent a glare to anyone who calls her that, someone who isn’t a close friend, but with you... instead of a glare her eyes light  up. Giving you a small smile, she greets you back.

“I thought you were going out?” She questions, passing by you to reach the fridge.

“We were, but IHOP’s closed, under maintenance they said,” Thor sighs and you hum in response. “It’s quite alright. I heard you guys are going out anyway-”

Natasha lowers the water bottle from her lips, staring at him. “You heard?”

You spin around to clean up after turning off the stove. ‘I didn’t tell him anything,’ you mouth to her, which makes her think Steve somehow knows of it already.

Thor lets out a laugh, grabbing the whole pan and twiddling his fork, “you two have fun.” He winks and walks out of the room.

-----

“They were so cute,” you look back at the newly engaged couple near the window of the restaurant. “And really, you didn’t have to pay. I can pay you back.”

Later that afternoon the both of you headed out. Natasha parked her car somewhere and since it was a nice day, not too hot or anything, you both strolled around the city to find a place to have brunch.

“Y/N, it’s fine. I’m the one who asked you out.” Natasha chuckles, remembering the way you pouted in there begging her to let you pay at least for your own food.

You huff, smiling. “Fine. But I’m getting you back.”

So far you were having a good time with her. You got to know each other more, she told you stories about some of the team’s missions from other countries which were relatively rare, her first encounters with Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, and in return you told her some about your out-of-this-world missions with the guardians.

And no you didn’t tell her about the history of moon rocks or some shit, nor did you promise to bring her back some. Who even collects those nowadays? Natasha was more interested about your early life, on Earth, which you were thankful for. You were taken away from your father (the only parent you preferred and loved) who was pure human one day by your alien-freak of a mother which you inherited your fire powers from.

You don’t like talking about it. But with her you're surprisingly comfortable.

Natasha smirks. “So we’re going out again sometime?”

“Of course we are.” After two seconds of pure confidence you wish you didn’t say that out loud. “Well, you know, I won’t force you to something you don’t want it’s - it’s your call.”

You're in the middle of telling her about your favorite bar and diner, the one your father always takes you as a child and you even paid a visit there the last time you were on Earth.

“Huh. Isn’t that the one that just closed?” She recalls

“No, really?” You drag out the ‘no’, sighing. “They’re the best. They make their own iced tea and beer and stuff... and - oh!”

You feel something rub against your ankle: a fluffy dog who's looking up at you with its tongue out and its tail was wagging wildly. Natasha raises her eyebrows, her eyes trailing to the abandoned leash behind it.

“Hey there,” you kneel down to pet it with caution just incase its intention is to bite you. But it seems to be happy and tame. “Look, Nat, s’adorable.” Natasha chuckles briefly and starts looking around for a person who looks frantic and is finding, calling a dog. 

“This fella belongs to the animal center.” You caress the dog behind its ear while you read the information on its collar.

It isn’t that far, it seems like the dog just escaped as well because the guy running the center was unaware of its absence.

“Thanks!” Said guy smiles in appreciation, reaching out to take the leash out of your hand. Natasha’s mind is focused on how the guy looks at you for the first time. It's the exact same look she gave you that night. Mesmerized, as if it was love at first sight. She doesn’t miss how his hand brushes yours, completely intentional. “I don’t know what I’d do if you hadn’t returned him. The pups here just grew out of their mom’s milk and are very hyper. It’s a lot of work.”

You're completely oblivious to this, you’re just glad the dog is back to where he belongs.

“No problem, he’s very sweet.” You smile politely. “Are they up for adoption? It would really help you out if they were, you know, and this one here is well behaved.”

At this point Natasha’s just eyeing the guy like he’d pounce on you any minute now. He’s definitely into you and she doesn’t like it.

“You’re welcome to stop by anytime,” he grins, ignoring your suggestion. “Can I have your number?”

“Oh, I don’t have a phone...” you trail off.

“That’s right, she doesn’t.” Natasha steps in and she catches the guy off guard and surprised that the Black Widow is actually with you the whole time. Natasha intertwines her hand with yours, pleased with his dumbfounded reaction. “We’ll be on our way now.”

You didn’t expect that but you weren’t complaining. Her hands were soft, and it brought this comforting feeling you couldn’t explain. But you clear your throat once the both of you are a few blocks away from the center.

“Sorry, he gave me an off vibe,” Natasha mutters and removes her hand from yours.

“Don’t be, I appreciate you looking out,” you smiles. Her car was getting into view now. “If it helps you sleep at night though, he wasn’t my type.” You joke.

Turns out you weren’t completely oblivious.

Natasha merely scoffs, getting in the driver’s seat and starting the engine.

After the dog incident you both drove around different parts of the city. You went to a different mall to stroll around, commenting on anything you both saw that would somehow lead to a stupid story that happened at some point in your lives.

A local artsy bookstore, not gonna lie Natasha liked reading a good book when she had the time. So did you. It was nice to know that she’s the type of person who liked reading. Quill always got annoyed with you whenever he saw you reading silently in the ship (but when was he not annoyed with you?). The only ones that was willing to try and read back in space were Mantis and Gamora, bless her soul.

“These are good,” you mutter to Natasha. “All my books are on the ship, I think, but if I get to them I’ll let you read my favorite one... if you want.”

Last stop of the day. Natasha claims it’s a surprise.

“I don’t do well with surprises,” you whine, holding back a smile. “Just tell me.”

“No. And besides, we’re already here.” Natasha chuckles.

Your eyes light up on how stunning the scenery was. An edge of the cliff and below is a beach that doesn’t look like it’s visited by people everyday. The beautiful sunset, the sky made up of purple, orange and almost pink magnifies the calmness of the waves crawling gently to the shore.

“I always come here whenever I need to,” she says silently and exhales, walking over to you. “It’s the perfect place to go whenever those idiots get on my nerves.” You laugh lightly at her reasoning.

Natasha pats a spot on the grass beside her. She holds her gaze on you as you sit down, sighing. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah,” she manages to stop staring at you and look up at the sky instead. It's getting darker by the minute, the orange and pinkness started to fade as the sun went down, all of it replaced by light purple, darker shade of blue.

You're used to different colored skies. It would always vary and depend on what planet you were on, plus you always see those stars shimmering up above, so your focus is on the water and the waves. The way they move calms you.

“Thank you for today,” you murmur. “I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t expect any of this happening.”

Natasha hums. “I hope I wasn’t too boring.”

“Of course not, I think you’re very interesting and you’re fun to be with.” You say genuinely.

Once the sun is fully down and the moon had taken over the sky, the both of you get up to head back to the compound. “Eating out here would’ve been nice but Steve’s in charge with dinner, he wouldn’t be too happy if he knew we already ate.” The car ride back is silent, but the good kind. A content, comfortable one.

Okay so, your stay took more than a few weeks. 

You grew close with the amazing group of people, plus your good relationship with Natasha just kept growing and... just got better.

Thor stayed too because he didn’t have a choice, but he didn’t mind. Rocket left one pod for both of you to use that’ll send you to wherever Quill’s ship was up there. 

You and Natasha went out when you had the chance, taking turns treating each other to stuff. You learned that Thor included your books when he packed you a bag, and now Natasha was borrowing one of them.

Sometimes you’d join them on missions. You did a great job every time, not wanting to be a burden to a team you weren’t officially in. Sometimes you’d join Steve into a sparring session at the compound’s gym.

Speaking of which, he’s treating both you and Natasha as if you’re dating.

“Would you look at that, your girl managed to give me a bruise. She’s a keeper.” Steve tells Natasha.

“You totally deserve that.”

You also started sparring with Natasha. And Tony caught on with the whole ‘dating’ thing from Steve.

“Oooh, am I interrupting something here?” Tony smirks. He's going back and forth visiting the compound and coming home to his wife and daughter at their cabin. It's working out though. “I think the mat’s unsanitary. Take this to the bedroom.”

“Oh shut up, Y/N was just working on her tackling.” Natasha grunts, leaving you sprawled  on the mat, exhausted. “It’s getting sloppy. We’ll go again in a minute.”

-----

“Y/N,” The devastating tone of Natasha’s voice makes you look up. “Quill’s calling. He’s looking for you.”

“What?” She doesn’t answer but instead motions you to follow. In her office is a hologram of your fellow half-human and he looks distraught.

You step in front of the hologram so he can see you. 

“What happened to a few weeks, L/N? It’s been almost three months!” Quill says. “Look, come back, bring Thor with you. Our distress signal goes off almost every day and we can’t keep doing this without both of you.”

“Alright, how much time do I have before you lose your cool?” You reply sarcastically, but you're also worried and didn’t want to leave. You know better than to argue with the guy.

Natasha doesn’t want you to leave so suddenly. There’s limited communication between you and her once you go back up there. She grew attached to you.

Quill gives you an obvious look. “As soon as possible! Just - just get back here, please?” Then he abruptly ends the call.

You roll your eyes and left the room to pack, barely noticing Natasha hunched over, visibly sad and anxious that you’re leaving.

She loves you, and now you’re leaving without that knowledge.

You told Thor about it when he passed by the open door of your room. He didn’t look thrilled to be leaving so suddenly. After packing everything up (on his part it wasn’t that much) he offered to carry your bag for you as you said your farewells.

“Sorry guys, duty calls,” you sigh, hugging everyone. “Seeing as Tony’s not here just tell him I’ll miss him or something.”

“Will you come visit soon?” Wanda asks as she pulls away from your hug.

“Definitely.” You turn your head when Steve nudges you, nodding his head to the direction where Natasha is shifting, pacing, avoiding any eye contact.

You walk over to her. She tries holding back tears as you did. She grew attached to you and now you’re leaving. “Hey Nat,” you cup her face, trying to get her to look at you. “I’m sorry. I don’t wanna leave either, not right now, but-”

Natasha kisses you, pulling you close to her as much as possible. Tears fully streaming down her face. She’s never felt this way before, about anybody, for a long time.

But let’s face it, you both know you loved each other. Maybe the both of you just knew that if you got together, it’ll be extremely hard for your relationship once you left. The long distance relationship thing. Even if you aren’t, it's already too painful for Natasha, like she's caught off guard or something. None of you knew that today's your last night on Earth.

“I’m gonna miss you.” Natasha whispers after pulling away.

You smile sympathetically, wiping her tears away with your thumb. “You know I’ll come back, right, pretty girl?” Natasha exhales shakily and pulls you into a hug.

“You better.”

----

I found a song for this fic-series whatever, please I’m so proud of myself the song reminds me of this story

I’M ANNOYED THAT I HAVEN’T PUT IN MUCH ABOUT THE READER’S FIRE ABILITIES IN THIS ONE BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOY ANYWAY (they’re on a date she wouldn’t need it for anything)

[idy-ll-ique]

Dogs.

Pairing: Chris Evans x F!Reader

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: None

Requested: Nope

Summary: Y/N and Chris meet at the garden when their dogs take a liking to each other. Can the same be said for Y/N and Chris?

Author's Note: Hiya peeps! I already posted this on my old account... which is gone (RIP) so I'm posting it again over here! Enjoy!

---

"Zeus! Zeus, honey, get back!" Y/N sighed as her cute little dog chased butterflies in the garden. She sat down on a bench, tired. Zeus would get to her soon. Zeus, if you didn't know, was a female dog. A bitch, if you will. She had just jokingly decided to name her that but Zeus liked it so much, she wouldn't answer to any other name. "Dodge! Dodger! Come back!"

Yes, celebrity sightings in this garden were a lot more common than you think. When someone sat next to her, Y/N looked at the person. Chris Evans sat next to her, drinking some water. When he noticed that his bottle was empty, he sighed. He was feeling extremely thirsty. Y/N noticed that and looked at her own water bottle which was untouched.

"Would you like some water?" she offered, holding it up.."Thank you so much!" He sent a grateful smile her way as he drank the water. After that, they sat in silence for a while. Chris stole a glance at her. "So, which one is yours?" he asked slowly. "The one playing with your dog," Y/N laughed. Chris looked at her. Y/N was smiling at the place where Zeus and Dodger were together chasing butterflies.

No, Chris, she's a stranger! he thought. But she gave you water! That's not called being a stranger, water is the most important component of your life, his conscience scolded him. "So, what's your name?" Chris asked the pretty lady sitting next to him. "I'm Y/N Y/L/N, delighted to meet you," she said, turning to give him a small smile.

The two dogs returned to their owners after successfully getting themselves tired by chasing insects.

"Dodger likes you." Dodger was happily barking as Y/N ruffled his hair. "Zeus likes you, it seems," Y/N chuckled when she saw Zeus snuggling into Chris' leg. The owners quickly tied their dogs on leash and stood up with their belongings. When they tried to take their dogs away from each other, the dogs whimpered.

"It's okay, Zeus, I'm sure we'll meet Dodger again soon," Y/N cooed at her dog. Then she looked at Chris. "Yes, of course, we will." He smiled at her. She grinned as Zeus dejectedly started following her. "Y/N wait, give me your number so we can make plans!" She turned around. They exchanged numbers and in the meantime, Zeus and Dodger exchanged goodbyes.

After that, Y/N and Chris parted ways. The reason Zeus and Dodger had bonded so much was that they were... they're dogs... male, female... figure it out. They were dogs, they didn't care about love. Breeding was more important to them, unlike humans.

After Y/N had reached home, she first kept all the stuff away and prepared food for Zeus. Zeus, meanwhile, was lying in front of the door with a sad face.

"Oh don't worry, you big baby, you'll meet Dodger soon enough," Y/N said, "Hopefully," was added under her breath. Zeus looked up. She whimpered and Y/N's heart went out to her dog. "Aw, it's okay, eat. You'll feel better," she chuckled, cuddling up to Zeus as Zeus ate.

"Dodger, cheer up, I can't see you like this," Chris sighed once he was home. Dodger, like Zeus, laid down in front of the door with a whine. Chris had the same idea as Y/N and prepared some food for Dodger. He kept his bowl in front of him and Dodger looked up. "That's my boy," Chris said fondly as Dodger started munching on the food. Both the dogs felt better after eating, but they still missed their best friend.

Chris, not bearing to see Dodger like that, called Y/N. Y/N was doing the laundry when her phone rang from the living room. Zeus barked. "Don't worry honey, it might be mom," Y/N chuckled, going to the living room to get her phone. When she saw Chris' name, she got confused. "Hi," she answered the call.

"Hey, I just wanted to ask, is Zeus doing okay?" His question didn't frighten her, nor startle her. "She wasn't but I gave her food, now she's fine. She still misses Dodger, though," Y/N chuckled.

"Good, I was just wondering if you'd come to the garden tomorrow, too," Chris asked nervously. "Of course, I take Zeus there every day, it's her favourite place," Y/N replied. "That's good, I'll be there tomorrow, whatever timing's convenient for you," he smiled, relieved. "6?" she asked him.

"Yes, that'll do. Bye, see you tomorrow!" He hung up the phone and turned to Dodger, who was watching intently.

Y/N kept her phone away and turned to Zeus, who was watching her intently. Both Chris and Y/N got smiles on their faces at the same time.

"Tomorrow you're meeting Zeus."

"Tomorrow you're meeting Dodger."

Both dogs simultaneously let out a happy bark, making their owners 1000 times more happy than they already were. Y/N went to do her laundry again and Chris went to see the TV with Dodger. As Y/N was putting her clothes in a dryer, she realized something.

"Oh, God, is this a date?" she groaned. Meanwhile, Chris had realized the same thing too. He freaked out, he had just asked her on a date! "Doing it for Dodger. Not myself," he mumbled under his breath.

"I'm doing it for Zeus, not myself," Y/N reminded herself and took out the dry clothes from the dryer. She then went to her room to iron them.

---

The next day dawned way earlier than either of them would have wanted. Y/N's biggest concern was the media seeing Chris and her together.

She didn't want hoards of angry fans at her doorstep attempting to murder her for having a goddamn date with Chris Evans. She hated the media for posting mindless things like those.

Chris' concern, meanwhile, was not that he didn't want to be seen in the media with her, it was that he didn't want the media to notice her in the first place.

Since the garden was a popular spot for celebs with pets, paparazzi and reporters were always roaming around. And they always printed the wrong sorts of news. He didn't want Y/N to be in a bad light because Hey, did you see that girl with Chris Evans? Yeah, she's such a bitch, I mean, I'm more beautiful, obviously, why doesn't he notice me?!

He had fans like that.

Y/N was obviously more beautiful than any other girl, any other celebrity he had ever seen. Kind, generous, polite, good looking, intelligent… What more could he want? She also had a dog. That was a bonus for him. She treated her dog so well, so kindly, as if it was her firstborn child. Chris could see why Dodger was attracted to Zeus.

He could say the same about himself being attracted to Y/N. She was nice, why the hell couldn't he date her? He would date her and proudly so, okay? "Come on Dodge, we're going to meet Y/N and Zeus!" Chris called out, tying his shoelaces. Dodger came running from the living room.

He waited patiently as Chris quickly tied the leash to Dodger's collar. Y/N was tying a leash to Zeus' collar while she excitedly jumped around. "Okay, baby girl, here we go," Y/N took a deep breath and wore her goggles, opening the door. As soon as the door opened, Zeus attempted to run.

Y/N somehow managed to lock the door when she lost control and Zeus ran, pulling Y/N behind her. Y/N laughed as she ran behind Zeus. They reached the park at 2 minutes to 6 o'clock. They walked in and looked around, Y/N trying to find Chris. She saw him sitting on a bench, far away.

He was checking his watch, Dodger sitting by his leg, wagging his tail. Zeus, when she saw them, ran. Y/N, naturally, ran behind her.

When Chris heard her, he looked up and nearly dropped his phone to the ground. That happy laugh on Y/N's face could make stone-hearted people smile. Y/N, once she was by Chris' side, stopped and took the leash off of Zeus. Chris did the same with Dodger and the two happy dogs took off.

Y/N collapsed on the bench next to Chris, taking deep and heavy breaths. Then, she realized she had forgotten her water bottle. She groaned. "Y/N, everything alright?" Chris asked with concern. "Zeus... made... me... run... all th... all the way up... to here," she wheezed, coughing.

"I feel like you should drink water," he said, patting her shoulder. She was wearing track pants and a loose t-shirt, same with Chris. "I... forgot... my... bottle," she coughed more, sitting up straight. She felt better, but not without water.

"Here. I brought extra, just in case." She accepted his bottle, thanking him. When she drank the water, she felt better. "Thank you so much, Chris," she said, a grateful smile on her face. "A date helps a date." When she heard those words, Y/N looked at Chris with a look of disbelief on her face.

Her eyes wide and her jaw dropped. Chris chuckled. "I realized yesterday, what a date-like situation it was. Couples always bring their dogs for a walk," he shrugged, giving her a lopsided grin. "I didn't think you'd want to acknowledge this as a date," Y/N laughed, running a hand through her shoulder-length hair. Chris was sporting his iconic Captain America beard and long hair.

If you had a chance to see them, they looked so much like a couple you would've thought they were married. They started talking about general things, like what they do, where they live, their hobbies, favourite this, favourite that, blah blah blah.

After a while, as both of them got engrossed in their talks, Y/N noticed that Chris' watch said 8. They spent two hours just talking.

"Chris, it's getting late, I should go," she smiled sheepishly. "Oh, it's 8 already?! I have to head home too," he chuckled and they stood up. "Where are Dodger and Zeus?"

They looked around, panicking because they couldn't find their dogs anywhere. There were still people in the park, so they weren't worried much. "You go there, I'll go there," Chris said, pointing towards the left and right.

Y/N nodded and they left to find their dogs. Y/N was the one who found them. When she found them, she smiled broadly and took a photo. Then she called Chris. "Y/N! Did you find them?" She smiled softly. She told him where she was and once he got there, both of them smiled at their dogs. Zeus and Dodger were sitting under a tree sleeping peacefully.

They were curled up next to each other in a small bundle of fur. Chris put an arm around Y/N's shoulder and she turned to look at him. "They look so happy. You should bring Zeus over some time," he whispered, not looking at her. She nodded and looked down at Zeus and Dodger. They gently woke the doggos up and took them home, both the dogs following their owners in a sleepy stance.

At the garden gate, "I guess I'll see you later."

"See you later, Chris," Y/N replied in a soft voice. In the flow of the moment, Chris quickly leaned in, gave Y/N a kiss on her cheek and left with Dodger. Y/N kept standing in her spot, had Chris Evans just kissed her? She shook her head, sensing many more moments like those to come.

She wasn't even bothered.

She was excited.

---

A/N: Hello, I hope you liked it! Leave a like if you did :)))))))

[greenjacketwhitehatdocmui]

Frozen:  In the Details

Summary:  Sometimes, the simplest of tasks can have a deeper meaning.  Agnarr muses on what washing the car has meant to him in the past, and possibly the future.  This was written for the “Summer Lovin’” issue of @frozines on Tumblr. Modern AU, Agduna and Kristanna.

This story can be found on @frozines and at Fanfiction.net and Archive of Our Own.

Enjoy!

--Pearson “Doc” Mui

Frozen:  In the Details by Pearson “Doc” Mui

           Agnarr awoke early on a Saturday. With some grumbling, Iduna released him from their bed as he prepared for the day. She understood that this task had to be done early in the morning, but she didn’t have to like it. If things worked out, however, it would have been worth waking up early for.

           After a quick breakfast and some cleanup, Agnarr trotted to the garage. The spring in his step ran counter to the occasional crackling sound in his knees. Even the projected thirty percent chance of rain did nothing to dampen his spirits.

Eyeing one corner of the garage, he chose his tools for the day’s task. Buckets, wash mitts and car soap were laid out on the garage floor. After a moment, he opened up some folding chairs and a small table.

           Opening the garage door, he smiled at the sight of his girls coming home, if only for today. They were adults now; Elsa was working on her PhD while Anna was a year into graduate school. The nest was never empty for too long, thankfully. They made time to visit, even if it was just for small talk.

           Elsa eyed him ruefully before accepting a quick hug. She had a pretty good idea of what he had planned for their incoming guest. Anna, on the other hand, was pouting.

           “Dad, are you really going to put Kristoff through this?” Clearly, his youngest wasn’t pleased at the prospect.

           Agnarr raised an eyebrow. “The way you’re talking, you’d think that I was going to torture him. It’s just a car wash between men.” He sighed. “You used to love helping me wash the car.”

           “I remember that you loved using the hose,” Elsa reminded Anna. There wasn’t any real bite to her words, though. “We used to help while wearing swimsuits.”

           Anna’s pout faded as she sighed, briefly lost in nostalgia.  “Those were good times, weren’t they?”

           Iduna folded her arms and sighed. Both of her girls were wearing swimsuits underneath their shirts and shorts. Anna eagerly fingered the trigger to the hose while Elsa made sure the supplies were in order.

           Elsa was having a good day. It hadn’t taken too much cajoling to get her outside. Anna’s puppy-dog eyes were a formidable weapon, especially at the tender age of eight.

           Most men would have insisted on doing “man stuff” by themselves. Agnarr wanted to have as many family activities as possible. Everyone had a job: Agnarr would wash the car, Anna would rinse it off and Elsa would take care of the windows. Iduna was there for spot-checking and refreshments.

           “Is everyone ready?” he asked enthusiastically.

           “Ready!” Anna piped up.

           “I’m ready, Papa,” Elsa said more demurely.

           He nodded.  “Well, let’s get this car clean, shall we?”

           Iduna marveled at their coordination. Everyone worked their roles admirably. Of course, a family wash like this was more for fun than work. There wouldn’t be any intensely-detailed work like Agnarr had done before—

           She suppressed a shudder. Agnarr’s father had been a cold taskmaster. He was more of a sire than an actual, warm father figure. While she took no pleasure in anyone’s passing, she had admit that the town had been the better for it.

           The calm lasted almost the entire time the car was being washed. Then Anna got a little overzealous with the hose and sprayed into the air.

           “Look, Elsa! Look Papa! I’m making rainbows—oops.” Anna laughed nervously as she realized that both Elsa and Agnarr were soaked.

           Iduna sighed, safe in the garage. She knew that it was going to end up like this.

           With calm, deliberate steps, she retreated further into the garage and grabbed a third, covered bucket from its hiding place. She and Agnarr had prepared this little surprise last night. With some effort, she hoisted the bucket to the driveway and uncovered it.

           Iduna reached into the bucket and grabbed a water balloon. She gestured for everyone to do the same.

           “On three,” she said firmly. “One, two—“

           “THREE!” Anna squealed.

           The battle was joined. When it was over, they were collapsed on the lawn, soaked through and basking in the summer sun.  It had been a good day.

           “Morning, girls,” Iduna greeted them. “Have you had breakfast yet? I could fix something up.”

           “We’re fine, Mom,” Elsa reassured her. “We ate before we came here.”

           Anna blinked and winced as she ran back to her car, an unassuming Honda Civic.  Rummaging around, she extracted a bag and jogged back.

           “We stopped by Hudson’s Hearth,” Anna said. “Destin and Halima say `hello.’” She opened it up and the three women sniffed deeply at the smell that wafted out.

           “Hmm…chocolate,” they chorused. For a moment, they were lost in the smell of the pastries.

           Agnarr tried not to chuckle. The apples didn’t fall far from the tree.

           He turned away from them and tried not to look too anxious or expectant. In the brief encounters he’d had before, Kristoff had seemed like a nice enough young man. It was clear that he cared greatly for Anna.

           Unfortunately, Anna hadn’t been so lucky the first time. At first glance, Hans had seemed like a good person, too. But the devil was always in the details—or, in this case, the detailing.

           Hans had pulled into their driveway in a Ferrari. To Agnarr, this was the first clue that the young man might have been trying too hard.

           “Good morning, Mr. Arendelle!” Hans greeted him enthusiastically. “So, who’s going to get the royal car wash treatment?”

           “We’ll be taking care of Anna’s car,” Agnarr said. “I already waxed our cars last week. I figured that Anna’s car could use a cleanup.”

           Hans’s smile froze. There was a dark shadow of disappointment in his eyes.

           “Oh,” Hans said simply. Then he rallied. “Oh, of course,” he agreed. “Nothing but the best for Anna.”

           “I’m glad that you agree,” Agnarr said. “I have all the supplies in the garage. Was there anything you needed?”

           “Thank you sir, but I brought my own things,” Hans said smoothly. He almost strutted to the Ferrari and pulled out some high-end detailing supplies from the little trunk. They were all brand new and still in the package.

           “Do you use all this on your own car?” Agnarr asked.

           Hans paused. Then he smiled in an ingratiating manner. “I don’t compromise on quality, Mr. Arendelle. As I said before, I want only the best for Anna.”

           As the time passed, Agnarr noticed several things he wasn’t sure that he liked. Hans insisted on doing it all himself, even though Agnarr had offered to help. Whenever Anna caught his eye, Hans flexed and winked.

           It was clear to Agnarr that Hans had never washed a car in his life. He was washing randomly instead of methodically, “politely” refusing any suggestions. He was sloppy applying the wax, squirting a long line on the car and working from there. Furthermore, when Hans thought that neither Agnarr nor Anna was looking, he scowled.

           Agnarr did not have a good feeling about Hans. He tried to voice his objections to Anna, but she was entirely captivated by how charming, selfless and helpful he was. Hans was, in her eyes, flawless. It was not a good sign.

           “I’m not sure it’ll work out,” he admitted to Iduna later on. It pained him to see Anna clinging to Hans’s every word. It was obvious that Anna was utterly besotted with Hans.

           “I didn’t know that a car wash was a personality test,” she joked. Her smile faded as she noted his grim expression. “You’re serious?”

           He sighed heavily. “He doesn’t take any suggestions or criticism. He shows off when he knows that people are looking. When he thinks nobody’s looking, it’s obvious that he’s not really enjoying himself.” He paused. “And honestly, even Anna could see that he did a terrible job of it.”

           “Elsa doesn’t like him, either,” she said. “Something about how he seems insincere to everyone except the person he’s focusing on.”

           “Dad had that kind of charm,” Agnarr admitted. “He was better at it, though. Hardly anyone saw his dark side.”

           She flinched. “We should warn her.”

           “I’m not sure she’d listen. She has an incredibly forgiving heart and Hans will take full advantage of it. You saw how besotted she was with him. I could practically see the hearts floating from her.”

           “So we do nothing?” Those words left a bad taste in her mouth.

           “No.” He shook his head. “We hope for the best and prepare for the worst. If he tries to isolate her, we find ways to keep in contact. Elsa’s ready to intervene if she has to.”

           She nodded. “And what if he goes too far?”

           His expression darkened. “Then I will make certain that he never huts anyone again.”

          “Just you?” she asked. “You never let me have any fun.”

          “Fine, I can go after you,” he sighed. “Not that there would be much left.”

           Anna’s enthusiastic greeting to Kristoff’s truck broke Agnarr out of his reverie.  He chuckled as Kristoff parked his truck on the side of the road. It was a small gesture of consideration, one of many that he’d observed. Kristoff wasn’t rich and he hadn’t been able to afford the best education, but he was kind and sincere.

           “Woof!”

           Oh, and Kristoff had a big, friendly dog. The girls had taken to him almost immediately, with Anna babbling baby-talk as Elsa looked embarrassed. Iduna was not immune to Sven’s “puppy in a big body” charm. As for Agnarr, he was fond of the big dog as well—though he tried to be restrained about it.

           “Mr. Arendelle,” Kristoff greeted Agnarr politely—and a bit nervously. “Um, I hope you don’t mind that I brought Sven. The big lug didn’t want to stay home.”

           “That’s fine,” Agnarr said reasonably. “As long as he behaves himself, I don’t have any problem.”

           “He’s a total sweetie, Dad,” Anna said from behind. “Want me to keep an eye on him?” She asked Kristoff.

           “That’d be great, thanks,” he said.  “If he gets fidgety, you know what to do.”

Opening the door, he grabbed Sven’s leash. The big dog jumped out and waited for Anna to accept the lead. After the obligatory scratch behind the ears and baby talk, she and Sven headed to the shelter of the garage.

           “So, um, I brought some stuff with me,” Kristoff admitted. He rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous gesture. “Of course, if there’s something you want to use, I’m okay with that.”

           Agnarr scrutinized the equipment in the back of the truck. The microfiber towels had been neatly folded in their own, zip-locked bag. Two buckets with grates inside met with his approval. He did arch an eyebrow at the orbital polisher and pads, something that his late father would have taken issue with. There were spray bottles of wheel cleaner, “ceramic wax,” something for the upholstery and something called “instant detailer.” Everything was in good condition, but it was obvious that the equipment had seen some use.

           “Do you think I brought too much?” Kristoff asked nervously. “Maybe I overdid it.”

           “I think this will be just fine,” Agnarr said. He turned towards Anna. “What are you in the mood for today?” he asked.

           “Well, I really don’t need anything fancy,” she replied. “Why? What did you have in mind?”

           “I could probably get rid of some of those swirl marks,” Kristoff suggested. “If you want, I mean.  Think of it as kind of exfoliating your car.”

           She lifted an eyebrow at the metaphor. “Well…maybe just the hood and the trunk,” she allowed. She quirked the corner of her mouth in amusement. “You just want to use your little toy, don’t you?”

           “Well, I saved up for it,” he admitted. “So, smooth out the hood and trunk, got it.”

           Agnarr tried not to chuckle. “You have a polisher, don’t you?”

           “It’s nothing fancy,” Kristoff said. “I saved up for it, so I figured I might as well get some mileage out of it.”

           “He waxes his truck every few weeks,” Anna said. “You know, I kind of feel bad that you’re doing all this for my car. Maybe I could take care of the upholstery or something?”

           The two men shared a look. Anna was dressed practically for the warm weather. There was nothing objectionable about her jean shorts and t-shirt. However, crawling around to wipe down the seats would have been awkward, to say the least.

           “How about I walk you through getting your trunk polished?” Kristoff suggested. “It’s not that hard.”

           “You’re letting me touch your baby?” Anna asked dubiously.

           “My polisher is not my baby,” Kristoff protested. Then there was a warmth in his smile that made her flush. “I trust you.”

           “So…you’d let me wax your truck?” she teased.

           “Why don’t we start with your car first?” Agnarr gently interrupted. “We don’t want to wait too long, after all.”

           Elsa quietly smiled as the men worked on the car. They had been surprisingly efficient and coordinated well together. There were moments when one man had to offer feedback to the other, but neither of them took any offense. It was an unusual kind of camaraderie.

           Kristoff was a vast improvement over Hans. What he lacked in funds, he more than made up for in heart. He may have been a little rough around the edges, but there was no doubt that Anna was the most important person in his life.

           She heard one breathy sigh, then another. She noted the very contented looks on the faces to either side of her. Then she noted that even in the relatively cool summer weather, Kristoff and her father had worked up quite the sweat, their shirts clinging to them.

           With a quiet, resigned sigh, she went into the house. Her sister and mother were oblivious to her absence.

           A few moments later, she returned with a tray of drinks and two towels. She set the tray on a nearby work bench and took two tall glasses of lemonade with her.

           Anna still had a dazed, dopey expression on her face. Iduna wasn’t much better.

           Elsa took Anna’s free hand, the one that wasn’t holding Sven’s leash, and gently placed the glass in her palm. With a start, she blinked as if she were coming out of a spell.

           Elsa did the same for their mother. Iduna’s reaction was much the same as Anna’s.

           Elsa couldn’t resist a little smirk. “I thought you two might want something to drink,” she said. “You both looked…thirsty.”

           Iduna and Anna rolled their eyes at the double-entendre. Behind the cool exterior that Elsa projected, she could be quite the joker—even if her humor tended to be on the dry side.

           “Very funny,” Anna returned. “We’re just appreciating their hard work.”

           “We certainly are,” Iduna agreed. “Both of them are very diligent.”

           “Well, maybe we could reward their diligence with a towel and a sports drink?” Elsa suggested, gesturing to the tray. “I think they could use it.”

           Agnarr wiped the sweat off of his forehead. While he still enjoyed washing cars, he was reminded that he wasn’t a young man anymore. Even though he and Kristoff were cutting the workload in half, he was still going to be sore tomorrow morning.

           Still, it was gratifying to see how seriously Kristoff took things. He was methodical and, more importantly, he seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself. He concentrated on the job at hand and accepted feedback.

           “You’ve had some experience,” he observed. “With washing cars, I mean.”

           Kristoff gave a one-shoulder shrug. “I worked part-time at the car wash one summer,” he replied. “I guess it kind of stuck.” He wiped at his brow. “I wouldn’t want to do it for a living, though.”

           “I had to…earn things by washing cars,” Agnarr said. “My father was a big believer in hard work.”

           Kristoff said nothing. He could tell by the older man’s tone that there were mixed emotions.

           Agnarr wiped the sweat off his brow, if only to not drip on his father’s Cadillac. The “beast,” as he jokingly called it, was an ostentatious symbol of his father’s wealth and practicality. It was practical in that any repairs or maintenance could be easily obtained within the town.

           As he wiped off a clear path in the baked-on wax, he saw his tired, sweaty reflection in the black depths of the “beast.” He had just spent the last four hours under the hot July sun. Every detail had been supervised by his father, who was resting in the shade with a beer. Every once in a while, his father would shout words of—

           “Come on, boy!” Runeard exclaimed. “Put your back into it! In my day, we had to deal with Blue Coral. You’ve got it easy with that wax!”

           Agnarr said nothing. His father often deducted from the anticipated payment if he talked back. It was one of the little ways that the family company kept people in line.

           It took another half hour to clear off the last of the wax. His arms trembling, he stood up straight and awaited judgment—and hopefully, payment.

           Runeard took one last draw of his beer and got up. He circled around the Cadillac and murmured in—well, it wasn’t quite approval. It was more like he acknowledged that the job had been done.

           Agnarr tried to keep calm. He didn’t dare show how eager he was to get paid. He couldn’t ever let his feelings show, not in front of his father.

           Runeard wiped his index finger down the hood and felt for any errant wax. There was one last murmur as he nodded.

           “It’ll do,” Runeard declared. With exaggerated magnanimity, he took out a twenty and handed it to Agnarr. Then the scowl returned as his nostrils flared. “Get cleaned up before you go, boy. And you’d better stay away from those filthy people.”

           Agnarr nodded once. The less his father knew about his outings with Iduna, the better.

           With one last scowl, Runeard shooed him away from the car. It was the same dismissive gesture he might have used for a servant. It certainly reinforced Agnarr’s place in the world—at least in Runeard’s mind.

           Agnarr trudged back into the house. He didn’t have to play up his muscle aches. He did have to remind himself not to smile in front of his father.

           Those long, hot hours had been worth it. The aches had been worth it.  Above all,   Iduna was worth it.

           Agnarr forced himself to take long, slow sips of the sports drink as he toweled off the sweat. The exterior had been cleaned and dried, including the wheels. All that was left was the interior and waxing the car.

           “You’re in good shape for your age, but don’t overdo it,” Iduna warned him gently. “There’s no one to show off to.”

           ���I’m not showing off,” he replied. “I’m just…enjoying the moment.”

           “What moment?” she asked.

           He turned his gaze to where Kristoff was showing Anna the bottle of detailer spray and some sort of yellow clay. He sprayed the hood and wiped the clay across the surface. Then he took a microfiber towel and wiped off any residue.

           “See these little dots and specks?” Kristoff pointed to the clay bar. “These are contaminants that stick on your paint. We want to get rid of those before we polish out the swirls. After that, we put on the wax and we’re all set.” He paused. “Here, feel where I just cleaned it up.”

           Anna tentatively brushed a finger across the surface. Blue eyes widened in amazement.

           “Whoa, that’s…really smooth,” she said. “So, you do this every time you wax your truck?”

           He shook his head. “No, this is only once or twice a year. This used to be a big secret for the car shops until a few years ago.”

           Iduna turned back to Agnarr and nodded in understanding. There wasn’t a hint of arrogance or condescension in Kristoff’s voice. He merely wanted to inform Anna about something he liked.

           As the morning went on, Agnarr noted how patient Kristoff was with Anna. He was a good teacher, putting his polisher in Anna’s hands. It was obvious that Kristoff trusted her implicitly—and she felt the same about him.

           By the time they were done, Anna’s Honda had never looked better. Anna and Kristoff took a moment to bask in their shared accomplishment. The car gleamed in the light, despite the clouds coming in.

           “Good job, feisty pants,” Kristoff complimented her. “She looks great.”

           “Oh, I didn’t do all that much,” she demurred. “You and Dad did all the hard work.”

           “Oh, it’s not as hard as the old days,” Agnarr chimed in. “Believe me, I would have been a lot less sore if we had that ceramic wax back then. It’s a lot easier to take off than baked-on Turtle Wax.”

           Any further comment was forestalled when Sven sniffed the air. The big dog made a dissatisfied, grumbling sound. Moments later, the sky darkened with an ominous rumble.

           “Oh, no…” Agnarr groaned. “There wasn’t supposed to be any rain today!”

           “That figures,” Kristoff sighed heavily. He eyed the back of his truck.

           Elsa checked her phone. “Looks like there’ll be heavy showers for an hour or two.”

           “But we just finished it!” Anna groaned.

           Kristoff perked up a little. “Well, I’ve got a tarp in the back of my truck. I could cover up your car until the rain stops.”

           Anna blinked. “You’re prepared.”

           He shrugged. “Sometimes life is like that. You get little bumps in the road and do the best you can. Experience is the toughest teacher. C’mon, let’s get this done.”

           Moments later, Anna’s car was safely covered just before the deluge hit. Everyone watched the rain from inside the garage. Kristoff and Agnarr were toweling off their hair. They were both soaked form the rain.

           “Sorry it didn’t work out, sir,” Kristoff said.

           “Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Agnarr replied. “I’d say that this was a very productive day.”

           Kristoff looked at him quizzically. “How so?”

           Behind him, Anna looked puzzled while Elsa looked satisfied. Clearly, something was going on.

           “Do you have anywhere you need to go?” Agnarr asked casually.

           “Not until the rain stops,” Kristoff replied. “Why do you ask?”

           “Well, until then, I suppose that you and Sven are our guests. Do you have any requests for lunch?”

           Kristoff held up his hands. “Sir, I really don’t want to impose. I’m sure you were looking forward to time with your family.”

           “I am,” Agnarr acknowledged with a nod. “Of course, this can include prospective members of my family.”

           “But Sven—“

           “He’s covered,” Elsa said. She reached in her purse and held up a can of dog food.

           Kristoff blinked as Sven leaned against Elsa. “Did you know about this?” he asked Anna.

           She shook her head. “Nope. It’s news to me.”

           “Relax,” Agnarr said calmly. “I’m not bringing out the shotgun for you two. I’m just asking if you’d like to stay for lunch.”

           “I—sure, if it’s no trouble,” he agreed.

           “No trouble at all,” Iduna reassured him. “There’s plenty in the Instant Pot to go around.” She opened the door to the house and the smell of hearty stew wafted outside.

           “Useful, isn’t it?” Elsa remarked. She paused and dug out something else from her purse. She handed a large, folded square of cloth to Kristoff. “You’ll need this.”

           He grimaced at the t-shirt he’d been handed. It wasn’t his, but it was definitely his size. The words “love expert” were boldly emblazoned on the front, complete with hearts.

           “Elsa!” Anna exclaimed.

           “Yes?” Elsa could not have pretended to be more innocent if she’d batted her eyes.

           “You are a stinker. No, you are a scheming, plotting stinker. This was a conspiracy!” Anna declared.

           Elsa and Agnarr had matching smirks. That was unsettling to both Anna and Kristoff.

           “Well, I didn’t plan on the rain,” Agnarr admitted. “You are welcome in my house.” He paused. “While you are in my house, I do expect you two to…mind your manners.”

           Agnarr turned to go inside. He only briefly paused when he passed Elsa.

           “They’re blushing, aren’t they?” he murmured.

           “Oh, yes,” Elsa agreed.

           “Good.”

           Elsa lingered for a moment, a smug little smirk on her face. Then she tapped her thigh and Sven followed her inside.

           “Your Dad really doesn’t have a shotgun, does he?”

           “I…don’t think so. I think he likes you.”

           “That’s…good,” Kristoff got out awkwardly. “I mean, it’s better than the alternative.”

           Wordlessly, Anna reached out. He gently took her hand as her eyes shone.

           “Come on, Mr. Love Expert,” she said. “Let’s have a family lunch.”

           Kristoff’s expression softened. “Sounds good to me.”

The End

[6knotty6thotty6]

So a couple of months ago, I saw a YouTube video that was an audio recording of season 5, episode 6 of Bojack Horseman, “Free Churro.” In the episode, the main character, Bojack Horseman, spends 20 minutes giving a eulogy at his mother’s funeral. There’s one big problem though, his mother was an abusive bitch. His eulogy is him trying to contemplate what she meant by her drying words, “I see you,” and whether or not she loved him. As someone who has a dead parent who was abusive, this is probably my favorite episode of any show ever for how much it helped me understand my feelings. The comments section is filled with people sharing their pain with their abusive families, but one comment stood out to me above all the others by how raw and relatable it was. This comment was by a YouTuber named Moonstruck. At the bottom of this post is a link to her channel. Please support her. After reading this, she deserves a million subscribers. Also please watch Bojack Horseman. (I corrected some of the grammatical errors to make it easier to read)

Disclaimer: Child abuse, bullying, trauma, and mental health:

Moonstruck: 

This is a great monologue, but one part of it, in particular, really caught my attention was the 'grand gesture' bit.

When I was a kid, I read this book called "Chicken Soup for the Soul." There's a shitload of them. I don't remember which particular one it was. I hated the whole series because it's just someone profiting off a bunch of other people's stories rather than trying to write their own, in my opinion. 

Anyway.

This one story that I remember, the ONLY one I remembered,  was sent in by a little girl. She wrote about how her father never told her that he loved her. He never once, in her whole life, said the words "I love you." I don't remember her mom being mentioned, maybe she was dead; it doesn't matter. The point is her dad was basically an emotionless asshole. Well, one day, this girl gets sick. Really sick. Possibly on her deathbed sick. She wrote that one day she woke up to find a necklace sitting on her nightstand that had a pendant that looked like her dog. She said she held it to her heart and cried because that necklace said all the things her father never had.

I thought, "What a load of bullshit."

A cheap trinket doesn't make up for years and years of emotional neglect. Anyone can buy a thing and toss it your way. Hell, he didn't even hand it to her himself, just left it there for her to find if/when she woke up, then left her alone again to possibly die.

A lot of people say that actions speak louder than words, in cases like political protests and shit. While that's true, scenarios that this that girl are different. Gifts can never replace the words, "I love you."

When I was a kid, my father never told me he loved me. My mother didn't either, but she's a whole other kettle of fish. I would say 'my biological mother or father,' but I never got adopted ones, so who gives a shit. Anyway. My father was rarely around, and when he was, he just spent the entire time fighting with my mother and leaving again. He would do and say anything that could get him to spend less time in the house with her. With us. I can't blame him. If I could've left during those times, I would have. I tried more than once. I even earned the nickname 'runaway' from a family friend because of it. 

I was told that I was worthless as early as I could understand words. I don't know what it is about me that set my mother off, but she HATED me. I was always told how expensive I was to keep alive and how I wasn't worth it. If I dared ask for anything, she would remind me how much she spent just to keep me from starving to death and that it was too much already. On the rare occasion I was given something, it was so she could use it as a threat. She was like, "Sure, you can have that toy horse since we got your sister a real one, but you better behave or we'll give it to her and let her break it." Or "Oh, fine, we can keep this dog as a FAMILY pet (NOT YOURS), but if you do something we don't like, we'll take it away and kill it." 

Oh, yeah. I have a sister. She’s cut from the same cloth as our mother. I don't consider any of them family anymore. She was two years older than me. She was the "we should have stopped while we were ahead" kid. Anything she wanted, she got. 

"Mom, can I have an award-winning horse and expensive dressage lessons?"

"Sure!"

"Mom, can I have a car?"

"No problem!"

"Mom, can you pay for my ballet lessons?"

"Absolutely!"

She was the golden child. The one that could do no wrong and wasn't a mistake. Even after she totaled her car, got arrested for an underage DUI, and got pregnant three times in high school, she was still the good one. I never even asked to go to school dances, parties, or go out with the one friend I had. My sister liked to see me in pain. She'd tell our mom that I did things just to get me in trouble. Whether it involved blaming me for things she did or fabricating stuff, she'd say whatever it took to get my mother to beat me while she watched and laughed. Oh, yeah, our mom was BIG on physical punishment. I've been whipped with everything from a riding crop, a wooden paddle, spoons, and especially belts. Anything that was close at hand when my mother got irritated, I've been hit with it. 

At one point, my sister had three tall, beautiful show-worthy horses. I was allowed to keep a sickly old pony for all of a week before she was taken away, then I'd get called ungrateful for asking why we had to get rid of HER instead of one of the horses. Even though my mother said it cost too much to keep them all. With horses being obviously too rich for my blood, I asked for something cheaper, and for once, I got it. I was given a baby goat that one of our neighbors' goats had abandoned for being too weak, and they didn't have time to raise. I loved that goat. I bottle raised him, and named him Ben. He was my best friend for a while. When he grew up, he got so big that I was able to stand on his back to grab tree branches and pull them down so he could eat the leaves. I walked him on a leash like a dog every day. I loved him so much. My mother had me enter him in a show, and we won ninth place! I was thrilled to have something to show against my sister's collection of dressage show ribbons. I finally had proof that I could do something right! Sure, the prize money was taken away from me, but I still had Ben.

But Ben didn't come home with me after the show. It turns out he was sold to a slaughterhouse because that show was for meat goats. I didn't know until he was already gone. Of course, my mother punished me for being upset and even forced me to write a thank-you card to the people who bought his meat. 

My mother was always like that. Anything I loved was used as a threat. I eventually accepted that loving anything was a waste of time. I learned to detach myself from my feelings, and I got really good at it. I can completely turn off my emotional reaction to anything. One time I had to put down one of the egg-laying hens at work that got too sick to save, and I felt nothing while bringing down the ax. When I lost out on a job that could have changed my life, I told myself how stupid it was to hope for anything good. Any positive emotion I felt got me punished, so I learned to feel nothing at all. To this day, I still have trouble feeling things, even when I want to. I'm taking pills now, and they help, sometimes. 

I've had several suicide attempts. I keep a box of razor blades in my desk just to have them close. I got a tattoo of a heart with rainbows on my wrist. Partially for LGBT solidarity, but mostly to remind myself that there is still beauty in the world. I still struggle with wonder if I actually believe it or not. 

I've tried so hard to be a good kid. I never partied, never drank, never smoked even when the chances were there, and I would have greatly loved anything to make the pain stop or even just dull it a little bit. I was in the gifted and talented program at school and was able to graduate at fifteen. For a while, I was sent to a children's home where I was passed around to many people I didn't know, including a clown who I may or may not have actually been related to, until I eventually wound up out here where I am now. It's all pretty hazy, and the details get scrambled. 

It's been 10 years since I've had contact with my mother and sister. I can't even keep in touch with the one friend I had, even after I lived with her. She's tried to reach out to me, but I just… can't. I try, but I can't. Sometimes, I can almost pretend that my past wasn't real. It's just a hazy fog that isn't really there. I want to believe that if I don't allow something, or someone, who was part of that past, someone tangible and real, into my life again, then the fog will go away. This is why I can't do it. I know I'm a terrible friend. Ariel, if you're reading this, I'm sorry. You're better off without me in your life anyway. 

I typed all of this out because sometimes, about fifty dollars or so shows up in my PayPal from my father's email address. I don't know if it's from him or from her using his email, but it doesn't matter either way. The point is I know my mother is the one sending the money.

I know my mother likes to think she's a good person. She went to church every Sunday, and probably still does. She organized a lot of church events and participated in every church function. I had to be an altar server for several years until I aged out of it and was in the choir. She kept going to that church even after the priest got drunk, called me many horrible names in front of everyone, and was revealed to be a pedophile that raped a little boy at gunpoint. She probably still goes to that same church and organizes things. She likes being in charge. She likes having people look at her and say, "That there is a good person."

But are you, though, Mom? Are you really a good person? Were you a good person when you hit me? When you lied to me? When you laughed with my sister about how much I got hurt for things I didn't do? Were you a good person every time you told me you'd kill my cat or leave my dog at the pound? Were you a good person when you sold Ben to be eaten, knowing that I loved him? Were you a good person when you made me read "A child called It" and told me that you'd start doing the things in that book to me if I didn't behave? Were you a good person every time you told my father I was a liar whenever I tried to tell him what you were doing to me? Were you a good person when you told me I wasn't worth the cost of being alive? Were you? 

Fuck you, Mom! Keep your fucking money! A necklace on the nightstand isn't enough. A trinket can't heal years and years and years of abuse and hurt. You can't hide these scars under dollar bills. I hope you die alone. I know I probably will, but I don't even care anymore. I lost the ability to care thanks to you. You can't make up for the things you did and the things you didn't say now. Too little, too late! 

[mermaidsneedwater]

christmas with you | chapter two

series page

Last Christmas

The entire ride home from practice, all Mark could think was I’m in deep shit.

When he’d lied to his mom, he’d been hoping to right the wrong by actually bringing a real girlfriend to Christmas the following year. He figured his mother would never even know the difference of his lie. But since finding out that he’d indeed be home for Christmas, Mark had been dreading the call to his family.

As Mark walked to the front door of his apartment, he ruffled around his pocket looking for the key.

Hearing the ring of the elevator, he turned around to see you carrying two big bags of groceries. You thanked him as he rushed to help you with them.

“Oh, thank you Mark.” You smiled.

“Of course.” Mark said, waiting with the bags in his hands as you unlocked the door to your apartment.

He walked into your apartment, setting the groceries onto the kitchen counter.

“So how are you?” You asked your neighbor.

“Oh, I’m alright? How about you?” He smiled awkwardly.

“I’m good. Getting ready for the holiday season” You said excitedly.

“Yeah,” he agreed awkwardly, noting the ring on your finger.

Were you married? Mark was surprised he hadn’t noticed before.

Admiring the ring on your hand, you interrupted Mark’s thought when you spoke again “Thanks for your help, my fiancé and I are hosting Christmas here this year so I was stocking up on food.”

So you were engaged.

As the two of you stood in an awkward pause, you heard Mark clear his throat before inching towards the door. “I should go, but good luck with the cooking.” Mark said.

“Thanks, and happy holidays!” You called out to him as he shut the door.

Mark fished out the missing key he’d been looking for before opening the door. Immediately, Milo was at his feet. As he pet the little dog, he couldn’t help but think about you.

You had moved into the apartment across Mark a little while after he had. Though the two of you weren’t friends, you remained friendly neighbors. He figured your fiancée was the guy he would always see come in and out of your apartment.

Mark was happy for you, he was. But he couldn’t help but think back to his own plight. How would he magically procure a girl to be his girlfriend and come home with him for the holidays?

Choosing to ignore the problem until he was forced to confront it, Mark distracted himself with ramen.

Heading to the kitchen, he prepared the meal for himself before bringing it to the couch and turning on the television.

His mind went numb as he watched a stupid Christmas movie. Those were so cheesy. As Mark felt his eyes flutter shut, he didn’t stop himself from falling into a deep sleep.

+++

The next time Mark saw you was exactly three days later. Well he didn’t exactly see you, he heard you.

“GET OUT!” You screamed. “GET OUT NOW!”

Through the thin walls of the apartment complex, Mark placed his ear against the wall to hear better.

He could hear a male voice yell in reply. “You’re crazy, you know that? You’re fucking crazy!”

Curious as to what was happening, he looked through the peephole of his front door.

He watched you pace in and out of the hallway, throwing out what seemed to be your fiancé's clothes onto the floor.

“Well you won’t get out so I guess I’ll just have to kick your ass to the curb!” You yelled back.

Intrigued about how the situation was playing out, he watched as the man scrambled to pick up his clothes off the floor.

“Here,” You said, your arms full of gifts that your fiancé had gotten you. “I don’t want any of this.”

You then proceeded to throw the handbags, boxes of jewelry, and stuffed animals.

“Seriously babe?” He raised an eyebrow. “You’re really throwing a fit over a technicality?”

“Don’t call me that.” You said through gritted teeth. As you threw the remainder of things on the floor, Mark watched your fiancé pick them up in his hands. The poor guy was struggling to hold all the items you were throwing out the door.

“I’m not throwing a fit, I’m throwing you out.” You said angrily, moving to fiddle your hand.

Your fiancé looked at you, in disbelief of what you were about to do. “Don’t you dare-”

You angrily removed the ring and threw it at his feet. “You can keep that. We’re done.”

And with that, you slammed the door of your apartment shut.

Mark winced at the loud sound. Resting on the couch, Milo raced to the front door when he heard the loud sound, barking at the thought of an intruder. Groaning, Mark attempted to calm him down, telling him to shush.

But Milo wouldn't stop.

Defeated, Mark went to grab his leash, intent on taking him for a short walk in order to calm him down. Though, deep down he was itching to go outside and see the damage that had been done.

As he slowly stepped out, Mark awkwardly waited outside his front door as your now ex-fiancé was busy picking his stuff off the ground, including the engagement ring that Mark had noticed the day before.

“Sorry about this.” The man apologized apathetically.

“It’s all good.” he replied awkwardly.

Milo tugged Mark forward, forcing him to walk by the man. Mark was somewhat relieved he’d done so, eager to get away.

After about an hour, Mark was ready to retreat home. He walked Milo back to the apartment before seeing you at the foot of your door, paying a delivery man for pizza.

Dressed in patterned pajamas and glasses, you were almost unrecognizable. Your face looked puffy, as if you’d been crying.

As the man walked away the money you handed him, you lingered at the foot of your door a little longer than usual and watched Mark fumble for his key.

Milo glanced over at you and took advantage of Mark’s loose hold of the leash. He bolted into your apartment, jumping up on your leg. Mark’s eyes widened as he felt the puppy escape him and run straight to you.

“Milo! Milo get back here right now!” Mark yelled.

“It’s fine.” You reassured him, reaching down to pet Milo. “Are you hungry?”

“Me?” Mark asked, surprised that the question had been directed to him.

“Yes you, who else?” You said sarcastically. “Are you hungry?”

“A little.” He admitted.

“I can’t eat this whole pizza by myself.” You told him, “you’re welcome to join me.”

Mark wasn’t sure what he was more surprised with, the fact that you had invited him over or that he’d instantly agreed.

He walked into your apartment and watched as you unhooked Milo’s leash and set it on the counter. You then took two plates from the shelf and grabbed a slice of pizza for yourself before setting the plate on the dining table.

Mark mirrored your actions and sat at the table. He watched as you headed to the fridge before poking your head up.

“Do you want a beer?”

“No thank you,” He said politely.

Shrugging, you grabbed a bottle for yourself, opened the cap off, and then joined him at the table.

The two of you ate in a comfortable silence, enjoying the food in front of you. You watched Mark, silently sipping on your beer.

“So, why no beer? Are you having a comeback or something?” You tried to make conversation.

“I didn’t think you even knew I was in a group.” Mark said. “And no, we’re actually on a break.”

“That’s all the real estate agent talked about when I was looking at apartments.” You told him “I think she was quite enamored with you.”

“Oh,”

“Yeah, anyway. I thought it would be cool to live across a K-pop star. I was under the impression that you lived a glamorous life.” You admitted. “But you turned out to be so dull.”

“Dull?” Mark said, surprised at your choice of words.

“I mean you don’t throw any parties, you barely have any people over, I’ve never even heard the television from your house, that’s how respectful you are. You’re a model tenant.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Mark said.

“It’s boring.” You replied frankly. “So you’re on a break?”

Choosing not to press you any further, Mark answered your next question. “Yeah, until the end of January.”

He watched as you lifted the beer bottle to take a sip, noticing your ring finger now empty. You followed his eye line before deciding to address the elephant in the room.

“That’s good. My engagement broke today.” You announced. “But you probably already knew that.”

Mark silently nodded, not wanting to say a word on the delicate situation.

“Don’t you want to know what happened?”

“It’s none of my business.” He told you, sympathetic to your situation.

“He slept with my sister.” You said bluntly, chugging another sip of your beer.

Mark’s eyes widened. “What?!”

“Last year around this time, we decided to take a break. He ran into my sister at a bar and they got wasted and slept together.” You explained. “We ended up getting back together a week later, and then two months later he proposed.”

So that’s why your fiancé has called it a technicality, you had been on a break.

“That’s… heavy.” he struggled to find the words.

“Yeah.” you snorted. “Happy fucking holidays to me!”

Noticing your misery, Mark decided to keep quiet and have another bite of the pizza.

“So what are your Christmas plans?” You asked.

“Well my mom has been begging me to come home but…” Mark trailed off, suddenly remembering his little problem.

“But what?”

“Well, we only found out we had a break a couple of days ago. We were supposed to have a schedule and it got cancelled.”

“And?”

“Well before that, I kind of, sort of, lied and told my mom I was seeing someone.”

You sat back in your seat, still clutching your almost empty beer bottle and laughing. “Nice.”

“I’m glad you find this funny.” Mark rolled his eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Me? Well I’m sure as fuck not going home.” You said.

“Understandable.” He conceded. “But you’ll be all alone for Christmas,”

“I don’t care. Maybe it’s for the best.”

You got up from the table and headed to the pizza box for another slice.

Watching you, it felt like lightning had struck Mark when he jumped out of his seat.

“Y/N, I have an idea. One that can solve both of our problems.” Mark proposed carefully. “Hear me out.”

You turned around to see Mark walking towards you. “Oh no, I have a bad feeling about this.”

“It’s brilliant really.” He started. “Truly, one of the best ideas I’ve ever had.”

“Spit it out!” You said, unable to take the anticipation.

“You should come home with me for Christmas as my girlfriend!”

Your eyes almost popped out of their sockets. “Excuse me?!”

“My fake girlfriend,” he clarified. “That way I can bring someone home, and you can spend the holidays with my family.”

“You’re insane, you know that?” You told him. “Pretending to be your girlfriend? That’s insane!”

“It’s not that crazy.” Mark attempted to ration, “You work in PR don’t you? Think of this as some PR for me, with my family.”

“Those things are not even the slightest bit related and you know it.” You rolled your eyes.

“What about the fact that you don’t want to be with your family for the holidays? You should just come with me and be with mine! No one should be alone on Christmas.”

“I don’t even know you,” you pointed out the obvious. “This is the first time we’ve ever really hung out.”

“Look, just think about it.” Mark said. “You don’t have to give me an answer right now.”

“I’m not thinking about it, the answer is no.” You replied firmly.

“Okay, okay.” He said with his hands up. “It’s getting late anyway, I should get back to my place.”

Mark called for Milo and grabbed the leash off the table. Before he left your apartment he turned back to face you, “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

He then shut the door behind him, leaving you with your pizza and very interesting proposition to consider.

+++

“What are you doing here?” You crossed your arms. “I’m pretty sure I made it clear, we’re done.”

Your ex-fiancé pried your hand out and held it in his.

“Come on babe, it was a mistake. You can forgive me for one thing can’t you?”

You slipped your hand out of his. “Not when the one thing you did was sleep with my sister.”

“We were on a break!” He exclaimed. “It was one time. A momentary lapse of judgement.”

“You know what? It’s not even the fact that you slept with someone at all. You’re right, technically we were broken up. The thing that hurts the most is the fact that of all the women in the world you had to sleep with my sister and then lie to me about it for a whole year!” You told him off.

“So we can go to couples therapy! We can work through this. We were both wrong-“

You raised an eyebrow.

“I was wrong.” He corrected himself. “Besides you don’t want to be alone for Christmas do you?”

That was the thing that set you off. Unable to control your outburst, you spoke the the first thing that came to mind, “I’m not going to be alone.”

“You’re going home?” Your fiancé raised an eyebrow.

“No, I’m going to this guy’s home… to meet his parents.”

“You’re what?!” He yelled.

“Yeah, you heard me. Technically we’re broken up right?” You reminded him. “So no, I won’t be alone. I’ll be with him.”

“Who is he?” You saw your fiancé’s jaw clench.

“Well, that’s not really your concern now is it? Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to pack.”

“Y/N, wait- We need to-“

You shut the front door, not bothering to listen to him anymore. You watched through the peephole as your fiancé eventually left.

Tiptoeing across the hallway, you knocked on Mark’s door. He was surprised to see you, scratching the back of his neck as he waited for you to say something.

“You still looking for a fake girlfriend?”

chapter one | chapter three

[calmcilstoybox]

Title: Veraque

Word count: 1998 Rating: SFW  Part 1 of a vampire fic slow burn/ child hood friends to lovers.

There is a dog that gets pets

There was one thing that Perdita wasn’t expecting, and that was a call from Owen Shepard. Yet, there was his number flashing across her phone’s screen with the option to pick up.

Perdita hesitated for a second before mumbling something akin to I’ll be right back to her coworker. Then she accepted the call and walked away from the meeting room.

“Hello?” Perdita asked cautiously not sure of who was on the other end of the line.

“Hey Perri -” Owen replied, it was hard for her to hear him because of noise in the background. It sounded like he was next to a freeway.

“What the fuck Owen where are you? What happened? You’ve been missing for like a week.” Perdita interrupted cutting Owen off. She was vaguely aware of her voice becoming shriller in pitch as she spoke.

“Listen I can explain...Just when do you get off work?” Owen asked over the car horn going off in the background.

“Around five, have you called your Mom yet to let her know you’re not dead in a ditch somewhere yet?” Perdita inquired; though she had a feeling she already knew the answer.

“She didn’t pick up when I called her, I think she’s at work-wait, are you on break?” Owen said, it was easier to hear him over the phone now. But Perdita wasn’t sure if he was lying about trying to call his mom or not.

“Yeah I took a break to take your call. But where are you?” Perdita asked again, checking the time. It was a little after one in the afternoon.

“Right now I’m in a Starbucks waiting on my uber to take me home. Can you come over once you get off work so I can explain everything?” Owen’s voice had a begging tone in it now. Perdita had never heard him like this before and wasn’t comfortable saying no to him.

Not when he was like this.

“Yeah, I’ll be over…See you in a few.” Perdita said, quieting down.

“Thanks see you then.” Owen replied, hanging up before Perdita had a chance to question him further. Of which Perdita did have many questions, and not nearly enough answers.

The rest of her day went by in a blur. Perdita couldn’t even recall what she’d had to eat during her lunch break. The last week had been hard. First, Owen vanished while out walking his dog. The dog; a female golden retriever named Maverick. Had been found dragging her leash behind her by a Good Samaritan. They coaxed the dog close enough to grab the leash with a tennis ball.

That had actually been the first clue something happened to Owen. He never would have abandoned Maverick.

After Perdita clocked out she went straight to her car in the parking lot. She climbed in, locked the doors, and turned it on letting it idle. While her car was warming up, Perdiate decided to check her phone.

Have you picked up Maverick from your Mom’s yet? She took her in after you disappeared. Perdita texted Owen, she stared at the screen after she noticed the triple dot.

I brought her home.

You coming over soon?

Door’s unlocked.

After reading Owen’s texts back Perdita let him know she was on her way. She shifted gears and looked over her shoulder to make sure she didn’t hit anything as she pulled out of the parking lot. The trip to Owen’s house was uneventful. It was a quiet drive through the snow. Since, Perdita took a back road to get there to avoid traffic.

Owen’s home was a pale green two story Queen Anne. At one point it belonged to his paternal grandmother. Perdita remembered going to her funeral with him. It had white lattice trim, and a hunter green roof. To the left of the house was the driveway with a detached garage painted to match. There was a small sidewalk between the porch and the garage that wasn’t covered by the overhanging roof.

There were footprints in the snow leading up to the front porch. Perdita decided to park her car in the driveway and called Owen. She figured she should let him know she was here. Though, after four rings when he didn’t pick up she stopped the call.

The cold evening air made her lungs hurt. Perdita hurriedly went up to the door and tried it once. True to Owen’s word, it was unlocked. Perdita stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She took her shoes off and left them by the door.

It seemed the polite thing to do. Instead of dragging melting snow and whatever else was on her boots on Owen’s hardwood floors.

“Owen?” Perdita asked looking around inside. There wasn’t any sign of him from where she was standing in the foyar. After a quick glance around, Perdita decided to try the kitchen. The room was directly to her left.

Once Perdita was in the kitchen -the floors here were an ornate blue and white tile instead of hardwood. She noticed Owen standing in front of one of the counters. Perdita also noticed that the knife block was close to where she was next to the cutting board by the sink.

This was the first time she’d seen Owen since his disappearance. Something about him made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Perdita knocked on the wall closest to her to get Owen’s attention. She thought that, perhaps he hadn’t heard her before.

When Owen turned around however he had a crooked smirk on his face and his eyes were completely black.

“Perri! So glad you could make it.” Owen's voice had a harshness to it that had not been there earlier during their phone call.

Perdita backed up, she could feel the counter behind her and gripped at it with both hands.

“I-I was worried about you, I wanted to know what happened, why you left Maverick…” Her voice trailed off as Owen took a few powerful strides toward her. Despite being roughly the same height, Perdita felt like she was much smaller than him at that moment.

“I’ll tell you all about it later Perri, right now I’m famished.” Owen stared directly at Perdita as he spoke. One of his hands reached out and tilted her chin up. Perdita released her grip on the counter and one hand reached back pulling a knife from the butcher block.

Then, Perdita heard Maverick barking.

Apparently so did Owen, as he froze up. Perdita watched his eyes change back to his normal shade of hazel. The man had a confused look on his face- then fearful as he noticed the knife in Perdita’s hand.

Maverick continued barking and snarling until Owen took a full step back away from Perdita. He held his hands up almost like he was surrendering.

“Owen..?” Perdita leered at him as she whispered his name. She kept the knife- which Perdita now realized was a bread knife- in her hand. Maverick’s barking quieted down to whimpers.

Owen seemed like he didn’t know what to do with himself. He ended up tugging at his collar showing a bite wound.

“Last thing I remember is taking Maverick for her morning walk. Next thing I know, I wake up with this on me feeling like my throat’s drier than Death Valley. I had this urge to just...bite.” Owen explained letting go of his shirt. He fumbled his hands together in front of him before kneeling down to Marverick’s level. Then Owen held one out to let her sniff.

Maverick continued to whine, but licked Owen’s hand. Perdita watched the dog’s tail wag twice.

“Bite? Do you remember what you said to me when I got here?” Perdita asked, recalling how Owen had said he was famished.

“Not...that I remember no. My throat is so dry again.” Owen replied quietly thinking to himself.

Perdita finally relaxed and put the knife back in the block.

“Have you told anyone else this? Or just me?” Perdita asked, she was trying to piece together what was going on.

“I can’t tell my Mom any of this...how would that even work?” Owen groaned and ran his hands over his face.

“There was so much blood on me when I don’t think it was all mine. ...I have my clothes in the sink in the bathroom soaking to try to get the blood out. If the hydrogen peroxide doesn’t work I’m just tossing it all out.” Owen said standing back up after scratching behind Maverick’s ears. “So I’m the only one that knows..” Perdita mumbled leaning against the counter again.

“It’s stupid, but it’s like when we were kids in Mrs. Shalhoub’s class. I asked you for help all the time with schoolwork there. I thought you could help me now.” Owen looked flustered and kept his eyes on everything else in the kitchen but Perdita.

“Owen..” Perdita stood up and walked over to him putting her hand on his shoulder.

“ I don’t want this, I didn’t ask to be a monster Perri.” Owen still refused to look at her and there was a sad defeated tone to his voice.

“I don’t think you’re a monster.” Perdita gave Owen’s shoulder a squeeze. She recalled that Lucas worked at the hospital and wondered if he’d be able to help if she told him about the situation.

At the very least it was worth a shot.

Perdita let go of Owen’s shoulder and went over to the kitchen table. It was one of the circular ones, with a lace table cloth thrown over it. She noticed that the curtains by it were shut tight. She sat down, and got her phone back out and called Lucas.

“Hello?” Lucas answered on the other end of the line.

“Hey Lucas, what do they do with the blood they don’t use at the hospital?” Perdita asked, glancing at Owen. Who was sitting down across from her at the kitchen table. “It goes in the incinerator with other medical waste, why?” Lucas answered her quickly without too much thought.

“Can you bring some to me please?” Perdita begged, she could feel Owen’s eyes on her and he looked so hopeful.

“Perri…” Lucas sounded skeptical on the phone. “Lucas I will do literally anything you want me to do if you can just do this one favor for me.” Perdita pleaded with him. She couldn’t think of anything else to do.

“Anything?” Lucas inquired, Perdita could hear the smile in his voice.

“Anything.” She repeated back doing her best not to groan as Perdita thought of what Lucas would ask her to do after this.

She held her phone away from her face for a moment and mouthed, “Do you want me to tell him” to Owen. Who, to Perdita’s surprise nodded in agreement.

“It’s not just a favor for me, you’re helping Owen too.” Perdita admitted bracing herself for Lucas’ reaction.

“Owen’s alive?!” The humor was gone from Lucas’ voice. He sounded as startled as Perdita had felt when she first heard Owen’s voice on her phone earlier in the day.

“He...can explain everything. But, bring the blood with you.” Perdita said nervously, she could hear Lucas sigh.

“Give me a minute….Maybe an hour tops. Wait, where am I meeting you?” Lucas asked, Perdita could hear him getting up and she swore she heard the jingle of his keys.

“I’m at Owen’s right now.” She replied back.

“I’ll be over soon as I can.” Lucas said before hanging up. Perdita slipped her phone back into her pocket and reached her hand across the table for one of Owen’s.

“We’ll figure this out, you’re not a monster Owen.” Perdita said smiling encouragingly at him. Owen smiled back slightly and flipped his hand over so he could grasp Perdita’s fingers.

“I know it’s not fourth grade math anymore, but I’m glad you’re still there for me.” Owen confessed, seeming more relaxed now.

[rpf-bat]

In The Dress Your Husband Hates

Pairing: Frank Iero x Reader

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Summary: Written for Gothtober 2020, Day 12. Prompt: “Dark Bride”. 

You’re trying on wedding dresses, and you know that you’re supposed to be excited, about your upcoming nuptials. But, the dark truth is, that you don’t love the man, you’re expected to marry. Frank finds you outside the bridal shop, in tears. You’ve never seen him before in your life - but, before you know it, you find yourself, telling him all your troubles. 

You stood in front of the fitting room mirror, staring at yourself, in the poofy white dress, and gauzy veil. It wasn’t an ugly dress, by any means. The price tag that clung to the collar, had a well-known designer’s name on it, in gaudy letters. A normal bride would feel lucky, that her generous future mother-in-law, had agreed to buy it for her. 

“You look pretty as a peach in that gown, Y/N,” the older woman smiled at you. “I can’t wait for my son, to see you walk down the aisle in it.” 

You arranged your facial features into a smile, knowing that this was what Mrs. R. wanted to see. But, even though you knew you should be happy, something about all this, still didn’t feel quite right.

“Ma’am?” interrupted a bridal shop employee, as she walked past. “You look lovely, but, um, your dress isn’t zipped up all the way in the back.”

“Oh,” you blushed. “Um, yeah, I couldn’t get it all the way up, when I was putting it on.” 

“Here, let me help with you that,” Mrs. R. offered. You flinched, when her matronly fingers grazed your skin. She tugged at your zipper. 

“Well, now, it just won’t budge,” she frowned. “Let me try again.” 

“Don’t pull so hard,” you hissed. “You’re going to break it.” 

“May I try?” the shopkeeper offered. You didn’t really care for the thought of more people touching you, but you acquiesced. 

“...Oh,” the shopkeeper pursed her lips, struggling to find the polite words, for what she wanted to say. “Ma’am, it seems that you’re too, um….”

“Yeah, I know, I'm too fat for the dress,” you snapped, feeling humiliated. “There’s no way you can squeeze my body into this thing, so just...get it off me, okay?” 

“Do y’all carry this dress, in a size up?” Mrs. R. asked discreetly.  

“No,” the shop girl shook her head, throwing you a pitying look. “I’m afraid that’s the biggest size we have.”

“Oh, my,” Mrs. R tutted. “Y/N, I didn’t realize that you had gotten so…..large.” 

I look like shit, you thought, cheeks burning. How am I supposed to stand at an altar, in front of all my friends and family, when I know I look this shitty?

“Maybe you can try a specialty store,” the girl suggested. “For, y’know….bigger women?”

“Fuck that,” you barked. 

“Watch your language!” the older woman hissed. 

“No!” you cried, hot tears beginning to well up in your eyes. “I...I can’t do this right now!” 

“What do you mean, you can’t?” Mrs. R. demanded. “I take you dress shopping, when your own mother doesn’t want a damn thing to do with your wedding, and this is how you repay me? By throwing a hissy fit in the store?” 

“I just...can’t, okay?!” you insisted, feeling overwhelmed. The tears began to stream down your cheeks. 

I have to get out of here, you thought, pushing past her. 

“Y/N!” she called after you, as you ran out the door. “Where do you think you’re going?!”

You didn’t know - but you didn’t intend to slow down. 

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

You ran across the street, dodging cars that swerved and honked at you. On the other side of the street, you found a small, public park. You started running down the winding hiking trail, but you tripped on your train, and tumbled to the ground. 

“Ow!” you cried. “Goddamnit!” 

You had skinned your elbows when you fell, and the white tulle of your hemline had turned to muddy brown. What the hell am I doing? 

You sat down on a park bench, burying your head in your hands, as you wept. What the hell am I doing with my life, in general?

You looked up, when you heard a jingling sound. A large, brown dog stood in front of you, sniffing you curiously. 

“Oh, h-hey,” you said shakily, extending your hand, for the dog to sniff. “Where’d you come from, girl?” 

The dog licked your hand, as if she was trying to comfort you. It made you stop crying, if only for a moment.

“Lois!” cried an unfamiliar voice, and you watched, as a short, dark-haired man came running over. “You can’t run away from me like that, when we’re in public!” 

“Oh, is this your dog?” you realized, gazing up at him. His short-sleeved shirt revealed intricate tattoos on his arms. 

“Yeah, I’m sorry, she escaped from her leash,” the man explained, chuckling. His laughter died on his lips, as he took in the tears that stained your face. “Uh….hey, are you okay?” 

“I’m fine,” you lied, wiping your tears on the back of your hand. 

“Here, take this,” the man offered, pulling a tissue from his pocket. You took it, gratefully, and began dabbing at your eyes. 

“I’m Frank,” the man introduced himself. “And this is my dog, Lois.” 

“I’m Y/N,” you replied. “Sorry, did you want to sit down, so you can put Lois’ leash back on her?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Frank nodded, and you scooched over on the bench, to make room for him. He took a red leash out of his pocket, and hooked it onto Lois’ collar. 

Lois turned to you again. You patted her head, and scratched behind her ears. She gave your hand another appreciative lick. 

“So,” Frank asked curiously, “is there a reason that you’re wearing a wedding dress?” 

“Yeah, I was just at Betsy’s Bridal, across the street,” you explained. “I was supposed to be picking out a dress, to wear on my special day.” 

“Oh, congrats on your upcoming marriage,” Frank said politely. “Who’s the lucky guy?” 

“His name’s Ronnie,” you replied. 

“How long have you and Ronnie been together?” Frank asked. 

“Eight months,” you told him, reddening.

“Eight months?” Frank repeated, incredulous. “And you guys are already getting engaged?!”

“.....I’m three months pregnant,” you explained, shame-faced. 

“.....Oh.” For a moment, this revelation rendered Frank speechless. In the awkward silence that followed, the only sound was Lois’ wagging tail hitting the dirt, as you petted her some more.

“So,” he said bluntly, after a moment, “it’s a shotgun wedding?” 

“N-No!” you denied. “I mean, Ronnie’s mom is very Christian, and she was the one who insisted that the child can’t be born out of wedlock. But...Ronnie agreed that this was the right thing to do. She didn’t have to put a gun to his head.”

At least, not literally, you thought darkly. He’d freaked out, at first, but Mrs. R had told him that a baby needed a stable household, with a mother, and a father. And besides - people would talk. 

“Do you think he’s gonna be a good dad?” Frank asked seriously. 

“I guess,” you shrugged. “I mean, he could have ditched me. But, he decided that he wanted to be in the child’s life.” 

“Pfft,” Frank scoffed. “Don’t give the guy a gold medal, for doing the bare minimum.” 

“Hey!” you protested. “You’ve never even met him, what do you know?” 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Frank shrugged. “I’m just a stranger, so you can take my opinions with a grain of salt. But, as far as I’m concerned….yeah, there’s a lot of deadbeat dads out there. But, just because you didn’t immediately abandon your kid, doesn’t automatically make you husband material.” 

“Ronnie’s a great guy,” you insisted. “I think he’ll be supportive, when the baby comes.” 

“You think?” Frank questioned, raising an eyebrow. 

“Well..,” you hesitated. “To be honest, I haven’t seen much of him lately. He’s been out at the bar, with his friends, a lot.” 

“You serious?” Frank frowned. 

“Yeah,” you nodded. “He said that once the baby is born, he’ll be forced to spend a lot of time at home, helping me with childcare stuff. So, for now, he wants to enjoy going out with his buddies, while he still can.”

“If I had a pregnant girlfriend,” Frank sighed, “I wouldn’t ditch her, for my boys. I’d want to be with her, every second that I could, so I could make sure that she, and the baby, were doing okay.” 

That sounded nice….but it had nothing to do, with your reality. 

“I found out the other day, that it’s a boy,” you revealed. The excitement that should have been in your voice, was absent. “Ronnie, says he wants to name him, Ronald Junior.” 

“Is that what you want?” Frank wondered.

“I…..I don’t even know, if I want this baby at all,” you confessed, dissolving into tears again. 

“Hey, ssh, it’s okay,” Frank soothed, putting an arm around you. You cried into his shoulder. 

“Why….why am I even telling you any of this?!” you wondered, as your body became wracked with sobs again. “I just met you! I don’t know anything about you! There’s no reason for me to just give you my whole life story like this!” 

Were the pregnancy hormones, driving you insane?

“People say that I’m a really good listener,” Frank shrugged. “Or, maybe you’ve been needing to get this stuff off your chest for a while - and it doesn’t really matter, who you say it to.”

“I don’t have anyone I can talk to,” you admitted, sniffling. “My mom says she won’t even go to my wedding, because she can’t stand Ronnie. And my friends…..well, they all think I should be happy about this. I’m gonna have a husband who works hard to support me, and a son, and a house with a white picket fence….that’s the dream, isn't it?” 

“It doesn’t sound like it’s your dream,” Frank said softly. “Not if thinking about that future, makes you want to run away, and cry.”

You didn’t even really know him, and yet you clung to him, as he let you cry yourself out, against his sleeve. He was right - you really had needed this, for a while. 

“I’m an outside observer,” Frank admitted. “I don’t know Ronnie, or his mom. I don’t even really know you. But, that also means that I don’t have any biased feelings. Looking at it, from the outside in....it looks like, to me, you don’t really want to go through with this wedding.” 

“But….what will happen, if I don’t?” you hesitated. “I’ll be an unwed mother, and he’ll just be my baby-daddy….everybody will think I’m trash.” 

“I was raised by a single mother,” Frank revealed. “She’s the most amazing person I know. I don’t think that it’s trashy at all.” 

“But....,” you wept, “If I don’t take Ronnie’s ring, who else will ever want me? The pregnancy is already making me too chubby, to fit in my dress properly. By the time I’m due, I’m going to look even more disgusting.”

“You don’t look disgusting,” Frank said, his eyes staring into yours. “Y/N…..you’re beautiful.”

“Y-you’re just saying that,” you blushed. 

“I’m not,” Frank shook his head. “When I saw this gorgeous woman, in this strange dress, sitting here, crying…..I was drawn to you. I wanted to take you into my arms, immediately, to make your tears stop.” 

This whole situation is insane, you thought, unsure whether to laugh, or cry. Instead, you did neither. You hugged him, impulsively. He smelled like cigarette smoke, and dog treats.

He returned the impromptu hug, squeezing you tight. 

“I won’t promise, to be your son’s dad, or anything,” Frank whispered, his breath against your ear. “Because he has a dad - but, you can co-parent with Ronnie, without being in a romantic relationship with him. If you don’t love him, Y/N, don’t promise the rest of your life to him. I just met you today, so I’m not gonna offer you a lifetime. But, I sure as hell, would love to offer you dinner, and a movie, sometime.”

You stared at him, heart racing. “You’re asking me out?” 

“We can just see where it goes,” Frank stammered, cheeks burning. “I just….I get so mad, hearing about how this Ronnie guy is so bad to you. It makes me want to show you that you can be treated better.” 

“I don’t want to marry Ronnie,” you decided. “I think….I’ve known that I didn’t want to, for a while. Thank you, Frank for helping me realize that. I just don’t know what’s gonna happen from here. His mom….she’ll never forgive me.”

“Screw her,” Frank said defiantly. 

“But, what I do know,” you smiled, “is  that I would love to go to dinner with you.”

“It’s a date,” Frank beamed, and took your hand in his. The small touch, of his calloused fingertips, thrilled you more, than anything Ronnie had done to you, in months. 

“....I have to tell him that I’m breaking the engagement, before I do anything else,” you frowned. “I need go about this the right way. But, there’s going to be…..so much backlash, you have no idea.” 

“If anyone tries to judge you, for the decision you’re making,” Frank offered, “I’ll sic Lois on ‘em. She can eat them for breakfast.” 

You laughed at this. 

“Wow,” Frank gaped.

“Wow, what?”

“That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile, since I sat down on this bench,” Frank explained. “Your smile makes you even more gorgeous.”

His words made you smile even wider - even though your marriage was ending before it began, his warm hand in yours, made you feel, as if everything was going to be okay, after all. 

[sheerfreesia007]

Finding Love In Legacy Oaks pt. 1

Title: Finding Love In Legacy Oaks pt. 1

Fandom: Kingsman

Pairing: Agent Whiskey x Reader

Author: @sheerfreesia007​​

Words: 2,472

Warnings: Cursing, Fluff, Dad!Whiskey

Permanent Tag List: @paintballkid711​, @fioccodineveautunnale​, @phoenixhalliwell​, @synystersilenceinblacknwhite​, @linkpk88​

Author Notes: It’s finally here! So here’s the first chapter of the long awaited Neighbor fic! I hope you guys enjoy it! This series is going have romance but it’s gonna be a slow burn romance and we’re going to get super soft Dad!Whiskey. I’m kinda more excited about Dad!Whiskey then the romance to be honest. But buckle up kiddos it’s gonna be long wild ride! Feedback is always appreciated.

Gif Credit: Google

Trees line the street as he slowly drives down it looking for the street signs to see if he has been following the directions correctly or not. He slowly comes up to a stop sign and sighs softly as he reads the street names not finding the one he’s looking for. 

         “Daddy, are we lost?” comes a soft sweet voice from the back seat. His eyes flicker to the rearview mirror where he sees the familiar head of thick dark brown wavy hair and the curious all too knowing green eyes of his daughter.

         “No we’re not lost Es. Why would you think that?” he answers and asks as he pulls through the intersection checking for any oncoming traffic. The radio in the car turned down low so that he can concentrate on reading the street names as he passes them.

         “You’re making that weird noise you make when you’re trying not to get mad but you’re still getting mad.” his daughter replied as she turned her head to look out the car window. He scoffs softly and shakes his head but then stops as he realizes that she’s correct. 

         “How do you know so much?” he wonders out loud as his eyes dart back to the rearview mirror. Just then at the next intersection he spots a large brick sign that reads Legacy Oaks - Gated Community. “Here it is!” he calls happily and quickly turns into the entrance for the community. He drives forward to the covered guard house where there’s a waiting middle aged man with a bright happy smile on his face. 

         Jack pulls up to the man who’s standing in the doorway to the guard house. He parks the car and rolls down his window so that he can speak to the man to ask about directions in the community.

         “Hi there, are ya lost?” asks the man kindly.

         “Actually we’re moving in today. My name’s Jack Daniels and I wanted to ask about directions in the community.” Jack says easily as he leans out of the window towards the man.

         “Oh that’s great! You’re gonna love it here, it’s a great little community.” the man says conversationally and Jack nods his head at him.

         “A little hard to find though if I might say.” Jack says politely and the man grins widely at him as if he knows a secret.

         “Well that’s because you came in through the back. The front entrance is much easier to see off the main road if you come from the interstate.” the man advises easily and Jack nods his head seeing where he got mixed up with the directions. “Alright so what’s your new address? I’ll be able to give you directions.”

         “Oh we’re going to be at 1745 Peony Court.” Jack relayed easily.

         “Oh! You’re gonna be living on the same street as Bunny.” he said happily. Jack furrowed his eyebrows at the man and the man chuckled softly as he waved his hand. “You’ll meet Bunny no doubt, she’s a great gal. Anyway, you’re going to straight down this road it’s called First Avenue, it’s the main road that runs through the whole community from the front entrance to the back entrance. Your street is going to be on the right hand side and it’ll be four up from here, it’s going to be called Gardenscape Boulevard. Peony Court will branch off from Gardenscape Boulevard.” the guard explained easily.

         “Thanks that’s really helpful- uh what was your name again? I’m sorry.” Jack says a little embarrassed that he didn’t get the guard’s name.

         “Nah, it’s alright name’s Jeremy Brock.” the guard said easily and waved his hand as he stepped back into the guard house. “I’ll see ya around the neighborhood. I live in a different part of the community not far from your street.” he said kindly with a wave. Jack returned his wave and slowly began to drive forward after the mechanical arm lifted and he was admitted into the community.

         Following Jeremy’s directions Jack easily found himself driving into their new neighborhood. As he turned right onto Gardenscape Boulevard he smiled as he saw all the nice looking houses that lined each side of the street. He had to admit it was a nice looking neighborhood and he was glad he had found something so quickly after being promoted and transferred to this new office branch of his company.

         “This is it baby girl our new neighborhood.” Jack says warmly as he turns onto Peony Court and slows until he finds 1745 and pulls into the driveway. He can see a few neighbors already out in their own yards and some were even gathered in yards talking with each other. Parking the car he looks up to the rearview mirror and sees Esme looking around apprehensively. “You ready for this baby girl?” he asks softly and she looks up to the rearview mirror and locks eyes with him. He can see the uncertainty in her eyes and he feels the guilt at having to move her almost halfway across the states and upending her life but it was something he felt needed to be done. Besides the pay raise that came with the promotion, it was something that he felt needed to happen because they needed a fresh start after Maria’s death.

         “I don’t know Daddy. Are you sure we had to move?” Esme asks as her eyes dart around at the neighbors who were surreptitiously watching them now.

         “Yeah Es, we had to. I promise this is going to be good you’re going to make new friends and your new school is gonna be great. We just need to get used to it that’s all. C’mon baby girl, we got this.” he explains as he turns to face her over the seat. He holds out his closed fist to her and she fist bumps him with a giggle making him smile widely at her. “That’s my girl.” he says proudly. He takes the keys out of the ignition and opens his door before opening up the back passenger door for Esme since she had already unbuckled her harness in the booster seat and was waiting at the door. 

         Jack helps her out of the car by holding out a hand for her and she sets her much smaller hand in his and hops out of the car. She giggles when her feet land firmly on the driveway and he smiles down at her. 

         “Hey there neighbor!” comes a friendly sounding voice and Jack and Esme look up to see a man around Jack’s age walking across his yard to stand at the fence next to their new driveway. “Welcome to the neighborhood. I’m Henry Mills your new next door neighbor.” he says kindly as he holds his hand out for Jack to shake. Jack easily shakes his hand smiling politely at him. He watches as Henry turns to Esme and holds his hand out to her too.

         “Jack Daniels and this here is Esme Daniels.” Jack introduces himself and Esme to Henry.

         “Well it’s a pleasure to meet ya Jack and you too little Miss Esme.” he says kindly as he shakes Esme’s hand. Jack can see in Esme’s face that she appreciates shaking hands with their new neighbor, he figures it makes her feel like a grown up by meeting him like this. “Do you guys need any help with getting your boxes into the house before it gets dark?” Henry asks helpfully and Jack shakes his head in response.

         “Only packed the most essentials in the truck the rest will be coming with the moving truck tomorrow.” Jack explains as Henry nods along. “I appreciate it though.” 

         “Oh yeah no sweat! Figured I’d offer in case you needed any help.” Henry said kindly. “By the way don’t let the other neighbors creep you out by them checking you out. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a new neighbor that they probably don’t know what to do with themselves.” Henry explains as he chuckles. “They’re good people they just get a little nosy, that’s all.” he says with a shrug.

         “Oh no that’s alright. I understand it, it’ll take a little adjusting for everyone I think.” Jack says knowingly and Henry nods his head agreeing with Jack. “Uh well we’re both a little tired from driving for the past few days. I really appreciate the welcome but I wanna get this little one settled in her room for the night before it does get too dark.” Jack explains as he sets a hand softly on Esme’s shoulder.

         “Oh yeah of course! Sorry for keeping you from it. If you guys get hungry there’s a mom and pop pizza place not far from here I can get you the menu I’ve got in a minute while you bring boxes in.” Henry says helpfully and Jack nods his head.

         “Yeah that’d be great actually. It’ll be nice not to have to worry about cooking tonight.” Jack says easily. He hears a twinkling sound not from where he’s standing and turns to see a woman walking down the block with a leashed tan and white corgi in front of her. He watches as the woman smiles brightly at two elderly woman who are standing on the sidewalk in front of their homes catching up. She continues walking past them after greeting them and asking a quick question. Her happy laughter fills the air and Jack can’t keep his eyes off her as the pleasant sound fills his ears.

         “Daddy! Look that lady has a cute puppy!” Esme gasps softly as she stands next to him and he smiles down at her. 

         “Yes she does. Maybe later this week we’ll meet her and we can ask to pet her dog.” Jack says softly.

         “Oh that’s Bunny. She’ll talk your ear off about her dog if you let her.” Henry says around a laugh.

         “Really?” Esme gasps softly with excited eyes. Jack looks over at Henry at his words before turning back to the woman walking away. So that was Bunny.

         “Yeah the guard Jeremy mentioned someone by that name.” Jack says as he tries to get one last look at the woman. He watches as she turns her head over towards his direction and when their eyes lock she grins and lifts a hand to wave at him. He smiles back and lifts his hand to wave as well in greeting. She then disappears into a house not far from his own.

         “Of course he did. Bunny’s well known in the whole community. She takes pride in the community. You’ll see when you meet her at the monthly meeting.” Henry said. “Well anyway let go get you that menu so you can order dinner for the two of you.” 

         “Yeah, yeah. Thanks again I really appreciate it.” Jack says easily as he begins to lead Esme to the back of the truck so that he can begin pulling the suitcases and packed boxes. “Alright Es let’s get some of this stuff brought in before it gets dark, okay?” Jack says warmly to Es as he opens the trunk and pulls out her tiny luggage with the sparkly princess on it for her. He pulls out his own two large suitcases and begins to lead the way to the front door of the house. 

         Opening the door Jack holds it open for Es and watches as she walks in looking around. “Now I know it doesn’t look like much yet but that’s just because we don’t have the furniture yet or the rest of our stuff. That’s all coming tomorrow.” Jack explains to her and she nods her head at him.

         “Okay Daddy. Will I be able to have a pirate princess bedroom?” she asks softly as he turns on the lights and they both walk through the front of the house towards the bedrooms in the back. Leading her towards the bedroom he had picked out for her he grins happily at her question.

         “We can do anything you want to your bedroom. It’s your bedroom kiddo.” he says easily nodding his head. Opening the door for her bedroom the two of them walk in and look around after he turns on the light. “Alright so do me a favor and start hanging up your clothes while I go out and get the air mattresses ok?” he instructs her and she nods dragging her luggage over to her closet.

         “Ok Daddy.” she says softly and opens up her luggage eagerly.

           It’s at least an hour or two later and night time had settled over the neighborhood. Jack had managed to get both his air mattress and Es’ air mattress set up, had brought in the packed boxes from the trunk and had hung up his clothes and checked Esme’s progress on her closet.

         Now the two of them were sitting in the living room on the floor with a pizza box opened to the side of them and his laptop opened in front of the two of them. The Pirates of the Carribean movie was just finishing up and the credits were beginning to roll when Jack looked down as saw Esme curled up against his side with her head resting on his chest as she slept peacefully next to him.

         Smiling widely and warmly at her he pressed a kiss to her forehead before shifting her onto his lap and cradling her in his arms. He idly wondered how much longer he would get with her cuddling into him. Shaking his head softly he stood easily from the floor and carried her to her bedroom. He laid her on her air mattress and dressed her in her pajamas, which was a pain in the ass because his little girl was just like him when she slept and just splayed out all her limbs when she became dead to the world in slumber.

He covered her with her deep ocean themed duvet and walked back to her bedroom door. When he reached it he looked back and saw that she had turned in her sleep and was now completely laid out on the mattress. He snickered softly at the sight and then closed the door so that it was left slightly ajar. Tiredly walking back to the living room he silently shut down the laptop and stowed it away in his briefcase before cleaning up the rest of dinner and placing the pizza in the fridge and the box went into the trash.

Walking to his own bedroom Jack could feel the exhaustion finally taking over his body. He tiredly dressed in his pajamas and slumped face first onto the mattress and easily passed out. For once in a very long time he didn’t dream at all.

[puffy-shirt]

Hi! I was browsing the DA tag and saw your new Wardens. Have you decided on their personalities, classes/specializations, or romances yet? C:

Eyyy! Thanks for asking :) I know you asked abt my new wardens, but I haven't actually talked about a lot of my older ones either! So I'm using this as my excuse :P

-Ro Surana: Female/Elf/Mage (Sword); Arcane Warrior/Shapeshifter(Spider)/Battlemage ♡ Alistair

Dog: Dog

Ro is my oldest and most beloved warden. She is loving, smart, and has a great sense of humor, but above all she has a strong sense of justice and a fire in her heart. Her and Alistair are married im Redcliffe after the blight and they stay wardens together. If they find a way to rid themselves of the taint, they have a daughter together 🥺💗

-Helena Cousland: Female/Human/Warrior (Sword and Sheild); Berzerker/Champion/Spirit Warrior ♡ Zevran

Dog: Prince

Helena is one of the youngest (in terms of her age) of my wardens and one of my favorites! The loss of her family is a horrific event that turns her temperament angry and spiteful. She can't stand alistiars constant jokes. She can't stand Leliana's piousness. Basically she can only stand her dog, and zevran (who she has a tumultuous but overall loving relationship with). After the blight she stays with him, but they never marry.

- Persephone Aeducan: Female/Dwarf(Noble)/Warrior (Greatsword); Champion/Templar/Guardian ♡ Gorrim

Dog: Aeducan

Persephone was a born leader, and player in the game of politics. She is wicked intelligent and cunning. Her and Gorrim have a long illicit relationship and they just adore each other. Pers is just... absolutely heartbroken when Gorrim tells her he is married. She knows they still love each other and always will. After the blight she returns to take her rightful place in orzammar, gorrim along side her. I have two minds about her ending tho... half of me headcannons that gorrim lied about having a wife, believing that was the only way persephone would let him go so that he wouldn't burden her. In that scenario, they return to orzammar together and resume their relationship - now open about it. In the scenario where he was truthful, he never really loved his wife, but they all follow Persephone to orzammar. There, there is a lot of pining for each other and persephone keeps him on a tight (metaphorical) leash.

- Mason Cousland: Male/Human/Warrior (Dual Blades); Templar/Champion/Guardian ♡ Anora

Dog: Hound

Mason was designed to be the pinnacle of the noble character trope. He is the noble prince, the righteous king. Him and Alistair are best buddies. However, Mason decides the right thing to do is spare Loghain and give him a chance at redemption. He is HEARTBROKEN when this causes his best friend to leave. Mason marries Anora, and I have this entire story written out (in my head) about their relationship and how they fall in love after the blight. They have two children, and Mason is beloved by all as king.

- Rose Amell: Female/Human/Mage; Blood Mage/Spirit Healer/Keeper ♡ Alistair

Dog: King

Rose is... hmmm... I really love her, but ultimately she is a coward. She wants to do the right thing, but is soft. Ultimately her fear of failure causes her to turn to blood magic, as she believes that is the only way she would be able to beat the darkspawn. She sees Alistair as her knight in shining armor, and stays his consort/lover when he becomes the sole ruler of fereldan.

- Ariya Tabris: Female/Elf(City)/Rogue (Dual Blades); Assasin/Duelist/Shadow ♡ Alistair

Dog: Mutt

Ariya is my chameleon character, originally from the elder scrolls universe, that I've come to insert into every rpg I can hahaha. She is a sourpuss who can't say anything that doesn't come out as sarcastic. She also struggles a lot with addiction problems to both alcohol and lyruim. Her and Alistair get together, however he leaves her to become king. This obviously upsets her, and when morrigan tells her of the ritual, she decides not to tell alistiar about it, a decision she regrets for the rest of her life. She intends to sacrifice herself at the battle of denerim, and is horrified when alistoar beats her to it.

- Lienna Mahariel: Female/Elf(Dalish)/Rogue (Archer); Ranger/Assasin  ♡ Tamlen

Dog: Vhenan

One of my newer ones! I wanted to make a spicy ass elf maiden who was inseparable with her lover Tamlen until the blight. She is definitely anti human, and refuses to hang out with the human members of the party. She starts to develop feelings for zevran, but feels too guilty about it to follow through with the relationship. In the end, she sacrifices her life to end the blight.

- Dorrien Tabris: Female/Elf(City)/Rogue(Sword); Bard/Duelist ♡ Zevran

Dog: Nelaros

My youngest both in age and when I created her! She is a hopeless romantic and falls in love immediately and often. In her story, she has love at first sight with her betrothed, Nelaros. In her version they actually get married and are well into the celebrations when the wedding is interrupted. She is heartbroken at the loss of her husband. Her moms side of the family is from antiva, and she was trained to Duel with a rapier. Her main talent is song though, and her and Leliana are bffs for LIFE. Her whole thing is that there is this big ol love triangle between her, alistiar, and zevran. She falls in love with Alistair immediately, who takes a but longer to develop feelings. Meanwhile Zevran falls head over heels right away for Dorri, and he slowly grows on her. Ultimately, when she realizes Alistair is destined to be king, which means they could never truly be together, she chooses to be with Zevran. They marry and have a child after the blight.