#That part where he dreams of his wife and nothing is wrong at all yup yup

[kodasea]

Melting

[majestyeverlasting]

Hi!! Could you write for Bucky prompts 4 and 26??

♡ Hi, Anon!! I love this prompt pairing so much! Thank you for requesting this, and for waiting on me to get around to it! In this one, Bucky and the reader visit a park in Brooklyn that stirs up some nostalgic memories. But what he doesn't know is that, later that night, he'll learn that he's going to be a father. There's some pretty fall imagery and lots of sweet moments. I hope you like it! (Note: this isn’t canon regarding Bucky’s true age)

♡ Prompt 4: "Remember we used to come here when we were kids?"

♡ Prompt 26: “I’m not reading this thing wrong, am I? You’re really pregnant?”

All I Ever Wanted

There was a crispness to the evening air as the beginnings of fall settled within Brooklyn. The trees of Prospect Park, once green, were slowly transitioning into rich shades of orange and red. As you and Bucky walked along one of the pathways, leaves crunching beneath your shoes, there was an absence of car engines and horns—it was peaceful. All there was to be heard was chirping birds, the soft chatter of other park-goers, and the occasional whir of a cyclist’s wheels whenever one passed by.

Upon reaching a wooden bridge, the gentle sound of flowing water emerged as well. Beneath it, was a slender waterfall that fed into a small pond with dead leaves floating on the surface. Bucky wrapped an arm around your waist as the two of you admired it from over the railing. Somehow the whole day, including that moment itself, had managed to feel like a dream.

The two of you hadn’t been to Prospect Park in what felt like forever. Life had a way of sweeping you up in winds of responsibility that kept you from enjoying moments of stillness. But those winds had since drifted elsewhere, leaving the two of you with the freedom to simply be. Venturing out into nature and away from the noise had been Bucky’s suggestion earlier that morning. There was no place like the outdoors that was capable of soothing the soul.

“Look, doll,” he said eventually. Your eyes followed where his free hand pointed.

On one of the big rocks peeking out of the water below, a yellow butterfly had perched itself on a rock. “Yeah, I see it. It’s so pretty.” You smiled when he gave you a gentle squeeze.

“You know what butterflies symbolize?” You met his gaze, willing for him to continue. “Life and new beginnings,” he said, pressing a kiss to your temple.

For a fraction of a second, you froze. You’d managed to keep yourself collected for the entirety of the day, but hearing those words quickened your heartbeat. Enough so that you became all the more reminded of what he didn’t know—not yet.

That morning, as he spoke to you through the bathroom door about going to Prospect Park, you’d been staring at a positive pregnancy test. You barely had enough breath to agree to the outing. And when he’d asked if you were okay, you told him you were fine, but left out the fact that your lives would be changing forever in the months to come.

The two lines on the stick explained weeks worth of your body trying to communicate to you. It explained that deep sense of knowing that refused to go away. To say that you wanted to merely tell Bucky would’ve been the largest understatement of your lifetime. With all the emotions that stirred within you, you wanted to scream, cry, and jump at the same time.

A voice within you encouraged you to make the moment you told Bucky really special and intimate. Especially considering every turn that his life had taken over the years. So you vowed to wait until the two of you arrived home from your evening at the park.

“Life and new beginnings,” you repeated. You were already aware that such was associated with butterflies, but hearing him say it in that moment carried a certain magnitude. “I love the sound of that.”

Later, after walking further, you found yourselves nestled on one of the benches overlooking the lake. The water sparkled in the warm light of the sun as it prepared to set. A couple men stood peppered along the bank fishing. Children giggled as they chased after each other. Paired with the fall trees and colors all around, it was nothing short of a beautiful scene.

You let your head rest on Bucky’s shoulder, and took his real hand in yours to play with his fingers. There was a time, years ago, when the two of you would play along that same lake—throughout the whole park, actually.

You were the first to speak after a while, “Remember we used to come here when we were kids?” You straightened up from his shoulder to look at him.

“Of course I do,” he said, a smile starting on his face. “Especially during the summer. We’d always try to find open fire hydrants to play in after we left. And if we were lucky, our mom’s would let us get ice cream or shaved ice,” he recounted, chuckling. “Those were the days.”

You shook your head. “I know. Now look at us.” About to have a child of our own, you thought.

“Yup. Time flies when you’re having fun,” he said, casting out a brief look around at the serenic evening. Then he focused back on you, his tone shifting, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah...” you tried not to answer too fast. “Why?”

Bucky narrowed his eyes a bit and gave a shrug. “I don’t know, I can just tell that something’s on your mind—ever since this morning,” he noted. “But you have yet to tell me what that something is, pretty girl.”

It took everything not to tell him right then and there, as you sat under a blue and orange sky in the park you knew like the back of your hand.

You offered him half a smile. “I’m that easy to read?”

He lifted a shoulder. “Not necessarily. I’ve been reading you for a long time so it’s easy.” You allowed yourself to chuckle when he playfully quirked his brows. “So am I gonna have to work really hard to coax it out of you?”

You shook your head earnestly. “I promise I'll tell you when we get home… I have something to show you.”

On your way out of the park, there was a mama duck waddling under a tree with her ducklings trailing behind her.

It wasn’t until after you and Bucky made it back to your apartment, and had changed into something comfortable, that you told him you were ready. He sat on the edge of the bed as you went to retrieve the small gift box holding the pregnancy test. It was a miracle that you had had enough supplies left over from birthdays and holidays to be able to make it look as presentable as it did.

You extended it to him from a couple feet away. So much anticipation had built within you that you felt light, and as though you were buzzing.

Bucky accepted the box, and looked up at you. There was a sparkle in his blue eyes. “Why are you standing a mile away from me? C’mere.” You inched closer, and laughed when he pulled you to stand more so between his spread legs.

As he began to undo the white ribbon on the box, your lower lip was secured between your teeth. It seemed as though he was moving entirely too slow and fast at the same time.

As soon as he popped the lid off to reveal the pregnancy test sitting on top of little strips of crinkled, beige paper strips, your heartbeat sped up. Bucky’s attention lingered on the test. When he finally looked up, his gaze attested to the influx of thoughts that had been sparked into motion within his mind.

“I’m not reading this thing wrong, am I?” He briefly looked back down to stick again. Two lines. “You’re really pregnant?”

A smile broke across your face. With the news out, it felt as though you were uncaging a group of birds that had been longing for freedom for way too long. Before you could say anything else, Bucky set the box aside and stood to press his lips to yours. You stumbled back at the intentness in which he gripped your waist. It was a kiss that you felt every part of him through; his love, his passion, his warmth. And an intoxicating mix of joy and expectation.

He pulled away just enough to speak. “We’re gonna be parents?” His breath fanned over your lips. Then he leaned back in to kiss you once more, a soft peck. “You’re carrying our child?”

Bucky’s hands slipped under your shirt, and the feeling of palms against your skin was pleasant in the best way. One was cooler than the other, but they were both gentle and reverent.

“Yes,” you breathed. “I found out this morning.”

He scratched gently at your stomach, sending a shiver through you. “You managed to keep it to yourself the whole day. That’s what was on your mind?” He kissed you again.

“You have no idea how bad I wanted to tell you. No idea.” You brought your hands up to his cheeks, the budding stubble scratchy against your palms. “But I wanted to wait until we came back from Prospect.”

Bucky released a breath after a few beats of silence. “I don’t even know what to say,” he said, voice low. “This is so crazy—a good crazy.”

“I know. I’m happy and terrified at the same time,” you admitted. “I’ve never felt this way in my entire life, but it feels….”

“Good,” he finished.

A laugh escaped you. “Yeah.”

Seconds later, he was getting down onto his knees to be level with your stomach. It wasn’t until he lifted your shirt to press a kiss to your stomach that the reality of the moment set in. For the first time since learning about your pregnancy, tears slipped down your cheeks.

Bucky heard you sniffle, and stood back up to take your hands in his. “This is all I ever wanted, you know that, doll?” A few tears had come to the waterline of his eyes. “A beautiful wife, a family. This is all something I thought I’d never have.”

You sniffled again, nodding. “You deserve everything,” you murmured.

“I have my everything right in front of me.”

Without waiting another moment, you wrapped your arms around his waist and squeezed him tighter than you had in a while. Parents. The two of you were going to be parents.

-

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a comment, if you'd like. For more fluffy Bucky Barnes fics, click here.

[quirkle2]

OH BOY HERE WE GO SO (WARNING: LONG)

This is sorta a strange AU in that it doesn't have the Hero's Cycle or Ganon or even possibly the Triforce as a real thing??? Possibly might end up more generic but i hopefully made up for it with All The Stuff Happening

So! We have Legend, who's a warlock that lives in a lil hobbit hole in the woods and generally doesn't wanna talk to anybody EXCEPT MAYBE for those few people that come by and say hi every once in a while. Maybe them. Hobbit hole and surrounding land is like covered in plants and stuff. He generally deals in more "man-made" magicks, enchantments on jewelry and man-made objects and written spells n things (just a heads up the magic and how they use it is gonna be like. super up in the air for a while so i might change it. except for wild. you'll see in a bit)

Hyrule! One of Legend's closest buddies and Half-Fae High Mage (in training)! Also lives in a hobbit hole in the woods; he and Legend are hobbit hole buddies. Because of his half-fae status, he gets to pick and choose what rules, fae or human, he is beholden to at any given time. Thiiiis has a bit of a stigma, I'll say that much.

Rulie's more attuned to magic as a part of nature, not requiring written word to cast anything, and generally isn't as bound by rigid structures as humans who classify magic (this may possibly be because of the Triforce, which i have now decided is real in this AU). He could tell you right off the bat if something is cursed (he's got experience, after all!)

Wild! Also one of Legend's closest buddies and a witch! He can cast enchantments over the food he cooks and is very good at brewing potions and drinks. Possibly wants to open his own tavern someday. (Apparently the origins of the witch possibly came from lady brewers who worked in taverns and bars! I thought that fit way too well for Wild)

Twilight! Werewolf, plain and simple. He bothers Legend sometimes (affectionate). He's the son of Time and Malon and lives on Lon Lon Ranch.

What is Lon Lon Ranch? Why, no mortal knows! They couldn't tell you where it is, how to get there, or even how it never seems to be marked by the passage of time or space! They just know you can get some dang good milk from there.

Time! Just An Old Man, Promise. Definitely nothing going on here. Definitely not somehow outside the bounds of time and functionally immortal along with his wife Malon and possibly his son Twilight. Nope. Just Some Dude who works on a farm and goes fishing with Wind and Wild and somehow has vast tomes worth of knowledge and history that Legend is itching to get his hands on. And also has a soft spot for fairies.

YUP. Just a normal dude.

Warriors! Royal Captain of the Guard and Right-Hand to Sky and Sun. Generally suspicious of magicks and their goings-on. Totally not backstory relevant (wink).

Sky! Prince-Consort, God-Killer, and betrothed to the soon-to-be Queen of Hyrule, Sun! Yes, while the King was much adored, his time is swift coming to an end, but it's okay, he lived a good long life, and- what do you mean the King won't die? What do you mean he got a new advisor with possible ill-intent? Well that doesn't sound good, hopefully some prince-consort won't go harrying off to the woods to some random hermit in the woods because he's been having dreams about something going horribly wrong and magic being involved! That'd be absurd because that's something only prophetic seers can do - aw dangit there he goes.

Four! Has possibly the most wild backstory of them all, but suffice to say he's the apprentice and grandson of the Royal Blacksmith who has the ability to weave elemental enchantments into the blades he forges. Has a twin brother changling (Shadow) and four younger brother who might be spirits and might have pieces of his soul because of backstory shenanigans.

Wind! Possibly a mer. That's all I got so far, I'm sorry buddy.

This got long wow. Um... can you tell I've thought about this a lot?

OOHHHH I LOVETHIS SO BAD I LOVEIT

idk much about some fantasy creatures like faes or changlings or anything like that but i love them anyway that's so fuckingcool,, i actually Love that the ranch is outside the bounds of time that's actually so fucking sick ?? that's such a cool concept??

wild wanting to open his own tavern,,, that'sso cute i love that. AND LEGEND IN A HOBBIT HOLE i love himso bad . yes. put the leedol boye in the leedol hobbit hole. also hyrule bein good at magic my beloved :)

this is so cool this isso cool dude what the hell,, ur insane /pos very very pos

[brightlycoloredteacups]

Babies

Boba Fett x Fem!reader

Summary: Boba wants some babies...do you?

Warnings: None

a/n: hey. lookit this...writing after taking a could o’ years off...who knew. 

Tagging: @anunhealthydoseofangst

Boba Fett had been handsy with you the moment you both had met in a dinghy little bar on a backwaters planet. It had been instant passion for you both, and though it had been years, he still couldn’t get enough of you...or so you thought. 

A few months ago he began acting strange. He hardly touched you, that lustful gleam in his eyes was now gone. When you two slept in your shared quarters, he barely even grunted a good night to you before turning over and wrapping himself in the warm blanket. As much as it broke your heart, you knew what was happening. He’d found someone else to occupy his time. Someone prettier than you, someone better. The knowledge stung. But what could you do? You simply wanted him to be happy. This was all you had convinced yourself of before this morning. 

You hadn’t meant to overhear him, in your defense, though, you lived in tight quarters, and sound traveled easily from the bathroom to the bedroom. So when you heard your name being called, being the semi-light sleeper you woke up, thinking something was wrong. 

You padded sleepily over to the bathroom door, “Boba?” You called, putting a hand on the door to push it in. “Are you-” You stopped short when you heard that familiar grunt of his. Oh, he’s doing that right now. You frowned. Had he really brought someone in to fuck them while you were asleep in the bed next to him. Your heart broke, your blood boiled. You were ready to burst in there before his next sentance stopped you, “That’s it, meshla,” He called your name, once, twice, then continued “take it, fuck. Just like that, you and I fit so well together, don’t you think?” You bit your lip, trying to stifle a laugh, sweet relief flooding your entire being. 

You were ready to call his name before it died on your lips with the words he spoke next. “That’s it,” he grunts again, you can tell he’s close, “Thats it, let me fuck you, let me put a baby in you.” Your jaw drops. A what?! You back away from the door, shocked, unable to process what you just heard. 

After a few more moments of listening to him, you throw on some decent clothing and dash out the door, this revelation has completely turned your world upside down. 

*

This was going to be hard on him. You’d become more important to him than you probably realized. He was madly, utterly in love with you, but he didn’t want you to suffer. This meant he had to let you go. For the better part of a week you had avoided him, rejected his romantic advances, and just lain there beside him when you normally would glue yourself to his side. He wondered where he went wrong, but in the end he decided that didn’t matter. Something had soured your love for him, and now he was going to have to do that hardest thing he’d ever done. Damn, did it hurt.  

He takes a deep breath and says the words he hoped he’d never have to say, “You’re welcome to leave any time you want.” He says them softly, quietly, wanting this to be nothing more than a mere nightmare. You turn over to face him, “What the hell are you talking about?” You ask. “I’m not a stupid man, love,” He tells you, “I know when my woman has lost interest in me.”

The quietness in the air is almost too much for him, he just wants you gone so that he may grieve in peace. “I haven’t lost interest,” You snap, “I’ve just been thinking.” You trail off, leaving the statement open. “What could you possibly be thinking about that makes you so cold towards me?” Boba asks, he doesn’t bother to turn to you, just continues to look at the ceiling. This was difficult enough, he didn’t want to look in your face and have his resolve crumble to dust. He didn’t want to beg to keep you. 

Once there was a time when he believed he was going to spend the rest of his days with you, marry you...have a family. He knows now that he’s an utter fool. You were too good for him, too pretty. He was just a stepping stone to your real happily ever after, a man with which to work out your issues. It was the Mandalorain with the green baby. It had to have been him you were thinking about. You’d never looked at another man the way you’d looked at Din Djarin.

Boba Fett was in no way prepared to hear the answer you gave him. “I was thinking about whether I wanted a family with you or not.” Your confession hit him harder than anything that ever had. You place a hand on his chest and he finally turns to you, confused, but feeling lighter by the moment. “And why would you want a little brat running around, causing a ruckus?” He asks gently. He can’t seem too interested in the thought, even though his own dreams and desires had turned towards making an honest woman out of you. You smiled knowingly at him. “You’re not as subtle as you think,” you tease. His frown deepens, trying to work out what it was you actually meant. “I heard you in the bathroom one day,” You finally confess. “Something along the lines of letting you put a baby in me?” 

His heart leaps into his throat and he chokes. You weren’t supposed to have heard that.

*

If you ever thought there would be a day when you caught the Boba Fett off guard, it was naught but a mere dream. But here you are, surprising him with the knowledge that you knew one of his best kept secrets. He stumbles for an explanation for a few moments before giving up entirely. He turns from you to look at the ceiling once more. 

You giggle and bring your hand to his face, rubbing his cheek with your thumb lightly. You make no move to force him to look at you. “You’ve been thinking about this for a week.” He says. “Mhm,”

“An entire seven days.”

“Yup,” 

“And?” You can hear the hint of hope in his voice. It tugs at your heart, but you still can’t stop yourself from messing with him, just a little. 

You withdraw, and turn on your other side. “I think it’s a bad idea,” You tell him. You let it hang in the air for a moment or two knowing if you wait too long, you’ll just piss him off and this entire thing will be over with, just like that. “Not until I see a ring on my finger. I want to be a wife before I’m a mother.” 

You hear him growl. You squeal when you feel him wrap his strong arms around you and pull you to him. He buries his head in the crook of your neck. “You’re horrible,” He mutters. You giggle. “I get it from you old man.” He breaths a deep sigh, whether from relief or exasperation you’re unsure. “I’m your old man,” He mumbles. You nod enthusiastically. “Yes,” You tell him, “Yes you are.” 

[dreamypeaches]

run, baby, run | jj maybank x reader

request: @drewsephsmiles asked: an imagine where reader and jj sneak into midsummers under a different name, and he finally confessing his feelings as you guys are running away??

summary: angry at your friends for spending the night on the dark side without, you and jj decide to crash midsummers, only to grow closer throughout the night. 

warnings: alcohol use, cursing, ward cameron

word count: 3.2k

a/n: this made me so happy while writing it. it’s just a bunch of fluff and dorky jj. also, lmk if you notice the parks and rec reference in here. i think it’s pretty obvious lol. enjoy :)

You and JJ had been abandoned. Thrown to the wayside in favor of some Kook party. And not just any Kook party, but Midsummers, the Kookiest event of the year. To be fair to your friends, none of them wanted to be there either. Pope had to work with his dad, Kiara was forced by her parents, and John B was Sarah’s date. Usually, you would have attended as Kie’s date, keeping her company while the two of you got drunk off expensive champagne. But, since John B was attending this year, you didn’t want to leave JJ all alone. So now you found yourself in the least Kook place in the Outer Banks: lounging on the couch on the porch of the Chateau, smoking with JJ while complaining about your friends going to the dark side.

“Did you see John B is his monkey suit? He looked ridiculous. Sarah’s got him whipped for sure,” JJ noted, referencing the suit Sarah had picked out for his best friend for Midsummers. The moment John B had emerged from his room wearing a dark blue suit and a pair of fancy loafers, JJ couldn’t help but go off on the boy.

“Leave him alone, he’s in love,” You said emphasizing your words with a fake dreamy voice, “Besides, we both know your ultimate dream in life is to go Full Kook.”

“Yeah, well, doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to complain about it now. I mean, that suit probably cost more than my whole life, and Sarah just bought it like it was nothing.”

“You should see her closet. She’s got shit in there that could pay my parent’s mortgage five times over.”

JJ passed the joint you and you took a hit, mind wandering to Sarah’s closet full of beautiful party dresses. JJ sighed and flipped around so his head rested in your lap. Your fingers instantly went to his blonde locks, running through them lazily.

“If I went full Kook, I would buy a suit for every day of the week. No, every day of the month, plus one to sleep in. That’s what I want, so much money that I can sleep in a suit and not even think about it. If I fuck it up, oh well, I’ll just go buy a new one.”

You giggled at JJ, looking down at him as you passed him the joint. His red, hooded eyes met your own, just as glazed as his. For a moment, you were thankful that your friends were all stuck at Midsummers. You cherished moments like this, where it was just you and JJ. You had been friends with him and John B as long as you could remember, the three of you sharing a third grade class. The three of you were thick as thieves. You thought of John B as a brother. JJ, on the other hand, was something else entirely. He was your person, always there by your side. He could read you like no one else could, and you understood him just the same. That’s why you loved spending time alone with JJ. Neither of you had to be anyone else but yourselves. Sure, you could do that with the Pogues, but with you and JJ it was just different.

You’d really started to notice the difference lately. You noticed it in the way he looked at you, in the way his touch would linger on your skin, the way your heart skipped when he laughed and they way your stomach flutter when he sat close to you, like he was doing now.

Looking down at your best friend, observing his lazy smile and the way his hair felt against your fingers, you could safely say you were in love with JJ Maybank. And you were okay with that. You were also okay with never telling him your feelings, because you couldn’t risk losing him. Even if it was only as friends, you wanted to keep JJ by your side for the rest of your life.

You were pulled out of your thoughts by JJ booping you on the nose after handing you the joint, small giggles escaping his lips.

“Whatcha thinking about, sunshine?” He asked. You took a hit to avoid answering for a moment, mind racing to come up with something.

“Just imagining myself as a Kook at Midsummers right now. As much as I complain about it, I actually love getting all dressed up and getting shitfaced with Kie.” You said, Midsummers being the first thing that came to your mind. JJ suddenly shot up from his place on your lap, almost knocking your head with his own in the process. He spun around so he was facing you, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Then let’s fucking do it!” He said. You furrowed your eyebrows at the blonde boy.

“Do what? Go to Midsummers? JJ, how will we-”

“Sarah got John B an extra suit, just in case she hated the way the other one looked on him. And I’m sure Kie wouldn’t mind if you borrowed one of her dresses, it’s not like she uses them anyway.”

You opened your mouth, ready to question every aspect of his plan, when JJ jumped to his feet and stopped you. He positioned himself so he was standing obscenely straight, a studious look on his face.

“Ms. Y/L/N, would you do me the pleasure of allowing me to escort you to Midsummers this evening?” He said in a terrible fancy voice. He extended his hand towards you expectantly. You looked at his hand then up at his face. His gaze was soft as he looked at him, wiggling his eyebrows at you as he waited for your response. After a few moments of thinking over everything that could go wrong, you looked at him again, and remembered, this was JJ Maybank. You would walk through Hell for him. The only differences between Midsummers and Hell was free booze and food.

You gently placed your hand in his, meeting his eyes and smiled.

“It would be my honor.”

After stealing the extra suit from John B’s room, sneaking into Kiara’s house to pick out a dress (you knew where she hid the spare key), and quickly doing you make up in the car, you and JJ parked outside of Kook country club where Midsummers was taking place.

“So what’s the plan?” You asked. JJ just looked at you.

“What do you mean?”

You stared at him incredulously, throwing your arms in the air.

“What do you mean “what do you mean”? What is your plan for sneaking into the most prestigious Kook event in the Outer Banks?”

“When have I ever had a plan?”

You glared at him for a moment, before rolling your eyes and stepping out the car. He met you on your side of the car, positioning his arm for you to hold onto.

“If we get caught, I’m telling them you kidnapped me.”

JJ chuckled and started leading you towards the door.

“Don’t worry, sunshine, we’ll be fine. Just follow my lead.”

You sighed and shook your head, too used to JJ’s antics to truly be worried.  

When you were a few feet from the door, JJ leaned down till his lips were close to your ear.

“By the way, you look beautiful, sunshine.”

You turned your head away from him, trying to hide the smile that was stuck on your face.

A man stood in front of the door into the country club, blocking the way. He looked the pair of you up and down as you approached, picking every detail that set you and JJ apart from the Kooks. Despite dressing the part, you two didn’t hold yourselves the same way the Kooks did.

“I’m sorry, but the club is closed for a private event,” The man said with a look that said “sorry, not sorry.”

“Oh, we’re well aware. We’re here to attend. Sorry, we’re running late, you know how women can be with their make-up,” JJ said, motioning to you. You lightly elbowed him while continuing to smile politely at the man.

“I understand, sir, but…the event is at capacity. Maybe next year!” He said, giving you a snide smile. You glared at the man while JJ removed himself from your grasp.

“Excuse me, do you know who I am? My name is Charles Cameron, and I don’t think my uncle, Ward Cameron, would be very happy if his favorite nephew didn’t make it to his party. Especially a nephew who is visiting on his honeymoon and wants to show his wife the absolute best the Outer Banks has to offer.”

You felt your cheeks heat up as he referred to you as his wife. But you didn’t have time to dwell on it as the man opened the door quickly. The look on his face made it clear he didn’t want to take the chance of facing the wrath of Ward Cameron. JJ looped his arm with yours once again and led you inside, giving you a wink and a smirk after thanking the doorman.

“Wow you really unleashed your inner Karen back there, Charles,” You laughed.

“Nah, it was more of my inner Gretchen Wieners. I’m so glad you made me watch that movie last week. I went all my father, the inventor of toaster strudel on his ass,” JJ said, putting on his best teen girl voice.

“I think we need sign you up for acting classes, you’re a natural!”

“Classes? Nah, sunshine. The master doesn’t take classes, he teaches them.”

You threw your head back in laughter as he pulled you to the open bar. The pair of you ordered the fanciest and most expensive drink you could think of, trying your best to blend in with the Kooks surrounding you.

Sipping on your disgustingly expensive drinks, you moved through the crowd. You spotted John B and Sarah at he edge of the dance floor and led JJ toward them.

“What the hell are you doing here? Is that my suit?” John B questioned.

“It’s not like you were gonna wear it. Anyways, Y/N and I were no pissed that you guys abandoned us for this Kookfest, we decided to come crash your party. Free booze, dancing, the chance to fuck with some Kooks, it’s one hell of a honeymoon.”

He wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you closer, giving John B an exaggerated smile.

“Honeymoon?” Sarah questioned, raising her eyebrows and giving you a sly smirk.

“Yup. Oh, and, by the way, if anyone asks, I’m your favorite cousin Charles. Okay, we’re gonna go find Kie. See you love birds later.” He led you away from the dance floor, but you didn’t miss Sarah mouth we’ll talk later at you.  

Sarah was the one to help you realize your feelings for JJ. When she had first started dating John B, she has assume the two of you were dating. When she asked you about, you were disgusted. After asking her to elaborate as to why she believed you were dating your best friend, it became less and less disgusting. Suddenly, you realized that you very much wanted to date your best friend. That had been three years ago. Ever since, Sarah was constantly pestering you about telling JJ how you feel. She would always mention things that proved JJ felt the same way. From the way he looked at you, how protective he was of you, how he got jealous when anyone was even remotely interested in you. But no matter how much Sarah pointed out to you, you could never believe that JJ would want to be anything but friends.

The pair of you wandered around Midsummers. You eventually found Kie, who had escaped the center of the party by hiding by the grill with Pope. After complimenting your dress, then realizing it was her own, you were forced to explain how you kinda, sorta broke into her house. You and JJ escaped her wrath quickly, running to the other end of the party. You spent the next hour wandering around, drinking champagne and making shitty small talk with the Kooks who always found ways to rope you into conversations. JJ had somehow convinced a lady that the both of you were very wealthy entrepreneurs on the look out for new companies to invest in.

“So, you do a lot of investing?” The lady, you think he name was Eleanor, asked.

“We like to dabble. I recently invested in some shirts I got a garage sale. Left those at Wendy’s on the way home, so,” JJ raised his glass towards the women, giving her a serious look, “the economy.”

You both let out the fakest rich laughs you could, causing the women to step away from you quickly. Your fake laughs turned into real giggles at the look the lady’s face. You walked father away from the crowd learning against a wall near the edge of the party.

“Who knew Midsummers could be so fun,” You remarked, grinning at JJ. He smiled back, bumping shoulders with you. You dissolved into a comfortable silence, observing the party moving in front of you. You glanced toward the front of the club and noticed the doorman from watching you and JJ.

“JJ!” You tapped the boys shoulder and nodded toward the man. He looked at him quickly before looking back at you.

“I think it’s time for an acting lesson. Lesson one, method acting,” JJ said. He leaned forward, placing a hand on your cheek. For a second, it seems like his lips are heading straight for yours. You stomach flips as he gets closer. But he suddenly changes course, his lips landing on your cheek.

“I don’t think that’s what method acting is,” You said.

“It’s my method of acting,” He whispered in your ear, sending a shiver down your spine. He quickly pulled away, going back to leaning against the wall. You gave yourself a moment to calm your racing heart before looking back towards the doorman. He was no longer watching the pair of you, thankfully. You returned your attention towards the party, trying to ignore the tingle on your cheek where his lips has touched.

Your head perked up as the music changed, the band playing Dream a Little Dream of Me. You let out a content sigh.

“I love this song,” You said. JJ gazed at you, taking in the peaceful look on your beautiful face. He slowly took your hand in his and brought it up to his lips. He placed a gentle kiss on your knuckles as he met your eyes. Your breath caught in your throat at the intensity of his gaze and practically swooned at the tone of his voice has he quietly spoke.

“Sunshine, would you like to dance?”

You could only nod, smiling at the boy as he led you to the dance floor. Your hands stayed clasped together, while your other hand rested on his shoulder. His hand landed dangerously low on your hip, gripping it and pulling you close. Your face was only about a foot from his, breath mingling as you swayed to the music.

“You look beautiful tonight,” He whispered.

“You already said that,” You whispered back.

“And I’ll say it again.” He grinned at you, pulling away to give you space to twirl before pulling you back in, closer than before.

“God, you deserve this. Not having to worry about a thing. Getting to wear beautiful dresses and go to glamorous parties. Why do people like Rafe Cameron, the living equivalent of trash, get to enjoy this shit while you, a literal goddess among women, gets stuck on the Cut with trash like me.” He glanced down has he spoke, refusing to meet your eyes. You placed your hand under his chin, lifting it to look at you.

“I’m glad this wasn’t my life. Because if I was stuck on Figure 8 I never would have had met you. I’m glad I’m stuck on the Cut, because I get to stuck with the coolest people I know. Even now, if I were given the chance to go Full Kook, I wouldn’t go anywhere unless you were with me.”

JJ looked at you, mouth agape. Your hand moved from his chin to his cheek. You started to move in, as did JJ, breath picking up the closer you got. Suddenly, a hand slammed onto JJ’s shoulder, making both of freeze.

“Enjoying your honeymoon, nephew?” Ward Cameron spoke from behind JJ. JJ looked in your eyes and smirked.

“Well honey, looks like we’re heading home early.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a few security guards making their way towards you. JJ gripped your hand and began running off the dance floor. You ran with him, laughing as he antagonized the security guards chasing after you. You kicked off your shoes as you ran, making a note in your head to apologize to Kie later. The two of you weaved through the crowd, running down the beach and into a grouping of trees. JJ suddenly pulled you to the side pressing you up against a tree. You could hear the the security guards talking at the edge of the woods.

“Just make sure they don’t make it back in.” One of them said, before walking away. You barely paid attention to the security guards, though, too busy staring into JJ’s eyes. You both were breathing heavily after your daring escape. JJ’s hair was a mess, falling into his eyes. He licked his lips, eyes moving from your eyes to your mouth. You reached up to brush his hair back. Hi hand caught your wrist, pulling you closer to him before his hands wrapped around your waist. His lips crashed onto yours  hungrily. You kissed him back with equal fervor, hands tangling in his hair and forcing his head closer. He tasted sweet and bubbly like the champagne you had consumed the night. He tasted like the stars, beautiful and sparkling and like a dream.

When you finally parted to catch your breath. His hand move up to your face, cupping your cheeks.

“I love you, Y/N. It may be selfish, but I’m so glad you got stuck on the Cut with me. Being around you makes me feel like I can be anything and that I don’t belong dead in a ditch somewhere. And for so long I thought I could handle just being friends, but I can’t fucking do it anymore. I want kiss you and hold you and make you feel good!You are my fucking sunshine and I want to give you everything you deserve. I may not be able to give it to you now, but, if you’ll let me, I will stop at nothing to give you everything.”

You were frozen. Tears were gather at the corner of your eyes as you took in his words. One of your hands moved to cover JJ’s on your cheek. You gave him a watery grin.

“JJ, you’re here in front of me. I already have everything.”

He smiled and captured your lips once again, silently thanking the universe for putting you in his life.

[fandom-imagines-stories]

When He Came Home

Frankie “Catfish” Morales X Reader

Words: 2375

Summary: Your husband returns home from a ‘spontaneous vacation’ with a couple of his military friends, but you notice something off about him. While you already had suspicions, his unusual silence confirms that more happened than he let on. 

Notes: Yup. All the Pedro characters shall have imagines. (I’m also thinking about writing one for Oscar Isaac’s character Santiago ‘Pope’ Garcia)

-

You were pissed. It didn’t take a mind reader to guess that. Frankie sheepishly put down his duffle bag and stepped into the apartment. 

“Hey, babe.” He greeted, taking off his cap and running his fingers through his hair nervously. 

“What. The. Fuck?” You whispered, making sure that the baby didn’t hear you. Frankie stepped towards you, but you kept to the corner of the kitchen, sending daggers with your glare. “Five fucking days. You don’t answer your phone. You don’t call. I have no idea where you are for five fucking days. I tried calling Santiago, I tried calling Tom-” You didn’t notice the way he flinched when you said his name, “No one answers. Jullian had a fever and I had to take him to the doctor and you weren’t here!” You threw the rag in your hand across the counter, the sudden motion scaring Jullian. His shrill cry filled the kitchen and you sighed with frustration, moving to pick him up. 

“I got him.” Frankie crossed the apartment to Jullian’s booster seat, lifting him up into his arms. “Hey buddy,” His voice was soft and comforting as he rocked the baby back and forth in his arms, bouncing on his heels. Jullian continued to cry. “I know, I was gone too long.” He leaned in, giving you a side glance as he whispered. “Momma’s mad at me.” After a few more minutes of bouncing, Jullian calmed down, laying his head on Frankie’s shoulder. 

“He only stops crying when you hold him.” All of the stress and worry you’d felt over the past five days just fell away, replaced with the relief of having him home. Frankie held out his free arm and you stepped into him willingly, letting him wrap it around you. 

“I’m sorry.” He kissed your forehead, his breath warm against your skin. After everything that had happened in those god-forsaken days, he held onto the two of you with all of the strength he had left. 

-

To make up for the distress, Frankie cooked dinner while you could relax in the living room, slowly swaying to the music on the radio. Your feet lightly grazed the wood floor as you moved, Jullian’s delightful giggle mixing with the music. He was sitting on the couch, reaching out to you with his fat little fingers. You picked him up and continued dancing, swooping him up and down to make him laugh more. Frankie peeked around the corner and smiled, wiping his hands off on a towel. This was the life that he wanted. Sure, the thought of reliving those days with Pope and the other guys was part of what got him to agree to the heist, but now that he was back here with you and his son, he couldn’t think of why he would ever risk it. 

“Dinner’s ready.” He announced, almost sad to break up the little party. When you looked over at your husband, there was something about his smile that was off. Something almost sad. Like he was afraid that everything in front of him was only a dream. You set Jullian down in his booster seat and felt a hand gently rest on your hip. “Hey…” Frankie started, pulling you close to him. “I am sorry. I should have told Santigo to go without me-”

“No, I get it.” You draped your arms around his neck. “A little vacation with the guys sounded fun. You needed to spend some time with everybody from the ‘old days’.” His lips formed a tight smile. 

“Right.” He pulled back and took off his hat, playfully placing it on Jullian’s head. The baby laughed and squealed as the far-too big hat flopped down in front of his eyes. Frankie smiled. “Come on, let’s eat.” 

A few hours passed and Frankie was able to get Jullian to sleep twenty minutes sooner than you would have been able to. The two of you opened some beers and turned on a soccer game. Frankie loosely draped his arm around your shoulders and you curled up next to him. During commercials, a trailer for some new action movie came on, showing a group of men robbing a bank with automatic rifles. You weren’t really paying attention until you felt Frankie’s shoulders tense and the arm around you pulled you closer. His breathing was fast and his eyes were unfocused. At the climax of the trailer, a round of gunfire went off and he flinched. 

“Baby?” You said softly. He hadn’t had this problem in years. “Frankie, honey, it’s okay.” You placed a hand on his chest, feeling his racing heartbeat. The commercial ended and he snapped out of it, looking at you as if nothing had happened. 

“I’m going to get some ice, my beer’s warm.” He announced, kissing your cheek and walking out into the kitchen. 

You didn’t say anything about it for the rest of the night. You figured that hanging out with the boys maybe just brought up some bad old memories. But deep in your gut, you had a feeling it was something else. A sudden vacation with a bunch of ex-military buddies? The more you dwelled on it, the more and more suspicious it became. 

You tried to call Tom, the most responsible of the group, to ask him some questions, but nobody answered. So you called Santiago.

“Hey Y/N.” His voice was pleasant and you could practically picture that smug smile on his face. “It’s good to hear from you.” 

“Santi, it’s been too long that I’ve had one of those cocktails of yours.” You laughed. You remembered Santigo being Frankie’s best man at your wedding, both of them all grins like a couple of high school boys. If anyone knew what was going on with Frankie, it would be Santiago. “I was just calling to ask how the vacation went. Frankie seems a little… off.” 

“Oh, um…” There was silence on the other end for a moment and the rustle of him switching the phone to the other ear. “The vacation was great. He’s probably just jet-lagged.” There was something fake about his laugh that did little to comfort you. While he was damn good at what he did when it came to his friends he was a terrible liar. 

“Right…” You sighed, running your fingers through your hair. “Thanks, Santi, talk to you soon.” 

“Take care, Y/N.” His voice was suddenly sincere, almost guilty. “Give that kid of yours a hug for me.” 

“Will do.” You hung up just Frankie came out in his shorts and a toothbrush in his mouth. 

“Who was that?” He wondered curiously. 

“Just one of the girls gossiping about her ex’s new wife.” You shrugged. He stepped into the light of the bedroom and you gasped. Covering his arms and torso were scrapes and bruises, some of which looked pretty damn serious. “A fucking vacation?!” You shouted, wincing when you heard Jullian wake up crying. Frankie moved to go get him, but you stomped out furiously. “Don’t. Fucking. Move.” 

Of course, being the least favorite parent, you couldn’t get him to stop crying despite any of your efforts. You tried rocking him back to sleep, feeding him, changing him, but nothing ceased the wailing. 

“Babe, let me get him.” Frankie sighed from the doorway. 

“I’m fine.” You snapped, although your son’s shrieking was starting to give you a headache. 

“Y/N,” Frankie held out his arms and you reluctantly handed him Jullian. Almost immediately, he began to calm down. 

“I can’t…” You let out an angered growl and went to the kitchen for a glass of water to try and cool your head. You let the anger boil out of you until all that was left was the sheer panic and worry from seeing those marks. Slowly, you walked back to the nursery. 

“Shhh,” Frankie cooed, sitting on the floor next to the cradle. Jullian’s tiny hand held onto his finger through the bars Jullian’s eyes slowly closed and Frankie drew his hand away but he didn’t stand up. He just sat on the carpet, looking at his son. “I heard you talking to ‘Pope’. You’re right. We weren’t on vacation.” He hung his head, his shoulders heavy with guilt. “He called us in for a job. A drug dealer down in Columbia that he’s been hunting for years had a house out in the jungle where he kept all of his money. ‘Pope’ wanted to take him down and we’d get a fair share of whatever money we took. He…” Frankie shook his head. “He needed a pilot.” 

“Frankie tell me you didn’t.” You knelt down beside him, putting a hand on his bruised shoulder. After he got busted carrying his buddy’s coke, he lost his license. 

“That money could have set us, baby.” He muttered angrily. “We never would have needed to worry about rent, we could send Jullian to any college that he wanted, hell we could live in an actual house instead of this shitty apartment.” You ran your hand up and down his back, careful to avoid any sore spots. 

“So what happened to it?” You wondered. You weren’t mad about the money. You were pissed that he put himself in danger again. He kept his eyes trained on the floor. 

“Everything went so wrong.” His words seemed to choke him as he spoke. “We took so many bags full of cash that the helicopter couldn’t make it over the mountains.” He motioned the bruises and scrapes. “These are from the crash.” 

“God, Frankie,” You cried, wrapping your arms around him from behind, laying your forehead against his back in between his shoulder blades. Your hands rested on his stomach and he put his hands on top of them. 

“We were too damn cocky. Thought we could actually pull it off. But things just got worse and worse and the only way to get the rest of us out alive was to ditch most of the cash.” The rest of us. Things started to click in your head and you felt disbelief turn inside you like a sickness. 

“Frankie…” You moved around him so that you were looking at his face. “Why hasn’t Tom been answering the phone?” Your voice cracked because you didn’t really want to know. You wanted to pretend that it was just a stupid vacation. Frankie screwed his eyes shut and spoke quietly like if he said it soft enough then it wouldn’t be true. 

“Tom’s dead.” His eyes opened, glossy and lost. And just like that, the stoney expression shattered, the numbness of everything fading and allowing for the sting. Frankie’s lip trembled and he tried to choke out something else. His friend was dead. He’d watched him die. Watched his brains splatter against the rocks of that godforsaken mountain. Tom was a good man. A father. 

You didn’t say a word, instead pulled him into you, his head falling onto your shoulder, cradled by one hand as the other rubbed his back. His breathing was ragged and labored. And he clung to you like you were keeping him together, his arms wrapped tightly around your waist. You stayed like that in silence for seemed like an eternity before the too of you went out to the kitchen for a glass of whiskey you’d been saving for a rainy day. 

He told you everything. From the walls full of cash to the villagers trying to take it. He couldn’t look you in the eye when he talked about the ones he killed. 

“I shouldn’t have pulled the damn trigger, but I thought that they were getting too aggressive. Nobody knows if I shot first or if Tom did, but he’s the one that paid for it.” He drank his glass in one gulp and put it back on the counter. “That kid should have come after me.” 

“Frankie, you can’t think like that.” You sighed, running a hand through his messy brown hair and resting it on his cheek. “What would I have done if you didn’t come back?” 

“Tom’s kids lost their father that day.” He snapped, pulling away from you. “No amount of money is going to change that.” 

“And those girls don’t deserve that.” You agreed. The thought of their loss made your heartache. You made him look at you again. “But would Jullian have deserved to lose his?” You didn’t fight the tears as they fell, watching them build in his eyes as well. “Who would get him to stop crying?” You both laughed through the sadness. “Because God knows I can’t.” 

Frankie finally smiled and pulled your lips up to his. His fingers found their way to the nape of your neck, tangling themselves in your hair. He thought about every time that he didn’t think he would make it back. That hazy blur when the helicopter crashed and he thought he was dead. That he would never see your face again or hear you yell at him. He would never get to see Jullian grow up. To teach him how to drive or watch him graduate. 

The two of you knew that you wouldn’t be getting any sleep so you reclaimed your spots on the couch and turned on some late-night talk show. You laid down with your head in his lap and one of his hands played with your hair while the other rested on your hip. 

“Hey, Frankie?” You started, rolling over so you were looking up at him. He hummed in acknowledgment and smirked down at you. “If Santiago ever needs anything ever again…” You lifted yourself up to give him a sweet and semi-seductive kiss. “Tell him he has to go through me.” He chuckled and grabbed your waist, deepening the kiss. The couch became a kind of sanctuary for him. The only thing that existed was you with your smile and your voice and your soft, unscarred skin. You were his reminder that there was still good in the world from the light you brought to the beautiful life that the two of you had created. 

He was here. He made it out of the hellhole alive. And he was never risking the life he built again.

-

Group Chat(s)Tag List (You know who you are!): @rae-gar-targaryen​; @jnniferjreau​; @ladamari68​; @libellule2001​; @c-ly-g​; @lovingtheway​; @anevrismes​; @cyarika-darling​; @caffinatedstudyspace​

[fandom-thingies]

Soot and Ash (pt 3 and end)

Part one here, part two here

I come to on my knees, which is ironic because-

Hey! Why am I stuck thinking in first person now? This is awful!

What happened to disassociating my way through existence? That was way better! 

Moving on from the fact that I’m apparently now forced to actually focus on my own existence, (which is bullshit) I come to on my knees, which is ironic considering all the atrocities I’ve committed in the name of staying off them.

It’s not super comfortable, so I shift my legs into a better sitting position, leaving my feet to poke out from under the edge of my coat.

...My coat, which I’m apparently wearing. 

I honestly don’t have the energy to question that, so I just adjust the collar slightly from where it had been poking into my chin and otherwise ignore it.

I look up, and…

Well, there everyone is. They haven’t really moved much, so I guess I wasn’t gone long.

Philza and Techno aren’t really doing anything of interest, so I let my eyes move past them. Tubbo looks like he’s trying not to have a panic attack, which is honestly fair given how I started off his presidency. Fundy mostly just looks conflicted.

Tommy is staring at me like he’s just seen a ghost, which is the opposite of what’s currently happening.

I don’t honestly blame him.

His mouth opens seemingly of its own accord, but no sound emerges. He opens and closes it a few times, before whispering so quietly I’d probably miss it if the room weren’t deadly silent.

“Wilbur?” And there are so many emotions in his voice, so many things going unsaid, and how do I even respond to that?

In the end, I go with a simple “Yeah,” and I hate how my voice breaks.

I clear my throat and try again, because the only thing worse than my fear of saying the wrong thing is my hatred of this oppressive silence.

“Yeah, it’s me,” and Tommy does a full body flinch. I… Probably deserve that. Well, back to talking! I hate this emotional awareness I apparently have now! All this guilt is awful!

“I thought it would be more like death, you know?” I fidget with my hands a bit. Wish I had some damn blue right now. “But it’s just... “

I trail off.

Techno, another hater of awkward silences, saves me from my conversation-carrying by interjecting.

“So you remember, then?”

“I do, yeah. Eugh,” I pull a face, “My brain is forcing me at swordpoint to confront all the shit I repressed. 0/10, would not be resurrected again,” 

Philza giggles, because he’s terrible at dealing with emotional moments and- oh hey is that where I get it from?

“What, so you’d rather just keep running from the consequences of your actions and pretend what you did wasn’t your fault?” Ah, Fundy appears to have decided how to feel about this whole thing. I cringe slightly, since I think I know what he’s referring to and it’s not this.

“I did say something to that effect, didn’t I…” Why, almighty Prime, do I always have to say dumb shit that comes back to bite me later? 

Fundy’s eyes narrow. “And then you drank an invis pot and ran away,”

Wishing I had one right now, I respond, “Right… Yeah,” Which is such a cowardly sentence that if I still had the ability I’d retroactively erase it from my mind.

He’s my son, right? He deserves better than this. He deserves better than me, too, but the thing with Eret fell through so I might as well at least attempt to be slightly less of a spineless weasel.

“...I’m sorry.”

And honestly, the worst thing of all is the naked surprise on his face.

Man, why do I suck? Why did Sally ever let me near a kid?

Wait.

WAIT.

“I ATE SALLY?”

“Yup.” Philza pops the P.

I lift my hands to my face and use them to yank my beanie over my eyes. Why would I-? How could I have done that? She was my wife, I used to run my fingers over her scales as I whispered sweet nothings and she stared at me with those beautiful beady eyes and I just ate her like it was nothing.

Prime, so many of my life’s tragedies are ones I’ve caused myself, it’s almost ironic. 

I… Don’t have it in me to mourn Sally right now. That’s something I’ll cry about later, lose sleep over and have nightmares about, but for now I just don’t have the energy to grieve her as she deserves.

I don’t seem to have the energy to do anything properly, right now. 

Or ever, given my track record.

“I’m just- I’ll process that later,” I wipe my eyes and pull my beanie back up, because I’m a talented person and I’m using those talents to reschedule this mental breakdown for a later date.

“So! Yeah! I remember things! Including all the things I forgot!” False enthusiasm, my old friend! 

Oh, Tommy is making an interesting face! I wonder why-

Right.

He didn’t tell anyone about exile, did he? 

What do I even do about that? He’s got buckets of trauma from it, so I can’t just be all ‘oh hey, I remember when I trusted Dream enough to cut off all communication between you and the people you care about, that sure was fucked up of me, huh?’ Because trauma, and also that’s just generally a terrible way to approach fucked up things you did, which yes, I do know, shut up.

Actually, I didn’t ever say that I wasn’t delivering his messages, did I? I mean, he’s probably figured it out, but this is Tommy we’re talking about so there’s really no way to be sure.

“Speaking of things I remember now, I feel like I should mention that I didn’t deliver any of the letters you sent during your exile, if you hadn’t figured that out,” Awful, terrible way to say it, no delicacy at all, but it’s been said!

Tommy blinks. Then he raises an arm slightly in an aborted gesture before it falls back to his side.

Then he raises both arms, palms flat and sideways like he’s holding a box in the least efficient way possible, and says

“What the FUCK, big man,”

[ivyandink]

How The Ivy’s End - Season 1

it’s long af, so below the cut. at the end is a brief tldr; too for u instant gratification fans

Levi & Penelope

Levi and Penelope, after raising 4 kids together (Luna, Dorian [Penny + Zach’s baby, passed off as Levi’s], Morgan and Charlotte [Penny+Levi’s twins]), have a struggling relationship.

Levi is constantly trying to make things work, to make Penny happy, and to find the ‘spark’ they once had, in an attempt to revive their dead bedroom (yup!!! rip). Penny gets put on a project at work that has her teaming up with a legal consultant... none other than ex-boyfriend Justin Brees!

While Levi is struggling to work on his relationship with Penelope, raise his children, and manage his relationship with Luna’s mom Megan, Penelope is starting to feel things she hasn’t felt in a while-- but for Justin. 

When Levi and Penny’s neighbor hits on Levi one afternoon, after he rejects her she tells him she knows his relationship is falling apart-- she sees it, because so is hers. Turns out... she maybe have been right!! Penelope starts toying with the idea of breaking things off with Levi, to pursue Justin; the way she feels around him is just incomparable.

She’s ready to pull the trigger, and put an end to their ~4 years together when... Zach shows up. The father of her first child (who everyone thinks is Levi’s!), the man who spun a wild tale about a mysterious man he worked for, and some sort of danger which meant he had to disappear for a while. It took time, but eventually Penelope realized she’d been played. Zach, an avid reader nonetheless, made up a wild story all to avoid responsibility. 

Or did he.....?

Feeling the pressure and a surge of emotions from Zach’s return, Penelope finds comfort in the familiar, and reels herself back in from breaking things off with Levi. Together, they try to determine what to do about Zach being back in the picture, and wanting to meet his son. Penelope is adamant that she doesn’t want to give him a chance, but Levi, despite how much he wants to agree with her, can’t, after having experienced what it was like to not be able to see your own child. He urges her to hear Zach out, at the very least.

And when she does, it turns out... Zach’s story wasn’t as farfetched of a lie as she thought. He was on the hook for partaking in a money laundering scheme, through his business, Scratch Publishing. He’d fallen into the scheme thanks to a man he met and befriend in his NA group-- Michael Windsor. By the time he’d realized what was happening, he was in too deep to safely get out. That was why he’d pushed Penelope away in the first place, broken up with her over something trivial, and run when she’d told him about the baby. He couldn’t risk bringing her down with him. Thankfully, the statute of limitations on money laundering was five years, and with a solid four under his belt and no red flags or contact from Mr. Windsor, he figured it’d be safe to come back.

In awe of his words, Penelope’s harsh demeanor starts to slowly dismantle. The thing she’d always held against Zach was his abandonment, his betrayal, and how much he’d broken her heart when she was certain they were truly, deeply in love. How did she feel about him now that it turned out all of that was to protect her?

Slowly, but surely, Penelope allows Zach back into her, and Dorian’s life. Zach and his son bond almost instantly, which is both heartwarming and troubling. Dorian had been raised thinking Levi was his dad... what were they to say now? For Levi especially, it was hard seeing a child he’s come to see as his own, be taken away... rightfully so, by his biological father... but nonetheless, it wasn’t easy. Especially not for a second time. Within himself, now Levi has to grapple with the dilemma of how to tell his entire family he’d lied to them for four years...

Eventually, he tells them all, and once the chaos and confusion of it all blows over, things start to settle into a nice (albeit, strange) routine with Levi, Penelope, Zach and Dorian. As Zach grows closer with his son, he grows closer with Penelope too-- the old inside jokes, the literary references, the intimate teasing they’d once had together, all slowly starts to come back. Meanwhile, Justin is still spending late nights working with Penelope, and talking to her far too much to be considered strictly professional. Oh, and she’s still with Levi, and raising four children with him....

Levi, focusing on his family and his career, is presented with the opportunity of a lifetime. An international trip, to photograph at some of the top fashion events in Paris. He knows it’d be a game changer for his career, but declines the offer, in favor of staying home, where he can keep an eye on his kids, and more importantly, his relationship, which seems to be falling apart at the seems, and slipping through his fingers like water. (Somewhere in there, Luna gets into child modeling lol.)

After months of battling her emotions, dealing with the revisiting of old feelings of abandonment with Zach (both romantic and parental... him leaving Dorian mirrors her own father leaving her much to much for comfort) and trying to make the best decision not only for herself, but for her family(s?), Penelope decides to end things with Levi. She realizes that if she is feeling so conflicted (and over three men, at that!), that Levi deserves better. She jumped head first into motherhood at such a young age, and lost herself in the tumult of it all. She needed time to be alone-- no Levi, no Justin, no Zach-- to be herself for once, and find out who that woman was. 

....to be continued...

Violet & Jordan

Vi and Jordan couldn’t have a more perfect life. A beautiful daughter, a brand new home, a fancy lifestyle, and a brand new baby boy on the way to complete it all. There had never been a couple more in love in the history of time than Violet and Jordan-- that’s what they like to think anyways.

Their biggest crises is Jordan’s desire to start his own business. After near a decade of working in restaurants, and five years managing one, and a lifetime interest as a hobbyist chef, Jordan realizes that his biggest dream is to open his own catering company. There’s only one problem-- it’s expensive. And truth be told, with an obstetrician for a wife, Jordan isn’t exactly the primary breadwinner in his family.

With a mountain of medical school debt still to be paid, two brand new cars, a brand new house, and two children that need college funds, Violet is gun shy over Jordan’s new proposal. Jordan takes this to mean that his wife doesn’t believe in him, which ensues a few nights of arguments, cold shoulders, and sleeping on the couch (J, not Vi, of course).

But suddenly, that all becomes trivial when Jordan gets a phone call..... his father has died. This news rocks his world. His father had never been much of a father to him, and in fact, had been his abuser growing up. As soon as he was old enough, he’d cut ties with both his parents and got the hell out of dodge. He is filled with a strange feeling-- not quite sadness, but not relief, but a weird mixture of the two. His grieving mother begs him to come home for the funeral. For the moment, Vi and J set their disagreements aside, and say goodbye as Jordan leaves his very pregnant wife to catch a flight to Willow Creek.

To put it simply, this is an intense experience for Jordan. Being back in a place he associates with his terrible childhood, in a place he hated and couldn’t wait to run from...He hardly knows how to process it all. He is happy to see his mother, and grateful now she can be free from her husband’s abuse, too. Except... she’s not happy he’s gone. She doesn’t see herself as freed-- she would’ve defended her husband until the grave, no matter how many bruises he left, and she did exactly that. Jordan decides to stay for the week, and help his mother get everything in order, despite it all.

As he spends time in Willow Creek, he is reminded of the crew he used to run with as a teen and young adult-- people he hardly recognizes now. Except maybe... Cami. Cami had been his ex girlfriend, on again off again sort of situation. They’d dated throughout high school, and after he’d broken up with Violet to give her a better shot at life (thinking, wrongfully, he’d hold her back), Cami was the woman he turned to in his time of heartbreak. Feeling stranded and alone in Willow Creek, with his mom blaming him for his father’s death, and generally feeling like he’s at a crossroads in his life, Jordan ends up humoring Cami’s insistence on hanging around.

Cami knew what it was like. She got it. In ways Violet never could. She'd been hurt by her parents too. She’d grown up in a rough part of town, got involved with the wrong people and the wrong things, just like he did. In a way, they were kindred spirits-- it why they always found their way back to each other, despite how toxic it always ended up being. And if there is one word to describe Cami, it is determined. She is determined to get her way.

She calls him JJ-- his old nickname, that he now despises and associates with his tumultuous youth. She tries to remind him of who he was, and still is, deep down. Who they were together. She tries to tell him that this new life he’s got? It’s not him. It’s that boujee bitch wife of yours, JJ. I bet she don’t even understand you-- bet she doesn’t even get how you can miss someone even when they’ve hurt so bad... bet she said ‘good riddance’ when you told her the news. She doesn’t get you JJ, not like how I do... how I always did.

She comes on to him, pushing herself against him. Jordan gets angry, tries to push her off of him. She goads him on. What’re you gonna do, baby? Hit me again? Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree I guess, JJ. That was one time Camille. One time. I am nothing like him. No baby, you’re not... mmm.. not at all. Shhh, it’s okay, don’t cry. I’m here. I’m here. I’m never leavin’ you JJ, not ever again. 

In a moment of incredible vulnerability and weakness, Jordan relents to her seductions. But... only momentarily. It doesn’t take long for him to realize what is happening-- he pushes her off of him and storms away, as she cries out his name. Disgusted with himself, he immediately goes to call his wife. He breaks down, sobs shaking his body, as he tells Violet everything. Except the other end of the line stays silent... Don’t bother coming home, Jordan. There’s nothing for you here anymore. Stay the fuck away from me.

Cheating was the one thing Violet would never, ever stomach. She hangs up the phone, stoic and stiff as a rock, and then collapses into tears, crying on her beautiful, marble kitchen floors. She she looks around her home, she sees Jordan everywhere. She sees the life they’ve built together over the years. And she knows she can’t stay there for the night. Violet packs a bag for herself and her daughter, drops Willow off with her mom, and heads to Wes and Nate’s place to get away for the night.

...to be continued...

Wes & Nate

Wes and Nate, after four years of marriage, are ready to grow their family. With both of them working good jobs, and a townhouse in a nice enough part of the city (that Nate’s parents may or may not have helped out with...), they figured it was time. Of course, the pleading mothers on both sides of the family didn’t help matters!

Turns out, however, it’s not the easiest thing in the world to adopt a child, especially as a gay couple. Agency after agency has turned them down-- either because they don’t work with gay parents, or because they say they’re just ‘not the right fit’ (code for: you’re gay but we’re scared to say that’s our reasoning). The few agencies that have been willing to work with them are still struggling to pair them with a birth mother. Possibly because despite both of them having good jobs, neither has a college education. Or possibly because on more than one occasion, Wes had dropped an f-bomb during the interview process. Or possibly.... Weston’s questionable family history, and his father being a convict-- which came up on several occasions. 

Feeling depressed and defeated, Weston’s connects with Nate’s sister, Thalia, who is also struggling to conceive with her husband Gianni. Neither of them thought they’d ever really want kids one day, and here they are, both in their feelings about not having them. They have their heart to heart, as it feels like the only person who truly gets it is each other. The feeling of letting their partner down, over one of the biggest things.

Despite Wes and Nate’s growing frustrations, they try and stay patient. And finally, it seems to be paying off! A birth mother has agreed to match with them! Finally, it seems they have conquered the beast.

Until..... she changes her mind, and rescinds the offer, after finding out about Weston’s absent dad. Failure, again. They both know there is nothing they can do to change the sort of childhood Wes had, and that it has no bearing on the types of dads they will be-- it’s just a matter of time until they match with someone who won’t hold that against them. But it inspires Nate to bed the question to his husband... should he try and reconnect with his dad again?

It had been years of avoidance since the last time Steven showed up in Weston’s life. He’d avoided him then, and ever sense. But now, with the topic coming up over and over again, he does feel compelled to reach out. It doesn’t take long to get his number from his mom; he finds out he lives just a few hours away, and they schedule to meet somewhere in the middle.

And for the first time ever, Wes willingly confronts his father. His whole life, he’d built him up to be some kind of monster, and he can’t tell if he’s disappointed or just plain sad to see the man his father has actually become-- a tired, old, cracked out looking man with shaky hands. 

As they talk, Steven apologizes for never being a dad to him, but also admits that he never wanted to be a dad-- not then and not now. The times he reached out years ago, he was just hoping to get to know his kid, as a fellow adult, not like some mentor or fatherly figure. That was a role Steven never did well in. Steven tells Wes how despite his actions, he really did care for him, and his mom, Daria, and he’d cleaned up his act ever since he got out of prison. He confesses that he might not be the best grandfather in the world, but says he is willing to try, if Wes is willing to bring his child around him, one day (despite the fact that Steven gets visibly uncomfortable referencing the fact that Wes is, indeed gay and married to a man). With mutual understanding and no more hard feelings, the men shake hands and part their separate ways.

And as if by some kind of strange magic... Wes and Nate get paired with a birth mom just a few weeks later. Although this time, they know better than to hold their breath, there is something different about this woman and this situation that feels... right.

...to be continued...

Wrap It All Up

Jordan has returned home, Violet is still refusing to forgive him, and only seeing him when they exchange their daughter. Inside, both of them are absolutely crushed, but neither of them knows how to begin to fix the wreckage. Jordan has been coping with all the old dirt his father’s death and trip back home stirred up in himself, and throws himself into developing his business idea. He’s added onto it-- not only will it be a catering company, but he will specifically try and work with at-risk youth. Kids from bad homes, and bad situations. Even with no financial backing, he decides to take the risk and go for it.

Penelope, discovering herself as a single woman and trying to cope with the tremendous emotions she’s been having, is finally starting to find her footing. She’s finally figured out a good childcare schedule with Levi, she’s thriving at work, and she’s starting to see herself-- and what she wants-- clearer. She ends things with Justin (or what little had ever been there) once and for all, and finds herself spending more and more time with Zach, out of desire and not just necessity. With all of her reasons to hate him melted away, the feelings of love she thought were gone start to come back. And-- surprise, surprise-- they’re returned.

Violet has been staying with Wes and Nate, and celebrating with them over the news of matching with another birth mom. She’s been helping them coordinate with her, send her the right sort of items, and prepare their future nursery. One night, her and Wes are up late, talking, as they usually do. And finally Wes tries to approach to touchy subject of her marriage. 

Wes looks at Vi, and point blank, asks her if she wants to divorce Jordan. Instantly, she says no. That tells Wes everything. He urges her to forgive Jordan-- he made a terrible, awful mistake, but he immediately tried to do the right thing. He stopped it before it went further, and his first thought was to lay it all on the line to Violet, not hide it. Wes gently reminds her of the time when she cheated on jordan... with himself. It had just been a kiss, but that was besides the point. When the little secret had finally come out, Jordan had laughed, and been more so annoyed that she was never honest, and less about the actual kiss. Violet insists that was soo different, which Weston concedes to. But still, he urges her to find it in her heart to forgive Jordan. He’s a good man, a great father, and they are truly in love-- they shouldn’t throw it away over one lapse in perfection.

Violet considers Wes’ advice... and heeds it. She goes home one day, when she knows Jordan will be off work, and finds him in the once-pristine kitchen, surrounded with food and bowls and tupperware and tomato sauce strewn just about everywhere. It catches her off guard. She laughs. And then she cries. Then she goes to her husband, wraps her arms around him, and tearfully whispers, What the hell are you doing to my kitchen, Jordan?

Jordan tells Violet about how even if he doesn’t know the financial details yet, he’s going to make his catering business happen; he tells her about the change in plans, spurred by his own troubled teenhood. As she listens to him talk about his life, his dreams, and his passion, she cries harder; she realizes that maybe she never did know this part of her husband. Maybe he never shared it, but maybe she never asked. Again, he apologizes for what happened in Willow Creek. She apologizes for her reaction, and for never taking the time to get to know the rough corners of her husband. As they kiss and makeup, Violet decides that they will tackle this catering business-- together.

Levi, more than anything, feels tired. He feels beaten down. The stress of raising four children. His relationship with Penelope falling apart despite how hard he tried to make it work. Watching Violet and Jordan’s strong marriage falter and almost crack, and Wes and Nate struggle to grow their family... It’s all too much for him-- a man notoriously always looking for love (in all the wrong places..). But, it’s even harder watching all those people around him re-find their love, and peace and happiness... while his still lies dormant. As summer draws near in the wake of the hardest year of his life to date, he decides to finally do something just for him... he calls up his boss, and last minute, takes up the offer to travel to Paris for the international project.

Violet goes into labor, and gives birth to her and Jordan’s second child, and first son. They also officially file for the name of his new catering business.

Nate and Wes fly across the country to be present for the birth of their son, grateful that things didn’t fall through this time.

Penelope and Zach finally make things official.

And in Paris, Levi scouts the streets, following the directions scrawled out on a sheet of torn paper, until he finds it. 

He knocks on the door. And Marie opens it.

////////////////////////////

tldr;

Penny has a lil love triangle with Levi/Justin/Zach. She breaks up with Levi to be single, but ends up with Zach.

Jordan cheats on Vi in a moment of weakness with his toxic ex after the death of his abusive father, but they eventually make up, and he starts a catering business and vows to hire at-risk youth.

Wes and Nate struggle to find a birth mom to adopt from, but finally, it all works out and they have a son.

Levi gets fkin WRECKED emotionally (karma fro, everything perhaps??? lool) , and ends up in Paris, knockin’ on Marie’s door. ;)

There was supposed to be a season 2, as well, which details what happens the next year, after all of this.. :) Primarily focusing on Levi + Marie, and what happens with them, and also Luna’s story! May or may not make a post for that one. Season 2 wasn’t as fleshed out. 

Most important detail I guess is that Levi and Marie end up together lol. 

~*~spoiler~*~

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Riding High Ch 12: I L Y

Chapter Summary: Its Christmas…and we reach the end of a stressful year for Frank…but as he looks back he realises, it ain’t all been that bad.

Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words. Talks of SMUT but nothing major

Chapter Pairings:  Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

A/N: Yeah yeah I know it’s the wrong time of year but hell, we’re all on lock down so the days and months don’t actually exist anyway at the moment… so let’s pretend its CHRISTMAS!!!

As always I’m a ho for a REBLOG and COMMENT! This is the end of Part 1 of Riding High! Thank you all for sticking with me and loving FRISS ( yeah I went there, eat your heart out Kimye…) as much as I do! Part 2 will see us jump forwards few months into 2018 and I have BIG things planned for our duo

Thank you, thank you, thank you to my wing-woman @icanfeelastormbrewing​ for letting me bounce the ideas, proof reading and finding me appropriate photos of our man. You can thank her the picture in the top left corner here…yeah, it made me thirsty too

Chapter Song:  Fairytale of New York by the Pogues

Series Masterlist  Main Masterlist 

I kept them with me babe, and put them with my own. Can’t do it all alone, I built my dreams around you.

Frank looked up as Fliss walked into her parent’s kitchen and his mouth dropped open. She was dressed in a gorgeous long legged strapless jumpsuit along which the neckline was embellished with lace flowers which spread down the sheer sleeves. Her long hair was styled in loose curls and she’d done something to her make up that made her cheek bones stand out even more. Her eyelids were adorned with a deep green that shimmered and made her dark eyes pop and she had a clear gloss on her plump lips. Fuck, she looked stunning. But as he watched, he saw her face fall and she bit her lip.

“Is it…is it not ok?” she asked shyly “I can change…I mean…”

“Don’t you dare.” he said sternly, stepping forward, his hands falling to her hips “Honey, you look amazing.”

Her face lit up and she smiled at him, shyly “I wasn’t sure how posh to go or…” "Lissy…” he chuckled “Stop it.”

“Sorry.” she said, wrinkling her nose. She stepped back slightly and looked him up and down, taking in his dark jeans, boots and light denim button down. “You look pretty good too Sailor.” she smiled, running her hands up his chest to his shoulder and he noticed then she was also wearing her Pandora. He smiled back, his eyes also spotting that her neck was bare and then had the perfect idea for a final Christmas Gift he had been struggling to come up with. With a soft smile he leaned down, taking in that she was slightly taller than usual thanks to her heels and he pressed a gentle kiss to her mouth.

“Get a room…” Bill shot as he walked into the kitchen, Mary in tow.

“Bore off.” Fliss shot back, looking at her dad as he sent her a grin before he did a double take.

“Wow, you look cracking Titch.”

“Thanks” she smiled

“You ready to go?”

“Sure you don’t mind dropping us?” Frank turned to look at Bill “It’s no problem to get a cab.”

“Nonsense.” Bill smiled “I gotta pick up the Thai V has ordered anyway.”

“You’re getting Thai?” Frank raised an eyebrow and glanced at Mary “Funny that just so happens to be your favourite…”

She shrugged “Verity asked what I wanted for dinner.”

Frank sighed and looked at Bill “You spoil her.”

Bill shrugged “And?”

Frank rolled his eyes a soft smile playing on his face. The way that Bill and Verity had welcomed Mary, and him for that matter, into their lives still amazed him. Whilst he and Fliss had only been officially together four weeks or so now, they’d opened their doors to him the day they had met pretty much back in August and he was eternally grateful. Mary got a sense of family, something he had wanted her to have all her life. It had even been brought up at the Court Hearing earlier that week where the paperwork had been signed awarding him legal guardianship status, the woman from the Child services department commenting in the court room that Mary had been gushing about Bill, Verity and Fliss, and seemed extremely settled. Frank was simply relieved all of it was more or less over. The last 2 weeks had been stressful as Greg had been handling the main discussions with the state for him and when they’d sat down one night to go over the notes for the settlement they had proposed, Greg told Frank that 2 major conditions would be set. Firstly that he found a home to allow Mary a room of her own and secondly that she was given access to a higher, more challenging form of education. After a bit of discussion with Mary, who had insisted she didn’t want to go to a posh school, Greg had done a little research into previous cases and come up with a suggestion that Child Services agreed with. They would provide a scholarship grant that would allow Mary to attend a number of University classes a few days a week and then her normal school the rest. It was a middle ground, giving Mary the mental stimulation she needed but also allowing her to be a normal kid. It was agreed she would return to normal school when term started in January and the arrangements would be made with the University to start there when their term picked up the middle of the same month. Frank had insisted that she wouldn’t be taking any exams or anything like that, just doing the work, keeping herself occupied. The judge had accepted the proposal, giving Frank 6 months to find alternative living arrangements, and had then awarded the Guardianship temporarily with the instruction it be awarded permanently upon a review in 6 months. So whilst not 100% complete, it was almost there, and Frank knew that as long as he did what they said, there would be no problem. The other good thing was nothing had legally been awarded to Evelyn, after she had remained completely absent from the proceedings. Which meant that if she did reach out, Frank would have total control over where and how often contact took place. Which suited him fine as he could ensure it was on Mary’s terms completely.

“Hey…you ok?” Fliss asked, rubbing his arm. He jerked round, realising he had been completely elsewhere and gave her a smile.

“Yeah, sorry, was just thinking.”

“Did it hurt?” Mary asked and Frank shot her a look as Fliss and Bill laughed as Mary left with the drink she had come in to the kitchen for.

Frank followed her into the living room as she perched on the large sofa next to Verity, the pair of them looking at something on the laptop.

“Behave.” Frank looked at Mary. “Go to bed when V and Bill tell you, no back chat or arguing…”

She saluted him and V looked up smiling. “Stop fussing Frank, she’s never any trouble.” Frank nodded and then headed out to Bill’s Range Rover catching Fliss up.

“You do realise she’s gonna be up until midnight, pigging out on junk and watching movies right?” Fliss said as he reached her side, looping an arm round her waist.

“Yup.” Frank said “But she’s staying over there and not in the Annex, which means she’ll wake them up at stupid AM in the morning after no sleep and not us so I don’t much care…”

A little while later Frank guided her into Bongos Beach Bar and over to a booth at the far side. Fliss smiled as she recognised Greg, and Frank introduced her to his wife Zara, then his friend Jake and his fiancée Lisa. Finally she smiled at Simon who then excused himself heading off to meet his date at the door.

“Date?” Frank raised an eyebrow

“Yeah he’s been seeing her for about 3 weeks.” Zara supplied “He invited her tonight…”

“Ah, he’s back.” Greg nodded over Frank’s shoulder and he and Fliss turned to see the tall blonde man walking back with a familiar face by his side.

Oh for fucks sake…

“Bonnie…” Fliss smiled at her as the woman stilled when she saw her and Frank.  

“You know each other?” Simon asked, frowning slightly.

“Yeah, errr…” Frank began, wondering how the hell he was going to get out of this when Fliss spoke up.

“Bonnie is, was, still is I suppose, Mary’s teacher.” Bonnie shot her a grateful look and Fliss simply smiled as Simon made a noise of comprehension.

"I should have twigged!” he said, as they both took a seat at the booth. Zara handed out a few glasses of prosecco from the bottle that sat on the table to Bonnie and Fliss who both thanked her, the men grabbing a beer from the bucket.

“Thank you.” Frank whispered into Fliss’ ear as she turned to look at him. “I didn’t know he was seeing her, or that she was gonna be here, I promise…”

Fliss frowned and shrugged “It’s fine.” she said, almost as if she was puzzled as to why he was apologising. The confusion on his face must have shown as she smiled and lay her hand on his knee.

“Frank, I don’t have a problem with Bonnie. I still think it was a stupid thing to do but…” she shrugged.

He smiled at her and dropped a kiss to her cheek. “You’re fucking amazing you know that?”

“Yep…” she popped the p, grinning at him as she took a drink from her champagne glass.

Fliss kept up with the conversation, but she soon realised that as nice as they were Zara and Lisa were just not her type of people. With both their husbands having well paid jobs, as a lawyer and a bank manager, both were stay at home mums with a lot of money to spend and time on their hands. Plus they clearly spent a lot of time together so a lot of the chatter they made between themselves, leaving Fliss to simply listen.

At one point she glanced at Bonnie who was sat, nervously twisting her fingers together before she excused herself and headed over to the bathroom. Fliss gave it a few seconds before she too did the same, Frank moving so she could squeeze past him, hands falling to her hips as she went.

“Hey…” Fliss looked at Bonnie who was stood leaning on a sink. “You ok?”

“Yeah, I err, well, I don’t know about you but I feel a little out of place. I mean they’re nice enough but…“

"Kinda feels like we’re outsiders.” Fliss nodded finishing the sentence for her.

Bonnie snorted “I feel like they’re judging me a little. Like I’m a teacher…who has to work, and it’s not a great job…”

“Dude, I shovel shit for a living and Frank’s a grease monkey.” Fliss said causing Bonnie to snort. “It’s not that at all, they’re just friends and we’re…well…”

“Strangers…” Bonnie nodded.

“Exactly.” Fliss shrugged “Trust me, I’ve done the whole awkward social circle thing before, this…well, this is actually kinda nice in comparison. I met some real ass hats when I was with my ex. These guys are ok”

Bonnie smiled and then she grinned cheekily "Wanna go do tequila?”

“Fuck, yes.” Fliss nodded and they left the bathroom giggling, heading straight to the bar. Bonnie placed her order and slid a note over the bar as they both settled on a stool. Fliss glanced round to the booth where Frank was sat talking to the rest of his friends before she turned back to Bonnie who slid her a shot over. Without a word they both had their salt, downed the shot, then bit into the lemon, both grimacing and laughing as Fliss ordered another two and asked Bonnie what long drink she wanted. Turns out she was also a gin and tonic woman.

“I’m glad you and Frank ended up together.” Bonnie said, smiling at her. “It’s nice.”

“Thanks.” Fliss smiled at her. “Kinda crept up on me a little, you know? I wasn’t looking for anything but…”

“I’m glad me and him didn’t ruin it.” Bonnie said gently “That entire night was a huge mistake…I could tell the day after he regretted it.”

Fliss shrugged “Well we all do dumb shit.”

“Say that again.” Bonnie mumbled as their second shots arrived along with their gin.

“You know when he told me he’d told you it was a mistake I went mad at him.” Fliss snorted “I mean, talk about a shitty thing to say.”

“Oh that’s not the half of it, he-…” Bonnie trailed off and shook her head as she took a drink of her gin. “Forget it, doesn’t matter.”

“What?” Fliss pressed.

“Nope.” Bonnie shook her head firmly.

“You can’t just say that and not tell me!“ Fliss whined as Bonnie downed her shot, before she sighed.

"He called me by your name, twice.”

Fliss choked on her gin, her eyes wide “What, when you…”

Bonnie nodded.

“Ok, so I feel like I should be apologising…” Fliss said, “Not sure what for but…” Bonnie chuckled as Fliss shook her head and continued “How did you not rip his cock off…I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m very glad you didn’t but…”

Bonnie laughed loudly as Fliss sprinkled more salt onto her hand “It’s not a big deal, he was mortified when I told him.”

“So he should be…” Fliss said, as she picked up her tequila.

She turned to look at Frank who was now looking round the bar, questioningly. He spotted her at the bar and raised an eyebrow and she met him with a look of her own. “I’m dating an ass hole.” she said, turning back to Bonnie “He’s cute though.”

There was a pause before they both laughed, and Bonnie gestured to the empty glasses. Fliss shrugged and Bonnie, with a grin, ordered another 2 shots.

****

“So, how’s the new job Frank?” Simon looked at him and Frank smiled, taking a pull from his bottle.

“I don’t start until January.” he said, “But yeah, looking forward to it. Full time wage, benefits…what’s not to like?”

“And a boss.” Greg said, and Frank laughed.

“Well, be kinda nice not to have to think about where the next job is coming from.” he shrugged, “I still get to do what I enjoy but less stress…”

Greg, Simon and Jake all exchanged a look which Frank didn’t miss. He gave a sigh. “What?”

“Nothing…”  Jake smirked “Just watching you finally growing up is bringing a tear to my eye. I mean, you brought a girl to our Christmas gathering, the first one ever…in the history of the Circle of Truth holding Christmas gatherings…”

"Yeah, I imagine this is what it’s like waving your kid off to university.” Simon nodded.

Frank raised his middle finger at them all, causing them to laugh.

“We’re only joking.” Simon said, winking “In all seriousness, it’s nice to see.”

Frank shook his head “You make it sounds like I’m some kind of utter disaster case…”

They all paused and once again looked at each other. “Oh fuck you.” Frank snorted as they all laughed again.

“Anyone seen the ladies?” Greg said, looking around suddenly.

“Oh, I think Zara and Lisa are on the dance floor…” Jake said looking round.

Frank glanced round the bar, looking and saw that indeed they were but there was no sign of Fliss. Or Bonnie for that matter. Fliss had gone to the bathroom a while back but surely it couldn’t be that long to pee, even if you were a girl.

“Oh, looks like our girls are getting on…” Simon said, nodding with his head to the bar. Frank turned in his seat and glanced over and saw Fliss laugh at something Bonnie said, before she licked a line of salt off her hand, downed the shot, and bit into the lemon. He couldn’t decide if he was relieved or a little weirded out at how cool Fliss was around the woman he’d almost ruined his chances with her over, but as he watched her cutting loose, talking to Bonnie, the two women locked in a very friendly exchange he felt his chest warm. Fliss had openly admitted to him not long back she was a little lonely, her own friends being in England and the ones she had in Boston, well, they’d not really been her friends, more his. He supposed it was nice to see her with someone like that, even if it as one of his one night conquests. As he watched Fliss spluttered on her drink and looked at Bonnie, another exchange was had before Fliss picked up her next tequila and looked at him. He raised a questioning eyebrow but all she did was smirk and turn back to Bonnie. With a slight shrug he turned to Simon.

“Wanna join em?”

Simon nodded “Yeah, why not.”

They excused themselves from the booth and headed over. Fliss smiled as Frank slid an arm round her waist and dropped a kiss to her neck, before Simon grinned and nodded as he added another 2 tequilas to their order.

Several more shots and gins later Fliss was drunk. So was Frank. Which was the reason the two of them had ended up on the outside beach dancefloor, dancing to some random Christmas shit. It was also the reason Frank’s denim button down was now un-done revealing his white sleeveless which he had on underneath, giving Fliss a perfect view of that collar bone tattoo she loved so much. It hadn’t surprised her in the slightest when he had explained where the words were from, being a man of philosophy and all that. She also loved the reason behind his Taurus tattoo, it being Mary’s zodiac sign. Basically her sailor underneath all his bravado was a huge sentimental sap. A huge, sentimental sap whose hands were once again now cupping her ass as they moved to the music. Fliss had long given up reaching around to restore them to the bottom of her back and simply smirked to herself slightly as she looked round the dancefloor and out across the dark ocean.

“Still not right.” she murmured.

“What?”

“This…” she made an elaborate gesture with her arm and hit a guy next to her. “Whoops…sorry.” she grimaced as Frank snorted, the guy simply shrugged and carried on his way. “I mean…no snow at Christmas…”

“Yeah but, you’re outside, on a christmas dancefloor, on the beach” he shrugged “I mean it’s kinda cool…”

“Suppose…” she said, and then she paused, and Frank watched as a gorgeous grin spread across her face whilst she cocked her head to the music. It had just morphed into Fairy Tale of New York and she let out a whoop “I fucking love this one!”

There was a loud cheer from someone and suddenly the two of them were squashed together as Simon and Bonnie appeared, followed by the rest of the group and they found themselves in a circle,  arms tangled around shoulders, the girls singing the girls part and the boys singing the boys part. At one point someone dressed as Santa muscled into the middle of the group, simply giving a loud cheer before he exited and moved elsewhere, causing Fliss to snort hysterically, hanging onto Frank’s arm as she did. As the song ended, everyone belting out the last line the group descended into giggles and Frank just watched his girl. Her cheeks were flushed, hair was slightly frizzier now thanks to the humid outdoor air and she was absolutely the wrong side of wasted but god did he love that woman.

He loved her.

Frank Adler, one time self-proclaimed bachelor, king of the Friday night fucks was in love. When did that happen?

As he watched her lean in and say something to Greg who burst out laughing he realised he couldn’t pin point it. It had crept up on him, like a slow burn, a deep fire in the very core of his belly. And damned did that fire feel hot.

Frank reached for his girl and pulled her away from Greg. She stumbled slightly into his arms and she looked up at him, giggling a little and he cut her off with a deep kiss. And before he could stop himself, he blurted it out, right there in the middle of a temporary beach dancefloor.

“I love you.” If anyone else in the group had heard they were tactful enough to all turn away, pretending not to, but there’s no way they could have missed Fliss when she pulled back, a look of shock on her face which morphed into a grin and she pointed at Frank.

“Youuuu loooooveeee meeee!” she said in a sing song voice. Frank felt himself blush.

“Yeah, do you hafta announce it to the entire of South Pass?” his Boston accent dripped off his tongue. “Youuuu loooooooveeee meeee!” she said again and he groaned, pulling her closer. She leaned up so she could whisper into his ear, and damned the touch of her lips against his ear aroused him far more than was appropriate for the middle of a public dance floor.

“Wanna know a secret Sailor?” she asked. He turned his head to look at her and she smirked at him “I love you too.” Well fuck.

Despite the fact they were both trashed, they both knew this wasn’t just a heat of the moment thing. Both felt it, both knew that whatever it was they had was different, special, a part of them now and Frank felt himself mimicking the stupid smile on her face. He leaned down to kiss her again, and her hands tangled into his hair, the feel of her delicate nails on his scalp sent hot pokers to his belly and his already half growing arousal was, well, aroused even more.

“And that’s even though you’re an asshole who calls someone else’s name during sex…” she said as he pulled away. With a groan Frank hung his head as her arms linked around his neck, his hands locking behind her back.

“You know about that?” he asked with a little hiccup. “She told you?”

“Yup.” Fliss narrowed her eyes “And FYI you do that to me I’ll cut your balls off and feed them to Thor.” “Harsh but fair.” Frank conceded after a short pause.  She grinned and leaned up to kiss him again before she pulled away.

“Can we go now ‘cause I’m kinda horny.”

Ok, so Drunk Fliss was another Fliss to add to his list of favourite Flisses. Along with Sassy, shy, stern, sleepy, just fucked, just woken up…basically all the Flisses

“Nope.” he teased “I’m good here.” “Really?” she asked, pressing closer to him, tilting a little and he grunted a little as her hip bone pressed into his groin “Sure about that?”

“Yup…” he managed to squeak out.

“That must be a spanner in your pocket then. Or a screwdriver, or some other form of pointy tool…” she said, hardly able to finish the sentence she was laughing that much.

“Yeah, those…damned pointy tools…” he shook his head as he leaned down to kiss her. It was sloppy, open mouthed, full of tongue and absolutely filthy and left the pair of them in a bit of a daze. Frank pulled away and looked around, taking a deep breath “Ok, we can go now.”

Somehow they made it home in one piece. It took Fliss 3 attempts to get the key in the lock, the pair of them giggling like a couple of school kids, before she finally managed it and Frank leaned over and pushed the door open. Fliss stumbled slightly and Frank caught her, laughing.

“Shhh” he said.

“What for?” she asked, kicking off her shoes.

He paused for a moment and then shrugged “Actually I don’t know…”

“Idiot…” she sniggered, pushing his undone shirt down his arms before pulling at the bottom of his sleeveless. He moved so she could pull it over his head and as her fingers started to undo the button at the top of his jeans he reached round and gently found the zipper on her jumpsuit, sliding it down, his fingers gently skimming her back as they backed to the couch. Fliss fell over the arm with a thud, Frank following, before the momentum tripped him and he rolled onto the floor, pulling her with him, landing with a thud on his back. She fell on top of him, her elbow catching him in the ribs and he gave a loud huff, before she laughed and leaned over kissing him. His hands tangled into her hair, keeping her head angled perfectly, the kiss searing, leaving them breathless. Fliss pulled back and he brushed her hair back with both his hands, smiling softly at her.

“I meant what I said you know.” he looked at her

“Remind me again what that was…” she teased.

“I…” he leaned up and pecked her lips “love…” another peck “you.”

“Tell me when you’re sober…” she sassed back and gave a squeal as he whipped her over so she was on her back on the rug by the coffee table, framed between his strong arms and legs.

“In vino veritas.” he quipped and she propped herself up on her elbows, the front of her jumpsuit fell forward slightly and Frank blatantly stole a look down it at her lacy strapless bra, giving a groan.

“Yeah, and in vino a load of non-sensitas too…” she grinned and he gave a snort, as he dipped his head.

“Shut up.” he mumbled, his lips pressing onto hers again. ***** Frank groaned, blinking against the light that was streaming in through the crack in the curtains. Jesus Christ his head hurt. Rolling over he was met with a face full of hair and he blew it out of the way, smoothing down Fliss’s wild locks which were splayed all over the pillow. Gently sliding an arm under her neck he dropped the other one round her bare waist and pulled her into him, her back pressing to his chest as he snuggled close, screwing his eyes closed against the painful daylight.

“What year is it?” Fliss groaned and Frank chuckled slightly.

“Feeling rough baby?”

“Rough?” She croaked “I feel like I have a smurf in my head with a pick axe. This is all your fault.”

“My fault?“

"Yes you let me drink tequila with Bonnie.” “Ok, first off I didn’t know you were doing that until I saw you at the bar…”

“Yeah, and then you and Simon joined in…

“…and second off, you’re a grown ass woman. You make your own decisions.” She groaned again and then stilled “Fuck, we had sex last night…”

“Wow…” Frank said, laughing “Way to ruin my pride sweetheart…” “No I mean…” she shuffled onto her back and looked at him. “Did we…use…“

Franks eyes went wide. "Oh, erm…” No, no they hadn’t… fuck, fuck, fuck.

“I mean, come on, surely, we’ll be fine right?” he asked, “I mean, one time…what are the chances of…” “No, it’s not that I’m worried about.” she shook her head “I’m on the pill…I just..” she trailed off.

Frank propped himself up on his elbow as he cottoned on to what she was saying “Are you being serious?” he snorted.

“Well I don’t know where you’ve been!” she said indignantly “well, ok, maybe I know some of where you’ve been, but…” Frank snorted and shook his head “What do you take me for?”

“An ex ho?” she shot back immediately.

He fell onto his back laughing “If you must know I’ve never had unprotected sex with a one night stand in my life. And the other week I went and got tested, just for you. And I’m clean so…” “That’s so romantic… ” she grinned at him.

“Well I try.” he raised an eyebrow.

“Still love me?” she quipped and he turned his head to look at her.

“Fraid so.” “Too bad.” she teased, shuffling over to him “Coz that means you’re stuck with me…” “Oh no…” he said sarcastically as he turned onto his side, glancing down at her bare breasts “How will I ever cope?”

“Sure you’ll think of a way.” she arched an eyebrow before she suddenly went green. “Oh shit…” she mumbled, before she shot out of the bed and into the bathroom.

Frank listened to her barfing and snorted a laugh before he swung himself out of bed, glad to find his boxers on the floor by his feet. Although where the rest of his clothes where he had no idea. He knocked on the bathroom door.

“You ok?”

He heard the toilet flush and she emerged, wrapped in a robe and looked at him. “I’m never drinking tequila again. Ever.”

Frank had to hand it to his girl, despite her raging hangover she still managed to teach 4 classes of kids that day, and made it through to 9pm before she completely crashed on the sofa, falling asleep as the three of them sat in the apartment living room watching The Grinch, Mary’s choice. As the film finished at little after 10, Mary, who was lounging on Frank’s lap looked over to where Fliss lay, her head resting on the other arm of the couch, her feet nestled under his thigh, and nudged Frank.

“I know.” he said softly “Leave her be.”

Mary grinned and reached up to run her hand through his beard “you love Fliss.” He looked at her for a second, eyebrow raised “What makes you say that?”

“Roberta.” she shrugged.

Frank snorted. “Well, she’s not wrong.” “Did you tell her yet?” Mary looked at him.

“Yeah.”

“What did she say?”

“That she loves me too.”

Mary grinned “Lissy and Frank, sitting in a tree…”

He rolled his eyes as she chanted off the rest of the ridiculous rhyme and then looked at her “you finished?”

“Yup.” “Good, bed time.” “Awww Frank….”

“No arguments. Bill told me what time you stayed up till gone 1 am last night.” “Grass.” she narrowed her eyes.

“Yeah, you better believe it. Go on, wash your face, clean your teeth.”

“Shower?”

“Quit stalling Stack you had one when you got back from the stables…”

With a groan she pushed herself off his knee and he stood up as she headed into the bathroom. He pulled a fresh pair of pyjamas out of the clean pile of laundry he needed to sort that was on the chair at the back of the room and lay them on his bed before he moved over and knelt down by Fliss’ head.

“Honey…” he said gently, pushing her hair back off her face. “Baby…“

She made a noise as she wrinkled her nose, and he smiled as she blinked and looked at him.

"Oh, shit…sorry…” she said as she realised she’d fallen asleep. “What time is it?“” “Not too late.” he smiled “Just about to put Mary to bed. You staying here or…”

“Yeah if that’s ok?” “Course its ok.” he smiled.

She smiled at him as he dropped a kiss to her lips and then sat up, running her hand through her hair as she blinked, yawning. “Fuck I’m so tired.” She stood up, stretched and then smiled as Mary came back into the room. The girl shot Frank a filthy look and stalked past him into his room. “Ok, wow…” “She doesn’t want to go to bed.” he shrugged, “moody little madam.”

Fliss laughed as she headed into the bathroom. Frank sat down on the sofa and a little while later, Mary emerged and shot straight for her bed.

“Can I at least read?” she looked at him.

“10 minutes, tops.” he said, “Whilst I do the dishes…”

She grinned and he turned off the TV and headed into the kitchen, clearing away the remains of their takeaway, stowing the left overs in the fridge for lunch the day after.

In the bathroom Fliss was busy groaning to herself as she realised she’d come on. She knew she was due, but still, this was a pain in the ass. Sorting herself out, she washed her hands and walked into the kitchen. Frank looked up and raised his eyebrow, misinterpreting the look on her face.

“You been sick again?” he asked.

“No… ” she shook her head as she bit her lip. “Look, Frankie, I’m gonna go home…” “Why?” he frowned.

“I errr…” she flushed “I forgot…I…” she trailed off and his frown deepened as her hand moved instinctively to her stomach before a look of realisation crossed his features.

“Oh…” he said, nodding “Well, ok, if you’re more comfortable going home then that’s up to you sweetheart…” He dropped a kiss to her head and she looked at him, confusion flooding her brain. “You don’t want me to go?”

“Why would I want you to go?” he frowned.

“Because…” she looked at him, unable to voice what she was getting at. As a memory flooded her mind, one of John screaming at her for the sheets being marked, she was jerked back to the here and now as Frank closed the distance between them, tipping her head up to look at him. “Lissy, talk to me…”

“Sorry, I err…” she rubbed at her head “He used to make me sleep in a separate room…” “Are you for real?” Frank blurted out, and she could see the anger flooding his system. “Seriously?”

She visibly recoiled a little at his tone and Frank cursed himself as she looked at him, eyes wide as she began to apologise.

“Hey…” he said gently, reaching out to her. “Stop. You’ve nothing to be sorry for I shouldn’t have shouted I just….” he took a deep breath “That’s fucked up.” “Don’t you think I know that?” she said quietly, looking down as his hands rubbing her arms, before she looked back up at him, her eyes now had a fierce spark  “You wanna know what’s really fucked up?“ When he was trying to get me pregnant, every month he’d stop me taking pain killers. Told me it was my own fault for not managing to conceive.”

“Jesus Liss…” Frank shook his head, as she shrugged, her head turning to the side. “Baby…” “Don’t” she shrugged “I don’t wanna talk about it anymore.” “Ok.” he said, nodding. “You wanna stay?”

She nodded, smiling softly.

“Good.” he said, dropping a kiss to her forehead before he moved away from her and reached over, filling the kettle.

“What are you doing?” she asked from behind him.

“Making you a tea.” he shrugged “Used to help Diane…”

“Thanks…” she said softly after a short pause.

“You got everything you need or you need to go the store?”

“I’m good.” she nodded “Ex Girl Scout, always prepared…” He gave a laugh.

“Think I might take another shower though, if that’s…” “You don’t need to ask.” he said gently

“Ok, well…” she nodded and he smiled, before she moved over and wrapped her arms round his waist, nuzzling into his chest. He gently rubbed at her back, before she leaned up, kissed him and headed out. The kettle boiled and he leaned on the side, dropping his head slightly. What kind of fucked up asshole did that to his own wife? To a wife he was supposed to love and protect no less. It broke his heart to think anyone could be so callous, so mentally and physically abusive to someone so soft, so gentle, so damned amazing….he looked up as he saw her making her way into the bathroom, bag in hand and she smiled at him, shutting the door.

Once he’d made them both a hot drink and grabbed the Advil, he made his way through to his room, placing one mug on the bedside table on the side he slept on and then another on the sill behind Fliss’ side and leaned on the doorframe, looking at Mary. She was still reading.

“Please just the end of this chapter…” she said, holding up the Harry Potter book. Frank took a deep breath, then decided fuck it. She’d fall asleep at some point, there was no school.

“Lights off after that.” he said “I’ll be out to check.” She grinned as he dropped a kiss to her head. “Night Stack.” “Night Frank.”

Back in his room he stripped off, tossing his t-shirt into the hamper before folding his jeans and dropping them on his dresser. He settled on the bed, stretching his legs out as he kicked the duvet down and flicked on the small TV, flipping through the channels looking for something to watch. Grinning when he found an episode of Family Guy, he turned the volume down low and had been watching for about 5 minutes when he heard Fliss talking to Mary who mentioned something about the book before he heard her bid her good night, and as Fliss opened the door he saw Mary’s light flip off.

He smiled at his girl who had her hair pulled back in a braid and was dressed in a pair of bed shorts and a tight camisole type top, her shoulders bare, long legs stretched as she dropped onto the bed besides him.

“You ok?” he asked, dropping a kiss to her shoulder as she reached round for the drink. She paused as she saw the Advil and then picked it up, smiling at him as she turned to face him.

“Yeah.” she assured him as he kissed the bridge of her nose. She tossed down two pain killers and sipped her drink, her legs bent in front of her as they sat in a comfortable silence, watching the TV, both laughing softly at the show. Eventually she placed the mug down and snuggled closer to him. He reached down for the duvet and pulled it up round their legs as her head lay on his chest, his arm falling round her, fingers lightly brushing down the back of her neck, shoulder and then up again. It was an action he knew she found comforting, and he was proven right as little over 15 minutes later he looked down to find her fast asleep.

With a soft smile he turned off the TV and gently moved her so that they were both lay flat and she gave a soft hum of contentment and snuggled into him closer. With a yawn he pressed a kiss to her head and closed his eyes.

******

The rest of the two weeks remaining to Christmas was spent in a whirl of tree-decorating, paper-chain making, shopping and eating more crap than Fliss had thought humanly possible. Steve and his wife Sian arrived on the 22nd and Verity cooked a huge family dinner where Mary was introduced to their twin boys. Frank watched her with interest, they were both her age and he was pleasantly surprised to see she actually seemed to mingle with them quite well. Steve was also noticeably warmer towards him too, which was a relief, and Frank was more than happy to take him out for a beer with Bill one evening whilst the women stayed at home and wrapped presents whilst drinking copious amounts of champagne. A Gallagher tradition Frank was informed, a tradition he eagerly told Bill he could fully get on board with, especially when Fliss had offered to wrap Mary’s presents as well.

By the time Christmas Eve rolled round Frank noticed that Fliss was ridiculously excited and was happy to admit it was because she was looking forward to spending it with him and her family. When Verity had invited him to join them for Christmas dinner he’d been reticent to accept at first, not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t want to put her out. When she’d told him she’d be more offended if he refused he’d relented and made the mistake of telling Mary who hadn’t let the subject drop for the last 2 weeks. Fliss joined them in their traditional Christmas Eve celebration with Roberta, where they exchanged gifts, Roberta made up with the chunky silver bangle Fliss had spotted in a shop and the photo frame which Mary had made one evening with Bill by glue-gunning sea shells onto a plain wooden one she had gotten from Target. Once they were done, they packed Fliss’ jeep up and headed off to the annex. After watching “Elf” in the cinema room with the rest of the family,  wearing her new Chrstmas Pyjamas (another Gallagher tradition that all the kids in the family got new ones to sleep in on Christmas Eve)  they three of them headed back over to the annex and Mary shot up to bed with no fuss at all, leaving Frank and Fliss to enjoy the rest of their evening which they spent making out like a pair of horny teenagers on the couch until they’d ended up fucking like a pair of horny teenagers on the couch too. Christmas morning Fliss cracked open an eye and grinned as she sat up, listening to Mary who was calling from the spare room, before she started to sing We Wish You A Merry Christmas, which was punctuated by barks from Thor. Besides her Frank gave a groan and she nudged him.

“Wake up scrooge.” “Fuck off.” he mumbled.

She laughed and nudged him again before she climbed out of bed, wearing his T-shirt and pulled a pair of denim shorts on “I reckon you got about 2 minutes before Mary barrels through the door…” "Fucking Christmas…” Frank said, but she caught the smile on his face as he swung his legs out of bed and stretched, the muscles on his back rippling as he did so. Standing up Fliss watched as he moved, his ass looking pretty damned fine in his boxers as he headed to the bathroom, banging on the spare room door as he did. Fliss heard it fly open and a few minutes later Mary came shooting into her room and bounced on the bed, a half-eaten chocolate Santa in her hand which she had unwrapped from her Stocking. Thor followed, taking up position on the foot of the bed and Fliss hugged Mary, grinning. She loved Christmas, she always had done as a kid. Granted, it hadn’t always been fun with he-who-shall-not-be-named, but the last 2 since leaving him she’d gotten that childish excitement back, and today was no exception.

“So, I just stand here do I?” Frank asked as he leaned on the doorway, gesturing to the now full bed. Fliss grinned at him and shrugged.

“We’re not staying here.” Mary looked at him “We got presents to open downstairs…” “Hmmm not sure we do.” Frank teased as he pulled a shirt from his bag in the corner of the room “I mean, does Santa know you’re here and not at the apartment…” Mary rolled her eyes “I haven’t believed in Santa since I was 5”

“What?” Fliss said, horrified “I still believe and I’m like 33!”

Mary gave her a scathing look. Fliss shrugged. “What can I say, I believe in Christmas magic” “I did…” Mary shrugged “Until he didn’t bring me a puppy.” “He doesn’t do live animals.” Fliss reasoned.

“Or a piano.” “Too big to fit on the sleigh.” “Or an algebra book I wanted.” “Yeah, why the hell would he bring you maths books?” Fliss snorted “That’s school work.” “I like it. "she shrugged, before she shoved the rest of her chocolate in her mouth and jumped up, bouncing on the bed. "Come on! Get up!”

Thor looked up, gave a huff and Frank told her to stop bouncing. She flopped down and looked at him, folding her arms and Fliss laughed “ok, let’s go!”

The two of them raced down the stairs, Frank following as Mary burst into the living room to see her presents piled by the sofa, and her eyes immediately went to the large wooden box which wasn’t wrapped that had her name painted on the side, and a large painted white pony on the top, resembling Monty. She moved to it and opened it, giving a squeal as she began to pull out the various grooming products that Fliss had bought her to make her own little pony box.  As Mary began to hastily rip the wrapping paper off the rest of the pile of gifts, Frank moved to the tree and pulled out 2 boxes. One large, one small.

“Merry Christmas baby girl.” he said, dropping a kiss to Fliss mouth. She grinned and sat down on the couch, opening the little box first. Inside was a silver necklace a pendant in the shape of a Daisy which Fliss beamed at.

“I love daisies!” she smiled at him “They remind me of home.” “I know.” he smiled as she looked at it again before she moved to the next box. This was the one Frank was excited about. They’d cost him a small fortune but, turns out when you don’t spend every Friday night in Ferg’s you actually saved a fair bit of dough. Who knew? “Oh my god…” she whispered as she cleared the paper away from the contents and glanced down at the tan Cowboy boots. She took a deep breath as she picked one out of the box to examine the detailing on the leather before her eyes widened as she saw her name ‘Lissy’ stitched on the top.

“Do you like them?” he asked softly, although he could tell from her reaction that was a stupid question.

“Frankie…” she looked at him with tears in her eyes, God this man really did listen to every damned word she said.  “I can’t…” she leaned over and gave him a kiss. “Thank you…”

He smiled as she slipped them on and stood up, giving Mary a twirl. There was something about her wearing them along with denim shorts that Frank wasn’t ashamed to admit he found a little arousing.

Frank laughed when he got his presents from Fliss, a new Paul Smith shirt, a Red Sox Cap and a new Samsung Smartphone as she informed him his Nokia had gone out of fashion in 2009. Which was before Mary was born, she pointed out. But it was the gifts they both got from Mary that surprised and reduced them to tears of laughter.

Fliss held up the cowboy hat, grinning from ear to ear as she slipped it on whilst Frank held the white Navy Captain’s hat up and shook his head. “Where on Earth did you get these?” he asked, laughing.

“Bill helped me.” Mary shrugged, looking up from where she was now jamming a pink Ariat baseball cap which she had just unwrapped on her head.

“Remind me to thank him later!” Frank rolled his eyes as Fliss snatched the hat from him and stuck it on his head.

“Mary, get in…” she patted Frank’s knee and Mary hopped up, as Fliss held her phone away from them, snapping a selfie of the 3 of them. Frank watched her as she smiled, inspecting it and he had to admit it was a pretty good snap of the 3 of them. All smiling, all wearing some form of head gear, and for the first time in as long time he realised he was enjoying Christmas morning because HE was having a good time, not just Mary. To him it normally meant a fuck load of expense and the fact another year was rapidly drawing to a close. But he was more than happy to draw a close on 2017. Not simply to shut the door on a mentally draining court fight, but also because he was looking forward to the future. He was starting a new job, would be in the market for a new home and moving through all of those changes with his girl by his side excited him instead of filling him with dread.

As Mary slid off his knee to examine another present he turned to Fliss who grinned, knocking his hat off his head.

“Merry Christmas cowgirl.” he grinned,

She smiled, leaning over to kiss him “Merry Christmas Sailor!”

[vintagedaydreams]

True Love Never Runs Smoothly Part Two

I never really intended to continue this, since my muse packed her bags and left only a few sentences past where I ended it, but I had an absolutely lovely request to continue it and whaddya know? That muse of mine came back for a brief time!

However, she’s a fickle thing – so, I do have two options at the end. Chime in with what you’d prefer, and we’ll go that route. Or maybe both! We’ll have to see how it all shakes out. But you all may need to be my muses for awhile!!

Carlisle x Female Reader

Warnings: Mention of suicidal thoughts, language.

Enjoy!

You woke up to a hand running lightly over your back. You blinked at the unfamiliar room you could see from where your face was smushed into a pillow and suddenly the past few weeks, yesterday in particular, came back to you with a vengeance.

You froze, stiffening up almost painfully at the thought that it was Carlisle making the bed dip slightly from around your hip, and Carlisle’s hand on your back. You didn’t know what you were going to do if it was, (human vs. vampire didn’t really work out well), and the thought that you were essentially helpless made a tendril of fear slither through your veins.

“I knew my dear friend had done some damage, not fully accepting the Mate Claim, but I didn’t realize he had messed it up quite this bad,” came the smooth, quiet voice of Aro.

You opened your mouth to deny that Carlisle had messed anything up – this Mating thing wasn’t his idea!- but shut it without uttering a sound. The sheer relief you felt that it was Aro, one of the three ruling kings who drank from innocent people and who was generally made out to be a power hungry vampire with no regard to human life, and not Carlisle who wouldn’t hurt a fly and was probably one of the nicest people you knew, said a lot.

Yup. Carlisle had messed up quite badly.

“Carlisle, Esme and myself had quite the little chat last night,” Aro continued as you slowly rolled over onto your back to face him, “and I do believe that some of it even sunk in.”

You snorted, not feeling particularly gracious towards any of the Cullen family at this point, except maybe Edward.

“Well, I hope it serves him well in the future with Esme,” you muttered, voice hoarse with sleep.

“Unfortunately for dear Esme, our talk didn’t include her in Carlisle’s future. At least, not to the extent she has been accustomed to. No, our talk centered around you and Carlisle and your relationship, such as it is.”

You’re not sure where you got the guts, or maybe you were hoping the vampire in front of you would just end it already, but you found yourself shooting back, “I wasn’t aware mate counseling was in your repertoire. Helped a lot of couples between feedings, have you?”

It was silent in the room, Aro’s red eyes boring into your own before he suddenly gave a large, somewhat manic smile. “I positively cannot wait until my dear friend is back in your good graces. I am going to enjoy having you be a part of our world immensely.”

You frowned, yesterday’s punishment ceremony rearing its ugly head in your memories.

“I think, Aro, you would be the only one. I was not really exaggerating yesterday. I am…not well liked in the Cullen/Hale household at this time.”

Aro was waving a hand dismissively before you even finished speaking.

“Carlisle’s band of misfits were always odd, (Y/N). Do not take it personally. In our world, the Mate Bond is a sacred thing. Carlisle has always been known for his control, even among the Volturi, but to fight the Bond because of a love that would hold up as a candle would to a bonfire, well…I am beginning to agree with Ciaus. The man’s an idiot.”

That startled a laugh out of you and Aro’s eyes shone with triumph.

“There. That is much more suited to you. Now, if my limited knowledge of human care is correct, you are probably hungry, yes?”

Your stomach chose that moment to answer for itself and you blushed as Aro laughed, delighted.

“Go ahead and freshen up, (Y/N). I shall go and have our cooks prepare something for you. They should still be in the kitchen from our human staff’s lunch.”

“Wait…lunch?” you asked, eyes wide. Aro shot you a grin as he stood with a ridiculous amount of grace.

“It is just past the one o’clock hour. You’ve been dead to the world, to coin a phrase, for around sixteen hours.”

You rubbed a hand over your face. For sixteen hours of sleep, why did you feel like you could sleep another twenty?

“I shall have someone escort you down when you are ready.”

Your eyes shot up to meet Aro’s own. “What? Oh, no, I’d rather just –”

“There will be no hiding, (Y/N). You have done nothing wrong and will find no condemnation here. Carlisle’s, what does he call them-family?, they are the ones in the wrong. Not one vampire in this world, apart of them, would even dream of putting you, a Bond Mate through what they are.” Aro’s voice dropped a few registers as he added, “A Bond Mate should never be driven to contemplate suicide due to the actions of his or her mate. The punishment we offered you yesterday is not considered harsh to us, but justifiable for breaking such a sacred bond. But,” his voice suddenly was back to being almost creepily happy, “what’s done is done! So, head held high, my dear and I’ll have someone ready outside your door to take you downstairs when you are ready. Do enjoy anything in here!”

And with a flourish of his hand, he was exiting the room.

You stared at the door to your room after it shut.

Honestly. Was there any other vampire out there even half as flamboyant as Aro? Nevermind that the man had a wife…

Still shaking your head at his childlike antics, you headed to the bathroom to take a shower. Maybe you’d feel more able to ‘hold your head up high’ once you were clean and dressed.

--

A half hour later, you stood in front of the door to your room, hands nervously pulling down the sleeves of the long sleeve shirt you’d found in one of the drawers, along with a pair of jean shorts.

You were so not ready for this. And no amount of showers or sleep was going to prepare you for this. How could you go out there with your head held high when you knew damn well that the only people in this castle that you considered family, (at least you had), absolutely hated your guts?

And with how you reacted to what you thought was Carlisle in your room this morning, how the hell were you going to be able to actually look him in the face?

Oh, this was not a good idea. Not a good idea at all. Maybe you’d just starve yourself, starting today. You didn’t really need any food right now, right? Wasn’t there some kind of fasting you could say you were doing?

You were not prepared to go downstairs!

“Miss (Y/L/N)?” came a low voice from the other side of the closed door. “You’ve been standing there awhile. Is everything alright?”

Damn vampire senses to hell.

“Y-yeah,” you croaked out, clearing your throat and tugging the sleeves of the shirt one last time in nervous anticipation. “I’m…fine. Just….not very hungry?”

Damnit. Why did that sound more like a question than a statement?

“Master Aro has instructed me to escort you downstairs, Miss (Y/L/N).”

You blew out a heavy breath. Of course Aro would. That man covered his bases like Babe Ruth. You took a few steps to the door and opened it slowly, peering out at the large vampire in the hallway.

“You’re…Felix, right?”

“Yes, m’lady,” Felix beamed, seemingly ecstatic that you remembered him from the night before. Like anyone could forget the mountain of a man.

Holding out an arm for you, Felix gently looped yours through his and began to take you down the hallway. Your entire body seemed to be trembling from nerves and you swallowed heavily.

Now you really weren’t hungry. What if you ran into one of the Cullens? How humiliating would it be when they glared or snapped at you in front of Felix? Bond Mates were supposed to be sacred and yet, they treated you like dirt. What was wrong with you? You’d always dreamt as a child about finding someone who would be made specifically for you, and love you unconditionally and when you literally fell into the bond that was supposed to fulfill all that, you still ended up heartbroken.

Felix suddenly stopped, causing you to come to a sudden stop as well and you snapped out of your thoughts, turning to look at him. The stupidly tall vampire was looking straight ahead, a frown firmly fixed on his face and you turned that way as well.

You felt the blood drain from your face as you caught sight of Carlisle.

Carlisle must’ve noticed your reaction to him, because his face suddenly contorted into a mixture of pain and absolute devastation.

You had to close your eyes, lest you lose control of yourself and run to him to try and make it all better. Aro was right – you had done nothing wrong. And this time, you weren’t going to be the one to try and fix it.

“(Y/N),” Carlisle said quietly, though you heard him loud and clear. “Please, may I…”

He trailed off and so you opened his eyes to see Carlisle’s golden iris shining wetly in the dim light from the hallway. Your own eyes filled with tears in response, but Aro’s words from earlier came back to you.

You had done nothing wrong. Time to hold your head up high. It’s not like you were going to stay in Italy for the rest of your life and you needed to get a backbone here, while you still had support, and not lean so heavily on the Volturi to run interference.

That in mind, you looked up to Felix, giving a small nod. “If you could, Felix,” you murmured. The giant vampire hesitated before giving a short bow and suddenly disappearing.

Great. Too bad you couldn’t just do that.

A soft rustle of fabric turned your attention back to where Carlisle was and your eyes widened.

The golden eyed vampire was on his knees a few feet in front of you, head down and hands lifted slightly towards you, palms up.

You blinked at the gesture of total submission, unable to compute the fact that this man, this vampire, was on his knees in front of you, a mortal, mate or no.

“(Y/N),” Carlisle’s voice breathed out, “forgive me.”

You felt the breath punched out of your lungs as the quiet, desperate tone the doctor used.

“I was -am- a fool, (Y/N),” he continued, head still bowed. “I have listened to my son, Edward, for too long. I do not feel…good, (Y/N). That is why I continue to be a doctor, continue to try and help people, to try and atone for what I am. I do not…feel worthy of you. You are a good person, with your entire life ahead of you. I did not want to…see that destroyed, by having you with me. Esme, she is someone I turned myself, many, many years ago. She had no other option, no other life to live. But you…you are bright, talented, wonderful and have so much to offer the world alive and whole.”

You felt your throat tighten up. He still didn’t want you.

You must’ve made some sort of noise, because Carlisle’s head snapped up and he was suddenly on his feet, his hands gently cupping your cheeks as he bent his knees slightly to look directly into your eyes.

“No, no, (Y/N),” he murmured, voice agonized, “please, let me finish. Aro talked some sense into me, last night. You were made for me, (Y/N), and I you. I was a fool, an awful, selfish fool, to not embrace the Bond, to make you feel inadequate. You are more worthy of your place in this family than any of us, and we have all acted abominably towards you, myself more than anyone. Please, darling, please give me a chance to make this right.”

 Alright! Which way should we go??

HEA starting now? (There will be plenty of fluff, little bit of angst, and everything else!)

Or make dear Carlisle, (and you), suffer more? (So…much more angst this route! And not a lot of fluff.)

I’m actually begging for someone to make a decision! If left to my own devices, this will end right here and now. (Procrastinator = me.) 😊

[iamtrebleclefstories]

Every Day I Love You More - Ch. 5

Chapter 5 - YOU DIDN’T KNOW? 

After having drunk sex, Jo and Alex are having a baby. An actual baby. Here’s how everyone finds out.

-Sequel to I’m Happy Right Here with You-

Alex slips up, more people find out. 

It had been three days since Callie found out about Jo’s pregnancy and there had been no shortage of teasing remarks from Callie and Cristina. Every time Jo or Alex were left in a room with either of them, they were forced to hear the endless jokes being made about them and their drunk sex baby. Jo found it funny if she was being honest. The lightheartedness of this pregnancy was so refreshing considering what happened the last time. The jokes were a welcome distraction from the fact that Jo was in the process of filing from divorce from Paul and her lawyer was going to submit those papers by the end of the week.

That morning, she’d woken up before Alex did, which wasn’t unusual. However, for the first time in weeks, she woke up without the sudden need to vomit. She laid there on her side and stared at his sleeping form for a while longer. It was surreal waking up next to him. This morning especially so, since it wasn’t clouded by overwhelming nausea. Jo was convinced that there was no way that this was her real life. She had to be dreaming.

She had been stroking his hair for a few minutes when Alex spoke, “You know, watching people sleep is kind of creepy.”

Alex opened his eyes only to find Jo rolling hers, “Can’t you be normal and just say, ‘Good morning, babe. I love you and I can’t believe you’re carrying our baby.’ Can’t you do that?”

“Good morning, babe. I love you and I can’t believe you’re carrying our baby,” Alex gave Jo a quick kiss as Jo gave him a look of annoyance. “Hey! You’re not throwing up today. That’s a good sign.”

“Yup,” Jo nodded. “I feel great, actually. I think the baby finally decided to cooperate.”

Alex placed his hand on her flat stomach, “I can’t wait until you have a bump.”

“You mean until I get fat? Honestly, neither can I,” Jo smiled. “But Lucy said it might be a while before I start showing. I have a retroverted uterus so I’ll probably start showing later than most women. But I guess that’s a good thing. The longer I can hide my pregnancy, the less of a chance for Paul to find out and try plea presumed paternity and make our lives a mess.”

“He can try and try, but he won’t win, Jo. This is our kid and if we need to do a paternity test to prove it, then we will. He has no rights here,” Alex assured.

Jo took a deep breath and thought of how supportive Alex had been ever since she had confessed to him about her marriage. She exhaled, “You’re right. He has no rights. This baby is ours and he can’t take it away from us.”

They laid in the bed for a few more minutes in silence before deciding it was time to get up and get ready. After having been on Peds for over a month now, Jo had switched onto a different service for the next couple weeks. A part of Jo was a bit disappointed that she wouldn’t get to spend the entire day with Alex anymore, but she supposed she should be excited for a chance to learn something new. For the next two weeks, she’d be on neuro with Derek Shepherd.

When Jo and Alex arrived at the hospital, they parted ways and Jo went down to the residents’ lounge. She smiled as she saw her friends getting changed into their scrubs for the day. Jo grabbed a clean pair of scrubs and started to change clothes. Just as she was pulling her shirt off, she heard Stephanie whistle.

“Damn, Jo. Did you do anything different? Because your boobs look great,” Stephanie commented.

“Oh,” Jo laughed awkwardly. “It’s just a new bra… is all. Ever since Alex and I got together, I decided to update some pieces of my wardrobe if you know what I mean.”

“Look at Jo, trying to be all sexy for her man,” Stephanie teased.

“I bet he loves it,” Leah wiggled her eyebrows. “How many times a day do you catch him staring at your boobs in that thing?”

“Way too often,” Jo admitted.

The girls laughed and continued to get dressed. Once ready, Jo made her way to the Neuro ICU where she’d be meeting Dr. Shepherd for rounds. It had been a while since she had been on a neurosurgery, so Jo was excited for the next couple of weeks. The first patient she’d be rounding on was a trauma that came in last night. The man had massive internal injuries that were addressed immediately after coming into the hospital. He had not been stable enough last night to take in for surgery that would stop a slowly growing brain bleed, so Dr. Shepherd would take him in first thing this morning to correct it.

“Wilson. It’s good to have you on my service again,” Derek smiled as they walked out of the patient’s room. “How are you doing? I haven’t really gotten a chance to speak with you since you and Karev got together. He’s been hogging you to his service.”

“I doing great,” Jo grinned. “Excited to be on neuro again.”

“Well, you will be getting just a bit of peds today,” Derek shared. “We’ve got a baby with spina bifida that we’ll be working on this afternoon with Karev. Are you thinking about going into peds?”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Jo shrugged. “I like everything. I do love peds, but who knows? Maybe I’ll end up in cardio or neuro or ortho. Don’t tell Alex I said that, though. I think he’s trying to be my Robbins.”

“No worries. Your secret is safe with me,” Derek chuckled. “Come on, let’s go. We’ve got a brain bleed to stop and a couple aneurysms to clip before our fun spina bifida surgery.”

The day went by pretty smoothly for the most part. The guy with the brain bleed came out of surgery without any major deficits. Jo had assisted in a couple aneurysm clippings and now they were on their way to the pediatric wing to visit the spina bifida baby in the NICU. When Derek and Jo arrived, Alex was already giving the parents a brief rundown of what their baby—Brandon’s—surgery would entail. Derek explained the procedure in a bit more detail and encouraged the parents not to fear.

While Jo prepped the patient, Derek and Alex prepared to scrub in together. Alex looked up at the older man, "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Karev. What is it?" Derek nodded.

"Has Jo been okay today? I'm just wondering because she looked a little dizzy and unsteady this morning before we left the house," Alex inquired.

"She's seemed alright to me," Derek encouraged. "We've performed quite a few surgeries today and she hasn't swayed once. Why is something wrong?"

"No," Alex shook his head. "I was a little worried. She just got over the morning sickness a couple days ago and it was pretty hard on her. I didn't want the next thing to be dizzy spells that could affect her work."

Unsure what to do with the new information he'd received, Derek just decided to go about the conversation as if he know what was going on, "Oh, well she's fine. Great even."

Alex nodded thankfully as Derek mulled over Karev's words. Alex must've thought that Derek already knew about Wilson's pregnancy from Meredith, so he decided to go about the procedure as if nothing had happened. The surgery was successful and Derek decided that he'd let Wilson leave early. Everything else could wait until tomorrow.

As he arrived home that night, Derek kissed his wife and kids. He ate something quickly and spent the next few hours on the phone with D.C. as they tried to come up with more plans about the brain mapping initiative. Finally, at around eleven o'clock, he was able to get ready for bed. Derek had been sitting in the bed reading a medical journal when Meredith walked into the room.

“How was your day?” Meredith asked as she climbed under the covers.

“It was good,” Derek smiled. “I had Wilson on my service today. She is a very good and capable resident. Incredibly sharp. We clipped a couple aneurysms, stopped a brain bleed, and operated on a little boy with spina bifida.”

“Awe, like Zola,” Meredith commented. “Sounds like you had a pretty calm day today. Those are nice when you come home to two kids under the age of three.”

“You are so right,” Derek nodded and gave Meredith a quick kiss. “Oh! I almost forgot. Why didn’t you tell me that Alex is having a kid?”

“What?” Meredith sat up from the bed. “What are you talking about?”

“Wilson is pregnant,” Derek stated. “Karev mentioned something about how he was glad that she was mostly over the morning sickness now. But he said he wanted to keep a close eye on her because this morning at the house she seemed a bit dizzy.”

“What?” Meredith was confused. “Wilson is pregnant?”

“Wait… You didn’t know?” Derek asked.

“Would I be reacting like this if I knew?” Meredith was shocked. There was no way one of her best friends was having a kid and she didn’t know about it. “No. There’s no way. Alex would tell me if he were having a kid. He’s one of my best friends.”

“I don’t know,” Derek shrugged. “He mentioned the morning sickness so casually, it was like he assumed I already knew. That or he slipped up and didn’t realize what he said.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Meredith jumped up from the bed. “I can’t sit here wondering. I’m going over there right now to find out.”

“Meredith! It’s midnight. Don’t go bother them. You’ll see them tomorrow,” Derek tried reasoning with his wife.

“I can’t wait,” Meredith shook her head as she threw on a pair of jeans. “This is huge. This is life changing, Derek. This cannot wait until tomorrow.”

Before long, Meredith was on her way to Alex’s house. When she parked in the driveway, she searched around her purse for the old set of keys to the house. Finding them, she made her way up the porch steps and let herself in through the glass door. She walked up the porch steps and stormed into Alex’s room yelling, “You guys are having a baby?”

Alex and Jo—who’d been sleeping peacefully—startled out of sleep. Jo screamed as she saw Meredith’s dark figure lingering by the door. Alex sat up quickly, trying to assess the situation and determine if they were in any immediate danger. Finally realizing it was Meredith, he slumped back down onto the bed, “Dude. What the hell? Why are you yelling?”

“Is it true? Wilson are you pregnant? Are you guys having a baby?” Meredith interrogated.

“What?” Jo said, distraught.

“Derek said that Alex mentioned how he was happy that your morning sickness was gone, so then he asked me if I knew that you guys are having a baby.”

“Shit… I didn’t even realize I said that,” Alex rubbed a hand over his face. “Jo, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to tell him.”

“It’s okay,” Jo shook her head.

“So, it is true?” Meredith asked. “You guys are having a baby! Alex, how could you have a baby and not tell me about it? This is huge!”

“What is going on?” Cristina had woken up to shouting coming from down the hall and came to investigate once she recognized her best friend’s voice.

“Did you know?” Meredith turned to Cristina.

“Did I know what?” Cristina made a face. “And why are you screaming?”

“Did you know that Alex is going to be a father?” Meredith demanded.

Cristina froze, eyes wide, “Um…”

“Oh my God! You knew and you didn’t tell me,” Meredith accused. “I can’t believe you wouldn’t tell me this. I had to find out about it from my husband.”

“Hold on, you told Derek before telling Meredith?” Cristina looked at Alex. “That’s a crappy move, man. Even for you.”

“I didn’t mean to tell Derek,” Alex defended. “I said something about Jo’s morning sickness and he must’ve thought that Meredith already knew.”

“Hello, pregnant person over here wants to speak,” Jo gathered everyone’s attention. “Look, Dr. Grey. We didn’t want to tell anyone until I hit twelve weeks. I’m sure you can understand that. Yang found out because she lives here and saw the pregnancy test boxes in the trash, and Torres found out because I had to leave the room for an x-ray. I’m sorry you had to find out like this, but if it makes you feel any better, there’s an ultrasound picture on the fridge downstairs.”

“Even Callie knows?” Meredith sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. I was just a little blindsided finding out this way. I’m happy for you two. I’m sure you are going to make wonderful parents. Wait, you said you have an ultrasound picture already? How far along are you?”

Jo grimaced, knowing that as soon as she shared how far along the was there would be a whole new slew of questions. Jo took a deep breath, "Just a bit over ten weeks."

"How are you ten weeks? My birthday was ten weeks ago and you guys weren't together then," Meredith scrunched her face. She lowered her voice and sat down in front of Jo. "Are you sure Alex is the father?"

"Mer!" Alex chastised.

"What? I'm making a valid question," Meredith lifted her hands in apology. "As far as I remember, Alex, you and I had a conversation at my birthday party where I told you that you were being stupid and to make a move because I couldn't stand seeing you pouting and staring from afar."

"We did?" Alex asked. "I don't remember."

"Well, yeah figures, because you were completely wasted," Meredith reminded. "So, explain this to me so I can understand."

Alex and Jo both sat in silence, reluctant to verbalize what had happened that night between the two of them. Cristina, on the other hand, had been waiting for a moment like this to present itself. Bursting at the seams, Cristina blurted, "They had drunk sex the night of your party and accidently made a baby."

Meredith stood there stunned for a moment before breaking out in laughter, "Oh my... oh my God… you guys… Haha, you made a drunk sex baby. you know I can't say I'm surprised that this is how you are becoming a father, Alex. It's karma for all those years of being a man-whore. You on the other hand, Wilson, you surprise me. Didn't think you had it in you."

Jo buried her face in her hands in embarrassment and Alex glared at Meredith and Cristina as he felt his face get hot. This was not how he had pictured Meredith finding out about his kid, but he guessed that there was really no other way that would feel like them. Alex was glad that Meredith knew, because now he could ask her tons of parenting advice and tips on dealing with the hormone changes Jo would be experiencing very soon.

"Wow. I can't believe it," Meredith said after calming down. "Alex Karev. In love. A father. you're all grown up. You see, I told you that Wilson would be good for you."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You were right," Alex grumbled. "Now get out of my room and go home."

"I'm not going home," Meredith stated. "I'll stay with Cristina. Now, Jo you said something about an ultrasound picture?"

"Yeah... it's downstairs on the refrigerator," Jo replied, removing the hands covering her face. "Well, at least we don't have to worry about hiding it when you come over."

Meredith smiled, grabbing Cristina by the arm to drag her down the stairs to look at the sonogram. Just as Meredith was about to leave the room, she popped her head back in the doorway, "Oh and just so you know, I fully expect to get a copy of every ultrasound photo from here on out."

"Get out!" Alex huffed.

"Goodnight," Meredith grinned.

[underneaththesurface]

The Martinez Murder

Omi: Good Evening Riverdale! I’m Omi Klyde

Estelle: And I'm Estelle

Omi: And this is Underneath The Surface, where we dive into the history of our town, Riverdale.

Today, we’ll be discussing the Martinez Murder

Estelle: And since this is a special occasion, we've decided to switch it up.

Why, you ask?

Omi: because I’m nosy

no, because I got to do the research this week. Lemme tell you. There’s some stuff that might get us in trouble if we reveal too much

Estelle: Luckily, we like living on the edge.

Omi: Yesss

a lot of this information I actually got from my older sister, who reported on this case at the time

Estelle: So we know this is going to be gooooood.

Omi: Adelfa knows her shit

Estelle: Can you say shit on a podcast?

Omi: Well I just did so, I mean, we’re not sponsored-are we sponsored???

Omi: Abe! Are we sponsored??

Estelle: I- I don't think so.

Abe: How the hell should I know? I just joined y'all!

Omi: alright, so, as we all know, the Serpents and Ghoulies have been in opposition since their creation, basically. Well, this whole thing was started by the waterboarding of Abdiel Martinez’s -the leader of the Ghoulies at the time- teenage son

sometime around 2009

Estelle: Wait-

They waterboarded a teenager?

Abe: what the-

Omi: the serpents weren’t as soft as they are now. The ghoulies were actually a lot less rowdy in the 90s/2000s

Estelle: I see.

Abe: Why, though?

Omi: Honestly, because of a simple wrong place wrong time misunderstanding. the leader of the serpents at the time was actually apologetic to Abdiel because apparently it really messed the kid up

Estelle: That's-

Abe: How you do accidentally waterboard the wrong person?

Estelle: But you said the leader of the Serpents actually apologized?

Omi: yes! 

Actually, he even paid for some therapy. 

The two groups had a truce

Estelle: Wow!

What happened to that guy?

Omi: oh, the leader? 

Not 100% sure. 

Think he died in combat or something

Estelle: huh. 

Omi: But...

Estelle: That’s pretty tragic

Abe: I knew there’d be a but

Omi: it is. And he seemed nice too, from what Adelfa told me 

yup, there’s always a but. 

Well, not long after that, the ghoulies went after the leader’s kid

Estelle: Of course.

I mean- why actually accept the truce if you just- you know-  go after the kid.

Abe: You said "kid", does that mean he was younger than the boy who was waterboarded?

Omi: eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. 

 the ghoulies might’ve been soft, but they still had some wild members from the 80s there advising 

yeah, he would’ve been about our age then 

the age of the boy who got waterboarded was 16 I think?

Estelle: Oh. That's-

Abe: NINE OR TEN????

Estelle: That’s just horrible 

Omi: nine or ten...poor kid

Estelle: But what did they exactly do to the 9/10-year-old?

Omi: they jumped him. 

Kid came out with cuts and bruises according to medical reports

Who the heck jumps a literal child??

Estelle: Ghoulies, apparently.

Abe: Didn't they do something like that to someone from our school?

The beanie guy.

Estelle: (wheezes) the beanie guy...

Omi: Nuggethead? Yes

a serpent himself

Estelle: I- I want to correct both of you, but-

His own name isn't that much better.

(whispers) Is that mean?

Omi: am I wrong??? I’ve seen him eat the entire menu at pops in one sitting

Abe: He's why you left the Blue & Gold.

That guy eats everything.

Omi: ok one more bash and I’ll get on with the story- 

but I have seen him eat a burger off the floor

Estelle: That's not just Jughead...

Abe: Yeah I'm pretty sure Mark's done that, too.

Estelle: No, I thought it was Brian.

Omi: wouldn’t put it past either of them

Estelle: Pretty sure Jonathan would do it too, if it wasn't for me.

Omi: teenage boys are something else, aren’t they? Like little creatures

anyways I should definitely go back to the topic because you’re usually the one who reigns me in

Estelle: The struggle is real.

Abe: Can't relate.

Estelle: (laughs) Let's save this for another time, yes. Please continue.

Omi: So, of course, the serpent leader was not happy bout this.

therapy stopped for the Martinez boy

Estelle: My respect would be gone if he didn't.

Omi: in fact, he was so angry about this, the serpents captured both Abdiel and his wife

the truce was over

which, is understandable

Abe: Oh no, not the wife.

Omi: the wife. But, the kids were left out of this part

Abe: Oh good, he has some morals.

Estelle: (wheezes) Better than the Ghoulies.

Omi: i don’t think the ghoulies ever had morals, minus maybe a few members. those young ghoulies scare me-they had the whole town scared of clowns for a year, remember that?

Estelle: Oh yeah.

Abe: Not a violent person but I was this close to buying a gun, yes.

Omi: those were some times 

Anyways, what is known about what happened next is the following: the couple was taken, reported missing for a few days, and Mrs. Martinez returned blind and widowed. Information was either redacted or they were unable to attain the exact details of the murder

Abe: Wh-

Estelle: Oh, that-

Abe: Blind??

Omi: blind

Estelle: I have to say, that is an effective way to lead

Abe: Are you seriously condoning this?

Omi: she stumbled into the south side emergency room, bleeding, and sobbing hysterically

no I get what you’re saying

Estelle: I mean, he was pretty chill and they abused that and now they paid.

Omi: makes sense to me

Abe: Y-yeah but-

Omi: y’all wanna hear something interesting tho?

Estelle: Oh Yes.

Abe: Oh No. 

Omi: Guess who’s kid runs the ghoulies now

Estelle: I- shut the fuck up.

Abe: Estelle-

Estelle: It all makes total sense now.

Omi: does this mean I can say fuck on this podcast

Estelle: We'll take the fine, should we get one.

Omi: daddy can pay for it we’re fine

Abe: Okay, but let's not overdo it please.

Omi: yes his son is now the leader and that is why the ghoulies are reclaiming their 80s wild child glory

also thats why they seem especially brutal towards the serpents

oh, want to hear another thing?

Estelle: Yes.

Always.

Omi: law enforcement never found the body, BUT

there are rumors

Estelle: Not surprised, honestly.

Abe: What rumors?

Omi: well, supposedly, there was a scavenger hunt

set by the serpents, for the ghoulies

Estelle: Oh.

Fun.

Abe: (laughs)

Omi: the body hasn’t been discovered to this day, as far as we know. But, that’s why there are so many random holes in fox forest

allegedly

and here I was, thinking we had massive gophers

Abe: Oh my god.

Estelle: Maybe they helped.

Omi: who knows, there’s lots of shit in that forest, especially that creepy funeral home and crematorium, which is also supposedly linked to the ghoulies but law enforcement hasn’t found proof of that

Estelle: How?

Omi: also we’re close to greendale and that town has lots of weird happenings. I suspect radiation

They searched the place

Abe: Yeah I believe that.

Estelle: See this is why I don't go to that forest.

Name one good thing that's happened there.

Omi: Absolutely nothing. 

too many kids go missing on the paths through it no way am I stepping foot in it

Abe: But y'all are dragging me to that house on Wabash Avenue?

Omi: its not in the forest. Free range baby

Abe: I don't wanna run into an angry man as we wander around his house.

Estelle: I'll get you some holy water, you'll be fine.

Omi: we’ll be fine. ill do a crazy dance to distract him

Estelle: If Omi screams, we'll run.

Omi: and I’ve never screamed

because we will be fine and if not I will ask Queenie for her bat

do you think ghosts like 90s r&b?

Estelle: I'd go for EDM.

Abe: Oh yeah.

Omi: so you have nothing to worry about my dear sweet Abe

theyll be dancing

Estelle: Now, some of you might have been wondering why it's the three of us.

You wanna introduce yourself?

Abe: Hello everyone! I'm Audrey Lincoln. Last time, Omi and Estelle decided to investigate the case of Wabash Avenue, and they've been thinking about turning it into a vlog.

Estelle: And of course, our lovely friend Abe came to mind.

Abe: So, the following weeks, I'll be part of the team.

Omi: shes talented, beautiful, stunning, spectacular, amazing, wonderful

Abe: Omi-

Estelle: And if our talented, beautiful, stunning, spectacular, amazing, wonderful friend likes it, she's more than welcome to stay part of the team.

Omi: i’d definitely like her to be apart of it, then we’d see you more!

well, I think that wraps up this week

Estelle: Feeling a little more unsafe in this town.

Omi: wait, you’ve felt safe in this town?

Estelle: When I was a little girl, yes.

Abe: Before History class.

Estelle: Or before I started following the news.

Omi: Valid points.

Well, I’m Omi 

Estelle: I'm Estelle.

Abe: And I'm Audrey.

Omi: Don’t forget to tune in next week for: The Truth Behind Pickens Day!

Estelle: See y’all then!

Abe: And sweet dreams

[crayonwriting]

Can you write something about Mena where the reader plays the role of Jasmine and they fall in love on set and they sing like Disney songs whenever they fit one in? I would love that

DISNEY-FY

(PHOTO NOT MINE)

A/N: I hope you like it! 

—

"I can't believe you."

Mena smiled sheepishly at you from where he was seated. He rubbed the nape of his neck and, whilst shrugging, said, "How can I? I grew up in an Egyptian household!"

You looked at him pitifully whilst shaking your head. You couldn't just get how someone did not grow up with Disney. The idea was just so crazy! Ever since you can remember, you've been watching Disney films and cartoons your whole life—up to this date, to be honest. That was why getting casted as an official Disney princess sent you over the moon. 

Mena, admittedly, has only ever seen at least five Disney movies, but only once. Other than those, he knew nothing of the others. You scratched your chin thoughtfully, thinking of a way to solve this—in your opinion, horrid—problem. 

"Babe," you stood in front of his seated form on the couch, holding on to his shoulders as he stared up at you. "I love you very much, but this is all wrong. You can't just not know about the Lion King, Tarzan, Dumbo and oh! At least tell me you know about Bambi?" Mena smiled at you, defeated. He wrapped his arms around your waist and buried his face into your tummy. 

"You need a movie education. You need a movie-cation!" You parted his head softly before plopping beside him and pulling out your phone. "You have to watch at least one Disney movie everyday for a month." You tapped on the calendar app on your phone and started scheduling the movies. 

"Is this necessary?" Mena asked.

"Hell yeah."

—

You sat in your trailer, reading a book. You have already gone through hair and make-up and was just waiting to be called to set. Only a few moments had passed before someone busted through your door, startling you a bit.

“Love is an open dooooor!” Mena sang, a little bit off-key. You stifled a giggle and set your book down.

“I take it you’ve already watched Frozen?”

“Yup!” He plopped down beside you. “The songs are just so…sing-able—if that’s even a word. And oh! Don’t get me started on Rapunzel!”

“The movie’s call ‘Tangled’.” He dismissed you, mumbling that it was the same. He stood up from the small couch and started dancing goofily.

“I got a dream! I got a dream!” He flailed his legs out and turned in circles. He hummed the rest of the song which you clapped along too, as you laughed at his antics. Then, suddenly, as if a lightbulb had turned on in his head, he pulled you up on your feet, holding one of your arms out as he wrapped his other one around your back. He slowly pranced about the quaint trailer, twirling you in a waltz.

“I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream…,” he sang. You shake your head, laughing. “I know you…,” he trailed off, not close to memorizing the song just yet. You smiled at him with adoration. You decided to help him.

“The gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam.” Mena mumbled a soft ‘yeah’ before spinning you and himself to an inaudible beat. He had the tune in his head and so did you. 

“Yet I know it’s true that visions are seldom all they seem,” you stared at Mena who had a huge grin plastered on his face. “But if I know you, I know what you’ll do…” You pulled yourself out of his embrace, stretching yourself in a graceful manner—like how Aurora did in the movie. He stared at you lovingly, getting a bit lost in the moment. You returned his gaze with your own—filled with the same love he had for you.

“You’ll love me at once…,” you whispered. He tugged at your joined hands and you, oh so, dramatically spun into his arms once again, your back hitting his chest in a soft thud. You leaned into him, savoring his warmth and his smell—a deep but subtle woodsy scent. The smell of a prince, if you do say so yourself.

You looked up at him with a small smile. He leaned down and kissed you, soft and slow. He hummed a little in satisfaction before pulling away. He slightly swayed the both of you from side to side, as he finished the song.

“The way you did once upon a dream…”

—

feedback?

aladdin/mena massoud tags: @imaginingadifferentlife / @aiianovna / @menamassoudstrash / @qxeen-of-hearts / @profangirllex / @shesgotherownnetwork / @tom-hollands-wife / @jkam3327 / @bbyyan / @hannah-de-lioncourt / @xstrangesoundsx / @highfunctioningfangirl19

permanent tags: @awkwardfangirl2014

[fal-carrington]

Just The Two Of Us Pt.7

Pairing: Kamilah x Mc x Adrian

Disclaimer: The characters don’t belong to me

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5 // Part 6

Prompt: After the last night fighting against Gaius, before his fall, he puts his plan into execution, changing the lives of Adrian, Kamilah and Mia forever. Friendships may end, a heart may be broken and a new love may arise. In the end who will win the girl's heart? 

Tag List: @gavryllo @spacecarrousel @scarlet-letter-a0114 @zoe6111 @ilovekamilahsayeed @delphinusbae @galaxyside-0 @thecleveridiot09 @rocket-scientist07 @shanuuh @sleeping-with-her06 @rubyheartjane @pizzapyjamas @deereboy97 @jellymonster @justejuste727 @thepotatobleh @iam-the-fuckin-queen @ilovetaylor13m @incorrectbloodboundquotes @whoinvitedalx @bucket-harrington @soundtrackforlife @desiree-0816 @sunsaint @tigerbryn11 @zerozone-80 @jen825

“Mia, come on. It's not that bad,” Lily said as she ran her hand through the girl's golden hair — Which the girl’s head was buried in her best friend's lap. "It's gonna be okay. Everything works out in the end.” Lily said trying to be optimistic.

Mia didn't answer, the girl was crying softly, sobbing for minutes since they both arrived at Mia's and Kamilah's penthouse. It was around midnight when they both got home, Kamilah was not there, the only thing Lily could hear from the big apartment was the blonde's cries.

“Hey, don't be like this. You know I hate to see you cry, it's not the end of the world.” Lily tried to cheer up her friend.

“How is it not ?! Tell me Lily… In what possible situation is this a good thing ?!” Mia lifted her head, hot tears streaming down the girl's face. “I'm twenty-three and I'm pregnant! Pregnant with an unplanned child, this was not supposed to happen! I'm still trying to believe that this is real, that this is happening to me, like Kamilah and I... Oh god.”

"But happened! Somehow, some way, Mia whining won't help anything!” Lily held her best friend's hands, wiping a tear that was running down. “If you were still in our previous situation, sharing an apartment and living on an assistant's salary, that would be a much bigger problem. You were bankrupt. But now... My God, you are expecting a child of not anyone, you are expecting a child of Kamilah. The most beautiful woman I've ever seen, Cleopatra's cousin, the biggest rich CEO we know! Your kid has royal blood.”

"You're not helping, Lily!" Mia stood, shaking her head in denial.

“Hey, I know it's a lot to assimilate. This is great news for all of us. I mean, I'll be aunt! Can I be the godmother ?!”

"Lily!"

"What? I can dream, can't I ?!”

“Lily, do you know the size of the problem I got myself into ?! This is much bigger than any other confusion. Do you have any idea what will happen when Adrian finds out I'm pregnant ?! Kamilah and he were almost at each other's throats at the gala party! Imagine what will happen when he knows!” Mia exasperated ran a hand through blonde hair.

“Yeah, when you put it that way the situation seems to be even worse than I thought.” Lily said contemplative.

“ What I’m going to tell Kamilah? Like, hey, what’s up? I know we haven't been talking about feelings during these months, but guess what? I’m pregnant with your child!” Mia laughed with irony, just thinking about her reaction. “Kamilah can't even tolerate children’s! She won't want this child, I know that!”

“You know you'll eventually have to tell her, don't you? I mean, you can’t hide for so long. If you both decided to keep the baby. One hour the belly will start to grow, and—” Lily was interrupted by the girl's sobs, which collapsed on the couch again, hiding her face in a pillow. “Mia, you don’t have to decide what to do now. Take your time to think.” She stroked her friend's back affectionately.

"I thought you were taking your pills, you were always so right with your medication." Lily asked confused.

“I stopped after the wedding, because you know, I wouldn't have the slightest chance to get pregnant. And almost a year later, look what happened!”

"Yup. Kamilah did knock you up, didn’t she? How many times do you guys...?"

"Almost every day, I mean... She comes home late from work, and there's all this tension between us, and when I see it, we're already doing it." Mia paced restlessly. “Kamilah is so older than me, and she’s so experienced, when we're together everything is so wonderful, so fucking good.” Mia shook her head, her mind wandering between all the nights she spent with Kamilah. “She'll think I cheated on her! She'll think I've been sleeping with anyone else, she'll ask for the divorce and kick me out of the house! ”

"Hey, hey. This won't happen, okay? Kamilah is not stupid to let you out of her life.” Lily touched the blonde's hair. “You have as much time as you want, but remember that Kamilah must know. This child is hers also, she has the right to know, Mia. Regardless of what you both decide to do. I'm on your side, for whatever happens.”

Kamilah and Mia’s penthouse, 20:45 pm

Sick. Nauseous. Sad.

9 weeks of pregnancy.

Apart from her tiredness, discouragement and aching breasts, she tried to keep up with the rest of her commitments. It was how Mia felt most of the day. And of course, every day the idea that sooner or later, she would have to tell Kamilah, the truth. Her belly was a little swollen, but Kamilah was too busy to even notice.

Most of the time she tried to avoid her wife, of course Kamilah being Kamilah, it was only a matter of time before she noticed something was wrong. Terribly wrong. Unfortunately Mia hadn’t found the courage to tell her and for her luck, Kamilah was being extremely busy these days to notice that something was wrong and she was barely staying at home to have a proper conversation.

But that one night, Kamilah had arrived early from work with the intention of taking a shower at home and then returning to work for an important meeting, ruining Mia's plans to avoid her at night. Kamilah was nervous and angry, apparently her clients were giving her a hard time than usual and that made the CEO grumpy.

“Tell them to wait, Karen. Keep them busy, I'm on my way. I'll be there in forty-five minutes.” Mia heard Kamilah's voice echo through the closet, the girl rolled her eyes, hearing Kamilah hang up the phone and cursing softly to herself.

The girl turned her attention to her notebook on her lap as she finished another of her college articles. It turns out that being married to an influential CEO had its advantages, one of which was studying at a prestigious university with a higher tuition than she could ever afford by herself. Mia caressed her belly absently, something that now during her pregnancy had become a habit. Lily's voice rang in her mind, her words echoing, Mia remembered the afternoon they went to a coffee shop.

"I know this decision isn't mine, it belongs to you two, and I know you think you’re not ready or that Kamilah wouldn’t want the baby. But I'd be happy.” The vampire smirked. “There's a little Kamilah inside you and girl, I hope for this child has her hair.”

“Mia.” Kamilah's authoritative voice brought her back to reality.

“Uh?” She looked up at the CEO, who was standing in front of the bed with her hands on her hips. Immediately the girl's face turned red when she saw that image in front of her. Kamilah's tanned skin was wet, her brown hair flung over her shoulders, she wore a set of panties and bra that perfectly valued that damn body.

“I asked you if you saw my wine blouse, she was supposed to be in the closet, but she isn't. And I can't be late for my meeting.” Kamilah said angrily, it was usual for her to stay that way when an important meeting was scheduled for the month. Mia sighed.

“You have so many social shirts. What is the difference between this shirt to the others? Did you look right?” The girl narrowed her green eyes.

“If I hadn't searched properly, I probably wouldn't have been asking where it is.” Kamilah took a deep, impatient breath. "Maria always send them to the laundry, and you always know when our clothes arrive." Mia rolled her eyes and got out of bed, and went into the closet to look.

"Here it is. See, how you don’t know how to look for things?” She handed Kamilah the perfectly, clean, wine blouse. Kamilah growled, wearing her shirt and buttoning the buttons in a hurry. "Wait, let me do that, you'll end up messing with the buttons like this." Mia said, approaching and buttoning. Kamilah studied her closely, the girl's delicate features down to her intense green eyes.

"Stop being so cranky," Mia said softly.

“You have no idea what's at stake, my company could lose a millionaire contract if I can't close the deal.” Kamilah snapped.

"Why not try to reconcile instead of showing the advantages one company can provide to another?" Mia said patiently.

“That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.” Kamilah rolled her eyes. "That's not how the corporate world works, Mia."

"Or you can complain about it, exactly how you’re doing right now and ignore me like you've been doing for weeks." Mia pulled away.

“What?” Kamilah stopped to look at her.

"Nothing. Forget it.” Mia said walking away. “You only care about your stupid company, anyway.” That was the hormones speaking for her and making her extremely vulnerable and emotional. Kamilah stared at her without understanding.

“How can you say that ?! I've spent a century building this company from scratch!” Kamilah said, anger returning and red eyes showing.

“And I'm your wife!” Mia turned around, screaming with a red face, tears streaming down. “But you don't give a damn about me! And I'm sick of it, I'm sick of you, sick of this stupid fight with Adrian! It’s years of my life, Kamilah! I'm paying for your mistakes! I had absolutely nothing to do with it and yet, Gaius managed to ruin my life!” Yup, she was definitely emotional.

"Do you think I wanted to get married ?! Do you think it was just your life which was ruined?!" Kamilah shouted back, laughing sarcastically, her fangs showing. "I never wanted! I never wanted to get stuck in a marriage to a girl who acts like an irresponsible teenager!”

"Then why don't you ask for the divorce? I will be happy to oblige!" Mia shouted. She didn't mean that, not really. But the emotional instability of the moment made her want to. That made Kamilah back away, looking at the girl with wide eyes, open mouth, speechless.

“Mia—”

“I can't live like this! Years stuck in this fake marriage, this is my life Kamilah, and I'm not ready to be a mother, and neither are you!” She pointed a finger at Kamilah's chest, pouring out the truth without even realizing it.

"Excuse me? What in the hell? ” Kamilah asked without understanding, it made the girl fall to her senses.

"Forget what I said." Mia backed away, stammering, with red cheeks. The time seemed to have stopped. Kamilah looked at her, a confused expression on her face, she sought answers from the girl, who kept her eyes on the floor. “I didn't mean it!” Mia shook her head tears escaping from her face. "Doesn’t matter what I said!"

“You said you weren't ready to be a mother.” Kamilah repeated the sentence with a squint of misunderstanding. "Why would you say something like that if it didn't matter ?! Why you wouldn’t be ready to be...?"

This was not a good time. Kamilah was angry, but maybe there wasn't another soon, at some point she would probably have to travel to another corner of the world for a business trip and it would be too late or... She would ask for the divorce.

"I need to talk to you. Something happened.” Mia said quietly. "It's very important. I've already waited too long.” The blonde's eyes filled with tears. Kamilah didn’t said anything, she was just staring at the girl in silence, completely speechless.

“...I'm pregnant.” Those words wandered sharply in the air, and suddenly the silence returned as never before.

The CEO eyes widened, her brows furrowed, her lips parted. An unrecognizable expression on her face, the blonde moistened her lips and hugged herself, hoping for anything to come next. One minute, two minutes. Both exchanging glances, Kamilah was not breathing. She looked like a living statue staring at the mesmerized girl. What she didn’t know was that deeply, Kamilah knew the risks she had taken, even knowing the consequences. She noticed the vulnerable look of the girl, and how fragile she looked.

2000 years surviving, 2000 years of wars and blood, deaths also Gaius. 2000 years knowing that her family was dead and she would never have them back. Centuries grieving and fighting. She had made peace with that feeling. But what she never expected for that happen. She spend years punishing herself for all the horrible things she had made in her past, thinking that she didn’t deserved to be happy, and now... She was going to be a mother.

"Say something!" Mia said exasperated.

“Are you sure?” Were the only words that escaped Kamilah's lips.

“Yeah! I was feeling a little dizzy and nauseous at first, it was little but I hardly bothered. Then it got stronger, I didn't know what to do, Lily made me get a pregnancy test and then we went for a blood test.” Mia went to find the paper and handed it to the CEO. Kamilah read it silently, after two minutes with eyes fixed on the document, she looked at the girl firmly.

"That's impossible!" Mia paced impatiently. “There is no way this is true! Genetically speaking— ” She kept talking desperate, but Kamilah remained standing with her eyes fixed on the girl and the test in hand.

"This child is mine?" She asked quietly enough to make Mia stop.

“If it's yours ?! Well, I do not know! I've been sleeping with you for the last few months and only you! If this son is not yours, then I was fucked by a spirit or it is a blessing from the Holy Spirit!” The girl shouted. “I didn’t cheat on you with anyone! It's been you, and only you.” But then, the realization came into her eyes. "... What do you mean if this son is yours?"

Mia noticed Kamilah's look. She was hiding something, she could tell.

"Kamilah, what do you know, that I don't know ?!" The CEO straightened her stance, the serious, thoughtful look on her face returned, as if she were lost in thought. Before she could answer that question, the sound of Kamilah's cell phone vibrating interrupted both. Kamilah immediately answered the phone.

"What it is, Karen?" She asked impatiently. “What they’re doing? Are you sure about it? I understand, please tell them I'm coming.” Kamilah hung up the phone.

“Kamilah—”

"I need to go. If I do not arrive in twenty minutes the contract will be canceled. I can't miss this meeting.” She said wearing her clothes, in the blink of an eye, she was already spotless again.

“But Kamilah, we're talking—” Mia tried to say without understanding her wife's reaction. "We need to talk about this! You can't leave me now.”

“I know, we will talk about it. I promise. When I get home, alright?” Kamilah said, taking her overcoat and going to the door, leaving the girl alone.

Ahmanet Financial

“I’m pregnant.” Mia's voice echoed in Kamilah's head incessantly. The vampire kept her gaze fixed on the glass table, the voices of her company executives and guests, were just insignificant voices at the deep of her mind. A million things kept her mind spinning.

“There is a great possibility that a child will be born through it. Miranda could be expecting a biological son of yours, Kamilah...” Lord Elric's words surfaced in the CEO's mind like a punch in the middle of her stomach. She didn’t believed, she didn’t care. She acted by pure desire and now... Mia was pregnant.

The thought that she could never be a mother never tormented her. She was too busy fighting wars, bathing in innocent blood while at the time she believed in glory, too busy conquering her ideals to think about it. Until then it was impossible, but now... It had come true. And how could reality be so scary.

“What Adrian will think? Oh God. Adrian will never forgive me, I broke my promise. He will hate me for the rest of eternity.” Kamilah tried to imagine Adrian's face, and how it would desolate him. She had broken her best friend's heart the moment she decided to succumb to desire. And Mia... Like how just three hours ago, Mia was about to ask for the divorce before letting out she was pregnant.

“Is that what she wants? Getting away from me? What if when I get home she's gone? What I’m supposed to do?” the torturous thought haunted her. Kamilah had grown accustomed to living with the girl, liking the simple things Mia did for her — Even the small ones, were kind and affectionate gestures. Receiving affection after living centuries alone in reclusion was new to her. But it was amazing how Mia never did something expecting something in return.

She was really leaving her? Kamilah's fists clenched against the table, the fear, the doubt consuming her. Maybe she was so afraid of Mia's rejection that she probably couldn't accept her own feelings. She was with a child, her child.

“She is expecting a child of mine. A biological child, my blood, my heir. This child could be my redemption. What if she doesn't want to keep the baby? Mia was right, I'm not ready to be a mother, let alone her. We were reckless and irresponsible, and... We created a life. What if Mia wants the baby and the child do not like me? Who would want to have a mother whose soul is not capable of remission? ” The thought drifted through Kamilah's mind.

“Kamilah?” One of her executives called her. Taking her mind off her reverie, Kamilah looked up, gazing into the eyes of several executives in incredibly expensive suits, her executives and the executives of the company she was about to close the deal on awaiting her response.

 Damn it, Mia. Kamilah's mind was far from that meeting room at that moment. In fact, it was the last place she wanted to be now. The CEO hardly listened to any of the arguments of the company in which she was closing the deal.

“Sorry, what was the question?” Kamilah asked, oblivious.

"Mr Harrison asked how much the margin profit would be at the end of the semester, ma'am." Karen whispered so that only she could hear.

"Oh, of course." Kamilah straightened her suit. At that moment Mia's words came back to her mind and how the girl had suggested a conciliation instead. “Do you know what? Let's put that subject aside.” Kamilah leaned back in her leather chair.

“Excuse me, Kamilah?” Mr Harrison, her prospective investor raised an eyebrow.

“I know you and you know me. We are both excellent what we do. Tell me what you want, David, and I'll tell you what I want. Maybe we can come to a compromise instead of trying to get somewhere in this stupid fight for who was most power. So, do we have a deal or not?.” Kamilah said letting all the executives quiet through that direct negotiation.

...

“I want to propose a toast, to our brilliant CEO who increasingly leads us on the path to success and profit.” Steven, one of Kamilah's executives, raised a glass of champagne. “One more deal!”

Kamilah smiled with the glass in hand, lifting gracefully towards him and the others. Since the deal was closed, a small celebration with the company executives was happening. Kamilah sipped her champagne, her mind wandering and drawn to a certain stubborn blonde.

“Is everything okay, ma'am?” Karen approached and asked quietly. Kamilah stared at her for long seconds, her assistant's worried look showing sympathy. “Kamilah, you were physically present in the meeting, but mentally, you were elsewhere.” Kamilah opened her mouth to respond, trying to find the words to form a coherent sentence. "Did something happen to Mrs. Sayeed?" Karen asked referring to Mia.

"...I'm going to be a mother, Karen." Kamilah said with her eyes wide and distant. Karen was looking at her for some sign of jokes, but when she met Kamilah's serious eyes, she knew Kamilah wasn't joking around.

"What? I didn't know you both were wanting a baby.” She said politely.

"It was an accident." Kamilah confessed, smiling slightly when she saw the white expression on her assistant's face. “A very good accident. The baby is mine, a biological child.”

“So you both crossed the forbidden lines. I knew it was just a matter of time. This is amazing, congratulations, Kamilah." Karen smiled. Kamilah stared at her for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and heading for the center of the conference room.

“I would like your attention.” Kamilah said attracting the eyes of all of her executives who stopped to listen. “First, I have a pronouncement and a toast to make. As many of you know, I got married a year ago, which was a surprise to everyone, believe me, it was for me too.” She said attracting laughter, her gaze remained serious. "So, today, I am pleased to announce, that we are expecting our first child, I am going to be a mother very soon." Clapping and congratulations broke into the room, as playful comments. “That's why today I want to ask you all to raise your glasses, a toast to my son or daughter, the heir of my empire." She raised her glass and everyone did.

04h45am Kamilah and Mia’s penthouse

It was early in the morning when Kamilah arrived home, the sun would rise in a few hours when the elevator doors opened giving way to the CEO. Kamilah set her bag on the couch and walked into her bedroom, opening the door slightly, spotting Mia asleep buried in the covers. She couldn’t help, but feel the relief at seeing the girl. Kamilah took off her heels and her jacket. Going to the closet quietly and then to the bathroom.

She just needed one more thing to relax and sleep peacefully. Blood. The already robed CEO left her room and headed for the kitchen. Opening her personal fridge, and spotting several bags of blood. Mia raised her head, still sleepy. The girl spotted the kitchen light on the end of the hall, through the crack in the door. Kamilah was at home, she looked into her cell phone and saw that it was still dawn. Still a little dizzy, she rose from the bed and opened the bedroom door.

When she reached the kitchen, she spotted Kamilah, sitting on one of the stools in front of the counter, drinking a glass of red liquid. Even silently coming, Kamilah felt her presence.

"You should be sleeping." Kamilah commented turning to her and looking with warm eyes. Mia approached the CEO. “It’s not good for you to be awake at this time... Especially for the baby.”

“You left me without answering my question.” Mia crossed her arms, her gaze burning.

"Alright. I knew this could happen, that you could get pregnant." Kamilah admitted, making Mia's shoulders drop. “Adrian and I went after elf magic… And we found out about the possibility, blood magic made it real, I tried to avoid you in every way possible, but I couldn't.” Kamilah told her. “And when we started sleeping together, I couldn't stop anymore. Suddenly this just became a small possibility for me and I didn’t care anymore.”

"And you didn't tell me ?!" Mia shouted with tears in her eyes. "Did you expect to knock me up to throw this at me ?!"

“I didn't planned it Mia!” Kamilah ran a hand through her hair.

"Of course not!" Mia laughed pacing. “Do you ever wonder what Adrian will do when he finds out that you and I are expecting a baby ?! He will never look in my face again, and god only knows what will happen!”

“Mia—” Kamilah tried to approach the girl, who backed off.

“I am too young to be a mother! I can barely take care of myself, I can barely imagine a baby! You're too busy, and you don't even like childrens!” Tears streamed from her eyes, she passed the CEO and entered her room. "This is a nightmare." Mia said crying.

“How many weeks are you in?” Kamilah asked curiously.

“Nine weeks.”

“You've been pregnant for three months and you told me just now ?!” Kamilah raised her eyebrows.

"Do you really want to argue about not sharing things? This isn't happening, isn't it." Mia shook her head.

“Mia, we can talk about this.” Kamilah's eyes softened. "It's gonna be okay." The CEO sat next to her.

“No, no. It won't be alright! Why is everyone telling me this ?! My breasts hurts, I’m nauseous almost every day and all I want to do is cry! So don’t you dare to tell me that will be alright!” She shouted, making Kamilah blink as she saw her wife in chaos. “What my parents are going to think?”

“I didn't mean that I don’t wanted to be married and you're an irresponsible teenager." Kamilah said quietly. “You brought a big change to my life, you saved me, so please, don’t ask for the divorce.” Mia noticed the vulnerability in her brown eyes.

“I don’t want the divorce.” Mia said quietly in return. “I never wanted, Kamilah.” Kamilah let out the air she didn't know she was holding.

“I want him.” Kamilah said thoughtfully, making Mia look at her without understanding. “Doesn’t matter the gender, he or her. I want this child, Mia.”

“What?!” Kamilah noticed that she was pale, the flush on her cheeks was missing, her blond hair was messy, the CEO tried to ignore the urge to touch those cheeks and to look into those intense green eyes.

“I know this decision relies on both of us. It’s not only my choice, but also yours. And for the very first time, I’m hoping that both of us can agree on something.”

“Do you really want this?” Mia asked.

“More than anything. This baby is ours, we created a life, and we’re responsible for this child. I know we can manage to be good parents... Well, time will tell, but I have hope for us.” Mia approached the CEO hesitantly, Kamilah involuntarily spread her arms, pulling the blonde by the waist close to her and hugging against her body. Mia wrapped her arms around Kamilah's warm neck, sinking her face into it, smelling her familiar scent.

“Are you going to keep the baby?” Kamilah stroked her blond hair, Mia cried softly, sobbing, hiding her face against Kamilah's nightgown, within seconds the fabric was already wet, but the CEO didn't care, a smile grew on her lips, the idea that Mia was waiting a child of her own was too incredible for her to assimilate so quickly.

“Yes. I want the baby too. I’m just so scared, this is so new for me, but... It’s us. Perhaps you’re right and we can do this. I'm sorry for your nightgown—" Mia stepped away touching the damp fabric.

"Doesn't matter." Kamilah said softly wiping the tears from the girl's face. A big flawless and bright smile on her face. “I’m so happy. I know this is scary, believe me, I'm scared too. But, Mia, I spent too many years alone, more than you could imagine. The idea of ​​having children never crossed my mind, I believe I was too busy in wars when I was mortal to think about such things. But then, I lost my family, I lost my brother. And when I was turned, I missed this chance for good.” She sighed shaking her head. “And then you came along and now... We are going to have a baby.” She laughed softly, hesitating, Kamilah touched lightly on Mia’s belly and her smile widened.

“Kamilah...” Mia stammered with red cheeks. She didn’t know what to say, there was still tears in her eyes and now that Kamilah poured her heart out, she felt like she could cry all night long.

“Our baby is a blessing.” Kamilah touched Mia’s cheeks with both hands looking straight into her eyes. Her eyes were certain, passionate and happy.

One month later

“Holy shit! That hurts!” Mia tried to keep her tone low, holding tightly to Kamilah's desk.

“Well, while we were doing it, you didn't complain.” Kamilah smiled quietly as she applied a dose of gestational vitamins that Mia's doctor had prescribed.

“And neither do you.” Mia snapped and moaned softly as Kamilah pulled the needle out. "My butt is burning like hell." She said pulling up her jeans.

“Have I already said how attractive you look while you curse?” Kamilah smiled, leaving a kiss on her wife's cheek. The blonde's cheeks burned at the compliment. “When's the ultrasound?” Kamilah asked, touching Mia's belly lightly.

“I booked for friday. Dr Carson said he could only be there at 19h30pm, I’m so sorry, I know you have this meeting that you can’t lose and how much you wanted to be there to see the sex of the baby.” Mia touched Kamilah's hand on her belly.

"That’s alright. You can go with Lily, and when you arrive you can tell me how it went.” Kamilah shook her head, trying not to show how upset she was about that situation. Her first child and she wouldn't be there. Damn it, if she haven’t that important meeting... "And yet, I still believe it's a girl." Kamilah said with a bright smile on her face.

"How are you so sure?" Mia laughed.

"I just feel it." Kamilah said with her eyes locked on her wife's belly. “I have a surprise for you.”

“What it is?” Mia’s eyes shined curiously.

“That’s a subject for later.” Kamilah smiled seeing the frustration on her wife’s eyes.

At the same instant the doors of Kamilah's office opened, revealing the last person they could both expect at that moment. Adrian.

"Kamilah, I know I promised to postpone our meeting, but..." He stopped when he saw both. "Mia." His eyes lit up when he saw the girl.

“Adrian.” The girl's young face flushed quickly, Kamilah watched the exchange of glances between the two before standing up.

"Adrian, what's the point of the visit?" She asked casually. But, Adrian didn't answer, his eyes were focused on the girl.

"How are you? It's been so long since we last spoke. ”

"I know. I've been very busy, I'm sorry.” Mia replied with flushed cheeks.

"No problem, I hear you're back in college, that's amazing." He tried to smile, but the smile faded as his eyes lowered and he noticed her belly. "What... what is it?" He pointed at Mia's belly, which she instantly touched her involuntarily.

“Adrian.” Mia and Kamilah exchanged silent looks. Mia opened her mouth trying to start the conversation in a calm and civilized way. “Kamilah and I have something to tell you, it was something that happened so suddenly, but at the same time it was the best thing that could have happened. I'm four months pregnant.” Mia bit her lower lip looking at Adrian, noting how his shocked expression turned to hate in seconds. An accusing look came to his face, going straight to Kamilah.

“How could you ?! How could you do this to me after all these years ?! You should be my best friend, my confidant, my sister, and yet you preferred to betray me” He pointed a finger at her, Kamilah took a deep breath trying to stay calm.

“Adrian—”

"This can only be a joke, please tell me you're joking with my face!"

"This is not a joke, Adrian." Kamilah said seriously, a dark look forming on her face. “I know how you must be feeling now, I've been blaming myself for months for being married to your ex girlfriend, but a moment between us happened, and—”

“You knew what would happen and yet did you Kamilah! I will never, never forgive you for that!” He shouted. “You broke your promise! You promised you wouldn't touch a finger on her! You traitor.” He paced with a deadly look at her, his eyes blazing bright red.

“Adrian!” Mia raised her voice, making him stop. "Please stop."

"Okay. It was only one night, we can fix it.” He took a deep breath, ran a hand through his hair. Kamilah and Mia exchanged glances.

"Adrian..." Mia tried to approach, Kamilah looked at her warily, but she ignored her. “It wasn't just one night. It was consensual, Kamilah didn't force me on anything. We are adults, married and we both wanted.”

"So you both betrayed my confidence ?!"

"She's my wife!" Mia shouted. "What should I do?! Not sleep with her ?! We live in the same house, we sleep in the same bed every day!”

Adrian shook his head angrily, when Mia realized, he was already on the other side of Kamilah's office, both inches from each other, exchanging predatory glances, fangs exposed, ready to attack each other. Maybe it was the stupidest thing she'd ever done, but the girl didn't hesitate to step in front of them.

"Get out of the way, Mia," Adrian growled angrily.

“Want to come after me, brother? Do you really think you're capable ?!” Kamilah snapped.

"Stop!" She shouted and they both looked at her. “Can't you see that this is what Gaius wanted ?! You are brothers for god's sake! Are you both really going to destroy this for me ?! ”

"Yes." The two said in unison without hesitation, leaving the girl breathless.

"I won't let you guys do that." Mia said firmly. "Adrian." She turned to her old love. Tears escaped the girl's eyes. “I don't expect you to forgive me, but I want you to know that I don't regret what I did. Kamilah gave me something to fight for, a child, my first child. She is more than just my wife now. I can't let you get hurt, or she get hurt.” Her words made Adrian's anger increase, and the hatred in Kamilah's expression faded, was she hearing a declaration of love from Mia for the first time?

“What did you do, Kamilah ?!” Adrian's angry look turned to Mia's belly.

“Don't even think about it.” In a second Kamilah's hand gripped his wrist before he could even touch Mia's belly. “I won’t let you hurt her or my child. Is that what you call love ?! You are making her cry, you are making her suffer, is that what you want, Adrian ?! ”

Adrian for the first time looked into the girl's green eyes, red from crying and backed away. Leaving the office almost immediately.

A week later

"I'm glad you're here." Mia said with a faint smile when her eyes met Adrian's in the elevator. Adrian looked around for signs that Kamilah was in the penthouse. “She's not here, is just me. Please come in. I made some tea.” Mia made room for him to come in and the CEO made it.

Adrian had called asking them both to meet to talk. What was a surprise to the girl, knowing that Kamilah would be in a long meeting that Wednesday, she invited him to her house.

“How's college?” Adrian sat on the spacious, comfortable leather couch, Mia handed her a mug of boiling liquid.

“Oh you know, it's great. I can still go to class, my counselor will come visit me on days when I'm at rest.” Mia said sitting in the armchair in front of Adrian, sipping her tea.

“I didn't like how we left things. The last thing I wanted was to hurt you.” The CEO's blue eyes lingered on her belly, noticing how the girl caressed her belly fondly.

"I know, me too. You're very important to me, Adrian.” Mia gave her a loving smile, it made the CEO's heart skip out of his chest. Even knowing she was pregnant, pregnant with a child that wasn't his own. That should be.

“This… this should be us. Our house, our kid, our life. Damn Gaius.” Adrian's fist clenched against his knee. Mia noticed the faint streaks of red in his eyes.

“I think things happened for a reason. Maybe... Maybe it was meant to be. I'm tired of fighting the past.” Mia shook her head, pulling her fleece blanket closer to her belly.

“Don't worry, I found the solution. A solution that would be best for all of us involved.” Adrian said, attracting a curious look from the girl.

"What... solution?" She asked uncertainly.

“My team and I have been developing a pill. A pill with exceptional characteristics that would solve all that.” A warm smile forming on his face. "I know how difficult this situation is for all of us, you are extremely young, you have been trapped in a loveless marriage, connected to someone you do not love, who may not be able to return your love."

“Adrian—”

“You're not ready to be a mother, Mia. I know you think you are, and that gives you a false sense of momentary happiness, but believe me, I already had a child, and I know how it is. It is a great responsibility to take care of an extremely fragile life. You're not ready to wake up every night, to take care of a child. Much less Kamilah, who is also deluded. She has no time to raise a child, she will leave you alone taking care, while she is busy with her chores. You know I'm telling the truth.”

Mia opened her mouth uncertain what to say in response, tears welling in the corner of her eyes.

“This pill will prevent that from happening. I love you, and I love Kamilah, she's my sister, but I'm sorry you're not ready for that.” He said pulling a small vial out of his pocket with a bull.

"This is not your decision! Do you want me to abort ?!" Mia asked speechless.

"You know that's the only way." Adrian said.

Raines Corp

It was late when an angry Kamilah came through the doors of Raines Corp, her heels hitting the ground like the clock of death approaching. Her fists clenched, her eyes red, anger completely overpowering her senses.

“Mrs Sayeed? I didn't know you had an appointment and—” Adrian's assistant fell silent at the deadly look Kamilah shot her before slamming into Adrian's office, slamming the door so hard behind her that it made him jump from his seat.

“Kamilah, what do you think you are doing—” Adrian rose from his chair, staring at the vampire without understanding. Kamilah took the flask out of her jacket and threw it against the wall so hard that a hole formed.

“How could you do this to me, Adrian ?! How could you come into my house and deliver an abortion pill in my wife's hands ?!” she shouted.

"I just did what I thought was best for her." Adrian said quietly.

“You only did what was best for you!” Kamilah pointed an accusing finger at him. Adrian laughed sarcastically.

“Look who's talking! The person who betrayed on me! My sister who slept and got pregnant the love of my life! You broke your promise!” He shouted back. “I don't regret anything I did! I did right for the woman I love!”

“Get over it.” Kamilah paced around trying to control herself not to advance Adrian. “What you did was the greatest act of cowardice I've ever seen in my life! You went behind my back and acted so selfishly—”

“Am I selfish ?! It was YOU who got Mia pregnant, she belongs to me, her place is with me—”

"No. She's NOT yours!” Kamilah shouted with hatred. "She is mine! My wife, my child's mother, she doesn't belong to you!”

“Kamilah, how can you—” Adrian shook his head in disgust.

“BECAUSE I LOVE HER!” Kamilah admitted causing Adrian to widen his eyes. “I love her, ardently.” Kamilah's confession made him hurl a glass closely to her.

“You know perfectly well she's not ready to be a mother, and you're trying to fool yourself into thinking this is going to work! I did my best for her, the pill would solve this whole situation, that's a mistake!” Adrian screamed back.

"MY CHILD IS NOT A MISTAKE!" She shouted. It made something break inside her, Kamilah's blood boiling, the veins in her neck throbbing with anger.

"You really want this kid." Adrian concluded watching Kamilah's deadly look.

"Of course I want. Mia gave me a child, an heir, heir to my empire, my child will be the continuation of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Proof that our family has not been decimated.” Kamilah took a deep breath, mentally counting to ten, she sighed and straightened her suit. "Think about what I told you, and if your idea changes by then, I'd love for you to be the godfather, my offer will be up." She took her coat and took it. Leaving Adrian alone with his thoughts.

Friday, 19:30 pm

"Oh my god, I'm so excited and I'm not even pregnant!" Lily said excitedly, almost jumping in her seat next to Mia in the waiting room. Mia gave her a smile in response, flipping through her magazine, Lily's excitement was contagious.

“I'm feeling so bad for Kamilah, it's such an important moment in our lives, and she won't be able to be present.” Mia shook her head with a sad smile.

“I know, but we know how busy she is. But hey, let’s think when you get home you can surprise her.” Lily said smiling, making Mia smile. "So what do you think it is?"

"Honestly? Kamilah is so excited saying it’s a girl, I think she's right. I think it's a little girl.” Mia smiled touching her belly.

"I know I've said that before, but... I hope she has Kamilah's hair." Lily teased.

"Me too." Mia laughed in response.

“Mrs Sayeed?” The doctor's assistant called her with a smile, Mia and Lily stood up. "Dr Carson is waiting for you." Both girls walked into the ultrasound room. Mia smiled and shook her doctor's hand, Lily did the same.

“So, how are we doing today? Your exams are great, the vitamins have helped a lot. I see the diet is doing you good.” Her doctor smiled approvingly.

"What can I say? My wife is very authoritative when it comes to rules and regulations.” Mia laughed.

"She's not kidding," Lily said beside her. "Oh, I'm that kid's godmother." Lily said making both the doctor and Mia laugh.

"Well, let's get started?" He smiled. The next few moments made the girl's heart beat faster, Lily realized this and held it in her hand, both looking at the monitor while the doctor gently ran the device over the girl's belly.

"See, here it is." He smiled with his eyes on the screen. The blonde's heart jumped in her chest as she heard the small heartbeats that flooded the room. "Look, this is the head, the little toes and hands."

"My God..." The blonde let out a sob, seeing for the first time her baby.

"I can't see almost anything, but it's still so beautiful." Lily sobbed beside her.

"The heart is great too, he's very healthy." Dr Carson smiled.

"He ?!" Both girls asked in shock.

"Congratulations, Mrs Sayeed, you are expecting a boy." He touched Mia's hand lightly.

[heauxplesslydevoted]

The Delivery

Summary: Naomi goes into labor in unexpected circumstances. You can read the first part here

A/N: Oof, this is incredibly long and pretty angsty. Please be advised that there are strong mentions of pregnancy complications. As always, enjoy! Like, reply, reblog, all that good stuff :)

“Can you tie my shoelaces?”

Ethan looked up from his file and saw Naomi struggling to tie her shoes. He chuckled as she maneuvered her body and attempted to bypass the large bump taking up most of her front.

“I told you it was time to switch to slip-ons,” Ethan teased. At 36 weeks pregnant, Naomi was still as stubborn as ever, despite her very large, very round baby bump.

“These are my comfy shoes. Please?” Ethan got up from his seat and walked over to the couch Naomi was currently occupying. She lifted her feet up for him to grab her shoes. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, my love. Is your back still hurting?”

Most days, Naomi enjoyed being pregnant. She didn’t have much morning sickness, and she had tons of energy. Her husband and friends spoiled her rotten, caving in to her most ridiculous whims. She never had to wait in line in the cafeteria, because who would dare keep Ethan Ramsey’s wife and child waiting? And she loved the fact that she was growing a little version of her and Ethan, a concept that made her smile and buzz in excitement when she stopped to think about it.

But there were days where pregnancy was hard. Her body swelled uncomfortably, her boobs were ridiculous, sometimes it was hard to breath because of how the baby was positioned, and her hormones were constantly changing. Some days she wanted to tear Ethan’s head off in a fit of rage for the littlest thing, and 2 minutes later, she wanted to have sex in an on-call room. It was annoying.

Naomi had been complaining about back pain for the last few days. She insisted it was nothing until she couldn’t stand to walk (waddle) any more, and had to take a quick break in his office. That was over 20 minutes ago, and since then she’s made no effort to move.

“Yeah, but that’s just par for the course. I’m petite and your daughter is heavy.”

“My daughter? Just mine?”

When they found out they were having a baby girl, Naomi was excited but Ethan was over the moon. The idea of having a daughter, an adorable little girl that looked like Naomi was a dream.

“Yup. Just yours.” Ethan placed a hand on Naomi’s stomach and was instantly greeted with a kick. “See? She’s a daddy’s girl.”

“Can you give your mother a bit of reprieve, little one?” Ethan asked, gently stroking Naomi’s belly. “Ease up on her.”

“Tell her to take her foot out of my ribs, too.”

Ethan looked up at Naomi, a hint of a smirk on his lips. “Excuse me, this is a private conversation between me and my daughter. You aren’t allowed.”

Naomi rolled her eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“You should be.” Ethan stepped back and lifted Naomi up. “Are you sure you’re feeling alright? You could always leave early, I’m pretty sure your boss will allow it.”

Naomi giggled. “My boss lets me get away with a lot of stuff. But no, I’ll be fine.”

“How much longer do you have on your shift?”

Naomi checked the time on her watch and groaned. “5 hours.”

“I’m off now, but I can stay around if you’d like.”

“No. Go home.”

“Well, you can set up shop here for the rest of the day if you’d like.”

“Really?” Naomi’s eyes lit up. “I get unlimited access to your coveted office?”

“Yes. Don’t go crazy in here though.”

“No promises.”

Ethan gently kissed his wife’s forehead before dropping another onto her lips. “Have a good rest of your shift. I’ll see you when you get home.”

~~/~~

A few hours later, Naomi was still hiding out in Ethan’s office. It was late in the evening, all of her patients were accounted for, and she was using the peace and quiet to catch up on paperwork. With her maternity leave starting in a few short weeks, she was trying to get as much done as she could before she handed her patients over to another doctor.

Her back was still killing her unfortunately, much to her annoyance. “You just won’t give me a day of peace, baby girl. Why do you enjoy being lodged into my spine?”

The baby kicked her sharply in reply and Naomi chuckled. Her daughter wasn’t even born yet, and she had quite the personality already.

“Well why don’t we go on a walk,” Naomi suggested, drumming her fingers along her belly. “Maybe your uncle Bryce is doing a cool surgery. Or auntie Aurora is yelling at her interns again.”

Naomi reluctantly pushed herself out of Ethan’s plush leather chair and was instantly met with a sharp pain in her stomach. Gasping, Naomi clutched the edge of the desk to steady herself. Surely, she couldn’t be in labor. It was too early, she had 4 weeks left. Maybe it was Braxton Hicks contractions, but were Braxton Hicks contractions supposed to hurt?

Another burst of pain rippled through her core, this time actually bringing her to her knees. She hadn’t been in this much pain since she fell down the stairs in the atrium all those months ago and bruised her ribs.

Afraid of trying to stand up again, Naomi turned around and pressed her back against the edge of Ethan’s desk, using it to keep herself propped up. She’d try to get up in a few minutes once the pain subsided.

She placed a hand on her stomach. “You’re okay, baby. You’re okay. And you’re not coming out tonight, so don’t go getting any ideas.” 

A few minutes passed, and the stomach pain lessened, just enough to the point where Naomi actually wasn’t afraid to move again. She sighed, relieved that the pain was no longer holding her in a vice-like grip.

But before she could celebrate, a gush of wetness pooled between her legs, and Naomi looked down. Her usually blue scrub pants were now a deep shade of red. Blood.

Digging into the pocket of her white coat, Naomi pulled out her cell phone. With trembling fingers she dialed for her OB/GYN. 

“Hello, Doctor Brenda Forbes speaking.”

“Brenda, it’s Naomi.”

“Hi, Naomi.

“Are you at the hospital?”

“Yes, I’m in my office right now. Why?”

“I’m in Ethan’s office and I need you to come down here quick. Somethings wrong.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. My back has been hurting all day and I got these really sharp pains in my stomach, and it hurts to move. And I’m bleeding through my pants,” Naomi explained, her voice cracking. “I think I’m in labor.”

“Are you having contractions?”

“I think so, I don’t know.”

“Is it stomach pain or pressure?” Brenda asked. Naomi could hear shuffling in the background and she assumed Brenda was moving around. “Does it feel like menstrual cramps?”

Naomi shook her head even though Brenda couldn’t see her. This was a pain unlike anything she’d ever felt. “No, not at all. It’s pain, stomach pain, I’m sure.”

“Okay. Is the door to Ethan’s office unlocked?”

“Y-yes.”

“Is he with you?”

“No, he’s at home.”

“Naomi, I know it’s easier said than done but I need you to relax. I need you to breathe. You have to stay calm for the baby. Can you feel the baby moving?”

“Yes, she’s still moving.”

“Good, that’s good.” The door opened and in walked Brenda and one of her residents, who was pushing a wheelchair. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is the pain?”

“9.” Brenda gently lifted Naomi up and helped her get in the wheelchair. “What’s wrong? Do you think my baby’s okay?”

“We have to run some tests before I can give you an answer. Do you want me to call Ethan for you?”

“No, I can call him.” Picking up her phone again, Naomi dialed Ethan’s number. He picked up after a few rings.

“Miss me already?”

“Ethan, I need you to come back to the hospital.”

Ethan could hear the urgency in his wife’s tone. “Naomi, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, I’m having some pain and–”

“I’m on my way.”

~~/~~

Naomi usually found comfort in Ethan’s warm hands on her, but she couldn’t shake her anxiousness. Every nerve in her body was on high alert and she couldn’t fully relax.

Neither of them knew what to say while Brenda performed her ultrasound, the spacious birthing suit was extremely silent. “Okay, I have some good news and some bad news. Good news is that the baby isn’t in any distress and her heart rate sounds good.

Ethan gripped Naomi’s hand tighter and kissed her knuckles. “Oh thank God.”

“And what’s the bad news?” Naomi asked.

Brenda sighed. “You’re experiencing placental abruption, which means it’s detached itself from your uterus, and this baby has to come out tonight.”

“No.”

Ethan turned to his wife, “Naomi–“

“No, it’s too early,” Naomi said. “I’m supposed to be pregnant for 4 more weeks.”

“I know it’s scary, but delivering at 36 weeks is more common than you think.”

Naomi wrapped a protective arm around her stomach. “And there’s nothing we can do?”

Brenda shook her head. “Unfortunately not. It’s a complete detachment, which means the baby isn’t receiving nutrients, and you would just hemorrhage more blood. Prolonging your pregnancy would do more harm than good at this point.”

“Will I have to have a c-section?”

“Actually no. Your vitals and cervix look good, and the baby isn’t in distress. We’d actually prefer vaginal birth if it’s an option.”

Naomi turned to Ethan, hoping he’d have some answers for her. “What should I do?”

“You’re the one delivering the baby,” Ethan pointed out. “And I doubt you want an unnecessary surgery.”

“You’re right.” Naomi turned to Brenda and nodded, determined. “I’m delivering naturally.”

“Great, I’ll get a nurse to come in and administer the misoprostol and pitocin, and hopefully the labor starts soon.”

“How long will it take? For the pitocin to kick in?”

“It just depends because every woman’s labor experience is different. We don’t want it to take too long though, and we’ll be monitoring the baby’s heart rate closely.”

“If it takes too long, will I have to have a c-section?”

“Yes.”

Naomi could feel herself getting overwhelmed by all of the information. This was a lot to take in at once. She held her stomach even tighter, wanting to keep her baby as safe as possible. “Okay.”

Brenda smiled sympathetically at her patient. “I’ll be back soon to check on you, but call me if anything happens.”

“Thank you, Brenda,” Ethan said.

“Of course.” Brenda left Naomi’s room without another word.

“Is there anything I can do right now?” Ethan asked. Surely there was something he could be doing to make Naomi more comfortable.

“Where’s my phone?”

Ethan grabbed the plastic bag given to them upon check in and handed it to her. It was full of her personal things: cell phone, her engagement ring and wedding band. “Here you are.”

“Thank you.” Naomi unlocked her phone and dialed her mother's number. 

“Hi, sweetheart!” Naomi’s mother, Dorinda greeted.

“Mom,” Naomi started, her voice cracking. “Mom, you and daddy need to some to Boston right now.”

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

Naomi tried to keep her composure as best as she could, but she broke, the stress of the situation finally getting to her. “I’m in the hospital, they’re inducing me.”

“What? You aren’t due until next month! What’s going on?”

“I have placental abruption, the baby needs to come out tonight.”

The line went silent for a while, and Naomi could hear her mother yelling at her dad, telling him that they needed to get to the airport. “Okay, what’s happening now?”

“I’m just waiting for the nurse to come in with the pitocin.”

“And how are you feeling right now?” Dorinda asked. “Are you in pain?”

“I’m really scared,” Naomi confessed, tears fully falling from her eyes at this point. She didn’t bother wiping them. “It’s too early, she’s not supposed to be here this soon.”

“I know it’s scary, but she’s going to be fine, and so are you. You’re in the best hospital in the country, receiving the best care.”

“Can you just get here soon? Please?”

“Of course. We’re already on our way.”

“Good.”

“Where’s Ethan?”

“He’s sitting right next to me.”

“Can I speak to him?”

Naomi handed the phone to Ethan. “She wants to talk to you.”

Ethan put the phone between his ear and his shoulder. “Hello, Dorinda.”

“Hi, Ethan, how are you?”

“Hanging in there.”

“Steven and I are on our way, we’ll be booking the first flight available.”

Ethan sighed in relief. He had never been more grateful for his in-laws living in D.C. which was only a 90 minute plane ride away.

“If you need any help with that, just let me know.”

“Thank you for offering, but it won’t be necessary. Just...take care of my daughter, Ethan.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” 

Ethan hung up the phone and turned back to Naomi, who was fully sobbing at this point. His throat tightened at the sight. He hated seeing her cry.

“I don’t want to do this,” Naomi cried.

Ethan gently climbed into the bed with Naomi and cradled her in his arms. He tried wiping her tears, but they were coming down uncontrollably at this point.

“I know. I know it’s scary and it’s not what we planned, but she’s coming whether we like it or not. So we just have to roll with it and be strong, for her.”

Naomi knew he was right, but she still didn’t like this. “Give me two minutes. A two minute breakdown, and then I’ll rally.”

“Two minutes,” Ethan repeated. “Deal.”

~~/~~

While the thought of giving birth was terrifying, Naomi was grateful her mom was able to make it to the hospital before she had to start pushing. Yes Ethan was the best husband in the world, but she needed her mother.

Steven and Dorinda Valentine showed up at Edenbrook in a flurry. She was still wearing her silk pajamas and a red Versace bathrobe when she stalked through the halls, but Dorinda was still intense and no-nonsense. Within 5 minutes of being there, she had conferenced with everyone who had come into contact with Naomi from her OB down to the janitor. Steven lingered in the private waiting area along with the rest of Naomi’s friends who were anxiously awaiting news on Baby Ramsey.”

Naomi’s labor progressed quicker than anyone could have anticipated. With two hours, she went from 1 to 10 centimeters dilated.

She quickly realized that labor fucking sucked. Moving too quickly, Naomi wasn’t able to get an epidural and the thought of having to push an entire human out of her body sans drugs scared her. 

“Can I get you anything?” Ethan asked as a particularly strong contraction hit Naomi. She shook her head and just squeezed his hand.

“Stop...talking.”

Dorinda ran her hands through Naomi’s hair. “Sweetheart, you are doing so good.”

Naomi dropped Ethan’s hand and moved her head out of her mother’s path. She didn’t want anyone touching her.

“Okay, Naomi it’s time to push,” Brenda said. “You ready to meet your baby girl?”

“Yes,” Naomi replied, almost desperately. “Yes!”

“On your next contraction, I want you to push and hold it until I tell you to stop,” Brenda instructed. Naomi nodded.

On her next contraction, Naomi pulled herself up and gripped the bedsheets so fiercely, her knuckles turned white.

“That’s it, Naomi, you’re doing great,” Brenda coached. “And release.”

Naomi fell back onto the bed with a tired sigh. She closed her eyes, hoping to get a moment’s rest.

But before she could even get comfortable again, another contraction hit, forcing her upright. This time as she pushed, she grabbed on to her mother’s hand for support.

After pushing for 25 more minutes, Naomi was officially ready to quit. This baby was refusing to vacate her body and she was over it. So she refused to push.

“I’m not doing this anymore,” Naomi said, defiantly. “You can reach into my vagina and pull her out for all I care.”

“Naomi, that’s not how this works.”

“I can’t take another second.”

Ethan crouched down and gently started playing with Naomi’s hair. Her long and full locks were originally in a professional looking top knot, but hours into labor didn’t do the hair any good. It was now matted to the side of her face, but Ethan didn’t care.

“Sweetheart,” he started, “we are so close to the finish line.”

“I don’t care.”

“Our daughter is almost here,” Ethan added.

“You want her so bad, you can push her out yourself.”

“Alright.” Ethan stood up. So husband mode wasn’t working, it was time to change tactics. “Rookie, you’re being ridiculous.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me loud and clear, Valentine,” He continued, using his authoritative tone with her. “You’re in labor, the baby has to come out. Stop being so petulant and spoiled, and push when Brenda tells you to.”

Naomi glared at Ethan fiercely. How dare he use his doctor voice to scold her while she was in labor? She clamped down tightly on his wrist, twisting it. “Ethan Jonah Ramsey, I don’t know who the fuck—”

Another contraction hit, cutting Naomi off. She clenched her jaw tightly as the pain rolled through her lower back.

“You can yell at me all you want, but why don’t we meet our daughter first?” Ethan suggested.

“Fine.”

Ethan bit down on his lip to keep from smirking. Mission accomplished. “Thank you.”

“Naomi, you’re so close!” Brenda exclaimed. “The baby is almost here. You have to push.”

Dorinda grabbed one of Naomi’s legs, helping her daughter stay braced in the position. Naomi leaned forward, tucking her chin into her chest as she pushed.

“I can see her head!”

Dorinda moved from her position next to Naomi next to Brenda. “Oh my goodness, Naomi, she has hair.” She let out a breathy noise from the back of her throat, similar to a chuckle. “My granddaughter has so much hair!”

She didn’t know why, but that minuscule detail gave Naomi a quick burst of energy. On her next contraction, she pushed as hard as she could.

Suddenly, the pressure in her lower half was gone. Brenda held up a wriggly little baby. “It’s a girl!”

Ethan cut the cord and the nurses quickly whisked the baby away, cleaning her off and warming her up.

The silence in the room sent a feeling of panic through Naomi. “Why isn’t she crying?”

“She’s a bit premature, remember?” Brenda said. “Her lungs aren’t fully developed yet. We’re going to take her to the NICU and put her on oxygen.”

In the distance, Naomi could hear a faint whimper. It wasn’t the full blown cry she wanted, but her baby was breathing.

She sank back into her bed. She was so tired, the exhaustion heavy in her bones. She just wanted to sleep.

Ethan gently cradled her face in his hands, showering her with kisses. “Rookie, you were amazing. You do it!”

“I did it,” Naomi confirmed, struggling to keep her eyes open. God, why was her energy so low all of a sudden?

“Naomi?” She could hear Ethan calling her name, but he sounded so far away, like he was in a different room. “Naomi, can you hear me? Naomi!”

Ethan looked down and saw Naomi’s hospital gown and blanket now soaked in blood. He may not be an OB, but he knew that wasn’t a normal amount, by any means. “Oh my God!”

Dorinda could sense the urgency in her son in law’s voice. She stopped taking pictures of the baby long enough to turn and see Ethan attempting to shake Naomi in an attempt to keep her conscious. That’s when all of the monitors started going off, the room much louder than it was just a few seconds ago.

“Brenda!” He called out. “Brenda, what’s going on?”

“BP’s crashing!” A nurse said, checking Naomi’s vitals. “Her heart rate is accelerated!”

“Postpartum hemorrhaging due to the placental abruption,” Brenda said, mostly to the nurses. “Put an oxygen mask on her right now! And prep the first available OR!” She turned to Ethan and Dorinda. “You guys need to leave right now.”

“No!” Ethan shook his head. “No, I’m not leaving her. What’s going on?”

“Ethan, you need to back up and let me do my job.”

Not giving him a chance to argue, a nurse gently ushered Ethan and Dorinda out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

They walked for a while, dazed over what just happened. They didn’t even realize that they wandered into the waiting room until Sienna’s cheery voice broke the silence.

“Ethan! Missus Valentine! Has Naomi had the baby yet?”

Ethan blinked at Sienna, not even fully registering that she was speaking to him.  He looked around and saw all of their friends and colleagues sitting around. Sienna, Jackie, Elijah, Bryce, Aurora, Rafael, Kyra, and Naveen. Even Ines and Zaid were there. Everyone had heard that Naomi was delivering prematurely, and they wanted to make sure she was alright. “What?”

“Is Naomi still in labor?” Sienna asked, her eyes bright and hopeful.

“Um…” Ethan struggled to find the words. “Naomi had the baby, a girl.”

The gang all burst into cheers, excited about the newest member of the gang. The cheers all stopped when they noticed that Dorinda and Ethan were not sharing in their joy.

Naveen was the brave soul to ask, “Ethan, what’s wrong?”

Ethan could still see it clear as day. The blood, so much blood. Naomi’s usually golden brown skin was pale and clammy. And the noise. After 13 years of being a doctor, Ethan was no stranger to chaos and patients going into distress, but to see it happen to his own wife nearly made him sick to his stomach.

“We don’t know,” Dorinda answered simply, trying to keep her own emotions in check. “After Naomi had the baby, she lost a lot of blood and we were kicked out of the room. We don’t know what’s going on.”

The waiting room grew incredibly silent. Jackie inhaled sharply and clutched her own stomach, as if she had been punched.

They were all in shock. Naomi was the glue to their entire group, nothing was supposed to happen to her. 

Ines stood and reached out, going to comfort Ethan, but he took a step back. “Oh Ethan, I’m—”

“If you all will excuse me, I’m going to get some air,” Ethan said. He coughed loudly, trying to mask the fact that he was getting choked up. He walked off, quickly leaving the waiting area.

His feet led him outside and he inhaled the frigid Boston air. It was freezing outside, but he didn’t care. He slumped down onto the cold concrete and put his head in between his legs, trying to regulate his breathing.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Naveen staring down at him. “Keep breathing. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Just keep breathing.”

Ethan followed the doctor’s instructions and looked down at a crack in the concrete, trying to use the image to ground himself. “Focus on the crack, Ramsey,” he thought.

He counted to 10 in his head and slowly lifted his up, ignoring the throb at his temple. “My wife and child are fighting for their lives and here I am, having a stupid panic attack.”

“It’s not stupid,” Naveen argued.

“Well I feel stupid. Who am I to be having a panic attack? I’m not the one fighting for my life.”

“You’re human. It’s a stressful situation.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this. We were supposed to have another month. Naomi was going to be comfortable at home when her water broke and we’d come here for a completely uneventful delivery. And then we’d leave with our baby a day or two later. Instead I have a daughter in the NICU and my wife—” Ethan shook his head, unable to complete the sentence.

“Naomi is a strong young woman,” Naveen said. “One of the strongest I’ve even known. She’s smart, and scrappy, and resilient. Hell, she has to be to put up with you.” That managed to get a small chuckle out of Ethan. “She’s going to be just fine, and she’s going to come back from this, guns blazing.”

“I wish I had your optimism.”

“I’ve stared death in the face, Ethan. If I can come back, I know for a fact Naomi will be fine.”

Ethan wiped a tear from his eye. “I love her so much. She’s my entire life, I would cease to exist without her.”

Naveen sat down next to his protege and sighed heavily. “You have a new thing to live for. A baby girl, who I’m certain is very beautiful. Naomi is her mother, after all.”

“That is true.”

“So...have you called your parents? Do they know that their granddaughter has made her grand debut?”

“No. In the stress of the day, I completely forgot.”

“Well, I think they should be alerted to the good news.”

One of the first things Naomi did when she and Ethan started dating was make him reach out to his parents. She said life was too short to be harboring resentment, and he needed to at least try to make things right. Thankfully his parents were receptive to a reconciliation, and they made up. And they obviously loved and adored Naomi.

Naomi was the best thing that ever happened to Ethan. Without her, he would have never been brave enough to call his parents. It was one of the best decisions he had ever made.

“I’ll call them when I have an update on Naomi.”

Naveen nodded. “Fair enough. Do you want to go back inside?”

“Not yet.” Ethan inhaled deeply. “I just need a few more minutes.”

“Very well.”

After a few more minutes, the doctors head back into the hospital. They’re instantly stopped by an older nurse, a woman by the name of Lily. She’d been working at the hospital longer than Ethan had his medical license.

“Dr. Ramsey, your daughter is settling quite well in the NICU. Would you like to see her?”

“I can see her?”

“Yes.”

Naveen pushed Ethan forward. “Go on!”

Not needing to be told twice, Ethan followed the nurse to the NICU. After thoroughly washing his hands and checking in, Ethan was led to an incubator in the center of the room. There was a tiny label that said ‘Baby Girl Ramsey’, and inside was a tiny little thing. 

“She’s so tiny,” Ethan said, mesmerized.

“6 pounds, 2 ounces, 19 inches long,” Lily recited. “I suspect she’ll be tall like her dad.”

Ethan ran his hand along the incubator. “How long will she have to be here?”

“Depends on the progress she makes,” Lily answered. “Right now she’s not breathing on her own, and we want her to gain a bit more weight, but I am optimistic. You have a very tough little lady on your hands.”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Would you like to hold her?”

“I can do that?”

“You can even do skin to skin contact. Just sit down and unbutton your shirt.” Ethan did as he was told. Lily carefully took the baby out of the incubator and placed her on Ethan’s chest. “It’ll help her heart rate and regulate body temperature. It’ll even calm you down. I’m sure it’s been a stressful day.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Ethan said, stroking the baby’s cheek.

“Why don’t you get some bonding time with your baby, and I’ll see if I can get an update on Naomi?”

Ethan looked up, his eyes hopeful. “Yes, please.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I have more info for you.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course.” Lily quickly left the NICU, leaving Ethan in a room full of sleeping babies and noisy monitors.

Ethan stared down at the baby on his chest. Her eyes opened for a brief second and Ethan saw a flash of the most striking blue, similar to his own.  “You have my eyes. Well, you have my eyes for now, they may change as you grow up. But everything else is your mother’s. Lucky you. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.”

“Happy birthday. You weren’t supposed to be here so soon, but I guess you were too excited to meet us. But while I’m glad you’re here, don’t ever scare us like that again, young lady.” The baby moved slightly against Ethan’s chest as if she was replying. 

“I suppose I should tell you a little bit about myself. I’m your dad, Ethan. I’m 39 years old, I enjoying reading, and I absolutely hate small talk. And I never thought I’d be blessed enough to have you. Not that I didn’t want children, I just never saw myself settling down and starting a family. We have a dog named Jenner, and man is he going to be tickled by you. He wouldn’t leave your mother alone when she was pregnant. Always following her, cuddling with her, sleeping with her. Jenner is extremely protective, and I’m sure the two of you will be fast friends.”

“And your mother, wow. You got the best mother in the world. She’s incredibly smart, and compassionate, and kind, and funny. She loves corny jokes, so you’ll probably spend a lot of time rolling your eyes and groaning in embarrassment. And she’s stubborn, the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met. She refuses to let things go, and to give up. It’s a blessing and a curse, to have someone care so much. She’s always going to do what’s right, even at her own expense.”

“She absolutely loves you,” Ethan continued. “Since we found out she was pregnant, you’ve been her main focus. Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night, and find her reading pregnancy books and online shopping. She was always talking to you and stroking her stomach. She also loves singing to you, even though she’s a horrible singer. But that doesn’t stop her from singing, loudly and off key.” He laughed softly. “She’s the most amazing woman I know. And I know she’s fighting hard to be with us. She’s a fighter. You’re a fighter as well.

“And you have tons of aunts and uncles out there who can’t wait to meet you. And grandparents. Your grandma Dorinda probably has matching Gucci pajama sets already.”

“Burberry, actually.” Ethan turned his head and saw Dorinda and Steven in the doorway. “We don’t mean to interrupt, but the nurse said we could visit.”

“No, it’s fine. Come on, come meet your granddaughter.”

Dorinda stepped up first, peering down at the baby curled up on Ethan’s chest. “I know most newborns look like little blobs, but not this one. She looks just like Naomi, it’s almost scary.”

“Spitting image,” Ethan agreed.

“I wonder what she’ll be like,” Dorinda said, stroking the baby’s cheek. “Naomi was a very energetic baby. Never cried, very noisy. She was always babbling and yelling.”

“And she hated naps,” Steven added with a chuckle. “Even as a baby, she was so alert, so curious.”

“That sounds like Naomi.” Ethan looked down at his daughter and back up at Dorinda. “Would you like to hold her?”

“Yes, please.” Ethan slowly stood up and Dorinda sat in the seat he was previously occupying. “I’m a grandma! You’re my first grandchild, I’m going to spoil you rotten.”

“I hope your condo has plenty of closet space, Ethan,” Steven joked. “Dory here knows how to shop.”

“A baby girl as perfect as this one deserves to be spoiled,” Dorinda cooed.

“I agree.”

Ethan felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Brenda standing behind him.

“Ethan,” she greeted. “Mister and Missus Valentine.”

“Brenda, do you have news on Naomi?”

Brenda took a deep breath and signed. “Yes. She lost a lot of blood and we had to rush her to emergency surgery, but we stopped the bleeding and she’s stable. She’s being moved to recovery right now.”

Ethan’s knees buckled at the words. “She’s okay? She’s going to be okay?”

“She’s going to be okay. She’s a little weak right now, we had to give her a blood transfusion, and the surgery is going to make her sore for a few weeks, but yes, she is going to be okay.”

Ethan flung himself forward and wrapped Brenda in a tight hug, tears spilling from his eyes. “Thank you. Thank you so much for saving my wife,”

“Of course. Naomi is a dear colleague, and a friend.”

“I owe you my entire life.”

“I did what I had to do, Ethan. Think nothing more of it.”

“Can I see her?” Ethan asked once he broke the hug.

“As soon as she’s settled into her room and the nurses check over her vitals, you can visit.”

Ethan let out a sigh, a weight lifted off of his chest. His wife and his daughter were both going to be okay. He could breathe again. “Thank you.”

“You are very welcome.”

~~/~~

A few hours later, Naomi woke up, groggy and confused. Her head felt foggy and her body was incredibly numb.

“Mhmmm.”

Next to her, Ethan lay uncomfortably on a small couch, watching her like a hawk. At the sound of her voice, he jumped up. “Naomi? Naomi, can you hear me?”

“Ethan?”

“I’m here, Rookie.” He gently stroked her hair. “I’m here.” Naomi gently ran her hand across her stomach and panic coarser through her veins when she was met with the flat surface. She tried to sit up, but it was too painful. “Whoa, whoa, whoa slow down!”

“My baby! Ethan, where is my baby?”

“She’s fine,” Ethan assured her. “She’s fine, I promise. She’s with your parents in the NICU. They were in here earlier, but they are absolutely enamored with her.”

“What happened?”

“You bled out after the delivery and nearly went into shock. Your blood pressure dropped, your heart rate was through the roof.” Ethan’s voice cracked. “Naomi, I nearly lost you, don’t you ever do that to me again.”

“I don’t plan on it.”

“Promise?”

“Promise. I’m sorry.”

Ethan kissed Naomi’s forehead. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I don’t know what happened. Everything with my pregnancy was going fine, how did it end so horribly?”

“I don’t know. I can’t dwell on that though, all I care about is that you’re healthy and our daughter is healthy.”

“When can I see her?”

Ethan scanned all of the monitors that were hooked up to Naomi. “Your vitals look good and you don’t have a fever. I’ll call a nurse to get you a wheelchair.”

A few minutes later, Ethan was wheeling Naomi into the NICU. It was quiet and pretty empty, save for a few nurses, some parents, and Dorinda and Steven.

Their eyes lit up upon seeing their daughter. “Naomi! Ethan, why didn’t you tell us she was awake?”

“She just woke up,” Ethan explained. “The first thing she wanted to do was come here.”

“Thank God you’re alright.” Dorinda kissed her daughter. “You gave me quite the scare, young lady. If I wanted this type of drama, I’d watch Grey’s Anatomy.”

Naomi noticed the baby bundled up in her dad’s arms. “Is that her?”

“Yup.” Steven placed the baby in Naomi’s arms.

“Oh my goodness, hi. I’m your mommy and it is so nice to finally meet you.”

Dorinda tugged on her husband’s hand. “Let’s give the new parents a moment alone. You’re buying me some vending machine cookies.”

“Yes, dear.” Naomi’s parents quickly left the NICU, leaving Ethan and Naomi with their daughter.

Naomi couldn’t believe it. She and Ethan made this perfect little human. “She’s so beautiful.”

“She takes after her mother.”

“Maybe she’ll have your charm.” Naomi smiled at the baby. “I love her.”

“I do too.”

“Like, I love her so much, it hurts. I’d snap someone’s neck Mortal Kombat style for her if I had to.”

Ethan laughed. “I don’t doubt you at all.”

“This has been a long and horrible day. Went into early labor, gave birth with no medication, and I nearly died. But I’d do it all over again for her, without a second thought, without changing a single thing.”

“Thankfully we don’t have to do such a thing.”

Naomi leaned forward, pressing the baby closer to her, not able to get enough. “What are we going to name her? We hadn’t even thought of names yet. I want to give her something good.”

“What about Valentina?”

“Valentina,” Naomi repeated slowly.

“Named after you, of course.”

“You’re so sweet.” Naomi bit her bottom lip, mulling it over. “Valentina Ramsey.” She looked down at the baby. “Do you like that? Valentina Noelle?”

“Noelle?”

“My mom’s middle name,” Naomi explained. “And it flows. Valentina Noelle Ramsey.”

“I love it.”

“I do too.” The baby gripped Naomi’s finger tightly. “I think she’s a fan as well.”

“So it’s settled. Our daughter has a name.”

“The perfect name for the most perfect little girl.”

Ethan smiled. His heart had never been more full than it was in that moment, that perfect moment. He kissed the crown of Naomi’s head. “I love you, Missus Ramsey. Thanks for making me a daddy.”

Naomi giggled. “I love you too, Mister Ramsey. Thanks for making me a mommy.”

[sidekickjoey]

Fireworks & First Times

Rating: M Word Count: 10,207 Summary: On the night of their wedding, Eugene knows he and Rapunzel have a duty to carry out for the whole of Corona. However, when nerves get in the way, he has to rely on trust in his beautiful new bride to venture forth and conquer this new territory together. A/N: This has been in my drafts for MONTHS because I wanted it to be absolutely perfect. I had such a blast writing it and loving it, and I hope you all enjoy it as well. Let me know what you think if you like it :) Eugene has known this day would come.

Fitted in his wedding best, he sits watching lords and ladies dancing inside the castle, his newly adorned wedding ring clinking against his ale to the beat. The day has been a success – well, despite some minor setbacks that led to their moving inside for the reception. Gotta love the horse and the frog, the scamps. Regardless, everyone cheered for their princess and new prince consort, and the kingdom jumped right into celebrating as if nothing strange had ever happened – as they were accustomed to. As for Rapunzel? Well, Eugene has never seen her happier.

He wishes he could say the same for himself.

He is happy, do not get him wrong! Finally being married to the girl of his dreams, his new dream, after years of asking and asking is no small feat to him. He loves referring to her as “Mrs. Fitzherbert,” and seeing that sparkling ring on her finger as she dances holds a special place in the depths of his heart.

However, a small voice in the back of his head is reminding him, very poignantly every few minutes, that he has a very important duty to uphold after the guests leave – one that he has silently been watching the clock in fear of.

He has to consummate the marriage.

Again, it is not that he does not want to consummate the marriage. Hell, respecting the King and Queen’s wishes for their daughter to remain pure until her wedding night is one of the hardest things Eugene has ever accomplished. He wishes he could have that on posters across the kingdom rather than his mugshot. It would be more impressive.

Rapunzel is gorgeous. She might not realize it, but he sees her body as perfect in all the right ways. Not to mention, her brunette locks really do do something for him. He wants to run his hand through them when her head is thrown back in pure bliss, tugging gently through his own release as she whimpers out his name. He wants to hold her and really feel her beneath him, knowing they really, truly are one. He has wanted that for so achingly long. What he does not want, however, is to hurt her.

And he is so scared he will.

The fact is, his new, delightful, gorgeous wife is tiny. A mere five-foot-two, give or take a few. She is light sans the seventy-five feet of golden hair, and while she is strong, Eugene does not doubt that he could accidentally squish her if he was not careful.

He, on the other hand, is a well-built man, with muscles passed down from his father and years of climbing architecture. Additionally, he’s also not too badly endowed down below. At all. It is embarrassing for him to admit, but if he manages to not crush the poor girl on their wedding night, Eugene is terrified he might just not fit.

Flynn Rider never had these worries. There were some days where he slept with women far smaller than Rapunzel without a care in the world. He was rough and tough and tossed all about with them. It was what was expected from Corona’s master thief, and he learned to play the part well over the years.

The issue with Rapunzel is that she is now married to Eugene Fitzherbert, not Flynn Rider. Eugene Fitzherbert is expected to be a perfect gentleman with the restraint of a saint and the tenderness of a lamb, because he is softer than Flynn and held to a much higher standard by the crown. However, Eugene only has the rough-and-tough Flynn knowledge to go off of. He is terrified that that knowledge will accidentally take him too far too fast and frighten her. That is why he is dreading his wedding night. That is why he has been face-deep in ale.

Eugene Fitzherbert is scared.

“Eugene!”

He jumps at the call of his name. However, as soon as his little ball of sunshine bounds forward and beckons his attention, his body falls at ease. It knows her presence well.

Rapunzel is truly radiant – even more so than usual on this day. Flowers weave through her hair, most likely from her giving in and letting the kingdom girls have their way with her. Her makeup is subtle, yet he notices her lashes pop a bit more and her cheeks appear rosier. She is a figure of a dream – his dream. His dream he hardly deserves. He tugs her into his side with a tired smile and kisses the top of her head as her happiness blossoms before him. She melts into him, giggling at the closeness of her groom.

“Hello, princess.”

“Hello, husband,” she sings, and the song is wonderful.

“What have you been up to?”

“Well, I just spoke to my parents,” she replies, “and Father said that we have an entire room of wedding gifts in the castle waiting for us. Can you believe that? We are going to have so much to look through tomorrow before we leave!”

Eugene nods, grabbing his ale for a quick sip. Ah, yes. Tomorrow. The honeymoon. The crown had gifted the newlyweds with a weeklong trip to a remote Corona-owned private island. He has been looking forward to it ever since Rapunzel blessed him with the news a few weeks prior, despite the nerves and all. There was a rumor the staff there made great mimosas.

“Of course I can believe it, sweetheart. The kingdom loves you. Why wouldn’t they spoil you on one of the biggest days of your life?”

Rapunzel tuts and prods his vest. “They love you too, Eugene. The gifts are for both of us.”

“Mmm.”

“I also spoke to Mother for a bit,” she continues, fidgeting with her newly placed wedding ring. “I’m actually glad I ran into you, because she told me a few things that left me confused. I wanted to ask you about them.”

Confused. Yup, that sends a bad feeling to Eugene’s stomach. A mother discusses only a handful of topics with her daughter the day of her wedding, and the odds of their conversation surrounding the topic at the front of his anxious mind are…way too high. Eugene isn’t prepared to answer questions about that in the middle of a very public wedding reception, thank you very much. At least, not when he is fairly sober.

He swallows hard.

“What’s on your mind, Blondie?”

“Well, she just was so vague.” Rapunzel ditches her ring to better watch where she walks as she paces. Each step she takes makes Eugene’s heart quicken. “I mean, she told me I would be in for an interesting night with you once the reception ends. What does she mean by that? And how can things get interesting when we are leaving the reception? Isn’t the party over then? It makes no sense!”

Eugene stares back at his wife, expression as blank as a slab of concrete.

Okay, so he definitely needs to have a conversation with his new mother-in-law about how to phrase things to her daughter when they return from the island. Also, a talk about honesty could do her some dire good.

Interesting?? Interesting does not even remotely cover what is planned! Not to mention, it does not prepare her for what is to come at all. Queen Arianna could have given her the PG birds-and-bees talk he got when he went through puberty at the orphanage and it would have caused less trouble. Eugene grimaces.

“Eugene? Are…you okay?”

Shit, she’s still here.

Eugene flounders upon snapping back to reality, and in his floundering, his hand instinctively reaches for his ale. The bitter taste hits him hard with the strong gulps he takes on impulse, but he does not flinch. He continues sipping until he can slam the mug down empty and laugh a little too wildly at his wife, hoping to everything she won’t point out just how ridiculous he suddenly is being.

Lucky for Eugene, Rapunzel is no stranger to his mid possible-panic states, and she knows not to interrupt them with questioning no matter how confused it makes her. A panicked Eugene is an irrational Eugene incapable of answering his name if asked. However, as he seems to touch back with reality a few moments later, she dares to let a sliver of her concern show.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine, sunshine,” he sputters with a wipe of his chin on his sleeve. “Sorry, I um…I was not expecting to be asked all of…that.”

“Is there something you need to tell me?”

“As a matter of fact?” He sighs, pressing his palm to his forehead. “Yes. Yes, we need to talk so I can try to clarify things, but not here.”

As much as he would love to give in to the puppy-dog eyes she is giving him, Eugene knows speaking about such private matters with Rapunzel could prove deadly in front of royal courtiers. Royal “privacy” and all. The grand ballroom was no place for such conversation.

“Okay. Where then?”

“In our bedroom, after everything is over,” he instructs, placing his hands on either side of her shoulders. “I’ll let you know what is on my mind, and you can ask as many questions as you want. Honestly. Right now though, I need you to go about the reception like you normally would. Woo guests, smooth talk snobby courtiers, kiss babies-”

“The usual,” she snickers. Eugene cannot help but smile.

“The usual,” he agrees. “I’ll come find you when everything settles down, I promise.”

With a kiss to his cheek, Rapunzel leaves his side and goes off to do as instructed. She is a natural at easing into conversation, Eugene notices, and it takes her only seconds away from him before that blinding smile and bubbly personality of hers brings a group of courtiers into a delightful exchange. It makes his heart swell with pride.

But, that all shrivels away the moment he realizes what is awaiting him at her return.

He is going to have to talk with her.

Talk-talk.

About sex.

He previously figured he would not have to have this conversation with anyone other than perhaps his and Rapunzel’s future children. Even then, he figured he would only need to talk to the sons of the family. Rapunzel is a marvelous teacher and, with some experience, he knows she could give one heck of a rendition of “the talk” with their metaphorical daughters – one far better than anything he could come up with. It is this same line of thought that makes him worry about teaching Rapunzel the ropes. He can come up with something on the fly and educational for his sons. He is not entirely sure he can do the same for his wife.

The thought plagues Eugene the rest of the night. He wars with himself between refills of ale and vaguely familiar courtiers congratulating him over just how to break the subject to her. Honesty seems like the best way to go, but what if he oversteps and says too much too fast? If he sugar coats the truth, he runs the risk of losing her trust completely. Such a dilemma can hardly be solved in the span of a night on a hazy head and frazzled set of nerves.

And yet, he has no choice, for guests are leaving and it is readily approaching when he must snag Rapunzel away from the action to fulfill their duties. A quick scan of the room finds her nearby the buffet, chatting happily with a few ladies. Their wide eyes are soaking in an elaborate story about Pascal, and Eugene can tell Rapunzel is having a blast telling it. He almost hates himself for having to break it up. But, he knows they have business to attend to.

Serious business.

So, in one fair swoop, he waltzes forward, excuses them both, and kindly thanks the girls for coming while extracting his wife away. The girls thank them for inviting them and for the story, and Eugene watches as Rapunzel sadly tells them goodbye over her shoulder as she follows him into the hall.

“Is it already time to go? I was just having so much fun!”

“It is,” he confirms, placing his hand on her shoulder. “For us, anyway. Don’t worry though, the night is still young. C’mon, follow me and I’ll show you.”

It feels weird for Eugene to heard toward their new room. Months and months of heading off into their separate corners of the castle had become so commonplace that doing otherwise felt wrong. Yet, Eugene did not want to be right. No matter how frayed his nerves were, he was glad to have a space he could finally call their own with Rapunzel. A private space where they could simply exist.

He lets her go into the room before him, the gentleman he is. She twirls around the room in a way only Rapunzel can, obsessing over the details with a merry voice – the large dresser, the crackling fireplace, the grand King-sized bed. She reacts kid in a candy store, and it makes Eugene smile as bright as the sun. He takes special care to lock the door behind them as she goes to observe the bedding, gushing over how smooth it looks as her hands run along its raised, quilted patterns. Her enthusiasm subsides slightly, however, as she hears the click of the lock.

She does not know why, but something about seeing Eugene stoic at the door and hearing the silence between them makes her feel like she is about to be lectured. It is a harsh contrast from the fun night, and it confuses her. Eugene had not mentioned anything about lecturing. He only mentioned fun. She awkwardly smiles at him, unsure of really what to do with herself in preparation for what might be coming her way. After a few seconds of deliberating, she settles for sitting on the bed. Eugene folds his arms across his chest with a slow, unsteady sigh as she does.

“I love you. You know that, right?”

“Yes,” she nods, eyeing him cautiously from her new spot. “Yes, of course Eugene. You’ve never given me any reason not to. Why?”

“I…I’m about to tell you a lot, and we’re going to end up doing some stuff you might be nervous about, but no matter what is said or done, I want you to know that you can trust me.” Rapunzel’s suspicion does not erase itself from her face, but she nevertheless gives him permission to continue. “You also can tell me if…if at any time, you are concerned or uncomfortable or not enjoying what is happening. I promise – no, I swear to you, I will listen without judgement. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she says softly, “but I’ve got to say, you saying all of this is making me actually nervous.”

“It’s alright to feel that way.” It will all be okay soon enough, he tells himself. “I’m nervous, too. But everything will turn out well. I promise.”

“Are we about to go on an adventure, Eugene?”

Well, that was unexpected.

Chuckling, Eugene shakes his head. “No, Blondie. What makes you think that?”

“You sound like you are giving a pep talk for an adventure,” she shrugs, peering up at him from beneath her lashes. “I don’t know.”

“Well, I suppose in some sense, this will be an adventure.” Eugene leaves the doorframe and joins Rapunzel on the bed. He sits a respectable distance from her, giving her space and the ability to easily observe his face if she wants. It is a good call, for she seems to enjoy the view, taking his hand into hers. He gives hers a reassuring squeeze and tries to enjoy his own view for a moment before launching into the dreaded talk.

“Have…have you ever heard or read anything about sex, Rapunzel?”

Corona’s princess pauses to think.

She assumes the word in question has something to do with couples – otherwise they would not be together in such a private setting to discuss it. Her tutors told her private conversations were saved for matters of state or relational concerns, and she was fairly certain all of her royal duties were on hold until after the honeymoon. However, out of all of the couple-related books she has ever read, not one mentioned the word. It even feels foreign to mouth out with her lips – a sight Eugene takes in with a blush and zero air into his lungs. Mind thoroughly searched, she rubs her thumb against the slightly calloused skin of his hand and shakes her head.

“Is it bad I haven’t?”

“No,” he assures, “it is not. And sex isn’t bad, either. It’s something that’s supposed to be beautiful, I-I think. At least,” he pauses, flashes of past raunchy encounters assaulting his mind, “I’ve read it that way.”

This peaks Rapunzel’s interest. Inching a bit closer to him, she rests her head on her free hand and gazes up at him, beckoning for him to say more. It reminds him of a time long ago, a younger time, when she gave him that same kind of glance after healing his hand. He felt warm knowing she still held that inquisitive innocence after all this time, when the years packed on knowledge and wisdom.

“Really?”

Nodding, he tilts his head to the side and watches her. “You know how, some nights, you sneak into my chamber and we spend the night together?”

Rapunzel blushes scarlet. She loves hiding from the guards and sneaking inside, surprising Eugene midway through his nightly routine with a kiss and giggle. Falling asleep beside him and being carried back to her room before they get caught is one of the most wonderful certainties of her new palace life. Confident, she nods. “Yes. Those nights are my favorite.”

“They’re mine, too,” he smiles. “What is your favorite part about them, sunshine?”

Again, she pauses to think. “When you hold me in your arms.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I feel protected when you hold me,” she says, innocently grinning. It is true, after all. She never feels safer than when wrapped up by him. Not even a million guards outside her bedchamber could make her feel as protected and cherished as finding a home in Eugene’s arms did. Her grin softens. “I also like how I get to kiss you without anyone getting mad or awkward.”

“Oh,” he asks, a corner of his mouth turning up, “you do?”

Nodding, her bashfulness brings her face away from his. “Your lips are kinda really soft, Eugene.”

“Good to know that expensive lip balm I buy in town is paying off.”

Rapunzel snorts. “You’re so silly.”

“But you love it,” Eugene smiles.

“Mmm.”

“In case you were wondering, I asked you about you sneaking into my room for a reason,” he says, bringing Rapunzel back to attention. “You actually provided me with two great answers. You see, sex? It involves a lot of kissing and being close like you mentioned. It’s just more intense and, well, warm.”

“Warm?”

“Like you captured the energy of the Sun and fit it into a single moment of your existence.”

Rapunzel looks at him with a been there, done that kind of stare, and it makes Eugene laugh. Of course she knows what it feels like to have the Sun in you. It literally had been in her, for years.

“Alright, perhaps I could have phrased that better,” he chuckles, shaking the thought away. “How about this. You know when the kingdom shoots off fireworks to celebrate the new year?”

Oh, the fireworks. How could Rapunzel not? Only a few months before, the fireworks had rocked her world. She had stood hand-in-hand with Eugene on her balcony for hours watching the bright colors explode in the air. one by one. They held such splendor and grandeur and thrill. The mere thought of this so-called “sex” containing that thrill makes her feel as adrenaline-pumped as she had been on that day.

“It’s like fireworks?”

He smiles. “At the end, yes. Up until then, it’s warm and like…like little sparks. Little sparks that spread out and grow more elaborate and intense until the grand finale where they bring out the real big guns! If you trust me, I think it would be easier for me to show you.”

For a moment, he loses her. Not even the promise of fireworks can soothe a head full of suspicions, and even though he is going painfully slow with her and explaining things in ways she can understand, he knows she has a lot to still be nervous of. Mother Gothel had filled her head with loads of wrong and terrifying tales about the consequences of trusting men intimately. Not to mention, she can obviously tell he is withholding information from her. Both thoughts swirling through her mind give ample reason to fear handing over her most intimate self, even to someone who she loves more than the world.

But, through the anxiety that is causing her to slightly shake, she sees love staring back at her. Eugene loves her. Adores her. He would never hurt her the way Mother Gothel said he would. And, whatever information he is holding back, he probably will disclose when the right time comes. He does that a lot in normal conversation, anyway. She has every right to believe he will do the same here.

So, she nods and allows Eugene to do what he needs to do.

With his newfound permission, he moves to cup her cheek and guides her into a slow, sensual kiss. The initial apprehension wears off after a minute or two as her body begins to respond naturally. Uncertain breaths are replaced with little sounds, ones that before gave Eugene goosebumps in his bed and now give him a flood of warmth to his lower abdomen in their shared abode.

Every sound leaves him wanting and needing more. Eugene finds his mind shifting further from his Prince Consort persona to his old Flynn Rider one with as each moan slowly chips at his control. They just sound so lovely to his ear. So raw. He wants to make them louder, to really blow her mind. He wants to elicit the same squeals and nails-down-his-back pleasure in her that he got from the girls he swooned and shagged at pubs years before. Before he can fight it, his emotions make him get carried away.

All he does is deepen their kiss with a slip of the tongue and a swift grasping of the back of Rapunzel’s hair, but it is a lot for her to handle. Eugene was never forceful when they kissed. Passionate, yes, but not rough. This tug to her hair is forceful, and it stirs up a bit of hesitation inside Rapunzel. Before she can stop herself, a small yelp escapes. Eugene pulls back with a look of horror and guilt.

No, you idiot, stop being so…roguish!

He cannot believe himself as he gives Rapunzel a moment to breathe. They are not even undressed and already, he is screwing things up. Scaring her. Moving too fast. Can he not relax himself long enough to do this right?

But, though he would so very much love to at the moment, he is not going to toss himself off the side of the tower in self-punishment. Instead, he swears to himself that he is going to make his wrongs right. After a deep breath in and out, Eugene gently eases Rapunzel into a softer version of their previous kiss. A redo. He continues to use tongue, but there is less ferocity involved this time. It is more tender and loving, and it calms Rapunzel in no time. After a few minutes, she is moving her lips against his like she had back in his bedchamber: playfully confident. The little noises resume, and Eugene takes that as an opportunity to let his lips venture from hers to her jawline and neck.

It is a new and foreign feeling for her, but Eugene is a pro. He knows to let her noises guide him. His lips stray where she sounds the happiest – a place right near her pulse point, he learns – and make sure to leave as many kisses as he can.

And my, do they ever feel wonderful to place.

Her skin is incredibly soft. If Rapunzel thinks his lips are soft, it is surely because she has never taken the time to feel how soft her skin is. It is Eugene’s utmost pleasure to nip and kiss at it, staining it with little marks he will probably have to explain to someone royal later, if not also Rapunzel. He loves the taste and the feel, and the way each mark reminds him that she is his wife and forever will be until the end of their days.

Her body is so wonderful as well. They are nowhere near in the best position for bodily contact – a fact Eugene makes a mental note to rectify that in the upcoming minutes – but he is able to place a hand on the small of her back and keep her close. He loves the way he can feel her moving, especially when he tries to leave a mark and she arches her spine to accommodate the sensation. It’s breathtaking. He never imagined the little things like these would drive him wild.

When Eugene feels a soft tug at his hair, he realizes he is not the only one losing themself to the moment’s feelings. Rapunzel’s fingers have found a home in his chocolate brown locks, her nails scratching his scalp, and she is living. Upon inspection, her eyes are fluttered shut, and for the first time that night, Eugene sees a glimpse of total trust. Trust in him. His own heart swells, and he thanks her silently for it by adding a firm mark to her favorite spot. As an extra gift, he moans back at her.

He can hear Rapunzel’s heart beat faster in response.

With her now more in tune with her body, Eugene decides it is okay to take things a bit further in the touch department. With the hand not already on her back, he begins to trail lower and lower from its original home on her jaw until he finally lays his full palm upon her breast.

Her reaction to this went better in his head.

Rapunzel gasps at the foreign touch. She is slightly alarmed and very suspicious of it, because why would he ever touch there, but her curiosity urges her to remain still and not retract. Eugene, very nearly reconsidering the jumping off the balcony idea, catches the hint of present curiosity and stops his own retraction in its motion. Instead, he briefly recaptures her lips and follows his eyes down to where his hand remained. He raises his brow.

“Is this okay?”

Rapunzel is not sure what to say.

Is it okay? It’s not like it hurts. In fact, in her heightened state of awareness, it feels pretty nice to have his firm hand on her. But, no one had ever indicated it was okay to touch her there. The seamstresses who measured her even tried to avoid it in their work, so why was it suddenly okay for him?

Though her mind said one thing, her heart said another. Eugene had asked her to trust him. He promised sparks leading up to brilliant fireworks, and after seeing the sincerity in his eyes as he asked if it was okay, she decides this must be one of the sparks he was telling her about. Something wild and exciting and slightly alarming. She does not need to fear the sparks. She just needs to welcome them like any other new occurrence in her life, with determination and courage to learn. A delicate blush dusts her cheeks as she finally musters enough courage to give Eugene a nod. He meets her with a smolder of a smile and a reassuring kiss.

Just feel.

Eugene waits patiently for Rapunzel to get back into the mood before daring to move his hand. He listens for her sounds again, and when they resurface, he begins kneading her breast, fingers just barely grazing over her nipple. It is a delicate touch, and to his delight, Rapunzel seems to love it. She arches into him even more, and it encourages Eugene to kiss her neck even more feverishly.

That’s my girl.

They stay like that for a while, kissing and touching and feeling. Eugene could stay like that forever, truthfully. Rapunzel would not protest one bit either with everything feeling so good. However, as fun as it is to grope and make out, Eugene eventually decides he cannot keep his wife ignorant to the rest of their night forever. He has to move things along if they are ever going to effectively “consummate the marriage,” as is expected of them.

Pulling his lips and hands from her, he leans back and assesses his beautiful girl. Cheeks red, eyes hooded, she looks like a masterpiece. A glorious, albeit slightly tired and disheveled, masterpiece. He gives her a dopey, lovesick grin and proceeds to stand up, holding out his hand to her. She looks at it sheepishly before taking it and allowing him to pull her up to her feet.

“What are we doing now?”

“Well,” Eugene replies, starting to unfasten the buttons to his suit, “not that I want to ruin the moment or anything, because that moment was, let me tell ya, great, but typically when moving forward toward erm, sex,” he gulps, “you go without clothing. It’s more comfortable that way. Besides, I think it’s time we get out of these monkey suits anyway, yeah? I think mine was starting to chafe.”

Rapunzel does not know what to say to that. They only ever kissed clothed back at his bedchamber. What if she did not like being naked in front of him? What if he dislikes what he sees? What if he takes advantage of her, even though she doubts he will? She feels herself begin to shake under the pressure, those questions dawning on her like little bullets to her resolve. As Eugene is about to shed himself of his suit jacket, she remembers something he said before they began and decides it is exactly within her right to bring it up.

“I-I’m uncomfortable.”

She barely squeaks out the words, and upon seeing Eugene stop and turn his head, her own falls. That was it. She spoke too much. She let her worries get to her and now, there is surely no way she will ever get to feel the metaphorical fireworks. It is all her fault. She stays there, anxious, wanting to cry, until she feels his hands on either side of her and sees Eugene’s loving, concerned eyes staring back at her.

“Hey, talk to me,” he whispers, his voice low and worried. “What is making you uncomfortable?”

She chews at her lip, a sniffle breaking through her hardened exterior. “I…I’m scared. I’ve never been…exposed before.”

Eugene brings her in for a deep hug. He lets her take purchase into those safe arms of his and bury, hidden and protected, because he gets it. Of course she would be nervous about getting naked. It is not as if she has ever been naked in front of a man before. Heck, he has even seen through her partition that she gets nervous with maids seeing her that way. Vulnerability is scary. For a girl who was locked up for all but a year and a half of her life, it has to be utterly terrifying, and here he is asking her to simply shrug off such a traumatic event like it is nothing. Eugene mentally slaps himself.

“Blondie, you know I love you,” he soothes, petting the back of her head as nervous tears spill onto his chest. “I know it can be scary, and it’s okay to feel scared. But you need to know that I would never judge you for how you look. I personally think you are the most gorgeous girl I have ever laid eyes on, but even if not, I would never judge. I love you for you. That means all of you. Every nook and cranny and scar and bump. I mean that. Okay?”

Feeling her still gently sobbing against him and hearing no response, Eugene frowns. And then, an idea floats into mind. “Would…would it make you feel better if I stripped down first? It might make it less awkward for you.”

This brings her slightly out from his chest, just enough for her to consider his words.

“You would do that?” Rapunzel asks, blinking back at him through tears.

“Of course,” he affirms, rubbing her back and capturing her lips. “You can even help, if you want.”

Now, this is an idea. It is a good one actually, Rapunzel thinks, because she would feel a lot less worried if she was not the only bare one in the room. Plus, undressing Eugene herself would give her a lot of control over the situation. Control is a good thing. An empowering thing. A comforting feeling that Eugene somehow realized she needed without her even saying anything because he loves her that much.

Releasing herself from his grasp, Rapunzel carefully outstretches her hand to undo the last button on his suit jacket. It pops open easily, and it is barely any trouble for Eugene to shrug off and let her discard to the side. When it comes to a rest after fluttering to the floor, she shifts focus to the next item: his undershirt.

It is a long sleeve, thin white shirt that she had admired him wearing on a riding trip last winter. It has a habit of clinging to his body beautifully, revealing his muscles when he flexes in the most attractive of ways. Admittedly, it has popped up into more than a few of her dreams, though she will never tell. That would be too embarrassing.

That does not mean she will not take pleasure in taking it off. Tentatively, her cheeks flaming as she goes, she inches the famous shirt up from the hem of Eugene’s waistline until it is bunching at his arms. He helps her scoot each arm out of its sleeve and watches her patiently as she pulls it over his head. The sight he is met with as it is discarded makes him smirk.

Rapunzel is staring.

Eugene’s bare chest is stunning. She knew he was fit, and their time spent on that island with Lance and Cassandra had proven in glimpses that it was a sight to behold, but actually observing him up close in person makes her heart race. He just looks so good. So fit and taught and good. She figures he is any and every girl’s dream, and briefly, she considers that perhaps at one time, he was the dream of other women. But, that thought fades away when she catches sight of the scar resting near his liver. Gothel’s scar. The scar that proves with its sheer presence that he would do anything for her – even die. It is then she realizes that he could have slept with millions of girls before her and it would not matter. He may have been their dream, but she is his, forever and always.

Rapunzel curiously places her palm over his heart and lets it run down to where his abs gently protrude from his skin. She lets her thumb graze the edge of the scar as she returns his smirk with a small one of her own.

“Don’t be too prideful, Eugene.”

“Oh I’m not, just admiring your work,” he replies, though she so knows he most definitely is absolutely glowing with pride. He does not throw those smirks around for no reason. Eugene truthfully is just happy to see her somewhat smiling again.

He tries his best to remain calm and maintain his smile as she ventures her hand even lower. He does not wish to alarm her, but his lack of knowledge about her lack of knowledge of the male anatomy is about to stare her in the eye the moment she is done unbuckling his belt, and even though King Frederic assured him she is a smart girl who will learn and adapt, he is painfully worried such a new finding may send her reeling.

Sure enough, as she lets his grey trousers descend to the floor, she gets her first glimpse of him and meets it with wide eyes. His undergarments conceal him still, but she is not unaware of the fact there is a bulge in them she does not have. It is foreign and odd and slightly creepy, but to Eugene’s pride and relief, she does not panic. Instead, her natural curiosity takes autopilot.

“Is…is it okay if I-”

“Go ahead,” he encourages, his voice much lower than before. “You can touch.”

Permission granted, she reaches out and palms his mysterious bulge. It feels warm, and somewhat firm, and it twitches slightly at her touch in a way that sends a thrill through her. Whatever it is, she immediately decides it is one of the more fascinating things she has seen. It becomes even more fascinating when touching it elicits a low moan from Eugene.

She likes that noise a lot.

Bending down, she helps rid Eugene of his boots. Once they are set aside, she dares herself to lace a finger beneath the hem of his undergarments and tug down. Eugene watches with hooded, highly amused eyes as she makes quick work in discarding them in preference of touching and inspecting the bump they had concealed. The way her eyes widen and her hand instinctively reaches out to touch once more sends his mind spiraling.

Her boldness earns her another moan, to her childish delight.

It drives Eugene wild when she touches this foreign body part of his, she learns. He nearly doubles over and gasps when she brings her thumb across and around the underside of the tip, and the sight is mind-blowingly empowering to her. She loves that she can bring her big, strong husband to his knees with something so simple as a touch. It makes her grin. It makes Eugene, on the other hand, terrified.

If she is this good at driving him wild right now, he fears the day she knows how to really push his buttons by heart.

“R-Rapunzel.”

The noise comes out more as a strangled rasp than a gentle call, but Rapunzel gets the message anyway. She looks up and drops him mercifully from her grasp, giving Eugene a chance to finally breathe. When he recovers, he braces himself on the bedpost and pants.

“Did I do something wrong?”

He has to laugh. “No, no you were perfect, believe me. But, I want to make sure we both are comfortable before we do any more exploring, and that requires you to join me, clothingly speaking.” Dropping to a more serious tone, Eugene takes Rapunzel’s hand into his. “Is that okay?”

Rapunzel bites her lip. She’s still nervous beyond belief, but it’s Eugene. It’s her husband who stripped down for her, and they promised earlier to be a team. It is her turn to hold up her end of the bargain, so to speak. She nods, swallowing her fear.

“Okay.”

Eugene smiles. “I promise Blondie, you’ll be a lot happier without this tight thing on you. Here, turn around for me.”

It is far from a fun task to undo a corset-bound dress, and Rapunzel does not envy her husband as he moves to begin the work of taking it off. Her maids had struggled on the garment, and they are skilled experts in clothing. She notes that Eugene, putting up his own fight with the white stripes of fabric, is not. If the mumbled curses are any indication, he is most likely worse.

Okay, so maybe he spends a full ten minutes trying to figure out how to undo the damn thing.

You try and undo one.

Needless to say, once her dress is gone, Eugene feels like a new man. He tosses it well across the room, and had Rapunzel not been distracted by his hand running along her back, she would have laughed at how far his disdain for the thing managed to send it. It nearly flew out the window.

“You must be happy to not have that thing sucking the life out of you, huh Blondie?”

Rapunzel nods, still trained on his roaming hand. “I never realized how brutal it was until it was gone.”

“Well, good news for you,” he says, gripping her hip, voice silky sweet like honey, “you never have to wear that one again. Now, may I help you with this little slip of yours?”

Giggling, Rapunzel nods. “If you can manage.”

Eugene puts his hand to his heart in mock hurt. His face scrunches up, his old sexy act dropped, and turns him into more of a cartoon character than charming prince consort. It makes Rapunzel giggle mercilessly. It is exactly the distraction she needs, because as Eugene lifts away her final barrier to him, she is less focused on how revealed she is and more focused on how her sides hurt, and on how big of a nerd her husband is. He playfully grins, dropping the expression, and shakes his head.

And then, he stares.

He drinks in the sight of her like a parched man stuck in the dessert. Her skin is milky white and smooth, so so smooth. Every curve of her body is perfect, from the slopes of her breasts to her slim hips. Eugene practically feels his body urging him to explore for himself, ready to conquer her like a new adventure. He wonders, licking his lips, how he ever got so lucky to behold someone as perfect all for himself.

“Beautiful.”

Blushing, Rapunzel cocks her head to the side. “Really?”

“Oh yes sunshine,” he affirms, his arms snaking around her waist and bringing her closer. “So beautiful. So perfect.”

“Perfect?”

Nodding, he kisses her tenderly. “Magnificent. And I’m going to make sure you remember it.”

Eugene intends to make good on that promise. Before she can say a word more, he is sweeping her off of her feet and bringing her back to the bedside. Lying her down, he crawls over her. Her senses heighten at the new proximity. It does not help that the way his eyes get lost on her sends her skin aflame. She could choose to panic at this new development, or at the way he starts to move his hips against hers, but she instead goes with it. Mindless delight, she decides, is far better than mindful worrying when with her husband.

Even when he slides down her and inches her legs apart.

Every little touch he places along her legs and inner thigh, every glance sent her way, is accompanied with love that assures Rapunzel it is okay. He makes sure that, when his fingers find their way to her center, she is comfortable and understanding that all is well, this is normal, this is to be expected. It takes a few moments and some handiwork from him, but eventually, she starts to give in and melt into his work.

The little noises make their grand return, and this time, each one is accompanied with its own spark.

Eugene decides to have a little fun. Intoxicated by the sight of his wife and the sound of her moans, he knows this is the one thing he cannot really mess up. It is solely based on Rapunzel’s pleasure, and he feels little anxiety in letting his old Flynn experience take over for a while. Wrapping his arms around her legs, Eugene inches Rapunzel ever so closer to him and, with a deep breath, replaces his fingers with his mouth.

It is a sensation Rapunzel will never forget.

The sensory overload electrifies her. She does not exactly understand why he is doing what he is doing, because why on Earth would someone ever put their mouth there, but she quickly learns she loves it and never wants him to stop. Lucky for her, Eugene never wants to stop. At least, not until she experiences those fireworks he promised.

So, as she mewls and writhes under his grasp, he holds her tight and continues, relentless, eating her out and sending her over the moon. She starts to gasp his name – a lovely sound – and her hands claw at the bedsheets frantically. He really knows he has hit the jackpot when he hears her start to giggle between gasps. That signals she is having fun and enjoying herself, and that is everything he could have hoped for. It spurs him on to be more intense, more unrelenting, more passionate. He hums against her, and she is as good as gone when he accompanies it with his finger rubbing at her most sensitive spot.

The fireworks catch her by surprise.

All at once, her eyes shut and the pressure between her legs snaps. Wave after wave of pleasure hits her, and her voice cracks as she no longer can hold back vocally. Her climax takes Eugene a bit by surprise, too. But, he does not let that stop him. He knows she will be happier if he continues on, and sure enough, as she starts to come down from her high, the feeling of his tongue against her becomes glorious. Even when it tapers away and he moves to kiss her back into reality, the pleasure remains like a phantom. It’s enticing. Glorious.

She wonders how the fireworks could ever grow more bright.

Eugene is determined to show her.

He lets his hands guide down her lean figure as he inches back down her until they once more rest at her thighs. A finger trails along her, letting the fruits of his previous work help prepare it to enter. She may be blissed out, but he did not want to take any chances with slight discomfort. Not yet, at least. He moves it gently inside, his eyes not leaving her face as he does so.

Rapunzel does not seem alarmed. In fact, in her post-orgasmic bliss, she acts rather pleased and even shifts to make his digit go deeper inside. Eugene wonders if she even realizes she is doing this, or if her instincts have put her back on autopilot. Nevertheless, he gives her what she wants.

He continues to work his finger it in and out as she responds, letting her get used to the feeling. Before long, the time comes to add another. This other finger’s friction brings Rapunzel slightly out of her haze, and she displays a twinge of discomfort. Knowing that is not want he wants to see, Eugene stills and rubs her thigh.

“You okay?”

Rapunzel chews at her lip “That um…that doesn’t feel as nice as what you did before.”

Nodding, he leans down and presses a kiss to her abdomen. “I’m sorry. It might feel a little, er, tight at first, but trust me, it’ll feel better in time. Just breathe, Blondie.”

Breathing. Okay, Rapunzel can do that. She listens and tries to focus on her breathing as he reenters. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Truthfully, it does help. It gives her something else to think about whenever that non-pleasant feeling comes along. A distraction.

The non-pleasant feeling thankfully goes away for a while, replaced with whatever wonderful sensation Eugene creates by curling his fingers just so. Rapunzel cannot help but gasp at the electricity it brings her. She grows so caught up in the feeling that she barely even notices when he adds a third.

Everything comes to a halt, however, when Eugene decides the time has finally come to replace those fingers with something more substantial.

“Sunshine,” he calls, pulling his fingers away from her to the tune of a small whimper, “I have a question for you.”

“What is it, Eugene?”

“Do you…do you want kids any time soon?”

Rapunzel blinks, confused. “Kids? I…I suppose not soon soon. Maybe after a year or so. Why? What does this have to do with sex?”

Oh, his sweet, innocent wife.

“Because,” he explains, kissing her knee, “after tonight, if we don’t want them, there’s a special herbal tea that you’re going to have to ask your mom to teach you to make tomorrow morning.”

“Why?”

“Sex is how babies are made, Rapunzel. Drinking the tea will prevent that.”

“Oh.”

That says it all.

Upon seeing her face, Eugene moves forward to kiss Rapunzel. This more passionate kiss clouds over all thoughts of babies and any fear associated with them. They stay like that for a few minutes, just kissing and feeling each other, until Eugene pulls away and nudges Rapunzel’s legs open again. His heart races as her eyes meet his, but he knows he cannot put off this moment any longer. This is it, Fitzherbert. Don’t fuck it up.

“Rapunzel, sweetheart,” he beckons, clearing his throat, “I need you to trust me here. I don’t want to hurt you, but…but I need you to understand that I might.”

“Eugene, what do you mean? You’re scaring me.”

There you go, fucking it up.

“I’m going to try to enter you now, and that can hurt,” he says softly, pausing to wipe her hair out of her eyes and let her process the thought. She does not look too enthused, but she encourages him to go on. Eugene figures she might just want to get it over with. He does not blame her. “Just breathe like I taught you if you feel any pain, and don’t be afraid to tell me to stop. I promise I’ll make it feel better. Okay?”

Agreeing feels like selling her soul, but Eugene has made good on all of his other promises. Why would he suddenly decide not to with this one? Sure, whatever he is going to do might hurt, but he also said he will turn that pain into something better. What if that leads to fireworks again? She has to at least try and see.

With a nod, she places her heart and body in his hands.

Eugene breathes deeply in and out before adjusting where they lay. Rapunzel’s legs situated on either side of him, he grabs himself with a shaky hand and positions himself at her entrance. She looks so vulnerable like this. He almost feels bad for stealing her virginity, gazing down at her. The thing is though, he isn’t stealing it. She is allowing him to take it as a token of her love, and that makes it all okay. That is what will make it okay when he enters. It will be okay, he tells himself. Placing a hand on her hip, he moves forward and does so.

He does not miss the sharp intake of air from Rapunzel. She does not exactly look in pain, but she hardly looks comfortable at his entrance. He has half a mind to stop and ask if she is okay, but he can see right before she shuts her eyes that she wants this feeling to be over quick. He knows if he delays the inevitable, she might feel worse. So, he goes in until he cannot go further. Only then does he stop to assess his princess.

On the bright side, she is not in agony. Her brows are knit together and her teeth look gritted, but she is not experiencing the pain he feared. She just looks uncomfortable. Unsure. Wondering if this is meant to be, or if she should be telling him something is wrong. Bringing her hand into his, he gently squeezes it and watches her face for any change. It is not much, but she at least relaxes her jaw.

“Remember what I said, sunshine,” he soothes, voice barely above a whisper. “Breathe. When you are ready for me to move, let me know.”

Rapunzel tries to remember what it feels like to breathe. Eugene’s thing is causing an intense pressure that won’t go away, and any breath she takes feels like the final straw that turns that pressure into pain. It is a struggle to breathe. But, this is Eugene, and he would not willingly hurt or lie to her. If he says breathing will help that pressure ease itself, then she is going to try her best to breathe.

A few minutes of breathing and kisses pressed to her skin pass, and it seems like they will never stop. But, eventually, Rapunzel shifts to bring Eugene in deeper. It hurts a bit more, but the pressure is more dull and manageable. She can do this, she realizes. It might take a bit, but she can do this.

Eugene watches her with wonder as she spreads her legs a bit further and reaches to bring him closer. He can only comply, because his mind, like hers had earlier, switched to autopilot the moment he felt himself even deeper inside. Who does he even thank for that kind of gift? She’s such a blessing sometimes, even when she does not know it. After an intense kiss that leaves Eugene’s head swimming, Rapunzel whispers for him to move. Hesitantly yet obediently, he grants her plea.

Both of them moan on his first thrust.

For Rapunzel, she moans because of the tiny pinch that remains and the sudden pleasure the friction builds in her stomach. For Eugene, he moans because of how tight and warm and amazing Rapunzel feels. God, how good it feels to be inside her. He had fantasized about this feeling for months, but actually feeling her around him and seeing her feel the first few inklings of pleasure? It is beyond his wildest dreams. He wastes little time in thrusting again, and again, and even more once Rapunzel starts to adjust. Before long, they fall into a rhythm all their own.

Between the kisses and the movements, Eugene and Rapunzel start to shift their focus on each other. Rapunzel finds her mind lost to the way Eugene’s muscles flex in the moonlight and how intense he looks when he is taken off guard by his own pleasure. She revels in the way his hair falls in his face and his breaths every now and then blossom into haughty moans. Her body focuses on how every one of his thrusts is like a brilliant gasp of light, taking her mind elsewhere and revealing to her what true passion and sensation really feel like. If this is what he had been whining about having to restrain himself from for all these months, she finally understands just why he had been so distraught. She could not fathom depriving him of such happiness and contentment if given a second chance. It would be borderline cruel, she thinks.

Eugene, on the other hand, finds himself thinking about more sexual topics. His mind lingers on past positions he had tried with other women and if Rapunzel, in her beautifully languid and eager state, would mind him if he dared to have them try one. He notices her hair falling in her face and wonders if now is a better time to try to weave his hand through the locks and tug to show her his intense feelings for her. He hears her gasping and moaning and wonders if he could make them louder and more sharp if he quickened or shifted just so. They are all carnal thoughts, but Eugene has been waiting too long for this to not enjoy the fruits of his uninhibited night. His nightmares did not come true, and frankly? He deserved to celebrate by rocking his new wife’s world.

Rapunzel’s hand caressed his cheek.

“I-I love you.”

“I love you so much, Blondie,” he gasps, not even caring about asking as he wraps his arm around her thigh and raises it for better access. Rapunzel gasps, but it is a good gasp. A how-did-this-get-even-better gasp. Eugene moans back his approval.

“D-Don’t stop.”

“I have no intentions to.”

“Good,” Rapunzel gasps back. Her heart races as she sees Eugene throw his head back, exposing his strong neck to her. She can practically see his pulse and the fierceness of his body, and it thrills her. She does not know what takes over her, but she decides right then and there that the next time she gets a chance, she is going to ravish that neck in the same way Eugene had ravished hers.

Conversational silence takes over once more as the two focus on their senses. Rapunzel lets go of all intentions of staying quiet, which spurns her to moan and squeal much to the delight of Eugene. He takes her vocality and thrusts harder against her, months of pent-up emotion and need finally being satisfied. He thinks about her in her wedding dress and about how she is his forever more, and his heart swells enough to make him choke out a sob. Rapunzel does not catch it, too caught up in her own feelings, but it nevertheless shifts Eugene’s focus to her. He shifts to lean down closer to her and captures her lips into his. His movements begin again slow, but soon, an almost animalistic feeling possesses him and makes him chase his climax. Rapunzel grazes her fingers across his back and holds on for the ride.

Eugene knows from the fire in his abdomen that he can only continue on like this a little more. He finds comfort in the fact that he now has free rein to do this whenever he wants with Rapunzel, but he gets a little sad to know their first time is coming to an end. That sadness, he figures, is what he needs to motivate him to have this first time end on a high note – not only for him, but also for Rapunzel. Especially for Rapunzel.

His hand leaves her and trails down instead below her waistline. He wastes no time in rubbing her, causing Rapunzel to squeal and gasp. It is a sensory overload, but by the way she starts to shake a bit around him, he knows it is the overload she needed to get to where he was. A necessary evil, if you will. Biting his lip hard, he quickens his pace ever faster and growls. The noise sounds so animalistic, it sends a shiver through Rapunzel. She recaptures his lips and moans into them her own version of the noise. It is sweet music to his ears, and it also brings Eugene to his breaking point.

Moaning loudly, Eugene gives a few more thrusts before he can do no more. His eyes squeeze shut and his heart thumps loudly in his ears as his body releases and sends shockwaves throughout his every limb. It takes only a few seconds more of his hand on her for Rapunzel to join Eugene in bliss, her body shaking around him as moans of her own fill the air. She cannot help but say his name like a prayer as she comes down from her high, and he feels like a God at the sound. Chuckling, he wipes her hair from her face.

“God, I love you.”

Rapunzel, still blissed out, can only muster a small thumbs up back at him, and that makes Eugene’s laugh even merrier. Rolling so he can be on top of her, he gives one more languid thrust into her before pulling out and wrapping her into his arms. He kisses her nose, forever amazed by his beautiful bride.

“I have a secret for you, Mrs. Fitzherbert,” he whispers, reaching around to nip at her ear. “We get to do that as many times as we want now. As hard as we want. Do you like that?”

She releases some sort of mixture between a breathless sigh and a moan. “’m lucky. So lucky.”

Eugene kisses her sweetly. “Yes you are. As am I. As we will be, from now on. Don’t you forget that.”

“Never.”

Smiling, he pulls out of her and falls to the side. Her eyes are falling shut, and though he knows he has to get up and clean himself up along with her, he cannot bring himself to leave her bedside or force her to move. All he can do is watch and admire his wife’s content little face as she falls deep into a hopefully wonderful new dream, satisfied and aware of how much she is loved. It is in that moment he wonders just why he had been dreading this night so feverishly earlier. With a girl like Rapunzel at his side, he never has anything to worry about. No fear is a match for her strength and tenderness.

Nuzzling his head on top of hers, Eugene sighs and lets his own eyes flutter shut.

“Goodnight, my darling. And thank you.”