#Two adults and a baby would be a huge disruption in her house
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coochiequeens · 3 months ago
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It's great that they adopted instead of exploiting a woman to buy a baby but anyone else think they want to move in not just for the space but to have a babysitter?
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Family Business
A/N: It took me a while to write and finish it, but I like the idea a lot. Hope you guys enjoy! Pairing: Mafia!Steve Rogers x F!Reader Word count: 3,008 Warnings: Death, weapons, mention of blood, swearing.
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(Gif is not mine, by super-madi16)
Okay, so maybe this wasn’t the way you expected to spend an average Thursday night with your daughter.
Everything was going perfectly fine. The two of you were making dinner together in the large, modern kitchen of your New York penthouse, surrounding by the glimmering of lights from other buildings and down below in the bustling streets that never sleep.
Carbonara was on the menu. It was one of Stella’s favorite things to both make and eat. At the independent age of 16, it was rare that she wanted to spend time with you and Steve anymore. She would much rather be out with her friends and her dad’s credit card than to be cooped up in this rather ginormous penthouse the family called home.
But here she stood, stirring the sauce as you monitored the pasta, complaining about her day and about how stupid boys her age were (as she always put it she was looking for a man, not a boy which always resulted in Steve chocking on whatever he was eating or drinking at the time). That conversation resulted in complaining about school in general, and how much it sucked being a teen.
As you continued stirring the pasta and she went back on her phone to play another song from the Bluetooth speakers in the kitchen, a sudden gunshot erupted. Both of you froze, your eyes scanning the room to see all of the guards rushing in the direction of the noise. But it only took a fraction of a second for your mother bear instincts to kick in. Grabbing your daughter and pushing her into your chest, you desperately ran back and into the secret room behind your clothes in your walk-in closet, that Steve had designed especially for emergencies.
Running your fingers across the area, the door popped open. You desperately pushed your daughter in than yourself, shutting the metal door back with the huge lock and bar, and hid with her in one of the corners, turning the lights off. You could hear her heavy breathing, as clearly she was having a panic attack. Grabbing onto her and her soft hair, you held her and murmured sweet words of endearment in an attempt to calm her down, which seemed to work... some.
It wasn’t until you heard a loud bang against the door that you yourself softly gasped and clung onto your daughter, she let out a soft sob. Knowing someone, who was probably not an ally, was on the other side of the door frightened you and both her. She was the first, you noticed, to throw herself away from your and to a box only a few feet away. Through the dark, you could see her open the wooden box and grab a gun inside, her shaky hands visible. She slowly and as silently as she could, cocked the gun. “Stel,” You whispered to her, “I got it.” She shook her head. “Stella I told you-”
The loud crash from the metal door that one divided safety and danger between the two of you and the outside world came colliding down. You couldn’t identify much but a man with a gun in all black, his silhouette disrupting the light from your closet that seeped its way through the doorway. None of Steve’s men would dress in all black.
You weren’t sure what to do. In a fluster within your mind as your daughter held the sole weapon you two had and a man who could end it all right here, or worse, drag it on further out. Your eyes froze in a complete panic your hands involuntarily shaking and shivering cold with fear.
A gunshot sounded, the man falling to the floor in a single second as blood surrounding his body and ricocheted onto the walls. You gasped in relief, looking over to your daughter, “Stella?”
There the young girl, long brunette hair with delicate waves at the end, sat on her knees in complete horror and awe, staring at the dead body. She dropped the gun from her right hand and let out a horrid sob. Cupping her face in her hands, you rushed over on your hands and knees, holding her as tightly as you could without suffocating her body. You cooed her, brushing her soft hair in your fingers and placing your own chin on her head, engulfing both her body and soul within yours.
“I-I,” She mumbled, “I killed someone.” It took everything within your being not to start crying yourself, or worse, lash out at someone or something. The genuine and pure form of anger that pulsated in your veins made you want to rip something to shreds.
While ultimately this wasn’t Steve’s fault, you were mad at whoever did this. You had chosen this life with your husband, you two had chosen to have a child together. You brought her into this world, without her permission, and you always tried your hardest to keep her out of the world of Mafia.
She had been interested since day one of getting involved, being the head man, or headwoman just like Steve. And when she asked him about it all he wasn’t only happy to hear about her interest, he was proud. Something that Steve rarely meant, unless it was for Stella.
But you knew after tonight, that would change.
It was only a few minutes later, you were sure, but it felt like an hour for Steve himself and a whole military worth of his men to arrive. “Y/N?” He called out, running into your closet judging by the pattern of his feet moments on the hardwood floors, “Stella?”
His figure appeared in the light, his face turning from concern to sadness. Dropping the anger that once tensed his muscles, he walked over and dropped to the floor next to your daughter, as Bucky and Sam rounded the corner to see both the scene and the body in awe.
“Baby?” Steve cooed to your daughter. For the first time, she looked up with swollen and soaked eyes. Another sob escaped her lips as she moved from you to him, clinging onto his dress shirt for dear life as she cried into it, his large arms embracing her in a large hug as he kissed the top of her head. “It’s okay sweetheart, it’s okay.”
“D-dad,” She stuttered out, pulling away to look at him.
“Yeah, sweetie?” He looked down at her, still holding her partially.
“I killed someone.” He looked with big eyes at her, then calmed down and sighed.
“Okay.” He huffed out, “We’ll deal with it okay?” He looked back to Bucky and Sam, snapping only once and looking to the body which they had other men help them out with, as Steve turned both you and Stella away.
“Dad, I’m a murderer.” She mumbled as more tears fell down her red cheeks.
“No, sweetheart, no you’re not.” He sighed, “It was self-defense.”
“But I killed someone!” She argued.
“To protect you and your mother.” He repeated himself, “Darling, that’s self-defense. You’re not a murderer, and you never will be.” She continued to hold onto Steve, still crying. “Let’s get out of here, okay?” She nodded, her head still buried in his chest.
He helped you up onto your feet first, checking over your face and giving a quick kiss to the top of your forehead, before retreating back to Stella. He picked her up, carrying her bridal style into the living room. Placing her down on the couch gracefully like she was a porcelain doll, he cooed her a bit more before barking at the men around the room to remove themselves and go elsewhere in the house.
“Baby? Are you okay?” The two of you sat down on the couch. He was on her left, you were on her right. Running his hand through her hair to calm her down, he genuinely looked worried.
“I can’t do that again, Dad.” She leaned into his chest, “I can’t.” She mumbled.
“I know, sweetie, I know.” He sighed, still running his hand over her head. “You won’t ever have to again. I promise.” He gave her a tender kiss on the top of her head, you now rubbing her back in circles with one of your hands. “Do you want some dinner?” He asked her next, aware that no one had eaten yet. She shook her head. “Mkay.” He sighed, not wanting to push her.
“I just- I just wanna go to my room.” She pulled away a little, giving both you and Steve one more hug.
“You sure, honey?” He asked very lightly. She nodded.
“We’ll text you with dinner options, alright?” You spoke up and she nodded. “We love you.” You smiled at her. She nodded and walked away. Once she was up the stairs, Steve let out a sigh and moved closer to you, throwing his arm around you. You sank back into his chest, closing your eyes to absorb the warmth and safety.
“And how are you?” He asked, giving you a kiss on the head.
“As good as I can be.” You replied. “I’m just worried about her.” He nodded.
“I am too.” He admitted, “I’m so sorry that happened, it’s my job to protect you two and-”
“And you weren’t here so it’s not your fault, Steve.” You fought back peacefully.
“But if that fucker wouldn’t have-”
“Steve, stop.” You told him firmly, “There’s no need to blame yourself for any of this, okay? If we should be worried about anything it’s Stella.” He nodded in agreement.
You felt some guilt as well. You should have been the one to have the gun, you were the adult in the situation. Granted Stella was exactly like Steve; she was persistent, she was stubborn. Usually, that would get her places, she could even get more money out of Steve for shopping trips or to go out with her friends because of her negotiation skills and how she would never stop. But today was drastically different, this was a situation where you didn’t want those traits to play out. Especially the way they did.
You curled into his chest, his arms wrapping around your body, your back to his chest. “I love you, so much.” He mumbled into your hair.
“I love you too.” You slightly smiled, rubbing his arms with your hands.
“So you know what you want for dinner?” He asked you next.
“I don’t care,” You sighed, “Maybe that Italian spot a few blocks away. The one that Wanda’s family owns.”
“Oh yeah,” He responded, “Let’s get take out from there.” He pulled out his phone, still holding you with one arm, and got the menu. “Should we get Stel something?” He asked, you nodded.
“Even if she doesn’t eat it tonight we can keep it in the fridge.” He nodded in agreement.
“What do you think she would want?” He asked you again and you lightly laughed.
“You know what she wants.” You rolled her eyes.
“Chicken tenders.” You both said in tandem, light laughter following. “Mkay love,” He got up, letting you set yourself back on the pillows, “I’m gonna go order, alright?” You nodded in agreement.
As he departed down the hall to order, to leave you without any disturbance, you chose to watch some TV. More as a mindless distraction, something to keep your eyes from replaying the scene in your mind of your daughter defending you. Something to occupy the ringing in your ears between the gunshot and the sobs of the one you loved most.
You tried so hard to be calm and collected, for both her and Steve. You knew Steve would loathe himself enough about all of this, now was your time to be the rock in the family. Even if you weren’t all that solid at the moment.
“Love? Baby, you there?” You heard Steve, breaking you from your trance.
“Huh, what?” You looked up with a soft smile as you glanced at his face. He smiled back.
“You zoned out there for a sec,” You nodded as he came to sit next to you again. He examined your face for a moment, seeing right through you as if your walls were made of glass. “Baby, I need you to talk to me.” He said softly, with a slight tinge of worry in his voice. You sighed, looking down to your hands and then back up at him.
“I’m just-” You tried to contemplate which words would accurately fit how you were feeling, “I’m conflicted.” You admitted to which he gave an inquisitive look.
“How so?” He asked.
“I want to- I need to be there for Stella,” You began, “But I also haven’t had time or space to process this myself. and maybe that’s selfish, I’m sure it is. But it’s all just so much-”
“It’s not selfish,” Steve insisted plainly, “Not at all. Stella’s been through a lot today, but so have you. And if you need all the time and space in the world to figure this out, I’ll figure out a way to give it to you.” He offered a kind smile. “I can be there for both you and Stella. That’s my duty.”
“But it shouldn’t be.”
“But it is,” he continued, “Because you willingly chose to immerse yourself in my lifestyle, which was enough to ask for, and Stella didn’t have a say.”
“But still I’m her mom and-”
“And you’ve both been through a lot and you both need time.” He gave you a peck on the cheek, “I love you, and you deserve all the time that you need.”
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It took a few days for Stella to come back and begin to interact with you guys again. You had brought food to her room, some candy and ice cream too, everything and anything she needed. Steve had called her off school after yelling at the principal and using the excuse, “I pay enough for that damn school the least you can do is give my kid a few days off” which seemed to work.
It was minimal interaction at first. Initially, she was just grabbing some water. Then it turned to snacks, then to a very small conversation, then to her finally spending some time with you guys.
It wasn’t until you had all sat down for a family dinner that she had begun to open up, just a bit though. It was primarily you and Steve attempting to talk about things of interest that related to her: politics, books, anything you could. She remained silent, in her own mind and world. You weren’t sure what she was thinking, but you didn’t want to push or interrupt her either.
“Dad?” She finally spoke up, her voice reaching just above a whisper. Both of your heads shot up to where she sat, next to Steve and across from you.
“Yes, sweetie?” He asked, putting his full attention on her.
“I- um,” She began contemplating what she was going to say, looking down at her food which she has slowly been eating, “I need to tell you something, now, but you have to promise me that even if you get mad, you won’t yell or anything.”
“Of course not,” He grabbed her free hand and held it on the table, “I promise.”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a few brief moments before looking back up to him, “I don’t think I can take over all of this.” She admitted, clearly awaiting a response with little breath.
“All of what?” Steve asked.
“Your position.” She clarified.
Naturally, she was next in line to be the mob boss. Sure she was a girl, Steve didn’t care though. He had been preparing her for most of her life. But you knew from the moment she pulled that trigger that that was it. She would never be able to be in the mob.
Steve stared for a few seconds, looking down and giving off a quiet sigh before clearing his throat. “That’s fine.” He lightly smiled, still holding her hand. She gave a confused look.
“A-are you sure? You have to be mad-”
“No, no I’m not. I get it.” He admitted, “And don’t worry. We’ll find someone to take over. We can’t forget Will, Uncle Buck’s son, he could take over too.” She nodded lightly.
“Thanks, dad.” She looked up at him with a tight smile, to which he smiled back.
“Darling, I hope you realize that your mother and I didn’t just have you to take over the business,” He clarified, “You’re our daughter, and that’s your first and only role to us.” You nodded too, silently agreeing with what he was saying.
“Thanks, Dad,” She softly smiled, “I love you guys.”
“We love you too.” You smiled, grabbing her other hand, before looking to Steve raising one of your eyebrows. He gave you a confused look, pondering over what you were trying to communicate, before finally getting it.
“Oh,” He sighed, with a soft smile, turning his attention back to Stella. “Your mother and I thought it might be best to take some time off, with you, of course, so we scheduled a three-week trip to stay down in Palm Beach, at the house there.” He smiled at her, to which she smiled back.
“Wait, but what about school?” She asked. Steve rolled his eyes.
“I dealt with it don’t worry.” He began, as you got up to begin taking plates to the dishwasher, “fuck school anyways.” Stella began laughing as water flew out of her mouth, to which she covered her mouth with her hand in shock, and Steve began laughing too.
“Hey!” You scolded him, “We should not be preaching that to our daughter. Or any kid for that matter.” He rolled his eyes.
“I’m also allowing you to take three friends. No boys though, and their absence will be dealt with too.”
“Thanks, again, dad.” She smiled, genuinely, for the first time in weeks.
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secret-rendezvous1d · 4 years ago
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a thought that lives in my head rent free is y/n taking a nap when she’s pregnant and waking up to spencer reading to the bump with one of his hands resting on it n occasionally giving it a rub🥺
Oh, my god-
Maternity leave.
No one had truly prepared YN for the change in lifestyle when maternity leave took over her life. She hadn’t prepared herself. Working every day of her adult life, being in the field with a gun to her hip and a bullet-proof vest tight to her chest, surrounding herself with chaos and destruction and death and a thrill of chasing an unsub... that was the life she was used to. 
So when Hotch gave her the heads-up that maternity leave was necessary at her point in the pregnancy, she didn’t know what to do with herself. The case she previously worked on was the last case she would attend for a long while and she didn’t know how to process that information. 
A typical day started at six in the morning, out of the house by seven thirty, on a jet by lunchtime and she had Spencer to thank for the typical routined day that he was a rather huge fan of. Drinking a coffee that was given to her by Garcia upon her arrival into the office. Picking at Morgan’s cold leftovers because he’d stayed at the office for a few more hours prior to their arrival back in Virginia the previous night. Yet now, so far into her pregnancy, a typical day began at ten in the morning and she was still cosied under the covers come lunchtime with old reruns of reality shows playing on her laptop. Coffee was replaced by a glass of water, that she had to get herself, and leftovers didn’t exist in their house and in the fridge because she didn’t feel satisfied when her plate wasn’t empty. She was eating for two, as she liked to remind him. 
As grateful as she was for the time to herself, she wanted to be back on her feet and using her brain for good. 
*
“Don’t follow me to work today,” Spencer presses a kiss to her forehead as she stands in the entryway to the front door of their apartment, his leather shoulder bag hanging from his arm and his coat draped over his forearm, “stay at home. You heard what the doctor said during the last check-up.”
The days when Spencer didn’t come home, when he was miles away and in a whole new county state to her, she found herself bored and counting down the seconds which made the days slow down. There were only so many episodes of Love Island she could rewatch, there were only so many books she could read before she got bored of the storyline, there were only so many times she could text her boyfriend before he was taken away for work. And she couldn’t spend the day napping because then she really would struggle with time.
“I know,” she sighs, her chin dropping to her chest as she looked down at the topside of her bump... she would be looking at her feet, or the floorboards, if her bump hadn’t blossomed to beautifully large, “I’m bored at home, Spence. I want to come in and help.”
“You can’t-”
“I can,” she bites back at him, “I can sit with Garcia and help her. She’s good with looking after me and she has your number on speed-dial if things go bad.”
“That’s not the point, YN. You’re a centimetre dilated,” he reminds her. 
Oh boy, could she ever forget it? As frightened as she was for the unexpected start to labour, she was one step closer to having her days become busy again. Just, not with suspects in a murder case but with a brand-new baby that she could spend all her time with. The knowing of the fact that she was days away from giving birth played on her mind and scenarios kept her occupied enough to make the days pass quicker than they had done before yet nothing seemed to calm the niggling in the depths of her gut that made her fears surface. One centimetre, waiting for what could the doctor’s would keep her in hospital for.  
“We’re not running the risk of you having our child in the tech room.”
He adjusts the strap of his bag and lets the metal buckles clink together as the bag swung by his hip. She felt his palm cup the underside of her bump, his thumb rubbing softly against the white t-shirt that stretched to cover her skin. The sleeves of his button-down shirt, which she had taken from his wardrobe to lounge around the apartment in, covered her hands and as she placed a palm over his, there was a ripple of movement beneath their touch.
“She’s up and ready for the day,” Spencer grins, looking from her bump to her eyes and he presses a kiss to her lips, “I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Very soon,” she smiles and he shakes his head in disbelief, “I’m not coming to work. Don’t worry, Spence.”
*
The last time she looked out the bedroom window, the sun was blinding in a sky full of a delicious blue colour. The gentle sounds of the wind blowing through the window filled the room, the occasional toot of a taxi horn making her jump and the sweetest tune of a birdsong lulled her in and out of sleep.
And the next time she looked out the bedroom window, the sky was painted with the most gorgeous shades of pink and purples and oranges that mixed together in a way that looked like an art piece and the walls of their room were decorated with silhouettes of what obstructed the light. The birdsong had come to an end and the window was shut, the gentle breeze having turned the room cold, and that’s when she focused on Spencer as he sat on the floor and leant against the bed.
“Have a nice sleep?”
She smiles tiredly and he cranes his neck to look at her, her eyes clouded with sleep yet her face looked so relaxed and flushed, his elbow resting on the bed and propping up the hand that cupped her baby bump.
“Me and Nugget have been reading whilst you slept,” Spencer clarifies and she looks at the book on the floor before settling on his palm as he rubbed the swell protruding from her hips, “I think they’ll be set and ready when they come to meet us.”
“They’ll be the luckiest baby,” she starts her sentence, leaning up on her elbow and shuffling down the bed, his hand falling from her bump and laying upon the mattress beneath her body, “they’ve already been told the entirety of daddy’s library.”
He snorts and rolls his eyes, grunting as he stood to his feet and perched down on the edge of the bed, the contrast of the hard floorboards and the soft bed made a whole world of difference to the numbing of the tops of his thighs - and, even though he could have laid on the bed beside her or sat himself down as she slept, he didn’t want to disrupt her with any movement because she looked so peaceful.
“There’s still many more to read to them,” he leans over and kisses the clothed skin beside her belly button, feeling the kick of their little baby underneath his touch, “but, they’re special and I want to read them when she’s old enough to know about them.” xx
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what-is-your-plan-today · 4 years ago
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Stark Spangled Kinks
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The Devil Wears Nada
Summary: Steve’s fed up of getting cock blocked during what was supposed to be bit of alone time and would make a deal with the Devil herself to get some alone time with his wife… Warning: SMUT SMUT SMUT- (NSFW, 18+) Like seriously, if you’re under 18 get off my blog.
Pairings: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark.
A/N: This is possibly the filthiest thing I’ve ever written...and I’m not even sorry. It follows on directly from Bumps In The Night which was written by @sweater-daddiesdumbdork​ as part of Stark Spangled Banner’s Birthday Party. Give it a read, its wonderful!
SSK Masterlist // WIYPT Masterlist
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 Katie and Steve headed back inside, Katie diverting into the lounge to go and retrieve the candy off the kids before they ate too much of it in one sitting. Steve had to snort at the various cries of protests that rang round the lounge and his wife’s stern voice telling the three children in there that she didn’t care if it was Saturday, they weren’t consuming enough E-numbers to fuel an army before bed. He made his way into the kitchen and was completely unsurprised to find Bucky already had his head buried in the fridge.
“Make yourself at home.” He deadpanned and Bucky looked at him, thrusting a beer in his direction. “Gee thanks.” Steve’s dry sarcasm still present as he looked at his friend who was offering him his own fucking beer. Bucky grinned and shrugged as he passed one to Sam as well as he strode into the room, the three men popping the tops. Steve took a long pull from his as he eyed Bucky “Why are you here?”
“Rude much?” Bucky asked, his eyes still checking out the contents of the refrigerator. “We were concerned uncles…you weren’t with the kids.” “They were with Emmy and Queens” Steve arched an eyebrow “Perfectly safe.”
“They showed up on Tin Man’s doorstep.” Sam grinned “We were halfway through studying a couple of files and they basically swamped us and said it was their last stop of the night. Bucky thought it would be fun to come back with them.”
“To bug the crap out of me or…”
“I wanted candy.” Buck shrugged.
“Then you should have gone Trick Or Treating.” Steve replied “And let’s face it, with a face like that, who needs a mask?”
“Ouch, Stevie…” Bucky looked at him as Sam chuckled in the background, before he turned his attention back to the fridge “Oooh, your Missus made a cheeseboard.”
“What are you a fuckin’ mouse?” Sam asked as Bucky pulled out the platter, setting it on the side.
“Just ‘cause I appreciate the good things in life, Seagull and you can’t.” Bucky shrugged, unwrapping the film from the cheese. “You know, Steve was just like this growing up.”
“Yeah, well, now I have better taste and I’m also big enough to kick your ass so stop eating my food and go home before I throw you out.”
“What’s got into you?” Bucky looked at him.
“You’re disrupting my plans.” Steve said simply.
“What pl-ooooooh!” Buck’s question morphed into a noise of acknowledgment as he looked at his friend “Then you should have taken advantage of the empty house earlier.”
“School boy error, Cap.” Sam smirked and Steve let out a growl of frustration.
“Well our various attempts to were thwarted one way or another, and now you two punks are ruining it again.” Steve glared at them “Put the cheese back and piss off.”
Bucky smirked. “Imma tell Katie you’re being nasty to me.”
Steve narrowed his eyes knowing full well the soft spot his girl had for Bucky and Sam. If she got so much as a sniff he was being a bit of a shit to either of them he’d be in for it. “You wouldn’t…”
“Wouldn’t what?”
At the sound of his wife’s voice Steve jumped and turned to see her clutching the huge bowl that had previously contained their candy by the door and now sported the combined content of their kids’ bags, Harry toddling behind her, his eyes fixed on the prize.
“Oh this is gonna be good.” Sam smirked, leaning off to the side unwrapping a Reeses which he pulled out of his pocket, slowly chewing as if watching a movie.
“Hey Doll Face” Bucky grinned at her “Steve won’t let me eat the cheese.”
“Ignore him, you help yourself Buck.” She waved to it as she passed Steve the bowl of candy “Stop being so moody, stick that up high somewhere.”
“You know that won’t stop Jamie, Rori or him don’t you?” Steve looked at her as she picked Harry up who watched shrewdly as his dad placed the bowl on the top shelf of one of the cupboards “All 3 of them had scaled the refrigerator by the time they were 2.”
“No but it might delay them enough for us to catch them.” She shrugged, her eyes moving to Bucky who was eating a block of cheddar like it was an apple “Buck, do you want some crackers or…”
Bucky nodded but Steve cut him off. “No he doesn’t.”
“Yes I do.” Bucky smirked as Katie looked at Steve, arching an eyebrow at his unusually frosty nature towards his friends. She set Harry down on the counter by Bucky who grinned at the toddler, offering him his hand in a hi-five. Harry grinned and slapped his Uncles palm before he looked at the cheese.
“Absolutely not pal.” Steve said to him and Harry looked up.
“Dinosaurs don’t eat cheese.” Bucky shook his head at Harry who stared at him and blinked before he shrugged.
“But I hungry.”
“You can’t possibly be.” Katie looked at her son
“I am Momma.”
“Now look what you’ve done.” Steve glared at Bucky.
“Me?” Bucky scoffed, his mouth full “What did I do?”
“Set him off, look, why don’t you go and eat Jen’s cheese?” Steve asked and at that there was a pause before Sam, Katie and Bucky all burst out laughing. Steve groaned “Ok, that came out wrong.”
Sam snorted “that’s what she said.”
Katie laughed harder and Bucky grinned, swallowing his mouthful as Katie headed into the pantry. “Innuendo aside, I can’t. She’s got something going on at the coffee shop. Bunch of teenagers doing Halloween activities or something, I don’t know. She won’t be free until later.” He turned to Katie as she walked back in, handing him the box of crackers and he thanked her “So I thought I’d come see my best friends for a beer seeing as it’s not even half 8 on a Saturday yet.”
Katie smiled at him “You two are always welcome here, you know that. Isn’t that right Steve.”
Steve fixed a smile on his face and glared at Bucky who was positively beaming at the fact he knew he was being a cock-block. “Course it is honey, course.”
“Right my little Jurassic baby…” Katie picked Harry up and he giggled, the hood of his dinosaur costume falling over his eyes. “Bath time.
“No bath Momma” he shook his head furiously, looking up at her as she pushed the clothing back off his head “I have one tomorrow.”
Katie looked at him, “Your face is filthy.”
“Wash my face then.” He looked at her and Katie raised her eyebrows and looked at Steve who chuckled.
“Wanna help me out here daddy?” Katie asked and Steve looked at his son.
“Ok, how about momma washes your face tonight but you’re having a bath first thing in the morning.” Steve looked at Harry as his son considered it for a second. It was late after all. Skipping bath night one evening wouldn’t kill him.
“Deal” Harry nodded, holding his hand out. Steve shook it as Bucky and Sam both gave snorts.
“You need a hand?” Steve asked.
“No, I got it.” Katie shook her head “I’ll get him sorted. You can send Rori and Jamie up in 15 though.”
“Sure.” Steve nodded.
“Say goodnight Harry.” Katie said, turning round so Harry could see Sam and Bucky.
“Goodnight Harry” he grinned, before he cackled at his usual joke. The tot had no idea why it was funny, but when he had first said it, it had cracked both Katie and Steve up so now he seemed to say it every night. Bucky and Sam obligingly laughed as Steve dropped kiss to his son’s head, before pecking Katie’s cheek as she carried him out of the kitchen.
**** Half an hour later, after Rori had done one final parade around the kitchen in her princess cat outfit, beaming when Bucky had declared her the “prettiest kitty cat in all the world” and Steve had once more told her “no, you can’t have a real cat”, all 3 kids were clean and in their rooms. Harry and Rori were both tucked up in bed, lights off, whilst Jamie was watching TV with a warning from Steve that he had 30 minutes before it was time to turn it off. Steve knew Jamie would listen, it was part of the deal that he got to have a little time like that in his room as he was the eldest one now. Jamie took it seriously, knowing full well that abusing said privilege would mean it was revoked just as it had been a few weeks months when he’d been giving Steve some serious back chat and cheek. Steve had sent him to his room and Jamie had simply shrugged responding sarcastically “Fine, I’ll go watch my TV, what a huge punishment.” Steve had seen red and headed straight into the garage before coming back with a pair of pliers. He’d walked straight into Jamie’s room, cut the plug off the TV leaving his son staring at him, open mouthed as he breezed out of the room with a simple “watch it now, smart ass…”
The 4 adults were all sat in the lounge, sprawled across the various sofas with a drink each as the fire roared giving the large living room a cosy, homely feel. Stark was stretched out on the rug in front of the fire, snoring slightly, and the stereo was on playing a little background music whilst the rain pattered against the large ceiling to floor windows. Steve adored this time of year for precisely this reason. Katie snuggled under his arm, her back resting against him as she lay stretched out down the cushions, his arm looped around her crossing her chest. The hand that wasn’t holding her wine was gently rubbing over his forearm, her nails softly skating across the skin. Steve dropped a kiss to her head as they both listened to Sam who was recalling how Bucky had ended up with a load of candy stuck on the hand of his metal arm without realising, which he had then stuck in his hair when he’d run his hand through it.
“He cried like a bitch when I was pulling the gummy bears out.” Sam grinned and Steve tipped his head back, a huge laugh rumbling through his chest as Bucky glared at him.
“Punk.” He looked at Steve who simply smirked and took a drink from his bottle
“You know, I gotta say that these kids take it to the next level nowadays.” Sam swallowed a mouthful of beer. “I mean, some of those costumes are awesome. We saw a really cool Iron Man who had the reactor in his chest all lit up.”
Katie smiled “Yeah, Tony does seem to be a popular choice.”
“We got a Captain America.” Steve offered, not one to be out-done and Katie smirked to herself, “And by that I mean when it was me, or I was it, whatever. He may or may not have gotten extra candy.”
Sam and Bucky chuckled and Katie sipped her wine before she tilted her head back and looked up at Steve.
"At least we got no clowns this year..." Katie smirked and at the mere thought Steve shuddered and Bucky let out a huge snort.
"What...you're scared of clowns?" Sam looked at Steve but before he could answer Bucky jumped in.
"He ain’t just scared man, he's petrified. When we were about 8 and my folks took us to Coney, this guy dressed as a clown tried to give Steve a balloon and he ran away, but the best thing was…” Bucky leaned forward, his words coming between his howls of laughter “this clown kept doing it up until Steve was about 18 because he was so small and looked like a 10 year old.”
“Fuck you.” Steve narrowed his eyes at Bucky as he and Sam fell about laughing. Katie kissed his arm and sat up, pointing at Bucky.
“Stop making fun of him…he was cute when he was a smol bean.”
“Thanks sweetheart.” Steve grinned, pressing a kiss to her head. 
“Coulrophobia” Sam nodded sagely, “Quite common actually.”
“I’m not surprised.” Steve shook his head “They’re horrible. I mean, who on earth ever thought they were suitable as entertainment?”
"I dunno, it was kind of entertaining when Jamie dressed up as one.” Katie smiled and Steve physically shivered at the mere memory of that particular Halloween.
“Wait, what?” Bucky asked, looking at Katie and Steve groaned as he steeled himself once more to be the brunt of a joke.
“You seen IT?” Katie asked, “As in the newest one?”
Bucky nodded, grinning “A particular favourite of mine and Jen’s….although last time we watched it we kinda got distracted.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Katie snorted.
“Don’t wanna know,” she shook her head as Sam Hi-fived Bucky “but anyway, we had a Halloween party about 9 years ago at Tony’s. Emmy asked if she could be in charge of hers and Jamie’s outfits so we said yes. Little did we knows she’d had a little help from my dearest brother and just as we were about to set off…” she snorted and started to laugh “they come down the stairs and Jamie’s dressed in the BEST Pennywise outfit I’ve ever seen.”
Bucky’s face split into a huge grin as Katie continued to laugh, shaking her head. “So he’s toddling towards Steve and his face…” she stopped talking, as her laughter was now uncontrollable and she shook her head and Steve sighed.
“It’s not funny.”
“It is.” She stuttered, wiping her eyes. She took a deep breath “You stood there stock still, this look of utter horror on your face and I knew you were fighting the urge to turn and run…”
At that Bucky and Sam both burst out into laughter and Steve shook his head. “He was so upset when I wouldn’t pick him up.”
“You stopped the car at the top of the street because you couldn’t drive as you kept seeing him in the mirror…” Katie howled, tipping her head back in absolute, unadulterated laughter and Steve shook his head.
“You heard Sam, it’s a phobia…” he looked at her “I can’t help it, any more than you can about spiders.”
“Horrible eight legged bastards.” She shuddered as her laughter died down and she glanced up at him winking, as her voice dropped. “But you know the way to my heart…”
“Kiss you often, fuck you well, feed you snacks and kill the spiders.” he intoned, grinning as she chuckled “I know Doll, I know.”
**** Despite his best laid plans going to shit, Steve had to admit it was a nice evening as all 4 of them chatted and laughed but by the time Bucky and Sam left some 2 hours later, Katie had already gone up to bed about 15 minutes prior saying she was tired which meant Steve was now very doubtful he’d be fucking her well at all. Cursing Trick Or Treaters, counter surfing dogs, hungry babies and cheese eating, beer drinking friends he cleared the empty bottles off the coffee table and dumped them in the recycling before he let Stark out into the back yard so he could do his business. Steve stood watching him, the cold October air biting at his skin a little as he glanced up at the now clear sky, the rain having stopped roughly half an hour or so ago. He couldn’t believe it was November tomorrow. Another year almost done with. They were flying by, far too quickly for his liking. This year had marked 7 years since they’d reversed the snap and it still seemed like only yesterday since he’d walked away from it all and passed the shield to Sam, settling down into the domestic life he’d never dreamed in a million years he’d get. He was jerked from his thoughts when Stark walked back up to him, nudging his hand with his cold, wet nose and he smiled, petting the dog’s head as he walked past him into the little laundry room and sat obediently waiting for his paws to be dried. Steve shut the door, locking it and then towelled the dog down before the tan and white mutt shot off through the kitchen and into the hall. Steve heard his collar jangling as he bounded up the stairs to Jamie’s room whilst he himself made his way through to the lounge. The fire was still going, but he knew it would die down over night and he was just moving the grate to the front of it to avoid any embers spilling onto the floor when his ears picked up footsteps on the stairs. He instantly knew they were Katie’s and found himself smirking a little. Maybe he was gonna get a little frisky after all. And then he heard her walking across the hall and frowned, because it sounded like she was in heels.
“Honey?” he called, standing up straight and turning to see his wife leaning against the door frame, one arm extended above her head, the other hand falling to her hips as she looked at him, biting her lip. Steve felt his mouth drop open as he took in her appearance. She was indeed wearing heels, a pair of sparkly, high heeled red Jimmy Choos- her “Ruby Slippers” as Rori dubbed them, and his eyes scanned up her bare legs to the hem of the sheer, red negligee which finished mid-thigh. He could see the outline of a pair of matching, red lace panties underneath as he continued to take in her appearance. The top of the garment was low cut, her cleavage amplified somewhat as her breasts swelled over the lace cups and he swallowed as he felt his cock twitch whilst he simply stared at her, slack jawed. Fuck, she was the sexiest thing he had ever seen in his entire life and when she did stuff like this…Jesus.
He glanced at her face, her hair falling over her shoulders in waves and it was then he noticed that on the top of her head sat a pair of fake red horns. Steve’s mouth curled up in sinful grin as Katie gave a dirty giggle, her green eyes sparkling with mischief as Steve strode towards her purposefully, one thing on his mind.
“Read to sell your soul to the Devil, Solider?” she asked and Steve let out a chuckle as he stopped in front of her, his hands gripping her hips
“I sold it to you years ago, Doll.”
She grinned at him as he pulled her closer, his fingers curling against her gentle curves, tangling in the soft material of the negligee as he dropped his head to hers, kissing her deeply. Her hands smoothed over the top of his grey Henley coming to rest on his chest as he curled one arm around her waist, pulling her closer. At the feel of her pressed against him, Steve let out a soft moan
“God I’ve been waiting for this all night” he mumbled and Katie grinned against his lips.
“Well like I tell the kids, a little patience goes a long way Stevie.” she purred and Steve shrugged, his hands dropping to the back of her thighs as he easily lifted her, her heel-clad legs wrapping around his waist.
“And as you know when it comes to you baby girl, I have very little self-control.”
“Don’t I know it, there’s reason we have 4 biological kids.” she pondered for a moment and Steve laughed as her lips met his again and her hands raked into his hair, her nails biting gently against his scalp.
With steady strides, Steve carried her over to the spot in front of the fireplace where he gently set her on her feet and knelt in front of her. The light of the fire cast a bronze glow against her smooth skin and taking his time to simply enjoy the moment, his hands traced up the back of her calves to her thighs, his touch feather light as he reached up to her ass. He gave her flesh a squeeze before pulling her forward a little and her hands reached out to rest on his shoulders for support as he pushed his head under the bottom of the lace garment, nose skimming along the waistband of her panties. He peppered hot, open mouthed kisses across her soft skin, before he dropped his head lower and nudged his nose over her covered mound. She whimpered a little as he brushed her nub and her hips moved forward, seeking him out.
“Now who’s impatient?” He looked up at her and she glanced down, arching an eyebrow.
“It may have escaped your notice…” she took a deep breath “My self-control is also pretty non-existent around you too.”
“Well, I’m not one to keep a lady waiting” Steve smirked and in a swift movement he hooked an arm round her waist causing her to shriek a little before she laughed as he deposited her gently on the rug, caging her with his arms. He glanced down at her, brunette waves fanning out over the light grey and black of the soft tuft wool and leaned down, his nose nudging against hers.
“You know I love you, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.” she frowned a little, as Steve brushed his lips over hers.
“Good, now remember that. Because I’m about to fuck you like I don’t.”
Katie barely had time to register what he said before he’d moved down her body, hands skating up the outside of her thighs where his fingers bunched in her panties. With a sharp tug he’d snapped the elastic and tossed them to one side, grabbing her ankles and moving her feet so they were planted on the floor, the heels she was wearing caused her pelvis to raise up off her floor slightly. Without another word he pushed her knees apart and his mouth was on her, and he wasn’t holding back.
Katie’s body jolted as she let out a soft sigh of his name which was laced with satisfaction as he set his mouth to work, devouring her with the enthusiasm of a man starved, which in all fairness he was. He was low key horny around her all the time and he’d been sporting a fucking semi pretty much since the first time they’d been interrupted that evening. Having her so close yet out of reach all night so to speak had driven him wild.
His tongue licked, and lapped, flicked and curled over and over and Katie’s groans and pants grew louder and louder as he worked her into a frenzy. She curled the fingers of one hand into his hair, the other gripping at the rug underneath her as she arched her back even more, pushing herself against his face as her head began to spin. The contrast of his short beard scratching at her sensitive skin to his soft tongue and mouth was sending her entire body into overdrive and Steve could tell. He gently grazed her bud with his teeth, inserting 2 fingers inside her, both actions causing her hips to violently buck, her nails dug further into his scalp and he gave a chuckle which vibrated against her clit causing her to groan loudly.
“Jesus Christ Steve…” she panted, looking down at him. He peeked up from between her legs, a cheeky glint in his eyes which shimmered in the light of the fire, full of a blaze of their own as he continued, his tongue flicking at her entrance, before he sucked on her bud and then she was gone. Her legs trembled as her hand pulled his hair, almost to the point it was painful as she gave a loud cry, her other hand reaching to his head as she used both to push him away from her sensitive sex. He moved his head back but his fingers stayed exactly where they were, curling against the soft sponge of her walls as she clamped down around them, giving a little groan as she did, her legs flopping down flat on the floor. With a smug sense of satisfaction at having undone her to the extent he had, Steve pushed himself up, wiping his wet face with the back of his forearm and crawled over her, cupping her cheeks, kissing her again, his tongue tangling against hers. Katie moaned wantonly into his mouth as she could taste her arousal as his mouth dominated hers before he pulled back, his thumb and forefinger gently gripping her chin making her eyes open and lock onto his.
“On your knees sweetheart.” His tone was low as he used his Captain’s voice to issue the instruction, telling her not to argue. Not that she would, as mouthy and stubborn as she was this was the one area of their relationship in which she was always willing to surrender to him completely. With a graceful movement she pulled her legs back towards her and turned her body, rising to her knees, palms planted on the floor.
Steve pushed the waistband of his sweats and boxers down before he moved his hands to her hips, pulling her back with a swift action, placing one palm on the base of her back. With the other he took his throbbing cock in his hand, gave himself a few quick strokes before he lined himself up. With a snap of his hips he buried himself in her heat, balls deep, jolting her forward. The rumble from his throat slipped out of his mouth at the relief of finally being inside her, drowning her cries out.
His pace was relentless from the outset, just as it had been when he’d worked her with his mouth and his hands gripped her waist tightly as he drove in and out of her over and over, in fast, deep movements, pulling her back onto him with each thrust he made. He watched her face as her head fell forward between her arms, her bottom lip clamped between her lip, eyes closed in pleasure, those dirty little noises she made joined the sound of skin slapping skin as he did just as he’d said he was going to do, and fucked her hard.
It was raw, animalistic even, and a far cry from the usual way Steve liked to love on her but hell, it felt just as good to Katie as anything he ever did and after a particularly deep drive she cried out, fisting her hands into the rug, as she felt him bend over her, his large frame crowding hers from behind.
“God you feel so good baby…” he groaned, his chest was pressed to her back, his mouth nipping at that spot on her neck as she felt the heat pooling in her belly again. In an almost automatic movement, her head rolled to the left, allowing him access to her neck where he nipped and sucked at her skin, her gasps growing louder as he continued to thrust. “So fuckin’ good…”
As he spoke, Steve reached up and wrapped one large hand around her neck, tipping her face round to his so he could kiss her. It was all Katie could do to kiss him back, allowing him to control the pace as she was completely gone, the sensations lancing through her body had left her totally pliant to his ministrations.
“Captain…” she panted softly against his mouth as Steve gave an almost pathetic whine at the sound of that name slipping from her throat as he continued to push into her, driving deep before he stilled, his hips flush to her ass. Katie gave a squeak as he rotated his hips, letting go of her neck and pushing himself back up as his hand slid down her body, between her legs drawing a long wail of delight from her mouth as he fondled her bud, “Shit…I’m…Steve I’m gonna...”
“Go on, come for me baby…” he hissed, his jaw clenched, the sweat beading on his brow as he rutted forward again, once more grinding against her “Give it to me, let go…”
With a last, loud, filthy lament she came, hard, her knees almost buckling, but Steve’s arm quickly looped around her waist holding her up as she blissed out completely, the entire world fading around her as she felt nothing but the familiar hot, warm pleasure as her abdomen contracted and relaxed as her walls spasmed around him over and over.
“Good girl.” he praised as he continued thrusting through, the heat in his own belly now beginning to spike even more, “Such a good girl for me.” Katie preened at his praise, relaxing slightly as he bent over and kissed her neck once more, picking up the pace slightly. And then, she pushed back suddenly catching Steve off guard, sending him sprawling onto his back. She went with him, his cock still stuffed inside her, her back sliding on his chest as he continued to fuck up into her, his knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Katie’s head fell back against his shoulder, her face tilting to kiss his as she lay on him, legs spread, feet planted either side of his hips. His hand crept over her stomach, dipping into her folds as his fingers and palm furiously toyed and played with her, brushing against his shaft as he rocked in and out of his wife.
“Steve…” she whined “I can’t…it’s too much…” “You got one more in you.” he all but growled, “I know you do. And I’m taking it, whether you want me to or not.”
True to his word he continued his unyielding assault on her senses and before long her breathing had risen and his name was slipping from Katie’s lips in that familiar staccato pant. She gave in, and this time the climax almost feeble but still just as pleasurable as she fluttered around him. At the feel of her round him, and the sound of the exhausted, sultry groan she let out into his hear Steve was done for, and with a final, violent buck upwards he came, biting down gently on her shoulder, muffling the noises of satisfaction and pleasure that rolled from the back of his throat.
The pair of them lay still, chests heaving  and Katie licked her lips, eyes closed as she waited for her body to gain some form of control over itself. After a little while, she felt Steve’s hands gently slid up her side to the outside of her arms, giving a gentle rub as he pressed a kiss to the side of her head.
“You ok?” he asked.
Katie hummed a little and grinned, tipping her face round to look at him “I’ll say…that was…”
“Yeah…” Steve nodded, the pair of them chuckling. “It was worth the wait.”
Katie’s head lolled back against his shoulder and she closed her eyes again. Not wanting to move just yet, the feeling of her lay over the top of him whilst he was still buried inside her was too nice, Steve wrapped his arms around her front as he shifted slightly so he could press a kiss to her lips. She wiggled her hips a little and he gave a low grunt at the sensation and he looked at her as she arched an eyebrow.
“You want more?” he asked, his voice low and she fixed him with a look that was half suggestive, half apprehension as to whether she could actually take anymore. Steve grinned and pressed his lips back to hers, the kiss deepening as he felt himself starting to grow hard inside her again, and just as he had pushed her up into a sitting position, backwards on his lap, the security system sounded and the front door clicked open.
Katie’s head turned back to look at him over her shoulder, both faces sporting expressions of utter horror as Emmy and Peter’s voices drifted up the hall.
“Shit…” Katie jumped up, glancing down at herself as Steve scrambled to his feet, tucking himself into his pants, hastily yanking at the crotch in an attempt to make them a little less snug, so to speak.
“Give me your shirt…” Katie hissed and he reached over, grabbing a fistful of it in his hand. Yanking it over his head he tossed it to her and she shoved it on over her skimpy little outfit, before she kicked off her heels, and she’d just smoothed her hair down when the door to the lounge opened. Emmy and Peter stopped dead. Peter hastily turned away as Emmy’s eyes roved over Steve’s shirtless form, then to Katie who was stood in his Henley which thankfully was big enough to cover her body down to the middle of her thighs, hiding the red lace garment underneath. Whilst they might have hidden their modesty for the most part, there was no hiding the fact both of their faces were flushed with exhaustion and sexual gratification…nor was there any disguising the fact Katie was stood with her legs crossed in a desperate attempt to stop Steve’s release from dribbling down her leg. And then just to make it even more obvious, Katie’s shredded red lace panties were dumped in the middle of the floor right by her discarded heels…
“Jesus Christ…” Emmy mumbled, backing out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Katie and Steve glanced at one another, and Katie burst out laughing at the look of utter horror on Steve’s face.
“Cheer up Steve…” she patted his chest “Could have been worse.”
“Seriously?”  he blinked “What could be worse than basically being caught in flagrante by our daughter and that boy?”
“Ok, first off, his name is Pete…and actually I can think of a few things.” Katie shrugged, bending down to pick up her shoes and her destroyed underwear “Had she come in like 2 minutes earlier she’d have caught us in a much more compromising position…or even worse than that, we could have walked in on her.”
“Doll, just don’t!” Steve held his hand up, giving a groan.
Katie laughed and made her way to the door. “I’m going upstairs to clean up and get in bed, can you bring me a bottle of water up please?”
Steve sighed and nodded, watching her go. Taking a deep breath he wandered into the kitchen were Emmy was stood scowling, leaning against the kitchen counter as she glared as his topless form, Pete hastily averting his eyes.
“You two are disgusting.” Emmy shook her head “It’s bad enough hearing you in your bedroom but…fucking hell Dad!”
“Watch your mouth Emily.” Steve said sternly as he felt the heat rising in his neck. He made his way to the fridge, pulling out two bottles of water before he straightened up. “We weren’t expecting you back so early.”
“Clearly.” Emmy arched an eyebrow.
“You know what?” Steve’s temper flared a little “This is mine and your Ma’s house, and well, frankly, we’ll do what we want, where we want.”
At that Peter gave a little cough and pushed himself up off the counter, “I’m gonna…yeah…” he said, pointing to the utility room door “I’ll be in the cabin Em.”
Neither Steve nor Emmy paid him any attention as he scuttled off, the door clicking shut behind him.
“Dad!” Emmy spluttered, her face in her hand as she shook her head “That was so embarrassing!”
“Well it wasn’t exactly a barrel of laughs for us either you know Em!” Steve groaned “Like, seriously, why did you even come in here anyway? You don’t need to come through the house to get to your annex!”
“We were hungry.” She whined, “Mom said she’d leave us something in the fridge although frankly, now I’ve lost my appetite.”
Steve wiped a hand over his face before he shook his head, taking a deep breath “I’m gonna go up to bed. Can we just forget this happened, please?”
“I’d love to.” Emmy practically growled as she made her way towards the rear of the kitchen. “God, I need to scrub my eyes with bleach…once you’ve finished using it to mop wherever you were…you know.”
Steve arched an eyebrow and that little devil on his shoulder reared his, or her as the case may be,  head and he couldn’t help the sarcastic response as it flew from his mouth “I hate to break it to you sweetheart, but I’d need a lot of bleach to wash down each surface of this house I’ve had your mother on.”
Emmy’s mouth fell open and she looked at him, before she let out a loud groan. “You’re disgusting. Like, I can’t even…”
She shook her head and hurried out of the room, closing the door behind her. Steve shook his head, watched as the security light clicked on whilst she stormed across the back garden to her little annex and with a chuckle he made sure the door was locked and turned off the lights.
All in all it had been a damned good day now he thought about it. He’d carved pumpkins with his kids, seen them all have a great time, eaten Italian, drunk beer, chatted to his friends, fucked his wife exceptionally well and now embarrassed his eldest.
“Mission accomplished…” he snorted to himself as he took the stairs two at a two, padding across the hallway and entering his bedroom, closing the door behind him.
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wiypt-writes · 4 years ago
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Stark Spangled Forever
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One Shot: The Devil Wears Nada
Summary: Steve’s fed up of getting cock blocked during what was supposed to be bit of alone time and would make a deal with the Devil herself to get some alone time with his wife… Warning: SMUT SMUT SMUT- (NSFW, 18+) Like seriously, if you’re under 18 get off my blog. This is, possibly, the filthiest thing I’ve written for Steve to date!
Pairings: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark.
A/N: So this follows on directly from Bumps In The Night which was written by @sweater-daddiesdumbdork​ as part of Stark Spangled Banner’s Birthday Party. Give it a read, its wonderful!
If you are currently reading Stark Spangled Banner for the first time as it is being reposted then this contains MAJOR SPOILERS and I recommend you wait until you’ve finished so you don’t spoil anything!
Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.
Stark Spangled Forever Masterlist // Main Masterlist
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Katie and Steve headed back inside, Katie diverting into the lounge to go and retrieve the candy off the kids before they ate too much of it in one sitting. Steve had to snort at the various cries of protests that rang round the lounge and his wife’s stern voice telling the three children in there that she didn’t care if it was Saturday, they weren’t consuming enough E-numbers to fuel an army before bed. He made his way into the kitchen and was completely unsurprised to find Bucky already had his head buried in the fridge.
“Make yourself at home.” He deadpanned and Bucky looked at him, thrusting a beer in his direction. “Gee thanks.” Steve’s dry sarcasm still present as he looked at his friend who was offering him his own fucking beer. Bucky grinned and shrugged as he passed one to Sam as well as he strode into the room, the three men popping the tops. Steve took a long pull from his as he eyed Bucky “Why are you here?”
“Rude much?” Bucky asked, his eyes still checking out the contents of the refrigerator. “We were concerned uncles…you weren’t with the kids.”
“They were with Emmy and Queens” Steve arched an eyebrow “Perfectly safe.”
“They showed up on Tin Man’s doorstep.” Sam grinned “We were halfway through studying a couple of files and they basically swamped us and said it was their last stop of the night. Bucky thought it would be fun to come back with them.”
“To bug the crap out of me or…”
“I wanted candy.” Buck shrugged.
“Then you should have gone Trick Or Treating.” Steve replied “And let’s face it, with a face like that, who needs a mask?”
“Ouch, Stevie…” Bucky looked at him as Sam chuckled in the background, before he turned his attention back to the fridge “Oooh, your Missus made a cheeseboard.”
“What are you a fuckin’ mouse?” Sam asked as Bucky pulled out the platter, setting it on the side.
“Just ‘cause I appreciate the good things in life, Seagull and you can’t.” Bucky shrugged, unwrapping the film from the cheese. “You know, Steve was just like this growing up.”
“Yeah, well, now I have better taste and I’m also big enough to kick your ass so stop eating my food and go home before I throw you out.”
“What’s got into you?” Bucky looked at him.
“You’re disrupting my plans.” Steve said simply.
“What pl-ooooooh!” Buck’s question morphed into a noise of acknowledgment as he looked at his friend “Then you should have taken advantage of the empty house earlier.”
“School boy error, Cap.” Sam smirked and Steve let out a growl of frustration.
“Well our various attempts to were thwarted one way or another, and now you two punks are ruining it again.” Steve glared at them “Put the cheese back and piss off.”
Bucky smirked. “Imma tell Katie you’re being nasty to me.”
Steve narrowed his eyes knowing full well the soft spot his girl had for Bucky and Sam. If she got so much as a sniff he was being a bit of a shit to either of them he’d be in for it. “You wouldn’t…”
“Wouldn’t what?”
At the sound of his wife’s voice Steve jumped and turned to see her clutching the huge bowl that had previously contained their candy by the door and now sported the combined content of their kids’ bags, Harry toddling behind her, his eyes fixed on the prize.
“Oh this is gonna be good.” Sam smirked, leaning off to the side unwrapping a Reeses which he pulled out of his pocket, slowly chewing as if watching a movie.
“Hey Doll Face” Bucky grinned at her “Steve won’t let me eat the cheese.”
“Ignore him, you help yourself Buck.” She waved to it as she passed Steve the bowl of candy “Stop being so moody, stick that up high somewhere.”
“You know that won’t stop Jamie, Rori or him don’t you?” Steve looked at her as she picked Harry up who watched shrewdly as his dad placed the bowl on the top shelf of one of the cupboards “All 3 of them had scaled the refrigerator by the time they were 2.”
“No but it might delay them enough for us to catch them.” She shrugged, her eyes moving to Bucky who was eating a block of cheddar like it was an apple “Buck, do you want some crackers or…”
Bucky nodded but Steve cut him off. “No he doesn’t.”
“Yes I do.” Bucky smirked as Katie looked at Steve, arching an eyebrow at his unusually frosty nature towards his friends. She set Harry down on the counter by Bucky who grinned at the toddler, offering him his hand in a hi-five. Harry grinned and slapped his Uncles palm before he looked at the cheese.
“Absolutely not pal.” Steve said to him and Harry looked up.
“Dinosaurs don’t eat cheese.” Bucky shook his head at Harry who stared at him and blinked before he shrugged.
“But I hungry.”
“You can’t possibly be.” Katie looked at her son
“I am, Momma.”
“Now look what you’ve done.” Steve glared at Bucky.
“Me?” Bucky scoffed, his mouth full “What did I do?”
“Set him off, look, why don’t you go and eat Jen’s cheese?” Steve asked and at that there was a pause before Sam, Katie and Bucky all burst out laughing. Steve groaned “Ok, that came out wrong.”
Sam snorted “that’s what she said.”
Katie laughed harder and Bucky grinned, swallowing his mouthful as Katie headed into the pantry. “Innuendo aside, I can’t. She’s got something going on at the coffee shop. Bunch of teenagers doing Halloween activities or something, I don’t know. She won’t be free until later.” He turned to Katie as she walked back in, handing him the box of crackers and he thanked her “So I thought I’d come see my best friends for a beer seeing as it’s not even half 8 on a Saturday yet.”
Katie smiled at him “You two are always welcome here, you know that. Isn’t that right Steve.”
Steve fixed a smile on his face and glared at Bucky who was positively beaming at the fact he knew he was being a cock-block. “Course it is honey, course.”
“Right my little Jurassic baby!” Katie picked Harry up and he giggled, the hood of his dinosaur costume falling over his eyes. “Bath time.
“No bath, Momma.” Harry shook his head furiously, looking up at her as she pushed the clothing back off his head.“I have one tomorrow.”
Katie looked at him, “Your face is filthy.”
“Wash my face then.” He looked at her and Katie raised her eyebrows and looked at Steve who chuckled.
“Wanna help me out here, Daddy?” Katie asked and Steve looked at his son.
“Hey, Buddy, how about Momma washes your face tonight but you’re having a bath first thing in the morning.” Steve looked at Harry as his son considered it for a second. It was late after all. Skipping bath night one evening wouldn’t kill him.
“Deal” Harry nodded, holding his hand out. Steve shook it as Bucky and Sam both gave snorts.
“You need a hand?” Steve asked.
“No, I got it.” Katie shook her head “I’ll get him sorted. You can send Rori and Jamie up in fifteen though.”
“Sure.” Steve nodded.
“Say goodnight Harry.” Katie said, turning round so Harry could see Sam and Bucky.
“Goodnight Harry.” He grinned, before he cackled at his usual joke. The tot had no idea why it was funny, but when he had first said it, it had cracked both Katie and Steve up so now he seemed to say it every night. Bucky and Sam obligingly laughed as Steve dropped kiss to his son’s head, before pecking Katie’s cheek as she carried him out of the kitchen.
**** Half an hour later, after Rori had done one final parade around the kitchen in her princess cat outfit, beaming when Bucky had declared her the “prettiest kitty cat in all the world” and Steve had once more told her “no, you can’t have a real cat”, all the kids were clean and in their rooms. Harry and Rori were both tucked up in bed, lights off, whilst Jamie was watching TV with a warning from Steve that he had thirty minutes before it was time to turn it off. Steve knew Jamie would listen, it was part of the deal that he got to have a little time like that in his room as he was the eldest one now. Jamie took it seriously, knowing full well that abusing said privilege would mean it was revoked just as it had been a few weeks months when he’d been giving Steve some serious back chat and cheek. Steve had sent him to his room and Jamie had simply shrugged responding sarcastically “Fine, I’ll go watch my TV, what a huge punishment.” 
Steve had seen red and headed straight into the garage before coming back with a pair of pliers. He’d walked straight into Jamie’s room, cut the plug off the TV leaving his son staring at him, open mouthed as he breezed out of the room with a simple “watch it now, smart ass…”
The four adults were all sat in the lounge, sprawled across the various sofas with a drink each as the fire roared giving the large living room a cosy, homely feel. Stark was stretched out on the rug in front of the fire, snoring slightly, and the stereo was on playing a little background music whilst the rain pattered against the large ceiling to floor windows. Steve adored this time of year for precisely this reason. Katie snuggled under his arm, her back resting against him as she lay stretched out down the cushions, his arm looped around her crossing her chest. The hand that wasn’t holding her wine was gently rubbing over his forearm, her nails softly skating across the skin. Steve dropped a kiss to her head as they both listened to Sam who was recalling how Bucky had ended up with a load of candy stuck on the hand of his metal arm without realising, which he had then stuck in his hair when he’d run his hand through it.
“He cried like a bitch when I was pulling the gummy bears out.” Sam grinned and Steve tipped his head back, a huge laugh rumbling through his chest as Bucky glared at him.
“Punk.” He looked at Steve who simply smirked and took a drink from his bottle
“You know, I gotta say that these kids take it to the next level nowadays.” Sam swallowed a mouthful of beer. “I mean, some of those costumes are awesome. We saw a really cool Iron Man who had the reactor in his chest all lit up.”
Katie smiled “Yeah, Tony does seem to be a popular choice.”
“We got a Captain America.” Steve offered, not one to be out-done and Katie smirked to herself, “And by that I mean when it was me, or I was it, whatever. He may or may not have gotten extra candy.”
Sam and Bucky chuckled and Katie sipped her wine before she tilted her head back and looked up at Steve.
"At least we got no clowns this year..." Katie smirked and at the mere thought Steve shuddered and Bucky let out a huge snort.
"What...you're scared of clowns?" Sam looked at Steve but before he could answer Bucky jumped in.
"He ain’t just scared man, he's petrified. When we were about 8 and my folks took us to Coney, this guy dressed as a clown tried to give Steve a balloon and he ran away, but the best thing was…” Bucky leaned forward, his words coming between his howls of laughter “this clown kept doing it up until Steve was about 18 because he was so small and looked like a 10 year old.”
“Fuck you.” Steve narrowed his eyes at Bucky as he and Sam fell about laughing. Katie kissed his arm and sat up, pointing at Bucky.
“Stop making fun of him…he was cute when he was a smol bean.”
“Thanks baby.” Steve grinned, pressing a kiss to her head. 
“Coulrophobia” Sam nodded sagely, “Quite common actually.”
“I’m not surprised.” Steve shook his head “They’re horrible. I mean, who on earth ever thought they were suitable as entertainment?”
"I dunno, it was kind of entertaining when Jamie dressed up as one.” Katie smiled and Steve physically shivered at the mere memory of that particular Halloween 
“Wait, what?” Bucky asked, looking at Katie and Steve groaned as he steeled himself once more to be the brunt of a joke.
“You seen IT?” Katie asked, “As in the newest one?”
Bucky nodded, grinning “A particular favourite of mine and Jen’s….although last time we watched it we kinda got distracted.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Katie snorted.
“Don’t wanna know,” she shook her head as Sam Hi-fived Bucky “but anyway, we had a Halloween party about 9 years ago at Tony’s. Emmy asked if she could be in charge of hers and Jamie’s outfits so we said yes. Little did we knows she’d had a little help from my dearest brother and just as we were about to set off…” she snorted and started to laugh “they come down the stairs and Jamie’s dressed in the BEST Pennywise outfit I’ve ever seen.”
Bucky’s face split into a huge grin as Katie continued to laugh, shaking her head.
“So he’s toddling towards Steve and his face…” she stopped talking, as her laughter was now uncontrollable and she shook her head and Steve sighed.
“It’s not funny.”
“It is.” She stuttered, wiping her eyes. She took a deep breath “You stood there stock still, this look of utter horror on your face and I knew you were fighting the urge to turn and run…”
At that Bucky and Sam both burst out into laughter and Steve shook his head. “He was so upset when I wouldn’t pick him up.”
“You stopped the car at the top of the street because you couldn’t drive as you kept seeing him in the mirror…” Katie howled, tipping her head back in absolute, unadulterated laughter and Steve shook his head.
“It’s a phobia…” he looked at her “I can’t help it, any more than you can about spiders.”
“Horrible eight legged bastards.” She shuddered as her laughter died down. “But you know the way to my heart…”
“Kiss you often, fuck you well, feed you snacks and kill the spiders.” he recited, grinning as she chuckled “I know Doll, I know.”
**** Despite his best laid plans going to shit, Steve had to admit it was a nice evening as all four of them chatted and laughed but by the time Bucky and Sam left some two hours later, Katie had already gone up to bed about 15 minutes prior saying she was tired which meant Steve was now very doubtful he’d be fucking her well at all. Cursing Trick Or Treaters, counter surfing dogs, hungry babies and cheese eating, beer drinking friends he cleared the empty bottles off the coffee table and dumped them in the recycling before he let Stark out into the back yard so he could do his business. Steve stood watching him, the cold October air biting at his skin a little as he glanced up at the now clear sky, the rain having stopped roughly half an hour or so ago. He couldn’t believe it was November tomorrow. Another year almost done with. They were flying by, far too quickly for his liking. 
This year had marked seven years since they’d reversed the snap and it still seemed like only yesterday since he’d walked away from it all and passed the shield to Sam, settling down into the domestic life he’d never dreamed in a million years he’d get. He was jerked from his thoughts when Stark walked back up to him, nudging his hand with his cold, wet nose and he smiled, petting the dog’s head as he walked past him into the little laundry room and sat obediently waiting for his paws to be dried. Steve shut the door, locking it and then towelled the dog down before the tan and white mutt shot off through the kitchen and into the hall. Steve heard his collar jangling as he bounded up the stairs to Jamie’s room whilst he himself made his way through to the lounge. The fire was still going, but he knew it would die down over night and he was just moving the grate to the front of it to avoid any embers spilling onto the floor when his ears picked up footsteps on the stairs. He instantly knew they were Katie’s and found himself smirking a little. Maybe he was gonna get a little frisky after all. And then he heard her walking across the hall and frowned, because it sounded like she was in heels.
“Honey?” he called, standing up straight and turning to see his wife leaning against the door frame, one arm extended above her head, the other hand falling to her hips as she looked at him, biting her lip. Steve felt his mouth drop open as he took in her appearance. She was indeed wearing heels, a pair of sparkly, high heeled red Jimmy Choos- her “Ruby Slippers” as Rori dubbed them, and his eyes scanned up her bare legs to the hem of the sheer, red negligee which finished mid-thigh. He could see the outline of a pair of matching, red lace panties underneath as he continued to take in her appearance. The top of the garment was low cut, her cleavage amplified somewhat as her breasts swelled over the lace cups and he swallowed as he felt his cock twitch whilst he simply stared at her, slack jawed. Fuck, she was the sexiest thing he had ever seen in his entire life and when she did stuff like this…Jesus.
He glanced at her face, her hair falling over her shoulders in waves and it was then he noticed that on the top of her head sat a pair of fake red horns. Steve’s mouth curled up in sinful grin as Katie gave a dirty giggle, her green eyes sparkling with mischief as Steve strode towards her purposefully, one thing on his mind.
“Read to sell your soul to the Devil, Solider?” she asked and Steve let out a chuckle as he stopped in front of her, his hands gripping her hips
“I sold it to you years ago, Doll.”
She grinned at him as he pulled her closer, his fingers curling against her gentle curves, tangling in the soft material of the negligee as he dropped his head to hers, kissing her deeply. Her hands smoothed over the top of his grey Henley coming to rest on his chest as he curled one arm around her waist, pulling her closer. At the feel of her pressed against him, Steve let out a soft moan
“God I’ve been waiting for this all night” he mumbled and Katie grinned against his lips.
“Well like I tell the kids, a little patience goes a long way Stevie.” she purred and Steve shrugged, his hands dropping to the back of her thighs as he easily lifted her, her heel-clad legs wrapping around his waist.
“And as you know when it comes to you baby girl, I have very little self-control.”
“Don’t I know it, there’s reason we have 4 biological kids.” she pondered for a moment and Steve laughed as her lips met his again and her hands raked into his hair, her nails biting gently against his scalp.
With steady strides, Steve carried her over to the spot in front of the fireplace where he gently set her on her feet and knelt in front of her. The light of the fire cast a bronze glow against her smooth skin and taking his time to simply enjoy the moment, his hands traced up the back of her calves to her thighs, his touch feather light as he reached up to her ass. He gave her flesh a squeeze before pulling her forward a little and her hands reached out to rest on his shoulders for support as he pushed his head under the bottom of the lace garment, nose skimming along the waistband of her panties. He peppered hot, open mouthed kisses across her soft skin, before he dropped his head lower and nudged his nose over her covered mound. She whimpered a little as he brushed her nub and her hips moved forward, seeking him out.
“Now who’s impatient?” He looked up at her and she glanced down, arching an eyebrow.
“It may have escaped your notice…” she took a deep breath “My self-control is also pretty non-existent around you too.”
“Well, I’m not one to keep a lady waiting” Steve smirked and in a swift movement he hooked an arm round her waist causing her to shriek a little before she laughed as he deposited her gently on the rug, caging her with his arms. He glanced down at her, brunette waves fanning out over the light grey and black of the soft tuft wool and leaned down, his nose nudging against hers.
“You know I love you, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.” she frowned a little, as Steve brushed his lips over hers.
“Good, now remember that. Because I’m about to fuck you like I don’t.”
Katie barely had time to register what he said before he’d moved down her body, hands skating up the outside of her thighs where his fingers bunched in her panties. With a sharp tug he’d snapped the elastic and tossed them to one side, grabbing her ankles and moving her feet so they were planted on the floor, the heels she was wearing caused her pelvis to raise up off her floor slightly. Without another word he pushed her knees apart and his mouth was on her, and he wasn’t holding back.
Katie’s body jolted as she let out a soft sigh of his name which was laced with satisfaction as he set his mouth to work, devouring her with the enthusiasm of a man starved, which in all fairness he was. He was low key horny around her all the time and he’d been sporting a fucking semi pretty much since the first time they’d been interrupted that evening. Having her so close yet out of reach all night so to speak had driven him wild.
His tongue licked, and lapped, flicked and curled over and over and Katie’s groans and pants grew louder and louder as he worked her into a frenzy. She curled the fingers of one hand into his hair, the other gripping at the rug underneath her as she arched her back even more, pushing herself against his face as her head began to spin. The contrast of his short beard scratching at her sensitive skin to his soft tongue and mouth was sending her entire body into overdrive and Steve could tell. He gently grazed her bud with his teeth, inserting 2 fingers inside her, both actions causing her hips to violently buck, her nails dug further into his scalp and he gave a chuckle which vibrated against her clit causing her to groan loudly.
“Jesus Christ Steve…” she panted, looking down at him. He peeked up from between her legs, a cheeky glint in his eyes which shimmered in the light of the fire, full of a blaze of their own as he continued, his tongue flicking at her entrance, before he sucked on her bud and then she was gone. Her legs trembled as her hand pulled his hair, almost to the point it was painful as she gave a loud cry, her other hand reaching to his head as she used both to push him away from her sensitive sex. He moved his head back but his fingers stayed exactly where they were, curling against the soft sponge of her walls as she clamped down around them, giving a little groan as she did, her legs flopping down flat on the floor. With a smug sense of satisfaction at having undone her to the extent he had, Steve pushed himself up, wiping his wet face with the back of his forearm and crawled over her, cupping her cheeks, kissing her again, his tongue tangling against hers. Katie moaned wantonly into his mouth as she could taste her arousal as his mouth dominated hers before he pulled back, his thumb and forefinger gently gripping her chin making her eyes open and lock onto his.
“On your knees sweetheart.” His tone was low as he used his Captain’s voice to issue the instruction, telling her not to argue. Not that she would, as mouthy and stubborn as she was this was the one area of their relationship in which she was always willing to surrender to him completely. With a graceful movement she pulled her legs back towards her and turned her body, rising to her knees, palms planted on the floor.
Steve pushed the waistband of his sweats and boxers down before he moved his hands to her hips, pulling her back with a swift action, placing one palm on the base of her back. With the other he took his throbbing cock in his hand, gave himself a few quick strokes before he lined himself up. With a snap of his hips he buried himself in her heat, balls deep, jolting her forward. The rumble from his throat slipped out of his mouth at the relief of finally being inside her, drowning her cries out.
His pace was relentless from the outset, just as it had been when he’d worked her with his mouth and his hands gripped her waist tightly as he drove in and out of her over and over, in fast, deep movements, pulling her back onto him with each thrust he made. He watched her face as her head fell forward between her arms, her bottom lip clamped between her lip, eyes closed in pleasure, those dirty little noises she made joined the sound of skin slapping skin as he did just as he’d said he was going to do, and fucked her hard.
It was raw, animalistic even, and a far cry from the usual way Steve liked to love on her but hell, it felt just as good to Katie as anything he ever did and after a particularly deep drive she cried out, fisting her hands into the rug, as she felt him bend over her, his large frame crowding hers from behind.
“God you feel so good baby…” he groaned, his chest was pressed to her back, his mouth nipping at that spot on her neck as she felt the heat pooling in her belly again. In an almost automatic movement, her head rolled to the left, allowing him access to her neck where he nipped and sucked at her skin, her gasps growing louder as he continued to thrust. “So fuckin’ good…”
As he spoke, Steve reached up and wrapped one large hand around her neck, tipping her face round to his so he could kiss her. It was all Katie could do to kiss him back, allowing him to control the pace as she was completely gone, the sensations lancing through her body had left her totally pliant to his ministrations.
“Captain…” she panted softly against his mouth as Steve gave an almost pathetic whine at the sound of that name slipping from her throat as he continued to push into her, driving deep before he stilled, his hips flush to her ass. Katie gave a squeak as he rotated his hips, letting go of her neck and pushing himself back up as his hand slid down her body, between her legs drawing a long wail of delight from her mouth as he fondled her bud, “Shit…I’m…Steve I’m gonna...”
“Go on, come for me baby…” he hissed, his jaw clenched, the sweat beading on his brow as he rutted forward again, once more grinding against her “Give it to me, let go…”
With a last, loud, filthy lament she came, hard, her knees almost buckling, but Steve’s arm quickly looped around her waist holding her up as she blissed out completely, the entire world fading around her as she felt nothing but the familiar hot, warm pleasure as her abdomen contracted and relaxed as her walls spasmed around him over and over.
“Good girl.” he praised as he continued thrusting through, the heat in his own belly now beginning to spike even more, “Such a good girl for me.” Katie preened at his praise, relaxing slightly as he bent over and kissed her neck once more, picking up the pace slightly. And then, she pushed back suddenly catching Steve off guard, sending him sprawling onto his back. She went with him, his cock still stuffed inside her, her back sliding on his chest as he continued to fuck up into her, his knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Katie’s head fell back against his shoulder, her face tilting to kiss his as she lay on him, legs spread, feet planted either side of his hips. His hand crept over her stomach, dipping into her folds as his fingers and palm furiously toyed and played with her, brushing against his shaft as he rocked in and out of his wife.
“Steve…” she whined “I can’t…it’s too much…” “You got one more in you…” he all but growled, “I know you do. And I’m taking it, whether you want me to or not.”
True to his word he continued his unyielding assault on her senses and before long her breathing had risen and his name was slipping from Katie’s lips in that familiar staccato pant. She gave in, and this time the climax almost feeble but still just as pleasurable as she fluttered around him. At the feel of her round him, and the sound of the exhausted, sultry groan she let out into his hear Steve was done for, and with a final, violent buck upwards he came, biting down gently on her shoulder, muffling the noises of satisfaction and pleasure that rolled from the back of his throat.
The pair of them lay still, chests heaving  and Katie licked her lips, eyes closed as she waited for her body to gain some form of control over itself. After a little while, she felt Steve’s hands gently slid up her side to the outside of her arms, giving a gentle rub as he pressed a kiss to the side of her head.
“You ok?” he asked.
Katie hummed a little and grinned, tipping her face round to look at him “I’ll say…that was…”
“Yeah…” Steve nodded, the pair of them chuckling. “It was worth the wait.”
Katie’s head lolled back against his shoulder and she closed her eyes again. Not wanting to move just yet, the feeling of her lay over the top of him whilst he was still buried inside her was too nice, Steve wrapped his arms around her front as he shifted slightly so he could press a kiss to her lips. She wiggled her hips a little and he gave a low grunt at the sensation and he looked at her as she arched an eyebrow.
“You want more?” he asked, his voice low and she fixed him with a look that was half suggestive, half apprehension as to whether she could actually take anymore. Steve grinned and pressed his lips back to hers, the kiss deepening as he felt himself starting to grow hard inside her again, and just as he had pushed her up into a sitting position, backwards on his lap, the security system sounded and the front door clicked open.
Katie’s head turned back to look at him over her shoulder, both faces sporting expressions of utter horror as Emmy and Peter’s voices drifted up the hall.
“Shit…” Katie jumped up, glancing down at herself as Steve scrambled to his feet, tucking himself into his pants, hastily yanking at the crotch in an attempt to make them a little less snug, so to speak.
“Give me your shirt…” Katie hissed and he reached over, grabbing a fistful of it in his hand. Yanking it over his head he tossed it to her and she shoved it on over her skimpy little outfit, before she kicked off her heels, and she’d just smoothed her hair down when the door to the lounge opened. Emmy and Peter stopped dead. Peter hastily turned away as Emmy’s eyes roved over Steve’s shirtless form, then to Katie who was stood in his Henley which thankfully was big enough to cover her body down to the middle of her thighs, hiding the red lace garment underneath. Whilst they might have hidden their modesty for the most part, there was no hiding the fact both of their faces were flushed with exhaustion and sexual gratification…nor was there any disguising the fact Katie was stood with her legs crossed in a desperate attempt to stop Steve’s release from dribbling down her leg. And then just to make it even more obvious, Katie’s shredded red lace panties were dumped in the middle of the floor right by her discarded heels…
“Jesus Christ…” Emmy mumbled, backing out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Katie and Steve glanced at one another, and Katie burst out laughing at the look of utter horror on Steve’s face.
“Cheer up Steve…” she patted his chest “Could have been worse.”
“Seriously?”  he blinked “What could be worse than basically being caught in flagrante by our daughter and that boy?”
“Ok, first off, his name is Pete…and actually I can think of a few things.” Katie shrugged, bending down to pick up her shoes and her destroyed underwear “Had she come in like 2 minutes earlier she’d have caught us in a much more compromising position…or even worse than that, we could have walked in on her.”
“Doll, just don’t!” Steve held his hand up, giving a groan.
Katie laughed and made her way to the door. “I’m going upstairs to clean up and get in bed, can you bring me a bottle of water up please?”
Steve sighed and nodded, watching her go. Taking a deep breath he wandered into the kitchen were Emmy was stood scowling, leaning against the kitchen counter as she glared as his topless form, Pete hastily averting his eyes.
“You two are disgusting.” Emmy shook her head “It’s bad enough hearing you in your bedroom but…fucking hell Dad!”
“Watch your mouth Emily.” Steve said sternly as he felt the heat rising in his neck. He made his way to the fridge, pulling out two bottles of water before he straightened up. “We weren’t expecting you back so early.”
“Clearly.” Emmy arched an eyebrow.
“You know what?” Steve’s temper flared a little “This is mine and your Ma’s house, and well, frankly, we’ll do what we want, where we want.”
At that Peter gave a little cough and pushed himself up off the counter, “I’m gonna…yeah…” he said, pointing to the utility room door “I’ll be in the cabin Em.”
Neither Steve nor Emmy paid him any attention as he scuttled off, the door clicking shut behind him.
“Dad!” Emmy spluttered, her face in her hand as she shook her head “That was so embarrassing!”
“Well it wasn’t exactly a barrel of laughs for us either you know Em!” Steve groaned “Like, seriously, why did you even come in here anyway? You don’t need to come through the house to get to your annex!”
“We were hungry.” She whined, “Mom said she’d leave us something in the fridge although frankly, now I’ve lost my appetite.”
Steve wiped a hand over his face before he shook his head, taking a deep breath “I’m gonna go up to bed. Can we just forget this happened, please?”
“I’d love to.” Emmy practically growled as she made her way towards the rear of the kitchen. “God, I need to scrub my eyes with bleach…once you’ve finished using it to mop wherever you were…you know.”
Steve arched an eyebrow and that little devil on his shoulder reared his, or her as the case may be,  head and he couldn’t help the sarcastic response as it flew from his mouth “I hate to break it to you sweetheart, but I’d need a lot of bleach to wash down each surface of this house I’ve had your mother on.”
Emmy’s mouth fell open and she looked at him, before she let out a loud groan. “You’re disgusting. Like, I can’t even…”
She shook her head and hurried out of the room, closing the door behind her. Steve shook his head, watched as the security light clicked on whilst she stormed across the back garden to her little annex and with a chuckle he made sure the door was locked and turned off the lights.
All in all it had been a damned good day now he thought about it. He’d carved pumpkins with his kids, seen them all have a great time, eaten Italian, drunk beer, chatted to his friends, fucked his wife exceptionally well and now embarrassed his eldest.
“Mission accomplished…” he snorted to himself as he took the stairs two at a two, padding across the hallway and entering his bedroom, closing the door behind him.
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belovedrival · 3 years ago
Text
I’m waiting for the washer’s cycle to get done, so I might as well get some thoughts out:
Jonas has been suuuuuuuuuper cranky/clingy/crying loads for several days. I think it’s a combination of factors: we were at my parents’ house for a week, in which his normal schedule was completely thrown off, not to mention the overstimulation of eleven cousins in the house; the day after we got home from Missouri, I went back to work, so in Jonas’s eyes, Mama just vanished during the days, which had to at least be a huge change (not saying Mister doesn’t take care of our baby - it’s just Jonas was used to seeing me most of the time); my in-laws arrived a week ago, which is nice because they’ve been helping with the move and looking after their grandson, but it’s another disruption. He’s been waking up more at night as well, and he fights sleep and nap time during the day. This is why I really just want to be moved and the transition over. I want to be settled so we can establish a routine.
On to other thoughts…
My dad has always had a temper. I know, I inherited it. He’s mellowed a LOT since I was a kid, but he still flares up sometimes. I forget what that looks like to someone who didn’t grow up witnessing it - namely, Mister.
Right before we left Mom and Dad’s (literally, we had packed up and we were walking out the front door) Dad blew up at one of my nephews. He and a couple of his brothers were looking at a frame on the kitchen counter that shows pictures…we all upload them to a website and Mom and Dad get the pictures on this thing. All I saw was the boys leaning on the counter, looking at it. I have no idea what D did, but Dad just exploded on him, hollering to get away from the counter.
Later in the car Mister explained how he saw it. “The older boys had this look on their faces, like they wanted to get far away from your dad - and they looked like they’d seen that kind of thing before and were glad they weren’t in the firing line. And your dad didn’t give D ANY time to react, he just screamed at him.”
All of the above is true.
I don’t tend to react when Dad does that kind of thing; I definitely think I feel a combination of waiting for the sudden thunderstorm (so to speak) to blow over, surprise that he still can react so strongly to something that, at least, doesn’t appear to be a big deal at all, and, like my oldest nephews, I feel a certain amount of self-preservation is in order. “Better them [the other person/people] than me.”
That was the second similar incident we’d witnessed during the week. Dad had apologized to the grandchild he’d yelled at earlier in the week, and his apology was before a meal, in the presence of everyone. I do give my father credit for admitting that he’s wrong, and apologizing in front of everyone.
To Mister, that isn’t enough. “It would be better if he didn’t explode at all, rather than having to apologize after the fact,” he said. While I agree with him on the merits I wonder if it’s wise to expect a 65 year old man to stop acting like - well, the same way he’s acted for at least sixty years. Human nature being what it is, I think the best I can expect is that such incidents will diminish. They HAVE done so over the years. I know. I grew up with the man.
All of this is not to say I condone his behavior. I recalled to Mister a similar incident when I was a child (and was bearing the brunt of my dad’s anger), and I remember what I told myself in that moment: “I will never be like you.”
Bold thoughts, especially for a child, and probably premature, being that it’s rare for an adult to keep promises, even to herself, that she made as a child - and long before she became a parent herself. But I am going to do my best to keep that promise to my twelve year old self. I do not want Jonas to have a memory of me losing it, and him thinking, “I don’t ever want to be like her.”
I have a choice. I don’t have to say, as Mister heard my brother say after the earlier incident, “well, that’s what it was like for us growing up”. That is true, but it seems to be giving a sort of “what can you do?” sort of vibe. We can do better.
Some people might read this and think I grew up in an abusive home. I did not. Not at all. I grew up in a loving home with flawed parents, who made mistakes (both of them). They taught us the importance of apologizing fully for one’s mistakes, and not making excuses for them. I learned the value of forgiveness. True repentance deserves real forgiveness.
I want to be better. I also don’t want to fear that when I make mistakes, that I’ll be judged for them with no possibility of forgiveness from those I’ve wronged. It is a two way street: we can’t expect perfection from imperfect people, and if someone asks for forgiveness and we refuse (for any reason) it will harm us as well as the one who’s done wrong.
Also, to be clear: as a Christian, yes, it is an obligation for me to forgive fellow Christians. (And anyone else who asks sincerely.) Forgiveness does NOT mean being absolved from all consequences. My dad asked for forgiveness from all of us present for the first incident when he lost his temper; and it was given to him. The pattern of him losing his temper, however, also means that at some point in the not so distant future I and my husband will have to talk to him. We do not want our child, his grandchild, to be at the receiving end of his anger as Jonas gets older. We do want Jonas to know and love his grandpa. We expect my dad to keep his temper around him. If he doesn’t, he will not have the privilege of having Jonas stay with them alone. I will most certainly have that conversation with my mother present.
As I said in a previous post, lots of thoughts about our week at mom and dad’s. I did stop thinking about our move for awhile, though! 🙂
Be well, friends.
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artificialqueens · 4 years ago
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2003 (1/2) (Vanique) - Ortega
a/n: VANIQUE MUST RIIIIIIISE!!!! ayo team, welcome to this. i pulled this ship from virtually nowhere when i was writing n19f and people seemed to like i as much as i did, so i wrote these two together for the fic challenge. i’ve split this fic into two halves, as they’re two very different vibes. this part follows Vanessa and Monique as they go through primary school and then start their first couple years at high school, so it’s definitely more platonic than anything else but it’s cute! also overall this was inspired by two songs, one being 2003 by Todrick and the other being I Choose You by Kiana Ledé which will be the title of the next part, so look out for that. i so so sosososo hope u enjoy, bc i highkey love this pairing a lot. lots of lo-ove, by-ee!
tw: implied child neglect and drug use
summary: Vanessa Mateo and Monique Heart start school in the year 2003. They love girlbands, superheroes and football, and they’re best friends forever. At least, that’s the plan.
***
The room smells of squeaky floors and play-dough. It’s not like anything she’s ever smelt before, but it’s weirdly comforting. She’s sat on a carpet patterned with all kinds of fruit. It doesn’t have pineapple (which is her favourite), but that’s okay. The walls are covered in colourful paper, an arts-and-crafts rainbow explosion. There’s words too, different curly and spiky shapes making letters. She knows one has a “V” in it because that comes at the start of her name and it looks the same, but she can’t read any of the writing yet. Some of the kids in nursery could already read and one of the boys could even write stories. Vanessa couldn’t. She still can’t, but that’s okay. She can write her name and say please and thank you in two different languages and she knows how to count up to 12 (she gets stuck after that, but she’ll learn the rest).
She looks around the carpet. There’s a girl nearby her with two huge black plaits and huge brown eyes to match. Her skin is dark, and Vanessa feels comforted by the fact she’s not alone in sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the Snow Whites and Cinderellas and Auroras and their matching porcelain-skinned Disney princes that are sitting on the carpet with her. She scratches her head, feeling the bow her Mama tied in dark her hair shift. She hopes she’s not made a mess of it. Then Mama would be mad.
Her teacher’s been talking for a while now. It seems like she’s been talking for two hours. Maybe she has been talking for two hours. Vanessa looks up at the clock, even though she doesn’t know how to tell the time yet so the information is less than useless to her. Bored, her eyes drift towards the girl she was looking at before. She’s wearing a white polo shirt and a red pinafore, and her white socks have got red bows on them. Vanessa is jealous. Her new jumper with the school logo is scratchy on the inside and she told her Mama that her leggings have a hole at the knee but they can’t get any new ones until she gets paid.
She bum-shuffles across to sit beside the girl, keeps her eyes trained on the teacher like a sniper as she leans in and whispers. “You look like a princess.”
The girl gives her a big smile. Vanessa knows she should say thank you, but maybe she doesn’t know as much about manners as Vanessa does. The girl whispers to her. “You look like Meg from Hercules.”
Vanessa smiles at her. She’s seen Hercules- it’s not her favourite, but she’s seen it- and Meg was her favourite character. “Thanks.”
“It’s okay,” she whispers. There’s a pause before she hisses to her again. “My name’s Monique, what’s yours?”
“I’m Vanessa,” she replies quietly. Vanessa picks at the hole in her leggings. It’s now about the size of a 1p coin. She knows about coins, at least. “Hey, you wanna play princesses at playtime?”
Monique nods excitedly, then whips her head around, scared. Vanessa looks up at her teacher. Her eyebrows are almost joined-up and there’s little lines on her forehead and her eyes have gone all hard. Vanessa knows this means she’s feeling cross.
“Vanessa, Monique! It’s rude to talk while someone else is talking. We don’t do that in school.”
Vanessa knows she should nod, but her stomach feels all fizzy and she finds herself frowning at her teacher instead. Monique says sorry. Maybe Vanessa should say sorry too. She decides she doesn’t want to.
“She’s been talking for about 5 hours. Maybe even 4 years,” Vanessa whispers to Monique again. Monique covers her mouth with her hands and lets out a tiny giggle. Their teacher gives them a suspicious look again and Monique shuffles away from Vanessa. Vanessa knows this means she doesn’t want to get into trouble. As soon as the teacher starts talking again, Vanessa hisses over to her.
“Monique!”
No answer. “Monique!”
Monique turns around a little bit to face her. “What?”
Vanessa cups her mouth with her hands so the girl can hear her. “Do you want to be best friends?”
Monique gives her another big smile. It makes Vanessa feel happy too. “Okay!”
She’s only been here for five hours, maybe even four years, and she’s already made a best friend. This school thing is easy.
***
It’s the two of them for life. Vanessa just knows it. They’re BFFAEAE (best friends forever and ever and ever). They get in trouble for chatting at school and their long-suffering teacher monitors them like a hawk. They’re banned from sitting near each other on the carpet because even when Vanessa tries to listen (even if it’s P.E., her favourite), she’ll think of something funny she just has to share with Monique, and of course Monique is incapable of laughing quietly so she lets out a screech that completely disrupts the whole lesson and earns them both five minutes off their reward time. Vanessa doesn’t even mind losing reward time. They sit at the same table while everyone else plays and they write out the class rules, but Vanessa doesn’t mind because it’s the only time they’ll ever be allowed to sit together in class.
In the playground and after school it’s a different story. In Reception they play princesses and animal rescue with their threadbare, well-loved stuffed animals they sneak into school in their schoolbags. By Year 1 they’re popstars learning dance routines and designing album covers and falling out because Monique wants to call their double-act The Strawberry Babies and Vanessa knows that obviously The Starlights is a far superior name. In the Summer between Year 1 and Year 2 Vanessa’s Mama takes them to the cinema to see Fantastic Four and so for the whole of Year 2 they’re obsessed with superheroes, rolling around on the tarmac play-fighting with each other and getting bruised knees and scraped elbows and so far removed from the girly girls they were when they started school.
Vanessa knows everything about Monique and Monique knows everything about her, because that’s what it means to be best friends. Vanessa knows that Monique’s brother is eleven and goes to Big School and doesn’t play with her and slams his door and plays rap music that Monique can hear when she’s in her room with the door closed. Monique stays in the high flats with her brother and her gran.
“Do you have a Mama?” Vanessa remembers asking her one day in the playground, drawing in the dirt with sticks.
Monique’s voice had been quiet. She hadn’t looked up from drawing in the dirt. “Uh-huh.”    
“Where is she?”
Monique had shrugged, scribbled out the happy face she’d drawn. “Gran says she’s not allowed to see us any more.”
Vanessa could tell talking about her Mama had made Monique sad, so they don’t talk about that any more. Dads are off the table too. Vanessa doesn’t know hers and Monique doesn’t either. Vanessa doesn’t really need a Dad. Her Mama works in the supermarket and keeps their tiny pebbledashed council house in the estate spotlessly clean and is always on time to pick Vanessa up from school. She drags Vanessa kicking and screaming to mass every Sunday (Vanessa doesn’t like it because all the chanting scares her) and threatens her with El Coco until she’s blue in the face. Monique goes to church too but hers sounds more fun- they laugh and clap and sing their hearts out. Monique sings the songs in school. Vanessa thinks she sounds like she could be in the Sugababes, not that she’s allowed to listen to the Sugababes.
Monique comes round to Vanessa’s house every few weeks or so. She lives close, and Monique is allowed to walk round on her own. Vanessa is jealous of that. She wishes her Mama would let her go places on her own. She tells her that one day and Mama howls with laughter, says she’s not allowed out on her own until she’s at least twenty-one. Vanessa thinks she’s joking. Thinks.
Vanessa gets excited when Monique visits because she knows her Mama will make an effort with the dinner. That’s unfair and disrespectful, she knows; Mama works hard to put food on the table, but her stuffed arepas are just better than rice and beans (and microwave meals if it’s near her pay day, which her Mama makes Vanessa promise she’ll never tell her Abuela they eat). They sit and eat with their bowls on their laps on the sofa in front of the TV and watch The Weakest Link. They sometimes get the questions right even though they’re only 7 and the people on the show are fully-grown adults. Monique is smart, though. Smarter than Vanessa. Vanessa thinks she’s smarter than their teacher. She’s the best at writing in the class and the best at maths too, and she can read any word at all.
Vanessa’s not that smart, but she knows Monique is, and she thinks she’s amazing.
It’s a grey-clouded day in July in the Summer of 2007 when Monique pulls up outside Vanessa’s house on a brand new bike. It’s blue and the seat is close to the ground and the spokes are all shiny. Vanessa runs out to see her, sticks her feet in between the bars of the rusty iron gate at the front of their house and swings back and forth as Monique talks.
“My brother got me it. Someone from the skatepark didn’t want it any more and it’s too small for him, so I guess it’s mine now,” Monique shrugs happily. There’s a smudge of dirt on her face that Vanessa knows her Mama will wipe off with a hot cloth if she sees it. “It’s kinda big for me but it works okay. You got a bike, right?”
Vanessa cringes, thinks about the pink bike with streamers at the handles that lives in their back garden and is probably crumbling away with rust. “I got one, but it ain’t as cool as yours.”
Monique smiles, satisfied with the compliment. “Well, go get it an’ we can go for a ride.”
Vanessa blushes and thinks of how many cool points she’s going to lose when she tells Monique that she has to ask her Mama first. Monique laughs at her good-humouredly, sticks her tongue out at her and calls her a baby. Monique turned 9 two months ago and Vanessa has to wait four more to catch up with her, so the comment stings but she pretends it doesn’t.
To her surprise and delight, her Mama lets her go out on her bike with Monique but only if they just go round the estate and they’re back before dinner time. Vanessa has never been able to follow the rules, though, so when Monique tells her she knows a place by the river under the bridge with a scrub of sand like it’s the seaside then Vanessa doesn’t hesitate to follow her. Vanessa wonders how Monique seems to know the city so well: she takes her on a journey through dark underpasses with yellow strip lights and bright scrawls of graffiti, narrow bridges above busy roads that Vanessa tries to pretend don’t scare her, secret little paths through the big park Vanessa goes to with her Mama sometimes. They pedal wildly and everything zooms by so quickly that even though she has no idea where she is, Vanessa feels safe. Any vaguely scary things they see (big dogs) are gone a second later, and Vanessa knows Monique would protect her if anything scary did happen. She would protect her too. That’s just what best friends do.
They arrive at the place Monique had been talking about. The brown stone bridge hangs high above them but Vanessa can still hear the cars on it pass by. They’re drowned out slightly by the babbling of the river, inky and cold and black with jaggy rocks underneath its surface. There’s huge clusters of boulders that they both have to climb over to get to the sand and they have to leave their bikes leaning against the wall on the path. It’s not a pretty place, but it’s still a little bit magical. It has the aura of adventure rather than beauty and they’d be more likely to discover pirates here than fairies, which is just how Vanessa likes it. Together they chuck stones into the water haphazardly, their hands growing more grubby by the minute and the dirt black under their nails.
“What’s that?” Vanessa narrows her eyes, reaches down to pick up the object she’s spotted. It’s embedded in the sand and she can’t really see what it is, but it looks like what she got her injections with at the doctor’s. Monique races over to see what she’s talking about and pushes her hand away quickly. Vanessa snaps. “Hey!”
“You’re not s'posed to touch that, it’s dangerous!” Monique cries, outraged. “What if you got stabbed?”
Vanessa snorts a laugh. “It’s ain’t a knife, M'nique, it’s only a stupid needle."
Then, almost as if Monique’s warning had been a dare, Vanessa picks it out the sand with her thumb and index finger, holds it by the plastic tube. Monique’s face falls. "Stop it, ‘Ness, that’s creepy.”
Vanessa laughs, starts making the needle float about while making spooky noises. Monique takes a step back, her face all panicked. Vanessa gives a giggle. Monique’s acting like a scaredy-cat; she does that sometimes and it’s funny to wind her up. She usually takes it well but she’s growing more distressed than she usually does. Her eyes are all wide and Vanessa stops playing the moment she sees tears start welling up in them. She immediately drops the needle into the river and crosses over to her, her trainers leaving huge Nike ticks in the sand.
“Hey, what’s the matter? I’m sorry,” she mumbles. She regrets joking around now, and Monique is wiping at her eyes and sniffing and smearing dirt across her face.
“They used to be all ‘round my house before we lived with Gran,” she sniffs. Vanessa gets a churning feeling in her tummy. She doesn’t really know what that means, but it makes her feel frightened just hearing about it. She can’t imagine how frightened Monique felt seeing them for real. Slipping the sleeves of her hoodie down over her hands, she gives Monique a hug, pats her back in the hope it’s comforting.
“I threw it in the river. Don’t worry. You don’t need to see it ever again,” Vanessa says. She’s not Monique, she doesn’t know what it’s like to have a sibling, but Monique is the closest thing to a sister she has and she wants to keep her safe. Monique is smiling at her when she steps out of the hug, and Vanessa feels relieved.
“An’ if it does come back we’ll just stab it before it can stab us first!” Monique jokes. It’s a silly joke but Vanessa still bursts out laughing.
“We’ll stab it with a stick!” she joins in, and soon the two girls are laughing and anything vaguely threatening has been forgotten about.
They end up cycling a lot that Summer, Monique showing Vanessa all sorts of hidden places all round the city. Vanessa never feels freer than when she’s racing around on dirt paths behind her best friend, and worries are a distant memory. Vanessa’s life is good and she has a lot of things to be thankful for but she knows she looks different and doesn’t fit in, she knows there’s a lot of things that the other kids have that she doesn’t, she knows that there are times when her Mama sits up at night time with her bills spilling out across the kitchen table and a calculator in her hand. Monique is a bright smile and a sense of adventure and she makes Vanessa feel happy.
They don’t go out on their bikes as much when they go back to school after the holidays. Year 4 flies by almost as quick as they used to cycle, as does Year 5. They don’t pretend as much in the playground anymore, preferring to run riot on the astroturf with the boys in their class and play football and get bruises on their shins from being tackled to within an inch of their life. Not much changes by Year 6; their last year of primary school when they should be responsible and conscientious and yet they’re still getting in trouble for giggling in class and playing pranks on the other kids and whispering swear words in Spanish (that one is Vanessa’s fault).
They’ve only got a month left of primary school and Vanessa’s allowed to walk home with Monique now as long as she keeps her phone on loud and texts her Mama to tell her if they’re stopping by the park or the snack van. Today is one of those days. They’re sat underneath the huge cherry blossom tree at the park; Vanessa wants to climb it but Monique’s saying that’s too babyish. They’re too old for that now, so they’re bluetoothing each other Tinchy Stryder and N-Dubz songs and blaring them at full volume out of their tinny phone speakers instead. Vanessa’s about to show Monique a parody somebody’s made of You’re Beautiful by James Blunt when Monique breaks the not-quite-silence.
“You gotta crush on anyone?”
Vanessa wrinkles her face up, snorts a laugh. “Ew! Nah. All the boys in our class are gross. I ain’t ever had a crush on any of ‘em.”
Monique gives a quiet laugh. “Me neither. They all use that Lynx Africa like it’s gonna cover up their B.O.”
Vanessa lets out a howl of laughter. She wasn’t lying to Monique; she doesn’t have a crush on anyone. If she thinks about it, she’s never really had a crush on any of the boys in her class. It’s just not something she thinks about. She cares more about her best friend than she’d ever care about any boy.
Their laughter dies down, and Vanessa gets a knot in her stomach. It happens every so often when she thinks about high school. Their class went up to see the school last week and it felt like such a terrifying maze of identical-looking corridors and crowds of kids so old they looked to be mini adults. Their teacher had told them to write down three friends they wanted to be in the same form class as, even though she said she couldn’t guarantee they’d get to stay together. Vanessa had written only one name on her form- Monique Heart - in her curly, barely-legible handwriting, the “i”s dotted with hearts. It’s been on her mind ever since, though. They’ve been together since Reception, Monique is all Vanessa knows. She wouldn’t begin to know how to make any other friends. She doesn’t want any other friends.
“M’nique,” Vanessa says, and the other girl looks up. “What happens if we ain’t in the same form class next year?”
Monique gives a small, humoured laugh. “Well then we ain’t in the same form class.”
Vanessa rolls her eyes and shoves her. “Duh, idiot! I mean like…with us. We still gon’ be best friends?”
Monique laughs dismissively, shakes her head at her. “Now who’s being the idiot?”
“I’m serious!” Vanessa objects, annoyed that Monique’s still got her eyebrows raised at her like she’s a little kid. She’s going to be 12 in October; it’s not like she’s a baby. “What if you find other cool girls to hang out with? What if you get a new best friend? What am I gonna do?”
“You’re gonna do nothing, cuz that ain’t gonna happen,” Monique insists. Her face lights up as she gets an idea, jabs a finger against the tree trunk. “Okay. If I carve our initials into this tree, it’ll be like a promise. That we’re always gonna be best friends. I don’t want to hang out with cool girls. It’s fun just me an’ you.”
Vanessa smiles, her heart feeling all warm at the reassurance. Monique rummages around in her bag and produces her keys, starts stabbing at the bark of the tree relentlessly. Vanessa flinches a little, part of the reaction a residual memory from watching Pocahontas too much when she was really little; she used to believe that trees could feel things like humans. She shares the memory with Monique who doesn’t laugh at her, even though she probably has every right to.
“Well humans feel things an’ they get tattoos. So this is like a tattoo for a tree,” she shrugs. She’s chipped a big capital M in the bumpy bark so far and is starting on an H.
“Hey, you think we should get matching tattoos when we’re grown ups?” Vanessa suggests, the idea exciting her. Monique frowns as she drags her key over the wood.
“Don’t they use needles for that?”
Vanessa regrets the idea as soon as Monique says it; she’d forgotten about her friend’s fear. She decides to commit to the idea. “They do, but they’re all clean an’ safe. An’ you wouldn’t have to be scared cuz I’d go with you.”
Monique nods as she starts on Vanessa’s name. “I never feel scared when I’m with you. Except when Mrs Del Rio yells at us.”
“She’s a big baby. She just hates us cuz we would be better teachers than her,” Vanessa shrugs. It’s true.
“Well, what tattoo are we gonna get? We need to decide now so we can start saving up for it,” Monique questions her. Vanessa scoffs.
“How much do you think a tattoo costs? It’s like ten pounds, God!"
It’s Monique’s turn to laugh. "Nah, it’s way more than that! My brother’s got one and his cost a hundred and fifty.”
Vanessa lets out an outraged screech. “That’s a damn lie! You’re gonna go to the bad fire if you keep tellin’ lies like that.”
“An’ you’re gonna go to the bad fire cuz you just cussed.”
“Well, see you down there,” Vanessa shrugs. She considers Monique’s question. “What about we get BFFs in cool writing?”
Monique nods enthusiastically. “Yeah! With a heart maybe.”
“Yeah!” Vanessa agrees, excited about the prospect of their matching tattoos. She Googles “when can i get a tatoo” (spelling’s never been her strong suit) and lets out a groan at what she reads. “Ugh. We have to wait seven whole years.”
“You have to wait seven years, I only have to wait six!” Monique boasts, Vanessa sighing. She hates being one of the youngest in the class. She doesn’t have time to feel down for long though, as Monique shows her her handiwork with a flourish; MH + VM, scratched into the tree forever. “There! Best friends forever.”
Vanessa feels as if her smile is going to break her face. It feels like her body is made of the sun’s rays. When Monique says that, high school doesn’t seem so scary any more.
“Where we gonna get these tattoos anyway?” Monique speaks again. Vanessa’s smile turns wicked and she can barely get her thoughts out without laughing.
“Imagine we get them on our butt!”
Vanessa thinks Monique’s Gran might be able to her them screeching with laughter from the top floor of her tower block.
***
Things change though, despite the promise they make. Monique doesn’t think either of them mean to break it but life gets in the way and God has other plans. It’s what she believes at least.
Though she doesn’t know what his plan was for separating her from her best friend. Monique cries for forty-five solid minutes when she receives the letter telling her what form class she’s in; she knows it’s different to Vanessa’s. Her Gran holds her tight and rocks her against her chest on the sofa while her brother yells at her to shut up and slams his bedroom door. Her Gran is full of comforting words: you’re a strong girl, and you’ve been through worse in your life than this, and this isn’t going to change a single thing, hush now. But it is going to change things. When she’s with Vanessa, Monique feels like she can take on the world. She brings out her confident side when she feels shy, matches every shriek with a screech, takes her mind off the fact that she lives in a shoebox fourteen storeys high in the air where the elevator doesn’t work and the stairwell smells like piss. She can’t imagine starting high school without her. She doesn’t want to imagine it.
Monique batters out of the flat despite her Gran shouting after her, dashes down the stairs like her life depends on it. Her heart feels ready to give out when she reaches the lobby and bursts out into the open air but she still unchains her bike from the rack outside, pedals madly to Vanessa’s house. The bike is too small for her now and it’s uncomfortable to ride but it’s all she has to get her to the person that matters most. She reaches the house and Vanessa’s Mama lets her in, and Monique takes the stairs up to Vanessa’s bedroom two at a time where they hold each other tight and bundle up in Vanessa’s duvet and sob and sob and sob.
But looking back, Monique knows she’d been a little dramatic that day. Not being in the same form class as Vanessa really is not the end of the world. They walk there together on their first day and give each other a tight, nervous hug before they each head to their own form rooms. Monique pushes down on the doorhandle and anxiety fills her body as she walks in, freezes at the doorframe. There’s about twenty other kids already in the room and the whole scene is a bit chaotic. There are two boys chucking a ball to each other across the classroom, some girls with hair in high ponytails screeching and playing Katy Perry out of their phone speakers. Even though Monique has sat through countless interviews with social workers, child psychologists and police officers, this is one of the scariest experiences of her life.
“Hey. You wanna sit with us?”
Monique’s eyes fall on a table of girls with skin just like hers and hair to match. Monique instantly feels 80% more reassured; she’s never seen a classroom with a colour palette like this in her life. She and Vanessa had been the only two girls in their year at primary whose skin colour had deviated from the sea of pink or almost-translucent. There’s one girl who fits that mold at the table with the others, and Monique thinks it’s funny that she’s got pale skin, blonde hair and blue eyes and still happens to be the odd one out.
The girls take her under their wing that first day, and the next, and the next. They’ve all gone to a different primary school from Monique and so are already closer than close, but they never make her feel like an outsider. Asia with the sleek, black hair that tumbles down her back has a sweet smile and explains all the in-jokes that Monique doesn’t understand. Antonia, the girl who invited Monique to sit with them, has an intimidating face and a skinny frame but a kind heart and always shares her snack and pens with her. Roberta- Bob- has a huge untameable afro and personality to match, and her cousin Monét isn’t dissimilar apart from the fact that her hair is wavy and caramel instead of jet black and curly. They bicker with each other and gossip about their teachers and make Monique laugh when she’s down. And Brianna is kind and caring and is always able to put a smile on Monique’s face.
Before long, it seems like Monique has made five new friends without even having to try. She wishes she could say she’s friends with Vanessa like she always used to be, but that would be lying.
Because Vanessa’s made friends too. They’re the girls Monique’s Gran always warned her about- friends with the devil and they’ll lead you on a path straight to him. Akeria and Silky make a reputation for themselves at high school within a week of the year beginning. They mess about in class, text during lessons, Silky starts fights with other girls in the corridors that her victims never have the balls to finish. Akeria flirts with the boys and the rumours say she’s had her first kiss already. They backchat teachers and keep cans of spray paint in their bags and walk along the train tracks to the depot after school to spray their wobbly initials on the side of freight trains.
But despite the fact they don’t hang out as much in person any more, that doesn’t diminish the light that Monique keeps burning in her heart for Vanessa. They bump into each other in corridors and chat excitedly in the five minutes they have between lessons, smile and wave at each other from across the lunch hall, and they still text each other and walk there and back from school together. Well, until just after the start of Year 8. Vanessa starts getting a lift from Akeria’s Mum in the mornings and hanging out at the shopping centre with her and Silky after school. It’s not her fault, and Monique supposes she’s no better- Monét lives on Monique’s route to school so the two of them start walking together instead, and after school the girls often go to the chicken shop in town and shovel down wings to make up for the disgusting school lunches.
By her second year of high school it’s almost like Monique has a new best friend.
But she doesn’t want to think like that, so she’s overjoyed when it gets to the start of Summer, just before the last term of their second year ends, and Vanessa’s texts change from general small-talk chit-chat to an invitation to have a sleepover at her house at the weekend. Monique feels embarrassing levels of excitement as she texts back confirming she’ll be there.
M: Are your other friends gonna be there??
V: nah just me n u
And it is just her and Vanessa. It’s a gorgeously sunny day and Vanessa’s Mama puts up a tent in the garden that they can camp out in. It’s nice to be back with her, talking and giggling and laughing about stupid stuff. Vanessa laughs uproariously as she tells Monique about Silky and Akeria’s latest exploits and Monique listens nervously, anxious just hearing about them.
“Do you join in when they do stuff like that?” Monique asks her, after a story about how Silky signed her name in the same Sharpie she does her eyebrows with on a toilet cubicle door and got detention. Vanessa shakes her head, smiles bashfully.
“Nah. I tell ‘em it’s good to keep someone onside in case we get into trouble. The teachers’ll let us away with more if they like one of us. 'Least that’s my excuse,” she explains. Monique smiles, reassured.
“I didn’t think you were like them,” she says, relieved. She thinks Vanessa narrows her eyes at her, but she blinks and her expression has changed. Vanessa’s started wearing makeup and it suits her, even though her foundation is maybe a little off-colour. The mascara she’s swept onto her lashes opens up her eyes a little more and lets Monique see the twinkle that seems to be permanently shining in them.
She is so pretty, and Monique wishes she could look like her.
They talk as if nothing has changed over dinner, various barbecued meats grilled on a disposable barbecue Vanessa’s Mama got from her work. Monique has never had a barbecue before and she decides that burgers charred to within an inch of their lives are the best thing she’s ever eaten. They make smores from chocolate digestives and marshmallows for dessert and Monique howls with laughter as the chocolate and marshmallow melt down half Vanessa’s hand and she licks it off as her Mama rolls her eyes, goes to find her a hot cloth and mutters in Spanish that Monique doesn’t understand but knows is long-suffering. She has almost forgotten the way Vanessa can make her belly laugh just by acting the fool. Monique has spent two whole years not even knowing how much she’s missed her friend, too distracted by her new ones.
When it’s time to go to sleep they both cosy up under Vanessa’s duvet that’s been dragged outside and a sleeping bag each under that. Every available pillow and cushion in the house has been utilised in lieu of a blow-up mattress but the set-up is still comfortable, even though it’s pitch-black both in the tent and outside. It might be the end of June but it’s still cold once the sun goes down, and Vanessa has shuffled up near to Monique in a bid to try and keep warm. Vanessa being so close makes Monique feel warm on the inside as well as the outside.
“Hey, you know that rumour about Akeria kissing Dean from Year 9?” Monique pipes up, interested. “Is that true?”
Vanessa rolls onto her tummy to face Monique, and her eyes are sparkling with mischief even in the dark. It makes Monique’s stomach do a flip. “Yeah. They did it at the food court after school one day. You wanna know what else?”
Vanessa’s face is so full of glee that Monique can’t help but nod in anticipation. She’s almost in fits of laughter as she tries to get the secret out. “He tried to get her to touch his…you know!”
Monique lets out a screech that is equal parts horrified and amused as Vanessa dissolves into giggles too. “GROSS! Did she do it?”
“Ew! What do you think? Of course she didn’t. That shit’s nasty.”
There’s a pause in which Vanessa lets out a few more giggles. Monique doesn’t. She’s silent. She’s thinking.
“I wonder what it’s like.”
Vanessa’s voice is loud in the silence of the night. “What? Touching a boy’s-”
“No, idiot!” Monique laughs, explaining herself. “Kissing someone. Wonder if it’s as nice as people say it is.”
Vanessa falls quiet as well. Monique wonders what she’s thinking. She decides to break the silence. “You ever kissed a boy?”
Vanessa lets out a snort. “Come on, M’nique, you know I ain’t.”
“No I don’t!” Monique protests, her voice dropping to a murmur as she feels herself pout while she speaks. “I feel like I don’t know anything about you anymore.”
They both fall silent, and there’s a shift in the atmosphere that Monique can’t quite put her finger on. Vanessa lets out a sudden giggle.
“What?” Monique asks awkwardly, unsure if she’s meant to be in on the joke or the butt of it.
Vanessa’s face is scheming. She laughs a little, buries her face in her pillow before she speaks. “You know we could practise?”
Monique is slow on the uptake at first. “Practise? Practise what?”
She realises as Vanessa lifts her head and gives another giggle. Monique lets out a screech, takes the pillow from underneath her head and thumps her friend with it. “Ew, Vanessa! Ew, ew, ew! You’re so weird!”
“Oh, c’mon! I don’t wanna go kiss a boy and then be really bad at it, then he’s tell his friends and they’d tell their friends and then the whole school would think I’m shit!” Vanessa insists. Monique’s heart gives a very loud thud as Vanessa inches her face close to Monique. She’s not taken her makeup off and her mascara is all smudged around her eyes like makeshift eyeliner. She looks really pretty.
Monique shoves her away back onto the pillows. “I ain’t doin’ that shit with you! Ask Akeria since she’s so experienced.”
“But I don’t wanna practise with Kiki! I wanna practise with you!” Vanessa says matter-of-factly. Monique’s stomach gives another churn. Something is different, something has changed. Monique isn’t sure what it is or what to make of it.
“Well, tough shit. We ain’t…practising,” Monique huffs, turning her back to Vanessa and letting her eyes burn holes in the flimsy tent walls.
Vanessa’s voice comes from her side of the tent. “Fine! But if they call you…shit, I don’t know…Washing-Machine Mouth Monique…don’t say I never warned you!”
Monique lets out another huff, squeezes her eyes shut and wills herself to sleep. She feels weird. Her heart is going too fast and her stomach feels fizzy and it takes her a moment to realise her face has gone all hot.
“M’nique?” Vanessa’s voice comes from the darkness. She ignores it. “You mad at me?”
She sighs, rolls her eyes even though she knows Vanessa can’t see. “No.”
“Okay,” Vanessa says. Her voice is soft, and she rolls over onto her side. She rests her head against Monique’s back and puts an arm around her. They hug all the time, but this one feels different. It’s nice, though, and Monique feels warm and safe. “I’m sorry we haven’t hung out much. You know. Like we did in primary.”
“I’m sorry too,” Monique sighs, bringing a hand up to pat Vanessa on the arm. She ends up simply leaving it there.
“Hey, we should hang out more in the Summer! You know you can always come round to mine,” Vanessa continues.
“Yeah, that sounds nice,” Monique murmurs, letting out a heavy sigh. She’s not lying- it would be nice. She knows she could never have friends back to her flat because they don’t have the space and besides, most of them wouldn’t even want to set foot in the high rise anyway. Monét’s parents are doctors and Asia’s Dad is a barrister and her Mum is a lawyer, and Bob’s parents work in something accountant-y, and they all live in big houses with sweeping paved driveways and garages and gardens the size of the Emirates stadium. Granted Antonia’s Mum and Dad both work two jobs to pay the rent and Brianna’s Dad is a dustbin man while her Mum stays at home to look after her baby sister, but at least their families are happy ones. Monique has never known the luxury of a fancy house or a private garden or a car or a perfect, cookie-cutter family. She wonders if she ever will.
She’s pulled out of her thoughts by Vanessa giving her a gentle squeeze, cuddling closer. She didn’t think it would be possible but she somehow manages it, and Monique isn’t complaining. “G'night, M'nique.”
Monique is too tired to think any more. Vanessa’s arms feel comforting around her, and she chooses to settle in them. “Night, 'Ness.”
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Kids, Monsters, D&D, and Adults (Sriracha, Part. 18)
Description: A problematic college student gets the worst summer job of the ‘83 - Jim Hopper, the Chief of police in your hometown will have you as his secretary since his old lady Flo has two months lasting holiday. It was agreed so Hopper could let you far away from all the trouble.
Part Summary: You decided to give Hopper a short break from seeing you every day... But you didn't know how much can happen in your hometown in a week and a half you're gone.
A/N: And... Welcome Mr. Demogorgon disrupting everyone’s life on the stage, please, give it up for him! (Reader is on holiday in North Dakota during the events of the first season.)
A/N 2: I went a bit off the OG events, but here, I have drunk Hopper on the phone mumbling about being cursed for you, enjoy, please. Actually inspired by Heroes (Peter Gabriel's cover) - the song playing when they found Will's body.
Word count: 4.1 K
Tagging: @nemodoren​, @creedslove​
Master list: H E R E
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Just as your mom asked you to, two days after the dinner at your parents’, Jim dropped you off at your house in the early morning. It was more or less safe since it was only five in the morning and Hawkins was dead asleep at the moment. You didn't want him to be alone, but he brushed you off with ’it's only twelve days, what can happen during that?’ and you reminded him of what you had done in twelve days, leaving him with a nasty grin. 
You both almost fainted, because just in the middle of your heated making-out session, just as his hand palmed your thigh as you basically climbed onto his seat, your brother came out of the house along with Steve, grinning. Steve looked at both of you with confusion before turning around and disappearing.
Steve Harrington had a girlfriend now, or so you heard. Nancy Wheeler became to lucky one, at least that was what the rumors were saying. He couldn't forgive about the endless crush on you, though.¨
You told Hopper to leave for work before your mom sees him there, laughing as Aiden helped you with your stuff, greeting Hopper. He really did drive, honking at your parents, waving at them as he left for the station. 
It was the third of November - you were supposed to see Hopper again on the sixteenth day of that month. And you were honestly ready to take a short break from the everlasting dishes and laundry at your house and just relax before coming back to the arms of the man you grew to adore. 
To be honest, you loved your father’s parents’ house in North Dakota - it was a big house in the middle of nothing, ten minutes away from the nearest signs civilization. The sixteen-hours lasting road trip in your/Aiden's car was almost endless and it was hot like hell at whiles, but in the end, you loved the view more than anything.
You had also a lot of family members, like aunties and cousins your age there and you were excited to meet all of them after such a long time. You promised a call to Hopper as soon as you reach their house - and so you did, giving him the number as well. It was midnight, but you knew that he’s waiting for it. And of course, he picked up as soon as you started ringing, laughing like a small kid when you told him that he rather should go to sleep.
It was a quick call just to reassure you that he's fine - you asked him about food and laundry and he told you, with a chuckle, that you're worried too much and that he managed to survive forty years without you - that thirteen days is basically nothing.
Most of the days, you spent walking around in the wilderness. Your cousin Corrie showed you a pack of wild bison living near your grandparent’s house and a great overlook. Other days, you and your other cousin Jane helped your granny with baking and cooking or tiding up. Everyone was thrilled to have you there because they saw both you and Aiden once a year. They took you to the local cinema, for some shopping and even for a time at the local pool and local dance. You were enjoying yourself the most you could. 
Everyone was surprised when someone asked you the typical question - ’And do you have a boyfriend already?’ - and your mom answered ’She, in fact, has. And it's a lovely lad.’, winking at you. She still wasn't okay with Hopper, it was only four days since the dinner, but she was slowly adjusting to the situation. They asked you a lot about that mysterious ’Jim’, but you never told them much about your man. 
It came on the third day you were in Dakota - the sixth of November. You were just playing with your four-year-old cousin Marty, building Lego spaceships, when your grandma came into the room, holding a phone in her hand, handing you the handset. 
“It’s some Mr. Hopper. He told me that he has to speak to you immediately. He told me that he knows you.” - She whispered while you put Jim on your ear, nodding. You let Marty play with the Lego and left to an empty room. 
“Do you miss me that much, Mr. Hopper?” - You joked, but at the moment you heard Jim sighing, you knew that somethings extremely wrong in Hawkins. First, you thought that maybe he wants to break up with you - but then you remembered him asking about your panties yesterday when you called him around two a.m. and shook the thought off. - “What's going on, Jim? I'm here. Is it Vietnam? New York? Sara?”
“No, it's not that... I just... Jesus, I feel like I need to talk to someone and you're the only one who is goin’ to listen to me and actually understands.” - Okay, so Mr. Hopper was clearly drunk and smoking on the other end of the line, so you sat down on a sofa, exhaling slowly. - “Sometimes... I feel like shit, but you know that. But now, I feel fuckin' cursed, Y/N. And you're not here to stop me from doin’ shit.” - He giggled drunkenly and you stiffened. What was his fucking deal? Had something happened after you left Hawkins? Had Diane called? Did something happen at the station? Did Steve fucking Harrington tell someone what he saw? You swore to God...
“Jim, what you're after? I don't understand, baby, you need to tell me what's wrong.” - You mumbled back and looked at Aiden, who was just checking in on you. You mouthed ’Hopper’ and he nodded before closing up the door after him, telling everyone to keep off the line and out of the room.
“I'm a fuckin’ black hole, y’ know? All the fuckin’ shit that ever happened in Hawkins... It follows me. The last case of person goin’ missin’ happened in the summer of ’23 and the last suicide here was on the fall of ’61, y’ know?” - He asked you rhetorically and you just kept on being silent, trying to decipher the meaning of his entire speech.
“And when I find someone or somethin’ I can fight for or when I feel safe for a minute, it all goes to shit after a while, it all just fuckin' goes to shit.” - Jim said and you could hear him crying. 
“Will you tell me what happened finally? You're freaking me out, Jim.” - You asked silently, playing with the hem of your sweater. Hopper was clearly angry and terrified of something - he would probably get drunk even if you were in Hawkins. His voice was emotionless, he was playing the tough guy card at the moment.
“A kid got lost today.” - He answered honestly and your breath got stuck a bit, but you kept your damn mouth shut since you could hear him taking a breath to continue. - “I thought he has just wandered off the main road or somethin’ but it really looks like that kid’s missin’. It's the Byers boy, that younger one.” - He told you and you closed your eyes. No wonder he felt like shit when a kid got lost in the woods, probably. 
“Have you found something, Jim? Don't be angry or sad, there's still hope.” - You whispered, watching your cousin Diane in the same age little Will was playing outside with a ball.
You knew Joyce Byers from occasionally visiting Melvald’s in the downtown. You remember the day you walked in and while you were handing her the cash, she pointed out on a drawing of a big rainbow spaceship and proudly, she said ’My son Will drew this.’ You knew her boys from meeting them sometimes. The brothers were a bit weird, but when a kid goes missing, you don't care if they were weird or not.
You just want to find them as quickly as possible.
"A bike if that's what you wanna call 'a find'." - Hopper mouthed back and you could hear him crying, he just couldn't handle the situation anymore. It was breaking your heart to hear him being this much fucked up. You wanted to hug him, press your body onto his, hold him tight and whisper him sweet nothings. You wanted to kiss him and make things right at least for a second.
"James Hopper, you better listen to me right now. You're the best cop I've ever seen. Stop whining, go to sleep now and you're going to find this fucking kid because that kid is lost somewhere in the woods, it's freezing to death, it's terrified and alone, you hear me?" - You said aggressively, being completely done with him and his self-shaming shit at that point. - "You won't duck out and you will make me proud."
You talked to him until the moment he really fell asleep, walking out of the empty room after the phone went silent. There were emptiness and horror inside of you. Will Byers got lost and your boyfriend promised himself to find him. You were destroyed, tired and worried for Jim, but you encouraged him enough to trust in himself. Or at least you thought so.
"What happened? Is Hopper doing okay?" - Your mom asked with a furrow as soon as you entered the door and you shook your head, looking at her with terror. They were just having a huge family dinner outside your granny's house, everyone from the family came to greet you.
"A kid went missing in Hawkins. You remember that little Byers? He always rode the bike with his friends, they were inseparable." - You mumbled and your mom only let out quiet 'Oh God' to summarize the whole situation. She went on a and gave Joyce a call - to tell her not to lose hope in finding Will.
You haven't left the house for the other two days - Hopper could call literally every minute and almost everyone got invested in that kid going missing. You missed a few cool trips here and there, but Hopper hadn't disappointed; he gave you heads up every few other hours. And you even laughed at times which you definitely didn't expect - like the time when it came to talking with Will's best friends.
"You wouldn't believe how bad I am with kids, these little fuckers were just fuckin' around with me, talkin’ about Lord of the Rings and stuff... Jesus." - Hopper mumbled with a quiet chuckle, lighting up another cigarette. He was calling you from a telephone booth and left Powell with Callahan in his Blazer, and according to his words, those men watched his every move. You chuckled at that. Jim really took your words directly to his heart, doing his best to save the damn kid. He was not giving up on that boy.
To find what happened, he talked with his best friends and the way he told you the investigation was going was so hilarious it made you laugh like crazy.
"No way. Jim Hopper is good at everything." - You hummed back and crossed your legs, thinking about some really nasty things.
"Am I? At what exactly, I can't seem to remember." - He asked in his deep voice and you knew that it's about to go really nasty. You yelled at your mom to get off the phone immediately through the whole fucking house just to have some privacy. Hopper, again, chuckled at that.
"Like... I don't know, folding clothes?" - You asked innocently still worrying that your mom's listening to that conversation. But as soon as you heard her yelling something at your cousins, you knew she really got off. - "After you tear it down off of me."
"Someone's in the mood to play, I see. I would like to stay and hear you foldin' your clothes, but the boys are in a hurry." - Jim whispered, yelling something at the two cops.
"Jim?" - You asked and you got only a hum as a response. - "Be safe out there, okay?"
"I'm missin' you here. I'm lookin' forward to seeing you." - He answered and the line got quiet again. You missed him as well, but in the end, you had only eight days in front of you. What could go wrong? And that was a dumb question to ask.
Well, a lot could go wrong actually, since the other day, Hopper's calls got less and less frequent until they stopped completely. It was the ninth of November when mom woke you up really late in the night. He handed you over the handset, making you sit up
"It's Hopper and he was really... Weird. It seems urgent. He was ringing the number fifteen minutes in a row." - She whispered and sat next to you on the bed, hugging your shoulder. It didn't matter how old Hopper was or what reputation did he have. He needed just as a human being needs another one to lean into. He needed you as a partner and no matter how stressful that was, you wanted to be there for him. And your mom understood that clearly.
"Jim, Jim, it's me." - You mumbled sleepily and listened to him hyperventilating. He was crying again, but he was trying to calm down now. He sometimes woke up with these panic attacks. Something went awfully off the rails in Hawkins. This wasn't the Jim you grew to know and love. - "Baby, stay here with me, let's do this together. Breathe in and out, just like that, that's it, that's it. In and out."
"We found the boy." - He muttered out when he calmed down finally. sobbing. He may pretend to be the rough edge guy, but you knew that's the exact opposite of his character when no-one can see him. He didn't get too friendly with people in Hawkins, but he cared about each one of them. That's why he was the Chief in the end.
"And what happened? Is everyone alright? Is he safe now?" - You asked and mouthed 'They found Will' to your mom. You were about to cry as well - he was making such heart-wrenching sounds that only that alone made your eyes water.
"He drowned in the quarry." - Hopper told you, lighting up a cigarette. - "He was decomposed, but the guys from the CIA told us that it's the boy for sure. Jesus." - And that was the moment you started to cry, putting a palm in front of your mouth. It wasn't hard to make out what had happened to little Will Byers.
"How's everyone doing? What about Joyce? Do you want me to come back? Just say a word and I'm on my way back, just like that." - You asked when you finally caught your breath. Your mom was holding you tight because it really had shocked you and she was also listening to everything Hopper said. She kissed your shoulder, closing her eyes. You have never spoken to that kid, but... He was so young. And according to Joyce really bright and creative. This wasn't fair. This just wasn't fair. He had a whole life ahead and now, it was just gone. Hopes were lost just like that. You felt the cold and emptiness growing in your chest again.
"No... Just stay there until I know it's safe here again, alrite? We'll be workin' with some guys from the state for a while now, closing the case up. " - Hopper told you sincerely and you hummed, crying again. - “The boy has a funeral tomorrow. I feel like this is on me, you know? Everyone was believin' that Jim fuckin' Hopper, the New York detective, will find the Byers boy alive and well... It's my fault."
"This doesn't mean you're a bad cop, Jim, okay?" - You asked him after a while when you made yourself calm down. - "This doesn't mean you suck at your job, baby. Don't put yourself down, you're a great cop and even a better person. The boy... It isn't your fault. I swear. We'll talk about it once I get back to Hawkins, okay?" - You asked worriedly. - "Please, send Joyce my deepest condolences. I'm..."
Hopper needed to be strong and so you needed to be strong as well. For him. You'd do everything for that man. If he would want you to go back to Hawkins immediately, you would go.
"Just keep out of Hawkins until I secure it again. If somethin' would go wrong with you, I don't think... I'm just really missin' you, sunshine." - Hopper mumbled tiredly and you understood. He needed to be alone, so you put the phone off the bed, looking at your mom. Hopper didn't cause this, but you knew he's going to put himself down horrendously after that. A boy's life was lost, but Hopper wasn't the one to blame.
But the worst thing about all of that? He hadn't called after that, not even once. You tried to occupy yourself with hikes and board games with your cousins, even playing some D&D, but there weren't any calls from Hopper from that day on. No matter how hard you wished for them, he hadn't call you. You called into the trail many times, but no-one had picked up.
That was the exact moment you had enough. If he was in danger, you wouldn't leave him like that, whether something bad happened to him or if it was his mind again.
You decided to come home earlier to check on him, which your mom agreed with. The sixteen-hours long drive with your car was horrendous, to say the least, but that very night, you stopped in front of Hopper's trail, basically storming inside. It was dark and empty, but you still hoped that Hopper left you a key under the mossy rock. It really was there.
You stopped yourself for a small moment before actually opening the door up, trying to prepare yourself for what will be inside of that trail. You almost threw up next to the stairs, opening the door finally. And for the fucking love of God, there was some serious mess inside of that trail.
You walked through it and saw at least a few tubes of Tuinal, each one of them empty, remnants of various fast food, beer cans, and full ashtrays literally everywhere. The furniture was messed up, the phone ripped out of the wall, TV laying on the side. The place looked robbed and for a moment, you got really, really worried.
Hopper wasn't nowhere to be found, so the last thing you could do was to sit and wait for him. While doing so, you decided to clean it up and cook some actual food. Before moving the furniture back in place, you checked the drawers, not finding his personal gun. Where was he and why did he take the gun with him?
He drove in pretty late in the night, it was almost midnight; you took a nap on the couch in the meantime, being dead asleep by the time he turned the engine off.
Hopper was thinking that he's hallucinating when he saw your car parked directly on its spot, but then he saw the turn on the light and you passed out in front of the TV through the window.
He took a deep breath in - he just came back from the Hawkins lab, closing another deal with them including Joyce and WIll, and he needed to think about what should he tell you. He wasn't willing to try his chances with telling you the truth; as he said, he wouldn't put you in danger under any circumstances and the men from the government weren't fucking around with anyone. He needed to come up with a story that would be believable and easy to swallow, but at the moment, he was just too tired to think of one. Jim slowly entered the trail, taking the coat off, putting it on a rack, trying not to wake you up yet. 
You were beautiful when you fell asleep - your cheeks got rosy, you snuggled deep into the blanket, having a dreamy emotion on your face. He kneeled behind the couch, kissing your temple and smoothing your hair, gently waking you up.
"You're here sooner." - Jim whispered with a smile when you opened up your eyes. He just needed you by his side, no matter what anyone in Hawkins is going to say. Fuck them and fuck the rumors. It was safe now, you were his girl and everyone else could go fuck themselves.
"And you stopped calling. I was worried." - You mumbled, nuzzling closer to his hand, reaching out to hold the other one. - "Where were you? It's really late."
"Was visiting Joyce's, she needed someone to talk to. I would be here sooner if you'd give me heads up." - Hopper kissed your temple again, helping you with standing up. He watched one of those lazy smiles.
"How's she? Feeling better after Will..." - You whispered in a broken voice. Oh. Hopper realized that you still thought that Will has drowned in the quarry. He hadn't got exactly the time to call you since he was held at the lab of driving around Hawkins with children in his Blazer most of the time.
"The boy was found alive, thanks to God. He's in the hospital and he's gettin' better and better with each passin' day. He's a fighter." - Jim said quietly and tried not to put too much emotion into it, but you knew that it's making him happy. He led you through the whole trail, kissing your collar bone though the fabric of the shirt once you were standing up in the bedroom. - "I've missed you so fuckin' much." - The man moaned into the fabric of his very own shirt and just when he was about to lay you down, you stopped him and palmed his jaws, making the man look at you.
"I'm proud of you, Jim Hopper." - You said quietly with an adoring look in your eyes. Hopper would swear that he hasn't seen so much awe and love in someone's eyes until you gave him this look. - "You are a great man. And I can't imagine being in Hawkins without you." - You whispered and pulled him in for a kiss.
You gave him many kisses, but this one was somehow full of feelings and Jim warmed up when he felt the love radiating out of it. For a while, the thought of him saying those three words was lingering on his mind as you took off the shirt, pressing your naked torso into the fabric of his uniform.
It would be so easy to say them. Every time he called you to Dakota, you were there and listened to every word; you laughed when you were supposed to laugh and you were sad when you were supposed to be sad. To say that he found everything he asked for was just too little to express everything about you.
You continued with kissing him, not leaving him alone in that freezing night for a single second. Nothing felt better than having you back and at that moment, he first realized that he's in love with you. It never crossed his mind so clearly. He was deeply in love. But he didn't want to ruin the moment, so he helped you with taking your pants down.
It didn't matter how smelly he was, it didn't matter that he had a huge bruise on his arm, the only thing that mattered was it was him. That it was him staying there with you.
And you realized how much you've fallen for that guy. It was the best feeling you've ever felt.
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violetsmoak · 5 years ago
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Pieces of April [9/?]
AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21099044/chapters/50202530
Summary: On the anniversary of his death, Jason’s second life takes an abrupt new turn and he’s faced with a challenge that neither Batman nor the All-Caste prepared him for.
Rating: PG-13 (rating may change later)
Warning(s): Past Jason/Isabel, kidfic, minor canon character death (pretty sure you can guess who), I’ll add more warnings/tags as I think of them.
Canon-Compliance: Takes place in between the two RHATO series, so after Roy and Kori and before Artemis and Bizarro. Jason and Isabel Ardila
Author’s Note: Exactly what it says on the can. I’ve had this idea kicking around my head for a while, getting in the way of finishing the next chapter of Philtatos and I figured if I started jotting down the basics of it, I could stop thinking about it.
________________________________________________________________
Jason really wants to say something caustic to Tim about that Robin comment—about how it’s something Dick would say, or that he’s watched one too many Hallmark specials.
But the thing is, he can’t argue the logic.
There is something about being Robin that creates a bond, and an inherent something you can trust in. They might disagree, and fight and even try to kill each other on occasion, but when it’s down to the wire, there’s no one you can trust more to have your back.
Not even Batman.
Which is why Jason hefts his duffel bag and allows Tim to lead him up the stairs of the open-concept apartment, through the upper floor that’s just as unnaturally clean as the rest of the house. Jason suspects that’s down to not really being lived in; his replacement probably spends more time falling asleep in his secret nest than anywhere else. Jason would bet his no-longer-extant trust fund that the only bit of the house that Tim spends much time it is in front of the flatscreen TV in his living room, playing on one of the fancy gaming consoles.
“This room’s yours for as long as you want it,” Tim says, disrupting Jason’s musings. “That’s the bathroom over there—clean towels in the cupboard under the sink—and my room’s down the hall if you need me for anything. Just shout.”
Jason takes a wary step into the room and blinks.
Tim probably thinks it’s entirely modest, but the room is huge, possibly bigger than some of his bolt holes; it’s practically its own self-contained unit minus a kitchen or bathroom. In addition to the usual trappings of a bedroom, there’s a loveseat and coffee table by the window, a desk and shelves in the corner, and another flatscreen on the wall opposite the queen-sized bed. Even with all of that, it doesn’t even feel crowded.
In fact, they could bring up all the stuff Tam Fox bought, store it here, and Jason still would be in no danger of knocking into any of it.
The reminder of the pile of baby things downstairs makes him frown again. Just how much help is he going to be accepting? He doesn’t take charity well under normal circumstances and receiving it from Tim—fellow Robin or not—is a bitter pill.
Could be worse, he tells himself a beat later. It could be Dick or Bruce, and then he’d have to endure the double-teaming of concern and disappointment from both.
Right. Disappointment from Bruce. Because that’s new.
Still, he feels a very pervasive and irritating sensation in his stomach at having to take Tim Drake’s help, especially after everything he’s done to him in the past. He sort of wishes the kid was being an asshole about it—holding it over his head or something—but the fact he’s not makes it ten times worse.
“Listen, I’m going to pay you back for all of this,” he begins. “Once I figure everything out, I’ll make sure we’re square.”
“I already said you don’t have to,” Tim dismisses.
“I’m still going to. I don’t like owing people. So, name your price.”
Tim sighs, and fixes him with an exasperated stare, like Jason is being needlessly stubborn or something. “I can’t think of anything. But how about we start with you getting some sleep? At some point, you need to be capable of making decisions for the baby yourself, and it’s not going to happen while you’re brain is stewing in shock and the attempted alcohol poisoning you subjected it to earlier.”
“I’m fine.”
“Sure you are. But your sleep schedule’s about to take a major hit. Tonight might be the last time you actually get a few solid hours in a row for a while.”
“If you think I’m sleeping tonight after all this…” Jason trails off, shaking his head.
“Fair,” Tim allows and turns to leave. “I’m going to head out now. I won’t be doing a full patrol, so if you’re still awake when I get back, I’ll help you bring the bassinet up and set it up. Unless you want to do it yourself. But Tam says those things require an engineering degree, and you’re not exactly the most patient person ever.”
“I’m not going to set fire to anything in your place. Probably.”
“Is it weird that that’s actually somewhat reassuring?”
“It’s the honesty. I’m fully aware of my faults. Unlike some people.”
“Speaking of…are you absolutely sure you don’t want to tell anyone else? I know for a fact Alfred’s way more qualified—”
“No.”
Bruce’s disappointment he can live with; Alfred’s, not so much.
“Right. Then I’ll see you later.”
And then he’s gone, leaving Jason alone once again.
He stares around the room, imagining a cradle set up beside the bed, and the mountain of baby supplies. Even having seen and held the baby—even knowing her name—he’s still having a hard time picturing bringing her home.
However temporary that is.
It’s yet another reason he’s not cut out to have a kid—you have to have a home and roots and stability. And the closest thing he’s ever had to a father figure was far from stable, judging by the propensity to dress up as a giant bat and fight crime.
Jason digs out his phone, tempted to call his friend again and to try to convince him he needs him to be here.
Except, if Roy’s in the thick of a job, Jason doesn’t want to risk calling at an inopportune moment just to bother him with his shit. And he knows how touchy a subject it is, especially considering what happened to Lian.
Better not.
Roy will contact him when he can, or he’ll likely just show up. Until then, Jason just as to…figure all this out on his own.
Which he can do.
He’s a goddamn adult, isn’t he?
Shit, I’ve got to be now.
There’s a knock at the doorway, which even if he didn’t know it was her, would tell him it’s Tam Fox.
(Bats don’t knock; that would mean understanding the meaning of privacy.)
Tam lingers against the doorjamb, shifting uneasily, and isn’t this a blast from the past?
Jason has done a pretty good job of avoiding running into anyone who knew him before he died, especially when it comes to civilians. The only person who knows for sure outside of the Family is a prostitute named Rhonda that’s walked the streets of Park Row since before Jason ran away from his first foster home. And while she knows he’s Jason Todd, she doesn’t know he’s the Red Hood or that he was Robin.
Which, I guess, Tam probably doesn’t either. Tim just said I was a ‘friend’, not what kind of friend.
Still, it’s a whole different thing, having someone from high society, who remembers the kid he was, even if it was the distant relationship of acquaintances. He has to remind himself that Tim trusts her, and Bruce has always trusted her father, and if those two paranoid freaks consider them good people, it would be stupid of Jason not to do the same.
“Tim asked me to stick around for a bit and keep an eye on you,” she says after a few seconds of awkward lingering. “I think it’s kind of pointless—I mean, look at the size of you.”
Jason shrugs. “He probably thinks I’m going to take off.”
“Are you?”
“Considering it,” he admits. “But what’s the point? It’s not like it would change anything.”
There would still be a kid out there—my kid.
Tam’s eyes soften. “You must be scared out of your mind.”
“I don’t get scared,” he replies automatically.
“That’s a bald-faced lie. Even people who plan to have kids are terrified when it happens.” She folds her arms. “Now, I don’t know your story or where you’ve been all these years, or how you’re involved with Tim and his…night job. And I probably don’t want to know. But you’re barely older than me, and if I was in your place, I’d freaking out.”
Jason clenches his fists.
“Also, Tim probably didn’t bother asking, but are you going to be okay?”
“I have no fucking clue,” he admits at last. “This was never the plan. It was never part of any plan.”
“I bet. The, uh, nightlife isn’t exactly one you want to bring kids into. Especially if you’re like Tim.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means…look, Tim’s a good guy,” Tam says. “But when it comes to stuff like this, he’s sort of…” She tilts her head to one side as though thinking of the right words, and then says, “He’s sort of like Pinocchio.”
Jason huffs in amusement. “Because he’s so small and wooden?”
“Because he spends most of his time pretending to be a real boy and has a very casual relationship with the truth,” she corrects. “That’s not the sort of environment you want to raise a child in. Parents shouldn’t have to lie to their kids, even if it’s to protect them. And kids shouldn’t have to lie to their parents.” She pauses, clearly chewing on something, and then asks hesitantly, “Does your…um…does Mr. Wayne know you’re…?”
“He knows,” Jason replies shortly.
“Right. Of course. Though…I mean, I would have assumed if he did there’d have been a big press conference or media thing.”
“I didn’t exactly come back here on good terms with him.”
“That wouldn’t matter. He was devastated when you died. He stopped going to work or doing anything. Dad had to take care of everything.”
“Oh, yeah, he was really broken up,” Jason pretends to agree, feeling his mouth twist unpleasantly. “Didn’t take him long to move in the new kid, though.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Tam protests. “Tim told me. He said that B—”
She cuts herself off, clearly unsure of how much he knows. Jason can’t help be impressed by how in the know she seems to be; knowing about Tim’s extracurricular activities is one thing, but knowing Gotham City’s biggest secret as well? He begins to reevaluate just how far up her metaphorical security clearance is.
“He said Bruce was self-destructing,” Tam concludes, clearly deciding to remain vague. “It was going to get himself or someone else killed if Tim didn’t step in.”
And Jason knows that now, of course, and doesn’t even blame Tim for it anymore; but it doesn’t make things hurt less.
“Who’s to say that wouldn’t have been the better option?” Jason challenges. “Maybe if Tim stayed out of it and B crossed that line, Gotham would be safer now.”
The slight widening of Tam’s eyes is the only indication she’s noticed his acknowledgment of just how much he knows. But Jason is now too distracted by his thoughts to remark on it.
“See, dear old Dad and I have philosophical differences about some pretty common sense stuff. Namely, taking out the scumbags who deserve it. The unforgivable types, like rapists and child molesters and the Joker.”
“You went up against the Joker?” Tam gapes. “Are you crazy?”
“Seemed fair, since he was the one who killed me,” Jason shrugs. Tam’s mouth actually drops at this; clearly, she hasn’t heard those details, either. “Not that I’ll ever get the chance since B’s always there to get in my way. The number of times that crazed clown almost killed me—almost killed all of us—”
He cuts off with a choked growl because it’s an argument he can perform by rote now, in several languages.
His fists clench tighter in anger, seething at the old resentment. It’s not as fresh as it was when he first came out of the Pit, or even when he was carrying out his plans to force Bruce’s hand. But there will always be a stinging ache just beneath his breastbone whenever he thinks about the situation.
He remembers that other Earth, where after losing him, Bruce effectively ripped apart Gotham’s rogues and made the place safer; where the cost of peace for the city was his own soul.
It’s a sacrifice Jason’s always been willing to make.
He wonders if that’s all going to change now, with the…
Jason pauses, and realizes for the first time tonight since receiving that voicemail from Dr. Kerry, he hasn’t been thinking of the baby.
Granted, it was because his mind went back to fixating on the psychopath that killed him, but he’s finally feeling something beyond numb disbelief.
This feeling he knows; these thoughts are familiar ground.
He squints at Tam, considering.
“You’re good at that,” he says at last.
“At what?”
“Being a distraction. I see why he keeps you around.”
“He doesn’t keep me around, I keep him alive,” she retorts. “I’m way more than a distraction, thanks very much.”
“Obviously. You know the big secret and you’re still here. There are only a few people who can cope with it.”
And not everyone does it well.
“It’s been a steep learning curve. A lot of which was playing catch-up and learning to decode Tim’s everything. And I almost walked a few times,” she admits. “Last year was the closest I came to it. Tim faked my father’s death for another one of his convoluted plans. He didn’t tell me anything, and then just expected me to be okay with it.” Her mouth turns downward; obviously it’s still a sore spot. “After a few weeks of thinking about it, and talking things through with my dad, I understood why he did it. But I also decided I’m not cut out to be kept in the dark. If I’m going to be in on this stuff, I’m going to be in on it.”
“That’s a different take from your dad,” Jason says. “He always liked being ignorant until the last possible moment.”
“Pretending to be ignorant,” Tam corrects him. “For plausible deniability. But if there’s anything I’ve learned working for WE and for Tim, it’s that ignorance can get you in just as much trouble as knowledge can. And if I’m going to get killed by ninjas, I’d rather I knew what it was for.”
Jason can’t help a chuckle at that. “That’s weirdly specific.”
“Well, if you’re too wired to sleep, I’ll tell you all about it.”
Jason pauses for a moment, not entirely comfortable with the offer—it’s somehow too easy, too normal; in his experience, sitting down with old acquaintances leads to bloodshed.
But the lure of keeping his mind off his own troubles is too much.
“I’m all ears,” he tells her.
⁂⁂⁂
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cuddleslutloki · 6 years ago
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2018 fics, a year in review
i’m a madman, but even my crazy ass probably won’t finish and post another fic in the last 6 hours of 2018, so here are all the fics i posted on ao3 this year, plus some thoughts on each!
Hemlock Honey and Silver
this was my last ever supernatural fandom fic. literally the end of an era for me since i was in the spn fandom for so damn long and wrote so much fic, about two-thirds of which has been orphaned on the archive at this point because i didn’t like the stories anymore lol. 
i do like that one, though, and i’m actually alright with it being my last ever spn/destiel fic
Fire In Your Veins
this was my first time posting thorki fic! i was so, so nervous about it, but everyone in this fandom is so chill and lovely. i still like this one, and i don’t think i write enough 69ing lmao. also this fic was obvs the start of something bigger bc. i mean. i’ve written so much damn fic now lol since i only started posting in june. i was worried that i wasn’t going to be writing anymore, or that i’d never be posting on ao3 again because it had been literally 2 full years between hemlock honey and silver and the fic that preceded it. then i fell into thorki and i started writing fic and it’s just been such a huge, huge thing. bc i’m also writing original stuff again for the first time in forever.
Underdressed and All Out of Time
a direct sequel to fire in your veins, i really like it. i felt like i was able to characterize loki fairly well in this one bc i was very insecure about the way i wrote loki when i started out
A Thousand Teeth, Yours Among Them
who doesn’t love a fic title from a hozier song? i remember writing this fic and wondering if it was any good and if my characterization was okay and still being nervous and insecure in my writing, but it’s been very well received so i kinda got my inner critic to stfu which is nice lol. i also really enjoyed doing this vignette style story
To Always Face the Sun
what if :) loki was happy :) and thor had his brother back :) lol i really liked writing this and having loki being such a little shit tbh. can we tell that i like a happy ending in fic?
Blue On Gold
so i wrote an arranged marriage fic where they never actually get married and it’s still 15.8k lmfao. also the return of the vignette style, which was fun bc i got to do short, impactful scenes and build the narrative with them. i remember sitting at my desk at work, on my phone, writing this fic, then coming home and editing on a damn tablet bc my laptop bricked earlier this year
the warmth of your doorway
i meant to capitalize the title but at this point i’ve decided to leave it lol. i really loved writing this bc i felt very confident in the way i was building the scenes and the detail i was able to incorporate. i feel like this is where i really kinda go my voice back and i start to come into my own, if that makes sense? one of my fave fics i’ve ever written tbh. there’s a longer ‘verse for this, but after i finished this fic i got too distracted by new projects to try and continue it lol
Tell Me
this was my first trans!loki fic and he’s a trans man, and god i love it. i’ve got another ftm loki story as a WIP in my gdocs bc this story showed me how much i fucking love writing trans characters, and i really enjoyed the dynamic i put into this fic. there’s a sequel planned lol it’s gonna be dirty
Interwoven
i still haven’t managed to ever find the post that inspired this damn fic and if you wonder whether that drives me up the wall the answer is yes (: and fun fact! i intentionally never describe loki’s genitals in this fic, bc i was picturing him as a trans guy since i’d just written tell me and now i have a massive obsession with writing trans romance and erotica
Tie Breaker
in this house we love and appreciate bottom thor!!! also i loved writing the sparring at the beginning. it makes me wanna write more fics w/ brutal fight scenes lol. thor’s slutty drunk cape outfit is iconic and i’m gonna read that comic just for that outfit honestly
Pretense of Subjugation
i became drunkenly obsessed with loki manspreading on the throne of asgard and this was the result. this was the first thorki fic of mine that i’d had beta’d and it was vastly, vastly improved by it. the tips @ktspree13 gave me when she helped with this fic have affected literally every single fic i’ve written since
Double and More
so this is not the first thorki fic i ever posted, of course, however it is the first i ever started writing. i got to the point where loki’s in thor’s lap and then i kinda blanked out and let the fic sit for like... 2 or 3 months? then i opened it back up and i was like “oh i like this i should finish this” which is why i don’t delete anything anymore bc there’s always a chance i’ll come back to it
Ringback Tone
y’all owe @thotki for the wondrous idea they presented in discord that ended up creating this fic. i think i wrote this fic in like 3 days bc of how much fun i was having with it. the dirty talk was my favorite thing to write in this and i remember distinctly having this [:< moment when i was daydreaming about it
Seldom All They Seem
there was an impromptu bottom thor day back on 20 oct and this fic was my contribution. we can never have enough time travel, can we? i remember i think i took like a four day weekend from work and part of my motivation was literally wanting to finish this fic in time to post it lmfao
Fluffy Thorki Sunday Ficlets
i started doing fluffy thorki sunday back when i was on bourbonbucky and i continued it here, and i’m proud that i’ve written at least 1 piece for fluffy thorki sunday every sunday since i started. i love doing fluff and smut, and honestly even when my mood has been shit, i’ve always felt motivated to try and improve it at least enough to write some nice fluff. i put all of these on ao3 once i moved blogs
Let Love Disrupt
this is another fic we owe to discord lmao. i remember posting this when i was either very drunk or very tired and having to keep going onto ao3 on my damn phone browser to correct minor shit, and some not so minor shit like a typo in the title bc at first it said “distrupt” and that’s why i only post when i’m awake and sober now lmfao
Without Fear
i love werewolves (: a whole bunch (: and this fic is something dirty and wonderful that i’m proud of and THERE’S ART bc @nekokat42 is a blessing and takes commissions. kot i love u :3
On the Other Side Like Always
i have a lot of feelings about this fic. there’s an entire future in this ‘verse that i would so love to write, but i’m stuck on where to go with it. as it stands i am satisfied with this as a story of thor and loki coming together, and a story about how loki does something out of desperation but is finally given something genuine and comforting in his life like he’s always deserved. THERE’S ART from the wondrous @boltplumart / @mrhiddles bc allie is perfect :]
Runaway
when i tell y’all i’m a trash gremlin king. i do have a thing for writing underage characters with adults (probs due to messy personal history lmfao ain’t gonna look at that too closely) and so writing this one was a fun little bit of self indulgence. also it’s dirty and really plays into codependency, which i always like writing bc it’s a fun thing to explore in fiction
Sunset Rhapsody
this fic. was supposed to be. two thousand words. at most. then thor smiled at me, as the writer, and was like “i want to own him” and we ended up with 11k of thor’s obsessive bs and loki being brutal. joking aside, i love this fic, i love what i did with it, i have an original story i wanna write for my size kink anthology that will follow a similar thread to this one. also that torture scene. i don’t recall if i ever properly wrote torture before, but this did kinda make me squirm a bit when i was writing it and if you’ve read it you know precisely which scene i’m talking about lmfao
Right to Guard
this fic was honestly very emotionally satisfying for me in a pretty visceral way. writing thor just surrendering to love and spoiling the fuck out of loki was pretty damn cathartic. 
A Bite of Lamb
me making sure i never lose my title as a trash gremlin king. honestly writing thor’s POV in this fic was like >.> at myself a couple times bc it felt distinctly dark in a way i’d never written another character. a very, very unhealthy kind of obsession and this twisted logic where he’s trying to make it all okay. i really fucking love this damn fic tho and i’m happy with how it came out. 
Seamless
i was so, so frustrated and pissed off at work that i needed to let that shit out, so that was channeled into this very guilt-ridden turned tender fic, and i really enjoyed writing it. loved writing thor taking care of his baby sister. also! KOT IS FUCKING AMAZING and drew this bc they’re such a good fucking person ;A; like they sent me a message and just said “really liked this scene” and i was D Y I N G and i still am. thank you again, kot!
The Way A Rose Blooms
this was written for the thorki secret santa exchange! i drew @chickcheney and honestly the list of prompts was so, so good. bottom thor, arranged marriage, semi-public sex and trying not to be caught, body worship. i was like “damn did i draw myself wtf” bc that is all up my alley. 
Sugar Cookie
i honestly could not think of a better fic to finish off 2018 for me than sugar cookie. porn and emotions that’s all this is, but it features loki as a trans woman being loved and appreciated as she is with nothing extra expected of her and it was so satisfying to write. it makes me want to write original romance with trans women, which i’ll definitely do bc i loved writing this hungry and tender story and i’m very happy with how i ended it. 
so that was 2018 for me! 
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vinodiriso · 6 years ago
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OC Asks - 2,14,27,33,48 (for Yoshino Nara )
@sennenryuu || meme (accepting!!)
YOSHINO. 愛
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Does your OC collect anything? What do they collect? 
I stated this various times in replies here and over at @cervamater, but I think it’s time to make it official in a headcanon. So yes, Yoshino does collect something: she is a passionate swords collector. In her personal dojo, that Shikaku had built specifically for her needs somewhere close to the Nara compound, she has a collection of over 70 pieces coming from every angle of the Ninja World (I described one in a reply here). Even if I call it “swords collection”, it includes all the kinds of cold steel (it does, anyway, focus more on Asian-fashioned blades). Her collection, by the time of her canonical death, is estimated to be worth 50 million ryo, a ridiculously high price. This being said, there are very few pieces Yoshino has bought herself: a lot, if not most of them, are gifts from devoted Nara members or other clan heads, seeking first Shikaku’s benevolence (when he was still alive), then his spouse’s when she took over the Nara leadership.
A dear headcanon of mine in this regard is connected to Yoshino’s canon what-if?, her ShibiYosh what if?, where she has a secret affair with the Aburame head Aburame Shibi that, for political reasons, has to remain secret. According to this headcanon, the most prized piece of Yoshino’s collection, worth alone more than 100 thousands ryo, is a cerimonial dagger coming from the Land of Iron, ancient home to Yukinohana Kazoku, Yoshino’s tribe.
What foods does your OC like to eat? What are their least favorite foods? 
Yoshino’s favourite food is ABSOLUTELY chocolate. Chocolate wins over anything, hands down. At first, I thought of this just as a little internal joke, because as much as I don’t dislike chocolate, I can go for months without eating even a little bite of it; recently though, I have been told that chocolate contains some substance that stimulates serotonin production, the “molecule of happiness”. Thinking that Yoshino eats chocolate just to be a little bit more happy is extremely sad on one side, yet extra-IC. Anyways, she likes sweet food in general, so she is a natural appreciator of sweet-and-sour.
I would say that her least favorite food would be raw food, raw fish at top. As much as this can be regarded as somewhat of a silly headcanon, I want to dig in a little bit deeper and say that the reason why she dislikes raw food is because it lacks the love that home hearth should deliver through cooked food.
What kind of childhood did your character have?
Traumatic, loveless and very sad. She lost her parents when she was 11 because of the Mokuren Tribe attack during what “is known” as Yukinohana no Gyakusatsu (The Yukinohana Massacre), but even before that, Yoshino had a troubled childhood; her genetic illness made it hard for her to conduct a normal life and on top of that, after Kenshin killed his elder brother Chi You and became Yukinohana leader, his efforts went to train Yoshino in order that the child would have been able to fight her older sister in the Gods Clash (the fratricidal battle that takes place at the death of the current Yukinohana leader to establish who is to guide the tribe among their offspring). Most of the time, Kenshin pushed Yoshino too hard, often punishing her for what he considered ‘a weakness of the spirit’ when in all actuality, she was just simply too frail to endure such a hard training. Yoshino’s mother, Chihana, was on the other way, too resigned and dulled out by the years of servitude she had accumulated to really be of any help, standing for the sanity of her child. Eventually, Yoshino created a cocoon of apathy, harshness and nervousness to keep everyone at bay.
Her general quality of life did, tragicomic to say, improve when she moved to Konoha to stay with her aunt Nuwa (Nuwa was Kenshin’s younger daughter and the only survivor of the Gods Clash, because she refused to take part in it and instead fled to Konoha with her soon-to-be husband, Akio, a shinobi she had saved). Nuwa has been for Yoshino the closest thing to a motherly figure, filling the girl with confidence in her abilities and giving Yoshino an impression of what a doting mother should be for her children. Also, befriending Tsume [Inuzuka Tsume] and Hyuuga Haru was also a big step for Yoshino in her early journey to learn compassion and affection; however, Haru’s premature death on the battlefield was a huge shock for Yoshino.
Ok, this is already long enough, so I am gonna stop here. This covers more or less Yoshino’s childhood to her early teens (11-12), so it’s mostly pertinent to the question without me going too deep and too detailed on the subsequent matters!
Would they ever kill someone? What would someone have to do to push them to kill someone? If they would kill someone, why?
I am gonna divide this in two small sections if you are okay with it, it’s gonna be easier to deal with it like this!
Pre-Shikaku: Pre-Shikaku is the time of Yoshino’s life before she would be indirectly rescued by Shikaku and the feelings she starts having for him. This includes baby Yoshino, pre-teen Yoshino, teen Yoshino to the age of 18. In these temporal arcs, I have no doubts say: yes, she would. Yoshino starts basking in the idea of killing as a relief from her personal emotional baggage since after The Yukinohana Massacre, when she kills for the first time as self defense. After that, Yoshino will just kill for the sake of killing, of robbing life, of feeling purposeful, of fulfilling her personal revenge against life who has stolen all the good things from her and also a more literal revenge, for her fellow tribesmen who died during the Yukinohana Massacre.
After-Shikaku: after-Shikaku is the period of time extending from Konohagakure War Operation High Quarter’s foundation (Konoha HQ) to her current default verse (post Shikaku’s death). In this timeframe and ESPECIALLY after Shikamaru’s birth, Yoshino is a lot more hesitant in killing matters (aside, of course, to defend herself and/or her fawn). In her canon, after marrying with Shikaku, she only killed one person: her aunt and cousins’ assassin, a still nameless assassin. An extract from a veeery old drabble I wrote years ago about it:“She spitted on the body laying on the prison floor. The sensation was so fucking refreshing; vendetta. Vendetta. VENDETTA.She cleansed the blade of her dao on her victim’s vest. A simple thief that robbed the wrong house; he had found her aunt plus her cousins still inside and, maybe too afraid of them calling out on him, decided the best choice was to break their neck.“I owe you,” she greeted the KMPF chief behind her back, his shoulders in contact with the wall.“Do you?” he wondered, Yoshino was already making her way out of that hellish place.Last one, she decided. This is the last one…”Killing, for her, is a thing of the past. She wants to become a better person. Also, after experiencing just how generous and kind life can turn out to be when one decides to let it be, she feels genuinely bad at the thought of killing someone. She has started perceiving it as a sin.
What were their parents like? How has that affected how they are as an adult? 
I have talked about them a bit in the childhood question, but I guess I can add something else here.
Kenshin’s idea of parenting, although extremely poor executed, had some pure roots. He genuinely loved both Ainai (Yoshino’s older sister, in some older headcanons her name is stated as Aishino) and Yoshino, but his treatment of both his daughter was heartless to say the least; while Ainai was denied any form of approval or affection, for Kenshin was convinced Ainai had to focus on her future role of tribe leader, Yoshino was also denied any kindness and gentleness that she genuinely deserved for her condition. Both Ainai and Yoshino remember their father as an unfair man that war and loss had scarred too deep for him to recover; anyways, what Yoshino doesn’t know and that Ainai keeps as the only good memory of Kenshin, is that was Kenshin himself who told Ainai to send Yoshino off to Konoha to disrupt the Gods Clash tradition and give her a chance to survive.
Chihana (born Kokuyoseki no Chihana, Chihana of Obsidian, later known as Chihana of Iwagakure) was Yoshino’s mother. Chihana was the sole survivor of her clan, the Obsidian Clan, carrier of both the fabulous kekkei genkai Skin of Granite and the cursing genetic illness chakra virus. After her family was extermined by Kenshin (at that time known as Xuanyuan) and Chi You, she was kept as a prisoner of war and given to Xuanyuan as his spouse, to enrich the Yukinohana Tribe with her family’s kekkei genkai. I will just copy here what I have already written about her and Yoshino’s relationship:
“Yoshino’s mother consoled her during her worst moments, when she felt too inpain to get out of the house or when Kenshino reprimanded her too strictly.Yoshino remembers her as a loving figure, although her way to show affectionwas very peculiar. Chihana was always veiled with melancholy and the words sheoffered Yoshino were obscure and difficult to understand for a child;nonetheless, she loved listening to her mother talking. She often stroke herhair too. Chihana never challenged her husband for the decisions he made andYoshino is sure she would never allow herself that far, being her little morethan a freed slave. Chihana taught Yoshino Ninja villagers language, which isvery different from the one she used to speak within Yukinohana fellows. DuringMokuren’s raid, Chihana saved Yoshino’s life, shielding her against her chestto fake her death alongside her mother.
Curious fact: Chihana taught Yoshino how to playshakuhachi when she was little to help her younger daughter to meditate after aparticularly hard training session.”
For how this has affected Yoshino as an adult… well, the most obvious thing is that Yoshino was set not to act like her parents with her own child, that she would have given him all the love, the affection and the encouragement he needed in his life in order for him to succeed and not feel alone in the world. Even though her parents proved to be ineffective to grant her what she truly needed in life, thanks to her basically surviving off alone, she was reinforced against life’s heartaches. This, among her naturally strong character and her combative soul, allowed her to get over Shikaku’s demise and embrace his inheritance, proving to be an effective and efficient leader for the Nara.
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afictitiousfox · 7 years ago
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How to Bee, and In the Dark Spaces - A Bren MacDibble Double.
For this review, I’ll be reviewing two books by the same author - the wonderful Australian author, Bren MacDibble. ‘But Kate’, you’ll say, ‘Bren MacDibble didn’t write In the Dark Spaces!’. Ah sweet friend, on the contrary, Cally Black is Bren MacDibble’s pseudonym for her YA titles, which allows her to easily divide her audience, and tell a completely different type of story. Having read them both within a few weeks of each other, here is a double review.
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How to Bee is a beautiful middle grade fiction, set in a potentially near future, where bees have become extinct and children have replaced them with manual labour and hand pollination. We open on one such farm, with Peony and her family, including her sister, Magnolia, and her grandfather, hoping to impress the Foreman enough to become such a Bee. Although they don’t have much, with a tin shed to live in, a small amount to eat, and a meagre amount of money. Although she messes up her first test, with her hard work, determination and passion for becoming a Bee, Peony does get the honour, and treats her job with her respect and reverence.
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It doesn’t last long however, with Peony’s mother returning to the farm from the city and disrupting the natural harmony of the family and farm. This book deals so well with the complexities of family, and really captures the frustration of loving someone who may not have the best intentions. Peony’s mother having moved to the city to try and get a well-paying job to move their family to a more respectable, more luxurious part of the world swoops into the story and steals Peony away from her farm and family so that they can live a ‘normal’ life. Feisty Peony tries to steal away on multiple occasions but is captured by her mother’s boyfriend ‘The Ape’, and forced to work as a servant for a well-to-do family. The contrast between Peony’s farm and the house in the city she now lives in is super important, and Peony just can’t get over how only three people live in such a huge home! Peony makes friends with the family’s child, Ez, who does eventually help her escape back to the farm, in triumphant return. Although she loves her mother, she knows that her place is on the farm. I loved Peony’s certainty and ferocity in returning to her people - for someone so young, it is an admirable trait. 
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In the Dark Spaces is an entirely different story. This YA novel takes place in a distance future, with our main character, Tamara, living as a stowaway on a huge spaceship with her aunt, Lazella and her cousin, Tamiki, affectionately know as Gub. We very quickly reliase that Tamara and Lazella are fighting for their survival, with Tamara not old enough to be on the ship, meaning that she has to stay hidden and quiet on the ship. Interestingly, an idea that I’ve never come across before, the ship is organised by rings, with the gravity getting less and less as you venture inwards. This then dictates who lives in what ring, with the landing bay and food stores occupying the inner most rings with least gravity (presumably to make it easier to move large items like crates) and hence then the working class, and then the richer ‘Sixers’ living out in the Earth-like gravity. The creepy consequences of this is that then the less fortunate people do look more emancipated, because their muscle and bone begins to deterierate.
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Things take a sharp turn to the left when Tamara’s ship is invaded by an alien race, called Garuwa, that look kind of like a cross between a bat and a bird. In the process of the invasion, everyone on the ship is murdered, including Tamara’s aunt.  Tamara and Gub are two of the last survivors, as the Garuwa happen upon them, and she sacrafices herself and leads them away from baby Gub and getting captured in the process. Through her quick thinking and resourcefulness, Tamara manages not only to save her cousin but also avoid being killed at the same time, immitating the bird-people’s whistles to try and keep her alive. I love the way which Tamara immediately adapts to her situation, but keeps focusing on her mission to save Gub. However, I would have liked for to have more time to reflect on her situation and grieve, but maybe this shows more of how it is present in reality, rather than a fantasical, romanticised version, having no time to process her prediciment. This, I think, then affected how I felt about the pacing of the novel, with it really rolling from one event to the next without slowing down for breathing space.
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One of the other main things that I liked about this story was the fact that Tamara could see passed the differences between humans and Garuwa, always trying to find the peace after having been apart of Tootoopne’s squad. Tamara’s tenacity is nicely balanced with her kindness and want for peace, evident in the way she teaches and then becomes very close with Antonee. I also really enjoyed her relationship with Tweetoo and Wooloo - it was lovely to watch all three characters grow as a result of their relationships together.
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These books have such important messages, not only for younger kids but for adults too, teaching us that sharing and kindness to each other, and the community that these ideas foster are the most important thing to have, rather than be a ‘proper’ family with lots of wealth. There are so many different types of characters - strong-willed girls, a grandfather as the sole carers, a girl with a physical disability, a mother with an abusive boyfriend, a shy boy who is orphaned - these all make up such an inclusive and interesting story with a powerful message.
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kitgilmore · 7 years ago
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THREE // THE GILMORE’S FIRST DAY AT CHILTON.
Sitting on the front porch was the perfect way to spend a Sunday night, Kit thought, she finally pick a cello piece for her audition, 2nd Bach Suite No.2 in D minor, when she spoke to Peter about it yesterday, he told her she would be asked to play 3 octave scale (Major and Minor). Kit decides Bach would be a good place to start and then she could just follow instructions, find out what her teacher wanted from her.
“That's nice,” Lorelai said as Rory passed a can of whipped cream to her sister after filling her mouth, Kit repeated this action.
“Thank you.” she said her mouth full.
“Don't move, please.”
“So, why are you insisting on doing this?” Their mother was currently painting Rory’s toenails, Kit has clear polish on her nails, for the first time since what seemed like forever, they weren't painted with one of the 60 bottles of blue nail varnish she seemed to own.
“Well, because you're starting private school tomorrow.”
“Yes, but I'm going to be wearing shoes. Nobody's gonna see my feet.”
“Okay, but everybody knows that private school girls are bad, and bad girls always wear red nail polish.”
“What teen movie did you pick that up from.” Kit said. Rory was a few from a bad girl as anyone could get.
“Are you nervous?”
“About what?” Rory said
“About starting Chilton.”
“Yes!” Kit yelled getting up from her seat, she was in desperate need of a Fanta.
“Well, I wasn't until I heard about all those bad girls.” she heard Rory say.
“Guys, guys! New CD - XTC, Apple Venus Volume 2.” She heard Lane scream, running into the house past Kit, in search of a stereo. Kit just laughed, opening the fridge.
Rory Gilmore was defiantly more anxious than the rest of her household, however the night before their first day of school Kit Gilmore was keep awake with worry, so when her alarm began to ring at 6.am she almost threw it across the room, but decided smashing a mirror on this particular day would have devastating consequences.
When her sister came busting through her door at 7:10, Kit was standing in front of the mirror, adjusting her plaid skirt, blue shirt and blazer uniform, her hair pulled in a loose side braid, tights, socks and black and white loafer which were the worse part of this who ensemble. Rory let out the breath she was holding.
‘Its 7:10.”
“I can read a clock too..” She snapped, “Sorry I needed Coffee…” grabbing her leather messenger bag, checking one last time she had everything she needed. She picked up her cello with both hands. “I’m ready”. She began to maneuver her instrument down the stairs but could hear her sister and mother.
“What? God! Hi.”
“What are you doing?” Rory yelled looking at her barely awake mother.
“Having a heart attack.”
“I thought you were up. It's 7:10!”
“What?
“it's 7:10!”
“No.”
Putting the heavy cello by the door, she made her through to the kitchen thanking God her sister made a pot of coffee.
“We have to go! What if there's traffic? Mom!” she heard Rory yell. Rory was a very punctual person.
“Okay, you know what, time lady? Why don't you go downstairs grab your sister and warm up the car? That would be really super. Thank you.”
“Just hurry!” Rory yelled bouncing down the stairs before Kit could even put down her cup, to pick up her book bag, Rory yelled.
“Kit, Come on”
After loading their things into the car, Kit returned to the kitchen, grabbed an apple.
“It's 7—“
“Don't even think of finishing that sentence!”
“Wow.” she said noticing her mothers outfit, denim cut off and a tie dye t shirt.
“What?”
“Nothing. I just didn't know the rodeo was in town.” Kit sniggered.
“All right, that's it,” she said grabbing a photograph of the twin naked. “I’m bringing the baby pictures.”
“No! I'm sorry! I love the rodeo,” Kit started chasing after her.
“the rodeo rules!”
Driving through their town was bitter sweet, both sisters were lost in their head, while their mother was going on and on about something. They passed the high school and Lane sounded by a splash of red uniforms, Kit looked down at her new blue one and sighed, she didn't think she would ever miss Stars Hollow High but right she did, the kids there looked happy, she wondered if the new students she would meet would nice to her, prep school kids couldn't be as bad as movie had made them out to be right.
When they finally made it Chilton, despite the earlier rush neither Rory or Kit move from their seats instead just looked up at their new school. This place was huge, it looked it like come Halloween its would house a great haunted mansion.
“I Remember it being smaller,” Rory said, the three Gilmore tilting their heads to get a better look, Kit sandwich between them.
“Yeah. And less. . .”
“Off with their heads.” Kit finished.
“Yeah”
“What are you looking at?”
“I'm just trying to see if there's a hunchback up in that bell tower.”
“He's probably roaming around the grounds.” Kit said.
“So, how do I look?” Rory asked.
“You look great…” she said to Rory before turning to her second born to say. “You both look wonderful.”
Kit smiled and began to gather her things, taking a deep breath.
“Really?”
“Really. You are an amazing kid. You have earned this.You just go in there and show them what smart really is.I love you.”
“Just call me if you need me”
“You're kidding, right?” Rory asked, looking like she was on the brink of a panic attack.
“No. Call me if you need anything…both of you” Her both told them sweetly.
“I'm great at making up dirty cheers.” Grinning in that Gilmore way. Kit just rolled her eyes, as if either of her daughters would ever be a cheerleader.
“You have to go in with us” Kit added.
“Girls, come on.” Lorelai winced, looking down at her outfit.
“You have to meet the headmaster.”
“Well, look at me, Rory. I can't meet anybody who does anything in there.”
“Mom!”
“No, I look like that chick from the Dukes of Hazzard,” she said sternly. Kit was beginning to believe this wasn't going to start well.
“This is our first day. You are not getting out of going in there with ours.” Rory said in her adult voice that once Kit to apologises to Katie Asher for ‘accidentally’ hitting her with a dodgeball in 4th grade. Crossing her arms she said. “Period.”
Rory opened the door, letting her sister pass, Kit opened the back door, grabbing her cello, putting in on her back, she adjusted her bag, now she was ready.
“Good morning.” she heard her mother say to two women who shared a look and then walked away.
“Oh, well, we're gonna be best friends,” she remarked to Rory, putting on her coat to cover her poor outfit choices. The twins made their way through the stone arches, past the iron gate, leading to what appeared to the quad.
“So, where do we go?”
Rory pulled out a piece of paper, always prepared.
“Uh, the Ambroise building.”
“Which is?”
“The big, scary one.”
“As opposed to the middle scary ones, whats your gage here?” Kit said to her sister, After years of carrying around her cello, the tall teen had gotten used to disrupting the weight evenly but that didn't mean she wanted to walk around aimlessness. She let out a huff, she was beginning to get flush.
“Lost?” Noticed a talk, dark-haired man, smiling in a way that made Kit’s skin crawl.
“Oh, yeah. Uh, we're looking for the headmaster's office, the Ambroise building.” Their mother explained.
“Ah, okay. Well, this is it right here.” He started, looking around “You just go inside, down the stairs, make a left, and the headmaster's office is at the end of the hall.” pointing out the direction.
“Great. Thank you.”
“You're welcome.”
Rory grabs hold of her mother's arm, but the Ian extends his hand.
“Merde” Kit whispers, falling back on her heels.
“Um, I'm Ian Jack.” He introduced. “My daughter Julia goes to school here.”
“Do you call her JJ.?” Kit asked though he seemed to ignore her. Julia Jack tough break. Her mother shakes his hand.
“Hi. I'm Lorelai Gilmore. Um, these are my daughters Rory and Kit.” She clarified pointing to each of them in turn.
“Your daughters? Really?” he asked surprised as if she would have someone other explanation why she at this school, at this hour looking for the principle. Kit wonder how old they would have to get before people stopped questioning that detail.
“Yup.”
“Wow, that's great. Uh, I mean, daughters are a great thing.” The twins exchanged a look that said are you serious.
“We're big fans.”
“Yeah. Uh, yeah. So, is your husband here? I'd love to meet him.”
“I'm not married.”
“Ah.”
“I'd love to meet your wife, though.”
“Oh god” Kit exclaimed, shifting her feet once again, Rory was now studying her watch, For Christmas two years ago, their grandparents had brought them matching silver faced, brown leather watches, they both always wore them, along with a small chained vintage Tiffany bracelet Kit had found in a thrift shop, the last time they’d visited New York.
“I'm divorced.”
“Shame.”
“Yeah.
“Hello…Headmaster..” Kit finally said, after having about enough of the whole conversation, she was already tired, they dad had just begun.
“Right! We gotta go meet the big guy, and I gotta, uh, get back to work.” they started to walk away before being caught in the web again. oh brother. Kit feel back on her feet, wondering how long it would be before she could wear her boots to school.
there were students being dropped off, by their parents, by their oh so obvious nanny’s, in a silver BTW convertible, Kit caught the eye of a boy, perhaps a little older than her, he appeared to be arguing in with the girl in his passenger seat, her short brown hair framed a round face, her eyes a little heavier on makeup then Kit had allowed herself to have this morning. Opening the door the girl pulled out a violin case, said goodbye to the boy and walked towards the quad. Kit blushed when she realised she'd been staring a little too long, turning away she catch the rest of her mother's conversation with the man who might become her new stepfather.
“Well, it was nice to meet you, Lorelai. Good luck in school, Rory. I'll tell Julia to look out for you.”
“Great, thanks.”
“See you.”
When Kit turned back towards the fountain, the car was gone. Rory’s hand came down on her shoulder, her face serious.
“What a nice, nice man.”
“You're feeling pretty good about yourself right now, aren't you?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want me to get you a mirror?” Kit snapped, the smiled on her mother face faded.
“I'm back… Let’s go.”
Walking through another glass door, plus a second iron gate before they found themselves in a very grand room that housed a staircase and a 1/5 of the worlds wood.
“Oh, good, more big stuff,” Lorelai commented sarcastically, Looking around Kit decided just to let her sister be the navigator on this particular mission. As they descended the staircase Rory said “Turn left.” Kit noticed, three girls, stare them, when Kit turned back they had the most annoyed expression on their face, she just shook her head slightly and continued.
Reaching the white double doors, the ‘Headmaster Charleston.’ seemed bigger than it was everything here seemed bigger than it was.
“You ready?”
“No.” The twins said.
Taking a few deep breaths.. they mother asked again, this time the twins said
“Yes.” as they pushed the doors opened. Inside a very old secretary wearing glasses on a string was sitting behind another vintage looking desk, she wondered where they shopped, if it really was vintage or if it had just been here since it was new.
“Um, excuse me.” Their mother said quietly. The women looked up which caused the three Gilmore’s to jump back slightly, at the slight women’s heavy makeup.
“ Oh! How... .wow, hi. I'm Lorelai Gilmore. These are my daughters, Lorelai Gilmore... .'cause I named her after me, and Christine Gilmore after her father, I was in the hospital all whacked out on Demerol.”
Kit nudged her mother “ Never mind. Um, but we call them Rory and Kit. It's short for Lorelai and Christopher, but they’ll answer to either one or even 'Hey, you' depending on the. . .” Now it was Rory’s turn to nudge her mother to stop her babbling.
“Uh, is the headmaster here?”
The women looked at them puzzled before standing up, saying “One moment.”
Kit sniggered, “What was that?” releasing her cello from her back, it landed on the ground with a thud.
“See, that's what happens when you go to bed with your makeup on.”
A moment later, she returned.
“Headmaster Charleston will see you now.”
“Great, great. Thanks.”
The followed their mother through the door, Headmaster Charleston was a round, tall man with white hair, with a slight southern accent. He looked like Kit had imagined a headmaster would look. She loved it when that happened.
“Ms. Gilmore, I'm Headmaster Charleston.” He said shaking their mother's hand formally.
“Hi. Wow, it's really nice to meet... “ He voices trailed off, the twins followed her gaze to see their grandmother sat on the leather sofa, underneath a very old painting. “Ex..Mom. Um, excuse me. What are you doing here?” she finished, letting go of the headmaster's hand, a moving towards her Mother. Emily Gilmore stood up and made a beeline for her granddaughters.
“I came to wish my granddaughters luck on their first day of school.” she replied as it was obvious.
“But -“ Lorelai started but her mother cut her off.
“Don't you look wonderful in uniforms!” Kit looked down, is that how she looked wonderful, she felt unconformable, anxious and flushed.
“Uh, you didn't have to come all the way out here, Mom.” she said Kit hugged her grandmother after Rory, propping up her Cello case, against the wall, out of the door.
“Well, this gave me a chance to make sure that Hanlin here takes good care of Rory.” She told her daughter proudly.
“Hanlin's wife and I are on the symphony fundraising committee together, Kit you meet her once remember” Kit tried to remember, she had a vague recollection of a thin blonde woman, with a ridiculous nickname she just nodded, her mother shot her a look.
“Wow, that's great.” Which in Gilmore meant something other than enthusiasm.
“Your father and I are golf rivals. We're still fighting it out to see which one is worse.”
“Oh, yes.” Emily said as if she just remembered:“We’re all old friends.” Kit wondered why people did that.
“Well, there's nothing like friends. Especially if they're old... .ones.” Their mother really was on a roll today.
“Well, would you like to take off your coat and have a seat?” The Headmaster suggested.
“Oh, no. No, I'm fine.” she struggled to say.
“I'm afraid they were a little overzealous with the furnace this morning. It's quite warm in here.” The twins looked between their mother, grandmother and new headmaster, self-consciously.
“I like it warm.”
“Lorelai, take off your coat and sit down.” Emily said with gritted teeth “You don't want Hanlin to think you're rude.”
Reluctantly she takes off her coat, smiles an embarrassed smile at both her daughter before saying “Laundry day.”
Emily decided to change the subject “Hanlin, did you know that both Rory and Kit have a 4.0-grade average?” Kit was sure her’s was close to 3.9 but okay.
“I'm sure he does, Mom.”
“And Kit is a marvellous cellist, she’s going to make a wonderful addition to the orchestra.”
The twins sat down on the old leather chairs, while their mother took the seat next to them. They both looked slightly uncomfortable with the praise their grandmother was giving them.
“These are very special girls. You take good care of them.”
“We'll do our best, Emily.”
“Oh, God. my daughters are not gonna be a problem. they are totally low maintenance, you know, This one like a Honda.” she said pointing to Rory “You know, they're just easy, just. . .”
Kit and Rory both coughed trying to stop their mother from talking so much.
“…Nice office.”
“Well, I don't think we should take up any more of your precious time. Hanlin, it was lovely to see you. Give Bitty our love.” Bitty that was it. She guesses Kit wasn't any better. Emily shook his hand and he kissed her check in that polite way.
“Tell Richard I'll see him at the club Sunday.”
“Have a wonderful day, girls. I want to hear all about it.” She said sweetly to her granddaughter, who each smile and nodded.
“Do you need a ride or is your horse parked outside?” she stubbed her daughter.
“It's so nice to meet you.”
“Have a great day?” she tells her daughters kissing them both on their forehead. Kit was both nervous and relieved her mother was leaving.
“Oh, you don't want to forget your coat.” The headmaster call to her before she reached the door.
Once their mother and grandmother had left, Headmaster Charleston suggested their conduct their interview individually, Kit and Rory both silently decided she would go first.
“Your turn, Ms. Gilmore,” he said as she walked Rory out of the room with a thick file.
“Thank you,” she said standing up, looking at where she cello was leaning against the bench, she knew Rory was going to wait for her.
Come in, have a seat.” he ushers her back toward the seat she a previous occupying. Retrieving a copy of what she knew was her transcript from his desk, she took the seat across from her.
“You’re obviously a bright girl, Miss Gilmore” He is looking the folder.”
“Thank you,” she replied politely,
“Very well rounded, Good grades, the teachers like you, You took your grade 7 cello exams last spring” she nodded.
“Lots of social activities, Choir, You founded the Russian club, you were in your freshman production of a midsummer nights dream, is theatre something that interests you?” he asked
“It was enjoyable, but I prefer being in the orchestra if I'm being honest.”
He took another look at her before asking “What are your aspirations, do you want to go to Harvard like your sister?”
“No, id like to Yale” Kit wasn't really sure where this came from, it was unmentioned that she didn't want to follow her sister to Harvard, and the more she thought about, the more she looked into it Yale seemed like a better fit.
“They have a great History department, Daniel Lerner who is kind of crazy but also a genius,” she said rather quickly. “I'd like to minor in Music composition and major in History or Russian.”
“On your way to being. . .” The question gave her pause, she knew he was looking for a figure, someone she’d admired but honestly.
“Well-educated, and cultured,” He gave her a look to continue “I'd like to travel, to learn as much as I could, from different people who have lead different lives, so my perspective doesn't become too single dimensional but I do have people I admire, Mary Shelley, Sol Gabetta, Jacqueline de pré, Queen Victoria.”
“Really?”
“I’m not sure I want to live someone else lives. I’d never want to become someone who knows runs out of things to learn” he seemed content with her answer.
“I've known your grandparents for quite some time.”
“I know.
“In fact, I was at a party at their house just last week where I had the most delicious lobster puffs I've ever eaten. I'm very fond of them.”
“They are wonderful grandparents.”
“None of this, however, will be of any benefit to you. Chilton has one of the highest academic standards of any school in America. You may have been one the smartest girl at Stars Hollow, but this is a different place.” He moved behind his desk, taking a seat and a chair that suddenly seemed a lot bigger.
“The pressures are greater, the rules are stricter, and the expectations are higher. If you make it through, you will have received one of the finest education one can get, and there should be no reason why you should not achieve all your goals. However, since you are starting late and are not used to this highly competitive atmosphere, there is a good chance you will fail. That is fine. Failure is a part of life, but not a part of Chilton. Understand?”
“Absolutely”
“Take this to Miss James in the administration office across the hall.” with that Kit left the room, not sure how to feel. She saw Rory who took the large file from her so she could pick up her cello.
Once they’d found the administration office another old, more strict looking women greeted them.
“Hi, we’re looking for Miss James,” Rory told her.
“Names?” She asked looking at both of us.
“Lorelai Gilmore. But I go by Rory.
“Christine Gilmore. But I like to be called Kit”
“Fill this out, please.”
Taking the paper, she takes the twins files. They both begin to fill out the paperwork unaware, of the commotion going on outside the window.
Well?
Shut up.
Hurry, please. Spiders.
Lorelai Gilmore.,Christine Gilmore.
Nice stripper name.
Formerly of Stars Hollow High School.
Where's that?
Drive west, make a left at the haystacks and follow the cows.
Ooh, Dixie chicks.
Perfect attendance, 4.0-grade point average. One a grade 7 cellist
Bugs, dirt, twigs.
One’s a Journalism major, the other’s a language major
That means she's gonna go out for the school paper.
Not necessarily. She's got like a thousand recommendations in here.
Popular with the adults and going out for the school paper.
Would you stop? You don't know she's going out for the paper.
Ow, something's biting me!
Quiet down.
I hate nature.
They’ll never catch up. They’re a month behind already.
You can tutor her. Be like a big sister.
You're funny.
Okay, lizard, goodbye
Why are they letting all these extra people in? They just take up space and screw up the curve. We don't need any new kids here.
Too late.
“Here's the dining room, the science hall, and the theatre. Here's your locker number, here's your schedule, This is your for the instrument” she motion to Kit who took the piece of paper with a combination on it, Music locker, prep school perk.
“Take this map. Here are the rules of the school and the Chilton Honor Code. Here are the words to the school song, which must be recited upon demand. This can happen any place, any time. If you do it in Latin you get extra credit. Do you have any questions?”
“Uh, not at the moment.”
“Nope.”
“If you do, you can make an appointment to see your guidance counsellor, Mr Winters. He handles everything but bulimia and pregnancy. For that, you'll have to go to the nurse or Coach Rubens. Welcome to Chilton.”
The twins looked at each, and each sighed, now their Chilton experience could really start.
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aion-rsa · 5 years ago
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Author Tochi Onyebuchi Brings Anime-Inspired Giant Robots to Nigeria in War Girls
https://ift.tt/324kkoQ
We talked to speculative fiction author Tochi Onyebuchi about novellas War Girls and Riot Baby.
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Tochi Onyebuchi brings a keen eye for world-building and momentum-filled action scenes to his young adult novels. From the Pokémon-like Beasts Made of Night duology to the upcoming fantasy novella Riot Baby, he’s making waves. At NYCC 2019, we sat down to talk to him about pop culture influences, the process of building a novel, and how he wants to push back against Western perceptions of African countries. 
Riot Baby will be available from Tor.com in January 2020. War Girls comes out on Oct. 15 from Penguin Random House.
Den of Geek: Your latest book, War Girls, is a post-apocalyptic story involving both catastrophic change and nuclear war. What draws you to writing apocalypse while the real world feels so apocalyptic? 
Tochi Onyebuchi: Part of it is coping! Part of it is trying to imagine my way through crisis. Because the thing about climate change, or at least the discussion as it is happening now, has been very much dominated by Western voices. It has been very much focused on climate change in parts of the U.S., for instance. Or efforts to combat climate change in Western Europe. Whereas a lot of the really averse effects of climate change will most viscerally be felt on the African continent. 
We’re already seeing it. You see the desertification of the Sahara. And that is pushing people on the lower end, particularly nomadic tribes, further down into densely populated countries. And so you see all this unrest that’s happening right now in northern Nigeria, because you have pastoral Fulani tribes that are being pushed down into farmland that is already populated by people. So all of a sudden there are these new clashes over land rights that would not necessarily have happened were it not for climate change. 
There are islands in the Pacific that are sinking. That won’t be here in 12 years or 20 years. So I was very interested in what people in those places would consider with regards to climate change. So that was why it was particularly interesting to think about issues of climate change and post-nuclear disaster in Nigeria. 
Tell us about the two sisters at the heart of the book. What made their story compelling? 
They both carry aspects of my mother. War Girls very much has its genesis in stories that I would hear from her of her time as an internally displaced person in the Biafran war, the Nigerian civil war, that waged in Nigeria from 1967 to 1970. She was either just finishing or just getting ready to start kindergarten at the outbreak of the war. She was a child living through this! That in many ways was the genesis of the book.
I wanted to also write in a way about a lot of the other civil conflicts that raged throughout African countries in the 1990s and early 2000s and mid 2000s, and that’s where the issue of child soldiers comes in. Child soldiers weren’t necessarily prevalent in the Nigerian civil war in the 60s and 1970, but in a lot of the later conflicts in the 90s and the 2000s you saw prevalence of the instances in which adolescents and teenagers would be drawn into the conflict and faced to fight, forced to kill. I think particularly of the story of Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala, which was made into an extraordinary movie starring Idris Elba. It’s that sort of thing. 
How do you deal with that afterwards, too? As a society, but also as the person who did those things. Because there is an after. There will be an after. What does that look like? Those are very fascinating questions to me. 
War Girls is set in an alternate Nigeria. What kind of research or experiences lead to the way you portrayed it? 
While I did a lot of research on Nigeria, particularly the Biafran war, I also wanted to do a lot of research on other African countries. But one thing I wanted to make sure of was I wanted to write a specifically Nigerian story. And part of that entailed researching both conflicts and histories of other African countries.
One thing that I wanted to do also was make sure this wasn’t a doom-and-gloom, ‘everything is horrible in Africa’ story. Because a lot of the popular perception of Africa is it’s this entire uniform place that’s universally afflicted by starvation and civil war. It’s the picture of the kid with flies on their face and the bloated stomach from malnutrition. But there are 50-plus countries in Africa, many of whom have exponentially more ethnic identities in them. There are over 200 tribes in Nigeria alone. So that speaks to the diversity on every scale, whether it’s economic, social, tribal, what have you. It speaks to the overwhelming diversity of the continent. And that was something I wanted to get at.
So, in researching other countries and other traditions, it became easier for me to pick bits from other cultures but use them specifically, and not just have them be this background of ‘African traditions’ and what not thrown into the story. It was very important to me that the story was specific, the references were specific, the geography was specific. That is a lot of what drove the research that I did. 
War Girls is marketed as Black Panther inspired. Tell me more about this connection and about what pop culture influences you.  
One of the reasons Black Panther was so important, particularly to War Girls, is that it provided a reference point for a lot of people that might not have been familiar with a lot of the things that are going on in that book. War Girls is very much more inspired by Gundam Wing. I’m a huge, huge Gundam fan, so this book is very much a love letter to Gundam. When I pitched it to my agent, it was ‘Gundam in Nigeria.’ 
But at the same time I recognize that there’s a maybe somewhat limited fandom for Gundam. I feel like in the United States more people would recognize Black Panther. One of the beautiful things about it was that people could see Black Panther and have a reference point for this depiction of Africa as technological advanced. That, I think, was new to a lot of people. To see an Africa that maintains fidelity to certain traditions, and had high speed rail. That had hover cars. That had spaceships and what not. But also had specific music and dance traditions and fashion sense. 
So, in crafting a society that had all those things, it’s easier for people to understand. 
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What is the idea at the core of Riot Baby, your upcoming novella? 
Riot Baby is the story of Ella and Kev, two siblings that grow up in the shadow of the L.A. Uprising in the 90s. Their story takes them from South Central, to Harlem, to Riker’s, and back to the Watts, and they have to deal with institutional racism and police violence and issues surrounding mass incarceration, while slowly discovering superpowers. 
What have you learned about writing in the course of publishing four novels? 
I’ve gotten much better at my act threes! [Note: Some of the audio in this section was disrupted. The author goes on to discuss gaining sensitivity to the quality of his own writing.]
You can write something and you can feel that it’s right, even though you may not necessarily be able to articulate all the ways in which you feel it’s right, or why this particular choice is the correct one. You can direct the plot a certain way and feel you’ve made absolutely the right choice without necessarily knowing why. Developing that intuition after having internalized so much of the craft is very important. That’s an aspect of writing I’ve grown in. 
What is your process like? Do you outline? 
It often differs by book, and also by the relationship with whichever editor I’m working with at the time. Riot Baby came together in part out of disparate pieces of existing work, and then when it coalesced it grew more of itself. There wasn’t necessarily an outline involved in that. It started with writing pieces of it and the spine of the narrative came together. Then, the rest was a result of growing it out.
Whereas with War Girls it was very schematic. I had the idea, I had a bucket of particular images in my head I wanted to figure out how to dramatize. Out of that came the outline, which of course changed shape over the course of the drafting. So I had the initial outline and then a revised outline. Then I started drafting, and events changed as I was writing. 
Would you say to an aspiring writing that process matters? Do you need to write a certain way, or do different ways work for different people?
Whatever works, works. I think that’s the way to go. There is the temptation to fall prey to a lot of the dogma early on, particularly when you’re trying to figure yourself out with regards to voice, process, how to make this writing thing work. 
We hear people say write every day. But that’s not feasible for a lot of people. Whether it’s their school schedule, whether it’s child care, whether they have a particular job that doesn’t allow for that. People are dealing with different realities, so writing every day isn’t necessarily universally applicable. 
The only thing I feel confident in terms of advice to aspiring writers is to love writing. Whether it’s the act of putting sentences together, playing with that, or whether it’s the larger discipline of storytelling, certain aspects of that—if that gets your heart racing, if that gives you the same feeling as when you see your crush from across the room, that’ll get you so far in this. Because there’s so much nonsense you have to deal with in this, and so much conflicting advice. If at the end of the day you love doing this thing, hold on to that. That’s why you do this.
You can find out more about Tochi Onyebuchi here.
Read and download the Den of Geek NYCC 2019 Special Edition Magazine right here!
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Interview Megan Crouse
Books
Oct 10, 2019
from Books https://ift.tt/2q3NW7P
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peach-bottom · 7 years ago
Text
Peach Bottom - Chapter Two
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<-ch1-    -ch3->
The door slammed shut behind her. She locked it, even though that wouldn’t do any -
Xena had screamed. Shit, Goober was barking - Xena darted out from the bedroom, face twisted up with worry. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt and boxers. She wasn’t -
“Change,” Tye said, and then bit her tongue when Xena flinched, “I mean, I need you to - to change, Sugar, put on something more durable, hurry.”
“What? What’s happening? Ma, I heard-”
“I know! I know! So I need you to change now, Xena, right now.”
She had seen them down the street - two human officers in riot gear and one copbot blinking like a sentinel, this small force leading the Waters family out at gunpoint with barely more than backpacks. Mr. Waters sobbing, pleading, Bet Waters yelling, throwing her stuff down and holding out a hand to stop her kids from taking that last step down and away from their home. Running at the cop leading her husband with nothing more than her small fists and they’d taken the gun and -
It had been a phasor with a stun setting. But that meant ‘mild’ brain damage, minimum. And it had a kill setting, too. Tye didn’t know. Didn’t know which one had been used right there, in front of Bet Waters’ children and husband. The fact that a gun had been used on her at all meant -
Tye dumped the largest compartment of Xena’s backpack out. Neat little binders tumbling, pencils falling - went into Xena’s room where she had changed into jean shorts and was buttoning a flannel with hands quaking like terrified birds, her thick glasses askew, oh my baby, can’t worry about that now, no - collected Xena’s pajamas, a more durable change of clothes, went into the kitchen and dumped in all the insulin and regulation tablets, all the snacks that kept-
The door slammed open. Xena screamed again and Tye ran out just as two officers walked methodically in, the bot hovering outside, its red eye glowing like a coal.
Goober lunged for one and they took aim and Tye yelled at top volume “GOOBS, HEEL,” and thank god, thank god, thank god she did, she stopped, they stopped. Xena fell forwards onto her dog, holding her, shielding her with her own body, as if that would’ve stopped them.
“You have ten minutes to pack what valuables you need before we escort you to a designated holding area.”
“What’s happening?” Tye asked, trying, failing to keep her voice steady, calm, nothing too hard.
“All squatters in this district are being evacuated due to flood risk. More will be explained at the holding area. Do not attempt to hide any member of this household inside the house; they will be in serious danger of accidental harm. If discovered, they will be arrested for disorderly conduct.”
“We only have ten minutes? It’s not even raining yet!” Tye said, pleading, voice rising to a shout without her permission, and when the cop looked at her his face was blank, eyebrows just a little together, a hint of annoyance.
“You now have eight. Stop talking and pack.”
“You’ve had more than enough time to do it already,” the other one muttered.
Tye turned to Xena, shivering on the floor, still wrapped around a low, growling Goober. Tye’s heart thrummed hard in her throat. “Sweet pea, go set Goober up with her special harness and pack. Now.”
Xena nodded, stumbled to her feet. Dragged her monster of a dog over to the corner table where her things were kept.
Tye backed out of the room, keeping her eyes on them for as long as she could, backed into the kitchen and dropped in Goober’s food, a large water bottle, her own favorite tin cup, and -
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She glanced back. The cops were still preoccupied with Goober, who was still staring them down as Xena shakily attached her collar and little pack.
And a stunner. One from back in the day. A small, simple stunner zipped down into Xena’s dark purple backpack with the duct tape on the bottom, safety pins reinforcing the left strap, she’d said it made her look ‘punk’ and that she liked it and didn’t need a new one, like Xena was ‘punk.’
Like Xena was someone who could wield any kind of weapon.
For a moment it all seemed to crush up into her head, a pressure, her breath going faster, the familiar feeling rising, but no, she couldn’t, no.
“One minute warning!”
Tye grabbed her own meds off the table and shakily took one for the first time in weeks. Shoved them in her pocket and at the last second grabbed her harmonica from off the table, dropped that into Xena’s bag for herself, the only things she really needed, the only things for herself she’d had for two years at one point, it didn’t matter, for her it didn’t matter, but for Xena-
“Ten minutes are up! Move out.”
The shorter cop was around her age. He came from that, too, then, came from where she’d come from, but had stayed cold, had stayed there, and that gave her more fear than anything else they’d done so far, save for aiming those guns at Goober.
They were marched out the door and down the street to a huddle of their neighbors at the end, some still in pajamas and robes, all clutching backpacks and bundles and hastily packed suitcases. A little boy was holding a cat. There was blood in front of the Waters’ house, probably (please) from a nosebleed, but no sign of Bet. Mr. Waters was crouched down and clutching his confused and sobbing children, his face stony and pale. Martha cried silently beside them, a falling-apart sunflower duffle clutched in her arms. Three guards circled their huddle, all armored up, all with guns level.
Tye brought them to Mr. Waters and Martha; dropped her hand down on Mr. Waters’ shoulder.
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Somewhere, shots rang out again. He and Xena both flinched. And then again, and then yelling, rapid firing, the second sound definitely not regulation phasors. Tye’s hand gripped. She dropped down and whispered in his ear, “Someone’s fighting back.”
He nodded. He was a gentle man, very soft, taught the local preschoolers, but he whispered, “Good,” back at her in a voice that snapped in the air. She stood again, wrapped an arm around Xena, who was pushing against her side like she was a little kid again, asking to be picked up.
“I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Xena whispered. Behind her glasses, her eyes were scrunched practically closed, “We don’t have to fight. We can just sit down! Peaceful resistance; we don’t have to fight-”
“Shh, baby, shh,” Tye said. She didn’t know what else to say.
All their doors were open in a row, down the street - each a different color, the ramshackleness of ground houses lovingly spruced up with paint, murals on the side of some, all of them gutted like fish. No lights on. It took Tye a moment to realize they hadn’t had lights on in their house - had only had the TV, which had gone out, and Xena’s comp - Xena’s comp that wasn’t tied into any grid, but it’d still gone out, so it must’ve been something on purpose then, some tool used to blow out all electronics. She looked up, though she didn’t need to, to see the towers - shining pillars of light like always. Unaffected.
Electronic disruption surges. They had used them during the war, something to fuck up tracking systems on one plane but not another, but why now? Why use it now?
So that they couldn’t… what?
Film?
Tye was an empty vessel, consciousness like a tethered hawk overhead, circling, looking down on their huddled crowd, their street, so lovely and familiar and bleeding, on Xena shivering in her arms, soft warm wind brushing over them all as if from another moment, another kind of existence. Her lungs were huge and her heart was nowhere, pushed out, or maybe with Xena, in Xena’s hand on her arm, gripping so tightly.
“Move!”
The crowd was moving around her. The street had been cleared, all their houses empty. Now they were being lead along the main road down to the town center - dark, streetlights all gone out, even the huddled trailers in the empty lot gaping, the brick row houses, the shacks taking up the right side of the street - they were shuffled along quickly, all of them trying to keep the pace of the guards, and as they approached their destination, it got noisier.
The old traffic circle-converted-to-market-area had been cleared, tables thrown off to the side in a pile, stands that had been there for years unmoored and shoved away. All of it forming what couldn’t have been an accidental barricade, all streets except two cut off. One street, Tye could see, brimming with busses. Actual old-fashioned land-roving buses, painted an unassuming grey, roofs glinting with solar panel shells.
The only lights still on were new ones, stage lights set up to face the steps up to the large church that’d been somewhat repurposed as a town hall/community center for the weekdays. There was a green sheet backdrop hanging down before the doors, covering the mural Tye and Martha had helped paint last year, and a white podium before it.
There were people huddled under trees, children crying, adults crying, hunched elderly people being held up by their children and neighbors. Little crowds here and there were grouped near the back, as far away as they could be from the podium. From the cops.
Those were gathered beside the makeshift stage, surrounded by their parked bikes, barricaded again by a row of six copbots gleaming in the dark like wet teeth, shields deployed. One small craft hovered near them, windows tinted. She could tell without knowing who was inside that they were important - she recognized a news anchor pod near the front, a cameraman and some sound folks and assistants waiting. Plus, the craft was higher, hovered at top-of-stair height, podium height, not their height.
Right before the steps, the citizens of Mt. Danu were boiling.
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Confusion, but also - rage, also - resistance, a thriving knot of it, right there at the front, and as they approached, the craft door opened and out stepped Admiral Carver, mayor of Philadelphia.
‘This is the end,’ Tye realized. Any question of where they would be standing shriveled and died in her mind. She pulled Xena into the throng, which had only quieted for a shocked moment in the face of the mayor before starting up again, tenfold.
“-the meaning of this?! Answer us! We need an answer, we deserve-”
“-pull us from our homes, terrify our children-”
“- treated like criminals! We do not deserve to be treated like criminals! We do not-”
Carver smiled tight-lipped like no one was yelling, like it was a different place he was at, like it didn’t matter.
Tye took a deep breath and then joined as the second voice of the chant of the woman behind her, who she recognized as Hava, one of the witches at the local coven and the wife of the local Rabbi. The woman was in a pale pink robe and wearing boots, her bag clutched in one hand and one hand in the air as she continued her shout, “When our homes are under attack what do we do?” and Tye joined, her voice raw as an exposed nerve, “Stand up! Fight back!”
More people joined after a few rounds, and before the encompassing wave of it being the central chant, Tye recognized Xena’s small voice among them, saw her daughter’s face go from ‘scared’ to ‘angry,’ and felt pride like mourning, like grief. Oh, Xena.
“What do we do?”
“Stand up!”
“Fight back!”
What do we do?”
Stand up. Fight back.
Back when the war first started, Tye and Zenia - her girlfriend at the time - had managed to sneak off to a few anti-war protests. They’d skipped school and ended up in the streets of this same city, so weird to think about now, that she hadn’t known it would become home, but they’d marched with the rest of the protesters. Their voices had risen like a wave, an electric energy tingling down her spine, her rage suddenly a solid thing in the air, hovering like a god, supported by all their collected belief that what was happening was wrong.
And the unexpected thing - she had felt so safe, safer than she’d felt in months with the draft looming over their young heads. In this crowd of thousands, all yelling, it had seemed impossible that such a force would fail to change things in time. Their voices one instrument, the smell of sweat and human breath in the air like they were all one animal, Zenia’s fist clenched in hers, the worst of life still ahead of them. She hadn’t even realized.
Now. Now the god was a raw and bloody thing, and their rage was like an incandescent glass shield cracking down the center, all of her scraped away to support it but her body still suspended and empty. Doors. Their doors open like the mouths of dead fish, lined up around the square, their voices rising, screaming, Stand up! Fight Back! and the police muttering to one another, Admiral-Mayor Carver’s mouth in a thin line, practically bored by them and their desperation.
“When our homes are under attack -”
Someone held a microphone to a speaker and there was an electronic scream, bursting like a bomb through their voices, scattering them as people covered their ears and yelled.
The cameras turned on, facing the mayor.
He grinned, holding a hand to his ear, “Jeez, be more careful with that thing, will you?” he said, stepping up to the podium. He smiled, seemingly at them, and nodded. Four cops stood behind him, all of them more cleaned up than the others that surrounded their huddle, all of them with gleaming next generation phasers with the stunner light glowing bright on the side facing the camera. The old phasers, the ones primarily in use, had no such indicator of setting.
“When our homes are under attack, what do we do?!” Hava yelled, but she was quickly hushed by those around her. The cops, off to the side and away from the cameras, shifted upright and scanned immediately through the crowd, one prowling forward a bit, a bubble of space surrounding him as their neighbors parted, backed away. Tye bit her tongue, hard, rage boiling under her skin, but she didn’t talk, didn’t talk because of Xena, and because of herself, because of her own dumb mortal fear, and because she wanted to know like the rest of them, know why.
“Citizens of Philadelphia,” Admiral-Mayor Carver said, and he said it like a gentle concession, patronizing, “Due to the threat of an oncoming storm and the likelihood of flooding during the coming spring season, this area is being evacuated.”
Jeers, yells, liar!
“As it is also land owned by SkyLife Corporations,” Carver said, voice rising hard and low over the fray, “It is indeed true that, in all likelihood, they will attempt to begin work on their development before the rains start. I keep no secrets from you.”
“These are our homes!” Someone in front yelled. 
There was movement with the cops, but unexpectedly, Carver said, “No, let her talk.”
Someone Tye had never seen, and Tye had seen everyone in this goddamn pea pod of a neighborhood, stepped up onto the first step and was handed a microphone. She was an old Black woman, stooped a little, wearing thick glasses and a floral print dress, not at all dressed like she’d been yanked from her bed and given ten minutes to prepare. There was confusion in the crowd, but the cameras turned on her.
“These structures are no longer classified as homes,” Carver said, voice suddenly gentle, “They’ve been flooding for years; these streets have been flooding every season for years, you must know that.”
“I do,” the woman said, “I do know, I know better than you! Why, I’ve been livin here my whole dang life!”
Carver smiled in a vacant, posed kind of way, “Which I understand must make it hard to let go of. But the fact is, this is for your own safety. Think about it - grounder children get sick more frequently, electrical and plumbing problems occur more often, and there’s more violence down here where the streets aren’t monitored the way the halls of the towers are.”
“Well that’s all dandy,” the woman said, “But I sure can’t afford to move to the towers!”
“You know,” Carver said, “the money SkyLife paid each of you for your homes is just enough for a downpayment in a Microsoft tower unit!”
“Oh, well,” the woman said, “That was so long ago… I spent it soon as I got it! I guess I wasn’t thinking ahead.”
It was at this point when the crowd’s general suspicions that this was all bullshit became searing, offended certainties, and the hushed whispers rose to an incredulous roar.
When Carver spoke, his voice had risen to its famously deep, booming tenor, “Well, I’m not the best with money either,” a grin, “That’s why I’m not treasurer!”
The actress playing the old woman giggled.
“Lucky for you - and anyone else who maybe didn’t invest in the best ways - Nomstamo Industries has graciously offered you all a place with them! That’s right folks, that means a home, a job, and healthcare, all in one!”
“Lies!” Hava bellowed, her voice huge for someone in a bathrobe.
The bots blipped. The closest one begane scanning. Two human cops started again to pick through the crowd towards them, and Tye turned, grabbing Hava’s arm, “Are you crazy?” She hissed, pulling the lady back a bit. Luckily, she wasn’t alone - the crowd got thicker where the cops were trying to push through. Around them, voices were rising again.
“Am I crazy?” Hava said to her, voice cracking with strength, not caring about being detected, “A mega-farm known for its violations of human rights is harvesting workers from the helpless, fueling their workhouses, apparently asking nothing in return. Why aren’t you suspicious? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Tye felt a humiliated kind of rage stir, and she wordlessly raised the hand holding Xena’s. Hava’s eyes softened. “Well, I don’t have a young child.” She said. And then yelled, “We’ve all heard about Nomstamo! We know what we’re being offered!”
Carver was staring directly at her, mouth still drawn in that tight, bland smile. He turned and nodded to an officer before turning his attention back to the actress. The woman, before the cameras, was thanking them profusely. Then the lights went off, the news pod whizzed up and away, and it was then, after that, that the officers to the side began to push through the crowd in earnest.
Heart on fire with the traitorous effort of it, Tye gripped Xena with one hand and Martha with the other, dragging them back.
“They give you a home if you work! They give you healthcare if you work! And we’ve all heard the stories, we all know that they give you a stipend so small you can barely afford to feed yourself with it, much less your children!” Hava was still yelling, head held high, and Tye rarely went to church, hadn’t been to any kind of religious service since Dom had died, but she could see in that moment, so clearly, how this woman could summon faith to a room. How the rafters of the community center must fill with her voice like nature, how a crowd could come to a stand-still, like this one, her words like vines, growing over them, taking over, “And then they say ‘we have a food-loan, here, take this, you can work off what you owe next month,’ and you work, you work night and day until your hands are cracked and bleeding, and it’s still not enough, it’s not ever gonna be enough because it’s not designed to work that way! The point is to lock you down!”
Roars from the crowd. The cops were moving quicker, shoving now that the cameras were off, headed straight for Hava, and Tye was gripping Martha and Xena so tightly she must be hurting them, tethering herself, do not step forward, do not fight-
“And what alternative do you suggest?” Carver called across the crowd to her with a sneer.
“Anything!” Hava yelled, “Anything else!”
The cop had reached her. Others jumped forward, but he grabbed her by the shoulder and yanked, and her feet went out under her, an oof, yells, and Tye suddenly realized with a shocking clarity that she couldn’t do this.
She turned to Xena, squeezing her arm once, and whispered, ‘Stay here,” and then dove forward, maneuvering herself between the cop and Hava in one quick motion, relying on surprise as she’d learned, being rather tiny in a war full of giants, and shoved the witch out of the way.
Instantly, Hava was taken into the crowd, pushed back, hidden by a wall of linked arms, faces of scraped out rage, and Tye felt the bat in the air before it came down on her head, whizzing. She collapsed, reality twisting up before her eyes, pain so deep it rattled her ears, and was kicked out of the way in one motion. Xena was screaming “Ma? Ma, what happened?” Arms were on her, pulling her back, voices rising, another person running at the cop, this one audibly shocked, spasming, collapsing before the bot, which started to whine its high-pitched alert, charging itself again for another charge. More neighbors rose up immediately though, the cop going down in the crowd, the bot flung back before it could take out someone else, and Tye knew, abruptly, what was about to happen.
She grabbed Xena by the collar and yanked it up before the cans hit the ground, before gas exploded out of them and the screams turned to hacking, coughing fits, cries of agony, Carver disappearing into his craft up ahead. They ran, all stumbling, but there was nowhere to go, all of them stopped at the blockade, now fronted with more cops.
Another voice bellowed into the microphone - an officer with a hard face and badges gleaming on his chest. “Those that have a legal, flood-safe residence they can stay at for a period of two weeks at least can line up on the left to have that situation validated. Those that are taking advantage of Nomstamo’s housing program can line up on the right to begin boarding buses. The third option is Homeless Citizen Rehabilitation Facilities.” Prison. The third option was prison.
There were cries from the crowd, yells, sobbing. People huddled together, families arguing about what to do, voices at a frenzied pitch.
Martha was crying, hand over her mouth. Xena’s eyes were shut and streaming from gas, her arms around her mother, supporting more of Tye than Tye wanted her to, Goober helplessly rubbing her eyes with her paws and whining, the gas still stinging. Mr. Waters had thought like Tye, pulling his children’s shirts up over their faces just in time, but he himself was red-eyed and vicious looking, now, rage all over him, eyes streaming, and from inside their shirts the kids were crying again.
Tye spoke quietly, like anyone could hear them from where they were, “We’re running.”
“What?” Mr. Waters said, voice shaking, “How? Even if we get past all this, where will we go?”
“Doesn’t matter. Out. Out of Philly.”
“But… the wall-”
“It doesn’t matter! We gotta do it, so we’ll do it. Simple as that.”
She looked closely at all of them. They were hazy through the poison on her eyes, stinging clouds of loved ones, but she could see Waters hesitant, Martha determined, and Xena, darling Xena, fierce and terrified.
Rage like poison, helpless poison.
“I can’t,” Waters said finally, “I’m going with Nomstamo.”
“What?” Xena whispered, the word almost like a sob.
“You can’t!” Martha said, frantic, “You heard what Hava said!”
“You know what life you’re signing yourself and your children up for,” Tye said, trying to keep calm, “You know what’s waiting.”
“Maybe,” said Waters, “it’s an exaggeration. I know it won’t be easy to get out, I know. But not impossible, I don’t think it’d be impossible. At least I know what’s waiting for me. I don’t know what’s out there.”
“Something better, at least! It’s not all chaos and violence like they say it is outside the walls, you know that, I grew up out there, it’s not-”
He shook his head. His hands were still holding his girls’ shirts up over their heads, both of them clinging to him, and behind him, Tye could see people organizing again, huddled groups, a few already obediently lined up. They didn’t have much time. “See,” Waters said, “you did grow up out there, and now you’re here. What does that say? It might not be something better. To me it just sounds like a struggle either way. But I know this struggle. I know. I know my kids won’t get shot while we’re running. I know we’ll have a bed to sleep in tonight. And I know… I know my wife will be able to find us, if… when she gets out. They said she’s in the hospital, that they took her for medical attention, and-”
His voice was reaching a pitch again, and Tye leaned forward and hugged him quickly, shutting him up, squeezing hard, “I understand,” she whispered, even though she didn’t. “I get it, it’s ok.”
They all hugged him and his kids. They’d honestly never talked much before - Tye’d watched their daughters a few times, and Martha helped out at the preschool, but they were by no means friends. But this night felt like it had already lasted a week, and he’d been there through it all with them.
Behind them, sudden shouts. Two surges from bots - two more spasming bodies hitting the ground. More phasor fire. Screaming.
“Now,” Tye hissed, “we have to move now.”
And apparently they weren’t alone - as the struggle by the buses grew, four more huddled groups shot off in two directions, all towards the barricades that led to other streets. There was yelling, another canister was dropped up front where the fight was, a gentle wind sucking the gas towards them, and though diluted, Tye coughed, hacking, her head throbbing, still moving, but not fast enough. Martha - Martha wasn’t fast enough. She felt the woman go down beside her, and it took Tye only a second, a second of feeling Xena’s hand in hers and the rolling storm of horror behind them for her to decide ‘keep going.’
They were almost to the barrier.
A shout behind her. Stomping feet. And then someone collided with her, and she spun before she hit the ground hard with her knees, and then Xena was yelling, pulling her up, not moving, not running, and Tye pushed upwards and shoved Xena off, forward, as behind them, the cops started barking orders, more phasor fire, Tye screamed, “Run! Just run! I’m right behind you!” And shoved her girl ahead, Goober already pulling her, but Xena waited until Tye was back on her feet to listen, tried to grab her mother’s hand again, but Tye batted it away, shoved again, ran with her a few steps before -
Something hit her shoulder, hard. ‘Phasor fire,’ she thought. But unconsciousness didn’t come. Just a blink, up and then down with no memory of in-between, the blink just enough that she didn’t put her arms forward, didn’t try and catch herself, hit the ground knees, stomach, heart, chin.
Up, and then down, gasping like a dying fish, all the air pushed out of her, and Xena, Xena disappeared in an instant.
Tye pushed to her hands and knees, crawling forward, a burst of pain as someone stepped on her hand, a fresh, frozen wave of terror crashing over her, not knowing if she should yell ‘wait’ or ‘run,’ not sure what a good mother was supposed to do here if there’s danger behind but also ahead, if she’s alone, she can’t be alone, but then someone tripped over her and they both went down again, the choice taken from her, and then there was a stamping pressure on her back, a foot to her head as someone else stumbled over, screaming and pressure and no air, no air -
The world went fuzzy, and then dark.
The last thing she felt were hands on her arm, nails digging in like claws, and the pavement moving under her, bare knees dragging in a burning scrape as she made one last fruitless effort to rise.
Rise.
Run!
<-ch1-    -ch3->
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datingdummies-blog · 8 years ago
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Single Parent
To boldly go where no man or woman has ever gone before?  Well you already know thats a lie with this type because not only has another man or woman already gone there, but they have even made a couple of bonus mini human/s to boot.  Spoiler alert, they're not a virgin and the days of being a “reborn virgin” and still being able to get away with it are long gone.  You can bet that with this type you are not taking the “easy” way out by any means and things will be challenging.  They come with not so easy to carry baggage. (approx 10-200lbs a piece, actually) The type of baggage that an airplane would tell you, you need a seat for. Its also extremely frowned upon and disruptive to the others when you try to stow it away in the upper compartment of the airplane and even more so when you try and just carry it on hoping it fits the specs. 
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I’ll never forget the first day I really felt every single letter of the phrase “single mom.” I remember coming off of a 12 hour shift as a graveyard 911 dispatcher.  I was completely drained of any and all energy, had piles of laundry stacking up and my kids were due to be home in just a few short hours.  I was faced with a moment of choosing sleep or responsibility.  I remember staring at the pile of laundry wishing it would just fold itself or I had a partner to help me with that dirty, judgmental pile of laundry, but I had no one.  No one would be there to say “honey I got it, you rest” or “babe, go take a bath I got this.”  (Not that when I was married those phrases were ever mentioned anyway, except maybe in fantasies that ended in me sleeping and him cleaning). So I did what any other single mom probably does when faced with the same conundrum.  I slammed the door in the face of that bully pile of laundry and decided I would no longer allow things like piles of laundry to fold shame me in my own home.  I was a single mom now and things were going to change.  I mean my kids maybe had to sleep on that pile of clothes for a couple of weeks but ultimately I feel I won that battle.  I know to some of you, you're like who cares?  Anyone who knows me knows this bugged me regardless of my tough gangster posts about not caring.  I am mildly OCD and a pretty clean and responsible person so this moment was my ok, you just can't do it all moment and something had to give.
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Being a single parent is tough work.  Generally we were put on this earth to procreate. Which also means the general idea of the situation is two parents, maybe even four parents when your parents eventually get remarried.  However being a single parent, you're just that, single, alone and doing a meant to be two person job.  You’re not allowed to look around and run pretending thats not  your kid in aisle ten at the store on the ground kicking and screaming about a candy bar.  When the dirty looks start coming my way when my kid is throwing a fit I just try to blend into the crowd and give dirty looks at the other parents pretending that whosever kid that is, better stop this shit show now because its downright embarrassing for that parent. Unfortunately for me and when the store clerk reviews the film and realizes its my kid, he requires me to take responsibility.  Possibly your kid might even call you out with a simple trail of tears while walking behind your grocery cart pathetically calling out to the candy bar that at the end of the shopping trip you will shamefully give in to, because as much as we enjoyed the store shit show we don't also want it to turn into the car ride home shit show.  
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When reflecting on my childhood and thinking of the many good cartoon movies or shows that were available to me I remember the single parents in Disney and Pixar films.  Sadly, if you really think about the movies you watched as a kid, the mom is usually dying and the dad is left with the children. I believe it’s because Disney knows the most common person who stays home and cares for the kid is the mom so when you kill the mom off, the dad is left to not only play one role but two, and having to watch him be sensitive and vulnerable while still mourning the loss of his wife is just rough to watch but also makes for a good movie.  Typically women are better at showing, sharing and soothing their child’s emotions.   So while I know a man is capable of these things, Disney is cashing into the idea that watching a man do it is more entertaining or at least a lot more interesting for viewers to watch him try to  wear the many hats that can make up a single parent.  
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When you sit down and really think about single parents in terms of cartoons. You will start to see so many more cartoons in a different light, because when you watched them as a kid you probably didn't give it a second thought.  SpongeBob, they have Mr.Crabs and his Whale daughter.  Not sure how this happened.  Maybe nickelodeon can explain this tale for us someday? Toy Story, it was Ms.Davis we never saw a dad so we have to assume death or divorce.  Aladdin, Jasmine’s dad was a single father.  Even down to Nintendo thinking of Mario Bros.  King Koopa had a million children but no Queen Koopa?! We don't even get an explanation on that one. Finding Nemo we all watched and maybe even shed a tear when the mom tried to protect her babies and ended up getting eaten leaving the dad alone to watch his one remaining child Nemo with his gimp fin on his own.  
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in real life, cartoons, video games and movies one thing rings true for this type. They always put their kids first.  When you have a true blue solid single parent, you will always be second until you earn the right to share the number one spot with the kid/s.  This type is pretty known for their “flakiness” and how busy they tend to be.  Please don't lose faith in them.  They probably like you but once again they are putting their kids first.  Also babysitters are hard to find, trust and the cost is getting more expensive as the years go by.  
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I think its important to address the initial asking of the question “Do you like kids?”  There is a huge difference between liking kids and actually being capable and willing to someday help raise them.  Yes you need to know that you're capable and wanting to be with the mother or father but the next thing you need to figure out is if you're capable of loving those kids and treating them as your own someday.  If you don't think you're up for that challenge, you need to let this amazing, strong, and independent woman or man go.  They don't have time for you, nor the energy to exert on catering to your needs.  When actually going on a date don't plan for a late night if they have their kids that night.  The typical babysitter watches the kids for about 4-6 hours tops and thats going to run the mom or dad about 50-100 dollars a pop.  So if you're a lady and he pays for you, please thank him at the end of the night and show your appreciation.  Going out with you cost him a good amount of money and he had to have been excited about you to be capable and willing to do that.  
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Parents have curfews, and while we don't turn into a monster or a pumpkin at midnight we do end up losing lots of sleep.  Kids don't understand, nor should have to that mom or dad went out drinking last night and have a hangover that most people would be able to nurse all day.  But this type needs to buck up, put his or her panties on and be able to make breakfast and entertain these mini humans however they deem fit.  When they decide to leave you alone for a millisecond and the world goes quiet and you get a five minute power nap, you’ll be sure to wake up to your walls covered in peanut butter, your stove is smoking and the smoke alarm is undoubtedly going off. 
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Another warning for the wise with this type is never, ever get involved with the ex and any drama that might come with these children.  Be the support, but never make yourself known to the issue.  It will only hurt your ex in the long run, any future possible friendship with the other half of the parenting equation and really it does no one favors especially the children involved.  Staying neutral is your best bet when it comes to anything with the ex. The single parent most commonly dates other single parents as well.  Single dad and moms just get each other already.  They understand their place and that the partner can't just drop everything and go out just because its taco Tuesday, hump Wednesday or thirsty Thursday. They also know they are capable of loving children and knowing the amount of work that goes into kids. When it comes to meshing the two families together it seems it could cause for some interesting combinations and you might need a bigger house for your Brady bunch sequel to continue.  However I think in the long run single parents finding each other is a beautiful thing.  I have also heard of many success stories built around a single mom or dad finding a completely kidless capable adult as well.  So really its dealers choice on this one and only you holding your hand can say whether or not you'd like to fold.  Make your choices wisely parents, this person will help mold these babies in the amazing human they will be someday.  
I have to say dating a single mom or dad does come with its perks!  I know I always carry some form of entertainment (like a hot wheels car or crayons) in my purse with me along with a countless number of snacks and I usually have juice boxes in my car for emergencies.  You probably were first attracted to this type because they're capable and determined, independent and strong and basically an all around life conquering badass. Yes they're complicated people at times and the situation you're entering does come with its challenges but ultimately they are gorgeous, loving, fulfilling, soul expanding, incredible people and you're lucky they want you to be apart of their life and their kids lives.  If they've chosen you to help mold these mini humans you know you're an important, worth while person that they are trusting.  So I leave you with this if you are dating this type currently, please always remember that the reason children have so much energy is because they're currently siphoning all of yours and their mom or dads energy like midget gasoline thieves.  
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