#aka what i thought as i fell asleep last night

[pathologicalreid]

for the fear of falling apart | epilogue

good things come to those who wait, and you're finally getting your happy ending

part one | part two | part three | part four | part five | epilogue

series masterlist

who? spencer reid x jareau!reader category: fluff (there's a first time for everything) content warnings: spoilers for criminal minds evolution but nothing super detailed, dad!spencer, babies, breastfeeding, takes place during s16, cancer, spencer's "special assignment" is just him being a dad word count: 1.74k a/n: the spencer reid dilf agenda is at the center of the universe. i cant believe ffofa is over. this is just a short and sweet look into what r and spencer are doing during cme - aka being parents. (the gif has nothing to do with the chapter he just looks so sexy)

“Where is she?” Spencer asked, minding the hour as he hung his token leather satchel in the entryway. He peeked around the living room before making his way to where you were in the kitchen, closing up your book of crosswords before he saw the clues and gave you all of the answers – a habit of his that you had been begging him to break.

Affixing your pen to the cover of the puzzle book, you hummed in response to his question, “It’s nine p.m., she’s asleep, in her crib.” You turned to face him, “And you may not go up there and get her,” you caught at his hand as you noticed him moving toward the stairs, “You will not wake that baby up, Spencer Reid.”

He accepted his defeat, coming back and gently wrapping his arms around you, “Did she go down okay?”

“No,” you answered bluntly, reciprocating his hug by reaching your arms up and slinging them over his shoulders. “She never does when you’re not home,” you added, providing a fact that he was already well aware of.

Spencer chuckled softly into the crook of your neck, “I thought I would’ve been able to get away earlier.”

You were unbothered, leaning into his touch, “Bedtime is at 7:30, you never would’ve made it in time.” His faculty event at school started at seven. It had been scheduled to run until midnight, but Spencer always made the effort to be home with you at the end of every day. The two of you hadn’t missed a tea date since before your daughter was born.

“But now it’s too late for us to do anything of substance,” he said, separating himself from you to switch on the electric kettle, looking over his shoulder at you, silently asking if you wanted tea.

Nodding at him, you watched as he pulled two mugs from the cabinet and dropped tea bags in each of them, “We can watch that documentary you were talking about last night.”

“You’ll fall asleep,” he countered. It was a symptom of motherhood that you hadn’t seen coming, falling asleep while watching anything.

You shrugged, “She’ll wake up to eat, I’ll wake up to feed her.” While your otherwise perfect daughter had mastered sleeping through the night within her first few months earthside, teething had ruined any semblance of a sleep schedule she had, so, she started crying to eat in the middle of the night.

Your husband didn’t seem convinced, but he grabbed the kettle off of its base and poured the hot water into your mugs, sliding a bureau-branded one toward you and keeping the octopus mug for himself. “Last time you fell asleep on the couch and I tried to get you to bed you threw things at me,” he reminded you, stirring honey into his tea before handing the sweetener to you.

“I threw a pillow at you,” you disputed, drizzling the honey into your mug before asking him to put the dish back up in the cabinet.

He rolled his eyes, leaning over the counter and smiling at you, a sweet, dopey, Harlequin romance smile. “I probably deserved it,” he acquiesced, bringing his mug to his lips and taking a sip of the lavender tea.

Spinning your mug on the counter in front of you, you raised your eyebrows and considered changing the subject, but you were lacking any kind of segue material, “So, JJ called me today,” you said.

Spencer set his octopus mug on the counter and frowned, “Are they still having problems?” He asked, resting his chin in his hands and keeping his attention on you.

Nodding, you shared a knowing look with him. Havoc had been wreaked on the BAU since Penelope left. You were lucky enough to be on maternity leave while administrators tore your unit apart and Spencer was on a special assignment – playing the long game on a case that the bureau felt needed to be closed. “I still can’t believe they dragged Penelope back, she was so content with SOAR,” you griped, knowing how much the techie’s life had improved since leaving the FBI.

“I can,” Spencer admitted, “There’s no BAU without Penelope Garcia. There were four people in that tech room trying to do the work she did,” he said, picking his mug back up before making his way around the kitchen island and sitting in the bar stool next to yours.

You leaned back in your stool, with Matt out on an assignment of his own, the BAU’s numbers had gone down drastically. “In better news, Dave went home,” you told Spencer, pointing your sock-covered foot out to nudge him gently.

His expression softened, “Good, the hotel was getting…”

“Yeah,” you agreed, sipping at your tea. Krystall had been the picture of health until she wasn’t, and losing her had nearly sent Rossi to a place you feared he’d never come back from. “Anyway, JJ asked if we were still alright with hosting Christmas this year,” you recalled from the phone call, “I said yes.”

Spencer nodded in agreement, “Have they heard anything from the oncologist?”

You frowned helplessly, “Not yet, depending on the results they might have to do more tests. I offered to take the boys next weekend if they need the time, J’s afraid mom will blab to Henry.”

“You miss it,” Spencer observed, eyes flitting over to the baby monitor on the counter.  

Rolling your eyes, “You do a job for nine years, you’re going to miss it when you take time off. Don’t act like you don’t,” you chided gently, smiling into your mug. When the bureau took everything you had been through into account, they willingly offered you an extended maternity leave, which you took without a second thought. However, you hadn’t anticipated feeling so disconnected from the team.

Spencer pursed his lips, “I do, but I like being home with you and Mila more.”

Leaning forward, you reached out and took his hand in yours, “Baby, if you want to go back to the BAU full-time, you know I’d never, ever get in the way of that.”

He shook his head dismissively, “No, not yet at least, but someday.”

The BAU was home, you knew that well enough, but now he had a home with you and Amelia. That wasn’t something he’d give up easily. You watched Spencer at he looked at the baby monitor again, “Stop praying on my downfall, she’ll wake up soon.”

Taking your empty mug in his hands, he set both yours and his in the kitchen sink, “I love you,” he told you.

Your face warmed at the expression, one of those times where there just wasn’t anything else he wanted to say – he just needed to tell you that he loved you. “I love you too,” you said, happily basking in what you assumed was your lingering new parent glow – the two of you were stronger than ever.

Quietly, Spencer loaded the rinsed mugs into the dishwasher before closing it, coming back around the counter and stopping in his tracks when a phone started to ring.

Dropping your head to the counter, you waited for the inevitable wailing to come from the nursery, when the cries started, you looked up at Spencer, “You get her, I’ll get the phone,” you negotiated.

Fishing the ringing phone – Spencer’s – off of the coffee table, you frowned at the caller ID before bringing the screen to your ear. “I need to talk to your wife,” a frantic voice said on the other end.

“Hi, Penny,” you greeted, eyes drifting to the top of the stairs where Spencer was emerging with a squawking baby in his arms.

Penelope gasped on the other end of the call, “I so very desperately need your advice. Do you remember me telling you about Tyler?” She sounded almost out of breath.

You hummed in response, “The guy from the serial killer website?” You wondered where she was going with this – technically the team wasn’t supposed to share case information with you, but that had never stopped any of them.

“Yes, that one,” she confirmed, “I kissed him.”

Surprised, you dropped down onto the couch, looking up at Spencer as you searched for an appropriate response to Penelope’s confession, “Emily is going to kill you.”

The other end of the call was silent except for Penelope trying to articulate a retort. Spencer frowned at you, swaying gently with Amelia in his arms, “What happened?”

Moving the mouthpiece away, you looked up at him, “She kissed a material witness,” you told him, watching as he clamped his lips together in a failed attempt to hide his amusement.

“This is serious,” she scolds over the phone. “I need a debrief. Coffee tomorrow?”

You nodded as the baby grew increasingly impatient in Spencer’s arms – his chest was just no good to her. “Hold on,” You said over the phone, waving for Spencer to hand the baby off to you so you could feed her.

He settled her in your arms, helping you as best he could before he was in the way, “You’ve got her?”

Spencer pressed a soft kiss to your hairline when you told him you were fine, bringing the phone back up once Mila latched, “Hey, so tomorrow, nine?” You offered, peering down as the baby nursed for comfort. “I can meet you at the kiosk in front of Quantico if that’s easier.”

Penelope sighed dramatically, “As long as you bring your pretty face and your pretty baby, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Lobbing the phone across the couch cushions, you leaned back slightly, adjusting the baby when she was done so that she could hopefully drift back to sleep. Your husband came back downstairs, having swapped his work clothes and contacts for pajamas and glasses, he deftly sat down next to you and took the baby.

Carefully, he settled her on his chest, letting her tiny limbs curl in neatly as she let out sweet coos, brown eyes fluttering shut as Spencer gently swiped his thumb across her back. That little girl had him wrapped around his finger from the moment he knew about her existence.

You shifted to rest your head on his shoulder, watching Mila drift off into her dreams, “Are you going to fall asleep like this?” Spencer asked you, keeping his voice at a whisper.

Humming, you shut your eyes briefly, “Yeah, this is my favorite show.”

taglist: @football1921 @thedancingnerdmermaid @dollarstore-lydia-deetz @cillsnostalgia @alivesarcastically

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@stargirlls-world @ovando13 @cxtherine

[ln4author]

𝖳𝖧𝖤𝖸 𝖣𝖮𝖭'𝖳 𝖪𝖭𝖮𝖶 𝖠𝖡𝖮𝖴𝖳 𝖴𝖲 — Charlie Bushnell fanfic (parts of instagram and chat au)

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WELCOME TO EPISODE 01, ARE YOU READY FOR IT?

@ellarue

liked by gwendolineuniverse, masonalexanderpark, momonatamada, and others

ellarue Tempus Frangit ⏳️ Thank youuuuu ladyyyyy for the photos @gwendolineuniverse

↳ See comments

___

masonalexanderpark Beautiful as always <33 Do you know who will also think this? TOMM, let me go show him the true face of his little sister

↳ ellarue show... show and you will see where your makeup ends up.

↳ masonalexanderpark IT WAS A JOKE ELLA, YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU HONEY <33

↳ ellarue UHUMMMMMMM ME TOO <33

gwendolineuniverse You're welcome dear, they look really pretty, but with a model like that it's hard not to.

↳ ellarue Don't talk like that or you will kill a delulu🤭🤭 (I'M THE DELULU)

↳ xochitl.gomez STOP HITTING ON MARRIED WOMAN ELLA

↳ momonatamada She can't take it, a beautiful married woman appears, and she is like this 🥺🥺

↳ ellarue SHUT UP KKKKKKKKKKKKKK I HATE YOU GUYS, please ignore them Gwen <33

↳ gwendolineuniverse It's fine dear 🤭

momonatamada I wanted to get out of the banality of saying that "you're beautiful", but you as Delirium are another level

↳ xochitl.gomez I remember when she tried on the wig for the first time, she freaked out thinking it would look ugly for the role, like... GIRL, HAVE YOU EVER LOOKED IN THE MIRROR?

↳ ellarue I promise, you are the bestiess I could ask for (It doesn't even look like I wanted to kill you two seconds ago)

↳ xochitl.gomez I love the aesthetic of us being like, FUCK YOU BITCH <33

↳ ellarue @Netflix I NEVER SAID THAT!!!!!!!!!!

user1 Qual a chance de eu e Delírio nos casarmos? (What are the chances of me and Delirio getting married?)

↳ user2 Talvez no dia que ela estiver sã? (Maybe the day she's mentally healthy?)

↳ user1 Merda! (Shit!)

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I throw my cell phone on the bed laughing, I loved it when the comments turned into complete chaos.

The weather today was very good for sleeping, the problem is that, at the moment, I'm having an insomnia crisis. My insomnia attacks always intensify when I'm working on something important, but I always try to ignore them. And that's exactly why at 00:37 I'm scrolling through Instagram, even though I wake up in 5 hours and a few minutes.

My cell phone vibrates at my side, easily gaining my attention. Who could be sending messages at this time? Did something go wrong? I turn on the screen looking for information and then...

"iamcharliebushnell liked your post"

Ah... it was nothing important... Starting to reassure myself again, I go to the profile of the person who liked my photo, something I do whenever I have time. And wait, does Mo follow him? He looks a little familiar to me.

My interest in the profile becomes sudden, or maybe it's just sleep starting to speak louder. Browsing the account I find photos from the end of 2023 that make me understand the reason for the familiarity. He is Luke, like Luke Castellan in the Percy Jackson series, aka one of my biggest crushes in the series (if we don't count Clarisse).

There was just one problem... When we are in the sleep stage, we don't think very well what to do. Or sometimes we don't even think about it. And that's my excuse for liking a photo of him from months ago.

To make my situation worse the next day, I felt my eyes finally get heavy, sleep would consume me and I could finally have a night of peace. Or that's what I thought. I fell asleep a few minutes after that.

___

I woke up quickly with the alarm, also who wouldn't wake up when they have Momona and Xochitl screaming in their ear. Yes, they made a personalized audio for me to use with an alarm, that's why I love my girls.

I pick up my phone, seeing that its battery is empty, great, I forgot to put it on charge last night. I walk to the bathroom and continue with my standard routine.

On the way to the film set I was finally able to turn on my cell phone to check the news and the thousands of notifications from my friends didn't seem like a good thing...

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Hey darlingsss, this is the first episode of this fanfic, I hope you like it <33 As it is the first chapter, it was a little shorter than the others and more stationary, as it is just to introduce the protagonist to you. I really hope you like it, really do!!!

*Spoiler: The next episode will be from Charlie's point of view.

*Obs: If you couldn't see it correctly, here's the screenshot from Instagram.

Tag list: @siriusblacksgf @idiewhenrhythmgamesdie @taygrls @jules-loves-lukecastellan @lostinhisworld @iludidaefodida @goopoems @lucycarlisleswife @blairfox04

[hbyrde36]

Midsummer Nights (AKA Summer Camp Fic)

WC: 3665 | R: Explicit (for eventual smut) | Ch 2/? | AO3

Ch 1 <-

Chapter 2

“You look like shit,” Robin said, sitting down across from Steve at their usual table in the dining hall, letting the tray she held slam down on the tabletop a little bit harder than necessary.

Steve winced, the loud sound making his head throb painfully. If he didn't know better he’d think he was hungover. “Thanks.”

“I know how much you value honesty.” She shrugged and pushed one end of the tray towards him so they could share, eating a few bites of egg before passing him the fork, trading it for a piece of buttered toast.

No wonder people thought they were a couple. 

“I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night,” he said between mouthfuls of the fluffy scramble. Camp food had never been this good when they were kids, but ever since Hopper found Alexei, mealtimes had actually become something to look forward to.

“First day jitters?” She asked.

“Yeah… and–uh, we had that late arrival?”

“Right, Hopper said. Oh no, did the guy come in all rude and loud in the middle of the night?”

“No, nothing like that. I was still awake anyway. He’s just so—” Steve heaved a sigh, the love-sick tone of it giving him away as easily as if he’d said the words aloud. He pushed his end of the tray aside, laying his head down on the sticky surface of the table. 

“Seriously, Steven?” Robin leaned in to hiss quietly. “Are you telling me you have a crush on this guy already?”

“You didn’t see him,” he whined.

“Neither did you!”

He raised back up with a huff. She just didn’t get it. “Sure it was dark, but I saw enough. Trust me. Long hair, tattoos, piercings.”

He’d seen a little not in the dark too. 

The second Steve woke up this morning his eyes had fallen once again on the other boy still fast asleep in his own bunk. Half his face was covered by the corner of his quilt, but the sunlight peeking in through the cabin’s small windows fell on the other half, shining on the darkest of dark brown curls, and revealing the long sweep of eyelashes resting on his cheeks. 

Robin swiveled in her seat, looking frantically around the hall. 

“Don’t bother, he’s not here yet,” Steve mumbled, miserably.

She pouted, digging back into their communal plate. 

“He plays guitar, Rob—guitar! Or, I assume he does since he brought one with him all the way from England.” Steve stared off into the middle distance, fantasizing about ringed hands flying across a fretboard. “Imagine what he can do with his fingers.”

Robin wrinkled her nose, frowning. “You have always been a slut for a British accent, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.”

Suddenly, the double doors at the center of the dining hall burst open, and whether he’d intended to make a spectacle of himself or not, there he was on full display. 

The boy.

The one Steve had fallen head over heels for without sharing so much as a hello, without the other boy even knowing Steve existed, with all attention on him while he slunk inside with bleary eyes, frowning as he made his way slowly to the food line.

Though it was late June and sweltering outside, the stranger wore a pair of long black jeans, their slightly oversized hems hanging loosely around a pair of black combat boots. His shirt at least was short sleeved, but also black and emblazoned with the fading name of some band Steve had never heard of. 

Drool pooled in Steve’s mouth.

Honestly the whole look was really doing it for him, he sort-of had a thing for alt guys, but the poor dude was going to melt in this heat if he kept dressing like that.

Steve was abruptly brought back down to earth as something small, wet, and a little bit squishy pinged him in the cheek. The blueberry projectile bounced off his face, landing smack in the middle of the remainder of their scrambled eggs.

He cut Robin, who didn’t even have the decency to look guilty, a sidelong glare. “What was that for!” 

“You’re staring!” She whisper-shouted.

“Everyone is staring!”

“Not like they want to eat him! The rest of us are simply observing. Like watching a bear at the zoo… If that bear had his ears gauged and wore a wallet chain.”

Steve picked one of the small cartons of milk off their tray, sipping from it to stop himself from saying exactly what he’d like to do with that wallet chain. All the better to wind his hand around and reel his crush in for a kiss with, as far as he was concerned.

Robin looked back over her shoulder to take another peek at the dark-haired boy.

“And black nail polish.”

Steve snorted a laugh, a bit of milk dribbling out of his nose in the process.

Robin lost it, her cackling laughter mixing with his own to echo loudly through the metal building, drawing all eyes to them—including the object of Steve’s affection.

Shit.

The newcomer’s head whipped around in their direction, a scowl already painting his features as he and Steve locked eyes for a heart stopping moment.

Steve dropped the other boy’s gaze quickly and threw a hand over his own mouth, reaching across the table to swat Robin on the shoulder and get her to shut up too.

“What?” she asked, turning around and making an obvious show out of it. 

Steve wanted to crawl under the table and hide. He risked another glance and—yup! Mr. tall, dark, and hot-as-fuck was still staring daggers at the two of them. 

“Oof.” She spun back, grimacing.

Steve groaned. “He probably thinks we were laughing at him now.”

“Nah,” she waved a hand in an unconvincing show of casual confidence. “I bet that’s just his face.”

“Do you have any friends other than me?” Steve asked. 

Because sometimes… sometimes he wondered.

“No comment.”

As they finished their breakfast Steve kept his eyes firmly on his own table, afraid that if he tried to keep tabs on his new crush he’d get caught staring again. By the time he and Robin were done eating and he got up to deposit their last bits of food and the plastic flatware in the trash, he’d almost convinced himself that she was right. Not that the boy he liked always wore a perpetual look of irritation, but that his sour mood likely had nothing to do with them. 

It was hot out, it was early, and the guy had to be exhausted after a long day of travel and too little sleep.

Too distracted with his thoughts, Steve didn’t hear the footsteps or the jingle of chains approaching. He added the now empty tray to the pile to be washed, turning to head back to his table without looking and accidentally shoulder checked someone coming up behind him.

Hard.

“Oi!” The dark-haired boy cried out, stumbling back with flailing arms.

Steve reached out automatically to steady him, gripping his slender waist. “Sorry!” 

The boy made a face, shaking off the touch as he reared back. “Bellend,” he spat under his breath, walking away before Steve could say another word. 

Mortified, and surely red in the face, Steve shuffled back to his seat.

“Smooooth,” Robin said, drawing the word out.

“Shut up.”

She reached across the table to pat his hand, half comforting, half patronizing. “What did he say to you, anyway?”

“He called me a bell end?” Steve said, a little unsure. He’d heard a decent amount of slang from other countries before, but clearly not enough. “I don’t know what it means but I'm pretty sure it wasn’t good.”

“I think he–” Robin snapped her mouth shut, sealing her lips tight but laughter bubbled up in her throat and inevitably spilled out anyway. “Basically, he called you a dickhead.”

“Great,” Steve grunted, “even insulting me he sounded hot. I’m so pathetic.”

“What else is new?”

A sudden shrill, ear-piercing tone cut through the air, the feedback from Hopper’s ancient microphone threatening to burst all their eardrums as he switched it on, giving it three quick taps to test if it was working. 

“Good morning!” The older man bellowed, mouth too close to the mic, as usual.

There were a few quiet, half hearted returns of his sentiment from some of the older staff, while the rest only sat in silence. 

“I said… good morning!” Hopper tried again, obnoxiously. 

This time everyone, even Steve and Robin, gave an enthusiastic response, if only to move the announcement process along.

“That’s more like it. I want to take a moment to welcome all of you, new and returning staff alike, to the start of pre-camp 1999! As always, the owners and I are looking forward to making this summer even better than the last, and that starts with all of you. I’ve gone ahead and broken you into groups of two. When I call your name please see my wife, Joyce—” Hopper pointed down one end of the room, raising his voice as though it wasn’t already booming through the large speakers situated on either side of the hall. “Wave your hand, honey, so they can find you.”

The small woman—who’d been Steve’s surrogate mother every summer for as long as he could remember—stood, beaming as she raised her palm up high.

“She’ll give you and your partner your assignments for the day. Lunch will be grab and go, so just wander back in here whenever you feel like you need a break and remember to drink plenty of water!”

Steve and Robin shared a glance, letting out matching sighs of relief, sure that Hopper would pair them together.

However, the feeling was short-lived. 

After only a handful of other pairs were called, Hopper shouted, “Buckley! McNulty!”

Son of a bitch.

“Who’s that?” Steve asked, annoyed, watching an unfamiliar redhead a few tables away rise, wiggling her fingers in Robin’s direction before trotting over to where Joyce sat.

“That’s Vickie, she’s new,” Robin swallowed audibly, turning to him with wide eyes. “Oh my god, Steve, I can’t believe he’s doing this to us! She’s so pretty, how do I even talk to her?”

“Oh how the tables have turned,” Steve teased. “Karma! That's what you get for making fun of me all morning.”

No sooner had Robin got up and walked away, subtly giving him the finger behind her back, when Hopper called out the next two partners.

“Harrington! Munson!”

Unease crawled up Steve’s throat. 

Another unfamiliar name. With the smallest shred of hope he thought back to meeting Argyle the day before. Had he said his last name?

Steve didn’t think so, and one look around the room confirmed his fears. 

A head of thick, dark, wild curls was already making its way towards Joyce.

Great. 

Steve got up, rushing behind the other boy, catching up just as Joyce was rounding her table, standing on tip-toe to throw her arms around his shoulders.

“Oh honey, it’s so good to see you!” She pulled back, looking Steve up and down like a proud parent who’s just realized how much you’ve grown. “I’m sorry about separating you and Robin, but we thought it’d be better to pair new folks with those who were more familiar with the camp.” She stepped away, grinning as she looked between him and the other boy—Munson—who’d temporarily lost his scowl in favor of a polite, if tight-lipped, smile. 

“You and Mr. Munson here, are gonna take on the boathouse and waterfront area today.” Joyce went on after consulting her clipboard. “There's a checklist on the wall just inside the door of the building.”

Munson tipped his head in a nod before walking off towards the bathrooms.

Joyce met Steve’s eye with a raised brow. “He’s a quiet one.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed absently, still watching the other boy’s back move away with half an eye. 

“Good thing he’s got you,” Joyce said, with a wink. “I'm sure you’ll do your best to make him feel welcome.” 

After he finished helping to wipe down tables, Steve found Munson already out by the boathouse, easy enough for even a newbie to locate, being the only building near the lake and dock. He had his eyes closed, kicked back and lounging on an upturned canoe smoking a cigarette, face tilted up to the sun. 

Jesus fucking Christ. 

Like a scene from a music video, it was as if this guy was ripped right out of Steve’s dreams and made real. For once he was thankful for the heat. He could blame his sudden sweat and red cheeks on that.

In an effort not to startle Munson and have yet another embarrassing encounter before they’d even exchanged first names, Steve made sure to drag his feet a little through the dirt and stone as he got close.

When that elicited no reaction, he cleared his throat, stopping near the end of the canoe, casting a shadow over Munson’s spot.

The stunning figure pursed his plush lips, blowing out a long plume of smoke right in Steve’s face, and finally cracked one eye open, squinting up at him. 

“I–um, y-you can’t smoke on campus once the kids are here,” Steve stammered.

Oh god, why was that the first thing he said?

Munson rolled his eyes, sliding off the side of the boat to stand, pinching the end of his cigarette between his fingers to put it out before slipping it into his pocket. “Got it, boss.”

“Um, S-Steve? I-I mean, I'm Steve.”

Aaand, he continued to sound like an idiot. 

Awesome. 

Steve managed to resist the urge to smack himself in the forehead, but only just.

After a long pause the other boy raised a single pierced eyebrow. "Call me Eddie."

“Eddie.” Steve nodded dumbly as he slowly backed away. “There’s… checklist. I’ll just—” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the big roll up door that would open the boathouse, and finally managed to tear his eyes away from Eddie, turning to open it up.

The list of tasks was expected enough. Less expected was how much of a disaster he’d become.

Steve skimmed the paper over as he took it and the clipboard off the wall, taking a few deep, calming breaths before walking back out to face Eddie again, and promptly choked on his own air.

Eddie had pulled a small object from his pocket, and with a casual flick of his wrist, a blade appeared in his hand. He bent down, setting it against his inner thigh, carefully slicing through the thick denim all the way around. He tore the last few inches by hand before repeating the process on his other side. 

The reveal of long pale legs had Steve practically hyperventilating, a situation not helped in the slightest when Eddie proceeded to set the blade to his shirt sleeves next. 

Steve must have made a sound or something, because Eddie glanced up as he finished cutting his homemade tank top to go with his new shorts, finally noticing him standing there. 

Eddie’s lip curled in a sneer. “What you looking at?”

For a second Steve could only stand and stare openly, his brain completely offline. He’d already seen the ink decorating Eddie’s forearms—a swarm of bats and some creepy puppet guy—but now he could also see an unusual dragon on the boy’s upper arm, and with the sleeves of his shirt now cut out and wide, Steve got a peek of even more artwork on his chest.

“I-I w-wasn’t… I mean, y-you—you’re…” Steve sputtered as his brain booted back up slowly.  

“Whatever, mate,” Eddie said, pointing his pocket knife in Steve’s direction before flicking it closed and slipping it from sight. “And before you talk to me like I'm a bloody moron again, I know kids and knives don’t mix.”

“Right,” Steve nodded, running a hand over the back of his neck. He dropped his eyes back down to the list. Maybe if he focused on the task at hand, he could stop digging this fucking hole for himself.

First order of business was to drag the rest of the boats and kayaks outside, check them over for wear and tear and stack them on their racks. 

They moved around each other in silence, only interacting when they had to work together to move the two longest canoes. When that was done and it was time to place the chairs out to the sandy shore of the lake, Eddie was dripping sweat and obviously struggling, but seemingly refused to ask for or suggest a break.

Steve had them sort the lifejackets next instead, something they could do sitting in the shade with two ice cold bottles of water. 

More than once Steve opened his mouth to say something in conversation, anything to break the building, palpable tension, but each time he cringed, remembering how badly he flubbed things so far, and thought better of it. A wise move considering that every time he forgot to rein himself in, and accidentally stared at the other boy a little too long he’d earn a new dirty look.

They took a late lunch, only sitting down long enough to inhale a few sandwiches each before returning to work. 

Soon enough the day was nearing its end, and the only things left to do were take stock of the fishing equipment, and swim out from the dock to place the buoys and rope floats for the season, demarking the swimming area from the rest of the lake.

“My trunks are up at the cabin…” Eddie trailed off, the most words he’d spoken at once since they started. 

“I’ve got it,” Steve offered, shedding his cargo shorts to show his swimsuit hiding underneath. “I don’t mind, if you’d rather check the rods and tackle.”

Eddie looked away quickly, clearing his throat as he did an about-face. He waved a hand over his shoulder, which Steve took to mean he’d accepted the division of labor.

The lake was cool and refreshing after so long in the sun, and Steve felt his mood lift for the first time all day, even welcoming the tickle of pondweed on his feet while he treaded water, carefully tying the ropes out where they belonged. He took his time swimming back in, reveling in the feel of water gliding over his skin until he reached the doc where Eddie’s black-clad form was already waiting. 

Steve wondered how long the other boy had been watching him. 

They were done for the day, Eddie could have just left, but instead he leaned out over the edge, reaching a hand down to help Steve out of the water. Though the ladder was only feet away, he took it, the skin of his palm tingling at the contact.

“Thanks,” Steve breathed, lips parted.

The second he was safely on the dock Eddie let go, clenching his fist at his side as he spun and walked away without a word.

Steve watched his retreating figure make its way up the hill to the road that led to the cabins, and couldn’t help thinking, this was going to be one long summer. 

”He hates me,” Steve bemoaned, for the umpteenth time, while he and Robin stomped through the thick undergrowth, searching for the path that would lead them through the woods along the edge of camp property to the not-so-secret clearing where counselors got together to party after sundown. 

They’d find the spot one way or another. Steve could already see the flickering light of the bonfire in the distance and hear the sound of music drifting through the trees, tinny and staticky from the blown speakers of Jonathan’s old boombox.

“Are you sure you’re not overreacting?” Robin asked. “You said he pulled you out of the water, that doesn’t sound like someone who hates you.” 

Steve shook his head, not that she could see him in the dark. They’d have to remember to bring a flashlight next time.

“Maybe he’ll be here tonight,” she said. “You could offer him one of your disgusting lukewarm beers and bury the hatchet once and for all.”

Steve harrumphed, hugging the six pack of rattling bottles to his chest. “It doesn’t matter. It’s just another stupid crush that’ll go nowhere, anyway. Let’s face it, I'm destined to get my heart broken by straight boys for the rest of my life.”

Robin stifled a giggle.

“What now,” he groaned.

“You think Eddie… is straight?” She asked in a horrible, and frankly offensive, English accent. 

Steve could only hope she never did it in front of the boy in question. 

“You don’t?” He asked.

“He’s some flavor of gay, I'd put money on it,” She said emphatically. “Whether he actually knows that about himself yet or not? Remains to be seen.”

“How do you do tha—ow!” A sharp sting had Steve sucking air through his teeth, slapping at his neck to ward off mosquitos. “How do you read people like that?” 

“Well, in this case, uh… I have eyeballs?” 

Steve rolled his eyes. He wasn’t convinced she was right but he couldn’t deny that her assessment had awakened a small spark of hope in him. Even if she was wrong, or if Eddie just simply didn’t like him like that, it couldn't hurt to keep trying to make friends.

Right?

Unfortunately, when they finally entered the clearing and Steve took a look at the faces gathered around the fire, Eddie was nowhere to be found. He spent the next two hours sharing half a tree stump with Robin and getting drunk about it.

When he eventually stumbled back to his cabin for the night, he found Eddie still fully dressed, snoring loudly, face down and completely passed out on top of his covers. 

Adorable. 

Steve kicked off his shoes and followed suit, only pulling off his shirt before falling onto his own still made-up bunk. 

It was too warm for blankets anyway.

Thanks as always to the lovely @penny00dreadful for being the best beta, friend and cheerleader.

Permanent taglist (open): @penny00dreadful @pearynice @hitlikehammers @bookworm0690 @wonderland-girl143-blog 

@goodolefashionedloverboi @themagicalari @awkwardgravity1 @rocknrollsalad

Fic taglist (open): @mrsjellymunson

[kisspromptsforthelovesquare]

Kisses under an umbrella

One last kiss before I sacrifice myself/risk it all for you

Jumping on the other kiss

“I thought I’d lost you” kiss

Detransformed but still pre-reveal kiss

Romantic sewer kiss

We just won/lost an akuma battle kiss

“In case we don't make it out of this alive" kiss

“I just found out your identity and I don’t think it’s physically possible to keep my lips off your face now” kiss

Formal kiss

We're platonically cuddling on a chilly patrol night when we're making each other laugh so much we spur-in-the-moment kiss

Sleepy/half-asleep kiss

“I forgot you’re dating my other identity” kiss

Someone’s hanging upside down kiss (aka Spiderman kiss)

Blowing a kiss

“Someone claimed to be dating you and I couldn’t contradict them” jealous kiss

“Your suit’s in the way” kiss

“Your suit’s not in the way anymore!” kiss

Someone just lost their memory kiss

He/she just said yes kiss

"Kiss it better" kiss

Celebratory kiss

Kiss for the camera

Kiss they think is secret but actually lots of people can see, or getting caught kissing

Forehead kiss

"Did you know that kissing is good for hiding in plain sight, because it makes people uncomfortable so they look away?" (aka fake out make out)

I got jealous how you smiled (politely) at that civilian who was obviously (except to you) flirting with you

Kiss on a dare

André got akumatized again and he's leaving couples alone kiss

True love's kiss worked before let's try it again kiss

We need to make our fake dating look convincing kiss

Hello kiss, or goodbye kiss

Distracting your injured partner from pain while you patch them up kiss

She mixed up her words and asked for a kiss by accident but he just went with it kiss

“It’s not fair that you remember kissing me and I don’t” kiss

“I need you to stop punning for like FIVE SECONDS, so I’m going to occupy your mouth in a different way” kiss

The akuma is a huge Ladynoir shipper and it's the only way out kiss

“Sure I’ll help you practice confessing to Buttercup” kiss

“Thanks for saving my life” Ladrien or Marichat kiss

Anywhere but the face kiss: hand kiss, wrist kiss, shoulder kiss

One corner of the square kissing to prove another corner isn’t dating kiss

You were going in for la bise and I read into it kiss

“I’m/You’re using a different miraculous today” kiss

Spin the bottle kiss

“I know I said I wanted to keep our relationship a secret but…” kiss

"What do you mean you're moving away?!" kiss 

Welcome home kiss

"I want my first kiss to be with someone that I love and trust, but it's not that I'm IN love with you or anything hahaha no way" kiss

Kiss you to sleep, or kiss you awake

"Distracting you while you're trying to do something because I want attention" kiss

"Oh no, you made me fall in love with you" realization kiss

"Kissing your forehead/cheek while I thought you were sleeping" kiss (bonus if the 'asleep' person was actually unconscious and the kissing person is all "please come back to me.") 

Kiss during Second Chance

Anniversary kiss

“I thought this was just dancing, so how did we start kissing?” kiss

“We just fought and I’m mad at what you did, but I want you to know I’m not mad at you” kiss

“You fell asleep on public transport and I’m waking you up at our stop” kiss

“It’s been years since we’ve seen each other and I didn’t know what happened to you because of secret identities” kiss

“Reunion” kiss but one of them has the kwagatama ability to talk to the other through reunion and their lips can’t even touch because one is a ghost :(( 

Winning a bet kiss

Drunk kiss

Soft kiss after wrapping them in a blanket

Kiss on an old injury

“Our friends are trying to set us up, haha, let’s humor them” kiss

Sneaking into each other’s room kiss

“I’m pretty sure the grimoire says something about kissing, but I’m not sure exactly what. Want to help me experiment?” kiss

Apology kiss

Kissing while using one of the suit power-ups

“We’re both so busy that we’ve barely seen each other in days, so we should make the most of it” kiss

Kissing under the mistletoe

Kissing in a car

Identity reveal kiss

“Let’s recreate our first/favorite kiss”

Kissing backstage after a fashion show

“We should be focusing on this battle but, wow, you are extra distracting today” kiss

First kiss, or last kiss

“I know it’s the worst possible time for a kiss but…”

Failed kiss or interrupted kiss

Kiss as a confession/to show you how I really feel

Post-reveal pre-relationship kiss

Kisses that tickle

“We found our way back to each other” kiss

Soulmate kiss

Everyday domestic bliss kiss 

A kiss to comfort

“Why exactly are you kissing me?”

“Oh yeah? What are you willing to do to get a kiss from me? 😏” kiss

Accidental lip contact during la bise

Kissing in a disco

"What's the difference between le bisou and la bise? Hmm, let me show you..." 

“Maybe this will jog your memory” kiss

“I was going for the cheek/forehead and I missed 😳” kiss

Sealing a pinky swear with a kiss

"Will you marry me?" kiss

"I just love you so much, I can't help it" kiss

Fake dating kiss

A safe for work “not safe for work” kiss (like they’re standing on a forklift or something - what were YOU thinking?)

Interrupted by kids. Or a hamster. Or a kwami. 

 "Miracle cure brought you back" kiss

“Here’s your present” kiss

A kiss that promises forever

---

More info below:

I hope you wanted a long list of kiss prompts for the Love Square this Valentine's Day! What better way to celebrate a day of love than with our favorite lovesick dorks. 🥰

Use this list however you want. As an ask game, a challenge to draw or write every one, or just pick your favorites!

(For more fun, here's a random number spinner that you can set to any number you want.)

Feel free to use any version of them you want, too. Multimouse, Cat Walker, Dragon Bug, Chat Blanc, or stick to the original four-cornered square, if that's your thing!

Tag @kisspromptsforthelovesquare and we'll reblog. Marinette and Adrien's love for each other is forever. Just like the offer of reblogging. There's no time limit.

There's also a collection on AO3. Feel free to post there instead/as well.

Have fun everyone! Go and make them smooch!

Thank you to the wonderful @ladyofthenoodle for the header, and for our Discord group with their kiss suggestions.

[demxters]

—(LOVING YOU IS) GOLDEN, LIKE DAYLIGHT

frat!jake seresin x f!reader

dagger squad college!au

summary: recovery isn’t as easy as you thought it would be, but jake is there to lead you away from the darkness. (aka, the hurt/comfort fic)

wc: 4.9k

warning(s): 18+, fem!reader, no y/n (reader goes by nickname ace), a little angst, swearing, bad parental relationships, description of injuries, mentions of mental health struggles, one heated kiss, nudity, mentions of intimacy/sex

part of the loving you universe || find it on ao3 here

𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊, 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃!

 Your first night out of the hospital was the best you’ve felt in days. After Jake’s conversation with your parents, things between the two of you began to go back to the way it used to be. There was still the need to talk about what happened between you but for now, Jake’s biggest concern was your recovery. 

Jake has always been incredibly protective of you. Even before you got together, it was something in his DNA that had him always on high alert whenever you were around. Now, those senses were heightened by one hundred upon your release from the hospital. 

You were doing better, you even looked better but Jake was still afraid to let you out of his sights. Your left arm was still in a cast and your knee was still sprained. Your bruises were still very evident and extremely sensitive. Jake hated watching you wince in pain every time you did something as effortless as breathe. 

Jake was carefully buckling your seatbelt when he heard your breath hitch. “Shit, sweetheart, did I hurt you?” His eyes skim over your body. 

You grab hold of his hand to keep it steady on your waist, noticing his abnormally clammy skin. You hated that you were causing him to worry so much. “No, you didn’t. Just sensitive, is all.” 

“I’m sorry, baby,” he frowns, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. 

“Nothing to be sorry for,” you whisper in reply. You can feel the last of your pain medication wearing off, signaling that you may need to take another dose when you get back to the apartment. 

Jake only nods, despite the string of apologies that threaten to spill from his lips. He has apologized to you at least a thousand times since you woke up and each time you told him the same thing. But seeing you like this, in pain because of him, broke his heart. 

You fell asleep before Jake even backed out of the hospital parking lot. The entire drive back to your apartment, he keeps a hand on your knee. A reminder that you came back to him. 

Pulling into the front of your complex, Jake hurriedly puts the car in park before grabbing the wheelchair from the hospital in the back of his truck. He swiftly unfolds it and wheels it to the passenger side. Opening the door, he softly coaxes you awake. 

You groan and flutter your eyes open to see Jake softly looking down at you. 

The journey from the car to the apartment was full of arguments and shared looks of disapproval from the both of you. You were trying to convince Jake that you could wheel yourself, while Jake adamantly refused. After a minute of going back and forth, you finally let him have his way, knowing he wasn’t going to let up any time soon. 

Upon entering the apartment you’re met with all your best friends gathered in the living room under a poorly executed banner that said, “Welcome Home, Ace!” 

You giggle at the lopsided writing and oddly sized lettering, making the banner look like it was written by a seven year old. You reckon that was done by Mickey due to the way he sheepishly stares down at his feet when Jake comments on the artistry. 

Natasha gathers you in her arms in an instant barely giving Jake enough time to close the front door. “It’s so good to have you back here.” 

“It’s so good to be back,” you sigh into her shoulder. 

She lets you go in favor of helping Jake bring your bags from your hospital stay into your room. 

Bob is the next one to greet you with tears in his eyes. 

You squeeze his hand with a soft smile. “Oh, Bobby.”

“Sorry, I just missed you.” Bob blushes at his confession. 

“Missed you too,” you grin and playfully pinch his cheek. 

“Thank goodness you’re back. I haven’t watched any new episodes of The Mandalorian yet because I was waiting for you to come home.” Mickey smiles as he comes to greet you. 

“Fanboy, you are just the sweetest.” 

He nods proudly at your words. 

“No he is not. I came over here last weekend to help with some cleaning and I saw him start season three!” Reuben interjects with a playful slap to Mickey’s back. 

“Dude!” 

You tsk in faux disappointment. “And I thought we were friends, Mick.” 

Reuben laughs and brings you in for a hug, whispering in your ear that he’ll watch it with you instead—to which Mickey takes full offense. 

Just as Javy goes in for a hug of his own, Jake comes back into the room and stands behind you. 

“Careful, Javy,” he says pointedly. “Watch her ribs.” 

Javy snorts. “Geez, sorry dad.” 

You laugh at the two of them and roll your eyes. 

Bradley is the last to approach you and you open your good arm in a warm welcome. “Hey, Chicken.” 

“You’re just saying that because I can’t get you back right now!” He groans into your shoulder. 

You smile and shrug innocently. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Yeah, whatever,” he shakes his head. 

You feel Jake place a hand on your shoulder and you look up at him with a grateful smile. 

It really did feel good to be home. 

_________________

The rest of the night was spent with an incredible home cooked meal by Natasha and joyous laughter as you enjoyed some time with the people you loved most. 

You moved from the wheelchair to the couch, settling in beside Jake as best you can as he used his own legs to prop up your sprained knee. 

He checked up on you every once in a while. Making sure you were comfortable and drinking water. When the laughter got a little too hard to stop, it made your ribs ache and he noticed right away whenever you went to clutch at your side. 

Jake would scold the group for making you laugh too hard which resulted in another round of endless teasing from them. 

As the night finally wound down, the boys began to clean up the kitchen area while Natasha brought you to your room to help you redress your wounds and get ready for bed. 

Nat and you sat on your bed in comfortable silence as she brushed your hair gently. Your eyelids feel heavy at her soft gestures and you almost find yourself slipping into sleep until she breaks the silence. 

“Why didn’t you come talk to me?” She questions, hurt evident in her words. “Why didn’t you just talk to me instead of going to that party?” 

You swallow harshly, feeling guilty for making all your friends worry about you. At the time, you weren’t in your right mind. With everything going on you didn’t want to become another burden for them to bear. Like your parents had told you so many times before, you didn’t want to become an inconvenience. Though, you knew that was hardly an excuse for your rash behavior. 

“I’m sorry,” you tell her softly, turning to look at her. “I know I should’ve come to talk to you about everything instead of dealing with it on my own. I shouldn’t have done what I did. I—“ You pause to inhale deeply, feeling a sharp pain in your chest from the bruises on your ribs. 

Nat smooths your hair back with a sad smile, shushing you gently. “It’s okay, don’t push yourself too hard.” 

“It’s not okay if my actions ended up hurting everyone. Especially…” You stop once more to catch a break. 

“Especially Jake?” She finishes for you. There’s no malice or judgment in her tone, just pure observation and understanding. 

You nod. “Especially him. If I could I would take it all back in a heartbeat. I would’ve come to you for advice instead of dropping it on you through a text message. I would’ve talked to him instead of running away.” 

Nat hums in understanding. She was one of the few people who really understood you. She may have been a little hurt by your decisions, but she knows none of it was done with ill intentions.  

Seeing you beat yourself up like this hurts her, so she tries her best to soothe your self blame and guilt. “But he’s here now, Ace. You are so incredibly lucky that he loves you the way he does. I mean, sure, you guys fought and it led to something terrible. But he came back, he’s here and it doesn’t look like he’s leaving any time soon.” Grabbing your hand, she pulls you into another embrace. “And neither am I.” 

“I love you, Nattie.” 

“I love you too, Ace.” 

The door opening brings the two of you apart and you’re met with Jake’s teasing smile. 

“Making moves on my girl, Natasha? I’m telling Javy,” Jake crossed his arms over his chest. 

Nat rolls her eyes, getting up from the bed. “Oh please, you and Javy are practically married,” she retorts, making you huff out a breath of laughter. 

With one last squeeze of your hand she gives you and Jake a soft goodnight before exiting the room. 

Seeing Jake freshly showered and changed into his pajamas as he stood into your room, almost brought tears to your eyes. The last time you remember him being in your room was the night you fought. Seeing him like this made your heart skip a beat. Nat was right, you were so incredibly lucky to be loved by Jake Seresin. 

He walks over to you with a soft smile and gently scoops you up in his arms bridal style, eliciting a soft chuckle from you. “What are you doing?” 

Jake nudges the tip of his nose with yours as he continues to move. “Putting you to bed, sweetheart. The doctor said you need to rest up and it is currently 11pm which is definitely past your bedtime.” 

You scoff playfully. “Bedtime? Bedtime is for the weak!” 

“Which is what you will be if you don’t get some sleep, sweetheart,” he tells you earnestly as he sets you down and begins positioning your pillows just the way you liked it in the hospital. 

With your left arm laying gently on your abdomen and your knee resting on another pillow, you bury yourself deeper into the sheets with a content sigh. “God, I missed this bed.” 

Jake smiles at you and lays a soft kiss to your forehead. “Clearly. Now sleep, you’ve had a long day.” 

Your smile falls as you watch him take a step away from you. “Where are you going?” 

“To set up my spot right here.” He taps the linoleum floor with his sock clad feet. 

“The floor?” You look down at his feet and back up to him with a look of distaste. “Why are you staying on the floor? There’s plenty of room up here next to me.” You pat the spot next to you. 

“I just… I don’t wanna hurt you, Ace,” he confesses. 

“Jake, you could never hurt me.” 

He wants to believe you. Maybe before everything he would’ve. Now he knew he was capable of doing such a thing and he promised you and himself that he would do everything in his power to never hurt you again. 

“I can if I move the wrong way in my sleep. Or if you move and hurt yourself because I’m here. I won’t risk it.” He shakes his head adamantly. 

“Jake—“ 

“Please, baby.” He cups your face in his hands gently. “Give me some peace of mind and let me sleep on the floor. Just so I know you’re safe and away from harm up there.” 

“I’m always safe with you,” you sigh and pout. But you comply with consideration of, as Jake said, his “peace of mind.” 

As he settles onto his incredibly uncomfortable looking cot on the floor, your own worries start to creep in. “You’ll be here when I wake up, right?” 

Jake looks up at you from where he sits on the floor and gives you a reassuring smile. “I promised I’m never leaving you again, didn’t I?” 

You nod. 

“Then yes, I’ll be here tomorrow and every morning after that.” 

Feeling more at ease, you lay back down completely onto your mountain of pillows and wait until Jake turns off the light. 

“Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you,” he tells you in the darkness. 

Your heart skips a beat just like it does every single time he tells you. “I love you too, Jake.” 

Despite Jake being right there next to you, you have never felt so alone. His soft puffs of breath and the occasional car passing by are the only things you could hear. While Jake’s breathing usually gave you a sense of comfort, knowing he was so close yet so far away from you made it hard for you to sleep. Even with him telling you he wasn’t going to leave, there was still the nagging voice in the back of your mind, scaring you with the image of waking up to him being gone. 

“Jake?” 

You hear him shift and then you receive a reply. “You okay, baby? Do you need something? Are you hurting?” 

“No, no I’m okay. I just… Never mind, it's stupid.” 

“Nothing you could say can be stupid.” You can hear the smile in his words, but you still feel stupid anyway. “What do you need?” 

“Can you hold my hand, please?” You almost feel pathetic saying it out loud. 

“Of course,” he breathes. Jake immediately shifts into a sitting position and reaches for your hand that was resting on the edge of the bed. He intertwined his fingers with yours and pressed a kiss against your knuckles. “Better?” 

“Much.”

“Good. Now will you get to sleep?” 

“I will, promise.” 

True to your word, you do. Jake waits until your breaths even out into a familiar pattern of sleep. Even as you drift off into what he hopes is a restful slumber, your grip on his hand stays strong. His neck hurts and his arm is starting to feel like pins and needles, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. As long as you were comfortable, that’s all that mattered. 

Feeling your touch and hearing you breathe wasn’t nearly enough to ease his racing thoughts. He was afraid that if he closed his eyes, you would disappear. Deep down, Jake knew it was irrational—that people didn’t just disappear in thin air. But he had gotten too close to losing you and he never wanted to feel that type of fear ever again. 

It hit him then that you were his light in the darkness. His daylight in the cloudiest of storms. His person and the other half of his heart. The one thing he absolutely cannot live without. He knew he loved you more than anything and being faced with the possibility of not being able to tell you again put so many things into perspective for him. 

The two of you were young, he knew that. Still in your early twenties and your whole life ahead of you. But he also knew that he never wanted to risk losing you again. You were it for him. He couldn’t imagine himself loving anyone else. 

Three years ago, Jake would’ve laughed at the idea of him settling down and finding one girl instead of messing around and being a bachelor for life. Three years ago he couldn’t imagine being in love. Now, he couldn’t imagine life without you. 

Bringing your hand to his lips, he gives you another kiss. He keeps your hand against his lips and swears on everything he is, that he is going to marry you someday. 

The sureness of his own confession should have scared him, but it didn’t. For once, Jake Seresin had never been so sure of anything in his life. 

_________________

Recovery is a bitch. Your body felt like it had gotten run over at least a hundred times. The bruises had gone from their dark purplish hue to a lighter green and yellow color. Your flesh was still tender to the touch, especially near your ribs but it was definitely better than the first day you were released from the hospital. The most annoying of it all, was the constant fatigue and visits to the physical therapist’s office. Stubborn as always, you swore you didn’t need it. Most times, you found the exercise ridiculous. You thought it was a waste of your time. However, Jake made sure you didn’t miss a single appointment. 

You spent most of your time in the apartment with Nat, Mickey, and Bob. Bradley, Reuben, and Javy dropped by when they could as well which you were extremely grateful for. 

But Jake was the only thing making your recovery bearable. Not once, had he left your side since the hospital. With the final days of exams winding down, Jake was able to give his full and undivided attention to you. 

Yet the constant company and loving wasn’t enough to stop yourself from stressing and worrying about where you stood with Jake. Things may have felt normal, but you were afraid that things would break at any moment. 

So you kept quiet and hoped he wouldn’t notice that you were slowly losing it on the inside. You should’ve known you couldn’t keep anything from Jake. He could always read you better than anyone else. 

The two of you had fallen asleep on the couch after a long day of follow up doctors appointments.

Jake had his arms wrapped snugly around your waist and had you tucked delicately into his side. It took a few days to finally get him to agree to hold you again and now that he was feeling better about it, you never wanted him to stop. 

But your throat was feeling dry and you desperately needed a glass of water. So you ever so carefully unravel his strong arms from around you as not to disturb him. 

He needed rest just as much as you did. You hate that he hasn’t been taking care of himself as well because of his constant concern for you. It was sweet, but you didn’t need him constantly at your beck and call. 

You softly lay his arms on his abdomen and wiggle out from beside him as best you can. You quietly pad over to the kitchen and pull a glass from the cabinet to grab yourself some water. 

You barely get to opening the fridge when you hear Jake from behind you. 

“Ace! What’re you doing up? Let me get that for you. Sit down,” he groggily exclaims. 

You turn to look at him over your shoulder and giggle at his disheveled hair and light pink cheeks.  “It’s okay, Jake. Lay back down. I’m just getting water.” 

“No, no, you’re not supposed to be overexerting yourself. Get back here and let me do it.” He’s fumbling over his feet just to get to you. 

You extend your one good arm across the  fridge and block what you can with your body. “I’m fine,” you insist. “Besides, I’m hardly lifting a finger.” 

Jake rolls your eyes at your stubbornness. “Yeah, you’re lifting a whole arm. Sit down.” 

You narrow your gaze at him. “No.” 

“Ace,” he scolds you like a father would his child. 

“Jake,” you mimic. 

“Ace, so help me God, I will move you myself if I have to.” 

“You wouldn’t.” You challenge him, despite knowing very well that he would. 

“Alright, you asked for it.” Jake walks over and stops right in front of you with bent knees. Hyper aware of your bad knee, he gently cradles your legs before using his other arm to go around your waist. Not a fan of the wheelchair, Jake had gotten used to carrying you around the house this way. 

You could easily walk yourself especially with how well physical therapy has been going but Jake insisted that you save your strength. 

“Jake!” 

He easily brings you to the stool at the kitchen island with a look of disapproval. “You could have woken me up, you know.” 

“For someone that is so obsessed with getting good rest, you seem to be doing the exact opposite,” you point out. 

“Okay, snippy, watch the tone.” Jake rests his hands on his hips. “What’s going on, Ace?” He moves to slot himself between your parted legs. 

You avoid his intense gaze, finding a loose thread on your shirt to pay attention to instead. You didn’t want to tell him you were struggling—with your recovery, your mental health—with anything. 

Jake was so great and so incredibly supportive of everything but you needed to do some things on your own. You want the reassurance that you could still be independent. The accident took that freedom away from you. 

He gently cups your face in his hands, bringing you back to him. “Talk to me, Ace. I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

You shake yourself out of his grip, angling your back towards him. You knew Jake would never judge you, yet you still felt ashamed for being so weak. “Nothing’s wrong, Jake.” 

“Bullshit. That’s bullshit and you know it.” He sighs and opens his hands towards you palms up. A silent invitation to let him hold you. 

Jake raises his brows, waiting for you to reciprocate. You look up at him and dramatically clasp your hands into his, which he grips in a silent thank you. 

“You haven’t been yourself lately, baby. And it’s not just because you’re recovering. There’s something else going on in that head of yours.”

Your heart skips a beat. Jake has always been able to read you better than anyone else. 

“So, what’s going on? What can I do to make it better?” He practically begs. 

Your sweet boy, always wanting to make things better for you. Squeezing his hands tighter, you release a shaky breath. “I’m afraid there’s nothing you can do.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean,” you pause as you try to explain to him what you’ve been feeling. “Before I tell you, I need you to know that none of this is your fault. You hear me?” 

“Ace—“ He starts with worry flooding his features. 

“Jake.” The look on your face quiets him down. 

Running a hand through his already disheveled hair he reluctantly complies. “Yeah, okay.” 

You close your eyes. You couldn’t look at him as you explained yourself. You wouldn’t be able to control the tears if you looked at him. “I’m lost, Jake. I’m so fucking lost and I don’t know how to find myself again. After coming back from the accident, I don’t feel like myself anymore.” 

Jake’s expression morphed from worried to pained in an instant. 

“I’m drowning in this vast sea of nothingness all the time and I don’t know what to do to fix it. I don’t know how to fix things.” Your tears are free flowing as you bear your soul to him. 

His heart fractures in two to hear what you’re going through. “What’s there to fix, baby?” 

“Everything, Jake. Me, my grades, our relationship, my parents, all of it. Nothing is the way it should be. I’m not the way I should be. And I know you told me to focus on my recovery. I’m trying. But it all just feels wrong.” You don’t know how else to describe the hollowness in your chest to him without 

Taking his hands from your grip, he plants them firmly on your hips as he slides you further to the edge of the stool so you could wrap your legs around his waist. Jake shakes his head and kisses you on the nose. “I know you’re trying and I am so proud of you. Don’t worry about your parents and your grades right now. We’ll deal with it when we get there.” 

“We?” You choke out meekly. 

He continues with a lovesick smile. “Yes, we. As for us, there’s nothing to be fixed between us. I know we never talked about it in detail, but baby, I forgave you the second I walked out that door.” 

He kisses away your tears as they continue to flow down your cheeks. “I just wish I was there for you sooner. I wish I could fix this for you. If I could, I would carry the weight of it all on my shoulders. But Ace, if lost is what you are, then I will find your missing pieces. I will be by your side, helping you figure out what you lost.” 

The heavy pressure on your chest gives way. No one has ever cared for you the way Jake does. No words could describe just how much you loved him. If there was any other way you could express your gratitude for the boy, you would. 

In that moment, words fail you, and you resort to showing him how much you love him instead. 

You lean up to brush your lips against his, softly at first. The heat in your cheeks heightens at his calloused fingertips sneaking under your shirt and digging into the skin of your hips. 

Pulling you closer against him than you thought was possible, he relaxes into your touch as you let your own hands wander to his sun kissed hair. 

Jake doesn’t hesitate to let his lips loosen against yours as he kisses you back fervently. Your lips glide against one another, performing motions the two of you knew by heart. Chest to chest, hip to hip, lips against lips, he continues to kiss you like a man desperate for air. 

“Ace,” he pulls away breathlessly. “Let me take care of you, please?” 

Opening your eyes to be met with the most beautiful hues of green, you nod against him. 

With your permission, he takes you upstairs to show you just how much you mean to him. 

_________________

Intimacy isn’t something you and Jake are unfamiliar with. He has seen you bare and you have seen him in the same state. Physical intimacy, however, was a little more on the reserved side. Earlier on in your relationship Jake had talked to you about boundaries and what you were and weren’t ready for. Still respecting your wishes, no matter how desperately he wanted you, he promised he’d wait until you were ready. 

So no, you hadn’t slept together just yet, but the two of you were more than comfortable with being vulnerable with one another. 

Sitting in the warm water, you sigh as Jake softly rubs his fingers through your wet hair. The smell of lavender fills the air as the two of you sit together in the bathtub. 

The feel of his chest is slippery against your back from the bath soap you had pumped into the tub. Being engulfed in Jake’s scent and his warmth, soothed your aching body. 

Your left arm was wrapped securely in a large trash bag as you rested it against the rim of the tub. It wasn’t the most flattering accessory, but it didn’t make the moment any less romantic. 

He was gentle as he carefully assessed your body, lathering you with soap. Jake was careful of your injuries, letting his lips show each of them some love. To speed up the healing process, he had said. 

You sat contentedly in his arms, feeling closer to him than you have in weeks. You intertwine your free hand with his that rests atop your abdomen, leaning back on his chest and settling into his shoulder. 

“You alright, baby?” Jake asks. He’s afraid that your pain medication was beginning to wear off due to your tight grip on his hand. 

Bringing your lips to the hinge of his jaw, you breathe, “I’m alright.” 

Jake focuses on your steady breaths as the two of you stay in each other’s embrace. He was, quite literally, holding his heart in his hands. You were his entire world, the center of his universe. Everything revolved around you, even if you didn’t know it. 

“Thank you for telling me about how you’re feeling,” he says softly into your ear. “I’m sorry you felt like you had to carry all of that on your own.”

You hum in response. “You’ve just done so much for me already, I felt like I had to start doing some things for myself.” 

“It’s okay if you’re not ready, Ace. But just know you don’t have to go through it alone. Asking for help doesn’t make you weak. You are so strong—one of the strongest people I know. And if anyone can get through this, it’s you,” he confesses. 

“You think so?” You can’t help the hope brewing in your chest and the smile that tugs on your lips. 

“I know so. And all of us will be there for you every step of the way. I will be here for you, always. I love you.” 

You look up, taking in the glow of his smile.  “I love you too.” 

Jake’s love for you was brighter than the sun—golden like the daylight seeping through your bathroom window. 

You knew things wouldn’t get better overnight. You knew you still had a long way to go before you were completely healed. 

He was the light guiding you through the darkness, just like you do for him. Jake’s warmth would protect you from the cold and bitter storms brewing in the confines of your mind that threatened to drag you down. 

a/n: is it a loving you chapter if i don’t shout out @blue-aconite ?? lots of this fic was inspired by our many conversations about jake and ace and i will forever be grateful for you <3 next parts will be less angsty and more fun and lighthearted which i’m excited about!! as usual, if you got this far, thank you for reading :D

tgm taglist: @joaquinwhorres @harrycherrylove @smoothdogsgirl @t-nd-rfoot @dempy @ollyoxenfrees @potato-girl99981 @averyhotchner @2guysonascooter @loveforaugust @blue-aconite @fandom-life-12 @stiles-banshees @iamdannyday @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @breezemood @eli2447 @angelbabyange @finelytaylored @pono-pura-vida @hecate-steps-on-me @blueoorchid @aviatorobsessed @blackwidownat2814 @hallecarey1 @averagereader35 @laneylovesglen @atarmychick007 @kajjaka @urfavelocagirl @clancycumber230 @memeorydotcom @kmc1989

[soapskies]

Could I request yandere arkhamverse riddler (obviously platonic) with a kid who tries to run away by sneaking out at night, but end up getting caught?

Btw I love your writing it is just 🛐🛐🛐

ARKHAM RIDDLER CATCHES YOU SNEAKING OUT 💥🔫

MALE CHILD READER. PLATONIC HCS. CONTENT WARNING FOR CHILD ABUSE.

You had it all planned out, well, as much as a child your age could have it anyway

For a man who spent so much of his time cooped up in the lab, working tirelessly to outwit his nemesis, Edward was surprisingly good at keeping you in your place, as if he knew where you were at all times

You figured he must’ve been tracking you with those little black tags he put on the back of your shirts, and so with your little craft scissors (the only sharp object he allowed you to have), you cut them out as best you could.

It was difficult to make out the time, with being in a bunker and all (Edward was allergic to natural sunlight), so you used the watch Edward gave you last Christmas to wait until it was late at night, pretending to fall asleep.

You figured you had him fooled when he came to check on you at your bedtime, and all he did was tuck you in, extra snug…

You quietly snuck out of your room, leaving the tags you cut out on your bed

You knew there was an opening near his lab, big enough for you to fit through, and the only thing bringing fresh air in

You thought you had gotten away with it as you crawled through the vent carefully

All of a sudden, your watch switched on and off, playing an obnoxiously loud sound

And while you were desperately trying to shut it off, you fell right through the bottom of the vent, screaming your head off

Landing right into the clutches of your dear old father.

You swear you could see smoke coming out of his ears

“You really thought you could escape this place without me knowing? I’ll have you know, I’m always ten steps ahead of you!”

You find out later that the watch can’t be taken off…

He knew escaping wasn’t out of the question for you, but he figured you were too cowardly to go through with it

He’ll move your bed into his lab, and if you’re not there by a certain time, he’ll have to give you your lashes…

He doesn’t care that you can barely sleep at night because of how loud his work is

If you wanted to be able to function like a normal human being, then you should’ve behaved.

He’ll deprive you of food and water, see how long you last if you want to keep this up

He’s perfectly fine ignoring your whining in favor of his machines

If that doesn’t work, and you still reject his “fatherly love” (aka berating you as he awkwardly pats your back), or keep having these little fantasies about ever leaving him, well, there are other ways of making you do what he wants…

He’ll update the watch with a new feature: electroshock therapy!

Now now, if you don’t want to be convulsing on the floor like the pathetic little rat you are, maybe you shouldn’t act like such a brat.

If you do choose to comply, congratulations, you get to keep your food privileges for another day!

He’ll never admit that he’s anything short of a perfect father

Not that he would ever loosen the leash he has on you, but he would try his best to return your displays of affection, even if you’re only doing it to get on his good side…

Maybe even lessen his cruel comments towards you, y’know, as a reward for good behavior and all

Trust me, when he’s done with you, you’ll never set foot outside ever again.

[msallurea]

Part 2 of whatever mystery guy manifesting me:

YALL LMFOAOAOA so as yall know from a couple posts back I had mentioned that I had dreams of some guy who I had no clue who it was and was saying affs in my head that I never even thought about making up and came to the conclusion someone is manifesting me right? OK so for a while the dreams did stop and wasn't as crazy...so today the person crossed my mind again in a bit of a blur image of how this person looks right? So last night I fell asleep and just was like "tomorrow I'm gonna see signs of what this person is like". I even opened my pinterest and made a board called "him" for a little razzle dazzle mind u i didnt save anything in it yet.

Fast forward to today yall tell me why i opened up pinterest and my pins were flooded with a bunch of different dudes LMFAOOAOA💀 But as I'm saving the photos taking them all in I kept noticing they all had this similar "angsty teen" theme look to them where they were kind rough and masculine looking but in a good way?😭 so yall me being the overthinking sucker I am I thought "ok person if you're real then give me a message that you're there" ....yall I refreshed my pinterest and was randomly scrolling and then..

...YALL LMFOAOA😭😭😭

And what's actually crazy is that the dreams the writing font is eerily similar apparently this person writes love letters or is just a really good writer and I kept getting like little intuitive feelings the person aura was kinda similar to eminem in the 2000s aka his slim shady era. Mind you I don't have any pins of eminem in my pinterest, tell me why this the pic that comes after I refreshed

I AM SO DONE LFMAOSOSOK😭😭

[thatfoxnamedfinley]

To Erase the Past aka Words of Radiance thoughts

Why yes, I was awake until 5:00AM finishing this book, thank you for asking and understanding

Why no, I'm not okay

I'm so proud of Shallan

I'm so disappointed in Moash

I'm so thankful for Kaladin

I'm so triggered by Tangerine (I know this isn't his name but that's what I'm calling him, throw him into the pile with Capsule)

I've become a Dalinar apologist

YOU KNOW THE DRILL

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

Lets GOOOOOooOOOOoooOooooooOOOOo

So last night, I'm whooping and hollering. Sweating. Fist pumping. Being trampled by the last sequences in the book. It's 3:00AM. My roommate who fell asleep downstairs finally makes it up to his room. He looks into my room, eyebrow raised.

Him: I could hear you downstairs.

Me: Okay?

Him: ......it was bad

Me: ...

That is a quick summary of my thoughts of this book. I feel like between these two books I've read like 2 trilogies.

BITCH I KNEW JASNAH WASN'T DEAD, I FUCKING KNEW IT. I EVEN SLAMMED THE BOOK SHUT AND STOOD UP LIKE "I BET YOUR ASS SHE IS IN SHADESMAR SOMEHOW"

*sits down and takes a deep breath*

So apparently Shadesmar is the mythological kingdom of the spren

PATTERN IS AMAZING, I loved him. Ok ok ok when he was first introduced and Shallan and Jasnah were like "damn I'm kinda disappointed." and Jasnah was like "He's a little..."

and Shallan was like *nods sadly* "He's a little retarded?" and Pattern is like spinning in circles in the corner of the room and trying to get up walls but keeps like, slowly sliding down

I almost spat my water out

ok ok so Kaladin is a Surgebinder, Shallan a Lightweaver, Dalinar a Bondsmith and Renarin (wtf this kid is so weird bro) is a...Truthwatcher

Ok I'm sorry, let me consult my notes because my mind is ALL OVER THE PLACE

Very early the glyphs appeared and honestly, we all knew it was the Everstorm. Dalinar FINALLY knowing he wasn't crazy was just so good. There was a moment after the first set appeared and Dalinar is listening to the people in the room. His inner dialogue is to have a straight back and head up despite his exhaustion. Telling himself to be in control. And I'm like DAMN this man really is a leader amongst men. The way he carries himself is just so GENERAL like and so so good!

Even though Dalinar apparently had the fewest pages dedicated to him this book, it really felt like he was looming over the story with how much of this seems to center around him (uniting Alethkar) and how many of the character's POV's intersect with what he doing.

Jasnah? Thinks Dalinar may be one of the best men she has ever known. Syl? Loves Dalinar and thinks he's a good man. Kaladin? Has several moments when he realizes that yes, Dalinar IS a good man and he MUST live. Hell, he was almost part of a plot to kill the king because he and that crew he met were like "Bro, Dalinar should be the king. We all know it." And at first Kaladin was like WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE WE CANT KILL THE KING WERE PROTECTING HIM WTF ARE YOU- wait...Dalinar the king instead?

Kaladin was like

Sadeas was such a bitter ex boyfriend. When he asked his wife to activate all her spies to find something to hurt Dalinar with I'm like BRO WHAT IS YOUR FUCKING DAMAGE DUDE. Admitting to himself that even if Dalinar was the Blackthorn and was still the conquering warlord, he'd kill him regardless because he wanted to be at the top was telling because I was really wondering if he'd ever admit it.

((Adolin sniping tf outta him was so fucking satisfying. Holy SHIT))

Shallan. Ooooouuu girlie! GIRLIE!!! The CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!!!!! I liked her in book 1 despite many people saying she was a weakness in the book because Dalinar and Kaladin were just much more INTERESTING than her POV. Brandon Sanderson said "lol ok BET" and look what we got. A cesspit of trauma and growth. The goal? To find Urithiru because it holds secrets of the Voidbringers. Oh, and marry Adolin. Oh, and infiltrate the Ghost Bloods. Oh, AND SAVE THE ENTIRE WORLD NO FUCKING PROBLEM

HOLYYY FUCKKKKK THE REVELATION THAT SHE KILLED HER MOTHER HOLY ACTUAL FUCKKK!! Her dad was PROTECTING HER by making everyone think he did it! I sat back in my chair like yo WTF Shallan. You murked your mom AND your dad. Holy fuck. And I guess her mom tried to kill her because she said Shallan was "one of them" and had powers at a younger age? When we meet Pattern, this isn't the first time Shallan has. Hints to it but Shallan's brain just

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETT

dissociation

The flashbacks were so good. Seeing her brothers (RIP to Heleran, Balat is NUTS he abuses animals and pulls legs off crabs). Her father was horrible. Being surrounded by all the constant yelling, the fear. Being put in her corner and not speaking. Her humor helping her brothers. Despite how afraid she is, it is SHE that holds the family together. It was SHE who got her gambling brother free, who made her brothers laugh.

OOOOO When she was about to join the caravans, there was a line she said...

"What would you do, Vathah," Shallan said in a loud voice, "to erase the past?"

And it's pitch black and you hear the screams of the caravans being attacked by bandits and she's standing on the sand and she's Lightweaving an illusion that she's a QUEEN and her hair is blowing around her and now KNOWING her past I'm like holy FUCK that was so GOOD!!!!

(I was also like holy fuck THERE's Gaz!)

oMg when Jasnah was "assassinated" I did indeed gasp. When Shallan watched the guy stab her in the chest with a knife I was like NO FUCKING WAY BITCH but Sanderson was clever. By NOT having her in the rest of the book and bringing her back in the EPILOGUE it didn't feel like we were cheated. Because Jasnah's death was a huge motivator to Shallan and a catalyst to her change in the book.

yo Shallan is so smart. This bitch infiltrated the Ghostbloods with ALMOST ease because of her abilities. WHEN SHE WENT TO THE HERALD AND AMARAM WAS THERE AND SHALLAN WAS IN THE CORNER like

I'm like this bitch is about to be a fucking PROBLEM

watch for that dark haired cunt in a rimmed hat

rumor has it her name is Veil

ok random gear switch

Sadeas CASUALLY talking about killing Dalinar and Elhokar? BRO what is your DAMAGE???? I get that Alethi are super ambitious and war driven but WTF Sadeas

OOOOOOMGGGGGG

WHEN SZETH CAME BITCH

OOOOMMMMFFGGG I SCREAMED

The chapter was entitled The One Who Hates

like excuse me bitch?

One of my bookmarked notes in my audiobook is "No spren guides him. WHAT????? HOW SWAY????"

We learn later on the nature of his blade but STILL. In the moment I was freaking out. Kaladin has that dream and knew something was wrong. He and Adolin and Dalinar are f.i.g.h.t.i.n.g. f.o.r t.h.e.i.r l.i.v.e.s and Szeth is flying around, sending Adolin flying up to the ceiling and he cuts Kaladin's arm and it goes grey and I'm just reading this chapter

UNSTABLE

UNWELL

My heart was beating so fucking fast. Dalinar is like

"YOU TOOK MY BROTHER FROM ME. YOU WILL NOT TAKE THE KING, YOU WILL NOT TAKE THE ONLY THING OF HIM I HAVE LEFT"

And Szeth is like

"I'm not here for him, Highprince. I'm here for you." Then Dalinar CATCHES the Shardblade in his bare fucking hands and Kaladin and Szeth fall midair from the window and then Szeth flees after Kaladin heals and shows his powers and I'm SHOUTING at the spine of the book

(Adolin sitting outside his father's room the rest of that night because he was scared Szeth would come back to kill his father was just...UGH I LOVE the relationship Adolin and Dalinar have. Adolin idolizes his father so MUCH)

and and and

that part with Shallan (I am so frazzled I'm so sorry I've barely had any sleep and this book HAUNTS me do you understand it HAUNTS me...I had a dream last night about this book)

"Can't run, can't run, can't run....

FIGHT."

And she attacks Tyn and kills her with a SHARDBLADE

Oh I'm sorry? Hello? WHAT???? WTFFF BITCH???

A SHARDBLADDDEEEEEEEE????!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!? I just got goosies again bitch omg I'm actually panting hold on give me a moment

ok sidenote but The Stormfather is kind of a dick???? And to be fair, I'm going to assume after as many Desolations as there were that the spren are tired of helping humanity maybe and that's what Stormfather is talking about. Like "bro this is not my first, second, third or even eightieth rodeo. everytime it's the same and SOMEHOW humanity still finds new and clever ways to disappoint me. So...HELP YOU? lmfao" And I know we'll learn more about it so I'm willing to accept that thought process for now but at the end when he's talking to Dalinar (EXCUSE ME IS THE STORMFATHER DALINAR'S *SPREN* NOW???????????) I was like this Stormfather is a little bit of a bitch. This was my INITIAL reading because my adrenaline was still through the roof after

KALADIN FOUGHT SZETH AND SHALLAN TELEPORTED THE ARMY TO URITHIRU

but after thinking about it I was like yeah no I get it. He's seen this movie in theaters so many times and has to pretend to be excited but he really is just pissed his friends keep forcing him to come

Sebarial and Wit were iconic. Their insults were so fucking good. During the end when they were all making their way to the Oathgate and Sebarial was drunk and Palona was reading a book and Dalinar was like ????

AMARAM GOT PUT IN HIS PLACE bye bitch

Aladar, Roion (r.i.p you cowardly prince, you actually did us a solid in the end, and I underestimated both you and your kin. salute) and Sebarial joining him to form a force of 30k against the Parshendi that were SINGING THEIR LITTLE HEARTS OUT for the apocalypse

KALADIN REALIZING THAT ELOKHAR WAS DALINAR'S TIEN ARRGgggggg *squeezes stress ball*

Then Syl. My glorious Syl.

"YOUT WILL MATTERS NOT!" Syl shouted. "YOU CANNOT HOLD ME BACK IF HE SPEAKS THE WORDS! KALADIN! SAY THEM!"

BITCHHHHH I was *unhinged* Then Kaladin lit up like a fucking Christmas tree

I am so disappointed in Moash. I want to say I get it but like...MOASH. REALLY? After all that? After being Kaladin's friend and OH YOU KNOW him giving you a Shardblade and Plate because he trusted you and now we're here

Though he did get 1/18th of a brownie point for not letting anyone else touch Kaladin. Then he lost 1,476,998 brownie points for punching Kaladin so hard that his ribs broke INWARD. "Oops I hit him harder than I meant to." Are you fucking kidding me Moash. Are you? Because you're an EMBARRASSMENT. I hope when we see him next it's ON SITE. Count your fucking days, bro

So...Szeth's weapon was an Honorblade, a weapon of the Heralds....? And two of them are back? The one that Amaram snatched up (Herald of War) and the one that saved Szeth (Herald of Justice). They are returning. So now Szeth is just a normal human being with a normal life...? I'm very VERY interested in Szeth's development and where he goes. I want him on our side so bad and idk how tf Brandon Sanderson plans to do it but I just need it to happen

Adolin murdering Sadeas was SO satisfying. Sadeas going on and on and ON. That isn't it SO CONVENENIENT that the head of Dalinar's guard and Adolin's betrothed are both Radiants and that Dalinar has an ulterior motive. And Adolin is like WHY SADEAS? WHY are you like this. What is your damage? And Sadeas is like WELL if Dalinar stays alive then I can't be more powerful, so lololololol

And Adolin is like

OMG I FORGOT tO MENTION ADOLIN's DUEL

amazing. so good. captivating. unexpected. Adolin grappling from behind and they won!

"Dalinar growled softly. It was a sound Kaladin had never heard from him, The growl of a beast on a chain. It surprised him. " ooohhh?????

And no one standing to help and Kaladin like "literally hold my beer" then when he asked for his boon I was like welp FUCK here we go

Then he was thrown in jail and I was like YUP that tracks

I absolutely LOVED his book. Truly. I liked it better than the first if that's even possible. It made me appreciate book 1 even more because of the world building and set up.

side notes from my audiobook bookmarks:

Kaladin mentions Dalinar's eyes a lot mmmhmmmm

"Dalinar Kholin slowly stood up. He moved like a rolling boulder. Inevitable, implacable." oh. OH?

PATTERN CAN READ DAWNCHANT what a g

"I wouldn't want you to go flying off on me. You know, flying off in an angry tirade." Wit is a legend, I love that he seems to be all knowing and everywhere he needs to be for certain characters. WHO/WHAT IS HE?

Renarin is...I don't have words. What in Damnation are you doing, man? Because he's llike WERE ALL GUNNA DIE WERE ALL GUNNA DIE then they don't so like...how reliable are his Truthwatching abilities?

Shallan and Kaladin EYEBALLING EACH OTHER????? Thinking about each other????? HMMMMMMM???

"He danced with the slayer of kings" HOLLLLYYY FUCK IM *UNHINGED* RN DALINAR YOU ARE TRULY A GOAT AMONGST GOATS <- actually quote from my bookmark

Gallant not fleeing the battlefield is actually iconic

Shallan and Dalinar looking out below and people teleporting to their location and saying "Life before Death, Radiant" is, I fear, legendary

Ok phew I'm so tired from this post, I needed to spit my thoughts out before reading book 3 (which is apparently about Dalinar and I am already such a Dalinar apologist that I can't WAIT)

ok bye *snooze*

OH!! AND TANGERINE BEING EItHER RETARDED OR A GENIUS ON ANY GIVEN DAY bro WHAT and THAT is what you're going off of? THAT is why you're assassinating everyone???? Bro you are FUCKED

[discotenny]

The second night

Dice moves in with you. It’s only on the second night of sleeping in your bed that he realizes what it means.

———

Aka- DICE SLEEPING SCENARIO LETS FUCKING GOOOOO

———

The first night- the thought of commitment slips his mind. After all, it was racing, filled with thoughts of safety, security, comfort, and most importantly you.

It was easy for his thoughts to focus on you- how could they not?

The first night- as soon as his head hit the pillow he passes out. Exhausted from moving all of his material possessions out of Ramuda’s basement (and dealing with his friends’ eccentric personalities), there’s nothing his body craves more than sleep.

“Dice? Are you gonna shower now?” You call out, in the adjacent bathroom getting ready for sleep. When silence is your only reply, you open the door.

“Ah…” You’re met with his face down, ass up in the air. Despite the pillow covering his mouth and nose (was he even getting sufficient air?), you hear his obnoxiously deep snores.

Despite him still being in his day clothes, unwashed from activities of the week.

Despite him going to bed without a shower, embarrassed to get in while you were still washing up.

Despite him having three unpacked boxes sitting in your living room, promising he would have them out of your way by nights end-

You smile, laughing at his awkward appearing yet comfortable position- snapping a picture to send to Ramuda and Gentaro. You tuck him into bed and you notice a smile wavering over his face.

“Goodnight, love,” you whisper before shutting off the lights.

The second night- he’s in a pair of pajamas you bought for him in the day. You’re in the adjacent bathroom, getting ready for sleep at your own pace.

The fabric of his shirt is so soft it almost tickles him just to lay in it.

It’s a strange feeling - going to bed with clothes he doesn’t plan to go out in. It’s even stranger to him that it’s new- not new like what Ramuda makes him- or new as in he just bought it second hand- but new- bought from a store you went into without meticulously counting your change beforehand.

The second night- he’s subject to the teasing texts of Ramuda and Gentaro- annoyed as they laugh at the way he slept last night.

Gentaro sends something off handed- calling him a horrible househusband- but it catches Dice off gaurd.

The second night- commitment is all that’s on his mind.

‘Househusband…?’ Dice thinks, ‘That would mean…’

Commitment, a promise to stay, a promise that he’d try his best for you no matter what, bounded to you, sharing a space with you forever, forever loving, forever caring, forever laughing, forever holding, forever taking care of you.

Dice wasn’t used to forever. He wasn’t used to sureness. Dice lived for the thrill of not knowing what was to come- of gambling with whatever percentage that something wouldn’t turn out right. He wasn’t used to this- to commitment.

But would he really mind it if it was with you? Despite all the nights of him shivering due to gambling his clothes away.

Despite all the times he begged at your doorstep for a meal.

Despite all the times he dragged you around with Ramuda and Gentaro as a substitute for dates- you stuck by him- you stayed committed to him.

He watches your silhouette move in the bathroom door. A smile finds itself on his face the more he stares.

Safety, security, comfort, all words he finds himself thinking of as he watches you. And all of a sudden, he finds that he doesn’t mind the title of househusband.

“Dice! Are you gonna shower tonight?” You call out, not expecting an answer.

“C’ming babe!” Dice calls back.

The second night- he watches as you fall asleep- a smile on both of your faces.

Fell hard down the hypmic rabbit hole I had such a masculine urge to finish this draft. Not proofread. Had the banner from before my disappearance O.O

Fling Posse my beloved &lt;3

It’s been a while >.€ I’ve been working on a dating sim for the past year or so (it’s not any close to finishing LOL) But how are y’all :3

[scfrozenover]

It's the last day of reveals! We hope you've enjoyed all the wonderful holiday fics so far, and here are a few more tasty treats!

Creator reveals will begin one week from today (12/30)!

*❄️*

DAY SIX REVEALS

Merry Christmas, David Rose

[David/Patrick, E, 14,031 words]

He doesn’t have any intention of staying in Schitt’s Creek, he knows it’s a stepping stone on his path to, hopefully, something better for him.

And he can’t imagine working here for too long: a shopping mall named Pa-Ray-dise, for a ridiculous man that insists on using his face as a marketing strategy –despite Alexis’ best efforts.

He exhales and looks at the people closing their stores and getting ready to go home. In front of him, on the lower floor, he observes how Alexis’ brother closes the store he works in and starts rolling a scarf around his neck as he walks towards the exit. The thought that he’s beautiful surprises Patrick, who’s never thought about a man on those terms before. But he is. Jet black hair, perfectly coiffed, long lean legs, a strong upper body wrapped in an expensive looking coat…

David. His name is David, his brain supplies.

Patrick watches him leave, feeling unsettled by the sudden impulse to follow the man, and a strange sensation unexpectedly lodged on his gut.

*❄️*

A Cold Winter's Night

[David/Patrick, T, 5,148 words]

They fell asleep not long after sliding between the covers, Patrick spooning David, as they often did, already dreaming of the white Christmas he hoped they’d wake up to, and the prospect of sharing more Brewer holiday traditions with his husband in the morning.

What he didn’t expect was to wake up in the wee hours of the morning with chattering teeth and David clinging to him like a koala bear, not to mention a distinct chill in the air that was most definitely not right.

*❄️*

Johnny on the Spot

[David/Patrick, G, 3,727 words]

Patrick and David visit the Brewers for Christmas for the first time since Patrick has moved to Schitt's Creek.

*❄️*

we'll take a cup of kindness yet

[David & Rachel, G, 1,945 words]

He hasn’t actually seen Rachel since that fateful day at the motel. She didn’t come to the wedding, though she was invited. He knows that she and Patrick have been talking more and more, trying to work their way across the crevasse of time and history to becoming what they always should have been, which is best friends. David’s interactions with her have been minimal, though, and he definitely wasn’t expecting to see her here—he doesn’t do well with surprises, especially when that surprise is his husband’s ex-fiancée looking at mediocre cheese.

David runs into Rachel while on an errand for Marcy and it's definitely not weird at all.

*❄️*

[podfic] Friends and Family Night

[Stevie/Twyla, G, 17:01]

“I want to meet Twyla,” David said as he plopped into a seat next to Stevie’s desk. She raised her eyebrows at him in what she hoped was a very clear ‘no.’

~

Aka, the Score adjacent fic where David wants to meet Stevie's girlfriend Twyla.

 *❄️*

CREATORS: If your works were released today, please don’t forget to update your posting date!

[writers-requiem]

Hey y'all. So even though the last one isn't as popular as say my Rocket Raccoon fanfic, I'm doing another one for the Wolfman anyway, because I want to. And you can't stop me. So without further ado, enjoy another romantic fanfic about Lawrence Talbot himself.

A Moonlit Dance With The Beast (Lawrence Talbot, AKA the Wolfman x Reader)

Genres: Romance, Fluff, Fanfic

Pairing: Lawrence Talbot (Wolfman 2010) x GN! Reader

Fandom: The Wolfman 2010

Warning(s): Mentions murder, French Kissing with tongue and allusion of sex

Word Count: 620

You were sitting atop a hill with a lovely view of London and the night sky. You saw the full moon and thought nothing of it. Even if the Wolfman came for you, you knew that you were always safe. Not because of some savior, but because he liked you. Even if he couldn't outright tell you.

The rustling of leaves and snapping of twigs followed by wolfish growling alerted you to his presence. You turned around slowly and greeted him with open arms. His clothes were tattered and torn up, but no blood. Looks like he listened and kept that promise. You had made the beast swear he wouldn't kill people anymore and it looks like he complied with your request. Every time Lawrence transformed his first instinct after the transformation was to make sure you were okay. And if he saw someone as a threat to your safety, he killed them. He still doesn't have complete control over his wolfish counterpart, but he can prevent himself from killing people so he's making progress.

He walks closer to you and once he's close enough to where he needs to look down to look you in the eye, he stops. You cup his cheek in your hand, feeling the fur that covers it and admiring how soft and fluffy it was. He leaned in and you followed suit, sharing a kiss. A soft, sweet, tender kiss. You wrap your arms around his neck as he supports you. He then places his palm on the back of your hand and holds it, guiding it away. He holds it out and slowly begins to turn as you faintly hear grass and leaves rustling below you. You both kept on kissing each other while he awkwardly attempted to slow dance with you and his canine feet. You try to guide his feet with yours, teaching the wolf how to dance. He slowly got adjusted to the rhythm of your footsteps with his own and gently guided his other hand to hold you by the waist.

The both of you kept slow dancing, the moonlit hill being your stage and your audience the stars above. Neither of you caring if someone disapproves of your love. If you could help Lawrence gain control of his lycanthropy, then you would help him no matter what. The two of you continued to slowly dance and kiss, sharing your mutual affection for each other as he sniffs you and you yourself take in his scent. It's dewy and reminiscent of the forest with a very human scent to it too, probably from the city nearby.

If he could, he would absolutely say "I love you." Regardless, he traced from your hand to your shoulder with kisses. Once he kissed your shoulder he looks at you as you both smile at each other, and then you really start to kiss. I mean, full on French Kissing.

He pins you to the floor and goes to work, pressing his lips to yours and making your tongue wrestle with his. If he could he would've ripped your clothes off and bred you then and there, but he held himself back. He just kissed you and allowed his hands to venture all over you without restraint. After a little while however, he broke the contact between your lips to let out a howl to the moon herself. A howl that was clearly intended to say "I'm the luckiest wolfman alive!" Once he finished his howling he went right back to kissing you, and putting your tongue to work. Afterwards you both fell right asleep on the hilltop, where only you could know just how happy you were, with your big bad wolf.

Thanks for reading this! This was probably shorter but definitely a lot steamier than the last one. Hope you enjoyed it!

[sequinsmile-x]

ONE SHOTS (I - O)

A list of standalone one shots that do not form part of a series. Please check here for series you might be looking for

I Can't Go Back to Where I Used to Be - This was never what she expected, a life she told herself that she would never get to have, but she was so glad she had it.

Ichor - She can almost feel his desperate touch as she was trying to keep him awake, as if he was trying to press everything into her skin. A lifetime of love and happiness that might just be stolen from them, washed away like the blood down the drain. 

I'll Always Look After You - Emily has the flu and Aaron looks after her.

I'll Go Anywhere With You - Whilst Emily and Aaron are choosing where to go on vacation, one of the suggestions leads her to reveal a part of her past she's never shared with him before.

I'll Work for Your Love - Emily and Aaron take some time to reconnect and spend some time just two of them when life gets a little busy.

In A Sky Full of Stars, I Think I See You - She could live like this, in their quiet, ordinary lives, sitting snuggled with him on this porch swing with their children asleep nearby for 100 years and it would never be enough. Emily reflects on her life with Aaron.

In Bloom - Aaron's birthday takes an unexpected turn.

Inflamed - /ɪnˈfleɪmd/ verb. 1. provoke or intensify strong feelings in someone. 2. cause inflammation in a part of the body. In which Emily gets appendicitis whilst pregnant and Aaron tries to hold it together.

Interwoven - A dark green sweater helps bring Emily and Aaron a little bit closer back together after her return from Paris.

Impossible - It's Emily's first case back at work after Haley's death, but all her focus is on who she has waiting for her back at home.

I Want Your Midnights - The Hotchner's celebrate New Year

Jubilance - [ joo-buh-luhns ] Noun. a feeling or expression of great joy, satisfaction, or triumph; gladness or exultation. In which Emily and Aaron are having a baby, and he immediately gives the game away because of his excellent mood.

Keeper - It's date night, and Emily has food poisoning.

Laced Together - She was trying not to lose her cool with him. Desperately holding back her annoyance because she knew he only meant well, but she felt her control of her emotions fading. AKA the one where Emily is very pregnant and desperately trying not to lose her cool with her overprotective husband.

Landslide - For the first time since she was born this wasn’t something that Emily could fix for her. Her usual approach of scaring off whatever hurt her, bullies and one boy who had come close to being able to break her heart, was not something she could do here. She had to leave it in the hands of the professionals.

Leap of Faith - It's a leap year, so Emily decides to propose. But it's Emily and Aaron, so it's never quite that simple.

Let the Walls Crack - It had always been something she’d thought about, but it was only when she got with Aaron and fell in love with him and his son that she realised a baby was something she could have. That it was something she wanted so much that she ached. But she may have lost her chance.

Like a Light - It's the annual FBI blood draw and Aaron has an adverse reaction to donating. He was never going to live this down.

Linger - Emily was tired, exhausted in a way she hadn't realised was possible. The last time she remembered having a decent night's sleep was the night before she found out Doyle had escaped, when she'd been curled up in Aaron's arms and his love had been enough to keep her safe.

Lives in a Dream - Emily's first night out after having her and Aaron's baby girl.

Lockdown - Date night for Aaron and Emily is ruined by a mysterious package left in the bullpen. All they have to do is get through the night without anyone finding out about them.

Love Drunk - Emily breaks a tooth and Aaron looks after her once she's had it removed.

Love Language - Aaron loves to learn new things about Emily and put that knowledge to use.

Love Like Wildness - Emily helps to prepare dinner on pasta night which, of course, means she hurts herself.

Made of Ashes - Emily knows exactly what drives her to do it, what makes her speak up in a way that she knows Aaron will reprimand her for later if they both made it. Emily could survive a lot of things, she had survived a lot of things, but watching the man she loves getting killed in front of her was not one of them. A Minimal Loss AU

Magic - Aaron, Emily and their children go on the least relaxing vacation of all time.

Maternal Instincts - Emily and Aaron are having a baby. Now they just need to tell Elizabeth.

Melody - Jack has a nightmare and Emily comforts him.

Merit - She thinks she should hate it, that the feminist in her should be screaming at him for protecting her like this. She knows she doesn’t need it, she’s always been more than capable of looking after herself, and she had been for longer than she should have.

She doesn’t need it, but she wants it. AKA the one where Aaron overhears someone being rude to Emily and his protective instincts kick in, even though their relationship is a secret

Metamorphosis - Emily and Aaron's life goes through yet another change.

Mine to Lose - He wasn’t just her husband here, but her boss too. The line blurrier than it had ever been as something in her gut tells her this is a bad idea, her chest constricting with fear.

Mirror Image - He was sure when their daughter was older he’d love her wilfulness, the stubborn streak she’d got from both of them. They were traits that would help her when she needed them, things that had served both him and Emily well. But right now, he really just wanted her to eat her breakfast.

Misdemeanour - /ˌmɪsdɪˈmiːnə/ noun.1. a minor wrongdoing. 2. a non-indictable offence considered to be less serious than a felony AKA the one where Aaron accidentally reveals his and Emily's secret relationship to the team

Mosaic Broken Hearts - Emily and Aaron have been together for months and nobody knows about them. That should make 'pretending' to be a couple to catch an unsub easy, right?

Movie Night - Emily doesn't remember the last time they watched a film that wasn't their daughter's favourite, so Aaron hatches a plan.

My Best Colours - She knew her relationship with her mother wasn’t a typical one, that she wasn’t the sort to sit with her daughter and discuss dresses and entrees before sitting back with tears in her eyes as she watched her little girl dance with her husband. But she’d always expected something.

My Sleepless Night, My Winless Fight - She doesn’t want him to worry, to know that she hadn’t slept at all without him next to her. She worried it was too much too soon, that he’d realise she was more than he wanted to take on.

Never Grow Up - It's time for their son's first haircut, and Emily isn't ready.

New Dawn - It was everything Emily had waited 9 months for.

New Perspective - Aaron feels insecure. Emily shows him he has nothing to be insecure about.

New Ways to be Awed Each Minute - He had always known she was beautiful.

No One Else - Emily and Aaron are on a well deserved vacation before their baby arrives. When someone flirts with her on the beach, Emily refuses to let it ruin the rest of their stay. (Smut)

Noise Pollution - Emily's snoring keeps Aaron awake, but instead of upsetting his very pregnant wife by telling her, he comes up with a solution. And it works. Right up until it doesn't.

Nosedive - It’s only after he’s made the decision to ask Emily out on a date that Aaron realises he’s never done it before.

Oche - She feels pleasantly drunk, the alcohol warming her from the inside out, a buzz thrumming under her skin that made her want him even more than usual. She knows he’s drunk too because of the way he’s looking at her, barely concealed desire in his eyes.

Office Supplies - The only people who don't know Emily and Aaron love each other are Emily and Aaron. Penelope, and Dave, take decisive action.

On the Edge of All This - It was easier to be angry at her than to admit to himself that the reason he’d been so afraid was that he was in love with her.

On the Radio - She could no longer ignore it after New York. She'd fallen in love with him. AKA - the one where being friends with benefits no longer works for either of them

Ours - Aaron, Emily and Jack go to a holiday party at Elizabeth's.

Our Story - Aaron tells a story to try and lull his newborn daughter to sleep. If only his wife would stop interrupting him.

Out of the Mouths of Babes - Aaron loves that their daughter is a mini Emily through and through, although he could do without his four-year-old cursing.

Overtake - It’s her mother that sets her off. Her mother who makes the long-buried grief, something that had been a part of her for longer than it hadn’t, slowly rises back to the surface.

Overture - It’s only when they get level with the picnic tables Jack had told her about that morning, the Capitol building coming into view in the background, that it clicks, when the discomfort she’d felt since they arrived suddenly makes sense. This was where she’d met with Ian.

[galexystern]

butterfly wings

chapter ten; spring 1986 (cont.)

pairing; steve harrington/eddie munson/reader aka steddie/reader

rating; T

warnings; angst, fluff, reconciliation, getting together, confessions of love, au - canon divergence, fucked up the timeline a bit

word count; 3k

desc; you and your boys finally get it together.

read on ao3 / series masterlist

You're dozing, head resting on Eddie's hospital bed. Steve's on the other side, chin propped up by his hand, sleeping himself. You two have kept vigil since Eddie came out of surgery, patched up but still unconscious. The attendants had tried to force the two of you to leave but you'd made such a fuss that they'd just left you alone. It was easier to do that than deal with screaming visitors in the middle of the night.

You and Steve had waited impatiently, restless and too nervous to speak, for Eddie to wake up. But he didn't and the adrenaline faded and you two were left in exhaustion. You both fought it, but fell asleep just the same. Doesn't mean it's a restful sleep though.

Which is why you become instantly aware of a hand softly touching your head. You open your eyes and turn your head over, expecting it to be Steve checking up on you. But when you see Eddie, awake and staring at you, you bolt upright.

"Eddie!" You gasp out, loud enough to startle Steve. He jerks in confusion but then notices Eddie too. He clutches Eddie's hand, choking out, "Oh, thank god."

The more you're looking at Eddie, the more you're realizing his expression is one of shock: wide eyes, open mouth, frozen stance. You immediately flash back to the last time you were together and cringe. You shoot up from your chair and start walking quickly to the door. "I'm sorry," you say thickly. "I shouldn't be here."

But then Eddie calls out with a hoarse voice, "Wait," and you stop in your tracks. Turning around, you spot Steve first. He has a kind smile and nods encouragingly. Slowly moving your attention to Eddie, you find he's now looking at you with more with awe than shock, mouth turned up at the corners. "Hi, princess," he breathes, and you let out a sob, rushing towards him and hugging him tightly. Eddie chuckles. "Careful," he warns, but it's a tease, and he's holding you back just as hard.

You pull back, tears in your eyes. Eddie cups your cheek in his hand, giving you the most loving eyes. "I thought you hated me," you admit with a sniff.

"I could never hate you," he replies gently, making your heart skip a beat. "I'm sorry for what I did. I'm so sorry, angel." The tears start to fall then, impossible to stop. Steve takes your free hand while Eddie makes a small noise of distress. "I never meant to hurt you. I misunderstood and reacted poorly."

"What did you think?" You ask, wary but curious.

He sighs. "I thought you were talking about me wanting Steve, not you. And it was a reflex to push you away. I...I was scared."

You squeeze his hand. "I get that." Your voice is small and gentle, and Eddie looks up in surprise. "It's scary. I understand. I would've understood then too." Your face saddens. "I'm sorry I cut you—both of you," you look at Steve, "out. I thought it would make me feel better, but it just made it all worse somehow. I missed you two so much."

"We missed you too, beautiful," Steve says. He gets up from his chair and perches on the bed too, and you slide over so he has more space. He gives you a kiss on the temple.

"So much," Eddie adds. "It's not the same without you, angel."

To distract from your blush, you continue, "And I'm the one who's always saying communication is key. Maybe listen to your own advice, dummy."

"Hey," Eddie chides. "You can't talk about our girl like that."

Steve nods in agreement. "We won't let you."

You duck your head in embarrassment, face growing even redder. You clear your throat and ask as a subject change, "So, you gonna tell me what that portal thing was about?"

Steve and Eddie look at each other and then shake their heads. You huff in some outrage. Before you can speak again, Steve says, "How about you tell us how you knew where to find us."

You shrug. "It wasn't so much knowing where to find you as it was the only place I could think of. Good thing too. They were ready to let you die," you accuse, pointing at Eddie.

Steve sighs. "It wasn't personal," he offers, but it's a weak excuse. You show this by rolling your eyes.

"Maybe it should've been. Then they would've cared more about keeping him alive."

"Aw, look at you going all guard dog for me." Eddie fake-swoons, breaking to laugh when you pinch his arm. Once he's batted away your hand, he continues cheekily, "You got a crush on me or something?"

It's about time. "Yeah, I do," you reply fondly. "In fact, I have a huge crush on both of you. You think I got a chance?"

"I'd say there's high hopes," Steve whispers as he leans forward to kiss you. You smile into it, letting go of his hand to press yours to his neck. It's sweet and chaste and as amazing as the first one. The smile he gives you when you part is beaming.

“I promise I won’t walk away again,” you murmur, “biggest regret of my life.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Steve coos. “Don’t regret that. I don’t.”

“What? Why not?”

He takes your hand. “I needed that rejection, to get here. It made me realize who I was becoming, and I didn’t like what I saw. If you hadn’t walked away, I wouldn’t have known to stop it. It made me work harder to be a better person, a better man. You made me better.”

“I think that was you,” you reply, all gooey inside.

Eddie pulls your attention to him as he tugs you closer to him. Then he's kissing you too, hand coming up to the back of your neck to hold you closer. It's even better than the first one, since he doesn't dare let go now. His dazed expression makes you giggle when you separate.

“And I’m not letting you go again,” he says.

You smile softly. “I won’t let you.” Eddie chuckles.

You try to regain your breath, but it's taken away again as Steve and Eddie then lean towards each other and kiss. It's beautiful, the one thing that could make this whole situation perfect. You must make some kind of noise because the boys laugh and break apart to give you adoring gazes. "Oh!" You exclaim happily. "When did that happen?"

There's a pink tinge to Eddie's cheeks when he answers, "After the wedding. He got mad I made you cut off contact with us both and I confessed in the heat of it. Obviously it worked out."

"I'm so glad," you emphasize. "This is much better than you two being of jealous of each other."

"Oh, we're still jealous of each other," Eddie quips.

"Just not when it comes to you," Steve clarifies.

"Well, that's okay. Love a healthy sense of competition." Your boys laugh in response.

Your boys...that feels really damn good.

"Okay," you say, going serious. "How are you feeling? Both of you. Eddie, are you in pain? Steve, did you get a chance to be seen for your injury?"

Eddie looks at Steve quickly. "I forgot about that," he says worriedly. "Is it okay?"

Steve smiles. "It's fine. I got it checked out after you went in for surgery and everyone made it to the hospital."

You vaguely remember. "Right...Robin had to comfort me for a bit."

Now Eddie's staring at you. "Comfort?" He asks wildly.

You give him a look. "Did you forget you almost died?"

"Oh, right," he replies sheepishly. "Well, I feel fine. Ish. My side kinda hurts and my throat is burning."

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?" You ask, sounding exasperated with concern. "Lemme get the nurse."

But Eddie grabs your moving hand and holds it instead. "No, no," he reassures. "I'll be alright. Just let me sleep with my two favorite people in the world." You melt, sharing a shy look with Steve. Eddie grins, knowing he's made you two coy. "I just need some water and I'll be right as rain.”

Before you can, Steve jumps up and fills a cup from a pitcher. He brings it back and Eddie guzzles it down. "Ugh, so good," he moans, making you snicker. "Okay, smush in."

He carefully turns onto his good side so you and Steve can bracket him. Steve lays behind him, making sure to keep his arm on Eddie's waist and not his stomach, and you in front, keeping some breathing space between your bodies so you don't crush him accidentally. But he still wraps an arm around you tightly, and you interlock your hands. You can feel Steve's hand lightly clutching your hip and you move your other hand down to grab it too.

"We're like a pretzel in here," Eddie mumbles, and you and Steve laugh quietly.

"We'll figure it out." Steve ends his sentence with a yawn, making you and Eddie yawn as well. "Got all the time in the world."

You squeeze their hands in joy and they squeeze back. And that's how you fall asleep, in complete bliss.

;

It's also how the rest of the group finds you in the morning, when visiting hours begin. They try to stay quiet, but it's the loud gasp Robin lets out when she sees you that ultimately wakes you up. You sit up in a jerk, heart going a million miles an hour, only remembering Eddie unconscious and wounded, until last night comes flooding back. You check to make sure it was real, and find both Steve and Eddie blinking sleepily behind you. As you calm your breathing, you face the rest of the room.

And the crowd of people standing in it—Robin, Dustin, Max, Lucas, Nancy, and Erica, plus Vickie and a nurse are all staring at the three of you. You smile awkwardly, blushing as you start to slide off the bed. Hands tighten around you briefly, but you pat them reassuringly and they eventually let go, and you can drop into the chair you'd been occupying last night before Eddie had woken.

"Hi," you squeak out, which draws Steve and Eddie's attention to something other than you. Steve also sits up and hastily retreats to his vacated chair. He sighs and gives them a half-wave and an uncomfortable grin. Eddie just stares at the visitors impassively.

"Now, I know you know the rules," the nurse says first, taking charge and bustling over to the bed, "but that was just too sweet. I won't tell, this time. But you can't do it again." At her stern look, all three of you nod quickly.

She does her examination, takes vitals, asks Eddie how he's doing. He answers honestly that he's still in pain but with an ease that relaxes both you and Steve. The nurse promises more morphine soon and says she'll be back with some breakfast. She eyes everyone else but exits the room and closes the door behind her.

"Finally!" Robin bursts out, making you laugh unexpectedly. "I thought we'd never get here!"

"You knew?" Dustin asks incredulously. Possibly a little betrayed?

"It wasn't hard to figure out," Nancy replies instead. "Have you seen how they act around each other?"

Robin rushes to add, "But they didn't tell me. Well, I knew Steve liked them both, but that was like, top secret platonic soulmate information." Steve smiles at her wink.

Then they're all moving, going up to Steve and Eddie to see how they're doing. Dustin gives them both a hug but scolds them for not telling him about the relationship. Steve looks at him like he's gone crazy, while Eddie has a fond smile. Nancy and Robin are all over Steve as well, making sure he's okay with his wound and that he got it checked out. He reassures them like he's exasperated, but you can see the happiness beneath it all that they care about him so much. Max and Lucas also give Steve a hug, but ultimately escape the room first, probably off to do cute kid-couple things.

As you watch them all interact with a soft feeling in your chest, Vickie tentatively stands beside you. At some point, you look at her with a small smile. She looks back at you and, shockingly, there are tears running down her face.

"I'm so sorry,” she whispers, like she can’t make herself speak louder. “For what I said at the wedding. And pressuring you into doing something. That was wrong of me.”

"It's okay," you reply, standing to hug her. She holds back tight. "I know you were trying to help.”

She hiccups. “I’m glad y’all worked it out. I didn’t even know this was an option.”

“I hardly did until last night.”

She leans back to look at your seriously. “I’m really happy for you. You deserve it.”

“Thank you.” You feel like you’re about to cry now too. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” A line of snot runs out of her nose and you grab a tissue from the box on Eddie's tray table, handing it to her. She takes it gratefully and cleans her face. “Not sure how Hailey’s gonna take the news though. She’s been half in love with Steve forever.”

You laugh a little. “I don’t blame her.”

“She’s gonna be happy for you. Her and Jesse both.” Vickie is gazing at you with shining eyes. You smile and give her another hug. When you part and turn back to the rest of the group, they're all still talking over each other—all except for Eddie, who's watching you and Vickie with a smile on his lips and fondness in his eyes. You grab his hand and hold on tight, and he squeezes back.

Dustin comes barreling around the bed and throws his arms around you. You're startled, but hug him back, looking at Steve and Eddie in confusion. They both shrug, unsure what it's for, until Dustin mutters, "Thank you for saving him."

You melt, practically in his arms. You hold him more firmly and whisper back, "Thank you for taking care of him in there."

"But I failed," he replies, almost imperceptibly, miserably.

You shake your head against him. "No, you kept him alive. You brought him back to me."

"Well," Dustin reasons, "you brought him back to me too."

You don't reply, just squeeze him and then let go. He's not crying but it's a close thing. You ruffle his hair and he laughs a little. "Steve and Eddie do that all the time." It's almost a complaint, but you can hear the pride underneath.

"It's not our fault you have such good hair for ruffling," Eddie retorts playfully, and Dustin rolls his eyes.

"He's right," you add and ruffle his hair again. He escapes from your grasp and runs to the door, giving you all one last smile before he ducks out.

"Guess we'll leave you to it then," Nancy says, and gives Steve one last hug before also leaving the room. Robin and Vickie follow her, after giving Steve and you another hug, respectively. They stick a little too close to each other, and you make eye contact with Steve, asking the silent question. He shrugs but wiggles his eyebrows and you snort softly.

"Hey," Eddie whines. "No secret conversations without me."

"Well," you say conspiratorially, perching on his hospital bed, making him lean forward hungrily. "I happen to know for a fact that Vickie has a crush on Robin."

"And I," Steve continues, sitting back in his chair and propping his feet on the bed, "know that Robin likes Vickie too."

Eddie hums excitedly. "Juicy."

"And it seems like they're close to revealing it," you add. "If their behavior is anything to go by."

"I think maybe this last round in the Upside Down has given Robin some perspective," Steve muses.

You shoot him a look. "Will you ever tell me more about it?"

"Of course, angel," Eddie answers. Steve glares at him but Eddie just glares back. "She deserves to know," he argues to Steve. "She did save my life."

Steve crosses his arms. "I was also there," he mutters.

You giggle. "Eddie knows that, don't you, baby?"

Eddie seems taken aback by the pet name but still nods. "You also saved my life, pretty boy. I won't forget that." Steve's expressions softens. "But she still should learn about it. In case it ever comes back."

Steve sighs, looking like the weight of the world is back on his shoulders. "He's right. You should know, beautiful."

But you want to remove that look from his face. "Not right now, yeah? Let's just...enjoy each other."

That lightens Steve up, and makes Eddie smile wickedly. "I would be into that."

"Get your mind out of the gutter," you scold Eddie, who pretends to be sheepish. "You've gotta heal. Like Steve said, we've got time to get there."

"Can't say mine didn't go there too," Steve admits and Eddie chuckles. You shake your head fondly. "But she's right."

"I could get used to King Steve saying that we're right all the time," Eddie teases, making you bark out a laugh.

Steve rolls his eyes. "Can we please not use that name? I'm not that guy anymore. I'm a one-man and one-woman guy now." Both you and Eddie laugh, and eventually Steve joins in. "Okay, I guess that doesn't really work in a sentence. But I'm set now."

"Me too," Eddie proclaims happily.

"Me three," you finish with a beaming grin. Your boys match it. "So what happened down there exactly?"

Then you settle back and get comfortable as Eddie launches into a very detailed and entertaining story of how he got roped into helping defeat the Upside Down. You listen carefully, interested in knowing absolutely everything, while Steve watches you two dreamily, head resting on his hand. His other hand is resting on Eddie's thigh—he's using both hands to regale you—and one of yours is brushing a thumb on his ankle. All is right with the world.

chapter eleven - 18+

[quodekash]

tis friday night, aka the third night in a row im staying up past midnight for a bl and its gonna be like this for the next five weeks so id better get used to the exhaustion (send help), aka ABAAB NIGHT LETS GOOO

threezo my lovelies pls exist this episode

did he get prettier over the last week or did i just forget what he looks like

bc either way this man is very pretty

suspector #1

suspector #2

jack as a gossip icon was a pleasant surprise in this show but im living for it

bro there so tender with each other im gonna cry

i think i forgot what everyone looked like cos every single character feels 10x prettier than they already were (and everyone was already at optimum pretty) and i love it

i love how much more casual gun has become with his employees, it makes me happy

BOY

MY BOY

MY BOY WITH THE EYEBROWS

HELLO DRAKE HOW ARE YOU ON THIS FINE FRIDAY (typing this out at literally 11:59pm so its still friday)

okay its now wednesday but HOW ARE YOU DRAKA SATTABUT LAEDEKE, ILY

his luscious eyebrows are furrowed

in anger

he is angry

ah shoot pls chill bro

MY BOYS THREEZO HELLO

hell yes flashback time, lets get a good insight into the characters so that we can aggressively analyse them later

they always looks so comfy with each other what the hell

bRO you fell asleep ON THE BEACH?? what if high tide had caught up to them? they wouldve drowned in their sleep

nice visual (but soundwin did it first btw)

there are people already swimming.

these people walked past these two grown-ass men sleeping on the sand on the beach, fast asleep, in formal button-up shirts, where theyd clearly been all night. and no one said anything.

you can do it you luscious locked lovely boi, i believe in you

(you thought you were free from the obsession of the hair but you were WRONG, his hair is now and forever and always and all of time)

im just now noticing his earrings, that's awesome

the hair look at the hair look at his hair i love his hair

FLUFFY FLUFFY HAIR

THREEZOTHREEZO

i love them i love them i love them i love them

THE LAYERS TO THIS

HIS SERIOUS EXPRESSION

SAYING 'MY BOYFRIEND ZO' INSTEAD OF JUST ZO, SO THAT EVERYONE KNOWS THEYRE DATING JUST IN CASE ANYONE FORGOT

AND KNOWING ZO'S FAVOURITE RJIDGFNRN

absolutely he does

IM DYING

i freaking love jack so much

he knows what's going on between them. and he loves and appreciates and accepts it, but he's been getting so much pressure from the other workers to talk to cher because theyre friends, and he doesnt want to invade but he doesn't want anything bad to happen to either his friend or his boss

why is the man so pretty

i genuinely dont understand it, this man and his hair are so pretty

"i used to have a lover too. i know how painful it is to lose someone." BRO WHAT THE HELL??? WE WERE NOT TOLD THIS INFORMATION, PLEASE EXPAND UPON THIS

snack is good. yummy nom noms. eat them eat them you eat them and then poop them out yum yum yum

i need to go to bed

i love him probably too much

BISEXUAL SITTING??

noooo we barely got any threezo todayyy (if i were more awake id be outraged by this but im having trouble just keeping my head up so i'll get to that anger in the morning)

im surprised we didnt get a sponsorship for cleaning gun's punch wound

anyway ive been on the verge of falling asleep this whole episode so im gonna go to sleep now and hopefully catch up on three days of not-enough-sleep

goodnight folks!

[thissugarcane]

Tagged by @tausendsorgen:

"List your 10 favourite albums of all time and tag 10 people to list theirs" - this is like. very hard but also I'm currently listening to the local radio station's 90s at 9[am] and the dude that plays it is basically in my skull 100% of the time, and this list definitely shows it?

Radiohead, Kid A - this was actually the only album that was easy. I call it my "desert island album", aka if I had to listen to only one for the rest of my life.

Beck, Mutations - oh Beck; picking which Beck album is harrrrrd, but I'll stick with Mutations no matter how much I <3 odelay, sexxx laws, and everything in between (and before and after). Who knows, Beck might show up later on in the list too.

Fall Out Boy, **** - I love their live album more than is healthy, even though it's hard to pick an FOB album the same way it's hard to pick a Beck album, because I love almost all of them. But I spent the summer of 2007 (seven? eight? the summer Z and I drove to calgary, right after I saw them Live in the Lot at muchmusic and fell deeply, irrevocably in love; anyway--) listening to this while falling asleep.

Tragically Hip, Trouble at the Henhouse and the Hip, Day for Night - the hip are another of my desert island bands. These are both their albums I listened to most in high school.

Big Shiny Tunes 2 - cheating a little since I haven't listened to it for a while, but everything on this album will always remind me of being seventeen, moving out, being in university, et cetera.

Green Day, Dookie - oh to be in grade seven and discovering (pop) punk all over again. (...don't look at me like that, I was eleven, I also listened to propaghandi and I knew the difference between op ivy and rancid. okay. that might've come a bit later.)

Counting Crows, August and Everything After - this is an album I was young enough to sit down, listen to on tape on repeat over and over and over again, and type out what I thought the lyrics were on a toshiba brick laptop with no hard drive in it. I haven't listened to it in a while but yes.

Cobra Starship, Hot Mess - I think I hesitated on this one because it seemed too pop, but really, I saw so many all ages shows just to watch Gabe Saporta bust this out on stage, and the angry joy in it still gets me.

Third Eye Blind, Third Eye Blind - this one also reminds me of being very depressed in high school, but not in a bad way.

I had a whole list of runners up, because the last two on this list i'm not sure about (it's easier to do desert island bands than albums, for me), but still.

Tagging anyone else who feels like it and isn't consumed by that spotify meme (which I don't do because I don't use spotify).

[scully-xo]

Beautiful Collision

aka they finally talk about what happened in Mulder’s hallway over peppermint tea

My fic for the @xfilesfanficexchange Secret Santa! 

Read on AO3 - Rated T - 2183 words - @today-in-fic 

Prompt: What does the rest of the night look like after “How The Ghosts Stole Christmas” by @arrowgirll13

“You got somewhere to be, Scully,” he whispered. “Mmm, here. I gotta be here, Mulder.”

***

What a change. Only about an hour ago, he’d been sitting in front of his TV, Maurice’s words sinking further into his mind. Taking root. Making him believe them, as much as he denied it in the house. He was just as stubborn as Scully, refusing to see what was in front of him—he was alone. On Christmas.

But then she’d shown up.

Not just the one person who put up with him. She was Scully. She was everything. The only one that mattered. The one person he wanted to be with on the holidays. And after last year, well, he was hoping she wanted to avoid family. But everything bad that happened in her life was his fault, wasn’t it? Why would she choose him?

But she was here.

Their empty mugs of peppermint tea sat on their new coasters on the coffee table in front of them, funny messages scrawled on their surfaces. A joke gift, but from her it meant everything. The way she blushed when he ripped open the package and laughed would sink in his mind forever. He was trying not to think too hard about the one she’d chosen for her mug: ‘Naughty is such a strong word, how about we go with Nice-ish’. He’d had plenty of dangerous thoughts about naughty Scully, especially since he’d almost kissed her. Who was he kidding? Since their first goddamned case.

His gift to her was his usual schtick. Something cheesy that reminded him of her, a sparkly ornament she could hang on the tree, though it didn’t fit in with all of the other decorations. She misinterpreted its meaning, because he didn’t tell her. But that was part of the gift. He wanted to know what it meant to her. That was the important part. It was selfish, but that’s who he was, wasn’t he?

The gurgling of the fishtank and ticking of the clock on the wall filled the comfortable silence as she dozed next to him. He thought she’d have left already, with dawn and presents and her family waiting for her. This time together, as short as it had been, would make the rest of his Christmas bearable, at least.

He still couldn’t believe she came over. And stayed.

She was facing him now, eyes closed and face soft in sleep. Her head had rolled over in sleep from where it had rested on the back of the couch, wisps of her hair barely touching his shoulder. Selfishness reared its ugly head. He could let her sleep. He could keep her here. He wanted to—but he wouldn’t.

Touching the tip of her nose with the side of his thumb, she let out a little yawn-moan and stretched next to him. He couldn’t help the smile that drifted on his face, and tried not to think about hearing her sleep-sounds in another context. Too late. Blood rushed to his groin and his eyes fell, catching the patch of skin between her button holes of her shirt and across her stomach as she raised her arms.

“You got somewhere to be, Scully,” he whispered.

“Mmm, here. I gotta be here, Mulder.” The words were rough and slurry and with her eyes nearly closed he wondered if she was still half-asleep. Still, it made his heart constrict, thinking that at least to him, this is where she belonged.

“Want me to drive you?” he asked. “You look like you could sleep for a week.”

“Mmm, thanks for that. But no.” She yawned again, and shook her head, blinking away the remnants of sleep. She didn’t get up, though, and he’s a weak man. He didn’t remind her of where she was supposed to be again.

“All of that… it happened, didn’t it?” she asked, as she chewed on her lower lip. “I felt the gunshot. The blood on my skin. But then it was gone, and…”

“It happened, but it didn’t.”

He can tell she doesn’t like the feeling of their night being a Schrödinger's kind of experience. She likes neat lines, things she can explain and file away. Things she can put in a box.

“Well, you’re real. And I’m real. We’re here. That’s something,” he conceded.

“Yeah.” She paused. “Mulder?”

“Yeah?”

“A few months ago. In your hallway. Before… before I got stung. I remember things, but I’m not sure if they happened or if it was a strange dream…”

“It happened, Scully,” he said, voice low and gravelly. He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. His mouth went dry just thinking about how close they’d gotten. And now… were they actually going to talk about it?

He heard her wet her lips and the sound of her throat as she swallowed. He could picture what she looked like in his mind but he didn’t look. Instead, he stared straight ahead at the television, the blurry apparitions of their own faces barely visible in the dark screen. He remembered what he’d been watching before she came over. The smile on Ebeneezer’s face. The words he’d just said flashing through his mind. I don’t deserve to be so happy.

“Did you mean it?” Her voice was so soft and quiet, like he’d imagined the words. And there was something else. The fear that oozed from her pores in the haunted house tonight had returned, though there was a subtle quality to it now. A vulnerability.

He turned to her then, watching her profile, her eyes glued to the same blank TV. “Of course I meant it, Scully.”

She took a shaky breath. “I thought, maybe… if it was real, that you only said it to make me stay.” Her voice was so small, and he really saw her then. How everything that night had been seemed to her. She peered at him out of the corner of her eye. “So we could continue your work.”

“Our work, Scully.”

Her eyes filled with familiar skepticism, though tinged with something else now. Sorrow? Regret?

Mulder laid his arm across the back of the couch, facing her fully. “There is no work without you, Scully. Of course I wanted you to stay. Of course I need you for all of that.”

She nodded. She looked so damned small right now. It always took him aback when he was confronted with that fact. He always forgot because she loomed so large in his mind.

“Is that why you were going to kiss me?” she asked.

He sighed, closing his eyes at her words. At the memory he tried so hard to remember and yet at the same time to put it out of his mind. It tormented him—thinking that he’d come so close to something he could never have. He was such a fucking idiot. All this time he’d thought, perhaps, she wanted to forget that moment between them happened. That she was scared away, and moved back to the comfortable place of poking holes in every damned theory he came up with. It had been infuriating, after all they’d seen, that she’d backslid into the woman who pretended that the fantastical things they saw together never happened.

He never even considered she wasn’t sure any of it had happened. That she didn’t know his reasons for it. He was crazy about her. Not just as a partner or a friend. As the only person in his damned life. His other half. She was… she was Scully.

“I didn’t want you to leave. I—”

“I wasn’t going to leave, Mulder.” She touched him then, laying a small hand on his knee. That tiny bit of contact, innocuous and light, sent a lightning bolt through his leg, straight up his spine. He wouldn’t be surprised if his hair was standing on end. Scully as his very own Van de Graff generator.

“Uhh, what?” he asked.

“I was leaving the bureau, not you.”

I am such an idiot. He wanted to smack his forehead, but that would mean moving his hand from behind her, or from its place a few inches from her own. There was no way he was moving away from her right now. So, he closed his eyes and cursed at himself silently instead.

When he opened them again, things had shifted. Gone was the vulnerable, small woman who’d made a rare appearance only a few seconds ago. She was back to herself. The Scully he knew, but somehow more.

And she was looking at his lips with curiosity in her eyes. Hunger, maybe. He hoped it was hunger.

He swallowed.

“Is that the only reason you wanted to kiss me, Mulder? You wanted me to stay so we could work together?”

It sounded shitty. Egotistical and narcissistic, just like Maurice had told him. But it wasn’t just about the work. Of course it wasn’t. He’d dreamed of those lips: of pressing his own into their plushness, learning how she felt, how she tasted. It haunted his dreams. After the bee interrupted things, and she’d gone back to her old self, he thought it was a sign. That it wasn’t meant to be. He was destined for loneliness. For unhappiness.

He couldn’t lie to her, though. “It wasn’t the only reason.”

She tilted her head, her eyes sliding up to meet his. Definitely hunger. He swallowed again, and his hand shifted next to hers, his thumb grazing the side of her pinkie. He was suddenly very aware of how close their hands were to his lap. To his crotch. These damned jeans were growing tighter by the second.

Shifting slightly to adjust himself, he leaned in a bit closer. “I’ve wanted to kiss that pretty mouth for a long, long time, Scully.”

Her pupils blew open, and her mouth dropped. He smelled peppermint on her breath. Not for long though. He crossed the rest of the distance and finally let his mouth land on hers, and he tasted it instead.

She stiffened for just a moment, then reacted: meeting him with matched fervor, as he always knew she would. Her hands wound around his neck, scratching through his hair and sending little shocks trembling over his skin, straight to his groin. Their tongues met, their teeth and noses clashing together until they found a rhythm. Like they always did, right from their very first meeting.

As he tasted her—memorizing the ridges of her mouth, the sharpness of her teeth, the sounds she made—he couldn’t help comparing this kiss to the images of binary stars he’d seen in a recent report from NASA. They’d crashed together by some yet unknowable force, making something bigger and more wondrous than what they’d had separately. And while this magnificent collision had now taken physical form, he knew it originated years ago, back when she’d first walked into his office. Wearing her prim suit, wide eyes and a smile, she took every strange thing they encountered in stride even though he knew it shook her to her core. And he knew—knew—he couldn't have done it without her. He’d be stuck in that basement, chasing leads that led nowhere.

He fisted her hair, maybe a bit too tightly, but she moaned into his mouth when he did it. She was above him, now, sitting in his lap, grinding herself onto the growing stiffness in his jeans.

Was exhaustion another kind of intoxication? He didn’t want her to regret this once she had her head on straight. With every ounce of willpower, he leaned back, pulling their mouths apart.

She made a cute little whine in protest, and his cock jumped.

“Jesus, Scully.”

“Taking the Lord’s name in vain on his birthday?” Her mouth tilted upwards. He stared at those gorgeous swollen lips, even more plush and kissable after he’d sucked on them for who the fuck knows how long. Too long. Never long enough.

“You need to go to your family’s.” He rubbed her back. It was something he’d done before, dozens of times. But every touch felt different now. Electric. Monumental. A prelude.

“Come with me,” she said, peppering kisses over his face.

Mulder sighed, feeling his protests melt away with every graze of her mouth on his skin. “I don’t want to intrude—” he said meekly.

“My mom invited you.” She pulled back, a guilty look on her face. “I didn't know you didn’t have plans. You shouldn’t be alone.”

“I’ll be okay, Scully. Just me and Scrooge. He’s like a kindred spirit.”

She looked at him for a few long seconds, her fingers doing something delightful along the muscles of his shoulders and neck. Then she nodded, her mouth set in a line. “You’re coming.”

He waggled his eyebrows at her.

She giggled, then pressed her mouth against his in a soft kiss. He liked this, too. He wanted to discover every kind of kiss, every touch. Every sound and sigh. What he could do to make them.

As she stood and pulled him up with her, he thought, perhaps, he’d get what he wanted this year. Or maybe he already had.

End.