#alone* in this big awful spring. 2 and a half months of this.

[yo9urt]

today i return to the sea

[artificialqueens]

Drabble Compilation (Trixya, Biadore) - Candy Cane

A/N: a bunch of drabbles ive written over on my side blog @sillylittlecandycane !! im accepting prompts over there if you are interested uwu here’s the list of everything in here: 1.) Trixya, half drag dance challenge 2.) Trixya, pregnant!Katya 3.) Biadore, “If I puke, will you hold my hair back?" 4.) Trixya, pregnant!Katya sequel 5.) Trixya, "You’ve been crying, I can tell." 6.) Biadore, Adore visiting Bianca in Palm Springs

1.) Trixya, half drag dance challenge For a split second there Katya was ecstatic about being Trixie’s partner for this challenge, then she remembered she has a huge fucking crush and is definitely going to wind up making a fool out of herself. Trixie’s clearly excited though, so Katya decides she’ll try to swallow down those feelings, and focus on keeping that smile on Trixie’s face.

Neither of them are really dancers, but Trixie definitely is a country girl, so she’s somewhat more familiar with it than Katya. The older is still nervous, she’s not used to this kind of thing, not by any stretch of the imagination. She’s done choreo before, any given drag queen has, she just hasn’t had to learn it in such a short amount of time before.

After learning what they could with the instructor and are back in the workroom to practice, Trixie turns to Katya and grabs her hands. Katya stares down at them with wide eyes, just now registering she’s been dancing with Trixie.

Cute, sexy, funny fucking Trixie.

“We have so got this,” Trixie says, all the confidence in the world embodied in that tone.

Katya looks into Trixie’s eyes and smiles back, “Okay, yeah. We’ve got this.”

It’s exhilarating to have so much confidence in herself, and then to have some in her partner as well. It’s so different from what she’s used to. They’ve still got work to do to make sure they nail this thing all the way to the core of the earth, it’s just not so terrifying anymore. It feels good, it really does.

2.) Trixya, pregnant!Katya Katya’s at the point where she is seriously regretting being pregnant. At the end of the day, it was her choice, but sometimes she thinks it was a bad one. Everything fucking hurts, she’s constantly hungry, she can’t sleep right anymore, and she is always horny. This is just the worst thing ever.

What doesn’t suck is how sweet and loving Trixie, her fucking wife, has been. Katya doesn’t think she’ll ever get over the fact that Trixie is her wife. It’s so surreal! She’s like the best wife ever. Always getting her whatever she wants or needs, even if it’s 2 am and she’s being absolutely ridiculous, Trixie is there to help her and make the best out of a sucky situation.

Katya cuddles closer to Trixie, listening to the soothing sound of the younger’s heartbeat. She’s going to have a baby with this girl. They’re growing their family and it’s just… it’s perfect.

Trixie gently tugs her fingers through Katy’s messy blonde hair as they watch some stupid Lifetime movie. The domesticity of it all is wonderfully stupid. But it’s still stupid. She feels restless, she’s unable to go out and at least dance, she wants to do something.

“I’m bored,” Katya says, frowning slightly.

Trixie giggles a little, and it’s so fucking cute it hurts, “Okay, what do you wanna do?”

“We should go bungee jumping,” Katya says, keeping a straight face.

“Yeah, and then we’ll eat live bugs,” Trixie replies with an eye roll.

Their eyes meet and they erupt into laughter, holding onto each other and enjoying the moment. Katya sighs, and lays her head back down to Trixie’s chest, frowning.

“I’m seven months preggers, there’s like nothing I can do,” Katya groans.

Trixie combs her fingers through Katya’s hair again, “That’s not true. We can still play like uh, board games? We can go back to thinking of baby names, too. Can’t do any worse than my parents.”

Katya looks up at Trixie, a content smile on her lips. At least Trixie is trying for her, which is so much better than she feels she could’ve ever hoped for. The Russian pushes herself up to kiss her wife deeply.

“Or we could…” Katya mumbles against her, a sly offer.

Trixie giggles again, like music to Katya’s ears, “Yeah. Let’s do that.”

3.) Biadore, "If I puke, will you hold my hair back?"

Adore has drunk herself stupid, or stupid-er, again. She needed a night of insane drinking, and boy did she get it. Everyone is looking at her like she should be at rehab, but she doesn’t fucking care. A broken heart can’t be mended with alcohol, but it can be forgotten, at least for a little while.

She downs another shot, and out of the corner of her eyes she sees Detox and Willam laughing at her, while Bianca looks incredibly exasperated. Adore groans and lays her head against the counter, she feels awful and it definitely isn’t just her broken heart.

“B…” she mumbles, lifting a heavy arm to poke her friend.

Bianca rolls her eyes but looks down at her anyways, “What?”

“I don’ feel so good…” she whines, her words slurred.

“Well that’s what happens when you drink more in three hours than Willam does in one night,” Bianca snaps back, the disapproval in her voice strong.

“I’d be offended but you make a good point,” Willam says, giggling.

Adore huffs and stares at her bright red wig and the way it’s sprawled out in front of her. It’s one of her favorites, but it was also her ex’s favorite… God, she misses him so much it hurts like a bitch. Maybe she should throw out the wig, if it’s going to hurt her so much. It’s still a favorite though, and she refuses to allow that dickhead to take more from her than necessary.

Adore realizes she’s been zoning out, and reaches her hand out for Bianca. Her hand finds Bianca’s, and she squeezes it tightly. Bianca’s eyes meet hers, and Adore is overwhelmed with how wonderful and amazing this person is. Bianca’s is basically the definition of perfect, and Adore knows she’s lucky to even be her friend. Though that doesn’t really stop her from pining after Bianca.

“Bia…” Adore whines again.

“What?” Bianca sighs.

“Can we leave?” she asks, quiet and sad.

Bianca looks down at her, and must take some kind of pity, “Yeah, we can go.”

Ten minutes later they’re climbing into the back of an Uber, and Adore is quick to lay her head down in Bianca’s lap. Bianca rubs the back of her neck, and it feels really good because she’s starting to feel really ill.

Adore moans pathetically, “Yanks…”

“Yeah?” Bianca answers her.

“If I puke will you hold my hair back?”

“Sure, but then I’ll beat you up for puking all over me and this fucking car.”

Adore giggles, feeling slightly better with their usual banter, “Love you, Bia.”

“Love you too,” Bianca smiles softly.

4.) Trixya, pregnant!Katya sequel

For almost a year now, Katya’s life has been totally changed. Deciding to actually go through with physically having a child was big enough, but when she was actually pregnant? Everything changed.

Every decision she made impacted the baby. What she ate, what she wore, what she did… Every little thing impacted not just her anymore, but her child too. And she wouldn’t give it up for anything, because sitting here, holding that child in her arms, she knows it was all worth it.

Sitting here in the hospital bed, Katya is mesmerized by her baby. Her eyes are so startling blue, like Trixie’s, and her smile is so vibrant, like Trixie. Katya thinks her baby will be just like Trixie in so many ways. Katya hopes her daughter gets all her good traits, and none of her bad ones. This child helped to save her from addiction, Katya doesn’t want her to fall into it.  

“What are you thinking about?” Trixie whispers, leaning over her shoulder to look into their baby’s eyes.

“How we still haven’t named her,” Katya says, cupping her pretty face.

Trixie rolls her eyes, “Well, we would’ve had that one figured out by now if-” “Really? In front of the baby?” Katya says, trying to play all serious at first, then bursts into laughter at Trxiei’s surprised expression.

“You bitch,” Trixie laughs, lightly slapping Katya’s shoulder.

“But seriously, the kid needs a name,” Katya frowns, “We can’t keep calling her ‘the baby’ forever.”

“It’s only been a day,” Trixie shrugs, “But you’re right.” “I should give her a really complicated Russian name you can’t pronounce,” Katya teases.

“Do you hate me? Is that it?” Trixie plays along.

Katya kisses her though, and the way Trixie turns bright red gets her all emotional all over again.

“I’ve been in love with you since we met,” Katya reminds her once they break apart.

“We should name her Barbara,” Trixie giggles.

“Nevermind, you’re right, I do hate you.”

Trixie cackles, and the baby starts to fuss in response. Both immediately try to calm her down, and luckily do so with minimal effort.

“Maybe… Cherry?” Trixie suggests.

Katya looks at her, then realizes she;s being serious, “Really? Cherry?”

“We could put down like, Cheryl or something on paper, but Cherry is like red, and sweet, and cute…” Trixie explains, blushing some.

Katya purses her lips, looks down at her baby, and grins widely.

“Cherry suits her.”

5.) Trixya, "You’ve been crying, I can tell." There’s tear tracks down Trixie’s cheeks, her eyes are bright red, and she’s even sniffling. It makes Katy’s heart hurt. She doesn’t like to see Trixie upset, that girl is the last person on this earth who should ever cry.

“Katya-” Trixie says, jerking back when she sees the older, clearly having thought she was alone.

“What happened?” Katya asks, stepping forward instinctively. She wants nothing more than to hug her.

“Nothing, it’s nothing,” Trixie says, unable to meet Katya’s eyes.

Katya frowns, “You’ve been crying, I can tell.”

Trixie looks shocked, but still persists, “I’m fine.”

“I’m never going to believe that,” Katya says, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Trixie finally admits.

“Okay, that I can understand,” Katya says, reaching forward to take Trixie’s hand in her own, “But… that doesn’t mean you have to be alone. We don’t have to talk, but let me be here for you. Please?”

Trixie looks up at Katya’s kind, worried eyes, completely taken aback by how genuine her friend is being. Trixie nods, unable to actually form any words, and is almost instantly wrapped up in a strong hug.

The younger places her head in the crook of Katya’s neck, and starts to cry all over again. She doesn’t feel so empty and alone now, though. She feels like maybe if she just stays in Katya’s arms, listening to her reassurances and absorbing her love, for a little while longer then everything will be okay.

6.) Biadore, Adore visiting Bianca in Palm Springs

The sun is shining brightly, the palm trees surrounding the pool sway in the breeze, and Danny feels more relaxed than they have in many, many months. They’re on their back in the center of the pool, letting themself drift and be one with the water. Usually they prefer to go straight to the source, they are a mermaid after all, but there’s something to be said about getting to be alone in the water with their boyfriend.

There’s no one else around, just the two of them, alone and having sexy, fun, romance together. Said boyfriend pops up out of the water  next to Danny, and peers over them, a smirk on his lips. Danny sits up so they’re not on their back anymore, and presses a little closer to Roy.

“Hi,” Roy chuckles, leaning in close to Danny’s lips.

Danny grins, “Hello yourself.”

Roy laughs, but kisses Danny anyways. The kiss is chaste, but still full of love and joy. Danny wraps their arms around Roy’s neck and goes in for another kiss, this one full and sloppy. Roy pushes Danny forward as they soak each other in, until Roy had Danny pinned to the concrete edge, his large hands spanning across Danny’s, currently tiny, hips.

The younger is bad at the whole self-care thing during work, which is one of the many reasons he’s happy to have them here. Now he has an excuse to get real food into Danny, and help them relax.

The two pull away from each other, breathless and smiling, and it’s perfect. The sun on their skin, the clear water around them, and neither would have it any other way.

“We should go annoy the neighbors with your golf cart this afternoon,” Danny suggests, smiling and close to laughter.

“Yeah,” Roy says, close to laughing himself, “We should.”

[1kook]

baecation

Jeon Jeongguk x (F) Reader

summary⥗“Lose the top, or lose the right to present yourself in any low back gown for the next three months.” He truly knew the way to your heart. tags⥗richboy!jk, -3 knowledge of how vacations work, domestic love!!!, outdoor sex, unprotected sex, fingering, jk’s white ass cheeks mention wc⥗5.9k u ever randomly get inspired for the first time in 2 months and write a whole fic in one night anyway enjoy

There were many perks to dating the heir of your city’s top conglomerate, the endless showering of gifts being one of them, but your favorite thing about your boyfriend wasn’t his overflowing pockets or his secure future, but the lovesick look in his eyes when you told him how much you loved him.

Jeongguk was an enigma.

He was born to be the stereotypical rich boy that authors of teen fiction could only dream of, his looks suitable for magazine covers and his brains destined for top-notch universities. His bloodline was carefully crafted by generations before him, every marriage carefully planned and executed with the ultimate goal to preserve their place in society as apex predators. In fact, Jeongguk’s entire life had been one big script his family had carefully pushed him along, from the fencing classes he took to the hiring of the nation’s best nannies to care for him, all subtle enough for him to not complain but demanding enough that he knew what was going on.

The only thing they hadn’t planned in Jeongguk’s life was him meeting you.

They had never planned for him to meet some middle-class girl, who was definitely not an heiress to any particular company or celebrity of any level, just some random girl he had accidentally bumped into leaving a charity event at the local community park. They hadn’t planned for his long, gangly arms to knock your phone out of your hand, or send it tumbling into the lake as you both watched on in horror. It was only after the quiet plop of water registered in both your ears that you had whirled on him, half of you in shock and the other in fury.

Jeongguk was, as previously stated, handed everything on a silver platter. His parents hardly bothered with teaching him how to do things. He barely understood how to work a washing machine, because all of that was done for him by other people. At the moment, he didn’t have to bother with taking an entrance exam to the best university this side of the country because he knew his parents would pay for the entire thing out of pocket. He especially didn’t ever have to worry about what to do when random girls scolded him in public sight, because frankly, it would never happen.

Yet here he was, completely startled as you told him to watch where he was going, and to learn how to apologize to people when you’ve done something wrong. He’d never had someone of a lower status than him treat him so aggressively before, and when you pause to catch your breath all he can stumble out is that he’ll replace your phone, he’ll even buy you the best model, what was your number so his people could reach out to you again?

The last sentence has you groaning in frustration, as you pointed furiously towards the lake, because how on earth was he supposed to contact you when your phone was 20 feet below surface level?!

After another fifteen minutes of you continuing your verbal rampage against him, the entirety of it which he’d spent fending off his security guard and his assistant (both who’d been appalled that he’d willingly let this peasant swear and curse at him) as he stared at you in awe.

When you finally calmed down and he’d offered to take you to the Starbucks across the street to figure out the details of your phone replacement, he’s surprised to find out your normal disposition is nothing like the one you’d first shown him. In fact, you’re rather sheepish and embarrassed at the coffee shop, albeit still a little upset with him for trashing your phone.

After you’ve finished nailing out the little details of your phone replacement, which included you hesitantly giving him your address, he leaves right away. He’s sad to leave so soon, having become completely enthralled with your entire being in the thirty minutes he’s come to know you, that he finds himself hopelessly staring out of the backseat of the Benz as he travels back to his upscale apartment in the heart of the city. He hopes you don’t forget him so soon.

To say you’re surprised to see a package on your doorstep the next morning is an understatement. You remember every online purchase you make, and if memory serves you right, you hadn’t made one in the past month to warrant its arrival today. After glancing down both ends of your hall, you tug the mystery package inside.

In hindsight you probably should have been more cautious of the entire situation, but part of you was extremely curious to see what brought this surprise on. After tugging the tape off and shuffling through the packing peanuts you’re met with a sleek box for the hottest and most expensive phone right now, a pink bow carefully tied around to secure a note.

One of our guard’s fished around the lake for the phone I misplaced and managed to retrieve the memory card. I hope you won’t mind the new contact I added.

Best,

Jeon Jeongguk

And thus was the start of your love story.

-

You’re wondering if Jeongguk’s sudden idea was truly a spur of the moment epiphany or another ploy for him to get out of going to the ball his father had planned at the end of this month. You’ve come to learn in the last two years that despite his perfect boy aura, he was quite the impulsive shithead. Eitherway, you know he would have invited you to wherever he was going, and if he hadn’t, his mother would have shipped you a gown from her favorite designer and asked you to drag him there.

As it stands, it’s not a fancy ball you’re preparing for this time around, but a luxurious spring break in the Bahamas, away from school and family and anything to ruin your mood for the next week. You’d just finished your midterms when he bursts into your dorm room, demanding you pack your bags, baby, we’re going to the beach! Evidently, it was not the local beach you were going to. No, the ‘beach’ Jeongguk had referred to was one he conveniently forgot to mention was an entire plane ride away. It wasn’t until he returned later that same day to usher you off to the airport that he realizes how sorely under packed you are.

So now here you were, frantically cramming a week’s worth of cute, summer-y clothes into the only suitcase you own, running back and forth from your closet to the suitcase to the desk where you kept all your beauty products and shower essentials, while your boyfriend ate one of your granola bars on your bed.

“You better not get any crumbs on the bed, you know I hate finding them later,” you scold, not even bothering to look at him as you stuff all your makeup into a small bag.

Jeongguk snorts. “You won’t even be sleeping here for a week, babe,” he says, voice calm and relaxed in the way only someone who’s already done packing can be. The only consolation to your current state was that Jeongguk had booked his family’s private jet, so you really couldn’t be late to a flight only the two of you would be on.

You turn around with a hand on your hip, giving him the same unimpressed look you always do when he’s being unreasonable. “I’m sure the mice you’re attracting will keep it warm for me.” He rolls his eyes, finishing off his snack and then making a big show of patting down your creaky mattress to rid it of any granola crumbs.

He’s settled back into the bed when he speaks again. “Take the orange crop top you bought from Forever 21 last month, it makes your boobs looks amazing.”

You tuck your socks and undergarments against the suitcase’s inner pocket. “Oh right, ‘cause that’s a priority right now.” You don’t wanna tell him it’s already folded against your other clothes because you, too, think it makes your boobs look amazing.

You hear the rustling of the bed sheets once more, before you see his long legs come to a rest around you, arms wrapping around your waist to watch you ruffle through the clothing you already have. “Not my fault my girl’s got a nice set on her.”

“Oh my god, shut up,” you beg, reaching over to your pile of haphazardly thrown shorts and skirts to fold some more into your luggage. You’re careful of not moving far enough away that his arms would dislodge from their embrace. “We could have been halfway to the Bahamas right now if someone bothered to plan things ahead of time and not last minute as a means to get out of a charity ball.”

Jeongguk groans, letting his head fall forward to rest against your back, his soft breath leaving your back warm through your t-shirt. “Can’t a guy just steal his girlfriend away to the Bahamas for a week to avoid the overwhelming stress of life, and maybe choke on some exotic shrimp while she chokes on his di—”

“Get off of me, you pervert!”

The second you step foot on the archipelago that is the gem of the resort world, it’s about seven thousand degrees hotter than it was back home, and the sweat on the back of your neck can attest to that. The jet ride here had been pretty fun, it being your first experience flying private, but also flying in general. Jeongguk had kept you entertained both on the take off and landing, lips kissing down every inch of your neck with a promise for more later.

Well, it was later now, and the need to be sated was still present, something you’re not quite sure your boyfriend was aware of. Jeongguk was like that. Forgetful as fuck. The only reason he ever got anything done was because he had that assistant of his practically glued to his hip at every moment of the day, breathing down his neck every task he needed to complete. If it was up to Jeongguk, and Jeongguk alone, things would get done at a very slow pace.

But you were nothing like your boyfriend, and you suppose it’s why you two go together so well. While he put things to the side, you needed everything to be done right away and fast. Which is why you find yourself pulling him away from the scuba diving kiosk in an effort to check into your high-end cottage away from all the tourist hub.

“Babeee,” he whines, almost forgetting his luggage for the nth time, not used to actually having to haul his things by himself. “We could have seen the reef! You know, where all the fish are at? Where Nemo lives.”

“Uh huh, that’s nice,” you say, finding the driver Jeongguk’s assistant (bless his uptight, perfectionist ass) had booked for your arrival. “But we need to check in first and make sure our rental is all good.”

He seems miffed about the fact people actually have to do that, and had it not been his status as a trust-fund baby funding this entire trip, you would have liked to sock him right in the nose. But he’s your boyfriend and you’re used to his somewhat clueless ways by now, so you let it go.

You don’t know what you expected his assistant to rent out for you guys, but it certainly wasn’t the swanky beach house your driver pulls up to. It’s carefully secluded from the other houses around it, a high hedge-turned-fence surrounding the private yard. It hides a decent sized pool, a few lawn-chairs, and a hot tub from the public beach down below. The house itself is marvelous, complete with multiple bedrooms, two baths, and the most luxurious kitchen you’ve ever seen in a beach house.

“Oh,” you say upon stepping out of the car, mouth agape as you take in the sight of your accommodation for the next few days.

A pair of hands snake around your waist before carefully coming to rest above your navel. Jeongguk presses a gentle kiss to your temple, murmuring, “all for you, princess.” The waves crashing against the beach below are miniscule compared to the sudden blossoming of warmth in your chest.

“Shut up,” you shyly whine, turning around to envelope him in your arms. Your need for him and his body fades at the breathtaking sight behind you, and you find yourself forgetting about it completely as you venture around the house.

It’s the same day when you decide to go out into the yard and tan for a bit. Jeongguk had went in for a nap, a little tired from keeping you entertained on the long flight, because he’d stayed awake even when you fell asleep just in case you woke up scared. You don’t try to discourage him, watching him snuggle into the king mattress as you shuffle around for your bikini.

You’re absentmindedly applying another layer of sunscreen to your face, sunglasses pushed onto the top of your head. You’re completely enveloped by thoughts of your boyfriend, of how he could have easily ran off to the Bahamas alone (he went to Moscow last November on a trip to ‘find himself’), but he’d elected to whisk you off with him.

You tuck your AirPods—another gift from him—into your ears before finally settling into the comfort of a lounge chair, the sun’s rays beating down on you full force. It feels wonderful being away from everything you know with the comfort of returning. You’d always dreamt of visiting such places as a teenager, the presence of a lover or not, but now you truly got to live out those fantasies with Jeongguk.

He was a dream.

It’s about thirty minutes into your session when you register the sound of the sliding door, and you crack one eye open to see your refreshed boyfriend wandering into the backyard in a pair of swimming trunks and a goofy look on his face. “Oh, pardon me, I didn’t know such women came to the public pool,” he smirks.

You roll your eyes, not that he sees through the shades protecting you. “Don’t you dare try to roleplay with me, weirdo.”

He cackles, before somersaulting into the pool, and you find yourself squealing at the splash he makes. He disappears for a second under the water, but then pops back up at the ledge closest to you. “Come on, don’t be a pussy. Play along and maybe we’ll go to the spa tomorrow morning,” he offers.

“Fine.” You decide to join him, but not because the spa.

Jeongguk laughs at your petulant tone of voice, before sprawling out to float across the surface of the pool. “Great, so here’s what I was thinking. Me, the rich middle-aged husband coming here strictly for business. And you, the shy darling relaxing by the pool with her girlfriends who are all pushing her to go talk to me.”

“Sounds perfect, except for the part where I’m actually the sly minx coming here to scam a rich college boy out of his money, luring him into the most pleasurable sex he’s ever had, before ghosting him for all eternity and leaving him forever waiting for someone like me to come into his life again,” you propose.

Jeongguk blinks. “Wow, that sounded so realistic. You’re either really good at this, or… I should be worried,” he playfully accuses, before throwing over a gesture that says im watching you. You laugh.

“Just keep swimming, rich boy.”

He does as you tell him, playing in the water as you tune back into the music drifting into your ears. You’re about done tanning the front side of your body, and flip over to make sure your backside catches the rays as well. You set your sunglasses off to the side, and when you look back for them they’re adorning Jeongguk’s silly face as he doggy paddles around the donut floaty he found.

“Untie your top, dumby. Unless you want those ugly tan lines,” Jeongguk calls out in that brash tone of his. You flip him the bird, before sitting up in a very Ariel-esque pose to glance around your private yard.

As if sensing your hesitation, Jeongguk paddles over to your side, leveling you with an unimpressed look. “These bushes are as tall as a door, and there’s no one around for the next half mile, babe. Lose the top, or lose the right to present yourself in any low back gown for the next three months.”

He truly knew the way to your heart.

You untie the knots at your back and your neck, carefully laying back down to get that perfect tan Jeongguk was talking about. Admittedly, you do feel a bit better knowing you won’t return home with noticeable tan lines, and that much is enough to have your topless self blissfully relaxing.

Your soundtrack is the playlist you had collected on the plane ride, occasionally joined by the splashing Jeongguk makes as he moves around the pool, and before you know it, your timer is ringing to let you know it’s time to flip over again. This time, you’re less hesitant about shedding your top, breasts bare to the sky as you throw the top over your eyes (guess where your sunglasses still where).

You hear a wolf whistle from the other side of the yard, and catch sight of Jeongguk sitting at the edge of the pool. His skin is glistening from the water, the sun enveloping him in its warmth. He’d been outside for a shorter time than you but somehow he’d accumulated a darker color faster. The sun loved him like no other. He’s pushing himself to his feet when he catches your gaze, mischievous smirk twisting his features as he rounds the pool.

“Didn’t know this was a nude beach,” he says, and you curse your body for the way it reacts to the sight of his messy hair and tone abdomen. Your nipples harden embarrassingly and you can’t even hide them.

“Tired already?” You muse instead, hoping he doesn’t comment on the state of your breasts. “Tired after a plane ride, tired after swimming. Didn’t know I was dating an old man.”

“Har har,” he says in a monotone voice, and you can’t help the curl of a smile at beating him at his own playful ways. He stops in front of you, and your expression is knocked clean off when the water droplets clinging to his body fall onto your warm skin.

“Jeongguk!” You whine, pushing him away with your foot in a valiant effort to save yourself from the cold water. If anything, your actions end up bringing your demise as he catches your ankle in his hand.

“Ah ah, princess,” he tuts, bending your leg upward only to place his knee where it once was. He ducks down to tower over you, your continuous squealing only bringing an evil smile to his face. “What did we say about tan lines?”

You push him away, groaning in defeat as his hair drips even more water onto your skin. “I took the top off, what now?”

He glances down, and for a moment, you’re confused as to what he sees that you don’t. You're only met with the sight of your yellow bikini bottom preserving the last of your dignity.

You scoff. “You’re kidding.”

Much to your chagrin, he’s not.

“You’re on one of the nicest islands in the world, staying in a private home with fences tall enough to stop Bigfoot from looking in, and you’re gonna tan with your bikini bottoms on? You’re ridiculous.”

You shove his shoulder, before resigning yourself to getting soaked by him as he shuffles around to squish you under his weight. “You’re ridiculous for thinking I’d be outside without any clothes on!”

He snorts against your shoulder, long arms moving around until he has one somewhat curled beneath you. “Nah. You are.”

“Don’t start with me, Jeon.”

He shifts again to look you in the eye. “Come on, ___. You’re really gonna get tan lines when you could avoid them?”

You roll yours eyes. “You couldn’t get me to go outside completely naked for a million bucks, baby.” The beginning of a grin curls around his lips. “Don’t even think about it.”

This brings a laugh out of him, before he’s laying back down to kiss your neck. “You’re silly.” All you can really hope for now is that him laying on top of you won’t give you an even worse tan line.

Just when you think he’s given up on his quest to have you completely naked outside, you feel the slightest tug on the tie holding your bikini in place, slapping your hand down on his as if he were a pesky fly. “Fine!” He huffs, rolling off you to jump back into the water. “I hope everyone sees your uneven tan.”

“No one would see a tan line on my coochie, Jeon,” you remind him, flinching when he decides to cannonball into the water right beside you, sprinkling you in another round of water pellets.

He emerges from the clear water a moment later, paddling to the ledge beside you to flick more water your way. “I will,” he retorts. “When I got you bent over tomorrow morning.”

You don’t hesitate to fling your bikini top his way, the yellow fabric smacking him across the face. “In that case, you should take those shorts off, because I certainly don’t wanna have to look at your pasty thighs.”

“You love my milky thighs,” he hums, traversing the length of the pool for his donut floaty again.

“Milky?”

Your tiny quarrel ends there, Jeongguk soon becoming too immersed in competing against himself in a breath-holding contest to bother you any longer. He’s adorable like this, cheeks puffed out like Mrs. Puff every time his head pops out of the water, that you almost forget to flip over when your timer rings again.

It’s in the midst of your repositioning that you dare take a peak beneath your bottoms. Much to your disdain, there is a growing disparity between the skin beneath your swimsuit and the skin around it. Nothing too bad, but if you were to lay out as long as you planned, it’d become embarrassingly noticeable. Your breasts had been saved from any differences thanks to Jeongguk’s early warning, and you begin wondering if shedding your bottoms would inflate his already huge ego.

No matter, you discreetly unknot the ties securing your bottoms, hoping he won’t notice from across the yard as you carefully slip them off.

You make quick work of laying on your stomach again, your ass finally catching some rays after being covered for so long. You won’t lie, there’s an unexpected wave of comfort that comes with being bare outside, your entire body wonderfully enveloped by the sun’s beaming rays. You snuggle into the lounge chair’s cushions as you nearly reach nirvana.

Your blissful state is ruined not even ten minutes later when the sound of Jeongguk’s heavy splashing comes closer and closer. It’s not until you hear the splat of his wet feet against the pavement that you realize you’re in trouble.

There’s a playful smack against your ass, and you yelp in surprise. “Jeon!” You whine, instantly sitting up on your forearms to narrow your eyes at him. He’s flashing you that playful grin of his as he plops down beside you, not even having to ask you to move over because you do so subconsciously

“Knew you’d give in eventually,” he sighs, leaning back on his palms as he tries to catch his breath. You decide to give up on your dreams of having a peaceful tanning session, turning around to face your glistening boyfriend.

“What do you want for lunch?” You ask instead, running a hand through the hair at the nape of your neck, rolling your shoulders around to get some movement back into them. He shrugs, slithering his way up the cushions to squish himself beside you. It’s a tight fit, but he makes it easier by throwing your leg over his middle.

“Probably some good food in the little village a mile from here. Could probably walk there too.” You hum in agreement, snuggling into his side. You’ve long since gotten over the coldness of his skin, cheek pressed against his chest. He’s got a hand on your lower back, partially to hold you close but also to stop you from rolling off the chair.

Right as your snoozing off, so wonderfully warm beneath the sun and comfortable in your birthday suit, you feel a pair of fingers brush against the backside of your thigh, and then ghost over your exposed pussy.

“You’re despicable,” you murmur, tweaking his nipple between your fingers. Jeongguk snickers, shifting you around so you’re mostly on top of him now, your awakened core pressed against his thigh.

“C’mon, princess,” he goads, running a pair of moist fingers along your thigh again, trying to carefully coax you into doing what he wants. Most things, you now realize, tend to go Jeongguk’s way regardless of other factors. “No one’ll hear us out here.”

“But what if someone does,” you point out, always the voice of reason when it comes to Jeongguk’s ideas. “We could get in trouble, Guk. I don’t know…”

“In trouble for what?” Is his smart rebuttal, shuffling beneath you so you can finally feel the swollen cock hiding beneath his swimming trunks. “Enjoying ourselves in our own home? Oh, the terror.” Upon seeing the uncertainty that still clings to your features, he drops the somewhat cocky attitude to press a kiss to your nose. “It’s all good, princess,” he soothes, ducking down to caress the side of your face with his cherried lips. “If anything, I’ll just bribe our way out of any trouble.”

“Ugh,” you groan, melting into him as you finally give in. “I hate when you say that.”

Jeongguk snuffles a laugh against your jaw, maneuvering the two of you around until you’re laid flat against the cushion with him hovering over you. “When I say what?” He teases. “That my wallet is as fat as my cock?”

You roll your eyes, untying the knot he’d done at the front of his shorts. “Get that fat cock of yours out before I change my mind.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he complies, setting one foot on the floor to push his shorts down, until you’re met with the sight of his stark thighs. You cackle, and his arrogant smirk is wiped off as he glances down at his two-toned legs.

“What happened to getting the perfect tan?” You sneer, tapping a finger against his muscled thighs. “Don’t tell me your ass is this white, too.”

He huffs in annoyance, before reclaiming his spot between your legs again, tugging you down until your cores are pressed together. “Shut up.” You do as he says, words catching in your throat at the feeling of his engorged cock brushing against your wet folds.

His slips a hand down to languidly toy with your folds, his fingers slightly pruny from all the time he spent in the water. It feels a little weird, but any complaints you may have had are wiped away when he nudges your bud with the tip of his pointer finger. You gasp, fingers digging into his shoulders at the sudden stimulation against your core. “Ohh,” you sigh, eyes rolling backwards.

“Feel good?” He checks, eyes trained on your expressions, lips unconsciously puckering to kiss you, even with your writhing beneath him. You let out a high-pitched mewl, much to your embarrassment, cheeks flushed warm from the sun and his ministrations. You nod belatedly.

He lets his wandering hands carry on, carefully travelling across the entirety of your folds. He knows your body like no other, so familiar with the dips and curves, that it’s impossible for him to not immediately locate your g-spot upon plunging his fingers inside you. “G-Guk!” you cry out, hands falling to grip at his biceps.

He presses a kiss to your throat. “That’s it, baby, lemme hear you,” he murmurs, and subtly presses his cock to the inside of your thigh. “Looked so delicious out here,” he sighs, and it’s as if he’s talking to himself. “Wanted to fuck your pretty little pussy from the second I stepped outside.”

Your back arches beneath him at a particular scissor of his fingers, another whine caught in your throat. “Want you so bad,” you whimper, reaching a hand up to tangle in his dark locks. You use the leverage to pull his lips towards yours, meeting in a frantic crash that has you whining against him even more.

His tongue slips past your lips, subduing yours when you try the same on him, and you almost choke on the excess saliva pooling in your mouth. Right before you can, he pulls back in favor of trapping your lower lip between his teeth. Your eyes flutter open, and you meet his own dark gaze.

“Ready?” He huffs, pulling his fingers out from within you. They’re shiny with your slick, almost as wet as they’d been when he was swimming earlier. You nod, dazed from all the pleasure he was giving you, that you can’t do more but spread your legs for him. He leans back on his knees, lining himself up with your hole.

You’d long since eliminated condoms from your relationship with Jeongguk, your trust in each other overwhelmingly so. Besides, you were still on the pill, and Plan B existed, so you never really worried about slipping up and accidentally getting yourself pregnant. Although there were times when he’d go overboard, stuffing you with his cum until you feel bloated, you’d never gotten pregnant before, so you wouldn’t begin to worry now.

Just the idea of feeling him in his entirety has you salivating, needy hands reaching out to grasp any part of him you can reach. Jeongguk snickers at your desperate ways, knotting his fingers with yours before pressing them to the cushion beneath you, the other gripping onto your thigh to keep your legs spread.

The second his tip pushes through the initial tightness, your mouth drops open, indecipherable noises escaping you. “J-Jeon,” you cry, chest heaving at the sudden intrusion.

“Relax for me, princess,” he huffs, just as out of it as you. Your body feels like it’s ascended, Jeongguk’s cock slowly pushing in further with each breath you take. It doesn’t take much longer for him to completely bottom out, the warm skin of his thighs pressing against you.

You’re like a fish out of water, mouth opening and closing as your body slowly assimilates to the feeling of being so absolutely full. It’s not until Jeongguk subtly shifts his weight onto his other leg that you give him the green light to start fucking you.

You moan, the first few thrusts hitting against every sweet spot inside you. “God, you’re so fucking big,” you heave, clenching around him just to feel the drag of his cock against your walls.

Jeongguk chuckles through his own pants, the fingers entwined with yours becoming impossibly tighter. “You’re too good for me,” he sighs, hauling your thigh further up his forearm until its resting in the crease of his elbow. The positioning allows his strokes to go deeper. You cry out, squirming beneath him with each thrust he gives.

“Oh fuck,” you cry wantonly when he plunges deeper into you, the water that decorated his skin long having been replaced by the sweat clinging to him. Your eyes flutter shut and you’re left only listening to the sounds of you, Jeongguk, and the ocean waves beneath you. “I love you,” you whimper.

Jeongguk grunts, ducking down to kiss you again, his hips not once slowing down. “Love you too, princess,” he murmurs. “Fuck, I don’t deserve you,” he groans, puncuating his statement with a brutal thrust of his cock into you. “Gonna buy you that pretty Valentino bag when we get back, I promise,” he adds, picking up his pace.

You whine, “You don’t have to, Jeon, I—”

He cuts you off, “and that silver Audi you liked at the car show last winter,” he rambles on, seemingly clueless to your protest. “A-And maybe that Louis Vuttion coat that brings out the color in your eyes—”

“I saw the same one at H&M,” you interrupt, swiveling your hips upwards to meet his thrusts. He chokes out a laugh.

“Shut up and just let me spoil you,” he groans, and then seemingly forgets what else he was planning on buying you as he focuses his complete attention on helping you reach your orgasm.

With his focus solely on that, you find the burning feeling in your lower abdomen grow tenfold, voice becoming more annoying with each moan and whine you give. “That’s it, baby,” he encourages, his thrusts sending tingles up and down your spine. He peppers kisses down your chest, each touch leaving your skin scorching.

Time seems to slow when the coil in your stomach finally snaps, an embarrassingly loud moan leaving your lips as your body spasms beneath him. “Oh, Jeongguk,” you sigh, falling limp on the lounge chair as he continues chasing his high.

He pulls out soon enough, giving his cock a few tugs before he’s spurting his come across your lower abdomen, leaning back to admire his masterpiece. He’s panting afterwards, and the backyard feels eerily quiet as you both just gaze at each other with goofy smiles on your faces.

The romantic aura is ruined when he feels the need to say, “hey, maybe now my ass won’t be so white.”

“Fuck, you look sexy,” he murmurs when the instructor finally turns around, leaving Jeongguk to gawk at your body in the tight wetsuit provided. “Gonna fuck you so good tonight.”

“Shut up,” you blush, trying to stop your eyes from violating your boyfriend’s disgustingly gorgeous body in the matching wetsuit he wears. “We’ll get kicked out of the group, Guk.”

He rolls his eyes. “I could have rented the whole place out for us, but someone thought scuba diving with the other corny tourists would be fun.”

You flick his forehead. “You don’t have to buy out every building we go to,” you remind him, memories of this morning’s completely empty breakfast bar flickering to attention. “Besides, I wouldn’t have let you fuck me tonight anyway.”

He scoffs at your claim. “Please, you would have begged me, ___.”

You hit him with the wide end of your swimming fin, then have to apologize to the instructor for your horseplay, much to Jeongguk’s amusement. You narrow your eyes at him, following the rest of the group out onto the boardwalk leading to the boat. “Find me a Nemo, and we’ll do it in the beach cabana.”

Jeongguk’s lips twists into the most devious smirk you’ve ever seen, and he smacks your ass as he runs ahead of you. You yelp, just as he turns to face you just as he nears the group. “Has anyone seen my son?”

[messengerhermes]

Let's talk home maintenance. Let's talk about home maintenance when the home is you. Content Warnings: This post is about building coping skills in the face of depression and PTSD, and other mental health challenges, it will allude to suicidal ideation and suicidality. So here's the thing. You are your house. Your body, your mind, all of you, is the home you live in. Some of the shit in your house is stuff you inherited, some of it's been gifted to you, some of it's found it's way in there over time, but all of it informs the general ambience of your home. Likewise, the rooms, the layout, the color of the walls, where your floorboards creak, and how the pipes whistle and hum when you run the hot water are all shaped by the experiences you've had from when you were first spat out into the world. Hell, they're shaped by the experiences of those who raised you in this world to. Having a home can be an incredible experience. But it can also, sometimes, be hell, be boring, be painful, be overwhelming. Especially because throughout our lives, our homes will change. New rooms will spring into existence, old ones may jam themselves shut. A cupboard you've never been able to get open will suddenly bang it's doors wide in the middle of the night. All the knick knacks well meaning relatives have given you over the years will break through the attic floor raining a clashing decor nightmare into your living room. The poltergeist you've managed to ignore for ten years will suddenly start rattling every tchotchke you've got, screaming loud enough to break glass whenever you have guests, and rearranging the contents off all your drawers. A hurricane will blow through and break all your windows, or a deep freeze will burst your pipes and flood the place. And when the home is you, you can't just sell it and buy a new one. There are periods in our life where our home may feel smothering, or frighteningly alien to us, or broken beyond repair, or any myriad of things that can warp the way we experience it. We can begin making our own ghosts, tearing at the floorboards and ripping up the plaster. We can stop believing that anyone would want to visit this place. Stop. Breathe. Here's a secret that is not a secret: No matter how often someone comes over to our house, they will never match the amount of time we spend there. Yes, even the people who we've decided to share gardens with, who we've built connecting walkways with. Even when you are absolutely sick of your house because it is always there with it's drippy pipes and groaning furnace and the wallpaper you loved five years ago but now it makes you nauseas to look at, other people are not going to feel that visceral exhaustion about your house, because they only ever visit. And the truth is, sometimes they are as deeply sick of their own houses as you are of yours, and sometimes, going to visit each other can help ease that frustration, that loneliness, and exhaustion. Even if neither of you does a damn thing to work on your houses in that moment. Sitting together, letting each other witness the ways your houses groan and rock in the wind, the faded places, the half finished renovations, is enough. Alright, now that this post has gone on for ages, I want to talk about home maintenance, or "What to do if you're getting sick of your house." This is not complete, or perfect, but hopefully it helps. 1. Sort through everything. Create an inventory of all the features and traits in your home, all the things it can do. Marie Kondo that shit. Decide what you're keeping, what you're tossing, and what to pass on to someone else. Thank the things you're letting go of, they came into your house because at some point you needed them, and it's okay to be different now. If you're struggling to find anything you like, or anything worth keeping, invite others into the process. Ask them to make lists of shit they like about you, things they notice as strengths, traits that come to mind when they think of you, or positive memories. Actually sit with those answers, don't dismiss

them. Figure out which parts feel good and which parts feel like you're playing a role that doesn't suit you anymore. Sort accordingly. Keep the list of all the things you're keeping somewhere you can review it often. Add to it as new things occur to you or people in your life pay you compliments.

2. Identify places for updates. Now that you're offloading some shit and know what you want to keep, think about what things you want updated. Maybe you want to change that aforementioned wallpaper. Maybe the boiler needs fixing. Maybe you want to call someone in to see about that poltergeist. Maybe you want a new kitchen. Break down the places you want change to happen into smaller components, and if possible, figure out how much time they might each take. You're not gonna rip out your entire kitchen all at once and get it done in a month, that's shit for real houses, not metaphor houses. But maybe you can tile a new backsplash, and then refinish your cabinets. Maybe you can get a new fridge.

3. Break things Up. Break those updates up into categories based on how much time and energy they'll take you. Something like "Quick Fixes" for updates that are just swapping things out (say, a new haircut, changes in wardrobe, different accessories, rearranging the furniture in your actual meatspace living space), "Short Term Projects" (like finding a new job, picking up a new hobby, reconnecting with folks, finding a therapist or support group--things that may require more energy than the quick fixes, but can be done over the span of a few months), and "Long Term Projects" (things like, going to therapy or joining a support group, addressing a deeper trauma or hard thing via talking with friends, reading on the subject and shifting behavior patterns, et al, this list is made up of stuff that can take years). For the long term projects, see if you can break them down into items that fit into the shorter lists (for example, if a long term project for you is Transition maybe that can be broken up into smaller components of changing your hair/clothes/pronouns, talking with close friends, accessing support groups, going to social events, identifying what you want for your transition, accessing healthcare if you're interested in medical transition). 4. Pace Yourself. Now that you've broken up your lists, figure out the pacing that works for you. Maybe you can do five quick fixes in a week and that will be a huge help. Maybe you can do a quick fix here and there and cycle between a couple of the short term projects. Maybe two of your long term projects overlap in some of their components and it makes them easier to tackle. Figure out what is doable for you, but also check in with yourself. Maybe you'll have a very "go go go" six months where you blast through a big chunk of short term projects, or feel like you make huge headway on a long-term project but then you hit a plateau. Don't try and force yourself to keep that pace, let yourself move where you're at. 5. Tell People About Your Housework. I know, vulnerability. Awful, disgusting, terrifying. Too bad. Do it anyway. Okay, let me be kinder here: When you tell people that your home is not perfect, that you have to do work on things, that you want to make changes and are, it give them permission to do the same thing. That's community, that's power, that's care. When you share, be clear about how you're sharing and what you're wanting from them. Are you looking for advice? Are you proud of something and want recognition? Do you need to be hyped up for something hard? Are you looking to share about the rough stuff and have the other person also share their rough stuff and that's how y'all support one another? 6. Call for a Barn Raising. Remember how I said if you can't think of things to keep when you're sorting through your house, call in others? Yeah, keep doing that. Maybe that support looks like just having someone sit with you as you talk through shit. Maybe it looks like getting to go out and blow bubbles in the park or ice skate, or lie in the grass and watch the clouds. Maybe it looks like grocery shopping together, or eating together so you'll actually eat. Maybe it looks like joining a Discord or Reddit with the same interests as you and posting. Our house is our own, but we are not meant to live all alone way up on some hillside, and we're not meant to fix up our homes alone either. Relearn pleasure with others, relearn joy, and curiosity, and grief, and hope and be held in your sadness and hurt. 7. Recognize Your Home is Lovable. Love is an action. Love is joy, is laughter, is pleasure, is tenderness. It is also care and effort. It is not easy to love in deep ways. It takes work, sometimes it means going out of your way, sometimes it means doing things that are tiring. You are not bad or wrong for sometimes requiring effort to love. Needing dedicated attention, having places where you bristle and snarl, having periods where you struggle to hold your home in tenderness and need others to remind you of its wonder is human. Be accountable for the

places your actions have left hurts, change your behavior, accept how relationships shift in the wake of your actions. But do not let the shame monsters in your basement chew away at the floorboards above them til everything falls in that pit. Practice believing you are worthy of love, even in the painful moments where someone you love may no longer love you in turn. Yes, this step is hard as shit. When we lose a person's love, or are struggling to love ourselves, it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking we are not worthy of anyone's love at all. But we are. It's as simple and profoundly difficult as that.

8. Rest and Feel Good. Literally, do nothing. Lie belly up in the sunshine. Read/listen to a good book, enjoy a show you love. Create emotional playlists and lose yourself in feelings. Paint, draw, sculpt, crochet, cross stitch, play an instrument, do it wonderfully, do it terribly, just do it if it feels good. Shove your hands in the dirt and make homes for tender seedlings, enjoy their journey, mourn when they wither, celebrate when they bloom. Cook things you've never made before, cook things you make all the time. Relish good food. Relish criticizing terrible food. Go to markets and shove your hands in the dry grain barrels, run your palms over fabrics and feel their textures. Smile at pretty strangers you have no intention of talking to and enjoy how the expression feels on your face. Tell people when you like their clothes. Find people to hold, to lie pressed up close in hammocks or scrunched up on the couch together. Kiss if you're the kissing type. Fuck if you're the fucking type. Dance if that moves you. Get your ass slapped if that moves you. Let yourself feel good without guilt, without suffering, without shame. Your pain is not a fee you must pay for pleasure. We are animals and are made for all the sweetness of life. Relish in that. I will stop here, since I have gone on long enough. This list is not a prescription, it is not the One True Answer, nor is it complete. But, if you decided to read all way through it, if you woke up this morning and put your head in your hands in a house that is haunted, is weighted down with strange rooms with inheritances you don't know what to do with, I hope you can move through the clutter and fix your hands on one thing you wish to keep in it all. And then another. And another. I hope you can be the home you dream of, again and again and again.

[certifiedbun]

One Big Happy Family

trying posting my fics onf tumblr this one is cross posted on Ao3 by the same name. DreamSMP fic where Dream are immortal siblings and are adopted by Tubbo’s family. On-Going

Chapter 1

Dream didn’t know how long he’d been walking. It’s been ages since he’s slept properly in a bed and warm home. It made him miss his old village but what could he do. He was more than 1,000 years old and he’s seen so many of his homes be destroyed and die out. But that was expected 

and it didn’t help that his brother Ranboo had to endure this with him. They knew that whenever they joined a village they’d have to prepare for when the village eventually died but it never failed to hurt. Especially since they could never stop it. They walked into a spruce wood forest where the trees were so tall they couldn’t see the sky. As they were about to settle down in a tree for the night they noticed a warm light. Moving through the trees they were careful not to make too much noise in fear of scaring away whoever was there.

Once they were close enough they came upon a wooden two story house. They shifted they’re forms into something younger. Dream went from looking 30 to looking 10 and Ranboo looked like a newborn. Dream held the now small Ranboo in his arms and walked up to the door and knocked. When the door opened a man with ram horns and ears with fluff on the insides. The man wore a suit and looked down on the two slightly confused.

“Who are you and what are you doing here? Where are your parents?” The man had a deep, hoarse voice and seemed to be looking around trying to find the boy's parents. Dream looked down and quietly mumbled something the man couldn’t hear. 

“Kid I’m gonna need you to speak up.”

“We don’t know where our parents are. I woke up in a tree and my brother was nearby.”

“Well I can’t let you two stay out here all night..Come on in.” He moved out the way and let the boys enter. Dream noticed there were more people living here. A small boy with tiny horns and floppy ears as well as a taller older man. The boy wore a green sweater and brown pants and when he saw Dream he rushed over and greeted him. The first man took little Ranboo from Dream and called for the other guy to get the crib out the basement. Called him the Captain.

The little boy tugged on Dream’s arm trying to get his attention and once he had it he started rambling.

“Hi my name is Tubbo!! What’s your name? Are you new? Do you live around here? Is the baby your brother?”

“Tubbo calm down. You’re gonna overwhelm the kid. Anyways hello there. My name’s Jordan but people call me the Captain.” The man now the Captain said as he reentered the room. Ranboo was gone and so was the first man. The Captain guided Dream to the living room and had him take a seat before leaving the room. Tubbo was playing with blocks on the floor and when The Captain came back he had a cup of tea and a sandwich. He handed both to Dream and sat down on a chair in front of him.

“Alright kiddo wanna introduce yourself now?”

“Oh..uh.. Sure. My name is Dream and the baby is my brother Ranboo.”

“Why were you out in the woods? It’s almost winter you know?”

“Yea..I don’t know why we were out there. I just woke up in a tree and Ranboo was tied to a branch.”

“Ahh.. so you don’t know where your parents are either?”

“No sir..”

“Would you like to stay with us? I’m sure Tubs wouldn’t mind siblings”

“Oh that would be great thanks!!”

The Captain smiled at the young boy and left Tubbo and Dream to their own devices. The two were building a city out of legos and talking animatedly to each other while The Captain was in the kitchen cleaning up any mess left behind from dinner. When he deemed it late enough He ushered the two boys upstairs. He read them stories until they fell asleep. Dream knew he shouldn’t get attached but this, being read bedtime stories in a warm comfy bed, it made him happy and he could only imagine how Ranboo is feeling. 

Dream fell asleep with a content smile on his face. The Captain dimmed the lights and left the room leaving the door slightly ajar. As he headed back downstairs he passed his brother Schlatt in the hall. Schlatt sighed tiredly and told Jordan that he was taking care of them tomorrow before heading to bed. Jordan quietly laughed and headed to his own room and fell asleep thinking about the two new kids of his.

Chapter 2

The next few years went by fast. Dream was now “15”, Ranboo was “5”, and Tubbo was 10.  The Captain now Dad to the three young boys and Schlatt their uncle each took turns staying with them. While one was out working the other here in the house teaching them everything he knew. The Captain taught them manners and core subjects like math, english, science, and history. Schlatt on the other hand taught them social skills, business, and street smarts. They worked well together and the boys were able to learn a lot. 

Until one winter. Ranboo had begged to be able to go outside and help the Captain. And the Captain who couldn’t say no to the little kid, let him join him. They left but soon after they did a blizzard came in. Schlatt told Tubbo and Dream not to worry, The Captain was smart and he'd come back when the storm ended. So they waited. And waited. 

And waited for the storm to stop. It went on for three days straight and when it finally stopped Schlatt didn’t hesitate to dress the boys up in their winter jackets, scarves, and gloves. He handed them lanterns and they started searching for the two. They checked for any hastily built shelters, any footprints, anything that could possibly help. But they found nothing. Not even a body. 

At least if they found a body they’d get some confirmation on them. But there was nothing. When they got inside Dream and Tubbo ran up the stairs and locked themselves in separate rooms. Schlatt could hear quiet sobs from the blond freckled boy and loud wails from the small brown kid. Schlatt knew he had to do something so he went to find a few items.

Winter had come and gone and now it was spring. The boys stayed inside and continued to build their perfect city. Schlatt was outside planting so everything will be grown in time for fall. Soon he called for them to come outside and handed them a couple of things. 

To Tubbo he gave bees. He guided Tubbo to a mini garden full of flowers and bees for Tubbo to take care of. Tubbo was instantly infatuated with the buzzy little things that flew around the tiny stubs growing from his head. The bees clearly liked him and Tubbo seemed at peace around them. He started planting flowers while playing with the bees. 

From Dream though Schlatt gave him something different. It was a large oversized green hoodie and a white mask with a smiley face on it. Dream looked at him confused and Schlatt explained that these belonged to Captain.

“But why me? I’m not even the Captain’s real son....”

“Listen Dream. Before the Captain had his military fame, he was just Jordan. Jordan the kid that would do anything for his family.”

“....”

“You deserve it. I know you’ll do the Cap justice.”

“...Thank you Schlatt.”

Schlatt helped Dream put on the mask and adjusted the mask on him. The hoodie was big on him but Schlatt assured him that he’d grow into it. After he put on the hoodie he smiled behind the mask. The spring air felt much lighter than before. Dream and Tubbo were given weapons by Schlatt and were told to go hunting. They did start out hunting and were able to get some food but were soon distracted and started to play.

“Woah Dre you’re so cool!”

“Aw thanks Tubs.”

“Your name is Dream but you can be such a terror sometimes..hm..” Tubbo held his chin as he thought about something. Dream jumped down from the tree he was in and stared at him. He ruffled Tubbo’s hair which made the younger smile up at him before saying

“I know what you are!!”

“O-oh do you now?”

“Yeah! You’re a Dreamon!”

“What’s a Dreamon? Tubs?”

“A Dream Demon aka a Dreamon!”

“Oh really? So what makes you think I’m a Dreamon?”

“Oh- Hmm….I don’t know...heh…. You just are!!”

Dream and Tubbo laughed as they walked back to the house. Inside Schlatt was cooking and the house smelt of cinnamon and apples. While the home felt slightly empty without the Captain and Ranboo, everything would be fine. Maybe it was because Dream had the Captain’s stuff but in his head and heart he knew they would both show up again.

Dream slept peacefully that night after months of restless nightmare filled sleep. They would both come home. He knew it.

??? 

“Captain? Where are we?”

“I don’t know Ranboo… Stay quiet though..”

They awoke in a small room that didn’t have any defined doors. Ranboo stayed off in the corner trying not to do anything because the Captain didn’t know his truth. He didn’t want to scare the Captain and there would be a lot to explain afterwards. The black obsidian walls reminded him of the pillars he saw back home but this space was much tighter and cramped than he liked. 

The cold hard obsidian made the Captain shiver and reach out to protect the small boy in his care only to find himself in shackles connected to the wall. Ranboo however had no restraints. Maybe it's because their captors didn’t see the boy as a threat and if they didn’t see him as a threat the Captain could use that to escape. 

He gestured for Ranboo to come closer. Ranboo shuffled over to his adoptive father and looked up at him, surprisingly calm. Ranboo knew he could probably escape easily; he had been in much more challenging situations than this before. He listened carefully as the Captain told him to find a way out and get help. The lanky boy nodded and stood in a corner, his white half against the wall hidden.

Ranboo kept his eyes shut while trying to stay as hidden as possible. The door opened and Ranboo prepared to make a break for it but was stopped in his tracks. Their captors grabbed Ranboo by his collar and left the Captain screaming in the cell alone.

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

“They’re so cute when they’re asleep.”

One quick note - this is a section of my The Many Adventures of Sammi and Race. You don’t have to have read the series but it may help to clear up some of the characters. 

October 6, 1906 

A cold snap had descended on the city so the group of 8 headed out of the city to Cold Springs for the weekend for a quick getaway. Kat and Race had the entire weekend planned, everything from apple picking and pumpkin picking to walking a trail to look at the colorful leaves. 

Arriving at the pumpkin patch, both girls’ eyes went wide at the sheer number of pumpkins available to choose from. 

Spot laughed, watching Race run after their niece and daughter, bouncing Ben gently. He heard his brother and sister-in-law laugh behind him. “Who’s going to wear who our first?” 

“It’ll probably be a tie.” Kat grinned, watching Tommy balance on his feet before picking him up. “Shall we head over to the pumpkin patch?”

The three adults headed over to the many rows of various colors and shapes of pumpkins. Race was crouched down looking at the three and five year olds, apparently negotiating with them. “But Uncle Race.” 

“Now Sammi, don’t pulls out that voice. One pumpkin each.” Race giving her a glance watching Jack, Kat and Spot find them. “Go talk to daddy if yous want more.” 

Sammi ran to Jack, running into his knees with a giggle. “Daddy!” 

Picking her up, he swung her onto his hip looking at the messy haired five year old. “What’s up Sammi Roo?” 

“Uncle Race said Is can only gets one pumpin.” She gave her dad a look. 

Jack nodded, grinning at his brother. “Uncle Race is right. Wes don’t have much room for pumpkins so yous and Ellie can only get one each.” 

“But whats about Tommy and Benny?” She said motioning to her brother and cousin. 

Jack looked at the other adults, a loss for words. Thankfully his wife was on her A-game. “They have little pumpkins we can get your brother and cousin.” 

Sammi nodded, pushing gently away from her dad. “Okays! Down please daddy?” 

Putting her on her feet, she grabbed Ellie’s hand before pulling the three year old down a row of pumpkins, a string of giggles trailing behind her. 

“Who’s ready for a nap?” Race clapped his hands together looking at his husband and brother and sister-in-law. 

Kat came up beside him with Tommy in her arms. “You’re such a good uncle and dad, Race.” 

Shaking his head, he scanned the pumpkins for the two girls, finding them with their heads together before looking at Spot. “How’s he doing?” 

“He could care less. Snoozing the day away.” Moving the blanket that covered their young son, Race smiled, running his finger down his cheek. “But if you wake him, he’s yours.” 

Saluting, Race grinned. “Aye aye captain.” 

Jack started to walk toward the girls as Race followed him. “How are you two holding up?” 

“As well as wes can be. It’s been a crazy two months but Is feel like wes can breath and actually have a routine down.” Race grinned. 

Jack grinned. “It was mayhem when we brought Tommy home - balancing two kids, one who is independent and able to do some stuff on her own while the other is completely dependent on you.”

“At least you had a learning curve with Sammi before you welcomed Tommy.” Race laughed. “Don’t get mes wrong, Is love that wes got them both at the same time but it’s been a big learning experience that it’s just now, two months later, that wes feel like wes can let our guard down and breathe.” 

Nodding, he threw his arm over his brother. “Hell, Kat and Is is still learning. People keeps telling us you’ll get the hang of it but Is feel like we haven’t. It’s been 5 years with Sammi and a year and half since we added a second one.” 

“Once yous figure out the secret, clue Spottie and mes in.” Race gave his brother a look as Jack laughed but agreed with him. “Now let’s see if wes can’t get these two moving. Girls, yous picked out a pumpkin yet?” 

Crouching down, Jack and Race looked between the two. “Can’t find one?” 

“Wells ….” Sammi had her hand on one with a big grin. The pumpkin was massive and probably 30 pounds. 

“That’s a little big for you, Sammi.” Jack gave his daughter a grin. “Remember what we said, yous gotta carry it back youself.” 

She sighed, walking down the aisle, Ellie behind her giggling. Race shook his head looking at Jack. “She’s her mother.” 

“You can say that again.” Jack shook his head following behind the two girls. 

“Ta da!” Sammi threw her hands up in the air, grinning at her dad and uncle. “How’s about this one?”

Jack looked the pumpkin over with a grin “I think this is perfect. Ellie did you find one?” 

The little girl shook her head, looking at her dad and uncle. “Shall wes go find one?” 

Ellie grinned at Race. “Can wes, da?” 

Holding out his hand, Race let Ellie take it before they walked down the aisle, leaving Jack and Sammi behind. Race pointed out a few pumpkins along the way but was quickly shot down. “What are yous looking for Elles?” 

“Perfct.” She grinned, stopping suddenly in front of a lopsided pumpkin. “This one.” 

Crouch down, Race grinned inspecting it. “It’s perfect. Shall wes go show papa?” 

“Yea!” She yelled, Race picking up the pumpkin as Ellie danced in front of him leading the way back to the group. 

“Did yous find a pumpkin, Ellie?” Spot asked, looking at the excited little girl. 

She nodded, enthusiastically, motioning to Race. “Da has it.” 

Spot oohed and awed at the pumpkin, grinning at the beaming Ellie. “Should we head to the petting zoo before going on the hayride?” 

Everyone was in agreement as they walked over to a different section of the farm. Race took Ben from Spot’s arms before motioning him to go to the petting zoo with Ellie. Spot gave him a look. “Is hate you, you know that.” 

“I know but you’ve got to face your goat fears at some point.” Race leaned over and kissed him. “Besides, ours girl is looking for you.” 

Leaning against the fence, Race watched Jack, Kat, Spot, Tommy, Sammi and Ellie enter the fenced in pen. Immediately, Ellie had her hand out petting the goats and sheep, giggling loudly. Tommy was in Jack’s arms while Sammi and Kat were petting the sheep. 

“What do you think, Ellie?” Spot asked, as a goat was on its hind legs, leaning against her. 

“He’s soft, papa.” She giggled as his tongue swiped her arm. “He’s lickig me.” 

Spot reached over and gave one a few pat, laughing at Ellie’s excitement. “He likes you, Elles.” 

“Daddy!” Tommy clutched tightly to Jack’s shirt, halfway between bewilderment and happiness. “Horse!” 

“That’s a goat, Tommy.” Jack gently corrected. 

 They spent a few minutes in the pen before joining the line for the hayride. Race and Kat were on one side of the wagon with Tommy and Benny while Spot and Jack were on the other with the two girls. “What’s the plan after this?” 

Race shrugged, looking at Kat. “I’m thinking lunch then a n-a-p!” 

She nodded, watching Tommy pick up some hay and throw it towards his dad and uncle with a grin. “That sounds like a good action plan.” 

The hayride took them through the orchards, letting each of them pick an apple or two off the branches before doing a wide loop through the Christmas Tree fields where the driver explained the different kinds.  He even mentioned that a few times in the past their trees had been picked for the White House. “Wonder if our pal Roosevelt hand picked his from here?” Race mumbled as Kat grinned and giggled. 

As they stepped down from the wagon, Jack and Spot looked at one another. “Should we go find little pumpkins for Tommy and Benny before heading back to the hotel?” 

Nodding, Spot looked at Ellie and Sammi. “Wanna go picks out pumpkins for your brothers?” 

Both girls cheered and jumped before twirling, giggling as they followed Jack and Spot to the barn where the checkout and a little farmer’s market was. Race and Kat grinned at their significant others before following them. 

Sitting outside, Kat put Tommy to his feet, letting him stand next to a pumpkin as she watched all of the families come and go. “How’s Benny doing?” 

“The motion of the wagon ride put him back to sleep. I’m just hoping he’ll sleep through the night . . . we’ve been having mixed results with that.” Race said, running a hand over the 2 month old’s head. 

Kat nodded. “Both Sammi and Tommy had that too. They’d go through a good stretch of sleeping through the night; then there would be a couple of days when they were up and down constantly throughout the night before going back to those stretches. Luckily, both of them sleep through the night now.” 

“Keep rubbing it in. Maybe we’ll take the girls tonight and stick you with the boys.” Race stuck his tongue out at her with a laugh.

“Uh huh . . . empty threats, Racetrack.” She gave him a look, shielding her eyes from the bright sunshine. “You’re losing your touch, tough guy.” 

Biting his lip, he had to agree with her but he wouldn’t change it for the world. “It’s hard to believe that Spot, Jack, and I were tough guys who wouldn’t think twice about busting heads and now our days are spent having tea parties and kissing boo boos. It’s crazy how times have changed.” 

“But you wouldn’t change it for the world, would you?” Kat said, as he sat next to her on the bench. 

Race smiled. “Absolutely, not. I often think back to that cocky 16 year old who thought the world should bow down to him and he was always right and I wonder what he would think of a 25 year old Race.” 

“He would probably be in disbelief that he married Spot, let alone that he’s a dad to two pretty incredible kids.” Kat shrugged. “But I think he’d be proud of how his life has turned out. I know I am.” 

Looking up at his big sister, Race shook his head. “Don’t make me cry, Katherine Kelly. But I think he would be in disbelief for marrying Spot or having kids.” 

“I’m not trying to make you cry but just to add my two cents into your musings.” Kat held onto Tommy’s hand as he moved to another pumpkin to check it out. “Trust me, I often think of 16 year old Katherine and what she would think of marrying Jack. She probably would go nuts - I wasn’t the same kid that you met two years later.” 

Race laughed. “Who did 16 year old Kat think she was going to marry?” 

“Who knows? Some hoity toity big shot that my father thought would be perfect for me. I was an obedient little girl when I was 16; I didn’t start shooting off my mouth and defying my father until I turned 17.” Kat chuckled. “Dad thought Darcy was a perfect man to settle down with . . . little did he know that Buttons was much more his type.”

“And they’re going to live happily ever after.” Race grinned, knowing the wedding of Darcy and Buttons was coming up shortly. 

Jack and Spot came back with Ellie and Sammi in tow with two little pumpkins between them. “Momma, Benny look!” 

Sammi stopped short of knocking her brother over with a flourish, presenting it to her mom for inspection. “Its Benny’s pumpin.” 

“You picked a good one out.” Kat grinned. “Tommy is going to love it.” 

“Whats about mine?” Ellie said, holding hers up to Kat. Both of the pumpkins had bumps all over them, making them quite unique. 

Kat looked between the two pumpkins, oohing and awing at the beaming two girls as Jack, Spot, and Race all watched her. “Great job, girls. Your brothers will love them. Now how about we go pay and head back for some lunch?” 

The group was in agreement before heading to pay, grabbing some donuts for the next morning before heading back to their hotel. Lunch was a quiet affair as the kids began to get sleepy from the busy morning. 

A story was said as the three settled down on the king size bed in Spot and Race’s room. There were a few giggles before they settled down. Jack and Race sat in Jack and Kat’s room waiting while Spot and Kat put the kids down. Jack had Benny in his arms, cuddling him, trying to sooth him to sleep. 

Poking her head out of the room, Kat motioned for the two of them to follow her. The two walked to where she was standing and grinned at Kat and Race. “They’re so cute when they’re asleep.”

“It’s the only time any of them are quiet.” Race grinned, shaking his head. “Just enjoy the silence.”

Silence descended on the room and before they knew it, the four were snoring just like their children in the next room. 

[nataliedanovelist]

GF - Where the Crop Circles Grow ch.5

Summary: When things get out of hand at the Pines’ family farm, Ford asks an old college buddy to assist investigating anomalies and Stan hires a farmhand. Who knew asking for help would actually get you somewhere?

For @lemonfodrizzleart. Part of her Farmer AU and featuring her OC, Jackie Asante.

Ao3 link here.

ch.4 - ch.6

~~~~~~~~~~

Jackie was folding laundry on the porch to enjoy the nice weather. Soft, fluffy, warm towels made the farmhand feel proud of her work (the towels were kinda scratchy and stiff when she first came a month ago). Her eyes averted from her folding up ahead to her boss, who was chopping woods on an old tree stump.

His shirt was almost completely unbuttoned to help his sweaty body cool down. A golden chain just barely grazed his thick chest hair, showcased by the created V. His stance was strong and his arms tightened his muscles as he swung the axe down on a sorry piece of wood. Occasionally he had to bend over to place a new log on the tree stump, giving Jackie a very pleasant view through his jeans. After a few minutes of Stan’s show and of Jackie not getting anything done, her hands frozen on a towel in her lap, Stan stopped his work and turned away from the sun as he wiped his forehead dry of sparkling sweat; Jackie barely looked away in time and if it wasn’t for Stan’s eyesight adjusting to the lack of sunshine, he might have caught his admirer.

Fiddleford came out with a glass of sweet tea in his hand and breathed in the wonderful late-afternoon air. He noticed at once that something was slightly out of the ordinary, and one look at Jackie’s glossy eyes and Stan’s half-exposed body as he picked up the lumber told the Tennessian everything he needed to know. The second Stan entered the house to put the logs where they belonged, Fiddleford gently elbowed Jackie as he stood next to her rocking chair. “Well, kettle my corn, somebody’s in love.”

Jackie rolled her eyes and smiled smugly up at her friend. “Yeah, right. Stan’s just a cool guy. It’s not like I lie awake at night thinking about him.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Jackie laid on her back, staring up at the ceiling, tucked into her bed with one arm draped over her chest, and her eyes wide with energy. She could feel a rock being plunged into her stomach as it dawned on her that Fiddleford might have been right. “Uh, oh.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Stan was whittling a small piece of wood in his hands as he sat on the porch, rocking in his chair. The sounds of laughter made him glance up from his work and he smiled to see Jackie and Tate playing. It was a basic game of tag, but they were both laughing joyfully and Tate was grinning like it was the best day of his life. For a few minutes Jackie purposely went slow, but then she sped up, caught Tate in her arms, and plopped down on the ground to tickle his ribs. Tate squirmed and squealed as Jackie laughed alongside him, hers less force than the boy’s.

Stan smiled and watched them from the corner of his eye as he whistled a tiny tree; Tate seemed to enjoy the toy train he had made for him, so he was secretly working on tracks and trees and houses and people so the kid could build a village for the train to ride around. It was something entertaining for Stan to do in his free time and he knew it would make a good birthday gift or a present for the holidays. As he worked and watched Jackie play with Tate, his thoughts reverted back to his feelings for the farm-woman.

Was it wrong for him to be crazy for his employee? Probably, but who cares? They hardly had a boss-worker relationship; if anything it was a firm friendship that just came so easily it was like they had known each other for years. With Jackie, it was just so easy, but that didn’t mean it was predictable; Jackie was spontaneous, passionate, and different, everything Stan valued in a person. Not only was she a hard worker, but she was really smart, creative, the best cook he had ever met, and really really beautiful. Anyone would get a crush on her, so why should he? For the time, Stan was content that a woman as amazing as her would never have a crush on him, not in a million years, so with any luck his little crush on her will die and no one important will get their feelings hurt.

~~~~~~~~~~

In the middle of May Stan and Ford told Fiddleford and Jackie about a hoedown that took place at the end of May to mark the beginning of summer. It was hosted in a huge barn and everyone pitched in to help with the food and there was music and dancing and everyone had a great time; word on the street was that it even beat the Northwests’ annual fancy shindig. So the weak of the party Jackie was excused from work on the farm so she could spend more time in the kitchen, meaning Ford and Fiddleford had to pitch in and save their investigations on the unicorns for another time.

It wasn’t a fancy party, but people usually dressed up a little bit, almost like going to church. Ford went for his blue t-shirt with green flannel and clean jeans and he polished his black shoes that clicked on wood beautifully. Fiddleford went for a more casual army-green floral shirt, a favorite from back at Backupsmore, and he put Tate in a red short-sleeved button-up. Stan opted for clean jeans and a light-merlot button-up, but Jackie was perfectly happy to wear a plain white dress that went down to her knees and came with noodle straps. She decorated the outfits with black heels to match her curly hair, which she somehow managed to control without losing its breath-taking fullness.

Stan found himself staring for a creepy amount of time, but she was too busy trying to get her food together to notice. The Diablo was packed full with food so Stan and Jackie drove in that car while Ford, Fiddleford, and Tate rode in the newly repaired blue truck. The large barn sat a few yards from a huge lake and at the top of a hill, a smaller barn filled with hay to the side and a white fence establishing the boundaries of the property. Already the barn was busting with music and laughter and vehicles and even two horses stood outside the party. Stan and Ford helped Jackie with the food while Fiddleford held Tate’s hand and had his banjo over his shoulder, and they entered.

The newcomers awed at the hustle and bustle. On a stage a bass, an acoustic guitar, a cello, a harmonica, and some spoons were being played by some townsfolk. Many more were dancing in the wide open space care-free. Kids Tate’s age were holding hands and swinging, Toby Determined was doing a lonely tap-dance, that dweeb Durland was spinning a lady too fast and making her cross-eyed, and Ma and Pa from Dusk 2 Dawn were holding each other as they danced. Most people were doing a big group dance together, but some were over at the long tables filled with good food. 

Susan was stirring hot apple cider and spooning mugs full for people, Manly Dave had brought his family recipe of Cages Full of Meat, and there were platters and bowls filled with delicious ham, turkey, cobblers and pies of every berry and fruit that existed, green beans, collared greens, salad, macaroni salad, potato salad, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, fried okra, smoked ribs, smoked pork, boiled peanuts, jugs full of moonshine, and barrels full of taffy and candy. Jackie happily added her Lemon Meringue pie, grilled chicken, fried chicken, boiled potatoes, yeast rolls with cinnamon butter, cranberry sauce, spinach dip and crackers, and a huge pot filled with jambalaya made with Cajun sausage, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, and rice. All that food could feed three New York Cities, let alone little Gravity Falls, but with all the dancing and activity going on the food was happily accepted and the night was off to a wonderful start.

Jackie happily chatted with Susan at the long tables while the men dispersed. Fiddleford was invited to play with the others on stage, Ford began to play chess with some of the old men in the back of the barn, and Stan happily took Tate out on the dancefloor and let him stand on his boots to lead.

The sun was soon gone but the night was lit up by not only the huge light fixtures in the barn, but the strings of lights on the walls, and rustic exposed lightbulbs at the door, and the little lights on the grass to highlight the walkway from the party to the rides home. Fireflies buzzed around as well; a few kids left the loud party to play among the bugs and let the flickering lights crawl into their outstretched hands.

As the moon got higher and higher into the sky, the part continued to be very enjoyable. While Tate was busy making quick friends with Tyler Cutebiker, Stan dragged his twin out on the dancefloor and made him dance. Fiddleford took a break from playing his banjo and somehow ended up dancing with Susan. Jackie happily danced alone by the tables and enjoyed the blissful music. As much fun as the party was, her energy was running out and she could do with some quiet. She decided to go outside and watch the kids play.

Out in the cool late-spring air Jackie breathed peacefully as she watched the children run around, but soon she wanted to be alone and explore her new surroundings. That smaller barn was a ways away, so she slipped into the shadows and ventured towards it. Jackie quietly slid the door open and smiled to find a single lantern hanging on the wall and the barn filled to the brim with blocks of hay. It smelled clean here and it was quiet and lovely, so Jackie made her way to a wall and sat on two blocks of hay, taking off her heels to rub her sore feet. No blisters, thank goodness, but standing and dancing for so long will make your feet ache.

In the silence and with nothing better to do, Jackie resumed her thought about Stan. Was it wrong for her to fall for her employer? Probably, but who cares? They hardly had a boss-worker relationship; if anything it was a firm friendship that just came so easily it was like they had known each other for years. Stan was just so easy to talk to, so comfortable to be around, but that didn’t mean he was predictable; Stan was spontaneous, passionate, and different, everything Jackie valued in a person. Not only was he a hard worker, but he was clever, considerate, a true-blue family man, and really really beautiful. Anyone would get a crush on Stanley Pines, so why should she? But Jackie could swallow that a man as amazing as him would never have a crush on her, not in a million years, so with any luck her little crush on him will die and no one important will get their feelings hurt.

The door opened slowly, still managing to make Jackie jump a little, but she smiled and relaxed at seeing Stan at the entrance.

He had been having a lot of fun at the party, but he had planned on dragging Jackie out to dance, having noticed that no one had danced with her (she must have danced with at least of one of handsome guys here and Stan just didn’t see it, there’s no way a girl that pretty had resorted to wall-hugging all night) and he planned to fix that, but he soon noticed that Jackie was nowhere to be found. Checking to make sure she didn’t get eaten by a mountain lion, Stan exited the big barn and watched the kids for a minute before guessing she was in the smaller barn away from the crowds and noise. He smiled when he saw he was correct and leaned against the doorway. “Hey, whatcha doin’ over here?”

Jackie shrugged casually. “Just needed some alone time.”

Stan nodded and drastically changed his plans to give her what she needed. He let his arm fall from the doorway and said, “Gotcha, okay, I’ll see you…”

“No,” Jackie said too quickly and felt herself go red with embarrassment. “I-I mean, I can be alone with you.” She quickly explained and then swallowed nervously. That didn’t make any sense, she wasn’t making any sense! But the way this guy made her feel didn’t make sense, either.

Stan saw her nervousness and smiled at it; the best dating advice Ma had ever given him was to never a date someone who wasn’t nervous around you; if they’re nervous that means they like you. He made a mental note to not put up too much of a brave front and then he entered the barn and closed the door behind him. “Whatever you want, sweetheart.”

Jackie smiled, not as nervous now, and watched as Stan plopped himself down on the hay-coated floor, resting an arm next to where Jackie sat. He popped his neck and yawned, comfortable and relaxed, one leg bent up and the other laying flat. He turned his head to look up at Jackie, resting his square jaw on his knuckles, and asked, “So whatcha thinkin’ about?”

Jackie leaned forward so her elbows her on her knees and one hand was just under her chin. “I was thinking how this has got to be one of the best parties I’ve ever been to.”

Stan snorted. “Really? Guess it ain’t so bad. I’ve never missed a single one. Great graduation celebration or a ‘welcome home’ event for college students. One year Ford n’ I snuck out n’ went over to the lake to swim, but Shermie caught us n’ tried to pull us out, but we dragged him in n’ we all got in trouble for it.” He chuckled.

Jackie giggled along with him and commented, “I’ve actually never been to a lake. I’ve visited a beach, but not a lake yet.”

“We’ll fix that.” Stan said. “The beach, though, huh? Always wanted to see one. Where else’ve you been?”

“Everywhere.” Jackie said. “I was a bit of a traveler before stopping here. Never been outside the country.”

“What was your favorite place?”

“New Orleans.” Jackie answered quickly. “They had the most delicious beignets and seafood and the jazz was beautiful, and the ocean was so beautiful. I really liked southern California, too, the beach was amazing and I made a lot of Hispanic friends there.”

“Any reason why you left?” Stan asked; with such good friends and great places, the farmer couldn’t help but wonder why didn’t she stay.

“Too busy and loud.” Jackie said. “I love the occasional crowds, but I wanted some place quieter and easier to find work, so that’s why I came up here.”

“Well, I’m glad you did.” Stan said earnestly, in such a deep, meaningful tone that it made Jackie’s face hot again and she looked away as she gently shook her head.

“You give me too much credit, Stan…”

“No, Jackie, I mean it.” Stan swallowed nervously, making his Adam’s apple bobble, and he went on with his eyes on the beautiful girl above him. “I’m not just butterin’ you up, I think you’re real pretty, n’ I mean it when I say you’re probably the best thing that ever happened to our place. Even without your killer cookin’ n’ extra help, I’m just really happy you’re around. I don’t know how I can make it up to you, but I’ll think of somethin’.” He had carefully worded his compliment so Jackie could take it as a friend making a friend feel good if that was all she wanted, but he had meant it as so much more and wanted it to be so much more, so it was all up to Jackie now.

She noticed the nervous look in his soft brown eyes and smiled. Was there a possibility, a teeny tiny possibility, that he liked her the same way she liked him. She could be dead wrong, she could lose everything she had worked for the last few weeks and everything she had grown to love. Goodbye, Dot. Goodbye, Tate. Goodbye Pines farm filled with some of the best people she had ever met. But she took a gamble, tried to ease her nerves as discreetly as possible, and she said quietly, “You could kiss me.”

Stan’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and his brown eyes sparkled adorably. Jackie bit her lip to keep from laughing at the look on his face, her heart relaxing and her nerves settling as she realized how much he wanted to kiss her. His grin was the last thing she saw before he stretched up and she leaned down and they met for a soft kiss.

The amount of sparks that flew only through lips touching was unbelievable. As a strong hand cupped Jackie’s cheek and a smaller hand landed on the back of Stan’s head, the kiss deepened and it only got better. Holy Moses, it was far better than anything Jackie could have imagined in her head, all those night daydreaming about this moment, and more, and it was better and full of more bliss than she thought it would be. She was putty at Stan’s touch, and as another arm wrapped around her waist and the kiss included it’s fair share of tongue, Jackie slid down from her little seat until she was sitting on the ground beside Stan.

Warm chuckles of pure joy leaked from their lips and for a while it was nothing more than hugs and kisses, but it was everything. Stan was blown away that such a beautiful woman wanted to hold him and kiss him, of all people, and he knew better than to question a good thing. His heart was roaring like a lion in his chest, his face was warm despite the goosebumps on his arms, and while he was beyond grateful for just a kiss he wondered if he was lucky enough for more.

They separated for air and Jackie rested her head on the cushion of Stan’s arm, his free hand on her knee. Stan’s cheeks and ears were rosy pink, his five o-clock shadow unable to hide how the girl in his arms made him feel. Jackie smiled at him, unable to believe she was so lucky, and put a hand over his heart to enjoy his heartbeat, but then she slowly unbuttoned his shirt a little to let his chest hair be showcased by a proud V. At the same time, Stan’s hand slowly went down her bent leg, closer and closer to her hip, pushing her white dress up. With a gleam in their eyes and one sure smirk, they both knew what they wanted.

(If you want smut, CLICK HERE! If you’re not comfortable with that, then keep reading.)

~~~~~~~~~~

There were still some stragglers at the party, mostly drunk men singing their hearts out, but Ford and Fiddleford were ready to go. Tate was asleep so Fiddleford gently tucked him in his car seat as Ford looked around for Jackie and Stan. It wasn’t a big deal to leave without them, they had brought two cars, but still. Curiosity had grasped his mind and he generally wondered where they were. Fiddleford cleared his throat and suggested, “Maybe we should go ahead home, Fordsie.”

“I suppose so,” Ford said casually and nodded in agreement. “But if they get arrested for trespassing, I’m not… SWEET LORD!” Ford put a six-fingered hand over his mouth to stop his screaming, but his other hand was pointing at the couple who had hoped they could emerge from the shadows undetected, but that clearly wasn’t going to work out.

They were covered in hay. Both Jackie’s long black hair and Stan’s brown mullet were frizzled and out of control, like someone had shaken their hair wildly. Or grabbed it tightly. Jackie’s white dress was missing, but she held Stan’s button up around herself tightly to preserve what little dignity she had left. Stan, shirtless, had a dopey grin on his face with hazy eyes, like he was sleepwalking. While Stan was oblivious to his twin’s scream, Jackie’s face was scarlet with embarrassment and she rubbed the back of her neck as she gritted her teeth.

Poor Ford was a mumbling mess. “B-B-B-But… you… you two… you… and you…”

Fiddleford patted his shoulder and instructed gently, “Stanford, get in the truck.”

“B-B-B-B-But…”

“I know, I know, just get in. Leave ‘em be.” Fiddleford guided his best friend into the car and even closed the door for him. While Ford buried his head in his hands to try to collect himself, Fiddleford gave the happy couple a thumbs up before entering his vehicle and heading home.

Jackie wanted to disappear and never reappear.

Stan, however, was far too busy repeating a single thought in his head to even register what was going on in front of him. “I’m gonna marry her.”

[wishingupontheskyandstars]

Yes I’m late but I really had fun writing this fanfic and yeah I definitely wrote more than I originally had in mind so *shrug* :) 

Reylo Week 2020 

Day 2: Fairytales

Title: A Fairytale of Butterflies, Love, and Dragons Rated: M (Mild Violence)

Summary: "Where two are one of spirit, will be the time Mortis is seen, at last, with refined sight. Believe and follow the ones with blue wings that will lead where two suns meet and they will see dragons from old flying above and will help against a regime, when in need."

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     Once upon a time... In a land where power tried to triumph over peace, an upcoming unique union would see myth and destiny be forever intertwined, diminishing powerful darkness.

In an isolated and almost abandoned village, Jakku, there lived a young woman who had raised herself since she could remember. She didn't know any other land. Her days were as miserable as the work she did to survive. She was known as the Scavenger; she retrieved weapons and machinery of old from the last battle that occurred there, for little coin and food. Sunset was her favorite time of the day as the air was cooler. She would find a secluded place to eat her supper, looking up at the stars wishing to earn enough coin to leave the village so her life could begin.

Days away from Jakku was the lovely town, Naboo. It was known for its waterfalls, meadows, and peaceful folk. In the Royal Palace, lived House Skywalker where Queen Leia reigned. Her husband was a famous equestrian and former soldier, Han Solo. Decades past, when the war between House Skywalker and House Palpatine occurred, Han was a soldier from another village and became the princess' bodyguard. As the war progressed they became each other's bodyguards and fell in love. House Skywalker conquered House Palpatine near Jakku. The night of victory for Naboo was the night Leia's and Han's son, Ben, was born, promising a new era of hope.

Prince Ben of House Skywalker was studious, always practicing his calligraphy. He was a master swordsman, learning from the most skilled and helped to train Naboo's soldiers. He loved spending time with his family. His grandmother Padme always shined his visits with picnics at the meadow, eating exotic foods, and giving him a fashionable wardrobe. His grandfather Anakin was a man he barely knew as he passed when Ben was still an infant. Throughout the years he would hear tales of the infamous Anakin Skywalker, the Hero with no fear was the best swordsman there was, beating the power-hungry Sheev Palpatine who would have brought endless destruction through the empire he was creating.

Ben grew up wanting to be like his mother and father. Throughout the years he observed his mother through her diplomacy, kindness, and sharp wit. Ben would go with his father all across the kingdom, overseeing the lands, villages, and the wellbeing of the people. At a young age, Ben was taught how to use a crossbow with the help of Han's best friend, Chewie.

For three decades, there was peace, until one afternoon at the beginning of Spring. In the Palace's council room, Leia received a letter, recognizing the fast and sloppy handwriting to be her husband's. She closed her eyes and fell in her chair.

"My Queen!"

"What is it?"

"Are you okay?"

Voices rang in the room, but Leia did not hear. She opened her eyes and told her advisors, "There has been an ambush on Han and others." She looked to her brother, Luke, a former monk and healer for the Palace. "Please tell Ben," she said in a hoarse tone.

Luke knocked on Ben's door, then opened the door revealing his nephew practicing his calligraphy. He looked up in concern. "What is it, Uncle?"

Luke sighed in disbelief. "Your father and others were ambushed in the outskirts of Naboo. It seems they were lured in that area by House Palpatine."

"How could that be? Palpatine is dead," Ben said with furrowed brows.

Luke nodded. "Yes, but the ashes of what Palpatine tried to achieve—his army, lives on. They're calling themselves the New Empire and they are rising in numbers, threatening to have revenge and destroy peace as we know it!" Luke sat across from Ben, staring at his calligraphy.

Ben tossed his quill, stood up, and walked to his large window, overlooking the grounds. He had his hands in front of him. His stance reminded Luke of his father, Anakin. "Where is my father?" Ben asked.

Luke sighed again, unsure of how to respond. "We're assuming they're on their way back. He was able to write a letter and give it a fast riding messenger so..."

Ben didn't respond. He continued to look out at the lush greenery in front of him. His expression said everything he couldn't. His eyes were watery, his mouth moving to one side then to the other, then partially open, unable to say anything.

Later that evening, the gates to the Palace were abruptly opened, letting in a badly wounded Han, Chewie, and others. Ben was dressing into a white tunic and black trousers when he received word that all the attackers were dead and his father had returned home. Ben ran down the hallway and two flights of stairs to the great hall. He helped take his father to his parent's chambers, with Leia walking at their side.

Han was placed on the large bed. His eyes were closed; he was barely breathing. Luke attended to Han first, felt his pulse, and put his hand on his blood-stained forehead. He looked at Leia and shook his head. Luke left Ben and Leia alone with Han and attended to the others.

"Han, darling? Please, wake up." Leia said softly. She held on to one hand, sitting on the bed with her husband. Ben held his father's other hand on Han's other side, his knees on the floor.

Hearing Leia's voice, Han opened his eyes slowly. "Sweetheart," he whispered. He and Leia shared a knowing look as she pressed her lips to his ever so softly. "It wasn't all bad, was it?" Han tried to smile.

"It was better," she assured him, laying her head near his.

Ben gazed at his parents in awe, wanting to leave so they had their last moments together, but he too wanted to say goodbye. "Dad," he whispered, gently squeezing his hand.

Han turned and tried harder to smile. "Kid," he said lovingly. He squeezed his son's hand back.

Ben's eyes were glassy. "Dad, I—"

"I know." Han gave his son one last half-smile before he looked at Leia, taking his last breath and closing his eyes, in peace.

Leia's guarded face she wore well as Queen crumpled into despair as she leaned into her husband, holding him. "Han," she said in a raspy tone.

Ben felt the loss of warmth from his father's hand almost instantly. He carefully guided his hand with his other, on top of his mother's. He went around the bed, sat near his mother, looking at his parents together one last time. Tears started to stream down his cheek.

The next evening funeral pyres were set up for Han and others that didn't make it through the night. Chewie, the beloved family friend, was gravely wounded but would take time to recuperate Luke thought.

Feet away from Han's pyre were Leia, Luke, Padme, and Ben. Everyone was dressed in black cloth and each held a torch. Leia closed her eyes, seeing Han's smile hearing him call her, "Princess." She opened her eyes, looked at her family, nodded, and they each set their torches at the bottom of a pyre. Leia put her hand over Han's one last time before setting her torch at the base. She stepped away and instantly felt Ben's hand holding hers. She leaned into him as he held her close.

The same night in the village of Jakuu, the young woman known as the Scavenger wrapped herself with one blanket, laying her head on a pile of hay, looking up at the night sky filled with stars. She felt great sorrow but did not know why. She reached next to her and felt for her sword with the unique jeweled hilt. Once she felt it, she sighed with relief, hoping the next day would be better than the last.

Leia sat at the head of the table, listening to her different advisors about the recent man that defected from the New Empire. They heard this man's—Finn's story from himself just an hour ago. His knowledge of the New Empire was valuable, revealing that the Supreme Leader was a young man named Armitage Hux and with his father's help he was able to rebuild a vast army to take down kingdoms, steal infants and children from villages and brainwash them to be soldiers. Finn was one of those children that will never know his real family. This plan of revenge for House Palpatine has been in motion for years, in unknown areas that are months away travel from Naboo and neighboring Kingdoms. Finn was a part of a group that was looking for young children and babies to steal. He knew that the big Army was weeks away from striking. The ones that ambushed Han and his group he figured were scouting the kingdoms, before reporting back to the New Empire.

"I believe what Finn was saying," Ben said. Others nodded in agreement. "We have received word now that the army is getting closer to our neighbors and us. We have to make sure we have all the help we can muster—"

"I found it!" Luke yelled, entering the room with everyone staring at him with looks of confusion.

"Luke?" Leia asked, needing to know what he found.

Luke stood next to Leia's chair and placed a vintage scroll in front of her. "I had not read this prophecy for decades but knew it was still out there once we heard about the New Empire Army and it took me a while to find it, but here it is."

Leia opened the scroll and read out loud, "Where two are one of spirit, will be the time Mortis is seen, at last, with refined sight. Believe and follow the ones with blue wings that will lead where two suns meet and they will see dragons from old flying above and will help against a regime, when in need." She finished reading and set down the scroll.

"Mortis?"

"Dragons? I thought they were a myth?"

"No one has seen dragons for centuries, my Queen.

"Prophecies are dangerous to depend upon."

Loud voices were talking over each other and all Leia had to do was raise her hand and the squabbling ceased. She handed the scroll to Ben.

He picked it up and at once felt a certain energy in his fingers. He didn't know why. He furrowed his brow, reading the scroll. Since he was a boy, he had read myths about Mortis and dragons. What if he wondered. He looked at his mother who was staring at him, with a knowing look. He knew she believed and he trusted her judgment.

In the Queen's outside courtyard, Leia, Padme, Ben, and Luke sat around a wood table eating their supper.

"I remember this prophecy when I was a little girl. I believe it to be true," Padme said.

"Why didn't father ever look for this place—Mortis?" Leia asked.

Padme, in her exquisitely designed black dress for mourning, leaned back in her chair. "House Palpatine and their army were not as big and Ani—" She smiled, letting his nickname slip out, which she did once in a while. "Your father wasn't sure this prophecy pertained to him." She shrugged. She looked at Ben. "You, my boy, I know what you're thinking and I agree."

Ben finished eating a boiled potato, put down his fork, and nodded at his grandmother. "I will leave tomorrow."

"You're going alone? I can't let you do that Ben—" Leia started to say.

"Mother, I think with the skepticism from the council, we shouldn't tell many of this plan. We can't let the enemy know of this prophecy, whether it is true or not, but I think...I believe it." He stopped and looked at his mother, "The New Empire is threatening to strike anytime. I need to get to Mortis as soon as possible. I will ride out this evening."

Luke nodded. "You should take that soldier that defected. He might know where other armies are along your journey."

Leia agreed. "You will take him, Poe, Rose, and a few soldiers for protection, okay?"

Ben nodded. Padme patted her grandson's hand with assurance. "The question is, which way will you go?"

"Ben has always had good instincts. If he believes, he will start to see certain wings," Leia said with a nod.

Ben shared a smile with his mother, knowing he was meant to do this. He believed it.

"Kylo?" Ben looked ahead. "Kylo?" "Kylo! Hey...Prince," Rose whispered as she brought her horse to walk along with Ben's.

Ben looked at Rose with an apologetic expression. "Sorry, Rose. I suppose an alias name is something to get used to."

"What does Kylo stand for, anyway? It seems pretty unique."

Ben nodded. "I combined both of my last names, Solo and Skywalker."

Rose raised her brows and grinned. "Clever." She adjusted her cape then asked, "It's been a couple of days since we left—You haven't seen another one of those butterflies?"

Ben shook his head. "That sole one, the evening we left, that nobody else apparently can see but me, was it." He looked around at the sparsely wooded area around them as they kept progressing on this path. "We're heading towards the graveyard—Jakku," Ben noted.

"Indeed." She looked at the empty fields of banners and rusted machinery. "It's near dusk. Should we set up camp in Jakku?" she asked, with distaste.

"We're going to have to." Ben sighed, not wanting to sleep where so many perished but they would have to, just for the night.

"I'll go tell the others." Rose rode with her horse a few yards back to Finn, Poe, and the few soldiers.

The sun had just started to set as Poe and another soldier prepared food. Finn and Rose were sitting next to each other by the campfire. They were in an area where few dry trees and bushes were surrounding them. It looked like the best spot in the whole village. Ben was feet away, sitting on a rock, looking up at the stars. He took off his dark cape and used it as a pillow, slowly closing his eyes.

A minute later he felt the tip of a sword barely touch his neck, along with, "Who are you?" Ben opened his eyes and saw a young woman standing over him, in trousers and a fitted top, both sand-colored. She wore her hair in a triple bun hairstyle. She looked at him with a fierce expression and the first thought that came to his mind was that she was beautiful, even with a blade at his throat.

"Sir!"

"Kylo!" Poe yelled out as he and others drew their swords.

Ben lifted his hand like his mother would do to stop their actions. "Good evening, my lady." He stared at the young woman and saw she had lovely hazel eyes. There was something about her that captivated him; he couldn't understand it.

"Your name is Kylo?" The girl asked, this time in a gentler tone. She started to lower her weapon.

For some reason, he couldn't lie to her and he wouldn't. "My name is Ben and I'm from House Skywalker."

"You shouldn't say your name...Sire. She could be a spy!" Poe said in frustration.

Ben shook his head. "No, I don't believe she is. Please, all of you put down your weapons." The soldiers, Poe, Finn, and Rose lowered their swords but continued to stare at the two of them.

The young woman's eyes enlarged as she immediately put down her sword and said, "You're Royalty. I apologize--I shouldn't have—"

"It's fine."

"It's just this is the area I usually reside for the night." She fidgeted with her hands in front of her.

Ben furrowed his brow, looking around the area, again. "You sleep on a rock?" He looked at her in confusion.

The woman looked anywhere but at him, feeling her cheeks warm up.

Ben immediately regretted his words. "I didn't mean anything by it." He changed the course of their conversation. "May I ask, what is your name?"

She looked back at him and raised her chin. "I'm Rey."

"What house are you from?"

"I..." Rey hesitated but truthfully said, "The house of nobody." She wasn't ashamed she came from nothing. "I don't have any family--It's just me."

Ben looked at her with compassion. "You've lived by yourself."

"Ever since I can remember." Rey pointed towards the graveyard where the battle took place decades ago. They could view the sight from the rock they were both on. "Collecting from the old is how I survive." She gave him a hopeful look. "But, I'll make enough coin to leave this place, someday." She said with a small smile. She believed it.

Ben was moved by her story. He looked down then up and saw she was staring past his shoulder. He looked behind him and saw them. This time, two blue-colored butterflies swarmed around each other and moved farther away toward the pathway, fluttering about. He looked back to Rey and saw her head tilt in question. "You see them?" He asked, breathing fast.

"The blue butterflies? Yes," she said, almost in a daze, as she continued to stare at them. "It's something I've never seen before. It feels...magical," she said at last. She finally looked at Ben. "Doesn't it feel like that?"

Ben nodded. He was glad he had someone to share this with. "It seems nobody can see them, but us."

Rey looked down at the others and saw they were still looking at her. She saw the two butterflies were swarming around them but they made no movement or gave any recognition they saw them. "You're right." She looked back at Ben, amazed. "Whoa! What does this mean?"

Ben, feeling more hope now than when he started this journey, gave Rey a half-smile. "I'll fill you in on everything, Rey."

The next morning, Rey rode on a gray horse, next to Ben's, similar in color. Two soldiers rode ahead of them. Rey looked back and saw Finn, Poe, and Rose riding together and talking amongst themselves, smiling and laughing. She smiled at them before looking back at Ben more closely in the light, seeing his dark locks and strong nose, his lips--He caught her stare and she felt her cheeks warm again. She looked away with a small smile. He gulped before asking, "How does it feel to finally be away from Jakku?"

"A relief." She made sure the dark gray cape Rose had given her was on correctly before continuing. "I've always wanted to go on an adventure but seeking dragons of old is much more than I expected."

Ben nodded. "I feel the same."

They rode on a path near the sea, into the village of Ahch-To. All around them were green-leaved trees, rocky terrain, and green grass. They rode higher and higher up a hill.

By sunset, they made camp. As Finn and Poe prepared the supper, Rose and Rey sparred enthusiastically.

Rose put her arm up and saw Rey put down her sword. They both had to catch their breath. "You're excellent, Rey! Who taught you to fight?"

"Me."

"Amazing." Rose drank water from her flask then offered it to Rey.

"Thank you," Rey whispered as she drank the cool water, feeling instantly refreshed.

"How about you and I practice, Rey?" She turned around and saw Ben with his well fitted black trousers, without a tunic. She starred at his well-defined naked torso and saw his skin was wet, as was his hair.

She licked her lips without meaning to before looking down, feeling flustered. "Shouldn't you wear a tunic or something?"

Ben shook his head. "Nah, this is how I usually train. Come on," he said, raising his long sword.

Rey nodded and raised hers and they sparred, moving together in sync as if they practiced these movements before. Minutes later they both yielded, out of breath, looking at each other, with intense stares. Rey stared at his torso again and saw it glisten with sweat. She wondered for a few seconds what it would be like to run her fingers across his chest and touch--She shook her head, trying to rid her absurd thoughts. She sighed, looking back at Ben and saw his look of awe and amazement, towards her. It made her feel butterflies in her stomach.

Later, as the other slept, Rey and Ben were near the smoldering campfire, inches apart, sitting next to each other, looking up at the stars. "It's a beautiful evening," Rey remarked.

"It is." Ben looked at Rey's sword hilt again, viewing the jewels. "Can I ask where you received that sword?"

She grabbed her sword and handed it to Ben. He looked at it more closely. Rey said all she knew about it. "Years ago, I saw it covered by shields and dirt and kept it with me ever since."

"If you had sold it, you would have made enough coin to leave Jakku ages ago."

Rey shrugged. "Yes, but for some reason, I wanted to keep this for myself. I don’t know why. It's like it called to me." She scoffed. "You might think me foolish."

"No." He ran his fingers over the hilt. He had heard tales of this sword and seeing it in person was a majestic sight. "After my grandfather defeated Palpatine, he came across one of his followers, Dooku, and that man fought with everything he had. He even cut off my grandfather's arm that carried the sword." He looked at Rey's astonished face. "If it wasn't for his best friend, Kenobi, he would have died on the battlefield." Ben looked at the sword again, feeling the hilt. "They never found his sword." He handed it back to Rey. "It seems that it was found by the right person, though."

Rey's eyes widened, looking at her sword. "This is your grandfather's?!"

Ben smiled slowly and put his hand over hers. They both felt a warmth and energy, as they stared at one another, intently. "It was and belongs to you."

"Thank you, Ben." She interlocked her fingers with his. Ben stared at their hands and felt at ease, smiling at this closeness, with the fire in front of them. It was—

All of a sudden, there moment of intimacy was interrupted, by screams and men in guarded armor, running towards the camp, with weapons raised.

"First Empire! First Empire!" They chanted as they ran. "For our Supreme Leader!"

The fire and moonlight was their only light as Rey and Ben raised their weapons and fought with all their might. Dozens of soldiers ran towards them.

Poe, Finn, Rose, and the Naboo soldiers woke up, alarmed, but grabbed their weapons and fought with ease against the First Empire soldiers.

Rey and Ben were back to back, fighting each soldier with expertise, seeing the soldiers lacked skill. Rey looked back and ran her sword through a soldier's gut, who was prepared to strike at Ben. Ben nodded at Rey and fought with fierce strength. At one point, Rey felt for Ben's thigh, using his bent back for leverage, and with her foot pushed a soldier in the stomach, knocking him down hard. Ben gulped but shook his head and kept his mind on fighting the enemy.

A voice rang out, "I see we have the mighty Prince Ben of House Skywalker. Wonderful, indeed." A man with red hair and in black attire, had his arms behind his back, looking at the battle before him.

"Don't let him distract you, Ben!" Rey yelled as she and he got separated and were fighting by themselves against two and three soldiers at a time.

Ben kept his mind on the enemies before him, took a few seconds to strategize, but then heard Rey yell out in pain. He looked ahead and saw a sword pierce and scar her right arm. He needed to get to her but had to defeat these soldiers first. He took a deep breath and fought brutally, piercing his sword through a stomach, punching a man in the face as he swung his other hand with the sword, decapitating. "Ahh!" He yelled, fighting others coming towards him.

"Kill, Prince Ben!" The man with ginger hair yelled. "Bring his head to me, your Supreme Leader, now!"

Armitage Hux Ben thought as he easily killed another solider in the heart. The Supreme Leader was just yards away. He figured he could reach him.

"And bring the traitor to me!" Hux said with menace.

Finn, fighting his own, looked at Hux, sneered at his former tormenter, and continued to fight alongside Rose and Poe.

Rey gave all her strength but with that pierce to her arm, she made sure not to be weakened by it. "Ahh!" She yelled as she swung at two soldiers. They were moving towards a large circular area, filled with moss all around. Rey ran towards it, looking down and seeing water below. It looked like a cave in there. Before she could look further she turned and stabbed a soldier, seeing more come her way. She saw Ben, still fighting. For one second their eyes met until Rey felt a blow to her head and she fell into the hole. The last thing she recalled was hearing Ben call her name, as her eyes closed, hitting the freezing water.

Hux and a couple of soldiers looked down the hole and smiled. The sound of fighting could still be heard in the background. They had their backs to the battle.

One soldier pointed down the hole. "Supreme Leader, do you want us to go find the Prince?"

Hux shook his head. "No. That fall killed him. I know it. Just kill—" He stopped as he felt a stab to his back. His eyes were wide with shock as he heard in his ear. "Your senseless bloodshed ends now."

In the dark cave, Ben gently retrieved Rey from the icy waters. He placed her on the rocky ground, in front of what looked like a mirror. "Rey?" He shivered, feeling the effects of the water. He felt for her pulse at her wrist and neck; it was weak but there. Like him, they needed to be warm. He knew what he had to do and hopefully it would help both of them. He took off his clothes quickly and hers. He looked away from her intimate parts and just focused on getting her warm, pulling her to him. Her hair, loose from her buns, was placed over her shoulder as he rubbed her back and arms, making sure she was receiving warmth. He pulled her close and laid his head near hers, closing his eyes.

A while later, Rey opened her eyes and instead of the cold, she thought she would feel, she felt incredible soothing warmth. She moaned and especially felt the warmth behind her. She then realized she wasn't wearing clothing. Her eyes widened as she saw her bare breasts stomach, and... She gulped as she turned and saw Ben sleeping. She then knew what he did and was grateful to him. He kept them both alive. She felt her breasts touch his strong chest. She liked the feeling as she finally ran her fingers through his dark locks, tracing a finger down his nose, to his full lips and strong chin. The gentle tickle of her finger woke him.

"You're awake," Ben whispered as he slowly opened his eyes.

"You saved us."

Ben put his arm around Rey's waist, pulling her close. "We've known each other for such a short while but that's just enough to know that..."

Rey raised a brow and asked, "Know what?"

"I love you, Rey." He stared into her eyes, not caring if she said it back. He wanted her to know of his true feelings towards her.

Rey felt a certain warmth in her heart as a single tear rain down her right cheek. She felt a happiness she thought she would never feel as she said, with all her heart. "Ben, I love you, too." She leaned forward, their lips inches from touching, and in a second she touched her lips with his, feeling an intimacy she had never felt in all her life. She felt him respond and she smiled against his lips, kissing him deeper.

Ben pulled Rey to be on top of him, breaking their kiss. He looked up and saw the woman he was in love with and he sighed in relief as she leaned down and kissed him again. He caressed her scar on her arm and felt a part of him awaken and she must have felt it as well as she looked at him intently with her hazel eyes and breathed just as hard as he was. She kissed him again and again. He rubbed her back lovingly as he felt they instantly became one, moaning together, their breaths mingled as they continued to share their love, together.

Later, dressed back in their clothing, Rey and Ben held hands, their swords held by their free hands, as they followed more blue butterflies through the cave, toward the opening revealing a beach.

"We made it out, Ben!" She squeezed his hand and felt him squeeze back. He looked at her, with a gentle smile, leaning down and kissing her soft lips. They were heavenly. She smiled and caressed his cheek.

They both looked around and together saw others running towards them.

"Do you see—" He started to say.

"Yes, I see—Rose and—" They walked in their direction. "Poe, Finn, and the New Empire soldiers?" She turned to Ben and gave him a quizzical look.

Ben's brows furrowed, knowing Poe and Rose wouldn't betray him and Naboo.  

Rose had her arms raised as she hugged Rey, breaking Rey's hold on Ben's hand. "You are both safe!" She turned to Ben. "We thought we lost you two. We walked back and forth on these shores three times. She looked towards the rocks. "How did you get out?"

Rey pointed towards the entrance that was now covered in rock. "Ben? Do you see what I see?"

Ben nodded, mystified.  He looked towards the water, seeing the gentle waves roll in. He looked back at the crowd coming towards them. "Where's Hux?"

Rose crossed her arms. "Finn killed him and he was amazing." She smiled toward Finn and Poe, as they finally made it to her, Rey, and Ben.

"Finn, I'm grateful for what you did," Ben said with a nod.

Finn nodded towards him and explained, "There are generals just like him, with dark ambition. One of them will be the new Supreme Leader." He turned and put his arm out toward the New Empire soldiers. "After I killed Hux, I called out to the remaining soldiers that they didn't have to keep being brainwashed in fighting a senseless war. They could be better and live a new life," He said that last part as he looked at Poe and Rose with a smile.

"We stopped because what Finn says is right. We're not going to fight for power," a young woman said as she walked a few steps toward Ben. "My name is Jannah, Sire..." She started to bow but stopped once she heard his voice.

"We're in this together, Jannah, and that means equally helping each other." He looked at Rey and saw her smile. He looked back at all the soldiers. "You must all know where we're heading to. We ask that you join us, to help and stop the New Empire. Will you help?"

More soldiers walked behind and beside Jannah. One soldier ripped the cloak that held the New Empire's symbol and he stepped on it, with meaning. Jannah looked around at her friends and said, "We will."

The day passed on as they walked along the shore and that's when Rey and Ben both saw in front of them, more blue butterflies. They followed down the shore until everyone saw the binary suns and nearby were the dragons, flying above, as they just appeared out of nowhere.

Everyone looked in awe, seeing eight dragons, of large size, soar above them, calling out to each other.

"Mortis," Rey whispered. She took Ben's hand in hers and smiled.

Ben squeezed her hand, feeling her squeeze right back, as he continued to look above. "Beautiful," he said, simply.

In minutes, the dragons circled them. Ben and Rey walked toward one that looked dark gray. They raised a hand and the dragon moved forward, it's snout touching their hands. It made a cooing sound. "We'll ride this one," Ben said. He looked at everyone else. "Remember our plan, everyone. See if they will come on our side first but if they attack..."

"The dragons will do the rest," Rey said with a nod. Everyone nodded and cheered.

"Let's do this!" Jannah said to her fellow soldiers.

"We are the spark that will burn down the New Empire," Poe said with determination.

Ben nodded toward his friend as he and Rey easily climbed on their dragon. Everyone else did the same with the remaining dragons, some with four on a back.

"Ready?" Ben whispered in Rey's ear, as she sat before him holding onto the dragon as he had a hand on her stomach, keeping her close to him.

Rey looked back and kissed Ben, their lips moving in sync. She smiled and said, "Ready." Then at once, they were in the air, ready to fight a regime and restore peace for all the lands, and afterward, live happily ever after.

                                                  ~The End~

[fuyupeach]

In The Works // Ryuji Sakamoto x Reader - chapter 5

prologue / ch.1 / ch.2 / ch.3 / ch.4

follow/keeo track on ao3 ! i always post there first (which is why this is being posted after MANY months here despite already being on ao3 lmao)

Your first year at Shujin finally ends, the feeling of what must’ve been weights on your shoulders finally dissipating as your footsteps increase the distance from you and the campus.

“Whoa, slow down, ____! I’m just as eager to leave as you, but the ramen shop can wait a little bit.” Ryuji chuckles behind you. You turn slightly to look at him, a small guilty look forming on your face as he limps slightly.

“Sorry,” you say, stopping for a moment as Ryuji makes his way next to you, school bag hanging loosely on his shoulder, the messenger strap on yours gripped tightly between your hands as it flops in front of you from the sudden stop. “Seeing Kamo shit a on the way out ticked me off.”

“But, the last day of school isn’t supposed to be about him. It’s about… ” you shake off the last remnants of your annoyance, jumping and latching onto Ryuji’s arm--Ryuji letting out a small, “Oof.”--as you finish your sentence. “ Ramen! ”

It had become a promise between the two of you to eat ramen as a celebration at the end of the school year since he had come back your third year of middle school. Though you weren’t a big fan of ramen, you would still eat it with him. Maybe you could convince him to let you guys find a place with great ramen and sushi as a compromise between the two of you for the end of your second year.

“Ha, yeah, the douchebag had that ugly smirk on his face, as usual.” Ryuji continues walking with your arm looped through his, the two of you almost at the station. “ Bleh, just thinkin’ ‘bout him puts a bad taste in my mouth. But, you’re right, let’s go. RAAMENN! ” he shouts, pumping his free arm in the air, a laugh escaping you.

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

Your summers had become much more eventful thanks to Ryuji, but it didn’t stop you from your homebody tendencies, you still needed a break from the fun, and the competitive atmosphere that couldn’t be beat when it came to the arcades during the summer. How all these people could be constantly worked up about Gun About beats you, but to each their own. You had finally managed to win one of the electronic prizes from the claw machine with Ryuji’s help, so you were content for a while.

The very same plum colored headphones you had won were on your head as you sit on your bed, back against the wall as you scrolled mindlessly on your phone for cat videos. Your actual cat, Luna, lays at your feet, unperturbed by the lamp that dimly lit your room and her black fur in turn, her ears already accustomed to the sound of Ryuji’s voice that floated into your room from the bathroom. Your mother had already knew Ryuji almost as long as you did, surprisingly agreeing on Ryuji sleeping over for the night, more than likely because of the few all nighters you would spend with him helping him study for finals. Your mother and brother were just like Ann and Shiho, taking opportunities to tease you about Ryuji, your mother winking as she agreed.

“--____! ____!” You hear Ryuji’s voice cut in from your headphones. You check your phone to see it’s past midnight.

“ Shh! ” You say, putting your headphones down on your bed and striding quickly to the bathroom. “Everyone’s already asleep--” You peek into the bathroom, cutting yourself off as you see Ryuji. You had known he was in the process of bleaching his hair--you were actually the one to encourage him to do it as he tentatively brought it up to you one day--, but actually seeing it in the process was something in itself. “Wow.” You bring yourself to say after staring for a few moments.

Ryuji dismisses you with a wave before looking away from the mirror and turning to you. “Their doors are closed anyway; I doubt I was that loud. Didn’t know how high you had your headphones up.” He smiles. “But anyways, do ya mind helping me get the rest of this bleach on the back of my head? I wanna make sure everything is covered. Extra gloves are in the box over there.” Ryuji nods over to the box he’s sitting to the right of on the bathtub counter.

You reach over and pluck the gloves from the box that read ‘Palty’, pulling an extra plastic seat from the corner of the bathroom and plopping behind Ryuji, gloves now on. Ryuji hands you the container with the bleach, quickly running you through what to do. You apply the bleach to his hair as he bounces his knees, tapping his fingers against them as he hums a tune. “Thanks.” Ryuji says, turning to you for a second while you put more bleach on the brush, sending a grin your way.

“No problem, Ryu.” You mumble, focused on applying the sections as well as you could.

“This is gonna turn out awesome!” Ryuji exclaims. You can tell by his voice alone the excitement he’s holding back so you can finish, fist pumping the air once you are.

“I definitely think it will.” You smile back at him as he pulls the plastic cap over his head. “Shouldn’t be too hard to manage since your hair is short.”

An hour passes as you help Ryuji wash and tone his hair, the both of you staring in awe, him through the mirror and you at him. His hair was still a little damp, but the change was one you thought suited Ryuji really well, a small flush tinting your cheeks.  

“For real?” Ryuji smiles as he inspects his hair. “This is so cool.”

“See?” You smirk, eyes closed in a smug expression. “Told you it’d turn out great. You’re welcome.” You open your eyes just in time to see Ryuji holding out his hand, giving him a high five before you two clean up settle down for the night.

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

Timeskip 4/11

“What’s taking him so long…?” You tap your feet against the floor, the turtleneck underneath your uniform coat doing a somewhat good job at staving off the cold that came with this morning’s rain. You had remembered that with the early spring season often came rain, so you had snagged an umbrella before you left. If it rained, great, if it didn’t, well then you’d be carrying an umbrella around for the rest of the day. Lucky for you, it was. Knowing Ryuji however, he more than likely won’t have one when he arrives… But seriously, where was he? You take a quick glance around the outside of Aoyama-Itchome Station before shifting your umbrella in your hand, getting ready to take out your phone so you could text him.

You don’t get a full word in before you hear Ryuji’s voice calling out to you.

“___!” You turn to see him jogging towards you and ducking for cover--because just as you guessed, he had no umbrella. “Sorry, slept in a bit.”

“Hah,” You shake your head. “Should’ve known. Well, let’s go, sleepyhead, don’t wanna be late. Get under.” You motion for Ryuji to follow you, hand raising the umbrella just a bit higher. You were on the taller side, so there wasn’t that big of a gap between Ryuji and you.

“Who’re you calling the sleepyhead?” Ryuji pokes your rib as he walks alongside you. “I’m not the one who sleeps over 9 hours on weekends--”

Ryuji’s voice cuts off as he sees something in front of him catch his attention, running ahead and leaving you in confusion. You turn your head in the direction he ran off towards, connections clicking in your head as you see Ann get in the car you both knew well as Kamoshida’s. Oh boy. You sigh. You had asked Ann on multiple occasions about Kamoshida, and if there was anything you could do to help, but she had refused countless times, saying she could handle it on her own, making you promise not to tell Shiho. This didn’t stop you from making up and excuse whenever you would see her being harassed in the school hallways, your method of “girl related things” or “family emergencies” more effective than Ryuji’s that tended to be on the aggressive side. As angry as you are at Kamoshita, the both of you needed to stay on campus; if passive aggressive words were all you could fight with, then so be it.

You jog after Ryuji, careful not to slip in your sneakers against the tiled floor as the car drives off before he could reach it. He passes by another student that seems to be seeking shelter from the rain, his hair and glasses already covering half of his face.

“Dammit...screw that pervy teacher.” Ryuji mutters as he slows to a stop. You follow not too far behind, bringing the umbrella up over his head again, slightly winded. Man, you hated exercise…

“Pervy teacher..?” The student mumbles, gaining the attention of the two of you.

“...What do you want?” Ryuji snaps at the boy, a scowl forming on his face, his classic “vulgar” expression. “You plannin’ on rattin’ me out to Kamoshida?”

“Kamoshida?” The boy calmly asks, slightly confused, phone in his hand moving as he does so.

“Huh?” Ryuji blinks back, now confused. “In that car just now. That was Kamoshida.” Ryuji looks away in irritation. “He does whatever the hell he wants. Who does he think he is--the king of a castle? Don’t you agree?”

“Which castle?” the boy inquires, bringing a chuckle out of you.

“Uh, it’s just a sayin’...” Ryuji trails off as you can’t help but chuckle some more. He pauses for a few seconds before speaking again. “...Wait, you don’t know Kamoshida?” he scoffs, scrutinizing the boy. “Are you for real? You’re from Shujin, right?”

“I think so.” the boy nods.

Hm… “Are you a transfer student?” you ask, peering silently at the boy. He nods as you zone in on his uniform coat. More specifically the ‘2’ on his collar. “Oh, you’re a second year too.”

Ryuji chuckles darkly. “Then no wonder you don’t know him.” You check your phone before notioning your head in the direction of the school.

“As great as this introduction is,” you drawl out sarcastically. “We should get going, I don’t want to be late.”

Ryuji lets out a huff of laughter before turning back to the boy. “This rain ain’t too bad. We better hurry up or we’ll be late.”

You all take a step to move before a wave of pain flashes against you. “Ngh!” You cry out, almost dropping your umbrella. It seems the boy and Ryuji had felt it too, hands both on their heads. You feel light-headed as Ryuji speaks.

“Are you okay?” he asks as you nod slowly. You ask him the same. “Yeah, I’m fine, my head just hurts.. Dammit… I wanna go home.” Ryuji sighs as you keep walking, the boy following silently a few steps behind you.

-------

You make your way through the backstreet shortcut you and Ryuji knew well, the walkways casted in a purple hue that was different that what you usually saw. Maybe it had something to do with that sudden head pain earlier…? You hoped the light-headedness you had felt wasn’t involved with it. You follow by Ryuji, stopping firmly in your tracks as you both gape in disbelief at what was supposed to be the school that was currently in front of you.

A giant castle stands tall in front of you, the skies and clouds around in casted in the same murky purple you had saw on the walk over.

“Um…?” you mumble, confused.

“We didn’t… come the wrong way though…” Ryuji speaks, looking behind him, the boy joining him. “Yeah, this should be right.” you all see the school sign in front.

“What’s going on here? I guess we’ll just have to go and ask.” Ryuji walks ahead as the boy follows him, you still stuck in place.

“I don’t have a good feeling about this… At all.” You state, taking tentative steps behind them as you follow, closing your umbrella.

-----

“Th-That’s weird… Where’s the school…?” Ryuji trails off.

“Did we make a wrong turn?” The boy pipes up.

“No,” You say firmly. “We didn’t. And there’s never been a castle in this town, this just doesn’t make sense.” You bring your arms around you. “Where are we?”

Ryuji pulls out his phone, his eyes widen. “Out of service..?” He puts it in his pocket. “The sign was for the school, right?” You nod. The boy vocalizes his agreement. “Right?! You saw it too!”

A sudden armored figure appears in front of you all, a creepy blue mask as it’s face, wielding a sword and a worn shield just as big as it. You take a step back.

“Geez, you scared me…” Ryuji mutters. “Who’re you? You a student?” Ryuji takes a few steps closer to the silent figure. “Ryuji…” you caution as he waves you off. “Man, your costume’s impressive… Is that armor real?”

The figure still doesn’t respond, moving up and down slightly as it stares down at all of you. Ryuji crosses his arms and leans on one leg. “C’mon, don’t just stand there. Say somethin’.”

“Ryuji.” you say more firmly, taking his arm as another one approaches you. “I think we should go.”

“...H-Hey, what;s goin’ on?” Ryuji questions.

“Is he school staff?” The boy asks. You turn to him with an exasperated sigh. “If they were, they would’ve said something already, don’t you think?”

“...This shit’s real.” Ryuji frowns. “We better run. Go!”

“Got it.” The boy nods.

You all break for the exit to no avail, more knights surrounding you.

“Ugh, what’s with these guys!?” Ryuji exclaims before he’s hit in the back by one of the knights. “Oww… Y-You’re gonna break my bones, dammit! The hell you think you’re--Aagh!”

“Ryuji!” you try to make your way to him before another knight does the same to you, the breath knocked out of you as you fall forward.

“Take them away!” you hear one of the knights say as your surroundings go black.

[ijustwanttoexist]

Love Isn’t Just a Walk in the Park Pt. 6

First of all, I want to say thank you for the donations to my ko-fi. I don’t have the right words for how much they mean to me, but they mean a lot. You guys have been and are amazing. Thank you.

Also, a friendly reminder that I don’t work with dogs/pets, so if I include something in my fics that is dangerous to animals, please let me know and I’ll be sure to spread the word so we can keep all our pets safe.

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5

Pairing(s): Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin

Sidney doesn’t actually come back in the next day the shop is open, but Geno doesn’t worry about it. He knows that Sidney and his team are probably really busy with playoffs. Any maybe that teammate of Sid’s hasn’t had a chance to talk to him about coming to the store. And really, with the heat steadily increasing as Spring progresses and builds into Summer, who wants to be outside running, no matter how cute the dogs in Geno’s shop are?

So no, he doesn’t worry about the fact Sidney doesn’t arrive bright and early the next morning to pick a dog to run with. (And Angela can stop giving him those knowing looks when she thinks he’s not looking. So what if he decided to change up the schedule and take on some morning shifts. Change is good sometimes.)

He doesn’t worry the next morning either, because the shop is closed for business since it’s a Wednesday, so it’s just him and the animals as he takes inventory and restocks the shelves and catches up on a seemingly never ending pile of paperwork.

But by Friday afternoon, he’s a bit worried. Or perhaps worried isn’t the right word. The conversation he’d had with Sidney’s teammate had inflated hope in his chest like a helium balloon. And like a helium balloon, it deflated just a little bit for each day that passed. And now that hope feels sluggish in his chest, not floating high to bounce on the ceiling anymore, but hovering in the middle of the room as it slowly grows smaller.

Sara actually asks if he’s feeling okay after he’s returned from lunch. Apparently he’s actually been touching his chest and making uncomfortable faces every time he lets himself stop and think about it, and he feels silly for it.

He gives her a shrug and a smile he knows is a bit strained.

“Heartburn,” he says.

“Did you take something for it, or are you being dumb and trying to tough it out?”

“Took some antacids,” he promises.

“And it’s not working?” She sounds really concerned, and Geno feels guilty for lying.

“Just take at lunch. Should start to work any minute now.”

She gives him a disbelieving look, but goes back to cleaning up a spill in one of the aisles, all the while telling Geno exactly how it happened in excruciating and extremely dramatic detail. Geno finds himself laughing, enjoying her probably highly exaggerated story and appreciating it in the spirit it’s meant.

The bell above the door jingles as Geno is in the middle of a deep belly laugh, head thrown back, one hand clutching the counter so he doesn’t overbalance and the other lifting to wipe the tears from his eyes. He opens one eye as he swipes at the other, and he’s in too good of a mood to freeze when he sees Sid standing by the door looking a little distracted.

“Sid, good to see you,” he says, not even trying to fight the smile that nearly splits his face. And if he hadn’t already known he’d fallen for this ridiculous man, he would know now, because even with that atrocious wispy attempt at a beard Sidney is still the best thing Geno has seen in days.

“Hey,” Sid says back, seemingly coming back from whatever had been distracting him, and gives a tentative half wave. He looks nervous, like he’s not sure of his welcome.

“Hey, Sid!” Sara says, leaning on her mop and waving at him, “long time no see, dude. Angela and I were going to start a betting pool on what happened to you.”

“Oh yeah?” he asks, glancing between Geno and Sara.

“Yeah,” she agrees. “Angela was pretty sure you were cheating on us with one of those other shelters at that photo shoot, y’know? I told her now way, but she was pretty convinced. Told me she saw you cozying up with a springer spaniel while everyone was mingling.”

“Oh, no, I...”

Sara interrupts him.

“But I was pretty sure that our beloved boss somehow put his foot in it while you two were talking, because you kind of seemed to be avoiding him after that? And like, he’s been kind of moping around since then, y’know?”

“No, I...” Geno tries to cut in and save himself the embarrassment.

“Oh, well...” Sid begins.

Sara continues to talk over them.

“And G wasn’t really talking about it at all, which seemed kind of like a dead giveaway. But then I was thinking that maybe you put your foot in it, and were too embarrassed to come back. Because G’s pretty great when it comes to communication, and he’s never too proud to apologize if he messes up.”

She stares Sidney down as she talks, no longer leaning on her mop but using all of her not inconsiderable height, shoulders squared for an encounter, one hand on her hip and the other white-knuckled on the mop handle. Geno watches it all with wide eyes, his brain screaming at him to say something to stop her tirade but unable to get his mouth to work.

“Because really, it wouldn’t make sense for G to be moping so hard if he was the one that messed up, y’know? He’s a great person and he wouldn’t just let bad feelings stew if he was responsible for them. So whatever happened obviously wasn’t his fault.”

She falls silent then, making intense eye contact with the man she knows upset her boss while he gives her a decidedly dear in headlights look.

“Sara,” Geno finally breaks the silence, “take your break.” She startles.

“What? No, I...” She cuts off when Geno gives her a significant look, trying to convey that he’s not angry she apparently decided she needed to defend his honor but just that he wanted a moment alone.

“Long break.” He gives Sidney a considering look, the looks back at her. “Half hour, at least.”

“But the mess,” she says weakly, gesturing with the mop.

“Will still be here when you back.”

She gives him a narrow-eyed look.

“And you promise you won’t try to clean it?”

“Promise,” he agrees. Because hunching over the mop always makes his back ache in ways nothing else ever does and he happily leaves it to the girls. She gives a decisive nod, then walks out the front door, giving Sidney one last stink eye as she leaves.

The men look at each other in awkward silence for a moment.

“I’m...sorry?” Sidney says finally. He’s fidgeting with his fingers, looking between them and Geno. Geno himself has leaned back against the counter, arms folded across his chest, one ankle crossed over the other.

“Don’t need to be sorry, Sidney. Nothing to apologize for.” He waves his hand like he’s erasing the apology away.

“I feel like maybe I do.”

“No,” Geno denies, “done nothing wrong. You run dogs on your time. Know you’re busy now, in playoffs.” Geno shrugs. “Not so much time for best dogs now.”

“I should have called or something.” Sidney insists.

“Don’t owe me anything, Sid.” He says it more somber than he means to, and sees Sidney flinch. He’s not looking at his fingers anymore, eyes solely on Geno.

“I did kind of drop a bomb on you then disappear,” he says, looking chagrined.

“You did,” Geno agrees, “think maybe you don’t mean it, telling me about no boyfriend. Or regret it. Maybe you realize you make a mistake to say that, realize you don’t want me.” Sidney winces.

“I did mean it. I just...I panicked. I’m not really a spontaneous kind of person. I did research on this place for like a month before I came in asking if I could walk your dogs. And telling you I wasn’t straight, that was really spontaneous. And then I started to doubt myself, y’know?

“What if I misread all of our interactions and it was just wishful thinking on my part that you were into me? And then what if me saying that made you really uncomfortable and you didn’t want to deal with me anymore? I convinced myself it was easier if I just didn’t come back.”

“Was easier,” Geno agreed. “Doing nothing always easier. But sometimes,” Geno pauses and looks around his shop with fondness, “sometimes easier isn’t best thing. Easier would mean I’m not here, in America, have no pet shop, never meet best employees.” He meets Sidney’s eyes, gives him a fond smile. “Or beautiful man with best smile and great ass.”

That gets a chuckle out of Sidney even as he turns bright red.

“One of my teammates reminded me that I play professional hockey for a living, and that I’m kind of an outspoken, opinionated pain in the ass about pretty much everything. And that I’ve probably never actually taken the easier path in my entire life up until now. And then, because he’s an asshole, he whipped me with a towel in my own kitchen and gave me a pep talk full of awful hockey innuendos.”

Geno laughed.

“Good stick handling? Work in deep and go in the back? Go in hard and fast?” Geno suggests, and sticks his tongue between his teeth to keep from laughing.

Sidney groans at Geno’s awful entendres and shakes his head.

“Less sex stuff and more stereotypical sports pep talk right before the big game that happens in literally every sports movie and show that has every existed, but for dating.”

“Want to date me, Sid?” Geno asks playfully. Sidney squares his shoulders.

“Yeah, I really do. We’re flying out tonight for a couple of away games, but maybe I could take you out for dinner some time next week?”

“Would like that,” Geno agrees.

“Yeah?” Sid says, face lit up and smile wide.

“Yes. Give me your number and we’ll text, make plans.” They swap numbers, giving each other wide dopey smiles the whole time.

They stand there just staring at each other for who knows how long until the bell above the door rings and they both startle.

It’s Sara. She looks between the two of them and then rolls her eyes.

“Oh thank god, it looks like you two finally figured it out. Two more weeks, and I would have owed Angela fifty bucks.”

“How many betting pools do you two have?” Sidney asks.

“We have all the details in our texts, but maybe like fifteen?” Sara shrugs. “It keeps us entertained. All that matters now is that I won and I’m using that money on all of the pizza.” She says, and goes back to mopping after saying goodbye to Sidney.

“I’ll text you,” Sidney promises as he leaves. Geno waves at him and turns to go back to work. His phone vibrating in his pocket stops him. He checks it and smiles. He knows he must look embarrassingly besotted, but Sara’s kind enough not to say anything as he texts back or when he starts whistling to himself.

She just asks him if he wants to go out for pizza after work, and he happily accepts.

[jackshithere]

Entire Anakonda in Netz documentary (transcribed) 4/4

part 1 part 2 part 3

The band travels separately these days. We used to always go together. After all this time each of us travels as he wants. While the others fly, I'll often go with the crew in the bus. They even hired a plane once. They really like it because they weren't constrained by flight times anymore. You just fly when you want to. I like having a home while I'm on tour. Once you've set yourself up in the bus, it's nice to sleep in the same bed. Everyone has their own little corner. Four or five people sit at the back, drink wine, watch a movie. If you get along with them, it's actually quite nice.

Since I get to know countries by taste, Everywhere we go, I always know what I want to eat. That irritates some. In France, I like to eat 'merguez'. In Finland, we go fishing at a lake. We try to do the obvious things. In England, we eat fish & chips, drink tea... The classics are usually the best. And when you find them, you're pleased. In Japan, we eat sushi or some other Japanese food. Often, we try to take the initiative. We go to a good cafe for breakfast instead of at the hotel. We check out the cities and walk around.

Travel is part of the job. Sometimes it's a blessing, sometimes a curse. Of course, it's nice to go somewhere you've never been before. You wouldn't have gone there otherwise. You get an idea of where you might go with more time.

Iceland was unique. A little island and half of the population comes to the concert. Not too many people live there. The reception alone! At the beginning, we were brought to a hot spring called "The Blue Lagoon". The people in front of the hotel... that was completely different. Iceland is fantastic. There's glaciers, hot springs, geysers, hardly any trees, lava formations, some mountains, a beautiful coast and lots of fish and shrimp to eat. I'm not actually a city person. I come from the country. Beautiful landscapes fill me with awe.

I like to travel, but not in the services of Rammstein. That's work. It depends on what you like... but the Amazon is definitely worth a visit. That's adventurous... a real adventure! You can get a nasty disease very quickly. You can also see river dolphins, anacondas, sloths, or go fishing for piranhas. Our guide there was related to an Indian. When they started drinking, we went fishing. We netted an anaconda. Two actually, we released one... and the other one was dead. Then we skinned it. Now it hangs in my friend's room. It's 7 metres long.

 Why do people go on polar expeditions? There's nothing to see there. Something attracts you. It's hard to describe why you travel. You don't realise until you're back home again. Where you can profit from the memories for a long time. You've got a kind of inner store. When things aren't going well, you just go inside and get a glass of travel preserves for your soul, open it and fill up on it.

In the early days, this was a major difference for me. On tour, I could completely escape from the world at home. After 3 or 4, weeks I had left it behind. We toured longer back then, two months straight sometimes. It was like a new world for me and I often fell for the other countries. I thought that I had to live there and that it was better there. They were worlds apart for me. At home it was very difficult to find my footing again, to get back to my normal life. It took weeks to get used to everything again. Now where I've done that so often and am more familiar with it, I've become more professional. Now I know it's my work! I don't lose myself emotionally so much.

My world view has become more flexible for certain things. You become cooler about a lot of things. You can sit around telling stories. Shooting videos often involves long waiting times. Someone says suddenly, "Do you remember when?" And next thing you know, we're retelling old yarns. How we sat in the jungle in Australia, looking at the night sky.

Earlier on, we always went wild after the concerts. We were always shouting and screaming! We had to get rid of the adrenalin. Something always got smashed. Now we know how charged we are. So we leave the quality discussions for later. Otherwise, things quickly get coarse and we lose all objectivity!

You have to find something to do after the show to dissipate all of this energy. You need a vent, some kind of meditation afterwards. You've absorbed the energy of 20,000 people and this is stuck inside. After, it's like being dropped suddenly. You've got to balance it out. I still haven't found the right way.

I like to shower quickly, get rid of the make-up, then go to the bus or hotel. I don't like to hang around the venue.

First you're happy to have done it. Then you take a shower, if there's water... Then you drink a beer, so you can sleep!

(Show a photo) This is the exact reason why I do it. That's the moment of complete synchronicity, between intention and effect! Whatever you beam from stage is received. This is the greatest thing that can happen to you!

I go away for a long time, when the role is over.

(i love this man so much)

I like to do just nothing, the whole day long. Lie in bed, get up, walk around town, drink a coffee, and let the day be the day, which I rarely do. The things people do at the weekend are things I never get to do. But I'd like to.

Coming home is pure luxury for me. I can cook my own food again, go to bed, I don't have to talk to anybody.

With Rammstein, we've only ever had 2 weeks off in summer. Just stay put somewhere, that's something we haven't done in 10 years. And I'm going to enjoy it big-time! Just go somewhere and stay there.

Before, after? I don't know. A half-hour after the concert, the atmosphere is still there. You can feel the audience's energy, the warmth... then everything gets taken apart and everyone does their job. It's very strange. The concert magic was just there... After the last note rings out and the credits start to roll, the hall lights go on, the people leave, and everyone starts with their work, packing everything quickly away. You see that you're alive for just a moment. You're there briefly, it happens... and then it's history...

[artificialqueens]

we might be hollow (but we're brave) [jan x jackie] - pinkgrapefruit

A/N - hey! incase you hadn’t noticed i’m in love with this ship and I had these lyrics and timestamps in my google docs for months with branjie but it just wasn’t fully fitting. thanks to Alex for betaing and i hope you enjoy it! let me know what you think <3

*

we might be hollow (but we’re brave)

We’re never done with killing time

Can I kill it with you?

‘Til the veins run red and blue

1 7 0 7 - 0 3 - 1 5 - 2 0 0 9

The car hums, low and hoarse as Jackie waits in the school lot. She’d offhandedly promised to pick up her english partner and all of a sudden she’s regretting it, twenty minutes late and low on fuel. She switches it off, flicking the key, and then back on again, hoping not to burn out the fragile engine.

She runs out of the school sweaty and flustered, gym bag slung haphazardly over her shoulder and for a second Jackie is fixated on the way Jan’s baby hairs have plastered themselves across her forehead. The smaller girl slings her bag through the open back window, watching with a smirk as Jackie cringes - sending a warm smile in gratitude.

They play the music loud and keep the air con on low, just cool enough to dry Jan’s hair without the native New Jerseyan complaining about how it’s warmer in the arctic. Jackie’s from Canada, she doesn’t really care.

Jan gives vague directions to her home as and when she sees fit, often directing Jackie to take turns she didn’t even know existed when they’re already almost past them. It drives the brunette mad as she abuses the car’s delicate steering, all to navigate the New Jersey suburbs.

What she does notice is they end up barely two streets over from her own house. A standard three bed, two bath, decent garden house that looks just as identical as every other one in the neighbourhood.

It’s painted blue. Jackie thinks it fits.

They spend the early evening reading excerpts of Romeo and Juliet to each other on Jan’s porch. The blonde reads on the porch chair as it swings aimlessly in the warm early spring breeze. She’s still in her cheer uniform and Jackie doesn’t have a chance to ask how she manages both cheer and soccer. Jackie barely manages hockey.

They eat homemade ice cream sundaes and watch the sunset over the eerie glow of the street lamps until Jan complains she can’t see the pages anymore and Jackie has long since stopped making notes on prose and characters.

They don’t talk about school tomorrow because they won’t see each other. Jan asks if she will pick her up. Jackie says yes.

We come around here all the time

Got a lot to not do, let me kill it with you

0 7 3 2 - 0 4 - 0 2 - 2 0 0 9

Jackie gets a text at half past seven telling her quite emphatically that Jan is running late. There is no question posed that Jackie can discern on the Nokia n95 screen - the glare from the early morning screen compromising her vision anyway - but she grabs her rucksack and the keys to the car and swings round the corner anyway.

She rationalises it by telling herself that it’s on the way to school anyway. It is.

She pulls up and Jan is sat on the porch steps in a pastel pink denim miniskirt and a glittery letterman jacket. She skips to the car and slides onto the front seat with a telltale squeak of bare legs on leather, throwing her bag onto the backseat in a way that still makes Jackie cringe even after two weeks. She smells of lemongrass and vanilla.

The blonde giggles and Jackie catches her mouth curving up in the reverse mirror, so she lets Jan pick the music and just focuses on the gear stick and anything else in her control.

She watches as the blonde sways to Fifteen by Taylor Swift, belting out the lyrics like she can feel them in her soul. They’re sophomores but they were freshmen last year and to be honest, from what she knows of Jan, she wouldn’t be surprised if that was her life.

They pull into the school parking lot to the sounds of Fearless and even Jackie cracks a smile at the way Jan is beaming. They have five minutes before they need to be in school and Jackie averts her eyes as Jan twists awkwardly to grab her bag from where it ended up on the floor, skirt riding up so the brunette can see the plum lace of her panties. She gulps and pulls out her well worn copy of Little Women instead. Not watching as Jan quickly reviews her AP Biology textbook.

“Thanks Jackie! You’re the best,” Jan calls as she slams the rickety car door on the third attempt.

“Anytime Jan.” And Jackie finds she means it.

You pick me up and take me home again

Head out the window again

We’re hollow like the bottles that we drain

0 1 2 5 - 0 7 - 1 7 - 2 0 0 9

Jackie’s phone vibrates under her pillow at one in the morning on a friday. They’ve been on summer break for a month and Jackie hasn’t really done much but she’ll admit she’s missed Jan. Until she woke her up that is.

She answers it with a defeated sign, tugging on her oversized Van Halen t-shirt until it feels decent even though no one is going to look into her tiny bedroom. The light filters through the window in a way that makes it feel like she’s in a weird horror film and she remembers why this is called the witching hour.

“Come over Jack, I’m bored,” comes the whine from down the phone and Jackie has to stifle a laugh even though she knows how much trouble she could get in for this. She sighs. She can’t really argue -  doesn’t want to. She’s always been called boring. She doesn’t want to be anymore.

“I’m coming Jan, gimme five.”

She tugs on an oversized jacket and pulls a pair of gym shorts under her shirt, grabbing the running trainers from the bottom of her closet and spritzing a couple of squirts of sandalwood and shea from her almost empty perfume bottle. When she’s pretty sure she looks okay, she pushes up her window and thanks the gods she’s over the porch. It’s well structured and surprisingly easy to climb both up and down (her brother proved it to her last week) and she slides the window shut behind her as she shimmies down stained wood into the crisp summer night.

It’s not cold and the summer moon means it’s not dark either so she manages the walk quite calmly, feeling a freedom she sometimes forgets she has.

Jan’s sat on her porch steps in a pair of grey joggers and a black sports bra, draped in a tartan blanket and with what is unmistakably a bottle of wine gripped between her thighs.

They don’t actually talk for a while, just pass the bottle between themselves taking swigs of it like it’s water until Jan is giggling at a sparrow - the moon making her blonde hair glow in a way Jackie deems completely unfair. She’s ethereal, godlike in this light and Jan wants to tuck some of the escaped strands back behind her ear so she can watch the shadow in the curve of her upper lip.

She wants them to talk about boys, or talk about girls - to delve into who they are because surely that’s how you should spend wine time at two a.m but the wine is all gone and Jan’s cheek is soft on Jackie’s padded shoulder and somehow their fingers intertwine.  

She starts humming something under her breath, something old - a song her dad used to sing her to help her sleep and Jan tugs at her hand to make her sing it louder until Jackie is serenading the sleepy neighbourhood with Mama Cass.

She shakes Jan awake just after four as the sun rises down the wide street. Their knees are stiff but Jan stands up, tugging Jackie by the hands into a hug. She’s not sure what it’s for but it’s welcomed and when Jackie clambers back through her window she can smell vanilla.

You drape your wrists over the steering wheel

Pulses can drive from here

We might be hollow, but we’re brave

0 5 0 2 - 0 1 - 0 1 -2 0 1 0

She’s clad in a hoodie and leggings when she pulls up to the big house. The party she was at finished hours ago but she’s told Jan to text her if she needed her and apparently she needs her so she’d put the heating on full blast and grabbed a blanket out of the trunk to wrap the smaller girl in when she came out.

She watches as she walks carefully out of the house, feet bare and stiletto heels in her hands. Jan slides into the front seat quietly. She carefully drops the heels into the foot-well and puts an awful lot of effort into fastening her seat-belt just right until she looks up at Jackie and something snaps.

Her eyes are red and raw and her lipstick is smudged across her chin and she looks so tired Jackie wants to bundle her up, hold her close and never let her go. But she doesn’t.

She places one hand in her lap and drives calmly to an empty house down the road, pulling into the drive and turning the engine off.

Jan is gripping her hand like a lifeline, clammy fingers twisted around soft flesh. In the light of the streetlamp, there are scratched on Jan’s bare thighs and Jackie gulps on reflex - choking back something that could have been a retch if what she’s thinking is true.

She takes a second to compose herself, brushing through Jan’s hair with her free hand. “You okay baby?” She asks quiet and still - trying to keep the situation as tranquil as she can.

Jan takes a huge snotty inhale, broken by sobs, and shakes her head. She tries to speak but she isn’t breathing enough to form words and all that’s coming out is a choked whimper.

“Hey, Jan honey, you’re safe,” she murmurs, “look at me babe.” She repeats it until the blonde will look her in the eyes, her cerulean orbs pooling. “Can I touch you?” Jackie asks, her tone soothing, and Jan nods slowly.

Jackie places a cool hand on her shoulder and feels the sticky sweat against her dry skin. The smell of cheap vodka, beer and mens cologne is filling the car and it makes her feel sick. She’s not a partier or a massive drinker but by the smell alone she doesn’t understand the appeal. She moves quickly, whipping her head around as she remembers the water bottle she keeps in the door. She places it in Jan’s lap and gently coaxes her to take a sip.

After a little while longer Jan rolls her shoulders back and squeezes Jackie’s hand appreciatively. She nods to herself while trying to find her words and Jackie rubs slow circles on her back.

“It, it was twelve and everyone was cheering,“ she starts, slowly, methodically. "And he- he wanted a kiss, which was fine because everyone was kissing and I’d joked last week that I’d kiss him so it was okay,” She pauses, justifying things that don’t need justifying, setting off alarm bells in Jackie’s head to the point where she’s mentally screaming and the story hasn’t even begun.

“But then,” she continues after a sip of water, “at like three, he pulled me aside while Jaida and Gigi were dancing and asked me for a kiss and I said yes because it seemed like the right thing to do.” She’s got silent tears running down her face again and Jackie wants to tell her she doesn’t have to keep going but she’s frozen in place. “But then it, it took a while and he took my hand and he put it down his trousers and he started kissing down my neck.” The words aren’t given tone anymore. They’re cold hard statements of fact that are rattling through Jackie’s ribs, making her fight every urge she has to vomit because Jan’s become her best friend.

“And I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t like him like that and I just wanted a fun kiss. But he made me touch him and I didn’t want that at all.” Jan starts to shake so Jackie pulls the blanket back over her, Keeping one steadying hand on her knee - steadying for the both of them. “So I pulled away and he called me a whore and then I trapped myself in a bedroom and then I texted you and it was awful Jackie. It was terrible and the worst part was I just wanted you.” She sobs openly but the tears run clear now - the mascara washed off her face and she seems lighter and that’s all Jackie could ask for.

“You are so brave Jan,” Jackie says with as much confidence as she can muster. “You are so brave and that man is a coward and a dick if he thinks he can do that to a woman and you are the strongest person I know, don’t you forget that.” She leans her forehead on the side of the blonde’s head and sighs.

“I’m so sorry baby."

“Me too,” Jan murmurs. “Me too.”

I love these roads where the houses don’t change (and I like you)

2 2 5 6 - 0 5 - 2 2 - 2 0 1 0

“Oh God, Oh God, Oh God,” mutters Jackie, knees bouncing, clammy palms on the leather seats.

They’re racing down the empty street, lamps flickering as they pass. If it was any lighter, neighbourhood watch would have caught them out by now because this is almost certainly not within legal speed limits for the suburbs. Jan passes house after house as they try frantically to make it for Jackie’s eleven pm curfew, the wind low and whistling as it cuts the car. They know the stakes.

Jackie’s face has turned a pale shade of white in fear of the reaction she will face, scraping in just under the time agreed. How her mother will react to Jan driving the family car back home, kissing her gently on the cheek and walking two streets to her own home.

They pull up at ten fifty-nine and Jan almost bursts into tears.

“See you tomorrow?” She asks softly, wistfully.

“Yeah,” Jackie exhales, tomorrow.

Where we can talk like there’s something to say (and I like you)

2 3 5 8 - 1 2 - 3 1 - 2 0 1 0

Jan makes Jackie pull over when she notices the time. They’re both too drunk to be driving and too sober to be alone and they’ve got the windows down as the sea breeze tunnels through the car. It smells of sunsets and saltwater and ice cream sundaes and Jackie’s hair and Jan is hooked.

The old car clock ticks quietly above the hum of the engine and the barely-there sound of the waves and Jackie finds pleasure in watching Jan’s eyes fixate on the hand. It swings around, red against the clock face.

Jan catches her staring and her eyes burn blue into Jackie’s deep brown. It’s a cold night but they’ve both pulled the blankets from the back seat and suddenly the blonde is aware of how small the vehicle is because there is not enough room between their faces and-

Their lips touch. Spark. Flicker. Ignite.

And then she’s warm and intoxicated and just a little bit in love but she thinks the dopey smile suits her - heads lolled back on the headrests, hands intertwined.

I’m glad that we stopped kissing the tar on the highway (and I like you)

1 6 2 4 - 0 2 - 1 4 - 2 0 1 1

Jackie drives them to the beach at sunset. They sit in the boot of the car on a picnic blanket in a parking spot that overlooks the crashing waves and it’s an illusion of stillness Jackie struggles to find anywhere else.

They hold hands because no one can see them - drink a bottle of champagne stolen from Jan’s Mom’s wine fridge. The blonde is bundled up in Jackie’s chunky knit cardigan and she looks warm and cosy and just a little bit like home.

“Hold me,” Jan asks, with eyes like saucers and a tone rolling in sugar. Jackie blinks slowly - capturing the image of her girlfriend in this moment before reaching to pull her into her arms. They don’t have much room but Jan somehow manages to straddle her - a hand on each cheek as Jackie grips her hips. The brunette bites her own lip softly and suddenly their mouths are pressed together and she’s not sure if it’s the sea air, the girl or a little bit of both but it tastes like magic and she doesn’t ever want to let it go.

“I love you,” she exhales into her hair - just above her ear.

“I love you more,” Jan whispers onto her collarbone.

“Sure Jan,” Jackie giggles, pulling Jan closer, burying her face into her hair. “Happy Valentine’s day baby.”

We move in the tree streets

0 8 3 5 - 0 8 - 2 8 - 2 0 1 1

“We’re only gonna be four hours away,” Jan mumbles, fingers finding Jackie’s with ease. “Why does that feel like the whole universe?”

They’re sat on Jan’s front steps - she has to leave in an hour if she’s going to make it to NYU for move-in but she’s not quite sure how to put one foot in front of another. Her life is packed up in boxes behind her but her world is holding her hand.

“Four hours baby. That’s all,” Jackie coaxes, “we can do it.” She says it with so much confidence but her bottom lip is trembling frantically. She got a place at Penn State and she’s happy. It’s what she wants -  to be away from her family - to grow. Unfortunately that means being away from Jan too.

“Will we make it?” Jan asks - and it’s so earnest it breaks Jackie’s heart.  

“Yes.” Jackie says. And this time her lip is still.

I’d like it if you stayed.

[theycallmebeccawrites]

Adventures in Parenting: One Shot - Oh Christmas Tree

With Tumblr holding my original writing blog @beccaheartschrisevans captive (aka flagged as explicit), I have made a secondary writing blog and may end up closing the other all together. In the meantime, I am reposting all of my stories on my new blog.

Pairing: Chris Evans x Nikki Evans (OFC)

Rating: PG

Warnings: n/a

Summary: Chris, Nikki, the kids and the extended family taking part in their annual Christmas tree hunt.

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is not to be reposted, used or translated without my permission.

Chris & Nikki One Shots & Shorts Masterlist | Chris & Nikki Masterlist

Oh Christmas Tree

December 2, 2017

Chris and Nikki stood in the kitchen drinking hot coffee watching the weather report on their iPad. The station had been reporting for days that a snowstorm was headed in their direction, which had put their annual Christmas tree hunt into question. However, they were now reporting that it wouldn't hit until later that night.

As the station switched to a segment on how people should prepare for the incoming storm, Chris and Nikki's cell phones alerted them to a text message.

The Evans-Ashworth Annual Christmas Tree Hunt is on! We will meet at the tree farm at 10am. - Lisa

"Guess it's time to get the boys up," Nikki said, glancing at the clock.

"I'm on it," Chris replied, just as they heard their oldest son yell, "MOMMY!" from upstairs.

They'd been in their new house for a month now and the biggest hurdle, but necessity, was the gates at the top and bottom of the stairs to keep their active 2-year-old, Aiden, from trying to climb them. It meant that four-year-old Josh had to rely on his parents to get downstairs or upstairs.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Chris opened the gate so Josh could come down. "Go find mommy in the kitchen," he told his son. "I'm going to go check on your sister and get your brother."

Starting with the newest addition to the family, Chris tiptoed into his and Nikki's room and smiled when he found four-month-old Rachel still fast asleep. The two boys had been awful sleepers, but Rachel had been sleeping through the night since we she was six weeks old.

Knowing that Nikki had the baby monitor downstairs with her, Chris left the room and went into the room next door to his and Nikki's room where the boys slept. He found Aiden sitting in his crib quietly playing with a toy that Josh must have thrown into the crib for him.

"Hey big guy," Chris greeted. "You ready to get up?"

"Yes!" Aiden threw his toy aside and then stood up. "Potty."

"You have to go potty?" Chris asked, lifting the toddler out of the crib.

"Uh huh," Aiden nodded.

Ten minutes later, Chris carried Aiden downstairs with the little boy chewing on a gummy worm. "We went potty in the toilet this morning," Chris told Nikki when they found her at the stove.

"Yeah!" Nikki smiled. She leaned over and gave Aiden a kiss on the cheek. "Good job, sweetie."

"Worm," Aiden said, holding out half of the slobbery gummy worm.

"Mommy doesn't want your gummy worm, silly," Chris chuckled. "You finish eating it." He carried Aiden over to the table and set him down in his booster seat. Turning to his oldest he asked, "Do you know what's happening today, Joshie?"

"CHRISTMAS TREE!" Josh shouted, making Chris and Nikki laugh.

Two weeks earlier, they had started decorating their new house for Christmas, everything but the Christmas tree. At age four, Josh was more aware of Christmas traditions than he had been in the past and he had known that the tree was missing. He'd cried at first, thinking they wouldn't be getting one, but then Chris had promised that they'd get one after Thanksgiving and had shown Josh the calendar with the date circled.

The Evans-Ashworth Annual Christmas Tree Hunt had started when Chris and his siblings had been kids. It had been an annual thing that his mom and Mikey's late mom had started, but after Mikey's mom had passed away from cancer the summer after sixth grade, Mikey's dad had stopped coming along and after that first year, Mikey had stopped coming, too.

It hadn't been until Nikki and her mom had joined the Ashworth family that the tradition had been renewed, partially because neither Nikki nor her mom had ever had a real Christmas tree before. The families had gone Christmas tree hunting together every year since then, though, they'd all missed at least one year for one reason or another.

Chris had missed more Christmas tree hunts than anyone else and, ironically, the ones he had made it home for, Nikki had been away at school. Since they'd gotten together, however, they had only missed a couple years and now that their kids were getting older, it was a tradition that they wanted to pass on.

After breakfast was eaten and cleaned up, Chris carried both boys upstairs to get their warm clothes on while Nikki went to feed the baby and get her dressed in winter gear.

Once the boys were ready, Chris led them into his and Nikki's room and finished getting Rachel ready while Nikki got dressed. Once Nikki was dressed, she herded the kids downstairs while Chris quickly got ready.

After gathering a few snacks and putting them in the diaper bag, Nikki led the kids out to the minivan. She settled Rachel in her car seat first then helped Aiden into his while Josh buckled himself into his booster seat.

"You all snapped in?" Nikki asked, leaning between the two captain seats where the younger kids' car seats were. She doubled checked his work and then kissed him on the forehead. "Good job, buddy."

As Nikki climbed out of the van, Chris came out of the house with a dog leash in each hand. "No way," she said, looking down at the dogs.

"But they always come with us," Chris stated. He squatted down and softly grabbed Boston's snout. "How can you say no to a face like this?" He then shifted his attention to Max. "Or this one?"

"Easy, we have three kids, we're totally outnumbered," Nikki stated, putting her hands on her hips.

"Nik, we both know that someone in our family is going to snatch Rachel up the moment we get to the farm," Chris said, standing up. "The only thing we don't know is who it will be, but my bet is on your mom."

"That still leaves us with two very active boys," Nikki pointed out.

"There are only two of us, you're right, but we're not going alone," Chris reminded her. "There will be eight kids today, but there will be thirteen adults. Plus, it will solve another little problem of ours."

Before Nikki could ask what problem, they heard Josh's little voice call from the back of the van. "Mommy, will you sit with me?"

With three kids in car seats, it wasn't practical for them to drive their second vehicle, a crossover SUV, for family trips, but it also meant that Josh ended up in the third row of the minivan by himself unless Nikki, usually, sat in the back with him.

"Believe it or not, I still like holding your hand when I'm driving," Chris smiled down at his wife. "It's the only reason to drive an automatic."

"Alright," Nikki caved. "But you're on doggy duty."

"Yes ma'am," Chris saluted. "Get on in boys, momma says you get to come."

The dogs jumped into the minivan and found their spots; Boston jumping onto the back bench seat with Josh while Max planted himself between the two captain seats.

Five minutes later, they were on the road and listening to a custom radio station playing Christmas songs. As the opening score of "All I Want for Christmas is You" filled the car, Chris reached over and took Nikki's hand in his, just like he had six years earlier when they'd attended their first Christmas tree hunt as a couple. Nikki squeezed Chris's hand and leaned back in her seat.

The Christmas tree farm they'd always gone to had become even more special to them as it was the same farm that Chris and Nikki had gotten married at. The owners, a husband and wife, had diversified their land with him growing Christmas trees for winter and her hosting weddings during the spring, summer and fall. There were occasionally weddings there in the winter, but most of the time the fully restored 100 year old barn was home a local holiday craft fair during that part of the year.

The drive to the farm took them about forty minutes and, by the time they arrived, most of the family was there waiting. Getting Rachel into her snowsuit was easy and Nikki's mom happily took her youngest grandbaby. Neither boy, however, wanted to wear a hat, scarf or gloves, but as soon as they saw their cousins wearing them, they gave in.

Soon they were all making their way up and down the rows of trees looking for the perfect one. Chris's mom and siblings were the first to find their tree and Chris and his brother were elected to do the cutting. While Scott and his brother-in-law carried the tree up to the tree shaker, the rest of them continued on.

"I want this one!" Josh declared, a few minutes later.

Nikki turned and smiled when she saw Josh standing next to a tree that was maybe four feet tall.

"Don't you want a bigger one?" Chris asked, squatting down next to his son. Josh shook his head. "Why not?"

"I want a little one, like me," Josh replied, making the others laugh.

"I guess we could get this one," Chris said, glancing at Nikki. "We can get big one next year?"

"Why can't you get two trees, Uncle Chris?" his oldest nephew Ethan asked.

"That's a great idea," Nikki said. "What do you think, Aiden, do you like this tree?" The two-year-old nodded from his perch in her dad's arms. "Alright, I guess we've found the tree for the reading area."

Josh "helped" Nikki hold the tree while Chris used the saw on the base. Then Josh "helped" Chris carry it up to the tree shaker. While they were gone, Nikki's parents and sisters found their tree and so did Dana, Mikey and their twins.

Once Chris and Josh returned, it took them another fifteen minutes or so to find the perfect tree for their living room. As per tradition, they posed for a picture with Nikki holding a sleeping Rachel and Chris holding both Aiden and Josh. Once the picture taking was done, they got down to business with cutting it down and then carried it out to the tree shaker.

The kids watched in awe as a worker put each tree on the machine that shook the tree to remove dead needles and any wayward bugs. They then watched as each tree passed through the bundling machine that wrapped string around the tree branches so it was a tight bundle.

While the menfolk put the trees on the cars, the women and kids went into the barn for hot chocolate and cookies. The grandmas volunteered to watch the kids while the moms and aunties went to look at what was for sale.

Nikki and Dana walked around together and found a booth with customizable wood ornaments. They each picked one out for each of their kids and were waiting as the artist wrote the kids names on them when Chris and Mikey appeared.

"It's snowing," Chris told Nikki as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Nikki craned her neck so she could see out one of the old windows and smiled when she saw Josh and Aiden spinning around with their tongues out. It was still too warm for the snow to stick, but the kids were loving it.

Once the ornaments were done, the couples made their way outside to join their kids. Chris and Mikey joined Scott in chasing the kids around and it wasn't long before Aiden took protection in Nikki's arms. As he nestled his head in her neck, Nikki knew the morning's activities were catching up with him.

As the temperature started to drop, Chris and Nikki said their goodbyes and carried their boys to the van while Nikki's mom followed with Rachel. They loaded the kids and the dogs into the van and then headed home.

The snow was starting to stick as Chris pulled into their driveway and, with all three kids sleeping, he and Nikki took the trees off the roof of the van and carried them into the garage.

Once they'd gotten the trees in buckets of water, they took turns carrying their sleeping kids into the house. They put the boys on the couches in the playroom and put Rachel in the pack 'n play in the office. They carefully removed the kids' winter gear, working slowly as to not wake them up.

Exhausted, Chris sank down onto the couch in the living room as Nikki turned on the gas fireplace before joining him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder as she cuddled up against him. They relaxed in silence as they watched the snow falling steadily from the windows on either side of the fireplace.

Want to find me off tumblr? I’m @beccatheycallme on twitter. I also post my stories on AO3.

My tag list is always open, just let me know if you’d like to be added!

[kz-i-co]

Babysitter: Part VII

» Summary: You weren't enjoying school

» Pairing: Kim Taehyung/ Reader

» Genre: Smut

» Words: 3k

» COMPLETED SERIES: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 ╫ Part 8

» m.list ╫ bts masterlist

-

“No more crying." He took your hand kissing the back romantically.

Don't wanna cry.....

You kept telling yourself. You were only 20 more minutes away from starting your new semester at school. A long 8 months away from your family and especially Taehyung. Before it was fine but now you dreaded this moment. You wanted to stay.

When you finally reached the dorms, you pulled out your two suitcases that you lived in for the past summer since all of your belongings were still here at the school. The nice thing was you didn't have to change rooms every year unless you requested it, but that wasn't you in this case. You liked your roommate. You became quite close since being here.

You entered your room and she was already acquainted with her boyfriend Youngjae. Before it used to bother you but you felt alright now since you had one of your own but once again you were thinking about him and now you let yourself dread being here.

"Hey...long time no see." She pushed her boyfriend off of her and she jumped up to greet you. Youngjae groaned in annoyance making you both laugh. You always liked him, he was like a brother to you, an annoying brother. But he was perfect with Seunghee.

She squeezed you into a big hug. You really did miss her. "So how was your summer?"

"Good." You simply smiled.

"Youngjae can you leave for a bit, we have girl talk." He just looked at you both, arching his eyebrows but soon got up. "Thank you."

He gave a sarcastic wave and left you both alone.

"Oh my god....remember Youngjae's friend Jongup you have a huge crush on?"

She didn't even let you speak. "Well....he's single now." She squealed. "I was thinking about setting you up and we can double."

Your friend was well known of how you hated being the only single one out of you all. You always felt like you were the third wheel when it came to get togethers, or more like fifth wheel. But you didn't have to worry to much anymore. You found the love of your life.

"Seunghee...wait." You had to stop her excitement. "I'm not single anymore."

You said with a confident smile.

"What?" She was surprised. "Is that why you haven't contacted me all summer like you promised?"

"Maybe." You bit your lip. "Hey...You could of contacted me instead of sucking Youngjae's face off."

"That's not true...he was only with me half of the summer....but don't change the subject...tell me about him."

You both finally took a seat at the end of the bed.

"His name is Taehyung....and he is the sweetest guy I have ever met."

"How did you two meet?" You loved how interested your friend was.

"My family hired him as the baby sitter as I was in school."

"Ooo. Romantic."

You didn't want to get into the dirty details so you just talked about the romantic dates he took you on. The clean side of things.

"He's the one." You knew for sure.

She squealed in excitement. "When can I meet him?"

"He said he would visit me on the weekends."

"He can sleepover and I can sneak into Youngjae's room."

The school was quite strict when it came to the dorms. You can invite company to stay the weekend but it had to get approved by the school a week ahead. Also everyday rules was no girls allowed in the guys dorms and no guys in the girls. Even though no one listens, clearly. It's also very unusual since we're technically adults.

"Yeah....I miss him." You sighed.

"Don't worry....being away will make your relationship even stronger...trust me." You wanted to but you always heard that long distance doesn't work out.

"First let me cancel that double date." She pulled out her phone.

"What? You already had it planned before telling me?" You weren't upset, just surprised.

"I'm sorry....miss didn't contact me because she was sucking some other guys face off all summer." You blushed at her response. Using your own words against you.

"Whatever."

"You naughty." She texted away.

You honestly felt like Seunghee was more of a friend to you then your high school friends. You still loved Sana and Liz but sometimes you didn't feel comfortable around them. They didn't always understand how you felt.

You liked that Seunghee was always there to listen to any idiotic thing you told her. You could he honest with her about anything and you weren't afraid to tell her anything.

It's like they say, you meet the most important people in your life in college.

You got a text from Tae telling you to video chat later. Once you got back from hanging out with your friends, you were in a rush to get your laptop opened and ready.

You heard the familiar Skype ring and you answered seeing the beautiful face you long missed. Even though it's only been a few hours.

"Hi." You pouted.

"Stop that." He gave you a hard look. "I'll see you in a week."

"I know but it's still hard."

"I know....but it's okay." He smiled.

"What are you doing?" You asked as he seemed to be getting ready to leave.

"I'm about to head over to your house actually." He had a slight smirk.

"My parents better not abuse you."

"They haven't before (Y/N)....I love your brother and sister."

"I know but have you looked into some schools for yourself?"

"Not yet....but I will."

"Okay." You sighed. You heard your door open followed by your noisy friends.

"I'll talk to you later." He stated. Putting his coat on.

You heard your friends finally get quiet but you paid no attention to them.

"I love you." He leaned down getting closer to the camera.

"I love you to." Your eyes got a little damp but you made sure to not let any tears out. You can do this. He will always be there for you, even if it's through a camera.

He waved and you both signed off. You shut the lid to your computer and turned around forgetting your friends made an entrance.

"Aw." They both said in sync. You rolled your eyes getting up from your desk.

"You guys are so cute." Seunghee said.

"And he's adorable." Brit spoke up.

"It will be okay.....remember what I told you."

"I know."

It's been a long lonely two weeks...

It was finally Friday when Taehyung said he was spending the weekend with you.

You were watching your phone the whole last ten minutes of your last class. You just couldn't wait any longer.

As soon as you reached your dorms, there he was leaning against his car. He gave you the biggest smile once he saw you pacing towards him.

"I missed you." You were wrapped into his arms.

You couldn't stop smiling.

"Did you really?" He grabbed your cheeks.

You nodded cutely. He couldn't help but laugh from seeing how happy you were.

You lead Tae inside the dorms, all the way towards your room. You were on the second floor. Once you entered you were surprised that it was empty.

Maybe Seunghee assumed you wanted privacy?

"Nice room." He looked around.

"You mean nice prison cell." You joked.

"Stop....it's Not that bad." He smirked.

He leaned down kissing you like he hadn't seen you in a long time. You were swept off your feet. Drugged by his touch. He gently laid you on top of your bed, deepening the kiss.

You were over excited and couldn't help your wandering hands. He stopped kissing you once he felt you reach into his boxers.

"Maybe it's not the best time."

Maybe he's right? Even though Seunghee was aware of you and Taehyung' s whereabouts, that doesn't mean she could walk in at any moment.

"Yeah....maybe later." You bit your lip.

Tae gave you a menacing glare but quickly changed to amusement. "I told you not to do that."

"What ya gonna do about it?" You mocked.

He stared at you for a few seconds before jabbing you into your side's tickling you.

"Stop." You yelled laughing. "I'll pee."

Just as you kept squirming, the door opened signaling you both to look towards the right direction.

"Oh my god....I'm so sorry." Seunghee turned around heading out.

"Seunghee wait....we're clean." You laughed. She turned back around entering your room.

"I figured you were....you know."

"Nah."

"Oh....I would of." She winked.

"Anyway....it's So nice to meet you." She said as soon as you and Tae stood up greeting your friend. "She never shuts up about you." He shook her hand.

"So are we going to double tonight?"

"Yeah...if you don't mind." You looked at Tae

"Of course not, sounds like fun."

"Yay....let me go get Youngjae." She almost tripped out the door overly excited. Yes Seunghee was that friend. The clumsy one, especially since she was a happy virus.

"I have exciting news." Tae started as you were waiting for Seunghee and Youngjae to arrive. You took separate vehicles.

"I enrolled in school." Your eyes lit up. "The auditions for the spring enrollment is in two months."

"Yay....I'm So proud, your grandma will be proud." You wrapped your arms around his shoulders.

"Its just an audition....I might not make it."

"That's impossible." You kissed him tenderly.

"Hey P.D.A." You heard Seunghee. Her and Youngjae greeted you both and sat across the table.

"I wouldn't be talking." You smirked at your friend.

"What do you mean?" She looked at you.

You couldn't help but giggle from Youngjae pointing fingers at Seunghee from behind. It got her attention and she caught him in the act.

She playfully hit him in the chest with a groan. "Your suppose to side with me."

"She makes me do it." He acted.

"Shut up." She then looked at you. "So (Y/N) told me you sing?"

"A little." Taehyung said sweetly.

"He's going to Seoul for Performing arts."

"I don't know yet.....I have to audition." He corrected.

"Yeah but I know you will make it." You said excited. You were happy for Taehyung.

"That's amazing....Youngjae can sing....but I don't know how since he yells 90% of the day."

"That's not true." He whined.

"Yes it is."

"No."

You loved how Seunghee and Youngjae were basically a married couple already. They fought like this constantly but it was pretty much playful.

"Shut up." You glared at them both.

Taehyung laughed, between you glaring at them and them staring at you stunned.

By the end of dinner you felt relieved there was no awkwardness. Taehyung was a social butterfly so he fit in pretty well with your weird friends. Him and Youngjae were talking a lot as well, typical guy stuff, which was fine since Seunghee can talk to you about what she wanted to talk about.

"You have nice friends here." You could tell he meant it.

The little taste he got of your home friends was very disappointing and he knew you haven't been very fond with them over the summer.

"They're all right." You grinned.

He opened his car door for you. You were planning on just watching movies for the rest of the night in your dorm. Seunghee mention going to hangout around town for a little longer so you had no idea what time she would be back.

When you pulled up to your dorms, you were both hesitant to step out of the vehicle.

"I have a question?" You started. Taehyung glanced at you curious.

"Did you tell your parents?"

"....No." He looked down. "I'm afraid."

You looked at him. "Why?"

"Because, that farm means a lot to my parents and I don't know how to tell them I'm leaving."

"They will understand....parents raise you to be independent....to make a life of your own."

He sadly pursued his lips. "I know, I just can't help but feel guilty."

"I doubt they will feel that way, if anything they will feel proud."

"You think?" He asked.

"I know." You smiled.

He leaned in kissing you once again that day that had you mesmerize. You took the next step, climbing on top of his lap in front of the steering wheel.

You missed this feeling of being so intimate with him. His soft lips against yours.

You felt his hand wander down your side until they laid gently on your thigh. You moved your lips down his jaw, leaving every part of him untouched.

"What if someone sees us?" Taehyung said out of breath.

"I've seen worse here." You giggled.

You kissed him once again as you dug in deeper into his hips. You both were in the moment that you didn't care if anyone saw you. The way you were rocking yours hips was setting him off. As you wanted.

You reached down unbuckling his jeans and already had him out in a swift motion. You started to jerk your hand up and down his member while you continued to kiss him deeply. You loved hearing his soft moans against your lips.

You felt Taehyung act fast, pulling your pants down as well. You giggled from his failed attempt, since you were in an awkward position. You moved on your own quickly to undress your bottom half and quickly jump back into his lap.

"Maybe I should wear a skirt around you."

"Maybe you shouldn't." He smirked. "You're a bad influence."

"Am not "

"Are too."

You arched your eyebrows. "I'm sorry for being a bad girl." You said as you were one of those girls in those messed up pornos.

Taehyung didn't say anything he just pulled you back in to kiss you again. You once again grabbed his member but this time guiding it to where you needed it most. You slowly slid down adjusting to his size. Two weeks is a long time.

You started rocking against him at a steady pace. You didn't want to rush your time together since you were in control.

"I never asked you this before but do you like me leading?" You said already out of breath.

"Fuck yes." You laughed at his response.

You grabbed the overhead handle as you both picked up the pace. He was holding onto your hips as he pushed upward into You, causing more friction you couldn't handle.

You felt disappointed that you already felt that familiar feeling develop.

"There's people out there watching." Taehyung said in a panic.

You turned around and saw a few girls near the college dorms doors staring in your direction. Some of them looked shocked as some looked amused. Honestly you felt more turned on, weirdly.

"Let's give them a show." You picked up your pace again. Taehyung leaned forward lifting your shirt. He pulled down your bra so he could suck every inch of your chest

"I'm almost there." You moaned.

The windows were pretty foggy at this point so you felt like people watching wouldn't bother watching as much.

You felt weak as you finally hit your high. You pulled off of Tae and started pumping his member once again since he still hasn't reach his climax. He leaned his head back on the car seat feeling your movement's. You couldn't help but smile from how cute he sounded at this point.

You moved your hand quicker and his breath hitch so you knew he was almost there. A few seconds later, he released into your hand. It was the first time you actually observed it this time. You felt yourself blush.

"You made a mess." You said sarcastically.

He looked at you then down blushing. Again, it was cute. You took one finger and licking it clean. Taehyung looked at you quite stunned.

"You ready to go watch some movies?"

You grabbed a plaid shirt in the back and started wiping up the mess. You got fully dressed and made yourself out of the car. You felt Tae sighed in relief that those girls were gone.

"What are you doing with that?" He asked pointing at his plaid shirt now covered in the sticky substance.

"I'm going to wash it and then I'll see if you get back." He smiled at your response.

He held your hand as you both made it inside to an empty room. You watched movies until you basically fell asleep.

For the past month you felt like everything has been going well. Taehyung usually spends the weekend with you one week, then the next week you spend your time home visiting home and Tae. You didn't feel lonely anymore. You were doing well in school, Taehyung was part of your friends squad now. It was great.

But then.....

This past week you haven't heard a peep from Taehyung. It was already Saturday when it was his turn to visit you but every call went straight to voice mail and no text has been answered. What was going on?

You knew he was okay and breathing since he would randomly text you saying 'sorry he's not feeling good' or 'he's busy'. happens

"Hey where's Tae?" Seunghee and Youngjae entered the room.

"I don't know....he hasn't responded?"

"Still?" She knew he hasn't been active lately. "Maybe you should go home tonight." She suggested.

"Yeah good idea." You started to pack your things and when you were about to make your way out the door your phone rang.

"My mom's calling?" You said as your two friends stared at you concerned.

"Mom?"

"Hi dear.....are we picking you up Wednesday or are you driving?"

You felt extremely confused. What did she mean?

"What are you talking about, I have school?" You said slowly.

"Oh no..." She said more to herself.

What was going on? You felt your heart beating rapidly.

"He didn't tell You." She said sadly.

"Tell me What?"

It took her some time to finally say it. "Taehyung's grandmother passed away."

You dropped your phone stunned at the news.

"(Y/N)? What's wrong?" Seunghee looked at you.

Just then you felt your stomach begin to tremble.

[dailyaudiobible]

07/25/2018 DAB Transcript

2 Chronicles 11:1-13:22, Romans 8:24-39 , Psalms 18:35-50, Proverbs 19:27-29

Today is the 25th day of July. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is a pleasure and an honor to be here with you today. Today is my little son Ezekiel's birthday. He turns six today. And his story is one of the great adventure stories of our time together in the Daily Audio Bible. And I'll talk about that if we can remember when we get to the end. But we are at the beginning and what we do at the beginning is what we've come here to do, focus our attention on the word of God, focus our affection on the God who gave us this gift. So we're reading from the New Living Translation this week. And we'll pick up where we left off yesterday. 2 Chronicles chapter 14, 15 and 16 today.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. And as we move through Psalm 19 today we echo the words of King David. We make it our prayer. Your instructions, Lord, are perfect. They revive our soul. Your decrees are trustworthy. They make the simple wise. Your commandments are right. They bring joy to our heart. Your commands are clear. They give us insight for how to live our lives. And so we revere You, Lord. We worship You in awe and wonder. May this pure worship last forever. Your laws are true. Each one is fair. They are more valuable to us than riches, even the finest gold. They are sweeter to us in our lives then honey dripping from the honeycomb because they warn us and guide us and lead us into a great reward for those who obey them. Lord, how can we know all of the entanglements we are in? There are sin's that may be within our lives that we're generally unaware of. We don't even see it in ourselves. Cleanse us from these hidden faults. Keep we, Your servants, from deliberate sins. Don't let them control us and we will be free from guilt and innocent of great sin. Father, may the words of our mouths and the things that we meditate on in our hearts please You. You are our rock and our redeemer. We pray these things in the name of Jesus, our savior. Amen.

Ezekiel Hardin’s Story:

Okay. I mentioned at the beginning today is Ezekiel's birthday. And I realized I haven't shared this story in a few years. Ezekiel was born in the most interesting of circumstances. Well, maybe not the most interesting of circumstances, but they were the most interesting for us at the time. Now we were looking forward to greeting what we had planned to be our last of the children. And we had gone through that pregnancy just kind of enjoying all of it. Of course, Jill didn't enjoy all of it. What woman does enjoy all of pregnancy, especially at the end? But we had just enjoyed this. I had enjoyed seeing my wife with a big bun in the oven out in front of her for the last time. And it wasn't our first rodeo so we weren't scared, we're just enjoying the process and looking forward to a home delivery with a midwife, which is what we had done with several of the kids. And we were ready to go and, to make a long story short, there were complications. And so hours and hours and hours of agony in labor for Jill without the benefit of these high powered medications that are available in a hospital setting was wearing her down and exhausting her and weren't really getting anywhere. And over hours, this became a matter of concern until the concern got to the point that Ezekiel, the baby, who hadn't been born yet, his heart rate was dropping. And Jill’s strength was about gone and we still didn't have a baby. And so the baby's heart rate got to the point where we were in trouble, we were in a dangerous situation. And we literally had to flee to the hospital. And not the hospital that we had as a backup. We had a backup plan up in Nashville. But we had to go to the nearest hospital. And Jill was in so much pain and so weak she could hardly get out to the vehicle. But we got her in and got her up there and rolled up to emergency and the midwife jumped out and got her in and I went to park. And by the time I got in, which is just a couple minutes later, they had already wheeled her through and by the time I got to her, she was already wired up a lot. And very quickly they were in looking at the baby and checking everything out and the doctor just told us we can continue, but this is probably not gonna get you anywhere. If this continues, you could lose the baby. We need an emergency C-section. Well that happens routinely, but not for my wife. And this was the one thing that she didn't want to happen. I mean, this was the one fear that she had. This was the one thing she wanted to avoid. But the doctors were telling us if we continued and didn't make progress, than she was gonna be in danger, too. So they're getting everything ready and we got a minute to choose and we're looking at each other and we're just in this moment, this unexpected moment. We don't know what's gonna happen. She felt like we had to move forward with what the doctors were saying. We couldn't lose... take a chance on losing the baby. She was so tired and scared and her teeth were chattering. And the next thing we knew, a bunch of people came in and she's being wheeled away and we're telling each other I love you. It's just happening so fast and then a few seconds later, I'm sitting there alone. Like, I'm alone. And Jill's gone into surgery. And so I texted a few allies to pray and then I reached out into this community, just posted it up. This is kind of what we're going through right now and pray for us. And this community rose up and prayed. And I remember sitting in that hospital room typing that out and just feeling this flood of calm come. It wasn't that it was any less of a problematic situation. It was that I tapped in and I didn't feel like I was alone. And that is the power and the beauty of this community and one of the reasons that I've worked as hard as I possibly can to protect it. And about a half an hour later, I was holding this new born baby that we named Ezekiel. And because Jill had gone through surgery, she's out of it but she came around but they needed to keep her in the hospital for a couple of days. So we were camping out at the hospital for a couple of days in the middle of the summer, July 25. Those of you who live in the south know what I'm talking about. It's a hot steamy time. But the Daily Audio Bible needed to continue, so I had all my stuff out in the family van and I would go out there each day and record the Daily Audio Bible in a 120 degree van with no air conditioning. You have to have silence to be able to do this. So I'd read the Daily Audio Bible and open the side door just to be able to breathe while putting it all together and so it was kind of news flashes every day from the hospital. But eventually mother and child got home and this little guy has grown from an infant all the way up to six years old and starting school. And through all of that, he became the Daily Audio baby. And it wasn't too long after that that we launched into the Family Gathering Tour, the very thing that has inspired the Family Reunion that we're doing in September. And we travelled all over the world over the course of eighteen months and the little boy...he's been more places than most people even though he can't remember it all. But every evening and every city at the very end of our gathering, we get Ezekiel, (bring) him up on stage, thank everyone. Thank everyone who prayed because we felt very very much surrounded by the community and by the prayers of God's people. And we attribute...yes, it was a difficult surprise but we attribute the safe delivery and health to the prayers of God's people in this community. So if you've been around for a while, if you've been around the Daily Audio Bible that long than you'll remember this. If not, than there is another chapter in the Daily Audio Bible story and history. One of the key moments for me where I realized what we have here. Yes, it's different. Yes, it's on the Internet. Yes, it's all over the place and decentralized and all of these things. Yes, it doesn't look like a standard physical community where people can enjoy life in the same region. But that doesn't make this any less of a community. So thank you to all of you who prayed for us back then and who continue to pray for us now. I have always had the conviction that it is the prayers of God's people that sustain what we're doing here. And I am grateful to God for you. This is why I say I love you every day at the end. It's not gimmick. It's because I love this community and I'm grateful for it. So happy birthday Ezekiel. Number six.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, it's where you find out what’s going on around here in the community. It's a way to reach out and connect, so be sure to check it out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible in the common mission that we share to continue to bring God's spoken word read fresh every single day so that anyone who might encounter it no matter where they are in this world may enjoy, if that has been a source of life for you, than thank you for your partnership in allowing it to continue forward. There's a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If your using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner. Or if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O.  Box 1996, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hello my DAB family. This is Mark Street from Sydney Australia. Today is Monday, 23rd of July and I’m calling in today because I heard James the teacher from LA on Sunday evening, the 22nd prayer request. James, my friend, your situation really hit me home fairly quick. I went through that exact same situation. My wife was depressed after giving birth and I turned to pornography and sexual sin to comfort myself. And to cut a long story short, I want to pray for You because…keep pressing into God. I got divorced. I didn’t find the DAB until after my divorce. And James I’m praying for ya. Heavenly Father, James is coming to You with a humble heart knowing that he is having trouble on his own and he does not want to do this by himself Lord. He’s coming to You begging You for help Lord. Lord I ask You to soften his heart and just help them hear what You want him to do Father. Lord, I also ask You to soften his wife’s heart Lord and for her to get out of the stigma mental health. Lord there’s so much digging around about mental health Lord and let her open her mind and let her feel comforted that any help that she gets is normal and that depression is a normal part of life sometimes Lord, but help her press into You as well Lord. Lord don’t let James fall down the path I fell down Lord. And Lord I know You’ve open my mind to what I did wrong Lord and keep opening James’s mind. His mind is open Lord and He’s coming to You with a humble heart now. So, strengthen him. Send the Holy Spirit to him Father. And he’s blessed Lord. Bring them close to You and You draw them close to You too Lord so that they will be able to get through the situation and James will be able to finish his Masters Lord and support his family in the way that he wants to support the Lord. Lord and we know that everything is possible through You Lord. And we lift up James to You. In Your name Lord. Amen. Love You family. Talk to You again soon. Bye.

Hey everybody. Hey this is Annette Allison. Just to let you know, hey, hooo, I’m doing okay and trying to go into a city party and I just decided to throw on some praise music and just go for it. And I feel way better. I hope you all enjoyed the ride today. We took a great big ride listening to the community prayer and it was such a beautiful day. And, Lee from New Jersey my brother man you have just broke my heart. You broke my heart this week. It just reminded me so much of when my grandma passed away and it was just the same thing. And I could not even imagine somebody else having to go through the situation of watching somebody die even though we know and we trust they are going to be with the Lord. It’s still painful. And I know for myself as I was listening throughout the whole community prayer, I was praying for you. And I don’t know, I’m sorry if I felt this way, but I was almost hoping that in the midst of the story that you were going to pick some family up from the airport that she passed away while you weren’t there. And I only say that because it just left such…it was hard. And I just didn’t want…I didn’t want that for anybody else. That process is just so painful to watch. And I was just hoping that she just passed away slow…ya know…without pain and transitioned easily. And I just want you to know that I’m praying for you and that I’m very very sorry for the loss of your mom. And heavens again, whorah, that’s great. But I want you to know that I’m praying for you. I’m really really praying for you and I’ve been so happy and when your first call came I was right by that spot where…I call it your spot, and it’s pretty cool. And it’s like right as soon as I passed it your call came. It was pretty neat. You know? So, I love you guys. Have a wonderful, wonderful day. And y’all take care. Bye.

Hi everybody, it’s Margo from Australia. I just wanted to ring today, first of all because I’ve just passed my 12 month anniversary of listening to DAB and I’ve loved every minute of it. And I wish I found it a lot earlier in my life. I wanted to comment. I’ve been thinking all week. About a week ago we read in Chronicles the verse where David says, when he was buying the threshing floor and he was offered it free but he said, no I will not get to the Lord that which costs me nothing. Now, that is one of my all-time favorite Bible verses. And I think it’s really good if we really think about that verse and what it means to us in our life. I will not give to the Lord that which cost me nothing. Wow, that’s powerful and life-changing. And I think it’s a really good verse to remember at those times when we are suffering, when life’s hard, when the Lord asks difficult things of us, when we don’t feel like being Christlike, when we’re angry at God for our lot in life. You know what? That’s okay because I won’t give to the Lord that which is easy. I won’t give to the Lord that which cost me nothing. I am planning, my husband and I, we’re going to Liberia next year and that’s going to involve fairly significant sacrifice for us. But you know it helps me when I have those moments of feeling freaked out about it? You know what? I just think, I will not give to the Lord that which cost me nothing. How powerful is that? What a motto to have that as our life motto. And I hope that you guys really think about that verse, and that it will encourage you and help you as it has me. Because in this life there will be suffering. And that’s okay. That’s how life is. There won’t be suffering in eternity. That’s the deal. Anyway, love you all heaps. Have a great day everyone. Bye.

Hi. This is Sherry Gallagher. This is my first time calling. I’ve been a longtime listener and God’s really been blessing me and I just give Him praise and glory for that but I am in need of some prayer. I just spent my last dollar and I’m living in a hotel because my place just came up with bed bugs and I was getting ready to move. So, now I’m not even sure what I can bring with me, if anything. I may just have to give everything up and start all over. I’m not sure. But I really need a financial breakthrough and I need, ya know, God to do something about these bedbugs to provide a solution. And I need to get out of this hotel. So, if you could just pray for me and just pray that God will bless me and make a way out of no way I would be really grateful. Thanks.

[insidethegiftbasket]

Mid-Season Report Card: Relievers

Albert Abreu: B+

After being pretty bad in spring training in a likely make-or-break year for Abreu, he’s ended up actually performing pretty well! I’m not sure how sustainable he is—is he effectively wild or just lucky? But in his last four appearances he’s given the team some actual length out of the bullpen and given guys some rest:

He’s moved to a sinker/slider approach with a four seamer and changeup that he’ll mix in against lefties, and found some really good success with it. Throwing a 97mph sinker is really nice, and since his slider doesn’t have a ton of break to it, it’s almost like a change-up breaking away from righties. The big issue with Abreu is, and always has been, his pitch location, which isn’t exactly great, but he’s starting to look like an actual big league reliever. I really hope they give him some more looks the second half of the season.

Zack Britton: Incomplete

Honestly you can’t really blame Britton—he had COVID right before spring training and lost a bunch of weight and strength, then got elbow surgery, then when he came back had an injury scare, then got actually injured a couple days after that. He’s had barely any time to pitch or get loose or anything, but he’s looked fine when on the mound considering he’s basically in Spring Training mode right now.

Luis Cessa: A- Cessa has continued to up his slider usage—his 60.6% slider usage is 17th in baseball—which has really helped to hide his mediocre fastball. Opponents have gone from hitting .306 with a .494 SLG against his fastball in 2019 (when he threw his fastball 34% of the time) to .192 with a .231 SLG this year (when he’s throwing it 20.3% of the time.) He also hasn’t allowed a single baserunner against his change-up this season, which he throws exclusively against lefties. His slider has gotten hit more, but it’s still been a really good pitch and he had room to give up a few more baserunners if it meant hiding his fastball more. Cessa has also tinkered around with his slider over the past few years:

His slider’s horizontal movement has stayed roughly the same (despite the rest of the league going more and more towards the wipeout slider) and instead he’s been getting more and more drop on his slider—over 4 more inches of drop in 2021 than he had in 2019 for example. Lastly, he’s Cessa by leverage situations:

The tougher the spot, the better he is. Let Cessa cook.

Aroldis Chapman: D+

As bad as Chapman’s been the last few weeks, his first month and a half of the season was one of the best runs a reliever has had in the history of the sport.

That said, the last couple months have been just atrocious from Chapman.

I’m not sure if it’s the finger nail, or if it’s the lack of sticky stuff, or what the issue is with Chapman, but his velocity is down almost 3mph, his spin rate has dropped a couple hundred RPM, and he’s not getting nearly as many swing and misses. Honestly, the worst thing that’s happened to Chapman is just the fact that he’s completely lost the zone—he’s still in the 94th percentile in xBA against, but when he misses, he misses badly, especially against righties:

It’s just too easy to take on him right now when he’s missing the zone completely, and Chapman’s stuff is thrown so hard that if you make contact it’s too easy to hit homers off him. He’s still in the 2nd percentile in strikeout rate, but he’s in the bottom 2nd percentile in walk rate. It’s just too bad that this is going to make everyone forget about how dominant he was in April and May, but he fell off a cliff the same time the rest of the team did.

Nestor Cortes Jr.: A

Potentially the savior of the 2021 Yankees? Nestor has been mixing in a ton of junk, but his pitches do have a bunch of movement to them—his fastball has elite vertical drop and his curveball has elite horizontal movement. His average exit velocity is 85.8 mph, which (if he had enough qualified batted balls) would be top 10 in baseball. He’s obviously most famous for his wonky deliveries and locations:

Normally a poorly repeated delivery leads to control issues or telegraphed pitches, but when you’re over the place as much as Nestor is and throwing all sorts of different junk all over and around the plate, it ends up being effectively wild. He’s working at three distinct speeds and has movement going left and right with his pitches as well as up and down, so it’s just an awkward guy to face. Do I think he’ll keep it up? Probably not, and he’s a guy that if he’s off then you’re going to murder his pitches, but I’m enjoying the run he’s on right now.

Chad Green: A-

Goose has been almost everything you could have hoped again this year—it’s easy to remember the bad moments with him (and there’s been some really bad moments), but he’s been one of the best relievers in all of baseball again this year, especially for a multi-inning guy. I mean, look at his percentile rankings over his career:

Yeah, when he gives up contact, it’s hard contact, but he peppers the strike zone, his fastball has really good movement and spin, and moving from a slider has really helped his career- his curve actually has less movement than the average curve, but it comes in the same location as his fastball and drops enough (and around 10mph slower) that it’s hard to keep up. So yeah, he gives up hard contact, and he gives up some homers (he’s actually given up almost as many XBH as singles this year) but he’s not walking guys and not giving up much contact, and that’s over two or three innings at a time. Great job this season Goose.

Brooke Kriske: F

Honestly not sure what he’s done to earn a spot on the 40 man, let alone stay on the 40 man, but he’s bad. He’s been bad in AAA, he’s been beyond awful in the majors, just move on from him.

Jonathan Loaisiga: A+

Lasagna’s fifth in fWAR among all relievers with 1.7 fWAR out of the bullpen. Here are some of his percentiles:

Lasagna is really, really, really good. The big change for him is going from throwing a 98mph four seam fastball with limited movement in the first few years of his career to throwing a 98mph sinker with a lot of movement this year. He’s just absolutely dominating opponents: his sinker is worth -8 runs, making it one of the best individual pitches by a reliever this year- up there with Devin Williams’ change up, Emmanuel Clase’s cutter, and Adam Ottavino’s slider.

He’s not getting a ton of strikeouts, but guys are chasing a ton of his pitches (37% chase rate) and making contact on those chase attempts (61.4% contact) which has given him -14 runs compared to the average pitcher in the “shadow” region (borderline strikes.) Having guys hitting those pitches is how you get Top 2% in both barrel % and average exit velocity, and it’s how you get a 65.3% ground ball rate. The best part? This is definitely repeatable. It’s not like he’s getting fluke results, if anything he can continue to improve by working on increasing his strikeout rate. Lasagna is, in my opinion, the best surprise in the first half of the season for the Yankees.

Lucas Luetge: A-

Considering he’s been out of the majors for six years, its hard not to be impressed by what Luetge’s done.

Fastball is slow, but it has a lot of spin, and his curveball is elite—above average in both vertical and horizontal movement. More impressively, he’s done a great job of saving it as an out pitch, and so far this season he’s finished 28 at bats with it- and players are 0-28 with 23 strikeouts and no walks. His slider on the other hand has not been good—players are slugging .629 off the slider, and he uses that significantly more than the curveball. He may want to consider dropping the slider and going heavier on the curve.

Luetge’s season has also been a strange one—gave up runs in each of his first five appearances, then went ten straight appearances without allowing a run, then went another stretch without giving up runs, but the last couple weeks have been a little rough. Hopefully he can get back in a groove and continue pitching well in his Cinderella season.

Nick Nelson: F

He’s bad.

This is how you get a nearly 18% walk rate and how you allow hitters to hit nearly .500 on you fastball. He has a higher upside than Kriske, but I also don’t get why he’s on the 40 Man roster. The idea behind him is that he can give you a couple innings out of the pen, but when he’s walking every other guy and giving up hard contact to the other one, you end up with Nick Nelson.

Darren O’Day: D-

When healthy he’s been good, but I don’t think getting 12 starts out of him over the course of the full season is what Cashman was expecting when he signed him.

Wandy Peralta: D+

Wandy’s first month or so in Pinstripes: really good! Since that point: really bad!

His change up has been stellar—.128 BAA, .213 SLG against, with a really nice whiff rate and low exit velocity against. Everything other than his change up is awful- opponents are slugging an insane .867 (which is actually really lucky for Wandy as the xSLG is .952) and they’re hitting a whopping .481 against his slider. I think it’s fair to call this a lose-lose trade for the Yankees and Giants.

Justin Wilson: F

I feel bad for Wilson—he signed with the Yankees just at the start of spring training, then was delayed because of the storms in Texas, then got injured, then rushed back, then got injured again, but overall—he’s been awful in his return to Pinstripes. Ultimately, when you throw either a four seamer or a cutter 96% of the time, and opponents have a .359 BAA and .821 SLG against your four seamer, you’re pretty much washed as a pitcher.