#also found out there is a step 6 that came out like 3 years ago?? which is insane

[darudedogestorm]

this cant be happening there she is!!! step 1 cannot be turning 2 decades old next year stop it stop the flow of time Right now

[no-144444]

fulfilled- m.verstappen

summary: max reflects on his life.

pairing: dad! max verstappen x fem! wife! mom! reader

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The soft light of the rising sun peeked its way under the blinds of your shared bedroom as Max stirred awake. He yawned, knowing he could stay in bed a little longer, but also knowing that any moment, 2 toddlers would run in and wake the two of you up, and you deserved a bit more sleep. He quietly left your room to find his two sons, just outside the door, ready to pounce. They jumped on their father, wishing him a good morning as he chuckled, picking the both of them up. 

“Can we have pancakes for breakfast dad?” Arthur asked, pulling on his t-shirt. 

“No! We should have waffles!” Quinn argued. Those two were twins, but couldn’t be more opposite. Arthur was the quiet, polite, kind child, whereas Quinn was the crazy, funny, sweetheart. 

“What about both?” he offered, and they both nodded, a multitude of ‘thank you’s’ on their lips. 

As they walked to the kitchen and Max placed them down on the counter, giving them clear instructions to measure out the dry ingredients, Layla walked out from her room. 

“Dad!” she cheered, hugging his legs. Layla was 8. The boys were 6. Max couldn’t believe his life. He’d left F1 8 whole years ago, and he couldn’t have made a better decision. He adored being around all the time for the kids. He loved walking them to school, planning playdates with his dad friends, teaching them all about life through his lens. Honestly, he’d been terrified when he found out you were pregnant the first time. You two had been married for 2 years, but you hadn’t spoken about when you wanted to have kids. When you came to him with 3 positive pregnancy tests, teary eyes, and a growing fear, he had no other choice than to step up and comfort you. In those moments, he found himself telling you that he was scared too, but you two would do it together. The next few months had been hard. The 2024 season had been hard in general. Finding out you were pregnant halfway through was harder. As the months went on and he quit F1, he felt himself becoming increasingly nervous. He was scared. What if he would be just like his father? What if he didn’t know what to do? What would happen then? What if you left him because he couldn’t do it?

But you made all of those thoughts go away, promising him that he would be brilliant, that he was the most caring person you knew, and that the way you already loved your child was a testament to that. He’d given up his racing career to be there, he had to realise how big of a sacrifice that was, right? 

Now here he was, making his children waffles and pancakes on a Saturday morning while his wife lay in bed, getting some more rest. 

And he was happy. He was fulfilled. 

He smiled as the twins bickered over a measurement, and Layla was busy sitting on the counter explaining the newest drama of her friend group. 

When he was younger, he really questioned what he was meant to be. As much as he was an exceptional racer, he’d never felt truly satisfied, whereas he knew others who were satisfied after they won their first title. 

It all clicked the day Layla was born. He wasn’t meant to be a racer. He was meant to be a dad.

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navigation for my blog :) (masterlist)

[scp035sdiscordkitten]

In the SCP sedition tapes, 049 talks about an ex-apprentice Jolanda. I never really thought about her until a couple months ago, and now I'm OBSESSED WITH HER. I've written so much lore about her in my AU of the sedition tapes when all I've had to go off her was 3 minutes of 049 speaking about her. And now, since I am attached to her, I ask of you to please take 049 being a Father lore. This post specifically is about her childhood and centers around her relationship with 049. Her adulthood will have it's own separate post, and is also more heavily influenced by 035. 0-6 Years: The only child to an immigrant couple in Europe. Her childhood is fuzzy, but fine. Sickly, impoverished, and dirty, but fine. The town she lived in was large, so it was a prime target when war broke out. Her village was attacked. Everyone but her died, whether it was by murder, burning to death in the fires, or smoke inhalation, they were dead. 049 had been following closely behind the attacking armies to ensure 035 wouldn't track him down, as 035 was stalking 049 through Europe at this time, and after every raid there would also be fresh bodies to experiment on. 049 found Jolanda in the remnants of her families home. She was uninjured, but absolutely distraught mentally. 049, out of pity, took her under his wing as his apprentice 6-12 Years: Jolanda bonded to him like a duckling. She was always at his side and looked up to him. 049 was hesitant at first, only caring for her out of necessity. But the more he taught her, the more genuine love he felt for her. She was a child prodigy, and took to the craft of medicine and the pestilence as if it was in her nature. His mentor role soon turned fatherly, even though he never wanted to and never knew how to be one. For the sake of Jolanda, he learned. They travelled side by side, 049 teaching her how to spot and cure the pestilence, but also how to go about life. She considered him her father, and she his daughter, though it was always unspoken. They referred to each other by name, they didn't have to say it to know. In these years, 049 also warned her about 035, showing her drawings and telling her tales about the shit he's caused. He knew 035 would be back at any moment, and Jolanda would be his first target if he found her.

12-16 Years: Around this time, Jolanda began to develop survivors guilt for the attack on her home. She couldn't remember her family as vividly as she used to and she felt horrible, especially with how quickly she got over her fathers death and clung to 049. She confided in 049 about this, and he'd comfort her, but also feel bad. Like there was something more he could have done to save her father or that he shouldn't have stepped into that role in the first place. This put distance between them for a bit, having shame on both sides, but they were able to recover after so many talks and time away from the medical table spent together. 16-18 Years: Smooth sailing, best father daughter duo you've ever seen!! 18-21 Years: Jolanda had begun to expand her circle. Making friends, falling in love, all that fun stuff. 049 however believed she had grown uninterested in curing the Pestilence. That she would, as all his other apprentices had, go on to cure broken bones and sore throats. He told her about his growing disappointment that she wasn't spending more time studying the pestilence, which caused her to sneak out and be more curt with him. She felt unwanted and disheartened. She still believed in the pestilence and wanted to cure it, but 049 didn't seem to see that, did he. 049s old delusions were coming back to him, even though 035 had lost his track long ago. He would see 035 in the corner of his eye, or hear those whispers when he was totally alone. He and Jolanda had to keep travelling, but she didn't want to, she had now formed a community. Resentment built and built between the two of them, even though 049 tried to fix it, and it all came crashing down when 049 kidnapped the pestilence infested boyfriend of Jolanda's lady crush, tied him up, and pressured Jolanda into curing him. Jolanda jumped in to defend the guy, putting herself between 049 and him. 049s delusions came back harder than ever, and it was a blur after that, but when he came to his senses, Jolanda was half dead. He had cured her, basically killing her in the process. Out of shock, horror, and shame, he cast her into the snow and left her for dead, immediately returning to his endless run through Europe to cure the pestilence. Nothing could wash off the guilt he now bore, and it drove him even further into insanity. After being cast into the snow and abandoned, Jolanda should've died. But she didn't. Her conscious was still intact, even after having the cure inflicted on her. Half of her body was beginning to rot, and she had intense urges to find and kill anything that moved, like every other carcass 049 cured felt. But Jolanda kept it within, and she turned that urge into the need for revenge. Ty for reading I hope my yapping was enjoyed 🫶🫶🫶like I said, her adulthood will get its own post, but lord knows when that'll be.

[joelismiller]

misunderstanding

joel miller x fem!reader

Word Count: 5.0k

Summary: you liked joel and you really thought he liked you back.

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, age gap (joel is in his fifties and reader is in her late twenties), angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, fingering, oral (fem!receiving), jealousy, protective!joel, violence if you squint, no use of y/n

A/N: hi everyone my name is ariel and this is my first post ! I have never written for joel before and i have never written smut so please go easy on me and enjoy ! <3 (oh also i completely made up the currency idk how that works😭)

It hurts, you think. 

Having an attachment to a man who has seemed to lose the ability to comprehend on an emotional level how to form one.

An exception of course made for one goofy teenager named Ellie Williams, which you can’t blame him for—she is an easy kid to love. 

You however still can’t help but feel a little envious of the fourteen-year-old even if it is a silly kind of jealousy. You just wish you could be close to him—know him like no one else does or has. 

It started 6 months ago: you had been living in Jackson for a whole year after braving the world overtaken by Cordyceps alone.

Tommy and a group of other people on patrol found you near the edge of town looking right about to just give up and keel over and allow fate to take over and decide if you should live or die from that point.

After making sure you were not infected, Tommy scooped you up and managed to get you back to town where Maria agreed to help nurse you back to health and eventually make you an official resident of Jackson. 

You were given a house close to Tommy and Maria’s and they gave you a job at the local clothing shop of sorts; really just a place to trade or purchase clothing, bootlaces, etc. You began to not just live, but enjoy living—a fate you never thought you would be able to see for yourself after the events of the last twenty years.

It was more or less a life of routine and monotony, but it was more of a life you had before which is what made it special. 

Then Joel Miller came in and ruined all of that.

 Six months ago he rode into town with his little brunette companion for a second time after briefly visiting a while before. He walked up to Tommy and gave him a firm hug while confirming your hope that he indeed would be making himself a permanent member of the Jackson community.

His house with Ellie was only a few blocks away which allowed for you to wake up a little early to see him leave on his way to patrol. 

Now the interaction that started your infatuation with the grumpy old man was nothing too special; at least probably to the man himself. However, to you, it made a very old and foreign feeling form in your gut.

Butterflies erupted just at the sight of Joel Miller’s beautiful brown eyes that, depending on the light, either shined a light honey-brown, or dark and rich, like the coffee beans you used to brew your coffee that morning.

His hair reflected his age—a fluffy mess of brown with graying streaks and a patchy beard to match.

And his broad shoulders and strong looking arms made it so you wanted nothing more than to be wrapped up by him—consumed by him.  

He looked awkward, you think, as he stood inside your shop looking around wordlessly. You decided to step out from behind the counter where you were going over some previous numbers for inventory to help the handsome man get what he came for. 

“Hi there, can I help you look for anything specific?” you asked as you approached him slowly from across the room. 

“Hi, um, I was just lookin' for a thicker coat than the one I already have—‘just got my first pay from patrolling.” He muttered, continuing to search the many tables and walls littered with all sorts of clothing items.

 “Oh okay, for sure! If you just follow me they’re right over here.”

 You began to lead him to a rack near the register which had a small assortment of heavy winter jackets. You were constantly selling out of them since Jackson was always cold no matter the season which is why there wasn’t a lot to choose from. 

He took a look at the jackets and gave you a nod, “Thank you, um…” Joel trailed off as you breathlessly laughed and told him your name.

He repeated your name trying it out on his tongue; making you wish for nothing more than to hear him say it in his Southern drawl over and over and over-

“I’m Joel,” he stated simply and you gave him a smile and nod of your head, pretending like you hadn’t already done a bit of digging to find out the handsome newcomer’s name a couple months ago when he first visited. 

“Well Joel, if you need anything I'll be back behind the register.”

You pointed over to the table with a broken old register that worked just well enough to store the currency the town came up with so there was an extra curtain of civilization despite the events that were anything but that.

You thought it was kind of stupid, but it worked and made people happy so who were you to say otherwise? 

He nodded to let you know he heard you as you went back to your previous position: pretending the whole time you weren’t shamelessly ogling the rugged, big, Southern man mindlessly looking through the jackets.

He eventually settled on a nice tan one with flannel material on the inside lining with white fleece on the collar and cuffs.

You quickly looked back down to the inventory papers so you wouldn’t be caught staring when you heard his heavy footsteps approach the counter. 

“I’ll take this one,” he grunted as he began to gather up some coins to give you in exchange for the warm, heavy jacket.

You quickly pushed his hand away to alert him that it wasn’t necessary, “You're new here right Joel?” You asked as he raised an inquisitive eyebrow and shook his head in agreement.

 “Right, then consider it a welcoming gift—free of charge.” 

You gave him a bright smile as he furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head causing you to see the honey sparkle in his brown eyes under the bright store light. 

“Ya sure? Jacket doesn’t look cheap,” Joel muttered, his gaze flickering to his boots. 

“A hundred percent! You’re new and patrolling isn’t an easy job, accept it as a thank you for keeping us safe if anything,” you told him shyly, the smile never leaving your face. 

He chuckled softly and nodded his head. 

“Okay darlin’, well, thank you—much appreciated.” 

You whispered a soft ‘yeah’ as his eyes looked over you, causing a burning feeling to spread throughout your whole body as if you were being branded. He gave you one last nod of his head as he began to turn around and leave the store.

Not to your surprise, an empty feeling immediately filled you in the presence of his absence.

You whispered to yourself to pull yourself together—that you’ve only met him once and that his effect on you should not be this intense.

It didn’t help however as every interaction after that caused your feelings for the large stand-offish man to only grow. 

Whether it was a quick acknowledgement of each other when you happened to eat in the dining hall at the same time, or a wave of a hand when you left your houses at the same time in the morning as he headed to patrol and you headed to the store.

But your favorite interactions were when he would come into the store to maybe get a couple of new shirts for Ellie, or some new socks for himself.

Over time you felt him grow more comfortable around you as you did him. He would tell you about Ellie’s latest antics; swearing that the teen girl was trying to ‘send an old man to an early grave.’

You would giggle and tell him that he wasn’t that old and that Ellie was just a teen girl finally in a safe somewhat normal place where she can go to school and make actual friends. 

“About that, I think I might needa talk with her teacher soon—she’s been missin too much school and heading off god knows where,” Joel confessed to you, a frown overtaking his aged features as his worry about his adopted daughter showed clear all over his face.

You shyly grabbed his hand across the register and gave it a small squeeze.

“Try not to worry about her too much Joel. She’s young and she didn’t get to have a normal childhood—It's only normal that school probably doesn’t matter too much to her after everything,” you explained hoping that your words may ease him a bit. 

He didn’t respond right away, instead looking at where your much softer hand overlapped his bigger, calloused ones. An unreadable look came over his face before he gently took his hand away from yours and looked to the ground. 

“Yeah you’re probably right,” he responded in that low tone of his as he slowly began to back up. 

“I gotta go check and see if she made it home okay. It was nice seein ya.” 

You barely were able to say another word, maybe apologize for touching his hand in such a careless way before his heavy boots were already heading out the door; the little bell ringing a hollow sound in your ears.

After that, you began to see less and less of Joel and it hurt to admit that it slowly felt like your heart was being ripped out of your chest.

You hated yourself for thinking that all your interactions meant something to him; that when he started to come to the store, not even leaving with anything but a conversation with you, that maybe, just maybe, he felt the same way you felt for him.

Every time you even attempted waving at him in the morning when you both left—he just grunted and looked the other way—pretending like you weren’t even there. 

The store was for some reason busier than usual today and you closed up feeling drained and ready to sleep. The long shift accompanied by the hollow feeling in your heart Joel had left caused you to want nothing more than to curl up and forget all the pain in nicer dreams where things were better between you, things were different.

Joel would hold your hand in your dream and walk you to work, leaving a kiss on your cheek and a whisper of having a good day as you giggled and kissed him right back—whispering the same sentiments. 

You were shaken out of your daydream on your walk home when you spotted the very man at the center of all your thoughts on the porch of someone's house, a woman’s house.

She was gorgeous with long, blonde hair framing her face perfectly, while she looked up at Joel with gorgeous, crystal, blue eyes. She looked older than you too, maybe even closer to Joel’s age.

They laughed about something before she was leading him inside her house as he followed suit; the door shutting in a finality behind them. 

You felt a mix of jealousy and an even greater sadness than before filling your belly as you continued what felt like the longest walk home in your life.

As soon as the door closed you slid down the old wood as tears and sobs that you couldn’t stop wracked your body.

You just didn’t understand; what changed, what did you do to make him start avoiding you?

And you knew how hard it was for Joel to come out of his shell, so why did it seem so easy for him to talk and laugh with that woman? 

After what seemed like hours, you finally picked yourself off of the ground and trudged slowly to your bed where you collapsed immediately upon impact with the old tattered sheets.

Instead of the usual happy dreams about Joel, tonight you were plagued with endless nightmares of him and the mysterious blonde woman; standing in the place you usually would in your dreams about Joel.

You woke up in the morning with a feeling of restlessness as you readied yourself for another long day of work.

After work that night you decided to go to the Tipsy Bison which was Jackson’s bar that you would usually frequent when your nightmares from the time you were on your own came back to haunt you.

Mindless images of a group of clicker’s taking from you the only person you had left in your life since the virus took over: your best friend.

After she was gone it was just you, and that period never seemed to completely leave your mind even after a year in Jackson. 

After last night’s sleep, you definitely needed a drink you thought to yourself as you made your way over. When you entered you saw that it was a pretty busy night for the Tipsy Bison as you did your best to find a seat towards the end of the bar. 

Once you took a seat, you gave the bartender your drink order and surveyed the area to see who else was here as you waited for him to deliver your alcohol of choice. Your breathing stopped and your eyes widened when you noticed a familiar group of people at a table closer to the front of the bar. 

There in all his ruggish, handsome glory was Joel Miller, smiling widely as he talked with Tommy, Maria, and her.

You quickly swung back around to face where your drink was just set in front of you as you begged the burn in the back of your eyes to go away.

Fuck this, you thought as you downed most of the drink in one go, using your hand to wipe away the bit that escaped at the corner of your lips.

You did your best to ignore the person that was at the center of all your sadness; drinking and drinking until you felt a familiar buzz kick in and begin to cloud your thoughts. 

Right when you were about to order another drink, a skinny, tall, blonde boy walked over to where you were seated and said it was on him as he handed over a couple of coins. 

“You didn’t have to do that but thanks, I guess,” you muttered, hoping your disinterest was a sign that you wanted to be left alone.

He smiled wide in a way that caused you to shiver, and not in a pleasurable way like when Joel would grace you with the corner of his lip twitching up, releasing a breathless laugh; but in a bad, unnerving way. 

“Anything for a girl as pretty as you.” 

He winked which caused you to roll your eyes and once again look away from him. “I’m not interested but again, thank you,” you told him with a finality in your voice that the man—no—boy, didn’t take very seriously. 

“Aw come on don’t be like that I just wanna have some fun with you,” he said in a sleazy manner as he reached out to grip your shoulder. 

You quickly shook him off but in your drunken haze, you accidentally fell off your chair onto the ground—single-handedly causing the whole bar’s eyes to turn onto you. 

“Godammit, now you're just causing a fucking scene,” the man snarled at you, causing tears to form behind your eyes as this man's actions as well as having the entire bar watching the now-forming scene. 

And if the night couldn’t get any worse, you hear the familiar sound of boots coming up behind the man and it takes just one glance to confirm your suspicions. 

“What did you just say to her?” 

You heard a deep voice growl out, a look of pure rage overtaking Joel’s features as he stood right in front of the blonde boy’s face. 

“Look man I didn’t know she was taken, I was just tryna have a good time, you know?” 

An animalistic sound leaves Joel’s mouth before he takes the boy’s arm and forcefully grabs it until he's facing the bar counter and his arm is pressed deep into his back. 

“It don’t matter whether she’s taken or not, you never treat a woman like that,” he snarls into the shaking boy’s ear. 

“I never wanna see you come near her again, you hear me?” 

He shakes his head wildly until Joel finally releases him and he scatters out of the bar. The anger on Joel’s face morphs into one of concern as he gently stretches out a hand to help you up. 

“You okay, sweetheart?” He questions softly as you bat his hand away and attempt to stand on your own. 

“M’ fine,” you mutter as you stand on shaky legs—about to fall over when Joel rests his big hands on your shoulders to steady you. He chuckles and curls an arm around your waist as he begins to slowly lead you out the door. 

“You sure darlin’? Cause’ you seem a lil drunk to me,” Joel says amused at your hindered state while you frown up at him. 

“Don’t you have to go back to your girlfriend,” you huff out, avoiding looking at the grumpy man’s features. 

“Girlfriend?” He responds confused, not understanding what you were talking about until he catches your eyes drifting to Veronica’s face—Ellie’s teacher. 

After the day he left abruptly from your store, he sought out Ellie’s teacher Veronica. They have been having weekly meetings about how Ellie was doing in school as well as her continuous efforts to ditch class.

There was absolutely nothing romantic about it, the whole ordeal gave him a headache—a subject he was too old to be stressing about.

Besides, how could he dare think about anyone else when you had him wrapped around your little finger? 

When he first saw you at your clothing store and you gave him his jacket for free, he knew you would be trouble.

And trouble you were as he couldn’t stop himself from continuing to visit you just to see you and hear your comforting voice promise him that all his worries about his adopted daughter were normal.

It was actually your idea that maybe he should at some point meet with Ellie’s teacher. But when your small hand wrapped around his he got scared— scared this could become something real.

Everyone he has ever gotten attached to he’s lost and he already accidentally went and got attached to Ellie, he didn't know if he had it in him to do it to another person. 

And on top of that, he was a bad man, he had done horrible things. You were also so much younger and prettier than him—a sweet, soft thing Joel didn’t feel he deserved.

But looking at your heartbroken face now as you looked back at him and then at Veronica, he knew he messed up. He should have never started avoiding you.

It was never the answer, but Joel had never been good at feelings, this much is evident. 

“Come on sweetheart, let’s get you home.”

The walk back from the Tipsy Bison to your house was a pretty close one, your hose only being about five minutes away.

Once you were at your door with a Joel who did not take “leave me alone” as an answer, you struggled to get the key in the lock in your drunken stupor which the large man beside you thankfully helped with. 

“Let me do that, sweetheart,” he muttered as his big warm hands covered yours and twisted the key, letting the both of you inside. 

“Joel, I don't feel so good…” you said shakily as Joel uttered a “shit” and quickly hurried you to the bathroom which he found pretty quickly—his hands quickly opening the toilet seat and finding purchase in your hair as he held it back, allowing you to empty the contents of your stomach. 

“Joel I’m so sorry,” you groaned as a tear fell down your cheek; your sadness, tiredness, and embarrassment flooded in all at once with help from the lingering alcohol in your system.

He shushed you softly and cradled you to his chest taking a second to rock you until your tears stopped and you felt well enough to stand. 

“How bout’ you brush your teeth and get your pajamas on—I’ll make you some tea then we’ll talk, yeah?” 

You nodded as he gently brushed your cheek with his thumb causing butterflies to erupt in your stomach as he made his way to your kitchen to attempt to find the ingredients and mug he needed.

You cleaned yourself up: showered, brushed your teeth, and put on sleepwear which helped you come back to a clearer state of mind allowing confusion to overtake you. 

Why was Joel here taking care of you, wouldn’t his girlfriend begin to ask questions? 

You weren’t allowed to keep worrying yourself with your thoughts as a knock on your bedroom door brought you back to reality. 

“May I come in? Made ya tea,” Joel’s voice rang out into your room softly as you muttered a quiet, “Sure.” 

Joel stepped into the room and handed you the mug which you took a generous sip of—the honeyed flavor soothing your throat and stomach. 

“Thank you so much, Joel, for walking me home and taking care of me. I’m so sorry-” 

“Don’t go apologizing darlin’ you have done nothin’ to have to apologize for,” Joel interrupted sending you a soft smile as he went to pick up your hand laying on your thigh, rubbing soothing circles into the smooth skin.

In a reversal of roles, it was your turn to pull your hand away as Joel frowned and you looked to the floor; he should have expected that after everything that’s happened. 

“I guess I deserve that,” he chuckles sadly as your turn to raise an eyebrow at him. 

“Well you have a girlfriend and I bet it would make her uncomfortable if she knew you were holding my hand, Joel.” 

Joel couldn’t help the loud laugh that escaped him at your words which completely stopped when he saw your features form into one of anger. 

“Why is that so funny? That’s why you stopped visiting and talking to me right? Because you found someone else.” 

You didn’t mean for it to come out as bitterly or as venomously as you said it but you couldn’t help it. You have spent weeks suffering over his actions towards you and now he helps you home, takes care of you, holds your hand like nothing happened? 

“M’ sorry sweetheart, I didn’t mean to make it seem like I was laughing at you. It’s just that…” He trails off collecting himself. Joel sighs out your name and begins to tell you that Veronica is not his girlfriend and that she was just Ellie’s teacher.

He explains to you all about their meetings and that tonight was just him getting her a drink to thank her for all her help. 

“I promise you darlin’ it wasn’t anythin’ more than that—don’t feel that way about her at all.” 

You process all the information Joel just unloaded on you; and though you do feel relief, you still feel irritation and sadness as his complete throwing away of your friendship—abandoning you without a word. You tell him as much as he releases another sigh and looks down toward the wooden floor. 

“Look, m’ not really good at this…” Joel starts, eyes flickering up to your face as he continues. 

“But coming into the shop and talkin’ to you started becoming the best parts of my day, sweetheart,” he pauses to give you a look of sincerity and to try holding your hand again—and this time— you let him.

“And I was just downright a coward and instead of facing my feelings I shut you out completely and I feel so fucking awful darlin’ I’m so sorry.” He whispers, tightening his grip on your hand.  

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but I'm hoping you can forgive me and that maybe we can try to be somethin. I don’t know if I’ll be very good at it and I’m so much older than you, but-” 

You cut Joel’s rambling off by pressing your lips to his in a soft kiss. You begin to pull away when you don’t feel him kissing back, but he doesn’t give you a chance as he cups your head in a big hand and begins to kiss back with more fervor. 

“Joel,” you whimper as he begins to lay you back on your bed, his tongue licking the seam of your bottom lip asking for entrance into your soft, warm mouth—which you immediately allow. 

“Shhh, darlin’ will you lemme take care of ya? Wanna make you feel so good baby, make up for how bad I've been actin’.” 

You let out a moan when you feel the rough denim of his jeans buck up into your soft sleep shorts making contact with your clothed cunt. 

“Please Joel, need you so bad,” you whine as he starts to place kisses from your jaw down to your neck—slightly nipping and leaving a trail of small red spots in their wake, which he soothes with his tongue causing a high pitched whimper to leave your lips; beads of frustration beginning to gather at the corner of your lashes. 

“I got you sweetheart, I’m right here, can I take this off?” Joel questions as he lifts the hem of your tank top.

You nodded quickly as he borderline rips it over your head, quickly latching a mouth onto one of your nipples as he massages the neglected one with his hand. 

“Ohmygod-” you cry as he expertly flicks the bud with his tongue, soon moving over to the other nipple to give it the same treatment.

Arousal pools in your gut as Joel groans, beginning to leave kisses from your sternum, down to the soft skin of your belly, and right to the hem of your sleep shorts.

He leaves a soft kiss there and looks up to you to ask for permission to take them off. You nod vigorously but he shakes his head and leans down more to press a kiss to your clothed core, emitting a loud gasp from your mouth. 

“I need words darlin',” he states, glancing back up to you as you vocalize your permission. Joel wastes no time in taking your shorts down in one quick motion once you say yes—leaving you in your white lacy panties.

He runs a finger over the damp spot in your panties and then brings his arched nose close to the spot to breathe you in as well as to lick your folds through the cotton, his nose perfectly bumping your clit in this position causing you to squirm and moan his name. 

“Joel please,” you begged as he pulled away and began to run soothing circles into the soft skin of your thighs. 

“Please what baby, tell me what you need,” he demands as you try to buck your hips up to his mouth, but he won't let you, strong hands keeping you in place. 

“Your tongue Joel I need your tongue,” you whimper but he shakes his head. 

“Where do you need my tongue, baby? Gotta tell me if you wanna cum, sweet girl.” 

You whine in embarrassment and look down to see Joel Miller with the smuggest smirk you have ever seen. 

“I need your tongue on my pussy Joel, please take off my panties and use your tongue,” you beg as he chuckles and gently removes the white lace—quickly stuffing it in his back pocket before you can see. 

“Good girl baby, that s’all I needed,” he murmurs as his tongue comes into contact with the bare skin of your folds causing you to gasp his name and grab his salt and pepper hair to hold him against your cunt.

 “Oh my god Joel that feels so good!” You cry as his tongue moves from licking solid stripes against your folds to suckling gently on your clit, as your legs threaten to squeeze around his head. 

“Fucking Christ sweetheart, you taste so good, can’t get enough of you,” he groans as he continues to lick into you—the coil in your tummy beginning to tighten but you need more to get you to your high. 

“Mmm your fingers Joel, please I need your fingers,” you groan, causing Joel to growl against your pussy, the vibrations only heightening your pleasure. 

“Okay baby, think you can take two, huh?” he murmurs as he presses several small kisses to the inside of your thigh.

You whimper a small “yes” as he gathers your slick on his middle and ring finger—the burn you feel from the sheer girth of his fingers stretching you open fades into a dull bliss. 

“J-Joel I’m close,” you alert him as you buck into his face and fuck yourself on his fingers. 

“Yeah, baby? C’mon then cum for me sweetheart, let go,” Joel coos gently and that’s all it takes for the coil in your stomach to snap—a stream of your slick gushing out all over his face and onto the scruff of his beard. 

He continues to lick you through it until you're shuttering and mewling from the overstimulation. He pulls away with a large grin on his face as he reaches down to kiss you passionately, the sweetness of your fluids on his tongue making the kiss that much sweeter.

He wiped the rest of you off of his beard before giving you small pecks all over your face until you were giggling and he was chuckling. 

“I am sorry y’know,” he whispered in that silky smooth voice of his. You cupped his cheek with your hand, rubbing circles into the scratchy skin. 

“I know.” 

Joel got up to get a wet cloth to clean you up. He then took his time putting your sleepwear back on—leaving gentle kisses and massaging every inch of your body he could see.

He ended up spending the night as you curled into his strong arms as he stroked your hair until he felt your breathing even out as slumber took over you. 

He stayed up and watched you for a while until he soon fell victim to sleep; the thought of him finally being able to be completely happy despite everything was a comfortable thought, and it was all because of you. 

[thelov3lybookworm]

Remember Me? (Part 12)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

Summary: Under the Mountain, Y/n met the High Lord of the Night Court, Rhysand. She was scared of him, but soon she found out that he wasn't who he pretended to be. Despite her efforts at not falling in love with him, she fails. It's not that bad as he loves her back.

But now he's gone, and she's left alone with nothing.

Except for a very adorable reminder of him.

•���●⛦●○•

Tw: secret pregnancy, none more that I can think of, so let me know if I need to add anything.

A/n: heh

thats all i got to say lol

enjoy!

•○🌑○•

Y/n rose her eyebrows at Eris, waiting for him to begin speaking.

Sometime ago, a servant working in the Autumn Court's palace had informed Y/n that Eris was looking for her, and Y/n had rushed to meet him. Now she stood facing him, just like that night a month ago, the gentle evening breeze curling in the air, making the leaves outside the large window rustle softly.

It also didn't go unnoticed by Y/n that this was the same window that she and Eris had stood in front of that night Feyre had arrived in autumn court.

"You know how each year we have a high lord's meeting since the war with Hybern?"

Y/n nodded. It had become common knowledge that to prevent any more disputes between the courts, the High lords had decided to meet every year.

"This year Autumn is supposed to host the meeting, and the meeting is in a week's time."

Y/n blinked. "And?"

He rose a brow. "All the court's officials will be present."

Dread spread through Y/n when she realised. "Is Rhys going to be there too?"

His eyes flared with something like rage before his expression smoothed out. "No, because I have barred him from the court, but some of the members of his inner circle will be present."

Y/n heaved a sigh of relief. "And why are you telling me this?"

"So you can warn Feyre of it. The members are going to question if they find Nyx running around the corridors. Tamlin is also going to be present, and I don't know if you know of their history, but it was a messy situation she left him in."

Y/n nodded. "I'll let her know. Anything else?"

He nodded slowly, his eyes travelling leisurely to her feet and back to her eyes, making her heart start racing when he stepped forward

Only when she could feel his breath on her face did he stop advancing and speak, and Y/n ignored the urge to take a step back.

"One thing. Keep that bastard's name out of your mouth."

Y/n suppressed a shiver, instead lifting her chin and meeting his gaze head on.

"And what if I don't?"

"He will find himself incinerated." He murmured, the embers of a fire beginning to form in his eyes.

"Who do you think you are to tell me whose name to keep out of my mouth?" Y/n had no problem in not speaking her former lover's name, but an opportunity to get Eris riled up was too good to pass up.

There was an inferno raging in his eyes as he pushed the words out with gritted teeth.

"No one."

Though Y/n was disappointed, she wondered why she even expected a different answer.

"I will speak whomever's name I wish, then."

He looked away, his jaw clenched.

A muscle began feathering in his jaw, and Y/n blamed what she did next all on her distracted mind, but she reached up, gently running her fingers on that muscle in his jaw.

He stiffened instantly, and despite wanting to pull back her hand, her mind wouldn't let her.

He turned his head to her again, a different type of fire in his eyes now.

His eyes dropped to her lips, and Y/n held still as he leaned closer.

The air between them changed, becoming charged. Y/n waited with baited breath, not daring to take in necessary air in fear it would prompt him to turn away.

His hot breath washed over her face, and her eyes fluttered closed. Anticipation coursing through her very veins alongside her blood, she waited for that first caress of his lips.

Only it never came.

What did come, though, was the sound of screaming children, and Y/n and Eris barely had any time to jump apart before the kids came into view.

Y/n sighed, caressing the wall, pretending that she hadn't been about to kiss the high lord.

When the pattering feet came closer, she turned, flashing the little kids a dazzling smile as they came to a stop next to her feet.

"Auntie Y/n! Do you want to play with us?" Nyx asked, his eyes glittering.

There was obviously nothing else Y/n had to do, she agreed. Especially with what almost happened occupying her mind, she was sure she would not be able to focus on anything.

"Come, we have a few hours before dinner time, so we can play."

The children grabbed her hands, beginning to drag her away.

Y/n felt eyes on her all the way until she turned a corner and disappeared from his view, which did nothing to cool the warmth on her skin.

Feyre spoke up when she caught up to the Fin and Nyx, who were debating on what to play while Y/n watched.

"How about we play hide and seek?"

Y/n knew Feyre had questions, and so she didn't argue when she decided that Y/n and She would seek the kids.

"Y/n?" Feyre said as soon as the kids were out of earshot.

"Yes?"

"We need to talk."

Y/n sighed, nodding.

•○🌑○•

General Taglist: @bubybubsters @eos-princess @nightless @harrystylesfan2686 @cassie6392

Eris Taglist: @kennedy-brooke@hnyclover@minnieoo@sidrapotter

Remember me Taglist: @holb32 @awoa1 @cleverzonkwombatsludge @luvmoo @we-were-beautiful @eerievixen @zoe2 @fussel9913 @j-pendragonx @thesnugglingduck @jesssicapaniagua @devilsnightz @esposadomd @littleffawn @mandowhatnow @bubybubsters @eos-princess @nightless @bigcreatorwombatdreamer @princesslolaasworld @asemkta @cat-or-kitten @txzii @bunnyredgirl @theofficialmadman @leeknows-wife @aria-chikage @amygdtjhddzvb @azriels-mate123 @inky-clover @kemillyfreitas @12358 @justdreamstars @cuethedepession @princessvesta @fides25 @nocasdatsgay @acourtofbatboydreams @stained-glass-eyes0708 @glaciuswduo @wallacewillow0773638 @cassie6392 @quackitysdrugdealer @txzii @anuttellaa @coisas-da-dani @hnyclover @sassyslytherinshai @historygeekqueen @why4anne

[cafecourage]

Speaking of sleepy, caring for sleepy Chain

-Softie

We worked on this on stream long ago. I also made this also one bed. Part 1 has Time, Twilight, and Warriors

_____________

There was a common issue among some of the chain where most all of them have the fatal flaw of not being able to sleep. Some had issues waking up like Sky, Wind, Four and Wild. You quickly found that Legend was among that group but given the incident he went into the latter issue. Which was annoying when dealing with. It was completely opposite problems.

Time:

It was always hard to tell if the Old man was tired as he seemed to be always absolutely exhausted. Which was fair enough since he was dubbed the dad friend in the group thus making him the main person to go to for everything. It’s a wonder how he hasn’t just slept for 7 more years yet.

Still the Hero of Time was probably 3 days in without sleep and thats what you observed. Granted you should have stopped him by day 2. But you weren’t sure if he slept on the days you seen him take first shift and wake up with him being on last shift.

The other boy’s notice it too and while they all appreciate the extra sleep it’s unfair for Time. Warriors is typically the only one that speaks up about it since he isn’t phased by the Older Link’s tough exterior. While it would be embarrassing in hindsight you had to drag Warriors aside to push for you and Time to be in the same room. “I have a plan” is what you tell the captain not letting him know that you in fact, dont have a plan.

Truly the plan is fist fight the old man until he actually sleeps, or lecture him whatever you feel like. At least you will be here in town for a few days to gather supplies and information. So you can at least fix Time’s sleep schedule.

You’re plotting came to an extreme halt as you step into a room with one bed. “This can work.” You say out loud as you dropped your stuff in a corner of the room. “We can share the bed.” It’s not even up for debate at this point.

“Can we?” Time asks as he closes the door “wouldn’t that be uncomfortable?”

“Uncomfortable?” That wouldn’t be the word you would use. “Nah. Unless it makes you uncomfortable. Then I can take the floor.”

The hero gives you a look, one to even dare you to say that again. “If you don’t mind, then I don’t see why fight over it.”

“It I am being real.” You stand up and stretched “you do need it more.” It has been decided. You are lecturing him. “When is the last time you slept a full 8 hours? Heck 6 hours I would accept.”

An eyebrow was raised as he heads inside “I have been fine with the sleep I’ve been getting.” He takes his armor off putting each piece down carefully before finally sitting on the bed. He pats the spot next to him.

You follow his lead as you prepare a long argument. “Ah, yes the zero hou- Ack!” What you didn’t expect was Time to drag you into his lap and lay down.

Your face exploded in a blush as you were now basically his teddy bear. “Don’t you think I haven’t noticed you also have trouble sleeping.” He whispered as he was already in the process of wrapping the both of you in the blankets. “Let’s take a nap for now…”

Well… This backfired successfully.

Twilight:

Twilight was one of these Links which, made sense but also didn’t when you found this out. He tries to older brother everyone, he makes sure everyone is asleep before he does. Which takes forever to do and your patience for this man is thinning.

After stopping in a town from a long trek. The group decides to go to the Inn to set up shop. You were already on Twilight to take a nap before dinner. “No. We are going to eat in like 30 minutes.”

Ok.

No.

He isn’t getting out of this and you don’t care you’re in the middle of the lobby. There was something that the chain has yet to learn about you.

You might be short.

But you are strong.

So you marched up to Twilight and despite his struggling you throw the hero over your shoulder and went directly to the room angrily. “Let me down!” Twilight demands of you. However you couldn’t care about it as you open the door kick it close and threw him on the bed. “That was unnecessary.” He said getting up.

“It was very necessary!” You argued back crossing your arms. “When is the last time you properly slept?”

Twilight stays quiet and looks away. He looked like a kicked puppy. “I get enough.”

“According to who? Because everyone else can make an argument that you’re barely getting any to function.” You let out a huff as you should probably be more lenient with him because it’s not really like he is doing something bad. You know from experience that the body could function with little sleep if it’s used to it but it’s not healthy! You didn’t go through classes with a clear mind but you should have! “We are just worried about you.”

The Hero stays quiet but sighs “ok. I understand.” He seems to give up at this point. But he reaches out to take your hand finally letting himself looked exhausted “but… can you stay with me?”

Your eyes soften as he seemed to be more tired than you thought. “Of course I will. Someone has to make sure you stay put.” He teases you.

Warriors: 

After a long day of traveling an inn was a welcoming sight. Since there were ten of you now each room had to have 2 people. Which was sometimes unfortunate for some, but for you in this current moment?

You couldn’t ask for a better opportunity since you (forcably) asked to be Warrior’s pair, only to have there only be one bed. 

Perfect.

Wonderful.

Amazing.

It was instant that you had grabbed Warriors tunic and almost thrown him on to the bed. “Didn’t know you wanted me on the bed that badly, doll.” He was laughing. This man was laughing and he looked like hell. Probably felt like it too as the ever polished captain was showing dark circles under his eyes. His smile was sluggish and his eyes weren’t as sharp as they normally were.

“Very funny.” You rolled your eyes as you headed towards him again to help him out of his armor. “You should take better care of yourself. 3 days of barely any sleep? What were you thinking?!”

“That the other boys need some sleep.” There was no hesitation as the stubborn man is proud of himself for killing his sleep schedule. “It’s fine.” “It is not fine.” You didn’t mean to throw his shoulder plate on the carpet. “You better take your chainmail off before I do it for you.”

“What if I rather you do it for me?” The captain fire back without missing a beat. Instantly his face paled “wait-“

“Nope to late come here.” You take his tunic and just… thew it off of him. “Do you want to continue?” This was a threat.

“no…” Warriors voice was silent as he finally got out of what armor he had left. “I should sleep on the floo-“ that suggestion was instantly silent as you glared at him.

Finally when both of you were ready for bed you had put your self on top of him. Cuddling but also if he was going to escape he will have to wake you up first. “this is so you don’t escape.” You said.

“I wont. I wont.” Warriors was a bit hesitant to wrap his arms around you “Thank you.” He whispered as he finally started to relaxed.

“Don’t rely on me to fix your sleep habits.” You said poking his cheek “good night Captain.”

“Good Night Sweetheart.”

[sequinsmile-x]

You're a Mean One

Snapshots of three Christmases that Aaron and Emily spent together as she helps him learn to love the season.

-x-

Hi besties,

I think we all know there will be a number of Christmas fics from me over the next couple of weeks and I make no apologies for it. I am not feeling festive at all so I am hoping writing these fics will change that haha. I also will make sure I write non-Christmas fics as I go haha

Anyway, I wanted to write some sad Aaron because it's been a little while, and this is what came out.

As always, let me know what you think <3

-x-

Warnings: none

Words: 4.1k

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

He’d never been a fan of the holidays. 

When he was growing up they’d only highlight how dysfunctional his home life was, his classmate's excitement about two weeks off school and scores of gifts at complete odds with how he felt. He loved school because of the escape it gave him, the structure, and whilst summer always took that from him for longer than Christmas did, he’d never hated it quite as much. He’d return to school in January and hear his friends excitedly discuss their new bikes or games. He’d join in and pretend that anything he had been given hadn’t been tarnished by his father’s actions and his mother’s determination to ignore them. 

Haley, on the other hand, loved Christmas. Her whole family did, and as soon as they were married he started celebrating with them instead of his family. Guilt for what felt like abandoning his brother and his mom would colour everything, even though his dad was long dead. It would seep into the taste of the eggnog he’d be passed endless mugs of, and dull the Christmas lights Haley’s dad had carefully wrapped around the tree, but he’d do his best to push past it. He’d remind himself he was building his own family now, that he was doing his best to start from scratch and build a solid foundation to ensure any future children they had would not have to grow up like he did. 

As with so many things in his life, it hadn’t worked out as he’d hoped. Any vague enjoyment he’d found in Christmas started to fade along with the life in his marriage. It disappeared entirely when Haley died. A part of him that she’d curated buried along with her. He did his best for Jack. Would paint a smile on his face and drag a tree slightly too tall for their apartment in through the front door. He’d buy gifts, decorate their home and do whatever he could so Jack would enjoy himself, but he couldn’t get past the block that he’d build brick by brick. A form of self protection that blurred the line with self sabotage as he told himself that maybe, he just wasn’t supposed to enjoy the happiest time of the year. 

Then he fell in love with Emily. 

Her love of the holidays, which outmatched even Haley’s, was something he’d known about long before that warm summer day when he’d finally found the courage to ask her out. He hadn’t thought about how she would bake everyone Christmas cookies and have a tiny tree on her desk when she smiled at him, her eyes shining brighter than the setting sun when she leaned in to kiss him. A breathless finally against his lips when she eventually pulled back. Even if he had thought about it 6 months ago it wouldn’t have made a difference. He loved her more than he’d ever thought possible, the way he felt about her the stuff of the romance books she liked to pretend she didn’t enjoy, and there was nothing that would have stopped him from moving forward with her. 

Her love for Christmas only seems to make Jack even more excited about it. She comes with them to buy a tree, but only after checking with him several times if it is okay, and he takes a step back and watches as Emily walks from tree to tree with his son on her hip. Matching looks of wonder on their faces as they debated the pros and cons of each one until they finally made a decision. He’d done what he’d done for years. He smiled and enjoyed his son’s enjoyment, and now his girlfriend’s, but he couldn’t get into the spirit of it himself. He knows Emily has noticed. He would wave off her concerns, would smile and then kiss her and say he was fine even though they both knew he was lying, his underlying frustration and sadness something he was used to hiding. It felt like so much a part of him now he didn’t know who he was without it, a pit low and heavy in his stomach that felt like the punishment he deserved for robbing Haley of every Christmas he got to experience that she didn’t. 

It comes to a head when they are discussing their Christmas plans with the team. She was spending the day with him and Jack, something else she’d also checked was fine multiple times before she’d yes, and when they told the team that they had the expected reactions. A squeal of joy from Penelope, a curt nod from Spencer, and a knowing smile from Dave and JJ. He’d even expected Derek’s reaction, a well-meaning joke that had added to the weight in his gut.

“Santa’s head elf and The Grinch spending Christmas together? I’d love to be a fly on the wall on the big day.” 

Aaron doesn’t get the chance to react because Emily does first. She narrows her eyes as she throws her pen at Derek, hitting him square in the chest, as she protests both of the titles he’d given them. Defending her love of Christmas and Aaron’s grumpiness with a vague threat and a raised eyebrow.

“I slipped a little brandy in your eggnog.” 

“Thanks, sweetheart,” he says, and he smiles as he looks up at her, taking the drink she hands him before she sits next to him. She presses her shoulder against his as he arranges the blanket over his lap over hers, and she links one of her arms through his, her other hand tight around her own cup of spiked eggnog. He takes a sip of his and lets out a breath at the burn of it as he swallows, chuckling as he turns his head to kiss her temple, “By a little brandy…did you mean the whole bottle?” 

She laughs and turns to look at him, the warm lights from the nearby tree never as beautiful as when he saw them reflected in her eyes, “I thought I’d loosen you up a little,” she says, winking before she leans in to kiss the corner of his mouth, “Make sure I can have my way with you later.” 

“We both know I never need any encouragement for that,” he says, kissing her firmly, tasting the eggnog she’d clearly snuck a sip of in the kitchen on her lips, “You don’t need to spike my drink for that.”

“Good to know,” she hums and rests her cheek against his shoulder as she continues to look up at him, her teeth sinking into her lower lip as she studies him, her eyes flicking over every fine line and the first shadow of his beard, “Are you okay, honey?” 

He suppresses a sigh, capturing it behind his lips as he presses them together, and he tightens his grip on her thigh, “Em-”

“And please don’t tell me you’re fine,” she says, sitting up a little straighter, something close to desperation shining in her eyes as she shakes her head at him, “Because you clearly aren’t, and I don’t know why you won’t just tell me.” 

He wants to tell her but can’t. He doesn’t want to put this burden on her, to do anything that might ruin her enjoyment of what she’d told him was her favourite time of year. 

“Em-”

“Is it because of what Derek said? I’ll kill him,” she grumbles, shaking her head as she carries on talking, seemingly unaware she’d cut him off, “I know this time of year must be hard for you anyway because of Haley, but-”

Later, he’d know that it was the mention of his ex-wife that tipped him over the edge, that it was the final straw after years of repressing how he felt, but at the moment he’s talking, yelling, before he can stop himself. 

“Emily, will you leave it alone,” he grits out, raising his voice without meaning to, “I’m fine.” 

The shocked look on her face, the hurt that flashes in her eyes, fades as she chuckles dryly, “Clearly,” she says, looking down at her cup of eggnog before she separates herself from him entirely. She stands up and puts her cup down, her arms tight over her chest as she clears her throat, “I should go home.” 

Any misplaced anger he’d felt disappears the moment she’s by the front door, draining out of him as he slumps forward, his head in his hands as he listens to her zip up her jacket and pulls on her shoes.

“Sweetheart, wait-” he says, standing up and walking over, his hands in his pockets as she looks at him and cuts him off. 

“Aaron, it’s fine. You clearly don’t want to talk about it,” she smiles tightly, “I’ll go home, and you can call me tomorrow, okay?” 

He watches as she turns to leave and he swallows thickly as he reaches deep down inside of himself to find the bravery he’d felt on the day he first asked her out. 

“Please don’t leave,” he says, and she tightens her grip on the door handle as she turns to look at him, an expectant look on her face as she waits for him to continue, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shouted. I…I’m sorry.” 

She nods, finally letting go of the door handle as she crosses her arms over her chest again, “No, you shouldn’t have,” she says, her tongue sticking out to wet her lower lip as she steps closer to him, “But I forgive you. The holidays are hard sometimes.” 

He chuckles and nods, scratching at the back of his head as looks at the ground and admits something that makes him feel exposed, even though she’d seen him naked countless times, “I don’t remember a time they weren’t hard.” 

When he looks back up she’s standing just much closer, her jacket back on the hook next to his, with an understanding smile on her face, “Why don’t we go sit down and you tell me everything?” 

He nods and reaches out to squeeze her waist, another apology pressed against her as he holds her steady as she slips her boots back off. When they sit back down, once again wrapped around each other, his arm hugged against her chest and his head resting against the top of hers, he tells her. He tells her about his childhood, about how Christmas never meant for him what it did for other kids, how Haley had been the only one to ever make him enjoy the season and that she’d taken that enjoyment with her when she died. 

She listens intently, one of his hands sandwiched between both of his, her touch gentle and soothing as she runs her thumb back and forth over the heel of his hand. She only responds when she’s finished, tilting her head so she is looking up at him. 

“Did I ever tell you why I like Christmas so much?” She asks, and he shakes his head, “Christmas was always a spectacle when I was growing up. All of it was for show and none of it was for me,” she smiles sadly as she thinks about it and he squeezes her hand, “I decided then that when I grew up I’d make Christmas everything I always wished it had been,” she looks around his apartment. Looks at the tree and the gifts they’d already wrapped and the ornaments on every possible surface, and she scrunches her nose up, “I promise to tone it down next year.” 

He shakes his head, his heart growing in his chest at the casual mention of next year, as he cups her cheek, “No that’s not-”

“I never want to make you feel uncomfortable, honey,” she says, turning her head to kiss his palm, “We’re building a life together. That’s all about give and take,” she smiles, “But you have to tell me these things, okay? You know I’ll never judge you for it.  But I can’t help if I don’t know.” 

He nods and leans in to kiss her, making sure to rest his forehead against hers when he pulls away. “Okay, sweetheart.” 

___

He makes sure he quietly pulls Jack’s door closed behind him, although he’s sure after the excitement from the day he could slam it shut and the little boy wouldn’t wake up. 

It was their first Christmas in their new house. They’d signed the deeds just two months ago, Emily’s hand tight in his when they looked around it again once it was theirs, her excitement palpable as they walked from room to room, her smile close to shy as they stepped into the room the realtor had said would be perfect for a nursery. It was home now. Pictures of the three of them, the team and Haley scattered around the house, memories printed and framed that were ready to be joined by new ones. 

He smiles as he walks downstairs, following the sound of his fiancee’s humming in the living room. She had toned down the decorations as she’d promised the year before, but they had a bigger tree this year because they had more room so it was hard to tell if you didn’t look for it. She’d made a point of keeping it all in one room. She stopped short of wrapping a garland around the handrail on the stairs, her smile shy as she laid it over the mantle in the living room instead, making sure Christmas didn’t spill out from the living room. 

When he walks into the living room he finds her kneeling on the floor near the tree, carefully arranging all of the gifts they’d kept hidden until Jack went to bed. 

“He’s fast asleep,” Aaron says as he joins her, raising an eyebrow at her at the smile she throws him when his knees click, “I think the excitement wore him out,” he says, taking a gift as she passes it to him to lay it under the tree, “He should sleep through until the morning.” 

She hums, “Well if last year is anything to go by he’ll wake us up insanely early.” 

He chuckles, “We both know you were up before him last year sweetheart.” 

She sticks her tongue out at him but leans in to kiss him, her hand on his cheek as she holds him in place, drunk on him and her favourite time of year, “I love you.” 

“I love you too,” he says, stamping his lips against hers before they carry on arranging the gifts, “I don’t remember buying this much.” 

“Me neither,” she says, scrunching her nose up as she turns to look at him, “We’ll have to be more careful next year if we have a baby by then,” she adds, her smile turning shy, “Otherwise it will take all day to open them all.” 

They’d started trying shortly after he proposed to her, both of them more than aware they wanted a baby desperately and that time wasn’t necessarily on their side. The thought of it never failed to warm him from the inside out, the idea of her pregnant with their child, of watching her snuggle with a baby that was half him and half her, was enough to make him forget every awful thing that had ever happened to him. Each one of them something that he’d survived to make it here with her. 

“The first year, babies are more interested in the boxes and paper anyway,” he says, winking at her when she places her hand on his arm, her hope about what their future could hold as infectious as his, “Jack was only two months old his first Christmas, but even by his second one he was just fascinated by the wrapping paper,” he smiles at the memory of it, of the last Christmas he’d had with Haley before their marriage fell apart, “We ended up making a game of it. We’d toss a balled up bit of paper and he’d chase it.” 

She laughs, loud and booming and gorgeous, and she raises an eyebrow at him, “So what you’re telling me is we’ll play…fetch with our kid at Christmas?” 

“Not just Christmas,” he says, leaning in to kiss her again as he places the last gift in place, “Birthdays too.” He stands up, groaning at the ache in his knees, and then he offers her a hand to help her up. She leans against him, her arms hooking around the back of his neck as she kisses him, her moan stamped against his lips as he pulls her closer, his palm wide and warm on her lower back. 

“I’m looking forward to it,” she mutters, barely pulling back to speak before she kisses him again, her excitement and hope for their future sweet and addictive on her tongue. 

“Me too,” he replies, kissing her once more before he pulls her in for a hug, his cheek resting on top of her head as she sinks against him, her cheek against his chest so she can look at the tree next to them. 

“Are you doing okay?” She asks, pulling back to look at him whilst she tilts her head at him, “I know this isn’t easy for you.”

He smiles gratefully at her and he nods, “I’m okay. I promise. Watching you and Jack enjoy yourselves this time of year is enough for me.” 

She smiles sadly and she scratches at the back of his head, her fingers trailing through his soft short hair, “I know, but I wish I could make sure that you enjoyed it too,” she says, “And not just for us - but for you.” 

The truth was, she had started to help him find joy in it all again. He no longer felt like a spectator all the time, no longer felt like he was behind a glass wall whilst everyone else enjoyed themselves. It was still hard, but it felt manageable with her by her side. 

Everything felt manageable when she was with him. 

“I’m sure you’ll find a way to make me enjoy Christmas,” he says, a hint of challenge to his voice that makes her smile, “If anyone could, it’s you.” 

She smiles and kisses him, “You’re right,” she says, winking at him as she finally pulls away, her hand tangling with his as she leads him over towards the couch, “I’ll find a way.” 

___

He wakes up to the sound of crying. 

He sits up immediately, unsure when he’d fallen asleep at all, and he almost stumbles when he tries to stand, his limbs more uncoordinated than usual. He looks up when he hears his wife chuckling, her tired eyes meeting his as he walks over to the bed, drawn in by her. 

By them. 

“Daddy’s tired, Sophie,” she says, lifting the newborn from the bassinet next to the bed, soothing the little girl as she settles her into his arms, “You’d think he was the one who gave birth today.” 

He smiles apologetically as he sits on the edge of the bed, his eyes fixed on his girls together, “Sorry.”

She winks at him, “I’m joking honey,” she says, gently rocking Sophie as she tries to stop her from crying, “You’ve been up just as long as I have. I think she needs feeding.”  

He hums as he leans in to kiss her cheek, before he helps her undo her gown, “You're the one who had her, sweetheart. I just held your hand and brought you ice chips.” 

“You did a lot more than that and you know it,” she says, raising an eyebrow at him, her nose scrunching up as Sophie latches on, the sensation still new and strange to her “Besides, it’s never easy watching someone you love in pain.” 

She was right about that. By the time Sophie was born, it was close to 24 hours after Emily’s contractions had started. She’d taken in her stride, had refused most of the meds the doctors had offered her and walked around her hospital room as long as she could. He’d been there every step of the way, had been there to lean on - quite literally at times - as her body was pushed to its limit. Every contraction, every tear she’d shed, every time she’d insisted she couldn’t do it, disappeared the moment she was handed Sophie. He’d placed his hand over her shaking one on their daughter's back as he told her how much he loved her, how much he loved them both. 

“She’s worth it though,” he says, smiling as the newborn's eyes start to drift close, even though she is still eating.

“So worth it,” Emily replies as she lifts Sophie when she unlatches, smiling at her husband, “Want to burp her?” 

“Of course,” he says as he takes the baby and rests her against his chest. He stands up to pace with her as he pats her back, something he does without thinking - a ghost of a memory from when Jack had been this small. 

“Was Jack okay when you said bye to him?” Emily says, on the same wavelength with him as always as she reties the front of her gown, “I know this probably wasn’t the best way to spend Christmas Day.” 

Jack had spent most of his day with Jessica and Roy, eagerly waiting for news that he could go and meet his new little sister. By the time Sophie was born and they were settled, there were only a few hours of Christmas Day left. Even though Emily was exhausted, and even though Aaron suggested that Jack came to visit the following day, she’d insisted that he came - desperate to see their eldest on Christmas Day even if it was just for an hour or so. Watching the three of them together, Emily’s arm around Jack as she helped him hold Sophie, Aaron couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so happy, let alone the last time he’d been so happy on Christmas Day. 

“Are you kidding?” Aaron asks, raising his eyebrow at his wife as he looks at her, “He told me she’s the best Christmas present he’s ever had,” he smiles, “So I told him we’ll return that bike we bought him.”

She laughs and shakes her head at him, “No you didn’t.” 

“No,” he replies, smiling when Sophie burps, “I didn’t.” 

Emily holds her hands out to take the baby back from him, and he passes Sophie back as he sits on the edge of the bed again, “I’ve to say, when the doctor said December 25th was my due date, I didn’t actually think I’d have her today. Everyone kept telling me I’d go overdue because she’s my first.” 

It was something that he knew had driven her crazy the further into her pregnancy she got. The thought of being pregnant a moment longer than she needed to be, of being so uncomfortable a moment longer than she needed to be, enough to make tears shine in her eyes. She was insistent she wasn’t going to go overdue until the moment she went into labour on the evening of Christmas Eve, when the reality of their baby girl's due date seemed to finally hit her. They’d taken Jack to Jessica’s on the way to the hospital with some of his gifts packed into a bag and promised him they’d open the rest when they were home from the hospital with the baby. Aaron had imagined some kind of pushback, the boy's love for Christmas well established, but he’d agreed without argument - his eyes bright and full of excitement as he said he was going to share his toys with his sister.

“What was it Reid said?” He asks, shifting so his arm is around her so she can lean against him, “Only 5% of babies are born on their due date.” 

She hums and traces her fingers over Sophie’s cheek, “Hear that, Soph? You’re already special.” 

“Of course she is,” Aaron says, kissing Emily’s temple, “She’s our little girl,” he rests his chin on Emily’s shoulder so he can look down at Sophie, unable to stop himself from staring at her, desperate to learn everything there was to learn about her, “You really were serious about your aim of getting me to enjoy Christmas more.” 

She laughs and turns to look at him, her lips catching his temple before he tilts his head up to kiss her properly, “Yeah, well. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” she says, as if she could have ever actually planned this, “It’s not just Christmas anymore though,” she says, kissing him again before she turns to look back at Sophie, her temple against his, “It’s her birthday too.” 

“Yeah,” he smiles as love and warmth and joy flood his chest in a way it hadn’t in years, “It is.” 

[captivatingcherub]

My 🤍Vanilla Scented🤍 Everything Shower

Hello, my dears! This is kind of a step-by-step guide/how to on my shower routine :) my favorite compliment to get is that I smell good and since doing this I get that at least once a day! My go to is Vanilla or Coconut scents! I usually do a combination of the two <3

1. Before your shower

I personally believe you have to set the vibes of your shower first, I don’t always listen to music while I shower, sometimes I just like to take that time to think, but if I do I set up my phone/speaker in the shower, make sure I have a towel to dry my hands if I need, and find a playlist!

I also love incense, candles, or essential oils while I’m showering! If I have a headache or I’m not feeling good I’ll use essential oils that target that kind of thing and I find the steam + oils really helps!

2. Shampoo

I like to go top to bottom when I shower! I find it makes me feel the cleanest! So step one is shampoo, I still have not found the perfect shampoo and conditioner for me yet (if anyone has any recommendations please lmk) I’m using the Tresseme Keratin one right now but I want to try more!

Double cleanse your hair!! After I shampoo and rinse the first time I go right back in and shampoo again! Some people use two different shampoos, I would like to do that but I haven’t found any I love enough yet. This makes your scalp so clean and my hair is on the thinner side and I find that this makes my hair look less weighed down after day 1!

3. Hair Mask (Twice a Week)

I use a bunch of different hair masks, usually for different things (damage repair, hydration, elasticity) but it’s totally up to you! I feel like hair masks are so treatment based you really have to find which one works for you and your hair type/hair needs.

Leave the mask in for 5-10 minutes, we’ll do the next couple steps with it sitting in your hair!

Tip: keep a claw clip or hair tie in the shower so you can keep your hair up while it absorbs the product!

*If you don’t use a hair mask put your conditioner in at this step and leave in to soak into your hair the same!*

4. Wash #1

Double cleansing is everything to me, when I tell you like two years ago I was trying everything to smell good, it’s embarrassing lol but I was struggling because I didn’t know what to do + I have rather sensitive skin that reacts to some products in a less than great way so I have found that double cleansing everything helps so much!

For this first wash I use an antibacterial bar soap! Specifically the Dial antibacterial one but you can use whatever you want, this came in a huge pack and I’m only like halfway through lol. I know people love Dove and I want to as well but as far as I know they’re big time Z**nists and I try to avoid!

So yeah, brand of soap doesn’t really matter to me as long as it’s an antibacterial one! That will get rid of the bacteria that produces BO

5. Shaving Time

I know not everyone shaves but I love have smooth legs so this is how I do it!

First, I’ll go in with a scrub! There are a few I like (Tree Hut has great ones and a million scents to choose, Bath and Body Works has some, they’re not my favorite but they work, I really like the OGX coconut coffee one, not expensive and smells great!)

Then, shaving cream! If I’m out of shaving cream I’ll use conditioner instead but you just want something to kinda lube up your legs before you shave lol. As for shaving creams I’m not too picky, I really like the EOS vanilla shaving cream and I’ll get that when I can but I don’t find that the smells sticks around from it so whatever shaving cream works best for you!

Finally, the shaving, I use a 3-5 blade razor, usually the generic brand from Target lol but I find they work really well and I hardly ever get cuts from them! Anything less than 3 blades I find myself getting nicked way more!

6. Conditioner!

So, after you shave, you wanna rinse the hair mask out completely and apply your conditioner! (I’ve been using the matching Tresseme Keratin conditioner but again I’m not obsessed with it)

*if you skipped the hair mask step you can either keep your conditioner in for longer or rinse it out at this step!*

I like to leave my conditioner soaking in my hair same as the mask making sure to get the ends of my hair really well!

7. Brush your Teeth

Some people think I’m crazy for this but I way prefer to brush my teeth in the shower, plus it gives me something to do while I wait for various hair products to soak in haha, idk if anyone cares about what I use but I use an electric toothbrush and usually Crest Whitening toothpaste!

I also do this every day, not just in the shower but scrape your tongue! It helps keep my mouth feeling clean and fresh all day I cannot recommend enough!

8. Rinse your Hair

Get all the conditioner out! It’s healthiest to rinse your hair in cold water and I really do feel a difference in the smoothness and moisture in my hair when I do but it’s hard lol so if you can do a cold rinse (or better yet rest of your shower) that would be best, I usually turn it to a lower warm and pretend it’s doing the same thing lol

9. Wash, wash, wash your face

Now that my hair is clean and all the product is out of it I move on to washing myself, you want to make sure you get all the product residue from your hair off of you! That’s a huge cause of body acne and irritated skin!

I wash my face first, I like the cleansers from The Ordinary and Good Molecules but keep in mind I don’t really struggle with acne, in fact I have pretty dry skin so I try to go for more moisturizing ones! What is good for my face might not be what you need :)

Oh what’s that? You thought we were done? Nope! Wash your face again! Double cleansing saves my skin but kills my wallet lol! I wear makeup and sunscreen and touch my face all day, I want to make sure I’m getting all of that off and then ALSO cleaning my skin underneath! It has made a huge difference in the way my skin both looks and feels!

10. Body Wash!

Last step! Grab your body wash of choice! I have been using Bath and Body Works Madagascar Vanilla scent but I like pretty much any vanilla scented body washes! Then, I take a loofah and scrub my whole body, making sure to get my back and legs because the run off from the conditioner isn’t good to leave on and will clog your pores!

11. Out of the Shower

Ok! Now that you’re all done in the shower I thought I’d tell you about my post shower smell good process because it’s just as important lol. I start with a body lotion (I use a matching Vanilla scent to my body wash) I hear putting body oil on first then lotion makes your skin super soft but I haven’t tried yet!

Anyways, put the lotion EVERYWHERE, arms, legs, chest, stomach, feet, get your whole body nice and smooth!

I use a body/hair mist, right now it’s the Tropical Vanilla one from Pacifica and I put that in my hair and all over the lotion while it absorbs!

Then for deodorant, literally the only one that works for me and doesn’t give me a rash is the Secret Clinical Gel, it smells like nothing, I wish I could use one that smells good but unfortunately my body hates them :/

Lastly! Purfume/purfume oil! My favorites are Sweet Cream and Fresh Cashmere by Philosophy and I’m using the Creamy Coconut perfume oil by Kuumba Made!

All done! Thank you so much for reading! I hope this helped or you at least found this fun! Have a good one <3

[rorywritesjunk]

I can’t tell where the journey will end But I know where to start

Prequel to my Kid Buggy fic, set about 11-ish years before that story.

Buggy meets you by chance when he needs his buttons sewn back onto his jacket. He’s young, up and coming, and he thinks everyone should cower before him wherever he goes, but all you do is smile at him.

Rating: PG-13ish just for some swearing. Warning: Buggy’s in his early 20s. He’s an asshole. He just is because I wanted to write him loud, demanding, everything. Also, I’m not nice to Buggy when he tries to flirt. I definitely write him as a bit of a disaster when it happens. It’s just going to get a bit worse from here. This chapter is just kind of fluffy. Buggy deserves it. A/N: I have no idea when Buggy became a Captain, so he’s a fresh faced captain in this. No clue how long this fic will be.

Title comes from “Wake Me Up” by Avicii.

TAGLIST: @lostfirefly @ane5e @kingofthemfingpirates @the-angriest-angel @tiredemomama @valen-yamyam16 @i-reblog-fics-i-like @plethora-of-fickleness @uhnanix

Chapter 1 + Chapter 2 + Chapter 3 + Chapter 4 + Chapter 5 + Chapter 6 + Chapter 7 + Chapter 8 + Chapter 9 + Chapter 10 + Chapter 11 + Chapter 12 + Chapter 13 + Chapter 14 + Chapter 15 + Chapter 16 + Chapter 17 + Chapter 18 + Epilogue

Chapter 10

Miss Pins was kind enough to let Buggy upstairs to the living space to get dried off. The storm was pretty bad and she knew you would be dumb enough to walk him back to his ship like this, so she offered him a blanket and a spot on the kitchen floor to sleep, which he begrudgingly took while you came back to the kitchen in a pink fluffy robe with some towels for him to dry off with and a dry pair of clothes. You saw the blanket on the floor and frowned at him as your boss left.

“Does she want you to sleep on the floor, Buggy?” You asked as you unfolded a towel and started to dry his hair for him. “Because it’s too cold and hard. You’ll get sick.”

“I’ll be fine.” He replied, voice muffled from the towel as you dried his face next, being mindful of his nose. “Not the worst place to sleep.”

“My bed can fit two people.” You said as you handed him the other towels and clothes. “You can get changed in my room while I make us some tea.” 

He looked at you in surprise, face flush at the suggestion. Share a bed with you? Granted, you did before back on his ship when he was drunk, but he just confessed how he felt to you only twenty minutes ago and you were offering to share your bed with him? Really? 

You took his hand and led him down the hall to your room. “Come back to the kitchen when you’re ready.”

He was left alone after that. He stepped into your room and shut the door, taking a moment to check everything out. The dress you wore was hung up behind the door, drying out from the rain. There were some pictures on your dresser of what he assumed to be your parents and you, all smiling big. He picked up a photo of what he figured was you as a kid when you were still with your parents, and he squinted at it for a moment before setting it back down. It was nice to see you smiling in all the photos, and that you looked genuinely happy in every single one.

He stripped off his wet clothes and dried off, still looking around. There really wasn’t much in there except various articles of clothes hung up. Were they all yours or were these orders you worked on in your room? 

The clothes you chose seemed to fit him. He didn’t know what to do with his wet things so he opened your wardrobe and found some hangers, figuring he could at least hang them for you since you’ve been doing everything else for him. Once he finished he returned to the kitchen where you were getting two cups ready with some tea. You looked up and smiled at him.

“Feel any warmer?” You asked. “Probably feels good to get out of those wet clothes.”

He shrugged and sat down at the table, leaning back in his chair. You went over to him and leaned down to give him a kiss, startling him to the point where he almost tipped his chair back, but you grabbed the back of the chair to prevent it. 

“W-What was that for?” He asked, clearing his throat as he straightened up in his seat. You just shrugged as you went to the stove to pour the hot water into the mugs.

“Just felt like it.” You replied as you brought the mugs over to the table. “Let it sit for a few minutes, okay?”

He looked at the tea and back at you. “You’re not… upset by what I said?”

“Back at the lake?” You said as you sat down across from him. “About being in love with me? No.”

“Really?” 

“Why would I be upset, Buggy?” You asked, frowning as you tilted your head to the side. “I told you that I’m starting to fall in love with you as well.”

“Y-Yea, but…” He hesitated. The doubt was coming back. What if you just said it to be nice to him? Maybe you weren’t really falling in love with him, just putting up with him until he left again and you’d fall for someone else, someone better than him even. Taller, more handsome, didn’t have a stupid red nose on their face. 

“Buggy, why would I bring you to my home if I didn’t like you?” You asked as you reached across the table to take his hand in yours. “And if I didn’t like you then I wouldn’t be offering to share my bed with you. I’d let you suffer on the kitchen floor.”

He nodded slowly, looking down at his hand in yours, your thumb caressing his knuckles gently. That’s probably true, you wouldn’t be doing these nice things for him if you didn’t somewhat like him. 

“You’re sweet, Buggy, and I like that about you.” You told him. “But I would like to hear why you’re in love with me.” 

Oh. He didn’t think he’d want you to hear that. Where did he even begin? 

“You’re nice to me.” He paused and frowned. “Genuinely nice to me.”

“Oh, Buggy…”

“What? It's the biggest reason!” He insisted, but you just looked at him sadly as you gave his hand a squeeze.

“If you give me names of anyone who's ever hurt you, I'll make them pay.”

Well, he wasn't expecting that response. Did you even have a mean bone in your body? Buggy shook his head, trying to reassure you but it didn’t seem to be working. “No, no, it's fine. I'm fine.” 

“If you're sure…” You didn’t let go of his hand. The fact that you being nice to him was the biggest reason he fell in love with you made your heart hurt. You were raised to treat everyone with kindness, no matter who they were. 

“I also liked how you took care of me after my birthday.” He continued as he picked up his cup of tea. “You didn’t expect anything in return.” He took a careful sip before setting it back down. “You’ve helped me out a lot when you didn’t have to. You could have just left me at the restaurant and you never laughed at me.”

It was supposed to be sweet, his words, but honestly it just made you sad. Didn’t he ever have someone to help him out when he needed it? Why did it take you just being nice to make him fall in love with you like this? 

“Have people done that to you?” You asked, voice cracking just a bit. “Laugh at you when you need help? Why?”

“What? N-No, you’re not supposed to be upset when I tell you this!” He exclaimed, looking flustered. “I’m telling you good things, why I’m in love with you! It should make you happy!”

“I-I am happy, but Buggy, those are just… just things anyone should do!” You sniffed. “Things people do for people they care about.”

“... yea, well…” He crossed his arms and looked away. “I appreciate it, okay? It… means a lot to me.”

You suddenly got up and went over to him; he looked up at you, wondering what was happening, when you suddenly leaned down and wrapped your arms around him, hugging him tightly. He leaned into your touch and closed his eyes, hopeful that he could always get a hug from you. Honestly it was starting to become one of his favorite things whenever he saw you. There was just a feeling of safety whenever you held him, familiarity, and he wanted to be able to experience it forever.

You pulled away after a moment and he started to reach out to pull you back, but you put your hands on his cheeks and leaned down to kiss him softly. He was perfectly fine getting a kiss instead of a hug, leaning towards you as his hands went to your waist. The position was a little uncomfortable, so it wasn't surprising when you finally pulled back, looking down at him as your thumbs stroked his cheeks carefully.

“I want you to be taken care of, Buggy.” You told him. “I want you to know what it's like to be loved and cared for.”

“What? Why?”

You shook your head and chuckled softly. “Because anyone would want that, Buggy, and I want that for you.”

He sat up a bit straighter in his chair, praying it didn't suddenly break under him when he asked, “... Like from you?”

“Me?” 

“Yes!” He insisted. “If I want someone to love and care for me, I want it to be from you! I just told you I'm in love with you, Sunny! And, and I only want to be with you!”

You looked at him, tilting your head to the side with a bit of a frown before you smiled and chuckled softly. “Is this your way of asking me to marry you?”

Buggy was speechless for a moment before turning red and nodding quickly. “It is now!”

Shaking your head, you kissed him again before returning to your seat. “I want a proper proposal, Buggy, with flowers and a ring, but not yet, okay? Wait at least until I'm finished with my apprenticeship.”

“Fine.” He crossed his arms as he leaned back in his seat, smirking over at you. “Gives me time to get you the best ring then.”

“I'll be waiting then.” You told him as you took a sip of your tea.

~

Buggy woke up the next morning convinced he had the best sleep of his life. You were still asleep, arms wrapped around him tightly with his head tucked under your chin. Normally he moved around in his sleep, tossing and turning, but he was content to be held against you instead. 

He should get back to his ship, check in on the crew so they knew he was alive, but he wanted an extra few minutes with you before he had to get up.

When you finally stirred, sighing heavily as you started to open your eyes, he tried to pretend to still be asleep, shutting his eyes and hiding his head under the covers. You kissed the top of his head, running your fingers through his hair lovingly as you held him.

“You’re so sweet.” You murmured softly as you rested your chin on the top of his head as you stroked his hair. “I’m sorry if others don’t see that.”

Oh, that was nice to hear, actually, and it made him feel better about how yesterday went with him telling you how he felt, and the stress and anxiety he was having over it and how you might actually feel about him seemed to go away just a bit. 

Buggy didn’t want to move just yet, he wanted to hear if you were going to say anything else to him while he pretended to sleep. You pulled the covers off him just enough for you to kiss him on the forehead, which he was okay with, he wanted you to just hold him and kiss him whenever you wanted, it was reassuring that you liked him, that you wanted him around you, and he felt pretty good about the fact that you seemed okay with him wanting to marry you. 

He just needed to be patient, wait like you asked him to do, and find the perfect ring for you.

[sgt-scottymoreau]

Lay low and learn

Summary: Trying to pick up the pieces left behind after what happened 3 months ago, Scotty and Task Forces 141 found themselves in a dire situation that requires them to stay low and hidden for a while. But where to go in a country where you don't know who to trust anymore? Well Scotty might have a solution, but... can she reveals her secret to them? Can she trust them?

Warning: None.

Words: 5.9k // AO3 // Masterlist

A/N: Back to the main timeline with a fic that I have been work on ever since I created Scotty. An idea that I had back then, but I struggled so bad to feel in the gap between some scene, then wrote more fic that I could connect to it and eventually spend so long on the ending. Technically this is like a 2.0 version of it, I rewrote the whole thing after like a year(?) and honestly I'm just glad it's done! Italized text mean that they are speaking French here. For the sake of being used a lot and not wanting to have a character translate everything or such, I just did so.

It started like any other operation. The intel was good, their luck was running high and honestly nothing that made it feel like it would turn sour in a matter of hours. A cover mission to help the BSF after what happened 3 months prior with their ex commander. He apparently had more connection then they thought and even if he had by now been court martial, his allies were still roaming around. So, when the intel came in, they trusted it. They followed it till they realized that a very important detail was missing and now they were on the verge of a diplomatic incident with the French authority. For now the 141 had to cut themselves from everything, lay low till they could figure out a way to fix all of this. This is how they found themselves in the middle of nowhere in the countryside, in the darkest time of the night. 

"That ain't the worst that could happen to us." Soap tried to light up the mood.

"Sure, it's not like Laswell isn't coming for our asses after that." Gaz replied with a hint of sarcasm. "But being alive has its advantages."

"Very funny you two." Price groaned. "Well for now we should probably camp for the night. There’s nowhere to go until we figure out some plan." They all agreed. Despite the risk, they still lit a small fire so they could see what they were doing. After a quick meal from their rations, they made bed with whatever could be comfortable; their bag and some leaves. Wouldn't be the first time the night would be spent like this. Of course no sleeping under stars would be complete without taking shifts. The night started with Ghost on first watch, Gaz second, Price third. 

Price looked at the time on his watch. Three in the morning. It was time to wake Scotty up. He stretched his sore muscles and got up. He softly shook her shoulder. "Rise and shine, lass." He whispered. Scotty mumbled something but eventually woke up. "Everything is calm so far, hopefully it stays that way. At 6 you wake up Soap, understand?"

"Yes sir." She said, rubbing her eyes. Scotty took the spot next to the fire where everyone had been keeping an eye on the surroundings. It was eerily silent. She didn't mind it, but it also made her feel uneasy. Even the bugs weren't making a noise. Which was a little strange. She remembered all those summer nights where some cicadas would be annoying almost till early morning. Maybe the forest was different. At least the captain was right when he said all was calm.

She threw some small branches in the fire to keep some warmth, for a night in June, it was chilling. Her mind drifted for a moment, eyes lost in the dancing flames thinking about everything that happened. There was no real point in trying to understand why, but maybe it could give a foundation to their next step. She wondered if they could even attempt to contact the French authority and make them understand the reason. They were usually reasonable from what she remembered from her days in the BSF. However this time it was different. The team was not supposed to operate in the country without their knowledge and… it is precisely what they did. It would be hard to explain themselves. A rustle startled her. Her eyes scanned the surrounding, hand already on her gun. It was only Soap moving in his sleep. She let out a sigh of relief. However her body tensed up again when this time, it was a shadow she saw in the distance. It moved fast. The sergeant jumped on her feet, grabbing her pistol. As if her worriedness vibrated through the ground, the rest of the task force emerged from their sleep. She advanced toward the last position of the hostile. "Come out!" She ordered. "I know you are there and I won't hesitate to shoot!" 

A man came out, hand raised, and stood there. "I mean no harm." He explained in French. A civilian? No, not by his clothes. He looked different. "I'm with the AGIGN!" What in the world would they do here at night? Her gut feelings made her reach for her upper arm and rip the flag off her uniform before shoving it in her pocket. 

"What is going on here?" Price asked her once he was by her side. 

"GIGN, captain. Technically a sub branch of it." She replied, her eyes and gun never let go of the man. 

"Hey Thierry what is going on?" Another French voice came out. Five other men joined the one named Thierry, also surprised to see the 141. 

"Oh, on peut vous aider?" The probable captain of the group asked. 

"We don't speak French." Scotty said. Price looked at her from the corner of his eyes, his expression remaining calm despite her statement. He could see the frown and her concern. He understood that he should just play along. 

"My captain asked if we could help you." Thierry translated. He lowered his arms. 

"You are special forces? We could use some help to get in contact with our base. We need extraction." Price explained before the Frenchman translated. 

Scotty put back her pistol where it belonged, keeping an ear to what was being said. Thierry and his captain said that it wouldn't be a problem. They had their headquarters not far away, they were welcome there. The 141 grabbed their belongings and followed the men to their cars. Without much more, they climbed in, Soap and Ghost in one, Gaz, Scotty and Price in another. For this one time, Price wanted to keep her nearby. Especially that she was acting odd. 

"I thought you spoke French?" Gaz whispered to her once the engine was on and the vehicle drove off. 

"Let's just say it's better that way." She replied. Price gestured to Gaz that if Scotty thought so, it was better to follow. 

They drove them for an hour before stopping again. This looked like an old village, almost abandoned. The kind of village only locals would know of. "We have arrived at the HQ." Thierry said, getting out. The 141 did the same. 

"What base?" Soap inquired, not seeing anything as usual. Even if it was a makeshift one, he couldn't figure out anything that resembled it. 

"C'est un peu plus au nord, dans la montagne." The driver of their car said, not even caring about them understanding. Him pointing up the mountain gave them the idea that the base was maybe there. Some more walking to do. 

Soap, who was also wondering the same as Gaz approached Scotty as they walked back into the forest. "Why don't you talk with them?" 

"Because something is not right." She whispered. "I could be wrong, but I know the GIGN and I know that none of their branches are in this area." This small information was enough for them to be on high alert. They followed in silence. One thing Price couldn’t shake off since they were found by the AGIGN was how no one questioned what four British SAS officers and one unknown military personnel were doing in France, lost in the forest. He trusted and believed Scotty when she said something wasn't right. Because anyone with the slightest common sense would have been concerned.

While the Frenchmen chatted like they had nothing to worry about. Scotty tried her best to not reveal her secret, but Soap and Gaz wanting to know what was going on made it hard. She shortened the whole conversation to they were making fun of them because they are Brits, making comments on Ghost being scary and other small talk. 

"How long we still have to go?" Price asked. He was getting irritated that they had been walking for a long time without even a sign of being close to any building. 

"I'll ask." Thierry said. He looked nervous himself. "Captain, we should hurry, they are getting impatient." 

"Thierry, tell them we are almost there and everything is alright. Once we are in the clearing, a bullet for each one of them. They won’t even know what’s happening." 

Scotty, who was watching her footing, snapped her head back up and she stopped in her tracks hearing this. Every part of her body tensed up. Her arm flung in front of her captain to stop him, surprising everyone. "Fils de pute!" She yelled. Son of a bitch. All the Frenchmen moved a step back finally realizing what was going on. She took her gun and pointed at the French captain. "Captain, they plan to kill us! There never was a base!" 

"Son of bitches!" Soap cursed, raising his own weapon. It was only a matter of seconds now. The first to pull the trigger would save their team. The 141 reacted fast taking advantage of the Frenchs being shocked that someone had been listening all along. Their bodies dropped dead quickly. A better look at their uniforms confirmed Scotty's suspicions. They had a logo resembling AGIGN, but it was botched. Good enough to trick anyone from afar. After more look around, they connected these men to the terrorist they had tried to take down. If these men could find them in the middle of nowhere, the 141 definitely had to lay low for sure. Disappear. They walked back to the village, finding the cars still there. At least they could now travel easier.  

"Let's get out of here." Price ordered. "Gaz, you drive."

"Captain, with all your respect, I should be the one driving." Scotty interjected. "I probably know the region more than him." He agreed and took the passenger seat while the other three men squeezed in the back.

*****

She had been driving for an hour now. The dark sky was slowly lighting up on the horizon, a sign that the sun was making its breakthrough. Her eyes looked in the rear mirror, to see the three men still sleeping, even Price was softly snoring. The road signs began to look slightly blurry, reading the town and exit’s names was difficult. Tiredness was on the edge of her brain and she knew she had to stop soon. Scotty had two options. Stop and let Soap drive or keep driving till they are safe. There was a reason she decided to take the wheel. Well at first it was mostly a wild guess and hoping she was right. Once they hit the big road, Scotty did figure out they were in an area she knew well indeed. They weren’t too far now, if her brain could let her stay awake just a little longer. She finally took an exit, went through the center of town which was completely deserted at this time of the day, maybe the local bakers were already working, and took an old dirt road. 

His head hit the window after a small bump that made him emerge from his slumber. Price fully woke up when the engine came to a complete stop. Before he could comprehend what was going on, he saw Scotty walk out of the car to the house in the distance. He watched as she knocked at the door, waiting restlessly and when the door opened it looked like she was talking with the owner. Glancing at the radio’s clock, it was already five in the morning. A shifting from the back caught Price by surprise. Gaz moved up between the front seats. “What's going on?”

“We will see.” He pointed at Scotty who was jogging back to the car. 

“I asked these kind folks if we could stay for the rest of the ‘night’ and they said yes.” She explained.

“How did you convince them?” The captain wondered.

“Hmm… You know a simple little lie!” There was a hint of nervousness in her tone that he dismissed. If this place was safe enough, they might as well take the chance for now. The captain ordered everyone out, grabbed their bags and walked to the door.

A woman and her husband welcomed them in. They looked like they just had been awakened from their sleep and weren't exactly sure what was going on. "Bonsoir, we have some bedrooms for you, messieurs. Et madame." The woman said shyly. 

"Thank you ma'am. We won't be staying too long." Price reassured. The husband brought everyone upstairs and showed them the room. With a heavy accent he explained that the kids weren't home at the moment and they could use their room. Apologized for the mess the little ones might have left behind. Once everyone was tucked back in, Scotty made her way back to the kitchen on her tiptoes. Awakened by a second wind, she didn’t feel like sleeping at the moment. The woman was there making tea, and her husband grabbed three mugs. Scotty leaned on the counter as the woman put down the kettle. Her eyes glared at the sergeant.

"I haven't seen you in months, not even a phone call and you just show up at my door in the middle of the night!" The woman berated her.

"I'm sorry, Gabrielle!" Scotty apologized. "We were in the area and we need somewhere to lay low for a while and then we will be out."

"Cam, I have no problem with having you here, but I don't have enough to feed all of them. Have you seen their size! Even Nathan looks small next to them!" The husband raised an eyebrow unsure whether to take this as an insult or not. Camille assured her that it wouldn’t be a problem, she could also help with any extra groceries. Gabrielle sipped on her drink with a snort. “So much for wanting to keep your family out of your job. Who are these guys anyway?” 

Camille realized she had a lot to catch up with her sister. She was sure she had mentioned something about her new career path, but then again so much had happened she might have only mentioned being transferred to another country and didn’t mention the task force. A quick recap of all that happened since the beginning of this year was enough to bring Gabrielle up to speed. Sometimes, she wondered how sister could handle such a life. After their cup was done, Camille finally felt tiredness coming back and decided to give in. 

Later in the same morning, Scotty woke up feeling like last night was a terrible nightmare and wished that it was the case. But reality hit back when she woke up on the floor of a room decorated with stickers, posters of a football team and toys all over the carpet. Her body was stiff from the hard floor, the only spot she found to sleep on when she sneaked in the room. She pushed herself up holding down a groan of pain. Soap was still snoring in the very small bed. Ghost was sleeping on a mattress that was on the floor facing away from her. She caught herself staring at his shoulders that were slowly rising up and down. She approached to check if… Yes he still had the mask on. She smiled, that was crazy to her. Silently, she made her way out, at the same time Gaz came out of the other room. "Mornin'." He greeted her. 

"Morning, slept well?" 

"Oh, not so bad. Better than in the woods. Are Soa-" He was interrupted by her grabbing something from behind him. Gaz was quite surprised by this strange reaction, even more by the forced smile she put up. Was she hiding something? He was curious, however with the lack of really want to know what was going on, he simply let it go. "Are they still snoring?"

"Oh yes, sleeping like babies." The smell of eggs and fresh pastries reached their nose. Their stomachs growled. With a laugh they headed to the kitchen for some grub. Price was already there trying to help to set up the table. If he had to be a guest here, he would at least be a good one. The two others helped around till the last two finally woke up. After a good late breakfast, it was time to take it easy for a lack of knowing what to do. Eventually they discussed how long they should remain low. The consensus was at least a good week or two. Give time to whomever to clear them out of trouble. Hopefully Laswell or the BSF could help. The captain admitted that squatting here was an option, but also felt abusing the kindness of these people.

But Scotty told him it was fine, she talked with the owners and they were happy to have them around. He raised an eyebrow. She already did so? Without him knowing a single word of it until now? It sounded a little odd that some random French civilians would be so inclined to accept English military personnel in their house, but if they didn’t mind then so be it. Ghost didn’t touch much of his breakfast till Gabrielle and Nathan left the table to clean the dishes. Something Gabrielle commented in a whisper to Camille. The sergeant excused her lieutenant saying he usually never shows his face to anyone. If it could make Grabielle feel better she herself hadn’t seen his face yet either.

Later in the day, the couple said they would head to town for some extra groceries. Left alone in the house, it feels like a relief for Scotty. No more reason to play translator. Gabrielle and Nathan’s house was far from the town, maybe forty five minutes drive, surrounded by large terrain and trees. Not a destination anyone would go to by accident… You had to know exactly where they lived. A question Soap was too eager to ask, which she deflected by saying that she was simply looking for some place to stop for the night quickly and it was not unusual to have a house like this when she saw the off road path. The perfect spot to disappear.  

With not much to do, the boys helped around; chopping woods, cleaning the terrain, sparring with each other. Taking advantage that the owners were away to clean their guns and do an inventory check on their remaining gears. Scotty and Soap finished their last lap around the premises a little before the sun had completely set. Ghost was watching them arms crossed. “Takin’ vacation, sergeants?” He smiled behind his mask.

“If running half a marathon is considered vacation, sure.” Soap joked.

“You wish we ran one third of one.” Scotty rolled her eyes. Ghost leaned on the fence and looked at them. For a split second she swore her eyes met his and her gaze darted away quickly. Recently, Scotty didn’t know how to interact with him outside of mission. She tried hard to convince herself that it had nothing to do with the crush she was developing on him. It wasn’t high school anymore, who had crushes in their late 20s! But it was very obvious this was the reason. Scotty swore it all happened since that ops a few weeks ago, but it only became worse in the recent days. She knew the implication and problem that dating would cause, if he even returned the feeling and so she did all she could to keep it secret. Hoping it would one day fade away and it was indeed a small crush, nothing more. At least when the others were around, she was capable of keeping it together and not making a fool of herself.

On the fourth day, Scotty was on the porch watching the surroundings with Gabrielle next to her, enjoying a lemonade. It was rather warm today but that didn’t stop Ghost from still wearing his mask while chopping wood. “At this rate, Nathan won’t have to do anything until winter next year.” Gabrielle snorted. 

“I’m sure he will appreciate the time off. More time with the kids, unless he enjoys all the hard work.” She teased. Taking a sip of her drink, Camille gaze lingering on Ghost from afar. Only with a t-shirt on, his muscles tensing and being defined at each movement, his tattoo out in the open, the fabric tight on his chest as sweat made it stick to his skin. It was a sight for sore eyes. She couldn’t take her eyes off him even if the more she watched the hotter the weather was. Or it was her. A little detail Gabrielle noticed and was too happy to point out.

“Someone is in love.” She teased, nudging her. Camille turned fast to her with a glare and red cheeks.

“I’m not!” 

“Oh please, you have this look you always had when you were looking at your crushes. You can’t fool me. What are you finally settling down after all these years? It’s about time.”

Camille took another sip of her drink to cool off a little.“I’m not like I used to be in the army. I calmed down a while ago, you should know. But even then Gab. It’s not like I could do anything about it for a various number of reasons. There’s rules! Anyway, it might pass.”

Gabrielle nodded, not believing her entirely on the idea that it would pass.. “But seriously from all these men, you go for the one with that creepy mask, who barely talks and feels he could kill you in your sleep. You are weirdo.” Camille laughed at her insult and nudged her. She missed their casual teasing.

After a week, everyone was rather itching to go back into action. Vacations were always welcome, but most of the days were the same because no one could go out to town for a change of scenery. It was getting boring. Till the woman of the house took Scotty aside. Nathan had left earlier this morning without saying why. While the men were talking about something, Gabrielle spoke up about a little detail that was worrying her. “Camille, listen, we might have a problem.” 

“If it’s money, I can help. Just tell me and I can pay for it.” Camille did agree that all five of them did eat their fair share of food with not so small portions. She did feel bad for her sister, however also teased her that this was only a trial to show her how it will be when the kids will be teens. 

“No not that, although I wouldn’t refuse that. But that’s not it! If you wanted to keep us a secret, it might be complicated. Nathan’s parents called. The twins were at their place for two weeks and there was a problem in their house. The boys have to come back home.” The information hit Camille like a rock to the face. Gabrielle and her husband understood the importance of playing along but her nephews? Not a chance they keep it down. She let out a swear loud enough that even without understanding the language, the 141 turned their heads. She gestured that it was nothing. Her sister confessed that Nathan should be back in an hour or less by now. Scotty’s heart sank down her feet. She had barely time to make a choice. Either tell her teammates about her family and trust them or say nothing and hope to catch the kids before they come in. However Gabrielle wasn’t too keen on allowing her children to lie when she always told them it was bad. But was it so bad if it meant to protect them? Gabrielle apologized for putting her in such a situation on short notice, but they themselves learned about it only last night, hence why Nathan left so early in the morning. 

Scotty took a deep breath and joined in the conversation of the boys. However it was easy to see her uneasiness. Price’s mind raced to try to figure out what could cause this. Would they need to leave this place? Wouldn’t be surprising. Did things turn sour and they will have to remain hidden longer? No, he would be the first one to know. “Everything is alright Scotty?” 

“Well, I don’t know how to explain this.” She started. “You know we all have our secrets right… Things we don’t want others to know, like Ghost and his face.” It made them laugh, except for Ghost who crossed his arms.

“Just spit it out, sergeant.” He said, rolling his eyes. Scotty opened her mouth to explain. The door flung open with a man shouting in the back and two small humans bursted in. 

“Auntie Camcam!” They both shouted jumping on her, completely ignoring the four men sitting on the couches. All of them looked at her surprised and she timidly smiled. The kids started to ask her plenty of questions till one of them noticed the 141 and they went silent quickly. The twins watched each man carefully. They looked like giants! One of the boys grabbed at Camille's jeans half hiding behind her, while his brother looked much more enthusiastic. 

"La tête de mort il est trop cool!" He said pointing at the masked man. Ghost tilted his head to look at the boy. It was his usual look, nothing out of the ordinary. But the twin hiding being Scotty started to sob. She quickly kneeled to his level to reassure him.

"Je veux pas que la mort t'emmène!" He started to cry. She hushed him, promising that this was not Death but just a man with a mask.

"Tout va bien Mathéo. Il ne te fera rien." Camille said, kissing him on the forehead. Mathéo stuck his tongue out at him, still upset and ran to his mom. The 141 looked at her eager to know what just happened. Even if they had a little idea. 

"Nicolas found Ghost cool while Mathéo thought you were Death coming to take me. I had to reassure him that that was not the case." Soap didn't hold his chuckles as she translated. Neither did Gaz and even Price had an amused smile on his face. 

"Maybe Lt should take off his mask or the lad won't come out ever again." Soap teased. Ghost shook his head and firmly reiterated that the mask stayed on. Gabrielle hushed the boys to their room, leaving the task force alone. Scotty felt very uneasy at the moment. The silence was heavy.

‘’I took a risk by bring you here, but this was the only safe place I could think of back then.’’ She let out after a while. “I really wanted to keep it a secret.”

‘’Everyone wants to keep their family safe, especially with our job.’’ Price reassured her. ‘’That would explain why they have been so kind to keep us for so long.’’  

Scotty chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. It indeed explained a lot. Even if she knew that they had no issue with that, Scotty was torn between everything. She never planned on revealing the location of her family. It was a calculated risk that she thought of with a very tired mind when it all happened and yes when her sister admitted that the twins weren’t home, it did sound like it would all work out for the best. The sergeant just wanted everyone to be safe on all sides. She barely knew the 141, only for a few months and she knew she could trust them in a way, but Scotty still had this feeling that she did something wrong. Even her old colleagues only knew she had family somewhere and that was it. They never saw a picture, even less met them in person. But what was done was done, she can’t change anything she might as well live with it and hope for the best.

Later that night, they were all around the table for dinner. Scotty didn’t have a second for herself. Flanked, surrounded, ambushed with the twins who kept asking questions about her work and babbling about what they learned at school recently and what they were doing at their grandparents. Gabrielle had to intervene so they would let her eat in peace. The sergeant said that nothing could surpass the children's interrogation which made everyone laugh.

Scotty went to grab a plate that was slightly further from her. Ghost, noticing that she was obviously struggling to get it, kindly helped by handing it. For a second, their fingers touched each other. Scotty thanked him, her cheeks already coloring with a soft pink. A reaction that didn’t go unnoticed by her sister, nor nephews. Mathéo tugged on her sleeve so she could lean and he whispered in her ear. Whatever the little one asked, it was enough to make her face turn red and straighten up quickly. 

“What did he say?” Soap asked amused. 

“N-nothing! Nothing important. No Matt I-I don’t.”

“But you are all red just like when mom gets a compliment from dad!” That remark made his parents chuckle as well. Camille suddenly really wished this dinner could be over already and was oh so glad none of her teammates knew French. At least the rest went without an itch. After dessert, Nicolas tried his best to interrogate the rest of the task force. Mathéo on his side simply stayed in his aunt’s arm in silence, listening. Soap and Gaz answered to the best they could, having some fun along the way. Making their stories more unbelievable sometimes as well as much more kid friendly. Price shook his head with a smile. To Scotty this moment reminded her when her dad would be telling her stories of his deployments. These were the days, the innocence of a child. Eventually, the twins crashed from their busy day. Their energy completely drained and they passed out quickly. The parents picked up their children and brought them upstairs. 

After an eventful day, Scotty needed a break. She headed outside, walked a few meters away from the house and lay down on the grassy ground. It wasn’t comfortable but the view made it all worth it. Being far from any town, Gabrielle’s house offered a clear view of the stars. Left alone with her thoughts a lot of turmoil resurfaced. On one hand she felt like a hypocrite to be demanding to protect her family when she was the one who took the decision, on the other she knew it would all be fine. Did she regret bringing the task force here? A little perhaps. But at the time, it was the only safe place she knew of and they needed it. Would she do it again if a situation demanded it? Most likely. The safety of her teammate was as important as her family. Deep down, Scotty was aware that this need to keep her family secret came from make up scenarios, horror stories she heard again and again in the past years. There was no need to be so mysterious about her loved ones. Most of her work was done in the shadows rarely engaging with any enemies who would make retribution 

But. 

What if? The lingering question that made her so worried. She let out a deep sigh as the turmoil cleared out of her mind leaving her alone with the stars. The sound of the crunching peebles and gentle rustle of the grass caught her attention, but she remained in her position. Whoever it was, it was friendly. The smell of cigar gave away who stopped next to her. Scotty started to push herself to sit, but Price gestured to stay still. With a groan, he saw on the grass, arms resting on his knees. “It’s a nice view.” He simply said. 

“The first time my sister invited me to her house after they bought it, I spent all night outside.” She smiled. They remained silent for a little while. 

“I understand it might have been a hard call to make, but I’m glad you did so. Scotty, you know we won’t betray your family.” Price said casually blowing off the smoke. “No matter what.”

She pushed herself in a sitting position. “Thanks Cap. … Can I speak freely sir?” The captain nodded. “If anything happens to them, you are the first ones I’ll go after, no friendship will change that.”

“A little dark side of yours?” He had a playful grin on his face. She returned the playfulness, but Price knew she meant what she said. “I promise it will never come up to this, lass. No worries.”

As they watched the sky they saw it. A shooting star flew in the dark blue. Jokingly Scotty told the captain they should make a wish. Price scoffed. They stargazed a little longer, till maybe five minutes later, his phone buzzed. The brightness of the device illuminated his face, he had to squint a little the time his eyes adjusted to the light. A heavy frown lowered on his eyebrows. An unknown number had sent him something. You and your team are cleared and can return home. Laswell sends her regards. Tell Kabouter hello, she will understand.

Price read the message out loud to the sergeant who couldn't help herself but chuckle at his pronunciation of kabouter. “Who is that?”

“Someone we can trust, captain. An old friend of mine at the BSF.” Scotty stood up and dusted herself off. “I suppose it’s time to go home.”

“I know some lads who will be happy to.” Price stood up a few of his joints cracking. Years of hard work.

****

When the news was brought to the others about their probable departure, the rest of the task force was rather glad that their unprompted vacation came to an end after only a week! Laswell eventually contacted the captain with more information and where safe areas they could reach to return to England. They would need to find a way to reach any of them which was a little logistic problem but they can figure something out. Gabrielle, although sad to say goodbye to her sister, was also happy to see them leave. There were a lot of people in the house for far too long. The only two who were devastated by the news were the twins. They barely had the chance to see their aunt long enough and they just met these four awesome men! It took a little time to make them understand why they had to leave. 

They finally embarked on a plane in a military base nearby who could provide them transportation back home. In a little more than an hour, everything will be done. The five of them allowed themselves to completely let the pressure down, relaxing at the thought of home. 

“So who wants to join in for a drink?” Gaz proposed as they barely stepped a foot on the tarmac.

“Didn’t we spend enough time together?” Scotty chuckled and threw her bag over her shoulder.

“Aye! Count me in.” Soap replied. “Come on Scotty, one drink and then you can go home.”

She lifted her finger to emphasis on the only one drink. The captain excused himself, rather liking to get on with some paperworks. They shouldn’t forget about it. Ghost was on the same page as Price. Ghost passed behind her and stopped for a second. “You have a nice family.” was all he said in a monotone tone. 

Scotty was a little taken aback by this comment. What did he mean? Why? Nonetheless. “Uh thanks sir.”

Her eyes lingered a little longer on him as he walked away, discreetly biting her lower lip till Soap pulled her out of whatever thoughts that were forming in her mind. Right, drinking with friends now, thinking about her crush, later.

[lunarcovehq]

POPPY REED (REBECCA RITTENHOUSE) HAS FOUND.

Connection: Younger Sister

Suggested Name: First name UTP, but last name would be Reed. They should have a nature based name like their other siblings - Poppy, Linden Jasmine (Who is their half sibling

Age Range: 29-34

Species: Witch or newly turned vampire/werewolf

Suggested FCs: UTP; We would prefer a blonde fc and some suggestions are Elizabeth Lail, Brianne Howey, Grace Van Patten, Virginia Gardner, Margot Robbie, Halston Sage, Jenny Boyd, Britt Robertson, Olivia Holt, Lily James, Josephine Langford, Madelyn Cline

Connection Description:

The twins were 6 they were taken away from Boston and memory wiped by their mother to forget Silas. They also had their last names changed to their mother’s surname. Your character would have been a baby/toddler still so most likely wouldn’t be subjected to as strong or any memory wiping at all.

They have a half sibling named Jasmine Chamberlain, that they were unaware of until 3 years ago when she came to town and told them of her existence.

Alyssa Reed remarried quickly to Miles Hale who would be their step dad as they grew up. Likely it was possible that they were close to Miles, since they would be the youngest and didn’t have a father figure already in their life.

Your character would always be have been treated as the baby of the family by the twins and their parents. They would be the one constantly protected and sheltered from the darkness of the world around them.

After the twins went away when they turned eighteen they were probably put even more on a lockdown by Miles and Alyssa and weren’t allowed to leave Lunar Cove. Wanting to prevent the family image from further being tarnished/losing another child.

When Miles and Yasmin (the former supreme) both died in 2022. Alyssa shaped your character up to be the next supreme even though they never wanted it. Thankfully they failed out of the trial pretty quickly, which cause discourse with Alyssa. Especially when Poppy later became Supreme.

In June 2023, Poppy was murdered by Kyle Kane. It caused an uproar in the coven which all present members (and non coven members) voted that she be brought back. Jasmine brought Poppy back, but as a result for bringing a her back Alyssa Reed died in her place.

Your character would also be aware Silas Chamberlain is their father since he was in town during December 2023, and he was turned into a werewolf by Nico Castillo. The family is still unsure where he is now, but they know someone like Silas doesn’t just die.

Please be sure to contact the player before applying:

Kourtney is available for DMs on @moonglowmagic !!

[selmasemlan]

Crash into something epic - The first meeting

Author note: I was I supposed to posted a complete different fic; YES. Has this fic been living rent-free in my mind: ALSO YES. So enjoy the fact you´re getting fed Marcel Gerard fics finally. This will be a series of connected fics with an OFC. So enjoy!!

Pairing: Marcel Gerard x Luna Salvatore (OFC)

Warning: None, just a lot of freaking fluff and soft sweets

Word count: 1267

Series Masterlist

Crashing into something amazing

“I want you to promise me something”

Damon looked at his brother, not expecting this. “ Go on. What does my little brother want from his dying brother?”

Stefan stares silently for a few seconds, not knowing how to articulate this random wish. Damon was many bad things, but with this one thing, he had always stepped up. But his wish burst out of his mouth. Like when you rip off a bandaid. Quick and not thought through.

“I want you to spend this summer with Luna”

Damon gave him a weird look, a look that asked him if he was crazy. How would he spend the summer with his little sister, if he was dying? Dying quickly from a wolf bite no one knew the cure to. He couldn't even pick up the phone to have a final talk with his dear sister. His sister who he had randomly one day 11 years ago found and adopted, only because he saw parts of him and his brother in her. That little girl he loved from the moment he saw her. The little girl he raised to become strong and proud. God, how could a man like him, influence a child to become so kind and sweet? He had no answer to that. How could he have been so reckless, to not care about himself enough, to keep himself safe so that little girl, not so little anymore girl could have him in her life? He was about to break her heart. 

Damon chuckled humorlessly. 

“That's a little cruel, don't you think? Reminding me about the one thing that means something to me. The one thing I truly care about.”

Stefan shook his head. He was going to save him. He was going to save him, not just because he was his brother, but because of that girl. Luna needed him, needed them and as long as they both were alive, she would be happy. Luna had never been a child that asked for much, which wasn't a shock if you know how her life was, the first 6 years of her life. She never complained, never demanded. She was content and happy with what she was given. The love was given. 

“Just promise me!”, Stefan said desperately 

Damon looked at him in shock, not understanding what he was doing or trying to do. It was confusing. But even so, he answers.

“I promise that I'm going to spend the summer with Luna”

He was clear, something they both had agreed to when it came to Luna. To teach her morals and the value of your words. 

Stefan nodded and left the room. And Damon could only watch. Not knowing that he wouldn't see his brother again for the 3 coming months.

A week later

“Good morning, sunshine!”

Luna gazed up at her brother, her eyes still heavy with sleep. He had arrived the day before and had been pampering her non-stop. From waking her up with a plate of warm, crispy waffles to showering her with affectionate cuddles, he had been relentless.

"Hey, what do you think about going to New Orleans?" he asked, his voice laced with excitement.

"In Louisiana?" she inquired, giving him a quizzical look.

Damon flashed a mischievous grin and retorted sarcastically, "No, I meant New Orleans in outer space."

He paused for a moment and then confirmed, "Yes, in Louisiana. I know it's been your dream to visit, so why not spend the summer there?"

Luna's face lit up with joy. Overwhelmed with excitement, she simply nodded vigorously and threw her arms around her brother in a tight hug.

It had always been a dream. Luna had a thing for music and colors and that was something New Orleans was known for. But one thing was missing in this dream come true. 

“What about Stefan?”, Luna looked up at her brother. She loved the idea but wanted them all to enjoy this dream of hers. 

Damon sighed and brought her head back to his chest. He hugged her tighter and said,

“Stefan wanted us to be happy. We can always revisit the city when he comes back.”

Luna could only nod at this. 

A few days later 

“Luna don't run!”

Luna turns around and only giggles. Disregarding his caution, Luna raced forward and seized Damon's hand, her excitement palpable as she tugged him along. Immersed in her exuberance, she gestured animatedly, capturing every fleeting moment of joy through the lens of her camera. In this moment she is beyond happy. Of course, the constant thought of Stefan is flying around her head, but she's making it up by taking as many photos and videos as she can to somehow share this experience with Stefan. She does not doubt that the Salvatore siblings will be reunited. 

Suddenly, in her exhilaration, Luna collided with a stranger. Before she could comprehend the swift turn of events, she found herself ensconced in the stranger's steadying embrace. She meets the stranger's eyes and feels herself freeze. The stranger stares back, his eyes stare off in annoyed politeness but slowly change to a softer look. If the world had stopped, they didn't know. The only thing they knew was the person in front of them. They were lost to the world. However, this fleeting interlude was abruptly shattered as Damon swiftly intervened, pulling Luna back to reality.

"I warned you to be careful," Damon chided, his concern evident. Observing the stranger before them, he sensed an imposing strength and age beyond his own. Casting a respectful glance at the stranger, Damon offered a conciliatory nod. While he exuded an air of self-assured arrogance, but his sister's safety was his priority, and only then would he back off from a fight. 

The stranger regarded the siblings before him and, displaying a measure of forbearance, remarked, "It's all right. Could happen to anyone."

Luna, still nestled in her brother's protective embrace, puzzled over the unfolding encounter. She with her newly triggered powers sensed that the stranger was a vampire. She could also sense an inherent power that seemed to command Damon's deference. Concluding that the man in front of them was not to be messed with. 

"Are you new to the city?" the stranger inquired politely, directing his attention to the siblings.

Damon remained reserved, offering only an unspoken nod. Meanwhile, driven by an innate curiosity, Luna eagerly responded, "Yes, we're visiting."

The stranger looked at her, with the same look as before, softly and nodded, feeling the girl's happiness. Luna notes that the stranger in a way changes the way he stands. Luna didn't know how to explain it, but with just a small change to his body, everything shifted. If he had felt like a powerful force before, he felt more like a friend now. 

“Then let me introduce myself”, he said gently, his eyes locked with Luna's. "I'm Marcel, Marcel Gerard. If you need anything, just let me know, and I'll take care of it."

The siblings acknowledged his offer. Though Damon was inclined to depart. But he knew his sister was a curious being and she wanted to know more. Her eyes shined with a sort of shimmer. Damon didn't know if it was her powers doing or if that was just her. Luna stepped out of her brother's embrace and closer to Marcel.

"I'm Luna, Luna Salvatore," she introduced herself with a beaming smile.

Marcel chuckled softly at the imitation. 

As they exchanged knowing smiles, they both realized that this moment marked the beginning of something truly epic.

[lifewtr]

and the difference is this | M+ | 3/7

After a horrible moment that leaves her befuddled, Katara seeks out the most undesirable route to her problem. For Zutara Week 2023 (@zutaraweek), Day 5 + 6: Respite, Forge.

Five days ago, Zuko had found himself stuck with the faint scent of sugar up his nose.

It had been exigent yet also no more than a tendril; so scarce that he’d simply thought that he’d been struck with a peculiar craving.

With the scent came a memory, after all. Winter Solstice with his mother’s side of the family, high in the frosty northern mountains of the Fire Nation. It was a memory from before, when his parents had been happy and his sister had smiled more freely. His great grandfather had taught them how to bake cloudberry-mint cookies that year. “This is snow sugar,” his great grandfather had told them, “it’s made special in the South.”

The hazy smell of that minty sweetness had stayed with him nearly all through the day as he worked, only ebbing when he’d made his routine run around the track in the Embassy’s eastern field. By the time he’d made it back to his suite—because no way was he going to sleep in the barracks if he didn’t have to—the sugar cookies were all he’d been able to think about again, from the foyer to his bedroom, from his shower to his kitchen, his mouth had watered more and more for a flavor that wasn’t there.

Standing in his kitchen in nothing but leftover water droplets and a towel on his hips, Zuko made a decision. He hadn’t quite been up to the task of baking said cloudberry cookies, or even sourcing the right ingredients and having them properly cleared to be brought onto base for that matter, but he had supposed that he could snuff the hankering with a jam-filled powdered donut and a peppermint coffee.

He’d dressed with a place in mind; had stopped by Mai’s suite to ask if she wanted to tag along, his treat. His second in command had promptly stopped sharpening her knives and put her shoes on—not once had he ever heard her say no to free food.

The streets of Yu Dao were as busy as they should’ve been for a pleasant Thursday evening and so was the cafe when they’d stepped inside. For whatever reason, Zuko had been a bit jittery with excitement for that snack. He hadn’t questioned it too much. The smell of sugar had been dense and warm in the air of the cafe and he’d been ready to slate his craving.

And then, after less than a moment of being in line to place their order, the scent of sweetness had transformed right before his nose. Suddenly it had unfurled. Suddenly it had been like a tundra in the spring; florid with thickets of bright, resilient blooms of pink and purple on a blunt cliffside. Suddenly it had been sunshine reflecting on a crashing ocean and crisp, salt-tinged winds, all voracity and wonder and need.

Suddenly there had been a woman with luminous blue eyes turning and baring her teeth at him.

‘What the fuck?’ He’d thought to himself in alarm.

‘Omega?’ Interest had piped up shortly after, tentative and out of place. ‘What gorgeous little fangs...’

‘What the fuck?’ He’d thought again, that time at himself. Had he stepped closer? Why was he reaching for her? She didn’t need to hiss in his face, needn't whimper like that at him. He was only going to help, as he should. He was only going to give her everything that she could ever possibly require—

“Back the fuck up,” Mai had stepped into his line of sight then, had placed her body between him and sugar and then glared death at him with narrowed hazel eyes. He’d curled his lip over his teeth in a silent snarl, a warning, but Mai had only snarled and growled back. “Where’s your head, Zuko?” She’d snapped at him, her quiet tenor as cold and dangerous as any of her knives. “Dude, do I need to drag you out of here? You’re causing a goddamned scene. Remember your station, Major.”

The scent of hot coals had rammed up his nose then—agitation undercut with a touch of concern; alpha, replacing all sweetness of snow sugar in his senses. That had been all it took for him to straighten up, to remember who he was; who Mai was, which was somebody not to be fucked with, not even by him. She was his best friend who had absolutely no problem dragging him by his mangled ear if it meant getting out of the mud alive, and he had no business showing her his teeth.

“What the hell was that?” She’d asked him when they’d eventually sat down with their order, the cafe back to calm; the woman nowhere to be scented or seen. He’d known she meant him though, and truthfully Zuko hadn’t had a fucking clue about the lapse. His senses weren’t often poked at in such a way.

“Don’t know. Next time just deck me in the nose,” he’d said around a bite of donut. The wariness on Mai’s face had ebbed after a moment, instead replaced with a small smirk of acceptance. It was a promise that he knew she’d keep.

Hours later, after Mai had indulged him in a late night spar to help him blow off some lingering steam from that strangle little incident, they’d made their way from the training yard and back towards their respective suites.

The north hall had been closed off for cleaning. They’d thought nothing of it and made the easy decision to cut their way inside through the west.

About halfway down the Embassy’s western wing, they’d heard a crash. It hadn’t been loud—in fact it had been just quiet enough to raise his hackles. One shared glance with Mai and the barest of nods later, they ventured deeper into the building.

Another crash had sounded out; the faint curdle of a wailing growl from the midst of the Ambassador’s Lodge. The closer they got the more the memory of cloudberry-mint cookies persisted in the back of Zuko’s head.

The commotion had been coming from room 012 on the right. Mai had knocked, had pressed her ear to the door and asked if everything was alright. On the other side, something had hit the ground. A loud, agonized whimper had come through.

Mai got the door open. Sugar had flooded Zuko’s nose.

“Stay!” Mai had barked at him on her way in. The command had rankled against him unpleasantly, at being told what to do by another alpha. It had worked, though; had sliced through the weird place that his mind had started to go and cleared the fog that he hadn’t noticed clouding his thoughts—but then there had been another whimper, and then he was inside. Another, more pained whimper, and then Mai had let out a string of curses from where she’d been cradling a woman in the middle of the floor.

The same slip of a woman from the cafe.

‘What the...’

“Medic!” Mai had growled at him. “Now, Major!”

The command had rankled.

Grateful once again, the Major had replaced Zuko.

read AND THE DIFFERENCE IS THIS in full on AO3! ↬

[bearbluebooks]

Chapter 10 - Delicate

This chapter contains: FLUFF

Read on AO3 or under the cut :)

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9

Gwyn POV

In the aftermath of the daylight violence, she found solitude under the blanket of night. Here, she was embraced by the cover of darkness, it opened its arms open wide and welcomed her home. 

Her childhood home was no longer, all that was left now lay in ruins. The sea was nothing but a distant memory. Her new story was difficult to write. But Helmerra felt more like home with every day that passed.

Nesta and Gwyn took up running just before she left to find Blue. Gwyn suggested it to Nesta one day and she enthusiastically agreed. Initially, it was a way to escape her mind, to push the thoughts away with each new step. Every increased heartbeat was one less thought in her brain. Naturally, it only worked for a short amount of time. As soon as her regular pace returned, so did her flow of thoughts.

Two days had passed since her capture by ‘Him Who Should Not Be Named’. 

As soon as Azriel and Gwyn returned to Helmerra, several professors greeted them in a not-so-welcoming manner. Even Helion looked displeased at their unapproved expedition. Her reasoning didn’t suffice as justification, and both got punished as a result. 

Helion’s face didn’t leave Gwyn’s memory, he seemed exceptionally alarmed by all the information they revealed about Koschei and the time Gwyn spent in his castle. She knew Koschei was dangerous but his face turned ashen. He lowered his voice so only Gwyn could hear him: “See me in my office tomorrow Gwyn, we have a lot to discuss.”

Azriel was given two weeks detention where he was expected to train first years. He seemed annoyed but at least he could share some of that expertise he always bragged about.

Gwyn’s punishment was less physical but just as demanding. Her library duty was doubled, yet her patience for Merril’s increasingly demanding chores seemed to have halved. She tried to sympathize, Helmerra was a refuge for priestesses, and everybody was there with a reason, but insults like “you’re so slow Gwyn, work harder, that is if you can” and “fetch me that book, acolyte” made it more challenging every day that detention went on. 

On top of that, nightmares never left her body or her mind. All the horrors that transpired in the last couple of months seemed to find a place in her dreams. 

Powerlessness followed her every waking moment into sleep.

She vowed to never feel so helpless again.

It was that pledge and her latest nightmare that led her to the secret rooftop in the middle of the night. 

She used every opportunity she got to become as strong as she could possibly be. Whether that would be through her body or her powers, she was only skilled enough to train one by herself at the moment. 

When she first came to Helmerra and learned about her powers they always felt buried deep underneath the ocean floor, where she could feel them, but never reach them. Since she reconnected with Blue, her powers were no longer buried but burst out of her like hot lava out of a volcano. Unpredictable and scorching hot, literally. She already lost count of all the things she destroyed when she lost control of her emotions. They seemed to be tied together, both as unpredictable as the tides. 

Helion invited her to a secret instruction class for Royals. She already attended once. She felt out of place and too self-aware. These were all students who had trained for years, she did not even know magic existed until a couple of months ago. She was used to being the best in everything she did, and this felt distressing, to say the least.

They were all so talented and powerful. There was Lucien’s half-brother Eris, who also had red hair. He was said to be ruthless, but he had never been anything but kind towards Gwyn. The second oldest was Tamlin, who had blond hair and was more reserved than the males she usually encountered at Helmerra. Kallias was just as silent, but in a far more intimidating manner. His white hair and gray eyes didn’t help his intimidating presence.

Gwyn was glad to have Rhys and Lucien in the class. It offered relief in the predominantly male-dominated class. Another familiar face was Tarquin. They were in the same year. She recognized him from potion’s class. 

Helion also urged Gwyn to get her powers under control as soon as possible. Gwyn told him about the prophecy and his first reaction was to hit himself on the head exclaiming “how did I miss this?” He vowed to help her in every way he could.

Another class she was thankful for, was Devlon’s self-defense class. He certainly had his flaws, but he was useful at times. His fighting sequences proved particularly valuable at the moment. She wanted to learn them all as well as she could. She started with defensive techniques by enhancing her speed and skill. Gwyn knew she was smaller than most opponents, but she was also faster, and smarter.

That’s what she focused on. She learned how to move fluidly and swiftly like water.

Most importantly: she learned how to observe the opponent. To learn their weaknesses, their tells, and their flaws. To always be a step ahead of them. 

Her movement had improved a lot since she first set foot in the ring. But she was not on the level she needed to be, as proven by her recent encounter.

She was still struggling with offensive fighting techniques. That’s why she focused on repetition: to build muscle memory which she could always fall back on. And to build some muscle in the meantime.

That’s why she was kicking the training dummy with the force of a storm in the sequence Devlon pushed into them last week. She could hear his belting voice in her head as if he was standing next to her:

Punch them in the solar plexus with your fist.

Chop or poke their neck above the collarbone.

Knee a male in the groin.

Kick the side of their kneecap as hard as you can.

Drive the base of your palm into the underside of their nose.

Strike their windpipe with your fist.

She repeated the sequence until her hands were red by force. And then she continued until they bled the color of crimson. 

The memory of her attackers flashed in and out of her mind. Their faces appeared on the dummy and her hits became more powerful and exasperated. After a while, she couldn’t feel her hands anymore. And the aggression seemed directly channeled into her fists. Out of her body. Into the imagined enemy in front of her. 

Her breathing became heavy as her heart beat fast from movement and memory.

She was so in the zone she did not hear the figure approaching her from behind.

When she turned around to hit her attacker in the pit of their stomach, a scarred hand grabbed hers as a deep baritone voice said: “are you sure you know what you’re doing Berdara?”

She smiled as she said, “I’m sure you hear that all the time, shadowsinger, but I’m very capable, thank you.”

The look in his eyes transferred to his mouth, as he smirked and said in a raspy voice: “you have not begun to see all the things I’m capable of. But I’m very willing to show you. If you’ll let me.”

The thick voice transported her to the memory of her first kiss which she tried very hard to avoid. Not because she wanted to forget it, on the contrary, she was so aroused and thunderstruck she had a hard time thinking about anything else. But that was exactly the problem. It had no place in the training ring, she needed to focus on getting better, not on that sultry voice coming out of that very kissable mouth. 

She shouldn’t spend any more time thinking about those luscious lips that only needed to touch hers and she already forgot her name. Not to mention his tongue that knew exactly where to move. The harder she tried to forget that moment, the more that burning sensation returned to her core.

He was so capable in fact, that they both forgot danger lurked just behind them, as they were completely lost in each other and the kiss.

The redness of her injured hands, now moved directly to her cheeks, when he moved her hand to his mouth and placed a kiss on it. His eyes burned with a passion that Gwyn would have shied away from before, but she felt so safe in his presence now, she allowed herself to become completely entranced by those hazel eyes.

He gently pulled her closer to him again. 

She loved it when he did that. She loved the closeness.

She closed her eyes as he lowered his head and used that deep sultry voice to whisper in her ear “shall I show you now?”

Gwyn whimpered in response- she had never whimpered in her life, “I’m training, you can’t distract me Azriel.”

She could kick herself.

Those kisses transported her nightmare-filled thoughts directly into a place of pure pleasure. Where nothing else existed except him. 

He moved his hands to her hips, pulling her flush to his body. 

She knew he would stop if she said the word. That’s what made her lose herself in his embrace. The safety of knowing he would let go if needed.

All she could smell now was cedar and night-chilled missed.

All she could feel was a deep need to have a thorough demonstration of his gifts.

He took her earlobe in his mouth, sucked on it, and whispered “okay. Let’s go Berdara.” 

His voice went straight to her core, yet his body moved away.

She quickly moved in front of him and pushed his body against the wall behind him with more force than she intended to. 

His hot lips found hers again. He started with slow, gentle kisses on her mouth. Taking his time. She softly took his lower lip in hers again and gave a slight bite. She remembered he liked that last time. He licked the spot she bit and gave a small chuckle. “Fuck, Gwyn.”

“You’re killing me.” 

This time she smiled. She guessed that was a good sign? She vowed to ask him later if she could do anything to improve her kissing. She had no experience and Azriel was so good at it. The whole world ceased to exist, as she was lost to the kiss and his touch. She wanted their kisses to be magical for him, too.

His scarred hands moved to her backside as he pulled her into his lap.

She loved the friction the momentum caused and she tried to chase it by pushing her hips into his in an almost rhythmic movement. The kiss turned so desperate Gwyn’s body curved into Azriel’s.

Azriel groaned into her mouth. 

A smile formed on his lips.

“Gwyn… that’s…”

He groaned again.

The sound almost turned her on more than the friction did.

His shadows danced around them. Both in joy and disguise. She loved those obsidian embodiments of night. 

Then he pushed his tongue against her lips again. Gwyn opened greedily and allowed him inside.

His tongue sensually caressed hers in slow languid movements. He moved his hand to the back of her neck and slightly angled her head so he had better access.

His lips were hot and hungry. 

They moved to her neck, where he placed small kisses and slowly licked a trail up her neck.

This time she moaned, “Azriel.”

She didn’t mean to say that out loud. Her face became red again.

His hazel eyes stared darkly into hers. As if the mention of his name was a magic spell that unleashed something in him.

He hungrily kissed her again. As he said into her mouth “I want to take you somewhere tomorrow.” 

His face moved back a little bit to asses her eyes, after which he placed another quick kiss on her mouth.

Gwyn smiled so brightly she was sure happiness radiated from every pore, “I would love to…

…where are you taking me?”

He had that mischievous glint in his eyes as he said “it’s a surprise.” 

She both loved and detested that look. She always had trouble letting go of control so she hated surprises with a passion. Catrin loved them. Every holiday her mom had to coordinate secrets and information skillfully. 

“I don’t do well with surprises”, she said a little hesitantly. She didn’t want to disappoint him but she also didn’t want to pretend she was something else. 

Azriel contemplated the new information. Devising a new plan, she was sure. 

That made her smile a little bit again.

“I’ll pick you up at 7 p.m. Wear something you feel comfortable in.

It will only be the two of us. I’ll make sure we are back before the bells chime.” His eyes looked slightly insecure. As if he believed Gwyn would not want to spend time with him.

So she quickly replied, “I’ll be ready.”

He smiled brightly now too.

He softly placed a kiss on her lips again as he said “good.”

“Now let’s train. You need to put more weight into your dominant leg when you hit your opponent.”

‘Moment over’ Gwyn thought jokingly.

------

Azriel POV

He needed to shut down whatever was happening between him and Gwyn before his cock became even more strained in his pants. 

He took a deep breath.

Grandma's in the shower. Gwyn in danger. Animals dying.

That helped tamper his arousal a little bit. At least to where he could actually function.

Gwyn and Azriel spent the whole night training.

After Gwyn’s abduction, he secretly sent a shadow to stay with her. It was more than happy to comply. Azriel actually saw it dance towards her, happy to be able to exist in her presence day and night.

It gave Azriel slight relief, to have eyes on her at all times. He made sure to give her some privacy, they served more as a warning signal than a bodyguard. 

That was what he was for, and her training. So she could guard herself.

She was already impossibly fast. He was proud of her and how far she had come. Her stubbornness was useful in more ways than one, he thought to himself, as she kicked him in the stomach and made him stumble back a few steps.

Wounded pride and delight filled his body. He should’ve anticipated that move, he was distracted in her presence, and her swift movements made good use of that. Clever.

He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her middle, pulling her into his embrace as he whispered “I was supposed to meet Rhys and Cassian half an hour ago.”

Gwyn chuckled “if you don’t want your ass kicked anymore you could just say that, you don’t need an excuse.”

Her head was under his chin now. He moved his hand up and down her back, and rested it on the small of her back. He whispered in her ear again “I don’t need to resort to tricks to get you to do what I want.”

He felt her shiver. Payback. 

“Let me take you to your room, Gwyn.”

She moved her head from under his chin to look him in the eyes “I’m going to stay for a bit longer, but you go.”

“Are you sure? You can kick the crap out of me some more, just say the word.” He said with a wink.

She smiled as she said, “I’m sure, I think one bruise is enough for the night.”

She remained silent for a little bit before she continued, “thank you for training me tonight, Azriel.”

He just smiled as his shadows winnowed him away from Gwyn, into his bathroom. Words couldn’t express what he wanted to say- everything for you, I never want to see you hurt again if I can’t be there, at least you can be there for yourself. So he chose to say nothing at all. 

Before he could meet his brothers, he needed to release the leftover tension. He closed the bathroom door, and took his throbbing cock in his hand as images of the beautiful copper-haired female flooded his mind. His release never came so quick, yet it only scratched the surface of the tightness he felt in his body. Not even his own hand could satisfy him anymore. Trouble.

--------

They met in the bar just outside of Helmerra. The dark-lit space was made entirely out of wood. There was a dance area, where the bar was located, and a more private area with tables and chairs to watch the lively scenery from a distance. Azriel’s favorite spot.

It used to be a weekly tradition. Life and love made the occurrence more uncommon than routine.

The music was booming so loud, he could feel the beat reverberate in his eardrums.

People swayed to the rhythm of the music. The amount of people in here was a problem waiting to happen.

Alcohol flowed as easily into mouths as the gossip that was being spewed.

Azriel, Rhys, and Cassian sat in their usual corner.

It felt like old times. The natural familiarity they automatically slipped into whenever they were together. The inside jokes and the natural understanding they all shared due to the years growing up together. They could be assholes at times, but he appreciated these moments.

Cassian and Rhys sometimes entered the dancefloor, but Azriel rarely did. He could dance, that wasn’t the issue. His mother was a gifted dancer and the scarce time they were allowed together she spent imparting some of her passion.

When she was only 18, Adelphi Black, met the love of her life on a busy marketplace. Every Tuesday she would accompany her dad to help sell their family business. For generations, the Black family gained their wealth from flowers. Their estate, Rosehall, was the only place a certain flower could grow. The unique soil and the air quality provided the necessary conditions for the Eralda to thrive.

Adephi was the oldest of two and therefore expected to take over the family legacy. In secret, she pursued her dream: to become a dancer. Even though they were better off than most in their village, Adephi was always drawn to the lavish and opulent promises of wealth. Ever since she was a little girl, she dreamt of the pearly possibility. 

That’s what drove her into the arms of the much older Illyrian male. He was charming at first. Lavishing her with gifts, attention, and promises. Her father was almost as enamored by him as she was. When he asked for her hand, he happily granted it, despite her predetermined future as flower heiress.

Her happiness was quickly reversed when she met not only his wife but also his two young sons. She was never meant to be his wife, only his mistress. The realization hit hard, especially with the baby boy growing inside her pit of despair.

When Adimus, Azriel’s father, found out about the growing danger to his good name, he arranged for the cell to be built. It was home for the first eleven years of Azriel’s life.

His stepmother, Haera, made sure no windows were installed, light was to be part of Azriel’s life for only one hour a week. His mum’s presence was even more rare: one hour a week.

That hour was when Azriel was happiest. It was as if his mother vowed to show him all the light in the world, not just from the sunshine that could finally hit his skin, but from the movement he wasn’t allowed, from the music he believed to be magic, and from the feel of another person’s love.

He loved dancing. Especially because it reminded him of his mother. He just enjoyed watching more than being watched. Being the center of attention was overrated, in his opinion. Careful observation was where the real power was. To listen to what was being said, and observe what remained unspoken.

People always thought they were so secretive, in their whispered affections and stolen touches, when one look would expose everything. He didn’t even need his shadows to bring light to the obscure, only his eyes.

That was one of the things he liked most about Gwyn. She unabashedly wore her heart on her sleeve. No mask, no pretense, only Gwyn. That made her the most mysterious person of all.

“What’s been up with you, brother? We’ve hardly seen you in the last couple of weeks. 

 Does it have anything to do with ‘too good for you’ Gwyn?” Cassian said with a snicker and a smack on his shoulder.

“Shut up,” Aziel replied with a shove in Cassian’s chest.

“You better know what you’re doing, Azriel.” Rhys chimed in.

Why didn’t they ever mind their own business? He knew she was too good for him, he didn’t need his brothers reminding him of that fact. The sentences did latch onto some other emotions Azriel buried deep. They took root and cast a shadow over his previously delirious and singular passion.

“It’s not any of your business.” He bit back. He was not discussing this with them. What he had with Gwyn was delicate and brand-new. He hadn’t even talked about it with Gwyn.

Time to change topics. Half of Rhys’ brain was perpetually occupied with politics- the other half with Feyre, and Cassian was always in for talking battle strategy.

Being focused was always more useful than being the focal point: “what are we going to do about the asshole who abducted Gwyn?”

“You mean ‘he who should not be named’?” Cassian said. 

“My dad had a meeting with the other high lords. He said there was another attack in the Winter Court. The whole village of Kincardine was slaughtered.”

All three brothers became silent. Paying respect to another fallen village. 

They were too late again.

“It was different from the other attacks. They were lethal, but they were hunting for something. There was always a specific intent. This time it was like they sent a message. They burned the whole village down with some kind of lightning strike. They even left a mark of the sun behind.”

“It is said to be the same mark they cast in the sky before they storm a village,” Rhys explained.

“We need to go to that village,” Azriel said.

“That was my next point.” Rhys interrupted.

“My dad is not sending more troops there. He wants to sent them to other villages he thinks will be next.”

“One of the sun sages was caught. He wants you to interrogate him.”

“Cassian and I will strategize how we can slip out and go to Kincardine, and get back without being detected.”

“You will meet us there when you’re done.”

“We’ll go tomorrow night.”

Azriel only nodded his head in confirmation. 

The night was already coming to an end. The crowd slowly made their way towards their beds again. Some their own, some to less familiar beds.

Azriel also opted for a different bed, as he stood in front of the now-familiar door. He contemplated entering. His shadow informed him Gwyn had been asleep for hours, but something felt wrong about violating her privacy- any further. So he took a deep breath and put the gift in his shadow.

The daily gifts stopped when they were outside Helmerra, continuing would make it undeniable they came from Azriel.

Now they were back, so he resumed his mission to make her room less empty. He never wanted her to feel like she lived in a cage without light.

He imagined, how her eyes lit up with every new addition to her life. How those teal eyes sparkled similarly those glimmering rays hitting the surface of the sea. That magical dance of light that seemed to transcend reality. It slightly melted away some of that ice his brother’s comments cast. He still tucked away the thought. He buried it deep, where it glinted quietly. A thing of delicate, secret beauty.

The day passed by normally. Gwyn had something called ‘Smut Sisters’, some kind of book club with Emerie and Nesta, and he read up on reports and prepared for the mission he would go on tonight after their date.

He planned this night since they got back. It had to be perfect. It was their first ever date. He thought long and hard about what to do, where to go, what to bring, and most importantly: what to say.

Azriel decided on the sea near Rosehall. He prepared a picnic on the cliff overlooking the big blue expanse, and another surprise.

Gwyn was speechless when they stepped foot outside of his shadows. That was a good sign, he thought?

“Azriel did you make me a picnic?”

“I didn’t know you were such a romantic.” She said half teasing and half pleasantly surprised.

“There’s a lot you still don’t know about me.” He said with a wink.

Was that cheesy or sexy? He really hoped the latter. He wasn’t used to working this hard for a female, he never really wanted to, nor did he need to.

“This is where I grew up. My mom still lives close by.”

“I thought it would remind you of home too.”

“I love it,” Gwyn said as she took his face in her hands. Forcing eye contact.

He saw the sparkle in her eyes he so often imagined. With the mirror image playing out right behind her back. Gwyn’s eyes seemed to shine even brighter than the stars dancing on the water’s surface.

They stared into each other’s eyes for a little while longer before they sat down on the red checkered blanket Azriel put down shortly before he picked up Gwyn.

When he stood in front of her door at 7 p.m. sharp, he was not prepared for the magnificent sight that awaited him behind the door. Gwyn opted for a dark green silk dress that reached just below her knees, she wore a knitted white vest that clasped just in front of her chest. The sleeves were so long they covered her hands. She wore white sneakers underneath. The top of her hair was braided, leaving most of her hair to fall on her back.

Azriel decided to wear something casual yet formal, he landed on his black dress shirt, which he strategically unbuttoned so his silver necklace was visible and most of his tattoos. He wore simple black pants and his most non-traditional black shoes.

Maybe he should have dressed more casually, especially now that he was so uncomfortable on the blanket, but he wanted it to be special so he would endure it.

He picked up all of Gwyn’s favorite things: chocolate cake, lemon tarts, some kind of rhubarb tartlet, and soda. He brought extra blankets for when she got cold. He contemplated bringing another gift, but he decided to continue under the veil of secrecy. Maybe she wouldn’t accept them anymore if she knew they came from him.

Gwyn’s eyes became big as they took in the sight. “You did all this for me?”

“What are you going to eat?” she said jokingly.

“You better leave some for me Berdarra. I had to fight to get that chocolate cake.”

“Maybe you have to fight me for it. I’ve been training with a gifted Shadowsinger. And I recently acquired a dagger. I make quite the opponent, I’ll have you know.”

“I don’t doubt that.” He said with a smile.

“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about the dagger that showed up in my room this morning. Or all the other presents that have filled my room, would you? She said with a glint in her eyes that he couldn’t place, he hadn’t seen it on her face before.

Oh no. He had been caught. Either she was too smart or he was not as skilled as he thought he was. Would he commit to the mystery, or admit to the reality?

After everything that happened, he promised himself -and more importantly Gwyn- he would be honest. Although he was building up to revealing everything, he could admit this. It wouldn’t be so bad. He had good intentions. She would see that. She would.

His shadows danced chaotically around them now. The one loyal shadow that always seemed to be drawn to Gwyn was floating behind her now. He could almost see its crossed arms and judgmental look.

“Yes.” He said. “I do.”

“Why?”

“Do I need a reason?”

“Why did you do it Azriel? You hardly knew me when the first gift came.”

That was partly true, but he wouldn’t tell her that tonight. He wasn’t ready for that conversation. He wasn’t ready to lose her.

“I wanted to…” his voice became more quiet as he searched for words to express everything he was feeling. He couldn’t smile his way out of this one.

“You deserved to feel at home.”

He hoped that was enough for now. He hoped she wouldn’t press him further. He was never good with words and experience taught him the less he said the less trouble his mouth would get him in.

“Thank you. That was really nice.”

She deserved the whole truth: “I bought the necklace as a Solstice present for Elain.”

“Then we broke up.”

“I wanted to return it. But then you moved into the priestess dorms.”

“I wanted somebody to enjoy it.”

“Oh.” She responded quietly.

Then she remained silent. As if her brain was working through all the new information.

After a little while she broke the tension “thank you for being honest.”

She sat down, folding her knees underneath her body. She held her hands out to pull him onto the blanket as well.

“This is lovely, Azriel.”

She moved closer and wrapped her hands around his scarred fingers. Giving them a light squeeze, as if saying, thank you.

“What’s your favorite color?” she suddenly blurted out, shattering the tension that was building up in the air. It did nothing to lessen the desire that always flooded his veins, her proximity only made it more all-consuming. Even though he made sure to visit the bathroom to clear his head (both of them) before picking up Gwyn.

“Blue.”

“Not black?” she joked.

“That’s my last name, actually.”

She laughed now. A proper belly laugh that reverberated through his soul. Was there a nicer sound in the word?

“Of course it is.” She said in between laughs. 

“Why do you say that” he said with nothing but peaked interest.

“You only wear black, your shadows are black, I am willing to stake my new dagger on your whole room being black. Black bedsheets, black curtains, black wardrobe, black bed. Your sarcan is black.”

“I’m just saying, it makes sense.”

Shit. She was right.

“Maybe I’ll show you, maybe I’ll continue the mystery.” He said with a smile.

He hoped he could prove her right one day. But only when she was ready.

“Would you like to dance, Gwyn?”

That took her by surprise. That made two of them.

He stood up and took her hand in his. There was no music but he could swear a faint beautiful sound danced around them. He listened to the sound and hummed along. Gwyn seemed to pick up the tune just as easily. Could she hear it too, he wondered?

He placed his other hand on the small of her back. He used the movement to pull her closer to his moving body. He took her through his favorite dance, the Quake. Its swift yet intimate movements made it perfect for their first dance.

Gwyn was quite tall for a female, yet she still barely reached his chin. She rested her head on his chest. He almost forgot he had another surprise.

After dancing until his feet hurt in what he thought were comfortable shoes he asked: “Gwyn, would you like to go for a swim?” 

“I didn’t bring any swimming clothes!” she said with a look in her eyes that seemed to say ‘this is why I don’t like surprises’.

He needed to think of something fast. “Why don’t you wear my shirt, it will cover most of your body,” he said a little bit proudly.

“Only if you feel comfortable! I’ll turn around.” He said quickly.

“Okay.” She said with a confidence he was relieved to hear.

He turned around and undressed his upper body. Once he removed his shirt, he held it in his scarred hand and reached it behind him. It was quickly picked up by a much smaller pale hand that rested her hand in his a little bit longer than was necessary. Sparks ignited in its wake. 

He moved down towards the beach, granting her space to change.

He stood in the water, where gentle waves drenched his pants. Which he very purposefully kept on, he was already afraid he made her uncomfortable with his bare chest. No need to further add to it.

His shadows warned him she was descending, so he flexed his muscles just a little bit. First impressions mattered.

“You can turn around” she yelled above the cresting waves.

So he did. Slowly he tried to prepare his heart for the sight of her in his clothes. But no amount of time could have readied his body or his mind for the absolutely breathtaking view that walked down the cliffside. Towards him.

Her long pale legs were barely visible under his black shirt. It was so big on her, that she practically drowned in it. She had rolled up the sleeves to reveal her delicate hands. She buttoned up the shirt to cover most of her chest but he could still see some of her freckles. How he loved those tiny brushes of sun. Her hair was braided and swayed in the wind. Her eyes shone bright in the moonlight as if joy added an extra layer of radiance to her teal eyes.

It felt as if his heart stopped beating. As if it was waiting to be dropped back to earth. Into his body. It felt like a dream. He was sure he actually dreamt about this moment once. If it was a dream, he prayed to the Cauldron to never let him wake up. He could live in this moment for eternity.

“You’re staring.” She said, as she suddenly stood in front of him.

“You’re beautiful Gwyn.” 

What else could he say to convince her of that fact? He didn’t want to scare her. But he also desperately needed her to know how celestial she was. Her copper hair that flowed in the air, her teal eyes that bore into his soul, her luscious lips he never wanted to leave him, her delicate hands that he wanted to be wrapped around his neck.

As she finally stood in his orbit, she pulled him further into the sea.

There was magic in the air, not the Helmerra kind, but the otherworldly kind. The waves were such a deep aquamarine not even Feyre’s painting skills could do it justice. The air was crisp and clear. The night sky was illuminated by thousands of stars. Normally starlight was not as visible because of other light sources polluting its radiance. They were now so far from civilization that it wasn’t a problem here. The stars danced in all their glory.

The water was up to her chest now, it barely reached his middle. His shirt clung to her body, making all her curves visible. He tried very hard not to stare. He focused on a spot just behind her head. Just so he didn’t see those full breasts that fit her body so perfectly.

He was very grateful his lower half remained underwater because his cock sprung to attention again. She moved closer to his body, as she wrapped her legs around his. He prayed she wouldn’t feel the growing effect she had on him. She rested her head on his shoulder and he couldn’t remember another moment he felt so at ease, so at peace. They drifted like that for a little while. Getting lost in each other’s touch and the rising movements of the sea.

It was a little while before Azriel’s second surprise joined their little pocket of safety. The familiar melodic growl took them out of their sole focus. Gwyn left his grasp and swam towards her sarcan. “Oh Mother, Blue? What are you doing here? 

“I missed you!”

Azriel couldn’t help but smile. As he watched Gwyn and that natural playfulness he adored so much. Blue and Gwyn resumed their easy companionship, as her shadow darted in and out of their synchronized movements.

Blue had been accepted into the stables for Helmerra sarcans. He visited her yesterday to set up the surprise. Sarcans could only communicate with their companion, so Azriel never got a confirmation other than a small nod, but he was sure Blue adored Gwyn as much as he did. 

“Azriel come over here!”

He swam over to the joyful duo- or trio? And watched the lighthearted scene that played out in front of him.

After an hour or so, he regretfully had to end the fun, as the bells were about to chime and he promised to get her back in time.

“Gwyn.”

“We need to go back.”

“Noooo, five more minutes.”

He smiled. “Sure, I’ll grab our stuff. Meet me on top of the cliff.”

As he made his way up, he looked back a couple of times. He wanted to imprint this memory so Feyre could perhaps paint it one day.

If Gwyn would reject him after he told her the whole truth, at least he would always have this.

He winnowed them back to the front of her door as promised. They stood like that for a little bit. Baskin in each other’s presence. Not wanting to be the first to break it off.

She moved a little bit closer. Then she stood on her toes and kissed him.

First his cheek, then his mouth.

She licked his lower lip, asking to deepen the kiss.

He opened greedily. Not wanting this night or this moment to end either. She kissed him deeply and fervently.

Then she pulled away.

“Azriel….”

“Yes, Gwyn.” Should he be amused or worried?

“…. You’re so good at kissing. And I….”

“… I have never kissed anybody before…”

“… and you’re so good…”

“… and I want to be that good for you too. So if I can anything better… or different…”

“Please let me…”

Was she serious? He had never had kisses that did that to his body. Cauldron he was hard just thinking about those lips. If this was all they would ever do, he would die a very happy male. Existing in her presence was more than enough, and he was grateful for every second.

He took a step forward and interrupted her by saying in a raspy voice “Gwyn…”

He delicately grabbed her neck, lowered his head, and whispered against her mouth “…yours have been the best kisses I’ve ever had.” He kept holding her neck as he turned them both around, lightly pushing her against the door. Never stopping the kiss, only deepening it. Then he smiled against her lips.

Before he stopped as his shadows whispered in his ear someone was in her room.

[lostonehero]

More time travel

Just to preface this I hate security breech but I love the idea Micheal can't fucking rest and ends up as glamrock Freddy

Also Gregory is a spilt from Evan the crying child spirit robo kid

Anyhow let's go

Henry sighs as he parks in the diners parking lot. They had to shut down for the weekend, Henry couldn't run this place by himself, and William's youngest had a meltdown. He hoped it was just a meltdown. He didn't think he could get those screams out of his head. He sighs as he spots his partner heavy eye bags and a sleep deprived look with a warm coffee in his hands. "Is Evan ok?"

William frowns. "He stopped screaming, and he responds to Evan again. He isn't normal yet, but Clara is convinced it's Micheal's fault. She locked him in his room and hadn't been able to see him all weekend. He's 11 Henry, and he can't cause that kind of damage. Clara won't let me take him to the hospital."

Henry matches his partner frown. "We have to figure out what caused it."

"I'm going to tear this place to the nails and rebuild it so nothing ever happens again." William barely bites back a yawn.

Henry nods as he unlocks the door he only manages to take a few steps in before he can hear William shout.

"MICHEAL DAVID AFTON DID YOU SPEND THE WEEKEND HERE?" William shouts, and it barely stirs his son sleeping at the table. A notepad he got from the security office was next to him.

Henry picks up the notebook and starts to read through it. His eyes get wider as he keeps going. "William...." Henry grabs the taller man before he could shake Micheal awake. "William, look at this. Micheals is the same age as my girl."

William rubbed his temples. "Henry, I know that. Why are you bringing it up? Clara lied to me. Micheal never came home. She locked his room, and I believed her." He can't even spiral as Henry shoves the note pad at him.

"William read it now." Henry's tone doesn't leave room for argument. "I have to check...." He sinks into a bench. "Your son can't write like that, right?"

William can feel the panic and shame drain from him. Even his exhaustion was replaced with confusion as he flipped through the notepad detail sketches of designs he couldn't even fathom were on the pages, then drawings of human anatomy and changes. Then the writing the handwriting was too neat to be from a child, and too detailed as well. He sat next to Henry as both men read the notepad detail notes upon detail notes spread across the pages.

There was a list on the front.

1. You're alive. You have to eat, and (recharge was crossed out replaced with sleep)

2. Are you 11? 10? Doesn't matter you are a child.

3. Cleaned the diner. Didn't have to need something to pass the time.

4. Found fathers sewing kid fixed a unform for my body. (Body is then crossed out and replaced with you're alive. Micheal refers to yourself as such)

4. Eyes glow and change color based on mood did not have that when I was alive or a corpse.

5. Remember to eat and drink. You have bodily functions again.

6. (Medical scan is crossed out) Not a machine figure out what is different than your normal human you had 40? No 60 years ago before you were a walking corpse.

7. I fucking forgot about Gregory fuck (the name is bold and underlined)

8. Wait for father to return, I am a child, and it would be suspicious if I just left here by myself.

9. Scratch that recharge then leave when the sun comes up its the fucking 80s stranger danger isn't a thing yet.

10. Figure out how I got here, and again, check out my body. I haven't done that yet.

11. Am I too young to have coffee yet, I know physically, yes, but is that different if you have an adult mind?

(The rest is just general diary entries and extremely detailed notes of the repairs and fixes he has done around the diner as if he already knows how everything works. Along with detailed drawings and anatomy sketches of his new features that humans shouldn't have.)

William and Henry share a look at each other. Neither man knows how to move forward, and Micheal is still dead asleep.

Henry spoke up first. "I'm going to check the animotronics."

"I-i'll check the kitchen and security office." William stutters each man had to confirm what was written.

......

What both men found was that the building was spotless, and every single mechanical issue they had was fixed. Micheal even fixed the camera in the kitchen. They returned to where Micheal was still asleep as William gently shook him awake.

"Mmmh, five more minutes, need to charge..." Micheal mumbles and shakes slightly harder, and he screws his eyes shut. He huffed and opened his eyes they were glowing a bright blue. He rubs his eyes and sits up, cracking his back. It doesn't do much considering he is a child.

"Micheal...?" William cautiously spoke, not really ready for how Micheal was going to act.

Micheal yawned, looking over to his father. "Good morning, I assume you've read my diary." Henry stops him from grabbing William's coffee. His attention turns to his uncle. He wasn't exactly used to seeing him young and full of life. Charlie's death ruined the man, and he devolved into his work building a massive franchise at the cost of his sanity. The fake pizzeria was the last time he saw the man withered by age and depression. He didn't look any better, but still. Here was his uncle before the tragedy before the ruin. He flicked his eyes to his father. He wasn't his mother's puppet. He wasn't a drunk that was a slave to her control. He wasn't a corpse in that springlock failure. He was still him."

Both men stepped back as Micheal pushed himself out of the bench. He stood up and scratched his stomach. William noticed his nails looked pained and that his teeth were much sharper than they should have been, and white like ivory. "Micheal?"

Micheal looks up at his father and sighs. "Hello again father, it's been a while." He frowns at his voice. "I forgot how high pitched my voice before puberty. Doesn't matter." He wipes his mouth of the drool from his sleep. "I'm not used to having bodily functions again."

Henry raises his brow and gives a look to William, who merely shrugs. The notebook only referred to a corpse body, then that one of a machine. "Micheal, what happened?"

Micheal pauses. "I was running away from a woman named Vanessa protecting a child, his name is Gregory and we fell.... I woke up here approximately 56 hours ago. Everyone had left, which was odd because I don't recall that ever happening except.... that isn't important, but I woke up alone and confused. I'm not used to being small." He's not used to having strong emotions again either.

William reaches out and pulls Micheal into a hug, and he can feel Micheal start to cry he was silent, which threw up major red flags. "Hey, it's ok, how about we get breakfast and we can talk. How old are you?"

Micheal sniffs, clinging to his father. "I don't know, but it was 2036."

Henry's eyes widen. "I'll start my car, and we can head to the local diner since you did a very good job fixing up everything." He smiles as Micheal nods.

Neither adult knew how to handle this situation. William was at a loss for how he even forgot his son at their diner, and Henry could see the sheer amount of horrors Micheal ad faced with his thousand yard stare.

......

Micheal kicks his feet, staring at the menu. He looks confused and slightly overwhelmed. He grabs his father's arm when the waitress comes by.

William raises his brow but sighs. "I'll have the spinach omelet, and my son will have the chocolate chip pancakes."

Henry smiles. "Oh, I'll have the steak and eggs."

The waitress smiles. "Pretty late seeing you two here. Good morning at the diner?"

William nods. "Just a bit of maintenance, and everything is running smoothly."

"That's great to hear my little angel loves the place." She smiles and heads to the kitchen.

Micheal frowns. "I apologize. I haven't had to really eat in a long time. I think I've forgotten what I like."

William can feel his heart break. "It's alright. We can always figure it out."

Henry nods. "Micheal, is it ok to ask why you seem so nervous?"

Micheal shrugs. "I haven't uh been around a lot of adults in a long time, or people for that matter, I think I was 21 or 22 when I got scooped and became a living corpse couldn't really stay in touch with anyone after that. I was close to Jeremy for a while, but we got into a massive fight right before I got scooped, and I ran away like a coward." He messes with his hands. "Probably deserve it, though, I ended up killing Evan when I was 14 golden Freddy jaw can crush a skull." He bites his lip. "Lozzie died before that baby malfunction and stuffed her into her chest cavity." He stops seeing both men stare at him in shock and horror.

William clears his throat. "I..."

Micheal frowns, crossing his arms. "I'm sorry. I haven't, I uh..." He sighs frustrated his eyes flicker red. "This was easier before." He stops as his father ruffles his hair, and his eyes return to his normal blue.

"We have time to stop the tragedy." William pats his son's back. "Take a breath. We can do this."

Henry clears his throat. "Your father is right, but I do have to ask who Gregory is? Was he in the diner with you? Do you think he came back with you? If there is another child, I don't want them to be trapped there."

Micheal shakes his head. "I looked everywhere. I couldn't find him."

Henry nods. "Ok, we can search for him later."

The waitress returns with their food, and Micheal stares at his food, not really understanding how to proceed. He pokes at it, pulling off a piece and shoving it into his mouth. His eyes light up like they were glowing as he continues to rip off pieces eating his food like he hadn't eaten anything in years. William has to grab his hands.

"Micheal, please use a fork and knife." William looks down at his son, who seems to finally return to reality, and his face grows red, and his eyes glow a yellow.

"R-right, my apologies." Micheal cleans off his hands and eats slowly with a fork. "I think I like them."

Henry holds back a laugh as William wipes off Micheal's mouth. "You seem out of practice, I think I can help remedy that."

William gives Henry a look. "It is getting too cold for one of your cookouts."

"Bah, it's fine. we can have one." Henry smiles as William sputters.

Micheal smiles softly. "Can I go home? I want to see Elizabeth and Evan again. It's been a long time, and I have to apologize."

"Of course, after we finish, I'll take you home, and I have to talk to your mother.

.....

Micheal didn't recognize Evan at first he looked too much like Gregory, or was it the other way around. It didn't matter he nervously got closer to him. "Hello Evan." His moments were robotic, and he gave a half nervous smile.

Evan's eyes flicker as he takes a breath. "....Mikey?"

Micheal nods, and he can't control how much his eyes start to glow.

"Freddy?" Evan's voice changes it inflection to one Micheal recognized.

"Gregory....?" Micheal tilts his head.

Elizabeth tugs at Micheal's arm. "Are you a weird time person too?"

"What?" Micheal stared down at his sister.

Evan looks embarrassed. "I uh.... Mikey my uh.... my spirit split... my parts were reused to uh..."

"Gregory was an android?" Micheal pauses sitting next to his brother, and Elizabeth sits next to him.

"Yes?" Evan pauses. "I didn't know I could eat and stuff."

Micheal sighs. "Ok, it's ok."

"You were Freddy? How did you die?" Evan stares you at him

"I died twice." Micheal frowns. "I got scooped, and then I was burned." He sighs. "I'm sorry, Evan."

"Don't..." Evan leans against him. "We both have agreed that you're ok, but Gregory wants your foxy mask."

Micheal smiles. "Yeah, you can take it."

"But you don't have it yet." Evan giggles.

Micheal crosses his arms. "Then why ask for it?"

Evan shrugs.

Elizabeth gasps. "If you're giving away your stuff, I want your plushies."

"No." Micheal frowns. "However, you can paint my nails and do my hair whenever you want."

"Can you have tea parties with me?" Elizabeth smiles when Micheal nods. "Then you can keep them."

I'm so glad you won't take them." Micheal sighs and nearly jumps when the shouting starts. His eyes glow yellow and hold onto Elizabeth and Evan.

Elizabeth clings to Micheal's arm, and Evan clings to the other.

"Let's have a tea party in my room." Micheal gets up carrying both his siblings. He didn't really let either of them argue.

......

Micheal distracts the two long enough that they take a nap on his bed. He looks over to his door opening. He sees his father with a large gash across his cheek and a stab wound in his shoulder. "Father, you are injured."

William sighs, holding his shoulder. "Your mother...." He stops. "It was just an accident. I'm sure she was just threatened by me raising my voice."

Micheal knew that was a big fat lie, but he knew his father didn't know that. He takes a breath. "Father, you need to take us to Uncle Henry's now."

"Micheal, what are you..."

"Father, this is not a suggestion." Micheal stands up. "I know Mother hurts you if you do not follow her instructions. I also know mother has been killing the local pets and strays. I know you know this, too." He stares at his father. "Take us to Uncle Henry's."

William nods, picking up his two sleeping children as Micheal follows behind him.

......

Margaret answered the door and covered her mouth, William was covered in blood, and it looked like his shoulder was still bleeding, and he was swaying from blood loss. His three children were in front of him, and Micheal was holding onto his two siblings. "What happened?"

"Inside." Micheal mumbles, pushing past her, helping his two siblings inside. "Need string and a needle and a lighter."

Margaret shakes her head and drags William inside. "What the fuck happened?" The door slams behind her alerting her husband and daughter who just got back from school.

"Uncle William?" Charlie stops when her mother gives her a look.

Henry comes in right behind her and freezes. He was no stranger to a knife fight, and his partner looked like he had lost badly. "Margret, I can take him." He grabs William before he falls and motions for Margaret to grab the kids.

"Right, children, come on, this is an adult issue." Margaret is unable to grab Micheal, but she'll come back for him. She herds the other three into the guest room.

Micheal frowns. "Mother stabbed him after he tried to confront her about me."

"It was an accident." William slurs barely upright.

Henry shakes his head. "Micheal, there's a lighter in the front draw and grab a knife. I'm going to caturize the wound."

Micheal nods and follows his instructions as Henry straps his father's shirt off and heats up the knife.

His scream echoes through the home.

Henry shuts his eyes and takes a breath. "Micheal, how long?"

"They were arranged to be married, my father had no choice in the matter." Micheal frowns as he stares at his uncle, who was cleaning up his father's cheek. "You never knew. He never told anyone I found out going through paperwork."

"An arranged marriage?" Henry, stop and look over at his wife. "How much, did you hear?"

"Enough to know, I'm not letting any of them go back." Margaret crosses her arms. "I see enough of the outcome of abuse at work. I don't need to see it on people I care about." She sighs. "I don't even want to know how you know to catutrize a wound like that. Micheal, I don't know what happened to you, but I know you're different, but it doesn't matter." She sighs. "I'll get some of your clothes for him, and Micheal, can you help your siblings?"

"Yes, Aunt Margaret." Micheal runs off down the hall.

......

It's been a few hours, William was still out cold, and Henry was cooking a 6 course meal. She hadn't seen the children, so she walls down, and they weren't in the guest room, and she heard muffled talking from Charlie's room.

Micheal is standing on Charlie's bed with a handful of hand drawn pictures and notes on the wall tapped to the wall and crayon lines connecting them. Charlie was raising her hand. "So Uncle William kills me, and I become the puppet who's lefty?"

Micheal pauses. "Uh, I think a variety of Freddy you used to get around being in the rain. So to continue, after the fire and your father's speech, I woke up in glamrock Freddy." He points to the realize drawing of a colorful Freddy Margaret thinks. "Where I find Gregory aka half of Evan in my stomach hatch used for birthday cake and gifts, and it continues from there. There's the other security guard, Vanessa, who was possessed by our mother Clara, and developed a second personality that kills children, and she went after Gregory, who I know know was a very realistic android, and now understand why he looked so much like Evan. Then, somehow, in our escape, we ended up back in the past where we are now. We've already changed things."

Elizabeth raises her hand. "Did you ever see Jeremy again?"

"No, I did not." Micheal sighs. "I do miss him, but it's not important."

"You deserve to be happy too, Mikey." Evan mumbles.

"Jeremy's our age, so we just have to find him." Charlie gets up. "I vote we look for him since we know future events."

Elizabeth gets up and nods. "Yeah!"

Micheal sighs and covers his face. "That's not important. We have other things to be concerned about." He slams his hand against the wall of the pictures and notes.

Evan stands up. "No, I agree with Evan. we are finding this Jeremy guy first. We want to see your eyes glow pink again."

"Yeah, they were pretty." Elizabeth giggles climbing on the bed.

Charlie nods. "It's like a mood ring."

Micheal sighs and covers his face. "But we have to...."

Margaret clears her throat. "Um...."

"Oh hi, mom. Micheal was explaining the future to us." Charlie smiles. "We have to save the future, isn't that cool."

Margaret nods, straining a smile. "Uh yes, your father made dinner for all of you. Could you guys wash up."

Micheal nods, jumping off the bed and grabbing Elizabeth and Evan. "Time to wash our hands."

Margret stops. "Why is he carrying them like that?"

"Dunno?" Charlie shrugs following after him.

.....

[leontyne]

I lost my mother last week. You know this kind of thing happens.. it's almost guaranteed to lose your parents, unless something terrible happens and your parents lose you first. I know it could.. but nothing can prepare you for it.

My mother had 5 children. I was her 3rd and only girl. When I was younger I remember getting upset about not getting a sister. My brothers had a sister and 3 brothers. I had 4 brothers and no sister.

My mum handled it like a champ of course. She wanted more girls but 5 was her limit of tries. So her solution was to step in for anything I might need a sister for. Helping me pick clothes, doing my hair, helping with makeup, explaining puberty, answering embarrassing questions, hyping me up when I needed, befriending my friends, pushing me when I needed it, giving me the tough talks.

My mother became my best friend and I never once got embarrassed by her despite her worrying qbout that. Alot. She'd ask if I'd rather go to this movie with friends or hang out with someone else for the day instead of her. No. Of course not. I was so proud to have such a wonderful mum. She was fun, smart, hilarious, caring, brave, protective, beautiful, kind and so incredibly good. How could I ever not want to spend time with her?

Some of my friends had different relationships with their mums, ranging from the typical "That's my mum, she buys me stuff and cooks for us and helps me when I get hurt. I love her" to the "She's so annoying, why can't she just leave me alone" relationships. If I had to hang out with friends that treated their mums like c**p for no reason I'd go home and immediately crawl into my mums arm and hug her (even as an adult) and tell her about how horrid they were to their mum and how I could never do that. She always hugged me tighter at those times.

She got sick 3 years ago, and after months of blood tests and iron infusions she ended up in the ER and was admitted and kept for 18 months. Eventually she was diagnosed with Refactory Celiacs and they started trial drugs and treatment. After her bone marrow transplant and chemo she stabilized enough to come home, not because she was better but because her mental health was so low from being away from home for so long that the doctors and nurses insisted she should be allowed home.

Home helped her happiness but the pain never left, the symptoms never left, the disadvantages and restrictions never left. She persisted though. She had to go back sometimes when an infection came up or she lost too much blood or, as her last admittance, she had difficulty breathing.

Her last stay was 2 months long. She couldn't breathe easy which they'd found shadows on her lungs but biopsies showed nothing. Her right arm was no longer responsive, she'd be lucky to move her fingers. Doctors did a few lumbar punctures but only found 2 types of t-cells present. Her last operation was to get more punctures but they took too few so they were rescheduling. Her liver and kidneys were failing because of her TPN but she was dependent on that so she was told she'd be eligible for organ transplants as she didn't drink or smoke.

She also developed an infection they diagnosed as staff a week before her passing before changing that to sepsis as her oxygen got so low they had to keep uping her delivery of such (nose hoses, then mask, then hood, then eventually the throat tube). She was moved to ICU, put on every antibiotic they can physically put in her body, put her in an induced coma and hooked her up to the oxygen tube and dialysis. 6 hours later we got a call from ICU saying she had took a turn and another 6 hours of sitting by her side holding her hand, still in her coma, they had to start turning the machines off.

My world narrowed at that point, and we hyper focused on mums funeral which we had yesterday. It's been a complete blur and I'm still struggling to understand that she's not here. I reach for my phone to call her. I push share on a cute puppy video. I order her lollies and get excited to surprise her. I hear something funny and have it half typed out before I stop. I look towards her chair to smile at her. I sit in her seat in the car and plan to move when we pick her up despite that not being the meaning of the trip. I write another chapter but I can't get her to read it. I push my anxiety limits and fears and beat them but I can't tell her or see her massive grin and hear her tell me how so very proud she is and plan with her what we'll do when we're both better. I cry from my thoughts and heart. In public. In private. I cry hard, loud and I can't stop until I'm exhausted. I can't look at my ceiling because she covered it with glow in the dark stars when I was 20 while I was at work. Half my books she bought me. Half my plushies she bought me. Half my clothes she bought me. Half my room is her and memories of her. Her dogs, her cat, her photos, her seat, her trinkets, her renovations, her art, her tissues, her lollies, her hoodie, her shoes, her spare room/clean room, her blankets, her pillows, her everything is everywhere..

My mother was my biggest fan, my rock, my best friend and the bravest person I knew and I can't wrap my head around not being able to speak to her again.. she is everywhere but nowhere to be found. I catch myself talking aloud to her. I talk to her in my mind and memos and I say our catch phrases and my laugh is hers and my smile is hers and my face is hers and I'm so so.. numb.. empty.. lost.. broken. I'm 32, my mother was 53. I thought I'd have so many more years with her.. but now she won't see my wedding, or any of the boys. She wont meet any of my kids or any more added by the boys. She wont help me move or drive or write or pick me up after a break up or help me with advice for wooing a pretty girl or picking my next pair of converse or drag me to watch ANOTHER Fast and Furious movie or get to watch the 2nd season of Wednesday or go camping again.. she had so many plans.. and I don't like knowing how quickly all of that.. life.. is gone. I'm terrified and heartbroken and angry qnd I can't even go to the one person who could help me sort through it.

My mother was the biggest part of my life and now that part is gone and I have no idea what to do.. I'm eating because she'd want me to. I'm sleeping because she'd want me to. I'm going outside and talking because she'd want me to. I'm keeping in contact with the boys because she'd want me to. I'm keeping dad grounded because she'd want me to. But I don't want anything.. I don't know how to deal with that.. so instead I'm here writing a long a** post that will not be read and hoping it helps my heart feel a little less like a broken mess.