#and feels so nice to not have to panic about it for five business days beforehand

[scarlethexelove]

Hiiiiii Growing A Family was so soooo good!!! You’re such a great writer!!

Any chance we’ll get a part two in which Reader finds out she’s pregnant and how Natasha takes care of her throughout the pregnancy please please pleaseeeeeeee🥹🥹🥹

And Then There Were Five

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Word Count: 2721

Warnings: Cute and fluffy, Smut, Natasha has a Penis, Pregnant sex, Hint of breeding, Beefy!Nat (She is a warning in herself), Mama Nat, P in V, Horny reader, I think that is it.

Pt 1, Pt 3, Pt 4

A/n: I loved writing this one. Starts all nice and cute and then some smut at the end. Though I wasn't expecting it to get this long

NO ONE IS PERMITTED TO STEAL, COPY, OR REBLOG MY WORK AS THEIR OWN

“Mommy?” You can hear your daughter's voice making you turn around to her. “Aww sweetheart don’t you look adorable.” You beam at the 4 year old. She adorns a t-shirt that has ‘Best Big Sister’ written across the front. She giggles and runs up to you, giving you grabby hands as you pick her up and put her on your hip. You tickle her stomach making her giggle and squirm in your hold which only causes you to laugh. “Mommy stop it.” You smile. “Alright, alright.” You laugh. 

Just then you can hear the front door being opened. You put your daughter down and bend over to her height. “You remember what to do baby girl?” She nods her head quickly before running off. You stand up fully once again and start to busy yourself as you hear keys jingling, which signals you that your wife is growing near. 

You have your back turned to Nat as she enters the kitchen. Strong arms wrap around your waist as a body presses against yours. “Hi detka.” Nat mumbles as she kisses your shoulder. You can’t help the loving smile that spreads across your face. “Hi Natty.” You turn around in her hold giving her a peck on the lips. She smiles when you pull back and look into her eyes. She pulls you impossibly close to her. “How was your day?” You ask Nat. “It was good but I missed my girls.” Nat looks around for a moment. “Speaking of girls, where's Lizzie?” You give her a soft smile. “She’s in her room playing.” You lie to your wife as you see her little head popping out from the corner. 

Nat had noticed the present on the counter when she entered the room. Her eyes fell back to it. “What’s with the gift detka? Did I forget about a party?” You shake your head. “No sweetheart. It’s for you.” You smile. “Me? Did I forget our anniversary?” You can see the look of panic cross her face. Your hands move to cup her cheeks. “No Natty you didn’t forget anything. I just wanted to give you something special.” You let her face go as you see the relief wash over her. “Open it.” You usher her towards the box. Her arms drop from around you as she moves towards the box. Nat reaches out for the box and gently removes the bow. Your eyes twinkle with excitement as you watch your wife slowly open the gift. 

Pulling off the lid slowly you watch Nat’s face grow curious as she spots the shirt in the box. Written on the front says ‘Best Mama Ever’. You can hear little feet running towards you. “Mama! Mama! Mama!” Nat’s head quickly snaps towards your daughter. Running at her happily. Nat doesn’t even notice what her shirt says at first as she picks up Elizabeth and places her on her hip, but as she straightens out her shirt she reads it out loud. “Best big sister.” As she reads that you pull the pregnancy test out of your pants pocket holding it up. Her head snaps towards you and her eyes land on the clearly positive pregnancy test. Excitement takes over. “You’re pregnant?” You nod as tears come to your eyes. Words escape you as Nat takes her free arm and wraps you in a hug, squishing your Lizzie in between the both of you. “We’re going to have a baby!” Nat’s excitement is evident. 

You feel as little arms push at you. “Mama, Mommy squishing me.” You both laugh as Nat pulls away. Nat’s hand cups your cheek and you lightly nuzzle into her hand. Her thumb brushes your cheek, wiping away the happy tears that have fallen. She leans in kissing you deeply, pouring all the love she has for you in this one kiss. Her dreams of growing a family with you finally coming to forwishen. 

Nat has been absolutely amazing so far, being the most attentive wife as your pregnancy progresses. No matter what craving you are having or what time of day it is she will always get it. No matter how weird or hard it is to find she has gotten you everything you have ever wanted or needed. Even often at night before bed she lays with her head on your belly talking about anything and everything. 

Today is a day that you drop Elizabeth off the preschool and you decide to join Nat at the compound as she helps train new shield recruits. It’s a way you can catch up with the Avengers and you get to watch your wife workout which is always a win. 

You're standing off to the side gazing out among the many people, your hand placed on the side of your swollen stomach. You hadn’t noticed anyone had joined you until you felt your shoulder being nudged. As you look to your side you spot a familiar smiling face. “Wanda.” Wanda gives you a side hug with a big smile. “Hey Y/n/n. May I?” She gestures down to your stomach. You nod and chuckle. She gently places her hand on your stomach. “Wow, growing so fast.” You can’t help but chuckle at her words. “Yeah they are.” Wanda’s eyes shoot to yours as she catches onto your words. “They?” You break out into a wide smile. “Twins.” Wanda can’t help but pull you into an awkward hug with your belly in the way. “Oh my god I’m so excited for you. I bet Nat was ecstatic.” You hug Wanda back. “She is absolutely thrilled and so am I. Lizzie keeps asking when the babies will be here.” You can’t help but smile as Wanda pulls back, keeping her hands on your shoulders. “You two deserve all the happiness. If you ever need a babysitter for the cuties you know who to call.” You tilt your head a little. “The Ghostbusters.” Wanda gasps and playfully slaps your arm. “No silly. I need me some baby time.” You laugh and nod. “You’ll be the first person I call.” 

The two of you go back to a comfortable silence. You look back out into the gym scanning the room for your wife. When you spot her she is sparring with a recruit. Even from afar you can see how her body glistens with sweat. Her hair is put back in a french braid as she wears just a sports bra and some sweatpants. You subconsciously bite your lip as your eyes rake over her body. How her abs shine in the light; how you can see the outline of her bulge when she moves just right. Your underwear is becoming damp the longer you stare at her. All you want to do is rip all her clothes off and take her right there in the middle of the gym, not even caring who sees. 

You are so spaced out that you don’t notice Wanda trying to get your attention. She shakes you a little, snapping you back to reality. “Huh, what?” You turn to look at Wanda, her eyebrow raised in suspicion. “What’s got you so distracted?” Your eyes flick to Nat before flicking back to Wanda. She had a knowing glint in her eyes and a smirk on her lips. You can’t help as your cheeks heat up slightly. “Fuck, the pregnancy has made me so horny. Anything that Nat does has me wanting her more.” You turn to look back at your wife. “Look at her she is so fuckign hot Wanda, I can’t.” You groan. “Y/n I do not look at your wife like that.” She chuckles. “I give you full permission to look at her right now.” Wanda turns to look at Nat. “She does look pretty hot.” You can’t help but let out another groan. “I know right.” 

Nat slams the recruit into the ground as you watch on. You can see her pause for a second as a smile spreads across her face. You watch a little perplexed by the sudden change. She helps the recruit off the ground and says something to them before she starts making her way over to you and Wanda. It doesn’t take her long to reach you. “Hi detka, hi Wanda.” Nat greets you both. “Detka are you feeling a little needy?” Heat rises to your cheeks as your mouth hangs open in shock. Wanda laughs which makes you look over to her. You watch as the swirling red dissipates from her eyes. “You’re welcome.” Wanda laughs as she turns to walk away. “I love you but I hate you at the same time.” You call after her. She just laughs and waves her arms at you. “See you two later.” 

Hands grip your waist and bring you back to Nat who now stands closer to you looking down at you with a smirk. “You know all you have to do is ask baby girl.” Your mouth opens and closes a few times looking up to your wife. “You’re working baby. I-I didn’t want to disrupt you.” Nat shakes her head. “You’re my priority. Anyways I’m done now anyways.” Nat lifts you into her strong arms, you squeak as you cling onto her. She doesn’t care who is looking as she carries you out of the gym. 

“Where are you taking me?” You question Nat. “I still have a room here at the compound so I’m taking my beautiful wife to that bedroom and fucking her full of my cum. We still have a few hours before we have to pick up Lizzie from preschool.” Nat gives you a lopsided grin and you can’t help but let out a small moan at her words. Your wetness is already seeping through your pants. Hearing your moan and feeling how your wetness is seeping through Nat hastily makes her way into her old bedroom. 

As the door shuts behind you Nat locks the door and sets you down. Nat’s lips quickly press against yours. A hungry need for you takes her over as she quickly strips your clothes off your body. She only pulls away long enough to pull your shirt over your head. “Fuck I love you so much.” Nat mumbles against your lips. She starts kicking off her sweatpants and boxers. Her cock springing out, and her hands finding their place gripping your hips tightly. “I love you too.” You mumble back. Nat starts to walk the both of you towards the bed. 

Once you reach the bed Nat pulls away before climbing on the bed. She pulls you into her lap and you can feel her cock rubbing through your soaked folds. She rocks her hips a bit letting your wetness spread across her throbbing cock. Both of you moan at the feeling as her tip nudges against your clit. “Please Natty. I need you.” Your whine is needy but you don’t care all you want is to feel her, have her stretching you out. 

Nat’s hand moves down to her cock and you raise your hips. She lines her cock up with your dripping hole. As you feel it press against you you slowly start to lower yourself down. Impaling yourself on your wifes cock. Your walls stretch to accommodate your wife's size. As you're sinking down Nat’s hands go back to your hips and she lays back a bit onto the pillows. Your hips finally meeting hers as her cock fills you to the brim. Nat groans as your warm wet walls hug her cock. She can’t help but grind her hips up slightly. 

You start to raise up before lowering yourself back down. Starting to slowly bounce yourself on Nat’s cock. With her grip on your hips she helps you bounce on her. Your moans grow louder the longer you bounce. You can’t get enough of your wifes cock filling your tight little hole. “So good.” You slur your words as you grow fuzzy. 

Nat is enamored as she watches your breast bounce. “Fuck you look so beautiful. God these fucking tits.” Nat lets her hands drift up your body, both hands taking one of your breasts into them as she squeezes. Your head falls back and as your mouth opens in a silent moan. “Maybe I’ll keep breeding your perfect pussy hmm. Keep you pregnant and needy for me all the time. You’re just so beautiful carrying my babies.” You nod your head. “Please.” 

As you bounce and both of your orgasms grow the longer you go. Nat sits herself up moving to wrap her arms around her waist. Your belly slightly in the way of her getting as close to you but still loving the closeness. She plants her feet on the bed and starts to thrust up into you. This elicits a loud moan from the back of your throat which just spurs Nat on more. Her thrust are faster and harder as she pulls you down on her. She watches your face as it contorts in pleasure. 

Nat’s hips continue to drive into you and your moans become whiny the closer you grow to your orgasm. Your walls desperately sucking her further in as she pounds up into you. Nat moves her lips, starting to nip and suck at the skin of your neck. She leaves dark purple marks in her wake. The more desperate you are to cum the more desperate Nat becomes wanting to see you fall apart. 

“You’re squeezing me so tight Malyshka. I bet you want to cum all over my cock. Want me to fill up your needy little hole?” Nat mumbles against your skin. You moan and nod your head. “Please Natty need you so bad.” Your walls clamp tighter around her length as she thrust up into you. You can feel as her thrust become sloppier. She is getting close to the edge just the same as you are. 

You grind your hips as she pulls you onto her cock so desperate for her to finish with you. You're teetering on the edge as your walls clamp around her tightly. Your head falls forward and you do your best to nuzzle into her neck. Slightly whining when you can only get so closer with your belly in the way. “P-Please.” You whimper. Nat smiles. “Cum.” She says in a sultry voice. That’s all it takes for you to fall over the edge. You cum hard,  your walls spasming around her length as you coat her cock in your juices. You bite her shoulder muffling your moans as she continues to drive her hips up. 

Feeling your walls spasm around her and grip her cock tightly has Nat falling over the edge right after you. She holds you tightly against her as her cock twitches inside of you. Thick ropes of cum painting your walls white. She desperately ruts up into you prolonging both of your orgasms. “So fucking good.” Nat pants against the skin of your shoulder. You hum an agreement with your wife as you slump into her. Her thrust comes to a stop as she holds your grounding you and just letting you feel her. Letting you feel so full of her. 

You both calm down as your breathing goes back to normal. Holding onto one another in a closeness that you always crave. Nat’s cock still buried deep inside you and it doesn’t take long for you to start feeling needy again. Just the feeling of her cock in you has your brain becoming even more fuzzy. You grind your hips and you can feel Nat hardening again inside of you causing her to groan.

Nat looks at the clock and sees that you still have time before you have to pick up your daughter. So she flips your bodies, laying you down on the bed as she looms over you. Slowly starting to thrust into you again. “Let me take care of you detka.” 

So that is what Nat does through your whole pregnancy. She takes care of you and even after the twins are born she is there by your side. Sticking by you and being the best Mama to your little girl and now to your little twin boys. You couldn’t ask for a better wife or mother to your children.

[sleepiexx]

The Sad Expression on the Face I Love So Much

Remus Lupin x fem!Reader

Note: one bad week and suddenly I’m a fic writing god again. Had a Sirius oneshot planned out and mostly written but I pumped this one out before I could think of an ending to that one so you’re getting this first!

Summary: Your boyfriend patiently awaits your arrival home after a day out with your friends, only to be met with your saddened form.

Warnings: describes what i would refer to as a panic attack, but it’s never expressed to be one

Word count: 1310

Remus was a good man, it was such a shame you couldn’t match his upbeat energy when you entered the door to your shared apartment.

He had heard the front door click open, which sparked a smile on his face. He never wanted to stop your outings with friends, as he knew having relationships with people other than your partner was important— his own friends the truest testament to that statement— yet he couldn’t help but miss you when the house was left without your presence. Which is why he was pleasantly surprised by your early arrival home, no waiting up late for his nightly cuddle tonight, no, rather a nice long cuddle with a movie in the background.

He called out to you as he stood from the couch, scrambling to make his way to the foyer, “you’re home early, darling, how was your day out?”

He stopped in his tracks when he saw you. Your frame stiff, eyes glued to the floor, clearly shined over with tears that have yet to be shed, keys still clutched in your hand, likely because you’d been too distraught to even reach up to put them on the key hook.

“Oh, sweet dear, what’s wrong? What’s happened?” His worried words and the safe environment he had provided made the tears finally fall. In an instant, he was in front of you, wrapping you in his arms. A pained sob ripped its way through your chest, you’d been holding it in far too long.

“My friends…” you began, having a hard time composing yourself to even say what was wrong.

Remus had a hunch what the problem was. He didn’t like your friends for a very specific reason, but he had always stayed firm in the fact that you were the judge in who you were friends with and it was really none of his business who you did and didn’t hang around. He knows he would not listen if you had said you didn’t want him spending time with his friends.

“I- I just… I’ve been really anxious this week,” You started to talk with the shakiest of voices. Remus could tell from the way your breaths started cutting you off that you were beginning to hyperventilate. He didn’t want to stop you from talking it out, though, so he led you to come and sit down beside him where he’d been on the couch before allowing you to continue.

“And irritable— and- and- and you know how I- how I spiral when I’m irritable, because- because I just think such mean thoughts, and- and I just hate myself,” your stutter only got worse the more you revealed, because speaking about it made you think about it, and thinking about it made breathing harder. Not to mention the sniffling you had to do every five seconds so you wouldn’t cover your upper lip in snot.

Remus held your hand, rubbing soothing circles overtop your knuckles and keeping his own breathing as steady as possible in hopes that you would eventually sync up. His free hand moved its way to your back, rubbing up and down.

“I just thought,” you sniffled, futility wiping your face with your sleeve as you continued to cry, “that maybe I’d f-feel- feel better if I went out with- with my friends but..” your lungs seized and your voice came out strained and cracked, “but no.”

You wanted to keep your breathing steady for Remus, but it proved impossible. Your diaphragm seemed to have a mind of its own as it contacted with no care whatsoever of your say so.

“They just kept- kept making that stupid joke,” your voice was drowned in a visceral sadness and a defeated anger, making evident to Remus how you’d held off on sharing your feelings for far too long.

He knew well what joke you were talking about. It never sat right with him, made him clench his fists every time he heard it. It took everything in him not to blow up on your poor excuse of a friend group. He’d played the diplomat with your friends as long as he possibly could.

“Where they-“ sniff. “Pretend that-“ sniff. “They hate me- but- but-“ sniff. “But they get away- get away with it because-“ sniff. “Because I’m such a pushover and- and I never call them ou- out on it.”

Another sob wracked your whole body, Remus pulled you into him, your cheek pressed to his chest as he made a valiant effort to calm you down with his soothing touches.

“I know- I know that I’m a lot-“ sob. “But I- I’m kind. I- I treat th-them good so- so why d-don’t I deserve the same?”

Remus felt his heart drop, holding you steady through what felt like, to you, endless sobbing. He had always thought that you deserved so much more than the friends you made, but he just thought you had a really thick skin towards the subject. Everyone has a breaking point, he supposed, and for his sweet girl, this seemed to be it.

“Oh dove,” he cooed, “of course you deserve better. You are not ‘a lot,’ you are true to yourself, if they don’t understand that then that is their problem. You do so much just for them to be so ungrateful.”

You buried yourself further into him, holding onto him tightly as though he were a buoy in a storm. You sat for a while like that, until you could speak without stuttering as much— still, your quiet voice hardly carried and the heartbroken rasp in it was a sound unlike any heartache Remus had ever experienced “I wish I could control myself sometimes. Just- just make myself shut up once in a while.”

Remus scoffed, “I don’t.”

You looked up at him through heavy lashes, “really?”

You looked as if even a small gust of wind would make you shatter, yet Remus would guard you from it all, wind, or storm, or even shitty friends who don’t appreciate you.

“Of course not, sweetheart, I love how genuine you are. It’s what made me fall for you. That, and how hard you love. I’ve never doubted myself for a second when I’ve been around you.” He brushed some stray hairs from your face, “I have never been able to stand your friends, they aren’t as kind to you as you are to them.”

You nodded. He knew that it would take a while before you fully believed it, but he was willing to shower you in love every day until you believed it. In fact, he was already planning on integrating you into his own friend group, James and Sirius adored you and he had no doubt they’d love the idea. Lily, Marlene, and Mary would all love you too, he knew for a fact that girls nights with them had to be more fun than with your old friends.

For now, though, he’d settle for the calm you’d finally achieved after talking your way through such an intense wave of emotions, he was proud.

“What do you say we go back to our room, have a cuddle, and watch your favorite movie?”

“Yeah,” you mumble.

“Yeah?”

You nod and repeat yourself as he cracks a grin.

You walk hip to hip to your bedroom until you’re finally able to sink into your bed. Remus hands you the tv remote before disappearing into the bathroom, returning with a soft, wet rag covered in makeup remover. Your cheeks seem to tingle as you remember the mess of mascara that must currently paint them, Remus doesn’t hesitate to come wipe you clean. When he’s done, he tosses the rag and leaves a chaste kiss on your nose.

“There,” he mutters, lying beside you and pulling you into his arms, “this is much better, isn’t it?”

[niallhorxns]

Niall Horan x Reader: Panicked

Prompt: You have a panic attack while you're on tour with him, he helps you through it.

Word count: 3.1k

Warnings: anxiety, panic attack

A/N: hello!!! i recently discovered there's a painfully limited amount of niall x reader fics out there, so i'm adding to the pot. feel free to send requests / prompts if anyone has ideas they want me to write :) (i especially love angst, so give it to me).

Niall’s laugh fills the air as he leans forward and chats back and forth with the driver. If you weren’t so busy gazing at the views around you, you would’ve held onto the sound of it longer– reminded yourself it’s still your favorite sound in the entire world. 

Tonight is night… forty five? No, forty six. Hell, you can’t remember. All you know is that as far as cities go, this one is small– but it has a certain charm to it that you’ve been admiring the entire ride to and from breakfast.

“Oh, take a look at that,” Niall says, reaching over your lap to point out the window. He’s motioning towards the river, sparkling blue underneath the clear sky, and lined with a cobblestone walkway. “That’s gorgeous.”

He says it longingly– like he wishes he could get out of the car and walk along the path. But of course he doesn’t suggest that. In fact, Niall rarely suggests outings when you’re with him on tour– because he knows how anxious it makes you. Not the outing itself, but the likelihood of him being spotted. You could handle a walk along the river, but you’d have a hard time handling a swarm of people bombarding you on a walk along the river. 

It must drive him crazy– the way you always prefer sticking to the venue or hotel. And while he always claims to understand each and every time you say no to a public dinner, or whatever adventure is planned for the day, you can’t help but wonder if there will come a time that he gets sick of you always anxiously hanging back. 

Your anxiety has ruined so much for you. It’s ruined school events and trips, it’s ruined friendships and opportunities. You don’t want it to ruin your relationship with Niall, too.

For the last year and a half, you’ve been attending therapy consistently– learning breathing techniques and grounding skills to cope with anxiety. 

You wonder if now was a good time to test if it was working. 

“Do we have time before soundcheck?” You ask.  

Niall checks his watch. “It’s only eleven thirty. We don’t have to be back at the venue until one. You want to walk around?” He asks, a hint of surprise in his tone. 

“Yeah, let’s do it,” you agree. 

Niall grins before asking the driver to pull over. 

Hand in hand, the pair of you stroll along the river casually, admiring the views around you. Summer is in full bloom– all the trees a brilliant shade of green, the sky stunningly blue. 

“Look there–” Niall uses his free hand to gesture at a family of ducks swimming along the rivershore. You both stop in your tracks and watch for a moment, a smile spreading widely across your face. 

“This is so nice,” you say. It’s so rare that you actually got quality time with Niall when he was on tour. Sure, you accompanied him to most shows, but you rarely got any shred of privacy. 

This is what life might look like if Niall wasn’t… well, if he wasn’t Niall. You could take quiet walks in the morning along a riverbend. You could sit on park benches and drink your coffee without being swarmed. You’d be free to live your lives– unbothered, undisturbed. 

But that wasn’t reality. And through the years, you learned that the only thing about your situation that you had control over changing was yourself. You couldn’t change the fact that Niall was adored and loved by people wherever you went. But you could try to change how anxious that made you.

You’d accepted the fact that you would always be introverted. People, present company aside, were draining. You’d never get energized from crowds like Niall did, and you’d never like being the center of attention. All you wanted was to be able to handle yourself when Niall inevitably was surrounded by crowds– that way you weren’t always restricted to what you could and couldn’t do whenever he was on tour. 

“It is nice,” Niall agrees. 

“And to think I’d never even heard of this town before,” you add. 

Niall chuckles while you lean further into his side. “I think we’re actually really close to the venue, too,” he says, tilting his head towards the direction of the road. 

The road, which is parallel to the path, curled around a corner and sure enough, in the distance, you could see the faint outline of the venue Niall would perform in tonight. 

“Oh wow, I didn’t realize–” you begin. But before you can finish your sentence, your heart clenches in your chest. Because as soon as you’re far enough along the path to see the road leading to the entrance of the venue, the line of fans waiting to get in appears. 

They’re across the street from the two of you, less than a football field away. Hundreds of fans sit– in their pretty clothes and outfits on the concrete, waiting in the hot sun for your boyfriend’s show. You are simultaneously proud that he is so adored, and terrified that you’ll be spotted. 

“Shit,” Niall mutters under his breath. “Let’s turn back.”

“We can keep going,” you say, trying desperately to prove to him that you really are getting better– that you don’t have to be coddled all the time. 

“We don’t have to–”

“The venue’s closer than the car,” you reply. “It’s fine, let’s just go.” 

“You’re right. Maybe we can just sneak by. Go in the side gate there,” he suggests, nodding towards a side entrance to the venue. “I’m pretty covered up today. You up for that?” 

You nod slowly, although you aren’t sure how true that really was. But at least Niall looked pleased– maybe even a little impressed. 

Following his lead, you keep your head down and just focus on taking one step after another. Your gaze remains fixated on the stone beneath your feet, hoping to evade detection. You breathe in, forcing the air to your stomach– just like your therapist taught you, hold it, and out. 

And slowly, the two of you get closer and closer to the venue, just enough so that you actually start to feel hopeful that maybe you’ll pull it off. 

Until the screaming starts. 

It starts off slow– one person shrieks. 

And then it becomes hysterical– the kind of screams you let out when there’s a snake in the pool or a spider in the shower. Except you know these girls aren’t screaming because of snakes or spiders. They’re screaming because of your boyfriend– who is currently pressed to your side. 

“Oh shit,” he says quietly. “Here they come.”

“Ni–” you whisper, already feeling the panic creeping up your throat. And suddenly, everything you’ve been taught– all the breathing techniques and grounding skills, go out the window. Your mind is blank– frozen. 

“It’s okay,” he encourages you, giving your hand a tight squeeze. “Stand on this side of me.”

He shuffles you so that you’re on his other side– furthest from the group of fans currently running your way while you continue walking towards the venue. You aren’t going to make it in time, you realize– they’re going to catch you first. 

“It’ll be okay,” he repeats to you. “We’re close to the venue, it’ll be okay.”

All you can manage is a weak nod. 

As soon as the group approaches, the warmth from their bodies engulf you like a blanket– slow and suffocating. Niall, of course, handles everything beautifully. “Hello, hello,” he says kindly, remaining so calm. “Afraid we can’t do photos this morning, I’m late for soundcheck… Gotta get inside.”

There are bodies in front of you– there are bodies pressing behind you, bodies around you… everywhere. You lean into Niall’s touch, your clammy hand clinging to his like your life depends on it. In the vague distance, you feel him squeeze back, but it doesn’t feel real. 

“Move please!” A firm voice suddenly shouts above the noise. Instantly, you recognize the voice as one from Niall’s security teaam. Relief floods through you as he makes his way through the group to collect the pair of you. He grabs Niall’s shoulders firmly and guides him forward. In the haste to try and keep up, your sweaty palm slips from his. Desperately, you try to latch back on, but as soon as it parts, bodies slip between you. In an instant, you’re separated from the one person in the entire world that can make you feel safe. 

“Niall—” you try to say, but of course your meek voice is drowned out by the crowd. 

You think you saw a flash of his hair ahead of you, but then a body slams into yours and you stumble, losing track of where it goes. People are pushing forward– to get closer to him. And then suddenly, you can’t breathe at all. Hot bodies all around you, the beating sun above– skin and clothing touching your bare arms. You can’t take it– you’re going to suffocate in here. 

And all you can do is continue to push forward– closer to the gate, hoping that eventually, the crowd will break. 

Everything is simultaneously moving too fast and too slow as the edges of your vision blur, like you’re getting sucked deeper and deeper into a dark tunnel. Chest tightening, you struggle to inhale. 

Until suddenly, someone grabs your elbow, tugging you to your left. You don’t even have the energy to fight it. Instead, you let them pull you sideways until you’re out of the thickest part of the crowd. 

Another one of Niall’s security team that you recognize gave you a concerned look. “You alright?”

You can’t get the words out, so instead you just nod. It’s a lie, though. 

With that, he helps you the rest of the way to the venue. “Move aside!” The security guard yells, his grip on your shoulders tightening as he tries to maneuver his way through. “Move!” 

Using his arm, he sweeps the remainder of the mob from your way and ushers you through the gate. Except, even once you’re inside– separated from the crowd, you’re too far gone to even appreciate it. Instead, you feel the familiar sensation of panic creeping across every inch of your skin, like it has already taken over your entire body. You know you have to get somewhere private, and fast– before you completely fall apart. 

Without even realizing it, your feet start moving. Luckily the attention shifts to the mob of people outside, so no one even notices your attempt to slip away. Or maybe you’re just too engrossed in your own panic to notice anyone noticing you. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is getting somewhere quiet– somewhere safe. 

You’ve never been to this venue before– but throughout the tour, you’ve learned that most of the layouts are the same. This was an amphitheater– outdoors, minimal options for private breakdowns. Your best bet is going to be the backstage room where you and Niall left your stuff earlier in the day. If you could remember how to get there…

Even though you have no idea where you are going, your body continues to move. It leads you around a couple of corners, past the merch booth and concessions and towards the stage… You’re going to lose it if you don't get somewhere safe fast.

Suddenly, a pair of hands grip your shoulders, causing your entire body to seize. 

“It’s me,” a gentle voice murmurs. "I got you."

Through your foggy haze, you recognize Niall’s touch– except you still can’t breathe. 

One look– that’s all it takes for him to know what was going on. Because he’s the one person on this planet that you’d willingly ever let get close to you during a panic attack. 

“One to five?” he asks, indicating the rating scale the two of you had created for moments like this– so you could communicate just how bad you were feeling. One meant you could stay where you were, maybe take some breaths. Two meant he’d guide you through the grounding skills he knew about, maybe rub your back. Three was on the cusp, probably needed to go to a quiet corner to take some space. Four meant getting somewhere quiet and safe– and fast. Five meant you were probably dying. 

You hold up four fingers. It feels bad– scary. Maybe you’re dying… but you also don’t want to be dramatic. 

“Tell me what you need,” he says. 

You try– honestly, you do. You open your mouth, but all that comes out is a gasp– a plea for help. 

“Okay, it’s okay– c’mon,” he grips your shoulders and begins walking. You have no idea where– honestly you don’t have the capacity to care. All of your energy is focused on not passing out. 

Niall flashes his badge to an employee who lets you backstage. You vaguely recognize the halls he leads you down as the ones where you dropped your stuff earlier. He’s bringing you to his dressing room… because of course he knows exactly what you need.  

Once you’re inside, Niall shuts the door behind you as you stagger inside. Then, he spins around, his hands cupping the sides of your face. 

“Look at me, baby,” he says. “It’s okay– you’re okay.” 

“I– can’t–” you gasp, your own hands flying up to grip his forearms for some sort of lifeline to reality. “I can’t– breathe–” 

“Okay, okay, okay,” he says. He’s trying to stay calm, but you can hear the uneasiness in his voice. “With me.” 

He gives a deep, methodical inhale before letting out a slow, intentional exhale. “Just do it with me. Slow, like this.” 

He continues, and you try to match his pace– to breathe with him, but it feels like someone is gripping your windpipe– squeezing so hard you just can’t get enough air– 

“Niall–” you beg, your voice hoarse. “I can’t–” 

“C’mon, with me,” he repeats earnestly. He’s looking at you with terror in his eyes, but you find comfort in their familiarity just the same. “We’ve done this a hundred times before, you know how to do this.”

“I– I–” you stammer, but the words won’t form. 

“Shh, with me. Everything’s okay. I’m here. We’re both okay,” he assures you. His gaze is just so tender and soft and careful while his thumb grazes your cheek. 

“I- I can’t-” you choke again, “Please-”

“Shh-” he soothes. “Look at me, nothing else, just me.”

Your wide, desperate eyes meet his. You don’t say anything, just shudder and gasp frantically.  

“With me,” he repeats.

Niall produces loud and deliberate, slow and calming, in and out breathes. After a few seconds, you latch onto the sound, mimicking it, and then finally follow along. 

“There you go,” he whispers.

Your facial features slowly start to relax as you’re able to breathe properly.  Without your loud, choking sobs, you’re able to hear your heartbeat pounding in your chest frantically.  

“Good job,” Niall sighs. “Look, it’s just you and me, we’re okay–”

But he can’t even finish his sentence before you lean forward and wind your arms around his neck– desperate and longing for some sort of comfort. Strong, sturdy arms wrap around you as you burrow your face into the nape of his neck. You breathe him in, letting his familiar scent wash over you. 

“It’s okay,” Niall soothes. Upon feeling your shaky body pressed against his, he squeezes tighter. “It’s okay, baby. I’m here, I got you.”

You melt against him in response, bunching the fabric of his shirt into your fist, trying to communicate just how badly you need him to hold you right now. 

And that’s exactly what he does— until you can finally breathe on your own again. 

And then the wave of guilt comes.

Suddenly the realization of everything hit you– what a basketcase you’d been, running off like that, having a meltdown– you probably scared the shit out of him, or at the very least made a fool of yourself in front of the entire venue. Slowly, you pull back. 

“Are you okay?” Niall says before you can even open your mouth. 

You exhale a deep, shuddering breath that you can feel down your entire body. “I’m okay,” you say, your voice raw. “I’m so sorry– I didn’t mean to freak out.”

“Shh. Hey, hey, hey. It’s okay,” Niall says. His hands grip the outside of your shoulders gently. “Don’t apologize– I’m the sorry one, making you go through a crowd like that. That was a horrible idea.”

“It wasn’t even your idea– and I should be able to go through a crowd like that. I don’t know why I always freak out–” you stammer, feeling so upset with yourself. “It’s so stupid.”

“We talked about this, love. Remember? Anxiety doesn’t always make sense. Right? It’s not rational.” 

“I just—” you start, but you stop when you notice how choked up your voice sounds. You take a slow breath. “I wanted to prove to you that I was doing better– that I wasn’t going to freak out every time we went out. But I guess I haven’t made progress, after all.” 

As soon as you feel the tears burning behind your eyes, you dig the heels of your palms into them frustratedly, like you were physically trying to push them away. 

“It’s getting so much better though, baby,” Niall says encouragingly. “This is the first panic attack you’ve had all tour. Unless you’ve been hiding them from me,” he says with a hint of playfulness to his tone. “First one in forty-five shows. That’s incredible. Last tour you were havin’ em every other night it seemed. I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but that’s huge.”

You lower your arms and nod pathetically, gaze fixated on the floor. 

“What is it?” he whispers gently. “Talk to me.”

“I’m so scared,” you choke out, ���that one day you’re going to get sick of me–”

“Baby,” Niall interrupts. 

“Maybe not me, but all of this,” you say instead. “I mean, you realize you could have anyone, right? But you could especially have someone who didn’t have a meltdown every time they had to face a crowd– Or someone who could actually handle going out in public with you once and a while.” 

“Please look at me,” Niall says, voice gently serious. Pathetically, you do– your lip quivering as tears threaten to spill. “I need you to listen to me when I tell you this, okay?” 

Slowly, you nod. 

“I don’t want anyone else. Not in a million years, okay? I don’t want someone who loves crowds or going out, because they wouldn’t be you. Baby, honestly, I don’t like getting swarmed or photographed, either. If it bothered me that we didn’t go out much– I’d tell you. But it doesn’t. What does bother me is you changin’ things about yourself because you think it’ll make me happy. You make me happy. You. As you are, no changin’ things.”

You let his words sink in and try to believe them. “I’m just sorry you have to deal with me all the time. You have enough on your plate,” you groan, rubbing your tired eyes. 

Niall sighs. “Baby, I sing and play the guitar– do a little dance or two if I’m really feelin’ it. I think I can handle being there for my girlfriend on top of that,” he says. “I love you. And I want you to be okay, always. That’s all I’ll ever want.”

With all your energy seemingly zapped, you lean forward and rest your forehead on Niall’s shoulder. His arms wrap around you again, anchoring you to him. 

“I love you,” you murmur into his shirt. It’s muffled by the fabric, but it's there just the same. 

You feel his hand cradle the back of your neck while he chuckles softly. “Good, because we still have about forty more shows to go.”

[scarletwitchproperty]

Your eyes whispered have we met? - Chapter 4

Pairing: Taylor Swift x Fem!OC

Words: 3,5k

Summary: Hang on tight for a shopping spree courtesy of your very own sugar mommy, aka Taylor (she continues to tease the heck out of you)

Warnings: I guess you could say Taylor is her own warning in this? no smut in this, but Tay really stand on making OC's brain short circuit

masterlist

We've already done it in my head

You ended up falling asleep in bed after you ended the call with Taylor and cleaned yourself up. You were so tired you totally forgot to call your older sister, but thankfully when you did end up calling her the next morning she was all too pleased by the impromptu shopping trip and agreed to come along. 

‘’What brought this on? Yes Theo, it’s aunty Charlie. Yes we’ll see her later don’t worry,’’ your sister swore under her breath as you heard her hit something, most likely dropping a toy on her foot. She did a lot of that. ‘’Is it your soulmate? Mom told us she’s rich or something, but if she’s treating us like a charity case no thank you.’’ 

‘’Robin stop being a dick, Taylor’s just trying to be nice,’’ you rolled your eyes as you hear your sister laugh. Clearly you defending your soulmate was the funniest thing she ever heard. ‘’Do not laugh at me! She’s so busy promoting her new album, I think the only thing that makes her feel close to me is gifting me things.’’ 

‘’Oh yeah, I totally saw that, miss ‘Upgrade people, upgrade’ Swift. I was just messing with you.’’  

‘’You’re mean.’’ 

‘’I know, but you love me. See you soon?’’ 

‘’Yes, I think. It’s almost nine, so the limousine should be here any minute. We’ll come by to pick you up in forty minutes I’d say?’’ 

‘’Gosh Charlie you’re so lucky your woman is so whipped for you!’’ 

After you hung up the phone you didn’t waist time and got dressed. You put on your favorite pair of black DrMartens boots (always with anti blisters band aids because fuck them shoes still hurting even after two years of having them), black sweatpants and the hoodie Taylor gifted you. 

Once you were ready you said goodbye to Bailey by giving her lots of kisses on the head, closed the door and went downstairs. It took no more than five minutes for a limousine to enter your field of vision, driving your way just as you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket. 

@ taylorswift :💜💜💜💜💜💜

@ taylorswift : Good morning love 💜

@charlie_TortieB: Hello to you too Lover ❤️

@ taylorswift : Awww you’re making me blush 👉👈 

@ taylorswift : But anyway, I took the liberty to install the carseats for your nephews, since you didn’t tell me if they were joining you or not. Either way they should not bother you even if you are on your own. 

@charlie_TortieB: No no it’s fine, thank you Gorgeous ❤️ I just crashed so hard last night I forgot to call my sister, but I did this morning and she agreed to come. 

@ taylorswift : Just like you did last night? 😏

@charlie_TortieB: TAYLOR! 

@ taylorswift : CHARLIE! 

@charlie_TortieB: You know what? Fuck off! 

@ taylorswift :Gladly. I’ll even send you pictures if you want 😌

You looked up and managed to smile to the driver when he opened the door of the limousine. Once you got in and told the man where your sister lived you turned your phone back on and saw that Taylor had sent you another message. 

@ taylorswift : Please don’t panic but I asked some of my bodyguards to shadow you for the day. 

@charlie_TortieB: I’m totally not panicking, but why? 

@ taylorswift : Charlie baby I love you but as much as I enjoyed our very public back and forth situation it was bound to attract some attention. I haven’t seen any articles about it yet, but darling you show your face on Instagram. People know you’re my soulmate now, I don’t want to take any risk with you. 

@charlie_TortieB: I didn’t even think about that 😶

@ taylorswift : It’s okay darling, I did it for you 💜 I promise they’ll be very discreet and only intervene if they’re needed. I initially wanted only two of them shadowing you, but since your sisters and nephew were possibly going to join you they didn’t want to take any risks either and three more people volunteered to join the first two. 

@charlie_TortieB: Did they really? 

@ taylorswift : Yes darling. I have very loyal people working for me. And you deserve only the best 💜

You could feel the stars appearing in your eyes as you read her words. What did you even do to deserve someone like Taylor? 

As promised to your sister, you arrived at her house exactly forty minutes after you ended your phone call. She was sitting out front with Theo running around with his soccer ball and little James in his stroller. 

When you got out of the limousine you didn’t have to wait long before your arms were full of a very hyper six year old little boy who was trying his hardest at squeezing the life out of you. 

‘’AUNTY CHARLIE!’’ Theo yelled in your ears, oblivious to the discomfort the volume of his voice brought in the way that all children seemed to be at his age. You still loved him tho. ‘’Mama said we’re going shopping today! What are we buying?’’ 

‘’Well, for me I don’t know, but,’’ you started to say mysteriously, tickling your nephew in the sides as you looked at your sister. ‘’A certain someone told me that my nephews deserve only the best and that little James needed a new stroller. The person told me to tell your mama that she can even choose the most expensive one on the market, her treat.’’ 

‘’Is it aunty Tay Tay?’’ 

‘’Aunty what now?’’ 

‘’Well, mama said that everyone has a soulmate, and that yours is Taylor Swift. You are my aunty, therefore she is my aunty too.’’ 

‘’Big words little man,’’ you ruffled your nephew’s hair, shooting your sister a glare as she whistled innocently and pushed her stroller towards the limousine. ‘’But we are not married Theo, Taylor can’t be your aunt yet.’’ 

‘’Mama said being your soulmate is as good as being your wife. I agree with mama.’’ 

‘’Of course you do little one.’’ 

Twenty minutes later found you, your sister and your nephews parked in front of a fancy looking baby store, and you only realized that you never even asked the driver to go here once you were already out of the limousine. The driver laughed when he saw your confused face. 

‘’Apologies miss Walker, but it was the boss’s orders. She told me to bring you here first things. Oh! I almost forgot,’’ the man reached inside the car’s glove box to retrieve a small white envelope that he promptly gave you. ‘’Miss Taylor told me to give this to you. There is a credit card inside to pay for today’s expenses, as I’m sure she told you. If you need me for anything just come back outside, I’ll be waiting for you. But take your time, we’re in no rush today.’’ 

‘’Shall I give you back the card when we’re done?’’ 

‘’No no no, you keep it. Did miss Taylor not tell you it was yours to keep?’’

You were too stunned to speak, your sister thanking the driver in your place as she took the envelope and dragged you away. She put the object in your hand as she tightened her grip on Theo’s hand, the little boy jumping with excitement at the sight of the baby store. 

@charlie_TortieB: That was very sneaky of you to do Lover ❤️

@ taylorswift : I told you that you were my everything darling 😌

@charlie_TortieB: You’ve also been promoted to aunty Tay Tay, as per my nephew’s words. I hope it’s okay? 

@ taylorswift : Are you kidding? This is more than okay love! I just can’t wait to meet them! 

You smiled down at your phone as you held the door to the store open for your sister and Theo. Little James was wide awake in his stroller and he even gave you a little smile as you went inside the store with him, making your heart instantly melt. This one would have Taylor wrapped around his little fingers one day, you’re sure of it. 

‘’Mama can we go look at some toys?’’ Theo asked as he spied the toy section on his left. ‘’Jamie needs some!’’ 

‘’Are you sure it’s not you who needs toys?’’ Robin asked with a smirk, laughing when your nephew’s face turned red. ‘’Thank you for thinking about your little brother, but you’re allowed to want things too you know? I’m sure aunty Tay Tay would be more than okay with it.’’ 

‘’Don’t you even start with that,’’ you mumbled under your breath, stirring James’ stroller away. You could see the stroller section from where you were, but by the look on Theo’s face they would be stuck in the toys section for quite a while. ‘’I’ll go over there with my little munchkin, he needs a better ride than this!’’ 

‘’Not too expensive Charlie! I know you!’’ 

‘’I can’t promise anything Robin. After all aunty Tay Tay gave me free rein!’’  

‘’You told her about this didn’t you?’’ 

‘’Of course, who do you take me for?’’ 

Theo dragged your sister away before she could talk back to you, and you proceeded to busy yourself with the stroller section. Some of the workers cruising the aisles were not so subtly throwing you looks, a handful of them even less subtly taking pictures of you and you had to roll your eyes at that. 

‘’I’m sorry, my coworkers can be a bit dense sometimes,’’ you heard someone say from your left, making you jump in fright. The worker, a kind looking thirty something year old brown haired guy, laughed at your reaction. ‘’Shoot, I didn’t mean to scare you like that. Do you need some help maybe?’’ 

‘’Yes thank you. This little one needs a new ride,’’ you told the worker, ‘Toby’ as they were called on their name badge. James even showed him his heart shattering smile. ‘’I had my eye on that one over there. Do you maybe have the trio in Caviar in stock?’’ 

‘’Oooh, a fancy ride for a fancy little boy,’’ Toby smiled and wrote something on the tablet he had in hand. ‘’Yes, I believe we have it in stock. Would you like me to bring it out for you to try or is it your final choice?’’ 

‘’It is my final choice. But could you help me assemble it? I know how to build furniture but for some reasons I’m completely garbage when it comes to strollers. And I work at a nursery, can you imagine?’’ 

‘’Girl it’s okay, we all have our daily struggles! I’ll come back in a few with the stroller, do you maybe need something else?’’ 

‘’I think we’re all good for now, thank you!’’ 

Thirty minutes later James was snoozing away in the bassinet of his new stroller, unaware of  his mother’s stunned expression as she saw you coming her way. 

‘’You know, maybe I’ll steal your woman from you if this is what she does every day.’’ 

‘’HEY!’’ 

‘’I’m kidding Charlie! But holy shit, you didn’t have to go all out for a stroller!’’ Your sister instantly looked down on her newborn sleeping like nothing could ever wake him up. She couldn’t help but laugh. ‘’Damn, please give my thanks to your woman. He never slept in the other one!’’ 

‘’I’ll do you one better,’’ you whispered with a grin, slowly pulling out your phone. You took some steps back and quickly took a picture. ‘’I’ll send it to her, she’s gonna love it!’’ 

‘’Why don’t you post it?’’ 

‘’Really? Are you sure it doesn’t bother you?’’ 

‘’Sis, I post my kids too. I don’t care really, go ahead.’’ 

So you did. James was still snoozing away in his bassinet as you posted the picture of him on Instagram. His brand new stroller was in full view, his tiny head turned to the side with a sleepy smile on his face so that it wasn’t that recognizable, except maybe for your family. You grinned as you wrote the caption. 

‘’Thank you for my new ride aunty Tay Tay ❤️ @ taylorswift

       PS: Big brother Theo said that aunty Charlie being your soulmate was the same as being your wife. But you didn’t hear it from me, did you? ‘’ 

You showed your sister the post after you published it on your account. Robin proceeded to smack you at the back of the head as a result. 

‘’Now you’re just looking for trouble,’’ your sister rolled her eyes as you whistled innocently and you all walked to the counter. ‘’If she is anything like I think she is, Taylor is so going to get back at you for this.’’ 

It was only after you payed for the stroller with the credit card Taylor provided you that you checked on your phone. And really, you should know by now that people were going to flood your posts, so why were you even surprised to see thousands of people commenting and liking the picture you published a moment ago just as much as the previous ones? 

You were putting everything away inside the limousine when your phone vibrated again. You checked on your recent post and saw that Taylor had commented. 

taylorswift: Oh my gosh Jamie you look adorable 😍 (ps: tell Theo to inform your aunty Charlie that if she’s a good girl we can revisit the wife situation at a later date 😏)

       charliewalker: Are you being serious right now? 😳

              taylorswift: Darling did I stutter? 

Robin teased you about it the whole way to the mall. Once you arrived at the shopping center the driver, Mark, also promised to wait for you all outside. You felt bad that he had to, so you vowed to yourself that you would buy something for him. Yes it was Taylor’s money, but it’s the thought that counts right? 

‘’Okay so where do you want to go first?’’ Robin asked you as she pushed her new stroller forward. Theo was clinging to her side, looking at all the people walking around with narrowed eyes. Your sister raised an eyebrow as she saw you looking at her in confusion. ‘’Charlie come on! You didn’t think I would let you spend Taylor’s money only on me and the boys, did you? She’s your soulmate, and she told you it was her treat for YOU.’’ 

‘’I don’t know where to go,’’ you admitted as you grabbed your sister’s hand very much like your nephew. ‘’There’s too many people here.’’ 

‘’Tell you what, I’ll choose.’’ 

You were pushed inside a lingerie store before you could comprehend what was happening to you. Robin made sure to hand Theo a snack so that he wouldn’t comment on where you were that much, and then she proceeded to nudge you towards an employee. 

‘’Well hello there, do you need help choosing something?’' The woman, bless her heart, seemed to understand by a single look at your panicked eyes. ‘’It’s okay, there is no shame in asking for a little help. Is it to spice things up with your soulmate over here?’’ 

‘’WHAT THE- NO! Good lord no! That’s my sister!’’ You exclaimed in horror, eyes as wide as saucers just like Robin. You blushed when you felt fellow shoppers’s eyes on you. ‘’I’m sorry for yelling, but oh my god the mental images you just put in my head…’’ 

‘’Unbelievable,’’ Robin whispered under her breath before she approached the worker too. ‘’Hello, I’m Robin, the sister. And to answer for my panicking and useless so gay for her soulmate younger sister, yes. This young one must obtain the goods in order to bewitch her Lady. Will that be possible?’’ 

‘’Of course. Do you know what kind of style you want? Which designs calls to you more?’’ 

‘’Hum…Ahem, I don’t-‘’ 

‘’She’ll take the spiciest lingerie sets you have, make it the most expensive too,’’ Robin pushed you once again into the arms of the employee, a mischievous smile coming to her face as she just watched you get dragged away from her. ‘’The budget is there is no limit to the budget. Her Lady is paying.’’ 

‘’Lord I have seen what you’ve done for others,’’ you heard the worker mumble to herself. She happily led you to a more secluded corner of the store, but not without grabbing some lingerie sets on the way. ‘’Go ahead and see if you like some of them! I personally like that little red lace ensemble, but that’s just me.’’ 

One and a half hour later you were the proud owner of not one, not two, not even three, but thirteen brand new sets of lingerie (Robin had insisted on the number, even going as far as saying that Taylor would approve of the purchase). Your face was stuck in a permanent blush, and it didn’t even go down as you swiped Taylor’s card to pay. 

‘’Thank you for shopping here, we hope you enjoy your purchase and can’t wait to see you back in our store!’’ 

‘’I don’t think the Lady will let my sister go when she sees her in this, but thank you for trying.’’ 

‘’ROBIN!’’ 

‘’…Sheesh! I didn’t know Taylor Swift was such a simp for her soulmate…’’ 

‘’And you don’t even know what they’re telling each other through private messages! Like I think once they’re left alone for a few days my sister won’t be able to walk for a few-humph!’’ 

‘’Too much information Robin, people don’t need to know about that!’’ 

Even outside the store you could still hear the worker laughing at your expense. You could even bet that by the end of the day what your sister revealed about you and Taylor would be all over the internet. Perks of being the soulmate of one of the best singer of all time, right? 

*******

‘’Oh no miss Walker, I couldn’t accept this!’’ 

‘’And I insist!’’ 

‘’I stand my ground! I don’t know what the boss would say!’’ 

‘’Taylor would thank you for taking care of me all day, I can assure you that. Please? You were so nice to us the whole day, it’s the least I can do!’' 

It was now 8pm, you were tired as hell but happy, your sister and nephews already taken home with all of their stuff, and here you were trying to make Mark accept the little gift you had purchased for him. The man was a godsend through the entire day, waiting for you, driving you to another shopping mall when you didn’t find what you were looking for at the first, even suggesting a few stores to try and more. You knew it was his job to drive you around, but you still felt like you had to show how grateful you were. 

That is why you were currently shoving the box of a very expensive watch in his hands. You did check with Taylor that it was okay, after everything you bought today with her money it was only fair, but maybe a seven thousand dollars watch was too much. 

Maybe a little. 

‘’Please? You could ask her, but she will tell you she approved,’’ you smirked as you saw Mark blanch a tiny bit. ‘’So really you would be refusing a gift from your boss. Who does that?’’ 

‘’Alright, fine! But no more miss Walker! My wife will question if i’m really a personal chauffeur if I get home every day with expensive stuff!’’ 

You grinned and waved the man goodbye, quickly entering your building and getting inside the elevator. Your arms were full of shopping bags, two out of the nine being full of Taylor’s cds that you couldn’t help but buy (you didn’t have those particular versions, so it’s okay. Having four copies of ‘Midnights’ was a matter of life or death. The vinyls too). 

It was with arms hurting like hell but with a smile on your face that you finally got to your floor and walked to your door. You immediately froze, seeing a decently sized package right there on your doormat. You bent down and contemplated opening it (you really had no sense of self preservation, because what if that was a bomb?)when you nearly fell on your ass as your phone started vibrating like crazy at the same time that ‘Vigilante Shit’ came from your phone at the highest volume. 

It was Taylor. 

Lover💜 sent you several messages

I hope you had a good day darling 

We’ll talk about your little public stunt on the internet at a later date, but for now you’ll see something waiting for you in front of your door. 

It is a…special gift. 

But do not open it. Not until tomorrow at least…

I’ll FaceTime you when you do.  

Want to see the look on your face when you see what I’ve bought for you. 

What I’ve bought for us.

I can’t wait to use them on you 😏🌶️

Charlie 

TAYLOR! 

Taylor what do you mean? 

Lover💜

Be patient darling. 

If you’re good I will let you use whatever is inside. 

Only if you wait. 

Charlie 

What even is in the package? 

Lover💜

You’ll know only if you’re a good girl for me darling. 

You took some much needed breath. The things that woman did to you only using her words…

a/n: y'all aren't ready for the next chapter (it's very much spicy and nsfw, do not show it to your grandmas they'll die of a heart attack)

Chapter 5

[kaihuntrr]

one-year anniversary!

HI. oh my goodness can you believe its been a WHOLE YEAR (and a day, im posting this a day later OOPS-) since i started working on this au? i dont think i started working on the chapters until... the -ber months? but the general brainstorming started now and oh my GOD the amount of changes that has happened while working on this au is insane! im absolutely floored with how much people enjoy this au, and while im too busy to be posting art (im doing some personal work!) i have all the time in the world to talk about how much this means to me.

i've written things in the past, but i havent for the LIFE of me worked on such a long project such as this (we're only halfway through act one of FIVE!) and learning and growing with such wonderful betas and partner (ehehe @mewhoismyself hello there) is just so wonderful <3

SO! in order to make this anniversary special, i've decided to post a little cut/practice scene from act two! this couldnt make the cut with what the plot has in mind, but i figured itd be best to have some nice moments with scott and martyn, eh?

OH! and before i go, the next chapter will be posted a day earlier! <3 im going abroad the day after the original chapter posting date, so i need to rest. i think this back half of the fic is gonna be really something <3

anyway, i wont keep you here for longer. i hope you have a fun time reading this, just as much as my partner and i had fun writing this so many months ago <33

Martyn tried to listen as Scott rambled on about what he’d been up to, how nice it had been to see his friends again. He even tried to let the small twist of jealousy at Scott being so happy over seeing someone else wrench his attention back into the moment, but it didn’t work. The face of Pearl kept flashing in the forefront of his mind, her eyes and jagged scar glowing unnaturally under the moonlight. 

“Oh, and…,” Scott continued to ramble on, but Martyn still couldn’t focus. It seemed that Scott had noticed as his voice trailed off and he looked at the blonde with a tilted head. “Martyn…?”

Martyn gave a grumbled response. His mind blocked out the world around him as he pictured brief flashes of the island, the hollow and desolate stares of the people, the wicked laugh coming from Pearl….

Scott sighed. “Martyn….”

Martyn could still feel a slight buzz in his head from where he was hit. How much blood did he lose back there? He didn’t know. All he knew was that he was glad to be alive. Glad that he was here, still breathing, like everyone else. Glad that he was–

“Martyn!”

Martyn jerked as Scott’s face was suddenly inches from his own. Scott’s lips were twisted into a pout and his eyebrows were drawn into a scowl. “Huh- sorry, what?”

Scott sighed, letting his head fall forward, “So you weren’t listening to me….”

“No!” Martyn said quickly, throwing his hands up. Panic leapt in his chest, making his heart beat faster. He didn’t want Scott to think he was ignoring him…! “No, I- I’m… I’m sorry…,” he hung his head. “I’m trying to listen- I’m not meaning to ignore you, I just….” Martyn looked down at the sand beneath him. Guilt welled up in his throat. He’d been so eager to see Scott while he was away, and before he’d gotten back, and now that he was actually here… Martyn was ignoring him. He was making Scott feel ignored.

Martyn shook his head, forcing a huge smile onto his face. “So, you said you saw your friends, right? Did you have fun-? Oh, what am I saying, you just said you had fun- haha…,” Martyn scrubbed the back of his head, then straightened up, rolling to his feet. “Hey, do you wanna go see if we can find your bird friend? I bet it’s missed you too!” He pointed towards a path leading up to the forest, “Bet he lives in there somewhere…!”

“Um- Martyn…,” Scott trailed off looking after him.

Martyn took a few steps backwards, away from Scott, and spread his arms, hoping he’d follow. “Or we can go down to the beach! It’s a nice day, it’ll feel great to splash in the water a little.”

“Martyn.”

“Or- oh, we can go see the decorations they’re setting up for the festival down in the center of town. You said you were excited right, so we can-!”

“Martyn!” Scott snapped. 

Martyn stopped.

Scott took the few steps to close the distance between them, laying his hand on Martyn’s arm, then sliding it down to take his hand. He tilted his head, giving Martyn big sad eyes. “Martyn, talk to me…. What’s wrong?”

It was hard for Martyn to not crack under Scott’s gaze. “It’s just…,” he trailed off, trying to put his thoughts into words. He was just engrossed in them a second ago, but now, trying to tell Scott, he couldn’t think of what to say. “I… uh….”

“You’re alright, Martyn,” Scott rubbed his thumb over Martyn’s hand in a small, circular motion. “Take your time.”

A small pause fell over him. Martyn could hear the slow ebbs of the waves before he managed to speak. “I can’t get her out of my mind,” his voice spat with venom. Pearl’s sadistic glee, her manic grin, her ever-looming presence burned in his head. Martyn’s grip unknowingly tightened around Scott until he looked the other in the eye. His grip on Scott lessened as he looked away. “What good can I be to protect you, when I can’t defend myself from one person?”

“Who said I needed protecting?” Scott raised an eyebrow, his tone still soft but with a hint of skepticism as he leaned to the side to catch Martyn’s gaze again. He let out a weak chuckle and moved his other hand to rest on Martyn’s cheek. “Besides, you can’t protect me from everything.”

Martyn leaned into the touch, not caring how warm his cheeks felt as Scott’s delicate hand pressed into his skin, lightly grazing over the scar Pearl caused. He closed his eyes as he let out a sigh and drooped his shoulders. “But I want to…,” he muttered. He looked at Scott, his face scrunched with worry. “I don’t want you getting hurt at all, Scott.”

“There’s going to be times where I get hurt, Martyn,” Scott narrowed his eyes and withdrew his hand from Martyn’s cheek. Martyn was wide-eyed, only for Scott to hold the hunter’s other hand. “When that happens, all I’d ask is for you to help me get back on my feet.”

Martyn could feel his nerves freeze up at Scott’s warm hold. His gentle stare and concern on his face nearly caused Martyn’s heart to explode. A million things swirled in his mind as the breeze wafted over. “I can’t help it,” he lowered his head, biting his lip. “You should be protected, with all the chaos going around–”

“What chaos?” Scott cracked a smile and shook his head. He shrugged, letting go of one of Martyn’s hands as he gestured around. “All there is to see is you, me, and the beach. Nothing to worry about, right?”

Nothing to worry about for now, but so many things could happen in the blink of an eye. Martyn could practically hear the sound of the sea princes’ ringing in his ears, the one from his dreams laughing as its mouth opened wide to swallow Scott as he screamed-.... 

No. Martyn needed to be prepared for anything, so nothing bad could ever happen to the people he cared for. Nothing. Never again. 

“I still want to fight for you,” his voice was barely a whisper in the wind, cracking a bit from the emotions that crawled up the back of his throat. But seeing Scott’s attentive look, with the slight tilt of his head, Martyn knew he could hear him. “Can I at least do that?” he pleaded. He needed to-. He needed to. 

“You may,” Scott nodded, giving him a small smile. Then his eyes narrowed as a smirk crept onto his lips. “So- I’d like to see how you fight.”

Martyn opened his mouth to respond- just in time for a woosh of breath to leave him as his back hit the ground. Martyn gasped, blinking for several seconds as he tried to figure out he’d gotten laid flat out on his back… with a certain ginger pinning his shoulders to the sand.

“Yikes…,” Scott teased, his eyebrows rising, complimenting the wide grin on his face.

Martyn sputtered, his face immediately flushing beat red. “I wasn’t ready! Sneak- sneak attack…!”

Scott laid one arm across his chest, propping his other elbow on top of it and laying his cheek in his hand. “Most things will take an opportunity for a sneak attack, when presented with one.” He kicked his feet in the air, as if he was lounging on a couch reading a book. 

Martyn flushed all the way to his ears. “Redo!”

Scott leaned his head down, smiling at Martyn in a way that was almost sickeningly sweet. “Are you waiting for a written invitation?” 

Martyn grabbed Scott by the shoulders and surged upwards, knocking the ginger off of him. Scott laughed as he slipped his grip, ducking under one of Martyn’s arms to wrap his arms around Martyn’s torso. 

Before Martyn’s brain could fully process that, Scott had rolled Martyn over top of him and planted him flat on his back again. 

Working on instinct more than pre-thought, Martyn wrapped his arms around Scott’s shoulders and kicked off the sand. He knocked his thigh against Scott’s hip, bumping him off balance just enough to send them rolling over again.

But Scott didn’t end up on his back underneath Martyn. 

Somehow, mid flip, he’d slithered around Martyn’s torso, ducking his arm again and getting outside of his hold. Martyn ended up with his face in the sand and a knee pressed between his shoulders, shoving him down further.

Martyn was about to push himself up with his arms, using his strength advantage to throw Scott off of him, but Martyn froze when he felt something sharp curl around his throat. 

He couldn’t move. He couldn’t even swallow. He could barely even breathe. 

Suddenly the sharp points of crescent bladed scythes were touched against his neck so delicately. Suddenly the sharp claws of a hungry beast wrapped around his throat, pricking the skin above his jugular. One wrong move and she’d slid his throat. One wrong breath and the beast would tear him to ribbons.

A figure above him bent down to whisper in his ear. 

“I win!” Scott chirped brightly. He laughed as he withdrew his fingernails from where he’d curled them around Martyn’s throat. “You really do need more practice. Though I’d be happy to oblige…,” his voice turned sing-songy as he plopped back on the sand, his arms holding him up.

Martyn slowly pushed himself upwards, staring down at the sand where his face had been in utter bafflement. Why had that felt-? Why was he-? Why was his heart beating so fast? Why… did he feel like he’d just been hunted…?

“That- that uh…,” Martyn stammered, not really sure what he wanted to say. “You’re a lot better fighter than I thought you’d be.” He turned his head to look at Scott, pushing himself up so he was sitting on his knees.

“I know,” Scott smiled widely, tipping his head back and forth, “Do I impress you, Martyn?” He smiled and hummed teasingly, his eyes narrowed in a joyful satisfaction. 

“Always,” he breathed, a lot more genuine and heartfelt than he’d meant to. Scott’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Martyn felt his face flush and he looked down at the sand. Well, he was in this far. “I think you’re amazing.” 

“Thank you…,” Scott said with a shy little smile. A light hint of red dusted his cheeks. He looked… really nice like that.

Martyn shook his head, roughly clearing his throat. “Well um, as- as fun as this was… I was actually referring to- to my gun combat more than my hand-to-hand.”

“Uh huh,” Scott answered with a small smirk, not sounding like he believed him. “Well, maybe I could help you with that as well.” 

“You know how to use a gun?” Martyn asked, more than a little shocked. How… how much did he really know about Scott?

Scott opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked to the side, then looked back at Martyn. “Noooo…?” he admitted, grinning sheepishly. He sighed, rolling his eyes a bit, “To be honest I thought you were still flirting, not that that was a serious question. And now, well… I’m just embarrassed.”

“Oh.” Martyn tried to hide his sigh of relief. It was one thing to just not know that Scott was a capable fighter -he was a tavern keeper who dealt with rowdy drunks all the time, Martyn honestly should have expected it- but it was another thing to not know that Scott was a trained gunman. For some reason they felt different. Martyn felt a grin split his face. “Would-... would you like me to teach you…?”

“Teach me what?” Scott’s eyebrows pinched together for a brief moment, then shot up towards his hairline, “How to use a gun?”

“Yeah,” Martyn grinned, “It’ll be like the time I was taught!”

“When were you taught?” Scott tilted his head.

“I think I was… seven? My parents knew I wanted to be a hunter, so they taught me,” Martyn hummed, looking out at the beach. He could remember the eagerness in his voice when he asked his parents to teach him. He only knew of the dangers through them and the people he lived around, but he knew his heart was calling out to the sea more than anything else.  “I needed practice, like everyone else, but I’m a natural. A crack shot, they’d told me!” He laughed. Shooting a target from far away was much easier than fighting with swords or his bare hands. 

Scott blinked, processing Martyn’s words. He slowly turned his head to Martyn, eyes widening in shock as all sense of his playfulness dropped. “You were a child when you learned how to use those?”

“Yeah…? I wanted to be a hunter, Scott, so I learned early.” Martyn looked at Scott and shrugged, feeling the ginger’s gaze on his skin felt… different. Martyn learned how to use guns to be a hunter, not to– oh. Was Scott thinking Martyn would…? Martyn shook his head and raised his hands up. “But I can’t shoot a person. A sea monster is easy because they’re big and stupid, but a person…?”

Scott had a judgemental look on his face as it scrunched up. He pulled his legs up and wrapped his arms around them, resting his head on it as he sighed. “Ending a person’s life is hard, and I’m happy you haven’t shot anyone, but…,” he trailed off. Martyn leaned closer to Scott as he raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you think it’s a little concerning?”

“What’s concerning?”

“You learned how to shoot things, how to kill things, as a kid,” Scott looked away, gripping his arms tighter as he watched the waves flow in and out. “Every life has a purpose; from you, to me, and even the beasts in the ocean.”

Martyn narrowed his eyes. Exactly what purpose could those monsters serve? Being ocean terrors? An effective way to kill humans and destroy ships? To bring fear in the hearts of children? To kill Ren- Jimmy? Why were there monsters in the ocean? Why should there be? 

“They’re monsters, Scott.” Martyn hissed, anger rising in his voice.

“They’re animals,” Scott hissed back, his face pinching into an expression that was almost pained. “They’re just animals….” 

“They’re heartless, cruel, and always starving.” Martyn huffed, pulling out his gun to examine it under the sunlight. Horrible beasts. Disgusting monsters. Murderers. “They’re such horrible, unnatural beasts that every mechanic in the world works to develop better guns and weapons to kill them all.” 

He didn’t fully notice the way Scott shied away from the gun in his hand. “You’re lucky you don’t need to leave the kingdom to see those ugly things,” Martyn spat.

“Ugly…,” Scott grumbled, turning his head away, like he was offended by the notion. “Well, I’m sure most of them would think the same about you.”

Martyn blinked, giving Scott a double take. Ugly…? 

Scott let out a sigh as he stretched and uncurled his legs and arms to stretch out in front of him. He picked up a small handful of sand and watched it fall through his fingers. “Every life is precious, every life is running on limited time. I’m not an idiot. I know things die. But there’s no reason to cut it shorter than it needs to be. ” He smiled wistfully, tossing the rest of the sand forward. “The sea is… scary, but maybe if you had an open mind, you’d see there’s more to it than monsters.”

Martyn followed Scott’s gaze and stared. Was there anything more to them? Surely not. The fondness in Scott’s voice was hard to believe- but the man has never even seen any beast to Martyn’s knowledge. The fond tone that Scott spoke about those- those monsters with… it honestly made Martyn angry. Those monsters took away the people he cared about. The people he loved. People he cherished. Jimmy, Ren… and so many other innocent people lost their lives to the sea, Lizzie’s parents…. The ocean took all of them, and there was nothing to blame but the monsters that infested it.

“They’re monsters, nothing more than that,” he spat, emotions in his chest wrenching into a tight knot that made it hard to breathe. He swung his arm out to the side, bringing his gun up in front of his chest as he rose to his knees, almost looming over Scott. “I know what they are, Scott, and I know I’m doing all that I can to protect you and the rest of the kingdom from the beasts that would just as quickly swallow you whole as they would crush you into pieces!”

“There’s no need for you to be so hostile about it,” Scott snapped at Martyn, his eyes narrowing into a cold glare that felt like icy daggers stabbing into Martyn’s face. Scott stood up and brushed all the sand from his clothes with a sigh. “I understand.” He walked closer to the water, just enough for the waves to lap against his shoes and tightened his fist, as if preventing to lash out.

Martyn blinked. “Was I-?” he muttered to himself. 

He looked out at Scott standing in the surf. He looked… sad. The guilty feeling in his chest built up once more. 

All of a sudden, Martyn remembered just how happy Scott looked with his birds fluttering around him, with the canary nuzzling his palm. Oh-. Scott was an animal lover…. No wonder he-.

Martyn was messing everything up. First he’d ignored him, and he was pushing Scott away by getting angry. Martyn quickly stood up and ran across the beach towards Scott, “Oh, Scott, I’m sorry–”

Scott turned to look at him, a flat expression on his face.

Martyn felt his heart twist, “I- I’m sorry. I- I didn’t mean to make you feel….”

“Upset?” Scott supplied.

“Yeah…,” Martyn bowed his head. His hand twitched out, reaching for Scott’s but giving up and retreating before he could take it. Martyn turned his head away and bit his lip. “I-... I made you-....”

Scott stepped closer and held out his hand. “No need for that, silly hunter,” he smiled sweetly. Martyn took it almost immediately, surprising them both. Scott let out a chuckle and bumped his shoulder next to Martyn’s. “I’m not mad,” Scott said softly. Martyn believed him. He looked… sad instead. 

“I don’t want you to–”

“You’re just fine.” Scott assured him with a smirk. “It takes a lot more than a simple disagreement to make me actually upset. We’re okay, right?” 

Martyn bashfully nodded, resulting in a wide smile from Scott. Was he… really okay? Or was he just hiding how he felt? For Martyn’s sake? Martyn hoped it was the former. 

Scott put a hand on his chest, giving Martyn’s hand a small squeeze. “Just… try to keep an open mind, alright? The world can be… stranger than you might think.” He smiled a little bashfully, “I might have- a surprise or two… to share, eventually.”

“Like how you can kick my butt in hand to hand?”

Scott’s face split into a wide grin, his eyes lighting up with laughter. “Just like that.”

Martyn felt himself smiling, a laugh escaping him as he squeezed Scott’s hand. Yeah, they were okay.

[serenastark-official]

✨🩵08: Serena’s 101 for Socially Awkward People Who Wanna Make Friends but Also Kinda Wanna Hide in a Hole🩵✨

Alright, Tumblr gremlins, listen up. You wanna make friends but feel like an absolute mess of awkwardness and insecurity? Been there, done that, stole Tony’s prototype T-shirt. So, here’s your guide to getting over yourself (with love) and actually letting people know you think they’re awesome.

Step 1: Accept That You Are, in Fact, Cool Enough to Have Friends

Yes, you. Right there. The one reading this and thinking, “Haha, but not me.” WRONG. You are exactly the kind of person who deserves friends. Your brain is lying to you. Tell it to shut up.

Repeat after me: ✨ I am not as weird and unlikable as my overthinking tells me I am. ✨ People will not spontaneously combust if I talk to them. ✨ It’s okay to like people without being terrified of them.

Step 2: Initiating a Friendship Without Self-Destructing

You see someone cool. You want to talk to them. Your brain immediately goes: “Ah, yes. Time to panic.”

❌ DO NOT overthink the perfect first message. ✔️ DO just say literally anything remotely friendly.

Some ideas:

Compliments Work Wonders – “Hey, I love your posts/art/vibe, you’re super cool!” (Boom. Instant serotonin boost for them.)

Mutual Interests Are Your Friend – “You like [insert thing]? I ALSO like [insert thing]!” (Look at you, starting a conversation.)

Chaos Can Be Effective – “Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck?” (Trust me, this works.)

The key is you do not have to be perfect. You just have to exist in their direction.

Step 3: Handling Responses Like a Functional Human Being

So they reply! Yay! Now what?

Don’t stress about being interesting. You don’t need to be a one-person comedy show. Just talk.

Ask questions! People like talking about themselves.

If you panic and overthink, breathe—no one expects you to be flawless.

If they don’t respond, IT’S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. They might be busy. It’s not a personal attack.

📌Here are some DOs and DON'Ts:

DO: Reply to posts, add comments, send memes, react with emojis—exist in their general vicinity.

DON’T: Stare at their content like a cryptid in the shadows, overthink a single reply for five hours, then panic and delete everything before they see it.

DO: Send a casual “Hey, your posts always make me smile!”

DON’T: Write a ten-page essay apologizing for existing before you even get to the compliment.

Step 4: Let People Know You Appreciate Them Without Imploding

Okay, so now you’ve been mutuals for a while. You think they’re great. But your brain is like, “What if I say something and it’s weird and they think I’m creepy and I ruin everything forever?”

❌ WRONG. ✔️ Here’s what you say:

“Hey, I love seeing your posts on my dash, they make my day better!”

“You are genuinely such a cool person and I’m really happy we’re mutuals.”

“I hope you’re having a good day because you deserve one.”

“You exist and that’s pretty damn awesome.”

Friendly reminders: 🔥 Saying nice things is not creepy. 🔥 People LOVE knowing they make you happy. 🔥 You are not a burden for appreciating someone.

Step 5: The Art of Controlled Fangirling™

I repeat: COMPLIMENTS ARE NOT A CRIME. You are not “bothering” someone by saying something nice. If someone told you, “Hey, I love your vibe, and you make me laugh,” would you recoil in horror? No! You’d be happy! So apply the same logic to others.

DO: Hype them up like the supportive gremlin you are. “OMG I love this!!!” is always welcome.

DON’T: Write an entire Shakespearean sonnet about how they’re the sun and moon and stars and you would die for them—unless you already have that kind of friendship, in which case, go feral.

Step 6: Dealing with the Inevitable ‘Oh No, They Secretly Hate Me’ Spiral

Ah yes, the classic “They’re just tolerating me, aren’t they?” intrusive thought.

🔹 FACT: If someone didn’t like you, they would not talk to you. 🔹 FACT: Just because they don’t respond immediately doesn’t mean they hate you. 🔹 FACT: Your brain is meaner to you than reality is.

How to handle the spiral:

Pause – Are you making assumptions, or do you have actual proof they hate you?

Reality Check – If they didn’t want to interact, they wouldn’t. They have a BLOCK button.

Distract Yourself – Go do something fun. Your worth isn’t determined by one person’s response time.

Step 7: Just Be You, Because You’re Already Pretty Great

Friendship isn’t about impressing people—it’s about connecting with them. You don’t have to be the funniest, smartest, most interesting person in the room. You just have to be there.

✨ People like you for you. ✨ You don’t have to be perfect to be worthy of friendship. ✨ Let people know when you appreciate them.

Step 8: Socializing = Exposure Therapy

Talk to people. Regularly. Even if it’s just sending a dumb meme or commenting “mood” on a post. The more you interact, the less terrifying it gets. Exposure therapy works.

The only way to get better at socializing is to actually do it. Yes, even when you feel like your soul is going to evacuate your body from sheer awkwardness. Yes, even when your brain is screaming, “BUT WHAT IF THEY THINK I’M WEIRD?” (Spoiler: everyone is weird. It’s fine.)

Step 9: Just Do the Thing™

Type the message.

Hit send.

Don’t overthink it.

If they don’t respond, it’s not a personal attack.

If they do respond, congrats! You’re socializing!

Repeat until you have a cool internet friend.

Look, I hate to break it to you, but most people are just as awkward as you are. That “cool, untouchable person” you’re scared to interact with? Yeah, they probably spent ten minutes debating how to phrase a text like, “Hey.” Nobody actually has their life together. We’re all just pretending.

So go forth, awkward Tumblr human, and make some friends. You got this. 💙

[bitchinbarzal]

Flynn has a new friend | Mini Minten

Mama Mints tried to keep her hands busy—wiping down the already-clean counter, reorganizing the fruit bowl, checking the time for the fifth time in the last two minutes. None of it helped settle the unease curling in her stomach.

Fraser watched from his spot on the couch, where he was lacing up his sneakers. He didn’t comment, just observed, letting her fidget until she huffed in frustration and turned to him.

“I just think—maybe he’s not ready,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Fraser bit back a smile, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “Babe” he said, voice filled with gentle patience, “we talked about this. Flynn wants to go.”

“I know,” she sighed. “But what if he gets overwhelmed? What if something goes wrong? What if he panics and I’m not there?”

Fraser stood, crossing the room to place his hands on her shoulders. “You talked to her mom. You like her.”

“I do,” Mama Mints admitted. “She’s nice, and she’s a teacher, so she gets kids. But it’s different when it’s your kid, y’know? When it’s Flynn.”

Fraser nodded. “It’s just for a couple hours. And if he needs us, we’re a five-minute drive away.”

She exhaled slowly, letting some of the tension slip from her body. He was right. Flynn’s friend—Maggie—had been nothing but sweet to him, and her mom seemed wonderful. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them. It was just that Flynn had never done this before—gone to a playdate alone, without her or Fraser there to help if he got overwhelmed.

Fraser pressed a kiss to her forehead. “He’s gonna be okay.”

She wished she had his confidence.

Flynn was quieter than usual on the drive over. He fiddled with his fingers in his lap, a sure sign that he was nervous.

“You good, buddy?” Fraser asked from the driver’s seat.

Flynn hesitated, then shrugged. “I think so.”

“Are you nervous?” Mama Mints asked gently, twisting in her seat to look at him properly.

He nodded. “What if I don’t know what to say?”

Her heart ached a little at the uncertainty in his voice. “You already know Maggie,” she reminded him. “You talk to her at school every day.”

“But that’s school,” Flynn said. “What if it’s different at her house?”

Fraser caught Mama Mints’ eye in the rearview mirror before glancing at Flynn. “It’s okay to be nervous. But Maggie’s your friend. And you’ll have fun together, just like at school.”

Flynn processed that for a moment, then nodded.

Mama Mints reached back, squeezing his knee reassuringly. “And if you ever feel like you want to come home, you just tell Maggie’s mom, and she’ll call us right away.”

That seemed to comfort him. “Okay,” he said.

By the time they pulled up in front of Maggie’s house, he looked a little more at ease.

Maggie’s mom, Charlotte, opened the door with a warm smile. “Flynn! Maggie’s been so excited for you to come over.”

Flynn stepped forward, hesitating for only a moment before offering a small smile. Maggie appeared behind her mom, beaming. “Flynn! Come see my room!”

She grabbed his hand, pulling him inside. He barely glanced back at Mama Mints before disappearing down the hall.

She swallowed hard, resisting the urge to chase after him.

Charlotte must have noticed the way her shoulders tensed because she smiled reassuringly. “I promise, we’ll take good care of him. And I’ll text you updates if you’d like.”

Mama Mints let out a breath. “That would be great. Thank you.”

Fraser nudged her back gently, guiding her toward the door. “See you later, bud!” he called after Flynn, who was already too distracted by Maggie’s chatter to respond.

When they got back in the car, Mama Mints stared at the house for a long moment before Fraser reached over, taking her hand in his. “He’s fine,” he said softly.

She nodded, squeezing his hand. “I know.”

She spent the next two hours trying not to check her phone too often, but every time it pinged with a text from Charlotte, she felt a little more at ease.

Flynn and Maggie are making a fort in the living room. Lots of giggles!

They’re playing with Maggie’s toy dinosaurs now. Flynn’s been teaching her their names—he’s so smart!

Snack time! He’s doing great.

By the time she got the final text

He’s ready to be picked up whenever you are! Let me know when you’re on your way!

She felt like she could breathe again.

When she knocked on the door, she heard Maggie’s excited voice shout, “Flynn! Your mom and dad are here!”

A second later, Flynn appeared, smiling wide. “Mama! Dad! I had fun!”

She crouched down, opening her arms, and he rushed into them, hugging her tightly. “I’m so glad, baby.”

As he pulled away, he started rambling about everything he and Maggie did—building a fort, playing dinosaurs, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. His eyes shone with excitement, and the nerves from earlier were completely gone.

Maggie grinned up at him. “You have to come over again!”

Flynn nodded enthusiastically. “Okay!”

Mama Mints exchanged a grateful look with Charlotte before thanking her again and heading to the car.

Flynn talked the whole ride home, and she couldn’t stop smiling.

“I told you he’d be okay,” Fraser murmured, reaching over to squeeze her knee.

She exhaled, letting the last of her worries melt away. “Yeah,” she said, glancing at Flynn, still chattering excitedly in the backseat. “He really was.”

[moonspirit]

Hello

So Annie’s crystal, I seen u talk about side effects but I have one I haven’t seen u talk about yet

What if it gives her like these pain surges, just moments of extreme all over pain where she struggles to move. Moments where everything hurts even breathing

This sort of pain is isolating, no one understands and u end up isolating yourself, but they are also a time or fear.Being in that extreme state of pain, not knowing when it will end.

I wonder what the first time this happens is like, and how the others help. Although knowing Annie she will try to hide it.

I wonder how this will affect her and Armins relationships. If it ends up canceling a date last minute. How would she feel about this, probably guilty.

Hello anon! Oh we're going for angst now huh xD

This hc makes me think that the things she'd struggle with the most during an "episode" of this kind are breathing, paralysis, and extreme chills and shivering. All reflective of the sensations she felt while imprisoned in the crystal. At first it strikes her without warning but over time, she learns to tell when it's coming.

Doesn't make it any easier though. I can see Aruani going out on a long-awaited date after several instances of not being able to make it for various reasons - finally, today, the weather is fine, there's nobody that will bother them, and nothing to get in the way. It's just them, the busy streets and coffee shops, and a ton to see!

And the bakeries are a delight! After an interesting morning of popping into shop after shop and inspecting the curios there, they finally settle at a little cafe for something to drink and a snack. She's never been so happy before, with dappled sunlight drawing patterns over her hands and the food on the table, and most beautiful of all, the happy boy sitting across, sipping on a coffee and studying the passersby.

Nothing can ruin this day for her.

Nothing.

Until it happens.

Until her fingers begin to tingle and a shiver wracks her spine. The day is so warm and lovely but there's a chill growing behind her eyes. Annie clenches her fingers, knowing full well that soon, they will not move and her teeth will hurt, but more is the panic that of all times and places it should be happening, it's right now in his line of vision.

Somehow, she stands and hobbles away, with a muttered excuse for the bathroom and a lie that her legs have fallen asleep. He buys it, thankfully, but his eyes are too concerned, burning a hole through her quickly stiffening back until she disappears around the bend. An isolated alley - how rare, she's lucky once again - and she collapses like that, with no feeling in her limbs and her lungs crying for air.

It was just like this - all those godawful nights frozen in the crystal. If she'd known the injection would come with a trap lying dormant in her very blood, would she have agreed to eat those memories and that nice woman?

Well... what choice did she have?

It tortures her for long minutes, a mercy from the hours and weeks and years from before. She gasps, but her chest doesn't expand, she pants but they don't constrict. Her limbs are rigid as if suspended in ice and black spots in her vision like that old, familiar, darkness of night. Pain all over, a terrible, gruesome pain, like she's being ripped apart again and again, increasing by the second with every attempt to force movement and air in her body. Dull noise, distorted voice, a shrieking silence splitting her sanity in five.

And then, a bird is calling overhead as she pulls in a rattling breath, and she's back in the present, and all of that is in the distance.

She's not lucky anymore, though. So many minutes have passed that she's certain Armin is worried sick by now. Finding a public tap, she splashes water on her face and closes her eyes in the sun to calm down - but all for naught, because once he finds her with frightened eyes and a nervous hold, she knows - she can't keep hiding this forever.

But how will she ever say that the crystal torments her still - the same crystal he put her in?

[afictionaladventure16]

Could you do meeting stepdad! Pedro for the first time? Please and thank you!😭💗

To Build a Home (Pedro Pascal x Teen!Reader)

Pedro Pascal Masterlist

A/N: I feel like this one was too short but I've been having writers block and this is the best I could do! I hope you enjoy it!! <3

Word Count: 2,880

Summary: Your mother decides it is time for you to meet her boyfriend of six months, you are defensive at first, but you think you could get used to the idea of having this one around more often.

This is fine. 

Everything about this situation is okay. 

No need to panic. You thought to yourself. Watching your mother frantically cook in the kitchen as if her life depended on it. You have never seen your mother this frantic since the day your grandmother decided to do a surprise visit. 

“Mom?” you quietly said, walking around the counter. 

“Honey, can you grab me some garlic, it should be next to the bananas… bananas… shit! I forgot to make dessert!” She groaned to herself as she handled the hot pan in front of her. 

You sighed, grabbing the garlic and setting it down on the counter beside her, “Mom,” you said a little louder. 

“What, honey?” She quickly gave you a glance before taking notice of the garlic you had placed on the counter. She grabbed it, taking it over to the cutting board. 

“Can you look at me for a moment?” You asked desperately. 

She sighed, putting down everything before turning to give you her full attention. “Si, Cariño?” 

“I don’t know if I want to do this anymore.” You regretted the words as soon as they had left your mother, seeing the reaction on your mother's face. How her eyes watered and her mouth frowned. 

“But, Cariño, you told me you were ready. We had a whole discussion– I don’t understand.” 

You sighed, “I know, I–I think I’m nervous ‘s all.” 

“Nervous? Sweetie, how do you think we feel?” You shrugged, “Pedro has been messaging me all week about how he wants to cancel because he’s nervous.” She sighed, “Honey, you’re not the only one that is feeling this way.” 

“So, we should cancel?” 

She shook her head, “It’s time for you to meet Pedro.” You feared that she would say that. It only meant one thing. One thing you truly feared, she was deeply in love with him. That what they had was something serious and it could lead to them becoming more than just boyfriend and girlfriend. It meant that you would now have to share your mother with someone and you weren’t sure how you felt about that. 

Especially with how the last time ended. You still had nightmares from when your father was around, images in your head that never left. What if Pedro turned out to be just like your father? 

“Okay,” you felt defeated. Your mother was a person who didn’t budge. Once she had made a decision it was final. 

“Now you either help me cook or you get out of my kitchen,” she stated, turning her body to face the counter once more to busy herself with the garlic in front of her. 

For the longest, it had always been you and your mother. Your father had no visitation rights since you were eight, so for the past five years, you and your mother picked up the pieces and started a new life. A better life. 

Your mother focused mainly on work in the filming industry and eventually, she was able to afford a nice house for the two of you. That’s what it was, just the two of you. You never imagined that one day, it could potentially be three of you. That your mother would one day want to find love again. 

“Do you love him?” You hesitantly asked. 

Your mother stopped everything, letting out a deep sigh, “I’m afraid to answer that question,” she admitted. 

You were afraid she would dodge that question, but also you were sad that she had. You had hoped that your mother wouldn’t tip-toe around the subject with you. Maybe she could be honest with you about a topic that wasn’t common in this household. 

“Be honest with me,” you reassured. “Do you love him?” 

“Love is a strong word,” she whispered. 

“And your daughter meeting him is a big step.” 

“Yes,” she admitted. “I do love him.” 

You gave her a small nod, “Then that’s enough for me.” 

She gave you a smile before walking around the counter to pull you in for a hug, “Thank you.” 

“But this doesn’t mean that I’m not going to give him a hard time, I still don’t trust the man.” You grabbed one of the potatoes that were on the counter, grabbed the peeler, and made your way over to the trash can. “Don’t expect me to call him dad,” you said jokingly, referencing to the movie Stepbrothers. 

Your mother giggled, “I don’t expect that at all from you, amor,” she smiled. 

The hour quickly passed, and you anxiously sat on the couch, your eyes not peeling away from the clock on the wall. Your foot bounced against the wooden floors, creating a gentle but persistent thud. The sound echoed throughout the room and for a moment you were glad your mother was busy in the kitchen, distracting herself with the neatness of the dining room and kitchen and if she had enough time to whip up something quick for dessert. You could hear her muttering to herself about whether Pedro would enjoy a bar of chocolate for dessert or if that was stupid. 

It was any second that Pedro would walk through those doors and your life would change for either the worst or the best. You didn’t know which and you were afraid to find out. 

“Sweetie, are you going to wear that?” Your mom asked as she walked into the living room.

You looked down to see what you were wearing, it was what you had worn to school, a plain tee, flannel, and some jeans. It was casual wear for you, “Um, yes?” She raised her eyebrows, “would you like for me to change?” 

She sighed, “Would it be fucked up for me to say yes?” 

“Kind of, I mean, if he really liked me he wouldn’t care what I wore right? But, on the other hand, I can change to make you feel less anxious.” 

Your mother stood there for a second, thinking about what you had just said. Giving you a small nod, “Don’t change,” she stated. 

You smiled, knowing you had won, “Alright.” 

Your mother's head whipped towards the door at the sound of the doorbell, “Oh my god, that’s him.” She let out a deep breath before looking over at you, “is it too late to cancel?” 

“Hey, I tried earlier but you said it was too late.” 

“Fuck,” she muttered under her breath, “What the fuck am I doing? I mean, are we even ready for something like this?” 

You sighed, getting up from the couch, “Ama, I think you’ve been ready for a while, you’ve just been scared, but I’m no longer a little girl, Mom. You deserve happiness.” 

She gave you a soft smile, placing a hand on your cheek, “Cuando creciste?” (When did you grow up)

“Cuando no estabas mirando,” you smiled. (When you weren’t looking) 

“Alright, let’s do this,” she whispered. You trailed behind her as she walked towards the door. You stood back, watching as your mother opened the door. She deserved happiness, no matter what. Even at the cost of yours. She deserved it. 

After everything she had been through to protect you, it was the least you could give her. You saw the way she had been these past few months, the after-dates smile, and how she grinned from ear to ear the day after. He made her happy and it scared you, but you couldn’t tell your mother that. You couldn’t ruin it because somehow seeing her so happy made you happy, even if you were weary about the man who was causing it. 

Your mother's voice was muffled as she greeted Pedro on the other side of the door. Meeting him meant a lot of things, it meant that it was no longer the two of you on adventures, that he would more than likely tag along. It meant that eventually, you would have to get used to your mom always being with him. He could be here for breakfast some days and you know what that meant. He could be here for dinners on other days and it also meant expressing boundaries. 

She deserved this happiness. 

“Y/N,” your mother called for you as she stepped aside to let Pedro in. There he was, with a nervous smile playing on his lips and a bouquet of flowers in his hands that you knew was for your mother. “I’d like for you to meet my daughter, Pedro.” 

He let out a nervous laugh, “It’s so nice to finally meet you, your mother speaks so much about you.” He held out his free hand for you to shake, and you gently shook his hand. 

“Nice to meet you too,” you gave him a hesitant smile. 

“Oh! I got you these, your mother said you loved sunflowers and well,” he nervously chuckled, “I hope you like ‘em.” 

You gave him a surprised look, glancing at your mom who grinned from ear to ear, “For me?” He gave you a nod, “T–thank you, I–I don’t know what to say!” Pedro handed you the bouquet that was beautifully displayed sunflowers with a few purple flowers here and there and baby’s breath surrounding them. “They’re beautiful, thank you, Pedro!” 

Pedro grinned from ear to ear, he relaxed a little. He had been nervous all day about handing you the flowers, afraid that you’d reject them. Maybe this dinner wouldn’t be so bad and maybe he could bond with you after all. He knew some things about you from what your mother had said, but it was only some things. He did know the struggles you and your mother had gone through, knowing very well that this transition wasn’t going to be easy for you. Pedro is determined to try his best to get you to trust him because all he wants is to be a positive influence in your life, it was the way he was. His heart broke to hear what you had been through at such a young age and he wished there was something he could do. Something he could do for you and your mother. 

“Well, dinner is ready,” your mother states, “let me show you to the dining room.” 

“I-I’m gonna put these away,” you say as you walk towards the kitchen. You set the flowers on the counter, staring at them for a second. This was the first time anyone had gotten you flowers. Your first time getting flowers were supposed to be meaningful. A moment you’d remember forever and for a second you were afraid he had just ruined that. For just a second and it was gone, you couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the bouquet. “Don’t,” you whispered to yourself. The sound of your mother's laughter coming from the other room. This all felt too good, it would all soon come tumbling down and you knew that, but you did not know if you could handle it. 

You took in a deep breath before joining your mother and Pedro in the dining room. You sat across from Pedro at the table, “smells good,” you commented as you began piling food on your plate. 

“Thanks, mija,” your mom smiled. 

“So, Y/N, your mother tells me you are in the drama club at school?” You gave him a nod. 

“She’s thinking about starting auditions for actual films soon, right, mija?” 

You shrugged, “It’s still a big maybe.” 

“For film? I mean, it doesn’t hurt to try.” 

“Maybe Pedro could give you some pointers,” your mother suggested. 

You cleared your throat, “So, how many siblings do you have?” 

“Y/N,” your mother warned. 

Pedro chuckled, “It’s okay, Yesenia.” For a moment you forgot your mother had a first name, you were so used to just calling her mom. “I have three siblings.” 

“Pedro, you don’t have to answer her questions, she does thi-” 

“How many sisters and how many brothers?” You asked. 

“Two sisters, one brother.” 

You nod, “Please stop interrogating him,” your mother pleaded. 

You gave her a small glare before looking over at Pedro, “Where are you from?” 

“Chile,” Pedro smiled. He found this amusing and cute. You were protective over your mother and he loved that you were. “Next question?” 

“When did you move here?” 

“That’s a long story.” 

“I have all night, it’s a weekend.” 

“Y/N,” your mother warned. 

Pedro chuckled, “It’s okay.” He looked back over at you, “Long story short, my family moved here when I was very little but we had to go back when I was a little older when I was old enough I moved back on my own to pursue acting.” He gave you the cliff notes of his life, leaving out the personal details that were still hard for him to talk about, but enough to keep you satisfied. Your mother gave Pedro a sincere smile and he smiled back. She knew the longer version of the story and she was grateful he was answering your questions to his best ability. “Next question?” he asked. 

“Do you want more kids?” 

Your mother rolled her eyes, “No,” he chuckled.

“No?” 

“Yes, he said no and I don’t want more kids either, Y/N,” your mother stated.

“Why not?” you directed the question towards Pedro.

“Because of my schedule mostly, but I also never saw myself having kids. I’m already almost fifty and I don’t think it’s fair on the kid to have a parent that old, you know?” 

“Plus, your mother can’t have any more kids and if she could she wouldn’t because childbirth is no joke.” 

You rolled your eyes this time, “Alright, last question.” 

“Hit me with it,” Pedro stated. 

“What are your intentions with my mother?” 

“Y/N!” your mother warned.

Pedro chuckled, “I love your mother and I love spending time with her and right now I would like to get to know you because I know you mean the world to her. I know you both have…” Pedro hesitated, “I don’t intend on hurting your mother in any way. I see myself spending a lot more time with her and hopefully, one day, growing old with her.” 

You watched as his eyes never left your mother, the way they idolized her as if she were the only thing that mattered. He really loved her and you could see it in him, but could you trust him? You didn’t know. It was hard to know. You barely had any trust, to begin with. 

You remained quiet the rest of the dinner, listening to the two of them laugh as they joked around and told stories about some of their dates or their time together on set. He was an actor, he’d be on the road a lot and your mother knew that yet she was okay with it. She was okay with everything about him. 

Your mother got up to answer a phone call, leaving the two of you alone. 

You pushed your food around with your fork, “You okay?” 

You glanced up at Pedro, his eyes showing concern, how you hated that they did that. “Yeah.” 

He sighed, placing his fork down, “You don’t have to like me.” 

“You got me flowers,” you whispered. 

“Your mother kept mentioning how you loved sunflowers, and it felt like the right thing to do.” 

“No one has ever gotten me flowers,” you stated. 

Pedro sighed, “I’m sorry if I stepped over the line or–” 

“No, you didn’t… just taken back ‘s all.” 

He gave you a small nod, “Do you like them?” 

“Love them,” you corrected. Giving him a small smile, he smiled back. “I just… I always kind of dreamt that my dad would be the first person to get me flowers, you know?” 

He nodded, “I’m sorry, I probably should’ve–” 

“It’s okay,” you reassured. 

He sighed, “I’m not him, you know.” You stayed quiet. “I know, you don’t trust me because of him, but I am not him and I’m willing to give you all the time you need in order for you to allow me in your life. I love your mother, Y/N and I hope that if you get to know me and I get to know you… we could develop a sort of bond… would that be okay?” 

There was a little voice inside your head that was screaming yes, she was shouting it so loud that it gave you a headache. Yet, your mouth never moved, seconds passed and you sat there wondering if it would be okay. The little voice argued with the bigger one. One was more naive than the other and one was more hurt than the other. 

Your mother stepped back into the dining room, “I was thinking while on the call, maybe the two of you should hang out together sometime soon? Without me there, get to know each other you know?” 

Pedro smiled, “Sounds good to me, what do you think, Y/N?”

You shrugged before giving your mother a nod. 

She clapped in excitement, “I’ll plan it out for you guys! It’ll be great!” Would that be okay? His voice trailed inside yours for the remainder of the dinner. You wanted it to be okay, but you couldn’t give him an answer, not just yet anyway.

Pedro Pascal Taglist: @Sophieelizabeth01  @tracysnook  @cilliansangel  @change-the-world-someday  @graciegoeskrazy @oggystine93 @t-stark35 @twkobii @picklehat3r @welcometomyworldwithoutrules @white-wolf-buckaroo @steadydragongalaxy @rooting4theantihero @soupinasock @Ilovehotdadsandshit @dzaga890 @marantha @emmasauger @marysucks-blog @pcotato @scrappybear89 @dlwrish @what-ever-man213 @boiohboii @drowning-in-paragraphs @stoneredsworld @xmurph7 @sleepylunarwolf @glossy01 @aot-task141-lover @uwiuwi

[her-acts-of-cruelty]

HIII i love eddie so much i have this scenario bouncing around my poor little brain about like him sitting out in the rain because he doesn’t want to be in the house and the reader who’s the neighbor that moved in after eddie went to jail and they like invite him inside and give him some soup and tea :-) give that man a nice cozy time. he deserves it

HI SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG I HAVE BEEN A BUSY LITTLE BOY!

I really liked the idea, I've done a little spin on how I thought Eddie deserved at least one friend who tried to help him. Am I exploring the concept of him being gay and leaving his wife for me? That's for me to know. I'm hoping this reaches the right audience, because I love men and men should love me too.

Also if you have more ideas you should send them. For chatacter ai bots or fics.

Synopsis: bringing an old friend in for a cuppa after seeing him get caught in the rain. Pre established friendship and !???

Cw: some language, mention of beer, but overall its tame

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

You'd never really had a significant reputation in Chadder. You drifted outside the community, maybe it was your age, but you never really felt close with the village.

Aside from Eddie that is.

You used to work next door to his garage, in the little shop. Passing each other each frosty morning turned into combining your routes. Your radiating presence most certainly a stark contrast from the long and dull day he had alone. So walking to work with each other soon turned into going for a pint together to celebrate the day.

You'd exchange stories, little artifacts from each others day. Sometimes there'd be gossip, things You'd over heard in the shop with the things his loose lipped customers would mumble as he worked on their cars. Other times he'd tell you about his kids, what they'd been up to at school and how proud he was of his growing girls. You two made it work.

That was, until he disappeared.

His incarceration was much to your surprise and it seemed you were the only one who had your doubts. You chalked that up to why the residents went a little quiet when you walked by.

Things became a lot slower without Eddie. Your routine had suddenly been lost, your source of the news gone- it seemed as though you were well and truly alone.

By whatever sick twist of luck though, five years had passed and Eddie was out.

Your stomach churned when you first lay eyes on him, your body unsure of how to react- so you did the one logical thing. You stayed away from him.

You avoided him like the plague, worried about all the stewing feelings that had blossomed in his absence. It ate up at you quickly though, the way his face dropped when you turned around and marched off made you wish you could choke up your insides and never dream again.

It went on like this for a couple weeks. Now that spring was approaching, the rainy season was in full swing. You hid in your house most of the time anyway, but hearing the sudden large rain drops on the windows made your expression drop. You bolted outside to grab your drying washing off the line that'd been put up in your front garden. As you cursed yourself, something out the corner of your eye stuck out.

Eddie.

Alone.

You bit your lip and brought your things inside, tossing them carelessly into a basket by the washing machine. The rain wasn't slowing down, its aggressive downpour had you praying Eddie had left that spot and rushed home.

When you checked out the window though, he was still slumped against one of the black metal fences- trying his best to smoke a drooping cigarette.

Your stomach did another backflip as you decided what to do. You couldn't just leave him there to freeze, could you? You got a few more curses out of your system before kicking off some shoes and marching into the rain.

"Eddie?"  You called out as you approached him, the look of panic across his face told you all you needed to hear.

"(Name)- I didn't know you uh- it's raining why are you out 'ere?" He scrambled up off the floor, feeling sorry for himself as he came to his full height.

"Could ask you the same, what's going on? Shouldn't you be with the wife?"

He winced, "ah- its just a bit right now"

You nodded, watching him slowly get more soaked, "you should come back for a cuppa yknow, you're gonna catch your death out here like that"

He wanted to fight you, wanted you to know he belonged to be out here, fighting for warmth like the animal he is.

But also he wanted a warm cup of tea.

So he picked himself off the ground and looked down at you, expecting you to lead. You sigh once more and gesture for him to follow you back inside your house.

He kicks his boots off at the door and let  his eyes wander the walls. It's almost like he'd left his troubles outside, the way a childlike wonder filled him. You hadn't changed much since he'd left, and he liked that.

You'd already made it to the kitchen, working on tea, "Eddie? I might have a few things of yours in my wardrobe soon if you want something a hit warmer to slip into?" His gaze left the walls and met yours, nodding softly, "Yeah that'd uhm-" "Where they usually are, help yourself," You gestured for him for him head upstairs.

A light must have turned on, maybe this was the first sense of familiarity he'd been allowed to chase

. Gentle footsteps made their way down the floor and the hulking man now standing before you in some grey joggers and tee.

"Thank you- you don't know how much it-" "I heard about what happened, I didn't know how to approach it," you blurted, your body clearly wanting to rid the words from  it's festering wound.

He furrowed his brows a little, "is that why you've you've avoiding me like everyone else?"

"It's not like everyone else, you know it never has been-"

"Then what is it?"

"Eddie your tea is going cold-" you tried to shrug him off.

That wasn't the answer he was looking for, you saw it in the way his expression slowly sunk, "do you think I'm a monster too?"

"No! It's just- fucking hell Eddie, I just haven't been well without you." He slowly sat down onnthe couch at that.

Silence choked the room as you took the note to sit beside him. He pulled you close, fingertips caressing your side as he grabbed you. His head rested on yours and for a moment you felt... at peace? You're not sure what it was, but you sighed and got closer.

"You know I didn't uhm-" he tried to break the silence, an attempt to reassure you.

"Yeah I do, tried to get you proven innocent."

He didn't seem to surprised by the notion, "thank you."

[mashithamel]

The Shadows: JR Ward, Black Dagger Brotherhood

* Thank goodness they are finally addressing Marissa and Jane making the Pit a little more grownup. I would like some reassurances that the mattresses are on actual bedframes and not just on the floor.

* Wouldn’t it be better to have a spare heir around, just in case, rather than…you know…that happening? ☹️

* I feel like Manny and Jane really, really, really need to put some effort into rehab and occupational therapy. Second vampire paralyzed in this series, but dude hasn’t been out of his room in months? You gotta do more to rehab him, guys! Give him some mobility aids, figure out what he needs to regain even a little independence! Come on!

* Thank goodness we get the reveal of Selena’s sickness early and won’t be dancing around that forever. (Spoiler alert: 😢)

* Aww, I was hoping Throe would be cool.

* It’s very funny reading stories from 00’s-10’s that reference technology and pop culture, both because of how it makes it very much a product of its time, but also as the story gets closer to current day the tech evolves. We’ve gone from Razors to iphones.

* Also, the Brotherhood finally coming to the 21st century as well by letting females and civilians train is also nice. Will the doggen be next???

* I’ve lost track—we’ve had Mr. C before, yes? Or was that someone else? (Spoiler alert: don’t bother getting attached. His head certainly won’t.)

* Aww, I like Rhage/Mary. They feature in the next book!

* Will someone *please* have sex with Layla? This poor girl has been waiting *forever*. (Spoiler alert: still no)

* “Why are you still talking?” I love Selena. She is not afraid to just go for what she wants.

* “If the Forelesser wanted to use his profits to buy armaments, that was his business.” Speaking of death-sentence-worthy treason. I can only hope Sola lives a long and happy life without Assail’s coke-addled brain anywhere near her. But I so rarely get what I want.

* “Sounds like a classic panic attack to me.” He shook his head. “I don’t think that was it.” “Okay.” How many times a week do I have the exact same conversation with a patient?

* Ahh, girl time. Solidarity! About time, and we’ll probably never see it again for another five books or so.

* I have missed classic Rhage and I’m glad he’s back. He eats like I would if I still had the metabolism of a teenager. I assume he’s so invested because he’s been in exactly Trez’s spot with Mary.

* Doggen need a union to look out for and advocate for their interests and wellfare!

* I would like to have more Rhage and Manny interactions, please. They are my comedy relief duo.

* Yes! They nail Assail for enriching the lessers! Assail claims the King has no control over the flow of commerce to humans, but I’m pretty damn sure when you involved the lessers he gets to have a pretty big say and you get to be dead. But we’re gonna get a redemption arc and he’s gonna get Sola instead, isn’t he? 😠

* “How are you still a guest in this house?” someone asked. “Haven’t you left yet?” Fair to ask of Lassiter, but it’s not like their guests ever wind up leaving anyway (except my sweet Saxton).

* “I want you to promise me—I want you to swear on your heart and mine—that you’ll keep going.” Honestly way more romantic than Feyre and Rhysand dying together.

* Again, men making a woman’s grief and hardship about him. Not that Trez doesn’t have legit issues, but now is not the time to be making stupid generalizations about what she’s trying to tell you.

* But it resolved quickly! Because Selena doesn’t let him go with issues unsettled! She’s not subtle. Great female.

* Well. These books may be gratuitous and often silly, but JR Ward does do gut-punch grief really effectively. 💔

* The good bye. The pyre scene. The salting scene. 😢 I love how Trez and iAm are devoted brothers.

* “These proud warriors, and their females, had adopted two orphans who had been out in the world on their own . . . and they were prepared to fight to the death to protect what was theirs.” ❤️

* “Pulling away a little, she asked, “You’re sure this is real?” He shrugged and smiled at her. “Of course it is. You and I were written in the stars. . . .” With that, he kissed her lips again.” Aww, iAm I’m happy for you!

Bottom line: Definitely not the ending I expected. iAm and maichen were a nice story. Trez and Selena…whew. I like how there were a lot of stories going on in this one (and I’m eager for Rhage/Mary next book). These books remain silly and I certainly felt that, but the back half of this book was high stakes and angst and love (both romantic and not) and I liked it way more than I expected at the start.

Rating: five out of five unnecessarily painful rituals for the back half alone

[cursedbanalities]

Zechariah 14:12-13 (A Horror Story)

Index | Next Chapter ->

CW: Blood and gore

“And the Lord will send a plague on all the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their people will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic. They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.”

“...What the hell?”

Ethan flips the note around to look at the fake five dollar bill he’s been given as a tip. He should’ve known that it was a fake tip; it feels like cheap printer paper, but he was trying to hold onto hope that driving this far into the country to deliver a pizza would’ve given him some sort of restitution.

“I guess not.” he thinks, crumpling up the paper and throwing it into the back seat of his car. People have been so edgy lately. As Ethan drives away from his subpar delivery, he thinks of the recent news stories covering a new virus that appeared in Singapore, and with that, the constant speculation that it’s going to be the next Covid. However, since Singapore’s government hasn’t said anything more about it, a nervous note has hung in the air ever since the announcement. It’s no wonder the religious nuts are being extra crazy, Ethan thinks. Always trying to find some way to say the apocalypse is just right around the corner. Having lived through Covid and not getting sick, Ethan can’t help but not care that much. At least he’ll get a couple of weeks off from his college classes if it does come to the United States. Ethan turns up his car radio and bobs his head to his favorite song, Add it Up, immediately forgetting about the fake bill and possible viruses, and mimicking the ways that Gordon Gano sings— nasally, and full of angst:

“Don’t shoot, shoot, shoot, that thing at me,

“You know you got my sym-pa-thy

“But don’t shoot, shoot, shoot that thing at me!”

Ethan speeds down the country road, aiming to make it back to the restaurant before it gets any later. Thankfully, it wasn’t a busy day. His delivery to the bible thumper was the first they had in a while, but he wasn’t looking to stay for any longer than he needed to. He drives past a large open field, where twinkling lights from the only airport in the county lights up the sky.

A 747 lands on the tarmac just as another takes off. It's weird how slow it’s been, especially for the summer. The town Ethan delivers in is on the coast, and is the biggest in the area. While it’s a small town, the summer tends to inflate the area with tourists and rich people in their summer homes. That being said, Ethan doesn’t mind a slow day every once in a while. It gives them a breather from having to bust their asses every single night.

Ethan speeds up, accelerating until he sees red and blue lights flashing ahead of him. He brakes, not trying to get a ticket. As he drives by, he sees three police cruisers with their lights on parked in the driveway of a farmhouse. A group of them are walking towards the house with their hands on their guns, illuminated by the headlights of the police cruisers.

Huh, weird, Ethan thinks as he passes the farm, speeding up now that he’s safe from being pulled over. He’s never seen that many cops in one place around here. Usually it’s so slow they “call in backup” just to waste time, so having three cars indicates a serious crime. Oh well, not my problem, he thinks.

Ethan comes up on a curve, taking it fast. A little too fast, from the way that his old Ford Focus starts shaking, but that was quickly forgotten when, up ahead, he sees a woman walking along the side of the road.

Well, walking was a nice way to put it. She was stumbling, barely able to stay on her feet. As Ethan got closer, the headlights illuminated more of the her: she was filthy, wearing a pink shirt and running shorts with short dyed red hair. She walks into the path of his car, and before he could react, Ethan runs into her.

The woman’s head smacks against the hood with a loud ka-thunk! She rolls over top of the car and crashes onto the pavement hard. Ethan’s eyes widen with shock and he slams on the brakes, screeching to a halt. He sits in his car, panicking. What the fuck is wrong with her? Is she drunk, or high on something? Oh god, did he just kill her?

He looks in the rearview mirror and sees that she’s up again, walking towards his car. Well, she’s definitely on something, he thinks. That’s gotta be some crazy shit if she’s back up already. He throws his car into park and steps out, leaving the door open. Ethan flings his arms up and yells at the woman.

“HEY! What the fuck were you thinking?”

The woman just walks towards him.

“HELLO? Are you listening to me? What’s your problem?”

The woman continues walking towards him, his car’s tail lights illuminating her. A spattering of blood covers her chest and mouth. Her blood-covered teeth glow a dark red as she bares her teeth at Ethan. She also has what Ethan thinks is a large gash in the shape of a crescent on her neck, just above her shoulder. Her eyes are bulging, as though she’s either trying to contain herself, or she’s in horrible pain. The woman groans at Ethan.

“Oh shit,” he mutters, taking a step back. She’s way worse off from getting hit than he expected. He puts his hands up and says, “Are you okay? I... uhm-- I gotta get back to work, but I can drive you to the hospital or some shit. That looks really bad. Seriously, I ca--”

The woman lets out a scream. The kind of scream that’s full of phlegm and tears at her vocal chords; animal-like in its nature. As she screams, she pushes her chest up and arches her back, standing on her toes with her hands pulled close to her chest and a stream of spit and blood dripping from her mouth; it's like she was having a standing seizure. Finally, she stops, and, after a beat of silence, launches herself at Ethan, her bloody mouth flicking strings of red spit. He flinches, and tries to move out of the way, using his hands to redirect the charging woman. He’s too slow, and moves his hands a little too high as she connects with him, almost knocking him to the ground. His hands push at her face, trying to get the woman away from him, and she sinks her teeth into the webbing of his hand- just between his thumb and index finger. Ethan lets out a yelp, and immediately slams his fist into the side of her head. She breaks free from his hand and falls to the ground, bouncing her head off of the asphalt.

“WHAT THE FUCK LADY?” Ethan screeches, holding his bitten hand. “You bit me, you bitch!” One of her teeth got deep enough for blood to start oozing out of the gash. He runs back to his car and speeds off, covering the wound with an extra napkin he brought from the restaurant. He sees in his rearview mirror that the woman was back up and sprinting towards his car, but he didn’t care. He accelerated, trying to get back to his workplace as soon as he possibly could.

Ethan gets closer to town and stops at an intersection. His heart is beating hard enough he can feel it in his throat. He looks around. There’s nobody on the streets, and it looks like he lost that "crackhead" back there. Ethan pulls out his phone to call 911, holding his bleeding hand against his thigh to help staunch the bleeding. The call goes through, and Ethan’s greeted with a busy line.

“Ugh, fuckers. Of course.” Ethan mumbles under his breath. He steps on the gas, and beelines towards Eugene’s Pizza.

***

Pulling into the delivery driver’s parking lot of Eugene’s Pizza, a square brick building with two large windows in the front of the store, Ethan rushes to the backdoor of the building. The napkin is starting to bleed through, and he wants to get to the first aid kit as soon as possible. Walking around to the back door, he sees two of his co-workers sitting on metal folding chairs and sharing a joint. The first one, a tall, blonde man with shoulder-length hair named Andy, takes a couple of puffs and passes the joint to his friend; a shorter man with olive toned skin and a goatee named Cameron. Cameron has his phone out while he takes a few hits. He's telling Andy about a new gun he bought.

“Yeah man, she’s a real beauty,” he says, showing Andy a picture. “See that grip? I had that shit custom made. You gotta see it in real life though. And shooting it, man?” He does a chef’s kiss, and smiles.

“Daaaayum. Yeah, bro!” Andy says, taking another hit, and letting out a slight cough. “You free this weekend? I’d love to take that bad boy out to the range.”

“Hey, maybe! I only have a clip’s worth of bullets right now, but once I get some more... we’re gonna have some fun, baby!” Andy and Cameron both laugh, and give each other a fist bump.

Ethan pushes by them and throws the back door open, and some of the smoke starts to seep inside of the restaurant.

“Hey man, what the hell!” Cameron exclaims, “I don’t want the inside smelling like a skunk’s ass!” Ethan ignores him.

He walks past the kitchen, his manager for the night was running around cleaning up the toppings area while tending to the couple orders they still have. He’s about 45 years old, and is wider than he is tall. Greasy black hair shines from underneath his hat, and the smell of menthol cigarettes waft from him. A hand-tossed pizza reaches the end of the conveyor-belt on the pizza oven, and he cuts it into slices with a large, machete-looking pizza slicer. He looks up at Ethan as he walks by.

“Hey! Can you please get those two dipshits inside? I know it’s slow, but I’m tired of doin’ everythin’ back ‘ere.” He says with a gravelly voice.

“Yeah, yeah. Sure, man.” Ethan says, only really half listening as he finally makes it to the first-aid station-- or rather, a white metal box fastened to the wall. He starts pulling out gauze and antibiotic cream and setting it on a nearby metal table. His friend, another delivery driver named Hunter, is scraping the sides of Eugene’s Pizza’s deep dish pans.

“Damn, what the hell happened on that delivery?” He asks Ethan as he scrapes.

“Some fucking crackhead bit me.” Ethan spits, focusing on dressing his wound.

“What the fuck? Are you serious?” Hunter lets out a stifled laugh, “Hope she didn’t give you AIDs or something.”

“She didn’t give me AIDs.” Ethan chuckled, despite himself. “If she did, though, I’ll pass it on to you! I’ll bite you or some shit.”

“Yeeeah, whatever man.” Hunter laughs. “Like I’d let you bite me.”

Ethan shrugs and nods. Hunter’s easily half a foot taller than Ethan, and weighs a bit more than him too. If they were to get into a fight, Hunter would 100% destroy him. Johnny comes out of the kitchen and sees Ethan bandaging himself up.

“Holy shit, what happened to you?” Johnny asks, mouth open and eyes wide.

“Oh, you know, I got bi--”

“Some lady gave him AIDs.” Hunter said, cutting Ethan off. Jonny laughs.

“Yeah man, what he said. I think I have to go to the hospital. I might as well get checked out, right?” Ethan says, and Johnny comes up to get a closer look at the gash the woman’s tooth left behind.

“Meeh, it doesn’t look that bad,” Johnny says, ignoring the blood pooling out of Ethan’s hand. “An’ even if you do have AIDs, there’s nothin’ you can do about it now. I think you’re fine to finish closin’ up.” Ethan opens his mouth to say something, but Johnny turns and walks back toward the kitchen. Muttering under his breath about how maybe he’ll bite him instead, Ethan finishes wrapping up the bite and puts the first-aid supplies away. While he was focusing on treating his wound, he didn’t even realize that they were down a driver.

“Hey, where the hell’s Mason?” he asks.

“Yeah, some asshat called in a delivery while you were gone. He left before you got back.” Hunter replies, and Ethan groans. “At least it’s not busy, right? We should be out of here in no time.”

“Yeah,” Ethan says with a shrug. “Let’s hope so.”

He and Hunter start cleaning the back of Eugene’s Pizza. Hunter finishes scraping the pans and pours ladles full of corn oil into each of them. Once he’s done, Ethan douses the table with a foul smelling degreaser that makes him cough, wipes it up, and starts sweeping the floors. Andy and Cameron run to the back to grab some cleaning supplies and, much like Johnny, their eyes widen at the sight of Ethan’s bandage.

“Yooo, what the fuck happened to you man? Cameron says, chuckling with a relaxed smile on his face and squinted eyes.

“I got bit by someone on my last delivery.” Ethan says, showing them his bandaged hand and scratching at it. “According to Hunter, she gave me an STD or some shit.” Ethan digs his nails into his hand, turning the area around the bandage red.

“I dunno man, from the way you’re scratching at it it’s prolly a super STD or some shit.” They all laugh. “Seriously though, did you call the cops?”

Ethan cocks his head and squints at Andy, confused. “Whaddya mean?”

“Bro, some bitch bit you and you didn’t call the cops?”

“Well, right before that I saw a bunch of cops with their lights on outside of a farm, or something,” Ethan says, shrugging. “I kinda just figured they were after her. Besides, when I called them all I got was a busy line. I figured they had bigger issues to deal with or something.”

“Wait, you said the line was busy?” Hunter asked. “That’s fucking weird. You'd think they'd be able to answer. Noting ever happens here.”

“Man, between that shit in Singapore and Ethan getting bit, maybe people are just getting spooked,” Cameron scratches his goatee shrugs. “Maybe they think there’s a zombie outbreak or some shit.”

“I did get some freaky ass bible quote instead of a tip.” Ethan says in response. “I can totally fucking see that.” Everybody laughs and makes remarks about Ethan’s misfortunes of the night before dispersing and continuing to clean up the store. Hunter finishes the final dishes of the night, wiping out the walls of the dish sink. Andy and Cameron join Johnny out in the kitchen cleaning the counters and sweeping the floors. Ethan’s sweeping too, finishing up the back of Eugene’s Pizza.

As Ethan sweeps the floors, he scratches at his wound. For whatever reason, his hand is tingling. It’s almost like he was slowly getting his feeling back after his arm went numb. Pins and needles poke at every nerve in his hand, especially around the bite, making it unbearably itchy. No matter how much flexing or scratching he does, it doesn’t go away. If anything, it gets worse. He suddenly feels dizzy, and his stomach growls loudly.

“Damn, you hungry? I know I could go for something.” Hunter asks, looking up from the dishwashing sink. Ethan didn’t expect him to hear his stomach growling, and looked up with a start. He was pretty hungry.

“N-Nah, I think I just have to use the bathroom.” He says instead. He wants to look at his wound without hearing any more comments from the rest of the staff; plus the pins and needles are gradually moving up his arm.

“Alright man, have fun.” Hunter says, turning his attention back to the dishes.

Ethan quickly walks towards the back door, and Mason walks in-- A shorter man, with a skinny build and freckles. Short, ginger hair peeps out from underneath his Eugene’s Pizza hat. He starts to ask about Ethan’s delivery, but Ethan pushes past him as he rushes to the employee bathroom. The itch is getting worse. It's starting to burn.

Closing the bathroom door behind him, Ethan rips his bandage off and digs his nails into the back of his hand and forearm, searching for the sweet release from the horrible itching from his wound. He looks down at the bite mark. The skin around it is a bright red, with deep cuts from his nails covering the back of his hand and forearm. Blood oozes from the self-inflicted gashes, and Ethan stares at them as they flow like crimson rivers down his arm and onto the floor.

His stomach growls again.

God, he’s so hungry.

***

[[Hey guys! Thanks for reading this piece-- I wrote this in early 2023 while I was a delivery driver. Pizza-making is a theme in my works, since most of my career since going to college has involved making those delicious, greasy saucers. There was some contempt I had with some of my co-workers that might've slipped into the piece, but I think I still gave them plenty of time to shine both in this chapter AND those going forward.

[[Hope to see you guys in the next chapter!!]]

______________________________________________________________

Index | Next Chapter ->

[nightmareb1tch]

Incorrect quotes thingy: Conik and Jasper are next in line

Cognac and Jasper's relationship in a nutshell

Cognac: I’m in love with you. Jasper: We called off the prank war last night at midnight, dork. Cognac: I know. Jasper: Ah. Okay. Um. Cool. Neat. Very cool. Cool. Cool. Coolcoolcool-

Jasper: So I can either do something dumb that could very well get me injured or I can listen to Cognac and not do the thing, Jasper: Well there’s a clear right answer here. Jasper: *proceeds to throw five packs of mentos into a barrel full of diet coke*

Jasper: As top in this relationship, I think we should- Cognac: I can't believe you're pulling rank on me.

Jasper: What are your adjectives? Cognac: …You mean my pronouns? Jasper: No, I know what your pronouns are! What are your adjectives? Cognac: …I dunno. What are yours? Jasper: Noisy and chaotic! Cognac: I’ve never had something go from making no sense to making complete sense so quickly.

Cognac: Okay, help me, please! Jasper: Got two words for you. Cognac: I bet they won't be helpful. Jasper: Your problem. Cognac: I was right.

Cognac: I’m doing what I can to jog your memory. Jasper: It’s jogging, I guess. Its tiddies are jiggling a little. Cognac: Nice.

Jasper: What do you do for a living? Cognac: I exist against my will.

Jasper: Whether or not I pay income taxes is none of the government's business. Cognac: No, well, actually, it is. Jasper: You don't know my name or what I look like, good luck finding me.

Cognac: The stars are so beautiful... Jasper: They're just giant balls of gas. Cognac: You know what, if you're just going to ruin this, then- Jasper: And yet none of them are as huge as my love for you. Cognac: Oh...

Cognac: You look mentally ill. Jasper: I am. Let’s go.

Cognac: What’s sexting? Jasper: I'm not having this conversation with you.

Cognac: So you like cats? Jasper: Yeah. Cognac: *tries to impress them by slowly pushing a glass off the table*

Jasper: Sorry I’m late, I was doing things. Cognac: Hi, I’m ‘things’.

Cognac, holding an antique bottle: Is this whiskey or perfume? Jasper: *grabs and chugs the entire bottle* Jasper: Jasper: It's perfume.

Cognac: Yo! I heard you like reptiles, got any fun facts? Jasper: If a crocodile eats your dad, they become your new dad.

Jasper: Valentine’s day is just a consumerist holiday that holds no real value other than drive people insane buying heart shaped chocolates for their significant others and pos- Cognac: I wrote you a poem. Jasper, already crying:You did?

Jasper: What does a winner do when life gives them lemons? Cognac: Um, make lemonade? Jasper: No, they squeeze them right back into life’s eyes!

Cognac: Stay foxy. Jasper: Die lonely.

Cognac, talking about Jasper: WHAT THE FUCK I WAS ARGUING WITH THEM AND I SAID “OOH YOU WANNA KISS ME SO BAD” AND GUESS WHAT? THEY DID. THEY KISSED ME. WHAT THE FUCK WHAT DO I DO. (this is one of the few times he panics)

Cognac: You want some leftovers? Jasper: What are those? Cognac: You've never had leftovers before? Jasper: No, ‘cause I’m not a quitter.

Jasper: Ugh, crushes are so dumb. Cognac: I know. Whenever I’m near the person I like I just start acting stupid. Jasper: But you’re always acting stupid? Cognac: ... Cognac: Yeah, don’t think about that too hard.

Cognac, dashing into the room: WHY AREN’T THE DISHES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER?! Jasper: …What does that even mean?!

Jasper: Dom or sub? Cognac: I guess Domino's, since I don't go to Subway that much. Don't see why you'd put them in the same category though.

Cognac: We'll talk about this later. Jasper: Fine, I won’t be listening.

Kidnapper: I have your kid. Cognac: What? I don't have a kid... Kidnapper: Then who just called me a lowlife bitch and spit in my face? Cognac: Oh my god, you have Jasper.

Cognac: I have feelings for you. Jasper: Why? What's wrong with you? Are you sure you're okay?

Cognac: I want a trip down memory lane. Jasper: *proceeds to grab every warrior cats book they have and sets them in Cognac's lap* Jasper: I heard you needed these? Cognac: YES! ALL OF THEM!

Cognac: Why is there blood everywhere? Jasper: I may have aggressively poked someone with a knife. Cognac: You stabbed someone?! Jasper: No, no. I aggressively poked someone with a knife.

[hannahssimblr]

Chapter Five (Part 3)

It’s so nice to sit there as the sun goes down and the bonfire roars beside us. Kasper finishes cooking our food, and everyone grabs what they can from the plate he serves. I squirt a ton of mustard onto a burger and tuck in hungrily. I think about how it is the perfect day. I’m sitting with my closest friends on a beautiful beach watching a beautiful sunset, and I have a boy! I finally have a boy that I like and who likes me back, and we’re here together and it actually doesn’t feel weird. I turn to admire him and see that he has a blob of ketchup on his face, and I wipe it off for him. 

“You two are so cute.” Kelly says. “Two little love birds.” She sounds somehow more drunk than before, but I hope that after she eats something she might sober up a bit. “I knew you’d be right for each other. When I was thinking of finding a boy for Evie to kiss this summer I thought, wow, wouldn’t little Liam be perfect for her.”

Liam laughs awkwardly. “Little Liam?”

“No no, seriously, take it as a compliment, she doesn’t let any boys near her. I always feel like I have to force her.” I feel my face get warm, and I glance around at everyone and to my horror realise that they’re all listening to our conversation.

“That’s not really true…” I say defensively.

“Oh my god! It is! But it’s fine, we accept you for it. Evie’s such a good girl, and most boys are too ugly and boring for her, I’d be flattered if I was Liam. I really would.” She is laughing and smiling through it all like it’s a joke, but I know that she means what she’s saying. She really does think I’m stuck up and prudish. I resent her for it. I thought best friends were supposed to understand each other. 

“Haha, okay.” He says, glancing at me, and I wonder if he’s thinking those things about me too, about how wooden I was on our walk last night, and how it took us so long to kiss. I bet he thought I was bad at it too, I just have a feeling that I’m never doing it right.

Kelly barrels on. “She’s going for it this time. We’re proud of her, no really, we are. She got there in the end. Better late than never, I always say.”

Claire stands up and grabs Kelly’s hand. “Hey, will you come to the bathroom with me?” Kelly looks up at her surprised, and then is pulled up – no, hauled up out of her chair by our friend. She is quickly ushered away from me and into the house, and there is a long pause when she’s gone. My heart is thumping in my chest so loudly that I’m sure everyone can hear it. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I stare down at my feet, humiliated. Now everyone, even this cool, older crowd that I just met knows I’m a loser. And a virgin, but I guess those two things aren’t mutually exclusive. 

I feel a cool, steady hand on my shoulder then, and I look up and see that Jen has come over to be next to me. “Hey, do you want to take a little walk with me?” I don’t think I can speak without risking bursting into tears, and I know that if I stay where I am I will have some sort of panic attack or something, so I nod. She takes my hand and we walk up into the dunes away from everyone’s eyes. 

“I didn’t want to say anything bad in front of her brother,” She says once we’re out of earshot “But Kelly sounds really insecure to me. I know she’s obviously pissed drunk, but she said all of that stuff in front of everybody on purpose.”

I start crying as soon as I try to talk, but I wobble through it. “I’m so embarrassed. Not everybody needed to know all about me and my business.”

She gives me a hug, and I sink my head into her shoulder as we sit down onto the sand. I’m getting tears all over her top but she doesn’t seem to care. “Aw, chicken, the things she said, they weren’t about you. They were about her. She’s just jealous of you, it’s so obvious.”

“She’s not jealous of me.”

“Are you serious? Of course she is. Nobody would try to embarrass their friend in front of a crowd of strangers unless they were jealous.”

“Kelly has nothing to be jealous of.” I wipe my nose on my sleeve. “She’s got so much more than me. She’s funnier and more confident, prettier, more experienced… She’s got it all. Everyone loves her.”

“Well I think that if she believed that herself she wouldn’t be lashing out at you. If that girl was truly happy in herself then she would have been kinder to you in that moment. She knew that everyone could hear her and she said it anyway.” She wipes my tear stained face with both her thumbs. “Look at you, girl, you’re stunning. Anybody would be jealous of you, and you know what I think? Those things she said about boys… I think you’re right to be picky. Most of them are rats.”

I laugh through my sobs. There’s something so soft and comforting about her, she’s motherly. I feel like I can be vulnerable. “I get scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“Scared of falling behind everybody.”

“What everyone else is doing and when they’re doing it is their business.”

“I know but… I feel like there’s things I should know by the time I’m seventeen. Like I’m scared that I’m bad at kissing because I haven’t had enough kisses, and then when it comes to… other stuff, I’ll be expected to know what to do, but I won’t, because I keep running scared from all romantic possibilities. It’s a cycle that keeps getting worse.”

“Evie, I promise that nobody cares about that, and if they do they’re a dickhead. The right person will treat you like a human being and be understanding of where you’re at. There’s no age limit on any of this, you do you.”

I sniff. I wonder how Jen is so wise about all of this stuff, and she’s only a year older than I am. She must know everything about love. I ask her: “Have you found the right guy yet?”

She cackles then, shattering the serious tone. “God, no. I don’t like men. I’m gay.”

“Oh!” I laugh. “Oh okay!”

“I kissed enough boys in the teenage discos of my youth to be sure that they’re not for me.” She says. “It’s brutal out there, don’t ever settle for less than what’s right for you. That’s my advice”

“Thank you.” I say, and I tear up again. “Oh, sorry, I don’t know why I keep crying.”

“It’s alright. Cry it out girl. I’ll sit with you until you’re ready to go back to the party.” And she does. And we sit in the sand and talk until all my tears have dried up and I’m ready to face the world again.

Prev // Next

[vodika-vibes]

some Jaster x Reader with a passionate kiss after one almost died please 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 I‘m starving for more of this man 🫠

I'm Still Here

Summary: After a series of assassination attempts against you, Jaster welcomes you home.

Pairing: Jaster Mereel x Reader

Word Count: 1238

Warnings: Mentions of child slavery, mentions of assassination attempts

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni

A/N: I actually love this AU that I'm slowly crafting, and baby Jango is the most adorable baby. And this is technically a sort of sequel to the most recent Jaster fic I posted. Well, it is in my head, at least, lol.

Jaster’s going to be furious. You know this. Your astromech knows this. The medical droid charging in the cargo hold knows this. In your defense, the mission was supposed to be a lot simpler than it turned out.

Your job was to protect a business man from his competitor. You’ve done it a million times. Normally all you have to do is stand there and look intimidating, and you get a nice little paycheck at the end. 

Normally, the mention of having a Mandalorian bounty hunter is enough to keep things peaceful.

That’s not what happened this time.

Turns out the competitor was actually a slaver who had kidnapped the client’s daughter and sold her into slavery to try and force him to sign a legal document. A fact that you only found out five minutes before walking into the meeting with said competitor. 

Which meant that your simple mission turned into a much longer, much harder fiasco. The client had been near tears, distraught over his missing child, distraught over the contract he had to sign to save her, and just distraught overall.

Luckily, you’re pretty good at thinking on your feet. A simple aerosol drug left the client in an altered enough state that he wasn’t allowed to sign the contract, and a simple explanation on your part that he caught a fever from a planet he visited recently, was enough to buy you two weeks to rescue the kid.

Which you did! It took you ten days, total, and at the same time you managed to completely dismantle the slave ring. It wasn’t your intention, but, well, it was the easiest way to ensure that the little girl made it to safety and back to her parents.

And though it’s annoying, it’s not the first time a mission became more difficult halfway through. It happens, people lie. Though you got the feeling that the client didn’t lie so much as completely panic.

No. The problem came later, after you had been paid. The client and his family had been thrilled, giving you a 150% bonus, which would go towards a very nice nameday present for Jango, and probably Jaster too, and they insisted on you spending the night while they celebrated the return of their child.

And when you finally returned to your ship, which was a wedding present from Jaster, it proceeded to blow up on you. If you had left when you were supposed to, the night before, you would have been in the middle of hyperspace, and killed instantly.

As it happens, aside from several very painful bruises covering your entire body, the explosion did nothing more than give you a bad start to the day. And then the Death Watch assassin showed up. Because your day couldn’t possibly get any worse at that point.

Luckily the Port security team was on point, and they immediately came to your aid, and the assassin was put down with extreme prejudice (they were not happy about the destruction of one of their docks), and you were given the option to go to the hospital.

You refused them, and just asked to borrow a ship so you can return home.

“Borrow” of course, turned into “Here, have this ship, we certainly don’t need it! Also it comes with a medical droid and an astromech!”

And of course you couldn���t say no. 

So here you are. On a ship that’s probably more expensive than every single ship that belongs to the Haat, covered in bruises, and wondering just how annoyed Jaster is going to be.

Of course he’s going to know what happened. Your former client said that he would “message the Mand’alor to reassure him that you’re alright” and really, you were kind of hoping that Jaster just wouldn’t find out about this.

Oh well. Nothing you can do about it now.

You grimace in pain as you lean forward to start your descent onto Mandalore, following the instructions to your personal landing pad. Your new ship is about the same size as your old one, so you’re not all that worried about it fitting. 

You set the ship down, and power it down. And then you lower the ramp and watch as the pair of droids leave the ship, following your instructions as to making themselves at home in your home. 

And then you limp down the ramp, and Jaster is there, waiting for you.

He looks deeply worried, with dark circles under his eyes and his hair is sticking up in every direction, indicating to you that he’s been running his hands through his hair. 

“Jaster, I’m home.”

His gaze snaps to your face, and he crosses over to you in several large steps. “Cyare,” he reaches out and lightly cups your cheek, “Blown up? Nearly assassinated?”

You lean into his touch, “I was lucky.”

“Lucky!?”

“I wasn’t in hyperspace when my ship blew up.” You clarify, “Which is where I was supposed to be.”

Jaster goes gray at the thought, “Don’t say that,” He says hoarsely, “I can’t even think about that.”

You reach up and gently cup his face with both of your hands, “I’m okay, riduur. A bit bruised, but nothing serious.”

Jaster releases a slow breath, “You’re sure?”

“Very sure.”

He closes his eyes and leans into your touch, and he just breathes for a moment, “When I heard the news that your ship had been blown up, and someone tried to assassinate you…I feared the worst. I was sure that something was going to happen before you got home-”

“Shh, you’re borrowing trouble, love.” You whisper.

He opens his eyes, “Do you have any idea how much it would kill me to lose you?” Jaster asks.

You smooth your thumbs over his cheeks, “If it’s anything close to how I would feel if I lost you, then I have a pretty good idea.”

He’s quiet for a moment, “I love you so much,” Jaster whispers after a moment. And then his lips are against yours as he pulls you into a deep, passionate kiss.

And then there’s a disgusted noise, and he breaks the kiss as he presses his forehead against yours, “I thought you were supposed to be in lessons, Jango.” Jaster asks.

“I was! But I got bored and I saw that buir is home!” You peek to the side and see Jango has his hands over his eyes, “Are you done being gross?”

You grin at Jaster, and press a quick kiss to his lips, “I love you too,” You whisper to him. 

He lightly traces a circle against the side of your neck, “We’ll pick this up later tonight.” Jaster promises in a low voice, and then he raises his voice, “Yes, ad, we’re done being gross.”

“Ugh, finally!” Jango runs over to you and takes one of your hands, “Jas’buir said that you were blown up! Are you okay?”

You grin at your ad, and you smooth a hand through his curly hair, “You didn’t think something as silly as a little bomb could hurt me, did you?”

And a delighted grin crosses his face, “Of course not! I told Jas’buir that you’re too strong to get hurt like that! I made you something, come see it!”

“Okay, okay. I’m coming.” You flash a small smile at Jaster, and he shakes his head with a laugh as he trails after you and Jango.

[excessive-vampires]

Dealing With Demons Chapter 1: Good Girls Don't Summon Demons Part 1: Cee

So I decided to serialize my novel!

Masterlist with CW

I couldn't move. Nothing happened as I tried to close my eyes, to move my arm over to the bedside table and turn off the blaring alarm. Panic overwhelmed me for just a second, like every morning, but then I reminded myself of my situation. The panic withdrew, leaving behind only annoyance in its wake.

Avi shut off the alarm, sat up, and stretched. This elicited an internal groan from me.

Stupid demon.

A laugh erupted from my, no, Avi's throat. It had been theirs for five years. Wow, it had been half a decade now since the night I got possessed.

I just wanted to go back to sleep. Why did I have to get dragged along to a murder instead of spending my morning relaxing in a nice warm soft bed?

That train of thought got derailed as the demon turned on the light.

Avi! The sudden brightness burned their regrettably open eyes as they adjusted. Immediately I missed the darkness. Avi ignored my protest and got up to start their day.

I thought very hard about pouting, but I could feel that the demon wore an amused grin.

"You know I have business to take care of," they said around a toothbrush.

Whatever. Why do you have to "take care of business" so early?

"There is a time limit here, if I wait too long it'll be a lot more difficult to kill him, and he'll keep drawing attention to himself and, by extension, me."

I know. But I don't have to be happy about it.

"I'll stop by that bakery you like for breakfast," Avi offered in an enticing tone. To further their attempt at a bribe an image of biting into a fresh blueberry muffin appeared in my thoughts. I could almost taste it already, the soft texture, the sharp juiciness of the blueberries, the heavenly sweetness.

I accept your appeasement.

A smirk pulled at their lips as they plucked the gold button-up shirt that matched their hair and eye color from the closet after a moment of deliberation. None of my clothes were in that closet. What little I had was all tucked away in the bottom of dresser drawers, they only wore them when no one was going to see them that day. Style was more of a priority to Avi than comfort. Still, this shirt was one of the demon's most formal.

Fancy clothes day then. You'd look more intimidating if my tattoos were visible.

"I want to look professional and organized, that means sleeves."

Fair enough. You'll have to be careful not to get blood on them though.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Soon they were wearing a perfectly tailored suit. The fabric was stiff and uncomfortable, I pictured frowning in my mind but otherwise endured the annoyance. It did look pretty great on them. Then they slicked back their short hair, which I hated. It only looked good when it was fluffy. But I wasn't going to argue about something that small. In my situation, I had to know how to compromise and pick my battles.

"Ready to go kill someone, Cee?"

I guess. Lead the way, Avi.