#and then i got a package from my mom for my birthday and she sent me chocolate and it just made me sad

[ionlycareaboutyou]

i wish food didn’t control me as much as it did :(

[foggysirens]

.

[phantomrose96]

Okay I have a story.

So my birthday is this Sunday (May 26th). My mom ordered some presents for me but one of them (an Etsy purchase) was seemingly stuck in transit and might not make it on time. I tell my mom all good, no worries. She gets in contact with the seller. After a long delay in response they get back with "Right we'll fix it!" It ships, tracking label and everything, good to go! ETA May 22nd (yesterday.)

During the work day I check the tracking and it says it's been delivered in/at mailbox! I double check with my mom "hey, is it mailbox size?" because if not, I don't want it sitting at the front door where anyone walking by could snag it.

She says "it's definitely NOT mailbox size." Okay. I text my neighbors in the building "Anyone seen a package delivered? It's a birthday gift from my mom and I wanna make sure it gets inside!" Success! Floor 2 David (not to be confused with Floor 1 David) had brought it inside. Inform my mom. All good!

I stop by home briefly around 4pm, because yesterday was hot-hot and I just installed my window A/C that morning in the living room, and according to my cat cam my stupid cat hasn't spent a single second in the climate controlled living room and is, instead, voluntarily baking herself elsewhere so I'm like "great" and hop on my bike to go home (10 minute ride) to check on her.

I get in the building door. Patches is crying from the top floor because she heard me. I maneuver my bike in the front hall. The ugliest fucking 6-foot-tall cat tree(?)/totem(?)/statue(?) I've seen in my entire life is just. Standing there.

My first thought is "What the fuck is that." My second thought is "Oh fuck that is for me." I look around at the floor in case there's perhaps anything else that might, in fact, be the gift.

No. Me and Cat Pole.

It's taller than me. I turn it around to face me and its face is painted and this is, in fact, uglier than it looked from the back.

Um.

Patches is crying. So I just haul it up to my level. MAYBE it was supposed to come with twine that I wrap around it (and hide its face from the world) for Patches to scratch. Maybe this is a prank. Maybe this is an inside joke, because when my mom moved into her current house the neighborhood gifted her some ugly-as-hell totem that apparently, by tradition, each newest-comer to the neighborhood is required to have and display in their window so maybe this is a very good riff on that.

Patches rubs against it. She's not afraid of this horrid facsimile of her kind.

Great.

Meanwhile SHE'S fine and the condo is a little toasty but totally liveable so I'm like "Good, cool, you're not baking. You're having a good time. Enjoy your new sister, I guess, I'll see you later."

I go back to work because this is a problem for later me.

After work, after my run, after whatever, I get home and it's like 8:00pm and Patches is so happy to see me and the totem pole is still just. There.

I text my friends like "so a bday gift is here from my mom and it's the Biggest Ugliest cat pole I've seen in my life. Is this a bit? Did my mom go 'that's so ugly haha! send!' Maybe she genuinely found it cute. How do I navigate this." My friend Sarah has the good advice to maybe text my mom neutrally like "Got the cat pole!" and feel the waters whether my mom is like "Isn't it ugly? 😂" or "Hope Patches likes it! 🥰"

My mom goes to bed early so I don't do any of that yet. Problem for tomorrow me.

This morning, Patches wakes me up for breakfast. I get her situated and I'm staring at the fucking Cat Pole again. I wonder if my Mom's been wondering all night what I thought of it.

I take a picture. I text her.

Okay.

I get on call with my mom. I ask for clarity that the ungodly horrid thing is NOT my birthday gift and is in fact a mix-up from the seller who sent me this instead of my actual gift. She's wheezing between words. She thinks I'm being too charitable for the amount of Absolute Fucking Ugly this is. I have to gently talk her out of using the word "monstrosity" while messaging the seller asking what the hell happened here.

I tell her I need to apologize for harming her dignity with Floor 2 David, who thinks this fucking thing is my mom's idea of a great birthday gift for her to-be-28-year-old daughter.

My heart goes out to the poor soul who did actually order this cat totem and is lacking it on this lovely day.

[luvyeni]

( SPOOKTOBER ) magic doll ! 🎞️ 一 이소희 ՞

𝓟 airings. doll!sohee x fem!reader wc. 3.5k

🕸️◞ WARNINGS. sub!sohee, oral ( reader. receiving ), unprotected sex, riding, handjobs

「 ♱ authors note 」 happy day 6 !! probably like the third weirdest thing i've written , but i like it , hope you do too <3

“happy birthday!” your friend cheered over the phone. “it's 9 pm aren't you a bit late?” she scoffed. “hey i was busy!” she said. “now what do you say?” you sighed. “thank you.” she hummed, “that's rights , now tell me what you did for your birthday?”

“i went to work and came home.” you said , staring at the tv channel surfing. “are you serious yn?” she said. “you're so boring.” she whined. “where was i gonna go?” you asked. “out yn , out.” she said. “all you do is work and go home to your lonely house.” you scoffed. “maybe i like it like that.” you said. “well maybe you could every once and while bring a guy home to that big house of yours.”

“why would i bring a stranger to my house?” you said. “to cook them dinner.” she said sarcastically. “what else yn? to fuck them yn , to fuck them.” she said so crudely. “you need to get some dick.” you cringed. “bad dick isn't what i need.” you argued , she was about to say something when your doorbell rang. “hold on, someone is ringing my bell.”

“it's 9 pm who the hell could that be?” she said. “a guy?” you could hear her smirk. “i damn sure wouldn't be talking to you if it was a guy.” you looked through your security camera. “who is it?”

“package!” you don't remember ordering anything. “what did you order now you addict?” she said. “nothing i remember.” you pressed the button. “what's the name on the address?” he read your address and your name. “um leave it on the door i guess.” you were not about to open the door late at night for a strange man claiming to be a delivery person. “it's in my truck , it's kinda big.” he said. “how big?” your friend asked.

it was huge. “what is it?” your friend said , you had sent her a picture of the tall box. “i don't know.” you said. “where did it say it was from?” you searched for the sticker , reading the sticker. “the fuck?” you said , making sure to read it over again. “what? what? who is it from?” she said. “my aunt.” you said. “Oh!” your friend said. “it's probably a birthday gift , it is your birthday today.” she said in a duh tone. “she probably hadn't sent so it would be here by your birthday, you did say y'all were close right?”

she was correct; you and your aunt had been very close, but there was a problem with this gift. “she's dead?” your friend said. “yeah , she died a year ago , it was cancer.” you remember the horrible passing of your aunt , you cried for days , you both had always been close to her , she had no children so she always doted on you , it crushed you when she passed. “so how the hell is she sending you presents?”

“how the hell am i supposed to know?” you said. “not like i have speed doll number to god so i can ask her.” you examined the box. “you think your mother might know?” she said. “maybe it was a gift that was supposed to be given to you now.” she said. “hold on, give me a moment.” you said. “i'll call you back.” you hung up , dialing your mother's numbers. “hello my daughter , who's also a year older today.”

“hello mother.” you smiled. “can you not call me? are you always so busy?” you rolled your eyes. “sorry mom , but i actually have a question.” you said. “what is it my beautiful babygirl?” she said. “i got a package today , from auntie.” you said. “how?” she responded confused. “i was hoping you could tell me , maybe it was something from her estate?”

“everything that she was giving out was given to everyone im sure.” she said. “oh wait not everything.” she said. “what was it? and it it freakishly large?” you asked. “well you knew your auntie was a collector of things.” she started. “another word for horder , but yes.” you loved the lady but you never went to hers for visits , she always came to you. “well she was also a collector- a horder- yn.” you smiled , “sorry.”

“she was a collector of dolls.” she said. “dolls?” you asked. “this can't be a doll.” you said. “the box is taller than me.” you said , looking at the box. “your aunt had many dolls , especially towards the end of her life , she had many dolls that she treated like her children , doctors told us not to worry it was just her way of coping with her death and never having children.” she said. “there's only one way to know.”

“open it up."

“a doll?” your friend said, you had opened up the box , and there in all it's creepy fuckin glory , a doll. “it's a doll.” she said. “a boy doll.” you said , he stood up in the box; so life like , but his glazed over eyes showed no life inside them. “he doesn't appear to be old , he looks pretty new.” you opened the box. “there's a note , attached to him.” you said. “read it.” you cringed. “i’m almost scared to touch him.” you quickly grabbed the note. “what does it say?”

'to. yn , this may come as a surprise , it was a surprise to us when we saw the doll when we moved in a month ago , the lady of the house kept this doll in one of the rooms , and she left this with a note , instructing to send this specifically on a certain day , so it will get there by today — im guessing it's your birthday , i hope it gets there safely x.'

“so she gave you a doll for your 22 birthday?” your friend said. “a life size boy doll.” she trailed off. “even at the end of her life she knew you'd be alone.” you scoffed. “what a generous women , even to the end.” rolling your eyes as she laughed. “you're a bitch you know that?”

“what? i mean come on.” she said. “im hanging up now .” she continued to laugh. “yeah , go enjoy the night with your new doll , love you.” hanging up , you laughed at your current reality. “what am i gonna do?” you looked at the doll. “where am i gonna put you?”

“what the hell?” you tried to lift the doll from it's box; keyword being tried , the doll was heavy. “must be one of those dolls filled with sand.” you grunted , dragging the doll to your livingroom couch , sitting it up on the furniture. “what made her think i would want this?” you looked up at the ceiling. “did you really think i would be alone this long?” you inspected the doll , he was wearing clothes that were a new— did the new house owners change him? “what the hell?” he was so life like , but his face was cold , and his eyes doll like. “i'm getting creeped out.” you shivered. “maybe i should go to bed.” you stared at it. “i don't think i would be a to sleep tonight with you here.”

you were sleeping peacefully when there was a loud crash , you gasped awake , shooting up. “huh?” you groggily rubbed your eyes. you threw your feet over the bed , yawning as you put your feet in your slippers , making your way to the bathroom; after doing your business you made your way downstairs for something to drink; the broken plate being the first thing you saw. “penelope , i told you to not climb on the counters look what you did.” the cat meowed , not paying you any mind. “now i have to clean it up.”

after cleaning the glass , and drinking your water , you made your way to the steps.

“oh shit!” you jumped seeing the figure sitting on the couch. “hell you scared me.” you grabbed your chest. “why do i keep talking to you like you're alive?” you walked over to the doll who was still sitting there. “maybe im going crazy.” you said , the doll just sat there, as a doll should. “you are a cute doll.” you said , running your fingers down it's face , threading your fingers through his hair. “i wouldn't reckon you wouldn't want to lay down?” you laughed , your cat meowing. “he would wouldn't he penelope?”

you chuckled as you laid the doll down on the couch. “i wonder how many she has like this?” your eyes widened. “oh my god am i gonna get a new one every year like you?” you said. “this is like living with a human , i can't live with more than one of , as cute as you are , you're terrifying.” you stood up. “well it's time to go to bed , come on penelope , time for bed.”

making your way back upstairs; laying back down finally for the night , penelope purring beside you.

…

“no anton you're supposed to do it.” you spoke on the phone , throwing your shoes off to the side as you entered your house. “no i can't get an extension , it needs to be sent in tonight by midnight.” you unbuttoned your shirt , opening up the fridge for a drink that you so desperately needed. “i do know what time it is , that's why i can't understand why you're still on the phone with me?”

“goodnight anton.” you sighed , taking a sip of your wine. “i need a bath.” you finished the glass, grabbing the bottle , heading up to your room , something catching your eye. “huh?” you spin around, the doll still there— now sitting up.

you certainly don't remember doing that; maybe you did this morning and don't remember , you were yelling at anton over the phone , you could've just done it subconsciously. “penelope im gonna take a bath , you watch him for me yeah?” the cat meowed , you smiled , before walking up the steps , noticing your door was wide open , walking in some things were rummaged through. “jesus anton must've pissed me off this morning.” you said , going into your bathroom , turning on the hot water.

after adding some bubbles and lighting some candles , and dimming the lights , you stripped yourself of your clothes , stepping into the warm water; you moaned in satisfaction as your sore muscles began to unloosen , the stress of the day running off of you as you close your eyes , smiling to yourself as you took a sip of wine — so unaware of of the lurking eyes , peaking through the crack.

you lathered your loofah in soap; moving it throughout your body, washing your body with your calming soap; you began to feel sleepy , the soap working in effect; turning the water off , washing the soap off before standing up, stepping out of the tub , wrapping a towel around your body , penelope meowing over and over.

“pen?” she didn't stop when you called her name , you heard her knock something over. “pen , baby what are you doing?” you sighed , you just wanted to go to bed , reaching for the door knob , pulled the door open. “what is going on with you?” your cat perched up on the window. “why are you so upset?”

you began to walk over to the side where the cat was , when you noticed something. a pair of feet, then legs— and then you were backing up. “penelope , baby come here.” you weakly called for her. “come here baby.” of all times she didn't listen to you , now wouldn't be the time.

you didn't have time to call her again , because the damn legs began to move , you screamed and the person shot up— well that's what it looks like. “don't run.” your eyes were deceiving you , there's no way this was happening , that doll that was supposed to be sitting on your damn couch was now getting up off the floor , with your panties on his head. “don't scream.”

“you-you're alive.” you stuttered. “well yeah you could say that.” he said. “oh my god , you're talking.” you breathed. “dolls don't talk.” paralyzed with fear. “well they do if they're magic.” you were dreaming , that was the obvious choice , pinching your arm; you'll wake up back in the tub. “hey you'll hurt yourself if you do that.” he was fully standing now. “why am i not waking up?” you questioned. “well that's because you aren't sleep.”

you weren't dreaming; this was really happening. “your aunt told me you were a nice girl.” your aunt. “she's been dead for years.” you said. “yeah i know.” he said. “but before she died , she took care of me.” he said. “took care of you?” you said. “you’re a doll.” you said. “well yeah , but i’m a magic doll.” he said. “ma-magic.”

“before your aunt died , she got into magic.” he said. “she found a spell and brought me to life to keep her company , well sorta , im still a doll , she wasn't that good of a witch , she messed up a few words.” he laughed. “oh i must be high , that soap must have something in it.” you said. “why do you seem so surprised, she told me she told you about the magic and what she did.”

“she said a lot of things , my aunt was on meds before she died , i thought she was high!” you shouted. “how many dolls did she do this to?” how many more live dolls were coming to your door? “only me , i swear , she only wanted it to keep her company.” he said. “she didn't want to change me back , so she said she'd send me to you.” he smiled. “why?”

“because she said she only trusted you , and that i could keep you company.” he looked around. “and it seems like you need it , you know you talk to your cat a lot.” you scoffed. “i won't be lectured by pinocchio.” you said stoically. “not pinocchio!” he jumped up. “sorry chucky.” you scoffed. “you're mean.”

“there's an almost 6 foot living doll standing in my room , with my panties on his head , i think i have the right to be a little mean.” you said. “wait , why are my panties on your head?” you asked. “um.” he coughed. “you did this , you were rummaging through my things.” you said. “i got bored , your aunt never left the house so she was with me 24 hours , you left me here for hours with that thing.’’ he pointed to penelope , “who scratches by the way.”

“put those down.” you snatched your panties from his hand , looking for a shirt. “you have a name?” you asked , turning around “close your eyes perv.” you said. “i saw you in the in the tub already.” you scoffed. “sohee , she named me sohee.” he said. “are you gonna send me away?” he asked. “where?” you asked , now in clothed , well barely , sitting down at your desk. “there's no where to send you.” you said. “i can be of help.”

“can you pay rent?” he chuckled. “well no i can't do that , but i can clean , and cook.” he said. “oh! and look over that thing while you're at work.” he pointing to your cat , your phone ping on your desk you got up , sighing. “can you write a report?” he shook his head no. “what is that?” he said , you laughed. “nothing.”

“anton i sent it to you , you just have to finish it , it's only 2 pages — i don't care how you do it , it's 10:30 pm i am off the clock , don't call me until tomorrow.” you hung up slamming your phone on the table. “who's anton?” you jumped , forgetting the doll sitting on your bed. “jesus! why haven't you moved?”

“he your boyfriend?” you shook your head. “no my assistant that i haven't fired yet because as mad and lazy as he is , he's the best assistant i’ve had so far.” you rubbed your temples. “you seemed stressed.” he said. “i can help with stressed.”

“you give massages?” you rubbed your shoulders in pain. “yes , i do.” he said. “but i didn't mean that.” before you could question him , he was already on his knees. “whoa! what are you doing?” you asked. “well your aunt prepared me for this , she said girls your age like this.” he grabbed your knees , you clenched them shut. “um , i-its okay.” you gulped , him being down there was enough to make you heavily consider it , it had been a long time since you had gotten anything.

“i don't mind it.” he said , pushing your legs open , you weren't wearing pants , only underwear. “i'm here for you , the keep you company.” he kissed your through your underwear , you gasped , grabbing his hair. “this is weird.” you moaned. “you're a doll.” he pulled away. “not fully.” he pulled your panties to the side. “it's much prettier in person than on videos.” he breathed in your scent. “you smell good.” you felt the warmth of his tongue on your cunt. “taste good too , i don't eat food , but if it's all this good i might consider.”

grabbing his , pushing the dolls face further in between your legs. “fu-fuck , please stop talking.” you moaned , his tongue flattenjng as he licked up and down your folds , you moaned. “fuck , why are you so good at this.” this gave the doll the encouragement to keep going. “sh-shit , use your tongue.” you felt his tongue prodding your hole. “good boy.” you moaned , thrusting your hips up , meeting his tongue. “fu-fuck sohee.”

the boy-doll pulled away from your cunt , bringing one of his life like fingers to your clit , rubbing , pushing a finger inside , curling them inside you. “you're twitching so much.” he said. “you're gonna cum aren't you?” his eyes wide. “i always wondered if it's like the movies i saw.” you gasped out. “so-sohee.” you moaned. “you can cum , please i want to see it.

he was holding your legs open , watching with wonder as you twitched in the chair above him , cumming all over his fingers with loud moan. “fuck!” he pulled his fingers out , you sat in the chair confused. “do you want more?” he asked , standing up. “i can give you more.” he said.

you were soon staring at his clearly hard cock after he took his clothes off , laying down on the bed. “you can use me.” he said. “you know to relieve stress.” you had come this far with the doll , and you were so horny , you only took a second to rethink everything up until now , before you were climbing into his lap holding his shoulders, sinking down on his lap. “fu-fuck.” you moaned. “do-does that feel good?” sohee said , he never felt this before, he only ever watched the videos , he never took care of the the problem. “so-so good.”

you grinded your hips back and forth. “i-i like this.” he stuttered. “yeah?” you moaned. “y-yeah , it feels nice.” he moaned. “wh-why does it feel so good.” he shakenly held your hips. “i'm -fuck- i'm gonna go faster okay?” he nodded. “please , can you please go faster.” his glazed over doll like eyes were now more human like , and filled with lust. “ok-okay.”

you speed your movements ups , he moaned louder. “ca-can you pull my hair like before?” you nodded , pulling the strands , he groaned. “you like it?” you bounced on his lap. “ye-yes , pl-please keep doing that , pl-please.” he begged. “i like it so much.”

you could feel yourself about to cum , you took the dolls hand , bringing it to your boob. “squeeze.” you gasped , he obeyed , squeezing your boob. “a-are you gonna cum?” he said. “y-yeah.” You moaned. “pl-please cum , i wanna see it.” you bounced a few more time , sitting down on him fully as you came ; climbing off of him grabbing the base of his cock , stroking it until he came over your hand.

sohee gasped as the white substance shot from his cock ; a feeling he'd never felt before , but he'd sure want to do it again , only with you though , only you could make him feel like this in his mind. “you okay?” you asked , he smiled nodded. “i liked it , so much , i never felt like that before.” the doll said , still full of energy. “you watched videos you said , you never you know.”

he looked at you confused. “touched yourself?” he shook himself. “oh no , i didn't , does it feel like what you just did?” you shrugged. “well in my case no , i don't have a cock so i wouldn't know , but i assume it's the same.” you said. “well if it down feel like how you do it , then i don't want to it.” he said , you laughed. “sohee i can't do that every day , it hurts my legs.”

“well then i can watch more videos and learn how to do it in a different way just for you.” he said. “can i stay up here with you , it's cold down there and that thing keeps scratching me.” you laughed.

“sure , it's been a long time since i sleep with a doll in my bed.”

©LUVYENI

[dira333]

Roommates - Atsumu Miya x reader

From my Haikyuu Request game - requested by D.

Atsumu is already in the kitchen when you come home.

“Samu?” You yell through the apartment. “Your brother is eating my snacks again!”

“There’s no name on it!” Atsumu cuts in before Osamu can interject. “I checked.”

“Yeah, but you can’t read.” You drop your stuff on the kitchen counter and squint at the package in his hand.

“Never mind, that’s Samu’s.”

“Told you!” Atsumu gloats right until you smack him in the head with a packet of ground coffee.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t see you there.”

He mutters and grumbles but he stays where he is, chewing down the expensive cheese crackers Osamu seems to buy in builk.

You keep pretending he’s not here, knowing you’ll just lose your temper the second he makes you open your mouth. 

That strategy has been working well the last few months and if you can keep making it work you won’t have to find a different apartment to move into.

-

Atsumu is lounging on the Couch when you come back from jogging, sweat dripping in your eyes as you lean down to untie your shoes.

“Damn, you go out like that?” He asks and you fling your sweat-soaked towel at him, sucking in a smile when he shrieks in disgust.

“Don’t you have training to be at?” You ask, proud of your even tone.

“Got sent home because I kept throwing up.” He moans and you turn on your heel to glare at him.

“And you come here?”

“Yeah?” His voice comes out whiney and child-like. “It’s not like I can go home to my mom, that’s too far away.”

You decide to leave him on the couch, far away from you. 

Getting sick is the last thing you need right now. 

But you text Samu in the privacy of the bathroom, chewing your lip as you wait for his answer.

With all the fighting the boys have going on, you’ve picked up right away that they do care for each other, just in their own way.

By the time you’re out of the shower, Samu’s in the kitchen cooking something and Atsumu is curled up on the couch, a hot water bottle pressed against his middle.

“I’m out.” You tell Samu quietly, eyeing the bundle on the couch. “You need anything?”

“Can you get me the lecture notes from today? You know Sazama, she can give them to you.”

“Ooh, Sazama.” You wink at him. “I’ll be sure to mention that you’re still single.”

“Stop that.” Samu moves to hit your shoulder playfully but you step out of the way, content to see the blush on his cheeks. You knew it.

-

Atsumu’s pretending that he’s not in your room and you’re getting sick of it.

“You know you’re not allowed in here.” You remind him from where you’re sitting at your desk, typing furiously as you try and finish that train wreck of an assignment.

“I’m not ‘in here’.” He emphasizes from where’s standing in the open door. You can see his reflection in the window if you squint and his left foot is clearly overstepping into your room.

“You are. You’re just exploiting the fact that I can’t get up right now to close the door.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He whistles a tune, leaning further into the doorframe.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“No.”

You bite your tongue when your mind supplies another question. You don’t have time for this.

You manage to lose yourself to your focus but his voice pulls you out of it again.

“Do you want something to drink?”

“What?” You almost flinch at the sound behind you. “Sorry, what did you say?”

The look on his face is something you haven’t seen on him before. He pushes himself off the doorframe before you can place it. 

“I’ll get you some water.”

“Uh, thank you?” You start before realizing that he’s going to use it as a ploy to step further into your room, the only space in the apartment you’ve managed to keep away from him - so far.

“Wait, I’ll get it myself.” You rush after him.

-

You’re not surprised to have one of the twins turn up in your room at their own birthday party. You’re just surprised it’s Atsumu.

“You’re reading?” He asks as the door of your room clicks shut behind him and he sags into your desk chair.

“Yep.” You turn a page, deciding that you can be civil for a day and not throw him out.

“What’s it about?”

“It’s for Class but it’s kinda interesting.” You take a sip of your water but his eyes stay locked onto you. Okay, that’s weird.

You clear your throat awkwardly and try to summarize the book, only to stop in the middle of your sentence.

“Okay.” You say and lower your book further to glare at him. “Spill. What’s going on with you?”

He shrugs. “Nothing.”

“Don’t give me that shit. You’re the social butterfly in this household. Why are you not with the others?”

“Can’t just come and check in on you?”

“It’s your birthday party, Atsumu.”

“Why do you never call me by my nickname?” The question comes out of left-field and you’re left gaping at him for a moment before you can form a single word.

“What?”

“You call Samu Samu and Suna is Rin. And just now you called Captain Shin. But you always call me Atsumu.”

“Shin’s my cousin.” You remind him and he rolls his eyes.

“That’s not what I was getting at.” 

Yeah. You know that. You just don’t want to think about it.

“Will you go back to the party if I come with you?” There’s that thing again, moving over his face like a shadow, too fast to decipher. But he nods and gets up, stretching his hand out to help you out of bed.

“Pajamas good enough for your party?” You joke.

“Seriously? I’m afraid you don’t have anything better in your closet anyway.”

He ducks out of your reach just in time.

-

Tsumu is sitting in front of your apartment door, when you get home, head hanging low.

You don’t have to text Samu, you already know the score. MSBY lost and you don’t know what’s worse for him. Losing or losing by an inch, knowing he could have won.

“Hey.” You tap his boots with your own. “I was going to watch that awful movie you’ve kept talking about. Want to watch it with me and make it more bearable with your commentary?”

He looks tired and spent when he raises his head but he nods.

You stretch out your hand for him and he eyes it for a moment before taking it, allowing you to pull him up.

He’s quiet when you prep the snacks, always two steps behind you in the kitchen.

On a different day, you’d yell at him for it, tell him to at least get the drinks ready. But not today.

He settles heavily on the couch, his knee knocking into yours as you make yourself comfortable.

You pull a blanket over your lap and pretend that this is fine. Everything is fine.

Five minutes into the movie his head falls heavy onto your shoulders and you let out a sigh that’s been caught in your chest for months now.

In two hours Samu is going to be home.

In four hours you’ll go to bed and pretend that everything is fine. That you don’t care at all about Tsumu sleeping on the couch, heartbroken and tired after a loss.

Something slips in your chest as if a dislocated joint finally finds its home again, and you dig your elbow into Tsumu’s side.

“What?” He grumbles and you swallow what’s left of the knot in your throat.

“Get up. You can sleep in my bed.”

“What?”

“I won’t offer again.” 

You know you’re fighting a losing battle the moment he slips under your covers like he’s always been supposed to be there.

You know you’ve already lost when he curls around your side, his head on your shoulder, his arm a heavy weight across your stomach.

It feels like this is how it’s supposed to be.

-

Tsumu’s in your bed when you wake up, unfairly long lashes fluttering over sunkissed cheeks, nose crunched up in his sleep.

You turn slowly, partly to protect your poor heart from this sight so early in the morning, partly to get your phone.

You’ve got two messages from Samu.

“Hey, I know Tsumu was here but I can’t reach him. How was he when he left?”

The other, sent twenty minutes later, has your cheeks aflame.

“His shoes are still here? I think I’ll steer clear of your room tonight.”

You press your phone to your chest, too embarrassed to think of a response, knowing you’ll come face-to-face with him soon anyway. 

Movement to your left pulls your attention back to the situation at hand.

Tsumu’s blinking at you.

Like this, in the early morning light, he looks like innocence personified. 

He looks like Sunshine and easy laughter, like dancing in the rain.

He looks like someone who could break your heart and you’d let him do it.

That’s why you pull away, push yourself to the edge of the bed to get out, away, before this mess can get any messier.

His hand catches yours before you can, though.

“Stay.” He asks.

“Tsumu.” You plead. 

You can hear the smile on his lips when he speaks.

“You’re calling me Tsumu.”

You shrug, cradling your heart in your hand, your back towards him to protect what’s left of it.

“Could you love me?” He asks, voice low and soft. “Like, not right now, I know that’s not possible, but, in the future? Is there a chance you could like me at least? I mean you’ve let me sleep in here and I know I’m a mess but-”

“I already love you.” Your voice is so quiet you hope he hasn’t heard you. But his grip on your hand tightens and you know he didn’t miss a word.

-

Tsumu is already in the kitchen when you come home.

You raise an eyebrow at him. “Are you eating my snacks again?!”

“They’re Samu’s!” Atsumu grins at you from across the counter, cheeky and undeterred. “I checked.”

“I heard that!” Samu yells from the living room. “Give them back.”

“Come and get them.” Tsumu taunts as he leans forward to kiss you. You block him with a hand on his chest.

“Not the cheese crackers, Tsum. They smell so bad.”

“But baby!” He whines. “I want a kiss!”

“Brush your teeth first, then we’re talking.” You tell him flatly and he pouts before dropping the crackers and leaving for the bathroom.

You get back to putting the food away, grinning at Samu when he steps into the kitchen, an impressed look on his face.

“I never thought that would work.”

“Well, your cheese crackers are safe. Now keep your end of the deal.”

“Fine.” He huffs and grabs the opened bag of crackers from the counter. “Apartment is yours till tomorrow. Onigiri are already in the fridge.” 

You roll your eyes at him. "We could order Pizza. Tsumu will survive without your food for one day."

"Tsumu can what?" Strong arms wrapped themselves around you and pulled you back into your boyfriend, his minty fresh breath ghosting over your face as he put his head on your shoulder.

He eyed his brother.

"What are you still doing here? Don't you have a Date with Sazami?"

"It's my apartment too, you know!" Samu grumbled but he did not sound half as mad as he could get.

“Bye Samu. Stay away Samu.”

My Kofi if you want to tip me

[cosmicdream222]

Some of my manifestations from last week (with photos)

Surprise gifts

My bestie A and I regularly update each other with about our daily plan for affirming etc to keep each other accountable. I said I was manifesting VIP treatment, put on some subs and affirmed while I was making breakfast (yes I’m not a morning person and make breakfast at nearly noon 😭)

Not even a half hour later, I received a surprise delivery from Amazon:

My friend L, who lives out of state, sent me food and new bowls for the stray cats I feed, and treats for my cats (Stella & Panini are my cats’ names 😹)

VIP treatment

That evening I worked a brand ambassador gig that I booked only a couple days before. I’ve been avoiding working as much as possible lately lol but this one was nearby and paid well. It happened to be a giveaway event partnering with a local radio station and ended up being fun. One of the radio DJs was there, and me as the sponsor brand representative was given the same level of VIP treatment as the radio DJ! There was an event coordinator who basically did all the work and I just got to stand around looking pretty and getting paid for it. 😭

Gift card

After work I got home and found another package from my friend L with a gift card for me 💕

More cat food

A few days later, my neighbor left a huge box of cat food at my door. My cats are getting more spoiled than me 😂

An air fryer

This one is cool because I specifically wanted to manifest this. I had heard about air fryers for a while now and it seemed like something I would use, but I didn’t really feel the need to buy one. A couple weeks ago I was at Trader Joe’s with my mom and the cashier was saying how much he loooved his air fryer and telling me all the things I could make with it. I decided that moment I would just manifest one eventually, and forgot about it.

So the other day my mom comes to pick me up for a family lunch and she has a huge box in her hands - an air fryer?? She says jokingly “happy birthday” - my birthday isn’t for another 4 months! She said she just felt like I needed one 🤷🏻‍♀️

It’s so cute and I’ve already used it a couple times 💕

Attention from sp

Soo I have this crush-type guy we’ll call D. He’s one of my best friends and we’ve talked nearly every day for 3 years. I can talk to him about anything, including all things supernatural and shifting. We have admitted to having feelings for each other, and even had “online boyfriend” vibes for a while, but we live in different states, and he didn’t want to do long distance. I was sad and anxious about it for a while, but since I found out about loa and shifting, I realized none of it mattered and I could just shift to a reality where we’re together already 😂

Anyway I had become detached and stopped really thinking about him in a romantic way for a while. However, I realized since I basically didn’t care and wasn’t thinking about him, he was becoming distant in response. We hadn’t been really flirty or romantic in a few months, and I hadn’t even talked to him in a week, which was unusual. Although I wasn’t anxious about it or anything, I was still missing talking to one of my best friends. So I just started assuming he would go back to blowing up my phone all day, and I sent him some mental telepathy messages about what I wanted.

Monday morning he messaged me apologizing for being distant. He had been traveling for spring vacation and took a break from his phone. He then basically spent the whole week trying to make up for it, being super attentive, listening to my long ramblings about my void and shifting progress, sending me selfies every day, being more sweet and romantic than he had been in months, and kept telling me how pretty I was 🥰

Losing a follower LOL

This is just a funny one to round out my list. I hadn’t been on tumblr in a bit, and when I went to check my asks, I saw I had 556 followers. I thought “darn I missed the angel number, haha maybe someone will unfollow me so I can get the screenshot.” Not 5 min later when I went to look again, it had happened, and I got the screenshot 😂

(Up to 558 now thank you all ���)

[joe9cool]

Collide- Epilogue 2- Lost in This Moment With You

A/N This is fan fiction purposes only. I do not know anyone on or associated with The Chargers. Also you do not have my permission to post my work anywhere else.

BREAKING: SARA WOZNIAK IS REPORTEDLY ENGAGED TO JUSTIN HERBERT!

ET EXCLUSIVE; SARA WOZNIAK IS ENGAGED TO NFL PRO JUSTIN HERBERT

Wedding bells are in the air for the [TV show] actress 28 and the Los Angeles Chargers Quarterback 26. The couple are engaged. People exclusively reported the news as the Academy Award nominee was spotted around LA wearing a sparkler on that finger.

A TIMELINE OF SARA WOZNIAK AND JUSTIN HERBERT'S RELATIONSHIP.

PATRICK HERBERT, JUSTIN HERBERT'S BROTHER COMMENTS ON SARA WOZNIAK ENGAGEMENT. "I'M VERY HAPPY FOR THEM."

There it was, the news now public. Justin and Sara had made the decision to go public with the news shortly after Sara's birthday. Both phones were blowing up like crazy, their management teams containing all of the press and requests for comments. Sara had begun wearing her ring in public, which was splashed all over tabloids as she walked the red carpet for the Royal Film Awards. People thought it was Sara's style, some thought it was ugly, others thought it was creative.

They were bombarded with packages from every designer, every venue far and wide, roses and expensive gifts from celeb brands and friends with personal boxes congratulating them. Some were cute, others were obnoxious and they had a laugh as they tore through them. There were even gifts for Eugene and Nova, as they made appearances on her social media.

The planning began, and they hired a low key wedding planner, someone who wasn't known for working with big celebrities.

They had a date set and stone.

May 24th 2025 in Oregon at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.

It was gorgeous and overlooking the coast. It was to be a full wedding weekend, with rehearsal, then the wedding, then a brunch to send the couple off to their honeymoon.

With everything booked, and save the dates being sent out next week, Sara could breathe some sigh of relief. They were in Pittsburgh, along with Justin's family for their engagement party that her parents were throwing at their house.

There were people everywhere, all of their friends and families. While her fathers side had nobody (Willa and her family were cut off) her mom had many siblings, cousins and friends who had children that grew up with the girls. Her dad had his friends, his business associates and clients who got to know the family and watched Sara grow up.

It was funny, because Sara always faded into the background with these kinds of get-togethers, most people didn't really care. But now, all eyes were on her and Justin, and they were both uncomfortable, it was a classic case of being careful what you wish for.

Back in Oregon, Mark and Holly threw a casual barbecue get together with Justin's side. His buddies from Oregon came, and Sara found herself blending in with them all so well. She laughed at the jokes and old stories they told, and teased Justin making him bright red at times. Her family didn't come to that, and she was glad as she didn't want to overwhelm the Herbert family at their house.

But now, they were all in her territory. Patrick and Mitch and their girlfriends, eyes widened at the big house that sat on secluded acre land. "Oh my god." Sara groaned as Justin drove up on the pebble-stone driveway.

Big white balloons were tied to the mailbox. Flowers lined up the driveway. Pink roses, her favorite. Cars were already parked, which meant a ton of people. Guests were already on the side of the house underneath a tent. There was a bartender with a full bar. Patrick laughed as he saw more balloons of rings and 'she said yes' sign above the door. "Oh man, we are wayyy out of our element."

Once parked and out of the car, they walked into the house, where tons of people were chatting. A sign that was held on a canopy.

Celebrate two lives becoming one,

Welcome to Justin & Sara's Engagement Party.

"There's the bride and groom!" Her uncle shouted, and all eyes were on them. They were passed around in hugs. Next thing they knew they were wearing 'Bride' and 'Groom' sashes (Sara knew Justin would never hear the end of it from his brothers)

Cathy introduced the Herbert family to everyone and quickly, they understood why Sara stayed away.

"We never thought she was going to find someone!"

"Can't believe she is going to be getting married! When I saw she adopted her cat I told my husband we should start worrying."

The group all laughed and Justin was immediately uncomfortable. "So tell us, son." Another guy continued. "Why her? I mean professional athletes you could have supermodels! I don't understand it."

Justin had enough. "Well you don't have to understand anything. We love each other and she's the most beautiful woman inside and out. Now excuse me." He walked away from the group to find Sara, heading into the kitchen where he ran Into his mom and dad speaking with one of her cousins. Once she walked away they turned to her son. "Wow. Her extended family sure is…" Holly started.

"Interesting." Justin finished. Not wanting to really say what he was thinking.

"How on God's name is Sara so cool and she comes from a family like this?" Patrick walked up with Carly.

"Patrick!" Carly scolded.

"What? It's true." Pat shrugged. "It is. But we don't need to say it out loud." Carly took a sip of her drink.

"Did you know what her cousin just said to us?" Mark scoffed. "Boy aren't you glad that the bride's family is paying. You wouldn't be able to afford all of this." He mocked her voice. Everyone's eyes widened. "What?" Justin's face was stern.

"That's nothing. Isabelle is calming Mitch down after what one of the old wall street dudes said about Sara." Justin faced his younger brother. "What did he say?"

"Uh.. it should probably wait til we leave." Carly saw Justin's anger and hoped her boyfriend got the hint."

He didn't. "He made a disgusting comment about hoping Sara went with a form fitting dress, one that accentuated her… he said her gifted chest…" He trailed off, not wanting to totally repeat the gross comment about his future sister in law.

Justin's face was red. "Point him out. I want to talk to him." Mark grabbed him. "Son now is not the time or place. Let's just get through this evening."

"Hey guys! Having fun?" Sara walked up to the group,and instantly everyone could see Justin look relaxed. She looked gorgeous, in a white jumpsuit with white lace heels. Her hair was styled to perfection. Justin squeezed her hand. "Yes babe, everything is great."

"Oh there they are! The bride and groom to be!" Two middle aged women walked up and hugged Sara. "Linda, Delilah, this is my fiance Justin, his parents Mark and Holly and his brother Patrick and his girlfriend Carly. Where's Mitch and Isabelle?" She looked around. "I Guess they are around somewhere, but these are my mom's friends."

"Congratulations baby girl!"  The two ladies smiled, then addressed the others. "We watched her grow up. To be honest, we thought she would never find someone!"

Justin bit his lip, this was the theme of the night. Everyone just loved to mention how they thought it was impossible for Sara to find someone. Sara just smiled. "Yeah that's what everyone has been saying."

"I mean, can you blame us?" They laughed, while the Herbert family stayed quiet. "So anyways. Where are you having the wedding? Mansions in the fifth are beautiful for weddings. Or are you thinking of New York like Ryan and Michelle?"

Sara smiled. "Actually. We are getting married in Oregon, at the golf course hotel off the coast" She looked up at Justin, who smiled down at her.

The one wrinkled her nose. "Sweetie, not there, Oregon is so redneck, and just not it. Trust me, you cannot have a nice wedding in Oreg-"

"Justin and his family live in Eugene." Sara bit back. Linda's eyes widened. "Oh really? Wow I'm so sorry. Well I'm sure it's beautiful if you live there." She covered up her insult with another insult. She then changed topics. "I see you haven't eaten."

"Oh I'm going to make a plate, I've been running around greeting everyone-"

"Well that's a good thing. You need as much weight off as you can to fit in the dress. I can actually give you the name of Macy's trainer, she will make you the thinnest you have ever been!" She pinched Sara's arm. "Tone up those arms!"

"Linda! Delilah! Can you help me with something?" Cathy called over her friends and they left. Holly addressed Sara. "Are you okay?"

Sara shook her head. "Yeah why do you ask?" Justin put his arms on her shoulders.  Mark cut in. "Those comments they made, and everyone else."

"Oh those! Yeah trust me I got used to it. I've heard shit like that my whole life." She grabbed a champagne flute off a waiter's tray. "If they say anything to you. Please let me know. I'll put them in their place."

Mark shook his head. "You shouldn't have to deal with that."

She waved her hand. "It's fine. Why do you think we chose Bandon Dunes?" She looked at Justin and he smiled at her. "The max is 190 people, but we will probably only have 100. Keep it close to family and friends."

"Have you two chosen the bridal party yet?" Holly asked.

"Yes, it's going to be 8 people on both sides. Our ask boxes are done, we just need to hand them out." Justin looked at Pat, "You and Mitch are obviously my best men."

Before they could say anything else Cathy yelled for the family to join in pictures. They had a professional photographer gather both immediate family and their partners, gathered under the big balloon arch. Then it was Sara's side, then Justin's then just the soon to be married couple and their parents. Once that was done Justin was pulled to have a celebratory cigar with Mike and his friends/business partners, while Sara was in the kitchen with her mom and sisters.

"So you guys settled on a venue? In Oregon." Sara didn't miss the tone of disappointment in her moms voice. She knew that it bothered Cathy that her youngest became closer to her fiance's side of the family. Sara popped a grape from the table in her mouth. "Yes, it's more low-key, and it's on a golf course. Plus it will be more convenient for Justin's family."

The Wozniak's had a ton of money, whereas the Herbert's were just a middle class family. So Sara wanted to be more accommodating to his family. Plus she was hoping it would deter a lot of friends and family from coming. She wanted to enjoy her day, Katie and Brittany spent most of their time going around and talking to people and thanking them. Alyssa had a small Vineyard wedding and got to enjoy her day.

That was what she wanted.

"There are so many gorgeous golf courses and hotels around the area. With all your connections and us paying for it. We could easily have four hundred people." Sara practically choked on her drink. "Yeah… uh that sounds terrible. But also mom, me and Justin can pay for our wedding."

"There's no doubt about that… but we didn't pay for your college.." She trailed off and everyone knew what she meant.

"It's fine. I got this. The venue is booked, I'm meeting with Valentino to design my dress. Justin and I have our bridal party picked. Our wedding planner is set. Easy peasy."

Brent walked up, hearing the last of the conversation. "Oh you naive fool." He kissed his sister in law on the cheek. "Sorry I'm late, you look gorgeous." He held up a bridal gift bag. "I'll set this on the massive gift pile in the dining room."

Sara was shocked. "I thought I said no gifts!" She followed Brent to the dining room and gasped as she saw the massive pile of perfectly wrapped presents, bags, and envelopes covering the massive table.

Brent snorted. "These people never listen. Any chance they can to flex their money they will." He laughed as he looked over the pile. "Damn I see a Waterford Crystal bag. Alyssa and I didn't even get that."

She laughed. She loved Brent, and Justin got along with him well, so well that he planned on asking the hockey player to be in his party.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------

Mike passed around Cigars to the group of trustees or whatever they were. Mark and Mitch were there, Mark taking one Justin and Mitch refused. He wasn't a smoker, it was way too toxic. Luckily Mike didn't press the issue. "Isn't Cathy going to be upset?" Justin raised his brows as he watched the group light theirs. Mike shrugged. "What Cathy doesn't know won't hurt her, besides I've done this with all of my daughters' weddings."

Charles walked up and took one of the cigars from the box on the patio furniture. Overlooking the crowd, one of the men spoke up. "Thought we'd never see the day Mike. I always thought Alyssa was the last one."

Mike nodded. "Believe me I thought that too." He clapped Justin on the back. "You sure you can handle her son?"

Justin laughed. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't love her."

"I'm glad. She deserves someone like you." Mike took a puff.

Another older, pudgy man cut in. "See my son over there?" Justin followed his finger to see a man in his thirties, scowling at Sara, who was a few tables over talking to her friends "He has the biggest crush on her. I tried to set them up but your daughter wasn't interested."

Justin's turn to scowl. How inappropriate was that to say in front of her fiancé? Suddenly he remembered Sara talking about a man hitting on her and attempting to set her up with his kid. Was this the guy from the steakhouse?

Mike shook his head. "Oh for the love of God let it go. You have been trying to set them up since they were teenagers. She doesn't want your son. They were interrupted by someone calling for Mike and he excused himself.

After a few minutes of silence the pudgy man kept talking. "You're a lucky son of bitch Justin."

His eyebrows rose. "I know." He spoke icily. He was hoping the man dropped it after that.

"The way she's going to fill out that dress is gonna be the main attraction for sure."

Maybe it was the fact that this dude knew Sara as a small child and was now saying inappropriate things about her, maybe it was the alcohol, or the fact that all afternoon he has to listen to the love of his life get cut up and made fun of and he finally snapped.

Before anyone could say anything, Justin was in the guy's face. Everyone around was frozen in fear. "Listen." He spoke slowly. "You will never get to see how MY WIFE looks on her day because you and your son won't be invited, and if you say one more comment about her I will throw you over this porch. I don't give a fuck if youre my father in laws associates. In fact I think he wouldn't take very kindly to you talking about his daughter like that, or the night at the steakhouse. Understood?" The older man's eyes widened, confirming he was the steakhouse guy.

The man, terrified, nodded. "Um yes. Umm I think me and Jonathan should go. Congratulations again." He walked off to gather his wife and son. Justin turned to the other men who had looks of shock on their faces. "That goes for all of you too. Understood?" They all nodded and went their separate ways besides Mark and Mitch. Justin was breathing heavily and Mark went to comfort him. "Good job son, that guy was an ass."

"Is everything okay?" They all looked to see Sara coming up the steps, looking worried as she approached Justin. "Gerald and Jonathan just came up to me asking what I saw in you?"

He saw red. Quickly turning, he went to find him but was held back by Sara, or as much as she could. "Hey hey baby what's wrong?" She got in front of him and stared at him with her big brown eyes and he felt himself melt. Bending down to kiss her, he blushed when the cheers of the crowd that had gathered around them.

"Awww that's so cute!"

"Practicing for the big day I see!"

—-------------------------------------------------------------------

"You both look gorgeous!" Pierpaolo greeted Sara and grabbed her hand to admire the ring. "Stunning. It fits you so well, and with the emeralds!" He looked at Justin. "You sir, did an excellent job!"

He blushed. "My brother's girlfriend helped a lot, I just knew I had to incorporate emeralds somehow."

The designer hummed. "Are the wedding bands going to have them too?"

"We were talking about it. We had a virtual consultation with the jeweler about the bands." Sara cut in.

"You can tell us all about it, come on! We have a lot of people wanting to celebrate with you!" He ushered the couple to the backyard of his massive mansion. Once the Pittsburgh celebration was over, Pierpaolo and his family insisted on a luncheon to celebrate their engagement.

Of course Sara insisted he keep it small, but designers never listened, and all of Sara's celeb friends, as well as others who just wanted it to be there for a social event were there.

Sara sensed Justin's anxiousness and grabbed his hand as they made it out to the backyard. They were dressed for the occasion, with Sara wearing a white halter dress mixed with green that Valentino designed, the straps made up of diamonds. Her hair was done up and she looked gorgeous. Justin looked handsome as well in a tailored suit.

They were met with tons of greetings from Timothee, Rosie and Jason, AnnSophie, Bella, and others. There were about fifty people, and it seemed small and intimate. Everyone mingled, and then they all sat down for a four course meal. While enjoying their meal Rosie spoke. "So I was doing a cover shoot for vogue and I overheard something from Anna."

Pierpaolo gasped. "You know Anna would blacklist you if she heard you speaking about confidential matters."

She waved her hand, "Please. But anyways, Anna wants to do a massive vogue feature on your wedding!"

Sara's eyes widened while Justin nearly choked on his wine. "Oh wow. That's amazing. I will definitely have to consider it."

"What's there to consider? Do you know how many people would love that! Plus they would set you up big. You know Anna, she would make sure that you have the best venue. Beverly Hills has the best hotel for weddings. It hosts for 500 people, plus Wolfgang Puck would cater."

Sara pushed her salad around. "I mean, we have already decided to get married in Justin’s home state, more private and lowkey."

"Well I suppose Anna could do something with that. You're from Washington right? She acknowledged Justin.

"Oregon, actually."

"Ooh that's different, I've never been there before, so Jason and I will have fun exploring when we arrive. Justin's eyebrows shot up. He glanced briefly at Sara, who was trying to hold back a small laugh. "Yeah its beautiful."

The rest of the night went by smoothly. Finally they departed, using Justin’s excuse to get ready for camp. Pierpaolo assistants loaded their car with gifts from the guest. Apparently no one liked to listen

When they got home, they tacked on the boxes in the guest room (they still haven't opened the ones from Pittsburgh, but Sara sent out thank you notes)

Justin looked over at Sara, "I'm off tomorrow before camp starts, should we tear these babies open?" Not saying a word, she walked over to the fridge and opened it. She held up a bottle of their favorite wine. "We need some encouragement to open these, especially from my family."

Taking sips straight from the bottle, Justin grabbed all of the gifts from the guest bed and began to open them. They opened the cards first and were pleased to see that whoever gave money to local charities in their honor.

The first box was wrapped delicately and while all of them were most likely professionally wrapped, there was a homey touch to this and Sara squealed knowing exactly who this was from. It was from her Great Aunt Kay, who at the age of ninety, still had a very sharp mind and could quilt with the best of them. All of the nieces that married were given a king sized quilt made by her, showing their personalities. They opened it and unfolded the custom quilt. It was white, with silver edges and in cursive at one corner, Justin and Sara Herbert.

"Wow." Justin whispered, feeling the luxurious material. He had met her Aunt Kay at the engagement party, and she was the sweetest lady. "This is beautiful." Taking it from Sara, he draped it over their bed before returning back to the pile where Eugene and Nova were inspecting to see if any of the gifts were for them. "Spoiled brats." Sara shooed them away, only for them to come straight back.

Justin grabbed the next gift, which was very oddly shaped and untied the bow, opening the purple wrapping, it was a gift basket that someone had put together.

Candles, crystals, prenatal vitamins, and pregnancy tests? "uhh" He turned it to face his fiancé, whose eyes widened. "Oh my god that's from my cousin Siobhan! She's a doula and very into all that! She gave my sister's one! It's all good luck with fertility!" She shook her head, "all of the women on my moms side including my sisters have gotten pregnant in the first six months! It's something of a weird tradition."

He laughed and tore the clear wrapping to get a better look at everything. He looked at the crystals as she explained each one relating to pregnancy and childbirth. "I didn't know you were into crystals"

She shrugged. "I mean I'm not an avid believer, but I think there is some truth, and she constantly talks about them all the time." There were two boxes of clearblue pregnancy tests, a small gray bear, and two candles as well as pregnancy booklets.

"Yeah those are definitely going in storage. We agreed on no kids until at least the first year." He nodded and put it off to the side before continuing.

There were household items, which was silly because living together they had pretty much acquired everything. Sara unboxed a big sign that read 'The Herbert's' established 2025. She giggled as Justin rolled his eyes at the corny item. Sara opened a grill kit followed by a voucher for a cooking class. Justin frowned. "You're a great cook." She laughed. "I think it's a case of something we can both do." Along the lines there were a ton of marriage books, cook books. Sara blushed as she pulled out tons of lingerie and skimpy night shirts, Justin examining every piece. "Oh my god!" She cried out pulling out a powder blue lace baby doll piece. It was completely see through, and the underwear was like a jersey with 'Herbert' and '10' on the butt.

He hummed as Sara held it up to her. "I'm definitely tearing that off. Matter of fact I think you should model it right now, make sure everything fits." He smiled. "If it doesn't I can rip it right now." He laughed as he dodged the balled up wrapping paper she threw at him.

After everything from her family and friends were opened they moved on to the small boxes from celebrities. Immediately Justin was floored. "Rolex watches? Who the fuck gives Rolex watches as an engagement gift."

Sara laughed. "Hollywood does." She opened a crystal vase, no doubt very expensive.

There was a grand total of at least $500,000 in gifts and despite being with Sara two years, he wasn't used to it. He almost fainted when Sara took him to meet Christopher Nolan.

Justin opened the last gift, which was a PR package. "Hell yes!" It was tons of Nike clothing, which included matching Bride and Groom Nike sweats for him and Sara. "This is awesome! I'll wear this on our wedding day!"

"You wear that at the altar and I'll walk backwards."

—--------------------------------------------------------------

Wedding planning was no joke.

It was October, and Justin was on a high professionally. The Chargers were ahead of the  Chiefs in the division, thanks to the win against them on the road.

However, personally, he was very worried.

Sara was working on promotional events, followed by wedding planning. He tried to help as much as he could by picking out the place settings (he didn't even know that was a thing) food. (Some people were vegetarian/vegan, others had dietary restrictions.) They finalized the dessert buffet and picked out the cake and the flavors.

He knew that her family was giving her a hard time about the location. They were worried her Aunt Kay wouldn't be able to travel to the west coast and in the midst of an argument with one of her sisters they called her selfish which left her in tears. (Justin had a mind to fly to Pittsburgh and give them a piece of his mind)

Then there was the issue of the officiant. Justin wasn't tied to any denomination, but Sara was technically raised catholic and made all of her sacraments, so they wanted her to be married in a church. That meant Justin would have to take classes and be baptized, and he would be willing to do it, but with the demands of the season it would mean punishing the whole wedding back a year. Something both he and his fiance didn't want.

The biggest upset was that Sara was in Cannes promoting a new film she was in. On an off day she went diving with some friends and was wearing a bikini.

There were pictures, and edited ones to make her look bad to the press. The comments calling her fat, her social media comments had to be limited, and she had to take a break.

Not to mention Taylor was taking joy in this She was throwing subtle shade at Sara in every way, so much so that there were news articles written about it.

She wore similar outfits that Sara wore and put shady captions, and liked comments that were trashing her. Justin wasn't stupid, he knew that got to her. While they were very much past it, it still hurt her to see her being attacked so lowly.

When he confronted his fiancé, she laughed it off, saying she had the ring and she was nothing but a jealous bitch. He knew her like the back of his hand. Not to mention her actions spoke otherwise.  

When she wasn't away she was constantly in the Chargers gym working out, she would come with him early in the morning and be a sweating, panting mess by the time he would check in on her.

It was so noticeable that a trainer pulled him aside. "We need to talk about Sara…." He started. "I know this is probably not my place, but she is overexerting herself. She got off the treadmill today and she nearly collapsed. I gave her a Gatorade but she refused, saying it's too much sugar."

"Oh my god." Justin walked by him and off the field, and quickly found one of the rooms, where Sara was hunched over, seemingly struggling to breathe.

He called out for help, and got down on his knees. "Baby. What's wrong?" The team doctor was there immediately and got Sara to sit up. He shined a light in her eyes before pinching the skin on her arm. "She's dehydrated, not enough electrolytes." The doctor shook his head. "We got to get you into the room so I can start an IV. Can you walk?"

She nodded, still breathing heavily before standing up for a second and falling back, immediately Justin lifted her in his arms and carried her to the recovery room, where the doctor started an IV. "Have you eaten today?"

She nodded. "I had a hard boiled egg and some avocado toast" the doctor shook his head, and the trainer spoke. "She's been on the stairmaster for an hour."

Justin's eyes widened. "Babe!" He looked over at her, who looked down "that is enough for that much workout. You know how I eat "

"I'm sorry, okay! Me and all of the bridesmaids got measurements this Wednesday for our dresses! I wanna look good."

"And you will! Sara I'm still going to be at the end of the aisle no matter what!" He shook his head. "Please, If you want to tone up that's fine. But this way isn't healthy and you know it."

At this point it was just the two of them in the room. She looked down. "I'm sorry, I'm just stressed. Everyone and everything is coming down on me, and work too."

"I'm sorry I haven't been around to help." She sighed. "It's not you, you have been more involved than most men, and you've been taking care of everything on your side with the groomsmen. I really didn't know what I was up against."

"What is the final count with the guest list?"

"Two hundred and fifteen people." Sorting out the list was hard. Justin's family was pretty decent sized. Sara didn't have too many family, but she did have friends, and so did he, plus Mike and Cathy did get to invite a couple family friends who Sara actually liked. They invited Jerry and his wife, both management teams, some of Justin's teammates and coaches and other people from the celebrity world. He snorted. "We can only hope many people don't come."

She laughed and he smiled, before kissing her quickly. "I'm taking you home" and then when I get off I'll bring home dinner. What do you want?"

"Salad sounds good." He gave her a look. He also knew she was dieting like crazy, when he noticed the absence of certain foods in the house. She sighed. "A burger and fries please. With a side salad."

He smiled. "There's my girl." I'll be right back

@DanielPopper: Herbert was called off of the field for a bit. He's back on now, maybe had something to do with his fiance, who I'm told has been coming to practices.

@user1: sounds excessive

@user2: why is she even there? So worried your man is going to cheat?

@user3: @user 2 Maybe she just wanted to spend time with him?

@user4: I don't understand why he chose her over Biscotti.

Liked by Taylor biscotti

—----------------------------------------------------------

"Doesn't she have a man? Why is she still so concerned with yours?" AnnSophie was helping taste test some of the food. The hotel, excited to host a marriage for the King of the state and his a list bride, where more than accommodating. Allowing them to bring in their own chef and catering for the day and shutting down the hotel for the weekend. Sara and Justin paid a decent price and would make sure to tip and send a thank you note to all the staff when it was all said and done.

"I don't know." Sara took a bite of the mushroom soup as one of the starters. "Ooh Annie this one is soo good!"  Her friend stuck her fork into the bowl and tasted it. "That is delicious. Does Justin like mushrooms?" Sara made a face. "I think so.." shooting a quick text to her fiance, she sighed. "I swear we should have eloped like you guys."

Her friend laughed, "Once the hoopla and the shock dies down its worth it. My mom's still pissed though." Sara rolled her eyes. "Yeah but your mom is a bitch and never liked Joey and tried to keep you guys apart."

"True." Sara's phone dinged and she picked it up. Reading the message, she wrinkled her nose. "Justin said no mushroom soup. He likes chicken noodles."

"How about you put the menu choices on the invitations? Let the guests decide?"

"And what If they don't mark anything?" Her friend shrugged. "Then they get what they get." Sara's phone dinged again and she grabbed it. "Oh it's Bella sending me a photo of her dress!" For the bridesmaids Valentino made sure they were done first and quickly. Sara chose sage green, satin material, and a loose, comfortable fit. They were beautiful, and so far the bridesmaids loved them. She was a little worried for her sisters and Isabelle, who had to send in their measurements because they were on the east coast. But Pierpaolo was a genius, and every girl looked gorgeous in their gown.

"So what is the timeline for the ceremony?" Sara was marking stuff down to send to catering. "Well, our ceremony is at 3:00pm. Give people and us enough time to get ready and take pictures, then cocktail hour is 3:30ish, then the reception starts at 4:30-9pm, then the after party begins at 9:15pm" She smiled devilishly. She wanted a few hours of debauchery with their friends and to play whatever music she wanted. "Get this, it's gonna be somewhat of a throwback 2010s emo party."

"No fucking way!" AnnSophie's eyes widened. "That's so cool!" Sara nodded. "And best believe me, I'm dancing on Justin."

"Girl he is going to be so red!" She nodded evilly. "I'm twerking on him for sure!"

—-------------------------------------------------------------

"So your mom sent me a copy of the vows she wanted the minister to read." Justin got into bed after a long day. Sara looked up from her IPad. "Oh god." She rolled her eyes and pet Nova, who was laying on her stomach. "I told her I didn't want a catholic ceremony. You know how long those are? An hour! Not to mention there is nothing personal about the couple! It's the same Bible verses and music! And my heels are sky high! I'm not standing that long!"

He laughed before pulling the text up on his phone. "I told her the ceremony is about thirty minutes, and we need the time for our vows. She wasn't too happy about that. But here it is." He gave her his phone and she read it, her nose wrinkling. "What's up?"

"For you it says 'love and honor you' , for me it says 'love, honor, and obey.' I'm not obeying shit, I don't even obey my dad." Justin busted out laughing. "You were sure to obey last week." He nuzzled his face in her neck and knew she was red.

"Well I'll just tell everyone I'm only obeying in the bedroom." He pulled back. "You wouldn't."

She laughed. "Watch me."  He growled and bit a spot on her neck and she squealed. "You know the week of the wedding you cant leave any bites"

He huffed. "What's the point of a fancy expensive makeup artist then?" She swatted at him. "Have you gotten the suits?"

"Yes. What about the bridesmaid dresses?"

She nodded. "They all pretty much have theirs, I'm going to New York next week with my mom, Katie, and Brittany  for the first dress fitting." She smiled. "I'm excited. I trust Pierpaolo with my vision."

"Can I get a peak?" She looked at him like he had four heads. "Absolutely not. You don't get to see my dress until the day." He huffed and she laughed. He tried a different tactic, snuggling into her neck. "Please." He whispered before kissing her neck. She moaned as he dragged his lips to a particular spot he knew she lined. "Just at least tell me some hints"

She needed a few minutes to get her thoughts together but then finally spoke. "It's A- line style, lace" He stopped and sat up. "I have to Google it." He admitted and she busted out laughing. "Baby please wait until the first look. I promise it will be worth the wait."

He smiled. "You always look good. So I'm extremely excited."

—---------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh Sara" Cathy gasped as Sara came out of the dressing room and stepped up on the platform, the assistant carrying the cathedral train. "God it feels so real seeing you in the dress." Brittany wiped her eyes, Katie was holding the phone as Alyssa was on facetime back in St.Louis.

Upon looking at herself in the mirror, it did feel real. Standing in the dress she would be wearing as both parents walked her down the aisle. Sara found herself getting emotional as this was the dress she always pictured herself in. It was simple, not too much for an outdoor ceremony by the coast. It was off the shoulder, hiding her broadness, it had a slight train and Pierpaolo suggested a long, cathedral lace veil.

It was a-line, like she wanted, not too puffy, but enough to give her the princess feel and still flatter her shape. "Now how are we doing the hair?" The assistant asked as she fluffed the train. Sara thought about it. "I honestly don't know, I have a hair trial tomorrow with Jonathan." Jonathan Van Ross was one of Sara's friends who offered his services for the wedding. "He thinks I should do a half up, half down thing. Like Kate Middleton"

Her mom cut in. "I still think we should do a soft updo. Sara sighed. "Well we will see tomorrow, don't forget to visit the jeweler for the wedding pieces, and the florist for the flowers and bouquets."

Once the appointment was finished, and the assistant made the final markings of where it needed to be tailored and with the custom made sky high heels Sara was in (she needed all the height standing next to Justin at the altar) Sara and her mom and sisters were walking the streets of New York. It was still early morning, so many people were on their way to work and couldn't stop and notice the famous celebrity bundled up in the chilly air.

The shrill ring of her phone began playing, and Sara looked to see it was Vogue's office, she sighed and answered. "Hello?"

"Hello Ms. Wozniak, I am the personal assistant to Anna Wintour, and she requested you and your family's presence at her brownstone for lunch this afternoon." Sara's eyes widened. Stopping to look back at her group, she put her hand on the mouth piece. "Anna Wintour wants us to have lunch with her later at her place."

"What!" Even after almost ten years of their sister being famous they were still in awe of the megastar she was. Who just gets invited to The editor of vogue's house on a whim? They nodded and she went back to her phone. "Yes, we accept. Um, what time should we be there?"

"Anna will send a car for you all to the hotel at noon." Okay so they had three hours. She didn't know how Anna knew they were all in town or what hotel they were at. Probably someone from the Valentino team tipped her off.

Window shopping was limited, but they managed to make it back to their hotel and be ready by the time the limo arrived. They walked to the car amid all the photographers outside, and their cars following them.

They were ushered inside the massive brownstone. Servants were walking briskly and carrying trays. "Wow." Katie whispered.

Upon walking into the living room, there were greeted by Anna herself, always fashionable and looking like she belonged in vogue herself. After exchanging greetings, they were relocated in the dining room. Anna immediately began asking Sara about wedding planning.

Sara cringed inside as the food was being placed in front of them. Lemon arugula salad and champagne for the first course. She now knew why Anna called her up at the last minute and insisted she and her family come.

She turned down the vogue offer shortly after Rosie mentioned overhearing the news. An extravagant, luxurious box came in the mail. It was a spa package for her and Justin, full of the most expensive facials and massage treatments from around the world. "What the hell is a gold facial?" Justin asked when reading the description, his eyes widened at the price he looked up. "Worth $500,000!"

Sara had wanted to send it back, but Heidi strongly advised against it, saying. "You can turn down the front cover offer, but you NEVER ever return a girl sent front Vogue or Anna herself. You will get blacklisted from all fashion shows." Thankfully Heidi worked in fashion PR before working for celebs.

She had hand written a note to Anna appreciating the offer and the gift, but at this time she would have to decline. Word spread around the fashion world and the press fast, and while many people praised Sara for wanting a private wedding and not wanting it splashed everywhere, others critiqued her for thinking people cared that much. They called her an entitled bitch, and Justin didn't escape critics. They blamed him for her changing herself. (Which was ridiculous, Sara was always a private person before him) but then NFL critics came after him, this was no surprise, as many people came after him, Bosa, and even Josh Allen, who was engaged to Hailee Steinfeld one of Sara's friends, of trying to be the next Brady.

It was ridiculous, and stupid. Sara wasn't going to be totally private. She understood that guests were going to take and share pictures, and she was fine with that, but she didn't want a whole spread and sell pictures for money and all that.

For some reason Anna didn't get that. "I love the fact that you're including so much of your fiancé's hometown in there. I must say, we never covered a celebrity wedding in Oregon."

And you won't Sara wanted to bite back, but she knew she had to be careful and respectful. Though she was an A list celebrity whose new film was getting Oscar buzz, Anna still had so much power and influence over the biggest connections, so she had to tread lightly. She wished Heidi was here, or someone from her team but this wasn't meant to be a business trip in any way. Anna knew that, so this was an opportunity to catch the star at a vulnerable moment.

Anna continued. "I can just see it now, you in your dress, and your fiancé, looking so handsome, posing overlooking the ocean with fireworks."

Sara took a sip of her cocktail waiting for her to continue, beside her, her mom and sisters were uncomfortable. It was clear that Anna had no plans to address them at all. The editor continued. "We can make the arrangement work. Although when we came to you back in July, we could have booked the Villa Pozzolo in Italy, seating over three hundred people."

"While that was much appreciated, Justin and I are sorta keeping it towards friends and family. We just want to be surrounded by people we know and love."

Anna hummed while taking a sip of her tea. "I noticed you haven't taken a bite of the food." Sara looked down at her plate. She had only taken a few bites while others had eaten. It was probably all of the knots in her stomach. "I'm not really an arugula person." Out of nowhere plates were taken away and replaced with a small cup of soup. "I kept the portions small. You look so good with your weight loss. I don't want to destroy your diet and force Pierpaolo to make all of these changes. Your dress is too gorgeous to make last minute alterations." How the fuck did she know what her dress looked like? "It is beautiful, exactly what  I wanted." Sara smiled.

"And just think, one of our photographers would capture every angle beautifully. Plus a full spread. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"And I acknowledge that, and I'm super honored for thinking of us, but we want this day to be about us celebrating with friends and family. Plus there are so many people attending that would not feel comfortable by all of this. I want everyone to relax and enjoy the day."

Anna pursed her lips, a tell tale sign she wasn't happy. "And you think your guests wouldn't be too happy with our presence? A day that is about you and you're worried about your guests?"

"Well yeah, I mean not all of them are used to this celebrity. I mean it was the main reason that Justin and I split when our relationship came to light. It's a lot for me sometimes, and I'm in this business." Sara didn't like to bring up the past in her relationship. In fact, this was the first time she spoke publicly to an outside member about the breakup. But fuck, this woman wasn't talking no for an answer.

She shook her head. "I swear I've always stood by celebs not mixing with athletes, but you can't help who you fall in love with I guess." They were interrupted by the waiter again, taking away the small soup and replacing it with a small portion of salmon. Ignoring the implied insult Sara continued. "We just don't really want all of this media attention, people can post photos and all of that. But we aren't going to be seeking out magazine specials."

Anna nodded again. "But you must at least allow us to cover the venue and give us small details. Maybe an official photo to post on our social media?"

It was never going to end. Anna was determined to get her way. Sara knew early on that was one of the main reasons she became editor in chief.

"I'll think about it." —-------------------------------------------------------------------

"I cant believe she was so insistent, why couldn't she take no for an answer?"

Isabelle and Sara were sitting outside her office. After she and her family left Anna's, Sara dropped everyone off at the airport. Once that was done, her stomach rumbled once the knots faded away and she realized she hadn't really eaten anything at the brownstone. It was still lunchtime, and she was close to Isabelle's office, so she called up her bridesmaid and they met for lunch. Sara giving her the recap of everything that happened. "I don't know, but she won't stand down. And I feel like I'm going to have to give in on something. Even if we have a minor feature, but I know they are going to take over. They want security so one gets a sneak peak of the ceremony before they post it, then everyone there is on edge."

Isabelle nodded. "I know, you guys had to tell his cousin to lock down their profile, and delete a bunch of people." Last year, she posted a summer recap, one photo included Justin and Sara snuggling on the beach, it was screenshotted and posted everywhere within a couple of hours. She received tons of messages asking about the couple, so she had to take it down and make some major changes. "I don't know, I just don't want to be this typical celeb. I want to make sure Justin’s friends and family love me."

"Sara, they absolutely do love you" Some friends of his had issues with the press when Sara came around, and she became a bit of bad gossip. It got back to her and Justin and he explained that this was his world and if they didn't like it they could distance themselves. Sara felt bad, and Justin had to reassure her that he didn't talk to those friends outside of the state. It was his good friends who didn't care, and they were now in the wedding party.

"I know, I guess all of this stress is getting to me. Justin and I should just run away to Scotland and elope. Someone's wedding video popped up on my YouTube and it was beautiful. I thought I wanted this wedding, but I just want to be married, and have his name already."

"You're taking his last name?" Sara nodded as she took a bite. "Yeah, I know everyone is sorta against that. But it's only personally I'll be known as Sara Herbert, professionally I'll stay Wozniak." She and Justin had agreed to the change. Call her old fashioned but she loved the idea of taking her husband's last name. It was sorta unifying. "I'm just sick of all these people acting like it's their wedding, or they have a right to be there. It's not a celebrity star studded event, it's not a chance for the elite to show off how much money they have or a fashion show. It's my fucking wedding!"

"Speaking of famous." Isabelle nodded to her left, following her glance, she saw in the distance A man hiding behind a long angled lens pointing in their direction. Sighing, they wrapped up their lunch and bid their goodbyes.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------

It was always nice to be home.

It was December 1st,  the wedding almost 5 months away. Bridesmaids and grooms attire was finished. Pierpaolo and his team did an amazing job making sure everything was tailored. All there was left to do was keep up with fitting so nothing had to be changed last minute. Her dress and veil were almost finished. Venue was picked out, cake was customized and ordered. Final guest list was completed, just needed to approve invitations and send them out, but that wouldn't be till February.

Speaking of, the Chargers were on top of the AFC, there was serious talk about them possibly going all of the way. Sara never mentioned it to Justin, but she felt like this was the team's year. It would be perfect and chaotic, her and Justin both getting rings.

November was the busiest month for the couple. Sara was all around Europe doing talk shows, finishing touches on a movie with Andrew Garfield, who was the most pleasant and respectful man she had ever worked with. Then there was the Lord Huron release party for the album in Los Angeles, then she had to be back in Oregon to check on venue prep, then it was back to New York for a photoshoot.

She had never been so tired in her life as she got in the door. Justin was in Texas for his SNF game and she was hoping to nap for a while so she could stay up and watch.

Unfortunately that wasn't the case, as her phone rang and she saw it was the planner. She stood there for a moment before deciding to pick it up. "Hello?"

"Hi sara." She sounded nervous over the phone. Uh oh. "What is it? I'm so tired, so this better be good."

"So uhh someone in your wedding party dropped out."

"Huh? Who?" Sara knew her entire party, and while she would be concerned, she would also rip them a new asshole for not telling her and instead going to her planner.

"It's the officiant." Her eyebrows drew together in concern. "Deacon Rodgers? Justin's family's preacher. I don't understand, Justin told me everything was fine on that end. He was supposed to come visit us next week!"

"Well he just informed me today he had some family issues and would not be able to officiate the wedding. Now the problem is everyone is booked because it is a four month notice. Everyone requires at least six months in advance."

Sara felt like she was going to have a full on bridezilla meltdown. She had done a good job keeping calm when things went wrong. Like Alyssa telling her that Brent might now be able to make it because of the NHL playoffs schedule going into June, her mom trying to invite all of their friends. Her dad wanting to pay for everything, wanting to make up for lost time. It was nice, but exhausting. In all honesty she was used to being ignored. She found solace in Justin's family. While she loved being close to hers, it was just chaos. Mark and Holly were just quiet people, they didn't have the money that the Wozniak's did, but they had each other.

Back to the issue at hand, she told her planner that she would deal with it, right now she just wanted to rest and watch Justin's game. After hanging up, her phone rang again, this time it was a three way call with her manager and agent, reminding her she had an appearance on a popular talk show promoting her guest appearance on Law and Order.

She washed her face and did her nighttime routine, even though it was the afternoon. Sara put down the blackout curtains so the room was dark. "Nova Eugene! Knock it off." She heard the cats stop wrestling, and within a few moments she was out.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------

"Baby. Wake up." She felt soft kisses on her face. Justin was home, she adjusted her eyes to the dark. "What time is it?"

He looked over at the clock on his nightstand. "2am. Did you see the game?" She shook her head. "Shit. I slept so long I was supposed to get up to watch. I guess I was more tired than I thought." He laughed and kissed her. "Go back to sleep babe."

Too late, she was wide awake now. "Well I slept for like 12 hours. I'm not tired anymore." Feeling mischievous and needing to relieve some stress, she climbed on top of Justin and began kissing him. "It's been a bad day, and I just want to forget." Pulling down his briefs, Justin flipped them over so he was on top. He missed her so much, and now that she was home with little to no obligations for quite some time he was excited to spend time with her when he could.

It didn't take long for them to come apart. Her gasping for air as he released with a groan, collapsing on her. After a few minutes, he rolled off. "Fuck I missed you." She cuddled up to him. "Same. I'm so glad I'm home. Did you win your game?" Feeling bad that she missed it. He nodded. "Yeah we won in overtime."

"Good." She paused, deciding to rip the band-aid off. "So Deacon Rodgers can't do the ceremony."

"Huh?" Justin didn't expect that to be the post sex convo. He looked over and rolled so he faced her. "What are you talking about? He was supposed to come visit us." She laughed. "Funny I said the same thing, but apparently last minute family issues."

"I don't see how that affects us. We are getting married in May."

"That's what I thought, but apparently now it's short notice to find someone."

"So what does that mean?" She shook her head. "I don't know. Do you know anyone who can officiate a wedding?" Justin shook his head. "I mean can't we hire a judge or something? Or Google someone?"

"I mean yeah, but can we find someone who would be willing to sign a NDA about us and our guests?"

"Good point." Sara sighed. "I just want to be married." He nodded. She cuddled closer to him. "Let's do it."

"Huh?"

"You have a Victory monday?" He nodded. "We won. So yeah."

"Let's go to the courthouse tomorrow and do it."

"But what about the wedding?"

"We can still do that. We will just have two dates." He laughed. "Sara, no."

"Huh?" He kissed her. "You told me before that you didn't like the idea of two anniversaries. Plus when we say our vows, I want them to be known to everyone that it's you and me."

Sara smiled. "You're right. It just sucks. We said small, and it's not shaping up that way. So many people are able to make this trip or want to come and it's just alot."

"We could scale it back, tell them to get lost." She chuckled. "Oh yeah Mr. Nice guy. Tell everyone to beat it." He laughed. "We could lie about the venue and We can figure this out tomorrow." He yawned. "I'm tired." Sara, still restless from the sleep schedule, threw off her covers and slipped on a big band t-shirt. Justin frowned. "Where are you going?"

"I'm hungry, and I forgot to feed the cats their dinner!" On cue, both cats meowed loudly.  "Just give them a few treats and come back quickly." He yawned again. Sara nodded,she wasn't going to do that.

Going into the kitchen, Sara took out their raw foods with their treats and goat milk. Once their bowls were filled, Sara grabbed boxed Mac and cheese and began making it. While she waited for the water to boil, she pulled out her laptop and began looking at their private wedding website. She edited the preacher's name off of the party section and looked at the timeline for the day. She still had to have a practice run for hair and makeup. Oh god she didn't even know how she wanted her hair! She would have to incorporate the heirloom hair piece somehow!

At this point she was assembling the Mac and cheese on autopilot. While eating she was searching for other things to incorporate at the reception. Photo booth, the lights on the dance floor-

"You do realize this is what we have a wedding planner for right?" She looked up from the laptop to see Justin with a sleepy smile. She nodded. "I know, I just don't want to seem like an uninvolved bridezilla. I want this wedding to scream 'us'." Justin came around the counter and wrapped his arms around her. Pressing a kiss on top of her head. "I know baby, it will, and I'm off so the rest of the day we can sit down and go over everything. We are way ahead of schedule, you know." She nodded, yawning again. He grabbed the bowl and scooped what was left from the pot in the bowl to store in the fridge for now. Once everything was cleaned up he carried her to bed. Climbing on top of her he told her. "You know if you aren't tired I could go for another round." He smirked.

She smiled. "Ehh I could take care of myself. You need your sleep." She tried to roll over but Justin grinded his hips into hers and she moaned. "Absolutely not too tired for this." He smashed his lips to hers and she moaned, wrapping her legs around his waist. Justin was grateful she forgot to slip on underwear as it was easier access. She moaned once Justin was inside of her. "Fuck I love you." He whispered in her ear and he began thrusting, her too breathy to reply back to him.

As she lost herself in pleasure, she knew everything would be okay, because in the end her and Justin would be married and that was all she wanted.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------

"What did I miss?" Sara was out of breath as she took her seat in the box. AnnSophie shrugged as she handed Sara a glass of wine. "Ehh nothing much, Jets are up by a field goal." It was the wild card game against the Jets, and Sara was nervous. Playoff season put her on edge and for good reason. It caused her to stress eat, which wasn't good because Valentino rep was supposed to come by next week for another full fitting for her dress. She saw Joe was fixing up a plate of food for his heavily pregnant wife. "Isn't Alisha like due to give birth any day?" Sara questioned as she saw her friend waddle over to grab the plate.

Joe looked over, hearing his friend. "Yes! And I'm on edge thank you very much! I was going to watch the game at home, but she wanted to go and you try arguing with a pregnant woman."

After a few glasses of wine, Sara made her way to the buffet table. AnnSophie was filling her plate. Having taken a break from modeling and stepping into behind the scenes of fashion since marrying Joey she was able to relax on dieting and other things.

However Sara was paying close attention to her friend and bridesmaid. She took no sips of her wine, and was avoiding certain foods at the table and yawning alot. Sara had never been pregnant, but AnnSophie had, and she remembered her friend's symptoms from the first time around. At halftime she cornered her by the buffet while she was chowing down on the Caprese salad.(AnnSophie hated tomatoes) "alright spill it, is Lexi going to be a big sister?"

AnnSophie pursed her lips for a moment, then sighed. "Okay I'm 8 weeks, I was going to tell you next week at the fitting. I promise I could still fit in my dress and I'll take care of any alterations." Sara stopped. "I'm so happy for you and Joey!" She hugged her friends. "Does anyone else know?"

Her friend shook her head. "No, we haven't even told his parents or brother and my family…." She trailed off. Sara smiled. "I swear I won't, I'm so excited for you guys and Lexi!"

The blonde laughed. "We haven't told her yet. Joey is worried that she is going to start asking where babies come from."

As they discussed the pregnancy in secret, they were interrupted by the game starting again. The Chargers were up by a touchdown, but before halftime, the Jets were close to the goal line.

It was a tough game, but the Chargers won, and Sara greeted Justin and they went back to the house to cuddle with the cats.

Sara had a good feeling about this year.

—--------------‐—-------------------------------------------------------

"THE LOS ANGELES CHARGERS ARE HEADING TO SUPER BOWL 59 IN NEW ORLEANS!" The announcer yelled as Sara and the WAGS went crazy in their seats. Sporting their customer made jackets with their guys name and number on the back. She had gotten the idea from Alyssa who said that every hockey team did a jacket for the wives in playoff season. Sara got Pierpaolo to design a navy blue jacket with the bolt logo, and on the back with the name and number.

It was a hit with the Chargers WAGs and the NFL, and people wanted the jackets to be put up for sale. Justin always loved Sara in his jerseys, so when he saw her in his jacket he loved it.

As she and Justin's family made it down to the field, she decided to stay off to the side and let Justin’s family share the joy and excitement on camera as Erin Andrews interviewed him. She looked around, the joy and celebration of everyone. She smiled as she saw Joey swing both AnnSophie and Lexi around, being careful of a pregnancy that was now public knowledge as of last week.

Sara couldn't help but think of a couple of years ago, when she watched Justin defeated at the Jags loss. Every announcer shitting on him and the team, questioning him and his capabilities. How heartbroken she was, then upset with the article and heartbreak of them splitting.

Now they were here, Justin was going to be playing in the superbowl, they were engaged to be married in less than six months. It all seemed like a dream, and she was going to wake up in her home and realize the last couple of years didn't happen-"

"Sara!" She broke free of her daydream and realized she was being lifted up into the air and swung around by her fiancé. Wrapping her legs around him he kissed her, and soon there was a swarm of cameramen and television stations surrounding them, capturing a very rare moment between them. Setting her down, they were met with a Los Angeles Fox news reporter wanting to ask Justin questions. She went to leave but Justin grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, an action that didn't go unnoticed by everyone who knew them.

Justin's large arm was wrapped around her the entire time as he was answering questions about the game, and all of that. Finally the reporter addressed Sara. "Sara, how excited are you to witness Justin and his team reach the superbowl?"

It was funny because being a veteran at Award shows and live interviews it was a totally different ballgame being on the field. Sports wasn't what she was known for, and seeing all of this surrounded her made her nervous. "Yes it's so exciting, I'm so proud of Justin and his teammates. It's a long season, and these guys played their hearts out. To see them being rewarded for all of their hard work it's such a great experience and I couldn't be prouder." She looked up and met Justin's eyes and they shared a smile.

"Well no matter what happens in New Orleans you will be getting a ring for sure." They all laughed, and Justin thanked the reporter before going to celebrate.

They took pictures on the field. Sara and Justin, then Justin and his family, and Sara and Justin with his family. It would be given that some members of her family would fly out to the superbowl.

The celebration back in the locker room was insane. They were in Kansas City, so they couldn't do too much damage, but the music was blasting, champagne was flowing and spilling, and someone was handing out cigars and cigarettes. AnnSophie took Lexi home, not wanting both her and her kids to be exposed to that. Sara took a cigarette and lit it up. Justin gave her a look as he wasn't smoking. She pointed at him, "I don't want to hear anything. I'm under a lot of stress and trying to relax." He left it alone, but she knew she would get some sort of lecture later.

Sara made sure Justin enjoyed the moment. Watching him joke around and dance with teammates. It was a perfect scene, and so far, life couldn't get better than this.

—---------------------------------------------------------------

The weeks leading up to the big game were insane. Sara made travel arrangements for her family to travel to Louisiana. Almost everyone besides Alyssa and Brent were attending. Her parents would be staying behind with the grandkids as Brittany, Katie and their husband's would be attending.

Then the Lady Chargers decided to throw Sara and another Bride a joint bridal shower. It was very sweet, and once again Sara found herself lugging gifts.

In between all of the sanity, she threw complete wedding control to the planner and her mom. She wrote down her major requests for the wedding after party and food. It was out of her hands until the game was finished. While Justin was packing in between practices and getting ready for the send off rally. Eugene decided to break his foot, so he had to be rushed to the vet and be put in a cast. Luckily, her assistant volunteered to stay behind to take care of the cats,as she was fond of them both being around Sara often.

Her stylist picked her superbowl outfit, and her hair and makeup artists would be making sure she looked pristine as well.

Before they knew it, Justin and his team boarded the plane to Louisiana while she and the other WAGS tended to last minute things. Luckily the Chargers team let the WAGS and their families private planes to travel.

It was the last day before she was set to leave. Her bags were packed, hotel arrangements  were made and she was to set out at 8am the next morning to pick up AnnSophie and Lexi.

While she was waiting for her assistant to show up to pick up the cats her doorbell rang. Figuring it was her fiancés manager she ran to let her in. However it was the last person she expected to see.

Latrell was the latest addition to her team, he was a lawyer who specialized in finances, recommended by Katie. He was sharp, all business, and he never cracked a smile or laughed. Justin told her he made him feel uneasy.

"Hello Ms. Wozniak. May I come in?" He never called her by her name, no matter how many requests she's made. "Um, actually it's a bad time since I'm getting everything ready for tomorrow."

"Yes, I know about your super bowl trip. Congratulations to Mr. Herbert by the way. You must all feel very proud."  She nodded. "We are all so proud. Now if you don't mind, what does this concern?"

He sighed and entered the home. Putting his briefcase on the couch he opened it and pulled out a stack of papers. "I've been trying to contact you since the news of your engagement, but you've been impossible to schedule a sit down appointment with, so I took the liberty to draw this up."

Sara shook her head confused. "I apologize, but I don't know what is so urgent that it couldn't wait til after the wedding." He stopped and gave her a hard look, and she felt like she was a child about to be given a lecture by her dad. "I hardly think a prenuptial agreement could wait till after the marriage documents are signed, correct?"

She couldn't say anything. She hadn't even thought about it. Her and Justin were worth tons of money. Sara did have generational wealth, and technically was due to inherit property from her parents and a generous lump sum of money.

Justin would never take that from her IF they divorced. But then again he did break up with her.

But that was so long ago…..

It was only two years ago….

"Ms. Wozniak?" Sara snapped out of her daydream. "I'm sorry Latrell, I wasn't purposely ignoring you, but I hadn't thought about that really."

He nodded. "That's why I'm here. I took the liberty of discussing matters with Justin’s team. They were trying to reach him, but to no avail." It made her feel good to know that she wasn't going to be the one blindsided by this. Latrell continued. "I drew up a basic agreement, anything money, property accumulated before your marriage will remain yours and vice versa. The California laws of a 50-50 marriage will not apply In the event of a divorce. If Mr. Herbert commits infidelity you will be entitled to half of his earnings during the marriage. Your future c-"

"Woah woah" Sara put her hands up. "I really appreciate this Latrell, but I think this should be a matter I discuss with my future husband, don't you think?"

"No offense Ms. Wozniak, I anticipate the next few months you are not going to have time to sit down and discuss this with Mr. Herbert."

"Well I'm not signing anything without reviewing this, and having Justin here is important. I'm sorry but this will have to wait."

Latrell shrugged and went to the door. "Suit yourself, but Sara, you guys aren't any average couple. It is in your best interest that your net worth of fifty million is protected. Don't you think so?"

She nodded. "I'll call you." She saw him at the door and bid goodbye.

This was the last thing she needed right now.

—------------------------------------------------------------

"Holy shit this is insane." Rachel Joseph-Day was looking around in awe. They were all seated towards the back in the first level of the stadium. Sara had never been to New Orleans, so this was an amazing experience.

She had been in contact with Justin through the phone, the tables had switched for the media obligations. Justin was the main star, which she knew he hated. He was very poised in all of his media, even answering a few questions about her that he knew they were going to ask.

She knew people thought it was weird that they hadn't posted publicly about each other. The only crumble they gave were liking each other's posts or being tagged in friends' postings. It worked for them, and love wasn't dead because they were private to the whole world. Private not secret

During the pregame show her nerves were growing. Fellow celebs were taking their seats, stopping to say a few words of congratulations and good luck.

Her nerves calmed once Justin's family arrived. They were sitting behind her, as the other wives and girlfriends were taking up two rows next to them were her family, and Justin's coach from Oregon. They all talked before she and Katie decided to get snacks for people who wanted them

The concession stands were busy, and people stopped to take videos of Sara walking, and some influencers stopped her for photos. "I know I've seen you be all famous, but it's still weird seeing you like this. To me you will always be the emo dork who would steal my makeup." Sara laughed as she was in line. "Yeah be lucky I stole all of the tits so I couldn't steal your shirts!"

Once they ordered they began to walk back to their area when they heard a voice. "Hello Sara."

She froze, she recognized that condescending, bitchy tone. She looked next to her and sure enough it was the NFL's very own Taylor. "Hi Taylor. Always good to see you again." Sara took the cordial route. It was all petty high school drama anyway.

The blonde huffed. "Wish I could say the same." Sara sighed. "Well it was nice seeing you." She went to walk away.

"Your outfit is a little weird don't ya think?" Sara looked at her sister,who was concerned. "Katie, this is Taylor, the one I told you about." Her sisters face hardened. "So nice to meet you Taylor, I've heard a lot about you."

"Good things?"

"Not really." Sara had to hold back a laugh. Taylor continued. "I really admire your baby sister, she has perseverance. I mean no matter how pathetic she looks she keeps going!"

"Listen bi-" Sara held her hand up to stop her sister. "Listen Taylor. I don't know what your problem is, we are almost in our thirties. Well, I am. Can't you grow up just a bit? You're just upset you didn't get to me, and I got the ring in the end." She held her hand up to show the sparkler. "See? It's over. I'm marrying Justin this summer and you're just mad because it isn't you." Taylor was speechless, Sara saw there were a few people looking. "It was so nice seeing you! Enjoy the game!" She gave the old friends appearance wave and walked back to the seat.

Katie smiled. "I'm so fucking proud of you. That was so mature-"

"I should have accidentally spilled something on her." Sara cut in.

"Well there goes my compliment about you being mature." They both laughed.

From her seat, she had a view of the press on the field. She saw Taylor, who was now using her position to be on the sidelines for most likely the entire game. They met eyes, and once again Sara's left hand went up to move a piece of hair from her face. The blonde scowled and looked away.

Before the group all knew it, the lights dimmed and the announcer came on, ready for the introductions. The Chargers were wearing the powder blue yellow pants combination. Sara loved the yellow pants, as it showed off everything.

Once everyone was on the field and they did their usual theriatrics it was officially time for the game to begin.

Sara felt like she wanted to throw up.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------

"Four minutes on the clock, do you think they can score and avoid OT?" Taylor Pipkens spoke as she was nervously tapping her nails against her drink. Sara had an urge to bite her acrylics, but she knew her mom would bitch her out if she was caught on TV. They were watching at home with the kids.

The Cowboys were resilient, constantly on the Chargers back and taking a slight lead in the third quarter, however Prescott threw a costly interception that tied them up.

Now the clock was winding down, and the Chargers had the ball. The punt return didn't give them much help as the Dallas defense seemed to have a second wind.

Sara and the group were in their own little world. A few times she was shown on the jumbotron and the major broadcasting channels flashed to her downing a glass of wine, which Heidi messaged her that she was now a meme on Twitter, she didn't see the tons of messages her friends texted her. She would be fighting for her life in the group chat the next morning. She'd worry about that later.

So far Justin decided to run to get a few first downs, and they were almost in the red zone. She couldn't sit down, she was standing up, as well as the other wives and Chargers fans. It had been quite the time since it was announced that the Cowboys would be facing the Chargers. She had been getting death threats and hate messages. Some were good natured ribbing, but there were some that definitely got blocked.

There was two minutes left as Justin threw to Mike, who got stopped at the five yard line. It was now second down, and everyone in their section held their breath as Justin dropped back, a quick search and he threw to Quentin in the end zone, who caught it easily despite being covered by the Cowboys safety.

"Yes!" Everyone erupted at once. High fives were passed around, and Sara hugged people she didn't even know. Reaching over to high five Mark and Holly, there was 1:10 left, and it was up to the defense to stop Dak.

She had faith. Joey had been playing amazingly, so much that he was named the top defensive player. It was wonderful that despite the bullshit he faced from the outside world, he came back and proved everyone wrong.

Unfortunately, The punt was good, and the Cowboys started at the Chargers 40 yard line. "I think I'm going to throw up." Sara spoke to herself.

"You know if mom sees you, you are getting it. You know mom hates that more than anything." Brittany laughed and she realized her hands were in her mouth. "Sorry." She muttered.

It was third down, and as Dak tried to run, Joey anticipated his move, and down the quarterback went and the ball came loose.

It was all slow motion for Sara as she saw a sea of blue dive for the ball.

"They got it!" Mitch yelled! And tears began to stream down Sara's face as the team celebrated.

That was it

The Chargers were Superbowl champions!

The clock ran out, and powder blue and yellow confetti began shooting all over the stadium. The next few minutes was all a blur for Sara as she was passed around for hugs. Holly was in tears as the whole Herbert family was. AnnSophie was holding Lexi tight with Joey's mom and brother.

The usher got them and escorted them down to the sidelines to watch Roger Godell present the Lombardi trophy to Justin. Through the blur of her tears she saw him raise it up as she was taking video after video.

Once they were allowed on the field. Justin immediately reached for her and picked her up, swinging her around. This time, the tears flowed between both of them. After sharing a passionate kiss Sara spoke. "I love you so much! I'm so proud of you! I mean look." She gestured to the celebrations around them. "This is all for you!"

He nodded. "It is for all of us, including you." She shook her head. "We will argue about that later." He put her down and greeted his family. Holly began taking the confetti and stuffing some in her purse.

"Justin! The NFL network wants to interview you." Ashley guided Justin towards Taylor with the microphone  and the cameraman. Before Justin could reach her he turned around and grabbed Sara's hand pulling her towards him. Her eyes widened. "No Justin, this is your moment."

"We are doing this together." Taylor's eyes were as wide as saucers as the couple approached. "Okay we are on in three, two, one."

Taylor had to conceal her shock. "I'm here with Justin Herbert, the superbowl MVP. Justin, how important is this win to the city of Los Angeles?"

He smiled. "It's big, the fans in LA and San Diego have deserved this for so long, and to get back on the plane and bring it home is exciting."

"Justin that final play of the game, what was the atmosphere? Was there any panic?" It was obvious that Taylor was going to act like she wasn't there, so Sara angled herself off camera as much as she could (Justin's arm was still around her) so she could greet other members of his family. She didn't hear his response but was pulled back by the blonde's next question

"I'm sure any off season plans will have to be delayed this summer."

"No, it will just make it more exciting. He looked at Sara who smiled back. "We got to get another ring in a few months. So it will be a great off season."

"Well congratulations again." They both didn't miss the bite in Taylor's voice. Once they were out of ear shot they busted out laughing.

Eventually, Justin and the team went to get changed and ready to head out for a night on the town.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Annie!! I love our baby but I wish you weren't pregnant right now!" Joey smiled as he took a swig of champagne. His wife rolled her eyes. "Someone has to keep your ass in check. I'll probably be heading back towards the hotel to relieve the babysitter soon."

In New Orleans fashion, a parade down Bourbon street was held. The team and their families were walking down the street to the cheers of the crowd. Even the ones with kids were there, although the celebration was anything but appropriate.

"You realize we are going to have to get on a plane hungover tomorrow?" Sara giggled as she took a sip of champagne from the bottle."

Justin chuckled. "Baby I think you had way more than I did." He adjusted the championship hat on her head.

People were popping champagne, others were popping confetti cannons. The scene was chaotic, and beautiful in some way. Jazz bands were playing, and people were dancing in the streets, not even caring about football, just wanting to enjoy the party atmosphere.

Fireworks began going off, and Justin was lost in the moment, Sara was dancing and laughing at a comment Mike yelled. It was a high he never wanted to let go off. He had everything he ever wanted, well except one thing and he couldn't wait till May.

Grabbing his fiancé's hand he pulled her off to the side. "Justin what's wrong?"

"Let's get married." She began giggling and he was confused. "What?"

"Justin we are!" She showed him her ring. "Remember? Are you sure you haven't had too many…"

It was his turn to laugh. "I mean tomorrow when we go home. Let's go to the courthouse and get married."

She sobered up quickly. "I thought you said…"

"I know what I said, and I was wrong, I don't want to wait another moment without you being my wife. I love you and I want to marry you as soon as possible." He grabbed her hand. "If you want to."

She thought about it. Her team would be upset, their families would be upset. But it wasn't about them.

"Let's do it."

A/N: I had to bust this up into two parts because it was wayyy too long. But what do you think? Should they marry at the courthouse or just wait til their actual wedding?

[bowlsbowlsalltypeabowls]

Ugh my mom is driving me crazy with xmas gifts for A. She asked what he wanted for xmas and I said he was really into fire trucks, bluey, and magnatiles. And that we were specifically getting him magnatiles brand so look for some that were compatible

First, a week before I was due with B she sends a large package from Target and asks me to wrap it for her. Again, a week before my due date! The present is addressed to A [mylastname] when she knows very well he has my wife's last name. Gift turns out to be a scooter. I swear I told her we got A a scooter for his 2nd birthday. I returned it.

Yesterday, I got a couple more boxes. First is a winter coat. As I told her last year when she did this, I buy him coats in the fall. By the end of December, he already has a coat that he is wearing. I'm probably going to donate this.

There were also some cheap magnetic tiles that the internet tells me are from Aldi and not compatible with magnatiles.

Lastly, some candy and an outfit that are both fine. All tags came with a request for pictures that grates on me because I know she shows them to her coworkers and friends to feign involvement in our lives.

She also sent some pretty gendered clothes for the baby.

Why even ask me if you're going to do your own thing anyway?! My mom's birthday is tomorrow so I probably will text her some pictures but I really want to avoid talking about these presents.

[pearlypairings]

"you remembered?" + photocheer

jonathan x chrissy || romantic, long distance || 503 words

A/N: thank you anon for another precious moment for our photocheer babes <3 this seemed to be a very popular request and it was so so so cool to write the same lines with different contexts/importance. hope you enjoyed this college long distance moment!

yesterday's prompt

more: you remembered? 1.0 2.0

Jonathan found her card stuck to a roll of film his mom must have told Chrissy was his favorite brand. The envelope had her pretty, loopy cursive across the front, signing his name with special care surrounded by tiny hearts. Her coconut-vanilla perfume lingered within the sealed flap and immediately made him think of the way his pillowcase always smelled like her after she visited. The card front was illustrated with a pretty autumn forest with a “happy birthday” greeting printed within the dirt path in the center. Her handwriting marked the inside in organized lines of prose, very familiar lines actually: I am bound, I am bound, for a distant shore, By a lonely isle, by a far Azore, There it is, there it is, the treasure I seek, On the barren sands of a desolate creek. Underneath, she added her own precious thoughts: I hope that you know I am yours  No matter the time or place You are the most magnetic force, Forever my treasure in so many ways. Happy Birthday,  I love you always, Chrissy In an instant, he was dialing the phone in the common area, listening to each ring as if she’d already picked up. When someone answered, he could hear the girl yell out Chrissy’s name down the hall. Living in dorms so far away was less than thrilling, but at least so far no one had hung up when Jonathan called. “Hey!” Her voice chirped through the ruffled sounds of the quick hand-off. “It’s Chrissy.” “Hi, it’s me. I got your gift today.” His forehead leaned against his wrist resting on the cool brick wall. The line held a little static when no one talked. “Ah, good it got there early!” She sounded so bubbly, as if she hadn’t sent the package way ahead of time to make sure it got there in time for his birthday on Sunday. “I asked your mom about the film, hope I picked the right one.” “You nailed it. I’ll probably use it this weekend actually, thank you.” He grinned to himself, or to the comforting red bricks, whichever seemed less weird to a passersby. “I read your card, too…..You remembered?” He could see her crooked smile in the pause, her dimples poking through the phone line with absolute satisfaction in surprising him. “How could I forget the poem you recited to me before we kissed? Did you like my addition?” “Loved it. You ever think about majoring in English?” “Funny—that is my major.” A pleasant sigh punctuated her remark, a welcome, warm sound after so much time since their last call. Jonathan gnawed his cheek. “Been missin’ you a lot. Birthdays aren’t the same without you making it impossible for me to go to bed without a countdown.” “I know, miss you more though. At least break is almost here….”  Even her hopeful optimism trailed off into a more wistful tone. Long distance sucked. “You know, you’ve always been the treasure I seek when we’re apart.” Chrissy was already ready with the reply he needed to hear from her. “Remember, I’m already yours—buried inside, intertwined with your heart.”

[meraki24601]

Would you be opened to writing a whump prompt for me? I'm writing a story about a Whumpee returning after having been missing for 4 months. 

If so: Could you write the scene in which caretaker (who looks for missing Whumpee every single night) stumbles across a very sick Whumpee (it's been raining, probably pneumonia) and sorry I don't know if this is too much for you but anywhoo

Caretaker takes Whumpee to their home, Whumpee who is just so feverish but caretaker can tell that Whumpee is different, the way they flinch at slight touch

Maybe during caretaking, caretaker decides that they don't care about Whumpee's flinching, and they just hug them. Whumpee is so painfully touch-starved they just start crying in caretaker's arms.

This is a bonus but only if you have time to do it or even care: caretaker's mother is a doctor, she comes down as soon as the door opens, and helps somehow

thanks if so!

For some reason, I didn't get a notification when you sent this. I found it, though! Hope you like it.

---*-***-*---

4 Months

I spent day 1 of the search stuck in the police station. The moment Whumpee didn't make it home, I made the call, but they had to wait to put in the report. I answered questions and gave evidence for hours. Their last known whereabouts were just outside the grocery store we always go to. 

On day 3, they found video evidence of Whumpee getting in Whumper's car. Their hands were tied behind their back. Whumper looked up at the camera and smiled before closing the car door. They sent out new wanted alerts within 5 minutes of finding it. 

Day 7, the police sent out search parties. They had a satellite picture of Whumpee tied to a fence just outside a town two states over. They… didn't look good. By the time they arrived at the scene, all they could find was a bloody smear. 

Day 30 came and passed. There were two more sightings. Each one was worse than the last. The FBI got involved. 

On day 61, the FBI told me they were closing the case. They had received an image of Whumpee lying dead on the ground. They couldn't find the body or Whumper. They were going to keep a file open on Whumper, but Whumpee was officially considered dead. It was a lie, though. There's no way Whumper actually killed Whumpee. 

Day 78, I moved back in with my mother. I didn't want her to disappear like Whumpee had. That same day, she opened a package in the mail containing a finger. The police didn't believe me. The package disappeared before I could turn it in. After that, I couldn't help but worry every time she left for her nursing shift at the hospital. 

Day 94, my mother held me as I cried. It was their birthday. I refuse to give up. Whumpee is still alive. I will find them, with or without the police's help.

Day 122, four months on the dot since Whumpee disappeared, I found them tied to a tree in the forest behind my mother's house. Technically, Bunny, my mom's Doberman, found them after pulling her leash out of my hands. When I caught up with her, she’d dropped her favorite ball in Whumpee's hand and was whining softly.

I froze, looking at the person I had been searching for over the past 4 months. They were soaked to the bone and covered in dirt and leaves, seemingly having been left outside through the rain storm that had just passed maybe an hour earlier. For a moment, I couldn't tell if they were dead or alive. 

A deep cough that made my own chest hurt echoed through the trees. Whumpee's hand, with one finger missing, shifted slightly to roll Bunny's ball back toward her. The dog grabbed the ball, bouncing around her found friend with reckless abandon. The soft sob that pushed its way from my throat caught Bunny's attention, and she ran back to me; the ball in her mouth displaying a dark, bloody handprint. 

Bunny dashed back toward the house in fear as I screamed Whumpee's name. They didn't respond. I crashed to my knees on the muddy forest floor in front of Whumpee. They barely had the strength left to lift their head, but they still flinched as I reached for them. 

"Don't." Whumpee's voice was hoarse as they pushed one single word at me. Their eyes were unfocused, and each breath rattled on its way in. Their whole body shivered despite the humidity after the summer rain. 

"You're safe, Whumpee. It's me." I whispered, "I'm going to cut the ropes. Just hold still for a minute longer."

Whumpee's eyes were huge as I shifted closer. When I reached out to comfort them by patting their leg, a strangled cry broke through the silence that had fallen over the forest. Whumpee pulled against the ropes already cutting into their skin. Their struggles didn't last for long. What energy they had left them as their face turned even paler. They were able to tilt their head just enough that when they threw up a mixture of stomach acid and blood dripped on the ground next to them. 

I took advantage of their distraction and quickly cut the ropes, catching Whumpee as they nearly fell into the small puddle of bile. They pulled away from my grip. I hushed them and shifted them carefully into my arms. They were light… so light in my arms. Their heart beat quickly against my chest, but even as I stood, I could feel it start to slow. 

"Mom! I need help. Get the kit!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I sprinted back to the house. The windows to her room were open, and a twitching curtain told me she had heard me. She had probably started watching the moment Bunny came back without me. 

The back door was already open. The chairs around the table had been pushed back against the wall, a plastic tablecloth we had bought for a picnic was spread out neatly on the table with the large first aid kit open at the head, and mom was scrubbing her hands in the sink. "Lay them down carefully on the table. Did you check for injuries?" My mother asked with her work face on. 

"They're bleeding! Of course they're hurt!" I couldn't help but yell back as I spread the shaking Whumpee on the kitchen table. How many meals have we shared at this table? Game nights before my father passed away, and we suddenly didn't have enough time?

"I wasn't asking if they were hurt, Caretaker. I was asking how and where." Mother's hands, shrouded in gloves, waved me back. "You need to step out for a minute. Change into clean clothes, wash your hands, and get me water and the softest wash rags you can find. It's going to be alright. Take a moment to calm down. I need you focused and ready to help."

I couldn't leave the kitchen fast enough. Every part of my body yearned to burst back in there and demand answers I knew couldn't be answered yet. So, I did as I was told. Water sloshed out of the bucket as I stumbled back toward Whumpee, but I couldn't find it in myself to care. 

My mother's soothing voice brought me to a stop just outside the kitchen door. "There you go. You're safe now. Take a deep breath in and now out. That's alright, that's alright. You did a good job. Steady now. I'm going to turn you on your side just a bit so I can see your back, okay?"

A deep, scream broke off into a fit of barely supported coughing. I opened the door. 

Whumpee had shifted, their body pulling against my mother's hands as they tried to curl up into a tight ball. The moment they saw me, however, those weak struggles turned into something almost primal. A thin sheen of sweat now covered their body. Mom barely managed to keep Whumpee from slipping off the table. 

All at once, all of the strength dripped out of their body. With eyes half-hooded, Whumpee watched carefully as I approached. I could hear their strained whisper, tainted with tight coughs, "It's not real. It's not real. It's not real." Their body stiffened. Not a good sign. 

"I am real, Whumpee." I sighed. They flinched away from the sound of my voice, eyes popping and searching for the source. My mom's fingers prodded at an open wound and caused them to gasp which threw them into another coughing fit. 

"Most of the older injuries have been treated. Not by me, by someone else." My mother's voice cut through the steadily building fog in my mind. "Malnourished, dehydrated, severe blood loss, gashes and bruises covering their chest. I also expect they have a rather serious case of pneumonia. Coughing, confusion, fever, nausea, and seeming chest pain outside of the visible injuries. 

"I need to be able to check their back before I feel comfortable enough to move them to the hospital. Can you help me turn them over?"

Each time I approach or make as if to touch Whumpee, they whisper in panicked tones as they flinch away, pushing their body as far away from me as they can in their weakened state. Over and over. My mother cautioned me to move slowly, but nothing seemed to help. I still wasn't completely confident they knew who I actually was. Each flinch stretched Whumpee's closing wounds. 

Finally, I'd had enough dancing around it. Whumpee cried out and tried to escape as I slid my arms under them and started to lift them up so they rested against my chest. 

Whumpee's struggles grew harder, fighting to free themselves, but I whispered comforting words in their ear. As my mother checked on their back, Whumpee began to ease up, I could feel their fever as they eventually started to cling to me instead of pushing away. Tears stained my shirt as my mother finished her task and stepped out of the room to call the hospital and the police. 

"I tried so hard to find you. I want you to know I never gave up." After my quiet declaration, Whumpee went limp in my arms. As they slept, I made myself a promise. I would never lose someone like this again. 

[ongreenergrasses]

6, 14, 19, 20 for talk about asks

hi! hope you are well 💖 this got super long so I just put some of it under a cut to save everyone’s dashes

6. Talk about the worst birthday you’ve had

i really dislike my birthday in general, i’ve had a lot of bad ones but i think the worst one was one where my mother sent me a package for my birthday because everything she puts in is a judgmental message of some kind. there was an upside to that birthday iirc (i think that was the birthday i found out that i was eligible for the first covid vaccine) but that package absolutely ruined the day for me. I still think about it

14. Talk about a vacation

I am very fortunate in that I’ve been able to travel a lot…one of my favorites was actually a more simple one when the gf and I went to New Mexico for a long weekend. we absolutely loved it, there’s such good food there, and we had a really lovely time together. we hadn’t been on vacation for a while due to the pandemic and our lives are pretty busy. we just wandered around Santa Fe, did what there is to do, did some really nice hikes, and enjoyed having a break together.

19. Talk about something that happened in middle school

one time in middle school, I was carrying a model diorama thing of a school (we were in an architecture class) and I backed into a doorframe. the doorframe smashed my ring that i was wearing down, hard, into my finger, and it was definitely the worst physical pain i’d felt up to that point. i tried very hard not to cry because i was trying to be tough but I thought my ring was destroyed and it was really upsetting. my aunt bent it back into shape that afternoon and I still have that ring now

20. Talk about something that happened in high school

i’ve been thinking about this recently because it is an example of how ridiculous high school was for me and it’s going to get long but this is the story of when i saw mockingjay pt 1 in theaters

to preface, here is the routine my best friend and I have for thanksgivings. we have my family’s thanksgiving, then we go to his family’s thanksgiving, and then we see a movie. it just so happens that this year was an absolutely atrocious year because our friend had died the week before and her memorial was the day before thanksgiving.

i was in a long distance relationship with my absolute loser of a boyfriend at the time and we had planned for him to come for thanksgiving, but my friend had just died, and i was like hi. Can you please not come for thanksgiving. I would like to grieve with my friends. and he ended up coming anyway and basically inserting himself into the situation which I absolutely did not want and I was like you know what fuck this guy I’m going to break up with him.

so thanksgiving as you can imagine was absolutely miserable. we were emotionally destroyed from the memorial the day before and I’m like I have to break up with my boyfriend and I got so irritated with him at my family’s thanksgiving that my best friend pulled me aside and was like hey. You just have to get through today and then tonight you break up with him. You can do this. and I was like ok I can do this

so we went to my best friend’s thanksgiving and as we were wrapping up and I was like YES i can get in the car and break up with this guy my best friend’s mom was like “so what movie are you going to see?” and I was like Oh Shit. oh no.

in hindsight I’m very grateful she said that and pushed us to go, because if we’d broken that routine it would’ve marred that thanksgiving in our memories forever, but I was obviously furious in the moment because I felt like it was prolonging this terrible day, and I couldn’t stand it anymore. we got in the car to leave and I was like hello loser boyfriend. I am breaking up with you.

so my boyfriend and I start arguing and my best friend’s in the back sort of having a mental breakdown (he remembers none of this btw) and we get to the movie theater, boyfriend and I are still arguing and best friend goes up to the ticket counter and is like dude what movies are even playing rn and the guy is like …look up.

so we decide to see mockingjay pt 1. my boyfriend and I have not stopped fighting. we fight in only partly hushed tones through the entire movie. the best friend is having a breakdown next to us. the entire movie theater probably wants to kill us. at the end the best friend just starts hitting me in the arm and is like shut the fuck up this is the good part and I was like ok. we watched the good part (what is that, the last 30mins) and then we got in the car and left. I don’t think my best friend has seen that movie since. I have for obvious reasons. loser boyfriend ended up being even more of a loser after this. it was all very ridiculous and a good encapsulation of my high school experience because I was having things like that go down an average of once a week. constant constant teenage drama.

talk about asks

[sunnysideprincess]

Steve's mysterious birthday gift

Post CACW, fluff, angst, sweet, no salt

There is an extra package sitting on top of the loosely assembled pile of gifts. He has counted them all one by one. Nat's beautiful, hand knitted shawl was delivered from India. Wanda's coloring book for adults came from Hamburg. Bucky's hand made (from goat hair?) brush set was delivered by a surly looking undercover Wakandan spy. While Sam's collection of records was handed by the man himself.

But this one, this tiny unassuming one gave Steve a pause. If his treacherous little heart was right—god, he hoped he was right, and it came from where he thinks it did? Then Steve swore to himself he wouldn't waste any more days staring at the horizon. Just waiting and yearning for the startling streak of red to appear.

But if he was wrong and this little silver box turned out to be a bomb or toxic package or a homing signal...

Sam nudged his ribs, eyes wide and worried.

"Want me to send it to the Dora?"

The thought of Wakandan security tearing this unknown thing apart sent a terrible shard of pain through his chest, making him snatch it from the pile in haste.

Ignoring Sam's surprised flinch, Steve tore through the packaging.

Inside was a carefully crafted pocket watch. A little silver thing with a key that stole his breath away. Cheap metal scarred over and over. The kind which was invaluable.

It was an expensive, terribly expensive gift. Not of money but of time and resources. He doesn't even know how the sender got his hands on it.

He had known it to be lost with many things. Forgotten. A passed away relic nobody cared about. The one thing his mother carried with her. Her last connection to the home she left behind when she came to Brooklyn. The remnant she had to pawn off to survive one of the harshest winters they had ever known.

Steve remembered talking about it under the influence of Thor's Asgardian drink. He recalled curious eyes, sharp and focused. Eyes of the man who knew the value of memories, but not money.

"Oh," Steve breathed over the watch, thumbed it along the edge. He closed his eyes and took a moment to send out a prayer for his mother. Then pressed his lips over the watch.

Sam's eyes were on his. His silence not prying, not pressing for answers like Nat would. Only eternally patient and calm like he always was.

"This was my mom's. Well, my Nana 's I think. She had to pawn it off before. I thought -" His words caught up in his throat, so he cleared his voice and tried again. "I didn't..."

He closed his eyes and laughed silently.

"God, Tony's just- he's so stupid."

They were worlds apart. Ripped away from each other by their own volition. Unable to reach out because Steve was a criminal and Tony was still hurting, still curling around the wound over his heart. And yet...

Yet ...

Steve could almost hear it whispered over the immortal flame of a lone candle. A hand that held a tiny burnt cupcake smelling too strongly of vanilla and orange. A man torn between the past and the present confronted by a man always looking at the future.

Sam held out a card for him, looking solemn and pained, and a little bit jealous.

Steve would come to mull over it later, about his friend's distant gaze settled over the sky and the gun metal greys of his wings.

But right then, he took the card with gentle care, saw the generic wish written in familiar chicken scratch and ended up staring at the idiotic frowny face at the bottom for a long time.

He felt warmth bloom across his chest. Like his mother's gaze. Bucky's hand on his shoulder. Nat's smile. Wanda's humming. Sam's steady wisdom.

It was a bit like morning hope.

The kind that brought a streak of red and gold.

[middle-earth-mythopoeia]

The most ridiculous thing happened to me. My friend gave me a copy of the new edition of The Silmarillion for my birthday. But my mom ALSO gave me the new edition of The Silmarillion for my birthday. But when the first Silmarillion came from my friend, my mom didn’t know what it was or who it was from (the box just had the store’s name on it, not my friend’s) and so she put it somewhere else in the house and forgot about it, leading me to inform my friend (who was asking) that her package had not come, leading her to order ANOTHER one from the store, which was then sent to me... And that’s how I got three Silmarillions for my birthday <3

[sailor-rose-princess]

So I realized I forgot to post (on Tumblr) about the time that I wrote Steve-O a fan letter and I ended up going to see his show last year. This is gonna be a long post, and I'm on mobile, so idk how to put a read-more (also mild NSFW due to how Steve-O's autograph looks haha).

So anyways, sometime in spring of last year, I read Steve-O's book Professional Idiot. I had gotten into Jackass when Forever was out, I only got to see some of the series when I was younger (I had a best friend who was allowed to watch MTV when she was like, 10, and I didn't have cable at home until my teens haha). I had also found Steve-O's YouTube channel and liked watching his videos, they made me smile. I ended up reaching out to the Jackass Reddit about writing a fan letter to any of the Jackasses, but particularly Steve-O. Someone helped me get in contact with his publicist, and I wrote a nice fan letter and basically sent it through the publicist. I wasn't sure if he'd write back, but to my surprise, nearly a week later, I get a package in the mail. I open it, and the first thing I saw was a handwritten note from Steve-O that says "Thank you for the kind words Shnaiah". I got a copy of his book, that he not only signed, but wrote my name in, a signed DVD of his Gnarly special, a pair of sunglasses with Yeah Dude on the sides, and a little pin with his face/logo on it (I love pins, have them all over my purse). But for some reason, I had what appeared to be 500 signed posters, which I thought was odd. This is important later.

So a few days later, I had gotten a call from Scott Randolph, Steve-O's friend and producer (and if you're wondering how he got my number, I ordered merch from Steve-O's site before, which would ask for phone number along with address when you order, you know, and since I have a unique name, it was easy to recognize haha). Anyways, I knew who he was because he's on with Steve-O for his Wild Ride podcast, so I was pretty surprised. He asked if I got the gift package, and I said yes and thanked him, then he asked if I happened to get about 500 signed DVD covers, and realized that those weren't mini posters at all. Then he said "we kinda goofed up", those were supposed to be sent to the DVD factory to be put in the cases, then sold on the merch store. So I ended up helping to send them back, Steve-O did work hard on signing all those covers after all. I had happened to mention that me and my bf were gonna try and see a Bucket List show (at the time I wrote my letter, I didn't see any showings, but sometime before I got the package, I saw a new batch of shows, and there was one coming out on July 14th close to me, also a couple weeks after my birthday). So Scott was gonna give me and bf tickets and meet and greet passes for helping him out. I about fainted! I got home and told my family the news. So on July 14th, my mom and stepdad take me and bf on a short trip to Wheeling West Virginia to see the show. This show Danger Ehren got to open for it, we were one of 5 shows he was tagging along with Steve-O with. He didn't stay for the meet and greet though for some reason. Me and bf were so excited after the show. We lined up with the rest of the VIPs. I brought my book signed with my name to the show with me. When it was our turn to get our pictures taken, I opened my book to the page he signed and I said "I wrote you back in May, and you signed this book with my name and gave me all these nice gifts", and his face lit up and he said "I remember you!" and even mentioned something in my letter. We got our pics together, and man, it was the best day ever!

[myobmaya]

I’m about to get sappy and I’m not sorry. This one is for you @littlesubbyflower

I have a tag on blog for a dear mutual or mine. Her name is Alexis. Or tagged as “Alexis the genius <3” because she truly is one. The ideas this woman has is beyond original and the requests she’s made are actually some of my most popular stories. Without her ideas and fic request, I honestly wouldn’t be as well known without her.

From the moment we interacted, we automatically clicked. We have so much in common. We talk daily. Her mom has literally said we were the same person in different fonts. LMAO.

I got a package from my dear friend Alexis.

She told me she would be sending me my favorite snacks for my birthday. I immediately was so touched that someone would not only remember my birthday but take the time to send me a package filled with my favorite things. I FaceTimed her so I could open the package with her (and so she could make sure I don’t cut myself this time. the last package she sent I shared shed some blood). I open it up and I pull out my favorite chips only to see this beautiful loungefly backpack. Not only was my first loungefly, but it was a Marie loungefly. My favorite Disney character. I couldn’t and still can’t believe Alexis sent me this. She’s so thoughtful. So caring. So kind. I’m still speechless. I know I’m rambling now. But Alexis, I seriously love you so much. You’re one of my best friends. You’re the person I call when I know I’m about to get out of pocket and I need to be reeled in. Thank you not only for the gifts, but for being there. I love you so much and I can’t wait for our Disney trips.

ilysm my Strawberry Shortcake 🍓❤️

[avemstella]

Ok story time because I'm still slightly losing it over this haha.

So several days ago my mother called me and was like: check your mail and I was like um ok. And then she was like, make sure u don't open it until u go into work on Tuesday. Which um, extra weird. She was soooo cagey about it and I'm like: is my mother using me to commit some crime or something. But because I trust my mom to not make me a criminal I'm like ok I guess and so I brought this beat up manila envelope with massive sharpie scribbles on the back saying not to open it until today to work, and opened it then only to find the only contents some balloon themed napkins.

No note, no nothing, but party napkins with balloons on them. it cost my mother $5 to send napkins she probably got for 1.

So at this point I'm like: is my mother trolling me what is happening. Work went on, then several hours later I get a message from the front desk person that there was a package for me. And I was like huh, never had this happen before, but currently I still don't have my work ID card yet so I was like, maybe its that and I'll be finally free from logging in with passcodes every 5 minutes.

Then I walk up to the front desk to find a cake.

Yeah so fun fact my birthday is on the 16th but my mother decided to surprise me with weirdly early sudden birthday cake (and later flowers that got a bit lost and made me have to awkwardly call the dude back to explain where I was lol). Don't get me wrong I'm incredibly grateful (the cake was very good) but did she have to start the surprise by making me feel as if I was smuggling in contraband and risking getting arrested by fbi. Also the several hours I thought my mother had sent me a early bday gift of just dollar store napkins.