#and a bit before he gets back one of the cake decorators is going on holiday

[angiestown]

not looking forward to potentially working 12-15 days in a row at my supposedly part time job

[bi-writes]

thinking about mob baking simon a cake for his birthday (without his prior knowledge) mm good soup

mail-order bride

"you think he likes chocolate, baby?" you ask the cats. they sit side-by-side at the breakfast counter, being good girls as they sit on their chairs and watch you mix batter. "he totally likes chocolate. big boys like daddy love chocolate, don't they, girls?"

you grease two circular pans, pouring the chocolate cake batter into them. you set them in the oven before getting to work on your chocolate buttercream. you're using the new mixer simon bought you--it's beautiful, stainless steel, heavy. when you saw in the store a few weeks ago, you gushed at it, telling simon you saw someone make cinnamon rolls, bread, cakes, all in this mixer, but when your eyes skimmed over the price, you said nothing more, just smiled up at simon and let him lead you over to where the cast iron pans were (you wanted a real one).

a few weeks later, you noticed it on the kitchen counter. sparkling silver, right there, with the whisk attachment on it just waiting for you. and in the cupboard, ingredients--bread flour, powdered sugar, cornmeal, corn starch, dutch process, baking chocolate, whole wheat flour--all for you to play with. and when you baked him the most decadent triple chocolate coffee cake he had ever had, he bent you over the same table his empty plate sat and ate your cunt out with your apron still on. when you kissed him afterwards, he still tasted like chocolate.

you turn off the mixer, reaching in with a spoon to lick the buttercream off of it. you hum with delight, setting it aside, and when the oven timer dings, you pull the cakes out to let them cool.

you wrap simon's present as everything settles. special order, a favor you called into johnny. it's in a nice wooden box, and you tie a big red bow on it, and when you go back into the kitchen, you level and stack the two pieces of cake between buttercream and use a spoon to make a fancy decoration over the top of it.

the front door sounds as you're putting the finishing touches on the cake. you can hear him coming closer, and you gasp.

"no, no, no, don't come in the kitchen yet!"

"wot?"

"just--wait a little bit in the living room, okay?"

"for wot?"

"simon--" you groan. "please? for me?"

you don't hear anything after that except for the tv turning on. when you finish putting the last candles on the cake, you light them, picking up the plate and coming into the living room.

simon looks surprised. he was concentrating hard on the tv, watching the game, but his face relaxes when he sees you holding the cake. the cats perk up from where they're laid down beside him, and their ears flit as you start to sing happy birthday.

his whole face twitches. he stiffens, his palms flat on his thighs as he grips them tight. you set down the cake on the coffee table in front of him, candles glowing as you take a seat next to him. he's still staring at the cake as you finish the song.

"happy birthday, dear simon...happy birthday to you."

you smile at him, wrapping a hand around his bicep, squeezing it gently. you kiss his shoulder before motioning to the cake.

"you can blow them out now, simon," you say softly. "make a wish."

he doesn't move. he stares straight ahead, his eyes fixated on the flickering candles. you reach down and take his hand in yours, intertwining your fingers and hugging his arm. you sit with him quietly, looking at the cake with him, and after a minute or so, you turn back at him.

"simon?" you whisper.

he's crying. you put a hand on the back of his head, scratching his short hair, and you cup his face gently as you wipe his tears. he's silent. the tears come, but he still doesn't move, still won't meet your eyes. you smile, going over to pick up the cake, and you hold it in front of him.

"here...make a wish, simon," you say softly. he picks up his sleeve and wipes his face, leaning over to blow out the candles. you put down the cake, standing up to go get his gift sitting on the kitchen table. when you sit down next to him again, he's still staring at the cake, still trying to pretend his face isn't wet with tears, but he stops wiping them when you place the box in his lap.

he unravels the bow. when he opens the case, he lets out a little chuckle, smoothing his hand over the foam inside.

there are an array of throwing knives laid before him. perfectly crafted, in different shapes and sizes, and when he picks one up and twirls it around between his fingers, the weight of them and the ease at which they move tells him you only picked out the finest quality. they're beautiful, and it's a thoughtful gift, and when he closes the lid on the box, he still can't meet your eyes.

"i'll cut us some cake," you say softly. you busy yourself getting plates and a cake knife from the kitchen, cutting generous slices before handing him one of the plates. he picks up the fork, and when you notice his hand shakes, you take the plate back from him gently and scoop a bite onto the fork for him. you don't say anything, just hold it up to his mouth, and once he takes a bite, you set the plate down and watch as he chews.

when he swallows, you sit again in silence. you reach over and take simon's hands in your own, squeezing them gently before bringing them up to your mouth to kiss softly. when he finally looks at you, all you do is smile.

he hadn't even remembered it was birthday. he never told you when it was, but he supposes you must have been curious enough to look for yourself. he can't remember the last time someone made him cake. he can't remember when he last received a gift, especially one like this. he doesn't know when he last thought himself happy enough to celebrate anything at all, but there is no other way he would've wanted today to go.

joy. you bring uninhibited, unfiltered, all-consuming joy. the way you're smiling at him--he can already see you in the kitchen in that apron, baking this cake, talking to no one but the cats as you carefully decorate it. the way you're looking at him--he knows you dreamed about this all week, scheduling the day so you could have the cake done as soon as he got home.

and chocolate. his favorite. decadent, sweet chocolate--it's still under his tongue, and he wants another bite already, he cannot wait to devour the slice that waits for him on the table.

"happy birthday, simon," you whisper, and when you lean in to hug him, he cradles the back of your head, tangling a hand into your hair as he presses you to his chest. "i love you."

fuck. fuck, fuck, fuck--

"love you, too, baby."

"what did you wish for?" you mumble into his shoulder. simon snorts a little, shaking his head.

"if i tell ya, it won't come true."

"oh, yeah," you giggle. "keep your secrets then."

he doesn't want more; the only thing he wishes for is more time. more time with you. as much as he can get. to live long enough that he gets to see your face for as long as possible.

that whatever he sees for the last time will be you and you only.

[deusfoundry]

part 2 here!

girl dad!zayne who simply smiles when his daughter knocks on the door of his office one night. she lets herself in, a deep crease present on her forehead, fingers wrung together. he can tell the moment she entered that something's bothering her, so he shuts his laptop off in favor of giving his daughter his undivided attention.

"what's wrong?" he asks with an encouraging smile on his lips.

girl dad!zayne who puts on a nice front when she tells him that a boy is coming over tomorrow night for dinner. he almost says "no.", mouth opening to reject the very prospect of boys. "you're too young to be dating." he very nearly says, if not for the quiet "please." that stops him in his tracks.

suddenly, he's taken back to a whole decade ago.

suddenly, his little girl has just turned seven years old.

suddenly, she's pleading with the widest doe eyes he's ever seen for him to get her the slice of carrot cake displayed on the counter of a bakery.

damn it, he thinks. those eyes are the bane of his existence. not once has he been able to resist them. curse you and your genes for passing those godforsaken eyes to your little girl.

so he smiles. he pulls his daughter into a warm, comforting hug.

"of course." he says, trying not to sound like he's forcing the words through gritted teeth. "i'm not mad at all, sweetheart."

"really?"

zayne merely hums, and when she squeals in delight, jumping up to plant a small kiss to his cheek between an onslaught of thank you's and i love you's, he almost forgets that he just agreed to having some boy over in his house.

girl dad!zayne who huffs when you press a kiss against his lips to stop him in the middle of his rant. he's spent the last half hour citing complaints about his daughter. how boys her age are stupid and none of them could even dream of treating her the way she deserves to be treated.

"when did she even get old enough to start talking to boys?" he manages to insert between exasperated claims every five minutes.

"it's part of being a teenage girl, love." you pull yourself away from his lips, lazily moving around to straddle his thighs. "let her be."

"and you're not the least bit concerned?" his breath hitches against his throat when you start to slowly trail kisses around his neck. he doesn't hear your response to his question, mind clouded with the feeling of your lips drawing stars on his skin.

his girls are truly going to be the death of him.

girl dad!zayne who purposely lingers near the front door so he can beat his daughter to opening it. he hears the doorbell ring and the subsequent thundering of her footsteps from upstairs, but he's already opened the door before she can even rush down the stairs.

girl dad!zayne who relishes in watching the way this boy's face falls. he's secretly glad that his career is as remarkable as it has been at this very moment, because he sees exactly when it dawns on the boy who exactly is standing before him.

the father of the girl he likes is the doctor zayne. world-renowned cardiac surgeon doctor zayne.

the boy splutters. he unfolds into a stuttering mess right in front of zayne and he has to resist the urge to slam the door on his face.

if doing so didn't end in him being in the receiving end of your sermons, he never would've opened the door in the first place.

girl dad!zayne who’s overtaken by surprise for a quick second when the boy finally collects himself.

“thank you for letting me join you tonight, sir. it's really an honor.” he says his name. zayne's impassive expression doesn't deter the boy as he holds his hand out.

zayne reluctantly takes it. he's about to settle on just giving him a subtle shake when the boy himself takes initiative, shaking zayne's hand with just the right amount of enthusiasm.

"this is for you and your wife." he hands over the basket that's been sitting beside his feet. zayne eyes it with his arms crossed over chest.

the basket is decorated with a ribbon tied into a neat bow. it comes in his daughter's favorite color, an oddly specific shade of pastel blue that she's been obsessed with since she was five. the inside is parted down the middle, one side filled with fruits and food that you like. the other half is, very obviously, for him.

it's packed to the brim with a whole assortment of sweets. a variety of cake slices from a bakery at the other side of the town he's been meaning to visit. packs of candies he likes. his favorite pastries from the bakery near the hospital.

zayne is ... delighted. but he refuses to let the boy know he's slowly winning him over so he quietly takes the basket in his hands and lets him in.

"dinner will be ready shortly." he says before disappearing into the kitchen.

zayne catches his daughter with a small bouquet of her favorite flowers in her hand.

girl dad!zayne who intends to stay quiet over dinner, but is forced to make small talk when you kick him under the table.

"be nice." you remain silent as you smile at the young boy sitting beside your daughter, but he knows that's what you mean with the threatening glare you send him.

"so," zayne purposely says his name wrong as he clears his throat. "what do you do for fun?"

he sees you shake your head from the corner of his eye.

girl dad!zayne who still isn't entirely convinced that this boy deserves to be with his daughter, the literal light of his life, his little girl, but relents a little as the hours go by.

zayne remembers telling his daughter time and time again to never settle. that he himself would pluck the night skies free of stars if you so much as imply that it's what you want. that she should look for the love you share with him, unconditional and boundless.

and as zayne watches with a keen eye how he treats her, he thinks he's done a good job at instilling those beliefs.

he's attentive to her needs, handing the bowls of food that's way out of her reach. he places a small portion of vegetables on her plate and successfully coaxes her into eating them, something even zayne struggles with. he's quick to cover the edge of the table with his hand when she leans down to pick up the fallen spoon from beneath the table.

girl dad!zayne who ends the night standing behind his daughter on their porch as she waves him goodbye.

"drive home safely." zayne says, uttering his name correctly as a sign of respect.

he doesn't miss the way his daughter's face lights up. and if accepting someone new in their small family lets him see that smile more, zayne thinks it's all worth it.

this has been in my drafts since the i made that girl dad!zayne post a few weeks backdhejhd

divider from @cafekitsune

[papayadays]

just one thing

a/n: a cute little friends to lovers for lando's birthday!

“shit, shit, shit,” you muttered, nearly dropping your phone as it vibrated with a call. the screen had a silly picture of your best friend, lando, thought it was the last thing you wanted to see right now. you pressed the green button, putting the phone on speaker as the light turned green.

“lan, what’s up?” you smiled. “how’s padel with everyone?” you listened as lando told you about the game with a few of his fellow drivers, though you weren’t truly paying attention. you got out of your car, two shopping bags in hand as you took out your spare key to lando’s house, opening the door and heading in.

it was lando’s birthday, and he wasn’t expecting you to see you in monaco today, but you wanted to surprise. so, you bought a plane ticket, rented a car, and drove to lando’s apartment with his presents in tow. you set your suitcase aside, taking out the gifts while also decorating the rooms a bit. you had also gotten a cake as well, wanting your best friend to have the best possible birthday to celebrate his twenty-fifth birthday.

“so what are you doing?” lando asked, bringing you out of your preparations.

your brain whirred, trying to come up with a plausible answer. “i’m, y’know, staying at home, reading a book.”

“right, of course you are,” lando snorted, and you could practically hear his eye roll. at least he bought the lie. “well, i’ll call you soon. i think we’re going to wrap up, so i’ll have some time once i get back home.”

“gotcha,” you replied, a giddy grin on your face as your plan was about to fall into place. “talk to you in a few, lan. and again, happy birthday!” you had called him first thing in the morning before your flight to wish him a happy birthday, though he just assumed you were waking up early for once.

after a short bit, you heard the door opening and footsteps walking in. “lando!” you exclaimed, rushing forward to tackle your best friend in a hug. “happy twenty-fifth birthday!”

at first, lando tensed up, having not expected you to be here. but his shock was replaced by incredulous disbelief, arms wrapping around you tightly. “how are you here?” he asked.

“i flew here, wanted to be here for your birthday,” you told him, eyes meeting his, which crinkled at the corners due to his wide smile. “now, i have some presents for you.”

you gestured to the kitchen island, and as lando followed your gaze, his jaw dropped. “you didn’t have do all of this,” he said. “i don’t need all these presents.”

“you don’t need them, but i wanted to give them to you,” you argued back playfully. “you do the same for me, let me spoil you a little as your best friend.”

after you nudged his shoulder, lando stepped forward and reached out to unwrap his first present, which was a new camera. he opened his mouth to say something, but you interrupted teasingly, telling him to open his other presents first.

one by one, lando opened his presents, revealing some clothes, a pair of shoes, a bracelet, a bottle of wine, and a small jellycat stuffed animal for fun. you also had a card that you had written a message in, and you watched lando’s smile widen as he read it.

you observed lando’s reaction as you showed him the custom cake you got with his face on it, making him snicker. “it better taste good,” he muttered good-humoredly.

“so you like everything?” you grinned, wanting to make sure you hadn’t messed anything up. lando chuckled, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you into a tight hug.

“i love it, thank you so much,” lando murmured, head resting on your shoulder. you could feel the rise and fall of his chest and the warmth of his body against yours. glancing up, your eyes met his, a shy smile on your lips.

“you got everything you wanted, lan?” you joked, nudging his side.

lando’s gaze bore into yours, hands squeezing your hips ever so slightly. “no, not yet,” he said quietly, gazing at you. “there’s still one thing that i want, so badly.”

your breath hitched as he pulled you an inch closer, eyes never leaving his. “well, you need to tell me, so i can get it for you,” you said, attempting to be playful, though your breathless voice ruined it.

“do i need to spell it out for you?” lando chuckled, one hand reaching out to cup your cheek before sliding down to tilt your chin up. he looked into your eyes again- just to be sure- before asking. “can i?”

“yes.”

and that was all it took. lando’s lips met yours, stealing all the air from your lungs as your hands were pressed flat against his chest, fingertips brushing his shoulders. you would be lying if you said you hadn’t harbored feelings for lando beyond the surface, but never would you have imagined being here. kissing lando, your best friend. and although the thought seemed a bit nerve-inducing, everything about this felt natural.

you two pulled apart, both of you in need of oxygen after the kiss took up what seemed like eternity. “how long?” lando smirked.

“excuse me?” you asked, knowing exactly what he was referring to but deflecting.

“how long have you liked me?” lando clarified, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“for like a few years,” you admitted bashfully, cheeks the lightest shade of pink.

lando’s eyes widened, but not with the judgment you had thought; instead, his eyes were filled with delight and surprise. “so you’re saying if one of us had confessed, we could’ve been together for years?” he questioned, still in shock. you nodded, and lando’s hand reached out to squeeze yours.

“now did you get what you wanted?” you looked at him, wrapping your arms around neck. a small smile tugged at the corners of your mouth as you pulled him closer.

“yeah, i did,” lando chuckled, leaning in to press his lips against yours again. your hands carded through his hair, tilting your head as you felt his soft lips on yours. your heart was practically palpitating, butterflies frenzied in your stomach.

as you parted, you leaned your forehead against his. “happy birthday, lan,” you grinned.

lando nodded, breath mingling with yours. “best birthday ever.”

[sanemistar]

contents ★ husband!satoru x wife!reader, fluff, established relationship, mentions of pregnancy (i kinda have a baby fever rn), satoru gojo’s birthday special. 0.7k+ wc. ﾉ author’s message: since it’s satoru’s birthday today here’s a cute little special drabble for my beloved <33 back ★ jjk m.list

satoru hasn’t ever really paid any special attention to nor cared about his birthday, it’s been just a regular day to him. nothing special to celebrate, he’d just be a year older. that’s all that is to it.

it’s been like that, until you’d stepped into the picture and changed his life entirely. ever since he got together with you and his birthday has been a day full of surprises and precious memories that he swears to himself he’ll treasure for the rest of his life. it’s all thanks to you that satoru now has a reason to look forward to his birthday every year.

satoru is away on a quick mission, so you decide to take the chance of your husband coming back home late tonight and make his birthday cake yourself. since it’s the first time you celebrate his birthday as his wife, so you wanted to make something special this year. you’re currently in the kitchen, preparing the ingredients and the things you need to make the cake. you carefully place everything on the counter as you start working right away.

once you’re done with the cake, you place it on the table before you start hanging the decorations on the wall and setting the mood. the theme is obviously blue because it’s the color you associate him with the most. when you’re finished with that, you quickly get yourself ready and dress up as you wait for your husband to get back home. you can’t help but feel so excited to see him when he gets back because you have a special gift for him this year, you’re announcing your pregnancy. you’ve only found out about it just recently so you thought his birthday would be the perfect timing for the announcement.

not too long after you’ve gotten dressed you hear the jingling sound of satoru’s keys, signaling his arrival. luckily, you manage to turn off the lights last minute.

“baby? you here?” he calls for you, but you don’t respond. he keeps looking around trying to find you when you turn on the lights, appearing in front of him with the cake held in your hands.

“happy birthday toru!” you shout enthusiastically with a cheeky smile on your face. and satoru just couldn’t help but laugh at the cute little act of yours. he thanks you before he approaches you and gives your forehead a kiss as he places his hands on your waist.

the two of you sit down and eat the cake together.

“you know, i made it myself.” you say proudly

“so that’s why this year’s cake is so special. thanks, babe. you’re the best.” he replies before taking another bite.

“the cake might not be the only special thing of the day.” you ominously tell him. you can clearly see the slight confusion and anticipation on his face.

“what do you mean?” he asks curiously, waiting to know what you’re talking about. you take his hand and place it on your stomach.

“next year it won’t be just you and me, a little one is joining us.” you grab his other hand and entwine it with your own. “i’m pregnant, honey.” you happily announce your pregnancy to your husband.

“wait wait.. for real? babe, are you sure? am i gonna be a dad?” he asks, clearly still shocked by the sudden announcement. you nod as you bring him the ultrasound pictures of your baby as a confirmation.

you’re standing there right in front of satoru, watching how he’s reacting while eagerly waiting for his response. his reaction is a bit delayed due to his brain taking some time to process the news but once it hits him he lets go of your hand only to pull you close to him in a tight hug as he spins you around.

“this is the best thing i could ever ask for.. you have no idea how much i’ve been waiting for this, to have a family with you.” he says emotionally as a few happy tears escape from his eyes.

“you’ll be the best dad ever, toru. i love you.” you rest your hands on the side of his cheeks as you gently wipe away his fallen tears. he smiles softly, his hands placed on your waist as he leans closer to you. faces are only a few inches apart.

“i love you more than anything, babe. thanks for always making my birthday a day worth celebrating, i wouldn’t have it any other way.” he says before his lips capture yours in a passionate, loving kiss.

satoru is already looking forward to celebrating his next birthday with you and his little one.

𝜗𝜚 taglist: @unriding @lxnarphase @sylusdoll @itachiiwrites @itoshivy @17020 @creamflix @luv-lies @suguru-getos

[upon-sunflower-trails]

technical difficulties

tenna x reader | part 1 | 1308 words

in which you discover a little secret of your boss'...

maybe i'll make a continuation to this fic if i feel like it (or if there's enough demand for it)

UPDATE: part 2 of this fic is here!

warnings: VERY suggestive, boss x employee relationship, not proofread!!

work below the cut!

It hadn't been long now that you'd been working under Mr. Ant Tenna at the TV station. For the most part, you kept to yourself, unless your assistance was needed by the film crew. You kept Tenna's station running smoothly thanks to the work you did.

Which was exactly why he wanted to do something to thank you.

His plan was simple, really. Surprise you with a cake (with help from Ramb, of course), give you a fancy pen, and then sincerely thank you. You'd be smiling and on your way, and Tenna could get back to his regularly scheduled broadcast.

"Mr. Tenna?" You knocked on the door to his office, stack of papers in hand. You had made sure to painstakingly scrawl out the schedule for next week's broadcast on paper, after copying it from the spreadsheet you made on your computer at home. Tenna didn't need to know that, though. He hated anything to do with emails and whatnot, meaning on office hours, you worked by hand. About a week into working for the TV-headed man, you realized how inefficient that system was, and opted for secretly configuring schedules at home before transferring them over to bring to work. What your boss didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

The door flung open, nearly knocking you over with its gusto. "Y/N! My most valued employee, the star of the show! Come in, come in!" His beaming smile never seemed to waver as he ushered you into his office.

The sheer size of him never failed to take you aback for a moment. Your boss towered over you, and his larger-than-life personality certainly didn't help. You offered him a small smile back before dropping the papers off on his desk.

"Here's the schedule for next week, sir. I'm guessing that's why you wanted to see me?" Your tone was slightly cautious. You knew that Tenna could be a bit unpredictable, which was why receiving a one-on-one invitation to his office worried you-- just a bit.

Tenna barked out a laugh, shaking his head. He slid into the seat behind his desk, gesturing to the chair in front of it.

"Not at all, actually!" He laughed again before pausing, pulling on his collar. "But- Well, that's not to say that your efforts aren't appreciated, of course!" A light blush appeared on the white screen of his face before he straightened out his suit jacket, sitting up taller.

"What I meant was... That's not why I called you in here today. You see..." Tenna's grin grew impossibly wider as he reached under his desk, before re-emerging with a large white box, "I wanted to thank you!"

You blinked, mind going blank. Thank you? Was that really the reason he'd set up a private meeting? "Oh- Really?"

He nodded, much too eagerly, before pursing his lips and ducking back under his desk.

"And that's not all!" He chimed, mimicking the tone of someone off the shopping channel. He came back up, holding a nicely wrapped gift before setting it down in front of you. "I figured it was the least I could do for my best employee."

You could feel your heart thrumming in your chest at his words. Sure, you'd had a workplace crush on your boss of all people since you started working there, but this... This was almost too much, even for you!

"S-sir, I-" You began shakily, quickly being cut off.

"You can just call me Tenna, really. We don't need all of those... stuffy formalities." He waved off any concern you had before opening the larger of the two boxes and pushing it towards you.

You nodded at his words before peering into the box, which held a nicely decorated cake.

'Thanks for all you do, it's true! You're the best :)'

If your face wasn't already flushed, it certainly was now. Your gaze snapped up to Tenna's screen in an instant. His smile, usually so wide and practiced, had softened as he looked at you.

"I wanted to do something nice, for all the work you put in to make things run smoothly around here."

You were speechless for a moment, a million thoughts racing through your head. His smile faltered at your silence, growing self conscious under your gaze.

"B-but if it's too much, then, uh..." He pulled the box away, shame creeping into his features. You snapped out of your daze, hands flying to the cake box.

"No! No, not at all, Tenna. I think it's really sweet."

You gave him an encouraging smile, hands resting over his. You could've sworn you saw his screen flash to static for a split second before he straightened back up, smile growing.

"Well, I'm glad! Can't get much sweeter than cake, right?" He laughed loudly to himself in a desperate attempt to cover up his nerves, slapping his hand down on his desk as he lost himself in his hysterics. The smaller, carefully wrapped box fell to the ground.

You let out a noise of surprise, rising out of your seat. "Oh, I'll get th-"

"I CAN GET IT!" Tenna cried out, swiftly ducking under his desk to grab the gift. Your brows quirked up in confusion as you approached him.

"Tenna, it's alright, I-"

"YEOWCH!"

You were once again cut off, only this time by the bang of Tenna's head against the underside of his desk. You heard him hiss out in pain before you rushed to his side.

"I'm fine, really, Y/N! Nothing could shake me up more than the digital switchover," he joked, rubbing the back of his head as you carefully pulled him up by his other arm.

You tutted, shaking your head. "I was trying to tell you I could grab it, Tenna. You're much too stubborn."

He sighed, shoulders dropping. "Right as always, of course." He seemed to shrink at your light scolding. You led him to the couch at the far end of the room, sitting him down tenderly. He sunk down onto the cushions, still rubbing at the back of his head as you sat down next to him.

Even when in one of his moods, he was still a sight to behold. You took him in as he sat beside you, scanning over his form. His antennas were out of place, likely due to the force of him hitting the desk.

"Oh, you knocked your antennas out of place. Let me just..."

Before Tenna could protest, you reached over to fidget with his antennas. A deep blush immediately spread across his face, slapping a hand over his mouth as a whine nearly slipped out.

You looked down at him, concern etched on your features. "I'm sorry if it hurts, I've almost got them back in place." You continued to fix his antennas back into place, completely oblivious to Tenna's internal conflict beneath you.

He could have blacked out at that very moment. Your hands gently sliding over his antennas, taking care of him in more ways than one... It was almost too much for him to bear. A groan slipped past his lips as you straightened out his left antenna.

"Shit, sweetheart..." he breathed out, mind hazy. The dim glow of his screen cast up on your features as you looked down at him, realization dawning on you.

Oh. Oh.

Your hands stilled. Tenna gazed up at you, practically panting at this point. You could feel the heat radiating from his screen, as if it were threatening to engulf you, too.

You had two options at this point. Stop what you were doing and profusely apologize to your boss for accidentally engaging him in such an inappropriate way, or...

Gazing down at Tenna, he shot you a lazy grin.

You swallowed hard, grip subconsciously tightening on his antennas before sliding into his lap.

Good thing you were off-air.

[blooddlusts]

MAKE A WISH⋆｡°✩ ot7

( I'LL GIVE YOU BIRTHDAY CAKE ) ── how they celebrate your birthday

enha x fem! reader (established relationship, fluff, kissing, them just being cuties as they celebrate your birthday)

word count: 1.47k

kiara yaps: sooo it's my birthday in case ya didn't guess hehe. thought it would be cool to make this little headcanon as a lil birthday post! turning 23 today (praying i get my hybe curse lmaoo)!!

LEE HEESEUNG

he would wake up and go about his day like your birthday was just another day on the calendar. and maybe he would play into the act a little too seriously when you tried to ask if there were any plans for the day. of course it stung for him to see you pout a little, but he had BIG plans and he couldn't spoil the surprise. especially because your friend (who you hadn't seen in ages) was coming into town to surprise you. of course, heeseung already was planning on throwing s surprise party but he needed to put his acting skills to the test and keep his poker face on for a while. even though you desperately were hoping that the place he took to lunch would bring a cake or a present or surprise, you were left with a little bit of disappointment touching your lips. that was, of course, until a grin touched his lips and he grabbed a silk blindfold out of his pocket. you were lead blindly, following his voice until he told you to stop. you took the blindfold off to reveal your best friend, your family and other close friends singing happy birthday as he brought a cake to you. heeseung quickly pulls you in for a kiss before walking with you to reunite with an old friend. there was nothing that made him happier than getting to see you smile and shine like the stars on your birthday.

PARK JAY

that man is literally wearing a "kiss the cook" apron, slaving away in the kitchen while you're asleep in bed. you're awakened to an aroma of delicious food as jay is carrying a tray of breakfast to your bed, grinning as he's singing you the happy birthday melody. he's already bringing you out a massive box which has a beautiful dress inside (specifically the one you were eyeing the last time you two went shopping) with a matching purse and shoes to complete the look. he's taking you out to eat at the nicest places, he's making sure that you're outshining the sun when you two sit outside and are eating lunch. more importantly, he's finding every minute to kiss you and remind you how much he's happy to be with you. at night, you're back at the apartment, he's already cooking up a dinner, there's a bouquet of roses waiting for you by the bed. and in comes ushering your friends and family through the door, holding a cake that jay custom ordered (specifically your favourite flavour) as they sing to you once more with his arms wrapped around your waist singing along. he couldn't be happier getting to spend this special day with you.

SIM JAKE

jake is literally shaking you as soon as it's your birthday morning. that boy is absolutely energetic when it comes to celebrating your birthday. you two went out to breakfast in your pjs because that's how excited he is that he gets to spend this day with you. he's taking you out to lunch, you two are just outside enjoying the sun while he sneaks in handwritten letters into your hands; smiling as you read them out loud while giving him a kiss. that boy is taking you out on drives to see the world around you, he's picking flowers from gardens and making you a bouquet in front of your eyes. he's picking strawberries and other fruits that he's secretly going to use as decorations for the cake he baked you that night. you're out spending your days in the sun with the boy that's making you smile. and when the sun is setting, when you both have returned to the apartment; you're greeted by your friends and family. they've come to bring presents, to wish you a happy birthday and they join jake in the happy chorus as he brings out the cake he worked so hard to make for you. when it's night, and you two are laying in bed —he brings out a box containing more trinkets, letters, and presents of the time you two have spent together. he will do anything to make you feel like the luckiest girl in the world. but he will be the one to make you the centre of the universe on your birthday.

PARK SUNGHOON

he's a simple, reserved guy when it comes to your birthday but he knows how to make you feel special. you will literally wake up and walk into the kitchen to see your go-to meal from your favourite brunch place plated out nicely, flowers on the counter with a handwritten card from sunghoon. and don't expect that to end there. he's going to be showering you with hugs from the back, kisses to your cheek and spending every second he can reminding you how lucky he is to have you in his life. he'll take you out to your favourite place to lunch and he'll make sure that you're looking absolutely stunning so that he can take you out to dinner. just the two of you sitting outside with a beautiful sunset painting the sky, as a birthday cake is ushered out while he sings the happy birthday melody to you. he'll gift you a simple necklace with a pendant that is meant to be significant between the two of you. it's the small and simple things that he does that are so sincere that make your day feel special.

KIM SUNOO

he's the absolute sweetest when it comes to your birthday. he's inviting your friends, he's inviting your family to the party later that night. but for the rest of the day, it's just you two spending what could possibly be one of your favourite birthdays ever. sunoo always knows how to make the day interesting, especially if it means taking on a little scavenger hunt to look for all of your birthday presents, having an outdoor picnic, and him showering you with kisses as he's so happy that he can spend this day with you. the final place is where the rest of your loved ones pop out with a homemade birthday cake that sunoo made for you with his love, sweat, and tears of absolute joy. his gifts are sincere in that they are key charms, homemade paper flowers, letters, and other trinkets of how much he loves you.

YANG JUNGWON

this boy had been worried, more like panicking in trying to make your day special. it started off with the reservation to lunch going wrong, finding out that the people had spelt the name wrong on your cake. this boy is internally panicking and he's apologizing for all of the tiny errors —but the smile on your face eases him from the worries. after that little moment of panic, it's him grabbing you by the hand and taking you out to enjoy the world around you. he's taking pictures of you, holding you in his arms, and placing kisses on your cheek. it's him giving you presents that he spent hours trying to decide what he wanted to give you, spinning you around in the fields as he gives you a bouquet of your favourite flowers. and it's him smiling across the table from you during the starry night as he's singing happy birthday to you as the candle illuminates your happy countenance. and for that moment, the world stops spinning as he is happy to have spent a day getting to share his love for you.

NISHIMURA RIKI

aside from the fact that your birthday sleep was interrupted by the fire alarm going off (niki was trying to make you breakfast in bed), niki does everything in his power to make you forget that event. you have to admit tho, the burnt crepes was a cute effort. so he orders you in your favourite breakfast meal so that the two of you can lounge on the couch and watch an episode of your favourite show before the rest of your birthday plans commence. he's taking you out, anything you set your hands on, he's buying it for you. but he's also treating you out to your favourite boba place, getting your favourite snacks, taking you out to the arcade, following you around as you point to beautiful paintings at an art museum —he's following you around as you have the full day to enjoy your birthday; and it's making him fall in love with you by the minute. at night, he takes you out close to the water. the two of you sitting on the ledge. he has a lighter in his pocket as he pulls out a cake that he snuck near the end of his adventures. you're watching the candle sparkle as he sings you happy birthday. placing a kiss on your lips as he's the luckiest boy to have spent this day cherishing you.

reblogs, feedback, comments & likes are appreciated!

[miaoua3]

well tomorrow is my birthday and i really wanted to read smth abt cheol:) can you write something about cheol being busy in his gf birthday and she went to celebrate with her friends and then he surprised her?

hii! of course i can! happy birthday in advance girlie! hope you have a good one and that this makes you happy!

••••••••••••••••••••••••

(pairing: bf! scoups x f!reader)

you smile as you look around the table, a bit of bittersweetness behind it as you watch your friends excitedly talk to each other, the dark and romantic atmosphere of the restaurant making cheol’s absence all the more apparent.

today is your birthday, and although it was supposed to be one of the happiest days of your year, you felt very melancholic throughout the day, despite being with all of your friends and celebrating your life and getting a year older.

i mean, it couldn’t be helped. cheol had an important job outside the country, making him absent throughout the whole week actually. but even with him gone, he never let it stop him from making your day a bit more special.

at exactly 12am (your time), he called you to wish you a happy birthday, sleepy eyes still looking at you with happiness and love. you fell in love all over again seeing him so tired but present for your birthday, a little pink, paper birthday cap resting on top of his messy hair.

in the morning, just as you got up to go to work, a bell suddenly rang. and when you went to open it, with your heart in your throat in hopes that it was your boyfriend standing behind the door, you felt mildly disappointed that it was just delivery. your mood, however, immediately picked up upon seeing the delivery-a bouquet of 300 flowers, your favourite, with a simply handwritten card that read “to my love- happy birthday. celebrate it well with your friends baby. hopefully, we get to be together next year. love, -c.s.”

to say that it got you a bit chocked up is an understatement.

work wasn’t anything special-just polite “happy birthday’s” and “thank you’s” exchange between you and your colleagues.

when your work day finally came to an end, you quickly went home to get ready for the birthday party cheol both organised and paid for, despite his absence.

and so here you are, smiling at your friends as you were talking to them about everything and anything, a bit of sadness still lingering in your heart, despite you being surrounded by (almost) all if your favourite people.

the entire night you spend sneaking little glances at your phone, your messages to cheol not even getting delivered, just sent. the longer your messages went unanswered, the harder it got for you pretend to be happy and in a good mood. add the multiple margaritas you have drank over the course of the night into the equation, and by the time the server brought out the cake in front of you, the corners of your lips were able to turn upwards only a little bit.

the singing of your friends of the “happy birthday” song fell on deaf ears. you were just sitting there, looking at the cake decorated with sprinklers and two numbered candles on top of it, and just…wondered

what do i wish for? there’s so many thing that should be my priority. good health? happiness in life? a spike in my career?

and yet, none of that sounded right, none of that mattered to you. as your friends’ singing slowly came to an end, only one wish crossed your mind.

come back. be here. come back home to me. just…come back.

just as you blew out the candles, you feel hands softly grab your shoulders, and a warm voice say in your ear.

“what did my baby wish for?”

you immediately snap your back around, only to see cheol looking ever so handsome in a full black outfit, smiling widely at you.

you kind of gape at the image of him for a few seconds before you get up from your seat at the speed of light, jumping in his arms immediately upon finding the balance on your feet.

cheol laughs deeply at your reaction, strong arms immediately wrapping around your waist and lifting you off the floor for a bit.

his laugh immediately quiets down upon feeling the wetness hit his neck, your quiet crying shaking your whole body.

your friends, who were cheering just a second ago, quiet down upon realising that you have started crying, immediately starting to talk to each other as a way to give you a bit of privacy.

cheol goes to push you away a bit so he can wipe your tears away, but you just tighten your arms around his neck, settling on just rubbing your back instead.

in a shaky and almost broken with relief voice, you only have the strength to say “you’re here.”

cheol just kisses your temple in comfort, still rubbing your back as he says.

“i wouldn’t miss this for anything in the world. not when it’s you. never when it’s you.”

[urmum-lovesme]

May I request dad rafe? Surprising wife reader w a cake the (tried to) bake for her birthday?

anon this is so adorable stop I love the way your brain works😭

The house was filled with the vibrant scent of fresh flowers and colourful balloons floated cheerfully around the living room. Sarah had gone all out, making sure the place was filled with decorations to celebrate Y/N’s birthday. She had even topped off the presents Y/N received with a few extra touches, leaving Rafe to handle the rest of the surprise. Rafe was in the kitchen, a slight frown on his face as he flipped through one of his mom's old cookbooks. Baby Cameron, now six months old, was strapped into her high chair squealing in excitement as her daddy flipped through the pages. “Alright, let’s see,” Rafe muttered, reading the instructions aloud,

“Flour, eggs, sugar… how hard can it be, right?”

Baby Cameron responded with an enthusiastic squeal, as if agreeing with her dad. Rafe looked at her, his lips curling into a grin,

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”

He leaned over and gently lifted her out of the high chair, carefully sliding her into the baby carrier. Rafe murmured, adjusting the carrier straps and gently bouncing her.

“Time to show your mom how much I appreciate her”

Though Rafe had never baked a cake before in his life, he was determined to get it right for Y/N. She had been running around, balancing everything with the baby, and he wanted to do something nice for her- something simple but meaningful. As the warmth of the kitchen surrounded them, Rafe set the cookbook down on the counter, glancing down at his baby girl as she cooed, looking up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

"Alright, you gonna help me?"

He asked, giving her a playful smile. She let out a squeal in response, as if saying ‘yes'. Rafe stood at the counter, holding the cookbook open with one hand and stirring the batter with the other. Baby Cameron, nestled in her carrier, was happily watching from his chest.

“This isn’t so bad, hmm?”

He murmured, a smile creeping onto his face as he stirred the ingredients together. “I mean, I thought it would be harder..”

The girl gurgled happily, her little hands swiping at the air as if agreeing with him. Rafe chuckled. He measured out the flour, cracking eggs into the bowl with precision. It was going so smoothly that he started to get cocky.

“Look at this baby girl, I’m a pro,”

He grinned, adding sugar with the same confidence. But just as he finished stirring, his foot bumped the edge of the counter, sending a stray bottle of vanilla extract tumbling off. It hit the floor with a soft thud.

“Shit”

Rafe muttered under his breath. He bent down to grab the bottle, careful not to knock anything else over. Meanwhile, watching her dad closely, the little girl let out a high-pitched squeal, her excitement increasing with every movement he made. Rafe, feeling a bit more at ease now that he picked up his mess, reached for the rubber spatula and handed it to the baby, who immediately grabbed it with both hands, her eyes lighting up with joy.

“Look at you,” he chuckled, “my little chef hmm princess?”

Baby Cameron’s response was to shove the spatula straight into her mouth, chewing on the silicone with delight, baby spit soon covering the pink heart shaped utensil.

“Uh- probably shouldn’t be doing that...”

Rafe said, his eyebrows furrowing. He gently pulled the spatula out of her mouth, placing it back down onto the counter. The baby girl's face immediately fell. Her bottom lip quivered as she gave him a pout that could melt anyone’s heart. Her upset whimpers started to fill the air between them causing Rafe to panic slightly,

“Oh shit-” he spoke realising his mistake, “I’m sorry, baby.”

She looked up at him with big, watery eyes, her little fists clenching in distress. He hesitated for a moment, gaze flickering back down to the spatula laying on the cold granite before sighing.

“Okay, okay, you win. Here-”

He gave her the spatula back to which she immediately waved it in the air in triumph, her giggles echoing around the kitchen. Rafe grinned and his daughter's delight mumbling to himself,

“Look at that”

But in her excitement she flailed her arms around enthusiastically and the spatula went flying- right into his face.

“OUCH!”

Rafe yelped, recoiling slightly, hand coming upon to touch his nose where she'd hit him on accident. . . well he hoped it was on accident.

“Probably deserved that,”

He muttered, rubbing his nose to which the baby laughed in response to, clearly pleased with herself. Rafe turned back to the counter, whisking the wet ingredients together whilst baby Cameron continued to giggle in the carrier. What he didn’t notice was her tiny hand sneaking out and grabbing a handful of flour. Before he could react, she flung it- spreading a puff of flour all over the counter, and the floor beneath her. In an erratic panic to stop the mess, Rafe jerked back, accidentally knocking over the flour bag, and sending it crashing onto the floor, spilling flour everywhere.

The kitchen went quiet for a moment as both of them stared at the disaster.

“Oh, Jesus”

Rafe muttered under his breath, slowly bending down to scoop up the flour with his hands. She let out a little giggle, watching him struggle. Her tiny hands reached out to play with the flour, but it only made the mess worse. With a sigh, Rafe shoved the flour bag back onto the counter, but in the process, another puff of flour flew up into the air, drifting down right into the little girl's hair.

Rafe blinked, staring down at his daughter, who now had a little flour dusted on her head.

“Oh no-”

Before he could react further, her tiny face scrunched up, her nose twitching as she let out the tiniest little sneeze. Her whole body jolted slightly with the force of it, her big eyes widening in surprise afterward. Rafe felt his chest squeeze at how unbelievably cute it was. His tough, 'Kook King' persona had no chance against his girl.

“Bless you, baby,”

He chuckled, reaching out to wipe some of the flour off her forehead. Still blinking in surprise, she let out a happy little babble in response, and Rafe could only shake his head, pressing a kiss to the top of her flour-dusted head. “Jesus, you’re killing me here,” he muttered.

“We’ll clean you up later, baby girl.”

Rafe carefully poured the batter into the pan, and kept one hand steady on the bowl while glancing down to check on the baby still firmly strapped to his chest. She was still happily chewing on the rubber spatula, completely entertained by it, her little fingers gripping it like it was the most precious thing in the world. He smirked, shaking his head.

“You’re really into that aren't you”

Pouring the last bit of batter into the pan, he suddenly felt a tiny flick of something against his arm. A second later, a little drop of batter splattered onto her cheek. She startled for a moment, before breaking out into wild giggles, waving the spatula in the air like it was part of the fun.

“Oh—sorry sweetheart”

Rafe chuckled, setting the bowl down and wiping his hands on a towel. Still laughing at her dad, he unstrapped her from the baby carrier, lifting her carefully before settling her back into her highchair. Her chubby little legs kicked excitedly as he grabbed a clean kitchen towel and gently wiped the batter off her cheek.

“Daddy’s so silly huh?”

He murmured, shaking his head at himself. She just stared up at him, wide-eyed and absolutely smitten, her gummy little smile melting him on the spot.

Rafe now stood at the counter, hands on his hips, staring at the cake like it had personally offended him. It had been baked- probably over baked- and he'd just finished cutting it.

The layers were… not even.

Not even close.

One side was thicker than the other, and the middle looked slightly lopsided, like it was barely holding itself together. He’d tried to cut it evenly, really, but his hand had slipped. And now it was just sitting there, looking a little. . . sad.

Baby Cameron, still strapped into her high chair, stared at the cake just as skeptically. Rafe sighed, glancing at her. “Don’t look at me like that,” he muttered, narrowing his eyes playfully.

“My hand slipped.”

She just blinked at him, completely unimpressed. He rolled his eyes and grabbed the piping bag full of pink buttercream, ready to fix the disaster in front of him. But the second he picked it up, the icing started squeezing out of the wrong end, smearing over his fingers and onto the counter.

“Are you kidding me?”

He mumbled under his breath, trying to scoop it back into the bag, but it was useless. The more he tried, the worse it got.

“This shit is so stupid.”

Eventually, he managed to get the buttercream onto the cake, smoothing it over with a spatula. But no matter how much he tried to make it look clean, there were crumbs everywhere, mixed into the icing, and the colour wasn’t even right— splotchy in some places, too thin in others. By the time he stepped back, the cake looked… well.

Like a cake?

Rafe sighed, running a hand over his face, smearing a streak of pink icing onto his jaw. Defeatedly, he dragged his palm over his buzzed hair. He turned the cake towards his daughter, gesturing to the cake like he was presenting something grand.

“So… what do you think?”

She smiled up at him, completely unaware of the chaos, her little feet kicking under the tray of her high chair. Rafe huffed, shaking his head.

“Good enough”

With the cake iced- badly but iced- Rafe strapped baby Cameron back into the carrier against his chest, securing her snugly before turning back to the mess of frosting and butter smeared across the counter. He exhaled through his nose, deciding to ignore it for now. Instead, he grabbed a small bottle of sprinkles, the tiny multicoloured sugar rattling inside. He shook the bottle lightly, glancing down at Cameron.

“Alright, baby girl, you gonna finish the cake for Mommy?”

She squealed, waving her little hands, clearly delighted by the attention. Rafe unscrewed the cap just a little, just enough for a few to come out, and then handed it to her.

“Here, like this-”

He said, demonstrating a gentle shake over the cake. A few sprinkles tumbled out, landing haphazardly across the icing. She giggled, her tiny fingers clutching the bottle as she eagerly mimicked him. Sprinkles rained down onto the cake, dotting it with bright pops of color. Rafe grinned, watching her delight in her little task but then, in her excitement, she shook it too hard.

The lid popped off.

All at once, the entire bottle of sprinkles dumped onto the cake, forming a heap of colorful sugar right in the middle.

“Oh, shit-”

Rafe muttered, eyes widening. She froze for a second, staring at the cake. Then she let out a loud, gleeful belly laugh, kicking her legs against his stomach. Rafe sighed, shaking his head, but there was no real frustration behind it, how could he possibly be mad at her?

“Great job princess”

He muttered, leaning forward slightly to pick the lid off the cake.

And that’s when disaster struck.

Baby Cameron's tiny hand, still chubby with baby fat, plunged straight into the icing causing Rafe to jolt back at the sudden, unexpected action.

“NO—!”

It was too late.

Now, right next to the mountain of sprinkles, was a perfect little baby handprint smushed into the buttercream. He looked at the cake in utter disbelief. Then down at the little girl strapped to his chest. Then back at the cake.

“Well…” he exhaled, rubbing a hand down his face as he scratched his cheek,

“Could be worse.”

The baby, now waving her icing-covered hand in the air, babbled happily. Before she could get it everywhere, Rafe caught her hand, shaking his head. He wiped a little of the pink icing onto his finger, holding it up for her to taste. She eagerly sucked on his finger, blinking up at him with wide eyes, kicking again in delight at the sugary treat. Rafe huffed a laugh, shaking his head as he playfully licked the last bit of icing off her pinky.

“You’re so naughty, you know that?”

She just giggled, pure joy lighting up her tiny face. The front door creaked open, and Y/N’s voice rang through the house.

“Guys, I’m home!”

Rafe’s eyes widened in pure panic.

The kitchen was an absolute disaster. Flour dusted nearly every surface, there was butter smeared on the counter, a rogue spatula sat abandoned in the sink, and- most importantly- the cake was a lopsided, sprinkle-covered mess with an obvious baby handprint in the frosting.

“Shit, shit, shit,”

He muttered under his breath, moving into overdrive. With one arm, he fumbled through the drawer, yanking out a candle- was it the right kind? Who cares. He jammed it into the center of the cake, grabbing the lighter. As he flicked it on, he barely noticed his daughter, still strapped snugly to his chest, managing to get a hold of the spatula again. From the hallway, Y/N’s footsteps grew louder.

“Where are you guys?”

Rafe scrambled, lighting the candle, tossing the lighter aside, and grabbing the cake. He walked around the counter so he’d be the first thing she saw when she entered.

“Surprise!”

He said quickly, forcing a grin. Y/N appeared in the doorway, her eyes immediately landing on him- and then dropping to the cake in his hands. Her lips parted slightly, taking in the uneven layers, the heaps of sprinkles, and the little baby-sized handprint pressed into the frosting. And then she noticed her daughter, wide-eyed and happy, holding the spatula up like a trophy. Rafe glanced down and did a double take, his face twisting in disbelief.

“Are you serious?” he started, looking between his daughter and the spatula in confusion.

“How do you keep getting that?”

She just squealed, waving it around proudly. Y/n's lips twitched before a giggle bubbled out, and then she was laughing, full and bright, doubling over slightly as she clutched her stomach. Rafe huffed, shaking his head.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.”

“I—I’m sorry,” she gasped between giggles.

“It’s just—what happened in here?”

Rafe glanced at the kitchen like he was just now registering the full extent of the mess. “Uh… well, happy birthday baby.” He flashed her his best charming smile, motioning to the cake.

“Made this by myself- with a little help.”

Y/N stepped closer, still grinning, eyeing the chaotic decorations. “Oh, I can tell.” She pointed at the baby handprint.

“I take it this was our baby girls contribution?”

“Yeah, she really put the final touches on it.”

At the sound of her nickname, their daughter kicked her little legs excitedly and beamed up at Y/N, still clinging to the spatula like her life depended on it. Y/N’s heart melted as she reached out to gently cup her daughter's chubby cheek.

“Did you help Daddy make me a cake, baby?”

In response to her mother's words, she let out a string of happy babbles, waving her arms- spatula included. Y/N gasped playfully.

“Oh, you did? You worked very hard, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, too hard,”

Rafe grumbled, watching as the baby joyfully wiggle her arms around, resulting in her smacking his chest lightly with the spatula. He shot Y/N a look.

“She’s dangerous with that thing.”

Y/N giggled, shaking her head before looking at the cake again. It was far from perfect- wonky layers, uneven frosting, and enough sprinkles to last a lifetime- but the fact that they had made it for her?

It was the best birthday cake she’d ever seen.

“This is the sweetest thing ever.”

She met Rafe’s gaze, warmth blooming in her chest. He smirked, shifting the cake slightly in his hands.

“Yeah? You like it?”

“I love it”

She said sincerely, reaching up to wipe a smudge of pink icing from his jaw with her thumb bringing it to her mouth, humming slightly at the sweet taste of the sugary cream.

“Mess and all.”

“Good, ‘cause we nearly destroyed the kitchen making it.”

Rafe gave her a lopsided grin. Her eye's drifted around to look at the kitchen, she didn't even want to think about how long this was going to take to clean up. Y/N giggled, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his lips before pulling back just slightly.

“Thank you baby”

“Anything for you, birthday girl.”

His smirk softened, his free hand settling on her waist. Rafe finally set the cake down onto the counter island, rubbing a hand over his buzzed hair with a sigh. Y/N stepped in closer, standing right beside him, and before she could say anything, he dipped his head down, pressing a sweet kiss to her lips once more. She hummed into him, her fingers grazing the side of his neck as she smiled.

“You taste sweet.”

They both chuckled, their foreheads nearly touching before a happy babble from the little girl made Y/N pull back, turning to their daughter. She reached out to smooth a hand over the soft baby hairs on her head- pausing when she noticed the light dusting of flour clinging to them. She raised an eyebrow at Rafe.

“And this?”

“Yeah, uh… I was getting to cleaning that.”

Rafe rubbed the back of his neck. Y/N shook her head fondly before leaning in and pressing a gentle kiss to Cameron’s chubby cheek.

“Thanks for the present, sweet girl,” she cooed. Rafe exhaled beside her, running a hand over his jaw.

“Sorry… I thought it’d turn out a little better.”

Y/N frowned at him before shaking her head, cupping his face in both hands as she kissed him again- soft and sweet.

“It’s perfect, baby, I wouldn't want anything else.”

Rafe gave her a small, boyish grin, but before he could say anything else-

SMACK.

The spatula struck him right in the face again, and he groaned, closing his eyes as the little girl waved her prize around like a trophy. Y/N let out a giggle, biting her lip at their daughter unexpected attack, yet Rafe's reaction told her this wasn't a first.

“And we spend so much money on toys for her.”

Y/N laughed, as he slipped an arm around her waist, both watching their daughter babble happily, completely unaware of the chaos she had caused. Rafe shook his head, eyeing the baby skeptically.

“Next baby we have, we’ll let them loose in the kitchen.”

I love their little family so much Dad!Rafe is such a softie for his girls 😊

[ssahotchnerr]

FOR DAD!AARON

It could be Ellie’s birthday and for some reasons the cake order they made got canceled or something like this and Aaron stays up all night prior her birthday party to cook her a cake 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 Bonus point if he never did that before !!!!!!!!

no time to lose

that is adorable 😭 cw; dad!aaron, pregnant!reader, food mentions, playful loving banter and domestic fluff to the max💞 wc; 1.5k

Juggling multiple grocery bags in one hand so he could use the other to open the door wasn’t the easiest thing in the world, but it did allow Aaron to enter the house without making too much noise. If he entered too loudly, the sleeping children upstairs very well may not stay sleeping.

It wouldn’t be too much of an issue if Jack was awakened, but Ellie could not wake up tonight, plain and simple. Not only because birthday surprises were still to be put together, but she’d just recently and finally grown accustomed to sleeping, and remaining, in her own bed.

A bittersweet feeling overcame Aaron at the thought of her newfound independence - she really was growing up. He suddenly found himself missing waking up in the middle of the night to her little feet directly in his face.

You followed the sound of his return, a slight panicked expression on your face as you entered the kitchen. "Did you find an open store?"

"Thankfully," Aaron huffed softly, unloading the bags onto the table. He immediately started unpacking - a box of vanilla cake mix, a tub of white frosting, a few frosting tubes for decorating. "They didn't have pink frosting though, so I got food dye."

You nodded hurriedly. "Candles?"

"Wait, was I supposed to get candles too?" Your face fell back into a panic before his feigned, stunned expression changed to a smirk, "Of course I remembered the candles honey."

You playfully tapped his arm, causing a chuckle to escape him. "That's mean."

"But you still love me." You hmph'ed in response, but graciously accepted the kiss he leaned in close to give you, smiling as you pulled away.

"Hey I wasn't-"

"No," You raised your eyebrows, narrowing your eyes amusedly, "no distractions. This cake isn't going to bake itself."

His shoulders dropped defeatedly as he looked at you, his expression a bit pained. "How am I going to decorate a ballerina and bunnies cake?"

Your curly headed daughter had been very insistent that her birthday cake consisted of those two things and those two things only. Ballerinas in honor of her favorite activity, and bunnies to represent her special plush she refused to relieve from her grip.

You shrugged, "A bunny in a tutu?"

"I'm certified in quite a few things, but cake decorating is not one of them."

"Just be happy the bakery was nice enough to let us know." Your usual go-to had called just an hour before, the time quickly approaching ten. The cold weather had caused a pipe to burst, and flooded the establishment as a result. Therefore, Ellie's birthday cake was not ready and you were forced to utilize your own capabilities. Aaron had left in a frenzy while you kept your raging hormones at bay - you had dissolved into tears at the news. Her fifth birthday, absolutely ruined.

He hummed in agreement, opening the cabinet and pulling out the mixing bowl. "I can't argue with that."

"Do you need my help?" You neared close, wobbling only a bit.

"No, you go lay down." He pressed his hand to your protruding belly where your newest addition grew, giving you another kiss. "I can handle this, you've been on your feet all day."

A laugh erupted from you, "So have you."

"Yeah, well, I'm not with child." He quipped back, a warm glint in his eyes that only enhanced their gentle brown color.

"Have you even baked a cake before?"

"I've made brownies. How different can it be?"

Making the cake was fairly easy. Aka, Aaron could read and follow the instructions on the back of the box. You chimed in from your designated spot at the kitchen island - if you weren't going to lay down you were going to sit, he had insisted - offering the advice such as using the electric mixer rather than whisking by hand. The cake soon ventured into the oven, and once it’d been baked it was popped in the fridge to cool. Meanwhile, Aaron got started on the frosting.

"Is this pink enough?" His eyes shot to yours, slowing his spoon and tilting the bowl slightly so you could easily see.

"Hmm, add some more white? That's more Barbie pink than coquette pink." You suggested, wrapping one of Ellie's presents - a doll she's had her eyes on for months.

Aaron gave you a bewildered look, before obliging and spooning more into the bowl, "What?"

"It's too vibrant, it has to be much lighter."

His face didn't falter, immediately retrieving the tape your elbow had bumped to the floor. "Coquette? What the hell is that?"

"You do know that there's more than one shade of pink-"

He spoke over you, "yes I do but-"

"Just listen to me." You teased, topping Ellie's present with a bow. Aaron exhaled a breath in return, causing you to laugh lightly.

"God, I can't believe she's turning five." Aaron mumbled as his lips drew into a small pout, mixing the frosting rather grumpily - as if it had personally offended him. "Where did the time go?"

"I know," your hand found his back, rubbing it soothingly. "It seems like it was only yesterday we brought her home from the hospital, she was learning how to walk, refusing to sleep anywhere but our bed."

"Don't make me cry."

"Sorry," you giggled gently, kissing his cheek. "But just think, this year she'll start kindergarten, become a big sister, soccer in the spring. Five will be huge for her."

He nodded, a deep sigh leaving his chest. "Yeah, I suppose you're right."

"Haven't you learned by now? I always am." You bantered, but after a moment, you added, "I feel bad."

His head lifted in alarm, eyes wide as they searched your face before dropping to your belly. "You do?!"

"No, no. We're fine." You reassured, your words intertwining with your soft laugh. Resting your head against his shoulder, "I should be making you a cake. It's not only Ellie's birthday tomorrow."

You'd just entered your third trimester and your energy was dwindling - every day had been different. Energetic one, sluggish the next. All your time was spent catching up to your tireless daughter, ensuring Jack made it to his extra-circulars, and managing the normal household necessities.

Aaron helped in every way he could, but his schedule did dictate when - you were on your own when he was gone, abide some help from Jessica. But you managed while pregnant with Ellie, you could do so again.

And when Aaron was home, he made certain you didn't dare lift a finger. He took charge when it came to the house and both kids, and even devotedly massaged your swollen ankles every night without fail.

You'd gotten him a gift at least, and had already sneakily texted Penelope to ask the favor of stopping before the party tomorrow to pick up some cupcakes for Aaron. You’d both agreed: Ellie's birthday was top priority. But Aaron deserved to feel special too.

"Thank you, but I don't need anything more," He pressed a kiss to your temple, gazing at you lovingly. "I have everything I need. Three healthy kids and an amazing wife. I'm set."

After you'd gone to bed, Aaron completed the last minute preparations as he waited for the cake to chill. You'd already hung up the streamers (under Aaron's very watchful eye, a hand on your back spotting you even though you were merely on your tiptoes). He blew up the balloons, scattering them along the living room floor where Ellie's presents were laid. He smiled to himself, picturing her excitement when she woke up. As a five year old.

Next came the hard part, decorating. Lathering the cake in pink frosting had been easy, but it was the bunny in the tutu that - pun intended - would be the icing on the cake. He couldn't mess that up.

Before you settled down, you selected easy, cartoon bunny images for him to reference. He picked the simplest one - the one he felt most confident he could portray - and went for it.

With a steady hand, he started with the outline. Shaping the bunny, even adding a lopsided ear to contrast the one sticking straight up. He filled it in, added whiskers, eyes and a nose, other minor details to make it appear more life-like. He did utter a shit under his breath more than once; too much frosting oozing out of the tube, accidentally drawing one whisker longer than the others, quirks that could be noticeable.

It wasn't perfect, but in the end it resembled a bunny. And the tutu, more manageable than he'd anticipated, he even added small ballet slippers. Hopefully and most importantly, it was Ellie-approved.

Come tomorrow, approved didn't nearly cover it. Ellie was in absolute delight, and insisted that Aaron would make her a bunny cake every year: 'Every year Daddy,' she had pointed a finger at him, the signature Hotchner eyebrows drawn over her eyes.

And the team, equally as shocked. Penelope's surprised, high pitched Sir! nearly caused his (bad) ear to ring, while Morgan altogether refused to believe Aaron had done it, despite your reassurances that it had been all him: "Get outta here. Hotch did that? You serious?"

Maybe Aaron could add cake decorating to his list of credentials.

[syrupfog]

The Straw Hats don’t have a cook. 

They’re starting to think of it as a bit of a cursed position, really. No one they’ve picked up has lasted longer than an island before declaring they can’t deal with Luffy’s stomach and running off. 

Luffy’s a bit put out about it.

On the first half of the grand line, they went through about seven cooks. After Saboady, they briefly had Camie, although she made a lot of takoyaki. 

They carried Law with them from Punk Hazard to Dressrosa to Zou to Wano, and he made a LOT of onigiri.

It was delicious, but did get a bit old after a while. And he was never meant to stay, after all. 

After Kaido’s defeat and the subsequent party in Wano, they leave Law behind and are once again cook-less. 

But Luffy has a plan. It’s a plan that Zoro rolls his eyes at, but a plan nonetheless.

Jinbei had explained Big Mom’s intense love of sweets, and the island’s name — Whole Cake — is a promising one. Luffy is convinced they’ll be able to find their cook there. 

Zoro isn’t so sure. Cooks and bakers aren’t the same thing, and he’d be loathe to let a *baker* on the crew.

If he has to eat SWEETS for every meal, he’s going to lose it. Absolutely not. 

But he doesn’t argue with Luffy, because there’s never been a point in arguing with Luffy. It’ll either happen or it won’t, after all.

They arrive at Whole Cake and it’s… a terrifying experience. Everything has faces. Everything is SMILING. Zoro scowls, just to be contrary. 

Luffy wants to walk right up to Big Mom and demand a fight, but that’s easier said than done.

They end up in town, all eight of them, squished together in a little bakery with a sweet-as-honey baker who calls herself Pudding. “

That’s it!” Luffy tells after his first taste of pie. “You’ll be our cook!” 

Pudding blinks, and then titters a laugh. “Silly!” she says. “I can’t!”

“Why not?” Luffy asks with a scowl that matches Zoro’s. Zoro hasn’t touched the pie. He’s glad Pudding isn’t entertaining this.

Pudding waves her hand. “I have a business to run!” she giggles. “And besides, I’m married!” 

A large diamond ring glints on her finger. Luffy sinks back into his dessert.

“Fine,” he pouts. “We’ll find somebody else.” 

They do not, in fact, find anyone else. 

Mostly it’s excuses about not wanting to leave Big Mom. They’ve not seen her yet, but Zoro gets the feeling she’s a bit of a bitch.

He also hasn’t found anyone who will cook a steak rather than a pastry, which is getting a little old. 

Nami BEGS Luffy to use at least an ounce of discretion, and he pays no notice (after all, he’s already defeated Kaido, what’s one more emperor?) and walks right up to the front door of the castle.

To everyone’s shock (except Luffy’s), they’re greeted by a guard and escorted right inside. 

EVERYTHING. Has. A face. 

Zoro hates this place. 

He hates this whole island but he especially hates this place. 

He’s so busy hating this place that he completely doesn’t notice when everyone disappears.

(That’s definitely what happens— it’s definitely not that he takes a wrong turn and gets separated). 

He wanders through halls and up stairs and through more halls with skittering servants passing him by, plates piled high with (ugh) sweets. Gods above, where IS everyone?

Finally, after what must be the fifth set of stairs, Zoro finds himself at a dead end. A hallway that ends with a door with heavy bars across it. 

Well that must be it, Zoro thinks, if for no other reason than that it’s the most interesting thing he’s come across and it doesn’t have a FACE.

He takes out all three swords. 

The door is sturdy, but it’s not three swords sturdy. 

“Hello?” Zoro calls as he steps into the room. “Guys?” 

The room is dark. It’s sparse in decoration. There’s a bed and a dresser and a wash basin and a small high window, barred the way the door was. 

And a man.

“You’re not Luffy,” Zoro growls, unsheathing two of his swords almost immediately after sheathing them. 

The man regards him with cool indifference. His blond hair is long and stringy, falling just past his shoulders and covering one eye.

His clearly once white suit is tinged with dirt and spatters of rusty red. 

There is a hole in the middle of his forehead, with a slow trickle of blood seeping from it. 

“I’m not Luffy,” the man agrees. “Who are you?” 

“I’m Roronoa Zoro,” Zoro says. “My captain’s going to be king of the pirates.”

The man sighs. “Sure he will,” he says. He doesn’t bother to try to wipe at the blood seeping down his face. 

“You… going to do something about that?” Zoro asks. It’s gross. 

“No,” the man says. “It just does that. There’s a bullet somewhere in there.”

Zoro narrows his eyes. “You’ve been… shot?”

“Quite a while ago, yes.” 

“But you’re not… how long ago?” 

The man tilts his head. “Two months? Three? Time gets way from you when you’re locked in a room.” 

Ohhh right. The barred door. “Are you Big Mom’s prisoner?”

The man frowns slightly. “I’m honestly not entirely sure. I get the feeling that I am a sort of pet, at this point. Or maybe a prisoner. She can’t seem to figure out how to kill me.” 

“Why is she TRYING to kill too?” Zoro asks. He doesn’t like when people aren’t straightforward.

“Oh,” the man says. “I’m her son-in-law. My wife shot me at the altar and then they murdered my family.” He does reach up now, touching at the blood between his eyes. “The healing genes activated a bit late, I think.” 

Zoro nods. He has no idea what’s happening. “So you’re… enemies? Or family?”

The man looks back at him. There’s an emptiness in his eyes. “I think maybe both,” he says. “Isn’t that how it always is, with families?” 

“Wouldn’t know,” Zoro says. “Maybe.” He sheathes his swords and stands straight. “Hey, what’s your name?” 

“Charlotte Sanji,” says the man.

“Alright Sanji,” Zoro says. “You know the way to the throne room?” 

“Not at all,” says Sanji. “Never been there.” 

Zoro shrugs. “Me neither. Let’s go.”

Considering he’s never been there before, Sanji does make quick work of finding the throne room. Zoro figures it might be from all the explosions, though. Even HE could find it at this rate. 

There’s a battle going on in the throne room.

“THERE you are,” Nami snaps. She seems to be strangling a cloud with her bare hands. The cloud has a face. 

“Yeah,” Zoro says, drawing his swords. “Hey, I found a guy.” 

“Cool, how does that help us?” 

Zoro motions to Sanji. “He’s her son in law.” 

“Again,” Nami snaps. “HOW does that help us?”

“Just— watch him for a minute, okay?” He looks at Sanji. “Stay here.” 

Sanji shrugs. 

Zoro goes running into the fray. There’s lots of very tall colorful people with candy weapons but Zoro can see where Luffy’s already in Gear 4. 

“Luffy!” Zoro yells. 

“Zoro, we found you!” Luffy yells.

“No you didn’t!” 

Luffy laughs. “Okay! Whatever!” 

Big Mom doesn’t seem to care for this conversation. “Are you FIGHTING ME OR NOT?” She shouts, eyes roaming over Luffy and then Zoro and then— “Oh no, who let the little freak out?”

“I did!” Zoro shouted. Franky goes skidding by as he fires a missile launcher. 

“Ugh! Little creep! I can’t take life from him because he doesn’t have EMOTIONS! Won’t die either! Worst son in law I have.” 

“No emotions?” Luffy skids to a stop. “Is he a robot? I’ve always wanted a robot.”

He scans the crowd. “Zoro, where’s the robot?” 

“Blond guy next to Nami,” Zoro says. He kind of cares about the guy. He’s not sure why. “Chopper should take a look at him later. He keeps bleeding.” 

“Hahaha! That’s funny, me too!”

The battle against Big Mom is a lot more straight forward than against Kaido. A lot faster too, honestly. Zoro gets to lose himself in fighting, feeling that aching burn on his muscles that he loves so much. Right up until the only ones still exchanging blows are Luffy and Big Mom.

He hasn’t even pulled out that weird all white form everyone at Wano talked about yet, so Zoro feels pretty confident. Right up until one of Big Mom’s attacks misses Luffy and ends up aimed straight at Nami. 

Zoro doesn’t have time to get to her. Neither does anyone else.

Except Sanji. 

Who steps in front of her, taking the bulk of a thunderbolt to the chest. He falls to his knees with a cry, his face a mix of pain and… almost confusion. But when Nami runs to him, he holds a hand out to stop her, and looks up at Big Mom.

“I won’t let a lady get hurt,” he says, still looking almost confused as he says it, blood dripping slightly more profusely from his forehead. 

“Dork,” Zoro says under his breath at the same time as Luffy says, “Cool.”

When the fight is over, Big Mom collapses as the homes escape from her like baby spiders from a broken egg sac. Zoro PRAYS there’s SOMETHING besides sweets on this godforsaken island for them to celebrate with. 

“Chopper,” he says as Chopper comes running with his med kit. “Check that guy out too.”

Choppy turns to Sanji, sitting on the ground and still rather smouldering from the lightning, and he screams. “Oh NO! You’ve been SHOT!” 

Zoro nods. He just lets that happen. He goes in search of booze.

He doesn’t see Sanji again until the feast. 

The feast is still MOSTLY sweets but Luffy at least has gotten ahold of some real Meat so Zoro sidles up to him and he realises that Sanji’s there on his other side. 

“Zoro!” Luffy shouts. “Sanji says he’s a cook!”

Zoro scoffs. That’s what they all say. 

“I told him to come with us!” 

Zoro raises an eyebrow, looking around Luffy at Sanji, who sports a large bandage over his forehead. “And what did he say?” 

Sanji looks at him. “I said he has terrible decision making skills.”

“So that’s a yes, I take it.” 

Sanji shrugs. “My family’s dead, my mother in law is dead, and my wife shot me in the forehead. Your reindeer pulled the bullet out of my brain.” 

“Gross.” 

“He thinks I need therapy.” 

“Probably.”

Zoro doesn’t trust a lot of people. He thinks probably someone should figure out why this guy’s wife shot him. But he’s also the one who dragged the sad sack out of his tower room. And he thinks there’s something hot about a man who won’t stop bleeding. So. 

“You can cook more than sweets, right?”

“I was a sous chef. Once.” 

“Good enough for me.”

He sticks a little close to Sanji during the rest of their stay on Whole Cake. Just to make sure he’s not about turn tail. And also because he’s Zoro’s type, even when his forehead does stop bleeding.

And that’s why, when they get onto the Sunny, Zoro’s able to pick up on the small way Sanji’s expression shifts. Relaxes. As he steps on board the ship. 

The small smile that graces his features when they set off from shore. 

The way his eyes light up ever so slightly when he walks into the kitchen.

All that is nothing compared to the expression on his face six months later when Luffy cracks the Red Line in half and all the seas flow together.

But Zoro’s not to know that, yet. 

All he knows is there’s something that he feels like he’s missed out on, with this guy. That somehow Sanji should’ve been here from the beginning. 

But at least he’s here now.

[thebubblesareevil]

Only the best Kings wear pink! Pt 2

Part 1 part 3

The day things changed was just like any other. The Keep was decked out with pink decorations and different activities though-out the castle, including but not limited to: tea in the garden, manicure stations, parent playgrounds (note spa), bowification stations, the glitter corner, the archery range, Queen Dorothea’s dragon tower…etc

Everything was ready for their monthly guests when, rather unexpectedly, he heard a knock at the door.

His guests had long forgone knocking (the parents could rarely get to the door before the children charged in). He managed to get to the door, waving off a busy maid carrying a delicious looking cake, where her was greeted by the teary eyed face of a young girl.

That in itself was odd, Danny made a point of no tears in the keep.

There was also the fact that she was very much alive.

Danny immediately kneeled in front of the little girl.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your tears, but are you here for the princess tea party?” He asked gently.

The little girl sniffled. “Tea party?”

Danny nodded. “All the little princesses of my Kingdom are invited.”

“But I’m not a princess.” She cried a bit more. Danny gave her a thoughtful hum.

“You certainly look like a princess to me.” Danny stated. “Are you lost little princess?”

She nodded, rubbing the tears from her eyes.

“Tell you what, why don’t you join us for our tea party and then I’ll personally escort you back to your castle, what do you say?”

The little girl sniffled, pondering for a moment before nodding.

“Wonderful!” Danny grinned. “And may I learn the name of the such an adorable princess?”

The little girl giggled “Lian! Lian Harper!”

“A lovely name for a lovely princess!” Danny grinned. “C’mon, I’m sure Lilac can get you your very own princess dress while we wait for the others.

——-

Lian fit in perfectly with the other children. Some of the parents seemed a bit skeptical, though they quickly accepted it after a brief explanation from the King.

Some parents went straight for the spa while others headed towards the suggestion room. (It really cut down on audiences when issues could be resolved with a letter)

All too soon the day ended and skulker reported to Danny with Lian’s home address.

Danny found her in the garden napping among the blossoms.

Danny smiled, gently nudging the girl awake.

“Lian? It’s time to go home now.”

“Hmmm?” Lian sluggishly raise her arms to be picked up by the King. Danny chuckled.

“Of course.” He gently picked, cradling her in his arms.

Silently he opened a portal into Lian’s bedroom carefully tucking her into bed.

Not even a moment after he vanished did a frantic babysitter rushed into the room, nearly sobbing in relief when she found the little girl.

(She was never playing hide and seek with the little ninja again)

——-

For the next few months the pattern continued. Though somehow no one ever seemed to notice when the girl vanished each month.

She had fully indoctrinated herself among the little ghosts of the tea party, every month the boys would challenge her to an archery bout and lose each time reluctantly conceding to getting the makeup done with each loss. (Edgar was quite fond of rainbow unicorn sparkle nails)

She was never late nor was she ever early (this led to many suspicions that Danny didn’t care enough to confirm). More than anything, after the 2nd time of her wandering into his Keep, Danny made a point of giving her a ghost whistle to call cujo if she ever got lost or needed him.

So he was understandably concerned when he was summoned by his (favorite) little princess by magic of all things.

He of course answered to summons (what if she was in dAnGeR???!?!?)

He stepped out of the portal at his full size, nearly hitting his head on the ceiling of the warehouse he found himself in.

Danny frowned, looking around he didn’t see Lian until he looked down at the crying little princess at his feet. Danny immediately shrunk down, completely ignoring the heroes fighting the cloaked (cultist? Fanatics? Victims of his wrath? That last one felt right) soon to be victims of his wrath.

Once he was at more manageable size he picked up Lian and swiftly removed her bindings.

“What’s wrong princess? If you wanted to see me all you needed to do was call.” He asked gently combing her hair with his claws, ignoring the red headed archer shouts.

“The mean men said they were gonna hurt Daddy and uncle Jay Jay, and all their friends!” She sniffled looking up at Danny giving him a clear view of the line of blood on her neck where his (very) soon to be victims nicked her.

“Shh, shh, don’t you worry princess. Why don’t you go hang out in the keep and help Spectre paint Banshees nail, hmm? I’m sure Fright would love it if you could braid his hair again too.” Lian pressed her wet face into Danny’s chest as she nodded.

He reached out, opening a small portal to gently place the little princess in his daughter’s room with a quick explanation.

He temporarily ignored the red heads screams and allowed the flurry of arrows and gunfire to pass through him.

He had other things to deal with right now.

“Now who do I have the pleasure of destroying today?”

One of the cloaked soon to be victims was clearly an imbecile as he stepped forward and began to shout.

“We offer you these two sacrifices in addition to the girl, that you might grant us the power to defeat our enemies, o mighty King of the Infinite Realms!”

Danny took a moment to count. “How strange, see I counted 15 victims and 2 spectators. You must need to get your glasses checked” Danny nodded to himself, allowing his for to stretch and his power to fill the room.

“But, I don’t have-“

Danny struck hard and fast. They would never see the light of day again.

After he was done disposing of the trash, he turned his attention to the heroes. Each of which had a weapon trained on his head, unfortunately human weapons didn’t work on him so they wouldn’t be much help.

“You son of a bitch! Give her back!!!” The red head shouted, his hands shaking.

“The rest of our team will be here any minute! Surrender now return the girl and we won’t have to fight you!” Helmet head shouted. Something felt off about that one, almost…familiar. Danny squinted and made a (probably stupid decision)

“Hmmm, nope” he snapped his fingers and two portals appeared underfoot of the two heroes.

[yawnderu]

Birthday Boy — Simon "Ghost" Riley x Reader

content: mutual pining, idiots in love, fluff.

"Hey, big guy." You greet, pushing past him while holding a cake on your arms, setting it down on his desk. He simply gives you a confused look, eyebrows raising under the balaclava, closing the door hesitantly.

"Fucking hell." He mutters softly, arms crossing as he rests his back against the wall, his behemoth frame looking down at you as you steal a lighter from his desk, lighting the candles.

"I know you said you don't do birthdays but I just thought you deserve to have a day for yourself, so I kind of... gave you a birthday, I guess." Your embarrassment grows the more he stares you down, a bashful smile growing on your face when he says nothing. Your attention is grabbed by a deep chuckle coming out of him, shaking his head before he walks over to you, skull gloved fingers gently flicking your forehead.

"Why?" Is all he can ask, curiosity tainting his tone before he lets out a soft groan, looking down at the cake decorated with a messily written "Happy Birthday, Simon" and awfully drawn skulls all over. He wouldn't admit it, but he finds it even more charming.

"Just because." You reply shortly, hands making contact with the thin fabric of his black compression shirt, gently holding him by the biceps, guiding him to a chair in front of his desk where the cake was. He lets you drag him without any complaints.

"I'm gonna sing ya happy birthday, okay?" Your words are met with another groan, his elbows going to the table, face resting on his hands as if this situation is stressing him out. He eventually nods his head, looking up at you.

"Yeah, yeah." He mumbles, the fire from the candles making his eyes stand out even more in the dim room, the dark brown now a sweet honey color, showing you just how dilated his pupils are as he looks at you. You sing him happy birthday, making a small show out of it with claps and an overly cheery voice, dragging groan after groan out of him, the corners of his eyes creasing as he tries his best to suppress the smile tugging at his lips.

"Make a wish and blow the candles." You encourage after you're done singing, hands gently massaging his sore shoulders as you excitedly wait for him to comply. And he does, hesitantly getting closer to the cake and not doing anything for a few seconds before blowing the candles. A laugh of pure relief escapes your lips once the candles are off, tapping his shoulders gently before letting go.

"Good man. I made the cake, y'know?" You start cutting the cake, making sure to cut an extra big piece for him— with what little he has told you about himself, you can tell it's been a while since he got celebrated— If it even happened at all.

"I can tell." He replies teasingly, tone full of humor as he gets up and narrowly misses a punch thrown his way. He can't help but let out a small laugh, getting into a playful fighting position, pretending to throw a few punches your way and making a show out of making sound effects for each one. None of his punches connect, of course, but you use the opening he left to smear a little bit of frosting on his arm, making him groan loudly.

"Bloody hell." He grumbles, the cheeky smile you shoot him making him playfully roll his eyes. He eventually settles down, sitting in bed and lifting his balaclava halfway, tasting the sweet treat. He takes his time to savor it, nodding his head in approval as he looks down at you before digging in again.

" 'S good." He praises after another bite, attention now fully on the piece of chocolate cake on his plastic plate. You take this moment to admire the exposed half of his face— his soft jawline and thin pink lips, hints of a stubble covering his cheek and chin, a little bit of his eyeblack tainting his cheeks as well. You feel like a Victorian man seeing ankles, grasping at straws just to admire him.

He gives you a side eye and you look back down at your plate, starting to taste the cake as well, as if you weren't just staring at him like an infatuated hyena. You're too deep in thought to even realize his eyes are on you until you feel his finger smearing frosting on your nose, a laugh of pure disbelief escaping your lips.

"You little cunt—"

[bloatedandalone04]

Older, Wiser and Hotter than Ever

Summary: Bucky is your best friend and recently turned boyfriend since he finally realized how in love with you he is. This is your first birthday with him as a couple, and he’s determined to make it your best birthday yet.

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: fluff, smut, maybe ooc bucky, but idc, swearing, dirty talk, unprotected sex, modern bucky, oral (f receiving), fingering, hair pulling, this is so self indulgent, enjoy.

Today is a special day. It’s Bucky’s favorite day, actually. 

It is your birthday. 

He’d always made a big deal out of it, even before you officially got together, and he wasn’t about to stop now just because he’d finally gotten you into his bed after years of pining. 

Everything had changed, and also nothing at all. You were still you, and Bucky was still Bucky, but you were 100% all in with each other now. 

He was in the kitchen with you, reading the instructions on the back of a box of cake mix while you leaned against the island counter and watched him. You were wearing one of his hoodies and a pair of soft shorts, looking as hot as ever, while Bucky was wearing sweatpants and a black tee, both of you deciding to dress in your comfiest clothing since you wouldn’t be leaving the apartment. 

Bucky glanced over at you, letting his gaze run up and down your body for a few seconds before he stood up straight. “I’m going to make you the best fucking cake you’ve ever eaten,” he stated as he set the strawberry flavored cake box down on the counter, though he knew his baking skills were embarrassingly limited. “And if it all goes to shit, which it probably will, I’ll just order you a cake.” 

In a perfect world, he’d know how to use all the tools he’d bought specifically for this day, and he’d be able to make a cake that tasted way better than decent, but in all honesty, he didn’t have high hopes. And he knew you wouldn’t really care either way, and that just made him love you even more. 

“Don’t worry, doll,” he grinned. “You’ll get your cake one way or another.” 

You laughed and took a few steps towards him. “I don’t need much, Buck,” you said, wrapping your arms around his bicep. “All I could ever want on my birthday is you. And, you know, birthday sex.” 

Bucky smirked and wrapped his arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him as he rested a possessive hand on your lower back. “Is that right?” he murmured, “Well, I think you’re pretty lucky then, because I’ve got quite a lot of both to give.”

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to your temple, then he kept his lips there as he spoke again,

“Happy birthday, baby,” he said as he placed a series of kisses down the side of your face before pulling back to look at you. “I’m gonna make it the best fucking birthday you’ve ever had. Cake, presents, and all the birthday sex you can handle.” 

You hummed, “Thank you. And I think you know by now that I can handle quite a bit. And I’d never be able to get enough of you,” 

Bucky’s smirk grew as he leaned down and grazed his teeth along the shell of your ear. “Oh, I know exactly how much you can handle, doll. But I still plan to put it to the test tonight,” he said, his voice as confident as ever as his hand ran up and down your back. “But first, I’m going to make you a cake, and I think you should probably help me do it so I don’t burn down our kitchen. Come on, birthday girl.” 

An hour later, after you had to read the instructions again to Bucky and set the timer for him, you were sitting on his lap at the table, the cake placed on the surface in front of you. You watched him decorate it before he stuck a few candles in it and lit them for you, and when you read the message he wrote in icing on the top of the cake, you laughed as you felt a blush creep up on your face. 

“I gotta say, I didn’t have much faith in your baking skills, but now I know to never doubt you,” you teased, turning your head to press a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you, Bucky. This is already the best fucking birthday I’ve ever had.” 

Bucky laughed and wrapped his arms around you, holding you close as he leaned in to press a firm kiss to your lips. “Good,” he mumbled against your mouth, one of his hands stroking up and down your bare thigh. 

Once you began indulging in the cake after he’d handed you a fork, Bucky reached for this phone and scrolled through all the playlists you and he had made until he found the one he was looking for. 

A second later, This Year’s Love started playing through the speaker, and when you turned your head to look at him with a knowing grin, Bucky stood up and pulled you away from the table.

He guided you back into his arms, and you practically melted against him as he swayed you around a bit, his hands sprawled along your lower back. “Happy birthday, my love,” he whispered, then twirled you under his arm as he added, “I hope all your wishes come true, especially all the ones that involve me and you in bed later tonight.”

You laughed as he brought you back into his embrace, and you pressed your face against the side of his neck. “Thank you,” you mumbled, brushing your lips against his skin in a series of gentle kisses. “I have so many wishes for later tonight…most of which I wouldn’t mind getting a start on now.”

Bucky groaned under his breath as you kissed along his neck, and the feeling sent waves of desire straight to his groin. “Doll, I’m trying to dance with you, and now you’re making me hard,” he grunted, and his hands slid down to your ass, giving it a teasing squeeze. 

You pulled back to look up at him, your eyes meeting in an intense stare. “You started it,” 

Then you leaned up to kiss him, and Bucky groaned again as he kissed you back before he took your hand in his and pulled you down the hall toward yours and his room. He didn’t bother closing the door as he lifted you up into his arms and carried you over to the bed. 

Bucky set you down on the mattress before following after you, covering your body with his as he pressed kisses along your jaw. “Tell me what you want, baby,” he murmured as his hands lifted the hem of his hoodie to expose more of your skin. “I’ll give it to you, whatever you want.” 

You wrapped your legs around his waist as you leaned back on the bed. “I want the birthday sex you promised me earlier,” you say, draping your arms around his shoulders as you pull him down for another deep and messy kiss. “I want you…over and over again until I can’t take anymore. Then I want more.” 

Bucky’s normally bright eyes were dark now as he ground his hips against yours, letting you feel just how hard you’d made him within seconds. “I’ll give it to you. I’ll give you everything you want and more,” he promised as he pulled his hoodie off your body and tossed it aside without care before he did the same with your shorts. 

He hooked his fingers in the waistline of your panties and slowly peeled the thin fabric down your thighs, his eyes fixated on your core as he bit back a groan. 

“Spread those pretty legs for me, doll,” he murmured, settling in between your thighs when you obliged. He wasted no time in leaning in, his mouth closing over your puffy clit that had been throbbing for his attention, and he let his tongue flick against the bud a few times. 

“Bucky,” you gasped, arching your back a bit as he worshiped you with his mouth, alternating between teasing licks and gentle sucks. 

One of his hands reached up to grasp your breast, and he rolled your nipple between his thumb and index finger as he ate you out, making his own sounds of pleasure against your core as he did so. 

It was quite obvious that he enjoyed doing this as much as you enjoyed receiving it, and he had ever since the very first time he went down on you, only a few months ago. But that was after pining for you for years, and dreaming about how you taste and the sounds you would make for him. 

It’s safe to say that you are better than all of his fantasies combined. 

“You taste so good, baby. So fucking sexy,” he mumbled against your clit as his other hand teased your folds. He slid his fingers inside you, feeling the warmth and wetness that greeted him, and he curled them slightly as he licked at your sensitive bundle of nerves. You were whining and writhing so much already, Bucky knew it wouldn’t take much to get you there, and it only made him increase both the pace of his fingers and the pressure of his mouth. “You’re gonna cum for me, aren’t you?”

Your thighs were shaking a bit as you nodded quickly, reaching down to tug on his hair. “I am,” you breathed, “Fuck, don’t stop.”

Bucky groaned against you as he finger fucked you harder and sealed his mouth over your clit once more, sucking hard and earning another sharp gasp from you. “Come on, doll, give it to me,”

You squeezed your eyes shut as you arched your back even more, your body shaking as you came hard, a cry of his name leaving your lips. “Oh, my fucking God,” you whimpered, bucking your hips against his face. “Jesus Christ.”

Bucky licked and lapped at your folds, prolonging your pleasure as long as he could as he savored the taste of you on his tongue. When you slumped back on the pillow, he lifted his head, his lips and chin glistening with your arousal. “You’re so fucking hot,” he rasped, slowly pulling his fingers out of you as he crawled back up your body, and he sucked his fingers clean as you reached for the hem of his tee. 

He helped you pull it off before he dipped his head down and pressed his lips to yours in a deep kiss, his hands roaming over your body and caressing the curves he’d become obsessed with. 

You kissed him back as you reached in between your bodies to push down his sweats, and he kicked them the rest of the way off, letting them join the pile of clothes that was scattered on the bedroom floor. 

“I need you,” you whined against his lips as he hovered over you, “Please.”

Bucky grinned against your mouth before kissing you one last time as he positioned himself at your core. A deep groan left the back of his throat when he pushed forward and thrust inside you, your warmth instantly welcoming him in. “God, you feel so good,” he muttered as he rocked his hips slowly at first. “So fucking tight and wet for me.”

You moaned, tipping your head back on the pillow as you wrapped your legs tightly around his waist. “Bucky…fuck, feels so good,” you praised, sliding your hands back into his hair.

He groaned at the added pleasure as he found a pace that left both of you breathless. “I think you were made for me, baby,” he rasped, his grip on your hips tightening to hold you in place for his thrusts. “Made to squeeze me so fucking tight.” he added lowly before he leaned down and captured on of your nipples in his mouth, sucking and nipping at your senstive flesh. 

You whined loudly, arching your back into the feeling of his mouth as he worked his way across to your other breast, and he gave that one the same attention. “Maybe I was,” you whispered, tugging a bit harder on his hair as he fucked into you in a way that had you seeing stars. “Maybe we were made for each other…it just took us a while to realize that.”

Bucky huffed out a laugh as he finally gave your poor chest a break, and he lifted his head to meet your gaze. “No, doll, I realized that the day I met you,” he managed to say as he continued to slide his cock in and out of you. “I knew you were everything to me.” he added, bracing his elbows at either side of your head as he leaned down and pressed a searing kiss to your mouth. 

You let out a shaky moan as you squirmed under him, and you slid your hands down his back as you pulled away from the kiss. “You feel so perfect, Buck,” you whimpered as you buried your face against his shoulder and placed open mouthed kisses along his heated skin. “So good…I love you so much.”

A shudder ran through Bucky’s body as his thrusts became a little harder and a little faster once he felt his high creeping up on him. He tangled his fingers in your hair and gently pulled your head back to expose your neck, and he lowered his head to pepper your skin with soft, barely-there kisses. 

“I love you too, doll,” he panted, his voice strained a bit as he held himself back. “More than anything in this fucking world.”

You clenched around him, and you got louder and louder as the seconds went on, signaling that you were close as well. But he’d get you there again first, like he always did. 

He angled his body so his pelvis was brushing against your clit with every deep thrust, and he felt you clench again. “Cum for me, baby,” he murmured, “Squeeze me with this perfect pussy.”

“Bucky,” you moaned, hiking your legs higher around his waist as you let out pretty sounds for him. Only a few seconds later, you wrapped your arms tightly around his shoulders as you came for him again, enveloping him in a warm, wet wave that left you shaking and breathless.

Bucky buried himself inside you a few more times before stilling as he came as well, filling you up as he dropped his head onto your shoulder. “Fuck,” he grunted, his hips jerking as he emptied himself into you. 

He pressed a final kiss to your collarbone before rolling onto his side, taking you with him as he held you in his arms. 

You were both panting and a little sweaty as you laid still, the room filled with the aftersounds of the rather intense session. “You’re incredible, baby,” he mumbled as he pressed soft kisses all over your face. “Every time with you just keeps getting better and better.”

You hummed, resting your head on his chest that was still rising and falling with uneven breaths. “Hopefully it continues to get better and better,” you said back, “I’d hate to see the day where it becomes really bad.” 

Bucky laughed, tightening his hold on you. “I don’t think we have to worry about that any time soon. You and I are different, baby. What we have is real and strong, and it just grows stronger every single day,” he said, tracing random shapes onto your bare back. “Besides, I’m pretty sure I could fuck you in every position imaginable, every day, and still not grow tired of you. You’re too sexy.”

You groaned as he slid a teasing hand down to the curve of your ass. “Bucky,” you whined, burying your face against his chest. “You can’t say that to me after fucking me. It’s not fair.”

He laughed again and pressed his cheek against the top of your head. “When have I ever been fair?” he teased, “And if I can’t say it after fucking you, then when can I? You’re the hottest thing I’ve ever seen, fully clothed and completely naked. And I’m not only saying that because I’m still hard.”

You laughed loudly and covered your face. “Oh, my God,”

Bucky smirked and pressed a kiss to the top of your head. “You’re irreplaceable, doll. There’s no one else for me,” he promised.

You lifted your head and looked up at him, a lazy smile on your lips. “How can you be so sweet yet so sexy at the same time?” you questioned, “You’re being so sweet, yet I can literally feel your dick against my hip right now.”

Bucky shrugged, “You bring out every side of me,” he answered and you just shook your head as you cuddled against his side. “Lay with me for a bit, then I’ll give you your presents, and then we can come right back here.”

A smirk tugged at your lips at that, and you nodded as you propped your chin up on his shoulder. “Sounds good,” you mumbled, “Though, the only present I’ll ever need is attached to you.”

A matching smirk formed on Bucky’s lips as he propped one hand behind his head and closed his eyes. “Good to know,”

[my-castles-crumbling]

name - Jegulus Microfic - @into-the-jeggyverse - word count: 375

James had never even once brought up the idea of either of them changing their names when they got married. He didn't much like the idea of being a Black, if he was honest, but he knew that Regulus had more of an attachment to the name than he would ever let on. Though the other man had long ago cast aside most of his family members, along with their traditions and expectations, he still, for some reason, had a hard time letting go of some things. As if a small part of the Noble and Ancient House refused to die. So James didn't push, and accepted that they would both keep their old surnames when they married.

Until one day, as they were working on the more-thrilling parts of wedding planning, the topic came up.

"We need to get a Marriage Certificate from the Ministry," Regulus said, furrowing his brow, as he looked over the meter-long checklist he held in front of him. "Oh, and I'll get a Name Change Application while we're there. Shall we go tomorrow?"

James took a few moments to process before he looked up. "Name Change Form?" he asked heart leaping a bit. "Wh-why?"

Gray eyes looked at him hesitantly. "I'm taking your last name. I thought you...you knew this...Shit, is that okay?" Regulus asked softly, as if he thought James would be mad about such a thing.

"Fuck." James stood from his chair and moved to scoop Regulus into his arms, ignoring his weak protests. "You mean it? You want to be Regulus Potter?" He did his very best not to drop Regulus with his glee, laughing and pressing kisses to his fiancé's face.

"I thought I did," Regulus said, rolling his eyes and swatting at him lightly. "Ugh. Yes, I do, for some strange reason. Now, stop this, we still have to talk about the cake. Mr. Gateau wanted to talk to us about final decoration details for the frosting-"

"Can it say Mister and Mister Potter?" James asked dreamily, setting Regulus back in his chair and grinning madly.

Regulus looked at him with a mixture of amusement and fond annoyance. "Fine. But only if I'm the first Mister Potter," he said, smirking.

"Of course, my love."

[uhbambii]

Sweet as Frosting

The Dellamorte villa was alive with warmth and laughter. The golden light of the kitchen illuminated the flour-dusted counter, where Rook stirred a bowl of batter with a bit more enthusiasm than technique. Her hair was tied loosely back, strands already falling free to frame her flushed cheeks.

Lucanis Dellamorte leaned against the counter beside her, his dark eyes brimming with quiet amusement. He was dressed in casual crow attire, nonetheless a bit intimidating to outsiders, though the frosting smudged across his sleeves made him look just a little less intimidating than usual.

“You know,” he drawled, his voice smooth and laced with mischief, “if you whisk any harder, the bowl might retaliate.”

Rook shot him a look, one brow arched. “I’m trying to make this perfect. You’re the one who insisted on cake instead of pie, so…” She trailed off, gesturing to the mess of ingredients around them.

Lucanis smirked. “Don’t blame me for your ambitious standards, tesoro. You’re the one who said you wanted to impress me.”

“Impress you?” Rook laughed, pausing to flick a pinch of flour at him. “Amorino, I think you’re already impressed enough.”

He tilted his head, watching her intently as though agreeing with that sentiment entirely. Then, without warning, he reached into the nearby frosting bowl, scooping a bit onto his finger and dabbing it across her nose.

“Lucanis!” she yelped, dropping the whisk and swiping at her face.

He was already laughing, the low sound resonating deep in his chest as he stepped back. “You’re much cuter when you’re messy, you know.”

“Oh, you’re asking for it now.”

Rook grabbed a handful of flour and flung it at him, hitting his dark shirt square in the chest. Lucanis stopped short, glancing down at the pale smudge on his otherwise pristine attire.

“You’re going to regret that,” he said, his voice low and teasing.

But Rook wasn’t waiting for his retaliation. She darted around the counter, laughing as Lucanis chased after her with a determined gleam in his eye. They ended up tangled in a playful scuffle, smearing frosting and flour on each other’s faces and hands as they stole kisses in between bursts of laughter.

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The cake batter was forgotten for a while, though neither seemed to mind.

It wasn’t until much later, after the cake was baked and half-decorated, and Rook was perched on the countertop with Lucanis standing between her legs, their foreheads pressed together, that she glanced at the clock on the wall.

Her heart sank. “Andraste’s ashes,” she muttered, pulling back.

Lucanis frowned, his brows knitting together. “What is it?”

“It’s one in the morning,” Rook said, sliding off the counter in a panic. “I was supposed to be home by eleven. Viago’s going to kill me.”

Lucanis caught her hand before she could rush away, his expression softening. “Stay,” he murmured, brushing his thumb over her knuckles. “I can smooth talk Viago tomorrow, save you some trouble.”

She sighed, torn between the warmth of his touch and the dread of her brother’s wrath. Finally, she leaned in, pressing a lingering kiss to his lips.

“You’re impossible,” she whispered against his mouth before pulling away.

“And yet, you keep coming back,” Lucanis said with a smirk, watching her gather her things.

Rook rolled her eyes but couldn’t help the smile that crept across her face. “I’ll see you soon. Try not to miss me too much.”

Lucanis chuckled, “try not to get scolded too much,” his gaze following her as she slipped out into the night.

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The De Riva villa was quiet as Rook climbed through the open window of her room, carefully lowering herself onto the floor. She thought she’d gotten away with it, until the light flicked on.

Rook froze, turning slowly to find Viago sitting in a chair by the door, his arms crossed and his dark eyes narrowed. He was still dressed, his usual sharp crow attire despite the late hour, though his expression betrayed his annoyance.

“You want to tell me where you’ve been all night?” he asked, his tone deceptively calm.

Rook scrambled for an excuse. “I was out with Teia,” she said quickly.

Another chair turned, and Teia spun into view with an equally unimpressed look. Her brown hair was loosely braided, and though her expression was softer than Viago’s, it was no less effective.

“Wanna try again?” Teia asked, arching a brow.

Rook winced. “I… was baking. At a friend’s place.”

“Baking,” Viago repeated, his tone flat. “Until one in the morning?”

“It’s… a very complicated recipe?” she offered weakly.

Teia exchanged a look with Viago, her lips twitching as though she were trying to suppress a laugh. Viago, however, didn’t seem amused.

“You know I don’t like it when you’re out this late,” he said, his voice softening slightly but still firm. “Anything could happen.”

Rook sighed, guilt creeping in. “I’m sorry, Vi. I lost track of time, that’s all. Nothing happened. I was perfectly safe at the Dellamorte villa.”

Viago’s brows furrowed, but his expression softened slightly. “Lucanis, huh?” He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “Look, I’m not going to lecture you about seeing him. He’s… decent, as far as men like him go. Better than I expected, even. But, Rook—” His tone sharpened, the protective older brother coming through. “One in the morning? At his villa? What were you thinking?”

Teia gave him a small nudge, her tone gentler. “Vi, let her explain. She’s fine. Don’t make a scene.”

“I’m not making a scene,” Viago shot back, though his raised voice said otherwise.

Rook held up her hands, trying to de-escalate. “We were baking. Baking, Vi. I wasn’t sneaking off to plot assassinations or rile up the Antaam!”

“That’s not the point,” Viago said, standing now, his dark eyes locking onto hers. “The point is you said you’d be home by eleven. If you’re going to see Lucanis, or anyone for that matter, you don’t just vanish into the night like some teenager with no sense of responsibility.”

“Vanish?” Rook repeated, indignant. “I didn’t vanish, Viago. I was with someone you know and trust.”

“I trust him to keep his blades sharp and his secrets buried,” Viago said. “That doesn’t mean I trust him not to make a bad decision with my little sister.”

Teia sighed, cutting in before the argument could spiral further. “She’s not a child, Vi. She’s more than capable of holding her own. And it’s not like she’s going to take any nonsense from Lucanis or anyone else.” She turned to Rook with a wry smile. “But maybe let your brother know next time if you’re running late? He gets… dramatic when he’s worried.”

Rook couldn’t help but grin at Teia’s dry humor, though she turned back to Viago with a more serious expression. “I’m sorry, Vi. I didn’t mean to worry you. I just lost track of time, that’s all. It won’t happen again.”

Viago exhaled, the tension in his shoulders easing a fraction. “Good. Because if you keep sneaking back at this hour, I might start sending messages to Lucanis about curfews.”

Rook’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t dare.”

His lips quirked into a sly smirk. “Try me.”

Teia snorted a laugh, nudging Viago toward the door. “Alright, that’s enough. She’s apologized. Let her sleep, papa corvo.”

Viago huffed but relented, though not without a final glance at Rook. “Just… take care of yourself, okay? And next time, send a message through a crow.”

As the door closed behind them, Rook sank onto her bed, letting out a breath of relief. Her brother could be a pain, but at least he wasn’t trying to put Lucanis on some sort of watchlist.

But the lecture was worth it, she thought with a smile, the memory of Lucanis’s flour-dusted grin still fresh in her mind.

———————————————————————————

I wanted to write something with a little bit of comic relief, sprinkled with a touch of protective older brother Viago (My headcanon for crow! Rook).

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Inspo for story: @trialsofthedas

Rook: *sneaking in through their window after a night at the villa*

Viago: *turning in their chair and flicking the light on* You want to tell me where you've been all night?

Rook: I was out with Teia?

Teia: *turning in their chair* Wanna try again?

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