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suituuup · 4 years ago

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pieces - chapter nine

Five years ago, Chloe dropped off the face of the Earth. Beca didn’t expect to see her again dancing in a strip club, out of all places.

rated: E (drug use and emotional abuse in early chapters)

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“Chlo?”

Beca called out when she came home that evening, pizza box in hand. She dropped her keys into the bowl by the entrance and toed off her boots, rounding the corner to the living room.

She had noticed a definite shift in Chloe’s overall demeanor ever since Chloe decided to keep the baby.

A light in her eyes that wasn’t there before, which reminded her of the Chloe she once knew, who was slowly coming back to life.

It was weird and a little scary to think about how a newborn was going to be living with them in six months. She didn’t know how involved Chloe wanted her to be, but Beca was ready to help, whether it be with prepping the room, shopping for little Bean, or getting up at night to change diapers and feed them a bottle.

“Hey,” Chloe greeted softly from her spot on the couch, clad in sweatpants and Beca’s Bellas hoodie she had kept since that night. “How was work?”

“Good.” They’d just finished layering the song, but Beca chose to keep that to herself, as she wasn’t sure she was ready for Chloe to hear it, yet. “How was your NA meeting?”

Chloe smiled and grabbed her purse, fishing for something in it. She produced a chip, showing it to Beca. The words 60 days clean and serene were written on it, the NA logo on the other side.

Beca beamed. “Holy shit, Chlo! That’s amazing!”

She knew some days weren’t easy, even if Chloe’s overall mood seemed brighter, and she was insanely proud of her friend.

“Yeah, I’m... “ Chloe shook her head. “I honestly didn’t think I would make it that far, when I got out of rehab,” she paused, meeting Beca’s eyes. “Thank you. For believing in me, and supporting me. I honestly-- I don’t know where I’d be if it weren’t for you.” She fiddled with the chip and smiled softly. “Now let’s make it to six months.”

“Six months,” Beca echoed, nodding. “That sounds like a great goal.” She tilted her head to the side. “Have you talked to your parents today? How’s your dad?”

“Yeah. He’s good, I think. I feel like he wouldn’t tell me if he was in pain, though.”

“Did you tell them about Bean?” Beca asked softly.

“No, I… I really want to tell them in person, once I’ve… told them the truth. Which is why I wanted to ask you…” Chloe nibbled on her bottom lip, clearly hesitant. “Would it be okay if I borrowed some money so I could visit them? I hate to ask this with everything you’re doing for me, and I promise I’ll pay you back when I get a job.”

“Chlo,” Beca said gently, smiling. “Of course it’s okay. I’m glad you’re visiting them. That’s the first goal on your list, isn’t it?”

Chloe nodded. “Yeah. And I was also wondering if-- you’d like to come with me? I know you’re busy, so I totally get if you can’t.”

Beca pondered on that for a few beats. She was touched that Chloe offered for her to come along, and she hadn’t taken a break in a long time. “I’d love to. When did you want to go?”

“Ideally before I start showing to the point where I can’t hide it anymore,” Chloe answered with a cringe as she rubbed the small bump hidden under her hoodie. “I guess I should be good for another month and a half or so?”

Beca hummed. “Memorial day weekend is in three weeks, I could take Thursday and Friday off so we have three whole days there?”

“That sounds perfect,” Chloe murmured. “I also wanted to know if it was okay if I invited Aubrey over for dinner next weekend? Now that I feel a little better.”

“Of course. I’d love to see her, too. But I can totally hang out at Sarah’s if you guys want a one on one evening?”

Chloe shook her head. “No, no, you can stay here.�� She cleared her throat. “Is Sarah… okay with the situation?”

“I uh, I haven’t told her yet,” Beca said. “About the baby, I mean. I wasn’t sure if you were okay with me telling her, yet.”

“Oh. No, you can tell her.”

“Okay, I will when I see her tomorrow,” Beca said. “I bought a bacon-mushroom pizza with pineapple on one half. You hungry?”

“Starving. I don’t know what it is with Bean, but I can’t stop eating.”

Beca chuckled and pushed to her feet, giving Chloe a boost up. She padded to the island and opened the box, then headed to the cabinet to get two plates out. “Are we watching The Bachelor? ”

She froze in her motion when Chloe zoomed down the hall, the sound of retching reaching her ears next.

“Shit,” Beca muttered, setting the plates down on the counter before following after Chloe. She knelt by her and gathered her hair in her hand, rubbing her back in slow circles.

“Bean doesn’t like mushrooms,” Chloe mumbled once she was done, reaching up to flush the toilet.

“Are you sure it’s not the pineapple on pizza thing? Now that’s gross.”

Chloe threw her a playful glare as she rested her back against the wall. “It’s definitely the mushrooms.”

“I’ll go toss the pizza and open up some windows to clear the air. Want some ginger ale?” She had stocked up on that since it seemed to help Chloe with her morning sickness, which was lessening now that she had reached the end of her first trimester.

“Sure, thanks.”

Beca came back a minute later with a can and offered it to Chloe, lowering herself next to her. “Are you excited for your appointment next week?”

Chloe took a sip. “Yeah. And nervous. Less so now that I’m past twelve weeks, but I’m scared something bad might pop up on the screen.”

Beca’s hand came to rest on Chloe’s thigh. She had read into the possible complications cocaine use during pregnancy could have on a baby: premature delivery, malformations, weaning at birth… cocaine wasn’t as bad as opiates, and Beca had read that only 3-5% of babies had birth defects, but it was still enough to trigger some worry.

“Want me to come with you?” She asked, always cautious when it came to not overstepping.

Chloe covered Beca’s hand with her own, a small smile curving her lips. “Yeah.”

Beca smiled back, then reached for her phone in her pocket and pulled up the app she was looking for. She angled her screen towards Chloe. “Bean is the size of a lemon this week.”

Chloe cocked an eyebrow. “You downloaded an app that follows the baby’s growth?”

“Yeah.” Beca’s nose crinkles in awkwardness. “Is that weird?”

“No,” Chloe says, shaking her head. “I think it’s sweet. Bean’s going to have the best auntie in the world.”

Chloe’s words made Beca’s heart swell, and she cleared the sudden emotions rising in her throat. God , that baby wasn’t even born but she knew she was already a goner. Which was weird to think about, because she couldn’t stand kids. But this was Chloe’s, so it was bound to be adorable, even despite Marco’s genes.

“Aunties,” she corrects after a while. “All twelve of them.” A smirk curves her lips as she shrugs. “I’ll just be the coolest one.”

Chloe raised an eyebrow. “The one Bean will come to for dating advice?”

Beca’s nose scrunched up. “Yikes. I’ll swing that one over to Stacie. No , Aubrey. Can’t trust Stacie with dating advice.”

She looked down at her phone when it lit up with a text from Sarah, saying she had just got off work and asking Beca if she wanted to come over to her place and whether she had eaten dinner yet.

“Is that Sarah?” Chloe asked softly.

“Yeah… she asked me if I wanted to go over, but--”

“I’ll be fine,” Chloe assured her with a soft chuckle. “I’ll probably pass out on the couch around 8:30. You should go.”

Beca nodded. “Okay.” She pushed to her feet, sliding her phone in her back pocket. “See ya, Beale and Bean.”

She smiled at the sound of Chloe’s giggle on her way out, sliding her boots back on and grabbing her keys before slipping out. Sarah lived a fifteen-minute car ride away on a good traffic hour. Beca parked in front of her building, having stopped on her way over to grab sushi from her favorite place.

“Hey you,” Sarah greeted as she opened her door.

Beca smiled, pecking her lips as she stepped inside. “Sushi?”

Sarah groaned, plucking the paper bag from her fingers. “You’re the best.”

Beca chuckled. “Long shift?”

“Yeah,” Sarah breathed out as she padded to her living area, setting the bag on her kitchen counter. “Beer?”

“Sure.”

They caught up on their respective days while they ate, low music playing from Sarah’s speaker.

“How’s Chloe doing?” Sarah asked as she cleared up their plates.

“Pretty good, I think.” Beca twisted around on her stool, tracking Sarah with her eyes as she cleared her throat. “She’s uh, she’s pregnant.”

There was a notable pause in Sarah’s movements, before she gently set the plates down on the counter. “Wow,” she let out as she turned around. “Is she… keeping it?”

“Yeah,” Beca replied. “I didn’t tell you before now because she just reached twelve weeks and the risk of miscarriage was pretty high up to that point.”

Sarah nodded slowly. “Is she okay?”

“It’s a lot, but she seems to be adjusting pretty well. If anything, the fact that she’s pregnant is helping her stay strong against her cravings.”

“Good, that’s good,” Sarah murmured. She nibbled on her lower lip, something she often did when she was nervous or irritated about something, Beca had noticed. “So um, is she going to stay at your place?”

Beca furrowed her brow. “Well, yeah. She doesn’t have a job and barely just got back on her feet, I’m not going to kick her out.”

“No, of course. I mean, long term,” Sarah corrected herself. “Because she isn’t going to move out when the baby is born either, I’m guessing.”

Beca tilted her head to the side. “Does that… bother you? The fact that Chloe is around?”

“I just--” Sarah sighed, glancing down. “I’m not sure where I fit in all this.”

“What do you mean?” Beca questioned softly, sliding off her stool and taking the few steps separating her from Sarah.

“I guess I was hoping we would move in together, somewhere in the near future.” She shrugged. “We’ve been together for over a year and we haven’t even broached the subject.”

A soft sigh flitted past her lips.

“And I feel like a jerk, again , because Chloe obviously can’t be on her own right now, and what you’re doing to help her is remarkable and it makes me love you even more, but… I want a relationship with a trajectory, not a flat line. Those sleepovers a few times a week, and having some of our clothes at each other’s place, it just doesn’t feel like enough anymore. At least not to me. I want us to start building something real, you know? Not… with your best friend and her baby living right across the hall.”

Beca licked her dry lips, swallowing. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know-- I had no idea that’s how you felt.”

“Bec, is that what you want, too?” Sarah asked then, softly, almost shyly, as though afraid of Beca’s answer. “Because if it’s not…”

“Yes,” Beca said, nodding. “Of course it is.” At least she believed so. She had always struggled when it came to commitment, and that was probably the reason why an uncomfortable feeling spread in her belly at the thought of moving in with Sarah. “We’ll figure something out, I promise.”

Beca spent the drive home playing her conversation with Sarah over and over in her head. She understood where Sarah was coming from, and was even surprised Sarah had stuck around when Beca was so emotionally stunted when it came to expressing her feelings. She hadn’t given much of a thought to wanting to change things so soon, as she felt comfortable with the pace they were going.

A heavy sigh puffed past her lips when she made it inside her apartment. She changed for bed, washed her face and brushed her teeth, settling in bed just past eleven. A knock at the door pulled her attention away from her phone.

“Come in,” she called out softly, smiling when Chloe’s head popped inside. “Hey. What’s up?”

Chloe shuffled in and sat at the foot of the bed, seemingly deep in her thoughts. “I’m-- I’m struggling.”

Beca straightened a bit from her slouched position and set her phone aside. “Come here, Chlo,” she coaxed, patting the space next to here. “Cravings?”

Chloe sat against the headboard, drawing her knees to her chest. She tugged on the ends of her hair, then started to bite at her nails. She was shaking. “I keep— finding reasons as to why I should— I should take something, telling myself one drink won’t hurt the baby and it would just be to—to take the edge off.” She reached inside the front pocket of her hoodie and handed Beca a twenty dollar bill, unable to meet Beca’s gaze. “I-I stole this from the bowl by the door to go buy myself a bottle.”

Beca swallowed and plucked it from her fingers, making a mental note not to leave any money laying around either.

“Thank you for telling me,” Beca murmured, imagining how hard it must be for Chloe to admit that she almost slipped up, and knowing how important for her recovery it was that she reached out.

Among the many things Beca had read about addiction, one thing stuck with her: the opposite of addiction is connexion, something Chloe had lost for a long while when she let her job and her toxic relationship consume her. But she wasn’t on her own anymore, and Beca believed that was a vital step to her recovery.

“You’re the strongest person I know, Chlo. What you’re doing is incredibly brave, and I’m in awe of you every single day. There’s no shame in thinking about it. It’s a normal part of the process. What is important is the fact that you didn’t let the addiction win.”

Chloe shut her eyes and nodded, her shoulders slumping as she released a long breath.

“Have you tried… singing it out? Or… dancing it out?”

Chloe shook her head. Beca pushed to her feet, grabbing her phone and shuffling through her playlist. Florence + The Machine’s Shake It Out started to play from her built in speakers as she rounded the bed and extended her hands out.

“Come on, Beale,” she coaxed once more when Chloe hesitated, holding out both hands.

Chloe eventually relented, but she stood there, seemingly unsure of what to do. The carefreeness that once inhabited Chloe was nowhere in sight, and Beca’s heart broke upon realizing it.

But she wasn’t giving up.

She broke into her robot dance routine, knowing perfectly well it didn’t go with the music at all. Acting like a dork did make Chloe crack a timid smile, which prompted Beca to keep going, grinning when Chloe started swaying to the beat, slowly at first as she closed her eyes, taking it all in.

“Shake ‘em out, Chlo,” Beca said, reaching out to increase the volume as the chorus hit.

And Chloe danced. For real this time, without any chains holding her back as she let the music and the lyrics carry her, spinning around as she sang to the top of her lungs.

“Shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa

And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back

So shake him off, oh whoa…”

#bechloe #bechloe fic #chloe beale #beca mitchell #pieces

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ame-maji · 3 years ago

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DAIRY QUEEN

Last week, Dairy Queen opened its very first branch here in Seoul, and on Saturday they had their grand opening. As part of that grand opening they ran a very special promotion where the first 100 people in the line would win free Blizzards for a month, and the first 100 people to buy ice cream cakes would win free Fan Set Combos for a year. As a non American I have never eaten Dairy Queen before, in fact I only had a very loose idea of what the place even was, I imagined an ice cream parlour of sorts, a farm or possibly a milk and cheese shop. Usually I absolutely abhor queuing, but for a year’s worth of free food I was prepared to break that rule. So my lack of plans that weekend and lust for free food found me waking up at 6:45 on a Saturday to get there to join the queue. We arrived around 7:15 which was just in time as they had a list of people and at 7:30am it was full.

After that they turfed us outside into the cold to wait for the store to open at 10am. Honestly this seemed a kind of cool way of doing it, had I known I hadn’t made it on the list I would have headed straight back home to bed. When they handed out the tickets I was the 55th person in line and the 44th person to buy an ice cream cake. By the time we got to ordering it was 10:45 so I invested about 4 hours in to the endeavour, but it really didn’t seem like that long and I had a lot of fun in the queue with my friends and making the video above.

This first store is located in the University neighbourhood of Hyehwa. There is only one reason I have been to Hyehwa before and that is to drink at one of my favourite cocktail bars, Mix & Malt. The medium sized store, is set over two floors, and has a cool and relaxed vibe. In the next few months they will be opening more branches all over the country, including one in my neighbourhood of Itaewon (now open and right by exit 3), which is when my VIP Fan Deal set card will start paying dividends. The Itaewon location is set to be where Taco bell currently is and will open in December, and will also be running a special grand opening promotion.

On to the food. I decided to use my new Fan Deal set which includes either a cheeseburger or chicken strips, chips, a drink and an ice cream sundae. As I already planned on getting some burgers on top, I went with the chicken strips, plus everyone had gone on about how amazing they are. For burgers I opted for the Crispy Chicken Burger (4,900) Quarterpounder Bacon Cheese Burger (6,800). I’m greedy so I also ordered a portion of onion rings. As you can see it was one hell of a fast food feast.

I found the beef burger to be very reminiscent of a Burger King Whopper, I found it very tasty at the time, but I was hella hungry after being in that queue for so long, with only a banana to tide me over. The chicken burger was also pretty decent, a very crispy coating and nicely spiced, could have done with a touch more mayo for my tastes, but a solid fast food burger. I had heard good things about the Onion Rings (2,400) through the grapevine but didn’t really care for them, maybe they weren’t freshly cooked but I probably wouldn’t get them again. I’m not really sure what I expected from DQ before going, I thought it might slightly better than the regular fast food places, but I found it to be pretty similar to Burger King.

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purplesurveys · 3 years ago

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1309

3 things you’ve done today:

Slept in for the FIRST TIME IN YEARS. I feel incredible.

Had a dream about my celebrity crush and told my sister all about it as soon as I was properly awake.

I guess this next entry counts since I was doing it at 2 AM, but I started watching The Raincoat Killer on Netflix.

3 things you’ve purchased recently:

I got a box of sushi last Thursday because my overtime that night was just downright cruel lmao. I made it grand and got the box with 30 pieces because I know I goddamn deserved it.

A couple of vape pods.

Blackhead pore strips not because I have blackheads but just because I wanted to experience placing it on my nose and peeling it off HAHAHA. A stupid impulse buy for sure.

3 things you’ve eaten today:

Again, all these entries are from earlier last night since I’ve barely done anything this morning but:

Chicken fillet ala king from McDonald’s

French fries, also from McDonald’s

Tuna spread canapes

3 movies you enjoy:

When it comes to movies I want to watch simply to have a good time, Love Actually takes the cake. That movie just makes me so happy lol.

Toy Story

The Proposal

3 of your favorite bands:

Paramore

HONNE - if they count?

BTS - again, if they count haha. I’m not a very big band person these days.

3 songs you enjoy:

I’ll make it one song for each group I mentioned so it’s easier:

Pool - Paramore

loving you is so easy - HONNE

UGH! - BTS

3 things you wish for:

That weekends can be longer than two days

That I can travel to a different country, or different countries, soon

That cooking came natural to me

3 things you’re wearing:

My Sowozoo pajamas ahahaha

Underwear

My hairtie on my wrist

3 things on your mind:

What time I should go to the mall so I can buy a new phone charger cord, because my old one just died on me last night precisely when I was at 1%. I magically, MAGICALLY was able to find an angle that worked and I managed to get it to full charge, but I wanna be safe and just go to the mall and get a new one just so it’s out of my worries.

What time my mom will be back home, since she took my car out.

That my shoulders and lower back are currently bothering me.

3 of your favorite smells:

A freshly-cleaned hotel or resort room

Bacon and eggs being cooked

Coffee shops

3 words to describe how you feel now:

Well-relaxed - I got 8 hours of sleep and have forgotten how refreshing it feels. I only got 3 or 4 hours each night for this week in particular.

Hungry - Another reason why I already wanna head to the mall, so I can get something to munch on. Most likely will land in a Starbucks.

Relieved - Because it’s the weekend.

3 things you like about yourself:

It’s not a good trait to have, but I like that I’m a workaholic lol. But I like getting things done and hitting targets, so it works out for me even if I barely get any sleep and end up doing the work of people I find slow.

My memory is excellent so I get to remember what my friends are into or currently interested in, and bring it up at random moments to make them happy.

That I am finally able to give back to my parents.

3 unpopular opinions you have:

I cannot stand fruits in most contexts. I can drink powdered fruit juice and eat the mangoes in sushi, but I don’t like having them by itself.

I wouldn’t like, neglect them or anything if faced with one, but I’m not the biggest fan of cats and have always preferred dogs.

Liking balut is surprisingly such an unpopular opinion so let’s place it here as well.

3 things you enjoy doing:

Bea reintroduced me to diamond painting a couple of weeks ago when she brought her work-in-progress to Zambales. I had thrown out my own set a while back since mine had come from Gabie, but doing it again with her and Kata made me realize how much I miss it. I might buy one for myself before the year ends.

Going to a restaurant I haven’t tried and having their offerings.

Watching BTS videos until the ass crack of dawn.

3 of your favorite photos (or memories):

Continued...12ish hours later lol. Most recently, my Zambales trip with my bosses-slash-friends. It was my first out of town trip that I paid for myself and one that lasted for more than a day, so it definitely serves as a milestone.

Paramore show, 2018.

Finding out I passed UP. That night was bittersweet too, I guess, because I couldn’t celebrate it with my grandpa who passed away a few months before the results came out. But it’s a happy memory nonetheless.

3 things in your room:

I have a mug of mocha coffee beside me. It’s my second cup for the day sooooooo just hoping my palpitations in a few hours won’t be too bad.

I got a cute little Jimin-themed foldable fan as a freebie from the K-pop merch shop I frequent! I dunno where to place it in my room yet but for now, it’s here on my work desk.

I’m not actually sure what you call it but I have a tub of menthol rub(?) for my shoulders and back that hurt...pretty much 24/7 now lol.

3 things that scare you:

Turning out awful at anything I’m supposed to be good at.

Fire. It’s why I can never get to start on cooking huhuhu so much fire involved :(((

Bea recently talked about how PR is not a very sustainable career, i.e. you rarely see any mid-30s to 40-something people doing PR...so that kinda set me into a crisis. Like what WILL I be doing in 20 years? It’s just nerve-wracking to think about.

3 things that you find attractive in a person:

Being low-maintenance. I cannot deal with divas, i.e. too picky with food, gatekeeping when it comes to things like movies, music, etc.

Taking the initiative to help me with the smallest of tasks, unasked.

If they are comfortable with silence. Some people feel the need to fill it all the time and keep small talk going, and sometimes that’s just exhausting.

3 places you have traveled:

South Korea, albeit very briefly.

Singapore

Indonesia

3 of your favorite flowers or plants:

Peonies

...That’s it, really.

3 facts about your current life:

I worked overtime 4 out of 5 days this week, leaving me completely burned out. I was so happy to be completely lazy on the couch today.

I am currently eating shawarma alongside taking occasional sips from my coffee.

I’ve stopped going crazy on merch expenses because I’m finally eyeing getting insurance and a new phone, since my screen is DYING by the day.

3 books you’ve read recently:

I don’t really read anymore.

3 things you are planning to do this summer:

You mean by next year? I imagine just being drowned in work again lol.

I hope I get to squeeze in a trip, though.

...But to be honest, I have nothing set in stone this early.

3 games you enjoy - any type:

I'm obsessed with Rhythm Hive these days. I’m talking 6-hours-a-day-every-weekend obsessed.

Grand Theft Auto, but I never actually do the missions lmao. Open world games in general are fascinating to me and I always wanna see how much I can do.

Mario Kart.

3 facts about your appearance:

I have bangs that are way too long at this point, but I’m trying to grow them out so I can finally get rid of them.

I currently have a dingdong on my left cheek, but I’m expecting it to go away in a day or two.

I had a really bad fall earlier this week (I was getting out of bed one morning and was too groggy to tell that my left leg was in the middle of a crazy pins and needles attack, so the moment that leg landed on the floor I dropped straight on my knee, hard) - which first appeared as a bruise, and ultimately ended up as a wound. Thankfully it’s starting to itch now, which means it’s on its way to healing.

#survey #surveys

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livingouttheworsttimeline · 4 years ago

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Why am I so tired all the time?

4:30 am: youngest child wakes up after wetting the bed. change child, change bedsheets, replace drinks, turn night time music back on, convince youngest child that it is in fact still night time. Climb back into bed a 4:55.

5:00 am: eldest child comes to tell me that youngest child wants to play. I am aware, because I have heard her loudly declaring such since I left their room. Tell oldest child to go back to bed. Pray that, somehow, for the very first time, they will put themselves back to sleep.

5:05 am: give up on hopeless prayers. Get up and take both children to the living room. Change the youngest into underwear. Log into tablets and override the “do not turn on until 6 am” setting. Wait for coffee to finish brewing.

5:23 am: extract self from underneath 2 children and a dog to pour first cup of coffee. It’s half caff, because spouse has a heart condition. Remind self that I can have several cups with impunity.

5:45 am: Eldest child is unhappy with the pre-made breakfast provided for him the night before. When asked what he would like to eat, he responds, “bacon, chinese food, or pizza.” Explain, again, that we need a variety of foods for our bodies to grow strong. Spend 15 minutes convincing him to eat $5 worth of blackberries as a compromise.

6:12 am: Finish 2nd cup of coffee, realize that eldest child’s night time pull up is overflowing with poop. Usher him to the bathroom for a bath. Feel humbled when I realize that I spent 10 years in grad school, and yet I am still reduced to wiping shit off another person. Calmly remind eldest child that he is capable of using the potty, and that I have confidence in him.

6:30 am: Spouse awakes, complains that he slept poorly. Roll eyes and go back to drinking 3rd cup of coffee, in between being elbowed in the stomach and explaining that no, I do not know how to work the video game you just downloaded 15 seconds ago. Remind self that I am their physical and mental safe place, which is worth the literal bruises and mental stress.

6:45 am: extract self from pile of children and dog by physically lifting each dependent off my lap. Verify that spouse is up for supervision duties, collect running clothes, and start treadmill.

6:47 am: stop treadmill because youngest child has entered the room and decided that I will not run today because it’s not fair. Remind self that arguing fairness with a 3 year old is the definition of futility. Gently remind her that I love her, she is a big girl, and she can play independently while I run.

6:49 am: start treadmill again. Nagging calf pain seems to be back. Scale back workout, remind self that value of the run is not the distance. Do extra core workout to compensate.

7:30 am: shower. Mediate 2 sibling fights from shower. Fortunately, children are camped out in the bathroom with me, so I don’t have to leave a trail of water through the house to interact.

7:35 am: Marvel at the thought that spouse takes a 45 min shower. EVERY DAY. Note gratitude that I am working from home, and no longer have to style hair and makeup.

7:36 am: Refill kid drink cups for the 3rd time today. Spend 30 minutes convincing, cajoling, and bribing kids to put on clean underwear. We no longer try for clothes.

8:06 am: turn on work computer. Respond to a weekend full of emails. Handle 5 pressing tasks for side hustle, reasoning that if I get them out of the way, I can push the rest of that to do list to after working hours.

8:45 am: Answer persistent pounding on locked office door. refill drinks and provide snack. Reassure youngest child that mommy is still here, but she needs to work.

9:03 am: debate whether going to the bathroom is worth leaving the office and the begging that ensues. Make wrong choice either way.

9:15 am: morning meetings get shuffled later, because childless coworkers “are running late this morning.” Marvel at the concept of 9:15 am being early.

9:30 am: solid wall of meetings until noon. Update team on status at end of last week, despite not remembering what you just ate for breakfast. Realize that you haven’t eaten breakfast. Run training and introduction for new team member. You are the only woman on the team, so you get do the training because “you’re so good at explaining things.”

12:00 pm: Call youngest child’s preschool, make sure you can bring by her supplies and still adhere to Covid protocols. Preschool is also side hustle, so cram a parent and employee meeting into a single hour. Explain that new registration system will, in fact, be more efficient than old paper system. Remind preschool staff that we committed to going paperless. Make small talk with preschool teachers until the hour is up. Hop in the car and speed home.

1:00 pm: children adhere to my side the second I walk in the door. Spouse is in the shower. Children have eaten approximately 3 bites of their pb&j sandwiches, and demand different lunch. Remember that you have not eaten lunch yet. Refill drinks for 4th time, provide reasonable lunch alternatives.

1:25 pm: Remember that you scheduled a meeting for 1:30, and. you need to be present. Calculate that extraction from children is not possible in 5 minutes, and take meeting with youngest child on lap. Despite having weaned 1.5 years ago, youngest child decides that you’re still nursing, and pulls down top on video call. Spend most of call switching on and off mute. Catch every 3rd word.

1:45 pm: apologize to team, promise to reschedule a follow up with more focus. Hang up, extract youngest child’s arm from shirt. Refill drinks for the 5th time. Bribe children to get in bed for a nap with the promise of a visit to nana and pop this afternoon.

1:48 pm: children’s beds have been stripped, due to accidents last night, but spouse “doesn’t know where the clean sheets are”, and so hasn’t remade beds. Children petition to nap on the floor. Explain floor is not comfortable. Find clean sheets, make 2 beds, take everyone to the potty, tuck both children in.

2:20 pm: Realize that you have 40 minutes of actual work time left today, outside of meetings. Try to prioritize, with the knowledge that whatever you get done will not be enough. Deny request for drink refill.

3:00 pm: kick off afternoon meeting block. Try frantically to make the 40 minutes that you did get to work sound like a whole lot more. Wake children up during bathroom break so that they’ll be able to sleep tonight. Refill drinks for 5th time.

3:45 pm: Curse the fact that youngest child has inherited your distaste for waking up. Gently coax her awake in between meetings.

4:00 pm: Wrap up last task from meetings, make list of all new tasks. Realize that today you have checked off one task, and received 7 new ones. Promise self that you’ll get your work laptop back out after the kids are in bed. Ignore the sense of despair that threatens to overtake you.

4:20 pm: Bribe children into putting on clothes with promise of fruit snacks at grandparent’s house. Feel mildly guilty as you put on your second round of workout gear. Load children in double jogging stroller, jog to grandparent’s house.

5:00 pm: collect children to head home for dinner.

5:10 pm: threaten no more fruit snacks if children don’t put on their shoes. Grandparents go get them more fruit snacks.

5:23 pm: explain that the sun is going down in 24 minutes, and that we have to leave now to get home before it gets dark. Remember that time is immaterial. Wish for that blissful sense of ignorance.

5:37 pm: push 100 lbs of toddler and stroller up giant, hilly driveway. Spouse greets us with “what’s for dinner?” Politely remind him that he promised to plan and make dinner while we were gone. Grit teeth at his “I didn’t know what to make” response. Quickly run through available, easy, acceptable options and make dinner.

6:15 pm: serve dinner. Eat own dinner in 2.5 minutes, then spend rest of meal refilling drinks and plates, heating up or cooling down, and cajoling children to eat anything at all.

6:45 pm: Announce that tonight we don’t need to take a bath. Youngest child immediately melts down, because she wanted to take a bath. Eldest child melts down because, even thought he didn’t want to take a bath, he wanted to taunt his sister while she was in the bath.

6:53 pm: Loose temper for 1st time today, scream that children need to brush their teeth. Step away to calm down. Spouse gets upset because “You can’t handle the children without yelling.” Bite tongue all the way through to avoid snarky reply.

7:10 pm: read 2 story books. Read one more. Explain again, that mommy cannot read anymore, and daddy will come read for a little while. Extract self from pile of children, and tuck both in. Hugs, kisses, and fist bumps. Twice. Then once more, after you’ve left the room.

7:15 pm: contemplate second shower. Decide that you didn’t really get that sweaty on the walk, and it’s not like you’re going out. Collapse on sofa with phone and mindless tv.

7:25 pm: spouse comes into the living room after harrowing duty of reading for 10 minutes. Hand over the remote, pull out side hustle lap top and finalize tasks for the day.

8:30 pm: remember that you promised to do main job work. Bring out that laptop to run some code while you continue side hustle work.

9:15 pm: Finish side hustle work, give up on main job work for the evening. Mentally apologize to team for not making more progress, promise to self that you’ll be more focused tomorrow.

9:30 pm: tell spouse that you need to go to bed. Endure his eye roll and disappointed face. Apologize for needing to go to sleep so early, and reassure him that you’re doing the best you can.

10:15 pm: eldest child has night terror. Comfort eldest child until he’s calm. Comfort youngest child, who is upset at brother’s screams. Realize that spouse is still watching tv in the living room while you comfort children.

11:00 pm: listen to youngest child cry for 10 minutes until spouse begrudgingly tends to her. Remind self that it is not solely my job to comfort our children. Try to go back to sleep.

3 am: eldest child wakes up with question about mushrooms that is vitally important. Answer to best of middle-of-the-night ability, acknowledge that you appreciate his curiosity, but that there are times when questions are not appropriate. Get him back to sleep.

4:30 am: youngest child wakes up.

#working mom #why am i so tired

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bluedragonfairy2000 · 4 years ago

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Sweet Dreams~

Chapter 3

(Note: sorry if I described things weirdly in both the last chapter and this one. I mentioned in another post that the real world is vanilla and the dream world is modded. Since Tommy has only grown up in a vanilla world he doesn’t know what things are. He hasn’t see things like couches, TVs, or plates. So since this is from his perspective he is describing them in the best way he (I) can. Don’t worry he will learn the names for these soon enough.)

Phil, seeming to notice Tommy’s arrival, spoke “morning sleepy head, you ready for breakfast” Tommy being caught off guard by the fond and loving tone of Phil’s voice simply nodded. “Great” Phil said as he turn towards Tommy. Phil then proceeded to pick Tommy up and carry him to the chair next to Tubbo. This chair also had a stack of books on it. After Phil had set Tommy on the stack of books he proceeded to get the food he had been making and place it on the five white circles (plates) that were in front of them. The food that Phil had placed down was unlike anything he had seen before. There were white circles with smaller yellow circles in the middle (fried eggs), long thin strips of meat that smelled like pork chops but better (bacon), tube shaped meat that smelled like steak (sausage), small curved yellow things in a red goop (beans), small red circles (tomato), what appeared to be sliced brown mushrooms, and what appeared to be cooked sliced bread with something yellow smeared on top of it (buttered toast). He was also give a small red bucket (cup) with a yellow liquid inside (apple juice). Tommy watched for a second as Phil sat down and he and the other three at the table began to eat. Not wanting to seem out of place he copied their movements. Tommy thought it was odd how for some foods they used what looked like a small iron trident and a small dull metal sword (fork and butter knife), while for other foods they ate them with their hands like normal. The food was probably the best thing he had eaten in his entire life. As Tommy was eating he look around the table at his family. Phil was sitting at the head of the table with Techno on his left and Tubbo on his right, Wilbur was siting next to Techno, and Tommy was right by Tubbo. As they were finishing up breakfast Phil began to speak “Techno, Wilbur after you are finished eating I need you to take Tommy and Tubbo outside for a bit. I have some things I need to work on in the house so I need you to watch over them, okay?” The twin both gave noises of affirmation. After they were done eating Wilbur took Tommy upstairs. Wilbur grab out an outfit similar to the outfit Tommy always wore and said “get dressed quickly and then we can head out.” Tommy nodded and as soon as Wilbur left the room he changed into his clothes, slipped on his shoes and headed back to the large room at the bottom of the staircase. There he saw the other three Wilbur now had his beanie and on his back he had his guitar, Techno was now wearing his cape and crown and he also was carrying a book under his arm, finally there was Tubbo who was now wearing a bag in the shape of a bee on his back. They were all standing by the front door and once Tommy came down they headed out. They walk for a few minutes through a small forest before coming to a clearing dotted with flowers. Wilbur and Techno started to walk towards a tree resting by a nearby lake, while Tubbo dragged him towards the field. Tommy and Tubbo play for a couple of hours, chasing bees and picking flowers. Finally after wearing themselves out they stopped to take a break. Tubbo was currently weaving flower crowns out of the flowers he picked, while Tommy just laid in the grass staring at the clouds passing by. It had been awhile since he felt this calm. With the sun warming him and the gentle sounds of Wilbur guitar off in the distance Tommy let his eyes close and he drifted off to sleep.

#tommyinnit #tubbo #Technoblade #wilbur soot #philza #ranboo #dream smp #eternal dreams au #Sweet Dreams~#fanfiction #minecraft

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athenagc94 · 5 years ago

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Gust and Piper Beginnings - Pt. 7

Here’s the next part of the story! Please enjoy!

I’m also posting the story here on AO3!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gust collapsed on the couch in the middle of the living room. He muffled his groans in one of the decorative pillows that Ginger had just embroidered earlier that month. It was light blue with pale pink flowers. She’d been so proud of how it turned out. Now, he was using it to smother himself. Ginger only spared him a glance as she turned the page of her book. “Rough day?” He grunted in response, basking in the cool fabric of the pillow. “I thought you were done helping at the Harbor? You guys caught up, didn’t you?”

“Oh, we did,” Gust rolled on his back, still cradling the pillow to his chest. “But I was helping Piper today.”

“Piper?” This seemed to catch her attention. She closed her book and set it off to the side, eyes on him. He tried not to squirm under her calculating expression. “That’s a surprise. Why were you helping her?”

“She needed help,” he shot her an unamused look, “why is my helping her a surprise?”

Ginger smirked. “No offense, but unless you’re assisting me, the word helpful doesn't normally apply to you.” Gust frowned. He couldn’t really argue with her. She was right. He only ever doted on Ginger. No one else warranted or deserved his attention, well until now. “So what did Piper need help with? You look ready to keel over.”

“Piper hurt her ankle.” Gust stifled a yawn and curled up against the arm of the chair. “She can’t walk on it, so I offered to help her so she could keep working over the next few days. I don’t know how she does it.”

He really didn’t. He was at her workshop at the crack of dawn and she put him straight to work. He never anticipated that Piper, laid back and fun loving, would be such a hardass when it came to her craft. She never showed it. He emptied and filled machines. Then she sent him out to gather raw material that she couldn’t go out and gather herself. He’d turned his nose up at the pickaxe she’d given him, but he soon realized that it was the only way to get any of the things she’d asked for. His arms were still aching and a part of him doubted he’d be able to lift them in the morning.

While he did that, she was still working on her long list of commissions at her desk. He had no idea how she managed to juggle gathering her own supplies and making things out of them too. He was exhausted and he’d only been working a day, but this was Piper’s reality. He only got away when he did because he had to come home and watch after Ginger. He couldn’t even fathom what would have happened if he’d stayed longer. One of the Civil Corps members may have had to tote his unconscious body back home.

“How did she hurt herself?”

Gust waved her off. “In the old WOW Industries or something. We bumped into each other while I was searching for hibiscus flowers and she offered to help.” Ginger only gave a solemn nod at that. She knew how important those flowers were. He clutched the pillow a little tighter to his chest, like it would stop his heart from pounding out of his chest. “I should have said something sooner, but she insisted on helping me. So, I decided to help her with her endeavors for the next few days. That’s all.”

“Is that all?” Ginger cocked her head to the side and a small smile flutter across her face. She looked at him with such a gentle expression. He didn’t know what it meant. It made him uncomfortable. “That’s very noble of you. I’m sure Piper is relieved to have your help while she’s injured.”

“I was barely any help.”

Ginger only chuckled. “Did she ask you to come back tomorrow?”

Gust shook his head and rolled onto his back. He watched the ceiling fan rotate lazily overhead. He traced the orbit with his eyes. “She didn’t have to,” he admitted after a moment, “I told her I would help her until her ankle was better and I plan on keeping that promise.”

“I like this new Gust.”

He turned his attention back to Ginger, brow furrowed. “What?” Ginger folded her hands neatly in her lap and shrugged. It wasn’t an answer and that was mildly irritating for him. What was that supposed to mean? “I’m not a new Gust.”

“I disagree.” She stood up and tucked her book under the crook of her arm. “I thought something was different about you recently, but after tonight I think I now know what that is.” Gust straightened in his seat. What did she know? Before he could press, she was heading out of the room and towards the staircase. “I’ll let you get some rest. I’m sure it’ll be a long day tomorrow.”

Like that, he was left alone with his thoughts, which was a dangerous place for him to be. He had no idea what Ginger meant. How was he any different? He was still him. He didn’t feel any different. In fact, he felt very much the same and that’s what irritated him. Ginger had to be wrong. He was still Gust. Rude, crass, and standoffish. He found it very hard to believe that anyone would ever like this version of himself.

↢↢↢↣↣↣

“Have you eaten?”

Piper offered a mumbled response as she continued working on Minister Lee’s commission for a batch of new talismans. He wanted enough for the whole town, and she’d been working on them for over two hours. Before that, she’d been hard wiring a new desk lamp for Mei. The goggle marks were still embedded across the bridge of her nose. He doubted she’d taken any breaks between the projects.

This was his third day at the workshop and in that time he’d really seen how Piper operated. It was appalling to say the least. She never took breaks. She rarely stopped for meals. He’d taken it upon himself on more than one occasion to slip her a glass of water, just to remind her to drink something. Still, she worked diligently and she showed no signs of changing her ways. Honestly, he wondered how she’d survived this long without someone to force her to stop and take a breath.

“You need to eat.”

“I’ll order something from the Round Table.”

“Why waste the money? Don’t you have something around here?” He glanced around her workshop. There was a small kitchen in the corner. It had a stove, fridge, and a small sink, all of which looked like they went untouched. “I’ve seen the vegetable garden you keep out back. Don’t you keep any of the produce?”

“I do.” Her fingers worked deftly as they wrapped red cord around another engraved stone. It seemed like a mechanical response at this point, but still she didn’t look up from her work. “But I don't know how to cook. So I normally eat them raw.”

Gust blinked at her in disbelief. “You don’t know how to cook?” He massaged the bridge of his nose and sighed. This woman. If she didn’t know how to cook, how had she not shriveled away to nothing. She really was hopeless. “But you live alone? How have you survived this long?”

“The Round Table,” she tossed another talisman on the pile, “and the unadulterated kindness of Sophie and Emily. Without them, I might have starved.” She grabbed another piece of stone and began carving away at its surface. It’s like they were discussing the weather and not the fact that she wasted all her money on take out.

Gust shook his head at her. “No wonder you can’t afford that next plot of land, you’re wasting your gols on take out.” She only grunted in response, too engrossed in her work to really hear him. He clucked his tongue and made a beeline for the kitchen. He knelt down and opened the cooler box. Hopefully she had something he could work with. He was surprised to find it well-stocked. Meat and fish were neatly packaged on one shelf. No doubt boons from her adventures. She had an array of vegetables from her garden. There were even fresh eggs and milk, no doubt from Emily and Sophie. He rolled his eyes and started pulling ingredients from the fridge. Fine. If she refused to take care of herself, he’d do it for her.

He regarded the splay of ingredients on the counter. Blade fish, meat, palm jujube, and rock salt. He had been craving bacon fish rolls for a few weeks now, but he’d been too busy to find the time to make it. At least now he had an excuse. And he’d be feeding Piper in the process. Two birds with one stone. He swept his hair back into a ponytail and got straight to work.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I’m cooking.” Gust didn’t even look up from the frying pan as he laid out the thin strips of bacon. They sizzled softly and the smell of cooked meat was enough to make his mouth water. Normally, he didn’t have much of an appetite, but all the manual labor was making him hungrier than usual.

“Yeah, I can see that, but why?”

“Because it was obvious that you weren’t going to feed yourself.” He sniffed and sprinkled a little rock salt over the bacon. They only needed to be seared before he took them off and rolled them over the blade fish and palm jujube, so he had to keep his attention on the pan. “So I’m making us lunch. You’re going to stop working and we’re going to eat like civilized human beings.”

Piper snorted. “I’m not a child.”

Gust visibly bristled, but he kept his eyes trained on the sizzling pan. Don’t let the bacon burn. That’s all he needed to focus on. He didn’t need to indulge her. But of course, his mouth moved faster than his brain. “Well, then don’t act like one.” He sighed. This happened every time they spoke. “If you’re going to neglect to take care of yourself, someone’s gotta do it.”

Piper had stopped working now. She sat in her chair, knees tucked under her chin as she regarded Gust with pensive expression. “I’ve managed this long, haven’t I?”

Gust rolled his eyes. “Barely. I had no idea it was this bad.” He clucked his tongue and pulled the pan off the heat. “You don’t even know how to cook, ridiculous.” Piper chuckled and spun in her seat, but Gust failed to see the humor. These were fundamental building blocks of staying healthy, how could she just brush them off like they were nothing. It made his heart ache.

They didn’t speak as he busied himself with preparing the rest of the meal. Piper didn’t press and returned back to her work after a minute or two. A comfortable silence settled between them, it almost seemed natural. It was quick work, finishing up the bacon rolls, it was almost second nature for him. Cooking came easy to him. Much like painting, it was a form of creation. Gust always needed to be creating. It’s the only time he ever felt some sense of relief and purpose.

“Time for lunch.”

Neither said anything as they settled around her rickety kitchen table. The front of her coveralls were covered in stone dust, but Gust didn’t bother to comment. The bacon roll was good. It was such a simple recipe, but it always hit the spot every time he made it. Gust couldn’t ignore the way she watched him as he ate. The pensive expression was back as she nibbled at her lower lip. She barely touched her food.

“Are you going to eat or not?”

Piper regarded the plate in front of her, a soft flush blossoming across her cheeks. “I will, I will, but I have a question first.” He hummed around a mouth full of bacon fish roll. He couldn’t imagine a question so dire that she wouldn’t eat, but he stayed quiet. “Why were you looking for the hibiscus flowers?” Gust almost choked on his food. He swallowed thickly and it slid down his throat, settling in his stomach like lead. “Why was it so important that you find them?”

Gust considered her question. He stared down at his plate and the hunger he’d been feeling dissipated. He didn’t doubt that Piper knew about his mother’s death, but he doubted she knew how much her death had affected him. He could tell her, but then he’d be breaking down a wall he’d spent a long time building. He didn’t know if he could bear her condolences or Light forbid her pity. The pitying stares of the town had played a large role in his leaving in the first place. He didn’t want to endure that with Piper, of all people.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No, no, Iー” he swallowed the lump that was beginning to form in his throat, “it was my mother’s favorite flower.” His voice was small, but firm. He fiddled absently with the watch on his wrist. “I try to gather them while they’re in season, so I can drop some off at her grave for her birthday.”

Piper’s expression softened. “That’s really sweet of you.” She reached across the table and took his hand. “As soon as my ankle is better, I’ll make sure you get those flowers. I promise.” She squeezed and he felt it in his chest. He tried to keep his breath even, but it was a struggle. “Thank you for sharing that with me.” Her fingers slipped away and Gust found himself wishing they hadn’t. He really liked the feeling of her hand in his.

She speared her fork into the fish roll and stuffed it into her mouth. Her eyes rolled back in her head and groaned. “Peach’s pants, this is amazing.”

And just like that, the topic was dropped. She didn’t pry into his affairs. She didn’t force him to talk about his feelings or offer empty condolences. She just let it be. He was so happy, he could have cried. Gust took a shaky breath and turned back to his meal. “Maybe I’ll make something for you again sometime.”

↢↢↢↣↣↣

Gust made her lunch the next day. He was only slightly embarrassed to admit that he’d spent his evening pouring over cooking books to find a recipe Piper might like. Ginger had noticed, but she’d been merciful enough not to comment on it. They were currently seated at her rickety kitchen table. Piper had become much more receptive to taking breaks with the promise of a home cooked meal. He’d settled on salmon fried rice today.

“What do you do for fun?” Piper arched an eyebrow at him as she chewed her food thoughtfully. She’d already devoured half of her plate, which Gust took as a good sign. “I feel like in the time we’ve known each other, you know a lot more about me than I know about you.”

Piper snorted. “And who’s fault is that?”

“Just answer the question.”

“Well, if you’re asking about my frivolous activities, I don’t have a whole lot of time to indulge in them these days,” Piper settled back in her seat, “but I did do boxing when I was back in Barnarock.” He must have done a poor job at hiding the surprise on his face because she took a few jabs at the air in front of her. “I was good too.” She added with a pointed look in his direction and Gust threw up his hands, relenting. He wasn’t sure why he was so surprised. Piper was pretty firmly built. When he’d carried her back to her workshop, he felt the firm contours of her upper arms.

“But you’re so even tempered?”

“And why do you think that is?” she asked with a crooked smile, “I take out my aggression on Sam when we meet up and spar.” She tapped her temple thoughtfully. “Can’t be losing your temper, if you know you get to kick someone’s ass three times a week.” She shrugged. “It’s therapeutic for me, I guess.”

Gust bit back a smile. “I knew you were able to handle yourself in a dangerous situation,” he gathered another mouthful of rice on his spoon, “but I would have never guessed that you were this well-equipped for the job.”

Piper sighed. “Well, to be honest, I didn’t think those dangerous situations would come with the job,” she cradled her cheek in the palm of her hand, “don’t let them know, but I feel like I’m often doing the Civil Corps job for them these days. Like, why is it always me, ya know? I never see Higgins getting trapped in a cave with ancient bloodthirsty AIs.” She laughed, but it sounded strained and Gust noticed immediately. “But whatever, I’m just glad people can turn to me in a crisis.”

Gust frowned at her. She seemed sincere enough. She prided herself on being dependable, but her usual nonchalance was missing, but he didn’t point it out. Piper didn’t pry into his business, he should extend the same courtesy. “My lips are sealed.” He mimicked the zipping of his lips and Piper laughed. This one sounded far more genuine and it made his heart flutter in his chest. It was worth the internal loathing. Light, that was so lame, he was becoming his father.

“Now, you have to answer my question though.” She leaned across the table and Gust found himself leaning closer as well. Where did you learn to cook? This is amazing.” She gestured to the plate in front of her. “You could give Django a run for his money if you wanted to.”

“I learned when I lived with my Master in Atara,” Gust said simply, “it was an enlightening experience.”

Piper ‘oo-ed’ teasingly as she took a sip of her red tea. He was beginning to think that red tea had replaced the blood in her veins, she drank it so often. “I feel like that’s just a nice way of saying she made you her bitch and had you do all the cooking.” Gust pursed his lips at her, but he made no attempt to correct her. There was nothing to correct. She smirked. “Yeah, I thought so. That tends to be the case with those apprenticeships, you do the bitchwork so your Master doesn’t have to, right?”

“I learned a lot from Vera during my time with her.”

“Well, obviously, look at you. You’re talented and successful,” She waved him off with a swipe of her hand. Gust wanted to argue, but she didn’t give him the chance as she continued, “I just know there’s a lot of hoops to jump through before you actually get to learn something, so more power to you. I consider myself a pretty patient person, but I wasn’t patient enough to deal with that kind of bullshit.”

Gust straightened in his seat. “Wait, did you study in Atara?”

“Study is a strong word,” she smirked around the rim of her glass, “but yes, I tried to gain an education in Atara, but I dropped out after a year or two. Not my proudest moment, but the scholarly life wasn’t exactly my calling.”

“What did you study?” He would have never guessed that she studied in Atara like him. Piper was unintelligent. Quite the opposite, she knew how to hold a conversation and Gust always enjoyed speaking with her. He could admit that to himself now. He enjoyed her company.

“Political science,” another sip of her drink, “I wanted to be on the committee for the Free Cities at one point. Settle conflicts. Help people. Maybe even stop our war with Duvos.” She shook her head. “In short, I was naive and a dumbass. I apprenticed with one of Atara’s political tycoons and realized pretty quickly why things weren’t getting better. No one wanted to put in the effort to make it better, so neither did I. I dropped out shortly thereafter.”

Gust blinked. Politics. Of all the degrees, she’d taken an interest in the field his father so desperately wanted him to study. He supposed irony was cruel like that. He gave her a thin smile. “That is surprising.” He leaned a little closer across the table and she didn’t shy away. He regarded her hands. They were covered in grease and the nails had been bitten down to the nail bed. The hands of a hard worker. “I figured you would have studied carpentry considering your skill set.”

Piper tugged sheepishly at a loose strand of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes. “About that. I actually never considered carpentry before coming to Portia. This was kind of a worst case scenario for me and I was in a pretty desperate place when I made the decision.” Gust frowned at her. She never planned on coming to Portia. They were more alike than he’d thought. “Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t regret coming here now. I’m happier than I thought I’d be.”

Gust swallowed the bitter taste that had risen in his mouth. At least one of them was. “You are?”

Piper nodded and cradled her cheek in the palm of her hand. “There’s a lot of great people in this town, it makes it all worthwhile.” She reached forward and offered him an open palm, he took without a second thought. Grease stains aside, he liked the way her calloused hands felt under his finger tips. He’d found comfort in tracing them with his fingers. “And believe it or not you’re one of them.”

Gust snorted. “A lot of people would beg to differ.”

“Well, those people can pound sand,” Piper said with a shrug, “they don’t get to see the good sides of you.” She looked at him in earnest. It made Gust’s heart swell in his chest. He supposed she had a point. His good sides were often overshadowed by his shortcomings, but he was happy to hear someone had bothered to venture into the shadows to see them. He wasn’t sure if those good sides were worth the effort, but Piper seemed to think so. That was a small consolation at the very least.

He gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand. This time she didn’t let go. “Thank you Piper.”

#my time at portia #mtap #mtap gust #mtap ginger #mtap builder

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forever-more-never-again · 6 years ago

Text

Food Fight (A request)

Requested: Anonymous

Word Count: 1406

Pairing: Natasha X Reader

Warnings!: Descriptions of Anorexia! Panic Attacks! Self Deprecating Thoughts! Self Esteem Issues! Trust Issues!

a/n: Please do not read if you struggle with any of the above mentioned issues. This is a heavy topic and one I have seen and been affected by personally. Please pay attention to the warnings and seek help. People love you. You are worth it.

Request: Hi! I was hoping you could write a Natasha x fem! Reader, where R has anorexia, but N doesn't really notice since N is on missions a lot. And R is feeling worse about herself because she thinks N is always going on missions to avoid R?(angst pls) If you can't/don't want to write this it's totally fine and I understand, but I love your writing! You're so good at it! Anyway, I hope you have a lovely day ❤

Masterlist

You slunk off towards the kitchen, your plate of untouched food sliding into the trash, like all the previous meals before it.

Tucking your napkin around it, you quickly hid it from any eyes.

“Hey [Y/n]! Heard from Fury that Natasha and Clint should be arriving back any day now. You excited?” Tony yelled out from the dining room that Bruce had drug him to for dinner instead of staying in his lab like normal. You grinned, but your heart began pounding a mile a minute and your brain went into a frantic frenzy of toxic thoughts.

Natasha had been called out on a lot more missions than normal after the two of you had made things official, and you couldn’t help but wonder if she had requested them to get away from you.

You weren’t an Avenger...you certainly didn’t have the body of one. And growing up, your parents always warned that any boyfriend or girlfriend wouldn’t want ‘pigsty’ for a partner.

The echoes of old schoolmates oinking at you in the hallways chased you into yours and Natasha’s room in the tower.

Quickly, you stripped off your clothes and stood in front of the floor length mirror in the bathroom.

You didn’t see the toned stomach from workouts with Steve and Bucky fading into stringy muscle. You didn’t see the sunken eyes in your face from sleepless nights helping Tony and Bruce and constantly counting calories of everything you saw. You didn’t see the pasty pallor of your skin from not leaving the tower for weeks. And you definitely didn’t see someone worth Natasha’s love.

“Disgusting.” You muttered. Before pulling out the notebook you had hidden in your hair products drawer.

Flipping past pages with food and their respective calories, you stopped on a blank one and wrote the date at the top.

You tapped the pen on your lips as you recall what you had for breakfast that morning.

Breakfast:

3 Apple slices - 33 Calories

Lunch:

Slice of Cheddar Cheese - 113 Calories

Dinner:

Piece of Bacon - 43 Calories

Total: 189 Calories

You muttered to yourself as you calculated. 189 calories eaten today. And a lot of water. A lot. You knew a healthy diet was 1500 Calories a day. But you couldn’t stop. You had to lose the fat that was suffocating you.

That was drowning you in memories and insults and the nagging fear that Natasha was trying to get away from you and regretted making you her girlfriend.

Sighing, you put the notebook back away, hidden from prying eyes, and put on your sleepwear.

Crawling into bed, you glanced over to a picture sitting on the nightstand on Natasha’s side of the bed.

Steve had taken it the day Natasha had asked you to be her girlfriend.

You were wrapped in the red heads arms, her knowing smirk pointed at the camera while you had your head thrown back, laughing.

Tears pricked your tired eyes as you stared at the picture. Happier days.

And yet, your eyes still narrowed in on yourself in the picture. At the lovehandles that showed where your shirt rode up. The thighs that looked massive next to Natasha’s leather clad ones. The chin that looked like it was just a tad too wide, that was one too many.

Echoes of the past and present mocked you as you fell into a nightmare fueled slumber.

You woke up to something warm against your back, and a tickle of air brushing your neck in timed intervals.

Blinking the sleep from your eyes, you looked down and saw two perfectly manicured hands holding your waist.

Natasha was home.

You should be feeling joy and love. But instead all you felt was disgust. At yourself. For deceiving yourself that you could ever be worth someone like her. For being someone Natasha had to get away from by taking on dangerous missions.

Fresh tears pricked at your eyes and you muffled a choked sob, almost whimper, from your throat with your hands.

But you must have moved or made enough noise to wake up Natasha, because her hands began moving and you felt her body heat leave.

“Mmm. Morning [Y/n]... Sorry I got back late last night and didn’t want to wake you.”

You couldn’t move. Frozen. Silent tears tracking paths down your cheeks. If you moved, Natasha would know something was wrong. And then you would find out what you suspected was the truth all along. That Natasha never loved you. That she pitied you. That you didn’t deserve her.

“Hey. [Y/n]? You okay?” Silky dulcet concerned tones. From a woman you both loved and feared at that moment.

Another sob. But this time you couldn’t stop it before it burst through your lips and out into the open air.

“[Y/n]!? Sweetheart!? What’s wrong?”

Natasha sat up in bed, rolling your body so that you faced her. Through your blurry vision, you could see those bright emerald eyes, those smooth lips. Natasha.

Her smooth hands rubbed up and down your arms as you shook with the sobs that were now unleashed.

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry-” It was all you could say between choked, broken cries.

Natasha began humming and pulled you into a hug, rocking you with her as she stroked your arms and hair calmly.

After what felt like hours, you finally stopped crying, your tears running out and your voice growing raspy from its hoarse repetition of apologies.

Natasha hummed once more before pulled back and placing her forehead on yours, her words were soft, gentle, “Mind telling me what’s going on? Does it have to do with your calorie book in the bathroom?”

You blue screened. She knew!?

Natasha didn’t laugh, didn’t mock or say anything cruel. She simply sighed, and gripped your hands in hers.

“I found it before this last mission.” Your brain flashed a thought in the middle of your inner panic, a week ago, she left a week ago, “And I was going to bring it up once I got home for a couple days. [Y./n],” She pulled back and stared at you, her green eyes wet with tears unshed yet, “You’re killing yourself my love.”

You laughed, brittle and hard, “Love? How could you love someone as ugly and fat as me?”

Natasha shook her head as you spoke, her eyes hardening even with the tears in them, “You are not ugly, or fat. [Y/n]...You are my girlfriend. You are a trusted member of the Avengers, you are a daughter and a friend and a colleague and so many other things I could spend hours listing. You are more than you think, and you are more than a couple words that do not define you.”

Well, you thought you had run out of tears, but you guessed you were wrong, because once more there were hot droplets of salt water running down your face.

You surged up and slammed your mouth onto Natasha’s. The kiss was sloppy and messy and tasted of Salt and love. But it was perfect.

Pulling apart with a pant, Natasha once again placed her forehead on yours and begged, her breath ragged whisper, “Please. Let me help you help yourself. You need to talk to someone professional about this. Please.”

You catch your breath, “Tell me you aren’t going on missions to avoid me. Tell me the truth.” Your plead. Desperate.

Both of your eyes were closed, as you clung to each other like drownies.

Natasha let out a chuckle, wet with tears unwept and fear of losing you, “Never! Never! I actually took these so that I would have the next few months free. To spend with you. Please. I love you [Y/n].”

You nodded your head, your skin hot and sweaty and gross. But for once, you weren’t thinking of how disgusting it was, or how many calories you were losing.

You were focused on yours and Natasha’s heartbeats slowly synchronizing together, you were focused on the glow of the sun peeking through the blinds, and you were focused on the hope of a new day.

Because Natasha was right. You needed help, but the first step was already completed. You laid to rest your fears of Natasha and you felt loved by the members of your family.

Your Food Fight with yourself was now over, and the healing could officially begin.

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the--blackdahlia · 6 years ago

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Too Young to Fall in Love Chapter 1 (Dirt!Nikki x Reader)

Title: Too Young to Fall in Love Chapter 1

Summary: Nikki Sixx was a hard partying musician on the strip. He never expected to fall in love with anyone, until a girl knocked on his dressing room door looking for a ride home and took his breath away. Just like everything else Nikki did; the drugs, the money, the music; Nikki went hard with love. (Y/n) Bass never expected the bassist of Motley Crue to be the one to shake her calm and calculated life up. She had a plan. Graduate school, become an epic producer, and watch from behind the scenes as her brother’s band rose to fame. Nikki and (Y/n) were perfect for each other, too bad her brother, Tommy, didn’t think so.

Series warnings: Smut (18+ Please), drug use, language, referenced miscarriage, drug overdose, mentioned attempted suicide, out of character moments for everyone in the band, the timeline might be a little screwy but it’s fanfiction!

AN: I couldn’t have done this without the help of @flamencodiva! Go check out chapters 1, 2, and 3 on my Patreon now! I really hope you guys like this. A lot of hard work has been put into it!

“Dudes, this crowd is fucking wild!” Tommy said happily as they got ready to go out and perform. Nikki chuckled some. No matter what, Tommy still got excited looking out at the crowd. He also still hurled too. This time though, he had missed any of their shoes, which was nice. “I think my sisters and their friends might have came out tonight. Not sure.”

“Dear god, there’s more of you?” Mick asked, shaking his head.

“Yeah dudes. Athena and (Y/n). (Y/n) we’re pretty sure was an oops baby, but she’s amazing!” Tommy laughed. Mick leaned over towards Vince.

“Are we sure he’s not the oops baby?” Mick asked, making Vince laugh.

“Okay guys, we ready?” Nikki asked. The boys got ready to head out on stage. They did a couple last minute checks to make sure their hair and make up was perfect before they headed out, the crowd erupting into screams and they started playing one of their newest songs, “Shout at the Devil”.

****

Tommy had found Athena after the show and she had convinced him to go out for food with him. She had thought (Y/n) had headed back home for the evening, so they left the venue. Nikki was in the dressing room, taking off his makeup when there was a knock at the door.

“Yeah?” He asked, making his way to the door and opening it, and freezing for a second.

“Uh, hi,” She said, looking around. “I’m trying to find my friends. My sister cut out on me and I don’t have a way home.”

“Yeah, sorry. I’m here by myself.” He said. “The rest of the band already headed out.” He looked at her, seeing the defeated slump in her shoulders. “Hey, I’m about to head out myself. I could drop you off somewhere?”

“I...are you sure? Big rock star like you probably doesn’t want someone like me cramping your style.” She laughed. Nikki found himself staring at her. Those beautiful (e/c) eyes and the way her lips twisted into a smile when she laughed.

“It’s no problem. Really.” He laughed a little. “Probably should get your name though.”

“Oh, I’m (Y/n) Bass.” She said, offering her hand for him to shake. He laughed and took her hand, kissing the top of it.

“Nikki Sixx.” He told her. She smiled brightly.

“Yeah, I know all about you.” She smiled. “Just saw the concert. It’s amazing!”

“We’re ok,” NIkki shrugged playing it cool as he packed his bass. “I mean so far a lot of labels heads are being dicks,” he chuckled. “We might just start our own and distribute what we record and just try to find someone to manage us.”

“Well, maybe I’ll get done with school fast enough and can help that.” (Y/n) smiled at him. “That’s what I’m going to school for. Audio production, music management, things like that. I started earlier than everyone else and I’m the first person in my family to actually go to college, so they call me a geek.” She waited for him to get done taking off his makeup and get ready to leave. She was rambling and felt really nervous.

“That’s fucking sweet!” he chuckled and smiled. “I have to say… you would make one very sexy music producer.” He grabbed his things and walked up to her giving her a small smirk. “Wanna eat before I drop you off? I’m sure you’re hungry and I’m hungry… two hungry people....” he trailed off.

“That’d be great.” She smiled. “I’m sure my par...roommate is probably asleep and probably wouldn’t appreciate me cooking this late…” She rocked on her heels.

“That’s cool, I mean one of my roommates is a human garbage disposal,” NIkki gave a short snort and looked in to her (e/c) eyes. He could feel his heart skip a beat as he closed his trunk and led her to the passenger side door. “So… any preferences as to what you want to eat?”

“Dude, diner food is some of the best,” She laughed. “So, like a burger or something?” She shrugged, blushing a little.

NIkki placed his hand over his heart feigning a sense of hurt, “A woman after my own heart.” he offered her a wink before carefully closing the door and making his way to the drivers side. “Hold on to something, I don’t do slow.”

With a devilish smirk he peeled out of the parking lot and down the road towards the diner.

“Still a better driver than my brother.” (Y/n) laughed some. “This is the first concert I’ve been too that I didn’t have to sneak into the strip for.”

“Well aren’t you a bit of a devil,” he teased as he helped her out of the car and led her inside.

They quickly sat at a booth and smiled at one another. This was weird, Nikki had never seen himself with a girl this beautiful, and he had never felt his palm get this sweaty over a chick before.

“Hey Nikki.” Doris said. “Jack and Coke?”

“You know me Doris,” he sent the sweet elderly waitress a wink. “What do you want (Y/n)?”

“Just a Coke, no Jack.” She said shyly. “I’m not a big drinker. Kinda a lightweight.” She laughed nervously.

Nikki shrugged, “I’m ok with that.” he looked to Doris and titled his head. “Change my order to just a regular coke Doris would you please?”

“You’re turning down booze? You feelin’ okay Sixx?” She went to go get their cokes. (Y/n) looked up at him.

“You didn’t have to do that.” She said softly.

“Wouldn’t be fair,” Nikki said. “Besides, I want to remember our conversation.” (Y/n) laughed and searched the menu, biting her lip as she did. She could feel Nikki’s eyes on her.

“I...am I being weird?” She asked, glancing up at him. “My siblings say I’m weird and people are gonna stare. But they like to be assholes to me because I’m the baby.”

“Huh?!” Nikki shook out of his trance. “No, you aren’t weird at all! I just.. I…” Nikki fumbled for the right words to say. (Y/n) smiled at him.

“I think I want the bacon cheeseburger.” She told him, putting her menu down. “Can’t go wrong with that and some fries.”

“No you can’t go wrong with that,” Nikki smiled. “I’m going to have the same.”

They sat there, not sure what to say to each other. (Y/n) was surprised that someone like THE Nikki Sixx wanted to talk to her, and Nikki was surprised that someone as cute as (Y/n) wanted to give him the time of day.

“First Saturday I’ve had where I haven’t had a huge test on Monday.” (Y/n) said, finally forcing the conversation. “Gets kinda annoying sometimes.”

“Huh, I was never really book smart, I was surprise I actually made it as far as I did, considering my background...” NIkki gave her a sad smile. “But it’s nice that you’re doing what you’re doing. Do you like it?”

“I love it,” She smiled. “Well, I love doing the stuff actually meant for my degree, not all that well rounded person crap.”

NIkki laughed, “What are they making you take math that you won’t use?”

“Dude, I hate numbers. They haunt me in my sleep.” (Y/n) groaned. “Why do I need to calculate the surface area of a sphere when I’m going to be working for Elektra records or something?”

“Maybe they are going to make records into spheres to fit more songs?” Nikki joked. (Y/n) laughed.

“You’re probably right. Some of the people at school said vinyl and cassettes are on the way out.” She smiled. Doris brought them their food then. “God, this smells so fucking good.”

“It is heaven,” Nikkis said but looked over at (Y/n). “You smell better though.” (Y/n) blushed and laughed.

They ate in silence. (Y/n) was starving and devoured her burger. As she ate, she noticed Nikki staring.

“I...sorry.” She said, putting her burger down. “Not being very lady like, am I?”

“Actually, I’m impressed.” Nikki took a bite of his burger. “You are probably the first girl I’ve eaten with that acts human.”

“Well, I learned to eat fast. If not, my brother tries to eat the food off my plate. Asshole.” She said, eating some of her fries. “So, any good songs in the works? I bought Too Fast For Love few weeks ago. Have it in my Walkman and I listen to it at work.”

“We got a few songs in the works for a killer album,” Nikki smiled. “Might scare some parents.”

“Oh, dangerous. I like it.” She smiled. “My best friend has been all about pop bands. I thought she was going to die when I bought your album and a Kiss album.”

Nikki gave a soft chuckle as he stuck a fry in his mouth, “I would have loved to see the look on her face.” Nikki raised his eyebrow at her. “Are you a good girl (Y/n)? Or a bad girl disguised as a good girl? Or both?” (Y/n) coughed on her drink and looked up at him.

“Take me on a few more dates and you’ll see?” She suggested. She had never been this smooth in her life.

Nikki coughed on his fry and smiled at her, “really?” usually a girl would throw themselves at him and it was ‘wham bam thank you ma’am’ but (Y/n) seemed different.

“I mean, if you want to…” She said. “I really probably should be going.” She pushed her empty plate away from her.

“I can drop you off at your place,” Nikki said as he put a twenty dollar bill on the table and smiled at her. “Come one, we can talk about our next date on the way.” he held out his hand to her after standing up. She smiled and took his hand, walking with him out to the car.

“Do you have another show coming up?” (Y/n) asked. “I wouldn’t mind coming to see you play again?”

“Yeah, can I have your number? I’ll give you mine…” Nikki trailed of as he gently caressed her cheek. He looked away bashfully. “Sorry, I just… I want to see you again.”

“I’d love to see you again,” (Y/n) said. She took a pen from her purse and wrote her number on his palm. “Here.” She drew a heart around it. “Call me and just leave your number on my machine.” she gave him a smile and a wink.

“Ok,” Nikki leaned in, their noses grazed each other as Nikki stared into her eyes. “Would I get slapped if I kissed you?”

“Not by me you wouldn’t.” She told him. Their lips were close.

Nikki gently let his thumb graze her soft skin before leaning in closing the gap. His lips found hers in a chaste kiss at first. His heart pounding in his chest as he pulled away slowly only to feel her hand snack along the back of his neck pulling him in for another kiss. He dared himself to graze his tongue along the bottom of her lip. He was relieved when she opened her mouth letting him explore it with his tongue as her own met his. She slid closer towards him the kiss becoming heated and passionate. When they broke away, their eyes fluttered open at the same time.

“Wow,” Nikki rasped. “Keep kissing me like that and you’ll have me seeing the universe.”

“You and me both Sixx.” She said. “I’ve never been kissed that good before.” Nikki couldn’t stop the smile that spread on his face. Why was she so damn cute?

"We keep seeing each other and you might get more where that came from," Nikki groaned inwardly. He knew he sounded cheesy. But something about her made him all mushy. (Y/n) giggled a little.

“Sounds like a plan.” She smiled at him. She didn’t figure him to be a softy. Hell, she didn’t figure herself to be a flirter. With two older siblings at home who liked to scare off anyone who got within ten feet of their sister, it was hard to be flirtatious. Or have a boyfriend. Or well do anything.

"Call you later sweet girl," Nikki whispered before kissing her again.

She gave him the directions and he pulled up outside the dorms. (Y/n) got out and smiled at him. What she didn’t tell him was she was just staying the night there with her best friend from high school. In reality, she lived a few blocks over, with her parents.

“I had a fun night.” She said. “I’ll talk to you later Nikki.”

As she made her way towards the dorm, her heart was beating a mile a minute. She had never met anyone like him before. He was so sweet and charming. She wasn’t sure if it was a ploy to get in her pants, or if he was really that way. As she used her friend’s key to get in, something came to mind then that made her heart crash.

When Tommy found out, he was going to kill them both.

Forever Tags: @anathewierdo @dekahg @marvel-af-imagines @feelmyroarrrr @nanie5 @imboredsueme @gemini0410 @aiaranradnay @babypink224221 @mogaruke @xxwarhawk @sandlee44 @shatteredabby @caswinchester2000 @supernaturalwincestsblog @lauravic @mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk

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saxxxology · 6 years ago

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BITTEN - Ch.4

After getting bitten by a werewolf, Sam finds himself trying to adapt to a brand new lifestyle that brings him closer to the girl he loves, but threatens to tear him apart from his family for good.

PAIRING: Alpha!Sam x Omega!Reader

WORD COUNT: ~2200

WARNINGS: non-consensual werewolf bite (not sexual), a/b/o dynamics: heat/rut, knotting, claiming, breeding kink, angst, time hop (season 9 to 12), and more.

NOTE: Edited by @kayteonline and @kittenofdoomage - please heed all warnings and enjoy! This is NOT intended to be a dark fic, but if you read something that bothers you, it is your responsibility to stop reading, keep scrolling past it, or contact me for content clarification.

Buy Sam’s scent from my Etsy shop

Read the entire series on Patreon for just $3

Series Masterlist

THIS WORK IS 18+ ONLY. DO NOT REPOST MY WORK ON ANY OTHER SITES.

Dean was in the kitchen when you walked up. He was cradling a large cup of coffee in one hand, and when he saw you emerge from the basement, his gaze fixed on you.

“How is he?” he asked urgently, “is he okay?”

You nodded. “It’s over. He’s fine, just hungry. Where’s Garth?”

“He went out with Bess. She’s in shock over what happened, so he took her to a safehouse out of state.” Dean watched as you pulled a pan from the rack on the wall and set it on the stove. “What do you mean by ‘fine?’”

“He’s not in pain anymore, his fever went down.” You cracked eggs into a bowl and whisked them around. “He just needs to recuperate for a few days, maybe a week.”

“Can I see him?” Dean asked.

You nodded and pulled a couple bagged chicken hearts from the fridge. “After he’s eaten. He’s gonna be stronger than normal for a while, so we gotta keep his human contact minimal.” You heard Dean exhale heavily as you started chopping the hearts into chunks. “Dean, I know you wanted to find a cure, but there’s nothing you could have done. I’ve seen people get bit and go through a lot worse. At least he’s alive. He’s a little different than he was yesterday, but he’s alive.”

Dean nodded and leaned against the counter. “You’re really intent on taking care of him, huh?”

“It’s my job to take care of my pack.” You replied, pulling four sausages from the fridge and tossing them in the pan, along with an entire pack of bacon. “Russ and Joba are gone. The Reverend’s… well, let’s just say I’m in charge of the pack, now. I care for Sam, deeply. If it were up to me I would have killed Joy myself so that didn’t happen.”

You heard Dean scoff, but when you looked at him you could see he was grinning.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Dean finished his beer and set the empty bottle on the counter. “Just… I never thought you’d actually spook over a guy getting turned.”

You shrugged. “I know when to care about someone getting bit. I wanted Sam to leave, I wanted him to forget about me, about the pack. I never wanted him to get bit.”

Dean nodded shortly. “The way I look at it now is, he could have been bitten and left to die. At least this way he’s got you and Garth and Bess to look after him, make sure he won’t get into trouble.”

You finished cooking in silence. Piling most of what you’d cooked onto a large plate, you slid one of the sausage links, a small pile of eggs, and several strips of bacon on a separate one, which you offered Dean. He accepted it gratefully, noting that you’d cooked the chicken hearts in a separate pan. When you re-entered the basement, you found Sam sitting up and stretching his arms above his head.

“I could smell that from down here,” he muttered, turning his head to look at you, “is that normal?”

You handed him the plate and watched him begin to devour the food, shoveling a mixture of everything into his mouth with a fork that seemed comically small in his large hands. “Yeah, it’s pretty normal. And don’t worry about eating everything there, your appetite’s going to be pretty out there for the next couple days.”

Within minutes, Sam had completely annihilated the food on the plate. He tilted his head back against the wall, his lips parted as he sighed in satisfaction. “There was a heart in there, wasn’t there?”

“Two. Small ones, just chicken, nothin’ special.” You took the plate from him and set it down on the floor before snuggling into him. “How do you feel?”

Sam exhaled heavily and slipped an arm around your shoulders. “Not hungry anymore, definitely not tired… I feel strong. Stronger than before.” He flexed his arms, examining the muscles that bulged under the gray sleepshirt. He seemed bigger. “Actually, I feel like I need to run, get out…”

“There’s the punching bag.” You gestured to the slightly misshapen tool in the corner. “I can’t let you out yet, gotta know you can control yourself around humans.”

“Humans…” Sam looked down at his lap and swallowed. “That’s right, I’m not human anymore.”

You shook your head. “That’s not entirely true. You’re still human here,” you put a hand over his heart. “You’ll still be able to function like a human, your instincts are just rewired a bit, that’s all.”

Sam scoffed. “Yeah, what happens when I wolf out and go nuts?”

“That won’t happen.” You nuzzled his shoulder and stood with him as he shuffled over to the punching bag. He gave it an experimental nudge with his fist. “Want to see Dean?”

He nodded apprehensively. “Yeah, but I don’t wanna try to hurt him.”

“Sam, you won’t—”

“You don’t know that. Make sure I don’t try to hurt him.”

You bowed your head and trotted back up the stairs, closing and locking the cage door behind you. Dean was still waiting in the kitchen, and he stood upon seeing you emerge from the basement.

“You can see him, but we have to be careful,” you said quietly. “If he smells you he could try to get at you, that’s gonna be his first instinct. The cage door down there has silver on it, so if he tries anything it’ll hurt, bad, but I need you to stay on the stairs, keep your distance.”

Dean held his hands up as if in surrender. “Trust me, I’ll be keepin’ my distance.”

You led him down the basement, slowly, his boots clunking heavily on the thick wooden planks. You could hear the dull, repetitive THWACK of Sam’s fists against the punching bag, but after the basement door closed, they ceased, and the space fell silent as you and Dean came down the steps. A little more than halfway down, you motion for him to stop.

“Dean, stay here.”

He nodded quietly and waited for you to slip past the cage, locking it behind you.

Sam was standing in the corner by the punching bag, his arms folded across his middle. You motioned for him to walk over, but he shook his head. “Y/N, I can’t… I don’t want him to see me like this. I can smell him, I can hear his heartbeat.”

“You won’t hurt him.” You walked closer to him, reaching for one of his hands. “Sam, come on, I’ll be there. The door’s got silver on it, you won’t be able to get out.”

Sam lowered his voice. “What if I hurt you?”

“You won’t. Now come on.” You led him slowly over to the wire door. His heartbeat increased with every step, and you heard his breathing grow more and shakier.

When Dean came into view, you didn’t know if Sam was going to recoil or lunge at the gate. He could hear Dean’s heartbeat, steady and slow, the rush of blood pumping through his veins, traces of whiskey and cedar covering up the thick, coppery scent…

...No, stop it! That’s your brother! You wouldn’t bite your own brother!

“Sammy?” Dean’s voice was quiet as he took another step down the stairs. “Hey, it’s me.”

Sam paused, took a deep breath. “I know.” He looked down at the ground and closed his eyes, trying as hard as he could to stop from hurling himself at the wall of the cage. “How’ve you been?”

“Uh, worried, for one,” Dean chuckled in an attempt to lighten the mood, “I went out for a little during the night, tried looking for a cure or something…”

“Yeah.” Sam swallowed and clenched his fist. He didn’t know what the fuck was happening, but all he wanted to do was break out of the cage and rip his brother’s chest apart, get at the thick, pulsing muscle that was hidden behind bone and sinew, devour the warm, blood-drenched organ that kept his brother alive…

No! Goddamn it! Stop!

“I thought you’d be gone.” Sam cleared his throat as a fresh wave of hunger washed over him.

“Had to make sure you’re okay, didn’t I?” Dean caught your warning glance to stay where he was and decided not to take the last two steps down. Hell, he might be too close already. “How do you feel?”

Sam swallowed thickly as you increased the pressure on his hand. “Honestly, I feel good. I’m strong, I’m not hurting, just wanna get the hell out of here.”

“And why can’t you?” Dean shifted his gaze back and forth between you and Sam.

“Because if I get out of here I’m not gonna be able to stop myself from trying to hurt you or someone else,” Sam stated bluntly.

Dean seemed taken aback by Sam’s words. Apparently, he hadn’t considered just how dangerous Sam really was until he’d said it. “Sam, you wouldn’t.”

“You don’t know what I’d do, Dean, hell, I don’t know what I’d do.” Sam’s body trembled as he spoke, but he stood his ground. “The only reason I’m not going after you right now is that I know I shouldn’t, but if Y/N wasn’t here with me, if this happened somewhere else… I don’t know if either of us would be alive right now.”

You saw Dean swallow, saw his Adam’s apple bob in his throat, and heard Sam growl, low and deep in his chest.

“Sam, don’t say that.”

“You’re not in the place to tell me what to do, Dean.” Sam retorted. “I’m a monster, both of us know that. You don’t know how… how hungry I feel right now. I don’t have a friggin’ clue what’s making me feel this way, but if you weren’t my brother… I’d kill you, without thinking.”

Looking up, you noticed Sam’s upper lip beginning to twitch. He was starting to lose control. “Dean, I think you should go, this isn’t—”

Dean, obviously, didn’t listen. Instead, he did the worst thing he could. He took another step, closing the distance between him and his brother by another two feet.

Overcome by hunger, Sam snapped. You saw his eyes flash yellow as his instinct to attack sprang free. He snarled, his lips curling back over his teeth as his muscles bunch. He lunged forward, slamming all two-hundred pounds of his body against the cage. His long fingers were pointed in two-inch claws, which curled in the wire before he stumbled back with a yelp of pain; the silver on the wire had seared his skin.

Dean fell back when Sam crashed against the cage, bringing an arm up instinctively to protect his face.

“Dean!” You shouted, pulling Sam back against the far wall and holding him there. “Get out! Now!”

You saw Dean stagger to his feet his eyes fixed on the snarling beast of a man now ten feet away from him. He was staring at Sam with a mixture of fear, anger, and sorrow on his face. Sam took several half-gasping, half-growling breaths before reeling himself back in. He collapsed to the floor, his fingers pressing hard into the smooth concrete. He bowed his head as his body shook even harder.

“D-Dean, I’m sorry!” He gasped out. “I didn’t mean to, I couldn’t help—”

The door at the top of the stairs slammed before Sam could finish, and seconds later you heard the rumble of the Impala’s engine and the grind of her tires scraping on the dirt road as she tore out of the drive and down the road.

Sam’s shoulders heaved with a sob as he collapsed back, breathing hard as he fought to still his shaking hands. The claws had vanished and his eyes were back to hazel, but he still shook with panic. “I didn’t mean to do that,” he choked, “I didn’t—I didn’t—”

“Sam, it’s okay, he’s just gone to cool off.” You soothed him. “He’ll be back, I promise.”

Sam shook his head and reached to grip your hand as you rubbed his shoulder soothingly. “No way in hell. He saw me snap and that was it. He thinks I’m a monster.” He turned his head, and you saw tears streaming from his now hazel eyes. “I am a monster.”

You sat next to him and wrapped your arms around him as tight as you could. “Oh, Sam, it’s all right. You’re not a monster, you’re not. You’re adapting to a new lifestyle, and yeah, you have some different urges, but you’re just starting out. It’s barely been an hour since you woke up, I didn’t expect you to stay under control.” You hugged him tighter and let him bury his face in the curve of your neck. “Dean got spooked, that’s all. He’ll come back.”

“Will he?” Sam straightened his back and practically glared down at you. “How can you know that? Hm? Tell me how you know my brother’s gonna come back thinking I’m still the guy he grew up with.”

TAGS FOR THIS SERIES ARE OPEN

If you want to see chapter 5, reblog and leave a comment! Feedback is my fuel!

Forever tags: @atc74 @becaamm @bamby0304 @crispychrissy @crashdevlin @curly-haired-disaster @emoryhemsworth @ellen-reincarnated1967 @kittenofdoomage @kayteonline @kdfrqqg @littlegreenplasticsoldier @lunarsaturn88 @leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid @manawhaat @mereka18 @mrswhozeewhatsis @meganwinchester1999 @oneshoeshort @percussiongirl2017 @serpentbaby @spnwoman @smallgirlbigpersonality @shaelyn102 @thelittleredwhocould @winchesterprincessbride @winecatsandpizza @zombiewerewolfqueen @85natalie @81mysteriouslyme

“Bitten” tags: @linki-locks11 @lez-boatz-writez @wotinspntarnation

#bitten series #alpha!sam x omega!reader

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the-coconut-asado · 5 years ago

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Crazy for Kiwi Crickets

When it comes to eating out in Fiji, you are only as good as your last success.

Consistently get it right and the punters will flock. Anything less than excellent and it’s ‘Maaan that place has gone downhill – but the duck soup at Harbour Centre is the Bomb!’ You can’t actually get duck soup at Harbour Centre, but anything with duck in Suva is a sure-fire winner as they are in constant short supply.

Fiji is always in pursuit of the New Big Thing. That duck soup place I mentioned was actually the New Big Thing once, so was The Guava Café (doorstep griddled toast and Land of the Giant-sized portions); Singh’s burn-your-ring curry house and the Chinese restaurant at Samabula where you got a decent takeaway and a ringside seat at a sailors’ punch up.

There are some classics that never go out of fashion. The cream buns at Hot Bread Kitchen – the ‘cream’ is actually buttercream and they sell them in sets of six like monkey bread so yeah, good luck with just eating one; Cardo’s Steakhouse in Denarau – they claim their cattle are descendants of Argentine castaways from the 19th century (kind of yarn that could spark a punch up in that Samabula Chinese restaurant, but the steaks ARE consistently good); Friday seafood lunch at Suva Bowling Club (you may not recognise half the seafood on your plate, and that’s a good thing); And, sadly closed now, The Cottage – tucked behind the main drag in Suva, serving the best local Fiji food and only open at lunchtime. And didn’t we all wail when the owner retired and shut up shop after decades of top-quality chow.

Anyway, it’s quite something when the New Big Thing is your sister-in-law’s café. Weta (Coffee) Fiji, the fifth child of Mue and her husband Darran, opened its doors in March this year.

The café gets its name from a gerbil-sized cricket native to New Zealand. A quick google search and you can watch a film of a weta fighting a foraging pig, so maybe not exotic pet material.

While the lion’s share of daily sales will always be the coffee (and we returned with bags of beans to London, it’s that good), it’s the food at Weta that’s getting the lion’s share of hype. World Health Organisation apparatchiks would probably advise not have more than one Honey Butter Waffle a month, yet people are spectacularly carb-loading these Weta signature goodies daily on their way to work. Take a look at the picture below and you could so easily join them.

Aside from the waffle-fest, Mue and cousin Cherie (whose aunt founded that other Fiji café classic Bulaccino) have entered into a kind of foodie face-off with each other, competing to see who can come up with the most mouth-watering innovations. The Honey Butter Waffles already give 1-0 to Mue; but ever thought of combining crispy nuggets of bacon with a rich mayonnaise, slathering it on a chicken schnitzel and sandwiching it all in a toasted mini baguette? Then check out their Chicken Baconnaise Panini and Cherie evens the score. How about a teal-green smoothie that tastes fruity and delicious but you don’t know why? Place your order for their Ugly Green Juice - a joint invention so let’s call it a draw. I assiduously worked my way through most of their menu over two weeks and couldn’t find much that was less than evil genius.

Because this is a family concern, and Mue does a lot of her experimenting in her own kitchen, I got caught up in the whole entrepreneurial swirl when we were there this summer. Watching while Mue, with apparent carelessness cloaking a keen cook’s eye, tossed ingredients for her Marsala Chai muffins into the food processor at 5 in the morning while simultaneously whipping up a vegan version of her waffle mix. Slavishly watching her EPOS app to see if the sales dial had moved to kerching! levels – in short, generally starting to catch the fever of the hospitality business owner. Is Suva ready for Kava Hot Chocolate? (Kava is the ceremonial drink of Fiji with delicate overtones of mud). Apparently yes, and at least 10 people on the first day of sales had a dreamless sleep that night. Another invention marked up to Mue and another profit stream.

Having eaten our body weight in tropical breakfast patisserie, we left Suva for a few days to head to our own New Big Thing on Fiji’s Other Big Island.

Savusavu is a picturesque town with a bay big enough to host a fistful of yachts and a marina to moor them. Even though it’s popular, the road to Savusavu – which nestled on the South coast of Vanua Levu - is one less travelled compared to the resort islands of Western Viti Levu. It has a reputation as a millionaire’s playground and we were told ‘be careful, you won’t want to come back’ (do people wrongly assume that we are at home in the company of dicks with yachts?). Anyway, they weren’t wrong about the beauty of the place, and I can now tell them a few tales about some unexpected food epiphanies.

The first was thanks to Sarah, the owner of the Gecko Guesthouse. It said in our Airbnb blurb that she would throw in a cooking lesson if we asked nicely. Which we did, and she obliged, if a little reluctantly at first. We spent one chilled-out evening learning her techniques for snake bean and bitter gourd curries (be sparing rather than slavish with your spices), a-ma-zing fish madras (although we can’t get fresh walu in the West, swordfish would be a decent substitute) and clever hack for cooking rice (err, use an electric rice maker).

However, the piece de resistance of Savusavu is a ‘dive’ (my friend Ije’s word when he saw the Insta post) called Arun’s Hidden Taste of Paradise.

The name felt a bit at odds with its appearance, which is a little grubby and dishevelled, but don’t be fooled. The clue is in the word ‘hidden’ because if you make it through their mesh-covered door you will taste cassava chips which are meltingly creamy on the inside and quadruple-cooked crispy on the outside and, hands down, the best butter chicken I have eaten in my life. The eponymous Arun, both owner and cook, seemed frankly scared when I asked for a photo, so I didn’t push on asking for the recipe – but kept the flavour profile running around in my head for the rest of the trip.

Obsessed as I was, I hunted down ingredients lists for butter chicken on my bookshelves and I think I have found a pretty good match in Vivek Singh, who based his Cinnamon Club classic on a 1950’s recipe from the Moti Mahal in Old Delhi. But then I saw a recipe for a curry pie in last month’s Delicious Magazine and had the brainwave to make this pie with the butter chicken. And while you might have to make the trip to Suva to get Mue’s original and best Honey Butter Waffles TM, I have slightly adapted her Chai Latte and Choc Chip Muffins and Ugly Green juice here.

So raise your Ugly-Green juice-filled glass to New Big Things. And watch out for the next one - the launch of Mue and Darran’s Writers Lodge guesthouse with Kava Bar and Weta Café later this Autumn.

You can follow them on @wetafiji.

Butter Chicken Pie

You can just make this butter chicken straight with pilau rice and all the trimmings, but turning it into a pie takes it to the next level. This pastry is super short and crispy, thanks to a mix of butter and lard. Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients or the processes. It’s dead easy over a lazy Sunday and the flavours are so worth it. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

For the butter chicken:

800g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

One red chilli and some coriander leaves

1 large red pepper, seeded and cut into strips

For the marinade:

120g Greek yoghurt

5 garlic cloves, grated or crushed

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated

1 tbsp sunflower oil

Juice of 1 large lemon

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

3 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp garam masala

½ tsp turmeric

For the sauce:

8-10 tomatoes

1 in piece of ginger, half grated and half chopped finely

4 garlic cloves, grated or crushed

4 green cardamom pods, 2 cloves, 1 bay leaf

2 tsp chilli powder

80g salted butter, diced

2 green chillies, split lengthwise but still joined at the stem

80ml single cream

A few dried fenugreek leaves

1tsp garam masala

1 tbsp. sugar

For the spiced butter:

1 Tbsp. ghee

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp. crushed chillies

For the pastry:

230g plain flour

1 tsp kosher salt

65g salted butter, and 50g lard, both chilled and cubed

4tsp. soured cream

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar( or use white wine vinegar as a substitute)

4 tsp. water

1 egg., beaten

3 tbsp. lime pickle (I like Pataks)

2 tbsp. sugar

How to make:

First marinate the chicken. Mix all marinade ingredients, stir in the chicken, cover and pop in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight.

Heat the oven to 220C/ Gas 9. Spread the chicken pieces out in one layer on a large baking tray, leaving a margin on the side to say out the strips of red pepper, tossed in a tsp. olive oil. Cook for 15-20 mins, turning the pieces halfway through so that they cook evenly. Remove from the oven and set aside while you make the sauce.

Slice the tomatoes in half and put in a large saute pan with 125 ml water, grated ginger, garlic, cardamom, cloves and bay leaf. Simmer, covered for about 25 mins until the tomatoes are mushy (the aroma from this simmer will already be driving you wild with desire). Remove the whole spices, add the chilli powder and simmer for a further 10 mins (Vivek likes to push the tomatoes through a sieve and just use the resultant puree, but I prefer my sauce to be a bit more rugged, a little less refined).

Add the chicken pieces and the red pepper slices and all their juices and give it a good stir. Slowly stir in the butter, a couple of cubes at a time, and simmer for about 8 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Add the chopped ginger, chillies and cream and simmer for a minute or two longer. Stir in 1 tsp.kosher salt, crumble in the fenugreek leaves and the garam masala. Adjust the seasoning if necessary then add the sugar.

In a separate small pan, warm up all the ingredients for the spiced butter until the seeds start to pop. At this stage you can serve the Butter Chicken with the spiced butter spooned over the top, but if progressing with the pie (which I urge you to do) , then set both the chicken and the spiced butter to one side.

Now make the pastry (you can also make this ahead and chill, just bring back to room temperature before rolling out). Combine the flour , salt and a generous grind of black pepper in a food processor. Add the butter and lard and blitz until it has the texture of fine breadcrumbs. In a separate bowl, mix the soured cream, vinegar and water then add to the flour and butter mix and just blitz until the mixture starts to come together (don’t overwork it). Turn out onto a floured surface and bring together into a smooth ball. Wrap in cling film then chill for at least 30 mins.

Heat the oven to 200C/ Gas 6. Brush the rim of your pie dish with the beaten egg, then fill the dish with the butter chicken and drizzle the spiced butter all over the surface. Roll out the pastry in a circle big enough to cover the pie dish, then lay over the top of the dish, crimping the edges to seal and trim off any surplus pastry to neaten the edges. Cut a small cross in the middle to let the steam out during cooking and make some pastry leaves with any pastry offcuts.

Brush all over with the rest of the egg glaze then pop in the fridge for 10 minutes.During that 10 minutes, make the lime pickle glaze by mixing the pickle with 2 tbsp. boiling water and the sugar. Set aside.

Bake the pie for 40 mins then brush all over with the lime pickle glaze and bake for 15 mins more. Serve garnished with the chilli (dipped in a little oil to make it glisten) and a few coriander leaves.

Mue’s Chai Latte Choc Chip Muffins (and some variations)

When I asked Mue for the recipe she had to quantify her instincts on ingredients, (and thanks for leaving out the eggs first time round missus) but the results were judged by those who ate them as ‘the best they have ever had’. I have slightly adjusted the recipe, using chai latte mix instead of masala chai and used my favourite buttermilk instead of sour cream. (makes 12 generous muffins)

Ingredients:

3.5 cups flour (about 350g) plain flour

3 tbsp. baking powder

1 tbsp chai latte powder

Pinch kosher salt

125g butter, melted

200g sugar

2 tbsp. Coconut oil, melted

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups buttermilk and maybe a tbsp of milk

2 eggs

1 50g packet of chocolate chips plus a few extra for serving

For the streusel topping:

20g plain flour

10g sugar

10g butter

1 tsp. Chai latte powder

How to make

Heat the oven to 220C/ Gas 7-8. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin holders (I like the tulip-shaped ones in the photo).

In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, chai latte powder and salt. In separate bowl mix the melted, cooled butter and coconut oil with the beaten eggs, Buttermilk, splash of milk (1 tbsp) and the vanilla paste. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until a thick, gloopy consistency. Add a little more milk if the mix is too stiff. You want it not quite falling off your spoon. Then fold in the chocolate chips.

In a third bowl, rub the butter into the flour until you have fine breadcrumbs then mix in the sugar and chai latte.

Fill the muffin cups evenly (about 2 tbsp. Mix per cup), then top with the streusel and pop in the oven, turning the heat down immediately to 180C/ Gas 5. Bake for 30 mins until a skewer comes out clean from the centre, then remove from the oven and dot each muffin with a few more chocolate chips cool and serve.

Variations

For Blueberry muffins, omit the chai latte powder and choc chips and stir in 3 oz fresh blueberries into the muffin mix. Bake as before.

For Apple, Pecan and Golden Syrup muffins. Melt 2 tbsp golden syrup with the butter and coconut oil, then add all the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients as before. Fold in 1 grated apple and 50g coarsely chopped pecans into the muffin mix then bake as before. Dot each muffin with a few more chopped pecans when out of the oven and before they cool.

Mue and Cherie’s Ugly Green Juice

This is the colour of verdigris but tastes delightful. Just shut your eyes and drink (or colour match with your nail polish, like here).

Ingredients:

½ cup frozen strawberries

2 tsp acai berry powder or lingonberry powder

2 tsp Splenda or Stevia sweetener

4 tsp. Spirulina

1-2 Cups nut milk (try to get a nice think consistency, so start with 1 cup and add more to taste

How to Make

Put all your ingredients into a blender, blitz till smooth and serve.

It’s that simple.

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leelee10898 · 6 years ago

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Valentine's day Blues?

This is from the cgw (Cordonians gone wild) AU. A collaborative universe by @ao719 @speedyoperarascalparty @cocomaxley @riseandshinelittleblossom and myself.

Find our other crazy adventures HERE

It's Valentine's day. Alicia is pregnant, how does this effect Leo?

Leo woke up early and snuck out to the kitchen. He had never been a master in the kitchen, but since being with Alicia she had taught him a lot. “Eggs, flour, blueberries.” He rambled off grabbing various ingredients from the fridge and pantry. He slaved over the stove for a while before plating his creation. He placed a vase filled with a dozen roses in the center of the table.

Alicia woke to the smell of food cooking. She rolled out of bed, finding a note on the nightstand next to her.

Good morning, come to the kitchen.

Love, Leo

She waddled out of the room, salivating at the delicious smell. She was 6 months pregnant and food was her bestfriend. Leo stood by the table grinning. “What's all this?” she asked. “Happy Valentine's day baby.” He kissed her, he dipped down , placing both hands on her stomach kissing it “Breakfast for my 3 loves.” he grinned as he stood upright. Alicia sat down to a plate of heart shaped blueberry pancakes, bacon, hashbrowns and eggs. Leo joined her seemingly inhaling his food.

“So, what's on the agenda today?” Alicia eyed her husband, who was now licking his fork. “going to the Gym with the guys after Liam gets in from Prague. What about you?”

“Lunch with Stef and Gen. Are we still on for dinner tonight?” she asked pushing her plate away. “Of course.” Leo eyed her half eaten plate “Ah, you um, you gonna eat that?” he licked his lips. She shook her head no, and he excitedly grabbed her plate finishing its contents.

later on Leo arrived at the gym. The guys had started a game of basketball, and he was getting hot. He lifted his shirt, tossing it to the side. “Damn Leo, you auditioning for the role of pillsbury dough boy?” Bastien poked him. The guys chuckled. “Shut up Bas.” He growled “Are you pregnant or Alicia?” Liam teased. “How about you worry about making those baskets Li.” Leo snapped. “Oh come on guys. He's hormonal, we don't want to make him cry.” Rashad chuckled as the others laughed along. “Am not.” Leo's voiced cracked, causing them to laugh harder. “Sympathy pregnancy symptoms is a real things guys.” Maxwell spoke up. “When stef was pregnant I got sick every morning.”

“I'm not pregnant!” Leo yelled tossing the ball down. “He is going to cry. ok Leo come back, were done.” Leo stormed off to the weight room, lifting some weights. “I. Don't. Have. Pregnancy. Symptoms.”he Huffed between lifts.

Once he got home, he jumped in the shower and then changed into some sweatpants and a shirt. He eyed the cookies that Alicia had baked on the kitchen counter. “those guys are assholes.” He bit into a cookie “Finking I haf pregnanfy fymptoms.” he spoke with a mouth full of cookie, spitting crumbs everywhere. He grabbed the plate and sat on the couch. He turned on the Tv and spongebob was on. It was a Valentine's episode, he liked spongebob so he didn't change the channel. He watched as patrick wandered around an amusement park, everyone telling him about the valentine's Spongebob gave them. Patrick, being his best friend was upset as spongebob didn't give him anything. Leo felt bad for Patrick “It's ok Patrick” He spoke to the tv “my friends are dicks too.” he took another bite as he watched Patrick flip out. Finally sandy came with a large chocolate balloon, making Patrick happy.

Alicia walked in from lunch with the girls. “well that was an eventful lunch, Evie flung soup across.… are you crying?”

“Spongebob didn't.. and Patrick was.. and it was so sad.” Leo blubbered. Alicia sat down as Leo wrapped his arms around her. “Whats. Wrong. With me?” he sniffled. “If I didn't know any better I would think YOU were pregnant.” she giggled. Leos eyes went wide, he stood from the couch “IM NOT PREGNANT!” He yelled, stomping off to their bedroom, slamming the door. Alicia sat there stunned “Well shit Leona.” she shook her head.

Leo returned a few minutes later grabbing a bottle of water and heading for the door. “Where are you going?” she called out. “To do mans stuff.” he growled as he left. He found himself down at the shooting range, he fired off a few rounds with Bastien before heading up to the palace gym. He got a pair of gloves on and took his anger out on a punching bag “Stupid Drake, stupid Liam, stupid Rashad.” he huffed between each jab. “eh you auditioning for the role of the pillsbury dough boy? Are you pregnant?” He mimicked “arrrrgggghhhh.” He hollered as he landed a series of jabs and punches. He stood, breathing hard as he tossed his gloves on the ground. He took off towards his quarters and barged in finding Alicia in the shower. He stripped his clothes off and climbed in his lips kissing them back of her neck, hands gripping her hips, A sudden burst of testosterone coursing through him “let me show you how much of a man I am.” He growled into her ear.

A while later they got out of the shower, getting dressed for dinner. “So um, you ok babe?” Alicia adjusted his tie. “Yeah, that was really fricken weird.” Leo gave a half cocked smile. They walked to the door and got into the car. Leo looked over at Alicia rubbing her hand. “Hey love.”

“Yes?”

“Don't tell anyone I cried, or I'll tell them you peed yourself in the mall.” Alicia's eyes went wide. “Your such an ass. Deal.”

“Leo.”

“Yes.”

“Dont touch my desert or I'll pee on you next.” she smirked. “Deal. Happy Valentine's day love.”

“Happy Valentine's day,Leona.”

TAGS: @annekebbphotography @carabeth @moneyfordiamonds @give-me-ernest-sinclaire @3pawandme @indiacater @ooo-barff-ooo @ownworldresident @tornbetween2loves @perfectprofessorherokid @stopforamoment @editboutique @wannabemc2 @zaffrenotes @enmchoices @lauradowning29 @lodberg @smalltalk88 @gibbles82 @heatherfilliez @nikkis1983 @sweetest-marbear @classylady1234 @daniv2278 @jlouise88 @jared2612 @liamxs-world @notoriouscs @blubutterflyy @captain-kingliamsqueen @lynne1993 @drakesensworld @itsstillnotwhatyouthink @coldcollectornight08 @blznbaby @simsvetements

#cordonians gone wild #cordoniansgonewild #cgw trr au #cgw #cgw baby squad #cgw squad #cgw trr #prince leo #leo rhys #leo x alicia #alicia rhys

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