#and from gremlin tails

[your-localfunk]

i seriously relate to this character [the character is me in the show of my life which is absolutaly real]

[shares 2 traits with a character] this is absolutely insane we are the same person

[ghastigiggles]

Hey... Hypothetically, how would Audie & Sebastian react to the *biggest* raspberry being blown on their tail fins? (especially considering it seems to be the former's weak point based on the chart I saw)

*cough* This is definitely a drawing prompt btw-

you'd think they'd learn their lesson by now, huh.

[luna-loveboop]

WHY do Zelda (flora) and Wild have the exact same cajoling Wolfie pose

You've gotta be kidding me

[linddzz]

honestly funny to me that while Bitch Viktor is taking off in fandom Im now writing him with LESS "pissed off wet cat" energy after season 2

[playertwotails]

So I've been thinking, Sonic and Tails 'fight or flight' instincts switch as they get older.

Let me elaborate.

So growing up Sonic was pure fight instinct when he was younger. Just head first into any fight and he's not backing down for nothing, he's gonna find a way to win that fight no matter what.

But as he gets older he's got Tails to look after and all their other friends that follow him into danger. So now he's more willing to take an L, pull back, regroup and think of a plan in, relative, safety. So he's still not backing down from the over all fight but he develops a flight instinct and does run away when things get too bad in that moment. (basically 'lose the battle when the war' mindset is something he develops over the years aka flight)

Tails meanwhile is the complete opposite. Tails grew up on his own only learning how to run away and hide from those who wanted to hurt him. Then he met Sonic.

Sonic not only helped protect Tails and had his back, but Tails grew up watching Sonic only have a fight instict. And little kids love to imitate anyone older than them and we've seen Tails do this before.

So Tails is just pure fight instict as he gets older, which has Sonic having some regrets™ on how he raised Tails.

Essentially what I'm saying with this whole post is as they get older Sonic is the one that has to hold back Tails from fights.  

[inaworldofhappy]

Truly the most awkward lapcat. Will stand on your lap, but only with two paws at a time.

[detectivemcqueen]

@officerdooley

I love this roly-poly happy chonklet so much. 1929. Source.

[hyammsh]

Happiness pervades all over Gaza and I have good news for you 🌹I am Hiam Shehab and my husband Mohammed Shehab the owners of the Zain and Yahya campaign and they are our children🌹

My friends, thank you for supporting me throughout the war between Gaza and Israel.

I want to tell you something, one of them is good, the other is not good, the good news for you, they have reached a ceasefire, and I hope that the calm in Gaza will continue, or is the bad news that we still cannot get out of Gaza?

Because of the lack of sufficient funds to move my family out of Gaza, the donations were slow and I hope that you will support our campaign with your donations, dear friends, as soon as possible, so that I can leave Gaza with my family

Tagging some people to help by donating and/or sharing:🙏🙏🙏 @godspersonalclown @murenaaaaa @blue-glasses-dork @tomathomatommy @whimsical-musingss @ctechnoblade @nerdytextileartist @helloemptyset @rhythm-of-the-wardrums @paper-mario-wiki @punkitt-is-here @peri-requiem @antixabound @antixabound @shadowinthetrees@charrednewt @apocalyptic-dancehall @nevert-the-guy @x-critter2022 @bigboobshaunt @maxknightley @jesterraconteuse @ikeepforgettimypassword @averagenotnormal @jenqatower@kingofthebookcase @funhousefreakwrites @redacted-metallum @quartzyposts @6yin6yang6 @mazm-imagines @ur-local-anxiety-gremlin @sminny-wew @ocherednoe-dno @wolf-tail@stabbedwitharustyynail @keysmandude @hamsterlover38 @phoibos-querella @arachnidtub@mansikka-wizard @welcometogrouchland @willowthighpillow @ssenza @shikse @gh4ul @sundung @fandom-master-mind @aconstantallegory @proffittproductions @romdocitizen @determinate-negation @deepspaceboytoy @paper-mario-wiki @kibumkim @socalgal @chilewithcarnage @ghelgheli @sayruq @rooh-afza @knownoshamc @the-awkward-reblobber @peachyleechy @loonarmuunar @soft-sunbird @cockworkangels @dannyketch @cramenjoyer @oreobunny2@soopertiddies @inthecornerofyourbedroom @aurorae-return @spindly-counting @depressedthembo @moronicprincess @the-mold-under-your-bed123 @nyenyel @linz-creations @we-eat-our-young @koscheiy @cyclopsboxhead

[suad-khaled]

Before the New Year Begins… Give Khaled a Chance at Life

As the world counts down to new beginnings, I’m counting the hours, desperately fighting to keep my baby, Khaled, alive.

Khaled is only 6 months old, a tiny soul who knows nothing of w@r. He doesn’t understand why he cries from hunger or why it’s so hard for him to breathe. But I do. And it breaks me that I can’t give him the simplest of rights: food, medicine, and safety.

Every child deserves a chance to smile, to breathe, and to live without fear. Khaled deserves that chance

💔 Before the new year begins, will you help Khaled start his life with hope? Here's how you can make an impact:

Share Khaled’s story. One post could connect us to someone who can save him.

Donate today. Even the cost of your coffee can mean another day of life for Khaled.

Write a personal post. Your words can amplify his cry for help.

💡 Give Khaled the gift of life: click here to help.

Let’s come together to give my innocent baby a chance. Let’s end this year with an act of kindness that could change everything. Don’t let Khaled’s cry go unheard.

Please, I need you now more than ever. Khaled needs you. Let’s make sure this story doesn’t end here. Let’s write a story of hope together, Help me save him before it’s too late. 🤲

Please, don’t let us fade away in silence.

I’ve been verified by Nabulsi, El-Shab Hussien, and NorthGazaUpdate, 90-ghost, and I’m listed on the vetted list on 279 line.

@godspersonalclown @murenaaaaa @blue-glasses-dork @tomathomatommy @whimsical-musingss

@ctechnoblade @nerdytextileartist @helloemptyset @rhythm-of-the-wardrums @paper-mario-wiki

@punkitt-is-here @peri-requiem @antixabound @antixabound @shadowinthetrees

@charrednewt @apocalyptic-dancehall @nevert-the-guy @x-critter2022 @bigboobshaunt

@maxknightley @jesterraconteuse @ikeepforgettimypassword @averagenotnormal @jenqatower

@kingofthebookcase @funhousefreakwrites @redacted-metallum @quartzyposts @6yin6yang6

@mazm-imagines @ur-local-anxiety-gremlin @sminny-wew @ocherednoe-dno @wolf-tail

@stabbedwitharustyynail @keysmandude @hamsterlover38 @phoibos-querella @arachnidtub

@mansikka-wizard @welcometogrouchland @willowthighpillow @ssenza @shikse

@gh4ul @sundung @fandom-master-mind @aconstantallegory @proffittproductions

[moralesispunk]

I think you're either team ghost x civilian wife! reader where the rest of the 141 have no idea you exist or team they know and it's a very familial like and I'm the first one

simon who does everything he can to keep you his secret, even more so when your family starts to grow. when he's finished with a mission he will spend the next 48hrs barely sleeping, moving around to make sure no one is on his tail before making it home into your arms.

it's not that he doesn't trust the 141, but you and your family are far too precious to trust anyone with. you've heard the stories of all of the other men, are sure you would need only one look at them to be able to guess which man belongs to the many names he's told you over the years, but you're aware they don't know that you exist.

that on the rare nights simon ventures out to meet them for a sole pint between missions they think he's holed up in some bachelor flat back in manchester, perhaps with a string of women that come and go, but they couldn't be more wrong with his wedding band hidden under his gloves when he's home like now or safely in his drawer at home when he's on missions.

and it's not that he doesn't wish he could shout about you from the rooftops. everyone in your town knows that the big scary man whose face is always conveniently hidden in the shadows has a missus at home who brings your chubby babies to the toddlers and drops your kids off at school.

but the 141 don't know about you, not until enough time has passed since simon retired to consider it safe enough. simon with his aching joints and trembling hands, the ringing in his right ear and back pain that requires at least two, hour long soaks in the bath a week. simon the husband and dad who has butterfly clips in his hair and at least one nail painted from the game of hairdressers his oldest likes to play, a bright pink plaster on his knee to match the youngest, and one hand on your belly at all times with the third (and final in your opinion but simon is working on that) of your brood.

simon who is out for drinks with the 141 three years after retirement and slips and says something about moving house and the hassle, the rest of the men deciding they will help and so simon decides it's finally time. but he doesn't forewarn them about his family before the day, standing in the garden of your packed up house that your family has outgrown while the men stumble out of the van they hired only to stop dead in their tracks when they see you.

you who is waving in the doorway, a toddler on your hip and looking like you're about to pop while another child - maybe six or seven by their guesses - swings from simon's arm, with a dog jumping up paws on his chest. and like the man he is he doesn't explain, just jerks his chin towards the piles of boxes and empty moving van he's started to pack.

"think you can start making a move on that?"

a few hours later and still no explanation from simon, he's in the first van packed with all the furniture and bigger boxes with you and the kids and the guys follow behind, slack jawed and still confused as they stay speechless until they pull up at the new house.

they're still staring at you as you pile out of the first van and you're shaking your head, elbowing simon in the ribs and muttering a "put them out their misery, Si" and they swear they almost drop dead when they see how gently he handles you, an arm around your waist and a kiss to your temple as he guides you and the two gremlins towards the guys while the dog starts sniffing around its new home.

"fellas, this is the missus and kids," he says and you roll your eyes, holding out your hand towards them and introducing yourself by name, adding on the kids who beam up shyly at these strangers.

that seems to shake them out of it. john takes your hand first, shaking and turning to simon with a "you hide her away in case we try to steal her from you?" he winks and you and only grins wider when simon's hand on your hip seems to squeeze tighter. gaz and soap are bending down and coaxing your two girls out of their shyness, complimenting their light up trainers and asking if it makes them run faster before cheering them on as they run to the front door and back.

they set you up on a fold out chair and do all the heavy lifting as you point them and the boxes in their arms to their correct rooms. later, Simon treats them to dinner (a takeaway) and has you sitting on his knee with the girls in bed and for the first time he spends a night with the guys telling you stories of Simon "Ghost" Riley.

"they're lyin' love," he'll mumble in your ear at every story, "don't believe them do ya?" his hand strokes up your back, squeezing your neck.

"yeah, babe, believe you," you say while smiling at the men around your new dining room table, men who have saved your husbands life more times than he can count, and you find yourself curling closer to simon because of that

[noyzinerd]

Cue Derek as the angry, no nonsense Detective Lassiter type that immediately calls bullshit on Stiles' whole act and tries at every turn to expose him for the fraud that he is.

@teenwolflegacy’s Top Dogs Week

day 6: Psych AU

Stiles is not psychic.

He does, however, have exceptionally keen observational skills, a banshee business partner who predicts death, and a werewolf best friend with superhuman senses. Put those together and the three of them have solved crimes the police didn’t even know had taken place! The problem being that, according to the general public, banshees and werewolves don’t exist, and neither Lydia nor Scott is keen to disabuse them of the notion.

Stiles’ solution to this problem is unorthodox, to say the least. He didn’t exactly ask them before going forward with it, but when a baffled detective stared Lydia down and squawked “What are you, psychic or something?”, how else was Stiles supposed to respond?

“Don’t be ridiculous!” he’d said, much to Lydia’s relief. “…I’m the psychic.”

According to Stiles, it’s the perfect scheme! Lydia predicts the crimes, Scott picks up the trace evidence, Stiles puts the pieces together and wraps it all up in a big, melodramatic bow that keeps the spotlight firmly on him and not his friends. They get to save lives and get paid. And, best of all, it is definitely never boring.

[crabsnpersimmons]

me, last year: a lion dance au would be cool, but ugh, it's hard to draw

me, this year: eh, let's give it a shot.

here are the links to the photos i referenced because NO WAY am i drawing all this without references 😂

one-leg stand

platform jump

resting

lift

the rough beginnings of a new au! if you wanna hear me yap about my ideas (nothing set in stone just yet), it'll be under the cut along with the full page spread

ideas:

the DCA are a trio of lion dance performers, where Sun and Moon are the dancers and Eclipse is the one-man band

Sun and Moon alternate who is the head and who is the tail. When Sun is the head, their routines are more artful and they show off their kung-fu techniques. Whereas when Moon is the head, their routines are more playful and they engage with the audience more.

Eclipse has 4 arms to play the drums, the cymbals, and the gong. (maybe he has more than 4 arms? sometimes there needs to be more cymbals)

characters:

Eclipse is the gentle anchor of the trio. He acts as the mediator for Sun and Moon.

Sun is the sassy theater kid, who's always insisting they practice more to get the routine right. ("Mm-mm! Once more. From the top, With talent.")

Moon is the mischievous little gremlin. The performances give him an outlet, but he's just as mischievous out-of-costume as he is in-costume.

Y/N, the lion handler and, therefore, the DCA's handler (maybe they inherited the troupe or the kung-fu school?)

mmmmmmaybe someone else? i dunno.

dunno if this will be a full AU with a story and everything, but it's a cute idea

[yerchokito]

every1 must be hybrid-fied.

suggestive, not proofread

wolf!toji is just the scruffiest guy you’ve ever seen: his furry ears are all matted, his tail even worse, nails are most-definitely overdo on a manicure, and a bath.. not to mention his clothes that barely hang on to him.

wolf!toji is definitely an old boy. sure he looks young enough, but you know a senior citizen when you see one (he’s like late 30s but wtv..).

the first time you saw toji was when he was digging through your trash like a raccoon! you had a very long day at work, teaching kids are the worst. damned ankle-biting gremlins.

then lo-behold a homeless man—huh is that a tail?

he rises back up from said trash, emerging with some rotten-mush, yeah you can’t let that happen.

then blah blah blah you end up here, with a matted man nearly bumping his head on your door-frame. you let him bathe (thank goodness), gave him better clothes , food and a little place to sleep in. just to help out the guy.

in toji’s mind, he thinks you just want to sleep with him. i mean, why else are you letting him into your home?

to be fair, he’s been there don’t that with all this, a fun time in exchange for a good nights rest. he’s not one to prude out—even if he’s never had a human lady before. eh, can’t be that different.

so why isn’t his advances working on you?

yeah you have definitely notice the change in his attitude towards you.

wolf!toji is really not as slick as he used to be. you’ll admit he’s really handsome, sexy blah blah all that stuff. seems he’s just lost his secrecy in it.

wolf!toji brushes up against you too often. wanting to get past you? his crotch ends up against your ass, wanting to grab something? crotch to ass again. one time he ‘accidentally’ groped at your chest. not subtle at all.

wolf!toji eventually abandons his ‘subtleness’ and goes straight to humping against you. not longer is it you trying to get into his pants, but him trying to get into yours.

wolf!toji actually ends up succeeding

[demonic0angel]

Hi!!! I just wanted to tell you thank you!!! Like, every time you post a dpxdc something, I just go feral. I come here after screeching at one your posts like a pterodactyl....inna good way I mean! Your writing just makes days better and brings a smile on my face when I need it. So, thank you for feeding my gremlin brain and sustaining my dark soul!

Anyways! My ask is if the recently posted 'Tim thinks Danny is a vampire but cute' would get a 2nd part????

Thank you!!!!!!!!!😄😄😄😄

(Wahhh tysm! I’m glad you like my stuff :D)

Part 1, Part 3, Part 4

Tim leaned on a fist as he watched Danny doodle on his notebook instead of taking notes. He was drawing constellations and cartoony stars everywhere, his face dazed even through the camera screen. Tim stared at him, knowing that no matter what Jason said, he was still extremely suspicious and needed a careful eye.

A figure suddenly approached Danny, a tall boy with red hair, freckles, and a face that oddly looked similar to Danny’s. He gathered Danny’s stuff without another word, even as Danny jumped up with a start to protest.

Danny floundered. Tim began reading his lips with narrowed eyes. ‘What! Hey, what’re you doing?’

‘We have to go,’ the boy said tugging on Danny’s wrist. His familiarity with him made Tim bristle as he opened another tab to look into the school records and use his face recognition program to find out whoever the hell this was.

A girl with a bandanna pulling back her curly hair then strode towards Danny. She reached over to hold Danny’s hand and pulled him away from the other boy, both of them urgent. Danny asked her something, his face tilted away enough that Tim couldn’t decipher his words.

Hissing, Tim hurriedly changed perspectives so he could catch the tail of his words. When did Danny have so many friends?! After weeks of watching him, Danny hardly interacted with many people at all! These two people were ones that Tim had seen often lingering about, but how did they know Danny?! And why were they so close to him?!

‘— see something?’

The girl nodded hurriedly, her eyebrows furrowed. ‘Someone’s watching you. We need to get you to safety.’

Tim’s heart dropped into his feet. He stood up from his seat to focus as he clicked on his mouse, trying to figure out what was happening. Were they onto him? But how? His cameras were the state of the art in tech and none of it should’ve been detectable!

Unless they were all vampires…? Or maybe his hypothesis was wrong and Danny was even worse than a bloodsucking creature.

In the cameras, Danny froze. Then he turned and all three of them looked at the camera that Tim had chosen to watch them, making direct eye contact with Tim behind the screen.

In an instant, Tim self destructed all of his cameras, listening devices and trackers (which honestly hadn’t worked at all since he attached them to various belongings of Danny.)

He was sweating as he erased all of his tracks expertly. When he was done, he cursed. All of his tech was destroyed completely and none of it could be traced back to him, but now he didn’t have a way to observe Danny.

He sighed and drew a hand through his hair. He picked up his phone and gave a call.

“Hey, Steph? Can you find a way for me to get into Gotham University right now?”

[phantoms-world-and-more]

So i want vlad and danny to... not BE enemys like mid-vlad-redemption ark but vlad is just that obsessed

Something with maddie happened and now his obssession is no longer connected to her, but now his obsession is full force on danny

He is possesive, over protective and definitely obsessed, he want to be alone with danny as much as possible but not really DO anything

Danny(still freaking out about why vlad no longer cares about his mom) is freaking out and goes feral if you mention vlads name

The scene up there happened afew months before the redemption ark started and bruce finally tracked down the fenton family

So the batfam arive to the fenton house only to be told danny is with his GODFARTHER VLAD MASTERS

Dick and jason had to drag him away foaming atvthe mouth

So now their driving like crazy to get to vlads mansion

And when they do they break the door down only to be met woth masters trying to pin down a hissing and growling danny(danny kept trying to punch him in the face)...no the batkids didnt stip bruce this time

But vlad is only registering that this man was keeping his obsession away from him so he's fighting back just as feral

The batkids are all trying to comfort a very confused danny

The blurb I promised

@nerdpoe for your prompt about Vlad being a creep and giving Pedophile Vibes :3

This "Danny" was not Vlad Master's kid, Bruce knew this for a fact. Yet, for the past month all Vladimir would talk about was him. Bruce loved his kids to the moon and back he loved to talk about them, he loved talking with other parents too but the way Masters talked about this boy was... Odd, not the way a parent should talk about their child.

The silver haired man didn't simply talk about Danny he raved for as long as you would allow him to go on. Something about way he smiled while he went on a possessive rant over a child make Bruce's stomach churn. A gut feeling that there was something much more sinister going on here. If all his years have taught him anything it was that you trust your gut.

Bruce needed answers and he was going to get them. So no matter how sick to his stomach the way Vlad licked his lips while talking about talking about how the boy "took after his mother," Bruce kept him talking, gaining trust,. Eventually Vlad started to relax, leaning into the more obsessive side of his rant. He talked about "Getting his hands on the stubborn boy," and " Convincing his little badger that this was how things were meant to be," Bruce feared for this kid's safety Vlad clearly had enough access to speak with the kid and that was clearly to much freedom for the predatory billionaire.

Vladimir would complain about "Daniel's bumbling idiot of a biological Father who was keeping them from being the perfect family,"

Honestly Bruce should have snapped earlier but there specific event that pushed him over the edge. He'd invited Masters over for a chat about parenting techniques. Not even two minutes after he entered the Manor, Vladimir had and started his usual disgusting rant about Daniel and Bruce tolerated it. At least he did tolerate it until he admitted to hurting Danny, insisting it was "out of love" and "For the sake of progress"

Bruce saw red, he lunged. It wasn't until his children were prying his hands hands off Vlad's neck that he managed to calm down. He couldn't imagine looking at his children the way Masters did the thought of hurting them in the ways that Vladimir described what he did to Danny made bile creep up his throat...

He needed to find Daniel Fenton, he was obviously in danger and needed to be protected.

[stevesgother]

From Now On (Our Troubles Will Be Miles Away) I S.H

Pairing - Dad!Steve Harrington x Fem!Mom!Reader

WC - 1.5k

Summary - enjoy some christmas stevie with your toddler, and a special announcement… <3

AN - oops! It appears i can’t stop writing steve as a father. y’all can thank mady @skeltn for that one. 

With love- Emma

The soft, staticky sounds of Frank Sinatra’s ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ emanate from the thrifted record player in the living room; drifting into the kitchen where you’re rolling cookie dough and wincing as your toddler tries to ‘help’ by adding way too much food coloring into the bowls of frosting.

Over the sounds of nostalgic Christmas tunes, you hear a small crash and the cursing of your husband as he attempts to wrap your eight foot tree in garland.

“You okay, honey?” You shout from where you stand at the counter.

A pause, “Yeah, I’m just–ugh these fuc–”

“Steve!--”

“Fudging lights–” he corrects, “they’re all tangled. I’ve been working at them for, like, twenty minutes,”

“Let me get these cookies in the oven, Ellie and I will come help,” you call back.

More grumbling can be heard echoing from the other room as your daughter, Eleanor, is rummaging through your small container of cookie cutters, eventually giving up and deciding that it would simply be easier to dump all of them out onto the floor.

Her pudgy little hands grab one that's shaped like santa in a sleigh as she declares,

 “I do this one,”

“Do you want mommy’s help or do you got it by yourself?”

She doesn’t respond but clumsily presses the stencil into the floured dough. It comes out a little wonky, but you don’t mind, you aren’t going for perfection. Steve will have eaten them all within the next few hours, anyway.

Speak of the devil, “How are my girls doin’?” he saunters over to you, slightly sweaty from the exertion of decorating the tree and presses a kiss to both yours and Ellie’s cheeks.

When he sees Eleanor’s handiwork, he gasps, “Ellie, baby, these are beautiful!” He fawns over the barely recognizable shapes on the baking sheet like they’re the most magnificent thing he’s ever seen in his whole life.

Ellie can tell he’s pleased with her and starts to giggle with her sticky hands over her mouth. You wisely chose a recipe that didn’t call for eggs, knowing your three-year-old was bound to ingest the raw dough at some point during the process.

Now that Steve’s in the room though, she conveniently decides she’s done helping and motions with her arms for her dad to pick her up. He does so without hesitation, even though she’s covered in frosting and flour, easily lifting her from where she stands in just an oversized tee on a step ladder against the cabinets.

“Let’s go get you cleaned up, huh? Give mommy a break,” he looks pleadingly to you, “Can you please try to untangle the lights while I’m gone?” And how could you say no when he looks so pretty and asks so nicely?

◞◟·̩͙  ͜  ˳꣑୧ ͜  ◞◟·̩͙◟

By the time you’re finally done unraveling and applying a mess of sparkly bulbs and shiny tinsel to your Christmas tree, Ellie comes barreling out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel wrapped around her and Steve hot on her tail. Miniature wet footprints mark a path from the bathroom door all the way to the couch, and it doesn’t take a scientist to figure out who the culprit is.

“Eleanor Rose!” He yells through gritted teeth, solely because he’s fighting a smile.

You laugh boisterously as you watch your grown husband chase after a toddler in an uncomfortable crouched position that looks ridiculous displayed on someone his size. It’s a sight for sore eyes.

“Hey! It’s not funny!” Now his feigned frustration is directed towards you, “Are you just gonna stand there and laugh or are you gonna help me catch this gremlin?!”

As it turns out, he doesn’t need help after all. When Ellie reaches the couch, she realizes she has nowhere left to turn and succumbs to a fit of giggles on the fluffy cushions. She’s red in the face and certainly not dry, but you can’t find it in yourself to be annoyed. Your couch might be a little soggy, your floor might be a little slippery, and Steve might be absolutely exhausted, but you don’t dare dream of your life looking any differently than this.

Steve’s playing Tickle Monster with Ellie when you realize she still needs her pajamas on.

“You wanna get her dressed or shall I?” You ask him over your daughter’s squealing.

“Oh, take her, please,” you can tell he’s teasing though. If you really wanted, Steve would let you lounge in your bathrobe all day– reading Cosmos and drinking iced tea while he took care of Ellie. He’s in his element when he’s spending time with her. Even when you were just silly teenagers in love, you’d never seen him so fulfilled as he is now.

That sentiment is the only reason why you don’t feel wracked with nerves over the news you’re about to deliver him.

◞◟·̩͙  ͜  ˳꣑୧ ͜  ◞◟·̩͙◟

Steve’s putting the last of the ornaments on the tree when Ellie reappears from her bedroom with a huge smile plastered to her face. She careens into his shins and he stumbles a little with the unexpected force.

“Hi, peanut!” He grunts a little when he picks her up. You follow suit, wearing the matching pajamas Steve had picked out at Sears for everyone last weekend.

“Did you get your jammies–?” His eyebrows knit together, puzzled, as he realizes he doesn’t recognize the top she has on as the one he bought for you all to wear tonight.

“Babe, why didn’t you put her in the–”

It's then that he catches the words printed on shirt in bold, pink letters,

‘Big Sister.’

Once the initial confusion passes, his eyes immediately well with tears and his features soften like butter.

“What? He asks in that quiet, wobbly voice you’d only ever heard him use a handful of times.

“Surprise,” you respond timidly with your hands out in an almost-shrug.

He sets Eleanor down as gently as he can while also rushing to your side. He embraces you so tight it nearly knocks the wind out of you. When he lets up, he still doesn’t let you go far as he cups your face in both of his warm hands.

“How long have you known?”

“A week or so,” you shrug.

“Baby, I can’t believe this!” his quiet, shocked demeanor quickly morphs into something more like excited giddiness and he’s practically jumping up and down now.

“Oh my God!” He picks Ellie up and swings her around by her armpits before smacking kisses all over her tiny face. You know she’s still a bit too young to properly comprehend the gravity of the announcement, but she’s just so happy because her dad’s so happy.

“Ellie Bear! Mommy’s having a baby!” He holds her by her torso and gives her a light shake, she just throws her head back and laughs, not a clue what’s got him so worked up. With her belly exposed, he blows a raspberry on the exposed skin.

You make your way back to his side and engulf them both in a hug. Your perfect little family of three, soon to be four, and you couldn’t be more content than you are in this moment.

◞◟·̩͙  ͜  ˳꣑୧ ͜  ◞◟·̩͙◟

Two hours and one Christmas TV special later, Ellie is snuggled tight to Steve’s chest, lost to slumber. It appears Steve’s not too far behind her as his head is rested against the back of the couch– mouth open and slightly snoring– comforted by his own personal weighted blanket.

“Stevie,” you whisper, giving him a gentle shake, “don’t fall asleep,”

“Jus’ resting my eyes, darlin’,”

You scoff, teasing, “Right,”

He looks down at the sleeping child nuzzled into him, and plants a barely there kiss to the crown of her head. He rises slowly, so as not to wake her, and you follow him to her room.

He sets her down atop the frilly pink comforter with a practised ease, she stirs only slightly, and covers her up with a Disney Princess blanket that was previously splayed at the end of the mattress. You take turns giving her featherlight kisses and wishing her ‘sweet dreams’ even though you know she can’t hear you.

You and Steve are hand in hand as you tiptoe out of her room and close the door with a soft click, giggling like children.

Outside her door, he presses a tender kiss to your forehead. Then to each cheek. Then to your mouth.

“I love you,” you whisper.

“I love you,” he whispers back, “more than anything,”

“Wanna call it a night?”

“Can we make out first?”

You gasp in faux disapprovement as you smack a loving hand against his chest and he fakes a wince for dramatic effect. Always the drama queen, your Steve.

“Keep it in your pants, Big Boy,”

“Don’t call me that,” he tries to sound stern and fails.

“You love it,” you smirk.

You squeal when he grabs you behind your knees and hoists you up and over his shoulders.

“Quiet, baby. You’re gonna wake up our baby,” he scolds through a giggle. You pinch his butt in retaliation.

“Okay, that’s it. Off to bed with you,”

The next hour is spent in bed with your best friend– hushed laughs and languid kisses and skin caressing skin before you both drift off into a peaceful sleep; holding each other close like you always have.

divider credit to @/strangergraphics