#and like. my life wouldn't be perfect with better support in that area

[camellia-thea]

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[hutahuta]

Thoughts on Pavia introducing his GF to his wolf family? Maybe they already knew bc he’d come home smelling different and now they know who that other scent belongs to. I love the domestic idea of GF living with Pavia and telling the wolves to “go to papa” like GF is mama to the wolves also

P.AGE OO.5 — 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐔𝐌 & NOBILITY : 交 ✦ ⏱

fem!reader // x pavia

✦ — this is SO cute awkawksjsdksj our precious babyy <33 i love you so much for this wjsjajsjs my heart ;(((

He was never one to settle down for a domestic life. But to think— You'd make such a good wife for him, though. Wouldn't you? Hearty meals every single day, venturing out into the world beyond together and preparing him that tender bath he needed after spilling ever the amount of blood when slaughtering his prey alive when he's out and about on his job.

You, however, have yet to meet his family. Pavia was 100% reluctant at first. This is his blood, his kin. The only family he'd ever grown to have and love. But you're his beloved girlfriend, aren't you? That famous, sweet voice of his bitterly adding the cold tone in which he spoke of.

' Come in, it's fine. Just be careful not to be eaten by them. '

What did he mean by that? Those playful 'jokes' of his always left you rendered silent, but your innocent mind nervously laughed it off.

It was jarring how someone like you could even become his S/O. You're perfect in more ways than one, and he can see it. So why meddle yourself with someone so tainted as him? That man has blood on his hands. Human blood.

Nevertheless, it seemed as though you were adamant on being with him. But he always told you in such a playful manner, that you're an idiot for thinking to fall in love with someone like him. But your persistence and your constant support on his behalf had both annoyed him and made him adore you.

Here you were now, simply waiting under the humble sofa which you had sat neatly atop. Your eyes transfixed on the battered, torn papers left in a mess within the tables, the dimly lit room proved to be no more than his fault.. and this distraction kept you at bay before you felt something wet sniff the bridge of your leg.

Whether you looked down in quiet silence or you freaked out is your choice, but Pavia couldn't help but quietly watch from a distance, not involving himself unless if needed. He saw this as a test of some sort.

This was the only family he'd have back then. Darkness swelled around Pavia, and he'd be forever alone until that faithful day he had met you. No longer shall he fester in silence and fight his constant urge to burn every building within the area whenever he'd spark back to the day he'd been locked up. Everyone has some trauma in them, and it often shapes them how they are today:

For Pavia's case, he may say things that he doesn't mean or struggles to pick up on social cues, but that doesn't make him any less different when you tell him that you love that he's fighting for your love day in, day out.

But the moment his fellow canine friends surrounded you with the constant sniffing and your patient nature making them seem like you're no threat, you were greeted by a sudden lick against your cheek. They knew. Of course they did. They have a better sense of trust than most humans.

You were sure Pavia may have prepared them by adorning his wall with the many pictures of you within his room, and that familiar face definitely echoed something within their minds, but it proved to be all content when Andrea started drooling on your shoes and Pavia seemed to scold her for it; snapping out of your thoughts in an instant.

Your scent to a wolf is everything. This is how they trace you, mark you, and familiarise themselves with you. When Pavia returned home with a different scent to his own, the constant barking to the foreign scent made them seem like you were harming Pavia.

 You didn't flinch, but you waited until their eyes gave some sort of approval for you to touch, and when you did, by the gods did the angels send you directly to heaven when they tickled you with their noses and pulled off one another just to be seated by your sides, or your lap. Constant pets, adorned with kisses on their foreheads, gentle giggles breezed a reminder of how utterly mother-like you are..

To think, Pavia would ask himself. Would you treat his own children like that one day?

The sight nearly drowned the merc in a wave of relief, but a heavy laugh followed over from how you, yourself, were getting mercilessly drowned by the constant affection feeding into you seconds after. You muffled a plea for help and mercy, but your body was overcome with the shadows that happily lapped up heavy affection from just a few touches from you, patience and understanding.

Whether you knew how to handle dogs or not is genuinely your own skill choice, but Pavia will never forget how you willingly offered your safety to allow yourself as to get to know his own kin.

Trust radiated between human and beast, connections transcended out of the boundaries between the ordinary world and it offered them a place where they could wonder the touch of a woman's hand. So gentle and patient, yet firm and strict.

What might've taken a few weeks, turned into months when you were regularly greeted by whimpers that direly needed your attention so often, fur being shoved against your bare skin became a norm for you.

Pavia couldn't hold back the moment you kneeled down and spread your arms for Peter to dash in almost immediately:

Or the time you'd hold back your laughter from the drool being trailed against the floor to the cupboard when Andrea brushed past your leg.

Being patient with Maleficent, offering gentle pats and kisses for all to love.

When they'd all huddle around you, you're constantly in a battle of affection when they'd refuse to leave your side. They've lacked feminine touch, and neither the pups or Pavia realised how much it truly meant for your warmth to strike them all in the gut.

'Go to papa darlings.' ' Go help your papa, okay?'

To say he was astounded by how patient you were with them is something he'll never grow tired of. And 'Papa'? Pavia swooned.

How dare you attack him with that beautiful feeling of a heartache that swelled nothing but love and admiration for you?

When sleeping, they'd all huddle around you both. As if you were their parents, the ones they'd long for. Pavia never realised he needed such a domestic life until he had found you. When you offered that place of comfort, the only thing he'd need to ever worry about was straying too far away from you.

Gentle lips touched his own as you quietly mumble a soft 'thank you' as if to say you were honoured to have spent a lot of time with his blood. He couldn't explain how he wanted to thank you, but no words came out. He just held you. Right there, in his arms. And rocked back and forth as if to claim that he was grateful for all your hard work. Something he truly admired..

Your protection is guided by him, and your kin. You're one of them now, and you're entirely his. <3

[uniquexusposts]

Her || Charles

Main characters: Charles Leclerc x OC Genre: fanfiction, fluff  Story type: novel  Part: 22/? Word count: 2114 Co writer: @mistrose23

Story summary: Matilde Jørgensen, the new Scuderia Ferrari team principal, faced the nerve-wracking challenge of reviving the team's fortunes and aiming for a championship. Leading a historic team as a 'newbie' and separating her work and personal opinions posed a significant challenge. The big question: is she capable to do so?

Previous chapter

Chapter 20. Routine

Jens opened the door of the Airbnb Matilde had to stay in for three weeks. It was a cottage just outside of Oxford, in a beautiful surrounding for some quietness and peace, perfect for Matilde to recover and rest. It was Saturday, a day after the surgery and Matilde just got released from the hospital.

"This looks adorable," Matilde said when she stood still in front of the door. She was taking a break from walking from the car to the front door, which was about ten metres.

Jens only smiled. "I hope you can recover here quickly."

"It isn't home, but it will do," she gratefully replied.

Her steps into the house were slow and deliberate, her body still adjusting to the recent surgery. Jens guided her towards the living area. As Matilde eased herself onto the couch, Jens went back to the car to grab all the luggage. He picked up Matilde's stuff from the hotel and her car, which was still parked at the track, this morning.

"I parked your car at the end of the street," Jens said once he got back. "I will bring your stuff upstairs. Do you need anything?"

Matilde squinted her eyes; she had never seen him this caring, if she was honest. She and Jens were never that close, the bond between her and Lars was much better. Perhaps it was because Jens was the oldest and moved out quickly. Jens moved out when he was eighteen years old, Matilde was only twelve years old and Lars was fourteen at that time. From that moment on, Jens showed up whenever he felt like it - mainly because he was part of the army. "Uh..." She carefully got up. "I want to take a shower, get rid of the hospital air. Maybe take my suitcase upstairs, but leave my work bag and purse downstairs."

"Yeah, sure. Let's do it."

"But Jens," she said and looked at her older brother. "If you want to go to the Grand Prix, please go. You took time off to be there, you came all the way to the UK, you have VIP tickets, you brought your friends... I don't want you to be here while you can be there, live your dream."

"Tilly," he smiled, it was a soft and caring smile. "My friends can have the dream experience, but I would rather stay here and look after you. I came here to see you work, to be with you, I came here for you. And yes, it is my dream to be a VIP guest at a race, but I'm sure there will be another opportunity anytime soon," he told her. He knew her well enough to give her a little bit more explanation than necessary. "Let's just relax, rest and recover." He took her in his arms, creating a safe space for her.

Matilde closed her eyes and let out a breath, accepting that she wouldn't be able to live her life like she usually would do for three weeks. She carefully wrapped her arms around Jens' torso. For the first time in years, they shared a meaningful hug, but it was a hug she needed. She missed home, she missed her family and this made her realise how far away her family actually was. Jens rested his head on top of hers and he just held her.

After a moment, they let go of each other. They went upstairs, Jens still supporting his little sister. While Matilde was taking a shower, Jens stayed upstairs in case he had to help her. He unpacked his own bag in the guest bedroom, doubting whether he should unpack Matilde's suitcase as well. After the shower, Matilde and Jens went downstairs again. Jens connected his phone to the TV, putting on his favourite Danish radio station - knowing Matilde would like it as well.

"How was the shower?"

"Quite alright," Matilde said. "But I want to wash my hair, but I can't somehow do it," she said frustratedly. "It's such a simple task and I can't do it. Once you can't do it anymore, you realise what you lost."

"I can wash your hair."

"No, it's okay. I can wait two more days until dad arrives."

"I can do it. It's a nice feeling to wash your hair after a hospital visit."

"You don't even know how to do it."

Jens raised his eyebrow. "Why do you think that? I have seen mum and dad wash your hair so many times - and the tantrums you created, drama queen."

She huffed. "Now you are pulling the longbow."

"I said what I said." He leaned against the kitchen counter. The kitchen was next to the living room, well, in the living room. "So?"

"Fine," she gave in. "But how were you planning on doing it?"

"Chair, sit, sink." Jens walked upstairs to get Matilde's hair stuff. When he got back, he set up the setting. He took a chair from the dining room and put it in front of the sink. He placed a towel on the counter, it had to be a cushion. "Sit down, ma'am."

Matilde sat down. "Now you're being scary."

"Why?"

"SInce when are you interested in doing this?"

He grabbed Matilde's brush and detangled her wavy hair, well, expired blow out hair. "I am just taking care of you."

"That's what scares me."

"Shut up." He noticed some small baby curls in her neck. He put a towel over her shoulder and flipped the hair on it. "Okay, lean backwards." Matilde threw her hair over the sink. "Comfortable?"

Matilde looked Jens in the eyes. "Yes, sir. I hope you cleaned the sink."

"Yes." He turned the water on and waited until it was a nice temperature. He wetted her hair and watched how the straight hair slightly bounced back into its natural shape. It was still wet, but her hair turned into a shape again. Jens put some shampoo on his hand palm and emulsified it. During the first wash, he put his attention to the scalp.

"Okay, but for real, since when do you know how to wash hair?" Matilde was perplexed, it didn't make sense. First, he would do everything to avoid talking about hair care, and now he knew what to do. She stared at him.

"Like I said, I watched how mum and dad did it."

"But that's like a million years ago."

"With the tantrums you threw, it isn't easy to forget it."

"Bullshit."

"Don't move."

Jens rinsed the hair and washed her hair again. Then he squeezed all the water out of her hair and put in some conditioner. He instructed Matilde to sit up again, so he could, again, detangle her hair.

"Ouch," Matilde whined after a few minutes.

"Don't fuss," he replied.

"You are hurting me."

"I am not. Just get over it," he responded.

"Be careful."

"Mati."

"It hurts."

"Matilde."

"I can't fucking help that I have curly hair. It is a pain in the arse," she complained. "I am so jealous of all of you. Why do I have curly hair? Why am I the only one in this family? Mum's hair is as straight as a pencil, dad's hair too, Lars' hair too, your hair too. Mine is curly."

Jens had to agree with that; Matilde stood out in the family because of her curly hair. "The mother of grandma Greta had curly hair. Then it passed two generations, for you to have curly hair. Why don't you wear it curly anymore? Why straighten it?"

"I hate genes," she mocked. "I don't like my hair curly, it's ugly."

"It is not."

"It is."

"Why?" He put the comb on the kitchen counter. "Time to let the conditioner sit for a moment." He sat down on the counter of the island, crossed his arms and observed his sister.

Matilde sat up and shrugged. "I just don't like it, I don't think it looks pretty. It makes me feel different from everyone else in the family."

"It is unique."

"And I don't like it."

Jens nodded. "And what about that Leclerc boy?" It was something he needed to talk about.

"What about him?"

"Why did he randomly show up yesterday? After what he did?"

Matilde bit her upper lip and looked outside. She couldn't speak for Charles, she didn't know why he showed up. "I don't know, you should ask him."

"Why did he pretend to be your boyfriend?" Jens continued to ask, it didn't make sense.

She sighed. "It's not like I can look into his head and justify his decisions?" Her face straightened. "I have no idea why he showed up and why he told the nurse he was my boyfriend."

"So..." He squinted his eyes, observing Matilde. "You are on good terms, I see."

Matilde chuckled, her tone holding a hint of irony. "I don't want to say good terms, but we are getting there, I guess. It's still complicated."

He raised an eyebrow, clearly not satisfied with the vague response. "Complicated how?"

"People are complicated, any type of relationship is even more so."

He studied her expression, searching for any signs of discomfort or evasion. She met his gaze with a steady one, her eyes reflecting a mixture of exhaustion and resilience. It was a look he recognised, the same one she wore during challenging moments in her life.

"Til," he began. "You've got enough on your plate as team principal. You don't need more complications, especially not from someone like him."

"Protective big brother mode activated," she mumbled annoyedly.

A chuckle left Jens' mouth, conceding the point. "Maybe I do. But seriously, Tilly, you need people who bring stability, not more chaos."

"I know, Jens. Believe me, I know."

"So, let me get this straight: you start at Ferrari and Leclerc struggles to welcome you. Understandable. Odd, but understandable. Then your team are dickheads by the Miami situation. You cleared the air. Followed by Monaco, where Leclerc is blaming you for his own mistakes, causing more tension between the two of you, portraying you as a bad leader towards the media. And then the moment in Austria, where he fights in front of the media with Max, pulling you down. During the meeting with Max and Christian, he claims that you are only here for Max, fucking him for your position and calling you a bad leader. And when you are hospitalised, he is suddenly emotional, distracted and caring? Showing up without permission, pretending to be your boyfriend, standing next to your bed while pouting? It is almost like he is in love with you but tries to hide his feelings by being a dick." Jens threw his hands up in the air. "Make it make sense, Matilde."

Fact, on fact, on fact. Also a confrontation. Matilde swallowed hard. "He is one of my drivers..." Her lips parted, trying to find some words, which she couldn't find. "I don't want to talk about it now."

"I get it, but do you understand why Lars and I are having doubts? This isn't normal behaviour. And I know you want to protect him because he is your driver, but you need to be careful." He jumped off the counter, turning on the water again, waiting for the right temperature. "Make sure he does not play with you, because his behaviour is affecting you on your mental health."

"Jah," she mumbled annoyedly and laid back to the sink again.

"Just be cautious. It's not just about the racing, it is about your well being."

"Yup."

The short answer said enough to Jens; Matilde didn't want to talk about it. He didn't know if she wanted to avoid the topic or just leave it for now, but she was annoyed by it. Jens rinsed the conditioner out of Matilde's hair and applied the curl cream. "No mousse?"

"Neh, not today."

He nodded. He remembered that his parents had to learn how to control Matilde's hair; they reached out to other people with curly hair because they had no clue how to handle it. Jens also remembered that after applying the mousse, or gel, you had to scrunch it. Even though they skipped that step, he scrunched the cream into the hair, also squeezing out the excess water. He grabbed a T-shirt and dried the hair by scrunching it. "There you go."

Matilde was on the edge to ask to blow dry her hair and straighten it, but she felt uncomfortable and wanted to lay on the couch. She also thought it was adorable how her big brother performed the entire hair care routine by memory on her hair, so she decided to let it go and dry out her hair. "Tak."

"Go lie down on the sofa. I will make you a cup of tea." Jens washed his hands and filled the kettle with water.

"You still scare the crap out of me with how you behave." 

Next chapter

Taglist: @itsjustkhaos@crashingwavesofeuphoria@maryvibess @chocolatefartstrawberry @snzleclerc @ironmaiden1313

[uceyliyahh]

SOMETHING BOUT’ US

Summary: "I want you more than anything in my life." After being in a difficult relationship with Carmelo Yasmine decided to move on from him and become the next big thing while getting drafted on the smackdown roster she always thought she would never find love again due to her commitment issues until she met him.

This fanfic is 18+! NO MINORS ALLOWED

word count: 3708

smut warning; it’ll come in the story randomly so PLEASE PLEASE look out for it I’m not really good at writing ✍🏽 smuts but I’m improving at the moment.

Jey Uso x Yasmine

AWFUL GRAMMAR IM GETTING BETTER I SWEAR LOL.

comments, likes, repost are appreciated I would love the constructive feedback in what area I need to approve in. 🤍

ALSO! I don’t not want nobody stealing my fanfics or take it as theirs that will be an issue fasho so keep it cute respectfully.

I only own my OC along with the make up scenarios

But I’ll be writing along the way since this story is in my drafts on Wattpad right now so yuh. 💁🏽‍♀️

TAGS ⬇️ lmk if you wanna be tag 🏷️@pinkwithhearts @420days @jstarr86 @empressdede @angiedawn02 @biancasreign

@bebesobrielo @skyesthebomb @aikosilo @papireigns-05 @punksyeet @paigereeder @magnificentbouquetmusic @xbriexx

@hunnidmilly @celesteheartsjey @charmed-dreamssss @fearlesschimera @partypoison00 @mselenalovebug @bloodlinesbabe93 @lov3rla03 @simpin4pixels @nbanenefrmdao

5.

OMNISCIENT

Yasmine had an interview with Bryson regarding her impending debut on the blue brand, so she was at work today for tonight's Smackdown. Following that incident, she and Jey have been growing closer over the past few weeks.

Taking her on these "best friend" dates, Jey has been nothing but kind to her. Late at night, they would stroll and discuss personal matters. Naturally, Montez was aware of it, and since Jey was his dawg, he trusted him. He was aware that Jey would not harm her in any way.

She felt someone put their arms around her shoulders as she sat in the makeup chair applying makeup. She opened her eyes to see Bianca standing behind her. 

"Hey, girlfriend! I've missed you, girl. Paul needs to hurry up and make your debut quickly," Bianca said jokingly.

"I know, man, but I'm so nervous about it, too. What if I mess up, B?" Yasmine replied.

Bianca shook her head, "Girl, you're going to do great out there when you debut." That made Yasmine smile, knowing that she had perfect, supportive friends who always reassured her.

"But enough of that. How are you and Jey?" Once she bought up Jey, Yasmine couldn't help but smile whenever she heard his name from anyone else; it just made her heart flutter.

While they were talking on Jey, Bianca could see that Yasmine was cheesing really hard and getting really geeked out. She updated Bianca, stating that Jey has been taking her on "best friend" dates and late-night walks as part of their overall effort to get to know one another better.

"Oh my gosh, girl yall are so cute like literally." She said.

Yes, there is something specific about him. Yasmine looked at herself in the mirror that the makeup artist had given her and said, "He's different, B, but I can't be sure yet." "Yasmine, I know what you mean, but I also told everyone that I was hosting a small gathering at the crib so that we could all enjoy ourselves after work." A gathering? It sounds fine to me. I hope Jey will be present as well. Why wouldn't he?

Bianca hugged her before heading to her locker room, and Yasmine nodded her head. As she made her way to Montez's locker room, she thanked the makeup artist for doing her makeup. 

She felt a powerful force tugging at her arm as she was doing that. She turned to see Carmelo snatching her up in this manner. She gave him a severe look as she stood there with her arms folded after yanking her arm away from him.

"Why the fuck am I hearing about you and Jey being all close and shit now when I should be the one staring at you like that?" Carmelo asked her a question. "Because we are, right? Why am I unable to have a male best friend at this time? "Yasmine said." 

"All of that is not what I'm saying. I simply want to know what's happening between you two. Bro, this nigga is right here. Why is he asking her questions? They weren't even together once more? As if she were free to do as she pleased. Feeling angry at this man for failing to notice that they were no longer together, Yasmine started massaging her temple.

What Jey and I are doing is none of your business, Melo. "Hell," she said sharply, "we're not even together." 

Her response didn't sit well with him, so he took her by the throat, drew her in, and put his lips to her ear. "I'm not sure why you're acting this way toward me, but if it's because of his ass, Minks, I won't think twice about beating his ass." She was slightly alarmed by his threats to harm Jey, but she was aware that Jey could easily beat him up. She rubbed her throat and pushed him away. When he didn't like something that he didn't want to hear, he would grab her up like that, and she got so sick of it.

"Nigga, please stop interfering with my life; you're fucking crazy." His facial expressions were readable by her. Her response made him angry because he felt like he was losing control of her. "It would be best for all of you to break up this friendship." Yasmine cocked her head threateningly.

"The fuck, I'm not doing that? He is unquestionably superior to you. He grabbed her by the hair after she had said that, which made her scream at the pain she was feeling. 

She looked into his eyes and raised her head. She wasn't going to break up with Jey because he's been giving her the mental support she needed, which Carmelo was unable to give her, even though this man was being completely serious. She felt her hair behind come loose before he could do anything else, looked up, and saw Jonathan choking him. Yasmine couldn't understand. Where the fuck did he come from?

"Yasmine, are you okay?" "What?" Jonathan inquired. 

As she watched Carmelo struggle to escape Jon's chokehold, she nodded her head and said, "Yo' ass want to keep putting hands on her, don't you, Melo? When will you discover that she is protected? She followed Jon's instructions to go to Montez's locker room while he handled Carmelo's ass, and she had planned to do so until this incident. As Yasmine entered his locker room, she noticed Trinity and Bianca seated there, staring at her. In order to check on her and give her a hug, they both approached her.

"Girl, you good?" Trinity asked.

"Yes, I'm alright. I guess Melo learned that Jey and I were best friends and wanted me to cut him off, so I had to deal with him once more." Trinity and Bianca both let out deep sighs as Yasmine explained. "Yasmine, have you been talking to Trick? I'm so sick of his ass." As soon as he believed his own best friend over her and blocked him on everything, Yasmine shook her head, refusing to even consider his ass.

In the locker room, Bianca nodded her head as everyone sat down to watch an Iyo vs. Bayley match on the TV. Yasmine, meanwhile, could feel her phone buzzing. Upon taking it out, she discovered that Jey had sent her a text. 

Joshua🤍 sent 2+ messages IMESSAGE 💬 Joshua🤍: hey, I heard what happened you good minks? Joshua🤍: lemme' know okay?

She awe at the messages knowing that Jey cared for her so much she began to text him back.

Yasmine🩵: I'm fine Joshua your brother came in the nick of time before anything could happen. Joshua🤍: that's good minks, where yo' pretty ass at? Yasmine🩵: I'm in my brother's locker room with the girls watching a match between Iyo and Bayley why? Joshua🤍: come holla at me for a second Yasmine🩵: 🤨🤨 boy what'chu tryna do? Joshua🤍: girl bring yo' ass here and stop playing with me Yasmine🩵: you can wait bestie 💁🏼‍♀️ Joshua🤍: bring. yo'. ass. here. now. do I have to repeat myself? Yasmine🩵: 🙄 god you're so annoying worse than Montez ass I'm coming. Joshua🤍: good Yasmine🩵: 🖕🏼🖕🏼

Yasmine promised the girls that she would return, but she quickly informed them that she was going to the restroom. As she walked out of the room, they both nodded. She and Jey have been touchy lately; did she forget to mention that to you? Most likely, it didn't matter. She made her way to Jey's locker room, which he shared with his brother. Standing there like a young child heading over to their friend's house, Yasmine knocked on the door and waited for Jey to come open it.

The door flew open as she heard footsteps approaching. Jey was standing there with his silver chain, grills, and piercings on, all part of his Yeet Gear. He always manages to look good. He gave her a smile while displaying his golden grills, which gleamed in the natural light. After grabbing her by the thighs, he closed the door after them.

As she straddled his lap, her hands held her in place while touching every part of his face and feeling every hair on his beard. 

Jey put his powerful arms around her waist and squeezed her ass while rubbing his hands on both of her cheeks.

"Is this what'chu wanted me to come in for?" She said, running her fingers through his mullet.

While she was whining, he made her up by kissing her neck, sending chills down her spine.

"You know I miss yo' fine ass mama." Jey said, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"I missed you too, bestie. Do you have a match tonight?" He shook his head, rubbing all over her warm body, which made her feel wet inside of her panties.

"Joshhhh..."

With that damn smug look on his face as he did what he was doing to her, he arched an eyebrow at her. "What? Girl, I'm not doing anything. Yasmine rolled her eyes and smacked her teeth as she looked down at him.

"Josh, you're being touchy." Gently, she said, and he sat up, taking her chin and bringing her face to his. "Lemme' do that you know you like it." Without hesitation, Yasmine put her lips to his, and he did the same.

Yes, ever since they started hanging out, she and Jey have been touchy, but not to the extent that it made Yasmine feel uneasy. Perhaps Jonathan is the only person close to them who is aware of the small things they do that best friends don't really do. As they made out passionately in his and Jon's locker room, Jey stuck his tongue in her mouth and rubbed all over her ass. Although he was aware that he needed to maintain his composure around Yasmine, he felt himself becoming hard.

As their foreheads touched, she sensed it too and withdrew from the kiss. 

"Shit, you me getting all bricked up girl." He said.

"Well, that's what happens when we are doing things like this together, Josh." He chuckled, telling her to sit up real quick so he could fix himself.

His print was visible through his gear, indicating to her that he was large and most likely incapable of enduring all of that if they went far. He noticed her grinning as she gazed at his print.

"You wanna suck it since you keep staring mad hard at it." Yasmine punched him in his chest as her face felt flushed at his bold statement.

"Shut up Joshua like deadass." Yasmine said while straddling back on his lap.

"Don't you need to get back to girls before they start to worry?" As she got up from his lap and fixed herself, she nearly forgot about that, but she missed the hickey he had given her earlier. It wasn't bad, but from a distance it was obvious, so she thought she would cover it up with makeup to hide it from the girls, but Jey stopped her.

"Let people see; don't cover it up." She put her makeup brush back in her bag, and Jey placed a soft kiss on her neck and then on her lips.

But the kiss once again got intense as Yasmine wrapped her arms around his neck while his hands were resting on her ass cheeks. He was yearning more from her as she did the same, but they both knew their limits. Yasmine marked him up just like how he did her, hearing him moaning softly in her ear, causing him to scoop her up by her thighs. Once again, it's like he lost control of his senses.

Unhooking her bra as his breast popped out, he grabbed it in the process, swirling his tongue around her nipple. She threw her head back while moaning his name.

"J-Josh...fuck..." he gazed up at her watching her fold at his touch.

"I can stop...we don't have to continue this...lemme' know mama.." He said softly, reassuring her.

"Let's stop for now before we get caught..." he nodded in agreement as Yasmine got up from his lap fixing herself as he did the same.

Before she could leave, she gave him one last kiss before heading out the door and returning to Montez's locker room. Opening the door, she saw Bianca and Trinity staring at her.

"Damn, girl what took you so long?" Bianca asked.

"My tummy started to hurt and it took me longer than expected." Yasmine lied as she sat down on the couch.

Trinity noticed a mark on her neck. She smirked, shaking her head, and then she knew that Yasmine had been with Jey all that time.

✧˚° After work, Yasmine was upstairs in her room watching her favorite show on Netflix, Bridgerton. She stopped watching it at first because of the sex scenes but went right back to it after hearing that they had a new season out, so she had to catch up on everything.

While she was doing that, she heard her knocking and Bianca coming into her room.

"What's up B?" Yasmine asked.

"Everyone is here and wants to see you, girl. C'mon, " she said as Yasmine nodded her head while getting up from her bed.

In order to have some privacy and change her clothes, Bianca closed the door. During that time, Yasmine dressed comfortably and styled her hair before heading downstairs to greet everyone. She went downstairs, hoping to see someone she knew, but she didn't see them. She sighed, knowing that since his brother and sister-in-law were present, he would most likely arrive on his own schedule.

She approached them, grinning and giving them both hugs. "Jon, is my best friend coming?" Jonathan rolled his eyes amusingly and nodded his head. 

"Yes, but he's coming a little later, so be patient. He's not going anywhere, girl." Jonathan said as Yasmine hit him in the chest Him being dramatic, started to winch in pain; meanwhile, Trinity popped him upside the head.

Yasmine laughed, covering her mouth in the process before Trinity pulled her to the side, leaving Jon in actual pain.

"Girl, what's going on between you and Jey?" Trinity asked Yasmine. Knowing that she couldn't hide this from her best friend, she decided to tell her everything.

Trinity covered her mouth shockingly as she hit Yasmine in her arm, hearing all of the tea that she was spilling on her. "Girl! Shut the fuck up, are you serious right now?" Yasmine nodded her head while feeling her face getting flushed.

"I'm not lying. It's been like that for a few weeks now. We don't really go too far with it, but honestly, I'm yearning for more. Trin, is that bad?" Yasmine said, fiddling with her fingers, as Trinity shook her head.

"Nah, girl, it's not bad, but I also want you to take it slow and need to heal, even if it's with Jey and he's helping you. I just don't want you to get hurt; that's all that matters to me."

"Yeah, of course, I know my limit, and so does he." She nodded her head as she and Yasmine went back with everyone else out back while Montez was cooking some BBQ.

Meanwhile, Yasmine was sitting near the pool on her phone, scrolling through her social media, and saw that Carmelo had posted about his story.

When she saw it; it was him and trick out to the club together along with lash having a good time she shrugged her shoulders moving past his story while watching someone else's story.

As she was doing that, she heard the door opening. She didn't pay attention at first since she was on her phone, but she heard a familiar voice coming from the kitchen.

Yasmine turned around and saw Jey dabbing up his brother and Montez before glancing in her direction and grinning while flaunting his grills. Raising herself, she approached him and put her arms around his neck. Everyone, including her brother, watched them as he grabbed her by the thighs.

"Oh my gosh, I thought you weren't going to come." Yasmine said.

"I mean I am a foodie so when I heard yo' brother was making some bbq I had to come." Jey replied as he put Yasmine down on her feet.

"Man, you're here for the food and not to see me rude." She pouted at him while walking away, and he chuckled at her for following her to everyone else out back.

Not even looking at Jey, she sat down by the pool and resumed using her phone. While preparing the food, Montez was conversing with Jey. Wondering what was going on between them, he brought up what he had seen earlier.

"So what's up with'chu and my little sister Josh?" Montez asked Jey, scratching the back of his head.

"Nothing, we are just chilling and vibing together. That's all nothing more." Montez gave him that face knowing that he was lying his ass off, causing Jey to sigh deeply.

"Don't kill Me A'ight? But we've been fucking around for like a couple of weeks but I do respect her wishes." Jey said, throwing his hands up in defense.

The sight of his homeboy raising his hands as if to strike him made Montez laugh at him. "Slow down, Dawg. You won't be killed by me. Regardless, I think you two look good together, and as I've previously stated, I have faith in you around my sister." With a sigh of relief, Jey rubbed his hand over his beard. When he noticed Yasmine sitting by herself in the pool using her phone, his gaze quickly went to her. After removing his shirt, he approached her and dove into the pool. He was swimming in the pool when she looked up, the water splashing in her face.

'This nigga did that shit on purpose oh my gosh so annoying bro.'

"Josh! You fucking dickhead!" Yasmine shouted as she wiped her phone, which had water on the screen, before swimming towards him.

He went under the water as she swam in his direction, making it impossible for her to find him. She looked around like a lost puppy until she felt him grab her by the thighs, frightening her. Giving her a Samoan drop in the water, he placed her on his back. Everyone laughed and gasped. Yasmine, meanwhile, flipped her hair back out of her face and swam back up to the top, rubbing her eyes.

Jey encircled her waist with his arms and pressed his face against her shoulder. She gave him an eye roll. 

"C'mon mama you can't be mad at me still look at me." He whispered softly.

She turned her head, realizing their faces were close together, pouting at him. "I am still mad at you nigga; leave me alone." Yasmine tried to get away from his grasp but forgetting the fact that he was stronger than her.

"What can I do to make it up to you? Ion' know why yo' little ass catching attitude with me when I did want to come and see you, but a man's gotta eat girl."

She stuck her tongue out at him, facing the opposite direction, grabbing her chin so that she could face him as they made intense contact.

"Fix it."

"Nigga fix what?" Yasmine questioned him as a smirk appeared on his face.

"Fix that damn attitude, or imma fuck it out of you upstairs in yo' bedroom bent the fuck over on that bed, little girl." She fixed her attitude quickly once he said all of that as he turned her body around, now facing him, keeping their bodies close to each other.

Jey pecked her on the lips, making sure nobody saw them do that. Then, they heard Montez calling everyone to come get their plates as the food was done.

✧˚°

After everyone had finished their meal, they spent the remainder of the evening in the living room watching a movie. On the couch, Jey and Yasmine were snuggling together. His hand was over her waist, her head resting on his chest as she straddled his lap. As he watched her drift in and out of sleep, he told Montez that he was going to take Yasmine upstairs to bed because he could see she was nodding off.

Taking her by the legs, he led her upstairs to her bedroom, opened the door with his free hand, and carried her to her bed. He set her down, moved her hair to the side, sat beside her, and gently covered her body with her blanket. Jey smiled as he observed her sleeping soundly and appreciated her features. He wanted to continue keeping her mentally and physically sane because he knew he was doing a good job of it. He wished for her happiness.

He got up from the bed double, checking to make sure that she was actually sleeping before heading downstairs with everyone else.

As he went back downstairs, he noticed that everyone was knocked out of sleep. He laughed quietly, heading back upstairs towards Yasmine's bedroom.

Opening the door, he could tell that Yasmine had shifted in her sleep from sleeping on her side to her stomach. He quietly took off his shorts before climbing into the bed with her.

Pulling her closer to his body, he heard her groan, sounding annoyed, but he didn't care as he placed a kiss on her forehead before drifting to sleep.

Something Bout' Us.

uceyjucey, tiffanywwe, biancabelairwwe, others liked your post.

minnieminks: he knows I'm his favorite 😩 uceyjucey: damn right minks 🤍 minnieminks: @ uceyjucey my favorite person like ever 🫶🏽 tiffanywwe: girl you're eating that up fr fr ♥️ biancabelairwwe: gurl is there something that ion' know about? minnieminks: @ biancabelairwwe ummm idkkk ask yo' fiancé 😭😭 im playing ill tell you later. MontezFordWWE: yk what...im not going to say anything 😭😭 jonathanfatu: that bathing suit is to much Yasmine minnieminks: @ jonathanfatu dont make me get Trinity leave me alone Jon 😭😭🙄 carmelohayes: @ uceyjucey tf you mean by that? Yasmine what does he mean by that? Are you cheating on me with him? uceyjucey: @ carmelohayes you should know what tf she meant gtfo 🙄

Read all Comments.

A/n: Lawd Yasmine and Jey are yearning more for each other right now but again Jey is respecting her but how long can they keep this up before he tear her shit up? 😭😭

Carmelo...ion have anything to say. 🙄

Anyways I hope yall enjoy this chapter lmk in the comments below.

Stay Ucey.

[misseviehyde]

INSTITUTIONALIZED

Michael was smart - real smart. But he also knew that he lived in a society full of institutionalized racism that made it harder for a black kid like him to make it in the white world.

He wanted to go to University, but he knew he would be competing against a lot of spoiled white kids and his family didn't have enough money to support him through even the cheapest college.

True he could skip college and get straight to work but he didn't want to end up like his Uncle Luther who was a petty criminal and a bad role model.  Just this morning Luther had woken Michael up and demanded he hide a cache of guns in the house.  Michael was afraid of his uncle so he had obeyed.

It was whilst he was looking through the guns, wondering what he had gotten into and where to put them where his Mom wouldn't find them, that he came across a weird looking blaster.  It looked more like something from a science fiction film than a real gun so he found a serial number on the base and googled it on a black market page.

The info read - "The Costume gun. Stolen hi-tech weapon. Turns anyone fired at into an empty skin that can be worn to allow a person to adopt their identity. Highly dangerous experimental weapon. Can cause identity dysmorphia."

Michael was astonished. He checked a bit further and soon became convinced this was the real deal.  A gun that could let him take another persons identity was now in his possession.  A lot of things began to click in his mind. What if he used the gun to steal the life of a rich, privileged white person about to go to college?

It seemed evil to steal another life, but Michael was sick of being denied opportunities because of systematic racism. He could zap some dumb frat boy - study at university and then one day reverse the effect perhaps. He could work it out as he went along - he just knew he needed to get out of this life.

But where was he gonna find a frat boy?

He put the gun in his bag and went out for a walk to think it over.

It was whilst he was walking down an empty street that he saw Madison Laine - the richest bitch in the neighbourhood approaching. She was walking and talking on her mobile phone to her slutty friends whilst chewing gum. Her tight outfit left very little to the imagination - a tiny pair of daisy dukes and a tight pink boob tube.

She was the same age as Michael but they were definitely not in the same social circles. Madison went to an exclusive private school and her Daddy was a multi-millionaire oil magnate.  She was spoiled, beautiful and rich and already had a place at an Ivy League University.  He had read about her online - she was already a semi-famous instagrammer and aspiring model. Everyone in the area lusted after her in one way or another.

She was also a total bitch and as Michael approached the look of total disdain in her eyes made something in him snap. She giggled and a sneer appeared on her pretty lips. "Oh my gosh girls, I thought all black guys were fucking hot - but I just saw this TOTAL fucking nerd. What a LOSER."

Madison had quite the taste for black guys. She apparantly only fucked black cock and could be found out in the clubs cheating on her white boyfriend nearly every night. That would have turned a lot of black guys on - a perfect blonde snow bunny ready to give herself to superior men.

But Michael was sick of privileged sluts like this one treating black guys like they were either nothing, or simply big dicks to fetishize over. He walked past Madison in barely contained fury and she caught his expression and scowled.

"Hey you... you fucking nerd. How dare you like look at me like that. I'm your fucking superior and you better fucking show it."

Michael ground his teeth. "You're not my superior, you're just an over-privileged white girl that thinks she deserves all her Daddy's blood money."

"Hold on girls, I just need to deal with something," grinned Madison as she hung up. Advancing on Michael she jabbed him hard in the chest with a long acyrillic nail and giggled as he yelped in pain. "Haha, listen dork. All I have to do is make one call to the cops. 'Ohhhhh, help me help me.' Who knows what those racist fucks will do when they see me, the scared innocent white girl being pestered by you."

"You fucking bitch," snapped Michael and suddenly the gun was in his hands.

"What the fuck is that? A toy? Ohhhh this gets even better. They'll probably shoot you when they see you're 'armed'." Laughing Madison began to dial 911.

With a gasp of panic Michael pulled the trigger.

The gun whined and a pink ray leapt out and engulfed Madison. Her face turned suprised, then the beautiful slut moaned softly as her body deflated and in an instant she was just an empty skin lying on the pavement with a discarded handbag and phone next to it.

Michael felt a cold moment of panic - what the hell had he done that for?

He immediately considered flipping the reverse switch and transforming her back - but he knew full well Madison would call the cops. She wouldn't be grateful for him reversing the rays effects.

In a panic he reached down and gathered the skin. It was impossibly soft and her skin smelt amazing. Her hair was even nicer to touch and still felt warm. He stuffed the skin and all the skimpy clothes into his bag and ran home.

On the way, Michael imagined what would happen if a cop stopped him and searched him. How would he explain this situation. He felt more anger than ever.

Safe back home Michael laid Madison and her things on his bed. What was he going to do? If Madison didn't turn up, her bitchy friends and family would stop at nothing to track her down. They'd easily track her back to him and he'd be screwed. If he turned her back, she'd just call the cops on him. He had no choice... he was going to have to become Madison.

A shameful part of him was excited at the idea as he examined the tiny skin and all her girly clothes.

Michael stripped off and then picking up Madison, examined how to wear her. There was a slit down the back of the suit - so he opened it and slowly pushed his feet inside. The skin was soft and warm and his feet slid easily inside. It felt like the skin was eagerly welcoming him inside and clinging to him possessively.

It looked weird as his feet and legs slid in and Madison's skin overrode his. Not only were his legs now perfectly smooth and sexy - they were white. His feet were tiny now. Somehow the skin was making him smaller, fitting him inside. He wiggled his toes and gasped to see the ten perfectly pedicured toes wriggle with their white nails and toe rings.

"Hmmmm this feels pretty good," groaned Michael as he pulled the skin up to his waist. He thrust his cock deep inside the groin of the skin and snapped Madison's taut buttocks over his own. His cock tingled and then sensation vanished, instead replaced by Madison's pampered pink pussy - freshly waxed and shaven.

"Holy fuck I have a pussy now,"  grinned Michael sliding his fingers in and gasping as he felt them slide deep into his own velvety softness.  This was the real deal - the skin was reallt making him into a girl.

He quickly pulled the rest of it up, tugging Madison's big heavy boobs into place. They felt amazing on his body and it was weird to look down and see them hanging there - but also kind of nice. Each one was full and round. Rubbing the nipples felt good.

His whole body was tiny and curvy now. Entirely hairless. A bellybutton ring twinkled in his toned abdomen and washboard tummy.

His arms were now slender and lightly tanned, the fingers ending in slutty acryllic nails and ornamented with rings.

Only one thing was left to do.

With a tingle of excitement Michael slid his head inside Madison's beautiful face and shivered as he felt the slot on the back seal up and the suit tighten.

Blonde hair fastened to his scalp and his eyes rolled up as his voice box changed and he moaned in feminine pleasure as the suit completed transforming him into Madison.

A hot flush ran through him and his head tingled. A host of unfamiliar memories throbbed in his mind and he realised he was gaining all of Madison's knowledge and memories along with enough of her personality and mannerisms to pass safely as her. 

You naughty boy... how does it feel inside me. Good huh?

A voice seemed to whisper in Michael's head telling him he was someone else now. Someone better.

Yesssss Michael. You're a naughty white girl now - you're a slut and a bitch. Your Daddy is rich and you can be a spoiled little whore, every single day. This is what you wanted all along. You're Madison now!

Turning to the mirror the new Madison; giggled as she saw her reflection. A pretty bitch used to getting what she wanted, when she wanted it. It felt good to be Madison.

"Ohhhh fuck I feel like sooooo fucking naughty, mmmmmh I am sooooo hawt now." 

Michael smirked at how big his white titties were and how sexy his manicured nails felt. It was amazing to be this beautiful.

Yessss that's it. You're me now loser. You love being me.  Your mind is becoming my mind. Our thoughts and desires are as one. You are inside me and you never want to leave.

Muchael purred as he accepted these strange new thoughts. Whilst in the skin it was so easy to think, act and feel like a naughty bitch.  All thoughts of taking the skin off were burned away by Madison's intrinsic narcissism. Why would anyone NOT want to be her?

Michael knew inside he was still Michael; but right now Michael was enjoying being Madison too much to care. Taking control of Madison's white privilege was making him feel dizzy.

Eughhhh I have to get out of this dump and back to my mansion. I totally have plans to make and college is going to be so much fun now I'm an Alpha bitch.

Picking up Madison's phone Michael laughed delightedly as it unlocked via face recognition. Her life was his. He WAS Madison. He hadn't meant to use the gun on her, but he had and it was too late now.

"Yessss, as Madison I can have it all. I deserve to be the pampered spoiled brat who gets what she wants. Being a mean, white, brat is gonna be so much fun. No wait... what am I saying? I hate girls like Madison."

That's why you wanna be me so badly dweeb. You lust to have my white privilege and get it all. You can't fight me Michael, you're already under my control. Give yourself to me and take your place as the new Madison.

Lying on his bed Michael began to helplessly play with his new body. He was being overwhelmed by Madison's bratty personality, he was becoming her.

You are ME loser.

Michael/Madison opened her eyes and giggled. Of course she was her. Who else would she be?

Her personality now in flux she was about to play with herself some more when she suddenly heard a creak downstairs and her heart skipped a beat. Who the fuck could that be?

The answer came as the door opened and Luther suddenly walked in. He was back to collect his guns, but he gawped and looked amazed as he beheld the gorgeous white girl in his dweeby nephews room. "Hey gorgeous who the fuck are you?"

Michael was usually scared of Luther but now he was Madison, he felt different. In fact Madison felt turned on by this situation. She had never noticed how big and strong Luther was.  She bet he had a big dick too.

"Ohhhh hey, you must be Luther.  I'm Michael's friend from school Madison. In fact we're like actually we're fuck buddies. Mmmmh you see, I can't get enough of black guys you see - I love a big black cock, it's what I live for. Michael is totally average but he's still superior to some white loser."

Michael was amazed at the slutty trash coming out of his mouth - but the Madison part of him was just turned on by it. She felt her pussy get wet as Luther looked at her appraisingly and he unzipped his fly slowly.

"You little white slut - you think my nerdy Nephew is a good fuck, you should come suck on a real mans cock."

"Mmmmh like ummm okay," giggled Madison without hesitation as Luther's massive black dick flopped out and she hungrily advanced.

Michael found his mouth salivating. He couldn't control himself. He was a horny white size queen now and he needed big cock. He couldn't control his new body as Madison's instincts took control.

Meanwhile Luther groaned happily as Madison lowered herself to her knees and slid her hot wet mouth around his dick.

He had no idea his dweeby Nephew had such great taste.

Licking and stroking Luther's cock - worshiping it in delight - Madison giggled as it got bigger and bigger for her. She knew this was twisted and wrong - potentially incestuous even if Luther was a distant 'uncle', but in this skin she wasn't Luther's Nephew anymore - she was a spoiled size queen who loved a big black dick and Luther was all hers. The sense of power - of knowing Luther wanted and needed her mouth and pussy so bad was intoxicating.

Madison got to work sucking and slurping on the monster cock before her.  She had memories of sucking lots of cock - but this was actually the biggest she had ever had and of course in reality - for Michael this was his first. The skin gave him the muscle memory and skills of a practiced college cheerleader - Madison had learned to suck cock years ago and she loved to swallow cum.

Luther moaned in pleasure. This bitch was amazing. "Yesssss that's it baby. White sluts like you live to suck black dick. Work that tongue baby, suck it real good."

Yesss Michael. You really wanna know how it feels to be a slut and be me, hurry up and get that cock inside you. This monster is all yours and it's going to feel so good stretching your tight young pussy out. You're such a bad girl and you love it. At college there will be even more cock to ride. I know you can't wait. You're Madison now so enjoy it!

"Yessss I love being Madison, oooohbh I need you to fuck me Luther - I want your cock so bad," whined Madison as she finished slurping and looked at him endearingly. The voice in her head made her want to do such deliciously nasty things. "Please fuck my pussy." 

Luther bent Madison over and slapped her ass hard. She moaned and pushed her back up - presenting her tight pussy to her lover as he growled in appreciation and slowly pushed his massive cock inside Madison's super tight teenage pussy

"Ohhhhh fuck yes -  ohhhh its so big!" moaned Madison in joy as Luther began to slide in and out of her soaking pussy and thrust harder and harder into her.  It felt so good and her huge tits jiggled as he fucked the shit out of her.

Being a white slut feels good doesn't it?  You love being me.

Luther pounded Madison and she squealed as she orgasmed over his dick. Then he picked her up and fucked her even deeper till she came again.

Madison's pussy juices were dripping down lubricating his cock and making him slide so deep into her perfect pussy and fucking her felt so good. Luther couldn't take much more of this insatiable slut. She was a sex machine.

"Shit baby - I'm gonna cum," he grunted.

"Yessss do it all over my face; I want all that cum,"  begged Madison. Luther was happy to oblige and she squealed in delight as he unloaded all over her pretty face. Thick globs of warm cum erupted over her lips and her chin, dripping down onto her large firm tits.

With cum dripping over his outer body and making him feel like such a delicious whore - inside the skin Michael had accepted that this was his new life now. 

Being Madison felt amazing. The devious slut wondered whether there was even a way to make Luther appear responsible for Michael's inevitable disappearance in a few days.  Maybe she could engineer something after all she had Luther hooked now. 

"Damn girl that pussy is fine. Are you in town all summer?"

"Yeah; till I go to college. We can fuck again if you like baby?"

Luther grinned. He was all for more but he had no idea the horny slut in front of him was already planning to make it look like he killed Michael in a fit of jealousy and her Daddy's lawyers would make mincemeat out of this idiot and keep the story out of the papers. Money and white privillege always won in the end.

"Ooohhh and in the meantime we can fuck that big dick and cum all night.  Hehe we're so bad."

Michael had become exactly the sort of white privileged manipulative bitch he had always despised. As Madison he would go to University, join a sorority ride a lot of dick and party. It was gonna be fun.  Michael was now Madison and he had definitely been institutionalized.

She was gonna use the system to get what she wanted and spend her days filled with big black dick. Fetish or no fetish she was an evil blonde whore and college was going to be a blast.

THE END

[katmaibearfan]

For those who dont follow the cams themselves, there was an incident last night where some park guests harassed 903 Gully from the riffles platform. Gully appears to be fine, he has been in the area and fishing normally, but I thought it would be good to copy/paste Katmai Conservancy's Naomi Boak's statement on the matter.

Naomi Boak:

Hello everyone. I usually take weekends off, only watching the bears and not commenting. However, I'd like to step in to help out the conversation here a bit.

First -- Last night, after my bedtime on the east coast, a group of thoughtless and mean-spirited people harassed bear 903 from the Riffles Platform by shouting directly at him. 903 was clearly disturbed by the shouting. To put it bluntly: that is cruel and it is illegal. Personally, I'm glad I didn't see the video until this morning because if I had seen it last night I doubt I would have been able to get to sleep. As rangers, we see careless and thoughtless behavior from visitors more often than we would like, but this kind of harassment is rare.

Second -- I have contacted a ranger at Brooks, sent him the video and he will alert law enforcement. I'm not sure they will be able to find these people because we can't see their faces, but rest assured they will do their best. Thank you all for recording the moment and making us aware of this behavior. The event happened at 6:30 pm when most rangers are off duty.

We all take this very seriously. Rangers are there to protect the bears, the park's resources and educate the visitors. Katmai is a challenging place to live and work. If you are not committed to the welfare of the bears and the life of the river, you wouldn't work there. We care, greatly.

Third -- Some here have suggested removing their support for the Katmai Conservancy. The Conservancy's entire mission is to protect the resources of the park long into the future, not just the status quo. Not only does the Conservancy pay for salaries of interpretive rangers and the bear management team, but it also funds research and helps plan for the future. To remove support for the Conservancy is to silence one of the principal voices that supports the concerns of all of you here.

If not for the Katmai Conservancy and Explore, I would not have been able to be a ranger at Katmai for 4 seasons, and would not have been able to work here this season.

Is everything perfect? No. What in life is? The bear cam audience is an integral part of protecting Katmai and its resources, especially the health and well-being of its bears. No one knows that better than I since I was a bear cam viewer for 6 years before I became a ranger.

Please continue to watch the bears and support the 3 organizations that make these cams possible. Never stop learning, and most importantly never stop caring. We won't.

[queen-mabs-revenge]

cw pet death

so my little freak of nature and i said goodbye last night which, as per other post about this, was silly and perfect in so many ways. from the death of one roman to another, and so it goes.

but yeah i just want to reflect on how i'm feeling to have it down because i'm devastated, yes, but i couldn't have asked for a better last day with her.

when we went with the steroid injections on wednesday, the vet was like 'in 48 hours you'll essentially see her at as best as she's going to be so you'll be able to decide then' and honestly by yesterday morning, she was very much the same except for the increased thirst drive and the slight increased interest in food (she licked a piece of chicken uau), so at that point making her linger would just see her decline from there.

yesterday was the first sunny day we've had in a good while -- sparkling sun and a high of 14. i rang into work and asked if there was anything urgent that needed doing, because i'd like to spend a last beautiful day with my cat. they were so gracious and covered for me, batting away a load of clients who decided they needed artwork on a friday before a long weekend lmao ok bye. spent a little time doing a last clutch of artwork with her sleeping on my belly in the sun.

got her into her harness and it was so clear that this was the right thing - she loves going outside, but hates that thing being put on her. i've modded it so that it has a clasp at the neck, but still clipping the torso bit always gets a hiss or two, but she just let me at it. got everything prepared including lining her backpack with a bin liner, a absorbent puppy pad, and then loads of fleece blankets and a couple of those instant heat pads.

out into the sunshine and onto our usual walk - she came out on my shoulder to have a look at the world, but for the most part stayed curled up in the bottom watching everything while lying down.

we got to the rag tree still cradling my gift pumpkins:

she got to walk on the branches:

the whole wooded area was prickling to life -- lots of leaf buds still tightly closed but getting ready, lots of tiny plant shoots making that first curve out of their seeds with their head still down in the shells

took the walk home through the park we always sit in behind the museum and watched the ducks on the shannon and listened to the river go by together

fed her for the last time on her window seat and then we cuddled some more while i rang my family so they could say goodbye to her on a video call

and then i experienced just pure love -- mo's been kind of a mascot for the branch - because of my apartment's location, i've been really lucky to serve as kind of a hub. i keep equipment and supplies for political stalls and protests, i host small meetings, etc. so her illness has been something the whole branch has known about and seen.

from the get-go i've had comrades offering help left and right, and during the last week, a few close comrades offered support in whatever way i needed it when her time came. i had to resist that depression tug to isolate, and just throughout the day as plans were taking shape, i kept in touch with them and i had a handful of my dearest come to the house before we made our way down to the vet. they left us have a few minutes alone in the house which... leaving that house with her for the last time was probably one of the hardest things. knowing she wouldn't be there when i got back. whew.

got to the office and got settled in and talked with the vet about postmortem plans. my first choice had always been to donate her body for study; i'd actually rang a few veterinary science schools, but i was told that their cadavers are procured through a closed system so that they can control for disease and whatnot for health and safety reasons. but the vet said that they'd would be honored to conduct a postmortem there and it would be really valuable for some newer vets in the practice, so that's what's going to happen. after, she'd still have been cremated, so i'm going to get her ashes in a scatter tube in a couple of weeks.

i had enough gabapentin to make sure mo was a bit stoned before going in, which was important for me because she usually has to be put into a feral cat crush cage to get any injections done because she's so fractious at the vets, but i was able to hold her while she got the primary sedative injection which meant so much.

she screamed like a hellcat and like....that's so her - herself to the very end! and i got the privilege of laughing about that with friends because they heard her from outside the door lol. they came in and gave her rubs and pets after she was sedated and i got to cuddle her loads after she got the cannula placed.

and my god that could have been so awful, but i had five dear friends who i love and who love me and who i fight and organize and struggle with who were there the whole time - they were out in reception chatting with each other and laughing and i could hear them in the room while i just held and and spoke to mo and stroked her fur, and that was so lovely instead of dead silence all alone.

vet came in and it was time; i held my baby as she pushed the euthanasia meds and felt her little breaths quicken and then slow before the vet checked her heartbeat. we laid her out on the table and i took pictures of all of her borlotti bean toes, we did pawprints, and i just got to pet her and stay with her for as long as i needed. she had a postmortem wee, and one of her wild postmortem reflexes was that her tail went full bottlebrush for about half a minute!

i took the blanket with me because it was hers, but wrapped her in a soft towel i had and just, yeah -- as the vet took her away she was talking to her just telling her that she did so well and she did. not just in that last moment, but just for 12 years she did so so well -- just the best old lady, my best friend in the whole world, the little beast that genuinely helped me survive lockdown, domestic upheaval, mental health struggles -- my walking buddy who's a minor local celebrity in her own right, and i was so so so lucky to have her.

and then we all went to our usual haunt which by perfect chance is right around the corner from the vet's office and toasted to her and just spent time together and just... if her last gift that she gave me was truly knowing that i have people who i can call on at any time, well then that's a hell of a gift.

going home was hard, but got to speak to my family and recount it all which helped and got so much love from them, too, and yeah look.

it was heartbreaking, but also heart mending.

truly the good death.

[loorain]

Sims 4 Fontenot Legacy - Sabrina's Upswing

Sunday was stormy so the family stayed in and focused on quality time together. While Sigrid and Robin spent time with the girls, Sabrina and Juno worked on reaching his crawling milestone, and Juno successfully crawled for the first time! As he's days away from his birthday, this is perfect timing! Sabrina could not have been more proud!

(In between the photos of Juno he had a diaper blowout so Sabrina had to bathe and change him lol)

The next day, Sabrina was back in the restaurant where they managed their team well. Business is slow as it's a new business but they're making a steady profit that improves a little more each day.

Toward the end of the day, as the team started wrapping up for the day, Sabrina got a visitor.

Sabrina: Beau! I didn't expect to see you!

Beau: Surprise! I was in the neighborhood and figured I'd stop by. Business going well?

Sabrina: Slow and steady. We're building up gradually.

Beau: That's good to hear. See, I'd always said you'd be successful at this. Things are looking good.

Sabrina: Yeah. You've always been supportive of me. Thanks for that.

Beau: You don't have to thank me.

Sabrina: I do. I've struggled to find myself most of my life, but you've always been there for me. I always pushed you away, and yet you still care for me.

Beau: You know how I feel about you. Despite everything, I still think you're pretty great. Maybe that'll lead to my own

Sabrina: Yeah, about that...

Beau's face fell hearing Sabrina's tone, worried about what they were going to say.

Sabrina: I know I haven't made much sense lately. It's been up and down. But I meant what I said after our last chat. I want to build back up to where we once were. I know it can take a little time. I haven't been the best partner. For that, I'm really sorry. I want to be better. Now that the restaurant is up and running and Juno's aging up soon, I can refocus some of my energy on different areas of my life, and I want to make you a priority again. So...

Sabrina dramatically grabs Beau's hand, bowing like a gallant knight.

Sabrina: Would you honor me with a date tomorrow night?

Beau's solemn expression reversed, a smile growing on his features.

Beau: I'd be honored.

And in the late afternoon, after returning to the Legacy House and picking up Juno, Sabrina decided to make a visit to their older cousin's house.

Anya: Sabrina! Good to see you! And you brought little Juno!

Sabrina: Figured we were overdue for a visit!

Anya: Well you know we're always happy to have you over. We've got some new additions to our family too!

Sabrina: I see! I never saw you as a dog Mama!

Anya: Ugh, it was all the boys' idea. I'll tell you all about it.

So to treat the Machidas for their hospitality, Sabrina cooked up something nice for dinner while Juno napped in his carrier. The peacefulness of cooking with their son on their back made Sabrina feel at ease. It provided them a feeling that they are slowly finding their purpose.

And after a successful dinner, Sabrina got to talk to the Machidas about any and everything, including the extended break they were taking from their relationship with Beau, though things seem to be on the upswing between them now.

Sabrina: ...There was just a lot going on, you know? It's been a lot of "right person, wrong time".

Anya: I'm so sorry to hear about your separation... These are difficult times, but in the end, it may be for the best - and all hope may not be lost, either! It sounds like you two are communicating again, which is a great positive. And that date sounds promising! I wouldn't be surprised if you were fully back in things by the end of all of this.

Sabrina chuckles.

Sabrina: You sound super optimistic about things. I don't know, I feel good, but I also worry, you know? Maybe things will fall apart again.

Anya: Well you can't live in fear, Sabrina. If Beau is as special to you as he seems to be to me, then you have to take the leap. It sounds like he's ready to meet you in the middle. Just see how you feel after the date, yeah?

Sabrina takes in Anya's advice with a calm nod of their head. After all, she's right. There's only way to find out if this relationship will work out, and that's tackling the situation head-on. So with that, Sabrina looks towards their date with a newfound determination to see what their future holds.

So after a bit more time, including letting Juno have some time out of his carrier with the dogs, Sabrina bids their cousin farewell after a successful visit.

Anya: Thanks for coming, it's so nice having you both around.

Sabrina: Thanks for having us. We'll see you at Juno's birthday party in a couple days?

Anya: Wouldn't miss it for the world.

[electrasev5nwrites]

Ninja Daily: Vapors 56

'I'm seeing two possibilities. Either this is another test to see if I unquestioningly follow orders, or it's a sign that Kakashi is going to mercilessly mock me for the rest of my life and Konoha supports his decision.'

Either way, pouting was the wrong response, so she sullenly took the proffered mask and gave a polite bow to the bulky man who'd brought her to the armory.

Granted, it was a bit abstract. But she was pretty sure that the animal depicted on her mask was a butterfly. It looked… it looked… it looked like the rear end of a pride parade had exploded all over it, smearing green, blues, and purple on the white porcelain. It was only missing glitter to be truly fabulous.

She had the sinking feeling that it hadn't just come out of storage, either. It would be incredibly dangerous to leave ANBU masks lying around. That thought and the fact that the vivid blue ink of the bones of the drawing matched her wig gave her the impression that it had been from Tsunade. It was probably her idea of a joke.

Aiko wasn't amused in the least. A butterfly? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

With her disappointing mask tucked under her arm she paced the rows, collecting ANBU gear in her own sizes. Most of it was standard stuff that she could get in bulk on her own, like the black shirt, pants, and bandages, but the lavender ceramic plate armor and distinctive hip pouches were only available from this armory. The gloves could probably be found elsewhere but she didn't know where, so she just got a few extras. She was going to be charged for all her equipment anyway, so she didn't have to feel guilty about getting more than she was meant to.

She had to be nearing the end of her training, although Aiko didn't actually know the date. Genjutsu-sensei had sought her out twice more with his unique blend of 'creeptastic' and 'informative' help. (She had figured out that it was safer to dispel multiple times in a row just in case he'd layered multiple levels of what just looked like a hallway or something). Taijutsu hadn't made her throw up from exertion in at least a week, and she had strong muscles corded along her arms and legs that hadn't been there before. The men who had been in front of her in training had finished, and she was now in the strange position of being the senior to three junior recruits, seeing them struggle as she had not so long ago. Her free time was now ten hours, which left her plenty of time to sleep after she was done studying regulations and being taught how she was expected to behave in various circumstances. All in all, she felt like a different person than she'd been when she entered.

'No. That's not right. I feel like a better version of me.'

At least, she felt better as a shinobi, if not a person. Despite knowing it was what she was supposed to feel (and hating doing what they wanted), being able to call herself ANBU made pride well up in her chest. They were the elite… well, sort of.

ANBU were like Konoha's secret services division. Not every member was extraordinarily strong: she knew that ANBU recruited plenty of Chuunin. Rank wasn't as relevant as a shinobi's skill in certain specialized areas. But still, there was a tinge of prestige associated with the ranking.

And hey, she wasn't perfect. Pride was a bit of a vice, but denying the tendency wouldn't have been any better.

Wearing the uniform for the first time felt good. She'd worked to be able to deserve it, even if it was a little lumpy and unflattering. For the first time, she had the girlish desire for a long mirror so that she could spin and twist and admire herself from multiple angles.

'Don't be ridiculous,' she chided herself, pulling her hair up and pinning it in a braid that circled her skull like a headband. (It was the only way to prevent it from slipping out from under the wig when she moved around a lot). She bit her lip in concentration as she worked the blue strands on over her head, securing it with a few hairpins. When loose, it fell in a cute asymmetrical bob around her jaw… but it did look really weird with her coloring, she felt. Her skin had warm pink undertones, so the cool blue was her opposite in a way. It didn't look bad, but it looked very strange. She hurriedly secured the mask and turned away from her little mirror, securing the straps of her short sword (her own blade was close enough to standard issue that they'd let her use it) and hip pouch as she walked out of her room.

Her arms burnt every time she moved them, but for once it wasn't muscle discomfort. The stop immediately before the armory had been a little office full of (what she thought was) bizarre equipment that turned out to belong to a tattooist. If they weren't bandaged, Aiko probably wouldn't have been able to keep her eyes off the Konoha swirls on her upper arms. She'd never thought of herself as a 'tattoo' person, but they were actually pretty cool… even if it was Konoha branding its ownership of her flesh.

She would be assigned to a temporary team today and led through procedures. ANBU specific hand-signs had been included in the endless rounds of copying from earlier to help prepare her to work with the captain who should be training her in team work. If it hadn't been taught before, working with a group would have been all but impossible. ANBU weren't meant to talk on the job, although she was willing to bet that experienced units bent that rule. No one had bothered to teach much about ANBU standard procedure, but that was probably because it was much like the regular units.

'No matter. I'm sure that my team will show me the ropes.'

It only took a few hours for her to curse her own naivety.

'Kakashi spoiled me,' she sighed, feeling the heat of her own breath wash over her cheeks where it was trapped by the porcelain. 'He's a much better team leader than Fish. He never just ran around and assumed I'd figure things out and catch up.'

At least she felt slightly better about her own ANBU designation after meeting the team. It could have been much worse than a silly butterfly. Someone somewhere in this town had a paintbrush and not enough healthy outlets for their sadism.

Sai would have hummed if he were capable of having the thought, swirling red ink around the mask that would belong to ANBU squid. Large cats and forest dwelling mammals were all well and good, but it was so strange that no one had thought to branch out to all the other varieties of animals for these masks. He had acquired a zoology text from the civilian library and learned all about sea animals, insects, and all sorts of fascinating things. For example, there were living creatures in the ocean that in fact resembled plants. Was that not most intriguing?

'I suppose I'll never know.' She cracked her neck and tried to focus on the drills they were running. Not a single one of her new comrades had uttered a word to her since she had reported. Aiko couldn't help but hope that this wasn't her permanent placement. Fish, Donkey, and Boar were ridiculous enough as a group on their own. (And she couldn't help but wonder where the glamour of ANBU was. Shouldn't there be 'Lions' and 'Bears' and 'Dragons' with fierce teeth and scary eyes? No, all she saw were huge noses, puffy cheeks, and ridiculous porcelain ears. She'd never admit it to his face, but apparently Yamato had gotten off lightly with his kitty mask.)

For a group of isolated loners, ANBU seemed to put a lot of stock in team drills. It made sense that they would need to be able to fight together in close quarters. She was seeing some frightfully powerful attacks from her current teammates. Being in the wrong place could end with taking a fatal hit from friendly fire.

That would be an enormous waste and a stupid way to die, so she paid attention and tried to pick up on the patterns they were showing her on bunshin for different tactical situations that would be dealt with as a group. They probably figured that everyone present was already capable of individual combat. ANBU didn't take protection missions except under bizarre circumstances—they were shock and awe troops. So they didn't have to do much in the way of pretending to protect a client or target. Those defensive types of formation were easier and safer because a team wasn't facing each other. They might all have their backs together or have one at the rear watching backs. But ANBU apparently didn't put much stock in that. If you missed an attack from the rear, no one was about to pick up your slack because they were concerned with their own targets. That danger was very real, but so was the possibility of getting hit with your teammate's attacks.

That first practice was not pretty. It might have been better if she had been familiar with everyone's repertoire. She took mental notes as the day passed, hoping that paying close attention would help her improve quickly.

Fish seemed to rely heavily on his short sword, wires, and fire ninjutsu. She could easily stay out of range of his blade, but the sharp wires were easy to miss and she didn't much fancy the idea of being burnt alive. She'd seen that happen before, and it was an ugly thing.

Boar, on the other hand, was a hulking mass of a man with hands the size of her forearm who favored brute force taijutsu interspersed with shurikenjutsu and minor misdirective genjutsu. She didn't mind fighting him—he couldn't possibly hit harder than Gai, and he wasn't as fast. She was pretty numb to having the stuffing beat out of her. Granted, he was fast enough to score hits on her, but never rapid enough that she was unable to block or mitigate the force of the blow. Plus, he didn't seem to be intentionally trying to hurt her to prove his superiority like the last member of the crew did.

Donkey was a much better genjutsu user than Boar. He apparently favored flashy illusions and terrifying explosions. The thought of what he would have done if that bunshin had been a real human had managed to make her turn a little green under her mask.

She kept her distance from him.

'and isn't that bizarre? Here I thought I was so numb to gore.'

There was really no purpose to what he did. If it had just been about killing a target, Donkey wouldn't utilize such flamboyant attacks. No, he was a showman. And probably a bit of a sadist. Aiko killed a lot of people, but she didn't enjoy it and she didn't intentionally cause more pain than necessary. Her ANBU teammates seemed not to share her compunctions, though Fish displayed a similarly minimalist sensibility in a fight.

'At least village patrols are easy. Even if I am stuck with this team, it's not going to be for weeks at a time outside the village.'

Sure, there were a lot of search patterns to memorize, but after that it was just a matter of moving around and paying attention to anything potentially hazardous or suspicious. In the four days that she had been running patrols, she'd only had to make her presence known once. That had been in order to break up a bar fight.

Bar fights were always sort of stupid and sad, as far as Aiko was concerned. But if it was between civilians or even Samurai, they weren't a big deal. After all, they usually weren't armed when they went to go get smashed, and even a trained Samurai wasn't likely to actually kill someone in a drunken fistfight. Ninja were different because they couldn't be disarmed. Aside from having been specifically trained in hand-to-hand unlike Samurai who were weapon masters, ninja always had chakra; and alcohol didn't make those abilities less dangerous. Sometimes they were actually worse. When inebriated, chakra-based attacks became erratic. Even an experienced user might cause significant bystander damage or fuck up entirely and lose control of the technique.

It had still been a bit annoying to have to grab two Chuunin who were significantly older and larger than she was and shake them like naughty kittens. Boar had helpfully taken it upon himself to relieve her of one of them when her group came back around, but the others didn't offer assistance and so she'd painstakingly dragged her nearly unconscious cargo across town to the temporary holding facilities. She very nearly snapped and killed her cargo when he drunkenly felt her up, but somehow maintained professionalism.

However dull and repetitive patrols seemed to be, at least they didn't take very long. She was left plenty of time for personal development in between morning workouts and night patrols, which meant training. After the restrictions of the last weeks, it was a fucking comfortable routine. It was broken when an enormous bear of a man with horrible scarring introduced himself as Morino Ibiki and collected her from the group training fields. Even if she hadn't recognized him by reputation as a big name in Interrogations, she would have known he wasn't ANBU from the simple fact that he didn't seem to begrudge every word. She didn't dare ask as she trotted to keep up with his larger strides, but he matter-of-factly informed her that he was taking her to perform her exit evaluations.

That was a bit of a surprise, despite the fact that she hadn't had a full evaluation done since she had become a Chuunin. Her stats were probably out of date before she'd come in to ANBU, so it was a logical move. But…

'Exit evaluations? I had no idea I was done.'

There was apparently no need to test taijutsu and strength—ANBU Turtle had already provided his evaluation.

Genjutsu testing was much like every time the creep came to find her: she just tried to identify when she was in an illusion, break it, and had to explain how she knew.

The stamina portion was actually just part of a quick medical check up to see how her childishly growing chakra core was changing. It shouldn't have been surprising, since she was a growing (hopefully growing, anyway) girl, but it had shot up a full point in capacity since her last official testing prior to signing up for ANBU.

Handseals were easy as always to test in—she identified her repertoire and ran through various nonsense combinations that the examiner gave her at top speed. Dexterity, a bit of reading, and fingers that were as speedy as the user's mind made it pretty simple to prop that rating up. It was one of the easiest categories to gain high proficiency in.

The last two categories were the only ones she was worried about. Her examiner seemed to notice her unease. "Don't worry." She looked directly at him, trying to judge if he was just being comforting or if he was actually saying she could use techniques that Tsunade had still classified for the general public. He gave her a wry smile. "We don't make physical records of your techniques. I will merely assess your level and record your new statistics."

Well… they did need accurate information. She bit her lower lip, but conceded with a nod. "May I fetch something from my room?"

He seemed a bit baffled by that, but rolled his eyes long sufferingly. "You have two minutes."

It didn't take anywhere near that long. Her room was empty enough that the one kunai she had brought with her (the last pre-made Hiraishin in her possession) was easy to grab and get out. Morino-san looked outright irritated when he saw that she'd wasted his time to get a single kunai, but didn't say anything.

"Speed or ninjutsu first?"

Hiraishin was sort of the middle ground between the two. It counted towards both skill sets, so she'd want to do it last out of whichever category was first.

"Ninjutsu."

'Okay then.'

She pulsed a quick check of her reserves out of unthinking habit, and then whipped through her water-based repertoire. Mist, bunshin, hard bullets, a wave that completely knocked over a wooden target, and then… "Sen Tsurara!"

Normally she didn't say the names of techniques, but this one deserved a bit of theatricality. She aimed it at the 'chest' to make a more accurate illustration of just how deep it could cut. It shredded her wooden target, flinging chips and splinters out ten feet, and she ended with her fingers poking out the back of the target.

She'd never killed anyone with this, but it would probably be pretty easy.

Morino-san didn't look particularly impressed while he brushed splinters off his coat, but then, this was ANBU. He'd probably seen similar techniques. Sen Tsurara wasn't unique for its destructive power. In fact, it was a little weaker than its lightning-based predecessor.

She wasn't hung up on that at all, though. Chidori could cut pretty literally anything, so being less efficient than Chidori wasn't a big black mark. It still possessed enough force to seriously fuck some shit up. Since she was show boating, Aiko tilted her head to the right as she extended her left arm and wound increasingly thin chakra chains around it in a high-speed shot that collided with the hard target and left a spiderweb of cracks and small impact crater.

That time, he really did curse. But that may have been because cement chunks were sharper than the wood. If she hadn't been wearing a mask she would have given an apologetic smile. Since her features were hidden and she really wasn't sorry in the least, Aiko grinned. This was actually pretty fun. She didn't know the last time she'd actually gotten to show off like this. Kakashi was the only other one who knew her full repertoire, and since he'd taught her most of it… well. This was just a new experience, that was all.

"Are you quite done throwing things at me?"

'Ooo, someone is crabby today.'

She was sorely tempted to fling her kunai at him to be a smartass, but somehow refrained and threw it straight up without looking, flashed to it, threw it again to the target, and then tugged again to catch the ring on the knife's end around her finger. Aiko turned to face Morino-san, twirling it idly around her finger and blandly stated, "Hiraishin."

He was doing a remarkable impression of a fish for just an instant. "No shit, kid." Ibiki slowly shook his head, eyes locked on her. "Well, not much point in doing a speed assessment now," he said wryly. "Instantaneous travel is a 5."

'That is correct, bitches.'

Aiko didn't say that, of course. But she thought it really loudly.

Being out in the village proper again was really weird. The crowds were everywhere, and it was so much louder than either night patrols or the ANBU facility. The feeling that she didn't quite fit in the way she had before was about literal: the quarter sleeves on the green tunic she'd worn in stretched and pulled at her shoulders and upper arms. She somewhat miserably noted that she'd have to go shopping again. The sleeves on her old clothes were just a little too tight now to allow full freedom of movement. As soon as she got to the house, she stripped out of her old outfit and changed into black stretchy shorts and a belly-baring purple tanktop for comfort. A quick survey of her closet revealed that some of her wardrobe was going to fit better than other parts.

She didn't exactly regret getting a bit more muscle mass, but it was an inconvenience when she liked to buy her clothes in the snuggest size instead of buying baggy fabrics and securing the ends with bandages like her boys did.

It was probably a good thing that she had replicas of this outfit, even if she normally slept in it. She was perfectly decent, at least. All the important bits were covered. She could wander around in shorts and a tanktop with her boots and gloves for a while until she had a chance to go shopping.

"Hey."

"Hi, Karin," she absently replied, turning her head to see the girl leaning against her doorway. "How's working with your temp team going?"

Karin rolled her eyes. "Things change when you leave the village for a few weeks," she pointed out dully, rubbing her fingernails compulsively against her hip bone. "The first and second stages are over. It was seriously bad."

"What?" Aiko furrowed her brow, genuinely confused. "What do you mean? You're definitely Chuunin level by now."

"That's what I meant," Karin explained, coming in to flop down on Aiko's bed like a starfish. "Since so many of our age group weren't allowed to go to the last foreign exams, we outnumbered the competition like eight to one. I don't think there was a single Konoha team that didn't make it past the first exam. The second got rid of a few rookie teams, but the final line-up pretty much entirely Konoha. It's not really fair to the younger group. Like, that Neji guy is combat-Jounin level already, so it's a pretty big farce to have him fighting against twelve year olds."

Aiko took a moment to visualize that, and had to start giggling helplessly. Karin was smiling like a Cheshire cat, but regally tilted her head up to avoid eye contact. "It was every bit as hilarious as you're probably imagining," she confided.

"I can't stop picturing his grumpy little face," Aiko wheezed, leaning over slightly. Ow. Laughing hurt.

Karin sat up suddenly and swiveled to face the window—and then shrieked and fell off the bed onto her ass with a thump.

To be fair, some of those ANBU masks were seriously creepy. Seeing one pressed up against the glass was a bit surprising. Aiko pushed the frame up and stuck her head out. "I need to report?" Karin seemed baffled at how casually she reacted, but did an admirable job of recovering from her earlier startle. "To the Hokage? Do I need to change?"

Karin snorted at that, but Aiko took the shaken head as indication that she didn't have to go in ANBU gear. She couldn't very well ask more directly with Karin right there.

As the ANBU left the property, Aiko got up on her toes to pull down a clean pair of open toed boots off the top shelf of her closet and ran a mental checklist. 'Should I grab my gear in case this is a mission assignment?'

Just to be safe, she strapped on a single pre-packed hip pouch and a kunai holster, shoving her marked knife in almost as an afterthought.

"Don't forget to come to the finals tomorrow," Karin called out from behind her while she pulled the door shut. Aiko stopped just long enough to yell a confirmation back in the door and then took off.

Shizune was notably absent from the office, but Sasuke managed to give her a semi-friendly nod when she walked up and directed her in. Tsunade looked up dully. Then she slowly raised an eyebrow and pinned Aiko with an unimpressed look. "My people wear these things called clothes," she drawled pointedly. "Perhaps you've heard of them?"

Unashamed, Aiko shrugged and closed the door behind her with a bang. When your abs were this good, who cared if they were showing?

"In any case, have a seat. I suppose that the first thing I should do is congratulate you for passing the basic training. I'll inform you when it's time for you to return for more specialized training"

She didn't particularly like the sound of that. "Specialized training?" she repeated in as normal a voice as possible.

Tsunade glanced up, mildly interested. "Silly girl. Of course there's specialized training; both role and gender specific. You'll need to pick at least one specialty eventually, like infiltration or heavy combat. And besides." She gave Aiko a rather saucy expression. "Unless I miss my guess, Hatake never got around to teaching you all about the feminine wiles he's so good with."

Point taken.

"I have definitely noticed his feminine wiles and am envious beyond words," she agreed dryly.

"In any case." The blonde woman pushed her chair back and leaned forward with her elbows on the table. "If you're ever going to sing for me, little bird, you're going to have to find your way into Root." Aiko cringed. Honestly, she was sort of hoping that she didn't succeed in that part of her mission. It would be one thing to note oddities in behaviors and such, and quite another to try to get Danzo's attention.

But she couldn't outright tell the Hokage no. At best, she could quietly sabotage her own efforts, but it would have to be subtle enough that she didn't even get reprimanded for incompetence.

Unaware of the ironically subversive thoughts that the girl she'd intended to sniff out traitors was having, Tsunade continued. "You will have to present yourself as a neutral party. From now on, our interactions will be limited to when you are on ANBU guard duty, and at a distance in public. With your connections to important figures like Hatake and Naruto, it's a coin toss as to whether Danzo will see an unrivaled opportunity or unnecessary risk. He does have his own forces, but you're going to have to be a more attractive option despite your unorthodox training."

'Unorthodox? Does she mean from Danzo's perspective?'

"In order to make this work, we will need to give several impressions about your possible worth as an ANBU recruit. Good job on your recent evaluation. I'm certain that Danzo still has eyes in the processing department and will pick up on promising potential recruits. When I keep Sai at a distance from anyone Danzo is interested in, he'll have to go looking for a new source of information." Tsunade cracked her neck, and wryly added, "And believe me, he'll be interested in reassessing Naruto after a two year absence with someone he considers dangerously liberal."

It took a moment to remember whether or not she was supposed to already know that Sai was one of Danzo's goons.

'She told me that last time,' Aiko reassured herself, thankful that her lack of reaction hadn't given anything away. The point was moot, of course, because Tsunade wasn't paying attention while she talked through the problem. However accidentally, Tsunade had brought up one point that resonated with Aiko. She didn't want Danzo messing around with Naruto. Who knew what he might try?

Ceasing to pay her full attention didn't make Tsunade stop talking. Aiko half-heartedly tuned in with one ear, wondering what kind of resources Danzo really had. He didn't have influence on the council anymore, but he did have a private militia and the respect of the general populace. What did he have for material resources? She had no idea, but it might be something to look into.

"I may put you in repeated close contact with Sai or other suspected Root agents to give Danzo a chance to recruit you, but you'll obviously still have to be close to your regular team for the potential information to seem worth the risk. Luckily," she paused to level Aiko with an unimpressed look, "Your childhood dislike of the Sandaime was such a source of distress to him that I can guarantee Danzo knew about it. We can give the impression that you think he and I by extension are too soft and that Konoha needs to toughen up. He'll lap that shit up. You're not going to convince him that you don't care about Naruto, but he might believe that you think you know what's best for him and are willing to go above his head to act in his interests. People are often tempted to believe others are like them."

'Is she implying that an elementary aged kid was responsible for the happiness of a full-grown man? Aiko had to resist the urge to snort and barely managed to keep her expression impassive. That was stupid. No, if the Sandaime had been miserable, it was his own sense of guilt or other sources of sorrow to blame. No one really cared that much about what a child thought. Children were notorious for their poor memory and misperceptions, after all.

Her 'talk' with Tsunade continued much in that fashion. Tsunade worked her way through various contingencies and gave advice and orders for whatever possible situations she could think of.

When Aiko trotted down the stairs, Sasuke poked his head into the office. "I didn't hear excited shrieking," he pointed out disinterestedly.

Tsunade's eyes widened innocently. "Oh, right. That's because I forgot to tell her we're expecting Naruto tomorrow."

If it were possible to activate the Sharingan by rolling one's eyes too hard, Sasuke might have gotten a nice photographic reference of the inside of his skull. 'Of course you did. Or… you're just pretending to have forgotten because you think it'll be amusing to see everyone surprised tomorrow.' He eyed her suspiciously, waiting for a clue as to whether this was another bizarrely circuitous plot of genuine absentmindedness. His mentor just held his gaze and sloowwwly let her mouth curl into a parody of a smile.

'The world will never know.' He sighed and pretended to dismiss her in boredom, sauntering out the door with an intentional bit of swagger. Tsunade always got twitchy when he appeared to find her dull.

Shizune had made him promise to keep Tsunade focused on her work while she was in Sand overseeing their medical program, and Sasuke would nobly follow through. The sacrifice of playing mind games that annoyed and kept her working angrily was a heavy burden to bear, but he felt himself capable of the task.

Besides, it kept him away from that blonde sand kunoichi who'd escorted Suna's genin teams to the exams. He was relatively certain that Sabaku no Temari looked at him with impure thoughts. It was a little uncomfortable. Sure, he'd had female admirers, but most of them weren't people he had to work with diplomatically. It was impossible to run away and ill-advised to kill her, so he was at a bit of a loss as to an appropriately measured reaction.

'At least she should be leaving after tomorrow's finals,' he reminded himself. He only had one more day of her inappropriate attempts to hold eye contact across the negotiation table. Just one.

[health-products-mns3]

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[sulkyshot]

Is this really the end? I know we never had any distinct similarities, our personalities and lives a bit too different after many years. The last time we met before all these years had been when we were about 6, and then we were separated no forcefully, it just happend bc life. Then we find eachother on the day of registration for hs, then slowly became friends, slowly but still friends. I went to your Quince and you went to mine. Still very distinctly different but I loved and cared for you because my longer term friends have a special place in my heart, but I guess it didn't go both ways, I thought we were content and could work through our friendship. I always loved getting to hang out and would try to shove down the doubts of your reactions and enthusiasm to our conversations,that only seemed to want to be anywhere else at times. I tried planning out days, I ditched for you, I made excuses to answer your calls when you needed me, we tried drugs together for the first time. I listened to your rants and told you how you deserved better, I comforted you when you didn't want to hear that anymore. I listened and listened but I never felt heard myself. There was never enough comfort or reassurance to let myself go around you, which is mostly on me. I'm sorry I never felt comfortable enough. I'm sorry my advice and support was never the best I could've done. I'm sorry I started missing your calls. I'm sorry I couldn't do more.

We're in college now. Different schools because we've always had different ambitions. I left you alone because I had my own life too,maybe I was too dependent, too assured that you wouldn't go anywhere. I left because I was working with life and trying to fill my own life with my interests and meetings with people who were like me. I don't remember the last time we hung out. Did we even take a picture at graduation ? I miss you. November came along and I got the ding of reminder of your day. I had started working already, had a routine and was adjusted to college life. And we had texted, you had texted me and I responded-bexause that would be the only times we would have conversations- we had our brief conversations regardless time. It was you struggling alot of the time, I hope I held some comfort. Then I asked when you were free, I was willing to call in sick to my job that gave me random hours, I knew you also struggled with free days because they overwork you often. You said the day after your actual birthday, a Friday, perfect I only worked a 5 hour shift that ended at 12pm, and your classes ended at 12pm that day. I had thought of getting out early, getting you flowers because I know how much you love them, visiting your school and surprising you despite it being another hour up north to commute. The days went by and I accidently wished you for your birthday a day early, the day you hung out with samamtha. I hadn't been my best, work and exams had been on my ass, I didn't know what day it was unless I saw the calender. I apologized and rewished you well wishes at 12am the following day. 22 hours later you cancel our unplanned plans. It hurt. But I understood your reason, cramps get bad and I get it, I really do understand, I should've understood further when I didn't see any signs of a raincheck from your end. I let it go. The next day, I go on life360 and you're there, except you're not. You're not at school,okay yeah makes sense, but you're not home either... the area..his house? I'm not sure to this day (20 days ago) I don't want to know. Do you hate me? Dislike me? Similar questions I've had over the course of our reunited years. Questions I'm no longer willing to shove away. You have your own issues, I have mine. I've come to the conclusion, in this life in our current age, we simply don't fit in eachothers life. No matter how much or how little of an effort I try. Maybe it is the end. I've been considering calling you later tonight when I get home to ask if everything's okay and even a little confrontation, that most likely would just end in me crying. I've considered not answering you next time you text me wanting comfort that I don't have for myself to begin with. Then I consider, was our last message of my well wishes on your period our actual last? No was our last message was my reply to your story where you had shared your success and I had responded "I'm so proud of you " because I genuinely was so so proud of you and still am because I knew how much you wanted to get your license be more independent, have more control over your life and future career. How happy I was that things were finally going well for you. How much i wanted you to know that i heard her saw her and recognized her hard work. How you never even opened it.

You've gone back to posting on Instagram, that's a good sign, you're doing well, I'm happy. Maybe I'm being too sensitive. Maybe it shouldn't have hurt as much as it does to not see myself on your Thanksgiving appreciation story on Instagram with the qoute "very little people who have my heart like they do 🤍 so thankful". Maybe that shouldn't have been the last push to my last slimmer of hope to keep our friendship going. Maybe that was your indirect sign to let you go and let you live your life without me in it. Which as selfish as it sounds, I admit i have purposely continued to push myself into not falling out of your life. I wanted to belong as comfort to eachother. I shouldn't have let you affect me this much, I shouldn't have cried right now while looking back at our miscellaneous messages. I'm sorry if I was too much, I really do hope the best for you, I genuinely wish you to have a fulfilled life with your dreams coming true because you deserve it. You desreve it more than anyone I know. So please be happy and please stay healthy. I love you so so much. Maybe even too much. I'm sorry. I love you but you don't love me and that's okay. I just know it's time for me to move on. No matter how much it hurts, it's time and I'm devested. I'm devesated that you probably won't even notice, I'm hurt but I should know when I'm not wanted. I'm so sorry. Goodbye.

With love,

your oldest acquaintance.

[erigold13261]

I know it's really shitty to say, but my family has a history of cancer, breast cancer included, and sometimes I get these thoughts of wanting breast cancer just so I can have a "good" reason to have my breasts removed.

It's horrible and I know cancer is fucking terrible. I've seen so many family members go through it, but I just want a way to get top surgery that would still have my family love and support me. Without cancer as a reason all I have is that "I wanted my breasts removed" and sure, my family would let me, but they wouldn't love me the same way.

Already I have to downplay my gender (I don't even know if I am genderfluid anymore, or agender, genderqueer? I don't fucking know anymore). All I know is I want a masculine top and feminine bottom. I want to go on T so I can build muscle mass easier and lower my voice but I don't want bottom growth at all.

I just want a perfect mixture of gendered parts so I can be happy with myself, and for some fucking reason I sometimes get in my head that cancer is the only way to do it. I know it's not. I know this is a fucked up thought. But I just want a flat chest, deeper voice, but still my lower half to remain the same.

I don't know what I'll do. Probably nothing. It's easier just sitting in silence and dealing with my body than trying to push for anything. I think that's why I want breast cancer. So it pushes me to do something, otherwise I am just going to sit in this damn body. It's not even that bad, but it could be so much better.

Like my breasts aren't even that big. I am probably like a small A-cup. I am fucking lucky I don't have breasts like my cousin who is like triple-D or whatever is after that. I couldn't fucking live like that. I am so lucky to have a body that I can at least be content with on most days, and yet I still want to fuck up everything and go through a painful procedure just so I can be a bit happier.

I guess I'm just really tired of being complacent. I don't do anything. I'm barely an adult. I have to start trying to make a living and all I have is a shitty graphic design and photography degree that I have no idea what I can actually do with it. I could have gone into a more lucrative degree area and just done art on the side. But no, I put all my eggs in one basket and now I am just stuck and scared. I want something to push me and all I can come up with is to get fucking cancer. I hate these thoughts so fucking much. I know they don't make me a bad person, I know I don't actually want cancer. I just want things to be easier even though my life is plenty fucking easy. I don't know what to do anymore and I just want to not have to deal with life.

Sorry for anyone who read this. I just really wanted to type this out. Probably shouldn't even post it but I am. idk.

[morgannalefey]

I'm going to try one more time because I'm I dunno a glutton for punishment or something. I don't have a lot of hope, though. My impression is that most folks aren't actually reading everything I have to say and are, at best, skimming. Which, to be fair, is par for the course on this site. For this reason there's a tl;dr at the end you can jump to if you're so inclined. The rest of this post is pretty long in order to explain, but if you don't really care about the explanation and just want to be horrified, go for it.

I'm fifty nine years old. I have been married for thirty six years. Prior to that marriage, I had been with a lot of different people in the 8 years between when I became sexually active and I got my spouse. So I am not inexperienced in either sexual encounters, problems relating to sexual relations, relationships (both long and short term), nor differences in hygiene habits.

In response to your incredulity over people's learned behaviors fading over time:

Habits of childhood can be difficult to unlearn. It's possible to make an effort to change a habit, but then for other things to come up that distract and the change gets forgotten in favor of the muscle memory from childhood. There are many things that I've learned over time that are better ways to do a thing, but sometimes still forget that I've learned a better way and resort to how I originally did the thing. There are many reasons why this might happen such as distractions or having too many things to think about so my body operates on autopilot for some things. If this continues for a while, one typically loses the new habit and has to relearn the new way of doing things. Though it does tend to come back faster than the initial attempt did, it's still a conscious effort that has to be made.

Back to the main point. The assumption I'm attempting to address here is the one where everyone learns all the same basic hygiene lessons and that no one could ever have any reason for not having learned to make sure to wash their privates all the way down to and including the perineum and anal area. This assumption carries a whole lot weight. Here's a partial list of things being assumed:

That they have a parent or family member who has taught them how to clean themselves well.

That the family had water that was safe to wash thoroughly in most of the time.

That the family had the money to pay for the water bills and didn't deliberately avoid certain washing rituals because of the cost of water.

That they had present family members at all.

That they weren't living unhoused for part or most of their childhood, making washing (and especially washing the private parts) less common or safe to do because showers and such weren't always available and washing on the street could get one arrested.

This is a list of situations I can think of off the top of my head that might mean a person wasn't really taught how to clean themselves properly or that might have prevented them developing the habit. It is hardly exhaustive.

Because I recognize that people have very different lived experiences than I have had, when I'm faced with a situation like has been mentioned in this thread, I'd be more likely to just ask some questions or try to have a conversation about it. As I said before, assuming that the relationship was otherwise a good one. No one is perfect and if I threw out an entire, very good, loving, and supportive relationship because of discovering a situation in my spouse's upbringing that was weird and a little gross to me, I wouldn't still be with my spouse. If, after talking with them, it turns out that they're just a lazy, dirty person who won't even try learning a new way to exist in order to not make their partner sick, that's a completely different situation.

Now that being said, I've broken up with a guy because of how he chewed (I could not stand it, his whole family chewed like that. Even the slightest possibility of having to spend my life around those people gave me the screaming willies. Still, I did mention it to him and he was unwilling to adjust how he chewed for me. So that was it). I've broken up with guys because I couldn't stand how they smelled even after showering.

I'm not saying it's not a break up worthy offense to not keep one's privates clean for one's partner. I'd probably be far less inclined to talk to him if he were an occasional partner, not a "boyfriend" but "boyfriend" suggests a certain degree of emotional entanglement that usually means one has put some effort into the relationship. It just seems extreme to not even talk to the boyfriend about the issue to see how they respond and instead to just dump them, but maybe that can be chalked it up to my extreme old age.

tl;dr Not everyone learns exactly the same lessons about washing their privates. Basic hygiene is a skill that has to be taught, it is not instinctive. Not everyone grew up with the same resources, family, water, time, as everyone else. The term "boyfriend" seems more involved than "fuck buddy" and so taking the time to talk to the boyfriend about something that's bothersome doesn't seem like an unreasonable course of action.

[sucuretcannelle]

You guys are talking about what the kid's lives would be like

But where are they gonna live...

I HAVE NO ANSWER TO THIS 💀 I KNOWWW I'M THE CREATOR BUT I'VE BEEN LOST ON THIS FOR 3 YEARS

I have pros and cons to the places that Ai has been to and/or likes

Hell:

Pros:

Her house is actually pretty nice looking. And surprisingly safe.

The Sins are around and really don't mind providing support for Ai's children when needed (Eliza, Siran's daughter, was basically a test run so it's nothing new to them)

Living in hell would quickly help them find their sense of purpose; if they don't get their shit straight, they're getting pushed aside by the rest of society

Would give them a really good understanding of religion

Ai would be around a lot more and she wouldn't constantly be freaking the fuck out because she knows her surroundings

No one would fuck with them

Cons:

Ai can easily hide all the bullshit she's done from Alexi because he's never been to hell. If they're there a majority of the time, Ai would either have to get herself together (which wouldn't last long from what we know rn) or just let herself be an asshole and become a bad example

The weather. The fuckin weather 😭 half of the time it isn't Ai's fault either it just sucks ass

It can get hot. Like really hot. Not in the house tho

Nash. Aquinas. Showing their true colors.

Politics get mad stressful and they'll probably get looped into it too early

Speaking of which, they might mature too quickly 💀 hell isn't the place to have a calm life

High expectations

Nostea:

Pros:

Atlas and Orion are usually kinda patrolling when Ai isn't around. They wouldn't really be the worst babysitters either

Safe for the most part

There's little to no conflict ever

They get scary dog privileges from Nash and technically Ai too

Cons:

If anything negative were to happen, it would literally shatter the world and send everyone into panic. They're not used to potential conflict so they haven't prepared for big things like that

Prejudice. It's easy to shove it under the rug for a while but really, what happens when the world isn't used to people being different? There's hate. Nostea is still getting used to the existence of hybrids so that might become a problem

They might even become spoiled

They might struggle to make true friends but the chance is kinda low

Everday Havens or Twilight Rifts:

Pros:

So fuckin calm. Like if the cottagecore aesthetic was perfect. Like it's fuckin amazing

Heavily magic based realm. Ai probably wouldn't want her kids to get too used to the mundane anyway

Everyday Havens specific: The weather is always nice

Neutral:

It's pretty empty. It's not like the place is unknown, it's just hard to get there for people who haven't been there before, so there's only going to be a few people around and the houses are really spaced out

RANDOM GRAVES. It's not like they're just lying about and you're gonna step on a dead body or something but you could be running around in one of the big fields and randomly see "Rest in Peace __" like okay girl...They're not that common...but they're there so I just put it as a neutral

Twilight Rifts specific: Questionable weather. Like it can get pretty damn bad when there's rain or snow, but it looks beautiful when it's sunny out

Everyday Havens specific: Its never really sunny out. 70% of the day is just a few hours after midday or sunset and the other 30% is night time.

Cons:

Fairly underdeveloped area so there's not much going on. Better get used to walking because there aren't any cars unless you magically conjure one up

Sometimes there's too much magic. Like shit will just break or randomly become created for like no reason. Usually there are warning signs around where it would usually happen, but there aren't signs for every area

Power can go out pretty easily

Golrotnce:

Pros:

I deadass can't think of anything off the top of my head that is only a pro

Neutral:

People have a very fast moving way of life. That can be good and bad depending on the person who's asked

All the pros and cons of the 20's mixed with the 50's. Weird, I know

A lot of snow. Like. A normal person would get like, knee deep in snow fun for a while but that's too damn much

Cons:

They're suffering from some of the shit Nash has been doing. He was feeling a lil goofy and left LANDMINES IN RANDOM AREAS. Most of the areas have been cleared. But DAMN

[kindahoping4forever]

All I Need Is The Air That I Breathe... And To Love You // Ashton Irwin

I'm back! Thank you to everyone for all the love, encouragement and support while I took a break from writing. Seeing interaction on my old fics here and over on AO3 and hearing the occasional "I'm re-reading your masterlist, can't wait for you to be back" made me feel so appreciated while I was away. I've fought hard mentally and physically to get back to a place where I could create again and without trying to jinx anything, I'm hoping this is the start of a fresh era for me here and I couldn't be happier to be here. As always, I wouldn't be posting this if my bestie @cal-puddies wasn't by my side every step of the way, with both my health struggles and my re-entry into writing. (Speaking of: she's also made her grand return to writing after taking a hiatus for far more exciting reasons - she got her degree! If you haven't yet, check out her new Cal story, He Feels Like Home.)

Warnings: Boyfriend on tour!Ash. Very descriptive depiction of a very enlightening, very touchy yoga and meditation session turning into very enlightening, very touchy, very mindful/borderline tantric sex. Word Count: 5240 Masterlist // Ko-Fi linked above, new Taglist coming soon! Reblogs and feedback are greatly appreciated!

“Give me 15 minutes - if you don’t feel better after 15 minutes, you can quit.”

Sprawled out on the couch of the tour bus lounge area, you stare up at your boyfriend skeptically, watching as he happily fills his tote bag with two waters, two books, and his journal. He pats the pockets of his flowery lounge pants, nodding at the feeling of his lighter and turns to you expectantly.

With a resigned sigh, you weakly protest, “I’m just so tired…"

Ash’s face tightens into a sympathetic frown as he crouches down beside the couch. “I know, baby, but if you wanna beat this jet lag, we’ve gotta give your body clock a chance to adjust,” he reminds you gently, rubbing your back. “You’re smart, love, you know a nap’s just gonna do more harm than good.”

Despite your exhaustion, you couldn’t be more excited to finally join Ashton on tour. You knew being separated wasn’t going to be easy but you were somehow surprised at how much - and how quickly - you missed him during the month you spent apart. Reuniting with him overseas has definitely recharged your spirit like you thought it would but unfortunately, your physical self is lagging behind.

“Don’t have to sleep, can just lay here and regroup,” you mumble, your drooping eyes undermining your statement. “Lay with me, talk to me… keep me awake.”

“You and I both know you’ve fallen asleep to my monologuing on more occasions than we could count,” he laughs good-naturedly. He gestures at your oversized tour t-shirt and pajama shorts. “Come on, baby, you’re still wearing what you slept in! Even if you don’t feel like joining my session, getting some sun, changing your environment is gonna do you some good.”

You sigh again, knowing he’s right. It was a travel day and even though you’d only experienced a couple of them so far, you knew enough to know every moment of every stop was a gift. The bus is obviously as comfortable as one could possibly make a bus but being confined to one space, with the same group of people, for hours on end was grueling. 

Having learned from past experience, for this tour, the band requested longer stops be built into their bus routes, giving them the opportunity to take a break from both the bus and each other. While the other guys opted to spend their break shopping or relaxing at a local restaurant, Ashton immediately reached for his yoga mat, declaring the scenic spot where the bus was parked perfect for a quick round of stretching and meditation. It’s not that you disagree with his assessment, the area is gorgeous, but you’re still adjusting to the touring life and were hoping to stay on the bus and sneak in a nap. He lovingly but firmly disagrees, claiming that yoga and meditation will energize and de-stress your body in ways the nap never could.

Since the day you met him, he’d been trying to convince you of the wonders of these practices and since he left, you’d finally started testing the waters, thinking at the very least, it’d give you something to discuss with him on your nightly calls. It’s not something that comes easily to you, you’re not used to being still, your mind always racing a mile a minute. But you have to admit that trying to be more mindful has helped you appreciate aspects of your life you’d been overlooking and has definitely made you feel more grounded and present on days when you felt yourself lost in your mind, missing your partner.

“Come with me,” he says sweetly, pecking your cheek, his light beard pleasantly scratching your skin. He takes your hand in his and pulls you up from the couch, guiding you towards the bus door. The cool blast of fresh air that hits you as you step out is sharp and instantly refreshing; you breathe deep and look around. Would it kill this guy to be wrong sometimes? The landscape surrounding the bus is breathtakingly serene, giant trees and luscious green shrubs everywhere, a sprawling grassy field covered in daisies below your feet and not a single soul in sight. 

You follow him to a partially shaded area, underneath the cover of a massive tree, and smile as he kisses your hand before letting go so he can unroll his mat and set up. He reaches into his bag and pulls out a blanket, spreading it out next to him. He looks back at you, silently asking your opinion and you nod your approval. He gestures for you to sit and you oblige, only momentarily distracted by the sight of him stripping off the t-shirt he was wearing and doing a few basic stretches to loosen up his muscles.

Ash sits cross legged on his mat while you opt for starfishing on your blanket instead. His giggle is as airy as the breeze blowing around you. "Oh, did you want to start with some planking?" He jokes, reaching over to playfully swat you, his hand stinging your skin through your shorts. "Come on, babe, lotus position like me... half if you don’t feel relaxed enough. You know those are easy."

Grumbling, “Easy,” you sit up and fold your legs like he’s recommended. “Should I be feeling better yet?” You tease, squirming as you feel your leg and hip muscles responding to the stretch. You can’t deny that you already feel more alert, thanks to your back sitting straighter and your breathing having deepened, but you’re feeling stubborn so you’re not quite ready to tell him that.

As intuitive as ever, he brushes off your snarky comment and suppresses the urge to make one of his own, instead softly encouraging you, “Great breath work, baby!” His own posture straightens and he settles into his pose before happily instructing you. “Let’s close our eyes and focus on that breathing pattern for about five minutes to start, alright?”

You follow his direction, figuring at this point you don’t have much to lose. You take a deep breath in, making sure to push your belly out, remembering something about activating your diaphragm… did Ash tell you that? No, it must’ve been one of those guided meditations you looked up on YouTube… unless it was on something on that app he gifted you a subscription to? Even with your eyes closed, you feel them roll in exasperation, thinking to yourself how you should really use that app more, he paid for a full year for you and you’ve used it… what? Like five times? You’re on your phone all the time anyways, you have to scroll right by it every day… Jesus… You should set a reminder on your phone to do it every night before bed or something… probably doesn’t make sense to do it until after you get home from tour… but will you remember by then? Should you set a reminder to set a reminder?

A gentle touch to your thigh derails your train of thought and you realize Ashton is quietly saying your name; you open your eyes to see him leaning over onto your blanket, looking a mixture of amused and concerned. “Mind spin out of control a little bit?”

You feel bad for being so bad at this - something he cares enough about to want to share with you - that it actually distracted him. Scrunching up your face, you sheepishly ask, “You could tell?”

He shrugs, squeezing your knee. “I know you.” 

It’s a simple but complex statement. On a different day, exhausted as you are, you might’ve taken it the wrong way, decided he was being presumptive, condescending, preemptively dismissive. But even as he squints in the bright sun, you can see the care and understanding sparkling in his eyes and it makes you feel better for your blunder. You feel that sense of calm you should’ve felt earlier slowly start spreading through your body; you feel relieved, you feel loved, you feel seen.

“Let’s try this,” he says patiently, crossing over fully onto your blanket to sit in front of you. He folds his legs just like before except this time, he scoots in close and rests his thighs on top of yours. You look at him quizzically as he takes your hands in his, placing them on his legs, explaining, “We’re gonna close our eyes and breathe again but this time, I’ll be grounding you.”

“Ash, no, babe, don’t worry about me,” you shake your head adamantly. “I feel bad enough that I was in such a shit mood, I don’t want to keep you from doing what you want to be doing.”

Your objection only makes him squeeze your hands tighter, the look of love on his face softer. “This is what I want to be doing,” he promises. “And those negative feelings you just described? A good reason to try this again, let’s see what we can do about letting those go.”

You sit up straight, trying to copy his posture; this seems important to him, so you figure there’s no harm in humoring him. Like last time, you instinctively start drawing deeper breaths and you hear him match your pattern. You’re able to keep your attention from wandering for longer than before, centering in on the sensations your body is experiencing: the rise and fall of your chest, the tension beginning to leave your shoulders, the crisp air filling your lungs. It’s all going great until you sip in a little too much of the aforementioned crisp air and it quite literally has the opposite effect and takes your breath away. Your chest burns and you can actually feel your muscles tense back up as your mind begins to berate you for your inability to even breathe correctly. 

Ash, of course, notices your distress and calmly directs you, “Concentrate on my body instead of yours. What do you feel right now?”

“Um… your hands?”

“OK, good. What are my hands doing? How is my body relating to your body in the present moment?”

You take a beat to answer, squeezing your eyes shut, putting your all into focusing on your intertwined hands. “Your hands are holding mine. Yours are so much bigger… your fingers are so long, they’re covering most of mine. That feels comforting to me,” you describe carefully. “I feel your left thumb moving back and forth over the back of my hand. It’s the hand you’ve been taping up for shows the past few nights but the blisters are finally starting to feel like calluses… your skin is rough but it doesn’t feel uncomfortable on mine. It just feels like you.”

The smile in his voice is evident as he responds, “That was so good, baby! Tell me more, what’s something else you feel?”

Now that you’ve accessed this present moment thought process, you’re able to easily reply, “The fabric of your pants is cool against my bare legs… soft… but thin enough that I can feel the warmth of your skin underneath them. The weight of your thighs on mine is… really nice. It’s heavy… firm… but the pressure is good. Grounding, like you said you wanted it to be. I like feeling you on me like this.”

“You’re doing great, love,” he encourages you, squeezing your hand before lifting it from his lap and placing it on his chest.

Without prompt, you report, “More warm skin… well… you’re always warm but this is different… warm from the sun.” You move your hand across his pecs. “Hair… not too soft, not too coarse… it feels good underneath my fingers. Again, it just feels like you.”

Ashton adjusts your hand slightly. “Can you feel my heartbeat?” 

“Yes. Steady but not in an intense or pounding way… it’s almost relaxing. Kind of like a lullaby.”

“Do you think yours feel similarly?”

“Well, mine’s usually racing.”

“But is it? How does it feel right now, presently? Feel it with your hand if you need to.”

You keep one hand on his chest and place the other over your own heart. You thought you’d felt slightly more at ease since he came to sit with you but you’re shocked at just how much slower your heart rate is.

He proudly asks, “It’s relaxed, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t even realize it,” you admit.

“Well, baby, it can be hard to tell a difference when you’re used to feeling a certain way,” he explains. “May I feel yours?”

You murmur your agreement and then feel the light presence of his palm above your breast. “Oh, baby, that’s wonderful! You’re almost about where I’m at,” he praises you, happily but quietly, keeping the tranquil environment intact. “Why don’t we have you open your eyes and breathe with me now?”

It takes a moment for your eyes to adjust again but when they do, you find Ash wearing an expression filled with serenity and love, just like you pictured he’d be. Silently, you place your hand over his on your chest and he does the same, gently holding your hand over his heart. You slowly inhale at the same time he does, watching his body cue you when to exhale; after a few breaths, you find his rhythm and shift your gaze to meet his. As you’ve been known to do, you feel yourself get lost staring into his eyes, an overwhelming sense of peace flooding your system while your chest rises and falls in sync with his, your heartbeat slowing further to match his.

You’re not sure how much time passes but eventually Ash squeezes your hands, breaks the silence and asks, “How are you feeling?”

You squeeze back, interlacing your fingers. “I feel… better,” you evaluate, enjoying another deep breath before continuing. “More awake, more aware… more… alive?”

The grin that decorates Ashton’s face is as bright and warm as the sun shining down on you. “Yes, baby, that’s great! I’m so glad we were able to find something that worked for you, you did such a great job.”

You can practically feel the glow that spreads through you hearing his praise. “I wouldn’t have kept at it if you hadn’t been so sure it would help and so dedicated to including me,” you insist, raising your intertwined hands to your mouth and kissing his knuckles. “I appreciate it… I appreciate you. I’m so grateful to have such a generous partner.”

He responds with a small “C’mere” and as you scoot closer to him, he pulls you over his still crossed legs and into his lap. He smiles softly at you, his large hands enveloping your face as his thumbs stroke over your cheeks before moving in for a slow, passionate kiss. With your body in its current relaxed state, every movement of his mouth on yours, every brush of his lips, every glide of his tongue feels amplified like never before. He seems to be letting you control the length of the kiss and you can’t get enough of feeling him, your arms wrapping around him, your fingers twisting around the curls at the base of his neck, your heart still in time with his, though understandably a bit faster now.

“I love feeling so close to you, Ash,” you say quietly against his neck, running your hands down his bare back. “Like… physically I feel so much of you right now… but… I don’t know… feeling us breathe together, our hearts beating together… I just feel so connected with you in this moment. It’s everything I didn’t know I was missing while we were separated.”

He shifts you to face him, tracing his fingers through your hair as he looks at you with a loving wistfulness in his eyes. “I know I tried to keep things positive when you would call but… I hope you know how much I missed you,” he says pensively, uncharacteristic sadness creeping into his voice. He hears it too and quickly moves on, clearing his throat before employing a brighter tone. “I think we both needed an experience like this. A chance to just be together again.”

You scratch over his beard affectionately before joining your lips again, pulling him as tightly to your body as you possibly can, murmuring into his mouth as you let yourself once again get caught up in the sensations his body is giving yours. It’s heavenly but you still feel like you can’t get him close enough and you end up letting out a desperate sigh, subtly rolling your hips in his lap, needing more.

The hunger in his kiss tells you that Ashton shares your frustration but as always, he has the perfect solution. He pulls back to study your expression as he presses your hips down further over his crotch and asks, “You need me, baby?”

You know what he’s asking even before you feel his half-hard cock through the thin material of his pants. You nod hurriedly, “Always.” You kiss him again, a little dirtier this time, while his hands find their way to your breasts, loose under your baggy t-shirt. You grind against him slowly to make your point clear. “Want all of you.”

He nibbles at your bottom lip before lifting you off his lap so you can situate yourselves. You shimmy out of your shorts and underwear, tugging your long top over your backside while you watch him take his cock out through his fly, stroking it with one hand while he reaches for you with the other. You climb back over his crossed legs and straddle his lap; he watches, enrapt as your fingers make their way down to massage the head of his cock, eventually replacing his hand with yours, working him to full hardness. His hands once again slip under your shirt, one making a beeline to roll your nipple between his fingers, the other slowly teasing between your legs, the rough skin of his fingertips a tantalizing presence on the tender skin of your inner thighs. He finally reaches your center, looking up to give you a half-lidded, dazed grin when he feels how wet and ready you are for him.

“Fuck, baby… I need you too,” he rasps, rubbing lazy circles on your clit as he draws you into an even lazier kiss.

You lose yourselves in the unhurried, pleasurable work of your lips and hands for a while. This feels nice, this feels good… you know what comes next will feel amazing as well but you’re both fine with enjoying this part for as long as possible. You’re not sure who pulls away first but the kiss breaks and you look into his eyes, nodding at the question you see there. You brace yourself on his shoulders and hold your breath as he drags his cock across your folds a few times before guiding your hips down on him. 

You’re used to breathing through the initial stretch of taking him but this time, you try to tap into that blissful mindfulness from earlier, accompanying your breathing with an intentional focus. It makes all the difference; you feel everything, every curve, every vein, every ridge, you swear you can feel his pulse through his cock as he slowly enters you. You groan each other’s name in unison as he finally bottoms out, your forehead coming to rest against his as you both close your eyes and take a moment to settle.

Ash’s hands knead the backs of your thighs while yours dance across his shoulders, appreciating the heat from the sun shining on his skin, imagining how prominent the freckles on his back must be because of it. You feel his lips peck at yours and you open your eyes to check in with him, warmth flooding through you as you’re instantly met with loving, concerned attention reflected in pools of hazel. 

“Feeling good?” He asks gently, dimples deepening at your eager nod. 

You hook your feet together behind him, pulling him in as close as you possibly can. He senses your need to connect and wraps his arms tightly around you, letting his breathing fall back into pattern with yours. You smile fondly at each other as your stomachs bump together with each exhale, the hair on his happy trail tickling your skin. He rests his face in the crook of your neck, covering the area in soft kisses; you cradle his head, combing your fingers through his hair, loving his attention, loving that he hasn’t tried to get you to move on him yet. You didn’t have to tell him you wanted to take it slow, he just knew.

You take another deep breath, sighing, “Your lips feel so soft on my neck… your tongue so warm, so gentle as you kiss my skin… it’s a nice contrast to your scratchy beard.” You feel him smile against you, followed by a muffled “Sorry” and you quickly reassure him, “Please, babe, you know I love that feeling… can’t get enough… missed it so much being away from you.”

Ashton’s smile grows and he turns to look at you, expression half-proud, half-sheepish. “I know you’re a fan of the beard, so I’ve been trying to let it grow in as much as I can while you’re here.”

Charmed by his simple but significant gesture, you pout and move in for a kiss, rubbing over his scruffy cheeks in appreciation. You pull back and smile, “What’s something you feel in this moment?” 

He closes his eyes and inhales slowly before answering. “Your fingers on my back… you do this thing where you’ll glide up and down once with your fingertips - light, comforting - and then on the next stroke you use more of your nails… it’s still light but it’s more tactile, more satisfying. I love feeling both, feeling one always makes me crave the other.” You mimic the movements he just described, the resulting sigh it elicits swallowed by your lips on his again. 

You kiss him slowly, your hands moving down his back, coming around his waist to massage his love handles before finally coming to rest on his front, fingers swirling through his chest hair. “What else?”

He chuckles against your mouth. “Everything you just did right now… the pinching, the stroking, the grabbing… doesn't matter what kind of touch it is but something about your touch just makes me feel so… loved? I don’t know how to describe it… it just feels really intimate and lovely.”

“I love your body,” you murmur, fingertips tracing over the tattoo on his rib before dancing over the swell of his stomach. “So strong… so soft… so you. It makes me feel safe, it makes me feel pleasure… it comforts me, it cares for me. I love it. And I love you.”

“I love you too, baby,” Ash softly responds, closing the space between you again, his tongue emphasizing his emotions. His hands cover your ass and give it a squeeze; you squirm above him and the two of you moan at the movement. A different, hungrier tone enters his voice as he asks you, "What else do you feel?"

Matching his energy, you let your hands wander further down to reach between your bodies, grazing over where the two of you are joined. “I feel… my favorite sensation of all… being full of you,” you breathe, clenching around him for effect. With closed eyes, you quietly continue, “Don’t think I’ll ever stop being amazed at how you feel inside me… filling all of me… fits so perfectly.”

He kisses over your eyes, before slowly rocking you on him, groaning, “Always so wet for me… always take me so well, baby.” He moves you again and your head lulls back at the feeling. “Love watching it disappear inside you… look, baby, look at how incredibly we fit together.”

A whine escapes your throat as your eyes flutter open to see your boyfriend fixated on your lower halves, fascinated by your body enveloping his thick length over and over as he rocks your hips faster; you cast your gaze down to observe as he suggested and whimper loudly at the sight. “Looks as good as it feels,” you comment, voice quivering more than you expected it to.

“Good, baby, good,” he soothes, reaching under your shirt to rub your back, sensing you’re getting overwhelmed. “Breathe with me again, love, focus on what our bodies are saying to each other.”

You do as he says, inhaling deeply, grinning at the sound of your moans blending together as your muscles expand and contract along with your breath. You roll your hips and rush your mouth back towards his again, closing your eyes to concentrate on everything you’re feeling: the wind blowing over your bodies, the way the coolness hits your exposed skin and contrasts with the heat coming from Ashton’s tightening grip on you, the way his palms cup your ass while his fingers eagerly dig into your flesh. Your nipples poking through the thin cotton of your shirt, grazing his bare chest, aching to feel more of him. The delicious resistance you feel from his firm but pillowy thighs as your body moves over them, the way your own legs burn as you pick up the pace of your movements. 

Though you keep your actions slow and deliberate, you feel your heart rate rapidly increasing with your exertion; you don’t want to disrupt the quiet vibe but you can’t get enough of feeling him inside you, you need more. You feel a sharp sting and realize you’re biting down on your lip hard, reacting to the way his cock is hitting just where you need it to. 

Ash recognizes the desperate moan that pours from your throat and you immediately feel his hot breath on your face as he pants, “Yeah, baby… feel it, baby.” He squeezes your ass as he helps you grind down on his length, seeking that final surge of friction you need to push you over the edge. You drop your head against his shoulder, centering in on the feeling of his cock thick and full and relentless inside you, the fire stirring in your core. It builds and spreads until you finally let it consume you and you sigh his name as you begin to lose yourself to it. He keeps you moving as your legs start to shake, one final instruction whispered against your ear, “Eyes on me, baby… let me follow where you’re going.”

You cry out at his request and hurriedly meet his gaze as your walls pulse and flutter around him and you find yourself struck by how extraordinarily intimate and unexpectedly emotional it is to look into his eyes as you come apart for him. Instinct kicks in and you draw a deep grounding breath, wanting to stay present and acknowledge all that you’re feeling for this man; to your surprise, this action both intensifies and prolongs your orgasm and as you feel the next wave crash over you, you grab at Ash’s body - shoulders, chest, arms - anything you can grip, anything you can sink your nails into, anything that’ll bring him somehow even closer to you. You’ve decided that’s all you need.

He moves his hips along with you, quietly breathing your name as the tight, wet heat of your climax overwhelms him; he keeps his eyes on yours until he can’t anymore, falling forward to groan against your neck and spill inside you. You wrap your arms around his broad frame, squeezing tightly, letting yourself appreciate everything in this moment: his pounding pulse under your fingertips, his muscles tensing as he shudders beneath you, the steadiness of his breath, how without even trying, his pattern falls back in line with yours. As he starts to come down, you feel his arms envelop you and the two of you stay locked in a comfortably desperate embrace for several beats; you’re simultaneously present and on another plane, the world around you no longer exists, all you know and need is each other.

Reality inevitably creeps into your bliss in the form of sweaty skin shifting from enticing to clammy underneath the hot sun, tired muscles aching for repositioning and your body losing the fight against gravity and his cum beginning to drip out of you as you move around. With one last slow, mindful kiss, you untangle yourselves and you climb out of his lap.

Ashton grabs his discarded t-shirt and reaches to clean between your quickly stickying thighs. You give him a skeptical look and he deadpans, “You’re the only partner on tour right now, baby, I guarantee this isn’t gonna be the only cum soaked shirt on that bus.”

He giggles loudly at the disgust on your face and you swat at him, laughing at how delighted your reaction made him. “Could’ve just mentioned you’ll be getting a laundry pickup when we get into town tomorrow,” you point out, cackling.

“That too,” he teases, placing a peck on each of your newly dry legs before tossing the shirt aside and leaning back against the blanket, gesturing for you to join him.

You finish slipping your bottoms back on and then you settle into his open arms, snuggling into his side. A million thoughts run through your mind, how you need to thank him for making you get off the bus, for being so patient with you, for wanting the best for you and for knowing you well enough to know you’ll eventually get there on your own, you just need a little encouragement sometimes. But with another deep breath, you let your thoughts pass through your mind like the clouds above you. All that matters right now is living in this pleasure with him.

His chest hair tickles your cheek as you lay against him, enjoying the moment, and you think to yourself how wonderful it is to be so comfortable with a partner that you don’t feel the need to fill the silence. You lean in to peck the coin tattooed on his rib and as soon as your lips make contact, he stirs with a start.

Your jaw drops and you sit up, equally shocked and amused. “After everything you said, were you napping anyways?!”

Ashton’s face turns red, though you’re not sure if it’s from being caught in the act or from how hard he’s laughing. “I wasn’t napping, I was in an advanced resting state,” he insists, trying to pull you back into his arms.

You let yourself fall back against him but keep the incredulous pout on your face. “You think I could get away with that line next time I drift off during one of your stories?” You joke, yelping as he jabs your side.

“Would you rather I just tell you that you wore me the fuck out?”

“Yes, yes I would,” you answer smugly, laughing into the joyful kiss he plants on you.

He smiles at you before sighing, “Should probably start heading to the bus if we wanna get settled, enjoy some peace and quiet before the boys get back.”

“Time for a little more advanced resting?” You tease as he stands up.

Ash pulls you up and into his arms, flirting, “Play your cards right and I might be able to muster the strength for another mindfulness lesson.”

You smirk as his lips close in on yours, “I love working on new skills.”

— PSA: THIS WILL BE THE LAST FIC USING THIS TAG LIST! Stay tuned for a new tag list announcement post soon!

@hoodharlow @mashtonasfuck @pxrxmoore @bxcketbarnes @talkfastromance4 @camelliastreet @itjustkindahappenedreally @saywhatnow07 @mymindwide @suchalonelysunflower @findingliam-o @fedorable-killjoys @trix-arent-for-kids @olivia-foster-irwin @saphseoul @calmsweetcreature @onthecliffside-mgc @feliznavidaddycal @blacktreacles @maggiesupertramp @karajaynetoday @ashtonangst @sunshineeashton @aladyofalbion @youngblood199456 @xsongbirdx @fairytrice @calumrose @irwindoll @in-superbloom @2fangirl4u @highstwildflower @t3lkfast @bport76

[xxsycamore]

—𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘰 𝘠𝘰𝘶

► SYNOPSIS:

Walking next to Luka, one of his hands occupied with your own, the other carrying a picnic basket, you already consider this a perfect birthday. What more could you wish for?

▍luka x reader  ▍rating: G ▍tags: Birthday surprises; Fluff; Picnics; Autumn themes; Cuddles and Kisses ▍wordcount:  1,288

▍masterlist

▍a/n: Today is a very special day because it's the birthday of a very special person!! 🥺🥺 Happy Birthday, dear @chaosangel767. It's hard to express all my love into a single message!! You're amazing in every way, from a super talented writer to an amazing friend, your sole presence in this fandom leaves me all smiley and warm inside! We're lucky to have you, your works, your support, your humor (!), all of your collaborations that makes this place more than just a community. Thank you for being my friend dear Chaya and stay the amazing person you are <3 I hope you like this lil gift I prepared!

Walking next to Luka, one of his hands occupied with your own, the other carrying a picnic basket, you already consider this a perfect birthday. Recently, he's been busy with work, and you heart has grown fonder for the small moments of intimacy the more you missed them. As if reading your mind, when you two got up from bed this morning - well, when you finally got up from bed after the well-in order cuddle session intertwined with birthday wishes and all other sweet nothings - Luka suggested going for a picnic. You had to patiently wait for him to prepare the food without sneaking as much as a peek in the kitchen - you'd hate to ruin his surprise! - no matter how good it smelled. You caught a whiff of apple pie, of the unmistakable scent of cinnamon that enters your everyday more and more recently, and other delights you tried not to figure out with your nose alone.

And now here you are, and here he is - the contains of the basket still warm underneath the soft blanket covering them, and Luka's hand in yours even warmer.

The path ahead is familiar. It is leading to what could as well be your favorite spot in the whole of Cradle, even if picking one is nearly impossible. Wonderland deserves its name. One life wouldn't be enough to explore all there is to it.

For all well-known pretty sights there are, you're somehow always taken by the ones staying in the shadow. When you and Luka found this small hill not far from the heart of black territory, you wondered how the place isn't more popular. The most remarkable thing about it has to be the big old maple tree standing tall in all its glory atop of the hill.

The hill is rather small and once you go up, you'll find a rather flat area, with a pond situated not far from the tree itself. A tranquil and beautiful place, upon discovering it, you and Luka have come here a dozen of times already. Both admiring the scenery, on one of your picnics Luka asked if you liked the area because it was untouched by human hands. Looking at him upside-down as he'd offered his lap in lieu of a better cushion, you told him that as much as you liked that fact, a part of you wishes someone would make this place bloom to its full potential, imagination trailing off in little add-ons as the sun above made you sleepy…

It was just another conversation between him and you. In fact, you have forgotten all about it. Until now.

As soon as you and Luka make it up the hill, you look up from your feet as you've been trailing off in random thoughts again - and you gasp. Your favorite spot is right in front of you, just as you remember it - for the most part. A beautiful curved bridge is now spreading across the middle of the pond - the pond itself looking better than ever, the water clearer, the surrounding fauna visibly flourishing. You speed up ahead still holding to Luka, and closer up you see that there are even water lilies in the pond now.

"Let's go lay the blanket and I'll tell you all about it."

You nod enthusiastically, keeping your curiosity at bay for the time being. Your belly produces a soft growl and suddenly the basket's contains make for a more intriguing sight.

"Oh, they're shaped like tree leaves!" You exclaim and pick up a cookie from the basket. Outlined with crème and even the veins of the leaf drawn on it, it's unmistakably close to the real thing, speaking volumes of the precise work Luka has put into making them. As if to further bold the comparison, a leaf from the maple tree dances around you in its fall, grazing your cheek before landing on your folded knees.

Luka gently puts it away before smiling at you. You lean in and kiss him, catching him unprepared when he thought you're too impatient to put the cookie in your mouth instead. His cheeks start to feel hotter the more he admires the sight of you admiring him - and his work. In shortly, he explains about the renovation of the spot.

"…And, that's why I've been so busy recently. I'm sorry that I had to spend less time with you. I really wanted to prepare this for you after our conversation."

You're speechless - not only does your dear Luka listens and remembers even the most trivial things in your everyday life as couple, but he also put in so much effort into turning into reality one of your stray daydreams. Not being able to do much more than blink in awe while he talks, the second he's done you throw yourself in his arms - nearly sending him off balance.

He strokes your back lovingly as you whisper countless thank-you's, withdrawing just to ask for additional details and then hugging him anew. He lets you know that his army unit helped him with many of the tasks, but for the most part it was just him and the slowly descending sun in the distance. He had asked Sirius for advice for nourishing the existing fauna around the place. He also confesses that the hardest part was rejecting you when you asked to come here while still in the process of renovation, in order to keep it a secret…

"Ah, I almost forgot. Ed will be joining us here soon. He probably wants to greet you in person. I wonder if he'd like the place, too."

"Mhm! He definitely would! We should save some of the cookies for him, then. He needs to see all of your hard work, not just for the place."

Luka chuckles shyly, gathering what's left from the food in the basket for later on.

"He also mentioned something about taking the Creek family here to try out the pond… I told him he'd look ridiculous marching with them all way into black territory, but he seemed so jovial about it."

You look at him in disbelief, nearly exploding in laughter in the next moment. Wasn't Ed just joking? It's always a little hard to determine when your friend is serious so you can't blame Luka.

In the same time, a strong gust of wind comes by. The orange-red leaves of the maple tree, previously intact on their places due to the lack of wind in the beginning in autumn, now set off for a beautiful dance. They come falling down at you and Luka, and you can't find it in yourself to move an inch. Laughter still alive on your lips because of the latest conversation, you let them land all around you, even on top of you, feeling careless like a child in that moment.

Luka is not much different, only moving to hug you from behind.

"You know, when people learn about this place it won't be our secret spot anymore. So I've been thinking…"

"Let's find another one!" You half-turn with sparkling eyes, excitement rising inside you.

"Mhm. We can even start today. If that's alright with you."

You chuckle and lean in closer, your nose caressing Luka's in the brief kiss. A journey around Cradle is ahead of you, it's your birthday, and you're with your favorite person. The cinnamon flavor from the cookies is still lingering in the kiss. Your friends and found family are awaiting your company for a small celebration in the evening. The day is simply, utterly perfect.

Another gust of wind comes by.

"If you stay here a little longer, I'll have to take the rake to find you among the leaves…"

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