#and she said yes! so I’m excited about that (and pretty proud I actually asked)

[tangledinink]

Heya! First off I’m around halfway through teenage mutant what now and it is the funniest fic I have ever read - Beautifully written and overall brilliant but the jokes get me every time

And second, is it okay if I reference a pose from one of your gemini artworks for my own work? I’ll credit the inspiration if I post it anywhere ^^

whew we're overdue for an ask dump,,, OKAY ALRIGHT.

THANK YOU ; w ; I'm really glad you like it hehehehe. also yeah sure feel free! I don't mind! ^^

HEHEHE THIS MAKES ME VERY HAPPY THANK YOU

oh he DEFINITELY freaked out at first. there was a lot of panicking and confusion and "how could this even happen?!" ("you think i'd genetically engineer a creature that's not capable of reproducing? all of you should be genetically compatible with practically any yokai," draxum said. "AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO, I DUNNO, TELL US THAT?!" donnie said.) but eventually, he did calm down, and he and his partner talked about it (a bunch, multiple times), and eventually some of the panic gave way to... curiosity, first of all... and then maybe kind of excitement? and some fondness? i mean, he was still pretty scared, and sure, he doesn't really consider himself a 'kid' person, but it's not like he never thought about EVENTUALLY having kids, just maybe... not so soon? but. i mean.

well. if they're already cooking...

THANK YOU ; w ; i'm glad you like them! @kiwi-smug-silvalina

oh gosh, that's a good question. i'm not entirely sure... uhmmm... i would say perhaps... details about how gemini!donnie's witchcraft looks and acts, VS how venus's witchcraft looks and acts...

it is very shiny. i like that people call it "the bean" instead of its actual title coz it pisses anish kapoor off.

ah ; w ; THANK YOU SO MUCH,,, thats so sweet and this made me very happy,,, <3 im glad you liked it!!!! @allegedllama

HEHEHE thank you. yes im aware that i am deranged.

omg same hat!!! i was a lifeguard and it was.... uh.... INTERESTING to say the least... (sometimes lovely, sometimes AWFUL...) @datfearlesschick

if by games you mean 'messed up deals that she can manipulate to her own advantage,' then yes! @frogonamelon

@beannary @spectralsleuth @heckitall @livsinpjs and the sep council as a whole!!! y'all's support has definitely meant so much and there's no way i'd have gotten as far with any of my projects as i have without them... or without literally ANY of the people who take the time to do things like reblog with tags, leave commentary in the tags, send in asks about my stories, etc etc etc! that's definitely one of my main motivators to create more!!! <3 thank y'all!

EEEE this made me smile, hehehehe. thank you :3c @thejavavoid

AAAAAA THANK YOU THIS GENUINELY MADE ME SO HAPPY COZ I WAS SO GODDAMN PROUD OF THOSE HANDS AND HOW THEY CAME OUT ; w ; THANK YOU @onejellyfishplease

thank you!!! u w u @fanrulerjynx

THANK YOU ; w ; I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS,,, it made me very very very happy and HEHEHE IM GLAD YOU LIKE YASSIFIED DRAXUM,,, i just think he DESERVES it, y'know? also thats just my favorite way to draw characters lmao I think it's fun so I decided for this comic I just get to indulge...

not necessarily-- this was mostly just a coincidence! @breezehurricane

oh gosh. i'm not sure, but i know it definitely WILL affect their parenting... i think at first donnie will find himself just... deferring to his partner a LOT in almost any situation because he's afraid that he'll fuck it up, because he DOESN'T feel like he understands proper boundaries or what parenting is supposed to look like, etc etc etc, and he's afraid he'll mess up. he probably reads a TON of parenting books as well because RESEARCH and will often try to pull directly from them in any situation he can, and is confused when things don't go exactly the way they were described in the text... leo i think kind of tends to flounder between being overprotective and feeling the desire to protect his son from everything and anything and wanting to overcorrect this tendency by pulling back and trying to give him as much freedom and space as possible, which sometimes leads to some... inconsistencies. there's definitely a learning curve for both of them, but they both get the hang of it eventually. they both have lovely partners and a very loving and supportive family to help them and they'll figure it out with a bit of practice.

ahhh thank you! :D im so delighted that my silly stories actually inspired something for you!!! hell yeah!!! MAKING THINGS IS GREAT!!! THANK YOU!!! @can-elope

i like to imagine them all staying very close, especially coz i'm loosely planning on them all going through the kraang-apocalypse together (and then coming through to the other side!) so i can't imagine them ever drifting too far from each other, emotionally or geographically. there's a bit of a rocky start for a lot of them, but all of the siblings end up a very tight-knit bunch.

[multifandombxxch]

“His Gaze”

Mafia!Doyoung x chubby!blackfemale!Reader

Warnings: age gap, violence, cursing,smut, reader is stubborn ,mentions of illegal activities , unprotected s3x (wrap it befor you tap it kids)

NB: this is made up and is strictly for entertainment purposes i dont condone any of the violence or illegal activities mentioned.

This is an AU (Alternate Universe) fic. Doyoung in this fic is just a fictional character I don’t believe he is like this at all.

Synopsis

Y/N was average. average life; average grades Average looks. Average everything.

Doyoung didn’t think so, though. From the very first time he set his eyes on her, he thought she was "f*ckin' pretty."

He wanted her, f*cking hell He craved her... He wanted to claim her, and what Doyoung wants he gets.

Y/n’s life is about to get crazy, doing things she never thought she would, all because of ‘his gaze’

 Word count: 1.6k

 PART ONE

 “Just once?”

“No Mills too much noise and lights…too many people”

Here we were in our campus coffee shop arguing about the same thing for the third time today.

Millie wanted me to go clubbing with her tonight.

“But y/n you never leave the dorm” Millie pushed

I sighed. She wasn’t gonna stop until I agreed

“If I go tonight do you promise not to make me go again?” I questioned

“YES! I promise to never ever ask again” she smiled in triumph

“Ok fine, I’ll go”

 **************AT THE CLUB**************

When we arrived at the so called ‘club’ (it was more like an elitist room filled with snobs) I wasn’t excited in the least. Now I’m not going to lie aside from the club being in the rich part of the city it didn’t give me sense of security. This place made me feel like anything could go wrong at any time.

“What in the actual fuck is this place Mills?”

Her black ass looked me dead in the eye and said “Oh, I’ve never been here before, but I saw a flyer on the school notice board, and it looked fun”

I halted my steps immediately “Millie I’m going to slap the black off you!”

She kissed her teeth “Oh come on y/n live a little”

She pulled me as we walked further into the ‘club’

Not soon after we found a small table in the corner of the room

The base of the speakers ran through my body blaring a song I didn’t recognize.

“Y/N I want you to let loose tonight, okay?” Mill said as she put two martinis on the table.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise “Girl, when did you go get drinks?”

“I got them while you were over here relishing in your discomfort” she laughed

“Here, drink this so we can go dance” she pushed the drink up to my lips.

I drank it.

Worst decision ever.

The bitterness of alcohol always caught me off guard.

“Damn this shit bitter” I said in disgust.

“Let’s go dance” Millie said as she pulled my hand to the dance floor

Starboy by the Weeknd started to play through the speakers

“Well shiiitt did they know I was coming? This is my shit” Millie screamed as she started to dance

 I laughed and watched as her dark skin shone under the blue lights of the club. Her braided ponytail danced along with her.

I was always proud to say all my friends were fine as fuck but Millie? The bitch could stop breaths if she wanted and the best part? She knew she could.

“Y/n you’re just rocking side to side. That isn’t dancing.” She accused

“They’re not playing the songs I usually dance to” I defended myself

And as if God was laughing at me

The speakers let out the familiar sound of Meghan thee Stallion’s ‘Body’

“Come on bitchh! This your shit right?” Millie hyped me up

And just a few seconds later there I was shaking my ass on the dancefloor as Millie hyped me up

 “Damn, I’ll admit that was fun” I giggled to myself adjusting my dress.

Millie nodded in agreement.

We headed back to our surprisingly unoccupied table.

That when I noticed mills started looking behind me

I smirked “What? See somebody you like?”

“Yes, I do but his friend seems to have taken interest in you” she said without taking her eyes from behind me.

I frowned and tilted my head in confusion ‘What do you mean?”

“Y/N, he’s looking at you” Millie screamed over the loud music

“Who?”

“Hot guy in the VVIP section” she prompted

I turned around and we locked eyes almost immediately.

He tilted his head and smirked

“Ooh bitch you better get that dick before I do cuz he’s asking for it”

Millie snickered

I turned back around suddenly overwhelmed “you know I don’t hook-up Mills”

Swirling my overpriced drink around with my straw “besides, I’m sure some other girl would be willing to let him hit”

“I’m not interested in other girls though, Pretty. I want you.” said an unfamiliar voice behind me

I turned to see ‘hot guy from the VVIP section’ staring right at me.

“I’m Doyoung” he smiled

A fucking gummy smile for fuck’s sake

“Mind telling me your name pretty?”

“Y-y/n”

He stepped closer leaning forward to meet me at eye level

“You’re so fuckin’ pretty Y/N”

I wont lie for a moment I was starstruck. He was gorgeous. His black hair was styled perfectly

And the two top buttons of black dress shirt he wore exposed his firm chest. However, I couldn’t help but notice the air around him. Rich, powerful and…. dark.

“Done eye fucking me princess?” he chuckled

I gasped in surprise “I was not eye fucking you I was simply making an observation.”

“Mhmm…of course” He stood straight once again and unsurprisingly he was taller than me.

I rolled my eyes at that.

“You have a lot of hostility towards me pretty, did I do something wrong?” he asked sincerely

Yes, you’re fine as fuck and I don’t know how to interact with you.

“No” I kept it short.

“Do you and your friend want to come sit with me and my friends?” Doyoung asked

“n-“

“Yes! Yes, we would love to” Mills interrupted me and for the third time tonight dragged me by my hand.

 When we started to walk with ‘guy I wanted to fuck but I can’t because I don’t hook up’ aka Doyoung almost comically the crowds parted like the fucking red sea or some shit.

Infront of his table was a red rope that a security guard unhooked so we could get in.

“Sit” he commanded

Commanded?

“We aren’t dogs you don’t have to speak to us like that” I spoke up

He raised his eyebrows in surprise “Is that’s so? My apologies princess it wasn’t my intention.”

I sat anyway.

I made sure to grip the life out of Millie’s hand under the table for comfort.

He started to introduce his friends

“This is Jaehyun.” Doyoung said as he gestured to the man sitting across from us. He had a dimple which heavily contrasted to his dark demeanour

“And this is Taeyong” He pointed to the man sitting next to Jaehyun. His looks were sharp and contrary to the two other men at the table his vibe wasn’t as dark.

Also, judging by the way Millie kicked my foot under the table he was also the man she was interested in.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Y/n and this is my best friend Millie” I said as Millie waved

I noticed two things as I said this.

Doyoung was staring at me as if he could see my soul and Taeyong smiled fondly at Mills.

“Hi” Jaehyun replied.

“Hello, nice to meet you too” Taeyong said

And for about 5 minutes we sat in silence. Nothing but awkward eye contact between Doyoung and I and the occasional ‘awkward cough’ Millie let out.

Until Jaehyun stood up “Boss, I must go now. The others are expecting me in Milan by tomorrow”

His words were directed to Doyoung

Doyoung nodded “Tell me how it goes, you know what to do if anyone falls out of line”

“Yes boss” Jaehyun said and then left.

It was me, Millie, Doyoung and Taeyong left at the table.

Doyoung was still staring at me.

I’m scared but I’m turned on. Does that even make sense?

“Do you want to dance Millie?” Taeyong suddenly asked

She looked at me with hope in her eyes.

It was girl code to never leave each other for too long in unknown spaces but in a weird way I trusted Taeyong with her and I trusted Doyoung with me.

I nodded “You can go mills”

She smiled and kissed my cheek “I’ll be back soon”

Then they disappeared to the dancefloor

And as expected Doyoung was still staring at me.

“Is there something on my face Doyoung?”

“You don’t know who I am.” He stated not even bothering to answer my question

“Am I supposed to know?” I asked in a rude tone  

He threw his head back and laughed

“So fucking pretty but we’re going to have to work on that attitude princess” he said amusingly

I scoffed in disbelief “who do you think yo-“

I was interrupted by a security guard running up to the table in urgency “Boss we have a problem Choi Seolmin and his entourage are threatening to shoot up the club.”

“Fuck” Doyoung cursed

As if someone lit fire under my ass, I shot up out of my seat “Shoot up? As in gunshots?” I asked

Doyoung looked at me then at the guard “Evacuate the club”

With urgency Doyoung grabbed my hand and pulled me to a room next to our table.

Entering the room it looked to be an office.

I pulled my hand out of his

“Yo, what the actual fuck is going on” My chest felt like it was collapsing in on itself

“No need to worry y/n its just a minor situation” He attempted to reassure

“A MINOR SITUATION THAT REQUIRED YOU TO EVACUATE THE CLUB?!” I shouted

“I’m going to die” I continued

Then realization hit me “Jesus Christ! Millie’s out there” I made a move to open the door

“Open that fucking door and you won’t like the repercussion Y/n, be a good girl and listen” he spoke calmly

“Taeyong already took Millie to safety princess, you don’t need to worry about your friend” he reassured

“If you let anything happen to my friend, I’ll kill you” I threatened

He looked amused “Alright princes but good luck with that”

Then out of nowhere the sound of gunshots started to ring through the air

“Oh my God” I started to cry.

This is the worst night of my life

 **********************************END********************************************

Part two coming soon

 Please comment your fav part or least fav….interact pls!!

[fanfictiongirlie]

5SOS: Your Brother’s In The Vamps, & You Like A Boy From 5SOS

Parings: Ashton x you

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: My 5sos imagines were all written, maybe ten years ago, the writing standard isn't what my writing is like now. Bare that in mind please. Cringe warning :)

Words: 1,478

You were so excited to be going on tour with your older brother. Your older brother was Connor from The Vamps, and his band was going on tour with 5 Seconds of Summer! You were so excited; 5sos were by far your favourite band ever! Besides The Vamps of course! And after weeks of begging, Connor had finally let you come with him. You had packed everything, and were ready to leave. “Ready Y/N?” Brad asked, putting his arm around you, in a friendly gesture. You smiled and nodded. “Yeah! I can meet 5sos!” You giggled; Brad smirked, and looked behind, checking if Connor was near. “So you can meet Ashton” He added. You blushed, but didn’t deny it; you had a major crush on the drummer of 5sos.

The Vamps had their own tour bus, which was spacious, and you wouldn’t mind living it in for a few weeks. The drive to the first hotel wasn’t too long. But it was restless for you, you kept fidgeting, and smiling until your face ached. “Are you okay little one?” Connor asked, using the nick name you had always been called. You may only be a year younger than Connor, but he still treating you like a child. “I’m fine Con, just excited!”

As you said this, the bus stopped. “Alright, off we go!” Tris yelled jumping up and running to the door, soon followed by Con and James. “Brad, do I look alright?” You asked nervously. “Y/N You look beautiful. Ash won’t be able to keep his eyes off you” Brad smirked, linking his arm with you. You both walked out the bus and sped into the hotel. James, Connor and Tristan were already talking to four boys. You blushed heavily as you walked towards the group of boys. Brad smirked at you, and pushed you forward, until you were next to Connor. “Oh, right, this is my little sister Y/N She is with us on tour” Connor smiled. “Yeah, she loves you guys” James smirked.

“James!” You wined. “Well hi, It’s nice to meet you” Michael smiled at you, soon hugging you. Luke and Calum then hugged you, and you honestly didn’t think you could turn a darker shade of red. But when Calum let go of you, and your eyes were met with Ashton’s dreamy ones, you felt the heat on your face blaze up.

“Hi” You smiled, he quickly hugged you. He was so warm, and his strong arms felt brilliant around your small frame. The hug went on a little longer, until there was a cough, you turned around to see Connor looking quite annoyed. You soon let go of Ashton, and took your place back next to Brad.

“We should freshen up before the tomorrow morning” Luke suggested. “Yeah, Connor. I think I’m going to go explore, see you later?” You asked, Connor nodded. “Mind if I join?” Ashton then asked. You felt the air being sucked out of you. You nodded, blushing… again.  

Soon Ashton and you were walking through the hotel garden; it was completely full of flowers and was utterly beautiful.

“Wow, these flowers are so pretty!” You smiled, looking at various colourful flowers. “Yes, you are” Ashton mumbled, you turned to him and said “What?”

Ashton’s face went completely red and he started to stutter… “I erm, said you were pretty too. Like really pretty” You giggled at him. “Thank you Ashton”

“Actually I was wondering, and this is completely on a whim, and you don’t have too. But maybe, could you possibly think about, maybe going on a date with me please?” He asked, his words fumbling.  This is when you thought you were dreaming, you hadn’t said anything, and Ashton was waiting for an answer. “Yes, god I’d love too!” You said, maybe a little too over excitedly.

“Oh wow, really? You don’t have too. I mean I know we’ve only just met. But-“  You stopped him. “How about tonight Ash?” You asked, smirking, feeling proud that you took control of the situation. He looked up in surprise. “That would be amazing. I will surprise you to where we go” He smirked. You nodded. “Maybe we should go back. Connor might be worried”

Ashton agreed and he walked you to Connor’s hotel room, which you’d be sharing with. You smiled was close to the size of the Cheshire’s in Alice in the Wonderland.

“Why are you so smiley?” Connor asked, as you entered the room. “Nothing, just something awesome happened Con!” You smiled, jumping on his bed. “Like what?” He asked, putting the laptop he had on the side table.

“So Ashton asked me on a date! Tonight! How amazing is that Connor!” You were just so excited. Your crush wanted to hang out with you, and wow, it’s so amazing. “You’re not going Y/N” Connor said, sternly.

You looked at him in surprise. “What, yes I am”

“No! Ashton is 19, you’re only 17. Plus, I don’t want you going out with someone who is in a band” He said, you were honestly shocked. “My brothers in band, my best friends are! Why can’t I go out with someone in a band?” You yelled, getting up from the bed and walking to the door.

“You just can’t!” Connor yelled, you turned away from him, storming out of the room, and to Brad’s room. He let you in straight away, and you explained what had happened. Of course Brad said he’ll talk to Connor. And in the meantime, he helped you get ready. He got some of your clothes, as you refused to argue with Connor again.

Brad soon had you all dressed up, well not all dressed up. He had chosen a floral dress which ended just above the knees, cute pastel orange shoes, and he only let you apply a small amount of make-up on.

Ashton had met you, and told you how beautiful you looked, and then he took you to a casual café. Neither of you were really that hungry, so you both ordered a drink each, and just spoke. As the night went on, you had exchanged numbers and gotten to know each other quite well. The night was going brilliantly. But of course had to end… But Ashton walked with you to the hotel, to the floor you both were on. And said his goodbyes. He went in to kiss your cheek, but never reach it.

“Get off my sister!” Connor yelled, you groaned and told Ashton to go. Ashton left and you entered your hotel room.

“I told you not to go out with him. I knew it was a bad idea to bring you with me on tour” Connor went on, and on.

“Connor stop!” You yelled. “I like Ashton; I have for a very long time. He is lovely! Please, just considering me being with him” You asked calmly.

“No! I’m going to the other boys to hang out. You stay here” He frowned, leaving the room. Luckily though, Ashton had texted you.

Hey beautiful. Did your brother lay into you bad? Maybe I should leave you alone, so he doesn’t yell at you L - Ash.

You frowned, but smiled, he was so cute. You quickly texted back.

No Ash. Let’s just not tell him ;) – Y/N

Oh thank god! I hoped you’d have an idea. Are you sure you want to lie to him? – Ashton.

If that’s what we have to do, yes. – Y/N

~#~#~#~

The tour ended six months ago. Ashton and you were now officially going out. But only Brad knew, and the 5sos boys. You felt terrible that Connor didn’t know. But now Ashton and you had been going out for nearly a year. You decided to tell him. And Ash had suggested telling him during the hangout The Vamps and 5SOS had.

Everyone was around Ashton’s house, and you were invited as well. Everyone was stand in the living room, just talking.

“Connor can we talk please?” You asked, he nodded. “Somewhere other than here?” You asked. “Nah, I don’t want to move”

You groaned. “Fine. Ashton and I have been going out for nearly a year” You rushed out. Connor’s eyes were wide, and full of anger.

“I said you couldn’t!” Connor yelled. “Connor, I’m sorry!” You frowned, cuddling him. “Connor, I really love him” You whispered, not wanting everyone to hear.

“You do?” Ashton asked, startled, you nodded. “I love you too” Ashton smiled. “You do, don’t you?” Connor asked softly. You nodded at him.

“Okay. I’m sorry” Connor said, hugging you tightly. “You can be with him. But Ashton, hurt her and I will find a new way of death for you!” Connor smiled to Ashton. Ashton nodded and smiled. You climbed over to Ash and hugged him, and he kissed your lips.

“Just don’t kiss in front of me!”

[hoodiehydra]

OMG I LOVE IT! I would be down for a sequel! Maybe there would be a part with how Sarv would feel about Ruv's relationship with the reader! If you don't want to do a sequel, it's fine.

OOOOO YEAH THIS IS GONNA BE FUN

honestly I think I’m gonna fuck this request up too.

I can’t do something good around here ;-;

Ah well.

Ruv x gn! reader (part 2)

Honestly didn’t think you would like it this much so ty for the ask!

I like to make my fics a little comical, so more fourth wall breaking!

4th wall: No... more... please

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Fuck off, she’s mine

It’s been... how long since you two started dating? Oh yeah, a few months. Ruv was a very sweet and caring, but also stoic and silent type of boyfriend, but the good thing was that he would never talk over you, and he enjoyed listening to you talk. He was a good listener, and in return, you were a good speaker. You had a lot of topics that you loved to talk about and he enjoyed listening and watching you talk about them. You always looked so cute whenever you shared about them to him, and despite him always with a neutral look, he found it so adorable with your face looking at him with that innocent childish look and excitement. It always made his heart melt.

Your relationship was so sweet and cute, Sarvente was adoring it. You two were perfect for each other, definitely more than her and Ruv (yes she knew about it). As a friend that helped you connect with Ruv, a mutual friend, she was incredibly proud of herself for playing the matchmaker card and helping the two of you get into a relationship together.

Sarvente, the sweet nun, was definitely making the right choice when she introduced the two of you to each other. It wasn’t a mistake.

*Pats Sarvente on the back* Good job girl! CANYOUPLEASEGETMEABFPLEASE???

Sarvente would definitely delete the existence of people who try to get in the way of both you and Ruv’s relationship, if Ruv hasn’t killed them first, that is. Powerful, sweet demon lady and a stoic murderer would do anything to protect you and your relationship. I will kill whoever tries to upset you too.

You would often find yourself at the church to either hang out with Sarvente, or to find Ruv for general couple-y stuff. Basically just for comfort and stuff if you ever need it. Usually Sarvente would also gush about how you and Ruv look so cute together, which either leaves you a blushing mess, or if Ruv overhears, he’s gonna blush a little. BUT he does think about what Sarv says behind closed doors, when it’s just him. It usually makes him blush a lot too. Not as much as you, but it’s rather obvious.

Both your writer and Sarv think you two are adorable!

EXTRA: your ex comes to disturb the relationship.

You were at the park with Ruv, just enjoying the view and nature in all. The fresh air felt so comforting as you breathed it all in. You no longer felt confined within the small walls of your home and you were feeling very pleased with that. Finally, you two could just hang out, no work, nothing to disturb you.

Apparently, when I said “nothing”, the universe translated that to “your ex”.

Do I really need to state whoever just decided to waltz back into your life after cheating on you? No? thank goodness.

“Hey there, my lovely Y/N.” Ayden tried horribly to flirt with you.

You glared at him, obviously wanting him to be finally gone and done with. You shooed at him, but you forgot he was stupid and blind, and he can’t ever take a hint. Groaning, you said, “Get out of my sight, you awful cheater. We were only together for-? A few days? I don’t see that as an actual relationship, unlike my current one over here. And I’m not yours. So please, leave.”

“You’re really gonna stoop so low? For this guy? I’m pretty sure I can offer more.” Ayden smirked, which only made you cringe in disgust.

You failed to notice Ruv giving Ayden a death glare, and Ruv muttered, “Go away, asshole.”

Ayden was appalled. Fucking APPALLED. This bitch- oh Ruv was about to kill him. But not in the park. He wouldn’t make this place a crime scene in a few minutes, even though he really wanted to.

He gently guided you away from Ayden, and pointed the middle finger at the cheating asshole, and he mouthed “Don’t follow us if you want to leave, fucker.”

This caused Ayden to stop in his tracks. Ruv was absolutely fucking terrifying, and definitely not someone he wanted to mess with. You two left, but  Sarv saw the whole thing since she wanted to tell you two in person about finally discovering her demon form.

The whole thing played in front of her.

Might as well put this new form to use, heh.

And none of you ever saw Ayden again.

GOOOOO SARV GOOOOO WOOOOHOOO

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

And that’s it! Sorry it took a while, heh. I hope you liked it.

[lemoncrushh]

Too Far From Texas | Chapter Fifteen

STORY PAGE

Word Count: 4362

“I…what?” I asked incredulously.

Harry giggled again. “You’re coming to see me, my love.”

“To…to London?”

“Mmhm. Well, just outside. Not actually in London.”

“When?” I laughed, thinking surely he was joking with me.

“The seventeenth,” he replied with certainty.

I shook my head, running my fingers through my hair. “Wait…what’s going on, Harry?”

“I told you. You’re coming here. I have it all arranged.”

“What?” I breathed. “How?”

“Well, I have my ways,” he teased. “Plus, I had a lot of help from your best friend.”

“My best…Lorelei?”

“Of course.”

“What does she have to do with it?”

“Everything, really. I’ve been chatting with her, and she’s helped me plan this little holiday for you. For us.”

The way he said “us” seemed to ooze through me like warm syrup and I felt my senses ignite with excitement.

“Are you kidding?” I asked in a hushed tone.

“Nope. Your plane leaves at…4PM on the seventeenth. You’ll arrive here the next morning and I’ll have a car pick you up.”

“Harry…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll have you back home by Christmas. To be with your girls.”

“Harry.”

“Please don’t say no, baby.”

“I…I wasn’t…” I murmured.

“Cause it’s all planned. Lorelei said you had the time off work and she’ll stay with the kids until they go to their dad’s.”

“Oh my God!” I gasped.

“And I wanna see you,” Harry continued. “I need to see you.”

“Me too,” I said softly.

“Good. You’re coming then?”

“Yes,” I agreed, my heart beating rapidly in my chest. I might’ve even felt a tear trickle down my cheek. “I can’t wait.”

I heard Harry breathe a sigh of relief. “I’ll be counting the days.”

The hallway outside her office was quiet, so I knew she wasn’t on the phone. I peeked my head around the door frame, knocking lightly.

“Hey,” she greeted when she lifted her head from her computer she’d been focused on.

“I have a question,” I said, stepping into her office.

“About what?”

“Well, I was wondering…” I strode across the room and sat in the chair across from her, crossing my legs. “Do you think it’s cold enough for thermal pajamas in London this time of year, or would I be alright sleeping in the nude?”

A wide smile slowly spread across Lorelei’s pretty face. “I think as long as you have a warm body beside you, nude is perfectly acceptable.”

I smirked. “Ya think?”

“Mhmm,” she nodded. “Besides, I think even considering anything else would be deemed as rude. I mean…given the circumstances.”

I cracked a smile, letting out a tiny chuckle. “How long have you known about this, Lor?” I asked her, leaning forward and resting my elbows on her desk.

“Um…since after Thanksgiving?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Lorelei raised a brow. “What, and ruin the surprise?”

“Well…” I threw up my hands and sat back. “He surprised me alright. You both did.”

“Yay!” Lor clapped her hands, clearly proud of herself. “When did he tell you?”

“Last night.”

“He’s so excited,” she grinned. “Absolutely giddy.”

“He is?”

“Oh yeah,” she nodded. “He’s a great guy, Stace. And so funny. I had such a hard time keeping a straight face when you’d come in and we’d been on the phone.”

“Wait…” I furrowed my brows. “You were talking to him here?”

“Yeah. You know, when you’d catch me on the phone laughing?”

“That was him? But…I thought that was your Australia guy.”

“No, silly,” Lor waved her hand. “That was a diversion.”

“So…there was no Australian guy?”

“Oh, there was. He just…never called.” Lorelei looked down at her desk, pretending to sweep something away with her fingertips.

“Oh Lor. I’m sorry,” I offered softly.

She shook her head and blinked. “No worries. I’m over it.” She looked up at me. “And Harry’s been a great distraction. This has been fun planning for you.”

“It has?”

“Yeah. He’s nuts about you.”

I smiled and bit my lip. “What all does he have planned?”

“Nope,” Lorelei mimed a zipper across her lips. “I’m not telling you anything. I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”

“Damn,” I crossed my arms and feigned a pout.

“I will tell you one thing though.”

“What?”

“It’s gonna be the most amazing Christmas you’ve ever had.”

“Christmas!” I widened my eyes as I sat up. “I have to get him a gift!”

“No,” Lorelei shook her blonde curls again. “He knew you were gonna say that. And he insists you don’t get him anything.”

“Why not?” I frowned.

“Because your coming to see him is his gift.”

I sighed and sat back again. “Oh, Lor.”

“What?”

“I can’t believe he did this. That you did this.” I could feel the tears welling in my eyes.

“Oh, hush you,” said Lorelei. “What are best friends for?”

I looked down at my hands folded in my lap. “I thought you were jealous of me,” I whispered.

“Oh I was,” she admitted. “I am.”

I gazed up at her with a pout. She grinned.

“Maybe jealous isn’t the right word. But I’m happy for you, I really am. And I’m proud of you.”

“Proud? Why?”

“Look at you,” she said. “You’ve taken such a massive step. Two years ago you were a mess. If you had met someone then, you probably would have pushed him away because you had this guard up. But now…not only have you let someone in, but you’ve let yourself fall in love again. And now you’re flying across the ocean to be with him.”

I felt my stomach flip and I swallowed hard. “I’m so nervous, Lor.”

“Why? You’ve slept with him before.”

“Not about that…about…the love part. I haven’t told him yet.”

My friend beamed at me. “It’s alright, doll. It’s gonna be okay. I promise.”

With a groan I ran my fingers through my hair. “Ugh. I don’t wanna fuck this up.”

“You won’t.”

“I might.”

“How do you reckon?”

“It’s just…he’s so amazing, and I…”

“And so are you,” Lorelei declared.

“I have so much baggage,” I grimaced.

Lorelei chuckled. “And he doesn’t? He’s a bloody rockstar.”

“Good point,” I sighed, though I was still wringing my hands.

“C’mon, doll,” my best friend voiced as she rose from her chair. “You’re getting yourself worked up over nothing. Let’s go take an early lunch.”

“Margaritas?” I asked her hopefully.

Lor nodded. “Margaritas.”

“I’m so jealous!” exclaimed Emery with a huff as she plopped face down on my bed next to my suitcase.

“Of what?” I asked from the bathroom where I was gathering my toiletries.

“I wanna go to England,” she pouted, resting her chin on her hands.

I smirked at her as I returned to the bedroom. “Sorry, sweet girl. Maybe one day.”

Em groaned and grabbed my pillow.

“Will you hand me those shoes?” I asked her.

Her head still turned away from me, she reached for the flats I had lying next to her and let them fall on her other side, completely missing my outreached hand.

“Emery,” I scowled.

“What?” She lifted her head and saw the look on my face. “Sorry.”

Handing me the shoes properly, she sat up and sighed.

“Are you really that upset I’m leaving?” I eyed her.

“No. Kinda.”

“I thought you liked Harry,” I remarked, hoping the mention of his name would ease her mind.

“I do! But…I wanna see him too.”

Sitting on the bed next to her, I patted her leg. “Remember when you asked if Harry was my boyfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“Well…he kinda is. But we haven’t seen each other in a while, and we miss each other. So he wants to spend some time with me. Alone.”

Emery sucked in her lips.

“Do you understand?”

My daughter nodded, her lips slowly spreading into a smile.

“I knew he had a crush on you,” she giggled.

Grabbing my pillow and rising from the bed, I playfully bopped her on the head. “You did not.”

“Yeah I did. I could tell.”

I stared at her for a moment, my hands on my hips. “Sometimes I think you are wise far beyond your years, Em.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you’re very smart for your age. And quite observant.”

Emery beamed at me and shrugged. Then she sat quietly and watched me finish packing for my trip. I didn’t bother to tell her my stomach was in knots, but I made sure I packed some Tums.

Just then, Lorelei, who had been watching television in the den with Jasmine walked in, holding my cell phone.

“It’s your mom,” she said.

“My mother?” I gasped. “Oh God, I haven’t told her.”

“Don’t worry, I did.”

“You what? Why?”

Gesturing her hand, she rolled her eyes. “Just talk to her, I’ll explain later.”

Taking a deep breath, I let it out, accepting the phone hesitantly. “Hi, Mom.”

“Stacey. Why did I have to hear from Lorelei that you’re leaving the country?”

“Sorry,” I said shamefully. “I just…it was kind of a last minute decision.”

My mom laughed. I was taken aback. I’d heard my mom laugh before, but this was different.

“No it wasn’t Stacey. I know all about it.”

“You do?”

“Yes. I just wanted to wish you a safe trip. Lorelei’s gonna call me if she needs anything.”

I felt my body relax. “Thanks, Mom.”

“You’re welcome. I love you, sweetheart. I want you to be happy. Have a good time.”

“I…thanks. I love you, too.”

“Oh and Stacey?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t feel like you have to stay if you don’t want to. You can come home.”

I let out a nervous, unexpected chuckle. “I doubt I will. But thanks.”

“You like this guy a lot,” she said. Not a question, but a statement.

“I do.”

“I’m glad.”

When I hung up, I realized I had tears in my eyes. I quickly wiped them with the back of my hand. I looked at Lorelei who was keeping Emery busy with a game on her phone. She gazed up at me and smiled.

“Thank you,” I mouthed.

She nodded. It was all she needed to say.

Harry had told me a car would pick me up at the airport. Although I knew he wasn’t going to be in the car waiting for me, I couldn’t hide my disappointment when they driver opened the door for me. Shaking my head, I climbed inside, my purse in my lap. Butterflies danced in my tummy as I looked out the car window, watching the city go by until finally the countryside came into view.

My eyes widened when the driver slowed, and we approached a large house set back from the road. As he turned onto the driveway, I noticed the building was trimmed in lights and I imagined it looked lovely at nighttime.

When I climbed out of the car, stood beside it and took in the view. That was when I saw the sign. Marchburrough Inn - Bed and Breakfast.

A B&B! How quaint. How romantic. How-

“It’s about time you got here.”

My thoughts were broken by the sound of his voice. He stood in the doorway in an oatmeal colored sweater and jeans, the cutest grin on his face I’d ever seen.

“What’s with the weather, Styles?” I joked. “This is England. I thought there’d be snow or something.”

“It is unseasonably warm,” he agreed, pushing himself off the door frame with his shoulder. “I reckon you’ve brought the Texas weather with you.”

“Oh, so it’s my fault,” I sneered.

“Right, ‘ere you are, Missus,” I heard the driver say as he handed me my suitcase.

“I’ll take that,” grinned Harry, stepping out onto the sidewalk.

It seemed time and distance had suddenly taken a chill pill as soon as he was two feet in front of me. I thought I heard the driver say goodbye, or have a nice holiday, or something to that nature. But I couldn’t focus on anything in that moment but green eyes and the scent of his cologne.

“Hi,” he greeted me lowly.

“Hi.” I shrugged. “I’m here.”

Harry nodded, taking me in with his eyes before reaching out and pulling me into a warm hug.

“Ah, I’ve missed you,” he sighed, his breath tickling my hair.

“I’ve miss you too. You smell good.”

“You feel good.”

I smiled, my lips and nose pressed to his neck as we swayed gently in our embrace. I heard Harry hum softly until he kissed me next to my ear.

“C’mon. I’ll show you inside.”

He took my hand and I followed him over the threshold were he set down my luggage. Right away I could see that I’d only seen a glimpse of holiday decorating outside. The entry way was aglow with bows and wreaths, a lovely garland draped down the banister that led upstairs.

“How pretty,” I commented.

“Oh, wait til you see,” said Harry, pulling me to the left.

I gasped when we reached the living room. In the corner stood a massive Christmas tree, all done up in red and gold. Underneath were even wrapped presents, though I figured they were just empty boxes placed there for the effect. Across the fireplace mantel was another garland, adorned with lights, a display of candles and gold ornaments set atop.

“Stunning,” I breathed.

“Yeah,” agreed Harry, though his eyes were fixed on me.

I blushed as he lifted his hand to push a strand of hair from my face. I bit my lip and looked down.

“So,” I let out another breath. “I’ve never stayed at a bed and breakfast before. How many other guests are staying, do you know?”

“None,” replied Harry, his expression unchanged.

“None?” I looked around the room. “Where’s the owner?”

“Gone. On holiday.”

“Huh?”

Harry laughed lightly, scratching his nose. “It’s just us, love.”

I opened my mouth, my lips forming into an O shape, but the sound was delayed. “Oh,” I finally said.

Pulling me to him once again, Harry lifted my chin and kissed me. It was a long kiss, soft yet very eager. My fingers caught in his hair as I felt my body relax and melt into him. When he finally broke the kiss, he was breathing heavily.

“I’ll show you to our room,” he rasped.

“‘kay,” I nodded.

I watched him take my bag and I followed him up the stairs to the last room at the end of the hall. And for the second time in twenty minutes, I gasped. The room was gorgeous, absolutely the most beautiful room I’d ever seen. It was very masculine with dark woods but balanced with feminine touches of white linens and a satin headboard. On one side of the room stood a fireplace like the one downstairs, though it held no Christmas paraphernalia. Past it was a set of french doors that looked like they led to a balcony.

“Nice, innit?” grinned Harry, setting my suitcase on the bed.

I felt a sudden overwhelming sensation come over me and I couldn’t move.

“Baby…” he sounded, walking around the bed towards me. “You okay?”

I realized when his hand reached out to wipe a tear that I was crying.

“I’m sorry,” I swallowed, lifting my hand to touch his arm. “It’s just…you’re so romantic. This is so wonderful. No one’s ever done anything like this for me before.”

“Well, you deserve it,” Harry smiled. “But I’m kinda glad I’m the first.”

I chuckled slightly, squeezing his hand.

“So, I reckon you’re horribly jet lagged. Are you hungry, or would you like to take a nap first?”

“Oh,” I sighed. It hadn’t dawned on me until that moment just how tired I was. I’d slept on the plane, but not well. “Um…to be honest a nap sounds amazing.”

“Alright.”

“But…I don’t wanna ruin our time together.”

“No worries,” Harry shook his head. “If you’re tired, you should sleep.”

“That bed does look inviting,” I nodded.

“‘Course it does,” Harry wiggled his brows.

With a playful poke to his ribs, I unzipped my suitcase. Then I made my way to the adjoining bathroom that, no surprise, had a jacuzzi tub. When I returned, Harry already had the covers pulled down for me and was lying on one side.

“I’m sorry I’m so sleepy,” I yawned as I climbed in next to him.

“Shh, don’t be sorry. I’m just so glad you’re here.”

Harry held me close, dotting soft kisses on my lips, nose and forehead until I quickly drifted off to sleep.

I awoke to the aroma of coffee and the soft clink of dishes. Rolling over onto my back, I stretched, taking a moment to remember where I was. Then I saw him standing at the foot of the bed, a tray on the ottoman in front of him.

“Hey,” I said with a yawn as I sat up.

His eyes shifted to me, a smile spreading across his face.

“I knew you’d probably want coffee,” he gestured at the carafe and cup in his hands. Then adding cream, he handed it to me.

“Thank you.” I breathed in the scent before taking a hefty sip.

“There’s sandwiches too,” he pointed, “and a bit of fruit. What would you like?”

I eyed the tray, then looked back at him.

“Both,” I commented. “But I’d also like to know that the rest of this trip doesn’t consist of you waiting on me hand and foot.”

Harry made a face, considering my words. “What if I want to?”

“You don’t have to.”

Harry sat down next to me on the bed, handing me a plate of sandwich triangles, grapes, strawberries and kiwis.

“But I want to,” he said with a frown.

“Fine,” I agreed with a sigh. “But just know that it’s not required.”

I set my coffee on the nightstand next to me and grabbed a strawberry, bringing it to my mouth. I could see Harry staring at me out of the corner of my eye. Turning my head, I watched him watch me.

“You have no idea how glad I am you’re here,” he remarked, his voice edged with longing. I knew because it was the same longing I felt.

Dropping the end of the strawberry on my plate, I leaned over, taking his face in my hands.

“Yeah, I do,” I nodded before placing a kiss on his lips.

After my lunch, Harry showed me around the rest of the house. I felt like I was intruding, going into the other empty bedrooms, rooms where strangers had shared their own memories, and perhaps left them behind. The kitchen was huge, completely modernized with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. Through the door was a beautiful dining room, large enough to sit twelve. I ogled over the chandelier and place settings done in red and gold.

When we made it back to our room, Harry turned to me with a grin. “I’ve saved the best part for last,” he said.

Taking my hand, he led me to the french doors. The crisp air hit me in the face, and I realized the temperature must have dropped some since I’d arrived. But stepping out onto the veranda, I saw what Harry was talking about. It was the most beautiful, serene scene I’d ever witnessed with my own eyes.

The house itself had lovely grounds, complete with a pool and pristine shrubbery. But it was what was past the yard that took my breath away. Our balcony looked out over a lake, trimmed in rocks and trees, the sun shimmering on the water like diamonds. It looked like something from a painting.

“Wow,” I whispered.

I felt Harry’s arms wrap around me, pulling me to his chest as he rested his chin on my shoulder.

“I’m hoping if it doesn’t get too cold, we could eat dinner out here tonight.”

I turned around in his arms then, my hands on his chest. Without a word, I looked at him, really looked at him, taking in his beauty. Then I ran my hands up and around his neck, placing a soft kiss on his mouth. He responded with an audible sigh, sliding his tongue inside and kissing me deeply.

I felt the chill behind me, but my front was covered in warmth as Harry guided me into the bedroom, shutting the doors.

“God, I’ve missed kissing you,” he groaned, his hands in my hair.

“Me too,” I agreed as his lips travelled down my neck.

“Thing is…” he added between kisses, “it actually hasn’t been that long. But it feels like forever.”

“I know.”

Before I realized it, I had slowly been pushing Harry back and his legs were now hitting the end of the bed. Or perhaps he had been pulling me. Either way, we were together, no desire to separate.

“Stacey…baby…” he cooed in my ear.

“Hmm?” I asked, my fingers finding the edge of his sweater.

“I feel like…” he swallowed hard and looked at me, his eyes piercing. “I want you so bad. But you only just got here. I just…don’t wanna rush it, you know? We have so much time to spend together.”

Reading his face, I slowly nodded. “I agree.”

Harry ran his thumb across my bottom lip. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay,” I explained. “I understand.”

“I’m not sure you do.”

I looked at him, puzzled. “Harry, it’s okay. We can take our time.”

Lowering his head to my neck, he kissed it again, leaving a trail to my lips. I giggled lightly as he pecked, his hands gently tickling my sides. I really did understand what he meant. True, I would have gone to bed with him right then and there. But sometimes adding a little anticipation makes it sweeter.

“So what would you like to do?” I asked him, a little bit teasingly.

With a smirk, he shrugged. “They got Netflix downstairs.”

I laughed. “Sounds good.”

We ended up watching a drama that had come out the year before. I snuggled up next to Harry on the couch, but halfway through it he started getting up every so often to go into the kitchen. I suspected he was getting started on dinner. Part of me wanted to ask, but I remembered his comment earlier about wanting to wait on me.

When the movie was over, however, and Harry hadn’t returned from the kitchen, I got up to find him. He was stirring something on the stove before opening the oven to look in on something inside.

“Do you need any help, sugar?” I asked him.

I saw him jump slightly before turning around with big eyes. “Um, no…baby…um thanks. But no, I got it covered.”

I pouted, leaning against the countertop. “You’ve been gone a while. You missed the end of the movie.”

“Did I? Sorry, love.”

“What do you need me to do?” I inquired again.

“Nothing. Really. I’m just…working on dinner.” He gave me his dazzling dimpled smile as he grabbed a dish cloth. “You can go start another movie if you like.”

“But I’m lonely in there,” I whined, dramatically sticking out my bottom lip.

His dimple still showing, he shook his head. “You stop with that.”

“With what?” I asked, walking around the counter. I stopped in front of him and reached for his waist.

“That lip,” he replied, his voice low.

Teasing him, I stuck it out further, tilting my head to the side. Harry made a half groan, half chuckle before kissing me hard, sucking on my bottom lip.

“That’s a little better.”

“Good, now get outta here.” I squeaked when Harry patted me on the behind. “I won’t be long, I promise.”

“Okay.”

I danced into the living room and chose a light-hearted comedy. Harry joined me ten minutes later, tickling me until I fell back on the couch.

“You’re a brat,” he quipped, pinning me down.

“No, I’m not.”

“I wanted it to be a surprise,” he remarked.

“It is,” I said. “You’ve continuously surprised me since I met you, Harry.”

Loosening his grip on my arms, his weight shifted to his hips. It took all I had in me not to moan as I felt it between my own legs.

“Really?”

I studied his face for a moment. Surely he knew how incredible he was. He had millions of fans that proved that everyday. I was just one person.

“Really.”

The look on his face then was like none other he’d ever given me. Though he didn’t smile, I could feel the joy emitting from him. A slight intensity, as though he had something on the tip of his tongue, but not yet ready to put it into words. My stomach flipped as he leaned closer to me. I lifted my hand to touch a curl that had fallen on his forehead. He relaxed at my touch, letting out a deep sigh.

“Harry, I-“ I stopped myself. I couldn’t say it. Could I?

Harry’s eyes sparkled as he stared at me, silently urging me to continue.

“You have beautiful eyes,” I said.

Harry blinked slowly as his mouth turned up in a smile.

“Thank you,” he murmured, lowering his head so his nose ever so slightly touched my cheek. “But that’s not what you were gonna say.”

I swallowed hard, lifting my other hand to drag my fingers across his jaw. “Close enough.”

His breath tickled my skin, his mouth not quite touching mine. My own breath caught in my throat before I let it out in staccato beats. Harry’s nose grazed my cheek again as he made his way down to my neck and back up, still never allowing his lips to caress me. I felt my toes curl with excitement and anticipation as heat rose from my entire body. Finally, his eyes met mine again and he locked them there, his chest rising and falling.

“You have beautiful eyes, too,” he declared.

He’d just leaned in to kiss my lips when I heard a beeping sound from the kitchen.

“Shit,” Harry cursed, rising from the sofa. “Gotta check on the dinner.”

As soon as he left the room, my body felt a thousand degrees colder.

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[p-artsypants]

No, You Go First (10)

Sorry for the wait (it’s my MO.) I was working on a DnD campaign and then I rediscovered the Sims! I made Hiccup and Astrid, obviously. 

Gratuitous kissing in this chapter!!!! 

Ao3 | FF.net

—-

Hiccup walked in his front door. Or, what would be his front door for a few months. He only hoped that he’d have help from the rest of the tribe next time around. He was still pretty exhausted from building this house.

“Hi Astrid,” he smiled. 

“Hi Hiccup,” she smiled back.

“Hi Hiccup,” her parents parroted, in a sickly sweet tone. 

“I did not say it like that!” She protested. 

“Oh you have nothing to be ashamed of, lass! He’s your husband! Be soft for once!” 

She rolled her eyes. “Where was this teasing and giddiness when I was engaged to Snotlout?”

Phlegma giggled. “Snotlout wasn’t walking around with a hickey on his neck last winter.” 

Hiccup clapped a hand to his neck. “Again with the hickey?”

“Aye, a badge of honor.” Stoick said, lifting Hiccup’s trunk onto his shoulder. Hiccup had insisted on helping Stoick carry it here, but it looked like his help had been more of a hindrance. “A mark of a fight not won with your hands, but your wits.” 

“Is there ever an analogy from you that doesn’t have to do with battle?” Hiccup chuckled. 

“Not any good ones,” Stoick laughed as he took the trunk up to the loft. 

“You know,” said Phlegma. “It’s a very lovely house, Hiccup. But I can’t help but notice…the lack of furniture.” 

In fact, there was a hearth, and a countertop creating a kitchen area, but not much else to see in the main room. A bathing area was under the loft, but it too was sparse in furnishings. 

“Yes, well, Gobber assured me tables and chairs and such would be built before the wedding…but I threw his time table off by about a month.” Hiccup grimaced. 

“Well, you’re always welcome to eat with us, or up in the Great Hall.” Phlegma offered. “Although…maybe appearing in public could be a bit…”

“Dangerous?” Hiccup suggested. 

“Contentious.” Said Stoick as he returned. “Some people were very excited about Astrid’s marriage to Snotlout. Others were just excited about the party.”

“Well, we’re still going to have a proper wedding in the future. Right dad?” Hiccup asked. 

“Aye lad. It's important for you to have a traditional ceremony. One that would invite our allies. It would be the biggest event of the year.” 

“Oh boy, more anxiety,” Hiccup chuckled breathlessly. 

“Well, we’d like to give you two your privacy, but…do you even have a bed to sleep in?” Axel wondered. 

“Yep! I actually had to build it before the house was finished.” Hiccup smirked. “Snotlout wanted a nice big bed so that Astrid wouldn’t kick him while sleeping.” 

“I don’t kick!” 

Phlegma smiled. “Oh darling…yes you do.” 

“I’ll just say goodbye to my shins now.” Hiccup cringed. 

“How big of a bed are we talking?” Axel asked. 

“It’s a little ridiculous, if I’m being honest.” Hiccup beckoned them to follow him upstairs to the loft. 

“HICCUP!” Astrid shouted as soon as she saw it. 

Axel and Phlegma started laughing again. 

“You know,” said Stoick. “I’d ask to trade, but I don’t know how you’d get this out of the house.” 

“You can’t. You’d have to take it apart, or take out the wall.” 

“Hiccup! There’s no room for anything else in this room!” Astrid walked around the perimeter of the frame. She had about two feet of space on all sides. “Where do we store our clothes? Or anything else?!”

Hiccup smirked then, feeling fairly proud of himself, and held up a finger. “Observe.” He pulled a handle on the side of the frame, and the whole bed flipped up against the wall. Underneath, there were several drawers along the edges, and trunks in the middle. “Ta-da!”

“Oooh!” Axel and Phlegma clapped. 

Astrid nodded slowly. “Alright, that’s pretty cool.” 

Hiccup beamed at the praise and lowered the bed back down. 

“I think all that’s left is to let you both get settled in,” said Stoick. “So we’ll get out of your hair.” 

By the giggling that Phlegma and Axel shared, you’d think that they were the newly wed couple. 

“Yes yes, two teenagers alone on their wedding night, it’s very funny.” Astrid started to shove her parents back downstairs. 

“Now, there’s no rush in the morning. Come over whenever you’re hungry, and I’ll make you some food!” Phlegma chirped as she was being actively herded out the door. 

“Bye mom! Bye dad! Thanks for your love and support! Now leave us alone!” 

“Bye honey!” They both sang.

“I’m not going to have to push you out the door too, right?” Hiccup looked up at his dad. 

“You couldn’t if you tried.” Stoick rubbed his son’s head, and gave Astrid a kiss on the cheek. “Have fun!” 

After Hiccup closed and locked the door behind him, he let out a big sigh. “Now what?”

“I think this is the part where we become hopelessly entangled in limbs and tongues and you whisk me away to the bedroom,” said Astrid, with a smirk. 

“Is that—you want—can I?” Hiccup faced her, trembling, and puckered his lips like a fish. 

She pinched his nose. “I thought you knew how to kiss?”

“I did–I do! I-I-I-I just…haven’t practiced in a while…” He said sheepishly, wringing his hands together.

“Well, we have plenty of time to practice. You remember that, right?” she chuckled.

Hiccup gulped and tried to laugh too, though it sounded weak.

She came close, resting her hands on his chest, starting to lean in. But she stopped, concerned. “Hiccup, you’re trembling.” 

“I-I-I’m just cold is all.” 

“Okay,” she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. 

He let out a deep breath before hugging her back. His hold was strong, and he rested his face against her neck. She smelled nice. Not a flowery girly smell, but something warm and slightly spicy. 

He probably smelled like fish. 

“You’re not actually cold, are you?” Astrid asked as she pet his hair. 

He swallowed, but didn’t answer. 

“You can tell me anything. I won’t judge.”

“I know. I just…don’t know how to say it.” 

She gave him a tight squeeze and pulled away. “That’s fine. Let’s just relax–”

“Oh, that’s part of the problem, I can’t.” He shrugged his shoulders, to appear more casual than he was. 

“Why not?”

“Oh, no reason, really. I only just got married today, which wasn’t expected. And since the beginning of the year, even with the eels helping with the raids, the village is back to disliking me. And taking someone’s bride is a huge no-no so I’m kind of worried that will compound into disaster.”

“Hiccup–”

“And my uncle wants me to fight my cousin, which I absolutely can’t do.” 

“Yeah, but that’s–”

“Not for two weeks, I know, but I can’t help worrying about it. And now, I’m here with you, alone, and I was excited about it earlier, but now I’m realizing what that means and what the expectations are and I don’t know how to…you know. And I want to be the best for you, but I know I’ll mess up. Like…it’ll just hurt for you, and then I’ll finish and pass out and I don’t want that!” 

“Whoa, Hiccup, slow down,” Astrid hushed, petting the hair on the back of his neck. “Look. I have no experience with sex either.” 

“You can at least say the word.” 

She chuckled. “Fair. But we don’t have to do that tonight. We can wait.” 

“But you said we were going to ‘have fun’.” 

“Sure! Doesn’t have to be sex though, right? If it gives you performance anxiety, then let’s wait on it.” 

“Are you sure? To not consummate the marriage—we’re already in hot water!” 

“When have we ever done anything the correct way? We have a pair of dragons out in the cove, for Frigga’s sake! Besides, how are they going to know? I’m not going to say anything. So you don’t have to say anything.” 

“I…guess…” 

“Did you bring sleep clothes?”

Hiccup was startled by the sudden topic change. “Uh, yes. I did.” He pointed upstairs.

“I’m going to get changed too. If the only place to sit in his house is the bed, then we might as well get comfortable.” 

“Y-yeah. I’ll wait for you upstairs…” he said in a daze. He climbed the stairs, and found where his father had wedged his trunk. His bed clothes consisted of a pair of black linen pants, and an old white tunic from his father (several years old, and hemmed). Hiccup changed into the pants, but hesitated putting the tunic on. Maybe it would be alright to go without? Afterall, Astrid had seen him shirtless before. Would it make her uncomfortable though? Last time, it had been because their clothes were soaked. Now, there was no reason he shouldn’t wear a shirt. 

“Huh. Who knew you were hiding some nice back muscles?” 

Hiccup flinched and drew his shoulders up to his ears. “Oh! You got dressed fast!” He turned around and froze. 

Astrid was just wearing a light blue tunic. It reached down to her fingertips. It was only a little loose, still accenting her curves. He could even see the faint view of her nipples peeking through the shirt, though he was certain she didn’t think he could. Astrid worked on unraveling her hair, making this mind blowing experience so much more amazing. 

“Wow…” he squeaked. 

“What?” 

“You’re…so beautiful…”

She scoffed, but blushed as she walked around the bed to sit beside him. He realized she was undoing her hair with one hand, while she held her brush in the other. 

“Can I brush your hair?” He blurted. 

“Uh…if you want to?” 

Reverently, he took the brush and ran it through her golden locks. He hit a snag, and moved to start from the top. 

“The whole point in brushing my hair is to undo the snags.” 

“But I don’t want to hurt you…” 

“Here, give me the brush.”

Hiccup frowned as he handed it over. He hadn’t even started!

Astrid quickly brushed through her hair, untangling the knots. Then she gave it back. “Here you go. Now you can do it.” 

He brightened and got to work. He would hit a snag, but carefully untangled it with his fingers instead of tearing through it with the brush. 

“What made you want to brush my hair?” 

“Well…it’s something husbands get to do, right? Wash and brush their wife’s hair? I always liked your hair too. It’s really…” he struggled to find a word that wasn’t ‘beautiful’ again. “I like the color.” 

“Well, it feels nice. So thanks.” 

A few more runs of the brush, and Hiccup finally relinquished his role. To his dismay, Astrid then gathered up her hair and twisted it into a bun on top of her head. 

“You sleep with your hair up?” 

“Keeps the tangles out.” 

“Ah.” Now that she was here, and they were in this state of vulnerability, he didn’t know what to say. This wasn’t like the hayloft, where they had been relaxed and secret and had all the time in the world. There was weight now, and expectations. People knew where they were and what they should be doing. 

Astrid kept taking glances at him, careful not to outright stare, but she seemed to notice something that tickled her and started laughing. 

“What? What’s so funny?” 

“Your chest hair.” 

“My what?” He looked down at his chest and covered the patch with his hand. “What’s so funny about it? We Vikings have to stay warm!” 

“Sorry, no no, there’s nothing funny about your chest hair.” She removed his hand from his chest. “A few weeks ago, Snotlout all but ripped his shirt off in front of me to show me his chest hair. He was ‘finally a man’ and ‘a true Viking’, but it was just one hair. You’ve got him beat, which is the funny part.” 

He looked back down to his sternum. It was no carpet like the rest of the tribe, but now, he was pretty proud of it. He lowered his voice by an octave, and stated, “aye lass, you’ve picked a real man for your husband. Everyone knows a man is not measured by his muscle or his prowess with a weapon…but how much chest hair he has.”

Astrid started giggling. “That was a flawless impression of your father.”

“I practice.” 

She rested her hand on his chest, right over his heart. “But Hiccup, I need you to know that you’re more of a man than Snotlout is, chest hair or no chest hair. You have a job, you built a house, you trained a dragon…it doesn’t matter that you can’t swing a sword. Snotlout wasn’t even that good in the ring. I know everyone gives you a hard time, but I would never, ever, want to be married to someone other than you.” Then she leaned in slowly, giving him enough time to prepare. 

Hiccup’s eyes fluttered closed, and he tried not to pucker his lips, but just relax. His pulse pounded in his ears as the thrill of anticipation put him on edge. He was finally going to kiss Astrid again! Of course, they had earlier that day, but he had been caught so off guard he hadn’t enjoyed it at all. In fact, he was a little afraid she would drop him. 

After a few seconds, Hiccup was keenly aware that there was no kissing happening. He peeled an eye open to find her looking at him, eyes lidded with an amused smile on her face. 

“W-what?” He asked as he felt the blush sweep over his face. 

“You know, I’m always the one initiating our kisses.” 

“Nuh uh!” 

“Name one time you kissed me first.” 

“I’m pretty sure I kissed you first in the hayloft…one of the times.” 

“That doesn’t count! I started that whole thing!”

“Oh so you count that whole afternoon as one kiss?”

“Of course not! But once you get permission to kiss, it’s understood that permission lasts for a while. So starting a kiss right after one ended is easy compared to the first!” 

“Alright, fine, may I kiss you?”

“By all means!” 

He could do this. She just said she wanted him to kiss her, so all he had to do was…do it. He leaned forward, letting his eyes close slightly, but not all the way. He didn’t want to miss, of course! And to further improve accuracy, he held her face. Wow, her skin was soft! 

Her hands crept up to his shoulders.

He tilted his face slightly, and pressed his lips to hers, gently at first, and then with more passion.

What was he afraid of, again?

Her kiss sent tingles to every inch of his body. He felt warm, and a fuzzy feeling grew in his head. 

Astrid wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer to her. The touch made him squeak. But he soon relaxed and wrapped his arms around her waist. 

After spending several months trying to deny any feelings he had for her, Hiccup felt overwhelmed. Fighting between ‘you shouldn’t do this’ and ‘she’s all yours!’ He could kiss her as long and as much as he wanted. There was no one and nothing that would tell him otherwise. 

Astrid pulled away for a moment. “You sure you haven’t been practicing?”

He scoffed. “How? With who?”

She shrugged. “A pillow, the bedpost…Toothless.” 

He gagged. “Of course not!” His hand ran up and down her back. “But…you and Snotlout…did you–?”

“Never even held his hand.” 

Hiccup released a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. 

She leaned in again, kissing him more intensely. He returned the fervor, meeting her lips eagerly. His hands fluttered over her, trying to find a place to hold before settling on her waist. 

Astrid pushed against his chest, making him fall over onto the bed. 

He looked up at her, and she looked down at him. 

“Hi Husband,” she smirked. 

“Hi Wife…” he breathed. Hiccup scooted backwards so that they weren’t hanging off the side of the bed. 

Astrid was quick to straddle his legs to get more comfortable, and then dove back into kissing. Her hands dove into his hair, her nails scratching against his scalp. A wave of shivers went down his spine and he let out a little moan. It seemed like she remembered that little trick from all those months ago.

By the smile pressed to his lips, Hiccup knew she knew. 

Oh she was going to smug about it? Well, now it was war!

Hiccup dug his fingers into her hips, and with a mighty heave, flipped them over so he was on top. 

Astrid pulled away abruptly, staring in surprise. She didn’t know he had the strength or the balls to do that. “No.”

“No?”

“No!” She hooked her legs around him, grabbed his arms, and flipped them back over, pinning his arms over his head. “There!” 

“What!” He barked, wiggling in her grip. She was much stronger than him, and had him pinned so well he could barely move at all. 

Stupid warriors. 

Astrid looked him over, scrutinizing her prize. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like a Monstrous Nightmare staring at a fish fry. In fact, I think I have seen a Monstrous Nightmare look at me like that.” 

Astrid didn’t answer the question, but instead stated, “contrary to popular belief, you do have some nice muscle here.” 

“Wait, I do? Where?” He tried to look down. 

“Like here,” she jabbed her finger into his side, making him flinch with a yelp. “And here,” she spidered her fingers over his abdomen, making him wriggle violently. “Oh and we found a ticklish spot!”

“You wouldn’t dare!” He squirmed. 

“Flip me over, will you!?” And she wiggled her fingers all over his stomach, making him jerk around. 

“Aaaahhh–A-A-Astr—AAAAHH—AH AH AH!” He didn’t laugh or giggle, no it was more like a really low scream. 

Astrid giggled though. “What was that?! You sound like a Terror stuck in a pipe!” 

“Oh I’m sorry, is that not the reaction you wanted? It’s not like I can control it!” 

“Why do you always have to be so sassy?”

“Sassy’s my middle name!” 

Astrid considered this for a second and asked, “I thought your middle name was Horrendous?”

“Short for Horrendously Sassy.”

“Haha, very funny.” And she went to tickle him again, but before that, she readjusted her grip, and noticed something. She rolled her hips. “Hiccup…are you–?”

“Yes, don’t draw attention to it.” He blushed again, if it was possible.

“How?! From tickling?!”

“No! A very beautiful girl is sitting on me, and her very shapely bosom is basically right in my face!”

“Stop staring at my shapely bosom! You’re not allowed to!” 

“I beg to differ, madam. As your husband, I do declare I am allowed to stare at your shapely bosom! I might even ogle!” 

Astrid narrowed her eyes, planning her next attack. 

“Tickle me again, I dare you.” 

“No…I have to find something else.” 

“Do your worst, Shieldmaiden! I can take it!” 

She shrugged. “If you say so.” Slowly, she lifted her free hand up to where her other was pinning him down. Then she slid her hands up to his, intertwining their fingers together. This brought her close, where she could see his eyes wide and sparkling with wonder, his chest heaving with excitement. She rolled her hips again, eliciting a whine from his throat. 

She met his lips in a kiss, sweet, tender, and deceitful to her intentions. 

Hiccup simply thought the game was over, and relaxed, rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles. He could melt into her. He could just stay like this. Laughter, jokes, intimacy, if this is what marriage was, then he was more than pleased. He understood what all the hubbub was about. 

Astrid’s delicate tongue caressed his bottom lip, he whimpered again and opened his mouth to her. Their tongues danced a tango, exploring, caressing, thrilling. 

Their lips made a loud smack as they pulled away, and Astrid pressed heated kisses to his cheek and jaw. Finally, she came to his throat, and lathed her tongue against it, making his eyes cross. 

What had he done to deserve such affection? 

Suddenly, Astrid bit his flesh, gnawing on his skin, not enough to bleed, but more than what was sexy. 

“Ow…ow…owowowow!!!” Hiccup cried, trying to pull away from her. 

She pulled away herself, satisfied with the bruise and marks she had left. 

“OW!” Hiccup repeated, emphasis on the ‘ow’. 

“That was for telling Snotlout I bite. Don’t want him to think you were lying, do you?”

Hiccup groaned. “He told you I said that? Ugh…”

“I should thank you for it, honestly, I think you scared him away from trying to force a kiss on me.” 

“Gee, I feel the gratitude.” He used his shoulder to rub against his neck, since she still had his arms pinned. 

Astrid let his hands go, dragging her hands down his arms, down to his chest and then stomach. This made goosebumps raise on his skin and Astrid giggled.

“Alright.” Now with use of his arms, he was able to thrust his hips to buck her off. “If I had known you were going to bully me, I would have reconsidered accidentally marrying you.” He turned on his side, turning his back to her. 

“Aww, Hiccup. Don’t be like that!” She rolled over so she spooned behind him, wrapping one leg over his. “I’m sorry if I went too far. I just…feel really relaxed around you. I get goofy.” 

“And bitey.” 

She giggled and wrapped her arm around him to rest on his stomach. She snuggled her face into his neck, smilingly like a love sick school girl. “You make me really happy, Hiccup. I didn’t think I’d get that with a husband. I thought…before we became friends, I’d either have to marry Snotlout or an older man. Maybe even a man from another tribe, and I’d never see my family again.” 

Hiccup rested his hand over hers. 

“I didn’t think I could have this. I know it’s only our first night together, but I’m already enjoying it.” She kissed the mark on his neck. “So sorry for being annoying.” 

He scoffed. “I’m not actually all that upset.” 

“Good!” She grabbed him and pulled him backwards so that he rolled over. Then, he was laying against her side, his head on her chest while she ran fingers through his hair. 

For a moment, he wondered if maybe these roles should be switched. Shouldn’t he be holding her? But his face was so close to that shapely bosom he didn’t really care.

Astrid was the type to sleep hugging a pillow, and while Hiccup was certainly more boney than a pillow, he was warm, and he offered that comforting feeling that you can only receive from touch. And as a bonus, Hiccup had elected to go without a shirt, making the skin to skin touch even more intense. 

“At the risk of getting myself punched…” Hiccup began.

“Hmm?”

“What was your plan for your wedding night with Snotlout? I can’t imagine you were going in unprepared.” 

She laughed, and didn’t punch him like he feared. “Why would you ask that?”

“Curiosity.” 

“Well…I had a really really bad plan.”

“Oh?”

“Yep. I was going to barricade myself in the bedroom, using heavy furniture to block the door, and then I was going to sneak out my window, grab my emergency bag I had packed, and take off into the woods to escape from Berk on Stormfly.” 

“You were not!”

“I was so! Of course, if the council insisted on escorting me and Snotlout to the bedroom, I would have had to come up with something else. Like, excusing myself to the bathroom and sneaking out the back. Or something like that. Glad I don’t have to worry about it.” 

“And where would you have gone, if you had escaped?”

“Not too far, so you and Toothless could find me. I would stay away long enough to be presumed dead and wait to return until Snotlout took another wife.” 

“So thirty years, at least.” 

“Give or take.” 

He sat up so that he could give her a kiss on the cheek. “Well, I’m glad you’re still here.”

“Had I known eloping was in the cards, I would have asked you to marry me months ago.” 

“What was all that ‘not wanting to label things’ you said in the hayloft?”

“It was true then. I thought I had time to just goof around. I hate being forced into things. If it’s on my own accord to get out of something, I’d do it in a heartbeat.” She hugged him tightly. “Plus, you’re cute.”

He chuckled. “The ultimate trophy husband, hmm?”

“The biggest catch of them all. And when we solve this dragon raid problem, I’ll be the envy of all the village girls!” 

Hiccup smiled at that, but didn’t let his doubts ruin the moment. 

The word ‘when’ kept being passed around, when they should be saying ‘if’. He had been confident when his father asked if he could solve the raids, but it was only in comparison to winning a fight against Snotlout. There was still too much uncertainty for Hiccup to be optimistic.  

—-

They fell asleep at some point. It wasn’t surprising, given how comfortable the bed was and how relaxed they were in each other’s arms. Hiccup awoke the next morning quite uncomfortable, and sweaty. His arm was numb, as Astrid was laying on it. Her face was pressed against his bare chest. Her legs were tangled with his, giving him a weird cramp in his thigh. He didn’t have any pain in his shins though, and couldn’t remember her kicking him at all. 

With his one free hand, he played with her hair, that was half unraveled from her bun. 

This was perfect. 

Astrid woke not long after him, unsticking her face from his chest, and looking up at him with furrowed brows. 

“Morning beautiful,” he said, dreamily. 

“Oh hi,” she responded with a sleepy smile. It seemed she had remembered him, and was rather pleased to wake up with him. 

She untangled her limbs and started to stretch. “How’d you sleep?”

“Good. Better than I thought. But yesterday was kind of exhausting.”

“I slept hard.” She cracked her neck. “It was pretty nice actually.” She sighed and looked over to him. Then her eyes widened and she started laughing.

“What?” He looked himself over. “Bedhead?”

“Your neck!” 

He rubbed the place she had bit him last night. It was sore, as bruises usually were. 

She tried to stifle her laughter, but it came out as little giggles. “You have this red ring where my teeth got you, and then the whole thing is purple!”

“And this is funny to you?”

“I’m so sorry!” She guffawed. 

“I’m starting to think that you aren’t.” 

Astrid only giggled more before pulling him into a warm kiss. 

That made it a little better. Besides, it was like his father said. A scar won in a battle not one with his strength, but his wits. And in the grand scheme of life, he felt like he was winning. 

—-

Once they were dressed and presentable, hickey withstanding, they prepared to go to the Hofferson household for brunch. However, a note had been tacked to their door. 

“Who’s it from?” Asked Astrid. 

“My dad. Says that the news of our wedding finally made it all around town, and people feel jipped that there were no celebrations. Looks like everyones bringing a dish to make a veritable Smörgåsbord up at the Great Hall.”

“We should probably go then, right?”

Hiccup sighed. “I guess.” 

“Don’t worry, I’ll beat up anyone that gives you a hard time.” 

“Thanks. I’ll get the bandages for your knuckles ready when we get back.” 

They weren’t that far from the Great Hall, but they might as well live a mile away. Those that weren’t up at the festivities watched as they passed, and giggled as they did so. 

The Great Hall was thriving. All sorts of merriment and gaiety were in full swing. Some men were sober, some were tipsy, and some had been drinking since dawn. Songs were sung, laughs were had, and everyone seemed fairly jovial. 

Once Hiccup and Astrid entered, several people turned to see who had arrived, and lit up at their appearance. 

“The newlyweds!” Stoick shouted over the crowd. 

Cheers went up, accompanied by wolf whistles. 

“Way to go, lass!” Someone shouted. 

“Finally putting that dragon training to use?” Someone else shouted. 

Hiccup rubbed his neck self-consciously. 

He and Astrid were escorted to a table where the twins and Fishlegs were already seated, then food was brought for them. 

“Thank you,” Hiccup said politely. 

“So…you guys are like, married or whatever?” Said Tuffnut. “That’s crazy. I thought Astrid and Snotlout were betrothed.” 

“They were, doofus,” said Ruffnut. “That’s what Fishlegs was saying earlier?” 

“Oh he did? I wasn’t listening. I was thinking about what color my fire would be if I was a dragon, and what it would smell like. It would be green, and smell like fried oysters.” 

“Uh…yeah,” Hiccup said, not really knowing what Tuff was rambling about. “We accidentally got married yesterday, and Gothi refused to undo it. So, here we are.” 

“Yeah, accident, like we didn’t see the goo goo eyes you two made at each other for like, the last two years.” Said Ruff. “Especially from you, Hiccup. You look like a kitten left out in the rain.” 

“I-I-I do not!” 

“Do to,” said Tuff. “You get all droopy when you see her. Like this!” And Tuff imitated a love sick smile, complete with batting eyes and a slouched posture. 

“I do not!” Hiccup insisted. 

“Actually Hiccup…” Fishlegs tried to argue. 

Suddenly, the last empty spot at the table was filled as Snotlout took a seat. He looked annoyed. 

“Hey Snotlout…?” Hiccup tried to be casual. 

“Ugh, if I have to listen to my dad whine about being humiliated in front of the tribe anymore, I’m going to feed myself to a Monstrous Nightmare! The man is infuriating.” 

“So…you aren’t mad at me?” Hiccup clarified. 

“Oh, I’m mad at you, but I’d rather sit over here than with my family.” 

“You’re just in time then!” Said Ruff. She leaned in conspiratorially. “So, how was it?” 

“How was what?” Hiccup asked, innocently. 

“You know, hiding the pickle?” 

“Making a yak with two backs?” Added Tuff. 

“Gland-to-gland combat?” 

“Ramma jam the slam ham?” 

Each euphemism brought more color to Hiccup’s face. 

“It was great,” Astrid said, cool as a cucumber. “A little nerve wracking at the beginning, but I think we went 3 or 4 times. Right babe?” 

It occurred to Hiccup, after several heart pounding seconds, that she was lying, potentially to make him look good. “Oh. Y-yeah. It was…nice.” 

Ruff laughed so loudly that Astrid missed the stricken looks that crossed the boys’ faces. 

“And she’s still walking? Damn, Astrid’s tougher than I thought.” 

“Man,” said Snotlout under his breath. “Hiccup’s the first one to go to Pound town? Unfair.” 

Hiccup was horribly embarrassed, while Astrid just shook her head with amusement.

“With that out of the way, you looking forward to the fight, Hiccup?” Ruffnut asked with a dangerous smile.

The giddy feeling Hiccup had was snuffed out immediately. “Uh…”

“We’ve been training,” Astrid interjected. “Snotlout might have strength, but Hiccup is very fast and nimble. It could be anyone’s fight.” 

The table, and those around, burst into laughter. 

“Yeah, anyone’s fight…” Hiccup drawled. 

Snotlout smirked. “Speed might be helpful if he could use a dagger or something, but this is hand-to-hand. One punch, and I’ll lay him flat.”

Hiccup had finished his meal at this point, scarfing down everything since he hadn’t eaten dinner. Then he tried to sneak away. 

“Not so fast, son,” said Stoick, grabbing the back of his shirt. 

Hiccup groaned. 

Stoick lifted him to stand at the edge of the fireplace, where everyone could see. Then called the crowd to attention. 

“My friends and family. I’d like to thank all of you for coming to this celebration of my son’s marriage to Astrid Hofferson.” 

There were a handful of cheers. 

“Because of the circumstances of the marriage, a formal, traditional ceremony will be happening in the future. You will all have your week-long festival.” 

More enthused cheers. 

“Furthermore, in two weeks time, Snotlout and Hiccup have agreed to have a fight to settle the matter of honor. Hand-to-hand, no armor or weapons.” 

“Why wait to have the wedding after the fight? The lad can’t get married if he’s dead, Stoick!” Someone shouted. 

Hiccup paled considerably. 

“Now now, the fight isn’t to the death,” Stoick insisted. “But it is a fight nonetheless. These are the terms that the Jorgensons, Hoffersons, and Haddocks have agreed on. So once it’s over, regardless of the winner, I don’t want to hear anymore about it. Gothi has blessed and ordained the marriage, and there’s nothing more to do about it.” 

Glancing over the crowd, Hiccup noted that most people were just happy to be partying right now, and the promise of more partying and entertainment. 

Only Spitelout was fuming and glaring in the corner.

[lovelyfanatical]

I Get a Sugar Rush Whenever I'm With You - Chapter 5.4

Happy long weekend fellow Drukkari stans, or whatever day it is for you! We've reached the end of Desserts Week! If you're not on this chapter yet, I've made a table of contents with each installment, which you can find here! I'm also on AO3, but it's currently only available to registered users to avoid AI sweeping. The group is thinning out, but Druig has had a good week so far. Will he actually win Star Baker? Find out now in the next installment of Drukkari in the Great British Bake Off! (This is how I imagine Druig coming out of the hotel after last time)

The next morning, Druig was still trying to contain his smile. Makkari, the most beautiful woman in the world, thought he was handsome. At the same time, he did everything he could to tame the butterflies that that thought was giving him. After all, Makkari was right: he might have a chance at Star Baker that week, but he wouldn’t get it if he lost focus. Even so, after they greeted each other and were standing side-by-side with their friends in front of the hotel, he couldn’t resist giving her shoulder a gentle bump when no one was looking. She immediately bumped him back in a firm but still playful manner.

As for the rest of the day, Druig did his best to simply push down the nerves and get on with it. In the end, the showstopper couldn’t have gone better. While he was usually rushing to get things done, making his work messy, he’d given himself enough of a buffer this time that he finished right on time. Tasked with making a fairy tale-themed sculpture cake, he’d made a Beauty and the Beast-inspired castle, going all out with the decoration. Half of the castle was in ruin, representing the beast, while the other half was overgrown with flowers, representing beauty. Druig was proud of himself and his work, but he was still surprised when Arishem reached out his hand for a handshake.

While he and the others waited for the judges to deliberate, Druig found himself being bombarded with pre-emptive congratulations. Gilgamesh greeted him with a clap on the back. Ajak was beaming with pride. Sersi had complemented his piping skills before going to comfort Dane, who hadn’t quite finished his Green Knight cake before judgment time. To add insult to injury, the judges had found his cake rather dense and a bit bland. He had taken it gracefully, and with cameras in the waiting area, he was still holding it together pretty well. Even so, Druig saw the mask slip momentarily when Sersi covered his hand with her own. When Makkari saw them, she sighed and said, If he’s out, I’m really going to miss watching them together.

Detective Makkari, still out of cases? he asked.

Yes, but I still like to keep tabs on the old ones, she answered with a sly grin.

Makkari was sitting next to Druig when the hosts announced that he had won Star Baker. She immediately reached over to hug him, and despite being aware that the others were applauding and cheering, all he could think about was Makkari’s arms around him and how she smelled like cinnamon. It was a brief moment, but it still left him in a bit of a daze.

Sadly, Makkari had also been right about Dane. He was still taking it like a champ, even when Gil initiated a group hug. Once they’d all wrapped their interviews and were heading back to the hotel, however, Druig could see that his eyes were a little red and he seemed quite somber. He did perk up a bit during the shuttle ride when Sersi leaned her head on his shoulder. When he pointed it out to Makkari, he thought she might spontaneously combust from excitement. She was still talking about it on the train ride home.

Do you think he’s asked her out already? she asked, practically jumping up and down in her seat.

I dunno, maybe, he replied, unable to hide his smile. Makkari’s joy could be contagious.

I mean, he may need a couple of days after this, plus the whole jealousy thing, she continued.

I still can’t believe that happened, he added.

Well, Sersi looks like Sersi. I’m actually a bit surprised Dane doesn’t seem to have any competition besides Ikaris.

He certainly doesn’t have any competition from me.

You really never thought of her that way, Druig?

No. I mean, don’t get me wrong. She’s gorgeous, but after talking to her for a minute, she just kind of felt like a sister to me.

Same here.

Our first conversation was so awkward anyway.

Really? Makkari had raised an eyebrow at him, and Druig got the feeling his next answer would be carefully scrutinized.

Yeah. She was just asking me for my macaron recipe, but it was still early in the competition, and I wasn’t expecting it. I didn’t say anything at first.

Wow, and she still said yes to dinner?

I recovered fairly quickly, thank you very much. But yeah, I was surprised she even wanted to come. Although, I did emphasize that it was a group dinner.

Ah, so she knew wouldn’t have to talk to just you. Coming from someone else, Druig might’ve been offended, but Makkari’s eyes were filled with mirth.

Exactly, he signed emphatically.

Speaking of recipes, she said, her eyes gaining a mischievous twinkle, I think I need that Mexican hot chocolate éclair recipe.

I already gave Ajak the paper copy. She called dibs.

I know, which was very rude of her when I’m the one with the craving, she signed indignantly, but the twinkle was still there. You know, you could make it up to me by making me my own batch.

Druig felt his eyebrows shoot up. Oh, really?

I’m serious, I don’t think I can go without them for much longer, she signed, trying to contain her smile. I can buy the ingredients and bring them over and everything!

So, you want the recipe, but you also still want me to make them.

It would be my first time making them, so they probably wouldn’t come out the same! Pleeeease? she pleaded, dragging out the sign as long as she could.

Druig sighed, making a show of his contemplation, but he already knew what his answer would be. With exaggerated reluctance, he answered, Okay, I’ll do it.

Makkari fist-pumped in celebration, causing him to chuckle. She was still thanking him as they pulled into their station. As they got off and said their goodbyes, she signed, Text me when is a good time for you!

I will, he replied. They said their goodbyes, and it was only when she was walking away that Druig even realized the full implications of what he’d agreed to: Had Makkari just invited herself over to his place?

-

Poor Dane, he had a rough week. As usual, likes, comments, and reblogs would be much appreciated! Let me know what you think!

Part 18

[stevenbasic]

Growing into the Job, Post 387: Another Favor

I am mentally stable. I am mentally stable, calm and cool and collected, any time I want to be. I am strong and ready for change. I am in control of myself and the world around me. Despite all this crappp I am not going to freak out. Shhhhh. The power to be better is in my hands. My emotional strength is matched only by my physical strength and I am haha really really strongggg

I stared into the bathroom mirror of the staff bathroom with the best smile I could manage and what I hoped wasn’t a super-crazy look in my eyes. I could feel the ceramic of the counter top threatening to give way under my finger tips and saw the mirror haha shaking from the authority in my voice as I said my affirmation. I took a long, slow, deep breath. Yes, I was strong. I…me! I was in control.

Okay haha enough of that! I need to talk to Marisela before she leaves. I stepped out of the bathroom with the paper I needed. 

Mmm…But actually I am actually really, really proud of myself for not being too upset right now. I mean haha - look at the day I’ve had! The photoshoot stuff was cool this morning (I’m sooo excited to be a TV star haha) but then the lawyers? Ack. They tried to take him away! What the actual F. Are there more of them? Should I look? What would I do if I found them? And then - then! - the girls showed me that security video? The one that showed it was Cici - one of my own girls! - that had trashed his apartment? Ack ack ack!! If I hadn’t been able to center myself with these breathing exercises, these manifestations, I may have haha just she-hulked out right there in the breakroom where they showed it to me. I’m so glad Lakshmi had taken him away to keep him busy, brought him along with her to see some patients. I wouldn’t have wanted him to see my reaction (I didn’t really like that soda machine anyway, I’ll buy us a new one) or know that it was…what was her name?…Cici that did that.  <clack clack clack> My heels echoed loudly through the hallways. I wanted everyone to hear.

Was I angry? I mean, yeah, maybe a little. Both with, uh, Cici and with what happened with those lawyer guys. But I knew what I had to do, had a plan. And hah I didn’t think he’d mind. I liked how it felt, you in my blouse, earlier. Didn’t you? The closer u are the stronger I feel. This’ll let me be really strong. 

I could make it happen, I knew it. I turned the corner as I thought of his little head, buttoned up in my top. Nnngh! Haha we could be even more. It might take some time, and he might need a little convincing, but omigod yes. Yes yes. I needed to keep him safe and I figured what better way than to-

Haha shush, Missy. You have to find that girl. Cici, right? Or Cynthia? Why can I not picture her face? Anyway. Let’s take care of these lawyers first. I had an idea, was headed to who I needed to ask for help. I had the paper. 

<<clack clack clack>>. Thunder cracks through the halls, really loud. The office was otherwise quiet. There were only a few girls left, mostly cleaning up the rooms, and he was somewhere with them. I bet you hear me. Does it make your heart race? Do you get a little nervous? Good. 

Marisela, thankfully, was still at her desk. 

“Hey Melissa.”

“Hey sweetie,” I replied, appearing calm. Marisela had her own little corner in the main office where we let her do her work. She’s really smart. I looked over her shoulder. She had one of her graphic-design programs opened up. “Are you working on the-?“

“Yeah,” she replied, swiveling to me in her chair. Aww she was just so pretty. Her straight black hair was done really nice today, probably for our little company photoshoot. “I just started on it.” She opened up a window for me, but then turned back, finished looking at the screen

“Ooo! looks cool. Hey, listen, I'm just about ready to take him home for the night. Would you mind closing up?” Still proud of myself for not acting crazy. But I could only hold it in for so long. 

“Of course sure yeah,” she replied, “Lakshmi and Josie and I are going ax-throwing. Wanna come?”

“Fun but no,” I answered, “I have something to do at home.” Him. 

Marisela's eyes flittered as she noticed the yellow paper I had in my hand. I’d tried not to crinkle it too much. Her smile crooked as she eyed it. 

 “Let me guess, you have another favor.”

I giggled, and maybe did sound a little crazy. “I do,” I said, handing the paper out to her. She took it, glanced down at it, noticing the signatures and names and all the legal words. They’d dropped it, left it behind. “These people tried to take him,” I said, my voice changing. I felt it, it got deeper. It might have been my imagination but I think the room dimmed. “I want you to help me. Can you do something about this?”

Marisela brought the paper closer to her face. She sniffed it, drawing in a deep breath. Suddenly her eyes widened, and a dark smile that showed a lot of teeth - two of them getting really sharp -  broke her face. Those big brightly pretty eyes flashed. She had fangs. 

“You know what I want?” I asked. She had their scent. 

“Absolutely...”

=============================================

[kathbunny]

Kyana & Dani - Highschool AU - Studying Together :)

Just a generic high school au - I made Kyana learn math.

I did actual math for this, be proud of me.

 “You’re good at math, right?” Kyana asked, setting her chin down on Dani’s desk, all the way stretched out to reach it without leaving her chair.

 “Yes.” Dani raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

 “Can you help me study for the test?” Kyana smiled at Dani, who just frowned back.

 “No.” Dani replied flatly, pulling her backpack over her chair and starting to put books away.

 “Aw, come on.. Please!” Kyana pleaded.

 “Nope.” Dani said, zipping up her backpack.

-

 “So, do you remember what you’re supposed to do for this kind of problem?” Dani asked with a sigh, pointing at the twelfth problem she had written.

 Kyana read through it with a hum. “For that first part.. that’s the ‘X’ times itself 3 times, right?”

 “Yep.” Dani said, doodling circles on the side of the paper as Kyana kept talking.

 “We’re supposed to be finding the ‘X’?” Kyana asked.

 “Yep.” Dani repeated.

  Kyana leaned over the paper, starting to solve the problem on the paper without asking anything. “Oh, its just 6!” Kyana said, sounding surprised somehow. 

 Dani nodded, still doodling circles. “Good job, let’s try a more complicated problem then. Just skip a few ahead.” Dani didn’t really even look over, very bored. 

 “Okay!” Kyana smiled, skipping three problems ahead. “The one with the ‘X’ on both sides?”

 “Yup.” Dani was already halfway through her cats. 

 Kyana started to solve it, only freeze when she was almost done. “Dani, I ended up with 1, which needs to be divided by 6..?”

 “Just put it as a fraction.” Dani shrugged, surrounding her cats with fire and giving them little eyebrows now, making them look like they caused the flames.

 “My math teacher doesn’t let us use fractions, only decimals.”

 “Do you not remember how to do decimals?”

 Kyana gave a vague shrug. “I always mess up on a it a little.”

 “How do you mess up?” Dani looked up at Kyana, no longer doodling her fire and cats.

 “I put the decimals in the wrong place a lot.”

 “How?” Dani asked.

 Kyana shrugged. “I just don’t think about it too much.”

 “That explains everything about you.” Dani chuckled.

 “Hey! That’s mean!”

 “Just try this one, round it up and stuff.” Dani started twirling her pen. 

 “I can do this kind pretty easily, I won’t mess up on two tiny numbers. I’m just saying for bigger ones.”

 “Okay, that makes more sense.”

-

 “Hey, Dani..” Kyana said, poking at Dani at the end of class at the end of the week.

 “Oh no..” Dani said sarcastically, looking over at Kyana.

 “I passed my test!”

 “Okay? Good job. Do you want a cookie or something?”

 “Wanna go for ice cream with me and my foster dad? He said he’d pay for your ice cream since you helped me study!”

 Dani got noticeably excited, but pushed it down. “I’ll have to ask Uncle Oto first.”

 “Aww..” Kyana pouted.

 Dani gave Kyana an awkward shoulder pat. “He’s unlikely to care. See you later, Kyana.”

 “Hopefully for ice cream!”

 “Hopefully for ice cream.”

[lightwise]

Buckle up. Random ask rampage comin your way! 😜 What’s your favorite thing you’ve ever created here and why? 🤓

@freesia-writes Well hello hello my dear friend! It’s good to hear from you 🤗

So, true to form, even though I haven’t created a ton of things on here, I had a hard time picking just one. So here’s my top three:

Sharp Edges (nsfw)

Okay I’m sure you weren’t angling to be included in this but I mean, come on 😉 this fic was a labor of love for both of us and so much freaking fun to create. I loved exploring Crosshair’s character and creating a strong and sensitive Reader who grew to love all of our boys so well.

There is Something to be Said for Freedom

This is maybe my favorite analysis of TBB that I’ve made so far. My heart was so full after episode 14 of TBB season 2 and the resulting character development that Crosshair went through is some of the most beautiful work in animation and voice acting I’ve seen in awhile.

This Is It For Me (in progress, nsfw)

I haven’t broadcast this yet but I am working on a Hunter x Reader one-shot that I’m actually becoming pretty proud of. I’ve developed a good backstory for the reader and am really excited for you all to get to know her (though she isn’t really a full blown OC yet). There’s some poetic descriptions and heartfelt emotions being let out, and yes, there will be smut 👀 I’m about 2/3 of the way through writing it so be on the lookout!

How about you??? What are your favorites you’ve written besides our multi-chapter epic? 😜

[alifeasvivid]

The Floor is Lava, a ukus rom-com, Chapter 4

Chapter Rating: T Warnings: none Summary: Alfred and Arthur officially start working together. Word count: ~7100 (yes you read that correctly >.> ...)

Read here on AO3.

On Monday morning, Alfred is pulling on his boots just off to the side of the front door when Matthew suddenly looms over him, making him jump. “Jesus, Mattie. What?”

“You said you were gonna wear scent patches.” Matthew says, a whiny edge to his voice.

Alfred’s brow furrows and he breathes in deeply to keep himself from getting angry. “I said I would consider it. I considered it. I don’t want to, so I’m not going to.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to, I don’t need a reason other than that,” Alfred snaps. If alphas and betas don’t typically wear them, why should he? “Hey, you know what would make you actually supportive to omegas? Respecting our autonomy and independence.”

Matthew looks abashed. “I know, I’m sorry,” he mumbles. 

Alfred tugs the laces tightly on his boots, stands up, and sighs. He hugs his little brother, who has been taller than him for almost a year now, squeezing him tight. “It’s not like we still live in caves, you know. Most alphas are just like you and dad, almost as civilized as the rest of us,” he teases.

“Ha,” Matthew says sarcastically. “That’s funny. You’re so funny. I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you. I don’t want you to get hurt anymore.”

Alfred ruffles Matthews hair, having to reach up a little to do it. “Mr. Kirkland is a client. That’s it. Dad says he’s cool, he’s got a cute little girl and everything. He’s definitely more progressive and open-minded than any of the alphas on Dad’s crew and you know they’re good guys, so I’ll be just fine.”

Matthew squeezes Alfred in return. “Yeah, okay fine.”

“Shouldn’t you be getting to class? I thought your Monday class has that beta girl you like in it.”

Matthew turns bright red and covers his face with his hands. “I think I messed up. I think I scared her.”

Alfred raises an eyebrow as he slings his bag over his shoulder. He has only met some of Matthew’s university friends one time and Kateryna isn’t one of them, but Matthew gets pretty moon-eyed whenever he talks about her, which is often, so at this point, Alfred has a decent grasp on her character. “She doesn’t seem like the type who scares easily, but if you think you messed up, just talk to her about it.”

Matthew pouts. “Fine, but mind your own business.”

Alfred outright laughs. “Oh that’s rich, coming from you. I gotta go, I definitely don’t want to be late. Just get over yourself and ask her out! Careful though, I’m not ready to be an auntie just yet.” He closes the door on an indignant and sputtering Matthew. 

He takes deep breaths outside. Checking the time, he hurries off. He has to make a good impression, to show that Mr. Kirkland’s faith in him is not misplaced which means this project has to go perfectly.

Arthur is putting the groceries away when the knock sounds at the door. He had gone shopping after taking Charlotte to school, hoping to diffuse some of the excited energy that he had picked up from her. Considering how fast she had been vibrating, Arthur is proud that she was able to at least be on good behavior and he had told her so.

She did, however, make him promise several times that she would be able to see Alfred after school. 

Arthur places the milk in the refrigerator quickly before heading toward the door. “Coming,” he calls out. He opens the door to see Alfred standing there, laden with a few large canvas bags and a backpack.

“Hi Mr. Kirkland!” Alfred grins brightly. All the way there, he had been stressing himself out about doing a good job, but seeing Mr. Kirkland with that stunned look he seems to have whenever he opens the door puts him at ease. 

“Good afternoon, Alfred,” Arthur says. Alfred readjusts the bags, lifting them again. “Ah, here, let me help you with those.” 

“Oh? These?” Alfred asks as he steps breezily over the threshold. “Don’t worry, Mr. Kirkland, I got ‘em.” Alfred could almost chuckle, it’s clear that the alpha had taken steps to restrain his scent this time and rather than being overwhelmed, Alfred feels much more comfortable. “Where do you wanna set up shop?”

“Ah, the kitchen is fine,” Arthur says. “And please call me Arthur.”

The casual way he says it shouldn’t send a jolt up Alfred’s spine, but it does. “Sure thing, Mr. K—uh. Arthur.” Alfred sets all of his materials down by the kitchen table and begins carefully laying them out, as well as opening his laptop. The CAD program always takes several minutes to boot up. 

Arthur watches Alfred only a moment before turning to put the kettle on. “Would you care for something to drink?” he asks. Alfred seems slightly on edge and Arthur knows that it’s likely not his fault per se; he remembers that this is Alfred’s first time managing a project on his own.

“Um. No thanks, I’ve got my water bottle.” Alfred leans over the computer to type in the password.

“Alright. If you change your mind, I’m making some tea and you’re welcome to it.”

Alfred’s nose crinkles and his eyebrows furrow slightly. “Leaf water. Gross,” he mutters reflexively before realizing he said it out loud. He instantly bites his lip hard and looks up at Arthur, eyes wide. “I mean— I’m so sorry,” he says.

Arthur laughs and suddenly the instinctive tension he had felt due to the proximity of an attractive, unmated omega is gone and there’s air to breathe again. “No need to apologize,” he says. “You’re certainly not the first person I’ve heard say that since I moved here.”

The kettle whistles before Alfred can say anything and he watches Arthur pour his tea. It’s calming somehow. “Yeah, coffee is my drug of choice, but you can’t have heard it that many times. You only just moved here, didn’t you?”

Arthur shakes his head and sits down at the table. He glances briefly at all of the books spread out over it. The staggering number of options makes his eyes hurt. “Ah, no. I mean, I’ve only just bought the house, yes, but I’ve lived on this side of the pond, so to speak, since before Charlotte was born.” He takes a sip of tea and then examines a binder of flooring samples. “Bloody hell, this looks like an awful lot…”

Alfred sits down next to Arthur and grins. “Don’t worry, I’m gonna help you go through all of it, this is the really fun part for me.” He checks to see if the computer has finished booting up and is thankful that it has. “Oh, so my dad did say that you’re wanting to build an addition to the house? I’m guessing a garage?”

Arthur nods. Anticipation builds since this is the big challenge he hopes Alfred and his company can take on. “An addition yes, but not a garage. I am hoping that the study can be built out and converted into a recording studio.”

Alfred contemplates that from a purely logistical standpoint for a moment. He pulls up the blueprints of the house in the cad/cam program and focuses on the area where the study is. “Hmm. Yeah, that will definitely work in terms of building it out, depending on how big you need it. You’ll need, like, soundproofing and stuff, right?”

Arthur nods, getting more excited about the project that has been on his mind for ages now. “Yes. It will need to be large enough for a live room with an upright piano and full drum kit, an isolation booth, machine room and control room and—” he stops when he notices Alfred is furiously typing. “Am I going too fast?”

Alfred beams. “Nah, you’re good, I’m just making notes. I don’t think we’ve ever built a recording studio before. I’ll ask Dad about it, but I’m betting it’s totally doable. You’re far enough from your neighbors that permitting shouldn’t be an issue.”

Arthur smiles back and takes a sip of his tea. He’s impressed that Alfred already seems to know so much about the house that he can recall such zoning details off the top of his head. “Excellent.”

Alfred finishes typing some notes and pulls up the blueprints of the house again. “That’s a pretty ambitious addition to a house,” he says, trying to sound casual while dying to know what Arthur could possibly need one for, particularly on his house. He had seen the instruments when Charlotte took him through the house during the inspection, but he hadn’t gotten the impression that Arthur is some kind of famous musician. His dad probably would have mentioned something like that.

Arthur laughs. “Yes, I suppose it is, but I am a producer and songwriter, so I know I’ll make good use of it.”

Alfred suddenly remembers what Charlotte had told him, not to mention the instruments in her room. “Oh! Right! Charlotte did tell me you write music.That’s really cool. Do you work with any famous people?” He blushes and feels silly immediately after he says it. He’s supposed to be professional, damn it!

Arthur merely smiles indulgently as that is almost always the first question people ask upon learning what he does. “Not especially. I work with a fair few local artists and bands, but I don’t work for a label, so most of the people I work with are also independent. None of them are exactly mega stars.” Arthur resists the urge to try and impress Alfred by remarking that many of the people he works with are omegas.

“Ah okay. Nice,” Alfred says. Arthur’s relaxed, but intense presence makes more sense now, very fitting for a musician. “Are you in a band?” he asks after a moment.

“Ha! No, not for quite some time,” Arthur replies. Not since before Charlotte was born, actually. “But I fill in as a studio musician if necessary, so I still have plenty of opportunities to play.”

“Sounds really cool,” Alfred says.

Arthur takes another sip of tea. “I do know it’s ambitious, but I want to be able to do my work from home. Sessions can run long and I want to be here for Charlotte,” he says, hoping this emphasizes the importance of the project.

Alfred feels the conviction in Arthur’s voice. It’s obvious that Arthur lives for his little girl and Alfred’s heart turns gooey over it once more. “Yeah, for sure.” He bites back on telling Arthur what a good father he is again. “I know we can get it done, so don’t worry about that. We’ve got good contacts with all the best suppliers, so it’ll just be a matter of figuring out exactly how you want it.”

Alfred’s casual confidence reassures Arthur. “If it will help at all, you’re welcome to visit the studio I’m currently using,” he offers. “The set up there can give you a good idea.” The way Alfred’s eyes sparkle with excitement is so delightfully pleasing that Arthur can’t help but wonder at how he doesn’t have an alpha already wrapped around his little finger.

“Wow! Yeah, that would be awesome! I mean,” Alfred grins sheepishly. “It would be very helpful, and very awesome.”

Cute, Arthur melts and takes another sip of tea. “Good. When you’re ready, give me a time frame and we can plan on a time and date.”

Alfred’s insides squirm at the idea of a date with Arthur… which such a visit will absolutely not be. Professional. He has to do a good job on this. “I definitely will. In the meantime, we can work on the rest of the house,” he says, settling into his neutral, customer-facing frame of mind. “Obviously, some things like flooring usually go through multiple parts of the house, but other than that, I prefer to do it room by room. Though, if you’d rather do it a different way, that’s totally fine.”

Arthur shakes his head, following Alfred’s lead in getting down to business. “No, I think room by room is perfect. You’re the expert after all.”

Alfred beams at him again. “Great, so I’m just gonna go through samples with you and I’ve got the blueprints of the house uploaded so I can mock things up in CAD. Once you kinda have some ideas about what you want, I’ll bring bigger samples and any paint; then we can actually go through the house. So first thing’s first. Exterior paint.”

Arthur hums. “I was thinking dark greys and black.”

Alfred blinks at him and then laughs. “For real?” he asks, smiling when Arthur nods with a mischievously sincere glint in his eyes. “Oh, hell yeah, let’s do it up. I love it when people do crazy paint jobs on old Victorians.”

“I do want it to stand out,” Arthur affirms with a chuckle. "I know eventually, hopefully not for a long time, but eventually I’ll move out of here, after Charlotte is grown most likely, and I want to be able to turn the place into a kind of music school or conservatory.”

Alfred nods while leafing through the exterior paint book for the appropriate color range. “That’s awesome. I’m sure we’ll be glad to help you with that too, when the time comes,” he says in a customer service way and then slides the book over to Arthur. “Okay, so take a look at these let me know which ones you think you like and I can mock them up on the computer.”

After deciding on a few dark greys, a muted indigo for accents, and a nearly-black charcoal for the main portions of the exterior, they move onto flooring.

Alfred quickly realizes that money is not one of Arthur’s main concerns, something that had also been obvious from the fact that he is able to hire a contractor to renovate his entire house at all once. But Arthur’s choices indicate he has rather rich taste in general, though Alfred sincerely hopes that Arthur isn’t simply trying to show off as some alphas do, sometimes without even realizing it. Arthur doesn’t fight him when he makes suggestions about using less expensive options if he thinks they’re comparable or better quality, however, so that’s a good sign.

Best of all, as it turns out, Alfred had been right: Arthur is an excellent client. 

For his part, Arthur is very impressed by not only Alfred’s competence, but the easy confidence that comes with knowledge and experience. Remembering what Brandon had said about Alfred’s advancement in the company and the difficulty of finding a client willing to work with him, Arthur is genuinely irritated on his behalf. He himself works with many omegas who have otherwise been turned away or dismissed by other producers, so he is very aware of the unfortunate phenomenon. He is glad to be the one giving Alfred the chance he has so clearly earned, even if he should have had that chance long before now. 

After covering as much of the first floor as possible, Arthur insists on a break. “I like to take afternoon tea on the porch on days like this,” he says as he prepares himself a very light sandwich. “You’re welcome to join me, of course,” he adds. He’s about to ask if Alfred would like something to eat, but the omega is already pulling out a small plastic container from his backpack.

“That’d be great. Fresh air is never a bad thing,” Alfred agrees with a smile. 

Outside, Arthur sits in his usual spot at the top of the stairs and Alfred sits two steps below. Alfred does consider that it might still be too close, but the staircase is wide and Arthur makes him feel very at ease and they are outside, after all.

“This is a really nice neighborhood,” Alfred remarks between bites.

Arthur hums, “Yes, I got very lucky, I think, though the house is a touch farther from the studio I’m currently using than I would like, but with your help, hopefully that won’t be an issue for much longer.”

Alfred grins. “Nope!” He looks over the porch, which he had done the inspection on before, noting the aging paint. The wood, however, is in decent condition. Then his gaze lands on Arthur, who had apparently been looking at him. “Um. So did you study music in college or something?”

Arthur sips his tea and gives a slight shake of his head. “No, I had a few lessons growing up, but I never made it to university, actually.” He can’t help but smile to himself.

“Yeah?” Alfred asks, “what did you do instead?”

“Well, it was a daft thing to do, but when I was seventeen, I ran away from home and moved here to join a punk rock band after I got to know one of the members online.” He laughs when Alfred’s eyes widen. “Yes, I know I might seem quite posh now, but I’m really not as boring as I look.”

Alfred blushes and coughs, nearly choking on his food. Posh and boring are some of the last words he’d use to describe Arthur. “No! no, I just… wow, you know? That took a lotta guts.” He clears his throat. “But you’re not in a band now?”

“That’s right; not since before Charlotte was born. We gave it our all, for almost two years, but it didn’t work out, as it often doesn’t. I can’t say I regret it though. The experience was very valuable and if I hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t have met Austen, ah, that is, Charlotte’s mum.”

The casual way Arthur mentions it surprises Alfred a bit. “Ch-Charlotte mentioned that she had passed away, it’s gotta be hard on you guys.”

Arthur nods absently. “I certainly wish she were here now, she was my best friend and I miss her terribly. I know she would have made a great mum, but Charlotte and I have always been just the two of us, since she was born. Being in the position I’m in, an alpha with a child but never mated… I’m told it’s odd, but it’s all she and I know.” 

Alfred’s heart wobbles. There’s some sadness in Arthur’s scent, but it’s not grief; it’s definitely not the same sort of pungent, musty basement scent his dad has from time to time, the scent of someone mourning their mate. “I guess that might make it a little easier, huh? Mom died when I was fourteen and since then, it’s just been Dad and Mattie and me. It’s, uh, well it left a gap, you know?” He wants to say more because Arthur makes him feel so safe, but it would be very unprofessional.

Arthur isn’t completely caught off guard by this, he had noticed that scent on Brandon Jones once, but it had been so brief that he dismissed it. “I’m very sorry to hear that, Alfred. I do imagine that would be very hard on all three of you.” He stops himself from reaching out to Alfred, but all of his instincts are alerting him to the omega in need of comfort and they are not easy to ignore.

Sensing the shift in Arthur’s energy, though not knowing the cause, Alfred quickly mentally readjusts himself. He’s here to do a job, not tell his life story. “It was tough at first, but if you love someone, they’re never really gone, right? Dad really kept it together and we’re all super close, and that’s what counts, you know?”

Arthur’s instincts quiet down as the path to soothing Alfred becomes clear: change the subject. “That’s true. Your father has a lot of confidence in you and I think all of it is well-earned. I’m certain it’s the same for your brother.”

Alfred blushes and laughs. “Thanks. Yeah, Mattie’s a good kid. He’s only eighteen, but he’s an alpha, so he thinks he knows better than everyone about everything,” he complains, but with a big grin. “Uh, no offense, of course,” he adds sheepishly.

“None taken,” Arthur chuckles “I thought I knew better than everyone at that age also, but then Charlotte was born and I realized quite quickly that I knew fuck all. But now I’m older and I only think I know better than most people,” he teases.  “… wait, you were only eighteen when Charlotte was born?” Alfred had already guessed that Arthur would have had to be very young, but he hadn’t thought it would be that young.

“Well, nineteen actually, but I believe my point still stands.” Arthur gathers up his dishes. “Shall we get back to it, then?”

“Um, yeah,” Alfred replies absently, following Arthur back inside. Nineteen. Alfred thinks of the alphas he knew in college, he can’t imagine any of them… any of the alphas he knows, really, stepping up the way Arthur did. He can’t imagine any of them raising such a cute, precocious daughter on their own.

“Would you like me to wash your container for you?” Arthur asks when they reach the kitchen. Something is running amok in Alfred’s scent and, along with the omega’s distant expression, it has Arthur mildly concerned. Even so, he runs the water and washes his own dishes.

“Uh, no, I still have some left. Thank you, though,” Alfred says, quickly shoving his container into his backpack. Alfred’s previous comparison of Arthur to the leads in romance novels and movies seems more apt than ever. He is slender compared to most of the alphas Alfred knows, but still strong and so handsome and he’s an amazing father. He must be incredibly devoted to Charlotte and his work or else he would definitely, easily have a mate—any omega whom he so much as glanced at would be willing. He’s the kind of alpha that many omegas secretly dream about, but are too ‘sensible’ to admit it out loud… and Alfred counts himself as one of them.

Alfred blushes. Biology makes his feelings difficult to ignore, but Matthew would say that he should know better by now. And Alfred concedes that he should.

“Are you alright?” Arthur asks. He worries that he has said or done something to offend the omega, but he cannot think of anything that would have done so.

Alfred snaps back to the moment. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good, just got a little lost in thought.” He sits back down at the table. “Let’s get back into it.”

They continue on for awhile, their discussion meandering around the house. Alfred reels himself back into some semblance of professionalism. Alfred continually reminds Arthur that there is no pressure for him to make any decisions right that minute since it’s only the first day and it’s a lot to go over. They go over some of the main aspects of the most important rooms: the living room, the bathrooms, the kitchen, and the master suite.

“What about Charlotte’s room?” Alfred asks.

“Ah, I hope you don’t mind. She’ll be home from school soon, I promised that I would let her tell you how she’d like it, though I do know that I want to turn one of the other bedrooms into a music room for her.”

Alfred smiles in that gooey way. “Um, yeah, sure. Of course.” He moves the CAD program past the three bedrooms, thinking about Charlotte and how very outgoing she is, seemingly more so than her father, who seems far more subdued. But then again, he left London at seventeen to join a punk rock band so maybe there is some resemblance. “Her type will probably become apparent soon, right? She’s about that age.”

Arthur nods. “Yes. I’m quite certain she’ll end up as an alpha, given her temperament.”

Alfred hums. “Interesting,” he says mildly.

“You disagree?” Arthur asks, curious.

“Nah, I just always find it interesting, you know? What type parents think their kids will end up as.”

As if on cue, the front door opens just then and Charlotte comes running into the kitchen. Her eyes light up when she sees Alfred. “You’re here!” she exclaims. Charlotte runs over to them, ignoring her father entirely and throwing her arms around Alfred. 

“Charlotte,” Arthur says warningly. “You cannot just run up to someone like that. What have we discussed about boundaries?”

Alfred breathes and then smiles, gently moving her off of himself. From the tone in his voice, it’s clear Arthur is very sincere in his belief that she will turn out to be an alpha. But if there’s one thing Alfred knows about, outside of contracting and architecture, it’s kids. “It’s alright,” he assures both of them. “Your dad and I have been working on a plan to deal with all the lava, but he says that had some ideas that might work for your own room, right?”

“Yeah! Will you come see?”

Alfred glances quickly at Arthur, who says gives the okay and he grabs his computer. “Sure thing!”

Charlotte nods and she finally acknowledges Arthur by kissing him on the cheek, at which point he affectionately tugs her ear. She looks between her daddy and Alfred sitting side by side and beams. To her, it seems to be just right, everything in it’s proper place. She sticks herself to Alfred’s side as she leads him upstairs.

Arthur raises an eyebrow at his daughter who is now nearly plastered to Alfred. She is incredibly outgoing, to be sure, but she is rarely this affectionate with an adult she doesn’t know well and he suspects that she might be misinterpreting Alfred’s role in their house. He vaguely worries that he might be doing the same thing and it leaves his thoughts in turmoil. It’s not as if he doesn’t want a mate, but between Charlotte and his career, dating and courting are easy things to put off for later. Always later. Someone as lovely and kind as Alfred makes him want to seriously reconsider his priorities.

He follows them upstairs, after a moment and can’t help but smile. Alfred certainly has in abundance what both Arthur and Charlotte often lack: patience with others: an excellent quality in any parent. But the omega is very young and clearly ambitious in his own way, so it’s not likely he’d want to have children any time soon. 

Alfred sits on the floor next to Charlotte in her bedroom, with his computer in his lap. He shows her different paint colors and things like that, which will obviously have to be confirmed later with Arthur. Charlotte claims to want a stained glass window with a crystal chandelier and a huge closet that could maybe, probably not, but maybe lead to other worlds. Knowing what he knows now, Alfred is even more impressed by Charlotte than before. She’s very bright and creative and her mind clearly runs at a hundred miles an hour, but she’s also polite and well-spoken. It speaks very well of Arthur, but also, for Alfred, she’s just a cute kid and fun to be around.

Alfred does notice that she and Arthur have the same mischievous gleam behind their eyes. He can definitely see why Arthur thinks she’ll be an alpha too.

They discuss very preliminary, informal plans about a music room/study/playroom for Charlotte before Alfred glances at his watch. “Oh jeez, it’s getting late. I should probably start packing up.”

“Aw,” Charlotte pouts. Arthur can’t help but (silently) echo the sentiment. 

Alfred closes his laptop, stands up, and grins down at her. “You just want me to stay ‘cause you got homework to do, I bet.”

Charlotte’s eyes dart to the side for a moment, then she hops up and grins abashedly. “That’s not the only reason!” she insists.

Arthur tugs her ear and gives her a serious look. “Charlotte, you promised me that you would be respectful of Alfred’s time.” He wants Alfred to leave exactly as much as he wants him to stay, knowing that the former is what’s best. 

“Yes, I know,” she agrees quietly.

Alfred frowns and bites his lip for a moment. In Alfred’s imagination, Arthur and Charlotte are like their own little island: a bit out of step with the rest of the world, a little lonely. Charlotte, obviously, wants to reach out, wants to let other people in. “Hey, Charlotte, don’t even worry about it. I really liked hearing all your ideas. Kids have the most awesome ideas that a lot of grown ups forget how to have. But you gotta do your homework, okay?”

Charlotte brightens. “Okay!” She darts past Arthur and hops down the stairs.

“Thank you for being so indulgent of her,” Arthur says as they follow her downstairs.

Alfred blinks. “Indulgent? Not really, she’s a good kid. She’s super smart, it’s fun to talk to her. Most kids are really cool if you just give ‘em the chance to say what’s on their mind. I’ve never not had fun hearing about things they come up with, you know?”

“Your father did say that you’re very good with children,” Arthur replies in confirmation.

Alfred turns a little pink. “Uh, yeah, I guess so. Somehow or other, there have always been at least a few of them around; family, neighbors and stuff.”

“So what type do you think sh—?”

“Daddy! What’s for supper?” Charlotte calls from the kitchen. “Did you forget again?”

“Oh, bollocks!” Arthur curses. “Shit.”

Alfred looks over at him and laughs.

“Sorry,” he says, apologizing for swearing. “I completely forgot,” he confesses to Alfred. It’s terribly embarrassing, after Alfred being so complimentary about his parenting skills, to reveal that cobbling together an evening meal each night is honestly a herculean effort. But Charlotte does have to eat. “I suppose I’ll order something then… again,” he mutters.

Alfred taps his thumb rabidly against the laptop in his hands and bites his lip. He knows he should get home. Mattie will have a shit fit if he’s late. Not to mention it’d be rather inappropriate to stay and he knows that, but he can’t, in good conscience, let them eat junk, particularly not Charlotte since she’s growing child.  “Daddy!” Charlotte prompts.

Rather than asking permission, Alfred walks into the kitchen and puts his laptop away. He quickly stacks a few of the books and grins at Charlotte. “Let’s see what we can throw together, yeah?” he says with a wink. He opens a few cabinets, which are light on cookware, but decently stocked with spices. The fridge is quite full as well. For someone who clearly doesn’t know much about cooking, Arthur is very well stocked for it.

Charlotte’s eyes widen. “Are you going to make dinner?” she exclaims, bouncing excitedly.

Arthur wanders into the kitchen, scrolling his phone and trying to find some place that will deliver that also has nutritional value, but then he looks up to see Alfred pulling out his rice cooker and a steak he had had in the refrigerator. Charlotte is positively gleeful. Oh hell. “Ah, Alfred. What are you doing?”

Alfred smiles. “I’m just gonna throw together a quick stir-fry, I hope that’s okay. There will be leftovers so you don’t have to worry about tomorrow.”

“I’d hate for you to be in trouble,” Arthur insists, “This is surely well beyond the scope of a contractor’s job.”

Alfred sets the rice cooker and then begins cutting the steak into strips with ease and precision. “It’s okay, I’m off the clock,” he replies cheerfully, nodding toward the packed up books and laptop.

Charlotte dances around Alfred, watching his every move. Arthur watches his every move too. Alfred is extremely efficient in the kitchen, he notes. Though it’s not a huge surprise, really; if his mum died when he was a teenager, the task of cooking likely fell to him.

Arthur doesn’t have a wok so Alfred makes do with a sauté pan. He uses plenty of vegetables and he laughs when Charlotte leans her head against his arm as he shreds a few carrots.

“No!” she cries, “Don’t put carrots in it, I hate carrots.”

Alfred laughs. “Just trust me, okay? I promise you’ll like it.”

“What if I don’t?” she presses. Alfred is doing something different to them, cutting them into thin strips. Daddy never does that, he just puts them in a pot with water until they’re all soggy.

“Hm… well, if you really don’t like it, you can dump your whole plate on my head, how’s that?”

She doubles over in giggles. “How did you learn to cook?” Charlotte asks. “Does your mummy teach you?”

Alfred pauses briefly. He decides that it’s probably good for Charlotte to know someone who can empathize with her. “She did teach me a lot of things before she passed away,” he says carefully. “She taught me a lot of the fundamentals.”

Charlotte presses against him again. “You mum died too?” she asks. “How did she die?”

“She got very sick,” he explains, “but I have my dad and my little brother and we do things to remember her. Like my younger brother, Matthew, he makes more of her recipes than I do. Lots of cheese and butter and sugar and yummy things.”

“Why didn’t you make something like that? Instead of something with carrots?” 

Alfred chuckles and ruffles her hair a little, though not much since it is still in a French braid. He idly wonders if Arthur had done that or perhaps a friend at school. “Don’t get me wrong, I love all that stuff. My favorite food in the whole world a big, fat cheeseburger, but I try to make sure we all eat healthy, so that we don’t get sick.”

Charlotte’s mouth forms into a little “o” and she nods. “I get it,” she says. “Is your little brother an omega too?” she asks, her mind immediately changing gears.

“Nope, he’s an alpha,” Alfred replies. 

“Is he courting anyone?”

It’s not too surprising that romance occupies much of Charlotte’s brain, given that her father has no mate. “No, he’s only eighteen,” Alfred says. “He better not be courting anyone yet. He just started college, but I know there’s a beta in one of his classes that he likes a lot.”

Arthur stays out of the way and, sitting at the kitchen table, he observes the two of them as if they’re in a television show. It’s almost surreal to see Charlotte so bright and engaged with someone she hardly knows, but Alfred has put her wholly at ease. Arthur himself might be similarly relaxed if not for the fact that Alfred is so beautiful and so kind and that indulging those thoughts is very dangerous.

It seems a shame that Alfred is so keen on working, since he would clearly make an excellent mother. Arthur kicks himself internally. Good work, man, he chides himself, oh so very enlightened. Of course Arthur doesn’t actually think that about omegas and of course Alfred can do both if he wants and of course it’s none of Arthur’s damn business. 

Yet Arthur finds himself as drawn to the omega’s warm, open demeanor as Charlotte is. The kitchen smells wonderful and Alfred deftly works around Charlotte without being the slightest bit bothered by her, and he just seems to belong there. Arthur’s brain shifts into a reverie that is only broken when a plate of colorful stir fry resting on a cushion of white rice is placed in front of him.

“Oh. Thank you, Alfred. This looks delicious.”

Alfred beams, blushing a little, and sets out a plate for Charlotte. He pushes in her chair when she climbs into it and hands her a fork. He then begins packing up the sample books and his computer.

Charlotte readily tucks into her food, her face lighting up. If all of Alfred’s cooking tastes this good, he has to stay forever. “This is so good!” she exclaims.

Alfred smiles as he finishes packing up. “Yeah? Even the carrots?”

Charlotte grins and nods eagerly.

“Told ya,” Alfred says with a wink.

Arthur takes a bite and immediately agrees with Charlotte, “This is quite exceptional, Alfred,” he praises, but then notices that Alfred has not served himself and he appears to be readying himself to leave. “Will—” Arthur pauses. “Will you not join us?” he asks awkwardly.

“Nah, I’m good. I made it for you guys, so there will be plenty of leftovers for tomorrow.” It has gotten late and Alfred feels like if he sits down and eats with them, somehow that would be a step too far. For his heart as much as propriety’s sake. “Matt and my dad will get really worried if I’m not home soon.”

Arthur can certainly understand that. Omegas somehow have the reputation of being the anxious sort, but in Arthur’s experience, alphas are far more fretful in general—often worried in some way or another for the betas and omegas they care about. Alfred’s relaxed personality and attitude prove the point well enough. “Yes, of course,” he says, rising from the table and taking one of Alfred’s tote bags. It’s a fair bit heavier than he expected. “You’ve already done too much for us, I’m very grateful.”

Alfred doesn’t resist when Arthur helps him with his bags. “It’s really no problem at all,” he says and they both quiet as they walk outside to Alfred’s well-loved, old truck. “So I’ll be back tomorrow around the same time and once we’ve got a good handle on most of it, I’ll have my guys come and help you move whatever you need to move. You and Charlotte aren’t staying in the house, right?”

“Right, we’ll be staying with a family friend.” Arthur hands Alfred his bag and watches him throw them into the truck. He notes that Alfred seemingly effortlessly throws them into the cab—the omega is very strong, though Arthur supposes it is no accident.

“Awesome,” Alfred says, turning to Arthur and beaming. Now outside, he realizes just how much Arthur’s scent had been affecting him. A fatigue hits him then, which is not uncommon after spending time around an unmated alpha. The effort of resisting very strong, baser instincts takes its toll. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow then,” Arthur replies and he waits until Alfred has driven off before going back inside. The fresh air does him some good as well.

“Hey, I’m home!” Alfred calls out as he enters the house and kicks off his boots. He braces himself for Matthew’s fury, but he doesn’t seem to be home. Alfred wanders his way into his father’s at-home office, where Brandon is diligently tending to some paperwork. “Hey, Dad.”

“Oh, there you are,” Brandon looks up, smiling. “How did it go?”

“It went great, Mr. Kirkland is really cool and easy to work with. He wants to build a recording studio where the study is. We can totally do that, right? I told him we could.”

“A recording studio? Hmm. We’ve definitely done soundproofing before, with heat rooms and everything. Does he have an idea of the layout?”

Alfred nods. “Yeah, he said I can take a look at the place he’s using now.”

“Good, that’ll help. Let him know it won’t be a problem. And I hope that you staying this late won’t become a problem,” he says warningly. “I know you don’t want me to start sending a chaperone.”

“No! It won’t be, like, a thing, I swear. It just…” Alfred fidgets, brushing the back of one calf with his opposite foot. “Um. We finished at a normal time, but I kinda stayed and made dinner for Mr. Kirkland and his little girl.”

Brandon heaves a sigh. “Alfred. You can’t seriously think that was an appropriate thing to do. Staying late at an unmated alpha’s house, a client’s house to cook for them?”

Alfred’s face grows warm. “I know! But Charlotte was hungry and Arthur didn't have anything made already. We were done working, so I thought it’d be okay…”

Brandon can’t help but shake his head. He knows that Alfred knows better and he also knows that his son would have absolutely done the same for almost any client, so it’s difficult for him to get all that upset. He stands up, walks over, and hugs Alfred tight, rubbing his cheek against the top of his son’s head to place his scent on him—a protective move. “You said you were done working? and it was clear that you were done?”

Alfred nods, leaning into his father and his familiar, naturally comforting scent. “Yeah.”

“Then I suppose you were on your own time, but I would really rather you not do that kind of thing again.”

“Okay… are you going to take me off the project?”

Brandon sighs. “Ordinarily, I would, but we’ve waited quite awhile to have a client willing to work with you, so unless Mr. Kirkland makes a complaint, I won’t.”

After dinner, Arthur cleans up the kitchen while Charlotte sits at the table doing her homework. Alfred has left them enough food for a few suppers at least. When he’s finished, he sits down at the table. 

“Is Alfred coming back tomorrow?” Charlotte asks hopefully.

“Yes, but you’re going home with Luna and Astre tomorrow, remember?” Arthur hates dashing her hopes, but it must be done. Earlier, he had considered letting her come home and see Alfred one more time, but now he realizes what a terrible idea that would be.

“No!” Charlotte exclaims. “I can’t!”

“Oh? Why ever not?”

Charlotte looks down and pokes at her pencil. “Because.”

“Because you like Alfred?” he asks.

She nods without lifting her head.

“Charlotte, you know he’s here to do a job. We’ve already talked about this. He is very kind and I know you had fun with him today, but he’s not here to be our friend, do you understand?” Arthur is keenly aware that he’s talking to himself as much as he is to Charlotte.

She again nods only by pressing her chin against her chest twice. She does understand that Alfred is technically only there to do work on the house, but he and Daddy could definitely fall in love while they’re working, right? Though with how Daddy talks about Alfred, it definitely won’t happen if she’s not there to push them.

Arthur reaches over, tucking a stray strand of Charlotte’s auburn hair behind her ear and takes her hand. “I know it’s hard for you, with Mum being gone. Sometimes, it’s hard for me as well,” he says softly. “But let’s concentrate on one thing at a time, yes? Let’s get the house in proper shape and move onward from there.”

Charlotte curls her hand around his and finally looks up. “Okay,” she says. But one thing at a time? To her, that doesn’t seem very efficient.

[angel-with-paper-wings]

D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate with An Eternity of Bliss?

F: Share a snippet from one of your favourite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

G: Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?

Z: Major character death—do you ever write/read it? Is there a character whose death you can’t tolerate?

Sorry it took me so long to answer this! Thank you for asking!! ❤️

D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate with An Eternity of Bliss?

I’m not a big playlist maker when it comes to my fics, but while writing “An Eternity of Bliss”, I came across the song “Golden Hour” by Jvke (I think it was a TikTok sound at one point). I thought it was really romantic and surprisingly epic for a song made today, and I’ve had it in my head while writing some scenes for AEOB, so I would say that!

F: Share a snippet from one of your favourite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

What a fun question!! This snippet is from Chapter 10 of my first fic, “Live As You’ve Never Lived Before”: 

~

He barely looked at her as he spoke. “I can’t stand by and let them treat you like this. Don’t you want them to stop?”

Christine scowled into his chest. Anger boiled beneath her skin for Carlotta and the others, but in the back of her mind, her father’s voice spoke calmly to her, reminding her of the truth. “I can’t control what they say. And neither can you.” She lifted her head carefully to peer up at the Phantom. He avoided her eye at first, but finally he glanced down at her as she spoke again. “I thought by now, you would’ve realized that. After all the things they’ve said about you—”

Swiftly he turned his head from her again, a rageful glare returning to the visible half of his face. “I don’t care what they say about me,” he spat.

“Yes, you do.” Christine shifted in his arms so her shoulder pressed against his, their eyes level. “If you truly didn’t, you wouldn’t need to wear this.”

Her fingers traced delicately along the inside edge of the mask, so close to his skin that he flinched; he reached up and grasped her wrist, carefully. She could feel his warm breath caress her fingers as they hovered over his face.

“I don’t wear it for them. They don’t have to see me every day.” His voice was pained, as if it physically ached to tell her the truth. “But I do.”

Christine stared at him raptly. Her eyes traveled over every part of his face she could see, but lingered at the edges of the mask. The shadowy border hinted at his full features, and her curious soul longed to see them in the light. “And what if I wanted to see you?” she whispered, not hiding her desire.

The Phantom breathed haltingly as she studied him. His ever-present fear creeped to the forefront of his mind, choking back any words of submission. Instead, he resolved to push her intrigue away once more. “You don’t,” he said finally. “Trust me.”

~

This is actually one of the first scenes I ever wrote for LAYNLB, and I’m proud of it because it turned out exactly as I imagined in my head. It was all about the emotions and the tension between these two—this takes place halfway through my fic, when they already know each other but they don’t know all of each other's secrets yet, so this was a way of teasing their mutual desire to learn more about each other. I tried to focus on what wasn’t being said, describing their actions and the looks on their faces while leaving the dialogue pretty straightforward.

G: Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

I almost always write scenes out of order, starting with the scene that I’m most excited to write! Along with this, I usually write out the dialogue of a scene first and then fill in the actions later, so that’s another way I write scenes kind of “out of order”.

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?

I’m a classic hurt/comfort girlie, it’s just such a satisfying genre to read and write. And obviously I’m partial to canon rewrites, since that’s what I write in my fic 😅 It’s nice to give a happy ending to the characters that deserve it. ❤️

I really love slow burns too, especially when the characters start out as friends and slowly move into something more, because I think it’s a more realistic depiction of a relationship. However, I won’t turn down a good “enemies to friends to lovers” when the situation arises… 😉

Z: Major character death—do you ever write/read it? Is there a character whose death you can’t tolerate?

Ooo, this is tough because I usually LOVE angst, and I’ve definitely read fics in the past that handle this very angsty topic. I’m not so much a fan of it anymore with POTO, because I love all of the major characters so much and don’t want to see any of them die (which btw is one of many reasons why I can’t stand Love Never Dies 😣).

I don’t have any major character death planned for my current WIPs, however that doesn’t mean that minor character death isn’t on the table… 😉

[gayhoediaz]

12 and 29? 🫶🏽

12. how many wips do you have in your docs for next year?

oh, it depends on what we're considering a wip. if we're talking stories that have actually been started, but won't be finished until next year then it's two! one of them is an explicit three chapter story exploring their sexual hang ups, and figuring out the best way to communicate their needs. the other one is a patrick x richie fic that i work on whenever my looking hyperfixation comes back around - it might not even be up in 2023 tbh, we'll see. most of that fandom has moved on, so i'm just writing it for myself. (except for @dickley-buddie who i dragged down the rabbit whole with me this year and i'm very proud of that mwah) i'll post it when it's finished, for sure, but we'll see when that might be. if we're talking planned or outlined wips, then it's a lot more. i'm finally gonna work on that private chef au i promised everyone like six months ago. i haven't forgotten about it, i just want to have enough time to dive into it, because i'm really excited to write it!

29. favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

oh god. i need you to know that once i post a fic, i don't remember anything about it. and i have written a lot this year, so i genuinely have no idea. that being said, i am partial to this entire scene in grow as we go:

“You look very pretty, by the way,” Buck says, eyes wandering over Eddie’s face, and up to his hair, his hand soon following - but Eddie flinches away, putting his own hand up in between them as a barrier. 

“Hey, you’re gonna ruin it - she’s very expensive,” he says, barely getting through the words before they’re both laughing - warm, bright chuckles bouncing around the room. When they start to trail off, Buck bends his arm a little bit more, tugging Eddie closer, as he places his other hand on the side of his face, nudging their noses together. 

“I’m very sorry.” 

“You better be,” Eddie hums, right as Buck grins and goes in for a warm, languid kiss - not too much, just in case they’re interrupted, but certainly more than a peck. He pulls away, only to be tugged back in for another one - and then a third, Eddie’s arm coming to rest around his waist. 

When they part, Buck stays right where he is, leaning his forehead against Eddie’s temple, listening intently to the sigh that leaves his lips. 

“What?” Buck asks quietly; Eddie brings a hand to his hair, resting some of the strands in his palm, looking down at them for a second before he turns to meet Buck’s eyes. 

“You think she’s gonna be mad?” 

“Yes,” Buck says without a single second’s hesitation. “She’s six. She’s gonna be mad at you,” he nods, as he tucks a strand of it behind his ear (making very sure to stay away from the butterfly clips.) It’s long now - really long - past his waist, in fact. Eddie could probably have cut it a little bit at some point, but Buck knows that he would never do that - this was never really about having long hair, as much as it was about not cutting it. Once he cuts it, he’s cutting it. 

Eddie huffs a laugh, teasingly knocking his temple against Buck’s. 

“Maddie can take over your chair, Jee’s getting too old for butterfly clips,” Buck shrugs then, only to have Eddie turn his head, a deep frown line developing in his forehead. 

“Too old for butterfly clips?” he asks, an extremely dramatic look of offense on his face. “Excuse me?” 

Buck tilts his head back with laughter, Eddie’s soon joining in, bouncing against the walls of their happy home. 

ao3 wrapped (writers edition) 📝

[will-it-be-finished-who-knows]

Prologue

On patrol, Ayodele regretted volunteering at the hospital so late the night before. The doctors and nurses had urged her to leave early and rest, but she ignored them, and now she was paying the price.

Still better than being alone.

Yawning, she turned the corner, finally doubling back on her route through her and her partner’s sector. It had been pretty quiet, no big emergencies or catastrophes; it seemed most of the small time villains were in jail and Amethyst was busy planning their next attack. In the meantime though, patrol was pretty boring, which was actually an improvement from the usual agony. Her partner, TK, had graciously decided that she could patrol by herself, so she wouldn't be in his shadow (ego much?). While annoyed he was shirking duty, Del didn’t have to put up with him sidlining her, and for that she was grateful. It was nice to actually help people for once, despite it being in her job description as a Hero. 

Her musings about a quiet patrol were interrupted by something decidedly not quiet: a young boy’s cry of joy as he ran down the street. He bumped into her, apologized, and continued running, seemingly away from a parental figure that did not appear to enjoy the game.

Del had turned to watch the boy as he ran away, but as she was about to turn back she saw him dart around a large group of people blocking the sidewalk.

Around them and straight into oncoming traffic.

Barely registering the adults’ alarm around her, or in fact her own actions, Del dove after the boy, grabbed his arm and snatched him back from the street. She cradeled him protectively and checked for injuries until the adult who had ben chasing him caught up and began frantically checking the boy themselves.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” the man asked.

The boy thought for a moment, before replying, “Yes and no.”

“What does that mean?!” the man prompted, worry not soothed in the slightest.

“Yes I’m okay, and no I’m not hurt!” was the bright response he got.

Sighing, the man finally calmed, and rose to his feet from the crouched position he had taken to better study the boy. “Okay smart-alec. Thanks for the clarification,” he added with a genuine smile, before turning to Del.

“And thank you Hero, for saving him. I don’t know what I would have done if…” he trailed off, to afraid to even voice the possibility.

A deep breath, then drawing on the Soothing Civilians training she had been forced into, “It’s okay, you don’t have to know, because it didn’t happen. And I’m glad I could help, I’d hate to see such a cute kid get hurt.” She directed the last sentence at the boy, hoping to get a rise out of him to gague how shaken he was. And it worked, apparently he wasn’t too shaken because-

“I’m not cute! I’m handsome!” 

Yeah, that.

“Oh! Of course, my apologies, and what is the handsome boy’s name?” Del kneeled down to speak more directly to him.

Puffing up with a proud smile, he said “I’m Rusty! And I’m six years old!”

The man (his father?) gave a fond smile, “His birthday was a few days ago, and he’s very excited to tell everyone about it.”

“Of course, Uncle, everybody needs to know that I’m not a little kid anymore” he nodded sagely.

Ah, so the man was his uncle then. 

Well, it’s time to finish the patrol, she should probably try to get back early to write reports and still have time to visit the hospital before attempting to get some sleep. Saying as much to the duo, Del resumed her patrol and hurried back to headquarters.

[blauaugenangel]

Dream Alert: I was at my parents’ house just chillin, in mismatched frumpy clothes, hair a mess, ect. The doorbell rings, and my dad goes to answer it.

A voice says, “Hi, is Katie here?” My dad says yes, and the voice says, “I wanted to talk to her.” So my dad lets them in!

But the thing is, I recognize that voice, and I am certainly NOT prepared for this reunion to happen. But I have nowhere to go, no room I hide in and close the door.

So when he comes around the corner, he says hi and we exchange a pretty awkward hug. And of course, he brought his daughter with (except she’s like 8 instead of 2). She gives me a HUGE hug and says she’s so excited to meet me. Which actually softens me for a second, because obviously that means he tells her about me a lot, in a positive way.

But I’m also mad because he knows I can’t yell at him with his daughter right there.

Anyway, that’s when I wake up. I haven’t talked to him in a month, not since he last texted me an unwanted picture of his daughter and I didn’t reply.

Because I always try to be nice when he sends me pictures of her. She’s a baby, I should be nice. But I DONT KNOW HER! I’ve never met her, I’m not involved in her life. I don’t need to see another random picture every week. There are no plans for me to ever meet her. At this point, he’s basically a stranger too. One who pretty much only wants to talk about his daughter. He’s not even being a decent friend and asking about my life, it’s all about her.

And I get it, it’s his baby. He wants to show her off, because he’s a proud dad. And I think the truth of it is he has no other friends to share these pictures with.

But I reached a point where I got too annoyed at him not engaging with me, not asking about what I’m up to or anything like that at all. I’m a person too, not just a sounding board.

Anyways, the audacity of dream him to just show up at my parents’ unannounced, lol. And I’m 90% in real life he did pick me up/drop me off at their house before, so while it’s not at all remotely likely, there’s still a minuscule chance he could actual show up. It’s just technically not impossible.

I do kind of miss him and I actually do want to see him in person again, because I want to be friends. But I’m resisting talking to him because he hasn’t been a good friend to me.

We need to hash things out, cause I’m still mad he lied to me, and the things he said. 🙃

[kaidans-alenko]

Part 2 of my hallmark au soap opera!

“Okay! We’re heading out now.” Lily said, leaning over the counter to kiss Kaidan “don’t miss me too much.” 

Kaidan smiled “too late.” 

Lily giggled and joined Persephone by the door “remember, you and Aiden are meeting us for lunch okay?” she reminded him. 

Kaidan gave her a mock salute “yes ma’am.” 

Lily hummed happily and bounced down the steps, Persephone lagging behind her. Lily had been so excited to go Christmas shopping with her again and she didn’t want to ruin her mood with her worries. But she couldn’t help but think of the journal Thomas had handed her a couple days prior. 

Persephone knew Lily would cancel their shopping trip in a heartbeat if she thought something was wrong so she must be hiding it pretty well. Not that she’s ever had trouble doing that. 

Persephone was jolted out of her anxiety induced haze by Lily linking their arms together “who’s first on your list?” she asked with a smile. 

“Oh…uh…Tho…Thomas.” and a flash of anger appeared on Lily’s face briefly but in the blink of an eye she was back to normal. 

“That’s great! Kaidan is at the top of mine too.” she replied with a dreamy sigh. 

“I’m surprised this is the first I'm hearing about him.” Persephone said, deciding to switch her focus onto Lily’s relationship instead of her own. 

“You know my track record, I didn’t want to say anything unless I was sure.” she answered. 

“I mean…you were pretty sure about Nate.” She responded, earning a laugh. 

“Yeah well, Kaidan actually likes me.” she grinned. 

She was right, he laughs at her jokes, doesn’t berate her for being dramatic, the bar is on the floor but he seems like a pretty good guy. “I’m happy for you Lil.” 

“Thanks,” Lily skipped ahead of her to look into a boutique window at a pair of black leather boots. “Besides, Nate and I weren’t going to last anyway.” 

“You seemed pretty sure at the time, what changed?” Persephone asked, proud of this sudden character development.

“High school sweethearts never last.” She said and she knew Lily didn’t mean anything by it but it felt like a slap in the face.

Having realized what she said Lily backpedaled “I mean!” She frantically turned to look at Persephone “Nate was an asshole! There were a lot of factors, that's all!”

With a sigh she walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I know you didn’t mean anything by it Lil.” Under normal circumstances that wouldn’t have bothered her. Lily wouldn’t have had any reason to feel bad.

She had no idea what was going on between her and Thomas. Lily had a tendency to speak without thinking anyway. She knew it wasn’t a personal attack. “How are you and Thomas anyway?” 

“Oh, uh….well.” she wasn’t being very convincing and she knew Lily was going to be able to tell something was up “he gave me a journal.” 

Lily blinked in confusion but her face quickly turned to a weird mixture of shock and joy “that’s great!” 

“Yeah! It was….” or at least it was supposed to be. 

Lily still didn’t trust him as far as she could throw him but it was a start what she didn’t know and what Seph had been hiding was the gaps in the entries. That Thomas didn’t even want to hand it to her in the first place. She couldn’t tell her that. Lily was the happiest she’s been since they’ve known each other and she didn’t want to burden her with her problems. 

She was just reading too much into it, Thomas was busy and this Sarah girl…it was nice that he had friends to keep him company while she was gone. He didn’t have to sit around and be lonely just because she was away. 

“How long will you be in town for this time?” Lily asked as they entered an antique shop, making a beeline for the teapots. 

“They haven’t said yet,” that was partially a lie. Her CO had presented her with an opportunity to join a spec ops program and how long she was home for would hinge on her answer. 

In her heart she wanted to accept, it was the opportunity of a lifetime….but she had promised Thomas she was going to stay and plan their wedding. If she accepted they wouldn’t be able to. Not yet anyway, but if she turned it down she might never get the chance again. 

Persephone took a deep breath “Lily…can I ask you something?” 

“Sure!” Her friend responded, carefully examining each teapot.

“If Kaidan took a job somewhere else and he was going to have to move…would go with him?” She asked and Lily stopped what she was doing.

Lily traced the pattern of one of the teapots “probably.”

Persephone stared at her wide eyed “but you love this town and your brother is here, you’d seriously uproot your entire life?”

Lily’s brow furrowed “sure but I can always visit, there’s tons of towns but…I only have one Kaidan.” She answered and Persephone wasn’t sure how to respond. 

Lily looked up at her, head tilted to the side “But why are you asking about something like that?” Kaidan already made it clear that he was going to stay and take over the coffee shop. 

Now Persephone couldn’t help but wonder, was she the selfish one? Lily had only been with Kaidan for a year yet she’d already willingly drop everything for him. Meanwhile she and Thomas have been friends since preschool and she couldn’t be bothered to put her career on hold.

Was she being selfish? 

“Seph was being really weird today.” Lily said, kicking her legs back in fourth on a barstool while Kaidan did his closing work.

“Yeah? What did she say?” He asked.

Lily leaned forward on the countertop with her arms outstretched, resembling a cat. “She asked me a really weird question and wasn’t acting like herself.”

Kaidan set the broom down and grabbed one of the stools he had set on the countertop and took a seat next to her “what was the question?”

“She asked if I would drop everything here and move away with you if I had to.” She answered.

“And what was your answer?” He wasn’t going to get his feelings hurt. She’s lived here her whole life. 

“I told her I’d go with you and she seemed…surprised? Hurt?” Lily shook her head “I don’t know Kaidan!” She rested her head on the counter and Kaidan rubbed her back. “I’m worried about her.”

Kaidan nodded “I know you are…maybe you should invite her over for drinks. Aiden and I can make ourselves scarce and you two can have the house to yourself.” 

Lily peeked up at him “thanks Kai…” 

Lily had a hunch about why Persephone was acting funny and she really hoped Thomas wasn’t that stupid. Unlike her, Persephone wasn’t a paranoid person. A change in a partner’s behavior never bothered her too much. At least not to the extent it did Lily. So unless he said something or forgot to cover his tracks there was no reason for her to be acting that way.

Something must’ve happened.