#and some wine and dine so that they can makeout later

[shinnyshining]

Enough spirit annoying stein ,go switch

[shemarmooresfedora]

Rebuilding Family

Summary: Y/N and Spencer were college sweethearts at Cal-Tech but once Spencer got accepted to the FBI Academy, he ended things deciding it was not fair to make Y/N wait for him. When they meet again years later, he discovers something unexpected.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem! Reader

A/N: this may be my favorite chapter yet. i originally was going to delay this chapter a day but the wonderful comments gave me motivation to write. i beg of you to play the song when i write it starts playing...enjoy!

Masterlist

Chapter 12

“Yes, yes, yes!” Spencer excitedly left the hospital, immediately calling you.

“Y/N Y/L/N” you answered, having not checked the caller ID first.

“Guess what?” Spencer smiled.

“Hi Spence. What?” your tone instantly became lighter across the phone.

“The doctor cleared me. I don’t need crutches anymore!” Spencer exclaimed.

“Oh my god, that’s great! I know how much you hated them,” you responded.

“Yes, I did not like not being able to help you with Jo as much. But do you know what this also means…” he prompted.

“What?” you asked.

“I will actually be able to walk around and

take you on a real date ,” he beamed.

“Looking forward to it,” you grinned.

“How about tonight?” he asked excitedly.

“What about Jo?”

“JJ’s,” he replied quickly.

Clearly, he had already thought this through completely.

“Okay. I’d ask you what time you’re picking me up but we are both living in the same place right now so I’ll see you at home,” you giggled.

“See you at home,” he repeated with a massive smile plastered on his face.

-

“Mommy, why can’t I come?” Jo pouted, clinging on to your neck as you brought her out to the car.

“Me and Daddy are going to do BORING adult things,” you pretended to snore, “You don’t want to come, Baby J. You get to go have a fun playdate with Henry. I’m so jealous.”

You buckled her in and closed the car door, feeling arms wrap around your waist.

“Boring?” Spencer asked, feigning hurt.

“So boring,” you teased, giving him a kiss.

“You look beautiful by the way,” Spencer earnestly looked into your eyes.

You opened your mouth to respond but there was a faint knock on the car window.

“The princess is getting impatient,” he chuckled, climbing into the driver’s seat.

-

“Hi!” JJ greeted the three of you at the door as you set Jo down who immediately ran inside in search of her best friend.

“Thank you for watching her,” you said.

“Oh, of course. Don’t worry about it! Now, go! Don’t waste any more of your night off talking to me,” she ushered you away.

“Bye! I’ll text you when we’re on our way back to get her,” Spencer waved.

Spencer then grabbed your hand, interlocking your fingers and pulling you back towards the car as your head fell back in delightful laughter.

-

“You know it’s funny,” JJ said to Will as they were watching you two out the window, “Before I even knew that they had a history together, I was considering setting them up together.”

“What made you think that?” Will questioned, “I mean they’re both very nice people but I wouldn’t have thought about that.”

“I don’t know. I just felt like there could be something between them...turns out there already was,” she smiled.

-

Spencer pulled the car up to a beautiful patio dining area overlooking a lake. It was dusk and the sun was setting so stringed lights were hung up all around the tables.

“Spence, I heard it takes like a year to get a reservation here,” you looked at him incredulously.

“I have my ways,” he kissed your hand, “Come on.”

You walked up to the hostess with your hands interlocked.

“Dr. Spencer Reid for two,” he politely said to her.

“Right this way,” she guided you to your table with menus in her hand.

Spencer, ever the gentleman, pulled out your chair for you. You thanked the hostess but your eyes never left Spencer.

Once Spencer was seated, a silence fell over the two of you.

“This is kind of an awkward first date because we already know everything about each other,” you admitted.

“Yes, we are doing things a little backwards but at least I know I already love every single thing about you,” Spencer smiled.

You blushed, “Ditto.”

“Hey there,” the waitress approached your table, “What can I get started for you both?”

“I’ll have a glass of red wine please,” you said.

“I’ll just have water, thanks. Also, can we get spring rolls as an appetizer,” Spencer asked.

“Sure thing, I’ll be right back with those,” she wrote your order down in her notepad and left the table.

“Why am I surprised you remembered my affinity for spring rolls?” you laughed.

“I know it’s technically impossible for me to forget anything but even if I didn’t have an eidetic memory, I still wouldn’t forget a single thing about you,” he spoke.

You felt your cheeks heat up yet again.

“You have always had a way with words, Dr. Reid,” you took a sip from the wine glass that the waitress placed in front of you to hide your bashful grin.

-

You were headed back to JJ’s after a wonderful dinner. You were on a backroad and it was starting to drizzle. The radio was playing softly as you played with Spencer’s fingers in your hand.

Signed, Signed, Delivered by Stevie Wonder began to play through the radio. Spencer excitedly turned to look at you.

“This is our song, remember?” he beamed.

“Yeah, I remember,” you giggled.

Before you know what was happening, Spencer had pulled the car over and turned the radio up loudly.

He let go of your hand and exited the car.

“Spence, it’s raining!” you laughed.

“Good thing we have a dryer at home. Come on!” he walked around to your side, opening your car door and offering his hand.

You accepted and he pulled you out of the car, twirling you around. You danced around hand in hand, splashing in puddles without a care in the world.

You and Spencer were both singing at the top of your lungs, occasionally breaking from the lyrics to let out a joyous laugh. As the song faded out, he dipped you down, smiling widely. You slicked his wet hair back as he pulled you in for a kiss.

You didn’t know how long the kiss lasted but you finally pulled apart when there was a loud honk in front of you. A car was stopped in the road, waiting for you to finish your makeout session in the middle of the street.

“Sorry!” Spencer called out to the driver as you both giddily ran back to your car.

You kissed him once more once you were back inside the safety of the car.

-

You were grinning like fools when Will opened the door.

“Do I want to know?” Will chuckled, gesturing at your soaked clothes.

“I think it’s better if we keep it to ourselves,” you smiled.

JJ came around the corner with a sleepy Jo in her arms.

“Well it looks like you two had fun,” she said as she handed Jo to Spencer.

“Thank you again. If you guys ever want to go out, we can watch Henry,” you offered.

“It’s really not a problem but we may take you up on that some time. Have a good night, guys,” JJ smiled.

“Daddy, why are you wet?” Jo asked curiously.

“Mommy and Daddy had to walk in the rain back to their car after the long meeting,” Spencer pretended to sound unamused as to not let the child know about your fun night without her.

“Me and Henry had mac and cheese for dinner and then we played dinosaurs and then we watched Finding Nemo,” Jo informed you both on the drive home.

“Well it sounds like you had an exciting night,” you smiled.

Once you got home, Spencer offered to tuck Jo into bed while you changed out of your damp clothes.

You peeked into the room just as Spencer was giving her a kiss on the forehead and getting up from the bed.

“I should go,” Spencer spoke softly.

“Or...you could stay,” you offered quietly.

Spencer smiled, “The latter sounds much better.”

“Now go change into sweats from my closet before you catch a cold,” you ushered him into your room.

You went downstairs to give Spencer some privacy, turning the kettle on to heat up and taking out two mugs.

You slowly made your way back upstairs with two warm mugs of chamomile tea. You tapped slightly at the door before entering.

“Thank you,” Spencer accepted the mug into his hands, giving you a quick kiss.

“I’m going to put our clothes in the dryer and then I’ll be right back,” he said, taking a sip of the tea before setting it down on the nightstand.

Spencer returned a few minutes later, getting in under the comforters and wrapping one arm around you. You both sipped your tea in a comfortable silence as the rain continued to pour down outside.

“Chamomile tea’s health benefits include protecting against diarrhea, nausea, stomach ulcers, and gas,” Spencer stated.

“Ever the romantic, Dr. Reid,” you giggled, resting your head on his shoulder.

[hermannsthumb]

Hermann preparing for date night with Newt by selecting where to eat solely by what he has a coupon for. Or, ya know, frugal connoisseur Hermann. <3 ksci

inspired by a convo re: the fact that ksci @k-sci-janitor likes to make fun of me for never letting a coupon go to waste even if it means walking like 2 miles in the cold to use it :/ like im gonna NOT get a free Baja blast. (there is one small little allusion to some M rated stuff towards the end in this)

-------------------

It’s not a rare occurrence that Hermann will treat Newt to dinner when the mood of dining out strikes them, but the point is that he’s doing it in a way that’s supremely…shifty tonight. Well, maybe not shifty. Weird? For one thing, he didn’t tell Newt where they were going until they were already on the bus headed there, for another, it’s their sharing-a-lab-anniversary, which tradition dictates they evenly split a bill (even if the origins have more to do with both trying to show up the other and take advantage and order the most expensive shit on the menu). The weirdest thing is definitely that, when Hermann got up to pay the bill five minutes ago—a small, folded piece of paper clutched in his hand—he left his wallet laying next to his wine glass on the table.

Newt stirs his straw around in his cup of soda, clinking ice cubes against the sides, and squints at the wallet. Did Hermann bring cash to pay with? He could’ve stuck some in his pockets without Newt seeing, or his bank card, even, which would explain the forlorn wallet. Or maybe forgetting the wallet was totally an accident, and he’ll be back in a few seconds to pick it up and pay for real when he realizes. That’s probably it.

When Hermann comes back to their table, though, he doesn’t bother with his wallet—he takes his seat, picks up his wine glass, and tips it at Newt. “That was quite lovely, wasn’t it?”

Newt hums. “It was.”

“I quite liked the fish I got,” Hermann says.

“I loved my noodles,” Newt says. “We should try to copy the recipe back at the base.” He sets his straw delicately on the table. “How’d you pay without your wallet?”

“My wallet?” Hermann says. He makes a show of catching sight of the wallet, arches his eyebrows in mock surprise, and picks it up. Here we go. “Oh, goodness. Did I forget this? Well—it’s not as if I needed it…” He tucks it neatly into his inner jacket pocket.

“Hermann,” Newt says, rolling his eyes. “What’d you do, get a hundred-percent discount by reminding them we saved the world a few months ago?” Hermann shakes his head, and takes a long sip of his wine. “Did you write a check? Did you pretend we got food poisoning or something?” Hermann shakes his head again, and this time, his mouth begins to creep up into a smug smile. Newt remembers the piece of paper. “Dude. You got us a fucking Groupon. No wonder you were being so weird about what I was ordering!”

(“I think we ought to stick with the entrees labelled B, Newton,” Hermann had said, flipping a page forward in Newt’s menu. “They look—er—far better.”

“More expensive,” Newt had said.

“What’s it matter? I’m paying.” Hermann had pointed at the noodle dish Newt had ended up getting. “Look, I reckon you’d like that.”)

Hermann finally grins triumphantly. “I did—and saved us quite a decent from our ‘date night’ fund. Pity it didn’t extend to dessert, I suppose, but we could always find some ice cream at the commissary later.”

Newt can’t even pretend to be exasperated. The noodles rocked. And they would’ve rocked even more if he knew that Hermann was saving them a few bucks. “You’re such a weirdo,” Newt says, shaking his head, though he’s mirroring Hermann’s grin. “Is that why you picked this place?”

“Not entirely,” Hermann says. He takes a long, slow sip of his wine. “Mostly I picked it to make a point.”

“About?”

“About my being right.”

Newt sighs. Only Hermann would dredge up old arguments on Lab Anniversary Night. It wasn’t even an argument, really—all that happened was that Hermann asked Newt to hand him his glasses cleaning cloth from his parka, and it took Newt almost ten minutes because Hermann’s pockets were so jam-packed with a million little coupons for everything from granola bars (which they can get from the mess hall for free) to mouthwash (which Newt can snag from the commissary, also for free, whenever they need it) that he couldn’t find anything but. A majority of them were expired. Then Newt remarked on how Hermann was nuts, and Hermann remarked on how Newt didn’t understand the value of making smart financial decisions, and they went back and forth for a bit like that. This was a whole week ago, too. In terms of Newt and Hermann arguments, that’s more than ancient history. “Are we really talking about the fucking coupons now?” Newt says.

“Frugality pays off,” Hermann says, cryptically. “Now we really ought to head out. The forecast is calling for rain, and I don’t fancy getting caught in it.”

They get caught in the rain anyway. Newt invites himself over to Hermann’s bunk to dry off, because Hermann bought a space heater back when they were stationed in Russia, and it travelled with him here to aid through the long nights of overpowering A/C. Right now, it’s aiding Newt through stripping out of his wet clothes. When he’s down to just his boxers, he snags the quilt from Hermann’s bed, and waits for him to finish up in his little en suite bathroom to hopefully catch a hot shower. One of the unexpected side effects of the world not ending and most nonessential personnel leaving the ‘dome in doves is that they almost never run out of hot water anymore. Newt can take a shower at midnight and not freeze his ass off. It’s awesome, really.

Hermann emerges from the bathroom in a dorky little pair of pajamas, a dressing gown knotted at his waist. “Oh, Newton,” he sighs, and prods at Newt’s blanket cocoon with his cane, “not my grandmother’s quilt.”

“I’m dry!” Newt says. “Mostly!”

He gives up the quilt to Hermann and ducks into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He stuck a spare toothbrush in the medicine cabinet at some point, for when he was too sleepy and lazy after makeout sessions to go back to his bunk, and sure enough he finds it alongside a suspiciously generic-looking tube of toothpaste. It doesn’t even have a label. He doesn’t think much of it until he starts to use it, which is when he immediately gags and begins to rinse his mouth out with hot water. “What the hell is this toothpaste?” he chokes out. “It tastes—awful.”

“Ah,” Hermann says. He ducks his head into the bathroom, looking a bit sheepish. “Well. I found a coupon for that brand, and I know it’s not very, er, pleasant, but—I saved forty percent, Newton.” Newt continues to rinse his mouth out, this time adding some mouthwash into the mix. “Oh, really, now you’re just being dramatic. It’s only toothpaste.”

“Dude,” Newt says. “I feel like I just rubbed, like, acid cement all over my gums.”

“Ah,” Hermann repeats, guiltily.

A bit later, Newt goes in to kiss Hermann goodnight as they settle into Hermann’s bed together, but pulls back with a sad little pout when Hermann merely flinches away from him. “Oh, Newton, I’m sorry,” Hermann says, quickly wrapping his arms around Newt and kissing his neck. It softens the blow somewhat. “It’s that bloody toothpaste. You still smell like it. You’re right, it’s rubbish.”

“Tell you what,” Newt says, grumpily. “I’ll buy you a brand new tube tomorrow. My treat.”

Newt mostly forgets about the coupon thing for a bit. The odd little item crops up in the lab that makes him roll his eyes fondly at Hermann, but nothing as major as the Groupon or toothpaste. Hermann’s preferred tea brand swapped out for something Newt’s never heard of in a flavor that Hermann clearly detests, if his face when he drinks it is anything to go by, for example, the chocolate digestives Hermann keeps in his desk replaced with plain ones, his new box of chalk all in a salmony shade of pink and weak enough to snap apart under his fingers if he presses down too hard on his chalkboard. When Newt asks about the changes, the answer’s always the same: Hermann had a coupon for them, or they were less expensive than his usual. Newt just wishes he could understand where this sudden bought of thriftiness came from. It’s not like it was back during the war, where they had to pinch pennies and save in every area they could if they wanted to supplement their nonexistent funding. They’re actually getting paychecks now, on behalf of the UN’s guilty conscience! They have free room and board! They even put a few neat bucks away from some (heavily-redacted) interviews they did back in late January.

What Newt’s getting at is Hermann doesn’t have to limit them ordering out sushi to only places with free delivery on date nights, or skimp on his pizza toppings (four-topping down to two) so they can use a better coupon, or buy any of those subpar teabags or digestives or toothpaste tubes. But he just…is.

The tipping point occurs on a Saturday night about a month after the Groupon incident.

“Nn. Hermann. Do that again.”

“Do—?"

“Yeah.” Newt groans, turning his head to the side. “Oh, shit.”

“Newton—” Hermann kisses his throat. “Newton, you’re—”

“Wait.” Newt pauses. “What is that?”

“Oh, er.” Hermann pulls his hand away. “You mean the—the—?”

“Yeah. It feels…weird.” He frowns. “That is not what we used last time.”

“Oh. No. It isn’t.” Hermann clears his throat. “Well, Newton—see—we were out, so I thought I’d—I’d buy a larger bottle, to last us longer, and I happened to find a coupon for this lovely—er—gallon-sized—”

“You’re kidding,” Newt says.

“Only I thought it was a very frugal purchase,” Hermann says. “We do tend to, er, burn through it rather quickly.”

Newt rolls away from him. “Dude. We need to have a talk.”

Some brief amount of time later, they sit together on the end of Hermann’s bed, clad in their pajama bottoms and, in Hermann’s case, one of Newt’s sweatshirts. Newt waits until Hermann meets his eyes blushingly before he proceeds. “What is up with you lately?” he says. “You’ve been acting so—weird. Weirder than usual,” he amends. “Since when have you cared about saving a couple bucks on random shit like pizza?”

Hermann fidgets, and sighs, and finally reaches to pull open the drawer of his nightstand. He retrieves a piece of paper folded into quadrants, and for a wild moment Newt thinks it might be another Groupon. “Oh, I wanted it to be a surprise,” Hermann says. “I was going to wait until it was all finalized—but it’s close enough now, so I suppose there’s no harm in it.” He thrusts the paper out at Newt, and Newt—still wondering if it’s not another Groupon—unfolds it with surprise to find what looks like a flight itinerary. Two tickets for Hong Kong to Boston, with a short layover; then two more tickets a week after they land for a short trip from Boston to some town in Maine Newt recognizes as being seaside. They’re made out to Hermann Gottlieb and Newton Geiszler and purchased a little over a week ago.

“You kept telling me you wanted me to meet your father,” Hermann says, and rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “And—I thought it might be nice, to have an—er—vacation, for a few days. We’ve certainly earned one. And it’s not as if we have any truly pressing obligations at the moment that can’t be put on hold for a week or two. I was planning on booking us a little cottage up in Maine—or maybe just a hotel room, I hadn’t decided—but we don’t have to if you don’t—”

“And you’ve been saving up for it?” Newt interrupts.

“For a few months now,” Hermann says. “Since February, in fact.”

“And that’s why…?”

The tips of Hermann’s ears turn red. “Every penny helped,” he says.

Newt carefully re-folds the itinerary, sets it aside, and then kisses Hermann soundly. It would be safe to say that Hermann’s thoughtful, romantic moods tend to be on the spontaneous side, probably as spontaneous as they are in Newt, so when one strikes Hermann (and in such a perfectly Hermann way as this one) Newt doesn’t like to take it for granted. “Of course I wanna go on vacation with you,” Newt says. “You rock. Seriously.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Hermann says, looking pleased.

[hockeylvr59]

Secret Love Part 21 || Cale Makar

Requested: [ ] yes [x] no

Authors Note: This chapter picks up just a few hours after the last one ended. Let me know your thoughts. Big things are happening...

Warnings: cursing, smut (handjobs, unprotected sex)

Word Count: 3,384

~~~~~

It had to be a couple hours later when Cale woke you up again, shifting out from under you. By the time you were actually awake, he was washing his hands and you assumed he’d needed to use the bathroom. Catching you watching his nude figure from across the room in the mirror, he smiled that bright smile you love so much. 

“My beautiful girl is up.” He commented, drying his hands off. “It’s about 3:30...I don’t know what time you made the reservation for but we should probably think about showering at least.” Nodding you pushed yourself upright. 

“Can you get me some water?” You requested, your mouth feeling dry from everything that had happened before your nap. 

“Sure thing sweetheart.” Cale agreed, heading out to the kitchen to bring you back a glass of water. Having downed the glass, you shoved the covers aside, moving to turn the massive shower on. Cale was right behind you as you climbed in and you felt his lips trail down your shoulder as you stepped under the water. 

Though the two of you attempted to focus on cleaning yourselves and each other up, your shower quickly turned into a steamy makeout session. A clash of tongue and teeth was accompanied by wandering hands: yours over Cale’s arms and chest, his down your sides and over your ass. Losing yourself in the kiss, you felt a spark run up your spine at the sound of Cale’s moan, his dick growing hard against your stomach. 

“You get hard for me so easily don’t you handsome.” You murmured against his lips. “I love that just kissing me turns you on.” Sliding your hand down further, you teased your fingertips over his length until he grunted into the kiss. 

“Y/N.” He mumbled, his eyes dark. 

“Shh...let me…” You insisted, forcing him to step back until he was pressed against the shower wall. “I caused this so let me take care of it.” You continued, pressing light kisses along his collarbone as you wrapped your hand around his cock. Silky skin covered his hard erection and as you teased over him with your fingers before pumping him in your hand, you could feel every little twitch and jolt of his body. There was something so freeing about being in control of his pleasure, knowing that it was your actions that made him feel good. 

It wasn’t long before Cale’s head fell back against the shower wall, his hand gripping tightly at your hip. 

“That’s it handsome...cum for me. Cum all over me.” Cale’s eyes jolted open at your last statement as his cock twitched in your hand, his ejaculate shooting out to coat your chest and stomach. “Oooo. That excited you.” You teased, gently releasing him as he went soft. “We’re gonna have to remember that.” You grinned, stretching to kiss him again, not caring that his semen was being spread onto his skin. 

“It’s the best of both fucking worlds with you.” Cale groaned, still recovering from his latest orgasm. “Mom loves you and the sex is insane.” Shaking your head, you laughed, pulling Cale back under the water to wash off one more time. 

“Alright Mr. Makar...time to behave. I demand to be wined and dined tonight so you have to let me get ready.” Stepping out of the shower, you wrapped yourself in a towel, drying off your hair with a second. Pulling out the blow dryer to speed up the drying process, you then switched to doing your makeup. Cale dried off and got dressed while you were working on your eyeliner before disappearing into another part of the house. 

Slipping into the navy fabric of your dress when you were finally finished with both your hair and makeup, you called Cale. 

“Can you help me zip this?” You requested, a shiver running up your spine as Cale’s fingers drug over your back lightly, the zipper following. “Thanks hun.” You murmured, bending over the bed to grab your sandals from your bag. It wasn’t until you had dropped them to the floor to slide onto your feet that you looked over at Cale, his jaw dropped. 

“You’re so beautiful.” He whispered, his cheeks pink as he praised you. 

“Thanks handsome.” You replied, grazing your lips over his before pulling back. “Are you ready to go?” You asked, looking at the clock to see that somehow you’d managed to be right on time to make it to your reservations. 

“Let me look at you for just a minute.” Cale replied, his hand reaching forward to slowly twirl you around. Spinning, his eyes raked over you with so much affection that it caused the heat to rise in your cheeks. 

“C’mon...let’s go…” You pushed, smoothing your hands down along his chest before grabbing your phone and purse. As you headed out the front door you were relieved to find that the rain was just a drizzle. Still, you tossed your keys to Cale, preferring not having to drive in these particular shoes. Putting the address of the winery into the gps, it didn’t take long for Cale to drive across town, throwing the car in park after pulling into a parking spot. 

Even though you had a reservation, the waitstaff needed just a few minutes to clear off a table. Leaning against the flagstone siding outside the restaurant, you looked off into the distance, admiring the countryside. Lost in thought about how wonderful it was to share these experiences with Cale: traveling, trying new restaurants, just dating like any other couple, you jumped when your phone buzzed in your purse. 

Seeing Cale on his phone as well, you felt less guilty looking at it and when you pulled your phone out you saw that it had been a notification from instagram signaling that you’d been tagged in a story...Cale’s story. Clicking on it, your jaw dropped seeing the picture of you, a picture Cale must have literally just taken. In the bottom left corner was a heart, while the bottom right contained your profile tag and the simple caption ‘dinner date with my girl’. 

As your heart started to pound, the hostess called your name and you quickly dropped your phone back into your purse, following after her with Cale’s hand slipping to your lower back as he walked behind you.

When you reached the table, you thanked the young woman before settling in and picking up your menu to decide on which of the starters, entrees, and desserts you wanted for your three course meal. It was at least a momentary distraction from the way your pulse was thrumming. 

“So we’re public public now…” The words spilled out suddenly. Cale’s eyes jolted up from his menu and he eyed you for a moment before a content grin spread across his face. 

“Yeah sweetheart. I’m done hiding you.” Somehow, the feeling of panic that had been growing shrunk instantly at his words. 

“Okay.” You nodded, sipping at your glass of water. You knew that there were going to be people who were rude or inconsiderate but Cale was right, that was no reason to hide. If your mother’s disapproval and paternity rumors couldn’t shake you, nothing anyone could say now would either. Cale was a very private person and the fact that he’d finally shared you only signaled just how deeply committed he was to this, to you. 

During dinner you talked about Cale’s training stories, some of the outrageous couples you’d been dealing with recently and when his phone started to buzz incessantly with texts, you made him read some of the team’s responses to his story to you, laughing at the way the guys chirped him. 

By the time you’d finished dinner, snatching the check before Cale could even think about paying it, you were full and happy. It wasn’t often that you actually went out with Cale, but each time you did you truly enjoyed yourself and the change of pace a night out provided to your normal routines. Having taken your time with dinner, by the time you left the restaurant it was nearly dark. 

Slipping back into the car, you watched the sky open up into a downpour the moment you closed the door. It hadn’t let up on the way back to the rental home and the moment you stepped out of the car you were immediately drenched. 

The grownup part of you nearly made a dash straight to the front door eager to get inside. But there was another part that took a different path, ditching your purse with your phone in the covered doorway. 

“Leave your phone, wallet, and the keys here. Then c’mon.” You directed your boyfriend, moving around the house to the large yard. The rain felt incredible on your skin, no signs of lightning or thunder present in the sky. Cale had looked at you like you were crazy, but eventually he’d followed, having also shed his dress shoes and socks.

“What are you doing?” He inquired, pushing some wet hair out of your face. 

“We’re already drenched, we might as well enjoy the rain.” You proclaimed, wrapping your arms around him. “In fact. I know exactly what we should do.” You added, tugging him out toward the lake. The houses on either side of yours were quiet and dark, no one in sight. Feeling bold, you reached up to undo the buttons of Cale’s shirt, your hands sliding along his skin. 

“Are you crazy?” Cale asked, his eyes going wide and cheeks flushing deeply. 

“There’s no one around.” You declared, reaching for the zipper to your dress. “Come skinny dipping with me.” It only took a moment to shed your dress and undergarments, kicking your sandals off of your feet. This was a little daring, but any hesitation you normally would have had was buried by the confidence two glasses of wine gave you and the way you and Cale were constantly pushing boundaries. 

The water of the lake was cool as you waded in, shielding yourself in its depths. Between the water and the dark rainy night, there was no way anyone could see you. You watched Cale’s shadowy figure as he clearly debated with himself for a moment before his shirt hit the ground followed by his pants and boxer-briefs. Once he made it out to you in the water, you swam close enough that you could actually see him, splashing him slightly in the process. 

“You’re gonna be the death of me...you know that sweetheart.” Cale mumbled. 

“Live a little.” You simply replied, your body moving fluidly under the water. Besides your state of undress, you felt just like a little kid again, playing in the rain in the little pool in the Makar’s backyard. “Just because we’re grownups doesn’t mean we can’t act like kids sometimes.” You reminded him. 

Because it was night, you didn’t wander too far from Cale, yet you still jumped when one of Cale’s hands wrapped around your waist, pulling you toward him. 

“I love how you always find ways to make life an adventure. You keep me on my toes.” He murmured, stealing a kiss as your legs wrapped loosely around his waist, his body keeping both of you afloat. 

“Life without adventure isn’t really life at all now is it?” You posed, your hands sliding up and around his neck again. “And now you have another thing you can check off your list.” You added, your voice turning teasing. 

“Hmm...mom has always thought you were a good influence on me. If only she knew the truth.” Cale teased right back, his hands grazing over a spot on your back that was unusually sensitive to his touch. 

For the next few minutes, you seemed to be playing the game of who could get the other to give into the sexual tension first, neither of you willing to bend. Inevitably, it wasn’t an action by either of you. As rain continued to pour over you, a crack of thunder sounded out of nowhere, sending you bolting out of the lake immediately. 

Grabbing your things, you rushed up to the house, entering the code on the back door simply because it was closer. You’d planned to grab a towel, dry off, and then dip around front to grab your things from outside but you’d barely reached the kitchen island when Cale’s large frame was behind you, his hands gently causing you to drop the wet clothing onto the floor as he pressed you against the granite countertop. 

“Cale...our things.” You gasped, Cale’s fingers dipping intimately low on your stomach. 

“Already put them just inside the front door.” Cale stated. “Now bend over for me. Gonna fuck you for being such a tease.” 

Absent the time in the car when you’d kind of rode Cale, he’d never taken you from behind before and the realization caused you to bend willingly for him, curious as to how it would be different. 

There was no pause in Cale’s actions as he pressed you firmly against the counter, swiped his thumb through your core testing your wetness, and lined himself up before thrusting deep inside of you. 

This was at least your 4th round of penetrative sex in about 24 hours and though you were sore, it created that pleasure/pain sensation that was just on the right side of good. Your body slammed against the counter with each thrust, and with Cale’s cock hitting your g-spot with efficiency, you knew it wouldn’t take long before your orgasm crashed down on you. 

“So good sweetheart.” Cale whispered as his hand swept your wet hair off of your neck. “Checking so many things off our list today aren’t we.” He suggested. “Rub your clit for me…” 

“I’m not the only bad influence.” You gasped, your hand sneaking down to rub quick circles over your swollen bundle of nerves. 

“Who...me? A bad influence...never.” Cale said, his voice mostly coming out in a grunt. 

“Fuck…” You whined, Cale hitting a particularly sensitive spot inside of you. “Yeah uh huh...keep believing that hun…” You stuttered, your head dropping down onto the countertop as you arched your hips back against Cale. “Last I checked, I wasn’t the one who made you pull over while driving to have sex because of an item of clothing. Or the one who decided to engage in foreplay while 2 feet from our families. You’re not so innocent Calesy.” 

“Didn’t hear you complaining.” Cale groaned, his thrusts starting to become staggered as his orgasm approached. 

“Not complaining. You know I love it when you fuck me.” You gasped. “Just saying...if I’m a bad influence so are you.” 

“For something bad...it feels so good.” Cale mumbled, spilling inside of you, his hips keeping as much of a pace as he could even through his own orgasm until he felt you clamp down around him as your orgasm crested. 

With him still nestled inside you, Cale’s hands ran over your back in soothing patterns until your body and breath steadied. 

“This is gonna be messy, but I’ve gotta pull out sweetheart. Are you good to get yourself to the bathroom while I take these clothes to hang in the other bathroom to dry?” Nodding weakly, you felt Cale’s semen start dripping down your thighs as soon as he slipped out of you. Moving as quickly as you could to the bathroom, you peed and cleaned yourself up as best you could before grabbing a towel to dry the rest of your still wet body off. 

Cale had done at least a little damage control by the time you hung the towel back up, and before you could move to grab pajamas, he was offering you a clean t-shirt to pull on before pulling you between his thighs as he sat on the bed. 

“Was that okay?” He questioned, thumbs grazing lightly back and forth across your hips. “I know we hadn’t done that before.” 

“Yeah hun...that was good.” You assured him, fingers carding through his wet hair. “You’ve yet to do anything that hasn’t made me feel good.” You elaborated. “I like trying all of these new things with you. I like that no matter how many times we have sex, something is always new or different. You always focus on taking care of me...I’ve never had a partner who was so generous every single time. Granted my experience before you was pretty limited but still. Not to be crude but we just fit together perfectly. I hope it’s as good for you as it is for me.” 

“It is.” Cale agreed. “Just checking.” He shrugged. 

“I promise I’ll tell you if you ever do something I don’t like okay. You don’t need to worry about it. I like making love to you. I like fucking you. I like experiencing every level of closeness that I can with you. I like showing you how much I love you through that type of physical relationship. Because I do love you. So so much.” 

“I love you too.” Cale smiled softly. 

“Now can I have some post sex cuddles?” You requested, straddling his boxer-brief laiden lap. 

Cale chuckled and fell back onto the bed, with you on top of him, quickly twisting the two of you around so that you were more comfortable to cuddle. 

“You can always have cuddles.” He whispered, his lips pressed against your head. Basking in the feeling of Cale’s heart beating under your ear, you almost fell asleep until the little gift box in your purse popped back into your head. You hadn’t had a specific plan for giving it to him, but for some reason you felt like maybe now was the right time. 

Cale was obviously still awake by the way his fingers kept changing up the pattern along your spine and when you shifted he groaned, his eyes fluttering open to look at you as you pushed yourself up off the bed. 

“Where are you going?” He questioned. 

“I’ll be right back.” You assured him, padding out of the room to find your purse sitting in the living room. Checking your phone to make sure you hadn’t missed anything urgent, you grabbed the small gift box and returned, hiding it in your hand as you slid back into bed. 

Cale’s eyes slid shut again as you snuggled against him, but they popped back open when you placed the small box on his bare chest. 

“What’s this?” His voice was full of confusion and you rubbed your thumb over the crease of his forehead as it crinkled. 

“A present obviously.” You stated. “And before you say that I didn’t have to get you a present or that it’s not any important date, it’s more of a sentimental gift and I wanted to do it just because.” You informed him, slightly anxious as to what he was going to think. 

Shifting to let him sit up just slightly, you watched as he pulled the lid off the box, slowly pulling out the key. 

“Is this?” He whispered his face showing clear signs that he was processing. 

“A key to my house. Yes.” You confirmed. “More specifically...it’s your key to my house. Not an emergency key.” Taking a deep breath you continued wanting Cale to fully understand. “So you can come and go as you please. So that when you need some place to escape to, you know you’re always welcome. Whether I’m there or not.” Cale’s gaze was soft and you swallowed hoping he understood.

“Someday it’ll mean more but hopefully that makes sense.” You finished, your voice dropping. 

Instead of responding verbally, Cale dropped his mouth to yours in the sweetest, most tender kiss you could recall having ever shared. 

“It makes perfect sense.” He finally agreed. “You’re incredible. Thank you. You may think it’s a small gesture but it means so much more than you know.” 

This time, when you settled back against his chest, sleep started creeping up on you quickly. Still, the way he brushed his fingers against your left ring finger didn’t go unnoticed, a silent sign that he also was thinking about what someday would bring. 

Dress: 

[rigginsstreet]

I'm the anon who sent you that Parentdale Fantasy Boy Draft question back in December. Now, I'm going to expand on that question some more. What dates can you see each pairing go on? You can use whatever you saw on OTH, or make up your own. It's up to you :)

ok so as per the episode the girls have to pick the date (also heres the last message for anyone out of the loop) wait i just realized the girls didnt pick the dates in the episode.... well some did... anyway...:

alice and marty- alice is 100% trying to bail and just stays home but marty was very excited about getting drafted and having a date night.. with anyone... so after like 2 hours of waiting he shows up at alices house like “uh... we have a date ....” and alice keeps rejecting him but then marty pulls out the fact that if alice doesnt go out on this date hes gonna tell the other girls and then theyll be pissed at her and probably get back at her in some heinous way and finally alice is like FINE she’ll go on the date. they end up going to the bijou and alice has to buy marty popcorn and a slurpee and sit through some terrible action movie she hates for 2 hours

penelope and hal - penelope sets up a big romantic dinner at her house cuz shes supposed to have it to herself for the night and she fully plans on wining and dining hal and hooking up with him except hal is completely oblivious to her flirting and the romantic set up and just spends the whole night talking about alice to the point where penelope is heavily considering slitting her wrists

sierra and tom- go to a nice restaurant and drive to some romantic spot after and stargaze and makeout its all very sweet and wholesome

hermione and rando- trip to the mall where hermione has rando senior guy buying her a bunch of shit

mary and fp- i think they should get peyton and mouths go kart date!!!! fun time for all. minus the sad old man with dementia.... although.... actually you know what yeah reverse it so marys like “oh i just wanna go check on my grandpa first at the nursing home cuz i usually visit him on this night” and fps like yeah ok whatever. and marys grandpas got dementia but he still remembers bits and pieces of his life like he used to race cars and fp thinks thats dope as shit and they end up getting along really well and fps like we should bust this guy out of here and take him on an adventure and marys like uhhh i dont know about that... and fps like nah its fine lets go. so they go on the go karts and grandpas having the time of his life racing around like ye olden days and then mary and fp can have a serious moment later where fps like maybe forgetting your life isnt so bad cuz you can forget all the bad shit that happened and marys like nah man that sucks i wanna be able to remember all the good shit wow i should write this fic actually....

gladys and fred- i think they should grab burgers to go from pops and then hit up sweetwater and get high and go skinny dipping just cuz i think thats fun and they should be allowed to do that platonically. :)

[makeupbychio]

ily // C.H

pairing: Calum x Reader.

words: 2,3k.

warnings: fluff, a little bit of smut, swearing, spoilers about tv shows (Brooklyn 99 and Glee). English is not my first language. 

a/n: I tried to do this genderless so I would love some feedback. Hope you like it, love y'all.

inspired by: a couple of shows that I watched during this quarantine.

It's a lovely and cozy night with Calum, whom cooked your favorite food and watching him during the process so dedicated to make it perfect like five stars restaurants made you looking at him with heart eyes the whole night. The tomato sauce was perfect and the pasta even more. You saw how he followed every single step of the recipe and refused you to help him. 

After finishing dinner, you were enjoying red wine -the bottle is almost empty- and talking to him about everything and anything. He set the dining room with vanilla candles to make it more romantic. The warm lights lightly illuminating your faces was so charming. 

Deeply inside you know that today it's been 4 months since you started dating, but Calum never brings topics like that or buys something every month and that's totally fine because you neither talk about it. He just surprises you with lovely details like this one in random days, not just when you have to celebrate something. 

When he feels like it he does it. Sometimes he caught you off guard like that time he poured like two hundred sunflowers in your house just because, or when he bought you the coolest denim jacket when he was on tour and he said extra things like the jacket was made just for you. Or when he printed the pictures Andy took in a party you threw because he wanted to have them as memories not just in his phone. Also, you find cute when he is so excited to send you his playlists he does every month with his favorite songs -he also made a private playlist for you know, when you need privacy-.

Once finished dinner, you moved to the couch to start your nerd marathon of the shows you watch. He went to find a big blanket since it's cool outside due to the rain that's been going on for two days. He settled next to you and kissed your temple when you put your head on his chest and your hands on his ribcage. 

"Come here, baby" Calum said wanting you closer.

"What's our mood today? Glee or Brooklyn 99?" you asked while you were concentrated on the TV screen searching for said shows.

“Both" you said at the same time. You explained how you can't wait to know what happens in the show. You agreed to watch Brooklyn 99 first and then Glee when you were cuddle in bed. 

After finishing the Halloween heist chapter you were still laughing at Gina's funny surprises.

"Babe you would be the perfect Gina Linetti" Calum said when he stopped laughing. 

"I'm going to take that as a really good compliment, what about you?" you asked him looking up to find his eyes. 

"Hmm I don't know" Calum said confused. "We should take an online test to find out" he broke the cuddle position you both had in the couch to go find his computer. 

"That's so Amy Santiago" you teased him while he was in another room. Then he came back showing you the electronic device.

He sat straight next to you again and searching for Buzzfeed quizzes related to the show. 

"This one sounds pretty cool" he said focused on the screen and pointing the one he chose. While the link load slowly due to his weak WiFi signal you decided you will take the quiz first. 

"K'" you said with the computer in your lap reading the questions and choosing the answers fast. "So this says I'm Gina Linetti externally and Amy Santiago internally". You read the caption under the results and it makes sense to you. 

"I was right babe, now my turn" he said taking from you the computer. It was funny how he took this so seriously to the point he had his tongue out, a thing he does when he is working. Both of you kinda expected and not his results. "I'm Rosa Diaz externally and Jake Peralta internally". 

"That's kinda sexy tho" you said biting your lip to refuse a giggle till you couldn't resist and start making fun of how bad ass but a puddle he is.

He stood up from the couch to lay against the wall with crossed arms looking at you how cute you looked all teasing him and also surprised with the results. "I can be the Jake Peralta to your Amy Santiago" he was now teasing you.

"Challenge accepted" you said before a moment of silence and Calum broke the ice.

"Oh gosh I love you so much" he said with all the emotion and then froze when he realized he said that out loud and not just inside his head. He waited for you to say something and as your surprised wide open eyes, he knew you weren't going to answer what he wanted. 

"What?" you asked surprised, not to make him repeated the words but to confirm if it was reality.

"Don't worry, I'm going to take a shower before bed" he said quickly disappearing into the bathroom and took his shirt off. He felt so stupid, he tortured himself for a couple of minutes with thoughts like you don't feel the same way about him and how maybe that scared you and now you were going to run away. 'Stupid Cal' he said to himself before he decided to leave that for later. 

In that short amount of minutes, in the other side of the room you were thinking about how he just threw the bomb at you with no warning. You felt bad that you didn't answer immediately, because you love him too but it was confusing how hours ago you were thinking about how he is not like that type of person to celebrate another month of your relationship or cheesy things but clearly he does. You thought how to fix this and your next move. 

When you were about to knock the bathroom's door Calum surprised you opening it before your action. He was surprised too to find you inches apart from him. 

"Jesus, y/n. Sorry, I thought you were still in the couch" he said when he stopped his rushing thoughts. "Are you okay?" asking if something happened or if you need something.

Calum was already with his shirt off and just with his jeans. You laid your fingers on his beautiful jaw to get him closer and kiss him. 

"I love you too, Cal" you said looking up directly to his eyes, fingers still on his jaw and your lips barely touching his. You moved forward a little bit to get you both inside the bathroom so you can close the door. Your moves were slow and that made the intensity filled the room. You know, sexual tension. 

You saw his sculpted tan back when he turned around to start the water. You bite your lip at the view. "Is Roy at home already?" you asked innocently him to be sure of something. 

He laughed at you being cautious when multiple times before Roy definitely heard you both having sex. "I don't know, but that's cute from you to worry about my roommate's nightmares because of us" he was teasing you. 

"Fuck you" you said realizing that the house is huge and that Roy's room is way far from where you were. So you can have an idea about how loud you have to be so he can hears you. Right now you don't care and at the same time hoping that Cal's roommate could be asleep. 

You stepped closer to him and he couldn't resist it. It's not like he can't kiss you, he knows that he is allowed to that but he would kill for your kisses. He moved his head to reach your tinted cherry lips and started heating up rapidly the situation. He just cut the makeout session when you took off your shirt, then he removed the rest of his clothes to jump in into the shower. You bit your lip at the view and decided to join him so you took off your jeans too and stepped inside in underwear. 

"Baby no! That combo is my fave" Calum said when your clothes got wet immediately because of the hot water. You laughed at his words like if he doesn't has a washing machine or a dryer. You laced your arms around his neck and kissed him under the water. "I've been holding this for a while and a lot of emotions and actions to show you how I feel but not anymore" he said and started to feel like he finally poured out what was stuck on his mind. "I wanted to tell you in a more romantic way than how I did it minutes ago watching Brooklyn 99, just pretend that we are outside under the rain so it could be more romantic like a Hollywood movie from the 50s" Calum said. 

He rapidly interlaced both arms in the end of your back to keep your body close to his. You rested your arms around his neck and he went up a little bit with his hands to fight with your soaked bra and then took it off and throw it to the floor crossing the glass door. A cloud of steam was already formed because of the heat in the room.

Now just your panties were left but you were so focused tracing Calum's tattoos with your fingers while he admired you doing it. It gave him chills when you found his chest tattoo.

"I love your tattoo too, honey" he said with his hand moving down to the side of your left thigh where your tattoo is. Perfect time to lift you up and take off the last piece of clothes. Your legs around his waist and he got you holding you with his strong hands placed above your butt.

Calum laughed when you tried to hide your body. It was the first time you took a shower with him. But the only way to hide your body was pressing it harder against his.

From outside the shower your bodies seemed blurry because of the big amount of steam. That marks were erased when Calum lifted you up to hold your body against the wall, your legs were around his waist to give him better access. 

Lust immediately filled your mind with the passionate kisses and how good felt when Cal pressed your body against the wall, still lifting you with his strong hands. God that hands and arms drive you crazy with his tattoos and notorious veins. Next he asked you for permission to fill your entrance, always making sure you were alright. You just nodded at him and he did it, your right arm so tight around the back of his neck and left hand holding against the glass leaving your handprint freshly. 

You both failed at being quiet but the sound of water and the soundproofing walls gave you advantage. Words couldn't be found, just moans and kisses wherever you had access. Calum still holding you changed to another wall, now one hand holding you and the other pressed against the wall that gave him the balance and to keep pushing inside you.

"Calum, I'm close" you said whispering on his ear. He wanted to make you feel even better so he speed up his pace. The water was hitting Cal's back and was burning him with the marks you were leaving with your nails. 

You tilted your head back when you reached your orgasm wanting to have your feet back on the floor and seconds later of friction he reached his edge too. 

He pulled off and helped you to for real take a shower and clean the sweaty mess. Now the calm and tiredness hit you both once you left the bathroom ready to -do quite opposite like minutes ago- put comfy clothes and cuddle. 

Calum dried your hair and you his. Once you put his baggy hoodie you jumped into the bed. You waited for him who was setting the heat for the house during the night.

While you watched Glee, with his head resting on your chest and stroking his curls, you thought about what he said earlier. Calum always sings the songs that he knows from the show and taps your skin gently at the beat of the music, and it's more than lovely to hear his beautiful voice. 

“Babe, what did you mean when you said that you had been holding that for a while?” you asked him when the cast of the show ended the song they were performing. He looked up at you.

“Like a month ago we were watching Brooklyn 99 that chapter when Jake was in danger and Amy felt guilty because she never told him how she felt and that hit me” he spoke with all the honesty. You found that so cute and cheesy from him and it made sense to you because for a while he seemed that he wanted to say something important to you but you never asked or pushed him to do it.

You kissed his forehead and smiled at him. Before you both returned your attention to the show you said, “I love you”.

"I love you too" he said. "I think you would be a perfect Mercedes" he started again teasing you about the characters of the shows you watch together, you are going to get used to this. 

You tried to break the closeness of his head in your chest because he knows that you don't have a beautiful talent and voice like Mercedes. "Ha ha very funny. So in that case you would be Sam?" you raised your brows at him because even when you love Sam, he's a player. 

"I think we can only resolve this with a quizz" he said smirking at you.

[isitgintimeyet]

The Ties That Bind

AO3

Previous

Thank you all for reading. Hope you enjoy some more Lallybroch time... and a couple more family members.

thanks to @mo-nighean-rouge for the beta.

Chapter 12: A Highland Distillery

Whisky is liquid sunshine - George Bernard Shaw

Due to the unscheduled teenage makeout session, there was little time for refreshment or a guided tour before Brian and Murtagh were due to return home from the distillery.

“We havena time fer a bite afore dinner now.” Jamie complained to Claire as they headed downstairs, fresh from their uneventful showers. “I dare say Mrs Crook will have made a tasty dish fer dinner. She makes stews and the like while she’s here during the day and then Da and Murtagh jes’ have tae heat them through. I dinna ken what they’d do wi’out her.”

Jamie quickly showed Claire the rooms on the ground floor. The formal living room and dining room were both immaculately clean with a strong smell of lemon furniture polish thanks, no doubt, to the efforts of Mrs Crook and were beautifully decorated in tones of claret and forest green, but were obviously little used. The study cum library was clearly in regular use, as was the morning room with its large television and matching recliner chairs.

Back in the kitchen, Jamie headed straight for the fridge, emerging with a large chunk of cheese, two apples and some grapes.

“Ye want some?” He muttered through a mouthful of cheddar.

“No thanks, and I thought we didn’t have time for any refreshment before dinner.”

Jamie swallowed the cheese. “That’s right, we don’t. But this isna proper refreshment, Sassenach, this is just a wee amuse-bouche. As soon as Da and Murtagh get home, we’ll open up the bar.”

“You’re just an appetite on legs, James Fraser.”

“Aye, weel,” Jamie moved to put his arms around Claire, walking her backwards until she felt her bottom make contact with a granite countertop. “I have tae keep my strength up. I have an awfa demanding woman to service, ye ken. Always wanting my body...” He nuzzled into her neck, muffling his words. Claire laughed and drew his lips to hers.

“Och, sorry there. Are we interrupting? Shall we go out, knock and come in again?”

Embarrassed, Claire broke from the kiss and tried to extract herself from Jamie’s embrace. Jamie just smiled at the two men and pulled her even closer to him, one hand secretly snaking down her back to squeeze her bottom. Claire blushed a deeper shade of crimson.

“Da, Murtagh… this is Claire.”

“Pleased to meet you.”

Claire finally escaped Jamie’s arms and shook the hand of the fiercer looking man, a large proportion of his face covered by a black, bushy beard and thick black eyebrows. The rest of the face looked serious with a ‘mess-with-me-and-you’re-in-for-it’ expression.

“Evenin’.” The face responded.

Turning to the other, kinder looking man, Claire was immediately wrapped in a huge hug.

“We dinna stand on ceremony here, lass. I’m Brian, Jamie’s Da and I’m verra happy tae meet ye.”

Even though Brian’s hair was black, shot through with silver, there was a strong resemblance between himself and his son. Jamie was a couple of inches taller and broader than his father, but they both projected the same air of leadership and benevolent authority. In centuries gone by, they would have been lairds or war chiefs, protecting and commanding.

With introductions made, and the casserole in the oven to heat through, Jamie poured four whiskies as they sat round the table. Conversation was mainly between Jamie, Brian and Claire, with the odd interjection from Murtagh. Jamie sat back in his chair watching as Claire explained her role as orthopaedic surgeon at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, making Brian laugh and even Murtagh smile at her anecdotes from the wards.

Nothing could be better than this, he thought to himself. The tantalising smell of Mrs Crook’s lamb casserole and baked potatoes; the taste of the whisky, smooth and warming on his tongue; the sound of good conversation; the sight of loved ones and the touch of Claire’s hand resting on his thigh under the table, her thumb lightly stroking, all made for a more perfect evening than he had expected. He had known that his father would like Claire, but to see them together, laughing and chatting with no awkwardness, well, it filled his heart.

As the men made the preparations for dinner, with a well-rehearsed choreography borne from years of similar meals, Claire asked “Do you need me to do anything? Set the table, perhaps?”

“Och, no Claire, Dinna fash. We’re all fine. Ye jes’ relax.”

Unsurprisingly, the casserole tasted as good as it smelt. Jamie had opened a bottle of red wine and all four sat round the kitchen table savouring the food and drink.

“Mrs Crook is a marvellous cook.” Claire commented contentedly.

“Aye, that she is. Murtagh and I would be lost wi’out her. She runs this house… er, has Jamie cooked ye dinner yet?”

A knowing smirk passed between Brian and Murtagh. Claire glanced at Jamie, his eyes fixed firmly on his plate.

“No, why?”

“Our Jamie may have many skills, but cookin’ isna one o’ them,” Brian began. “Remember when he thought he could make cheese sauce by grating cheese into a saucepan, melting it then adding milk… we had tae throw that pan away.”

“Or when he tried to roast a chicken in the oven,” Murtagh joined in. “But put it in a dish with plastic handles… we had to throw that away too.”

“Or when he thought a clove of garlic meant the whole bulb. That bolognaise wasna good.”  Brian was now on a roll.

Jamie covered his face with his hands.

“Or when he came home drunk and...”

“Enough!” Jamie stood up. “I canna take this character assassination. I’m going fer a piss.”

As Jamie left the kitchen, Brian turned to Claire. “‘Tis only teasin’ ye ken, Claire. Our Jamie is a fine man and he thinks the world o’ you. I can see it.” He placed his hand over hers and gently squeezed.

Jamie returned with another bottle of whisky and refilled the glasses. As Claire sipped, she realised this was what a home felt like. “Would you like me to do the washing up?” she asked Brian.

“Och no, lass. We have a dishwasher. He’s called Murtagh… only kiddin’, we do have a dishwasher, nae bother.”

“Please excuse me, I must just pop to the bathroom.”

Brian waited until Claire was out of the room, then spoke to his son. “It’s a grand lass ye have there. Much better that any o’ the others.”  

Murtagh nodded vigorously in agreement. “Dinna do anything daft tae scare her away.”

“I wouldna… it’s only been a month, but it’s like I’ve known her forever… d’ye understand what I mean?”

Brian’s eyes moved to the wedding photo on the kitchen dresser. “Aye, lad, I do. I understand ye… totally.”

********

Brian and Murtagh had already left for the distillery by the time Jamie and Claire made it downstairs the following morning. The original plan had been to travel the ten miles together, but since there was no sign that Jamie and Claire were awake, Brian made the decision to leave them at home to join him later.  

Jamie and Claire had, in fact, been very much awake but, since he was determined to work through a large number of fifteen year old Jamie’s fantasies, they were not ready to leave when Brian called his farewells. Eventually fifteen year old Jamie was sated enough for them to get ready and head for the distillery.

Driving towards Broch Tuarach, the road followed alongside a river. “That’s the River Glass,” Jamie explained. “That’s where we get the water fer our whisky.”

As they pulled into the car park, Claire was surprised to see a coach parked there, people chattering animatedly as they climbed out and congregated in the middle. A man with a distinctive navy Broch Tuarach sweatshirt herded them together.  

“Are we joining that group?” Claire whispered as she deliberately pushed her full lower lip out in a (half) joking pout. She had been hoping for a more personal ‘behind the scenes’ tour. She was keen to see his office up here. She loved to imagine him at his desk, forehead screwed up in concentration, poring over ledgers, glasses perched on the end of his nose - even though in reality she knew he would be more likely to be poring over a computer screen and didn’t wear glasses.

“Nah, we’ll wait for that lot tae head through before I show ye the works. Mind, it’s good business, these tours. Many of the distilleries do them, especially ones like us wi’ a real history. There’s a full malt whisky trail on Speyside but we dinna do too bad wi’ visitors - a drive down Loch Ness, a wee keek at Urquhart Castle and then ontae us. And we do different tours too. There’s a general tour and specialist tasting events. Jenny’s husband Ian, he manages the marketing, events, PR and the like. Over there we’ve a wee shop and we’ve plans for a wee cafe to open in the summers.”

“Like a pop-up cafe?”

“Aye,” Jamie put his arms round Claire and pulled her close. “I’m verra fond of a pop-up myself, would ye no’ say?”

Jamie led Claire into one of the stone buildings surrounding the car park. As they walked down a corridor, Claire studied the portraits hanging on the walls, all images of sombre, dark-haired men, the only real difference being the gradual evolution of their attire. At the end of the corridor Claire recognised the portrait of Brian, not so dour as the others, a slight smile playing on his lips.

“Are these all your great great, whatever grandfathers?” Claire asked.

“Aye, stretching all the way back tae Robert Fraser in the late eighteenth century.”

“And there’s always been a son to carry on?”

Jamie nodded. “There’s been a fair few daughters too, but aye, there’s always a son.”

“So your picture will be up here one day?”

“Perhaps,” Jamie shrugged. “Or mebbe Jenny’s will. She works for the company too, weel, she’s on maternity leave at the moment.”

“You’d stand out like a sore thumb!” Claire laughed, teasing him. “That red hair against all these brunettes.”

“My mam had red hair too, that’s the MacKenzie in me.”

******

After a cup of coffee in Jamie’s office (no ledgers, no leather bound volumes, no old fashioned desk lamp, just a large slightly battered wooden desk, immaculately tidy dominated by a computer screen), Claire felt slightly disappointed, even though she knew her imagination had leant more to Dickens than actual real life.  

There were several photos dotted round the office, some obviously were the distillery team, all dressed in logoed sweatshirts but the majority featured the same faces. Claire recognised Jamie, Brian, Murtagh, Jenny and Wee Jamie. The others, she surmised, were Jenny’s husband, Ian and Jamie’s mother, Ellen.

Jamie didn’t talk much about his mother. Claire recognised that the wound ran deep and he tried to hide it, probably as a defence mechanism. She knew Ellen had died when Jamie was twelve and his sister was fourteen, but unlike her own, the loss of a parent had not halted a traditional, close-knit family life. He still had a parent, a sibling, cousins, aunts and uncles, and a nephew. Claire felt a sudden pang. Jamie had a family history, traditions, silly inside jokes and roots and she, much as she had loved Uncle Lamb, had none of those.

“Come on now,” Jamie broke her reverie. “The next guided tour begins in two minutes. Time fer a quick loo trip first, if ye need it, but I wouldna keep yer tour guide waiting. I hear he’s a wee bit of a tyrant.”

Walking through the various buildings of the distillery, Jamie explained to Claire the long process to turn grain and water into whisky -from the germination, malting, mashing, fermentation and distillations to storing the whisky in large barrels to age.

They ended up in a large warehouse with rows and rows of barrels on the floor and on huge wooden shelves. Claire looked around, fascinated. “So, if all distilleries use the same process, why don’t all whiskies taste the same?”

“Weel, if ye’ve a blended whisky, you’ve room tae do a bit o’ playing aboot. We only produce single malt here. Differences in taste can be due tae several reasons: the shape and material o’ the stills, the skill of the makers, the water from different rivers - or even the same river in different places - and the type of barrels we put the whisky in tae age. We mainly use sherry barrels, but those over there are rum barrels fer a special twenty year old limited edition.”

Jamie moved behind Claire, his chest pressed tightly against her back. He bent down to whisper in her ear. “Och, Sassenach, if there were no’ sae many people around, I reckon the barrels are jes’ the right height. I would have ye bending across one o’ these barrels, wi’ yer shirt undone and yer breasts wobbling free and then I’d pull down yer jeans and...” She could feel his hot breath on her neck as he gently nibbled her skin.

Putting her hand up to caress his cheek, she enquired, “Is that another one of fifteen year old Jamie’s fantasies? He seemed to have a fair few.”

“Ooh no, Sassenach, this one is thirty two year old Jamie’s fantasy. Jes’ thought of it meself. I mean, what could be a better combination, whisky and sex with the woman you lo...” Jamie stopped himself. “...lust after.”

[musicalmukebox]

Let’s Get (Back) Together | l.h. (3)

Ctto of the gif!

AU: Parent Trap Dad!Luke

Summary: A strong love which led to a strong marriage and twin daughters. Yet in the end, it didn’t turn out so well. You strongly refuse to encounter him ever again. But what happens when both of you coincidentally send your twin daughters to the same summer camp in Florida after 10 years?

Word Count: 4.8k

Warnings: SLIGHT sexual content and swearing

A/N: This is where the real story takes off. Also here and onwards, the italicized story in the beginning is a flashback. Enjoy, my loves! 

- Brielle

I don’t own Parent Trap and its ideas. It’s only used as inspiration.

1 / 2A / 2B / 2C / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15

Feedback/Questions/Others? Here.

-

2019, Los Angeles

“Shut the fuck up, Luke!” You exclaimed, throwing your pillows at the annoying, child-like manchild that is Luke, who kept distracting you from reviewing for your French final exam by singing a mix of his and All Time Low songs really badly.

Ever since the Valentine music video shooting more than a year ago, you two kept in touch. You both would find your middle ground time (since he’s always abroad) so you can message or call to talk, and hanging out when he’s in L.A., which is pretty common now. In fact recently, you joined him on the North American part of the band’s tour last summer when you were on break. That really bonded you both, which made the other 3 guys suspicious.

“Aren’t you guys cute?”

“Stop making me single when you guys are around.”

“Jesus, someone get me a girlfriend.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t fucked yet.”

“Hey cupid, you forgot me!”

“Something tells me that this friendship isn’t just a friendship.”

Those were some of the things they would say. Yeah, you’ve both been annoying to each other out of stupidity, open when you rant to each other about any bad things that occurred, and touchy too yet nothing like that makeout scene in Valentine. Well, yet.

“Oh, come one, (Y/N)! You still have tomorrow. I mean your exam is at 3 pm!” He defends himself.

“I know, but I have to really need to memorize these words and their conjugations if there’s an essay portion, you know?!”

“But I’m here!”

“You could’ve been with the boys drinking!”

“But I’ll be seeing them for a good 6 months on tour!” He argued back.

“You know very well that I was going to be studying tonight!”

“At least I get to spend time with you though.” He gave a wink, which isn’t surprising because he knew that it annoyed you, sometimes.

“I figured though that you would be gone after we ate Panda Express a while ago.” You assumed, only to be wrong.

“Nah, I need some chill time right now, and you are the chilliest person ever.” He shares his opinion, resting his body on your couch and shifting a bit to be more comfortable. Sometimes, you could be dense, wondering whether if he was flirting with you or just giving you friendly comments. For Luke though, his feelings for you remained platonic, but recently, he’s been feeling something more with you, especially during tour. He couldn’t be too sure just yet whether it’s just a phase or it’s really legit.

“Sadly, you’ll be getting some quiet time too.” You bluntly say, looking back at your notes.

“I’m not leaving until you’re done so get used to me.”

“Luke, I’ve already accidentally saw you butt naked on tour. I think I’ll be fine.” You finished the conversation, resuming to scan through your notes. You also put on your reading glasses to further comprehend the words that you have written on those index cards.

“Devenir, Revenir, Monter, Rester ..” You read in your mind.

Luke stood by his statement, bound to bring out his phone to seek immediate gratification. However, he didn’t feel it in his back pocket and to make things worse, he didn’t bring any bag that would hold it. Standing up, he looked around frantically in the room, which was quite distracting as you were memorizing. You thought that this was a trick, but you weren’t going to give in. “Okay, where the fuck is my phone?”

“I don’t know, in your pocket?” You bantered, sticking your tongue out.

“Ha, very funny (Y/N), but really now.” He walks over to your deskside area, making you scoot over.

“Luke, what are you doing now?” You asked the nervous boy, pacing back and front in your dorm. “Did you hide my fucking phone?”

“No, I’ve been talking to you the whole time without moving my butt on this chair!” You pushed him out of your minimum space.

“Fuck, I can’t find my phone!” He yells, looking through your couch and bed.

“It’s just in my room for sure, unless you placed it somewhere else right?” You tried to calm his nerves, putting your hand on his shoulder.

“Wait, we did just come from the garbage bins outside right to throw away the pizza box right?” He remembered as he scratched the back of his head out of stress.

“You didn’t.” You narrowed your eyes, realizing what he’s up to. Without a second more, he took hold of your doorknob, twisting it to the right to open and making a run for it before things get worse.

“Goddamnit, Luke.” You say, smacking your palm to your face in stress, before running after the lanky boy. Your mind was already drained, and your legs were sore from your workout session hours ago. Breathless, you made it outside your dormitory building. Walking in the dark with very dim lighting emitting from the post lights, you caught sight of a tall guy rummaging through one garbage bin at a time in search of his phone. As you got to his side, offering him help to find, he beat you to it.

“I found it!” Luke yanks out his phone from the garbage bin, grinning from ear to ear like a child. He looked cute triumphant.

“You’re stupid, you know that?” You teased, punching him in the arm and heart rate still racing. Well, for two reasons.

“Yeah, it is a fact. Tell me something I don’t know.” He challenges, his gaze on you intensifies as he puts his phone securely on one of his front pockets of his black jeans.

“Do you really want me to answer that, Hemmings?” You straightened your back, giving him a strong, badass vibe as you also crossed your arms.

“I dare you.” He insisted, taking one step further towards you. As you were to open your mouth again, his phone rung abruptly, the song “Bail Me Out” by All Time Low ft. Joel Madden playing. Bringing out his phone swiftly, he checked to see that it was from Ashton. Upon answering it, his competitive mood switched to a more stressed mood.

“Hey Ash, what’s up? … No, why? …. Fuck why, you’re so stupid. … I’m with (Y/N), hanging out in her dorm. … Is it urgent? … Fine, I’m on my way…. No, nothing happened, bye see you in 10.” He hung up.

“What happened over there?” You asked nicely, trying not to tick him off like he already is.

“Ash lost his key to the house, and needs to get in now, but I’m still with you.” He pouts like a child.

“Dude, go back there and help him! I bet he hasn’t packed yet.” You hypothesized, getting a strong laugh from him.

“True. But when I leave, I’m seeing you in like half a year.”

“There’s always Facetime and iMessage, Luke. It’s not like we’re not seeing each other ever again.” You emphasized, playing his fingers so his nerves won’t get the best of him. He is a reserved guy after all, wherein he keeps so much to himself yet you see through his eyes and actions that he just needs to calm down.

“I don’t know, love. I just got used to you so much.”

“I’ll still be here when you’re done, and when you are, we’re going out to drink and get high like always except today. Besides, I’ll drop by some tour destinations when I got the time, just as long it’s in the U.S.” You reassured, patting his shoulder for his comfort.

“Now, that’s something to look forward.” He pondered, his arms reaching out for you for a hug. Returning such, you felt him lift you a bit and when he brought you down, he kissed your forehead.

“You’re honestly a best friend to me just like the boys, (Y/N).”

“Your best friend? I’ve only known you for more than year, Luke. You’ve known the boys since you were 15-16.”

“In our case, sometimes time doesn’t matter if you really vibe well with someone’s character, (Y/N).”

---

2034, Los Angeles

Waking up with a hangover is the worst thing for you as a working actress and mom. But in your defense, you haven’t had alcohol in a while. Rubbing your eyes to make yourself more awake, proceeded in standing up and walking to the stairs. First thing you already see as you got to the ground floor is Mark toasting some bread.

“Morning, Mark.” You greeted, stretching your tense arms. Mark didn’t bother to ask what happened because by the pitch of your morning voice, it could be two things: over fatigue or hungover. Could be both. “It’s more like good afternoon, Miss (Y/N).” He corrects, making you look the clock.

12:37.

“Looks like I really slept in last night. But hey, at least I only have one interview, which is at 4 pm!”

“Let me guess, wine was the culprit?” Mark wiggled his eyebrows playfully. “Whatever, Mark. Anyways, I know it’s late but can I have some pancakes and bacon? Maybe some coffee too.”

“Of course, miss.” He follows, grabbing the ingredients of flour, milk and others from the refrigerator and other cabinets. As you expressed your thanks, you take a seat and brought out your phone to check on any texts from Gina.

Gina: Hello, Miss (Y/N)! Today, aside from your interview with Vogue, you’ll be having dinner with your other co-stars in Take Me or Leave Me, like Timmy Chalamet, Miles Teller and Cami Mendes at 7 at the Maximillia. See you later!

You: Alright, got it. Thanks, love!

Putting your phone down, Mark serves your desired food to your table mat. You view of the pleasing meal and inhale at the sweet and salty aroma, excited to dive in. Taking that first bite of the pancake side by side with the bacon is alleviating your hangover so quickly, really treasuring every bite.

“Thank you God for this meal.” You praised, not realizing that *Stella* just breezed through the dining room, sitting right in front of you. Mark served her spaghetti and meatballs, with orange juice on the side. Unlike you, she looked fresh and awake, dressed in better clothing while you still wore your outfit from last night since you passed out on your bed as soon as Timmy left.

“Hi, mom. I see you’re finally awake.” She commends, sipping on orange juice while looking at her phone, in which you spanked her hand away. “Hey, what gives?” She hissed in pain, putting it down.

“No phones while at the table.” You reminded, getting an exasperated sigh from her. Why would she not follow that rule? It’s been established ever since she got the phone last year. “But you used it before I came in here!”

“But it was only me in the table. Unless someone is with you in table, no phones.” You reinstated, hoping she doesn’t argue any further. “Using your phone is still using your phone, mom!” She budged, ticking you off more. This and dealing with a hangover? It won’t end well.

“Don’t raise your voice on me, or I’m confiscating it, Stella.” You argued back, your fatigue getting the best of you. But come on, she wouldn’t stop. Her temper was so identical, almost like his.

“Whatever, mom. Phone is out of my grasp.” She placed her phone on the other side of the table, continuing her consumption of her meal. As you took a sip of your coffee, feeling less and less hungover by the second, you noticed something different with Rebecca as you observed her facial features. “Are you wearing eyeshadow, bub?”

“Why? You’ll ask me to remove that too?” She rudely responded, rolling her eyes in annoyance. You weren’t having this disrespect from her, not today or ever. So you stood up and walked to her side, grabbing her phone away from her vicinity.

“Mom, what the heck?!” She grumbled, dropping her utensils loudly on the table before she also stood up trying to reclaim her phone. Her blue eyes darkened with anger and annoyance. But you raised your hand higher so she wouldn’t bother to try getting it. You pointed right at her, your eyes narrowed.

“You don’t disrespect me like that, okay? Because of that, I’m confiscating your phone for the day.” You concluded the argument, heading back to your chair on the other side and putting her phone on your pocket. “Ugh, you are evil!” She raged, stomping her feet on the way to her room, banging the door too.

“What is up with her lately?” You pondered, loudly. Were you being too strict? Did you let your stress out on her? “Miss (Y/N), all she did was forgetting a rule and you handled it too seriously, but she grew too aggressive as well. Don’t wanna intervene here, but she feels bad I know it.” He is right though, wherein your take was harsh but to recall, she retaliated fire with fire.

“Ugh, I just want to go back to sleep.” You sighed, going back to your room to get ready for the day and placing Rebecca's phone under your bed so she would never find it. Scrolling through your closet, your back slouching because of the fatigue, you settled on a black romper with black open sandals. Not even bothering to put on makeup since there are makeup artists at the interview anyways, Timmy texted you that he was at the venue already, anticipating your arrival to give you some “stress relief” since these interviews and everything else are getting too overwhelming.

“Your car again?” You replied, giddy at the frisky opportunity. It flatters you highly at how by the thought of you, he is so aroused.

“Yes. Now hurry, I can’t hide this boner any longer.” Laughing, you raced downstairs to your car, putting on the first pair of shows at your sight, which were ballet flats. Getting to your car, you quickly revved on the engine and drove off so you wouldn’t be late. What a way to wake up.

-

“Ugh.” Rebecca groaned as she banged her door, locking it as well. She mindlessly jumped on her bed, lying down and pressing her face to a pillow to soften her shouting. As much as you pissed her off just minutes ago, this was something she has never felt with Luke. Yeah, they had their fallouts but to have it with you, her mother, felt different. Luke has never reached that level of arguing with her because it wouldn’t end well, so they would equally wait until they were calm to solve the problem. But with you, it was fire vs. fire. And discreetly, she felt glad that she had this kind of dilemma for the first time. It was like a weird way to bond with you.

“Stella.” Rebecca’s daze was interrupted at the voice of Mark, knocking at her door. Still filled with annoyance, she reluctantly got up from her cozy position and turned the knob on her door, revealing Mark holding some clothes.

“Hey Mark, what’s up?” She casually says, crossing her arms in front of her butler as she wasn’t finished releasing all that stress in her.

“Firstly, young lady, doe these jeans belong to you?” He unfolded one of the jeans, the black one which is ripped on one side by the knee. “And this shirt as well?” “He unfolded the black shirt to reveal the words “5 Seconds of Summer” with a picture of lips above it. Shit, she could get caught by now.

“Actually, yes. I traded some clothes of mine with the same girl from New York in camp. Thank you for giving them to me.” She got hold of the clothes, turning her back on him as she walked towards her bed to refold them again. Assuming Mark was going to leave her as is, he didn’t. He leaned by the door frame, one brow raised. “That New Yorker friend of yours, she’s into music of old bands?” He asks with a hint of interest.

“Yeah, she got that interest for 5 Seconds of Summer from her mom she said. That shirt is practically vintage, but I traded my denim skirt for it because it looked cool.”

“That’s pretty cool, huh? I mean wow, being familiar with 5 Seconds of Summer to kids like you decades later? They really did it.” Mark commends them. This made Rebecca’s heart flutter to hear positive words about Luke because she knows that he wholeheartedly deserves it, especially after everything he has been though.

“Also speaking of that New Yorker friend of yours, how long were you guys talking last night?” He continued on, growing suspicious. Does he know something you don’t?

“I don’t know, around an hour?” Rebecca said on the spot, praying to the heavens he would stop. She already had you to deal with drama that day, not Mark too. “Hmm, so at 10 pm here, why would she be awake at 1 am?” He pestered.

“Well, she texted me first that she couldn’t sleep so we just talked. Nothing wrong with that, right?” She came up, feeling a drip of sweat from her forehead out of nerves.

“Hmm, the talking to friends isn’t, but going at it that late? You’re only 11! Take care of yourself now, okay?” Mark prompted, releasing some fatherly vibes at Rebecca out of concern. Although Luke will never replace him, it felt refreshing to have a piece of home at the moment.

“Okay, Mark. Sorry about that.” She apologizes, putting down her pride and turns around to face him so he could see how sorry she really was.

“Nah, it’s okay. But you should be saying sorry to someone else though.” He straightened his posture after leaning too long. “Mom? Ha! She overacted over a simple rule I forgot. I am human, I forget things!” She reckoned, her pride slowing growing on to her again. It’s without a doubt bad trait she inherited from Luke.

“I know, but cut her some slack at least? She’s tired from doing interviews and press stuff, not to mention having an Australian premiere next week? Just spare her.” He rationalizes again. Rebecca was reluctant, but he did have a point. A strong one.

“W-wait, an Australian premiere?” She stammers at the new information, hoping it doesn’t ruin the plan. “Yeah, next week? You’re going with her, and you have a dress that’s being delivered?” He answered, giving you a questionable look, exemplifying “Did you forget?”

“Oh yeah that! I forgot for a moment, but now if you don’t mind, I will be fixing this and my room, might take a nap too.”

“Alright, Stella. I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.” He stated, slowly walking away only for his name to be called out again to stop him. “Thanks, Mark. For everything.” Rebecca sends him a hopeful smile, feeling calmer than earlier.

“No problem, bub. Always here to help you out.”

---

2034, Sydney

The heat down under was unreal, and the best way to unwind was swimming. Stella couldn’t wait to jump in and feel refreshed. Well, again if lunch 2 hours ago wasn’t enough. As much as she loved swimming back home, Sydney would feel a lot better because there were times the cold breeze there would leave her in shivers that would make her sniff a whole lot.

Meanwhile, there was a nervous couple waiting for the 11 year old’s arrival in order to lay down the news once and for all.

“Luke, babe, are we really telling Rebecca about us today?” Sierra dreaded, lying down on poolside bed and drinking a beer Luke gave her earlier. She knew Rebecca since she was born, yet she had problems that reached to the media, which made her nervous as to what Rebecca thinks about her. Especially since she will be her new mother. Likewise to Luke, he wanted his little girl about the news as soon as possible so it is over and done with.

“Today, Sierra. She’s just dressing up into her swimsuit before meeting up here.” Luke reassured Sierra as he was sat on the edge of the bed. Well tried. “Shit, I want her to like me. Well, she does as an aunt but still.” She worries, drinking more of the beer than usual because she always drinks it slowly. Her fingers tremble while at it, spilling some of them on her blue dress.

“Yikes, Sierra. Let me take that.” Luke grabs the beer from her, putting on the table beside her. He put one hand on her thigh and the other on her cheek, brushing away some of Sierra’s hair behind her ear to see her face clearly, filling him up with so much admiration.

“Even when you’re nervous, you still look gorgeous.” He complimented, making Sierra blush and bite her bottom lip. “God, you’re distracting me from my thoughts.”

“You like it, though.” His hand was still at by her cheek, bringing her closer to his lips. “More like I need it.” She chuckled, being the one to go closer this time, eventually closing the gap between them. Their lips crashed, moving in sync to the album of Daniel Caesar playing through the speakers of the pool area. Luke’s hands lowered down to her waist, while Sierra’s arms tangled to his neck and legs remain at his lap. This was nothing compared to the heat they were facing. Sierra shifted her legs to his waist, hands rubbing under his red floral shirt, feeling his fit abdomen. Luke bit her lower lip as they kissed, knowing damn well how much she liked it.

“Fuck.” She moaned, feeling Luke’s pointer finger dangerously near her core as he trailed it along her inner thigh. She wanted it badly, but to her dismay, he let go first.

“You tease!” She protested, pouting at the chuckling man in front of her.

“You know I wouldn’t hesitate to fuck right here, right now, but my daughter could be here at any second and I don’t want her to be scarred at this.” He directly says, urging Sierra to unlock herself from him. “You owe me, big time.”

“We have the whole afternoon, when Felicia goes to the grocery and Rebecca swims.” He kissed her temple, then at his peripheral view, he sees a blonde girl wearing a blue one-piece and black round sunglasses, running to the stairs. “Finally, here’s the little poppet!”

Undoubtedly, Stella was excited to swim but she grew confused to see another person at the area. She wasn’t there a while ago. “Rebecca, you remember aunt Sierra, right?” Luke reintroduces, Sierra looking up from her black hat to face the little girl.

“Rebecca! You grew a few inches taller after camp, huh?” She began, shifting from lying down to setting on the edge of the bed. “Uh, yeah. Doing a lot of sports does stretch limbs, I believe.” She adlibbed, internally cringing at that random fact she gave.

“Ooh I see! That’s really interesting.” Sierra comments, turning to Luke and giving him a “you should tell her” look, just like Rebecca with Timmy and you previously. Luke got the hint, kneeling to Stella’s level.

“What’s up, dad? What’s with looks you’ve given each other?” Stella asks curiously, her interest skyrocketing. “Well, poppet. We have something to tell you, which is very important.”

“What is it then, dad? You’re scaring me.” Am I caught already she thought. Luke looks at Sierra again, with a smile of reassurance with some nerves. 

“Rebecca, your aunt Sierra and I are getting married.”

Stella was dumbfounded. Uncle Timmy and you dating was news that she still couldn’t comprehend, but now dad and Aunt Sierra getting married? Like in a church, saying “I do” and all was much more challenging to handle. It’s an actual commitment that can’t be messed with. Well, you and uncle Timmy is a commitment too, but who knows things may change? Yet, she put a fake smile for her dad and sucked it up.

“Wow, that’s amazing! I love you both, you guys have made each other happy all these years.” She lied, knowing well that only you can make him very happy. Luke and Sierra were astonished as they received a better response than what they expected. Out of that emotion, Luke gave Stella a warm hug.

“Thank you, poppet! We should celebrate this with some drinks.” He rejoiced.

“Uhm dad remember, I’m only eleven.” Stella realistically confronted. “Hmm, I’ll just get you a soda perhaps.” As he runs back to the house to get drinks, Stella is left with Sierra, feeling forced to talk to her. Her blue eyes eyeing on her short blue dress, exposing her legs. She went here for another reason maybe. Nonetheless, she kept her cool luckily.

“So Aunt Sierra,” She instigated, removing her shades and putting them on the table. “My dad, huh?” “Yeah, he’s a great guy. I mean, I’ve known him for like 20 years?”

“Oh wow, that’s long. Anyways, how old are you if you don’t mind me asking?” Stella fired another question, wanting to know more of this woman who may be her future step-mother.

Switch that “may be” to a “would never be” if she and Rebecca change that.

Stella took a few steps to the edge of the pool, sitting there momentarily as she awaits Sierra’s response. She laughs at first at the question, but not hesitant to hold back. “I’m 42, love. And let me say this, you are just as great as him. He talks highly about you a lot.” She compliments, making Stella’s heart flutter despite the compliment being meant for Rebecca.

“Oh he does? Well, we only have each other in this life.” Stella stood up then jumped right in, splashing some water on Sierra. She flinched and shrieked in disgust, trying to wipe off any excess droplets.

“Oh shiz, did I get any water on you, Aunt Sierra?” Stella put her hand on her mouth, half genuinely apologetic and half impressed at her intended act of mischievousness. Let’s see what how she’ll react, will she be fake or real?

“Well, just a little bit, love. But that’s alright.” Sierra gave her a fake smile as she grabbed a tissue to wipe a second time. Stella had a gut feeling she was right about her intended action; she was being fake about it.

“So, aunt Sierra, what did my dad have to say about me?” She wondered, grabbing a donut floatie and lifted her body to lie down there. Sierra settled once again on the poolside bed, avoiding the wet spots to touch her dress.

“He said that you’re just as into rock as him, playing the guitar and piano, and also football.” She says slickly, hoping to win her favor. So far, Stella was still questioning such. “Aww, thanks you’re such a great girl, but,”

“But?” Sierra widened her eyes, eager to know what the eleven year old is prompting. Was she still lacking something?

“Do you really wanna know what’s up?” Stella playfully trails, liking how one word can really make someone interested. She was ready to fill her with lies. Naughty.

“Tell me what’s up then, Becks.” Stella cringes at her calling Becks at first, but continued on.

“Well, you’re not the first girl he’s liked in this way in a long time and not the first time a girl of his talks to me like this.” She affirms, floating along with the water.

“Oh r-really?” Sierra stammered, astonished again. As much as she and Luke have been friends been for so long, has he missed any details about him or this girl is just trying to get rid of her?

“Truly. He’s done this before; he invites the girl on a few dates, then to his house, and in a few months, breaks up because he’s never happy. That’s one flaw about him sadly. But you should’ve known that since you’ve been friends for long. Hey though, you made it this far, to the level of marriage, which is impressive! Maybe another glass of wine or beer and consider yourself really lucky.” Stella shrugged, noticing how convinced Sierra was at her white lies. To top off the cherry on the sundae, Luke returned to the scene, holding a few bottles on both his hands.

“Here babe, another bottle of beer, and Rebecca, I got a bottle of rootbeer for you. So that we’d be the same, having the word beer in it.” He bantered, handing it to her whilst still in the donut floatie.

“Oh my god, dad.” Stella cringed at the dad joke. After all, he is one and takes any opportunity to annoy her with that kind of jokes. She then looked at Sierra, raising her bottle to her.

“Cheers, aunt Sierra, or may I say, step-mom. Welcome to the family.” She smirked at her, receiving another fake smile from her. “See, I told her she’ll like you.” Luke beamed at the bonding, clinking her beer at her.

“Yeah, I’m sure she is.” Sierra kept in that smile, annoyed at the little girl who will be her step-daughter.

“I need to get rid of this brat.”

[freyawrites-archive]

Hi again :P could u do some first date h/cs for the boys? They're all so cute >w

Hello hello, my dearest!

I have this really bad tendency to let my headcanons get away from me, turning them into full on drabbles or oneshots rather than just some basic headcanons… So I’m going to give it a shot just doing the normal “headcanon” format and see what happens :D

...This still turned out hella long omg

Noctis -

- Noctis is a mess.- He’s never actually been out on a date, much less a date with a girl he’s liked since middle school- Ends up asking Prompto how one actually dates a girl- With Prompto’s advice, he takes you through the streets of Insomnia- You start at a nice dinner. No wine since you guys are still a bit too young, but he makes sure it’s got the fancy bread and the candlelight atmosphere- Stutters and stumbles over his words a bit during dinner, thankful there is bread to shove in his face- After dinner, he takes you on a walk through the city streets, and eventually to the park- He leads you to his favorite fishing spot. It’s too late to fish, but you two sit at the edge of the pond and talk- Noctis feels much more relaxed now what it’s the two of you.- You talk for hours, not even noticing the time go by- The sun starts to rise and you two quickly scramble to head back into city proper- Noctis accompanies you to your house- While he’s ready to go inside and explain to your family, you tell him not to worry, that they’re likely sleeping- He awkwardly stands at your side, waiting for you to head inside.- You roll your eyes and lean up to gently kiss his cheek, letting him know you had a great time.- Noctis is too much of a nervous mess to give you a proper kiss… this time. But he’ll learn for next time- He leaves with a big grin on his face.

---

Prompto -- Prompto is ecstatic at the idea of getting to take you out on a date- He picks very specific dates, like right in the middle of a Thursday afternoon.- He brings you to an amusement park, letting you know Thursday afternoons are the times when the park sees the least amount of people, which means ride ALL the rides ALL the time!- You guys literally ride the same roller coaster, like…. easily 50 times. - Prompto nearly buys every single picture from the end of rides. You have to eventually convince him to limit it to one per ride.- After riding nearly every ride at least once, he drags you through the park’s game area.- Spots all the two player games in the arcade area. Uses all his quarters.- Sees a shooting game with the grand prize of a 3-foot tall fat baby Chocobo.- HE NEEDS THIS FAT BABY CHOCOBO IN HIS LIFE- He earns a perfect score- Happily hugs the fat baby chocobo as you guys walk to another game- Spots a Moogle plush the same size as his fat baby chocobo.- Plays and wins that game too and gives you the Moogle.- “Now our children can have play dates!” he jokes- As the sun sets, he hurriedly pulls you along- Brings you to the ferris wheel and hurries you into a cart.- Sits fat baby chocobo and Moogle across from you.- When your cart reaches the very top and sits there for a bit, that’s when the fireworks show starts.- Once the finale starts, Prompto reaches to gently take your hand and looks at you.- “I’ve had the best time of my life with you here,” he says with a goofy little smile- You can’t help but kiss him, which turns into a little makeout session as the ferris wheel begins its descent- Prompto walks beside you, one arm holding fat baby chocobo and the other holding your hand- Walks you home and kisses you at the door before telling you to be ready for another adventure on Saturday at 10:00 AM sharp.

---

Gladio - - Gladio’s a bit nervous about his first date with you- He tries to take Iggy’s advice of taking you to a nice restaurant- You can tell he’s clearly not digging the vibe- You keep pretending you can’t figure out what you want every time the waiter comes by- You finally sigh and drop your menu. “There’s nothing good here.”- He laughs, agreeing.- “You know, I heard there’s this amazing ramen cart around the corner…”- Gladio immediately grabs your hand and drags you out of the restaurant.- You two sit together on a bench, happily slurping away at the best noodles in town- “This is way better than some ol’ snooty restaurant,” you say- He laughs, agreeing again- Once you finish your cup noodles, you two start down the street- He’s way too nervous to try to hold your hand, but he playfully offers you his arm and you happily accept, taking his arm with both hands.- You two walk for a while until coming up in the movie theatre.- “Movie sounds fun” you both agree- New fighting movie that Gladio has been dying to see is out, but so is one of the year’s most popular chick flicks.- “You choose, hun,” he encourages (though he’s dying inside)- You pick the fighting movie- He nearly drops down on one knee in front of you- You two go inside and get settled in.- You spend most of the movie criticizing the fight scenes together, Gladio happily impressed that you know your stuff- Your criticism somehow starts to move into suggestive innuendos that move into straight up flirting.- No longer interested in the movie, you lean over to whisper in his ear, “You know… we could probably makeout the entire rest of this movie and still know what’s happening when we get to the end.”- You don’t have to tell him twice.- Gladio’s a great kisser. Surprisingly soft lips. Powerful jaw. And oh god, that tongue.- You two walk out of the movie glowing.- You hold onto his arm as he walks you back across town to your home.- Gladio starts to lean in for a simple kiss, trying to be somewhat of a gentleman, but you’ll have none of that- You wrap your arms around his neck and pull him in deeper.- You end up pressed against the wall next to your door, wrists pinned against the wall next to your head, a knee pressed between your legs- “Maybe if you impress me next time, I’ll invite you in,” you tease suggestively- “Plan on it, sweetheart,” he says, voice low and rough.

---

Ignis -- Ignis prefers the intimate setting of his apartment- He has most of the lights dimmed, and even a few scented candles lit in strategic places to provide excellent lighting along with an alluring smell- He requests that you both dress up nice. He, himself, is dressed in a dress shirt, a pair of slacks, and some matching suspenders, his hair combed perfectly in place.- When you arrive, he hangs up your jacket and motions for you to take a seat at the counter across from where he’s working- He’s been prepping this dinner all day and now all that’s left is just to get it put in the oven.- While you wait for it to cook, he leans against the counter and starts asking about you- Asking about your day, your week, your hobbies, your passions, favorite color, favorite place in Insomnia, etc. He doesn’t offer anything in return unless asked since he wants to make sure he is focusing on you and committing your answers to memory to be used at a later date.- His eyes are constantly on you, watching you. He only ever glances away to check the timer on the oven before his full attention is back on you.- When the food is ready, he pulls it out of the oven and serves it on two plates- He pulls out a bottle of wine he’d been saving for basically forever- You two enjoy a nice romantic dinner at his dining room table. Table has candles and place mats and everything- He continues to ask you about yourself while the two of you enjoy dinner.- Once dinner is complete, he urges you to go to the living room and pick from one of the movies he left on the coffee table while he does dishes- You insist on helping with dishes instead, which he can’t argue with- You two work together on the dishes and, at one point, he reaches up to gently tap your nose with a soapy hand.- You let out a fake-offended gasp and reach out to smear some soap on his cheek- Soap wars- Soap war soon turns into your lower back being pressed against the counter while his hands rest on either side of the counter to trap you between him and the counter- You use this opportunity to grab his face with wet, soapy hands and pull him down into a heated kiss- Heated kiss eventually leads to you sitting on the counter with your legs wrapped around his waist.- You don’t take it any further than this before he chuckles and wipes some soap off your cheek with his thumb- Your clothes are wet and cold now from the soap wars- Ignis lets you borrow a t-shirt and pants to wear and changes in his bedroom while you change in the bathroom- Wearing now comfy clothing, you two head into the living room to cuddle on the couch and watch every movie that Ignis set out on the coffee table until you fall asleep.- You leave the next morning with promises that you’ll cook for him next time.- He definitely looks forward to it.

[crinkled-emotions]

Caught Out

So, here we have Trent and Harrison in a relationship kept from everyone else in the team, and so when Maxi invites the crew over for a beer and they see matching hickeys on their necks, there’s a lot of explaining to do.

Feat! A confused!Jesse, a supportive!Dad Hoppo, and Jules just being like we been knew for a while lmao.

It was a rare day where the cameras weren’t around, the beach wasn’t super busy, and Maxi got a phone call at 6 in the morning to tell him he and Harrison didn’t have to come in and he wanted to let them know before they got ready for the day. Once the phone call was finished Maxi flopped back down and hugged the person in his bed with him- Harrison made a noise of complaint, but ultimately didn’t move. Instead he snuggled deeper into his boyfriend, pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

“What did Hoppo want?”

“We don’t have to go in today at all; he’s doing a training session with a couple of the newbies and the super seniors have got the job of helping.”

The smaller Kiwi man laughed, resting his head against Maxi’s stars tattoo on his chest.

“So we have the entire day to ourselves?”

“Yeah, we have the entire day to ourselves.”

“Hmmmm… well in that case…”

Maxi was confused when Harrison trailed off, only to be kissed. He returned the kiss, sneaking down his neck to attach his lips. God, Harrison loved when Maxi did that.

“Oh shit Trent, don’t leave a mark. I’ll get in trouble again, you know Hoppo hates that,” he whispered, but didn’t think to push him off when Maxi got up to hover over him.

“I love you,” Maxi whispered, and Harrison smiled against his partner’s shoulder.

“Love you too babe.”

 The lounge room’s air con was blasting on high but Maxi and Harrison didn’t care as they watched TV on the couch- for once even Harrison didn’t want to go outside, or down to the beach. Usually on a day off it started slow but lead to a hit at the local golf club; it was a healthy competition that seemed to get them going, finishing the day with a couple of rounds of tennis, some beer, and falling into bed too exhausted to even think about anything sexual.

That day the cricket was on and Maxi’s attention was completely on it- Harrison had never pinned himself as the kind of guy to be jealous of a tv show about sport… but he was definitely feeling it that day. Thumbing over that new hickey he had an idea of how to get Maxi’s attention, and hoisted himself into his boyfriend’s lap. Maxi lifted the arm holding his bottle of beer, letting Harrison rest his head on his shoulder. He pressed a loving kiss to his boyfriend’s head, raising an eyebrow.

“Whatcha up to?”

“Nothin’.”

“Sure about that?”

“Mmmhmm.”

Maxi seemed unconvinced, but he smiled as he went back to the cricket. Harrison looked for a good spot to hide a hickey on Maxi’s neck, glancing at his collarbone. There was one in a pretty good spot already, from a few days ago that was now almost gone (they never went hardcore because of their jobs). He examined Maxi’s tanned skin, pressing a loving kiss to the older hickey. Maxi brushed a hand through his boyfriend’s bleached hair, but his attention was still on the cricket. Harrison huffed, deciding fuck it to Hoppo’s dislike for hickeys and attached his lips to a spot just under Maxi’s jaw. Maxi tensed, holding on to his boyfriend’s arm.

“Holy shit, what are you doing?”

“Nothin’. Go back to the cricket babe-“

“-I’m gonna get into trouble!”

“At least all those girls on the beach might get the hint.”

“Wait, are you jealous?!”

Maxi pulled away from his boyfriend and muted the cricket, turning to him with concern filled eyes. Harrison swallowed, shrugging but he wouldn’t meet Maxi’s gaze.

“A little. Sometimes.”

“Hey, Hutz. Babe, love, sweetheart, honey-“

That made Harrison look up, and he shook his head.

“Hutz works just as well as any pet name.”

“Oh thank god, I thought you were going to make me call you something else.”

Harrison laughed quietly, before he felt Maxi’s arm circle close enough to hold him tight.

“You shouldn’t ever be worried about that- that being said I want you to feel you talk to me if you do, okay? I love you and only you, to some people’s surprise.”

“They think you’re a player?”

“Apparently so. I guess it’s because the show catches me a lot talking to women in bikinis while I’m only trying to help them. The show takes it out of context a lot.”

The Kiwi nodded, reaching up to kiss Maxi. Maxi kissed back, hugging Harrison tighter for a moment before he glanced down at him.

“Sorry, I love you, but it’s too hot for this.”

“Mm, yeah you’re probably right.”

 Later in the day Harrison fell asleep with his head in his boyfriend’s lap. Maxi let him go, brushing through his brown-blonde hair that had been bleached rather harshly by the sun’s rays- being a lifeguard did that. When Maxi adjusted Harrison’s shorts slid a little, white skin peeking through and he couldn’t help but blush when he hitched them back up. Harrison was completely oblivious in his sleep, turning to face Maxi’s stomach at one point. Maxi reached for his phone, texting Jesse.

 Maxi: Beer tonight? You me Haz Jules Hoppo?

Jesse: sounds good mate. 7-ish okay?

Maxi: *thumbs up emoji*

 Maxi texted the other two boys the plans, before turning his focus to Harrison who was stirring.

“Ugh could you be any louder?” He grumbled, Maxi chuckling.

“Sorry.”

“Whatever.”

At that Harrison shifted into Maxi’s lap, wrapping his arms around his neck and hugging him close. Maxi hugged back, shifting to kiss his boyfriend again. Unlike last time it didn’t end in a makeout session; Harrison went to lazily nipping at Maxi’s neck but he barely touched, mostly kissing. He was a fluffy guy, and secretly loved to give/receive hickeys. Maxi preferred to give, but he didn’t mind receiving every so often.

Take that in whatever context you want.

 Maxi was brushing his teeth, looking in the mirror while Harrison showered all the sweat off him from the hot day- even the aircon sometimes couldn’t keep up. He dropped something and Maxi turned to him, smiling.

“Nice bruise. Where’d ya get it?”

Harrison was confused for a moment- partially because Maxi’s mouth was full of toothpaste, partially because Maxi was gesturing to his neck. He ran his fingers down his neck before feeling where Maxi was pointing- the hickey from earlier. He grinned, reaching to grab the bar of soap he’d dropped.

“Oh, this? I dunno must’ve walked into a wall or something; might have been my board during a rescue.”

The shower turned off and Maxi handed his boyfriend his towel, the pair glancing in the mirror.

“What about yours? It looks like you got bit.”

“Oh, nah. My boyfriend’s a needy asshole.”

They both snorted, Maxi nearly spitting toothpaste all over the ensuite while Harrison fell on to the floor laughing.

 Soon enough everyone turned up, Jules hesitant but still comfortable with her colleagues. Everyone did the usual handshake thing before Maxi disappeared to the kitchen with Hoppo, Jules and Jesse having a chat with Harrison.

In the kitchen Maxi went between the potato bake and the garlic bread, Hoppo leaning on the counter watching him.

“Hey Max, where did you get that bruise? It looks sore.”

Maxi froze, his hand going to his neck. He knew exactly what his boss was talking about.

“Oh, I… uh, it’s kind of a funny story. Was doing a rescue a couple days ago and the board smacked into my neck. Hurt like hell, but it didn’t do much damage.”

“You sure mate? It looks more like… a bite mark? Max, if something’s happened you need to tell someone-“

Hoppo pressed his thumb over the supposed bruise aka fresh hickey, and Maxi turned slightly to smile at him.

“Don’t stress. It’s from my board. I’m okay.”

Hoppo seemed unconvinced, but he held Maxi’s shoulder.

“If you’re sure. You can talk to me, you know that right?”

“Of course, Hop. I’m good.”

Maxi turned back to the food, Hoppo taking a sip of beer before going to find Harrison. If anyone knew what happened to Maxi, it’d be Hutz.

 “Hey, Hutz. Got a sec- wait…”

On Harrison’s neck, was a matching mark.

And it hit Hoppo.

Well, not literally. But hey.

 “Maxi and Harrison, kitchen for a moment?”

It was a little later in the evening, everyone had eaten and a couple of bottles of wine had been consumed. Hoppo had offered to clean up, and had gone into the kitchen then called the secret couple in.

When they got to the kitchen Hoppo wasn’t cleaning; he was simply leaning against the counter, a smile on his face.

“I’m going to say something, and you two are going to tell me if I’m wrong or not.”

“Shoot,” Maxi shrugged. Hoppo stood properly, facing the two.

“I think you two are in a relationship, and have been for a while but you’ve been worried we won’t accept it at work.”

Both paled. Harrison’s legs went weak, and Maxi instinctively held him up. They talked between themselves for a moment, before Maxi nodded.

“C’mon Hop, to the dining table. We tell you we tell the rest.”

 “Woah, why the long face?”

Jesse tried to lighten the mood when Hoppo, Maxi and Harrison sat back at the table, somber-faced and ready to talk deep. Jules kicked him under the table, turning to the three.

“Everything okay? We don’t have to ditch to rescue do we?”

“No! It’s nothing like that Nic. Uhm, actually… me and Harrison have something to tell you guys.”

“Wait, where the hell did that hickey come from?”

Jesse interrupted Maxi, who facepalmed.

“That will all be explained in a moment, Jesse. Now shut up and listen.”

Under the table, Harrison found Maxi’s hand and squeezed it- no one saw, no one knew.

“Me and Maxi are… together. Dating. Whatever you want to call it.”

“What does Hop have to do with all this?”

“Jesse!” Jules, Hoppo, Maxi and Harrison groaned. Jesse looked back at the table.

“Sorry.”

Maxi pulled Harrison’s hand up on to the table, linking their fingers.

“We’ve been dating for a while and we’re sorry we didn’t tell you, we’re shitty mates, but we weren’t sure if it was going to last, or if we were ready-“

“-Max. Stop talking.”

Nicola had a big grin on her face and Maxi silenced, Nicola glancing at Hoppo and Jesse.

“I don’t know about you two, but… I had an idea that this was going on. For a while I had my suspicions.”

“I had no idea,” Hoppo added. Jesse still seemed a little confused.

“I- you two- together? Oh boy, that is one hell of a story. It all makes sense now!”

“What are you talking about?” Harrison asked, but Jesse had a mischievous grin covering his face.

“Well, I walked into the change rooms a couple weeks ago and I could hear someone kissing. I glanced to see whose stuff was in their lockers, maybe take the piss out of them later… and I figured out you two were the only ones there.”

Maxi groaned, Harrison burying his head into his shoulder. Maxi squeezed his hand.

“What Jesse is trying- and failing- to say is that we don’t care that you two are together; it’s something that makes you both happy and I have to say you’ve both been a lot more focused lately. It’s good to see what a good partner can do for our boys- or girls! Sorry Nic.”

Hoppo radiated proud dad energy and the other lifeguards laughed, Maxi glancing at the clock.

“Thanks, guys. Means a lot to know we’ve got some support.”

 Once everyone had racked off to go to bed Harrison fell asleep on the couch- he was exhausted. Maxi finished doing a brief cleanup then walked into the lounge to find his boyfriend, a smile coming to his face.

“Okay, okay. C’mon.”

He didn’t even bother to wake him up- Maxi just lifted Harrison into his arms bridal style and carried him down the hallway, into their bedroom and gently set him down on the bed. Harrison didn’t stir as his boyfriend joined him, pressing a kiss to his forehead and turning the air con down before settling on his pillow.

Harrison shifted, finding his boyfriend and subconsciously snuggling closer. Maxi wrapped an arm around him, closing his eyes.

 Shit the bed; he was tired.