#and then a customer behind him that was the mom of one of our yard guys was like 'u handled that guy rlly well' after he left

[moonlightisdancing]

Simplicity of Love/ s.f.k

Pairing: Sam Kiszka x Female Reader

Word Count: 1078

Warnings: SFW, just super gushy tooth rot, bf sammy, there is a showering bit but its still SFW

A/N: i’m having a sam down and the more candids i see of him, the worse it gets, hence this

❀𖤣𖥧𖡼⊱✿⊰𖡼𖥧𖤣❀

Birds chirping, a soft breeze blowing under the curtains and the soft sound of a gentle piano in the distance dancing through the air. The smell of fresh coffee pours into the bedroom shared between you and Sam. You roll out of bed wearing nothing but one of his shirts and your underwear, feet gently making their way to the sound of ‘Unchained Melody’ coming from the livingroom, the patter of puppy paws following.

“There she is! Good morning sunshine! And good morning my little Rosie.” Sam looked up from his piano excitedly at you, reaching down to give Rosie her ‘good morning’ pets.

“Good morning, my Sammy,” you reply, still coming to your senses.

You look around and see that Sam had made breakfast for the two of you. A bouquet of wild flowers picked from the yard sat in a tiny glass cup in the middle of the table, surrounded by his little breakfast set up. He made avocado toast and tried out a new recipe for tofu he found that was supposed to mimic eggs.

“I picked some tomatoes from our garden to cook into the ‘eggs’, I’m hoping it tastes as good as it looks…” He sounds unsure of his cooking ability, but it was no secret Sam was the chef in this relationship.

Sam walks up behind you and holds you in his arms. Intertwining his fingers with yours, he sways you side to side, peppering your cheek and neck with kisses. You lean your head back to rest on his chest, feeling the warmth from his body against yours.

“I could stay like this forever, but I don’t want all your hard work to get cold.” You ushered him to the table. Sam’s arms are your favorite place to be and knowing that, he would keep you like that all day given the chance.

Sam ignored your gesture and pulled out your chair before bringing over coffee for the two of you. He places your “Dog Mom'' mug in front of you and kisses your temple before returning to his seat across from you. His coffee is steaming in his “Girl Dad '' mug that you had custom made with a picture of him and Rosebud on it.

“I was thinking we hit the record store today,” He takes a sip of his coffee, “we can get lunch at that new cafe too if that sounds good to you.”

“That sounds great, Sammy.” You watched a big smile grow on his face, his brown eyes glistening at you from the other side of the table.

You considered these kinds of days dates, even if Sam didn’t feel they were special enough for you to call them such. Walking around the record store with your arm in his, looking for new music to share with each other, it’s simple but it’s love. After breakfast, you try to beat Sam to cleaning up the table. He suggests you play rock, paper, scissors and the loser cleans the table. He distracts you so he can change his move and purposely lose.

“Awh man, I lost again,” Sam sucks his teeth, “guess that means YOU get your butt out of my kitchen, and I’ll get this cleaned up!”

You go to the room to gather an outfit for Sam and yourself, and clean towels for a shower before you guys head out. You grab your matching lotion and shower gel in Sam’s favorite scent, “In The Stars.” You start the shower so it can warm up, the feeling of familiar hands grabs your waist. When you turn around, you’re met with Sam’s tall, slim figure. He’s so effortlessly gorgeous, beautiful tan skin, perfect teeth, his big brown eyes and long shiny hair. Sam is by far your favorite sight. You begin undressing each other for your shower, something you always did without it being sexual in nature. Sam kisses your neck before he opens the shower door for you to get in, him following swiftly behind.

Sam holds you close, arms wrapped around your shoulders, your body to his, as the water runs around and between you both. He rests his chin on your head and runs his hand up and down your shoulder, gently swaying while humming ‘Here Comes the Sun’. Feeling the rise and fall of his chest with your cheek pressed against him made the shower feel that much warmer. Sam reaches over to the shampoo bottle, he pumps a little into his palm and starts massaging your scalp, still pressed against his chest. Once he’s done he spins you around under the water and rinses your hair, running his fingers through to make sure all the soap is out. You begin washing Sam’s hair, although less graceful due to the height difference. He tips his head down for you so you can scrub the top. Sam rinses his own hair for the sake of your arms. As you begin soaping up his grey loofah, he gently pours soap into your pink one. Taking turns you begin washing each other, placing gentle kisses in secret spots. You bring the shower head down to rinse off Sam and he returns the favor.

He gets the shower door once more allowing you to exit before him. Covering yourself up first, you bring Sam’s towel over to him and wrap it around his waist. Sam stands behind you in the foggy mirror, hand around your hips as you guys brush your teeth together. Afterwards he sits on the closed toilet lid so you can apply skin care to both you and him. An intense skincare routine wasn’t usually Sam’s thing, but on days where you showered together he enjoyed the pampering. After teeth were brushed and skincare was applied, you two get dressed in preselected outfits, ready to take on your day out in Nashville together.

There’s simplicity in life with Sam. He’s always open about what he wants and how he feels. He shows you videos of cute baby animals, picks you flowers from outside, and is always eager to show you what new melody he’s been working on. He takes pride in the home the two of you have built together, the garden, the memories made, all of it. Sam’s qualities make him easy to love, and over time he’s shown you how to love and be loved. It’s painfully obvious to everyone how much loves his girls, and you couldn’t have asked for a better partner.

[dasher-tales]

Milkshake Mission: When Cravings Call

Image is supposed to represent me holding a milkshake but I didn't notice it was the wrong gender until it was too late.

---

We’d just finished an order from Wendy’s on Elm Road to Newton Falls. Pretty standard stuff—nothing noteworthy, since it’s the only Wendy’s around that area. But just as we were about to wrap up, as I reached to end the dash—ka-pling! Another order popped up.

It was for Arby’s, also in Newton Falls.

Without thinking twice, I hit accept. That’s how we’ve managed to stay platinum dashers—never turning down an order, even the odd ones.

Milo glanced over at me, curious. "Where's that Arby's at?"

"On Broad Street," I said, tapping the directions into the app as we backed out of the customer’s driveway and headed down the road.

Halfway there, I got curious about the order, so I checked the details. My eyebrows shot up. "It’s for a strawberry milkshake," I said, trying not to laugh.

Milo let out a short bark of laughter. "Seriously? Someone’s gotta be really craving that Arby’s milkshake."

"Right? That takes the cake," I said, shaking my head. "Beats that time we had to deliver just a McDonald’s fries order."

By the time we pulled into the Arby’s drive-thru, we were both still chuckling. A whole delivery just for a strawberry milkshake. You never know what to expect out here.

We walked into the Arby’s, with Milo trailing behind because, as usual, he "had a problem." Nature was calling, and he wasn’t about to ignore it.

After helping him locate the bathroom, I made my way to the counter. "DoorDash for… uh…," I attempted the customer’s name, but I knew I butchered it. The guy behind the counter raised an eyebrow, clearly trying to decode my mess of a pronunciation.

"Is it for the shake?" he asked, with a hint of a smirk.

I had to choke back a laugh. "Yeah, they can’t shake that craving."

He rolled his eyes at my terrible joke, but I could tell he was amused.

As he walked off to grab the order, I kept the joke train rolling. "I get it, man. I roll my eyes at these too. Reminds me of the time we delivered a single order of McDonald’s fries."

When he came back with the shake, he was grinning, which was exactly what I’d been aiming for. "Here you are."

"Thanks," I said, grabbing the shake and making sure the straw was secure in the bag. Then, I headed off to the bathroom to collect Milo, wondering if he’d come out with another wisecrack ready.

He didn’t let me down either. "Let’s shake-n-drive," he said with a grin as we headed back to the car.

We hopped in, and I made sure the shake was secure before we took off. As we drove through Newton Falls, the small town sliding past us, I heard a loud slurp. I glanced over and saw Milo finishing off the last of his Speedway tea.

His eyes briefly flicked to the shake sitting in the cup holder between us. "Man, that looks good."

"I'm trying not to think about it," I admitted, glancing down to make sure it hadn’t melted too much yet.

"Arby’s for dinner?" Milo asked, not even trying to hide the temptation.

"Sounds good to me."

At that moment, my mom, who was on speakerphone, chimed in. "Me too!"

We both laughed. "Let’s make some dinner money then," Milo said, nodding with determination as we cruised toward Windham.

Soon, we approached the neighborhood. Quaint, middle-class houses, each square of yard maintained with care. Not a single blade out of place. One lawn caught my eye, mowed diagonally, just the way my dad used to do our large backyard.

In an instant, I was transported back to a time when his smile was more than a memory. I could picture him sitting on his mower, grinning, making up jokes as he mowed away, as if it was the best part of his day. I blinked away the memory just as the GPS chimed in, telling us we were close.

Moments later, we pulled into the driveway of a white house with a simple porch. The yard was a little higher than the rest, as if the dad who took care of it had been a little busier than the neighbors. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was a little grandma inside, the kind of sweet old lady who would be thrilled to get her strawberry shake.

As I walked up to the door, I made sure the straw was secure, then gently placed the shake down on the porch. After snapping the picture for proof of delivery, I turned and headed back to the Trailblazer.

As we pulled out of the driveway, I glanced back and saw the door open. But instead of a grandma, a young woman, wrapped in a blanket and barefoot in her stocking feet, stepped out. I was surprised for a second, watching as she carefully picked up the drink.

That’s when I noticed her extended belly. It wasn’t a frail grandma—it was a pregnant momma, craving a strawberry milkshake.

I turned back to face the front, picturing her contented smile as she sipped on that shake. It's moments like this that make the day worth it.

[cleolinda]

UPDATE: It just sun-rained on them out of nowhere and now they’ve cut our water off

A very nervous-looking young man in a corporate polo shirt just ran up and hung this “notification” on our door. I don’t want to name the company before I figure out how pissed off I should be. I am pretty sure we are not their customers? They are now on TWO streets behind us?

I am now taking pictures of the trash and food wrappers that have been left in our plant beds. Also, this seems bad:

I am hearing the word “easement” to explain The Audacity, but I’ve taken over Dogwatch indoors so my mom can corner a representative, so I don’t know why tf one of our pipes is just hanging out cascading

I will give them credit, they tucked all the grass back in

All the work from home/stay at home/home for lunch neighbors are just gathering and regathering in clusters in their driveways. It’s like a hapless block party. And then there’s me like UH HAVE WE NOTICED THE FLOOD YET 🦺🛠️🚧🌊

UPDATE: A neighbor got so pissed off, he called a guy he knows at City Public Works to come out. Rep has promised that anything that needs replacing up to a year shall be so, and my mom met him and has his card. That’s our recourse.

In theory, Company is within their rights (easements, etc). In practice, fully four streets in this neighborhood are pissed to hell about an internet provider Company wants us all to switch to, plowing through the yards, blocking traffic, and breaking the water main.

Thank you for joining me on this adventure. I am sure they will fix the spewing pipe eventually.

Story time: yard chaos

[I told this story on Twitter today, 11/29/22, because I like to be as dramatic and ominous as possible.]

Friends, you may be aware that I often tell Neighborhood Gothic tales about the happenings on my street. I have another one.

So yesterday I look out the kitchen window and see about 15-20 fluorescent-vested workers (who do they work for? We just don’t know) hanging out about 1-2 houses down. Just chilling on both sides of the street, sitting on the storm drain, in the yards, what have you.

And they are more than welcome to; I just don’t know why. Tons of trucks around. Including multiple USIC trucks: People What Identify Your Underground Utilities. You may remember that I ran into one while I was tripping on yard nightshade. Good people, necessary, ideal.

I go about my business (cleaning out my tea kettle). Sometime later, loud machine noises. Bear in mind that I live in an area where there is always someone working loudly on something. Cutting down dangerous trees (RIP🌲), building new houses, eternally landscaping. I shrug.

I look out the window again. The corner of my neighbor’s yard is thoroughly dug up. Now, this summer, I watched a man cut down a whole-ass tree and every single bush (including two beautiful gardenias) of hers branch by branch. There are naught but stubs now.

Am I now that old lady who peers out the window at the doings of the street? Yes. Do I know Debra’s life? No. Do I have any idea why twenty workers are needed to dig up one corner of her yard? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Some hours later, my mom comes home for lunch. She is INCANDESCENT with rage. I assume it’s because our street is clogged with trucks. Why u mad tho? “WHY AREN’T YOU MAD?” After some confusion, my mom gets it through my placid head that the workers

are digging up

OUR YARD

I hadn’t looked out the FRONT window; our dog had been asleep and hadn’t needed to go out. There are three GIANT HOLES, like 3x3 and half a grave deep, at the street end of our yard, like prairie dog holes from hell. Nobody said FUCK ALL to me about this.

My mom’s higher self is a capable, savvy woman who knows her worth. My mom’s shadow self is a Karen. She marches out there to ask what the FUCK is going on. A foreman steps forward. “Oh, they didn’t put a letter on your door?” NO!!!!

I can’t tell if this [a tweet that did not in fact go through] went through or not, because they keep cutting off the wifi. There is a crane over my street now

What is GOING ON, asks my mom. “Something about fiber optic cables,” the foreman says. SOMETHING?? “Something about phones.” IN 2022??? We Just Don’t Know.

Holes begin to spread up the street.

By sundown, every single yard upstreet of mine has a minimum of three deep pits exposing Unknown Cables. Turf has been skinned off and thrown aside. I’m just like, this might as well happen. My mom now has a contractor’s business card. Neighbors are mad. Nobody was warned.

I’m out with Cooper on the deck (where he likes to chase falling leaves) in the dimming sunlight, and I happen to look around at the street.

Water is cascading down the road.

I live on a hill. You know how it looks during a hard rain, just little wavelets washing down the road? That. Water pouring down the entire width of the street, gutter to gutter. The deluge has already reached the intersection and shows no sign of stopping.

My phone has no wifi.

The Workers from Somewhere have hit a water main up the street. In front of a lawyer’s house, I’m told, so have fun with that. What I learn later is, despite there being 3-4 USIC trucks on the street, no one ever marked any utilities. Somebody told the workers not to wait.

Birmingham Water Works trucks, flashing their lights in the darkness, show up at 9 pm to fix the busted water main. Neighbors are wandering around fretting that the Great Flood of ‘22 is going to show up on their utility bills. The lawyer is very popular.

I get up this morning. By 6 am, they are back out there, doubling down. This is not the workers’ fault, btw. Honest day’s work, dishonest employer.

Every single house on my side of the street has a minimum of four (4) fiber optic prairie dog pits now.

I don’t know WHAT and I don’t know WHY. And now, there is a crane over my street for something happening underground. Orange cones and a giant wheel of orange and blue cable have appeared. Someone is brandishing a rake. End transmission for now.

UPDATE: The crane is ripping out a small tree (RIP 🌳) near the top of the street. I do not know if this is related or not. Either shit just got real with the cable digging, or we have dueling contractors.

[Situation in progress, more later]

[ajaegerpilot]

in BC the NDP govt raised the minimum wage by $1.30, so my wage raised by something like 10 cents lmao so I’m again being paid minimum wage and last week a customer was getting huffy abt me not wanting to do a return with no receipt in cash and i literally said ‘ come on man, I’m being paid minimum wage’ and he settled down

[godofsexdrugsandrocknroll]

Growing Pains

Nala Arc: *Jaune’s sixteen year old daughter with thick blonde hair pulled back in a low pony, blonde cat ears atop her head with her grandfather Ghira’s yellow eyes* --Yes Daddy.

Jaune: *Very seriously* And you’ve got your scroll.

Nala: *Shows it off* Yup.

Jaune: Your purse?

Nala: *Rolls eyes* Duh.

Jaune: And your pepper spray, mace, rape whistle and extra ammo?

Nala: *Sighs* Yes, yes, of course and even if I tried to leave the dust out you’d find a way to smuggle it in anyways, Daddy.

Jaune: *Ignores the sass* Okay, good. Good.  And you have--

Nala: *Growing impatient* --Yes, Dad, I have Pride. *Shows off twin automatic pistols in black and gold, connected by a thin gold chain and shifts it into weighted chain form before reshifting and holstering it*

Jaune: Okay, Dormiens Leo?

Nala: *Stomps foot* Dad, c’mon! I’m not taking my freaking sword on my first date!

Jaune: *Hands up, backtracking* Right, yeah, of course sweetpea! *Pauses*

Nala: *Stares at her father cautiously*

Jaune: Are you sure you don’t wanna wear the belt I bought you?

Nala: *Explodes* No! It looks nice, it looks normal, it’s super flippin’ cute but I know you had it custom made, I know it’s a high tech chastity belt that locks as soon as you put it on and only you have the code to it! Besides, I’m not even t-thinking about having that, about having s-sex with Dutch! *Blushing*

Jaune: *Gapes* W-who told you--

Nala: *Grumbling, not looking him in the eye* Mom.

Blake: *Entering the room, wiping her hands with a towel and tossing it on the table* And I’d do it again. Because, Jaune, you are overreacting.

Jaune: B-but she’s going on a date! With a boy!

Blake: *Cocks eyebrow* Mmm. So if it was a girl then it’d be okay?

Jaune: What? No! Boy or girl, doesn’t matter! *Hugs an irritated Nala fiercely* She’s my baby girl! She’s d-d-- *whispers* dating, Blake!

Blake: *Smiling* Uh-huh. And she’ll continue to date. One day - when she’s ready - she’ll even have sex. *Jaune whines and Nala turns into a tomato* But right now, you big baby, our little girl is going on her first date. She is being very safe, especially when you take into consideration that our daughter is highly trained, has two weapons and her King’s Flare semblance makes every fire semblance we’ve ever come across look like matchsticks. *Peels Jaune off of Nala*

Nala: *Embarrassed* Mooom!

Blake: *Fixes her daughters top, smoothes out her hair* She has her guns, she has common sense and honestly honey, she has my brains.

Jaune: *Long pause* I kinda think that last one mighta been an insult, but I do have to agree with you there.

Blake: Besides, Dutch is an athlete, not a Huntsman. No aura. You need to calm down.

*Jaune mutters mutinously, crossing his arms and Nala sighs and hugs her mother*

Nala: Thanks Mom. *Stands in front of Jaune, fidgets* Daddy?

Jaune: *Dramatic sigh* Ugghhh, I hate it when your mom makes sense. *Hugs Nala who squeezes him and puts her head on his shoulder* Just...have fun, okay? Don’t stay out too late, don’t do anything you don’t want to and you’re, uh...

Nala: *Rolls her eyes* It’s that neo-Valean restaurant near Auntie Nora and Uncle Lie’s neighborhood. If Dutch turns out to be a jerk, Auntie Nora will probably wind up leveling the place.

Jaune: *To Blake* Maybe we should give Ren the heads up instead of miss ‘Goddess of Boom’.

Blake: *To Jaune* Already called him. He has Nora busy with the twins tonight. *Smiles as Jaune kisses her cheek*

*The parents watch their daughter fuss over her hair, reapply lip gloss and fidget with her top, her ears twitching all the while and the door opens to an athletic young man with brown hair and dark green eyes*

Nala: *A few minutes later* --good that you all met, but we’re gonna miss the movie if we don’t go to dinner now. *Smiles brightly* C’mon, Dutch!

Dutch: *Grins, blushing a bit* Right, Nala. *To Blake* Bye Mrs. Arc. *To Jaune, winces* M-Mr. Arc. It was really nice to meet you. *Jaune just nods with a smile* I’llhaveherbackbytenbye!

Blake:

Jaune:

Blake: You just had to pull the whole ‘I am Paladin, Slayer of Salem’ thing, didn’t you.

Jaune: *Crosses arms petulantly* I have no idea what you mean, Blake.

Blake: *Rolls her eyes* Oh sure. Because you’re usually stern, terrifying and pushing your aura out to create killing intent.

Jaune: *Annoyed* If I was it must’ve just been instinct since he was checking of my sweet little girls behind.

Blake: *Snorts*

Jaune: *Whining* Blaaake! It’s not funny! She doesn’t even have your ass--

Blake: Oh she does. Just not my hips. Plus she’s more petite like your sister, Celeste.

Jaune: Nope, stop. But even still, that little fucker--

Blake: Is a teenage boy who thought he was being subtle. Who probably hasn’t asked out a future Huntress before, let alone the daughter of two veterans, even less two of the most talented swordspeople alive. *Takes Jaune’s hand and rubs a circle into his palm with her thumb* I know Nala growing up like this is making you a little crazy because of all your sisters and the fact that you were once a teenage boy, but have a little faith in our daughter.

Jaune: *Rubs face with free hand* Yeah, yeah, I know. I don’t like it though.

Blake: *Flippantly* And neither do I, Jaune, but it’s a part of being parents. We’re lucky Nala’s so even tempered and just skipped right over the teenage rebellion phase and isn’t just embarrassed by us. She’s a good girl. *Pauses, starts leading Jaune into the house* Or would you rather her be more Neptune and Dew’s girl?

Jaune: *Winces* No! *Grouchily* I just never thought letting her grow up would be so...

Blake: *Squeezes his hand* I know. But you got your licks in. And when Dutch brings our baby home, it’ll be his turn to worry about me. *Cuts off Jaune’s dumb grin* But until then...

Jaune: *Slumps* Blake, I don’t wanna do yard work. *Blinks as Blake sits on his lap* Oh. Ohhhhh. No, I’m definitely up for this task, ma’am. *Squeezes Blake’s ass*

Blake: *Smirking, leans in for a kiss* I figured.

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

I figured that if anybody would be both the cool parent and the responsible, easy to reason with but still every bit as protective one, it’d be Blake. And Knightshade’s a fun couple to explore although I like reading it better than writing it. Since other people do it better.

But I did have fun coming up with Nala Arc as a character. Named after the female lion from The Lion King that has a fair bit of meaning behind said name in the first place (I believe it’s Swahili for ‘Gift’). A weighted chain/pair of automatic pistols called Pride, plus a Nimcha sword named ‘Sleeping Lion’ in Latin (the name of the Lion King Keyblade from Kingdom Hearts II) and a semblance named after the Link Summon for Simba from Kingdom Hearts III (which works the same way: Nala becomes engulfed in fire, exudes fire and can cause loads of damage while active).

[outerbankspreferences]

Boat Day

2197

JJ MAYBANKS x READER (PRE RELATIONSHIP)

WORD COUNT: 2197

WARNINGS: underage drinking, drugs, language.

A/N: Y/N stands for Your Name and Y/L/N stands for Your Last Name. This is my first story, so send me some request!

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Summers in the Outer Banks are the best. The days are long, the water’s warm and the fun never ends. The best thing about living here are my friends. We call ourselves the Pouges. A handed down name on this island for as long as I can remember. The Pouges are the poor kids. Work for a living to help your parents, cause trouble to have great memories to look back on when you’re older, but most importantly, a family. A lot of us don’t really have one of those. Our parents are to busy working for the Kooks to have time to spend with us.

It was another typical morning on the banks. I was getting ready to go out on the boat with my friends. It was a rare day that we all had no work and nothing to do. I was packing my cooler full of food and drinks because it was my turn to feed everyone. I was wearing my favorite t-shirt dress and I had my hair in a low ponytail and sunglasses on, my go to when it was this hot out.  I was walking onto the back porch the led to our dock right as the boat was pulling up.

“Top of the morning to ya’ sailors.” I greeted my friends. John B was at the wheel slowing down so I can hop on, Kiara was taking the cooler out of my hand and Pope was still reading. I turned to the back of the boat and saw JJ laying there, hat over his head. “What’s his problem?” I ask motioning to JJ. “He drank a little too much last night, and is now nursing a hangover.” John B explains. “Isn’t he always hungover? Here JJ I have something that will fix you, it’s my moms favorite cure.-“Oh yeah, what is it? Advil? ‘Cause I already popped like three of those before you got here.” JJ responded not moving the hat. I pulled another drink out of my cooler. “No silly, it’s to keep drinking. Can’t get a hangover if your always drunk.” JJ moved his hat slightly, looking up at me squinting, sits up takes the drink and smiles. “can’t argue with that logic.” He responds.

I finish passing the rest of the drinks out as John B steered towards the marsh with sun on our backs warming up to be a good day. As we get to our usual spot, Pope throws the anchor down and looks at me “What kinda’ sandwiches did you pack Y/N?” as he rummaged to the bottom knowing I kept them there so they would stay cold. “I packed PB&J for me and you, cucumber for our dear vegetarian Kie, and ham and cheese for these dorks.” He smiled, I always pack everyone’s favourite snacks. “That’s why we keep you around” Pope responds. I gasp, “what?” I ask dramatically. “and here I thought it was my charming personality and good looks.” Everyone starts to laugh, “Sorry sweetheart, but I already took that roll” JJ says to me with a pat on my back. I can’t help but laugh out loud. “Yeah whatever helps you sleep at night J” Kie says laughing with me. “wouldn’t you like to know” he says with wink. My heart flutters. That wink kills me every time.

I’ve had a thing for JJ since we started hanging out together. My family moved here in the eighth grade and I became friends with Kiara. We met volley ball tryouts, quickly becoming friends as if we’d know each other our whole lives. She introduced me to the Pouges, and the rest was history. When Kie started her Kook year, Pope helped me find my way around the school, and lucky for me, JJ always not to far behind.

After we’ve all had something to eat and smoked a couple of blunts it was time to go swimming. Everybody starts taking there clothes off, and jumps in. As I’m taking my dress off I can feel JJ’s eye on me. That’s when I remember I’m wearing a new bathing suit. It’s a simple pink bikini but it shows a bit more of my cleavage then normal. “That’s so cute Y/N! Where did you get it?” Kie asks while my head is stuck in my dress. “At that boutique-for fuck sakes-you know the new one-“Here let me help” I feel a pair of hands grip the dress and a small laugh, and I know the second I hear it , that JJ is coming to my rescue. My breath hitches when his hands brush against my back side. The heat of his hands linger for a minute, “You’re a dysfunctional mess Y/L/N, probably lose your head if it wasn’t attached.” JJ spoke, everyone laughing along with him. “Real comedian you are Jim Carry, I’ll have to come to one of your shows-anyways as I was saying, I’m borrowing it from the boutique that just opened on Main Street.” I tell Kie, “Do they know you’re borrowing it?”. She knew me too well. It was small habit of mind to shoplift clothes. We couldn’t really afford new ones, and I hated asking my parents for one. “No they don’t know I’m borrowing, but I’ll fix the tag when I’m done with it and return it. No one will the wiser” She scuffs at my answer. I take that opportunity to jump in the water with them.

After swimming and another round of snacking and smoking the sun is starting to set, and we are turning the boat around to head home. “Hey Y/N, do you work tomorrow?” JJ asks me. We work at the country club together. I work in housekeeping, and he works in the kitchen doing a little bit of everything. “Yeah I do, 8 to 4 cleaning the discharges. What about you?” I ask him knowing where this is going. I always pick JJ up on my way if we’re working the same shifts. Someone was to make sure he makes it there. “I go for 9 and work a 12 hour shift, think I can bunk at your place? Is your mom working night shift?” My mom is a nurse at the E.R. and when she’s not home I let him spend the night with me. My dad is away on a fishing trip so no one would know he’s there. “Yeah she’s leaving for work at 7 if you want to sleep on the couch. Just don’t smoke in the house this time. My dad could smell the weed when he got home” “sure thing”.

John B stops at Kie’s first, she’s the only one with a curfew for being out late one to many times. “Alright losers, thanks for the day, I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow. John B are you still coming by the wreck in the morning?” Kie asks him and I look at Pope, I can see him roll his eyes under his sunglasses. I was under strict orders from him not to say anything about his crush in her. “Of course, do you think you’re dad will still want me picking up shifts there, it’ll get DCS off my case for a little while.”. Kiara’s dad offered to help John B out after Big John went missing a couple of months ago. DCS was been on his case about his uncle and the bills. “He said he needed the help with the summer season starting, Charlie Hanson quit last week for his band so we’re short a dish washer” Pope finally looks up from the book he’s reading, “I’ll sleep at your place tonight and help you write resume out for him.” John B smiled at Pope. “Thanks man, I really need your wisdom” Everyone laughs. Kie gets off the boat and waves goodbye to everyone. “Next stop the Y/L/N home” JJ says, “I’m so tired I could fall asleep right here” He motions to the front of the boat. Dramatically laying across the hard plastic. It’s grown colder now that the sun has set and with that wind picks up. I’m only in my dress from earlier, cursing myself for not bringing a sweater. “Christ John can this bucket of bolts go any faster, I’m freezing my ass off” I ask with a hint of sarcasm. Moments later I watch JJ sigh deeply and throw a towel over in my direction. “You’re lucky I was too hungover to go swimming, that should keep you warm. We’re almost there.” After a short distance and many laughs we’re finally pulling up to the dock. I look up to my house, and see that my mom left the light outside on, she knew me to well. I hated walking up the yard in the dark. JJ grabs the cooler and waves goodbye to Pope and John B as they sail away.

I wave goodbye to them and turn around to see that JJ is already half way up the yard. “JJ wait up, I only have little legs!” It was our inside joke, we both love watching full house, and he was quite taller then me so I could never keep up. He was quiet the short walk up to the house holding the door open for me. As we walk into my kitchen, I lock the door, and turn the outside light off. “Do you want the first shower J?” I ask him walking to the closet to pull out the extra blankets for him to sleep with. I could hear him opening the fridge. “No, you take the first shower and use the hot water. I don’t want to listen to you complain about me using all the hot water again.” I couldn’t argue with that. My house had shit warm water. Normally enough for a quick shower, and then taking forever to reheat. After putting the blankets on the couch, I look at JJ coming out of the kitchen with just his swim trunks on. “I’m taking a cold shower anyways, it’s hot in here.” He comments taking another drink of his water. I smile and nod to him, walking to my room to get some clothes. I grab the towel from the closest hallway and a pair of pajama’s walking into the bathroom. I start the water and hop in washing my hair and body. Once I’m done I get out of shower throw my hair in a bun and get changed. I walk into the living and JJ is siting there rolling a joint and watching tv. “Did your mom upgrade from cable because I don’t remember you having this channel” he asked not looking up from his joint. Eyebrows knitted together in concentration. “Yeah she complained about the bill being to high, and they gave some extra channels for being loyal customers or something like that” I look at what he’s watching. National Geographic. “JJ since when have you liked national geographic? What are you even watching? Is that Naked and Afraid?” You hit the guide to confirm that he’s actually watching it. “Yeah, I thought it was actually going to show them naked, not blur all the good stuff. Too PG if your asking me. What’s the point of calling the show Naked and afraid if you don’t actually see them naked?” He did make a good point, honestly I never watch any the television, always opting for Netflix. “I don’t know why the call it that. But you should go shower, its getting late and we both have to work early. Do you want me to wake you up when I get up?” I ask walking into the kitchen to get myself a drink. “No you wake up at the ass crack of dawn, just wake me up before you go I’ll sleep in the car until its time for work” JJ calls as I hear him shut the door to the bathroom. Once I hear the water running, I sigh and start making the couch up for him. I grab some of the pillows from my room, and take his rolled joint and put it in baggie with his other. I put his book bag by the couch and a clean pair of shorts he left from last time.

As I’m getting into bed, I can hear the shower turn off, and shortly after the door open. As I’m lying in bed thinking about the day staring at the ceiling, I can hear JJ rummaging around the living room. My heartbeat quickens thinking that he’s in the other room. I wish I could get the courage to tell him how I feel, but the rules say other wise. When Pope told me about his crush, that’s what he said to me. “remember those stupid no pouge on pouge macking rules.” A small mantra as to not ruin our friendship together. As I’m slowing drifting off to sleep I can hear JJ call from the other room, “goodnight Y/N” and I fall asleep with a smile on my face and pain in my heart knowing the man I love is another room and not with me.

[justbecausewhynot]

Between Stars Part 1 {Arvin Russell x reader}

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3

It was a sunny Sunday afternoon when you were driving down a dirt road, radio on, windows down, and every belonging you had, stuffed into the back. Your mom had just passed away from cancer and your dad decided to uproot and move to Coal River, West Virginia. That’s where your dad grew up, and he wanted to go live in his childhood home. And so, there you were, pulling into the driveway of a white picket fence, easily one of the nicer ones in the town.

Stepping out of the car, your dad asked “So… whad’ya think?”

“It’s a house for sure” you muttered under your breath.

“I remember playing in this yard every night with the Russell boy down that street.” He continued. “I wonder what ever happened to him.” 

You started walking around the house, inspecting your new area. There were houses on either side, far enough for a pool, you thought to yourself. Like that would ever happen. 

“Y/n, come here and help unload this stuff. Most of its all your clothes anyway.” Your dad called. You couldn’t bring too much from back home cause dad didn't wanna go back another round to fit the rest into the truck. And so, you had to choose your most valuable possessions and cut down at least a third of your closet. 

After helping bring the boxes into the front hall, both you and your dad were famished and didn’t have anything in the fridge yet. “I saw a general store down that road, down there” Your father told you. “Take some money outta my wallet and go pick us up something for lunch and dinner.” You took the cash and made your way over to the store. 

When you stepped in, you were met with a boy in a white shirt and a blue cap, and an old lady in a simple dress. Both were looking into the window of meat.

“Grandma quit worryin’ about it, he’s just a preacher.” the boy said as you made your way into the store. 

“Hello there, what can I do for you?” The man working at the front asked, making the two other customers turn to look at you. 

“I’ll just take some bacon please.” You said.

“Alright, I'll get that started for you.” He said with a smile. 

You caught eye contact with the boy in the blue hat and felt your cheeks heat up. You didn’t not have any experience with boys, but the little that you did was all sub-par, in your opinion. Something about Arvin made you want to walk right up and kiss him on the lips. Kiss him and keep kissing him until you can’t feel your lips anymore. 

“Are you new in town?” The lady standing next to him asked. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you around.”

“Yes ma’am, my dad and I just moved into the white house a few blocks down.”

“The l/n’s finally sold it, did they?’ She muttered.

“Actually, no, we moved back.”You said. “I’m y/n l/n, you must know my dad.” You introduced yourself, sticking your hand out. 

“Is that really you y/n? I remember when you were a baby, you’ve grown up so fast.” She said holding your hand with both of hers. Your eyes turned to the boy behind her who was already staring at you.

“Oh, I’m sorry, you probably don’t even remember me.” the lady said. “I’m Emma Russell and this is my grandson Arvin Russell. She let go of your hands and Arvin stuck his out for you to shake. To be honest, you could have let go of his hand a little earlier than you did, but it was so warm and you were lost in his eyes to even notice. 

“Nice to meet you.” You said quietly.

“Y-Yea you too y/n.” he responded.

“Well then…” Mrs. Russell said, cutting the tension with a knowing smile. “You must come over to our house with your mother and father tomorrow night. I haven’t seen Henry or Sarah since they moved with you.”

“I-I’m afraid my mother passed away a couple months ago.” You said, unsure of what to say next.

“Oh, dear I am terribly sorry.” she said quietly. “She was an amazing woman.”

“Here is your bacon,” The worker said, walking in cheerily and breaking up the conversation. 

“Thank you.” You said, accepting the package and passing a bill to the boy working there.

“I assume you will be coming to church tomorrow y/n” Mrs. Russell said, trying to make you forget about their last topic. 

“Of course, my dad and I will be there.”

“There’s a new preacher comin’ into town. He’ll be expecting a platter from every family for the potluck.” She said expectantly.

“Well, I don't think my dad can cook for the life of him, so I guess that’s up to me.” You laughed.

“I’ll let you get to that then” She said, patting your shoulder and turning back to the counter. You smiled at Arvin who had been very quiet the whole conversation, who nodded back and turned quickly to the meat section. Your heart dropped, but quickly picked itself back up again reminding yourself that you had been in this town for only an hour. 

Making your way to the back of the store, you were unaware of the boy watching you, unsure of what he should say or do. You picked out some flour, eggs, strawberries and anything else you could think of to make a pie with, and made your way to the front.

“So chicken liver it is.” Arvin said before noticing you coming towards him, and slowly making his way out. 

After paying for the rest of your groceries and saying goodbye to Mrs. Russell, you made your way out and passed Arvin smoking in his truck. He waved goodbye to you and you smiled and waved back before making your way home.

[allisonxmoynihan]

illicit affairs ~ a. turcotte

Requested: yes | no

Song: this series is loosely inspired on Illicit Affairs by Taylor Swift (you can listen here!) 

Note: okay this is my first time writing in months and i’m kind of scared about it, but please let me know your thoughts, opinions, feedback, whatever! Special thanks to @hockeyhughes11​ for helping me with this and reading it as I wrote, you rock!

Word Count: 2663

“y/n,” his shaky voice whispers hoarsely on the other side of the phone.

“Hey superstar!” you cheer, an inevitable smile fluttering across your lips, as you turn the tv off so you could hear him better, pressing the phone firmly against your ear as if not to miss a thing he says.

You hear a faint scoff in the background, “wanna come over?” he slurs, sending the butterflies racing in your stomach like the low hum of his voice always did.

You slowly release the breath you didn’t realize you were holding in, “not celebrating the big win with the boys? 3 goals and 2 assists and the superstar doesn’t want to party?” You joke with him while scrambling around your apartment searching for your sneakers and hunting for your keys.

You sense him smiling on the other line, “I got other things to attend to tonight, you know that,”

You feel your face grow hot as your breath hitches, “c’mon y/n, i’m dying to see you…” 

~*~

Work was an absolute blur, the grouchy morning rush of commuters flooded the coffee shop and it was nonstop brewing coffee and preparing breakfast sandwiches before they ran out the door to catch a train. You were thankful for the mid morning slump; middle aged women occupying tables and catching up on neighborhood gossip and reminiscing about their sorority days.

You look up from wiping down the espresso machine to see two boys, about your age, standing on the other side of the counter, wide smiles on their faces as they laughed with each other while sneaking glances at the menu.

“Hi, welcome to Aroma Mocha Cafe! What can I get started for you today?” You exclaim, a forced smile overtaking your face.

The dark haired boy steps forward, “hey, can I please get uhhh…” his voice trails off as he looks up at the menu before he looks back down, “uhh, the seasonal iced coffee?”

You smile, “sure thing, our seasonal flavors are lavender vanilla or salted caramel, which one can I get for you?” 

You watch his face as he contemplates which one, “oh, you can’t go wrong with salted caramel!”

“Alright, your total today is going to be $2.57,” The boy quickly takes out a $5 bill and instructs you to keep the change before moving over to the pick-up counter.

As you’re preparing the two drinks for the boys you can’t help but overhear the small fragments of their conversation you can make out.

“Bro, c’mon, just ask for her number,”

“Trev, I said no.”

“You’ve been…. All… you… Alex”

“No”

“I will then”

You put the drinks down in front of them, “enjoy! Napkins and straws are straight ahead by the door,”

As you’re cleaning up your station, the dark haired boy comes back up to the counter and you feel his eyes on you before you look up and smile, “can I get you anything else? Our seasonal scones pair nicely with the coffee,”

“I’m Alex,” he says awkwardly, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets.

You nod slowly, “that’s nice…”

“We should get dinner one day,” he suggests, and when he’s met with your silence and a blank stare he adds, “you know, cuz you’re cool.”

“Oh, um, thanks, but I really can’t,”

Alex nods, looking at the pastry display case for a few minutes, “well can I at least get your number?”

You notice a group of moms, the weekly book club group, walk in the door and head up to the counter. “Alex, I’m really sorry, but it just can’t happen,”

Alex nods, looking back up at the menu, “so, uh, how long you work here?”

One of the book club moms offers you a sympathetic smile as she turns to talk with one of her friends, “Alex, I’m sorry, but we have a lot of customers right now, so if you’re not go-”

“What, am I not a customer?” he interrupts, and you breathe out heavily in annoyance.

“What can I get for you?”

“A date,” he offers with a shy, boyish smile, his dimples becoming apparent.

You sigh, scribbling your number down on a piece of paper, “fine, but only because I want you to leave me alone.”

~*~

Cold, faint rain ricocheted off of the windows of your bedroom as you crawl onto Alex’s lap, his lips nipping at your neck bound to leave marks that you’d have to figure out how to cover the next day. 

His hands slide underneath your sweater and rest gently on your hip, “no one’s home, right?” he whispers, his lips vibrating against your skin.

You rest your hands on his bare chest, feeling his heart pound against the skin, “we’re all alone baby,” you murmur, pressing your lips to his once again.

He effortlessly lifts you up and lays you down on your bed, suddenly towering over you, “you know i scored the game winning goal today” He smiles cockily.

You look into his dark brown eyes, feeling a blush creep over you, “oh and how should we celebrate, superstar?”

He chuckles softly before leaning down and kissing down your jaw, slowly removing your shirt from your body, “i got a few ideas in mind,”

Within seconds he’s on top of you, one hand kneading your breasts, the other slipping underneath your leggings and collecting your wetness. 

“Are you going to be a good girl for me?” he asks, sliding your leggings and panties down your legs as your legs fall open for him and he begins to kiss down your abdomen.

You writhe underneath him and let out a gasp as his tongue licks up your folds. You run your hand through his luscious locks as he picks up his pace and begins to work at your clit. You buck your hips up as you moan out with pleasure.

“So good for me you pretty girl,” he grumbles against your dripping pussy, slipping three fingers into you, his calloused fingers pumping in and out of you. You felt a knot forming in your stomach and knew you were close.

“Alex, please, faster,” you moan, only alex lifts his head and kisses back up your torso before placing a sloppy kiss to your lips, sucking on his fingers. 

“I want you babygirl,” he mumbles as your hands fumble with the zipper on his jeans, helping him slide out of his boxers. Without any warning alex pushes into you, his thrusts harsh and fast. The room is filled with the sound of both your moans, his thrusts getting sloppier and sloppier. And when you both reach out your highs he slows his pace to drag out your orgasm, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead.

“Such a beautiful girl,” he hums, sliding off the bed and redressing before looking over at the clock.

You suddenly feel vulnerable and exposed, bringing your blanket up to cover yourself as Alex approaches the door, “I’ll be seeing you princess,”

You wave sheepishly at the closed bedroom door that he just escaped behind, sighing at how foolish you are, how you would consistently drop everything to be there for him. You think back to the hundreds of other nights spent like this, the two of you having your moment, and him bolting as soon as he decides it’s over leaving no trace behind. 

You sit in your dark room, convinced alex does love you deep down, that he’s different and not the kind of guy that shows up on your doorstep just for sex. But you’d be lying if you didn’t admit that sometimes, you felt as if you were a pawn in his game. 

You think back to your first “date” with him, how you were defiant and didn’t want to go, but how 10 minutes quickly turned into an hour and that hour was suddenly six. He made you feel special, like you were on top of the world, like you could be something more than just a barista in a busy city. You reminisce about the time you and alex once dreamt up a future together: a small cottage in minnesota, three kids running wild in the yard after a long day at the beach. You wipe away tears that happen to fall as you realize what you’ve been trying to fight for months: you were in love with him, and you could only hope that you actually meant something to him.

~*~

The crackling noise of the firewood and the light tunes of your favorite band filled your living room where you and your best friends sat binge watching the latest reality tv episode. You lean forward to grab an oreo off the plate on the coffee table, breaking it in half and eating the side without cream first.

“You know the guy I matched with on tinder the other night?” maddie asks, taking her phone out. You and christine hum in unison.

“So, i was curious and went to look at his instagram, and…” her voice trails off as she scrolls through her phone’s home screen, “here i’ll just show you.” 

You lean back on the sofa, running your hands through your hair, “how bad is it?”

“You really gotta get better taste, if i see one more picture of a guy holding a fish i’m going to lose it,” Christine laughs, grabbing an oreo for herself.

“Oh shit,” maddie whispers

“What?” you and christine ask impatiently

“Hey, uh, y/n, isn’t this the guy from the coffee shop? Mr. I want a date and I refuse to leave this shop until I get your number?” she laughs, and you instantly reach to take her phone from her hands desperate for any opportunity to see him, but when you see the picture your face falls and you can feel the color drain. “It was on my explore page…” maddie adds, reaching for her phone but you turn away continuing to look down at the screen.

There he was. Your superstar. Wide grin, dimples present, his hair still wet and curling loosely at the ends, his button down shirt wrinkled and exposing his upper chest. His arm wrapped tightly around a girl’s tiny waist, her pressing her lips firmly against his cheek, cupping his face in her perfect hands. 

You swallow the lump that formed in your throat, scoffing as you toss maddie her phone back, “so? He was just a normal customer, never even took me on that date he insisted on” you lie, turning your attention back to the tv.

Your mind is racing and the conversation between the other girls is drowned out by the flood of thoughts running through your mind. Alex was so much more than just the coffee shop boy, he meant everything to you, he was the only person that could make you feel whole and complete. You hated being a secret to him especially when he consumed every single one of your thoughts, you wished you could be the girl that meant something to him, the one to wear his jerseys at his games as you cheer him on, the one who goes out with his teammates after a big win, the one who gets to go home with him for the holidays to meet his family and fall in love with them for raising the man of your dreams. But you weren’t that girl. You weren’t her and you never would be her.

Later that night you go to alex’s instagram, and it’s as if you got fifty punches right to the gut all over again. Alex was happy with her. Hannah. That was her name. Alex was happy with hannah. You continue to scroll down his page and see that hannah first appeared on his page six months ago. The two of them pressed up against each other in the dim light of a bar, him leaning down and kissing her cheek. You laugh sadly at how stupid you were thinking that what you had with him was real and that you were anything more than someone to help fill a void. Your phone lights up with an incoming call, alex’s name appearing.

“Hey superstar!” you cheer, forcing a smile.

“Hey you,” he grins, “i was just thinking about you actually, can i come over?”

You say yes without hesitation, and that’s when you realize that you would continue ruining yourself for his sake as long as it meant he was going to stay in your life. You’d do anything to make him stay.

~*~

Work was a hassle, the coffee shop getting slammed with the drop of the holiday drinks, the city streets constantly bustling with tourists and holiday shoppers trying to find the best deals. You were excited to finally have a weekend off to just relax and have no worries. You approach your apartment door and smell the savory aroma of food cooking, and you're confused since you live alone.

You cautiously push open the door, peeking into the kitchen as a smile blossoms on your face. “Alex!” you cheer, running up to hug him as he peppers your face with kisses. 

You pull away from him, setting your bag on the kitchen table, “what are you doing here?”

He turns his attention back to the stove, “well, i know you’ve been stressed with work and school lately, so I thought i’d do something nice for you,”

Your heart swells and you begin to feel all warm and fuzzy, “i don’t deserve you,” 

He laughs, “go change and get comfy, dinner will be ready soon. It’s your favorite and I also brought your favorite movies.”

You smile to yourself as you walk into your bedroom, putting on your pajamas and walking back out to see alex has prepared two identical plates, “ready?” he asks, a boyish smile on his face.

The night is filled with the two of you snuggled into each other’s sides on the couch, laughing at all the same parts of the movies, crying at other parts, making jokes here and there, and planning a getaway trip to a small coastal town. After three movies, and the sun long gone, the soft beat of his heart begins to lull you to sleep.

“You sleepy princess?” he asks softly, scooping you up in his arms and carrying you to your bed.

You’re half asleep as he tucks you in and presses a kiss to your forehead, “sleep well baby”

You reach your arms out for him, “you’re not going to stay with me tonight?” your voice is sad, not wanting this picture perfect night to end.

You hear him laugh as he runs his finger up and down your hand, pressing a light kiss to the top of it, “not tonight princess, i’ll call you tomorrow though.”

“Promise?”

“I cross my heart and hope to die,”

“Good,” you mumble, turning over and getting comfortable.

There’s a long silence and you know he’s still in the room since the hallway light is peeking into your room. And you can’t help but fall asleep happy, thinking that life is finally going right and you have the best guy by your side.

“I love you…” 

You hear the floorboards shift under his weight and just like that he’s escaped into the abyss of the night, just like he always does. 

~*~

“So you coming over or what?” he repeats, a harsh undertone suddenly appearing.

You smile, impatiently pressing the elevator button over and over again because it never seems to come quick enough, “uh, yeah, yeah, I’m on my way. I was thinking, we could maybe watch that movie you were talking ab-”

His deep voice cuts you off, his usually kind and patient tone now stern, “we need to talk.”

You stare at your reflection in the elevator door as your face falls, trying to fight the inevitable tears that spring to your eyes, and you just know tonight isn’t going to be like the others.

[nicolewoo]

The Big Day Part 1

Pairing: Joe Anaoi X Reader (Roman Reigns X Reader)

Synopsis: Although Joe hasn’t kept the destination a surprise, he’s got a few tricks up his sleeve, and one knocks the Y/N off her feet.

Warnings: Nothing. Just fluff and mention of a bad childhood.

Who the hell uses an alarm on vacation? I thought to myself as Joe’s phone beeped until he grabbed it and stopped the alarm. He rolled over and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me in until we were spooning. As he settled back down, Joe grumbled for a second before quickly remembering what day it was and popping up excitedly. “C’mon babe. We’ve got big plans today.” Joe hopped out of bed quickly and tried to pull me up. Just as I was going to protest, there was a knock on the door.

“Out of bed, sleepyheads!” Dwayne yelled out. “Vanessa is here, Joe.”

Joe called out, “Do you ever sleep, dude?” We heard Dwayne laugh. “Be out in a minute.”

We quickly got dressed and were getting ready to join the others when Joe wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to a stop. I turned around to see what he wanted. “Now,” he kissed the tip of my nose. “Today, we are going to a Samoan Independence Day celebration, and you’re going to need a traditional, Samoan dress. Vanessa and Lauren are going to take you to a special store to get it.”

I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t know Vanessa was here, and I’d only met her once. I knew the Samoan Independence Day was a big celebration. That must be the reason Vanessa, Dwayne and Joe came here. “Is this some sort of reunion?”

Joe nodded, “Yes. In our family, Independence Day is also a time to return to the land of our ancestors to reconnect to the land and each other.” I accepted his answer, but something was still off. He wasn’t telling me everything, but I trusted him. “They’re going to take you shopping now, and then we will meet you back here so we can get ready to go to the celebration.”

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

I’m not sure what I expected. The words “family reunion” conjured up a picture of people huddling in pavilions of parks with plastic tablecloths flopping in the wind and tacky matching t-shirts. Honestly, I’d never been to a family reunion, but this wasn’t what I expected to see.

We’d parked in a church parking lot and made our way to a giant house across the road, but instead of going in, we went around the side. As the party came into view, I was blown away. The ocean was just a couple hundred yards away from the house. A tent large enough to house a small village was set up in the middle with a small temporary stage under it. Another gargantuan tent was filled with tables, and food, set up in a buffet style. More giant tents dotted the beach between the house and the ocean. There was beauty everywhere. Honestly, it looked like a luau. Tiki torches, floral leis, rattan, flower arrangements on the tables and people dressed in everything from traditional Samoan clothing to shorts and t-shirts. There had to be at least 100 people there, and I’m pretty sure we were in someone’s back yard.

“Um. I forgot to bring a dish.” Joe admitted.

Dwayne put his hand on Joe’s shoulder. “I got ya covered.” He passed Joe to go greet people and called behind him, “We bought the pigs. You owe me $400.”

Joe put his hand on the small of my back chuckling, and explained that in Samoan culture, you never show up to a gathering empty handed.

“It’s Fa’a.” I smiled at him, and he looked surprised. “I’ve been researching Samoan customs since we got together.”

He grinned in delight. “Are you ready?” I wasn’t elated at the prospect of being around this many people, but I nodded yes. Joe kissed my forehead before we walked toward the party.

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

“Leati!” Joe’s dad greeted us with a surprised look. “I didn’t know you were coming.” He wrapped Joe in a giant hug.

“Thought I’d surprise you.” Joe beamed at the older man. “I brought a few people with me.”

“Dwayne!” Sika said as he hugged the bigger man. “Where’s your family?”

Dwayne called out to Lauren and she walked our way. “Lauren is here, and my daughters will be here soon.” His daughters would be here soon? I didn’t know that. “They’re coming with mom.”

Sika and Lauren greeted each other, and then the older man’s eyes fixed on me. “Leati, you’ve brought a young lady?” There was a deeper meaning to the way he said it.

Joe’s face lit up in the brightest smile, and he leaned over to whisper to his dad, who nodded back. Joe turned to me and introduced me. “Dad, this is Y/N.”

“Y/N, this is my dad Sika and stepmother Patricia.”

I gave them the warmest smile I could, even though Joe was keeping a secret from me. “It’s an honor.” I shook hands with them.

“Vanessa is here, and mom is coming today too.” Joe explained, and as he did Sika’s eyes got wider.

“We’ll have a fine time.” He smiled at me.

We stayed close to Sika and his wife as we ate, and that allowed me to relax and get used to everything. We didn’t start mingling until Joe was sure I was ready. He really was the sweetest.

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

We spent the first few hours talking to everyone. I knew I wouldn’t be able to remember everyone’s names, but Joe assured me it was ok. It didn’t take long though, before everyone knew my name. I gathered this was the first time Joe brought a date to this.

We ate, drank, talked, played with kids, and laughed. A variety of music played over a speaker system I couldn’t see; both what I’m guessing was traditional Samoan to current R&B hits and everything in between. There was a lot of laughter and good times. Everyone was so welcoming, that my normal social anxiety began to fall away.

As the party went on, more and more people arrived, including Dwayne’s daughters and Joe’s mom.  I gave up trying to count. There were people everywhere. Children played freely, watched by all the adults. The elderly were waited on hand and foot, and everyone was having a great time.

The sun was low on the horizon when everyone took their seats. On the stage was a row of chairs with a larger, throne type seat in the center. I wasn’t sure what was about to happen, but there was an energy running through the crowd.

Joe guided us to a table off to the left side of the stage, and we waited as the guests settled down, some at tables, some on blankets laid out in the sand. “Vanessa,” Joe pointed to the other side of me. “Sit here, please.” She did and Joe’s mom sat on the other side of her. “Vanessa is an expert on Samoan culture and is way better at the language than me, so I’ve asked her to translate and explain the show for you.”

I turned and thanked Vanessa before asking, “What did he have to trade for your services tonight? She and I both laughed.

“Tickets to Super Bowl,” she answered.

“Nice!”

Men in traditional Samoan garb got on stage, and drums began to pound, bringing cheers and applause from the crowd. The men on stage lined up into two rows and began to dance. Vanessa leaned toward me, “They’re starting tonight’s program with a Fa'ataupati or Samoan slap dance said to have evolved from the moves involved in slapping away mosquitoes.”

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

We sat enjoying drinks as the show went on. Three dances later, and the seats on stage began to fill up with elders of the family. Vanessa translated as the high priest prayed for the island, it’s people and the state of the family.

3 young men and one young woman all in traditional clothing took the stage and lit batons on fire. Vanessa explained that in the past Samoans were explorers, who brought light and love to islands around the South Pacific, and the family honored them by sharing their light with us. The performers were amazing, and I couldn’t take my eyes off them, but as they began to throw fire batons to each other, I was mesmerized.

After the dances, everyone calmed down. The high chief sat on the throne type seat and greeted the crowd. Vanessa translated the whole thing. He began reciting the history of the family from generations ago until now. I listened intently while Vanessa translated. I’d done a lot of research on Samoan culture, but there was no way I could find out the history of the family, so I drank in every bit of information I could. After his opening speech, the dancers did 2 more dances.

The High Chief stood and addressed the crowd again. “It is tradition in our family that when a Samoan warrior finds his mate, the couple shall come to the elders of our family for a blessing on the union. Each elder will talk to them and counsel the high chief. After the elders, a witness can advocate for the couple. Then the chief takes that counsel and decides if the union will be blessed.” The high chief called a name out, and a young Samoan man dressed in traditional garb came to stand before the chief. He spoke a few words in Samoan, and then the chief called out another name. I watch as a stunning Samoan woman in traditional dress came forward, joining both hands with the man standing before the chief. She spoke a few words in Samoan. “What did the couple say?” I whispered to Vanessa. “They are declaring their love, much like wedding vows. Each person writes their own.”

Next, an older woman came to stand next to the couple. She looked just like the young lady, leading me to believe she was probably the woman’s mom. She placed her hands on the couple’s and spoke. Vanessa translated, “My beautiful daughter has grown to womanhood, and is ready to become a wife and mother. I am proud of the woman she has become, and Rangi has been a blessing to her. I feel this union will strengthen the family. I beseech the elders and our high priest to bless this union.”  

The chief dramatically pondered, finally raising a staff like stick and pounding the bottom against the ground 4 times. The whole party erupted in rowdy cheers and applause. Immediately, two young girls no older than 6 or 7 came forward with leis they placed on the couple.

Then the chief came forward. He wrapped another lei across the couple’s hands. He laid his hands over theirs and began to speak. Vanessa was quick to translate, “The chief says that the elders of the tribe have observed the couple, and feel that the union will be a blessing to the family, and it is his honor to bless the union.” She paused for a second as she listened to him speak before smiling and saying, “As a family, it is our responsibility to mentor and counsel this couple as they journey through life. It is the family’s responsibility to help them raise the next generation of Samoans. He’s asking the tribe to pledge their support. I listened as the whole crowd recited something.

Finally, at a quiet word whispered by the chief, the couple kissed. Without warning, the young man knelt at the foot of the lady, catching a ring box tossed to him by a member of the family, and although I couldn’t hear them, I could tell he proposed. Her hands flew to her face and his smile lit up the whole party as she said yes.

Everyone went wild. There was applause, wild war cries and stomping and loud drums. After a few minutes, the chief banged his staff against the floor, causing everyone to settle down. “Settle down. Settle down. We will celebrate in a bit, but we have more business to handle.” I don’t know if I was more shocked that he was speaking English or that he was able to take control of the rowdy crowd so easily.

As the crowd took their seats again, he began speaking Samoan again. Vanessa translated, “It is our responsibility to care for those who are alone. I have been alerted that there is an orphan who is seeking admittance into our family. Please make your presentation.” Joe rose and took place in front of the chief. He began speaking Samoan, and this time Vanessa didn’t translate. Wait! Was he? Was he talking about me? Joe wanted me to join the family? Before I could even think about everything that meant, the chief called my name.

“Y/N. Please come stand by Leati.” He said in English. I did, feeling a bit of my social anxiety again, but when he took my hands and stared in my eyes, I relaxed. “Leati, you have asked that the counsel consider accepting this orphan into our family. Y/N,” the chief turned to me. “Have you parents to care for you.” The question was weird. I’m an adult… not a child, and yet, the answer was no. “Members of the family have observed you. Who in our family would like to accept Y/N?”

I was shocked as Joe’s father stood. I hadn’t noticed he was seated on the stage. He was an elder. Behind Joe, I saw his sister, Dwayne and Lauren stand. Then I noticed others standing. I scanned the room to find Joe’s mom, The Fatu brothers and Naomi, who I didn’t know were here, all standing as well as many of the people I’d met today. I hadn’t even seen The Fatus arrive. My heart swelled as the high chief smiled at me. “Y/N, it seems there are a number of family members who wish you to join our family. “Elders, what say you?” He turned to face the row of seats behind him. Answering one at a time, each member said “Ioe.”

Joe smiled at me and said, “That means yes.”

I was all smiles now. This show of support was beyond heartwarming. “Y/N. Our family is offering to accept you as one of our own, to care for you when needed, to support you when warranted and to love you unconditionally. Will you accept our invitation?”

“Ioe.” I answered and the crowd got rowdy again. The applause was drowned out by the cheers.

When the chief settled the crowd, Joe looked expectantly at him. “Leati has also asked for a blessing on this relationship. Do the elders agree to this blessing?

I listened as each one said “Ioe.”

“And who among the family will stand up for this couple? Suddenly a chorus of voices rang out yelling “Ioe. Ioe. Ioe.” I looked to find the Fatu families yelling the loudest, and I smiled sweetly at them. Sika stood, coughing to get the attention of the Chief, before saying, “Ioe”.

“Then it is an honor to bless this union.” The two young children came out to put leis on Joe and me before the High Chief laid a lei across our hands and spoke the same words he’d spoken with the other couple.

There was a terrifying moment as I wondered if Joe was going to propose as the first young man had, but when the Chief was done, Joe led me back to our table. Everyone stood for hugs and congratulations. I hugged and thanked everyone for their support. The Fatu families joined us now. “I can’t believe you’re here!” I said as I went to hug Naomi.

“We wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” John said to me. “Welcome to the family Sister Uce.”

Joe wrapped an arm around my waist from behind and pulled my body against his chest. “Welcome to the family Sister Uce.” He whispered in my ear.

I turned to face him. “I can’t believe you did all this.”

“This is the family you deserve.” He kissed me softly.

Then I heard a voice I knew, but there was no way….. I found Jimmy had his cell phone pointed at me, and I realized we were in a group chat. Seth, Becky, John Good and Renee were all on the screen cheering me.

“Guys? You knew?” I grabbed the phone.

“Yeah! Dis is w’at we were hidin’ from ya’” Becks laughed.

“Well, you did it. You all really shocked me. Thank you!”

@mindofasagittaruis​ @lclb13​

[imagineredwood]

***Y’all really been wanting to see EZ and Cam do the dirty huh? 😂 Patience is a virtue but I got y’all a little dry humping something to hold you over. I couldn’t link the previous parts this time since I’m on mobile. You can always check the El destino tag on the blog to catch up or refresh though***

Pairing: EZ Reyes x Camila

Warnings: Mild sexual content, nothing crazy yet

Word count: 2.3k

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

“Is that too much?”

Camila looked over at a kneeling Angel, wiping away a bead of sweat from her forehead and shook her head.

“Nope. That’s perfect.”

Angel gave a proud smile and nodded, softly patting his hand on the damp soil over the seeds he had just planted. Camila reached over and grabbed the sharpie and gardening label, handing them over to Angel.

“Write down what it is so we know.”

Angel took the items from her before shaking his head and holding them back out to her.

“You’re handwriting is better than mine.”

Reaching over, she pushed his hand back away from her and toward him with a smile.

“You plant it, you write it. That one’s yours.”

Angel looked down at the tag and marker in his hand as Camila stood and wiped her hands off on a towel beside her.

“I’m gonna go get us some juice. Come inside when you finish up.”

Camila reached over to pat his shoulder gently before starting to head back into the house while Angel stayed there, looking at his patch of dirt. Pulling the cap off the sharpie, he placed the label flat against his thigh and began writing cilantro on the front of the tag as neatly as he could. He gripped it straight and the put it back down on his leg, flipping it over and writing something down on the back before facing it to the front again and pushing the stake at the bottom of it into the soft soil. He stood then, wiping his hands together like she had done and started making his way into the house as well, ready for a glass of cold juice.

He walked in and found her standing in the kitchen, finishing up washing her hands and walking to the fridge, pulling out the glass pitcher of her homemade juice cocktail. She reached over and grabbed a glass from the drying rack and poured him some, pointing over to the sink as she held onto his glass.  

“Go wash your hands.”

Angel smiled and nodded exaggeratedly at her, turning on the water and watching as the water turned brown.

“Yes, ma’am.”

She waited for him to dry his hands and then handed him his glass, watching as he gulped down half of the glass. He pulled away after a moment and pulled the glass an arm’s length away, looking over it.

“That a new blend?”

Camila nodded and smiled brightly, holding her hands together in front of her and bouncing slowly on her heels.

“Can you tell what?”

“Cranberry for sure.”

Camila nodded and Angel looked at the glass again.

“Pomegranate?”

“Mhm. One more.”

Angel tilted his head back and forth, making a show of swirling the rest of the juice left in his glass, lifting his other hand and wafting the glass, sniffing.

“Grape.”

Shaking her head, Camila laughed.

“Close. Blueberry.”

“Blueberry juice?”

“Yep.”

“I didn’t know that was a thing.”

“Well know you know.”

Angel finished the rest of his class and placed it into the sink, starting to wash it as she waved her hand at him.

“Leave it there, I’ll get it.”

The older Reyes brother didn’t listen and finished washing his cup before turning toward her and shrugging.

“Mom always told us to wash our dishes. If you used it then you wash it.”

Camila nodded and gave a shrug of her own.

“I mean it sounds fair.”

Angel smiled then and pointed to his bag that was sitting on Camila’s couch, that she had urged him to bring.

“I’m gonna go take a shower, then we can get started on lunch.”

Camila nodded and pointed to the guest bathroom.

“Everything is in there, I set it all up for you. I’ll go take a shower too and we’ll meet back here so we can cook something up and take it over to the shop.”

Angel nodded and grabbed his bag, heading off to the bathroom while Camila looked over at her garden through the sliding glass doors at the back of the house, smiling as she saw the new area she and Angel had planted today.

Before long, they were all bathed and in the kitchen, Camila helping Angel along as he cooked lunch and packaged it, both of them heading to the carniceria to eat with Felipe. He was at the counter checking out a customer when they walked in and they went to the back, Camila placing the bag down on the metal counter as the bell rang in the shop, the customer gone and Felipe now joining them.

“What’d you bring me?”

Camila smiled as she unpacked the bag, Felipe there looking over her shoulder as she pulled the containers out. Angel looked on as she did, standing a bit off to the side behind her while she pointed to the refried beans and yellow rice.

“Angel cooked this.”

Felipe gave a soft chuckle but it died down when he saw both Angel and Camila with straight faces. He looked down at the food then and leaned down to smell it, standing back up straight and looking at Angel.

“You really made this, mijo?”

Angel scratched at the back of his neck as he nodded.

“Yeah. I mean she walked me through it and helped me out when I got pissed that the rice was taking too long but yeah, I did.”

Camila smiled at the prideful look he wore and she patted his shoulder, pulling out the hard plastic plates she had brought, serving the two men and handing them their plates, smiling as Angel kept on about how boring it was to make rice.

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

Camila smiled as EZ stared at her, a slight smirk hanging on his lips.

“What?”

EZ shook his head, hand holding hers as they sat together at the clubhouse bar.

“Just happy you’re mine, that’s all.”

Camila blushed at that, squeezing his hand softly.

“I feel the same way.”

EZ’s smirk transformed into a loving smile and he leaned across the tabletop, pressing his lips to hers. She kissed back for a second or two before pulling away and looking around. EZ ran his thumb along the back of her hand.

“Relax, no one is looking.”

She chuckled a bit and shook her head, a couple strands of hair falling from her low bun and into her face. EZ reached over and tucked them behind her ear, using the closeness as another opportunity to get his lips back on hers. This time she stayed in place and let him keep kissing her, leaning into him as he was into her. EZ leaned into her further and groaned slightly, wanting to closer and reaching for her thigh, only to hit his knuckles into the bottom of the bar wall. Camila laughed quietly against his mouth and he laughed too, pulling away and licking his lips. He opened his mouth for a moment, wanting to speak but closed it. He wanted to take her back to his trailer but he didn’t want to be too forward and truth be told, he was still a little rusty. Sure he had slept with a couple of sweetbutts and some of Vicki’s girls since he’d been free but it had been years since he had gone the whole nine yards and he didn’t know if he still had it or not. Camila could see his hesitation though and smiled at him, tilting her head and resting her cheek on her closed fist.

“What’s up? Talk to me.”

He hesitated for a second more before smiling and nodding at her.

“I was thinking that we could go to my trailer, get some privacy.”

Camila nodded after a second and he grabbed her hand tighter, standing and pulling her to stand with him, both of them grabbing their beers. He guided her to the front of the clubhouse, stopping to look into El Templo, seeing Bishop sitting at the head of the table, reading something and smoking. EZ called to him and the president looked up, smiling as he saw them standing there.

“I was gonna head out if that’s alright.”

Bishop nodded and held his own beer up to them, throwing Camila another friendly smile.

“Goodnight sweetheart.”

“Goodnight, Bishop.”

EZ waved at Bishop as he passed and placed his hand on Camila’s hip, walking outside with her. Angel, Gilly and Coco were sat outside at the table, smoking and talking, all of them looking over as the couple was walking by, Angel giving a low whistle as the made their way to the camper.

“You gonna make me a nephew?”

EZ groaned, flipping him off as he ushered Camila in faster, Angel’s voice getting cut off as they walked in and closed the door.

“Or a niece, don’t matter to me.”

EZ slammed the door and shook his head as Camila laughed.

“God he can be a pain in the ass.”

Camila shrugged, keeping her smile on her face.

“He’s a good guy. He’s the big brother, he has to give you shit, that’s his job.”

EZ nodded and motioned to the couch, siting beside Camila after she took a seat.

“I know, he can just be...”

EZ shook his head instead of finishing the sentence and Camila suddenly wore a more serious face, her eyes trained on his.

“He’s doing his best.”

EZ maintained the eye contact and gave a nod, thankful that not only had she warmed up to Angel quickly, but they had become decent friends over the last handful of months.

“He told me you let him garden with you.”

Camila leaned into EZ then, relaxing into his side and cuddling into him, the scent of his cologne and his kutte engulfing her.

“He asked if he could see my garden, like you did so I told him yes. He started talking about your moms garden then and I figured it would be nice for him to come and help me garden like you did. Just...give him something to focus on and relax.”

EZ smiled at that and reached over, taking her chin in his hand and pulling her head back, his mouth on hers again. She leaned into him more now, the privacy helping her relax and she turned slightly facing him now, her lips against his as his hands reached for her, pulling her body towards his. She allowed him and leaned in further, her hands on his chest and sneaking around his neck as he sat up some. He kept kissing her as he got up on his knees and started leaning her backwards until her back made contact with the couch, his body hovering over hers.

Their lips were moving faster now, her hands clinging onto him as he held himself up, a low groan rumbling in his throat as she slid her hands down his chest, nails digging ever so slightly into his abdomen though his white tee. He let his lower half rest against her and judging by the soft giggle she gave, he was sure she could feel how hard he was. She pulled away from him, trying to catch her breath and he simply trailed his lips down to her jaw, then to the front of her throat, his thumb on her chin pushing her head back slightly.

He ground himself into her subconsciously, wanting to feel both closer to her and some form of friction. The moan she gave at the feeling made him twitch and he did it again, grinding himself into her as she spread her legs further, giving him more room. He reached his hand down then hooking his fingers in the back of her knee and raising her leg, hooking it over his waist. She whimpered then, loving the feeling of him against her, hard and pulsing. Letting her head fall back some more she cursed, her hands fisting into the fabric of his shirt as they dry humped.

“Fuck, EZ.”

He smiled against her neck and finally removed his lips, looking down at her.

“Is this ok?”

Camila nodded only, not trusting that her voice wouldn’t shake in her state of arousal. EZ nodded himself then, the hand that was on her thigh, now making its way between her legs. They both gasped then when there was a sharp and rough knock on the trailer door, Angel’s voice calling to his baby brother from the other side.

“Sorry Prospect, Padrino needs us down in the tunnels, now.”

Angel left it at that, not saying more since he knew Camila was in there too. EZ couldn’t hide his annoyance this time after being interrupted once more and looked down at Camila with irritated eyes while she simply smiled and leaned her head up to press a gentle kiss to his collarbone.

“Go. I’ll get myself home. Just text me when you get back here, let me know that you’re ok and safe.”

EZ appreciated her patience and understanding, but it was her words that really struck him. Once again, it was reaffirming what Felipe had said about her being a smart girl. He hadn’t told her anything yet, nothing about what the club really did, nothing about Potter or the deal, and yet she had already concluded that whatever happened when he was called probably wasn’t safe. She cared about him, wanted him to come back in one piece, even when she didn’t know where he was or what he was doing. All she wanted was for him to come back safe, back to her. Eyes locked on hers, a swelling in his chest making his blood pump a little faster, he looked down at her and blurted out the words that had been swimming around his head for the last month.

“I love you, Camila.”

Her smile faltered then, her eyes still boring into his, now switching back and forth, searching for ridicule or humor in his eyes. When she found none, she let her eyes drift away from his, her hands feeling shaky now, the seriousness setting in. Her voice was low when she spoke again, a timidity there that was new, her dark eyes peering into his.

“I love you too, Ezekiel.”

Tag list @caramara3 @lostgirl219

[sorceress-coffee]

Adventures in Trollsitting

AO3 Link

I awoke to the sound of a foghorn, my alarm. Groaning I tried to roll over but was pinned down by something heavy sitting on my waist. The bed began to shift under me. Confused, until I decided to finally open my eyes, coming face to face with bluestone. My brow furrowed before I recalled the events and shock from last night. Draal had subbed in for my bed to keep an eye. As he sat up I nuzzled my head under his chin, seeing that the heavy object pinning me happened to be his arm.

Draal chucked at the gesture, handing over my blaring phone. “Morning, does it always make that awful noise?” He huffed through his nose, rattling the ring in a disgruntled manner at the alarm.

I smiled turning the alarm off, yawning as I snuggled up to him more, still tired. “Only when I need to be awake at a certain time. Jim, Toby, and I are supposed to head to Trollmarket this morning. I need to speak with Vendel about armor designs.” I paused thinking over last night, “Sorry for… worrying you.” I sighed out.

Draal hummed as I spoke of going to Trollmarket with Toby and Jim, peering down at me in confusion when I apologized. “You are my mate; it is now my duty to take care of you, that includes worrying.” He smiled, nuzzling my jaw with his nose, “It is not something you need to apologize for. The news last night was a ‘shock’ as Jim put it.”

I smiled softly, hugging around his neck, “Thank you for watching over me then.” Pulling back to stretch before getting up, “Being made of stone, you’re pretty comfortable as a bed.” I teased, heading upstairs with Draal, heading up to the second floor to my room.

Draal followed close, stepping into my room for the first time since he threw Nomura out of the window his first night here. He sniffed over the desk with a canvas about 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide leaning against it, with various spray paint canisters laying around it, “What is this?” He asked, nudging the canvas with the beginnings of a dark figure in bright green and blue swirls.

I was digging through my closet for a change of clothes, peeking out to see what he was asking about, I grinned. “That’s a piece I’m working on for an art show, it’s later on in the year but I’ve been working on it since the beginning of the school year. I’m hoping to be the first spray painter accepted into the show!” I pulled on black leggings covered in the same green and blue paint as the canvas and an oversized black long sleeve with a silver spaceship on it. “Do you think I have a chance?” I asked as he examined the picture.

Draal chuckled, looking over the picture close, “Human’s are… moronic, usually, but they’d be blind to turn this away, who is in the painting?” He traced the swirls of blue paint, before poking at the head of the shadowed figure.

“I’m not sure actually, it’s a scene I’ve dreamt about a lot though growing up. He shows up in them so I don’t know if it’s a tv character or someone I’ve met a long time ago and forgotten about. Usually, there’s a person wearing gold too, but I haven’t figured how to draw them yet.” I explained, standing next to Draal, staring at the painting.

Draal hummed, tilting his head as a thud sounds from Jim’s room. “Our Trollhunter has been bested by his bed it seems.” He smirked, waiting by the door as I grabbed my school stuff before heading out with him.

I checked mom’s room to make sure she left for the day before going to Jim’s door, knocking. “Jim? You okay in there?”

Jim groaned from behind the door. Loud shuffling could be heard before he opened the door, yawning. “Morning River, morning Draal.” He greeted, trudging past us. “Remind me to never let Blinky talk us into visiting before school.”

“We both know that’s not going to happen,” I smirked, following Jim downstairs, Draal right behind us.

Jim nodded, grabbing his bag off of the banister, “Yeah, he can talk anyone into anything.”

Draal laughed, shaking his head. “He’s not used to a Trollhunter that needs to sleep either. You’ll get used to it.”

Jim smiled up at Draal, “You gonna be good on your own?” He asked, glancing between Draal and me.

“I will be looking for Killahead Bridge while you attend your training and learning dungeon,” Draal smirked, content with his job for now. “I will return by the time your mother is home to guard her and the house.”

Jim nodded, pausing to tilt his head in confusion, “Learning dungeon?” he asked, looking to me.

I laughed, “School, it means school.” I explained, realization crossing Jim’s face as he laughed.

Draal nudged my cheek with his brow, “You don’t want to keep Vendel or the fleshbag Tobias waiting,” he nods the window where we see Toby yawning, tapping his foot impatiently as he waits for us.

I chuckle, pressing my brow to Draal’s before heading out with Jim, “Bye, Draal! We’ll see you later!”

Toby waved to Draal as we left, snickering at me, “You’ve gotten comfy having Draal live with you.” He remarks, trying to tease.

Jim shakes his head, chuckling, “Why wouldn’t she be comfortable with Draal there? They act like a married couple already!” He snickered as we headed into town for breakfast at Stuart’s Taco Truck, before going to Trollmarket.

I smirked at both of them, rolling my eyes at the obvious teasing, “Seeing as he’s the equivalent of being my fiancé, yeah, of course, I’m comfortable with him living with us. I’m surprised you’re not uncomfortable.” I remarked to Jim, elbowing him.

Jim shrugged, “Draal’s like a brother already, he fits right in with us. Besides, as I told you, as long as you’re happy, I won’t have a reason to use Daylight,” he snarked back to me, joking about using Daylight. He would never use the sword on Draal.

Stuart opened the Taco Truck window as we approached, “Morning my best customers! How was your date River?” He asked, starting on the breakfast burritos, knowing our usual orders.

“Date?” Jim and Toby asked in unison, turning to me.

I laughed, shrugging a bit, “I picked up tacos and burritos for Draal and me, Stuart put two and two together. It was great, he enjoyed raiding the scrap yard with me!” I grinned leaning against the window to converse with Stuart as he cooked.

He laughed, wrapping the burritos, “Now that sounds like a keeper to me! Find anything good?” He asked, handing the bag to Toby as Jim paid, he still owed Toby from before his fight with Draal.

I nodded, “Yup, I found some old tech I’ll bring it to the shop next time it’s open.”

“Thanks, River! Boys, have a good day!” Stuarts waved us off with a grin.

Jim shook his head, “You make some really weird friends. Not that they’re weird, it’s just who you end up making friends with isn’t the usual for a high schooler,” He corrected quickly as I gave him the side-eye of disapproval.

“You’re telling the non-human dating a troll, that who she makes friends with isn’t typical?” I asked, smirking to Jim as Toby handed out the breakfast burritos, chomping into mine quickly, waiting for an answer.

Jim floundered for a response as Toby snickered, unwrapping his burrito, “You walked right into that one Jimbo.” He teased, biting into his burrito.

Jim huffed, eating his food while sulking a bit. I paused outside of the Vespa shop, “Hey, Jim. Aren’t these the Vespa’s you’ve been drooling over?” I asked, finishing off my food.

Jim whistled, stopping next to me, fighting the urge to drool over it. “Vespa 300 GTS Super. Single-cylinder. Catalyzed four-stroke Quasar engine,” he sighed. “Can you imagine me going down the road on that? Wind whipping through my hair, Claire holding tight to my back,” he trailed off, lost in his head.

I rolled my eyes as Toby sighed, “Me, cruising in the sidecar next to you,” he spoke, interrupting Jim’s fantasy.

I shook my head, snickering at Jim’s disgruntled look directed at Toby. “Tobes, you know that’s for a motorcycle, right?” I remarked.

Toby pouts towards me before seeing Jim’s look, “Oh. You imagined you and Claire alone, didn’t you?” He asked Jim with a sheepish smile.

“We both know the odds of mom getting you a Vespa for your 16th birthday.” I sighed, knowing Jim was hoping for one.

“Only slightly worse than me winning the lottery and buying it myself, but still slightly better than you getting a motorcycle for your 19th birthday.” He snickered, teasing me back. I grinned ruffling his hair at the remark. Jim whacked my hand away glancing at the window, frowning. “Did you see that?” He asked, turning to quickly to see a goblin on a powerline holding a bundle.

I turned, following his eyes, barring my teeth slightly, “Goblin!” I yelled as Jim and I took off after it.

“What?!” Toby yelled, having looked at the window instead of the power line, groaning as he sees Jim and I running, “It’s just a bird!” He yelled after us, trying to catch up.

“It’s a goblin, with a baby!” Jim yelled back to Toby, seeing baby arms poking out of the bundle the goblin was holding, gripping a rabbit plushie.

Jim and I followed the goblin to the alley behind Alex’s game shop, “Dead end.” I growled, heading towards the back looking for a way up to the roof.

Jim knelt behind me, picking up the rabbit plushie the baby had been holding. Toby finally caught up to us, trying to catch his breath. “Come on guys, it’s just a bird!” He groaned, not having seen the goblin at all. “Chill out, this Trollhunting is making you hallucinate,” He tried to reason, clasping Jim’s shoulder.

“Two people don’t hallucinate the same thing at the same time,” I quipped back, frowning as I couldn’t find a way up, losing the goblin and the baby. Sighing as I turned back to the boys. “The baby was holding that.” I nod to the bunny in Jim’s hands.

“What would a goblin want with a baby?” Toby asked, shaking his head. Though his tone was filled with disbelief, he was worried in the case it was an actual baby.

Jim frowned, examining the rabbit plushie, “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” He headed out of the alley, Toby and I following close. “Blinky should have an idea why, let’s get to Trollmarket,” he spoke, leading us to the canals quickly.

I took out the horngazel, opening the entrance and heading down to Blinky’s library with the boys. “I have to go see Vendel. I have my alarm set so I’ll come to get you for school.” I waved to them before running to Vendel’s study. Steeling myself as I walked in, not having seen Vendel since I left Trollmarket with Draal. “Morning Master Ven-” I cut my greeting at the sight before me.

Vendel was facing the entrance of his study, gem staff pointed at me, “You have missed three days of training, you ran off with a disgraced troll, courted him in front of every troll in Trollmarket, and all you have to say is ‘Good morning?’” He scolded me, sounding like a disappointed parent.

I winced, bowing my head slightly, feeling like a small child, “I wasn’t sure if I’d be welcomed back after everyone’s reaction to that…” I admitted, rubbing my arm. Not used to being scolded.

Vendel sighed, lowering the staff, “You are my charge, of course, you’re still welcomed here… though I’ll be surprised if no one says anything about the display after the fight.” He shook his head, sitting at a stone table, gesturing for me to sit next to him.

I sat quickly, snarling a bit, “If they want to speak ill of Draal they can fight me.”

Vendel laughed, in a better mood after getting the scolding out of the way, “I shouldn’t be surprised considering your lineage.” He pats the top of my head with his large hand, as one would a child.

I pout at the patting before I furrow my brow, registering his words, “Did you… You knew I was related to Merlin?” I asked, looking up at him from under his hand.

Vendel hummed, realizing I hadn’t known from the confusion on my face. “I forget there is much you don’t know yet,” he sighed, pulling over a volume of ‘A Brief Recapitulation of Troll Lore’ opening to a page with an illustration of a woman clad in armor, holding an ax. She was surrounded in swirls of blue and white, similar to the painting I was working on. “This is Lady Ganieda, Merlin’s sister,” Vendel pushed the book closer to me, “Your mother I presume, from your magic.”

I studied the picture closely, smiling softly, “She could wield daylight?” I asked, looking at Vendel as he hummed in answer. “Then, you knew I could too?”

Vendel nodded, “I could tell from the burns on your hands when we met. That is why I am so insistent on training you. If you befriended trolls, as you have, and remained untrained…” he trailed off, shaking his head sadly.

“The Forge wall I shattered could’ve been a friend,” I concluded, looking back to the picture. “I’m glad I finally have a picture to relate to her, I’ve never seen her before.” I smiled, running my fingers over the armor in the picture, pausing on the shoulder plates. “I want to design something similar, and since my arms and shoulders get hit the most, maybe I should make those pieces a priority.”

Vendel smiled softly, nodding. “Take the book, uses it as a reference for your armor.” He spoke, placing his hand on my shoulder, “I’ll see if we have any more pictures of Lady Ganieda, you should have them after all.”

I smiled hugging Vendel, “Thank you Master Vendel, I appreciate this.”

Vendel smiled softly, hugging me, “Of course,” he jumped as my phone alarm began to sound, looking at me confused, poking at my frame trying to find the source of the noise.

I laugh pulling my phone out to turn it off. “Sorry, it’s time for me to get the boys and head to school. I’ll see you soon with plans for the armor.” I grinned, hugging him again before taking the book and running off to get Toby and Jim from the Forge.

As we walked to school, Jim explained what Blinky told them about changelings being replaced with babies and growing up in the human world. We paused at the lockers, still hugging the book to my chest as I open my locker to put it away for now. “So, we have to find out which baby is missing?” I asked, tucking the book away, and grabbing my paint for art class, closing the locker.

Jim nodded pulling the rabbit out, sighing. “I am going to find out who it belongs to and when I do-”

Toby interrupted Jim, grabbing his shoulder, “Maybe you didn’t see what you thought you saw. You’ve been spending so much time in Trollmarket, maybe your minds are playing tricks on you.” He suggested, looking between Jim and me.

Jim frowned, looking at the rabbit, leaning back against his locker, “Maybe you’re right,” he conceded to Toby making me groan, refusing to believe we hallucinated a goblin kidnapping a baby.

“You have Suzy Snooze?” Claire’s voice startled the three of us as she approached, gesturing to the stuffed rabbit. “My brother’s bunny, I’ve been looking all over for him.”

Jim handed her the bunny, “You’ve been looking for this?” He asked her, worry etched over his face.

“Yeah,” she smiled, taking the bunny. “He’s been acting weird without it. Where did you find it?” She asked us, confused that we had it.

“We found if in the alley behind Alex’s Game Shop,” I spoke up, worried for her baby brother.

“What do you mean, he hasn’t been himself? Exactly how has he been acting?” Jim asked quickly, mind racing to changelings.

“Easy, Jim.” Toby grabbed his shoulder, holding him back a bit. Turning to Claire, trying to play it off. “Always concerned about the children, but just for clarification, are we super sure this is his? I mean you could probably pick this up at, like, any store,” He asked, hopefully.

Claire smiled shaking her head, “I think I know the stuffed bunny I grew up with,” she answered to Toby. Mary ran up to Claire, yelling her name. She paused to catch her breath and began to explain that she wasn’t available to babysit Enrique for her tonight.

Jim began to freak out as they talked, whispering to Toby and me, “She doesn’t know her brother is missing because he’s been switched with a changeling!” He waved to Claire, quickly interrupting the girls’ argument, “I can babysit for you,” he offered.

“Tonight?” Claire asked, grinning. “Really? You would? Wait,” she paused, eyeing Jim, “have you ever babysat before?”

“Uh, yeah,” Jim answered quickly, “Yeah, no. They call me ‘Jim the Baby-Handed,’” he remarked, using Bagdwella’s insult from when Chomsky stole his amulet.

I snickered, turning to stand next to Claire, patting her shoulder, “He’s great with kids, a real ‘mother hen’,” I joked, earning a laugh from Claire and Mary.

“Oh, my gosh, you’re a life-saver. I could kiss you.” She grinned, leaning up to kiss Jim on his cheek, “Come by my house at seven, no sooner. Thank you, Jim. Thank you,” She waved to us, heading off with Mary as the bell rang.

“Time to go, I’ll see you two later. Try to behave.” I smirked, running right into someone. The impact strong enough to knock me on my rear, paint rolling out of my bag. I groaned shaking my head.

“I’m so sorry,” a thick accent spoke in front of me. I look up to see a hand extended towards me, connected to a blonde male with dark blue eyes.

I blink, staring at the hand for a moment before taking it, “No, I’m sorry for running into you,” I apologized as he helped me up, “I should’ve been watching where I was going. I’m River, I don’t think I’ve seen you before?” I asked.

“Eemeli,” He introduces, picking up the paint that rolled from my bag, handing it to me. “I saw you had paint and figured you must be in an art class, I just transferred here and I’m a bit lost.” He admitted, scratching the back of his neck.

Jim and Toby exchanged looks before waving to me, running to class. I nodded, “Sure, which class are you looking for, Eemeli?” I asked, waving for him to follow me as I headed to the art classes.

“Ms. Harper?” Eemeli asked, reading off the schedule in his hands.

I grinned, “Oh, you’ll be in my class then!” Quickly guiding the way, we walked into Ms. Harper’s class containing three other students.

“Where are the rest?” Eemeli asked, gesturing to the mostly empty room, confused.

“Ms. Harper tends to scare students off with her… eccentricities. She’s amazing once you get used to her though, this will be the fourth year I’ve had her.” I explained grinning as Ms. Harper walked in, wearing a dress covered in paint and a bright yellow sweater.

“Good morning class!” She greeted enthusiastically, pausing when she sees Eemeli, she grabs his shoulders, grinning, “You must be my new student. Oh, I’m so glad you’ll be joining us,” She turned to face me, “Ah, I see you’ve met River. Careful now, she bites.” She teased, letting Eemeli go. “What medium do you use?” She asked Eemeli.

Eemeli looked like a deer caught in headlights, looking from Ms. Harper to me. I smiled softly, “She wants to know what kind of art you do.”

He nodded, recovering his composure. “I, uh… I work with metal. Sculpting.” He spoke quickly.

Ms. Harper hummed, hands on her hips as she tilted her head in thought. “River, are you still storing metal here from last year’s project?” She turned to me, a hopeful glint in her eye.

“Of course! It’s in with the theater equipment.” I confirmed, “How about you and I go get it so you can start working on something?” I asked, turning to Eemeli.

“Wonderful idea River, just grab the hall pass,” She waved to a paint pallet hanging by the door.

Eemeli grabbed the pallet as we walked out of the class, waiting till we were a good distance from the room before speaking, “I see what you mean, she’s very… excitable?” He tilted his head.

Laughing I nodded, “Yup, she’s also very involved in projects, so just to warn, she will hover,” I shook my head, heading into the theater storage room, “The metal should be back here.” I called, moving props out of the way.

Eemeli helped me dig till we reached the metal, “I’ll grab a-” he began as I lifted a large portion of the metal onto my shoulder, “cart… or not.” He chuckled, picking up the rest of the metal, “You are stronger than you look.” He comments.

I paused, looking at the amount of metal, a nervous chuckle leaving me, “I, uh… train a lot?” I tried to state but it came off as a question.

“I can tell.” He smirked, heading out of the storage room. “What do you train for? Sports? Fighting?”

“Well, it’s fighting I guess, but it’s for fun,” I explained quickly, following after him before taking the lead back to class.

“We should spar,” He grinned, looking over the metal to me.

“Spar?” I asked, worried about doing actual damage to him since I was used to sparring with Draal. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

He chuckled, “Oh? Scared you won’t get a hit in?” Eemeli asked, his smirk growing.

I huffed, leveling him with a stubborn stare, “No, you might be leaving with a few breaks if we spar is all.” I snarked, bantering with him as we entered the class, setting the metal down.

“Now I want to spar, even more, I need to know if you can make good on that,” he grinned getting to work on sorting the metal.

I smirked back, grabbing my paint as I head to my canvas near him. “I can, and will. You’re on Eemeli.”

We continued teasing and goading each other about sparring till the bell rang. Ms. Harper approached us grinning, “I’m so glad you’re making friends. River, why don’t you work with Eemeli on the group projects this year? I know you prefer to work alone since most students don’t fit with your medium...” She trailed off.

I look to the structure Eemeli began shaping during class. “Well, that would depend on if he wanted to work with me. I don’t mind.” I answered, putting my paint away.

“Splendid, Eemeli?” She called to him, waving him over.

Eemeli set the metal pieces he was working with down, approaching Ms. Harper cautiously, “Yes ma’am?” He asked, a bit nervous about Ms. Harper.

“Each year my students collaborate in groups on a piece, I was hoping that maybe you and River would collaborate this year?” She asked hopefully, leaning in as she awaited his answer.

“Of course,” Eemeli grinned, “with metal sculpting and spray paint we could make an amazing piece.” He turned to me, excited about the project.

“Awesome,” I returned his grin, excited to have a partner that didn’t sneer at spray painting. “Why don’t you come over after classes today and we can start planning it?” I asked, walking out of the class with him.

He nodded quickly, “Sounds like a plan,” he paused, looking over his schedule, “Do we have anything else together?” He asked, handing me the schedule.

I looked it over quickly, “Looks like your class with Strickler,” I smiled, “You’ll like him, nowhere near as excitable as Ms. Harper, but he’s nice. Do you need help finding your other classes?” I asked, handing the schedule to him.

“No, I saw my next class on the way here this morning, I’ll see you in Strickler’s class,” he grinned, heading off to his next class with a wave.

I returned the wave before running to Spanish with Senor Uhl, trying to will the day to go faster. Once classes were over, Jim, Toby, and I were headed to the lockers, Eemeli waiting for us near mine.

“Hello partner,” He greeted me with a grin.

“Hey Eemeli, the rest of your classes go okay?” I asked, swapping out the paint for the troll book, hugging it close as I shut the locker again.

Eemeli nodded before looking at Jim. “Has he been that way all day?” Eemeli asked, having seen the exchange at the lockers.

Toby looked to Eemeli and me before looking at Jim, “This is an improvement…” he sighed, shaking his head slightly. “I’m Toby by the way. Drooly here is Jim, River’s brother.” He introduced himself and Jim.

“Eemeli,” He nodded, to Toby.

“Cool accent, where did you transfer from?” Toby asked.

“I’m from Finland, moved here to live with my uncle,” He offered, grabbing his bag as we wandered towards the entrance of the school.

“Ready to head out?” I asked Eemeli as we hit the school entrance.

Jim snapped out of his daydream, turning to me, “Head out?” He asked confused, jumping slightly as he noticed Eemeli standing next to him, “Oh, uh… Hi, I’m Jim,” he held his hand out to Eemeli, smiling.

Eemeli grinned, shaking his hand, “Eemeli,” he offered, amused that Jim completely missed everything. Toby shaking his head at Jim.

Jim looked to me, confused again, “Where are we going?”

“Eemeli and I were partnered for the group art project so I was asking him if he was ready to come over to start planning it,” I explained, smirking at Jim.

“Oh,” Jim laughed, “Don’t you usually do that on your own?” He asked, patting over his bag to make sure he grabbed what he needed from the lockers in his daze.

I shrugged, “Yup, but Eemeli here is a metal sculptor and agreed to work with me on something.”

Eemeli grinned, interjecting, “I’m looking forward to this project, I’ve never painted my works before this, so I can’t wait to see what we make together.” His grin turning into a smirk as he emphasized making something together.

Toby and Jim exchanged glances, Jim speaking up, “So, uh, isn’t your boyfriend visiting today?” He asked quickly, glancing at Eemeli.

I looked at Jim confused, unsure why he was bringing Draal up, “Oh…” My eyes widen realizing I couldn’t bring Eemeli in without letting Draal know someone else would be in the house. “I’m so sorry, Eemeli, I got excited to plan this project, it slipped my mind.”

Eemeli smiled shaking his head, “It’s not a problem, we can start planning it in class tomorrow.” I’ll see you later.” He hugged me, before heading off, side-eyeing Jim as he walked by, throwing him a smirk as he left.

Jim shook his head slightly, hoping he was just seeing things. “That could have been dangerous.” He remarked as we headed home.

I groaned, nodding “I know, what if Draal thought Eemeli was someone sneaking in or trespassing. Not to mention that could drag Eemeli into this craziness,” I sighed.

Toby looked at me confused, “Are you serious?” He asked me, pausing near the house, “I’m more worried about finding out if Draal’s the jealous type, he could snap Eemeli in two.”

I furrowed my brow, looking between Toby and Jim, “Jealous type? Am I missing something here?”

“Okay, I know we joke about you being dense, but you honestly can’t tell me you didn’t notice that?” Jim exclaimed, gesturing in the general direction of the school.

“Notice what?” I asked exasperated at the situation.

Toby sighed, grabbing Jim’s shoulder, “Maybe we should leave it be, it’s not like anything’s going to happen.” He spoke. Jim sighed, “Yeah, it’s probably nothing River, sorry. I think I’m just on edge from this morning.”

I smiled softly, nodding in understanding, “It’s okay, I don’t know what’s okay, but it is.” I shook my head, going inside. “Have fun at Claire’s tonight!” I called, heading straight for the basement.

Walking down I grin seeing Draal stuffing some pillows, setting my bag next to the stairs. As I approached, Draal’s nose twitched, sniffing the air as he looks at me confused.

I frowned, “Draal? What’s wrong?”

He got up, sniffing close to me, “New scent.” He growled softly, picking me up.

I looked up at him confused, not sure what he was doing. “Uh, Draal? What’s going on?”

He sat down where he was, nuzzling his nose against my neck. “You have a new scent on you, it’s unsettling.” He huffed, smelling Eemeli.

“Oh, that!” I laughed, “There’s a new guy in school, my art teacher paired us up to work on a project. I needed to talk to you about that. He might be coming over to work on it here,” I explained, petting Draal’s horns as he continued to scent me.

Draal growled, “Why did he scent you?” He asked, purring at the petting.

“Uh Draal, he’s a human, he doesn’t know what scenting is. All he did was hug me as he left. No courting gestures.” I smiled softly at the purring. Hopefully calming his irritation.

Draal hummed, considering my explanation, “Does he have to come here?” he asked after a moment, uncomfortable with the idea of an unknown male hanging around, human or not.

I chuckled, “Well, I figure it’s better than working somewhere else, at least I have control over this space.” Draal tilted his head in confusion at my statement, making me grin, “I can kick him out of the house whenever I want or need to. Though it should only be once, we’ll be working on the actual project in class. This is just for planning.” I explained.

Draal hummed, nodding. “Then I am okay with this. Though, human or not, it’s unsettling that he was able to scent you, you hug the Toby fleshbag and this never happens.”

I tilt my head thinking, “Maybe it’s cologne or body spray? Something that would affect someone’s scent and cling to other people they come in contact with?”

Draal considered this, sniffing again, satisfied with his removal of the scent. “I suppose it’s possible,” he conceded. He looked up at the ceiling of the basement, realizing it was silent beside us. “Are Jim and Toby out?”

I nod, snuggling in his hold now that he was finished scenting, “Toby is introducing Arrrgh to his new home, since he’ll be protecting Toby’s home with the rise of changeling activity, and Jim is heading to Claire’s house to babysit her baby brother, who we believe has been switched with a changeling.” I explained, tracing the markings on Draal’s arms as I spoke.

Draal frowned at the mention of a new changeling. “We should go keep an eye out, in case this baby is an impure now.” He stood, letting me sit on his arm. I winced at the name but nod in agreement, making sure my lance was hooked to my belt. Draal left through the basement exit, as I directed him, using my phone’s GPS to find Claire’s house.

“Alright, we need to exit here, the sun has set so we should be good.” I pointed to an exit, “We’re almost there,” I cut off getting a call from Jim. I answered it as Draal exited the sewers. “Jim, are you okay?”

Jim groaned, “You put it in the diaper bin, didn’t you?” He asked, someone on the other line, “Hey River, Toby is getting another gaggletack, apparently ‘Enrique’ decided to hide the one I brought with me.”

“I’ll be there soon, Draal and I are close by I’ll help you look for it.” I chuckle, pointing to the Nunez house.

“Thanks, River, the back door is open.” He hung up, losing sight of Enrique.

Draal climbed the fence into the Nunez backyard, entering the house before setting me down.

I nuzzled under his jaw before heading upstairs to find Enrique at the top of the stairs babbling, “Hey there cutie, why don’t you come with me while Jim rifles through your diaper bin?” I cooed, picking him up. “Jim, I’ve got the baby, I’ll be downstairs,” I called out as Jim ran to the bathroom to wash his hands. I head down to Draal, holding the possible changeling out to him, “Look, I found a squish,” I grinned, joking as I cradled him, being careful in case he wasn’t a changeling.

Draal huffed before sniffing Enrique. “I forget how tiny fleshbags are at first,” he chuckled as Enrique blew raspberries at him.

I smile, snuggling him, “Are trolls ever tiny?” I asked, sitting on the kitchen counter.

Draal nodded, poking at Enrique’s stomach, trying to tickle him, “Yes, I was only slightly bigger than this as a whelp.”

My eyes widen, holding Enrique up, grinning, “I’m trying to picture you all tiny, it’s not working.” I laughed, as Toby ran in with the gaggletack.

“Oh, hey River, Draal.” He greets, “Awe, is this Enrique? Has Jim been a big bully?” He asked, setting the gaggletack on the counter near my leg.

Draal snarled, flicking the gaggletack away from me to the other end of the counter, leveling Toby with a hard glare.

Toby winced, realizing what could’ve happened, “Oh, right. Sorry River, I forget those could hurt you too.”

I waved him off as Jim ran down the stairs, “There you are,” He grabbed Toby’s shoulders, “did you bring it?” He asked as Toby rolled his eyes, pointing to the gaggletack at the end of the counter.

“Word of warning, don’t get close to River with it, Draal is guarding.” He joked, stepping out of the way of Enrique.

Jim grabbed the gaggletack, “Can you get him then, it won’t hurt him. I just want to make sure.” He asked Toby.

Toby nodded as I began to hand Enrique over. When he looked up and saw Toby was taking him, he began to cry, clinging to my arm. “I don’t think that’s happening.” I sighed, pulling Enrique back to me, bouncing him to calm him down. “Just do it while I’m holding him, it’ll just be a small burn if it touches me.” I shrugged, Draal growling at the suggestion. “Draal, I can heal myself if I get burned.” I nuzzle his cheek before nodding to Jim.

“Alright, here we go.” Jim got close and Enrique began to cry harder. I winced as he started climbing up my shoulder. Jim was trying to be careful not to touch me but with Enrique climbing, it was getting difficult.

“Don’t worry about me and just do it!” I finally snapped, pulling Enrique down in front of me with a firm grip. Jim lunged, hitting Enrique and my hand. I yelped at the burn, trying to keep my hold on Enrique.

A snarl came from ‘Enrique’, and I turned him around, seeing a tiny troll in my hand, “This… is much cuter than Enrique.” I grin, hugging him close.

“stupid flesh-thing!” He yelled, swiping at the burn, forcing me to drop him with a yelp.

I held my burnt and now scratched hand close, glaring down at the tiny green changeling, “You may be cuter, but your attitude sucks.” I growled out, baring my teeth.

Draal snarled, slamming his fist down as Jim and Toby try to catch Not-Enrique, Toby shouting at him. Growling still, Draal picks me up, pulling me away from the chase as the house gets destroyed.

Jim’s phone rang and he answered, finding out that Claire and her parents were on their way home early. “Oh no,” was all he got out as Not-Enrique began to blast music. As utensils were thrown into the back door, we heard Blinky yell to Arrrgh before they broke the door down, chasing after Not-Enrique.

As Not-Enrique shot peas out of his mouth, Toby drew the fire away from us and Arrrgh punched up into the ceiling, squishing Not-Enrique and catching him on a plate with a smug little grin. He brought Not-Enrique down so he was level with us, Jim approaching him first. “All right, enough! Where’s the bridge?” Jim asked, irritated.

Not-Enrique sat up on the plate smirking at Jim, “What bridge? London Bridge? I hear it’s falling down.” Arrrgh began to squeeze him, Not-Enrique tried pushing his hand off, “Ow! Fleshbags… no sense of humor,” he sneered.

“Where is the bridge?” Jim asked again, getting in his face.

Not-Enrique began to wheeze as Arrrgh squeezed slightly harder. “Give me a break! I don’t know anything. It’s me first day,” he tried to reason.

Blinky came to stand next to Jim, glaring at Not-Enrique, “Squeeze him till he pops!” He directed to Arrrgh.

Arrrgh began to squeezes harder, and Not-Enrique finally snapped, shoving his hand away, “Okay, okay, okay!” He yelled, relieved that the pressure was gone. “Can’t blame a guy for looking out for himself.” His ears drooped and he crossed his arms over his chest, “But you can’t tell anyone I told you. I got a pretty sweet deal going here. If the boss man hears I squealed, he’ll feed me to Bular.” Not-Enrique tried to negotiate quickly.

“Bular’s working with someone else?” Blinky asked confused, only knowing of Nomura until now.

“Who?” Jim asked, looking at Not-Enrique, “Who is Bular working with?”

Not-Enrique cleared his throat, stammering, “Oh, er- forget I said anything.”

A car pulled up out front and we all looked at the windows, “Draal, we have to go.” I nod to him. He took off out the broken door, carrying me as the others argued over Not-Enrique before leaving him with Jim for now in Enrique form.

I sighed, seeing Jim get in trouble with the Nunez family. “This complicates things, we can’t do anything with Not-Enrique or the Nunez family will freak out that their baby is missing.”

“He is missing though.” Draal interrupted, holding the hand I wasn’t sitting on palm up, wanting my injured hand.

Sighting, I placed my hand in his so he could look it over before I healed it, “I know he is, but they don’t…” I began the healing incantation, the wound glowing a soft blue before healing over.

Draal hummed, checking over my hand again once it was healed. “No more changeling hunting, you keep getting burned,” he frowned, not okay with how tonight was handled.

“Hey, it was my choice, I told Jim to get it over with because I can heal myself,” I pouted slightly, knowing he was just being protective.

He paused his steps, nuzzling my cheek, “One day, it won’t be a small burn. What am I to do with you then?”

“Hmm… let me heal myself because I’m stubborn and never back down from a fight or challenge, which is part of the reason you knew you wanted me as your mate?” I smirked up at him.

He chuckled, continuing home, “You’re damn stubborn,” he snarked back, grinning.

“I have an excellent teacher.” I giggled, snuggling in his hold as we made it home. “Can I stay with you again?” I asked, yawning softly.

Draal chuckled, taking me upstairs, “Change, then we can go sleep.” He yawned, finally to the point that he needed to rest.

I smile hopping off his arm and running into my room to change into pajama shorts and a tank top. Grabbing the pillows and blankets off my bed I headed out of my room to Draal. “Ready,” I smiled up to him.

Draal chuckled, scooping me up and heading down to the basement where the finished nest was set up. “I returned early and finished the nest, just in time for resting.” He got in the nest/bed we built, laying back into the pillows. I smiled, laying along his chest, keeping my pillows close in case I needed them. “Do you like it?” I asked, looking up at him.

Draal hummed, wrapping my blanket around me, resting his arm over my waist as I curled up. “It’s an excellent nest,” he smiled, nuzzling the top of my head.

“Good…” I began to nod off, nuzzling his chest as I give in to sleep. “Night Draal, love you.” I smiled, passing out quickly.

Draal smiled softly, “I love you as well, River.” He chuckled as I passed out, falling asleep a few moments later himself.

[w-k-smith]

Welcome to “Don’t Go to the Netherworld!” a Beetlejuice the Musical the Musical the Musical AU.

Beetlejuice - half-ghost, half-demon - has spent his entire afterlife in the Netherworld and works as the beleaguered assistant to Juno, his demonic bureaucrat mother. He thinks he’ll be stuck and miserable until doomsday, then a living girl breaks into the Netherworld in search of her dead mom. Beetlejuice promises to help Lydia Deetz, so long as she summons him to the living world once they’re done. Unfortunately, the best-laid plans of goths and ghosts often go downhill toward sandworms, dead boy bands, family drama, and worst of all, introspection.

It’s showtime!

Hey - feel free to check this out on AO3, where I’m w_k_smith. The original version of this post included links, but tumblr hides all my posts that have links in them, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Chapter One: “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife” (6/19/20) Chapter Two: “Worm Welcome” (upcoming) Chapter Three: “Ghost to Ghost” (upcoming) Chapter Four: “To Beetle or not to Beetle?” (upcoming)

Warning: This story contains depictions of, references to, and discussion of topics like suicide, untimely death, abuse, and body horror - you know, like the musical does (though this probably has more). Know your boundaries, and stay safe.

First chapter under keep reading!

He was so relieved when the red alert exploded through the office, making every demon caseworker jump. He’d spent the past few hours cutting up the files Juno had given him into paper dolls, but even yards upon yards of multiheaded creatures got boring after a while. He magicked the dolls into running out of Juno’s office into the caseworker bullpen, and when that got no reaction, he’d made the dolls stand in crude positions and then cannibalize each other, but even that barely got a few snarls of “Get back to your own work, Beetlejuice.”

But red alerts were like fire alarms. Not only did they break up the day, but you also got to look at a fire.

“What asshole let the living person in?” he yelled, walking out of Juno’s office. He got his own too-small desk in a little reception area in front of her inner office. Officially, he was the Assistant to the Director of Netherworld Customs and Processing, but he was a glorified secretary. Most of his days were spent spinning his wheels or making the whiners who came to see Juno sit and wait until they gave up and went away.

He guessed his position as Juno’s half-demon assistant should have felt like a privilege, if he didn’t otherwise hate every aspect of the Netherworld. He got a desk and walls, while the full-demon caseworkers crammed their knife-fingers, pumpkin heads, flippers, and musty burlap bodies filled with bugs into an open-plan workspace. And the dead people who hung around had to make themselves busy wherever they found the space.

Right now everybody, demon and human alike, had scattered

“Out of the way, Beetlejuice!” the receptionist snapped, sprinting by in the high heels she’d died in, making them her only footwear from now until doomsday. She’d had another name once, but the MISS ARGENTINA sash across her torso had become a nametag a long time ago.

“Yeah, Miss A, better get to ’em before Juno does!” he said, yanking up his sagging pants.

“Care to help?” she snapped before rounding the corner.

He didn’t bother to respond. She’d asked knowing the answer would be “no.” Even if he thought it would make a difference, why should he? Sure, the living didn’t know crossing into the Netherworld meant they’d be chased down and probably killed by a screechy demon with a neck slit and horrible fashion sense. But hey. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

He didn’t see Juno around. Not yet, anyway. He was sure he’d hear her, once things went south for the trespasser.

Someone he didn’t recognize crept around the corner Miss Argentina hadn’t turned. The living girl stuck out like a raw steak at a vegan salad bar. Her face was flushed, and sweat glued her bangs to her forehead. Geez, he missed sweating. She walked without the weight of the underworld on her shoulders. And she was goth, with a dyed black bob, a black dress, and chunky black boots – very overdressed. Most of the recently deceased turned up in hospital gowns, sweatpants, Greek life t-shirts, or, best/worst, nothing at all. Few had the right combination of luck and irony to die in funeral garb.

He ducked behind a pillar in the bullpen before the living girl saw him. She licked her lips, looked left and right and left again, obviously no plan in mind…

And she ran into Juno’s office.

Oh. Oh oh oh this was just too good. Today was not going to be boring. Today might be his luckiest day of all.

He strode to Juno’s office door, walked through, and slammed it shut behind him.

“Do you have a death wish?” he asked the kid.

He was aware of the effect he had on living people…and a lot of dead people…and anyone and anything with even the memory of a digestive system. Today his hair was a dark green that verged on purple, his moss and stubble blended together nicely, and the caterpillar behind his right ear was busy spinning a cocoon.

The kid didn’t act freaked out or disgusted. She straightened her shoulders and said: “You have to hide me.”

He leaned against the door. “Do my ears deceive me?” He pulled his left ear out to arm’s length, and let it snap back like a rubber band. “Or is the girl running for her life making demands?”

“I came here for my mom. I can’t leave until I find her.”

“She isn’t here, Siouxsie Sioux. You’re the first living person who’s snuck in for the past decade.”

“My mom is dead. She died a few months ago. I have to find her, and bring her home. Well, to Connecticut, because my dad made us move to Connecticut, but then when he sees her, he’ll snap out of it, and we’ll go back to our actual home!” Desperation, denial. Maybe she was prepared to blend in with the newlydeads.

“Lemme get this straight – you, still alive and kicking, jumped into hell to find someone who has been dead for a while and bring them home with you? And you thought you could just do that? That this kind of violation of the natural order wasn’t going to rain down all kinds of shitfire and brimstone?”

“I knew there might be trouble.” She set her jaw. “I just didn’t care.”

He grinned. “Ah. Moxie. You’re pretty luck you decided to hide in my office.” He floated over his desk, crossed his legs, and pressed his fingers together. “I have a proposition. Quid pro quo, if you will.”

The kid gave him an extremely skeptical look. “You want me to make a deal with a demon?”

“Half demon, and what I’m asking for is a favor. Just a little, bitty thing.” He held his fingers a millimeter apart. “I’ll hide you. Keep the heat off. Distract the fuzz and frame your dog for eating your homework and tell the collection agents you aren’t home. And then, when you get back to the world of the living…you’ll say my name. Three times.”

She put her hands on her hips. “I’ll…what?”

“It’ll summon me. So I can be a part of the living world! At least for a while. And not be stuck in this trash fire.” He grimaced. “No, that’s not fair. Sometimes trash fires are fun. I should know; I’ve set a lot of them.”

Her frown deepened. “I don’t know…”

“Beetlejuice!” came a familiar roar. “Get out here right now!”

“Under the desk!” he told the kid, jumping to his feet.

“Don’t talk to me like –!”

“UNDER THE DESK!” he roared, drawing himself up a few extra feet, and opening his mouth to show multiple rows of teeth.

That did the trick. The kid dove under the desk, and he was glad her dress was black, because it blended in with the shadows and the dark stone of the floor.

Juno opened the door a second later, smoke and steam trickling from her neck slit. Her beehive quivered. Per usual, her red skirtsuit hung off her like loose skin, and she was pushing the walker she didn’t need ahead of her.

“Lawrence Beetlejuice Shoggoth, do you have anything to do with this?” she growled.

“To do with what?” he asked. “The red alert? It sure brightened up my total lack of morning. I won’t name names, but someone in the bullpen jumped out their skin. Literally, the scales are still on the floor.”

A bony finger was extended his way. “I know about your little obsession with the living world. Why do you think I watch you so closely? You are one more misstep from being banished between life and death, how do ya like that? Do you want to spend eternity watching your precious breathers without anyone able to hear or see you?”

Ah. That old chestnut. “No, Ma,” he said, settling onto the floor.

“If I hear that this was your handiwork…”

“…My entrails will decorate the lobby. Yeah, yeah, heard it all before.”

She flicked her wrist, and knocked him over the desk. He tumbled head over heels, and landed on his face. It goddam hurt, because his mother could always hurt him. He made sure he hit the ground with a comical splat sound so the kid wouldn’t panic and give the game away. When he looked up, the girl’s eyes were wide and fearful.

“How about this?” He stood up, and brushed his sleeves off. “That red alert was because some dumbass living human came into the Netherworld, right? And I can tell you didn’t catch them, because there’s more steam coming out of you than usual. I’ll go looking for the human. I’ll prove to you I didn’t do it.”

She crossed her arms, and drummed her fingers on her elbows. “Hmm…when you put it that way…this would be an excellent way for you to demonstrate the potential for more responsibility, and – I DON’T CARE. Just stay out of the way.”

Coming from Juno, that was a sappy “I love you.” She stormed out of the office, and he waited until the rattling of her heels faded out of earshot before he bent down to check on the kid.

“You have to get the hell out of here,” he told the goth girl curled up under his desk.

“That was your mother?” she asked.

“She’s my boss, too. She’s a demon; she doesn’t get me. I’d take my considerable skills elsewhere, but, y’know, it’s toe the line or get wedged between life and death forever. How did a living twelve-year-old wind up in the Netherworld, anyway?”

“I’m fifteen!” she said, standing up. “And that’s none of your business.”

“It is so my business, if we’re going to get you to the land of the living so you can take me with you. What did you do? Black magic? Séance?”

“I, um…” She gave him a hard look before continuing. “I found a book.”

“A book? Really? Which book?” Most living world books wouldn’t tell you jack about the Netherworld. Concepts like limbo or the bardo came close, but…

“Handbook for the Recently Deceased,” the kid said.

For several seconds, all he could do was stare at her. Her expression became grossly fascinated.

“Your eyeballs are falling out of their sockets,” she said.

He shoved them back in, and shook his head to clear it. “How did you get the Handbook, kid?”

She crossed her arms. “My name is Lydia. And I found it.”

“Found it where?”

“Your sister’s sock drawer.” She glared at him. “Look, it doesn’t matter where I found it, but I found it, and the first chapter said you could get to the land of the dead by drawing a door and knocking three times. So I did that, and I tried to blend in by joining this line of dead people, but we went through a metal detector or something, and all these alarms started going off, so I ran.”

Her story had a gaping hole in it in the shape of the fact that she couldn’t have opened the Handbook unless she was recently deceased, which she wasn’t. A ghost had to have shown her the book and let her through the door, which was a big no-no. Obviously, she wasn’t going to give up her source.

He didn’t care. In fact, he was delighted that they were still teaching living teenagers that snitches got stitches.

“Fine,” he said. “I can get you back, but when you do –”

“I have to say your name three times?”

“You have to say my name three times.”

She sat on his desk. “Which name? That Juno lady called you a lot of things.”

And Juno had cursed him so he couldn’t say it. For the same reason people on house arrest couldn’t unlock their ankle bracelets.

“I’ve got a card somewhere,” he muttered. He reached into his jacket, and handed her the little business card.

“ ‘2nd Street Dermatology – You’ve Got Us Under Your Skin’?” she read.

“Wrong card!” He grabbed it back, and plunged his hands deep in his pants pockets. There was so much junk in the way. “Hold this,” he said, handing Lydia a skull, a xylophone, a planchette – “Here!”

He took his stuff back, and she read the card. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice?”

He nodded.

“If I say this in the living world, it’ll bring you there?”

“In two shakes.”

“So you’re like a demon.”

“Half demon, half ghost.”

“Have you been here a long time?”

He nodded.

“Then you know how to find my mom!” she said. “You can be my guide! And as soon as we’re back in the living world, I promise I’ll say your name. And you won’t have to deal with your terrible mother ever again!”

It was a nice thought.

“You can’t get your mom,” he said. “That’s just a no-go.”

Her expression soured. “No-go with you, you mean,” she said. “You don’t really want to help me? Fine. I’ll manage by myself, I guess. That’s all I’ve been doing since my mom died, anyway.” She went for the door.

He scurried after her. “Lydia, wait! We can make a deal!”

Juno would kill her. That death wouldn’t be clean or fast. And then Juno could spend as long as she wanted punishing the newlydead girl for breaking the rules.

It wasn’t pleasant to discover there were still ideas that could make him want to vomit. Besides, if she went out by herself, he’d be losing his ticket to the living world. Another few centuries slogging around the office until the next stupid, lucky teenager came by. There was no point in not seeing this through as long as he could.

He forced a grin. “OK. I’ll be your guide.”

“You’ll help me find my mom?” she asked. “That’s really possible?”

“It’s really possible.”

It really wasn’t. He could try to argue with her, and eventually, she might listen and just go home. But if he was the one who burst her bubble, she’d be less inclined to do him a favor.

“Sure,” he said. “I’ll help you find your mom. And I know exactly where to head. But first – we have to make you blend in.”

*

He smuggled the tiny goth out the back way, into the empty, rocky fields where the newlydeads lined up to head into the infinite Abyss that awaited them. No poor, unfortunate souls were hanging around just then, though you had to figure that people died about every second in the living room. He had given up trying to figure out the Netherworld’s relationship with time.

He made the tiny goth sit on a crag so they’d be eye-to-eye, and started rooting around his jacket for supplies. She looked skeptical, and he couldn’t blame her.

“How do I blend in?” Lydia asked.

“You have to look dead,” he said. “If you don’t go through the sensors – nice job, by the way, hopping right in the nearest line, very subtle – no one will automatically be able to tell you’re alive. But! If anyone gets within arm’s length, you’ll get caught. You have to stop flaunting your beating heart and functioning liver.”

“So I have to look recently deceased…” she said, and chewed on her bottom lip. “Should I put fake blood all over my face? Pretend I got poisoned?” She made a choking sound. “Maybe a noose?” She yanked one hand over her shoulder and let her head loll forward.

He tried not to flinch. She didn’t know that she’d just punched below the belt. Especially since he was wearing suspenders.

“Only newlydeads carry their wounds around,” he said. “That’s a good way to tell someone’s inexperienced. Have you seen the receptionist? She acts like she knows everything, but she’s still got those slit wrists, and the carbon monoxide skin.” He snorted. “Suicides.”

“I was going to jump off the roof of our new house,” Lydia said, very quietly. “Just yesterday. I wrote a note and everything.”

“Well, then, congratulations,” he said.

“For what?”

“For outdoing yourself. Running into hell wasn’t the dumbest idea you had this week. Have some grave dirt.” He tossed a handful of mud in her face.

She coughed, and tried to brush the dirt away, but just ended up smearing it across her forehead and cheeks. “What the HELL?”

“You have to make people believe you’ve been in the ground a long time. Get some of that under your fingernails, there you go. Now slouch!” he ordered. Her shoulders sagged. “Lower! Everything in your previous life is gone! No one cried at your funeral! Stoners are making out behind your head stone!”

“I’m deeeeead,” she said, stretching out the word and adding some vocal fry. She slid off the crag, and raised her arms like a zombie. Her eyes were half-closed. “Woe is me. How I long for one more breath.”

“Very nice.” He considered, then reached out and messed up her hair. “There. Dial it back by 30% and you’re golden.”

Her eyes lit up with a fervor only living teenagers had. “Does that mean we can go?”

“Yes. But you have to follow my lead, capeesh?”

“Capeesh,” she said, and he didn’t believe her.

He snapped his suspenders. “It’s showtime! Let’s go to Saturn!”

[mustangshelby04]

Boston Boy - Chapter 7

A/N I’m going to start posting once or twice a week now. Give me time to work on the future chapters and make them great for you. But now, it’s time to meet the Allens!

Kate fidgeted in her seat, waiting for the few cars driving down the road to pass so she could cross and go down her street.  Chris was sitting in the passenger seat looking at his surroundings.  She lived kind of in the middle of nowhere.  There were woods surrounding the road they were about to drive down.  She slowed down near the fourth, well spaced out mailbox and pulled into the driveway there.  

The brick rancher sat in a large clearing.  Where the garage door used to be was a set of dark oak French doors with beautiful stained glass windows in the top half of each.  The main entrance to the house was a single door similar to the French doors at the top of a wide porch.  It was a wide dark oak and the stained glass was the entire middle of the door and on either side were long, thin stained glass windows.  There was a large picture window in the middle of the house with jewel blue and chocolate brown curtains covering it.

Peeking out from those curtains were two dogs that Chris recognized as Denali and Galway.  They were barking madly as Kate parked and turned the car off. “Home sweet home.” She said. “We’ll go in my doors here so we can get our bags in safely.” Chris collected his bag and grabbed Kate’s two bags as well.  She had her purse and carryon bag and was unlocking the French doors.

“These are pretty.” Chris said, admiring the doors.

“Thanks.  I actually picked them out.  And the front door.  It was a mother’s day present from me, my brother, and my step dad.”

“You’re the only car here.  Where is everyone?”

“Work, probably.  We got here earlier than planned.” Kate set her purse and carry on bag down on the leather recliner. “Well, this is my little garage apartment.” In the front was the recliner and a matching sofa set up in front of a 50” Samsung flat screen Smart TV.  The TV was surrounded by a custom TV center made up of two floor to ceiling bookshelves, a row of cubbies above the TV, and an entertainment center below the TV.  The bookshelves were stocked with all kinds of books, photo albums, and DVDs and BluRays.  The entertainment stand was neatly organized with a desktop computer CPU, a Playstation 4, a Direct TV box, and a charging cradle for the Playstation controllers.  Through the glass doors, he could see more DVDs and BluRays.  The cubbies above the TV held knick knacks, stuffed animals, and picture frames.

In the middle of the room were the two large, folding screens with famous landmarks from England, France, and Italy painted on them.  They extended from each wall, creating a wall of their own with a large gap in the middle that served as a doorway to the bedroom.  Between the screen and the TV center was a small refrigerator and a counter with a microwave.

Behind the screen on the left was Kate’s queen sized bed with her stuffed Thumper sitting in front of the pillows.  On the opposite wall from the bed behind the screen on the right was a large, custom closet set up that extended from floor to ceiling.  There were small, shallow drawers for jewelry and larger, deeper drawers for clothing on one side.  In the middle were two large doors that opened to the wardrobe.  On the other side were shelves for shoes.  On the top of it were cabinets for storing bags and other things.  A folding footstool sat between a small flight of stairs and the shelves so Kate could climb up and collect things from the top cabinets.

The small flight of stairs led to a short hallway with two doors, one straight ahead with a small doggy door and one to the right.  The one on the right was Kate’s bathroom.  It wasn’t large, but it had a nice floor to ceiling shower, a good-sized vanity and a toilet.  The door at the end of the hallway led into the main house.  To the left was a step down into a utility room where the washer and dryer was along with a door to the backyard.  To the right was the den with a fireplace and a custom built desk that extended across the far wall.  There was a large and a small archway on one wall.  The smaller archway led to the kitchen while the other led to the living room.  

They didn’t make it past the den, though, because Denali and Galway were on them.  They begged for love from Kate, rubbing against her and barking.  When they noticed Chris, they both abandoned Kate to get love from the stranger in their house.  Chris got down on his knees and played with them.  Kate watched them for a few seconds before she went to the dining room to see if she had any mail on the table.  A wall that stretched halfway across the house separated the kitchen from the living room.  The dining room sat at the end of the wall, connecting the kitchen and the living room.

A hallway led from the living room to the three bedrooms and the bathroom.  Her parents had the master bedroom, her old room, which was the second largest room, was now a guest room slash office, and her sister Janice’s room was the smallest room.  The bathroom was a large bathroom with a stand up shower in one corner and a large, deep Jacuzzi tub in the other corner.  There was a long vanity with two sinks and the toilet sat in a space between the vanity and the tub.

“Come on, guys!  Go outside.” Kate said to the dogs as she rifled through her mail.  The dogs ran ahead to the utility room and bolted out the door into the large, fenced in backyard as soon as she opened it.

“This place is nice.” Chris said behind her. “You grew up here?”

“Yeah.  We moved in my sophomore year of high school and haven’t left.” She gestured at the yard where the dogs were running. “This whole area was terrible.  Overgrown and there were tree stumps everywhere.  My step dad has really fixed the place up over the last fourteen years.  The next thing on his honey-do list is the kitchen.  Mom wants new cabinets and a new dishwasher along with a new refrigerator.  She’ll probably get a new sink and new countertops, too.  Complete overhaul.  Come on, Gally!” Her Boston terrier ran back in the house while Denali continued running around the backyard. “I don’t like to leave Gally out there.  There’s a bald eagle that’s tried to take off with her a few times.”

“Shit!”

Kate picked Gally up and the pooch settled in her owner’s arms cradled against her chest, trying furiously to lick Kate’s face. “I know it’s a felony, but I will kill that bird if it harms one piece of fur on my baby.” She kissed Gally’s nose and set her back down on the ground to follow her and Chris back into Kate’s room.  She flopped down on the bed and sighed. “I have missed this bed.” Gally climbed up the pet stairs on one side and marched up to the head of the bed, laying down on one of the pillows.  Kate watched her and shook her head. “Spoiled brat.”

Chris sat down on the bed and laid back. “Wow.  This bed is comfy.”

“I told you.  It’s definitely more comfortable than yours.”

“Well, I still can’t judge that.  I haven’t slept in it yet.  Or done anything strenuous to test it out.” He rolled up on his side and ran his hand over her ribs. “I mean, we’re alone right now….”

“Travelling doesn’t take it out of you?”

“Are you tired?”

“A little bit.”

“Too tired for….” Chris was cut off by Gally walking up and licking him on his nose.  Kate burst out laughing and Gally snuggled herself by Kate’s head.  Chris laughed and rubbed the Boston’s belly. “Spoiled brat is right.”

Kate pushed Gally towards the edge of the bed. “Go lay on the couch.” Gally hopped down and trotted over to the couch with a huff. “Am I too tired for what?”

Chris leaned down and kissed her deeply, running his hand up her shirt.  He was about to climb on top of her when a loud banging came from her front doors.  They both shot up, smacking their heads together in the process.  Gally started barking madly at the door, jumping up and down in front of it.  A moment later, just as they finished putting themselves together, Kate’s step-dad unlocked the front door and walked into her garage apartment.

“Katie!  You’re home early.” He said in his Southern drawl, petting Gally as she jumped up on the recliner to be loved on. “We weren’t expecting you until this evening.”

“Yeah.” Kate smiled at her step-father. “My flight was booked so we took an earlier flight together.”

“Who’s we?” He was looking Chris up and down.

“Papa, this is Chris.  Chris, this is my papa Bill.”

“The Boston boy.” Bill nodded, still looking highly suspicious of Chris. “We’ve heard a lot about you.  Mostly from her brother.”

“I’ve told you about him.” Kate insisted.  Bill just grunted. “Ok, papa, you’re very intimidating.  Good job.  Chris is intimidated, aren’t you Chris?”

“Yes.” Chris said.  He wasn’t entirely lying.

“You’ve done your fatherly duty, now be a normal human being for once in your life and be nice.”

“Where’s the fun in being a normal human being?” Bill asked.

“It’s completely underrated.  Try it sometime, you’ll see.”

Bill held his hand out to Chris and Chris shook it, wincing slightly at the pressure the older man was putting on. “I’ve been to prison before, son, and I’m not afraid to go back.  Don’t hurt my daughter.”

“Papa!  Ok, out.  Leave.  Goodbye.  I’ve got to get unpacked.” Kate hustled her step-father back out the door.  Gally followed him out, but he shooed her back inside.

“Call your mother and let her know you’ll be home for dinner…. With a guest.”

“Ok.  Love you.” Kate shut the door and shook her head, muttering to herself. “I am so sorry, Chris.”

Chris chuckled, petting Gally between the ears. “It’s ok.  Has he really been to prison?” Kate shot him a look that told him her step-father was dead serious about that one. “Oh shit.”

“Don’t worry.  Asshole McGhee is still walking this earth.  So, you stand a chance against my papa.” Asshole McGhee was the name she’d given her ex that had cheated on her and nearly ruined her life.

“Good to know.  Are you sure I shouldn’t get a hotel?”

“I’m sure.  It was part of the agreement with my parents when I paid to renovate the garage into an apartment that they stay out of my business.  This is my apartment, that’s their house.  He doesn’t usually just barge in like that.”

“Extenuating circumstances?”

“Like me meeting someone in Boston on a trip by myself and wanting to make sure I’m not dead or suddenly have a pimp?  Yeah.  That’s his definition of extenuating.”

“So, you paid to renovate this place?”

“Yeah.  I took out a small loan for it.  I just finished paying it off earlier this year.”

“What happens when you decide to move out?”

Kate shrugged. “They’ll probably add a small stove and rent it out for more than they’re charging me.”

“They charge you rent?”

“Well, sort of.  It’s kind of a roommate set up.  I pay a portion of all the bills.”

“Oh.  Sorry, I don’t mean to pry into your finances.”

“It’s ok.  I’m going to start unpacking.” She handed him the remote. “Make yourself comfy.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Later that evening, Chris was watching a Golden Girls marathon while Kate was stretched out on the couch beside him with her head in his lap.  She’d fallen asleep and had stayed that way for almost two hours now.  He didn’t mind.  He happily stayed still and stroked her hair, running his fingers gently through the golden mass.  She hadn’t styled it, so her naturally wavy hair was on display.  He decided that he liked it better that way.

A knock at the door in the short hallway disturbed Gally’s sleeping form on the back of the couch.  She shot up, barking, and jumped down on Kate’s hip.  Kate yelped and curled into a little ball, glaring fiercely at her dog as she ran for the door.  She sat up, rubbing her hip, and looked around.

“Ugh, what time is it?”

“About 5:30.” Chris said.

“Wow, I was out.” Kate stood up and went over to answer the door.  It was her mother. “Sorry, I was asleep.  Gally, hush!  It’s just Granny.”

“You didn’t tell me you were coming home early.  I would’ve come home early, too.” Helena said, hugging her daughter tightly.

“I meant to call you, but I fell asleep.  But I’m glad we got here early so I could unpack.  Now I can show Chris around tomorrow.” Helena spotted Chris standing up from the couch and let out a startled noise. “Mom, this is….”

“You think I don’t recognize Captain America?”

“This is Chris.  Chris, this is my mom, Helena.”

“It’s really nice to meet you.” Chris said, shaking Helena’s hand. “Kat talks about you a lot.”

“She talks about you, a lot, too.” Helena replied.

“Mom!” Kate’s face was turning a deep pink.

“What?  You do.  How did I not know that your Boston boy was Chris Evans?”

“Quit being rude.  And you didn’t know because I didn’t tell you.  Also, you don’t pay attention to the internet.”

“I did see a story on Facebook yesterday about Chris Evans being at a game with some blonde girl.  I didn’t think for a second it was you.”

“Thanks.”

Helena shrugged. “The pictures weren’t that great and I can’t see great anyway.” She looked at Chris. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Chris smiled. “I know this isn’t the most orthodox thing on the planet, but I really do like your daughter.  A lot.  I hope that we can get to know each other and I can prove to you that I’ll make a good partner for her.”

Helena nodded. “You’re polite.  That’s good.  I won’t grill you too hard right now.  I think we’ll have time for that later if you’re spending the week.  Right now,” She looked at her daughter. “I don’t feel like cooking tonight.  Let’s go out somewhere.”

“Oh, I’m tired of eating out somewhere.” Kate said. “I’ll cook, if you want.”

“If you want to, but I’m not helping.”

“You say that every time and every time you wander into the kitchen and nitpick.”

Helena shrugged. “So what are you making?”

“I don’t know.  Dinner.” Kate turned to Chris. “Do you wanna run to the store with me and we can pick something out?”

“Sure.” Chris smiled. “That sounds great.”

“Ok.”

“Take your sister, please.” Helena said as she headed back for the main part of the house with Gally hot on her heels.

“What?  Why?”

“Because she needs to do something besides work and watch TV.”

“Mom, you have tomorrow off and you can make her do all the things then.  I am not spending twenty minutes combing the store trying to find her because she’s roamed off somewhere.  I just want to get the groceries and get back.”

“You’re being mean.”

“No.  I’m being practical.  If you want to eat dinner on time, then Jan stays here.”

“Fine.  Have it your way.” Helena disappeared into the hallway and the door shutting came a moment later.

“Sorry.” Kate turned back to Chris. “Jan has this thing where she roams off everywhere we go.  It’s a real pain in the ass when she does it at Target or Wal-Mart.  I once spent forty five minutes searching for her at Target.  And don’t get me started on taking her to the mall.”

Chris shrugged. “I didn’t think you were being mean.”

Kate grabbed her purse off the recliner and pulled her keys out. “Mom is always quick to defend Jan.  Especially from me.  Like I said, she still thinks I’m that misguided teen who was angry and took things out on my little sister.” She sighed as she opened the front door. “This week is going to be so much fun.”

“I think it will be.”

“You haven’t met Janice yet.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Kate had decided on salmon steaks, rice, and a roasted vegetable medley for dinner.  She’d had to get a chicken breast for her sister because Jan refused to eat the salmon.  Chris sat in the living room talking with Kate’s parents while she cooked.  Jan wasn’t very engaged in the conversation.  Her eyes were glued to the TV as they usually were.  Gally was sitting in Chris’ lap demanding to be petted while he talked.  Denali would come over and nudge him for attention, but Gally would manage to get his hands back on her.

When dinner was about ready, Chris offered to set the table.  Kate directed him to where everything was located and he kissed her cheek every time he walked by.  Helena came in and checked on the food for about the dozenth time, nodding her approval at her daughter’s cooking skills.

“We got pie for dessert.” Chris announced as they sat down at the table. “Key lime.”

“It’s the kind you like, papa.” Kate added.

“I don’t like key lime.” Jan said.

“Then don’t eat it.”

“Kate.” Helena warned.

“What?  No one is forcing her to eat the pie.”

Helena rolled her eyes and looked at Chris. “Usually I would ask you what you do for a living, but that seems like a stupid question.”

“Why?” Bill asked.

“He’s Captain America.”

“Oh.”

“You liked ‘Snowpiercer’, papa.” Kate reminded him as she passed him the bowl of rice. “Remember?  You watched it a few months ago.”

“That’s the one on the train, right?”

“Yeah.” Chris said.

“So that was you, huh?  That was a good movie.”

“Thank you.”

“Mom was a theatre major in college.” Kate said to Chris. “I can’t remember if I told you that.”

“Yeah.  You mentioned it.” Chris looked at Helena. “What college did you go to?”

“Southern Illinois University.” Helena said. “They had a good theatre program.”

“Were you on stage a lot?”

“I liked the backstage work more, but I did a few plays.”

“I guess Kat gets her creative side from you?”

“She gets it from both her parents.  Her father is talented in his own right.” Bill snorted and Helena shot him a look as he scooped up a large helping of veggies.

“Mom won’t say bad things about my father.” Kate explained, a forkful of salmon on her way to her mouth. “She still thinks it’s wrong to speak badly of him in front of her kids.”

“I’ve got plenty of things to say if you want to hear them.” Bill said, shooting his daughter a mischievous glint.

“You’ll do no such thing, William Allen.” Helena said.

Chris looked over at Kate and she smiled slightly. “I took his last name after I turned eighteen.” She explained. “It used to be Loewenthal.”

“That’s a mouthful.” Chris said, seemingly demonstrating by shoveling a mouthful of rice into his mouth.

“Yeah.  People have never pronounced it right.”

“Her father wouldn’t sign the papers to let her change her name when she was younger.” Helena said. “She had to wait until she was old enough.

“Kat told me about everything you guys went through.  I’m really sorry that happened.”

“Thank you.  So you’ve seen some of Kate’s pictures?”

“Yes, ma’am.  She showed them to me in Boston.  They’re amazing.”

“She does have a good eye for it.  Katie’s always been creative.  From the figure skating and the dancing to the plays she did in high school and now the pictures.  She really loved to be on stage, though.  The military base near here has a playhouse and they put on ‘Cinderella’ last year.  She tried out for the lead role and was sure she wasn’t going to get it because she thought she was terrible at the audition.  She ended up playing Cinderella every weekend for about six weeks.”

“Do you remember when I did ‘Grease’ that one summer back home in Kentucky?”

“Was that when they condemned the theatre?”

“Yeah.” Kate looked at Chris. “The place was really old and needed to be torn down, but for some reason, they let the theatre company do ‘Grease’.  They had marks on the stage where it wasn’t a good idea to stand because you might fall through.  And a good portion of the marks we were supposed to hit were right over or right next to the bad marks.  The whole play was us hopping around and trying not to fall through the stage while singing.”

Chris laughed. “That must’ve been a sight.”

“I’ve got a video of it.” Helena said. “We converted our old VHS tapes to DVDs about a year ago.  I’ll have to dig some out for you.”

“I would love that.  Thank you very much, Mrs. Allen.”

“Oh, call me Helena.  I feel old when people call me missus.”

“It’s because you are old.” Bill said. “You’re two years older than me, Mr. Allen.”

“I admit that I’m old.  Catch up.”

Kate saw Chris smiling at her parents’ banter.  She took his hand under the table and he turned that smile on her. “Usually papa isn’t so reserved.  Give him a couple of days and he’ll be at the table in just his underwear and turning everything said into a sexual innuendo.”

“It’s a gift my husband has.” Helena said. “Some things he says you just sit there and wonder how he got from point A to point Sex.”

“He also wins the lottery a lot.  But only scratch offs.  Never the Power Ball or anything.”

“My luck doesn’t work with that.” Bill said. “I don’t know why.”

“Slot machines are goldmines for him, too.” Helena added. “We went to Las Vegas and left with more than we came with.  I saved money for the trip and he took twenty dollars of it and paid for the whole trip with that twenty.”

“Nice!” Chris said. “What’s your secret?”

“It’s no secret.” Kate said. “He has a golden horseshoe jammed up his ass.  Which I better inherit when you bite it, old man.”

“You’ve got to dig it out if you want it.” Bill retorted. “I’m not getting it for you.”

“I’ll just get the undertaker to haul it out.”

“He’ll probably steal it for himself.”

“Nope.  I’ll be there taking pictures.”

“What about your brother?  He’s first in line.”

“He makes six figures a year and I’m pretty sure he’s CIA.  He doesn’t need a golden horseshoe.”

“Your brother is CIA?” Chris asked.

“I think he is.”

“He’s not CIA.” Helena said.

“He’s secretive about where he goes.  He can’t talk about most aspects of his job.  And he knows too much about things I can’t explain how he knows about them.  He’s definitely CIA.”

“That’s kind of terrifying.” Chris said.

“Right!?  I’ve been trying to get him to fess up, but he swears he’s not.  I just say the brother doth protest too much.”

Chris looked over at Janice who had been quiet this whole time. “Janice, are you close with your brother?” Janice just shrugged.

“Don’t be rude, Janice.  Answer him.” Helena said.

“Not really.” Janice said.

Chris tried again. “Kat says that you like movies.  What are some of your favorites?”

“I don’t like superhero movies.”

“That’s not what he asked.” Bill snapped.

“Bill….” Helena started.

“Helena, there’s no reason for her to be so rude.”

Janice let out a loud huff and stood up from the table, storming off back to her bedroom and slamming the door.  Helena closed her eyes in frustration and Kate shook her head. “Sorry, Chris.” Kate said. “She’s uh…. Well, I told you she’s a handful.”

Helena started to get up, but Bill stopped her. “No.  Let her sulk.  We’ve got company and she doesn’t need to be out here if she’s going to act that way.” He looked over at Kate. “The food is delicious, baby.  I love it.”

“Thank you.” Kate said, happy that her step-dad had relieved the sudden tension. “I saw the recipe on Pinterest and wanted to try it.”

“You and your aunt.” Helena said. “You’re always on Pinterest.”

“Oh, like you’re not?” Kate shot back playfully. “Don’t forget I’m friends with you on there.  I’m pretty sure you have ninety eight percent of the recipes on Pinterest pinned to your food board.”

“Eighty two percent.” Helena said with a laugh. “There’s some on there that are just plain silly.”

“Kat said you learned to cook in France.” Chris said. “That’s really cool.”

“It was one of the many places I learned.” Helena said. “My brother was stationed in Germany and I spent the summer with him a couple of times.  I met this old French woman while visiting Paris and she invited me to come to her house because I loved food so much.  I ended up living with her for a month while she taught me all kinds of things about cooking and baking.”

“Helena has lived a remarkable life.” Bill said. “But her best moments are when she’s asleep.”

“Bill….”

“Has Katie told you that her mother sleep walks?”

“No.” Chris said.

“Here we go.” Helena said.

“Our dog Ireland used to sleep on my side of the bed and she would nudge my hand to get me to pet her in the middle of the night.  One night she nudged me and when I went to pet her, she wasn’t there.  I didn’t think much of it and went back to sleep, but she did it again.  So I opened my eyes to see her staring up past me with a weird look on her face.  I look over and Helena is standing spread eagle against the wall like she’s being patted down by the police.  I said, ‘Helena, what the hell are you doing?’  She didn’t even look at me.  She just said, ‘Never mind.  Go back to sleep.’” Chris started laughing and Bill joined in.

Helena rolled her eyes. “I think they’re making it all up.”

“No.  You’ve scared the shit out of me with your sleepwalking.” Kate insisted. “I woke up one night when I felt someone staring at me.  You know that creepy feeling you get?  Well, I opened my eyes and she was right over me.  When I said her name…. Mom, not her actual name…. She said, ‘Don’t fight the nuns.  They’re going to kill you.’  Then she just stood up straight and walked out.  I was scared to even move.” 

Chris’ hand was holding his chest as he laughed. “Oh my god!”

“I was just trying to protect my daughter.” Helena said.

“I’ve been terrified of nuns ever since.” Kate joked. “Thank god it didn’t happen when I was going to Catholic school.  That would’ve really fucked me up.”

“I don’t think Katie inherited that from me.”

“I didn’t.  I just got the insomnia and the restless legs.”

“I keep telling you to go to the doctor about that.”

“I don’t see how those sleep studies work.  I sleep bad enough as it is.  Hooking me up to a bunch of machines and filming me isn’t going to make me sleep better.  There’s no way the data is accurate.”

“My mom has RLS.” Chris said. “She hated the sleep study they did on her, but the medicine they gave her has helped.”

“Does it make her tired?” Helena asked.

“It knocks her right out.”

“Mine does, too.  Katie picks on me at night when we’re watching a TV show and I start falling asleep.”

“It’s to keep you from saying something in your sleep that will traumatize me.” Kate said.  She smiled as Chris and Bill started laughing.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Chris crawled into the bed in just his underwear as Kate finished up in the bathroom.  They had stayed up kind of late watching home movies of Kate performing on stage and skating.  Watching her skating videos had given him an idea.  While Kate was at work Monday, he would have to look into making that idea come true.

Kate walked down the stairs and smiled at him. “That’s a good sight.”

“Hmm?” Chris asked, snuggling deeper into the bed.

“Chris Evans in my bed.  I guess Princess Aurora was right.” She climbed in next to him.

“What was she right about?”

Kate pointed at the little wooden sign hanging by the stairs.  It had the silhouette of Aurora dancing with Prince Phillip and in pretty scroll letters next to it, it said, “If you dream something more than once, it’s sure to come true.”  

Chris chuckled. “Well, we are comparable to Phillip and Aurora.  You said so yourself.”

Kate laughed. “Once upon a dream.”

Chris pulled her to him. “What did you dream about me doing in this bed?”

“Oh, a little of this and a little of that.”

He laughed. “You’re quoting the movie.”

“Of course I am.”

“I do love that movie.”

“Me too.”

“So, tell me.  What does dream Chris do that I need to live up to?”

“You really want to know?” 

“Oh, I really want to.” He nuzzled her just behind her ear, making her sudder.

“Well, in one dream he finds a pair of handcuffs that I own and uses those on me.”

“Kinky.  What about specifics?  What exactly does he do to you while he’s got you restrained?”

“Hmm…. There’s a lot of teasing with his mouth.  Sometimes he has a beard and sometimes he’s Steve Rogers clean.  I prefer the beard because it can tickle and scratch at the same time.”

Chris moved her hair away from her neck and started kissing her shoulder and neck. “What about with his hands?”

“Oh, he uses those too.  I’m pretty sure there’s not one inch of my skin that isn’t touched by him.”

He reached down as far as he could and ran his hand up her thigh, over her hip, and across her ribcage before cupping her breast as he bit down lightly on her shoulder. “What else?”

“Um….” It was getting hard for her to think clearly with his roaming hands and his erection pushing into her backside.  She could feel the slight movements against her as his hips pumped almost imperceptibly. “God…. Uh…. He spent a lot of time between my thighs.  Biting and sucking and licking…. Jesus, Chris, I can’t even think right now.”

Chris pulled her onto her back and moved over her, attaching his mouth to her right breast.  She let out a moan as one of his hands snaked down her stomach and dipped below her underwear.  He made an almost purring noise when he discovered how wet she was for him.  His fingers began to lightly swirl her clit, teasing her, as he moved his lips down her body.  Before he reached her thighs, he looked up and grinned.

“Hold onto the headboard.” He said, voice husky. “Don’t let go until I tell you.” She reached up and gripped two of the slats of the headboard.  

He smiled and went back to kissing, licking, and sucking his way around her thighs as he worked her underwear down her legs.  Once they were gone, he spread her legs out and rested them on his shoulders.  His tongue flicked out over her folds and she writhed under him.  He gently raked his nails on her hips as he gripped them to hold her still.  She held on tightly to the headboard as he sent bolts of pleasure throughout her body.  Just as she felt the first waves of her orgasm start, he pulled his mouth away.  She let out a squeak of disappointment.

“What happens next?” He asked, moving back up her body.

“Uh….” She shook her head, trying to clear the fog. “In that dream…. I don’t know.” He shot her a confused look. “I wake up before the next thing.”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to adlib.” He looked at her body appraisingly. “How much flexibility did you maintain from figure skating?”

“Guess you’ll just have to find out.” She smirked up at him and he chuckled.

“Oh, I intend to.” Chris sat up on his knees between her legs and reached behind him to grab her ankles.  

Instead of keeping them spread once they were in front of him, he held them together and braced them both on his left shoulder.  He leaned forward until her knees were touching her chest.  She moaned when he pushed deep inside of her, the angle making her feel full of him.  His pace was slow and steady, bordering on torturous.  Their grunts and moans were almost in sync with each other.  When he wanted to pick up the pace, he sat back up on his knees and spread her legs to either side of him, holding her knees against his ribs.  He picked up the pace and was pleased to see that she never let go of the headboard.

“I thought…. you were…. going to…. test…. my flex…. ability.” She said, between thrusts.

Chris grunted and pulled out of her, dropping her legs. “You can let go of the headboard now and get on all fours.” She did as he asked, moving slowly so he could enjoy the show.  Once she made it on all fours, he lifted her left leg up behind her and rested her shin on his shoulder.  He was impressed that she didn’t even flinch. “How far up can I push this leg?”

“Well, I used to be able to reach behind me and pull it up behind my head.  I don’t think it would go that far now, but try for a ninety-degree angle.”

He scooted closer and her leg went up, her toes pointing at the ceiling.  He had to lean back slightly to enter her from behind, but when he did, the sensations were incredible.  The angle was so different than anything he’d ever experienced before.  She’d never tried this position before, either.  They both couldn’t hold back the noises that escaped their lips.  He felt her flutter around him and then seize down on him suddenly.  She cried out into her pillows as he picked the pace up through her orgasm.  Her hands dug into the covers and she collapsed down off her hands to her elbows.  The new angle pulled him in deeper and soon she was coming again.  When the last of her second orgasm began to fade, he felt himself about to go.  She squeezed her pelvic muscles and he yelped, spilling himself inside her.

They laid on the bed staring at the ceiling and panting.  Both of them were covered in a fine sheen of sweat.  When they looked at each other, they both started laughing.  He pulled her to him and she laid her head on his chest.

“How’s your leg?” Chris asked.

“Stretched and ready to go.” She answered. “The other one is a little jealous.”

He patted her right leg. “Next time.”

Tag List:

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[lovingthereign25]

Never Again

CH 3.

Roman had really went a little over board for Luna's birthday. He flew the two of you and his parents out to the city he was in then once home in Tampa he flew your father and three out of four siblings out so both families could be with Luna. He rented out the aquarium for the day because Luna was currently obsessed with fish and sea creatures. That's not including her gifts. One being a toy car a Range Rover that he had custom made just for her with her name printed on the front seats and birthday on license plate.  

You were sitting watching your dad show Luna the sharks when you felt a hand creep around waist. You see Roman who was now placing his hand on your growing belly trying to not be noticeable.

"Can you believe she's too already" you say leaning your head on his shoulder.

"Nope, can you believe we're gonna have two little ones running around this time next year!" He laughs 

"We're definitely in for it aren't we?" You laugh along 

" Oh god yeah, especially If the new baby is anything like Luna We're screwed!" He joked kissing your temple lighting. 

" Should we tell everyone yet?" You ask looking up at him.

"We can if you want. I was hoping to figure out this mess with us first but we can do that next"  he says smiling at Luna who was now feeding some kind of lizard with his mom.You smile along with him. Seeing how excited Luna was in that moment.

"She's here in spirit you know" Roman says pulling you closer to his side.

" I know I just wish she was here physically, I could really use a venting session" you say 

"Vent to me. Talk to me I may not be as good at it as your mom was but Y/ n baby let me in" he says bringing your chin up so you can you at him

" Let me be here for you like a husband should be for his wife" 

"Hey lovebirds you wanna join us we're going to see the penguins.!" Your younger sister Sofia called. 

" Come on penguins are your favorite, and I  just might have a surprise for you" Roman smiles taking your hand.

You all arrive at the penguin exhibit the instructor take about their habitat. She started naming off  the birds all besides one.

" what's this little one name"? You ask pointing to the baby penguin waddling around.

"Well that's up to you, she's your penguin" the lady said smiling at you.

" I'm confused" you say

" I adopted her for you. She' ll live here and be taken care of properly but she's yours, you can come anytime you want to visit and see her." Roman says standing behind you resting his hands on your shoulder kissing the back of your head.

"Aw Roman thank you! I love it You're amazing you know that! " you say hugging him

"What you gonna name her?" Patricia asked 

"Alice." You smile.

"That's the perfect name" Patricia says coming to hug you

"Somewhere she's up there right now saying " I know this girl didn't name no damn bird after me"! You know?" your dad laughs speaking about your mother 

"That's for sure" Roman says as you all laugh.

Once home you take Luna inside and put her to bed, then help Roman unpack his car from party.

" I know you're not trying to lift that toy car?" Roman said lightly slapping your hand off it.

"It's not even heavy" you argue

" I don't care, No pregnant wife of mine is lifting anything over 25 lbs I'm the man I'll get it " he said 

"Oh watch out, Someone thinks he's a big tough man!" You joke

"Watch yourself woman" he laughs

" Or what Reigns?" You test him playfully pushing him

 " Damn okay you win " he smiles putting his hands up in defence.

"What's wrong Big Dog can't handle me?" You smirk pinching his cheek.

"You and I both know I can handle you baby girl, I think the question is can you handle me?" he said nudging you playfully as he walked by.

"Oh I can handle it, I handle it real well, let me know if you need reminding" you smile slapping his ass playfully.

" The hell was that" he laughs jumping a little bit.

Roman was in the backyard putting together a play house his parents had bought for Luna, it was still light out and a little warm he was all sweaty and god did he look good, you didn't know if it was hormones or what but you would take him right in yard if you had your way. You shake your head to get the dirty thoughts out. You had to distract yourself so you go upstairs out on a pair a yoga shorts and a tank top and head out to clean the pool. You walk outside passing Roman who's attention you immediately had, he watched as you walked over to the pool the shorts you had on being all kinds of too short so your butt as poking out some, and the tank nice and tight now that you have gained a few extra pounds and don't even get him started on your breasts, he was licking his lips just thinking about sucking on them. You could feel his eyes on you so you decided to play in to it. On your way back to the house you " accidentally" drop the keys to your pool shed right in front of where Roman had been working. You bend over your ass facing Roman knowing your were giving him quite a show. You hear Roman groan in frustration smiling to yourself.

"You okay Ro?" You ask trying to act innocent.

"Mhm...just fine" he mumbles hammer the last few nails a little harder. 

" I'm gonna take a shower, can you listen for Luna?" You ask as you both enter the house.

" Sure thing mind if I watch some TV?" He asks

" Of course not, it is still your house too". You say.

After your shower you decide to tease Roman some more so you make you way down stairs in just your towel still dripping wet from the shower.

You walk into the kitchen seeing Roman grabbing himself a drink you walk up behind him bumping him lightly with your hip to get his attention as you went for your purse making Roman jump a little.

"Y/n..you scared.." He began but stopped himself as he took notice of you only wearing a towel "Mmm..how was your shower" he asked licking his lips looking you up and down.

"Hot and Wet" you tease smiling.

"You little tease, I know what you're doing now" he laughs walking up to you.

" And what's that?'' You ask pretending you adjust your towel.

"Y/n if you want something all you have to do is ask?" He smirks at you coming closer so you two were now face to face.

"Well in that case...can you pass me my phone its on the counter behind you" you smile

" Yeah I'll grab that when I'm done" he smiled down at you.

" Done with what?" You asked confused

" Giving you what you really want!" He says picking you up and sitting you on the counter.

" Roman, on my counter top really?, we just had these put in" you say.

"Even more reason to break them in baby" he says ripping the towel off you exposing your semi wet body to him." God Y/n you're so fucking perfect" he says attaching his lips to neck kissing down to your chest taking your right nipple in his mouth.

"Oh god Roman" you moan.

Roman didn't waste much time he released himself from his pants pumping himself a few times before entering you slowly.

"Fuck Y/n, how are you so fucking tight?" He grunted trying to get a rhythm going.

"I don't know Daddy" you moan driving your nails in his back as he went deeper.

"I love it when you call me Daddy, Who's pussy is this baby?" He moaned.

"it's yours Daddy, it's your pussy!" You yell out getting closer to your climax.

"Shit Y/n" he grunted 

"Ro, I'm gonna cum" you moan loudly 

" Go on baby, I'm right behind you " he said

Your climax hit you hard your whole body shaking some.Roman following a few seconds behind you moaning your name as he did. He placed his head against yours pecking your lips.

Roman helped you down off the counter pulling you in for another kiss. 

"I should head out, it's getting late" Roman says kissing your head and slapping your ass lightly " Good game" he joked

"You're stupid" you laugh

" I love you guys, all three of you" he says placing his hand over your belly.

You smile at him loving how he now included the baby in there.

"Roman!" You yell out before he's out the door.

"Yeah?" He asked

"Come Home." You say wrapping the towel around you walking up to him "I want you home, Luna wants you home. We  miss Daddy you say placing your hand on your own belly.

" It's about damn time" he smiles kissing your hard.

"Roman there's just no condition." You say playing with his bread

"What's that baby?" He asked

"These lips are mine! I am and will always be the only women kissing them" you say pecking his lips

" Absolutely done, as long as I'm the only one kissing these lips" he says running his hand up by our towel touch your heat.

" You're such a pervert sometimes you know that?" You laugh rolling your eyes

" You love me though" he smiles

" You're damn right I do, now take me to bed" you smirk

Roman carried you bridal style up to your bedroom. It felt so good to have your husband back home in bed with you. You couldn't wait to see Luna's face in the morning when she saw her Daddy!

[believingispowerfulmagic]

“We All Will Be Together” Chapter 4: April Joys

           Regina entered Robin’s store, the bell tingling as the door opened. She glanced around, hoping not to spot her husband’s familiar form. A few customers milled around the store and John manned the cash register but there was no sign of Robin. Relief filled her and she approached John.

           “Hello, Regina,” he greeted her warmly. “Robin isn’t here. He had a meeting with a supplier.”

           “Good. I want to talk to you about him. Specifically, his birthday,” she said.

           He tilted his head, checking the calendar pinned up behind him. “It’s still a few weeks away, Regina. His birthday is…”

           “April eighteenth,” she finished. “I know that. And I know it’s over a month away but we know how fast things can go. I want to throw a surprise party for him but Easter is going to get in the way.”

           John nodded. “We probably should have it before then. But are you sure you want to plan a surprise party on top of your wedding ceremony?”

           Regina bit her lip, knowing he had a good point. She and Robin had decided to get married at the end of June, right after school ended for their boys and before the real heat of summer could kick in. Their plan was to then celebrate the 4th of July with their family and friends before sending Henry and Roland to a two-week sleepaway camp. During that time, she and Robin were going on a weeklong cruise to the Caribbean for their honeymoon. She knew it didn’t leave much time for planning but she wasn’t trying to throw a big wedding, just a small ceremony to give them what Santa had robbed from them—memories of actually getting married.

           That didn’t mean there still was a lot to plan for the wedding, though. But Regina was getting a lot of help from both Tink and Mary Margaret, so she felt confident she could pull off a surprise party for Robin as well.

           “I’m not planning anything big,” she told John. “Probably just a small gathering in the backyard. Tink’s helping with the wedding, so I was hoping you could help with this.”

           John smiled, nodding. “I’d be happy to help. Just let me know what you need me to do.”

           Regina grinned, reaching into her purse. She pulled out a folded piece of paper and held it out to him. “Do you think you can take care of these?”

           He took the paper and unfolded it, scanning the items she had written down. John nodded. “Looks easy enough.”

           “Good,” she said, relieved. “This is a big help.”

           “Anything to make sure Robin has a great birthday. He deserves it,” he replied, tucking the list into his pocket.

           She nodded, leaning back. “Thanks. I’ll be in touch when I can. I think we can pull this off.”

           “Me too,” he agreed. “Can’t wait to see the look on Robin’s face.”

           Excited, Regina said goodbye to John and headed out of the store. This was going to be the best surprise party she had ever planned.

           Robin deserved nothing less.

                                                             *****

           It had been a crazy morning. Robin had barely taken his first sip of coffee when Regina had shoved a list at him. Apparently she liked to create big baskets for Henry to open on Easter morning and this year was also making one for Roland. There were a lot of things she needed and she tasked him with picking all of it up without the boys while she went food shopping with them. Robin sighed but kissed her cheek, agreeing to do it. After all, how hard could it be to grab everything?

           Very hard, apparently, as he had to run to three different stores to get everything on the list—especially as Regina had been very specific about each item’s color, size and brand. He loved that she was a perfectionist but sometimes, it drove him crazy.

           Almost three hours after he left, he finally returned home. Robin pulled into the driveway and killed his engine, just taking a moment to take a few deep breaths before carrying everything inside. He hoped all he had to do now was just relax with his wife and sons.

           Robin opened his car door and quickly retrieved everything from the back of his truck. He did his best to only have to make one trip and his muscles strained as he carried the bags and baskets into the house. By the time he got to his bedroom, there was a definite burn. He dumped everything into the closet before rubbing his arms.

           It was then he noticed how quiet the house was.

           Too quiet.

           His eyes narrowed and he stepped out of the house. Even with the boys in tow, she should’ve beaten him home. Unless there were a few more errands she had to run, he figured. He sighed and decided to enjoy the silence while he could.

           Robin hit the last step and was about to head to the kitchen when Regina’s voice stopped him. “Robin? Are you home?”

           “Yes,” he replied, turning around to find his wife coming from the backyard. He frowned. “I didn’t think you were home.”

           She nodded. “I stopped by because I wanted to check our propane tank ahead of barbeque season. Can you come help me?”

           “Sure,” he said, heading toward the backdoor. “If you want, though, I can always get the tank during the week.”

           “Let’s just check it out, okay?” She held open the door for him and he stepped out into the warm April sun.

           “SURPRISE!”

           Robin stood frozen to the spot just outside the backdoor as he slowly took in the backyard. His friends filled it, standing around folding tables covered with green tablecloths and white and green balloons as centerpieces. He slowly turned to face Regina, noticing the “Happy Birthday” banner hanging over the door. She beamed, clearly happy and proud of herself.

           She had thrown him a surprise party.

           “Happy birthday, darling,” she said, going up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek.

           He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him, grinning. “You sly minx.”

           “Careful,” she said, dropping her voice. She glanced over his shoulder. “We have company.”

           Robin chuckled, nodding. He wrapped his arm around her waist as he turned to face the family and friends standing in their backyard. Shrugging, he grinned as he announced: “You got me!”

           “Papa!��� Roland raced from the crowd and leapt into his arms. Henry was right behind him and Robin gathered him up too, holding his sons close.

           Roland hugged him. “You were surprised?”

           “I was,” Robin assured him. He kissed his cheek before kissing Henry’s cheek. “This is the best party ever.”

           Henry giggled. “It just started! How can you say that?”

           “Well, are you here?” Robin asked. When Henry nodded, he continued. “And Roland? And your mum?”

           “Yes,” he replied. “And yes.”

           Robin nodded. “And all our friends, right?”

           Henry looked around the yard before nodding. “Yep.”

           “That sounds like the best party ever to me then,” he finished.

           “I guess it is,” Henry agreed. He beamed as he looked over at his mother. “We threw the best party ever, Mom!”

           Regina laughed, rubbing his back as she pressed Roland to her side. “I’m glad to hear it. We all worked really hard on this for your father.”

           “Are we going to stand around all day or are we going to party?” John called out, a beer in his hand.

           Chuckling, Robin put Henry down. “Well, if we’re going to party, someone needs to get me a beer. Namely someone whose name rhymes with Con.”

           John let out a belly laugh before heading toward the cooler. “Fair enough, mate. Your usual?”

           “Yep,” Robin said. “And make it the coldest bottle in that cooler. It’s pretty hot out here.”

           Regina wrapped her arm around him, resting her hand against his back. “We really lucked out with the weather. I was worrying about it all week.”

           Things clicked as he recalled her religiously watching the news every night, hushing him and pushing him away whenever the weather was on. She was cagey whenever he asked about it, muttering excuses about starting her garden or doing something with the boys, before changing the subject. Now it all made sense.

           He kissed the side of her head. “I’m glad it all worked out.”

           “Regina worked really hard to plan this,” John said, handing Robin his beer. “She wanted this to be a great day for you.”

           Robin glanced down at Regina, whose cheeks had turned pink as she stared at the lawn. It made his heart skip a beat and he smiled softly. “She makes every day a great day for me.”

           “Ugh.” John wrinkled his nose. “I’m going to walk away before I’m sick.”

           He walked away as Robin took a sip of his beer, hiding his smile. Regina looked up, gently poking him in the side. “We should join our other guests. After all, they are here for you.”

           “Good point,” he said, moving toward the rest of the crowd. As he took another sip of his beer, he felt himself relax and knew this was going to be a fun party.

Non-smut version is on FFN.

Smutty versions are on AO3 and Wattpad. 

[elizabethemerald]

10 Years Later

To everyone who enjoyed my “Did the others know?” Question from the other day. Here is them finding out. It’s a lot less beating up the wizard and a lot more caring for the child who was hurt. I hope everyone likes it, or it makes you very sad. Please reblog just like you did with the other post! I want to make sure everyone who saw that sees this. 

Ten years. It was the ten year anniversary of the end of the war. The week had been filled with celebrations, speeches and toasts. Now at the end of the week, the heroes of the wars gathered for their own smaller celebration.

This was the date they all considered the actual anniversary of the end of the war. Not when the last wizard died, but when Jim and Claire finally woke up from their comas to be told the good news. 

Toby hadn't left their sides the entire week, sitting in the room they shared in his wheelchair. Aja had woken up a few days before the others. This was the day that they celebrated. The day of tears as the heroes were told about their victory, and what that victory had cost them. They celebrated with drinks and stories, laughs and more tears. 

Jim sat on the long couch in between two of his lovers. His mane was growing longer and he seemed even taller. To his left was Claire and his right Toby. 

Claire sat with several of her most powerful wards glowing in a circle around her. While she had finally stopped trying to hex Morgana into non being on sight, it was clear she still didn't trust her. Anytime Morgana looked her way the temperature in the room would drop or jump a few degrees. 

Toby sat on Jim's other side. His prosthetic leg sat on the coffee table. With his mastery of gravity the prosthetic was mostly for appearances, and no one here cared. 

On his other side was Darci. She held his hand tightly throughout the evening. Her belly already starting to show the baby bump. 

Aja and Krel leaned against the wall. She was in her human form, he was in his Akiridion form. The pressures of their daily lives often kept them in their other forms so here where they could relax they opted for the form they were so often denied. 

The various adults were sitting around the room as well. Barbara sitting with one arm around Morgana and the other around Zelda. Zadra would occasionally walk through the house and run her fingers through Barbara or Zelda's hair as she passed, though her focus was on security for the royals. Blinky, Aaarrrgghh, and Strickler sat around the dining room table. 

"I'm telling you, Gunmar was the worst." Toby was saying. The discussion of which villain was the worst was one that was still hotly debated even ten years after the end of the wars. They all politely refrained from mention Morgana, at least while she was in the room, though Claire had made her opinion on that clear. "After everything he did, Gunmar gets the biggest douchebag award."

"You don't have to tell me the awful things he did." Jim said. It was accepted that other than Aaarrrgghh and Nomura that Jim had the most first hand experience with Gunmar's cruelty and thus be taken as an expert in the matter. "But we all knew he was evil. His name was Gunmar the Skullcrusher!"

Toby and Claire nodded. Jim had made this argument many times before. 

"Merlin pretended he was a good guy, when really he only cared about his magic. He gets the biggest douchebag award." Jim paused and his eyes went a little distant, then his voice turned bitter. "Especially after what he did to me."

Several in the room reacted to the extreme bitterness in his voice. Barbara sat forward. Blinky looked hurt. Walter and Zelda made eye contact across the room. Jim seemed lost in his thoughts and didn't notice. Walter cleared his throat to draw his attention. 

"Young Atlas, I thought you had come to terms with your current form." He said. Jim looked up surprised. 

"Oh, being a half troll is great! I'm stronger, faster and a better fighter. Plus I'm closer than ever to my dad." Jim smiled broadly at Blinky. "Plus I can do this."

Jim flexed his arms, his custom tailored suit strained to hold his muscles form. Claire immediately blushed up to her ears. Toby swooned dramatically into Darci's arms. Even Aja had to take a deep breath. Jim smiled and quirked his eyebrows at his lovers. Walter struggled not to roll his eyes. 

"Then what are you talking about Jim?" Barbara asked. She was still concerned and her son's show boating wasn't going to distract her. "What else did Merlin do to you?"

Jim looked at her and then the others, confusion etched on his face. "Remember he refused to let me go to your rescue, beat me unconscious then tied me to a chair?"

There was several long seconds of silence. Glances flew across the room rapidly as everyone tried to process that statement. The temperature in the room plummeted. 

"He what?!" Claire shouted. The air crackled around her, her hair starting to float around her head.

"Did I never tell you?" Jim asked, his expression a mix between remorseful and incredulous. 

"Do you think I would have been willing to travel across the entire country with someone who had done that if I'd known?" Claire asked. 

Blinky immediately rose to his feet and moved to sit in front of Jim on the coffee table. 

"Master Jim...son…" he hesitated and looked to Barbara for help. She joined him on the coffee table.

"Jim, tell us what happened." Barbara said softly. She put her hand on his knee.

"Oh if you don't know, then I'll tell you later. I don't want to spoil the party!" Jim tried to put on a brave face. However, his voice still choked up and he had tears at the edge of his eyes. 

"Everyone here loves you Jim." Blinky said. "Please tell us what happened."

Claire and Toby pressed themselves against his shoulders to show their support. Jim took a deep shaky breath. And told them. 

Jim told them about his fear that Gunmar would hurt his mom. Trying to coordinate the search with Toby and Claire. Wanting to leave the house to help them search. How Merlin had stopped him. The fight in the house. Jim described the desperation with which he fought to escape so he could rescue his mom. 

By the time he described Merlin ripping the Amulet from his chest there wasn't a single dry eye. Jim telling them about waking up tied to a chair brought several sobs from his family. Merlin's describing Jim's choice dragged growls from a few of his guardians, including Aaarrrgghh and Morgana. 

Then came his trip into the bathroom. 

Everyone knew how they had found Jim. They knew the aftermath of what happened. But he hadn't told any of them his thoughts as he filled the tub, as he donned his armor for what he thought would be the last time, as he stepped into the black potion. 

Jim was sobbing, tears pouring down his face as he spoke. Toby was holding him tight. Claire had dropped some of her wards so she could be just as close. Aja had walked over and was leaning against the back of the couch holding Jim from behind. 

"I thought I might be dying!" Jim said. His voice broke their hearts. "Merlin didn't explain how the potion would work. I didn't know if I was going to come out on the other side. I didn't even know what was going to come out on the other side."

"When I woke up in that pond I thought I might be in the Void. I was barely able to stumble into the house."

"And then you had to travel across the entire country with the man who did that to you.” Barbara said softly.

“We had won, we had defeated Gunmar. I thought at the time that it was worth it.” Jim said, wiping tears from his eyes. “I tried not to think about what he had done, and when I did I thought it was my fault for not listening to him.”

“And the way he talked about you after.” Claire said, her eyes distant. “Not just before the Eternal Night, but after as well. On the road to New Jersey, anytime he was tutoring me in magic, he would talk about how he had “fixed” you. And he would talk about your life before like it didn’t matter, like your life didn’t shape you into the hero you are.”

“God if I was there I would have squashed him into goo.” Toby said, shaking in fury. He held out his and the collapsed handle of his hammer flew across the room. 

“Careful Toby!” Darci said covering her belly. 

“I am sure there are many things we would have done had we known.” Blinky said. “But the important thing is we know now. Jim is there anything we can do for you?”

“Other than constant reminders that we love you no matter what.” Barbara said. 

“Honestly that’s what I need the most.” Jim stood up from the couch as he spoke. He easily lifted Claire and Toby as they clung to his shoulders. Aja had to nimbly step over the couch as she held onto his shoulders. Barbara and Blinky both stood with him and embraced him. Jim’s soft sobs echoed in the house as one by one every person there came up and joined the hug.

Later, the “kids” were out in the back yard “sparring.” Barbara thought to herself that she had to stop them thinking about them as children at some point. They were her children, and she loved them all. Of course the sparring was really just playing around. The older crowd stood together in the kitchen. 

“That bastard is lucky he’s dead and buried. I have half a mind to dig him up and desecrate his corpse, for what he did.” Barbara had a death grip on the kitchen counter. “I did everything I could to protect Jim from the abuse I went through. And the person who we thought would be our savior hurt more than anyone else.”

Morgana held her close. “Merlin always was a bastard. He cut off my goddamn hand in my sleep.”

“He was constantly abusive towards Claire on our journey to New Jersey.” Blinky said. 

“And he hated me for being a changeling.” Nomura said, grinding her teeth. “Among many other reasons.”

Barbara sighed deeply. “Well whatever’s he done he’s long gone. Now we have to be there for Jim and kids. Make sure none of them are still hurting from the war.”

Barbara continued to glower as the other adults made their assurances that they do what they could to assist. The party returned to its celebratory nature.