#and then there's the *come to daddy* bit we don't have time to unpack all of that

[justanotherhh]

something i enjoy about blitzø as well is that he's not a typical leading man for an action show, nor is he a typical leading man for a queer show. he's capable and got that "extremely bad at communication" thing down you might see in a lot of narratives about straight guys (especially straight guys who shoot guns) but i think is less explored with queer men, and he's also incredibly camp without any shame attached to queerness itself, he crossdresses, he's a punky goth gay, he flirts relentlessly (and often unhealthily) to get what he wants, he's got that kinky switch energy, and he's exuberant, and emotionally closed off, and incredibly rude, and very sad, and very caring, and very action-hero/anti-hero, and all in a narrative that explores these dynamics from an explicitly queer point of view.

i think it's amazing that he's as well-received as he is, considering how much he exists outside of clear categories for what people think a character "should" be, but i've seen him play well for bro-ey types as well as the most faggoty audience members (that's me), and the translation isn't for the queer audience to make, it's for straight audiences to get onboard with a complex queer character and it clearly works!

there's really something to be said about the queer lens for both of the shows, but i do think blitzø has such a specific fascinating pov for what one might call the "badass action guy who's also great at seduction" type character. he's really hitting some extremes for the spectrum of how one typically allows characters to exist

a queer masculinity in a genre show

[kudouusagi]

Buddy Daddies Drama 4

*Puts down box*

Kazuki: Okay! Now all of our stuff has been moved into our place. Ah, thank Kyuu-chan. On top of finding us a place, we even asked you to help us move.

Kyuutarou: Well, I'm too involved to stop now. So? How do you feel about the place?

Miri: It's smaller than our old place, isn't it, Rei-papa?

Rei: Yeah... and the TV has gotten smaller too...

Miri: So our mori kart cars have gotten smaller too!

Kazuki: Hey, don't be playing games when you should be unpacking. Besides, I think this is the perfect size for 3 people to live cozily. 

Kyuutarou: You're living quite a bit further away than you were at your old place, but the further you are the more difficult it will be for the eyes of the organization to spot you.

Kazuki: Yeah... Well, from what Rei says it doesn't seem like his father is straining his eyes looking for us either.

Kyuutarou: Even if that's the case, there's no mistaking that you sullied the name of the Suwa family. Try to lay low until the heat dies down.

Kazuki: Got it.

Kyuutarou: So? What are you planning on doing from now on?

Kakuzi: Hmm... for now we're going to live off our savings and get Miri into a new preschool... and then after that we'll look for jobs I guess.

Kyuutarou: I see. Do your best for Miri-chan too.

Kazuki: Yeah. Thanks for everything.

Kyuutarou: If you ever need anything, feel free to contact me.

Miri: Kyuu-chan, bye bye!

Kyuutarou: *Laughs and leaves*

Kazuki: Okay! Miri, Rei! Time to get excited for our new life! Let's hurry and put things away and have some move in soba!

Miri/Rei: Yeah!

****************

Kazuki: This one.... mmm.... the pay is too low... This one isn't bad but the hours aren't great... Hm? Drug trials? Hmmm! So in just two weeks I can make that much by just taking medicine and sleeping? It's not bad but...

Rei: Kazuki, have you found a job?

Kazuki: Rei, if I said I was going away for work for two weeks... what would you do?

Rei: Huh? Meaning you wouldn't be here at all for two weeks?

Kazuki: Yeah. You'd need to wake Miri up, feed her breakfast, change her, take her to preschool, come back home, clean, do laundry, make food, go pick her up, give her a bath, feed her dinner, play with her, read her a book, get her ready for tomorrow, wake her up the next day, for 14 days. All by yourself. 

Rei: N-Nope. Not yet.

Kazuki: I figured. So nothing away from home for now. But our savings is going to run out soon so we seriously have to start working soon or we'll be in trouble. And you can't even move one of your arms...

Rei: I thought there would be many jobs I could do with only one arm... but it's surprisingly hard.

Kazuki: In your case it's not just your arm, you're also unsociable. Your interview the other day was awful, wasn't it?

****************

Interviewer: Do you have any special skills, Suwa-san?

Rei: Special skills...? I'm familiar with handling guns. Including disassembly. I won't let anything I target get away.

Interviewer: Y-You mean... airguns, right?

****************

Rei: I didn't have anything else to say.

Kazuki: Well, since you've been a NEET for so long I figured having you suddenly return to society would be a high hurdle. We're about to run out of our savings. We seriously have to work or it will be bad. But there's something that would be even worse than that. 

Rei: Something worse than that?

Kazuki: If I'm the only one working then you'd have to do all the housework yourself. You've recently learned how to hang clothes up to dry but for everything else you suck. You're completely useless! At this rate this room is sure to become a pigsty. And it'll be bad for raising Miri! So now we're going to hold "Rei's special training week focusing on housework!"

Rei: Special training?

Kazuki: I've been going easy on you because I thought you couldn't move your right arm but now I'm going to become a monster! A cooking, laundry, and housework monster! 

Rei: I really can't move my right arm though...

Kazuki: Shut up! Despite that you've gotten even better at mori kart than before, haven't you!? Miri told me! She said you set a new record the other day!

Rei: I was so happy I did a victory pose without even thinking about it.

Kazuki: And so! We're going to use that effort on housework! Who are the ones taking care of Miri?

Rei: You and... me.

Kazuki: And what else is there to taking care of her besides playing with her...?

Rei: Taking her to school and back, housework, laundry...

Kazuki: That's right! So now we're going to do special training and drill you until you're able to do all of those things on your own!

Rei: Geh...

Miri: Papas! What are you doing?

Rei: Miri...

Kazuki: Mm! I'm going to be giving Rei special training now!

Miri: Special training?

Kazuki: Umm... it means he's going to try hard to become able to do things he can't do right now.

Miri: I understand! He's doing a training journey! I saw it on TV!

Kazuki: Oh, you're amazing Miri! That's right! A training journey!

Rei: I didn't say I was going to-

Miri: So, Rei-papa is doing a training journey?! That's so cool!

Rei: I'll do it.

Kazuki: Okay, then starting today until you become a functioning adult I'll be your boss. What do you say?

Rei: Yes. Boss.

Miri: Yes, boss!

Kazuki: Mmm! You both gave good responses. Let's start!

**************

Kazuki: This is how Rei's training began.

Kazuki: Okay, everything about cleaning is important. Let's start with vacuuming. 

Kazuki: Don't skip the corners! Your target likes to lurk in the corners!

Rei: The corners!

Kazuki: In places with running water you're in a constant battle with water droplets! You must have an iron determination to never allow limescale!

Rei: O-Okay!

Kazuki: Miri's room is the most important location! You have to make sure to diligently vacuum and use the lint roller to protect against dust allergies!

Rei: I'm... tired...

Kazuki: We're not done yet! Next is laundry! 

Kazuki: You need to memorize the differences between pods and regular detergent and learn how to use laundry nets! There's things to wash every single day!

Rei: There's too many things to remember!

Kazuki: Learn how to separate the garbage and when the garbage truck comes! And on top of that check which stores have the cheapest bags that won't break!

Rei: *Panting*

Kazuki: It's important to learn how to write in the preschool correspondence notebook, but your most important mission is learning to exchange messages with the mom friends! The smooth exchange of information is essential to surviving in the world of child raising!

Rei: I-... *falls down on ground* I can't do it anymore... This is way more physically and mentally exhausting than fighting... I've never experienced training like this before... 

Kazuki: Stand up, Rei! You've still got to wash the rice.

Rei: I'm at my limit. I want to eat chips, hide in my room, and play games.

Kazuki: Ah... oh no... he has dead eyes. Hey, Rei! Keep going! Miri's watching

Miri: Rei-papa's training journey is so cool!

Rei: I'm going... to wash... the rice!

Kazuki: Oh! There's a light in his eyes! Miri, keep on cheering him on like that.

Miri: Okay! Rei-papa! Do your best! Do your best!

Rei: What is this power rising within me? I can do it! I can do it!

Miri: Rei-papa stood up!

Kazuki: Yes! That's it Miri! That was even more effective than I expected! Okay! 

*******************

Kazuki: Rei's special training continued even while I was at work.

Rei: Hmm... cleaning takes a while with only one arm... I'll put the last glass here...

*Glass shatters*

Miri: Rei-papa!

Rei: Miri! Don't come over here! 

Miri: *Whines*

Rei: I dropped a glass so it's dangerous.

*Rei attempts to pick up glass*

Rei: I can get the big pieces... but the smaller ones... I guess a broom and dustpan?

*Gets out broom and dustpan and starts sweeping*

Rei: I can't hold both of them with one arm... I guess I'll just have to wait till Kazuki comes home?

Miri: Rei-papa!

Rei: Miri, it's dangerous so don't get-... 

*Miri holds the dustpan*

Rei: You...

Miri: I'll hold the dustpan, okay?

Rei: Oh... thank you, Miri.

Miri: *giggles*

*Sweeping*

Rei: Okay. Perfect.

Miri: Perfect! Papa! High five!

Rei: Yeah!

Miri: YAY!

*High fives*

Rei: *Laughs*

*******************

Kazuki: We're now going to hold your final test! The challenge is to make my special french toast all by yourself!

*Rei cooking*

Rei: Now!

*Flips toast*

Kazuki: His flipping timing is perfect!

Miri: Perfect!

Rei: Done.

Kazuki: Itadakimasu

Miri: Itadakimasu!

*Everyone eating*

Rei: How is it?

Kazuki: It's good. It's seriously good! This is so good you could serve it in a restaurant!

Rei: *Laughs excitedly*

Miri: Rei-papa's french toast is good!

Rei: Miri!

Kazuki: And it's not just his french toast! He's able to clean and do laundry perfectly too! I think it will be fine leaving the house to him now.

Rei: No, not yet.

Kazuki: Huh? No, you don't need to be that worri-

Rei: I feel like I haven't selected the best bread for french toast yet.

Kazuki: Huh?

Rei: I realized when I was practicing, different breads have different textures. Rather than the one from the grocery store, the one from the bakery in town is more suited for absorbing moisture.

Kazuki: No... you don't have to be that picky...

Rei: And the eggs. Today I just used 10 that were on sale, but I wonder what would happen if I used more expensive eggs? Also depending on the way you mix it the texture changes. But that's obvious isn't it? If there's different amounts of air.

Kazuki: Hey... Rei...?

Rei: I also want to test the coffee that goes with it. I want to use a coffee grinder with a proper pour over and make the best cup of coffee!

Kazuki: Wait, wait, wait!

Rei: Actually I already ordered a coffee making set online.  

Kazuki: Hey!

Rei: It seems like it's here.

Kazuki: Huh.....? What's going on?

Miri: Rei-papa looks like he's having fun!

Kazuki: Hey, Miri. Go tell Rei-papa to cool it.

Miri: Huh? But...

Rei: Okay.

Miri: I'll help!

Kazuki: Hey, hey. Don't bother Rei-papa...

Rei: Thanks.

Kazuki: Huh?

Rei: I'll open the big boxes and you can open the small ones. We'll split the work between us.

Miri: Okay!

Miri: I opened it! Yay!

Rei: Yay!

*Rei and Miri high five*

Kazuki: You're doing high fives? You've gotten so close...

Rei: Miri, you can open that one too.

Miri: Okay!

Kazuki: *Laughs* I can leave the house in peace like this.

Miri: I opened it!

Rei: I opened this one too. You did well, Miri. 

Miri: *Giggles*

Kazuki: I can do it in peace.... but... it feels weird... like I'm going to lose my place.

Miri: Hey, papa! I want to play Mori Kart!

Rei: After we finished putting away these boxes, okay?

Miri: Okay!

Kazuki: Miri, would you like to play with me? Mori kart?

Rei: Kazuki?

Kazuki: I'll play with Miri!

Miri: With Kazuki-papa?

Kazuki: That's right!

Miri: Hmm... I don't want to!

Kazuki: Huh? But you said you wanted to play...

Miri: You're bad at games so it'd be boring!

Kazuki: EH!?

Miri: I prefer Rei-papa!

Rei: Hmm! So she says!

Kazuki: *Screams* At this rate I'll lose my parental respect...

Kazuki: Rei!

Rei: Hm?

Kazuki: Please! Give me special training! I want to be good at games!

Rei: But aren't you going to work?

Kazuki: I'll work too! So let me game! I'll keep my respect as a parent through games!

Rei: Okay. But games aren't that easy. Sometimes they're even harder than being an assassin.

Kazuki: Huh? Really?

Rei: You look down on games. If you're serious I won't go easy on you.

Kazuki: Eh? Okay! I'll beat your record!

Rei: Okay. Then I'll train you. You should say "Okay, boss" to me.

Kazuki: Eh? ...Okay... boss...

**************

Kazuki: And so then my days of special training, so tough I could vomit blood, along with working began...

Kazuki: At night I'm working at a construction site, a bartender, and a cleaner and during the day it's mori kart! I'll fly through both of these tasks with ease!

Rei: You pressed the brake too late!

Kazuki: Damn it! One more time! Ugh...

Rei: Don't just drive around randomly. Remember the course and the shortcuts.

Kazuki: Guh! 

*crash*

Kazuki: Ehh?!

Rei: You used your item too late.

Man: Hey, newbie! That's some messy-...!

Kazuki: *Shouting*

Man: He's fired up...

*Crash*

Kazuki: Ah...

Rei: That was a close race. It's proof you don't have the specs of each kart memorized. I told you that the day before yesterday too.

Kazuki: *Growls*

Woman: Kahlua milk please

Kazuki: Okay, Okay, Okay! Here you go!

Woman: Wah...? ...Thanks...

*crash*

Rei: You needed to take the shortcut there and use your item.

Kazuki: Oh.

Rei: By the way, I told you that last week. Remember it!

Kazuki: *Sobs*

*Scrubbing*

Kazuki: *Panting and shouting* 

Woman: Hold the mop right! You're not cleaning at all!

Kazuki *Sobbing and shouting*

Rei: Why are you breaking like that at the last cur-... 

Kazuki: *Snoring*

Rei: Hey!

Kazuki: Ah! I'm not sleeping. I'm not sleeping.

Rei: That's enough for today.

Kazuki: Don't be ridiculous! We've barely done anything today!

Rei: This isn't a game you can win while sleep-driving. Don't underestimate it.

**************

Miri: I'm home!

Rei: I'm home.

Miri: Hmm... Kazuki-papa isn't home today, either...

Rei: Well, he has work

Miri: Oh... work... it can't be helped!

Rei: Miri...

**********

Rei: Welcome home

Kazuki: *groans*

Rei: Hey!

Kazuki: Huh? Oh sorry... training right? Training...

Rei: We're not doing that today.

Kazuki: Why?

Rei: Go look in a mirror. Your face looks awful.

Kazuki: *Laughs* This isn't anything...

Rei: During the day you're training for mori kart, and at night you're doing night shifts. When are you sleeping? 

Kazuki: This... isn't-....

*Passes out*

Rei: Kazuki!

*Rei runs*

*Ambulance sirens*

***********

Kazuki: Where am I?

Rei: The hospital.

Kazuki: Ah! Rei!

Rei: You overworked yourself. They said after that IV is finished you can go home. 

Kazuki: Oh I see... passed out. I'm sorry.

Rei: I'm not the one you should apologize to. Say it to Miri.

Miri: *Snoring*

Rei: Even though I said you'd be fine she wouldn't leave your bedside and fell asleep while holding your arm.

Kazuki: *Laughs* So that's why my right arm feels heavy...

Miri: *groans* Papa...

Kazuki: I'm so pathetic... now that I think about it I was so focused on the game I didn't talk to Miri much... I'm really doing everything backwards.

Rei: It's okay even if you can't game.

Kazuki: Hm?

Rei: I'm gonna go home now. I need to clean. I'll leave Miri to you. 

Miri: *wakes up* Hm?

Kazuki: Miri, are you awake?

Miri: Kazuki-papa? Eh? Ah! Are you better now?!

Kazuki: *Laughs* Yeah! Completely! Seeing your face gives me 100 times more energy! Thank you.

Miri: *Giggles* Yeah!

Kazuki: I'll make you anything you want today as a thank you! What would you like?

Miri: Hmm... French toast!

Kazuki: Okay got it! ...is what I want to say but... Rei's is better than mine so you should get him to make it.

Miri: No. Today I want yours, Kazuki-papa!

Kazuki: Huh?

Miri: Rei-papa's french toast and your french toast are both the best in the world!

Kazuki: Ah... I see

***************

Everyone: Itadakimasu!

*Everyone eats*

Rei: Your french toast and mine really do taste a little different.

Kazuki: Hm? Well, the recipe was the same... but differences in cooking styles might make some difference in taste.

Rei: You learn a lot when you make it yourself. How hard it is...

Miri: Both of them are good!

Rei: and the happiness it gives.

Kazuki: I realized something too.

Rei: What?

Kazuki: When I'm doing night shifts, I can't spend time eating with you and Miri like this.

Ri: Ahh...

Kazuki: I'm going to stop taking night shifts. Nothing is more important than time with family! ...but we still have to think of what to do for a job. How do you even choose a job?

Rei: We don't even really have the option of being choosy.

Kazuki: Right...?

Rei: What about a house cleaning service?

Kazuki: Well it's not like we couldn't but.... Hmm... What about doing background checks?

Rei: I don't really want to leave the house. It would decrease my time with Miri.

Kazuki: Man, you... *sighs* What should we do?

Miri: *Happily eating*

Kazuki: Seeing her smiling face makes our troubles seem like nothing.

Rei: Miri, is it good?

Miri: Yeah!

Kazuki: We have enough for seconds! Do you want some?

Miri: I want it! But...

Rei: But?

Miri: I want to eat with everyone!

Kazuki: Everyone?

Miri: Yeah! Like Anna-chan, Kotori-chan, Hinata-chan, Taiga-kun and my friends at my new preschool! Everyone! I'm sure they'd all think it was good and be happy!

Rei: I see... then how about we make a whole bunch next time and invite everyone?

Miri: YAY!

Rei: If we invite the mom friends then it should make exchanging information smooth, right, Kazuki?

Kazuki: Everyone? Everyone! That's it!

Rei: What?

Kazuki: We should open a restaurant! Like Kyuu-chan! I can cook! And if it's french toast then you can make it perfectly. Besides, we've already got all the best equipment for coffee!

Rei: Hmmm... if the restaurant and our house are in the same place then we can always be with Miri.

Kazuki: What do you think, Rei?

Rei: It's not bad.

Kazuki: Okay! Then it's decided! Miri, we're opening a restaurant!

Miri: We're playing restaurant?

Kazuki: Not playing! A real one!

Miri: Rei-papa is unsociable so we can't!

Rei: Wha! Miri... where did you learn that?

Miri: Kazuki-papa says it! Unsociable!

Kazuki: W-well... we can do something about it with special training!

Rei: Ehh? Special training again?

Kazuki: Yeah, on days when you don't have housework.

Miri: It's okay, Rei-papa! I'll cheer you on lots!

Rei: Yeah... then I can probably do it.

Kazuki: Okay! So then where should we start? Should we start with a name?

Rei: No, shouldn't we find a location for it first?

Miri: I think there should be pictures on the wall at the restaurant! Should I draw some?

Kazuki: Yeah, please, Master Artist Miri! Ahh... Do we need to go to some government office to get permits?

Rei: Government offices again? I hate them.

Miri: It's okay! You just tell them to do as you say!

Kazuki: That's right! It will work out!

***************

Kazuki: Th-Thank you for waiting.

Rei: Here's your french toast and coffee... sir.

Kazuki: Eat up, Kyuu-chan!

Kyuutarou: Ita-

Kazuki: How is it?

Rei: Is it good?

Kyuutarou: I haven't eaten yet.

Kazuki: Ahh, right! Sorry.

Kyuutarou: Itadakimasu

Rei: It makes me nervous to have someone other than Kazuki and Miri eat it.

Kazuki: Well, he is a pro... and I don't think we'll be open long if we can't get approval from our peers... So how is it Kyuu-chan!?

Kyuutarou: Well... first of all, Kazuki. 

Kazuki: Yes!?

Kyuutarou: Your face is stiff and creepy. Stop fake smiling at the customers to try to flatter them.

Kazuki: Eh!?

Kyuutarou: Rei! 

Rei: Yes?

Kyuutarou: You're too blank faced. And you need to look the customers in the eye.

Rei: Okay...

Kazuki: So... how does it taste?

Kyuutarou: I think it's alright.

Kazuki/Rei: Oh!

Kyuutarou: So this is your answer?

Kazuki: Yeah! I don't know how long we can keep doing it... but this is a place for our family.

Rei: I'll do my best at work and spending time with Miri.

Kyuutarou: Yeah! Do your best at making your own family.

Kazuki: Oh! There's a customer! Rei!

Rei: Yeah.

Kazuki: Hello!

Rei: Welcome to Diner Nest!

[milesdickpic]

HIs Little GIrl | Bradley Bradshaw x Reader P.87

Click here to see the master list

Besties! I apologize for not posting a part 3 for my Grad week, so as compensation... I will put out 2 chapters this week to catch up! Besties we are almost at the end and I am so SAD! 😭 I love you all so much! 💕 Happy reading and enjoy! ❤️

A/n: Christmas in the Bradshaw household 🎅🏼🎄 (also if the links don't work and you would like to see the gifts here is the link to the board on Pinterest!)

Word Count: 6.1k

Warnings: cursing, crying, sexual jokes, but so much cuteness and love 🥰

Please don't take my work, I will find you. 

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

Pinterest

It had been a couple of more months of getting used to new schedules and adjusting to life. The first Christmas with the boys was new. It was also hard to buy gifts for them because they were constantly growing and becoming interested in something new every week.

———-

Christmas

You and Nat were at the store Christmas shopping for gifts while the men stayed at home with the kiddies. 

“Do you think at least one of us should have stayed back with them to help?” Nat asked as you both sat down to take a break from shopping. 

You thought about it for a second and then shook your head. “No they’ll be fine. Plus we just have a couple of more things to grab and then we can go home while they go out.” You took a deep breath in. “So lets enjoy it.” 

You both laughed and nodded. By the time you were finished you and Nat were more than ready to leave the crowded malls and head home. On the way home you bot sang to Christmas music and danced in the car. 

When you got home, Bradley was putting the boys down for a nap and Austin was putting a jacket on Leia. 

“Where is she going?” You gave Leia a kiss on her cheek. 

“I’m going to go get presents with daddy!” Leia smiled as she slipped her shoes on.

Bradley came over and placed a kiss on your cheek. “The boys are down for a nap, house is clean, and snacks are ready for you and Nix on the counter.” 

You and Nat looked at each other in shock. “Okay… Thank you babe.” You kissed his cheek as he threw his jacket on and they all left.

Nat put the bags down and took her coat off. “Definitely not what I expected to come home to.” She laughed and unpacked the bags. 

You looked around suspicious. “No. Seriously…” You went to give the boys kisses. They were knocked out. 

Nat grabbed some tea for you both and a couple of snacks the guys left behind for you both. “Ready to wrap mama?”

“Yes! Let’s get this done before they wake up and the guys and Leia get home.”

———-

Bradley’s POV 

After we all piled into my truck we were off to grab presents for everyone. Hangman and Austin headed in together to go to different stores to grab gifts. I picked up Leia and gave her a piggy back ride as we headed in to get our gift for you. 

Leia pointed to the little store. “Daddy! There!” 

I bounced a little bit. “Good eye, baby girl. Away we go!” I made plane swooshing noises and bee-lined for the store. She giggled and held onto me tighter. Right when we approached the store, I let her down. 

She ran in and grabbed your first gift. “Daddy! They have it!” She held it above her head and ran over to me. 

“Good job, my little co-pilot. Thank god you’re here. It would have taken daddy forever to find this.” I gave her a kiss on the cheek and picked her up as we made our way to the cash register. 

“Where to next, sir?” Leia climbed around me and clung onto my back again as she held the bag. 

“The sweater now?” I looked back at her.  She nodded against me. 

“Sweater is it! Go daddy!!” She pointed and we headed to the next store. 

As we walked to the next store, I could hear Leia singing to the Christmas music that was playing around the mall. 

-Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Frank Sinatra playing-

“Have yourself a merry little Christmas… Make the yuletide gay…from now on, our troubles will be miles away.” 

I smiled and looked over my shoulder. “Don’t be shy, babe. Sing louder so daddy can hear and sing too.” 

“Daddy!” She hid into the crook of my neck. She got shy. 

“Your voice is beautiful, babe!” She shook her head into the back of my neck. I laughed. So I started singing too. 

“Throughout the years, we all will be together… if the fates allow…”

I felt her head peak back out. “Hang a shining star upon the highest bough…”

I gave her a little nudge and together we sung loudly. “And have yourself a marry little christmas now.” 

She rested her chin on my shoulder and leaned her head into the side of mine. We made it to the next store. It took us a while to find the sweater you’ve been wanting, but we eventually found it. Leia hopped back onto my back and we were off to the last store for your last gift.

Leia was humming Happy Xmas by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. She started to sing it softly. 

“A very merry christmas. And a happy new year. Lets hope its a good one. Without any fear.”

And I chimed in. “So this is Christmas. And what have we done?”

She gave a little harmony. “Waaaarrr is overrrrr.” “Andddd if you want ittt.” 

I chuckled as we continued to harmonize together, while navigating through the crowds. After we finished getting your gifts we made a pit stop to the truck to unload and we went back in to the madness to get everyone else’s gifts. 

————-

The next morning, everyone had their gifts all under the star wars themed christmas tree. It was over flowing with gifts. This year it would just be us, plus Nix, Seresin, and Austin. All the adults were up early to get everything set up for the kids. Of course, it was going to be another low-key, cozy holiday in. Everyone had matching PJs to lounge in all day. 

All the adults got everything ready for the kids, more or less Leia. Phoenix took a bite of the cookies that were left out. Hangman drank all the milk. Austin took a bite out of the side of a carrot. Then you and I made some boot prints in snow from the sliding door. 

You sprinkled some flour on the floor and I put on my boots to walk through it. We wanted to give Leia a fun experience for Christmas. Once we all finished we stood around the counter drinking hot cocoa. 

“We forgot one more thing to add to the cookies to make it look for real that Santa was here.” Phoenix walked up to Hangman and yanked one of his hairs out. 

“OW Trace, what the hell?” Hangman grabbed his head and looked at her with an annoyed face. We all started to laugh. 

“Have to have more proof that he was here. A piece of hair will do. Thanks for your cooperation, Bagman.” She placed the hair on the tray by the cookies. 

Hangman was rubbing his head and winced, “You’re lucky that we are doing this for Leia and the boys. I’d do anything for them.” He walked up the stairs to go change into his PJs.

I shook my head and laughed at Phoenix. “Trace, you are definitely something else. but thanks for that.” I raised my hot cocoa to her and then took a sip of it. “Now with that done. I think we should all go get changed. Y/n and I are going to go and get the kids up. 

We all headed upstairs and got ready to spend some time together and to watch the kids open presents. 

———-

The first ones back down stairs were Phoenix and Austin. They sat on the couch and helped put Gunner into his Pjs. 

“Merry Christmas!!!” Leia ran down the stairs with her arms up and yelling. She jumped onto the couch to hug Phoenix and Austin. 

You and I were close behind with the boys in our arms. Baby Brad was still asleep, but Luke was wide awake and giggling in my arms. We were all in our matching elves' pajamas. You and I sat on the couches with the boys fixing their little elf hats. 

“Seresin, hurry the hell up. You’re always first to leave, but last to come back!” I yelled up stairs for him to hurry and come down. 

“I’m Coming!” We could all hear him shuffling up stairs. 

I gave Luke to Phoenix and brought Leia around the house as we waited for Hangman to come down. “Look, sweetheart. Santa was here last night. He ate your cookies you left out and even drank all your milk!” 

Leia looked at all the little bits of evidence with joy and shock. “Daddy! There is even a hair here!!” Leia picked up the hair that was left by the cookie. 

I looked over at Phoenix and saw her and Austin fist bumping over the success of yanking Hangman’s hair out. 

“Can we keep it, daddy?” She looked up at me holding the hair in between her fingers. 

I laughed and nodded. “We sure can, sweetheart.” 

Leia set the hair down carefully on the plate again and saw the trail of boot marks by the sliding door. “DADDY! He came in through the sliding door!” She ran over by the door and looked at the foot prints, “Look!” She was jumping excitedly as she was pointing to the boot marks in the ‘snow.’

I gasped and went to go examine the sight. “He left a mess!”

Leia started to laugh, “We can clean it up after! He was probably in a hurry!” 

I knelt down and kissed her cheek, “I’m sure he was, baby.” I picked her up and brought her back over to the couch. 

“Leia, did you see that the reindeer ate the carrot you left for them?” Austin pointed over to the carrot pile Leia left out the night before. 

She ran over to the carrots and examined them. She held one over her head to show all of us. “OH MY GOSH! THEY DID! I HOPE IT WAS RUDOLPH!” She screamed in excitement and ran back and jumped into my lap. “Do we get to open presents now, daddy?” She smiled up at me. 

I nodded as I wrapped my arms around her. “Yes, but we have to wait for your uncle Jake. He’s still changing into his elf Pjs… and TAKING FOREVER.” I looked up to the steps. “Come on man! Your niece wants to open her presents!” 

Then with that we heard some steps coming down the stairs. We all turned to a sight. 

“HOLY NIGHT.” I furrowed my brows. 

Phoenix started to laugh as she saw hangman come down from the stairs. “I thought we were all wearing elf pajamas??” 

I rolled my eyes. “We were, but I can see Seresin always has a change of plans.” 

You turned away and started to laugh loudly. hangman came down in a Santa suit. But not any Santa suit. THE Santa suit. It had ripped sleeves and an exposed chest. He wore a Santa hat and a beard to finish the ensemble. 

“Holy Sexy Santa.” Austin’s eyes went wide and he looked at Phoenix confused. She started to laugh hard at his comment. 

“HO. HO. HO. Merry Christmas, Bradshaw family!” He came down waving and was holding a present. 

“UNCCLE JAAAKEY!” Leia was pointing and laughing at hangman. She ran to him and gave him a hug. “Is that present for me, uncle Santa?” 

“Oh no, my vapor girl. This is for your dad.” He looked at me as he smiled deviously through the beard. He came over to me as he held the suspicious box in front of him. 

He leaned down to me and whispered, “It’s my cock in a box.” 

Phoenix, you, and Austin started to laugh hard when they heard him. I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head. 

“Uncle jakey, why did you get daddy a rooster in a box?”

Hangman blurted out laughing and patted Leia on the head. “Your daddy’s call sign is rooster. It’s only fitting.” 

I rolled my eyes again and shut them as i shook my head. I buried my face into my hands and let out a sigh. I was trying so hard to hold back my laughter. 

“IM JOKING BRADSHAW.” Hangman set the present down under the tree and took a seat across from me with Leia. “It’s for the boys. RELAX.”

I looked at him with wide eyes. “THATS EVEN WORSE.”

He threw his head back and then looked at me annoyed. “Let’s not start.” He started to laugh as i threw a pillow at him. “Alright, with that… Let’s open presents!” 

———-

Your POV

Jake was the first one to grab his gifts and handed them out. He handed Austin and Phoenix theirs, then Bradley and Leia, and then gave you yours and gave you one for each of the boys. 

“I hope y’all like everything I’ve got you. And if you don’t, I kept receipts.” He sat back down on the couch by Austin and put his arm up and over around him on the couch. “Well, everyone open ‘em up.” He smiled at all of you.

Nat opened hers and Jake had got her a basket full of goodies. “Oh my gosh, Bagman! I love it!” She pulled out everything one by one, excited with everything she was pulling out. 

“Glad you like it Trace.” He patted Austin’s shoulder, "Now you big man.”

Austin opened his gift, “Jake! Aww man no this is too much. This looks expensive, man.”

Jake shook his head and patted his back. “I saw that flannel and immediately thought of you, dude.”

“Well, thank you. But it’s really so much.” He held it up and looked at the flannel jacket surprised. 

“No problem, Bro.” He looked over at all of you. “Bradshaws, don’t keep me waitin.” He started to laugh as he waited for the 6 of you to open your gifts. He went over and sat by your legs to help you open the boys gift and Gunner’s.

Jake got you and Leia baskets full of stuff similar to Nat’s. You and Leia were excited as you looked through them. 

“Wow, thanks, Jake!” You placed your hand on his shoulder and he patted your hand. 

“Thank you Uncle Jakey!” Leia jumped into his arms as he laughed and kissed her head. 

“For Gunner…” He pulled out three Star Wars toys and threw them at him. Gunner went crazy over them and started to play with them. 

Bradley opened his gift, “Holy Shit, Seresin…” He held up a brown carhart jacket. “This is fucking sweet.” Bradley looked at it all around. “What the hell, dude!” He shoved Jake as they laughed. “Thank you, man. Holy shit.”

Jake laughed, “I saw that and immediately thought of you too.” Jake opened up the gift for the boys. “And now for the Bradshaw boys… the best for last!” He held up the two bibs. “DRINKING BUDDIES!” 

Everyone started to laugh. Jake placed them on the boys and gave them both kisses. Bradley grabbed baby Brad and Jake grabbed Luke. They made them high-five and place them on the floor to sit in front of them. They were able to sit up on their own but just in case either of them fell back there was someone behind them to catch them. 

Up next was Nat. She handed everyone her gifts. She gave the boys’ gift to Bradley to open this time. 

Austin went first, she got him some new shirts. Some long-sleeved ribbed shirts and some short-sleeved collared ribbed shirts. “Aww, babe. I love these! Thank you!” He kissed her cheek and looked at his clothes amazed. 

“I think you would looked so cute in those!” She grabbed one and held it against him. Everyone agreed. Especially the boys. Bradley and Jake kept whistling at him and he started to blush.

Jake opened up his gift next. “Ohhh heeeyyy!!!!! This is nooooiiiiiiiccceeee!” Jake held up his button-up shirt to show everyone. He held it against himself. “Am I as hot as Austin, yet?” He closed his eyes and smiled big while Austin and Bradley whistled at him. 

Bradley pinched Jake’s chest, “Quit it, my wife is right there. She’s gonna get jealous.” They both started to laugh. 

“Damn, thanks Trace! I love it!” Jake started to smell the shirt. 

Nat and Bradley looked at him weird. “Why do you always have to smell everything new you get?” Nat raised a brow at him. 

Jake shrugged. “Tradition? I don’t know?”

Up next was Bradley. He ripped apart the bag. Everyone looked at him with wide eyes as his gift flew up into the air and landed in front of him and little Brad.

“Well shit. I hope it’s not broken…” Phoenix started to laugh. 

Bradley grabbed it and opened up the toiletry bag. “HOLY SHIT! NO WAY! PHE! THANK YOU!” 

He showed everyone what was inside. It was a beard and mustache grooming kit. “I needed a new one! Thank you!”

Nat laughed and shot him her fist. They fist bumped. “Your stache is out of regs. You needed a new one!” Bradley started to laugh as he played with his mustache. 

Leia started to open her huge box carefully. “I don’t want to break it, Aunt Nat..” Leia ripped the wrapping paper delicately. 

Nat started to laugh, “Vapor girl, its okay yours won’t break. I promise.” She shot her a thumbs up. 

“OKAY!” Leia started to rip the paper crazily as she was throwing it everywhere. She opened the big box and gasped. “OH MY GAAAAHHDD!” She yanked out the first bean bag. “I LOVE THESE!!!” She pulled out all the Star Wars-themed bean bags. “I WANNA PUT THEM EVERYWHERE! THANKS AUNT NAT!” Leia ran and jumped on Nat and covered her in kisses. 

“Anything for my Vapor girl.” She pushed Leia’s hair out of her face and gave her a kiss on the cheek. 

Austin opened Gunner’s gift for him. It was a new doggy bed. He brought all his toys to it and laid in it with them. 

You opened your gift from Nat. It was a new necklace. You pulled it from the box and looked at it. It had all of your initials on it. “Oh my gosh! I love this so much! Thank you, Nat!” You looked at each letter, “B,L,L,B,G and a heart!” You held it to your chest and started to tear up. 

Nat started to tear up too, “I am so happy you love it!!” 

Last were the boys. “The best for last!” Nat echoed Jake. Bradley started to open the boys gift. It was in a little basket. He opened the basket and inside were little outfits and goodies for the boys. 

“AWH! These are the cutest things ever, Trace!” Bradley held up the box to show you. 

“Oh my gosh! That is so sweet!!!” You cooed over the box. 

Jake and Bradley made the boys blow kisses to their Aunt Nat and gave them little baby voices. “Thank you Aunt, Nix!”

She smiled and blew kisses back to them. “There is one more!” 

Bradly grabbed the other box and helped little Brad open it, inside was a Star Wars mood light. 

“DUDE! This is so cool! I want this in my room!” Bradley held it up to show everyone. 

“Thank you so much, Trace. These are so nice!” 

Austin was next to grab his gifts and hand them out. “I hope y’all like them. I kinda suck at gifts.” He started to chuckle as he sat back down on the couch. 

Nat started with her gift. She opened it up and pulled it out. She started to laugh and held it against her chest. “Aus, you got me a carhart jacket too!?” She reached over and placed her hand behind his head and pulled him in for a kiss. “Thank you, I love it so much!”

Austin smiled. “Do you actually like it? I remember you told me a long time ago that you’ve always wanted one. And I saw your closet and you still didnt have one until now.” He smiled at her. 

She cooed over his gesture and gave him another kiss. “I love it even more, Aus. Thank you.” 

Jake shook his box. “Did I get one too? So I can join the crew?” He laughed and opened his box. “Oh wait a minute! This is even better!” He held up the toiletry bag and opened it. “OH MAN!” He started to laugh. “Thank you, man! I love this! And also really needed this!” He started to pull out hair products. 

“You take great care of your hair and thought I could get you some more stuff. You looked like you were getting low in the bathroom.” Austin fist-bumped Jake. 

“This man is fucking damn smart. He was snooping around our stuff and got us what we needed!” Jake started to laugh. “Thank you so much dude!” 

Austin gave him a wink and a thumbs up. Next was Leia. “Leia Rey, why don’t you open yours next, sweetheart.” He pinched Leia’s cheek and smiled.

Leia started to open her gift. She squealed and pulled it out of the box. “ITS A ROOSTER!!!” She held the squishmallow above her head. “THANK YOU THANK YOU AUSTIE!” She gave him a kiss and gave her new toy a big hug. 

He pushed Leia’s curls from her forehead and gave it a kiss. “You’re welcome, my sweet girl.”

Austin pulled out a collar from behind him. “I didn’t get to wrap it, but I got this for Gunner.” He got off the couch ad went over to Gunner in his bed and placed a new collar around his neck. “There ya go bud.” He gave his head a few scratches before returning to the couch. 

You opened your next It was a pretty heavy box. “Gosh what is this, Austin?” You started to unwrap it. 

“I thought your house could use one. Here in Hawaii and back home in San Diego.” He smiled as you opened your gift.

“Oh my goodness…” You froze. It was a record player. “Austin….” 

Everyone was shocked. “HOLY SHIT THAAT IS NICE, BABE!” 

Nat smiled and handed you another gift. “We both got this for you and Rooster.”

You started to open it. It was a custom vinyl with a picture of you and Bradley on it from your wedding. The vinyl was named “The Bradshaws.” 

“It has music on there that you and Bradley love. From songs you would recommend to each other, songs you dance around to in the house or even out places, and your wedding song.”

You started to cry. “You guys… This is beautiful. Thank you so much!” You got up and went to hug the both of them. “I love this so much. Oh my gosh.” On your way back you gave Bradley a kiss. 

“I’m glad you love it, Darlin. Natasha really helped me out with it. You should really thank her.” He started to laugh. 

Bradley opened the gift for the Boys. “Look at these!” He started to laugh. They were matching onesies that said, “Bro’s for life.” Bradley gave one to Jake to hold against Luke. “Dude they are gonna wear these every day. These are too good. Along with the drinking buddies bibs!” Bradley smiled and held it against little Brad. “Thank you, Uncle Austin.” Bradley made Little Brad wave to him. 

Austin put the tip of his fingers on his lips as he used his other hand to wave to the boys. “I love you, boys.” 

Bradley was last. He opened his gift from Austin and his eyes went wide. “This man has good ass taste.” He held up his sweater, “This looks nice and cozy, man! Thank you!” He reached his hand out for Austin and they interlocked fingers as Bradley shook his hand to show his thanks. 

“I think you would look handsome as hell in that, Bradley.” Austin started to laugh. 

“Oh hell no. I’m right here, Austin.” Jake looked at Austin with furrowed brows. 

Bradley held his hands up to them both. “There is enough daddy to go around. Relax.”

Everyone started to laugh and Nat made a disgusted face. “I’ll Pass.” Everyone started to laugh harder. 

Up next were the gifts that Bradley, You, Leia, the boys, and Gunner got for everyone. Leia handed out the gifts. 

“Uncle Jakey first!” She clapped her hands in excitement. 

“We all get two gifts??” He said excitedly. He started to open the first one. He opened it up and pulled it out. He started to laugh loudly. “I’M A PART OF THE CREW! A CARHART!” He started to laugh. “This one is different, but at least I get to stand out from you nerds.” He put it down and gave all of you hugs and kisses. “Thank you! I love it!” 

Bradley shook his head. “You’re welcome, Bagman. Now opened the other one.” 

Jake started to open the second gift. He bursted into laughter even louder this time. “OH SHIT! NO WAY!” He held up another carhart, “NOW I AM REALLY PART OF THE CREW!” He held up a navy blue jacket that was in the same fit as Bradley’s and Nat’s. “God I love it! Thank you!” He couldn’t stop laughing. 

“Aunt Nix now!!” Leia bounced up and down. 

Nat started to open her first gift. She pulled out a flannel jacket. “Oh this is so cute!!” She was feeling its fabric, “Y/n definitely picked this out.” 

Bradley and you started to laugh. “She most definitely did. She picked it up and was like ‘oh babe! This is totally something Nat would wear!’ And how could I not agree because it definitely is something you’d wear.” 

Nat started to laugh. “I love it!” 

Leia gave Nat her second present. “Now this one!” She watched excitedly as Nat started to unwrap the box. 

“Hey! This one is really nice too!” She pulled out an oversized jean jacket. “This is so cozy and cute!”

Leia jumped up and clapped. “I picked that one for you Aunt Nat! Do you like it!?” She waited excitedly for Nat’s answer. 

“Oh my Leia girl, I love it even more now. Thank you so much, pretty girl.” Nat pulled Leia to her and gave her a kiss on her cheek. “You sure know how to pick good clothes. You must get that from you momma.” She looked over at you and winked. 

“I guess that’s my cue.” Austin laughed and opened his first girl. He pulled out a nice quarter-zip sweater. “You guys just really know my taste don’t ya? This looks comfy!” He felt the inside of the sweater. “Oh, this is so soft! Thank you guys!” 

“Next one Austie!!” Leia pointed to his last gift. 

He opened it and inside was a white sweater. “Oh man, I can layer these! This sweater is so nice! Thank you so much!”

Bradley started to laugh. “I like how we all got each other clothes that we cannot wear while living here because we will sweat so much.”

Everyone started laughing. “We will be ready for cold California when we all get back, but even then San Diego will start warming up again when we are all back.” Jake started to laugh. 

“Okay now you all open your gifts!” Phoenix adjusted in her spot as she got ready to watch all of you exchange gifts and open them.

You started and handed all your gifts out to them. Leia and Bradley opened the gifts for the boys. You got little Bradley and Luke baby blankets. Luke’s was Darth Vader and Brad’s was Grogu. 

“Here you go babies. From momma!” Leia handed each of her brother’s their blankets and they instantly started to play with them. “I think they like them momma!” 

Leia was next. She opened her gift and pulled out a little box. “Momma, what is it?” She looked at it curiously. 

“Open it, babe.” You smiled at her. 

She opened the box and saw a little necklace with a teddy bear on it. “Oh my gosh! It is so cute, momma!” She held it up to show everyone. “Daddy, can you put it on me?” Bradley put it on her neck and you came down next to her. 

“The cool thing about it Leia is that I have one that goes with it.” You showed her yours that you were wearing. “Yours can fit into mine. Watch.” You grabbed your teddy bear and she grabbed hers and her little teddy bear fit right into yours. 

“Momma… I love that.”

You kissed her cheek. “Always linked, Forever loved.” 

She smiled as she looked at both your necklaces together. “Thank you, momma. I love it so much!”

Gunner was passed out in his bed so Bradley opened his gift, “Oh babe you didn’t!” He started to laugh. “You got him a doggy car seat!” He started to bust out laughing. “Now our cars back home will have 4 car seats. Holy shit.” 

Last was Bradley. He opened his gift and his eyes went wide. “OH MY GOD! YESSS!!!” He finished ripping the paper off of the big box. “A DOUBLE BABY CARRIER! I WANTED THIS SO BAD!” Everyone started to laugh. “You guys don’t understand. Once I found out we were having twins I would always send pictures to y/n when she was back home of these things. I wanted one so bad.” He yanked it out of the box and looked at it. “Now I can carry one on my back and one on my chest! SWEET!!!” 

Bradley went over to you and kissed you over and over again. “Thank you so much, baby. It’s just what I wanted!” 

Bradley and Jake started to play around with the carrier. “Oh wait before we try to put this thing together. The Kids and I have presents for momma.” He smiled over to you as him and Leia went to go and grab your gifts.

You were shocked. You weren’t expecting anything, nor did you really want anything. You already had everything you needed and wanted.

Leia handed you your first gift. They were a new pair of platform Converse. You did mention you wanted these and were shocked that they remembered. “Oh, I love them! Thank you guys!” Leia gave you your next one. You shook the box and heard rattling. Bradley looked at you with wide eyes. 

“Holy shit. Be careful, honey.” He started to laugh. 

You unwrapped and opened the box. Inside was a Stanley cup with Star Wars engravings. “HOLY CRAP!” You looked at it in amazement. “How the hell did you get this! It was so limited!” 

Bradley shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, babe. Only the best for you.” He patted Leia’s head and winked at her. Bradley handed you your next gift. 

“Oh my, there is more!” You looked at the next bag with wide eyes. You didn’t expect them to get you so many. This bag felt super light. You took out the tissue paper and inside was a teddy jacket. You screamed. “I wanted this so bad!!!” You thought back to the day you and Bradley were walking around after a date and popped into a store and saw this. You wanted to buy it right then and there but you didn’t. “Oh, thank you so much!” 

Bradley handed you another box. “You guys! This is a lot! Oh my gosh!” You opened the next gift and it was a photo collage. They were polaroids Bradley had saved over time. Some were of you and him in college. At his graduation from boot camp. Pictures with you, Mav, and Penny when you first met. Pictures with him and his parents, you and your parents. From your wedding, from the dates you went on, when Leia was born, and when the boys were born. You, Bradley, and the whole squad back home. You started to tear up. “How did you even get all of these, Brad?” You looked up at him and then back down to the collage. 

He handed little Brad to Austin and came over to you. He kissed your head as you leaned into him. “I had a lot of help, sweetheart.” You and he continued to look at it as you reminisced. “I have another gift. But this one is from all of us.”

Jake and Austin went to the garage to grab your last gift. The guys came in with a Star Wars-themed rocking chair. “OH MY GOSH!” 

You got up still holding the collage and went to go and look at it. “This is so adorable! It’ll be perfect in the boys room!” You went around and gave everyone hugs and kisses. “I love you all so much. Thank you for all of it.” You gave Bradley extra kisses. “Thank you, babe.”

He smiled at you and gave you another kiss on your nose. “Anything for you.” He held you close and kissed your head again. “I do have one more gift for you babe.” 

You looked up at him in shock. “Another gift, Bradley?” You looked at him sadly. “Brad noooo!” He laughed and pulled a little box from the inside of his waistline. “Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”

You opened the little box and inside was a ring. “Bradley… What the hell…” You gasped and couldn’t say another word. Bradley pulled it from the box and asked for your hand. “Bradley….” You started to cry. 

He took his mom’s ring off and placed it into the box. He gave the box to Jake to hold. “Bradley no!” You were trying to reach for the box and he held your hand to him. 

“You will always have my mother’s ring, sweetheart. It’s not going anywhere. I know she would have wanted me to give it to you. Mav always told me my mom left it behind for me so I could give it to the love of my life. And even though it’s such a beautiful gesture and has so much love and meaning behind it. It was a gift from my father to give to my mother to show his love for her. It will always be the symbol of love in my life for me. However, I wanted to get you one that was from me. One that I wanted to pick out specifically for you, to show you my love. A symbol of our love. Forever.” He placed the ring onto your finger and kissed it. “I love you, sweetheart, forever.”

You looked at the ring in amazement. It was definitely bigger and different from Carole’s ring. You grabbed Bradley’s face and kissed him over and over again. “You could have gotten me a ring pop and I would have taken it, Brad. This is so much!” You stated to weep. “I love you, always.” 

Leia jumped around. “Momma and daddy are getting married agaiiiin!!!” You and Bradley started to laugh as she hopped around you both. 

Everyone came to look at the ring. “Jesus that is one beautiful ring!” Nat grabbed your hand and looked at your new ring. “It’s mesmerizing! Look at it, Aus.” She showed your hand to him. 

Austin picked up little Brad and came over. “My oh My. That is so nice. Carole’s ring is just as beautiful, but man this one has it’s own beauty to it.” He patted Bradley’s back with his free hand. “You picked a beautiful ring, Brad.”

Bradley smiled and put his arm over Austin’s shoulders. “Thanks, bud. Anything for my girl. I feel she deserves more than that but when I saw it, I thought it’s as beautiful as her.” Bradley smiled up at you as you blushed. 

Jake came to look at your ring as he held Luke against his hip. “DAMN ROOSTER! That is a METEOR.” He showed your hand to Luke. “Look buddy. College tuition.” 

Nat slapped Jake’s shoulder. “Bagman do you always have to ruin everything. Gosh!” She shook her head and grabbed Luke from his arms. 

Jake started to laugh as he kissed your temple. “I am only kidding, y/n. It’s such a beautiful ring. Bradshaw sure knows how to pick them. So pretty, honey. You make the ring look even better!” He wrapped his arm over your shoulder and patted them. 

Bradley started to laugh. “You are definitely something else, Seresin.” Bradley shook his head and snickered at him. 

“Now. Real question. Where is my ring, Rooster boy?” Jake raised his brows at Bradley.

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

A super late Christmas chapter! But y'all wanted it to be part of the storyline! I hope you enjoyed it! The end of this story is near and I don't know how to feel 🥲 I'll see all you babes in the next chapter! 🫶🏼

Hangman's elves are in the comments 🎅🏼

[reigningqueenofwords]

I Don't Need Details

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Part 6 of Little Soldier

You were straddling Bucky’s lap, your hands in his hair as you rocked against him. His arms held you close, not wanting to let you go. You started to kiss over his jaw. “I think we should move to my room.” You breathed.

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” He lifted you as he stood, chuckling as you let out a squeak before nipping his neck. “Shit, doll.” He groaned. This was a feeling he had missed more than he knew. The barely half eaten pizza sat forgotten on your coffee table, the show you had been watching nothing more than background noise. Not that either of you were listening to it.

Once in your room, he kicked the door shut, eager to be with you again.

Nat stared at you as you paced her room one night. Dom was having a sleepover with Wanda and Vision, so you’d surprised her by knocking on her door. That had been ten minutes ago. “As much as I love your company at nearly eleven at night, I’d love to know what the hell is going on even more.” She teased. “Or is your plan to make a permanent circle in my carpet?”

Swallowing, you looked at her. “I slept with him.” You blurted out, causing her eyebrows to shoot up. “It just happened! One minute we’re hanging out, eating pizza, and watching a show. The next we’re in my room and well…” 

Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she managed to process that. “You slept with who? Steve?” That’s who her money was on. 

“What is it with you and this Steve thing?!” He looked at her like she was insane. “I will never sleep with Steve. Ever. I’m more likely to sleep with you.” You shot back, rolling your eyes. “I mean Bucky.” You flopped face first on her bed. “We couldn’t agree on a damn cake for Dom, so he suggested taking a break. He ordered pizza and we put on some show to watch. Bam. We’re fucking in my bed.” 

Nat stared at you in complete shock. “Okay, before we unpack all... that .. Please tell me that you used protection!” She hissed. “Don’t tell me you were so stupid!” 

You winced. “Why would I have any?!” You countered. “I went out the next morning and got a plan B pill, though, Mom .” You sighed. “We’re good.” 

“Wait, when did this happen?” 

“Last week.” You muttered seconds before she hit you with a pillow. “I’ve been trying to process this! And next week we all fly out to Maine for Dom’s party. For an entire weekend. I thought I should get this out of my system before that. Don’t you agree?” 

Nat ran a hand through her hair. “I never thought you’d come into my room talking about sleeping with your ex.” She shook her head. “I mean, isn’t it a thing that you don’t fuck your baby daddy?” You furrowed your brows and looked at her. “What? Is there something more going on now?” 

You groaned at her question. “I don’t know what the hell is going on.” You teared up, frustrated. “I don’t know if he slept with me just because he could, if he wanted to because there’s still some feelings there, or what.” You told her. 

“Well, are there feelings there for you? Do you still love Bucky?” She asked, her tone a bit more gentle this time. 

While you were confiding in Nat, Bucky was confiding in Steve. “What’s going on, Buck?” Steve asked, worried about his friend. Was he changing his mind about fatherhood? 

Bucky licked his lips. “I slept with her.” He explained. “We were hanging out, and next thing I know she’s on my lap, kissing me, her hands in my ha--”

“Whoa. I don’t need details.” Steve cut him off. “And who? We know a few women.”  It didn’t occur to him that he meant you. Steve didn’t think that there was any way that would happen. Not after how hard it was for you to move on. Yet, he couldn’t see Nat sleeping with him, either. Or Wanda for obvious reasons. 

“Y/N!” He leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, letting his head fall back. “Me and Y/N slept together.” He sighed. “Last week. I have no idea what this means. She hasn’t mentioned it since, and there’s been this awkward tension between us. What if she regrets it?!” He looked at Steve, clearly panicked. “What if this is too much and she’s changed her mind about wanting Dom knowing who I am?”

Steve stared at his friend, surprised. “For one, I highly doubt that she would do that.” He assured him. “Maybe she hasn’t mentioned it because you haven’t? Maybe she’s worried about the same things?” He suggested. “She may think that you regret it, Buck.” 

“But I don’t.” He said easily. “I forgot how much I like being with her, Steve. It just felt right. And it wasn’t like we rushed to get dressed and do the walk of shame, either. I got to stay all night. I got to fall asleep with her on my chest like before.” Bucky went on, letting himself open up and be vulnerable with Steve. “I still love her, and I don’t think I ever stopped. I think I just pushed it down because she was gone.” 

“Wow.” His face softened. “Do you think she’d go on a date with you? Maybe you should ask her out? See if you can start fresh.” While he’d remain protective of you and Dom no matter what happened, he also hoped that maybe his best friend could have the family he deserved. He hoped that you could raise your son with his father and have the life you one day pictured. It would be years late, but maybe that’s what the two of you needed to really know how much you loved each other. Did you still love him? He honestly couldn’t begin to guess. 

You remained quiet for a moment. Did you? Were those feelings you worked so hard to get over still there? You knew that you loved watching Bucky and Dom together. You knew that you were thankful to have him back in your life. Nat watched you, wondering what was going on in your mind. “I don’t think that you should act on it if you do.” She said finally. “He hurt you way too badly before. I don’t want him to have that chance again.” Her tone was gentle, but it was clear she was very firm in her opinion.

“We’re going to tell Dom who he is either way, Nat.” You said softly. “We decided that when we started planning his party. We’re going to have a ‘family dinner’ the night we get there and come clean.” You went on. “That’s why Bucky has been spending so much time with Dom.” 

“I know.” She reminded you. “You told me. Reminding me isn’t going to change how I feel about this. Am I glad that he’s stepped up? Yes. Do I think he deserves to be a father? No.”

Sitting up, you stared at her. “You don’t?” Bucky had been amazing with Dom! “Why not?” 

She raised an eyebrow at you like it was a stupid question. “What happens if he wakes up six months from now and once again doesn’t want anything to do with being a father? What if he walks away from you two again, but this time Dom knows? Dom would know his father abandoned him- for a second time. That would kill him!” The thought of Dom being hurt like that made her upset. 

You chewed on your lip. “I actually talked to Steve about that. When Bucky and I got back from the house. I told him what I was worried about. He says he can’t see Bucky doing that. I trust Steve, he knows Bucky better than most.” 

“You thought you knew him before and look what happened.” Nat countered. “You thought he’d be excited for a family, and instead he didn’t want anything to do with it.” She didn’t want you to trust Bucky with your heart, and Dom’s, just for him to just break them. “Besides, he might have just slept with you because it’s sex. It might have been nothing more than that. Do you really want to go to him wanting more just for him to turn you down because it was nothing to him?” 

“Gee. Thanks.” For some reason, her putting it like that hurt. It made you feel slightly used in her eyes. Getting up, you shook your head. “I’m gonna go take a hot shower and try to think this over.” Clearly coming to her wasn’t the good idea that you thought it was going to be. 

Nat sighed. “Don’t do that. Don’t make me the bad guy because you two couldn’t keep your clothes on.” She watched you move towards the door. 

You shot her a look before saying goodnight and walking out. While part of you understood where she was coming from, at the same time, part of you wanted to see what this meant. As you made your way to your room, you were on autopilot. Before you knew it, you were walking in your door, barely remembering much after leaving Nat’s. Your mind had been so damn sex-with-Bucky focused. 

Blinking, you let out a breath and shut the door, hoping that a hot shower would help. You couldn’t avoid the man forever. You lived with him, and he was your son’s father. “At least I got plan B.” You muttered, not wanting to add a second kid to that equation. No one needed that. Or to explain to everyone else . You could only imagine that conversation ‘hey, we fucked and we’re having another baby together, but we’re not together…’. Not awkward at all.  

Bucky left with Steve’s advice in mind. He was just worried that you wouldn’t want to go on a date because of the past. It wasn’t like he could suggest ‘starting over’. Having Dom made that pretty much impossible. “JARVIS, is Y/N awake?” He asked, simply standing in his kitchen. He was too awake to even attempt to try to sleep. 

“She is currently showering, shall I alert her that you are asking for her?” JARVIS replied easily. 

“Yeah, can you ask her if I can come by shortly?” They couldn’t let this go. The longer they went without talking about this, the more awkward things would become, and the harder this talk would be. He grabbed a bottle of water to sip while he waited for JARVIS to let him know if he could go see you. 

It was another ten minutes before JARVIS spoke again. “She says as long as you bring some ice cream.” 

Smiling to himself, he chuckled and nodded. “On my way.” He agreed. 

You had been surprised when you stepped out of the shower, just to have JARVIS let you know that Bucky wanted to come by. Did he think that you’d sleep with him again? Did he want to tell you that it was a mistake? Your mind went to every possible scenario. Finally, you were dressed, your hair was brushed, and you were waiting for him while you sat on the couch. Hearing his knock, you took a deep breath. “Come in!” You called out. 

Bucky walked in and held up the pint of ice cream. “I believe this was your request?” He teased you. 

“Shush.” You blushed as he handed it over, along with a spoon. He sat on the other end of the couch and watched you open the container. “So, you wanted to see me?” You asked shyly. 

“I thought we should talk about that night sooner rather than later.” He told you. “Don’t you?” 

Taking a bite of the ice cream, you nodded. “I went to talk to Nat. That didn’t go well.” You admitted. 

“Yeah, I went to talk to Stevie. I’m sure my conversation was better than yours.” He sighed. “Nat’s not my biggest fan.” It was old news and really didn’t bother him much anymore. They did what they had to for work, but that was about it. If there wasn’t a reason for them to be ‘nice’, they simply didn’t bother with the other. 

“No, she’s not.” You agreed. “In her mind I shouldn’t even give you a chance to be a father. I don’t agree with her at all about that, I promise.” You assured him quickly. “She’s thinking you might wake up in six months and change your mind. Basically shot down me pointing out that Steve knows you and knows you wouldn’t do that. Said that I thought I knew you and I didn’t.” You looked down, not wanting to make him feel bad, but still wanting to be honest about the chat the two of you had. “Mentioned you might have just slept with me because it’s sex, that it wasn’t anything more.” 

Bucky winced at that. “Thank you for believing in me.” He said softly. “I won’t ever change my mind. I want to be there for Dom.” His tone was firm, making you look at him. “I’ll always regret hurting you, and not being there for him for so long. I’ll spend the rest of my life being the father I should have been from day one.” He saw you tear up while giving him a small smile. “You didn’t know one part of me. Everything else you knew. You didn’t know that because I didn’t want you to. You loved me so completely. I didn’t want you knowing that all I saw when I looked in the mirror was a monster.” Hearing it all over stung. You’d never see him as that, so to know he did hurt. “Of course I liked the sex, but it wasn’t just that. I missed you.” He swallowed. “Not just that, either. The getting to hold you at night, too.” It was his turn to look down, looking shy. “Stevie said I should ask you on a date.” 

You chewed on your lip, thinking. “Counter offer?” You started. “Maybe...maybe we can just hang out here for now?” You suggested. If you went on a date, it would be everywhere. You weren’t ready for that just yet. Especially the way Nat would act after she saw. He looked at you. “Maybe just kinda date in secret for now? Just to see if ‘it’s’ still there?” You were nervous about suggesting this. What if he thought you were ashamed?! “We can have dinners here with Dom, or if he’s with one of the others, just us? Watch movies together?” 

His eyebrows shot up at that. “So, you’re not suggesting a single date? You want to get back together?” 

Your stomach was in knots. “We could try.” Your voice was barely above a whisper. “If we feel like it’ll really work, we can move past dating in secret and let other people know. If not, then we won’t have Nat on our assses.” You really didn’t want to make things worse between Nat and Bucky if things went south. “You can think about it if you want to.” 

Leaning forward, he kissed you softly. “Yes.”

Tagging:

@ilovetaquitosmmmm @vicmc624 @mrs-bucky-barnes-73 @sebastians-love @differenttyphoonwerewolf

[apprenticestanheight]

All is Well That Ends Well - Lawrence Gordon x gn! afab! reader - part III

all right!! Here we are with part three of the sugar daddy AU! To compensate for the delay with the last chapter, both parts three and four are coming out this week, and part four will be released in about an hour and a bit from now, should the queue work properly.

This part is one of the few without smut in it bc this fic is porn with plot rather than without and it'll get a bit more plot-focused as chapters go on. I haven't written too much into the middle right yet but I know that, bc of the way that I want to write it, there'll be more of a balance.

Fic type - this chapter is fluffy, however, the fic generally is for audiences of 18 and over, so minors, still don't interact pls and thanks

Warnings - lawrence makes a footloose joke about himself, plus the trap and jigsaw are mentioned

When you explained everything to Aurelie the following morning, she offered to help you pack shortly after a high-five and verification that you trusted the handsome acquaintance that Lawrence had turned into, which you did. It was very easy to trust him, and the phone call you'd had after you'd been at your apartment for a whopping thirty minutes only made your trust in him increase.

When you met Lawrence at the bar that night, you gave him a copy of your schedule so that he could figure out when it was best to reach out to you for sex and he gave you the primary key to the condo, promised you the schedule would see no eyes other than his own, and the two of you got to know each other more so that the foundations of trust were built further.

You moved into the condo mostly by yourself that Saturday, carrying boxes up the elevator two at a time. Unpacking was relatively easy as you didn’t have too much, and when Lawrence graced your door with your favorite take out and a grin, saying no to him was impossible.

You ate the takeout on the living room floor—Aurelie had bought the couch and most of the other furniture you had in the apartment you’d shared and so you didn’t really have much in the way of furniture, but your bed was in the room you’d declared your own and you had mugs, cups, cutlery and dishware so you counted that, at least, as a relative win.

“And it’s not—it’s not that I’m hyper independent,” you say. “It’s just that Aurelie has a lot of stuff on her plate and asking her to help me move in felt like I would’ve been making myself into an inconvenience, so I didn’t.”

“You could’ve asked me,” Lawrence says. “I gave you my number for reasons other than booty call style meet ups. I would’ve helped.”

“It wasn’t too difficult,” you shrug. “Two boxes at a time, it took me around two hours. Plus, Aurelie helped load up the car. You’ve also helped me enough—you bought me dinner, and that’s on top of the four thousand dollars a month thing we’ve got going for us?”

“Well—hyper independence is a little unhealthy,” Lawrence says, shrugging. “Just—you’re allowed to reach out to others for help. I’m a phone call away and I imagine Aurelie shares the same sentiment.”

You grin. “Thank you for this,” you say. “Both the advice and the food. I need to get a couch, evidently, so if you wouldn’t mind helping me get one through the front door, I’m probably going to go to a furniture store tomorrow.”

Lawrence laughs. “You need a couch, and a coffee table, and curtains for a place other than your bedroom—you need plenty. Can you cover all of it? Your first two thousand doesn’t come in until next week.”

You nod. “I have twenty thousand set aside from odds and ends while working in case my life ever goes up in flames. Plus—my bosses are two people in their sixties who can afford quite the hefty Christmas bonus. That is the primary foundation of the savings account, actually.”

“How hefty a bonus can two sixty year olds afford?”

“Five thousand dollars tacked onto my paychecks for December,” you grin. “I get a bonus in spring, too, totaling to $1000, and a bonus in autumn totaling to the same amount. I’ve worked there for twelve years now and because they have no interest in turning their bookstore into a branch of bookstores, the money they make from getting frequent customers and having eight additional employees outside of themselves is quite a lot. They’re busy all year round, and Monday and Tuesday are typically their busiest days because that’s when new releases hit the shelves.”

Understanding flashes across Lawrences face. “That’s why you can’t meet on Mondays,” he says. “New releases means more people. More people means a longer shift.”

You nod. “I wake up at four thirty on Monday mornings. Classes are from six in the morning to 11:15. I drive to work because it’s five minutes out from the uni campus, spend ten minutes eating an early lunch and then work from eleven thirty until ten. My classes don’t start until ten AM on Tuesdays so I eat a late take out dinner, come home, conk out at eleven and sleep until nine.”

“I’m a doctor and I don’t understand how that’s possible,” he says. “I did a bachelors and then medical school, followed by an internship where I slept maybe three hours in the course of 24 and still, how you manage that makes no sense to me. When I was thirty I was working as a doctor already and still, my entire day was about as chaotic as your Monday morning sounds.”

“Mondays are days where I run on four or five hours—I always wake up before my alarms and going to bed at around half past midnight kind of sets you up for failure anyway—and I manage by drinking either two or three energy drinks or at least a liter of coffee.”

“That is the opposite of healthy for your heart and liver function.” Lawrence says, taking a bite of his takeout. You laugh, shrugging a little.

“I know,” you nod. “I also know that one day it’ll come back to bite me in the ass, but I’m just fine with that so long as it waits until I’ve got gray hair and am in my eighties.”

Lawrence laughs, shakes his head.

The two of you finish your meal in relatively light chitter chatter—you ask Lawrence about his day at work and listen to his responses, then tell him about the time you’d had working a six hour shift the day before.

Talking to him, so it seems, is an incredibly easy feat. He’s exactly the kind of person you can open up to without even really noticing that you’ve done as much, and you’re fine to tell him whatever he wants to know either way as you’re a fairly open book.

Once you’re done with the food, you rinse out the containers it came in—they’re multiple use and decent for storage—while Lawrence notes he’s never seen it done before. At that, you shrug and laugh a little, reaching up to lightly poke his nose.

“In the house of the broke, we rinse and reuse what we can,” you say. “My parents taught it to me—we’ve been getting food from this place since I was a kid, and they market the fact that their takeout containers can be rinsed and reused on their website, menus, and in person—and they’re good containers!”

“I just don’t see the point,” Lawrence says, shrugging.

“Well, they’re good for meal prep,” you say. “I use them for that a lot of the time, given that I only allocate $20 a week to coffee and random treats for myself. They’re also really good for leftovers or when you’re bringing food to a family event—think Easter, Christmas, birthday parties—and for potlucks. Aurelie was like you, too. She still is, and now that I’ve moved out, I think my opportunity to show her the light was missed.”

Lawrence snorts. “I’m sorry that my wanting this place to go to good use means that she’ll never understand the joy of keeping containers from spontaneous takeaway.”

“It’s a nice place, and I think she was starting to get a bit fed up with me as her roommate anyway—we both have to study a lot for the degrees we’re getting, but I like reading anyway so I study a lot more, and she’s probably thriving off the knowledge that she’ll never walk past the living room for a glass of water at three in the morning and find me pouring over art history textbooks again, which only happened once but still. Once, for both of us, was more than enough.”

Lawrence nods. You finish rinsing off the last container and set it to the drying wrack to the left of the sink, flicking water at Lawrences chest before you dry your hands with a dry washcloth.

Lawrence laughs at your action, shaking his head. “You’re a very interesting person,” he says.

“Well, even at the ripe old age of thirty and two degrees out of three done with, I still feel like I’m 25 a lot of the time,” you say. “I’m not the partier I was during my Masters, though. You will not find me drunk when you come in one of these days. Now, I have taste in terms of my liquor, and will only drink Smirnoff vodka when I’m nine drinks deep because it will forever remind me of being in my first years of uni and drinking at frat parties.”

“I didn’t do much drinking in my college days,” Lawrence says as you grab your electric kettle. “I was too busy with studying—I was Type A.”

You nod, laughing slightly as you dump out the water you’d poured into it that morning to replace it with new water that’s not several hours old.

“You seem Type A. The college, then medical school, then wife and kid and house and presumably a number of dinner parties with your colleagues. All of it reeks of Type A,” you say. “No offense, of course.”

“You’re missing the parts that make me fun,” Lawrence says, eyes narrowing both playfully and accusatorily. “The Jigsaw trap, the footloose bit—" at that remark, Lawrence uses his cane to gesture to the prosthetic foot that exists in place of the real thing, smirking at his own humor just slightly "—The divorce, the loss of said child, the weeks spent in recovery, and now you.”

You fill the kettle to your liking and place it back onto its port, pressing down on the small lever and watching for the blue light that ticks up on the lower half once it gets started.

“I make you fun?” You ask, grinning a bit as the blue light takes hold of the bottom half of your kettle. “Oh, that is the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me. Didn’t know you had sweetness in you.”

“You’ve met me a grand total of, what, four times now?” Lawrence asks. “Of course, we’ve established I am not some glorified serial killer, so that puts trust in you, but you’ll find as we get to know each other more that I can be both fun and sweet. Sometimes both at once.”

You nod. “I can’t wait to witness that, then.” You turn around to grab a mug and a tea bag, offering one to Lawrence, which he accepts.

Once the tea is made, you drink it in relative silence, occasionally teasing one another and making each other laugh. Lawrence goes home thereafter, and you find yourself in a half empty condo, completely alone.

[rogerbarel]

Ooohhhh, thanks! I get so excited whenever other Trey fans come in to share their takes on him. It's kinda hard to think it all over myself because I get caught in the, "I don't know if this is supported by the text or pure self-indulgent headcanon that no one ever needs to know" loop.

I think Trey's strategy of avoiding attention and going about things in a sort of sideways manner can be effective in situations where he primarily wants to keep the peace, but it could also bite him in the ass later. We see that in his Halloween interaction with Malleus and Leona that you mentioned, and I also think it could gnaw at someone who can tell he's not quite speaking his truth but really, really wants to hear it, even if it'll be more painful or make their situation more difficult. Someone who craves his honest opinion and fears simply being placated. I think more direct communication is a skill that he's going to have to learn, and I'd love to watch him flounder with it a tad.

On point one - the more I think about it, the more this is a very self-indulgent headcanon. 😅 I have a very deep soft spot for a Trey who has occasional thoughts/urges that make him go like, "Hmm. Don't think that's what a good person thinks. I'm going to not do that, nor am I going to unpack it," but it still lingers. Just a little. This is also where the "okay, maybe he could enjoy seeing someone cry a bit..." comes in. Like, 2% of the time. It'd be dependent on context but still make him go, "This is NOT what I'm supposed to feel in this situation. I'd like to not feel this. What's my deal," gjhadlksdhfkjda ahasdhghashahaha I'm so sorry, I love repressed freaky mess and the self-indulgence got THICK with this specific one. This is why I need people to check my work so I don't go entirely off the walls!

Back to the topic actually at hand, I think you're right, it's more accurate to say that he doesn't consider himself a good or a bad guy. Thanks for mentioning his sister's thoughts about his glasses! I have that card and completely forgot about where he said that. Whatever he thinks of himself, he definitely doesn't want to present himself as a bad guy. He doesn't need his underclassmen to think he's a bastard, just flawed enough that they can't run to him for every single thing lol.

I would also agree that he's content to keep things even! One might still believe that is not "good person" behavior, since many people preach "turn the other cheek," but it's not super duper ultra sadistic villainous behavior, either. I am forever trying to achieve the perfect amount of "Trey is a bit of a little shit, enjoys being a little shit, and could have fun given free reign to indulge in that without it causing serious problems" without crossing over into the "he's a faux-kind manipulative unfeeling daddy-sir-dom ULTRA SADIST who only wants people under his control" that I see here and there.

I think effusive praise would make Trey super uncomfortable and that is exactly why I want to see him endure it lolololol. But someone stepping up to help him (and in general engage in with his hobbies and work--someone who will just do life with him) and make his life easier would go a long way. Ehehfkjdhahehehee I'm kicking my feet thinking about the possibilities. Even if he doesn't let someone else take over the baking, I think someone who makes it so that he has less work overall--takes care of other things so that he can focus on the baking--would help him a lot. In my heart of hearts, I just wanna see someone take care of him a bit. 🥲 Omggggg ngl I felt the BIGGEST SURGE OF PRIDE when he beat Malleus at kona... I shed a single tear of joy. That's my normalest boy, kicking a centuries-old fairy prince's ass at touys. Beautiful. I'd love to see your prediction come true! Lmao I also saw the possibility that he hates cooking/baking, but he takes practically every opportunity he can to experiment with new things. He's got baking on the brain so often! It's adorable! He deserves all the fancy equipment and ingredients... Someone please spoil him a bit I'm BEGGING. I think, maybe, he'll be able to do more things for himself in his dream, as opposed to holding things together for others... but maybe that sort of life will feel isolating deep down? I'm not making any big predictions about it. ... although I hope that we get to see him crying in his groovy like Kalim and Rook lololol. That's it, that's my one dream. No need to apologize! I love a good ramble and always enjoy talking Trey with you. And yes it is WILD to me when people assume EVERYTHING Trey does is fake, even going back to his childhood. Like, omg, no? And in Trey's case, we can clearly see a catalyst for his people-pleasing behavior! He is trying to avoid pain not just for himself, but for the people around him! If the game doesn't make this obvious enough, it's SUPER clear in the manga that he cares but is conflicted/doesn't know how to communicate to someone that they're hurting themself and others. And it's wild that he ends up super villainized for it when his behavior is pretty tame for the game. No attempted murder, no stalking, no kidnapping... And he deserves the hate brigade for it? (My friends who aren't into TWST say it's the hat. The hat is a magnet for bad faith arguments.)

Triple-Layer Cake/A Half-Baked Trey Clover Ramble

I've done this rant in more private places but am finally putting it on tumblr. This is going to be its third rewrite (if you count the time I did it as a fifty-tweet thread on yumepriv, which I'm not sure you should), but it is probably not any more cohesive since that isn't my strong suit. I'm basically throwing possible motivations for Trey's behavior at a wall and seeing what sticks. I also still don't know if I'm cooking, stating what everybody already knows, or am drawing completely unreasonable conclusions unsupported by the text. Nonetheless, I scream into the void once again. Actual material under the cut.

contains spoilers for EN-unreleased birthday vignettes

A while back, before I was even on tumblr again, this screenshot of a tumblr post about fandom misinterpreting a character in the exact way that character would want to be misinterpreted was floating around. And it made me think of Trey because approximately 50% of things do. For as long as I've been adjacent to the fandom, there's been this whole debate on how much of his "responsible big brother" image is deliberate/fake vs how much of it is genuine.

And I don't know if I like that more either/or approach to him. Trey's like Shrek. An ogre. An onion. He's got layers. But he's also a baker, and cakes are sexier than onions, so I'm opting for the more thematically appropriate analogy even if it doesn't work as well as far as visibility goes. (Although I suppose you might taste the layers separately/in order.) I'm honestly just being stubborn with this analogy. Bear with me, please.

Everybody sees his nurturing top layer, both in- and out-of-universe. But beneath that, he's a little selfish and vindictive. There's no denying this based on how he capitalizes on any chance to incur a favor as well as his preferences for revenge over forgiveness (see: wanting to watch Savanaclaw get their asses handed to them after his injury, making his underclassmen eat their cataclysmic cake after they insulted his work, Doodle Suiting his upperclassmen's cakes to be ultra spicy after they threw him under the bus as a freshman). He even admits to Epel that he's not a good person. He knows what he is.

But the way he does it has always sat oddly with me. It seems like overkill. Unnecessary. Why not let people think well of him? It reminds me of Vil's labwear vignette where he downplays his skills. He gives a too-quick protest that Vil suspects is part of an intentional image of humility. In that case, insisting that he has bad traits is just showing that he has another trait people tend to like (modesty). It's not like Epel responds to Trey's self-effacement by saying, "Oh, you really must be kinda shitty if you say so!" So I think this modesty contributes to his super average "everyguy" image as well as lightly dissuades people from thinking he's too good or reliable. No "You can count on me!" hero volunteering.

If he seems too nice, like Neige, folks might become suspicious and start playing closer attention to him, especially at a school like NRC. They may either want to see him finally snap and show what he's "really" like (to be fair, I also want to see him snap), or they may look for a way to take advantage of him. And he has enough on his plate as is!! Can't have more people who think he can shoulder it all. Trey needs to be unremarkable, so he needs to remind people that he has flaws besides his taste in hats, even if he rarely lets them show. (More on why they don't show in a bit.)

I think my reading diverges from some others' (at least those I've seen in the twt circles I inhabit) here: Even with all his vindictive tendencies, he's still deeply devoted to his loved ones. I don't think it's accurate to say that the cruel, manipulative Trey is the "real" Trey, or at least the whole real Trey. It's just a part of him. The care that he shows for Riddle, his siblings, and the named Heartslabyul characters is largely genuine.

He can act selfishly, don't get me wrong. It bugs me when people forget that. He's been dismissive toward Cater in favor of Riddle (moreso in EN than JP), and he subtly and not-so-subtly manipulates people for his benefit and the group's benefit multiple times. But it's not necessarily because he sees them as tools or playthings, which is a reading I've seen a surprising amount of times. (That being said, it is a fun one if you're exaggerating a character's villainous traits! I think he could treat someone like this under the right circumstances. You could write Trey with more of this quality, and it could be believable. But I don't think it cancels out his ability to care for people entirely.) It's just something he thinks is at least somewhat acceptable to do to others, even his loved ones. Maybe he rationalizes it. Maybe he can't help but find a little pleasure in playing with him, no matter how much we cares. If we can accept that Jade shows Floyd and Azul love through his desire to put them through an emotional saw trap, it's not too far-fetched to suggest that Trey's definition of love allows for manipulation or desire to see someone cry. He can rationalize lying to them for the sake of stability or not letting them know about his own desires. I also think that the internal conflict between "I care for these people deeply" and "I will still manipulate them" is more likely to drive him to admit that he's not a good person than not caring for them at all. Seems like a bad strategic move to admit that if you're really just using them as playthings.

Trey doesn't always know the best way to support his loved ones (understandable! How many of us struggle with this far into adulthood?) and thus conflates the stability they need with an unrocked boat. He doesn't recognize that a situation like Riddle's is inherently unstable and always will be if nothing changes. He, at least at first, seems to believe that the shitty situation you know is better than risking it all and potentially losing everything. He knows that he's failing Riddle, but what can he do? From Trey's perspective, he is a large part of the reason--if not the reason--that Riddle was locked away from the world once. What if he fucks it up again? What if he loses Riddle forever this time? (I think this history and fear is also one that keeps him from trying to close the distance between himself and Cater.)

Convincing himself that he's a bad person (which seems like a needlessly heavy judgment for the fairly mild pettiness we've seen from him in the text) might also soften the blow if things do go wrong. This way, he can convince himself that he didn't care as much as people assume he did. Love doesn't go into the things he does, or so he says. (It's even more questionable since he directly contradicts this statement in his alchemy dialogue. What is the truth, Trey Nicole Clover?)

So, to bring it all back around to the Trey cake, I think his bottom layer is anxious. And tired. Not in a way that is consistently, consciously anxious. Don't write him up a Prozac prescription yet. He's internalized these ideas that he shouldn't be noticeable, because when he does noticeable things, they go very wrong. His purpose is to keep people's lives running smoothly. So he sends those caregiving tendencies into overdrive. He's got it covered, he doesn't need more to cover, and hat's all anybody really needs to know about him. Even that is a bit too much sometimes.

Based on how Trey talks about his family, I don't think he was neglected or super duper parentified, but he doesn't talk much at all about things that they've done for him in comparison to how often he talks about what he's done for them (cooking when his parents' work took precedence, sewing his siblings' Halloween costumes, getting Magift tickets for his brother). He never shows any bitterness about it, and I think their relationship is genuinely pretty okay. No resentment there. But it is noticeavle, and he also won't even be straightforward about what he wants for himself on events where he is expected to want. He says he's joking after requesting that other people take on his chores for the day on his birthday; he uses indirect rather than direct methods to persuade Riddle to get a food processor for Heartslabyul during Starsending. Dude, you probably could have just asked.

I think Trey has this idea that he doesn't need to (or at least shouldn't) ask for anything. If I reach reeeeeeeealllll hard, I could say that one of our biggest examples of Trey wanting and pursuing something as a child--Riddle's friendship--clearly traumatized Riddle, and it had a massive impact on Trey, too. So Trey learns not to want, or at least not to be SEEN wanting.

Is this why he wants to seem so average, unremarkable, modest in others' eyes? Because wanting something is dangerous, even if it's just recognition? Just how much did the loss of one his best friends as a child fuck him up? He might not even recognize the mental association he makes; lots of people don't until they've done a lot of really intentional work about that. He just says it's easier this way, to be a cog in everybody else's lives. And it is, to some extent, but it's also deeply frustrating and exhausting. (I'd like to see more interactions between him and Jamil, who also hides his true potential, and very clearly suffers for it.)

So I think some of Trey's middle layer pettiness--not all of it, since his birthday vignettes show that he's been a bit of a troll ever since he was a kid--comes from the tension between his visible "caretaker" layer and his ultra-hidden "appreciation would be nice" layer. He reminds me a little bit of a mom who occasionally wants to snap because she feels like she does everything, and everybody just takes it for granted. He's not all "let daddy take care of you kitten," but he's not all cruel and calculating, either. And he might be less vindictive (but no less of a prankster) if he felt appreciated, but he's never going to tell anybody that he wants that. (There's a nonzero chance that he finds openly craving emotional validation somewhat too feminine for him because he's one of the only characters to comment on something being embarrassing "as a man," the other being Epel obvs, and I, like many others, have zeroed in on what this could mean about his feelings on masculinity overall in comparison to other chars. Some people think he's a straight up closet malicious misogynist, but I doubt it. That's a whole other conversation, though, which would probably run entirely on vibes.)

Does he even recognize that he's got a third layer to his Cake of the Self any time other than when Kalim semi-inadvertently calls him out? Or does he consciously push down the desire to be apprecaited? Is it painful? How painful? Does he want a break, or just acknowledgement? Does he feel like the desire to be a caretaker can't coexist with the desire to be gifted a break, to be the one taken care of for once?

This has been really really all over the place, and I apologize for that, but it just really gets my goat when people don't consider that third layer. "Trey is just a shitty guy who doesn't experience attachment or empathy (and goes out of his way to say the things he does aren't about love and then contradicts himself later) or guilt and simply feigns kindness" feels too easy. Like another thing he'd be happy to let others believe so that he can continue to hide something else. And I, in my delulu heart of hearts, think that "something else" is desire and the fear of it.

I'm currently divided on if I think the boys' dream bubbles represent their wants or just what Malleus thinks they would want, but either way, I'm hoping Trey's dream will give us a little more insight into his head. And if I was wrong about all of this, then I'll go sleep under the bed for a while and cry about how much of the fic-that-only-exists-in-my-head must be rewritten, but at least we'll have some answers. Oh Heartslabyul, I miss you so.

[s3anc3]

The Start of the End

previous Chapter

After getting the call from the hospital that my mama's heart was getting worse, her pacemaker was failing, and we were just keeping her comfortable until it was time, I knew I had to get home, daddy had dementia and needed full-time care, and that was mama until she couldn't anymore, daddy got moved to a facility while she was in the hospital, and I'm going, to be honest, mama won't be coming out of the hospital. when they're both gone there'll be no one to run the ranch, I know we're small but we still have 50 head of cattle to take care of on top of everything else. Those responsibilities will fall back onto me, and I'll be home.

sitting in the passenger seat of my fiance James Ford Focus, wearing a long sleeve shirt and jeans to hide the marks from last night, we pull up to the small apartment my parents had built for me when I visited from school, it's close to the main house if we needed anything but far enough to have privacy as well.

"god damnit, the tires are slipping in the mud again" James sneered

" I told you we needed a truck out on the land, something that wouldn't get stuck, and with four-wheel drive" I mumble back James whips his head towards me and I slink further into my seat trying to get smaller " the fuck was that Des? are you back talking again?" He spat out quickly whipping his head. " no James, I was just saying because I grew up on this land, I know how bad it can get" "whatever, just watch your mouth, I don't want to mess up that pretty little face of yours."

we park the car and climb out, not a person in sight, I start unloading the car and taking things to our room, while James just sits on his ass, on the porch. after an hour I come back out from getting the last box in, unpacking everything, and go to check on James when I do, I see the car was gone, and a familiar truck pulling into the drive. I panic a little bit fearing James will pull back up any moment, and cause another fight, I was scared Rhett would pop out of that truck, and I was scared of seeing someone I haven't seen since I was 18. instead Royal, Cecilia, and Perry hop out, I'm going, to be honest, the disappointment I felt worried me more than the panic in my chest, I was kinda hoping it would be Rhett coming out of one of those old truck doors.

" Dessie? is that you girl? Mrs. Cecilia asked, "I heard about your parents and saw that car in the drive, I was hoping they came home." she says while walking up your front steps, grabbing onto your shoulders 

"no ma'am, it's just me, unfortunately, the lawyer told me to start making end-of-life plans for them soon, so I came home" I responded with a sigh

" oh you poor thing" Cecillia calls while engulfing me in a huge, as soon as her arms wrapped around me I broke, I haven't been allowed to cry or be upset since finding out. Cecilia held me while crying while rubbing my back, while Royal and perry eye me curiously. I felt that they knew something was wrong but couldn't place it. I let go of Cecilia" why don't y'all stay a while? the place is a mess since we just got in, but I'd love to catch up if that's all right?" I ask cautiously still nervous about James' arrival.

"we?" Perry asks " oh yeah Uhm.. my fiance" I stammer out while turning on my heel to lead everyone inside " like I said Pear I wanted to catch up using an old nickname for him I knew he hated. as we all sit around the table for hours chit-chatting I feel Royals eyes bearing into me. I turn to face him and notice the look in his eyes, right when he opens his mouth the door opens "Des who the fu-" he stops when his eyes meet the Abbotts wondering faces "james babe, this is Royal, Cecilia, and Perry Abbott the neighbors I was telling you bout" hmm okay" james hums in response. " i'm going to bed, nice meeting y'all" as he climbs up the stairs Perry grumbles " well what a nice fella" standing up to leave, "look at the time baby, we gotta get going Rhett should be coming in soon, I want to make sure dinner is ready for him, how bout you and that fiance of yours come over sometime this week for dinner?" cecilia askes " yes ma'am, i'd like that i'll call tomorrow" cecilia and Perry give me a hug and make their way to the truck. Royal stops and turns to me "it was nice seeing you Des, you've grew up so beautiful and smart, I do gotta ask... that boy of yours he treating you right?" you just look up at him through your lashes and shrug " it could be worse" " okay girl, if it gets bad give us a call, i'm not going to try to force you to do something you don't wanna, trust me we know i've tried and you're too stubborn to listen, but we'll get you out when you're nice and ready" Royal turns to hug you and you lean into his hug and whisper " it'll be soon i'm just scared." he leaves you hear the truck start up and rumble a way, you turn to head to the stairs seeing james standing at the top with a wicked look in his eye. you sigh while thinking to yourself " tonight will be hell"

after James' torment on your body, and the screaming from both died down you drag yourself to the shower. you look in the mirror and sigh, seeing the old and new bruising mix together in a purple-and-yellow mess. climbing into the shower you break down and cry. wishing to have someone give you the strength to leave, wishing someone will get James to stop, take the ring and go back to Dallas, wishing everything will be okay, wishing you find yourself again. you almost want to laugh at the irony of it all. running back to the town and the people you were running from, with the person you desperately want to leave behind. After washing yourself and trying to rid yourself of the dirt, and dust that littered your body, you quickly and quickly make your way to your room, seeing James passed out. sighing you climb into bed praying sleep takes over your body, but not wanting a new day of hell to start.

Next Chapter

[hongjoongtrasher]

the beauty and the beast (chapter 2)

word count: 5k around

angst, fluff, smut

triger warnings: mention of child abuse, violence etc.

series masterlist

Synopsis:

When you move to a new city due to your father's job, you don't expect to stay for a long and so decided not to get attached to the world around you.

But still, you are "the new girl", unwillingly attracting people's attention because of your family's background. Your strict father expects a lot from you, not to say perfection. And when you are sit next to a certain Jung Yunho, you didn't expect your life to take a radical turn

Yunho always have been hating wealthy people. Or just people who were boasting about all the damn money they had and he hadn’t. Oh maybe it was childish to hate richer than himself, but he didn’t hate them for no reasons. He always felt disgusted by their pity, the way they would just «burn some cash » because they could, because they had too much. He concluded every rich guy was like this, and you weren’t an exception. At the very moment his eyes landed on your person, he could instantly feel this familiar aura. A daddy’s girl, probably richer than everyone’s parents in this school. And just the fact of you sitting next to him was driving him crazy.

He ignored you all the time. And he was glad in a way you didn’t try to talk to him, because he would have snapped all his hatred he was feeling towards people like you. But for a fact, he could admit that you weren’t acting like other rich kids around. The way you flinched when his friend was about to lift his hand at you, also the fact you were lonelier than he thought. Oh yes he indeed noticed you being the silent girl around, and at first he thought it was because you were the new girl, and that it was just a facade and soon or later you would just boast like the others.

It’s already been two weeks since you arrived here and yet you were as quiet as usual. You tried to acclimatize to every thing but as the good girl you were, your father thought it was a good opportunity for you to get into extra classes. Last night, you came back home near midnight, exhausted by this long day after studying like crazy. That’s why you didn’t even care to look at Yunho this morning when you sat down, as usual not peeping a word to him since the incident on the rooftop. Actually you tried to flip over and over again the same problem. Why he hated you this much ? But after some days, you understood he was hating every one the same way. Skipping classes, or when he was making act of presence just sleeping on his desk became the routine but today he was here. You quietly opened your bag to settle your pencils and workbooks. Yunho’s back facing you while he was probably taking a nap. Your English teacher came and when she started the class, she stated. « Alright guys, today you’ll be paired up. I want you to improvise a short sketch with what you learnt this past week. Just pair up with your neighbor. You have fifteen minutes »

Your eyes widened at her statement as you felt your heart throbs violently into your chest. Being in a team with Yunho was probably the last thing you thought which could become true today. And speaking of him, you heard a groan next to you, making you freezing as he slowly turned to you before staring at you.

« Just telling you, I don’t have a clue of what she said, so don’t expect me to do well »

How nonchalant he was at this moment almost made you scoff.

« You should have been here then. » you groaned back while opening your notebook.

His brows quirked at how you answered to him.

« Someone got more brave huh ? » he said before straightening on his chair and looked at the textbook of yours on your desk and took it to read the last two pages to your astonishment.

« Didn’t bring it, so I’ll just use yours. » he explained as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

« Great. » you answered and just scribbles some words on a page. You didn’t want to waste your time for such a jerk like him? At least you would have done your task by yourself, just for yourself and not him. You couldn’t let Yunho drag your grades down…You couldn’t just relax yourself.

Some silence installed between you two while others students were trying to do the task your teacher asked, but instead, Yunho took time to actually look at you. Somehow you looked exhausted, non to say to the verge of fainting. Your lips were pale, and dirk circles could be seen under your eyes.

« Didn’t sleep well last night ? » he asked randomly as he pretended to read the book under his eyes.

You badly wanted to ignore him. What the heck ? Just few weeks ago he openly said he hated you so you just accepted this fact and now he was chatting like you as nothing happened ?

« Studied late » you answered drily.

« Ha, I see you went to those extra classes which are costing your butt’s skin. »

You offered him a dark glare, making him look into your eyes. If course he wasn’t attending any of this, so he couldn’t really understand the situation you were in.

« And ? Is it going to change your life ? »

He shrugged.

« No, but I guess you’re a hardcore student » he hummed before he took his pencil to write down some words on his own paper. « Must be so boring » he added mockingly.

You wanted to answer back to him and spit how rude he was from the first place. You acknowledged the fact your life was boring as fuck, you were the first one to say it, but there were limits to making fun of this matter. Soon your teacher clapped her hands to catch everyone’s attention.

« Alright guys, it’s time. Who want to go first ? »

It was the usual game of « I don’t know what you’re saying », essentially based on avoid your teachers’ eyes and doing as you was busy enough not to make her choosing you. Your teacher smirked. « I see everyone’s eager to go, soooo…Y/N and Yunho, you go first. »

You panicked a bit, because except this little conversation you both hadn’t talked at all about your coed work. But Yunho didn’t seem bothered by this at all and stood up with his paper and just nudged your shoulder so you could stand up and go to the front with him. What was he playing at ?

Actually you thought Yunho was someone who didn’t give a shit to studies. His consecutive absences were not helping for his case but surprisingly, he opened the sketch with a good English. So good that you were surprised, making you go blank for a second. He looked at you before moving his lips silently « Y/N. » You shook your head and continued this weird play. At the end, your teacher seemed satisfied by your work and allowed you to go back to your sits so the next pair could go on.

When you sat down again, you looked at Yunho again.

« I thought you would’t do well » you mumbled.

He laughed lowly and it troubled you. It was the first time you heard him laugh. The first time he wasn’t showing hostility to you.

« You may think I’m a lazy ass, but I got some things stocked in this » he whispered, pointing at his head before leaning back on his chair.

Classes ended soon for the usual lunch break. Yunho got up and got out of the room without a word for you, as usual. Today you decided to stay into the classroom to eat. You never went back on the rooftop since you met the three boys. As you were unpacking the lunchpack you got from Sookja, you just took some time to think about this morning. Was Yunho being nice to you a sign to be more suspicious of him ? You were into your thought when you heard a voice calling your name.

« Y/N ? »

You looked up and saw a girl standing at your desk.

« Huh…Yeah ? »

She smiled to you and said.

« I’m Jisoo, erm…we’re in the same class and…I…Would you like to eat lunch with me ? » she asked shyly.

You were flustered by this sudden proposition. It was the first time someone was reaching out for you since you were in this school. Jason was a petite girl, with shorts hair and pink round cheeks. She looked nice so you couldn’t say no.

« Of course, but…mh, are you sure ? I’m not a good company » you confessed, embarrassed by this.

« I figured out you were eating alone every day and mhhh, I…just want to know you better you see ? I mean, don’t get me wrong ! I’m not approaching you because you’re the newbie or rich girl around ! »

You chuckled at her answer and made some space for her to eat your lunch on this tight desk.

« Thanks…actually I don’t feel like eating with a lot of people » you mumbled, peeling a boiled egg.

Jisoo looked surprised by your statement.

« Why not ? Well, people aren’t trying neither but…It would be a pity to let you out right ? You seem nice, so… »

Jisoo unpacked her own pink lunchbox where cherry tomatoes and egg roll and others nice things were lying inside.

« That’s cute ! Are you cooking it yourself ? » you said, trying to make a conversation.

She nodded with a proud smirk.

« Yes ! I like cooking, but since I’d pack too much I’m doing basic things. You ? Looks good as well. »

« Mh…Actually I don’t know how to cook » you answered uneasily.

« Oh must be your mom then ? »

It was a slippery subject, but since Jason made the genuine effort to come and talk to you, you didn’t feel like making up lies.

« I don’t have a mom…Huh, I mean I have one, but my parents divorced when I was little and…never seen her since » you mumbled, eating piece of kimchi.

Jisoo’s expression went bad and you could easily know why, so you quickly said.

« It’s fine, don’t worry, I don’t try to see her neither so I’m used to. Instead we have a housekeeper. She’s making my lunch every day, so I guess it’s like a mom. »

« Oh…I’m sorry still. I didn’t know »

You gave her a comforting smile as you two ate your lunch peacefully, getting to know each other’s better.

« Say, I saw you this morning with Yunho… Is he nice with you ? » asked Jisoo out of the blue.

You almost had forgotten about your gloomy classmate, so you hummed in hesitation.

« He’s a jerk, the first day I arrived he just openly said he hates me » you groaned, packing back your empty box.

« He hates every one outta here » Jisoo added, not seemed surprised. « But…there are a lot of rumours about him » she said lowly as if she was scared someone would overhear her words.

You arched a brow, curious about those said rumours.

« What kind of rumours ? »

« He’s fighting a lot with other people, basically a bad boy. You’ve seen it already, but he’s skipping classes a lot and no one really knows what he’s doing. » Jisoo explained. « I’ve never seen him hitting someone myself, but …be careful ? I don’t want him to hurt you or anyone else around »

Was he this terrible ? The image of Yunho laughing this morning was still lingering into your head. So you just nodded at her advice. It was almost time for classes again so Jisoo left you and friendly waved her hand at you before going back to her desk while other people were coming back. You expected Yunho to skip class again, but surprisingly his tall figure appeared before the bell rang. He got back to his desk and again laid his head on the desk, ignoring you in the process.

It was Korean history class, and it would be a lie to say it was boring as hell. Although you were still taking notes of every thing, Yunho was still acting like a dead body. He didn’t say a word to you for the rest of the day. And at 5pm sharp, you got out from school to go to your extra classes. You’re still drained from your day, and the idea to study more was giving you a headache. By chance, you were allowed to go alone there, taking the bus.

That’s how Yunho saw you walking to the bus stop while he was going to his motorbike, helmet in his hand. You were a weird girl. Never before he got interested into a girl, all being the same when it comes to approach him for his bad boy vibe like. Bullshit. He hated those childish girls, but surprisingly you didn’t have this side into your attitude. Again, Yunho was shocked to think about you from time to time. « Get yourself back Jung Yunho » his conscious told him before he saw the bus passing by his eyes.

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

Days were flying by and your first mock exams were coming at the corner. You had worked like a slave for this days, sleeping few hours a night to study more and more, the menacing shadow of your father planning above your head. Jisoo was eating lunch with you every day since. You girl got closer after few days and you considered her like your friend. She was the first person to hear about your familial situation and the gape, or more the ravine between you and your father. You must say it was a relief to be able to confess every thing to someone exterior to your house.

Jisoo seemed pissed off when you told her you were used not to get attached to people due to you moving almost every year to another city.

« That’s so awful ! » she cried, grabbing the carton of fruit juice you got from the machine.

« Yeah…My father is a stone cold asshole » you mumbled, the straw between your lips.

« Girl, when exams are over, let’s have fun alight ? Fight me if your father says no ! »

Jisoo was so cute. You couldn’t imagine this little girl tossing her fists at your father, but somehow the image was funny. That’s how you promised you would.

This day again you had to go to extra classes, and today was really a day you wished someone would ditch you from this living hell. Waiting at the bus stop, you were spacing out when you heard the sound of a roaring engine before it stopped right before you. The man on the moto lifted the smoked visor on his helmet to reveal his face. You heart stopped when you recognise Yunho. You didn’t know you he could drive such a thing but he seemed proud of it as he smirked to you.

« Need a drive ma’am ? » he asked.

What the fucking hell ? One day he was ignoring you like a ghost and another day he was talking to you and now proposing you to ride his moto ?

« Wha- I don’t understand, what are you trying to do here ? » you groaned back as he stabilised himself and just throw at you another helmet.

« Wear this. » he ordered without answering your question.

You looked at him in hesitation. Was he serious ? Or was he trying to drag you into another salty problem ? As he could read into your head, he rolled his eyes.

« I won’t throw you over a bridge you know ? »

« Huh…So tell me what are you trying to do ? I’m utterly sick of your hot and cold game. One day you’re saying you’re hating me, fine. And another one you’re actually trying to convince me to ride on a motorbike with you. »

« Get on, we’ll talk later » he groaned, glaring at you which intimated you.

Soon enough you were at the back of the motorbike, and before he drove, he took your arm to make you hug his waist tightly.

« Don’t ever let it go. If we fall I’d rather you fall with me than the motorbike » he explained.

You were about to protest, but he drove, making you instantly hold him tightly. It was the first time you were being driven on a moto, and the air going through your hair, the warmth of Yunho’s back against your chest was a total discovery for you. You were scared, not to say terrified. But Yunho was really driving carefully, although he liked to make his engine roar when the road was clear. When you weren’t scared enough to focus on his back only, you tried to see where he was going, and soon recognise the way to your extra classes. How did he know ? After some more minutes of furious roars, he stopped in front of a building you could recognise. He waited for you to get off the engine so he could as well get off.

Taking off the helmet you took a giant breath, your heart beating like crazy.

« How was the ride ? » he asked in a tease, watching you regaining strength.

« You’re crazy. Absolutely crazy » you hissed, shoving his helmet in his arms. « And how did you know it was here I was going ? »

Yunho couldn’t tell you he once followed you until there. Actually, he didn’t know himself why he had followed you, but after some days when he came back there, he saw your figure through a window, totally exhausted almost dozing on your work. Something made him stay here for a while, just watching you from afar this day. You were the representation of what he hated the most, and yet you were just a normal girl, acting like a normal girl. Moreover you looked so tired every day, and he was just wondering until how far you’d push yourself to be this perfect student.

« I just figured it out when I came one the neighbourhood with Hongjoong and some friends. We are hanging out quite a lot here» he grumbled. It wasn’t really a lie right ? Hongjoong and Yeosang were living in this area, so they were meeting quite a lot after classes in the neighbourhood.

You rolled your eyes before staring at him in confusion. Why was he being nice all of the sudden ?

Anyway, you needed to go, having enough of this nonsense.

« Thanks for the ride, but don’t hope to get me on this bike from hell any sooner » you groaned before taking your lead inside the building, not paying a look at your classmate.

Yunho smirked and shook his head.

« Bike from hell… »

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

Hours passed, and when the clock showed around ten, classes ended. You sighed and rubbed your eyes from exhaustion, slowly getting out the building to see the motorbike was still here. But not Yunho. Looking around, you tried to see if he was around. Seemed he was not. While admiring his black shiny engine, you got lost in your inner thought again. It was so strange for him to act this kindly but none without saying dangerously toward you. And the fact he discovered where you were studying was still a mystery for you, not totally convinced by the total luck of him running on this place.

« It’s maybe a bike from hell, but still pretty right ? » a voice exclaimed at you, making you jump.

Yunho was back, a bag in his hand from the CU, the nearby convenient store. You crunched up your nose. Why was he still here ?

« I met the guys, and was about to go home. » he explained again as if he could read your thought.

« Oh what a coincidence ! » you mimicked still not convinced if he was lying or not.

« Y/N I’m not lying, Hongjoong literally lives two blocks away from here. » he said seriously.

You sighed and turned around to leave. But when you walked past way his position he asked in a relax tone:

« I got some ice cream, want some ? »

It was going from dumb and dumber. Seriously you couldn’t put a finger on his weird behaviour. With a suspicious look you were about to say no, but he cut you.

« Your brain needs sugar. It’s past ten, and you’ve been studying for four hours straight. I guess you didn’t have diner too huh. »

« And what does it concern you ? » you snapped, turning to face him. « It’s not as if you would be this concerned for someone you hate right ? I don’t understand Yunho, I don’t understand you and your attitude. »

Yunho bite his lower lip, knowing himself he got in a weird situation.

« Yeah I know I said I hated people like you, but I didn’t say I hated you » he mumbled.

There was this embarrassing silent again, only the noises of the city filling the icy atmosphere between you.

« People like me. What do you mean ? Did I do something wrong to deserve this attitude ? » you crossed your arms, decided to cleared this shit.

Yunho felt uneasy to talk about it, but somehow he didn’t want to stay in a bad relationship with you. Instead, he took a ice cream from the bag and handled it to you.

« Eat, I will explain it to you after. » he mumbled, looking away.

You gave him a glance but finally took the ice cream, your stomach making you remember you were starving at the moment. It was a vanilla strawberry ice cream. You almost laughed by seeing this.

« Didn’t know you had so girlish tastes » you said ironically putting the ice cream into your mouth.

« I got mine, what do you mean ? I knew you would maybe get out at this hour and I just felt like buying you this » he justified himself by taking his own ice cream, green tea flavoured.

You both sat down on the empty academy’ stairs to eat your ice creams in silence. There were so much questions you wanted to ask, trying to figure out how to deal with him.

« I’m living alone with my mom. My dad and her divorced when I was ten or something. He was violent dude and was hitting my mom, so he got arrested by the police when the neighbours got fed up by the every day fights. But the thing is…we always had financial problems because of this bastard. He borrowed money from loan sharks, an astronomical amount and got my mom in trouble even after he got arrested. » said Yunho, blankly staring at the floor.

All you could do was listening to him. Surprisingly, you never imagined something this horrible would have happened to him.

« My mom sold everything she had to give the money back, so we lost our house and now we’re living in a small studio. Even though she’s working, her salary is just enough to cover the rent and the rest is going to those loan sharks. »

His voice was weak, almost silent as he felt his barriers falling down. He looked so fragile, his broad shoulders shuddering slowly, his dark hair covering his eyes. You felt your heart sinking at his reflection.

« Of course I wanted to help her as soon as I could get a job, getting some part time jobs but she wants me to focus on school. » he laughed bitterly, watching his ice cream melting. « I’ve soon been taught that school wasn’t going to make things better. And people knowing about my family matters were just doing things out of pity for us. It drove me crazy. I hate people boasting about how nice it is to have money, how nice it is to be a normal happy family and just feel the others like shit. »

That’s how you figured out why Yunho hated rich people. And how he probably thought you were the same as the others he could have seen before. The bitterness you were feeling towards him vanished in an instant. How such a tough guy like him could appear so broken ? How hard must it have been for him all those years ?

« I…I’m sorry. » you muttered, not really knowing how to carry on.

« No, it’s fine. I’m aware you’re from a wealthy fam, but I figured out you weren’t like those bitches gossiping around. » he said, taking back some composure as he ate a part of the leaking ice cream.

« But…How are you doing ? I mean, are you eating correctly ? » you asked, genuinely worried about his health at the moment.

He chuckled and looked at you.

« My grand parents are supporting us. » he said, ruffling his hair with his hand. « The only time I worked during summer break, they refused the money. That’s how I got my moto »

There was another long pause, before you felt the cold liquid from your ice cream falling on your hand, making you yelp in surprise. Yunho smirked and laughed lightly, watching you fighting with your ice cream.

« Eat, I’ll drive you back home…If you let me to, I mean » he said, rubbing his nape after finishing his own snack.

« Alright, but don’t even think of doing the rodeo on the way back. » you grumbled and get on.

Once again on Yunho’s motorbike, you watched the city streaming before your eyes, neons of all colours leaving particular marks in the dark night. The cold air now hitting your body made you hug Yunho’s tighter. You didn’t know how to feel towards him. But you understood the situations he got through and up until now, you thought you’d have done the same if you had to be in the same game. But it wasn’t a game. You knew Yunho wasn’t a real bad guy. Things forced him to do tough tasks. You were ready to forgive him, as long as he promised at least to be this hostile to you.

When you arrived near your big complex, you made sign to Yunho to stop right before the actual building. He turned the engine off and let you get off his moto. Taking off the helmet, you gave it back to him but he stopped you.

« Keep it. »

« What ? But .. »

« It won’t be the last time you will get on this Y/N » he said with a smirk. « But anyway, why did you make me drop you here ? I could go to the right building »

« Erm…I rather not. My father could see this and…I guess he wouldn’t like seeing his daughter riding a motorbike with a boy he doesn’t know. » you spurred out.

Yunho raised a brow at your comment about your father. He barely saw him at your first day but he seemed like a strict man. He nodded.

« I see, well…See you around ? »

« Yeah…if you don’t skip classes » you giggled, relaxed by this friendly or at least less hostile conversation.

Yunho scoffed and ruffled your hair, which surprised you.

« Maybe. »

Then he sent you off, waiting for you to go inside the building before driving back to his empty home. He mostly had said the truth to you, but he voluntarily omitted to add his mom got admitted to the hospital weeks ago. And he didn’t want you to pity him furthermore.

When you stepped inside the silent apartment, you noticed your father’s shoes weren’t at the entrance, meaning he wasn’t home. You sighed in relief, hurrying yourself to hide the helmet in your room, under your bed. Only Sookja got a glimpse at you rushing at your room.

« Y/N ? Is everything alright ? » she asked while she was in the kitchen.

« Yes ! Every thing is alright ! » you shouted back at her before going back to the kitchen to eat the late diner she prepared you.

Sookja took a look at your face. You were indeed tired, but something had changed. She could feel you were less, stressed ? The old woman sweetly smiled to you watching you eat.

« Did something nice happen today at school ? » she asked innocently, aware you normally aren’t really openly talking about your school days.

You looked at her, enjoying the warm soup after the cold weather you faced on Yunho’s bike.

« Erm…Yeah we can say that » you mumbled, slightly embarrassed but yet excited.

Sookja was a confident. You could tell her anything, she would never repeat to your father. She waited for you to keep on.

« There is a ..classmate of mine. At first we were like cats and dogs you know ? But today we sorted things out and I guess it’s fine now »

« I’m glad to ear this sweetie » she said in pure relief and joy for you. « Have you made friends ? »

« There is Jisoo ! She’s a part of my class as well. She’s a really warm person » you said, after taking more bites of rice and others side dishes.

Your housekeeper was happy to know you were getting a better life than you have had until now. She hoped some day you would be free from your father’s influence and fly by your own wings. That’s how she was thinking and wished the most for you.

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

After this strange night, days have been more packed. The day of your mock exams, you gave it all, knowing that although it was only a mock one, your father wouldn’t let it pass. After giving back your sheets, you and Jisoo were talking at the cafeteria. The petite teenager stretched and sighed.

« Y/NNNNN ! What should I do ? I’m sure I’ll fail ! »

« Don’t say that Ji’, I’m sure you’ll do well »

« It’s easy for you ! You always have good grades. » she pouted.

« I wished I could have less than 100 believe me » you groaned.

From the corner of your eyes, you glimpsed the tall figure of Yunho with Mingi and Hongjoong. He was sitting with them with the same expressionless face he used to put on at school. But when he was sitting next to you during class, he didn’t ignore you anymore, nor tried to nap. He was surely warming up to you, but it seemed he wasn’t ready to let his friends see him this way with you.

« - today ? » you heard Jisoo’s voice.

« Mh ? Sorry, I wasn’t listening » you said, going back to your friend.

Jisoo pouted again before following your gaze and leaned near to your face with a teasing face.

« Guuuurl, it seems you and Yunho got closer or is it me ? »

« Gosh, Ji ! It’s not what you think ! We just sorted things out, but we’re not friends or things like this » you mumbled back, embarrassed by her behaviour.

« Well, that’s not really the impression I have. Did you remark he’s not skipping classes lately ? »

« Maybe he got enlightened by God to study ? » you suggested in a grin.

You both laughed and today, you felt relieved as you didn’t have to go to extra classes, the academy being closed for the spring break that was soon arriving. Somehow, you convinced your father to let you go to Jisoo’s house for the weekend, heavily pretexting she wanted you to tutor her for the real exams. He seemed suspicious, but since your school grades were good so far, he didn’t have any objections to make.

While for packing your bag, you received numerous notifications on KakaoTalk. Jisoo created a group chat with the others kids who were going to come at her house for the weekend. Mostly girls and maybe some boys, but it didn’t really matter for you only the fact you had the chance to spend time with your friend, making some other friends ?

You happily answered to the text saying you’d come by yourself at the indicated address and time before locking your phone again. When you were almost done packing, your phone vibrated again but this time wasn’t the group chat. « Jung Yunho » appeared at your screen, leaving you speechless for a moment.

윤호

Need a ride for this weekend ?

Taglist: @palegardenrebel @mirror-juliet @twancingyunhoe@yeosangmystar @dreamer95 @tinyteenieateez @yunsangoveryonder @tenebrisirae @ateezbabysitters

can't be tagged :@nz-pichbg ;

don't hesitate to ask for being tagged :)

[multifandom-girlie]

𝐅𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞

Imagine: Your parents think your bringing home a boyfriend for Christmas but you don't have one, so you ask someone really nicely to be your fake boyfriend.

Pairings: Human!Klaus x Human!Reader

Warnings: none.

Words: 1895

I was just walking out of Mikaelson Enterprises- where I work as Klaus Mikaelson’s assistant. When I get a call. I look down at the screen and notice an image of my mother pop up. Great. Just what I need after a long day of work. I decided to pick up the phone otherwise she will just hound me.

“Hey Mama. What’s up ?”

“Hello Sweetheart, I just wanted to make sure you were still driving down tomorrow and ask how you are ?”

Crap. I forgot I was meant to be driving home tomorrow.

“Uh yeah, I’m still coming down. Also I’m good, how is everyone ?”

“Good apart from you brother, he got into a fight on his last day of school.”

“Mama, don’t go to hard on him you know he’s having a difficult time at the minute with Dad. I’ll talk to him when I get there.”

“Okay I won’t. Anyway I’m excited to meet this new boyfriend of yours.”

“Uh what are you talking about Mama ?”

“Well you promised you were going to bring your boyfriend home this year so that we could all meet him.”

Shit. When did I say that. Damn my mother for having a good memory at such an old age. What am I going to do ? I could say we broke up….but that would break her heart. Fine. She wants a boyfriend of mine, then she’ll get one.

“Yeah sorry Mama, it must of just flew past me just a moment ago. I’ve had a really long day at work and not much sleep.”

“Are you sure your okay to drive down ?”

“Yeah I'm sure. I gotta go Mama, I love you.”

“I love you, Sweetheart.”

I ended the phone call and stood there debating with myself where to find a boyfriend within the 19 hours before I have to leave. Bearing in mind, I still need to cater to my own needs first like sleep, food and most certainly hygiene. The problem is I can’t just go out on a date and invite him to my parents house. Preferably it needs to be someone that I already know and who doesn't have plans. I’m screwed. I know that everyone I know has plans for christmas. The only person that wasn’t was my boss, but that is in all ways wrong. Even if we have hooked up a couple of times. That’s it, if I promise to sleep with him hopefully he’ll do this for me. God forbid something goes wrong.

I walked back into Mikaelson Enterprises and passed Camille, the receptionist with a big fake smile. She’s hated me ever since she found out I got assistant to Klaus and not her but truthfully it’s because she’s too ditzy and clingy too Klaus, since she has the fattest crush on him but moving on. I got out the elevator, once it reached the top floor where Klaus was. I headed to his door and knocked.

“Come in.”

I opened the door and he looked up from his paperwork with a confused look on his face.

“I thought you’d left Miss Y/L/N.”

“Yeah I did, but my Mom called and reminded me about something. Which is actually why I’m here. Could you please please be my fake boyfriend for the week.”

He looked at me and chuckled. He stood up from his chair and leaned on the front of his desk, just in front of where I was seated.

“Your fake boyfriend for a week ? For what ?”

“Christmas.”

“Where ? Why ?”

“My hometown. Also it’s because my mom thinks I’m bringing home a boyfriend and she’s going to be so disappointed when I don’t bring anyone back.”

“What do I get out of it ?”

“What do you want ?”

“I want to take you out on an actual date afterwards.”

Woah this just went down an unexpected pathway.

“What ? You want to take me out ?”

“Is there a problem with that ?”

“No ! There’s no problem, unexpected is all.”

“Right okay then, I’ll arrive at yours with my belongings tomorrow morning at 9am.”

“Perfect. I’m leaving at 10am.”

I smiled at him and walked out, surprised by what had just happened. Nevertheless, I got home ate my dinner, showered and went to bed.

When I got up the next morning, I brushed my teeth got some coffee and put my bags in the car. Once I was ready I looked at the time, 8:59 am. I heard a knock on the door and thought it as weird that it could be Klaus since it had only just turned 9am. Weirdo. As soon as I opened the door, I led him to my car and drove off just after he had secured himself in.

______________________________________________________________

13 Hours Later

Luckily Klaus was asleep for the most of it, so I just listened to my music and drove. He woke up with around an hour left on the drive, so we actually had a nice normal conversation. As soon as I pulled up outside the house, my mom and dad were stood outside waiting for me. I got out the car and ran to my dad, who has his arms wide open for me. I jumped into his arms and he held me very tightly and kisses my head. I giggled when he spun me around.

“Hi Daddy, I missed you so much.”

“We all missed you so much more sweetheart.”

I pulled away from my dad and pulled my mom in for a tight hug.

“Hi Mama.”

“Welcome home baby ! Now where is he ?!”

“Oh right.”

I ran over to Klaus, grabbed his hand and quickly whispered in his ear.

“Follow my lead okay.”

He nodded and I held his hand and walked over towards them. We stopped in front of them and my mom couldn’t stop smiling, my dad however didn’t look massively impressed.

“Mom, Dad… this is Klaus Mikaelson. My boyfriend.”

“Mikaelson as in Mikael and Esther Mikaelson ?!”

I looked at my dad confused as he said that, how would he know his parents already when me and Klaus weren’t actually dating. I haven’t even met them and they are the owners of the company I work for.

“Uh yes sir.”

“Dad, how’d you know that ?”

“Me and Mikael don’t get along very well that’s all.”

“Right, well it’s Christmas Eve and it’s getting late already Y/N you’ve been driving so long, why don’t you and Klaus go and unpack in your room and then come down and see everyone to drink some hot cocoa and watch films.”

“Okay Mama.”

I took Klaus in and was immediately bombarded by my youngest niece, Skylar.

“Hey Sky, I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too Auntie Y/N, who is this ?”

“Sky, why don’t you give us 5 minutes and then I will come down and tell everyone okay ?”

“Okay Zia.”

I smiled at her, loving the fact she’s started to embrace her Italian side now than pushing it away.

“So that’s why I don’t understand you when your mad sometimes ?”

“What do you mean, Klaus ?”

“I mean, you speak Italian when you get mad.”

“Oh right, yeah I try not to but it’s just natural.”

“So your fluent ?”

“Oh yeah my whole family is, I was actually born in Italy but we moved here when I was 2 for my Dad’s work, since he used to work in the army.”

“That’s quite cool.”

“Thankyou.”

We headed to my room and I started to unpack until I saw him just standing at my door, not doing anything.

“You know you can unpack if you want, I’ll leave you 2 drawers. There’s not much room elsewhere in the house with everyone here. So your gonna have to stay with me.”

“Okay.”

When we finished unpacking, we headed downstairs so I could introduce everyone to Klaus and reunite with my family.

“Hey everybody !”

Everyone turned around with massive grins and I managed to get around and hug everyone.

“Before we go any further, everyone this is my boyfriend Klaus Mikaelson.”

“As in Elijah ?”

What the hell is with my family knowing everyone but him in his family.

“Okay wait, your the second person to mention another one of his family members. Who else knows any Mikaelsons ?”

Three of the eleven-excluding myself and Klaus- raised their hands. My younger sister, my father, my younger brother and my sister’s boyfriend. Eventually, we found out Camilla had slept with his older brother Elijah, my father we already knew had met his parents, Christian used to be friends with Klaus’ younger brother Kol and Blaine used to date Rebekah and while back.

We eventually got over that and sat down as it was late already to watch a film and drink hot cocoa, I felt bad about leaving Klaus isolated from everyone even if Skylar was fussing over him. So I sat next to him on the couch and put a blanket over us before the film started and Skylar relaxed on the other side of me, hugging my side.

Twenty minutes into the film, my nerves from sitting next to Klaus watching films and drinking hot cocoa with my family lessened and I relaxed a bit more. That was until, Klaus put his arm on the back of the sofa and I started to fall asleep-causing me to fall into his side. When my head hit his chest, my eyes opened immediately almost as if they never closed in the first place.

“Sorry, I’m so tired.”

He chuckled and rested his hand on the side of my head bringing it back to his chest.

“It’s fine, it’s what couples do…also you have been driving all day. If you fall asleep, I promise I will take you to bed.”

I looked into his eyes and smiled before I pushed the boundaries I had made in my head and wrapped my arm around his stomach. My fingers brushed against the warm skin on his stomach as his sweatshirt had rode up a bit. I blushed very much and I’m return I felt a chuckled vibrate on my cheeks and Klaus’ hand rest on my hip as my shirt had rode up a little too. I looked up at him and without even taking any thinking time his hand gently but quickly pulled my lips closer to his and pressed them against mine. We made out for a few minutes before pulling away.

“There’s nothing weirder than making out with your boss whilst my 9yr old niece is staring at us.”

We chuckled and looked at her and she immediately averted her eyes.

“I don’t care who’s watching, I’ve wanted to do that for years.”

“Seriously ? Why haven’t you ?”

“I can’t make a spectacle in the workplace.”

“Your such a twat, Thank You for doing this. Your making it hard for me to say no to that date you asked me on. Unless you promise me that is not the last time you kiss me like that because…wow.”

He chuckled and kissed me again. I can quite easily say that I do not regret lying to my mom for once in my life. If it wasn’t for me lying, I wouldn’t have got this opportunity.

MASTERLIST

[adventuresindolls]

Meet Lexie Chapter 2: Shul

As they pulled up in front of the synagogue, Lexie was so nervous she couldn’t keep her hands from flapping all around. She stayed right next to Papa while they walked in. Sophie, of course, was running ahead.

Lexie felt a little better once they were inside. It looked a lot like their old synagogue, with dark carpet and high ceilings and the wooden ark—the big cabinet that holds the Torah scrolls—at the front of the room. She felt like she could breathe a little bit better. She knew what to do here.

Lexie had made a deal with Daddy this morning that if she came to service today and talked to people at the oneg meal after, she didn’t have to come back tomorrow for Sunday school, when it would just be kids and teachers. Sophie had asked if that meant she could go tomorrow and not today, but Daddy said no because there was no one to stay home with her.

No one usually believed this, but Lexie did really like people. She just was no good at them and never knew what she was supposed to say. But that didn’t mean she didn’t like them. Still holding onto Papa’s hand, she looked around at the people who were talking and laughing before sitting down. There were a few other kids sitting up front with each other instead of their families.

Lexie kind of wanted to go talk to them, but that might be too much newness for one day. So instead she sat between her dads and chewed on her rubber octopus until the first prayers started.

By the time they finished singing an hour later, Lexie felt both very happy and very restless. Hebrew songs, even the ones she couldn’t understand, always made her feel light inside and safe and happy. She liked to imagine the lives of everyone else who had sung those same prayers for all the hundreds of years since they were written. But it was hard to sit still for a whole hour, and she couldn’t help swinging her legs a bit under her chair.

Lexie counted five other kids who weren’t too little but also weren’t teenagers. Three of them left right away, though, so when she sat down at the end of the table, there were only two girls next to her.

“Hi,” said the girl closest to her. “I’m Rebecca. Are you visiting?”

Lexie, of course, had just stuffed a strawberry into her mouth. She could feel her cheeks turning pink while she tried to chew quickly and they stared at her. Finally, when she could talk again, she said, “No. I just moved here. And I’m Lexie.” Her eyes didn’t move from her plate.

“I’m Angie,” said the girl on the other side of Rebecca. She had to lean very far forward to see Lexie, and her hair was dragging in her food. She didn’t seem to care. “Do you like anime? We love to draw our favorite anime characters. You should definitely hang out with us after Sunday school tomorrow.”

“I'm not coming tomorrow.” The idea of new friends was tempting, though. “Maybe next week?”

"Next week is the day before school starts," said Rebecca. "We don't have Sunday school."

Before Lexie could decide if she was relieved or disappointed, Angie added, "But we'll see you at service again. And you should come on Sunday once school starts."

"Ok. I watch anime sometimes, especially the magic ones."

"Ooh, I like the sports ones mostly but my sister is always drawing these magic girls," Angie said.

This led to a long discussion about the best kind of anime eyes. Lexie's friends at her old school had also liked to draw their favorite anime characters, so she was confident in her opinions. She almost didn't want to leave when Daddy tapped her shoulder, even though they had been done eating for a while.

It was still a relief to sink into the backseat of the car. Her ears were still ringing from the noise of a room full of chatter. She closed her eyes and relaxed into the familiar smell of graham crackers that filled the old car. It was quiet and the oppressive heat made her instantly sleepy.

This lasted for about 30 seconds until Sophie threw herself into the other seat. "I made another best friend and we're gonna sit together at Sunday school and then she's gonna come play with my Otters." Sophie was very proud of her collection of tiny velveteen otters. They even had little houses and furniture. Lexie thought they were the only things Sophie had taken our of the boxes that still filled her room.

"We have to unpack. She's not gonna come over this week."

"Yeah!"

"No, Sophie!"

"Papa said!" Her whine was getting louder and Lexie found herself rocking with the stress of making her sister understand.

At that moment, their dads opened the front doors and climbed in.

"Papa, tell Lexie my friend is coming over!"

"Daddy, make Sophie be quiet!"

Daddy's sharp clap made both girls freeze. Clapping for silence had been used since Lexie could talk, but by now they only pulled it out when the girls were getting too rowdy or too close to arguing.

They had a system. If Daddy got them to listen, Papa had to have the discussion. The air in the car was getting ever more hot and stuffy, but Daddy didn't turn the key. Papa turned around to face the backseat.

"Lexie, focus on your own life and not your sister's. Sophie, not everyone always needs to know every detail of your life. Ok?"

There were muttered "Ok"s and Daddy finally turned on the car, and the air conditioning with it. Chastened, Lexie watched the unfamiliar tree-lined streets fly past. The cool air and relative quiet was a relief. She hoped fall came soon and winter brought snow. She was embarrassed at getting in trouble already, but there was also a glimmer of hope and excitement. School hadn't even started yet and she'd met girls her age who were nice. They liked anime more than octopuses, but she was used to deferring to her friends' interests. She was weird and autistic, but that was ok. She just had to do what other kids wanted to and they might like her well enough. It had worked before.

By the time they got home Sophie was chattering about her friend again, but Lexie didn't mind as much. She actually felt a bit better. She'd known most of the kids in her old class since kindergarten, and it was comforting to have already met a couple she would see this year. The still mostly-empty house didn't seem as strange and forbidding as before as she bounded up the stairs to her neatly organized room and threw herself on the bed to get lost in her favorite book again. She knew no one would bother her until dinner; she had spent the whole morning with people and been sufficiently social, and her reward was a quiet afternoon to read.

[kudouusagi]

Buddy Daddies Drama 4

Volume 6 is coming out soon and they posted a preview for the last drama track today.

Here is the summary they wrote:

Kazuki and Rei have retired from the assassin business and have decided to live a life with Miri. To escape from the hands of the Suwa family they've moved and are starting to look for jobs for their new life. However, because of his arm injury, Rei isn't able to do any jobs or housework well. So, Kazuki becomes his boss and gives Rei special training.

Preview Translation:

*puts down box*

Kazuki: Okay! Now all of our stuff has been moved into our place. Ah, thank Kyuu-chan. On top of finding us a place, we even asked you to help us move.

Kyuutarou: Well, I'm too involved to stop now. So? How do you feel about the place?

Miri: It's smaller than our old place, isn't it, Rei-papa?

Rei: Yeah... and the TV has gotten smaller too...

Miri: So our mori kart cars have gotten smaller too!

Kazuki: Hey, don't be playing games when you should be unpacking. Besides, I think this is the perfect size for 3 people to live cozily. 

Kyuutarou: You're living quite a bit further away than you were at your old place, but the further you are the more difficult it will be for the eyes of the organization to spot you.

Kazuki: Yeah... Well, from what Rei says it doesn't seem like his father is straining his eyes looking for us either.

Kyuutarou: Even if that's the case, there's no mistaking that you sullied the name of the Suwa family. Try to lay low until the heat dies down.

Kazuki: Got it.

Kyuutarou: So? What are you planning on doing from now on?

Kakuzi: Hmm... for now we're going to live off our savings and get Miri into a new preschool... and then after that we'll look for jobs I guess.

Kyuutarou: I see. Do your best for Miri-chan too.

Kazuki: Yeah. Thanks for everything.

Kyuutarou: If you ever need anything, feel free to contact me.

Miri: Kyuu-chan, bye bye!

Kyuutarou: *Laughs and leaves*

Kazuki: Okay! Miri, Rei! Time to get excited for our new life! Let's hurry and put things away and have some move in soba!

Miri/Rei: Yeah!

[thatssonanii]

Meeting Ms. Taylor

Empire Fic

When Nylah heard Tahj's key in the front door, she fixed her hair quickly then left their bedroom headed for the front. She stood in the foyer smiling as Tahj walked in with his mom. After closing the door and sitting her bags down, Tahj stood to the side smiling.

"Baby, this is my mama, Carla Taylor. Mama, this is my lady, Nylah Johnson. My two favorite ladies finally meet."

Unsure of what to do, Nylah smiled and gave a small wave. "Hi, Ms. Taylor. Nice to finally meet you. Tahj looks just like you."

Carla nodded smiling a little. "He actually looks like his no good daddy but I can see why you say that."

"Mama," Tahj called out laughing, "Stop it."

She laughed, "I'm just saying. But nice to meet you, sweetie. You like orange?"

Nylah frowned a little in confusion then gasped softly and laughed. "Oh my hair, duh. I thought it was cute. I actually meant to put on a different wig, this one was an accident."

"Oh its a wig? That's ... that's nice, sweetie. Tahj, give your mama a tour of your place. I wanna see where my baby's been living in person, you know I was fond of your other place."

Tahj picked her bags up. "I know but me and Lah wanted to move. This is bigger."

Carla raised a brow, "Mmhm. Well the tour, let's go. Mama is tired, I wanna nap before we go to dinner."

The couple walked slowly in front of Carla through the fire to the living room.

"This is our living room. But actually, Ms. Taylor, we're gonna stay in for dinner. My parents wanted to meet you as well so they're coming over for dinner."

"Oh, I thought you and I were gonna do dinner at our spot like usual, Tahj."

Tahj out an arm around Nylah's shoulders. "Not this time, Mama. We want you guys to meet. Me, you and Lah can go to that restaurant tomorrow, I promise."

Noticing the look Carla gave her, Nylah bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying something. She was starting to feel like Carla didn't like her regardless of her being nice and talkative on the phone. For the rest of the tour she kept her mouth closed. They ended the tour in the guest room she would be in.

"And this is where you'll be sleeping, Mama. It's some extra blankets and sheets in the closet out here. In the closet in the bathroom, there's towels, rags and all that."

Carla smiled hugging her son. "Thank you, baby. I'll let you know if I need anything else. I'm probably gonna shower and lie down. What time is dinner?"

Tahj scratched his beard looking at Nylah. "What time, Gummy?"

"Dinner is at 7."

"Okay well then I have a few hours to nap."

Tahj kissed his mama's head then grabbed Nylah's hand leaving the bedroom, closing the door behind them. He led her to their bedroom, closing that door as well. Tahj sat on the bed with his back against the headboard and Nylah took her spot in his lap. He rested his hands on her ass.

"What you think, baby?"

"Other than the fact that she don't like me? She's cool."

Tahj kissed her face. "This the first time she's meeting a girlfriend on purpose so she's getting used to it. If she makes you feel uncomfortable or if I feel like she's crossing the line, I'll check it. I promise."

"She didn't like my hair."

"Gummy, she likes it. Just give her time. And even if she don't, I still love your hair. Okay?" He smiled at her pecking her lips a few times. "Okay?"

Nylah laughed softly. "Okay. Okay. I want you to rub my butt."

Tahj smiled up at her pulling her closer in his lap, "Yes ma'am. Anything for you."

Flipping them over so he was on top, Tahj sat between her legs pulling her closer by her hips and angled her hips off the bed a little. He caressed her hips a little before leaning down to kiss her. As they kissed, Carla unpacked her clothes for her visit. By the time she was finished, she realized she didn't pack any toothpaste so she left to her son's room going in without knocking.

"Baby boy, do you have any," she paused looking up from her phone when she heard gasps then turned away, "Hell, Tahj. I'll come back."

Tahj dropped his head laughing nervously flinching when Nylah hit his arm.

"It's not funny, Tahj. She almost saw us hoeing," Nylah whisper yelled.

"I'm not laughing cause it's funny, I'm laughing cause I'm nervous, Lah." He chuckled a little more then sat up. "If she was a few minutes later she would've saw more than kissing. I was bout to be all in that."

Nylah laughed hitting his arm again. "Shut up, Tahj. Don't say that."

"So I wasn't?"

Nylah laughed softly, "Yes you were, now stop it. Go fix it."

Tahj eased off the bed chuckling. "Ima go in a minute or two. I can't go yet."

"Why not? What she saw ain't gon change in a few minutes."

"My dick is still hard, Lah. I can't walk out like this."

She looked down giggling a bit. "Nah, you can't. Want me to fix it?"

Playfully, Tahj swatted her hand away and stepped back. He wagged his finger at her laughing. "That's what got us in this mess. Move, nasty."

Once he got himself together, Tahj went to his mom's room and knocked on the door. He went on one she invited him in. Sliding his feet, Tahj went to lean on the dresser in front of the bed where Carla sat.

"Guess I should've knocked like you just did huh?" She joked.

"Yeah," he chuckled rubbing his beard, "I know you used to it just being you and me but Lah is apart of this ... us. So some stuff is different now."

"I hear you, Tahj. I'll knock next time, I more than learned my lesson. Seeing my baby boy having sex, I'm scarred."

Tahj laughed nervously, "We wasn't having sex. Almost but almost don't count. But I know you've never had to share me like this and it's different but I want you and her to get along."

Carla tried to fight the smile from her face. "You growing up on me. I can tell you love her and her orange hair."

"I love her and ask her different colored hair. I want you to love her too. Don't be giving her no hard time, Ma. And tell her that you like her hair cause I know you do."

She chuckled, "How you know I like it?"

"Cause if you didn't you wouldn't have acknowledged it. Now be nice, I'm tryna make you a grandma."

Carla threw a pillow at him laughing. "Get ya lil nasty butt outta here and lock your door. And tell her that I do like her wig. She looks beautiful."

Tahj picked the pillow up laughing,"Or you can tell her. I'll go get her."

"No, no, no, boy. She's embarrassed right now. I'll tell her later. I'm taking my nap."

He went over to kiss her head. "Aight then, Mama. Ima lock my door this time."

"Son?" She called out as he left.

"Ma'am?"

Carla waited until he turned back around to smile. "So far, so good. You picked a good one."

"Thank you," he smiled, "But she picked me. And I'm happy she did."

Tahj winked at his mama before closing the door, going back to his bedroom.

[missdreamsalot]

The Queen’s Guard-CH.4: Lost and Found

A/N: Thank you @lordofhorizons for helping me through this series with your amazing ideas and suggestions.

And Thank you everyone for your continuous love and support!

Happy reading~ *ヽ(◕ヮ◕ヽ)

Catch up here- Masterlist

Main Pairings: Liam x OC, Leo x OC

Future Pairings: Maxwell x OC, Bastien x OC, Drake x Olivia x OC

Series Summary: A rotten apple in the family threatens their lives and there is only one way to get rid of bad blood.

Series Warnings: Violence, Language, Sexual Content, Angst, Dark Situations, Character Death

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of The Royal Romance, or Rules of Engagement; they belong to Pixelberry. I only own my OC’s. 

Ch. 4: Lost and Found

Liam couldn’t believe his eyes. This woman standing before him- the very one he fell madly in love with- was pregnant. 

Elle backpedaled right into the man’s chest, bringing her hands to her belly. Liam couldn’t bring his eyes away from her, a million thoughts running through his head.

“Wow, Elle, is this why you were in such a rush to get home?” The man stated good-naturedly.

“Ren-” she warned.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” Ren extended his arm and Liam mirrored him. “Name’s Ren.”

He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Liam.” They shared a handshake. “I’m actually looking for Valentina.” Liam spoke a bit too hastily, blurting out the first thing that came to mind. 

“Well, you’re in the right place.” Ren grinned and motioned to the apartment, shaking a pair of keys from his pocket. “Shall we?” Elle merely remained frozen where she stood, eyes fixated at the ground. Liam wished he could read her mind, but it seemed this whole situation left her just as speechless as he was.

Before Ren can get the key in, the door opened and a little girl, probably no older than 6, stood underneath. “Hey, Felic-!”

“Ah!” she gasped and screamed when she saw Liam. The door slammed shut. “It’s the King! The King!” Her voice squealed on the other side.

Liam only smiled kindly as Ren stared at him in question. “King?” A tiny smile crept across Elle’s face, failing to fight the amusement, however, it vanished just as quickly as it appeared.

There was another voice Liam didn’t recognize and the door rattled open again, this time revealing a woman with long black hair, an exasperated look upon her face. “I’m sorry. Felicity is acting crazy.” This, Felicity, clung tightly at her side, staring at Liam.

“But I’m not crazy, mama! That’s the king, I swear!” She pointed an accusing finger at him.

“It’s not polite to point. Come on in.” she said, ignoring her daughter’s pleas. Elle rushed inside, bolting past both men which earned her a look from the woman at the door.

Ren chuckled, “Thanks, Athena, and excuse Danielle, she’s a bit flustered. If I gotta bet, it’s probably because of the king here.”

Liam rubbed his neck rather bashfully as he entered. “My apologies for startling your daughter.”

Felicity hurried back to her mother with a magazine in her hand. “See, see!” She waved it in her mother’s face.

Athena’s eyes bulged at the front cover, “Oh my god.”

“He’s here for Val.” Ren stated delightfully, unpacking the groceries.

“Wait a second.” Athena’s head shook rapidly side to side as if doing so would unscramble the mess in it. “Are you the guy she wandered off to Europe to be with? I can’t believe this!” she laughed in disbelief. 

“No, we’re not-“ But Liam’s words fell in deaf ears. 

Athena climbed halfway up the spiral staircase to the left of the kitchen. She cupped her hands around her mouth, “Hey, Val! Your boyfriend is here!”

Oh, boy, Liam thought. This wasn’t how he pictured things would go. He certainly didn’t picture Elle pregnant either, yet here she was.

The ceiling creaked overhead as weight graced the second floor. Bare, slender legs stepped down, revealing a very sleepy Valentina in nothing but an oversized t-shirt. Her hair was disheveled and pointed out in different directions. She yawned animatedly, rubbing her eyes. “Why are you yelling so early in the morning?” It was noon.

Athena snickered, “Girl, it’s 12:45, and your king is here.”

Val straightened up. “King-?” Her eyes landed on Liam.

“Morning, Valentina.” Liam greeted, his cheeks slightly flushed at her state of being. She blushed brightly at the realization and cursed, spinning back up the stairs. 

“Oh, c’mon! It’s not like he hasn’t seen anything before!” Athena yelled out. Liam could feel the heat creeping up the back of his neck. He sensed movement beside him and found Felicity there, squinting suspiciously. She was holding another magazine; on the front, Madeleine and himself happily side by side on their wedding day.

“You’re married.” She stated matter-of-factly.

“What?!” Her mother gasped, ripping the publication from her hands. “I have so many questions…And where are you getting these magazines from?”

“Daddy buys them for me.”

Valentina stomped back down, taking two steps at a time. But in her haste, she stumbled over the last step, losing her balance. Liam instinctively rushed forward, catching her in his arms. In response, she tightly grabbed a hold of him to stay up right.

Elle stepped out from the washroom to find them entangled in each other’s arms. From her perspective, Liam realized it probably looked like they were embracing. She looked shocked, but quickly averted her gaze as if she intruding on a private moment. This wasn’t helping his case. 

“Are you all right?” Liam asked.

“Yeah, I think so-Ah.” She cringed in pain. He retracted his grip on her left arm to find blood on his palm.

“Let me see.” Athena came up, gently pushing Val’s sleeve away and observing the blood-stained gauze. “I need to change it again. ‘cuse us, your majesty.” She smiled nicely when he didn’t move. He took him a moment to realize he was still holding on to Val.

“Oh, right.” He recoiled like he’d been shocked. Definitely not helping his case. He looked over at Elle, who was ignoring the scene by helping Ren in the kitchen.

“You need to be more careful, Val. It’s not going to heal if you keep doing things that aggravate it.” Athena chastised as she sat Val down.

“Yes, mother-” Val yelped, “Ouch!” Her friend purposely applied pressure to her wound. Felicity throttled over with a black duffle bag. “Here you go, mama.”

“Thanks, sweetheart.” Athena removed medical equipment from it, laying it out neatly on the granite top.

“Are you a doctor?” Liam asked in curiosity.

She answered, “A nurse, actually.” He watched as she cleansed and wrapped Val’s arm with expert precision. “Now, I’m going to recommend to you, again, that you relax. No mosh pits or punching people’s faces in, got it?” 

“May I ravish Danielle with unrelenting love?” Val asked, feigning innocence as she glanced over at said woman stuffing cans in the cupboard. Liam’s eyebrows rose as the declaration. 

“She doesn’t want your love.” Elle hurled without looking back.

“Oh, how you wound me!” Val fell dramatically over the stool, a hand on her chest. Elle rolled her eyes as Ren and Felicity laughed. Liam fought back a grin.

“Knock it off.” Athena bumped her bag deliberately against Val’s head. “As much as I’d love to stick around, I have to head out,” she said, collecting her belongings. “Let’s go, Felicity.”

“No, I don’t wanna go!” Her daughter protested. “I want to stay with King Liam.” But her wails would not stir her mother who practically dragged her to the door.   

“Your majesty.” Athena bowed comically as she passed him by, although she meant no disrespect. Felicity curtsied, which Liam found absolutely adorable.

“It was pleasure meeting you, Lady Felicity.” He grinned, kneeling down and taking her hand. He planted a kiss on top, which resulted in her eyes bulging from their sockets. She suddenly threw her arms around him. “Oh!”

“Felicity!” Her mother scolded.

 Liam chuckled, returning the gesture. “It’s quite all right.”

“I don't want to go.” Felicity expressed sadly. 

“Something tells me this won’t be the last time we meet.” Liam responded. “But until then, you must listen to your mother. Understood?”

She nodded happily. Liam waved as they left and when the door closed, Ren spoke.

“You’re all set, sis.” He proclaimed, shutting the fridge.

“Thanks…” Val turned to Elle who was standing at the island, folding bags. “Hey, how are you? How’d the appointment go?”

Elle forced a smile. “I’m fine, and everything looked great.” She looked down at her growing belly. “We just came by to drop off some food since you’ve been gone. I’m going to head back to the estate.”

“I was hoping we could talk a little bit…”

She bit her lip. “I think you and King Liam have some catching up to do, so we’ll leave.”

“Elle.” She finally turned to him as her name fell from his lips and for the second time that day their eyes connected. He nearly lost himself in them, but he forced himself to push through. “I-I came here for you.”

Elle looked back and forth between Val and Liam, eyes beginning to water. “What are you two trying to accomplish here?”

“Elle, I think he deserves to know the truth.” Val stated.

“Why does that matter?” She cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Nothing is going to change. He’s married and the scandal will always be there!” Her fingers clung protectively around her belly.

In the back of Liam’s mind, he knew there was a possibility that the baby was his. The first, and last time, they were together was the night of the coronation, 7 months ago. 

“The baby, is it…?” He couldn’t even finish his sentence, but the silence alone answered his question.The anguish that numbed his body for months poured out. “Were you ever going to tell me?!” 

She whimpered. “I-I tried reaching out to you a couple of times, but every time I would hear your voice I just couldn’t go through with it!”

The phone calls from the unknown number, Liam recalled, unable to speak from the growing tightness in his throat.

“I would remember everything that happened…” Elle wiped her face, only for more tears to fall as the memories of that unforgettable night flooded back. “How you chose Madeleine and how I didn’t hear from you for days!”

“Elle, you have to understand. I did it to protect you. I couldn’t-”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to hear any of your excuses. Ren, c-can we go please?” She stuttered. Liam wanted nothing more than to hold her tightly in his arms, to make her understand, but she wouldn’t give him the chance. She sped to the door that Ren held open for her and walked out without sparing another glance. Liam could only watch, his eyes glazing over.

Ren peeked over his shoulder, catching his sister’s gaze. “Val, I knew you were up to something, but this isn’t how you fix things.”

“The truth would’ve came out eventually.” Val said softly.

“Did you not think about how much this would hurt her and him?”

“No, I didn’t,” she confessed. “I was only thinking about the baby, and how he or she deserves to have both parents in their life. Is that such a bad thing?”

Ren sighed, “Do you still believe the baby will have that after this?” He didn’t wait for an answer, and before he turned to leave, he threw her a white paper bag. She was quick to react, catching it with two hands. “Don’t forget to take those.” He turned his back to them, shutting the door as he left.

Liam, torn between feeling elated and distraught, took a seat beside Val. “I’m going to be a father...” He muttered, cradling his head in hands.

She leaned over, crossed arms resting on the cold, granite top. “This didn’t go quite as planned.” She sighed heavily. “I’m sorry. I was going to tell you, but I didn’t exactly organize things nor have I been the most reliable person as of late.” 

“You know I shouldn’t have been so impulsive and shown up here.” Liam admitted. “So, you don’t have to apologize for not telling me. I tried to take a tip from Leo’s book of recklessness, but I’m clearly not cut out for it.” He stood up.

Val stirred, looking troubled. “Are you leaving? Like back to Cortana?”

Liam couldn’t help but laugh through his sadness. “Cordonia. And no, I’m not. It’s like you said, ‘Family is important.’” He recited. “I’m not giving up.” 

She gave a slanted grin. “Glad to hear. Any luck on finding Tariq?”

“Unfortunately, no.” Liam ran a hand through his hair. “I had a couple friends of mine take a look at some places while I came here and…” He retrieved his phone from his pocket. “Nothing, yet.” He sighed, looking at the messages from Drake and Maxwell. 

“Mind if I join your search party?” she proposed.

“I don’t see why not. Are you hungry? We could stop by somewhere and meet up with the others.” He suggested. “However, I’m not familiar with L.A. Any recommendations?”

“I know a place, and it’s within walking distance, if you don’t mind it.”

“Not at all.” He smiled gently at her. Val studied him thoughtfully.  “Is something the matter?”

“No, sorry. You just…reminded me of someone.” She affirmed with downcast eyes. Before he could ask more about it, she turned away. “Anyway, let’s get going.”

Liam let out a steady breath as he stepped outside, taking a moment to bask under the warmth of the sun. He waited patiently for Val as she, in her terms, “got her shit together.” 

She eventually stumbled out, wiggling into her jacket. Liam noticed her quickly stuff an orange container inside. She caught his eye. “Just some vitamins,” she fed his curiosity and raced down the front steps. As far as Liam knew, vitamins didn’t require a prescription, but he said nothing.

“Elle mentioned an estate. Would it be too farfetched to say that it belongs to your family?” He asked as they began their walk to the diner down the street.

“Certainly not, and, unfortunately, yes.” Val pronounced dreadfully, earning a chuckle from the King. “That last thing I like to talk about is my family’s money. My father is a successful businessman and the only good thing about that is the fact that he is away most of the time - like now. He’s currently in London with my stepmother and little brother, Arden. From what I remember, he’s there formulating a partnership with Sloan Enterprises.”

Liam perked up in interest. “Really? I happen to know someone who works in the company. He’s the legal representative, Ras-”

“Rashad.” She finished for him, staring amusedly.

“I take it you know him.”

“Know him?” Val chuckled, “Another unfortunate matter is being the eldest daughter. My father tried to set us up. Suffice to say, it didn’t work out but it seems Rashad is willing to set differences aside for the sake of the company.”

“Yes, he’s always been work-oriented. He also recently proposed to a close friend of mine and he’s taken time off work in light of their engagement so they could make preparations for the wedding.”

“Well, that’s nice. I’m glad he found someone.” She paused momentarily.  “The reason things didn’t work with him was because I’d met Leo…Rashad noticed how ‘uninterested’ I was. Thankfully, he was kind about it. My father, however, wasn’t so happy. I’ve always had a complicated relationship with him, so the sentiment was nothing new.”

“Have you spoken to Leo?” Liam asked. “He’s been worried about you.” 

She snorted. “He didn’t seem worried when I saw him the other night.” Her attitude may of come off as uncaring, but Liam could tell by the look on her face she was very much bothered by it.

“Ah. I’ll admit the my brother could be an asshole, but he does care for you; probably more than he realizes. I also believe his feelings are understandable because, to be fair, you haven’t been completely honest with him either,” He reminded. 

She sighed. “I’m aware...” 

Within view of the diner, Liam spotted Drake and Maxwell waiting for them out front. Maxwell was the first to see them.

With contagious enthusiasm, he jumped forward and greeted them as they came up. “Hey! You must be Val. It’s nice to meet you.” He squeezed her tightly into a hug. “A friend of Elle’s is a great friend of mine!”

“Likewise.” She replied happily.

When Drake saw her, his eyes widened in recollection. “You!”

Val blinked for a moment before snapping her fingers energetically. “Oh! You were at Olivia’s place. Drake, right? You look different with a shirt on.” She smirked as his face reddened. “I’m also going to add that you may have some competition. I’m not going to say who though.”

Drake cleared his throat soundly. “We’re just friends.”

“Whaat? You never said anything about you and Olivia being a thing,” Maxwell pouted, clearly seeing through his friend’s facade.

“That’s because we’re not a thing. And Olivia’s a grown woman, she could date whoever she wants.” Despite his nonchalant demeanor, Liam could tell that the thought of Olivia with another man bothered him.

“I didn’t realize you knew Olivia.” Liam chimed in.

“Hardly. Ren and I helped her with a job a while back and I happened to run into to this one when I went to visit.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

Drake sighed exaggeratedly. “Can we eat now? I’m starving.” Liam clapped his best friend’s shoulder as they walked into the diner where they settled into a booth and ordered. 

While they ate, Liam caught them up on what happened at the apartment. 

Drake nearly choked on his drink. “Pregnant!?” he coughed.

Maxwell gasped, “This is great; a mini Liam and the heir Cordonia needs.”

The last part didn’t sit well with Val, Liam noticed as she grew quiet. “I would love to have Elle back, but if she chooses not to, I will not fight her on that matter.” He hoped he didn’t come to that.

“Of course. Whatever is best for her and the baby.” Drake agreed.

“That being said, finding Tariq is our main priority.”

Drake filled him in on the last places to look into. Once they finished their meals, they were back on the road and to the next destination where they eventually found themselves in front of the door to the next apartment.

“4B. This is it.” Drake confirmed. Liam knocked twice and waited for a response.

Nothing.

He knocked again and was only met with silence once more. His fingers carefully wrapped around the doorknob and he turned. When the door opened without any resistance, Liam immediately sensed something wasn’t right.

“I’ll head in first, Li.” Drake volunteered. He peered in cautiously before stepping in and the others followed one by one.

“Maxwell, do you recognize any of his belongings?”

The room was far too immaculate for someone to be living there and from what Maxwell explained, Tariq wasn’t the neatest person in the world. Liam wandered into the kitchen, finding nothing out of the ordinary except a teakettle on the stove. He noticed an empty cup on the countertop beside it, a teabag hanging on the side. He lifted the kettle. It was full.

“Hey.” Drake called out. “Take a look at this.” He pointed to a stain on the carpet in the living room. “If I’m not mistaken, it looks like blood.”

“There is shattered glass here, too.” Val proclaimed by a barren end-table. “It definitely looks like something happened here.”

Maxwell reappeared then. “Tariq was here. I checked the bedroom and recognized the designer clothes. What’s weird is that there is an outfit laid out on the bed like he was getting ready to go somewhere...”

A chill ran down Liam’s spine as despair settled into his bones.

“What happened to Tariq?”

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[bbychilly]

“Sorry, Chilly, but I choose Olivia” • Ben Chilwell

Day 15 💗

“Have you fastened her?” you sat in the passenger seat and checked if you didn’t forget to take baby food and her favorite toy.

“Of course, love” Ben was already sitting nearby. “(Y/N), Olivia, are you ready, girls?”

“Yes!” the baby clapped her hands, singing the lyrics of the song that dad turned on in the car.

“Do you think they’ll get along?” you asked softly, when you were already halfway to Madders’ house. Olivia fell asleep sweetly, because of the tiredness from singing all daddy’s songs, albeit the wrong lyrics.

“Don't even doubt it, (Y/N)” Ben answered in a whisper, slowing the car down a bit. “Madders loves kids.”

“There definitely won't be a problem with James. I mean Olivia. She’s a very modest girl, she takes hostility with all men except dad and grandfathers. I’m worrying.”

“Don’t worry, baby” he put his free hand on your lap and, distracting from the road for a second, kissed you on the cheek. “Almost arrived.”

James was waiting for you near the gates to get to know little angel as soon as possible. He talked Ben's ears off that he’s eager to meet Olivia for the first time, that he wants to see your mini copy. To his disappointment, the baby didn’t run out to Uncle James with open arms. She was sleeping and wasn’t going to wake up.

“Shh, Madders, she's sleeping” Ben put his index finger on his friend's lips as he was about to say something joyfully and loudly. “Better help us.”

You took Olivia’s bike, Ben carefully passed the sleeping kid to James and took all the bags, which was quite a lot.

“God, James, this is so sweet...” you stopped in the middle of the room, paying attention to the small gift that was lying in the corner of the sofa.

“Madders...” Ben put the bags on the floor and lightly hug you around shoulders. “So that's why you were asking what kind of sweets and toys Olivia likes.”

“Why are you talking so loud? You people call themselves parents. The baby is sleeping, please be quiet” he sat on the sofa, not letting the girl out of his hands. “She’s so cute.”

You talked for about twenty minutes before Olivia woke up. She opened her green eyes and starred in surprise at the uncle in whose arms she was laying.

“Hi baby” James smiled sweetly.

“Mom...” she muttered softly, holding out her hands somewhere in the air, in search of her mother.

“I'm here, babygirl” you smiled too.

The girl quickly jumped off Madders’ lap and ran to you. You were sitting in Ben’s hugs, so the child jumped into your arms, clinging to her father’s shoulder. Ben gently stroked the girl through her brown hair and picked her up, getting up from the couch.

“Olivia, meet Uncle James” Ben sat next to his friend and tried to turn the child around, facing James. The girl clung harder and harder to dad. “Baby, don’t be afraid. Uncle James is very kind, he’s daddy’s best friend. He won’t hurt you” absolutely nothing helped. Ben turned to you, shrugging his shoulders, and noticed your upset look.

Madders took his present from the sofa and handed it to the girl.

“Look” he touched her back, “this is for you.” Your favorite chocolate bar and soft, furry kitten.”

Olivia turned and looked apprehensively at James and his presents. Madders tried to smile as sweetly as possible, although Ben knew that he was upset that Olivia was afraid of him.

“Do you like pets, huh?” Ben handed the kid over to James, even though she didn’t want to.

“Yeah” Olivia muttered softly. “Are these gifts for me?”

“Of course, you can eat a chocolate bar now.”

“First you need to eat something proper” you said, getting up from the couch and heading to the kitchen to warm the food. “Ben, please bring the bag we forgot from the car.”

You left the room, leaving James and Olivia alone. The girl was still sitting in Madders’ arms, hugging a teddy cat.

“You can eat a chocolate bar” he winked at the child.

“But mom said that I can’t...”

“But I said, that you can” James smiled and unpacked a chocolate bar. Olivia giggled, but still doubted a little. She was afraid that her mother would tell her off and James seemed to read her mind. “Don’t be afraid, if mom wants to punish anyone, it’ll be me, who she can punish, okay?”

When you came back with some food, Olivia was laughing, licking her fingers from the chocolate. James stood near the TV and tried to turn on at least some cartoon, but couldn’t find the children’s channel: all the channels were sports ones.

“Hey, Olivia! I told you not to eat sweets.”

“But Uncle James said...”

“Olivia!” Ben said sternly, “You have to listen to your parents, not to Uncle James.”

“Don't be mad at her” James said, raising the child in his arms. “I let her do it.”

“But...” you literally were speechless.

Diego ran into the room, wagging his tail. He ran to Ben, joyfully yapping and slightly bouncing. The puppy was definitely glad to see Ben. The guy squatted and stroked the dog’s back.

“Hey bud, I haven’t seen you for so long,” he said.

“Wow” Olivia's eyes glittered. “Puppy! Uncle James, why didn't you tell me you have a dog?”

Madders shrugged and lowered the three-year-old girl to the floor. She ran to the puppy and took him in her arms, throwing a toy to the side. With a serious look Olivia carried Diego with her to the sofa and sat on the pillow, laying the dog next to her. Diego was licking her hands, making her laugh cheerfully.

“Let's watch cartoons!” Olivia said loudly.

“Sorry, princess, I don’t have a channel with cartoons” James continued to search, changing channels. Football flashed across the screen, but Madders continued to flick through.

“Dad! Daddy was there!” shouted the girl.

“Will you watch football?” Maddison asked with a smile on his face.

“I’ll watch daddy!”

You and Ben sat next to the girl, but the child got up off the couch and ran to James, crawling into his arms. Madders smiled widely and hugged Olivia, stroking her head. You watched the match to the end and decided to have your own match in the garden. Ben played on the same team with Olivia, and you with James. Maddison was a goalkeeper and purposefully dived the wrong way several times when the girl wanted to score a goal.

“What could be cuter than a mini (Y/N), that celebrates a goal with dad” James whispered in your ear when the child cried out again joyfully and rushed to hug daddy.

In the evening it was time to go home. You went out to put all your stuff in a car and asked Ben and James to get Olivia ready. They played hide and seek, and Ben still couldn’t find his daughter and his friend.

“Are you still not ready?” you asked, going into the room.

“I can’t find our daughter, what a shame” Ben said sarcastically and loudly, pointing you to the pink socks, which were visible from behind the curtains.

“Oh my God, then we have to go home without her” you started stomping your feet, as if you were leaving.

You and Ben expected Olivia to run after you with the words “Mommy, daddy! I’m here! I’m coming!” But this didn’t happen. From the next room you heard James laugh loudly and after a second he came up to you, still laughing.

“That's all guys, I won” he couldn't stop laughing, “Olivia stays with me. Apparently she no longer wants to go with her parents.”

Ben rolled his eyes and gave James a friendly kick.

“I want to go with mom and dad” Olivia said sadly, finally getting out of her place where she was hiding. “I just don’t want to leave Uncle James...” she went to Madders and buried her face in his pants.

“Oh my baby...” James seemed about to cry. He lifted the kid in his arms and hugged her tightly. “We’ll definitely see each other as soon as possible. I promise” he put a sweatshirt on her and handed her over to her father. You were already on the doorstep.

“Bye bye, my best friend.” Olivia smiled and waved at him. You put her in a car seat and fastened her seat belt.

“She said that I’m her best friend, or did I hear wrong?” James didn’t stop smiling.

“Yeah, she did say, but please remember that you’re my best friend” Ben patted his shoulder as a goodbye.

“Sorry, Chilly, but I choose Olivia.”

tags: @luc-57x @alexajanecollins @riccivrdo @cam-blog98 @sanchos-dream @englandfranceteam715 @meerakiii

[fluidityandgiggles]

Dalton Big Bang day 43 - Valentine

Writing Masterpost, AO3 Link

Notes: Also known as: Gigs tries to write jogan giving their son The Talk and failing miserably due to being a useless asexual.

One day. One fucking day. I'll write a full next gen fic, with all the kids, because y'all know by now I have headcanons for everything. And then y'all would get to see just how chaotic AJ Sotto and Parker Willis can be. But for now, this is about Johnny and his adorable Hanover boyfriend.

If there was a truth everyone in Dalton could agree on, it was that history teacher and Warblers coach, Mr. Wright, was a man you didn't want to cross. The unfortunate ones who were asked to meet with him privately refused to speak of what was told, and whether it was for good or bad reasons, nobody wanted to ask.

And then there were the students who visited his office without even being called. Johnny Larson-Wright, AJ Sotto, Parker Willis. Parker's older brothers graduated from Windsor and Stuart a few years ago, so that brand of crazy would make sense coming from them, but the others…

Well, Valentine Moore always thought people were crazy for assuming their teacher was such a bad man. He made Warblers practice enjoyable every time, gave people solos in a very fair manner, and yeah, maybe he was a bit strict. But he seemed nice enough.

But who was Valentine to say anything? He's never had a conversation alone with him. Maybe they were just exaggerating things!

Yeah, that had to be it!

...until the unfortunate day in late February when he was called in to Mr. Wright's office.

It was all everyone talked about the whole day. Johnny didn't make a fuss about it, unlike most of the others, which was reassuring and even more stressful in equal measures. Oh, how the mighty have fallen, straight-A student Valentine Moore must see the monster, maybe he fucked up real bad this time. Maybe they found out that he contributed to Johnny and AJ's bullshit—

No, wait, no. He does draw, it's his one coping mechanism, but no way they used his art for graffiti. Maybe… maybe it had to do with the homework he didn't turn in for history class? No, but he did it all, he just forgot his notebook by accident, Mr. Wright would probably understand! He must understand, it's not the first time, it's just—

"Stop pacing by my door, Moore," the teacher called, making Valentine freeze in place and start shaking. "You're not exactly invisible."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wright." He just lowered his eyes and walked into the office, closing the door behind him. "Won't do so again."

"It's all good, I get that you're nervous. But there's nothing to be nervous about."

"Is it about the homework I forgot to turn in last week…?"

"No. I care less about the homework than I do about this subject." The teacher started tapping on the desk with his fingers, making Valentine shiver a bit more. "I understand you're seeing my son."

His stomach fell as his shaking stopped.

"I don't… what? No, you got it wrong, I just—"

"Wrong? Unless Johnny is dating another Valentine Moore, who goes to this school and boards in Hanover, and is a member of the Warblers, I have no reason to believe I got it wrong."

"I… I'll break up with him, sir, it's okay. I know I'm not…"

As Valentine started feeling tears fall down his cheek, he also felt a large hand take his, as he started a silent prayer in his mind.

"I'm not mad at you," Mr. Wright — Logan — told him. "In fact, I'm relieved. It seems like he's very serious about you. His father and I are very proud of him. But I'll tell you this. If you hurt my boy—"

"It's the end of me, I know. I'm so sorry, sir."

"...yeah. That's… yeah." As Valentine raised his eyes, he saw his teacher start to fumble a bit. That was unusual… "I didn't actually think I'll get this far, if I'm honest… I'm not allowed to hurt you, as your teacher. But do expect to have a talk again. If either of you get hurt. It's not just about him in this relationship, it's about you too."

"O— okay! Okay, thank you!"

"Now, about that homework—"

"Dad!" Interrupted a call as the door flung open, and in ran Johnny, red in the face and wholly amused. "AJ broke Ramsey's window by accident, we're gonna get killed! Help! Oh, hi Val!"

"Hi!" If Valentine smiled at that, it wasn't his fault. This was the best thing that happened today.

"I swear, when we got you into Stuart we hoped you'd do better than this," Mr. Wright sighed, getting up from his chair. "Excuse me, Moore, it seems like something more... urgent came up."

"Oh no, it's… it's all fine. I'll leave! It's okay!"

"I apologize, Moore."

As Valentine rushed to get up and leave, Logan put a hand on his son's shoulder, trying to make him calm down. The redness still persisted, but his smile cracked, and the twinkle of joy in his eyes teeny off as a blanket of disappointment fell on him.

"We're in trouble, aren't we?"

"You're not. AJ, though, is in so much trouble. Now show me the damage. I'll talk to Ramsey."

————

"So how are you guys doing?" Julian asked through FaceTime, watching his family eat dinner while he had his lunch break on set. Jerry, their newest cat, was also on the table to eat his own dinner. Natalie was paying more attention to him than she was to her dinner.

Johnny kinda wanted to poke her to answer him.

"We're all fine," Logan told him, ignoring the kids to a degree. "Did you watch the regionals video?"

"I did. So did half the cast. Good job on that. Nice song choices too, Squid."

"Thanks," Logan snorted, then turned to nudge Johnny. "Did you hear your pops?"

"I did." He went bright red. "I… I chose the second one."

Julian chuckled at that. "Yeah? No shit, Johnny. Was it inspired by someone special?"

"Yeah… I mean—"

"It certainly looked like it. Reminded me of the Hummel-Sottos back when we were juniors ourselves. Ugh, I can't listen to Raise Your Glass anymore without wanting to gag."

Johnny tried to hide. His dads were great, he never thought otherwise! Pops was the more lenient one, the more open one. The one with less dignity somehow. Probably from growing up in the spotlight and being in the public eye for so long. Dad was stricter, less… open, about all the embarrassing stuff, but he was also home more. Less absent than Pops. So he… knew more, about the kids. Pops was the one to go to with love problems, Dad was the one for any other issues.

Johnny loved them both equally. But they were both equally embarrassing, and that was a lot of embarrassing, and he really didn't want to talk to them about his love life.

"So who's the special someone?" Julian kept on teasing. "Who were you singing You're My Best Friend to?"

"Just…"

"Val," Natalie answered for him, making him choke. "He totally likes Valentine."

"Nat, shush."

"Well, did you tell him yet?" Julian raised an eyebrow, laughing a bit. "He doesn't seem like the guy to get… subtle flirting."

"He's my boyfriend now, okay?" Johnny snapped. "I… I told him. After the performance ended. And then we were together for Valentine's day and now we're together. Is that what you wanna hear?"

"...actually yes, that is what I want to hear. Honey, that's great! Does he make you happy? Do you two talk through your problems or do you keep them inside until you'll burn out like what happened when you were in fifth grade? Do you two fuck yet?"

"Pops!"

"Daddy! Ew!"

As Johnny pretended to gag, and Natalie ran off from the table to wash her mouth, Logan rolled his eyes with a smile and turned the call to face him more.

"They're doing alright, J. They're actually doing better than we did when we started going out. At least with the whole… communication thing."

"You assume we communicated ever," Julian joked, making Logan smile more. "I'm kidding… I'm just happy they're doing well. He seems like a good kid."

"Who, Valentine?"

"Yeah."

"He's great… a bit shy. Reminds me of Reed back when."

"Sounds like a blast. God… I miss you guys. I wanna be there, I wanna meet that kid honest and proper… would it be too weird to give them the sex talk through face cam?"

"I think it would be… a terrible idea, Jules. Please wait until you're back home."

"You forget I can still hear you guys!" Came the groan from Johnny, followed by a call from someone to remind Julian he needs to get dressed for his next scene.

"I love you too!" Julian called to Johnny, receiving a loud groan in return. "Lo, I love you so much."

"I love you too, J."

"I'll see you guys in a month, okay? Not too much left to wait. I'll try to find some of those Japanese kitkats you like."

"Thank you. Have a good day, Jules."

"Good night, Lo. Good night, kids!"

Logan hung up as Johnny mumbled a "yeah, yeah" and Natalie came back to the table, still gagging. 

"...okay, but did you?"

"Nat, I'm not answering that question!"

"Okay, sorry! Jeez!"

Yeah… this was his family now. Logan still struggled to believe this fact. But this was his family now.

————

"How about this argument stops now?" Johnny called right as Julian walked through the door that Saturday afternoon, to catch his husband and daughter standing on one couch and his son comforting a redhead stranger on the other. "It doesn't fucking matter who's a better partner for Mark, he's in a fucking coma. And besides, your screams are making him uncomfortable."

"Do I even want to know?" Julian asked as he dropped his bags, pulling Logan down from the couch so they could kiss. Much to the gagging noises coming from Natalie. "Hello, love."

"Hi, Jules."

"They're listening to The Bright Sessions again," Johnny tried to say, getting somewhat ignored. "It's just—"

"I'm going to my room!"

"Okay! Hello to you too, Natalie!"

That was all about an hour ago, and as things were now, Julian felt far more awake. He took a shower, unpacked his bags, made himself a cup of coffee and now got to cuddle with his husband and their three cats on the couch as their son tried his best to make his boyfriend feel comfortable. The boy didn't look the most reassured though, but at least he didn't seem like he's going to stress himself to death, so he figured it was okay.

"You met my pops before," Julian heard Johnny tell Valentine quietly. "Why are you so scared now?"

"Because I met him as your friend, and now I'm your boyfriend, it's not the same type of meeting!"

"He's right, it's not," Logan told the kids, laughing a bit. "It's scarier than meeting as a friend."

"Dad, you're not helping."

"It's also more relieving than you think, Moore. Trust me."

He sniffled and nodded, trying to calm down more. An uneasy feat, but one Logan and Johnny were sure he could accomplish.

"So… how are you?" Julian asked after a moment of silence, winking at Valentine. "I saw your regionals performance. You did good."

"Th— thank you!" He started blushing at that. "I… I'm good! I think, at least… How are you?"

"I'm very good, thank you for asking. So…" Julian chuckled, taking a bit of a shaky breath. "You're dating now, I heard."

Valentine could've died then and there.

"Dad had to tell him," Johnny tried to explain, but it didn't exactly work that well, as he watched his boyfriend try to hide as his pops kept on smiling.

"I'm not going to make fun of you, I just want to talk to you two. Make sure you know what you're doing, so you won't end up, you know…"

"Like your pops and I were when we started going out," Logan filled in for him.

"Exactly."

"If you want to tell us to use protection, it's okay, I think we know that by now," Valentine managed to say through his weak voice and high anxiety. "At least I know. My parents had our pastor give me that talk when I was thirteen."

"I use protection every time, it's nothing new."

"I'm sure you both know we're very proud of you for practicing that part of the relationship, but there are many more things I'm sure you don't even think of. For example, do you two communicate?" Julian received a very tired side-eye from Johnny and a nod from Valentine. "I'll ask a more specific question. Do you two talk about your feelings? About how certain things the other person does make you feel?"

"What do you mean…?"

"Before Logan and I started going out, I used to be really jealous about things. He used to have a crush on Kurt Hummel, good god, just remembering that hurts me…"

"Does it hurt because Shadow is literally on your rib cage?" Johnny suggests, watching the cat in question curl up defensively.

"No, she's good. It's another kind of pain, honey. But it… you remember when we told you about Adam? Back when Nat was being stalked?"

Johnny nodded, and Val just stared for a moment. "Stalked…?"

"I'll tell you later."

"Adam was my stalker when we were in high school," Julian explained, feeling Logan's grip on him getting tighter. "He forced me to tell Logan I love him. Neither of us were ready at the time, and I wish Adam no harm. I hope he managed to build a normal, semi sane life from those ashes. But he forced Logan and I to have a conversation neither of us were ready for."

"Okay… Pops, why is this important?"

"Because that's what happens when you don't communicate, honey. We didn't communicate until we were forced to. Please don't do that, okay? Can you promise me you'll talk about your feelings?"

"...Dad, what is he talking about? He's scaring Val."

"You're asking your dad and not me? John, I am deeply—"

"Communication is the key to any relationship," Logan said, cutting Julian in the middle and leaving him to play offended. "Consent is just a form of communication."

"One day, you two would decide that now is the right time to start having sex." Johnny started gagging at that. "When that day comes, we both want you to be ready. And it goes far beyond just knowing how to have safe sex. Having a healthy relationship is all about talking, because if you keep it inside, you heard what'll happen. Now, do you two communicate? Do you talk about your feelings, your fears? How far have you gone physically? This is a judgement-free zone, so don't feel ashamed."

"Just… just first base… Val is… uncomfortable with sex… Pops, why are you like this?"

"Because I love you and want to make sure you're safe. You know, some people might not want to have sex ever in their whole life, and that's okay too. A relationship isn't defined by how many times your dick has been in your partner's ass."

"Jules, that's… maybe overstepping a bit. You're scaring the children."

"So let's go back to the talking part. How many dates have you gone on yet? Where to?"

————

Johnny drove the two of them back to Dalton the following Sunday evening, and Natalie had a sleepover at her friend's place, so Logan figured he could make something nice happen for Julian's return. They didn't exactly get to do much yesterday, but it didn't mean they couldn't do anything now. So he ordered some Italian food, he got a bottle of wine, he picked a movie for the two of them to watch before regrettably falling asleep on the couch…

"Well, hello," Julian called as he came down the stairs, seeing Logan fretting over his phone. "What worries you so?"

"I'm waiting for takeout to get here… Michelle says hi."

"Well, when did you order takeout?" He got up to kiss Logan's cheek, hugging him under his arms.

"Seven twenty-three."

"And what time is it now?"

"Seven fifty."

"So they're not late, you're just anxious."

"I guess…" He put his phone down, instead hugging Julian. "I just… I don't know, I got excited. We get to be alone for the first time in…"

"Yeah… you said Michelle said hi? How's her and John's vacation in the Maldives going? Do they miss us too much yet?"

"I don't think they do. Michelle always misses us."

"True… oh, she'd love Valentine."

"She already does."

Logan nodded, then buried his face in Julian's shoulder. He was gone for too long this time. Or maybe they'd just gotten used to spending more time together without any projects getting in the way.

For Julian, three and a half months in New Zealand were also getting too much, and he always got jealous that he couldn't see Johnny compete or be there for Natalie while she auditioned for her own tv shows. He felt like he was missing too much. Sure, he took a break after the whole… stalking situation happened, but that was years ago. His return to mainstream just made him tired.

Both of them had their qualms about the direction their lives were going, and both of them were cut off by the doorbell, and Logan letting go for one moment so he could get the bags and tip the delivery guy. But soon enough it was both of them on the couch, eating their pasta and drinking wine and trying to decide if The Favorite was really the right movie to watch right now or if they felt like something less serious.

"The boys really remind me of us," Logan said in the middle of it all, making Julian choke a bit.

"Really? I can see how Johnny reminds you of you, but I don't think—"

"When we started going out," he finished his sentence. "We were awkward at best…"

"Your friends wouldn't let me off the hook."

"Hey, okay, that was mostly Dwight, and he's your friend too."

"He still wouldn't let me off the hook!"

"You know he only did it because he worries for us. Both of us. He did the same to me too."

"Okay, sure… do you think I just went full Dwight on them yesterday?"

"You… didn't. Not really. I think you did okay. Maybe a bit TMI on some details, but…" Julian made a scene of hiding his face in a pillow, trying to suppress his embarrassment. "Jules, I love you, but I don't think talking about my personal relationship history with our sixteen-year old son and his boyfriend is such a smart idea. Especially since it was mine. I'm not the average, I'm the exception."

"Was there any other way I should've gone at it?"

"I don't know, but I don't think two of my own students can look me in the face anymore."

"I think we should both be grateful we didn't talk about Derek's history at least."

They shared a look, their faces bright red and struggling to hold back a smile, before bursting into laughter. 

"I worry for Valentine if you would have talked about Derek… Jules, that poor kid is terrified of everything, let's not traumatize him even more. I'm still his teacher."

"I worry more for what Johnמy would've said… or Nat. Oh, imagine if Nat would've heard that… you know she and Emma talk about everything, right? And I mean everything. She would've told her, and then Derek would've known, and then we'd both be dead."

"Let's… let's just be grateful that this talk is over with and that we don't need to advise them on more just yet…"

"More like what? Marriage, having children?"

"I know you're joking but yes, that is a very real possibility for us in the future."

"So let's just… fuck, I can't breathe…"

"Oh, shit! Your inhaler is here, come on…"

"...Logan?" Julian asked after a few moments, his breathing calming down now.

"Yeah?"

"Let's keep the marriage counseling to the future, okay?" He smiled as Logan nodded, leaning over to kiss his cheek again. "I love you."

"Jules, I love you."

"I know. Lucky me."

[sweetmusingss]

I couldn't keep the smile off of my face, loving when you were in this pouty mood. It was the most adorable thing in the world to me. "It's okay, baby. I will be sure to help you, okay? I know exactly what kind of mattress you have and even if I'm in New York, I can help you to order the right furniture and get everything ready at our new place. We will get it all figured out. Plus, I figured you were keeping this apartment instead of kicking me out on the street," I giggle softly. "So, in that case, the bed will still be here for when you come visit, Daddy," I say as we walked into the bedroom and I let you get comfy on the bed while I put the show on.

"Do you know how annoying it is to visit when you have a really good bed at the place you're visiting? I'll literally never want to leave. I already don't want to leave so... it's just more torturous somehow." He groans, following you into the bedroom and basically throwing himself onto the bed, sighing contently and loudly. "So comfy! I might have to take the bed with me and get you a new one, I'm sorry. It's just too damn good!"

__

Emma sits back down on the bed instead of unpacking her own suitcase, waiting for you to go and find Megan. She shifts around a bit, being impatient for you to come back to her. She twirls her hair around her finger, sighing softly as she felt a little impatient to spend more time with you.

Regina fixed her hair, smoothing out her outfit when she heard your voice. She laughs softly when she heard what Megan said to you. "I didn't mind the company. I needed some help sorting through my outfit options and I know Megan has a great sense of style," she said to you. Regina always was a great actress and she was always calm under pressure. It's one of the many reasons that she made a great mayor.

I poke Megan's nose, shaking my head. "I know, you hate unpacking but it'll make your life easier when you're trying to get ready for the wedding and everything. C'mon, I left Emma all alone unpacking her stuff so it's gonna be like a bomb went off." I wanted to get back to Emma, not thoroughly trusting her process of 'unpacking' and knowing she got a bit impatient if I kept her alone for too long.

Megan bites her lip, "Can't I unpack here in Gina's room? Between my stuff, your stuff and Emma's stuff, it's gonna be really hectic in there. Regina has an entire extra closet and dresser I can use and that gives you and Ems more room for your stuff..."

I furrow my brows at her, not quite sure why she wanted to unpack in here, figuring it was just because she wanted Regina to unpack for her. "Only if Regina is okay with that. It's not polite to just invite yourself to someone else's closet space, angel." I look at Regina, "Are you okay with that set up, Gina?"