#as well as the really cool dad and kid i sat next to

[riality-check]

The eagerly awaited part 2 of the DILF!Steve concert saga is here!! Part 1, in case you missed it.

"You're not going."

"Come on! I haven't thrown up in an hour!"

"The drive to the venue is an hour and a half."

"Steve-"

"And if you throw up in my car-"

"Oh my God-"

"I'll kill you."

Steve doesn't need to see Dustin's eye roll in order to feel the full force of it through the phone.

"I'll just kill you. You'll have a headstone within the week that says Here Lies Dustin Henderson: Rightfully Murdered for Puking in Steve Harrington's Car," he continues as he packs Capri-Suns into the cooler for the car ride.

He doesn't remember ever being that thirsty as a kid, but if Anna wants strawberry kiwi, Anna gets strawberry kiwi. It helps that it's Steve's favorite flavor, too.

"I'd need a big ass headstone to fit all of that," Dustin snaps.

"Your big-ass ego would demand no less, shithead," Steve shoots back.

"Swear jar, Daddy!" Anna calls from her room, across the house because while she doesn't listen to Steve when he's right in front of her, she can hear him break the swear jar rule from halfway across the world.

He zips up the cooler, fishes a quarter out of his pocket, and throws it into the half-full soup can next to the stove.

(A quarter doesn't mean much, but Anna doesn't know that. The day Steve teaches that kid about inflation is the day his pockets become permanently empty.)

"Did she just swear jar you?" Dustin asks from over the phone.

"You baited me into it."

"I did no such thing."

Steve rolls his eyes. "You're not coming, though, are you?"

Dustin sighs, and, for all his teasing, Steve does genuinely feel bad. "I still feel like if I breathe wrong, I'll hurl, so, no. I don't think I'll manage the car ride, nevermind the actual show."

"Sorry dude."

"Don't be. Some dickhead will live stream the whole thing on Instagram, anyway. I'll live vicariously through them."

Steve snorts and picks up the cooler. He got Anna dressed beforehand, so it's just a matter of getting her to stop playing with whatever toy she dug up - Play-Doh has been the fixation of the week - in her room so they can go.

"Besides," Dustin continues, and Steve hates where this is going. "Anna loved the show, and you've got a reason-"

"Nope," Steve says, knocking on Anna's door. "Don't finish that sentence."

"All I'm saying-"

"I know what you're gong to say, which means you know my answer. I don't date."

Anna opens her door. From the little Steve can see inside, there are at least three containers of Play-Doh open and strewn across the floor. He thinks her Barbies are involved in it somehow.

"Time to go," Steve says, and he thinks, Please don't let there be Play-Doh in the Barbie hair.

"Five more minutes," Anna tries.

"Nope. Clean up and roll out."

"Hi, Anna," Dustin says through the phone.

"Uncle Dusty!" Anna shrieks, and she starts jumping up and down. "Are you comin', too?"

Dustin sighs, and Steve can't tell if it's at the nickname or if he's still cursing the universe. "No, but you and your dad have a great time, okay?"

"Can you, can you tell Daddy I should get five more minutes?"

Steve raises his eyebrows at her. Anna, to her credit, ignores him wonderfully.

"If you clean up," Dustin says, because he's actually Steve's favorite person right now, "you get to do more headbanging at the concert."

Anna gasps like Steve didn't already tell her that earlier today, and she gets to work on putting her toys away. Steve helps, of course, and he finds that there is, in fact, Play-Doh in two of her Barbies' hair.

Fun. They're going to turn into Buzzcut Barbies when Anna goes to sleep because he can already tell that they are the furthest thing from salvageable.

But that doesn't matter right now. What matters is getting Anna in the car, deploying the first two of many strawberry kiwi Capri Suns from the cooler, and making the drive to the venue, which Steve does with minimal road rage and accompanied by the Disney radio station.

Success by all metrics, really.

Dinner might as well be now, so Steve shells out a truly disgusting amount of money for overpriced chicken nuggets and fries at the venue. Anna will only eat half her portion but say she's hungry later, but that's what the snacks and water Steve smuggled in via his jacket are for.

They get to their seats, dinner finished up, just as the lights go down for the first opener. Steve looks to his left, half-expecting Eddie and his friends to be there before remembering that they won't be.

He tries not to feel too disappointed. He fails miserably.

The seat next to him, however, isn't empty. There's a note taped to the back of it, one addressed to Steve and Miss Anna, so Steve feels alright taking and opening it.

At the top, there's a messily scrawled phone number. Underneath, it says:

Here's my number. Probably a bad idea to call with all the noise. Texting works, though you should do that after the show. I'll be a little busy until then.

-Eddie

Steve puts the note in his pocket, puts Anna's ear defenders on, puts his own earplugs in, and looks at the stage, where-

Hang on.

He squints at the stage, where four guys have started playing a song that, frankly, sounds too much like literally all the music Steve listened to yesterday for him to care about all that much. The drummer is pretty small, with wild, curly hair. The bassist looks familiar. The lead singer, who is very talented but not to Steve's personal taste, also looks familiar. And the guitarist-

No way. No way in hell.

It's a total coincidence. Lots of guys have long, curly hair and heavy jewelry and big eyes and are wearing formal wear, for some reason, and catch Steve's eye, and-

"Thank you for such a great welcome!" the guitarist says, and his smile totally isn't doing anything to Steve, thanks very much.

Anna stops moving, where she's standing next to Steve, and climbs up into his lap to get a better look at the stage. She looks out, then back at Steve, then out, then back at Steve, making a face as confused as Steve feels.

Some days, he thinks he ended up with a clone, not a kid.

"I'll get off the mic in a second. I only do the talking because Jeff," the guitarist points at the lead singer, who ducks his head, "is really shy."

Jeff. That name is definitely relevant, but Steve is a permanent resident of denial.

"We fought about what song we were going to include next in our set list, so much so that we didn't decide until yesterday and had to consult a tiebreaker."

Okay, maybe Steve is a less permanent resident of denial than he thought.

"So, thank you to Miss Anna, who did great at headbanging for her first time-"

Anna whips around so fast, her forehead nearly collides with Steve's jaw.

"And to Steve, who's a big fan of American Psycho."

At the song name, the crowd loses their minds, and if Anna wasn't sitting right in front of him, Steve would join them.

Because what the fuck is happening right now?

His question isn't answered. In fact, about five more questions pop up in its stead when, during the bridge of the song, Jeff puts on a clear rain jacket and picks up a prop axe.

Please, God, don't let this traumatize my kid, Steve thinks.

Anna, thankfully, doesn't get scared. When Jeff brings the axe down, again and again, Steve's weirdo daughter fucking smiles. And giggles. It's kind of cute, actually.

When the song ends, she turns back to Steve.

"That's Eddie onstage," Steve says, and saying it, somehow, makes it real.

"I thought so!" Anna says, and she turns back to watch the show. Steve puts an arm around her waist so she doesn't fall off his lap when she bangs her head to the music.

The rest of the songs, in Steve's opinion, are better than the opening song. They're more melodic, which Steve can definitely get behind, and each of them has a gimmick onstage, all based off of various horror movies. It's ridiculous, but also really, really cool.

And Eddie, onstage, because it is the same guy who flirted with him and was so sweet to Anna yesterday, is really, really hot.

Steve has never had a thing for guitarists before. He's never had a thing for musicians before. Hell, until a year ago, he didn't realize he had a thing for men.

Eddie is. Uh. Yeah. Really doing it for him.

Steve doesn't know whether it's his enthusiasm, or the way he moves, or seeing his hair tied up, or the fucking dress pants and suspenders, or just his hands, but he does know he has to get himself in check because this is an all ages show and he's here with his daughter.

He already knows he can't add these songs to his grading playlist, not when they're accompanied by visuals of Eddie playing his guitar.

Sweet Jesus.

"Alright, that's our set!" Eddie says. "Thanks, y'all, for sticking around for us, and let's give it up for the next act!"

The crowd, including Anna and Steve, cheer as they exit and the lights go up.

Steve fishes his phone out of his pocket, fully intending to add Eddie's number to his contacts, and is greeted by not one, not two, but sixteen missed calls from Dustin Henderson.

Naturally, Steve calls him back. "Who died?"

"What the fuck?" Dustin yells, and Steve just puts the phone on speaker to save the rest of his hearing. "Did Eddie fucking Munson just personally thank you from the stage?"

"Swear jar, Uncle Dusty!" Anna says.

"Sorry," Dustin says. "But Steve. Answers. Now."

"How do you even-"

"Instagram live. Is Eddie the guy you were telling me about yesterday?"

Steve takes his phone off speaker. Prior experience tells him that this conversation has a less than zero chance of staying PG, nevermind PG-13.

"Yeah," Steve says. "He is."

"The one who flirted with you, and you forgot to ask for his number."

"Well, I have it now."

"What?" Dustin shrieks, and Steve is incredibly thankful that he didn't take his earplugs out.

"He left me his number on the seat."

"Text him."

"I was going to, until I saw that you called me sixteen times."

"Jesus Christ, Eddie Munson was flirting with you."

Steve rolls his eyes and hands a pack of gummy bears to Anna when she taps his arm. "He could have just been nice. I don't even know if he's into guys."

"Have you looked at him?"

"Wow, Dustybuns, I didn't know you were homophobic."

"I think it's the complete opposite of homophobic to try to get you laid."

"Hanging up!" Steve shouts because a part of him will never see Dustin as any older than thirteen, and no thirteen year old should ever say that.

"Text-"

Steve hangs up the call. "Can I have a gummy bear?"

"No," Anna says, mouth full, in her seat, legs swinging.

"I bought them."

She shrugs. "You gave them to me. Mine now."

Steve stares. She stares right back.

He sighs and opens a new pack of gummy bears.

With his mouth full of sweet Haribo corpses, Steve takes out the note and adds Eddie to his contacts. Before he can overthink it, he sends him a message:

I guess I don't have to ask you what you do for a living. Just so we're even on that front, I'm a teacher, and Anna's full time job is preschool.

He tucks his phone back into his pocket and focuses on making this a good experience for Anna, who somehow wormed her way into a conversation with the intimidating-looking couple sitting next to her.

Because it's totally not like a literal rockstar is going to text him back. Right?

Part 3!!

[checosbluespring]

secrets we keep (pt1) → mv1

max verstappen x perez!fem reader

genre: one night stand, teammates sister, pregnancy

cw: 18+ MDNI, smut, oral (male receiving), p in v, slight spit play, dirty talk, mentions of pregnancy, pls let me know if i am forgetting anything

word count: 3.1k

song: too sweet - hozier

sidenote: hi everyone! finally a new fic is here and it's a max one! this is going to be a two parter, so keep an eye out for the next one! please let me know if y'all have any ideas or requests for a fic (I write for all drivers), also not beta read. hope you all enjoy <3

♡♡♡♡

The roars of the crowd were loud as Max crossed the finish line, followed closely by Sergio. For a second there you had thought your brother would overtake the world champion, but nonetheless he fought hard and gave the team what they wanted, a 1-2 finish. 

It wasn’t often you got to go to your brother's races, maybe only a handful a year but you were lucky to be able to get the time off to join your niece and nephews for the Japanese Grand Prix. Sergio would topple over if he knew you had the hots for his teammate. Every time you have met with Max, it’s been very cordial. Polite hellos, asking how life in Mexico is, what you have been up to since he last saw you. 

A part of you wondered why he was so timid with you. Was it because of Sergio? Being the baby of the family left him feeling protective of you, but you don’t think that would affect how Max interacted with you. I mean you barely saw him. 

Watching the pair on the podium set tears in your eyes. You were extremely proud of your big brother and his teammate. 

Your dad absolutely adored max and had invited him to join us for a celebratory dinner after the race. Which to your surprise he happily accepted. 

You were staying at the same hotel that both the bulls were at, so reconnecting for dinner would not be difficult. After the race you decided to head back to freshen up and change your clothes into something a little more fancy. At the race you were wearing a white tennis skirt with a red bull polo tucked in. For dinner you decided to wear a  black  over the shoulder dress that fit you perfectly. Finally ready you walk down and see that only Max is waiting in the lobby. Your stomach turns at the thought of being alone with him.

Picking his head up from looking down at his phone he notices you walking toward him and waves shyly. “Hi y/n, looks like it’s only us ready” he said in a tiny voice. You are always so used to him being outspoken it kinda scares you a little. “hi maxie, you know how my family is with time management, they should be down here soon” you said with a laugh, not even acknowledging the nickname that slipped from your mouth. 

A sudden tinge of pink washes over Max’s cheeks and you feel heat radiating up your neck. Act cool, you keep telling yourself but you are so nervous. Max was all you ever wanted in a guy. Handsome, sweet, confident, the list could go on. You knew deep down though your worlds would never clash well. You lived in Mexico with your parents - working as a teacher. Max lived in Monaco and raced for one of the best teams in formula one history, surrounded by models throwing themselves at him. You couldn’t blame them, you would do the same, if you thought you ever had a chance. 

“No worries, I always have to wait for Checo to come to our team meetings” he laughed. “I bet, if there’s one thing my brother isn’t know for it’s being on time, thank you for coming to dinner with us though, we really appreciate it, I know my dad and brother do a lot”

With a smirk on his face something shifts “oh just your dad and brother, not you?”. You feel the breath knocked out of your lungs, just as you are about to open your mouth to respond, tiny roars make notice in the room and you almost fall at your nephew running to you, so you could pick him up. Silently you thank your nephew for the interruption. 

Dinner goes smoothly. You sat at the opposite end of the table with the kids, while your brother, dad, and max were deep in conversation. You swore that Max kept looking at you though, sneaking glances. 

As the check gets situated, all of you make your way out onto the busy streets of Japan. You hear your brother speak up “Y/N are you gonna come get ice cream with us” and while you were deeply contemplating it, you decided to pass up the offer and head back to the hotel. 

“No I think I'm gonna head back to the hotel and pack, I want to take the kids to get breakfast tomorrow morning before we leave” you say.

“no puedes caminar solo es tarde en la noche” (you can't walk alone, it's late at night) your brother worries. 

“Sergio, I'm fine, it's not that far from the hotel, I'll grab a taxi” before he could protest, Max jumped in.

“I can take a taxi back with y/n, I'm super tired after the race, and I'll make sure she makes it to her hotel room” 

“Are you sure Max?” Sergio asks.

“Yes I'm sure, it was a lovely evening, thank you for inviting me” 

Your family bids their farewells and walks away, leaving just the two of you waiting for a taxi. As you guys are picked up, you both don't say a word in the car, sitting in an uncomfortable silence. Max pays the driver and you thank him quietly. Making your way up to the floor where both of your rooms are, you stop at his first. “Thank you for bringing me back Max, I appreciate it” 

“Of course it's no problem, hey I'm actually not really that tired, do you wanna play Fifa or watch a movie?” he asks. Something deep down is telling you to decline. Spending time with him is just going to dig you deeper in a hole with how you feel about him, nonetheless, you can't let this opportunity go and accept this offer. 

Walking in you notice the room is ten times bigger than yours, with a balcony and jacuzzi tub in the middle of the bathroom. Max must notice your awe because he says “I don't know why they give us such big rooms, we are hardly ever even in here”

“Haha it's nice for Checo because the kids get to play around” 

“You are really close with them, aren't you?”

“They are practically my own, when their mom is out doing business I usually keep them, I also help homeschool them” 

“Well that's very sweet of you” he says while taking a seat on the bed, while motioning you to do the same.

“Do you want something to drink” he offers

“No I'm okay” you politely decline. You still can't believe this, you are in Max Verstappen's room all alone. 

“Okay let's put on a movie! What are you up for, should we do action” you sense a sudden shift in his mood, you can't quite place it, maybe excitement. You believe he can probably sense that you are nervous. The mention of action makes your ears perk up.“Can we please watch fast and the furious, I am on a mission to have all my friends watch it”

Max doesn't protest, just laughs quietly and nods, setting the movie in place. You make yourself comfortable and take off your big hoop earrings and heels- even though they werent big by any means they still hurt you. Once you are back in bed with him, you notice him looking at you.

“Is there something on my face?” You laugh

“No i just guess I never noticed how different but similar you look from checo”

“Really? How so?” You question

“Well for one, you are very pretty, but you have the same freckles that Checo does covering your cheeks and nose” Max’s comment has you feeling shy, you know you must be sporting a prominent blush across your face and neck. 

“well thank you Max, it's funny because growing up, i never had freckles, but i think being out in the sun for races and the kids karting tournaments have really brought them to surface” 

“That's interesting, I admire how close to your family you are, something I wish I had” he says so quietly you almost miss it. You don't know what possesses you to do this but you place your hand over his and say “you are always welcome in this family max, we all love you, and no matter where sergio goes next year- you will always be welcomed with open arms” 

He stares at you with a blank face- unable to tell what he's thinking you begin to think that was the wrong thing to say when suddenly he leans down a plants a gentle kiss over your lips. You gasp at the touch. Max pulls back with wide eyes and says “shit I shouldn't have done that, Checo will kill me if he found out”. Instead of agreeing with him, you keep your hand held tightly over his and whisper “he doesn't have to know”. That's all it seems to take for max to lean back in and start kissing you. 

You grab the front of his shirt, gripping the fabric in your hands. His palm cups your jaw, slowly deepening the kiss. Once his tongue makes his way in, you let out a quiet moan. 

Grabbing your hips, Max shifts your position so that you are laying on the bed while he towers over you. “You are so pretty y/n, been wanting to do this forever” he says while tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. While you want to pour your heart out, your nerves stop you and all you can do is nod and say “want you so bad max”. 

He continues to kiss you, tracing his mouth up and down your neck and along the junction between your shoulder and neck placing feather-like kisses. There’s nothing more that you want then for him to leave a big bruise plastered for everyone to see but you knew that wasn’t possible. 

You grab his head and place your lips back on his. Moving his hand to your hair he grips it tightly, keeping you in his control. Slowly he rocks his hips down to meet yours, creating a union of moans to spill from the both of you. This must be the breaking point for max because he stops to take off his shirt and grabs your dress to do the same. Not before asking “is this okay”. 

“Of course it’s okay, I want all of you” you whisper out. His pants also come off in the process. Both of you left in your underwear. You could feel yourself soaked through your panties. Max moves his hand so that his thumb is slowly running along your slit through the fabric. A moan is pushed out of you with a quiet plea of more. 

Growing impatient you tug the straps of your bra down your shoulders exposing your breasts to him. This catches his attention because Max is on them immediately. Sucking and kissing them, basically worshiping them. “Fuck, these tits are perfect. They were practically popping out of your dress earlier, wanted to take you to the bathroom at the restaurant and just suck on them for hours” 

You would have never guessed Max to be into dirty talk but it’s a pleasant surprise. “I want you in me Max, please, I’ve been waiting for this” 

“How can I deny such a pretty girl? '' With that being said, Max gets up and walks to his bag to pull out what seems to be a condom. While he’s doing that, you shimmy your underwear down your legs and throw it somewhere in the room. Before he approaches the bed, Max takes his underwear off and you see his cock spring free. Your mouth instantly waters at the sight. He’s big, just like you thought he would be. Pale and veiny. Pink and wet at the tip.

You wanted him in you but not before you got a taste of him. You motion him up towards your mouth, so that his legs are on both sides of your shoulders. “I want to taste you, can I Max?” You said hoping your voice and eyes truly show the desire you have burning for him. 

“Go ahead sweetie, suck me off”

That’s all you needed to hear before taking the tip in your mouth, lightly sucking. Max groans at the sensation and places a hand behind your head for support. Popping yourself off the tip, you lick a long strip under his shaft, following the prominent vein that lies there. You place feather-like kisses on the head hoping to tease him. As you look up at him, you see his mouth slightly agape, eyes stuck on you. “Don't tease me baby, c'mon”.

You start to bob your head, up and down, making sure you move your tongue back and forth. You palm at his balls and hear a hiss, thinking he must be sensitive. 

“Fuck, you suck me off so good, this mouth was made for me, wasn't it y/n” 

You whimper at the words and try to push yourself further down his cock. Grabbing your head, he pulls you off and says “I need to get in you”. 

You nod your head fast and practically beg “please Max, please want you in me”.

As he positioned himself between your legs, he's looking directly at your core, you start to feel a bit insecure and try to close your legs, but he uses both his to keep them open. “You have such a pretty pussy, want to absolutely devour it” what he does next has you almost combust. He hovers his mouth over your core and lets a string of spit come done to coat you. Taking his index and middle finger he holds you open and lets another drop of spit fall on you. You are moaning so loud, you place your hand over your mouth to try and keep yourself quiet. 

Max places two fingers in you while simultaneously rubbing slow circles over your clit. You are desperate for him to get in you. “Max I'm good, you can get in me”.

That's all he needs to hear before he puts his condom on and sinks into you. The burn is unlike anything you have felt before. You were definitely not used to his size but the stretch was addicting. As he builds up pace, you place your hands over his back, your fingernails gripping onto his shoulders, it feels so so good. “Faster” you whisper. Max listens. You could already feel the coil in your stomach about to snap, what pushes you over the edge is Max’s dirty talk. “You wrap around me so good, best pussy I've ever had, what would people think if they saw my roommate's sister coming all over my cock” you can't respond, all you can do is moan.

Finally catching your breath you say “you feel so good Max, you are gonna make me cum” and you tuck your head into his neck licking a fat stripe near his Adams apple. “I'm gonna come too, come with me y/n”.

The next couple of minutes go by in a blur, you feel yourself clenching on his cock, cumming while he pumps in and out of you with his hand rubbing at your clit. He kisses you hard as he groans into your mouth. “Fuck that was good” he states and all you can do is nod. 

Max takes off his condom, and goes to the bathroom, returning in his underwear, with a warm washcloth. You feel embarrassed but you let him clean you up. You are left undressed so you ask if he could hand you your dress. The room is filled with an awkward tension. Max can tell because he lays down on the bed and pats it for you to lay with him. 

You feel like you should decline and be on your way, not wanting to overstay your welcome. But you genuinely don't think this will ever happen again and want to cherish what little time you have in the same proximity.  You lay with your head on his chest and his arm thrown over you with the tv playing in the background. Time passes quickly and within 30 minutes you hear soft snores coming out of max. You take this as your cue to leave. You slip yourself away and gather your belongings. Taking one last glance at him you smile and quietly make your way out of the room. 

You don't have a lot of time to reflect once you get back to your room because you have to shower, and pack for your flight in the morning. You don't know if you and Max will ever reconnect like that, but you are grateful for the time you shared. 

You don't see or hear from Max before you leave Japan, but maybe it's for the best. Your brother didn't expect anything and you are determined to keep it that way. 

The first couple of weeks back in Mexico were rough, slowly recovering from your trip. Around 6 weeks after being home and two more grand prix taking place, you feel sick, like a stomach bug has really knocked you down. It was so bad that you weren't able to go to the Miami gp like you wanted. 

Deciding it has been lingering for far too long you decide to go to the doctor. The first thing they ask you is if it's possible if you are pregnant. Your first thought is no, but you remember you and Max had hooked up around two months ago. You feel a pit in your stomach and your heart rate speeds up. You couldn't be right, he wore a condom, and you hadn't had sex for like a year prior to that. 

After you take your pee test, you have never been more scared or felt more alone. You want your mom here. After what felt like an eternity, the doctor came in with a smile and sat down. “Congratulations y/n you are pregnant”. The world came to a stand still and all you can do is cry. 

Because how in the hell are you going to tell your brother you are pregnant with his teammate's baby. How are you going to tell Max that you are pregnant? 

Simple. You won't. 

[nathaslosthershit]

Teen Dad (OP81)

(Part 1 of the Blind Item Series) (Part 1 of the Teen Dad OP AU)

Summary: Rumors are flying about a young driver with kids

Seeing the rumor, and various other tweets commenting on the matter, first thing this morning was like getting a bucket of ice water dumped on him. Oscar immediately sat up, frightening his fiancée who was asleep next to him a moment before.

“What? What's wrong? Are you okay?” she asked, sitting up.

“Fuck this is not good.” He mumbled as he looked through more tweets. He knew he had minutes before his PR team started messaging him on how best to proceed. 

“Osc, you are really scaring me. What is going on?” His fiancée asked again. After 5 years together and two kids, she knew him well enough to know that Oscar isn’t easily woken up. While he usually wakes up early to train or help the kids, on days like today where he has the chance to sleep in, he will usually take it. But the amount of notifications he started getting were enough to get him to check his phone and once he saw the severity of the situation he was awake and alarmed. 

“A blind item about a ‘younger f1 driver with two kids he had as a teen’ just went up. No confirmation on who but it seems they have gotten it down to only a few of us. They don’t know yet but I am sure they will know soon.” 

He was grateful they hadn’t clocked in on him but Oscar was sure with a bit more time to dig people would put two and two together. He wasn’t ashamed of the fact that he was a teen dad, not anymore at least. When he was even more so an up and coming driver, he kept it hush because he was nervous being 18 with two kids would lead teams to reconsider where his priorities were, his family or his career. That wouldn’t have been crazy of them to do though, as important as racing was to Oscar, he would always pick his family first. Luckily, though, he had a great enough support system so he didn't have to choose. 

Most people in Oscar’s life knew. Any teams apart from Prema, Mclaren, and Alpine were none the wiser but why would they need to know? Not all drivers knew either, some who he had become closer to were let in on the secret, especially Logan, who had been there the entirety of his kids' lives. Annoyingly, at least in Oscar’s opinion, he has been titled ‘the cool uncle’ from day one. 

“What do we do?” his fiancée asked, snapping him out of his spiraling.

“I imagine it is up to my team to figure that one out. I’ll message them now. Get the kids ready and I’ll be done in time to help with breakfast.” He said as he got up.

After a long, pretty impromptu, call, it was decided Oscar would make a statement about it before it was revealed to be him. He wasn’t too happy about not getting to really do it on his own terms but this is the way it worked out, and hey, Oscar would be lying if he said he wasn’t already planning which race he was going to bring his kids to first.

oscarpiastri

liked by mclaren, logansargeant, landonorris, and 518,294 others

oscarpiastri This is of course not how I wanted to do this. I had hoped to have more time before I had to let the peace of privacy go but these things happen when you are in the spotlight. So yes, I am a father of two great kids and I have been since I was 18. I am not ashamed by the fact I was a teen dad, and am certainly not hiding my kids out of anything but love. I hadn’t realized I could truly love anything or anyone more than racing but then these two came into my life and I realized I would give it all up for them. Luckily, with the support of their mother (who is my fiancée) and my family, I didn’t have to give it up. My four person family means more to me than anything and I count my lucky stars each night that I have been blessed with them. I ask that you please respect our privacy. This isn’t the end of you seeing the Piastri twins but I, being the over protective father I am, am not ready to throw two 3 year olds into the chaos of the motorsport world just yet.

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Part 2: A Much Needed Interview out now!

[punkshort]

i'll be home for christmas | part two

Pairing: Joel Miller x f!reader

Summary: Having just caught your fiancé cheating on you, you decide to come back home from the big city to Austin for the month of December to try to figure out your next step. You had no idea you would be getting more than you bargained for with the handsome single dad who built your parents' house.

Chapter Warnings: no outbreak, modern day but Joel is 40, language, fluff, very soft!joel, flirting, kissing, hallmark movie tropes up the wazoo, mentions of infidelity, mentions of divorce, reader's sister is pregnant, hurt/comfort, explicit smut (18+MDNI), (somewhat) unproteced piv sex, angst (but you know there will be a happy ending, this is Hallmark, after all)

WC: 12K

A/N: I am so overwhelmed at the response I received for part one. No contest, it's my most successful story to date, and I can't thank you all enough ❤️ I really hope you enjoy this part just as much. Please read the warnings, this has some (very sweet and soft) smut at the end, so if it isn't your thing, feel free to skip it.

Series Masterlist

Joel sat in his truck, the engine long cooled down by now, as he stared blankly at his garage door, waiting for the stupid grin to leave his face before he went inside to face his brother. But he had been sitting there for almost twenty minutes, and he was still smiling behind the back of his hand.

That date with you was perfect. Well, he could have done without getting knocked on his ass by some kid, but it worked out for him in the end, so he didn't mind.

Goddamn, did you make him feel good. There was no way he would be able to sleep that night, he was sure of it. Not after the way you looked at him, touched him, kissed him. A big part of him wondered for a long time if he would spend the rest of his life alone, believing that lightning doesn't strike twice, that he would never find anyone who would look at him and want him the way you did.

He ignored the nagging voice in the back of his head that reminded him you didn't live there, that you would be going back to New York in a couple short weeks. He couldn't let that bring him down just yet, that was a problem for another day. Right now, his only problem was resisting the urge to drive back to your house and scoop you up in his arms so he could make you feel as good as he felt.

It was close to midnight, so he caved and went inside, hoping his brother would be too groggy to interrogate him. When he walked in and saw Tommy and Sarah lounging on the couch, wide awake and watching some action flick, his face fell.

"Hey, it is way past your bedtime, the hell are you doin'?" Joel scolded, sliding off his boots.

"Dad, c'mon, it's the weekend," Sarah whined.

"Don't care, you know the rules," he told her, trying to sound firm, but he had such a soft spot for her that he never succeeded in sounding threatening.

"But it's a special occasion, I wanted to hear how your date went," she grinned, sitting up and wiggling her eyebrows. Joel's jaw dropped and shot a glare at his brother while stretching his arms out at his side in disbelief.

"Oh, come on, she practically dragged it outta me," Tommy smirked.

"Unbelievable," Joel muttered, collapsing on the end of the couch and rubbing his eyes.

"So?" Sarah pushed, tucking her legs underneath her excitedly.

"I ain't talkin' about this with you," he said, biting his cheek as he stared at the TV.

"Why not?" she pouted, but Joel just shook his head.

"Go brush your teeth," he said.

"Fine," she replied, rolling her eyes as she made her way to the stairs. "But I'll get it out of you one day."

She stomped upstairs and it wasn't until Joel heard the water running that he turned to his brother.

"What the hell, Tommy? You know I didn't want her knowin' about that," he said, exasperated.

"Oh, relax," Tommy said, stretching his arms above his head. "She's sixteen, Joel. She's smart. She figured it out herself, I just confirmed it after gettin' the third degree."

Joel sighed and tipped his head back onto the sofa, closing his eyes.

"Christ," he muttered.

"What's the big deal?"

Joel sat up and opened his eyes.

"Big deal is, she lives in New York. There's no future there, we were just hangin' out, and I don't need Sarah gettin' her hopes up," Joel explained, trying to downplay his feelings, but his chest squeezed at the thought of you leaving one day.

"Ever hear of long distance?" Tommy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That never works," Joel replied, shaking his head.

"Well, maybe you should make it work," he said, sitting up and muting the TV. "You know, Sarah just wants you to be happy, Joel. We both do," Tommy said somberly. "Told me tonight she's worried about you bein' all alone when she goes off to college."

"I'll be alright," he said gruffly, although the same thought was plaguing his mind recently, as well.

Tommy stared at his brother a moment as Joel watched the TV, pretending to follow the story even though there was no audio. He decided to drop it for now and changed the subject.

"So, you gonna tell me how it went or what?"

Joel bit his lower lip, trying to keep himself from smiling, but he failed. Tommy noticed right away and grinned, leaning forward to tap his knee.

"I know that look," he said, still grinning.

"Yeah, alright," Joel finally said with a smile. "It was great. Really fuckin' great."

"Hell yeah!" Tommy yelled, and Joel immediately shushed him, pointing upstairs.

"She's funny and she's sweet, we had a real nice time," Joel said, his grin permanently etched on his face now.

"I figured it went well since you got home so late," Tommy replied with a wink.

"I ain't gonna sleep with her on the first date," he whispered, just in case Sarah was listening. He settled back into the couch as Tommy turned the TV volume back on, letting the movie play for a minute before adding, "She's a good kisser, though."

"Oh, I can't wait to meet this girl," Tommy chuckled with a shake of his head. "Haven't seen you smile this much in years."

"Yeah, well," Joel replied noncommittally, still smiling like an idiot and staring at the TV. He decided to stay downstairs that night, finishing the movie and then starting another one on the couch long after Tommy left, unable to quiet down his mind long enough to fall asleep until nearly three in the morning.

You woke up the next day, stretching your arms above your head with a big yawn, not ready to get out of bed yet but the voices downstairs told you it must have been late. With a groan, you reached over and snatched your phone off the charger. When you saw you had a text waiting for you, your heart skipped a beat until you read Sydney's name and not Joel's. Your eyes flicked to the top of the screen, noting it was close to ten in the morning, before sliding open the text.

Sydney: sorry forgot to reply yesterday. I saw will at black & blue, he was hammered and falling all over the place

You scowled, not interested in whatever your ex was up to, so you replied with just the thumbs up emoji and set your phone back down.

Staring at the ceiling, you dreamily thought about your date with Joel. God, he really took you by surprise. You were proud of yourself for taking that first big step forward and putting yourself out there again, but you had no idea it would feel like this. You weren't even sure you ever felt like this with Will. Even when things were good, Will never treated you the way Joel did last night. He was so earnest and respectful, opening doors for you and actually listening to you talk about work. And he didn't even try to feel you up, either, although you probably wouldn't have minded. Maybe it was those Southern manners you were missing this whole time.

With a groan, you dropped your phone back on the nightstand and swung your legs over the edge of your bed, wrapping yourself in your robe, still not expecting it to be so cold in Texas. Even though it was December, it was unusual.

You made your way into the kitchen and made a beeline for the coffee, tossing a wave in the direction of your parents sitting with your sister and brother in law in the living room.

"She lives!" Cassie exclaimed with a smug look on her face. You held your mug up to your lips and blew on the liquid, frowning when the whole family was looking at you with matching, goofy smirks.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" your mom asked innocently. You squinted at her as you sat down, not buying it.

"How was your date?" your sister asked. You took a sip of coffee before replying.

"Good," you said simply, nodding your head. Your mom and dad exchanged a look and you frowned again, getting annoyed.

"What?" you asked loudly.

"Nothing!" your dad said, looking back down at his newspaper. Who even still gets the newspaper delivered anymore, anyway?

"Josh, what's going on?" you asked your sister's husband, knowing he was the weakest link. He glanced nervously between you and Cassie.

"They saw you and Joel on the Ring camera," he blurted out, and your family all groaned in unison. Your face flushed beet red, gawking at them all in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me?" you screeched.

"We didn't mean to, Bucky. Dad was reviewing the footage because he couldn't find the newspaper this morning and, well..." your mom trailed off, trying to hide her smile.

"Oh my god," you whined, tucking your legs to your chest and hiding your face.

"Looked like the date was a little more than good," Cassie teased, and you smacked her on the leg.

"I can't believe this," you mumbled to yourself, hiding your face behind your coffee mug and praying someone would change the subject. "How much did you see?"

"Just from when he pulled in the driveway til when you went inside," your mom said with a shrug.

"That's, like, everything, Mom! Oh my god!" Your face was hot with embarrassment now.

"He looks like a good kisser, is he a good kisser?" Cassie asked.

"Shut up!" you whined, covering your face with your free hand.

"There's nothin' to be embarrassed about, he was a gentleman. Held the door open for you and everythin'," your dad murmured, and you groaned.

"Can we talk about literally anything else, please?" you begged.

"Of course!" your mom said, her eyes flicking around the room, waiting for someone to say something, but nobody spoke.

"I'm sorry, Buck, but you gotta see the the smile on his face after you went inside, it was so cute," Cassie said, pulling out her phone.

"I'm going upstairs!" you announced, jumping up from the couch.

"Wait! Are you still coming by later to help paint the nursery?"

"I don't know, are there any cameras there?" you shouted over your shoulder as your climbed the stairs with your coffee to hide in the sanctity of the guest bedroom.

"Well, no. Only because I haven't set the baby monitor up yet," Cassie called back and giggled when she heard you slam your door.

Grumbling to yourself, you flopped back into bed and picked up your phone, looking for a distraction from your embarrassment. You quickly found one when you saw you had a missed text from Joel.

Joel Miller: Question for you - when is the earliest you should text someone without looking too pathetic after you've had the best date of your life?

You grinned as you typed out a response.

You: answer - whatever time you sent this text :)

Joel Miller: Oh, good. Thought I scared you off, sent that about ten minutes ago.

You: sorry, I was downstairs talking to my family, forgot to bring my phone. And I don't think you could ever scare me off

You almost told him about the doorbell camera fiasco, but decided against it. Picking up your mug, you tried not to stare too hard at your phone as you waited for a reply.

Joel Miller: What are you doing later?

Your heart skipped a beat at the thought of seeing him again so soon, then quickly stopped yourself, remembering your promise to your sister.

You: I told my sister I would help paint the nursery...

Joel Miller: That's a shame. I was hoping you could teach me something again.

You: oh? lol

Joel Miller: I just realized how that sounded - I meant wrapping Christmas presents for Sarah. I'm awful at it and I have another hunch gift wrapping is a secret talent of yours.

You giggled and rolled over in bed, your embarrassment long forgotten now.

You: you might be right... how about tomorrow?

Joel took the porch steps two at a time, eager to see you again and it hadn't even been a full two days. His finger barely pressed the doorbell when he heard your voice call out I got it! and the door swung open. You smiled up at him, your eyes lighting up before dropping your gaze to his mouth.

"Hi," you said breathlessly.

"Hey," he replied, swallowing roughly.

"Have a nice time, Bucky!" your mom's voice rang out somewhere behind you as you shut the door quickly. Joel grinned, his gaze drifting from your eyes to your mouth before leaning in. You put your hand on his chest and tilted your head back before grabbing his hand and leading him to his truck. Confused, he followed behind and tried not to stare too long at the way your jeans perfectly hugged your ass.

You led him to the passenger side of the truck, but when he reached out to open the door, you snaked your hand up to wrap around the back of his neck, pulling his face down for a searing kiss only when you were sure you were hidden from view.

"Would I sound crazy if I said I missed you?" you whispered.

"No," Joel replied, shaking his head and trying to calm his pounding heart. "Couldn't stop thinkin' 'bout you."

"Me, too," you admitted softly, gazing up at him with your beautiful eyes all wide and burning with desire.

He cradled your face in his calloused hand, the other flattened firmly against the truck door behind you as he stared into your eyes, fighting the urge to pick you up and wrap your legs around his waist so he could pin you against his truck and let you feel just how badly he missed you.

Then, you heard your dad's SUV unlock and your eyes widened in panic.

"Shit," you muttered. "We should go. I think they're heading out."

"Alright, maybe I should say 'hi' real quick," he said, pushing himself off the truck and letting his hand drop from your face.

"No! That's okay, we'll be stuck here forever if you do," you said hurriedly. He gave you a curious smile but agreed before opening the door for you and hopping into the driver's seat.

He waited until he backed out of the driveway and was heading down your street before shooting you a sideways glance.

"Everythin' okay?"

You sighed and rubbed your palms over your face before clearing your throat.

"So, remember the other night on the porch, after you dropped me off?"

He smirked and nodded.

"Yeah, I think I remember," he teased.

"Well," you began. "My family saw us on the doorbell camera the next morning," you cringed.

He laughed, throwing his head back just a bit so he could still keep an eye on the road, and shook his head.

"Oh, I hate those fuckin' things," he said, but he was still laughing.

You grinned, your nerves and unease dissipating quickly.

"You're not embarrassed?"

"Nah," he said with a shrug, then turned his head briefly to look at you. "I'm sure we put on a good show."

You giggled, your cheeks tinting pink, and turned your head to look out the window.

"Alright," he said after a minute. "I've waited long enough and I gotta ask."

You swiveled back towards him, waiting for him to continue.

"What's the story with the nickname?"

You groaned and squeezed your eyes shut.

"It's so unbelievably stupid," you said, but he shook his head.

"Well, now you gotta tell me."

"Fine," you said, rolling your eyes, but your playful smile gave you away.

"It's Buck, or Bucky. Short for Bucket," you began.

"Bucket?" he repeated, bewildered.

"I warned you it was stupid!" you protested, and he chuckled. "Anyway, when I was little, my sister and her friends had a sleepover one time, and I overheard them swearing."

"Okay," Joel said slowly, nodding along while he kept his eyes pinned to the road.

"I always looked up to my sister, I was like her shadow when I was younger. So, when I heard them swearing, I wanted to be like them, too, you know?"

"Yeah, I follow," he replied, still not sure how the story related to your nickname.

"Well, thing is, I misheard them. They were saying 'fuck it', but I heard 'bucket'," you explained. "So I went to school and, thinking I sounded cool, I would say 'bucket' to all my friends. We were little, they had no idea what I was talking about, so I explained to them it's a swear word. Before I knew it, I had the whole class saying 'bucket' any time someone dropped something, or got a bad grade on a test, or whatever."

Joel howled with laughter, gripping the steering wheel for dear life as he tried to make it safely into his driveway.

"The principal called my parents and told them what was happening," you continued, joining in and giggling. "They got me home, and-" you doubled over, clutching your stomach as Joel put the truck in park and slumped over the steering wheel, his body shaking as he laughed.

"And I had to tell them the whole story, about why I kept saying it and-" you wiped the tears from your eyes as you took a deep breath. "And - oh my god - my sister got grounded for two weeks-" Another fit of laughter washed over Joel, tears streaming down his face.

"Wait, wait," he gasped, unbuckling his seatbelt so he could turn to face you. "You got in trouble in school, and your sister ended up gettin' punished?"

"Yes!" you squeaked, still giggling.

"Oh, shit," he breathed, panting as he leaned the back of his head against the seat rest. "Can't believe you thought that was stupid. That's gotta be the funniest thing I heard in a long while."

"Well, I'm glad I could brighten your day," you said, still grinning.

He rolled his head back towards you, his soft gaze drifting up and down your frame quickly before stopping on your eyes.

"You really do, y'know," he said quietly, and you furrowed your brow, tilting your head in confusion.

"Brighten my day," he clarified.

You bit your lower lip and smiled, looking away as the flush began to return to your cheeks.

"Come on, charmer. Why don't we go teach you how to wrap presents?"

You never really gave much thought as to what Joel's house would look like, but once you saw it, it immediately felt like him. It was a smaller, two bedroom house. When you first walked in, you entered a living room with a leather couch and an oversized recliner. A big screen TV was front and center across from the couch, with a few framed pictures of Joel and Sarah mounted on the wall next to it.

"You want somethin' to drink?" Joel asked, making sure to slide the coat from your shoulders before shrugging off his own.

"Maybe just water," you said, following him into the kitchen. You gasped when you saw his cupboards and immediately rushed over to them while he pulled two bottles of water from the stainless steel fridge.

"Oh my god, Joel," you whispered, running your fingers gently over the designs. Each one looked different but somehow they all were cohesive. Some had small flowers or butterflies carved into the corners, while others had simple, yet intricate designs grooved into the wood.

"Had to practice somehow," he said, feeling his cheeks flush as he walked over to hand you your water.

"God, it's so beautiful," you said breathlessly, unable to look away from the dark, stained wood. Your fingers danced over some stars etched into one of doors, your eyes wide with awe, but he was focused entirely on you. He couldn't get enough of watching the delicate features on your face light up whenever you found something new that pleased you.

"How long does this take for you to do?" you asked, finally dragging your eyes away to look up at him. Your throat tightened when you noticed the heat behind his stare, your pulse fluttering in your neck.

"Depends," he murmured. "Some are faster than others, but I prefer to go slow and take my time. Anythin' worthwhile takes time. Gotta show it respect, gotta care for it."

His low and sultry tone made your face flush, forgetting for a moment you were talking about woodworking.

"Y-yeah," you stammered, clearing your throat. Suddenly, you were feeling short of breath. "That makes sense."

He gazed down at you for another moment, his eyes slowly raking over your face as if committing it to memory before speaking again. Your entire body felt hot, and you cursed yourself for wearing such a thick sweater.

"Ready to go upstairs?" he murmured, still staring at you in a way that made your spine tingle.

"Huh?" you whispered, completely entranced by his deep, brown eyes.

"The presents?" he reminded you with a small smirk.

"Oh, right," you said, finally blinking and looking away. You shakily opened your water bottle after he turned around to lead you to the stairs, your mouth suddenly extremely dry.

As you walked up the steps, you tried to get a look at the pictures that lined the wall, but it was difficult to do without tripping. You thought you had finally gotten your head on straight after that moment in the kitchen, but when you realized he was leading you to his bedroom, you felt the tremble return to your hands.

"Sorry, had to hide everythin' in my closet, she's too nosy," he said over his shoulder.

"No problem," you squeaked, trying not to stare at his neatly made bed. Your eyes briefly drifted over the end tables filled with personal effects. You thought you saw a chapstick, a cord for a phone charger, and a worn paperback book, but you didn't want him to catch you, so you looked away quickly.

He opened his closet and you were surprised to find his clothes packed away so neatly. For a bachelor, he kept a really clean house. He pulled out the bags of gifts from the shelf above his clothes, then the wrapping paper, which was leaning against the corner.

"D'you think we got enough room?" he asked, glancing around at the floor.

"Yeah, of course," you said, sitting down crossed legged on the carpet. You reached out for the wrapping paper and rolled it out in front of you as he sat down at your side, taking out her gifts one by one. You felt yourself involuntarily clench as you watched his large hands deftly lay out each item on the floor, his muscles twitching slightly under the tanned skin of his exposed forearms.

"I know what you're thinkin'," he said, and your eyes widened in surprise. "I spoil her, I know, but she's such a good kid, I can't help myself."

That was definitely not what you were thinking, but you chose to keep that to yourself.

"I think it's sweet," you told him. "You seem like a really good dad."

Now it was his turn to blush. He tried to turn his head away so you wouldn't see, murmuring his thanks as you each picked an item to start. After a quick tutorial, which included way too much tape and ripped paper, Joel finally seemed to get the technique down. It only took until about halfway through the pile for you to muster up the courage to bring up a topic you couldn't help but be curious about.

"So," you began, hoping you came off nonchalant. "Is Sarah with her mom this Christmas, or..."

Joel's fingers fumbled for a moment with the wrapping paper, but he quickly recovered.

"Uh, no," he replied, keeping his eyes cast down on the shoe box in front of him. "She's not in Sarah's life anymore."

"Oh," you said, unable to keep the surprise from your voice, but you didn't push him any further. Your mind was scrambling, trying to think of something else to talk about, when he sighed and leaned back, abandoning the gift.

"I'm sorry, this is all so new to me, I probably should've told you about her sooner," he said, feeling guilty, but you quickly shook your head.

"No, you don't have to-"

"I want to," he said, cutting you off. You clamped your mouth shut and turned your body so you could give him your full attention, leaving the hair dryer you were wrapping on the floor next to you.

He drew a shaky breath in and looked up at the ceiling before speaking.

"There's not much to say, really. I'm still not always sure what happened," he began. You nodded, staying quiet and letting him take his time. "We were together since high school, ended up stayin' together after graduation. Sarah was a surprise, we were both still so young but we made it work. It was hard, but once me and Tommy got the business goin', it made things a bit easier."

Your fingers tangled together in your lap as you listened, refusing to say anything until he was done. His gaze drifted towards a fixed point on the wall as he continued.

"From what I gathered, she felt like havin' Sarah so young robbed her from doin' certain things in life," he said heavily. "Said she couldn't do it anymore. Didn't want her life to pass her by and be full of regret."

You bit your lip. The pain was clear as day on his face and it was making your chest ache.

"Well, anyway. I thought maybe she would go off for a couple months, do whatever it was she thought she was missin' out on. Parties, college... other men," he added the last part quietly, and you dropped your gaze to the floor. "Get it out of her system, y'know? But she just... never came back. Eventually, the calls came less and less, and I put two and two together. Didn't even get a courtesy call before I got served with the papers."

He rubbed his eyes, trying so hard not to look like a blubbering idiot in front of you. You reached your hand out and placed it gently on his knee, giving him a reassuring squeeze. He dropped his hand from his face to cover yours, staring at your coupled hands for a moment.

"Joel-"

"It was just so fuckin' hard on Sarah, y'know?" he said, his voice cracking. "I had no idea what to tell her. She cried almost every night, askin' me why her mom didn't love her anymore."

"Oh, Joel," you whispered, unable to hold back any longer. You closed the small gap between you, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and pulling him into your chest, your fingers gently raking through his hair. "I'm so sorry," you told him, burying your nose in the hair on top of his head, breathing in the citrus scent from his shampoo.

He didn't say a word. He just tugged you closer and closed his eyes, leaning into your comforting touch with a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry," he finally managed to croak out. "I'm throwin' way too much at you, I know you didn't sign up for this."

"Shh," you whispered into his hair, then tilted his face up to look at you, his dark brown eyes glassy with unshed tears. "It's okay," you murmured, pressing a soft kiss against his lips. A solitary tear slipped down his cheek when he pulled back to look deep into your eyes.

"It's okay," you repeated, wiping away the tear with the pad of your thumb before placing another gentle kiss against his lips.

He hummed contently against your mouth, sliding his hand up to the back of your neck and pressing his lips more firmly against your own, scared to let you go because if he did, he was sure he would fall apart.

Your grip on his hair tightened as he leaned forward, one strong arm wrapped around your midsection and the other pressed against your back. You mumbled something against his mouth when he tried to lay you down and knocked over a small pile of DVDs.

"Fuck," he whispered and, oh god, the way he said it made your legs turn to jelly and your cheeks flare with heat.

Frustrated, he tightened his grip around you and lifted you up, refusing to break the kiss. A tiny, high pitched squeak slipped past your lips as you wrapped your legs around his hips, letting him carry you to his bed.

He laid you down carefully on top of his plush, navy striped comforter. You sighed into his mouth, your legs loosening around his waist and falling open while you dragged your hands out of his hair and down to his shoulders, wrapping your fingers around his biceps to keep him close. He hovered above you, balancing all his weight on his elbows while his fingers played with the ends of your impossibly soft hair.

He slipped his tongue easily past your lips with a low groan, the noise going straight to your core, making the ache between your legs almost painful while your tongue danced with his, the two already so familiar with each other.

You tipped your head back with a gasp, desperate for air, but he kept going, unable to stop himself. His lips brushed against your jaw before his teeth and prickly beard scraped against the sensitive skin behind your earlobe. You let out a needy whimper and arched your back at the sensation, pushing your breasts into his broad chest as goosebumps spread over your whole body.

"Oh god, Joel," you whined softly, squeezing your eyes shut.

"Yeah, baby?" he replied, his voice thick and muffled against your neck. Baby. Jesus, this man was unraveling you so fast, it was making your head spin.

"I-I know we said this was casual, but-" the words got trapped in your throat as you cut yourself off, unable to finish your thought.

"I know," he said, his voice strained. "Fuck, I know."

He lifted his head away from your neck as he stared down at you, patting your hair back and away from your face as he panted slightly for breath.

You looked up at him, eyes watering as you tried not to think about your time coming to an end in a couple short weeks. You could tell he was thinking the same but didn't want to say it, the pain behind his eyes was obvious.

He blinked a couple times, the clouds clearing as he forced himself to focus on the present. He had you here in his arms, in his bed, underneath him right now. And he was going to be damned if he didn't soak up every single second.

He leaned back down and locked his lips on yours again, this time moving slower, more gentle and tender. He wanted to treat you right. You deserved it, and he wasn't going to give you anything less than what you deserved while he still had you.

You loosened your grip on his arms and allowed your hands to drift to the buttons of his flannel, slowly and shakily undoing them. His heart began to slam against his chest when he realized what you were doing, his mind going fuzzy with desire.

He pulled his head back when you were about halfway down his shirt, looking down hazily at your fingers working open the buttons as he desperately tried to think straight.

"Dad?" Sarah called from downstairs, the front door slamming shut. "Are you here?"

"Shit," Joel mumbled, scrambling off of you as he clumsily tried to redo his buttons. You jumped off the bed, leaning over so you could see into the mirror above his dresser, raking your hands through your tangled hair and quickly fixing your sweater.

"Yeah!" Joel shouted back, glancing over at you to make sure you were decent. "Sorry," he whispered, but you just grinned. Then his eyes fell to the half wrapped presents on the floor.

"Wait! Don't come up-" he called out as he heard her skipping up the steps. Joel grabbed your arm and pulled you out of the room, closing the door behind you both just in time.

"What? Why?" Sarah asked, then froze when she saw you. She looked up at Joel, then back to you, and a slow smile spread across her face.

"Ohhh..." she said with her hands on her hips. "Now I see."

"N-no, it's not what it looks like, she was just helpin' me wrap some gifts," Joel stammered, jutting his thumb over his shoulder. You shifted your weight nervously as you looked back and forth between them.

"Then why are you missing a button on your shirt?"

You both glanced down at his flannel, and she was right. He missed fixing a button in all the chaos. Your face flushed beet red as you stared at the ground while Joel hurriedly fixed the button, cursing under his breath. When you dared to look back up at his daughter, she was smirking playfully at you. Joel cleared his throat.

"Sarah, this is-"

"Yeah, I know, I remember from the party. The pretty dress, right?" she asked, and you nodded.

"Yeah, that's right. Nice to see you again," you said awkwardly.

She nodded, still smirking and looking at you and Joel. You could tell she loved catching her dad in this uncomfortable situation.

"Oh, crap. I forgot. Uncle Tommy is waiting for you in the driveway, said he needed your help unloading some work stuff out from the back of his truck," Sarah said.

"Ah, dammit, alright. You okay for a couple minutes?" he asked you, eyebrows raised.

"Of course," you said. He nodded, walking down the hall past Sarah, muttering "be good" to her as he walked by.

You listened as Joel made his way down the stairs and out the front door, leaving you and Sarah in silence, still staring at one another.

"I'm sorry, we really were wrapping gifts," you assured her.

"It's okay," she said with a shrug. "Last year he used duct tape on my presents, I know he needs the help."

You giggled, causing her to laugh, as well.

"Do you play an instrument?" you asked, just noticing the case on the floor next to her feet.

"Yeah, violin. I had practice after school today," she said, picking it up.

"Oh, cool. I played piano growing up, but I was never any good," you said, sliding your hands in the back pockets of your jeans.

"I have my school's Christmas recital on Friday," she said. "My first solo."

"Oh my god!" you said, clapping your hands together, genuinely impressed. "That's incredible! You must be so excited!"

"Yeah, at first, but now I'm getting nervous," she said, glancing down at the case in her hand. "You wanna hear me play?"

"Duh. Absolutely," you said with a grin. Her eyes lit up and a huge smile spread across her face again.

"O-okay. This is my room right here," she said, turning to her right and opening the door. "Sorry it's messy, my dad's gonna kill me."

"It's totally fine," you said, walking in and sitting down at the edge of her bed. You glanced around the room as she set up her music stand. On the pink walls, she had posters up of her favorite bands with a calendar and string lights draped across the room.

"I really like your room," you said, squinting to look at the stickers and drawings she had on her headboard.

"Thanks," she said sheepishly. "My dad let me do whatever I wanted."

You were about to comment on the various trophies she had on her windowsill when Sarah spoke again.

"Just so you know, I don't mind that you're seeing my dad."

Your eyes shot up to hers in surprise, not sure what to say. You hadn't really had a chance to talk to Joel about your relationship and how that would affect his daughter.

"He's been in such a good mood this past week, and he won't tell me but I know it's because of you," she said, pinning you with a familiar brown gaze.

"Oh, that's so sweet, Sarah," you said, finally finding your voice. "Thank you. That means a lot."

"You're welcome," she said. "I just want him to be happy again."

You dropped your gaze to your lap, your chest tightening at the thought of Joel being so lonely all these years.

"Me, too," you whispered, still looking down. Sarah regarded you for a minute before slapping her palms against the tops of her thighs and leaned down to pick up her violin.

"You ready?" she asked. You looked up and nodded, giving her an encouraging smile and sat back to listen as she began playing a hauntingly beautiful version of 'Silent Night'.

Sarah got about halfway through the song when she hit the wrong note and abruptly stopped, dropping her chin to her chest in frustration.

"Hey, it's okay," Joel heard you say softly as he walked back up the stairs. He paused at the top, right outside Sarah's room to listen.

"It's okay to make mistakes. Just go slower, take your time. Anything worthwhile takes time," you told her, and he smiled when he heard his earlier words to you repeated back to his daughter. He took a step forward to lean against the doorframe and watch the two of you, your back to him as you sat on her bed.

"Okay," Sarah said, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes before lifting the violin to her chin and starting over.

Joel listened to Sarah play the same song he's heard a million times already in just the past month alone, but kept his eyes trained on you. The way you gave her your full, undivided attention and encouraged her with a smile or a thumbs up when she would glance over at you shyly made his chest ache.

When Sarah successfully finished the song with no mistakes, you jumped up from the bed, clapping and cheering for her, making Sarah giggle and hide behind her hands.

Fuck, this was going to be so hard.

"Dad?" Sarah asked the next morning over her bowl of cereal.

"Yeah, baby girl?" he replied, frowning as he pulled his bread from the toaster. He sucked his fingertips into his mouth, trying to bring some relief to the quickly reddening skin.

"Can your friend come to my recital tomorrow?"

Joel froze, his fingers still pressed against his tongue as he slowly turned around to look at her. He dropped his hand and took a deep breath.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," he replied.

"You don't think she would wanna go?" Sarah asked, her eyebrows pinched together.

"No, it's not that, I'm sure she would," he said, trying to find the right words.

"Then what's the problem?"

Joel sighed and picked his mug up from the counter, then walked over to join her at the table.

"She doesn't live here, baby. She's goin' back to New York in another week or so, I don't want you gettin' too attached," he finally admitted, watching Sarah closely as she considered his words.

"Well, you guys like each other, right?" she asked, and Joel smirked.

"Yeah, but it ain't that simple."

"Yes, it is, Dad," she said, rolling her eyes and dipping her spoon back into her bowl. "My friend Katy was dating this guy last year and he switched schools over the summer. They're still together, it doesn't matter," Sarah said with a shrug, taking a bite of cereal.

If the topic didn't fill Joel with a sense of dread, he would have chuckled at the comparison, but instead he just sat there quietly, watching his daughter as she finished her cereal and scrolled on her phone.

Sarah pulled on her backpack and was sliding on her sneakers to catch the bus when she called back to Joel over her shoulder.

"Just ask her, okay? Please, Dad?"

Joel sighed, hanging his head between his shoulders and paused his hands over the dishes in the sink.

"Alright," he relented, and he heard Sarah clap her hands behind him before slamming the front door shut.

You: good morning :)

Joel Miller: Good Morning, sweetheart. I didn't think you would be up this early.

You: couldn't fall back asleep. What are you doing

Joel Miller: Just getting to work. Why couldn't you fall back asleep?

You thought about it for a minute from under the pile of blankets on your bed, rolling to your side before answering.

You: I was thinking about you...

Joel Miller: Good thoughts, I hope?

You: VERY ;)

His throat went dry when he opened the text. He glanced around outside his car window, making sure he was still the only one on the job site before replying.

Joel Miller: What are you trying to tell me, baby?

You smirked and bit down on your lip.

You: I was wishing you were in bed with me right now

"Shit," he muttered to himself, glancing around once again before adjusting his pants.

Joel Miller: Me too, what are you wearing?

The answer came back almost immediately.

You: nothing

He groaned and rubbed his palms roughly over his face.

Joel Miller: You're killing me, baby. I have to get working in a minute.

You: i'm sorry ;)

You: I promised my parents I would go to dinner with them tonight, but are you free tomorrow?

Joel took a deep breath, trying to clear the onslaught of inappropriate thoughts from his head when he remembered his promise to Sarah.

Joel Miller: It's Sarah's recital tomorrow night. She asked me to invite you this morning, did you want to go?

He nervously chewed his cheek for a moment before sending another text.

Joel Miller: No pressure, I can tell her you're busy.

He sent his second text right as your reply came through.

You: I would love to!

He grinned and raked his fingers through his hair. Tommy's knuckles tapped on the outside of Joel's window, making him jump. He held up a finger before sending you a quick answer.

Joel Miller: Sounds great. I'll pick you up. Try to go back to sleep. Dream of me.

Joel opened the door and slid his phone in his back pocket, a stupid grin etched across his face as he joined his brother in the half-built storefront they were working on.

"Oh man, you got it bad," Tommy said with a chuckle when he saw the look on Joel's face.

"Alright, what do you think of this one?" you asked Cassie as you stepped out of the bathroom modeling the sixth dress of the day.

"I liked the red one better," she said, glancing up from her phone.

"Are you sure? This one is a little more chic," you said, twisting around to look at your backside in the mirror.

"It's a high school recital, Buck. I don't think anyone is expecting 'chic'," she teased, and you rolled your eyes.

"Well, I just want to look nice, is all," you said, sitting next to her on your bed in a huff. You tapped your phone screen, frowning when all you had was another text from Sydney and nothing from Joel. You opened it up anyway, curiosity getting the best of you.

Sydney: OMG!!!!!!

You sent back three question marks and locked your phone with a sigh.

"You still wanna get together next week so we can look at apartments online for you?" she asked.

"Yeah," you said sadly, looking out the window.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," you told her. "Just not ready to go back yet."

"Could that be because of a certain sexy contractor?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at you.

"Shut up," you smirked, tossing a pillow at her lightly.

"Ooo you like him! Lookit how red you're getting!"

"I'm gonna kill you when that baby's out, you know that, right?" you giggled.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Cassie said, looking back down at her phone as the smile slowly faded from her face. "You know you don't have to go back, right?"

"What do you mean? My job is there, my life is there... everything is there," you replied. "Of course I have to go back."

"What life, though?" she asked, and you frowned at her. "Seriously, Buck. Aside from your job, which you hate, what's left?"

"Well, my friends are there. And I don't hate my job that much. I mean, everyone hates their job a little bit," you said with a shrug.

"Is this what you expected to do when you were in college? Is this what you wanted?" Cassie pressed, sitting up on the bed. "Are you even happy?"

You paused, letting her words roll around in your head for a moment.

"Well, I mean..." you trailed off, not sure how to answer her question.

"If you have to think about it this long, I think you know the answer," your sister said quietly. You groaned and rolled off the bed.

"I'm going back. I have to. I can't just give up because some guy broke my heart," you said, turning around so she could unzip the back of your dress.

"I'm just saying, think about it," Cassie replied. "I wouldn't hate it if my child's aunt was in their life more than twice a year!" she called after you as you shut the door to the bathroom.

Joel eagerly jogged up the porch steps and rang the doorbell, very aware of the camera this time while he fiddled with the cuffs on his dark red button down shirt. He heard high heels clicking on the other side of the door and the corners of his mouth turned up into a smile, which quickly vanished when you opened the door and he saw the dress you were wearing.

"Hi," you said with a shy smile, pulling a soft looking white cardigan on over your shoulders.

He thought he had greeted you. He could have sworn he said something, anything, that didn't make him look like a complete idiot, but apparently nothing came out because you scrunched your eyebrows together when you saw his face.

"Are you okay?" you asked, pulling the door shut behind you.

"Yeah, it's just - Jesus, you look so good," he managed to finally say, tilting his head back to stare up at the roof of the porch for a moment, taking a deep breath.

"Thank you," you said with a giggle. "You don't look half bad, yourself."

He rubbed his forehead, exasperated and flustered before pulling you quickly into his arms and latching his mouth onto yours with a groan.

"Joel," you pulled back breathlessly with a small smile and leaned your head to the side, trying to silently remind him of the doorbell. His eyes raked over you hungrily before shaking his head and pulling you back into a deep kiss.

Fuck the camera, let them see.

You giggled against his mouth, causing him to smile and break the kiss.

"Come on, I wanna get good seats," you said, rubbing your thumb over his lower lip to wipe off your lipstick that transferred. It caused his stomach to clench. That sweet, little intimate gesture made him ache for more so badly that he could hardly breathe.

He walked you around the front of his truck, opening the door and giving you a hand so you could hop onto the seat, the gorgeous red dress you were wearing hugging your curves just right and distracting him to no end.

On the walk around to the driver's side, he mentally scolded himself, reminding himself over and over that tonight was a big deal for his little girl and he needed to stay focused.

As he drove down the street, he realized that his hand instinctively found yours across the seat, his body craving the warmth and softness of your own. How on earth was he going to go back to the life he had before, now that he knows what it's like to bask in the heat of your touch?

Once he got to the school, he found a parking spot and jumped out of the truck. You had figured out by now that he preferred you to wait so he could open the car door for you, so you did. Swinging your legs over the side of the seat, you slid down into his waiting arms, your hands gently coming to rest on the tops of his shoulders. He gazed down at you with his arms loosely hanging around your waist. You saw his adam's apple bob in his throat while he let himself get lost in your warm, beautiful eyes. You lifted a finger from his shoulder, tracing an invisible line down the side of his cheek as you stared up at him with your plush lips parted so invitingly that it made his knees weak.

"Joel! Hey!" Tommy's voice called out from behind, snapping you both out of the moment. Joel sighed and untangled himself from you, taking your hand and leading you forward so he could shut the door before turning around to find his brother.

You could see the family resemblance immediately as Tommy approached you with a wide grin. His hair was a bit darker and a lot longer, and his beard was less full than Joel's, but he had the same soft, brown eyes that you had grown to know and love.

Love? Oh, no.

"Hey, Tommy," Joel said as he got closer, his hand pressed firmly on the small of your back. "This is-"

"Oh, I know who she is. How're you doin', darlin'?" Tommy asked, pulling you into a bear hug, taking you by surprise.

"I-I'm good," you squeaked shyly once he released you. "Nice to meet you."

"I've been dyin' to meet the little lady who's got my brother all wrapped up," he replied with a grin.

"Tommy!" Joel seethed warningly at your side, but you just giggled.

"I'm just messin' around. She knows that, right?" he said, shoving his hands in his coat pocket and rolling on the balls of his feet. "Supposed to snow next week, can you believe it?"

"Yeah, I heard we might get a couple feet," Joel said, steering you toward the doors to the auditorium. "Better get your shovel ready."

You settled in between the two brothers as you found a decent spot in the fourth row. Joel draped his arm around the back of your chair while he chatted with Tommy about work. You inadvertently leaned to the side and rested your shoulder against his chest as you glanced around the room, admiring the lit up garlands around the windows and Christmas trees on the stage with fake presents underneath.

When their conversation died down, Tommy pulled out his phone and began scrolling through social media, holding it low between his spread knees with his chin tucked into his chest.

Joel tilted his face forward to press his lips on the top of your head, breathing in a deep and contented breath. A small smile played across your lips as you turned your gaze up towards him, resting your cheek gently on his shoulder. He looked down at you with a smile and planted a chaste kiss on your forehead, and as each of you slid your eyes closed for a moment, Tommy angled his phone to snap a quick picture, smiling to himself and making a mental note to show his brother later.

The lights dimmed and you all straightened up in your seats. You listened to the music teacher make a small speech at the beginning and politely clapped afterwards. You saw Sarah twice throughout the concert as part of the orchestra, smiling at how focused and beautiful she looked in her white dress. As the concert wound down, Sarah finally came out on stage for her solo, and the three of you eagerly leaned forward. At the last minute, you remembered to pull out your phone and start a video, telling yourself you were doing it for Joel so that he could be in the moment, but you knew you would end up watching it by yourself when you went back to New York City.

The performance was flawless. When it was over, the three of you lept up from your seats, cheering, jumping and clapping, making her wave and blush as she exited the stage. You sat down, giggling, as the people surrounding you gave you all polite smiles and chuckles, then quieted down for the finale.

When the lights came back up, everyone stood from their seats, murmuring and laughing while waiting for their kids to come out from backstage and take pictures. You saw a flash of white out of the corner of your eye and moved out of the way just in time for Sarah to run and jump up into Joel's arms, burying her face in his neck. He squeezed his eyes shut, his arms wrapped around her tightly, murmuring praise in her ear. You felt warmth spread across your chest as you watched them have their moment, the corners of your mouth turned up into a smile with your hands clasped together against your chest.

He let her down gently and she turned to give Tommy a quick hug. He spun her around, making her giggle and fidget with her dress before she turned to you.

"You came!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms loosely around your waist. Your eyes widened in surprise, not expecting such affection from her, but you quickly returned the hug.

"Of course I came! Thank you for inviting me," you said, pulling back with a grin. "You were absolutely perfect, I took a video, I'll send it to your dad so he can show you later."

"I did exactly what you told me, I slowed down and took my time," she beamed, and it gave you a new feeling deep in your chest that you never felt before.

"That's great, Sarah," you replied, your throat tight with emotion. Tommy dropped his gaze from you and ticked his jaw to the side, finally understanding why Joel was hesitant to let Sarah know about the two of you.

"Dad?" Sarah asked, turning away from you. "Can I sleep over at Katy's? She's having a bunch of girls over and her mom said it was okay."

"Uh, sure, baby girl. Don't you need clothes and stuff?"

"I have stuff I keep here in my locker for gym," she said.

"Well, alright, lemme talk to her mom first," he replied, glancing around the room.

"Thank you! She's right over here," she said, grabbing his hand. "Thanks for coming!" she called back last minute over her shoulder to you and Tommy, and you both smiled and waved as she dragged her father across the room.

"She's so talented," you said, turning to Tommy. He looked down at you and gave you a weak smile.

"Yeah, she's somethin' else," he said with a nod. "Hey, listen. I'm havin' a get together next week at my house. Little Christmas party, I guess. I invited a guy I met at your parents' house - Josh? He's comin' with his wife, Joel and Sarah'll be there, I'd love for you to come by if you can."

"Josh is my brother in law," you clarified for him. "That sounds great, I'll be there, thank you."

"You're welcome," Tommy said, then his brows pinched together as he opened his mouth again to speak. "Joel might kill me for sayin' this, but you gotta know how happy you've -"

"Ready to go?" Joel asked, sneaking up beside you. Tommy cleared his throat and gave his brother an innocent smile.

"Yep," you replied, dropping your hand to find his at your side, lacing your fingers together and giving him a gentle squeeze.

After saying goodbye to Tommy, Joel slowly led you through the parking lot to his truck, desperately trying to think of something else you could do, not ready to drop you off yet. He knew the time you had together was coming to an end, and he wanted to soak up every precious second. Especially after the way he saw you with Sarah: so warm and sweet and patient. He couldn't remember the last time he saw his daughter's eyes light up that way.

He prided himself on being a good father since his wife left. Always making sure to put Sarah first, that she got everything she could ever want or need. Especially his love. When his ex abandoned them, he made sure Sarah got every ounce of love he had, hoping it would help make up for the loss. But as hard as he tried, he could never fully fill both roles. There were just some things that a mother provided for her daughter that Joel couldn't give.

He didn't realize it until he saw you with Sarah earlier that night, and then it felt like everything shifted into focus for the first time in his life.

He held out his hand to help you get back into his truck, making sure your legs were safely tucked in before he gently shut the door.

Sitting in the driver's seat gripping the steering wheel, he stared straight ahead for a moment in complete silence, the keys still in his coat pocket while his mind reeled.

"Is everything okay?" you asked timidly. He blinked and turned to you.

"Yeah," he said hoarsely. He swallowed and looked at his watch.

"You wanna get coffee or somethin'? I know it's gettin' late but I'm sure some place's open," he said, deep in thought as he considered the cafés nearby.

"Don't you have coffee at your house?" you asked shyly. His eyes snapped up to yours and he saw the flush creeping up your neck and the rapid rise and fall of your chest.

Oh.

"Yeah, yes," he croaked, nervously clearing his throat. "Let's do that. I have- yeah, good idea," he stammered, fumbling with the keys in his pocket.

You smirked as you watched his shaky hand turn the key in the ignition. He twisted around to back out of the parking spot, and this time you gave into temptation, unbuckling your seatbelt so you could slide over and tuck yourself under his arm. He immediately pulled you closer, not even caring that you weren't wearing your seatbelt. He would make sure to drive safe. Nothing could possibly ruin that night. He wouldn't let it.

At stop lights, you would run your hand up his chest and plant small kisses against the corner of his mouth, filling him with a radiating bliss he never felt before.

Once you got back to his house, you shrugged off your sweater and trailed behind him as he made his way into the kitchen. You leaned against the wall and watched as he opened one of the cupboards - the one with the small birds carved into the bottom - and pulled down a can of coffee.

"I don't think I have any decaf," he said turning to look at you.

"I don't want coffee, Joel," you said lowly. He swallowed roughly and put the can on the counter.

"What d'you want, then?"

You pushed yourself off the wall and slowly walked towards him, his eyes skating up and down your body as you approached. Wrapping your arms around his waist, you tilted your face up to gaze at him, your mouth hovering over his own.

"I want you."

His eyes fluttered closed as your lips slotted against his, his rough hands immediately coming up to cup your smooth face, holding you firmly against his mouth. Christ, he would never get tired of kissing you. If he could do it every single day for the rest of his life, he would. He knew it seemed crazy. He knew you just met, but he couldn't help the way you made him feel.

"Let's go upstairs," you whispered, nipping at his lower lip.

He couldn't speak. He just nodded in a daze and let you lead him coyly up the steps, then turned around to walk backwards down the hall towards his bedroom so you could pull him tightly against your body. His big hands gripped your waist while his tongue slipped past your lips, searching for its mate.

You reached behind you blindly, your hand fighting with the doorknob as his big frame caged you in against the wood, his masculine scent invading your senses and making it difficult to think. Finally, the door swung open and you both stumbled in, a giggle erupting from your throat as your fingers got to work undoing the buttons on his dress shirt.

You hurriedly tugged his button down off, leaving it in a heap on the floor as you slid your palms underneath the white t-shirt he had on, feeling the warm skin of his stomach and chest for the first time.

"Off," you whispered, your heart getting stuck in your throat when he yanked the shirt over his head, leaving his upper body completely bare to you. Your mouth went dry as you drank him in, then lunged forward, your lips brushing up his sternum until you reached his collarbone. You sucked on a bit of tanned skin there with a moan, then slipped your tongue out to press wetly against the red mark you left, feeling drunk off the taste of his sweat.

He gently pushed you backwards so he could ease you down onto his bed, his breath growing erratic and desperate with each little bite you left on his chest. God, has anyone ever desired him this much before? Has he really been missing out on this his entire life?

"Baby, we're gonna have to stop soon if you don't want this to go any further," he murmured. He found himself in the familiar position of hovering above you while his hand slid down your leg and toyed with the hem of your dress.

"I don't think I can take much more, tell me to stop," he whispered when you didn't answer, running the tip of his nose softly against your cheek.

"I don't want you to stop," you gasped as his fingers slipped underneath your dress. You tilted your head back and moaned when you felt his fingertips brush against the damp fabric of your panties.

His mouth hungrily devoured the exposed cleavage of your breasts, growing frustrated with the fabric of your dress keeping him from seeing all of you.

"Sit up," he demanded, leaning back and pulling his hand from between your legs. You obeyed, and he made short work of your zipper, pulling it all the way down so you could shimmy out, leaving you in just your underwear.

"Oh, fuck," he whispered when he realized you weren't wearing a bra. You let yourself fall back gently on the bed, spreading your arms out above your head so he could see every inch of you in the moonlight.

He couldn't believe this was actually happening. He kept waiting for his alarm to go off and reality to slap him across the face, but it never came. His heart was pounding so fast, he was sure you could hear it as he leaned back down and nibbled at your exposed jaw while his calloused hand cupped your soft breast, his thumb flicking over your hardening nipple.

You scraped your nails over his shoulders and down his chest as you arched your back, pressing into his hand, needing to feel the heat of his skin against your own. Your stomach flipped as you made your way down to his belt, and with shaky fingers, pulled hastily at the leather.

Yanking the belt through the loops with one swift motion, you flung it across the room, making him chuckle against your skin. When you started to work on popping open the button on his dress pants, a devastating thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Shit, wait," he said, putting his hand on top of yours. You frowned up at him, your chest heaving, as you gave him a confused look.

"I don't have any protection," he said through gritted teeth. He hung his head and squeezed his eyes shut angrily. "I-I haven't been with anyone since my ex, and I never thought... fuck," he said, clenching his jaw.

You weighed your options for about half a second before tugging his chin up, forcing him to look at you.

"I'm still on birth control," you told him, searching his eyes. "I mean, only if you're comfortable with it, we don't have to," you said, but in your head you were chanting please, please, please.

"Are you sure?" he asked, panting for air. "I don't wanna make you feel like -"

"Yes," you said, cutting him off by grabbing his face. "Yes. I'm sure, Joel. Please," you whimpered, pulling him back down to you, his mouth crashing down on yours again.

"Please," you whispered again, tipping your head back as his lips left a trail of soft kisses down your throat. "Please, Joel, I need you."

His mouth stuttered against your neck. Hearing you beg and say you needed him when he never thought he would ever be needed like this in his whole life made his mind go blank.

"Okay," he rasped. "Okay, baby."

He tugged at the zipper on his black pants and pulled them off as quickly as he could without leaving you. You reached down to help him, hooking your fingers over the band of his boxers and shoving them down. He kicked them off before yanking down your panties, dropping them on the floor next to his clothes.

You eagerly spread your legs so he could settle his hips between them. You glanced down with a small gasp when you saw the size of him and you felt your cheeks flare. Jesus Christ.

He didn't seem to notice your reaction when he was too wrapped up in staring at the wet heat between your legs, pulsing and waiting, just for him. He slid a finger gently between your folds, making you moan and your back arch. Fuck, he loved how responsive you were to his touch.

He readjusted so he was kneeling between your legs. His palms slid up your calves, past your knees and to your inner thighs, pressing them down into the mattress so you were spread wide.

He lined himself up at your center, glancing up at you quickly to make sure you were ready. You swallowed and nodded, your eyes filled with desire, desire for him, something he still couldn't fathom but decided not to question. He pressed forward gently, notching himself against you before falling forward on his elbows.

He kissed the tip of your nose as he eased himself inside you, pausing when he heard you gasp and felt you tense under him.

"More," you finally croaked, your nails coming up to rake against his scalp. He let out the breath he was holding and pushed in further, his eyes fluttering shut and his mouth falling open as he felt you slowly stretch around him so perfectly, like you were made just for him.

"Oh, god," he sighed, dropping his face to the crook of your neck after he fully sheathed himself inside you. He dragged his mouth across your chest, leaving a wet trail from his tongue and red marks from his scratchy beard in his wake. He waited until he felt your muscles relax under him before he slowly rolled his hips, dragging himself in and out as his teeth scraped over your tightening nipples. You moaned his name softly, the sound permanently etched in his brain, a sound he will refuse to forget for the rest of his life.

He began to roll his hips faster at your encouragement, becoming obsessed with the way you felt and the sounds you made, and it was all for him. He spent so much of his life giving to everyone around him, he never truly felt like anyone was able or willing to give him what he needed in return until now. The recognition was depressing and freeing at the same time. Now that he finally had what he always wanted, what he always needed, he was going to lose you and there was nothing he could do about it.

Each moan from your throat and each kiss from your lips dragged him down deeper and deeper until he collided head first with the stunning, yet so painfully obvious, realization that he was deliriously in love with you. It was insane, he knew that. But it didn't make it any less true.

"Joel," you gasped, pulling him out of his trance and back to the present.

"Yeah, baby? I'm here. I'm right here," he whispered, planting soft kisses all over your face.

You bit down on your lower lip and squeezed your eyes shut. The sheer intensity behind his gaze coupled with the agony of only getting to experience this for one more short week made tears burn in the backs of your eyes.

You felt your orgasm begin to swell deep in your belly while your breath became more ragged and your vision went spotty. It shouldn't feel this good. This was cruel, to be able to experience something like this just to have it brutally ripped away from you. It wasn't fair, yet you never wanted it to stop.

He could feel it. It's been years, and it was never, ever like this, but he still knew. The way you whimpered and clawed at his back while your walls squeezed him so tightly, he thought he might pass out.

"Open your eyes," he panted. "I wanna look at you."

You forced your eyes open, now unable to hold back the tears that pooled there as two drops trickled down the side of your face, getting lost in your hair.

"It's okay, I got you," he whispered lovingly, staring deep into your eyes, seeing everything you didn't dare say out loud.

"You can let go, baby," he told you, his hips snapping against you ruthlessly, desperate to come at the same time.

You felt the wave rip through you like fire, the power and emotion behind it unlike anything you ever felt before. More tears poured from your eyes as you cried out his name, your thighs squeezing his hips so tightly you weren't sure you would be able to stand after.

He followed seconds later with a deep groan, spilling himself deep inside you while murmuring praise and wiping away your tears with his thumb.

"Why're you cryin', did I hurt you?" he asked, his voice filled with so much concern that it broke your heart. You shook your head, wiping the tears away with the back of your hand, but fresh ones just took their place.

"C'mon, talk to me," he urged, leaning up a bit as he softened inside you.

"What are we gonna do, Joel?" you blubbered pathetically. He took a shaky breath in and tenderly tucked your hair behind your ear.

"I don't know, baby, but we'll figure somethin' out. We gotta," he said with a sigh.

"I can't lose you," you whispered, pressing your forehead against his and closing your eyes.

"You'll never lose me, I can promise you that," he replied, pressing a gentle kiss against your swollen lips.

He waited until your tears slowed down before sliding out of you with a hiss. Rolling off to your side, he wrapped his arms around your middle and pulled you close against his chest, and as you finally drifted off in his embrace, he thought about all of the options available before you, determined to find a solution.

Tag list: @lola8888673 @pedropascalsbbg @nandan11 @sushiumex @serenadingtigers @jjlevin @survivingandenduring @amyispxnk @mysterious-moonstruck-musings @merz-8 @wonyoungismind @fandomscollide @anoverwhelmingdin @cayleejx16 @msjjekyll @lizzie-cakes @hexedbywanda @harriedandharassed @joeldjarin - lmk if i missed anyone, if your name is crossed out it means it won't let me tag you

[squoxle]

pls write a jay dad au and wife😔🙏🏻

Well, since you asked so nicely...how about we start your day with a little...

Coffee After Sex ~ P.JS

☕︎ pairing: soft dom!husband!jay x sub!wife!reader | ☕︎ wc: 3.3k | ☕︎ plot: after a recent job promotion, you have been spending less and less time with your husband. | ☕︎ cw: 🔞MDNI!! this fic contains a combo of smut, fluff, crack, and angst with a hot cup of coffee in the morning.

The feeling of Jay's breath on your neck sent chills up your spine as he left soft, wet kisses along your neck.

You felt his warmth against your body, a sensation you had missed for far too long.

Nothing could take the place of him at this moment.

Nothing...except for the fact that this was all a dream and Jay had left you alone in bed hours ago. You looked over to the spot where he laid next to you and brushed your hand across the cool, empty space.

You pulled his pillow to your chest as you laid in silence, the delicate rays from the sun peeked through the blinds hidden behind the floor-length white curtains. Tears rolled down the side of your face, wetting the pillow slightly as sweet thoughts of him flashed through your mind.

You thought back to the last time you took a family vacation, the twins were a little younger at that time, but you still had fun playing in the sparkling beach sand. You rolled onto your back, looking up at the ceiling before climbing out of bed.

The cold floorboards kissed your feet as you walked to a pair of fluffy slippers. A lot of times it was easier to just keep yourself busy, focusing on the present rather than going into a mini depressive state. But you couldn't help it, you missed his laugh, his smile, the smell of him cooking breakfast on the weekends, and the way he'd come up behind you and kiss you randomly...some of the many things you loved about him.

Recently your husband's work schedule has been a lot busier than usual. He left earlier in the morning and came home even later.

You'd hope to spend some time with him on the weekends, but it was hard to balance everything with the twins and all of the other things you had to do around the house. Plus, he spent most of the day in the home office anyway. And by the time he came home in the evening, you were already in bed.

But what could you do about it? "This'll just be for a little while and then everything will be back to normal," you thought back to what Jay told you when he first took this promotion. His fingers gliding across the side of your face, brushing the hair behind your ear as your head hung low. He lifted your chin gently to meet your eyes before delicately kissing your lips.

A little while...a lot of times his absence made you feel like a single mom, but you had to stay positive. If not for you, for the kids. Seeing their mom sulking all day wouldn't do them any good.

Today you took the kids out for a trip to the library and picked up a few books before walking over to the nearby park. You sat on the bench and watched them play around together, chasing each other in a game of tag before taking turns pushing one another on the swings.

You saw Jay sit on one of the swings as the twins took turns pushing him. "Argh! You're too heavy, Daddy," your daughter sighed.

"You're just too weak," your son teased, giggling slightly as his sister puffed her cheeks.

"I am not!" she spat. "Watch," she grunted as she pushed with all of her might. Jay used his legs to swing a little higher. "See?" she smiled, tilting her head to the side as she placed her hands on her hips. "Told ya."

"No, I saw Dad use his legs," Jay burst into laughter noticing that his son had picked up on that detail.

"No, he didn't," she shook her head. "Did you Daddy?"

"No, you're just really strong," he chuckled as he swung back and forth.

"He's lying," your son said plainly, folding his arms as his sister stomped over to him, careful not to get hit by the swing.

"Okay," she huffed. "I'll show you how strong I am," she raised her fist at her brother.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he squeezed his fists together, cracking his knuckles.

"Woah, woah, guys calm down," Jay stopped the swing, breaking up the two. "Don't hit your brother, baby," Jay kneeled down to meet her gaze.

"Nah nah," your son poked his tongue out.

"But he just--" she started as Jay cut her off.

"Leave your sister alone. And we don't hit girls in this family, okay," he patted his son's shoulder. "How about I push the both of you? There're two swings."

"No, we wanna push you," they said in unison.

"Well, you gotta play nice, alright," he exchanged looks between the two.

"Okay~" they smiled before running behind him.

"You can push him first and then me, okay," your son said, making a deal with his sister.

"Okay," she smiled. "Hurry up, daddy. Sit down," she jumped excitedly as Jay sat down, waiting to be pushed.

Their little grunts mixed with his laughter caused your nose to tingle as tears gathered at your waterline. It was as if you could see Jay everywhere, but it was all just your imagination trying to fill that void for you.

You used the back of your hand to wipe away the wetness from your eyes before walking over to join the kids in whatever game they were playing.

After a busy day, you finally had the chance to relax after laying the kids down for bed. You ended up reading two of the books you picked up earlier since they couldn't decide on one. You flicked on the carousel nightlight before walking out of the room, leaving the door cracked enough that you could peek in and check on them without disturbing them.

Your husband, Jay, had texted you around lunchtime that he would be working late again tonight, but he'd try to get home as soon as possible.

This had been going on for the past few months and you were starting to miss him more than ever, but you didn't want to stress him out with your feelings so this was something you kept to yourself.

You went over a mental checklist to make sure you took care of everything before getting ready for a bath. You walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge to double-check that you packed a lunch box for Jay before switching off all of the lights and heading back to your room.

You started the bathwater as you shuffled through your drawers to pull out an oversized T-shirt. You climbed into the warm water and thought back to your dream from this morning.

You wished you could spend more time with him like you used to. Wished he could be sitting behind you right now with his arms wrapped around you, kissing your shoulder, and playing with the bubbles that floated on top of the water.

You rested your head on the cool, smooth, acrylic outer surface of the bathtub as music played through your headphones. You closed your eyes and drifted away in your mind as you felt a set of lips leave a kiss on your cheek.

"Jay?" you thought to yourself. You opened your eyes and turned around in the water to see nothing but your king-sized bed peeking through the door. "Must my mind playing tricks on me again," you sighed as you turned around to lay your head back down.

Soon after you zoned out in your music, you felt a hand glide along the side of your face. This time you felt kisses trail from your cheek down to your shoulder. You opened your eyes to see Jay hovering over you.

He was wearing his black work slacks and a plain white tee. You felt his warm hands press into the soft, moist skin on your shoulders. “Hope you don’t mind if I join,” he smirked as you turned around.

“Not at all,” you smiled back, watching as he undressed himself.

“Don’t think you’re getting this show for free,” he chuckled. “A view like this can be pretty pricey y’know?”

“I’m sure I can afford it,” you giggled back.

You loved how your husband liked to joke around here and there. This was one aspect about his personality that made you fall for him in the first place.

You turned off your phone and reached over to place it on the countertop near the sink. Bubbles covered the lower half of your body, but the silhouette was still very visible.

“Nice ass,” Jay smiled as he eyed your naked body. He was only wearing his boxers now, the rest of his clothes were kicked in a corner and balled up.

You shook your head in response as he stepped into the bath water. “C’mere,” he mumbled under his breath as he pulled you close. It was quiet for a moment as you laid against his slightly wet skin before reality set in.

“What’s with the sudden change of attitude? You’ve been so quiet lately,” you toyed with the wedding band around his finger as you laid between his legs.

“I missed my wife,” he said softly, pulling your hand to his lips as he kissed your knuckles. “And my kids.”

“Hmm, well we missed you too,” you hummed.

You listened to the deep, rhythmic beats of his heart as you rested your head against him. Aside from the warmth of the water, you missed the feeling of being wrapped in his arms.

Were you finally getting what you’d been waiting months for? To feel the strong embrace of your husband and the comfort that came with it? Whatever it was, you wanted to enjoy every last second of it.

You felt his breath on your neck as he rested his chin in the crevice of your shoulder. "Hey!" you exclaimed as you felt his fingers rub against your clit. He giggled at your reaction.

"Has it really been so long that my touch surprises you," he mumbled in between kisses.

"No, I just--"

"I'm kidding," he chuckled. "I'd be shocked if you touched me like that too."

A playful smirk grew across your face as you grinded your ass against him, the gentle sounds of the water matching the movements of your body. He groaned slightly as you stimulated him. "Are you shocked yet," you whispered, looking over your shoulder as you met his lustful gaze.

"Almost," he smiled, kissing your lips again. "I wanna see what else you can do," he bit your lower lip before you turned around to face him. He raised his knees up to get a little more comfortable as his back pressed up against the walls of the tub.

You straddled his wet body, the water level at your waist as you leaned over his shoulder. He pulled you closer as he lined his tip up with your opening. You slowly lowered down, taking in every inch as he held you by the waist.

The strokes were slow, but this gave you the chance to watch his facial expression contort as you bounced up and down. You teased his cock as you paused randomly, flashing him a playfully seductive glare.

"Are you gonna be a tease the whole time or are you gonna fuck me like a good girl?" he cooed. "I thought you liked it when I played with you like that," you tilted your head to the side as his lips turned into a smirk. He winced, sucking air through his teeth as you circled your hips around his tip. You pressed your hands into his shoulders as you plopped back down on him, filling yourself with his cock.

The water rocked with your hips, matching your movements, filling the room with its delicate splashing sounds. "Mmm, I do but," he moaned as you took this as an opportunity to pick up the pace.

"But what, baby?" you huffed. "But, I wanna fuck you so badly right now," he groaned. "You'll get your turn," you smiled. "I wanna have a little more fun like this," he hummed as you said these words, you could feel the desperation increase with every movement.

You listened as soft, sweet moans escaped his lips while you rode him. Every so often you would hit his good spot, causing him to throw his head back and lift his hips up slightly to buck into you.

His breathing quickened and began more ragged as you changed the speed and movements of your body. He felt your pussy tighten around him as you both came closer to your highs. You leaned back slightly, bracing yourself against his raised knees as he pressed into your lower stomach.

You felt his thumbs pushing hard into your soft flesh as you nearly toppled over. The overwhelming and increased sensation of dick sent you into a mode of overstimulation as you humped faster. Matching your energy, Jay raised his hips to pump deeper into you as muffled screams hid behind your hand.

You knew you had to stay quiet because you had a habit of getting carried away with the noise. "I've had enough of this," Jay huffed, guiding you off of him as he leaned you over the edge of the tub. You held your position with your palms as your tits pressed into the coolness of the acrylic layer.

You leaned your head across your hands as you waited for him. You were facing the door as you heard the sounds of him moving behind you. Your eyes jumped open as he spread your legs apart. You felt the top of his head bump into your stomach before the feeling of his tongue lapping at your entrance overwhelmed your senses.

"Ngh!" you yelped, in this position it was a little harder to cover your mouth so you just stuffed your face into the fold of your arms. "Ahh!" you gasped as he jammed his fingers into you, coating them in your juices as continued eating you out.

He finger fucked you faster as you leaned more and more over the edge. You were struggling to stay in one spot as he gripped onto your ass, holding you in place as nearly came right on his face. You caught your breath as he ripped his fingers out and climbed out from between your legs.

"I want you to finish with my cum inside of you," he hummed as he lined up behind you. You moaned, faced still stuffed into your arms, as he slammed his dick into you. "Already tightening up?" he cooed as he felt your entrance had tightened up slightly compared to earlier.

"It's my turn now," he hummed, grabbing a handful of your hair in his hand before pulling your head back to face him. "Look at me while I fuck you," he groaned as one hand wrapped around the base of your chin, squeezing your lips together.

You panted breathlessly as fucked into you harder. "Who's pussy is this," he smacked your ass as you moaned with his touch. "Say it," he pushed, taking his free hand to rub your clit. Your body trembled in his grasp "You better say something or I'll stop right now," he huffed.

"It's yours," you yelped. "It's yours, baby," you whined in a shaky voice before he sucked your lips in for a rough kiss.

"Good girl," he grunted as he pushed your head down. You felt his hips smacking into your ass as he groaned in pleasure. He kept up the pace until finally spilling his seed inside of you.

The two of you laid there breathless, panting with your wet bodies, both from sweat and the water that swayed beneath you. It wasn't long before you climbed out of the tub and went straight to bed, naked and slightly damp, especially Jay's hair which got wet when he ate you out.

As much as you enjoyed that little surprise with Jay, you hated the feeling that came over you once he finally fell asleep. You looked over his features, lightly touching his face as you thought about how he'd be gone in the morning...just like always.

Your husband was starting to feel like another part of your imagination, every good moment being tainted by the feeling of abandonment. You closed your eyes looking at him with tears in your eyes as you drifted off to sleep.

Your eyes fluttered open as the colors of the sun danced across your bedroom floor. As usual, you woke up to see the covers pushed back on his side, reminding you that you were alone again. You sat up before swinging your legs over the edge of the bed. You slipped into a pair of panties from your top drawer before pulling a dress over your head and sliding into your slippers.

Interrupting your senses, was the smell of breakfast. You stopped as your hand wrapped around the bedroom doorknob, you listened as the sounds of hushed giggles and food sizzling filled the air around you.

You hoped with everything in your body that this wasn't your mind playing tricks on you again, you weren't sure how much more you could take. But when you opened the door to see the kids huddled over the countertop as Jay swirled a skillet on the stove, you had to blink a few times before realizing that this was really happening.

You slowly walked into the kitchen as Jay welcomed you with a smile. "Good morning, Mommy!" your kids smiled in unison.

"Morning," you waved as you walked over to them, planting a kiss on each of their heads. "What's all of this?"

"We're helping, Dad make breakfast," your son smiled. "I made your coffee."

"I put all the stuff on the pancakes," your daughter chimed in as Jay placed the eggs and bacon on the place.

"Yeah, but you didn't make them," her brother teased.

"I made one," she huffed.

"And where is it now, huh? Oh, that's right, in the trash," he giggled.

"Well, you put salt in the first cup you made for mom. So now who sucks," she poked her tongue out.

"Calm down you guys, you both did a great job. Especially for your first time," Jay smiled as he came behind them, patting them both on the shoulder before coming over to kiss you on the cheek. "We were gonna surprise you in bed," he chuckled.

"Wait, Jay. Don't you have work today?"

"I did," he started as he walked over to the table, placing your breakfast down. "But I called in. I wanted to spend some time with my family today."

The kids climbed onto their barstool as Jay passed them their breakfast. "Thank you," they smiled before they started eating.

"Jay," you gasped. "You didn't have to do that. What if they needed you at work today?"

"Well, my family needs me more. Especially my wife," he tilted his head to the side as he sat down next to you. "This morning," he started in a hushed tone, "When I was about to get out of bed you grabbed my arm and said 'Please don't leave me again.' Your eyes were still closed so I knew you were sleeping, but there was no way in hell I could go to work after something like that."

He reached over to grab your hand, caressing the back as you lowered your head. "Sorry," you whispered quietly.

"Don't be sorry. If I hadn't been working so hard I would've noticed how this change was affecting you sooner. I already contacted my boss about another position and we'll see how it goes from there, but for now, let's enjoy this moment together. Just me, you, and the kids."

❀ Thak you all so much for reading! Make sure to check out other works on my masterlist!

❀ 𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝: @chlorinecake @mimikittysblog @nikisvanillaccola @wonbinisbabygurl @mrswolfhard3 @laylasbunbunny @sussyjake @furious-eagle @cherrriesss @abbyizzy @weyukinluv @addictedtohobi @thatonenoona @wavykook @givemeyourtmihyun @jaeljn @hoonmywk @valennshit @19-yunalyn @hoonbby @frostedblankets @hoonsyo @no-mannerism @perfectxserendipity @chubbibish @ihrtlix @bunniesforsoobin @thereadersparadise @thatbooknerdfr @aiden2001 @belongstoheeseung @jakeybabe @donut-crazs @rizzhee @nikimeows @woonieees @uarmyxtae @rebecca-johnson-28 @they2luv1naia @isa-2007 @silcry @riverscafe @pearlwhitesoul @nikohiroshi @thatbooknerdfr @wonniewonwon @sughoonieeee @babyy-bambii @adrika04 @sehunsharpasseyebrows @wtfyangjungwon @fr-3-akn-4-stymf @rikiloversworld @shawyle @sunoosrightbuttcheek @uarmyxtae @lovesickxmina @urfavberry @urauntiefaye @breadlover01 @taehyunsfavmoa

[tinydefector]

Marine Centre 9 - Merformers

Word count: 2.5k

Warnings: none

Fic Masterlist

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Have the collection of the Oceanides I have art finished of

________________________________

After the incident with Big Blue and Angelfish they had distanced themself slightly, more out of embarrassment over anything,  the felt bad for Big blue they had been pestering the crap out of him and he had been avoiding them due to ‘that’.

They felt stupid more than anything, it was getting close to a lot of animal's breeding season so it was only expected the oceanides would be going into season as well. They couldn't blame him for avoiding them, if the roles were reversed they would have been mortified. 

They are snapped out of their thoughts as the small group of kids walk towards the entrance of the centre. a smile crosses their lips as they see their little cousin bouncing towards them. “Hey kiddo, woah look how tall you have gotten!” They laugh while ruffling their hair. 

“Mum and Dad said you asked if I wanted to visit!, woah are those the Mermaids you work with! They are so pretty!” They exclaim in excitement as they move to rest on the jetty. The three other kids move closer to watch as well. 

"Look, it's coming over! Can it understand us?" one boy called. 

A girl squealed as Angelfish swam near, clearly awestruck. "Mum, its staring! I think it wants to say hi!" As she waves slightly at him. 

"Hello fishy! My name's Jill. What's yours?"

Angelfish chirped softly, tilting his head at the odd, high-pitched sounds. Their enthusiasm, like playful otters, was infectious. He trilled in greeting, watching with amusement as Jill gasped.

"He talked to me! Did you hear?" 

Her brother laughed. "Silly, it doesn't have a name or talk. It just makes noise like a dolphin." 

Jill pouted stubbornly as Angelfish whistled quietly, hoping she'd understand he was friendly.

They shake their head softly at the kids. "Alright everyone. These beautiful beings are Oceanides. Or as I'm sure you all call them Mermaids, merfolk." They explain to the children. "All of them here have names. This sweet boy here is Angelfish. And if you're really good some of the others might come over to say hi" they hum while motioning to Angelfish. As they sit down ushering for the kids to move closer. 

The children gasped in awe, gathering around eagerly as Quin sat with them to tell more. "Angelfish is curious about you all too," she said with a smile at the sweet oceanide. "He knows 'hi' and can understand something. Can any of you say hello to him nicely?"

 Two brave kids leaned forward, waving. "Hi Angelfish!" 

He chirped happily in response, floating closer as he twirls and shoes off in delight. "He's so cool!" exclaimed a boy. "Can he really talk?"

"Well, not quite like us," Quin explained. "But Angelfish and his pod use special whistles and clicks to communicate. They can recognize each other, share danger signals and even tell stories that way. It's amazing!"

"They sing a lot, Angelfish here loves cuddles but you have to remember they are wild creatures and not all of the mers are the same. We have a big one here who doesn't really like people. His name is The Meg but i call him Big man, but then we have Angelfish, Cherry and Babybee who do very much like people" they explain as Bluestreak presses his head into their lap.

The children listened, enthralled, "Angelfish seems to really like you," noted a boy. They smiled, stroking Angelfish’s frilled head where it rested against their leg. "I've spent time getting to know them all. Angelfish was the first to become cuddly towards me” 

Jill raised her hand eagerly. "What's Babybee like?" "Oh, he's the sweetest little thing, so curious and playful! Not much bigger than you. Just don't squeeze too tight if you're lucky enough to meet him." 

Questions kept flowing as the youngsters soaked up every detail. "Quin would you mind taking them to meet the Turtles and show them the Ray's?" They ask with a smile as they watch the group of kids. Their little cousin looked excitedly to spend time with them away from the other group.

"Of course!" Quin replied warmly. Gaining the children's attention, she spoke with kind enthusiasm. "Who would like to learn more about our shelled friends and the stingrays we have here?" 

A chorus of raised hands answered, swarming Quin as they stood. 

Quin grinned at their eager faces, leading the way. "Now everyone listen closely please no loud noises or quick moves that might startle. The sea life once we head inside"

As the other kids and their parents walk away with Quin, their little cousin stays with them, moving to sit beside them on the jetty. "Would you like to meet someone very special to me kiddo?" They ask giving their little cousin a slight nudge with their elbow. 

The kid nods eagerly, bright eyes alight with curiosity. "Yeah! Who is it?" Their feet kick softly against the worn wooden slats, "Is it one of the Mermaids? Do you think they'll let me touch their tail?" They inquire while watching the oceanides.

"I'm sure you can if they let you, but just wait" they make a loud whistle which catches the oceanides attention but it's a quick little blur of yellow and black that comes darting towards the jetty, cooing and calling. "Yes, yes hello bubba!" They laugh as the pup nearly climbs up onto them. Their cousin gasps in delight as the sunny blur of scales comes clicking and chirping over the water. "A puppy! No, a Guppy!" 

Small hands reach out eagerly to greet the bouncing bundle of yellow and black with a careful pat and giggle. Up close, its skin gleams so smooth, like the jewels piled in tidepools but alive with vibrant colours. Their wide eyes drink in every shimmering detail. The flicking fins, bright little face, bubbly noises of joy. "Omg! He's so cute. What's his name?" 

" This is BabyBee, he's the only pup we have here, remember when I had to look after a really sick baby mer, well this was him. He's rather attached to me now" they chuckle. Hoisting him closer so that their little cousin could meet him. "Say hi Baby" they coo softly to the pup. 

The kid grins wide, gently waving hello. "Hi BabyBee! I'm so glad you're all better now. Thank you for coming to visit us." They gently pat his shimmering skin, marvelling at the silken texture. But even more amazing were the strange sounds he made.

"Bubba hi! You nice," Babybee chirps back, nuzzling their palm for scritches. His caretaker hugging him sends joy bubbling up his frame. They chuckle watching their little cousins face in shock hearing bumblebee talk. "Shhh, you're the first person outside of me to hear him talk. Don't want a lot of people knowing. " they whisper. As Babybee purrs and plays with their fingers.

Quickly pressing a finger to smiling lips, they nod eagerly. "It's our secret, I promise!" they whisper back. Gently wiggling fingers to play peek-a-boo. Bee wiggles his fins and frills giggling as he plays. His joyful chirps and trills make them smile in delight over being so taken with someone to play with. 

"He's the reason I asked your mum if you wanted to come stay with me for the weekend. Once the tours over with the other people I'll take you to the beach. You can come play with him and meet the others" they explain. Their cousin's eyes light up brighter than the midday sun. "Really?! I get to come here and play with Babybee all weekend?"  

"Thank you thank you! It's the best present ever!"

"Anytime kiddo" they give a partial hug to them. "All right bubba, you gonna go back in, I'll be back later" they coo to the pup as they settle him back into the water.

_______________________

From his perch on the rocks, Megatron watches the unusual exchange with contemplative interest. He hadn't ever seen the caretaker with spawn of their own, but to see how close this small one was with them he could only suspect.

Meanwhile, chatter rises high as ever among the gathering pods. "Didja see that?" Skywarp titters eagerly. "They are introducing their own kin to Bumblebee!" 

Ever-hopeful Bluestreak chirps with joy. "Just think of all the fun those bitlits will have playing! Don't that just warm your frills, Ratch'?.  Bumblebee has a playmate now"

Ratchet hums softly, as Bumblebee trills a farewell before darting back to play, Bumblebee chirps and whistles eagerly, spiralling around the gathering pods with buoyant glee. 

"Didja hear dat, didja hear? De bitlit coming to play wif me!" His words are quick and jumbled in his delight. “I saw pup, making new friends are you” Ratchet coos while checking the bitlet 

Rodimus rumbles a muted warning to his peers. As they swam closer, frills flared showing off the colours "Easy now, don't scare our soft-skins with your antics." 

But Sideswipe whistles an impish laugh, spiralling through the water with flared colours on proud display. "Aw, come on Roddy! Let'em see what they're missing!"

Bluestreak chirps from the jetty, a webbed hand resting on their leg as he coos up at them again. He whines softly before attempting to mimic one of their words again. “Bu..bubba?” He calls out his big black and blue eyes staring up at them pleadingly. 

Ever eager to one-up his peers, Sunstreaker slowly swims his way closer. He lets out a small growl at Bluestreak only for the soft skin to growl back at him. A smug look crosses his face as he lets out a pleased rumble.

Meanwhile, Jazz and Mirage watch in amusement. “You'd think if they were that desperate they'd go looking for another walker” Mirage states and Jazz just shakes his head in amusement. “five shells Sunstreaker is the one who woos them” Jazz hums to the other. 

Arcee watches before finally deciding she was going to give It a shot. “Move out of the way Guppies” she calls, pulling herself up onto the jetty partially as she flares her frills and calls out in a little melody at the softone even as they begin to walk away. It earns a look from them and it makes her feel rather smug. 

“Eat my tail you lot” she sparks at the boys.

__________

Later 

Laughter echoes across the sand as Their cousin runs across the sand towards the water. giggling wildly, as they move up onto the rockpools that line the coast. 

Bee zips towards shore with gleeful whistles. Breaking the waves as a bubbly blur of yellow and black scales. "Bubba! Bubba, here! Play now, yay!" He trills, wriggling onto the rocks and into the pools to follow. 

Small hands pat his slick hide with utmost care and delight. "Hi Babybee! I'm so happy to see you again. Did you have fun while I was gone?" Together they tumble into the foamy surf that washes into the shallow area of the rock pools, the pup chattering eagerly. "Don't leave the rock pools please, you two can play in the water but don't leave my sight" they state in a stern voice.

Babybee chirps obediently, while their little cousin nods eagerly at them. "We'll be good, we promise!" they call, small hands clasped around smooth yellow-black scales. Together pup and child splash and play among the glittering tidepools teeming with hidden worlds. Shrimp dart from probing fingers, anemones bloom neon against stones. 

Babybee chatters happily, chasing crabs and crunching down on them when he catches one, holding out some to his new friend who declines the crustacean. but trading shells and stones that they find as they giggle and play together. 

They move to sit with their feet handling into the water of the pool, eyes watching them cautiously as they settle into the shallows chasing little fish and crabs. It was peaceful even as the oceanides began pulling themselves out of the water to watch in delight to see the pup having a playmate. 

The Megs massive silhouette glides unseen amidst the dark swells, scarlet gaze fixed upon the two playing in the water. Within the pools, Bee chitters happily as he snaps at darting fish, kicking up frothy swirls for his small companion to squeal and giggle over. 

They feel the large presence of Oceanide behind them, tilting their head back slightly before smiling at the large Mer. " Hey Big man, you want a cuddle?" They coo softly as he makes himself comfortable on the rocks, chin resting against his arms as he watches the two younglings play. 

He regards them as they lean against his bulk with a considering hum. His rumble carries distant notes of laughter. Gently his serrated tail curls to grant shelter from the sea breeze. Bee's little trills echo the puppy's pure joy, swimming circles around their companion. 

They go quiet for a moment as they lean against him as they watch the two. "I'm sorry I couldn't save your pup, I keep thinking back to what I could have done." They mutter softly. "It should be your pup out there playing with Bee". 

 They nearly gasp as he moves, bright scarlet eyes locked on theirs as he brings his forehead to rest against theirs. With great care he nuzzles their brow, letting a soft whine leave his throat.

They hold onto him as they both continue to watch Bee and their little cousin. The Meg remains a watchful, silent guardian. 

______________________

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[wlntrsldler]

poisoned mercury | end up here

a/n: i'm going FERALLLLLLL over this chapter. enjoy poisoned mercury's debut album hehe.

iv. end up here by 5sos

series masterlist | previous | next

“your band name doesn’t even make any sense,” you argued, eyes narrowing at the boy in front of you. 

luke crashed your secret spot, again, and refused to let you smoke in silence until you gave him a detailed explanation of how your day went. he knew you didn’t smoke every day, only on days that were particularly hard. he noticed that your bad days always had something to do with your dad, but it didn’t feel like the right moment to bring that up. 

anyway, you got fed up with his badgering and that stupid smirk on his face because he knew you were about to crack, and decided that if he was going to act like a toddler, you would too. hence, why you were now bringing up his band name. 

luke took offense to that because he thought the band name was cool. he was the one to suggest it. he crossed his arms over his chest, trying not to let his hurt show on his face, “what do you mean? poisoned mercury is a sick name.” 

“mercury is already poisonous. your band name is like redundant or some shit.” 

“then why did so many people in history ingest it?” luke asked, recalling the one thing he remembered from his high school history class before he dropped out. he took a drag from his cigarette, turning his body a bit so the wind didn’t blow the smoke directly in your face. 

“they fucking died, castellan,” you replied, deadpan. 

“oh,” he blinked, staring off, “i didn’t know that.” 

you rolled your eyes, a habit that you’ve picked up whenever you were with him and sat back down on the bench. luke joined you, silent as he thought about what you just said. he really needed to stop zoning out during lessons, but since he was already out of high school, he guessed it didn’t matter anymore. 

as much as you hate to admit it, luke castellan was growing on you. sure, he got on your nerves like nobody else– the boy just doesn’t quit– but, he wasn’t half as bad as you originally thought. not that you’d ever tell him that though. 

when you got back to the cabin last week after helping with concert prep, the cabin was spotless. there were no empty red bull cans in sight, the table tops were free of crumbs, floor vacuumed and mopped, and there was even a candle burning on the counter. you approached your bedroom door to find a post-it on the handle. luke’s messy writing was smudged around the corners, but you could still make out what it said. 

“five star, 

i snitched on the boys and my mom will have a stern talk with them about their cleanliness. can’t promise that people will stop talking about me, but i can promise you won’t have to live in the dojo casa house mojo or whatever it was. 

ps i’m using the spot tomorrow, just thought i should let you know. maybe we can set up a calendar for reservations. 

luke :)” 

the cabin hasn’t been as messy since. whatever may castellan told the boys worked like a charm. there was still the occasional trash, but nothing crazy. it smelled better in the cabin too, still like a boy, but it smelled like expensive cologne more than anything. cedarwood and pine. 

and thankfully, the luke castellan hype train was starting to run out of steam, with many people finally realizing that he was also just a human being and the surprising revelation that luke castellan was not entertaining anyone during his time at camp helped with it as well. you still heard whispers about him here and there, but you were glad the topic of conversation was beginning to switch to something else. 

you and luke walked to the gym and back home every morning together. he and the boys sat with you and clarisse during meals. they tagged along for music lessons and spoke to the kids, which they really appreciated. they helped the older campers with writing music, luke particularly. you’d been around a few musicians in your life and many of them only kissed ass when your dad was around, but poisoned mercury was different. they were passionate about their music. that was clear.

after a conversation with clarisse, where she managed to convince you that not all musicians are like your ex, you began to let loose a little bit. you hung out with the boys more, partly as an excuse so clarisse could hang out with chris without causing too much suspicion, and found that you actually enjoyed their company. and luke castellan? well, he wasn’t half bad. that doesn’t mean he got off easy though. 

you took a hit of your vape, facing him, “are you done interrogating me?” 

“for now, yeah,” he smiled as you shook your head. “are you coming to the concert tonight?” 

“well, i did help organize it.” 

“a simple yes would’ve sufficed, five star,” luke teased, relighting his cigarette. it was burning unevenly and luke was never one to waste his cigarettes. “you gonna watch us play?” 

“don’t have a choice. dad wants me there the whole time.” 

“you can act a little excited,” luke ran a hand through his curls, “we are pretty good, you know.” 

“i know,” you hummed. the sun was beginning to set and there was a slight breeze in the air. goosebumps formed on your skin, the t-shirt and denim shorts you wore didn’t offer much comfort. you shivered, “i have listened to your music.” 

“are you cold?” 

your teeth chattered, but you shook your head, “i’m fine.” 

luke took off his hoodie, tossing it in your direction, “take it.” 

“no,” you tossed it back to him, “told you i’m good.”

always so stubborn, luke thought.  

“if you catch a cold, that’s not on me,” he placed the hoodie on the bench between the two of you. “which songs have you listened to?” 

“kilby girl, of course. it played on the radio so much when you guys first dropped it,” you said, remembering the days where you and your hometown friends would blast it in the car. it reminded you of high school, reckless decisions, life-long memories, and the thrill of knowing you were going to be playing the sport you’d worked so hard to excel in at a d1 level in the fall. you looked at him, sincerity in your eyes, “i really like family line. it might be my favorite.” 

luke’s eyebrows shot up. not many people talked about family line. it was probably their least streamed song. they never performed the song on tour because it was difficult for luke to sing it. it was a personal song to him. it was inspired by his relationship with his father, or lack thereof. 

when poisoned mercury first got signed to olympus records, luke sent a message to his dad on facebook. luke hadn’t tried to contact him since he was ten, not since his father returned his letter to him unopened, no response but a “return to sender” stamp plastered over the envelope. but after the small congratulatory party his mom set up for the band after they signed, luke felt like a little kid again, a kid who wanted to share the great news with his dad, so he found his dad on facebook, made an account, and sent him a message. 

he didn’t get a reply, which was expected, but it felt good for a second to pretend that he had a father to tell his good news to. luke thought he didn’t care about whether or not his dad was proud of him, but when his message went from “sent” to “read” a few days later, he was brought back to those moments in his life when he cried and wondered why he wasn’t enough to make his dad stay. he wrote family line in one sitting, on his bed in his bedroom in connecticut, looking at the little league medals on his wall that seemed to mock him. 

he originally didn’t want it on the album because he felt like it didn’t fit the vibe of the rest of the songs and that it was too real, too vulnerable for a debut album, but then he played it for his mom and she loved it. she cried when she first heard it and luke knew that even if people didn’t like the song, he was going to put it out for his mom. 

“huh,” he cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure, “wasn’t expecting that one. thought you’d be more of a crash my car type of girl.” 

“i like that too,” you shrugged, “but family line. that song. i don’t think i have the words to describe it.” 

“thanks, five star,” luke looked down at his feet, taking a puff from his dying cigarette. “that’s my mom’s favorite, too.” 

“did you write it?” 

luke nodded, looking to face you. there was a new expression on your face, one that you’d never used with him before. it was a mix of disbelief and awe. he tried not to get offended that you didn’t think he could write something like family line, but he couldn’t blame you. he didn’t really portray the type of person who would be able to be that raw and vulnerable on a song. “me and trav write the lyrics for our songs, mostly. chris and connor help too, but the bulk of the lyrics are me.” 

“you need to stop doing that.”

he cocked his head to the side, crushing the cigarette butt on the hardware of the bench, “doing what?” 

“surprising me,” you shook your head, “i don’t like it.” 

“i don’t know what to tell you,” he chuckled, leaning back on the bench. he looked out into the lake, watching the sun disappear behind the mountains, “i have layers. you just gotta give me a chance.” 

“how do you do it?” you sat criss cross on the bench, leaning against the arm rest. “how do you write like that?” 

you’d always been curious about music, even if you weren’t good at it. your dad was never one to answer your questions, especially because you were interested in lyrics more than anything, and that wasn’t his forte. 

luke mimicked your actions, “i dunno. personal experience, i guess?”

you frowned, thinking about the lyrics of family line. luke never talked about his dad, but spoke highly of his mom. was family line based on his own life? if it was, his dad was an asshole. 

you relented to the cold, grabbing the hoodie that he left in between the two of you. you ignored the triumphant smile on his face when you draped the sweater over your bare legs, shielding them from the wind chills. 

he continued, “sometimes things happen to me that get me worked up and i have to write a song about it. sometimes, it’s based on my imagination. it depends.”

you wanted to ask him about his dad, but you didn’t know if he considered you guys friends yet. it’s not like you made it easy for him anyway. you could deal with the banters and annoyance, but you didn’t want to push him to talk about something he wasn’t ready to. you could be a dick, but you weren’t cruel. 

you changed the subject, “okay, let’s play a game.” 

“21 questions?” luke bit his bottom lip, trying not to laugh. he waggled his eyebrows, dodging your arm that reached out to smack him. 

“you’re gross,” you gagged, knowing the implications of the game, “no, i’m gonna ask about the songs on your album and you tell me if it’s real life or from your imagination.” 

“alright, go for it five star,” he beamed, propping his elbows on his crossed knees. he loved talking about music with anyone. he could go on and on for hours. 

“18.” 

“real,” luke snorted, remembering the first time travis pitched the idea for the song to the band, “but not my experience. it was trav. he met this girl at one of our gigs in new york, right after we got signed, and he was obsessed. she was a freshman at nyu and she kept telling him he was too young for her, even though she was just less than a year older. trav was hooked.” 

you could picture it. it was definitely something travis would do. “okay, another one of my favorites. only angel?” 

“not real,” luke shook his head, a slight blush creeping up on his face. “if you tell anyone, five star, i will vehemently deny it, but i had a crush on jade west from victorious and i wrote it about her.” 

there was something about jade west that made luke like a love-sick puppy. ignoring the fact that she was hot, her attitude was something that luke was attracted to. she had a tough exterior and acted like she didn’t care about people, but she had her moments where she was soft and kind to the people she cared about the most. luke liked that. the idea that someone could be sensitive but only to the people they deemed worthy. 

he’d spent so much of his life trying to be worthy, in whatever way the stage of his life defined it, and he craved it– a pat on the back, an approval, a confirmation that he was worthy of it. 

you threw your head back laughing, surprised by his ridiculous confession. the sound of your laughter rang across the woods, making luke smile. your voice echoed throughout the trees and he his senses were surrounded by you. it hit luke like a truck. 

he sucked in a breath, taking out his phone. he jolted from his seat for more than one reason. “shit, five star. we gotta go.” 

you took out your phone too, checking the time. your eyes widened as you got up from your seat. you threw his hoodie over to him, “fuck, we’re late.” 

the two of you raced out of the woods, arriving to the concert venue with flushed faces and rapid breaths. you could feel clarisse’s knowing eyes on you as you got ready for the concert. you tried your best to ignore it. you were going to deal with that later. 

–

“and for the final event, i know you guys are looking forward to this one,” your dad laughed into the mic. the sun was long gone and there were disco lights illuminating the stage. a smoke machine was on either corner, making it difficult to see the bottom half of the stage. you and clarisse stood in the front row, listening to the deafening cheers of the campers. “ladies and gents, welcome poisoned mercury!” 

the screams got louder which you didn’t even know was possible. travis entered the stage first, sticking his tongue out as he expertly twirled his drumsticks around his fingers. connor came in next, smiling and waving at the crowd as he plugged his guitar into the amp. chris walked in with his bass strapped around his neck, eyes immediately finding clarisse and sending her a shy smile. you nudged her teasingly, enjoying the way she blushed under the lights. 

then luke castellan walked in. he ditched his hoodie and t-shirt and walked in with a white tank top on, messing with the curls on his head. he tugged on the silver necklace around his neck as his eyes scanned the crowd. he threw a wink to the group of the older girls in the back, turning to travis to let out a laugh at their reaction. the lights on the boys were blinding and a thin layer of sweat already began to form on their skin despite the bite to the air. 

luke took center stage, picking up his guitar. he leaned over directly in front of you, fingers pretending to mess with the wires connecting his guitar to the speakers, “hey, five star.” 

he straightened his back before you could reply. clarisse’s eyes darted between you and the boy, now nudging you like you did to her earlier. you rolled your eyes, smiling at the rest of the boys as luke began talking on the mic. 

“what’s up, camp half blood?” luke screamed into the mic. the crowd roared. “we’re poisoned mercury and we are so happy to be with you guys here this summer. before we close out this awesome concert, i wanna introduce our lovely band.” 

“on drums, we have the one and only, travis stoll!” luke turned around to applaud travis as he did a little drum solo, head banging as he hit the drums. he turned to connor, “on lead guitar, we have the amazing connor stoll!” 

connor strummed his guitar, leaning over on the left side to soak in the applause of the crowd. the girls beside you swooned as he unleashed one of his award-winning smiles. 

luke faced chris, “and on bass, we have my very best friend in the entire world, my 4lifer, chris rodriguez!” clarisse cheered loudly for chris as he played a tune on his bass, mouthing, “love you, brother,” to luke as he played. the crowd quited for a second as luke addressed them again, “and my name is luke castellan. we’re poisoned mercury!” 

you turned around to look at the crowd. the size of the crowd tripled when the boys got on stage. everyone had a smile on their face, excited to hear them play. 

“the song we’ll be singing for you guys today is from our debut album,” luke adjusted his mic on the stand. he got closer to it, lips touching the metal, “this is only angel.” 

you couldn’t help but let out a laugh at their song choice. this was not the song they were supposed to sing. they’d been rehearsing kilby girl for the past week. luke saw your reaction, laughing along with you. 

the instrumentals began and you nearly missed the beat drop because of the cheers from the crowd. as the song progressed, the boys were one with the music. you watched luke sing, working the crowd like a pro. his skin glistened under the spotlight, beads of sweat tricking down the side of his face. he approached chris when the chorus started, dragging his mic stand with him. he swung his guitar around so it rested on his back as he sang the lyrics. his curls were sticking to his forehead, eyebrows raised in glee as he performed. 

you couldn’t take your eyes off the lead singer, not even when the rest of the band had their own solos in the song. your eyes were glued on luke; how his adam’s apple was on full display as he threw his head back, getting lost in the music, how his arms flexed as he wrapped the mic cord around his fist, how his thin tank top stuck to his body and how it raised when he lifted his arm up to bring the mic closer to his lips. you saw the outline of his abdomen and his v-line. 

but what really got you was his face. he looked at peace on stage, a wide smile on his face, full lips pink and glossy as he licked them in between verses. he looked incredible up there, like that was where he belonged. he was born to be on stage like this. 

“fuck,” you mumbled, applauding at the end of their song. luke’s eyes found yours as he sang the last bit of the song, smiling at you. you hoped clarisse couldn’t hear you talk to yourself. you looked down at your feet, tugging nervously on the collar of your shirt, “i get it now.”

[billthedrake]

LINEAGE (PART SEVEN)

A parent-teacher conference night was the last thing I wanted to attend. Braden was starting to be slowed down by the twin pregnancy, earlier than previously, and the fact the younger boys were starting to get into the more rambunctious age made both our jobs tougher. Between work, parenting, and just picking up the slack, it was a busy month for me. But we were sending Junior to a private school that prided itself on personal attention to its students, and at home I placed an emphasis on education. So after dinner, I drove over to the school.

Even if it was the last thing I wanted to do on a Wednesday evening, I was glad when I got there. I was able to have a nice chat with Junior's golf coach, Brad Sargent. Even on a solid high school golf team, Junior was a standout player as a freshman. "Bill is scholarship material," Brad said with an encouraging tone. "I don't know if I've seen that mix of talent and work ethic before." Since in public Junior was only my grandson rather than my son as well, we referred to him by his first name, not Junior.

"That's all him," I said. "But it's made me and his father real happy for sure."

Next was a meeting with his English teacher. While Junior's grades were OK, English was his weak subject. Mrs. Hilliard was polite but talked in a way that let me know my son wasn't her star student. Still, I assured her that Bill would stay on track.

The big surprise though was his history teacher, Thomas Rizzo, who was a high school football coach and looked like one - probably in his early 30s, he had big ex-linebacker build, a little beefy, with huge shoulders and a thick neck that splayed the open collar of his oxford blue button down. He shook my hand with a vice grip.

"Mr. Drake," he said before we both sat in his empty classroom.

We talked about Junior's grades and performance in the class. All good stuff.

"I gather he wants to go into Finance," the teacher said at one point.

"Why do you say that?" I asked. I'd tried to get my eldest son to talk about his life aspirations, but Braden put the kibosh on that. My husband still resented the pressure I'd put on him when he was a teen.

"Well, for starters..." Coach Rizzo replied with a grin. "Bill's doing his project on the history of the New York Stock Exchange."

"You're kidding?" I laughed.

"Nope," he grinned. "But he's a good kid. Too bad I can't talk him into joining the football team. He has the height to be a great quarterback."

"Golf's his game," I assured the man. Anyway, he was probably trying to flatter me. "I'm surprised you're a coach in addition to a teacher," I said. That came out the wrong way, but the private school had a lot of specialized athletic staff.

Thankfully he laughed, maybe used to that reaction. "I got my masters in history. My dad was a professor actually, so after my college playing days were over, I cracked the books and went to grad school."

"That's cool," I said.

He nodded. Thomas Rizzo was surprisingly easy to talk to. And he must have thought the same about me, because his next words were a little more revealing. "Yeah, my father and I were close," he said, almost as if in reverie, but his brown eyes caught mine in a direct look. "Still are."

"Glad to hear," I said. Maybe it was a dumb reply, but I didn't know how to be positive about what he was sharing without letting on too much. Already, it felt like Coach Rizzo was implying something.

"Just like you and Bill's dad," he said.

I nodded. I had experience in the white lies and not so white lies about having an incest relationship. So I was actually pretty poised with this kind of interrogation. "We are," I said. "It's been great to help Braden out raising his sons."

That got a knowing smile from Coach. "I'm not going to be a dick, Mr. Drake. I just think it's cool what you and your Braden have going on."

"You do?" I said. "The coparenting arrangement, you mean?"

"If you want to call it that," he said. "Look... it's just really cool to find a sympathetic kind of man. And seeing the way you and your son are with each other, I don't know..."

"Well, if you're a sympathetic man, Coach... I'll just say that both me and Braden love to meet kindred spirits."

That brought a smile to his face, which was the time I realized he wasn't trying to trap me into saying something. "I have the next parent waiting outside," he said, gesturing to the closed door. "But OK if I show you a picture?"

I nodded and he pulled out his phone. "I don't show this to anyone, but I want to show you." He fumbled with the screen then turned it toward me.

The picture was about five years old, since Rizzo looked younger, almost that fresh out of college look. The man next to him wasn't as bulked up or muscled but he was clearly the father, same eyes, same nose and chin. It was a selfie photo taken in a hotel room, probably on a timer. Both men were shirtless and probably naked or else wearing skimpy swim trunks. The frame cut them off just above the pubes and the room light showed off a fresh tan on each of their bodies.

I looked at Rizzo. "Your father's a very handsome man," I said. It was true. The older Rizzo had an olive-tan complexion that showed off his silvery hair and darker body fur.

That made coach smile. "I know." He tapped the screen again and turned it back. This one was taken a few seconds later, father and son locking lips and in full embrace. A real incest kiss.

"Fuck, that's beautiful," I said. "If you don't mind my saying."

"Not at all, Mr. Drake."

I pulled out my phone and found a similar picture of me and Braden. He took it in wide eyed and finally said with a tinge of regret, "I really gotta cut this short. But seems like we have more to talk about."

"Indeed we do."

***

I came home to find Braden in the living room, relaxing and reading on his ipad. I came up behind him and massaged his shoulders. I had a good idea the younger boys were playing video games in the family room.

"Tough day?" I asked.

"Not really," my son said. "Just tired."

"Where's Junior?" I asked. "I want to talk with him."

Braden looked back at me. God, he was so handsome, and lately he'd gone back to his Marine buzzcut, which made him look younger and older than his 38 years at the same time. "Is he in trouble?"

I laughed and patted his meaty traps. "No... I just want to see if he can babysit on Saturday."

Braden knew why. The Newcombs were coming into town and we'd set up a dinner outing.

"He's in the basement, working out."

I leaned down and whispered in his ear. "Why don't you check on the boys and then get ready for bed, Son? I really want to be inside you tonight."

Braden nodded eagerly. "I want that, too." I could sense the eagerness. It had been a few days.

I descended the stairs into the basement. Braden was serious about lifting, always had been, and he'd tricked out the cement-floored space with an impressive home gym. Brade worked out seriously six times a week, and I made sure to get my weekend workouts in. Over the last year, Braden had shown Junior the fundamentals of working out.

I came to see our eldest son going at it on the squat rack. Junior was 15 and now that he'd had his growth spurt he was tall, like me. I watched his form as he leveraged his body and the barbell up and down for a few reps before reracking the weight.

"Hey Dad," he said as he pulled the earbud outs.

I nodded toward the barbell. "That's a lot of weight, Junior... you being safe?"

He nodded in an annoyed-at-his-dad's-lectures kind of way. "Daddy showed me good form."

"That's good," I said. "Listen, buddy... I want to run something by you."

"I'm not in trouble am I?" he asked. Junior knew I'd gone to the parent-teacher conferences.

I chuckled. "You're the second person tonight who's asked me that."

Junior laughed. He got my humor, it was one of our connections.

"It's just," I continued, more seriously. "You know this pregnancy is going to be a bigger deal for your daddy."

"I figured," my son said, and I could tell he's been thinking about this. "Twins... it's gonna be so cool." Then catching my drift, he added, "How can I help, Dad?"

I patted his shoulder. "You know, if you can step up some around the house, help look after you brothers, and give your Daddy a break once in a while."

Junior smiled. I thought of what Coach Rizzo said about Bill being a good kid. "You got it, Dad."

"I'll bump up your allowance," I offered.

"I won't say no to that," he grinned.

"And I'd like to hire you to babysit Ev and Keith this weekend."

Junior's eyes twinkled. "Got a date night with Daddy?"

"It's long overdue, kiddo," I smiled back. "You think you can help?"

"God yeah, Dad. Glad to."

"Thanks, buddy." I looked back at the weights. "You working out much longer?"

"I have a few more sets to do. Why?"

"It's getting late," I reminded him. Even if he was a teenager who didn't have the set bed time of his younger brothers, I didn't want him becoming a total night owl.

"I won't be too long, Dad." He started to put his ear buds back in, then stopped. "Dad... can I ask a favor of you?"

"What is it, kiddo?"

"When I get my learner's permit, can you teach me to drive?"

"That's five months months away, Junior."

"I know," he said. Maybe embarrassed for his eagerness.

I patted his arm. "All right, weekly driving lessons after golf. Maybe we'll find a deserted parking lot and start early, OK?"

That got a huge smile. "Awesome, Dad. Thanks."

"All right, good night, kiddo."

"Good night, Dad."

I was in a good mood when I got upstairs to the master bedroom, and even better mood when I saw Brade naked and waiting for me. His cock was rock hard and just everything about him was beautiful. Thick muscle, masculine and fully grown up now. Father of three and soon to be swelling with our twin sons. Already that baby bumps was showing.

"God, Dad, the pregnancy hormones are hitting hard. I'm glad you were in the mood tonight."

"I won't complain if you hound me for sex when I'm not," I grinned, undoing my tie and setting it down on the dresser.

"Maybe it's anticipating Saturday," he said. "Eric has been texting me a lot."

"Doug's equally excited," I said. I slowly stripped out of my suit, dress shirt, and underwear, thrilled to see Brade's eyes on me in this private strip tease. I loved it like this when we were super horny but not in a rush. As I peeled down my boxer briefs my hardon jutted straight up.

We embraced and kissed. I felt up Brade's pregnant body, taking time with that baby bump while Brade groped my cock.

"Is this gonna be a Dad kind of fuck tonight?" my son-husband asked in a deep horny voice.

I paused and pulled back to look into his eyes. "We don't gotta, Brade."

"I know," he said, massaging my hard dad dick. "I like it that way sometimes. And I figure doggy position is gonna work better when I start getting huge."

"Oh fuck," I hissed.

"You've been imagining it right, Dad? Fucking me when I'm big and round with our two boys."

"I won't be able to keep my fucking hands off you, Sport."

"You'll just have to keep me good and knocked up, then, old man."

We kissed harder now. Maybe the soft and slow approach was out the window. I groped his muscle hard and kissed him deeply.

Braden finally broke away and turned away from me before scrambling to all fours. "Fucking mount my big pregnant body, sir!"

Braden's sex talk was at full volume and I shhhed him. "Junior will hear," I said.

"Juniors knows what we do in here.... the poor dude probably jerks off wanting to join in."

"Brade!" I admonished. I wasn't sure I was prepared for the effect of the hormones on my husband.

He spread his legs in invitation. Braden has an amazing muscle ass and the contract between that and the softening love handles was incredible. "I know, Dad. But fuck, our son has it for you, bad. Why do you think he works out every night?"

I was already lubing up my cock. "Golf, I presume," I said. Call me dumb, but I didn't know what Braden was getting at.

I could see my son shake his head. "He knows you go for muscle. He didn't say as much, but when he asked me to show him lifting... well he clearly wants a body like mine."

"Oh," I said. It was strange how I could be so close to Junior in some ways but in others our son hid himself from me, yet opened up to Brade.

"I mean..." I heard Brade growl, trying to keep his voice down. "You know why I got into lifting and football, right?"

"No, Sport," I said. Already I was lining up my prick to his buns and teasing his crack before finding the soft pucker in there.

"I found a couple of porn videos on your computer. I still remember them. Sean Cody's Abe... and a football orgy one. I wanted to become the man you wanted to fuck."

"Yeah?" I said. "You never told me that."

I ran my hands along his back before leaning back up.

"I know you taught me not to spy," he said earnestly.

"You think I'm gonna punish you now?" I chuckled.

"Sounds stupid," I know, Brade said. "But I didn't want you to think less of me." He wiggled his ass back at me. "Your dick feels so amazing, Dad." Braden said softly. "Put it in me. Please."

I held on to his hips while I powered mine forward. Clenching my glutes, I penetrated the folds of his entrance. "Oh fuck... you feel nice, buddy."

"I got my father's cock in me," Brade said. He loved to vocalize our incest, and I loved him vocalizing it.

"Your dad's here for you, Son. Hard as nails for you."

"You make me feel I'm home, Dad. Every time you fuck me."

"You are home, Son," I said.

"I mean emotionally. With the right man."

I thrust in. Burying myself balls deep. Braden was tight but opening up for me. Already I knew the gently pulsing guts were going to get me off. "I'm not an easy man to live with."

"You're my father... every day I'm living out my dream."

"Yeah, buddy?" My thrusts were getting faster.

"Hell yes. Living with my incest husband. Bearing you kids."

"We gonna keep at it, Brade? Knock out a whole litter?" OK, I was getting real into the sex, my cock jabbing harder and faster. This was gonna be a Dad kind of fuck all right.

"Keep fucking me bareback, Dad, and you're gonna found out."

"Oh shit." My grip on his waist was tighter now, my pace more urgent. Brade's hole felt amazing around my pistoning cock.

"Maybe we can have eight boys before my manopause kicks in."

"There are the fertility pills, like the Fiedlers took."

"Hell, yes. My Dad's breeder cock has more work to do."

"Getting close, son..." I hissed.

"Do it dad. Knock me up again. Put another son next to our twins in there."

It was a wild thing to say, and it pushed me to orgasm. I gave a couple of quick thrusts and unloaded, hard.

I heard Brade cum below me.

I leaned forward and kissed his neck, slowly pulling out. "I didn't go too hard on ya, Sport?"

"Nope," Braden said and twisted to kiss me as I lay down next to him.

I stroked his cheek. He was angelic and hunky at the same time. My dick wasn't going soft, even if I felt satisfied. "So... you became a jock for me?"

"Is that weird?" he said. Braden was so self-assured, always the more confident and determined one in our incestuous relationship, that this self-doubt took me by surprise.

"I'm flattered," I said, truthfully. "And I've been having hot sex with a perfect stud for twenty years straight."

"Well, you get hotter with age, Dad. It's crazy." His fingers traced my chest hair. "The gray coming in is driving me wild."

We kissed some and then talked some more.

"I forgot to tell you, Sport," I said. "I had a real interesting conversation with Junior's history teacher tonight."

"The coach?"

"Yeah, Thomas Rizzo." I said. "Turns out he gets us."

"You mean..."

"He's close with his dad, incest close. I guess he sniffed us out, too."

"Wow," Brade said. I could see his prick harden up. "For real?"

I nodded.

"I love that other men can enjoy incest, Dad. Maybe we can meet up with Coach and his dad, too."

I placed my arm around Braden's shoulder. "He's Junior's teacher, buddy... probably not the best idea."

"Yeah," my son conceded. "You're open for playing with the Newcomb men, though?"

"If they're up for it," I said.

"I'm pretty sure Eric is up for it," Braden said.

"Maybe I should ask what you boys have been talking about."

Braden gave a coy smile. "What it's like to be a son."

We kissed again. And made out. And pretty soon, I was climbing on top of my hunky son for round two.

****

Braden was nervous actually when we showed up to the restaurant. "It's gonna be fun, Brade," I whispered before we sat down. "Even if nothing sexual happens."

"That's what I'm afraid of, Dad. I want this bad, actually."

My son and I had talked about it. We were mostly monogamous, but playtime with the Connors men gave some needed variety to our sex life. We'd even explored son-swap nights where Frank Connors would sleep with Braden in one room, while Jeff and I took the other room. It was naughty fun, and gave me and Braden some fun outside our normal married routine.

Still, Doug and Eric Newcomb had been majorly spooked during that Caribbean private time in our hotel room. The messages I got from Doug made me think things were different now, but I didn't want Braden pushing them too hard.

When they showed up, they looked incredible. Doug was in a dress shirt and sport coat, much like I was, and Eric was in a preppy polo shirt that clung to his football jock body. He'd packed on muscle even since going off to college. I saw Braden's look and he could read me like a book. It was uncanny how much these men were our type, hotter versions of us, even.

We got up from the table and shook hands. There was a lot of eye contact, heavy but stopping shy of flirty.

"Great to see you guys," Doug said.

"You too," Braden piped in. "Glad you could make it here."

"Best part of being a pilot, being able to take trips with my boy," Doug said reaching over to touch his son's neck. "Right, kiddo?"

"Right, Dad," the jock said, basking in his father's attention.

I was bricking up beneath the table cloth. "That's what I call my son, too... kiddo."

That made the DILF's eyes twinkle. "Yeah?" Looking at Braden, he winked. "You like your nickname, man?"

Braden laughed. "Not me... it's our oldest son. We have a few kids actually."

Eric grew noticeably excited. "Yeah? That's so awesome... you um..."

Braden had a proud smile. "I bore all of them. Currently pregnant with twins."

"Congratulations," Doug said.

"Thanks," I said. "We're thrilled."

Eric lowered his voice. "Dad and I have talked about the idea, but we're not sure."

"You gotta be," Braden said. "Parenthood is a huge commitment. But it's amazing, too."

Eric seemed thrilled and looked over at his dad, who gave a silent, knowing look.

The jock's whisper got lower. "So, like... is it hard to have a sex life after kids?""

"Tell us if we get too nosy," the other dad interjected.

"I doubt you will," I said. "Brade and I find a way to make it work. Probably like you did Doug, when Eric was younger."

The father gave a sly grin. "His mother and I did not have NEARLY as active a sex life as I have now."

"Honeymoon phase?" Braden teased, looking at Eric.

The college jock got a bit smile. "Oh yeah... ever since we met you guys... we just decided to go for it."

"The full monte?" I ventured.

"The full monte," Doug said proudly. "Only Eric's on contraception, so we don't go as far as you guys."

Dinner was a great chance to talk. I was hard for much of it, but the conversation really was bonding as incest couples, finding out how it worked with another dad-son pair. Braden and I filled the guys in on our family and what parenthood was like and how we managed marriage over the long haul.

By the time we paid the bill, I thought maybe we'd friend zoned the Newcombs, but Doug gave Eric an affectionate look to confirm then looked back at us. "Feel like coming back to our hotel, guys?"

"Hell yes," Braden piped in immediately, which got a laugh from all of us.

There was no nervousness this time, after we drove to where they were staying and followed them to their room. I was horny and I knew Brade was beyond excited.

Whereas I'd led the charge in our first session, Doug was calling the shots now. As he removed his suit jacked and removed his shoes he looked at me and Braden. "Eric and I regret not going farther last time."

"Farther, how?" I asked, also removing my shoes.

He paused. "If you're up for it, it would be fun to connect more physically."

As Eric stripped off his polo, I was rewarded with the sight of a lot of smooth thick chest and arm muscle. "You guys are so hot... I'd love to be with all three of you."

I looked at my son. "Brade and I could definitely go for that, right, son?"

"Yeah, Dad."

Doug growled. "It's so hot to hear you call each other dad and son."

Braden looked at the man. "I'm going to kiss my dad."

"Bring it in, Sport," I grinned and watched Braden close the distance. Making out in front of another dad-son team was so incredible.

"Oh fuck," Eric hissed.

But by the time we turned, the son was making out with the dad, undoing the dress-shirt with deft fingers.

Braden took one side and I took the other. Completing the foursome. Sex with the Connors men was hot, but these guys were hotter, movie attractive and porn hot. Doug actually latched his mouth to mine first, while Braden kissed Eric. Then we swapped.

"I wanna suck your cock, Bill," the jock hissed, hunger in his eyes.

"Please."

I watched as he crouched down. Doug had a hopeful look that urged Braden to follow suit.

"So... Doug..." I said as Eric started swallowing me. "You're a real incest father now."

He gulped. Maybe verbal was new to him. But he loved it. "Hell yes. Two, three times a day, having sex with my own son."

"He a Daddy's boy?" I asked. I placed my hand on his shoulder, squaring the body contact. Doug was way hot and I was attracted to him, too.

"Fuck yeah. Like your Braden."

"My son has been dying to have sex with you, man."

He gasped and looked down, watching Brade suck. He looked back up at me. "He's really fucking good."

I massaged his shoulders with my fingers. "Your own son's amazing, too."

We let them work us up for a bit. Then Doug got a horny urgency to his voice. "Switch?"

"Yeah."

I backed away from Eric's mouth and walked over to Braden. Rather than suck me, Brade started tonguing my balls. "These are the balls that made me," he hissed. "Then knocked me up."

"Oh God!" Doug gasped. He was cumming, inside Eric's throat as the jock bobbed up and down and swallowed.

I nudged Braden off and guided him to the bed.

Already Eric was going to fetch some lube for us.

The mating was quiet but intense. The Newcombs flanked us, one on each side for a front row view of me breaching Braden. Doug was still hard as nails, and Eric hadn't gotten off. I fucked with slow hard thrusts. Braden responded. "Go for it, Dad."

I pounded him, like I like. Getting real into it. Eric kissed me as I did, and Doug made out with my son. The orgasm was intense, for Brade too. He'd barely cum when Doug pulled off to lick the seed of Braden's muscle bod.

Meanwhile, Eric was pulling me into a deeper embrace, pulling me back into a kiss. I followed him down to the mattress as he held me tight and wrapped his legs around me. This was proceeding quickly.

I pulled off and looked at Doug. "Is it OK, man?"

"If I can do yours." He was lubing his cock. I had a feeling that if I didn't let him fuck Brade he was going to be dicking his son.

"Yeah," I agreed.

So side by side, we fucked the other son, feeding off the shared sexual energy. It was mostly to get Eric off, but Doug's thrusts got faster and I knew he was about to seed Brade. I was glad Braden was already knocked up. In our sessions with the Connors we'd been careful with protection, but now had gotten carried away.

We enjoyed the afterglow and made out with our own sons, before swapping again.

"We should get back," Braden finally said. "But this has been incredible."

"Maybe tomorrow?" Doug asked hopefully. "Sorry if I'm being greedy, but I don't know when we'll have this chance again."

"We know a couple other incest couples," I said. "If you want to be introduced to them."

"Fuck, yes," Eric said. He gotten out of bed to down the water bottle to replenish liquids. God, he was incredible, a hunky naked jock that reminded me a lot of Braden when he was younger.

Doug was more cautious. "Just to meet... I think I'd never to develop the trust before a scene like this," he gestured to me and Brade naked in bed with him. "And the attraction too."

"Well, I'm flattered we made the cut, man," I said. I slid out of bed and looked for my underwear and T-shirt.

"You kidding?" Doug said leaning up against the headboard. The man was a handsome fucker, it was almost mesmerizing. And he'd passed on some good genetics to his son. "You opened up a whole world for us."

Braden was getting dressed too. "That door was already cracked, guys. We just helped you push it open."

The vibe was moving quickly to a cordial friend dynamic. But we gave each other a quick kiss before leaving their room.

Braden was on cloud nine the whole way home, and I was pretty much feeling happy and content, too.

[loves0phelia]

The Maybank Twins

Summery: which dream would you pick?

Words: 1.7k

Warnings: grammar mistakes

A/N: Sorry I feel like this fic is all over the place and barely understandable but I had the idea of JJ having a twin since I learned JJ's real name was Jackson so I hope you like it anyway xx

JJ and Jackson were intensely different despite being twins. But it wasn't always like that.

Both boys were born kooks, but as children, the status did not matter. Being a kook or a pogue didn't have a meaning until you grew up. Kids from both sides of the island enjoyed playing with each other. That's why when they met you they didn't hesitate to befriend you even if you were a pogue.

On a beautiful Saturday, you took your shiny pink bike and began pedalling down the roads around town to the point where you crossed the line into Kook territory. You knew your dad wouldn't like you travelling so far from home but you loved to admire the large houses with picket fences and pools. You always dreamed of visiting one. 

As you were looking with dreamy eyes at everything but the path in front of you, the front wheel of your bike caught the side of a sidewalk.  The handlebars jerked to one side, and you tumbled forward. Hitting the ground with a soft thud, your knees scraped against the rough concrete.    

You sat up slowly, tears welling in your eyes as you examined your knees. Both were scraped and red, with tiny spots of blood forming on the surface. Your palms stung from catching yourself.

The commotion probably alerted some people because next thing you knew two boys around the same age as you came running out of the house you were wrecked in front of.   

They both darted out of the yard, weaving through the iron gate and across the street to where you sat on the concrete.  

“Hey, are you okay?” one of them asked, crouching down beside you.  

You sniffled, wiping your tears with your sleeve. “I fell off my bike.”  

“Come in, we can give you a bandaid,”  the second boy said without hesitation, looking at your scraped knees.

The first boy reached for your bike to place it to safety while the second helped you up on your feet and helped you inside the large mansion-looking house.

Inside, it felt even bigger. The tall ceiling and window looked fantastic. You almost forgot your pain as you looked over the various decorations.

“There sit” You sat down slowly on the gray cushions of the couch and tried to not get any blood on it.

“I’m JJ by the way, that was a badass fall, It looked so cool” He smiled and laughed, for a moment you were almost proud.

“Don't say that JJ she could have been really hurt and it's not cool” The boy crouched in front of you with a cloth soaked in lukewarm water and pressed it to your knee.

“You're just boring, Jackson, you don't think anything is cool!” JJ argued with his brother and Jackson furrowed his eyebrows.

“Yes, I do!” They continued bickering next to you until a beautiful blond lady came into the room.

“Boys, what is going on?” She asked with her hands on her hips looking over her twins.

The childish argument stopped immediately as if both of them were soothed by their mother's presence. “We saw this girl fall off her bike, we wanted to help her” JJ muttered.

“Did you guys ask her, her name?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. But both of them shook their heads. “I thought I raised you two to be gentlemen, what's your name honey?” 

“y/n” 

“That's such a pretty name, I hope these boys weren't too much of a pain for you” She whispered but JJ and Jackson definitely heard and you simply giggled.

This was the moment you began to be a constant person in their lives. Both of them loved you until they grew up and this love changed into something more.

When you all all turned from children to teenagers the words kooks and pogues began to have a meaning. You were now divided into two groups, rich and poor. But the boys didn't agree with this mindset. Especially JJ. After their mom died he became reckless. He Jumped on any opportunity to go on an adventure or to feel just an ounce of adrenaline. He was sick of the bubble wrap and wanted to live freely like the pogues.

Jackson on the other end even though he disliked the hate between each side of the island, he refused to drop everything like his brother to live a careless life. He wanted to go to college, he wanted to have a bright future, with a beautiful house, a wife and maybe even kids. He wanted the picket fence dream.

And you? You didn't know which dream to pick.

The dream with JJ where everything is joyful and exciting. 

Or the dream with Jackson where everything is soothing and comforting.

JJ

The Bluetooth speaker blasted an upbeat song, filling the small living room with pounding bass and lyrics. JJ stood in the center of the room, wearing his signature goofy grin and wildly waving an imaginary microphone in the air.  

“AND I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!” he screamed, his voice cracking in all the wrong places.  

You rolled over on the couch in laughter, clutching your stomach. “JJ, you’re ruining Whitney Houston! That’s a crime!”  You both laughed as the song ended and Don't Stop Me Now by Queen started playing

“You think that’s bad? Just wait for this!” JJ leaped onto the couch with a dramatic flair, now holding an empty glass beer bottle as a microphone. “DON’T STOP ME NOW! I’M HAVIN SUCH A GOOD TIME”  

“ I’M HAVIN’ A BALL!” You screamed following the lyrics, jumping up to join him. You grabbed a remote control off the coffee table and sang into it like it was your own microphone, matching JJ’s energy note for note.  

“You’re awful!” he yelled over the music, grinning ear to ear.  

“Excuse me?” You shot back, pretending to be offended. “I’m carrying this!”  

“Please, you’re the backup singer at best!”  

“Asshole!” You gasped and pushed him making him stumble and fall on his butt on the soft cushion but he quickly recovered, standing back up and grabbing you by the hand to dance on the dirty rug. Without a second thought, he turned bringing you with him and dipping you as dramatically as he could making you both burst into uncontrollable laughter. 

He pressed a big messy kiss on your cheek and laughed again at the disgusted face you made before wiping away the saliva with his palm. 

The next song started—a slow, cheesy love ballad. JJ struck a mock-serious pose, reaching out a hand. “May I have this dance, milady?”  

You rolled your eyes but played along, taking his hand. “You may, good sir.”  

You swayed dramatically around the room, both purposefully stepping on each other’s feet and exaggerating every movement. JJ spun you out and back in, and you both collapsed onto the couch in a heap of laughter as the song ended.  

“That was awful,” You said, catching your breath.  

“The worst,” JJ agreed, his head tilted back against the cushions. Then he glanced at you, a mischievous sparkle in his eye. “Wanna go again?”  

“Duh.”  

It was always like that between you and JJ. Loud, obnoxious, happy. You both never caught a break in each other's presence. But you loved it, you loved him.

JACKSON

Your fist knocks softly on the door of the twin's house. The sound feels like it echoes in the home. After a couple of seconds of nothing, no voice, no footsteps you try again. Louder this time.

“JJ I swear if you forgot your keys again- oh hey” the door swung open revealing the twin you were looking for.

“Hey Jacks.” you smile noticing his messy blond hair meaning he was probably taking a nap.

“Uhm JJ isn't here” he scratched the back of his head and leaned on the doorframe.

“Actually I came to see you… we haven't hung out much lately” you said looking up at him.

“Yeah sorry, I've been studying a lot and I saw you and JJ hang out often. I didn't want to bother you know”

“You never bother, I'm your friend too” he nodded and lifted himself off the frame to let you into the house you knew so well. It was honestly a second home to you.

His room was dimly lit, and much cleaner than JJ’s. You and him lay side by side on the bed, your legs tangled in the blankets.  

He stared up at the ceiling, one arm tucked behind his head, the other resting gently on your hand. You lay on your side, head propped in your palm as you looked at him, a small smile playing on your lips.  

“Do you ever think about where we would be if you and JJ never saved me when I fell off my bike?” You asked softly, voice barely above a whisper.  

Jackson turned his head to look at you, his light blue eyes warm and thoughtful. “All the time,” he admitted, his lips curling into a faint smile. “You're like the only person I can talk to about.. anything. JJ, he's my twin but it's easier with you. Moments like this are everything I look forward to.”  

You tilted your head, studying him. “You mean laying in bed talking about everything and anything?”  

He grinned. “Yeah I don't get to do it with anyone else”  

Your chest warmed at his words, and you reached out to brush a strand of hair off his forehead. “I don't get to do it with anyone else either”   

He raised a hand, his fingers brushing your cheek before leaning in to press a tender kiss to your forehead. It was soft, lingering, and full of unspoken affection. You closed your eyes at the touch, letting yourself sink into the quiet comfort of the moment.  

It wasn't unusual for you both to show affection like that. Jackson's love language was physical touch and JJ's was quality time.

“I like this,” you murmured after a while, voice barely audible.  

“Yeah?” he asked, his voice equally quiet.  

“Yeah. Just… us. quiet, calm.”  

Jackson smiled, his hand finding yours under the blankets and giving it a light squeeze. “Me too.”  

And it was always like this with Jackson and you loved it, you loved him but you couldn't bring yourself to choose who you loved most.

[mikeysonly]

White Lies Part 3 - Nagi Seishiro

♡ hiii lovelies, i'm gonna make this a 5 part series so please expect 2 more updates hehe. the next one is gonna finish up this story and the 5th part is going to be a little spinoff. lmk if you want to be in my taglist!!! mwah, happy reading my loves.

♡♡♡

part 1

part 2

♡♡♡

Nagi stood in front of Y/N’s apartment door, staring at it. He had been standing there for about 3 minutes now, hands shoved in his hoodie pockets, He had to knock, he promised.

It was… weird.

His whole life, always choosing the easiest path. But this? This was actually hard.

Still.

He had said he’d come, and regardless of anything, he stuck to his word. Well, most of the time.

So, with a sigh, he raised his hand and knocked.

It took a moment but the door swung open, almost knocking the wind out of him.

Haruto was standing at the door, looking up at the man who looked eerily similar to him. "You came."

Nagi scratched his neck. "Yeah."

"Come in!" Haruto grabbed his sleeve and started pulling him inside.

“You actually showed up.” Y/N said with a hint of surprise in her voice. "Haruto you know how I feel about you opening the door."

Haruto didn't react, he just sat down and patted the seat next to him.

Nagi plopped down onto the couch, stretching his long legs out. "Told you I would."

Y/N rolled her eyes.

Haruto climbed onto the couch next to him, bouncing slightly. "Wanna play a game?"

Nagi glanced at the console hooked up to the TV. "You any good?"

Haruto puffed up his chest. "I'm okay."

That was a lie. He sucked.

Nagi found out pretty quickly that Haruto had zero game sense, constantly walking off cliffs, missing easy shots, and button mashing his way through fights.

"You’re really bad at this," Nagi muttered, watching Haruto's character fall into a pit for the third time.

Haruto pouted. “I’ll get better!”

Something about the way he said it though. So determined, so confident, made Nagi pause.

He thought about himself as a kid. How he hated effort, how he never pushed himself unless someone else made him, and even then it was difficult for him to try.

Haruto was different.

Maybe he was lazy like Nagi, but… he tried.

Nagi wasn’t sure why that made his chest feel tight.

Before he could think too much about it, Haruto suddenly turned to him.

"Hey, Nagi."

"Hm?"

Haruto tilted his head. "Are you my dad?"

Nagi's entire world paused.

Nagi blinked, his grip on the controller going slack. Hands sweating.

Y/N, who had been listening from the kitchen, froze.

Haruto was staring up at him, waiting. Not impatient, not scared, just… curious.

And Nagi? He had no idea what to say.

Y/N must have noticed his hesitation, because she took a careful step forward. “Haruto, I-”

"Yeah."

Y/N inhaled sharply. Haruto’s eyes widened slightly.

Nagi just stared.

“…Guess I am.”

Haruto blinked at him. Then, slowly, his lips curled into a small smile.

“…Cool.”

And just like that, he went back to his game, as if nothing had happened.

Nagi exhaled. That was… really easy.

Y/N, on the other hand, was still staring at him like he had just killed someone.

“…You didn’t have to answer that question you know,” she murmured.

Nagi tilted his head, glancing at her lazily. "Why not? It's true."

Y/N swallowed, looking down. "I don't know, Nagi… Are you even ready for this?"

Nagi stretched his arms over his head. “I dunno if I’m ready or not. But…” He glanced at Haruto, watching him fail another level. “I’m here.”

It was the simplest answer he could give. The only one that mattered.

Y/N’s eyes softened.

Haruto yawned suddenly, rubbing at his eyes.

"I think someone's ready for bed," Y/N said, walking over.

Haruto groaned but didn’t fight it, letting her take the controller and nudge him toward his room.

Nagi watched them go, his body finally relaxing. Today wasn’t so bad.

When Y/N returned, she stood by the couch, hesitating. "Do you wanna stay for a bit? Or…-"

"Mm." Nagi nodded, patting the open space next to him.

Y/N raised an eyebrow but sat down.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Nagi stared at the ceiling. Y/N stared at him.

"…You're really staying," she murmured.

Nagi hummed. "Told you."

She let out a small laugh, shaking her head. “My bad for not believing you.”

A comfortable silence settled over them.

Then, Y/N sighed, resting her head against the couch. “…Thank you.”

Nagi turned his head slightly. "For what?"

She looked at him then. Her expression was unreadable.

“For this.” Her voice was quiet. It was honest. “For being here.”

Nagi blinked.

That weird feeling in his chest was back again. But he didn’t hate it.

“…’s nothing,” he muttered.

Y/N shook her head. “It’s not nothing.”

She reached out then, her fingers brushing against his hand on the couch. It was small. A light touch. But it made Nagi’s breath slow.

He could have pulled away.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he tilted his head slightly, watching her, noticing how she was closer now, how she was still looking at him. It made him feel like a teenager again.

And then, before he could think about it too hard, he leaned in.

It was barely anything, a soft, lingering kiss, slow and warm.

When they pulled away, Y/N smiled, looking almost dazed.

“…You’re full of surprises today.”

Nagi shrugged, already leaning his head back against the couch. "Mm."

Y/N giggled, little did Nagi know she felt like a teenager again too.

They had just reconnected, but somehow, things felt like they never changed at all.

“…You’re gonna be around, right?” she murmured after a while, voice quiet.

Nagi sighed, tilting his head toward her but keeping his eyes on the ceiling. “Dunno.”

Y/N stiffened slightly, but before she could say anything, he added, “But I don’t really feel like leaving.”

She blinked, glancing at him, lips parting slightly like she hadn’t expected that answer.

Nagi finally turned his head, meeting her gaze. They stared for a little while.

“…I guess I’ll let you crash here tonight,” she murmured.

Nagi yawned. “Mm. Too much effort to go home anyway.”

Y/N swallowed hard, then let out a small laugh. “That’s the most Nagi way of saying ‘I’ll stay’ I’ve ever heard I think.”

He hummed in agreement, eyes already drooping lazily.

Y/N shook her head, smiling to herself before shifting slightly, resting her head lightly on his shoulder

It really felt like they were picking up where they left off. And Y/N enjoyed every moment of it.

Little did she know, Nagi felt exactly the same.

taglist: @nensi @topshotdivaa @mochiii-sama @exclusiverinaa @aztec-ahuizotil @p1z-d0n7jud6em3 @kawaisagi @umbrellagobrr @manjirosanoswifey @guiniegiyuuandrindihsucker @heartbrii

[cas-kingdom]

Hii!

How about “Why are you mad?” for 911 Lonestar? I loveeee how you write Owen💛

A/N: It just seemed right to stick Judd in here.

“Why are you mad at me? Just—try to lie still and breathe.”

“I am breathing. If I wasn’t, I would be dead.”

T.K. chuckled, shrugging in defeat. “Okay, well, just relax, and—ow! Y/N, don’t hit me!”

“Don’t tell me to relax!”

“This isn’t my fault!”

It hadn’t really been a hit, more of a feeble slap at his shoulder. Sat on the floor of the fire station’s gym, one stretched-out leg bent at an awkward angle, you didn’t have much energy to do more than that. Still, your brother hadn’t expected it, sat beside you with his medical bag open beside him, helping you.

You groaned and fell backwards, resting your head on the cool ground and covering your eyes with your forearms. “I know,” you said, “it’s Judd’s. But he’s too far away for me to hit.”

Judd, who had been lingering silently a couple feet away from the bickering Strand siblings, unsure really when and how to intervene but strongly feeling a duty to stay, tossed his arms up in protest. "Wha—hey, now! Why’s it my fault?”

You turned your glare, thick with accusation, irritation, and no small amount of pain, to the older firefighter. “You broke my leg, Judd!”

“I didn’t break—"Judd stopped, his eyes darting to T.K, voice suddenly hesitant. "She’s not broken it, T.K., has she?”

“Nah, her kneecap's just dislocated.”

You didn't feel like your kneecap was just dislocated.

Judd nodded once in assurance, crossing his arms over his chest. "See? And I didn’t dislocate your knee, little lady. So, you can stick your sass where the sun don’t shine!”

“I got him! I got him! I got Cap!” Mateo came sprinting into the gym, practically skidding around the corner, his breathing coming in panicked gasps. Behind him, Owen was just as fast, appearing in the door with terrified concern etched across his face.

“What happened?” he demanded, his eyes scanning the room.

You, T.K., and Judd stared right back at him, like deer in headlights.

Judd turned to Mateo. “What the hell did you tell him, Chavez?”

Mateo’s jaw dropped. “That—that Connie broke her leg.”

“Oh, sweet Jesus—”

“She’s not broken her leg, Dad,” T.K. assured Owen as he came to kneel beside his kids. “It's a minor dislocation. I can set it in a moment. So you can cancel the 9-1-1 you’ve probably sent Tommy and Nance. I’ve got this, I promise.”

Owen reached out to push your braid over your shoulder. “You alright, Sunshine?”

“No. My leg hurts and I hit T.K. and now he's gonna snap my leg back in place like I'm jenga.”

Owen smiled. Trust his daughter to be more upset about the fact she’d hit her favourite person in the world than the agony in her leg.

“How’d you even manage this?” he asked as T.K. rubbed your back, no apology necessary.

Judd was quicker to intercept this time, rushing forward before you could accuse him once again. “Captain, I’ma be the first to admit, I may have stuck my leg out when Y/N was passin’, ‘cause she called me a headless pigeon with a Texan accent, which I don't even know what that means—”

You bit your lip to keep from laughing, even more so when Owen quirked an eyebrow in your direction.

“—and, yeah, she damn near flew over my leg, but—but! T.K. says she ain’t broken anything, just dislocated. And, you know, it could—well, it could be worse.”

“I do not accept that apology,” you said. “And you are a headless pigeon with a Texan accent, so you better bring me five tubs of Ben and Jerry’s later while I recover, else I’m changing your contact name in my phone. And everyone else's."

Lone Star Masterpost

send me the first sentence of a fanfic and i’ll write the next five, except i don’t know when to stop writing so i guarantee there’ll be more than five

[daceydeath]

Stuck With You

Pairing: Mingi x Reader Word Count: 3.5 Genre: Smut Warnings: 18+, MDNI, Swearing, Alcohol Use, Explicit Activities

Why do you always let yourself be dragging into stupid drinking games at parties? It almost always ends badly.

Why you always get sucked into playing stupid party games only to end up getting the worst possible outcome was a mystery to you. Your best friend made out with her crush, you were dared to drink a shot of hot sauce, the girl you hate kissed your crush and you ended up dared to flirt with someone's dad. It wasn’t even just dares. Spin the bottle had you getting rejected by a soccer player and a hockey player and when you answered with truth instead you were asked about why your sister was so hot and you looked like a boy. You hated it but you could never say no if one of your friends begged you to play. Which is how you ended up getting accidentally locked in a bathroom with your crush Mingi, probably the most handsome guy you had ever seen and who had ignored your existence for your entire school life except to ask you for pens if he needed one, you were awesome at party games.

“So uhh…” Mingi finally broke the silence after the doorknob had come off the door leaving you stuck.

“You don’t even remember my name do you?” you sighed, your annoyance growing steadily when you realized that in a house full of drunk people you were unlikely to be rescued quickly.

“Honestly…no I don’t” he admitted looking at the floor for a few moments “Sorry”.

“Don’t be it’s fine” you shrugged your head taking a seat on the closed toilet lid.

“I’m Mingi” he started awkwardly looking everywhere but at you.

“I know Mingi we went to the same high school, I’m in your sociology class” you faked a small smile.

“Shit I feel really bad for not remembering now” he muttered, finally looking at you making you feel a tiny bit of pity for him before introducing yourself.

“I won’t forget this time, I swear” he promised looking genuine.

“So Mingi, do you regularly get locked in small rooms with girls you don’t know?” you tried jokes, trying to lighten the atmosphere a little.

“No it’s usually girls I know and usually there aren’t any locks” he scratched his neck seemingly trying to decide if you were being serious or not.

“Cool, cool. It’s my first time getting locked in a bathroom with anyone” you chuckled softly watching him relax.

“Well it could always be worse” he smiled toothily “we could be in a closet”.

“Have to admit I haven’t been in a closet with anyone either” you admitted grinning.

“You haven’t really lived then” he continued “It’s one of life's greatest joys after all”.

“I will keep that in mind for next time then, thanks for the advice” you played along then fell into silence. Mingi sat himself on the bath mat, the chain on his pants making soft tinkling sounds against the tiles. He was more handsome outside of your school uniform but you had known he would be, he was gorgeous and like the other popular kids he knew it, he had pretty girlfriends all the time and he was so unattainable to you that he felt like he lived in a different world to you.

“Still it’s not the worst dare I have had backfire on me” you broke the silence making him look at you again, raising his eyebrow to continue “I was dared to flirt with Jihoon’s dad once”.

“That was you?” Mingi’s eyes widened slightly “That was legendary. We talked about how funny it was for weeks. That took serious balls”. 

“Umm thank you I guess” you turned away shyly feeling heat creeping up your neck “It was probably the most embarrassing moment of my life”.

“Yeah I guess it would have been” Mingi nodded, looking at you curiously you looked over at the sink to avoid his gaze unsure what he was thinking about while silence once again surrounded you. The only noise now being the thump of the bass coming from the music downstairs and the occasional loud cheer or laugh.

“Can I ask you something? Why do you always dress like that?” he blurted out suddenly, making you look back at him quickly.

“Uhh” you blinked, waiting for your brain to kick in “because I want…to” you replied slowly obviously sounding confused “How am I meant to dress?”. You looked down at yourself unsure what was wrong with your outfit. You were in baggy jeans, an oversized t-shirt and sneakers which you thought was a totally acceptable outfit given that you were at a party not a fancy restaurant.

“I dunno, girls usually wear tight stuff, or skirts and dresses and shit” he blushed slightly pink dusting across his cheekbones as he struggled with his words “Like you dress like a guy, which is cool but why?”

“Oh, I just like it, my sister is the pretty one so I just dress it what makes me comfortable since no one looks at me anyway why bother” you tilted your head thinking hard about how to explain that you didn’t feel the need to bother since no one ever gave a shit what you looked like. At school you wore pants, never skirts and your button up shirts were always loose fitting because they were more comfortable that way because who tried to dress up to go to school. Chewing your lip to distract you from the awkwardness of it all you got your phone out of your pocket to try to get one of your friends to come rescue you before you spent the whole night sitting in silence in a bathroom.

“I think you are pretty” he mumbled quietly, taking an interest in his shoes, fiddling with the laces. Unsure if you heard him correctly you just stared at him with your mouth hanging open for what felt like a full minute before you snapped it shut deciding to ignore what you definitely misheard.

Each friend you tried either didn’t answer your calls and ignored your messages leaving you unsure what to do next, it had only been 15 minutes but it had been awkward enough you didn't want it to go on all night. Mingi seemed to be having the same thoughts as he too tried to get hold of someone to get him out of the situation.

“I’m guessing you would be doing something far more entertaining if you weren’t trapped in here with me” you mused tapping your fingers against your thighs.

“I would probably be drunk” he shrugged, “probably taking shit with my friends or hooking up”.

“Sorry to bring down your night then” you breathed, sadly chewing on your lip again as you tried to figure out what else you could do to get out, the window was out it was both too small and too high off the ground, there was no way you were going to climb out a second story window without ending up hurt.

“Eh? It doesn’t matter. I mean I got to talk to you for the first time” he shrugged, furrowing his eyebrows to come up with a positive sounding answer making the corners of your lips turn up. Getting up from your seat on top of the toilet lid you opened the bathroom cabinet rummaging around to see if you could find anything at all that would give you an idea. You heard Mingi get up his wallet chain jingling as he moved to look over your shoulder into the cabinet.

“What are you looking for?” he questioned as you pulled out cleaners, spare toothbrushes, a hair brush and a box of condoms.

“I thought there might be something in here to help get the door to open” you admitted shyly.

“I don’t reckon condoms and toothbrushes will get us far unless you're trying to hint at something else” he teased watching your ears burn red from his position behind you which made him laugh loudly. 

“Song Mingi” you yelped, covering your face and shoving everything back in the cupboard. You sat on the floor beside the door leaving more space between you and his position on the floor leaning against the glass of the shower alcove, as you listened to his laugh calm down into giggles and then silence. You could feel him looking at you but when you lifted your head to look at him he would turn away pretending he was looking at the door. After another half an hour you were starting to get cold. Sitting in a room full of cold tiles made the temperature in the room drop as the night went on, after your first couple of times rubbing your bare forearms Mingi stood again walking over to you to drape a towel over you.

“I don't think anyone will come for a while. Do you want me to turn the shower on and try to warm the room up?” he offered softly, “it's either that or you come sit on the mat with me it's thick enough to stop your legs getting cold”.

“Oh, um it’s ok I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything” you responded quickly swallowing hard.

“I wouldn’t have offered it if I was uncomfortable. I just don’t want you to get frozen” he shrugged a genuine look of concern crossing his face.

“Alright, I’ll sit next to you” you murmured getting up and wrapping the towel around your shoulders as a makeshift blanket. You sat on the edge of the mat making sure you weren’t actually touching Mingi as he reached up and grabbed the other towels of the towel rack. He draped another one around your shoulders and put one across your lap before pulling you against his side, making you stiffen.

“I can’t help you get warm if you are all the way over there” he rolled his eyes oblivious to the fact that he was him and you were just you, you had no right to assume that he would be willing to hold you close to him to keep you warm. “I swear I won’t bite”.

“Good to know” you mumbled letting him adjust you into his side so you were both comfortable.

“You still aren’t close enough” Mingi announced into the awkwardness of the room “Sit between my legs so your back is against me and we can pile the towels around you”. 

“I’m alright” you assured him, your teeth almost chattering as he looked at you with his eyebrow raised.

“Yeah you really aren’t” he sighed his voice leaving very little room for argument “Just let me help”. You shuffled yourself so you could push yourself up on your knees and let him place you between his thighs with you back against his broad chest after readjusting the towels across your legs he caged you in with his strong legs, his arm draping around your waist to keep you tightly against him.  Returning to his phone. It looked like he had messaged everyone of his friends that were at the party to try to get you out of the bathroom. You had assumed it was so he could get back to having fun but the last message he typed had mentioned you were cold and the joke was over to let you out before you got sick from it. He was being kind and caring what happened to you and it made butterflies erupt in your stomach.

After another ten minutes you  were quick to realize that the butterflies in your stomach were not going to calm down and the warmth you could feel creeping up your neck was most likely embarrassment but you were still warmer than you had been and after a while you relaxed back into his hold not even minding when he began fiddling with the fabric that separated his hand from your skin. Mingi put his phone down and let his head fall back against the glass. You initially thought he had fallen asleep but when his other hand crept under the towel to rest against your thigh you realized he wasn’t.

“I’m warm enough if you wanted me to move so you can sleep” you whispered not wanting to ruin the comfortable silence that had fallen between you.

“Nah I can sleep holding you so you don’t get cold again, princess” he mumbled squeezing your waist gently. 

“Mingi, what did you just call me?” you turned your head to look at him expecting to see him half asleep and not aware of what he had just said but instead seeing his dark eyes and crooked smile. Quickly turning your head back so you were once again looking away from him you felt his chest shake in a silent chuckle. His hands were still on your waist, his long fingers slapped across your stomach making your muscles twitch as he moved, you swallowed hard not sure if he was making fun of you or not. The answer to your silent question came quickly in the feeling of his lips brushing lightly against your neck making your body erupt in goosebumps.

“Do you not like princess? Would you like me to call you something else?” His voice deeper than it had been before and his breath fanning across your skin making you gasp.

“How about I call you, baby girl? Or maybe you would rather be called kitten?” he teased making you shuffle in his grip. “Ah, kitten it is then” he smiled against your skin before he pressed a chaste kiss to the column of your neck making you whimper. Your reaction only seemed to encourage him, and he pressed his lips against your neck against only this time with more want lingering behind it.

“Mingi” you exhaled shakily, enjoying his careful touches more than you thought possible were happy to let him move you however he wanted.

“I really didn’t think you would let me touch you, kitten” you smirked, slipping his hands under your shirt to get better access to you, cupping and squeezing your breasts.

“Why not?” you whimpered his thumbs circling your hardened nipples through the fabric of your bra.

“Because you're a little mystery, kitten. No one has had you no matter how much they have tried” he explained nibbling at your neck and sucking light marks into your skin.

“No one has tried” you whined as he let go of you to grip your waist again moving you so you were kneeling in front of him while he shuffled around behind you “What are you doing?”. Mingi laughed at your annoyed tone as he stood and turned the hot water on, allowing it to run down the tiles on the opposite side of the shower.

“I’m keeping you warm kitten” he grinned, sitting back down and pulling you into his lap so that you were now straddling him “Gotta heat the room up if I’m going to get you undressed”.

Your mouth fell open in surprise only for him to take full advantage and kiss you his tongue sliding against yours as you began to reciprocate. His lips soft against yours and the faint taste of beer still lingering from his last drink before you get yourselves stuck. He bunched your shirt up around you letting you know he needed it off which you pulled over your head the moment his lips left yours enjoying the look of appreciation that crossed his features before he dropped his head to kiss your shoulder and undo your bra. 

“Fuck kitten you are so pretty perched in my lap with those perfect tits out just for me” he purred kissing his way across your chest while using his hands to roll you against his hardening dick.

“Ming!i” you gulped softly, feeling like you were already out of breath from the way he was treating you. Pushing his head away from your breasts he pouted until you began pushing his jacket off of his shoulders and tugging at the bottom of his shirt. Stripping himself of them you couldn't help the way your eyes widened as you ran your fingers over his beautiful torso, his broad shoulders and chest making you lips your lips in anticipation. 

As the steam filled the room you quickly stood so you could tug down your jeans leaving you almost bare to him as you clambered back into his lap you couldn’t help yourself now carding your fingers through his hair as he pulled you tightly against his to suck marks onto you, decorating you with marks that only he would know where there. While his lips latched onto another patch of skin he let one hand fall to your hips, squeezing the flesh there, his fingers so long that his thumb brushed dangerously close to your core making you buck your hips in search of friction.

“Can I touch you there kitten? You gonna let me make you mine?” he purred sexily making you nod feverishly. Slowly he moved his hand so his fingers could brush against your covered heat, feeling the moisture that had already collected in the fabric making him groan deep in his throat. “Fuck so wet”.

Dipping his fingers inside the fabric he leisurely slipped his fingers between your folds collecting your juices on his fingers before pulling them away and sucking his fingers clean, if you hadn’t already been dripping for him you were sure that would have made you wetter than you had ever been. Slipping his fingers back into your underwear he began rubbing your clit with his thumb while gently pushing one of his perfect fingers inside you you clenched around it making him lean forward and capture your lips again kissing you deeply while he pushed a second finger into you rubbing your walls carefully until he found that spongy spot inside you he was looking for. Letting out a soft keen into his mouth he continued pumping his fingers into you his other hand helping you to fuck his hand as he worked you towards your high.

“Ah… Mingi… Ngh” you panted harder as his fingers sped up each time they pumped into you you could feel more of your arousal dripping out of you onto his hand.

“That’s it kitten, come for me” he sighed his mouth swallowing your cries as you came hard your walls clenching around his fingers as he worked you through your orgasm. 

“You are so hot” he groaned, pulling his fingers from you and once again licking them clean “and you taste so good too”. 

“Mingi, I want more” you pouted, head still fuzzy and eyes still glazed over from how hard you had just come you began desperately trying to get his belt undone.

“Don’t worry kitten I’m going to fuck you” he growled helping you to get his belt off and jeans undone so you could pull his cock from his pants, your hand pumping his impressive length while he fished a condom from his pocket rolling it on himself before letting you line your entrance up and gradually sink down it. “Fuck so tight”.

“Too big” you whined, feeling like he was stretching you to the point of splitting you in half while your eyes rolled back in your head. 

“Let me kitten” Mingi ground out his voice strained from how desperately your walls were sucking him further into you. He rolled his hips carefully at first to help you adjust before thrusting up into you at an unrelenting pace, bouncing you in his lap with the force of his hips. 

“Such a good kitten letting me use her like this” he groaned, continuing to piston into you. You couldn't do anything but hold on your nails leaving red marks down his chest as you clawed at him babbling his name between moans and curses your pleasure building faster than you could believe as his cockhead hit your g spot again and agin.

“Mingi.. gonna… gon… come” you mewled, feeling the coil inside you snap and white hot pleasure fill your veins and your walls began to flutter around him. Mingi moaned loudly, spilling his load into the condom while your walls milked him dry. You collapsed against his bare chest, the steam from the shower making you both sticky with sweat. 

“You’re mine now” he sighed into your hair, swallowing hard “my kitten, my girl”.

“As long as you’re mine too” you mumbled wincing as he pulled his softening cock from you.

“How about I take you out tomorrow?” he smiled genuinely, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you tightly against him.

“I’d like that” you smiled back foolishly pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

A/N: Thank you for reading my loves as always your likes, reblogs and comments give me life and encouragement to continue sharing the things that pop into my head xx

Taglist (open): @christopher-bangnaldoskzz @armystay89 @damnyouficc @roamingpolar @tara-skyhold @bakedlilgoonie , @krishastumblernow , @mrsseals16 , @fawnpeaks @leeknowinggg @uno7 @tanzen-ist-gold

[chaethewriter]

YOU'RE DEAD TO ME

[12: EPILOGUE]

dad!Jake Sully x human!daughter!reader

In which Jake Sully leaves his life on earth to settle down with the Omatikaya people as Toruk Makto. Having a family that consists of four kids with Neytiri, everything seems to work out just fine, but what if the past comes back for him? And his babygirl is right there in front of him?

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The air felt so much lighter and the sun much brighter. Cold water droplets landing on your warm skin as you sat under a damp tree, cooling your sweating body down. Your fingertips touched the mossy ground from under you as they disappeared into the green grass that stood tall.

The touch tickled your skin as you enjoyed the peaceful scenery around you.

Peace.

Quiet.

At ease.

No sounds of war surrounding you or the horrifying screams of the natives filling your eardrums. Just the noise of chirping animals in the background as you inhaled the pandoran air. Your eyes closed as you dozed off, back rested against the same tree you're settling down under.

Your ears twitched. There was a change of background noise. You heard it.

Chirp chirp rustle chirp.

It wasn't loud, but you caught onto it. Your eyes were still closed, waiting for any other unusual sound. A rustle. A thud. The hand that roamed around the high grass moved slowly, but delicately towards your dagger. Your nails dug into the dirt as your hand wrapped around the weapon. You heard another couple of rustles and tried to pinpoint out in your head where THEY would be now. It was more than one.

You could hear soft thuds of footsteps in between a pair of footsteps and the same bush was hit twice. You tried to imagine the scenery in front of you. A small hill in the corner of your right eye, from behind there a small little river flowing down with around the edge a huge bush. Surrounding you just a bunch of naturally placed trees from all sizes. You knew there was a branch just a few meters in front of you. You placed it there for occasions like these. The wood was small, therefore hard to spot thanks to the high grass.

You waited and waited.

Until, snap.

The branch was crushed in half and you jumped from the ground, dagger in hand as you pointed it towards the danger that you would soon face with a soft hiss leaving your lips. Well, a danger isn't what you could really call it, as Lo'ak and Tuk stood in front of you with their hands thrown up in defense.

"Calm down! It's us! Damn, you really got feisty in that form." Lo'ak yelped it out as he took a step back. He then turned to Tuk who was stood on the broken branch. "Tuk! You should watch where you're going! Now our entire stealth plan in scaring sis is ruined!" The words almost escaped his lips with a whine, almost. Tuk's ears ppinted downwards as she gazed at her feet, "I'm sorry..."

A sigh left your lips, shaking your head in the process. You walked up to your siblings. Where you would usually reach Lo'ak around his stomach and Tuk around her neck, you were now facing his neck instead as Tuk reached your stomach.

You put your navy blue hand on her head as you rubbed her head, "It's okay, little Tuk. Lo'ak is just being a meanie! Right?" You then faced your little brother and grabbed him by his cheek. You pulled hard, causing him to yelp out, "right?" You frown as you look up at him, eyes squinted. He immediately nodded in response, his ears flopping slightly as he did so. A small "yes" left his lips and you let go of his cheek in satisfaction.

"Dad wants you back, actually. It's almost dinner time."

"And he sent you?" You raised your eyebrow in suspicion, soon squinting your eyes awaiting an answer from him.

"Okay okay! I actually overheard dad talking to mom so I uhh.... went to get you and took Tuk with me?" He already took a step back as he spoke, scratching behind his neck, "Don't kill me! I just uh, missed you???"

You pinch the bridge of your nose, "Of course you did. You know that if you go somewhere you need to tell someone, especially with taking little Tuk here. I'm not mad, but just, don't wander off without saying a word alright? It's still dangerous out here." You bring your hand to his cheek, this time rubbing it instead of pulling at it like a pillow, "I care about you, you know that right?"

Lo'ak's tail swayed and hit the ground as it did so, nodding his head in understanding, "I'm sorry.."

You shook your head, "no, don't apologize, just, try your best alright? You can also notify me whenever you go somewhere. Now come on you two, we got dinner to catch, don't we?" You pat both of their shoulders, before pulling away and sprinting away.

"Last to get to High Camp gets the tiniest piece of dessert!"

All those years of tormenting yourself, closed off, blinded by anger and sadness. Letting the negative emotions consume you whole. You didn't know what you lived for or why you lived. Negative thoughts taking over your rational way of thinking.

Why did he leave me?

He won't return for me.

Is there something wrong with me?

Did he hate me?

You didn't know what to live for, but now.

"We're back!!" Tuk barged into their shared hut, followed by you and Lo'ak. Neytiri was in a crouched position as she readied the table, but got up once she heard the familiar voice of her daughter, "where were you?! Your father and Neteyam are looking for you as we speak!" She made her way towards Lo'ak, "and you skxawng! What were you thinking bringing your little sister with you!"

Lo'ak's ears point downwards as he got scolded, but you and Tuk soon intervene, "Don't be too hard on him, mother. He can be, unintentionally, reckless. I already talked with him." You explained as you stepped in front of your little brother, putting your hand on his back as you smacked his skin. Tuk stumbled to the front too as she nodded her head, "sis talked to him! And I wanted to explore as well, it's not only on him. It's not so fun to be here the entire day while there is an entire world to explore!"

Neytiri had her hand to her head, shaking her head as the words sunk in, "Lo'ak, Tuk, get to the main grounds to get our dinner."

They obliged to her wishes as they took off, leaving you alone with your mother. You bit the bottom of your lip as you awaited for whatever was to come.

"Are you okay, child?" She put her hand on your shoulder as she spoke. You nodded immediately at her question, "Don't worry, mother. I just needed a quiet place to think, you know?" You smiled softly at the affection. It took Neytiri a while to fully open up to you, flinching every now and then and subconsciously hissing whenever you approached her. The avatar body seemed to help her open up to you, though.

She nodded her head at your words and pulled away from you, "are you going to eat, with us?" You glanced to the table at her question, counting the place she had placed down. Eight plates. You had to stop a smile from appearing on your face, before nodding your head, "Yes, yes I am."

"There you are, was lookin' for ya." Your feet dangled in the air as you sat on a tree branch, mask sitting back on your face. You turned around once you heard that familiar voice, smiling at your father as you pat the branch empty space next to you.

"You disappeared right after dinner. Went looking for you. Didn't know I had to look for a tiny ant instead." Jake sat down next to you with a teasing grin, his palm raising to stroke your hair.

You scoffed at that remark, trying to push his arm away from you, "shut up, old man. I'm not a kid anymore."

"You'll always be my little girl."

Once you looked up at his face, you had noticed he was already staring at you with so much love and care in his eyes.

"This is so embarrassing.." you mumbled from under your mask as you hid your face into his arm. He could only chuckle in response. A peaceful silence took over, the sound of the wind rustling the leaves around you ringing through your ears.

After a few moments, Jake had opened his mouth, "thank you."

You could only look up at him confused, not speaking as you waited for him to explain himself. ", for giving me another chance." He breathed out from under his breath and even though it came out as a mumble, you heard the words loud and clear.

"You're my dad, after all."

The two of you exchanged a smile, before you turned back to look at the scenery, the sun saying goodnight as the moon decided to rise and shine.

"Dad!" Neteyam climbed through the trees with Lo'ak on his heels. The two brothers had sparkles in their eyes as they made their way to the two of you.

"Awee, why did you shrink back?" Lo'ak almost pouted as he pointed your human form out. You could only roll your eyes to visibly show him how you felt about that question.

"Did something happen, boys?" Jake had turned around, voice laced in worry and tenderness as he scanned his boys for any injuries.

"No, we are fine! Uhm we just had the ides to.. Neteyam!" Lo'ak smacked his older brother with his tail, earning a hiss in return.

"You sxwang!" Neteyam threw his arm around his brother's shoulders, before turning to their father, "we wanted to do a... night flight, actually." His ears turned downwards as he suddenly got all shy. His canines dug into his bottom lip as he awaited for his answer.

You smiled at the scene in front of you. This was your cue.

You yawned loudly as you got up from your sitting position, arms stretching as you spoke, "I'm going back to the lab. I'm so exhausted. Have fun! Make sure to bring me a gift." You hugged your father goodnight, soon turning to your not-so-little brothers and also giving each an individual hug, which turned out in them bearhugging you instead.

You watched as the three of them flew off, shuddering at the cold air that came your way from their wings.

Once arriving at the lab, you soon walked to your shared room with Seb and Raja, who were fast asleep as you entered the room. You shook your head with a chuckle as you were met with their snores. You took your bresthing mask off and hung it above your bed, taking a seat on the soft mattress to take a breather and daydream about your day. You trained, played around in your avatar body, ate dinner with your family and connected a lot with nature. A successful day in your eyes.

Thanks to all the activities, you were worn out and soon fast asleep in your bed.

It was late at night as your bedroom door opened, heavy yet quiet footsteps entering the room in just one singular step. He kneeled down, putting a small object on your nightstand and leaning down to kiss you goodnight.

On the object hung a piece of paper with human writing.

'Nete and Lo'ak found this feather. I tried to make it into a hairpiece. Goodnight my little girl.

- love, dad.'

A/N: this is it. The end of the series. My posting schedule went from daily to irregular and I had a lot of blocks in between posting having internal fights with my love for writing and/or under how much pressure I was. I wanted to add more to the ending, but with some help from someone close to me I realized I had told everything I wanted with this story and that I shouldn't force myself to add more than needed. Thank you all so much for being patient and reading this story as it went. I'm planning to pickup writing oneshots again and hope to feel more love when I write rather than pressure. So, until then! <3

[ericshoney]

Mini Matt in the May vlog ~ Sturniolo Triplets

Summary: Based on their latest vlog, sorry if some bits seem muddled up. I'm trying to remember everything, I probably won't add everything as well.

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

You had gone back with the guys to Boston. Getting a chance to catch up with your dad, their parents, Justin and Nate. The guys had planned to do a bit of vlogging throughout the time and your first stop was the aquarium. You were also happy Madison had joined getting a chance to hang around another girl after becoming good friends with her.

"Dude look at the size of that octopus!" You exclaimed, as you got closer to the tank.

"Eww." Chris mumbled.

"Don't say eww." Madison said, as if to tell him off, but Chris only laughed.

"If they said I could put my hand in there right now and she'd wrap around it, I would." She continued.

"That would be kinda cool." You mentioned.

"I don't like the fact it's called their suckers." Chris responded.

You laughed and continued walking around, checking out everything. You bought a matching penguin to Nick's from the gift shop as the others, minus Chris, got their turtle hats.

"I'm so happy there are gay penguins." Nick said, making you giggle.

~~~~

A couple days later you took a seat at the kitchen island, listening to Matt talk about his nightmares.

"You know what's scary?" You called, as Matt finished talking.

"What?" Nick called.

"I had a similar nightmare too." You answered.

"Really!" Chris shouted.

"Yeah." You said with a nod.

"Man, Mini Matt dreaming like Matt too." Chris said with a chuckle.

You all laughed at his words, wondering how many times that would happen.

After you arrived at your next destination, walking through the woods, it seemed relaxing, until Matt started screaming penis. You laughed as Nick kept telling him off.

"Don't you start." Nick said, giving you a side eye.

"I'm not gonna scream penis." You said between giggles.

"You Mini Matt, who knows what you'll do." Nate replied with a laugh.

You laughed again as you continued your walk, Matt talking about beavers. You were just happy to be out of the house for a while.

You then all returned to Nate's place, ready for some game he and Nick came up with. You sat around the table and watched as he pulled out a toy crocodile and Nate pulled out some lemon juice, as Nick explained the game.

"Help me." You whispered to the camera, Chris laughing as he sat next to you.

You all had a turn pressing a tooth on the crocodile, squealing when it wasn't you chosen. It then slammed shut on Nick's finger, making you laugh and him scream as he took the shot of lemon juice. You carried on again until it chose Nick again.

"Fuck! It's rigged." He shouted as he took another shot.

You and Nate were the lucky ones as it never landed on either of you, making you happy.

"Me and Nate must be lucky!" You cheered as you cleaned up.

"Next time, kid." Matt said, making you stick your tongue out at him.

~~~~

"What the fuck is that!"

Are the first words you heard as you come back from the bathroom, only to see the four boys crowded around the window. The movie had been paused as Chris held the camera up, vlogging whatever was on the curtain.

"What's going on?" You asked, joining the group.

"There's a fucking centipede on the curtain!" Matt exclaimed.

"Yeah fuck no I'm out!" You shouted, jumping on the sofa behind you.

You then watched as the guys tried to fight the bug, four grown men against one bug, but it was so fast. You held onto Chris and Nate as Nick and Matt killed the bug, laughing as Matt used his shoe and Nick used grandpa's cane.

"People are gonna have so much fun with this content." You said.

"To all the bug loving freaks out there, where were you!" Nick said to the camera.

"My heroes!" You teased, hugging Matt, who laughed but hugged you back.

"Well, back to the movie." Chris said.

You all laughed, keeping an eye out for anymore bugs and knew this was a trip back to remember.

[suzukiblu]

Thank-you Ko-fi sentences for @beatrice-otter; Billy adopts Conner and it actually goes pretty good!

“Um, can we maybe sit for a bit?” Billy suggests, gesturing towards the bean bag chairs. They look comfier than the couch to him. Which is saying something, because the couch looks really comfy. “I wanna tell you something before you decide if you wanna stay here. Well, there’s a few things we should talk about before you decide that, probably? But this one’s kinda the weirdest one.” 

“. . . fine,” Superboy says warily, and they both sit on the bean bags. Superboy looks a little bewildered by them; Billy represses another wince. Maybe Cadmus didn’t teach him about bean bag chairs? 

That sucks, if they didn’t. 

Well, at least Superboy didn't say “no” this time. Although Billy hopes Superboy saying “fine” doesn't actually mean “no”, now that he's thinking of it, because that'd be–

Yeah, okay, Billy needs to not second-guess literally everything Superboy says, so they're definitely gonna have to have the “no” talk ASAP. 

“Okay, cool,” Billy says as he settles in carefully on his own bean bag, which is a little awkward because he’s about twice the size he was the last time he sat on one, but he figures it out eventually. This is a weird conversation to have, definitely, but it’s not really . . . like, it’d be bad to lie to Superboy about this, even if he’s gonna keep lying to the Justice League, so . . . well, lying to his co-workers isn’t like lying to his kid, he thinks. Like–it’s definitely not. “Okay, so the thing is, uh, to be totally honest here I'm actually only like twelve years older than you, so I know this whole situation is a liiiiittle weird, but I think it'll be great! And I've really only been doing the superhero thing for a couple of years myself but I can definitely still help you with your powers and with learning how to get along with normal humans and that kind of stuff!” 

Superboy stares at him in bemusement. Billy has to repress a wince again. Bemused staring is . . . not great. Though it could be worse, really. 

“. . . wait, are you human?” Superboy asks with a slow frown. “You don't look human. You don't have pores or any variation in skin pigmentation and your face is perfectly symmetrical. And your irises don't have spokes.” 

“Uh, well, technically I'm human but, uh, please don't tell anybody cuz I reaaaaally don't wanna explain that to the Justice League,” Billy says, wincing after all, and then adds in a mutter, “At least not any time in the next six years, anyway.” 

“Okay,” Superboy says, sounding skeptical. But he doesn’t sound mad or weirded out, so . . . that’s a good sign, right? Billy thinks that’s a good sign. So–good! That’s good, that Superboy isn’t immediately freaked out by him only being twelve or walking straight out the door. Like, that’s a relief. So this is going great so far! 

“. . . you’re really only twelve years older than me?” Superboy asks, his frown deepening a little as he looks Billy over. Billy grins sheepishly. He’d show him, obviously, but he’s pretty sure Batman’s surveilling the apartment at least a little bit while they settle in and he doesn’t want him seeing the lightning hit, sooooo . . . yeah, not right now. 

Anyway, if he’s being a dad he should be dad-shaped, right? Being dad-shaped is better! And like this he’s big enough to hug Superboy really good and maybe carry him around and stuff like that, and he knows most little kids like being carried, and . . . well, his dad always did that kind of stuff for him, so . . .

He just wants to be a good dad. His was . . . his was really great, and Superboy should get to have a great dad too. 

“Um, yeah, but please don't tell anyone that either, the League would be so freaking weird about it,” Billy says, still sheepish.

“. . . sure,” Superboy says, still frowning a little. Billy beams at him. This is going really good, yeah! Well, Superboy’s gotta be used to weird age-related stuff, considering he’s technically a baby himself but also “old” enough to understand a lot more than a regular baby would be able to. So yeah, that’s pretty helpful. 

Awesome.

[justagalwhowrites]

Halcyon - Ch. 2: Just Didn’t Think You’d Remember

You and Joel reconnect. A continuation of Halcyon from the prologue through ch. 1, a modern no outbreak AU TLOU fic found on Tumblr here.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader

Warnings: Modern No Outbreak AU, No use of Y/N, Slow burn, 18+ only, Minors DNI

Length: 4.7K

AO3 | Main Master List | Prologue | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

There was a child staring at you. 

It took you half a second to process that fact, the alcohol from the night before making your head pound and stomach turn. It also didn’t help that you didn’t really know any children so you weren’t sure you’d ever woken up by one sitting just inches from your face, watching you intently. At least, not recently. It wasn’t exactly something you were expecting. 

“Hi!” she said brightly. 

“What the hell…” 

“I don’t think you’re allowed to say that in front of me,” she cut you off, still watching you intently, her curls bouncing as she cocked her head. “At least my dad tells my uncle that all the time when he says that. Why are you on my couch?” 

You lifted your head a little bit and dropped back on the pillow when it made your stomach turn. You were under a vaguely familiar crocheted blanket in a room you absolutely did not recognize and you had no idea where to even begin. 

“Well, kid…” 

“Sarah,” she cut you off, still smiling. There was a gap in her smile and her front teeth were still a bit too big for her face. 

“Sarah,” you repeated. “I don’t even know where I am so you might know better than me…” 

“My dad’s friends who sleep over usually stay in his room,” she said, sitting back from you a bit. She was perched on the edge of a dated coffee table, her skinny legs sticking out straight in front of her from a pair of bright blue shorts, a matching jersey with a soccer ball on the front of it on top. “He tries to act like I don’t know about them though. So it’s weird you’re out here, I don’t usually get to meet his friends.” 

“Right,” you said, propping yourself up on your elbow. Your head spun. You felt fully clothed under the blanket so you didn’t think you’d had sex with anyone. Which, since you didn’t remember fucking anyone, was a good thing. But that meant you’d wound up at some guy’s house - a guy who had a kid - and didn’t know how. Or why. Or who. “And… Who’s your dad?”

 “Hey, Baby Girl,” Joel rushed over, bending over to get on Sarah’s level. “Pretty sure told you to eat breakfast, not bother my friend…” 

“I’m not bothering her!” She protested, turning her big brown eyes to you. “Am I?” 

You were about to agree with her but Joel didn’t give you the chance. 

“Do you or do you not want braids for the tournament?” He asked. “Because I’m not gonna have time to braid all that hair of yours if you’re sittin’ in here, goofing off, instead of eating your cereal. So. Gotta pick. Goof off or braids. Which is it?” 

She sighed heavily. 

“Braids.” 

“OK then,” he said, straightening up to his full height. He somehow looked even more massive from your position on the couch as he stood next to a little girl. “That means you gotta get movin’.” 

She got up with a huff and tilted her head back to look at the ceiling as she stomped away. 

“Never let me do anything cool,” she muttered. Joel just shook his head and smiled a little, watching her for a moment before he turned his attention back to you. 

“Sorry ‘bout that,” he said. “Told her to let you sleep…” 

“No,” you shook your head a little and sat up, your stomach churning. You blinked for a second, the light from the windows still holding that soft, hazy quality the early morning sun had. “S’fine…” 

You started piecing together the night before, at the bar. Joel coming up to you, the two of you having drinks that devolved into doing shots and, at some point, you forgot your address. You didn’t remember ending up at his house, though. 

And you certainly didn’t remember him saying anything about a kid. 

“How you feeling?” He asked, his hands in the pockets of his cotton sleep pants and an amused smile on his face. “You seemed to be having a hell of a time last night.” 

“Been better,” you replied. “Jesus, I am not 17 anymore…”

Joel laughed. 

“Yeah, tell me about it.” 

“Hey Dad!” Sarah called from another room. You winced a little at the sound, your head pounding. 

Joel looked up, toward where her voice was coming from. 

“What’s up, Kiddo?”

“Do I have to eat the apple, too?” 

“Is it on your placemat?” He called back to her. 

She sighed, so loudly you could hear it. 

“Yes.” 

Joel shrugged, even though you were the only one who could see it. 

“Well, there’s your answer,” he said. “C’mon, you’re about to go run for hours, you need fuel. Eat at least half the apple, then I’ll braid your hair.” 

He looked back at you. 

“Coffee?” 

“Probably good,” you said, trying to find the will to get to your feet and looking down at the blanket that was now half on your lap and half on the couch. You realized why it was familiar now. You’d passed out under it many times, it had been the blanket that Mrs. Miller kept draped over the back of the furniture in the living room. It had just been a while. 

Joel held out a hand and you considered it for a moment. Joel was offering you a hand. To touch you. Though, you realized, you’d probably touched him at least some the night before. You were a cuddly drunk. But still. It was Joel. The guy you hadn’t even spoken to in more than a decade, the guy you’d spent just about all of high school in love with, the guy you lost your virginity to on prom night like some kind of inane cliche you’d tell one of your students to rethink if they turned it in as a piece of writing. Touching him felt monumental. 

You took his hand. 

He tugged you to your feet and you draped the blanket on the end of the couch before trailing behind him to the kitchen.

Sarah sat on one side of the table, intently reading the back of a cereal box, 2/3rds of an apple sitting on a paper towel next to her bowl. You sat across from her, hoping you didn’t look too haggard and ridiculous, and Joel went to the coffee pot on the counter, pouring two cups before adding milk and sugar to one. He stirred it and set it in front of you before sitting at the head of the table with a mug of his own. You just looked at him for a moment. He frowned. 

“What?” He asked. “Take it different now?” 

“No,” you said, picking it up and taking a sip of it. “Just didn’t think you’d remember.” 

He shrugged, taking a sip from his own cup before leaning over to look at Sarah’s bowl. 

“Need two more bites of apple and four more shredded wheat,” he said, checking his watch. “And we’ve got 20 minutes before Emily’s here to pick you up.” 

“She’s always late…” 

“Not countin’ on that,” he said. “Come on, kiddo.” 

She rolled her eyes but made a show of taking another bite of apple before going back to the cereal box. 

“What do they put on the back of cereal boxes now, anyway?” You asked. “When I was a kid there were puzzles and things.” 

“Stuff like that,” Sarah said. “But they’re stupid and easy. I’m trying to figure out if they just took a picture of one shredded wheat and used it over and over or if there are different ones.” 

You stifled a laugh and raised your eyebrows at Joel who just shrugged. Sarah took another bite of apple - an almost laughably small one - and looked away from the box to look at you. 

“So what’s your name, anyway? And why are you at my house? And…” 

“Eat your cereal,” Joel cut her off. She sighed but obeyed. “And this is Goldie. She’s a friend of mine from when I was a kid. We hung out last night but it was too late for her to drive home and be safe so she stayed here.” 

Sarah frowned and swallowed. 

“Goldie is a weird name.” 

“Sarah,” Joel scolded. 

“What!” She looked at him. “It is!” 

“That’s because it’s not actually my name,” you said. “It’s just what your dad and his family call me, like a nickname.” 

“Oh,” she said. “OK. How come I haven’t met you before?” 

You glanced at Joel who looked back at you, seemingly at as much of a loss as you were. 

“I’ll tell you if you eat two more shredded wheat,” you said. She scrunched her freckled nose for a second before obeying. You resisted the urge to laugh again. “I lived pretty far away until recently. I just moved back, so I haven’t seen your dad in a very long time.” 

She nodded slowly and swallowed before dropping her spoon in her bowl and tilting it toward Joel. 

“Have I met the dad requirement?” She asked, sass and sarcasm evident. 

“We’ll accept it because of the time crunch,” he said. “Run and brush your teeth - actually brush ‘em don’t just run the water - and grab me two hair ties, your brush, and the gel.” 

She shoved her chair back from the table and ran off, pounding up some unseen stairs and slamming a door behind her. 

“Jesus, need to bottle her energy…” Joel groaned, rubbing his eyes before taking a sip of coffee. You just stared at him. He frowned. “What?” 

“Oh, I don’t know, Joel,” you said, incredulous. “Maybe the entire child you have that you didn’t think to fucking mention?” 

He winced a little at that. 

“Yeah, sorry,” he said. “Kinda thought you’d sleep through gettin’ her out the door. You were pretty damn out of it…” 

“You said you weren’t married!” You hissed, going back over the conversation from the night before that you could remember. 

“I’m not,” he shrugged. “Don’t need to be married to have a kid.” 

“OK but where’s her mom?” You asked, keeping your voice low. 

“Your guess is as good as mine,” he shrugged again. “She left years ago. Been just me and Sarah since she was about four months old.”

“Joel,” you gaped at him. “You’re a dad. To a kid.” 

“Yeah,” he laughed a little. “Tends to happen when you have one…” 

Sarah came storming down the stairs and ran over to Joel, hairbrush and gel in hand. 

“Alright,” he said, standing up with a groan and taking the supplies from Sarah. “Couch, let’s go. We got maybe ten minutes, ain’t doin’ that zig-zag part you like…” 

“But Dad, they’re always late!” She groaned, heading for the living room. You picked up your coffee and followed, watching as she flopped on the couch where you’d spent the night. “There’s so much time!” 

“You are not making anybody any later,” he said, balancing the bottle of gel on the back of the couch before starting to separate her hair into two parts with the brush. “Hair tie.” 

He held out his hand and she slid one off her wrist and dropped it into his open palm. He took it and tied half of her curls off to one side before focusing on the other side. 

“You excited for your games?” He asked as he started near her forehead with a chunk of hair, his large, thick fingers moving with almost surprising deftness through her curls, adding more to each strand as he went. 

“I think so,” she said. “Coach keeps acting like we’re going to win but I dunno. We’re playing the Lightning for round two and they kicked our butt last time.” 

“That was a few months ago, right?” He asked, working his way down her head. “Y’all have gotten better.” 

“I guess,” she said. “But so have they, right?” 

“Maybe. Maybe not. Hair tie.” 

He held his hand out again, half of her hair now gathered in a French braid that reached the top of her shoulder. She pulled another hair tie off her wrist and handed it to him. He tied off the braid and moved on to the other side. 

“Gonna behave yourself today?” He asked. “Listen to your coach and Emily’s mom?” 

“Yes,” you could hear her eye roll from across the room. 

“Good,” he said. “Expect you to be on your best behavior…” 

“But I like my worst behavior.”

“Yeah, I bet you do,” he said, finishing the matching braid on the other side of her head. He squeezed gel into his hand and smoothed it over her hair. “Mean it, Kiddo. Be good. Watch that mouth of yours.” 

As if on cue, the doorbell rang and Sarah jumped up, running to answer it. There was a little blonde girl waiting on the other side of it and a woman who looked like a harried, older clone of her was standing at her back. 

“Hi Joel,” she smiled. “Hope we haven’t kept you waiting!” 

“Not at all,” he said. “Right on time. Sarah, got your stuff? Grabbed your lunch?” 

“Oh crap,” she darted past you, back toward the kitchen, and came running back with a lunch bag. Joel picked up her duffle bag from the entryway floor and put it over her shoulder. “OK, got it!” She smiled. 

“Good,” he kissed the crown of her head. “Alright, have fun, Baby Girl. Kick ass, play nice.” 

“Kick ass, play nice,” she repeated before leaning around him. “Bye, Goldie!” She looked back to Joel. “Bye, Dad!” 

The woman - Emily’s mom, apparently - looked you up and down and you smiled tightly at her. You just heard her turning to Sarah when Joel closed the door as the group headed to the car. 

“So who’s your dad’s friend?” 

You flinched as the door closed and Joel turned to look at you. 

“Breakfast?” He asked. “I do got shit besides shredded wheat. Looks like you might need some grease to soak up that liquor.” 

“I seem to recall that you’re the one who wanted to do shots,” you replied. “But yeah, I won’t argue with food.” Your stomach churned. “Or I think I won’t, anyway.” 

Joel jerked his head toward the kitchen and headed that way, you trailing behind him. He just nodded at the table and you sat down, holding your coffee cup in both hands. You watched as Joel got eggs and bacon out of the fridge and started cooking. It took effort to not look surprised. You weren’t sure Joel had even knew how to boil water when you knew him. Of course, that had been a while ago. And he apparently had a kid to look after so he had to have picked up a few things. 

“So,” you said after a few awkward minutes. “Last night…” 

He nodded and took a swig of coffee. 

“What about it?” 

“I don’t remember all of it,” you said slowly. “And I’m pretty sure we didn’t but… did… did we…” 

“You askin’ if we fucked?” He looked at you brows raised. Your face got hot and you nodded, resisting the urge just run away now and pretend you’d never met Joel Miller to begin with. He laughed once. “No, Goldie. We didn’t fuck. I tend to prefer my women aware enough to actually know what’s goin’ on, thank you very much. You weren’t exactly clearin’ that bar.” 

You relaxed a little. 

“Thank fuck for that much,” you took another sip of coffee and Joel put bagels in the toaster. “So… You’re a dad.” 

He laughed a little and cracked some eggs in a pan. 

“I’m a dad.” 

“How’d that happen?” 

He looked at you for a moment. 

“You telling me a fancy college professor doesn’t know about the birds and the bees?” He teased. “When two grown ups love each other very much…” 

“I will come dump coffee down your shirt.” 

He laughed and shook his head. 

“Just happened,” he said after a moment. “One of those things, I guess. Not like it was on purpose but…” 

“How old is she?” You asked. 

“Turned 11 in July,” he replied. 

You did a little math in your head and you laughed once, loud, before clamping your hand over your mouth. 

“What?” He frowned at you. 

“Oh that’s rich,” you shook your head, sitting back fully in your chair. 

“What?” He asked again, looking genuinely confused. 

“If she turned 11 in July, that means the last time I saw you, you had a knocked up girlfriend at home,” you tried to stifle your laughter and failed. “Oh man and you were on MY ass about my life choices…” 

“Hey, I was right though,” he pointed the spatula at you. “Fuck that guy.” 

The toaster popped and he pulled the bagels out, smearing cream cheese on them before putting an egg on each one, followed by some bacon and a slice of cheese. He finished it with salt and pepper and put a plate in front of you before sitting next to you. You just stared at the sandwich for a moment and he frowned. 

“What?” 

“How do you remember this shit?” You asked, looking back up at him. You remembered trying to convince him to even try a bagel sandwich with cream cheese when you were hung over teenagers on a Saturday morning and Joel reluctantly agreeing that it was delicious. 

He shrugged. 

“You had good taste in breakfast sandwiches.”

You took a bite and moaned a little in spite of yourself. Joel looked at you, brows raised and mouth full and you felt your cheeks get hot again. 

“Sorry,” you said. “Just been a while since I had one of these.” 

“What, fuckin’ Brad not much of a cook?” He asked. 

You laughed a little. 

“Not of things like this,” you said. “No.” 

He nodded slowly before setting his sandwich down. 

“Alright,” he said. “Two options. One, we get you an Uber so you can get on with whatever you famous fuckin’ authors do on random Saturdays.” 

You rolled your eyes and Joel ignored you. 

“Two, you wait until I can get my truck runnin’ and then I drive you home.” 

You frowned a little. 

“What’s wrong with your truck?” 

“Needs a new radiator,” he said. “S’why I’m not going to Sarah’s tournament today, just got the part delivered yesterday, haven’t had the chance to fix it. Can help, if you want.” 

You smiled a little. 

“Like old times.” 

He smiled back. 

“Yeah, something like that.” 

“Well, as it happens, famous authors don’t do much on Saturdays,” you said. “We pretty much sit at home and procrastinate on writing.” 

“Sounds like bullshit.” 

“It is. But it means I am free to hand you wrenches.” 

He smiled. 

“Then let’s go, grease monkey.” 

***

Well that hadn’t been how Joel thought the morning was going to go. 

You’d been dead to the world when he got Sarah up. You’d always been a heavy sleeper and he doubted that had changed much in the past 15 years. When you passed out on his couch in the afternoons as a kid, an atom bomb couldn’t wake you up. When the two of you would sneak out to go get drunk and star gaze at the park, you’d fall asleep curled against his side and he’d have to be the one to set alarms on his shitty flip phone to get you both up. You slept right through them. 

So when he’d found you talking with Sarah on the couch, he hadn’t been sure what to do. 

But you’d solved that problem for him, taking the fact that he had a child he hadn’t told you about in stride. At least until Sarah was out of earshot, anyway. 

And Joel wasn’t about to tell you that you’d done the math about her conception wrong. That, when it came down to it, you were the reason he had a daughter in the first place. 

It was surprising, how easy it was to fall into your friendship again. Like no time had passed, like the last time you’d spoken to him it hadn’t devolved into screaming and tears.

“Gimme the 3/4 inch wrench,” he held his hand out below the front of the truck and watched what little of you he could see as you rifled through the tool box on the ground and dropped the wrench into his waiting palm. “Thanks.” 

This felt like old times, too. His truck in high school had been a beater on a good day. The damn thing needed some kind of work every other day, it seemed. But you were always happy to be there for it, handing him tools on demand and reading him questions from his upcoming history exam in between. He got so good with cars that he worked on yours, too, when you finally got one. Your shitty sedan needed just as much work as his shitty pickup but he liked feeling like he was doing something that was keeping you safe. Like he was doing his job, making sure your car wasn’t going to break down on you. 

“So,” he said as he waited for the coolant to drain. “Divorced, huh?” 

You sighed. 

“Yup.” 

“What’s the appropriate thing to say?” He asked. “I’m sorry or congratulations?” 

You laughed dryly. 

“That’s a great question. I’ll let you know when I figure it out.” 

“Flathead.” 

You took the wrench from him. There was a clattering sound as you dug through the toolbox again and then you put the screwdriver in his waiting hand. 

“Can I ask what happened?”

You sighed again. 

“I’m still not sure I really know,” you said. “Things seemed fine. Great, actually. I’d just sold my book and was promoted to a tenure track role at the university and things just kind of… I don’t know, devolved? I almost wish it imploded so I could figure out what the breaking point was. It more just faded.” 

He wasn’t sure if he could say he was sorry without lying. He pulled the air intake duct and held the screwdriver out. 

“Pliers.” 

You traded out the tools and he went to work on the coolant hose. 

“I’m sorry you were hurt,” he said after a minute. “How are you doin’ now?” 

You were silent for a bit. 

“Divorce is a strange thing,” you said eventually. “I was married for 10 years. I know that he started Lipitor last year to keep his cholesterol under control and that he likes his french fries just this side of burnt and that he gets up like clockwork at 3:45 a.m. to pee. But I have no idea what state he’s even in right now. I know all these things about him but I don’t know him at all any more. It’s like he’s all that’s ever happened to me and like he was nothing to me at all. I’m not sure what to do with that.” 

Joel held out the pliers. 

“10 millimeter wrench.” 

You traded him tools again. 

“He why you’re in Austin?” He asked eventually. 

“Something like that,” you said. “I couldn’t stay teaching at the same school, not when… He’s getting married again. We haven’t even finalized the paperwork but he’s already replaced me and I couldn’t just sit there and watch it…” 

Joel slid out from below the truck to look at you for a moment. 

“He’s a fucking jackass,” he said bluntly. 

“Thanks,” you smiled a little. “Anyway, Anna’s here. She’s been needing some help for a while so I figured why not now, you know?” 

Joel slid back beneath the truck. 

“Sure,” he said, removing the fuse box. 

“Can I ask what happened with Sarah’s mom?” You asked after a moment. 

He held out the wrench. 

“Flathead again.” You traded the tools out, your fingers brushing his skin. He worked on the fan assembly. “And you can, just not that interestin’. We were seeing each other, pretty casually. Shit happened, she got pregnant, I panicked but she didn’t want an abortion so I tried to get my shit together. Then Sarah was born and… fuck, it’s like everything made sense, you know? She was perfect from the first damn second. Like everything I ever fucked up was supposed to get fucked up in just that way so she could be here. Her mom didn’t really feel that way, though. Think she thought it was gonna be easy for some reason and it wasn’t easy, not at all. 

“Scared the shit out of me when she left,” he continued. “Didn’t tell me where the fuck she was goin’ or what she was doin’, just vanished. Took me a few days to figure out she wasn’t dead but she basically told me she’d sign all her parental rights away. She didn’t want to be a mom and even if she did, she didn’t want to be a mom with me. So me n’Sarah moved on.” 

You were quiet for a moment. He held out the screwdriver. 

“Keep that close,” he said. “Need the 11 millimeter socket.”

You took the screwdriver and gave him the socket. 

“I’m sorry you went through that, Joel,” you said after a moment. “That must have been really hard…” 

“It took us a while to figure each other out,” he said. “But… I dunno. Worked out in the end. Think it was supposed to be just me and her. Works best that way. Now if I could get the rest of my life to go that damn smooth I’d be set. Flathead again.” 

You gave him the screwdriver and the two of you were quiet for a bit, the only sounds the sounds of Joel working on the truck. 

“What’d you think of Curtis & Viper 8?” You asked after a minute of not quite awkward silence. 

“Oh lord,” he laughed. “That training montage?” 

“Such bullshit, right?” You laughed back. “I know they weren’t really going for realism but there’s a limit, even for those…” 

“Should get drunk sometime when we’re not hung over,” he said. “Watch it again, I’d kill for your commentary on that shit…” 

“Oh you have to be drunk to watch that again,” you were still laughing. “But I’m in.” 

Joel smiled, even though you couldn’t see him. 

“Cool.” 

The time it took to replace the damn radiator flew by and, before too long, he had a working car again. But you were still at his house hours later, the two of you talking about nothing and everything at all. Eventually, you checked the time and sighed. 

“I should really get home,” you said. “Actually get changed, I probably smell.” 

“Nah,” Joel replied. “You forget that I played football with Josh Samuels, talk about smell…” 

You laughed at that and Joel relished the sound, the seemingly unbridled joy you had when you laughed like that, how he wanted to give you whatever you wanted just to make you laugh like that again. 

“I’ll drive you,” Joel said. “Assuming you can remember your damn address this time.” 

Joel drove you to a tree-filled area not far from the school, the neighborhood full of old builds and lots of reasons to keep the trees, your house a little bungalow in dark brick and ivy. He had the strange urge to go inside and check and make sure your electrical was run properly, that you had working heat for the coming winter, that you had some food on hand. 

“Thanks, for everything,” you smiled a little. “I had fun. A lot of fun.” 

“Me too,” he smiled back. “I’m glad I ran into you, Goldie.” 

You opened the door part way but froze with your hand on the handle. 

“Can…” you looked nervous. “Would it be OK if we did this again sometime? Maybe not the truck care part but the other parts. But I’d be fine with truck care, too.” 

“Sure, Goldie,” he smiled. “I’d like that.” 

You smiled. 

“Good,” you said. “It’s really good to see you, Joel.” 

“You too, Goldie.” 

He watched you walk up to your front door and let yourself in, staying outside until he knew that you were safely back at home.

Next Chapter

A/N: Y'all, I love having Joel dad. Him and Sarah are just two peas in their little pod and I'm in love with them.

I hope you liked this chapter! I'm really enjoying these characters and I'm so looking forward to exploring everything they mean to each other and everything they've been through both together and apart.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy the ride. Love you!