#ate spaghetti. that kind of thing. you have been caught up

[dirtbra1n]

I hate being busy with things I don’t care about I should just start talking and hope something sticks. let’s go atmosphere that always goes well for me. haha lightbulb just happened So shirahama gets caged in some half-way isolated corner of the school. miyano looks him right in the face with no recognition in his eyes. he gets asked if he wants to walk home together. shirahama feels the world tilting beneath his feet, sees what he lost at the core of the earth, tastes blood crawling unnaturally up his throat. he declines the offer. so what now?

well first of all miyano—he doesn’t flinch at the rejection, shirahama did say this time, he did imply that there’d be a next time, that’s his fault that’s his bad he’s so fucking bad at this—miyano says something like, See you, then, not that he could super hear over the blood roaring in his ears, and this is totally a threat to shirahama through no fault of miyano’s, because to be seen tomorrow is actually kind of the last thing he wants. and also all he wants. to see miyano tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and for every day’s tomorrow forever. Who said that. he doesn’t want to be seen tomorrow because—there’s a lot of reasons for this. remind him to come back to this later. put a—put a pin in it, or something. (guilt. guilt, and he doesn’t want to be here tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, or for every day’s tomorrow forever. he wants to not be here, is what he wants, and he wants miyano to also not be here. to be wherever he is, as a matter of fact. Shut up.)

first of all, miyano turns and leaves, shadow casting long and inkier than it might normally, and he disappears beyond one of the walls making up the impractical niche he’d been backed into. shirahama listens to his footfalls until he can’t anymore, which isn’t long, because the blood in his ears has, to say less, not gone anywhere. to say more: waves crashing on deck send him rushing against concussive surfaces; the wood screams and groans, splits down the middle; turbulent waters silence him where his mind cannot by sheer force of noise alone.

shirahama falls against the wall and folds in on weak legs, second of all, and he shudders for breath like he’s never done it before.

maybe sixth of all, he gets back to the dorms. long since dark. it’s empty and all, muted, the occasional light dimly casting shadows to be spooked by. seventh of all he dumps his bag in a seat at the table, and he’ll call it, generously, eighth, that he sits there until he wakes up gasping and coughing, his body caving in on itself, crumbling from weakened integrity. he stops counting. wasn’t very good at it to begin with.

[lanawinterscigarettes]

for kinktober: Eddie Munson giving oral to a transmasc reader?

ofc, thanks for the kinktober request <3 (I really hope he isn't out of character here)

Kinktober 2024 Day 18: Eddie Munson giving oral to a transmasc reader

Warnings: smut/nsfw content, cunnilingus/oral sex (reader receiving), slight hair pulling, Eddie's a massive tease, swearing

You were over at Eddie's trailer for what was supposed to be guitar lessons. You'd always wanted to learn, and luckily for you the town's resident bad boy not only owned a guitar himself but was also kind enough to offer to teach you how to play. That's what you'd initially planned on doing, anyway, until things got sidetracked in one of the lewdest ways possible.

He definitely didn't expect you to show up wearing cut-off shorts with a spaghetti-strap tank top of all things, but in your defense Hawkins had been having an unusually hot fall and you didn't want to be sitting in a trailer that had no air conditioner for hours on end while you were sweating your ass off.

"Damn, sweetheart. I was going to make a joke about you having to repay me for guitar lessons, but if you're going to show up dressed like this every time I guess there's no need," he lightly teased, letting his eyes linger on your bare arms and legs a bit longer than he probably should.

"Haha, very funny, Munson." You thought nothing of his comments as you rolled your eyes, chalking them up to being nothing more than the usual flirty quips he'd throw out whenever he saw you. It wasn't as if he was attracted to you or anything like that, he just acted like that around everyone his age. That's what you'd convinced yourself, anyway.

"Seriously, you should wear shorts more often. The legs on you are enough to make a man drool," he continued with a cheeky smirk, watching as you flopped down on his bed with a certain sense of casual ease. You'd been over to his place so often you didn't even think twice about it. "And don't even get me started on those arms and collarbones."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it already, you pervert," you lightheartedly complained while tossing a pillow in his direction, which he caught before it could hit him in the face. You hated to admit it, but the playful compliments he was throwing your way was starting to actually have an affect on you. You could feel your face growing hot, and it wasn't due to the weather.

Eddie wasn't stupid, either, despite what other people might think. He knew just how much his words were getting to you, which is why he wasn't at all fazed by your complaints or the way you threw one of his pillows at him.

"Ouch, sweetheart. That really hurts to know a pervert is all you view me as," he feigned offence while making his way over to the bed, setting the pillow back down as he sat next to you. "And here I thought you might actually like me."

"Oh, shut up," you huffed with another eye roll, starting to run out of retorts to his nonstop teasing. If you didn't know any better, you'd think he actually liked you, but there was no way that was possible.

"Make me." He leaned in some, the smirk that was on his face having widened into a grin. He wasn't really expecting you to do anything in response except for maybe giving him a shove before telling him to knock it off, but you were feeling a little bit bold today, bolder than usual.

Maybe it was the outfit you were wearing, maybe it was the heat, but whatever the case may be you were willing to take his dare and run with it. Which is how you found yourself laying back on his bed without your shorts or underwear on, his face trapped between your thighs as he ate you out like a starved man.

"Oh- Oh, my God-" You moaned out loudly as you arched your back up off the bed, your hand finding its way to his hair and giving it a sharp tug. "God, yes- Just like that-"

You could practically feel the way his lips were turned upwards into a smug position at your desperate cries of pleasure, and you had no doubt that he was enjoying this just as much as you were.

His tongue moved expertly throughout your dripping wet folds, zigzagging from one area to another as he slurped happily. The cold metal from his rings dug into the soft flesh of your thighs as he gripped them tightly, keeping them spread apart.

"God, baby, you taste even better than you look," he mused out loud as he lifted his head up some to glance at you, seeming amused by the way you shoved his head back down with your hand.

"I thought I told you to shut up already." Your words held no real malice to them, but he could tell you were going to be pissed if he kept denying you, so he didn't push it.

"Jesus, baby boy, calm down. I was just trying to give you a compliment, sweetheart, that's all." His mouth met your pussy again, pulling a long and loud whine from you when his nose intentionally bumped into your clit.

"You're doing this on purpose, you bastard," you accused while tightening your grip on his hair, something that made him let out a groan that seemed to reach your very core when the vibrations of the sound hit your pussy.

"Sorry," came out his muffled response as he finally stopped teasing you and got back to work at eating you out like he was supposed to be doing in the first place. You left out a quiet sigh of relief that was shortly followed by a series of needy moans, your fingers lacing through his hair as a grounding mechanism.

Learning how to play the guitar may have been a fun idea, but getting head from the guitarist himself ending up being a much better one, especially when he made you see stars from how good he was at doing it.

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[lunajay33]

New World🍂Part.13

Summary: You grew up in a crappy town with one friend who kept you going, everything started to fall into place, that’s until the world ended and the dead ruled the world, now you and your best friend Daryl Dixon had to stay alive but will you finally confess?

Part.12

•Masterlist•

I was around 5 months pregnant now and everything has been going good, great actually, Daryl became even more protective and I didn’t hate it I loved when he dotted on me, what can I say I adore him and I’m gonna adore this baby just as much

“Everything feeling normal since our last check up?” Hershel asked as I laid on the bed for him to check on things, Daryl at my side

“Yeah, they’ve been kicking a bit more and I have to pee a lot more” I said making Hershel let out a little laugh

“Sounds like you’re on track, now I’ll just check the heart beat” he took his stethoscope and placed it around my belly as the room fell silent

“Well everything seems to be normal, but I should warn you, some people around the prison have caught a cough, you should steer clear just incase, you can’t afford to get sick while you’re pregnant” he said as he gave me my prenatal vitamins

“I’ll take care of her” Daryl said helping me off the bed and leading me out of his little office as another person was about to enter, we walked past and noticed them coughing up blood

“I think I’m gonna set ya up in a watch tower just in case” he said rubbing my back reassuringly

“Yeah I think it’s better to be cautious”

He pulled two of our mattresses from our block to the watchtower as I gathered some of my things, blankets, to go bag, food and water, after we worked on it the rest of the evening it looked pretty cute……well as nice as we could get it

We laid in bed, his arms wrapped around me as I laid my head on his shoulder, my hand protectively placed on my bump

“Do you want a girl or boy?” I asked tired

“Don’t matter, as long as they’re like ya” he said dragging his fingers back and forth through my hair, I still can’t believe we got to this point from being best friends to me pinning over him and now I’m pregnant

“Well if it’s a girl…….can we name her Juniper?” I kept remembering the dream I had and I feel like it was a sign of some sort

“ of course sunshine”

Hershel was right, it’s only been a week and people were dropping like flies left and right, getting more and more sick, coughing up blood, it coming out of their eyes and everything, there was an incident where a cell block had walkers from those who died at night, that’s what Daryl told me he refused to let me leave the watchtower but now that I’m pregnant I didn’t really want to now anyways, as I was looking out over the field I heard Daryl come out

“Hey sunshine how ya feeling?” He asked rubbing my back

“I’m good but I’m really craving some things I can’t even have anymore” as I said that groaning he laughed as he stood behind me and held my bump

“What’s this lil baby craving?” He asked as we both looked down to where he was caressing my belly

“I really want soft serve ice cream, spaghetti, I really crave any kind of chocolate bar OH! and a orange soda”

“Is that all?” He let out a breathy laugh as it blew a bit of my hair tickling my face

“Daryyyylll, it’s not my fault the baby wants what it wants” I whined

“Well I know it ain’t chocolate of ice cream but I brought ya some spaghetti’os and some peaches I found out on a run, wanted to keep em just for ya”

“Awe thanks D, remember that time when you came over for a whole weekend when we were like 13 and all we ate was spaghetti’os and grilled cheese” I asked remembering the good times we had together

“Ya, think of it everytime I see a can, ya know I appreciate ya fer that stuff ya use to do fer me?” I turned in his arms brushing his hair back

“What do you mean?”

“When my old man would neglect me or beat on me ya were always there fer me, yer gonna be a great mother” he said placing kisses all over my face

“Oh Daryl, I’m always gonna be here for you, you’ve made it easy, you’re the sweetest most generous man I’ve ever met, and because of that you’re going to be the best dad in this whole messed up world, I love you D, always have and always will”

“I love ya too peach, forever”

I woke up seeing Daryl had already left, judging by the sun it was probably around 12 pm, since getting pregnant I’ve needed to sleep more, always tired was a normal side effect Hershel had told me, I got up putting my hair into a ponytail, pulling in some black yoga pants and one of Daryl’s plaids that still had the sleeves on, just as I was about to drink some water an explosion happened to the watchtower across the court yard, completely destroyed and in flames, looking to where it came from and my heart dropped, the governor and a group of people, I knew this was gonna go terribly, the governor wasn’t the forgiving type

I gathered up all my food and water and threw it in my back pack that had spare clothes and baby clothes Daryl had found for me, put my holster belt around my hips carrying my gun and knife, I slung my bag over my back and ran down the stairs, some of the group were huddled around the fence watching to see if Rick could settle this

“Sunshine ya gotta get outta here” Daryl said as he squeezed my arm

“No I can’t go without you”

“Ya gotta fer the baby, if things go bad and we get separated I’ll find ya, I promise” he said giving me a hard passionate kiss signalling for me to go

“I love you Daryl Dixon” and with that I ran off into the prison informing everyone to get ready, I was about to leave when I saw her, little Judith unaware of the dangers around her, I found her baby carrier, diapers, food and clothes and put it in my back as well then strapping her in the carrier on my chest and ran when a part of the prison exploded, I ran out the back opening in the prison, going until my legs couldn’t anymore, I could here the gunshots in the distance stop, I wanted to go back but I know I can’t, I kept walking hoping to find someone from my family

It’s been a few days now, I’ve just been walking and walking and walking, everything was the same everyday, wake up from some shitty shelter I could find, feed Judith and myself with the little rations I had left, and wander hoping someone would show up……..anyone, I couldn’t do this alone, pregnant and caring for a little girl there was only so much I could do and only so long I’d be able to do it without becoming exhausted

It felt like I’d never see Daryl again, I’d think of him all day especially when the wind would pick up and blow the scent of fallen leaves across my face, I’d picture his scruff and the feeling of it against my neck and shoulder where he’d be cuddled against me in the morning, and the way he’d glance at me with those blue eyes it made my world brighter, or how excited we were for this baby but now we may never be a family

As I was walking, reminiscing my lost love I came across a graveyard feeling fit with how empty and broken inside I felt, there was a house in the distance and decided to stay there for the night if it was all clear, I swept the house thankful for no walkers, Judith was getting fussy so I checked the cabinets and they were completely filled, I took a jar of jam and crackers and sat feeding Judith them myself until all the crackers were gone, it felt so good to have a full ish stomach, I hadn’t been starving on the road but it wasn’t enough, after we settled and the sun was setting I decided to sit on the porch steps to rock Judith to sleep hoping the fresh air would help, I leaned my head against the banister looking out over the graveyard, it was silent from walker groans only the sound of wind rustling through the leaves and crickets, it felt like old times when Daryl and I would stay out late and just watch the sky

All of a sudden there were a figure in the distance running closer to the house, I stood up securing Judith and taking out my gun but the closer they got the clearer they became

DARYL

I dropped my gun as I walked down the porch, he finally noticed me and Daryl ran even faster, I could feel the knot in my throat and the tears cascading down my face, I tried to speak but all that came out we gasps, he was here, he found me like he said, he finally reached me throwing his arms around me and holding my head to his chest as I cried harder then ever before

“I found ya, are ya alright?” He asked pulling and looking over my body

“I’m……..I’m okay now” he held my face looking deep in my eyes and that scent of musky woods crossed my senses and I breathed in deeply

“You found us” he finally looked down noticing a completely knocked out Judith

“Ya got her, got lil asskicker……..and how’s the baby?” He asked rubbing my belly

“I think they’re fine, I need more food though but I got that covered now” I took his hand and led him inside showing him the gift that was the kitchen cabinets

We lit some candles and chowed down for the rest of the night until we went upstairs settling in the bed after Daryl had secured all the points of entry

We found some clothes and changed into the fresh ones and slid into bed, his chest secure to my back as he held me close, arms and legs entangled, lil asskicker in my arms

“I thought I’d never see you again………I was so scared” I felt his arms tighten around me

“I ain’t leavin now, I thought of ya everyday”

“I can’t do this anymore Daryl” I whimpered as my bottom lip quivered, I needed a home that was secure and safe and peaceful I couldn’t have a baby where it was at risk every second

“I know baby, I’ll find it fer us, all of us”

“Did you see anyone get out?”

“Nah, too much was happening but…..Hershel’s dead”

“The governor?” My heart ached for Hershel he was the sweetest giving man

I just felt him nod as he started rubbing my belly, knowing how much it calmed him down

“I love you more than life Daryl” I said turning my head so I could kiss him gently

“Love ya too, I wish I could give ya everything we coulda had, it may not be everything but I’ll try”

Part.14

Lmk your thoughts on this chapters, if you’d like to be added to the taglist comment!!:)

Taglist: @deansapplepie @ghostboneswrites2 @willowshadenox @thebadbatch2022 @writer-ann-artist @i-wear-wet-socks313 @thestonedwriter

[ameliterature]

Neil and Todd Jealousy POV (Yes, there's more)

Charlie POV | Cameron POV

Neil was an only child and this obviously came with minor character flaws. Not only was he given all of the attention by his parent (even if it was the bad kind) Neil never really had to share anything.

Not that he didn't want to share. He just never had many opportunities to, with the lack of siblings and all. The closest he had to a sibling was Charlie. Unlike Neil, Charlie would share everything with him because he had so much to give. Was it the fact that Charlie's family was rich and that he has at least 3 of each item? Maybe, but Charlie was sure to share what he had with his best friend.

Another thing Neil "the Welton Golden boy" Perry had as a flaw was that he simultaneously wore his heart on his sleeve and yet always tried to hide his feelings. Case in point: when Charlie made a move on Todd.

Now, it's only been roughly 2 semesters since they've known Todd Anderson. Neil had the gracious chance to be his roommate, so in some way, it was like having another best friend aside from Charlie. But what he felt for Todd was vastly different from his friendship with Charlie. Something about the way Todd smiled at him, something about the way he makes sarcastic remarks, something about the way they shared glances between each other every now and then.

Neil was completely enthralled by Todd. Some might say to the point of being possessive. Neil would say protective because Todd was the kind of person who needed to be kept safe. Todd wasn't good at standing up for himself, he wasn't good at speaking the same way he wrote poems. Neil took it upon himself to be the one to make Todd feel the included. He had to be included, he had to be where Neil was.

Thankfully the whole Dead Poet Society thing worked out well, Neil was surprised how well Todd was integrated into the group. They even spent Christmas break as a group with Todd. Things were going great between him and Todd, Neil couldn't ask for more than to share his experiences with Todd.

But one night, a regular ole Study group session, something caught Neil's eyes. Todd was helping Knox out with some love poem, obviously meant for Chris, and he could hear the contents of the poem.

"Hymns from above casted when you're near

Heaven's light shine atop a golden-haired angel

My heart's full of whims and vivid dreams

but in your presence they're obligations I hold close

Be mine and I'll keep your heart guarded

Because mine is with yours, unthwarted."

Neil hears Todd recite their draft poem, hearing it as if it were meant for him to hear. His own golden-haired angel was biting the end of his pencil as Knox was scribbling the rest of the poem. Neil catches himself staring just before Todd looks up at him so he brings his attention back to the trigonometry problem he was answering with Cameron.

He couldn't concentrate on sine, cosine, and tangents at the moment, not when Todd's hand is in his peripheral view; all perfect with it's blemishes and tapping to an imaginary beat. Every so often, he'd steal a glance at Todd's eyes, darting back and forth from his paper to Knox's. He'd be jealous of any pupil Todd would eventually have if he became an English teacher. To be consulted with his sweet voice, to be seated by him as he explains anything, to be taught how to express feelings he wasn't sure how to jot down.

Oh have Todd's untampered attention.

"Hey Todd," Charlie's voice resonates across their small table. Neil accidentally shot his eyes to his friend's direction without skipping a beat. "Mind helping me out with a poem too?"

Since when did Charlie ever ask for help from Todd? Not that he wasn't allowed to or anything, Todd was the right person for this task but-- Something about it wasn't sitting right with Neil.

What wasn't a surprise was Todd's hesitant acceptance. He watched as Todd moved over to Charlie's right hand side and Neil felt his back become warm. It wasn't just his back, his guts turned into an unrested sea, and his eyebrows twitched, trying to avoid a scowl.

"What do you wanna write about?"

"I wanna write about Love." Neil saw Charlie lean forward to look Todd deep into his eyes; for a moment, he thought he saw Todd blush. Neil didn't like Todd showing that expression to someone else, or at least someone like Charlie.

"S-So... We'll use cosine to get X--" Cameron muttered, snapping Neil back to his assignment. He looked at the blurred numbers and symbols, trying to remember what the other problem was.

"Right, cosine-"

Just before dinner, Neil catches up with Todd to walk with him to the dining hall.

"So," Neil started, not exactly sure where to lead the conversation to. "I guess it's spaghetti and meatballs again, huh?"

Todd pushed out a chuckle in response. "Yeah, I guess it is."

Neil had Todd to himself for a tiny moment, for a stupid one-liner too, but it felt like he was in Cloud nine. Todd's calm expression was all he could ask for, paired with his blue eyes looking back at him.

When they reached their table, they assumed their usual spots, Neil being on the left side of the table and Todd on the other. However, Charlie decided to change up the seating arrangement and sat beside Todd instead of him.

There's that funny feeling again. Neil's stomach was nothing but a pit that resembled a deep well without a bucket, nothing to retrieve and remove the sludge that was forming in it. He hated how Todd was so responsive to Charlie's words, how Charlie was so capable of making Todd blush, he hated the sight of Todd rubbing elbows with Charlie as they ate. Neil wasn't sure why he was feeling this way, why he even thought something innocent between Charlie and Todd could make him so agitated. It could all be his imagination.

When Todd left for the bathroom, Neil decided to interrogate his best friend.

"Hey Charlie, why the sudden change of seating arrangement? Thought I was your cute best friend." He tried to sound like his usual self.

"Well, I'm trying to get closer to Todd."

"W-what? Why?" Neil felt his voice crack, much like his confidence.

"I dunno, he's pretty cute. Don't you agree?"

"I--" Neil felt his whole body stiffen, his hand tightened it's pressure on his spoon like a clamp.

"I'm thinking of asking him out soon. No one else seems interested." Neil saw it, he saw Charlie smirk. Neil's emotions became unreasonably irrational, they became unhinged and even if he tried to hide it, they were all bubbling to the surface. Charlie had everything already, he and Neil shared everything before this, but for some reason, Neil couldn't share Todd with someone like Charlie.

"Oh hi, Todd! Welcome back" Neil glares at Charlie while he greets Todd.

"What did I miss?" Todd asks innocently, still taking his seat beside Charlie.

As Charlie began his sentence, Neil cuts him off. "Nothing-" Todd shifts his eyes to share eye contact with Neil. "By the way, we should head back to our room, I need help with my poems." Neil's last attempt of gaining the upper hand on Charlie failed when Charlie brought up his and Todd's prior arrangement.

Neil didn't get it. What did Charlie have that he didn't? Or better yet, what does Charlie not possess yet that he would try to make the moves on Todd?? Neil hated this feeling- this vicious vine-like feeling trapping him. Was it... Jealousy?

Neil's never had much of a reason to be jealous about someone before. He's only been jealous of people who were freer than him-- people like Charlie. Was he jealous of Charlie in that regard? That he could proudly express what he felt for Todd and Neil couldn't? He guessed that was the difference. Charlie did have everything; down to the personality that could make Todd fall for him.

Neil was in Meeks' dorm room, resigning himself in defeat like a pathetic loser he thought he was.

All Neil could do was blankly stare into the shine of the wires that coiled around parts of their machine. A brief knock on their door broke his trance- It was Cameron.

“Do you guys mind if I hang out here? I’m just gonna do my reviewers for a bit.”

“Sure, no problem.” Meeks nods, still measuring out some amount of wires.

“Wait, how come you’re not studying in your room?” Neil questioned,

Cameron took a moment to respond. “Charlie… he wanted to focus on his homework with Todd… Alone.”

This was the last straw for Neil, the final push that made him stand up for once. He couldn't bury his jealousy anymore, he had to confront Charlie.

He left his friends to march his way to Charlie's room. He wasted no time when asking Charlie about his motives.

"Well hello, Perry! What do I owe the pleasure?"

"Quit it-" Neil cuts him off. "Are you serious about Todd?"

"... What?"

"I- I'm asking if you're really interested in Todd?"

Maybe this was all a trick, maybe Neil was just being jealous, maybe Charlie was playing a cruel joke on Neil and he had to shake it out of him.

"Yes." Charlie's expression was ripe with confidence.

With that, Neil felt his world shatter. What was he doing? Was he gonna fight his friend over his feelings for Todd? Was he gonna deny Todd of someone as fun and as romantic as Charlie? Charlie's given so much to Neil and the way he was acting was nothing short of being selfish.

If Charlie really liked Todd, then Todd would be lucky. If Todd would return those feelings, Charlie would be the luckiest man to ever live.

Neil had nothing to offer to Todd that Charlie couldn't top. Neil felt his bitter feelings turn into catharsis, accepting that Todd's better off sharing his moments with Charlie than him.

"T-then... Please take care of him, okay?" Neil buckled his shoulders.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"If you ever hurt Todd-- You're a dead man, got it?" Neil's eyes were like daggers, piercing right at Charlie's own brown eyes.

"R-right..."

Neil figured he had to leave, he couldn't bear to see Todd and Charlie exchanging looks. But this of course wasn't the case. A knock echoed in the room.

When he opened the door, Todd was right there, his beautiful eyes staring up at Neil will a quizzical expression.

Neil assumed that Charlie would most likely profess his love to those eyes, and that knowledge broke Neil's heart.

"Sorry Todd, looks like I'm gonna have to move our study session for now. I think Neil needs your help more. Right, Neil?" Charlie spoke, catching Neil's bewildered expression.

"I'm sure he's got something more important than mine anyway."

Neil looks at Charlie and Todd, bouncing a confused face between them. He sees Charlie's wink before Todd guides Neil out of the room.

Todd sighs as he returns to his room with Neil, his sweaty hands in the midst of sticking to his papers.

How did he end up in this situation?

How could he explain the entire day?

It all started when he told Charlie about his crush on Neil in private. All he wanted was advice from the best friend of his crush and nothing more.

"Glad you came to me, Toddsie!" Charlie pats him on the back excitedly.

Todd didn't like how enthusiastic Charlie was being in this situation, though he was grateful Charlie immediately accepted him for coming out.

"I know exactly how to make him fall in love with you!"

"L-look Charlie, I'm not trying to get Neil to like me! I just-- I just wanted to know how to deal with all these feelings I'm having."

All these feelings- Todd's had these "feelings" ever since Neil shook his hand for the first time in the courtyard. He's never met someone as perfect as Neil. Yeah, he had Father Issues, impulsive actions, even the tendency to make weird noises (but he found those the cutest) and yet Neil made Todd's world move.

Neil's laughter, Neil's smile, the stolen glances he catches Neil casting his direction-- It was all Todd sought after in his recent days at Welton.

"Oh please, Todd, those 'feelings' are straight up love from what I hear. We just have to know if Neil feels the same way!"

"We don't even know if he's interested in men! Charlie- What am I supposed to do?" Todd buried his face into his hands.

"Don't worry, I'll find out a way to not only check if he swings that way, but I can guarantee I can get him to return your feelings."

"That-- That doesn't make any sense, Charlie." Todd wasn't able to question his friend any longer as they dashed into the study hall.

The Study group went on as usual, Todd assisting Knox with his poem for Chris, Meeks and Pitts building a contraption he was sure was the Radio Mark II, and Neil, Cameron and Charlie trying to answer some trigonometry homework.

What didn't help was Neil being directly in front of him. Todd could see Neil in his glasses, unabashedly handsome and very distracting. Todd would try his best to help Knox with his poem but Todd's eyes would linger onto Neil's perfectly "framed" face.

He then hears Charlie call him over. At first, Todd didn't think much of it, but he soon regrets ever telling Charlie of his crush on Neil.

The whole evening, Charlie tried to make Neil jealous without planning it out with Todd first. If Todd had at least known, he wouldn't have been trying picture Neil in Charlie's place as some sort of "method acting" to go along with this scheme. When dinner began, Charlie took Cameron's spot for 'maximum efficiency'. It didn't help when Charlie called him "cute" in front of Neil. Would Neil agree? Would Neil even describe a guy to be cute? Would Todd be able to enjoy his spaghetti and meatballs without Charlie's arm around him?

Todd decided that he should excuse himself to the bathroom for compose himself. (And to evade the plethora of compliments Charlie showered him with.)

When it came from Charlie, it felt like a joke, like a friendly description, really, than an actual compliment. Then Todd thinks if they came from Neil... then those words would make him swoon.

Would Neil even fall for this type of trick? Was it even right to trick Neil like this? Would Neil be even okay with the idea of Todd being in a relationship in with a man? He wasn't even sure if Neil would accept Todd's feelings, let alone feel jealous of Charlie.

As Todd approached their table, he's immediately greeted by Charlie.

"What did I miss?"

"Well Todd--" "Nothing." Neil cuts of Charlie with a serious tone.

Oh no... did Neil find out? Did Charlie rat him out already?

"By the way, we should head back to our room, I need help with my poems." Neil looks up at Todd with an expression that is both deadpan and attractive to him, Todd had no other choice but to accept.

"What? Todd, I thought you'd help me out?" Charlie pouts. "I did ask first." Todd didn't want to miss his opportunity to be with Neil, especially not when he looks at him like that. But Todd looks back at Charlie, raising his eyebrows as if to say "Just go along with it."

Todd was reluctant, of course, he didn't want to perpetuate fooling Neil in any way, but he wasn't sure if Neil had anything to return at all. They were always alone after all, nothing would be stripped away if he spent one evening in Charlie's room to make Neil jealous.

"Right, sorry, Neil. I'll go back to our room after I help out Charlie." Todd replied with a pained expression hidden behind his face.

That evening, when he approached Charlie's room, he hears Neil's voice muffling through. Todd wished had the will to listen in but he assumed it wouldn't be his business if it was said behind closed doors. He took another moment before knocking on Charlie's door.

Neil opens the door for Todd, their eyes meeting briefly, like a celestial occurrence that Todd took note of. Have they always been this brown?

"Hi Todd!" Charlie greets him, breaking him from Neil's gaze.

"Hey Charlie, Hi Neil."

He was expecting Charlie to pull another stunt to make Neil's brown eyes angry, but instead both his and Neil's eyes lifted in surprise when Charlie told him Neil needed his help more.

Did they come to some agreement?

And Todd could've sworn Charlie was winking at Neil... or was it at him?

All these questions didn't matter when they were alone in their room.

Their chests rattled like cages, their hearts ready to jump out at any moment.

Neil bit his lip as Todd took a seat by his desk.

"S-so Neil..." Todd muttered, "Can I ask you something? B-before I help you with your poem..."

"Oh- Yeah, sure."

"What do you think of... of men dating each other?"

Neil lets out a tiny cough. "W- Excuse me?"

"Do you think... it's ok? For two guys to like each other?"

Neil wasn't sure how to respond, was Todd telling him that he liked Charlie? Was Neil too late? Did he miss his chance to tell Todd what he really felt?

"I-- I guess it's alright," Neil answered, slumping his shoulders down in defeat. If he was gonna lose Todd to Charlie, he might as well be supportive. "But- you have to make sure it's the right person." Neil wasn't going down without a fight though.

Todd's face brightened with Neil's response. So 1 part of his query is answered; Neil is ok with the idea of men liking each other. Now it's the question of Neil's feelings for Todd.

"I-If someone, a guy, liked you, how would you feel?" Todd stood up, turning to face Neil. Both of them were by their desks, like two sturdy posts defending their base. Todd awaited Neil’s response with the anticipation akin to a war officer in a meeting room.

"I... would really only prefer it from one guy." Neil took a step forward, with the courage of a powerful Chesspiece during an endgame.

Todd took note of this, mimicking his step, this time walking a bit closer to Neil with his hands in his pockets. "Y-yeah? Who?"

Neil noted this feeling being similar to a spelling bee, like spelling out a complicated word letter by letter, taking a breath to make sure the next thing he was about to say was exactly what the world wanted him to say.

"You, Todd. It's always going to be you."

Todd looks up at Neil, who's now inches away from him from, fully realizing their slight height difference. "I'd say the same for you."

"I hope... I'm not... taking you away from Charlie-" Neil slowly brings his hand to sweep Todd’s hair aside to see his eyes better.

Todd snickers slightly, catching Neil by surprise. "Neil... You don't have to worry about Charlie. I don't have any feelings for him."

"But-" Neil looks concerned, feeling like he betrayed Charlie. "He... He likes you. Todd, I--"

"Is that what he told you? Neil... I hope you won't be angry when I tell you he's been pulling your leg."

Neil jerks his head backwards. "What?"

"I.. Just promise you won't be angry okay?" Todd had to come clean, he couldn’t handle Neil thinking badly of him if he never admitted Charlie's plan. Neil nods before Todd reveals Charlie’s idiotic scheme to get them together by means of tomfoolery.

Neil sighs with a smile, leaning forward to rest on Todd's shoulder. Todd was still getting used to the fact Neil's VERY close right now.

"Well, you guys did a pretty good job of making me extremely jealous." Neil laughs a bit. He was in relief that he didn't need to compete with Charlie.

"I'm... I'm really sorry, Neil. I told him I just wanted advice." Todd looks down with embarrassment.

Neil tilts Todd’s chin up with his hand, bringing his face up to look at him. "You're gonna have to make up for it, y'know?"

Todd’s face simmered under Neil's touch. "I know."

Todd learned that Neil was a Jealous type of guy, not the type to be possessive, but definitely the type to mope around rather than steal someone else's love interest.

Luckily for Neil, he already had Todd’s heart to begin with.

Neil wasn’t used to sharing, but he and Todd shared their first kiss that night. That's a compromise he was willing to do.

Bonus:

Knox, Meeks and Pitts POV:

4 of their friends (the roommates) getting paired up in one night made them:

Thanks again to @sweettodd for that one post that spawn all these POVs haha

Taglist: @anderperrytheplatypus @she-nuwanda @andersonsdeskset @sweetnessbythesea @maisietheweltoncow [tell me if u wanna be added/removed next time]

[ohheyitsokay]

to date a single father (2/2)

Pairing: Francisco Morales (Catfish, Frankie) x (f) reader

Wordcount: 3.2k

Warnings: low to medium amounts of petting? teenage level make out sesh. A stomachache worth of fluff. A little angst??

Summary: part 2! Please read part 1 before this for context :) Frankie has a little girl in kindergarten and you’re the prettiest schoolteacher he’s ever seen. Being a single dad makes navigating a relationship hard, that’s all. It’s just as daunting for you, but somehow, you’re pretty sure he’s worth it?

>>

“Frankie, I don’t know if I can do this!” your walking slowed, and you clung to his hand. Anxiety was bubbling in your chest the closer you got to the home in front of you.

He stopped, letting go of your hand to wrap his arms around you. It was a warm fall evening, and the two of you had been together a few weeks now.

It was time for you to meet his boys – the daunting equivalent to meeting his family. The little one had already run around the house, chasing the sounds of other kids and the smells of meat and smoke.

His hands ran soothingly over you, and he smiled into your hair.

“Baby, you got this, they’re gonna love you,” he said, with absolute confidence.

You pulled back, shaking yourself and taking a deep breath. “They’re your family Frankie,” you said.

“We don’t have to, if you’re not up for it,” you couldn’t help but meet his safe brown eyes. “But I promise they will love you.”

The boiling inside you settled to a simmer. You both could feel it, already, even though it had only been a few weeks.

They will love you because I love you.

“Okay,” you said, taking his hand again. “Okay, I can do this this.” For you, I can do this.

The breeze was warm and encouraging as it pushed you into the backyard. It was Will’s house, set up for a perfect barbecue and you braced yourself.

“Catfish!” one of the men called, and you smiled, despite the sudden attention.

He ran over to you, introducing himself as Santiago, and saying it was long overdue.

“Nice to meet you,” you said as the other men made their way over. “They actually call you Catfish,” you added to one at your side, half asking half not. Frankie nodded happily and shrugged his broad shoulders, but his eyes were telling you not to ask.

“Yeah we do!” one of the newcomers said excitedly. “Benny,” he said, shaking your hand, before pointing and naming most of the people around the yard. “I’m Fish's coolest friend, for the record,” he added as he was done.

This brought indignant yells from the other guys and you laughed, eyes meeting Frankie’s. He was laughing too, and he tugged you closer to his side.

Santi’s eyes caught the movement and he smiled, despite passionately asserting that he was the coolest. It meant the world to see his best friend hold you like that, after all this time.

You were already feeling much more at ease, enough to slide away from Frankie to join the other partners as the boys energetically caught bit. You scooped his little one into your arms as she clung to her snack, using her as your buffer. The evening was going to be long, and you were happy to observe your sweet pilot from afar for a bit.

Frankie was different around these guys, you were excited to get to know this side of him. There were no parts of himself he had to hide around them – and you were thankful to find that didn’t make you even a little bit jealous. Your excitement overrode your anxiety, and you began to settle into your own skin. You floated around, picking up and putting down his daughter as she ran in between the two of you and playing. It was amazing, learning about the boys, their lives, and more importantly, who they were to Frankie and vice versa. You felt his eyes on you throughout the evening, following you as you talked and listened and ate. You made sure to check in with him, but his friends welcomed you with open arms. They were talking so freely, more often than not you found yourself caught up in conversations for much longer than you anticipated.

As the group finished eating and began to settle into lawn chairs, talking at a slower pace, his little one tucked her head into your neck. You could feel her little puffs of breath even out as the excitement of the evening finally caught up to her. You’d rarely held kids this much, so you were more than grateful to sit down, unused to the extra effort of a tiny person clinging to you.

Frankie settled by your side, pulling his chair as close as he could to his two favorite girls.

“Hey, baby,” he murmured, his voice sliding under the thrum of conversation. “Are you doing okay?”

His hand warmed your shoulder, thumb rubbing gently.

“In regards to what?” You asked, crinkling your eyes so he could see your smile over his child’s curls.

He shrugged, gently moving to stroke her hair.

“You left me,” he said, almost like a question. You understood. Neither of you had planned on it – and it meant he wasn’t able to watch over you.

“I’m good, Frankie,” you said, knowing it was true. “These people… they love you. It’s not as scary as I thought it would be. I feel like I’m getting to know you all over again.”

There was something in his eyes that you couldn’t quiet identify.

“In a good way, Catfish,” you said, and he grinned.

“I don’t know how I feel about you calling me that,” he said, just as Santiago plopped down next to him.

“Your fault, bud,” he said, “you brought her here – she’s part of the family now. No take backs.” He was being childish but his eyes were honest when they met yours. Frankie could feel it too.

They loved you, too.

-

“She drew a picture of you in class today.”

“What?”

You stared at your friend, knowing full well what she had said. She leafed through her stack of papers, pulling out the little crayon drawing to show you. For such a little thing, that girl was remarkable, drawing a big castle with what you could only assume were 6 helicopters and a depiction of the three of you. You all were by the moat - fishing? – and there were little yellow blobs above each of your heads.

“She told me her dad always tells her these stories,” your friend said, the air in the room growing more and more intimate by the moment.

“Wait,” you interrupted. For whatever reason, your heart was racing. You were near panicking. You held up your hand, unable to verbalize what you were afraid of.

Her eyes softened.

“I wont tell you if you don’t want me to. But honey,” she touched you gently, using that soothing teacher-voice on you. “You are doing such wonderful things. I know you weren’t prepared for all of this, but …” her eyes were firm but kind as she searched for the words that wouldn’t scare you away.

“This is one of those things that’s working because it is right. You are where you are meant to be.”

You were overwhelmed as the culmination of the last few months was manifested in front of you. You felt confronted, and had no idea what to do.

“They’ll be back from lunch in just a moment,” she offered you a way out before adding one last thing:

“When you’re ready – and you will be - ask them about it.” And you nodded.

It took you almost two full weeks to gather the courage, but you did it.

“Your teacher told me your dad likes to tell you stories,” you said over your spaghetti, trying to sound casual. Frankie paused mid-bite, eyes questioning. After all these months, of course he knew you well enough to practically read your mind.

The little girl across from you nodded before trying to push on entire meatball into her mouth. You and Frankie both scrambled but she managed it alright, much to your confusion and relief.

“Could you tell me too, please?” you tried again once all three of you were able to breath properly.

Her innocent face pondered for a moment, and then she hopped off her stool and ran into her room. You looked at her father helplessly. You weren’t good at this.

Thankfully, she made it easy on you, returning with a stack of drawings she’d done. She was apparently prepared to give you the full class.

Her adorable little voice explained that a long, long time ago, there was a prince who was not lonely, thank you very much. Because he had her, and that was all he needed. And he also had Bean, their pet unicorn. You were laughing, feeling considerably less nervous as she proudly showed you her drawings.

Frankie’s hand found yours and you held onto it, knowing he was sharing this with you in his own way.

The scars on his hand grounded you as she continued.

With plenty of adorable side trails, the story progressed, as princesses would occasionally try for the prince’s hand and he would always say no. And then she told you about how one princess came to be his best friend instead, and how she was the prettiest princess in all the land. It occurred to you that Frankie’s best friend was Santi? But then she added that the princess was so smart she probably remembered there was an “l" in the word “castle”. You weren’t sure what parts of the stories were Frankie’s, and what she had added, but still your heart was pounding as she got to the part where the prince fell in love with her.

The little one kept talking, her eyelids beginning to droop and her words becoming less and less comprehensible. Frankie let go of your hand before her head fully sunk onto the table, her little hand slowly releasing the precious papers. You watched with surprising affection as he gently coaxed her into his arms to take her to bed.

As they went through her routine, you meditated on her stories, on the weight they held.

You met Frankie as he came back into the dining area. His arms wrapped around you in an all-encompassing hug. There was relief in his shoulders as he murmured into your hair.

“I was worried you would leave,” he confessed. You knew what he meant. The indirect confession of how much he loved you loomed over you both, with the acknowledgement that you were becoming an important part of their lives. Of their family.

Like before, being close to him grounded you.

You didn’t answer – you didn’t have to. Although a small part of you wanted to run away, it wasn't the winning part.

“I love you,” He whispered to the crown of your head, and although maybe you knew already, hearing it was the final piece you need. With him – with them – you would stay.

-

You made sure the door was quiet. The warm light of his home spread mere inches before it was pushed to the ground by the heavy rain. As soon as it was closed, Frankie was scooping you up in his arms, apparently not minding your wet outer layer, planting kisses on your cheeks and forehead and nose.

“Hello, beautiful,” he whispered. He was walking backwards, guiding the two of you into his small living room.

“Hi, Frankie,” you said just as quietly, wiggling in his arms to take off your shoes and set your stuff down on the coffee table.

He sank onto the couch, hands tugging you insistently. “I missed you,” his voice rumbled.

You laughed, still half standing, trying to shake off your coat. “Frankie, I saw you this afternoon!”

He was irresistible, and you finally settled into his lap, straddling him.

It was true, but his point was clear. You had been together months and months now, and had learned you rarely got a decent amount of time for just the two of you. Now, your apartment building was being renovated, so while you could still stay in your room, regular knocks from handymen and construction noises made it impossible to spend any quality time there. Both of you thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his daughter, and you came over to eat dinner with them regularly, but the evenings often ended whenever she went to bed. His room was right next to hers, and he was prone to nervously overthinking – neither of you wanted to cause her any trauma.

But you two were well and truly in love. That’s why tonight you’d come over after she went to bed, instead, eager to have him to yourself for a little while. Francisco Morales had known for a long time that he was done for.

He couldn’t believe his luck. Of course he knew the moment that he laid eyes on you that you were beautiful, and smart and kind and special but… that someone with all that and more could love him back? That there was someone who would learn with him and about him and still adore him? This was all new. And Frankie was hungry for it, for you. He wanted to prove to you that he was worth it, show you he could give you everything you deserved, and selfishly take anything you would return.

With you on his lap as you were, all he wanted in that moment was to warm you up. He wanted to be home for you and there was nothing tonight that was stopping him.

He grabbed a blanket off the side of the couch, tossing it over you both before his hands slid inside to touch you again. The first kisses were slow and insistent, as if he was trying to make sure none of the chill remained. Your hands peeked out of the blanket to hold onto his jaw, and he relished the feeling of your fingers in his stubble.

He pulled you as close as he could, his hands not stopping their moments: broad palms leaving trails of warmth over your back, your side, your neck.

The gasp that left you when his mouth made it’s way down your neck would have been embarrassing if you hadn’t been so distracted.

Frankie heard it, and it sent white hot pride shooting through him. The way your legs righted around him and your fingers clung to him made his chest fill with triumph. He was the one you were grounding yourself to.

As his hand slid under your shirt, yours found their way down, just dipping into the waistband of his jean’s at his hips. He suppressed a groan from rumbling out of his chest when suddenly he heard a door open and tiny footsteps. Both of your eyes flew open and he didn’t even see your hands move you clamp over your mouth.

Almost comically, you began untangling yourself from him, holding your breath in. The little one entered the dark living room sleepily, shuffling to the chair farthest from you until her little hands found her stuffed animal. She clung to it, almost falling asleep standing up now that she had accomplished her task. You and Frankie were completely still, one of your hands over your mouth, the other over his. Still covered in the blanket you hovered to the side of him, one of your legs half over him.

You began to tremble, but to your immense relief she slowly turned away and almost tripped, mostly sleep walking on her way back to her bed.

Both of you were shaking with suppressed laughter, and Frankie kissed your palm. You settled back into his lap, the heated mood fully dissipated in the ridiculousness of the moment.

“What would you have said is she saw us?” you murmured, your breath warm on his neck.

He hummed, arms finding their places and holding you against him.

“The truth, I think,” his voice as quiet as yours, “that I had to rescue my princess from the rain.” He smiled as he felt you subconsciously bury your face a little deeper into him.

“Not that we’re sneaking make out sessions on the couch like teenagers?” the short hairs of his beard messed up your hair when he shook his head. He didn’t say anything for awhile, but you could almost hear him thinking.

“I wish…” Frankie felt almost nervous. “Would you, no wait... it’s just..,” you pulled back, wondering at his struggle.

He has almost never seen you so beautiful, gazing at him in the dim light. Your eyes were as trusting and vulnerable as they were that very first night. He knew then what he was struggling with now. You were his; you belonged in his arms, his home, his family.

Frankie shrugged and shook his head, and went back to kissing you.

His urgency subsided, burrowing back down. Soon, his heart whispered, but not yet.

Soon, he would talk to you about the future, outright. Soon he would explain to you how much he needed you in his life every morning and every night, and as much in between as you’d give him. Soon he would ask you to if you’d stay by his side as he raised his daughter, be her mother, and be his wife.

But for now, he was content to hold you and kiss you, and grow alongside you, separately working towards your futures. As far as Frankie was concerned, with you in his arms, you two were young, in love, and had all the time in the world.

<<

Tag list (?):

@fangirl-316 @scribbledghost

[lancelotdeservedbetter]

I was going to put this in a story but it turns out my attention span is even shorter than i thought so some everyone returns headcanons for you:

- Merlin found Percival first. He had rescued someone's cat from a tree then got himself stuck up there and Merlin walked past and thought what an idiot then was like hold on a minute

- Percival discovers onesies and it's just. the best thing that's ever happened to him. his favourite is his frog onesie and he gets them for all of the knights but Elyan has his onesie privileges revoked after hiding Percival's crocs

- Lancelot has three guinea pigs that he stole from a pet shop because they 'looked sad'

Merlin: Lancelot where did you get those

Lancelot: i liberated them

Merlin: you liberated them?

Lancelot: they live with us now

Their names are Bedivere, Galahad and John and Lancelot basically just spends all his time making stuff for them

- Mordred is also back but Gwen got to him before anyone else did and by the time Merlin got there she had adopted him and refused to let anyone fight him

Merlin: Gwen turn around i'm about to make Mordred Soup

Gwen: if you hurt him I'll tell Arthur that you used to add small pieces of wood to the bottom of all his furniture to make him think he was getting shorter

This didn't stop Merlin messing with him relentlessly. Mordred's inhaler is missing? Shame. Mordred is cold? Huh that's too bad his jacket's on a shelf he can't reach. Mordred needs medical attention? He's always so desperate for any kind of attention.

- All Gwaine eats is cereal. He only differentiates meals by pouring chocolate milk on it for breakfast, whiskey for lunch and tequila for dinner. Merlin made him go to the doctor once and the poor doctor almost had a heart attack

Doctor: sir by all laws of science and nature you should be dead

Gwaine: i was but good news!! i got better

Doctor: i am far too sober for this

- Also Gwaine discovered Kanye and keeps trying to get people to call him Gwanye. Elyan accidentally did it once and Gwaine was unbearable.

- Elyan was fucking delighted with the invention of cargo shorts and tried to turn all of his clothes into cargo versions of themselves. He's covered in pockets and they are all full of knives and cooked spaghetti.

- Disney's the sword in the stone. Leon (also immortal) was on the production team because he wanted the film to be a surprise for Merlin's 1445th birthday. Percival found a copy of it in Merlin's house and lost his mind. It's playing in the background 24/7 just to annoy Arthur.

- Arthur decides his new nemesis is 21st century technology. Whenever the computer doesn't do what he wants, he throws his glove down in front of it and challenges it to a duel. The toaster caught him off guard and he drew his sword at it. He's particularly baffled by the microwave and is convinced that Physics is just domesticated sorcery (he's kind of right). His only friend is Siri, who is the helpful and obedient servant he never had.

- Despite having had literally all the time in the world to practice, Leon is the worst driver ever. Merlin won't get in a car with him and is adamant that his driving is bad enough to kill two immortals.

- Lancelot likes to cook but has been deemed a health hazard after he decided everything the same colour is interchangeable and made cake using hummus instead of butter and baking soda instead of flour. Mordred nearly died.

- Merlin has definitely considered killing Mordred while he's sleeping and Mordred has woken up to Merlin stood over him with a baseball bat

Mordred: Emrys what are you doing

Merlin:

Merlin: thinking of a better excuse

Merlin: goodbye

- Gwen has a pot by her bed where she grows purple flowers because they remind her of Camelot before everything went to hell and she makes flower crowns for everyone except Elyan

Elyan: what about me?

Gwen: i made you a dandelion crown when you were four and you immediately ate it and you were sick for days. you cant be trusted.

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch48: The Terrible Twos Part 1: More? 

Intro: In the fourth year since the snap, Jamie enters the terrible twos.

Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut (NSFW, 18+)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N:  So this chapter is kind of a little different to the others here really, as it’s almost like a collection of long drabbles detailing their life over 2022. And just a little reminded, Phobias, Steve admits to Katie he has a fear of clowns…keep that in mind! Also linked to this chapter is a smutty little One Shot- Got You By The Chain- Guest writer @sweater-daddiesdumbdork​

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 47

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

April 2022

By the fourth anniversary of the Snap, it finally looked like society was moving on. There was still a lot to do, but most schools and Universities were fully functioning, TV shows and Movies were back in production, restaurants and shops seemed to have gotten back to some level of ‘normality’. Whilst places weren’t as buzzing as they had been, it seemed like people were finally taking those baby steps forward, which was the mantra Steve continued to preach at his support groups.

If only it was that easy to follow your own advice. 

Steve, and the rest of those of them who had fought Thanos and been spared, would be lying if they said their failure wasn’t still at the back of their minds. But nothing short of a time machine was going to bring any of those stones back. They had to learn to live with it, and for the most they did, their lives had moved on. Tony, Pepper, Steve and Katie had become parents, so they had something to focus on. Natasha, however, was all over the place, focussing even more with Rhodey on trying to track down Clint, the archer having given his vigilante alter-ego a name- Ronin-the word taken to be an idiomatic expression for “vagrant” or “wandering man”, someone who is without a home- or so Katie’s research told them.

‘Ronin’, was still leaving trails of death and destruction all over the place and both Steve and Katie had tried to coax Natasha out of pursuing him too much. As usual, she completely ignored them and had also point blank refused to attend any of the support groups. In the end Steve had stopped asking.

He and Katie found most of their time taken up dealing with Jamie who had entered what the parents now knew why everyone dubbed the terrible twos. He was a nightmare, not necessarily due to bad behaviour but he was so boisterous and such a rough and tumble little boy thanks to the half of him that held the super serum and he was ridiculously clever too. He was constantly up to mischief, which was why now, one Thursday morning Steve was stood in the kitchen, an equal mixture of exasperation and fear flooding his system as he gazed up at his son who was once again sat on top of their large stainless steel fridge freezer, about a foot out of his dad’s reach. This was his favourite activity at the moment and neither Steve nor Katie had no idea how he kept getting up there.

The soldier was currently torn between grabbing a chair to climb up to get him down and being rooted to the spot, not wanting to move in case the tot threw himself off which he was prone to doing.

“Jamie, please come on.” Steve sighed.

“No.” “I’ll give you a cookie if you get down.” Steve pleaded, cursing inwardly at the fact he was resorting to bribery. Jamie cocked his head to one side, clearly weighing up his options and then his face split into a grin.

“Nom!” He grinned and then in a flash launched himself forward.

“Fuck.” Steve cursed, forgetting his language as he stepped back, catching the toddler in his arms, heart in his mouth. Jamie giggled as his dad’s strong arms caught him.

“Don’t do that!” Steve sighed. “Please.” He added weakly.

“Fuck.” Jamie repeated with a laugh and Steve groaned.

“No, we don’t say that.” “Why?”

“It’s a bad word.” Steve explained setting him on the counter in front of him. “Only momma and daddy can say that. And even then we shouldn’t.”  He reached for the kitchen cupboard, undoing the child lock before he grabbed the jar and held out a cookie for Jamie.

“Fankoo, Daddy”

“You’re welcome, but that doesn’t mean every time you climb something you get one.” Steve looked at him sternly.

Jamie stared back at him, his mouth full and Steve knew they boy didn’t care one iota about the utter horror he had just put him through. A fact further emphasised when the tot raised his right hand and held his forefinger and middle finger to his eyes, moving them towards his dad.

“Yeah, I am watching you, pal.” Steve arched an eyebrow at him, mentally cursing Tony once again for teaching his son ridiculous habits. “You done?”

Jamie nodded. “More?” “Not a chance.” Steve snorted, lifting him down off the counter and herding him into the living room where he distracted his boy successfully for an hour and a half or so watching Frozen, his current favourite Disney film whilst he checked over his notes for the support groups he was holding later on that afternoon. Then he gave Jamie his lunch, meals being the most painless part of his routine as the kid ate anything you put in front of him, and they set off to meet Katie at the tower. 

“Hi Mr Rogers, Hi Jamie!” Soraya, Katie’s PA, greeted them holding up her hand. Jamie leant over the desk in his father’s arms and gave her a hi-five.

“Hi, Sowaya!” He beamed and she smiled back before she turned to Steve. “She’s in the office but you might wanna wait a few seconds before you go in.” Steve was about to ask why, when he heard his wife’s angry voice through the closed door and he grimaced. Someone was getting an absolute earful and he didn’t envy them one bit.

That someone, was Jack Thompson, Katie’s Finance Manager. As part of Stark Industries programme to help orphaned older teenagers post the snap, Katie had given the go head for each major department to recruit interns to give them a spring start and a means to fund themselves. Only for the third day in a row now she had caught Jack ordering his intern to make coffees for the entire office. Not that it wasn’t part of an intern’s initiation, she understood that, but when she had drilled the girl a little more, it seems that was all she was doing, along with photocopying.

“That is not what the programme is about!” She blazed as she leant forward over her desk, Jack lounging in the chair at the other side. He raised an eyebrow at her and that made her bristle even more. “Sorry, I’m not sure what is amusing you about this situation.”

“Nothing, Mrs Rogers.” He shrugged back. “I just think you’re overacting slightly.” “Oh do you?” She asked, her voice raising further. “Well here’s an overreaction for you, you get that girl some proper jobs and activities to work on or you’ll be out of here faster than my two year old can scale the fridge.” Jack frowned

“Which is fast” Katie clarified, realising that there were all sorts of things wrong with that analogy.

“Things were a lot different with your brother at the helm.” Jack looked at her. Katie crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him.

“Well I’m not my brother. If you don’t like it, feel free to leave your resignation letter on my desk.”

Jack eyeballed her for a moment before he nodded. “Understood, loud and clear.” “Good.” She stood up whilst he did the same and she smoothed down her white A-lined high wasted skirt and white blouse. Her black stilettoes clicked on the wooden flooring of her office and she opened the door, nodding out of it. Jack left, not even glancing around until a small voice rang out across the room.

“Momma shouted!” Jamie giggled gleefully. Jack stopped, looked at the boy, then to Steve who simply smiled at the man before he stalked away.

“Jerk.” Katie mumbled under her breath before she beamed at her boys. “Hi!”

“HI Momma!” Jamie grinned, wriggling until Steve popped him down and he ran to his mom to give her a hug. Steve had a split second to perve on his wife, because damned she looked good in that office outfit, before Jamie was in her arms, his mom not caring if his shoes or hands were going to dirty her clothes. She placed a kiss to his cheek as Steve walked towards her dropping one of his own onto her lips.

“Yuk!” Jamie pulled a face.

“So what had he done to earn himself the full wrath of my baby momma?” Steve jerked his head towards the door and Katie groaned.

“Just being awkward when it comes to the interns. I don’t think he’s going to last much longer.” “Good.” Soraya shot. “He’s a creep.”

Katie grinned. “So you tell me.”

Soraya shrugged. “I’m not the only one who thinks so.”

“Hmm.” Katie pondered, before she shrugged. “What’s my diary like for the rest of the day?”

“You’re clear now until four and then you have a conference call with a couple of potential authors for SIP.”

“Why don’t you do it from home?” Steve looked at her. “You were here at seven this morning.” Katie pondered before nodding. Placing Jamie on the floor she headed back into her office and grabbed her jacket and her bag, before linking her hand round her son’s.

“If anyone needs me, can you tell them to email or call my mobile, please?”

Soraya nodded “See you tomorrow, Mrs Rogers. Bye Captain, bye Jamie!”

“Bye bye!” Jamie waved as Katie led him to the elevator, Steve holding his other hand.

“You had lunch?” Steve looked over at her and she shook her head.

“It’s been manic.”

“Good, because neither have I. Thought we could grab something before I head off to the group.”

Katie grinned and leaned up to give him a kiss. “Perfect.” “Lunch?” Jamie piped up and Steve looked down at him.

“Buddy, you ate an entire bowl of spaghetti at home.” “But, I’m hungry.” He pouted and Katie looked at Steve.

“He gets that off you.” She smirked and Steve rolled his eyes.

“Who does he get climbing the fridge off?” He asked.

“Again?”

“Yeah, had to bribe him down with a cookie.”

Katie snorted. “Well I don’t know about the climbing bit but he definitely gets the negotiation skills from me”

“It wasn’t a negotiation.” Steve scoffed, as the doors opened on the ground floor “It was out and out extortion.”

Katie laughed as they stepped out into the reception, heading to the front doors which opened automatically.

“Let’s go to the deli round the corner.” She suggested and Steve nodded, positioning himself on the outside of the sidewalk as always, Jamie on the inside of his two parents as they slowed their pace to allow their son to walk the block or so round the corner.

“Momma?” He asked tugging on hand. “Yes baby?” “I haff tuna?”

“If you want tuna, yeah.”

At that point Steve, who had been watching the two of them, turned and almost walked straight into another pedestrian.

“Oh, sorry Ma’am.” He nodded to her at the same time Jamie uttered.

“Fuck.” Katie stopped dead and turned to look down at him, her voice growing stern. “James Anthony Samuel Rogers, what did you just say?”

He blinked up at her as Steve groaned, crouching down in front of his son. “I told you that was a bad word.” He softly chastised the two year old.

“Sowee Momma,Sowee daddy.” Jamie’s eyes looking down at his feet as he toed the sidewalk slightly with his little sneakers.

“Thank you for apologising.” Steve ruffled his hair as he stood up. “Don’t say it again.” “Okay.” “Where did he hear that?” Katie looked accusingly at Steve and he hesitated for a moment.

“Tony?” He shrugged, a sheepish smile crossing his face as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

Katie narrowed her eyes. “You’re still a terrible liar.” 

******

June 2022

“Now don’t go mad Spangles.” Tony immediately greeted Steve as he shut the car door and headed across the lawn area to the side of the lake house. Instantly Steve narrowed his eyes.

“What have you done?” He asked, following Tony down a well-trodden path to the back of the house where a small play tent was erected.

“Nothing.” Tony shrugged, as Steve followed him round to the back of the house. “Well, nothing bad, just…”

“Stop, or I’ll shoot!” Steve heard Morgan speak before she popped her head out of the tent, and held her left hand out in front of her. She was wearing a red glove with some form of battery powered light strapped to the palm. Before Steve could comment, Jamie followed, the same item on his right.

“Pew pew!” He grinned, making the noise at his dad. Steve took a deep breath and scowled at Tony.

“Really?”

“Hey look, it was this or the actual gauntlets so,” he shrugged and then Steve really did give him a glare. Tony held his hands up. “I was in the garage tinkering and they saw them and wanted one of their own so…”

“Iron Man!” Jamie grinned up at his dad “Look Daddy, like Unca Nee!”

“And I suppose those just have to come back to my house with the pair of them tonight?” Steve narrowed his eyes at Tony. “You know, I can always refuse to babysit.”

“Err, no you can’t.” Tony smirked. “First off we had Jamie last night so you and Katie could have a night alone, and second off…” “Uncle Pangles!” Morgan threw herself at him, her arms wrapping around his legs. “We can play tonight, I stay at yours!”

“…you can’t resist her Stark charm.” Tony smirked as Steve sighed, bending down to give his niece a kiss on the head.

Katie tried not to laugh at the look on Steve’s face as he recounted the incident later that evening as they sat out in the back round the fire pit torching S’mores with Emmy. Jamie and Morgan were fast asleep in Jamie’s room.

“Well Dad,” Emmy sat back and looked at him, her brown eyes flashing with mischief, “sometimes you gotta fight fire with fire…”

“What you got in mind?” He looked at her.

“We’re pretty good at art, right?” She shrugged and Steve nodded. “Let’s put it to use.”

So the next morning, as soon as the hardware shop opened, Emmy and Steve were in there gathering supplies for the Great Rogers Revenge plan, sharing a victorious hi-five whilst they loaded the trunk of the car up with their ammo. Katie told them she didn’t want to know what they were planning and she meant it, steering clear of Steve’s man-cave for the rest of the morning, calling them back to the house at eleven ish for a coffee and a slice of banana bread when Natasha dropped in. The two women could hear Steve and Emmy sniggering as they approached and when they walked into the kitchen, Katie was greeted by the pair of them holding up their finished items.

“Oh my God!” Natasha spluttered. There was a slight pause, before Katie cracked up laughing as Steve and Emmy held up their masterpieces. They had painted the insides of two small metal trash can lids to look like replicas of Steve’s shield.

“I got the idea from a picture in my history books.” Emmy said, grinning “Some young kids in a Brooklyn street after the war, playing with the lids like they were shields…” “Perfect handles to hold them with, look.” Steve grinned, flipping his round “And they’re spray varnished too so the paint won’t rub off.”

“Cap!” Jamie shrieked as the sight of the items Steve and Emmy were holding.

“Wow!” Morgan looked up in awe “Is one for me?” “Sure is, Moo.” Steve bent down and showed the two children how to grab the shield with their hands on the handles and, once he was confident they had got it, they shot out of the back door and down onto the grass, Lucky leaping up from where he had been snoozing under a tree and heading inside out of the way.

“Just do me a favour and don’t show teach ‘em to throw them.” Katie sighed, watching as Jamie was busy holding his shield in front of him as Morgan aimed her faker repulsor beam clad hand at him.

Steve shook his head, grabbing a piece of cake. “No point, we tried and it doesn’t work. They don’t have the same weight or trajectory.”

“Yeah, they just kinda hover for a bit and then fall down.” Emmy shrugged, her mouth full of banana bread. “This is good, mom.”

“Thanks.” Katie smiled “Nat you want another piece?”

“No thanks.” she shook her head, “don’t wanna ruin our lunch.” “Lunch?” Steve paused, the slice of cake halfway to his mouth.

“I told you last night,” Katie rolled her eyes, “me and Nat are off for lunch and shopping.”

“You wanna come Em?” Nat asked.

“Nope.” She shook her head. “I wanna be here when Uncle Tony picks these two up.”

She fist bumped Steve and Katie shook her head at the pair of them.

“Well, I do not. Gimme two mins Nat and I’ll grab my shoes.”

**** “So, Steve and I are taking the kids away in a month or so, why don’t you come with us?” Katie asked as they sat in a small tapas bar, just off Times Square. Nat pondered for a while before she shook her head.

“I can’t leave the compound.”

“Why not?” “If something goes wrong, I need to be there.” “Nat,” Katie sighed, “it isn’t your responsibility. The Avengers, we’re not…” Natasha cut her off, “Don’t, please,” she shook her head, “it’s my job. If I can help in even the smallest of ways then I should.” Katie bit her lip before she reached over for her glass of water. She understood that in all fairness, Steve had gone through his own phase of feeling useless not long after the snap but had found his niche for sure with the support groups. If this was how Nat was dealing with it then…

“Anyway, enough about that.” Nat changed the subject. “Tell me more about the delightful language my God-Son has been learning.” Katie groaned. “Did I tell you about the whole, oh Fuck thing a few months back?” “Yeah.”

“Well a few nights ago we’re sat at the table and he suddenly shouts ‘Daddy, fuck.’ So, of course Steve tells him off. But he doesn’t stop. ‘Momma, fuck, Emmy, fuck…’ and Steve’s getting more and more exasperated, trying to tell him to stop, and wasn’t until Jamie pointed to the table and shouts ‘need fuck’ we realised he wanted a fork for his pasta and not the spoon we had given him.” Katie grinned as Natasha laughed. “Honestly Nat, I thought Steve was gonna have a heart attack.”

“Yeah he doesn’t like that kinda language.” Natasha grinned biting into a breadstick.

“I wouldn’t mind but he taught Jamie that word, not intentionally of course. And then there was the jackass incident.”

“What?”

“Someone pulled out in front of me at a junction. I forgot he was in the car so I slammed on the horn and flipped him off shouting ‘jackass’ out the window.” Katie took another drink of her water “Didn’t think anything of it until we were leaving Tony’s later that afternoon. I wound the back windows down in the car so Jamie could wave. Only he doesn’t wave, he raises his middle finger and calls Tony a jackass”

Natasha laughed. “Well, he’s not wrong.”

“Funnily enough that’s what Steve said.” Katie grinned. “Mind you, what he did at the supermarket the other day tops it all.” She took a bite of her garlic mushrooms. “He’s sat in the trolley and loud as you like shouts ‘I got a woody in my pants’. The woman in the aisle next to us just looks at us and Steve starts trying to explain that he was wearing Toy Story underpants, I mean…”

Natasha spluttered out her calamari, choking slightly as she started to laugh, Katie grinned before she too chuckled. It was funny now she thought about it. Tto be honest Katie had found it funny at the time, Steve was the one that had flushed bright red. At that point her phone began to ring and she fished it out of her bag.

“Uh oh.” She winced and looked at Nat

“Stark?”

She nodded “Hi Tone…” “Oh don’t hi Tone me,” his voice hit her ears, “your husband is a grade A…”

“I hope you don’t have Morgan in the car whilst you’re being so angry.” Katie jokingly chastised her brother

“A trash can lid. A god-damned trashcan lid.” “Yeah well you send our kid home with some of your shit, we’re gonna repay the favour, now if you don’t mind…”

She cut the call and saw that she had a message from Steve.

Game, set and match to Spangles ;-)

She snorted.

“Are they ever gonna stop this tit for tat with the kids?” Natasha asked.

Katie shook her head, smiling. In all honesty she kind of liked the friendly little feud they had going. It was all good natured, and she enjoyed the closeness of her family.  “Nope. Sometimes I forget exactly who the kids are. The pair of them act worse than two year olds.”

******

August 2022

“Did Em tell you about the bloke at the harbour?” Steve asked, looking at Katie. The two of them were sat on the veranda of the villa on Tony’s Island. It was the last night of their two week vacation and the family had spent the time playing in the pool, on the beach- Emmy and Jamie scouring the sand for shells and other mementoes to bring home. Jamie had been particularly taken with watching the fishing boats as they left and returned from the small harbour, Steve often taking him and Emmy down to watch when they brought back their catches of the day, the small boy engaging as enthusiastically and as well he could with his two-year-old vocabulary and the locals had been nothing but gracious and kind back to him and his older sibling.

 Katie suspected it was for that reason that they had returned earlier that night with a selection of seafood which Katie had enjoyed preparing for them, along with numerous salads, potatoes and some local fruits for afters. The four had gorged themselves and the kids, after no protest at all due to them being exhausted, were now tucked up in bed leaving the married couple to take in their last night alone.

“No?” Katie looked at Steve.

“He kept asking me how much I wanted for her.” Steve smirked and Katie laughed. “She thought it was hilarious too, until I offered to sell her for three lobsters and a couple mahi-mahi.”

“Oh I bet she loved that.” Katie looked at him, as he shrugged, drinking from his beer bottle. “Mind you, it is kinda freaky, just how much she’s grown. I mean she’s fifteen this October.” “Tell me about it.” Steve grumbled “We got all that stuff to come yet.” “What stuff?” Katie asked, eyeing him over her wine glass.

“You know,” he waved the hand that was clutching his beer, “boys and…whatever.” Katie snorted. “What you gonna do when she does finally bring a boy back to meet us?” She asked, swinging her bare legs up and placing her feet in his lap.

“Be waiting with a shot gun.” Steve grumbled, his spare hand dropping to her smooth skin, fingers gently tracing up and down her calf.

“That’s a dramatic shovel talk.” Katie raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh I won’t talk. Just hold it across my lap and look at him.” “You’re terrible.” Katie sniggered as his hand gently continued its ministrations on her leg.

Steve chuckled and Katie glanced out over the bay, sighing slightly It had been a great few weeks, just one person really missing.

“I wish Nat would have come.” 

“She’s worrying me,” Steve sighed. “It’s not healthy, being cooped up in that place, alone.”

“I know.”  Katie nodded. “But there’s not much we can do other than be there for her.”

Steve took a breath, laying his head back against his chair as the warm sea breeze hit them. Katie glanced over at where he was sat, his skin slightly more tanned, the freckles that sprang over his nose during the summer were now even more pronounced although they couldn’t rival hers. His hair had been cropped short again, and he’d even sprouted the thin smattering of a beard over the last two weeks, although he’d told Katie sternly he wasn’t growing it out again.

“I’m Captain America at those support groups, and he doesn’t have a beard.”

As Katie drank him in she noticed that over the years, whilst he had aged slightly, he hadn’t changed nearly as much as she had. All the studies, backed up by Banner’s research, estimated that Steve would age at a rate approximately fifteen to twenty years younger than the average person. At some points this worried her, as she knew that in fifteen years or so he would only look to be in his late thirties when they would both be realistically, going off the years spent living and not buried in ice, midway through their fifties, but that was something she’d known before she had married him.

And she supposed that as long as he didn’t care how old she looked it didn’t matter.

“Want a photo or summi’k” Steve asked, his eyes on his wife, as she was simply looking at him, clearly contemplating something. She smiled at the way his Brooklyn drawl dripped off his voice as it always did when he was relaxed. He cocked his head slightly to one side, smiling gently at her as his beer bottle rest against his leg. Deciding she wanted distracting from the ridiculous worry that had sprung up on her, she grinned and moved her feet before she stood up. Taking the bottle off him she placed it on the table and settled on his lap, her knees either side of his thighs, as he smirked up at her.

“Summik sounds good.” She muttered kissing him hard. Their tongues began their usual dance until he pulled back and looked at her, sweeping her hair off her face. Simply put, in his eyes, his wife was stunning. Her freckles which always became more pronounced in the sun spread across her nose and her cheeks, giving her an even more youthful look than normal. Her hair was now a few inches above her waist, having grown down from the shoulder length cut she had sported whilst they’d been on the run and was falling over her face in a mass of beach tangled curls, which Steve adored. Her figure, Jesus, he could look at her all day, curves across her hips, breasts…he’d been exceptionally pleased that, despite her confidence issues over her body not being what it used to be, she’d been wearing a two-piece swimsuit, even if it was one that covered her midriff. He knew better now that to try and argue that he didn’t give a damned about the fact her stomach was slightly less flat than it used to be, or her hips were wider, Steve simply let her get on with dressing how she felt comfortable and lavished affection and praise on her every chance he got, because frankly, there wasn’t a think about his wife he didn’t adore.

He questioned every, single day how he had gotten so goddamned lucky and it had been him she’d chosen to spend the rest of her life with.

“What’s wrong?” She frowned, noticing the contemplative look in his eyes.

“Nothing at all, Baby.” He shook his head, reaching down and pulling off the crochet dress she was wearing over her swim suit top and denim shorts. “Just thinking about how I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you look so beautiful.” She grinned as his fingers moved to undo the string that held her top around her neck, causing it to fall forward leading her bare from the waist up. He simply admired her for a moment as her hands wound into his hair and she gave a soft tug, causing his head to tilt upwards to look at her. “Not even when we got married?”

“Hmmm.” He contemplated, her lips hovering near his as she leant down, his hands creeping up her sides. “Maybe, but you weren’t my baby momma then.”

Katie grinned, she loved it when he called her that. Gently kissing him she pulled back and looked at him. “I’ve not changed that much have I?” She teased as she pushed down on his crotch and he groaned.

“Nope,” he muttered before kissing her hard, grinding his hips up against hers.

“Take me to bed Captain.” She murmured into his mouth, at him with suggestive eyes which peered from underneath heavy lids.

“Yes ma’am” he grinned, and in a swoop he’d picked her up and carried her inside.

**** Chapter 48 Part 2

[morceid]

Beating The Dead Swan

Chapter 4: hold on for your life

read on ao3

<- chapter three

Summary: The team makes progress on the case and Spencer makes progress with Derek.

Word Count: 1.8k

Category: angst, some fluff

Content Warnings: drug mention, general criminal minds stuff

A/N: so sorry this took so long to finish writing! i just had some other things i needed to do for school stuff before i did this but enjoy!!

The next day Derek walked into the BAU, ready to give Hotch a rundown of how they were handling the case, but something caught his eye.

Through the windows of the office Spencer now occupied, there was an art easel propped up next to the couch. A sheet covered in various paints and colors laid on the floor as Spencer brushed a sky of purple and blue on the canvas.

“Whatcha doin’ there, kid?”

“Oh, oh hi Agent Morgan, I hope this is okay, I just wanted to paint.” Spencer stammered.

“It’s fine, it looks good too. How long have you been painting?”

“I’m fairly certain I was 8, could’ve been 9 though, my dad left around then and it’s all kind of blurry.”

A thick silence surrounded the two, the only sound being the brush against the cloth canvas.

“Um, I’m sorry. Anyways, what are you going to be doing today?” Spencer swiped his finger through the purple color he’d mixed and dabbed it across the wet paint.

“Well, Garcia is looking through the bank records of all the victims. If there’s anything suspicious then she’ll look into it and we might even take the case as a team, but for now it’s just me and her. I’m going to talk to my boss right now, I’ll talk to you later though.” Derek turned towards the doorway but Spencer stopped him.

“Morgan, uh, do you think, do you think you’ll catch whoever did this to Camille?”

“I sure hope we do. You deserve some closure. We all do.”

“Yeah, yeah just sometimes, it feels, I don’t know, captivating in all the wrong ways.”

“I know. But it gets better, I promise you. See you in a bit.” Derek left the office and headed towards the bullpen.

Spencer exhaled and studied the paint on his hand. The cold feeling, the intense smell, and the sound as he slapped it across the canvas.

“Hey, any updates?” Hotch asked Derek as he opened the door to his office.

“Nah, not really. All the people we’ve interviewed are completely innocent. Penelope’s checking men with sexual offenses that our victims could’ve interacted with but I’m not sure we’re gonna find anything.”

“Alright, you should probably check on that now, I’ll see you later if there are any updates.”

“See ya, boss.” Derek said as he walked back down the steps and across the hall to Penelope’s office.

“Hello my soulmate and love of my life Derek Morgan, how can I help you today?” Penelope excitedly exclaimed as Derek walked into her office.

“Hey baby girl, get anything from your search?”

“Unfortunately, no. None of the victims had close family that had both a connection to the company or a sexual offense, in fact there are no sex offenders in the area that have any connection to the company at all. They really do triple check everyone’s background.”

“There has got to be some connection somewhere. Did the M.E. do another tox screen?” Derek asked.

“Yep, and it seems that all of the victims had massive doses of ketamine in their systems.”

“Camille had ketamine in her blood?” Spencer walked into the office and started the two.

“Oh! Spencer, you can’t be in here, not right now.” Derek rushed to take him out of the room.

“Wh- why can’t I? Camille was my friend, I deserve to know about her. Did she have drugs in her body?”

“Spencer, you can’t be interrupting an investigation. I’m sorry, but you need to go back to your office.”

Spencer stops trying to push against Derek and exhales, trying to catch his breath. They walked back towards the office they now called home while squeezing his hands in intervals of three, a trick to calm himself down Camille had taught him. He fell onto the couch and fell asleep quickly, deciding not to fight the tired feeling his eyes gave him.

They woke up what felt like around thirty minutes later, but the digital clock he set on the table next to the brown leather couch read 11:43. He got up and grabbed flannel pants and a sweater from his bag of clothes and headed to the bathroom to change into the pajamas. They grabbed his chess set from his office and went into the breakroom. Their stomach growled and they recalled that they went to Penelope’s office earlier to ask if he could have the rest of the soup. He looked around the bullpen, wondering if they’d mind if he ate something from the fridge.

Agent Rossi walked out of his office and took notice of Spencer.

“Hey, what are you doing up? The only person here this late is generally that guy.” Rossi pointed towards Agent Hotchner’s office. The microwave on the counter now displayed 12:06.

“I-I took an unexpectedly long nap and uh, I didn’t eat lunch or dinner to- well technically yesterday now, uh, c-could I have something from the fridge?” Spencer stammered.

“Of course, kid. In fact, there’s some of my signature pasta in there. I make it weekly for the rest of the team, but today Derek ordered something for lunch so he didn’t eat his. You can have it if you want.”

“Thank you, Agent Rossi.” Spencer took the tupperware container out of the refrigerator and put it in the microwave.

“You can just call me Rossi, you don’t have to do the whole Agent thing,” Rossi said as he sat on the other side of Spencer’s chess game. “I didn’t know you played.”

The microwave beeped and Spencer took the bowl out and stirred it around with a fork. They brought it to the table, eating it as they moved a chess piece.

“Yeah, Camille gave me this set for my birthday, which actually isn't for another couple weeks but she didn’t want to wait.”

“You know, I had this old friend, Jason Gideon, he played chess. I think you’d like him. He’s the one who taught me.” Rossi moved his own chess piece.

“He sounds interesting. I fell asleep before Morgan could tell me anything, but have you made any good progress on the case?”

“A little. We found out how all of the girls died but we just can’t seem to figure out why the unsub did this.”

“Unsub?” Spencer said, moving another chess piece.

“Unknown Subject, it’s what we call the murderer. I’ve looked over your files, you seem like a really smart person.”

“Yeah, I uh, I can read pretty fast. I have an eidetic memory, too. I was a pretty good punching bag as a kid.”

“The world will see something amazing and try to take it for their own.” Rossi absentmindedly moved a piece.

“Yeah, I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”

“So, I’m assuming you don’t have much of a record with the ladies?”

“None at all. I’ve been intrigued by a couple guys, but they’ve all turned me down or turned out to be assholes,” Spencer laughed and moved another one of his pieces before taking another bite of spaghetti. “What about you? You’ve got to have courted some girl with this amazing pasta.”

“Yeah, I have, I actually got three ex wives.”

“Wow, that’s impressive.”

“Depends on your definition of impressive,” It was Rossi’s turn to laugh and move a piece. “You’ve got your eyes on him, don’t you?”

Spencer looked puzzled for a second before Rossi nudged the tupperware lid that had Derek’s name written across the top.

“Maybe, just a little bit. I’d be lying if I didn’t think he was attractive,” Spencer moved a piece. “Check.”

“I think he might like you too.” Rossi moved a piece.

“I don’t. He’s nice, but I don’t think he’d like me back.” Spencer moved a piece.

“I know you haven’t known me for long, Spencer, but I’m right about this,” Rossi moved another piece. “Checkmate. You’re smart, but you’ve still got a lot to learn.”

Rossi got up from the table and started walking out to his car. Spencer packed up his chess set and made a pot of coffee before heading to their office. For the rest of the night they drank his coffee and worked on the painting still sitting on the easel. 

At around six in the morning Spencer was getting ready to brew another pot of coffee and JJ walked into the breakroom. 

“Oh! Hi, uh, are you gonna be here long?” JJ asked.

“Uh, no, why?”

“Uh, Agent Hotchner called us in because he found something with the case. You’re not gonna be allowed in here when he’s telling us, I’m sorry.”

“Oh it’s fine, I’ve been up all night so I should probably just go take a nap anyways.”

They shared an awkward laugh before Spencer went back into the office and promptly fell back asleep on the couch.

Almost six hours later Spencer woke up to Derek knocking on his door. They got up and straightened out their sweater.

“Hey, so Hotch wants you there to hear the profile, just thought you should know.” Derek said, taking in the pajamas Spencer was wearing.

“Oh, okay, thanks.” 

Derek went back out to the bullpen and Spencer closed the blinds of the office windows before changing his flannel pants to jeans. When they finished dressing he went out to the bullpen and sat on the edge of an unused desk. Police officers were scattered around the area.

“You look like you need this.” Derek said as he sat next to Spencer and handed him a cup of coffee.

“Aren’t you supposed to be presenting the case too?”

“No, Hotch wanted to do it himself.”

The two set their cups of coffee down at the same time and their hands brushed against one another.

“You’re comforting.” Spencer thought out loud.

Derek didn’t respond. He just took it in and they both faced away from each other, hiding the smiles from the other’s eyes and savouring the moment.

Hotch’s profile wasn’t all that detailed, but it was early in the case anyways. The unsub would have either no mother figure or a distant one, and the father would be abusive in some way or another. His estimated age range was 25-30 and he would likely have learned his behavior from someone close, possibly the same father that abused him. He would rarely go in public and when he did he wouldn’t talk to anyone unless he had to. He likely wasn’t someone everyone knew and would isolate himself in most situations.

Most of the details floated out of Derek’s head as Hotch spoke as he had already heard the profile once and his mind was already clouded with Spencer’s words. When the presentation was finished Derek walked with Rossi to Penelope’s office to see if she had any new findings.

“He’s kind of a pretty boy, isn't he?” Derek said.

“Who?

“Spencer.”

“Yeah, something like that.” Rossi gave a knowing smile as they walked into Penelope’s office.

TAGLIST: @heavenlydevil @hotpotatowoman @party-poisxn @endingsbeginnings @d3pr3ss3d-w33d-wh0re @ted-theodore-preston​ @moss0ntherocks​ @scandinavian-punk​ @doctorenby​ @penemily​ @izzyl13​ @leomo0n​ @tiedyedrose1705​ 

[beclynn-herondale]

In Another Universe: Chapter 7 - Magna Bane's party

(tsc, TMI and the characters belong to Cassandra Clare.)

They got a cab, Jayce was busy calling Alec and yelling at her to wake up and meet them at a restaurant called Taki's, Clar was too busy thinking about the name that he saw, Magna Bane. Who was this Magna Bane and why did they sign his brain?

"This Taki's place has great food!" said Jayce.

"I don't care about good food, I want to know what or who Magna Bane is."

"She's a warlock," said Jayce.

"How do you know that?"

"Cause only a warlock could put a block spell on your mind."

He looked out the window with a sigh. All this was exhausting.

-

They got to Taki's they waited for Alec who was only a few minutes away, and they went in and got a seat

"Who was that?" asked Clar. "At the door I mean."

"Who?" said Jayce. "You mean Clancy?"

"Yeah, he's a demon?"

"No, he's an Ifrit. they are warlocks but can't use magic," she said

Alec mumbled something.

He was looking at the menu, and a lot of it looked like Downworlder stuff.

"What is with this menu?" he asked

"Don't order any faerie food, it makes mundanes go a bit crazy," said Jayce. "And the next thing you know, you are running down the street naked with antlers on your head."

Clar looked at her

"Not," she said. "That I have ever done that."

"Uh huh."

Jayce went on talking, like she usually did, and Alec was staring at her with a look that Clar couldn't quite describe

Isidore and Simone came in at that moment

"There's this smoothie that is amazing," Isidore said.

Simone gave Clar a smile but he looked away, not wanting to meet her eyes.bhe didn't know exactly why he was upset with her.

"So what did you find out at the Bone City?" asked Isidore.

"We have a name," said Jayce. "Magna Bane."

"It's a start," said Alec.

"Magna Bane?" said Isidore. "I have an invitation to her party tonight."

"You do?" asked Alec

"Yup!"

"Well I guess we go to the party?" asked Jayce.

"Yeah!" said Isidore.

"Ugh, I hate parties," said Alec.

Clar could relate to her there. They continued to talk, Isidore took Simone to the park to show her something, Clar didn't go along, he was pretty sure of he did Isidore would find a way to get rid of him. Jayce, Alec, and Clar went back to the Institute.

——————

Isidore took Simone to the park to show her the faeries there, she was weird but Isidore could have some fun.

"You see them there," he said.

She squinted, trying to see what he was talking about.

"Whoa!" she said. "They are so pretty."

He gave her a charming smile, she smiled shyly back

"Here," he said, and grabbed her hand. "Get a closer look."

They looked at the pixie who was flying around the flower, they had blue hair and purple wings and wearing a pink dress.

Simone stars in amazement, the pixie reflecting in her glasses

"Do you want to kiss?" he asked

She swung her head towards him, and looked lost for words

"I..." she said. "I guess."

She was obviously nervous, girls and boys and others, were always nervous around him, though he was intimating.

He grabbed her by the waist and kissed her, a soft kiss that didn't mean anything.

——————

Jayce was in Clar's room, she was looking through his sketch book, he was a brilliant artist, all his pieces were so beautiful. Yes she was aware she shouldn't be Snooping in it but she could never help herself, it got her in trouble a lot.

"Is that my sketch book!" yelled Clar. "I don't let people look through that."

"Why not?" she said. "You're amazing, sometimes excellent."

He blushed a little

"Cause it's personal," he said. "Some people keep diaries, some journals. Me it's my sketch book."

She closed it.

"I'm tired," he said.

"If you want something to help you go to sleep," she said. "I could tell you a bedtime story."

He looked at her oddly

"Fine."

"Ok, lie down and close your eyes."

He layed down, she sat on the end if his bed

"Once upon a time," she started. "There was a little girl—"

"Was she a Shadowhunter girl?"

"Of course, yes."

"She lived in a manor house with her father. One day her father gave her a hunting falcon, he wanted her to tame it, she didn't like the falcon, it made her nervous. but she didn't want to disappoint her father, and wanted to make him happy. So she did her best, she spent everyday with it, and every day she had scratches on her hands that bled. she fed it and stroked it's wings, she finally got it to eat from her hand, she didn't care that it tore at her skin when it ate from her hand. She eventually taught it to fly circles around her and to stick it's beak in her hair and play with it, she knew her falcon loved her and she loved her falcon. So when she thought she was done and that she had tamed it, she went to show her father, thinking he would be proud and happy, but instead he was disappointed and angry. 'I told you to teach it to be obedient,' he said. 'Instead you taught it to love you.' he took the bird and broke it's neck. She cried for hours after her father left and after that day she never cried again. And she never forgot what she learn that day, that to love is to destroy and to be loved is the one to be destroyed."

"Jayce..." said Clar ever so softly. "That's not a bedtime story, that's a story about abuse."

"No. It's a story about a father trying to teach his daughter a lesson."

"No, it's a story to give children nightmares, to scare them into obedience," said Clar.

"Sometimes if you get runes too early they give you nightmares," she told him, and looked at him very thoughtfully.

"But if you don't learn to bend a little, you'll break into pieces," he said

"Not if you are strong enough."

"Jayce..." he never finished, he had been taken away by sleep.

She waited a few moments to make sure he was asleep, and brushed some hair out of his face. "Sleep well," she whispered softly.

And she left the room, to get ready for the party tonight.

——————

Joan was reading her book, like she always did these days. Demons were a great deal of trouble, and to think half a year ago she didn't even know about any of this stuff.

It was weird that half a year had passed but she didn't look different, well unless you counted the fact that she was more muscular now, and knew how to kill people now.

There were times when she was fighting demons for training that she enjoyed killing them so much it scared her, she was never the type who loved violence but she is starting to love it, almost crave it.

She heard a knock at her door, she walked to it and swung it open. There stood Lilith the woman who claimed to be her mother but wasn't, the woman who Joan called her mother so she wouldn't be punished for being disobedient.

"Hello, my dear," said Lilith.

"Mother."

"Your father said he is proud of how far you have come in such a short time."

"Did he."

Her father, you mean the insane guy who wants to kill people and has already killed people.

"You know," said Lilith. "There is only one problem."

"What's that?"

"You are still too caught up in your old life, still too kind and sweet." she said.

"I.."

"There is a way to perhaps make you less weak," she said.

"What's that?" she asked

"It would be to have you reach your full potential," said Lilith. "To reach deep into yourself and let the demon in you take hold."

"What? How would I even do that?"

"My daughter, you must let go of what makes you human."

Let go of what makes her human?

"I know you feel it, that need for destruction, the need for violence, the want for blood on your hands," she said. "I see it in your eyes, because that is the demon in you. All you have to do and embrace it."

Then a man walked into the room and whispered something in Lilith's ear.

"I see," she said.

What was it that he told her?

"We need to speed things up," she said. "Darling, come here."

Joan walked over to her, she took her by the arm and whispered some unknown words into Joans ear, she didn't recognize the language but it must have been demonic, she felt as if Lilith had poured some dark magic through her. she felt her lungs burn and herself lose control of her body, she fell to the ground and it was all black again, and when she would wake up, things would be different.

Everything was so different.

——————

Alec was dreading going to this party, she was lying around her room flipping through a demonology book

She heard a knock at her door, and walked over to open the door.

"Heya," said a familiar voice, her parabatai. "I brought this for you, I know you probably don't have anything too fancy to wear cause you don't like to dress up."

"You're right, I don't," she said. "So why would I want to now? I'll just wear what I usually wear everyday"

"Alec, we are going to Magna Bane's party, I have heard people call her the Queen of Fashion. Do you really want to go wearing a worn out sweater with holes in it?"

She gave her parabatai a long look

"How do you know people call Magna Bane that?"

"I hear things from the faeries."

"You really need to stop hanging out with the faeries," she said

"Why?"

"They get you into trouble."

"So," said Jayce. "I like trouble."

"Yeah, that's the problem," she told her parabatai.

Jayce grinned at her, that mischief grin that said I do what I want, so try and stop me

She let out a long sigh. "What do you got exactly?"

She held up a Blue silk tank top, that was v cut in the front, it had spaghetti straps and didn't leave much to the Imagination.

"I'm not wearing that!" she shouted not meaning to.

"Why not? It will totally bring out your eyes," said Jayce

"Because it's so low cut, you know I don't exactly have a small chest."

"So, what does showing off what you got have to do with anything?"

"Jayce, maybe you like to show people what you got. But I am not like that."

"I can get you dress shirt instead," she said. "But I don't have anything blue in a blouse or dress shirt."

Did she really put that much thought into this?

"Fine. I'll wear it, but I'll be wearing a jacket as well," she said.

"Ok! I'll let you get away with that," she said, and smiled up at her.

Honestly Jayce was impossible, but she was Alec's impossible.

——————

Clar had to borrow something nice from Isidore, the only problem was that Isidore had such nice shirts, he loved fashion apparently. He also thought it was probably strange for two boys to be getting ready together like this.

Clar hated parties, not just because of the people but because you had to dress up and figuring out what goes with what was frustrating, even as a boy you sometimes had to worry about clothes.

"I think this will work nice," said Isidore.

He held up a black dress shirt, that looked somewhat less flaunty. Thankfully Clar had his own black jeans, though he would look very much like a Shadowhunter. He wondered what Jayce was gonna wear, and then asked himself why he was wondering that?

"Come here," said Isidore. "I am gonna help you part your hair fancy."

Clar sighed, he hated dressing up.

"Hey, Isidore," he asked

"Yeah?"

"Is Alec a lesbian?"

Isidore jumped and flung the hairbrush across the room

"You can't tell anyone!" he shouted.

"Is there a rule against being gay?"

"Not exactly, but it's looked down upon and people will think you are the shame of the your family," said Isidore, he sounded sad and angry at the same time. "So you can't tell anyone, seriously."

"I won't."

Isidore relaxed a little, the Lightwoods may be a little stuck up but the way they cared about each other was something that has made Clar care about them a little, it reminded him of Joan, himself, and Simone.

He missed Joan, he missed his big sister being there to take on the people he didn't want to talk to, to be there when he felt like the odd one out, Joan who always reminded Simone to continue to be nerdy because that's who she is and she shouldn't let anyone take that away. He smiled at the memory. He just hoped that by whatever ever higher power there was that she was ok, and that he would get to see her again.

"Clar, are you going to stay zoned out," said Isidore, snapping him back into reality. "Or are you gonna come along so we can go to the party."

-

They headed down the hall to get the girls. Clar saw Jayce look up at the sound of their footsteps, she was wearing a black lace top that was cut into a v shape in the front, and black leather pants, she also wore her usual heeled black combat boots that gave her a couple more inches in height, and a jacket, her golden curls were pushed back behind her ear on one side, she was wearing sword earrings, black the Shadowhunter outfit.

Simone looked up as well and said "Why are you so dressed up?"

"It's a party, so I guess I should a little."

She gave him the look that said you hate dressing up

Jayce came up to him. "You look nice," she said, he felt himself blush. "And here's this."

She handed him a dagger

"I don't know how to use that," he said

"Don't worry about that, you'll be a natural."

-

When they got to Magna Bane's loft, Alec and Isidore rang the doorbell, a woman answered it, she wore a purple sequin suit over a slik dress top, the lower part of her black hair was dyed blue, she had on black eyeliner with a blend of purple and blue eyeshadows, she had blue glittery lipstick on. She was southeast asian, slim and taller than all of them. she had glitter sparkling along her skin that was bare. She must like glitter Clar thought.

"I don't remember inviting children of the Angel to my party," she said.

Isidore held up the invitation. "I have an invitation right here."

She looked at it, for a moment Clar thought maybe she would send them away anyway, but she moved out of the doorway with a sigh and said. "Come on up, just don't kill anyone while your here."

They all followed her up the stairs, when they got into her loft, Clar saw that there was glitter and streamers everywhere, there was a disco ball hanging from the ceiling over a dance floor. He looked around and saw the guests were Faeries, Vampires, and a few werewolves. Clar didn't know what to think, he hadn't thought they got along.

He looked to his side about to ask Jayce something and saw everyone was gone. Did they all just leave him?

"Do you like the party?" asked a voice from behind him.

He turned and saw it was Magna Bane. "It's nice," he said who is it for?"

"My cat," she said

"Where is your cat?"

"I don't know, he ran away."

"Oh," he said. "Do you think he'll come back?"

"Who can say."

A moment later Jayce was back by his side

"Where did you come from!" he asked

"Over there," she said, and pointed to the bar.

"Where are Simone and Isidore?"

"They are dancing."

He looked over to the dance floor, and saw that they were in fact dancing.

Alec was here now too, what was with Shadowhunters and popping up out of nowhere?

"How may I help you Nephilim?" asked Magna. "I'm not in trouble with the Clave am I?"

"No," said Jayce and Alec simultaneously.

"We are here to ask about if you ever put a memory block on Clar," said Jayce

"You signed my mind," said Clar.

"Yes and yes," said Magna. "Come to my bedroom and we can talk privately."

"Why?" he asked "Why did you sign my mind?"

"I was proud of the work I had done on you," she said. "So perfect. You would forget what you saw as you saw it. It was how she wanted it to be."

"Who?," he asked. "How who wanted it?"

"Your mother."

He flinched, Jayce and Alec looked at him with sympathetic looks.

"But why? Why would she want that?"

"I don't know, I just do what I get paid to do," she said.

"Was it only one time?" he asked

"Darling, I don't think you understand. When I first saw you for the first time, you were probably two years old. Your mother came to me and told me who she was and asked if I could block that part of your mind. I told her it may leave you damaged, but that there was another way. I could make you forget what you and you would never know, but that she would have to come back every two years to have it recast, because the spell would start fade," she told Clar.

"And she did?"

"I have seen you every two years since that day. You were the first Shadowhunter I watched grow up."

"Can you take the spell off?" he asked

"I can't."

"What?" Jayce sounded angered. "Why? The Clave requires you to do—"

"I do not like being told what to do, little Shadowhunter," said coldly.

Clar knew how much Jayce seemed to hate being called "little"

"You can't reverse it?" spoke Alec before Jayce could give a reply.

"Taking a spell off is much more complicated than putting one on," said Magna. "Besides, it's alright fading."

"I just want to be who I really am," said Clar. "I mean who I really am supposed to be."

Magna sighed and walked over to one of the book cases in her bedroom and pulled a book off the shelf. "This is called the Gray Book," she said, she opened it to a page and layed it on Clar's lap. "This rune will help you remember a little and see through glamour better. It contains every Rune the Angel gifted the Nephilim."

"But the book isn't gray. Why is it called the grey book?" he asked

"Really?" said Jayce sarcastically. He shot her a glare.

"It's just what it's called," said Alec, more symptomatically than anyone else.

Clar looked at the page, he saw, Remember. Sorrow. Thought. Strength. Protection. Grace.

Magna grabbed the book and said "That's enough for now. If you read too many at the same time you make your head ache."

"Usually, Nephilim children grow up learning one at a time," said Jayce. "I don't even know them all yet."

"Can you imagine that," said Magna.

"I still don't remember where the Mortal Cup is or anything about it," said Clar.

"Seriously!," shouted Magna. "This is what it's all about, the Cup? Look I've been inside your head, there's nothing about the Mortal Instruments in it."

"The Mortal Instruments? But—" he started

"The Angel gifted the first Nephilim. A Cup, a Sword and a Mirror. The Sword is with the Silent Brothers. The Cup and the Mirror were in Idris," said Magna.

"No one knows where or what the mirror is, nobody has known for a long time," said Alec.

"It's the Cup we want," said Jayce."Valentine is looking for it."

Magna looked tired. "And you want to find it first," she said. "Only fools would get between that man and what he wants."

"You don't seem surprised or shocked that Valentine is back," said Alec.

"Are you?" she said.

"So, you aren't going to help us find it?" asked Alec.

"Darling, I wouldn't even if I could," said Magna.

"But if we don't have the Cup—" started Alec

"You can't make more Shadowhunters? Not everyone finds that so tragic," she cut in. "Now that we're done here, I am getting back to my party before people eat or kill each other."

She led them out of the her room, and then came Isidore running up shouting hysterically. "Simone's a rat!" he yelled

"What?!" said Alec. "What did she do?"

"No, nothing. she's a rat."

"Your not making sense, Isidore," said Clar.

He took a deep breath. "We were hanging by the bar and there were drinks, she drank one and it turned her into a rat!" said Isidore.

"What!?"

Clar ran off to the bar, he got on his knees and looked under it.

"Simone?" he said. "It's Clar, it's ok."

Simone ran out from under the bar and into Clar's arms.

Jayce was chuckling beside Clar.

"Are you ok?" he asked as he held her.

Simone just looked with her rat eyes at Clar, how were you supposed to tell what rat eyes meant? It was Simone though so she would be ok.

Magna walked up and whistled. "Well I see perhaps someone was tricked into drinking something that was not meant for them," she said.

"Can you turn her back?" asked Clar

"There's no point, she'll turn back to normal in a few hours. And besides you couldn't afford me and I won't do it for free," said Magna.

Jayce chuckled again, he shot her a glare. Isidore didn't seem to care, Alec walked up to him and said put him in your backpack.

"Alright!," called Magna. "This has been enough partying for me, and to be quite frank you all are terrible and have ruined it. So off you go and byebye now."

Everyone started making there way out, a vampire bumped into Clar and he said "Excuse me, handsome."

"Alright Nephilim, time to go," said Magna. "Oh! But you blue eyes, you call me." she winked at Alec. Her ivory cheeks turned red, she seemed to have lost the ability to speak and move.

"Come on!" said Jayce, as she pushed Alec out the door, Isidore right behind her. she was laughing again always laughing.

Clar was almost out the door when Magna said to him. "Clar, one more thing. Remember that when your mother fled it wasn't the Downworlders or demons she was fleeing from. it was the Shadowhunters."

Clar nodded and ran out the door.

Tag list: @khaleesiofalicante @chibi-tsukiko @spotsandclawsthings @magnus-the-maqnificent @megs-readstoomuch @replayfootsteps @simply-ellas-stuff @bookfast-at-tiffanys @jazzkaurtheglorious

[loveau]

Of All the Colors | Jaehyun

Genre: good old fashioned romance, a tiiiiiny bit of angst if you squint but i smother it in fluff

Summary: A series of moments you fell in love with Jung Jaehyun represented by the colors of the rainbow.

Word Count: 7.1k

A/N: yes, i know purple technically isn’t in the roygbiv category, but for my sake let’s pretend 🤧

red - you had taken me out for spaghetti on our third date. you told me you really liked me and looked fearless even though the marinara sauce stained your white shirt and you didn’t know. your ears were just as red if i squinted, but my face was redder so i can’t say much.

“Are you okay?” It was a simple question, but Jaehyun treated it like it was a matter of life or death. He chuckled lightly and continued to push his food around the plate. You kept your eyes on his hands. They had the tendency to drift from his food to his face. He hadn’t eaten since getting his food, and you were almost a third done with your meal.

“I’m fine,” he said. He hoped you didn’t catch the way his hand shook when holding the fork. To be honest, you completely intimidated him. Intimidated him enough so that asking you out on another date make him feel like he was about to combust. Yet the feeling was so, so addicting and he just had to feel that way again. He finally lifted his fork up to eat some of his food. His nerves were so strong that he didn’t notice the bit that slipped off his fork and onto his chest. His crisp white dress shirt that he wore to the dinner with you was clearly stained. You couldn’t comment due to him speaking up again. “Listen, I’m sorry I’m acting this way.”

You quelled the thousands of thoughts rushing in your head and waited for him to continue. When he didn’t you decided to speak in his stead and gauge his reaction. “It’s no big deal. I was just concerned to see you acting so different than before.” It was true. Jaehyun had not been this silent or fidgety since you had first gone out. He’d been very charming and all smiles the entire two weeks of talking and meeting up. Now? You were beginning to wonder whether or not he was actually interested in you, even though he was the one who asked to out for a nice dinner. You wondered if the past two dates and constant chattering and texting were all a fluke. This wouldn’t have been the first time you were strung along like this, and Jaehyun was showing all the same signs as the others. He avoided your questions or questioning glances. When you tried to initiate some flirtatious skin contact, he practically jumped away. You liked him… a lot. You could only hope that he wasn’t going to suggest you just stay as friends and he was trying to be nice about it. Which would then lead to both of you ghosting each other…

Jaehyun cleared his throat and you stopped twirling your fork in the air. There wasn’t any spaghetti collected on it, but you hadn’t realized since his nerves were getting to you as well. “I just… I think…” He hummed as he collected his thoughts. Your heart was dropping to your stomach and you no longer wanted your spaghetti. You wished he just delivered it cold to you instead of beating around the bush. “I just wanted to say that I’ve been enjoying my time with you.”

You couldn’t stop yourself from letting out a little huff. “But…?” Jaehyun blinked quickly and stared back into your awaiting eyes in shock. He caught on quickly as to what you were trying to pull out from him. Or, rather, what you thought he was trying to hide.

“I didn’t mean—It’s not—Look, what I’m trying to say is…” Jaehyun took a deep breath to steady himself. He wouldn’t mess up now. The confident gleam in his eyes took you completely off guard. It was so different than the timid glances from before. “I really, really like you.”

These words you were not expecting. His intense gaze made your face turn red. You had your fair share of dating and love, but Jaehyun’s words made you feel like it was your first crush… your first love. Maybe it was his earnest stare, or his blunt words, or maybe you were just flushed from being proved wrong. Perhaps a combination of all three. He didn’t wait for you to respond and continued going on.

“I want to continue doing this, seeing you. I really like you and am interested in dating you. If you’re also on the same page, we’ll take it from there.” Jaehyun patiently waited and took another bite of his food to make sure he wouldn’t shake in front of you. By leaning his head closer to the plate, you were able to see the redness of his ears… but you yourself were too focused on processing his words to notice. His sudden confession was the last thing you were expecting that night, that’s for sure. You reached over and grabbed his free hand and his smiled at you, false confidence on display for the sake of saving face. You didn’t even need to think about your response after seeing the hope in his eyes and dimples by his cheeks.

“I like you, too. A lot. Where do we go now?” The warmth never left your face as you said this, and you quickly jerked your hand back to fiddle with your hair after Jaehyun’s smile somehow got even brighter. He quietly exhaled in relief. The redness in your face remained the rest of the night, but it lacked the anxious pounding in your ears. His jitters remained, but they stemmed from his excitement rather than anxiousness. In his happy state he didn’t even notice that he spilled more sauce on the cuffs of his shirt. And he surely wouldn’t have noticed the spilled wine on your dress from when you couldn’t stop smiling.

He hid a shy smile from behind his food. “Happy day one.”

orange - three weeks after we officially started dating, we went to get ice cream and you chose the orange sherbet, which i teased you about. the cashier asked if we were together. when saying yes, you slipped up and called me your wife on accident. i thought it was cute. they meant if we were paying together.

The weekend was hot, which inspired the impromptu visit to the ice cream parlor. You and Jaehyun were supposed to be going on a double date with one of his friends and his girlfriend. It was kind of a big step in terms of how early in the relationship it would be to hang out with his friends, especially with a best friend. Jaehyun argued that he hadn’t met Johnny’s girlfriend and that he was a relaxed character, so it would be fine. You knew deep down he also wanted to officially call you his girlfriend to others. You wanted to hear it, too.

The AC was a welcome hit to your sweaty skin and Jaehyun squeezed your hand as the both of you paused after entering. Both of you sighed in relief and smiled politely at the cashiers who welcomed you in.

You breathed happily and gestured into the parlor. “Where to first, good sir?”

Jaehyun let out a small laugh and merrily led you towards the counter. His arm swings your interlocked hands and he takes the moment your hands come back to intertwine your fingers. You couldn’t stop the smile easily gracing your features even if you wanted.

You’re the first to order when someone comes by to help the two of you. A scoop of vanilla with another one of mint chocolate chip. Jaehyun scrunched his nose when you order and clasped his hands behind his back. He smiled cheekily and you rolled your eyes when he leaned forward. His face was mischievously close to yours and his warmth radiated easily. A slight blush rose up your cheeks as his sly chuckles caused him to breathe coolly on your neck.

“Don’t say anything, Jae. I actually like this flavor.” You mimicked his scrunched nose. “It’s an acquired taste.”

He stuck his tongue out at you and was helped to his own cup. You began to take your wallet out while he was ordering. Jaehyun easily saw this out of the corner of his eyes and paused halfway through his sentence to fumble for his own wallet.

“Here, I-“

“I got it.” He doesn’t even have room to protest as you repeat the words to the cashier in front of you. This caused Jaehyun to move even faster, not wanting you to cover both of your ice creams.

“No! No, I got it.” Jaehyun was still in the process of getting his wallet open until your hand closed his wallet and keeping it in his hand. He stopped in his tracks and gave you a firm glare. “I said I got it.” He was challenging you to back down. But the smirk on your face made him think twice about trying to convince you.

The cashier turned towards you once Jaehyun lowered his hand and stuffed his wallet back in his pocket with an annoyed sigh. “You got it?”

“I got it.” They smiled and start ringing you up. There was an amused smile plastered on their face.

“Are you together?” Hearing that, Jaehyun jumped up and was no longer bugged by your insistence.

“Yeah! Me and my wife have been together for almost a month now.” You couldn’t even mask your shock at Jaehyun’s slip up. However, he hadn’t even noticed it. He was too excited to be mentioning that you two were together to realize, and too excited to word it correctly. The word rang in your head multiple times and caused your heart to pound. You’d been excited to be introduced as his girlfriend, but his wife? Even with how young your relationship was… let’s just say it didn’t sound too bad.

“I meant if you were paying together.” Jaehyun only nodded, still not processing what happened. The cashier eyed the both of you knowingly and rang up your cups. You took care of paying smoothly and off you went to meet up with Jaehyun’s friends. He hummed happily to a tune he had heard on the radio on the drive to town. The slip up seemed to be the last thing on his mind, and you knew you had to bring it up in the presence of his friends to tease him. For now, you’d let him remain blissfully unaware of his fate.

“Orange sherbet?” Jaehyun looked at his ice cream and back to you, confused. He raised an eyebrow to mirror yours.

“What about it?”

“Oh, nothing.” You sang. “I just didn’t think anyone ate that besides my grandpa and my crazy aunt.” He scoffed and you only giggled at him.

“It’s an acquired taste.” He mimicked your words and you rolled your eyes in a silly way. Jaehyun gazed at you with such a fondness you’d melt on the spot along with your ice cream. But you never noticed as you were too distracted with eating.

“Happy?” He asked. His fond gaze was warmer than the sun, as it always would be. You only nodded at him and stole a bite of his ice cream. It wasn’t much of a steal as he had made it easier to access by moving it closer to you when you made the motion to eat it. It tasted citrusy and sweet. You kissed his lips next, something that was also an easy task as Jaehyun eagerly leaned into it and met you halfway. You hummed and licked your lips.

“With you? Very.”

yellow - we move in together after six months and decide we might want to paint the walls. i suggest the kitchen should be white, you want the bedroom to be grey. we make a good compromise painting yellow sunflowers along the bottom of the hallway to make it easy and fun. we did not get into a paint fight.

“I’m just saying, we spend a lot of time in the kitchen together. It’d be nice not to have to look at the tacky seafoam green all the time.”

“And I’m saying with how long we spend in the bedroom…” Jaehyun’s voice trailed off as he swung behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist.

“Jaehyun!” You whispered sternly through gritted teeth. You had uttered the two syllables of his name harshly and yet he still payed you no mind. He began to sway with you in his arms and nuzzled his face into your neck. “We are in public.”

“What?” He drawled lazily into your ear. He kissed up your neck to your ear and just when you started to become putty in his hands he twirled away and looked at the countless paint swatches on the wall. The smug look on his face did nothing to calm the erratic beating of your heart. “I was just referring to…”

You gave him the side eye and picked out another color. “Referring to…?”

“How long we spend in bed-“

“I dare you to finish that sentence, Jung.”

“-Watching movies!” He played an innocent type of act with you and you playfully swat his arm. The goofy smile on his face remained even as he gave you a sloppy kiss on the cheek. “We spend a lot of time in bed watching movies that make you laugh and scream and cry and ignore lil’ ol’ me because you want to cuddle a popcorn bowl instead of the boyfriend you moved in with just to cuddle everyday.”

“That’s because if you hold it the popcorn will go flying. You can never sit still and jump more than I do during horror movies.” Jaehyun wanted to rebut until he picked out another grey swatch. It was almost identical to the grey one he picked out earlier except it was slightly lighter. You had to hold the two colors up to each other to be sure.

“How about this one? I think it’ll go good with the sheets and the curtains.”

“Jae, the sheets and curtains don’t even match.” He shrugged and pouted when you motioned for him to put it back.

“The color matches both of them separately though.” Jaehyun went back to perusing the endless sea of greys while you looked at the variants at white. It surprised you at how many there were, but at least it allowed you to stick close to Jaehyun as the whites blended into the greys. The both of you had stayed connected by your pinkies. It was kind of cheesy and silly, but it was the most convenient way for one of you to get as far as possible to search for other possible paints without disconnecting. While you were looking at the potential of the browns and beiges, Jaehyun looked back at the cart.

Only when he let go of your hand, your pinky actually, did you notice why he was staring so long at the shopping cart. There were some items in there that you were planning on incorporating in your now shared living space. There were some towels, extra pillows, sheets, and even some random decor that you thought would look cute. Jaehyun picked up the little painting you had arbitrarily placed in the cart.

“Why is this $16.99?” It was a painting of a little flower field overlooking the sea. You didn’t even know where you were going to place it. You also weren’t sure why you had picked it out in the first place. Jaehyun scrunched his face as he looked it over again and then back to you. “And why does this have a strangely shaped mermaid?”

“Where?” He pointed to the mermaid on the beach that was definitely a little wonky shaped. “Oh. She looks like a blob head.” A little laugh erupted from Jaehyun and he cheekily eyed you again.

“Reminds me of someone in the mornings. Your bedhead makes you look more like Ursula’s legs from The Little Mermaid, though.”

“Shut up, Jae!” You hit his arm again, but you were laughing as well. You gave the painting another once over and pursed your lips. “Yeah, I dunno why I put that in there. I like the sunflowers in it, though. It makes the place look bright. It’s cute.”

Jaehyun held the painting out again and walked it over to some other colors. You merely watched him as he grabbed a couple swatches and started comparing the colors to the ones in the painting. When he was satisfied, he came back up to you and passed you the swatches to judge for yourself.

“Let’s paint the hallway instead!” You squinted at the painting and then gazed back up at his happy face. He looked very much like a young child with his smile.

“We’re not painting a whole mural of this thing.” Jaehyun grabbed your arms and shook you a little, laughing a little at your statement and then rubbing his nose on yours.

“No! Let’s paint the flowers along the hallway. It’ll be fun and make it look like we’re walking in the field of sunflowers.” The idea didn’t seem that bad. Picturing the hallway with flowers along the lower trim actually looked kind of cute and made a bland wall full of life. It’d also be more fun than figuring out where to put the painting and end up throwing it out or giving it away. “What do you say, baby?”

Mulling over the idea a little more, you found yourself unable to deny the little dimples and crinkles by his eyes. “Why not?” The little jump Jaehyun did entertained you and it seemed like he liked the painting way more than you did all of a sudden. “I can’t guarantee that it’ll look good, though.”

Jaehyun planted a happy kiss on your lips as he looked at the swatches again. “I mean, I took an art class before.” He looked at your unbelieving face. “…In high school. But I passed with an A!” Your hands on your hips made him sigh. “An A-… it was a solid 90, almost a B+.”

Instead of replying you laughed and placed your hand in his again. He lifted your hands up to place a content kiss on the back of yours and placed the painting on a random shelf. Jaehyun was absolutely giddy to get to paint with you and make your home… a home. Even though some of the flowers were more weirdly shaped than others, you made do as some of the yellow sunflowers had heart petals instead. A lot of references also made it easier to design better looking sunflowers. By the time you had finished painting the wall, you had also begun painting each other and making a mess of each other’s clothes. Tied within the endless giggling and screaming were whispered ‘I love you’s as you held the other close only to run away after smearing yellow and green paint on each other’s faces.

green - our one-year anniversary, i had just got in a dress i ordered online. they gave me a green dress instead of the blue one i ordered, and i didn’t have anything to wear for the night. you brought out an old neon green tuxedo you had as a joke for your sophomore homecoming to match me. they didn’t match and it was two sizes too small, but you wore it out anyways. the colors didn’t match exactly, but we made it work.

You were so frustrated you wanted to cry. Jaehyun would be getting back from work soon to pick you up for your one-year anniversary dinner and you were nowhere near ready. The dress you ordered from an online shopping site had just come in on time when you got home. Showering and doing a bit of chores that had to be done didn’t give you time to open up your package and try on the dress until it was pretty late, an hour until Jaehyun would be home. This was a mistake as your order was, in fact, a mistake.

Instead of a deep navy blue dress, a foresty green kind of dress sat mockingly in the box. You had quickly fumbled to get your receipts and order information to see who it was who screwed up. Another sigh left your lips as you ran your hand through your hair and angrily leered at the green dress. You had planned to match Jaehyun’s crisp blue suit that he had hanging by the bathroom for after his own shower. Sure, you had some other dresses, but you wanted to match with him for a special day. It also would have been nice to dress up for Jaehyun in something new. Had you figured this out earlier you would have been able to do some last-minute shopping for another dress.

In the midst of your anger and panic, you didn’t even notice the sound of Jaehyun coming back home until he called out to you. He had found you in the room and there was a dopey smile on his face as he poked his head through the door. “Hey, baby! I’m home and you weren’t there to greet me with my welcome back kisses.”

“Jae! I didn’t even notice you came home.” You jumped and Jaehyun’s grin quickly turned into a small frown. He became quickly concerned by the obvious irritated features on your face and lack of enthusiasm.

“Hey, what’s up? What happened?” He neared you and you roughly grabbed the material of the dress and held it up.

“This! They gave me the wrong order.” Jaehyun gently took the balled-up dress from your hands and unfolded it. He then held it up to your form and made a thinking noise. When he told you it looked fine anyways you sighed but felt slightly calmer this time. The frustration was fading and instead it was being replaced with disappointment and guilt. “It was supposed to be blue. I wanted us to match.”

“Why not use that other blue dress you have? It’s a pretty blue. It’s looks good on you.”

“It’s a royal blue. It looks brighter than your suit.” The stoic face you got in response made you want to roll your eyes at your own silliness. “It’s fine. It’s dumb.” You sighed and Jaehyun watched you carefully. After thinking some more, Jaehyun opened up the closet. He began rummaging around and you felt guilty for making the anniversary problematic and somewhat depressing. “Your suit’s in the bathroom.”

“I know,” he said matter-of-factly. There was a box in his hands, and he brought it to the bed where your dress laid on top of. He opened it up and the sight of what rested inside pushed away all the doubts you had before. “Behold!”

“Jaehyun. What is that?” You were looking at a very, very bright looking tuxedo. It was a neon green tuxedo that looked like it belonged to a leprechaun who wanted to make a fashion statement by going against regulation green.

“I wore this to one of my homecomings on a dare.” He almost cringed thinking back on it and how bright the suit was. It definitely did not look like it would complement anybody. Jaehyun didn’t mind at all when he fiddled with it and looked at some misplaced sequins on the shoulders.

“Why do you still have that?” You gazed at his suit and the suit only stared right back at you. The neon was so bright that you were sure it would hurt your eyes if the lights were any brighter.

Jaehyun smiled proudly at you and his eagerness almost put more tears into your eyes. “I always had a feeling it would come into use. I guess I was right.”

“You’re seriously not going to wear that, are you?” Jaehyun looked at you like you were dumb. There was pure seriousness in his eyes that told you he was not joking and intended to do what you feared. He was going to wear it regardless of what you said or not. “Jae! It looks too small for you! Don’t embarrass yourself for me.”

There was a proud smirk on his face. He was going to be defiant and you knew this was one of the few moments that he would say no to your pleas. “I am going to wear it because we’re going to match.”

“What- Jaehyun, no!” He held the suit to himself to measure it. Like you said, it was too small. However, Jaehyun’s determination did not dwindle. “Besides… the dress I got is a darker green while you look like the Onceler from the Lorax trying to impress his little gremlin date.” Jaehyun chuckled and began collecting his stuff to quickly shower and then dress in that abomination.

“You don’t look like a gremlin, especially not in that color.” He grabbed the dress again and tossed it to you. “You’re going to look like a princess in that while I’m just a lowly peasant who could only dream of having you grace my presence.” He told you to put it on as he began to undress and collect his stuff to go shower.

“Jae, you don’t have to do this. It’s going to make you uncomfortable with all the people looking at you and with how tight it is. I’ll just wear one of the old black dresses I have. They’re not even the same shades of green.” Jaehyun stood shirtless in front of you and you tried not to let your resolve waver. He knew his effect on you like this. Of course. He did this on purpose because he knew he’d get his way.

“Nope. I am going to wear this suit and you’re going to wear that dress because we are going to match. We’re both green. Doesn’t matter what fancy type of green it is, we’re going to match because it’s our one-year anniversary.” His smirk slowly softened into an endearing smile. The insistence you knew came out of the love he had for you, and he was proving his love for you by doing this.

“Jaehyun,” you chided softly. You were giving in and you felt guilty for making him do that to himself. One look at your face made him quickly put the ghastly suit down and rushed towards you. He cupped your face and rested his forehead against yours. The silly smile on his face never faded as he comforted you and stroked your cheeks softly. “I love you so much, you know that? Even when you look like Shrek’s secret lover.”

He pecked your forehead and then moved to kiss every inch of your face. “I do know, but say it again. I just love to hear it.”

“Well, Jaehyun, I love you.”

Jaehyun pressed another kiss to your lips and it was lingering, laced with so much love and affection for you. He whispered gentle words on your lips in between the countless kisses for you. “I love you, too. Happy one year.”

blue - for some reason you wanted to do a mini photoshoot with me on this day. you’ve come prepared. there are little plastic butterflies you bought from a dollar store and you’re pining them all to my hair. the pictures turn out fantastic, actually, and i look mystical against the blue sky with my hair waving with bright blue wings. you tell me you love me. i hear it all the time and know you mean it, but for some reason it sounds different this time. like there’s more emotion than ever.

“Stay still, babe. You’re making some of the clips fall out.”

“I could be staying still if I was in bed and still sleeping instead of being woken up to take pictures in some foggy weather.” Jaehyun’s deep chuckle rumbled next to you as you closed your eyes. The way his fingers ran through your hair felt nice, but you wished the feeling was rather in bed as you dozed off.

By the time he was finished, the sun had come out through the clouds and warmed you up in the chilly morning air. Jaehyun stepped back and cheered when you looked ready for pictures. He had been strongly resisting the urge to kiss you in your sleepy state. He wished he was also back in bed to be able to kiss your sleepy face, but for some reason he had wanted to take pictures of you. Why it had to be at 7AM with blue butterfly clips in your hair, nobody knew. Not even him.

“Okay, let’s do this!” You groaned tiredly and put your hands out for him to help you from your seat in the grass. His energy was unmatched, and he pulled you into him with such force that you almost crashed into him. “Careful, sleepyhead.” You mumbled that he should have been the one who was careful since he did the pulling, but your boyfriend was bumbling around so excitedly that he didn’t notice.

“Shouldn’t I be more awake for this? I haven’t even brushed my teeth.”

“Do you think I care?” To prove his point, Jaehyun placed a lovely kiss on top of your lips and sighed happily before pulling away. “I also think your tired look adds to the mystical look I was going for.”

You hummed, not really processing any of his words as he sets up an old camera of his. At any time, you could have denied going outside and just staying in bed. It was hard to say what made you come outside to do this in the first place. After thinking back on it more, you probably did it because it was Jung Jaehyun and you could never say no to your boyfriend.

Jaehyun instructed you on how to pose or stand, with most of his shots being angled upwards so he had the blue sky peeking through behind you. You complied easily. That was mainly because you bribed him into rewarding you with a kiss every time you did something well. That happened to be every ten seconds or so.

Perhaps an hour was spent taking pictures with the two of you moving around the yard or having to adjust the butterfly clips somewhere else. When you were more awake you suggested you change into an airy dress that might add to the magical look. You spent a little longer than you thought changing into that as Jaehyun was more focused on kissing your shoulders and snuggling into you from behind rather than helping you zip up the dress.

“I’m hungry.” You pouted while sitting in the grass. Your hands tossed your hair up lightly and Jaehyun quickly shot the picture. He checked it and decided that he was satisfied with his work.

“Let’s go get you breakfast, then.” He offered his hand out and you graciously took it. You squeezed his hand as a thank you and he kissed your cheek in response. While you ate a random cereal from the cupboard, Jaehyun spent his time carefully undoing the clips from your hair. You swatted him away when he tried to cheekily undo the dress and sent you an impish smile when you complained about it being too early for such an activity.

“Hey, Jae,” you called while he scavenged the kitchen for his own food. You came back from the room and changed out of the dress. The material started to itch your legs and it would be much more comfortable in your pajamas… which were rather Jaehyun’s clothes instead of yours. He made a noise of acknowledgement and quickly glanced at you. If seeing you look like a fairy in the early morning light made Jaehyun full of wonder, then surely witnessing you in your most comfortable form put him in a state of awe. “Can I see the pictures?”

He handed you the camera and caged you between himself and the counter as you looked through all the pictures. They turned out very beautifully. The light blue sky was not a bad combination with the cerulean wings laid atop your hair. Your sleepy gaze into the lens made it seem all the dreamier and you didn’t think you were looking at yourself. To be frank, you thought you would have looked more like a mess. Your boyfriend’s eye for art came in handy at bringing out your best features for others to see. When you voiced your observations and compliments, Jaehyun heard none of those as they went through one ear and out the other. He was far too focused on the way your gentle features shone thanks to the light streaming through the window. The light was brighter and warmer compared to earlier in the morning, but Jaehyun thought you looked absolutely heavenly.

Time stopped once you stop speaking and looked up at him through your lashes. He breathed softly and gazed deeply into your eyes. He spoke softly, just above a whisper. “I love you.”

This was a familiar phrase. A welcomed one that made you feel warm and at home, but this time it felt different than all the other times. It was different than the first time he said it, when you were crying one night about feeling very stressed and pressured and he was there for you through it all. Different than when he said it before he left for work, soft and intimate and with promise of coming home to give you more affection. Different than when you would dance together in the kitchen at 3AM and sing stupid love songs to each other.

At this moment, Jaehyun loved you. You felt it stronger than ever.

indigo - we had a fight and i’m spending a good hour or two outside because i didn’t want to be around you before i said more hurtful things. you finally come join me and look at the sky. there are no stars, but you can see the moon. for some reason you think the sky looks like a deep shade of blue instead of black, like indigo. we make up and make out in the night.

Goosebumps littered your arms and you remembered to roll your sleeves back down. In the process of getting worked up, you also got heated. Very heated. It felt suffocating and you had rolled your sleeves up in attempts to cool off. It didn’t work, obviously.

You couldn’t remember the finer details, but it just frustrated you to dwell on it. Something had gone down about how Jaehyun thought you were spending too much time at work because there was this other guy you talked a lot about. Insecurities got the best of you as you pointed out this one girl who had been present at so many of his work functions. She always came up to him even while you were glued to his side and glaring daggers at her.

Hurtful, and irrational, accusations were flung across the room one after another. It became so much that you stepped out. You couldn’t handle it, hearing all those cutting words as well as saying them. Guilt clawed its way out of your stomach with each jab you took, so you left without another word. You didn’t even go anywhere, just outside. You needed your space and some time to think.

An hour and a half went by easily as you cleared your head and stared at the sky, trying to find the stars. Just the moon gazed pitifully down at you as your tear stained cheeks glistened in the light. They felt uncomfortable so you used your sleeves to wipe away at them. The harsh material left a stinging burn on your cheeks. You kind of hated how you wished it was the softness of your boyfriend’s hands wiping them away instead. The door opened and shut behind you.

“No stars?” Jaehyun asked. You weren’t in the mood to look at him, feeling too sad to. He got his answer through you shaking your head. Jaehyun wrapped his jacket around you before you could even shiver. He knew you were cold, and not just on the inside. The two of you continued to stare up at the sky and look for anything other than the moon.

“I’m sorry,” you said first. Jaehyun took a moment to let that settle in before nodding and using an arm to wrap around you.

“I’m sorry, too.” He finally broke the tension and looked at you first. You followed right after and the pain in his eyes was almost too much to bear. The same was for him. The hurt tone of your voice absolutely broke him. He was glad everything was fixing itself for now. Jaehyun turned back to the night sky the same time as you did. “The sky looks funny tonight.”

“How so?” He shrugged and rubbed his hand along your arm, trying to warm you up. You pressed further into his side to gain more warmth from his chest. His arms came fully around you and his chest pressed into your back. He placed a kiss on the crown of your head and hummed. Talking was somewhat strange with his chin resting on the top of your head. You wouldn’t change it for the world as the comforting vibrations of his chest as he talked reminded you he was still there for you.

“No stars. Can’t really see any clouds either.”

“Light pollution?” He made a noise and held you closer. It was a move he made absentmindedly.

“Not sure. The sky has a kind of purplish color, though.” Looking up at the sky, he was right. It was very different than the normally dark and ambiguous night sky. Tonight, it looked rather blue… or purple. “Indigo,” he declared. You made a confirming noise and nodded. His chin rubbed against your scalp as you did so. A moment of comfortable silence passed. Once it passed, the both of you began to get antsy. You turned in his arms and he held you just as close as before, if not closer. He hugged your head into his chest for a while longer.

“Hey.” You leaned back and looked into his eyes. They were full of love and apologies. “Kiss me.”

And so you did. You reminded him and yourself of your love for each other and he held you there. A different kind of passion blossomed between the two of you. The rest of the night was spent whispering love affirmations to each other in bed and holding each other close. He was just as gentle as he was fierce in making you aware of his devotion to you. You kissed apologies into his skin until the both of you fell asleep.

purple - to celebrate our two-year anniversary, you gave me flowers even though they weren’t my favorites. they were purple cosmos. i pointed out they are usually given on a second wedding anniversary. you proposed to fix that. the ring was hidden within the bouquet of flowers. you knew all along.

“Happy two years, Jae.” You hugged Jaehyun from behind and softly massaged the skin of his stomach. He turned around and the look in his eyes filled you to the brim with love. Pure honey seeped from his irises. His smile was sugary sweet even as you kissed him and felt the corners of his lips moving upwards uncontrollably. He repeated the same phrase back and the two of you shared a sweet kiss. You noticed the bouquet of flowers sitting on the table. “You got me flowers?”

He followed your line of sight and smiled knowingly. “I did. They’re purple cosmos.”

You accepted the flowers with a sappy smile. “Any reason for the choice?” The cosmos were soft to the touch and their fragrance was faint. Jaehyun kissed your temple as your thumbs softly stroked the petals.

“Not really. They’re to celebrate two years together.”

“Are you sure?” You pressed. He smiled knowingly at you and you had to coax more out of him. “I do my research, Jae. Purple cosmos aren’t to celebrate just any two years. They’re for two years into marriage.”

Your boyfriend feigned surprise, however, you didn’t know he was faking it. “Oh, shoot. Really?”

“Yes, really. It’s fine, though. They’re very pretty and I love them.” Jaehyun’s hands squeezed your hips.

“You sure it’s fine? I can fix this.” You looked questionably at him and set the flowers on the table behind him. You didn’t notice that he was shuffling the bouquet over a tad. “After all, I made a pretty egregious error, did I not?”

“I wouldn’t say that big… but you don’t have to buy another bouquet just for this.”

“I’m not.” Asking him what he meant only added to your confusion as he laughed mysteriously. “Two years, huh? And I got the wrong bouquet?”

“That you did.”

A teasing smile rested upon his face this time. “Are you sure we’re not married? After all, you won’t ever let me live it down that I called you my wife…” You laughed at that and shook your head. Of course, you wouldn’t. It was a funny story and there was no way you would pass on the opportunity to tell his and your friends the story if they hadn’t already heard.

“Please, it was cute. But cut the beating around the bush. What do you mean about not buying another bouquet?” He smiled at you and the silence began to unnerve you. You feared that he might actually go to buy another one just for the sake of it. He’s deliberately gone against your words before and you know the last time wouldn’t be the final occurrence. “Seriously, these things are expensive. Don’t buy me more flowers.” Instead, your boyfriend shook his head.

Jaehyun took a deep breath and smiled brightly at you. “I said I would fix it, right?” You couldn’t stop happy tears from welling up in your eyes. His hand was just as shaky as it was when he had first told you he wanted to date you. In his fingers he held up a simple ring that had been hiding in the middle of the bouquet. It was strung on one of the stems and hidden just barely so that you’d have to know it was in there beforehand to notice it. “So…  wanna make it the real deal? Will you marry me?”

[awrldalone]

23rd June 2021, 9.47pm

Yesterday might have been one of the best day of my life. I met her. Four years of knowing each other, and we finally met. 

I woke up anxious, uncomfortable in the sofa bed. My family makes way too much noise, and it feels violating to wake up with everyone moving around, the TV on next to you, cookies being dunk in milk and coffee, but it is not the end of the world. 

Their train arrived at 11.50am, so I ha a lot of spare time. I changed three times before I made up my mind on a pair of light jeans with bleached clouds, a cream-colored t-shirt and my black and cream converse. I also brought a bag, obviously. Every time I leave the house for a whole day, it feels like I have to pack to stay away ages. I am always tempted to bring some perfume too, because you never know when you might need a refresher, but until I won’t buy a small container for it, it will stay home. 

I went to a photography shop - the same one where I left the rolls of film to get developed, they are not done yet - and I bought some instant film. I like documenting moments. I like having tangible proof that something happened. And in these occasions, it is even more important. She is not just mere numbers, strings of data and encrypted texts. V. is a real person, and so is A.

A. is another internet friend of ours. V. is staying at her house for a week, and yesterday they came to Venice. To see me. 

Waiting for them, I got a cappuccino at the station café. My hands were trembling as I loaded the film in the camera. I checked the platform number for their train. 15. And I waited for the train to arrive, in the shade. 

They’re both short girls, so I did not see them immediately, but then I caught a glimpse of V.’s hair and A.’s light blue top, and I made my way through the crowd. It was like walking against the current of a river in flood. We hugged. V. is thin, she’s comfortable to hug, I would have cried if I had not learnt how to hold back. 

I hugged A. too, and we walked. With them, it was different. We started the day laughing already, poking fun at each other, teasingly making remarks of all kind, like friends do. It was just like when we text, except we were there, in the flesh. Not only under the same sky, but also on the same paved street. 

She was wearing pink. Long gingham pink pants, a pink tube top with spaghetti straps, and a black bag. She looked lovely, stunning. I like her nose a lot, even though she hates it. 

A. was wearing a baby blue mini skirt, and a baby blue tube top. She looked very good too, her hair is certainly very pretty, blonde.

We bought poke for lunch, and since in Venice there rarely is room to eat inside in cheap places, we walked until we arrived in San Marco Square. It is always stunning. They went quiet for a second, looking at it open up in front of us. 

We ate in the garden that there is near. The flowers were in bloom, and some of the trees provided nice shade. 

In the afternoon we stayed an hour at Giardini. We walked there complaining about the sun, and we sat on the grass.

The seagulls were noisy. V. says that where she lives, they’re nicer. We picked the little chamomile flowers, threw them at each other, played music, looked at the trees move with the light breeze. I also took a lot of pictures of them, laying on the grass. At one point I had my legs on V.’s, and V. had her head on A.s lap. We formed quite the picturesque, gracious portrait

In summer, my favourite thing about Venice is the little fountains of ever-pouring water. Being thirsty is not a problem. They wanted ice cream, so we stopped at an ice cream store. They got a milkshake, I got a scoop of pistachio that V. wanted to try. 

At the fountain, we spritzed the water on each other, and refilled our bottles. 

We got lost at some point, but that is normal in Venice, so we sat underneath an arch that opened up to a canal, and we talked and cooled down. We sent a video to R., to say hi, and he said they are pretty girls. 

We managed to reach places I recognised - places I have visited with that boy, the one who likes bees, before - and we got to Rialto. V. and I, for a bit, walked hand in hand, like boyfriend and girlfriend. Boy friend and girl friend. 

We all stopped at a bar where there was no one, and I ordered drinks. I got a campari, as usual, V. got an aperol - though she said she did not like it - and A. got a hugo. We talked about music, books, the things we would talk about on the internet.

Then they wanted to go to that one famous book store, and so I brought them there, and then we had to run to the train station because they were about to miss the train.

I wanted to cry when they left.

I hope it will not take us other four years to meet again.

-c.

[benwllbond]

Here is the final prompt fic for my 1k prompt list thingy!! This is for @katrin-okay, but I would like to give a special mention to @pretty-b0yy because she was awesome and gave me heaps of ideas for ralvez and fighting. I hope you enjoy (this is for angst, 5, ralvez - “Stop arguing and listen!”)

He had put a book in the wrong position. Of course he had. Luke had just been trying to do something nice for Spencer - they had both been working flat out, and were completely exhausted, so when he noticed the second-hand book store, he quickly ducked in and picked something out, a book he didn’t think he had seen in their apartment. It was supposed to be a kind gesture, just to show that even when Luke was just about falling asleep standing up, that when he wanted nothing else but to be in bed, that he was still thinking of Spencer, and wanted to make him happy.

When Luke arrived at their apartment, he noticed that Spencer wasn’t home yet, leaving him time to find a spot to leave his gift. Knowing that Spencer would quickly notice any new addition to his collection of books, Luke slipped it into a spare space on one of th shelves, his sleep addled mind not really taking any note of where - something that would prove to have been a stupid decision. He should have just taken the extra time to work out Spencer’s sorting system and put it in the right place, or found a nice bag to have put it in, and left it on the table. Anything other than what he did.

Luke patiently began to cook something simple for dinner while he waited for Spencer. He knew that a home cooked meal would always be appreciated, even if it was just some spaghetti with a canned sauce.

By the time Spencer walked through the door, greeted by Roxy, the meal was almost ready, and Luke was dead on his feet. It was okay though, he didn’t mind, because he knew that he was going to make Spencer smile, between dinner and the book.

Unfortunately, nothing seemed to go to plan. As Spencer took some dinner, he was short with Luke, barely giving him the time of day - and he didn’t blame Spencer for that. When exhausted, while Luke tended to crave being with those he loved, his partner preferred to be alone, and Luke knew that. He put up with the lack of conversation as they ate, knowing that it wouldn’t be long until the two of them would be cuddled up together in bed.

Well, that was what was supposed to happen.

However, when Spencer noticed the book, as Luke had been waiting for, in hopes of his mood brightening slightly, he instead appeared displeased.

“Luke, why is there a random book there? That shouldn’t be there,” Spencer said, exhaustion evident in his voice, but paired with frustration. Frustration at Luke.

“I bought it for you! I thought it would be nice!”

Spencer just looked more annoyed at that response.

“What would be nice about coming home to my system being interrupted? I don’t keep it organised just for the fun of it!”

Luke winced. He hadn’t thought of that. He had been so caught up in his own exhaustion that he hadn’t even thought about Spencer. But he had just been trying to do the right thing, a nice thing.

“Spence, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

He was cut off before he could even finish. It was uncharacteristic of Spencer, who was normally relatively timid and quiet, to be so confrontational. Even though Luke knew it was just the fatigue talking, he couldn’t help but take it to heart.

“Stop arguing and listen!”

Being criticised for not listening to Spencer hurt. He always listened, always tried his best to be interested in whatever he had to say. And Luke was listening! He was hearing he wasn’t doing good enough, and then apologising for it, while formulating ways in which he could do better the next time.

It was all Luke could do not to curl in on himself and cry, or reach out to Spencer and ask to be held, but that would be selfish, after he messed up. It was his job to fix things.

Caught up in his own head, however, Luke failed to notice Spencer and Roxy slipping out the door. By the time he noticed, they were too far gone for him to call out for them to come back.

There was nothing he could do, so he gave in to the tiredness, and went to bed, hoping that in the morning, he would get the chance to make it better. Luke would choose to blame the tears in his eyes, slowly spilling down his cheeks on exhaustion, a desperate attempt to pretend that he was fine on his own.

--

Luke woke up, a slight headache from dehydration in the back of his head, a glass of water that he hadn’t put there sitting on the bedside table that he was facing, and slight warmth behind him. As he slowly sat up, and reached for the glass, he looked to his other side. Spencer was sitting beside him, reading a familiar looking book.

“Good morning,” Spencer softly said, an apologetic tone already apparent.

“Mornin’,” Luke sleepily replied, smiling as he began to process the scene around him, with regards to the previous night.

Spencer was there! And not only was he there, he was reading the book. Luke was unbelievably happy to see it. He was happy his gift appeared to be appreciated then, and already was preparing what he would do next time - albeit with better execution.

“I’m sorry, Luke,” Spencer began, “That was really sweet of you, and I’m so sorry that I acted like that. You were just trying to be nice, and I shouldn’t have gotten angry with you, nor should I have left.”

In an attempt to keep the conversation light, Luke jokingly responded;

“Well I’ve learnt my lesson now - I will leave the book sorting to you!”

Spencer did not seem pleased with that response, but didn’t say anything - Luke suspected he would hear more apologies later, though.

“How does a lazy day sound today? We can watch some TV here, and I will even let Roxy onto the bed.”

Luke invited Roxy, who had been sitting in her dog bed watching them, up onto the bed, as he moved so his head was resting on Spencer’s chest.

“That sounds great.”

There was a moment of silence, before Spencer quietly spoke.

“I love you, always.”

Luke smiled.

“I love you too.”

[this-is-quite-homoerotic]

Fic: I'm holding tight cause it feels alright, my love, when I'm with you

Summary: After a long day at work, Jack and Ianto get to spend a lazy early night in.

Author’s note: I wrote this for the @torchwoodfanfests​ 2020 Bingo Fest, for the prompts ‘cold/warm’ and ‘vegetables’. The fic and my bingo card are under the cut, or if you prefer, you can read it on AO3 here!

This story was betaed by the lovely @moonlightrhosyn​, and the title is from 'When I'm With You' by Eleisha Eagle, an extremely Janto song that I recommend to anyone reading this.

Warnings: None

Word count: 1773

“Hey,” Jack was shaking his shoulder softly to wake him. Ianto groaned in protest. 

“Come on, sleeping beauty. You can go back to sleep after you’ve had something to eat. Don’t think I didn’t notice you skipping lunch.”

Ianto rolled over on the sofa where he’d fallen asleep to stretch himself awake. His spine cracked, and he relaxed back into the comfortable cushions.

“All of us missed lunch,” he protested. Jack was looking down at him with one of those warm smiles that made his eyes look soft, hands on his hips and head tilted as he took in the slightly red mark on Ianto’s cheek where the throw pillow had left an imprint. Ianto hadn’t bothered changing when they got home, he’d just taken off his jacket and his shoes and had gone straight for the sofa to nap while Jack cooked, since Jack had insisted on cooking dinner. 

Ianto had been ready to go to sleep for as long as the rift allowed, but Jack wanted to feed him before they turned in for their well-deserved rest - it had been a long 40 hours - and in order to get Ianto to agree he offered to make him some spaghetti bolognese. Damn that man for exploiting Ianto’s weaknesses. 

“Yes, we did,” Jack agreed as he reached for Ianto, who was still sprawled comfortably on the sofa, wrapped in his cosy black duvet with only his head and feet peeking out. Ianto grabbed the duvet and held it against him so Jack couldn’t pull it back. 

“But there’s no reason for us not to eat now,” Jack cajoled. He tried to pull the duvet gently away but Ianto was holding fast. 

“It’s cold,” Ianto complained, fully aware he sounded petulant. He pouted for good measure. He knew Jack’s weaknesses too, and he was not above using them to get what he wanted.

He could see the hit land when Jack’s face softened further. 

“You can bring your cocoon to the table if you want. Or I can warm you up...”

Jack’s suggestive eyebrows were exaggerated and ridiculous, and Ianto thought it probably said something about him that they ratcheted up his desire to kiss Jack by about 50% - a desire that was always already present in him to some extent these days, by the way. If Jack wasn’t so willing to receive and reciprocate Ianto’s kisses at any time and place, Ianto would bemoan the unfairness of it all. As it was, he really couldn’t complain.

And there was no reason not to indulge himself right now, Ianto thought.

He sat up, letting the duvet fall around him, reached up to grab a handful of Jack’s shirt and pulled on it to get him closer. Jack went with the movement, leaning down to let himself be kissed.

After letting him go, Ianto sighed in mock annoyance. “Fine,” he groused, pretending to be terribly put upon by having to agree to eat Jack’s delicious home-made pasta, which was also his favourite dish. “But I’m getting a sweater first. It really is freezing.”

“It’s not too cold in the kitchen,” Jack told him as Ianto grudgingly pulled the duvet all the way off and got up to go to his room. 

“Might as well change anyway,” Ianto mused, looking down at his rumpled shirt. It was already a mess from the weevil chase the previous night, not to mention their encounter and subsequent fight with the pair of blowfish that morning.

“Alright. I’ll set the table in the meantime. Don’t take too long, the food will get cold.”

Ianto nodded, and went to change.

***

Three and a half minutes later, Ianto walked into the kitchen wearing polar fleece pyjama bottoms, fuzzy slippers, and an old Star Wars t-shirt. He was carrying one of his favourite sweaters in one hand in case Jack had been wrong and the kitchen was cold, but Jack was happy to see he left it on the back of a chair as he sat down. The steam from the pots had warmed up the kitchen when he cooked, making the small room comfortably warm despite the winter chill outside.

“Hmm, that smells amazing,” Ianto commented, making Jack beam. He didn’t have time to cook very often, what with Torchwood being Torchwood, and he didn’t care to put in the work when it was just him anyway. It had been a while since he’d had someone to cook for, and he relished the opportunity.

Plus, Ianto had zero cooking skills or interest in acquiring any, and would happily live off takeaway if Jack let him.

He served them both a generous portion, aware they’d both been too busy to get more than a rushed breakfast and several servings of coffee for the past twelve hours. It wouldn’t matter for Jack, given his regenerative abilities, but he didn’t want Ianto’s immune system to suffer more than was absolutely necessary due to the demands of their job.

Jack saw Ianto made a face as he sat down, and he had to swallow a laugh, knowing exactly what was going to come out of Ianto’s mouth next.

“You put vegetables in my spaghetti bolognese,” Ianto deadpanned. “What is that?” he questioned, picking at the dish with his fork. “Broccoli? Jack, you heathen.”

Jack noticed it didn’t stop him from seasoning his plate or adding several spoonfuls of grated cheese to it.

“You need vegetables for a balanced diet,” Jack said with a grin. It was a topic they’d discussed many times. When it wasn’t Jack bringing it up by telling Ianto he needed them to stay healthy, it was Ianto complaining when Jack cooked for him and used ‘too many vegetables’. At this point it was more an inside joke than an actual complaint, though; Ianto had learned that Jack had the magical ability to make the dreaded vegetables taste good by seasoning them, so he didn’t actually mind. 

“It’s an affront to the dish,” Ianto countered, not meaning it whatsoever.

“Absolutely not, if anything, it elevates it. Besides, I roasted it in butter and garlic with the onions, you’ll like it. Trust me.”

Ianto took a big first bite with no hesitation, belying his complaints. 

He moaned shamelessly, utterly distracting Jack from his own plate for a moment.

“Alright, you were right. This is incredible.”

That made Jack grin again. 

They were too hungry and run-down from running from one crisis to another for the past two days, so they mostly ate in silence after that. 

Jack pondered getting a second serving despite being full, but decided against it. Ianto was drooping in his chair, looking like he might fall asleep over his empty plate, and truth be told Jack was feeling the exhaustion himself, despite his enhanced stamina. 

He sent Ianto to do his night routine and put the leftovers away, taking the time to wash the dishes so they wouldn’t be left in the sink if they got a work emergency and had to leave in a hurry. Who knew how long they might be away if that happened; they often stayed at the Hub when things were busy or if they were on call for the night. Thankfully, Tosh had agreed to be on call that night, diverting the rift alert to her phone in case anything showed up, so they wouldn’t have to be available until the next morning. 

An early night in where he could cook for Ianto and then go to sleep with him in the flat they unofficially shared had sounded divine to him. And it was. It was exactly what they needed to recharge.

Jack walked to the bathroom to find Ianto brushing his teeth with his eyes half-closed. He might fall asleep standing up if he didn’t go to bed soon. His hair was standing up where he’d ran his hand through it and his eyelids were losing the fight with his exhaustion and he looked sleep-soft and rumpled and all Jack wanted to do was walk him to bed and tuck him in, then slip in beside him and hold him through the night.

Jack took his own toothbrush from the glass and brushed his teeth next to him, his arm grazing against Ianto’s as they stood side by side, and Jack couldn’t help the rush of warmth and contentment at the wonderful domesticity of the moment. It had been years since he’d had a moment like this before Ianto. Glancing at the sleepy man on the counter mirror, he realised that possibly, he’d never had a moment like this before Ianto. 

Ianto knew everything about him. Not in the sense of knowing all the details; Jack had lived a long and eventful life, after all, and telling him everything would take more time than they had with their usually full schedule. But he knew all the key elements of what made Jack himself, all the painful secrets he had been forcibly, painfully made aware that he couldn’t trust people with, because they were the kind of thing that would alienate others, making them turn their backs on him, or because then they might be used against him.

(He’d been betrayed so many times.)

(You’d think he’d grow a thicker skin, that the sting of it would dull with time and experience. Not so.)

His thoughts were interrupted by Ianto finishing up and placing a kiss on his shoulder. 

“Come to bed soon,” he slurred sleepily, and just like that all of Jack’s other thoughts were banished, leaving only room for affection for this man.

“I will,” Jack answered after rinsing, and Ianto rewarded his words with a small warm smile before shuffling to the bedroom.

Jack realised he was smiling when he caught sight of his own reflection.

Ianto was already asleep when Jack joined him only a few minutes later. 

He slipped under the covers on what had become his side of the bed, scooting close to feel the warmth Ianto was radiating, and to his surprise Ianto stirred, the two of them rearranging themselves in effortless concert so that Ianto’s chest was pressed flush against Jack’s back, one arm thrown over his side to hold him close against his chest.

Jack felt Ianto’s breath on the back of his neck as he mumbled, “G’night”. Ianto’s feet brushed against his under the covers before stilling again.

“Good night,” Jack said softly, feeling cared for and safe and helplessly in love.

Warm and content as he was in Ianto’s arms, in one of the two beds they’d been sharing for the past several months, it didn’t take long for Jack to doze off.

[foodreceipe]

The 1990s Moments That Changed the Way We Think About Food

By: Anna Hezel Illustrations: Ellie Skrzat

The ’90s were a decade of information, SnackWell’s, and sun-dried tomatoes on everything. Here are eight events that shaped our opinions about cooking and eating.

1. The Launch of the TV Food Network In April of 1993, a young and scrappy Food Network launched with a debut lineup of French chef Jacques Pepin, writer David Rosengarten, Mrs. Fields founder Debbi Fields, and Emeril Lagasse, a little-known Louisiana restaurateur in his mid-30s with only a handful of prior television appearances under his belt.

Dorie Greenspan, who worked at the network during its launch as a consultant and producer, remembers it as a pioneering time in the unexplored realm of food television. On the TASTE Podcast, Greenspan recalled the head of programming at the time saying, “We’re going to make somebody a star, but we don’t know who that person will be.” It swiftly became clear that Emeril was that star.

In addition to the runaway hits, like Essence of Emeril, there were misgivings during the launch. “This was really a startup in every sense of the word,” she told me. “We made some terrible mistakes. We couldn’t figure out a bunch of things. We tried doing a call-in show, which seemed revolutionary. We were learning.”

The only model the network had at the time for programming about cooking was public television—shows like James Beard’s I Love to Eat and Julia Child’s The French Chef. But the move to cable meant a move toward the mainstream. “I don’t think you can underestimate the impact of that,” says Ruth Reichl. “That’s the moment that food really stopped being the provenance of the elites and became part of popular culture. Children watched it and were interested in chefs, and chefs became cool in a way that they hadn’t before.”

2. Fat Is Bad, But Everything Else Is Good At the tail end of the ’80s, a few influential government reports were published, recommending that Americans consume less fat. Americans internalized this as a directive that it was OK to consume as many calories as they wanted, as long as those calories weren’t coming from fat. A zany infomercial nutritionist named Susan Powter encouraged Americans to fill their shopping carts with cereal and low-fat chips, and SnackWell’s were born, promising unlimited amounts of dessert with no health repercussions.

Lay’s launched one of the most famous product missteps in the history of American consumerism. WOW chips, introduced in 1998, promised the same potato chip flavor with only one gram of fat per serving—a feat made possible by frying in a synthetic fat substitute called Olestra. Almost as soon as the chips hit the market, accounts started to pour in of horrible stomach woes caused by the chips. The FDA famously used the phrase “anal leakage” to describe the side effects, leading to one of the grossest and most memorable PR disasters in the history of packaged foods.

3. Sushi Goes Mainstream By the ’90s, sushi had existed in the United States for more than three decades, but this was the moment when it really caught on, especially as Japanese companies opened offices in U.S. cities. “It all started when Sony bought Columbia Pictures in 1989 and the entire West Coast went mad for sushi,” speculates Alan Richman, who was the restaurant critic at GQ at the time.

Everyone started opening sushi restaurants, including Robert DeNiro with a then little-known chef named Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, and in turn, sushi evolved from a rarefied luxury that one could only find in coastal cities to a casual, affordable treat that happened to fit perfectly into the era’s philosophy about nutrition. And then grocery stores started to catch on, stocking their refrigerator cases with plastic trays of California and spicy tuna rolls.

4. The Dawn of Online Recipes When we talk about the kind of rapid globalization that happened in the ’90s, it’s hard to avoid talking about the Internet, which shattered our spatial relationships to one another by making it as easy to talk to someone in Australia as it was to talk to the kid in your social studies class who lived down the street.

As the Internet became woven into our daily lives through services like Prodigy and America Online, it was only a matter of time before this rapidly growing technology became a way to disseminate the recipes and cooking advice that you could previously find only in magazines and cookbooks.

In 1995, Condé Nast launched Epicurious, a forward-thinking database of recipes compiled from some of the company’s food and travel magazines, including Bon Appétit and Gourmet. By the end of the decade, blogging platforms like Blogger and Xanga had emerged, paving the way for a generation of self-publishing food bloggers, like David Lebovitz in 1999, and Heidi Swanson, Pim Techamuanvivit, and Clotilde Dusoulier in the early 2000s.

5. A New Era for Restaurant Critics “I think the ’90s were the great era of restaurants in America,” says Alan Richman. The economy was strong, people had money to spend, and newspapers and magazines had budgets to send their critics to eat out and report on the latest trends in food. Fine-dining stalwarts in New York, like Le Bernardin, Daniel, and Jean-Georges, were thriving. But it was also a time when critics like Robert Sietsema at the Village Voice and Ruth Reichl at The New York Times started to clue diners in to the fact that “eating out” didn’t always have to mean French restaurants with white tablecloths.

“I was interested in talking about the way real people ate,” says Reichl. “I felt like restaurant reviews in The New York Times had been geared to a very small group of wealthy white people. And I thought everybody should go to restaurants.”

When Reichl reviewed her first Korean restaurant, Kang Suh, in 1993, three separate local Korean newspapers from New York reached out to her for interviews. When she wrote about a soba restaurant called Honmura An that same year, it caused a flap among readers who weren’t used to seeing “a little Japanese noodle shop” receive three stars.

6. NAFTA Reshapes California’s Food Landscape In 1994, NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) was signed, formalizing a trade agreement among Canada, Mexico, and the United States. As Tina Vasquez writes, the agreement was greeted with lots of anti-immigrant pushback among Americans. Carlos Salinas de Gortari, the Mexican president at the time, promised Americans that the agreement would reduce migration by stabilizing Mexico’s economy.

Instead, the agreement caused vast unemployment in Mexican industries that struggled with their new competition, leading to one of the largest historic spikes in immigration to the United States from Mexico. This brought a boom of Mexican grocery stores, butchers, restaurants, and other businesses to the U.S., especially in Californian communities like the Bay Area and Los Angeles. Grocery store chains like Chavez Supermarkets, Vallarta Market, and Northgate González are still thriving in these parts of the state.

7. Italian Food Goes Regional In my house, in a suburb of Buffalo, New York, the ’90s was the era when the green Kraft canister of Parmesan cheese in the refrigerator was replaced with a little plastic-wrapped triangle of hard cheese and a hand-crank cheese grater. Starbucks and Olive Garden (which were founded in the ’70s and ’80s, respectively) were starting to make their way into every suburb, and Americans were warming up to the idea of saying “venti” out loud.

Marcella Hazan, Italy’s Julia Child, published The Essentials of Italian Cooking in 1992, and Molto Mario (starring Mario Batali before he had been accused of sexual assault) first aired in 1996. Americans were coming to terms with the fact that Italian food was more than a plate of spaghetti and meatballs—it was a cuisine with discrete regions, like Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna. And of course, every chef and home cook in America started putting sun-dried tomatoes on everything.

8. The Collapse of the Soviet Union Rewrites the World Map When the Soviet Union ended in 1991, the entire world map changed. Countries that hadn’t had a spot on the spinning globe in decades reemerged, and a few altogether new ones were formed. Suddenly, trade opened up between these countries and the rest of the world, spurring a period of wild, unregulated capitalism. Soviet-government-owned food-manufacturing companies started going out of business.

“Everyone wanted pizza, and later in the ’90s sushi, and there was this huge flood of new, very shoddy quality global foods, to which most people didn’t have access because the prices weren’t regulated,” says Anya Von Bremzen, the author of Please to the Table and Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking. “It’s a decade that’s remembered really negatively in that former Soviet bloc.”

The dissolution of the USSR also increased immigration to the U.S. from former Soviet countries. Cuba, which had been a close ally of the Soviet Union, was plunged into an economic depression, during which lack of ingredients lead to a loss of traditional Cuban cuisine.

On a broader level, as Von Bremzen points out, this large-scale globalization was the start of another very ’90s concept: nostalgia for all things regional.

https://www.tastecooking.com/1990s-moments-changed-way-think-food/?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Recipes:   https://www.tastecooking.com/recipes/

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[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #408

“tied to the rat race  /  a big bird in a small cage”

Who, whether a person or company, emails you the most? I really don't check my email enough to even know. If you were given an assignment to draw anything besides stick figures or just doodles, what would you draw? A meerkat of course, ha ha. Do you play the games on MySpace/Facebook? I never did. Well no, I did play "Dragons of Atlantis" when Facebook bought it or whatever, but now that it's a mobile game, I don't play anything on there. When was the last time you were sunburnt? Ha, actually now. It's from riding an hour to and an hour back from the TMS office every weekday; the sun coming in through the window got my arm. Who all do you live with? My mom and my two pets. Has a guy ever let you wear his jacket? Yeah. It was so comforting when Jason gave me his leather jacket to wear if I was cold; it was pretty big on me at that time and just really cozy. Thanks survey, now I feel like crying. :^) How many friends do you have of the opposite sex? Like, one. Do you have bird feeders hanging up outside? What about any hanging plants? No. Does your house have sliding glass doors? No. Was the last food item you ate part of a meal or a snack? A snack. What color is your hair brush? I don't use a brush, but a white comb. Would you rather it be sunny or rainy? I think I prefer sunny for the sake of helping keep my depression at bay, but sometimes I really do enjoy some nice steady rainfall at the window. Who’s the last person that you hugged, not family? I have no idea. What will your next piercing be? Probably getting my nostril re-pierced. How many people have you kissed, that you can HONESTLY say you loved? Two. Can you recall the last time you liked someone a lot? uhhhhhhhhhh now What’s scarier: spiders or worms? Worms gross me out, but a spider is more likely to actually scare me, but at the same time fascinate me. Do you play poker for real money? No. If you were pregnant, how long would you wait to tell the dad? I'd tell him immediately. Would you ever date out of your own race? I have in the past, and I would again. Do you still watch movies intended for children? Yeah. Hell, more than half the time they're better than "grown up" movies. What’s your favorite movie trilogy? Uhhhh does TLK count? ha ha What would you like to take lessons in? German. Whose Facebook password do you have? Just my own. Have you ever been suspended or expelled from school? No. Have you ever crawled through a window? Yes. Are you too forgiving? Yuuuup. Ever have a sleepover with the opposite sex? Well, we were dating. Have you ever gotten someone suspended? No. Have you ever wanted to be a teacher? No. Would you live with someone without marrying them? Yes; I believe you really probably should before getting married so you see if you "fit" as far as household habits and such go. Have you ever wanted to strip naked in front of someone? Yeah no. I'd feel way too awkward. What are you listening to? A John Wolfe video. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital? My mom. Did anyone watch you the last time you kissed someone? I mean possibly, it was a public place, and some people are definitely caught off-guard by seeing two girls kiss. Do either of your parents have any tattoos or piercings? No. Mom wants a tattoo, though, dedicated to all of us kids and her grandkids. Are you desperate for anyone’s approval, in particular? -_- Would you ever stalk a celebrity? Um, no???? You don't stalk ANYBODY. It's a violation of space, privacy, basic respect... Do you have any National Geographic magazines lying around? No. Have you ever been mistaken for the opposite gender? No. Do you use liquid foundation, mousse, or just powder? None. Have you ever picked out a song to listen to on a juke box? Maybe? I don't remember. Have you ever eaten 3 meals from 3 different fast food places in one day? Oh god, I hope not. I don't remember ever having done that. Have you ever ridden in a limo? No. I always wanted to as a kid. Have you ever tried to put a huge puzzle together? Yeah, I have. I used to like to do that with my mom especially. Ever wake up early on Saturdays to go garage sale shopping? Yes, actually. My family used to love to do that. Do you keep magazines by your toilet? No. Ya better just bring your phone. What did you last take a picture of with your camera? On my actual camera, a hydrangea bush. On the camera on my phone, I believe my cat. Are you proud of who you are? Not... really. If you were a waiter/waitress, would you make good tips? Nope. I'm too awkward and I would NEVER write the orders down quickly enough. I write so slow. What are the best kind of Girl Scout cookies? The chocolate and peanut butter ones. If you hit an animal while driving, would you stop to see if it was okay? Well I doubt it's okay, but I would absolutely stop to move it away from the road and sob my eyes out. I'd probably try to find some flowers to rest on it. What's your favorite kind of pasta? Spaghetti. Have you ever played computer solitaire for hours on end? I don't even know how to play solitaire. What's the dumbest thing you've heard of that supposedly causes cancer? Who the hell knows, everything does apparently. If you saw wet cement, would you place your handprint in it? No. Can you honestly tell the difference between DiGiorno and delivery pizza? Absolutely. Do you own a lava lamp? No, but I would looove one. What charity or cause would you donate $1,000 to if possible? Off the top of my head, the Trevor Project. I'd probably research before actually donating, though. What would you say is your greatest strength? I guess that I care a lot about people. What's one food that you find too disgusting to eat? Things like clams, es cargot, sashimi... just ew. What's something that will never bore you? Uhhhh good question. Pizza Hut or Domino's? Domino's, by a long shot. What's something that always, no matter what, makes you laugh? Stupid Vines, lol. Have you ever been in a canoe? No. How many vehicles does your family own? Just one, my mom's. Are you generally afraid of taking risks? Yes. Have you ever caught/swatted a fly in/with your hand? Ew, no. Would you ever dye your hair bubblegum pink? Yeah. What was the last thing to happen that you really weren't expecting? The woman whose wedding I shot TWO YEARS ago finally reaching out to me about buying some pictures. What does it mean when you start eating less? What does it mean when you start eating more? If I'm eating less, odds are I'm extremely serious about losing weight. If I'm eating more than usual, high odds are I'm depressed or bored. Or I'm on my period. What’s the strangest named pet you’ve ever had? Harry Potter, ha ha. He was a guinea pig. What are some defense mechanisms you find yourself using when in an argument with someone? I'm very likely to just metaphorically flee from it because I fear confrontation so much. Do you know if there is anyone who was once important to you that you will never talk to again, even though you could? If I have any say in it, I'm never talking to Colleen again. List the initials of every person you have ever kissed, from first kiss to most recent kiss. (Put “?”s in the place of initials you don’t know.) I'm not listing their last initial, but anyway: J, T, G, S. Does your face break out right before your period? Not "break out," no. I'll just get a pimple or two. What did you dream about last night? All I remember was that it focused on Jason and his late mother. I miss her so much. I hope so much that whatever exists beyond death, she found the peace she was so worthy of. Do you think the United States health care system needs reform? FUCK yes I do. Our health care system is a disgusting fucking nightmare. Who was the last person you cried over? Jason. My PTSD has been doing quite well, but I had an emotional episode recently nonetheless. Do you prefer ceiling fans or fans that stand up on the floor and you plug in? I use both, but I think my preference is ceiling ones. What would you do if your son was at home, crying all alone on the bedroom floor because he’s hungry, and the only way to feed him was to sleep with a man for a little bit of money? Hypothetically, if I had a child, if I'm totally honest, I probably would. I would hate it, but I'm not letting my child starve to death if I can do something about it. Why do you think evolution is true/false? Because there is substantial evidence for it and imo is the most logical theory we've thought up. Some things about it seem kinda far-fetched, but I still have faith in it. I trust scientists and the evolution we see firsthand, such as caterpillars to cocoons, tadpoles to frogs, etc. Who came through for you at a time when you really, really needed it? Colleen. She let me live with her when I was technically homeless. What turned out better than you thought? Good question. What object did you used to, or do you still, keep hidden? My drawings. I've flipped my shit when Mom's found them in the past, even though she went on and on about how "amazing" they were. I don't draw anything "bad" at all, but still, I don't like people seeing my creativity. Who can’t you figure out? My damn self. What are you hoping for? The most recent thing would be hoping Shonda buys a lot, if not all, the wedding photos I took. I desperately want to use the money along with what I have left from Christmas to buy Venus' terrarium and proper supplies all by myself. What’s the best physical object that you kept from a previous relationship? Idk, there's a few things. What is the most socially unacceptable thing that you have no problem with? Maybe women not shaving. Like I couldn't care less. What have you done that you surprised yourself by doing? *shrug* What used to be a secret about you? Hm. Anything that used to be a secret probably still is one. What is the most stalky thing you’ve ever done? Just Facebook digging, and that's not something I've done a lot off. What did you wind up liking that you didn’t want anything to do with at first? The only thing that comes to mind at the moment is something sexual, so let's not go into that. Who do you owe your life that you can never pay back? Mom and Jason have both saved me from what would've been suicide attempts.

[g0ldengubler]

Chapter 10 ~ Strawberry Avalanche

A/N: AAAAAAA hey besties i'm baaaaaack! honestly, i lost all motivation for a couple of months, especially because wattpad is getting censored. i was scared that this story was going to be taken down, but now i've decided to keep going. Thankfully, this series is also on here so if nauseous is taken down on wattpad it will be here safe and sound. Also shortening chapters has been a nice thought. I'm sorry this one sucks i'm kinda rusty and this is more of a filler/catch up, but we're back at it again boizzz! Also, thank you so much for over 900 followers! Really really crazy but i'm so glad you guys are enjoying my fics. And I'm really glad everyone enjoyed lunchtime! I didn't think it would get that much love as I thought that kink wasn't something others would be into so I am planning on writing more one shots with other kinks I have. Things are just about to get good in nauseous...ok anyways i love uuuuuu <3

Category: Angst (??...yeah sure we'll go with that lol)

CW: Talks of cases; talks of murder

Summary: It's time to go back to work, and oh boy are they in for a "treat"

Word Count: 1817

masterlist

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

Every time your alarm rang, you quote Cinderella at it, groggily saying, "Oh, that clock. Old killjoy." You hate waking up early, as sleep was such a beautiful thing in your book. When you were asleep, you were at peace, as if everything that had happened that day whether good or bad just went away. You were free in your dreams, running around like a child in a field of lavender. You had that dream here and there before you met Spencer. When the feelings for him grew over the course of a week, you started getting that dream frequently instead of waking up thinking you didn't dream or remembering a weird one. He would show up as a shadowy figure on the other side of the field and you would run over to it until you woke up once the figure turned around.

After you two made it official, the blur of the figure disappeared and turned into him. You would run as if it was the speed of light towards him, and he would turn around in a lilac colored cardigan, barely hiding the huge grin on his face. Spencer would pick you up around your waist and lift you up as he spun you around. Right before you kissed, however, you woke up. You were into the meaning of dreams, so you thought that at the right time, the kiss would happen.

As you got ready for the day, you couldn't stop thinking about the past month. You remember meeting Spencer and how your heart skipped a beat when your eyes first met in the conference room. You remember getting drunk and high with the team and how your boss was pretty much the life of the party without really meaning to. You laughed to yourself as the thought of Spencer high on edibles at Rossi's came in. He ate a whole brownie before Garcia could give a warning and once it kicked in it was hard not to laugh at his goofiness as he would only talk about Star Trek the whole night. He could've had the whole pot of spaghetti his munchies were so bad.

Garcia crept into your brain again as you got in your car. That night, instead of Spencer coming in to clean you up, it was Garcia.

With a wet washcloth in hand, she stood by the door and saw you on her bed, the laughter and voices echoing down the hall and into the room. You tried to cover yourself but she waved her hand away.

"Sugar cakes, don't worry about it," she said, walking over and sitting in front of you on the side of the bed. In a comforting way, she put a hand on your leg, rubbing it gently, "I'd be mad if it was other people on my bed going at it like rabbits. But you two? I don't seem to feel any steam coming out of my ears."

"Are you sure?" You asked, embarrassed, "I'm so sorry, Garcia."

"I'm just thankful that boy genius got laid."

The two of you laughed as she handed you the cloth. You took it and began cleaning yourself up, trying to clean what fell out onto the bed. Once you were done, Garcia gave you some advil and some water as you gave her the cloth back.

"Are you feeling ok, hun?" She asked as you were sipping on your water.

"Yeah, just a bit sore but nothing I can't handle." You hand her the glass of water back and fixed your pillows so they'd help you sit up.

"Reid is a very kind and respectful guy, Y/N," she said as she softly rubbed your leg, "I've known him since Gideon brought him on the team, I know he wouldn't do anything to hurt you."

"I see that in him," you said, "When he's not ruining me he's a total sweetheart and always open to trying new things if he wants to. He's really special to me, Penelope. I've never met someone like him. He's probably the first guy to want me for everything else, like the sex is just a bonus. Men back home were never like that."

Garcia smiled as she got up, looking down at you before leaning down and kissing the top of your head. "I'm glad you're here, Y/N. You've been the last missing puzzle piece for our team since you first walked in the conference room." Then she left, probably to let you rest.

You were still for a few minutes before you decided to try and get up. Once you were able to stand, you walked slowly out of the bedroom and back to the living room, which felt like it took you years to get to. You saw Spencer sitting on the couch next to Morgan, taking a joint from his hands. You watch as he put it to his lips and inhaled, holding it in for a sec before exhaling a big cloud out. He coughed before taking it back to his lips and took a couple more, handing it over to Jj.

As you parked in the parking garage, you remembered the butterflies you felt when his eyes caught yours. Morgan had got up and helped you walk to the couch, where you lay down with your legs on Spencer's lap. That night was so magical, but now you're back to work, dreading the amount of files that would be piled on your desk.

When you got out of the elevator to the 6th floor, you walked in the bulpin thinking you'd see Spencer at his desk, but your smile faded when you didn't. You looked around the room until you turned all the way around to the conference room, seeing all your friends in the window. You quickly-but calmly-walked up the ramp and into the room with a smile on your face, yet it went away again once you felt the room, seeing all their stern or worried faces.

"Y/L/N," said Hotch, "please take a seat."

"Is everything alright?" You ask as you sit next to Spencer. He locks his arm around yours and takes your hand in his, kissing it, knowing it was a way of his to comfort you.

Hotch was silent for a moment before he spoke. "While we were on our vacation, new cases have come to us. These cases were ones we had already solved, however."

No one spoke as he explained the two copycat cases. One was based from The Fox, a case they solved years ago, but it wasn't exact. The fox was more known for killing big families but this copycat killed small families, ones with only children. The other was one you knew all too well. A few years ago, couples were left in trunks of cars, all cut up and stabbed. You studied this case when it happened, and wrote an outstanding paper on it for class.

"We now have a copycat on our hands. This investigation will be going along while we also work on other cases. If needed, protection will be put for our loved ones. That is all. So far there hasn't been one to go to, but myself and Jj will let you know if one comes in."

With that, we all slowly walked back to your desks. Thankfully, yours was right in front of Spencer's. A part of you felt safe no matter what scenery you were in. But you still felt worried. With not being on the team for much time, you were scared for your friends. Stuff like this was part of the job, but that didn't mean you couldn't be human.

One thing was lingering in your mind the whole day...Was there a deeper connection between the two copycat cases?

~~~

Later that night, you finished your work for the day and headed home. Both you and Spencer felt too tired to do something, so you both went your separate ways. When you got home, you threw your bag and keys to a chair and fell on your couch as your dogs attacked you with love and kisses. Taking your boots off, you took your phone out and looked through your delivery apps to see if anything sounded good, but you didn't feel that hungry as you saw all the delicious options.

Remembering you had some wine on the counter, you got up and poured yourself a glass. You got changed into crewneck sweater and sweatpants that had U of M written all over it. Putting your hair up in a high ponytail, you made your way back to the couch and went through your phone, catching up on text messages from your dad, looking through memes and videos.

After a bit of time has passed, you were on your third glass and were feeling very tipsy. You turned on your speaker and went through your the music on shuffle before stumbling upon a song from high school, Strawberry Avalanche by Owl City. You hadn't listen to it or his music in years, so you decided to keep it on for old times sake. As the song got to the chorus, you felt your tipsy brain taking over, getting up from the couch and dancing along. Your furry friends-as Garcia would say-joined you as you picked up Draco's paws and gently brought him up on his back legs, while Benedict barked and went around in little circles, his eyes never leaving you.

You went to sleep after your dance party, wanting the comfort of your own bed rather than the less comfortable couch. As your children climbed on and settled down, you tried to drift off right away, wanting to go back to your dream, but you couldn't stop thinking about the deeper connection between the two cases. That feeling was bothering you beyond belief, as if it was on the tip of your tongue or right under your nose. 'They're not just copycats,' you thought, 'so then what's the other connection, if there is one?'

You sat up, letting your pillows support your back. You grabbed your notebook from the side table and pen and started writing down what you remembered from what Hotch said. They are copycats from two they have already solved. One in Detroit, the other in their own backyard. It couldn't of been anniversaries because they didn't happen on their exact days, but it could be revenge on the team.

You went deeper into the cases to feel an epiphany run through your whole body. The Fox copy killed smaller families, but the wife was left last. And in the Detroit copy, it was only straight couples and the women were stabbed the most.

This unsub was going after girlfriends and wives.