#because I'm definitely having soup for dinner tonight

[clever-and-unique-name]

Also I'm posting more freely here today because I'm definitely Mildly ill with something which is very annoying because I was JUST knocked on my ass with some miscellaneous illness like a week ago. I STILL HAVE THE CHICKEN SOUP FROM IT.

[neoraso]

end of a day | pwb

a/n: the people ask for wonbin and i provide.. this is basically just pure and never ending sickening fluff when he comes home from a schedule :D warnings: one instance of him calling the reader his gf. i didn't mean for this to happen but gets like 1% suggestive towards the end. literally nothing happens though just a little heated kissing hehet

you had woken up when wonbin did, your ears listening to him rustling around the room getting dressed. after a few minutes he came to your side of the bed, stroking your hair and moving it out of your face before leaning down to kiss your forehead. your eyes fluttered open at this and he looked back with a surprised expression,

"did i wake you up? I'm sorry baby. try to go back to sleep, I'll be back later." he petted your hair once more. before he could back away you reached out to grab his wrist.

"you're not leaving without giving me a goodbye kiss are you?" you said with a pout.

smiling, he leans back down while you strain your neck upwards to meet his mouth.

"i almost didn't want to because then i wouldn't be able to stop" he mumbled against your lips. leaving one more peck he turned to actually leave and chuckled at your whine. "i know baby, i don't want to leave either but i'll try to be back before you know it. maybe you can sleep for the next 14 hours."

"I can sure try." you grumble back. "but hey, good luck today, work hard, i love you."

as he shut the door he turned to peek his head out. "I love you more." he said with a bashful smile before shutting it fully.

looking at the clock it read 6:34 am. yeah, you were definitely going back to sleep.

you woke up a few hours later and decided you had nothing to do but keep up with business since it was your day off. wonbin pretty much never had a day off so when you weren't working, your days were often spent like this; just filling the time until he came back.

it wasn't like you didn't have a life, you had friends of course but your schedules didn't always match up- like today. and so, you were alone. it wasn't bad to be fair, you caught up on emails, cleaned the apartment (mostly), called your mom, yearned for your boyfriend, all in all a productive day.

wonbin had texted you a few times throughout the day when he could.

[7:10] hi baby, wish i was with you

[9:13] getting ready to film this interview, hope i look pretty for you. i think you'll enjoy watching it when it comes out, the mc's are really funny

[13:19] finally done. heading back to the building to practice. love and miss you soooooo much,

it was strange, you had been dating for almost a year but you wondered when would your heart stop fluttering at everything he did. every text, call, every touch, every kiss made you fall in love with him even more and you hoped he felt the same. 

it was getting close to 8pm which seemed like a good time to start dinner. you didn’t cook every night but you knew wonbin liked it when you did. he always worked so hard, it’s the least you could do. you decide on something  simple for tonight, soup and rice and some sides his mom had sent you.

you snapped a quick picture and sent it to him so he knew he had a meal waiting for him at home. 

perfect timing :) we’re about to wrap up. 

can’t wait to see you 

just as you were finishing plating everything for the two of you, you heard a key jangling the door knob, bringing a small smile to your face. you could hear him taking his shoes off and shuffling out of the walkway.

“where is my baby?” he called out.

“in the dining room!” you reply. he makes his way to you as you turn around meeting him halfway for an embrace. ”sorry, i’m sweaty..” he said sheepishly. after you patted his back to assure him it was fine, he held you to him and kissed your hair then pulled away to hold your face and kiss your nose then your lips more times than you could count. between kisses you tried to ask him if he wasn’t hungry, eventually he let go, “yeah actually. it smells so good, i’m starving.” he let you sit first, noticing your bowls were seated next to each other’s , he slyly scooted his chair closer to yours. after a few moments of silence with both of your mouths full, he turned to you. 

“how was your day? what did you get up to?” he said as he reached over to tuck your hair behind your ear. 

blushing, you reply, “well, mostly just waited for you to get back… but i did get some work done.” 

he frowned at this, “i don’t know if i can ever leave again. i missed you so much too.” he softly pinched your cheek and went back to eating. “this is delicious by the way, thank you so much. the guys went to  get food but i wanted to come home as soon as possible. they teased me a lot but it’s ok… i’d take anything for you.” he said the last part so quietly you almost missed it- luckily you didn’t. without making a big deal out of it you softly stroked his back and then his hair (which really was sweaty). 

“i’ll clean this up, you go get in the shower and relax.” you suggested

“can’t you come with me?” he asked with pleading eyes. 

“unfortunately, i already took a shower. but when i’m done with the dishes i’ll come in the bathroom ok?”

he looked back down at his soup and pursed his lips, clearly disappointed. you couldn’t help but laugh at his state. mirroring his earlier action you stroked his hair and tucked the strands that were falling into his eyes behind his ear. “tomorrow we can take a bath and i’ll use that bubble soap you like, does that sound good?”

he had to smile at this. “that sounds good, but i’m holding you to it.”

“i promise. finish your food so you can wash the day away.” 

he obeyed and you both finished your dinner quickly in a comfortable silence. 

he offered to help you with the dishes, but you shooed him away so he could get ready for bed sooner. it didn’t take you long anyway and you made it in time to get some sleeping clothes and a towel to meet him in the bathroom where you heard him singing. 

“what song is that?” you asked him casually, but then heard a bottle of something fall with a loud crash.

“oh my god y/n you scared me!! you move like a ghost, i didn’t even hear you come in!”

“oh my bad!” you said between laughs, you almost felt bad but it was also a little funny.

“it’s our new song though. don’t tell anyone.” he said as he turned the water off

before he got out, you softly told him “of course i won’t, but here, i brought you a towel and some clothes.” you handed him the towel while he was still in the shower and heard him give a small chuckle.

“babe, you’ve seen everything already, don’t act shy now.”

scoffing, you replied, “i was just trying to give you some privacy, sue me!”

he came out with the towel wrapped around his waist and gave you that smile you loved so much, the one that made you feel like your veins were disintegrating. he must’ve noticed your wide eyes that were trying to avoid the extensive amount of his bare skin showing because he laughed again and pulled you in for a kiss. you made a small noise of protest .

“wonbin! you’re all wet!” 

“oh, i didn’t notice” 

“move, we need to brush our teeth.” you said, still avoiding his half naked self.

you both moved to get your toothbrushes, but he took this opportunity of your proximity to slide a hand around your waist and kiss your temple. while you wanted to melt away , you pretended to be annoyed still, not saying anything. he kept a knowing smile on his lips the whole duration of your teeth brushing date in which he also linked your arms causing a very clunky experience, but you let it slide because you really were so weak for him. 

once you finished, you escaped his hold and walked to your bedroom so he could get dressed (he suggested you stay for that too, to which you declined with burning cheeks)

you only had to scroll laying on your bed for about two minutes before wonbin walked through the doorway, still with that grin on his face.

“what is so funny mister?” you asked with tight lips.

he came over to your side of the bed and sat down, carefully avoiding your feet but rested his hand on your calf, lightly squeezing the skin there. “oh nothing. you’re just really cute when you’re flustered. i like being the only one to make you blush. also, since i’m dry now, can i get some love?” he looked like a kicked puppy to where all your fake annoyance dissolved and you sat up to kiss his cheek. he turned his face to yours and whispered “you know that’s not enough.” 

pushing you down he caged you in between his arms, laying the rest of his body weight on you as he lightly rubbed his nose against yours before pressing his lips to you. 

he kissed you until you were breathless, your lips wet and puffy from where he had bitten them. as he leaned in again you put a hand on his chest. 

“wonbin…” you warned.

“don’t worry i’m not trying anything, i’ve just wanted to kiss you all day.”

“wow, this must be your dream come true then.” “this might be the best day of my life. maybe second to when you said you’d be my girlfriend.” he said with another kiss. 

“i would tease you if i wasn’t so in love with you” you retort as he pulls away, now leaving you wanting more. he noticed your pout and smirked “i’m just moving to where i’m not suffocating you.”

“i liked it though?” you admitted. 

“oh?” he replied as he crawled over you to his side, laying close to you with his head propped on one hand. He stroked your cheek with the other hand, brushing your hair away from your face. 

you were caught in the way he looked at you, always with so much adoration. it was obvious to anyone that saw you together (which they often told you) how intense your love seemed just in the way you looked at each other. holding his hand to your cheek he took it as his cue to lean down once more to your face. kissing your lips, your cheek, your forehead, anywhere he could reach. you wrapped your arms around his neck as he pressed his lips to your throat before going back to your lips and finally pulling away with a kiss to your cheek. rolling  just a bit over to where he was almost entirely on top of you, he mumbled into your chest “did i mention i missed you?”

heart swelling you replied, “you may have. are you so tired my baby?” he can only nod and deeply sigh. you almost coo at this and brought your hand to his hair, running the strands through your fingers and lightly massaging his scalp.

“don’t do that.” he grumbles, shocking you.

 “why not ??”

“because i will fall asleep and i want to stay awake and talk to you.”

“oh, well it's late bin, we should sleep anyway hm?”

“don’t wanna”

you resumed playing with his hair anyway and humming a ballad.

“you’re so mean…” he said sleepily, you could hear the tiredness taking over.

“i want to talk to you too but you need your rest. you had a busy day and we have tomorrow morning to be together.”

you only got a whine in response while he tucked his hand under your waist and tangled his legs with yours. 

“love you.” he managed to mutter.

you stretched to turn off the bedside lamp.

“love you more” you reply, hands slowing down in his hair as sleep took you over as well just as you heard him whisper something else.

“impossible.”

[mj-iza-writer]

Whumptober Day 13

Team as Family - Familial Curse - Multiple Whumpees - "Death will do us part" (Set it Off, Partners in Crime.)

Leader glared at his teammates; arms folded over his chest in annoyance.

His team didn't dare look in his eyes.

Leader was ticked, and it was their fault.

Caretaker came down and sat on the couch across from them.

"How is Whumpee?", Leader turned to look at Caretaker. Their face had changed to worry.

"Upset. They don't want to come down. I'm going to take some dinner up to them in about an hour. They said they should be back to normal by then. They don't want anyone else to see them until then", Caretaker sighed, and looked at the other members, "all of you knew they had this. You all screwed up big time tonight."

"We didn't know that's what they would like though", one of them spoke up.

"Yes, and that's when you ask questions, if the mood was right, or at least not make fun of it", Leader turned and looked at them again, "this also tells me that you all don't pay attention to meetings, because I absolutely explained to all of you what happened to Whumpee and what they would like if the curse was triggered."

"You all really hurt their feelings", Caretaker frowned, "we are a family. You can't go doing that. It messes with trust. If we can't trust each other, then we as a team are screwed."

Leader sighed, "Caretaker is right. It is fine not to understand Whumpee's differences. I don't fully understand them myself. That's why we ask questions. If you don't feel comfortable asking Whumpee, then ask Caretaker. They know a lot about Whumpee and this curse thing. If it's something they can't talk about, then they won't."

"We're sorry, we screwed up. We know", another one of them spoke up.

"Yes, I appreciate that, but I am not the one to apologize to", Leader looked at Caretaker.

"They do not want any visitors. I guess you all get to live with the guilt until you can get to Whumpee", Caretaker stood, "if you'll excuse me. I'm going to go make their dinner. I'm thinking grilled cheese and tomato soup. It's one of their favorites. Something comforting since their team... their family has jokes."

"Let me know if you need anything", Leader frowned.

"Can do", Caretaker made their way out of the room.

"Just as Caretaker said. None of you bothers Whumpee until they are ready. I want you to work hard on your apologies as well. None of this half done apology crap you all pull when you screw up on missions. You're dismissed."

Leader wandered into the kitchen just in time for the blender to go off.

Caretaker looked up at them and grinned.

"Pulling out all the stops?", Leader smiled, "it's smells amazing."

"Tomato soup always tastes better when it's made fresh. I had everything I needed to make a scratch made tomato soup, so I thought Whumpee would enjoy it. A little pick me up", Caretaker watched as another member walked in.

"It smells so good. Is this what we are having for dinner?", the teammate backed away when they caught Leader's eyes.

"I'm only making enough for myself, Whumpee, and Leader, if they want some. The rest of you will fend for yourselves tonight. All of you are adults, yes", Caretaker frowned, "though after the childish behavior earlier... I'm starting to wonder."

"You both have been really cold today", the teammate turned.

"Whumpee is currently crying. They are sprawled across their bed... crying..... because of all of you", Caretaker frowned, "the way I see it, you all could use a little coldness. You've gotten too comfortable saying things without thinking. I hope you all enjoy your dinner tonight."

After the teammate left, Leader turned to look at Caretaker. A huge grin across their face.

"I will definitely take some of that soup", Leader commented, "and a sandwich. You said Whumpee wanted grilled cheese? I can help make it."

"I appreciate that, but I'll make Whumpee's for them. They can be picky when they're upset. If you feel up to it, you can make yours and mine though", Caretaker smiled.

"I'll do that", Leader nodded.

Leader followed Caretaker up the stairs.

"Whumpee, I have grilled cheese and soup. Freshly made. Leader is here with me. Can we come in and talk with you", Caretaker leaned an ear on the door.

"Yes", a weak reply came from the room.

Caretaker opened the door and let Leader come in with the tray.

"I see some of it has died down", Caretaker commented as they studied Whumpee.

"Yes, some of it won't go away", Whumpee frowned as they looked over themself, "I'm about to take a cheese grater and scrape it off."

"No you won't. I will not let you. More work for me if you're bleeding", Caretaker sighed as they watched Leader set down the tray in front of Whumpee, "Whumpee it will go down in time. You have to let it run its course though."

"It will only come back again", Whumpee sighed, "I'm a walking freak."

"No you're not", Leader spoke up, "Whumpee, I know this is hard for you. What was said and joked about earlier was uncalled for. You're not a freak."

"Leader look at me", Whumpee bared their arms to show them off, "this doesn't happen to normal people."

"You're not normal. That's perfectly fine. I'm not normal either for different reasons", Leader sat down beside Whumpee, "I've never wanted to be normal", Leader pulled up their sleeves, "I may not have some curse handed down from generation to generation, but I come from a long line of leaders. My scars match those of my father's and grandmother's."

Whumpee looked up wide eyed after looking at the scars that lined Leader's arms.

"At the end of the day, mine will not disappear either. I wouldn't want them to. It's part of who I am. Your markings that come out every once in a while are part of you. I hope one day you might be able to at least be okay with them. You don't have to like them, but just to accept them."

Whumpee looked down and saw the markings on their arms were gone, "I'm sorry Leader... and Caretaker."

"There's nothing to be sorry about", Leader smiled, "how everyone acted earlier was uncalled for, and I will make sure they apologize properly."

Caretaker smiled as they looked at Whumpee, "I hope you know how loved you truly are amongst our team. Even if the others have a bad way of showing it. You are so important to this team."

"Thankyou", Whumpee's eyes sparkled.

"You're welcome", Caretaker sighed, "now all of that hard work to make your dinner, and it's getting cold. Which means Leader's and mine are also getting cold in the kitchen."

"Sorry", Whumpee giggled, "can I eat with you two?"

"Yes", Leader looked around for a seat.

"We can go down stairs... I feel better", Whumpee smiled.

Caretaker and Leader watched Whumpee start to eat before they, too, started their meals.

"Are you dipping your sandwich in your soup?" Leader watched Whumpee as they ate.

"Yes... You've never done that with your grilled cheese?", Whumpee looked at them worriedly.

"Leader grew up amongst soldiers... they didn't get to learn to play with food", Caretaker smiled as they dipped their sandwich, "try it Leader, you'll probably love it."

Leader looked at the sandwich they had already started to eat, then at the bowl of soup. They plungedbthe sandwiches into the soup.

Caretaker and Whumpee watched as Leader took a big bite of the soup covered sandwich and watched their face light up.

"That's incredible", Leader grinned, and went for another bite.

"Healing childhood traumas one day at a time", Caretaker grinned as they watched Leader and Whumpee eat the meal gleefully.

Leader looked up with a sparkle in their eyes, "this is amazing. Why haven't I been told this before?"

"I never thought about it. Plus, you never sit down long enough to eat", Caretaker smirked.

Leader smiled, "that might change. Especially if this is the meal."

"I finally found you're comfort meal", Caretaker watched them get the other half of the sandwich, "easy enough."

Leader nodded, "thankyou."

"Thankyou", Whumpee repeated.

"You're both welcome", Caretaker nodded, 'my little trauma holders', Caretaker frowned internally. I'll take care of you both and make sure you heal. I swear it.'

"Are you okay?", Leader looked at Caretaker worriedly now.

Caretaker realized the frown came out on their face.

"I'm fine, just had some thoughts", Caretaker smiled again, "it's alright though. Let's eat."

Leader and Whumpee nodded, and returned to happily enjoying their meals.

'I love you both.... so much', Caretaker thought to themself again, 'so much.'

Taglist. As always please let me know if you want to be added or taken off of the list. It's not a problem at all.

@villainsandheroes @the-beasts-have-arrived

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@notpeppermint @cyborg0109

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@deafeninglittlecrown @jumpywhumpywriter

[eponymous-rose]

It's another busy week, so I'm gonna do one of these again because it genuinely helps me keep track. Today in a nutshell!

Worked on some e-mails over breakfast - mostly coordinating for dinner tonight (I 100% did not forget to make the reservation, I promise, I just uhhhhhhhhhhh definitely didn't forget, that's for sure, and thank goodness for no particular reason that they happened to have one table left at 6PM), happily agreeing to write some reference letters for my PhD student's postdoc applications, rescheduling some meetings, setting new meetings, meetings meetings meetings. Oh, and booking tables for a couple of card shows this month! Off to work!

I get in a little later than I'd like and rush downstairs to the lounge to make my mug of tea pre-class, where I run into a student who just defended his PhD last week. I'm on his reading committee, so we agree to set up a time to go over my (honestly quite minor) comments on his dissertation. I also run into our incredible facilities guy, who follows up on some technical issues my students ran into over the weekend, hopefully resolved - I have five groups of three undergraduate students running their own weather stations all across the metro area of our city!

No time to enjoy the tea, so I leave it to steep a hilariously long time and rush back downstairs to teach my class! This year's students are truly exceptional - apparently over the weekend they all discovered that the Mac version of the data collection software for their weather stations is no longer supported, and they all independently coordinated to get PCs into the hands of all 5 groups. Let me tell you, when you're expecting to have to spend the first 20 minutes of the class troubleshooting and are instead greeted by a quiet, expectant two rows of faces, it's a great feeling.

Today's lecture is a topic I'm really passionate about - teaching students the "why" behind a lot of the statistical methods they've learned in the past (these are college seniors) and working on building a pipeline for exploratory data analysis. This isn't explicitly part of the syllabus, but my gosh, the quality of the final reports has improved sharply once I introduced these lectures. The students participated a bunch and happily launched into think-pair-share groups without my having to coordinate them. This is my sixth time teaching this class, and these students are far and away the best I've encountered. I am also very, very bad with names (and have a lot of anxiety about calling someone by the wrong name) but managed to successfully use an example in class in which I rattled off four students' names in a row, no effort needed. Phew.

As a side note, this has always been far and away my least-favorite class to teach, and this was the year I was gonna change that - I brought it to a curriculum development workshop last year and even presented on it at an education conference last week. But... dang, having strong students truly makes it effortless to enjoy teaching this class.

Back to my office, which smells like the double-spiced chai that has been steeping so long it's probably quadruple-spiced by now. Delicious. I have an hour until my next commitment, so I try to get ahead on grading the homework assignment my students handed in on Friday (all 15 of them handed it in on time!!!!). I also realize that this is my last block of free time until dinner, so I run downstairs to heat up my soup for lunch.

After getting through four of the assignments, it's time for a weather briefing (we have a team for a national forecasting competition), which means it's mostly just time for technical difficulties, but we make it through in the end and wrap up a bit early - back to grading! Students are doing great on this assignment overall, which is gratifying, but I make a note of a topic some of them are struggling on so I can mention it during Wednesday's class.

Weekly hour-long meeting with one of my Master's students! He talked about how he's taking a course on pedagogy to help with his work as a teaching assistant this quarter (!!) and he's been working through my first round of revisions of his very first first-author scientific journal article and had a few clarifying questions. I recommended some off-the-wall papers in the communications literature that I think would dovetail well with some of the discussion in his paper, and he was really jazzed to get to explore those. We also decided to get him set up with a million core-hours on a supercomputer so he can start on the next phase of his research - he promised to have the paper ready for the next set of revisions by the end of the week, so while I'm working on that, he can get familiar with the new system. I am also reminded that I really need to come up with some more substantial funding for him - currently he's working on a fellowship, but that runs out after three years.

After he heads out (a few minutes early, more grading time!) I get an e-mail from a scientist in Switzerland - she and I are working on getting her out here for a two-year postdoc job studying lightning with me. She's made revisions on her application for funding, so that's another thing for me to read over this week. I'm also reminded that I have to get back to an Italian grad student who wants to come visit my group for a year. Still figuring out the logistics on that one...

I also need to get back to a forestry service colleague of mine about getting the university my share of the funds for our fast-approaching field work using brand-new radar tech to study wildfire smoke plumes. I really, really need to get back to him this week - I think we're planning on flying out in April to start.

ALSO also this week, I have some pretty intense revisions of my own to deal with - I've been given this opportunity to write a huge review article, and I finally got it done back in December... only to learn that they want it to be about half that length. I'm going to take a swing at carving 5,000 words out of that behemoth.

AND a colleague and I are working on a resubmission of a grant to study thunderstorms in really unusual places, and I promised her I'd have a complete draft for her to read by the 7th. Phew. Good thing my week is only front-loaded with meetings.

Whoops, no more time to grade/read e-mails and schedule in my head. We have someone here today interviewing for a job on our faculty, and I'm one of the search committee members! Better dash downstairs to catch the candidate's talk. We have five two-day interviews planned for the next four weeks. Ouch.

Awesome talk by the candidate (we're very lucky to be spoiled for choice even in our very specialized field - we've whittled 86 qualified candidates down to five), and I launch straight from that into a student's PhD entrance exam. At this stage I should mention how much I genuinely loathe our PhD entrance exam, which is a pedagogical and logistical nightmare all around. This was a very popular opinion, which is why we as the faculty voted unanimously to completely change the process last year. Why are there students still taking this horrible exam???? Fuck if I know, man. At this point, it's voluntary to opt into it, and I am baffled and deeply frustrated at how many faculty members apparently encouraged their students to take it. Anyway, the student does a great job and we muddle through somehow, and now it's back up to my office to do some cramming on small-talk topics before a colleague and I host the faculty candidate for dinner!

A delightful dinner all around - my colleague is someone I was initially intimidated by (she's a giant in the field) but with whom I have since bonded, so we had some fun banter in the car and I think it helped the job candidate relax a little. We had some fun big-picture talk (and some less-fun big picture talk about news that dropped as we were eating) but mostly just talked about how much we love this part of the world. Good food, drink, and conversation. On the car ride home, I managed to troubleshoot a problem my undergrad research assistant was having with getting access to the supercomputer he needs for his project. Phew.

That's a long day, but good stuff all around!

[kabillieu]

For dinner tonight I made this dumpling soup. We've had a giant box of Costco dumplings in our freezer for several months, and no one was doing anything about it.

I used chicken broth and added garlic and ginger to the recipe, and though I added chili crisp at the end, next time I think I'll use sambal oelek instead because I like it better. Not sure I would make this for dinner again because it didn't strike me as quite hearty enough, but I do think it's a great idea for a quick lunch if I have dumplings and spinach on hand.

To make it kid friendly I also made rice because if they won't eat anything else both of my boys will eat white rice with soy sauce. I don't know how to say this without sounding kind of racist, but their Asian-ness definitely comes through when it comes to rice. We are turning into a house that offers a rice option at many, bordering most meals, which is not something I could have fathomed growing up, eating the blandest, soggiest minute rice known to man. But Dominic grew up eating properly cooked rice at most meals, and that's beginning to happen here as well.

To further make it kid (and honestly Kate) friendly, Dominic also pan fried some lumpia, which we had with mango sweet chili sauce. Dominic buys big bags of frozen lumpia at the commissary on base, and it's delicious every time.

Anyway, I get unreasonably nervous trying new recipes on my family. A lot of it is undue pressure I put on myself to make things that every single member of my family will eat and enjoy, and that is just a stupid and unattainable goal. So I'm trying to just follow my own palate and desires more, while simultaneously trying to offer sides like rice and pasta or even leftovers that I know my kids will enjoy. I also have to stop thinking I will ever make Dominic something that he will like more than a panfried pork chop with white rice and no vegetables. He is never going to like something better than that! Except adobo. But he eats everything I cook, so I just need to cook things that I want to eat and stop thinking about these people I live with. They can get in line or go hungry!

(Also, Dominic liked this soup very much, so what even is my problem.)

[misscongeniality18]

me vs my millions of ideas…peter sutherland x reader best friends fo lovers inspired by fallin for you by colbie caillat <3

Why, of course, my lovely! Enjoy!

Fallin' For You - Peter Sutherland

Synopsis ! You and Peter are best friends, and you've decided to tell him that you're in love with him. Pairing ! Peter Sutherland x Reader Genres ! Friends-to-lovers, fluff Warnings ! Nothing other than kissing, let me know if I missed something Word Count - 866

" I've been spending all my time Just thinking about ya I don't know what to do I think I'm fallin' for you "

Masterlist Request Guide

As you stood next to Peter at the New Year’s Eve party, you tried very hard not to look at him. You failed, of course. Peter was your best friend, but that wasn’t the reason why you were continuously stealing glances at him.

Over the course of your friendship, from meeting at the coffee shop just a few blocks from your apartment building to celebrating holidays together because neither of you had family in the area—like tonight, with Cisco hosting the party to celebrate the coming new year—you had gone from thinking of Peter as a friend to wanting so much more than that.

You never thought you’d fall for him, but in the past few months, you’d done nothing but think of him. God, you couldn’t stop. Peter occupied your mind as you drove to work, as you cooked dinner, and hell, even as you fell asleep.

This onslaught of intrusive thoughts started perhaps a few weeks after the metro bombing, and for a few reasons. First, Peter had called you, not his fiancée, when he was in the hospital after the accident. That one had puzzled you. Zoe was at home, and you were at work. Maybe it was because you were employed at a hospital, but he still called you first.

Second, Zoe left him not long after the bombing. Packed up her bags and went back to Texas. You had thought she was a nice enough girl, but her leaving didn’t bother you in the slightest, and that was when you realized your feelings for Peter.

Lastly, Peter was always there for you, physically and figuratively. If he didn’t feel like driving all the way to his apartment after a shift, he’d cut out five minutes of his drive and crash at your place. If you were sick, he’d come over with soup and your favorite movies. If you had car trouble, Peter would show up with whatever tools he had and try to fix the problem even though he was definitely not a mechanic.

Peter was a person you’d never had in your life before, and that made you want him even more than you already did.

You wanted to tell him how you felt, how you he was always on your mind, how you had fallen for him hard.

How much you loved him.

You were a coward though, completely pathetic. One minute, you were ready to declare your feelings with no doubts in your mind, and the next, you had your tail between your legs as you ran away. There was never a right time, but as you stood there next to him on New Year’s Eve, you figured that now was a good a time as any.

Your heart pounded in your chest as the clock showed 11:59pm. “Peter,” you called as people around you started to count down.

Peter turned to you, putting a glass of champagne into your hands. “What’s up?”

“I have something to tell you.”

Forty-five.

A worried look flashed across Peter’s eyes, and you laughed, pressing a hand to your chest. “Oh, no. It’s nothing bad. Well, at least I hope not.”

Forty.

“I just wanted to say…God, I don’t even know how I want to say this.”

Thirty-five.

Peter furrowed his brow. “You definitely have me concerned now.”

“You’re my best friend, Peter.”

Thirty.

“You’re my best friend, too,” he replied, a soft smile curling at his lips.

You swallowed, biting your lip. “I don’t…”

Twenty-five.

“I don’t think I want to be friends anymore,” you breathed, wiping the sweat off your palms. Had someone turned up the heat?

Twenty.

Peter, no longer concerned, was filled with confusion. “What do you mean? Did I do something to make you angry?”

Fifteen.

“No,” you insisted, waving your free hand in the air. “No, you did nothing wrong. It’s just…”

Ten.

“I’ve fallen for you, Peter. I don’t want to be friends anymore because I want to be something more.”

Five.

Peter stared at you as the crowd of people began counting down. “You what?”

“I love you, Peter.”

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!” Everyone exclaimed, except for you and Peter.

You didn’t shout in celebration because you were lowering your head in embarrassment, but Peter’s reason was because he hooked a hand around your waist and pulled you in for a kiss.

When his lips touched yours, you gasped in surprise, and Peter took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. He was soft and gentle and tasted of champagne and mint. The cheers around you disappeared into nothing as you and Peter began the new year in each other’s embrace.

Peter pulled away, the cheers dying down, and looked into your eyes, a mischievous gleam sparkling in his own. “We must think alike,” he said.

“Why?”

He grinned, setting butterflies loose in your stomach. “Because I had planned to tell you that I love you, too, only after midnight.”

“I guess you were too late,” you replied teasingly.

Peter shook his head, tugging you towards him again. “Better late than never,” he mumbled as he kissed you again, Cisco hollering in delight at his two friends finally getting together.

It may be a little short, but it's full of fluffy goodness.

[flatbstanley]

From the personal website of Taylor Santoro (taylorgrace.com):

Welcome back to my Thursday Evenings series! Today we'll be spending the evening with Sara Scott. She and her husband Simon have two boys, Robbie (10) and Nicholas (6).

The Scotts moved to Henford-on-Bagley about eleven years ago, where they run a local pub called the Gnome's Arms. I'm always on the lookout for moms who can combine running a business and raising a family, and I hope you'll enjoy this peek into Sara's life as much as I did!

Sara and Simon have a team of employees who help keep the pub running, but they're both on-site every afternoon. Sara is the friendly face behind the bar — try her Bagley Berry Fizz if you're ever in the area! Simon's main duties are bookkeeping and managing inventory, but he also helps out in the kitchen when they need an extra pair of hands. Tonight's menu: Aubergine parmesan, beef wellington, and a delicious butternut squash soup!

How did Simon prepare these delicious meals? With Schmapple appliances, of course! This is your very last chance to get a discount on all your cooking needs—visit their website and use code TAYLOR for 5% off today!

The boys arrive at the Gnome's Arms at about 4:30. Robbie takes horseback riding lessons at a local farm, while Nicholas is rehearsing for the school play.

Because Henford is such a close community, Sara feels confident letting her boys roam through town on their own. Robbie stopped by the grocery stand for a last-minute snack, while Nicholas got some homework help from a local highschooler. "I think it's important for my children to develop independence and confidence," says Sara. "We are so lucky to live in a place where they can explore safely."

Like many families, the Scotts make time for a family dinner — but theirs takes place at the pub! "We need to be present during the evening rush, but dinner is an important time for us to connect with the boys. We have a table that we consider 'ours' so we can spend that time with them while being on hand if our employees need us."

After dinner, Simon headed home with the boys to take care of some evening chores. While the Scotts don't own a large farm like many Henford families, they raise a few crops in their backyard and even have a flock of chickens! Robbie and Nicholas take turns feeding them and gathering the eggs. "Responsibility is another important value for us," says Sara. "Chickens and crops need attention every day whether you feel like it or not!"

Sara stayed a bit later than usual at the pub, but she made a point of being home by 9 pm to kiss the boys good night and put them to bed. "The pub will still be standing in fifteen years. But they'll only be six and ten for a little while, and I want to savor it!"

That's definitely a lesson that this mama will be taking away! Join me next time for another Thursday evening!

@.sara.loves.gnomes: Thank you so much for these sweet pictures and for spending the evening with us!!!

@.inkspirations: <3 <3 <3

@.tradwife56: Now this is the kind of content I'd like to see more of! What a Godly woman, raising her own food and teaching her boys some wonderful traditional values!!!!

(A/N: Not gonna lie, it was nice to take a break from Justin’s nonsense and spend some time with the very wholesome Scotts!)

[moiravim]

The Sacrifice Chapter 10

•bucky x yn

•zombie apocalypse AU

One year later

I dust my hands off, swiping the sweat off my forehand from the sweltering heat of the sun beating down on Bucky and I. We had just finished building our house together.

Today marks the day of our one year anniversary. We are planning on cooking a nice dinner and spending the rest of the day together.

Bucky walks up to me and says "Are you ready for dinner tonight? Who's cooking, Darling?" I respond "I'm cooking because you can't cook for shit."

He laughs before telling me; "I'm gonna go and and look for some stuff for later, I'll be back."

I smile and nod before walking away to start dinner.

I grab the bow Bucky and I have been using to hunt for our meals as I think about what I'm going to make us.

I could make soup in honor of when we first met. But after knowing Bucky for this long, I've learned he doesn't necessarily like soup.

I walk into the woods will be fun most of the animals we use for food. Then the correct choice seems clear to me.

Rabbit. The food he tried to make for me the day we came here. Obviously I wouldn't burn it. I laugh thinking back at the memory before going deeper onto the trail, looking for the small animals.

I find a large rabbit and prepare my bow. I smile and accomplishment as I shoot it on my first try. I hear rustling coming from the bushes as I hold my bow up, expecting more rabbit.

I immediately dropped my weapon as I see a small kitten crawl out of the bush. Where has she come from?

The kitten crawls up and lays down next to me, resting its head on my shoe. I gush at how cute the cat is, before picking it up.

"There's no way Bucky could say no to keeping you.. your just too cute!!" I whisper to the small creature.

I grabbed the dead rabbit and my bow before walking out with the kitten. I just know Bucky will love her.

I put the rabbit in the kitchen and threw my boo onto the counter before rushing into our bedroom with the cat. The kitten nuzzles its head into the blankets and rolls around.

I smile before I go and find some food for the cat. I find some raw chicken Bucky and I for saving. Mash it up so it's easier for the cat to eat.

I leave the cat alone and leave the window open in case she wants to leave. I go back out to look for more rabbit and some vegetables to use as a side.

By the time I am finishing the food Bucky is back And he sets up the table for us. I bring out the food and he immediately smiles at me.

"Rabbit" he says as he smirks. "Yep just more proof of how much better I am at cooking than you." I laugh out.

He nods and let's have a small laugh, before trying the food. "I'll be right back" I say before I go into the bedroom to see if the cat is still there.

She is. Her tail wags as she runs up and leaves through the door. She goes straight to the dining room and jumps onto Bucky's lap.

"Bucky! I'm so sorry, I found her outside and I couldn't just leave her there.." I say as I watch the cat cuddle in to Bucky. He smiles and gently pets the cat.

"It's okay sweetheart... Does she have a name?" He asks, still smiling. The cat seems as happy as he does. I smile at the sight.

"No...she doesn't. You can name her" I say as I watch the cat snuggle him. "Alpine. She's definitely an Alpine." He says as I giggle. "Alpine?" I jokingly question him.

"Yes. Alpine. She's so precious" He says as he adores the cat.

I sit in the seat across from Bucky and begin to eat my plate of food. "You're so beautiful" He genuinely tells me as his smile grows. He looks at me while he happily eats his food.

"I love you." I tell him as I finish my food. He pushes his plate to the side before reaching over to grab my hands.

"I got you a gift." He responds. He pulls out a present, wrapped in a red towel.

I lift the fabric up and peek in to see an axe. It looks homemade, but it's beautiful. It has flowers and engraved into it.

I lean over the small table and pull him into a kiss. But he picks up the small cat and lays it down comfortably on the couch before coming back over to me.

SMUT WARNING!!!

He walks up to me and pulls me into him, interlocking our lips. Our lips fall into sync as we stumble towards the bedroom, practically ripping eachothers clothes off.

He fumbles with the door nob trying to open it without breaking our kiss. When he finally gets the door open, he lays me down on the bed, breaking the kiss slightly so we can breathe.

Heavy breathing fills the atmosphere, and before I know it, his lips are on mine again. He nibbles on my bottom lip as he pushes me deeper into the mattress.

He continues to kiss me as he takes my shirt off. He breaks the kiss, but only for a moment to rip the shirt off before dipping back in hungrily.

He moves his hand to her back to clip off my bra. He stops fiddling with my bra, looking into my eyes before asking, "Do you want this, baby?"

I look up at him and nodded neededly. He continues to bore into my eyes. "use your words," he says sternly. I break the eye contact and mumble, "Yes, I want this... I want you..." He smirks slightly. "Good."

He immediately puts his hands back on my back to take off my bra. He unclips it and carelessly tosses it to the side.

He trails his eyes down to my breasts, admiring them. I begin to feel conscious of his eyes on me and quickly cover myself up.

He grabs my hands and pulls them away from my body and utters, "You don't have to cover yourself. You're too pretty for that."

I feel my face heat up and I go to look away, but his hands grab my chin and force me to look at him. Before I even get the chance to speak, he's pulls me into another heated kiss.

Our hands begin to roam each other's body, getting tangled with one another. I move my hands to the bottom of his shirt and start to pull up on it, initiating that I want it off.

He takes the lead and pulls his shirt off, breaking our kiss for a second before quickly smashing our lips back together.

His hands trail to my boobs, grabbing them slightly before gripping them harder, causing me to moan into the kiss. He parts our lips only for them to move down to my neck, kissing different parts of it, then sucking on it.

I whimper out as I feel him continue to move down until his mouth latches onto my breast, tongue swirling around my nipple. As he sucks on one, his hands are still gripping my other boob.

Bucky goes to pull my pants down but before he can, I push him back onto the bed and start to unbutton his pants. His eyes fill with shock for a moment and then fill right back up with lust.

He helps me pull down his pants and then his boxers. Right when they're pulled down, his dick springs up, already dripping with pre-cum. I position myself between his legs. 

I lower my head, staring directly into his eyes as I spit onto his shaft. I take my hand and pump his dick a few times before I open my mouth and latch onto his tip. I swirl my tongue around as I continue to rub his shaft.

Bucky's head is thrown back in pleasure as he lets out a low groan. I look up at him, then tearing my eyes away from his face and back to his dick.

I remove my mouth from his dick for a moment. I immediately put my mouth back, but this time he is fully in my mouth.

 I bob my head up and down, saliva pooling in the corners of my mouth. Tears start to fill my eyes and Bucky reaches his hand onto my scalp, interlocking his hand into my hair. 

With each bob of my head, he grips my hair harder. "Fuck y/n, just like that... I'm so close." He moans as he thrusts into my mouth, chasing his release.

With one final thrust, he cums into my mouth. I look him in the eyes as I swallow his seed. "Good girl." He says, looking into my eyes.

Bucky pulls me close to him and switches spots with me. He pushes me down into the mattress. He trails kisses from my neck all the way to my stomach. He pulls my pants down, leaving me in nothing but my underwear.

He tears his eyes away from mine and looks at my pussy, dripping with aerosol. He places the pad of his thumb on my clit, applying a little bit of pressure, causing me to clamp my legs shut.

Bucky forces my legs back open, tearing my underwear off and placed a soft kiss on your clit. I bite my bottom lip, anticipating the pleasure awaiting. I feel him place the pad of his tongue on my whole pussy, making sure to lick it all before sucking on my clit.

I throw my head back in pleasure, moaning his name "Bucky... oh fuck." I tangle my hands in his hair, grasping for something to hold on to. Bucky grabs my hand and intertwines our fingers.

Bucky continues to lick and suck on my clit. I pull on his hair, causing him to groan, sending vibrations into my pussy. Bucky sees my movements are getting more desperate, practically grinding on his face.

He takes 2 of his fingers and pushes them in. "Oh my God Bucky, don't stop. I'm so close." I whimper out. The feeling of him fingering me while sucking on my clit causes me to release, riding out my high by grinding on his face.

Bucky pulls away from my pussy, eyes still full of lust as he brings me into a kiss. I taste myself on my tongue, pulling him closer to me to deepen the kiss. 

I pull Bucky on top of me, grinding into whatever body part of him I can feel. He pulls away from the kiss, looking me in the eyes. I can tell by looking at him he's asking if I'm sure. I rapidly nod, making sure he knows I want this.

He lines up with my entrance, pushing himself inside, causing us both to let out a moan. He slowly starts to move in and out and eventually starts to pick up the pace. 

The only sounds filling the room was the sound of moaning and skin slapping skin. "Bucky" I moan out his name. He continues to thrust into you. His thrusts getting faster and sloppier as time goes on.

"I'm close. Fuck y/n." He whimpers, face burying into your neck, filling it with sloppy kisses. 

I feel myself getting hot. My release comes fast and Bucky exits me with one final thrust, cumming onto my stomach.

Bucky rolls over next to me, both of us trying to catch our breath. After my breathing finally settles, I look over to Bucky to see that he's already looking at me.

I turn on my side, so I can completely face him, and so does he. As we look into each other's eyes, I go to say something, but Bucky beats me to it. "I love you, y/n." I smile slightly and say, "I love you, Bucky." Bucky grabs me, pulling me into his arms to fall asleep together.

[casspurrjoybell-33]

Wreckless - Call me, darling

*Warning Adult Content*

Emmett Locke didn't expect the knock on his door so soon and when Finnegan Walker walked through the door, he knew something was wrong.

"Are you okay?"

He was wet but it was more than that, he just looked absolutely drained.

"Take off your jacket at least," he suggested when he got no response.

Finnegan heard his words and they were all perfectly reasonable but the weight of the day had settled on his shoulders and he couldn't seem to form a response except for...

"I should go."

For a million reasons, number one being that he wasn't going to be any sort of company tonight and if he was going to go into the office tomorrow and make anything happen, he needed to recharge, somehow.

"I don't think you should," Emmett said, slipping his hands underneath Finnegan's lapels and pushing his wool suit jacket over his shoulders.

He placed it gently over the back of the chair and still, Finnegan hadn't moved at all.

"What's wrong?"

Emmett's voice was comforting and melodic and his eyes showed nothing but concern. Finnegan had wanted to crumple at least three times during the afternoon but had stayed strong. This time he did.

"Everything," he sighed, his eyes downcast.

"Have you eaten?" Emmett asked.

He had obviously just come from work, his tie wasn't even loosened yet.

"I... no. There were bagels in the break room for lunch but that's it."

Emmett was surprised by that, didn't the vice president have someone to handle that for him?

"I can order you something or I might have leftovers in the fridge. I'm sure I have a can of soup in here somewhere and I always have frozen pizza."

At the word 'pizza' Finnegan perked up a bit.

"Pizza sounds really good."

It wasn't exactly a healthy dinner like his parents preferred but sometimes you just need what sounds good. Tonight definitely qualified.

"I'll order the good stuff if you're that excited. What do you want on it?"

"Anything is fine."

Because it was... he would just pick off anything he didn't like.

"Help me out here, Finnegan. Supreme? Veggie? Mountains of cheese?"

He was too mentally exhausted to not be honest for once.

"I like plain cheese but I'll eat anything."

He watched Emmett turn and grab his cell-phone was still standing next to the door when he returned. Emmett gave him a look but he wasn't sure exactly what it meant and then he slowly reached out, gently unfastening his tie and sliding it from underneath his collar. Expensive silk, no doubt. He placed it with Finnegan's jacket.

"Would you like to get out of the monkey suit? I can loan you some sweats."

He watched as Finnegan's eyes darted towards his couch and the fuzzy blanket laying across it.

"Just a t-shirt would be great. I'm fine in my boxers, unless it'll bother you."

Emmett decided he couldn't possibly be serious. What about that could possibly bother him?

"I'll be right back. Sit down and get out of those shoes. They're making my feet hurt just looking at them."

His shoes were comfortable but the belt he was more than ready to lose and his starched shirt came in a close second. He wasn't sure what to do about his socks. His feet were always cold but dress socks and boxers were a definite violation of the sock gap rule. He took them off and tucked them into his shoes and was just shimmying out of his pants when Emmett returned, handing him a boring t-shirt. It was better than nothing. Emmett certainly hadn't expected hot pink boxers with ice cream cones on them but given Finnegan's mood, he didn't think it was the right time to make a joke about them.

"I don't think it's ever taken me that long to pick a t-shirt before, Finnagan. I wasn't sure if I should bring out something that I liked, something well-worn and loved or if it should be like new because that would gross you out. We don't know each other well enough to share clothes yet. I hope this one works."

He was a little bit startled by Emmett sharing his insecurity so freely.

"It'll work but I like fun."

That shouldn't have surprised him. Why did he have this mental image in his head of Finnegan being so straight-laced when his tattoos and everything he was learning about the man so far, seemed to point in a totally different direction?

"Next time then."

He watched as Finnegan pulled on the shirt and curled up on the couch, tucking his feet up onto the cushion before pulling the blanket over himself. He picked up the remote and handed it to Finnegan because it was more than obvious that he didn't want to talk.

"Feel free. Find whatever you'd like."

"Thanks Emmett. I'm sorry for ruining your evening."

That wouldn't do... Emmett felt around to make sure he wasn't going to squash Finnegan's feet and then set on the end of the couch.

"I was going to watch TV and play with my ferret, you're not ruining any grand plans."

Finnegan couldn't help but smirk.

"Play with my ferret sounds really dirty, Emmett."

It did, he couldn't deny it.

"Lucky for you I already did it," he teased.

"Or unlucky," Finnegan sassed right back.

"Is this a smart TV?"

He looked at the remote to try to figure it out but it was a different set up than the one in his apartment.

"Wait... this one?" he asked, pressing the menu button.

"Yep, what are you looking for?"

"YouTube."

Finnegan found it quickly but when the search screen came up, he paused.

"Do you hate cartoons?"

What kind of question was that?

"No. I don't love them madly but what cartoons do you mean? I mean there's like South Park and the Simpsons which are very different from Dora the Explorer."

Finnegan was saved from answering by a sharp knock on its front door. He couldn't believe the pizza was here already but he could smell it from the couch and Emmett had a huge box in his hands. He wanted to offer to help but since he was pant-less he stayed exactly where he was... besides, it was chilly. He waited until Emmett closed the door and then followed him into the kitchen.

"Can I help?"

He needed to remember to drop a twenty dollars on the table before he left since his wallet was in his pants.

"Yeah. Eat something and talk if you want to darling, tell me why everything is wrong. If you don't want to talk, that's fine too. I'm going to steal a piece of your pizza."

He got a plate out for Finnegan but didn't bother getting himself one, just held the heavy slice with two hands.

"Sometimes toppings are overrated."

Finnegan almost answered with a dirty comeback about topping but he was too busy shoving pizza into his face. When he finally did speak it was only to moan.

"This is so good."

"It's literally a block and a half away. Tiny little hole in the wall but so, so good."

After his second piece Finnegan leaned back in the chair and wiped his hands off.

"Not everything sucks but work is a disaster right now. I've spent four months and three million getting ready for Monday and today it all went to shit. Plus, Megan is out because her kid's sick which makes everything twice as hard. I really don't know what I'm going to do."

Emmett barely knew the basics about what Finnegan did and certainly couldn't be of any help.

"I'm sorry. I would help if I could."

But he was.

"This helps. I had to get out of the office but for some reason I just couldn't face going home. I guess because I thought that if I went home then I would eat and go to sleep and it would be tomorrow already. That doesn't make sense, does it?"

"Makes perfect sense to me, routine can really get you down after a while."

The monotony of the Army had nearly driven him crazy on more than one occasion.

"You asked me about cartoons, what do you want to watch?"

He had several favorites but not all of them were available on YouTube and he wasn't sure how much he wanted to try to get away with tonight.

"Have you ever seen Space Ghost? Coast to coast," he added.

"I have, what's that evil dude's name? The praying mantis?"

Finnegan laughed.

"Zorak."

"Yeah and the other dude who sings the funny songs. Bric?"

"Brak," Finnegan corrected, laughing.

His songs are the best.

"I love beans, is a classic."

"A dude in my platoon loved that show, used to play it at night."

He struggled, trying to hum the song in his head that he couldn't quite remember.

"Wait, the days song. How does it go?"

"What day is it? Let's find it, I love that one."

"I can't believe I forgot," Emmett lamented.

"The days used to blur together in the desert and every time someone asked what time it was or what day it was, Phillips would break into song. Sometimes under his breath in formation. Even when we couldn't hear him, you knew he was doing it and people used to get in trouble for snickering and laughing all the damn time. He was funny."

While Finnegan played with the YouTube app, Emmett pulled the cushions off the back of the couch and laid down on his side.

"You've gotta share the blanket."

Finnegan glanced back once he found the right video. He had never snuggled on the couch with someone while watching cartoons but it seemed perfect. He did his best to get comfy and then whispered...

"Are you okay back there?"

"I'm good darling, relax."

So he did. For the next hour they went through video after video, laughing and snorting and generally enjoying themselves. He loved when Emmett's arm came down to wrap around his chest and snuggled in.

"Your couch is perfect. The one in my apartment is so hard."

"I like my couch too. Even more with you on it," Emmett answered.

Finnegan yawned so wide that his eyes watered.

"It's getting late," he whined, not wanting to go.

"It is," Emmett agreed, wondering if he should offer.

But hey, why not? Who ever turned down a blow job? The question was, how?

"Finnegan?"

"Yeah?"

"I know this is awkward but I'm more than happy to help you out tonight if it would help you relax, if you get my drift."

Finnegan understood right away but then second-guessed himself, replaying Emmett's words in his head.

"What are you offering?"

"A blow job or a hand job if you prefer. I thought it might make you feel better."

It would, of course. Even more than that, it was really thoughtful.

"I... I mean how can I say no?"

Without it being awkward he found himself on his back, Emmett above him and slowly sliding down towards his waist. He gripped his bicep, halting him, then pulled him down for a kiss.

"I've never gotten a BJ from someone with facial hair. Should I be nervous?"

"No one has ever complained."

Not that there had been many. He wondered briefly if Finnegan might be pierced because it was just something that this complicated man might do but no, he had a perfectly nice circumcised cock and was trimmed neatly.

"Nice," he murmured, teasing Finnegan with his tongue before taking him into his mouth.

He didn't waste time, simply did his best to make Finnegan feel good. He thanked his lucky stars that Finnegan was vocal and responsive and used the gorgeous noises coming out of his mouth to help get him off.

"Jesus Emmett, that was so good," Finnegan half gasped, still catching his breath.

"Your turn?"

He couldn't remember the last time he had turned down an offer but he knew how rough Finnegan's day had been and it really was getting late, considering that he still had to drive home.

"I'll take a rain check. It's getting late."

Hopefully he could cash it in soon. Finnegan didn't argue, just sat up and started pulling on his pants.

"You know what they say about guys who don't have sex on the first date?"

Emmett could only shrug.

"They say they have tiny dicks."

Emmett's eyes widened.

"Is that so?"

He followed Finnegan to the door and kissed him hard, grinding himself against Finnegan's hip.

"Does that feel tiny to you?"

"No, no," he replied, grinning.

"Feels pretty damn perfect but I just needed to check."

He casually reached down and palmed Emmett through his pants.

"Perfect. I'm glad you're not a racehorse either."

"Nothing porn worthy in there, no."

"Good. I was a little bit of a slut in college but isn't everyone? Anyway, went out with a guy and he kept bragging about the great time I was going to have. Yes, he was creep. Anyway, long story short, you know what having a ginormous dick got him? A blow job, Emmett, a blow job. I had things to do the next day, like walk."

Emmett had covered his mouth with his hand about halfway through that story and at the end all he could do was laugh.

"You crack me up, Finnegan."

"Good. Thanks for tonight... for everything."

He walked Finnegan to his car, holding onto the door as he climbed inside.

"You're welcome. Drive safe, darling."

It wasn't the first time Emmett had called him that but it seemed to be slipping out more and more frequently.

He'd never really liked pet names but...

"You know what, Emmett? I think I like you calling me that."

"Good. Text me when you're home, please."

"I will. Good night Emmett."

[timeoverload]

I can't believe I made it through the whole day so I'm proud of myself for that. I think I got 3 hours of sleep last night. I'm not sure how I still have energy right now. I have felt sort of drunk all day from the medication and sleep deprivation. I'm definitely not going to stay up as late as I did last night.

I'm a little frustrated because I didn't have eye cases in the afternoon so I had to do a decontam shift again. I wish they would just give me a break from that because they know it hurts me. The morning team lead makes the schedule and she knows I have problems doing that. It feels like she is trying to punish me. She puts me in there so she can just sit around and so she doesn't have to do her shift. I try to be so nice to her and help her with a lot of stuff but it doesn't matter and I know she doesn't like me even though she pretends to. When it was time for me to do my shift, she told me there was a table back in decontam and she was laughing about it. I have to do it again tomorrow but at least I get to leave after I get done with that. I'm glad I don't have to stay as late as I normally do. I'm also glad I'm not planning on going in on Wednesday and Thursday. She will probably end up having to do my job and it's going to be super busy but I don't feel bad for her after how she has been treating me. I need to take care of myself and I don't care what she thinks.

My back is getting really bad again from all of the lifting I've been doing. I wish that the injection that I got would have made it better but I guess I knew it was only a temporary fix. I really want to get another one soon because it did help me a lot with my mobility for a while. I don't think my annular tear is ever going to heal and I think I'm going to need surgery in the future if it continues to get worse. I know my doctor told me to try not to wear my brace anymore but I had to get it back out. I have been feeling like I can't hold myself up again. I will wear it tomorrow because I know it will help. I also found out today that there are 3 other people in my department who have gotten back injuries lately. It makes me sad because I know how much it sucks. I don't know a lot of details because no one has been open about that. I'm not going to ask anyone about it unless they mention it. I understand that they want to have their privacy and I respect that. I just hope that they aren't struggling as much as I am and that they can heal.

I took a shower when I got home and I had a hard time doing that. I felt a little better after I got done and sat down though. I'm mostly ready for bed now. I haven't eaten dinner yet but I'm planning on having a big bowl of soup later because my stomach is upset and nothing else sounds good right now. I'm afraid to take my lamotrigine again tonight because of how I felt all day but I know I will get used to it soon. I'm refraining from taking my ativan again because I don't think I can handle it at the moment. I am anxious but I don't want to be a zombie tomorrow.

I hope I feel better tomorrow. I'm going to do my best to make it a good day. I'm looking forward to my appointment after work because I know that will make me happy. I'm excited to see my favorite person and all of my friends.

💖💖💖💖💖💖

[ofviolentdeath]

"That can be a hard feeling to come by. I know at least one of my kiddos struggle with that one." She wasn't going to say which one or ones, but she also knew it was more than one. Bells nodded as she listened, letting Reed process his own thoughts without judgment. He had a good head on his shoulders and, sometimes, a person just needed their thoughts validated. "Makes sense that you're feeling so worn out. You've been dealing with a lot in a relatively short span of time. If I knew, well, anything about your dad, I would be more than happy to share that information, but I honestly never met him. I know Britt and Lyri knew him pretty well, but definitely not in the same ways his parents did, so I can understand completely why you'd be seeking that connection out. I think it's a good idea and you're also allowed to change your mind at any time." It was important that he understood no choices he made needed to be final and that he would have support no matter his choice. "I think we're doing soup for dinner tonight. Chicken noodle from scratch. I'm not cooking it because no one needs food poisoning."

"It's the only time I've felt like I belong somewhere." Even if people kept telling him he belonged right where he was, that they wanted him around, nothing felt the same as it did when he was with Finn. The fact that Bells could relate and understood what he was talking about was nice. Even better that she didn't dismiss his feelings about her brother. "He made the offer shortly after we met the first time but told me it was open ended and I didn't have to make a decision right away but he asked a couple more times after he saw my place." It was very small and cramped and Reed didn't own much at all - he knew his grandfather was concerned. "At first I didn't know if I could trust him but I realize I was wrong about that. Lately I've just been so tired. He's also one of the few people who will talk about my dad, what he remembers anyway. I think it would be a good place for me. I want to know what it would have been like growing up with the people I was meant to grow up with. I think staying with Felix is my best chance at getting a glimpse of that." He sighed, feeling like he'd just let out a lot when really all he'd done was say 'yes.' "... Then I should probably stay. Finn's not gonna complain."

[drarrily-we-row-along]

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Part 6)

December 6: Mug

Draco should have known that Harry would come down with a cold after spending all of that time hanging lights out in the cold and rain. His mother had always told him not to go out in that weather, that people got sick in that sort of drizzly chill.

He hadn't believed her, of course, it seemed like something that mothers told their children when they couldn't bear the thought of them getting all wet and chilled to the bone. But there must be some truth to it, Draco thought, as he watched Harry blow his nose for what had to be the fiftieth time today because Harry was definitely sick.

"It's that big tree lighting celebration tonight, right?" Harry asked when he'd finished closing the register, heedless to what Draco was thinking.

"Sorry?" he asked, taken a bit off guard by Harry thinking he was going to go anywhere except straight to bed.

He sniffled, "The tree lighting thing," he elaborated. "The one you said you go to every year over at the old-"

"No," he said firmly. "We're not going to go stand around outside so you can get sicker. You are going straight home and getting in bed."

Harry's nose wrinkled, "Don't be silly," he scoffed.

"Harry," he said with a frown, "you are going home and getting in bed. You need to sleep. Or else we'll end up missing the concert this weekend and they're playing The Nutcracker," he added.

"Fine," Harry conceded with a huff, which confirmed to Draco that Harry was in fact sick and desperately in need of some sleep, he was never this compliant. "But you should still go."

He closed his eyes for a moment, he did love the tree lighting ceremony, he loved the moment when everything turned from dark to light, when Christmas cheer lit up the night sky. "I don't know," he said, "It-"

"Either you go or I am taking you," Harry said resolutely. "You love the tree lighting and you shouldn't miss it just because-"

(Read more below the cut)

"Alright, alright," he interrupted. "I'll go. As long as you promise to go home and rest."

"Promise," he replied as he called Helmi to him, hissing softly for her to come.

"I'll see you tomorrow, I guess," Draco said.

Harry gave him a tired little smile, "see you tomorrow."

And Draco had every intention of keeping his word. He'd intended to go to see the trees light up, to hear the children cheering, and sip a cup of hot chocolate. But then he'd walked past a Chinese restaurant and glanced in the window in time to see some egg drop soup being ladled into a styrofoam container.

He looked at the soup and all thoughts of lights on trees were forgotten, instead he opened the door and went inside to order some food.

-----------

Twenty minutes later, he showed up on Harry's doorstep, ringing the bell and hoping he wasn't waking the other man up.

It took a few minutes, but Harry appeared, wrapped up in a blanket, mug of tea held securely in his hands. "Draco," he said in surprise when he opened the door.

"I brought dinner," he offered. "Have you eaten?" he asked as he started to make his way inside.

"You're supposed to be watching the tree."

"Yes, well," he said, clearing his throat, "this seemed more important."

"But you love the lights," Harry said, "You-"

"Yes, I know," he huffed, waving Harry off, "But when I'm sick, I love to have someone who will look after me."

Harry was silent as Draco unpacked the food on the living room table but then he finally said, "Why would you do all this for me?"

"What?" Draco asked as he finished taking the food out of the bag.

"Why are you doing this?" he repeated. "You're missing something you love, giving up your time and energy, to be here, sitting in my living room when I'm too sick to even think straight."

He looked over at him and in this moment, with his curly hair up in a messy bun, blanket around his shoulders, and cup still wrapped in his hands, he looked unbearably young. And Draco had the sudden epiphany that no one had ever done this for him before. No one had ever taken care of him when he was sick, no one had brought him food or encouraged him to rest. And his heart shattered. "Because you deserve to have someone look after you the way you look after everyone else."

Harry didn't respond and Draco let him process while he dipped food for both of them.

"Come on," he said, patting the sofa. "Come eat."

He sat down and took a tentative taste of the soup. "Do you want to finish The Muppet Christmas Carol with me? he asked.

"I've no idea what that is," Draco replied, "But I accept."

"You've never seen Muppet Christmas Carol?" he asked incredulously. "Well, I guess we'll just have to start at the beginning."

And if Harry fell asleep half way through the movie, with his head on Draco's shoulder, well, Draco didn't think it would hurt anything to finish the movie and enjoy the quiet time together.

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

Day 5 | Day 7

[one-sad-human]

•I Love You• Nikki Sixx

Pairing: Nikki Sixx x Reader

Requested: Yup! By @dannasixxworld

Theme: Hurt/comfort

Warnings: Language, sexual references, panicking(?)

Word Count: 1.3k

A/N: Enjoy! I’m feeling more inspired to write so I hope I can continue getting fics out as quickly as I been

     "Get ready, baby. We're going out for dinner tonight," was what Nikki had told you. It's unusual to be disappointed when your boyfriend asks you to get dinner with him, especially when you had been dating him for over six months now.

     But the truth is you were just that. Not because you didn't want to be with him, it wasn't that at all. You felt like you struck gold since you'd been with him.

     It was the people surrounding him that bothered you. The paparazzi that followed him to the end of the Earth, the flirty waitress that would surly jump to take his order before even looking at you, and especially the women that would harass you just for being with Nikki.

     They had been worse lately, maybe because they figured out you weren't some one time thing but a lasting partner, he hadn't had many of those. Everyone he'd been with so far were just groupies or models with big boobs and little brains.

     But now, he had you. Which to him was the best, a total step up, but to women who think he'd rather be with them, you were absolutely nothing. They're awful and do anything they can to hurt you— whether it'd be shoving you while in the crowd at a Mötley concert, or saying hurtful things to you while just walking down the street.

     And you don't doubt they'd find you at whatever restaurant Nikki plans to take you to. They always did, you're convinced they have trained pigeons that report back to them or something.

     "Sure, Nik. Sounds great," you say with a strained smile. Nikki frowns and his brows twinge upward.

     "Is it? You seem nervous, you ok?"

     "Yup! I'm good, just excited." Nikki nods, watching your expression for another minute before pecking your cheek and turning away. Your false smile drops and you begin to dread tonight.

You dressed up nicely for dinner. You’ve been avoiding going out to busy places to avoid viscous women, so you figured you’d take the chance to dress up. It’s been a while since you had.

The car ride there is calm and happy, filled with good music and more than a few flirty comments from Nikki— he never seemed to stop it with those. He sends his smirks and soft eyes that are reserved to only you. It makes you realize that Nikki was worth all the drama and stupid shit you had to put up with.

Nikki had reserved a table near the window. He always done it specially for you, he knew you liked to see the view, even if it was just cars driving by.

“This place is nice,” you say.

“Isn’t it?” He says. “I got to piss, lets see if the bathrooms are as nice.”

“Quite the charmer you are,” you say with a deadpanned look. Nikki laughs, blowing you a playful kiss before getting up and walking towards the restroom.

You take a look at the menu while he’s gone. Too engrossed trying to find the cheapest thing on the menu— because you wouldn’t be caught dead making your boyfriend buy you a twenty dollar bowl of soup— you don’t notice a group of three girls sit at a nearby table.

“That can’t be Nikki’s partner— look at them,” one of them says. You try to ignore the rude comment and hide behind your menu a little more.

“I know but I guess he’s, like, super in love with them,” another says with a shrug. “At least that’s what he keeps saying in those interviews.”

“No way,” the last one says, scoffing and rolling her eyes. “It’s Nikki Sixx, maybe they’re just a good fuck or something? They definitely aren’t good on the eyes, so I don’t know what he sees in them.”

They all share a glance at you before giggling and making a few more comments. Your face is hot and you feel your hands being to tingle and break out in a cold sweat. Your ears clog and you can’t hear them anymore, but you can tell they’re still talking about you.

Your eyes prick with tears and your chest feels heavy. You can’t breath, your chest seizes with panic and the walls close in, it’s too loud but at the same time, you can’t hear anything at all and God— what the hell takes Nikki so long to pee?

You can’t take it anymore and stand so fast you feel lightheaded before booking it for the door. You must look crazy but you don’t care, you need fresh air. You stumble to the curb ay the side of the restaurant before sitting down, putting your head in your hands and desperately trying to calm down.

There aren’t people there, the only sound of talking coming from inside the busy restaurant. The rain from earlier left a chill mist in the air that cooled your face down.

You peak up to look through the window in time to see Nikki looking around while standing next to your now abandoned table. He looks out the window and meets your eyes, you meekly wave a hand but it trembles enough for Nikki to notice immediately.

He rushes out like you did moments prior. He briskly walks to you before sitting next to you on the curb. It’s wet but he doesn’t seem to mind. He watches you with those soft green eyes and waits for you to talk first.

“Sorry I left, there were girls talking about me and I guess I freaked out a little,” you say quietly. “I panicked and overreacted, I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing,” Nikki says, rubbing a hand softly on your back. “You didn’t overreact, you left instead of causing a scene. I think that’s pretty damn strong of you.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think so,” you say with a self deprecating scoff. “I think I started crying like some weak baby because some mean girls made fun of me.”

“Don’t say that, you aren’t a baby and you most certainly aren’t weak,” he says with a stern tone. “I know you’ve been bothered by fans a lot lately, but I didn’t think you were taking it this hard. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you just said it— they’re your fans. You love your fans, Nik, I don’t want to turn you against them.”

“Of course I love my fans, but fuck, Y/N, I love you a hell of a lot more.” Your eyes widen and your lips part in surprise. He never told you that before.

“Seriously?” You ask, nearly pinching yourself just to see if this moment was real. “You love me?” Nikki nods, vulnerability hidden behind a wall he tries— and fails— to hold up.

You smile before smashing your lips to his. He melts into the kiss, pulling you closer and closer until you’re in his lap. One hand’s callused fingers comb through your hair, the other pressed firmly on your hip, holding you almost like he’s scared you’ll disappear.

You hope the girls in the restaurant can see. You hope they’re brimming with jealousy that you’re the one who gets to hold him and kiss him and take him home with you. It’s petty but you don’t care one bit.

You pull away after a while, taking a moment to catch your breath. Nikki’s forehead rests against yours, his breath tinged with the smell of cigarettes blowing softly against your face.

“Incase I wasn’t clear, I love you, too,” you say teasingly, a smile on your face.

“I got the memo, thank you,” Nikki says and places a kiss to the corner of your mouth. “What would you say to going home and ordering takeout? We could stay up and watch a few movies?”

“I’d say that I love you again.”

[shions-new-blog-of-stuff]

"50 Reasons to Share a Bed"

(1) Because you're sick. [General Audiences, Sick Episode Fic, Fluff/Comfort] @squashfics @whateverthefuckyouwantiguess @lottathoughts @allen-444 @cilantro24 @likesugarandcyanide @residentdreamy [Featuring: Leon and Catherine (OC)] Leon disappeared downstairs for a while to prepare another meal for Catherine--soup, juice, and meds. Catherine rolled onto her side, watching the rain fall, breathing heavily. This cold or flu, whichever it was, had been weighing her down for days. Half of her still felt guilty--even after how Leon said he didn't mind. But even then, it was his vacation and given his profession he could very easily called in for some important mission.

Yet that other half was glad he was here, taking care of her. She didn't get company as much as she would want, and with grandpa gone, the house felt…lonely? Empty?

The click and groans of the doorknob being turned and the door opening snapped Catherine out of her thoughts. Rolling over, she saw that Leon had changed into his sleepwear, and holding a tray with a fresh bowl of soup, a cup of cranberry-grape juice filled almost to the brim, and little packs of cold medicine. Catherine could faintly smell the aroma of the soup--it was definitely Grandpa's vegetable soup. She sat up, smiling, feeling happy that Grandpa's cookbooks were being used by someone else other than her.

"Dinner's ready," Leon said with a smirk, setting the tray in Catherine's lap.

It was then she saw another bowl of the same soup, and a smaller glass of water. Leon took the extra bowl, and nodded.

Catherine took her bowl, slowly starting to eat. "So…is my kitchen on fire?" After several spoonfuls, she giggled.

"No it's not," Leon replied, tilting his head.

She looked down at the bowl, and then Leon's face.

"…I…really appreciate this. But--"

Leon raised a hand. "No, no buts, Cath. Don't worry, I have a month."

"Aren't you worried about…?"

Leon swallowed a spoonful of soup. "Leaving? Well, it's happened before. Can't really predict if they need me. Focus on getting better."

Catherine hummed and returned to eating. She briefly gazed out the window. The rain just wouldn't stop--raining cats and dogs as the saying goes.

Leon collected the empty bowls and utensils and went downstairs to clean them. An hour passed and he glanced at the clock--it was already 9 at night. The news droned on the TV, with flood warnings and such. He shut the TV off and returned to Catherine's room.

She was asleep, lying on her side and clutching her pillow tight. Closer inspection revealed her shivering, despite the layers of blankets and hot water bottle tucked between them.

Leon carefully climbed into bed, wrapping his arms around Catherine's back and shoulders, holding her close. She hummed and whimpered in her sleep. Her eyes fluttered open, and her heart almost popped out of her chest at the sight.

"(yawn) Leon…um…you know you're in my bed, right?"

"Yes." Leon replied without missing a beat.

"Aaaand…your guest room is just down the hall?"

"Yes."

As much as she didn't want to admit it, Leon felt so much better than that hot water bottle. And his heartbeat--it was downright soothing, reminding her of that night in the castle, in which he had carried her to that storage room.

"…So, why?"

"Because you're sick, Cath. And I'm here for you. I'm not going anywhere."

The sounds of rain, Leon's heartbeat, and his warmth all combined to cause Catherine to drift off into a more peaceful sleep. Leon soon followed suit.

Maybe tonight will be one without nightmares.

[blackvahana]

Oh that wasn't what this was about! I'm just thinking about getting more food because I'm fucking hungry. No, today I wanna get some - dropped a chopstick weirdly, Lev's hungry - Chinese food for Lev which. my god. I keep thinking I'm insane. I keep getting my hands on things so easily and I keep asking questions of..... of Who Cares Anyway Food Talk. Flock and other manifestations go out on my behalf to bargain and barter for local goods. What am I exchanging?? Oh who knows. I may or may not be using my marvellously convincing charisma and beautiful peacock aura to worm my way into things (translation: I forgot to add a translation here)

Anyway. Waiting to get judged by Lev. I have a very... Specific Type Of Chinese Immigrant In Australia palette for Chinese food, I would kill a man for fried lap xuong and. uh. anyway. Lev was definitely almost curious as to what cuisines I'd pick from and where I'd go to get him food but he knows lmfao he knows. Our minds our bound, he can read me

Anyway. Got him some kind of bao, steamed them, some kind of basic broth-y soup with thick seaweed in it. God. Looking ta those bao like a fucking hungry dog watching their family eat. God I fucking love bao

Anyway no. 2. Dinner for me is more of something I made the other day, a lot of Indian spices. Let's see if I can get the ingredients across: Tamarind,..... already failed. it's not turmeric or cumin - actually might be a form of turmeric. saffron real fresh. another kind of paste but it's a mix of spices and kinda like harissa colour, these cool AF earthy tuber root veg that have this gorgeous again earthy taste but like... Like a mix between the heavy earthy taste of a baked potato with a real strong taste, minus the taste of the potato itself, plus like parsnip or carrot sweetness (less sweet than carrot, but that genuine sweetness) and a sort of. Idk they're soft when cooked I love them. Those, some specific spices that transcend more physical ingredients like this one that just kinda is the warmth of spice without a taste, it's an energy spice, another that has the sky inside it which... I'm not sure if that was.... seen by the people who grew it but you know. I obsess over communion through autophagy. A third one just had a really nice sparkly (like the stars, not like fireworks) energy-taste. Then I was using two sea creatures that are local - nope, self, I was using two different ones, the vivid vision of putting squid in there was the Mira just now talking lmfao -

Oh my god and I got good quality jasmine tea from China too, I fully expect that that'll "disappear" before tonight's over

- but yeah. The fish... These cool ghostly ethereal white flesh fish, literally ethereal they're semi invisible and. glowing? Glowing in the way that blue rings on blue ringed octopuses "glow", except it's literally over laying reality. Reallllyyyy tasty. They have a mostly empty/watery absence of taste on the middle of the palette which makes them really good for absorbing front-loading spices, and then this gorgeous baked white fish type taste on the outside that almost spikes you? Is almost ending in a sharp taste? But isn't, it's so good. Then there was this specific type of shallow water seaweed that absolutely got lost because I did not find it in the shallows lmfao. Very mild, very vegetably in the way that it's. a vegetable. Its like boiled string beans in the way that it's mostly just Taste, not really strong in any one flavour zone but reallllyyyy good when you treat it right. I sautéed it in butter and a few spices before adding it to the mix, a big stewpot, which cooked out some of the moisture making it thick and rubbery and wet and allowing more flavour to seep in

There were a couple elements I wasn't too excessive with? Sorta like adding bay leaves, you can taste a difference but it's subtle because it's supposed to be subtle. There were these popping seaweed things that had a nice peppery kick - or. maybe that was a different thing, but these popped into this slimy texture which I was hoping would slide down like okra but I didn't really give them enough room to show what they could do. Chucked in some earthy minerals too that I'd scrounge together, adding interesting flavours but I went easy on them too because I'm not... too confident on my feet yet. What else...

I don't remember. Gorgeous fish curry though. The fish held together better than I thought it would without being tough! Flaky but not dissolving into the stew, though to be fair, I know how to cook fish lmfao. It was served with this gorrrgeoussss coloured rice, it reminded me of that rainbow corn except more muted colours and less colours all together, but it was... so tasty. I love wild rice mixed in with basmati on the physical and was craving something better than that? Oh yeah. Oh so good. So rich in the rice taste but with like sweetness in some pieces and just. like. adding good vegetable taste experience to the dish. You know when you eat vegetables well seasoned and really well cooked? That experience of earthiness without bitterness, richness without burying natural tastes with spices, and those gorgeous hues and tones of different kinds of flavours... Yeah that's the good vegetable taste experience

Anyway. I have been staring into thin air and also at my husband for this entire post I should probably. stop that. and get back to working with the Mira

"look what I stole": guy who absolutely actually paid legitimately for the thing

"I borrowed this": guy who cannot and should not be trusted

[foster-the-world]

Stomach Bug

Kid germs = everybody's germs. I'm sick with the stomach bug baby boy just got over. Not the worse timing as I don't have clinical for a couple of weeks. I am missing a girl's dinner tonight :(

We still don't know when we get to adopt baby boy but if nothing changes we assume it will be sometime late this year. Which means we need to come up with a middle name. The name we were originally told turned out to be his father's name. We stuck with it because 1. it's very cute 2. it seemed to fit him by then and 3. we really didn't like the name his Father chose. Actually the Dad's name is DeXXXX = with XXX being what we call him. His Mom told us she was going to call him something else. The birth certificate says "Baby Boy Mom's last name." We are thinking of using the name his Mom chose as his middle name. It goes well together and we don't have anything we are married to. I'd like to give him an option if at some point he decides he wants to go by the name his Mother would have given him. We mostly believe in keeping the names the parents chose but I don't feel bad about not using the name his Father chose. I think we are allowed to like the name that our son has. Plus, he still has a connection to his Father's name.

I asked my husband to make me French Onion soup for Vday. He makes the best French Onion soup. I can eat it for meal after meal after meal. i got him a Travelzoo deal for a six course japanese meal at a small place. It's a treat for me, also.

A few months into Covid the grocery store one block from us closed down because it was bought by the Lidl chain. Two years later it is finally going to open again. I can't wait. I was reading the comments on Lidl's Instagram account. People are so pissed it took so long. One comment said "you left our small community as a food desert for two years." This is a hilarious take on the situation. A Manhattan NYC neighborhood is not exactly a "small community." We have another grocery store three streets down so we also don't fit the food desert definition. That being said I am spoiled and prefer the one block walk to the four block walk.