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resowrites · 1 year ago

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Growing Pains - oneshot.

Summary: Henry does his best to reassure his pregnant wife about her changing body…

Pairings: AU!Henry Cavill x Wife!OC

Warnings: fluff, banter/British humour, language, dialogue heavy, nondescript OC body type/appearance, some talk of body image issues, hastily written/lightly proofread.

WC: 1320

A/N: My work must not be copied, reposted, or translated elsewhere. Likes, follows, reblogs and comments are thoroughly welcome and appreciated! Gifs/pics not my own. I hope you all enjoy and thanks for visiting!

Growing Pains - oneshot.

"Are these scales broken?" Her voice echoed from the bathroom, causing Henry to look up from the book he was reading.

"No, why?"

"It says I've gained three pounds!"

"… So?"

"What do you mean 'so?'" He blinked, unsure of the correct response.

"Well… you're pregnant. Surely you expected to start gaining a bit of weight?" Her mouth dropped open.

"Three pounds is hardly a 'bit' of weight, I'm not even out of the first trimester!" She harrumphed and began stepping on and off the scale.

"Careful, you'll break them."

"Why, cos now I've gotten so fat?!" She snapped.

"Okay, this is obviously gunna be a long one," Henry muttered as he temporarily closed his book.

"What was that?"

"Nothing! Ollie, I don't know what you expect me to say, just try turning them on and off again." She began fiddling with the underside of the scales, though a much deeper frown appeared on her face.

"Now it says 'error,' oh God, am I so big I've busted them?"

"No, now come to bed."

"What happened to the manual scales you had?"

"I dunno, all we've got is the kitchen scales--"

"And how am I expected to use them?!"

"Well, I suppose you could always weigh yourself bit by bit and then add up the numbers?" He could see her nostrils flare. "Or I could fill the bath to the brim and measure the volume of water spilled--"

"Carry on matey and I will drown you in that bloody bathtub!"

"See? You don't want my ideas you just want to mean. Well, I'll bid you goodnight, madam." Henry then turned over to go to sleep.

"Oh no you don't!" She ripped back the bed covers.

"You know those scales probably are broken, you must have burned a good two hundred calories just this last half an hour having a go at me--"

"Oh shut up!"

"Why?! All I've done is try and help you!"

"No, you haven't, you've just been a little turd as per usual."

"Well then stop being ridiculous and come to bed, you look fine."

"Just fine?!" He sighed.

"Ravishing, exquisite, magnificent… now come to bed." She stepped off the scales a final time and turned to look at Henry pleadingly.

"Darling, I need you to be honest."

"Uh oh…"

"Is my arse the size of Japan?" He struggled not to laugh.

"… Which part?" She huffed and threw a toilet roll at Henry. "Oh come on, you were begging for that! If you're that concerned about your arse, come over here and let me get a good look at it…"

"I think not, pervert. God, I can't believe I've put on so much weight, at this rate I'll have a backside a hundred miles wide by the end of my pregnancy!"

"That's about the size of Osaka isn't it?"

"Henry, this is not a joke!"

"Well, are you sure you weren't three pounds heavier beforehand?"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY?!"

"Calm down, I was only trying to help! You look beautiful Ollie, always have, always will." But she wasn't listening.

"Perhaps the weight's gone to my chest, do my boobs look bigger?"

"How would I know? You won't rest them on my face for me to be able to tell." That time she threw a towel at him. "Will you please stop chucking the contents of our bathroom at me?!"

"No, I will not. Now answer me, do my boobs look bigger?"

"I dunno, stand to the side--"

"HENRY I AM LOSING MY SODDING PATIENCE!"

"Well, what a bloody surprise! Anyway, you don't want reassurance you just want someone to be mad at. It's not my fault you're pregnant!"

"Oh no, then whose fault is it? Our Amazon driver?"

"Oh that reminds me, did my protein powder come today--"

"HENRY!"

"Alright, alright. And if you're looking for tampons to throw they're on the second shelf in the bathroom cabinet." She then got so mad she slammed the bathroom door, causing Henry to giggle. "Do you want me to bring in your pillow so you can be comfier?"

"Fuck off."

"Suit yourself. I wouldn't sleep in the bath though, it'll make your snoring echo." She unexpectedly opened the door.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overreact. Come here…" She held out her arms for a hug and he darted out of bed, eager to oblige. But without warning, she shoved Henry into the bathroom and locked the door.

"What… what are you doing? Ollie?! Let me out!"

"No, I don't think I will. Goodnight Henry, if you get cold wrap yourself in the shower curtain--"

"Wait! I'm sorry okay?!"

"No, you're not, you were rude and unsupportive of your pregnant wife--"

"Yes, and I'm sorry--"

"Don't interrupt! You have to learn Henry, and if that means you spend the night in the bathroom, then so be it."

"Well at least let me say goodnight to the baby!"

"Nope, they're annoyed with you too."

"How can you tell?"

"Cos I've got heartburn--"

"Then let me out and I'll bring you up a cup of tea and Rennies--"

"Nope, not good enough." He wracked his brains.

"Alright then, how about a foot rub?" She considered it for a moment. Henry seized his chance. "And you don't look bigger to me, but even if you did it wouldn't matter. I'd love you if you weighed a thousand pounds--"

"Are you trying to tell me I look ginormous?!" He swallowed hard.

"No! Just that I don't care what happens either way. I love you, darling - big arse or small." Henry could practically feel her anger radiating toward him. She then became eerily quiet and he half expected an axe to crash through the bathroom door. "Ollie? Is everything okay? Can you open the door? I'm not sure I locked all the knives away in the kitchen…" But what Henry heard in response sounded like whimpering. She was crying. His heart lept into his throat. "Ollie, let me out, please. Ollie? Oh, darling… I'm sorry, okay? There's no need to get upset, I was just joking! You know I never know what to say, I'm a man, alright? Stupidity is second nature to us… Ollie? Just open the door so I can see you're alright." Reluctantly she agreed and the look on her face made Henry's stomach drop. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "Now, you listen to me. You're growing a human life. It's messy, difficult, and yes, your body's going to change. But it's the last thing I want you to worry about--"

"But what if you won't find me attractive anymore!" She wailed.

"Don't be daft--"

"Henry, stop acting like we're a regular couple. You could have anyone--"

"Stop right there. I chose you to be my wife for a reason. And no, it wasn't just the sex," she rolled her eyes. "Now, you and your lovely arse are going to get into this bed so it can be appreciated in all its glory--" she quickly dashed to the wardrobe, removing something Henry could only get a glimpse of. When he saw what she put on, he burst out laughing. "I didn't know they were remaking Little House on the Prairie!" She threw an alarm clock at Henry though he managed to catch it one-handed.

"Stop it! You said I was attractive no matter what!"

"Yeah, but there's a limit! Did my mum loan you that?" He pointed up and down at the long, cotton nightie.

"No, she did not! And if you don't mind, I'm already feeling self-conscious!"

"Well, there's no need to wear a potato sack! Hang on, I think I've got some long johns I can put on…" She threw up her hands in defeat and swiftly removed the nightdress. Henry let out a low whistle. "Much better! Come here, you…" She giggled as he chased her into bed.

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#henry cavill #henry cavill fandom #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill x reader #henry cavill imagine

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ofhouseadama · 2 years ago

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'I just wanted to plan weddings' ok I realize this is FAR beside the point of your posts but ik you do event planning-- what are your essential wedding planning recommendations? asking for a recently engaged/ newly wedding planning me

I'd love to link you to the resources I've created for work but that would doxx me, but the advice I give to ALL of my clients who are doing large scale events, no matter what their event is, is to create an optimal timeline of your event week and reverse engineer from there.

(Caveat: everything will take twice as long as you think it's going to. Prepare yourself mentally for that, or else you will be VERY stressed and frustrated.)

Which is essentially an exercise in figuring out what's important to you, which you might not know until you realize it's not super important that you and your fiancé don't see each other before the wedding -- and actually it's a better use of your time to do a first look or cute getting ready photos and do all your wedding party pics beforehand. Or you realize you don't really care about having a wedding cake, and just want to do a dessert table or candy bar instead. Do you want a sweetheart table or a head table? Do you want toasts to eat up a ton of time? Do you care if the timeline is deviated from if your vendors think it's for the best, or are you an absolute stickler for following certain sequences of events?

Also please, please, please as someone who has to deal with guests all night: please factor in their satisfaction. If they're not happy, the people they abuse are your vendors. Feed them. Make food constantly available. Food, and at bare minimum, water and some kind of drink with a sugar content. If you are having an open bar, have food available. Non-sugary foods. Foods loaded with sugar make people drunk faster. Ask your venue if they have good HVAC. Ask to see the bathrooms on a venue tour. Make sure they know about fire code and egress. Put a line on your RSVP about favorite songs. Put a song on your RSVP about dietary needs, then communicate that to your caterer. For the love of all that is holy, have a seating chart. Have an alphabetized seating chart. There are cheap ways to pull off almost anything, ask your vendors how to do it. There is cheap and then there is tacky. There are good ways to do DIYs, and if you treat your vendors right, we are MORE than happy to show or tell you how.

If you're gonna spend your money on ANYTHING in decor: candles. Tons and tons of candles, greenery, and dollar tree chargers will go SUCH a long way. There are wholesale linen places on Amazon. Find a local wholesale flower market. Costco and Sam's Club also do florals and greenery. Do not get white hydrangeas in the heat of summer. Ask if you can furnish your own liquor. Get married out of season and ask for a discount on any rentals. Ask your vendors if they have relationships with other vendors.

Spend the money on a good DJ. Spend the money on a memorable welcome table. Put a framed a timeline on it. Your guests will appreciate it. Have a bar menu.

No one remembers your invites or your programs or personalized cocktail napkins or koozies. Never order enough favors for everyone, not everyone will take them. You don't need a ton of cake. You don't need a coffee bar. You don't need the filet mignon. But also don't let what you don't "need" stop you from choosing to do something special to you.

#ask #siderealscion

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findingmypeace · 3 years ago

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4/18/2022

On one end my sister’s wedding day was truly magical. One the other end it was a huge reality check. As a side note my sister is 14 yrs younger than me.

First, there was the dress I wore. My Mom bought my dress. Because she lives in another state she bought 3 dresses. (I put dresses on my wishlist on Amazon and then she picked 3 and ordered them.) The night I got to my parents house I tried on all 3. One dress looked the best so I wore that one to the wedding. The problem was that trying on the other 2 dresses made me absolutely disgusted with my body. Actually all 3 day. They all had fitted waists and my waist literally looks like I’m pregnant. It literally sticks out further than my boobs. And all three dresses highlighted that.

Then I got ready for bed in the bathroom. I had seen 2 scales in my parent’s bedroom/bathroom. I was getting ready in the other bathroom where there was a 3rd scale! I started to freak out. I told my Mom that the scales made me uncomfortable and she told me not to weigh myself. Well, yeah. I think I knew that. I was able to fight that urge that night. But in the morning, while getting ready for the wedding, I couldn’t fight the urge any longer and I weighed myself. I hadn’t had access to a scale (where I could see my weight) since last July. The urge was just too strong. I became even more disgusted with my body. I am the highest I have ever been, by a lot. I was one pound less than what I guessed it might be. But it was right before my sister’s wedding so I just let it go. However, between the dresses and the number on the scale the whole day I was just so disgusted with my body. I saw one picture of myself and I look huge and disgusting. I seriously looked so horrible. I refuse to post any pictures of myself on FB. I don’t want to see my body ever again. I despise it.

Then throughout the day, watching my sister kiss her husband and enjoy the day, it was just a huge reminder of how empty my own life is. It’s basically me, my career, and my ed. I have a few friends that mean a lot to me but I see them maybe once every few months. I haven’t dated since high school. I’ll be 40 yrs old in a few weeks. When I was a kid I dreamed that I would grow up, get married, be a stay at home Mom while my kids were young, and then start a career as a therapist after the got older. That’s obviously not what happened. I wonder what my life would be like if I never had an ed. Just the amount of self-hatred I felt throughout the day was intense. It made me want to date but also I don’t think I’m brave enough to do that. I hate myself. This self-hatred has really aggravated my depression. I feel like shit.

Additionally, my Dad looks awful. He looks ill. I’m worried he is struggling with orthorexia. According to my Mom his doctor told him his cholesterol was too high and prescribed a specific diet for him. He has taken that literally and then some. He has lost a lot of weight. Apparently, he mostly eats fruits and vegetables and that’s it. I did see him eat more than that while I was visiting but not much. Besides, it was Easter and my sister’s wedding so I think he couldn’t escape it that easily. My Mom said that sometimes he’ll go on really long walks and then not go on one for a few weeks and repeat. I’m just really worried about him.

Finally, my brother and I are driving home today. We left at about 5 in the morning. He does the driving because it’s his car. Well, it hasn’t been going well. Remember how I talked about how much I hate my brother’s driving? Yeah. He’s gotten 2 speeding tickets so far and we’re only 3 hrs into a 12 hr drive. And he was rude to the officers and accused them of lying. Anger is really triggering for me and the whole situation just makes me want to melt into the floor. I feel awful and I can’t wait until I’m home.

So the wedding was both incredibly magical and incredibly painful. I kind of don’t want to go back to real life. I’m sad and depressed and just hurt.

#personal

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whenisitenoughtrees · 4 years ago

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to be honest, capable (of holding you) (part 2/3)

He walks forward, crouching over the snake, and when it doesn’t stir at all, he works up his courage and pokes it, just a little. Its scales are warm and smooth under his fingertip, and he resists the urge to stroke them. He doubts he could get away with that.

“Janus?” he asks, trying to keep the somewhat hysterical laughter from his voice. “That you?”

Thomas didn’t know that Janus could turn into an actual snake, but he’s glad to hang out with him regardless. More than glad; ecstatic, even, because he’s been trying to figure out how to befriend him for ages, and this seems like a good first step. What he can’t figure out is why human-Janus is being so weird about it.

(Alternatively: Janus doesn’t trust easily. He wishes he could stop trusting Thomas— it would be so much less terrifying.)

Chapter Warnings: blood and injury, Remus being mildly unsettling

Chapter Word Count: 5,074

Pairing: platonic Thomceit

(part 1) (part 3)

(masterpost w/ ao3 links)

They don’t talk about it.

Thomas would very much like to talk about it. But whenever he goes to bring it up, Janus glares at him in a way that promises a world of trouble if he so much as breathes a word, and Thomas really does not want to set back any of the progress he’s already made with him, so he shuts up about it. He’s not entirely sure why Janus is so opposed to addressing it; it can’t be that he doesn’t want the others to know, after all, because all the others are literally parts of Thomas and as such are privy to the knowledge of everything that Thomas experiences.

As best as Thomas can tell, it’s some sort of embarrassment that holds Janus back, some sort of shame, and Thomas doesn’t get it. Surely he knows that Thomas doesn’t mind at all, that Thomas enjoys the time they spend together, even if their conversations are far more one-sided than he would like. Janus seems to be under the impression that coming to him at all is in some way unseemly, while Thomas just wants him to be comfortable enough to approach him as a human.

But as more time passes, that seems less and less likely. Thomas spends far more time with snake-Janus than with human-Janus, and Janus begins to come with him even when the sun shines bright and his spot by the window is available. Thomas becomes quite familiar with carrying a weight looped around his neck, and wishes he could puzzle out why Janus is acting this way.

The worst part is that with every passing day, he feels like he understands Janus less, not more. Because the way he acts during meetings and discussions, when he pops in to offer opinions and advice masked as sarcasm and cutting quips, is entirely different to the way he acts as a snake, when he and Thomas are alone together, when he leans into all the contact Thomas has to offer, seeking warmth, and, Thomas suspects, company. It’s almost as if he’s dealing with two entirely different people, each one unwilling or unable to discuss the other, and frankly, Thomas has no idea what to do about it.

Because he’s worried that if he pushes too hard, demands one answer too many, Janus will stop approaching him at all, in any form. And that is the last thing he wants.

So, he leaves it be, and resigns himself to the idea that human-Janus may just remain incomprehensible to him, and that snake-Janus is the closest he will get to making a friend out of him. And if that turns out to be the case, then gosh darn it, he will be the best friend to snake-Janus that he possibly can be.

This has the side effect of leading him to a snake-centric fact-finding mission, which Logan appreciates, at least, because “even if the information may not be applicable to most aspects of your life, at least you’re learning something, Thomas.” Which he supposes is fair. He learns a great many things about snakes over the course of a few days, most of it interesting, if not particularly relevant. He doesn’t know how much of this actually applies to Janus, since he’s not a real snake.

Though he does find out that snakes don’t have eyelids. That would explain the whole no-blinking thing.

Other than his impromptu investigations, they fall into an equilibrium fairly easily. Janus will seek him out at all hours of the day and wrap himself around his arm or neck, sometimes staying awake and aware and sometimes drifting off into sleep. And when he’s fed up with the company, he leaves, disappearing with neither warning nor fanfare. Thomas settles into this new routine with little effort, and decides that if this is all he’s going to get from Janus, he’ll take it.

He gets used to it, so much so that he stops looking every time he feels Janus curl around him. This turns out to be a mistake.

He’s procrastinating, as per usual. His deadline is a full week away, and even Virgil has been unable to provide the urgency that Thomas needs to push through and finish his latest project. He knows that this will only end badly, that he’s going to end up staying up until the early hours of the morning in a few days if he doesn’t get started now, but he simply doesn’t feel like it. So, he’s scrolling through Amazon instead, clicking through pages of items that he neither needs nor particularly wants.

He’s been looking at a lot of frogs, lately. Cute, decorative frogs, the kinds that sit on mantles and don’t do much of anything. And plushies, too, and those are actually tempting. He’s pretty sure that it’s Patton’s influence.

“What do you think?” he asks, holding up his arm so that Janus can see the screen. Janus hisses quietly, and he laughs. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.” He doesn’t have the money to spend on a bunch of decorative frogs, even if he had a strong inclination toward doing so, but it’s fun to look. He’s seriously considering a stuffed animal, but he’s pretty sure that Logan intends to talk him down from that, so there’s no real need to be concerned about it. Even if he ends up buying one after all, he thinks it would be worth it.

He glances down at Janus, trying to figure out if he’s enjoying this at all, or if he’s just irritated. And that’s when he finally notices the blood.

He freezes up, his muscles tensing, and blinks hard, hoping that it’s a trick of the light, or that spending so many hours doing practically nothing has fried his brain at last. But no; Janus’ scales are dotted with rusty red, and Thomas traces the blood back to a long gash trailing down his side, sluggishly oozing, slowly dripping onto his arm. He stares for a long moment, his mind stalling, and he wonders if the scent of iron flooding his nose is real or imaginary. Or rather, real by a certain standard, since everything to do with his sides is technically imaginary, but oh god, why is he bleeding so much? He thought that his sides could wave off injuries, that nothing could truly affect them unless they wanted it to? Or is that just Logan? And then there’s the question of what did this to him in the first place, and how exactly he’s supposed to treat someone who’s a figment of his imagination, and whether or not any of the real medical supplies he has would work at all—

Focus, Thomas.

It’s like a whisper in his ear, gentle and firm. Logan’s voice. The world snaps into sharp clarity, mind and adrenaline working in tandem.

“Oh my god,” he says, and Janus’ head swivels to face him. The movement is slow, almost lethargic, as if he’s operating on a time delay. “You’re hurt. Okay. Well, not okay. But you’ll be okay.”

He has a first aid kit in the bathroom. He has no idea whether that will help or not, but he won’t know until he tries, as his logic helpfully points out. So the first order of business is to get to the bathroom. He stands, setting his laptop to the side, trying to jostle Janus as little as possible. Now that he’s paying attention, more and more details filter in; Janus’ grip on his arm is looser than usual, his eyes dull and glazed. His hat, usually so perfectly placed, is just slightly askew.

He makes it to the bathroom in short order, yanking the kit out from under the sink and nearly spilling its contents across the floor. He’ll need both hands for this, and he looks to Janus with no small amount of trepidation, wondering how well he’ll take being moved. He doesn’t want to cause him more pain than necessary, and he doesn’t know how aware he currently is, doesn’t know if he’ll lash out if he feels threatened. He gives him an experimental nudge, prodding at him with one finger, and Janus hisses, shifting his coils to hold on tighter.

“C’mon,” Thomas says. “You gotta let me help you, buddy.”

There is is again: buddy. He still doesn’t think it fits quite right, but it seems to slip out anyway, and now is hardly the time to worry about it, not when Janus still shows no sign of budging.

“Please, Janus,” he says, dangerously close to begging. “I promise, I’m not gonna let anything else happen to you, but you need to let me see where you’re hurt.”

Janus’ tongue flickers out, tasting the air, and his eyes seem to focus just a bit. One minute passes, and then another, and Thomas is about to try to remove him by force when finally, he lets go, slithering onto the counter, his motions hesitant and pained, softly hissing all the while. Blood begins to drip onto the sink, the sickening red smearing across the countertop.

“Thank you,” Thomas says, not bothering to hide his relief. “Okay, um, I’ve got bandages. And painkillers, if you want them… can snakes take painkillers?” He sets things out as he names them, slowing as he hits a snag. Not only does he not know if snakes can take painkillers, but he also doesn’t know if there are any other substances in here that would do more harm than good, or if there are any special steps he should take due to his scales, or the fact that he’s cold-blooded. In fact, he has absolutely no idea how to treat a snake, and the idea that he might end up making things worse is enough to send his anxiety ratcheting up a few notches.

Is he overthinking this? He might be overthinking this. But what if he’s not?

Try to remain calm. If you don’t know enough to work within this situation, change the situation.

Logan again, though he’s not sure how that’s supposed to help. He would change the situation if he could— heck, that’s what he’s trying to do— but if it were so simple as wishing this whole scenario away, he would have done it by now. He’s not sure how to—

Oh, wait. Change the situation, or change Janus’ situation?

He has absolutely no idea how to treat a snake. But Janus doesn’t have to be a snake.

He crouches down so that he’s on eye level with Janus, who is limp and unmoving on the sink counter, tracking his motions with clouded eyes. It’s not just the large gash, he realizes; that’s the worst of it, but there are several shallower cuts, all still open and bleeding, and he swallows hard.

“Okay, so, I don’t want to make things any worse,” he says, keeping his voice low. “Do you think you could turn back into a human for me? Just so that I know what I’m doing?”

Not that he knows much about treating humans either, but at least he’d know where to start. Perhaps if Janus’ injuries were less severe, he could work with them in this state, but that prominent gash looks deep and angry, probably about six inches long, wide and painful, rending scales apart and leaking dark blood and god, he is so afraid of making this worse—

Janus stares at him, and doesn’t react.

“I’m sorry,” Thomas says, because he is. He doesn’t know why Janus only initiates contact with him as a snake, doesn’t know why the very idea of deviating from that seems to disquiet him. Asking him to be human now, like this, almost seems wrong, like they’ll be breaking what understanding they do have between them, breaking the peace they’ve found with each other lately. But then, the peace is already broken, he thinks, has been broken since Janus showed up bleeding. “I know you probably don’t want to. But I want to make this better, and I don’t think I can if you’re uh, shaped like this. I… I guess I’m asking you to trust me.”

It’s a tall order, and he is well aware of that. Janus is Deceit, after all, and Deceit is practically the antithesis of trust. He’ll probably have to work with Janus as a snake after all, and he’s just resolving himself to do the best he can when Janus shifts in place, raising his head.

Thomas isn’t sure how to process what happens next. One part of his brain tells him that the change happens slowly, that Janus’ form stretches and morphs in impossible ways, scales fading away and features rearranging before his eyes. The other part of his brain insists that the shift is instantaneous, that it happens as quickly as blinking, that in one moment, there is a snake curled on the counter and in the next, there is a man, with no gradual transition between the two. But however it happens, Janus now sits in front of him, arms and legs all present, hunched in on himself and wheezing. One hand flies to his side, clutching at his shirt.

Thomas blinks. For a second, his mind fights with itself, trying to decide on what, exactly, he just watched. Then, he decides that it doesn’t matter, that he’ll have a crisis about it later, and that there are more important things to concentrate on.

He reaches out, placing a steadying hand on Janus’ shoulder. “Easy, easy,” he says, raising his voice to be audible over Janus’ gasps. “Are you okay?”

It takes a minute for Janus to get his breathing under control, and when he does, he looks up at Thomas, his expression pinched. “Just fine,” he rasps. “Absolutely perfect, can’t you tell?” His voice is strained, tension showing in the lines around his eyes and in the thin set of his mouth. “Really, Thomas, the fuss is hardly necessary. I—” He cuts off with a slight gasp, eyes squeezing shut, and Thomas feels his heart clench.

“Hm, yeah, no, I think I’ve got the right to fuss a little bit,” he says, hoping his voice stays level. He looks him up and down, searching for the injury, and finds nothing; his shirt appears immaculate, his whole outfit as perfectly assembled as usual, not a rip or tear in sight. If it weren’t for the pain on his face, the tremors wracking his frame, Thomas wouldn’t suspect that he was injured at all, and he frowns. “Can you, uh—” He gestures— “take off your shirt, maybe? So I can see where you’re hurt?”

Janus sighs heavily, as though the request has greatly burdened him. He waves one hand in the air, and his shirt and capelet vanish, revealing his bare torso. Under any other circumstance, Thomas might be fascinated by the scales that trail all along his chest and left arm, but right now, his attention centers on the gash bloodying his side, and the thinner scratches that cover him. They all look bigger than they were before, more serious, and he hopes that he didn’t make the wrong decision in requesting him to shift. If it had been a bad idea, he would have refused, right?

“God, Janus,” he says. “What happened?”

Janus sighs again, rolling his eyes. “A mishap in the Imagination,” he says. “Unfortunately, both Roman and Remus designed the place so that its effects stick around even after leaving.”

… Alright. That’s probably something to talk about later; he doesn’t particularly like the reminder that he has no idea how most of the mindscape works. “But I thought you could heal yourselves?” he can’t help but ask. He vividly remembers the day he met Remus, the way that none of his attacks seemed to affect Logan for more than a few seconds.

“We all can, to some degree,” Janus agrees. “It’s more difficult for some of us than it is for others.” He hesitates, and the next words come out slow and almost defensive. “I am capable of it, if I succeed in persuading myself that the problem doesn’t exist in the first place, but in order to do so, I need to sufficiently distance myself from any negative sensations that accompany the harm. I am… currently finding that difficult.” He glares. “I’ll mange perfectly well, given time. There is no need for any of this.” He waves an arm to punctuate the declaration, and it might have been somewhat convincing if it weren’t for the fact that he immediately curls in on himself, face paling, like he’s pulled something the wrong way.

“Yeah, okay,” he says. “Well, how about you let me help you anyway, just for my peace of mind?”

Janus stares at him for a long moment, face unreadable. Finally, he glances away. “Do what you wish,” he says. “If you want to waste time on this, be my guest.”

He hums noncommittally, already inspecting the wound. “I don’t think that taking care of you is a waste of time,” he says, fishing through the first aid kit. He comes up with a bottle of extra-strength Tylenol, looking up just in time to see what can only be an expression of shock fade from Janus’ face, and god, what must he be doing wrong if that is Janus’ reaction to being told that he cares about him? He can’t unpack that right now, or else he might cry, so he holds out the Tylenol instead. “Painkillers?”

Janus nods slightly, and takes two dry. From there, Thomas works in silence, cleaning the wounds as best he can and bandaging them. It takes longer than he expects, and he debates whether or not the long gash will need stitches. He decides not to make the attempt, trusting that what Janus says is true and that he will be able to heal before too long. So he wraps bandages around his torso, and Janus, for his part, remains perfectly still, staring straight ahead, an occasional soft hiss the only thing that betrays his discomfort.

“Okay,” he says quietly, inspecting his handiwork. “I think that’s the best I can do.”

Janus shoots him an unreadable look. “In that case,” he says, “I believe I’ll be going now.”

He hops down from the counter before Thomas can stop him, and his face crumples like a wet sheet of paper. Thomas catches him as his knees give out, hooking his hands under his arms. He is surprisingly light, his skin cool to the touch.

“How about we don’t do that, actually,” he says. “I’ll tell you what, let’s go to my room, and I can work and you can get some rest?”

Janus hisses, trying to jerk away. It’s not difficult to prevent him from doing so; he has all the strength of a floppy pool noodle. “Oh yes, because I’m in dire need of a babysitter,” he spits out, and perhaps Thomas should feel intimidated, but looking at him, at the way all the color has drained from his face, at the way his eyes have glazed over even as they dart around the bathroom, all Thomas can muster up is a deep worry.

“I’m not trying to babysit you,” he says. “Believe me, I know that you of all people don’t need babysitting. But if you try to sink out now, I’m just gonna be stressed out, so if you’d stick around for a little bit, I would really appreciate it.”

Janus stills. The silence stretches on.

“Fine,” Janus says. “Sure. Whatever.”

Thomas restrains himself from letting out a sigh of relief, instead adjusting his grip on Janus until he is only supporting part of his weight. From the look on his face, Janus wants very much to grumble about the indignity of the situation, but miraculously, he remains quiet all the way to Thomas’ room, though he begins to drag his feet when he sees what Thomas intends.

“If you want me to rest,” he says, “I am perfectly capable of doing so in my own room. There’s hardly a need for me to take up space in your bed.”

“Okay,” Thomas says, lowering him to sit on the bedsheets and doing his level best to ignore his glare, “but then I won’t know that you’re alright. Also, I don’t see what the big deal is? It’s not like we haven’t done this before. You were just, uh, snakier.”

He knows immediately that it is the wrong thing to say. Janus’ face sets into an impassive wall, and he looks away, refusing to make eye contact. Thomas can’t tell what he’s feeling, whether it’s anger or embarrassment or frustration or some stubborn combination of the three. But he settles himself against the headboard without further argument, seemingly determined not to carry on any further conversation, so Thomas resigns himself to the silent treatment and sets up with his laptop on the other side of the bed, several inches placed between them.

The atmosphere is awkward, heavy. They both know that Thomas wants to talk, and they both know that Janus will not reply, or if he does, it will be with sharp sarcasm or otherwise cutting words, an answer that will not answer anything at all. So Thomas doesn’t say anything, merely glances over every now and again to be sure that Janus is still there, is still fine, is still breathing. Every time, he is greeted with the same sight: Janus staring off into the empty space in front of him, face blank, a faint tightness around his eyes the only indication that he is still in pain. There is a wall between them, invisible yet insurmountable, and Thomas has no idea how to breach it.

Why does their relationship feel so off-kilter now? Why are things so natural between them when Janus is a snake, small and speechless and cuddly, and not when he is a human?

“I don’t mean to force you to stay,” he murmurs. “If you’re really that uncomfortable, it’s alright if you leave.”

He’s watching him out of the corner of his eye, and as such, he sees the wince, slight though it may be.

“It’s… not that,” Janus admits. “I am grateful for your concern, truly. I just… so love being in unfamiliar territory.” His voice is a quiet drawl, but laced with exhaustion, his words just shy of slurred together.

He takes a second to parse through the words, and then smiles. “Well, that makes two of us,” he says. “I’d be alright with muddling through together. And look, I know that most of the time, when we hang out, you’re a snake. And that’s fine! One hundred percent fine, if that’s what you’re most comfortable with! But uh, I really wouldn’t mind spending more time with you as, like, a person, too, if that makes sense. Not that you’re not a person when you’re a snake! Wait—” He furrows his brow, trying to untangle his words, and looks over, certain that Janus will at least be amused by his rambling.

He’s not. Because Janus is asleep, his chin resting against his chest and his hat about to fall into his lap. Thomas feels an inexorable sense of fondness sweep over him, and with a gentle movement, he reaches over to pluck the hat from Janus’ head, revealing brown hair that falls in springy waves. He places the hat on the nightstand, casting one last look at Janus before returning his attention to his laptop.

There is plenty of work to do, and he is content to do it here, sitting in bed with Janus napping by his side. So he does, his fingers clacking against the keys long into the night, and Janus sleeps on.

-----------

He doesn’t remember falling asleep. But he must, because he wakes, and slowly processes the fact that all is not as he left it. For one, the light is off, the room dark, and his laptop is resting on the nightstand, next to the shadow of Janus’ hat. For another, there is a heavy weight on top of his chest, pinning one of his arms against his side, and in the seconds before his eyes adjust sufficiently to the darkness, he fears the worst, fears that someone has broken into his apartment and… crawled into bed with him, and the irrationality of that idea is enough to dampen his panic. He squints, trying to will his vision into focus, and begins to make out what features he can see of the face pressed against his chest, features that very closely resemble his own, and that is when he remembers: Janus on his arm, Janus injured and bleeding, Janus on his bed, Janus asleep. Janus… still here.

Janus, snuggled up against him, his head resting on his chest, his body curled into his side, latched onto him with both… no, there’s more than two arms. At least four, maybe more; it’s difficult to determine without the light on, because all that Thomas can tell is that he is being very thoroughly hugged, and that it feels very nice.

This fact is distracting enough that it’s a full three minutes or so before he realizes that there is another figure perched on the edge of his bed. Panic roars up in him once again, his heart pounding and the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end, but then he notices the details, notices the poof of the figure’s sleeves, the wildness of their hair silhouetted against the light that creeps around the edges of the doorframe, the unholy red gleam of their eyes. And he… well, he doesn’t relax, not exactly. But most of his fear sidesteps directly into annoyance.

“Remus,” he hisses, as quietly as he can manage. “What are you doing?”

Remus cocks his head, his eyes shining brighter. He’s crouched almost like a grotesque parody of a cat, ready to pounce. But the Duke himself is still and silent, and it’s very odd. Almost worrying. And when he finally speaks, it’s not at all what Thomas was expecting.

“DeeDee got hurt,” he says, voice a subdued whisper, and Thomas is taken aback, both by the seriousness of his tone and the evident consideration toward not waking Janus up.

“I— yeah,” Thomas replies, uncertain as to where this is going. “I, uh, patched him up as best I could. He said he’d heal soon.” A thought occurs to him, and if Janus weren’t keeping him flat on his back, he’d be sitting bolt upright, finger pointed in accusation. “Wait, he said he was hurt in the Imagination. Did you have something to do with that?”

“I can’t keep an eye on every part of La La Land at once, Thomas.” He shrugs. “It’s not my fault if Snake from Snake Farm wandered into something he shouldn’t have.” He giggles, high-pitched and a little manic, but Thomas wonders at his tone of voice. It’s as irreverent as always, but underneath that— can it be concern? He really didn’t think Remus did concern. “Snakes should know better than to let their guard down. Your mind is dark and full of terrors.” He smiles, several rows of pointed white teeth gleaming an unnatural white in the shadows.

“I don’t even watch—” He cuts himself off, shaking his head, and then freezes as Janus makes a small sound. Seconds pass, and he waits with bated breath, but Janus doesn’t seem to wake. “Okay, then,” he continues, more quietly. “Is there a reason why you’re here?”

Remus blinks, and once again, Thomas is reminded of a cat. A terrible, eldritch horror of a cat, but a cat nonetheless. “DeeDee doesn’t like to be around people when he’s hurt,” he says, rocking back and forth in place. “He doesn’t like people knowing when he’s weak.” He sighs through his nose, his breath whistling more than is natural. “He holes up in his room and doesn’t come out for anything, usually. Not even when I bang on the door and put rats in his air vents.”

Thomas stares, trying to process that. “But he’s here with me,” he says dumbly. “He decided to stay here. He’s…” He trails off. He doesn’t need to describe what Janus is doing; surely, Remus can see it for himself, can see them engaging in what can only be labeled as cuddling. And it’s not as if this is the first time; it’s just the first time Janus has been human-shaped.

“Yes, he is,” Remus agrees, voice sharp, and he is definitely trying to convey something here, something that Thomas is missing. “Tommy-boy, Tommy-boy, Tommy-boy, you’re just not getting it, are you? Well, that’s fine. Just remember that the snakes on the plane die too, if the plane crashes.”

“Is the plane crashing?” Thomas asks, voice hoarse, hesitant, and once again, Remus smiles, wide and dangerous.

“Not now, maybe,” he says. “But it still could. It always can. That’s the fun thing about airplanes. I could help with that, if you wanted.”

“No thanks,” Thomas is quick to reply.

Remus shrugs. “Suit yourself,” he says, and then pauses. “Janus doesn’t let just anyone this close, you know. So don’t fuck it up.”

It’s such an uncharacteristic statement that by the time Thomas has recovered enough to reply, Remus is gone, melting into the bedsheets in a grotesque puddle of goo, and then, even that disappears. Thomas is left in a dark, quiet room, and he has never felt more awake.

But Janus is still here, still asleep, is holding onto him for dear life and hiding his face against his chest. And it’s something precious, something intimate, something that Thomas feels privileged to see at all, and Remus’ voice rings loud in his head: Janus doesn’t let just anyone this close. Why, then, has he allowed him this? Why has he let Thomas see him at his most vulnerable, no matter how reluctant he was at the start? Why did he choose to stay, rather than leaving once Thomas nodded off?

Each question only leads to more questions, and it’s clear that he won’t receive any answers tonight. So he settles back in as best he can, though it is a long time before he manages to fall asleep again.

In the morning, Janus is gone. He wishes he could be more surprised.

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

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austarus · 4 years ago

Text

HR Wells x Reader Scars Across Time

**A/N: The picture/edit/gif does not belong to me. It belongs to @acewest360

Word Count: 6245

*Hey everyone! Please remember to hit that reblog button as well as liking and following! Sharing the content makes the world spin~ This is probably going to be the last fic I post until winter break. Things have not been going too well for me, I rarely have time to sit down for myself and write or play pokemon at all. But I promise I’ll be back with more fics and series parts with the winter season

“I can’t feel my fingers.”

“And this is why we keep our gloves on,” you emphasized, taking your gloves off and handing it to him to wear as the two of you walked to your apartment, “especially during a snowball fight.”

“But you’ve got to admit, I nailed BA pretty hard.”

“You did,” you giggled and pecked his rosy-cold cheek. “And I’m proud that you did. Knock some sense into him and Harry while you’re at it.” You mumbled the latter part to yourself. The other Wells doppelganger was still having trouble with his daughter, who’s back on Earth-2. She had ‘kicked him off his own Earth’.

“It’s too bad Jesse wasn’t here; I think she would have liked it.”

“She’s still upset with Harry, HR.”

HR did a half shrug, side-glancing at you as he took your hand in his, “She missed all the failed igloos and speedy snow angels, the laughs and arguments we all ended up having on who cheated or not.”

“She’s busy on her Earth being the Flash, though. That must be taking priority over everything else.”

“I know,” he sighed, taking your hand into his. You felt how frigid they were through the knitted gloves you had given him. His eyes met yours are the two of you walked, the chilly air piercing the layers you have on. The novelist hoped that his doppelgangers daughter has been taking care of herself as she takes care of her city. “Harry shouldn’t have avoided her and the issue between them though, that’ll only create a greater rift between them. I know he’s not good with emotions, but… Something doesn’t feel right, like… it just doesn’t add up.”

You only offered the novelist a half-shrug, not really knowing what to say. “I think they’ll end up talking it out, whatever it is that happened between them. They’ll eventually get through it together.” You unlocked the door to your apartment and pushed it open. The door creaked nastily from its hinges; you’ve been meaning to fix that. “Now, let’s first get you inside and thawed out, I’m pretty sure I have some cold sludge stuck down the back of my shirt.”

The two of you entered your cozy apartment, kicking off any spare snow remnant that had clung onto your boots and clothes. Both you and HR left your boots by the door. A shiver ran down your spine, the ice-water mix shifted in your shirt as you moved uncomfortably through your home. You attempted to not track any water on the hardwood floors, eagerly locating some dry towels while HR brought a laundry basket from one of the rooms. The taller man returned with one as you handed him a fluffy towel. You and HR stripped off the winter-y layers of clothes, placing them into the basket. Your long-sleeve shirt clung to your skin, the cool damp cloth making you a bit antsy to get out of it. The Earth-19 being took the basket to throw in the washer, adding in the appropriate amount of detergent and softener. He whistled throughout completing his task, towel around his neck. HR started drying his hair off as he walked back to the living room.

You turned on the weather channel, overhearing Iris mention something about a serious storm going to hit. Flipping through the channels, you finally landed on the Central City News station and just in time for the weather spokesperson to come on screen. The woman fully articulated the severity the storm could cause as well as how many inches of snow to expect with an estimated time. HR’s ears had perked up, eyeing you from behind the couch as you watched the news. You ran a hand through your damp-ish hair before deciding to set it in a towel turban. Well, it’s a good thing I went grocery shopping yesterday. I should still have the portable heater that Cisco made just in case. The candles and matches should be in a spare drawer somewhere.

You glanced over your shoulder to see HR with chaotically messy hair and the collar of his shirt soaked. You nibbled on your bottom lip while setting down the TV remote. “Hey, um… HR do you want to stay over the night? There’s a winter storm coming and stuff,” You sheepishly wrung your fingers for wanting to ask him to stay the night when you knew he probably had an upcoming deadline to meet. Am I being selfish? I’m mean… we’ve been together for almost a little bit over a year now. Gah, fuck, I’m overthinking again. Stupid past relationship trauma and emotional distress. You just didn’t want to inconvenience him.

You will never deny how safe you felt around him, how you didn’t need to be careful of how to act. You can be you. And HR can be the dorkily cute novelist that he is with no filter in regard to his ideas and thoughts and expressions. The two of you complimented each other, two wounded souls just fixing and adoring each other. It took a couple of weeks for you to open up about your past relationships to the novelist, which he listened with understanding and concern taking hold in his eyes. He had done the same thing you had done. HR had proposed to ask three questions and you would need to answer fully and honestly with the reward in return. A reward of something you had long forgotten because having HR understand your past like you had done with him caused your heart to swell to a grand scale.

HR’s gaze softened at you, a gentle smile gracing his lips. “I don’t mind staying the night.” It’s so much better than sharing space with one grumpy scientist back at the labs who’ll probably hurl objects at me if I do anything out of line in his eyes. He saw that bit of insecurity eating at you, and he would do all he can to brush it away. Your insecurities had lessened over time, but every now and then it pops back up. But it’s understandable, you were trying your best to be a good and considerate girlfriend.

HR’s heart melted when you perked up, a bright smile crossing your face as if your sullen thoughts had washed away in an instant. “That means we can even make s’mores tonight!”

“How-“

“-I bought this handy dandy electric s’mores maker-”

“-Birdy, we’ve talked about this. You can’t buy every single thing from Amazon.”

“But… but the s’mores.”

“Do I need to take your debit card from you?” HR joked at the pout you had given him, the both of you knowing he would actually do no such thing. But he worried of these little impulse buys you get yourself into. Especially when prompted by Cisco, Iris, and Caitlin.

“I will fucking fight you.”

“No, you won’t.”

“You’re right, I love you too much.”

“Was it really necessary though?”

“… Yes, the state of my survival depends on it.”

“Liar,” HR sighed to himself. “I’m guessing Cisco and Iris happened to be browsing through Amazon again when they got bored? And you happened to be with them? Browsing from page to page, especially the bargains section.”

“… Maybe~”

“…”

“Don’t worry, I made sure I paid my rent and taken care of the apartment before deciding to buy the s’mores maker.”

“Good.”

“Plus, I really bought it for you.” HR felt the tips of his ears warm a bit. “You said it was one of the things you used to make with your mom, but now you just don’t have the time to camp or be by a fire to make them. So… I got this for when you’d come over and stuff…”

“How did I ever get so lucky to have someone as precious as you in my life, my little birdy?”

Your giggle allowed his heart to jump through hoops. Hail started pounding on the windows of your apartment catching both your attentions. “We should probably go wash up. I think I still have some clothes you left when you slept over a few times.” An idea lit up brilliantly in your mind, your brain already gathering the necessary materials.

A smile graced HR’s face, feeling his heart flutter as you shuffled to gather his clothes. I would do anything for you. The taller man looked out the window, observing the outside world ravaging in the heaviness of white fluff. The power might go out soon. If we’re lucky, then it doesn’t. But mother nature doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon. “Which drawer are they in?” He questioned, padding off to your bedroom but throwing a glance at you.

“I think they might be in the top left drawer,” you lied to him, needing to buy some time. “I’m not really sure. But if not, you’ll have to look around for them in my closet or something.”

You hurried to the bathroom once he was out of sight, stepping closer to the closet. Twisting the handle, you were greeted with towels on one shelf and scented candles on another. Now, what to choose. You opted for the scents of Balsam-Cedar and Autumn Leaves from Yankee Candle. Scattering the small candle containers around the tub, you made sure they were positioned in a place to avoid any fires. This is going to look simply divine. You mused a cheery hum from your lips as you worked fast. The electric lighter was in a drawer along with the bath bombs for relaxation. You contemplated whether the tiny flower petals were a bit overkill, then figured that it would be. I’m extra as fuck anyway, so why the hell not. You pulled out the mason jar filled with pastel pink-blue hydrangea and hibiscus petals. With everything set up, you just had to fill up the tub with water and work your magic. Shutting off the bathroom lights, you shuffled over to your room right as HR let out an ‘aha!’ when he found his checkered cotton pajama bottoms.

“Come take a bath with me,” you started, taking his hand and squeezing it meaningfully with jubilant warmth within your eyes. “We can warm up faster in less time before the storm cuts out the power.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to…” He trailed off; his other arm held his clothes to his chest. You knew what he meant and nodded assumingly. An ex many years ago had tried to drown you once, but… Your ex isn’t HR. The man in front of you is considerate, kind, dorky, and quirky. The man in front of you is more wholesome and beautiful inside and out than any other man you had been with. You knew the novelist would never dream of hurting you. We’ve proven that much to each other in the past year, we wouldn’t hurt each other no matter what.

“I trust you, HR.” You leaned up and kissed his nose gingerly, “You know I feel safer around you.”

“And I, you,” the taller man allowed you to tug him to the bathroom once you had pulled out your own pajamas and undergarments.

“Before we go inside, I’m going to need to you wait out here for a few moments.”

“Interesting. What are you planning, little birdy?”

“Who? Lil ol’ me? Nothing really!” You responded with a cheeky grin before entering the bathroom. HR just kept that boyish smirk on his face then sneezed. God, he loves you, but he needed to get out of these clothes soon. Another sneeze left him when the sound of water graced the silence in the apartment. The hail had stopped, but heavier clumps of packing snow fell onto the city.

“Done~” you mused with childish delight, opening the bathroom door and ushering him inside. HR held his breath as the scents of the forest greeted him. The candles were beautifully lit around the tub, flickering and wavering as it cradled the bathroom with a dim glow. The bathroom lights were off to allow the candles to work their magic in the darkness. Neither of you would deny the warmth the candles brought as the flames danced happily in their respective glass communities. Scents of cedar oak, maple trees, and autumn leaves flourished in the air, but it wasn’t overbearing. The running water moved gently as you had begun to strip down and out of your clothes. Your movements shook HR out of his trance, tugging his own clothes off, but stopped short of shrugging his pants off when he saw all of you. Your eyes caught his intense gaze. A tight knot formed in the pit of your stomach.

“HR?”

“You’re…” He couldn’t find the right words. Any word couldn’t justify the beauty in front of him. “You’re elegantly divine.” Is what he settled for as he felt hot oil splash onto his cheeks.

“It’s not something you haven’t seen before.”

“It’s something that I hope I don’t have the misfortune to never see.”

You screamed on the inside as your mind started spinning at his desire. A smug grin grew on his face as you looked away, stumbling over to a jar on the sink counter. HR fully stripped, coming up behind you with his arms encasing you and strong hands resting on your hips as he watched. He pressed a kiss to the top of your head. You leaned back into him, dropping a good two handfuls of flower petals into the water. His body, while chilled from your earlier winter-y activities still provided your own with a spectacle of warmth. Goosebumps gradually ran over every in of your skin. The taller man watched you with tired eyes.

“You know you’re going to have to let me go so we can wash up, right?”

HR pouted, to which you leaned up on your tippy toes to try to kiss his pout away. “Fine, but I think we both deserve some time to cuddle.”

“I was going to trap you in bed, regardless.”

A quiet laugh left his lips. Breaking away from his sturdy limbs and wonderfully sculpted body, you rifled through a drawer for a bath bomb. Milk and Honey~ Unwrapping it and disposing of its bindings into the trash, you set it down into the water as it instantly fizzed.

“Wait, you like bath bombs?” HR questioned with an arched eyebrow.

“Yeah, but only the organically made ones- that way it doesn’t irritate my skin.” You shut off the hot water and pulled out the necessary towels for the both of you. “Also, they smell phenomenal!”

“They do.”

“What’s wrong?”

“One year on this Earth and I hadn’t even noticed that you had bath bombs too. Do yours also release an underwater firecracker?”

“An underwater firecracker??”

“Yeah, little ocean sparks underwater that also stimulate the water to move like the waves as if pulled from the effects of the moon.”

You just stared down at the slowly fizzing bath bomb in disappoint. “Why don’t you do that? Rude.” The novelist craned his head down to kiss your cheek with a snicker at your evident disappointment.

You stuck one foot in, the warmth enticing you as a hum left your lips before going all in. A wave of relief washed over your muscles as a tired groan left your lips while shutting your eyes. Leaning back, your skin touched the cool marble of the tub as the water drifted in multiple directions. The water rose to just above the top of your cleavage. HR had followed suit once you fully entered, sitting across from you with his legs crossed. A sigh had left him as he felt the tension in his body break away, the scents also helping him ease into relaxation. After a moment he pulled you in between his legs and you humored him because his were so long that they needed the space. Your eyes finally adjusted to the brightness set by the candles from your position.

You eyed the scar on his chest, teeth raking over your bottom lip. The one where Savitar had left his mark. Those thoughts came back. Your throat dried instantly. Swallowing thickly, your mouth moved on its own accord. “I almost lost you.” HR froze as he leaned his broad back against the tub, an arm on the rim of the cool marble. You reached out a hand to trace over the scarred skin. The closer you had gotten- the more you looked at his upper body- was the more you mentally berated yourself under the soft glow of the candlelight. Scared paths and crossroads of tinged undertones on his skin, some faint- others dark and deep. A few were clean and a few others were messy. Even the scar, perfectly hidden by his left eyebrow seemed to be clearer to your eyes now. Your heart sank in your chest, frustration and anger and hurt welling up inside you at the pain HR must have endured over the years. But mostly, anger and hatred towards yourself. How have I been so blind? How many times have my eyes overlooked these? How pathetic and ignorant have I become? HR shivered under your touch, under your gaze over the ugly reminders on his body. “We’ve been together for a year,” you started, “a little bit over a year- and I’m a damned fool for never truly seeing how hurt you’ve been.”

“I…” The words died in HR’s mouth. The sullen look in your glassy eyes, the pained expression on your face. His heart felt heavy, yet it oddly thrummed loudly in his chest. The warmth of the water didn’t help how you were feeling.

“And for that, I’m sorry.”

“Just being by my side and seeing who I am- how I’m worth something, exceeds any grim reminder of my past.”

“But, I didn’t-”

HR took your hand and intertwined your fingers together, “You’re the light of my life, you allowed me to forget my past and accepted me, all of me. I don’t hold it against you that you didn’t notice, we’ve been going through one hoop after another with these crazed villains. Hell, I forget the scars are even there when you’re with me… I feel whole when you’re with me.” The novelist strained emphasis on the last sentence. You felt the tears start to riot in your eyes before streaming down your face. HR gently cupped your face, wiping the tears away with a dry hand. “I’m happy that you overlooked them. I’m happy that I could shed them when I’m around you.”

You were silent for a few seconds. “I’m still mad at Iris,” you whispered with a sharp sniffle, your fingers finding the scar over his heart once more. “No, I’m pissed that she didn’t the willpower and guts to speak up when she had a chance. We… we could have prevented… both of you could have-”

“-We could have gone through a million different avenues, but the results would have led to the same road.”

“Wouldn’t it? You, at least, couldn’t have been hurt if we had done something differently.”

“Iris could have been hurt.”

“You were hurt!” You snapped as your voice wavered. “You were going to die, had it not been for Julian and Cisco and Barry. I… I can’t lose you. Every night, a dark thought slips into my mind. You could have died- You could have died right there when you were just starting to live a life of your own. All because of Barry and Iris.” Your cheeks felt wet and only then did you realize that the tears had pooled up and escaped. His gaze softened at you, nonetheless, the tears didn’t take away from any frustration that you had presented.

HR recognized the bitterness in your voice. The fiery anger within your eyes as you looked up at him with desperation. The same anger that he had long disciplined himself to distance from. Anger blinds all gates of logic within the mind. Because in a way, you were right. Iris could have easily said something when she was disguised as his persona. Instead the queen of the castle seemed reluctant in sacrificing herself, instead allowing the pawn to take the fall. HR had thrown it all away to save someone who didn’t really care to know him and treated him with disdain at first. All to prove to the others that he was worth being on their side. To prove to Savitar that he wasn’t a coward like the projected future had revealed. But most importantly, to prove to himself that he’s capable of more than just standing on the sidelines as backup. The anger and distraught and hate. HR worked tirelessly to move past them. You were his future now. You and the fact that in the end he seemed to earn his spot. Sadly, even at the expense of his own life. At the end of the day those were the cold, hard facts. Ones he willingly chooses to not give in to.

“But I’m here.” HR wrapped his long arms around you, pulling you closer to him. You choked back on a sob. Your anger waned at his gentle touch. “I’m here and I’m alive,” he let out roughly, letting you cry it all out as he rubbed your back soothingly. HR knew everything you had said had been true. And even if it did work out in the end, he didn’t want to imagine a reversal of the situation. If it had been you who had traded places with Iris instead of him. The novelist can only hope that the team wouldn’t have to put anyone else in a situation like that. That Barry and Iris wouldn’t have to play close to this dangerous game of chess again. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you sniffled, calming down with a stutter. You knew that anger blinds judgment. You didn’t hate Iris, but you resented her inability to save both her live and HR’s. HR wet his hands and cleared your face from any remnant of tears. kissing your eyelids sweetly.

“Interesting that you put hydrangeas and hibiscus petals.”

“How so? And how did you know?” you raised a questioning eyebrow at HR.

“The jar’s labeled.” You facepalmed at yourself. Of course, the jar’s fucking labeled, I’m such a dumbass. “But also, I studied the language of the flowers as well as the language of the colors for my writing.”

“So, what do hibiscus plants stand for?”

“From what I recall,” HR scratched the back of his neck in recollection, “they stand for love and affection between family members, friends, and others. A perfect statement of gentle feelings towards the others. It can even symbolize passionate relationships.” You had placed both hands on his shoulders as he spoke, mesmerized by his knowledge of the flower. He wiggled his eyebrows at his later statement, causing you to giggle with flushed cheeks.

“What about the hydrangeas?”

“Ironically, heartfelt emotions,” he kissed your cheek, rubbing the skin of your lower back as he continued. “Gratitude for being understood.”

“I would call it more of a fateful coincidence,” you mumbled, pressing your lips to his for a chaste kiss. But truthfully, he just wanted to roll around in bed with you and kiss you silly to his heart’s content… amongst other certainly heart-fluttering bedroom activities. When you pulled away, your eyes drifted over his figure. “Can- Can I ask you about them?”

Them. HR knew what you were referring too. That curiosity of yours is one day going to land you in trouble, birdy. HR mused to himself with a little noise of thought. He was well past the mental pain, taking up meditation and various things to acknowledge and push past it. But the idea of you feeling the need to know didn’t rub him the wrong way like it should have. Rather, it stirred something deep in his heart, a playful glint hidden in his eyes. “Depends on what’s in it for me, little birdy?”

You thought deeply for a minute and HR remained silent, running patterns over the skin of your arm. You felt warmth build up on your skin with every contact. “One night.”

“One night…?”

“One night, you can do anything to me- within reasonable bounds. You decide when the night can be.”

The Wells doppelganger immediately licked his lips and felt his blood rush at the notion. “Is that your final condition?” Because if it is, this big bad wolf’s going to make sure to devour his little red riding hood all night long. HR tilted your head back, a hooked finger under your chin as his lips skimmed over yours. There’s much planning that needs to be done.

“Y-yeah.”

“‘Yeah’ isn’t a word of confirmation.” Learned that one from a law buddy back on Earth-19.

“Yes,” you won’t deny the anticipation in your voice. The murky white waters retaliated with every movement from the two of you. “One question, one scar.”

“One question, one scar, one night.” The novelist smirked down at you, a cocky look on his face.

“Fair enough.” I essentially ordered one love romp of a night… I’m so fucked, literally and figuratively. I just hope I don’t have to come into the Labs the next day, neither of us.

HR watched you closely, grabbing the body wash as you decided with a focused look on what scar to choose. Your eyes roamed his body. You already knew of his mental scars, and he knew of yours. The novelist waited patiently as you quietly processed the image of them on his skin. Some scars on his body were from hitmen, bullies, or muggers- mainly during his young adult life or when he was creating STAR Labs with Randolph. That bastard probably sent some after me, wouldn’t be surprised since he knew I would be executed if I crossed dimensions. Bath sponge in hand, he lathered your body wash on the sponge with every intention that he would help wash you while he reiterated a scarred tale.

“What’s the story behind the one on your eyebrow?”

That one took HR by surprise; usually human nature would be intrigued with the most noticeable of things- big things. Instead, you pinpointed the one that was easily concealable in plain sight. Settling for the smaller scar in comparison to the others. The novelist took your arm, scrubbing your skin with lips pressed thinly. You opened your lips to ask if he’d rather you choose a different one, but HR cut you off in a matter of milliseconds.

“I got it back during my university years. I was an English Arts major,” he paused for a moment, switching to your other arm to give it the same treatment. “My father obviously didn’t approve, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to keep going with my literary studies, taking up photography in my spare time. One day, I was just walking through the city in the late evening. Dismal and dark, with fog everywhere.” HR rinsed off your arms, gesturing for you to turn around between his legs so he can start on your back. He plucked off the PanOxyl Foaming Wash bottle from beside a candle, using a different sponge specifically for the backwash. You had told him that sometimes you unfortunately get acne on your back and shoulders, so you use this backwash to keep it clean and acne-free. To your surprise he wasn’t revolted in any way, instead he admired your constant diligence with wanting to keep good hygiene, especially since so many factors can trigger different responses from the human body. You silently waited, listening intently as he continued. “I heard whimpers. Cries coming from down the alley. There was this… this small puppy- I-I can’t really recall what breed it was, but it looked hunger and tired and scared.” You looked back at him, heart aching as you saw his eyes show the pain in his heart too. “I thought to myself. How could someone leave a helpless baby animal to starve in the city’s alleyways? Why couldn’t someone have the heart to nurture it?”

“What did you do?”

HR ran the water over your back to remove any bubbles or foaming wash from your skin. “I saw myself in the puppy. Lost. Abandoned. Alone.” he whispered as he raised his chin, eyes finally meeting yours as you fully turned to observe him. Your gaze softened; your wet hand reached out to cup his jaw. Droplets of water fell from your skin into the colored water as he nuzzled into your touch. “I approached it, I wanted to keep it safe and warm. It didn’t object when I picked it up, cradling it like it the baby that it is. It trembled and shivered in my arms.” His heart dipped remembering the way the puppy felt in his arms. One of his larger hands held onto yours, the one cupping his chiseled jaw. “I had to do something, couldn’t just leave it there.” I couldn’t abandon it.

“There’s a ‘but’, isn’t there?”

“There always is…” He let out a mirthless laugh. “Things went south when a couple of drunk guys found me and the puppy. Turns out these were the same guys that had been harassing the little one through the alleys. They had been trying to use the puppy in illegal cage fights.” HR bowed his head slightly. “One thing led to the other, there was a knife and I was running like hell with the puppy. Until they cornered me, hence…” He trailed off, gesturing to his eyebrow scar with a free hand.

“HR,” you whispered, but he squeezed your hand as he took it off his face. Your other hand tightened into a fist in the water. HR’s eyes caught the movement but didn’t say anything.

“They roughed me up pretty good- I’m wasn’t- I’m not a fighter, but I would have been damned if that little puppy had been hurt. I ended up finding the little guy a home where he can be looked after and well-fed and safe.” You unclenched your fist, gently listing it to stroke his stubbly cheek as he concluded. HR ran his fingers down the length of your arm.

“You’re safe.”

“I know. You’re safe too, my little birdy.”

“I know.”

You twisted your body, stretching an arm out as you reached for his Old Spice body wash. It was your turn to help wash him. You started working away at his sturdy chest, obviously doing your best to not ogle at his abs and his entirely toned framework. But he caught your eyes drifting off more than once.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For always listening to me.”

“I love you, HR. And I would do anything in the multiverse to keep you safe and loved. You’re my one one one after all.” You winked at him, eliciting a deep chuckle from his lips. Music to your eyes, smiling as the corners of his lips lifted upwards. “There’s that radiant smile I love so much.” The man blushed but continued to grin.

HR ran a hand through his hair before catching a glimpse of his hair in the mirror. He squinted a bit as he held a lock between two fingers. “Looks to be about that time of year again.” Your fingers threaded through his hair once he released the strand.

“I’m assuming a haircut is needed.”

“Yup”

“I will never understand how men ask for their hair to be done.”

“It’s honestly really easy, with the provided visuals of course. I should take you with me once.”

“I’d be okay with that.”

“Probably going to need to dye my hair black again.”

“I think I have some leftover dye in a cabinet somewhere. You know… I wouldn’t mind seeing silver streaks on you. Makes you look like a sly silver fox to me.”

“… I’ll keep that in mind for next time as long as you allow me to learn how to do those intricate braids in your hair.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Wells.” You leaned up to kiss his lips.” The novelist smirked against your lips as he ran a hand over your bum. Neither of you had noticed that the water was starting to become lukewarm, the candles and warmth of each other distracted the two of you. “It’s a done deal.”

Taking his Old Spice Shampoo in hand, you squeezed a good amount out meanwhile he tilted his head down closer for you to reach. HR’s hands settled on your hips, steadying you on his lap to have your legs wrap around his waist. You scrubbed and massaged his scalp, creating a bubbly hairdo for him. You couldn’t help the giggle that escaped your lips. But once your bright eyes met his baby blue ones, you felt your heart skip in your chest.

HR felt your hands slow as you retracted them but made no effort in submerging them in the water to get rid of the bubbles. Instead your smaller hands rested on his broad shoulders with the tips of your fingers doing a sort of feather-light dance against his skin. The novelist found himself mesmerized by your radiance, never mind the candlelight that continued to flicker around the both of you. You felt hypnotized by his baby blue eyes, pulling you into an ocean of wonder. HR licked his lips with half-lidded eyes as you moved to kiss him deeply, your lips slowly moved against his with a sensual kind of dance to it. The doppelganger breathed you in slowly and he pressed forward. His palm rested on your cheek while his other hand took one of yours to hold onto. The kiss broke but was soon reconnected. Over and over again. The moment wasn’t rushed. There was no hurry to get to the finish line. It was just you and him and the wisps of fire around the two of you. HR nibbled on your lower lip before you reluctantly pulled away. Your tongue ran over your swollen bottom lip.

“We should probably finish up before the power decides to run out,” you started in a low-ish voice. HR noted the slight jitter in it and his heart swelled at the effect of his kisses on you.

“I don’t think it might get to that point. We’d probably end up snowed in, but there’s a chance that the power might not go out.”

“It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“I know. If we must, then by all means,” The novelist murmured, nuzzling his nose with yours before the two of you finished washing up.

HR stepped out first from the foamy waters of the tub, stretching a fine limb over for some dry towels. He handed one to you when you had stepped out after him unfortunately a little less graceful as you almost slipped on the tiled floor. HR’s hand reached out to steady you. Giving him a sheepish smile, you whispered a thank you to which he returned with a wink. He knew you could be clumsy at times, but nevertheless he’s grown to love that about you. HR had come to realize that him being able to catch you from tripping over your feet or stopping you from running into things would give him a sense of ‘being your hero’ or ‘saving you’. It was just a small thing that made him happy. A ‘your hero in-the-moment’ kind of thing.

You wrapped the towel around you to rid your body of the water and bubbles. The two of you had cleaned each other well which made you sigh in contentment because feeling clean and being clean made you feel satisfied and relieved after a long day. You couldn’t help the stare you had fallen into as your eyes roamed over your boyfriends’ body as he dried himself off. Subconsciously, you licked your lips at every dip of skin, every inch of muscle. Wrapping another towel around your hair, your eyes never left HR until he turned towards you. You blinked for a split second and hastily busied yourself with pulling your undergarments from your clothes pile. HR walked back past you with his pajama’s on. The novelist had every intention in extinguishing the candles that were left only to land a soft smack on your ass. You let out a little yelp in surprise at the impact.

“See something you like?” He teased as he blew the fire out. He knew. There was a large mirror in the bathroom after all. A smirk finally settled on his face, one that he had been repressing until he smacked your ass. The heat had stayed on your cheeks from the bath and getting caught.

“Maaaaaaaaybeeeeeeee.” To be honest, it was a nice ass.

HR chuckled, “Well, since you’re done why don’t you get that cute ass of yours in bed while I go and get the smores maker?”

“How can I ever refuse such a generous offer?” You hummed, leaning up to kiss him. The Wells doppelganger nipped at your lips in return then broke away from you. He stepped towards the door. “HR?”

“Hm?” He turned back to you with curious eyes. There was a soft glow that had settled within your eyes. The sight made his body tingle.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

#harrison wells x reader #harrison wells imagine #harrison wells #harrison wells fanfiction #hr wells x reader #hr x reader #hr wells #hr wells imagine #the flash #the flash imagine #the flash x reader #the flash cw #DC comics #dc #DCTV #dctv fanfic #team flash #team flash x reader #team flash imagine

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sunriserose1023 · 4 years ago

Text

Another Try [5]

SUMMARY: He was supposed to return the Infinity Stones. He used them instead. WORD COUNT: 5976 PAIRING: Steve Rogers x Female Reader WARNINGS FOR THE SERIES: Language, canon divergent, timeline delineation, explicit sexual content, canon-typical situations/injuries, more warnings will be added/removed as the series progresses

Masterlist

You had your catsuit on but hanging off your waist as you tried to fix your hair. Natasha was the best at leaving her hair down, curled or straight, not letting it hinder her in any way as she kicked serious ass. If you tried to do that, you spent most of the time pushing your hair out of your eyes, and that one time you tried to take a minute and put your hair up in a ponytail in the middle of a fight, Tony ended up with a grade II concussion. Something he still takes every chance he can to remind you about.

You spit out a breath, letting your hands and your hair fall. You shook your head and shook out your arms, starting to go back to fixing your hair, stopping when you saw a bit of movement behind you in the mirror. You leaned to the side and Steve poked his head in the doorway. A smile spread over your face as you beckoned him into the bathroom.

“Hey, Cap.”

He nodded, raising an eyebrow as he took in your black tank top and half-zipped suit. You rolled your eyes as you motioned towards yourself.

“I get too hot if I put the suit on before I’m fully ready. And my hair’s not cooperating, so …”

Steve slowly nodded, leaning against the doorframe. You were distracted by his thick arms in his dark suit, and when you let your eyes drift back to meet his, you saw the smirk on his face. You felt your own face heat up and you shook your head as you turned to the mirror and began again to gather your hair into a ponytail.

“Have you ever braided it?”

You snorted, shaking your head.

“I can’t braid my own hair. I can kinda do someone else’s, but I don’t know how to get it started. I wish I could French braid. That would be perfect.”

Steve pushed off the wall, walking to stand behind you, looking down at your head.

“Let me try.”

You met his eyes in the mirror.

“I’m not your guinea pig, Rogers.”

He smiled, laying his hands on your shoulders.

“You’re not my guinea pig. You’re not the first girl I’ve done this for.” “Let me just tell you, that line? Not going to get you far.”

Steve paused, your words sinking in as he smiled, shaking his head.

“You’re the worst.”

You laughed, dropping your hands. Steve gave your shoulders a squeeze before murmuring for you to tilt your head back. You did, eyes closing as he began picking up pieces of your hair, sliding them together, twisting gently before picking up more strands.

“Bucky’s little sister taught me how to do this. Buck was at school one day, and Becca and I were home because we both had the chickenpox. We didn’t have a television back then, and nothing fun was on the radio during the day. So Becca taught me how to braid her hair.” “And you were a natural?”

Steve snorted.

“Hardly. My hands shook so bad you couldn’t even tell there was a braid. But Becca was so calm and patient with me, and before the week was up, I was braiding like a pro.”

You hummed softly as Steve’s nimble fingers continued to drift through your hair. You let yourself get lost in his gentle touches, the pleasure of someone playing with your hair, getting very close to dozing off.

“There.”

You blinked sleepy eyes open, looking at yourself in the mirror, eyes widening when you tilted your head and took in Steve’s handiwork.

“Wow.” “It’s terrible, isn’t it?”

You laughed, shaking your head, reaching back and lightly hitting his chest before turning to face him.

“It’s perfect.”

Steve was smiling back at you when he leaned down, his lips meeting yours in a soft kiss. Your hands moved to his face, his smooth, freshly-shaven skin soft against your palms. You hummed against his mouth when his arms slid around you, pulling you closer.

“When you two are done playing grab-ass, the jet’s ready.”

Your face was on fire when you pulled away from Steve’s kiss, the two of you turning to see Bucky with a shit-eating grin on his face. You narrowed your eyes as the former assassin began whistling as he walked away, and you lowered your forehead to Steve’s chest. He gave your shoulders a gentle rub, speaking low.

“Come on. They’re going to give us enough grief as it is.”

You nodded, turning back to the mirror and pulling your suit into place. Steve stepped up behind you and zipped it, meeting your eyes in the mirror.

“Soon as this mission’s done, we’re going on our date.”

Your lips curved into a smile.

“Like the minute it’s over or am I going to have time to shower?”

Steve shook his head.

“Never mind. I rescind my invitation.” “You can’t do that!”

He held out his hands as he backed out of the room, and you laughed as you hurried after him. The two of you ran onto the quinjet, stopping when all eyes were on you. You looked to Steve, who raised an eyebrow at the crowd of Avengers.

“What are you all standing around for? Buckle up. Let’s get going.”

You took a break from meditating, your pre-mission routine of trying to get yourself in the right headspace. You unfolded your limbs from where you’d been sitting on the floor, looking around the jet.

Wanda and Pietro were sitting in two of the chairs, facing each other, their knees touching. Sam and Steve were in the cockpit, while Bucky was sitting across from you, sharpening one of his many knives. Natasha, Clint, and Tony had somehow managed to sit this one out.

Your attention went back to Bucky, to the slow, methodical way he drew his knife over the strap he was using to sharpen it. Your eyes traced his movements, the slow back and forth, somehow soothing.

“You gonna say something or are you just going to stare?”

You smiled.

“I’ll just stare.”

Bucky shook his head, a smile on his lips.

“What’s on your mind, pretty eyes?”

You didn’t answer, watching as Bucky stopped sharpening his knife. He lifted it and narrowed his eyes as he studied the blade, then went back to sharpening. You thought about ignoring his question, but the man had patience galore—something you did not expect from the former Winter Soldier. You moved a bit closer to him, pitching your voice low.

“Steve asked me out.”

Bucky stopped the movement of his knife, lifting wide grey eyes to you.

“No shit?”

You nodded, and a smile spread over Bucky’s face.

“That’s my boy.”

You rolled your eyes, but a smile came to your lips. You lifted a shoulder and shook your head, letting out a sigh.

“Doesn’t matter, because where are we? Not on the damn date. Jetting off to parts unknown yet again.” “It’s not ‘unknown.’ It’s South America, the Amazon rainforest.”

You groaned.

“Oh, my favorite.”

You hung your head as Bucky laughed under his breath. You looked down at your hands, then back to Bucky, who was watching you with a smirk on his face. You smiled, shaking your head.

“Ignore me. I’m being stupid and selfish.” “Hey, you’re allowed.”

Bucky stood up, walking over to you and sitting beside you. He tapped your knee, leaning closer to you and speaking under his breath.

“Especially knowing how long it took ol’ Capitão to get his head out of his ass.”

You giggled, leaning to push Bucky’s shoulder with your own. He winked at you and you glanced towards the cockpit, seeing Steve staring back at you with a smirk on his face. You felt your cheeks warm, and Steve gave a quiet laugh before he turned to Sam.

You shook your head, crossing your legs again, letting your hands rest on your knees, palms up. You inhaled, holding the breath as long as you could before exhaling, trying to clear your mind before the mission.

“Easy. Just take it easy.”

You nodded, whimpering as you leaned against Steve, careful not to put any weight on your right foot. He slowly took a step and you tried to imitate him, gasping when pain shot up your leg. Steve shook his head, scooping you into his arms and walking towards the quinjet.

You felt the breeze as Pietro ran past you and Steve, his sister in his arms. Wanda rolled her eyes as he set her on her feet, pushing her brother’s shoulder and murmuring in a language you didn’t understand. Bucky jogged up beside you and Steve, nodding to the twins.

“She’s right, you know.”

Wanda grinned and Pietro rolled his eyes behind Bucky’s back, and Bucky turned to walk backwards, looking you over.

“You okay?”

Your hand shook as you gave him a thumbs up, and he gave a sigh.

“That was a nasty fall.” “I’ve had worse. Can’t really recall one right now, but…”

You’d taken a tumble through the floor of an old hut this particular HYDRA faction was using as their base camp. No one had realized the hut had a secret underground compartment until you’d fallen and heard a sickening crunch from your leg. You rolled your head to look at Bucky, wincing when you saw the blood on his cheek.

“Jeez, Buck.”

He raised an eyebrow and Steve lifted a shoulder to rub at his own cheek. Bucky lifted a hand, making a face when his fingers came away bloody.

“Gross, but it’s not mine. No big deal.” “Only us lowly mortals got hurt this go-round, huh?”

Bucky smiled, but it slid from his face when you shifted in Steve’s arms, grabbing onto the harness on his chest that held his shield. Steve stopped, and you grit your teeth as you tried to straighten out your quickly swelling leg.

“Breathe.” “God, this hurts.” “I know. We’ll be home soon.”

You nodded, putting your face in Steve’s shoulder as he carried you into the jet. Bucky hovered close behind, sitting beside you once Steve had laid you on one of the benches in the back, taking your hand and squeezing it before he walked towards the cockpit.

“Scale of one to ten.” “Ten. It’s a ten.” “A fuckin’ ten?”

You laughed, smacking Bucky’s chest.

“Don’t make me laugh. It hurts.”

Bucky nodded, offering you a hand. You took it, using his strength to try and maneuver yourself into a comfortable position. After a moment, you relaxed, breathing deeply. You had your eyes closed when Bucky softly spoke.

“If it helps, the bastard who pushed you met the business end of Steve’s shield before you landed.”

You pursed your lips.

“You know, that kinda does help.”

Bucky gave a quiet laugh.

“Can I do anything?”

You shook your head.

“I just really want to pass out and not be able to feel my heartbeat in my ankle.”

Bucky made a face, nodding as his metal palm pressed against yours.

“Try and rest. We’ll be home soon.”

You nodded slowly, trying to calm your breathing, moaning softly when you felt the sickening thump of your heartbeat in your leg. Unbeknownst to you, all of the color had slid from your face, a cold sweat breaking over your forehead. Bucky whistled through his teeth, making the twins look over to him. He nodded at Wanda, mouthing to her.

“Little help?”

Wanda nodded, standing up and gripping her brother’s shoulder for a moment. She nodded again, slowly making her way to you and Bucky, eyes already glowing red by the time she reached you. A gentle touch of her hand to your forehead and your hand went limp in Bucky’s, unconsciousness taking your pain away. Bucky nodded, then met Wanda’s eyes.

“How’s the head?”

She held up a hand in a “so-so” gesture and Bucky nodded. He glanced down at your sleeping form, then back to Wanda.

“Can you tell if she’s okay?” “I can try.”

The jet gently shook with a bit of turbulence, and before Bucky could make a move to Wanda, her brother was behind her, holding her steady. She smiled, lips barely moving as she murmured something only Pietro could hear. He snorted, going quiet as Wanda held a hand over your right foot, fingers causing red sparks to slowly dance as her hand hovered over your ankle, moving slightly before coming to a stop in the middle of your lower leg.

“Her leg is broken.” “Really?”

Wanda nodded.

“Both bones, I’m afraid.” “Shit.” “It should be elevated, at least above her heart.”

Bucky watched as Wanda created an intricate net of glowing red ropes, and he helped lift your leg until Wanda could put her makeshift orb under your foot. You gave a quiet moan in your sleep, and Bucky glanced back to see Steve watching him. Bucky motioned with his head and Steve murmured to Sam, patting his shoulder as he walked to his best friend.

Bucky laid your hand by your side and stood up, putting his hands on his hips.

“Sit by her awhile. I’ll go bother Sam.”

Steve clicked his tongue, shrugging his shoulders as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“I thought you two were pretty comfy back here.”

Bucky blinked, then gave a laugh. He backhanded Steve’s shoulder with his metal hand and shook his head.

“Would you relax? We’re friends. And no offense, but she’s not my type.” “Oh, really? And what is your type?”

Bucky automatically glanced towards the cockpit of the jet, quickly glancing away as his cheeks went red. Steve’s eyes widened as his mouth fell open, and Bucky shook his head.

“Just sit here, would you? Don’t be stupid about this.” “I just—“

Bucky didn’t wait for Steve to finish his sentence, and Steve huffed an exasperated breath as he watched the back of Bucky’s head walk away. The twins nodded to Steve, going back to their seats. He glanced at your leg, stepping forward and gently unzipping your boot, removing it from your foot as easily as he could. He studied your leg, waking to the cockpit, to the passenger seat, where Bucky was sitting.

“Yeah, that’s why you got to … hey, punk, what the hell?”

Steve took a knife off Bucky’s belt, turning it in his hand as he walked back to you. Everyone on the jet seemed to fall silent, watching as Steve pulled the material of your suit away from your knee, slipping the knife through the material. He slid the knife down the leg of your suit, hissing when he pulled the two pieces of material aside, seeing the intense bruising and swelling of your leg.

“Damn, Y/N.”

He looked over towards Wanda.

“Is everything okay? Other than the broken bones?”

Wanda nodded, closing her eyes and wincing, lifting a hand to the back of her head. Pietro muttered in their native language, and Wanda laid a hand on his shoulder. She blinked twice, then met Steve’s eyes.

“Yes. Both bones in her leg are broken, slightly displaced, but not bad enough to cause further damage.”

Steve nodded and sighed.

“Thank you, Wanda.”

She smiled, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes. Steve bent over you, picking up your hand and holding it, exhaling slowly as he brushed his fingertips over your still-braided hair.

Steve walked down the hallway of the medical wing, hair still slightly damp from his shower. He walked to the room Jarvis had told him you were in, lifting his hand to knock, going still when he heard the sniffle. He gentled his knock, pushing open the door before you could answer.

He watched you quickly wipe your hands over your cheeks, unable to hide the tear tracks and red eyes. He shook his head and you blew out a breath, motioning for him to come and sit beside you. He took your hand, no words leaving his mouth, but curiosity all over his face. You sighed, staring at the hand he was holding as you spoke.

“They took x-rays and the … both bones are broken in my leg. It’s a bad break, and they …”

You sighed again.

“They’re going to have to do surgery. Probably put a couple of rods in my leg.” “Oh, jeez.”

You nodded, and Steve watched a muscle in your jaw tic before you spoke again.

“And they … they said that the recov—recovery is hard, and even if everything goes perfectly, I probably won’t be able to go on missions anymore.”

You leaned back against the pillows, taking your hand from Steve’s and covering your face with both hands. You weren’t able to see the shock on Steve’s face, or the way he blinked a few times before shaking his head. He reached out and gently took your hands off your face, gently rubbing his thumbs on your wrists.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay.” “It’s not!”

Steve smiled softly, moving to sit on the edge of your bed, keeping one hand in his lap. He looked back at your face, keeping that gentle smile on his own.

“You don’t have to go on missions to be a good agent.” “I know. But I like going on missions. I’m good at it. Well, I thought I was.” “Hey, one injury doesn’t mean you’re a bad agent.”

You shook your head.

“It’s not fair.”

Steve sighed, shaking his head.

“No, it isn’t.”

He met your eyes, saw the tears sparkling. You shook your head and sniffled.

“I’m sorry, I … I think I just want to be alone for a while.”

Steve slowly nodded, picking up your hand and bringing it to his lips. You pushed a smile onto your face, and he nodded again as he walked to the door. It wasn’t until the door shut behind him that you broke, picking up a pillow and putting it over your face to muffle the sobs.

Sobs he heard anyway.

Steve walked back to his room, passing Natasha on the way to see you, not speaking or acknowledging her presence. She narrowed her eyes as she watched him press the button, then step into the elevator.

“JARVIS?” “Yes, Miss Romanoff.” “Where is the captain going?” “To his room, ma’am. Shall I ask him to wait for you?”

Natasha thought for a moment, then shook her head.

“No, thank you.”

She stared at the elevator for a moment, then shook her head as she walked down the hall to your room in the medical wing.

Steve stepped into his apartment, shutting and locking the door behind him. He pushed both hands through his hair, exhaling sharply.

“This isn’t supposed to happen.”

He looked around the room, bare of anything personal, as warm and inviting as a prison cell. He walked into his bedroom, eyes taking in the crisply made bed, the masculine furniture, the fake plant on the windowsill. He shut his eyes, shaking his head. He walked to the spacious closet and shut the door behind him, pushing things aside until he found the briefcase. He knelt down and opened it, studying the Infinity Stones staring back at him.

He could use the aether, turn Y/N’s broken leg into an illusion. But … that could end up being more harmful.

He could use the Time Stone and go back to just before that bastard pushed her and take him out. Or he could make sure she wasn’t near that bit of rotten flooring. Or he could go back even further and convince her not to go on the mission. Have Natasha take her place instead.

But what could happen to Natasha if he did that?

Steve stared at the Stones, finally closing his eyes and hanging his head. He closed the briefcase without looking at it, giving a long exhale before returning it to its hiding place. He moved to sit with his back against the wall, knees drawn up, arms resting on his knees.

He knew he’d caused some damage by not returning the Stones and using them instead. He knew how easy it would be to use them again and again, for his own selfish reasons, but that makes him no better than Thanos. But hadn’t he earned some selfish?

Hadn’t you?

Steve let his head fall back, staring at the waning light creeping in through the slats in the door. You’d never broken your leg in his timeline. You’d gotten hurt on missions, of course—everyone had—but nothing to this extent. Nothing that could permanently take you out of the game. No, this injury was brand new.

Steve got an itch at the back of his neck when he thought about that.

He shook his head, pushing to his feet. No, this time would be different. He glanced towards where the briefcase was hidden. This time, you’d be fine.

One way or another.

Steve couldn’t sleep worth a damn, so he finally gave up, got out of bed and ran ten miles. He showered and decided to grab a cup of coffee before he went to the medical wing, hoping to see you before they took you back for surgery.

Imagine his surprise when he walked into the kitchen and saw you standing at the counter, a mug in your hands.

“Y/N?”

You turned to face him, a bright smile on your face. The shorts you were wearing showed off your legs, neither of which were swollen or bruised in any way. Steve shook his head and your smile widened.

“Morning, Captain.”

Steve shook his head, eyes going from your leg to your face.

“How?”

You shrugged your shoulders, setting the mug on the counter.

“I felt better this morning, and I could move without any pain. They redid the x-rays and there is no evidence of a break. I’m fine.”

Steve crossed the kitchen in a flash, taking you in his arms. You laughed, lacing your arms around him, closing your eyes as the warmth of his body bled into yours. As you leaned into his thick chest, Steve spoke softly.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” “Me, too.” “I just … how?”

You shook your head, sighing softly, stepping back from Steve.

“I don’t know for sure.” “But you have your suspicions?”

You smiled and nodded, looking down at your hands. You opened your mouth, closing it again when Natasha and Clint walked into the kitchen, stopping abruptly and eyes widening when they saw you. Clint shook his head and you smiled, lifting a shoulder.

“I’m okay.”

Natasha shook her head as she stepped forward.

“How? I saw your xrays. There’s no way—“ “Must have been a miracle.”

Natasha’s eyes widened and Clint huffed out a breath, tossing his head to the side and whining as he walked to the coffee pot. He took the whole pot and carried it to the table, wrapping his arms around it, pulling a straw from the jar on the table and putting it into the pot. You shook your head, laying a hand on Steve’s arm as you stepped around him to gather the ingredients to make a new pot of coffee in the second coffeemaker.

Steve was quiet as he watched Natasha sit beside Clint, pulling her feet up, wiggling her toes as she pushed them under his leg until he sat on them. Clint grunted and took a sip of coffee through his straw, hovering protectively over the pot, cradling it as Bucky and Sam made their ways into the room, both of them sweating. Bucky’s hair was pulled up into a messy bun, and he nodded when you held up a finger at him, then pointed to the coffee pot. Sam went for the refrigerator, taking out the carton of orange juice.

“Use a glass, Wilson.”

Sam glanced over his shoulder and glared at you, but he relented when you cocked an eyebrow at him. He took the glass Bucky offered him from the cabinet, pouring the juice into his glass, then going still before shaking his head.

“Wait just a damn minute.”

Bucky glanced at Sam, then blinked wide eyes as he turned to you.

“Whoa. You’re …” “Fine.”

Bucky shook his head, kneeling down before you, making you jump when cool metal fingers brushed over your shin.

“How? This thing was twice the size and so purple it was almost black yesterday.”

You lifted your toes to his metal shoulder and pushed, barely moving him off-balance.

“Must have been a miracle.”

Sam cursed under his breath and Bucky stood to his feet, sighing and shaking his head. Steve shook his head, looking from Sam to Bucky, then over to where Natasha had a knowing smile on her face.

“I don’t know what’s happening.” “Par for the course, right, Capsicle?”

Tony’s brows furrowed when he looked from Steve to you, shaking his head as he pointed to your leg.

“What’s going on?” “Little miraculous healing before breakfast.”

Tony groaned, pushing Sam aside as he went for the coffee pot, grumbling under his breath.

“It’s too early for this shit.”

Tony poured himself some coffee, throwing it back like a shot. He poured some more, returning the pot to the base, gasping and bobbling the mug when he saw the snake coiled up on the counter. Steve instinctively stepped in front of you, and you giggled as you laid a hand against his back, going on your tiptoes to peek over his shoulder. Tony set the mug on the counter, moving to run cool water over the back of his hand, which was covered in coffee and slightly burnt.

“Goddamn it. You son of a bitch.”

Steve’s eyes widened as a golden light shone, the snake transforming into a man sitting on the edge of the counter.

“Such language at such an early hour, Anthony.” “You made me spill my coffee, you bastard.”

Steve’s eyes were wide, heartbeat thundering in his ears as he stared at the man. The noises in the room faded as he looked back to the table, where Natasha and Clint sat, Clint with his head bowed, straw of coffee still in his mouth, Natasha with a small smile on her lips as she scrolled through news apps on her phone. Sam and Bucky were talking low on the other side of the room, and Tony was muttering under his breath as he turned off the faucet and dried his hands. You stepped from behind Steve, hand sliding along his shoulder as you made your way to stand in front of the … god on the kitchen counter.

“I suppose some thanks are in order?” “Whatever could you be referring to, my love?”

Your cheeks went pink, eyes rolling as you gently shook your head. He leaned in towards you, inky black hair gleaming even in the industrial lighting.

“You know I could never bear to see you hurt.”

You smiled, glancing back at Steve, the smile sliding from your face when you saw the twitch in his jaw, the hard set to his eyes.

“Steve?”

Tony, Sam, Bucky, Natasha, and Clint all looked your way when they heard the slight tremble in your voice, scrambling into action when Steve quickly crossed the room, grabbing the man by the lapels of his coat, yanking him up and pressing him against the wall.

“What the hell are you doing here?!”

Shouts echoed around the room, words Steve couldn’t hear and didn’t bother trying to understand in his haze of rage. The man winced when Steve moved a thick forearm to press against his throat, green eyes meeting Steve’s own, a flash of surprise accompanying one dark eyebrow raising.

“Well. My, my.”

Steve narrowed his eyes as the man coughed, wincing at the increase of pressure on his windpipe. Steve went to open his mouth, falling silent when your sweet voice broke through.

“Please, Steve, come on. Look at me. Steve.”

He did, turning his head just slightly to meet your wide, frightened eyes. You nodded, doing your best to keep your voice level.

“It’s okay. Everything’s okay, Steve. Just let him go.”

Steve gave a shake of his head.

“This is Loki.” “I know.”

You shook your head, one trembling hand moving to rest against his shoulder.

“Loki wouldn’t hurt us.”

Bucky made a disagreeing noise, clamping his mouth shut when you shot a glare his way. You looked back to see Steve staring at you, and you shook your head again, moving your hand up a bit to let your pinky finger brush against Steve’s cheek. He gave a small shake of his head, voice barely a whisper.

“He’s … evil.” “No, honey. No. He’s just … mischievous.”

Steve shook his head again, and you moved both hands to touch him.

“It’s okay, Steve. Just let him go. I promise you, he’s not going to do anything to hurt us.”

Steve slid his eyes back to Loki, who nodded.

“She’s right. If I wanted to hurt you, you’d be bleeding … Captain.”

Steve felt his lips trying to curl into a snarl, but he slowly relaxed, dropping his hands from Loki, dropping him to the ground. Loki stumbled a bit, straightening his cloak and glancing back at Steve, a knowing, yet curious look in his eyes. Steve looked to you, taking your hand and pulling you close, putting his face in your hair. You closed your eyes, wrapping your arms around him, motioning for the others to leave. They did, and when it was just the two of you in the kitchen, you moved a hand to gently scratch at Steve’s scalp.

“Can we talk?”

Steve tightened his grip on your waist for just a moment, giving a long exhale as he stepped back from you. He turned his back to you, placing his hands on the counter and hanging his head. You licked your lips, taking in a breath and letting it out slowly as you spoke.

“What was that?”

Steve shook his head, lifting it to glance out the window, throat working as he swallowed.

“Loki’s the one who healed you?”

When you didn’t answer, Steve turned his head, looking over his shoulder and meeting your clearly worried eyes. You nodded, and Steve shook his head, looking back out the window.

“And what do we have to give him in return?” “What? No. We don’t … Steve.”

He couldn’t look at you, and you licked your lips before speaking again.

“What happened to you?”

He didn’t answer, so you went on.

“You’re … not acting like yourself. It’s almost like you have no idea what’s going on here.” “So fill me in.”

You shook your head, stepping closer to him, then taking a step backwards.

“Will you look at me?”

He hung his head, closing his eyes. He finally turned around, leaning against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest and meeting your eyes. You shook your head again, fighting the urge to go to him.

“What is going on with you?”

Steve shook his head and you blew out a breath.

“Don’t … don’t lie to me. You’re not the same Steve we left here last week. What happened?”

It took him by surprise, the fact that he actually wanted to tell you. But how could he?

“I’m actually from eight years in the future. The Avengers broke up, only getting back together when it was a last resort. Then we lost. We lost so badly that half the population just disappeared. Not that it bothered you any, because you’ve been dead for years in my time.”

Steve glanced over his shoulder, back out the window. He knew he couldn’t tell you the truth, but how could he lie to you? He uncrossed his arms, letting one fall by his side, using the other hand to rub his chin.

“Something did happen. I just … I’m not sure what.” “What do you mean?”

Steve shook his head, turning to face the window again, putting both hands on the counter.

“It’s like … like I’ve lived this before, but … differently.” “Different how?”

Steve swallowed.

“Loki was a bad guy. Pietro died soon after we met him. Bucky was a master assassin, and you and I never touched.”

You blinked, giving a sharp exhale. Steve shook his head, looking over his shoulder at you.

“It’s hard to tell what’s real. What’s an actual memory and what’s not. I’m sorry.” “Don’t apologize. Steve.”

He turned his head to look at you, seeing the worry on your face. You went to him, one hand moving to his cheek. He closed his eyes, leaning into your touch. You shook your head, just staring at him.

“I can’t imagine that. Not being able to remember, or not sure what to remember. Oh, honey.”

You wrapped your arms around him and Steve melted into your touch. His hands came up to press against your back, holding you close as one of your hands drifted up to stroke his hair. After a few moments of silence, Steve spoke again.

“You’re sure Loki’s on our side?”

You smiled.

“I’m sure. He’s crafty, but he’s one of us. Well, as much ‘one of us’ as a god can be.” “Okay.” “I mean … we never would have beaten Fury without Loki’s help. He saved our lives.”

Steve’s eyes flew open. He gently pushed you back, keeping his hands on your shoulders as he studied your face.

“Fury?”

You nodded.

“Undercover HYDRA agent? Brought the aliens down on us in the Battle of New York? If it wasn’t for Loki, we would have been toast.”

Steve just stared at you, barely even blinking. You gave a shaky exhale, letting your hand fall to his shoulder.

“I’ll get you the files, let you refresh your memory.”

Steve slowly nodded. You smiled as you let your hand slide from his shoulder to his back.

“Loki just likes to play tricks. He’s the god of mischief, after all. But he’d never hurt us.” “Are you sure? The stories of what he did to Thor alone, I just …”

You furrowed your eyebrows.

“Who?”

Steve met your eyes, saw the confusion in them.

“Thor.”

You shook your head.

“Who is that?”

Steve felt his heart stutter in his chest. He blinked, speaking again.

“Thor. The god of Thunder. Loki’s brother.”

You pursed your lips, shaking your head again.

“Loki doesn’t have a brother. He’s spoken some about a sister, but I don’t know if she’s actually alive or just a scary story they told to keep him in line.” “Are you sure?”

You shrugged your shoulders.

“We could always just ask him. But I … I think he would have told us about a brother by now.”

Steve swallowed hard, slowly nodding his head. You moved a hand to cup his cheek, feeling your heart thud in your chest when he turned his face to your touch, closing his eyes.

“Let me get you some water, okay?”

Steve nodded, pressing his lips to your palm until you’d stepped too far away. He stared straight ahead, mind churning, heart racing with the realizations that were suddenly hitting him, the consequences of what he’d done only beginning to scratch the surface.

Pietro was still alive. Bucky was thriving. Thor didn’t exist here. Fury did, but as the complete opposite of what Steve had known.

Steve took the water bottle from your hand, smiling back at the soft smile you gave him. He set the bottle on the table and took your hand, tugging you close. You had that same soft smile on your face when he lifted a hand to your cheek, caressing gently as he pressed his lips to yours.

It was worth it.

You were worth it.

TAGS: @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan, @chonkychornes, @sarcasm-myfriend, @patzammit, @beardburnsupersoldiers, @sallyp-53, @moodymcu, @angrybirdcr, @bellaireland1981, @brittanymcsharry, @free-2bmee, @laneygthememequeen, @iwritesmutsandfluff, @captain-rogers-beard, @geeksareunique, @alexxcorona113, @iluvsumbucky, @readermia, @buckmecaptain, @jennmurawski13, @emmandhercoffecrisp, @geekysimmerthings, @deidrashouseofpain, @idjitmonkey, @peaceinourtime82, @fallenoutofrose, @anika-ann, @superavengerpotterstar, @nerdgirljen, @thefanficfaerie, @adaliamalfoy, @rinthehufflepuff, @fallenoutofrose, @scentedsongrebel, @badassbaker, @iluvsumbucky, @donutloverxo

#another try series #marvel fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #marvel reader insert #steve rogers x female reader #mcu reader insert #marvel au #mcu au #steve rogers fanfiction #avengers fanfiction #avengers reader insert #mcu

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zerinseo · 3 years ago

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Reusable Paper Towels: 5 best on Amazon

Julia

August 19, 2021 9 min read

Look around your kitchen and think about all the little spills and big messes that always happen in this room. Do you usually use paper towels to get rid of them? If the answer is yes, you might want to rethink your habits and consider switching to reusable paper towels instead! You’re probably wondering why. Come along, and we’ll explain it all to you!

Paper towels cause a lot of waste when used all the time. That’s because they are single-use, and you rarely use just one to clean up a mess around the kitchen or even the house. The Environmental Protection Agency asserts that paper and cardboard waste – which includes paper towels – make up the largest percentage of wasted material globally. Plus, we cut down 110.000.000 trees per year just for good that includes paper, toilet paper, and, you guessed it right, paper towels.

Being eco-conscious is more than just a way to think, it’s a way to act and live by. We are so used to things that have been in our everyday lives forever, like paper towels, that we don’t realize their negative impact on the environment. It has been proved that starting a more green way to live in the kitchen is the way to go since it’s easier to root sustainable habits when they’re close to food preparation.

So, filling up your towels stock with reusable paper towels is a great way to start. Since they’re reusable, you will get to save money in the long run since you won’t have to buy new ones all the time. It will also save you work since you won’t have to keep remembering to restock. And, of course, the best part: you will decrease your trash accumulation and help the planet by thwarting deforestation.

But what are they exactly? Let’s dive into that!

What are reusable paper towels?

Basically, they are just like paper towels but are made with paper substitutes, more sustainable materials. They can be made of bamboo, cotton, cellulose, or even wood pulp. And the best part is that the swap from regular paper towels to reusable ones is very easy and painless since they are so similar.

The difference stands in the fact that reusable paper towels are much more strong and resistant than conventional ones, plus most of them are compostable and biodegradable, which makes them even better for the environment.

You can use the reusable paper towels just like you would regular ones: to clean spills around the kitchen, messes around the house, large spills in the bathroom, a surprise your pet left you in the living room carpet, and so on. Plus, they can be used with all-purpose cleaners on glass, tabletops, countertops surfaces, and floors.

And, of course, they are reusable. You can use the reusable paper towels as many times as you want during the period designated by the brand, which can go from a week up to two years. Even the ones that only last up to a week will make you save dozens of regular paper towels. All you have to do is rinse them and hang them to dry in between uses. They are very quick to dry and way more absorbent than conventional paper towels.

The reusable paper towels usually come in packs and in different patterns and colors, which can help you be more organized. You can designate which design will have which purpose in the cleaning chores.

Different kinds of reusable paper towels

Bamboo: This material is sustainable and has been used to replace paper in many ways. The reusable paper towels using this material are made with strong bamboo fibers that are tree-free. They usually last up to a week.

Cotton: The reusable paper towels made with cotton are very similar to cotton kitchen towels, but they are made with recycled or scrap fabric. They are biodegradable, so even though they last longer than paper towels, if you use them just once and throw them out, they will still be less harmful to the environment.

Cellulose Dishcloths: These kinds of reusable paper towels can be made from straight-up cellulose or a cellulose-cotton mix. They are super absorbent, almost like a sponge, super-strong like cotton paper towels, plus they are biodegradable. It can be used on wash machines, dishwashers, and microwaves.

Microfiber towels: You can use these kinds of towels for months, maybe even years, just by rinsing and wringing them out with water, but they are not disposable. Check out an article we made about microfiber towels here.

How to use reusable paper towels?

Now we’ll walk you through how to use, clean, and store reusable paper towels.

First, you replace the regular paper towels in your kitchen with reusable ones. They can come in a roll, like conventional paper towels, or in singles in a pack. You can place them in a regular towel holder if they come in a roll, just like paper ones. If they come in singles, you can place them in an empty tissue box and use that as a holder.

Then, you can use them just like you would regular paper towels. Grab one square for light jobs and multiple squares for heavier duty cleaning chores. Make sure you understand the absorbancy of reusable paper towels to identify how many you’ll need for each chore.

After using it, you can either hand wash them or throw them in the washing machine. Again, check for the specific instruction on the reusable paper towel you got. Rinse them thoroughly, wring them out and hang them to dry. They dry quickly and are ready to be used again.

The durability also depends on the brand and material of the towel. As we said, they can last from a week up to 2 years. In any way, you can toss them as you would a regular paper towel, they will biodegrade or compost naturally.

You’re probably wondering if reusable paper towels are really worth it and not just annoying.

Aren’t reusable paper towels inconvenient?

We’re not going to lie to you, it can be hard to get used to reusable paper towels after using regular ones your whole life. It’s tempting to just run back to conventional paper towels because they are easier to use. But that doesn’t mean reusable paper towels are hard to use or completely inconvenient.

Since they come in packs, we advise you to try only using them for a whole week. Here are some tips on how to make the best out of it.

Have at least 3 towels on rotation in your kitchen at all times, so you’ll never be left hanging;

Quickly rinse them or wash them and hang them to dry right after you use them, so they are always ready to be used again, and you don’t have to leave the mess waiting while you wash the towel to use it;

You can put them in the microwave for a minute in between washes to further disinfect it;

They are more absorbent than regular paper towels, so you can usually use just one, even for large spills;

Try splashing some water on them before using, they tend to soak up more when a little damp.

By the end of the week, you will have an empty landfill and the feeling that you are helping Mother Nature. Plus, seven days is more than enough time for you to get the hang of it. Believe us, you will never go back to regular paper towels ever again.

What to look for in reusable paper towels?

Sustainability

Make sure the reusable paper towel you get is compostable, biodegradable, and non-toxic. Also, check for green product certification labels such as Green Scale, Rainforest Alliance Certified, and Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). All that will ensure you that you are indeed making a change that will have a positive impact on the environment.

Absorbency

The material which your reusable paper towel is made of will let you know how absorbent they are. Cotton usually soaks up better, and hemp usually retains more moisture than bamboo, for instance.

The 5 best reusable paper towels available on Amazon

Swedish Wholesale Cellulose Reusable Paper Towels

Made of cellulose and natural cotton, the Swedish Wholesale reusable paper towels come in a pack of 10. Each towel has an 8 x 7 inches dimension, and each has an absorbency power of 20 times its original weight.

The brand promises that each cloth can be used over 50 times, which means a pack with 10 units can last for approximately a year. That is long enough to replace 150 regular paper towel rolls.

They come in a variety of colors and are very easy to clean. The reusable paper towels can go on the washing machine, and they dry pretty fast, being ready for the next time you need to use them.

Safe for marble, stainless steel, tile, and wood surfaces, you can also use it to scrub, dry dishes, cups, mugs, sinks, and tubs. They are even more versatile than conventional paper towels.

You can find it on Amazon, as the best seller, for $20. The price per towel is $2.

Scotch-Brite Reusable Paper Towels

The cheapest item on our list, the Scotch-Brite reusable paper towels, is only $5 on Amazon. Coming in a pack of 5, each towel costs $1, which is a pretty good deal. Each cloth has a 10 x 19.8 inches dimension, which makes them larger than most.

These are a good option if you’re just starting to let go of regular paper towels. You can use them to try something new around the kitchen and the house before getting more high-end products.

They are very absorbent, being able to clean big messes and soak up large spills on refrigerators, bathrooms, and crafting spaces. Plus, they have a lightweight design, so they dry super quickly, which also makes them odor-resistant.

The Scotch-Brite towels are very easy to clean, you can wash them by hand or toss them in the washing machine. The downside is that they are made of polyester, so they aren’t compostable.

Marley’s Monsters Rolled Reusable Paper Towels

The pricier set on our list, the Marley’s Monsters reusable paper towels, are $65 on Amazon. The higher price is explained by the quality of the product, though. Each towel is handmade with 100% natural cotton flannel, which makes it fully organic. They are made with serged edges to prevent fraying and also to make the product even more durable.

This set comes with 24 towels, each with a 12 x10 inches dimension. They also come in different patterns, which makes it easier for you to designate which belongs where. Also, they are very aesthetically pleasing, making your kitchen even more beautiful and classy.

Marley’s Monsters is a brand certified as “true zero-waste,” which gives you the certainty that their products are eco-friendly and good for the environment. Plus, it even is committed to “commercial composting.”

They come with a roll, which makes them super easy to use and store. Besides that, the brand promises that the absorbency of the towels improves and increases after the first few washes.

Mioeco Reusable Paper Towels

Made with a blend of sustainable bamboo and organic cotton, the Mioeco reusable paper towels might be the most eco-friendly item on our list. That’s because not only is it made with biodegradable organic materials, the production of these towels is made with carbon-neutral manufacturing. This process causes a minimal environmental impact and is 100% GOTS verified.

It comes in a pack of 10 and is the size of a full conventional paper towel, having a 10 x12 inches dimension. That allows it not only to be used for the regular cleaning chores you would do with a paper towel but also for you to use it as a napkin during meals.

The brand promises that the absorbency of the towels improves as they are used and washed. Plus, it is very effective at removing tough stains and grease, a field regular paper towels aren’t so good in.

They have serged edges for durability and for preventing fraying. Besides that, the Mieco reusable paper towels are very easy to clean since they are machine washable and dry pretty quickly.

Lola Products Wowable Reusable Paper Towels

If you want longevity, this is the product for you. The Wowable, by Lola Products, comes in a set of 30 reusable paper towels, and the brand promises that each cloth can last up to 2 years. That way, the full pack can solve your kitchen’s and house’s problems for you for almost a lifetime.

Made of 70% wood pulp and 30% unbleached non-GMO cotton, the towels don’t have any kind of harmful chemicals. With these materials, the cloths can go on the washing machine and on the dryer without any problem. Plus, they are very easy to rinse between usages.

The brand promises that the reusable paper towels are 350% more absorbent than the average and 450% stronger. They can be used everywhere you would use regular ones and more, such as kitchen, bathrooms, windows, garages, and floors.

They come in 5 different colors and are arranged in a roll, fitting standard towel holders, making it even easier for you to make the switch. You can find it on Amazon for $20.

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kevrocksicehouse · 4 years ago

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The Father. D: Florian Zeller (2021).

Starring Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman

The opening scene in the Father sets us up for a sensitive well-acted play about cultured affluent Londoner Anthony (Anthony Hopkins), who is dealing with dementia, and his daughter Anne (Olivia Colman). She chides him for running off his previous caretaker. He says she stole his watch. She goes to the bathroom, retrieves the watch, then tells him she is moving to Paris to live with her boyfriend. The next day he wakes up and sees a man he doesn’t recognize in his living room. He says he’s Paul, Anne’s husband, and Anthony is living in THEIR house. When Anne shows up she is played by a different actress (Olivia Williams) who neither Anthony or we recognize. Zeller illustrates dementia by dementing us, keeping us off our feet and regularly pulling the rug out from under us without losing sight of or sympathy for his characters.

This might be Hopkins best performance. The slight hesitancy of his diction, the sense that he’s always trying to get the words just right, becomes a constant reaching for lifelines as past, present, all concepts of time and place become jumbled. He’s able to embody his character as others see him, acting irrationally and impulsively at the same time we see HIS confusion at a world that’s shifting beyond what he can perceive, much less control. As Anne, Colman is as good playing a middle-aged woman having to swallow her anxiety and sadness (and not a little family drama). Rufus Sewell as (usually) Paul, a man emotionally unequipped for his household’s situation. Williams, Imogen Poots and Mark Gatiss are a sliding scale of characters who often merge into other personas as Anthony’s condition deteriorates. And Zeller never loses control of his concept the way Darren Aronofsky did with his similarly disorienting “Mother!” Of course, that film was a study of self-absorption and paranoia. Zeller’s film, despite the sadness of the concept, is darkly exhilarating because it is driven by compassion and empathy.

Available for rental on Amazon Prime

#the father #anthony hopkins #olivia colman #review

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gotatext · 5 years ago

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hllo ! i’m nora ( she / her, 24, gmt ) crawling back to this rp once more like the dirty sewer slug i am !! i just can’t get enough, baybeyyy ! u may remember me frm such roles as alma putnam, rory bergstrom, bridget matusiak or greta o’driscoll 2 name jst a few.... sure there were more over these long years, bt the show must go on.... this is mimi, she’s dogmatic, tenacious n single-minded 2 the point of recklessness, she doesn’t like handouts n she’s funding her degree through her onlyfans account n moaning abt shit on tiktok. we love 2 see it !! slam that like button n i’ll creep into ur DMs like the slippery worm i am OR u can discord me at that bitch carole baskin#8664. a humble pinterest.

『ALEXA DEMIE ❙ CIS-FEMALE 』 ⟿ looks like MIMI MARTÍNEZ is here for HER SOPHOMORE year as an ARCHITECTURE AND SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY student. SHE is 22 years old & known to be STRONG-WILLED, GOAL-ORIENTED, ARROGANT & EASILY BORED. They’re living in MORIS, so if you’re there, watch out for them. ⬳ nora. 24. gmt. she/her.

this is p embarassing but i actually originally wrote mimi for a discord rp based around love island asgjag dont laugh at me but it was so chaotic n someone deleted it w-out telling any of us so i lost her bio.... all her threads....e verythin.... it was mad. but anyway we startin from scratch w this intro so bare with

mimi is a really extra character so when trying to flesh her out i thot of the most extra thing i could do n made a colour coded mindmap with watercolour paints detailing her values, aesthetics and early life. shoot me

background: she grew up in a trailer home in boulder city, abt half an hour from vegas. her mom had worked in a vegas casino for most of her 20s but relocated to boulder city for a slower pace of life / lower crime rate when she started having kids. mimi has 2 older brothers n she’s the youngest. has that invulnerable younger sibling complex n basically thinks nothing can touch her. very confident in her own intelligence and her ability to get shit done

has mexican ancestry on her mom’s side. doesn’t know her dad. was raised with spanish catholic principals n found it all very stained glass windows and extra n that’s why she was kinda drawn to the decadence of vegas and all these massively high key aesthetics, like dia de les muertos was her fave thing growin up just bcos the pure feel of the festival and painting a sugar skull on her face n being able to party on the streets in a flower crown where everyone was kinda anonymous but together in this celebration

in boulder city her mom worked as a carer as there’s a lot of retirees there. mimi really resented the slow pace of life, longed for some fucking energy n life. she was a cheerleader in school but outside of school there wsn’t much to do except practise stunts and go on bike rides. occasionally they’d get dressed up and catch a bus to henderson, the next biggest city for them to get tht sweet night life

her teenage years consisted mostly of hanging around the renovated motel blocks used as housing projects n tanning by the pool. very florida project if you’ve seen that. she reminds me a lot of the mum in that. also she started working as an avon rep going door-to-door when she was 16 bcos she wanted to have her own income. like as young as 14 she’d decided she was smart enough to go to college but she didn’t have the money n her family didn’t really see it as a worthwhile thing, her mom was very like the mom from matilda “you chose books.... i chose looks!” which i think is where a lot of mimi’s more shallow / appearance-driven traits come from

wasn’t really ‘cool’ until high school. before that she was a bit of a lisa simpson type. won a spelling bee when she was 9. was in the mathletes squad in middle school. when she went from middle school to high school she started cheer and tried to reinvent herself basically. always been very concerned with social mobility and keen to socially climb, like when she enters a new situation she’ll find out who the alphas are and quickly try n befriend them

when she turned 18 she moved out and went to vegas despite her mom hating the idea bcos it was everything she’d tried to get her kids away from. she worked in the clubs there for several years as a shot girl, a table dancer, n eventually she started workin behind the bar in a strip club. in the club it ws really hard to resist becoming a dancer bcos of the sheer amount they made in tips. no one really pressured her into it she just eventually decided tht it was way more logical to do it while she was young n fit and had the stamina and ppl were willing to pay to see her body so she started taking pole fitness lessons. she also started working as a cam girl around this time

working in vegas strip clubs is basically whats paid for uni. like she didn’t go at 18 like most of her friends did bcos she didn’t have the money and she didn’t want to feel indebted to a college like she had to compete for her place and not put a toe out of line bcos she was on a scholarship. she was determined to pay her own way and it took 4 years of working really hard and saving n even tho she was working in vegas she basically never went out bcos every penny she had needed to go on uni n thts how we get to radcliffe baybeeyy

part 2 - interior / values / personality

values: the aesthetic !! literally loves the aesthetic so much. everything she owns is super embellished, she’s a pop socket gal, her dell laptop is covered in glitzy stickers, she always has acrylics n probs makes nail art videos on tiktok. really tuned into tiny details like painting a little hello kitty above her eye which translates into her degree when she’s doing small-scale mockups of town plans n stuff... she jst puts so much detail into them. ppl often get surprised when she tells them she does architecture but it makes so much sense bcos she grew up in a trailer park n was always thinking about ways the space could be more efficiently used, like she loves re-conceptualising neighbourhoods, definitely spent hours on sims as a kid. she also grew up near hoover dam n so loads of school trips they just took them there n she was like.... this is tight but it could be cooler.... where’s the passion....

massively into photography, has such a neat instagram feed like everything just compliments the tones in the next post like mMMM. idk if any of u know any architecture students but this is literally the one constant i can find…. like they all have super good instagrams feeds. is that bitch that will take 40 fake candids of u in a row at different angles to get u the perfect profile picture cos she understands the importance of marketing urself and having an online #brand

has wire rimmed glasses that she doesn’t need to see BUT they r like a magnifying glass for when she’s working with really small materials to do a mock up of an urban plan, and also just sometimes wears them for the aesthetic bc she’s such a pinterest bitch

assassination nation is such a big mood. literally the aesthetics of that and lily colson’s whole brand of feminism and nudity not being inherently sexual but at the same time wanting to profit off that bcos why the fuck shouldnt she use a corrupt system to her advantage is incredibly mimi

literally a human personification of a bratz doll both in attitude and fashion sense

somehow simultaneously gansey in the raven cycle AND elle woods in legally blonde? the two genders

values cont bc i started rambling: her independence and freedom. being the best at any given task she sets her mind to accomplish because she is unable to accept failure. social mobility. sexual liberation. interested in the psychology of sub-cultures and how ppl form groups and interact w each other and cult identities which is why she minors in anthropology. pro-choice. pro-weed legalisation. pro-sex worker rights. very activist.

aesthetics tht remind me of her: von dutch. a strappy cami top that says ‘please do not do coke in the bathroom’. low-waisted jeans that show off her belly button piercing. acrylic nails tapping against a heavily embellished second-hand dell laptop. heart shaped sunglasses in every colour. translucent stripper heels with barbie doll heads and plastic spiders in the heel. spraying champagne you cant afford all over the walls. narcotics in a heart shaped locket. an amazon wishlist full of lingerie linked on your tinder profile. sex tapes recorded on VCR. a religious devotion to waxing clinics. necking shots like you were born to do it.

she’s an enfj type which makes her pretty charismatic and confidence, like she has a fierce kind of energy to her, but she’s also super unwilling to accept criticism, dogmatic and can only really see her own way of thinking, quite ruthless when it comes 2 other ppls emotions despite having a poor control of her own and being prone to turbulence / throwin a bitch fit in the craft lab. easily bored. competitive. self-assured to the point of arrogance. forceful. adaptable. usually more rational than emotional but occasionally loses the ability to make rational decisions when blinded by a need for perfectionism.

very goal-oriented. money motivates her. money and clothes. she wants to look bomb while earning big bucks. when she gets her mind set on a project it literally consumes her she will forget to eat and sleep? i don’t know her. like when a final design project is due for architecture she’ll be up all night doing adderall and speed to keep her awake working on the placement of a single tree for ages cos its gotta be perfect

loves chaos. will spill your secrets and pretend it was an accident. will always be that gif of kim kardashian sipping her tea while drama unfolds around her. lives for the drama like that gifset of bratz when she comes running and gets her phone out to record a fight.

im makin her sound like a really bad person but hopefully she’ll be somewhat likeable she can be very charismatic and endearing and she’s naturally quite funny. also now she’s finally in college and doesn’t have to worry so much about money she actually allows herself to party n bcos she denied herself of it for so long she kinda makes up for it by going p wild like will be the girl climbing on to stage to crowd surf at gigs or doing a summersault off the bar and being escorted out by bouncers, thats the energy were looking at, pure dionysian hedonistic impulse

really gd at talking her way out of shit like parking fines. so good at being an ‘im baby’ girl and often dumbs herself down to figures of authority to appear less like a threatening ball-breaker and more like a confused fiat 500 girl who didn’t know red meant stop she thought it meant slow down

listens almost exclusively to female artists. has fergalicious on repeat when she does squats infront of the mirror n just the biggest fergie stan. also lana del rey’s whole vibe is massive mimi energy

ok ya thats all i have for now..... hopefully this is somewhat coherent and not just garbage.

#radintro #plot w me bitches #im fun n love quarantine sadness

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smartbathroomscales-blog · 4 years ago

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Smart Bathroom Scales From Argos

In this digital age, smart bathroom scales are becoming the norm. Used by many people across the world today, these digital scales allow you to keep track of your weight and body fat percentage easily and without having to worry about any complications. While in the past such a figure may have been ignored or simply psychologically edited, today's smart bathroom scales mean adopting the scales into a lifestyle as a useful and fashionable gadget! With today's models, you will not only be able to keep track of your weight, but also be able to view your body fat and muscle mass easily and quickly!

But how do you go about finding the best smart bathroom scales for your home? The first step is to identify your personal fitness needs. Whether you want to lose weight or gain muscle, there are different kinds of scales that are best suited for each purpose. Asking yourself what you want to achieve in terms of weight loss or gain will help you determine the type of smart scale you need. From there, you can start narrowing down the choices until you finally find the right scale for your home.

As previously mentioned, there are two main categories of smart bathroom scales available today: digital and analog. Digital bathroom scales use digital displays that show your actual weight in either pounds or kilos. Many of these apps include other features like the ability to track your progress toward fitness goals, as well as an online calculator. Most of these are fairly straightforward to use, though you should still make sure that the fitness goals you've set for yourself are achievable and reasonable.

Analog bathroom scales, on the other hand, work by weighing the water in a container. Digital bathroom scales are generally easier to read than analog ones, as they generally use numbers instead of letters. Most analog models come in a range of three measurements, which are your weight in pounds and kilos, your body fat percentage, and the amount of water in the container. The digital scale only measures your weight and body fat percentage. Your workout goals may require additional details to be included on your app.

For those of you who want even more information about an app, there are a couple of Amazon-owned options. Amazon Qardiobase and Amazon Red Brick each allow users to input information about their workouts and track water percentage, heart rate, and other aspects of their health. These apps cost about $50 each, but the information included is not limited to fitness goals.

For more options and features, consider the Monavie Metric Spa Smart Bathroom Scale and iFit Pro Body Analyzer. Both of these upscale bathroom scales offer detailed information about your weigh and body type. With many of the top brands in portable, wireless scales offering extensive data collection and reporting features, it's easy to see why fitness goals are quickly becoming among the most popular types of medical scales used by professional athletes and individuals in their personal lives. Even if you simply want a bathroom scale that will measure your weight and body fat percentage, there are several quality scales from trusted brands that will meet your needs.

For those individuals or athletes looking for more precision than a traditional digital bathroom scale can provide, Argos is one choice to consider. Argos offers both analog and mechanical scales in a variety of sizes and with many features, including a large LCD display that can clearly display your weight and body type. Some of the key features of the Argos lineup include a sport programming feature that helps you find the ideal weight and training program based on your goals and current fitness level. Plus, there is an impressive warranty that covers up to two years of trouble free operation and unlimited resale.

If your goals require other functions beyond weight and body-fat analyser capabilities, such as heart rate measurements or calorie counting, consider the Omron Body Analytics Personal Monitor. This advanced digital scale offers the highest accuracy ratings among its competition and also provides personalized feedback on your workout routines. The Omron Body Analytics Personal Monitor also features automatic body temperature monitoring, which means that it does not require manual calibration and has an easy, one-touch menu system that makes setting up workout routines a snap. In addition, the Omron Body Analytics Personal Monitor has the best price on the market, so even if you opt for a top brand, you will still be saving money. Consider the smart bathroom scales from Argos, because they provide high-performance and precision technology at affordable cost.

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hello-thefatlosshabit-blr · 5 years ago

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Home gyms allow you to create an ideal workout environment and stay consistent. Home gyms are great for stay at home parents, who find it difficult to find time to work out. A home gym eliminates the time spent commuting to the gym and it is easier to work into your daily schedule.

The most common mistake I see people making is placing their gym equipment in an uncomfortable area of their home, typically the garage. I live in Houston, where we only have two seasons, hot and hotter. You don’t want to be running on a treadmill in a 90 °F box. Our home gym is in our game room. We have a TV mounted on the wall, wireless headsets, central air conditioning, and fans to make workouts as enjoyable as possible. My wife and I often leave notes of encouragement for each other around the house or in the gym area because we often workout at different times.

Studies have shown that the most consistent exercisers workout in the morning or during their lunch breaks. Home gyms allow you to workout first thing in the morning so you can remain consistent. When I need to work out in the morning, I charge my phone in the bathroom, next to my workout clothing, so I am forced to leave my comfortable bed and drudge across the room. Once I get there and I see my outfit is ready to go, it is much easier to muster enough willpower to workout. It is also comforting to know that my automatic coffee maker is brewing-up a liquid hug of encouragement.

“EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY. I believe in you and I am here for you. YOU GOT THIS! – Coffee.

You can save 50 to 75% off retail on lightly used fitness equipment, at garage sales, on Craig’s List, or using apps like Letgo, but be careful. I recommend you exercise extreme caution when meeting a complete stranger to exchange money for merchandise. Let people know where you are going, try to meet in a neutral location with security cameras when possible, and bring a large friend or two with you to help pick-up the item. For more tips read Craigslist 101: How to buy, and sell safely by John Ewoldt.

PowerBlocks

At a minimum you will need an adjustable bench, and adjustable dumbbells with enough weight to challenge your muscles. If you don’t have quick adjusting dumbbells, like PowerBlocks, I recommend you have one heavy pair and one light pair of dumbbells to minimize the time spent adjusting your weights from set to set. If you have the space, a power rack and an Olympic barbell set would be a great addition.

A power rack allows you to perform heavy compound lifts in complete safety. They usually have an integrated pull-up bar and some have a dip station attachment. If you don’t purchase a power rack, a dip pull-up station allows you to perform two of the best exercises for building upper body strength. If I could only perform four exercises, they would be the squat, deadlift, pull-up, and dip. A trap bar is another great piece of equipment for a home gym. Using a trap bar allows you to place more emphasis on your legs than a conventional deadlift. You don’t need machines to do cardio. If you have a limited budget, I would prioritize strength training equipment. A pair of running shoes is all you really need to perform cardio. You can find lot of ideas here on No Equipment Cardio Workouts.

Minimum Home Gym Requirement:

Adjustable bench

Adjustable Dumbbells

Optional Equipment

Power Rack

Olympic Barbell Set

Dip – Pullup Power Tower

Dip/Pullup Belt/Weighted Vest/Backpack (to add resistance to dips and pull-ups)

Trap Bar

Fractional Plates (8) ½ lbs. plates

Leg Extension Leg/Curl Attachment for the Adjustable Bench

Spin Bike/Elliptical/Treadmill/Rowing Machine/Recumbent Bike

Heavy Bag or Wave Master XXL bag with Gloves

Kettlebell for cardio training (I recommend 15 lbs. for women, 30 lbs. for men)

Jump Rope

Other items to consider are:

A Sport Watch with a Countdown Timer – The best sport watches in my opinion are the Timex Ironman watches. They allow you to customize your rest intervals to the second.

Interval Timer app or Boxing Timer app – These apps are great for interval training workouts, kettlebell workouts, and heavy bag workouts.

Body Fat Analyzer or Skin Caliper (Optional) – Many scales provide an estimated body fat percentage, but I find them very inaccurate. The scales help show body fat trends, but I recommend the handheld Omron Fat Loss Monitor for a more accurate measurement. It is quick and easy. Skin calipers are a little more accurate, but they are less convenient and they require some training to use correctly.

Wireless headphones or wired headphones with a phone holder – Listening to music that pumps you up during your workouts will help increase your workout intensity, focus, and performance. You can get a good pair of wireless headphones for less than $40.

See our most recent posts.

Book Introduction (Available on Amazon in August 2017)

___________________________________________________________

I hope you have found these suggestions helpful. Could you please Like and Share if you enjoyed this post. Best wishes and best health!

Discipline pushes us, motivation pulls us, but productive habits keep us moving towards our goals.

Best wishes and Best Health!

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The book contains:

7 Change Strategies for Adopting a Healthy Lifestyle

A Flexible Diet Program that Doesn’t Put Any Foods Off-limit, including Alcohol

20-Week Workout Log with Progress Assessments (Downloadable PDF)

3 Strategies for Resetting your Body Weight Set point to Keep the Weight Off

A Nutrition and Training Program Based on Science, not Bro Science.

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A great home gym doesn't have to cost a fortune and it makes working out consistently a lot more doable. Perfect for stay-at-home parents! Follow us on Facebook Home gyms allow you to create an ideal workout environment and stay consistent.

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3ritechnologiesblog-blog · 5 years ago

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What is Amazon Web Services (AWS)?

Imagine you are traveling abroad.

You can go anywhere, but wherever you go, you need accommodation.

Traditionally, you should build your own animal shelter when you arrive. They cut wood for the walls, collect leaves to give shade, and separate the compartments of the rooms to your liking. You then build a kitchen, a toilet and a bed as additional elements of the house. On the nicest day your activity consists of cooking, sleeping, drinking, showering.

Before you know it, your holidays are over. It is time to return to reality.

Soon, many big builders are born due to the great demand. When you go on vacation, you may need to pay someone to build a house for you. However, it is very expensive, unless you want to live in this new place for a long time. And remember that a disaster happens. Your land flows, the builder has run away with your money, the house does not meet your expectations.

Recently a service called Hotel was created. It offers protection in locations of your choice, a different pricing model that depends on the number of guests, the number of nights and your preferred exclusivity. In addition, a cleaning service is available, so that your persistence in the hotel is optimal. They always have clean sheets, a bathroom with toiletries and alcohol in the fridge. Well, here is the hardest choice, choose one.

The good thing is that you do not have to know how to build a wall, light a fire, cook, etc. The amount you pay is proportional to your preferences and exclusivity. Best of all, you focus on enjoying your vacation.

With this model, it is very obvious that your risks are mitigated, that you spend only what is needed, and that you can focus on your vacation. IMO, the hotel service is a great innovation !!

AWS Stack is the hotel service provider in the virtual world, but much more powerful. They have expertise in developing and managing large "physical" infrastructures, such as: RDS, auto-scaling and load balancing (kitchen, toilet, bedroom, garden). They focus on their core business, they focus on theirs; There are no major acquisition costs. People can build quickly with minimal cost, fail fast - a powerful element for innovation.

Whenever I think about its business model, it is a good cooling off for me! Of course, there are other key players in the field, such as the Microsoft Azure stack and the Google Cloud Platform. I'm a pure technology lover and love to imagine the potential of technology for the future. And in the face of technological development, I could not help but think that almost everyone can build something today! Like everyone can go almost anywhere. Which world we live!

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bestweightscal-blog · 5 years ago

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Best Smart Scales of 2019

Knowing your weight can be a useful measurement when you're trying to reach a fitness goal. If you're trying to tone up in time for summer, you might be weighing yourself daily. Like most of the devices in our lives, the venerable bathroom scale has received a digital makeover and can now connect to your smartphone and tell you other metrics, such as your body mass index (BMI), body composition and even your heart rate. While you're adding other top smart-home gadgets to your house, why not upgrade your best weight scale?

These smart scales can also instantly upload your data to the fitness app of your choice, where you can see how your workout and diet routines have affected your weight.

After testing six models ranging in price from $39 to $180, the best smart scale is the Withings Body+. At $79, it's not the least nor the most expensive, and it measures far more than just your weight, and syncs with a very intuitive app. Our favorite budget scale is the Withings Body. It's $20 less, and doesn't track as many things, but still works great.

If you're looking to get a smart scale as a way of getting more healthy, then be sure to check out our best fitness trackers, best GPS watches and best smartwatches.

THE BEST SMART SCALE OVERALL Withings (Nokia) Body+ (Credit: Withings)

(Image credit: Withings (Nokia) Body+ (Credit: Withings)) Withings (Nokia) Body+ The best smart scale overall

SPECIFICATIONS

REASONS TO BUY Well-designed app Useful stats on-display Pregnancy mode Stylish design REASONS TO AVOID Small display $59.99 VIEW AT AMAZON $99.99 View at Bed Bath & Beyond $179.95 View at buybuy BABY ? 65 Amazon customer reviews ☆☆☆☆☆ Overall, the Withings Body+ is the best all-around smart scale. It looks good, gathers more information than any other scale and presents the data in an easy-to-understand app.

For an upgrade, the $180 Withings Body Cardio offers heart health features, including a Pulse Wave Velocity measurement that is only available to users in the European Union. That data can be an indicator of hypertension, but the scale itself doesn't diagnose medical conditions.

THE BEST BUDGET SCALE Withings (Nokia) Body (Credit: Withings)

(Image credit: Withings (Nokia) Body (Credit: Withings)) Withings (Nokia) Body The best budget scale

SPECIFICATIONS

REASONS TO BUY Easy set-up Health Mate app lets you easily see trends Accurate weight and weather data Pregnancy mode REASONS TO AVOID Display could be larger $59.99 VIEW AT AMAZON $99.99 View at Bed Bath & Beyond $179.95 View at buybuy BABY ? 65 Amazon customer reviews ☆☆☆☆☆ If you don't need a scale with quite as many features, Withings' $59 Wi-Fi scale, Withings Body, delivers the basics in a stylish package. The scale measures your weight, of course, and does so accurately. I compared it to the $200 Body Cardio and a dumb (er, not Internet-connected) $20 digital scale, and the scale was within 0.2 pounds of both.

The Body, which comes in black or white, has a 2.4 x 1.6-inch display that flashes your weight, weight trend (up or down), BMI and the weather forecast. That's useful if you're weighing in at the beginning of the day before you head outside. The screen isn't the biggest, but it's easy to read and the numbers are big and bright.

The scale syncs with the Health Mate smartphone app, which is where its Wi-Fi connection comes in handy. There you can view your data as a dashboard and see how your weight and BMI fluctuate over time. You can also set goals and pair the scale with apps such as MyFitnessPal. And like Withings' higher-priced scales, the Body offers a pregnancy mode.

The Body doesn't measure your heart rate or your home's air quality, but those are bonus features you can do without to save some money. And unlike our last budget pick, the Wahoo Balance, this scale works with both iOS and Android devices.

THE MOST AFFORDABLE SMART SCALE Eufy BodySense (Credit: Eufy)

(Image credit: Eufy BodySense (Credit: Eufy)) Eufy BodySense The most affordable smart scale

SPECIFICATIONS

REASONS TO BUY Sleek, stylish design Excellent display Fast results REASONS TO AVOID No pregnancy mode No Wi-Fi connectivity $44.99 VIEW AT AMAZON $44.99 View at Amazon Check Walmart ? 807 Amazon customer reviews ☆☆☆☆☆ Eufy's BodySense is a solid, sleek, easy-to-use and affordable smart scale that would be my top budget pick if I didn't love the Withings Body so much.

Eufy's Bluetooth scale, which pairs effortlessly with the EufyLife app for iOS and Android, displays your weight almost instantly on-screen. Of course, nailing the weigh-in is the most basic job for a smart scale. The BodySense scale then syncs that number, along with a host of other metrics, to the app. Those other data points include BMI, what percentage of your body fat is made of water, and how much of your weight is muscle mass, bone mass and body fat mass.

Some Amazon reviewers have noted that the measurements appear to be based on percentages rather than actual fluctuations. But the scale highlights trends and lets you know whether numbers are considered normal for your age, height and weight.

There are a few drawbacks, though, when you compare the Eufy BodySense to the Withings Body. Eufy's scale lacks a pregnancy mode, which makes it a no-go for women who are pregnant or who are planning to become pregnant. The scale also doesn't give you a weather report during your morning weigh-in the way Nokia's does.

But it does support up to 20 different users and offers detailed analysis for a $30 scale, which makes Eufy's BodySense an excellent budget pick.

THE BEST SMART SCALE FOR FITBIT USERS Fitbit Aria 2 (Credit: Fitbit)

(Image credit: Fitbit Aria 2 (Credit: Fitbit)) Fitbit Aria 2 The best smart scale for Fitbit users

SPECIFICATIONS

REASONS TO BUY Syncs with Fitbit trackers Works with third-party apps REASONS TO AVOID Small display Takes too long to display weight $128.95 VIEW AT AMAZON $128.95 View at Adorama $129.95 View at Walmart ? The Fitbit Aria 2 is a refreshed version of the original Aria, though it doesn't look much different with its all-glass body and backlit LCD display. The next-generation smart scale is more accurate than the first Aria, Fitbit says, and that proved true in our testing.

The Aria 2 connects to your Wi-Fi network via the Fitbit app on your smartphone, so setup is easier than the first-gen version (which required you to connect the scale to Wi-Fi using a web browser).

The Aria 2 measures the weight, body fat percentage and BMI of up to eight users, which it then automatically syncs to the Fitbit app. If you use a Fitbit activity tracker, the app's dashboard syncs information about your weigh-ins with your daily workouts and the food intake you manually input for a true overview of your body on any given day.

The scale takes several seconds to display your weight, which is annoying. It also lacks support for pregnant women. If you're deeply embedded in the Fitbit ecosystem, the Aria 2 is worth a look. Otherwise, the Withings Body+ offers more features for less money.

MOST STYLISH SMART SCALE QardioBase 2 (Credit: Qardio)

(Image credit: QardioBase 2 (Credit: Qardio)) QardioBase 2 Most stylish smart scale

SPECIFICATIONS

REASONS TO BUY Stylish design Unique feedback modes Collects a slew of metrics REASONS TO AVOID Takes several seconds to display weight $129 VIEW AT ADORAMA $145.99 View at Amazon $149 View at Walmart ? 1 Walmart customer review ☆☆☆☆☆ We didn't love the first-generation QardioBase, which lost points for requiring eight AAA batteries, being a little unsteady to stand on and a lack of compatibility with other fitness apps. The second-gen model is about an inch larger in diameter than its predecessor, which makes it more stable. This version is also rechargeable and lasts up to a year on a charge instead of needing all those batteries.

The QardioBase 2 is one of the most stylish scales around, if you care about what you're looking at when you weigh yourself. A scale takes up a not-small amount of space in your bathroom, so at least this one looks good.

Qardio is now integrated with third-party apps such as Apple Health and MyFitnessPal, a long-awaited move that we docked points from this scale initially.

However, one drawback to QardioBase 2 compared with other smart scales is the time it takes to display your weight on the display, which is located in the center of the device (where you stand). In my testing, it took about 12 seconds for a number to pop up, rather than the near-instantaneous readings I get from other smart scales and my dumb digital model.

QardioBase 2 has a couple of unique features, such as a smart-feedback mode that shows you smiley faces instead of numbers and a pregnancy mode you can customize according to your due date. You can choose a mode at setup or adjust it later in the Qardio app for iOS or Android. You can use the app to set goals and see charts of your progress over time, as is standard for a smart scale.

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dawnjeman · 6 years ago

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Beautiful Homes of Instagram: Painted Brick Exterior

Hi, everyone! How are you today? I had such a wonderful weekend. I baked with my husband and even attempted to make some cheese… but don’t ask about that! LOL. Anyway, I am super happy and excited because the weather is finally changing and the sun is shinning. I am also so very happy because I adore Callie of ceshome6 and her style so much that this is the second time I have her on my “Beautiful Homes of Instagram” series. The first time, I shared her formal home (you can see it here) and it became one of my most-pinned posts! Today, I am proud to be sharing Callie’s new home and I am sure you will enjoy seeing and knowing all details as much as I did!

“My husband and I were originally from a small town in North Texas near Oklahoma. We have known each other since kindergarten but didn’t start dating until our junior year of high school. After graduation we moved to the Dallas area for college and have stayed close ever since. We will have been married for 15 years this July and have 4 beautiful children; a 17 year old daughter, a 14 year old daughter, a 9 year old son, and a 5 year old daughter. I feel very blessed to be able to stay at home with them and take care of our family and home.

We had planned to build a home again but during our search I found this spec home and the moment I walked in I loved it. It was my style with the color selections and it was the perfect size for our family. Another bonus was that it was already complete and ready to move in. We went for it and two months later we moved into our new home.

My favorite part of the home is the long open kitchen, dining and living space in one and we spend the most time gathered in this area as a family. I’ve always loved to decorate my homes to really feel cozy and welcoming. I don’t have one specific design style but like to incorporate in different pieces I like. My home is a mix of modern, rustic, farmhouse and french country. I also try to be minimal in my decor because with having 4 kids I don’t want to have to worry so much about moving things all the time or things getting broken.”

I hope you enjoy our house tour!

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: Painted Brick Exterior

What first caught my eye about this home was definitely the white exterior. There’s something about a white home! I was sold before I even walked in. The 2 porches in the front were also a huge selling point because we love to sit outside and watch the kids play. We have a huge open space in the front of our home that’s almost the size of a football field and perfect for football, baseball or soccer.

The exterior brick paint color is PPG Atrium White and shutters are PPG Black Forest.

Front Porch

We love that this home has 3 outdoor spaces including a front porch, a patio balcony and a side patio.

Sunshine

A pair of outdoor chairs make this front porch feel even more inviting.

Beautiful Patio Sets: here, here, here, here, here & here.

Brick

The front porch also features brick flooring in a beautiful pattern.

Adirondack Rocking Chairs: here – similar.

Home-Sweet-Home

Callie’s home feel happy and welcoming from all angles!

“Home-Sweet-Home” Doormat: Target.

Kitchen

I absolutely love Callie’s kitchen. It’s open and spacious without feeling overwhelming.

White Kitchen with Character

The kitchen backsplash tile is Emser Tile 4×10 Metro Honed with an accent over the stove in Emser 12×12 Metro Mosaic.

Counterstools: Target – no longer available – similar here – Others: here, here, here & here.

Magnolia Wreath: here – similar.

Countertop

The kitchen countertops are Granite in Lennon.

Beautiful 3 Tiered Wooden Trays: here & here.

Kitchen Cabinet

The best part of the kitchen is the long buffet countertop that’s perfect for entertaining because we like to host parties. This counter space runs almost 15 feet long so it holds all the food you could eat.

Cabinet Paint Color

The cabinet paint color is PPG Gypsum in semi-gloss.

Appliances: GE.

Dining Room

This entire space is perfect for entertaining.

Linen Chairs: RH – similar here & here.

Dining Room Furniture

Kitchen Table: Restoration Hardware – Other Beautiful Dining Tables: here, here, here & here.

X-back Dining Chairs: RH – similar here (huge sale!).

Vases: here – similar.

Fruit Spray Olive Branches: here.

Table Runner: here & here – similar.

Great Room

The floors in the main living areas are Red Oak hardwoods scraped lightly with the grain and stained ebony.

Beautiful Hardwood Flooring: here, here & here.

Splash of Color

I keep with a pretty neutral theme throughout the year and add in pops of color depending on the season using florals, pillows or artwork. For spring this year I’ve added in light pink, yellow, and teal.

A Little Friend

This is Jinger – pronounced Ginger… we had to change it to a “J” so she would have the same as the other kids!! I got her own couch for her to go in the living room because she’s been scratching up our leather couch with her nails and she loves it!! Target has the cutest doggie beds! I loved this buffalo plaid one and it goes so well with all my other decor!

Metal Cabinet: Universal Furniture Bannister Display Cabinet – similar here & here.

Chairs: Ashley HomeStore.

Side table: Target – similar here.

Furniture Layout

What an inspiring furniture layout! The large leather sectional is perfect for the entire family to relax and watch something at the end of the day.

Credenza: Bassett Furniture Emporium 92″ in Compass Northern Grey – Others: here, here, here & here.

Rug: here (9×12)- Other Beautiful Rugs: here, here, here, here, here & here.

Wall & Trim Paint Color

The walls and ceilings throughout the home are painted PPG Whiskers in flat. The trim throughout is PPG Gypsum in semi-gloss.

Home Ideas

This home is a little unique because when you first walk in the front door you walk right into the living room, dining room and then the kitchen area. It’s one long space.

The leather sectional is Bassett Furniture Ellery L-shaped sectional in Stone – similar here, here, here & here.

Side table is from At Home – similar here.

Beautiful Coffee Tables: here, here, here, here & here.

Furniture & Decor

I like to shop for larger furniture pieces at Bassett Furniture, Nebraska Furniture Mart or Restoration Hardware. I’ve found that they all have great quality furniture. Most all of my small furniture and decor pieces come from Hobby Lobby, Kirkland’s, Homegoods or Target.

Decor: Console table – RH – similar here.

Throw: Target – Others: here & here.

Floral Pillow: here & here– similar

Blush Pink Pillow: here – similar.

Wood Scrabble Letter Tiles

My gallery wall is still one of my favorite things in the house!! The way this house is built this wall is hidden unless you go up the stairs! Sometimes I’ll go up there just to look at it!

The wood Scrabble letter tiles feature our names and birth dates.

Wood Scrabble Letters: here – similar.

Master Bedroom

The master bedroom is located in the back of the house.

Magnolia Inspiration

I decided I wanted a black a white theme when I saw a photo from Magnolia Home that had beautiful black wood arched frames behind the nightstands. I like to save money when possible so I found my own version from Kirkland’s (similar here) and spray painted them black to get the same look for over half the cost.

Bed & Bedding

The bed set is from the Magnolia Home line at Nebraska Furniture Mart. The bedding and lamps are from Target.

Decor

There’s a small corner in the room that was bare so I found this cute macrame wall hanging (similar here) and an olive plant at Homegoods. It’s very simple but I love it.

Faux Olive Plant: here.

Study

The study is in the front of the home off to the side when you come in the front door. I recently completed a makeover in my study by adding Weaber Lumber white washed wall boards from Home Depot to a focal wall and I love how the transformation turned out. It makes the room so bright and open. I also added greenery with these hanging macrame plant hangers from amazon. I decided to save some money by painting a few terra cotta pots from Hobby Lobby to match my decor and filled them with IKEA plants.

To really make the room pop I changed out the lighting to a beautiful wood bead chandelier from World Market. I found this desk at Restoration Hardware a few years ago and both the chair and rug are from Nebraska Furniture Mart.

Similar Desk: here – Others: here, here, here & here.

Similar Desk Chair: here.

John 10:10

Metal Sign: Vintage Metal Co.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of my home!

Many thanks to Callie for sharing all of the details above.

Make sure to follow Callie on Instagram to see more of her beautiful home!

Best Sales of the Month:

Thank you for shopping through Home Bunch. I would be happy to assist you if you have any questions or are looking for something in particular. Feel free to contact me and always make sure to check dimensions before ordering. Happy shopping!

Serena & Lily: New Spring Arrivals! Gorgeous Pillows, Bedding & Rugs!

Wayfair: Up to 75% OFF – Huge Sales on Decor, Furniture, Rugs & Outdoor Furniture!!!

Joss & Main: Up to 65% Off on Outdoor Furniture & Decor!

Pottery Barn: 20% Off Furniture, 25% Off Everything Else + Free Shipping. Use Code: LUCKY

One Kings Lane: High Quality Design Decor for Less – Limited time only: 20% Off Furniture with Code OKLFURNISH

West Elm: 20% Off your entire Purchase + Free Shipping: Use Code: EARNEDIT

Anthropologie: Take an extra 40% off all sale items! See Joanna Gaines Exclusive line here!

Urban Outfitters: Hip & Affordable Home Decor.

Horchow: The Big Sale: 25% Off Furniture & 30% Off Sitewide!

Nordstrom: Up to 40% OFF – Free Shipping!

Arhaus: Save up to 30% plus Buy More Save More!

Posts of the Week:

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: Fixer Upper.

Home Bunch’s Top 5: Kitchen Design Ideas.

Before & After Bathroom Renovation.

2019 New Year Home Tour.

Full-scale Home Remodel Inspiration.

Kitchen Renovation with Before & After Pictures.

Beautiful Homes of Instagram: How to Build your own Home.

Connecticut Beach House.

Interior Design Ideas: Colorful Interiors.

New England Home.

Interior Design Ideas: Home Renovation.Classic Colonial Home Design. Family-friendly Home Design.

New Year, New Beautiful Homes of Instagram. Georgian-Style Manor with Traditional Interiors.

Transitional Home Design.

Grey Kitchen Paint Colors.

Follow me on Instagram: @HomeBunch

You can follow my pins here: Pinterest/HomeBunch

See more Inspiring Interior Design Ideas in my Archives.

“Dear God,

If I am wrong, right me. If I am lost, guide me. If I start to give-up, keep me going.

Lead me in Light and Love”.

Have a wonderful day, my friends and we’ll talk again tomorrow.”

with Love,

Luciane from HomeBunch.com

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