#bring it to the beach but thinks sushi???? would be fine?? like would i eat sushi on the beach absolutely but as per the ice cream: cooler.

[an-angel-in-the-garden]

Hello! I saw that requests were open and I was wondering if I could request the demon brothers from Obey Me! (separately) with a mermaid s/o? The brothers are unaware that their s/o is a mermaid since they hid themself amongst humans and pretended to be one. But since they’re in the Devildom and they miss the ocean, they’ll take really long baths in the bathroom while in their mermaid form whenever they can. Maybe the brothers find out they’re a mermaid when they accidentally see their s/o in their mermaid form? Gender-neutral please! And sorry if this is kinda a long request. I love your work and I hope you have a lovely day! Thank you! ❤️

Aww, I'm glad you like my work thank you for requesting it! And don't worry I love long requests it really helps me when it comes to writing! I will also say this is technically against my rules as I only write for 6 at a time but I will make an exception only for the Obey Me brothers just please keep that in mind. - Lilly

Set up

It's been a rough week the heat in the Deilvdom Is already above average but this past week has been the worst it's almost unbearable and I want nothing more then to get home so I can soak myself for a while. I've been doing that most days anyway but now it's more out of need than a want. Another hot day and another need for a long bath only this time I would get to relax for even longer! 'Everyone should still be at RAD for the meeting" With how hot it was Diavolo said it would be okay for me to head back so I didn't risk passing out so I would have at least an extra hour before anyone got home! Fully submerged in cool water my Iridescent tail just slightly hanging out I let myself unwind from the week. "Other than the heat things have been good I've kept my grades high and tomorrow we'll be going on a date" My lips pull into a smile as I muse not noticing the sound of knocking or the worried voice of my partner calling out to me it seems only natural this would happen one day but opening my eyes to the shocked face of my lover wasn't how I planned it.

Lucifer

Though fully shocked by the news that you're apparently a kind of merfolk he is also in stunned awe

It might take him a few moments but once he recomposes himself he'll jump straight to questioning you on things

He's not mad not even really a little angry that you kept this from him he just wants to know why and how you hid it....did Diavolo know?!

After you answer his questions he just stands there in amazement as a human he thought you the most beautiful being and now you're also like a shining star

You also have no idea how much pride this man has when he finds out you wanted to tell him and only him for a while now

He does get a little shy about a desire he now has but he still tells you about it (it's wanting to see and swim with you in the ocean)

" My my and here I thought you couldn't surprise me anymore then you already have you truly are my most special one huh?

Mammon

So flustered I mean what was he supposed to do you're in the tub and oh...oh you're a merfolk

He doesn't fully know how to process this information but man he knows he's happy and a little upset

Ask tons of questions and most of them are about why and how you hid this from him

Once that's out of the way Mammon is so excited you've been his number one since before you even started dating but knowing this secret about you and being the only one to know even if it was an accident makes him so happy

You get a new nickname then and there and it's His Sea Jewel though he still calls you his human to cause duh

He plans to take you to the ocean whenever he can just so you be fully yourself and enjoy not being in such a small tub( he might even bribe Asmo so you can use his tub too)

"I always knew you were a treasure but babe this is something else ya know"

Leviathan

:o that's him when he sees your tail, You're a sea dweller like him!!!!

Not even really gonna wonder why you didn't tell him he just gonna make sure you haven't told anyone else

Guess what your new couple's activity is! It's swimming in his aquarium room him in his demon form and you in your merfolk from

Is now a hype man for you talking up how cool it is that you are really a merperson and how it's just like the anime my best friend turned out to be a mermaid!

Will not even think about telling his brothers this is his secret with you now no one else should know unless you want to tell them..

Please let him help clean your tail and fins he will do everything you (⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄

Satan

He walks out right away and it won't dawn on him at first that you're a merfolk until he's out of the room

Does tons of research on mermaids and merpeople in general

He's hyper-focused on it for a bit and honesty prefers if you want to tell the others because he can brag that you're all his

Teasing calls you catfish and lovingly calls you jellyfish don't ask why

Is really scared now of bringing you with him to play with cats or showing you the cats he brings in thanks to slightly fearing they may try to eat you

enjoys sitting in the tub with you while you stay in your full form even if you like the water cold if it means holding you like this he won't mind

" What a wonderful surprise my dear jellyfish if you ever want to go see the ocean just let me know it will be our vacation plans"

Asmodeus

At first, he was just happy to see enjoying your time and then he saw the tail

He so excited his partner the second most beautiful person in all the Devildom and the most beautiful human is actually a beautiful merfolk

Will not question it at all he understand why you might want to hide it and that Diavolo probably already knew so he's not worried

Asmo already called you many sweet nicknames but his new favorite is Angle fish

Now that he knows he becomes far more committed to helping you out with a beauty routine after all merpeople can't risk their fins and scales drying or being hurt

If you're okay with it he'll want to post about you in your true form mostly bragging about how amazing you are

" I didn't think you could be any more gorgeous yet here you are angle fish glimmering like a clear night star"

Beelzebub

His first thing after seeing you like this is to be worried you're in the heat so often are you ok?

Beel isn't really fazed by the fact you've been hiding this he's just happy you don't mind him knowing

Won't say a word to anyone unless you want him to but will ask if he can at least tell Belphie

He will go to the beach with you whenever you want and starts to take you with him to work out his gym has a huge swimming pool you can use

Really wants to know about food you like now did you enjoy fish or other types of seafood if so raw or cooked he'll plan a dinner for you

Beel will still call you cupcake but sometimes when he wants to tease you he calls you sushi and if anyone calls you that in a mocking way he will fight

" I've always like carrying you around but now I have even more reasons to"

Belphegor

Doesn't ever notice you have a tail he just wanted to know why you were in the bath for so long

Is both in awe and also doesn't care thanks to you he became ok with humans again and even though he knows you're not really one you clearly choose to live like you are

Is fine with keeping it a secret but will also be real smug if you tell people cause now people think your even cooler but your all his

He can sleep anywhere and thought he wont be in the tub with you he will hold your hand and rub your tail while he sits on the ground and naps

Doesn't like going to the beach much but if you really wanna go hell come with you just to see having fun

Will whole heartedly defend you and fight for you if someone finds out and picks on you or if any of his brothers bother you

" Who would've guessed that you would be such a magical person and to not just that but that even being who you are you still choose me"

Okay I hope that this was to your liking and thank you for reading! And a huge thank you to my best friend @bird-brained-plague-doctor for helping me with some of the ideas used!!!!

[purplesurveys]

1383

[xflirtykaosx]

Do you have salted or sweetened popcorn, if any? I don’t like popcorn in general but uhhhhh I guess I’ll go with salted. Sweetened is fine too but I can only have a few fistfuls before I’m over them.

What do you think about alternate medicines? I can’t escape some aspects of it, like medicinal herbs and plants, considering where I’m from; but I don’t believe in most of it.

Peaches or Mangos? Can’t for the life of me appreciate fruits but I’ll pick mangoes just because my sushi will sometimes come with chunks of it, ha.

What item(s) do you buy most frequently at the shop? Like the grocery? Well we always make sure to get the basics like eggs, bread, butter, etc but as for non-necessities we also will get a variety of frozen stuff that we can more easily whip up.

Have you ever played beach volleyball? I’ve tried it once or twice but have always been terrible at running on sand.

How much money is in your purse/wallet/pocket right now? Around ₱300.

Sticky toffee pudding or ice cream sundae? I have no idea what sticky toffee pudding is but pudding generally isn’t my dessert of choice, so ice cream sundae wins by default here even though I actually don’t have that often either.

What do you normally eat at a barbecue? Those aren’t a thing here.

Does thunder and lightening frighten you? Not at all, I really like them.

Do you prefer aquatic creatures or flying (water or air)? Aquatic.

What animals are only native to your continent/country? The carabao is one, then we also have the Philippine eagle (obviously).

If you add all the numbers of your zip/post code, what's the result? 10.

Does the above number have any significance to you? Nope, it doesn’t.

Look at your phone - whose the contact under the number above? Jum. Good grief I haven’t seen that girl in like 3, 4 years lmao. It’s going to be such a fucking party if we ever manage to miraculously bring our *entire* college friend group under one roof again.

Do you prefer spray on or roll on deodorant? Roll-on. I don’t think I’ve ever used a spray type, come to think of it.

Have you ever played trivial pursuit? What's your favourite category? I have! My dad got me a whole set as a kid – I never actually understood the mechanics, but I always cared more about just the trivia questions anyway. My favorite categories were history and entertainment.

What is directly to the left of you right now? Just a part of this couch that I’m currently sitting on.

Is there anything purple in the room you're in now? What is it? My shirt is purple.

Have you ever watched a naughty film/show with someone except a partner? I’ve watched a number of rated-R movies with my sister and cousins, if those count - like Love Actually, which has that subplot of the nude body doubles lol.

Do you say uh a lot when you speak? Yes but I make an active effort to lessen it because I know I don’t like it when people make excessive use of it, especially in work settings.

Did you have a habit of saying like after nearly every word awhile ago? ^ Same as above.

Would you like to go swimming with dolphins? I’d rather watch them in their natural habitat from afar, instead of directly interacting with them and actually getting into the water with them.

List 5 or more of the strangest names you've ever heard? None are coming to my 9 AM head right now but I remember watching this viral TikTok of a girl who was sharing how her name was originally going to be Rvjule(???) but then her parents had the sudden realization that it’d be weird and that people would never take her seriously with the name, so they named her Chezcries instead which...which is still pretty unique???? anyway the rest of the clip is hilarious because she goes on to say that these days people who can’t read her name properly would give up and call her Jesus Christ.

Who that you know has an odd/unusual name, if anyone? I know a Lady Ann but she goes by LA. It’s a pretty name, but it is quite unique too.

Do you prefer writing on lined or plain paper? Neither? Haha I prefer dotted. Plain is a lot of pressure and lined makes me feel like I’m in preschool or primary school again.

Did you ever do charcoal pictures in school? I don’t think we ever did explore this, no.

What's your favourite crayon in the crayon pack? I don’t really have one.

Did you like those scented pens? Which one(s) or were they overrated? As a kid, sure. But I can no longer remember the variants; all I know is that I found them entertaining.

Can you convert simple measurements (cm into mm or g into kg)? Sure. I can also do m/km -> feet and kg -> lbs easily because of all my years watching wrestling, which has always used the imperial system.

Do you prefer running, swimming or gymnastics (doing, not watching)? Gymnastics was fun because all we ever did was walk on a beam and basic cheerleading. I always had a shit figure when it came to swimming (and I always ended up going a diagonal direction when I try backstroke, LOL), and I never kept up my knack in running so my endurance weakened over the years.

What is the closest city to you called? What state/country is it in? I live right on the border of two cities, so the closest city is technically just a stone’s throw. Anyway, it’s within the same region (or as you call it, ‘state’).

Tell me a little bit about your state/country? We’re a product of Spanish, British, American, and Japanese colonization, in which we’ve had to see our indigenous culture and beliefs stripped away from us in the course of 300, 400 years, and also a religion shoved down our throats. Today we’re basically a hodgepodge of these cultures while also confusingly trying to pin down an identity that we can call our own, which has led us to be one of the most Westernized (if not the most Westernized) countries in Asia. We’ve always had a bad hand when it comes to the government but the people never learn and always go for the unqualified, and the country is also one of the most deadly in the world for media practitioners. Manila is a shit choice for a vacation so if you’re going to travel here please just make your way to our provinces because our beaches and stuff are actually really nice and FILIPINOS ARE NICE and will keep feeding you yummy food and everything is also just a lot cheaper compared to what you’d spend for in other countries.

Have you ever used a synthesizer on a computer music program? Only because I was playing with it, not because I was genuinely trying to make music.

When was the last time you bought someone a gift? I randomly got Angela an order of her favorite sashimi, maki, and milk tea because I knew she had been having a rough day. I also had been feeling a little bit lonely that time and just wanted to make someone happy.

Is the room you're in cold, hot or in the middle? It’s a bit cold since my mom turned on the aircon a while back, but it’s not freezing.

Do you do bubblebaths? What bubblebath do you put in? Rarely. Sometimes when we’re staying at a hotel with a bathtub I’ll get in a whole pamper-myself mood and get in a bubble bath, but most of the time I prefer my bathroom time to be efficient and just go straight for the shower. Do you like the name Crystabelle? I wouldn’t go for it myself but it’s also not odd-sounding at all.

Do you prefer classical music or jazz? Jazz.

Do you actually care on a personal level about Peter Andre and Katie Price? Literally have never heard of these people.

It's the kids I feel sorry for. Anyway, what's your birth month? April.

Do you have an odd habit? What is it? I like tapping our water dispenser at the side whenever I’m getting water from it.

What to you is beautiful beyond all compare? The sea/ocean.

Would you rather be mute or only have use of one leg? I’d rather not pick?

Does your mother’s name begin with an L, S, R, T or M? No, none of these letters.

Does your fathers name begin with C, A, P or R? Nope.

Do you like Salem from Sabrina the Teenage Witch (talking cat)? No, I didn’t follow that series.

What part of your body has been injured the most? Probably just my ankle from the sprain I got a few years back haha.

Without mentioning the name, describe your favourite TV Show? Blue meth.

What TV channel do you watch most often? I don’t watch TV in that sense anymore; we haven’t even had cable since 2020.

Name 4 things you like about yourself external or internal? Resilience, adventurous, generous, patient.

What do you expect from life? Take this however you like. Earning money and enjoying it.

In 5 years time what do you NOT want to be doing (worst scenario)? I just hope I’m not like penniless by then.

Are you good at being diplomatic/having tact? Sure. I always try to avoid conflicts.

Do you cut up pizza or eat it in your hands? Depends. If I’m doing something else, like typing on my laptop, I’d use utensils to cut them. If I’m just eating at the dining table I’m fine with eating with my hands.

What food's smell makes you feel physically sick? Pineapple.

5 words that describe your bedroom? BTS, fur, workplace, posters, boxes.

Would you feel worse losing weight, your phone or your purse? My *wallet since all my important cards are there.

How do you behave when anxious or nervous? I’ll sometimes get uptight and end up snapping at someone, so when I’m nervous I try to limit interacting with people. Behavior-wise, my stomach gets upset, I get restless with my posture, and my heart starts to beat faster.

Can you see cars go by from where you sit now? Sure.

Do you hate slang or do you welcome it? Some of it is fine, some of it I don’t bother with lol like ‘sus.’

[xillveart]

@thotpatrolcaptain​ I made this into a MerMay thing, hope that’s okay and you enjoy it! Thank you for the request! ;;u;;

“Katsuki! You came to see me!” 

“I told you that I would, you stupid fish.” 

Smile on your lips, you watched the man that had begun to approach you closely, able to feel the wooden water-surface platform rumble and bob with each step beneath your delicate grip. Holding on to it for support so you didn’t have to use so much effort for swimming, you rested your chin against the edge, finding the warm wood soothing. “I know you did. I’m just so happy you decided to!” 

With only a grunt, Bakugou sat down when he reached the edge, letting his legs dangle down into the cool ocean water. Shifting his backpack off, he placed it down beside him, glancing over your face with his uncharacteristically soft crimson gaze. “Been waiting long?” 

“Nope, I just got here.” Placing your hands on his thigh, you shifted yourself over to rest your chin on his knee, feeling your stomach bubble at the blush that lightly dusted his cheeks from your touch. “I’ve missed you. Did you bring the stuff?” 

“The ‘stuff’?” Bakugou glowered down at you, beginning to unzip his backpack. “You sound like I’m dealing drugs or some shit.” 

“The sushi!” You whined, pouting as your tail lifted out of the water behind you, fin slapping down on the surface as if you were a child throwing a tantrum. If you were human, you could imagine yourself kicking your legs in frustration instead. Or, at least, that’s what you imagined a human would do. “I’m starving! I didn’t eat all morning because I was waiting for you.” 

Giving a click of his tongue, Bakugou pulled out a small plastic purple bento box from his bag, placing it down onto the wood beside him. “Well that’s your own damn fault! What were you gonna do if I didn’t show up? Starve?” 

“I didn’t even think about that, because I knew you were going to show up.” Sliding in between his legs, you placed your hands flat against the platform on either side of his hips, pushing yourself up to kiss him softly on the cheek. With the strength of your tail helping to support you, the kiss lingered for a moment, just long enough to be able to feel his skin grow hot beneath your cold lips. You loved it when Bakugou got flustered and embarrassed when you showed him any type of affection, so you watched his change in expression curiously, the furrow of his brow and averted gaze making you giggle softly. “Cute!” 

“Tch, don’t call me cute! And get off me, don’t you know anything about personal space?!” Huffing, Bakugou grabbed your shoulders, pushing you back and guiding you down into the water. His touch wasn’t as rough as his voice, and he handled you quite gently, which only made your smile grow. 

“But you are cute. We’ve kissed on the lips already once, is it bad for me to kiss you on the cheek?” Letting your hand run down along his muscular calf, you moved out from in between his legs, looking curiously at the bento box still waiting out in the summer sun. “I like you; I just can’t help myself.” 

“I suppose it’s fine… I’m just… Tch, whatever.” With an annoyed wave of his hand, he went back to digging through his bag, pulling out two bottled waters and another bento box, though this one was red. “Eat your damn food, ya dumb fish.” 

“The purple one is mine?” Once again using your arms and the strength of your tail, you pushed yourself up onto the platform, twisting around and flopping to sit beside him as comfortably as you could. Your body was quite awkward as one would assume being half a creature of the sea, but you could manage, especially since Bakugou let you lean against him for support. He had always been your support, from the very first moment he found you tangled up in a net on the beach, he had protected and cared for you. 

And you cared very deeply for him, even if your affections for each other were forbidden. No matter what you were told by your family, or by Bakugou himself, you couldn’t stay away. You didn’t want to stay away. 

“Yes, the purple one is yours. No, don’t use your fingers, there’s chopsticks in there for you!” Bakugou pointed to the eating utensils resting up against the edge of the box, making you hum curiously and pull them out. 

“Huh… Do I jab the food with these, or-?” 

“No, no. Look,” Bakugou held up his own chopsticks, watching you as you fumbled with them until you had mimicked the technique. After dropping many pieces of food or squeezing so hard the sushi fell apart, you eventually got the hang of it, even if you were a bit clumsy in the end. Though, there was one thing that was giving you quite a bit of trouble, and it had nothing to do with your bad eating habits. 

As your hair dried, it was constantly falling into your face and being blown about by the wind, which was annoying for you to have to fight with while attempting to use chopsticks for the first time. That was a part of the struggle, since your hair didn’t exactly follow many proper laws of someone who spent most of their life on land. It truly did whatever it wanted, and as it fell literally into your mouth as you went to take a bite, you gave a shake of your head. “Ugh!” 

“For fucks sake,” Bakugou put his food down, reaching into his bag and pulling out a rubber band, which you knew he used to keep the bento boxes closed on the way here. “Your hair is a damn mess; it keeps falling in your face. Let me just-” 

Turning a bit to face you, Bakugou lightly got you to turn your head towards him with a gentle nudge to your chin. Feeling your cheeks flush, you watched his face as he softly ran his fingers through your hair, tucking and pulling it back for you. Although his technique was sloppy, he was able to tie it back into a bun, effectively keeping it away from your face. The few small strands that still fluttered free were gingerly tucked back behind your pointed ears, but his soft demeanor flipped like a switch when he finally caught your gaze. 

“Ah, fuck-” He quickly took his hands back, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked away with flustered shyness. “I griped about personal space, then I get all up in yours…” 

Smiling, you placed your food down beside you, before holding one of his hands in both of yours. “Katsuki, it’s okay, you don’t have to be so reserved with me. You haven’t always been.” 

“Tch, it’s different now…” Bakugou could only spare you a quick glance, though his eyes immediately fell back to look at your tail, your scales shimmering in the sunlight. “I… like you. I’ve never cared about someone like this before. I suppose it’s just weird for me…” 

With a tender touch, you cupped both of his cheeks, gently urging him down towards you to share a soft kiss. His strong hands moved to caress your sides while you wrapped your arms loosely around his neck, humming softly in happiness against the kiss, which ended just as gently as it started. Still, Bakugou was embarrassed by the affection, and his head vanished into your shoulder to hide from your adoring gaze. Nuzzling your face into his hair, you couldn’t resist a soft and quiet giggle, your cheeks flushing from the way he held your body. 

“That’s okay, Katsuki. Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.” 

“You’d better not. I’ll never make you sushi again.”

[notanacousticsetcal]

hi! I was wondering if you could write #'s 9 & 23 with Calum? thanks! 😊

a/n - i love this combination! thank you for the request, i hope i did it justice. the setting is loosely inspired by safe haven because i adore that movie so much and i thought it would be a cute location for this story. anyway, enjoy :)

prompt(s) - “not that i’m not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?” & “don’t look at me like that.”

The diner buzzed with life as the typical early birds swung in and out, ordering their usuals and updating you on their grandkids and the stray cats they’d been feeding. The Sharpie smell stung your nose and you looked up from rinsing mugs to see Red working on his daily Sudoku. “How’s it coming, Red?”

He glanced up, scratching at his scruffy beard and pushing up his glasses. He waved a hand dismissively. “I’ll solve ‘em one of these days, (y/n), you just wait and see.” 

“Hey now,” your hands raised defensively, “I haven’t lost faith.”

Red muttered under his breath, “yeah, yeah,” and his concentration fell back to the newspaper in front of him. 

The bell jingled and you watched a few new faces stumble through the wooden green door, letting in a gust of salty ocean air in their wake. You put on your work smile and waved at them. “Hey, there! How can I help you guys?”

**

You were almost at the lunch rush, the most dreaded time of day. You watched the old white clock above the stove tick towards 12 and huffed. Only a few more hours and you’d be home free to cuddle with your cats or read on the beach. Maybe Calum would want to come.

While you were lost in your thoughts, a family walked through the door. You sped over to meet them, greeting them with a bright smile and positive attitude.

They followed you to the table in the corner up against the window. You quickly took their drink orders and left them menus before hurrying away to help the two new families that had arrived in that short minute. Within half an hour, the previously empty restaurant was at its full capacity, littered with families, senior citizens, teenagers and the homeless man, Corey, who you served lunch everyday. Beads of sweat formed on your forehead as you raced around tending to all the needy customers and trying your best not to snap at your boss who was yapping orders into your ear like you hadn’t been working there for a year already.

In the midst of the chaos, a certain brunette boy entered the restaurant under your radar and seated himself at the bar, waiting patiently for you to notice him. He watched as you put on that dimply, bright smile of yours and caught up with your favorite usuals. He admired you as you retied your apron around your waist and blew whispys out of your eyes. He practically drooled when you bit your lip in concentration and when you scrunched your nose while you laughed at something a little girl had said. 

Finally, after what felt like hours, you spotted Calum. With an annoyed heave and a dramatic eye roll, you made your way across the restaurant and practically threw a menu at Calum. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?” You looked at him expectantly, impatiently tapping your fingers on the counter. Calum just looked amused. “Happy to see you too. Just thought I’d come visit my favorite employee while she worked.” 

You groaned. “Cal, I love you to death, but now's really not a good time to pester me at work. If you couldn’t tell, I’m kinda swamped. I have to pour 7 orange juices, grab 3 ice pitchers, table 8 needs a new fork, table 3 needs some more napkins, and I have 12 orders to bring out. So if you’ll excuse me, I gotta get back to it.” You gave his shoulder some passive aggressive pats and turned on your heel, heading for the kitchen. 

Cal smiled as he watched you leave. You were the hardest working person he knew and he adored that about you. He also tried his very hardest not to stare at your ass as you walked away. 

Calum sipped on a vanilla milkshake, helping Red with his Sudoku and picking at your coworker Jenny’s leftover fries as he waited for you to get off. He watched you scribble down orders and make vacationers in sunny little Waylon Beach feel welcome but he never got bored. You were enough to entertain him for hours.

Good old Red was appreciative of Calum’s help, but they still couldn’t finish the damn thing. So Red gave Calum a few strong pats on the back, almost knocking Calum off of his barstool, and ruffled the man’s hair, telling him “tomorrows a new day, son” and walking off whistling a tune Calum had never heard. 

Calum watched as the commotion died down around 3 and your shift finally ended. You tossed your apron over a nearby chair and plopped down next to Calum, laying your head on his shoulder. You couldn’t tell but Calum’s heart rate picked up. “You seem pretty beat. Need a ride home? Ash let me take his car into town today.” Calum’s arm reached up around you and settled on your shoulder, squeezing it lightly.

You hummed softly. “I’m starving, though. Do you think we could get something to eat first?” You looked up at him with those big doe eyes and he felt himself melting beneath them.

“If nothing here sounds good, what were you thinking?” Calum watched you put on that adorable thinking face. His hand itched to reach out and stroke your cheek. 

A smile suddenly broke out on your face, one that looked mischievous. Calum groaned because he knew exactly what you were thinking. “Aw, come on, not Joey’s! You know I threw up last time we ate there!” 

You picked your head up off his shoulder and laughed. “Maybe don’t order sushi at a burger place, dummy.” Calum couldn’t help but smile as you laughed at his misfortune.

“There’s no way I’m going back there. I was afraid I was gonna vomit up an internal organ.” You laughed again, throwing your head back. You were wearing the kind of smile that made the sun shine a little brighter. 

“Come on, Cal.” You rested your chin on his shoulder, dangerously close to Calum’s face. Your eyes sparkled in the fluorescent overhead lights and Calum found himself getting lost in them. “For me?” Your bottom lip stuck out and Calum sighed. 

“Don’t look at me like that,” he begged, but your expression didn’t waver. Calum groaned and leaned forward, placing a kiss on your forehead. “Fine. But if I get sick again, it's on you. You owe me free pie for life.”

You laughed and stuck out your pinky. “Deal.”

Calum reached out his pinky too, thinking you were too cute for your own good. 

You both stood up and you waved a quick goodbye to your coworkers, stepping out into the warm summer breeze and listening to the inviting chirps of the seagulls. Yeah, Waylon Beach was a small dead end town in South Carolina, but it was home to you and Calum.

You reached out and grabbed Calum’s hand, tugging him behind you down the street and Calum just watched you go on about the amazing burger you were gonna eat, wondering if he would ever gather up the nerve to tell you how he truly felt.

[rachelkaser]

Stay Golden Sunday: Vacation

Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose go on a Caribbean vacation and everything goes wrong. Back at home, Sophia flirts with the gardener.

Picture It...

Dorothy is gathering suitcases in the living room, fussing over Sophia. Dorothy, Rose, and Blanche are going to the Caribbean for vacation, meaning Sophia will be home alone. Sophia protests she’ll be fine. Rose fusses about traveling abroad, which drives Dorothy insane. Blanche has packed a ton of luggage. After leave for the airport, Sophia greets the Japanese gardener, Mr. Mitsumo, and tries to flirt with him. He doesn’t understand very much English, but he flirts back with her.

The Girls get to the hotel, and find their supposedly luxurious hotel room is a grungy shoebox. Not only are the telephone and the air conditioner not working, but their “ocean view” is a brick wall seen through a window the size of a porthole. They ask the very hostile porter to send the manager up. The Girls complain some more. The very slimy manager enters and claims their room does have an ocean view if you lean extremely far out of the window. When the Girls protest, it turns out Rose pre-paid for the room and they can’t get a refund, meaning they have no choice but to stay.

DOROTHY: You call that an ocean view? You have to be a contortionist to see! MANAGER: Hey, it doesn’t say “great ocean view.”

Back at home, Sophia is having dinner with Mr. Mitsumo, who asks that she call him Toshiro. He plays Japanese music and has made sushi for Sophia, also showing her how to eat with chopsticks. Sophia’s a little grossed out at eating raw fish, and puts most of it in her purse when Toshiro’s not looking. She still compliments his cooking and tells him she thinks he’s cute. He says she’s cuter, and I just can’t with these two.

Back in the hotel, the Girls get set up in the bathroom and Rose talks about how she’s planned out their day as mosquitos bite them up. When Rose tries to enter the bathroom again, the door is locked. They discover that there are three men in the bathroom, as it’s shared with another room. Dwayne, Rick, and Winston are all obnoxious 30-somethings who try to be rude to the Girls, but Blanche isn’t having it. She tells them off, saying to go into the jungle to relieve themselves.

ROSE: You... you... you rude person! DOROTHY: Go easy on him, Rose.

The Girls are sitting in the hotel lobby, having just eaten an awful dinner, when the boys rom the other room enter. They apologize for being rude earlier, and offer to buy the Girls drinks. When they ask how their vacation is going, the Girls admit they’re having a terrible time. Winston says he’s rented a sailboat and offers to bring the Girls along on an evening cruise, which they agree to enthusiastically. Dorothy goes to call Sophia before heading out.

Sophia and Toshiro are now eating Italian food, which he’s enjoying. She tells him that she’s attracted to him, which he understands, but there are still some communication issues. These two are honestly adorable. Sophia goes in for a kiss but is interrupted by the phone call from Dorothy. She’s not pleased, and gets the phone call over with as quickly as possible. This time, it’s Toshiro who initiates the kiss.

Sometime later, Blanche, Dorothy, and Rose are on a beach with the three young men. They sailed into a storm and are now shipwrecked. Naturally the Girls are not pleased with the boys and Blanche and Dorothy start a huge argument. It’s Rose, of all people, who stands up and takes charge, citing her survival knowledge as a Scout. She starts barking orders, telling the other Girls to make a campfire, and Dwayne, Rick, and Winston to follow a path that might lead to a waterfall. Everyone leaps into action, with Blanche and Dorothy being a little scared at how commanding Rose is being.

Hours later, the Girls are grouped around the campfire and the men haven’t returned. Rose, now considerably less confident, thinks they might die and confesses that her confidence earlier was mostly bravado, and she can’t actually help them survive. Under the pressure, the Girls start confessing secrets to each other, including Rose once read Blanche’s diary, Rose once had her nose done and she and Dorothy hid it from Blanche, and Blanche and Dorothy both slept with Rose’s cousin Nolan. Finally they all shout each other into silence.

BLANCHE: You don’t think anything happened to them? DOROTHY: No, I think they probably just stopped to rest. BLANCHE: Yeah, or maybe they’re looking for something to carry the water back in. ROSE: Maybe they were clawed to death by bloodthirsty animals.

After a few moments they start apologizing to each other and say that, if they’re going to die, at least they’re together. Rose bursts into song -- specifically “I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing” -- and suddenly the boys emerge from the trees with tropical drinks. They discovered that they never left the resort island and were in fact wrecked next to the actual resort. The Girls agree to keep their confessions to themselves, and they all go off to the Hyatt Regency together singing “I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing.”

“If I put cracked ice and an umbrella on your head, you’d be a Mai Tai.”

This is a really hard episode to judge, because it’s got very funny parts even if I find the scenario kind of silly. Several of the individual scenes make me laugh, but the episode doesn’t hang together terribly well, and it kind of sucks that the B-plot, as cute as it is, doesn’t last for very long. I would have enjoyed seeing the Girls come home after their ordeal and finding out exactly what Sophia had been up to while they were gone.

ROSE: *on her millionth question* Did you call a cab to take us to the airport? DOROTHY: No Rose, I called two cabs. One for Blanche and me, and one for you, cause you’re making me crazy with all your questions! ... ROSE: Now whose cab is this? Is this yours or mine? DOROTHY: Rose, there’s only one cab. ROSE: Well how am I gonna get to the airport? DOROTHY: Run behind it!

This is one of those “away” episodes where we spend the majority of the episode somewhere other than the Girls’ house. The Girls are off to what they think is a luxurious Caribbean resort, only to find everything not exactly as advertised. Oh the days before online reviews, when you just had to trust that everything was as it looked in the brochure. That’s not to say this couldn’t happen today, but it does make this episode feel like a product of its time.

So much of this episode is memorable, even if in a weird way: The argument over the girls’ “ocean view,” the porter stomping on the bed, Rose snapping and taking charge after the shipwreck. Even if the whole episode doesn’t make a lot of sense, those scenes stick in the mind. And the final scene plays out like one of those single-scene arthouse plays, and it’s always great to see Blanche, Rose, and Dorothy just sit down and talk, as it capitalizes on the actresses’ tremendous chemistry with each other.

I guess if I have one problem with this episode, it’s that the writers felt like they were trying to cram too many different ideas into one episode, any of which would have made a perfectly satisfactory A-plot on their own: The Girls go on a vacation that turns out badly; they end up having to share a bathroom with three men; they get shipwrecked on an island. The young men are a good example of this. For starters, how did the Girls not notice another door leading out of their bathroom when they arrived? They’re in very little of the episode comparatively speaking, and are a plot convenience to get the Girls shipwrecked. Also, if the Girls can’t leave their crappy hotel because they already prepaid, how do they expect to afford a room at the Hyatt Regency?

It’s almost a pity Sophia couldn’t accompany them, because I can’t picture her putting up with even half of the hotel’s foolishness like the rest of the Girls do. This is yet another one of those episodes where Blanche, Rose, and Dorothy go away for some reason and leave Sophia out of things. They do invite her along, but she actually turns them down this time. Turns out there is one reason why Sophia won’t complain about being the “Tonto of the group:” She’s trying to get herself a date.

DOROTHY: Ma, I hate leaving you like this, I really do. Why don’t you come with us? BLANCHE: Yeah, come on, Sophia! It’ll be fun! ROSE: *taking out the brochure* Oh, and the resort is absolutely gorgeous. Look here, here’s our room. Isn’t that beautiful? You can have the king-sized bed. SOPHIA: There’s already two people in it.

I almost wish that B-plot took up a little bit more of the episode. One, because I hate it when Sophia is in less than half of the episode and disappears before the final third. Two, because this is the first time Sophia’s had a romance plot in the series, and it deserves more screentime. I always enjoy how this show makes it so clear that women can have love lives no matter what age they are, and while we’ve been aware that Sophia dates around from her saying as much, this is the first time we’ve seen it happen onscreen.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Toshiro Mitsumo, Sophia’s Japanese gardener love interest, was played by Keye Luke, the actor who played Lee Chan in the Charlie Chan films. Those films may not have aged well in terms of a white actor playing the role of a Chinese detective, but I always enjoyed Luke’s performances as Chan’s “Number One Son.” Here he doesn’t get much to do as Mr. Mitsumo, but he still manages to look very cute flirting with Sophia.

RICK: So, how have you ladies been enjoying your vacation? DOROTHY: As a child, during the Depression, I had to have my wisdom teeth extracted by a shoemaker. That was more fun than this.

I mean, part of me finds it ironic that the episode acts like sushi is exotic and disgusting, to the point where Sophia slips it into her purse rather than eat it. I know that, at the time, most people probably weren’t as familiar with sushi, so it probably didn’t sound appealing to the average Golden Girls viewer, but it’s hilarious considering you can now get sushi very easily in most major American cities (including Miami), and probably a lot of minor ones too.

In the end, while I do love parts of this episode and they gave me a few laughs, it’s a hard one to judge. Still, if nothing else, it gave us some very memorable scenes of our favorite Girls out of their element, and Sophia her first love interest of the series.

Episode rating: 🍰🍰🍰 (three cheesecake slices out of five)

Favorite part of the episode:

The Girls contend with their poor accommodations and Rose has another of her flights of fancy:

[yetremains]

“...”

“Well damn, alright.” Yang downed the rest of her tea quickly, before gasping for a breath as she shoved her cup away.

“Lightning round, lets go!”

chocolate: when was your first kiss?

“It was in my young teen years, 15 I think. I’d been dating that individual for a couple weeks before they abruptly decided to kiss me then and there. We’d been dancing around the subject for a while. It wasn’t spicy or romantic, merely spur of the moment. Was sweet though. The year after that we had broke up and remained friends for a while until we lost contact.”

french vanilla: how old are you?

“You shouldn’t ask someone their age when they been through shit. Too god damn old is the best answer if you must know. I’m older than 28, trust me. Don’t let looks fool you. But hey, I’m getting even older come December 25th!”

cotton candy: three places you want to travel to?

“Do places long gone count? Can I say Home? Nah probably not. So three places let’s see... Japan, China, Romania. The actual places not whatever anything makes them out to be.”

strawberry: a language you wish you could speak?

“I know a damn lot of languages actually. Sometimes it’s hard to think of the right words to say because of this, knowing so many. It’s one reason I’m so odd with my way of speaking. However, I would not mind learning some dead languages. If that doesn’t count, then... Persian?”

coffee: favorite cosmetic brands?

“Ah hell. I mean, I’m not much of a cosmetic expert here. I work with whatever I really need for a music show or for just every day. I could say L’Oreal because I’m worth it joke but that seems in bad taste. If I was using cosmetics just for the enjoyment or to look special, I just try and get whatever works for me.”

mint chocolate chip: indoors or outdoors?

“Answered this one~!”

cookie dough: do you play any instruments?

“Plenty. I’ve decided to learn a few different ones so I can mix together my own music needs of demands arise for it. But I really enjoy stringed instruments or wind instruments. I carry a small harmonica or Ryūteki in my packs.”

rocky road: favorite songs at the moment?

“Not easy to give an answer for, I’ve got a really broad taste. But I’m thinking something with a heavier beat at the moment-”

butter pecan: favorite songs for life?

“Oh come on this makes it harder. As I said, broad taste. I can find enjoyment in many kinds of music and lyrics. Can’t exactly answer a favorite song for life here.”

cheesecake: what’s your zodiac sign?

“Which zodiac are we talking here? There are a lot out there. But the first one into my head is Capricorn. I am on the 25th of December.”

toasted coconut: the beach or the pool?

“As nice as the ocean can be, fuck the ocean. I’ll enjoy the coast line just fine but you won’t catch me swimming that far out in it. There is damn good reason why I don’t like the ocean much anymore. I’ll relax in a pool or a lake or river, thank you.”

chocolate chip: what’s your most popular post?

“Good question. I’ve made a few social media posts that exploded. But that’s probably not fair considering the music I do. I think my most popular is from years ago when I spray painted a statue of a certain someone to look like a baboon.”

bubblegum: books or movies?

“Both! Why choose? I enjoy both quite a bit. and besides, Books can always be there no matter what. And can hold so much valuable information depending what you are reading.”

pistachio: manga or anime?

“... Both again? But I prefer novels. This is more a guilty pleasure.”

salted caramel: favorite movies?

“I can’t remember the last movie I watched, if I’m honest, let alone a favorite movie.”

birthday cake: favorite books?

“Hmmm. Hard one. I enjoy the collected works of Edgar Allen Poe? There is Shōgun. The Mark of Zorro, Sherlock Holmes, Bram Stoker Dracula... There’s several.”

moose tracks: favorites for manga?

“Not exactly applicable, I don’t remember the name of any I like when I was young.”

orange sherbet: favorites for anime?

“The same as above. Wow I am old... I should really get in touch with these things again.”

peanut butter: favorite academic subject?

“Hah, I loved science and history. A damn lot really. I’ve used both to really help my self along and it’s come in handy. My need for knowledge had me spend a lot of time researching.”

black raspberry: do you have any pets?

“I’ve not had any pets since I was a rookie. Never had the time to truly care for one, and now with a hectic life, I’m not gonna do that to an animal.”

mango: when and why did you start your blog?

“Suppose just to exist and have something to do between pit stops.”

mocha: ideal weather conditions?

“It is torn between two for me. A nice warm day, clear, maybe with a gentle breeze. Some clouds above, and calm. That’s the ideal outing day... But, I suppose due to my birthday, I can enjoy a soft snow coming down,some snow on the ground, watching through a window with tea in hand while bundled up and warm. Much prefer clear day though.”

black cherry: four words that describe you?

“Now that’s just not fair. Let me think... Loyal, Determined, Caring, Protective.”

neapolitan: things that stress you out?

“Being reminded of my failings and those I’ve lost... the people I’ve hurt... Thinking about friends I wish I was closer too but too fearful to be that close. Hm. I can also be stressed out by far too much stimulation for my brain at once that it can spin my gears way too quickly.”

raspberry truffle: favorite kind of music?

“Again, broad tastes. But depending on my mood or feelings, it changes what my favorite kind of music can be. But I will always enjoy something gentle and calming.”

chocolate marshmallow: favorite brands of candy?

“I’ve always been partial to chocolates, or cream items.”

toffee: a card game that you’re good at?

“Ever hear of a game called Egyptian Rat Race? Also known as Egyptian Rat Screw, dunno why of course. I learned this game when I was a kid. 52 card deck, deal to each player until the deck is entirely used and everyone has a pile face down. Starting to the left of the dealer players pull the top card off their pile and place it face-up in the middle. If the card played is a number card, the next player puts down a card, too. This continues around the table until somebody puts down a face card or an Ace. When a face card or an ace is played, the next person in the sequence must play another face card or an ace in order for play to continue.If the next person in the sequence does not play a face card or an ace within their allotted chance, the person who played the last face card or an ace wins the round and the whole pile goes to them. The winner begins the next round of play.“

lemon custard: do you eat breakfast?

“Uh... Admittedly not often. With my metabolism problem I absolutely should, considering the demanding needs. I just can’t always bring my self to do so, the will for it isn’t there. I do snack though.”

dark chocolate: turn ons?

“Ooohh boy... Now this one has me turning a bit red here. I mean there is biting and tight holds, the usual stuff. But... I’m not gonna list a lot here, a turn on can be blindfolding me if I trust my partner enough.”

fudge: turn offs?

“Being an asshole, for one.”

peach: how do you relax?

“A nice cup of tea, maybe some soft music, and let my mind unwind a little. That’s if I’m alone. Otherwise a gentle conversation with a friend about small things... Once upon a time long ago I would have said long hugs or cuddling. Not an option these days.”

praline: a popular book you haven’t read yet?

“I’ve not read The Golden Compass, that has been on my to do list.”

superman: do you like sweaters?

“Weird how this one is with sweaters... but yeah I can enjoy sweaters in the right weather. They can be soft and warm, comfy. Great for cold days.”

cherry: do you drink tea or coffee?

“I drink both actually. But if I have the option for a good tea I’m going to take it without hesitation. Yet the spark of energy from Coffee can’t be denied.”

dulce de leche: an instrument you wish you could play?

“Without a doubt, Taisho-goto. Have you seen one of those? It’s so intricate and amazing, and can sound wonderful. It can be used to play all sorts of things. Fascinates me that the item was half inspired by a typewriter.”

blackberry: have you ever laughed so hard you cried?

“Oh a few times actually. It’s been a good long while now since I’ve gone that far, but it’s come close. But once upon a time this has happened!”

ginger: a new feature you wish tumblr could have?

“To Become A Functioning Website.”

blueberry lemon: favorite blogs?

“Now that’s just kissing and telling...” (( I’d also have to tag and dont wanna spam. ))

almond: favorite mean girls quote?

“Oddly specific, but... Variations of ‘One time she punched me in the face. It was awesome.’. “

butterscotch: what color are your nails right now?

“Uh, natural and colorless? I’ve not painted my nails in a while.”

cinnamon: have you ever been confessed to?

“I have yes.”

blue moon: have you ever had a crush on someone?

“Again, yes. We’re not gonna go into this can of worms.”

cappuccino crunch: do you take naps?

“Sometimes. There comes the occasion when one does get exhausted and needs a damn nap.”

mint: the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done?

“Get way too flustered and accidentally admit I liked someone.”

brownie batter: do you like sushi?

“Completely! You say we’re going to get Sushi and you have my full attention.”

key lime: where do you want to be right now?

“Home unfortunately.”

red velvet: do you wear prescription glasses?

“Nope! I’m thankful for that, but one day I have no doubt that’s going to change.”

green tea: favorite flavors of ice cream?

“Mochi green tea, chocolate chip mint, red bean, Strawberry shortcake... Gelato raspberry or orange cream.”

[corruptaxpoliticus-arch]

❤

ship meme!

Dating:

Where was their first official date? Le Diplomate in DC. It was Mycroft’s idea, having been there before and loved it. It was the night after they finally admitted their feelings for each other. What is their favorite date location? Any sushi place. Mostly because Mycroft will actually eat whatever they order. How many dates before their first kiss? None. They slept together then the first date happened after. Who asked who out first? Technically, John. But Mycroft admitted his feelings first. How many dates before they considered each other a couple? 2 or 3. However, they had already reached that point before either of them realized.

Friends:

How many mutual friends do they have? A few. Mycroft tries to be friendly with Sam, as much as one could call them friends. And John is determined to be friends with Alex, despite both Myc and Alex knowing it’s not going to happen. Which one of their friends is most likely to get in between an argument between the ship? Sam. However, it’s much more likely that John will stop an argument between Mycroft and Sam. Which one has more friends? John. Mycroft has a few close friends and that’s about it. Which one has introduced the other to more people? Technically, John. Mycroft has mentioned John to quite the number of people though. Did they start out as friends and made their way to a couple, or were they a couple almost right away? They were kind of friends? But the friendship didn’t last too long before feelings started to arise.

Arguments:

What do they argue about the most? Mycroft’s lack of eating and his terrible eating habits. How do they usually solve their disagreements? Mycroft will promise to try to eat better and change his ways. He does so for about a few days before eventually going back to his old habit. Do they argue a lot or not very often? Because of the nature of their long distance relationship, John doesn’t see how much he eats/when he eats. And even if he asks, Mycroft will lie and say, yeah, he’s ate that day. When actually, he probably forgot. Who admits to being wrong more often? Neither. They’re both stubborn men. Instead, they’ll just change the subject and move on.

Sex:

Who is more likely to initiate sex? Neither will initiate it more than the other, but John will suggest newer things more. Do they prefer to do it in a bed, or do they prefer a chair, or perhaps the shower?  Maybe other spots? Yes. Yes. Yes. Also yes. However, bed is usually bigger and tends to be more comfortable, especially for cuddling afterwards. Do they practice any kind of bdsm in the bedroom at all and if so, what kinds? Light to medium amounts. They both like being tied up and they’re pretty open to other things, but nothing extreme. Who’s usually more dominant in the bedroom? It depends on who wants to be/who wants to be more submissive. It changes. Lights on or off? On. Do they share any kinks? Oh many. Usually if one asks about trying something new, they’ll try it and sometimes find something they both like. Does either one have any kinks that they don’t have in common with the other? John has a uniform kink that Mycroft doesn’t have. Have they ever had sex anywhere public before? Oh yeah. Mainly their offices, though. But there had been other places. Who would be most likely to suggest bringing in a third person and who would that person be? Neither. John wouldn’t be down with that and Mycroft respects that.

Cuddling:

When are they most likely to cuddle? In bed after sex and in the mornings. Also when they’re watching telly after work. Where is their favorite place to cuddle? Any place, really. But there’s something domestic about cuddling before they go to sleep at night. Who’s usually the big spoon? John more often than not, but sometimes Mycroft is. Do they cuddle often? God, yes.

Marriage:

Are they married?  If not, is it something that could happen between them? They are not, but it is something Mycroft has thought about from time to time. He doesn’t bring it up because it wouldn’t be fair in a long distance relationship. If they are married, where did they get married at?  If not married, what is their dream wedding location? Someplace warm and private. If married, who proposed to who?  If not married, who would be more likely to propose to who? Mycroft would absolutely propose in some over the top way. Probably on some beach in a private villa. If they are married, which one moved in with the other?  If not married, who would be more likely to move in with the other? While neither moves in with the other, due to the nature of their long distance relationship, they both have keys to get into each other’s houses. And when they travel to the other’s country, they tend to use each other’s house, instead of a hotel.

Children:

Do they have kids?  If not, would they consider having kids? John has Hancock, the very large puppy. And Mycroft has Pumpkin, the very small cat. How many kids do they have?  If no kids, how many kids would they want to have? None. The have Hancock and Pumpkin. What are the children’s names?  If no kids, what would they name their kids? See above.

Random:

What are three random headcanons you have about the ship that are not related to romance or sex?

The long distance actually does start to affect their relationship negatively after about a year. Mycroft ends up canceling plans that they had made due to something coming up at work and he apologizes profusely and swears he’ll make it up to John. But things just keep coming up. Any and all plans keep getting pushed back. While they’re normally in near constant contact, communication between the two of them lessen. Eventually, they end up playing phone tag, until John finally catches Mycroft right before a meeting. It’s here that Mycroft suggests a break, not fully breaking up, but just a few months until work slows down. The break ends up only lasting a few weeks until John shows up at Mycroft’s door unannounced, ready to tell him that this is stupid and they should definitely get back together. He doesn’t get any of it out before Mycroft is pulling him into his house, slamming the door behind him and kissing him.

Pumpkin doesn’t actually like John and hisses at him every time he’s around. Mycroft thinks it’s hilarious. One day, right before they’re about to leave for dinner, Pumps jumps up on John’s lap and falls asleep. Mycroft just smirks, telling him he’ll order something, since he’s not allowed to disturb and wake the child.

Even though they don’t officially move in with each other, they do end up keeping clothing and other items at each other’s houses. Most of the clothing at John’s flat are just things he’s stolen from Mycroft and never gave back. Mycroft knows about them and doesn’t complain... much.

Which one is more likely to suggest getting pets? Neither. Mycroft is happy with his one cat and is fine with Hancock. Which one eats more snack foods? John. Mycroft will go for anything sweet though. What is their favorite movie to watch together? À bout de souffle. Mycroft thinks it’s poetic irony and he will always suggest it when they’re together. What is their favorite tabletop game to play together? Sam suggested a game of Monopoly one weekend when Mycroft was visiting John in Boston. It ended in a huge fight and Mycroft decided he’d never play again, claiming Sam cheated. That lasted until the next time he was in Boston and told Sam he wanted a rematch. What are your three absolute favorite things about this ship?

It’s basically riddled with angst okay, Long distance relationship? Insert pinning and missing either other. They want to be with each other so much and they can’t and it sucks. Immortal dating a mortal? John will outlive Mycroft and it hurts. Mycroft will continue to age as John visually stays the same. Then add in the prison stuff and it’s just so good.

They just love each other so fucking much and it warms my heart. They just want to be apart of each other’s life and know everyone important to the other person and it’s sweet . They care so much about each other and just want the best for one another, even if it means sacrificing their own happiness for it to happen. 

There’s nothing funnier than an American revolutionary being in a committed relationship with a conservative British man.

What is one thing you don’t like about this ship? am i supposed to not like something about it. I think the fact that Mycroft never gets to be the loving husband he wants to be. He almost had it with Riley, but she died before that could happen. I don’t know, the idea that he never gets married to the man he loves with his entire being is sad to me. If you had to rate this ship on a scale of 1-10, what would you give it? 12.

[clownsgobeepbeep]

I look like a crime scene

“I still can’t believe my nana owns all of this stuff. She’s so rich.”

“Yeah, she definitely is.”

“Do you think she’s gonna buy more stuff?”

“I don’t really know about that stuff. Last I heard, she might end up retiring when you and your cousins are older. She’s been doing this for years.” 

On a fine summer day was Felix, away from his siblings who were doing their own things. His sister was having a day with their aunt Ula and her eldest girls, and his brother was probably in their own home doing as he usually did. Felix however could hear each of his footsteps make an almost satisfying sound when they walked over the wood that created the pier owned by his grandma.

He had personally asked Cordelia if she could send the word that he wanted a certain somebody to watch over him while she did her own things, and he was rather gleeful when said person accepted.

“Hey! That’s a weird looking carousel.” Felix pointed to the center of the bridge that they finally reached, seeing the line that was formed around it. “What are those little pink critters called again?”

“Axolotls.” 

“Wow Carney, you’re so smart.” Felix nodded as he watched the carousel start up, its calliope music being heard from that distance.

“Do you know why they have axolotls?”

“Why.”

“Because it was a birthday gift from your grandma to your aunt.” Carney stated as he too looked at the carousel. “Before Davey and Cordelia were born of course.”

“Whoa! That’s awesome!” Felix’s eyes widened, thoughts now pouring into his mind.

“Pretty sure you guys will also get something like that. She likes to spoil all of the kids.” Carney shrugged before patting Felix’s shoulder. “Come on now, we gotta get some food before going to the rock-climbing place.”

“Fooooooooooooood!” Felix exclaimed, already on the run before he didn’t realize that he was running in the air after Carney picked him up to prevent him from zooming away. “I’m sooo glad you mentioned food! I saw some corn dogs and cotton candy and popcorn on the way here! Rowan told me about the pirate themed restaurant, and, and the sushi! All the fish and-”

“Yo, wait.” Carney had now placed Felix under his arm, bringing his free hand to his lips so that he could shush him with a finger. “Promise no zooming off and I will also take you to the arcade.”

“Yes!” Felix pumped his air in the fist, not minding that he was under Carney’s strong arm. A rather strong arm that caught sight of a certain young man in the distance, having minded his business until hearing Felix’s rambling.

“Can we get some nachos first?”

And so, Carney walked around the pier with Felix still under his arm. They had received a few strange looks, but most assumed they were just siblings acting in a silly manner. Others thought...it was almost attractive on Carney’s part, such a good man with kids.

“Whadd’ya want on them?” Carney asked as he stood in line, really not bothering to put Felix’s figure down. “Just cheese?”

“How much even are they?”

“Doesn’t matter, just tell me what you want.”

“Whatever...I want?”

Carney glanced down at Felix, a small smirk forming on his lips before he slowly nodded his head.

In that moment, it was almost as if stars had appeared in Felix’s eyes.

“EVERYTHING!” Felix demanded, going as far as startling the vendor who was too intimidated by Carney to say anything. “From the melted cheese to the olives! Pack it up, my good sir!”

“You heard him, make it loaded.” Carney waved a finger at the vendor, the latter nodding before the two watched as a large tray was brought out, being loaded with a good amount of nachos that soon had cheese poured all over them.

Felix was practically salivating at the sight, nodding as more and more of the toppings were brought out and placed on top of the nachos. Ever since Cordelia brought her friends and family into his and his siblings’ lives, they had been spoiled by nearly everybody. But this? This was probably one of the best things by far, since Carney had been nice enough to purchase other things for him.

Once the vendor was done with the large tray, no doubt meant for more than one person, it was handed over to the still-being-carried Felix who gasped and shook with excitement. 

“Can we sit by the aquarium? Can we go into the aquarium!?”

“I dunno if we have enough time for the aquarium and the rock-climbing.” Carney scrunched up his face, making his way to the secondary bridge that connected the pier to an area leading to the nearby aquarium. “But we are here already, might as well go in.”

“Let’s goooo!” Felix kicked around, somehow being careful not to drop his tray of nachos.

But before Carney could actually reach the other bridge, he stopped in his tracks when his eyes caught red hair not too far from the area.

“Why’d you stop?”  Felix looked up at Carney then followed his gaze to where he spotted a good friend of Carney’s. “Oh?”

“Just give me a minute kid.” Carney turned from the bridge to head to the railing where a red-haired male stood, the latter pretending that he had not seen Carney and instead enjoyed the breeze. “Hey, Harper.”

“Oh! Hi Felix, hi Carney.~” Harper replied after dramatically turning his head to Carney, fluttering his eyelashes with a coy smile. “I didn’t see you there.”

“Sup!”

“Ha. Hope I didn’t spook you.” Carney quietly chuckled as his cheeks now had a tint of pink on them.

“You could never.” Harper giggled, taking notice of how Felix gave him a strange look of confusion. “What brings you around here?”

“Just taking Felix around town, having fun.” Carney shrugged with a smile, not realizing that Felix was also giving him a strange look. “We were on our way to the aquarium, but thought we’d sit out here to eat first.”

“The aquarium! How nice.” Harper fake gasped while twirling a bit of his hair, his other arm placed on a table that was behind him, now beside him. “A good place to have a date on this fine day, with all the colorful fish. Especially the heart-shaped one.~”

“Don’t think Tuesday would be the best day for a date. Maybe Friday or Saturday would be nicer.” Carney tapped his chin, once again not realizing that he was receiving a squint from Felix. “Though a date would be nice there.”

“Uuuh, yeah.” Harper had to take a moment to blink, shaking his head to shake away the slight astonishment. “Well, how are you two boys doing? I see you have a nice tray of nachos.”

“Oh yeah, Carney bought these for me!” Felix made a thumbs up before shoving a few nachos into his mouth. “He also bought some ice cream over by the beach! We were thinking of going rock-climbing but we might be going to the aquarium instead.”

“Rock-climbing?” Harper quirked an eyebrow, purposely making his eyes trail down to Carney’s arms. “Carney’s arms are perfect for that.”

“Definitely! Like,” Felix began but soon stopped himself, eyeing Harper who fluttered his eyelashes like before. “Wait a minute…”

“But even with those strong arms, it must be tiring caring that hand around.” Harper continued before offering his own hand. “How about I hold it for you?”

“I mean, it’s not heavy. I am holding Felix after all, so I think I can bear with it.” Carney smiled in reassurance, Felix now looking back at him. “I don’t mean to brag but I can carry a lot of heavy stuff.”

“I know you can.” Harper ignored the previous comment, having made a face that immediately turned back into his flirtatious one. “Pretty sure you could even carry me.~”

“Of course I can!” Carney scoffed jokingly as Felix continued to watch him. “You have a nice body that I can easily carry.”

Felix’s eyes widened as Harper’s did, the latter having his cheeks flare up before Carney spoke again.

“So if you ever need a boost or something, I’ll come in clutch.” Carney made a finger gun before a still flustered Harper gave a laugh, placing a hand on Carney’s bicep. 

“Oh Carney, you must be a camera.”

“Huh?” Carney blinked a few times after his smile had drooped. “Why’s that?”

“Because being around you always makes me smile.” Harper flashed a grin before Carney smiled back.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that.”

“I mean seriously, I’m no photographer but I definitely picture us together.”

“We are together though?” Carney made a weird face while still smiling.

“Oh my god.” Felix now came to a realization after watching the men’s interactions for a while.

“Y-Yeah, we are.” Harper attempted to laugh off Carney’s comment while still twirling his hair. “But…”

Harper was having a crisis in that moment, wondering if Carney was just yanking his chain. He couldn’t have been...this oblivious. Even Felix knew what was happening!”

“Do I look like a crime scene?” Harper whispered to Felix who shrugged as best as he could, both then looking back up at Carney.

“But like, we can definitely hang out more. I like hanging out with you.”

“Oh, you do?” Harper suddenly perked up, cutely clasping his hands together as he fluttered his eyelashes.

“Yeah. Like, I appreciate those moments when my sisters leave me for their boyfriends, and you stay with me.” Carney darted his eyes away, ignoring the blush that had formed on his cheeks. “Hanging out with you is always nice.”

“Oh stop,” Harper giggled as he made a coy hand motion. “You flatter me.~”

“Ha, and-”

“Hey!”

Harper and Carney snapped back to the actual reality rather than remaining in their little shared world, looking under Carney’s arm where Felix had already finished eating his nachos.

“This talk is cool and all but I’m still hungry. Can we go to my nana’s sushi place inside the aquarium?” Felix grinned before seeing Harper once again place a hand on Carney’s arm.

“I would love to.~” he watched Carney with half-lidded eyes. “How about you Carney?”

Carney blinked for a bit, looking down at Felix who offered a thumbs-up and enthusiastic nod.

“Sounds great.” Carney nodded before feeling Felix wiggle out of his grip, giving Harper the perfect chance to snake his arm into Carney’s. “Maybe we can hang out at the aquarium too?”

“Sounds great.~” Harper fluttered his eyelashes one last time, walking alongside a confused yet flustered and delighted Carney as Felix snickered behind them.

[amarabliss]

Fusion -(Arthur Curry/Reader)

A terrible accident has interesting consequences when Arthur gives you blood...

Arthur stumbled as the waves slammed into the back of his legs. He regained his footing quickly ensuring that you didn’t drop from his arms. Quickly he got you to the beach setting you down as the sun rose slowly over the dunes.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! He thought to himself as he put pressure around the harpoon jutting from your chest. 

Your lips were turning blue as his own panic began to sit in. He shook his head, “No, no, no, Y/N open your eyes.”

“Arthur!” He didn’t take his eyes off, of you as Mera and Vulko struggled up onto the beach.

Mera reached him first dropping to her knees. Vulko came up just after, “Arthur are you alright? Were you hit?”

“Help her.” Arthur looked up to his mentor who paled when he came up on the scene, “Vulko, please help her.”

The older Atlantean stared into his king’s eyes. He saw a young man desperate for anyone to help someone he loved. He had warned Arthur that bringing a full-blooded human below the sea would be trouble even if it was just off her boat for small dives. 

Vulko also knew the heart wants what it wants, and who was he to stop his king from happiness, when his previous queen now resided on land. He knelt next to you assessing the wound quickly, “Mera, we will weed for wraps, and algae greenest you can find...be quick.”

Arthur followed Mera with his eyes as she ran off until a moan came from you. His eyes snapped back to you as Vulko pressed around the wound, “Is it bad?”

Vulko took a deep breath in before looking at him, “I fear the harpoon may have struck her lung...while our anatomies are similar, our abilities to heal is different.”

“What are you saying?” Arthur frowned his hand resting on yours as he anticipated the answer.

“I may...be able to make her comfortable, my king.” Vulko looked at him with sorrow, “But I fear the wound may have caused too much blood loss and damage to her lung.”

“No…” Arthur shook his head, “there has to be something more you can do.”

Vulko shook his head, “I am sorry, my king…we do not have the supplies or the proper tools. Maybe if we had human blood, I could sustain her…”

Mera came back holding everything in her arms, “I found what I could and can get more if it’s needed.”

“Good…” Vulko began rolling up his sleeves, “I will need your help to take out the harpoon and packing the wound…”

“Wait…” The two Atlanteans stopped looking at him, “Taking out the harpoon will cause more bleeding, you said she already lost too much…”

Vulko took in a breath, “Yes…but if we leave it in there is greater chance of infection. If there is any chance it did not puncture her lung, this is the best option.”

“What if we gave her my blood?” They both looked at him shocked.

“You’re an at Atlantean…” Mera shook her head.

“And human.” Arthur corrected her.

“Arthur,” Vulko stared at him intensely, “using your blood could very well kill her. Even if you were a full-blooded human. You may not match her type…”

“Y/N is already dying.” He felt his jaw clench as he stared at the two, “I have to believe that there is a chance to get her help. Please…try…”

The pair looked at each other before Vulko nodded, “I will need reeds…the ones…”

“I know.” Mera nodded, “I saw some, I’ll be right back.”

“Thank you…” Arthur whispered as he watched the pair begin working on a different approach.

It took them over an hour to get the supplies needed to set everything up. Another one to perform the procedure. He felt weak but seeing color in your face was worth the woozy feeling.

Vulko reached over taking out the reed feeding his blood into your system, “That is all I am willing to allow.”

“How is she?” Arthur leaned against the rock they had moved to for cover.

His mentor frowned, “I cannot be certain, but her heart rate has steadied.”

“That’s good though right? It was racing…” Arthur blinked several times.

Vulko bandaged your arm before nodding, “Generally yes…but I am still not hopeful, Arthur.”

Arthur frowned his eyes looking down to your face as you rested. Your cheeks were pink, a good sign of a fever. He didn’t want to lose you. Not when he had so much he wanted to tell you.

“Eat this and rest.” Mera handed him what looked like some sort of sushi roll. He still was not use to an Atlantean diet, but it was nice that food was always around, “I will wake you if you something changes. I promise.”

After some protest and insisting that he was fine he gave into their demands. There was nothing he could do anyways except wait. Rest came fast when he shut his eyes listening to the crashing waves on the shoreline. He dreamed of you, your smile, on your boat enjoying time with him. He wished that was how the day had gone, not chasing pirates and poachers seeking glory in taking down Aquaman.

He woke feeling the sun on his face as it began to set in the sea. He wiped a hand over his bread taking in a deep breath cracking his neck as he looked to where you were laying. Panic gripped his chest seeing an empty place in the sand.

“Y/N…” He rolled to his knees quickly scanning the beach. His heart leapt to his throat when he saw you standing at the waters edge a ways down. Quickly he got up running toward you, “Y/N! You shouldn’t be standing…Vulko was sure…”

“He and Mera went back to Atlantis…” You interrupted him your voice steady and strong, “He said he needed to get a scanner and Mera wanted to inform everyone that you alright.”

“Did Vulko say…you would be okay?” He stopped next to you glancing out at the sea trying to see what you were looking at, “You were in pretty rough shape…”

“That’s why he went to get a scanner…” When you turned to him his mouth dropped open slightly. Your complexion was a healthy one and your wound looked healed, if anyone had happened by they would think that you were perfectly fine and somehow ripped your shirt.

He knew you though and saw the difference instantly. Your perfect eyes now held a soft aqua glow. Similar to Mera’s when she used her hydrokinesis, but never waning. Much like how his eyes changed when he was younger. He didn’t know what to say.

When he didn’t speak you turned your gaze back to the ocean, “They told me you gave me your blood. Vulko is hoping that whatever is happening good…but he wants to be sure.”

“Y/N…I…” He licked his lips. He couldn’t tell if you were upset or alright with the situation, “I didn’t want to lose you because of some idiot trying to make a name for himself.”

You didn’t say anything for a long time. Finally, you took in a deep breath, “Is this what you feel all the time?”

“What?” He stepped closer to you concerned.

“I don’t know.” You squinted as you struggled trying to find the words, “I can’t put my finger on it…but it’s like you can feel everything. You can feel all the life…”

He felt a small smile creep to face as he began to nod. He knew what you meant as soon as you said it, “Uh…yeah…that’s definitely one way to put it.”

“Huh…” You crossed your arms across yourself as you continued to stare out past the horizon.

“You can really feel that?” You nodded your hair bouncing gently in the sea breeze. He’d always wanted to share this connection with you. He always tried to explain it and you always tried to understand but never quite grasped the concept.

He wondered what else had changed. Scratching the back of his head, “How are you feeling otherwise?”

“Good.” You looked at him and smiled, “Better then good actually. A little sad…I think my boat sank…Thank god for insurance, right?”

He chuckled with you before another thought crossed his mind, “Why don’t we go find it?”

“What? How?” You made a face as he raised his eyebrows, “Whoa…Arthur you’re not really suggesting that…that I can…”

“Why not?” He smirked a little, “You claim you can feel the ocean…your eyes say you might be changed…”

“Yeah but we don’t know how long…if anything…” You shook your head at him.

“You’re not curious.” He prodded.

“Of course, I am.” Your eyes shot to his as you smiled, “You know how much I’ve wanted something like this to happen to me. How much I wanted to share this side of you with me…but I just…This morning I was dying…and now…I don’t even know what I am.”

He could see how scared you actually were now causing him to frown before he pulled you into a tight hug, “Y/N, I will make sure you are okay. Nothing will ever change that.”

You hugged him back for a long time before you spoke into his chest, “Mera said you were really scared.”

He felt his chest tighten and his ears instantly get warm, “Did she now?”

“Thank you, Arthur…” You pulled away enough to give him a kiss on the cheek, “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”

“Actually, you wouldn’t be here at all if I hadn’t taken you out yesterday morning…” He looked down into your eyes watching them widen, “You took that harpoon for me…”

“I made that choice…I would do it again. You’re important…you’re a king…” You smiled at him, “I’m just a teacher…”

“Don’t say that…” He reached up cupping your face with his hands, “You are important…”

You laughed and shook your head, “I think my students would disagree.”

“You’re important to me.” He watched your smile fade slowly as he continued, “I should have told you…a long time ago…There is nothing…no one, in this world that matters more to me then you. I love you. I loved you before I was a king…before I was a hero…when I was just a drunk that you’d serve in that shit bucket of a bar.”

“Arthur…I…”

“Let me finish…please…” He interrupted you letting his hands drop to his sides, “Before everything a year ago…just after Batman…and all that crazy shit. I just wanted to come home and find you. When I did, I was too late…You finally got that job that was going to take you places…take you away from Amnesty Bay and I let you go.”

“I thought for sure you’d forget about me, but you didn’t. You called…I never answered. You visited and I was a jerk…” He smiled a little thinking about Diana being his drinking buddy for a day, “I got some advice from a princess who came to check in on me when I was still figuring things out after aliens. She knocked some sense into me…literally. So, when you called again…I answered.”

“And I kept answering. You helped me figure everything out…that I actually wanted to help people.” He looked out at the ocean, “And you were worried during the entire war…asking if you could do anything. Every time I said I didn’t want to be king…you told me to follow my heart, and I did. Now…I rule the seven seas, but my heart was on land.”

You swallowed staring at him for a moment before smirking a little, “Are you finished?”

He nodded taking in a deep breath through his nose, “I’m sure I could keep going…but it’s pretty much all there…shoulda, coulda, woulda, was an idiot, now I’m king idiot…”

You laughed shaking your head making him smile, “Arthur…I wish you would have said something a long time ago.”

“Would it have stopped you from leaving?” He questioned you quickly.

“Probably.” You nodded your smile still lighting up your eyes. It was nice to know this new change hadn’t stopped that from showing, “Arthur, there hasn’t been anyone except you…since high school.”

It was his turn to listen and he did so attentively, “I’ve always loved the ocean. You know that. Moving to Massachusetts was a dream come true from Idaho. Moving schools wasn’t, but you made it so much easier. We were both outsiders. Then you shared your secret with me, and I was so amazed because you could do what I always wanted. Live in the ocean.”

“You know, I still have all the things you brought me…well I did…” You looked down frowning a little, “they were on the other boat, but people would ask where I got them…things from the deepest parts of the ocean. Most assumed I order everything online, but I knew, and I’d call after. I just wanted to tell you I was thinking of you. Of skipping high school to steal a boat and go diving…having you bring me samples for my research projects to impress my professors…getting caught in that storm…”

A memory flashed of the pair of them running up into cave off the beach from a freak storm.  He’d shared a kiss with you that day, but then they never talked about it. He thought he made a mistake, and you weren’t interested. But seeing your face now, turning red in the setting sun as you remembered yourself, he knew it meant more.

“You were my one regret, Arthur.” You hugged yourself looking up at his face again, “I didn’t think such a person like you would ever…anyways…before you left with Batman, I was going to ask you to move to Florida with me. Change of scenery might help us both, and then aliens happened. You became more then Arthur Curry…you became Aquaman…and I thought leaving was the best option.”

“But I could never shake you. You haunted me almost. Teaching marine biology, I kept hearing stories of a lost city…a man capable of crazy feats in the ocean. Of course, I knew it was you and Atlantis.” You nodded slowly remembering, “I even dated…but they weren’t you. No one could make me laugh like you, so when you finally answered the phone I was startled. Then when you said yes to visiting, I was dreaming…”

You looked down kicking the sand, “The fact was I loved you and I let you go…and now you’re a king...and you shouldn’t…”

“Y/N…” He reached for you, but you stepped away. The simple action caused a pain in his chest.

“Arthur,” You looked into his eyes tearing up, “really…we shouldn’t…”

“Is it that I’m at Atlantis more often? Is it distance that’s pushing you away from trying?” He asked you quietly, “I’ll make the trips…everyday if I have to.”

“It’s not…” You shut your eyes, “It’s hard enough for you already. You constantly tell me that. I don’t want you to worry about me here all the time.”

“I want to worry.” He reached down taking your hand in his.

“A king shouldn’t…”

“This king will!” He snapped at you making you fall silent, “I’m not just an Atlantean. I’m not just King of Atlantis…I’m King of the Seven Seas. I reign over all of them…which kind of makes me king of the world since the world is mostly ocean…”

A reluctant smile found your lips as you shook your head as you pointed to your eyes, “What if this changes me?”

“I think it will only bring us closer.” He reached for your other hand drawing you toward him. He let his head rest against yours as he stared into your eyes, “I’m not letting you go again…and I will fight everyone and everything to be with you because I love you.”

You opened your mouth to speak but Vulko came into view behind Arthur, “I told you to rest!”

“I knew it…” Arthur moved to the side, “I told her rest…I knew that you’d want her to…”

Vulko quirked an eyebrow, “I’m sure, your majesty…I’d like to do a few procedures if you’re up to it Y/N.”

“Of course.” You nodded stepping away with him toward the shade of some palm trees.

Arthur followed behind slowly and uneasy feeling settling in his stomach. He could tell your feelings were real. You did in fact love him, but your humanity was keeping you from accepting his love. While he didn’t want you change a thing…there was a small hope that maybe this tragic event would allow you be closer to him in ways he never thought possible.

Vulko ran a few test, took some blood, and came to only one conclusion, “As far I can see it… you are…for all intents and purposes…part Atlantean.”

“…how? That shouldn’t…” You shook your head.

“I intend to figure it out. For now…I suggest you not push yourself.” Vulko’s eyes shifted to Arthur who smirked in return, “And if you do…replenish your energy and rest. I will be in Atlantis with our scientist.”

“Thank you Vulko…” You gave him a small smile as he packed up.

“Of course. Who Arthur considers family…is our family.” Vulko smiled at him as he bowed and turned heading back into the sea.

Arthur watched you stand up and turn to him as he smiled, “So…wanna go find your boat?”

[bthenoise]

Prom Stories: Here’s 14 Tales Of The Dance Floor From Some Of Your Favorite Bands

With this year’s prom most likely cancelled for all high schoolers across the nation (super sad, we know), we didn’t want to leave you in dark for what can be a pretty memorable night -- both good and bad.

So, in an attempt to help you both experience prom and also realize that missing it might not be the end of the world after all, we’ve collected some pretty interesting stories from some of your favorite bands.  

To check out how members of This Wild Life, Grayscale, Beach Bunny, Broadside and more spent their "My Chemical Slow Dance,” be sure to see below. Afterward, make sure to enjoy our prom-inspired playlist here. 

Kevin Jordan - This Wild Life

I was too nervous to ask a girl to prom so instead I made a huge banner and hung it on the side of the tallest building at our school that said, “Ashley Debry, Prom? - Kevin Jordan.” She was the cheerleader captain and proceeded to break her shoulder and arm tumbling or some shit but she was a good sport and attended in a lace-adorned sling. It went better than my buddy Kris though, his Ford Falcon’s hood flew up on the freeway on the way there and he couldn’t see the road. Had to pull over and [his date] asked to go home.

Lili Trifilio - Beach Bunny

I went to prom like five times because I was obsessed with school dances but nothing beats the time my date ditched me, made me buy him Chipotle, then tried to hang out again later. This guy was different from the rest of my prom dates because I was secretly in love with him. He accepted my invite but then “forgot” to pick me up so my dad had to bring me to the photo portion, which was super embarrassing and a bad start to the night. Then, when the slow song came on at the dance, I was like “Yes, this is my shot!” When he approached me, I assumed he was going to ask me to dance. Instead he told me he was gonna leave with this other girl and left me in complete shock. Luckily, one of my guy friends saw me crying and asked me to dance so that I wouldn’t be a complete mess. Then, this boy has the audacity to text me in the morning asking me to see his new motorcycle?! Keep in mind, we were all in the same friend group and hung out every weekend but after that night I never talked to him again -- at the time, I didn’t know this, but he sure as hell didn’t deserve me and I definitely dodged a bullet.

Nick Ventimiglia - Grayscale 

To be honest, none of us in Grayscale ever went to prom. BUT I did go to a few homecomings. I actually won homecoming prince in 10th grade and then homecoming king my senior year. Here’s the catch: I went to private school and there was only like 36 kids in my graduating class, so what can you do? One time that actually sticks out was when I went to my girlfriend’s (at the time) snow-coming, which is essentially a winter version of homecoming. She actually won queen for her class and they didn’t end up nominating anyone for king of her grade, so by default, I won king of her class. I didn’t even go to her school. I was just on stage, with a sash, standing there smiling and it rocked. Come to find out, they cut me out of the yearbook because I didn’t go to the school, so I have no hard evidence. Here are some songs from 2007 that we most likely danced our asses off to while we were buzzing off trash Burnetts Vodka: T.I. - “You Know What It Is” Soulja Boy - “Crank That” Bird Man, Lil Wayne - “Pop Bottles” Fabolous, T-Pain - “Baby Don’t Go” 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake, Timbaland - “Ayo Technology” Unk, OutKast, Jim Jones - “Walk It Out” Shop Boyz - “Party Like A Rock Star” DJ Khaled, Akon, T.I. - “We Takin’ Over” Kanye West - “Good Life” Playa Circle, Lil Wayne - “Duffle Bag Boy”

Broadside

Ollie Baxxter

My prom coincided with my first real breakup. One week before we were meant to go together my date/girlfriend bailed. I was working two jobs at the time and already rented my tux so I just decided to go with my group of friends as the “solo heartbroken guy at prom.” When I got to the dance, the music was terrible and either my loneliness consumed me or I was just a horny teenager but all my classmates looked beautiful. Eventually my ex showed up with a mutual friend and my friend group tried their best to keep me distracted but eventually we met face to face in a hallway on the way to the bathroom. She went to say something and I think I just tried my best to hold back the shame and tears. I left the prom and spent the rest of the night skating with my friends in a parking lot somewhere. Being young is hard. 

Jeff Nichols

I only went to prom one year when I was in high school. I was a sophomore and my girlfriend at the time was a junior. I wore a tux with an all-white jacket and my date wore an all-white dress to match. I don’t remember too much since it’s been awhile but I remember it was like an “Under the Sea” type theme, which a lot of us thought was lame but we all still felt like we had to go. We danced some but all ended up leaving early to go bowling then hit Waffle House after. I only went to prom once and I don’t really regret missing the other years. During this time of quarantine, it is sad that a lot of kids don’t get the experience their prom due to closures but if you spend a bunch of money renting an outfit then take a bunch of awkward photos and dance to “Cupid Shuffle” or whatever the equivalent would be now, you pretty much got the main experience of prom. 

Dom Reid

My prom night was lackluster, to say the least. I think the new Alice In Wonderland movie had recently come out so that was our “theme” for decorations and what that turned out to be was like a large poster a student had made outside in the hall and then absolutely no decorations inside. I was one of those kids who dated a girl from a different school so it was nice to finally prove she was real. The dance floor was ruled by Lady Gaga and The Black Eyed Peas but someone did manage to get 30 seconds of “Downfall Of Us All” by A Day To Remember played. My date and I left early, grabbed some sushi on the way home. My life truthfully would be the same if I never went to prom. I do feel bad for the kids who don’t at least have the option to go to theirs this year, but I’m sure after a night of recreating TikTok dances in their bedroom, they will be just as fulfilled. 

Pat Diaz

I went to prom my junior and senior years, both with the same girl. From what I can remember (because my memory is horrendous, not because I was on the juice), it wasn’t all that fun. Senior year, I was basically stuck in a relationship (for reasons I won’t discuss) and really didn’t want to be there. The highlight of my night was getting breakfast at Perkins at 3:30am. Society puts so much unnecessary significance on prom for no reason other than “if you wanna be cool and fit in.” Sure, you’ll be bummed it’s not happening but I’m pretty sure you’ll be fine knowing that you’re not missing much. If you really want the “prom experience”, drink an energy drink, put on some music and start dancing in your room until 2am then go get McDonalds or something. Same same.

The Wrecks

Nick Anderson 

I showed up to prom pictures late because I was playing a show with my high school cover band. I wore my white prom tux on stage during the performance because I literally didn't have time to get changed before racing over to where the pictures were being taken. My date was very unhappy but the disappointment did not end there. Because of the rush, I didn't have time to eat dinner. So on the way to prom, I made my prom date pull her 2005 Volkswagen Beetle through the Burger King drive-thru so I could enjoy a Double STACKER KING with extra bacon. She stood outside of prom for 15 minutes while I ate fast food off the hood of her car. We didn't hang out much after prom. 

Aaron Kelley 

Nothing classier than a tuxedo t-shirt, black skinny jeans and a DeLorean. I’m sorry for everyone who missed their prom this year but I promise you there’ll be many more opportunities for you to have a tuxedo t-shirt night. <3 

Jade Castello - Picturesque

It’s been a year or two since I was in high school but I went to a couple different proms throughout my high school years with my previous girlfriend(s). If my memory serves me correctly, the radio hits at the time were artists such as Jason Derulo and Panic! at the Disco. I might not have won prom king but I did close out the night of my senior prom with a dance-off competition by busting out a backflip to “Let’s Go” by Trick Daddy. Everyone jumping up and down chanting my name was something straight out of a movie ha. Prom was a great experience but missing out on that night isn’t the end of the world. Once we’ve all moved on from high school, you’ll realize that one night doesn’t define your “high school experience.” You have much more to offer this world than how sick you were back in high school.

Nick Zawisa - Breakup Shoes

Senior prom… what a trip. The year was 2014: I was wearing a three-piece suit in like 95 degree weather (cuz, you know, Arizona) driving my Hyundai into downtown Phoenix with one of my best friends (still to this day!)… and I’ve gotta say, that’s about all I remember. I had always thought prom would be this extraordinary experience like how it’s romanticized in the movies but it turned out to just be an awkward ballroom packed with sweaty people I don't even like trying to dance in heels or suits to the all-time worst playlist of 2010s pop music. All that to say, my feelings on the night could be summed up into “Prom: an experience to forget.”

Dead Lakes

Cody Hurd

For me, prom was pretty overrated. I was voted prom king, but to be fair, our class only had like 70 people in it voting. I had to awkwardly go on stage and accept my royalty with people I didn't really know because my date was unfortunately not voted prom queen. The rest of the prom I basically spent sitting at a table waiting to just hang out with my friends afterwards. So [if you’re missing prom this year], just spend a night dressing up and FaceTime with your friends. Have some “non-alcoholic” drinks (responsibly of course) and blast some music and dance your hearts out. You won't miss a thing.

Chon Adam

Man, I haven’t thought about prom since basically when it happened. We had our prom at the Space Needle in Seattle with Drake playin’ in the background. Half the people were way too into prom and the other half didn’t care at all. I was definitely in the latter category, so I didn’t have a great time. But most people don’t go to prom to have fun at prom. They go to kick it at parties afterward. Definitely not something that even remotely defined that year for me. So if you’re missing it this year, I promise you you’ll be alright!

House & Home

Joey went to prom and ended up talking to the teachers more than the students. The best part was for sure watching the wrestling coach absolutely lose it to a Vanilla Ice song. Pat went his junior year and decided to sit out his senior year. The best prom related memory from his high school career was when he played the afterparty with his high school band at Dave and Buster’s. Prom was never really anything any of us really looked forward to or made a big deal of much in high school. It’s always fun to look back at the memories, though.

[purplesurveys]

1161

 survey by pichu4850

What color do you think of when I say...

Anger? Red, or a really bright red-orange.

Confusion? Gray.

Inspiration? Sky blue. Both word and color give off calming vibes to me.

Shy? Something like an off-white shade, and maybe even pastel pink.

Agony? Olive green was the first color to come to mind, though I have no idea why.

Sleep? Dark blue, like the night sky.

Chipper? Yellow.

Beautiful? Red, the way roses are.

Morning? Light blue or yellow.

Would you rather be named...

Andrea or Aimee? Andrea.

Emily or Erica? Emily. I know an Erycka that I’m not too fond of, so this is an easy pass.

Kelsey or Casey? Casey, though I’d mix up my name a bit and have it be pronounced and spelled as Cassie.

Madeleine or Marina? Eh, not really a fan of either but I’d mos likely go for Madeleine.

Alec or Aaron? Alec.

Ryan or Ross? Not a fan of both names as well though I’d probably go with Ryan, but only as a feminine name.

Dylan or Daniel? Dylan.

Jack or Jordan? I guess Jack, if I have to pick.

Gabriel or Gavin? Gabriel.

How often do you...

Brush your teeth? Once or twice a day.

Eat breakfast? Twice a week, during weekends; though sometimes I’ll end up skipping it for an entire week altogether.

Check your email? I literally never check my personal email anymore after having gotten hired, but I know I should quit that habit and check it every once in a while just in case an intriguing opportunity might come my way. My work email is a different story; I have to use it everyday. I open my emails even during weekends so that when I report to my shift on Monday, my Gmail won’t look as clogged.

Go to the mall? When quarantine protocols loosened up a bit I used to go either on Saturdays or Sundays for some me time as well as some much-needed time away from the house, for the sake of my mental health and sanity. But now that we’re going through another surge in cases, no one’s allowed to go out again and malls are back to just keeping the essential stores open.

Go to the beach? A few times a year, at least before the pandemic. I haven’t been to the beach since 2019.

Play card games? Only happens once in a blue moon, when I get together with friends and someone happens to bring a deck of cards. This isn’t a usual occurrence with any of my friend groups, though.

Have at least 20 minute phone calls? Never. I have 20-minute Google Meet and Zoom calls instead.

Paint your nails? They are never painted.

Wish you were happier? Every now and then.

Did you ever want to be...

A veterinarian? Yes, when I was younger. I once stumbled upon an interview with a horse vet on one of my kid’s almanacs and thought what they did was so cool.

An astronaut? Yup, definitely became a big obsession of mine at one point in my childhood. I still think it would be cool to go to outer space and should the opportunity ever become accessible in my lifetime, I wouldn’t want to miss out on it.

An artist? Not really. I knew from the get go I wasn’t meant to be one.

A school teacher? I would guess yes, but I definitely wasn’t as interested in teaching compared to being an astronaut or like a firefighter.

A housewife? Lmfao yeah. This was the answer I would give when I was like 8 up until I was probably 10 and I knew it stressed out my Asian mother big time. My grandpa got a kick out of it, though.

A firefighter? Yes. This was up there with astronaut.

A princess? Not so much.

A lawyer? I definitely considered law for a brief period, but it was already during my latter college years. There wasn’t enough time to mull over it. But hearing all the law school horror stories from my friends kind of made me relieved I didn’t push through with it; I knew I wasn’t passionate enough about law to want to go through all the hardships that come with law school, so I was fine letting that dream go, and still am.

A doctor? This was never a dream of mine.

Would you consider yourself...

Materialistic? Yes.

Pessimistic? It comes out occasionally, but I don’t think it’s a main trait of mine that people would generally see me as.

Avoidant? Not so much. I can be shy and anxious sometimes but I get over it at some point.

Sarcastic? Only occasionally. I wouldn’t say I speak the language.

Talkative? Definitely not. I hate being in the spotlight, and whenever it’s my turn to share a story or talk in a group I usually have the tendency to rush through it or make it as short as possible so as to return the spotlight on someone else. I’ve always been more of a listener.

Strange? Maybe not strange but weird to an extent?

Intelligent? I guess in some ways.

Lucky? In some ways I am, but I also got handed the short end of the stick in other contexts.

In the next twenty-four hours, will you...

Talk to someone you care about? Probably. I talk to at least one friend a day.

Go to work? Yep, I’ll finally be going back to work since the Holy Week break is over. My workaholic self felt kinda unsettled with all the free time, so I’m actually kinda relieved.

Go to school? I’m not in school anymore.

Be in a different city? Nope, it’ll be working from home for me like usual. We were initially allowed to book visits to the office if we really needed to go there to pack some goodies and stuff, but because of re-heightened Covid protocols our admin has once again prohibited anyone to go there for the meantime.

Read a book? I highly doubt it. I haven’t read any in months.

Watch a movie? Nope. It’ll be a Monday coming from a 4-day break, so it will be incredibly busy tomorrow as there would be a lot to catch up on.

Go to a dentist/orthodontist appointment? No, I won’t.

Do your laundry? My parents probably will seeing as our hamper was nearly full the last time I checked.

True or False: Family...

I have two brothers or more. I only have one brother.

My mom lives with me. This is technically true but isn’t phrased right in my case. I’m currently living with my parents.

My grandparent(s) live with me. No, we moved out of our duplex (where I did use to live with my grandparents) well over a decade ago.

I have half-siblings. Don’t have any.

I am the oldest in my family. Eldest child, that is.

I am an only child. I have two other siblings.

I have 15 cousins I can name off the top of my head. Easily. My first cousins are less than 15 in total, but I know a good number of my second and third cousins as well so this is a cakewalk.

The nearest Aunt or Uncle lives less than an hour away from me. The aforementioned duplex we moved out of is just at the next village; we didn’t move too far so that we can continue visiting them.

True or False: Food...

I am allergic to chocolate. I’m not, fortunately. I’m not crazy about chocolate but I’d be pretty miserable if I could never have it either.

I like vegetables more than fruit. Infinitely more, hahaha. I hate fruits.

I have tried pizza dipped in ranch sauce. Ranch isn’t a very common dressing where I’m from, so it’s not usually offered in restaurants. Given the chance, though, I’d definitely try my pizza with ranch at least once.

I've never eaten kiwi fruit. True, but then again I’ve never eaten most fruits and don’t plan to.

I love junk food.

I love to try new food.

Ketchup goes best with fries (chips). I don’t like ketchup and barely put it on anything.

I like fried rice. I haven’t met an Asian who doesn’t like fried rice.

I can prepare dinner for myself (using a stove or oven).

I hate sushi.

How many...

Pairs of shoes do you have? A little over 10, maybe? I don’t feel like counting in my head rn.

Songs do you have on your music player? I don’t have a music player anymore.

Hours of sleep did you get last night? Around 4.

Times have you had alcohol? Like, ever since I started drinking when I was 18? I never kept track lmao but if I would guess, maybe around 50-60 times? I’m not a regular drinker; I drink probably once or twice a month at most.

Books have you read/started reading in the past month? None.

Windows in your house/apartment are open? I know my parents and sister have their windows open at the moment, so that’s 2. Mine are usually open as well, but I’ve turned on my aircon so I’ve closed them for the night.

Pets do you have? 2.

Kids do you have/want to have? I’d cut it off a a maximum of 3 kids, but having just 1 would already be so nice.

Minutes does it take to get from your home to school or work? I work from home, but in the two times I went to the actual office it took anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour.

Have you ever...

Spilled a cup of grape juice on the carpet? I don’t think I’ve ever even encountered grape juice in my entire life.

Played spin the bottle? I don’t think I’ve ever played this. My friends and I usually resort to truth or dare.

Played Twister? Yes, and there are many fond memories that come with it as well. So when I was 7 years old I befriended Katreen, and her mom and mine hit it off instantly so they started this arrangement where every Friday, her mom picked me and my sister up from school along with Katreen and her sisters, and we’d stay for several hours at their place until my mom would pick us up. Her mom was an amazing host and every week we’d play Twister, watch Pokemon, read books together, etc; anything to keep us comfortable and entertained.

Been caught doing something you weren't supposed to be doing? It’s bound to happen every now and then.

Walked out of a movie because it was horrible? I’ve gotten this feeling a few times but I always stayed in my seat because I paid for the damn ticket.

Given the finger to someone on the street? Oh most definitely, as well as drivers passing by. And it’s always been towards men that are being disgusting pigs.

Been so sad/angry that you started laughing? Sure.

Been in a wedding? Yes, but I only got invited as a kid since I was usually picked to be one of the flower girls. I haven’t been to a family wedding since 2007.

Been in a situation where you almost died? Probably not died but almost substantially injured, sure.

Misc...

Are you stressing out about anything right now? Just worried about the deluge of tasks that will inevitably come at me tomorrow but knowing how easygoing my bosses are, I know I’ll be able to ease up soon enough.

Do you think before acting or act before thinking? I used to be the latter but I now see the importance of first considering possible consequences of or how others would be affected by my actions.

Do you act upon your emotions and instinct, or logic and reasoning? Again, I used to be one of these, this time the former. Now that I’m at a much more stable and peaceful place in my life I try not to let my emotions get the best of me.

What are some personality traits you find appealing in a potential partner? I had a number of negative experiences in my last relationship so forgive me for scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to my expectations lmaaaao – I’d love for someone to be sensitive to my needs and feelings, and for them to be able to own up to their mistakes or hurtful habits and know how to apologize and be open to changing if it’s for their self-improvement.

How have you changed as a person in the last 5 years? I tolerate less bullshit now. I think I’ve also grown to be happier and a lot more stable, emotionally. I also have a better sense of what I want out of life and where I want to be, and I’ve also learned to be more sociable and open up to people.

If you could do anything you wanted right this moment, what would it be? Order sushi :(

Is there anyone you can totally relax and be yourself around? Yes, that’s what my friends are for. If I can’t feel comfortable around my friends, I’d view that as a problem.

Did you ever wanted to say something to someone, didn't, and regretted it? No.

Are you scared about the future? I’m scared of the idea of not meeting some of my goals, like having a family; but I’m also excited about what the future could bring me.

[elle-christine]

Lovey Dovey Questions:

Reverting to my happy little Tumblr days; blogging away with my 16 year-old wistful intentions but now I’m married and all kinds of in lurrrrv.  How did you meet? 
My roommate and I got invited to a Young Adults Potluck/game night at our Church. We only knew one person there, but before we got there my roommate kept telling me “you’re about to meet your husband. I can’t believe we’re going to go to this tonight and you’re going to meet your husband.” But the majority of the night we sat in the corner with our one friend a bunch of girls and were planning on leaving to go to get food. I thought “I’m not meeting my husband here...”. But then we played a group game and I noticed him from across the room, and he noticed me. And the rest is history. How did he ask you to be his?

 We met up at the union on campus to talk, we had just told each other the night before that we had feelings for one another. We walked to the parking garage together and he kept making comments about “us”. So I asked him in the garage--what exactly is “us”. And then we made a logical and rational decision to date. Your first memory with them: Going to a restaurant after the game night, thinking he was cute but so serious and probably too cool for me. And thinking that he would make a good husband to someone someday. Why is your relationship different from others you have had? I was ready, he was ready. We had both taken a few years off from dating to determine what we should be looking for in a partner and to grow as humans on our own. We have a strong dedication to communication and intentionality. Ten things you like about them.
 1. His passionate pursuit of Jesus. 2. His intentional pursuit of our marriage. 3. His ability to be goofy, relaxed, and silly with me but be mature, serious, and polished in public. 4. He’s a great listener and a strong conversationalist. 5. His depth and intelligence. 6. His love of black coffee, the sun and water, minimalism, sustainability. 7. His gentleness and emotional availability. 8. His tender heart and natural kindness. 9. His respect for me. 10. His ability to lead well. How often do you see each other?
 In the morning when we wake up and at night before we go to bed. No matter how crazy and busy our lives get, getting to do that is such a blessing. 

1: Do you have a crush at the moment? on someone who can’t ghost me; 10/10 recommend.  2: Have you ever been deeply in love? currently a deeply in love lady. 3: Longest relationship you’ve ever been in? 23 months tomorrow.  4: Have you ever changed for someone? Ironically, I changed more for the ones I didn’t actually date; tried to change to get them and clearly it didn’t work. 0/10 not recommended.  5: How is your relationship with your ex? One is friendly and two are non-existent.  6: Have you ever been cheated on? I don’t have proof but I believe there was a little somethin somethin going down behind my back. 7: Have you ever cheated? No. 8: Would you date someone who’s well known for cheating? no longer an option, but I think I would really struggle with that.  9: What’s the most important parts of a relationship? An ability to communicate, to be partners and to balance one another out, to complement each others strengths and weaknesses.   10: Do you like to be in serious relationships or just flings? I like being married. 11: When you are dating someone do you believe in going on “breaks”? Nahhhhhhhh 13: What’s one thing you regret saying/doing in a previous relationship? Being in relationships before I was confident/comfortable with who I was, and having relationships that were not Christ-centered and wondering why they weren’t working. 14: What age do you think is appropriate for kids to start having sex? I think the fact that this says “kids” is clear that the answer is never.  15: Do you believe in the phrase “age is just a number”? In some sense, yes. But cultural/generational things will play an impact.  16: Do you believe in “love at first sight”? No; I think love is a choice and something to work at.  17: Do you believe it’s possible to fall in love on the internet? In some situations, sure; however again I think it takes communication and work.  18: What do you consider a deal breaker? Not knowing and following the Lord. Unequally yoked is a thing.  19: How do you know it’s time to end a relationship? If there are clear signs that a future is not going to happen, it’s likely that it will be more painful later on.  20: Are you currently in a relationship? Indeed.  21: Do you think people who have dated can stay friends? Honestly, no. I think you can remain cordial and friendly, but I don’t think it’s healthy or fair to continue a close friendship.  22: Do you think people should date their friends? Yes; I think friendship can have a solid foundation for a strong relationship.  23: How many relationships have you had? truthfully one that matters.  24: Do you think love can last forever? yes 25: Do you believe love can conquer all things? love and the Lord.  26: Would you break up with someone your parents didn’t approve of? It would depend on the basis for disapproval. If there were genuine concern for safety, red flags I wasn’t seeing, if I was in danger, than yes. Thankfully, my mom more than approves of Alex.  27: If you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of advice about dating what would it be? Wait wait wait; be patient and focus more on yourself, guard your heart more.  28: Do you think long distance relationships can work? They can, but they take a LOT of intentionality and work; and need to have a resolution in sight.  29: What do you notice first about another person? Probably height, and overall demeanor (calm, loud, etc.) 30: Are you straight, bi, gay or pansexual? straight. 31: Would it bother you if your partner suffered from any mental illness? no, but I am thankful that he doesn’t because I do, and I appreciate the balance.  32: Have you ever been in an abusive relationship? in some sense.  33: Do you want to get married one day? I am! 34: What do you think about getting your partner’s name tattooed? That’s a no from me dawg. 35: Could you be in a relationship without sex? I’m thankful that I’m not, but till death do us part and if sex was no longer an option for us--we would be just fine.  36: Are you still a virgin? I am a married lady.  37: What’s more important: Looks or personality? looks will not last forever. Personality and a desire to be a good steward of your body.  38: Do you enjoy love films? I’m not a big movie person tbh  39: Have you ever given anyone/received roses? Alex occasionally surprises me with them which is rad.  40: Have you ever had a valentine? Only one that counts! 41: What’s your imagination of a “perfect date”? Going to the beach, eating sushi, watching the sunset (or rise; but switch the sushi for coffee), worship music and reading together.  43: What’s more important: Your partner or your friends? Husband is first.  44: Would you consider yourself “romantic”? I like ironic romance; cute gestures that purposely meant to be cheesy.  45: Could you imagine to date one of your current friends? I am married to my favorite friend. 46: Have you ever been “friendzoned”? honestly...no.  48: What’s your favorite love song? oh gosh, want me to make a whole damn list About Him.

Name? Alex Age? 31 When did you two begin dating? March 2018

What do you think of him? He’s okay...I guess. What does he think of you? Probably that I’m weird and kind of smell. Who asked who out first? I believe he did after some strong hinting from me. Did you like him before he asked you? I was intrigued but also guarded.  How old were you two? 25 and 29 What did you think of it at first? After about 5 minutes I was concerned he was “like, actually weird”. But by the end of the night I felt like I had just met a future best friend. Has it been a good relationship so far? Indeed.  Cutest thing he’s ever done? Goodness; surprising me with the cheesiest gift set-up when I woke up on Valentines Day morning. Bringing me a rose with the medicine he picked up for me when I was sick. Making me a handmade birthday card. Setting up a table with our pictures and couples Christmas gifts for when I came back from the holidays.  Do you have a “song”? “God Be” By Chris Renzema What was your most memorable experience? Getting married. And all that went into that decision, proces, etc.  When is your actual anniversary? Well...3/24/18, but also 7/14/19, and 11/12/19, and maybe 8/8/2020.  Do you guys tell each other everything? every.thing. Probably too much. Marriage.  What’s your favorite thing to do together? read and pray. drink coffee. go for hikes/walks. Find tiny cabins in the middle of nowhere and hole up for a weekend doing married people things.  Most fun date you two have been on? This past valentines we ate too much sushi and had a movie night with wine and donuts. Last summer we went to a leadership conference, the zoo, walked around Royal Oak, and got dinner with my family. Or our mini-honeymoon; the beach, staying at a B&B, sushi for dinner, wine and exchanging vows alone. How did ya’ll first kiss? We had planned on not kissing for a month but we were eating hummus and watching Miracle and decided to make it happen.  What does he call you? We’re pretty exclusively on “babe” Has anyone ever seriously proposed to you? And it worked. 

[mercifuldeaths]

Vertigo: Chapter 2: Jacked Up

Vertigo: Chapter 2

Jacked Up

This fic is in progress.

Jim Mason x Reader

Warnings for this chapter: Graphic descriptions of drug use.

Summary: Jim’s very good at hiding his vices, except, that is, with Medina.

Notes: More exposition. I’m sorry guys but the drama is worth the wait. This is Jim’s story-Y/N is a component, but this is a story about Jim’s journey. Thank you all so much for the positive responses from Ch 1! 

Word Count: 2.6k

Jim would see Y/N at the beach pretty regularly, not that he was looking for her. He couldn’t help that his room had a perfect view of the bay and whenever Medina was going for dawn patrol with her he would have his coffee outside, waiting for Sandy to be awakened by the other’s starting their day in the waves.

It seemed that Medina had finally had a friend, which made him exceedingly happy. Jim recalled the nights Medina would slip into his room and lay on the unmade bed asking why nobody liked her. He didn’t have an answer for her, or rather he did, but didn’t have the heart to tell her.

He couldn’t help but constantly be reminded of how much stronger she was. Of course, she was heartbroken that she didn’t have friends, but she did have the strength to not change herself for others’ approval. Jim couldn’t say the same for himself.

Coming in from his coffee- she wasn’t out there that day- he picked up his backpack and jacket.

“‘Dina,” he whispered, ear pressed to her door. He almost fell over when the door was ripped away from his face.

“Hey, we’re running late, let’s go,” she responded. She managed to smack him with her backpack as they snuck out the door, avoiding Sandy.It was a miracle that she even let him go to his classes.

The pair hopped into Jim’s car, a new Nissan SUV from Phil. A graduation gift his father had called it but Jim knew what it really was. It was a “Sorry we’ve been shitty parents and let you overdose, but here’s a material item that’ll make up for it” gift. Medina got a smaller Volkswagen beetle that she absolutely adored.

It had been three and a half years since his overdose. It really wasn’t even that bad, he thought. He had passed out at home, Sandy overreacted and he spent a night in the hospital. Then Phil proceeded to tell him that they wouldn’t be going to Paris and that he’ll do better.

Admittedly, it had been slightly better. With Sandy back on her meds she wasn’t as prone to mood swings and temper tantrums meaning Jim had slightly more freedom. It didn’t allow him to escape his responsibilities as ‘man of the house’ but things were almost manageable. Almost.

After everything, he had to be more careful. Withdrawal had been a nightmare but when his mind cleared he found that the memory was fuzzy. Turning back to booze, then weed, then pills, then coke, then everything at once, had been an easy decision. This time, though, he needed to be careful.

A few weeks into sobriety, his mother would inevitably forget about Jim’s problems, replacing herself as the center of attention in her mind, so hiding it from her had been a joke. “Oh, I’m just tired, mom. Long day at school,” he’d say as his eyes fluttered shut, laying on the couch with a comfortable blanket of haze clouding his thoughts. She ate that shit up.

His father was even easier. He had still moved out, but his relationship with Ava had ended a while back, now seeing some other redhead. He was never around, not that Jim wanted to see him anyway. But with him being a doctor, he had to make sure he was sober around the man. He’d recognize all the signs, especially knowing Jim was a user.

Medina. She was...complex. He had tried to hide it from her, he really did. She found out almost immediately and hadn’t said anything but he could see the pain in her eyes. The only response she gave was a “Be careful with that shit, Jim. You don’t know what you’re playing with,” bitten out on his way back to his room from the bathroom where he had just taken an oxy. All the warning he needed was written on her face every time she looked at him. He tried to ignore it, for his own sake.

It’s because of this that when she said, “Is it getting bad again? Please tell me,” while biting into an egg McMuffin on their way to campus that morning Jim almost crashed his shiny new car. She had begged to get breakfast on the way and he could never say no to his sister.

“What are you talking about, Medina?” he rolled down the window and looked out the windshield pretending to focus on the traffic in front of him.

“I know what you’re doing. I’m not stupid. But just tell me if it’s that bad again,” she tried to seem casual, sipping her iced coffee but it sounded a little too rehearsed.

“I’m fine. You don’t need to worry,” his teeth grit together. Turning into the parking lot of their university

“‘Cause I know when mom gets weird you get weird. I don’t think she’s taking her medicine again- since dad’s new girlfriend,” she hesitated not knowing what reaction Jim would have.

His fist slammed against the steering wheel, making Medina jump, spilling coffee on her corduroys. “I’m not ‘getting weird’ or whatever, okay?” he yelled. “Yeah, mom’s fucking crazy again, it’s whatever.” He pulled into a parking space a little too quickly and the car lurched.

“You know I didn’t mean it like that,” her voice was smaller than she wanted it to be.

Jim’s jaw was still tense, teeth clenched. He took a deep breath through his nose and rolled his eyes back. “I know you didn’t. I’m sorry for yelling,” he looked over to her and stuck his tongue out a little, the way that usually made her laugh.

She wasn’t laughing. “So it’s gonna be like that, then,” he leaned over and poked her in the ribs, right in the spot that tickled most.

“Jim, stop!” she shrieked, attempting to get away from his long arms. Her laughter bounced in the car. They both smiled.

“Now, go. I know you have ‘Adult Coloring’ or some bullshit,” he loved to make fun of her customized major, full of classes she was taking to one day do what she wanted most, travel and surf. It was a lot of photography, journalism, and some random classes for credits.

“It’s ‘portraiture’, I’ll have you know,” she called over he shoulder before closing the door. Through the open window, she smirked, “Have fun with your blocks or whatever you do.”

He let out a groan that turned into a laugh, “It was once!” he shouted to her back, walking to campus’ central. He had been trying to figure out the flow and perception of this one project he was working on, so yeah he brought out some Legos to visualize it. That’s architecture for you.

What she’ll never mention is that she distracted him and then proceed to spend the entire night on the living room floor trying to one-up each other's towers. Jim using what he had learned from four years of design and structural classes while Medina relied on ‘just staking them up until they fall.’ Her’s was taller by two blocks and she will never let it go.

Grabbing his backpack he decided to pull the small baggie of pills out and place them in an empty plastic cup, hidden under the seat. Out of sight, out of mind. He was almost off his last bender and held a small glimmer of hope that this would be the last time. The back of his mind was already itching for another fix, reminding him to be even more careful around Medina.

Planning for a long day in the library, still trying to find a topic for his senior thesis, he grabbed Medina’s unfinished iced coffee and headed into the beating sun with a brave face painted on.

--

No. No. No. He coughed up more bile, spilling from his throat into the toilet in front of him. It was disgusting, he knew, but he needed to rest his head on the seat of it, cool porcelain taming the heat that coursed through him. He dry heaved this time, causing the head-splitting migraine to reappear.

“Jim?” his mother knocked on the bathroom door. “Jimmy, are you okay?” The handle jiggled but it was locked.

“I’m fine, mom,” he breathed through his nose, trying to stare straight ahead to stop the room from spinning.

“I can hear you in there. Are you sick, honey?”

“Food poisoning. I’m fine.” Short words. Short sentences. The sound of his own voice making him want to smash his head on the tile, hopefully blacking out.

“Let me in,” she demanded. The thought of her being around him made him retch again, this time probably for the last time as there was nothing left to vomit up. But, from experience, he knew to sometimes just go along with Sandy rather than fighting. Especially when he was feeling like this, he had no fight left in him.

He crawled over to the door and managed to unlock it, Sandy not missing a beat and plowing into the room. “Jim!” She kneeled next to him and immediately put her hand over his sweaty forehead. Admittedly, her cool hand felt nice.

“It’s just food poisoning, mom. I’m fine,” he whispered and leaned into her- an instinct leftover from childhood. “Just need to sleep.” Chills wracked his body but sweat was clinging to every pore, the dark circles under his eyes almost red. His irises still shined a brilliant blue.

Sandy put her arm around him and helped to bring him to his feet. They shuffled into his room, his mother rambling about how California sushi can’t be trusted because so many of the people eat it, its mass produced.

Jim wished she would shut the fuck up.

He didn’t fully recognize how, but he was laying in his bed, tee shirt removed, blankets pushed off the mattress. In the fetal position, he slowly rocked himself willing the nausea away. He nearly lept out of his skin when Medina suddenly appeared, replacing Sandy.

“He likes to be alone when he’s sick,” Medina tried to reason to their mother, recalling when they were kids how Jim would always shy away from attention when he was sick, preferring to suffer in silence.

“He doesn’t like to be alone, he likes to be with you,” their mom spit out and turned on her heel, leaving Medina in the doorway holding a glass of water.

She made her way closer Jim, placing the glass on the nightstand. Perching on the side of the bed, she ran a hand through his sweat soaked hair, grimacing a little. He sighed under her touch and closed his eyes again.

“Thank you,” she whispered, mindful of his migraine. His eye cracked open and managed to convey his confusion. “I know what this is.”

“It’s food poisoning, that’s what it is. It’s that bullshit sushi we stopped for. Thanks for that,” he scoffed. She knew he didn’t mean any of it, that he was hurting. She could see his muscles twitch under his thin skin. They reminded her of springs, coiled and ready. His eyes screwed shut again and he nuzzled into her thigh. She could hear the small cries he was trying to hold back.

“We had the same thing for lunch, Jim. We split it,” she observed, letting him know his jig was up. She felt his head shake.

“Okay, then. It’s the stomach flu. Same thing, Jesus. Let it go,” he attempted to growl out but the intent wasn’t there. She held out the glass of water she had brought in and he was never more grateful for their twin telepathy ‘thing’. He managed to prop himself up and take a few slow sips. “Thank you,” he mumbled and handed the glass back to his sister, relishing the cool that washed down his throat.

Laying on his back he tried to stare ahead again, this time at the blank ceiling above him. He briefly thought about going outside to look up at the sky, but remembered that any sort of movement was practically impossible at the moment. His body ached as he had just run a marathon. Joints tight, frozen in place, he continued to lay on his back trying to regulate his breathing. 5 seconds in, 5 seconds out. He counted.

Medina continued to run her cool hands over his head and face. It only felt good because it was her. His other half, a strange extension of himself. Or probably he was the extension-Medina was already her own person. She didn’t need him anymore. His thoughts made him start rocking again, seeking any sort of primal comfort.

As if on cue, he felt the bed shift and she started to leave. Before she could, he managed to grab her wrist. “Don’t.” Only his lips moved. “Please.”

“I’ll be right back. I’m just getting more water,” she went to pull the blankets over him as the had shivers started despite his constant sweating. He nodded, content with her answer.

He thought that maybe he had finally started to drift off to sleep but was awakened by yelling. Sandy. At Medina, of course. Their shouts were muffled by the door and the fact that he couldn’t really think straight helped a bit, but his head still throbbed.

Sandy was going off about how Medina was always so judgemental towards her. Medina was snapping back with questions of why she wasn’t the ‘favorite’ twin. Sandy didn’t bother trying to hide it and plainly stated that she liked Jim better because he cared for her. Loved her. Medina started ranting about how this was just like last time. Last time, when things were Not Good. When Jim, the favorite, was Not Good. She suggested that maybe Sandy wasn’t that great of a mother if she didn’t love one of her children and couldn’t even manage to keep the one she liked from spiraling, practically killing himself.

Jim ground his teeth willing them to stop.

“This isn’t like last time for god’s sake,” Sandy screeched. “And it wasn’t my fault. Jim’s fine. Just like he was last time. It was a stupid mistake, once. He hasn’t touched that shit since, I’ll have you know,” she huffed. “Don’t make things worse than they are.”

Medina wasn’t about to out Jim. She was just trying to drop subtle enough hints that maybe Sandy would get the picture that things weren’t all that great.

Medina and Jim knew what was really going on in the other room. He was trying to detox from everything he had been taking in for the past few weeks. The two of them knew, and that’s the only thing that mattered.

Jim continued to hear them screaming from one thing to another. It was Sandy treating Jim like a husband, then it was how Phil was a bad father, then it was school, then Jim, then back to Phil, then Medina’s apathy, then back to Jim.

It always went back to Jim.

In a further attempt to block it out he rolled onto his side to his body’s dismay. Everything screamed in protest. When he opened his eyes he was greeted with the almost empty glass of water resting on the nightstand. His eyes narrowed in on the draw. Oh shit. Oh fuck.

To his horror and delight, he remembered the two small tablets he had pushed in the back of the drawer. For emergencies only, he told himself when he had placed them there. They went completely forgotten for so long he couldn’t even properly remember what they were. As if a puppet on a string, he propped himself up and opened the drawer, feeling the contents with long fingers. He felt the thin plastic and pulled the baggie out.

Directly depositing both of the pills on the back of his tongue, he used the last sip of water his sister had brought to swallow them. Shortly thereafter, he finally fell asleep.

Tags: @langdonsdemon @coloursunlimited @thecinderellaposts @michael-langdon-appreciation @langdonalien @tarkofetis @stupidocupido @katiekitty261

Special thanks to some ultimate babes: @michael-langdon-appreciation @thecinderellaposts @katiekitty261 You are all so amazing and keep me fed with only the best Jim content. Thank you <3 

[ff15trashgoldenslumbers]

Aqua

Thanks to the blessing of @mintfoxmimi  I was able to create a story of her Octo-bros. They’re so cute and if you have seen the beauty that is her artwork, please check it out!

14K words so please let me know if it crashes

~

Early morning, super early morning. You never understood why you needed to be here for early mornings. At 6 in the morning, no one was up and only you and a handful of people were in the building at this awful hour. Still, you couldn’t really be too upset, at 6 in the morning, with the building empty, and only the night shift lights on the building looked absolutely lovely. The huge glass windows of blue giving you the idea of what it was like to be underwater with all these wonderful creatures.

Working early morning shift for data entry at Insomnia’s Aquarium did have its perks. The large Aquarium was named after the fabled city that was supposed to have been lost to the ocean’s depths thousands of years ago.

“Morning, Sweetie.” You called, moving to your desk stuffed away in the back area of the “storage” facility of the back offices holding bay. Your desk the only one there, as it was the smallest one, but you were surrounded by moveable tanks of wonderful creatures in a tropic-like environment.

The area was more of a holding area for some of the creatures that were brought in from the beach. Fish, crabs, smaller injured mammals, all of them so lovely. But the one that drew you the most was the little one that was placed directly before your desk. He was bought in about 3 weeks ago.

At first, you believed him to possibly be an octopus, at least that was what was documented in your data, but as the others inspected him. It was strange, from the waist below, beautiful dark blue tentacles that look like the night sky, that same color traveling up his back and littered his arms, up to his neck. But everything from the waist up looked like a human, aside from the pointed ears. Huge beautiful blue eyes, when awake would look to you doing your work. All of this packaged into something the size of your hand if not a little bigger.

“You’re so beautiful.” You’d find yourself cooing to him, while he watched you, or while he slept. Mostly while he slept, he loved to sleep.

You looked up from your cell phone on your lunch break, chowing away at some of the sushi from the cafeteria. Was it wrong to eat sushi in an Aquarium, was this blasphemy? Only to smile at the little hands pressed against the side of the glass and large adorable eyes.

“Morning, well afternoon Sweetie.” You smiled, as he yawned, turning a smile to you. “Are you hungry? They had those little-fried fish you like, so I snagged you some.”

You watched as he moved himself up through his tank, pushing the lid open. He was smart as an octopus, that was for sure.

“Hold on, hold on, let me get the bowl.” You giggled, reaching into one of your side drawers, pulling out a small little bowl with a cute cat print you bought from home. Leaning over your desk to his tank as you scooped in the little guy and some water to place on your desk.

Making certain he was comfy, you removed your headphones, and turned your phone to the small octopus/man so he could watch the show you were watching. Handing him a piece of grilled fish, watching as sharp little teeth crunched into bone and fish before reaching out small hands for another piece.

You had to admit you loved your little lunch dates.

“Y/N, you still back here?”

You looked up from your computer, only to hear the call of one of the night guards, Loqi. “What time is it?”

“Burning the midnight oil?” He chuckled.

“I didn’t realize it was that late.” You yawned softly.

Loqi huffed, before noticing the company at your desk, “Is it all right you got that thing out?”

You turned to your little friend, who was rather engrossed in the movie on your phone, “He gets pouty when I put him in his tank. I don’t think he can hear the sound, and I don’t think he can read the subtitles.” You explained. “Also don’t call him a thing.”

Loqi let out another huff, flipping his hair, “Whatever, put the little guy away, I’ll walk you out.”

You smiled softly, standing to stretch, “All right, Sweetie, let go.” You held out your hand, at first the feeling of his little tentacles on your hand made you squirm, but now it was actually like holding a handful of noodles. Not that, that was normal either. “I’ll be in tomorrow.”

Large blue eyes looked up to you, before small arms wrapped around two of your fingers, his tentacles following their lead, wrapping around your hand and wrist in a hug, as you moved him to his tank before your desk.  Placing your hand in the water, before lowering him to the little clamshell he would circle up in.

“Night Sweetie, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

*

“You’ve got a friend!” You gasped.

Typically when you came in, you had a couple of hours to yourself before your company woke up, but today you were greeted by not only a little navy Octomer, but a little blonde one.

“Hi, little one.” You cooed, sitting down to look at the two. The other one was a little smaller their your ‘Sweetie’, his tentacles more of sandy blonde, much like his hair, with adorable violet eyes. “Oh you have little freckles too, aren’t you a cutie.” You giggled, as he hid behind the navy one. “Are you shy, it’s fine, I won’t hurt you,” You smiled, noticing his large eyes looking to the small shark in the tank beside them.

You stood, moving over to the tank, pushing it out the way and replacing it with a tank of sea stars,  “And I promise to not let anything else hurt you.”

“Y/N?”

You turned, who was here this early in the morning, normally you’d get at least four hours before someone decided to come into your corner of the holding tank, only to find your manager. “Hey, Aranea.”

The woman spared a glance to the two little ones in the tank before you, “I see you met the other one. They found him on the beach yesterday.”

“Really, aren’t they cute?” You smiled, looking to the two staring at the white-haired woman.

Aranea curled her lip slightly, you could tell she was trying to hide her disgust, “If you say so. Hey, the big boss said that you never RSVP to the party two weeks from Friday. It’s all hands on deck.”

You groaned falling into your chair, never really one for partying much less with work associates, “Do I have to?”

“I mean if you want to deal with the council.” She replied as you slumped against your desk.

“Ugh, what’s the dress code?”

“Black tie.”

You gave another groan, only to feel your supervisor pet your head in sympathy, she hated these things possibly more than you, and then the sounds of her heels click away as she returned to where the people were. “I hate these things.” You moaned softly, your chin resting on your folded arms, as you looked to the tank before you, only to find the new blonde one alone.

“Wha?” You gasped, eyes darting around the tank. “Sweetie? Where’d you go?”

You nearly jumped from your skin as you felt something wet against your arm, only to find your little navy one standing there. His sparkling large blue eyes almost seeming to draw you in like a whirlpool. When it dawned on you, you didn’t know if he could live out of the water!

“Sweetie! Oh no!” You gasped, scooping him up, before putting him back into his tank. “Are you okay?” You asked as he wrapped around your hand, refusing to release, normally by now he’d have let go to climb into his bed of a shell. No matter how much you shook him, he refused to release your hand, and you were worried the suckers might start to bruise considering the grip he had on you.

“All right, all right let me get the bowl.” You called, as you reached into your drawer pulling out the bowl. “We have to keep you moist. I don’t know if you can live outside of water for very long.”

Scooping up some water, you placed the little navy one in the bowl, only to follow his eyes to his friend still within the tank. “Do you want to come out too, Sunshine?” You asked, your wet hand going back into the tank. You didn’t chase after him, preferring for him to come to you.  

You laughed, as those sand colored tentacles reached out for you, slowly inspecting you before one by one they wrapped around your hand allowing for you to pull him out. Placing him within the bowl beside the navy one, making a mental note to get a bigger bowl and to remember to bring in a towel.

*

“Whoever made office parties mandatory should be shot into space.” Aranea huffed.

You giggled softly, wearing your own dress of navy blue, it reminded you very much of your little friend downstairs, stuck in the tank. You made certain that you would stop by and provide him and the little sunshine with some of the grilled kippers at the buffet before you left.

All eyes turned to the stage within the room, as one Ardyn Inzuna, owner of the Aquarium took the stage. It wasn’t often that anyone saw him, but you could recognize the man right away.

“Welcome everyone.” He called in that same flamboyant manner, at every mandatory party, as all eyes within the room turned to him. “I know how hard it is that we are all to show up to work during our time off…”

You tuned out, he would draw on for the next 15 to 20 minutes, and most of the info never mattered to you. You swirl your cup of champagne, eyes darting to the large octopus in the tank beside you, swimming alongside the fish. Those lucky ones, not having to worry about their “Owner”  droning on and on about numbers and new tanks, and…

“What?” You turned.

Ardyn chuckled, “Yes, we’ve come across. Not one but two scientific anomalies, half man, half octopus.”

Your eyes widen as your heels clicked against the floor as you stepped forward to better view the large screen behind Ardyn, showing the two little ones in the tanks just below your feet.

“To better understand them, we have the honor of some of the worlds best marine biologist and animal studies,” Ardyn replied, his golden eyes twinkling in delight. “On the morrow, we will be hosting a Dissect party in a private event, that will be broadcast to the public at a later date. We are excited to be a part...”

Your little ‘Sweetie’ and ‘Sunshine’ flashed before your eyes, held out and pinned down on a metal table, while doctors cut into them. You felt sick! Only coming to as you heard a crash and your feet become damp it seemed that you had dropped your glass.

“You all right?”

You hardly heard Araena as you turned rushing to the bathroom. Locking the single stall behind you, as you held onto the sink to stable yourself. Your legs felt weak and you wanted to throw up. They were...they were going to kill them.

You knew that he was different, strange something new. But they were going to kill him! Did they not see that they were extremely smart creatures! Did they not know that Sweetie liked his fish without any veggies. Did they not know that he liked to curl up with all his tentacles around him like a blanket? Or that Sunshine had the cutest smile! Or that he really liked the camera function of your phone. Or helping the best he could, even if it made things wet?

Did they not know that they both deserved to live!

You didn’t even think it over twice. Looking at yourself in the eye through the mirror, you knew this plan would get you fired, but you refused let those monsters to hurt them. Taking five minutes to think up a plan, as you couldn’t really escape with a tank, you calmed yourself, took a deep breath and moved back out to the party.

It was easy getting through the crowd, as you needed to get to the employee break room. Shuffling through, you begun tearing apart cabinets, digging through for tupperware that you were certain came with the building. Finding a jar with a lid, one that would hopefully be big enough to fit them both, you turned going back out to get through the party and get your boys.

Only to be halted at the man that delivered your bad news as you quickly put the jar behind you.

“Oh hello, Y/N is that correct?”

It always did put you off that he could recall your name, “Yes, sir.”

“Are you feeling alright? Highwind mentioned that you came over ill.”

You nodded, “Yes, sir. Just got a little overheated, all the excitement.” You smiled, trying to inch beyond him. “Was there anything you needed help with?”

Ardyn smiled, stepping rather close, “No. Was there anything I can assist you with?”

You blinked suddenly feeling absolutely terrified, “No..no thank you, sir.”

The smile that appeared mostly teeth moved slightly closer, before he backed up, holding out a hand, “Well keep up the good work, since you’ve been bought on board things have been a lot easier.”

You reached out taking the hand, it was so cold, “Thank you, sir.”

With that, you quickly ran back out to the crowd of co-workers. You may have looked strange holding a jar, but at least you were away from him. He always reminded you of a shark, but with the sharp teeth sharks actually swimming around you, you felt a lot less threatened than being in that man’s company.

You floated around the floor for a bit, the music a mixture of jazz and polka. Strange but then again so was Ardyn, making certain that no one saw you, you ducked out into the hall, and quickly made your way to your “office”.

“Sweetie! Sunshine!” You called, tapping on the glass with your nail. You knew they hated that, but your little navy one was such a hard sleeper. “Sweetie! Sunshine! Please wake up.”

You unscrewed the lid of the jar when you saw little blonde tentacles climb out the clam a piece of seaweed held in his hand. Was he using it as a blanket? How adorable.

“Focus.” You growled at yourself, as you put the jar within the water. “Sunshine, please get Sweetie, we have to go.” You called, as you begun to dig through your desk, finding anything you worried about leaving when you got sent to jail for theft.  Only the bowl that they sat in to watch t.v. on your phone.

Shoving the bowl into your purse, you turned back, finding the both of them within the jar. Standing on tippy-toe you grabbed the jar, before putting the lid on.

“This will be rough.” You called wrapping the jar within your sweater and shoving it in your purse.

“Don’t be suspicious, don’t be suspicious.” You whispered softly to yourself as you moved through the halls. You’d have to go out the main entrance, as all the others were locked for the night. Cursing to yourself, as you saw a guard on duty, only to smile as you noticed that it was Loqi.

“Hey, Y/N. You ducking out early?”

“Yeah, gotta get up bright and early tomorrow.” You smiled, turning your body to hide your bag.

“All right, let me just check your purse.” He called, holding out his hand.

You must have taken a little too long, as he rose an eyebrow but you still held it out. Waiting nervously, as you watched him take out your sweater and your little bowl.  Wide eyes watching as he unraveled your sweater from the jar. He would see them! He would see them, and you’d be reported. You glanced around trying to find something to hit him over the head with. If you were already going to jail might as well put up a fight!

Shame you really liked Loqi.

“You’re on one of those juice cleanse?” He asked, holding up the jar full of water.

You blinked, it was empty, “Uh, I brought some soup. It’s safer in the jar than tupperware you know.”

Loqi nodded, wrapping it back up for you tightly, “Be safe getting home.” He called, handing you your purse. “Have a good weekend.”

“Thanks, see you later.” You smiled, putting your purse on your shoulder, walking out the door.  Once the automatic doors closed behind you, you broke into a sprint around the corner, opening your purse as you pulled out the jar. “Sweetie? Sunshine?”

Slowly they came into view, almost as if a screen was being pulled over your eyes. You smiled, pulling the jar to your chest, as you giggled, tears in your eyes, “I was worried, you guys. Come on. Tomorrow I’ll take you to the beach so you can be released.”

You stood, moving to make your way home the jar held tight to your chest.

The beach by work was too close, and you were worried that the might come back to shore to look for you. You could release them by your apartment, and maybe they might come to visit you every so often. If you didn’t have to skip town.

You more than likely would have to skip town.

Once home, you filled up your bathtub, unscrewed the jar, and allowed them to fall into the tub. Laughing as they finally had enough room to rush around, seeming to be playing a game of tag, only for your ‘Sweetie’ to pop his head out the water, holding up his hands to you.

“Tomorrow you’ll be able to do this back in the ocean Sweetie.” You cooed, holding out your hand as he quickly wrapped around it holding it tightly nuzzling into your palm. “You too Sunshine.” You giggled holding out your other hand, as he wrapped around it both of them giving you a hug.

You must have dozed off sitting on the bathroom floor in your evening dress, leaning over the tub, watching them play. Since that was where you woke up, only to find a towel under your head and your robe placed over your shoulders like a blanket.

Yawning you stood up, only to find the two of them missing, and little water puddles leading out the room. You quickly stumbled to the door, on fast asleep legs, looking around finding the water trail headed towards your living room. Moving around the corner only to stop, as you noticed four very tall figures in your living room, silhouetted by the light from outside.

You moved to go back into your room, only realize you left your phone in your purse on the couch! The couch these four tall men were talking before.  Besides you couldn’t call the police, you just stole from your job!

“What do we have here?” A deep voice called.

You gasped, feeling something wrap around your ankle, before being drawn into the living room, holding you upside down in the middle of the circle of men. You did the only thing you could think of, you screamed.

“Gladio, cut it out, you’re scaring her!”

You were dropped, rather hard, but you scrambled to your feet, grabbing the nearest item, a three wick candle. “Who are you! Get out of my house! I’ll scream!”

“Please….”

You held true to your word as something black moved towards you, letting out a scream, only to have it stopped, by something over your mouth as you dropped the candle. You glanced down with wide eyes, only to find a large tentacle there, another muffled scream escaping you.

“Y/N please.”

You turned from the black tentacle to the being coming closer, he looked familiar, plus he knew your name. Glancing back to the black tentacle, you noticed that it was actually a picture of the night sky, navy blue, with little specks of white. Following the tentacle, up the body, you were greeted to the top half of a young man. A very handsome young man, that looked like, “Mm-tee?”

A smile grew on his face as he released your mouth, “Are you okay? Gladio can be a jerk.”

You blinked in confusion, before reaching over turning on the lamp beside you only to gasp.  The two small little ones you had grown to care for were suddenly huge, and much much more handsome. You looked at the other two in your apartment you had never seen before.

One a handsome man, tall and lean, standing on beautiful violet tentacles that appeared to have a leopard pattern to them, his shoulders covered by a purple cloak that held seashells. That same violet as his tentacles moved up his arms and back, to form a pattern around his eyes like glasses. Beautiful green eyes piercing into you.

While the other was much big, full of muscle and just as handsome. His tentacles a dark grey, with a lovely design of what look to be scales, maybe feathers. A dark pattern the same kind on his arms, and bare chest. His dark sunset eyes, glaring heavily at you.

“Sweetie?” You called, holding out your hand, finding a hand within it, larger and sharper but still one of comfort. Reaching up to stroke the side of his cheek with the back of your knuckles, as you always did when he was smaller getting the same fluttering eyes as if he were to fall asleep. “Sweetie, you’re so much bigger, and you can speak.” You giggled.

You figured if you were dreaming you might as well go along with it. Only to turn as you felt something slide around your arm, finding a golden freckled tentacle there, reaching for your hand that was holding Sweetie’s.

“Sunshine.” You cooed, release your Sweetie, to stroke his face too, smiling at that huge smile you got as he nuzzled into you, only to turn to the larger men? Octopi? in your living room. “Are these your friends?”

The larger one moved forward, towering over you as you shrink back, “Anything we can help you with human?”

“Gladio lay off.” ‘Sweetie’ huffed, moving before you.

“Noctis, she was holding you, prisoner.” The purple one stated.

“Noctis?” You called, as Sweetie turned to you with a smile. “Is that your name?”

“Yeah.”

You smiled, “That so beautiful.”

The blonde held your hand tighter, “I’m Prompto, but you can keep calling me Sunshine if you want.”

“Oh but Prompto is a pretty name too.”  You cooed, only to gasp as the purple one moved forward, he was so silent.

“Are you aware of who it is that you hold prisoner, human?”

“Prisoner?” You squeaked out. “No, I was going to take them to the beach tomorrow. I promise.”

“Noctis has been missing for weeks, and we find him here, were you the one that kidnapped him?”

“Knock it off Ignis.” Noctis huffed, his tentacles wrapping around you, it felt some much different than when he was small and it was on your hand. This time you felt the wet cold sensation all over your body. “She’s been the one taking care of us.”

“Taking care of you?” Those green eyes shifted back to you. “Is this true human?”

You swallowed too afraid to speak.

“Y/N.”

“What was that?” Ignis called, as you both looked to Noctis.

“Her name is Y/N.”

Ignis nodded, “Pardon me, Y/N, is that correct?”

You nodded back, “I...I didn’t once think about taking them out of their tank at work, I thought they were safe but after tonight I had to do something.” You muttered.

“What happened?” Prompto asked sliding his hand in your own again.

You shook your head, tears in your eyes, “They, they were going to dissect you, I couldn’t let that happen. I don’t care what happened to me. I knew I had to do something to save you.”

Four pairs of eyes glanced around the room, taking in this sudden news.

“What’s going to happen to you?” Noctis asked, his tentacles wrapped tighter around you.

“I’ll more than likely go to jail. I did steal you.” You giggled, drying your eyes.

“Come with us.”

“What?” You called, only to gasp as you heard a loud pounding on your door.

“Open up.”

“No!” You gasped, stepping from Noctis’s embrace, glancing to the door then the men, “You have to go, I don’t know how you got in here, use that to get out. I’ll stall them.” You felt something snag your arm, pulling you back, only to find a navy and blonde tentacle on your arms.

“Not without you,” Noctis replied.

“Noctis, Prompto you have to go.” You called, pulling their tentacles from your arms, but each time it was replaced with another, frustrated tears in your eyes as your desperate pleas were ignored.

Between the tugging, your crying, and the pounding at your door, your heart in your ears, you could feel yourself becoming unraveled. “Please Sweetie, Sunshine go.”

Noctis huffed turning to the large one, “Gladio.”

“You’re the boss.” He stated.

You felt even stronger tentacles wrap around you, lifting you off your feet. Watching Ignis pour something on your hardwood floors and then a blue glow.

WET!

You were wet! You were soaking wet, and you couldn’t breathe! You were underwater and starting to panic, you weren’t that strong of a swimmer, and the moonlight looked like a little spot, you couldn’t make it! You were going to drown!

You let out a muffled shriek, as you felt something against your lips, only to find that it was Noctis, pressing his lips to your own, and something, warm travel from your lips down to the tips of your toes then back up.

“Breathe”

You took a breath, you were breathing underwater, “How?”

“Magic, come on.” He called, pulling you from the large one’s tentacles to his arms, cradling you close as he began to swim in a direction.

You were lucky that he was holding you, as anything outside of an arm's length from you was pitch black and rather frightening. You tried to pay attention to anything else aside from the scary darkness of the sea at night.

“Oh, oh, excuse me. What’s your name?” You called, to the large one from Noctis’s arms.

Those beautiful sunset eyes blinked in confusion, “Gladiolus.”

“Gladiolus, your markings are amazing, are they like a tattoo?” You smiled, cradled in Noctis arms. “I don’t know a lot about Octo-mers but you’re all so wonderful.”

As you allowed Noctis to move you through the water, you took in the others around you, only to find that one of Prompto and Noctis tentacles were wrapped around one another. Glancing to Gladiolus and Ignis as well, finding their own linked.

“Is that so you don’t get lost?” You asked.

“Hm?” Noctis asked, looking down to you in his arms.

“Do you hold each other tentacles to not get lost?” You repeated.

“Nope, we just do it because we like each other.” Gladiolus chuckled.

“Oh, are you married?” You cooed, hands to your chest.

“Married?”

“Um, it’s what you do when you’re in love and want to spend life with them?” You tried to explain.

“So are you and Noct married?” Prompto asked.

You blinked, “No.”

“So can we get married?” Prompto beamed.

You giggled, “Sunshine, marriage doesn’t work like that.”

“Then how does it work?” Ignis inquired.

“Well you normally give them a ring, and then before everyone, you profess your love for them, and you’re together for life.”

“So a mate?” Ignis stated.

You shrugged, “I guess.”

“Then to answer your questions, yes.”

As they moved you through the water, you found that it wasn’t as much a nightmare as you believed. The sea was calming and their idle chatter was rather nice to hear, you had started to drift off when suddenly you all were stopped. You glanced forward, watching as Ignis held his hand against something, pushing hard, there was a slight shimmer.

“Y/N, wrap your arms around me,” Noctis replied, as you wrapped your arms around his neck. “I’m sorry.”

You began to ask what, but suddenly you were being pulled, your ears popped and your stomach dropped but you clung tightly to the OctoMer, feeling one of his tentacles wrapped tighter around you. It felt like you were being tossed around for hours, but in reality, it was only seconds. You peeked open an eye that you weren’t certain of when you closed, only to shut them as a wave of nausea washed over you and a blinding light. You turned burying your face within Noctis’s neck, the pattern there cool on your flushed skin, even underwater you felt as if you were burning up.

“That barrier is to normally keep humans out,” Ignis explained. “Your sickness should be fine in a few hours.”

“Where?” You groaned, not daring to look anywhere, out of fear of food coming up. You felt a comforting hand, on your back, hearing Prompto cooing softly to you.

“Insomnia,” Noctis replied.

You wanted to gasp, the fabled city? There was no way.

“We should get you home Noct, your Dad’s going to want to know where you’ve been,” Gladiolus stated, as you all begun to move again.

As you hung tightly to Noctis, a golden tentacle rose, to your hand on the back of the navy Octomer’s neck where your hand rested. You smiled taking the tentacle, peeking your eyes open, attempting to view the city, but you felt so dizzy. You wondered if The Bends also happened in reverse.

You weren't certain if you had fallen asleep or simply fell into a trance, because you suddenly felt Prompto remove his tentacle from your hand, with a soft whine from you at losing one of your anchors to not passing out.

“Are you still not feeling well?” Ignis inquired, as you nodded your head in Noctis’s neck. “Here, Noct, I’ll take her to the infirmary, we’ll meet you later.”

You felt yourself being moved from Noctis’s arms of Ignis, you turned holding out your hand, eyes still closed. Only to smile as the back of your hand brushed against his cheek. “Sunshine?” You called as a tentacle wrapped around your arm before you felt the freckled cheek against your hand.

“Iggy will take care of you.” Prompto smiled.

You turned towards the shoulder of the Octomer holding you, “Thank you Ignis.”

With that you allowed Ignis to take you away. Your head resting against his shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” You whispered softly, almost uncertain that you had said anything at all.

“Whatever for?”

You whined weakly, your head was killing you, “If I had known that they had friends waiting. I wouldn’t have been so selfish and would have thought to bring them home sooner.”

Ignis gave a soft hum, “We can not change the past, but I will thank you for taking care of them while they were on land.” He glanced down, you had gotten your color back, but he still understood that your head must have been killing you. “It’s been some time since we’ve had a human here almost 800 years. I will see if we can delay you meeting the King until morning.”

“All right.” You whispered, before gasping. “King?”

*

The next morning you found yourself being flitted over by mermaids left and right. Flipping up your dress to look at your legs, and running fingers through your frizz ocean hair, and placing little seashells all over you all while giggling and asking rapid-fire questions.

After the third skirt flip, you couldn’t blame them, you were the fish out of water here. So you allowed them to touch at your legs and answer any questions they had about them or the land above.

Gladiolus had come to gather you, along with Prompto to meet the King, when you were told that you were actually within his Citadel. Having stayed the evening, and were treated so kindly

“Oh, oh am I fine enough to meet the King?” You asked, looking at your soaking wet dress, now littered with seashells and a netting type of skirt to make your dress appear longer. A seastar in your hair, attempting to keep it styled, and not floating away as it was obviously tempted to do. “I feel that I should be better dressed to meet him.”

“You’ll be fine, you look pretty.” Prompto smiled, holding your hand, pulling you through the water.

You allowed them to pull you through the water, up into a grand throne room, that was dry. You suddenly felt how heavy your dress was now soaking wet, along with your hair, only to gasp as you felt one of Gladiolus’s large hands on your shoulder, and then the feeling of wet leave you leaving you rather dry.

You giggled softly, “Thanks.”

“Y/N?”

You turned forward seeing an older man, with the same navy blue tentacles as Noctis, only a lighter shade possibly from age. That’s when you noticed that Noctis was standing, can you call it standing when they’re perched on their tentacles, beside him and Ignis beside him.

“So you are Y/N,” The elder man called, “I want to thank you for saving my son and Prompto.”

You gasped eyes darting to Noctis, “Your son?”

The elder man chuckled, “Yes, my Son Prince Noctis.”

You sputtered softly, before shrieking out, “Sweetie you’re a Prince?!.” This got you a chuckle from Prompto and Gladiolus at your sides, a raised eyebrow from Ignis and a smile from Noctis and the King. “Oh my goodness, I am so sorry Your Highness, if I have known that he had family waiting I would have thought to bring him back sooner. I am so sor…”

The King chuckled louder, something that felt kind, “Please no need to worry, you were not aware. It is not often that we are graced with a human. My son has explained that you risked quite a bit to bring them home.”

You smiled softly, looking to Noctis and Prompto, “I would gladly do it all again.”

“Please come forward.”

You moved from between the two at your sides, moving towards the throne, only to gasp as he unwrapped a tentacle holding a black pearl necklace. “Your Highness?”

“As a thank you for returning my son safely, this will allow you access to and from the city without the nasty after effects.” He replied with a wink placing the pearl in your hands. “Are you feeling better now?”

“ Oh yes very much.” You smiled bright, bowing, “Thank you, Your Highness!” Only to turn towards Noctis has he held out his hand, you reached out taking it.

“Well I do not wish to keep you, Ignis had stated you weren’t able to view the city last night, Please go enjoy.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.” You smiled, as Noctis moved forward, Ignis after him,  moving you towards the others.

As they moved you back underwater, you couldn’t help but smile at the pearl within your hand, only to find Noctis before you.

“I can put it on if you’d like.”

You smiled handing him the pearl, before turning around. Smiling as he placed the pearl around your neck, it hung just right, right above your collarbone. You turned back to the other before giggling, “You never said you were a Prince, anything else I need to know?”

Noctis flushed slightly.

“Y/N did you want to go out?” Prompto asked taking your hand.

“Is that okay, if you guys don’t have to do anything else more important.”

“We’re in charge of watching you,” Gladiolus stated.

You smiled, “Whatever is easiest for you, I’ll enjoy. Oh, Gladiolus, what did you do back there, when you made me dry?”

“Anyone here can do it, we need moisture to stay alive on land.” He explained. “So we can draw moisture from surrounding sources if need be.”

“There’s so much, I want to know. You all are amazing!”

“Stick around and we can show you,” Gladiolus replied, as he motioned toward the guards to open the door.

You nodded softly, “I’ll have to hold you to that. Oh, and Ignis, thank you for taking care of me last night. I was unable to thank you last night.”

Ignis gave a soft nod in your direction as the large doors were opened all the way.

“If that’s...Oh my!” You gasped as the doors opened.

You knew you were underwater, very far underwater! But it was so bright and beautiful and warm! All of the building appeared to be made of coral and a smooth volcanic rock of dark blacks and greys. It hardly looked any different than a city above the waves, only more magical.

You honestly couldn’t wait to be shown around.

*

You were exhausted, that more than likely didn’t cover it. You were tired but in the best way possible! You honestly couldn’t remember the last time you felt this alive and happy.

Currently, you were seated on a balcony, well more on Prompto and Noctis’s tentacles as they had wrapped around you in a loose embrace, looking to a cloud of jellyfish overhead.

“This place is so beautiful.” You smiled, put that old shabby aquarium to shame.

Noctis leaned forward his head resting against your shoulder as Prompto mimicked him.

“You can stay, with us,” Noctis replied, only to draw back, as he felt you flinch.

“I...I don’t know if I can.” You whispered softly, fidgeting with your fingers.  “I am a human, I don't even know how long I can stay here even with your magic.”

“I bet King Regis can work something out,” Prompto stated.

You shook your head, “I would like to stay, but I have an entire life on land. Granted it might be in jail.”

“So why not stay?” Noctis asked.

You shook your head again, you didn’t know how to explain it, that you were scared. So you did the only thing you could think to do.

You sat in silence.

*

“The king has given you citizenship, should you ever need someone to bring you back, come here and use this,” Ignis explained handing you a veil of water.

“Thank you, Ignis.” You smiled softly, standing on the beach just outside your apartment building in the middle of the night. You looked to the men before you, only to find that one was gone.

“Don’t take long to visit.” Prompto whimpered.

You nodded weakly, “ Oh Sunshine don’t cry.” You called moving out into the water, hugging him tightly.

“Do you really have to go?”

You squeezed him tighter, only stepping away when you felt him start to wrap around you, you knew that if you had allowed for him to get you tangled up, you would allow for him to drag you back, “I promise to come visit soon. I’ve got to do some damage control here and the first moment of free time I have, I’ll be there.”

Prompto went to reach out for you again, only to have Gladiolus to grab his arm.

“You should get going.”

You nodded softly, your hand going to your new necklace, as you watched the men move further back into the inky black water. You quickly rushed forward, “Can you, can you tell Swe...Noctis that I’m sorry.”

The silence you got before they disappear under the depths made your heart hurt.

As you returned home, you were stopped by security. It also turned out that the knocking at your door that night was security from your building getting the wrong apartment, as they were after someone smoking in the apartment on the floor above you. You got a nice little gift card for the disturbance that night.

When you managed to get the nerve to get into work on Tuesday, as of Monday you chickened out and call out sick, you weren’t surprised to be the only one within the building as typical at 6 in the morning. Most of your morning was spent staring at the empty tank before you. You remembering your little sweet Noctis curled up, only to awaken just before lunch. Enough time to point out what he wanted on the menu and then he’d wait for you to come enjoy your lunch dates. Even when Prompto showed up, you found that you would often spend time speaking with them and not getting your work done. The little sunshine seemed to really be interested in more what you were doing than food most of the time.

You found yourself staring at the empty tank when a hand touched your shoulder. You let out a scream before turning to the amused face of your supervisor.

“Aranea, geez you scared the hell out of me.” You gasped, as she tried stifling a chuckle.

“Sorry, I’ve got some questions to ask you.”

You removed your headphone, “Yeah what’s up?”

“Loqi said you left a little after the party, did you see anyone come in here?”

You shook your head, “No, I ducked out about 10. Why what’s up?”

The woman sighed, “Seems your little boyfriends were kidnapped.”

You stared, they didn’t know it was you, “What?”

“Yeah, we reviewed the tapes, but the systems so old back here. With all the tank glowing we got nothing but a huge blur. We’re getting a new key system installed and moving you upstairs for your safety.”

You swallowed, “When did they go missing?”

“We didn’t know until Saturday morning when they came to get them.” She explained. “Whelp Ardyn’s pissed but what else is new. You be careful leaving after dark, I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I will.” You called, as she left your area.

They didn’t know, none of them knew anything about you taking them. None of them were aware that you were the reason they had gone missing. You were off the hook.

“Oh man.” You gasped, holding your heart.

The hours at your work slowly started to blend to days and those days into weeks. It wasn’t that you had forgotten your promise to go back and visit, you just weren’t certain if you could. Noctis didn’t even come to tell you goodbye.

So when you came home early that Friday, you couldn’t really say that the curse that left your mouth upon entry to your house was very ladylike. Sitting in one of your large salad bowls on your coffee table was Ignis and Gladiolus. At least tinier versions of Ignis and Gladiolus, much like Prompto and Noctis it appeared they had a smaller size.

“Oh my...How did you get in here?” You gasped moving before the table, sitting on your knees to look them in the eye. Seeing they had filled the bowl with water and seemed to be doing rather well all things considered. “How are you?”

Ignis reached out a tentacle motioning towards the pearl around your neck.

“Oh, are you here because you want this back?” You asked, reaching up to remove it when you felt Gladiolus tentacle against your hand stopping you. “Is this because I haven’t been back?”

Stern green eyes glared at you, as he crossed tiny arms over his chest with a tiny huff.

“I...I want to come back, but I hurt Noctis. I didn’t think I was welcomed.”

Ignis let out a scoff, wrapping a tentacle around your arm before he began to glow.

“Wait, wait, let me change!” You called, pulling back, you must have overestimated your strength, as well as thrown Ignis for a loop when you pulled, as he went tumbling out the bowl with wide eyes as he latched to your wrist. 

“Oh, oh I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Darling.” You called, cradling Ignis stroking his cheek like you use to do with Noctis and Prompto, unaware to his adorable blush. “I'm used to the two of you being stronger.” You replied carefully placing him back in the bowl. “Let me change real quick and we can go.”

You had changed within a nice black swimsuit you had purchased a little bit ago but never had the chance to wear it. Moving back into the living room, as you held out your hands for the two. They were a lot heavier than Noctis and Prompto that was for use, but you held them close as you felt that familiar magic wash over you and you became wet.

Almost immediately, you felt lips against your own, and that magic swirl through you allowing you to breathe underwater. Smiling as Ignis moved back. “Thanks.”

“Shall we get going?” Ignis replied.

You blinked, noticing the pink blush on his cheeks. Only to gasp as Gladiolus swam around you, pulling you into his arms as you wrapped your arms around his neck. Allowing for him to carry you to the Kingdom.

You had to admit that you really did enjoy the power of the pearl around your neck, as getting through the barrier this time was a lot smoother and you didn’t have to deal with nausea.

“Gladiolus I can swim now.” You offered, worried that you were taking advantage of his kindness.

“You’re fine.” He replied holding you in the crook of his arm.

As you were moved through the city you had to admit that this place still took your breath away it was so beautiful. You weren’t certain if it was due to the fact that it seemed so magical that if you blinked you’d think it was a dream.

Once inside, Gladiolus finally set you down, only for Ignis to take your hand within his own and move you through a part of the castle that you recall being where Noctis’s room was. Coming upon a door he knocked a few times before pushing open the door.

The room was rather beautifully decorated if a little junky, but then again you were sometimes finding yourself cleaning out his tank when it got a little junky of the snacks you would leave for him for over the weekends when you couldn’t make certain he was eating. In the center of the room, sat a very large, very beautiful bed, with navy and sunshine tentacles, fast asleep.

“He’s been like this since you left,” Ignis explained, releasing your hand, as Gladiolus shut the door behind you.

“Granted the guy is always sleeping, he’s been super mopey, Prompto too.”

You pulled your hands to your chest, letting out a soft coo as you floated forward, “Oh Sweetie, Sunshine.” You turned looking to Ignis and Gladiolus making certain that it was okay, only to get an encouraging look.

Moving over to Prompto first knowing he’d be easier to wake up, you sat down on the bed, reaching out as you stroked his cheek, “Sunshine, Prompto?”

Violet eyes fluttered away, as he uncurled himself from Noctis, sitting up as he gave a stretch as he yawned. “That sounded like Y/N.” He muttered, rubbing his eye, as his tentacles waved about, getting used to moving and untangling from Noctis.  Only for his eyes to turn to you, as he blinked twice before letting out a sound of joy.

“Hi, Sun, Epp!” You let out a shriek, as all arms and tentacles wrapped around you pulling you forward, as he nuzzled you.

“You’re here! You’re here!” He cheered, as you giggled. “Did you just get here? How did you get here? Are you going to stay?”

You smiled, hugging him tightly, but it was a lot easier to avoid crushing him almost like he was doing you at the moment. “I’m sorry, I came back so late.”

Prompto gave you that bright smile, “Noct’s going to be so happy. We’ve been bored without you.”

You turned toward the still sleeping Prince on the bed, “Noctis.” You felt Prompto release you as you reached out, softly running your knuckles over his cheek. “Sweetie, Swet...Noctis.” You called, watching his eyelids flutter softly, his tentacles starting to stir. He was always so hard to wake up, so you moved forward, pulling his head to your lap, as you stroked his cheeks. “Noctis, wake up please.”

He seemed to be really fighting it at first, but slowly those blue eyes opened to you. Only to close as he nuzzled into your hand.

“Give me five more minutes Ignis.”

Ignis chuckled, “You’ll find that this is not me.”

Those blue eyes opened again, only to find you above him, “Y/N?” He called his tentacles moving up at the same time he reached for your face. “Y/N, you’re here.”

“Noctis.” You cried, your tears blending in with the water. “Can you forgive me for being so late?”

You quickly found yourself being pulled into another embrace, as Noctis buried his head into your neck. Only to smile as you were engulfed by Prompto again. You weren’t certain of how long you were settled within that embrace, but you had to admit that forever was not long enough.

“Y/N is there a length of time of how long you will be joining us?” Ignis asked, approaching you all on the bed, with Gladiolus now that the emotions were out the way.

“I can stay until Sunday evening. I have work on Monday.” You explained, still being clung rather tightly by Noctis and Prompto.

“Work, I thought you were fired,” Prompto replied.

“No, I guess they didn’t realize I was the one who snuck you out. It wouldn’t have worked if you guys didn’t do that neat disappearing trick. Granted I was very, very tempted to hit him over the head with something if he found you guys.” You giggled.

“Will you come back this time?” Noctis asked, his head within your lap, as you stroked his hair.

You flushed softly, reaching up a hand to stroke at Prompto’s head as well resting on your shoulder, “I figured you were upset at me, I didn’t mean to leave for so long, but I can come on weekends now if you’d like me to.” You offered. “I can come Friday after work and stay all weekend. Is that all right?”

Noctis pouted softly, “I saw you more when I was on land.”

You giggled, “But this way I can actually talk with you.”

“Don’t be spoiled Noct. Not often a lady will even put up with you.” Gladiolus chuckled.

Noctis wrapped his tentacles around your leg, holding you close, “But Y/N loves me.”

You smiled running your fingers through his hair before turning to Ignis, “I’ve wanted to ask, why are you within smaller form when on land?”

“It’s easier on our bodies, being within our original forms it can be draining. Typically on dry land, we can last possibly 3 hours or so. Being within smaller forms, allow for us to stay moist longer.”

“But you lose your ability to speak?” You inquired.

“Yes, it's more difficult in that form.”

“Amazing.” You beamed a hand running over one of Prompto’s freckles tentacles. “You all are so amazing!”

When you were dropped off this time on the beach late Sunday evening in a secluded grotto you had to admit you couldn’t remember the last time you were this relaxed.

“I’ll normally get home about 3, I’ll leave the bathtub full for you, or would you prefer the living room? I can leave the t.v on.” You offered, wadding the water.

“Whichever is easiest for you,” Ignis replied. “I hope you don’t mind that Gladiolus and myself will be picking you up.”

“Of course not.” You beamed, as you walked over to Noctis and Prompto. “You two be good, and don’t cause Ignis and Gladiolus too much troubles.”

“No promises,” Noctis replied.

You giggled shaking your head, before leaving forward pressing a kiss to his forehead and then Prompto. “I’ll see you Friday.”

You watched as they sputtered, then as Gladiolus wrapped a tentacle around the both of them, pulling them after himself as he dove in the water quickly followed by that flash of magic that meant they were going home. Now you had to figure a way to get out of this grotto.

You had to admit you were rather enjoying yourself now. You made it through boring weekdays only to have weekends full of fun waiting for you. There were even a handful of times that you would have someone take you home long enough to either call out early Friday morning or early Monday just to return back to the sea.

It easily became a second home, and you actually started wondering if you should take them up on the offer to stay forever.

You glanced toward the boring tank before you with the colorful fish, you never thought that you would think an aquarium boring, but to actually be able to touch and have the fish swim beside you was a lot more beautiful than watching them swim in circles all day more than likely bored out of their minds.

As a violet fish fluttered by you couldn’t help but giggle, when you first slipped and called Ignis Darling in his large form. You were extremely embarrassed and tried to back peddle but he only chuckled telling you that he rather enjoyed it, and was starting to feel left out because you constantly referred to Prompto and Noctis as Sunshine and Sweetie.

As another school of fish rushed by you looked to the scar on one of them, you nicknamed him Gladi Jr, not that you would ever tell your Gladdy Baby under the sea. You smile recalling as you held one of his tentacles as he bought you to Insomnia, stroking at the scar there, this lead to you asking all night how he got each of the larger ones, running a careful hand over them as he told you the stories.

A smile blossomed over your face, as you slowly thought about it, you really did care for all of them and honestly, the days without them were boring. You pulled up a word file, as you begun to search for the correct format and wording. You’d put in your two-week notice after you got back from your four day weekend.

After all how many girls got to say that they got to actually become a mermaid.

As you came home, you almost couldn’t contain your excitement, you were going to be meeting an old friend of Noctis this weekend, from the neighboring Kingdom of Tarabene. Stepping into your apartment, you smiled at the blonde head peeking out of the bowl, watching t.v.

“Hi, Sunshine.” You cooed, stopping long enough to press a kiss to his forehead, watching his little tentacles curl up to his face embarrassed as they always did as he turned a bright red. “I’ll be ready in just a minute.”

You raced to your bedroom, putting on the attire that the seamstress underwater made you for the visit of the visiting royalty. It looked very similar to a swimsuit but with a netted dress overlay. You may have got stuck in the off the shoulder top for a moment, but that didn’t stop you from racing back into the living room. Only to stop and grab a few jars, shoving them into a bag.

“Ready, Sunshine!” You called, moving back into the living room. Holding out your hand as Prompto climbed into it, you pulled him to your chest, as you felt the familiar pull of magic and then water rush around you. Purring as you felt Prompto’s lips against your own, pushing the magic into your lungs.

“Everyone’s waiting.” He smiled, pulling you into his arms. “What’s in the bag?”

“I brought some of those seaweeds that Iggy like, and Noct’s grilled fish. He’s been whining about it.” You smiled, as he moved you to Insomnia. “Plus your chips and Gladdy some gladiolus.”

“Huh?”

You giggled, “Remember how I said, he and Iris were named after land flowers. I found some fake ones so that he can keep them in his room.”

Prompto smiled, nuzzling into your shoulder, wrapping two of his tentacles around you, as he pushes through the barrier. “You’re too nice.”

“Only for you.” You smiled, waving to someone swimming by. Seems a lot of people knew of the human that hung out with the Prince and his mates. “Has Noctis friend arrived yet?”

“No Lunafreya and Ravus are supposed to show up later tomorrow,” Prompto explained, moving beyond the guards that were expecting the two of you.

“Oh good, I wanted to ask if someone could help with my hair, the current just loves sweeping it away.” You giggled, trying to smooth down your hair, only for it to float back up. “I don’t want to embarrass you all tomorrow.”

“You could never.”

You turned smiling at the three approaching you, “Hi everyone.” You cooed, as Prompto released you, allowing for you to float over, pressing a welcoming kiss to each of their foreheads.

You recalled how they found it strange at first, you figured that with each of them having to kiss you in order for you to breathe underwater a kiss to their cheeks or foreheads wasn’t too strange. When you noticed they never worried about kisses on the cheeks or forehead, it was mostly when you were going for their mouth that they flinched away, you found yourself very confused.

“Are you worried I’ll eat you?” You giggled playfully one visit. Only for them to explain, that it was one thing to press their lips against your own in order for the spell for you to be underwater, it was strange that you seemed to go towards their poison sac located in their mouth on your own.

After explaining it was how humans showed affection, it was easily agreed that you had free kisses to every other part, but to warn them if you were going for their mouth. The kisses started off friendly, but you had started to wonder just when exactly all of these motions started to develop an undertone of romance.

“What’s in the bag?” Gladiolus asked.

You giggled, playfully swatting the dark grey tentacle reaching for the bag, before pulling it to your mouth to press a kiss against one of the scars, “That’s for me to know. Noctis, Sweetie is your Dad around I wanted to talk to him about something.”

Those blue eyes widen slightly, “About what?”

“I don’t want to get any hopes up before I talk to him, but I promise to let you all know by the end of the weekend.” You smiled, as you begun swimming towards “your room”. You only called it that, because aside from the throne room, it was the only room in the entire citadel that was dry and King Regis had it made for you specifically for your visits.

As you stepped beyond the bubble, you smiled feeling Ignis take your hand as you become dry.

“So what did you bring?” Gladiolus asked, moving to your bed, pulling you to his lap with his tentacles, wrapping his arms around your waist once you were seated.

You began to pull out the treats you brought along with you, all the while realizing that this was exactly where you wanted to be. This was home, something of a comfort. Life on land wasn’t bad, but under the sea with them, was perfection.

Plain and simple.

*

You were nervous, you were so nervous. You honestly didn’t believe that you were supposed to be standing, floating beside Noctis and the others. You went to move but found a tentacle wrapped around your ankle dragging you back between Noctis and Ignis.

You swallowed nervously, only to feel a tentacle slide into your hand. Judging by the smooth feeling and the strength of the hold, you knew it to be the freckled one of Prompto, moving your hands behind your back you gently squeezed it, thanking him for the comfort as the doors open.

You heard Gladiolus chuckle as you gasped at the duo moving into the room. A young man with almost pearl like tentacles, a stern gaze of dual purple and blue eyes. A cape over his shoulders. While a woman beside him, wearing a white top and what appeared to be a jellyfish bottom, that almost appeared to be a beautiful ball gown.

You didn’t mean to stare, it was a horrible habit you got into from working at the aquarium. But did mer-people not understand that they were absolutely beautiful and your heart could not take it! You weren’t even certain has to how long you were staring only to feel Noctis tug you forward.

“Y/N, this is Lunafreya,” Noctis replied.

“Hello Y/N.” Lunafreya smiled, holding out her hands.

You reached out without even noticing what you were doing taking the others hands, “Hello Lunafreya.” You replied, she was even pretty up close, “You are absolutely beautiful.” You gasped only realizing what you said after it had slipped out as you flushed.

Lunafreya giggled, as she held your hands tightly, “You are as well. I was just nervous to say so.”

You smiled, as you turned looking to the man with the stern gaze, “You must be Ravus, it is an honor to meet you.”

That duel gaze sent another glare to you, only to nod softly before turning back to Regis.

Lunafreya leaned in, “That means he likes you.” She smiled, before gasping as she turned to dig in her shawl, before pulling out a blue flower. “A welcome gift from Tarabene, I would love for you to visit.”

“I would love to.” You smiled, as she placed the flower in your hair, happy that it didn’t float away.

This weekend actually solidified your need to leave the land behind. Here you weren’t just the little data pusher that was constantly looked over and forgotten about. Who spent her nights alone, and weekends ordering out while sitting on the couch watching old movies.

No beneath the sea, you were someone important and actually had friends and people who cared about you and loved you. So when you finally got a moment with the King, you almost couldn’t control yourself.

“Your Majesty.” You called, approaching him in the throne room, as he was in and out of meeting all day. “May I have a moment of your time?”

“Of course, Y/N.” He smiled, as Clarus moved over touching your arm to dry you out.

“Thank you, Mr. Amicitia.” You smiled, trying to calm your nerves as you moved before the King your hand wrapped around the pearl he had given you the first time you came to Insomnia. “Your Highness, I want to request if I...if it would be all right with you that I come to Insomnia.”

Regis blinked, “Of course, you are always welcomed, not just on weekends.”

You shook your head, holding tightly to the pearl, “What I mean is, I would like for Insomnia to be my home if that’s okay.”

Regis rose an eyebrow sparing a glance to Clarus beside you, “Just to make certain that I understand, you wish to live with us?”

“Yes, Your Highness, since meeting Noctis and the others, I have had the most fun, and I think, no I know that this is where I want to be. That is if you will have me.”  You replied, your gaze held to the floor, afraid of rejection, you didn’t mean to ask this way but suddenly your nerves got the better of you.

Only to look up as you felt a tentacle underneath your chin, “Are you certain?”

You swallowed, before nodding, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Regis smiled, waving you forward, before taking your hand, “I am happy to hear this, I have not seen them all so happy since you’ve come along. I won’t be able to change you into a creature of the sea, but I can prolong the spell that allows for you to live with us.”

You smiled, not able to stop yourself, as you leaned forward hugging him tightly, “Thank you!” You suddenly seemed to realize what exactly it was that you were doing, as you backed away, only to find that Regis had embraced you back.

“We can do it whenever you’re ready.” He smiled.

“Oh in two weeks, I want to make sure all my ties on land are done. So that they don’t come looking for me.” You smiled.

“Of course,” Regis replied. “Clarus, go get the boys, I’m certain they’ll enjoy this news.”

Clarus reached out placing a hand on your head with a chuckle, “I’m happy to hear you’ll be joining us.”

“Thank you Mr. Amicitia.” You smiled, as he turned to go gather the others.

The result of your staying was actually meet with quite a bit of squeezing, and on Prompto’s end tears which got you crying.

“This will mean that we can visit each other.” Lunafreya cooed, her hand stroking your face, to remove your tears.

You giggled, only to turn as you felt Noctis’s tentacle within your hand, you pulled the tentacle to your lips, pressing a kiss to it. It still confused those that were not within your little circle as to what a kiss was, or meant on land but after a brief explanation, it went over pretty well.

“Something wrong Sweetie?” You cooed, only noticing that his tentacle was curled around something. Holding out your hand, you were surprised to see a ring. “What’s this?”

Noctis flushed, “Figured if you were staying, then…”

You blinked, before finding three more rings in face, when it dawned on you, that conversation you had when you first were brought underwater. “Are you asking me to marry, you? All of you?”

“A recognized union of partners in a personal relationship,” Ignis stated quoting a book you had bought down for him and Gladiolus as they seemed to enjoy human literature.

You glanced to the black bands before smiling brightly, “Of course. Nothing would make me happier.” You smiled, as you slipped the bands onto your fingers. It felt heavy just a little, but it was a pressure that felt fine.

“Y/N,” Lunafreya called floating over to you, “What is marriage?”

*

You were counting down the next two weeks, as King Regis had stated that he was giving you an underwater mate ceremony the same day you got your permanent spell to breathe underwater.

Aranea kept asking if you were sure you wanted to leave, and that where ever you were going to take her with you. While Loqi appeared to rather indifferent, but you found a cute little charm on your desk from the man, wishing you luck in your future endeavors.

So on your final day, you took your time, glancing to the beautiful fish that you wished you could take with you. Maybe you could sneak back in and take them home. As you were staring at the large sea turtle you hardly noticed the man step beside you, only to gasp as you noticed it was Ardyn.

“Beautiful aren’t they?” Ardyn inquired, his gaze never turning from the turtles.

“Yea...yeah.”

“I’ve been told that today is your last day.”

You nodded softly, “Yes sir.”

“A shame, such smart women as yourself is hard to come by. You will be missed.”

“Thank you, sir.” You replied, pulling out your phone, you’d be late getting home. “It was nice working for you, Sir.”

“Yes, of course, Y/N.” He smiled holding out his hand.

You reached out, taking his hand, only to flinch as something wet and slimy surrounded your hand, that familiar of tentacles underneath. You gasped, as you pulled away,  only to see red tentacles appearing from underneath his long black and white trench coat.

“What are you?” You gasped, pulling back, managing to back away from him.

“Don’t be that way, My Dear. I am aware that it was yourself that had taken the prince. Now, why don’t you be a good little girl and tell me where exactly you took him as it would not be well if you returned him and his little friend home.”

You shrieked, as you saw one of those red tentacles going toward your neck. Smacking the tentacle from your face, and stomping on the one going for your leg, as you raced out the building. Ducking out a fire exit as you all but ran home, racing into your apartment, as you noticed all four of them sitting in various arrays of your kitchenware.

“We need to go. Now!” You cried, as you begun to strip yourself of your attire, showing your swimming suit underneath. Reaching out to pull all of them your arms, as you felt that pull and then wetness.

You panted heavily against Noctis’s lip, as he pushed air into your lungs.

“Y/N, Y/N please calm down,” Ignis called stroking your back. “Tell us what’s wrong.”

You panicked, eyes darting around the sea, finding a strange comfort in the inky blackness. You also figured it could be the familiar tentacles, keeping you floating as you were in such a panic you had forgotten to actually float.

“There’s someone.” You swallowed trying to clear your mind to get it out.

“Someone?” Prompto asked, as Noctis scooped you in his arms, and begun to move you towards Insomnia. “What does he look like?”

“Red hair, gold eyes.”

Gladiolus huffed, “Don’t recall anyone like that.”

“Where did you see him?”

You knew you were panicking, you knew you were scared, you didn’t know why but unlike everyone else you’ve met, he was horrifying, “At work.”

“It was your last day, so you don’t have to worry,” Noctis replied, as you bypassed the coral that signaled you were closed to the entrance.

“No, he was an Octomer.” You cried this stopped everyone. “Noctis he was after you.”

“Y/n who was this man?” Ignis asked.

“Why I believe she is referring to me.”

All of you turned as if a screen was pulled from before the man. Only for Gladiolus and Ignis to move before you in Noctis arms.

“Ardyn.”

The man chuckled, removing his hat that managed to stay with him even underwater, giving a mock bow, “Y/N I guess I can forgive you, after all, you did bring me back to that which you have stolen from me.”

You gasped, they moved so quickly through the water, you weren’t even aware that Ignis nor Gladiolus had moved until Noctis and Prompto were given an opening to dash toward the entrance of Insomnia.

“Close your eyes and don’t let go,” Noctis stated, one of his tentacles wrapping around your waist another to your hands allowing you to hold onto him, as you buried your head within his chest.

You didn’t feel the tug or pull of the barrier, but instead, Noctis stopped, alongside Prompto, both of them covering you, before remaining very still. It felt like hours before you peeked an eye open before you was the ocean, calm and quiet. But you felt the arms around you, and the tentacles curling around you, moving with the current. They were camouflaging you from Ardyn, but they were so close to the barrier, why didn’t they just go in?

You let out a gasp, only to feel something cover your mouth, as Ardyn swam by his gold eyes looking around trying to find the three of you, a rather nasty gash on one of his tentacles. But what happened to Ignis and Gladiolus! You tried not to think about it. You held your breath as the red Octomer swam by, but still, the three of you sat in silence, waiting to see if he might circle back, it was best to wait until Gladiolus and Ignis came to get you.

You stayed huddled within their embrace, trying not to twitch or move too much out of fear of breaking your cover. Only to smile as you saw two figures approach the barrier, poor Gladiolus had a nasty scar on one of his tentacles, and Ignis was bleeding from a gash on the left side of his head. Both of them carrying weapons you hadn’t seen them wielding prior.

“Where’d he go?” Gladiolus hissed looking around.

“Better yet let’s find the others,” Ignis replied. “They wouldn’t go into the barrier  out of worry that he would follow them in.”

Prompto was the first to remove the camouflage, showing he was the one to cover your mouth, as he waved the others over.

“Are you all fine?” Ignis inquired checking everyone over, happy to find that everyone was fine, one of his hands to your back. “Y/N?”

“Just a little shaken up, we should get inside and let my dad know about this.”

You held tighter to Noctis’s tentacle, eyes scanning the inky blackness of the ocean only to let out the call too late, as a red tentacle wrapped around your wrist, pulling you from Noctis arms. “Noctis!”

“Y/N!” Noctis yelled, his hand latching to your own holding on for all it was worth only to feel his fingers slip as you were yanked back to Ardyn.

You honestly never felt the full strength of a tentacle around you, the others always held you so gently, even Gladiolus who you had watched easily snap rocks in half with hardly a flick of his tentacle ever put strength behind the appendages when he held you. Now to have just one wrapped around your torso, trapping your arms to your side, and coming up to rest in the center of your chest, the tip caught in the chain of the pearl around your neck. Pulling just enough to cause the chain to dig uncomfortably in your neck.

Yet all of this was ignored for the slight burn that begun to appear on your chest where the tentacle rest in the opening of your swimsuit.

“Let her go!” Noctis barked, a blue sparkle in his hand as a trident appeared.

You let out a shriek, as the pressure increased around your torso as Ardyn begun to speak.

“After all I did to get you there, this little human ruined everything.” Ardyn hissed. “She plucked you right from my grasp, and returned you home and even has pardon from the King.”

You went to scream as a hand grabbed your chin turning you to Ardyn, but the pressure he had on your body only allowed a squeak. Even as you viewed his eyes turn back and inky, the same coming from his lips.

“And since you’ve ruined my plans for the throne, My Dear, I feel it only fair that I ruin your chance of happiness and joy. Were you to ask to join those under the sea?” He chuckled, his grip on your chin holding you in place as he leaned forward, his lips going over your own.

You tried not to inhale as you felt the slimy ink you believed to be a poison tried to move beyond your lips. Only for a tight squeeze of your body to become your undoing. You inhaled against your wishes as the black ink was forced down your mouth, as he pulled away.

“Didn't you know, My Dear, humans are bound to drown.” He chuckled, a string of black poison connecting the two of you, only to break as your vision begun to fade.

Ardyn narrowly avoided the trident coming toward his chest, only able to barely deflect it away but damaged the tentacle holding you causing him to release you and the two that came up to defend him.

Noctis stabbed again alongside Ignis, as Gladiolus quickly swooped in to grab you, putting you out of harm's way, just as a third trident appeared.

“Noctis!” Regis called appearing with Clarus and Ravus.

Ardyn growled, with nearly half of his tentacles not working, he wouldn’t be able to outrace them, but how, how did they know he was here? His eyes turned to the little blonde one, flushed and red from swimming into the Citadel. Tridents pointed at his neck, he held up his arms, a glare going to the being rushed into the barrier.

“We’ve been looking for you, Ardyn.”

*

It turns out that Ravus and Lunafreya’s visit was actually due to the fact that Ardyn had been seen around the area, and with the Octomer banned from both Insomnia and Tarabene, it was cause for alarm. As he had attempted on Lunafreya’s life, so with him behind bars for the moment all focus turned to you.

Any other Octomer would be able to expel the poison within their system, but a human wasn’t heard of. The large mark on your chest and your ragged breathing seemed to only cause more fear than hope. Not to mention since you were poisoned you hadn’t woken up and the spell had disappeared allowing you to breathe underwater. If not for Gladiolus having immediately placing his mouth over your own, trying to suck out the poison and keeping your breathing, they would have lost you long before they got you within your dry room.

It wasn’t uncommon for someone to find Noctis and Prompto within their smaller forms circled up near you, or resting just above the black mark down the center on your chest. Often times, Gladiolus or Ignis would have to go in and remove them to make certain that they stayed wet enough, only for them to take post at your bed when the younger two were not there.

It was during one of the rare moments that all four of them sat around your side when Lunafreya came rushing in. Holding a veil of something in a sparkling blue.

“I got it where they oceans meet, it supposes to be a cure for mer-people.” Lunafreya replied, not wanting to add that she wasn’t certain it would work with you being human.

Pouring enough in her hands, she softly pressed the water within your chest, only glancing toward you as you inhaled deeply but still remained unconscious. A soft hand pressed against your chest that glew a soft blue, slowly the glow moved up through your throat and out your mouth where you hacked up black with a soft cry rolling to your side.

The large angry dark mark on your chest never seemed to disappear as you wheezed weakly, when Gladiolus rolled you back to your back, so you didn’t move into the poison you had vomited up.

“Y/N are you with us?” Lunafreya called, adjusting you to sit up slightly in case there was more for you hack up.

You gave a weak cough, hardly opening your eyes as you let out a small laugh. Only to look down as you felt something on your chest, only to find Noctis and Prompto within their smaller forms clinging tightly to you looking up to you with large eyes.

“Sweetie, Sunshine.” You cooed, hardly getting your arms up around them to hug them to your chest, pressing a kiss to their forehead as they hugged you tightly, small tentacles wrapping around your shoulders as they nuzzled into your shoulders soft whines in their chest. “Don’t...cry, I’m...sorry.”

You gave what you hope was a smile, as you felt them shake their heads against your neck with soft whines and huffs.

“How are you feeling?” Ignis inquired, leaning forward, as you unwrapped an arm from around Noctis and Prompto to stroke his cheek with the back of your knuckles with a soft call of ‘Darling.’

“Like I’ve been hit by a bus.” You muttered weakly, only to giggle at the confused look you got. “Where’s Ardyn?”

Gladiolus stroked your head, “Don’t worry about that right now. Get some rest.”

“Gladdy-Baby.” You stroked at the large tentacle resting against your waist,  feeling the slight tremble of the scared appendage giving it a soft squeeze. As a soft gasp leaving you as you realized how dry the two in your arms were, you moved to hand Noctis and Prompto over to Ignis. “Come on you two, you’ll dry out in here. How long have you been here?”

You felt the two dig little fingers in your shoulders, as tentacles wrapped around your hands with little frustrated huffs.

“Please, I’ll feel better knowing that you to get some sleep, and get wet again.” You offered, as you pressed kisses to their foreheads. “I’ll be here.”

Two pairs of eyes looked up to you, as you smiled weakly with a soft call of “Promise.” Seeming satisfied, the two pressed little kisses to your lips, nuzzling against your cheeks.

“Here.” Lunafreya smiled, reaching out taking the two from you.

“Get some sleep, I’m not going anywhere.” You smiled stroking their cheeks as they huffed reaching for you. “I’ll be right here, I promise.” Watching Lunafreya leave with the two younger ones, before collapsing back to the bed with a sigh.

“You okay?” Gladiolus asked leaning over you.

“Yeah, yeah just sleepy.” You whispered softly allowing for Ignis to adjust you. “No wonder you all are so strange when it comes to kisses to the mouth, but I’ve never been poisoned by any of you.”

“We’re not constantly doing so. Why should we waste if we’re not going to use it.” Gladiolus replied, stroking your right hand, where his and Ignis rings rested.

You hummed softly, feeling Ignis’s hand stroking your hair, and Gladiolus caressing your cheek. This was its own heaven, your eyes fluttering shut at being pampered this way, almost drifting to sleep.

“This doesn’t change you wanting to stay?”

You smiled opening your eyes, “No, I love you guys, I’m fine staying if you want me to.”

“Of course,” Ignis replied, stroking your hair.

“Then I’ll stay forever.” You giggled before the slight dizzy sensation returned. “I think I’m going to take a nap, don’t stay too long, I don’t want you to dry out.”

“We’ll stay until you fall asleep.”

Over the next couple of days, as you got your strength back, you found your room being filled with just a few things that you required from your home, mostly some cooking ware so that Noctis and Prompto didn’t dry out when they came over. You figured you’d have to give up electronics, but having the others with you, you wouldn’t really need the distraction.

“It's possibly a side effect from the ocean cure and the poison. We’ve never used it on a human.” You recalled Lunafreya explaining.

While the large dark mark on your chest hadn’t disappeared, you found that you’ve developed a very similar texture of the Octomer skin, among your arms and legs, almost as if you were wearing gloves and fishnet stocking that matched the mark upon your chest. You also found that you didn’t require a kiss from the others in order to breath underwater.

Not that, that stop them.

If anything it increased the kisses, as now you didn’t have to worry about being poisoned should you kiss them. You had become a better swimmer still unable to keep up with your husbands, but they never really seemed to mind carrying you around.

“Hey Y/N are you ready?” Prompto called, as you turned to your smaller husband.

“Yeah.” You cooed, having got distracted, after the long wait of you getting better and then the wedding you finally were able to keep your promise to Lunafreya about coming to visit. “You are all aware that the bachelor party is supposed to happen before the wedding right?”

“Bachelor party?”

You giggled shaking your head, “Nevermind, I guess we can count this trip as our Honeymoon.”

You were meet with more confused stares by your husbands.

“It’s uh a time for newlyweds to celebrate by themselves.” You attempted to explain, taking Ignis’s hand as he began to move towards the barrier of Insomnia.

“Celebrate our marriage, I assume?”

You nodded, “Yeah, among other things, but I’ll tell you that when we get a hotel for the night. So how long will it take to get to get to Luna?”

“We can take as long as we want,” Noctis replied, taking your other hand.

You smiled, as you felt the barrier part to allow you to start your journey. It would be a fine one.

[escapingreality1992]

Wedding Date Emergency

Warnings: Smut, Oral Sex, Protected Sex

Bucky Barnes x OC - Emma needs a date to her best friend’s wedding when she is informed that she can no longer go alone. She is close with Bucky and they go together. Feelings come into light during the week of the wedding.

Out with my best friend Alice from high school and her two stepsisters, Stella and Maggie, was the day that my life was going to be forever changed. We were eating sushi and talking about wedding details—Alice was the bride and she had met the woman of her dreams two years ago—when she turned things around on me.

           “So you already RSVP’d right?” she asked me. I nodded mid-bite of my spicy tuna roll, no desire to talk with my mouth full.

           “Yeah, right when you sent out the invitations five months ago. I’ve got to stay ahead of the game,” I answered, swallowing the last bit of the roll.

           “Are you going to bring a date?” Alice asked, raising her eyebrows. What is she playing at? She knows I’m coming alone, I thought to myself.

           “No, I RSVP’d by myself. You should know. I’m sure you saw my response,” I remarked. She sighed, reaching out and touching my hand. This wasn’t a good sign. I looked at Stella and Maggie, who had amused grins on their faces.

           “Emma, you’re going to have to bring someone. Going alone isn’t optional anymore. You’ve been single for five years. It’s time you found someone. I’m sure it won’t be that hard for you,” Alice said in a mocking tone. At her comment the stepsisters burst out laughing. I felt awkward and it dawned on me that they all thought I was a joke. Over the years it seemed like Alice had started to see me as stupid or even a disappointment as a friend. I didn’t realize how bad it had gotten unto her comment about my love life.

           “No, It shouldn’t be that hard. I’m so glad you care so much about the state of my love life. Thank you for pointing out that I’m hopelessly lonely. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to go home now. Start the process of finding a date,” I commented, restraining from showing them how upset I was. More giggles came from Stella and Maggie, Alice joining in this time. Finishing up lunch, I said my goodbyes to them and headed back to the Avengers compound, trying to hold my composure until I could get to the privacy of my room.

           “Did you have fun at lunch? Did you sort out more wedding details? Emma?” Steve greeted me as I entered the lounge, looking up from his sketchbook.

           “Hmm? Oh yeah, it was fine…just fantastic. If you’ll excuse me, I’d rather be alone right now,” I answered, quickly walking past him, down the hallway where my room was located. I kept my head down, hiding my expression when I collided into someone.

           “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there,” I mumbled, trying to get past whoever it was.

           “It’s alright. Hey, are you okay? You seem a bit down at the moment,” the voice, male, stated. I lifted my head to see Bucky standing in front of me. Ever since I joined the Avengers as someone who had atmokinesis and could generate any kind of weather, I seemed to get close to both Steve and Bucky. They were my best friends and I was grateful for them but I didn’t want to talk at the present moment.

           “I’m just peachy. Excuse me,” I replied, a little harsher than I meant to say and shoved past him to my room, slamming the door shut. Kicking off my shoes and changing into something a bit more comfortable, I drew the curtains, darkness enveloping the room. I crawled into the bed and pulled the covers over my head, trying and failing to block out the pain I was feeling.

           I let the tears fall, sobs racking my body as I replayed the conversation at lunch in my mind. I felt humiliated at the suggestion of finding someone for a date at this wedding. It meant that my friends thought I wasn’t capable of finding someone to fall in love with. As I thought about this, the lonelier I felt, the tears continuing to flow. Some time later, a knock sounded at my door followed by Steve’s voice.

           “Emma, is everything okay? It’s storming outside despite it being sunny a few minutes ago and no one called for it on the forecast. Thor’s off world so I know it can’t be him causing it. Come on Emma, open up,” he remarked. Great, my emotions were now affecting my abilities. I sat up, wiped the tears from my face and tried to calm down before I opened the door to let him in. I was surprised to find him and Bucky standing outside, concern etching their features when they saw the state I was in.

           “I’m fine, really. Don’t worry about me, “ I responded, still sniffling a little.

           “Clearly, you’re not. The evidence is written all over your face. Can we come in and talk about it?” Bucky stated. I nodded and returned to the bed, Bucky and Steve close behind me. Steve laid down on the edge of the bed, Bucky stretching out against the pillows automatically pulling me against his chest.

           “What happened at lunch? You were more cheerful when you left earlier.” Steve questioned. I clung to Bucky’s shirt, his hand rubbing soothing circles into my back.

           “It’s a stupid thing, really. I don’t even know why I’m crying about it. Basically, my friends think I’m a fucking joke,” I answered. I was upset about the conversation but now it was making me angry.

           “Come one, not all of us do. We’re your friends and I’m pretty sure we don’t think you’re a joke. What makes you think that?” Steve commented.

           “I don’t mean you guys. I was talking about the ones I met before joining the team. I’m supposed to go to Alice’s wedding and when she sent out the invitations we had to RSVP if we were bringing someone or not. I RSVP’d alone since I haven’t been seeing anyone,”

           “I found out today that I was supposed to bring someone and the reason I know that they think I’m a joke is because Alice pointed out that I’ve been single for five years and they don’t believe that I can find anyone to bring to the wedding,” I explained.

           “Then don’t go if it makes you feel that bad,” Bucky suggested. I shook my head at my suggestion knowing what would happen if I didn’t go.

           “If I don’t go then they’ll know I wasn’t able to find one which will make things worse. Besides, I’d like to go. It’s her special day and I’m happy for her, but I didn’t think I was such a disappointment in her eyes,” I commented, tears welling up in my eyes again.

           “Sh. You are not a disappointment. You’re an amazing person with wonderful abilities. Don’t let her get to you,” Steve reassured, rubbing my leg.

           “Okay, so now you need a date. Why don’t you ask Strange? He could be fun to go with,” Bucky suggested.

           “No, I’m not asking him. I adore that man but I think he’d rather mingle around with the others and they might think that I paid him or something. Also, I’m pretty sure he’s unavailable right now,” I commented.

           “Well, how I just go with you? We could have fun and it can be a vacation for the both of us,” Bucky stated.

           “I can’t ask you to do that. Besides, they’ll take one look at you and think I paid you as well,” I replied, causing him to furrow his brow in confusion.

           “Why? Is it because I’m an Avenger?” he asked, curious to know the answer.

           “It’s only part of it. The other part of it is that you’re fucking sexy and you’re such an amazing guy. I don’t think they’d really believe that you would come willingly,” I answered.

           “You think I’m sexy?” Bucky asked, a huge smile on his lips. Immediately, I felt the hear rush to my face. I ran my hands through my hair, fidgeting with a lock of it.

           “Yes. Yeah, I do. I did say that you were an amazing guy as well, but that face of yours with those gorgeous blue eyes and bear would make any girl swoon,” I answered.

           “That settles it then. I’ll go with you as your date. Where is the wedding anyway?” he stated.

           “At the Outer Banks for a week. We leave in two days,” I responded. Though we were going as friends, the week would soon bring new feelings to light.

   Two Days Later

           Bucky and I flew into RDU, renting a car to head down to the Outer Banks arriving at the house Alice had rented for a week in Hatteras. We met Alice, her stepsisters and another one of her friends who was the maid of honor in the driveway. As we walked up to them, I noticed my friends’ mouths dropped open at the sight of Bucky, surprised I had managed to find someone for a date.

           “Hey, guys. I’d like you to meet Bucky Barnes. My date for wedding,” I introduced him. They all greeted him, collecting their cool about the situation.

           “Shall we go inside?” Alice asked, gesturing to the front door of the giant house. It was beautiful on the inside of the four-story house. We had a private pool with access to the beach if we wanted to go there one day.

           “We al have our rooms but unfortunately there’s only five bedrooms despite the many stories to this house meaning Bucky and Emma…you two will be sharing a room as well as a bed,” Alice commented. She received snickers from the girls at the comment and I tried to keep my anger in check.

           “What? Why can’t you share with Bella or Maggie and Stella? On another note, where are your dates and Alice, where is your fiancée and your families located?” I asked, my hand squeezing Bucky’s for comfort. I didn’t mind sharing with Bucky but it was suspicious that she had singled us out.

           “Jamie is with her parents at the house across from us. My family is in the house right beside them on the left. As for their dates, they won’t be arriving until two days before the wedding. Since you’re the only one that brought you date with you, it seems only fitting that you two share a room. Is that going to be a problem?” Alice answered, her hands on her hips. More giggles followed but soon were silenced when Bucky released my hand to drape his arm over my shoulders.

           “No, not a problem. We’ll go put our suitcases away and then I’d like to hit the pool. Care to join me Emma?” Bucky replied, a smile gleaming on his face. I nodded and followed him to the top floor where our room, which had the view of the ocean from the balcony in it, was located. Setting down our suitcases, we sat on the queen-sized bed, relaxing for a few minutes.

           “Are you going to be okay? It seems like they’re gong to try everything to get you riled up. I know this isn’t ideal but it looks like we’re not going to have a choice. I’ll sleep on the floor if-“

           “No, no. It’s fine. It’s not like we haven’t spent the night together anyway. All those undercover missions where we play husband and wife should have prepared us for this. Let’s just go to the pool. A nice swim will be fantastic,” I cut Bucky off. No need for him to suffer while he’s here. He nodded and we unzipped out suitcases to pull out swimsuits. I changed in the bathroom meeting Bucky in the room before we walked down to the pool in the back of the house. None of the girls had joined us and we swam around talking to each other until he splashed me. I splashed him back, starting a splash war, unknowingly getting closer to each other until we were only a few inches apart. He pulled me flush against his chest, his blue eyes darkening a little.

           We were breathing hard after our war and electricity shot through me as our skin touched, eliciting a gasp from me. The sparks traveled up my arms to my shoulders as Bucky trailed his hands up to cup my head, leaning closer, closer until…

           “Wow, the water feels great. Don’t you agree?” Stella’s voice called out, slicing the tension like a knife. I cleared my throat, breaking away from Bucky’s embrace.

           “Yeah, it does, especially with this heat,” I responded, swimming into the deep end. I plunged under the water, clearing my thoughts at what almost happened. I had always had an attraction to Bucky especially since we had become close and he was the sweetest guy around. This feeling was new, however, at the wish that I had wanted to feel his lips against mine, taking me in his arms, my hands finding their way in to his silky hair.

           Stop it Emma. You’re only friends. Why would he want you anyway? I thought to myself as I resurfaced. When I met his eyes again, I couldn’t help to feel that maybe he had wanted to kiss me as well. After about an hour, Maggie, Alice and Bella joined us, noticing Bucky’s metal arm and having a conversation about wedding details and interests outside of that. We took a break from swimming to eat lunch, Bucky and I sitting next to each other, one arm hanging down underneath the table, fingers about to brush up against one another’s

           “Wait, so how did you two meet?” Maggie asked us.

           “We’re work colleagues. Avengers and all that,” Bucky answered, turning to meet my eyes. He looked…different, almost like seeing me for the first time. He smiled sweetly, his fingers lacing through mine.

           Is he acting the part like we’re undercover? Or is this something new he’s feeling? I thought as he turned back to answer another question. We spent a few more hours at the pool, before meeting the other parties for dinner. It was nothing special, just a dinner at a seafood restaurant, which were common at the beach. Everyone wanted to get to know the man I had brought with me and I found myself admiring him as the night went on.

           Returning to the house, we played pool in the downstairs recreational room, retiring to bed a few hours later. I showered, changing into pajamas returning to the room. Climbing into the bed beside Bucky made me a little more nervous than before. I wanted to reach out and touch him, to run my hands down his toned chest, to feel his warmth pressed into me.

           “We survived the first day. I can imagine we can through the rest of the week just fine,” Bucky told me, interrupting my thoughts.

           “I’m sure you’re right. Bucky…” I stated.

           “Hmm? What is it?” he whispered, moving closer to me.

           “Thank you for coming with me. I don’t know if I would have been able to did this without you,” I told him. He was so close now. I could just lift my hand and…

           “You’re welcome. Good night Emma,” he stated, turning over stopping my actions.

           Damn. Get it together Emma. You’re only friends, remember that, I thought to myself, closing my eyes, drifting off to dreamland.

  The Next Day – Monday

           When I awoke, I was surprised to see that I was pressed into Bucky’s warm back, one arm draped over his torso. Slowly, I removed my arm from…well, I tried to…until he linked his hand with mine and held it against his chest. I debated between waking him up or just staying put and returning to sleep. Deciding on the former because I wanted to walk along the shore, I gently used my other hand to tap his shoulder.

           “Bucky, it’s time to get up,” I whispered in his ear. He groaned but made no move to let go of my hand.

           “Bucky. Come on, we can get breakfast and go for a walk on the beach,” I tried again, not whispering but talking in a low voice.

           “Mm, five more minutes,” he said, sleepiness in his voice. Sighing, I tried to pull my hand from his but he held tight and lightly pulled me closer. Of course he pulled to hard and I fell on top of his side. This time I tried to sit up just as he rolled over onto his back. Now, instead of cuddling him, I was straddling him, his hands landing under the shirt I had on. He sat up suddenly, our faces inches apart. My breath hitched as he leaned in closer, his eyes drifting down to my lips before flicking back up.

           “Um, we should probably get going,” I whispered, tilting my head as if I meant to kiss him.

           “Yeah, we really should…”he agreed. Neither of us was moving anticipating someone to make a move to kiss each other.

           “I should get off of you now,” I stated. He nodded and I reluctantly pulled myself off of his lap to make the trip downstairs. He stopped me by grabbing my hand, squeezing it as if to say come back and kiss me. I wanted to but I tugged him forward and released his hand, before exiting the room.

When I reached the kitchen, I saw that Maggie and Alice were already fixing breakfast.

           “Good morning Emma. Have a pleasant night?” Alice greeted me, a mocking glint in her eyes. No I wanted to make out with Bucky and that didn’t happen, I thought.

           “Yeah, it was pretty good. How was yours? I noticed Jamie was here for a few hours after dinner. Did she ever leave?” I answered instead. Alice frowned, but didn’t answer my question.

           “She left at midnight in case you were wondering. Where’s your knight in shining armor? Still asleep?” Maggie answered for her.

           “Nope, I had to put a shirt on. We’re planning on taking a walk on the beach today. Want to join us?” Bucky’s voice said as he walked into the kitchen. He strode over to me, kissed me on the top of my forehead, resting his arm on my shoulders.

           “No I think we’re heading into town but you two have fun,” Alice responded. An hour later, I had changed into a bathing suit, shorts and a tank top, meeting Bucky at the beach entrance near the pool. We walked out and talked non-stop, out feet in the water, laughing at jokes and well…being us.

           The more time I spent with him, the more my feelings began to grow for him. We returned to the house, had dinner by ourselves as the others had stepped out before we got back. After dinner, we tuned into a movie sitting close to each other, my head on his chest, and the feel of him warm and inviting.

           “Emma, hey wake up. Let’s go to bed,” Bucky’s voice alerted me. I guess I had dozed off because he had gently shaken me awake. I stretched my arms up before getting up, yawning, almost falling over in the process.

           “Whoa, easy there girl. Let me help you up the stairs so you don’t hurt yourself,” he stated, catching me. He lifted me up in his arms and carried me to our room. He laid me on the bed and climbed in beside me, pulling me close to his body. I wouldn’t know how much I really liked Bucky until a confrontation that occurred in the middle of the week revealed my true feelings.

  Wednesday

Tuesday went by quick with more wedding details coming together. Today we were at the pool partying, having a good time when Bella approached me. She was eyeing Bucky across the pool, talking to a couple of people; it was making me jealous the way she was ogling him.

           “So, you and Bucky? You’re not a thing are you?” She asked.

           “No. Why?” I answered; tensing up knowing the next question she was about to ask me.

           “You’re not into him right? So, you wouldn’t mind if I asked him out?” She questioned.

           “My feelings for him are none of your business and yes I do mind. Don’t you have your own date to this wedding?” I snapped. She raised her eyebrows and shook her head.

           “No, I don’t. I don’t see why it’d be a problem. He’s available and you’re not doing anything about it so he might be happier with me,” She replied. Bella didn’t give me time to protest when she sauntered over to him. I watched helplessly as she tapped him on the shoulder, watched as she whispered in his ear, as she kissed his cheek; he didn’t push her away. I ran out of the pool onto the beach to get away from what was happening in front of my eyes. I couldn’t believe he let her do that. He was my date, my Bucky.

           No, he’s not your Bucky. He’s just your friend and you let him get away, I thought to myself as angry tears ran down my face. I hugged my arms around myself, stomping along the shore.

           “Stupid Bella and her seducing people. I’m so stupid for not acting on my feeling. Ugh, why can’t she go find someone else to hit on? Why does it have to be the one person I have a crush on?” I said, mumbling to myself. In all my frustration, I hadn’t noticed Bucky running after me until he grabbed my arm and turned me to face him.

           “You have a crush on me?” he asked. My blood ran cold knowing he had heard me. No denying it now, it’s time to tell him the truth.

           “I…yes, I have a crush on you okay. It wasn’t something I had planned but from that moment we shared in the pool the first day here and then in the bed…things just developed. I saw Bella kiss you on the cheek. I assume she asked you out. Did you-“ I began but got cut off by Bucky’s lips on mine. His lips were soft and I wrapped my arms around his neck, fingers tangling in his silky locks.

           He pulled back, one hand cupping my chin, a loving look in his eyes.

           “I rejected her because I love you Emma. Always have, ever since the day you joined the team. I wanted to tell you but I was afraid you didn’t feel the same way. Now I know you do after seeing you reaction to someone else asking me out,” he stated. He kissed me again before suggesting that we head back to the party. Bella shot me a glare when we entered holding hands but I didn’t care. I had him and I wasn’t about to let him go.

           The party went on until close to midnight, Bucky and I sneaking upstairs to our room, locking the door. He kissed me, holding me tight in his arms. We walked to the bed, the edge making his legs buckle and for me to fall on top of him. We laughed but kissed again, beginning to make out. My hands found the buttons of his shirt and I slowly unbuttoned each one until I reached the last one, showing off his bare chest. He sat up so I could slide it off of him and I ran my hands over him feeling each muscle, resuming out make-out session.

           His hands found the hem of my tank top and pulled it off of me leaving me in my bra and shorts. He unhooked the bra, throwing it to the floor, once off and pushed me back onto the pillows. He trailed kisses from my neck to my collarbone, stopping momentarily to circle a finger around one my breasts, pulling on the nipple, occasionally rolling it around between his thumb and forefinger. He replaced his hand with his mouth, sucking on it massaging the other breast. Moving to the other breast, he repeated the same actions, returning to my lips after a few minutes.

           “Are you okay? We can stop if you think we are going too far,” Bucky told me.

           “I’m okay. Keep going,” I answered him. He smiled and trailed more kisses down to my chest, to my navel, and stopping to unbutton my shorts, pulling them off, my panties included. I was now completely naked in front of him.

           “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he stated, spreading my legs with his hand. He inserted two fingers of his metal hand inside; I flinched at coolness. He worked me slowly at first eliciting moans out of my mouth as he got faster, stopping to unbutton his jeans and pulling off his underwear revealing all of him. Lying down on top of me, he kissed me once before he met my eyes again.

           “I’m going to ask you again. Are you sure you’re okay with this? I don’t want to pressure you if you don’t want to,” he questioned again.

           “Buck, it’s okay. I want to. I want you,” I responded.

           “Okay good. I just wanted to make sure before we do this,” he told me. He kissed me again to get things started; his fingers finding that sweet spot once more. I moaned in his mouth at the touch, my arms wrapping around him, my legs spreading wider allowing him more access. He pulled out his fingers and leaned over the nightstand to pull out a condom. Bucky put it on and centered himself at my entrance.

           “Ready?” he asked and I nodded. At that he slid into me, another moan escaping my mouth, his size filling me. He pumped in and out of me slowly, then faster, fucking me hard and rough, both of us moaning and grunting in pleasure.

           “Faster! Oh, fuck! Bucky! Harder! Yes! I’m close. Oh, god! Bucky!” I cried out coming undone as we climaxed at the same time. He buried his face into my neck, coming down from our release, not pulling out just yet. Lifting up his head, he kissed me a few more times before pulling out of me, disposing of the condom and returning to bed; he lifted me so we could get under the covers. I turned to face him, kissing him, pulling his body against mine.

           “I love you Emma,” he confessed.

           “I love you too,” I told him. We fell asleep holding each other ready for our next adventure.

  Wedding Day

           The day of the wedding arrived, other days going by in a flash with everything coming together. At the rehearsal dinner, everyone had been shocked to see Bucky and I holding hands and kissing but Alice and her stepsisters were happy for us at the end of the day. Bella wasn’t so thrilled because she had wanted my boyfriend for herself. Yes, I said boyfriend. He had asked me officially two days after we had slept together. Of course I had said yes to him, glad to have found the one person I wanted to be with for the rest of my life.

           This morning I changed into a long, silver backless dress, coming out of the bathroom once I finished putting makeup on.

           “Hey can you help me with this necklace, sweetie?” I asked Bucky, handing him the silver chain with a heart pendant hanging on it.

           “Wow, you look absolutely beautiful,” he told me, taking it from me.

           “Thank you. You look quite handsome as well,” I stated, turning around for him to slide the necklace on, lifting my hair so he could clasp it. He fingers lingered on the back of my neck, moving to my shoulders so he could place a kiss in between my shoulder blades. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close to him, tilting my face so he could kiss me on the lips. My hands snaked in his hair, one of his hands sliding a strap of my dress off of my shoulder. He the slid the second one off too, both slipping off my arms, exposing my breasts.

           “What time do we have to be at the wedding?” he whispered, cupping my breasts, massaging them, pulling my nipples.

           “12 o’clock, which is three hours from now,” I answered.

           “Plenty of time then,” he stated, pushing the dress off my hips, the material pooling at my feet. One hand kneaded a breast, the other sliding down my stomach to my core. He slid my legs apart with his foot, so could insert two fingers inside me. I panted as he fingered me, inserting another finger, stretching me wider. He worked me faster, pinching my nipples, the pleasure intensified inside me.

           “Come for me baby,” he told me and I did, coating his fingers in my juices. I turned to face him, pushing off his jacket and unbuttoning his shirt and sliding it off him as well. I moved to unbutton his pants but he stopped me, kneeling down in front of me.

           “Stay right there. I want to make you come in my mouth now,” he ordered, holding my hips. His mouth connected to my core and he started licking and sucking me, my hands flying to his hair, holding him there. I erupted again, Bucky standing back up, wiping his mouth before pulling me in for a kiss. I unbuttoned his pants, pulling them off as well as his underwear. He lifted me up and laid me on the bed, kissing me. We made out for a few minutes before he pulled out a condom, sliding on and entering me. Thrusting in and out of, he linked our hands together, holding them against the pillows, kissing me, fucking me. I let go, flipping him so that I was on top, linking our hands back together as I rode him, slow at first, getting faster.

           “Emma, fuck!” he cried out. I continued riding him until we both came undone. I collapsed onto him, panting, out hands still entwined.

           “We should get dressed. We’ve got a wedding to attend,” he told me after a few minutes.

           “Mm-hm, just give me another minute,” I stated. He chuckled, removing one hand and stroking my back. Leaning up, I kissed him and climbed off of him, getting off the bed to pick my dress off the floor. I changed back into my clothes as he did the same, descending the stairs to head to the wedding. The ceremony was beautiful, tears of joy were shed and afterwards we headed to the reception to celebrate even more. At a slow song, Bucky took my hand and led me to the dance floor. He held me close, my head resting on his shoulder.

           “I’m glad we did this. It was fun and now I’m happy to call you mine,” Bucky whispered in my ear. I lifted my head to look up at him, my eyes sparkling with adoration.

           “Me too. You make so happy. I love you Bucky,” I told him. He smiled, leaning down to kiss me.

           “I love you too,” he said when he pulled back. The reception ended a few hours later; we returned to the beach house to pack for home.

           The next day, we arrive back in New York and drove back to the compound. We entered and walked to the elevator to drop our suitcases off in our rooms. We shared a kiss waiting on it to arrive; a cheer came from behind us,

           “I told you that they’d end up together,” Nat’s voice called out. We turned to see Steve, Natasha, and Tony standing in the hallway.

           “Hey guys. Did you two have fun?” Tony greeted us. We nodded, laughing as Natasha held out her hand.

           “Pay up boys. I won the bet,” She stated, annoyed groans coming from Steve and Tony. The elevator arrived and we waved goodbye before making our ascent to our rooms. The wedding date was incredible and brought me to someone I fell in love with. We couldn’t be happier than with each other.

[ineffablecolors]

I'm sending you 42. and 80. (because this gotta be funnnn) for the trope mash-up, but only as long as you don't forget that you also kinda promised to write the pregnant-neighbor-comes-begging-for-food thing. Because I won't forget about it. :)

The lovely @laschatzi is talking about this post. I cheated a little bit but I hope you’d like how because now we have

Hungry pregnant neighbour + The Big Damn Kiss + Green-Eyed Epiphany 

Family Recipe;  ~ 5, 500 words; FF.NET || AO3

previous: wilderness/survival + I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On &Detective AU  + Awful First Meeting

Killian is somewhatashamed to admit that he has become something of a take-out guy.

It’s just… it’s one ofthose things he never got back into after losing his hand. Like volleyball. Orplaying the guitar. Or arm wrestling Will. Or the black nail polish. Or goingto the beach. Or hitting on that cute girl at the bakery around the corner. Orgirls,period. Or basically anyone he didn’t already know before the accident.

But anyway. Cooking.He never got back into cooking. He was never all that good at it to begin withbut it gave him a funny sort of pride and he enjoyed it.

He enjoyed having togo to three different stores to manage to collect all the herbs and spices fora proper curry. And lying all his products out – basically filling everyavailable space and then having to push stuff around to have somewhere toactually cook. And chopping histomatoes really fine – concasse, was it? – and his onions not quite because hedid not enjoy crying over their massacred corpses. And – never to be revealedto another living soul – making a mini forest around his chopping board withthe broccoli and the cauliflower. And the whole kitchen smelling for two daysafter. And basically making a mess of every horizontal surface – and thevertical ones that one time when he was learning how to spin pizza dough.

Yeah, he enjoyed that.And then he didn’t. Couldn’t. Didn’t.

And now here he is,sipping his beer and scrolling down his take-out app as if he doesn’t knowhe’ll get the Chinese because he had pizza twice during the week and they’vetotally ruined the Mexican place and Liam says he is a masochist but he is nota ‘take-out sushi’ level of masochist.

He looks outside.Checks his watch. At least two more hours of solid daylight. He wasn’t evenhungry yet. He could get some tortilla chips to snack on while trying to see ifhis oven still works.

Really… what couldhappen?

///

Mrs Lucas has spoilther.

It is the only reasonEmma is even contemplating this. That and the fact that it smells really good.

And look here, Emma isnot one of those girls that needs to always get what she wants. She iscertainly not used to getting whatshe wants. It’s just… her baby doesn’t seem to have followed in her footsteps.

It might havesomething to do with said baby not even having feet to walk with yet. Or… shethinks – tries to remember what she’s been readying semi-obsessively and thenthrowing under the bed as if the books are judging her for her singleness andbrokenness and the general dinginess of her apartment – maybe it has feetalready?

They’re definitelyforming but definitely not usable hence no following in any footsteps anytimesoon. There. She’s leaving it at that. Maybe she’ll dig out that last book fromunder her bed tonight. After she has some dinner.

Which brings her rightback to the problem at hand.

She is pretty surethat 5C is one of those bachelors that live on beer, pizza and whatever elseyou can get delivered to your door; has a football or poker night with the guysevery month – see the football she is sure about ‘cause those walls are fuckingthin and those boys are fucking loud but she likes to imagine the pokeras well ever since she saw the guy in this super slick vest that she is sureonly people who can actually step into a casino and somehow manage to not look sleazy own; occasionally blaststoo loud music but not often enough to warrant a complaint; puts Netflix on loud enough and regularly enough that her brokeass is hoping she can keep up with the new season of Stranger Things simply bymoving her couch next to the wall his TV sits against; never brings girls backto his place.

Honestly, Emma is notjudging (or stalking – the walls are thin).She’d probably be giving 5C a run for his money on the easy single living, ifshe wasn’t pregnant and broke and grumpy half the time and hungry the otherhalf – which also makes her grumpy, and generally disillusioned with humanityand the world and the idea that one might actually be able to enjoy life andnot struggle through it at every step and did she mention broke? She is brokeand constantly hungry and constantly trying to fool her baby into thinking thathe likes overcooked pasta and whatever fruits are on sale this week.

He doesn’t. He likeswhatever 5C is cooking.

///

This was a disastrousidea. The kind of disastrous idea he hasn’t had since he was 4 years old andthought that if he puts snails on Liam’s bed they’d stay there and not like…make their way all over the room that Killianshared with Liam.

This is worse thansnails. This is a dozen utensils in the sink already – because of course hetosses a spoon in the sink the second after he has used it once, of course, why put it to the side and use it again when hehas to stir his unholy concoction, and half a dozen plates – one of those inpieces in a trash bag by the door because your one hand being a slippery one isnot the situation in which you want to be handling porcelain.

He has a sizeable cuton his big toe where he stepped on one of the pieces and his t-shirt issticking to his back from the effort of grinding bloody vegetable – Jesus, heused to run miles without breaking a sweat and now blasted carrots are gettingthe best of him, and all he has to show for all his work is what he hopes is apassable mince.

Now for the mash. Hestill has three limbs and 14 uninjured digits to go…

///

Look, Emma doesn’thave much but she has her pride, ok? And this kid growing inside her has madeher relinquish her hold on that enough to knock on Mrs Lucas’s door and ask herwhat it was she put in her cookies because apparently Emma – or someone else, was addicted to it nowand it was not cinnamon. And that hadtransitioned into Emma becoming almost a firm fixture at Granny’s on weekendsand then into Emma busting tables for a month until Granny gave her a nononsense look and told her she won’t be doing this in a few more months, andafter a week of asking and listening and string pulling and cookie bribing, shegot her a job at August’s bookstore even though he still grumbles that he doesn’tlike anyone else ordering his books.

And, yes, this allworked out pretty well but Mrs Lucas was the one that came to her door on her first week in thebuilding with a plate of those cookies that by this point Emma can barely lookat.

(It’s what she does.She falls in love with peanut butter and then eats so many PBJ sandwiches thatnow she almost gets sick at the mere sight of a jar on the counter. And shehears the The Kooks coming from 5C’s wall and goes on to listen to them onrepeat for two weeks. Mind you, not even everything but just Junk of the Heartbecause she is mental like that. And she starts Modern Family, when she stillhad a freaking Netflix account, and binges the whole damn thing in a couple ofweekends and a few late week nights.)

So, yeah, Emma mighthave some addictive tendencies – the legal kind, and some impulse controlissues.

But Emma would neveractually go to someone’s door – someone she has never exchanged a single wordwith despite sometimes hearing their voice float through her wall – and, yeah,he has a pretty voice but what’s that gonna do for her? shitty people can havegreat voices, she is sure – to ask them forthe love of all that is good and holy, what they are cooking because it smellsso fucking good and she has to know and she has to have something that at leastcomes close to it.

She’d never.

///

It’s in the oven. It’sover. Well, all he has to do now is make sure he doesn’t burn the damn thing toa crisp. But if he managed to put it together in the first place, for the firsttime tonight, Killian thinks he can maybe pull this off.

///

It got worse. Worse asin better. Fuck, it got so much better. And now her stomach is grumbling andshe has made for the door three times in the last five minutes and for thefirst time tonight Emma is coming to the horrible realization that she probablywon’t be able to survive this day with her dignity intact.

///

He is just about todig into his plate – fancy plate set and fancy napkins that he didn’t even knowhe owned and the second episode of American Gods queued up and-

There’s a knock on hisdoor.

Killian freezes withhis fork in the air, eyebrows bunching together. Who on earth? He knows hehasn’t invited any of the guys over and Liam knows better than to just drop infor an unexpected ‘we are going out and getting you someone to go home with’visit by this point.

He waits. Nothing.Maybe he imagined it?

///

“There, happy?”

Emma glances down ather slightly rounded stomach and tries on her best ‘mom look’. She thinksshe’ll definitely need to work on that one before the baby comes out because heis already too stubborn for her owngood.

She glances at thedoor with 5C on it one more time, raises her hand and then drops it again.

No. She knocked. Thisis a sign. For once the universe is sparing her the embarrassment and-

“Yes?”

No, of course, not.Why would the universe ever spare her anything?

///

She must be the onethat knocked. 5B. His sweatpants neighbour.

Killian tries not tofeel bad about the nickname. They’ve never been properly introduced and… well,he has mostly seen her back disappearing inside her apartment or her back goingdown the stairs with laundry or her back rushing below his window on a jog. Sohe’s never seen her in anything but sweatpants. He’s not judging. It’s just…the only thing he had to go on.

She is in sweatpantsnow as well but as he looks at her to ask what she needs, he is taken aback byher green eyes. He is taken aback by the sudden realization that his neighbouris this young and very pretty woman and her eyes are the kind of eyes you can’thelp but notice.

It’s… interesting. Hehas heard the soundtrack of her daily life through the wall they share for afew months now but somehow he never imagined the face and body that must gowith those sounds.

As he thinks his gazeslides down almost involuntary and he doesn’t know what catches his attentionmore: the fact that she is a few months pregnant or the fact that she came overbarefoot.

The latter is trulyendearing, the former a tad disheartening for some reason.

Not that he hasanything against kids. Or pregnant women. It’s just… it’s not every day yourealize your neighbour is a pretty girl about your age and currently standingat your doorstep. But he shouldn’t have just assumed and anyway he doesn’treally… that is… is she ever gonna say something?

///

“Lass?”

Emma shakes her head alittle and wants to slap herself back into reality. You know that space andtime continuum where she is not attaching thisman to every sound she has ever heard come through their wall.

(She is convinced heplays air guitar when blasting Bon Jovi hits and that his eyes blaze reallybright when he is swearing at something about “bloody this” and “bloody that”.)

“Umm, hi. Sorry. I…”

He raises an eyebrow.She doesn’t really appreciate the mix of amusement and expectation. Then again,she is standing on his doorstep. He probably has some right to expect anexplanation. Why on earth didn’t she rehearse what she’ll say if he opened thedoor?

“Did you needsomething?”

Fuck.

“I just… ummm, am I botheringyou?”

“Not at all, lass. But,to be frank, I’ll probably be more capable of answering truthfully, if you toldme what you are here for.”

The hell? Was hetalking like that on purpose?

“I-“

Come on, Emma, like aband aid, nowhere to go now unless you wanna be the weirdo asking for a cup offlour.

“What you arecooking?’

///

“Oh.”

Oh. Bloody hell.

Killian can feel hischeeks heating up and focuses half his attention on keeping his hand at hisside and not scratching his damn ear.

“I apologize. I didn’tconsider the smell might bother some-“

“No. No, no, no. Ilike it! So… I was wondering what it was.”

She likes it? Thattimid feeling of pride he felt when he took his dinner out of the over and it wasn’t burn to a crisp grows threetimes.

“It’s just ashepherd’s pie. Slightly altered recipe. My mum’s. Supposedly, probably muckedit up along the way and it’s twice altered now but yeah… Shepherd’s pie.”

“Oh.”

///

Great. She was hopingfor something along the lines of a lasagna. Then maaaybe she could’ve boughtsome frozen crappy version from the supermarket and tried to cheat her bodyinto thinking it was the real thing.

But no, of course,not. It had to be shepherd’s pie. Family recipe edition. Just her damn luck.

“Well, thanks. Andsorry! I was just… curious. Sorry to bother you.”

///

She turns to go andthis might have been the most bizarre conversation he’s had this month.Including that guy on the underground with the orange hair.

Did she just want toknow what the smell invading her home was? She did say she liked it. Maybe-

She is already half toher door so Killian just thinks to hell with it.

“Would you like some?”

He sees her stop deadin her tracks and cringes, hoping he isn’t now the biggest weirdo of her month.And not in a good way.

The blonde turnsaround and he knows the second he sees her face that she would indeed likesome. But Killian likes to think of himself as at least moderately intelligentso he keeps his smile to himself and instead prepares for the distrust in hereyes that is obviously warring with her appetite.

“Do you usually offerfood to unknown women who come knocking on your door?”

“I can’t say, you arethe first.”

He doesn’t actuallysee her cheeks change colour but then again he thinks it might be because shehas been blushing this entire time.

“I didn’t mean tobother-“

“It’s no bother, love.Truly. Now that I feel knowledgeable enough about your intensions to say so.”

She rolls her prettygreen eyes in a way that has his pulse speeding up a bit.

“Plus I just made adish more people share with a family of four. For myself. I think I can sparewhatever you can eat.”

It’s a gamble thatpays off when he sees her eyes blaze up and let’s himself grin at herteasingly.

“I’m sorry, was that achallenge to how much I can eat?”

He steps aside andwaves her in.

She only hesitates fora second.

///

OK, first of all, hisapartment is waaay better than hers like, both bigger and with more naturallight coming in but also simply more tidy and colour-coordinated. Also, ifpossible, it smells even better inside and Emma’s eyes immediately zero in onthe dish on the kitchen counter.

She hears 5C chucklebehind her and tries not to feel even more embarrassed. Her capacity for itmust be running out by this point. Thankfully, he doesn’t make a comment butjust moves around his kitchen island and takes out a plastic food container.IKEA guy. Cute.

It probably takes hera bit longer than it should – what with her still mostly trying to pretend sheis not hustling her nice and pretty neighbour for food – but eventually Emmanotices the peculiar way he moves around his kitchen and operates only with hisright hand. A quick inspection proves that it is because he simply has no leftone to assist him.

“No shit!”

The guy startles ather words and turns around and probably follows her gaze because in the nextmoment the limb is tucked slightly behind him and he is giving her a tensesmile.

“Shit, I’m afraid.”

She honest to Godcovers her mouth. Better late than never. Or not.

“Shit. I mean, sorry!Sorry. I wasn’t- I was just- you cook?!”

5C frowns at her as ifher person skills are something that would only befit a visiting alien. He’sgot her there.

“Sorry. Again. But,like, I can’t cook for shit even with two hands.”

To be fair, the crapproducts she can afford probably have something to do with it but Emma is gonnabe a single mom pretty soon and she is pretty sure that “to be fair”s won’t cutit when she has to cook for her kid.

But makes-food-that-smells-illegally-good-single-handedlyneighbour seems to relax a little.

Foot – partially outof mouth.

///

Killian tries to unbunchthe muscles in his neck and not keep his right side weirdly angled towards her.It’s fine. Really, it’s fine. She was bound to notice eventually.

“To be honest, this ismy first try in quite some time.”

“Seriously?”

“Indeed. So if you getfood poisoning or something, I’m not to be held accountable.”

The thought gives himpause and he turns to her with his eyebrows all drawn together and almostreluctant to hand her the container in his hand.

“Actually, are youallergic to anything? I mean… I don’t think there’s anything too weird in itand everything I used was fresh but-“

He can’t help butglance down at her stomach. Gods, she ispregnant, right? This will be just the kind of thing-

But the blonde’s handcomes up to her stomach and she smiles at him almost shyly and Killian breathesout a quiet sigh of relief.

“I’m sure it will befine. I mean, the things I’ve been feeding myself… I’m pretty sure someonemight get a bit of a shock from the home-cooked food but definitely not the badkind.”

He tries not tooveranalyze the “feeding myself” part and instead nods and finally hands thecontainer with half of his shepherd’s pie inside.

“Whoa. You really arechallenging me.”

He laughs and dips hishead to the side to admire the way her eyes widen a little.

“It should keep for acouple of days if you put it in the fridge. And you can always just feed it toSmee.”

“Smee?”

“Oh.”

His cold ring grazeshis earlobe and dammit, he forgot to watch out for the damn tick.

“I named the cat thatalways hangs around behind the building.”

“Oooh, ok. And hellno.”

She hugs the food toher chest almost protectively and Killian laughs again and bloody hell, is hecoming across too giggly or something? What else can he say? He-

“Well, I shouldprobably let you finally eat your dinner. Whatever you have left,” she beatshim to it and juts her thumb at the door and he can’t really do anything butnod.

///

She is alreadystepping outside, teeth embedded in her lip and what do you say to the cute neighbour that fed you dinner but not inthe date sense?

“Oh. I’m Emma, by theway. Emma Swan.”

His eyes light up andEmma finally gets to put a mark in the ‘didn’t fuck it up’ column.

“Pleasure to meet you,Swan. Killian Jones. Always at your service, though I must warn you, myculinary repertoire is quite limited.”

Killian Jones with thefancy words and delicious food. Fuck.

///

She uses her employeediscount on something other than baby books for the first time.

He finds the bookwaiting for him outside his door. The post-it note says “This is why peoplelike home-cooked food. Who knew.” And the book is Neil Gaiman’s Fragile Things and it takes him a momentto connect the dots and remember that he was watching Amarican Gods the othernight and, yeah, maybe it makes him feel kinda good that Emma Swan noticed andremembered that.

///

He tries some Mexicannext and it’s 100% because his favourite place has gone to crap and not at allbecause he once saw their delivery guy in front of 5B.

She opens the door andhis face is half-obscured by an IKEA container and he says it’s just a not sosubtle reminder that she hasn’t returned the other one yet and she pretends tobelieve him.

///

She reasons that youcan’t return food containers empty so she tries to bake muffins because muffinsare supposed to be easy.

He hears the firealarm and five second later he is banging on her door and having a veryflustered Emma Swan dragging him inside and pointing at her oven or what can beseen of it behind the cloud of smoke and explaining how it’s all his fault.

///

He’s been looking fora not food-related reason to knock on her door for a week and coming up emptyand he is damn rusty when it comes to talking to pretty girls but then againshe is pregnant and the fact that he didn’t see a naked man in the middle ofher kitchen the one time he was there for 10 minutes doesn’t mean anything somaybe that’s for the best.

She knocks on his doora day after Stranger Things comes out with three bags of popcorn, explainingthat only one of them is for him, obviously.

///

She lives to binge andyet here she is trying to stretch an 8-episode season over more than a week.

He honestly debatescalling Netflix and begging them to somehow somehowrelease more episodes of their damn show.

///

He has been thisscared exactly once in his entire life and that situation included headlightscoming straight at him.

She has a freakingstomach ache, probably from too much popcorn, and she is almost as embarrassedwhen she comes out of the doctor’s office as she was that first night sheknocked on his door but Killian doesn’t really seem to care how she is ok as long as she is.

///

She is scrollingthrough her Instagram at work and she is so bored and distracted that shealmost misses it but then she goes back and blinks and then goes to the accountto check this is not some sort of ridiculous surveillance thing or she doesn’teven know what – but sure enough, there – on @cutestparentstobe, is a pictureof her very pregnant self, eating ice-cream on the beach with one KillianJones.

He doesn’t know how heworms his way into a doctor’s appointment, he just knows that when the nursecalls him “daddy” Emma kinda sputters but doesn’t say anything to contradicther and he sure as hell keeps his trap shut and just smiles and nods when theygive him an ultrasound picture all for himself.

///

They’ve been doingwhatever they are doing for 4 freaking months and within the first couple ofweeks they were already using like only 30% of his couch for the both of themand in a month they started venturing outside the bubble of their apartmentsand Emma never thought she’d be thehand-holding type but yeah, they kinda hold hands all the time and they hug,like, every day and they text all the freaking time while they are at work andshe meets Liam when she is 7 months pregnant and convinced that he is gonnahate her on sight for saddling his little brother with herself and he doesn’treally but he also doesn’t seem to love her on sight and Killian is verypointedly unamused by the lukewarm reception but honestly, Emma is just glad tobe given a chance here, and he goes shopping for baby stuff she can barelyafford with her and then he goes shopping for baby stuff by himself and shegets kinda angry and they kinda break up or whatever at least twice, basicallyeach time Emma decides that this is ridiculous and he can’t just date a girlthat is having another guy’s baby and that’s twice the size she should be andthat he’s only known for a few months and one night Killian lines up fourfreaking shepherd’s pies outside her door and if she even keeps her door closedto that then she must be dead inthere and one night he lets it slip about these therapy sessions that he issupposed to go to but doesn’t and she basically makes an appointment for himand drags him out of the door and maybe threatens him with not coming to herdoctor’s appointments anymore, if he doesn’t go to his.

And through all that and then some, they never actuallykiss.

Sure he kisses hercheek when he wishes her goodnight and she kisses his head when he falls asleepon her during Lord of the Rings and he kisses her hand placatingly every timehe tries to dissuade her from helping him with dinner and she kisses hisforearm in the park that one time he freaks out on her because she is on hisleft side and goes to hold his arm and he kisses her stomach the first time shegrabs his hand and lets him feel the baby kicking but-

They’ve never properly kiss and it’s this lastfrontier and maybe he is waiting for her to cross it but she just can’t seem to.

And then she is givingbirth and he is there when she is givingbirth and they haven’t even kissed.

And then there’s Henryand they both kiss him plenty but-

///

they don’t kiss whenKillian refuses to hold her baby and she is hurt and offended and so confusedand kinda angry and then he says he can’t, he can’t hold him with one hand andshe is just sad and, yeah, maybe still kinda angry but also eerily calm as shebents Killian’s elbow and gives him the kind of look that makes him shut hismouth audibly and places her son in his arms

they don’t kiss whenKillian barges in on her breastfeeding and twirls around on the spot, slappinga hand over his face and sputtering apologies while all she can do is laugh andlaugh and tell him to stop acting like her tits are a big deal and make her acup of that crappy decaf coffee and he does and he also makes sure to look herdirectly in the eyes and then wink very poorly when he says that her tits are a big deal

they don’t kiss when Henrystarts teething and Emma is up at all hours of the night and she looks likefucking hell and Killian tells her so in no uncertain terms and basically,somehow, taking advantage of her sleep-deprived brain, manages to rope her intoa teeth-sharing plan which basically includes her passing half of her insomniaonto him and Emma can’t forgive him and at the same time can’t love him enoughand yeah, she loves him now and they’ve known each other for a year and they haven’t fucking kissed and what ever

///

they don’t kiss whenshe asks him if he thinks maybe, possibly Liam would like to meet Henry and allKillian can do is nod and swallow and start planning the kind of lecture he’llgive his brother, if he dares to voice any of his doubts about the soundness of the situation, but Liamseems to think that if his brother is spending half his day around a certainbaby – no matter whose it is – it probably isn’t a terrible idea for him tomeet said baby and Liam Jones may be a military man and he may have nevergotten over the fact that he didn’t manage to protect his little brother fromall the evils of the world and he may have been determined to give Emma Swan ahard time for even the slightest hint of her using Killian but he is also puttyin the hands of Henry Swan within 10 minutes

they don’t kiss thefirst time she uses the key to his apartment and sneaks into his bedroom in themiddle of the night – baby in her arms and her hair into the messiest bun thathas ever been twisted and her damn sweatpants and her eyes all puffy and herwhispered worries all about not being able to do it and being all alone and notbeing good enough and he just folds himself around both of them and tries tostart the process of getting each ridiculous notion out of her head

they don’t kiss when shetells Henry to spot throwing his food all over daddy and Killian just standsthere – carrot puree all over his t-shirt, and watches as she continueswhipping the eggs in front of her as if she didn’t just- and he loves them bothtoo damn much to point it out and risk having her take it back and bloody hell,he loves her now and they’ve been together for all intents and purposes forover a year now and they haven’t bloodykissed and good lord

///

She comes back fromthe store and heads directly to Killian’s apartment and tries to calculate ifshe and Henry are spending more time at her place or at his at this point. Butas soon as she opens the door and the smell hits her, her calculations are leftoutside in the cold and it’s all she can do not to moan out loud. Turns out itwasn’t just the little guy growing inside her that made her love Killian’spies.

She hears the lowmurmur of Killian’s voice and decides to tiptoe into the kitchen as quietly aspossible. She wants to look at them without giving her presence away just yet,when it’s just them.

And sure enough Henryis tucked into Killian’s left arm, his little fist twisted into the hair at theback of her boyfriend’s neck (god, he is not her freaking boyfriend, along withHenry in his arms he is her entire fucking universe).

She knows what theyare making already but she narrows her eyes as she realizes that she has neveractually seen Killian make his shepherd’spie.

“This is the only wayI can make your mom eat these, Henry.”

He twirls a broccoliin front of her son’s little nose and Emma rolls her eyes. Partially because it’strue and partially because the broccoli version is not her most favourite.

“When you are oldenough I’m gonna teach you how to make it on your own but for now I’ll justshow you how to make yourself a little forest.”

She honestly doesn’tknow if it’s the implication of years tocome in his promise, the fact that he says it so confidently, so easily,without any doubt, without any caveat of “if we are still together”, withoutany alternative in his mind. Or if it’s the fucking forest of broccoli that heis arranging around his chopping board like the most precious human being thathe is.

Emma honestly doesn’tknow. But she does drop the bag she is carrying on the floor and she crossesthe space between them in the time it takes Killian to turn around and open himmouth to greet her. And then she finally finallyfeels his lips under her own.

He tastes even betterthan his damn pie.