#but ! ive got some replies to get to tomorrow

[prnkill]

sorry i haven't really been actvive these past few days ! activity will return tomorrow <3

[swxxtsxcchxrine]

Hi idk if you're taking asks but if you are can you please write Miguel with a pregnant wife?

Thank you in advance!!

i'm so sorry i'm replying to your asks so late, ive been soooo busy bro like im so fucked cuz i might be in legal trouble but like life happens innit.

anywaysssss, this ask is soooo cute omdss

after the birth of your daughter, Miguel has been obsessed with the idea of you being pregnant. him finding out that you were pregnant with another child had him jumping for joy. the man wouldn't let you lift a finger even if it was to change the TV channel. "princesa, make sure you take care of mommy for me, ok?" he says, giving his daughter a fat kiss across the cheek. your due date was soon approaching and the house was bare of groceries. "daddy, where do babies come from?" the 5 year old ask curiously. "ok, that's enough, daddy needs to go shopping," you said, picking up your child and telling Miguel to pick his jaw up off the floor. "come on bubba, lets go bake an apple pie," you waddled to the kitchen.

2 hours of chasing your daughter around with flour flew by, and before you knew it, your husband was home with several bags full of shopping. hearing the persistent screams of terror and her squeals of joy had Miguel standing on edge. he opened the door to the kitchen to find a horror scene. flour, milk eggs and butter was splayed all across the kitchen. the pie dough had just been made and was sitting haphazardly in the pie pot in the middle of the island. both you and your daughter froze, both exchanging looks of concern.

"i left you too alone, for 2 hours. and i come home to this mess you created. how could you do this to me. how could you have this much fun without me?" Miguel feigned hurt. "i can't believe-" he was cut off by a big fat splat on his face and the tale tell sounds of a high pitched giggle. a mixture of eggs and flour was dripping down his stern face. "oh, you are so getting it now," he sneers as his daughter squeals and runs around the kitchen. the sounds of her small feet slapping against the tiled floors.

his daughter cowed against a wall. realising she had nowhere so go, her shrieks increased in pitch. "now i've got you were i want," Miguel chuckles lowly. "now i've got you where i want," you exclaim raising your hands to dump half a bag of flour on his big head. you can't help it as you let out a loud laugh. Miguel sighed in defeat, smiling as he watched his two girls in pure joy. your bulbous belly had you waddling up the stairs with your daughter to go and wash her up before bed as it was getting late and there were eggs in her hair. Miguel had agreed to clean the kitchen and after some argument - since you were the one to mess it up - Miguel briefly shut you up and told you wash up and get ready for bed because tomorrow you guys had to go shopping for the baby and see if Miles was available to babysit your daughter when you went in labour.

your daughter was sound asleep and you'd just finish your skincare routine by the time Miguel came out of the shower. his towel hung low, just below his v-line. his abs glistening in your low bedroom light. his hair dripped down his neck. "you ready for bed, baby?" he asked, coming up behind you to put your butt-length braids into your bright pink bonnet matching with your pjs. he walked over to your shared bed, as you followed soon after. "she most definitely takes after you," you chuckle, facing your husband. "don't even. you and i know damn well she takes after you," he snaps. "well either way, she's honestly the best thing to have happened to us. and now we have another thing coming," you sigh rubbing your belly. "i wonder who he'll take over," Miguel says.

[whenlilyfallsinlove]

not anymore.

luke castellan x reader - college au, only one bed, enemies to lovers.

im back!! sorry for being afk, ive had lots of exams!

"oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me." you hear luke say as you drag your suitcase into the room.

you rolled your eyes at the sound of his voice, already mad as it was. this was supposed to be a fun weekend: your college has organised a trip for students to go to new york, which you had been excited for.

the trip was off to a great start - you and your friend clarisse had explored the city where you had eaten the best bagel in your entire life.

your happiness, however, was short-lived.

"I'M SHARING WITH WHO?!" your voice echoed through the hotel lobby, causing clarisse to nudge you.

"luke. apparently." clarisse says, almost amused.

"that can't be right. how is this even allowed?" you frown.

"well you're adults, so you're probably trusted-" she starts but you cut her off.

"i can not share a room with him clarisse, i fucking despise him." you groan. you had hated luke since kindergaten and he hated you. that was the way it had always been.

"it's only two nights." she tries to comfort you.

"ONLY TWO NIGHTS, THAT'S TWO NIGHTS TOO MANY." you despised him. he was the bane of your existence.

"you think I want to be sharing a room with someone as stupid as you?" a new voice came from behind you, you turned round to see luke stood, glaring at you. next to him was chris, who waved at clarisse.

"i'm way smarter than you. i have every right to complain." you glare back.

"oh, do you even hear yourself right now? you sound ridiculous." he replies.

"literally shut up, your opinion is irrelevant to me." you say.

"you're so fucking annoying oh my god." luke groans.

"i'm annoying?! you're the one who-"

you continued to bicker, completely forgetting your surroundings. chris and clarisse shared knowing looks with each other, the two of you claimed that you hated each other, sure. but the tension between the two of you was unmatched.

"hey.." clarisse says, dragging your attention from luke "at least there'll be two beds, you can just ignore each other."

this put a smile back on your face.

"thank fuck.." you say and the two of you begin to walk up to your respective rooms.

"what is it-" you were about to come out with some form of insult until you realised what his reaction was for.

there, in front of you, was your hotel room. with only one bed.

"are you taking the piss?" you let out an exasperated sigh.

"i think i'm going to die." luke groans.

"oh shut up, go see if we can change rooms." you remark.

"why can't you?" he responds.

"because i can't be bothered to come up all those stairs again" you respond, rolling your eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"you're so lazy." he replies.

"are you gonna do it then or what?" you put your hands on your hips.

"fuck yes." luke replies, and leaves the room.

when he is gone, you let yourself fall onto the bed and groan. this could only ever happen to you. having to stay in a room with the boy you've hated since the age of 6 was one thing, but sharing a bed with him? even worse. you wish you had never come on this stupid trip. then you'd be at home, no luke, curled up in bed, watching the new season of bridgerton. was it too late to-

your thoughts were interrupted by the return of luke, who looked as if he was going to kill you for even breathing near him.

"well?!" you stand.

"there's no other rooms. this is the only one, we have to wait till tomorrow." he frowns.

"oh for the love of god." you say, putting your head in your hands.

"yeah. that's how i feel right now. stuck in a room with a freak." luke says.

"i hate you." you glare at him.

"the feeling is mutual." he glares back.

"you're such a dick."

"only because you are the most annoying person on earth."

"fuck this, i'm having a shower." you grab your pjamas and make your way too the bathroom.

"be quick. i want one." luke calls out.

"i want, doesn't get." you stick your tongue out at him.

"what are you.. eight?" he glares.

you flip him off and shut the door, locking it, and get in the shower.

the hot water calmed your anger, as you tried to take as long as possible. maybe you should try and drown yourself? i mean it would get you out of this situation. that was what you needed.

you continued to ponder the logistics with this until you realised your skin had gone a bit wrinkly from being in there for too long. you got out, dried yourself, and put your pjamas on. you regret how little you brought. the heat was stifling, so you had only brought some shorts and a small crop top. in your defence, you thought you'd be sharing with clarisse.

you opened the door, and walked out the bathroom, luke was layed on the bed, on his phone.

"fucking finally, are you done in the bathroom yet, you took-" he blinks, stopping once he sees what you are wearing.

"oh shut up. i'm done." you glare.

luke nods awkwardly - what the fuck was up with him? - his gaze lingering on your figure. he clears his throat.

"uh yeah. um good." he finally responds standing up.

"the fuck is up with you?" you give him a funny look.

"nothing weirdo." he snaps out of it, and makes his way to have a shower over his own.

you frown at his reaction - why was he being so weird. you shake your head, and get into bed, laying on the edge, and go on your phone.

after about fifteen minutes, luke responds and gets into the other side of the bed.

you lay in silence for about fifteen minutes, both not knowing what to say.

"you still awake?" luke asks you, turning over to look at you,

"why wouldn't i be?" you retort.

"it was just a question.. why are you always so hostile?!"

"because you annoy the living daylight out of me."

"you can't even look at me when you say that." he smirks.

he was right, your back was still turned. you roll your eyes but turn so you are facing him.

"yes i can. you annoy the living daylight out of me." you say looking into his eyes.

his eyes.. were they always this pretty? what was up with you? it was luke. LUKE.

"i know i do." he smirks, looking into your eyes.

you feel flustered. the two of you go quiet for a minute until luke breaks the silence.

"why do you even hate me anyway?" he asks.

"because you anger me." you respond.

"but why?"

"do you not remember when you pushed me off my bike when we were 6?"

"oh yeah. that was so funny." he smiles at the memory.

"no it wasn't." you retort.

"it was." he looks at you again.

the two of you go silent again. what was happening to you? was luke moving closer or was it just you? no he definitely was. was he leaning in-

"turn the light off. i'm tired." luke suddenly demands, catching you off guars. you immediately move away from him.

"um no? i'm not tired." you respond back. you weren't crazy.. you swear you had just had a moment with him.

"do i care?" he asks, avoiding eye contact with him

"i'm not doing it." you retort, rolling you eyes.

"fine. i'll do it." he gets up and turn the light off, leaving just the lamp on the corner on.

"oh you are so irritating." you glare, looking up at him.

"whatever, just go to sleep, we have to meet early tomorrow." he responds and gets into bed, turning his back away from you.

you mock him whilst his back is turned, and turn away yourself.

how were you supposed to get to sleep? you swear you were about to.. i don't know.. kiss luke. your mortal enemy.. except not really. you knew for sure he was right back to being the same old luke as before.

you frown and lay there for about ten minutes, trying to fall asleep.

"(y/n).. i'm.. sorry." you hear luke mutter, next to you. luke had NEVER apologised to you before. EVER. but you were still mad.

"go to sleep." you repeat what luke said to you. you were petty, what can you say?"

"i can't." he responds, making you roll your eyes.

"you can't?! you literally said you were tired." you say.

"how in the hell do you expect me to sleep when you're right there and i can't stop thinking about you?" he raises his voice, catching you off guard.

what. the. fuck. what did he mean. what.

you turn over, to see luke already staring at you.

"what.." you feel your breath hitching in your throat as you see luke already looking at you.

"you're the bane of my existence. i hate you. you get under my skin. but fuck.. why do you have to be so beautiful?" he says, looking into your eyes.

"luke.." you mutter.

"i can't hold back any longer, (y/n), i can't keep pretending i don't l-"

you interrupt him by crashing your lips onto him, kissing him hungrily. luke happily returns the kiss, wrapping his arm round your waist.

after about ten seconds, you pull away.

"i'm sorry, i shouldn't have-" you aplogise.

"don't be sorry. i liked it." he replies, making you smile.

well one thing was now certain for sure. you definitely didn't hate each other anymore.

[roosterforme]

Oouuu could you do a Drabble for Darlin and Hangman where he gets called to the hospital because Darlin had a bad migraine 🥹 totally fine if you don’t want to tho thank uuu bestie 🥹🫶🏻💗

Okay, but imagine if Darlin' was supposed to meet Jake somewhere and didn't show up on time. That would be so unlike her. He'd wait around for a few minutes and then start to call her. When it goes to voicemail five times in a row, he would really start to worry.

Jake hopped back in his truck, and headed for the apartment you shared with Kylie. Your last class ended hours ago, and you always answered or texted him back when he called. You even took your phone into the bathroom to listen to music when you showered. You should have been able to hear your ringtone.

As he knocked on the door, he could just tell something was wrong. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing at attention, and when Kylie opened the door, he was immediately looking past her into the apartment.

"Jake," Kylie greeted, delight lacing her voice and a smile adorning her face.

"Is she home?" he asked immediately, barely meeting her eyes before he was looking over her head again.

"Oh," she replied casually. "No, she's not."

Now he looked at her. "Do you know where she is?"

"Mmhmm," she hummed, taking a step closer to him. "She got taken to the hospital."

"The hospital?!" he asked, panic rising up inside him as his heart pounded distressinly fast. "What happened?" he damanded.

Kylie shrugged. "She's probably fine. She collapsed during of her classes."

"What the fuck?" He was nearly in hysterics, and Kylie was barely showing any emotion. "Why aren't you there with her? Why didn't anyone let me know about it?"

"Like I said, she's probably fine," she replied. "And you're probably not listed as an emergency contact."

"Well, I will be after this," he snarled, turning away and sprinting for his truck.

It wasn't a long drive to get to the hospital, but now he was concerned that they wouldn't give him any information. He really should be listed as one of your emergency contacts along with your parents. Technically, he lived closer to your campus than they did, and he could get to you faster in an event like this. But luckily, after someone scanned his driver's license and military ID, they gave him permission to see you.

When he tore into the room, sick to his stomach over the sight of you wearing a hospital gown with an IV in your arm, you looked up at him and smiled. "Jake. You found me."

"Darlin', what happend?" he asked softly, running his hand along your forehead and down your cheek. You were a little clammy, and you looked tired, but you seemed to be okay as you melted into his touch.

"I had a migraine, and I thought I could make it to the end of my class, but it got so bad, I fainted."

"Fuck," he gasped, sinking to his knees next to the bed and kissing your fingers. "You're okay now?"

You nodded. "Mostly. I have some bruised ribs from falling out of my seat awkwardly. They're giving me some pain medicine and fluids."

He sighed deeply, finally letting himself calm down. "I was worried when you never showed up to meet me. Do you want me to call your parents from your phone?"

You grimaced and pointed toward the small tray table. Your phone screen was shattered into a million tiny pieces. "The hospital called them for me. They're on their way. I would have called you, too, but I couldn't."

"I'll buy you a new phone tomorrow," he promised as your parents both walked into the room.

"Oh, good. Jake's already here," your mom said, heading right to your side. "Maybe you should make him an emergency contact, too. It took us forever to get here."

"We'll take care of that tomorrow, too," Jake whispered, kissing your fingers again.

[jetblack4realz]

lake days i - jake "hangman" seresin x reader

summary - when you and jake get stationed in your hometown, you decide to drag him with you to a lake day with your family - it taking a much different turn than expected.

!split into parts & takes place years and years before the uranium mission!

pt ii , pt iii , pt iv , pt v

warnings - none

word count - 5.7k

______________________________________________________________

the hawaii mission wasn't the first time you'd met jake seresin, but it was certainly the first time he caught your attention.

you both had been put in a position to compete for the mission, but in a surprise turn of events they just threw you both in. jake led, which he never let you forget, but your captain had decided that he needed you as a wingman, which you never let him forget. you knew his reputation and you'd seen it firsthand, but he was a surprisingly good partner to you. the mission was a success, of course, and you both finished out the last four months of assignment together. as your six months finished out, you found yourself hoping to be stationed with him again.

and you were.

admiral hensley called you both to his office when giving you new orders for the next 18 months and you couldn't help the small smile pulling at your lips. when you exited, hangman pulled you into his side with a laugh.

"excited to be my wingman again, sweetheart?" he asked.

"i think this time you'll find it's the other way around," you answered, winking as you laughed and pulled out of his grasp.

"we'll see about that," he said, smirking.

you both arrived in fort worth, texas with wide grins on your mouths.

"home sweet home," jake said. you hauled your bags onto your shoulders, striding off the runway and towards base. you began to walk towards the office, phone in your hand as you began typing in a local number.

"bronco," the man called with furrowed brows. "you not going to the bunks?"

"this is my home base," you replied. "i've got a place just a half hour out of here."

"how are you getting there?" he asked, quirking a brow with a simple smirk. "your boyfriend picking you up?"

you laughed, shaking your head. "don't got one. don't have time for one. my dad and brothers are coming, i haven't seen some of 'em in almost two years."

"glad you get to now," he told you with a surprisingly genuine smile. you nodded, smiling back.

"yeah, me too," you said. he nodded once before turning again, presumably to his room on base. "hey, hangman."

he turned, eyebrow raised in question.

"aren't you from texas too? anywhere around here?"

"odessa," he answered. he breathed a laugh. "so, no."

you watched each other for a few moments as you very openly debated something in your head. you breathed out slowly before finally just throwing it out there. "you like boating?"

your question caught him off guard. "boating?"

"yeah," you nodded. you quirked a brow, smirking slightly. "you ever been?"

"well, yeah," he nodded slowly. "like, twice."

"twice?" you exclaimed, shaking your head. "that's no good hangman. you should come with us this weekend. my family's property is just 45 minutes off of eagle mountain lake and we were gonna head over saturday. if you don't already have plans, we'd love to have you."

it was memorial day weekend, and your family always spent it on the lake. in light of your fresh transfer, your new admiral had granted you and jake both the monday off and you were definitely taking advantage of the three day weekend.

"you sure?" he asked, raising a brow. "i don't want to intrude. you haven't seen them in so long and i-"

"hangman, if you don't get to see your family, at least come see mine," you answered with a small smile. "they're very welcoming."

he debated for a few moments before huffing a breath. "you're very kind, bronco."

"so, that's a yes?" you asked, grinning. before he could answer, you began walking backwards to enter the office. "i'll take you back with me after shift friday! see you tomorrow!"

you mock-saluted him before turning on your heel and throwing open the door, slipping through it with an excited blush on your cheeks. hangman laughed to himself, shaking his head as he turned to make his way to the bunks. he couldn't believe you'd just invited him back to your family's house - but he couldn't say he wasn't glad you did.

"ready?" you asked, hand on your hip with a grin as jake approached you with his small dufflebag thrown over his shoulder. he nodded.

"as i'll ever be," he answered. "where you parked?"

you led him outside to a beat up brown subaru, pulling the driver's side door open. he quirked a brow as he examined the car, fingers running over the chipping paint.

"didn't imagine you a subaru gal, bronco," he mused, restraining a laugh. you rolled your eyes, shaking your head.

"i'm not. it's my mom's, she's letting me borrow it while i'm here," you answered.

"we gotta get you something better than that," he laughed. "for one, your mom outta want her car back and for two, i can't be seen in a - what year is it?"

"2005," you muttered.

"in a 2005, brown subaru outback," he said, clicking his tongue against his teeth thrice.

"oh, you can't be seen in it? i have to drive this thing to a naval airbase every day of my life," you laughed.

"we'll find you something better. with all this driving you're doing, you definitely need it," he told you. you rolled your eyes again.

"just get in the car, hangman," you said, slipping into the driver's side.

he laughed, tossing his bag in the backseat. "alright, alright."

the drive went smoothly, conversation with jake was never real difficult. as you pulled down a dirt road, passing under a large metal overhead sign announcing that it was the l/n residence jake watched it, a smile pulling at his lips.

"now before we get there, i've gotta warn you," you started, glancing at the man next to you. "all my brothers are in town for this and so are their wives and kids. it'll be a mad house, but it's all love i promise you. just, be prepared for a barrage of questions and kids wanting your attention."

"how many brothers do you have?" he asked.

"three older brothers - logan who's married to brynlee, barrett who's married to alice, and gideon who's thriving single, and two younger brothers - joshua who's married to kyrie, and darren who's 17 so he's single. and all in all, i think i have four, no five nieces and nephews. oh, but alice is pregnant with their first, so like five and a half," you answered, breathing in deeply after the long-winded explanation. you glanced at him with a nervous chuckle. "i told you, it's a lot."

he was smiling widely, shaking his head. "it sounds wonderful. really. i've got a big family too, just all sisters and brother-in-laws. i'm excited to have all those people around again."

your nervous smile softened and you nodded, pulling into the driveway. "i'm glad."

you both climbed out of the car, jake moving to grab his duffle from the back but you shook your head. "leave it, we'll take it back to mine after dinner."

"oh, right," he answered, forgetting entirely that you had your own place and that he was staying there, with you, alone. he trailed after you as you approached the beautiful oak front door.

you turned to him with a grin, hand gripping the door handle. "brace yourself, hangman."

with that, you threw the door open with a yell of, "honey, i'm home!" jake laughed as he watched three kids instantly attach themselves to your legs, the oldest little boy looking about five.

"oh my gosh, you guys are hug!" you exclaimed.

the little boy looked up at jake, his head cocked to the side in evident interest.

"auntie y/n, who's that?" he asked. just as you opened your mouth to answer, a teenager walked in with a teasing grin and answered for her.

"that's her boyfriend," he said in a sing-song tone. you rolled your eyes, whacking him in the shoulder.

"shut up, darren," you said. you picked up the five year old, turning to jake with a smile. "finn, this is jake. jake, this is logan's oldest, finn. he's five."

jake smiled, offering him a little wave. "hey, finn."

you gestured to a little girl at your feet. "and this is leila, finn's little sister. she's three." there was another girl next to leila. "and everleigh, also three. but, she's josh's." you whacked your little brother in the shoulder again, a wry smile on your lips as you tried to not laugh at his dramatic outburst of pain. "and my little brother, darren."

"hi," jake laughed. darren stretched a hand forward, grinning widely.

"welcome to the family," he teased as jake shook the boy's hand. jake laughed heartily.

"thanks, glad to be here."

introductions with the rest of the family continued in the dining room, the remaining two nephews sitting in their dad's lap.

"y/n!" the family chorused.

"hey guys," you grinned. you turned to let jake step forward, your brothers smirking at you as he did so. "everybody, this is jake seresin, my wingman on my last mission." he looked at you with raised brows and a breathy laugh, shaking his head slightly. you concealed your laughing with a slim grin, continuing. "he's gonna be spending the weekend with us."

your mother approached with a sweet smile on her face. "jake, how wonderful to meet you. y/n's told us so much."

"oh has she?" jake asked with a grin in your direction. he shook her hand gently, a small smile directed at the older woman.

"enough for us to be glad to have you," your dad chimed in. "we hear you're competitive. you good at water sports?"

"can't say i've tried any," jake laughed sheepishly. you exchanged grins with your brothers. you patted his arm.

"don't worry, we'll change that," you told him. you turned your attention back to your family. you took your time to point out each brother and sister-in-law, and your remaining two twin one year old nephews, brigham and beckham, who were josh's.

everyone was very welcoming towards him and he found his heart swelling at the experience of being with so much family. as they all conversed and ate, he began to realize where you had gotten all of your snark and sarcasm - he supposed that's what growing up with five brothers got you. but, as he watched the way your mother treated everyone and how your father ensured the teasing never reached a tipping point, he also began to understand how you tended to know the balances of things and always be cordial to others. it was a talent that slipped his mind some of the time, but in the presence of such kind people he made sure to do.

darren had taken an extreme liking to the 30-year-old, asking him all sorts of questions about what he flew, how he flew, what missions he'd been on (which he obviously couldn't tell him), and everything about the navy. this got finn excited too, the little one climbing on your lap just to lean over to jake to catch his attention.

"you do realize that i'm in the navy too, right?" you asked darren with a raised brow, pulling finn back to keep him from slipping off your knee as he held onto jake's arm. "everything he's done, i've done. you've never asked me before."

"you're not as cool, y/n," gideon teased you in response, darren laughing and nodding in agreement.

"i'd have to agree," jake said, winking at you as your brothers laughed.

"so, where are you from, jake?" your mom asked with a smile.

"odessa," he answered, matching her smile. "born and raised texan."

"good," your dad nodded. "your family still back there?"

"yes sir," jake said. "mom and sisters at least. dad died a few years back."

"sorry to hear that, son," your dad said, giving him a small nod.

"odessa," your mom hummed. "what did you say your last name was again, honey?"

"seresin," jake answered politely.

"your mom's maiden name?" she furthered. jake laughed, glancing at you momentarily.

"sorry, mom grew up in odessa," you told him with a short laugh, shooting your mom a look to stop interrogating him. "sure she's just trying to make connections."

"oh, it's fine," jake said. it was a common occurrence in texas. "she was a gilbert."

"gilbert," she repeated again. her eyes lit up. "alyssa gilbert?"

"yeah," he laughed. "you know her?"

"we went to high school together!" she cheered. "how about that? we're friends on facebook but haven't talked in years. i'll have to tell her i've got you over here, maybe they can come over sometime! have a barbeque, go to the lake. you got a lot of siblings, jake?"

"four sisters," he nodded, smiling at her enthusiasm.

"oh, wonderful! that would be so fun, wouldn't that be so wonderful y/n?" she asked, turning to you. from next to her alice and kyrie were about to burst into laughter, barrett winking at you. you pulled a thin smile, trying to avoid estranging jake because of your overly-enthusiastic mother.

"yeah, that'd be something, ma," you answered, returning your attention to the potato salad on your plate.

"i'm sure they'd love that," jake said, appeasing your mom.

after a few hours and several slices of pie, you were leading jake back out to your car. darren followed you to the door, grinning widely.

"drive safe!" he called as you threw yourself into your seat. "no fun allowed tonight! i mean it!"

you slammed your door shut, flipping him off through the window, though he could barely see it with the dim light in the car. jake laughed loudly, getting in his seat as darren returned inside. as soon as his door was shut you let out a breathy laugh.

"well, that was fun," you said. "i think they like you."

"i think they do too," he said with a small smile. "i really like them, y/n."

"i'm glad. they're my favorite people," you told him.

you reached around to buckle and he followed your lead as you backed out of the driveway.

"so, where's your place at?" he asked as you turned onto the dirt road, continuing further into the property.

"just a few minutes down the road," you answered. "my parents promised each of us some land if we wanted to build on it. the only one who doesn't have a place out here is gideon, he lives in houston. says he doesn't need it because he isn't planning on getting married and having a family anytime soon."

"oh," jake said, looking at you intently. "but, you've got a place out here."

"yeah, so what?"

"are you planning on a family anytime soon?"

you glanced at him, furrowing your brows slightly. "i was. saved up for my place since high school, got some of my dad's buddies to give me discounts, designed it, helped build it when i could while going to college. then, well, my plans changed. i dropped out of college and went into the navy, got shipped out two years later. my house was finished though, so i kept it."

he thought on your answer for a few moments. "you didn't answer my question."

"the answer is i don't know," you sighed, pulling into your garage. "would i like to have a family? sure. is it gonna happen for me? probably not. and hey, i have things to do, i love my job... life's okay for me."

you laughed shortly, looking back at your fellow aviator.

"what?" he asked.

"wasn't expecting to talk to you about that today. don't really tell people things like that."

"then why'd you tell me?"

"why'd you ask?"

you both paused, a small smile pulling at your lips before you turned away, pulling your door open. he followed suit, grabbing his bag and following you into the two-story farmhouse. it was beautiful, he had to admit.

"you designed this?" he asked, looking up at it while you turned the key.

"yep," you answered. "my pride and joy."

"that's such a texas thing," he laughed, following you inside. "you built your own house? if a girl i met at the bar said she built her own house i might just marry her right then and there."

"that's a weird thing to admit, seresin," you laughed, gesturing for him to follow you upstairs.

"what? i like a blue collar woman," he shrugged. he grinned widely. "they're usually way sexier too."

you rolled your eyes, sighing, "there's the hangman i know."

you approached the first door to your right, pushing it open. "this is you. there's a bathroom attached and you can keep your things in the dresser if you'd like. i'm just down the hall here."

he entered the room, tossing his bag on the white comforter. he looked around with a nod. "thanks bronco. i owe you one."

"you don't owe me anything," you said with a shake of your head. "well, except for a promise to try everything i tell you to tomorrow."

he laughed. "deal."

"you're in for it," you promised. "we need to meet at mom and dad's at 7, so be up by 6:30. i'll come and knock to make sure you're up."

"sounds good," he answered.

you smiled, nodding slowly as you stayed leaning in the doorway for a few moments. "i'll, uh, i'll see you in the morning. goodnight, jake."

"goodnight, y/n," he said. "thanks again. i'm excited."

"me too." you disappeared from his sight, the man leaning to watch you walk back to your room. he smiled slightly before turning back to his bag, beginning to unpack the few contents into the dresser next to the bed.

it was 6:35 when you finally rolled out of bed, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. you knew you had to get up, you just desperately didn't want to.

you pulled yourself out from under the covers, walking slowly to your closet. you grabbed the navy blue swimsuit you'd set out the night before: a longline bikini top that you knew would stay secure during water sports and matching high-waisted bottoms. you pulled a pair of denim shorts over, not bothering with a shirt.

you pulled open your door and then walked into the extremely bright hallway. with a hand blocking the light from your eyes, you approached jake's door, knocking slowly.

it was swung open quickly to reveal an all ready hangman, clad in dark blue swim shorts and a white tee shirt you were sure would be coming off as soon as water was in sight. that's how he was anytime you and the crew would lounge the beaches of hawaii and you were confident it wouldn't be any different here.

he eyed your swimsuit and you eyed his, both letting out short laughs.

"looks like we'll be twinning out there, darlin'," he teased. you shrugged.

"makes for cuter pictures," you answered, smirking. "grab your things, i'll be down in a sec."

he nodded and you turned back to grab your sunscreen, sunglasses, and hat before jogging down the stairs to find jake sitting on your counter.

"ready?" you asked. he nodded, hopping down and following you out the door and to your car.

when you pulled up to the house, darren was quick to comment on the swimsuit situation.

"and you say you aren't a couple," he said with a smirk.

"well, we're not. it's just a coincidence," you said with a roll of your eyes, pushing past him to get to where your dad was loading up the jetski and canopies.

"ouch," darren said with a laugh, turning his attention to jake. "she's in a bad mood."

jake shrugged. "it was just a coincidence."

he followed your lead and took some camping chairs from your mother, smiling graciously as he loaded them into the back of the truck. as you finished strapping down the jetski, logan pulled up with a beautiful white and blue surfboat.

you were shaken out of whatever mood darren's comment had put you in as you shook jake's arm and ran to where logan parked, jake following you with furrowed brows.

"jake," you said with a grandiose expression. "this is my pride and joy, my beautiful bluey."

"bluey?" he laughed. "you named your boat?"

"technically, it's our boat," logan corrected.

"right, but still," you shrugged. "a beautiful, 2014 cobalt surf boat, one of the first they've ever made. way better than the crappy mastercraft we used to have."

"what's wrong with a mastercraft?" jake asked, realizing very quickly that he was incredibly out of his element. logan laughed, shrugging.

"it's the honda of boats," he answered.

"ah," jake said, understanding as he nodded his head.

"alright everyone, pack it up!" your mom yelled.

as everyone piled into the two trucks and one ford explorer, jake looked at you, wondering where to go.

"there's some more seats in josh's," your mom told you, but you shrugged.

"too cramped," you answered, instead stepping onto logan's back tire and sitting down in the bed of the truck. jake grinned, following quickly and plopping down next to you.

"we got some nice privacy back here," he mused, winking at you jokingly.

you laughed, rolling your eyes. "oh yeah, take advantage of it, seresin."

"i might just," he said.

when you all pulled up to the lake, you and jake hopped out of the back.

"i'm gonna drive the boat out," you told him, "as logan backs it into the water. do you wanna just get in with me?"

"sure," he agreed, walking with you a few steps until you were at the back. "need a hand?"

you were, in fact, slightly too short to be able to get on it while it was still on the trailer. you nodded. "that'd be great, actually."

he held his hands down and boosted you up as you stepped on them, the man quickly following.

"shoes off," you instructed, slipping off your sandals and throwing them under one of the seats, jake following your lead. as you stood in front of the seat, you slid the key in and gestured for logan to back it up into the water fully.

jake watched in awe as you worked the boat expertly, yelling instructions and giving hand signals to direct your brother as far back as you needed, eventually having jake jump out to unstrap the sides and give you a little push off until you were able to turn the boat and blower on and push it out yourself. as he pulled himself back in and came up behind you, he watched the way your hands worked the steering and throttle.

"impressed, hangman?" you laughed, glancing back at him. "i'm surprised - i fly planes for a living, you think i can't drive my own boat?"

"no, i'd be disappointed if you couldn't," he laughed, sitting in the passenger seat as you pulled off the ramp and started towards your previously decided beach spot. darren was on the jetski, following you from a distance.

"just wait until we really get going," you told him with a grin. "you can be impressed then."

"counting on it, darlin'," he said.

when you found your family you let logan grab the larger anchor and tie the boat to the beach as you and jake exited the boat, your shorts and his shirt coming off before you dropped in the water.

you glanced at him before slipping into the water, refusing to blush at your friend's abs. you knew he was attractive and you knew he was toned - you'd been to the beach with him before. but still, you couldn't deny that jake seresin was a sight to see.

on the flip side, he couldn't deny that you looked good. like, really good. he'd seen you in a swimsuit before too, but he always found it difficult to keep his eyes off. you were drop dead gorgeous, he'd admit that to anyone, any day of the week - except for your family, right this moment.

not that they needed to ask. they could tell. or at least, a few of them could.

"how do you spend time with him and not just fall in love?" kyrie asked you in a hushed whisper as you dropped into a camp chair next to her. you laughed.

"he's... hangman. he's just hangman. we're friends," you shrugged.

"any chance you want to be more?" brynlee asked, wiggling her brows as alice and kyrie giggled.

"oh, keep to your own lives," you said, leaning back in your chair.

"our lives are boring, we've already got our men - you're still working on yours," kyrie said.

"i think you've already found him," alice said with a small smile. she nodded to where darren was punching around with jake, jake finally shoving him into the water where the boy tripped back and soaked himself. jake laughed loudly before getting attacked from behind by finn, turning to pretend fight the boy off.

"aw, he's so sweet y/n," brynlee said, grabbing your arm with a smile, effectively shaking you out of your trance. he had been so good with your family so far, you wondered if this was how he was normally - without all the bravado required for aviation.

"yeah, i guess he is," you mumbled. you cleared your throat, looking back at your sister-in-laws. "he's usually a lot louder and cockier than this. you'll see later while we're playing around. he's a tease."

"i think you're the tease right now," kyrie laughed. "you didn't see the way he was looking at you when you were walking up to the beach. you looked hot and he knew it honey."

"no way," you said with a shake of your head. "we're just friends."

"you might've started the weekend that way," brynlee said, standing up with a teasing smile. "but you won't end it that way."

your mouth fell open in shock as she walked to logan, scooping leila up in her arms and laughing as the three year old did. you shook your head, turning your attention to the other girls.

"she's right, you know," alice said. "don't look behind you."

and so you didn't, instead watching as the grins on their faces grew and grew until someone had grabbed your chair, lifting it from behind and making you stand. you landed on your feet, turning quickly to find jake with a grin.

"what?" you asked.

"come one, your dad's decided that me and you are going first," he told you.

"on what?" you asked. he paused.

"don't know. just, come on," he said, grabbing your hand and dragging you over to where your brothers and dad had made a group.

"what am i doing?" you asked with a laugh as you approached them.

"kneeboarding," josh answered. "easy."

and "easy" is what you told jake when you were in the middle of the lake, life jackets on, with kneeboards in your hands, just finished with giving him instructions.

"yeah," he nodded. "i got this. easy."

"you got this," you agreed with a laugh.

"but, when do i pull up on it?" he asked.

"after the boat starts going but before it gets up to speed. just - i'll tell you when," you told him, earning a nod in return.

the look on jake's face as you yelled "ready!" to logan was priceless. he was focused - so focused. maybe even more focused than you'd seen him in a jet. and as logan began moving, his face only hardened that much more.

"okay, pull yourself up!" you yelled, sliding your knees onto the back of the board and shimmying your way all the way up. you strapped the velcro strap over your thighs, settling in as the boat pulled you along before looking over at jake.

his entire board was shaking as he tried to move his knees up, his hands clutching the side desperately. eventually, he managed to get up, leaning back with a sigh and finagling with the strap.

"got it?" you called.

"yeah!" he called back as he secured it. you leaned forward, hands gripping the wide handle. before you pulled it off its knob that kept you attached to the boat, you looked at jake for affirmation. he nodded, grabbing his own and watching you as you pulled yours off, leaving just your hands on the rope keeping you to the boat.

"lean back! relax!" you said over the sound of the water, laughing as he leaned back, causing his board to twist a little and his eyes to widen as he regained balance. "good!"

he looked at you with a grin, holding his hand up in the 'hell yeah' sign, or really just 'aloha' surfer sign. you laughed and did it back. you leaned to the side, skidding up next to him.

"wanna try some tricks?" you asked.

"yeah, you go first," he said, nodding at you. you grinned.

"alright, first we'll get you to go out of the wake," you told him. "you just gotta get some momentum and lean hard. don't twist your board, just lean. watch, and if i wipe out just let go, k?"

you leaned back to your side, your board catching speed and exiting the wake. you did his little hand signal back to him with a laugh, hanging out of the wake for a while. the waves were a bit choppy that day, but you decided to still attempt what you've been wanting to since you knew you were going kneeboarding.

"watch!" you yelled, but jake's eyes had been on you the whole time anyways. you moved one hand to the side of the handle before quickly leaning, flipping around and reaching around the back to grab the handle again.

your brothers whooped in the boat as you grinned, leaning back in to enter the wake.

"pretty cool, huh?" you asked.

"i bet i could do that," he said with a shrug. "easy."

"alright then, go for it," you said teasingly. you were sure he wasn't gonna get it.

but, as he leaned out and successfully got out of the wake, which was a struggle for first-timers normally, your confidence faltered. he slid his hands to the side like you did and turned sharply, then again, and suddenly he had accomplished the goal it took you three summers as a kid to achieve.

"screw you," you laughed as he came back in next to you.

"got anything else?" he asked with a smirk.

"jump the wake," you said, nodding to the side. "get some height, seresin."

"do it at the same time," he replied.

you agreed and you both broke for opposite directions. you tried to get as much speed as you could, but just as you reached the break of the wake, your board caught and you were down.

you found the surface with a cough, glaring at the boat as it turned around to come get you. a little ways away jake was holding his board, a cocky grin on his lips as he waved at you. you rolled your eyes, grabbing your board and trying to not let him see your smile as it formed.

"what was that y/n?" josh laughed as they pulled up next to you, grabbing your board.

"i'm out of practice, okay?" you answered, pulling yourself up onto the surf deck on the back. gideon grabbed jake's board as he swam over to you.

"yeah, well he's had no practice and he still got it," your brother laughed as he set the board next to yours. jake pulled himself up next to you, grinning at you.

"you okay, sweetheart?" he asked.

"you got it?" you asked with raised brows.

"i thought you said it was hard?" he asked. your eyes widened and you searched for words, causing the man next to you to bust up laughing, as well as gideon.

"who's next?" your dad asked.

"me!" darren cheered as he jumped into the water. josh laughed and followed him in. you laughed at the boys before standing, pulling off your lifejacket and hanging the dripping wet thing off the side of the boat, gesturing for jake to give you his own. when you had buckled them to the side, you offered jake a hand which he took, letting you drag him up and to the bow of the boat. you sat back on the front, facing jake as he took the seat opposite to where brynlee was laying out with full intention of tanning. you tucked your legs by his to keep out of her way, but the man didn't look bothered.

you grabbed a towel from the compartment behind you, wiping your arms and hair before tossing it to jake. he dried his chest before balling it up and leaning on it like a pillow, laying out like brynlee.

you sat there for a few moments before standing and approaching the glove box, grabbing yours and jake's hats and glasses. you walked back up, dropping his glasses in his lap and pulling his hat down backwards on his head.

he grinned at you as you sat back down, tucking your legs to the side of him again. you pulled your hat on backwards too with a teasing grin his way.

"twins, right?" you asked. he laughed as you leaned back, settling your glasses on the bridge of your nose.

afterwards, you stared at him, eyebrows furrowing after several moments. he quirked a brow at you, finally asking, "what?"

"your glasses are cooler than mine are," you told him, jokingly pouting like finn whenever you didn't give him his goldfish crackers. you both had basic black glasses on, but his were cool, classy aviators that he definitely spent more that $15 on as opposed to your walmart ones.

this caused him to smile and he leaned forward. "here, sweetheart."

he pulled your glasses off your nose as he pulled his own off, dropping yours in his lap for a moment so he could situate his 'cool' sunglasses on your face. he pulled yours on and leaned back again, patting your leg. "better?"

"much," you laughed. out of the corner of your eye, brynlee was smirking at you both, turning back to grin at her husband when neither of you would look at her.

she pulled her phone from the cupholder next to her, flipping to the camera. she waved her hand at you guys. "scoot in, i wanna get the glasses."

you rolled your eyes with a smile, scooting from your position at the front to be perpendicular to where jake was laying, the man moving to the side to let you in before leaning towards you, an arm wrapping around your torso so as to give you more room. you looked at him briefly, his wide grin with your slightly girly glasses on his face making you laugh, your smile more legitimate than it had been before as you looked at brynlee. he rested his cheek on your head after a moment, your smile unintentionally widening again.

when she lowered her phone, you leaned over to see the picture - and it actually was really cute. the only pictures you had with jake were in your flight suits or decently drunk at a pool table, so you were kinda glad to have one normal, decently cute one now. even though you were just friends, of course.

"send that to me," you told her with a smile. you slid back to your original place, pushing jake's legs out of the way to give yourself space. he rolled his eyes at you, scoffing, but you knew he was just teasing.

you pretended not to notice how jake's hand fell back onto your leg, instead just letting the wind blow your hair around with a smile as you watched your brothers get on the kneeboards. you also pretended not to notice how the entire time they did so, jake's eyes never once travelled back to them, instead resting on you.

this was gonna be one fun trip.

[rafeandonlyrafe]

virginity

words: 3.2k

warnings: 18+ only!, smut, virgin!reader and virgin!rafe, kind of bullying at the beginning, very cute and fluffy rafe, reader is implied to be a kook, first date, female receiving oral, fingering, p in v sex, protected (for once! yay) sex

taglist: @drewstarkeyslut @thelomlisrafecameron @f4ll-for-you @dilvcv @drudyslut @dreamingwithrafe @jjmaybankswifes-blog @rafescokenostril @jjsmarijuana @jjmaybankisbae @seeingstarks @angelofcigs @cece45450 @babygorewhore @vanessa-rafesgirl @michelleisheres-blog

“oh my god, bridgette, you'll never guess who asked me out!” you squeal, flopping onto her bed.

“ooh, umm… kelce?” she guesses, but you just shake your head no, the smile on your face growing.

“rafe!” 

bridgette sits up instantly. “rafe as in rafe cameron?” you can tell by the look on her face that she's skeptical.

“the one and only.” you nod.

“but um… he doesn't date?” she says, genuine confusion in her voice.

“i thought you said he was basically a rich frat boy?” you sit up, now thinking over the interaction, but there's no way to confuse “will you go to dinner with me tomorrow night?” as anything other than asking on a date.

“well, yeah, he parties and stuff but he doesn't… date. he's never had a girlfriend.”

“well, ive never really had a boyfriend.” you shrug. “and don't say jonathan because he does not count.”

“yeah, but you have an excuse, y/n. your parents moved you all over the country, you didn't have time to date until your parents settled here a few months ago.” bridgette counters, and she does have a point. you've never been in one place long enough to form a true relationship. “i think rafe just doesn't date because he doesn't like any girls enough.”

you frown, thinking over her words. “well i guess that means he likes me enough to ask.” you say quietly.

bridgette shrugs. “good for you. he better take you somewhere expensive, boy has MONEY!” she says, causing you both to erupt into laughter. “oh…” bridgette suddenly quiets. “i wouldn't tell evelyn. she has the biggest crush on him, she'd get so jealous if she knew you asked him out.”

-- the next day --

“hey dad…” you say in a sweet voice, fluttering your eyelashes at him.

“oh god, y/n, what do you want?”

“can i borrow your credit card?” you ask with a whine.

“y/n, you are an adult! you can’t keep borrowing my credit card! what do you need anyways?” “a new outfit… for a date tonight.” you whisper the last part, but your dads eyes still bulge open.

“a what?” “come on dad, all my outfits are so revealing, don’t you want me to buy something more covered up? or should i wear that pink skirt mom got me-” “no!” your dad cuts you out, fishing his wallet out of his pocket, slapping the credit card into your hand. “something that doesn’t show too much skin, y/n.” he warns, and you nod and run out to your car before he can lecture you or ask you any more questions about the date.

--

you look through the rack of dresses, trying to find one that you like and would feel comfortable in tonight with rafe. you don't want to give him the wrong idea by showing up wearing a dress that's more suited for a club or party.

you have some hangers already in your hand of dresses to try on when you hear a shout of your name. you look up to see evelyn and her two best friends following her. 

when you moved to the outer banks, you quickly assimilated into the social scene and learned that evelyn was the queen bitch, super wealthy, but not at all likable, with an insane amount of possessiveness over rafe, despite him never even showing interest in her. evelyns first words to you were to stay away from him, but you won't let her intimidate you away from this date.

“what are you shopping for?” evelyn asks, her lips smeared in a bright red shade of lipstick that contrasts her light hair.

“a date tonight.” you reply, keeping your eyes mostly on the clothes, trying to convey that you're not interested in whatever show of dominance she's attempting.

“i heard about that. how did you scam rafe into taking you somewhere?” she asks, her friends snickering behind her.

“he asked me, actually.” you hum, keeping your body language disinterested, despite feeling your heart start to beat faster. “I guess he likes me.”

“that's real funny, y/n.” evelyn says, placing her hand on the rack to stop you from looking. “because rafe is mine.”

“should i call him right now?” you look her in the eye, your temper reading on your face. “should I have him tell you what you already know? that he's not interested?”

“you are such a bitch!” evelyn yells, and the storekeeper finally becomes aware of the situation, heading out from behind the counter and towards you. “i will ruin you for stealing him.” evelyn states before turning and stomping out of the store, her entourage falling in step behind her.

“miss, are you okay?” the shopkeeper asks.

you hum and nod, knowing that whatever they plan on doing won't work, evelyn may have popularity because of her money, but everyone knows not to trust a word out of her mouth. “can i get a dressing room to try these on actually?” you ask, picking up a dress that you think would be perfect for tonight.

--

the doorbell rings and you give your father a glare, already having warned him to stay in the living room and let you answer the door. the last thing you need is your father scaring rafe before your date has even begun.

you open the door, letting out a breath of relief when rafe is also dressed up. you realized while buying the dress that you didn't actually know where you were going for dinner, you just assumed it would be on the fancier side.

“wow.” rafe let's out a gasp, “you look beautiful.”

you blush, smoothing out the front of your dress, giving you an excuse to break eye contact and look down at yourself. “you look really handsome too.”

“let me help you down the stairs.” rafe extends his hand, and you subtly wipe your palm against your dress before placing it in his, accepting his help out the front door as these are new heels (you couldn't resist when your dad gave you his card).

rafe keeps your hands locked together as he leads you towards his truck, of course opening the door for you and helping you in.

you smile at rafe as he gets into the driver's seat. “im excited.” you tell him honestly.

“me too.” rafe grins, keeping his eyes on the road as he takes off but reaching over your tangle your fingers together again. “im nervous too though.”

“rafe cameron did not just admit he is nervous.” you gasp, making rafes smile grow as he shakes his head.

“i really like you.” he explains further, making you smile and lift his hand to your face, pressing your lips to it in a kiss. 

--

“how's your food?” rafe asks, taking a bite of his own. you ordered salad, too nervous to eat anything else in front of rafe. since he admitted how he felt about the date, it felt all the more real.

“it’s really good!” you say. “thanks for taking me.”

rafe smiles at you, his eyes containing a warmth you haven’t seen before. “so, where did you live before moving to the outer banks?”

you had told rafe before that you moved around a lot, but never got into the specifics, so you spend most of the dinner telling him all the states that you’ve lived in and responding to his questions while asking some of your own.

rafe accepts the check and pays for you without question, brushing off your thanks before leading you out of the restaurant, his hand firmly placed on your back.

“do i need to get you home by any time?” rafe asks when you get back in the car.

“no.” you shake your head. “i don’t want to go home yet either.”

rafe smiles at you, reaching over to place his hand on your thigh as he drives towards his house. you hum softly to the music, glad for the short drive before you’re walking into tanneyhill. rafe informs you that everyone else is gone, so it’s just you two.

“should we watch a movie?” rafe asks, gesturing towards the couch in the living room.

“sure! you pick though.” you say, not wanting to have to make the choice. rafe sits down on the couch and picks up the remote, navigating to some comedy you haven’t seen before. you sit down next to him, close enough for your thighs to be touching.

rafe wraps his arm around your shoulder, letting you get comfortable against his side.

the movie is decently funny, but you’re far more focus on being tucked up against rafe. at a funny scene, rafe lets his laughter loose, and you can’t help but turn and look to him, watching his face light up.

rafe notices you watching him and his laughter softens into a smile. “can i kiss you?” he asks.

you nod, turning to face him as rafe places a hand on your cheek, bringing your mouths together in a kiss that quickly turns more passionate as you deepen it. you shift again so that you straddle rafes lap, placing your hands on his shoulders as you continue to kiss, your dress pooling on his lap.

“y/n-” rafe gasps when he pulls away, realizing both of you went a little overboard when your lips first touched.

“i have to tell you something rafe.” you say, realizing the compromising position you’re in and not wanting to give him the wrong idea.

“what is it baby?” rafe questions, his hands falling to rest on your hips.

“i’m… i’m a virgin.” you admit.

rafe lets out a sigh, like he’s relieved, which causes your brows to scrunch together in confusion. “i never thought i’d say this to you but i am too.”

“what?” you question. “i thought you were known for partying and flirting and stuff!” “yeah, i used to flirt a lot but i was never serious enough with anyone to sleep with them… not until you.” “oh my god.” you coo, leaning forward to press your lips together again. rafe wraps his arms around your waist, pulling your chests closer together.

“i would lose it with you, baby. if you want.” rafe says.

“i-yes. i want that.” you nod.

“tonight? now? only if you’re sure.” rafe says. “i know we’ve only gone on one date, but it feels… right.”

“i agree.” you nod. “i’m not saying we are going to be together forever based off one date but i want to lose it with you. together.” 

“let me take you upstairs then.” rafe stands effortlessly, with you clinging to his front as his arms hold you steady. you press soft kisses to his neck as he carries you, feeling equal parts nervous and excited for what is about to happen.

rafe sets you down on the end of his bed before stepping back, admiring you in his bedroom, especially knowing what you are about to do together.

“can i take your dress off?” rafe asks, and you nod, letting him come up and grab the bottom of your dress. you lift your hips so he can pull it up and over your head, and you let out a silent thanks to god that you wore matching underwear.

“you’re so gorgeous.” rafe says, looking down at you with glossed over eyes. you can tell from the tightness of his pants that he’s not unaffected by seeing you like this.

“sit down, let me take your shirt off.” you tell rafe, grabbing his hand so he sits next to you on the bed. you tug his shirt off, admiring his muscles as you run your hands over them. rafes hands stay on his knees, waiting for permission to touch you now that you’re scantily dressed.

“do you… do you want to take your pants off?” you ask, glancing down at his crotch. “it seems painful.” you giggle.

“yeah, the zipper hurts.” rafe admits, unzipping his pants and pulling them down his legs so he’s in just his underwear, his cock straining against the fabric, a small patch of wetness already growing.

“do you wanna lay down? i want to kiss you some more.” rafe asks.

you nod, moving up the bed until you can rest your head against the pillows. rafe crawls over your body, his eyes mesmerizing every inch of bare skin until he can press his lips against yours, the kiss is passionate but slow and deliberate, building up gradually until you’re moaning against rafes lips.

you reach behind your back, unclipping your bra before taking it off, flinging it somewhere in the room to be picked up later. rafe gives you a final kiss before looking down at your bare chest.

“oh fuck.” he groans, reaching with one hand to grip the underside of your breast, holding it in his palm as he slides down, his mouth falling open onto your nipple. you let out a moan as rafe explores your chest and what makes you moan the loudest.

he plays with your nipple with his tongue, then teases around it before ultimately sucking it into his mouth before switching and repeating on the other side.

“is that good?” rafe asks, and you give an enthusiastic nod. “really good.” “should i…” rafe looks down at your underwear, and you give another nod.

“you’re going to have to um… finger me. to open me up for you, ya know?” you cringe at your words, but you know it’s true and don’t want your first time to hurt.

“yeah, yeah of course.” rafe tugs at your underwear, his eyes staying between your thighs as he tosses the fabric to the floor. you take a deep breath before spreading your legs, putting your cunt on display for him.

“so sexy.” rafe praises you, moving so he’s lying between your thighs. he spreads your folds open with two fingers before using his other hand to rub his pointer finger over your pussy.

he traces around your clit before bumping it, making you flinch at the sudden pleasure.

“was that good?” rafe asks, and you just let out a moan in response when he doesn’t wait, rubbing over your clit again.

rafe smiles, moving his finger lower to your entrance before circling around that as well. he presses against your tight ring of muscle, thankful that you’re already quite wet as you relax and give way, letting his finger slip inside.

he begins to thrust it in and out slowly, building up speed as it becomes easier for him to move.

“try to add a second.” you tell him after a minute.

rafe nods, managing to work a second finger inside of you, but he can tell by the way your forehead scrunches that it’s not as comfortable as one, so he leans forward and presses his tongue against your clit.

“oh fuck!” you scream out as he flicks the tip of his tongue over and over, allowing you to focus on that instead of his fingers thrusting in and out of you.

rafe even makes a point to separate his fingers some, widening them to open you up even more. you don’t even flinch this time as his tongue stays playing with your clit.

“i’m ready.” you pant. “i’m ready, i need you rafe.”

rafe nods, moving to kneel between your legs, not sure what the best position to put you in is, but you seem to have it already thought out as you take a pillow and put it under your hips to raise them so he can stay kneeling on the bed.

rafe works his underwear off, and your eyes widen when his cock is revealed, regretting telling him you were ready after just two fingers. he grabs the condom he must have tossed onto the bed earlier and rips it open, sliding the latex down his length.

“if you need more time…” rafe trails off.

“just go slow.” you say, knowing he will stop at any point if you really need him to.

rafe moves closer, holding himself in his hand as he lines up with your entrance. his head pushes in easily, but the further forward his hips move, the more you struggle, but rafe sees it and slows down until he’s finally fully seated inside of you.

something sparks in that moment, realizing that you have both lost your virginity and it has rafe bending down over your body to press your lips together. you appreciate the kiss as it gives you even longer to adjust before rafe starts rocking into you slowly.

“that feels good.” you reassure rafe, all feelings of pain now gone.

“you feel good.” rafe says, unsure how he’s able to keep so much control over himself to not go feral in this moment, but he likes you too much, cares too much to move any faster and potentially cause you pain.

he keeps up the slow movements, moving from just rocking to actually thrusting as he starts to pull further out. 

“faster.” you whimper, eyes sliding closed as you focus on his length inside of you.

rafe doesn’t question you, needing to move more himself as he begins to speed up his thrusts, pushing his hips forward harder as well.

“i-i’m sorry i don’t know much longer i’m going to last.” rafe admits.

“it’s okay just touch my clit again.” you say. you would do it yourself but your body feels weightless right now, and you’re not sure if you can raise your arms up.

rafe nods, gripping your hip with one hand but letting the other roam to your cunt, rubbing his thumb over your clit as he tries to hold back his orgasm as long as possible while still pushing his cock into your heat repeatedly.

you let out your moans with freedom, knowing that there is no one else in the house to hear you. rafe begins to grunt and you feel him swelling inside of you and you know that he’s close.

rafes body falls forward, his thumb still moving on your clit but his cock stilling as he cums, filling up the condom as he pants heavily.

“y/n!” rafe finishes with a call of your name. you are so close to your orgasm, and you surmise rafe must know as he stays inside of you, rubbing faster until you cum, your body arching off the mattress, even underneath rafes weight as your high hits you with a shout.

you manage to reach to push rafes hand away, needing the overwhelming pleasure on your clit gone as your orgasm works through your body.

rafe curses when your cunt pulsates around him, but waits until you’re done to pull out. he flops to the side, pulling the condom off and tossing it into the trashcan next to his nightstand.

“how does it feel to no longer be a virgin?” you ask.

“felt good to finally use that condom i’ve been keeping in my wallet since i turned 16.” rafe laughs, reaching his arm out to pull you closer to him. “but seriously, i’m glad i lost it with you.” “i’m glad too.” you smile, pressing a quick peck to his lip. “and maybe i should have asked you this before we had sex but… will you be my girlfriend?”

“oh my god, yes!” you squeal.

[mopopshop]

THIS IS WHAT IVE BEEN WAITING FORRRR stewie x controversially young gf like she’s a new rookie on nyl hehehehehe

Rookie (Breanna Stewart x OC)

hopefully this meets y’all’s expectations, give feedback if you’d like 🫶🏾

———

You've only been on the team for a month, but it already feels like a whirlwind. From the moment you stepped into the training facility, your eyes were drawn to Stewie. She’s the team’s star player, and her presence commands respect. But it’s more than just respect that she garners from you; there’s something else, something that flutters in your stomach every time she’s near.

One evening after practice, you find yourself in the gym, shooting free throws. You hear footsteps behind you and turn to see Breanna, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Okay Rook! I see you, staying late” she teases, hyping you up and leaning casually against the wall.

"Just trying to get better," you reply, trying to keep your voice steady.

She saunters over, her smile growing. "You know, I could give you some pointers. Help you out a little."

You laugh, shaking your head. "I don’t think I’ll ever be at your level, Bre."

"Oh, come on. You’ve got potential," she says, her voice low and playful. "Plus, you’ve got me to guide you." she grins, judging you with her elbow.

You raise an eyebrow. "Guide me? Is that what they call flirting these days?"

She grins, stepping closer. "Who said I’m flirting?"

You hold her gaze, your heart racing. "Just saying. You’re not really subtle you know"

Breanna chuckles, her eyes never leaving yours. "You’re pretty bold for a rookie, Jamie."

"And you’re pretty forward for a seasoned vet," you shoot back, your confidence growing.

She tilts her head, clearly amused. "Maybe I just know what I want."

You swallow hard, your cheeks warming. "And what is it that you want?"

Breanna takes another step closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Maybe… I wanna to get to know you a little better."

Your breath catches as her words sink in. "Get to know me how?"

"Well," she says, her eyes sparkling, "we could start with dinner. Unless you’re too busy practicing."

You grin, feeling a thrill at the prospect. "I think I can make time for dinner."

She nods, satisfaction evident on her face. "Good. Tomorrow night, then. After practice."

"Sounds like a plan," you reply, your heart pounding with excitement.

You watch her walk away and can't help but smile. Maybe this season is going to be even more exciting than you thought.

---

The next day, after a grueling practice session, you find Breanna waiting for you outside the locker room. She’s dressed casually, but there’s an elegance about her that makes your heart skip a beat.

"You ready for that dinner?" she asks, her smile making your stomach do flips.

"Ready for you to Wow me," you tease back, trying to keep your cool.

Dinner is at a cozy little restaurant not too far from the arena. The conversation flows easily, with Breanna sharing stories from her years in the league and you talking about your journey to the WNBA.

"So, Rook" she says, leaning in slightly, "How’re you feeling about NYC?"

"It’s amazing," you admit. "Kinda starstruck honestly, been dreaming about being on this team forever."

She smiles “And the team? How are you finding that?"

You shrug, smiling. "It’s great. Everyone’s been really supportive. And, well, having you around has been... interesting."

Breanna raises an eyebrow, a playful glint in her eyes. "Interesting, huh? In a good way, I hope."

You laugh, nodding. "Definitely in a good way."

"Good to know," she says, her voice softening. "I’ve enjoyed getting to know you, Jamie. There’s something about you that’s... refreshing."

"Refreshing?" you echo, feeling a blush creep up your neck.

"Yeah," she says, her gaze intense. "You’ve got this energy, this drive. It’s inspiring."

You smile, feeling a surge of confidence. "I could say the same about you."

Breanna’s eyes flicker with something you can’t quite place. "Well, maybe we can inspire each other."

Your breath catches at the implication in her words. "I’d like that."

As the night goes on, the flirtation between you becomes more obvious, the banter easy and filled with laughter. By the time you leave the restaurant, you’re both smiling, a new understanding between you.

"Thanks for tonight, Bre," you say as you reach your car.

"Anytime, Rookie," she replies, her eyes warm. "And remember, if you ever need more pointers... you know where to find me."

"I’ll keep that in mind," you say, your heart feeling lighter than it has in weeks.

———

[sweetteainthesummerx]

THE LOVE LASTS SO LONG (6)

In which some fans speculate on a post...

series masterlist

Notes: hey ya'll! This is just getting started for real. I just realized that this is going to be so long :p so leave a comment (love those they raise me from the dead) and if you want any specific trope let me know!

★・・・・★・・・・ ★・・・・★

aubreyyang posted

aubreyyang I cannot believe that Pelt has won the Best Screenplay for London Film week. Thank you to everyone who made this film possible (on a budget) and especially for all of the women out there who have experienced the trials and tribulations of simply being. I hope that someday a young girl will stumble across this and feel comfortable in their skin, or their pelt. Thank you again, London Film Week! You were unforgettable 🎥

tagged: londonfilmweek, dior.n.goodjohn

liked by walker.scobell, londonfilmweek and 900,782 others

dior.n.goodjohn YEAH BABYY NEXT TIME WE WIN BEST FILM 😤

user1 im crying they deserve everything the film slapped so hard

-- user2 i can't believe they didn't win best film

-- user3 summed up girlhood for me bro

aubreyyboo WOOO THATS OUR GIRL (shes so real for the budget comment 😅)

oliviarodgrigo QUEEN NEXT FILM LET ME WRITE THE SOUNDTRACK 😩🙏🏼

-- aubreyyang PLEASE PLEASE

-- user3 omg collab??

olliebearman congrats the film was phenomenal

-- aubreyyang thanks ollie!! good luck tomorrow 💪

-- dior.n.goodjohn ayo she giggling and kicking her feet

this comment was removed

-- smoothoperatorrr55 HEY I SAW THAT

-- dior.n.goodjohn paddock passes when?

-- user4 HAHAH not her leaving a incriminating comment then asking for paddock passes I LOVE HER

-- olliebearman ill see what I can do

-- aubreyyang no haha dw about shes joking

-- olliebearman Ferrari would love to have you there!

user5 ARE WE GOING TO IGNORE THIS

olliebearman posted

olliebearman P1 and P2! Two reds on the podium this race. Congrats to @charlesleclerc.

charlesleclerc I won P1 but it looks like u won

-- olliebearman ?? I don't know what your talking about

-- alexandrasaintmleux don't worry his ears are clogged with champagne right babe

-- charlesleclerc 😏

-- user1 WHAT IS HAPPENING

aubreyyang woohoo 🏆 (I still have no clue how f1 works)

-- user2 shes so relatable girly pop womanhood just a girl core

-- olliebearman will draw u a diagram and explain later ☺️

-- user3 THIS IS NOT A DRILL THIS IS NOT A DRILL

landonorris congrats ollie I was not aware of your game

-- olliebearman 😅

-- user4 THIS IS SO CRYPTIC WHAT

smoothoperatorrr5 ARE WE IGNORING THIS BLATANT FLIRTING

aubreyyang posted on their story

caption: 🍝

macecoronel replied to your story

babe I miss you

aubreyyang

dude. no.

macecoronel

please can we talk

aubreyyang

why don't u talk to ur costar WHO YOU CHEATED ON ME WITH

olliebearman replied to your story

Aubrey you just exposed me please send the Ferrari nutrition team a strongly worded email that ITS JUST GRAPE JUICE

aubreyyang

you're across from me just speak??

olliebearman

ive been muted by your beauty

aubreyyang

you're so cheesy 😭

dior.n.goodjohn posted on their story

caption: celebrating w the girls

tagged: lilymhe, aubreyyang, alexandrasaintmleux

f1wags posted

f1wags NEWS! Aubrey Yang and Dior Goodjohn were seen with Lily Muni He and Alexandra Saint Mleux today in the paddocks at the Silverstone Circuit.

liked by lilymhe, f1wagsupdatenews and 9,700 others

view all comments

user1 NO WAY AGAIN??? PLS?? AFTER HER STORY TOO WITH THE MAN IN THE BG HER AND OLLIE HAVE TO BE TGTHER

-- smoothoperatorrr55 justice for me 😩😔 IVE BEEN SAYING

user2 I WAS THERE I SAW HER

-- user1 AJWORJ

-- user 2 she was literally so nice I got a picture with her and dior and she asked us if we were enjoying the race

-- user3 SHES SUCH A CUTIE now ik why they call her Hollywood's sweetheart

-- user2 ikr and then I saw her later with ollie Charles and Alex while they were leaving

-- smoothoperatorrr55 WHAT THIS IS NOT A DRILL I REPEAT

f1wagupdatenews posted

clip one: the video is filmed on an iPhone, the camera is grainy and blurry. The flash isn't on, and the only source of light is the coloured leds of a popular club in London. The camera pans to the dj platform, where Lando Norris is passionately mixing a pop song. Lily Muni He and Dior Goodjohn, only recognizable by their outfits posted earlier on Dior's story are dancing. Then, the camera shifts over to the bar nearby. Charles Leclerc and his girlfriend are next to each other, celebrating his P1 win. Next to them, Ollie Bearman is leaning against the bar, wearing slacks and a white polo, the first two buttons popped open. Beside him is Aubrey Yang, facing the opposite direction. She's wearing a short black minidress and thin black heels. She gathers her hair away from her neck as he speaks. He's explaining something to her, waving his arms and hands around. She watches his with amusement - or is it adoration? The video cuts.

clip two: this video captures Aubrey and Ollie at nearly the same angle, but this time they're both facing the camera while Charles and Alex have their backs to it. The older couple slightly obstructs the view, but it is evident that Ollie has his arm slung across the bar behind where Aubrey is standing, and she's leaning into him as she converses with Alex.

f1wagupdatenews Ollie Bearman seen celebrating this weekend after the Silverstone circuit with Actress and director Aubrey Yang. Could a new wag be entering the paddock? 👀

user1 PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

user2 hes sm better than that mace dude THEIR SO CURTEEE

-- olliebearjeart GUYS MY SISTER WAS THERE WITH HER BF and she told me that they arrived later than everyone else (I think the guy in Aubreys story really is him) and they were together the whole night

-- user1 im actually praying

f1vroom88 didn't they both just get out of longterm relationships

-- user3 like half a year ago people are allowed to move on 🙄

★・・・・★・・・・ ★・・・・★

Taglist: @callsignwidow @iloveyou3000morgan @honethatty12

© sweetteainthesummerx.tumblr. all rights reserved. unauthorized copying, translation, or claiming of my writing or any works as your own is strictly prohibited.

[justlemmeadoreyou]

Drunk Y/n

major fluff in this one. i have a test tomorrow and im lowkey freaking out. but ive studied. i have no idea what will happen.

pairing: boyfriend!harry x reader

word count: 593

masterlist || drunk harry blurb

. . .

"harry harry" you whispered, and harry flinched,almost toppling over the bag of groceries he had bought.

"jesus!" he yelled and quickly jogged to turn the kitchen lights on.

"harry!!" you got up from where you were sitting in front of the microwave and jumped him,wrapping your arms around his neck and trying to climbup on him.

"y/n! what are you trying to do!? hey!! stop climbing on me!" he pulled your hands in front of you. he graɓbed you by your waist and made you sit on top of the kitchen island.

"what happened? why are you sitting in the kitchen like this? you scared me, you know that?" he put hia thumb on your cheeks, caressing them.

"what? i didn't mean to scare you!! i was just trying to hide." your words were slurring, and he realized you were drunk.

"what!! who are you hiding from?" panic rose up to his face, and he held your face in his arms, making you look into his eyes.

"my notes. and books. and the papers. they are so scary. but i ran away and hid here, so they won’t find me." you replied, almost proudly at your decision. harry slumped his shoulders, somewhat relieved that you weren't in some actual danger.

"y/n, lovie, are you drunk?" he asked, putting his palms on your head, which was pushing into his chest.

"no! why would you say that? did my books tell you? i told you they are bad, and scary." you huffed and put your head on his chest.

"no, they didn’t. how would they? what did you drink anyways?"

"vodka" you giggled "it was hidden in my drawer."

"oh, lovie. you have a test tomorrow."

"i know. that is why i saved up some. will drink it before taking the test."

harry shook his head, surprised at how ridiculous you were being.

"no you won't. nothing like that will happen under my watch. come on. get up. let's get you to bed."

"yes! i will. it helped me run away from those scary monsters on my bed. and i don't want to go to bed! they are there!"

"lovie, you’re stressed. and scared. for the test you have tomorrow. but don't worry. you've studied. you'll do well. i know that."

you pouted, grabbing him tightly. he lifted you up and carried you to your room, and gasped at the volume of study materials lying around.

"see, they're scary. now take me back to the kitchen. i want to sleep there." you clung back to him, but he made you sit on the couch.

"wait here. i will gather them and keep them aside."

"but i-" you tried to protest, but he lifted your right hand up, and kept your index finger on your lips to keep you quiet.

you huffed and pouted again as you watched him cleanup. he arranged the bedsheet properly, and put you on the bed.

he gently put your head on your pillows, and pulled the blanket on you. he tried to get up, but you grabbed his wrist.

"no! don't leave me!" you said softly.

he smiled and sat beside you, holding your hands on his lap.

"'m not leaving. i'm right here." he put one hand on your head, softly massaging your scalp. he felt you relax and close your eyes, falling into sleep.

"i love you harry" you mumbled quietly.

"i love you too, sweetheart," he replied, softly kissing your head as you fell asleep, still tightly holding his hand in yours.

. . .

taglist:

@freedomfireflies @gurugirl @thechaoticjoy @styleslover-1994 @gem1712 @ellaorchard @bxbyysstuff @opheliaofficial07 @rafaaoli @tchlamqtsgf @the-mouse27 @indierockgirrl @vrittivsanghavi @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @drewrry @babyiamperfectforyou

message me/ send an ask/ drop a comment if you wanna be added

[draco-spencers-paramour]

request from anon:

“king george iii and reader with their young son”

little king

young king george iii x afab!reader

navigating life as new parents after welcoming your son george iv

warnings: fluff, suggestive smut (no actual smut)

you laid in bed with george in a blissful slumber before the cries of your newborn son awoke you. He could wake the entire castle with his screams as far as you were concerned. It had not even been 24 hours since you gave birth to him and you were already becoming a hands on mother even with the strong encouragement from your doctor to stay in bed.

You entered the nursery to see one of the maids already tending to him "Your majesty" she curtsied while holding George. You smiled "Thank you for the help Anna. I'll take it from here." you reached out for him "Oh well, it's only that you've only just given birth ma'am and the doctors have advised rest it's really no problem." she insisted. You shook your head "Nonsense, I assure you, this is my child. He is my responsibility now. Thank you for everything but please get some sleep Anna." you whispered softly.

She smiled back "Thank you your majesty." she handed baby George to you before she retired to her chamber. "Hello my darling." you cooed as the young boy continued wailing "Oh, it's okay baby." you reassured him as you cradled and bounced him gently in your arms. You wandered over to the large window of his room where the moons light spilled in through the panes. "Look at that Georgie. That's the moon. Almost as pretty as you." the newborn began to settle as he watched the moon for the first time with big eyes "Just like daddy aren't you?"

Back in your own room the king reached out to you in his sleepy state only to find you weren't in the bed which made him wake up abruptly. He wandered out of the room before hearing the faint sounds of your voice which he followed to the nursery. He leant on the doorframe in delight as he watched you talk sweetly to your son. Seeing you be a mum made him love you all the more. How tender and gentle you were, the way you nursed him. "Sweetheart." George called to you.

You turned towards him with a soft grin as he walked over to the window "Let me take him. You must sleep my love." he kissed your forehead encircling his arms around your own helping you rock baby George. “He’s magnificent isn’t he.” you whispered leaning your back on George’s chest. “Our little king.” he replied back. The small boy squirmed as you turned around placed him in his dad’s arms. “Daddy’s turn.” you said before kissing him on his little head. George gave a small chuckle before he kissed you “Let that pretty little head of yours dream, my dear. I’ll be in soon.” you nodded and went back to bed.

Getting under the covers, you attempted sleep once more which did not go to plan you were tossing and turning for at least an hour and found that you could not sleep without George present. And as if the heavens had read your mind he returned to your chamber “I thought you were sleeping darling, I’ve settled George.” you shook your head at him “Not without you here” he gave you his dazzling smile and got into the bed pulling you on top of him gently. “Better?” he asked. “Much” you sighed contentedly.

“Watching you mother little Georgie made me realise something.” George stroked your head. “and what’s that?” you laid your head on your hands as you stared at him. “I want as many babies with you as possible and I would like to start making them tomorrow.” he admitted.“George! I gave birth yesterday! I need to rest as tempting as your offer sounds.” You laughed wholeheartedly as he pouted and tucked a loose lock of hair behind your ear whispering “You wouldn’t have to do anything. Just lay there and enjoy yourself, let me do all the work….let me make you feel good.”

You felt yourself become hot and bothered at his very vivid suggestion “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.” you leaned forward and kissed the tip of his nose. George smirked before hugging you closely “Goodnight darling, I love you.” you nuzzled into him “Love you more.” you whispered as you both drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

my first ever king george request!! hope everyone likes it <3

please let me know if there is anything i need to change, if it does not feel inclusive to you as the reader. I always try to be as vague as possible in order for it to be inclusive to everyone. However Y/N is female in this fic. I’m very happy to write a non gender specific fic!

[politemenacephd]

Arachnophilia: (Part Twenty-Eight)

Drider!Miguel O'Hara x Reader (+18)

Chapter Masterlist 🕷️

Content/CW: Angst time baby

Notes: I'M BACK HI IM SORRY! Update to the surrogate tomorrow, and I'll be doing more shorts soon and hopefully more art. Love you all xoxoo Word count: 5547

The medical bay was silent, spare for a single pair of shoes tapping down the broad, white, sterile hallway. A nurse was hurrying herself on an errand; she’d been told that someone had been brought in from upstairs and needed an IV ASAP, and so she was carrying all of her equipment through the bay on a little sterile tray. Others might have been nervous at such an abrupt call, but she was just glad to be getting some practice in.

Miguel had enforced such rigid protections for his members that they barely saw anyone to treat, and it was making her attempt to get into practical experiences rather difficult. The pay was good, but she was hardly more than a glorified dispenser of aspirin at this point.

But now they apparently had someone to treat, and so she was trying her best to speedwalk and not run. She’d even written the hospital room door on her hand she was in such a hurry.

‘Room… 43…’ she murmured to herself, before coming to an abrupt skid as she realized she’d almost accidentally passed that exact room in her excitement.

She stopped, double-checked the note on her hand, and with a final pleased huff she pushed the room door aside.

‘Hi! I’m just bringing in—’

The nurse flinched and squealed, nearly throwing the metal tray into the air.

Before her was an enormous 9ft spider, one with the torso of a man attached, slumbering on top of a hospital bed that he’d promptly crushed beneath his weight. On his right was a man who looked nigh identical to him, if a little smaller, sporting an extremely sour expression, and on his left was a short tan man with a goofy grin and, of course, you.

You, Gabriel, and Miguel made instant eye contact with the nurse, focusing in on her with unblinking eyes.

‘Ah… y-you—’ She started to stammer, only for you to interrupt.

‘HEY! Hey, you’ve got the uh—is that going to be big enough?’ you blurted, rushing to check the IV. You held up the bag and compared it to Mig’s giant body, noting the way his abdomen slowly rose and fell as he breathed. It looked minuscule compared to him, more like a little sweet wrapper than an IV. The nurse remained rather shellshocked and refused to move, even as you began grabbing at her stuff with ungloved hands.

‘Ey, it uh- it looks kinda small, doesn’t it?’ Gabriel murmured. He was trying to act casually, but his eyes kept moving back over to the silent, stoically stiff Miguel standing in the corner of the room, his eyes fixed on the floor. Miguel didn’t respond.

‘Yeah… I guess we still haven’t updated everything to, accommodate for his size. Oh, Miggy…’ You put the bag back and gently started stroking his hair as he slept. Even in his sleep, he twitched in response to your touch.

The nurse wrinkled her nose in mild disturbance at the sight, but Gabriel leaned closer.

‘So, you uh… You two’ he said, his fingers going up and awkwardly crossing over as he gestured towards you and Mig intermittently. You turned your head just a little to see what he was implying before quickly turning back to Mig.

‘Yeah. Yeah, we uh- we’re, dating, I guess you could say. He says we’re mates’ you mumbled, still too focused on Mig to really think about your reply. Gabriel grunted in response.

‘Huh. So the big spider thing—’

‘Doesn’t bother me’ you murmured back. ‘He’s— It wasn’t his fault, that his body looks this way, and it’s not really that big a deal. He’s a really… A really beautiful person. Inside and out.’

‘You don’t have to tell me that’ Gabriel said with a wry smile, his lips tilting upward even as his brows knotted. For the first time then, you turned and looked at him properly.

‘… Right. You’re his, brother’ you repeated slowly. Gabriel’s smile widened a little. He looked so different to Miguel, sat with his knees up and his arms rested on them so casually, but you could see some of his traits in there. The eyes, the lips. They probably looked ever so similar as kids.

‘Um… You—’ You opened your mouth to speak but faltered, unable to find the proper words. You had so many questions, but you were torn between that and the need to take care of Miguel until he recovered from the venom.

‘Look, uh- I’ll go see if they have a bigger one of the IV bags’ you said, your voice garbled with worry. You rose up to head out only to feel resistance on your wrist, tugging you to a halt. You turned to see that both Gabriel and Miguel had attempted to stop you, and now the two were looking at each other.

‘I’ll… I’ll go’ Miguel grunted, abruptly releasing your wrist. You could see him avoiding everyone’s gaze at this point.

‘No! No, I’ll go’ Gabriel insisted, gently tugging your wrist in sharp contrast to his variant brother. ‘This is all my fault, so—’

‘Estupido. It’s not your fault’ Miguel said. He sounded exhausted, you thought. ‘It’s my fault, so I’ll fix it.’

‘I mean, it might be easier if both of us look, right?’ Gabriel continued to press the idea as he glanced between everyone in the room for agreement, even the slumbering paralyzed Mig. You noticed Miguel getting more and more tense as the man continued babbling and begging to be of use.

‘We can find it quicker, and… If we find it quicker, we can help fix Miguelito quicker, and, I mean if they’re his partner they should stay with him, right? So—’

‘Okay! Okay, we’ll both go look.’ Miguel’s sharp voice cut Gabriel off mid-sentence, betraying a small crack in his tone he clearly had been trying to hide. You opted to just step back, letting them go ahead. You could tell Miguel was tense, and for once you didn’t want to push his buttons.

‘Okay. You guys come back soon’ you murmured, and with a nod to both you returned to Mig’s side. He stirred in his sleep, snuffling his beautiful nose against the broken bed, and it took all your strength to not just bury yourself against him.

You heard the men leaving by their heavy footsteps on the cold hospital floor, closely followed by the nurse as she rushed to avoid the giant spider whom you continued to cradle against your lap. Soon all you could hear was the beep of the monitor and the snoring in his throat,

‘Mi amor’ you whispered once alone, right against his temple. ‘My beautiful Miggy…’

Back in the corridor, Miguel was in agony. It was a turmoil he thought he’d pushed away, a pain he thought he’d escaped. He’d tried consciously to avoid Gabriel as they took Mig to the hospital bay, but… He also couldn’t seem to stay away.

His version of Gabriel had passed years ago, and he’d done everything he thought he was meant to do. He’d screamed, and he’d cried, and he’d clawed at himself and he’d locked everyone out, only to crawl back after suppressing every little thing he could.

He’d come to terms with it. He’d come to terms with his brother’s absence. But now, he was here again.

Beside him was the smiling ghost of a man he’d unconditionally loved. A zombie, an empty husk, who he didn’t know how to view as a real person. The human mind, no matter how evolved, was not built to handle this kind of mourning. No one could ever be taught how to brace for the reality of seeing their loved one alive again, only for them to not remember you exist, to have never known you existed.

Gabriel stayed silent as they walked, but every so often he’d mutter something or stumble into Miguel’s side, reminding him of the man’s presence. Miguel felt the agony build until it felt like he was wading through mud.

Without a word, Miguel pushed into the storage area and began searching for anything larger that might suit Mig. It’d taken a backseat to his feelings over Gabriel being here, but, he also couldn’t deny the guilt he felt over Mig being paralyzed.

He knew he’d be okay, but the way Mig had stepped out to drag him to safety, after all he’d done… it haunted him just as much. He hadn’t just covered your body, or Gabriel’s body, he’d covered *his* body too, despite knowing he’d survive his own venom.

‘Estupido’ Miguel murmured under his breath as he searched. What was that man’s deal?

‘Hm? Did you say something?’

Miguel froze as Gabriel peered around the drawers at him. ‘Did ya say something?’ he asked. Miguel scowled.

‘No’ he grunted, before turning away. Gabriel felt his brows sink a little, but, he did go back to searching as well.

They ended up searching for nearly 10 minutes in silence, until Gabriel just couldn’t take it anymore. He turned and glanced at Miguel across the room, only to find that he’d gone still. He wasn’t even really searching anymore. How long he’d been like that, Gabriel couldn’t tell.

‘Ey, uh… Miguel?’

Miguel didn’t even respond to the sound of his name being called. He was disassociating too hard at this point. Gabriel’s voice still hurt him every time he heard it. It triggered the most painful memories, things he never wanted to dwell on, things that crept up on him in his most lonely moments, and yet there was inherent joy to them too.

His brother's stupid smiling face, dragging him by the hand across the park near their house during the peak of summer, promising him that he’d found something cool he wanted to show him. He remembered cicadas, and the heat making the sky wavy, and Gabriel wanting to run regardless of how exhausted he looked. He smiled the whole damn way.

Why that memory, Miguel didn’t know, but he held it like a babe in his arms. He let it wash over him.

‘What do you think of this one?’ Gabriel said, ignoring Miguel’s silence. He held up a huge IV bag, one nearly the size of his torso, letting out a grunt of a laugh as he did so. He was always covering up his nervousness with laughter. ‘It’s pretty big, right? Is it big ENOUGH though? Or TOO big?’ he continued to mumble.

Slowly, Miguel closed his eyes.

‘… How do I mourn you, hermanito?’ Miguel blurted, his voice openly cracking as it filled the empty air.

Gabriel stayed where he was, his arms bundled with items. He could have said something, anything, to ease the tension, but for once he kept his lips shut. He stayed still and he listened.

‘How do you mourn someone properly, in a multiverse?’ Miguel continued, talking more to himself than to Gabriel at this point. ‘When you lose someone… You pick up a picture, to ease the pain, to remind yourself they existed, and to pretend that they’re still here. But, ultimately, you have to come to terms with the fact that they’re gone, right?’

‘Ah… r-right’ Gabriel replied slowly. Miguel clenched his fist around an empty IV bag, watching the air deflate, hiding that it was just an excuse to cover the soft break in his voice.

‘I see your face… everywhere’ he choked, a barely discernible crack in his tone. ‘I watch you living, and my brain convinces me that it's you, that it's him, mi hermanito. And I stop mourning, because you’re alive. But… But it’s not, him. You’re not him. And I have to remember that, every time…’

Finally his voice broke audibly, and Gabriel felt his heart sink. The larger man was bent over as if he’d been kicked in the gut, and yet he remained utterly still.

‘I have to keep mourning you, over and over and over. I keep… mourning, him. How do I accept someone’s dead when they’re in front of me?’ Miguel asked no one in particular. ‘How do I mourn the—’

Miguel froze as a hand suddenly came down and clapped him on the back. He turned to find Gabriel holding him from behind, the fool gently tucked in against his hunched, muscular back. His head was turned to the side but Miguel could just about see his eyes.

‘I uh- I think I understand’ he said gently. Miguel held his breath.

‘You’re my brother from another universe, right? And… The version of me, here, he’s uh… dead.’

He said it so calmly, so matter-of-factly. It broke something in Miguel, especially as he continued to hold him close.

‘Yeah,’ he said, sounding utterly broken. ‘Yeah…’

‘I mean… I’m just glad to know, that even in another universe, you still cared about me’ Gabriel said softly. ���I mean you almost tricked me into thinking you were my Miguelito, so, you gotta be decently similar. And…’

He paused and looked up again, his soft brown eyes darting over Miguel’s face. ‘Hey, if your Gabriel was anything like me? If I’m a good enough dupe to make you feel better, then… He cared about you a lot, hermano. He knew. Even at the end.’

Miguel went stiff as he spoke. He refused to crack, refused to break. Not here. Not now.

‘You’re still my hermano’ Gabriel said gently. Miguel scowled, his face twisted as if furious, only to feel one tear slide down his cheek. He immediately wiped it away.

‘You’re…. you’re, still…’ Miguel tried to speak only to falter. No. He couldn’t say, you’re still mi hermanito. It wasn’t good for him. He internally pushed it all down and let out a deep, tired sigh.

‘That- bag will do fine’ Miguel said slowly, pointing to the one in his hands. Gabriel glanced down at it to hide his disappointment that Miguel seemed to want to drop the subject, but regardless, he nodded.

‘Sure. Let’s head back then.’

…

Back in the room, you were almost asleep on Mig’s side. You’d been up all night now waiting for him to wake, and with the boys gone it’d been easy to slip into your own exhaustion.

It was while your eyes were closed that Mig finally stirred awake. He was utterly exhausted, his eyes barely capable of staying open, but something compelled him to move. Your scent. The warm smell of his mate, someone whose hormone signature was ingrained and etched into his mind.

His sweet arañita…

‘Mm… mi tesoro’ he murmured softly with eyes still closed. In his head he was back in bed at the nest, curled up with your body beside him. He was savoring the warmth, the simplicity of holding his precious person to his heart. ‘Mi tesoro…’

His words woke you from your own sleep, stirring you right awake. You jumped up so fast that you almost fell. ‘Shit- ah, Mig? Mig?!’ Your hands flew to his furry abdomen, gripping handfuls of his fur to gently shake him awake. ‘Mig?!’

Mig grunted and forced his eyes open as he realized this wasn’t part of a dream. His big red eyes blinked once, twice, three times, slowly focusing in on the familiar sight of your face. ‘Mi… mi tesoro?’ he murmured, a slightly dorky smile creeping onto his chiseled, gruff face. ‘Mi tesoro—’

Your face grew clearer, clearer, until it hit him all at once. He remembered. His mind was filled with memories of you as he leaped through the portal, of his body instinctively rushing to cover your body from harm, to shield you even when he had no idea what was going into his own skin.

He remembered the relief, even through the pain, feeling your body under his own, and he remembered…

‘Mi amor.’

He whispered the words now in mild horror, realizing he’d said them out loud without thinking. You stared back with burning cheeks, feeling like your whole body was on fire. You knew all he’d want to do was address that whole fiasco, but right now, you had more on your mind.

‘Oh thank GOD you’re awake’ you cried, immediately flinging your arms around his waist. You squeezed Mig with all your might, feeling his hard abs press and squish into your cheek as his pectorals heaved above your head. You refused to let go for anything or anyone.

‘I… arañita? What- What happened?’ Mig asked in a stilted voice.

‘The um- uh, the security system, it tried to paralyze Gabriel. You jumped to shield everyone from it hitting’ you said, deliberately leaving out Mig’s sudden confession from the rundown. Mig felt a little relieved at that, and yet, part of him also yearned for you to acknowledge it.

But, when you didn’t, he just nodded. ‘Ah- is that what those needles were?’ he murmured. He glanced down at himself then, at his enormous body crushing the hospital bed to pieces, now sitting in a strange and sterile room. His fur bristled.

‘Hmm… Ey, thank god. I was—’

‘You really jumped not knowing what they were?’ you asked in shock. ‘You- were you willing to just… Take a deadly hit right there?’

Mig, to your horror, just nodded. He even shrugged. ‘That is my job. I am your mate. I am the bigger one. I throw myself in front, and—’

‘No! No, Mig you- your life is not forfeit for mine’ you stammered in horror. He remained aloof, his big red eyes unbothered by the idea, much to your continued horror.

‘Why not?’ he murmured, seemingly confused. ‘It is my instinct. It is my duty. To protect you.’

‘Miggy I would much, MUCH rather you saved yourself than risk it for me, I wouldn’t—’

‘But I would’ Mig repeated, gently putting a finger to your lips. He looked so serene in contrast to your emotional turmoil. ‘I would. Happily. Mi tesoro… Eres el alma de mi vida. Mi pequeño.’

‘You… idiot’ you croaked, your face getting a little wavery as your lips quivered against his clawed finger. ‘Don’t… You’re worth a million more to me alive than dead. I… I need you.’

Mig’s eyes softened from their aloofness as he saw the earnestness in your eyes. He lowered his finger, watching as you gripped it between your hands and let your forehead fall against his. He even bent to match your height, nestling his nose and cheek against your own. Like cats greeting each other, you rubbed and nestled your faces together in that silent room.

You felt his rough cheekbones on your forehead, your jaw, and his sharp, thick nose brushing against your own. His lips brushed yours intermittently, and each brush made you shudder. His breath was so warm, so soft, so sweet.

It took a while for you to speak again.

‘I… Miggy, you… You said, before you were paralyzed—’

‘Don’t say it.’

His soft, husky voice drew you to a staggered halt. Your eyes fluttered open and met his, nose to nose and forehead to forehead. His parted lips panted his hot breath into your mouth.

Slowly his hand came up to your chin, holding it in place. His abdomen bristled a little harder. His eyes began to close, and so did yours. You leaned in to kiss him.

‘I—’

The two of you were interrupted then as Miguel and Gabriel finally came back inside, their hands throwing the door open at nearly the same time. You awkwardly withdrew from the kiss and brushed yourself off.

‘HERMANO!’

Without thinking Gabriel dropped the IV equipment and ran forward, grasping Mig by the face. With the spider's legs folded his brother could see him eye to eye, and immediately he began squishing his cheeks together, forcing the man’s confused lips to pout.

‘Mi hermano, ¿Estás despierto?’ Gabriel stammered.

‘I am- making eye contact with you, brother’ Mig said back, his words garbled by his pouted lips. ‘I am awake, yes.’

‘Oh… Oh, yeah! Good to see you didn’t forget Spanish when you got turned into a spider’ Gabriel cheerily replied.

Mig’s brows furrowed further, even while still trapped in his brother's hands. ‘I- do spiders innately lack the capacity to speak Spanish?’ he murmured back. ‘Apparently not!’ Gabriel cried in response, his own face ripped into a wide grin, and for the first time Mig slowly began to smile back.

‘You… You, hermanito, you have not changed’ he said sadly. Gabriel shrugged almost awkwardly. ‘Ah, not compared to you, no. You changed a LOT. But you are still mi Miguelito.’

As Gabriel moved backward and released Mig’s face, the spider's smile faded. He realized then the full gravity of their reunion, the fact that this even was a reunion at all, after so, so many years.

‘Gabriel, I—’

‘Oye. Ah, you, hey.’

You jumped as you realized Miguel was gently pointing his finger at you, rudely poking about an inch from your face. He darted his eyes to the other side of the room. ‘You uh- could you help me set up his IV bag? I think the nurse is um, too… scared, to come back’ Miguel said slowly.

At first, you were about to argue, but then you realized why he was prodding you. He was trying to get you to leave so Mig and Miguel could discuss things with a little more privacy.

‘Oh… Oh! Right, right, yeah. Friggin’ nurse. Ah- I’ll be right back, Miggy’ you quickly replied, giving Mig a kiss on the cheek before rising to your feet. You hurried off with Miguel to the corner of the room where you pulled a curtain, pretending that was any kind of real privacy as you tried to figure out how an IV bag worked for as long as possible.

Mig opened his mouth to stop you but he quickly picked up on your plan as well. His raised hands lowered, and he slowly, painfully, turned to face his estranged brother. Gabriel met him with a grin.

‘I can’t believe I found you’ he murmured, almost like he was whispering in a dream. Mig’s brows went up and his face sank.

‘You… Gabriel, it- it’s been, nearly a decade since—’

‘I never stopped looking!’

Mig paused again, surprised by Gabriel’s intensity as he cried those four simple words. They echoed around the empty room, lingering over the two siblings.

‘Never’ Gabriel insisted with a soft choke. ‘Never, Miguelito.’

‘You—cannot, call me that anymore’ Mig murmured in response, his abdomen shifting back and forth on the broken hospital bed. He was unsure how to deal with the flood of emotions that caused him. ‘I am 9ft tall, Gabriel.’

To his surprise, Gabriel spluttered with laughter at his response. ‘You- Miguelito, I called you that when you were 6ft at fifteen years old. I don’t care how big you get.’

Mig darted his eyes, trying his best to keep his gaze stuck to the wall, but he couldn’t help it. He kept returning to Gabriel’s quiet, dorky smile, and he kept feeling his own lips slowly twitching upwards too.

‘You… You- yes, I suppose you have always been, a fool’ Mig said slowly.

‘What happened, Miguel?’ Gabriel asked, his smile slowly drifting away to be replaced with a decade of heartache. Mig’s eyes darkened.

‘… Gabriel, that…’ He paused and huffed softly, searching for the strength to do this. ‘I… I was caught up at Alchemax. I wanted to blow the whistle on their gene-spicing experiments, t-they were using my work to hurt people, and- they tried to drug me, to keep me in line. I attempted to use the gene-splicing machine I created to free myself, only… They knew. They knew, and they used it against me.’

He gestured vaguely at his body. ‘And now, I’m—’

‘No! No, no, not that’ Gabriel suddenly interjected, causing Miguel to frown a little.

‘No… but, that is what—’

‘No! I… I figured out what happened to you Mig, I followed up all the clues at the old building. What I meant, was… Why did you never reach out?

Mig’s abdomen sank at those words. He stammered, unsure of how to explain. ‘I… I’m a monster, Gabriel’ he murmured, the only thing he could think to say. The words tumbled from his mouth like stones, heavy and painful to express. ‘I’m a monster. I—’

‘No, you’re not’ Gabriel insisted, curtly cutting his brother off. Mig floundered with confusion at his reply.

‘I’m a monster! I- I HURT people, Gabriel, I—’

‘I don’t care.’

‘Of course you care!’ Mig whined, unable to muster the strength to truly cry out. ‘Of course, you care, I-I could have hurt you, you—’

‘I don’t. I don’t’ Gabriel repeated, again, and again, and again. ‘Nothing could ever change this. You’re my brother.’

Miguel felt his breathing getting faster, harder, almost desperate. ‘I’m not- I’m not, a- I’m not, him, I’m—’

‘You’re my brother, Miguelito. You’re my brother.’

Those simple words, spoken right from the heart as Gabriel faced him head-on, broke Mig’s resolve at last. His lip quivered, and the two men into a sudden embrace, holding each other tightly. Miguel squeezed the life out of the smaller man as Gabriel choked, but he made no attempt to push him off.

‘I’m glad you never stopped looking’ Mig blurted with a soft sob. ‘I’m so glad.’

Gabriel’s eyes sank behind Miguel’s back.

‘I… I do have a confession though’ he said, slowly shifting out of Mig’s grip with a soft, repeated tap to his shoulder. Mig reluctantly let him go.

‘You… what do you mean, hermanito?’ he murmured. Gabriel pursed his lips. He looked almost guilty, at least from the outside, but for what Mig couldn’t tell.

Without a word, Gabriel slowly held up a picture he had tucked inside his jeans pocket. It was old and crinkled, and as Mig hesitantly took it he was forced to unfold it bit by bit.

Mig’s breath hitched. It was a picture of a child. A little girl with Gabriel’s eyes and hair, smiling toothlessly at the camera. The spider felt his whole heart drop. ‘This… this is—’

‘Micaela’ Gabriel said softly. Mig felt that word etched into his mind, that soft name with the little accent on the ‘c’. He let out a stuttered whimper.

‘Mic… Micaela?’ he repeated back. Gabriel pursed his lips a little.

‘I never stopped looking, Miguel’ he murmured. ‘I just, thought… I’d keep you close, this way. Because I never knew if he’d be successful. But I never stopped.’

Mig’s face twisted, his brows knotting as he glanced back down at the little picture in his clawed hands. He hadn’t realized they were shaking. He blinked, hard, only to see a small see-through tear hit the crumpled paper. ‘She- your, offspring, she is…’

‘She’s only two’ Gabriel whispered. Mig’s eyes softened. He saw that baby and wondered if she had Gabriel’s voice, his laugh, or if she had her own little laugh. He wondered if she laughed a lot. He wondered if she was angry like he had been as a child, or small and sweet like Gabriel had been.

His niece. His little niece.

Mig went to make another comment, complimenting her eyes, only to notice that Gabriel wasn’t smiling anymore. He slowly turned from the picture to face him.

‘She’s…. sick. And I’m not smart enough to help her.’

Gabriel spoke the words slowly, and the room went silent. Behind the curtain you and Miguel had locked eyes over the IV bag, having been unwillingly listening this entire time. You were horrified for the two men, while Miguel was on the verge of tears. He looked utterly miserable at this revelation, almost too shocked to move or speak.

‘Gabriel…’ Mig murmured, clearly also in shock. ‘You—’

‘You were always the science nerd between the two of us’ Gabriel teased, letting out a slightly teary laugh. ‘Right? I swear, I didn’t just go looking for you to help, but… I do. She’s got a really rare disorder that they don’t know how to fix in our universe. With Alchemax dead, all that research is gone, and… I need you, back in my life. I went searching because I need your help to heal her.’

Mig slowly lowered the little picture in his hands, his eyes moving from it to Gabriel.

‘You… You want, my help?’ he asked slowly.

‘I NEED your help, Miguelito’ Gabriel insisted. He reached out and put Miguel’s hand over his heart, holding it tight to his chest. ‘I need it. She’s my world, Mig. I need your help.’

Mig’s face softened. ‘I… I, want to help, I just—’

‘We’ll help!’

The two brothers spun to see that Miguel had kicked the adjoining curtain covering himself and you to the ground, creating a violent clattering noise to accompany his cry.

He was heaving, his eyes wildly red and his face even redder, his chest heaving with each deep and shaky breath.

‘Ah- Miguel you—’

‘We’ll help!’ Miguel repeated, cutting Mig off. ‘You can have the whole damn society at your hands, a-all of my tech, all my research, it—’

‘Miguel, are you sure?’ Mig asked. He was clearly hopeful in tone, something you quickly picked up, and when Miguel furiously nodded, he seemed to sigh with relief.

‘Yes. I’m sure’ Miguel insisted again. He stormed over and looked at Gabriel with a forced stiff lip.

‘I will help you’ he repeated. He was forcing himself to look at Gabriel so he didn’t see the little picture in Mig’s rough, clawed hands, knowing the sight would break him beyond what he could take. He just focused in on Gabriel’s relieved, teary, beaming face, and knew that that was enough.

‘Thank you’ Gabriel rasped, his throat wet and tight from emotion. ‘Thank you…’

The group took a moment just to relax, to settle, as Gabriel wiped his eyes and Mig wiped his, and Miguel tried to focus on anything but that picture. Luckily Gabriel stepped over to take it away after a minute or two, tucking it back into his jeans where he kept it beside his wallet.

As you stepped over Gabriel happened to glance down, noticing the horribly made IV set up in your hands. He snorted, wiping his eyes as he laughed. ‘Oh, you did a terrible job of that.’

Your eyes darted from his face to the bag and back. ‘I… I did?’

‘Oh, yeah. Micaela needs one right now, I know how to do ‘em off by heart’ he said, sounding strangely cheery and nonchalant. You slowly got an idea.

‘Oh, um- could you, help me do this properly then?’ you asked, gingerly holding the bag out for him to see. He gave it one quick runover before giving it a thumbs up.

‘Mm! Yeah. I can do that. Come on, new uh- sibling in law, I suppose’ he said, that soft charm leaking through as he led you off to get yet another IV bag to try and set up for poor Mig, who at this point really didn’t even need one.

Mig and Miguel faced each other then, as you and Gabriel moved away to talk.

They said so much without speaking a word. Perhaps too much.

Miguel felt his eyes getting tearing, despite his clenched jaw wrung tight to keep them at bay. Mig felt the same. They made the same stoic, painfully tight expression at each other as they forced the pain back.

‘I miss him so much’ Miguel whispered, and that was all he could get out, the most honest words in his heart said to the only other person in the multiverse who would understand.

Mig’s brows went up and his lip shook just once.

‘I know.’

Without thinking the two men fell together. Miguel let his forehead fall onto Mig’s shoulder as the larger version of himself rested his cheek on his hair, and they stayed like that for a good minute or so of silence.

At that moment, they both finally felt understood. Despite their animosity, their anger, and their strange rivalry, they both understood.

‘You’re a good person, uh… Mig’ Miguel said, finally using his variant's nickname. It was the first acknowledgment he’d made that he was a person, a different person to him, and not just a painful reflection. ‘You are.’

Mig bristled and rustled his abdomen. He was fighting his territorial urges, his instincts, just to hold the other man, but he refused to back down. He wanted this. ‘You are, also, a…. well. You, want to be a good person, Miguel’ Mig replied gently. ‘And I believe you can be.’ Link to next part

[signedeclipse]

Signed with Love - Hashira

What is this? - A valentines gift to my lovely fem!readers! Its valentines/love letters cards from your favourites <3

Characters - Giyuu | Gyomei | Kyojuro | Mitsuri | Muichiro | Obanai | Sanemi | Shinobu | Uzui

Series Parts Kamaboko Squad - HERE Upper Moons - HERE

Giyuu

To my dearest, Please be my valentine. I'm sorry for not asking sooner or in person, but I just find it easier asking here. You never know who might be listening. I'd rather not do anything too extravagent, but you can come over whenever you want on the fourteenth and I'll have the day off to do whatever you'd like. Love you. Tomioka

Gyomei

Darling, You know I love you more than anything else in this universe, so won't you be my valentine? I promise to take great care of you, and while I don't like the idea of you wanding alone I would be happy to take you hiking so you can finally enjoy the mountains I grew up in. Dress warm, Yours, Gyomei

Kyojuro

Good evening, sparks! I am so happy knowing that once again I am lucky enough to call you my valentine! I'm sure every man envies that Ive stolen you away, haha! You've been speaking plenty of that theater show, so I got us tickets to go and see it! I do not know much of theater, but I would be delighted to see what it's all about. You've always ignited my passions, From your favourite hashira!

Mitsuri

Hey cutie!! You know this is my favourite holiday in the whole entire world! I am so happy that this is my first year actually haveing a valentine, so I want to go all out! How about we go to a buffet we have never been to before and after we can do some shopping! Maybe some matching pyjamas? How does that sound? Please reply ASAP! I am so excited, Your lover girl <3

Muichiro

Dear [Y/N]-chan, Something important is coming up, and you are special to me. If I'm being honest, I don't remember what its called, so I'll just ask you to be mine. I know you've always wanted to go, so I am going to be taking you to the swordsmith village to enjoy the pools. Just don't freak out if you wake up blindfolded. You can trust me, From... me.

Obanai

Dear Serpentine, I do not typically fancy holidays, but on this special occassion I want to celebrate you, especially since I know I'll have the day off- assuming nothing arises. Perhaps its about time we get you your own snake, I am sure Kuburamaru would appreciate a friend, and then you won't be sad when we are both gone on missions. Figure out which breed you want, and I'll find one. Obanai + Kuburamaru

Sanemi

Yo, babe. Since I actually have a valentine this year, I figured its special enough to do something fancy. I'm going to take you out to Tokyo city for a nice dinner, but keep is discreet. I don't need anyone else tagging along. You can dress however the hell you want, but the less the better. Can't wait to see you, The better Shinazugawa

Shinobu

Greetings, Love! I was so busy planning to ask you I hadn't realized you were already off on your mission! So i'll do it this way so their isn't too little time to prepare. For valentines, would you like to come with me to the city? I have a few things I need to pick up, but I know you grew up near it and I would love to have a taste of your home. Whatever you'd like to do, Shinobu Kocho of the Butterfly Estate

Uzui

To our treasured girl, Normally I don't do this kind of thing, but with a new adition to our marriage we all agree it's about time to do something special! I'm going to be treating you and the girls to a dinner on valentines, but the girls thought you could all spend the day before together for 'galentines'. Be ready by 4:00 pm tomorrow and they'll grab ya. Don't have too much fun without me, Tengen, 𝐻𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓉𝓈𝓊𝓇𝓊, ᗰᗩKIO, 𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚊

Authors Note - Way past valentines but I still wanted to put it out there since I started it! I wont be doing lower moons sadly because I want to get to all my requestst again, but I hope you all enjoyed the event!

Disclaimer - All characters within have been aged up to at least 18 or older, and have been altered to reflect such change as needed.

[t3ag3rs]

g e n s o - 0 2.

your body jolts up as you feel yourself on the verge of passing out.

you quickly glance up at your teacher to see if he noticed you sleeping in his class, sighing quietly when you notice he was turned to the board.

you itched your most recent cut, wincing slightly as it hurt. at least its somewhat healing.. you thought to yourself staring at the scar. you rubbed your eyes to fight the sleep trying to consume you. 

god its like im tired everywhere else except when its time to actually sleep..

you bounced your knee up and down waiting for the time to go by quicker. you couldnt wait to get out of this goddamn academy. why were all last days filled with sappy goodbyes and hugs? you couldnt wait to go home and take a nice long nap.

no more stressing out over school work. no more sleepless nights. no more burn outs.

that sounded like absolute heaven.

ring, ring, ring!

you jumped out of your seat and rushed home. you finally had months to actually prepare for the UA entrance exam. you had to make it in.

you promised him you would.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

"mom! can you please call bakugous mom and ask if they can come over? its been so long!" you pleaded once you got home. "fine.. let me call them" sighed out your mom, going to grab the phone.

you watched giddily as she called, "hey, do you think you could come over with bakugou today? y/n finally got out of school and wants to see him" she asked, you saw as her lips form a tight line, "oh.. i see.. its okay then! take care! " she ended the call.

"im afraid bakugou cant come over, she said he wanted to train for the entrance exam and nothing else." she continued but you werent listening.

he didnt want to see you.

after all these years of waiting patiently to see him was for nothing. he didnt care about your friendship with him. he just wanted to train and be a hero.

like always.

 "izuku could probably come over though.. are you even listening y/n??" your mother questioned. you snapped out of your trance, "o-oh yeah! sure we can do that!" you replied, not even knowing what you were agreeing to. 

 "good! izuku will be able to come tomorrow so i suggest you take a bath, eat early, and head to bed to get some good rest. no more school until that entrance exam, i know you wont let us down." she smiled and ruffled your hair.

 you smiled back and nodded. you werent planning on failing it anyways. even if bakugou didnt value your friendship anymore, you still made yourself a promise. you were going to make it in whether you liked it or not.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

you showered quickly and went downstairs to get some water. you looked at the food hungrily, but your mind said otherwise. 

are you really going to eat? you already had so much food yesterday. its best you skip eating today so you wont gain much weight. 

you looked down at your stomach and sighed as it rumbled, aching for food. one night cant hurt right? you turned away from the food and got a water bottle getting ready to sleep.

you walked into your room and placed the water bottle on your nightstand and turned off the lights. you let out a yawn and layed down, falling asleep right as your head hit the pillow.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

the next day you woke up and did your morning routine. you couldnt help but be excited to see izuku after 3 years. 

as the doorbell rang you rushed to open the door and let out a gasp when you saw how much the green haired boy changed. you hugged him and smiled, "izu! oh my gosh ive missed you so much!" you pulled away and stared at him, "you look so mature now!"

 he let out a small laugh, "i can say the same to you y/n! its been so long!" you stepped aside and welcomed him in. you walked up with him into your bedroom and sat down, "how was the last three years? is bakugou still a bully to you?" you ask.

 he looks down sadly, "he hasnt changed much.. if anything its gotten worse. his egos so big now..!" he lets out a chuckle and scratches his neck, "just yesterday he burned my hero notebook and threw it in the fish pond outside the school..!"

 you gasped, "what? i cant believe he did that! hes changed so much..." he looked down and continued, "that wasnt the worst part... he told me to take a swan dive off the roof if i wanted a quirk that bad.." you felt the anger boil in you.

 "he said WHAT?" you asked in disbelief, "i cant believe i was friends with that piece of shit! and he said he wanted to focus on training instead of talkinh to me after 3 years! i cant believe he wants to be a hero with an attitude like that!" you yelled.

 "its not that big of a deal..! besides... we both got into a villain attack yesterday and guess who saved us?? all might!!" he started fanboying about all the things he did, but you were too busy thinking about how horrible bakugou had became.

"but poor kacchan.. the villian was really going to take over him.. it was scary to look at.." he rambled, "still! its no excuse to hows hes been acting! but your lucky you got to see all might! i wouldve fainted if i actually saw him! " you exclaimed.

 "exactly! but thats not the point, he said i could become a hero too!" he smiled, you looked at him confused "how..?" he looked at his hands and then back at you.

 "promise me you wont tell anyone" you nodded and swore, "all mights quirk was given to him, he wasnt born with it. he told me he would train me so that he could pass on his quirk to me!" your mind went blank.

 "how is that even possible? you cant inherit a quirk! thats not how things work. if its true how come none of the scientists have figured it out yet?" you rambled, "im not sure, but i can finally become a hero now! its all ive wanted, and to top it off i can be trained by the worlds greatest hero!"

 you couldnt help but smile and feel happy for him. all he ever wanted was to be a hero and now it could finally come true. "im happy for you izu! we can try out for UA together!" he smiled and let out a sound of agreement. "maybe we can train together under all might! im sure he'll like you, but just be warned he doesnt always look muscular... he has a whole different body when his quirk runs out.." 

 you found out just exactly what he meant the next day when you met him and all might at the beach.

"so y/n.. this is all might" he said pointing at a man who look like a drug-addict, but then suddenly changed to the all might you saw on tv. "what the actual fuck" you gasped, "told you to be warned..! all might i want you to meet y/n l/n, my best friend of many years!" 

you took a deep bow at his direction, "im thankful to be able to train under you, and for you to trust me with knowing about your identity and izukus new quirk" all might grinned, "of course kiddo, now whats your quirk?" 

 "i have the ability to control elements, so far its mainly the usual four; water, fire, air, earth. im most comfortable with water, and least with earth. each of my elements have its own drawback." he nods as you speak, "you both definitely need to start strength training more as your quirks will be powerful."

 "so lets get started!"

at that moment you had started the ten months of absolute torture. 

everyday was spent working harder than before. a meal plan that was composed so that your every meal had enough protein to not only loose the unwanted body fat, but to also build the needed muscle for your quirk. a sleep schedule so that you woke up everyday with enough energy to train the 5 gruesome hours every morning, and extra if you felt up to it.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

finally it was the morning of the long awaited entrance exam. you watched as deku screamed and let out every nerve he had in him. "i have to admit it.. you two have genuinely surprised me by cleaning the entire beach! " exclaimed all might.

he pulled up a photo of you two from the first day you started, "you two have definitely gotten stronger and you y/n, have grown more experienced with your quirk. young midoriya you have now worked your body enough to inherit my quirk... eat this." he handed deku a strand of his hair and you gagged silently.

 "to inherit my quirk you need to consume some of my dna" he explained, "theres no time to explain! eat it or you two will be late!" deku closed his eyes and swallowed the strand making you cringe.

i think im gonna be sick!

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

you walked with deku to UA and stared at it in awe. you fiddled with your jacket covering the tight tanktop you had on, paired with your army green cargo pants. 

god im so nervous..!

 "even though i ate his hair i dont feel any different.." sighed deku, you smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder "its probably just getting used to your body, besides i never felt any different when i got my quirk!" 

 "stupid deku..! get out of my way before i light you on fire..!" snarled a voice from behind you. your heart dropped as you turned and made eye contact with bakugou. 

you couldnt believe how much he had changed. his face was more mature and his body had definitely grown more muscle. his attitude had just gotten worse though.

he knocked his shoulder into yours and walked away coldly, not saying a word to you.

"asshat" you whispered while continuing to walk with deku until he stumbled on his own feet and was frozen mid air. "are you okay?" said a high pitched voice from a brown haired girl beside you.

"i used my quirk to stop you from falling!" deku got up and started blushing, you giggled knowing he probably thought she was cute. "my names ochako uraraka! nice to meet you two!" you smiled as deku started glitching in real life. "my names y/n l/n and thats izuku midoriya! its nice to meet you too!"

you grinned as a plan came to mind, "well i have to meet someone inside.. you should get to know her izuku! it was nice meeting you! bye izu!" you ran away giggling. he had no choice but to talk to her now!

you took a seat next to a red haired boy and settled down looking at your card. looks like ill be in battle center A.. "hey what center are you in?" the boy asked you as he showed you his card , "oh um.. center A" he sighed, "guess we arent in the same one.. well i wish you luck anyways!" he grinned showing his sharp teeth.

you smiled back, "thanks! you too! also i really like the red hair!" he blushed, "thanks dude!" suddently the lights went out and the hero present mic started speaking.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

you finally got changed out of your jacket and prepared to fight. you stood outside of the battle center with a group of other people. you noticed bakugou but didnt awknowledge him, instead you made sure you had enough water in your pouch to use during the fight.

suddenly the doors opened and present mics voice could be heard counting down. "on your mark.. get set... go!" 

 it was finally the moment you had been training months for.

previous parts: pt. 00 / pt. 01 next parts: pt. 03 / pt. 04 / pt. 05 / pt. 06 / pt. 07 / pt. 08 / pt. 09 / pt. 10 / pt. 11 / pt. 12 / pt. 13 / pt. 14 / pt. 15 / pt. 16

[kyuusberry]

umbrella | ive leeseo - oneshot

pairing: idolclassmate!leeseo x fem!reader

genre/theme: fluff, a little angsty (if you squint), idol au, high school au, implied that the reader has a slight crush on leeseo (if you squint), both reader and leeseo are 15-16

warnings: none

ib: ditto rain scene (side a) and ditto rain scene (side b)

notes: all of my stories, oneshots, drabbles, ect are all fiction (fake/made up) except for the idols!! my stories do not depict how these idols actually act or their sexual orientation (straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, aromantic, ect). the only time you'll ever read semi-true things is if it's my headcanons then i do use some facts from kprofiles and sometimes youtube videos but that's it.

a/n: link to part 1 is here & the link to all of the parts will be here!

cis men, homophobes, racists, 20+, smut accounts dni

school just ended and leeseo had to go straight to practice. she was rarely picked up unless it was raining, because her company was a 3 minute walk away. it was a personal choice, she liked her alone time- most of the time it was quiet. sometimes it wasn't and she was crowded by fans, sometimes making her late to practice and getting scolded by the staff.

she was supposed to walk today, but it suddenly started pouring. and her company's car was nowhere to be seen. she was going to be late to practice. again. she sighed. she didn't even have an umbrella and her manager wasn't picking up his phone. what was she gonna do? no one in ive can drive so what was she gonna do? leeseo suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder, she was already irritated, and she didn't want to deal with fans right now.

"did you want to use my umbrella? or i could walk you to your destination," you smiled softly.

her eyes sparkled, "seriously? may i?"

"yeah, of course. i always carry an extra umbrella just in case someone needs one."

"you're a life saver. thank you so much!" leeseo smiled, grabbing your hands and bowing, getting the umbrella from you.

you blushed, you've never had someone hold your hands like this before, especially one of your favorite idols and crush, "u-uhm.. yeah. you're welcome," you were stuttering a lot, it was so embarrassing. she probably thought you were so weird.

leeseo took the umbrella from your hand, thanked you again and left. she suddenly stopped and turned around, smiling brightly, "thank you, yn! i'll give it back tomorrow!"

you were even more flustered than before, she even knew your name? oh my gosh, you felt like you were going to faint. you automatically nodded and waved like an idiot, watching her leave school campus with your umbrella. it felt surreal. then you suddenly felt guilty for not walking her there to make sure she got there safely, especially with all of the rain. but she was way too far for you to even know where she went, maybe next time.

when leeseo got there, wonyoung noticed the umbrella, "leeseo."

"yeah, unnie?" she replied, closing the umbrella and putting it in the bucket.

"whose umbrella is that? because i know for sure you don't own an umbrella that looks like that," wonyoung raised an eyebrow.

leeseo shrugged it off, "a girl from my class."

"your girlfriend?" rei teased.

"our baby has a girlfriend?" gaeul gasped.

"unnie no! she's just a friend!" leeseo groaned.

"yeah, right," yujin laughed with liz.

leeseo groaned, "you guys are so mean."

part 2

[ironicandpunny]

“The Kid”, a Leonard “Bones” McCoy fic, written by me for @rainpelt25 as part of an art exchange!

Summary:

(Y/N) gets hurt on an away mission, and has to spend a prolonged period of time in the MedBay. Somehow, they manage to break through McCoy’s icy exterior, and walks away fully healed with a new friend.

Doctor Leonard McCoy was never one for people. Not really, anyway. Saving their lives and feeling successful about his own life as a result of that was one thing, but being friends and making small talk? Another thing entirely. Jim always made snide comments about his poor bedside manner for a reason, after all.

So, aside from Jim, and Spock when he wasn’t feeling like a snide, pompous asshole, McCoy didn’t really have very many people he’d consider “friends”. Coworkers or acquaintances at best, patients at worst, and he’d like to keep it that way, thank you very much.

Imagine his surprise, then, when he met (Y/N). Not new to the ship, but not old, either, (Y/N) didn’t oft frequent MedBay, except for checkups, and one time, a broken finger, so McCoy didn’t really know them that well. That is, until the mission on Aria IV, where they’d been part of the ground crew, and in some stupid ass way or the next, ended up with a handful of broken ribs, a broken nose, and a bevy of scratches of different depths to give any good doctor a run for their money.

Luckily for (Y/N), McCoy was a damn good doctor.

Of course, being himself, he ordered a week of bed rest, and two week’s light duty for them, and even demanded that the first week be spent right there in SickBay, where he could keep a close eye if something were to go awry. It seemed like a fair deal, but (Y/N) was none too happy about it.

“Doctor, I understand your concern, but three weeks? I’ll die of boredom.”

“Just be grateful it’s not ten, like the old days.” McCoy gruffed, still working dutifully on their ribs, having already set them and now carefully bandaging them.

The kid, as McCoy had taken to calling them, groaned, tossing their head back melodramatically, making McCoy chuckle, just a bit.

“Is there nothing you can do to make it go faster?”

McCoy rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Not unless you wanna risk fracturing them again.”

Another groan, no longer paired with the head toss. “You suck.”

“So I’ve heard.”

And with that, he was done wrapping their ribs, and he stepped away, looking them over one more time. “How d’ya feel, kid? And don’t say ‘bored’, or I swear to God in Heaven, I’ll smack you so hard, your grandchildren will feel it.”

The kid gulped, and lifted their shoulders. “Fine. You must have some pretty good stuff.”

“The best Starfleet can get their hands on. Hungry?”

“Starving.”

“Good, me too. I’ll get us some lunch.”

The replicator made easy work of getting something that suited both of their diets, and he brought the meal over to The Kid, sitting at their bedside, offering over a plate.

“And you’d better clear it.” He added jokingly, giving them a teasing grin.

“Yessir.” The Kid replied, just as jokingly, before digging in.

McCoy wasn’t sure how it happened, but somehow, this became routine while The Kid healed up. He’d take one or two meals with them, and just chat, about nothing but everything all at once. He got to know them pretty damned well, from their favorite color, to where they were raised. It was… nice. He was almost sad when it was time for them to officially leave the MedBay.

“Are we still gonna do lunch tomorrow?” The Kid asked, just before leaving.

McCoy chuckled, and shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. “If you want.”

They blinked, as if shocked, and barked a confused laugh. “Of course I want. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

The question settled into McCoy, into his very bones and being, and he found himself nodding. “Guess we are.”

He wasn’t sure how it happened; He hadn’t been trying to make friends, but somehow, by some means, he and The Kid were friends. And he'd do everything in his power to make sure it stayed that way.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Catch and Release

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: AU where Jason doesn't die in the explosion and he and Tim end up attending the same high school months later.

Chapters: 16/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Sebastian Ives, Jack Drake, Janet Drake, Donna Troy

Relationships: TBA

Additional Tag: Jason Todd Lives, Jason Todd-centric, POV Jason Todd, POV First Person, Tim Drake Has Issues, Tim Drake Has Issues, Tim Drake is Not Robin, Jason Todd is Not Robin (Anymore), Bruce Wayne Needs a Hug, Alfred Pennyworth is the Best, Alfred Pennyworth Knows, Stalker Tim Drake, Jason Todd Has Chronic Pain, Jason Todd Has PTSD, Angst with a Happy Ending, Unlikely Friends, Injury Recovery, Emotional Baggage, Rage, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Communicating

Chapter Sixteen: Family Reunion

Dick took us home at the end of our week. He offered to stay the night, but Tim said it was okay for him to leave. I decided to sleep in Tim’s room because I didn’t want to leave him alone.

I slept on the bottom bunk, only waking up to scissors clattering to the floor. “Tim?” I mumbled, still half-asleep. “What are you doing?” 

“Working on the cost—.” 

“Tim, it’s late. Get some sleep… I’ll help you work on it tomorrow morning,” I replied, turning toward the wall and shutting my eyes. 

“That was Wonder Girl, wasn’t it?” Tim questioned. I answered with a soft noise. “How well do you know her?” 

“Go to bed. I’ll tell you over breakfast,” I whispered. My phone vibrated under my pillow, and I opened my eyes, taking a peek at a text message. It was Bruce. I told him I’d be outside as soon as Tim was asleep. That wasn’t long. He was exhausted. So, I crept out on the balcony of Tim’s parents’ bedroom. “What is it? Did you find Jack and Janet?” 

Bruce stood in his cape and cowl, hiding from me. I would’ve been furious with him if I wasn’t so worried about Tim’s parents. “The hospital’s gonna call any minute now, so I’ve gotta make this quick. It’s not good news,” Bruce whispered. I stared at him in the dark, trying to seem angrier than I was frightened. “Janet’s gone, and Jack might not—. He might not make it, Jason. Do you want me to meet you at the hospital?”

“I don’t know… You—... Stay nearby,” I replied. He moved to hug me, and I stepped back. The costume helped him hide from me, and I hated him. 

“Jason, I’m sorry—.”

“I don’t blame you for that. Why can’t you talk to me without a buffer?” I asked. 

“Jason—.” 

“I gotta go. You said the hospital’s gonna call any minute,” I replied as I turned to leave. I returned to Tim’s room, climbing the ladder to nudge him awake. 

“Tim… Tim, please wake up. I have to talk to you,” I whispered. I felt tingling in my legs, and I knew it was a matter of time before they gave out, so I gripped the metal railing tight. Tim opened his eyes and groaned. “You have to get dressed.”

“What’s the matter?” Tim asked. 

“Your mom… She didn’t—. She didn’t make it, and the hospital’s gonna call any minute because—. Because your dad might not—. Tim,” I whimpered while I held back tears. I couldn’t take it. Tim stared at me and wrapped his arms around me. His calm frightened me. “I’m so sorry, Tim.” 

He let go of me and leaped down from his bunk to get dressed. I changed into my warmer clothes and put on my glasses. I felt sick to my stomach, but I had to hold it together. Tim slipped his portable charger into a duffel bag and a few days’ worth of our clothes. “Are you okay?” Tim asked. 

I couldn’t believe he asked me that. “I’m—. It doesn’t matter how I feel. Tim, are you alright?” I questioned. 

“Let’s keep moving. I just—.” His phone rang, and we froze. Tim stared at me and swallowed hard before answering the call. 

“Hello? Yes… No, I’m—. I’m awake,” Tim whispered, “And my mom? I understand… My brother and I will be right there.” 

He hung up and looked at me. “Mom’s dead… And Dad—. Dad’s paralyzed. Jason?” Tim questioned. 

“Tim, every day, I regret that I never got to grieve my parents. If you don’t stop to feel something, you’ll be forced to keep moving forever. I’m not okay. You can be okay if you allow yourself to be upset,” I explained. “Please don’t get stuck with their ghosts.” Tim rubbed his temple with his fingertips. He groaned and burst into tears. I grabbed his wrists and pulled him into a hug. 

“My mom,” Tim sobbed. I nodded, rubbing his back. His cries shook us both, and I finally allowed myself to cry with him. Tears slid down my cheeks, and I wished I could’ve done more. At least he wouldn’t be like me. At least he wouldn’t be like Bruce. He’d be okay.

**

Tim’s driver dropped us off at the hospital, and I offered to hang back. I sat in the hallway while he spoke to Jack. I didn’t expect him to ask me to come in, but he did. Tim stepped outside of the hospital room and beckoned me. So, I followed him inside and sat on the couch with Tim until he fell asleep. My phone vibrated. “Bruce?” I whispered. I couldn’t stop staring at Jack. I knew he was hooked to all those machines, but I saw Catherine… I could see my mom. I could almost smell the vomit and cigarettes. I wanted to break down, but something blocked it. 

“How is he?” Bruce questioned. I pushed the feeling down to look at Tim. He slept peacefully with his head on my shoulder. Warm. Breathing. Alive. 

“Not great… Tim’s asleep. What do you want?” I asked. 

“Jason, you have to come home—.” 

“I’m not going anywhere without Tim,” I interrupted, “If he can come and you promise not to bother him, I’ll come home. Without any argument…” 

“Jason, do you mean that?” Bruce asked.

I shut my eyes and swallowed my pride. “Mhm. You have my word… Let me talk to Tim about it… Give me until Monday,” I answered. 

“Do you need any extra money?” Bruce questioned. 

I sighed. “I don’t need any money… I’ve been alright,” I answered. 

“Jason, I don’t understand what happened earlier between—.” 

“I’m not a comfort item… I’m a person, and my thoughts and feelings deserve consideration. When have you ever put my feelings before what you believe and want?” I interrupted. 

“I don’t want to fight, Jason—.” Exactly!  It’s always what Bruce wants.

“Okay. Well, I don’t have anything else to say. I’ll talk to Tim before Monday… Goodbye, Bruce,” I replied. I hung up.

Tim stirred, put his feet on the couch, and laid his head on my lap. I rested a hand on his head. I couldn’t sleep because I saw death every time I shut my eyes. I could barely keep my eyes open by morning, and Tim woke up. “No, Jason… Tell me you weren’t up all night,” Tim mumbled as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. I nodded, removed my glasses, and pressed my palms to my eyelids. “Jason, you didn’t have to—.”

“It’s not your fault… I couldn’t turn my brain off last night,” I explained, “I’m in my head… It’s not—. It’s okay. I’m glad you slept.” 

“Um… Is there—? Is Bruce gonna let you stay with me?” Tim questioned. 

I nodded. “I gotta talk to you about that… He wants us to move in with him until Jack comes out of the coma. I said we would,” I answered. Tim shook his head. 

“I can’t do that. You said you were suffocating there—.”“Tim, it’s okay. I can handle it… And he promised not to bother you while you’re there,” I reassured him. I wanted Tim to feel secure more than anything. I would’ve done anything for him. I knew what it felt like to lose my mother… Two times over. I refused to let him return to an empty house. The relief that washed over Tim’s face was enough for me to stomach our return to the manor.