#but hopefully when i get home today or tomorrow afternoon!!

[scionshtola]

oc kiss week 2025

a kiss for @galadae's Calantha on Cala's nameday!

[captain-joongz]

Thinking about free use husband!Joshua…

Coming home to him and wrapping your arms around him from behind while he is cooking .. kissing his neck and shoulders and teasing him until he gets hard

Making him keep cooking while you start to touch him cruelly, praising and degrading him in the same breath

And he loves it, letting you do whatever you want to him, making him submit, even though he would do it willingly, this way makes his body shake, until he has to turn off everything and stop before he collapses on the floor…

Maybe this doesn’t make any sense, maybe it does, I cant really tell im too tired 😭

- ✨

(Btw you’re gonna get that job!!)

so sorry for the delay darling, i ended up taking a little break for dinner and a shower, but now i'm back and more ready than ever to tackle this delicious scenario~

and thank you for the encouragement! i honestly don't know how to feel about the interview today, but hopefully it didn't go completely awfully haha! i have another one tomorrow afternoon, so there's more awaiting ! but that one is for an english teacher, which i think should be perfect for me <3

here's your delicious little story ✨anon <3 and as always, hard hours continue and will continue for another week !!

warnings: cursing, marking, subby Shua, handjob, cumming in pants

ooooh now, Joshua is a little bit of a wild card, isn't he? i feel that he has a strong and easy-going enough personality that people would assume he'd like to naturally lead, but also there's this air of gentleness and prettiness about him that just screams "i'll let someone take care of me", not to mention that he's a sassy little bastard

so maybe he would sometimes brat out a little, have some cheeky remarks, but deep down he just loved submitting to you, especially when you came home all fired up from a long hard day at work. oh he'd know that you'd need to get your hands on him and unwind with the fierce aura of exhaustion and frustration enveloping you

he'd at least hoped he'd be able to finish the dinner he was preparing for the two of you, but then you were in the kitchen, wrapping your hands around him in a back-hug, smushing your face into his shoulder

"hard day?"

"oh god, you don't even know. janet from accounting is being a cunt again, it's crazy."

for a few moments the chatter between you flowed without interruption, you hanging off of him and loudly complaining about a coworker that's been making your life ten thousand times harder, and he'd started to relax and focused back onto cooking

but that's what you were waiting for

the second you could feel him untense in your hold, your hands started to wander. at first only slowly caressing his sides or across his tummy, touches that could easily be read as comfort, but then your hand strayed a little too up and pressed up on his nipple just as you pressed an open-mouthed kiss to his neck, both feeling and hearing his breath hitch under you

"baby..." he'd say breathlessly, trying to reprimand you but his body would already be heating up with the promises it came to understand from your hands

you wouldn't stop, for anything, busying yourself by leaving hot laving kisses to his neck and behind his ear, one hand carefully massaging his scalp and tugging at his hair while the other one slyly made its way under his t-shirt to tease his nipple without the barrier of clothing

you'd love the feeling of him tensing under you, his body going all high-strung when you'd press down on the stiff little peak and push it around with your lazy fingers, breaths leaving him in huffs and sighs every time you'd tug his hair a little harder

he'd still try to pretend to be fully focused on cooking, but it would all grow hazy in front of his eyes, his lids threatening to fall shut with every electrifying rush of lust and pleasure from your ministrations, and soon he'd start messing up - clumsy hands dropping the spoon, crushing the ingredients in his palms on every hard bite you distributed to his neck, and you'd chuckle at his plight

"what is it, baby? aren't you a little clumsy tonight?"

he'd huff at your words but say nothing, stubbornly trying to ignore you and your games - and that would only stoke your fire and provoke you into upping the ante

now sticking your both your hands under his clothes, one migrating to give attention to the other nipple while the second naughty hand travelled south until you were cupping his half-hard cock and punching a moan out of him

"Shua, baby, you're not paying attention to the food at all, i'm so disappointed. i was looking forward to your cooking all day, but you can't focus long enough to not burn it..."

"don't be so mean" he'd whine and you'd tsk at him

"is that any way to talk to me?" gripping him harder, you'd love the way he'd groan under you, hands abandoning the utensils to grip at the counter, but you'd quickly grab them and push them back to the pot

"go on, baby, cook for me if you want my praises"

and Joshua would give it a valiant try, he really would, stirring the food in little aborted motions while you rolled his nipples between your fingers and kissed at the bitten and marked skin of his neck, hand massaging and squeezing the growing bulge in his pants, and the kitchen would be full of the sounds of hissing cooking food and his little sighs and breathless moans

but he'd know it's game over town the moment your hand slipped into his pants and gripped his cock. the skin on skin contact was almost enough to send him crashing to the ground, knees buckling and knocking into each other with the surge of pleasure. and yeah, he definitely didn't even see what he was doing anymore, head tipped back and whines spilling out with every slow measured stroke on his cock

you'd see his hands shaking on the utensils, you'd see how he'd start losing focus, not moving them anymore, instead jerking his hips in tiny little circles to fuck into your hand - and of course you'd still him and tell him he needed to do better - and of course he'd moan at that, his cock jumping in excitement

"i c-can't, fuck, wanna cum please-" you'd recognise the tell tale signs he was close, the way he'd squeeze his eyes shut while his mouth fell open, the way his whines got more and more high-pitched and his hips shook as he supressed the need to pump them into the tightness of your fist

"go on, baby, you've been such a good boy for me"

and that would be all it took for him to frantically start turning the stove off, barely managing to catch onto the counter before the combined stimulation of you biting his ear and squeezing the tip of his throbbing cock sent him over the edge and he came in his pants, shaking in your arms with soft cries

Shua would turn to jelly in your embrace, barely even holding up on his own two feet while the half-cooked food cooled down on the stove, but it would be hard to pay attention to anything else except for his body thrumming with the release and the gentle kisses and praises you whispered into his lips for listening to you so well

divider by @cafekitsune

[wosostories]

Workload (Gotham FC x Teen!Reader)

Gotham x Teen!Reader

Summary: 16 year old reader has signed with Gotham FC and is struggling to find balance between school and sport with finals and the NWSL Championship both quickly approaching.

You sigh as you close your laptop for the night, you mean morning. It was just after 2:00 when you finished your history essay, calc assignment, and studying for your chemistry test the next day. Plus on top of that, starting to find all of your materials for your upcoming exams. 

It’s not even that you were pushing it all off to the last minute. It’s just the course work that you get every night is impossible to get done that night on top of the training you have with Gotham FC and your ADHD. 

You would put off doing your school work to get more sleep if you could, but your school has told you multiple times that they would revoke your work permit if you didn’t keep your grades up and get all of your assignments in on time. 

You sigh again and finally head to bed to hopefully get a couple hours before morning lift. Your alarm goes off two and a half hours later and you drag yourself out of bed. It takes you half an hour to get ready and have your things together before Lynn picks you up for training. 

When you get in the car Kristi and Lynn are already pumped up and jamming to Lynn’s playlist. You let them continue on as you tuck yourself in the back seat and try not to fall back asleep. 

“You ok kid?” Lynn asks you turing the music down. “You look a little tired.”

“Ya, just didn’t get very much sleep last night. Had a lot of homework to get done after practice.” 

“You’ve been saying that a lot recently,” Krisite pipes in, “You sure you’re getting enough rest.”

“Ya it’s just that time of year. We're coming up on exams and the NWSL Championship.” 

“You can talk to coach. I'm sure he’d understand if you needed to miss a few practices.” They tried convincing you. 

“No, it's fine. Nothing I haven’t handled before.” You all arrive at the training facility just in time to get into the lifting room. 

“Alright let's get started.” They start with stretching and then pair up to go through their specialized lifting workout for the day. You end up with Jenna Nightswonger due to your similar workout needs. 

“Are you ok Y/N. You’ve been yawning for the last 30 minutes. Which has been the entire time we’ve been here.” 

“I’m fine. Just up a little later than I probably should have been getting my homework done.”

“If you’re sure.”

They finish the lift session another 30 minutes later and you leave the rest of your team to get to school on time. You are able to make your way through the day with a quick nap during lunch and eating while working on your revions during study hall. And as soon as the bell lets you out you are back on your way to the training facility for afternoon practice. 

Your movements are slow and sluggish throughout practice as you try to keep up with the quick movements of your teammates. During all of your breaks you have an assignment out and are slowly making your way through them. 

“Hey Y/N, come here for a second.” Ali calls you over with about 45 minutes left of practice. 

“Ya hold on just one sec.” You call back as you finish up the last math problem on the worksheet. As soon as you are done you jog over to the older player. “Ya what’s up?” 

“We're all just a little worried about you. You seem a little out of it today.”

“I’m fine,” you sigh out a little frustrated. “Will everyone stop asking me that?”

“Hey now, there’s no need for that. We're just trying to help.” You sigh again. 

“I know. It’s all just a lot. I think that it might be getting to me a little.”

“That’s ok. When's the last time you got a full night of sleep?” You look down knowing that you will answer if you look at her. “Alright grab your stuff.”

“W-what?”

“Grab your things, I’m going to take you home. Then you’re going to finish anything due tomorrow then go to sleep. And you aren’t going to be coming to practice tomorrow.”

“But the championships are…”

“Not starting until next week. There is still plenty of time. But if you get hurt then it won't matter.” 

You sigh. Ali leads you over to your things and you start packing them up as Ali goes to talk to coach. She comes back over with the ok from coach. “And he said if you show up to practice at any point tomorrow he will bench you for the first game of the tournament.”

You nod, “I won’t come tomorrow. I’ll get my work done and get a good night’s rest.” 

“Good and next time it gets too much, just let us know. You’re still just a kid. It’s our job to help you so let us.”

“I will.”

“Good.”

[sevcasejay1chicago]

Can’t spell panic without pain- Matt, Kelly, Jay

Authors note: This has been a fic that I’ve been working on the past couple of weeks. I was gonna post last week, but I wasn’t happy with it. Hopefully you guys enjoy!

Summary: The boys make sure to take care of their girl when she is panicked and in pain.

Warnings: possible inaccurate medical jargon, anxiety attack, crying, mentions ovary cysts.

—————————

You’ve been having a rough couple of days. More like rough couple of weeks, but it seemed to be getting worse the longer the weekend progressed into the week. Now, on a Wednesday afternoon, you are sitting in your car outside of the house you share with Matt, Kelly, and Jay. Matt and Kelly have today and tomorrow off. Jay got home a bit before you, having left before you when he assumed you had already left or were close behind. Since it’s been long enough for Jay to worry, your phone starts to ring over the speakers in your car. You almost miss it with the ringing in your ears, but you connect the call just before it’s sent to voicemail.

“Hey baby. I figured you’d be home by now.” Jay says casually as Matt and Kelly are heard cooking and talking softly in the background.

“I-I am.” You force out, voice strained with more unleashed tears, you gasp in a breath as you hear Jay curse and tell the others something is wrong.

“Hang on baby.” Jay says, disconnecting the call as he practically jumps down the stairs and sprints to your car with Kelly behind him.

They see the tears as soon as you’re in view. Kelly slides into your passenger seat as Jay opens your door and crouches to your level. They quickly look at each other as they slowly peel your fingers away from the steering wheel.

“Shhhhh. We gotcha now. We gotcha baby.” Kelly whispers, wiping at your tears and testing your skin for a temperature, which he thinks you have. It’s hard to tell if your warm because you are actually running a fever or if it’s because you are upset.

Jay is checking your pulse as Kelly attempts to soothe you. He knows that Matt is getting the first aid kit out of their master bathroom, which is upstairs and in the very back of the house, so he’s not worried about being completely accurate, but he wants to gauge it before he moves you. Currently, your heart rate is pretty high, but steady.

“Come on sweet girl. Let’s get you inside.” Jay says, helping Kelly unbuckle you before he hoists you into his arms. “What’s goin on? Hmm?” Jay whispers to you, but as he suspected, he doesn’t get a verbal response as you whimper like you are in pain.

Kelly pushed the push start button to turn off your car before he grabs your phone and keys, deciding that he will grab your bags later on so that he has time to jog to the door and open it for Jay. Matt is already getting the med bag open, placing a few things on the coffee table. He’s just tossing the necessary equipment onto the coffee table to check your vitals, not knowing what the issue is, but he already has his suspicions.

You have a cyst on your right ovary that has been bothering you for a week and a half now. The boys tried to talk you into staying home, especially after a scary er visit earlier in the week, but you were stubborn and refused to rest when a big case was brought to the intelligence unit.

Jay sat down, cradling you in his arms. He made sure that one arm was accessible for Matt, but he also wanted to make sure you were as comfortable as possible. Kelly was stood not too far off, waiting for something to do and giving Matt space to check you over.

Matt checked your blood pressure and stuck a pulse ox on your finger as Jay whispered softly to you, encouraging you to breath. Jay’s sweet nothings were barely audible to your other two lovers, but they also were barely making it past the still constant ringing in your ears.

“Tachy. BP is a bit high and oxygen is low.” Matt said out loud, quickly running the thermometer over your forehead. “100.3.” Matt read off, tossing everything back in the medical bag.

Jay did his best to calm you down as Kelly retrieved a wash cloth and some fever reducers. Matt sat in your line of sight, lightly rubbing the tears from your face with the pad of his thumbs. Both men were lightly shushing you and whispering sweet nothings in an attempt to calm you down. Eventually, it seemed like you started to respond to what was happening and reached one shaking hand to lay on Jay’s chest. Jay immediately started breathing at a deeper, more even, pace that was easy for you to follow.

“Baby. You gotta tell us what hurts.” Matt whispered, locking eyes with you. “We can’t help if we don’t know whats wrong sweetheart.”

You sucked in a deep breath, curing further into yourself and Jay’s lap. “I-I’m hurting and I c-can’t stop crying.” You whimpered. “It f-feels like a p-panic attack.”

Kelly came back in and immediately knew the problem. “The cyst must be rupturing.” Kelly stated, laying the wash cloth over your neck and offering you a Gatorade with your medicine. “This should help the pain baby girl.”

Matt sighed, laying a gentle hand on your knee. “Okay. Well, we know the drill. Your gonna feel really crappy and emotional for a couple days. However, we will do everything we can to help you feel better, okay baby?” Matt said, taking the hand you offered.

You nodded, leaning back into Jay. “It’s okay to cry sweet girl, but you gotta breath. Okay? Just follow me.” Jay encouraged, kissing the crown of your head as you tried to focus. “You are definitely having a panic attack, but we gotcha now. Your not alone baby.” Jay encourages, kissing your temple.

You started humming, not liking the feeling of your stomach shaking and your lips buzzing. You had gotten yourself worked up so much that the anxiety made you feel like a live wire. You knew that your boys were attempting to ground you, but it was like it was impossible to turn it all off.

“What can we do?” Kelly asked, sitting on the coffee table to get in your line of sight without standing over you. He knows that you get anxious when people stand over you on a good day, so it probably wasn’t advisable today.

“Think you wanna try a popsicle?” Jay asked, nudging your cheek with his nose. “I can feel you shaking, but you aren’t cold, are you baby?”

You shook your head no, not offering a verbal response.

“I need a verbal response sweet girl.” Kelly said, leaning forward expectantly. He knew the more he got you talking, the more likely you were starting to come back down to earth.

“Not cold. Popsicle please.” You whispered, not wanting to use full sentences, but knowing that would get your point across.

Kelly nodded before getting up and jogging into the kitchen for your popsicle. He was back in no time, having cut the plastic open and wrapped the popsicle in a paper towel. “Here princess. It’s a pedialyte popsicle. It should help hydrate you to flush all those toxins out.” Kelly explained, watching as you quickly calmed down as the cold from the popsicle helped focus your brain on the taste and sensation.

“Good girl. We gotcha. It’ll be over before you know it.” Matt praised, laying your favorite blanket in your lap to help calm you further. He knew it would be a long couple of days, but once you calmed down, they could start working on taking the proper steps to ensure a quick recovery.

Tag list:

@treehouse-mouse

@shadowmeadowsworld

@sorry-i-spaced

@zephyrmonkey

@allisonargent144

@amie134

@lane-rodgers-barnes

@pensfan5871

@dumb-fawkin-bitch

@marvel-and-chicago-fan

@daggersquadphantom

@stellakiddsblog

@100yroldteenagers

@senjoritanana

@celtic-shadow-wolf

@starset21

@mrspeacem1nusone

[fandomunite2107]

Help Wanted (Pt. 3)

Summary: Finding your place at Carmy’s resturant after you are offered a job (again).

Carmy left your apartment after offering you a job. He needed to get back to the restaurant and you needed to get the rest of your boxes unpacked before you started your new job tomorrow. Before he left, you exchanged numbers and he took your uniform with him saying that he would drop it off at the restaurant that you got it from, but based on his expression you’re not actually sure it’s going to end up there.

As the afternoon turns into evening, you finally have all of the boxes unpacked and everything in its place. Looking around your apartment you feel a sense of accomplishment in everything that you have done within the last couple of days. Your apartment is cleaned, furnished, and all of the boxes are gone through. You also now have a job that will give you some income that you desperately need. Life is looking good at the moment.

Settling on your couch with your dinner, you turn on the tv and find a show to watch. Hearing your notification sound on your phone, you move a pillow or two to see who is texting you. Entering in your passcode, you see a message from Carmy.

*Just checking to make sure that you’re good to start tomorrow.* - Carmy

It takes you a good 5 minutes to write back a reply, hoping he doesn’t see the three dots repeatedly appear and disappear, as you keep deleting your response. You finally settle on a text and send it. You then proceed to check your phone for the next hour to see if there is a response, which there isn’t one.

Needing to be at the restaurant fairly early, you decide to try to get some decent sleep. Washing your dishes from dinner and turning off the tv and lights around your apartment, you start to get ready for bed. Setting your alarm for the morning and picking out an outfit that seems like it would work for a day of sorting papers, you plug your phone in by your bed and get in bed. It doesn’t take too long before you’re fast asleep, only waking up to the sound of your alarm hours later.

Feeling optimistic about the day, you get up and start to get ready. With breakfast eaten and you showered, you finish getting ready. As you grab your bag and cell phone and start to head towards the door you hear a roll of thunder. Looking out the window, you see that the sky is grey, but it doesn’t seem to be raining yet as the sidewalks still seem dry. Checking your weather app on the phone, it looks like there’s a very low chance of rain. Realizing that you don’t have an umbrella, you cross your fingers that the weather will hold out as you make your way to work.

You barely make it to the restaurant in time before a monsoon hits, buckets of water begin to fall down. You hope this nasty weather doesn’t last all day or else you may have to ask someone for a ride home. As you walk into the kitchen area of the restaurant, you see Sugar talking to Sydney.

“Hey you! Glad you’re back.” Sugar smiles when she notices you walking in with your bag. “I have a few things that I need to get done today, but I wanted to be here when you got here to help you get started.”

“Glad to be back.” You say, turning to Sydney. “Carmy not in yet? I figured he’s the type that beats everyone here.”

“Normally, but today he had to drop off a permit at city hall. Shouldn’t be too long.” Sydney says to you as she does her prep for the day.

“Let’s get started. I figured you could try to make sense of all of these piles in Carmy’s office and make an organizational system.” Sugar says as she walks towards the office.

As you follow her into the office and place your bag on the desk, you look around at the piles of papers around the room. Even though you love to organize you know that this is going to be a long process. Turning to Sugar you say, “Hey. I got this, really. You can go do your errands.”

“Are you sure?” She looks hopefully and really you’re kind of looking forward to doing this job on your own.

“Yes. Go. Enjoy your day.”

Picking up her bag and getting her phone and keys out, she rushes out of the restaurant with a quick goodbye to everyone. Skimming the piles of paper around the room, you make piles ranging in a variety of importance on the floor. After a while, you stand up and survey the work that you have done so far, feeling satisfied with what you have accomplished you want to stretch your legs. Walking out of the kitchen and into the front of the restaurant, you see Richie struggling with the crowd that has gathered for the lunch rush.

Richie sees you walk in, “Hey kid. Could use some help. Start bagging up the to go orders will ya?”

“Yeah. Sure.” Walking to the area with the sandwiches waiting to be bagged, you begin sorting through the orders. As you bag the orders and pass them out, you and Richie form a rhythm. You are one order away from finishing up with the lunch crowd, after bagging up the order you call for it to be picked up. A man comes up to the corner to grab the bag, smiling at you as he does. Once he picks up the bag and looks inside he looks up at you and says, “You forgot something.”

“Oh. Sorry about that. What’s missing?” Thinking back and trying to remember what his order was on his ticket.

“My number. You forgot to ask for my number.” The man leans on the counter, smiling as he closes up his bag.

“Smooth man.” You hear Richie say as he gives a nod to the customer.

Carmy picks this time to walk in from the kitchen. “What’s going on here? Why is y/n out front?”

“I was helping Richie out with the lunch crowd.” You say as you turn towards him.

“Cousin chill out. Just needed some help out here for a bit. It’s all good.” Richie states.

“I should get back to the paperwork.” You say, not wanting to cause an issue on your first day.

“Wait. You forgot my number.” Realizing the man was waiting on your response you turn to response to him, but Carmy beats you to it.

“She doesn’t need it. Enjoy your food.” Carmy tells the man as he leads you back into the kitchen.

“That was rude. He wasn’t hurting anything.” You say.

Carmy runs his hand down his face as Sydney approaches with a spoon of sauce. “Chef try this.”

Feeling as though the conversation is done, you head back into the office to get back to work. Hearing the sounds of the kitchen makes for oddly soothing background noise. You are able to go through another portion of the papers.

“Y/N!” A bit confused as to why Richie is yelling your name into the kitchen, you stand up and poke your head out of the office.

“Richie, what’s up?” You say, turning a small shade of red as everyone looks up from their station.

Richie smirks as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a piece of paper. “You, sweetheart, just got that customer’s number.”

“Ooooo. Was he cute?” Tina says as she cuts vegetables at her station.

“Richie. What the fuck are you doing?” Carmy says looking not too pleased about the situation.

“What?! Just passing along the information to our y/n here. He seemed like a good guy, he tipped well.” Richie says as he walks to you and hands you the paper.

Taking the paper and putting it in your back pocket, you feel as if you are being watched. Looking up you see Carmy giving you an expression that you can’t quite figure out. Figuring it’s best if you get back to work you head back into the office, trying to decipher what that look was and coming to the conclusion that it’s useless to try to understand.

———————

Taglist: @iletmytittiestitty-russ @formulas-bitch @lennaboo @soorwellystan @mrs-reeves-17 @eddiesguitarskills @anelissegets @onlyreadz

[timetoletmyimaginationfly]

Cafe Love Notes

Nanami Kento x Reader

(Song Inspiration: Little Things by One Direction)

The bell of a customer entering the cafe had you looked up. Immediately, you blushed and forced your focus back to the coffee you were preparing for a present customer. You handed them their latte and smiled as they thanked you. More ‘thank you’s’ escaped your lips as they tipped you. You went to the register, your face more flustered.

“You seem happy this afternoon.” You blushed even more.

“I got a great tip,” you replied shyly. “You want your usual?”

“Please and…” He reached inside his wallet and pulled out cash. “A large salted caramel latte for you.”

“I—I—“

“Take it.” His smile, a smile that made your heart race, had you nod in response.

“Thank you, Nanami-san,” you said.

“You’re welcome, angel. Keep the change too.”

Nanami took his latte after he set up his laptop at a nearby table. He made sure that he faced the counter. A perfect view for him to watch you while he worked.

His eyes would follow you. He watched the way your ponytail swayed from side to side as you walked back and forth from each section of the counter. He would watch you smile and he would blush as your eyes became crescents with your laugh. He watched your hands move animatedly to your coworkers as you spoke.

He pulled out a small piece of paper, and with a pen in hand wrote a small note. By the time he left, you were cleaning up the counter. Nanami packed his laptop before walking up to you. He called your name. You smiled when you saw him.

“Have a good night, angel,” he said. He held his hand out and for a second, you stared at his large hand before taking it in yours. Nanami smiled and raised your hand to his lips and gave your knuckles a kiss before letting go. “You work tomorrow?”

“Y-Yeah.” You swore you felt electricity course through your body. You can still feel his soft, warm lips lingering on your hand. You wondered how his lips would feel on yours. You watched him smile softly at you. His smile made his eyes smile. You watched a spark in his eyes ignite.

“Perfect. I’ll see you tomorrow, angel. Get home safe.” And with that, he left. Your eyes remained at the closed door until you felt the small piece of paper in your hand. You unfolded it and felt butterflies roaming in your stomach.

You look so beautiful today, angel. I love seeing you smile. Hopefully, most of your smiles are from me one day.

Kento

A large smile formed on your face. You went to the receipt machine and pressed the large button. You released a strip of paper and started writing on it.

I hope your day went well today. Your note made my night.

Your angel

You gave the note the next day after making Nanami his coffee. When Nanami pulled it out, his hand rested on his chest to calm his racing heart. So he pulled out another piece of paper. He looked at you. Again, your smile was bright as you spoke to your customer. He smiled with you. Your head was moving to the beat of the music playing in the cafe.

Your eyes are beautiful. The way they smile with your smile. You always make me smile.

Kento

Every time when you were at work, the two of you exchanged notes. Each note made both of your days and made you both fall in love.

You seem more tired than usual. I have a warm cup of tea ready for you when you need it.

Your angel

I overheard about your day in class. I believe in you, angel. You’ll pass.

Kento

I passed! Your encouragement was all I needed. Thank you.

Your angel

You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. You definitely are an angel.

Kento

He noticed you haven’t went in for the past week. For the past few months, you’d usually let him know when you wouldn’t come in. He glanced at the door whenever it opened, only to be disappointed when you never showed up.

“She’s late.” His eyes widened. He looked up and noticed a male with black hair that was tied up in a bun. He was the one person he gets jealous of. Unlike Nanami, the male is able to ruffle your hair, speak freely with you, and hug you. Nanami just nodded in response, eyes returning back to his computer screen. “She never shuts up about you. Never had I heard anyone talk about someone that much. You two rarely talk to each other.”

“We do,” Nanami said defensively. The man chuckled.

“Yeah through your cute notes,” he said as he jokingly gagged. “Don’t worry though. Your angel caught a cold this week. She’s coming in late because she had to stay after with her professor for some help.”

“Thank you,” Nanami said, hiding his face to hide the blush on his cheeks. But the man lightly laughed. The redness was reaching up to Nanami’s ears.

“I’ll tell her you want your regular. Or do you prefer the tea she made personally for you?” Nanami checked the time.

“Tea, please.”

Nanami relaxed, his focus now remaining on his project for work. Nanami was immersed in his work. He knew you were okay. You didn’t cloud his thoughts as much. But every now and then, he had hoped to see your bright smile, smell your sweet scent, and listen to your angelic laugh.

“Finally! Your man wants some tea, Princess!”

“Hi to you too, Suguru,” you grumbled. Nanami moved his gaze slightly to you. It was the first time he saw you more stressed and seemingly upset. When you were behind the counter, Nanami looked up. He caught your gaze and caught your blush. He watched your small and soft smile appear on your face. And in return, he smiled back.

You walked up to his table ten minutes later. He looked up when he heard the cup placed on his table.

“How’s my angel?” he asked. He watched you blush and shyly avert your gaze away from him for a split second.

“Stressed,” you answered honestly. “End of the semester. It’s busy.”

“You got this, angel. I know that,” Nanami said softly. You shyly nodded and smiled. You watched Nanami pull a piece of paper out from under his computer. He folded it a few times into a rectangle before handing it to you. “For you.”

“Th-Thank you. I’ll be back later?” Nanami chuckled.

“I won’t go anywhere.” You smiled widely and nodded. Slowly, you walked backwards.

“Okay. Promise?” you asked with each step, hands behind your back. Nanami chuckled. The sound of him chuckling made your mind stop. He sounded beautiful.

“I promise, angel.”

I want to be the one to comfort you whenever you feel upset. Keep smiling angel. And today, come to me after your shift. I have something important to tell you.

Love,

Kento

You swallowed the large lump in your throat and stared longingly at the note. You looked at the time and mentally groaned. Six long hours left. Six hours to go to Nanami. Six hours to wait to hear what he wants to say to you.

Six. Long. Excruciating. Hours.

“Princess? Gojo wants to know if you can take his shift next Wednesday,” Geto asked. “He has a job interview at some security company.” You pondered for a moment, but then you sighed and frowned.

“I can’t. That’s my—“

“Tell Gojo Satoru to call me.” You and Geto turned to Nanami slowly with wide eyes. Nanami looked at the two of you with nonchalant eyes. “I’ll reschedule for him. If he wants, I can do a phone interview right now if he’s ready.”

“Y-Yeah. I-I’ll do that, Nanami-san,” Geto said with a wide smile. You looked at Geto and while listening to him on the phone, you slowly turned to Nanami. His eyes were on his laptop, fingers fluidly typing on the keyboard. A smile spread across your face and you went back to wiping down the counter before the next order and customer appeared.

“Welcome! How can I help you?” You asked cheerfully to the customer.

You like to watch me. Should I be concerned? Hehe, I’m kidding.

Your angel

You slipped the note as you walked by to clean up the tables. Nanami lightly laughed. He took his pen, writing on the same paper and handed it to you.

You’re beautiful to look at, angel.

Love,

Kento

You giggled. Nanami sighed in content when you held the note with a smile on your face. He watched you pull a pen out of your pocket and started to write some more.

My face will hurt with the way you’re making me smile.

Your angel

Good. I love your smile.

Love,

Kento

“You two are too cute it makes me gag,” Geto said. You laughed. “How did you two even get, I guess, close?” You smiled.

“He wrote me a note saying that I made his day,” you said. Your elbow leaned on the counter and your cheek rested on your palm when you turned to Geto. “I remembered that he looked so stressed and pissed off. And he said I made his day. So every once in a while, we give each other a note. Or letter.”

“I hate how adorable that is.” You laughed again. “You can leave an hour early. Nanami-san seems so impatient.”

“I am, too. Thank you, Suguru!” You hugged him tightly, wiped the counters, and ran to the back to change.

“Alright, I’ll send you a text message with a list of dates and times for the interview,” Nanami said. Nanami lightly chuckled. “Yes, you sure are lucky. I’ll speak to you soon. Goodbye.”

Nanami hung up. The familiar sweet scent caught his attention. When he looked up, he found you in a sweater dress and a pair of knee-high boots. Your hair, once in a pony tail, hung loosely down your back. Your backpack hung on one shoulder and your coat rested on your arm.

Breathtaking.

“Suguru let me out early,” you said happily. “Am I too early to meet with you?” Nanami chuckled and shook his head. He shut his laptop and carefully placed it in his bag. He stood up and took your bag from your shoulder and hung the strap on his. He took your coat and helped you put it on.

“I always have time,” he said. His response made you melt. “May I?” He held his hand out. You nodded and when you held his hand, Nanami intertwined his fingers with yours. He raised your hand to his lips, giving your hand a soft kiss.

The walk was quiet. You let him take you anywhere he decided to go. He paused at restaurant. He opened the door for you and lead you to the back of the restaurant where it was quiet and more private.

You let him order the meal as well. It was your first time at a restaurant that’s so fancy for your taste. After today, you learned that Nanami is an important man.

“Kento, are you a Director?” you asked curiously. You watched him blush.

“I’m the CEO for 7:3 Security. Your friend, Gojo Satoru, applied. I’ll be sending him a list of dates and times for an interview,” he informed. You gave him an amused expression.

“Amazing,” you said.

“What about you? You’re in school.” You lightly chuckled.

“Nursing,” you answered. “Changed my major last minute. I have a good 18 weeks to go. So Kento, what did you need to tell me?” He cleared his throat. He took a sip of his wine that he poured for the both of you earlier.

“You’re eager,” he said.

“You would be, too.” Nanami smiled.

“I—Remember when I first came in? I wrote that you made my day?” he asked. You nodded. “You make my day every time I see you. I—I really like you. And after this dinner, I want to take you out on a date. I’ve been wanting to ask you out and I finally mustered up the courage to. You’re beautiful. You’re kind and sweet. You’re smart and quick on your feet. You’re diligent and beautiful…” Nanami slowly started to mumble. All you did was blushed as you listened to him say so many compliments to you. “I never felt this way towards anyone before. And I hope that you feel the same way.”

You looked at him with so much adoration in your eyes. A smile appeared on your face and you unzipped your backpack. Curiously, Nanami peered over while you rummaged through your bag. You pulled out a folder and carefully handed it to him. Nanami took it and opened it.

His eyes widened. They were all the notes that he gave you. You kept them all. He never expected it. You blushed as he stayed silent.

“I, um, I love reading them whenever I feel down and discouraged,” you said. “I, um, I really like you too. I never imagined someone so handsome and so well put together would want to be with me. I’m clumsy, awkward, and—“

“Perfect. Little things like when you wiggle your nose when your friend says something strange, your small pout when you’re stressed or upset, and the way you curl your hair behind your ear or play with your hair while you shyly look away when you feel embarrassed makes me want to be with you.”

“Are you a natural romantic, Kento?” Nanami chuckled.

“Is it working?”

“It is,” you answered with a giggle. “I would love to go on another date with you, Kento.” He stared at you, surprise at your answer. But it didn’t last long as he smiled warmly at you and held your hand across the table.

“Thank you, angel.”

[copperbadge]

My trip is halfway over as of today; this afternoon I catch a train to Nice, and tomorrow I travel from Nice to Rome, where I'll be until I fly back to Chicago. (It is about 2:30am as I write this which isn't unusual for me; it'll be a long day today so I'll go back to sleep for a few hours when I'm done.)

I'm enjoying myself immensely overall, but I do miss home too. And I'm a bit shy of some things in France just because I don't speak the language; while Parisians have been by and large lovely, some have also been a trifle judgey. I think I'll feel more comfortable in Italy, but who knows. I have more meals out planned, anyway. Fried artichokes or bust.

Mostly I miss the cryptids. I keep having dreams where one of them is sleeping on my ankles like they both sometimes do. I was worried about Polk because the pet sitter hadn't seen much of her, but I looked in on them and managed to spot her. She seems fine -- I even saw her eating -- and Dearborn is her usual intense self.

[ID: left, Polk the tabby sits on the hallway carpet pointedly ignoring the camera; right, Dearborn the tortie sits in front of the bedroom camera, staring deep into its soul.]

Okay, time to stop staring at my brave babies through the webcams and get some more sleep. More pictures from the louvre are in queue for today, and I'll hopefully get to share some from the Musee l'Orangerie, where I have morning tickets before I leave for Nice this afternoon.

[disasterbiwriter]

You already know I want to read about what happens the first time Jess gets sick and how Luke handles it 😅

As he has every morning since he brought Jess home six weeks ago, Luke wakes up at 3 AM.

It's not terribly far off from his standard 4 AM wake-up-and-meet-the-bread-guy schedule, but given that he hasn't been falling asleep until midnight most of those nights, a victim of sky-high anxiety and a mental to-do list that feels as long as his leg, it feels a little insulting that his body won't permit him to at least sleep until his alarm goes off.

He tries to focus on his breathing in hopes that he'll ease himself back to sleep for another blessed twenty minutes, but the minute his eyes close again, he becomes aware of the barest pressure on the edge of his blanket.

Luke cracks open one eye to see his three-year-old nephew standing next to him, all bedhead and solemn dark eyes.

"Hey Jessy," he croaks. He pushes up on an elbow. "What's up, bud?"

Jess shrugs and doesn't say anything. Not unusual - he's still shy around Luke, warming up by degrees day after day.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Luke tries.

Jess shakes his head.

Luke hesitates, not sure what to do next, then finally tries, "Do you want to come up here and try to go back to sleep?"

That's all it takes. Jess scrambles up the side of the bed and wedges himself firmly against Luke's ribcage. Luke is instantly on the verge of tears.

It's the first time Jess has ever reached out to touch him first.

Luke thinks he's in for it now, an hour of wiggles and kicking, but Jess drops back to sleep immediately. It's impressive, his ability to konk out like that. Luke envies it. Jess's little mouth drops open and the tight fist he has clutched up under his chin relaxes.

Moving centimeters at a time, Luke lowers himself back down on the mattress and gently reaches down to stroke Jess's hair. He breathes in the little boy's sleepy, sweaty scent, which has become so familiar to him he wonders how he ever did without it before. Luke frowns, then dips his head closer and takes another deep breath.

Jess smells... wrong. His normal, sweet, little-boy smell is still there, but he also smells mildly of something vaguely sour and phlegmy. Luke frowns and gently presses the back of his hand to Jess's forehead. A little sticky, maybe, and warm, but not unduly so.

Hm.

"He... smells sick?"

Luke tries to keep his voice level, but Jess's preschool teacher, Ms. Marian, sounds like she thinks he's nuts, and frankly Luke's temper is its own beast even when people aren't treating him like he's crazy.

He counts backwards from ten, then says, "I just figure keeping him home today is the right way to go. If he's better tomorrow, he'll be back then."

Luke stays on high alert for the rest of the day, taking Jess's temperature every hour or so, chasing the little boy down as he wanders through the diner. It's normal all day, and Jess is himself: tactile, curious, still quiet but getting bolder the longer he lives with Luke. Luke, on the other hand, is exhausted from trying to keep up with regular business and making sure that Jess doesn't climb into a bag of flour.

"But imagine how you'd feel if you'd sent him to school and he was sick," Lorelai says that afternoon when he admits that he feels like a mother hen. She's moving through the diner in this balletic way, delivering meals, bussing tables, plucking up one of Jess's crayons to add eyebrows to the monster they are drawing piece by alternating piece. It's starting to look uncomfortably like Taylor Doose, and Luke is certain this is not a coincidence.

"I guess," he grumbles.

"You gotta go with your gut. But guts can be famously hard to interpret." She rubs one hand over her stomach, stretching her face comically and bringing a giggle out of Jess. "Sometimes I think my gut is telling me one thing, but really it's just saying it needs one of Luke's brownies."

"Brownies?" Jess asks hopefully.

Luke shakes his head and checks the register one last time - plenty of singles, quarters, and dimes. "After dinner," he tells Jess. He comes out from behind the counter and angles his nephew towards the stairs. "Tomorrow?" he asks Lorelai.

"It's only a dayyyyy awayyyyy!" she carols after him.

They eat dinner and Jess happily scarfs down the promised brownie. Luke gives him a bath and sniffs his head again (still a little sour), so he washes his hair twice. They read I Am a Bunny once and The Monster at the End of this Book one and a half times (Luke's Grover voice was apparently unsatisfactory in the first attempt) and by the time Jess is asleep, Luke is halfway there himself. He strips and showers and collapses into bed and is asleep before The Arsenio Hall Show.

So when he jolts awake in the middle of the night, fully alert, he assumes it's because he went to bed so blessed early. He glances at the clock: half past twelve. So then what...

The sharp bark that rings out through the apartment pulls him immediately out from under his quilt and to his feet. A seal, he is convinced there is a seal in the apartment. What the hell kind of dream...?

The seal calls again, but this time Luke registers it for what it is. Not a seal, a cough.

He turns on his bedside lamp and squints across the room. There's Jess, sitting up in bed, curled over like an apostrophe. His back is turned towards Luke, and the sharp, barking coughs shake his little frame.

"Oh buddy," Luke murmurs. He palms the thermometer and crosses over to Jess, dropping into a crouch in front of his nephew.

He instinctively touches his wrist to Jess's forehead and hisses in a breath. "Hey Jessy," he says softly, trying for calm, "open up your mouth and let's take your temperature, huh?"

Jess coughs again - it sounds so deeply uncomfortable that it makes Luke want to cough in response. "No, Unca Luke," he whispers - or Luke thinks he's whispering. He realizes a split second later Jess is so hoarse his voice can't get any louder. "My neck hurts," he says now. "Inside." He swipes at his nose, smearing snot across his little cheeks. It's a testament to his two months as a parent that Luke doesn't gag.

"Ahh. Sore throat, huh? Okay then." Luke settles for wedging the thermometer under Jess's armpit, feeling like the lowest dog in the dirt when Jess whimpers that it's cold. They sit for a few moments until Luke pulls out the thermometer and reads it.

101.3.

"Shit," Luke whispers. "Shit."

"Unca Luke, it's too cold." And like a flipped switch, Jess starts shivering so hard it makes his pearly little teeth chatter.

Luke's head swims. "Well, we can do something about that," he lies. He takes Jess's comforter and wraps the little boy up in it, scooping him up into his arms and bundling him against his chest.

In between spikes of panic, Luke manages to get Jess to take a dose of Junior Tylenol, all the while running through the list of options.

Call the pediatrician and leave a message with his service - no idea when he'll call back. Take Jess to the emergency room in Hartford - Luke hates the idea of Jess shivering and crying in the backseat for that long. Call someone - Cesar? Lorelai? - to drive them to the emergency room so he can sit with Jess. He's pretty sure nobody signed up to play ambulance service for their boss and his nephew when he hired them.

All the while Jess is still shivering against Luke's chest, no energy to do anything except cough and wheeze, while Luke spirals closer and closer to a full meltdown.

God, if things weren't already bad enough, Jess's cough is getting so sharp and acute that Luke is starting to get properly scared. Every cough makes his pulse rocket, every whistle from Jess's little lungs is enough to make him choke down tears. His whole body aches to do something, anything to help the little boy.

Suddenly, he finds himself remembering a night not unlike this one: waking up in the wee hours in his childhood home on Peach to the sound of a sharp cough and his mother's soothing voice. He followed the sounds to the bathroom he and Lizzy shared to find her sitting on their mother's lap, the hot water running in the shower, the room tropically steamy.

"Lizzy's got a touch of the croup, is all," his mother explained. "We'll sit here in the steam and she'll be good as new. Go on back to bed, hon. I've got her."

He doesn't believe in messages from beyond the veil or anything hokey like that - that was always Liz's deal - but that doesn't stop Luke from whispering a thank you to his mother as he bundles Jess into the bathroom.

Luke turns the water as hot as it will go and turns on the shower. The residue from Jess's apple-scented shampoo is still on the tub, so for a moment the room smells pleasantly like a pie. Luke settles down on top of the toilet seat lid, tucks Jess up under his chin, and sort of awkwardly rocks them both from side to side.

"Okay, Jessy. Let's just hang out in here for a little bit, okay? The nice warm air is going to help your cough. You're gonna feel better in no time, okay?"

"I want to sleep," Jess moans. He coughs again, rough this time. "I want my ducky pillow."

Luke curses himself. Of course he should have grabbed the ducky pillow! "I know, Jessy," he says aloud. "You're tired. It's late and you're ready to sleep, I hear you. Let's get this cough taken care of and then we'll get some shut eye. I'll stay home tomorrow and we can rest and watch whatever you want on TV."

"Babar," Jess says meekly.

"Babar," Luke agrees.

"Can I sleep in your bed?"

"Sure, bud. Once your cough gets a little better you can snuggle up in my bed. We'll get ducky pillow and you and I, we'll have a sleepover. But for now why don't you just try to sleep on me, okay? I'm not as good as a ducky pillow but Uncle Luke is pretty soft too."

Jess whimpers a little. "It's too bright."

"It sure is, kid." Luke rises into a half stand and manages to use one elbow to knock off the lights. He settles back down onto the toilet lid and gently rubs Jess's back. He watches the steam swirl around them in the glow of the nightlight.

Eventually they both fall asleep. Luke wakes up at eight to the water in the shower running ice cold. Jess wakes up when he feels Luke shift and demands french toast. He's sweaty and cheerful, bright eyed as he smears syrup all over his face.

Thirty-five years later, it's the middle of the night when Luke gets the call.

"I don't know what to do," Jess says raggedly.

"Hey, it'll be okay. Let me listen to her."

There's a pause. Then, "Hi Pops" echoes weakly over the line, followed by an old familiar bark of a cough.

"Hi honey-girl. I'm sorry you're feeling so bad. Let me talk to your daddy again."

There's a shuffle, and then, "Well? Should we go to the ER?"

"It's the croup, Jess. She's got the croup. Go ahead and take her into the bathroom and let the shower run, sit in the steam. She'll be okay. You've got her."

[tia-amorosa]

Episode 7: Last doubts

When Alexander came home that afternoon, his older sister and father were having a lively conversation. “And this Pascal can't come here?“/” No, Dad, unfortunately that's not possible, he have a lot of big appliances that you can't just pack into the car. That's why I want to go to them, it makes working together much easier"/, ‘You want to go away, Cassy?’.

“Yes, Alex, I have to go somewhere else for a few days for work"/ ‘To the alien city?’/ ‘You probably mean the city of the crazy…’/ ‘Dad!…yes, that's exactly where I have to go and work with a few other scientists’/ ‘Oh cool, can I come with you, I want to see an alien too’/ ‘No, Alex, you have to go to school’.

“Oh, that's mean!"/ ‘Hey, I'll take some pictures when I see one, okay?’/ ‘And you'll bring them with you?’/ ”Yeah, sure. Now go and do your homework, okay, I have to talk to Dad"/ ”All right. But don't get kidnapped"/ ”That won't happen to me there. I'm not leaving today either"/ ”o.k.. The tasks today are quite easy”.

“I've never seen you so determined. So you're really convinced… That your mother is out there somewhere? At least what's left of her…“/”Dad, we've waited so many years. They never found her here. Not even the smallest piece"/ ”I know… I know all that, Cassandra. But you know how suspicious I am of aliens. And they're supposed to live peacefully next door to them?”….

“Believe it or not, yes, it is. Besides, the whole town isn't populated by them, it's just one family. I know it sounds crazy, but it's not. Pollination also has an incredible amount of knowledge, he loves the earth and he loves humans“/”of course, so much so that he abuses them for his reproduction!“/”oh, dad, you're not up to date at all chuckle“/”I don't know if I even want to be it…"/…

“Please, Dad. He's an outcast, and he does really good work and specializes in spirits, especially the different planes…"/ ‘You know I don't believe that nonsense’/ ‘because you only know and believe what our dear family spirits know from the afterlife.’/ ”That's the way it is, Cassandra. But I… I don't want to stand in your way”.

“Believe me, Dad, I've never wanted anything so much. And if there's at least a glimmer of hope of finding her again somewhere, then I don't want to leave any stone unturned. She's out there somewhere. And… If I don't find her, then I've failed"/ ”I don't want to hear that… My child. Hhh, I just hope nothing happens to you”.

“Oh dad… Nothing will happen to me. I've got three bodyguards there to look after me. “/"That's only slightly reassuring, my dear. All right, then. But I want a call from you every day“/”That's fine, I promise“/”Have you spoken to Don yet?“/”No, I'll do that tomorrow, I wanted to speak to you first“/” that's very commendable“/”hn-hn. I love you”.

“Well, then it's not so bad that Mr. Ayres is back in town…"/ ‘who?’/ ‘oh, surely you remember the man who helped your mother around the house while i was at work and she pregnant with Alex?’/ ‘oh, yes, he was very nice’/ ”yes. And now he's back after a long trip abroad. I'm surprised he doesn't have a family…"/ ‘Maybe he doesn't want one’.

“Well, I've never met a man who doesn't want a family, and I have…. A wonderful family, with an intelligent son and a beautiful daughter who always wants to have her way“/”I'll take that as a compliment, hm? Hey, I've got a great team behind me, they may be a bitcrazy, but they take everything very seriously.“/”,I get it now”.

They went into the kitchen together to get dinner ready. “So the wedding is also postponed indefinitely. What do you think he'll say?“/”Not much, probably. He's having to work double shifts at the moment because there's a shortage of doctors at the hospital“/”I've heard about that. Hopefully he'll get some rest at some point.“.

„Did I hear a little ironic undertone? Dad, he's a really nice guy. I know he's not your dream son-in-law…"/,,But apparently he's your dream man. And it's ultimately about you“/”mhm, exactly…How is Dina?“/,,oh, good, she's very happy at the restaurant I recommended to her”/"Fine. Let's make dinner now, I'm hungry”.

While Cassandra and her father take care of dinner, Alexander does his homework.,,oh man, this task isn't that easy after all, but I don't want to keep asking, I want to do it on my own. I wanted to see an alien too, now all I get is a photo… But at least it's real and not like a poster…hmm, who was the third president of the USA?”…

The dinner passed without many words. Cassandra was glad that her father had now agreed to her pursuing her research and that she would have to travel to another city to do so. But she wants to use tomorrow to talk to Don again and spend more time with him.

9:45 pm. While her father and brother are already in bed, Cassandra wanted to do a little test in front of her mirror. She put on the new nightdress she had recently bought for her wedding night. “Don has never seen me like this before. Just with this knot in my hair…hh, I wish I could undo this stupid curse, but I'm not a witch…. And it's better not to mess with magic… But the fact is, it hit me and I'm going to stick to doing the right thing…. “. After looking at herself for a while, she changed back into her normal clothes to sleep. And her thoughts wavered between Don and her mother. But most of all she was looking forward to this trip.

@greenplumbboblover , @solorisims , @plumbobgothica 😊

(3rd President? Thomas Jefferson, Sweetie)

My story posts are also welcome to be shared.😊🙂

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

first week back in the swing of things felt nice :) i got my work done without feeling too stressed about it, i worked out 5 times, i have been better at some habits than others but not truly terrible at any. i have been good about keeping my room clean and less so about the kitchen but yesterday i did tackle many dishes while watching the clint eastwood jury movie.

because of various specifics of my prep stuff right now (some external, like still compiling a workable set of materials for the new SAT, some self imposed, such as continuing to digitize my answer keys, which Will pay time dividends…. eventually…..) i am sort of considering calling it re: new students for a while after the new high schooler i’m meeting this sunday (assuming they don’t ask to try someone else after session one as they often do). i could do more and make more money but i could also spend longer with a schedule that feels very relaxed and be fine, especially since the development stuff i also do is kicking off another set of projects in the next few weeks which would be a useful extra for which i would not have to leave my house when it is so cold and horrible and dark all the time.

but i have in fact been leaving my house! free store this week was a cute one, busy but with plenty of hands and very chill after the sun went down because it was So Goddamn Cold so the last hour or so was mostly a lot of familiar faces shooting the shit. i met i. for a complete unknown, a movie that reminded me wow i actually i do love the music of bob dylan so much it makes me stupid. other movie plans got cancelled for norovirus reasons (it is truly Going Around in the city!!!) but today after a morning session in forest hills and an early afternoon session in brooklyn i came back to astoria for a friend’s chill party and helped my favorite twelve year old conduct a ham heist (don’t ask). i once again told myself i could just stay for an hour or so and once again had to talk myself into leaving because it was cozy and fun but i had a fucking zoom session at home (lol). i closed the day with 17k steps behind me and a lot of foam rolling and stretching out my legs and hips while we watched jay and silent bob reboot, an unbelievably stupid movie i am somewhat embarrassed made me laugh as hard as i did.

we have all officially made it to less than two months left till daylight savings! i read the last 500 pages or so of jonathan strange and mr norrell this week, which is not a sustainable pace but was very nice nonetheless. i finished it on the walk from the train to my first student’s house and almost cried at the ending even though the last page was one of the parts i remembered most clearly. tomorrow hopefully i will pick up a new lit book to start alongside continuing to work back through confederate reckoning but i have learned from past experience that bedtime books must be rereads lest i grow too curious so right now i shall be cozying up with tender is the night (because i somehow cannot find my copy of house of mirth which i took out to reread a while ago but didn’t get around to and now i don’t know where it’s gone to….).

[the---hermit]

20|09|2023

Today really feels like autumn is here. It's misty outside, and it's been raining for the whole afternoon. I am not excited about being in the rain tomorrow and for my commute, but being inside it makes me feel super cozy so I did my best to enjoy the day without thinking about tomorrow. It will be my frist in person class of this academic year, and as usual I am nervous about it. Hopefully I won't get lost looking for the lecture room, but that will be a tomorrow problem. I am figuring out that the lectures I am working on at home take more time and energy than other classes I have studied before, which means that each day I can get two recordings done and not three as I was hoping, but it's okay. I am noticing when I start to be too tired to focus, so when I do I take a break because this subject requires a lot of brain energy and I need to be as present as possible when listening to the recordings. I am not too nervous about it since the exam for this class will be in January, so I can say everything is in order for me to do things well without burning myself out like I did in June.

cozy hobbit autumn activities and productivity:

6 am morning routine and today it was super gloomy so i felt even cozier with my blanket and tea

read in the morning while having my first cup of tea

worked on two recorded lectures and highlighted the notes I took

daily Irish practice on duolingo

worked on my crochet cardigan (the goal for today is to finish the second front panel, and I think I can make it before the end of the day)

podcasts and audiobooks for my daily dose of escapism

packed my backpack because tomorrow it's my first in person class of the semester

had a self care hour at the end of my study day so I took a relaxing bath, moisturized my tattoos, etc.

📖: The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

[spindledreams]

When I was a kid, I spent HOURS poring over American Girl catalogs. My parents could never justify the cost of American Girl dolls, with three daughters, so I never owned one myself, until last month when I came across an early 1990s Kirsten at a local vintage market.

Kirsten was my first introduction to the American Girl stories. I had all of her books and pastime sets, and I always wanted a Kirsten of my own. So when I found her for $40, I scooped her up and brought her home. She wasn't wearing her original clothes, though, so I went looking online for her Meet outfit. I found a mostly-complete set - only missing the necklace and handkerchief. I can make the handkerchief, and I can find a replica of the necklace on Etsy. Kirsten does have the first hint of silver on the very edges of one eye, but unless you're looking very closely you can barely see it so I'm not going to do anything about it right now.

Well, this led me down two different paths: collecting all six of the original Historical Girls that I grew up with, and finding my sisters' favorites to surprise them with, because when I told them about Kirsten they started reminiscing about their own childhood favorites.

To that end, I have spent Way Too Much Money on pre-Mattel Pleasant Company dolls in the last week. Because I bought all of the other five I was missing, plus yesterday I found a first edition Josefina in nearly-full Meet for an absolute steal for one sister. I'm out of available funds for Molly for the other sister but I'm keeping my eye out for good deals on her too.

The ones I bought for myself all need some work to return to their former glory. They were all sold sans clothes, so for now they'll get homemade or generic things until I can find their Meet outfits. I'm not planning to play with them so I don't need their full collections but I do want to eventually get some of their other clothes. And I will be making them things too; in fact that's part of why I wanted the collection, so I can use them as models for the crochet doll clothes I make and sell!

I also plan to get all the books for the six dolls I bought, plus the craft and cookbooks.

As the dolls arrive, I'll get new posts written for each of them. Mostly to log what they look like upon arrival and what kind of work I will have to put in to restoring them. Felicity arrived yesterday afternoon, but I was too busy to do anything with her. It's 2am where I am right now and I can't get to where she is without waking someone up, so her intro will wait till morning. I'm expecting Addy and Samantha tomorrow, and hopefully by early next week my Molly and both Josefinas - mine and sister's. Both are first edition, so I'll give her whichever is in better shape and keep the project doll to work on as I have time.

And with that, I have to go to bed. Today may be Friday but it's still a school day for the kids and a work day for me.

[melancholy-marionette]

Sooo, luck is not on my side today x3 I haven't really been able to get much of anything done besides polishing off the draft of LOVESTARVED's itch page cos I was out for most of the day (forced family BBQ >.< haha) So yeah, it's not gonna be possible to launch the demo tonight either since I'm supposed to be up early tomorrow morning + I only just got home (and still have a headache >.>) I'm supposed to have most of tomorrow afternoon + a chunk of the evening/night to myself tomorrow though, so I should be able to finish all the bits and bobs that I need to. Hopefully, I can actually launch the damn demo tomorrow night x3 For now, though, the best I can do is something for screenshot Saturday! Took this one while testing, and it seems appropriate for today now that I have visions of Erys pouting at me and sulking for still not having launched the demo when he's waiting patiently to come stalk some of you >.<

[no-goodbyes-no-regrets]

Remember when I was doing flufftober? When that was a thing? That's still a thing... I just got a little bit (or a lot) behind on schedule.

So here is Tarlos @flufftober day 10: love of my life

Only a month and a bit late! I still plan on finishing all 31 fics - eventually (at least before the end of the year - hopefully.

The washing machine chronicles (AO3)

Owen's washing machine floods his house and he ends up crashing at the tarloft.

---

“I just walked through the door downstairs, I’m waiting for the elevator now.” Carlos told TK who had, for some reason, called him to ask where he was when he knew exactly what time his shift ended and what time that meant he would be home. “Which just got here. Why?”

“No reason. Just missed you today.”

It was their five month wedding anniversary and even though they’d both scheduled the day off so they could celebrate together, a 6AM phone call that morning had ruined their plans.

Carlos’ sergeant had apologised but explained that with several of his co-workers either sick or injured, they really needed him. So he had reluctantly rolled out of bed, put his uniform on, and kissed TK goodbye with a promise to call at lunch.

He suppressed a yawn as the elevator door opened and he stepped out into the hallway and made his way to their door.

Only before he could even think of opening it, the door opened and TK stepped out, sliding it  closed behind himself.

“Hey baby. How was your day? Did you arrest any bad guys?” He slid his arms around Carlos’ waist and pulled him in for a kiss.

“Uh… no not really... Mostly got caught up on paperwork this afternoon. What’s going on?”

“Nothing. Can’t I just greet the love of my life when he finally gets home from a hard day’s work?”

Carlos frowned.

“Why do you sound like a 1950s housewife? Are you going to fetch my pipe and slippers next?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m just happy to see my husband.”

“You saw me this morning. You know, when we woke up in the same bed. Like every morning.”

“Well… not every morning.” TK argued. “When we’re on opposing schedules sometimes we barely see each other, let alone sleep in the same bed.”

“TK.”

“Yes.”

“What are you hiding in our apartment? Please don’t tell me you lost Lou again.”

“No, no I know exactly where Lou is.”

“Is he in our bed again? You let him sleep on my pillow again, didn’t you?” Carlos sighed.

“No, no, I promise Lou is not in our bed and your pillow is 100% lizard free.”

“Ok then what’s going on? What did you do?”

“What makes you think I did anything?” TK replied, mildly offended, and Carlos just raised an eyebrow at him. “Fine.” He sighed. “Promise me you won’t get angry.”

“You’re making me nervous. What happened?”

“Nothing bad. Well… not to us.”

“TK…”

“I know we had a whole night planned and you were probably looking forward to it, and I was too but I couldn’t just do nothing.”

“Ok…”

“My dad’s house flooded.”

“Flooded?”

“The washing machine… flooded half the house. I’m not sure what happened exactly.” TK told him. “But the house is basically unfit to live in for the next few days.”

“Ok… I feel like I’m still missing some information here.”

“Dad texted me earlier to tell me he was going to a hotel and that he’d see me at work tomorrow. So I called him to ask what was going on, and he explained the washing machine disaster.” TK explained. “And I kind of offered him to come stay with us until they’ve dried out the house. I know I should have discussed it with you first but you were at work and I didn’t want dad to go to a hotel and…”

“TK. Take a breath.” Carlos interrupted him and leaned in for a kiss. “It’s fine. Your dad is always welcome at our place. Did you really think I was going to get angry over this?”

“No… but I know you were probably looking forward to some quiet time together tonight after our plans for today fell through.”

Carlos shrugged.

“We have the rest of our lives to enjoy being married to each other, I think we’ll survive having your dad stay with us for a few days.”    

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Of course. It’s not what I had in mind for today, but it’s fine. It’s not like the rest of the day has gone according to plan anyway.”

TK gave him a commiserating look.

“I know. But we’ll make up for it next month. And for our one year anniversary we’re going to Tuscany. For at least two weeks.”

“Really? Do you think you can live without seeing your lizard baby that long?” Carlos teased and TK rolled his eyes.

“Dad and Mateo can look after him. And we can facetime.” He replied. “And he’s our lizard baby. Don’t think you can get out of your parental duties, officer Reyes.” He poked Carlos’ chest for emphasis.

“Wouldn’t dream of it. I promise to uphold my duties as a lizard parent.” Carlos said as if he was swearing on a bible in court.

“Just as long as you don’t have to touch or feed him, right?”

“I fed him last week!”

“You dropped a cricket in front of his little cave and told him to deal.”

“Well he did, didn’t he? It’s good to teach kids independence. You baby him.” Carlos said, trying very hard not to laugh. They’d had the same mock argument many a time before and it usually ended in fits of giggles.

“I love him. You’re still scared of him.” TK argued. “And don’t try to deny it. I’m married to a cop, I know all kinds of ways to make you admit the truth.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“I’m not going to share my tactics with you.”

Carlos laughed and in a split second he spun TK around, back to his chest, and pinning his arms to his sides like he was subduing an unruly suspect.

“What was that about sharing tactics?” he said teasingly and dropped a kiss in TK’s neck.

“You using your police training on me is not fair.” TK complained but made no effort to try and get out of Carlos’ grip.

“Really now?”

“Yeah, you shouldn’t use it on innocent civilians.”

“Good thing there are none of those around, then.” Carlos teased.

TK made a sound that was something between a laugh and an indignant huff.

“You’re mean today. Work makes you mean.”

“Unexpected work does.” Carlos corrected him. “Because sometimes when you plan a day of celebrating your wedding anniversary with your very sexy husband… you get called into work to catch up on paperwork, and then when you get home, your father in law is there.”

“I know…” TK sighed, leaning back against Carlos’ chest when he loosened his grip and just wrapped his arms around his waist instead, resting his chin on his shoulder. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“Hmm… I’ll look forward to it.”

Suddenly the door to the loft slid open and Owen appeared in the doorway, killing their moment.

“Oh. Sorry to interrupt guys, but I was going to order food. I’m thinking pizza. After the day I’ve had, I need carbs. And cheese.” He announced. “Oh and hi Carlos, welcome home. Sorry to crash your night.”

“It’s fine. You’re always welcome here.”

“Mi casa es su casa, right?” Owen said, seemingly thrilled over using a Spanish phrase in front of Carlos.

“Yeah, something like that.” Carlos smiled before letting go of TK and following them into the house.

After checking Lou was indeed where he should be, and telling TK to just go ahead and order for both of them, Carlos had a quick shower and changed into something more comfortable than his uniform.

He was tired and decided to take out his contacts and wear his glasses instead. In part because he knew TK liked it when he did, but also because he didn’t want to risk falling asleep wearing them again and waking up with sore eyes.

“Hey babe, pizza will be here soon. I ordered the veggie for you and the four cheese for me.” TK greeted him when he walked out of the bedroom.

Carlos nodded.

“Because you couldn’t decide which one you wanted and this way you can have some of both?”

“The perks of having a husband.” TK joked. “Well, one of them.” He added with a wink.

A little while later, the food was delivered and the three of them settled on the sofa for a night in front of the TV.

TK was in charge of the remote, which suited Carlos just fine. It meant he could relax and snuggle up to him while enjoying his food, while TK flicked through the channels roughly twelve times before eventually settling on a sitcom rerun that didn’t require much brainpower to understand.

“For god’s sake TK will you just pick something already?” Owen snapped after TK’s third or fourth round through all of the channels.

“I’m trying! There is nothing.”

“Just leave it at this then. CSI. Everybody likes that.”

“Oh no. No crime shows in this house. This one will keep picking it apart and complain about how they’re doing it wrong.” TK said, nodding at Carlos who just shrugged.

“That’s because they always do.” He argued. “And you’re one to talk. When Louisa mentioned she liked that hospital show, you spent an hour explaining to her all the medical details they got wrong, based on one episode you’d seen.”

“That one episode was really bad!” TK protested and looked at his dad for support but Owen was just looking at them with a wistful smile on his face. “What?”

“You know your mom used to do that too with courtroom scenes in tv shows. She probably still does. God help Enzo if he likes courtroom dramas.” He said with a chuckle. “On one of our first dates we went to see a movie that was popular back then. I don’t even remember what it was… but one of the characters was a lawyer and there were various courtroom scenes and talk about legal stuff.” He smiled. “She ranted about everything that was wrong with those scenes the entire rest of the night. I wanted to get to know her better but she was too busy talking about procedures and how you’re supposed to behave in court. In the end I just kissed her so she would stop talking.”

“Always an effective method.” Carlos commented, grinning at TK.

“I think that’s when I fell in love with her for real. Someone who could get so passionate about legal jargon when she was only a few years out of law school herself. She always had that spark.” Owen said and sighed. “She’s the love of my life. We’re just… too much alike.” He settled on. “Two workaholics together… just doesn’t work.”

“I’m sorry Owen.” Carlos told him.

“No, no, don’t be ridiculous. We had some good years together and something amazing to remind us of that.” He nodded at TK.

“Wait, I’m a something now?”

“Yeah.” Carlos agreed, ignoring TK’s comment. “That is pretty amazing.”

The rest of the night, Owen spent sharing stories about the early days of his and Gwyn’s relationship, as well as some of TK’s childhood.

And even though he loved hearing about little TK, Carlos was ridiculously comfortable in his husband’s arms, and with a full stomach, he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

“Babe, just go to bed if you’re tired.” TK ran a hand through his hair. “You’ve had a long day.”

“I’m fine.” Carlos mumbled, closing his eyes and leaning into TK’s touch.

“You’re falling asleep on me.” TK argued and Carlos was vaguely aware of him turning off the TV. “Come on, let’s go to bed. I’m tired too. I’ll go get you a pillow and a blanket, dad.”

Carlos made himself get up and go brush his teeth while TK helped Owen get set up on the sofa. After he was done he was tempted to just slip into bed and go to sleep but he figured it would be rude not to at least say a quick goodnight.

“You know where everything is…” TK trailed off, smiling when Carlos hugged him from behind and sleepily told him to come to bed. “Just help yourself if you want anything.”

“I’m good. Good night guys.” Owen said, fluffing up his pillow. “Just pretend I’m not here. Do what you always do. I’ve got earplugs.” He held up the items. “Buttercup snores.”

TK rolled his eyes.

“Good night dad.”

“Good night Owen.” Carlos said and gently pulled TK into the bedroom and closed the doors behind them.

He got into bed and got comfortable under the covers while TK plugged in his phone and turned off the lights.

“Good night babe.” He mumbled when he felt the mattress dip beside him and TK wrapping his arms around him.

“Hmm yeah it could be.” TK pressed closer to Carlos, peppering kisses over his neck and chest while playing with the waistband of his sweats.

“What are you doing? TK, no.” Carlos bat his hands away. Suddenly he was wide awake.

“Why not? It’s our anniversary.”

“I know. But your dad is right there outside this door.”

“So? You heard him, he has earplugs.” TK’s hands slipped back under Carlos’ sleep shirt.

“TK, don’t.” Carlos pushed his hands away again and moved away from him as far as their mattress allowed him to. “It feels wrong. Disrespectful.”

“Disrespectful?” TK repeated. “Are you for real? He’s a guest in our house.”

“Exactly!” Carlos hissed. “I love you but I just can’t do this now. Not with your dad 10 feet away.”

“I think it’s a little more than 10 feet.” TK muttered, clearly unhappy with the situation.

“I’ll call Ana tomorrow. Diego will know a guy to help with your dad’s house. And washing machine.” Carlos promised, taking TK’s hand and rubbing his thumb over his wedding band. “Between my mom and Diego, I don’t think there’s anyone left in Austin they don’t know. We’ll fix it.”

TK huffed and rolled onto his back.

“Cockblocked by a washing machine.”

The next morning when Carlos woke up, TK had already gotten up. He took a few minutes to psych himself up, grateful for the late start his captain had offered him, and went in search of his husband.

He found TK and Owen sitting at the dining table, both cradling a mug and looking serious. When TK noticed him, his expression changed into a soft smile.

“Morning baby.” He tilted his head up for a kiss and Carlos was more than happy to oblige. “I was just telling dad about the arrangements we made.”

“Arrangements?”

“Yeah, with your parents.”

“Look, guys, if I’m getting in your way, I’ll just go to a hotel for a few days.” Owen told them. “My shift starts in an hour so I have to get going soon but I’ll find somewhere to stay for tonight. It’s fine.”

“Nonsense.” Carlos said immediately. “You’re always welcome here.”

“We just thought you’d be more comfortable staying with Gabriel and Andrea. They have actual spare rooms. With actual beds. Our sofa is comfy, but not that comfy.” TK added.

“I slept fine last night.” Owen argued. “This sofa beats the firehouse bunks any day.”

“I already talked to Andrea. She’s expecting you after your shift tonight.” TK told him, getting up from the table, handing him his bag and steering him to the door. “And Carlos will call Ana’s husband to work something out for the house, and you’ll be back in your own bed in no time.”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” Owen said, amused.

“Of course not. Bye dad. We’ll let you know when we’ve figured something out for the house.” TK pushed him out the door and quickly closed it behind him before turning to Carlos. “When does your shift start?”

“Not until noon. Kendrick gave me a half shift to make up for calling me in yesterday.”

“Ok. Noon. I can work with that.” TK glanced at the clock and walked into their bedroom.

“I can work with that?” Carlos snorted. “And they say romance is dead.” He followed TK into the bedroom and saw him sitting down on Carlos’ side of the bed, his phone in hand. “Babe? What are you doing?”

TK held up a hand to signal to him to keep quiet.

“Hi, this is TK Reyes, Carlos Reyes’ husband. I just wanted to let you know he’s not coming in today. He’s got food poisoning. It’s not pretty. We think it was last night’s sushi.” He paused to listen to the other person’s reply. “Yeah that’s right, 363H20. Sergeant Kendrick, yes.” Another pause. “Alright thank you very much. Yeah I’ll tell him. Bye.” TK hung up and threw Carlos’ phone back on the nightstand. “Looks like you just got the day off.”

“Did you just fake me being sick?”

TK shrugged.

“Why not? It’s no big deal. You’ll just have miraculously recovered by tomorrow.”

Carlos shook his head in disbelief.

“You just lied to a police officer.”

“They can’t prove anything.” TK said, pulling Carlos down onto the bed with him, pushing him onto his back and slinging a leg over his while slipping a hand around his waist under his shirt. “I just want my husband to myself for one day so we can celebrate our wedding anniversary in style.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Carlos’ lips before moving to his neck. “The city of Austin can just deal.”

“And what do I tell people when I show up for work tomorrow and everything is fine?”

“Just tell them... You spent the whole day in bed and that thanks to your loving paramedic husband, you're feeling much better.” TK grinned and kissed him again. “And I know you hate lying so we better make sure it's the truth.”

[trash-king18]

m pt. 17

no warnings just reader with her sister

————

“you’re late” crystal says as she opens the door

“only by two minutes”

“two minutes that i will be later to work”

“lo se lo se lo siento”

i know i know i’m sorry

she shuts the door

“i thought you and miguel were on the outs”

“we are, what are you talking about”

“wet hair that was clearly washed with men’s products”

“hey!”

“-glowing skin” she sniffs “day old clothes. my guess? you were at his place not even ten minutes ago”

you turn around and roll your eyes at her but when you do your hair that you had positioned to cover your neck falls off your shoulder

she gasps “and y/n Pardo are those hickies?!”

“what?! no” you hastily pull your hair back into place

“oh. my. god.”

“it’s not a big deal”

“mana are you kidding. hickeys are how men claim their territory. they can’t pee on you so they mark your neck for every other person to see that you’re taken even when they’re not around. he’s essentially saying “hands off! she mine”

mine. the thought sends shivers through you

“i thought you were gonna be late to work”

“mm you’re lucky, but we ~will~ talk about this later.”

“Niños, ven a despedirte de tu mamá”

boys come say goodbye to your mama”

Diego and Matias run in and tackle her with hugs and then immediately run over to you next

“se bueno hijos”

be good boys

“tu tambien hermana. hey do yourself a favor borrow something from my closet and uh concealers in the bathroom” she winks

you too sis

she heads out leaving you to a whole day with your favorite boys in the world.

you help Matias with his worksheets for school while Diego showed you all the toys he had gotten for his birthday.. again.

Then you make lunch and decide take them to brighton beach for the afternoon. the water will be too cold to go in but it’ll be a good chance for them to blow off steam and get outside.

the day passes quickly, but you still find your mind wandering back to miguel every so often.

why was he being so… good. even though he was a super hero compared to every other spider man sometimes he didn’t seem like one. superheroes didn’t brood or throw things. and yet he had comforted you through a panic attack, cooked food for you, helped you in… a few other ways.

he had done a fair share of asshole things and you had no intention of mothering him into shape. still he was trying.. and you weren’t perfect either.

you weren’t necessarily thinking about a relationship but… it was starting to feel like you were in one.

before you could spiral any farther down that rabbit hole diego came running up with a shell he’d found.

“woah chico eso es genial”

that’s cool

“puedo quedármelo?”

can i keep it

“por supuesto, podemos enseñárselo a tu mamá”

of course we can show it to your mama”

“Matias, vamos, hora de irse”

come on, it’s time to go

after a lot of begging to stay and a little bit of bribery you were back in the taxi on the way home.

it was dark out and the boys were in bed, Matias was reading to Diego to help him practice. his teachers had apparently noted that he was a little behind but since he’d started doing story time every night he had definitely improved.

Crystal walked in the door looking absolutely exhausted. she came in and kisses your forehead

“i am so glad i never have to worry about you swallowing balloons full of hallucinogenics ”

“what” you laugh

she waves you off and goes to say goodnight to the boys. she comes back out in pajamas and flops down on the couch next to you

“wine?”

“tequila”

“ay ya veo, one of those cases huh?”

she snorts “si”

you pour some tequila and guava juice over ice and hand it to her. she takes a greatful sip and sinks into the cushions.

“wanna talk about it”

“god no. i don’t want to think about work tonight, tomorrow, or at work for that matter”

“fair”

“you know what i do want to talk about”

“the super cool seashell we found at the beach today” you ask hopefully

“yeahhh that and your super fine super hero friend”

“there’s nothing to talk about crystal”

“mm see if you were just fucking that would be true but you’re fucking and fighting and then fucking again”

“so?”

“soooo there’s feelings there. and you are not good at those”

“hey give me some credit here i’ve gotten better about it”

“mm fine maybe a little bit. seriously though y/n you need to talk about it, i know you enough to know you’re probably overthinking about it right now”

“no i- i mean.. maybe a little”

“cmon, spill it, gimme all the juicy details”

“we’re not teenagers im not gonna gossip about boys with you”

“uh yes you are because i’m your older sister and i’m basically the boss of you so talk”

and you do. the tequila makes it easier. you fill her in on every single thing, leaving out only a few select explicit details. when you finally stop talking she stares at you with her mouth hanging open.

“why are you looking at me like that”

“i’m not looking at you any way”

“yes, yes you are. i know that face, you have something to say”

“no no im fine im good”

“i gave you every detail you don’t get to hold out on me now”

“i just.. want you to be careful mana. i know you can take care of yourself but this sounds complicated.. not just physically, emotionally. don’t get caught up in the good moments if they don’t outweigh the bad.”

you look down at your drink

“i know. i’m trying”

“what is it tia may always says? for every bad day, a good man-“

“-makes a hundred good ones. yeah. shes such a bad ass.”

“yeah she is, she never let tío ben get away with anything”

“no she did not. I can still hear her “Benicio! no te alejes de mi”

don’t walk away from me

“Benicio! necesito un bolso nuevo”

i need a new bag

your laughter eventually dies down and you’re quiet for a while.

“i went to see him”

you don’t have to explain. she knows exactly what you mean

“oh you did?” something about the way she says it sounds weird but you dismiss it

“marcus suggested it actually, figured it was time”

“i miss him”

“me too”

she rests her head on your shoulder and you two sit like that until she dozes off. you gingerly take the glass from her hand and set it on the coffee table. it’s almost 1.

you support her head as you lay her down and cover her with a blanket. you check your phone and notice there’s multiple texts from jess and the kids asking about what happened last night. you scroll through them but you stop when you notice a text that had come through two hours ago.

it was from miguel. he never texted, hated using a phone, he just had lyla call you or showed up evidently.

will you be home tonight?

you knew he meant home as in your other universe, but if you were any other two people it could just as easily be a partner asking if you’re coming home, to our shared space. the thought weirded you out.

you weren’t sure wether or not to text back, you

knew he was probably awake working since you weren’t there.

you were so sleepy, you could’ve easily crawled into crystals bed and passed out but you didn’t want to spend another night away from home. you sneak into the boys room and plant a gentle kiss on both foreheads and then climb onto the roof because the living room is too cramped for opening portals.

you step in and step out into your kitchen. you tug your clothes off as you walk to your bed and drop your bag on the floor next to you. you don’t even have the energy to grab pajamas for yourself so you reach for the closest thing which happens to be miguel’s shirt that you’d stuffed in with your jacket on accident before leaving.

you’re asleep before your head even hits the pillow.

————

taglist:

@urmotherswhor3 @kirke-is-my-name @rexxesgirl

@simp4miguell @urmomisafinewoman

@dammittjanet @cheezit-luv3rr @miggyyyyohara

[secretofblue]

11 • 02 • 25 11:55 pm

Tuesday recap

Today i did wake up early bc i had to head to work. I was supposed to have 4.30hrs of sleep but once i went to bed i just keep rolling for god knows how many time, didn't wanted to check my phone since i knew it would only make it worse, anyways...

🧸 On tuesdays i work as a babysitter so we played a lot all the morning with her dolls, i had my weekly dose of sherk 2 and boss baby 100/10, would recommend

🫧 After that i head home and past to the pharmacy to buy my supplies for tomorrow's practice then to the grocery store to buy some more strawberries for my strawberry water addiction

🥗 Once at home i prepared my lunch, tomato chilaquiles and 1L of strawberry water

💻 I took one more course to finally finish my complementary credits (i'm debt free!) and then worked on updating them to the college platform, hopefully they get acepted and charged to my kardex with no inconvenience 😮‍💨

I also tried to register to an scholarship, but failed miserably bc it said that my password on the platform was incorrect when i know is not :( then i tried to restablish it but the mail never arrived 🥲, i’ll try again tomorrow.

📝 In the afternoon i investigated some terms related to the last week practice so this time i don't cathastrospically fail if one of the teachers ask me questions about the patients

📝 Re read and took notes of the most important points of the scientific article i investigated (dysphagia theraphy in patients with alteration in level of consciouness) for this last week's practice as well bc everyone should present and discuss the article with the Dr. , the professors and the rest of the rotation at the end of the day.

🌼 As almost every day i went for a walk with my puppy

📖 Had a little free time and read another chapter of the fic i'm currently into

🥗 Lastly i cooked dinner for my mom and i

💧 2 L

👣 10.6 k

And that was basically it. Wish me look for tomorrow's practice pleaseee.

Good night! ✨