#but she’d never dated anyone and she didn’t actually have anyone she wanted to marry

[quietwingsinthesky]

i’m saying i don’t understand the desire to be In A Relationship when you aren’t even imagining a someone to be in that relationship with. that feels like it defeats the purpose, like the same desire as Wanting A Child without actually imagining what that child will be like or require. just filling out a checkbox.

[esggs]

your teen daughter wants to start dating: suguru geto x reader

[wc: 300+] [fluff]

“Dad, let’s go underage drinking.” your teenage daughter doesn’t bother to look up from her phone. She has her head on her dad’s stomach, who’s reading a book. 

“Sure, ask your mom.” Suguru deadpans.

“She’s not the boss of you.” “She is” “L dad” “Uh-huh, honey” 

Quite frankly, you really doubt whether Suguru actually understands the kid’s slang nowadays, but he plays along regardless. Your daughter is a copy of Suguru, only that she keeps her hair short. “I don’t wanna look exactly like dad, that’s gross,” she’d say, breaking Suguru’s heart into a trillion pieces even though he’d always keep his smile on his face. You are pretty happy that she’s so open with her parents, though. 

“Dad” 

“Yeah?”

“What if I start dating?”

“Hmm.” Oh, this would be interesting. Suguru is a master of keeping a poker face though. “Anyone in particular?”

“Would you send the Rainbow Dragon after them if I name them?” Suguru didn’t reply to this, choosing instead to quietly turn a page of his book. Your daughter decided to not risk it. “That’s not the point anyway, dad. I’m just asking if it’s okay for me to date.”

On one hand, Suguru is thanking his lucky stars to have a teenage daughter who’s actually asking him about things like this. God knows he didn’t tell his parents a single thing he did at that age. But on the other hand, he’d rather rip his arm off than admit that his little baby girl is old enough for dating. Teenagers are like deer: any negative emotion from you and you’ve done spooked them and they’ll never trust you again. He doesn’t actually know what to say, so he goes with the classic. “I have to talk to your mom first, honey”

“Cool” She picks up her phone again, scrolling through reels and showing him one if she found something particularly funny. Why is a head from a toilet funny? Suguru really doesn’t get it, but he laughs along regardless. 

suguru internally at the realisation that time is passing too quickly and very soon his daughter will grow up and get married and leave her old parents:

[sinsdaycorp]

Enid never attended nevermore bc her parents were ashamed that she’d never turned. Enid had been showing ‘normie’ traits all her life and her parents kept her hidden, homeschooled her, lied and said that she was adopted and they found her all alone. Enid, being the youngest and the only siblings were boys, believed them when they said they desperately tried for a girl and were “so happy” when they found her that they just kept her. Enid wanted to believe that, but they were so mean- well, she didn’t actually know any different kind of “love” than what they showed her.

So, Wednesday was always in Nevermore, her powers did start showing a lot earlier, and Morticia and Gomez decided to keep her in Larissa’s schooling system. Besides, Aunt Weems was and always will be Wednesdays fave.

Somehow, it comes around that there’s a high school reunion and Wednesday is forced to attend. But, it’s a fake dating thing too. She hires Enid online, pugsley helps her, of course. A fake date to Jericho. A high school reunion.

Enid, never having much luck in the money line, having been so sheltered and “protected” only sought jobs in the outcast line because she was sick of hearing normies gossip about them and snicker and be downright racist to them.

She followed her brothers to Jericho for schooling, but staying homeschooled. Her parents thought that if she ever one day started developing signs of wolf-like behaviour, they’d tell her the truth. That she wasn’t adopted and she was their kid.

So, Enid stuck around Jericho, because although racist towards outcasts, Enid had made some friends with kids from her brothers’ school, Nevermore Academy.

She did work Weathervane Cafe for a while, worked as a sales attendant at the place she liked to spend all her earnings on, and, on the side, sold her services on the internet. NOT IN A CREEPY WAY! She offered advice, for a small fee- girl gotta get cash! She offered a fake date to get parents or other people off your backs for a night, and a decent sum. Lying made her feel yucky inside.

…

Fake date, Wednesday hires Enid for the reunion, and because none of Enid’s brothers were in Wednesday’s year after she did some quick math to make sure she’d know no one before agreeing, Enid was suddenly being met with a woman dressed in all black and a folder being handed to her.

“Wednesday?” Enid asked hesitantly.

The woman nodded. “I assumed you were Enid after my brother described you as “exact opposite and best for the ruse”. He was right. You’ll do nicely.”

“What’s this?” Enid asked, looking at the folder and flipping it open, her eyes widening. “F-Fifty Thousand?” She squeaked.

“I apologise, I would prefer to pay you a decent fee, your sight seemed too low a price for my askance, consider this a persuasion fee after you’ve read the list of, I suppose you could call them demands. And then, if you decide not to go along with this, I’ll pay you fifty for your time I’ve wasted already. And if you decide you’d like to help me this coming weekend, but the fifty is not enough, I’ll be happy to meet whatever your fee. You have until Thursday, at noon, to let the number on the top of the page know. A simple yes or no is all you need to write.”

Enid watched at the woman dropped a twenty on the table beside her untouched coffee and left the cafe.

Enid stared at the folder, closed it and stood. She had some thinking, and probably drinking, to do. Enid had to get home.

One of the conditions, she’d be Wednesdays fake wife to get two ‘boys’ ( t*ler and x*vier) off her back.

“You think they’d still be holding a flame after fifteen years?”

“Those boys started their idiotic fight over me since our parents were in school and we met when we were merely months old.”

“So they know you’d’ve gotten married?”

“An Addams Wedding is the most private thing, Enid. We do not invite anyone other than blood. Those boys are not blood.”

[maximoffcarter]

The proposal.

Pairings: Casey Novak x Alex Cabot.

Summary: After seven years of dating, Casey Novak and Alexandra Cabot are ready to propose toe ach other, though it's a bit of an ordeal to get to the proposal.

A/n: Surprise surprise! I decided to post this one today for my bestie. Once again, bestie here giving me the best ideas @saurgaeee. I don't even know if the end is good but I believed the rest of it was pretty cute haha, I hate knowing how the story will go but then at the very end I end up getting stuck. But hope y'all like this! Don't be afraid to send me an ask or message if you got any requests, I'm up for anything for now. Enjoy and leave your comments, reblog, hearts, whatever you'd like, will be very much appreciated🫶🏻

*not my gif*

“I can do this…I’ve got this.” Casey whispered softly as she took a deep breath, shaking her hands as if that would help to shake off her anxiety. “It’s gonna be okay.” She breathed out as she straighten out her posture and knocked softly on the door.

“Come in.”

Casey cleared her throat as she opened the door and offered a small smile. “Hey, Liz.” She closed the door slowly behind her, walking to Elizabeth’s desk.

Elizabeth sighed heavily as she took off her glasses and looked up at Casey. “What did you do?”

Casey frowned as she shook her head. “Literally nothing. Why would you ask that?”

“I can definitely tell you’re nervous. You don’t just come here and say ‘Hey Liz’ if you didn’t do anything. And I’m pretty sure you want to ask me something so.” Elizabeth leaned back in her chair.

Casey raised her brow. “You don’t even say hi to your worker and friend?” She grinned.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “Hi, Casey. What did you do?” She grinned.

“I didn’t do anything, but…” Casey sat down and sighed. “I do wanna ask you something.”

“Okay, shoot.” Elizabeth stared at her with a raised brow, her curiosity pretty clear.

Casey nibbled on her lip as she stared back at Elizabeth, thinking that it really had looked easier than it actually was. She cleared her throat again and looked down at her hands as she tried to organize her words. “I uh…I wanted to…” She whispered softly.

Elizabeth huffed a chuckle. “You’ve never been so nervous, Case. What has you so nervous that you can’t just ask-“

“I want to ask Alex to marry me.” Casey said rapidly as she looked up at Elizabeth. “And I…wanted your blessing.”

Elizabeth raised her brow as she stared at Casey with a defying stare. “You wanna marry Alex? My Alex?”

Casey nodded. “My Alex but…yes.” Elizabeth stared at her. Casey cleared her throat again. “Your Alex, yes.” She nibbled on her bottom lip as she stared at Elizabeth.

“Have you already talked about it?” Elizabeth simply asked.

“We have…more than once. I uh…I already talked to her father, and he said yes. But…I wanted to ask you.”

Elizabeth nodded. “I see.”

“So…” Casey wetted her lips nervously. “…do I have your blessing?”

Elizabeth kept staring at her, her face not showing any emotion. “You know what would happen if you hurt her, right?”

Casey nodded. “I know. I would never do that.”

Elizabeth nodded back. “You’re good to go.” She said as she put back her glasses and went back to read the files she had in front of her.

Casey frowned and looked at her for a moment before she stood up. “Uh…” she looked back at the door and then at Elizabeth. “Okay, thanks.” She then walked to the door and was stopped before she could leave by Elizabeth’s voice.

“Casey.”

Casey looked back at Elizabeth. “Yes?”

Elizabeth smiled as she looked at Casey. “I’m happy for both of you. You know I also care for you, and yes. You do have my blessing. Thank you for considering me.” She smirked. “I’ll be waiting for the invitation.”

Casey smiled softly as she nodded. “Thank you.” She turned back and left the office.

If anyone would’ve told Casey that she’d be asking her boss for someone’s hand years ago, she’d have laughed in their faces, but here she was; feeling relieved that both Alex’s dad and Elizabeth Donnelly had given her the blessing to ask Alexandra Cabot to marry her. It might’ve been silly, Elizabeth would be probably teasing her about it for a long time, but asking for a hand in marriage was usually what was done in her religion, and even if she knew that Alex was not religious -she herself wasn’t religious anymore-, she still wanted to keep that tradition going. Marriage had just been legalized for same sex couples and after years of being together, Casey thought it would be a good idea to finally ask Alex to marry her.

They had been dating for around almost seven years, and even if they were already acting like a married couple with promises rings, Casey thought it would be cute to officially be able to call Alex her wife. The idea of it brought butterflies to Casey’s stomach. Never in her life did she think that she’d be marrying someone, after being engaged once, and being single for a very long time, she thought that maybe she was destinated to stay that way, but after meeting Alex and falling deeply in love with her, she knew that her story had been rewritten. She was the happiest she has ever been with Alex, and she hoped that things would go as planned.

********************

“So, what brings you here, Alexandra? I haven’t see you in a while.” Branch leaned back on his chair as he looked at Alex, who was standing in front of his desk. “You look like someone is going to scold you, and that someone is clearly Elizabeth.” He grinned.

Alex huffed a nervous chuckle as she looked down at her hands. “Right, well…it has nothing to do with work or a case. I wanted to ask you something…about Casey.”

Branch nodded. “Is everything alright?” He raised his brow.

“It is. She is. We are.” Alex cleared her throat as she looked up at him, taking a deep breath. “It’s a…well. I know Casey worked with you for a while, and for what Casey tells me, you’re the reason she started in SVU and also the reason she kept going. You supported her a lot.”

Branch offered a faint smile as he nodded. “I like to think so. But what is your question, Alexandra?”

Alex took a deep breath as she straighten her posture. “I want to for your blessing to marry Casey.” She tried to hold a serious face, but her anxiety was definitely present, and she was ready to walk out of the office before anything else could happen.

Branch frowned as he looked at Alex. “You know that…I’m not her father, right?”

Alex nodded. “I know. But…I know that you care for her, and Casey appreciates you so much, just like I do. But…I thought I’d ask you before I do it.”

Branch nodded as he looked away for a moment. “Alright. Well.” He smiled as he looked back at Alex. “You do have my blessing, Alexandra. Go ask her.”

Alex smiled widely as she nodded. “Thank you, sir.” She huffed a chuckle as she walked to the door.

“You know better than to hurt you, right?” Branch simply asked, raising a brow as he looked at Alex.

Alex stopped in her tracks and turned to look back at Branch, nodding. “I know, sir. I-I wouldn’t dare.”

“Good. Now go get your girl.” Branch grinned.

“I…have someone else to ask.” Alex smiled.

Branch frowned again. “Who else?”

Alex sighed as she smiled. “Mary Clark.”

Branch chuckled. “You two are something else.” He nodded. “Good luck.”

Alex gulped as she heard the ‘good luck’ but simply nodded and offered a smile before she exited the office. It’s been about three weeks since she’s been thinking about doing all this; three weeks of torture in her mind since she hated lying to Casey, and she had been telling Casey that she’s just busy and with a load of work when in reality, she’s been to probably five different jewelry stores trying to find the perfect ring for the redhead. She knew Casey had grown up Catholic, she knew marriage was like a big thing in the religion and even if they wouldn’t be getting married in a church, she wanted to do things right. Casey’s parents were not in the picture anymore, her parents being divorced and creating a distance with Casey since she came out to them, so she knew somehow this was going to be hard for Casey. She wanted everything to be perfect and she realized that asking Branch and Mary Clark was important since they saw Casey grow up, and Casey had always mentioned how she really appreciated what they had done for her and the support she got from them when she was suspended.

Alex had secretly talked to Elizabeth about marrying Casey, Elizabeth had been kidnapped by Alex for a whole afternoon to try to find a ring, Elizabeth letting Alex know how silly she was being because she didn’t think it was a big deal, but in the inside, she was melting at how Alex was a bundle of nervousness as she looked at various rings. So for the last two weeks, Alex has been keeping the box with her at every moment, too afraid that if she left it back home, Casey would easily find it. Alex had only met Mary a few times, after Casey had been working with her again, she had been introduced and she had visited Casey a few times while working with Mary. Mary reminded her a bit of Elizabeth, so she thought maybe it wouldn’t be too bad to ask her, but now standing right outside her house, her anxiety was very present again and she felt like she was about to faint.

“Alex.” Mary smiled. “What a pleasure to have you here. Come on in.” She stepped aside for Alex to come in, closing the door afterwards and then walking to her living room. “Want something to drink?”

Alex shook her head as she cleared her throat. “No, I’m good. Thanks.” She offered a small smile and started looking around to stop her nerves.

Mary sat on the couch and raised her brows in curiosity. “So, is there anything I can help you with? I’m sure that’s why you’re here.” She signaled to Alex to sit down, a smile on her face.

Alex sat down on the couch in front of her to face her, her hands fidgeting with her coat. “Yes. I mean…not work related.”

“Ah.” Mary grinned. “Casey related.”

Alex gulped as she nodded, taking a deep breath. “Yes. I uh…well…” she huffed a chuckle as she looked down at her hands. “I just-“

Mary chuckled softly. “Casey did say you looked cute when you got all nervous.”

Alex looked up at Mary and blushed slightly. “She said that?” She smiled.

Mary nodded. “She always talks about you.” She smiled. “I know why you’re here, Alexandra.”

“Y-You do?”

“The answer is yes.” Mary smiled.

Alex’s breath hitched as she stared at Mary. “How did you-“

“You’re not nervous just for anything, and if it’s Casey related, it’s easy to put the pieces together.” Mary grinned. “You have my blessing. I know Casey grew up in religion, and I’m sure you thought this would mean a lot for Casey.”

“That’s right.” Alex smiled. “And yes, I want to marry Casey.”

Mary’s smile widened. “Have you gotten the ring?”

Alex looked into her pocket and handed it to Mary. “I got it two weeks ago. Have been with me ever since.”

Mary chuckled as she opened the small box. “This is beautiful, and very Casey.”

Alex’s heart warmed at her words, sighing in relief as she smiled. “I’m…so glad to hear that.”

Mary gave back the box and smiled. “You two are very lucky to have each other, and I’m sure Casey is gonna be the happiest. Thank you for considering me for this.”

“Well, I know you’re someone important for Casey, and I know Casey is important to you.” Alex smiled.

“Like a daughter, yes.” Mary smiled. “So, I’ll be here if you guys need anything for preparations and everything, will love to help.”

“Everyone is just…telling me to go ask her and already talking about the wedding as if she already said yes.” Alex shrugged. “Am I missing something here?” She chuckled nervously.

Mary stood up and walked to the other couch, sitting down beside Alex, grabbing her hands, and offering a small smile. “Do you really think Casey is gonna say no?”

Alex shrugged. “I mean-“

“She loves you, Alex. And for the first time in the years I’ve known Casey, I have never seen her happier. So yes, we all agree that Casey will say yes.”

Alex smiled softly as she nodded. “She will.”

“And you already know the terms and conditions, right?” Mary grinned.

Alex nodded. ���I could never hurt her.”

Mary nodded. “Very well, so tell me, you have anything planned?” She smirked.

********************

Alex groaned loudly as she threw her head back. “Elliot, this is stupid. We should just leave it here.”

Elliot chuckled as he walked to Alex, picking up the ball from the floor and putting it on the glove. “C’mon, Cabot. You got this.”

Alex shrugged. “What is the point anyway? It’s not like I’m gonna play with her or anything.” She raised her brows as she looked at him, putting the bat against her shoulder. “I know Casey will love to know that I’m learning softball for her but…it’s useless. I hate playing sports. I’m better at running.” She offered a small smile.

Elliot sighed as he nodded. “Casey loves you no matter what.” He smiled. “Why did you want to learn then?”

“I want to take her to the batting cages.” Alex shrugged. “Thought if I had a bit of practice, I wouldn’t make a full of myself there.”

“She knows you don’t know how to play.” Elliot grinned.

“And I could’ve impressed her.” Alex grinned. “But I just decided is better if she teaches me.” She handed Elliot the bat and walked back to her bag to grab her bottle of water.

Elliot squinted his eyes as he walked to Alex. “And why would you want to take her there, anyway? You know she goes time to time on her own.”

Alex shrugged as she looked back at him. “Well, we always go out to eat or for a movie, I thought maybe doing a different date wouldn’t hurt.” She tilted her head. “What?”

Elliot smiled as he shook his head. “No, nothing.”

Alex nodded. “Right.”

“Am I gonna be best man?”

Alex sighed as she covered her face with her hands. “Is it that obvious?” She mumbled as she looked back at Elliot.

Elliot chuckled as he placed everything on the bench and then looked back at Alex. “No, Alex. It’s nice.” He smiled. “I’m happy for you, the ice queen finally found her fire.”

Alex rolled her eyes playfully. “That’s stupid.” She grabbed her bag and then started walking with Elliot.

“Makes sense in my head.” Elliot grinned as he grabbed his things and placed his hand on Alex’s back.

All the way back home, Alex kept playing in her mind the last few days. The moment it was legalized, the thought never left her mind. They had mentioned it before, they had talked about it, once the relationship became pretty serious, Alex brought it up once out of nowhere; never in her life did she think that she’d be talking about marriage with someone. All of her past relationships have always ended before they could even drop the L bomb, but Casey had been different. The moment they had met, the very first time they talked, Alex knew she was screwed, and Casey never left her mind. After she had come back from Witness Protection, the first thing she did was try to get in contact with Casey again, and from there, they became inseparable, Alex being Casey’s biggest support after being suspended. Alex couldn’t have been happier once she asked Casey to move in with her, and the very first night after they had moved all of Casey’s stuff to her place, she knew that she wanted forever with Casey. And to her surprise, Casey thought the same thing.

And now, seven years later, here she was. Carrying with her the box that was literally holding her future. She tried to calm herself down with the fact that she has been with Casey for seven years now. Seven. Mary and Elizabeth had made it very clear that it was obvious that Casey was going to say yes, why wouldn’t she? Unless she didn’t want to officially take that step with Alex, then maybe Alex would scare her away and Casey would want to leave her. But that was just Alex’s anxiety playing tricks with her. She took a deep breath as she unlocked the door of their apartment and walked in, finding Casey in the kitchen. Alex closed the door behind her and leaned over it, smiling softly as she looked at her. She was scared, so scared, but she couldn’t wait to pop the question.

Casey looked up at Alex and smiled. “Hey you.”

“Hi.” Alex smiled, dropping her bag by the door, and then walked to the kitchen, wrapping her arms around Casey’s waist, and kissing her shoulder. “Making dinner?”

Casey nodded. “Yep. I came back home early and thought I could do some dinner for us.” She put the knife down and turned in Alex’s arms, smiling as she faced the blonde. “Good run?” She kissed her nose and then wrapped her arms around Alex’s neck.

Alex nodded softly. “Yes.” She smiled as she pecked her lips softly. “So…I was thinking that for our date tomorrow…maybe we could do something different.”

Casey furrowed her brows. “Like what?”

Alex shrugged. “Well, you said you wanted to go out to eat on Friday. We really didn’t see any good movies that we could watch tomorrow, so I thought we could do something fun together.” She smiled. “I was thinking we could go to the batting cages?”

Casey’s eyes lit up as her smile widened. “Wait, really?”

“Why not? I mean, you love it, and I could really use a different way to work out.”

“Well, if you want a different way to work out, I have many ideas in mind.” Casey bit her lip softly as she felt Alex’s hand go up and down her back.

Alex raised her brow. “I wouldn’t say no to those.” She grinned as she leaned in and kissed her lips. “But what do you say?” She whispered against her lips, pecking them softly.

“I’d love that, baby.” Casey smiled. “But are you sure?”

Alex nodded. “Yes, my love.”

“The sounds like a plan.” Casey kissed her lips softly. “Can you help me get the table ready? Just need to fix this for the salad.” She turned again to finish.

********************

“So, wanna try?” Casey grinned as she looked back at Alex.

Alex gave her a shy smile. “Uh…I just…I don’t think I can do this, Case.”

Casey chuckled softly. “C’mon, baby. You’ve just been standing there watching me. Looking all cute, of course, but still.” She grinned.

Alex chuckled softly as she sighed. “Will you help me?”

“You know I always will.” Casey went out the cage for a moment and brought a helmet for Alex. She walked to Alex and put it on her head carefully, kissing her nose as she smiled. “Still looking very cute.”

Alex rolled her eyes playfully. “C’mon, let’s get this over with.”

“Okay, so, you gonna stand like this, grab the bat right here. Try to keep steady and just focus on the ball.” Casey showed her first how to stand, positioning herself behind Alex, and then wrapped her arms around Alex, placing her hands on top of Alex’s in the bat. “Just focus on the ball.” Once the ball came their way, Alex jumped slightly as Casey moved their arms to bat. Casey chuckled softly. “That was good.”

“Yeah, cause you have your arms wrapped around me.” Alex smirked as she turned to look at Casey.

Casey smirked as she wetted her lips. “If you wanted my arms around you. You could’ve asked for cuddles, you know?”

“I like to watch you in your element. Plus your arms feel good around me, and you behind me? Even better.” Alex bit her lip as she leaned in to kiss Casey’s lips.

Casey chuckled against her lips. “Wanna try again?”

Alex hummed. “Why don’t I watch you again so I can try it on my own next?” Casey raised her brow. “I promise.” She rolled her eyes playfully.

Casey sighed. “Okay, but next one you do it.”

Alex nodded. “Yes, baby.” She smiled softly as Casey positioned herself again, not noticing that Alex quietly exited the cage and went to their stuff.

“You need to focus on the ball and just swing the bat. With practice, you just know the perfect timing.” Casey said as she showed Alex, smiling as she saw the ball go. “See? You just-“ She turned to look at Alex and gasped softly as she saw Alex kneeling with a small box in her hands, her eyes widening as the bat fell to the floor. “Alex…” she breathed out.

Alex giggled. “I thought of so many ways to do this, but this is something you love, that you’ve done your whole life, and I thought maybe it would be more special than any other thing.” She cleared her throat as she tried to hide her anxiety. “I know we’ve been dating for years now, and we basically live together already, but I wanted to do this. I want forever with you. I want to officially call you my wife. Casey, I love you so much.” She chuckled nervously. “I had this whole thing planned to say but…you already know how much I love you. So…Casey Grace Novak…will you marry me?”

“Yes.” Casey sobbed. “Yes!” She jumped on Alex, wrapping her arms around her neck as she kept saying yes over and over again, falling on top of her.

Alex laughed, wrapping her arms around Casey’s waist. She felt tears in her eyes as she held Casey who still kept repeating yes, she didn’t know if she had tears because she was laughing or because she wanted to cry, and for a moment her mind registered that they were both in the dirty floor, but at this moment, she didn’t care one bit…Casey was now her fiancée. Casey started peppering her face with kisses, chuckling as she was trying to hold back her tears. Alex then moved to sit down, Casey straddling her lap and her face moving to Alex’s face to look at each other.

“Can I put the ring now?” Alex laughed softly.

“Oh, yes! I’m sorry!” Casey laughed, looking down and taking her promise ring off, and putting it on her other hand. Alex placed the ring on her finger, making Casey gasp softly. “Is that…is that your birthstone?” She smiled softly as she felt her heart warm.

Alex chuckled softly. “Yeah, I uh…I thought it would be cute.” She looked back up at Casey and smiled. “Fits your eyes perfectly.”

Casey felt her eyes getting teary again as she placed her hands on Alex’s neck again and pulled her in for a kiss. “I love you. So much.” She whispered against her lips.

“I love you more.” Alex smiled. She cleared her throat as she looked around. “Do you think maybe we could…”

“Right! I got too excited.” Casey chuckled as she stood up, helping Alex stand up afterwards.

“You don’t say baby.” Alex grinned as she stood in front of Casey, kissing her cheek. “You wanna keep going?”

Casey shook her head, pulling Alex to her by her waist. “I want to go home with my fiancée.”  

Alex bit her lip as her smile widened. “Let’s go then.”

********************

“So, should I still do it?” Casey whispered softly in her phone, her eyes on the bathroom door to make sure Alex was still showering.

“Why wouldn’t you? Just stick to the plan.” Olivia said on the other line.

“What if she thinks it’s stupid?”

Olivia sighed. “Honey, you’re already engaged. Just do it.”

Casey nodded. “Okay. I will.” She heard the water turning off and raised from the bed. ‘Gotta go, thanks Liv!” She hung up the phone just in time, smiling as Alex walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body.

Alex frowned as she looked at Casey. “You haven’t changed, baby.”

Casey looked down at her body, noticing that she was still in her robe. “Oh, uh. I just didn’t know what to wear.” She chuckled.

“Are you okay, Case?” Alex walked to her and placed her hand on Casey’s cheek. “You seem nervous.”

Casey shook her head as she smiled, leaning in to peck her lips. “All good. We better hurry, our reservation is in an hour.” She offered a small smile as she walked to the closet.

As they drove to the restaurant, Casey kept her purse in her lap, fidgeting with it as she tried to focus on the road. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t surprised that Alex had decided to propose first, she had also been the first one to give the promise ring, so it only made sense. She had also been so touched when she learned that she had talked to Branch and Mary, asking for her hand, Casey almost sobbed when Alex was telling her about it and how nervous she had been. They hadn’t really said anything to the squad yet, the only person that knew for now was Olivia -or that’s what she thought- because she had been the one going with her to pick up the ring. She had thought about doing it the moment they came back from the batting cages, but she still wanted it to be special for Alex just like it was for Casey.

Once they got to the restaurant, Casey had asked for a private spot so it would only be a moment for the two of them, Alex blushed once they got to the table and Casey pulled the chair for her to sit. She then sat down in front of Alex and smiled softly as Alex looked at her, grabbing her hand from across the table and stroking the back of it with her thumb. Her eyes then laid on the beautiful ring that Casey proudly wore, making her smile widen as she touched it. Casey’s whole body warmed as she stared at Alex; Casey loved how naturally beautiful she was, her favorite was when Alex had no makeup on, she had no imperfection at all, and the way her hair just fell perfectly in her face, framing it perfectly, Alex had mentioned that she missed her short hair, but she loved how much it had grown and Casey confessed she’d love her anyway, and those beautiful eyes…those blue eyes that made her melt. She smiled softly, thinking that she didn’t want to wait any longer.

“Baby?” Casey smiled softly.

Alex looked back up at Casey and smiled. “Yes?”

“Did I tell you that you look so beautiful tonight?” Casey grinned.

Alex rolled her eyes playfully. “Just like a bunch of times since you saw me back home.” She grinned.

“You’re always beautiful. But tonight…you look stunning.”

“You’re cheesy.” Alex chuckled softly.

Casey looked down at their hands and grabbed Alex’s, her thumb touching Alex’s promise ring. “Are you still gonna wear this?” She smiled softly.

Alex looked down at her ring and smiled. “At least until we get our rings once we’re married.” She looked back at Casey.

Casey smiled softly. “How about changing it now?”

Alex frowned, a grin on her face. “What?”

Casey reached with her other hand on her purse, getting the small box out and standing up to kneel, a small gasp from Alex. She smiled as she opened the box. “I was gonna wait until after dinner. I wanted to order your favorite dessert, which we still can.” She chuckled softly. “But looking at you…I just couldn’t wait any longer. I really thought I’d beat you into proposing but…you made me the happiest woman alive when you did. So.” She took a deep breath. “You’re the love of my life. I was so happy when you came back into my life, and I just couldn’t imagine it without you in it anymore. I love you more than words can describe…and I know we’re engaged already, but I couldn’t not do this. Alexandra Marie Cabot…will you be mine forever?”

Alex sobbed softly as she nodded. “Yes. Oh my god, yes Casey!” She leaned down and grabbed Casey’s face in her hands, kissing her softly but breaking the kiss as she couldn’t stop smiling. “Oh my.” She laughed softly as she saw Casey putting the ring on her. “That’s…that’s your birthstone.” She looked up at her and smiled.

Casey chuckled softly. “Guess we thought the same thing, huh?” She smiled as she kissed Alex’s hand. “It goes with your eyes.” She winked at her as she stood up, leaning down to kiss her lips again.

Alex shook her head. “I love you.” She smiled. “I was ready to jump on you but...maybe it’s not the best idea right now.” She chuckled.

Casey smiled. “You can jump on me when we’re back home.” She smirked as she sat back in her chair. “I really did want to give it to you last night but…I just wanted it to be as special as it was for me.”

“You could’ve asked me in the shower this morning, and the answer would’ve been the same.” Alex grinned as she grabbed Casey’s hand. “So, now it’s double official.”

Casey chuckled. “You can call your dad now.” She grinned.

Alex tilted her head. “You called him?”

Casey shrugged. “I did the same thing that you did. I asked your dad…and Liz.” She chuckled.

“They’ll be on our asses, huh? Making fun of us.” Alex laughed softly.

“Oh, definitely. She saw me yesterday and was asking me if I was still nervous.” Casey chuckled. “But it was worth it.”

Alex smiled. “We’re way too cheesy.”

“And I love us.” Casey laughed.

********************

Elizabeth shook her head. “You really did think the same thing. It’s beautiful.” She grinned as she looked up at Alex. “So…have you thought about who’s going to marry you?”

Alex shrugged as she sat back down. “Not sure yet. We were thinking about the civil wedding being the only one, so there’ll be a party after.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Would you like me to marry you?”

Alex smiled. “I…wanted you to uh….be my witness.”

Elizabeth smiled as she nodded. “It’ll be an honor.”

“Thank you.” Alex smiled.

“Who is Casey asking?”

“I think she’s asking Mary.” Alex shrugged. “She’s like a mother to her.”

“Very well. I’ll make sure to find you someone. I’ll be in charge of that.” Elizabeth smiled.

Alex nodded. “Okay. We’ll go today to get the license, so I’ll let you know when we have it.” She stood up and then turned to look at Elizabeth. “Did you intimidate Casey when she talked to you?”

Elizabeth shrugged. “Just enough for her to be a little scared.” She smirked.

Alex rolled her eyes playfully. “Right. See you tomorrow, Liz.” She smiled before she left.

Elizabeth smiled as she shook her head. “Who could possibly be good to marry these two?” She whispered to herself as she looked down at her files. She then heard a knock on her door and looked up. “Lena, what are you doing here?”

Lena smiled as she walked to Elizabeth’s desk. “I heard the news, Cabot and Novak getting married.”

Elizabeth smiled. “The rebels are making it official.”

Lena laughed. “Have you got anyone to marry them or are you doing it?”

“Alex asked me to be her witness. So, yes. I’m looking for someone.” Elizabeth raised her brow. “Got anyone in mind?”

Lena smirked. “I’m in, let me know when it is, and I’ll clear my schedule.” She nodded and then walked out of the office.

Elizabeth just stared at the door and nodded. “I guess I found the right person.” She chuckled.

********************

“Okay, I just went to check on Casey, she’s looking beautiful.” Olivia smiled as she closed the door behind her.

Alex groaned. “Why is it a thing to not be able to look at my fiancée? I just want to give her a kiss.”

Olivia chuckled. “Because it’s supposed to be bad luck. And you’ll see her in half an hour.” She smiled.

Alex sighed as she turned to look at herself in the mirror, smiling softly as she looked at her dress. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“You look beautiful, Alex.” Olivia smiled.

“I can’t wait to marry her.” Alex smiled as she turned to look at Olivia. “Never in my life did I think that I’d be getting married.”

“Fate changes sometimes. And you two got lucky.”

Alex smiled as she nodded, trying to hide her nervousness and anxiety. Half an hour felt like two hours for both women, but finally the moment had arrived. They had opted to get married in Alex’s house in the Hamptons, it had a beautiful backyard, big enough for their friends and for the small party they had decided to have. Alex decided she’d be the one waiting for Casey, but still walked down the aisle in the arm of her father. Alex felt like she was going to faint as she looked at Casey, smiling softly and feeling her eyes getting teary. Elliot had been the chosen one to take Casey down the aisle, telling Casey that it would be an honor to take his ‘sister’ to Alex.

Elliot smiled as he looked at Alex. “Take care of her.” He winked at them and went to sit down in the front.

Alex smiled as she held Casey’s hand. “You look beautiful.”

Casey smiled as she tried to swallow back her tears. “So do you. So beautiful.”

Alex looked back at Elizabeth and frowned. “Who’s going to marry us?” She whispered softly as she noticed no one was there.

“Desperate much, Alexandra?” Lena said as she smiled, standing behind the small table and smiling at both women. “Surprised?”

Casey chuckled softly. “A little?”

Alex nodded. “Yeah.” She chuckled.

Lena smiled. “You two were always a pain in the ass, so I thought it was the right choice for me to be the one to marry you two. And we all agree here that you two are definitely meant to be.” She winked at them. “It’s an honor to marry you two. So, shall we begin?” She grinned.

After the whole ceremony and signing papers, finally Casey and Alex said their ‘I do’ and the ceremony was finalized. The guys helped add some other decorations so the party could start. Alex and Casey never separated from each other, talking, and laughing with the rest of the guests and taking pictures. Both women felt like they were living in a dream, staring at each other every possible chance to make sure they were actually living in this moment. Eventually, the moment of their first official dance arrived, standing in the middle and holding onto each other as they swayed to the music.

Alex rested her forehead against Casey’s and smiled softly. “Not that I don’t love our family and friends but…I cannot wait to get out of here.” She whispered softly.

Casey chuckled. “You and me both, baby.” She smiled. “Can’t wait to get out of here with my wife.”

“You got something planned, Mrs. Cabot?” Alex raised her brow as she grinned.

Casey blushed softly. “You know that if I get Petrovsky in trial, she’ll definitely call me Mrs. Cabot, now?” She chuckled.

Alex shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind that. After all, it is now part of your name.” She grinned.

Casey nibbled on her lip as she smiled. “And to answer your question…yes. I do have something planned.” She leaned in to whisper in her ear. “But that’s for me to know and for you to find out later.” She smirked as she pulled away, enough to kiss Alex’s lips softly.

“Can’t wait.” Alex smiled against her lips, pulling her impossibly closer to kiss her again. “I love you.” She whispered against her lips.

“I love you even more.” Casey smiled, kissing her lips again.

[destinedfordiaperstories]

Sammy’s Little Problem, Chapter 22

“Thank heavens for Legos,” Lindsay thought to herself. She needed the distraction from the awkwardness of the timeout, as well as something to do with Sammy that was Little appropriate.

It was strange having to think back to her childhood to find common ground with Sammy, when just a few weeks ago they were discussing their future, independence, and careers.

But here Sammy was playing with Legos in a diaper that Lindsay herself changed. It was such a wild departure from everything she expected. Not just for Sammy—but her too.

Lindsay thought Sammy would be the Maid of Honor at her wedding. And, of course, Lindsay would be the Maid of Honor at her Sammy’s wedding. That’s what best friends did.

But now, everything was different. Could a Little even be a Maid of Honor? Lindsay could only imagine how awkward that conversation would be, let alone the wedding itself.

Sammy would obviously never marry. If Lindsay knew anything about Littles, it was that. Littles never dated, never married, never even kissed anyone. That’s just the way things were.

Lindsay wondered if that was something Sammy had thought about. She knew she would in her position. How could she not? They both discussed the dream men they hoped to marry for hours only a few weeks ago.

Lindsay’s heart sank for Sammy. Surely she’d thought about that. Surely it was just one of a hundred things she knew she lost along with her independence.

“Wow! You’re flying through that!” Lindsay said enthusiastically, “almost back to where it looked like you were before it broke!”

“Yeah, it was easy because I remembered most of what I did!” Sammy said proudly.

“The way you’re going I think you can finish before Allie gets home!” Lindsay encouraged Sammy. She never thought she’d be congratulating Sammy so authentically for something as simple as a Lego construction—or that Sammy would be so happy about it.

“I hope so, I want to show Allie when I finish! She said it would take me a week, but I can do it in 2 days, just watch!”

“I know you can, Sammy!”

Lindsay watched Sammy enthusiastically build for the next 40 minutes, smiling at her determination. Sammy never noticed the pictures Lindsay took, or even cared that Lindsay was absentmindedly scrolling through instagram.

Sammy suddenly felt a rumble in her stomach. She knew what it meant. And she definitely didn’t want it to happen right there in front of Lindsay.

Sammy tried to think of a distraction. Anything that would keep Lindsay occupied. She wasn’t hopeful enough to think she could make it to the bathroom, but she could at least get away from Lindsay to do it. She didn’t want her to see it happen.

“Lindsay, I forgot something in my room, I’ll go get it real quick. Be right back!” Sammy tried to say casually.

Lindsay had seen Sammy grab her stomach, rocking back and forth, knowing what was about to happen. But she decided it was her gift to Sammy. She’d give her enough privacy to fill her diaper in peace.

“Okay, Sammy, I’ll be waiting right here! Don’t take too long!”

Sammy got slowly, trying not to upset her tummy. She slowly waddled out of the room, not daring to take any sudden movements. Once she was out of sight she relaxed.

Lindsay laughed. Sammy actually believed Lindsay couldn’t see her.

Sammy tried to take a few extra steps upstairs, but it was no use. She squatted down where she stood, grunting in effort to fill her diaper. She wished she hadn’t eaten those chicken nuggets, as they definitely were creating much more work for her.

She tried to push, aiding her body, so she wouldn’t draw Lindsay’s suspicions by taking too long. She knew her grunts were louder than normal, but it was fine. Lindsay couldn’t see her anyway.

She pushed and pushed, working hard to fill her diaper. She felt her diaper sag, burdened by its unusually heavy load.

In between pushes, Sammy tried to look at her jeans, wondering if her diaper was noticeable. But whenever she tried, her body forced her back into a squat.

Finally, Sammy thought she finished. She hadn’t pushed in a while. She decided to stomp on the stairs a bit to sell that she was coming back downstairs.

She walked back into the room, trying her best to act casual. “Sorry, I thought I forgot my paci.”

Lindsay tried her hardest not to laugh. She knew Sammy’s paci was clipped to her shirt. But she didn’t want to make Sammy’s childish antics seem too obvious. It didn’t matter. She would fill her diapers anyway. If she thought she had privacy, and that made her happy, that was all that mattered.

“No biggie, Sammy! Did you get it?”

“Yeah!” Sammy said, putting the pacifier in her mouth.

Lindsay tried not to wince as Sammy sat back down, smushing her mess even more, giving Lindsay even more work to do. “Well, what’s the next step, Sammy?”

Sammy talked Lindsay through the next few steps. Proud of the progress she was making—and tricking Lindsay into not knowing she messed her diaper.

“Wow, I can almost see it looks like I’m Star Wars!” Lindsay brags for her.

“Well right now I’m just working on the insides. Once I finish I can put the exterior pieces!”

Lindsay let Sammy work for a few more minutes. The smell was becoming obvious. And she knew Allie would never forgive her if she let Sammy go too long with a loaded diaper.

Lindsay pretends to sniff the air, as if it wasn’t obvious what she was sniffing. “Uh oh, I think someone here has an icky diaper! But who could it be?”

Lindsay didn’t know why she said it like that, but something made her think it was the right approach.

She doubled down, “hmmm, I wonder who it is?”

Sammy tried to act as innocent as possible, hoping Lindsay wouldn’t press the issue. “I don’t know! Maybe it was one of my stuffies!”

Lindsay smiled, “you know what, it could be! Let’s go check your stuffies upstairs!” She couldn’t have thought of a better idea. She’d be right next to the changing table and ready to change Sammy once she admitted it.

Sammy didn’t know how, but she was determined to get out of this. She got into Stanford, she could think of her way out of this.

“Okay, I bet it was Mr. Bunny!” Sammy said, trying to act cute and distract Lindsay.

“Well I think we should go check! Mr. Bunny won’t get diaper rash on my watch!”

They head upstairs, Sammy leading Lindsay to her room. Lindsay laughs to herself, wondering if Sammy realizes her smell gives her away.

“Where’s the lil’ stinker Sammy? Show me where Mr. Bunny is so I can clean is tushy!”

Sammy leads her to Mr. Bunny having no idea how to get out of this situation. All she knows is she can’t have Lindsay find her in a dirty diaper. And the thought of her changing her like this? No no no.

Lindsay spots Mr. Bunny. “Is he the one responsible for the stinky smell?” She takes a dramatic sniff of Mr. Bunny. “Hmmm, I don’t think Mr. Bunny is our culprit. But who can it be?”

Sammy tries to slowly sneak out of the room, knowing the jig is up.

“Wait a minute, I think someone is trying to frame Mr. Bunny!” Lindsay says as she sees Sammy try to run out of the room.

Sammy thinks she’s in the clear as she turns the corner. She turns around to see if Lindsay is following her. As she does, she takes a step back, not noticing her stuffie on the ground. She trips, falling straight back on her messy diaper.

The sensation immediately overwhelms Sammy. It’s too much. She feels dirty and needs help. She doesn’t even care anymore if Lindsay knows. Anything to stop this feeling.

Sammy doesn’t know what to do or what to say. How to admit to Lindsay she needs her. All she knows is she’s overwhelmed. Tears start filling her eyes as she starts to sob. Once she starts, it grows in intensity as she begins to cry out for Lindsay.

Lindsay hears Sammy fall. She runs out of the room after Sammy, only to find her on her back, crying her heart out. Lindsay thought it would be cute if it wasn’t so heartbreaking.

There her best friend in the world was, laying on the ground in a dirty diaper, sobbing like a toddler. For the first time that day, Lindsay didn’t see her best friend. She saw a needy toddler in desperate need of a clean diaper.

She had to help her, not because it was her best friend, but because her Caregiver instincts were suddenly taking over.

As Sammy cried, Lindsay reached down and picked her up, putting Sammy on her hip.

“It’s okay, Sammy, I got you. I’m here, Lindsay is here. We’ll get you into a clean diaper in no time, sweetie. Just breathe. I got you, baby.”

Despite her best efforts, Sammy continued to cry. Lindsay decided there was nothing else to do but change her. She put Sammy on the changing table and got to work.

Go to Chapter 23.

[sugoi-and-spice]

Ask of me debauchery....

...and you shall fucking receive.

Step by Step: A Gecko’s Guide to Becoming a Really Bad Person

Part One

Rating: Explicit - Minors DNI!!!

Summary: In which, Bully!Reader manipulates Step-Bro!Spinner sexually in increasingly demeaning ways. And eventually, he asks his good ol’ pal Tomura Shigaraki for help.

CW:  Step-brother, Dub-Con, Blackmail, Bullying, Mean Reader, Male Masturbation, Oral Sex, Spinner has two dicks, Step-cest, Monster-fucking, AU - No League of Villains

A/N: I predict people are gonna be maaaaaad about this one and I'm all for it lol

Like my work? Please consider commissioning me or contributing to my Ko-Fi!

Read Full Chapter on AO3

[excerpt]

Her step-brother, Shuichi Iguchi, was a fucking loser. She knew it from the moment she saw him. And not in a prejudiced way or anything, it wasn’t because he was a heteromorph. After all, she has plenty of heteromorph friends (none quite as extreme as him, but still!)

No, it was all the other things she noticed about him when he walked into the family restaurant with his Dad the first day they met. The way he carried himself, slouching and fidgeting endlessly, unable to decide if he should cross his arms, put them in his pockets, or keep them at his side. The way he dressed, a ridiculously faded crewneck, baggy cargo pants, and a freebie League of Legends snapback that only served to further curtain his greasy long hair in his face. When she actually managed to grab a glimpse of his eyes through the locks, it was only for a second, and they were constantly shifting, dropping, unspeakably nervous.

Even in a casual setting, he looked completely out of place. He practically jumped anytime anyone asked him the most basic of questions like “how’s school”, “what do you want to drink”, “can you pass the soy sauce”. It was like he’d just been dragged out of his bedroom for the first time in five years — and she wouldn’t have been surprised if that was the case.

She also wouldn’t have been surprised if this was the first time he’d ever been this close to a girl before, as he always looked especially panicked anytime he realized she was glancing at him, so she didn’t even really bother trying to talk to him that night, focussing instead on getting to know he future step-father — who seemed like an overall decent guy.

At the very least, Iguchi seemed to understand his status well. When she entered high school — the same one as him — he didn’t try to walk with her to or from school, didn’t try and talk to her, basically pretended like they didn’t even know each other, which she appreciated. She would’ve hated to have to be a bitch and tell him to get lost in front of all her new high school friends and potentially be reprimanded by her Mom to prove a point (of course, she would’ve if she had to).

Yes, her new step-brother was a fucking loser, someone she wouldn’t be caught dead talking to, let alone spending any meaningful time with in public. 

And yet somehow, she was completely infatuated with him.

She loved the way his skin looked, the different viridescent shades it took on depending on what angle or lighting she saw it in. She loved even more the way it felt, the times when his hands brushed against hers when he handed her a bowl or she bumped shoulders with him, cool and impossibly smooth with a texture so different from her own. She’d wanted to run her hand across every inch of it, to feel every difference. Just imagining it pressing and rubbing all across her own body had her gasping into her pillow for hours.

She didn’t know how the fuck it happened. It would’ve been great if she did, because maybe she could make it unhappen then. But nope, the harder she tried to understand it, the further away the answer seemed to get.

Maybe it was because he was so different from her or anyone else she would ever actually consider dating. Had their parents not gotten married, she never would’ve let herself give Iguchi the time of day. But within the walls of this family home, she was able to enjoy and explore him to her heart’s content. She was inquisitive by nature. Her friends called it sadistic, but she saw it as just wanting to see how far she could take things. And the desire to do so to Shuichi Iguchi was no different. He was so sweet and so shy, so eager to please or be invisible to everyone around him.

She wanted to see where that ended, what exact buttons she could press to get him to actually snap at her.

It started with little things at first, innocent things. Asking him to do her chores, her homework, even her shopping, yet he could never say no to her. Not even when she asked him to go buy her a set of lacy lingerie she was wanting. He actually fucking did it — handing the little pink boutique bag out to her without looking her in the eye, his skin flushed all the way down to his neck. Oh, she knew then that he was going to be fun . 

That with him, she could really get… creative.

Flirting with him shamelessly, hanging out on his bed in nothing but a pair of panties and a tank top she’d stolen from him while he played video games, throwing her legs over his lap during family movie nights, pretending she didn’t notice how warm and fidgety it made him while she continued to move her calves back and forth across his crotch.

There came a point when she thought that maybe the guy was just unbreakable, that he really didn’t have a single impure thought about her in his head and that this wasn’t a game, but just an infuriating (not to mention insulting ) exercise in futility. 

But then, late one night, through the thin wall they shared, she heard it. The sound of flesh against flesh, muffled grunts.

Her name, breathy but distinctive, on his tongue. 

Shuichi Iguchi, her dear, perfectly behaved, and endlessly timid older step-brother, was in his bed, jacking off. 

Imagining her .

And it wasn’t a one time incident either. She listened closely in the following days, and discovered that it was a nightly occurrence, that she was a nightly occurrence to him. And it wasn’t long before she joined him in his fantasizing, spending night after night pressed as close into the wall as she could get, imagining that that stupid piece of plaster dividing their beds was gone, as she fingered herself to sleep.

It should’ve gotten easier after that, she should’ve been able to extend her patience knowing that it was an actual possibility now. But if anything, it made the burn within her even worse, knowing that it was so close yet so far out of reach. She didn’t just want this, she fucking needed this. But it’s not like she could let him know that. She couldn’t let him think that she wanted it, that she wanted him . She needed it to seem like mercy. 

She needed to have the upperhand.

So, she started setting traps. Things she could use against him, to get him into the palm of her hand, a place where he didn’t say no just because he didn’t want to say no, but so that he couldn’t say no. She asked him to get things from her room and left sex toys out, wore skimpier and skimpier outfits that she could catch him staring at her in, left her phone out so that he could read her lewd messages to other boys at school. 

Yet still, nothing.

Iguchi didn’t step a single clawed toe out of line outside of the four walls of his bedroom. He was the perfectly polite older brother that she knew and hated to love.

It wasn’t until she wasn’t even trying to trap him that he finally took the bait. 

Continue on AO3

[separatist-apologist]

Something In The Orange

Summary: Someone is trying to murder Eris Vanserra's soon-to-be wife.

And no one can rule him out as a suspect

Note: Big thanks to @octobers-veryown for the mood board and the unknown anon for the song inspiration.

For @sjmromanceweek

Read On AO3 | Chapter 1: First Date

“Knock knock,” came a soft, sweet voice. Arina turned from her usual haunt in the window, surprised to see an actual, living woman standing in the doorframe. She wasn’t from Avalonia if her high, starched neckline and her chestnut colored hair hidden beneath a pearl studded net was any indication. Arina sat up a little straighter as the woman stepped nervously inside. “I hope you don’t mind. Lucien mentioned you might welcome some non-Vanserra company.”

“I would,” Arina replied without mentioning she’d have welcomed any company that wasn’t the sneering, smug face of Eris Vanserra. He came every evening to insult her while seeming genuinely surprised she didn’t like him, hovering in the doorway until he was satisfied he’d done his duty and vanished. 

“I’m Elain,” Elain told her, extending a delicate, gloved hand. Arina rose from her spot in order to shake it, delighting in the friendship etched over Elain’s face.

“Oh,” Arina said, because she’d heard the ladies at court gossiping about Elain. “I thought—”

“That I’d be pregnant?” Elain asked with a gleam in her eye. “Yes, I heard that rumor was going around. Lucien was caught kissing me and my father overreacted just a tad.”

“I’ll say,” Arina replied with a laugh.

“Don’t tell anyone, but it worked out for me. He never would have been allowed to ask me to marry him otherwise.”

“And that’s what you wanted?” Arina questioned.

Elain smiled, biting her bottom lip. “Yes, it is.”

“Well, someone should be happy to be married,” Arina declared, ignoring the look of curiosity Elain shot her. There would be time to confide everything given they were about to become sisters through marriage, but right then all Arina wanted was a reprieve from Eris.

That meant thinking about him and talking about him. Anything to escape him, even temporarily.

Unfortunately, it was all Elain wanted to talk about. For the first time since Arina had arrived, she allowed Elain to take her out of her bedroom. “When is the wedding?” Elain asked her, adding, “Lucien isn’t allowed to get married before Eris.”

Eris had such a big ego that Arina believed that was true.

“The end of the month,” she said with her usual glumness. 

Elain’s smile brightened. “Rest assured, princess, that nothing happens on time in the palace. If they told you a month, expect six at minimum.”

“You’d wait half a year?” Arina questioned, wondering if Elain knew that Lucien had once been meant for Arina before he was caught. Did it bother Elain? Would it bother Arina were the circumstances reversed? Maybe, if she loved the man and thought the other woman loved him. The problem was Arina’s apathy. Lucien and Eris were nearly interchangeable given how little she knew about them. Maybe she and Lucien would have gotten on better, or maybe they would have been antagonists right from the start, too.

Maybe there was something about her when it came to Vanserra men. Whatever the case, Arina decided it was better to say nothing to Elain rather than risk the budding friendship between them. She couldn’t take another week locked up in her room with the company of a man she suspected had tried to kill her. 

“I’d wait half my life,” Elain assured her cheerfully with a bounce in her step. “If you saw my home, you’d understand.”

“Where—”

“The North,” Elain interrupted, as though she’d been dying to say it. “It’s cold and dreary and even when it’s warm it's not. Here, at least, you have the benefit of all four seasons and proper warmth, you know?”

Arina could only nod her head. 

“Have you seen the gardens?” Elain continued, plowing forward Arina’s emotional defenses with a single minded determination that could have made a soldier weep. “They were the first place I visited when I was brought here. You can tell a lot about a kingdom based on their royal gardens.”

Arina hadn’t seen anything in the palace and it hadn’t occurred to her to ask. Every time she considered it, Eris would appear with that disdainful smile of his and Arina was angry all over again. He acted as if she had done something to cause this marriage—like it was her fault. Arina hadn’t been consulted. She’d been a baby when the details had first been arranged. It was tempting to try and tell him that but Eris wasn’t stupid.

He wanted someone easy to blame. 

And she refused to give him the satisfaction of trying just so he could break her down. If Eris wanted to be at odds then that’s what they’d be. Arina mulled it over as Elain dragged her out into warm sunshine toward a sprawling garden of greenery Arina just did not care about. A building in the distance caught her attention, though.

“Do you know what that is?”

“A kennel, I think,” Elain said, cheerful as ever. “Filled with hunting dogs so I’d stay away if I were you.”

Dogs? 

Arina followed Elain, steps slowing as she recalled the little stray that she’d spent the better part of six months feeding, trying to coax it into the palace. She’d almost managed before her father spotted her and forced her to watch as one of his guards killed the animal outright. It was one of many hard, brutal lessons her father inflicted on her. She needed to be harder, colder, less compassionate.

But Arina still thought about that dog, so skinny she could see his ribs poking through spotted fur, and the big, warm eyes that had trusted her. What a mistake that was for the animal. Arina carried the guilt around like a sack of stones tied to her back, wishing she could go back and save it somehow. Save it from her father or herself, whichever was easier.

Did the king treat his animals well? It was all she could think about as her and Elain took a tour around the garden. Arina recognized she wasn’t being a good friend to Elain, who was clearly trying. Elain’s passion laid in the flowers around them, pointing each one out to tell Arina the names and little plant facts she’d gathered over the years. 

“Do you know if there is a library in the palace?” Arina heard herself asking Elain as they began to double back through the maze of shrubs and trees all artfully planted around an immaculate lawn and careful, stone laid pathways.

“I’m sure there is. All palaces have one, right? Maybe Eris would know?”

Yeah, Arina bet he would. Perhaps Elain noticed her hesitation because she added, “I could ask Lucien? We could go together, if you like?”

Relief flooded through Arina. “I would like that.”

“I’ll get you a sun hat for the garden,” Elain continued undeterred by Arina’s lack of enthusiasm. “You read, I’ll plant.”

“Only if we can have a picnic while we do it,” Arina agreed, the scene stretching before her easily. Perhaps life wouldn’t be so bad with Elain around. Wherever Lucien was sent to once he was married could likely support her, too. They could be friends, living far from the palace having little adventures and general fun while Eris terrorized the capital.

Elain and Arina split ways once inside, leaving Arina to double back toward the kennels. No one paid her any attention, though a few guards watched with bemused expression until she got close enough she could smell the dogs in the air. Only then did someone in a fluttering, red cape and a white and gold uniform say, “Those dogs could kill you.”

“I won’t touch,” she promised, drawing her hands close to her chest. “The prince said I could be here.”

That was a lie and one that was likely to get her in trouble if Eris ever learned about it. But for the moment it also gained her access which was all Arina cared about. The inside smelled heavily of dog and some kind of minty cleaner, with rows of large, spacious cages that housed the animals. Arina didn’t know what she’d expected.

Something small and hungry like the dog from home. These creatures were big, tall enough that when one stood, blue eyes watching her with interest, the shoulders of the creature would have reached her hip. They weren’t starving with no ribs to be found, and glossy gray coats that were reminiscent of smoke. 

They looked fast. Smart, too. No one was inside to watch her—the guards had turned their backs and were chatting amongst themselves. Arina dared to step closer to the cage of the dog standing and looking at her, palm held out in what she hoped was a friendly gesture.

“Hi,” she whispered, watching the dog also creep closer, ears perked up high and tail wagging ever so slightly. That seemed like a good sign, she thought. The two of them came closer and closer, until Arina dared to press her palm to the bars of the cage and the dog sniffed cautiously, his curiosity overriding his instincts. Or, perhaps, they weren’t as mean as the guards made them out to be. After all, all the dogs were sitting at the edge of the crates, some with thumping tails and others with soft, low whines.

Arina was looking at the dog in the next crate when the one smelling her hand offered her palm a tentative lick. She smiled, exhaling as she did. The dog licked again, tail thudding behind him and Arina whispered, “Good boy.”

She went around to all twelve dogs, daring to stick her fingers between the bars to scratch their noses as she became bolder. No one tried to chew off her fingers and by the end of the day, Arina was in a better mood than she’d been in months. She was going to wash her hands, dress herself nicely, sit beside Eris and beg him to let her take them out for a walk. She’d do whatever Eris asked, no matter how absurd. 

Maybe things weren’t so bad, she reasoned. Her marriage was a political farce but there were other good things happening around her. Maybe she didn’t need love. Maybe having friends and a fulfilling life could be enough. Arina wasn’t one to give into pessimism if she could help it. The sun always returned, was still a force to be reckoned with and maybe she could be, too.

At least, she thought so right up until she felt something wrap brutally tight against her throat. Arina tried to pull, tried to struggle but whoever held her had an ironclad grip. Arina went down, lungs aching, thinking of the dogs in the kennel. 

ERIS:

Eris hadn’t intended to meet his youngest brother’s fiance before the wedding. In his mind he figured he’d have to attend the wedding and he could introduce himself there. Tucked away in his study, lounging in a chair, Eris found himself taken by surprise when Princess Elain stepped inside without knocking, her arms crossed over her stiff dress.

“We need to get you a more interesting wardrobe,” Eris said the moment the door clicked shut behind her. The clothing of the north wasn’t practical or fashionable and had always been his one annoyance about Elain’s older sister Nesta. They were beautiful women dressed like nuns. Elain was, perhaps, the most egregious of the three given how effortlessly beautiful she was. It seemed a shame to put her in those heavy coats and tightly boned corsets. 

“Oh?” Elain Archeron asked, her pretty, pink lips upturned with a smile. “Perhaps we could pick out a new wardrobe at the same time we work on your manners?”

“I deserved that,” Eris conceded, sitting up in his chair. “What can I do for you?”

“Where is the library?”

“Off-limits to you,” Eris replied with a small amount of curiosity. “Have Lucien give you the key.”

“It’s not for me. It’s for Arina.”

Eris loathed the way his body seemed to twitch with interest almost as much as he loathed himself for noticing. Elain didn’t notice and Eris refused to give in to the sensation even as his traitorous mouth said, “If she wants access, she’ll have to ask me.”

“She hates you.”

Eris stared at Elain. “I was told you were sweet.”

“I can be,” Elain replied, offering him a truly saccharine smile. “I don’t suppose you want to hear what I was told about you.”

No, Eris was certain he didn’t want to learn the court gossip that surrounded himself. Cruel bastard was likely the most common refrain—but Eris didn’t want to hear it, all the same. 

“Well, as compelling as an argument that was, I’m going to regretfully decline. If my beloved wants to visit the library, she can ask me.”

“And you’ll take her?”

Eris didn’t believe for one moment Arina could read. His father had lamented how woefully uneducated women just a little further west to them were—how a formal education was often eschewed in favor of creating a dutiful wife, of which Arina seemed also unskilled at. No, if Arina wanted in the library it meant she was up to something nefarious and Eris would be there.

Supervising. 

“Anywhere she likes,” Eris replied, flashing Elain his most convincing smile. Not that it worked on her, of course. Elain merely watched, brown eyes narrowed with suspicion. When had the palace become filled with women who hated him, he wondered? Once, Eris had walked these halls like a god. Now women stared him down with disdain in their eyes.

Well. Elain and Arina did. 

But how long before their bad attitude affected everyone else? 

“It was nice to meet you,” Elain assured him, her tone betraying that meeting him had been the exact opposite. Eris inclined his head, allowing Elain to leave as he reclined back in his chair, chin resting against his fingertips. So. Lucien’s former and current fiances had teamed up, had they? Formed a little alliance at court? 

That annoyed him. 

He could have gone to complain to Lucien, who was irritated that Eris was going to marry Arina even after Lucien himself had wrecked everything. Lucien had never considered the consequences of his actions and figured everything would work itself out because it always had.

For him. Not for anyone else, of course, but for him it always had and always would. Lucien got the woman he wanted but had to face down the reality that in doing so, Arina got Eris.

He considered going to his father and demanding Arina be kept away from Elain. Beron would see it done which was precisely what kept Eris in his chair. If his father thought secluding Arina away from court and isolating her from all potential friends was a good idea, that told Eris he was being unreasonably awful.

He didn’t want to align with his father on the personal. Rarely on the political.That didn’t mean Eris was going to stop what he was doing and rush to see Arina. He was in no mood for another showdown with a woman and instead returned to his work with renewed vigor. If there was one thing Eris always found motivating, it was avoidance. He didn’t want to talk to Arina and so work suddenly became fascinating.

His duties, once mundane, seemed to him almost special in comparison. And as Eris finished, well aware he needed to go see her, he had the realization that he wished he could grasp her by the shoulders and make her see that he had not wanted this either. That he had begged and negotiated and argued in circles trying to avoid the fate they’d now found themselves in. 

If he could have freed her, he would have. Without hesitation.

He couldn’t. Not without enraging his father and risking a lot of people’s lives. Beron would hurt Eris but he wouldn’t kill him, not after the years spent grooming him to one day become king. In his way, Beron seemed to like Eris better than anyone else in his family. Perhaps it was being the hoped for, first born son that softened Beron—if Beron’s treatment of Eris could ever have been called soft. 

He’d suggested just killing Arina’s father, absorbing the territory, and installing Arina at court. It had seemed like Beron might agree for a time before his advisors caught wind of the plan and promptly shut it down. There was nothing nobles hated more than seeing one of their own so easily deposed. It made them restless—hungry for blood. As far as Eris was concerned, this was their punishment for throwing their little tantrum.

Diplomacy had won the day, which meant none of their daughters would ever sit on a throne.

Arina had saved him from that, at least—he liked sleeping with the ladies at court but he didn’t want to be married to them. They lacked ambition, were merely puppets to their more powerful fathers who would attempt to weaponize their daughters against Eris and though Eris knew it wasn’t their fault, he resented them for it.

Was it so wrong to want someone to want him? Yes—and he knew better than to want it. Eris had pushed those notions away until they were so deeply buried he was convinced they didn’t exist anymore. Boys wanted love but men knew better. It was that thought that kept Eris from seeking out Arina until she didn’t come to dinner. Predictable behavior, he thought with some irritation—and rich, too, given she’d accused him of being a coward. Eris spent the better part of the evening preparing his speech to her in which he’d demand her silence as he informed her there was no escaping this marriage.

And to get used to it. They could figure the rest out later, though Eris wanted separate lives. He’d offer her up any of their numerous estates if she wanted to live somewhere else—after she gave him a son. Just one, he thought privately. The idea of having to sleep with an unwilling woman more than he was required to made his stomach turn. 

Every step brought him closer to the proverbial hang man’s noose. Hells, but he did not want to have this conversation with her. Eris had nearly convinced himself not to go into her room at all when he arrived. But Arina had called him a coward and Eris needed to prove to her—and maybe himself—that he was no coward. He could do hard things.

He could…walk in on Arina laying dead on the floor.

“Fuck,” he breathed, crossing the room quickly only to slam to the ground, his knees screaming in protest. “If you godsdamn die right now—”

There was a cord twisted around her throat, tight enough it had left a bruise against her otherwise unblemished throat, but not so tight Eris couldn’t slide his fingers through and relieve the pressure against her airway. With his other hand, Eris lifted her floppy, lifeless body into his lap so he could undo the knot behind her tangle of thick hair. 

She wasn’t dead. As he worked he saw the faint, frantic flutter of her throat pulsating against her skin. Close, maybe, but not dead and that was all that mattered. Arina began to take deeper breaths as color returned to the gold of her cheeks, chasing away the blue tinge of her lips.

Eris was certain he’d aged a decade in the frantic minutes it took to free her. Arina opened eyes filled with panic as she gripped his forearm, looking around wildly.

“Don’t speak,” he warned, pocketing the cord. “Just breathe.”

“You,” she rasped, the word an accusation. Did she truly believe he’d order her dead only to revive her? It would have been all too easy to slit her throat while she laid there and blame it on someone else. Eris shifted, spreading his legs a little wider as Arina pushed herself from his lap only to collapse between his thighs, palms flat on the marble floor. 

“What did you do to make someone so vengeful?” Eris asked, more curious than anything. That was twice now—surely it wasn’t a jilted courtier coming after her. There was something deeply personal about this second attack, though Eris couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Poisoning was detached, removed from the person being killed but strangling seemed intimate. Angry, even. 

Arina didn’t answer, turning those too-big eyes on him. “Is there a bruise?”

Eris clenched his jaw. “Yes.”

“I think I’d like to be alone,” Arina whispered, pushing herself off the floor like she’d practiced this before. Eris recognized what was happening—the way she set her jaw, swallowing the urge to cry so she could look at him with blank, dead eyes. No emotion, just a numb sort of detachment he’d perfected himself. For a moment he remained exactly where he was, his mind unable to process what was happening.

And then he stood. “You need a guard.”

“I want to be alone,” she repeated, her voice whisper soft. “Thank you for this.”

It wasn’t good enough. Eris hated her dismissal even more. “Tell me who did this.”

“I don’t know,” she said, refusing to look at him.

“I’ll—”

“Eris, she whispered, twisting her fingers nervously in front of her body. “Please.”

Growling in frustration, Eris stalked from the room unsure what he wanted to do. He heard the lock click behind him, shutting him out definitively. Fine. She didn’t want his help then he wouldn’t offer it.

But all night, all Eris could see when he closed his eyes was Arina lifeless on the floor in a heap, her face hidden beneath all that soft hair. His mind forced him to replay her wrapping those long fingers around her throat, feeling for the dark bruise already forming against her skin as the light winked out of her gaze.

It wasn’t the first time someone had hurt her that way.

But Eris swore it would be the last. 

[jqmalikhsgib]

moonlight

three

eddie holds her close as she lies on his chest. he stares at the ceiling before simply looking at his girlfriend. eddie still couldn’t believe it. yn yln was his girlfriend!

she was by far the prettiest girl in hawkins high. sure, others would say it’s tammy but they’d be wrong. yn was breathtaking to eddie. she might be an angel forreal, he wouldn’t know nor would he care. he was in love.

eddie never expected to find love. after his mother died and his father was sent to jail, eddie was constantly shamed by the whole town of hawkins. the ten year old boy was confused. he was just a boy, a simple little boy who lost his mom and dad in less than three years from each other. he was shunned for the crimes his father committed. people expected him to be nothing but a criminal just like his old man. eddie only did what he could do. he put all his anger into his favorite game, dungeons and dragons! he became an excellent dungeon master. it was his rage that made him good. then his uncle introduced him to the guitar.

eddie became good at playing. he started writing music and finding other kids who were labeled as ‘freaks’ to for a band. they were actually pretty fucking good. unfortunately they listened to that ‘devil worshipping’ music. with how closed minded the fuckers in hawkins were, he was only shunned even more. people started labeling him as a cult leader. and creating a club named ‘hellfire’ where you play a game that’s getting bad press didn’t help his case. but eddie didn’t care. he couldn’t have care less about what these dumb fucks think of him. eddie knew he’d make a name for himself, he knew he’d be successful and prove everyone who ever doubted his abilities wrong.

his mother was the only person that pushed eddie. his mom letting him know he was somebody and the whole world will know his name. and still ‘till this day he believed her. her words always left an impression on him. and then he met her.

god, when he first laid eyes on her, she was mesmerizing. the way the sun shined in her hair, her eyes glowed brightly, her smile lit up his heart. she was fucking perfect. finding out she’d been the daughter of a preacher, knowing how this town looked at him, knowing what her parents might think if they saw him. he knew he had no shot with her. not a single bit. but he was so wrong.

when she approached him he thought she’d been confused at first. ‘no fucking way is she actually talking to me. no one she knows my name. no fucking say man!’ but she did. she knew who eddie had been and she didn’t give a fuck what anyone else thought of him. she thought eddie was beautiful, unique, intriguing, intelligent, funny, and handsome.

eddie still has yet to believe she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. and here he is, six months later dating her. six months of kisses, six months of hand holding, six months of tight hugs, six months of i love you. six whole months since you gave him a chance. he thanked his lucky stars every single second of every single day. he promised he wouldn’t mess this up.

it’s one reason why he hesitated to make love to her. he knew it would be her first time. he didn’t want to hurt her and he knew how much she vowed to stay a virgin until marriage. but then her words made his heart flutter. “‘m not worried ‘bout that eds. i know in my heart you’re my forever. in a way, im giving myself to my husband.” he spent the rest of the night worshipping her body. eddie simply looks at her once more. kissing her forehead gently before whispering in her ear “goodnight, wife.” he truly been lucky.

looking at her now has only made his heart hurt. that night was something he’d cherish forever. it was the moment he knew, or at least thought, he’d marry her.

then he woke up one morning hearing the rumors about her family suddenly moving. he didn’t believe it at first. but when he passed by her house and saw the for sale sign, his heart shattered. he assumed her family found out she’d been dating eddie and took her away. the one thing that made eddie really happy in a long time. eddie wasn’t sure why he assumed something would actually be great for once. he should have known better.

the night she left he was reminded of the last thing his father told him before he got arrested for good. “the munson men are cursed, kid! i should have known your mom being my ticket to happiness was just a sick joke god played on me. we munson men, we’re only good for being a slave for the man, or being criminal, no in between. we don’t get the fairytale happy ending. it’s no princess waiting in the castle for us with a shit ton of doe. we are who we are. if i taught you anything kid, remember that.”

he was absolutely right. what a fucking fool he’s been to fall for it.

“hey, why don’t we all go to the play room, yeah? maybe start building something with the legos?” nancy grabs all the kids, including kali. eddie hadn’t notice the little girl who looked identical to him. he’d been too busy staring at her. 

she gives him an awkward smile. looking down at her feet before clearing her throat. “it’s so much i have to tell you, eds. i just don’t know where to start.”

eddie simply shakes his head. “you don’t need to explain yourself to me, yn. i know your parents probably found out about us.”

her eyes begin to water. he could tell she wanted anything to hold his hand, hug him, and kiss him as if it were their last. he knew that look. it’s never changed.

“it’s deeper than that. i—eddie what my parents did wasn’t okay. what this town has done to you was never okay. seeing you as some kind of—it’s disgusting eddie. you were just a young boy when it started. i don’t know how you did it, eds. i still don’t! you’re the strongest man i know.”

eddie gives her a half smile. he didn’t have much to say. he wanted her to speak. mostly because he missed her voice. it feels good hearing her again.

she simply closed her eyes before sighing. eddie assumed she was holding back tears. he had been doing so the moment he saw her face.

“just gonna rip this off like a bandaid. eddie, the reason why my parents forced us to leave was due to my pregnancy,”

she looks at eddie. he just gives her a blank stare. she frowns not knowing if he heard her. but as soon as his hands connect with his mouth she knew he did.

“i—they just barely made friends in this town. my father being a preacher, he couldn’t risk this town looking at his daughter as the ‘town slut.’ or the ‘freaks mistress.’ so he moved us and forced me to sign my right away to my, our kid. after a few years i couldn’t take it anymore. her seeing me as her older sister and not her mother, it felt so wrong eddie. i—i tried to get to hawkins but i didn’t have enough money. not for food, clothes, shelter, nothing! i knew i had to get my life together to being a single mom. so i moved in with my grandmother and saved and saved and saved. i worked many jobs, barely getting any sleep, making sure our baby was fed, telling her about her dad. i sacrificed a lot to get back to you, eds. so we could get back.” when she finished eddie stared at her. he soaked all the information in.

she bites her bottom lip before hearing footsteps running towards her. she looks down as she feels arms wrap around her. “im hungry, mamma.”

eddie simply bends down. he looks at the little girl. she had her hair in two simple braids, she was wearing an orange rugrats t-shirt, a pair of overalls, and a necklace with an e on it.

eddie cried. he couldn’t believe it. he was a dad! eddie was a father to the cutest kid. he didn’t even know her but he already loved her. she had his eyes. he knew he’d do anything just from one look. this little girl already had him wrapped around his finger. he still couldn’t believe that he was a father.

“mamma.” the little girl whispers. she gestured for her mom to bend down.

“why’s the curly haired man crying? did i do something, mamma?” the little girl questioned.

eddie simply laughs through his tears.

“no, baby. it’s just—remember how mamma said one day she’s gonna take us home to daddy?”

the little girl simply nods her head. “well baby, the curly haired man is crying because he’s your dad and he loves you. he’s just feeling overjoyed.”

“oh! can—can daddy take us to dinner?”

eddie noticed she was going to decline. eddie simply shakes his head with a smile before nodding at his daughter gently.

“yeah, let’s—let’s get some food.” eddie whispers.

eddie watches as his daughter plays in the mcdonalds playroom. she was definitely a mini version of himself. he’s learned that she’s a talker.

the whole time they’d been eating she told eddie pretty much her entire childhood. eddie listened to every word. he loved listening to her babble.

he couldn’t believe that just a few hours ago he was just a man. a man who suffered for the last six years without the only woman he’s ever loved. now that same woman is back in his life and brought him someone precious to spoilt.

god, eddie felt like he now had a purpose in life again. he still had so much work to do within himself. with everything that happened in the upside down. he’s so grateful that dustin and steve carried him out. he would miss this very moment of his life if he died down there. he owed everything to those two. he owed everything to the doctors that saved his life as well.

“so, we should probably discuss somethings.” eddie turned. he completely forgot that the woman he loved, the woman he still loved, was right in front of him.

“nance told me that you almost died, eds.”

here it goes. the seriousness of his life. he knew they’d have to talk about it at some point. he wasn’t quite ready to tell her everything. she didn’t need to know everything! it’s not like she’d believe him anyway. who would believe that a simple fantasy game could be reality?

“i—i did.”

“im sorry, eds. i—i couldn’t imagine what you went through. nance didn’t tell me much. she said that you tried to save the town even after they tried to pin you for murder. may i ask who died?”

eddie clears his throat. he didn’t know how to answer her. telling her that the girl he had a crush on before meeting her, was inside of his house. it would probably devastate her. she knew of his crush on the cheerleader. she’d probably think they’d been together.

but he knew her as well. she could sense a lie a mile away. he didn’t wanna lie to her.

“chrissy.”

“cunningham? how did she—how did she die?”

eddie scratches the back of his head. he bites his bottom lip before looking into her eyes.

“it’s hard to explain, yn. she just—it was the most terrifying thing i seen in my life and im still facing the hell it put me through.”

thankful his girl was understandable. she never pushed eddie into revealing anything he wasn’t ready for. that’s something he’d always love her for.

“i hope this won’t affect whatever this is.” eddie points between the two.

“eddie, we’ve both changed over the last six years. i had our daughter and also had to deal with my toxic parents. you had to deal with seeing someone die and almost dying yourself. we still have so much to work on, eds. for the sake of our family, for our daughter, i think we both need to have professional help. nance tells me you’re already in therapy. that’s great, eddie! means you want to get better. and that’s exactly what kali needs. she needs both her parents to be stable and happy! im looking for a therapist myself. i think until we can figure things out for our kid, we shouldn’t be seeing each other. not romantically. i don’t think either of us are ready for that.”

eddie nods his head. he wants her back. wants to be with her and only her. but he knew mentally, he wasn’t ready for that just yet. eddie had a little ways to go before starting a relationship with anyone. he loves her with his whole soul. but he couldn’t ruin something so pure and beautiful when he’s suffering. he needs time to grow. especially now that he’s a dad.

“i love you eds. ill always love you. you’re my person, okay? and i—i want us to be together. i just want us to be together properly. we deserve to give kali, and ourselves time to learn each other again and time to heal.”

“i agree. i just want to be apart of her life yn. your parents took six years away from me. six years of not knowing where you were or if you were safe. and six years of not knowing i had a daughter. promise me you won’t take that away?”

“i could never! so, we’ll figure this out?”

eddie looks at his kid once more. he gives her a simple nod. “we’ll figure this out.”

[ejzah]

Hi! How are you? I'm so glad to see you're still writing for LA. I'm a big fan of your fics. And as I was randomly thiking about Densi, I was thinking we never got to see Kensi ask Callen and Sam to walk her down the aisle. I was wondering if you could write it? Especially Callen/Kensi because I love their friendship. Thanks again for taking the time to write wonderful stories! :)

A/N: Dear anon, so sorry for the delay (my constant anthem). Thank you for your kind words and continued support!

***

Going to the Chapel

“No, no, I don’t actually have the wedding date yet, I’m it trying to get an idea of how much catering for between one hundred and two hundred people would be. Um, I’m not sure about that,” Kensi said, tugging on her bottom lip as the caterer on the other end of the line continued to ask questions she didn’t have the answers to. “Right. I suppose I should figure that out first. Yes. Thank you so much for your time.”

She hung up, rubbing her temples. There was another hour of her life gone with no results to show for it.

“I take it wedding planning is going well,” Callen commented from beside her. His sarcastic delivery made her crack the tiniest hint of a smile. She’d almost forgotten he and Sam were in the bullpen with her.

“At this point, I’m beginning to think Deeks was right and we should have just eloped. Would have been so much easier. And less stressful.”

“I remember when Michelle and I got married. We had a tiny ceremony and reception and it still took a couple months to plan. Trying to accommodate relatives was probably the hardest part,” Sam shared knowingly.

“Oh my god, yes!” Kensi groaned. “I love Roberta, but she has so many opinions, and even though my mom is less vocal about it, I know she has just as many. Deeks spent two hours convincing his mom that we did not need crystal centerpieces to give all the guests or beef prime rib.”

“Well, we’re here to support you guys however we can,” Sam offered. “Especially if it means we get this wedding on the road.

“I will help with everything but folding napkins,” Callen specified, nodding significantly when Sam gave him an odd look.

“Actually,” Kensi hesitated. She’d been debating the whole walking down the aisle issue for months. Did she ask her mom or walk alone? Just skip it altogether?

“There is something I wanted to ask you,” she finished before she could lose the nerve again. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to though.”

“Why, is it something weird?” Callen asked. “I also draw the line at helping pick out lingerie.”

“Oh my god, no. I swear you get ten times worse when Deeks isn’t around,” Kensi said, making a face. “No, I was wondering if you and Sam would consider walking me down the aisle.”

“You want us to give you away?” Sam said, sounding surprised.

“I like to look at it more like being transported to the next stage of my life.”

“Wow, wedding planning really has screwed with your brain.

Kensi jabbed her elbow in Callen’s direction, and he moved to the side, chuckling.

“I’m serious. I was going to ask Granger before he passed.” She paused, blinking away the sudden tears in her eyes. When she spoke again, her voice betrayed a slight shakiness. “You know, since he knew my dad and he turned out to be a pretty good mentor.”

“Granger would have hated that,” Callen predicted.

“Yeah, but he wouldn’t have let anyone else do it. The man had a soft spot for sure,” Sam added. He nodded to Kensi, his expression compassionate. “I’m sorry Don couldn’t be here to walk you down that aisle.”

“I think he would be happy to know it’s two of the best men in my life,” Kensi told them honestly.

“Well, after that I don’t think we can say no,” Callen said softly.

“Definitely not.”

Kensi stood to give each of them a hug, lingering a moment in Sam’s comforting strength. “Thank you.”

“We show up for family. But “two of the best”?” Sam pointed out, feigning offense. “Not the best.”

“Only because you’ll be leading me to the very best man in my life,” Kensi said.

“Smitten,” Callen sighed, shaking his head.

“Yep, she stood no chance against the curly blonde hair and blue eyes,” Sam lamented.

Kensi just rolled her eyes, secretly enjoying their teasing.

***

A/N: I hope that was ok. It’s very rare for me to write a fic that doesn’t include even a tiny bit of Deeks.

Thanks for the prompt!

[muzaktomyears]

Mimi's views on Cynthia:

(...) [Mimi] told me how strict John was with Julian, especially at meals. If he didn’t behave, or refused to eat something on his plate, John would have none of it and would pick him up and put him to bed in the back bedroom. Just for the record, Mimi thought it all a bit harsh but John refused to put up with bad manners. She, of course, blamed any bad manners that Julian had on Cyn, since she was with the boy 99% of the time. Mimi said his eating habits were atrocious, all sodas and candy. Not surprising, also Cyn’s fault.

---

Mimi had never really been fond of Cynthia. She felt she had chased John throughout the years, and had purposely gotten herself pregnant in order to “trick him” into marrying her. But more than Cynthia, she disliked Cynthia’s mother. Mrs. Powell was “pushy” and had to be involved in everything, according to Mimi. Even the last time we discussed the subject, she insisted that the marriage might have lasted if John and Cyn could have lived alone without her mother constantly being there. John eventually had enough and purchased a small cottage for her not far from Kenwood but Mrs. Powell insisted on spending her time at the house where she could better enjoy John’s money.

---

She told of the Art School days and the many times Cynthia would walk by the house in Woolton, hoping to see John while he would be upstairs hiding. She insisted Cyn had chased after him and had even asked Mimi for permission to marry him, when John was just 20 and would need a parent or guardian to sign for him. Mimi refused. When John did finally admit to her that Cynthia was pregnant and they would be marrying, Mimi gave it to him with both barrels. How could Cynthia know she was pregnant to soon? She would hardly be a month along. Where did they expect to live? How did he think he could support a family? On and on it went until John stormed out.

Mimi had no intention of attending the wedding and neither did anyone else in the family. The night before the wedding, John came to her in tears. He didn’t want to get married. He was too young. He had to find a way out. But even then she had no sympathy for him. He’d laid in his bed and now he had to make it.

---

(...) She did actually feel sorry for Cynthia living in the big house, more or less alone, she said. And when John wasn’t touring, he’d be working in the studio and come home exhausted. Cyn, on the other hand, wanted to go out and Mimi said she would often come downstairs dressed to the nines, looking quite lovely, and hoping for an evening on the town but John would be too tired.

Mimi warned him that he had to be more attentive to his wife.

---

[1975:]

She’d received a letter from a fan who had been visiting Cyn. “Well, she [the fan] indicated that Cyn didn’t want her address known. [She] knew but couldn’t tell me as, more or less, it was private. It irritated me. There’s no need for anyone connected with the Beatles to hide; one never hears of them, only an occasional mention. So she is quite safe. What an irritating letter to write. She could see Cyn had had her share of worry, etc. And [she] feels so bad that I don’t see Julian and no wonder Cyn wants seclusion in this world. Really such rubbish! It’s entirely Cyn’s own fault. Seclusion! Bah!”

---

[a letter dated 19th June, 1981:]

“7p.m. last night the phone went, I was half expecting an American voice, but no – It was definitely a L’pool voice. Slightly, but L’pool anyway. I knew it was not my family, we all have the similar voice. I kept saying who? Who? Who are you? Then I nearly dropped dead (kidding). The voice said ‘It’s Cyn’. I could hardly believe it. She started to tell me about Twist, marriage finished, he’d had 3 affairs, one after another. Apart from that I don’t know what the call was for. So taken aback that ME, Mimi, didn’t say anything. She would come down, see me, etc. etc. and – I’m not much wiser. Since then I’ve been so puzzled, wondering why she phoned me. I didn’t even get her phone no., or address, and no idea how to get it unless I try enquiries. She may not be under Twist… I wouldn’t put it past her to use Lennon. Think I’ll try. I want to ask her why she phoned, any reason especially. Can there be any motive? She’s determined to keep in the news one way or another. It’s puzzling, but I would not be any use to her.

“I know Cyn says she wants to hide away. God knows why. All the time she gets in touch with the press…I know she does not like [fans] and until I picked all the fan letters out of the dustbin and answered them, every fan letter was destroyed. So I answered which infuriated her, but I didn’t care. The girls got an answer. John knew nothing about it.”

(...)“Just talking to Anne [Mimi's sister]. She said ‘don’t bother finding where Cyn is. There’s some motive why she phoned after all these years. She could have phoned in Dec. And why these undying declarations of great love for John.’ If that was so, why chase the Italian, who by the way is totally ignored. She’s had 2 husbands since John. Anne feels there is money in it. Some funny business going on. I’m not interested in any money. It’s bad enough he’s gone.

“It’s not a good example to Julian to encourage him to go into pubs. He does not impress me at all. Seems lazy and aimless trying to cash in on his father’s image. John said he had no brain. Sounds as though he was right. Cyn should direct him to doing something instead of hanging around doing absolutely nothing. She trying to be the same age in outlook. It can’t be done. She’s to blame for him being aimless, but there’s no time for children when you’re looking for new husbands, and looking for a good time.”

---

We got into one of our first disagreements that night [during her 1981 visit to Mimi's house]. Talking about John and his divorce from Cynthia, she mentioned that Cyn hadn’t deserved the money he’d been forced to give her as a settlement. I believe the figure we were discussing was £150,000 and she thought that was far too much. I tried to explain that considering she’d been there from the beginning and through the lion’s share of Beatlemania, she deserved a far greater portion of his income than that. Nope. Cyn had cheated on John first, Mimi reasoned, so it wasn’t as if she’d won the pools. That was a familiar argument and I realized she was using John’s argument, almost word for word.

That’s the night she told me how John had come down to see her, and “sitting right in that chair” had told her that he had found out that Cynthia had been cheating on him with “the Italian” and he had literally cried when he said he was getting a divorce. To this day, I have no idea who cheated on whom first, but I eventually held my tongue and the £150,000 settlement dispute was eventually forgotten; at least for the time being.

---

Marie had been to Beatlefest in New York. She had phoned me while there to inform me that Cynthia was there selling copies of her art from her first book. I think this might have been the first of several trips to Beatlefest for Cyn. (…)

The only thing I remember is she called to tell me that she told Cyn that she knew the former president of the Cyn Lennon Beatle Club and did Cyn think she might ever go to Minnesota?

As I recall it, Cyn replied “Why would I ever go to Minnesota?” Well, why, indeed. Unless, of course, she wanted to continue to sell copies of old lithographs at $30 a pop.

Needless to say, Mimi didn’t take the news well at all.

“[Marie] nearly fell over herself telling me about Cyn selling at a Beatlefest or whatever you call those things. I couldn’t believe it! Whatever is she thinking?!!... It’s incredible, undignified, and degrading, to me anyway but then I’m not trying to cash in or seeking publicity. If I had been a cast off wife or mistress I think I would have kept quiet and out of sight especially with two husbands still hanging around somewhere. I’d laugh my head off if they decided to cash in as well. Heaven knows there’s no knowing what people will do for money. And they have a story as well….. Kathy, I’m half sorry for Cyn. I wonder how and what prompted her to leave herself open to criticism and remarks by people. I phoned my sister and Liela… they say she’s desperate for notice, and what’s more likely looking for another—er—husband over there. That’s the most likely place .What do you bet? Altho I hope she won’t be so silly. I don’t think she can help it. We’ll see. She could not have sold all those drawings at the exhibition, or perhaps she did more for the Beatlefest…I never saw anything arty she ever did, so have no idea…”

[A letter dated 26th October, 81:]

“I was sorry to hear Cyn was renting a table to sell things. How could she do such a thing! Joining that jamboree. It’s bound to cause some unfavourable comments. As to why, apart from the obvious. Here’s the latest rolling in millions and the first, 14 years almost after the divorce, and two further husbands (still about somewhere) renting a table to sell things – I really am sorry she did it. She was a very wealthy woman. I hope she’s still got some of it left. It makes one think she’s cashing in on the Lennon name for money. Perhaps I’m too old fashioned. Your note may have cheered her up for I can’t think she was very happy standing there, money or no money. It makes me cringe… Whatever Cyn may say I think she’s lonely and realises she was a fool… to be photographed with May Pang and I hear staying with her (if it’s true) well, it’s rock bottom. I hope she made some money to compensate her for what I think was an undignified escapade. Of course it’s only my opinion. I may be entirely wrong altogether. Better if I am wrong.”

The Guitar’s All Right as a Hobby, John, Kathy Burns (2014)

[stranger-marauders]

i could never let you go

one: honey, honey mamma mia! au

chapter summary: One day before Lena's wedding, you begin helping your daughter make preparations as guests arrive on the island.

chapter warnings: use of y/n, language, absent father, single-mom struggles

word count: 3.7k

series masterlist | masterlist

Before anyone knew it, the day before Lena’s wedding was here.

Lena hadn’t imagined that the time between her sending out invitations and her wedding date would have passed by so quickly. It hadn’t quite hit her how quickly those three months had gone by until her best friends Jenny and Sarah arrived at Pinestead Island that afternoon, just a day before her wedding. Everything about her wedding had all very quickly become real, and for Lena, the thought of marrying Leo forever became more and more exciting with every passing moment.

Whenever Lena finally saw her two friends, after hours of delay, both girls took her into a hug quickly, nearly squeezing her to death.

“Jenny! Sarah! Where have you been?” she asked, finally letting go of them both. “I thought you’d get here hours ago.”

“What a journey!” Jenny said. “Guess who left their ticket on the kitchen table.”

“We said, ‘We have to get on this plane. It’s our best friend’s wedding tomorrow,’” Sarah explained, trying to make herself look better.

“Sarah!”

“Lena!” she argued back. “If you would’ve been as stressed out as we were, you would’ve left your plane ticket on the kitchen table, too!”

“I’m sure,” Lena replied, not wanting to fight her on the subject.

“We made such a fuss,” Jenny further explained. “We had to get on that plane! It’s not like we were going to actually miss your wedding over something so stupid.”

“I actually told the lady that we would fly in the luggage compartment if necessary and she let us go.”

Lena shook her head. “Wow. All for Leo and I’s wedding. Amazing.”

“Speaking of him, where is he? Your Leo? We are dying to meet him.”

“How’s your mom? I bet she’s going nuts over this wedding.”

Lena almost laughed—Jenny didn’t even know the half of it.

While she loved you, you certainly had been doing everything you could and more for this wedding. Part of your daughter was scared that you would absolutely lose your mind before tomorrow night because of everything going on, and that was without you knowing what she’d done.

“Yeah, well, listen,” Lena started, “I’ve got a secret and I can’t tell anyone else.”

“Oh my God!” Sarah shouted. “You’re pregnant!”

“No!” she exclaimed in response.

At least, Lena hoped she wasn’t pregnant. She was not ready to be a mother at twenty, and she certainly didn’t think you would be ready to be a grandmother at forty-two. That, of course, provided that you 1) didn’t have a stroke or 2) didn’t kill her first.

“No, Jesus, I’m inviting my dad to the wedding.”

“Your dad?”

“You mean you’ve found him at last?” Sarah asked.

“Kind of? Not exactly?”

Whenever Jenny and Sarah gave her both confused looks, she sighed. Lena had come prepared to explain everything to them.

“Every time I’ve ever asked about my father, all my mom has ever said about it was that it was a summer romance, and that he was long gone before she realized that she was pregnant with me. Whenever she finally told me that I wasn’t allowed to ask about it anymore, I’d always kind of accepted the fact that that was all I’d ever really get to know about him.”

Jenny and Sarah’s attention was quickly snagged to her hands, specifically the diary that she was holding in her hands.

“But then I found this in my mom’s desk.”

Jenny gasped. “Lena! You’re not supposed to go around reading your Mom’s diary, especially if it’s about her summer romance!”

“If anything, she should be snooping in your desk and reading your diary,” Sarah said.

“But look!”

Lena showed the inside jacket of the diary to the two girls where your name and a year were located in your handwriting.

“See what that says? 1990. The same year she fell pregnant with me. Don’t you see?”

“I don’t know, this still seems like snooping.”

“Oh, it totally is, and I don’t regret a second of it. You know how she won’t talk about my dad, says she can’t remember any of that night? She’s full of it!” Lena, of course, began to read passages of the diary out loud to her friends. “July seventeenth. What a night! After the show, Steve rode me over to the little island not too far from the mainland. We danced on the beach, and kissed on the beach, and… dot, dot, dot.”

“What?” Jenny asked, confused.

“Dot, dot, dot,” Sarah repeated. “It’s what they did in the olden days when they had sex.”

“Steve’s the one,” Lena said, wanting to ignore Sarah’s comment about her mom having sex. “I know he is. I’ve never felt like this before about anyone.”

“So this guy Steve’s your dad?” Sarah asked.

“The plot thickens,” Lena countered. “Steve told my mom he was going home to get married.”

“Ugh! Dick!” Jenny exclaimed. “Typical shitty man! No wonder your mom didn’t want to talk about him. He broke her heart.”

“I know,” she said. “He sounds like a dick, but he still could be my dad.”

Without any more comments on Potential Father Candidate Number One, Lena continued to read your diary, and Jenny and Sarah huddled closer around her, almost as if to double-check everything that their friend read from your diary from long ago.

“August fourth. What a night! I was still feeling depressed about Steve, but after the show, Jonathan rented a motorboat, and I took him over to the little island. One thing led to another and… dot, dot, dot.”

“Jonathan!” the other two girls shouted. “So could it be him, too? What happened to him?”

“I don’t know, but the plot thickens even further,” Lena said, flipping to another page in the diary. “August fifteenth. What a night! Eddie turns up out of the blue, so I said I’d show him the little island. I must need my head examined after this summer. But he was so sweet, I couldn’t help it, and…”

“Dot, dot, dot!” all three girls shouted, nearly squealing and giggling at the thought.

“So, to answer your question, yes! After all these years, the sperm donor has a name,” Lena said, somewhat pleased with herself. “Well, three names. Steve, Jonathan, or Eddie.”

“And they’re all coming for the wedding?” Jenny asked.

“Yes!”

“Jesus Christ, Lena,” Sarah said, seemingly anxious over this situation her best friend had put herself into. “Do they know?”

“What do you write a total stranger?” Lena asked. “Come to my wedding, you might be my dad?”

“I mean, you could have written that.”

“Jesus Christ, no! They think my mom sent the invitations. And after what’s in here, I’m not surprised they all said yes.”

“Oh my God, Lena,” Jenny said. “Are you sure about this?”

“Yes! I want the perfect wedding, and I want my dad to give me away,” she replied without hesitation. “It’s what I’ve always wanted.”

“Well, let’s hope it’s a wide aisle,” Sarah said. “I can’t believe your mom was able to get all that in just one summer.”

“Are you really surprised?” Jenny asked.

“Actually, no, not really. Lena’s mom is pretty cool.”

“Yeah, well, speaking of my mom, we’ve got to keep her out of the way. She can’t know what I’m doing or else she’ll kill me.”

“She’s bound to find out sooner or later,” Jenny stated.

Lena, however, wasn’t having it. Considering how things ended between you and these men, especially Steve, she didn’t want to imagine what would happen to her if you found out about their presence on the island. She had to figure out who her father was before you spotted any of the three men on the island. With that thought process, that also meant she had to find a place for them to stay and get them to stay without seeing you, all before her wedding. Shouldn’t have been too difficult, right?

“There’s a part of me missing, and when I meet my dad, everything will fall into place. I’m not going to give my mom the chance to scare them off before I’ve even gotten to know them. And with any luck, I’ll know my dad straight away.”

“Yeah, and what if you don’t?”

“Then I’ve got twenty-four hours to figure it out, right?”

Jenny and Sarah could only sigh as they followed their friend back to your villa. They both could only think how terrible of an idea Lena had come up with, and now there wasn’t anything they could do about it.

You had been sitting on the dock of your villa for hours.

Realistically, you knew it hadn’t really been that long, but you felt like you’d been standing on that dock forever, only waiting for your friends to arrive. You could only explain your impatience by your typical lack of downtime. While you loved sitting on the dock, looking out onto Lake Michigan, you normally didn’t have any time to do so. There was always so much to do around the villa that you didn’t really have time to relax, unlike the other people on Pinestead Island.

The boat that you were waiting on to arrive carried your two best friends in the entire world: Nancy Wheeler and Robin Buckley. The two of them had gone to college with you years ago, graduating in the year 1990. Even though they were both your best friends, you never got to see the two of them, mostly because they had both become so successful over the course of twenty years while you were stuck on Pinestead running a shitty villa. You truly were living the dream.

Robin was extremely rich. While she had come into much of that money by herself, as she spoke four languages and translation services were, apparently, greatly appreciated all over the world, she had also married rich three separate times to three extremely wealthy women. You weren’t quite sure that she’d ever get married again unless another woman did something to truly woo her. Until then, you didn’t think there was any chance of Robin Buckley ever being a bride again.

Nancy, on the other hand, hadn’t ever been one for love. Other than the occasional fling here and there, she had remained extremely focused on her journalism career, which had taken her all across the world. Because of that, she had always remained successful, and Nancy had even managed to release a few books over the years with her own findings. As far as you were concerned, you didn’t ever expect Nancy to find a person she liked enough to settle down with, never mind to marry. You didn’t think Nancy would ever find love—in a way, maybe the two of you were the same.

Whenever a boat finally docked in front of you, leaving two women trying their best to pull their luggage out of the vehicle, you began to run from the other side of the dock.

“Well look what the tide’s washed in!”

“Hey, for one night!” Nancy shouted back.

“And one night only!” Robin added.

As you reached them, all three of you shouted, “It’s Y/N and the Dynamos!”

Robin and Nancy hugged you tightly, almost as if it was the last time they’d ever get to see you. In a way, you liked it. You never got to see them, and it was nice to feel loved by someone other than your daughter and her fiancé.

Whenever Nancy pulled away from the group hug, she chuckled. “So, how’s the mother of the bride?”

“Oh, great now,” you replied. “God, Robin! Eight years!”

“I know, I know,” she said sheepishly. “Blame it on a penchant for jet-setting millionaires.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not your fault you’ve been busy.” You sighed. “While you’ve been off exploring the world, I’ve been chained to this place. I feel like I’m constantly fighting with our stupid fucking bank manager.”

“I pity the poor bank manager,” Nancy replied.

Before you could say anything else, Lena ran down the dock. “Aunt Nance!”

“Oh my God, Lena, I swear you get more beautiful every time I see you. Do I get a hug for coming all this way?”

Lena, of course, didn’t make Nancy fight her for a hug. Instead, she threw her arms around her surrogate aunt and took her in tight. Whenever she finally let her go, Robin stood across from her sheepishly.

“I bet you don’t remember me,” she said softly, not knowing what to say.

“Of course, I do, Aunt Rob!” Lena exclaimed, quickly pulling her into a hug.

“Aw!” you said, getting somewhat emotional as you four began walking to the villa. “Look at my baby, her whole life ahead of her.”

Lena laughed. “Mom, I’m getting married, not joining a convent.”

“Well, in my day, they didn’t get married at twenty,” you replied.

“No, in our day, they didn’t get married at all,” Robin added. “Unless you were marrying for money or something.”

Neither of you was wrong. Even still now, neither you nor Nancy had ever gotten married, nor had there truly ever been any attempts to. Robin, on the other hand, had gotten married three times, each time to a “crazy rich bitch,” as you and Nancy liked to call her former wives. Nonetheless, there hadn’t ever been a beautiful love story for the three of you, nor did you think there would be for a long time.

That was why you couldn’t figure out for the life of you why your daughter wanted this wedding.

“A white wedding! I don’t know where she gets it from.”

“Don’t blame me, Y/N! It wasn’t my idea,” Leo said as he walked up the deck.

You knew it wasn’t Leo’s idea either, which was why you hadn’t ever blamed him, nor would you start to now. You knew that if he was given the opportunity, he would skip the ceremony, go to a courthouse on the mainland, and backpack with your daughter across the world without a second thought. In fact, he’d expressed that exact scenario to you many times as he helped you do work around the villa. His future with Lena, in his eyes, didn’t require her in a white dress. All he wanted was her, and he was okay with that.

Lena was a lucky girl. Maybe she didn’t have everything in the world, which you had always wished you could have given her, but she had a mother and a fiancé that loved her more than life itself. As far as you were concerned, Lena had her entire life ahead of her. 

You knew that you and Leo both would move mountains to make sure that Lena could have exactly what she wanted. That was the only reason you were both going through with such a big wedding in the first place.

“Girls, meet the leading man for tomorrow evening,” you said, stepping out of Leo’s way. “Leo, this is Nancy and Robin, my best friends in the entire world.”

“Hi!” Leo greeted. “I’ve heard lots about you both from Lena and her mom.”

“I’m assuming it was the bad stuff,” Robin said, somewhat jokingly. “I hope it was. It makes us sound much more interesting.”

Before Leo could answer, two of his groomsmen joined them.

“Where’s the 2–4s, eh, Leo?” one of the young men asked, who always seemed like such young boys compared to you.

“Sorry, what was that?” Robin asked, confused.

“He’s from Toronto,” the other boy explained.

“My name’s Pepper,” he explained.

“Because… you’re burning my mouth and destroying my intestines?” Robin asked, still confused.

“No, because he gets up your nose and is a pain in the ass.”

“Pepper and Eric are supposed to be my bar staff, waiters, boatsmen. You know, the general help. Except generally, they’re absolutely no help at all,” you said, somewhat bitterly. “Speaking of that, don’t you have any work to do considering, I don’t know, there’s a wedding here tomorrow?”

“Sir, yes, sir!” Eric and Pepper shouted in sync, quickly scurrying off the front lawn before they could truly feel your wrath.

You smiled once they had left your line of vision. “They always think I’m gonna fire them. I like it. It keeps them lively.”

“I see that,” Nancy said. “Glad to see you haven’t changed much.”

Before anyone could make any comments about how you treated your staff, Robin exclaimed, “This place is beautiful!”

“Leo is the only reason it looks half as good as it does.”

“Why? What have you been up to?” Robin asked him.

“You haven’t been here too long, have you?” Nancy asked.

“No,” Leo started, “I came here from Chicago during my gap year to escape my parents. I loved it here so much with Y/N and Lena that I’ve never gone back.”

“Why?”

“I was tired of dealing with them. Abusive assholes, you know. I was tired of being in their world.”

“But you should see what he’s done to my world,” you explained. “He’s gotten me online!”

“You?” Nancy shouted, almost as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Email, wired up, buckled down.”

“You’ve got to move with the times, Y/N. No more dollar stacks under the mattress,” Leo said, somewhat teasingly.

“Yeah?” you asked. “Just invest me a machine that’ll make beds. Then I’ll be happy.”

“Oh, stop, I know you,” Lena argued, smiling brightly. “You’d still run behind it and do it all again.”

“Are you joking? I’d be more than happy to put my feet up when the boat comes in.”

“Speaking of boats,” Nancy started, “I’d sink that old wreck you’ve got hung up on the dock.”

“Sink it?” Leo asked, somewhat confused.

“I mean, it doesn’t look like it’s in too great of condition,” she explained.

“Well, that eyesore’s gonna be my floating casino,” you replied.

“What?”

“Leo and Eric are transforming it into a millionaire’s paradise.”

“Just imagine it: sailing around the islands, gambling under the stars. Sounds great, doesn’t it?” Leo said.

“Gambling millionaires?” Nancy asked. “There might be a few of your ex-wives aboard, Robin.”

“Don’t think so,” Robin explained. “Last time I checked, none of them are millionaires anymore.”

“Well, millionaires or not, it’s our next project. I’m hoping it’ll put me up in the millions with you both,” you said. You then looked at your daughter, speaking to her. “I’m taking them out to the house. You and Leo gonna be all right by yourselves?”

Lena giggled. “I think we’ll be okay, Mom.”

As the three of you entered the villa, leaving the two of them behind you, you sighed as you took Robin and Nancy up to your room.

“I thought you didn’t want tons of tourists here,” Nancy finally said.

“Not tons, definitely not,” you replied, “but, you know, a few more, at least, would be nice.” You quickly changed the subject. “Okay, now, the thing about the toilet, if it doesn’t flush right away, just go and come back in a while, and it should…”

You sighed again. You couldn’t even believe what you were saying. Your millionaire best friends were here and the toilets didn’t work. Of course, nothing in this place really worked, but guests still came nonetheless.

“Nothing works around here, except for me. I’ve been running this hotel for fifteen years, and I’ve never had a day off.” 

Whenever you opened the window for some fresh air, the shutter fell off of it, presumably rotten to the hinges. You told yourself internally to add that window to the list of repairs that needed to be made around the place. The shutter itself, though, nearly missed one of your employees.

“Oh my God! Sorry!”

Whenever they waived, not truly caring because, at this point, things falling off the side of the place wasn’t even a surprise, you sighed again.

“What’s wrong?” Robin asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“No, what is it?” she repeated, almost as if she was going to make you talk about your feelings.

You knew better than to fight Nancy or Robin on such a thing. They both knew you better than anyone, and they certainly weren’t going to let you suffer internally. At the very least you could tell them what was going on and they would make you drink the problem away.

“It’s stupid.”

Nancy shrugged. “Okay? Let’s hear it.”

“I don’t know, it’s just… It’s too bad I couldn’t have married rich or something,” you said, somewhat regretfully. “I mean, I know that that’s, like, borderline sexism and just overall really shitty of me to say, but I mean it. It would be nice to have a nice guy with a bunch of money that could take care of this place for me, just so I can have just a minute of peace.”

“Sounds nice, actually,” Nancy said.

“Yeah, except for the man part,” Robin retorted. “If you need money, Y/N, you know that I’m more than willing to help you.”

“Oh, Rob, you know I’m not gonna take your money.”

“You wouldn’t be taking it, it would be a donation. I could even use it as a tax write-off!”

“Donation or not, I’m not taking it,” you replied. “No, I… I’m just whining. You know me. Complaining just like always.”

Robin only sighed in response. 

She and Nancy both wished that you would have let them help you. Part of them wanted to simply force you to let them help out around the place, but they both knew that you would be miserably embarrassed if they did that to you. You had never been one to take handouts, and you wouldn't start now.

Because of that, they thought that they would both leave the thought alone.

“Let’s not think about that right now,” Nancy said. “I mean, come on, your daughter’s getting married tomorrow! Let’s go have fun.”

Even though you hesitated, you knew, more than anything, that you wouldn’t be able to handle the next few hours sober.

next chapter

[milotonin]

nobody asked but since i’ve given up on my -old- hyperfixation of dear evan hansen here’s some of my opinions (i might do more):

i’ve seen things saying that some of the characters are bad people, like larry or evan or whoever. i don’t think this is true. none of the characters are bad people, granted none of them are good people. all of the characters are just trying their best with what they’ve got. this is just something that happened to them and they’re working with it. evan doesn’t want to hurt the murphys feelings by saying “actually i didn’t know him” so he lies thinking it was harmless and actually helping them. it just snowballed into something no one could control. and i think the murphys understand that bc they don’t tell anyone at the end. larry did try with connor not as much as cynthia- who tried too hard- but he did at least put in effort, he wasn’t a bad dad. he was just out of his depth, most likely he never sealed with any mental illness so he didn’t know how to help, same goes for cynthia. she was just trying to find something that would help immediately when things take time. she’d go from “one miracle cure to the other” (as the musical states) because she too was out of her depth and probably heard that this was the best or that was the best so she’d try all of them hoping that one would help her son.

evan dating zoe i didn’t like. i get that hed had a crush on her before the whole connor thing happened but it’s weird and wrong. he knows he lied (for a reason) but she doesn’t so their relationship already started off rocky, you can’t keep something that big from someone. what if they got married? had kids? would zoe go like “evan tell the child about their uncle connor, you guys were best friends in highschool.” and so the lie would just have to keep going forever. (this is if he didn’t tell them) that’s not good 🙅‍♂️ evan should have either lied about connor and gave up zoe or told the truth and tried working up the courage to talk to zoe. i understand his deathly social anxiety (i really do) but don’t combine the two. she just lost her brother. her brother just killed himself and you’re on HIS bed kissing HER.

connor and evan would have been such good friends had they met, this is something i think everyone in this fambase can agree on. had they met under the right circumstances they both would have hit it off. given that evan isn’t paralyzed by talking to him. (there’s more to this but i don’t feel like typing)

that’s it for rn

[simslegacy5083]

NSB (Straud Legacy) Gen 9 Ep 55: Hungry For Love

Watching his friends and relatives, including his ex Isra, find love, get married, and expand their families made Luigi’s plan to focus on improving himself over pursuing romance challenging.

Even sims he barely saw anymore called him up to talk about their relationships, leaving him jealous and dissatisfied with his lonely life. It made him wonder why no one was asking HIM out. Was he not good enough company for any sim to want his warm, soft presence in their life and bed?

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Even his relatives who were neither warm nor soft were doing better than him. He did his best to soothe Tess’s circuits when she called in a tizzy about Hunter’s upcoming proposal but hung up the phone with a lingering feeling of being left behind.

Luigi hoped to talk things out with his no-nonsense housemate, but even she showed up for breakfast wearing a sparkling engagement ring.

Too overcome with envy to show the proper excitement on his friend’s behalf, he stumbled through a half rant, half apology for his emotional disarray. Bonnie just sighed and let him vent, knowing her friend well enough not to take his self-absorbed reaction to her and Leroy’s engagement personally. When he ran out of steam, she assured him his “happily ever after” was out there somewhere if he just made a little effort to find it.

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Luigi couldn’t deny Bonnie’s wisdom about leaving out the welcome mat for love, but before he signed up for Meet and Mingle, he got another call.

At last! His teammate Jade, who had been so adamant that their fling was a “one time thing”, was actually interested in him! He wished he knew what had changed her mind, but he was far too excited to worry about that, agreeing to meet right after class at the old arcade in Cooperdale.

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He started things off by leading her over to one of the bubble machines scattered throughout the venue, flirtatiously joking that they simply had to sample the “Jade Dragon” flavor in honor of Jade’s fiercely competitive spirit.

The bubbles loosened their lips and relaxed them both. Jade maybe relaxed a little too much, flippantly complaining that her husband, Brice, could never be bothered to do anything fun like this anymore… she only seemed to realize she’d said it aloud when she saw Luigi’s dumbfounded look.

Another married sim?! Luigi supposed it didn’t have to be a deal breaker, as long as he didn’t wind up in a weird open relationship with a distant cousin.

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When Luigi inquired about the details of Jade’s committed relationship, she admitted that her husband would “kill her and the other guy” if he found out that she was seeing someone else, but what he didn’t know couldn’t hurt anyone!

She knew Luigi could keep a secret; he’d never breathed a word about their shower escapade after all. Brice was such a “stick in the mud”, she deserved to have a little fun and Luigi certainly seemed to know how to show a girl a good time!

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Mind blown, Luigi retorted that his discretion wasn’t an open invitation to pull him into drama he knew nothing about. Was this why Jade had told him their little fling after the game was a “one time thing”? At her guilty look he suddenly felt cheap and used, bitterly embarrassed by his earlier hopes.

Before he did something he knew he’d regret Luigi stood, grinding out “go home to your husband” before turning and storming out the door. He didn’t know why it seemed married sims had a “thing” for him, but he’d clearly have to vet his dates more thoroughly moving forward!

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View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[heaven-s-black-box]

Learned to Love- Belphegor x fem!Reader

Return to File

Recovery date: December 4th, 2020

Description: Belphegor falls in love with a human, and he’s awkward when they hang out because he isn’t used to being around someone he isn’t using.

Notes: Recovered in conjunction with @coolathenalentz93, we appreciate their contribution.

Word count: 620

Back to directory

“Isn’t it a little late for a pretty girl like yourself to be out alone?” A voice spoke out behind Y/N.

Y/N smiled slightly, kicking her feet in the dirt. She was sitting on a swing in a small park, watching the few cars pass by.

“Unfortunately, my date’s running a little late.”

The swing beside her creaked, as the young man took a seat.

“Wow, why would anyone wanna be late meeting you?” He chuckled.

“I dunno Bel, you tell me.” Y/N looked over at him. 

“I told you, new souls to tourture,” he laughed. “I missed you.”

He reached out and pulled her towards him. Belphegor kissed her forehead, before letting her rest her head on his shoulder. They sat in silence for a few moments.

They’d met nearly a year ago when Y/N had decided to summon a demon out of boredom. At first, Belphegor had decided to torture her. Not physically, he could do that in hell, but mentally. She didn’t know who he was, what he could and had done, she was perfect to manipulate. And at first that was what he did.

He played to her every fancy, giving her everything she asked for. Well, not everything, he was careful not to give away his plan. And then came the attack, and he realized that he wasn’t playing her as much as he thought.

She’d been walking home late one night, and he’d been following from a distance for reasons he didn’t even know, when a plain old crazy had attacked her. His legs moved before he could think, and the nearly killer was thrown into hell.

“So, what did you want to do?” He asked, rubbing her shoulder.

“How about we catch a movie? There’s a few I wouldn’t mind seeing.”

Belphegor stood up and grabbed her hands.

“Lead the way,” he said as he helped her up.

---

“Bel? Beeelll~,” Y/N called, waving her hand in front of his face.

“Huh?” He snapped out of his daze and turned back to her.

“You good? I was asking if you wanted to walk me home, or you know… stay over?” She was looking down.

“Ya, that sounds good.” He smiled and took her hand as they began to walk towards her apartment.

“So, what were you thinking about?” Y/N hummed, swinging their hands.

“Nothing, just how much the world has changed.”

“Since the rock dicks?” She laughed.

“At the time it seemed like a great idea, okay? I guarantee in a few centuries, some of this will seem just as stupid.”

“Ya, ya.”

Not that he would tell her, but he’d actually been watching another couple leaving with their son. It was strange, but a part of him thought it could be them. And a part of him wishes it was.

They arrived at her apartment, and stood side by side in the elevator, with Belphegor getting fidgety.

“I never thought I’d see the great Belphegor get nervous.” Y/N smirked. “Don’t worry, we don’t have to do anything if you’re too nervous.” She giggled, leaning closer to him.

The elevator dinged and they stepped out.

“Hmph, if anyone’s getting nervous, it should be you sweetheart.”

“Then,” she took out her keys and unlocked her door, “what’s up?”

He watched her for a second.

“Just thinking… maybe we could start a family some day. That is, if you’ll have me.”

Y/N stopped taking off her shoes to stare at him with confusion.

“Di-Did you just propose to me?”

“Ha, I guys I did,” he chuckled. “So? Will you marry me?”

Y/N jumped forward, and pulled him into a strong kiss, accidentally knocking their heads together.

“Yes.”

[athenaseden]

A little Work Wives Au for yall. I am a sucker for Gerald and Joe not existing, Melissa and Barbara meeting at work, falling in love, getting married, and having kids ! No TW here just a whole bunch of family fluff. (Blame my Moesha binge for this.)

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Melissa picks up the infant, quietly telling her not to spit up again as she situates the throw up towel. She just had to change out of a shirt she's been dying to wear and she refuses to have to change this one. Gina is babbling happily on her hip, grabbing at her mother’s hair. The redhead knows being in a rush caused the accident. Her niece is coming over to look after the girls while Barbara and herself go out. Nina dragged her into a double date and last night called to ditch them. Barbara convinced her that they still needed to go and that Toni was already looking forward to looking after their girls. (Barbara didn’t actually have to do much convincing.)

Leaning over the bed, she puts her phone on the side of her purse before checking that she has her wallet one last time. Pulling her hair from the tight grasp of Gina’s little hand, she hears the doorbell ring. “Sounds like Toni’s here, lovely.” The clock on the nightstand displays 6:30 in a glowing red. She could laugh, it’s Toni alright, right on time not a minute before or a minute later. Melissa throws her purse on the opposite shoulder and heads out of their bedroom. Down the hall, she hears her niece greet her wife and ahead of her she sees their toddler making her way to the living room just as fast as her little feet will take her.

Usually, she’d call out to be careful but Barbara beats her to it. Passing the threshold to see everyone, just as her oldest slams into Toni’s legs squealing. Melissa chuckles a little watching the brunette take a step so she doesn’t fall over while pulling away from Barbara’s embrace. Taylor’s squeal causes Gina to make a similar sound, right in Melissa’s ear. Leaning away, she gives her daughter as much of a glare as one can give their smiling infant. She loves their children very much, but at the current moment, she would love 10 minutes of space from them.

The truth is Melissa is hungry and tired and really needs this date night more than anyone can get her to admit. Just an hour or so to breathe. Melissa’s gone back to school, the catch up has been dreadful. Barbara is equally tired, home with both girls and helping Melissa’s cousin, Diane, with various portfolios and other projects for her classroom. Barbara was missing being in the classroom and Annette, Melissa’s cousin, had mentioned her daughter needing some help. Barbara didn’t hesitate. She said yes before Melissa could finish asking.

Across the room, Taylor is begging to be picked up and Barbara is leaving Toni’s side offering her a “Good luck”. Toni has her knee brace on tonight, which means Taylor will not be carried around or picked up for a few hours. Toni hurt her leg in high school as a cheerleader, it was the moment Barbara decided they needed more than one ice pack and heating pad in the house. That decision has since been very useful with their toddler running about and into everyone.

Barbara meets Melissa halfway across the room reaching out for Gina, “Come, dear. ‘M afraid your mother might have you for dinner at this rate.” Although she rolls her eyes, Melissa knows her annoyance with these small things is because she is hungry. Pulling the towel from her shoulder, she offers it to Barbara who shakes her head, “Don’t need it.” A mild disappointed look passes her face, at that but quickly fades away as she sees Toni approaching them.

Before she and Barbara had Taylor and Gina, they had a stubborn teenager. Melissa never wanted Barbara to see her actual family drama but the day Toni showed up at Melissa’s apartment when Barbara was over, it was too late. During those hard months, Melissa saw for the first time just how fiercely Barbara loves. “Hi, Aunt Mel.”

The redhead wraps her arms around the shorter woman’s shoulder, “Hey, hun.” It has been a few months since they’ve seen each other. “Thanks for doing this.” Toni pulls away from the hug with a big smile that tells Melissa, she really did jump at the opportunity. “Of course. Besides I miss you all and wouldn’t pass up getting to see these two again.” Eyes following Toni’s gesture behind herself, Melissa sees Taylor is standing on the couch listening. She gestures for her to sit not stand by pointing down, which her daughter understands and follows.

“Let me show you where Gina’s things are before we leave.” Barbara beacons Toni down the hall first, baby leaning against her chest, thumb in mouth. Melissa scrunches her nose at the back of their heads. Turning around she finds Taylor looking up at her from the couch sadly, eyes wide with her little lip poked out. With brows frowned in confusion, the redhead walks to the couch opening her mouth to ask what is wrong. Taylor speaks before she can, “You and mommy are leaving?”

Taylor has been struggling to fall asleep without being tucked in by them both. Melissa has come home to find Barbara dosing holding Taylor's hand with the child nearly as far gone as her mother. Just as soon as the girl heard her, she was begging to be tucked in and afterward would fall right to sleep. Melissa sits on the couch beside her and smooths out her skirt, tapping it to invite Taylor to sit in her lap. “We are. We will be back in a few hours, ya know.”

Her reassurance has stopped the impending tears but has done little for the already heavy breathing. Sucking her teeth, she pulls her daughter to her chest who then buries her face in her mother’s shoulder. The toddler has had one or both of them home more consistently the last few months than she has since she was a baby herself. Barbara and Melissa have enjoyed it just as much as Taylor which is one of the reasons it's taken them so long to go out. While rubbing her arm, she listens to both the sniffles of the little one in her lap and passing conversation as Toni and Barbara walk toward the kitchen.

“Hey, mommy and I will tuck you in when we get back, okay?” She feels Taylor nod and take a deep shaky breath. She chooses to wait to move until Taylor does or others come back. Mel knows after a minute that her daughter’s calm again, but doesn’t stop rubbing her arm. Just as Taylor separates from her mother, the other three reenter the room. “Ready?” She asks them, Taylor hopping from her lap to walk to them. Before Barbara can nod, Toni pulls out her phone, “Wait, you have to see the pictures of Lily.”

Though she has calmed down some herself, Melissa is still very hungry. In hopes of getting them on the move, she opens her hands to take Gina from Barbara, “Time to say goodbye, Mommy.” The older woman kisses Gina's cheeks before handing her off. Melissa chuckles, taking their daughter and wiping the small lipstick marks off tiny cheeks, replacing them with her own as she walks to the carpet across the room.

She places Gina in her bouncer, shaking the rattle to get the toddler’s attention. Taylor walks up beside them, her own toy in her hand and Barbara’s lipstick on her cheek, looking at her sister first then her mother. “Love you, mama.” she says, hugging her mother’s legs. She makes quick work of kissing Taylor's forehead and replying, "I love you too, belissima." Mel's own forehead against her daughter's. The redhead has known one thing from the moment she and Barbara started planning their life together, this (the girls, the house, and Barbara) is the best thing to ever happen to her.

Toni is putting her phone away, walking away from Barbara over to Melissa and the girls by the time she’s given both a kiss again. Barbara is by the door with her coat on and Melissa's in her hand. As she walks to the door, she can hear Taylor talking to her sister about her own toy and knows she’ll be okay for the next few hours. Turning her back to Barbara, she slips into her coat, waving goodbye before opening the door for her wife. On the way from the door to the car, Barbara reaches over and grabs Melissa's hand, “You’re cute.” Not liking the jab at her facade, she replies rather high pitched, “I just told her goodbye?!”. Barbara simply smiles and kisses her cheek before walking around the car.

3 and a half hours later . . .

They’ve come back to find all three girls asleep on the couch. Toni is startled awake by the door, Taylor by their voices. They took their girls to their own beds, kissing them both goodnight. Melissa made her way straight to their bathroom afterwards. She had brushed her teeth and changed, expecting Barbara to have joined her already when she emerged to their bedroom. Halting her routine, she made her way back to the living room where she found Barbara and Toni on the couch that was pulled out the bed. Leaning against the door frame she watched quietly as her wife told her niece that it was never any trouble to stay the night and that they always enjoyed her company, no matter how unexpected. In the morning, Melissa will check in on Toni. For now, Barbara’s taking the lead. Neither seem to spot her, she’s happy to just watch.

In one last reminder to get her point across, Barbara gently caresses her chin and rests her forehead against Toni’s, “I mean it, sweetheart. You have a home here whenever you need it.” Toni’s voice is small when she replies, “I am good, Auntie I promise.” but still she nods that she understands. Barbara kisses her head, telling her goodnight and stands before she sees Melissa. If it were any other night where they weren’t both exhausted, Melissa might have been wearing a shit eating grin. But she’s not, she’s got tears in her eyes and looking at Barbara with so much love. The older woman wraps her arm around her, walking them both to their room. “You’re cute.” Melissa repeats her line from earlier. Barbara only shrugs. Later, when they’re in bed, with Barbara’s arm around Melissa’s stomach and Melissa’s fingers threaded through her’s, the redhead will mumble, “I got it from you.” and Barbara will know exactly what she is talking about even on her way to sleep because she’s been thinking about it all night.

[kariachi]

Some fic! Set in my own shit- Ben and Gwen very much don't gossip about the latest news in their social circle.

~~

“Did someone die?” Ben couldn’t think of any more reason for his cousin to the late for, anything. Well, alright, that was a lie, but she’d never been late due to anything less than an absolute mess, much to her pride and is aggravation. So, for her to arrive at a lunch date nearly fifteen minutes after she’d said she would there surely had been something.

“I,” she said, as she took her seat with more of a tired flop that she’d likely planned, “had to talk Kev and Argit from socially and potentially actually destroying a man.” Freezing with his hand around his soda, Ben blinked twice, mouth just slightly open, before settling back into what was not gossip mode no matter what Helen said. He took a sip, shoving his menu across the table to her.

“And what had them all puffed up?” It had to have been something interesting, even if not serious, for them to be plotting together on it. Kevin had a temper like Ben’s mom’s pressure cooker- one fuck-up away from leaving a crater- but Argit’s was generally more even. Either he stood to gain, or somebody had really started shit.

“You know that guy Argit’s been fucking,” Gwendolyn asked, picking up the menu as if she intended to look through it. Ben nodded. “Apparently he proposed.” Again came the brief gaping.

“He has worse taste than I thought,” he said. “Are we going to have to go to another fucking wedding? You know he’d talk shit if I wore the same thing twice and I’m not buying another suit.”

“Oh no,” she said, leaning over the table, and something in his mind idly recalled that she also claimed to not have a gossip mode, “he shut him down hard. It doesn’t change that he and Kev are livid.” Ben also leaned forward.

“What did he do?”

“Well,” she lowered her voice, as if anyone else in the restaurant would care, “first off, he did it publicly, which is a massive red flag all on its own.” Ben had never known that was a red flag and stowed the information away. “But also he asked Argit, and it’s not like he and Kev got married in secret.”

“Yeah,” Ben said, raised a finger as he pointed out, “but they’ve got that whole Ossy polygamy thing going on. It’s why Kev keeps you, remember?” She looked at him like he was an idiot, he sent it back as best he could. He’d never been able to reach her level there.

“Yes, I remember,” she said, “that’s not the point. They’re married, as far as Ossy’s are concerned the right way to go about things would be to ask both of them together, but he asked Argit.” Realization dawning, Ben’s eyes slowly went wide. “He may as well have been waving a big ‘I don’t respect your marriage’ flag around while he did it.”

“I mean,” he wracked his brain for a potential explanation, “maybe he was looking at Erinaen stuff instead?” Gwendolyn shook her head, but was interrupted by the return of their waiter. For a moment the conversation stopped as Ben gave his order and she rushed to pick a drink and meal off the menu. It wasn’t until the waiter had walked out of immediate earshot that she turned her attention back.

“No, I asked that, apparently it’s even worse by Erinaen standards!” Ben gaped harder.

“How can it be worse?!”

“Apparently,” Gwendolyn said, and he’d have sworn she leaned in closer and lowered her voice further, “if you want to marry an Erinaen you’re supposed to go to their next of kin and get their approval first. And since Argit doesn’t have any family of his own out here-”

“If you didn’t accept that he’s married to Kevin you’d still have to accept him as next-of-kin,” Ben said, beginning to get aggravated on their behalf. He hated being aggravated on Argit’s behalf. His cousin nodded.

“So by Ossy standards,” she said, “the guy was admitting he didn’t respect their marriage, and by Erinaen standards he was just completely cutting Kevin from Argit’s immediate social circle. And it’s not like there’s not enough Osmosians and Erinaens in Geilla Bohln, he couldn’t figure out how not to offend them by putting in pretty much any amount of effort.” Mouth slowly shutting, Ben nodded back. No wonder they were both so upset. Nobody’d actually liked the fucker anyway- Kevin was so far Argit’s only show of good taste, and Ben was honest enough to admit even that was iffy, even if not in front of him or Gwendolyn- but for him to not even put in the effort of asking a question to any random Erinaen on the street...

“Do they need help destroying him?” Eyes narrowing, Gwendolyn gave him a sharp look and waggled a finger in his direction.

“We are not, not until it’s been long enough we aren’t the first suspects.”