#card counter!jared

[fangirlingfromdownunder]

21st Day of Christmas

Christmas Card Blues

Summary/Prompt: The reader reacts to getting Christmas cards from married couples with pictures of them with their smiling children.

Pairing - Jensen Ackles x Reader

Warnings: Mentions of pregnancy, infertility & miscarriages, implied smut

Christmas Masterlist | Masterlist

You and Jensen have been married for just over a year now and have been talking about and trying to have a baby for most of that time, but it just doesn’t seem to be in the books for you, or at least not yet. It doesn’t help that you only see each other every other weekend or a couple of times a month due to his busy filming schedule but you’ve been trying as often as possible anyway. After a few false positives and a miscarriage, you’re starting to lose hope. It’s difficult to handle the emotions on your own. You know he’s there for you and wants to support you but he’s often just too busy to be there as often as you would like or need. The pain of the loss and longing is always there but now, at Christmas time it all feels so much more intense. 

The Christmas photos and cards don’t help. Genevieve for one sent our homemade cards with a picture of their whole big happy family on the front. Of course, you love her, Jared and their little ones, so it earned pride of place on the front of the fridge. But as much as you love them it also makes you sad every time you look at it. You know it’s still early days but you just thought you would’ve at least been pregnant by now. You and Jensen had talked extensively before the wedding about how you dreamt of having a family together but now that you’re trying to make it a reality, it’s easier said than done. 

You’re standing in the kitchen with your hand on your stomach and tears in your eyes when Jensen returns from checking on the brewery. He’s been home from filming for a few days now but he’s had a list of other things to check on before Christmas in Austin. Part of you knows he likes to keep busy, but you also can’t help but wonder if he’s avoiding you since you’ve failed to make your and his Christmas wish come true. You’d both hoped you’d either have a baby in your arms for Christmas or at least a positive pregnancy test or ultrasound photos; instead, you have nothing. 

When he sees you he knows exactly what’s on your mind. He wraps you in his arms and pulls you into his chest as he kisses your head. “I know, Sweetheart. I’m right here. It’s gonna be fine. We’ll get our family one day. We can start looking into IVF and other options in the new year.”

“It’s my biological job to have a baby – reproduce – and I can’t even do that. I’m so useless.”

“Hey, hey. You’re not useless. This isn’t your fault. These things just happen. It could even be my sperm for all we know. But we will figure it out. Together we can get through this. I can take some time off early in the year, and drop back on my workload a little so I can be here with you. I know it’s hard doing this on your own.”

Your phone buzzes on the kitchen counter causing you to pull away and check it. Jensen looks over your shoulder knowing you won’t mind or would tell him if you did. As you tap on the notification a picture pops up of your sister, her husband and their young children. You tap the like button and then turn your phone off before placing it screen down. Jensen kisses your head again sweetly and wraps his arms around you from behind. “That will be us one day. We haven’t been married long. Just try to be patient. You’ll get to be a mother one day.”

“I’m sorry…You came home for a happy Christmas and here I am just moping around.”

“Don’t apologise, Baby. It’s hard and you’re hurting, and that’s okay. I’m here to help carry the load now. It’s okay to feel everything that you’re feeling.”

“It’s also just…I know your mom is gonna ask tomorrow when we get there…”

“Ask what?”

“Where her grandbabies are? We’ve had a year why haven’t we gotten on to it yet? You know I love your family, but your mom has high expectations and I always fall short and now I haven’t given you a baby yet when they know you want one. They know I’m a failure and that you should’ve married someone else.”

“You done venting yet?” he asks softly. You nod. “Okay. I know that’s how you feel, but that’s not how I feel.” He spins you around and lifts you on the bench so he can stand between your legs, be at face-level with you and meet your eyes. “You’re my stunning wife who works so hard to allow me to live my dreams while you stay here and keep everything afloat. The brewery, handling invoices with Steve for my music, this house, also being there for me whenever I need you, all while trying to do your own thing and now on top of all that you’re stressing about having a baby. I love that you’re motivated and driven and want to do all that. And as long as you’re happy, I’m happy, but you’re not happy. So, after Christmas, we’re gonna talk about lifting some of this workload and stress off you. We’ll negotiate. Also, us having children is none of my parent’s business. But if she asks I can take the blame.”

“You’re gonna take the blame for my miscarriage…We didn’t tell them for a reason.”

“They don’t need to know. I’m barely home. I’m working too hard. When would we have a chance to try? Put all of that on me. It’s true and I can take it.”

“But we have…We’ve been trying every time you come home.”

“A couple of times every other weekend? It’s been amazing, I’ve loved every time. But it’s still minimal. If I was home more often we could try every night. Get a lot more practice. But regardless, they don’t need to know. If mom says anything I’ll handle it. Having a baby isn’t supposed to be stressful, it’s supposed to be fun.”

“It was…in the beginning but now…”

“I know. I just want to get back to that fun.”

“Me too.”

“How about we just forget about it for now?”

“You’re finally home and you want us to not have sex anymore?”

“Did I say that? I don’t remember saying that,” he says teasingly. “I just mean, we stop putting so much emphasis on the why and just go back to making love or just focusing on the pleasure. Be in the moment more. If it happens, it happens. No more planning.” You nod in agreeance. “I’m glad you agree because I really want you to lay back on this bench for me.”

His hands squeeze your thighs as he kisses you deeply and then guides you to lean back. He sinks to his knees as his hands grip the waistband of your leggings and pull them down your legs.

[notinthislife50]

Chapter 6

Previous Chapter 

Next Chapter

You sat at a table with some of the crew members. Jensen watched you sadly then looking at Jared he asked. “She still can’t sit with me, huh?”

“It will take time but she will get there man, she loves you." Jared tried to comfort him.

You walked over to the table where Jared,  Jensen,  Misha,  Mark, and more of your other friends sat.

“Not falling for me now darling?" Mark smiled wide, speaking in Crowley’s voice. 

You laughed and raised your finger "Your not Crowley yet Mark so you can stop the charm."

“Not when it makes you this red.” He laughed.

You sat between Mark and Misha, For the next few hours, you laughed together and started to get to know each other. These guys were amazing; honestly, you couldn’t wait to work with them.

A few months had passed and Jensen was still drinking heavily but you and Jared were always there for him. He picked up anyone he could. You were meet more than what you were comfortable with random women in the kitchen. But you always made sure to not make them feel uncomfortable.

Sometimes you would make them breakfast and sit and chat with them. You didn’t judge them and you didn’t judge Jensen,  you know he was trying to find a release for his feelings and you knew the girls meant no harm. 

Season four was a blast,  you and Misha had become close.  In fact, you were partners in crime. You two always got revenge on Jared and Jensen for their tricks. You got them with food-coloured water in water pistols and you would hide in the most random places just so you could pie-bomb them. You and Misha were now an army against Jared and Jensen never letting their pranks be without retaliation. 

You and Mark had become close too. When you were all celebrating your birthday, Mark approached you “Are you ready for my gift?” he smiled making you nervous.

“No” you laughed “I don’t trust you one bit.”

Mark brought his hand to his heart and mocked being hurt, then he threw his arm around your shoulders “I promise you will definitely like this one, even more so than the day you met me” he squeezed you hard, kissing the top of your head.

“I swear Mark you better not have ordered a stripper” you stated worried but obviously not trying to sound it.

And when Mark laughed you really grew concerned. 

He guided you over to the bar and stopped when you approached a man’s back.

“Y/N met my very good friend, Nathan,” he said.

Your heart nearly jumped out of your throat when Nathan Fillion stood up and extended his hand, “The famous Y/N, I have heard a lot about you”

You took his hand,  jaw agape, and willed yourself to be cool, but you knew fine well you were drooling. You tried to think of something suave to say but ended up just shaking his hand and smiling.

“Don’t worry about her, she is easily star struck” Mark laughed, but his laughter ended in a huff when you elbowed him in the ribs.

“Don’t listen to him, I fell on my ass once and he has been convinced ever since it was because of him” You finally found your confidence.

You spent the rest of your night talking, laughing, and flirting with Nathan, you were so lost in conversation, you never noticed the looks Jensen threw your way.

After the party you and Nathan exchanged numbers and shortly after began dating. You dated for a few months but unfortunately, you were in Canada, and with him being in Los Angeles scheduling always became an issue. You both agreed to end it but remained friends.

Near the end of the filming of season Four,  you sat in front of the mirror and finished your makeup. As you walked into the living room,  Jensen and Jared stared at you “So you can scrub up, who would have thought” Jared smirked resulting in a punch in the shoulder.

“Right, you ready to run me in, Gwen will be there soon"  you stated grabbing your card and money from the counter and stuffing it in your coat.

“Why have you still not got a purse or wallet,” Jared asked rolling his eyes.

You just shrugged.

“Let’s go” he ordered.

“You okay if I come for the ride?” Jensen asked quietly.

“Of course not " you replied “But I’m shotgun” you laughed.

As you rolled up to the bar,  Gwen was standing on the pavement. Jared had bounced out of the car as soon as he had stopped the car and ran to Gwen kissing her.

As you got out of the car you leaned against the door letting Jared and Gwen kiss. Jensen had jumped into your seat and rolled the window down

“Get a room you two"  he shouted smiling.

When they stopped kissing Jared jumped back into the truck.

“Thanks " you laughed at Jensen.

You look beautiful” Jensen quietly said making you blush.

When the guys picked you both up later on you had a bit too much drink. Jared took care of Gwen leaving Jensen taking care of you. “I’m fine you kept saying trying to push Jensen away.

“Y/n please I know you hate me but let me help you " he pleaded

As you slumped in your drunken state you started crying “I don’t hate you,  I never have.  in fact you couldn’t be farther from the truth " you slurred before passing out.

You woke the next morning with a pounding headache not remembering how you got home. As you turned you saw water and painkillers. God love your guardian angel you thought.

A few hours later when you managed to drag yourself out of your bedroom you saw Gwen on the sofa and you slumped beside her throwing half of the blanket that was around her around you.

Not one of you said a word you just lay on the sofa nursing yourselves back to health.

@senjoritanana

[caroline18mars]

A Man On Fire - Chapter 86

It was like she had the wind knocked out of her, court? Neglect and abuse? So now the tables were turned on her? They were treating her like a criminal..her own parents, or no, she wasn’t even family anymore, they had officially disowned her..Jared, she needed to call him, she needed to hear his voice telling her that everything would be ok..in his arms she would feel ok again…in his arms she could find comfort and not feel like she was the loneliest person alive. Her whole body felt numb and she barely had the strength anymore to hold the document, the words on the letter danced before her eyes “will that be all? Can I go now?” she breathed and the lawyer nodded. Her high heeled boots could barely carry her as she swayed out of the elevator, her phone, she needed to call someone, anyone, her vision blurred by tears she ignored all the notifications and pressed the first name that came up in her contacts, her brother, it couldn’t possibly be true what her parents had said about him, that he was in on this whole scheming and framing, “Arno?” her heart jumped as the line connected, why didn’t he say anything? “Arno, devo parlarti”. But all she heard was ‘mi dispiace, mi dispiace Coco” and a dry click followed, WHAT???? NOOOOOO, please god NOOOO, you can’t leave me, you can’t!!! sobbing uncontrollably her phone clattered to the hard concrete outside, no, please work..please please, she picked up her dead phone but no matter how hard she pushed the button, the phone just wouldn’t jump back to life, where could she go, what could she do? She didn’t know Jared’s number by heart, ok focus, focus goddammit Coco!

On the other side of the world a plane was setting in the landing for Sydney, by now he was out of his mind with worry, no call, no text, no mail from her or her brother, something was wrong, he could feel it in the pit of his stomach. As soon as the plane touched down, he got absorbed by the hussle and bussle of getting out of the airport as soon as possible.

I can’t stay here in NY, I just can’t, I need to see Jared, I need to be with him, this was the right decision, Coco, her mind was racing while she swiped her credit card through the machine. “OK, Miss, here’s your boarding card, hurry the plane will start boarding shortly, gate 18” the man behind the counter pointed her in the right direction. How she got through customs so quick she didn’t know, her feet were killing her from all the running she had done but miraculously she ended up at the gate just in time, here went absolutely nothing, as the airplanedoor was closed right behind her

”No news?” Shannon came walking into his brother’s room, “nothing” it was the despair in his voice that got to him, “I wouldn’t worry too much, her battery’s flat or something, you know how she is, she never owned a phone before you came along, what time is it in the States? Maybe she’s gone straight to bed, I’m sure you’ll hear from her in the morning”, it was endearing how his brother tried to put his mind at ease, but he knew better, something was wrong, this was gonna be a long night..hopefully his jetlag would give him some solace. “I hope so” he sighed “I really hope so”.

”Miss, are you ok, you haven’t touched any of your food”, the flight attendant took away her tray “I’m just not hungry” she forced a weak smile, thank god for business class, the little bit of attention she got made her feel a little bit less alone. “I’m sorry, but I dropped my phone and I can’t seem to get it back to life anymore, and I really need to contact my…my boyfriend” maybe the flight attendant was a little bit more tech savvy than she was. “Can I have a try?” the girl gently asked and she quickly handed her the phone, but no matter how much she pushed the button, the screen remained black “if you know your boyfriend’s number then we can send him a message, or maybe an email”. Coco bit her lip and shook her head, how the hell was she gonna find him? This was like looking for a needle in a haystack, what had she done? She was lost and alone and completely helpless, she could feel her heart breaking into a million little pieces knowing that she no longer was part of a family, she was not enough, never was and never would be again, her past had been taken from her and actually so was her future. They had made the world a lot more hollow for her by the stroke of a pen, all gone, all done, never looking back.

Hours and hours later, she was standing in the midst of Sydney airport, everyone in a rush to get to their destinations, her fingers fondled the dead phone in her pocket, ok, think, there’s what seems to be a phoneshop, go buy yourself a new phone, these guys would definitely be able to help her find Jared’s number, ok come on, don’t be shy, oh who am I kidding? Come on, so what if they call you a tech retard?. “Hello, can I help you?” a young man approached her with the typical smooth sales smile, “I hope so, my phone doesn’t work anymore, I was hoping that you could maybe fix it?” she hesitantly showed him her tattered phone. “Fix it?” he huffed “we have an entire wall here of brand new phones, Android or iPhone, which one would you prefer, do you have everything stored in your Cloud? Do you use e-sim,.” What? A cloud, android? Sim? Her cheeks going bright red she stammered, “it’s ok, I’ll wait, thanks for your time though” all embarrassed and ashamed of herself, she quickly beelined it out of the shop. She was tired, jetlagged, hungry and thirsty and she missed Jared, ok think, think for god’s sakes..what hotel was he staying in? nope, she didn’t remember, how many hotels could this city have? I’ll do this the old fashioned way then. ”Where to, Miss?” the cabdriver asked her, “every 4 or 5 star hotel in Sydney that you can think of”

Everywhere she went, she was frowned upon or ignored or even kindly requested to leave the hotel premises, they all thought she was a stupid fan trying to sneak into the hotelroom of her idol. He seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth, “no luck?” the cabdriver asked as she got back in and shook her head, “you know, these stars they never use their own name to book a room, it’s always some kind of Disney or cartooncharacter, you know” he casually steered the car back into the heavy traffic. Oh great, a Disney character, no way, he would never do that, oh god, her mind just felt so incredibly numb, it felt like she had been travelling forever, would this goddamn nightmare just end? Despite the cab driver’s good advice of using Disney characters names, she was still frowned upon and requested to leave, she got out of the cab, this was the last hotel on the list, if this didn’t work, then she would get herself a room here, get some sleep and then fly back..home..there was no home for her anymore, ok yes her apartment in New York  but just thinking about NY and her parents who would still be there made it another no-go zone for her.

”Welcome to the Park Hyatt hotel, how can I help you?” the receptionist gave her a beaming smile, “Hi, I’m looking for someone who is possibly staying here with you, his name is Jared Leto, I’m his girlfriend and I would join him here in Australia, but my phone is broken and now there’s no way I can reach him..” The receptionist interrupted her “I’m sorry, but we’re not allowed to give any information on our residents”, so once again the same blabla.. “I know, and I understand, but this is an emergency..I know he’s probably not listed under Leto but I really need to see him, he’s expecting me” she was getting desperate knowing that this was her last chance, for fuck’s sakes Leto, are you even in Australia or was that just some excuse to get rid of me too, Cubbins?. “I’m sorry, Miss, like I said, I really can’t give you any info..” he rattled but she quickly breathed “Cubbins, Bart, Bartholomew Cubbins” all of a sudden it dawned on her that this might be the name he was registered under. “Just a moment, and your name is?” oh my god, bingo, he was actually here? “Harper Coco De Robiano d’Arcy” saying her name out loud, realizing the horror and the emptiness behind it, gave her a foul taste in her mouth. The receptionist gestured for her to take a seat in the lobby and went to another more private desk to make his call.

Jared’s heart was doing summersaults in his chest as he hammered the elevator button, she was here, she was finally here, he had been out of his mind with worry, it didn’t matter anymore, his lover, the love of his life had kept her promise. It took so long, Harper hung her head, the receptionist still hadn’t returned to his desk, what if he wasn’t here either? and now she had paid the cabdriver and let him go. Jared jumped out of the elevator, his eyes scanning the huge lobby, front desk nothing to be seen, his heart stopped beating for a second, when his eyes finally found her in a huge chair, completely lost in her own thoughts. “Coco..!!” she heard her name echo around the lobby, oh god, he was here and she shot up from her seat and ran straight into his open arms

”You’re here, you’re finally here, I love you so so so so much, babe!!!” he held her tight, he could even feel her hammering heart through his shirt, his hungry lips locked with hers in a much overdue and fiery kiss. In between kisses, he kept on whispering his love for her, “come on, let’s go to my room, I don’t need this audience” he grinned as he slowly let go of her and she noticed the staring eyes in the lobby. She mouthed a ‘thank you’ to the receptionist who had been willing to enable their reunion and followed Jared to the elevator where she pushed herself against him, she had so needed him, crawling into his arms again in complete silence, just knowing that they were together again was enough.

"I still can’t believe you’re here, I tried calling you, texting, sending you e-mails, what happened?” he closed the door of his penthouse suite behind her, he wanted to throw her on the bed straight away, but something was going on, he could see and feel it, she was so lost in her own thoughts all the way up her. “I dropped my phone, it won’t switch on again, I tried but I couldn’t remember your number, and that guy at the airport tried to sell my a new phone, but I just…I’m just too stupid for all that new technology and then I didn’t know what hotel you were staying at, and I’ve been in every hotel looking for you, but they didn’t believe me and I..” she rattled, fishing her phone out of her purse as if to prove it, “I’m sorry, Jared, I’m so sorry” all the stress and all the madness suddenly caught up with her and she just couldn’t hold back the tears that came streaming down her face. “Hey, shhhhh it’s ok, don’t cry” he held her again, what the hell had happened? This was not some normal release of a little bit of stress, there was more to it than that, “come on, let’s sit you down” he guided her over to the couch “what happened, tell me, this is not about your phone..how did things go with your parents?” he let go of her and poured her a drink, the minute he mentioned the word ‘parents’ he noticed her freeze up completely. This was going to be a long night, but he had time, why did he convince her to go see her parents when it obviously did more bad than good?

[paupermodern]

Tournament Report 1/14/24

Pauper Modern Event at Jared’s

(my prize, a $14 foil commander card)

  By Todd Murdock

  INTRODUCTION

Our meta for the past year has been all about the RW Synthesizer decks that have for the most part, dominated the top spots in our monthly-ish tournaments. For much of that time I had been grinding away doing my best to get my mono Green Self-Assembler Tron deck to work, but I just could not keep up with all of the cantrip artifacts and newly downshifted Swiftspears. The format had just become too fast. I tried a quick stint playing my own Swiftspears with the mono red Hot Dog deck, but I just didn’t like the “if you can’t beat it, join it” feeling. I knew I could beat it. And that is when I heard people were having success with Delver of Secrets again (one of my favorites). 

The printing of Tolarian Terror in Dominaria United meant that if you played UB Delver, then you could match the Terrors with Gurmag Anglers. They both wanted a mass of spells in the graveyard, but then there was a catch. Angler wanted to delve away the spells, whereas Terror needed to keep them for cost reduction purposes. So playing them out of order was BADBADBAD and there were times when I was forced to do such things in a game. So, I had some success with that deck and felt more overall in control, but it still wasn’t quite enough to bring home the wins.

The big game changer was the printing of Lorean Revealed (a LOTR card) that lets you island cycle for one mana can’t be underestimated. You can get away with playing a 17 land card because the four copies of Lorean Revealed are lands 18-21 early game or draws three more cards in the late game.This pushed me closer to wanting to play mono blue.

The downshifting of Cryptic Serpent was also big. It is costed virtually the same as Terror, both being seven manna creatures which are cheaper for every sorcery and instant in the graveyard, but now you weren’t chopping yourself off at the knee with the delving Angler. The question was: Is giving up the black removal cards worth the consistency of playing no tap lands and just counterspells for removal? The thought of playing all basic islands with no tap lands interested me. Last month I tried that mono blue strategy and it felt much, much better. I was doing great for the day, and then I ran smack dab into Jared’s mono blue Faerie Ninjas and he literally out tempo-ed me. He just ninja’ed and spellstuttered and danced circles around me and my Delver crew. My Spell Pierces, Negates and Dispels did nothing against a well placed Spell Stutter Sprite because those were ETB triggers, I wasn’t prepared for those. I went home wounded but even more determined than ever. I knew exactly what I had to do and part of it was to think outside of my mono blue box.

And so now we have arrived here on the fourteenth of January at Jared’s on a very sunny Sunday noon. It had been cold and raining for the previous few days and it felt good to see the sun, to feel its warmth.  I surprisingly arrived first, but others started spilling in the door even before I could get all of my gear and riding armor off. Chris walked in with the pizza and we were ready to go!

HYPOTHESIS

I needed a more robust counterspell suite and to take on more of a Control role, especially in games two and three because negate was not cutting it, so I came up with Psychic Barrier and Mana Leak instead.

I also needed a way to stop things like Ninjitsu and to take out essential, one-toughness creatures to neuter a spellstutter sprite counter, so I came up with Gutshot.

MATERIALS

My Decklist  (U Delver/Serpents)

17 basic islands (very pretty ones from Streets of New Capenna)

4 Delver of Secrets

4 Tolarian Terror

2 Cryptic Serpent

2 Murmuring Mystic

4 Preordain

4 Lorien Revealed

3 Gutshot (yes, a red spell in my mono blue deck)

4 Thought Scour

3 Otherworldly Gaze

3 Consider

3 Spell Pierce

2 Vapor Snag

4 Counter Spell

1 Lose Focus

(Sideboard)

2 Tormod’s Crypt

4 Annul

2 Steel Sabotage

1 Dispel

2 Psychic Barrier

2 Mana Leak

2 Echoing Truth

  Contestants and their Decks:

 Me (Todd)-  U Serpent/Delver

Jesse- W Glitter Squad

Chris- UR Electromancer Storm

Ben- UB Proliferate Infect

Jared- U Ninja/Faeries

Rob- U Ninja/Faeries (*same build)

Brian- WB Tithing Blade

Jordan- WB Tithing Blade (*different build)

There were two other players that also began the tournament, but for personal reasons were forced to drop out in the early rounds.

PROCEDURE

Eat pizza, drink, smoke and do whatcha gotta do to get ready. Each wizard had their own unique pre-game warm-up rituals to prepare for battle.

Jesse inputs the names in the box and it gives us the match pairings.

We agree to play three fifty minute rounds, the best of 3 games wins the round.

DATARESULTS

Match 1

Me vs. Chris

U Delver/Serpent vs. UR Electromancer Storm

Game 1 - The first game went pretty fast. Chris got in some early damage, getting me down to fifteen, but I was able to fill my graveyard quickly with instants and sorceries and came out with a Tolarian Terror. I hit them for five and followed up with a Cryptic Serpent, hitting for eleven the turn after that. Chris was at four and I was holding counterspells. I had the game. 

Game 2 - The second game was a much longer and grindy-er game. They boarded in counter spells and I foolishly walked into several of them. With several delvers and serpents countered in the graveyard I finally landed a Tolarian Terror and was able to protect it. But that meant I couldn't counter Chris storming off and playing Galvanic Relay, drawing massive amounts of cards. In the end they left me at three life when I passed the turn back to them. I had a five-five serpent and was completely out of counterspells. They had no creatures and I believe no cards in hand, so if they drew a lightning bolt or any other three damage spell, then they had the game before I could finish them off with the final serpent attack. Chris drew his card…        and the serpent got to attack.

Results : I win 2-0

  Match 2

Me vs. Ben

U Delver/Serpent vs. UB Proliferate Infect

Game 1 - I play UG Infect in modern, and I had thought about building this UB Proliferate version when Phyrexia: All Will Be One came out. So I was interested in what Ben was going to do. The first game went off without a ton of interaction. He only did two damage to me, but was able to get me up to six infect before I was able to take him out with a mix of serpents and delvers.

Game 2 - This was ALL Ben’s game from beginning to end. He boarded in some counter magic and kept control. Now it didn’t help that I only had two lands for pretty much the whole game, but any time I tried to get back into the match, he just shut me down. He had 27 life and I got him to 24. I died at ten infect. Sad face. 

Game 3 - The good news was that the previous game let me see Ben’s deck running on all of its cylinders and so in this game, I knew exactly where to attack. I stuck and protected my threats while countering early infect spells. At first I was attacking with a one-one Delver. He already gained life and was up to twenty two within a few turns. Then my delver flipped. I attacked for three and I dropped a second Delver. I then hit for four damage for a few turns. When the second delver flipped, Ben was able to destroy one of them. However, I was able to replace the destroyed Delver with a Tolarian Terror, which I saw as an upgrade. I finished the game with only three infect to my name. 

Results : I won 2-1

Match 3

Me vs. Jared

U Delver/Serpents vs. U Faerie/Ninjas

So this is it, the rematch that I had been preparing for. This is the deck that caused me to build my deck this way.  Jared and I were both 2-0 so far and whoever won this match took the whole day. I took a deep breath and waited to see how things would play out. 

Game 1 - Both decks came roaring off of the starting line. Jared went first and opened with a Faerie Seer, scrying two, so I knew I was safe for a turn one Delver. On my next turn, the Delver gods were smiling and I got a first turn Delver flip! I hit Jared for three on each of the next four turns. By the time I had him at eight, he had gotten me down to twelve. It was a race.  He was hitting me for four damage each turn and with my recently flipped second Delver, I was now hitting for six. 

I like that math and I took the win.

Game 2- This game, I mull to six and am worried but end up with a good hand. I let the first several turns go by, not trying to play an early threat that I couldn't protect. I knew I had inevitability if I played my cards right. I finally had some mana and counter magic so I stuck my first Delver. I was able to attack with it twice before Jared found a way to get rid of that Delver. By then, it was too late. I was able to easily cast Tolarian Terror and keep it alive to hit for five, getting Jared down to nine life. I finished the game by landing a Cryptic Serpent and with two or three different counterspells in hand as backup, there was nothing that Jared could do to get out of the situation. Serpents for the win!

Results : I won 2-0

CONCLUSION

I came in first with U Delver/Serpent 3-0-0

Brian came in second with BW Tithing Blade 2-0-1

Jared came in third with U Faerie/Ninjas 2-1-0

Chris 1-1-1

Ben 1-1-1

Rob 1-1-1

Jordan 1-2-0

Jesse 0-3-0

REFERENCES

I chose three LOTR magic boosters as my prize. I pulled a $14 foil Last March of the Ents (pictured at the beginning of the report). It is a green card that draws cards equal to the greatest toughness of one creature, so it immediately went into my BG Shelob, Child of Ungoliant spider kindred (tribal) deck where creatures with big toughnesses are the norm. 

Which brings us to the next gathering, and I chose it to be a Command Fest. So I will bring that Spider deck along with a dozen others to play and to share and I will see you all next time. This Command Fest is a PROXY FRIENDLY EVENT. So I will be sending out an email soon with websites where you can easily (and for free)  print out your own proxies on your own color printer so people can play whatever decks and cards they want (within the commander ban list of course). I am hoping to have both casual and competitive decks and pods, so everyone is welcome! See you there! Cheers!    -Todd

[jaebird88]

For as much as I would like to build around Atraxa, I don’t have enough of the right cards that can support the plan I have in mind. Basically just dump out Incubator tokens and flood the board with them all while letting them get bigger via Proliferate. Really nothing major or spicy, just some basic jank.

I will be putting her in the Painbow deck because letting Jared and other creatures get more counters would be a plus. And until I can order another one, I’ll take Brokers Ascendency out of the Jodah deck so I can have another means of getting more counters.

[365daysofj2]

If You Like Piña Coladas (Factory Boys, 3/?)

Jared can’t wait for his shift to end Friday morning so he can go see Jensen in the store. Jared texted Jensen after his shift ended, but Jensen was too tired to talk much. 

The last hour of Jared’s shift seems to last all day. He’s not doing much, which doesn’t help. Production is slowed down in anticipation of the break, so there aren’t too many repairs to do. Jared ends up hanging out in the engineering office with the interns and his boss Mark. One of the interns, Osric, seems pretty cool. He’s from Penn State as well, but he goes to the campus in Middletown, two towns away from Hershey. He wants to go to main campus for grad school, so Jared shares about his experience up there. 

Finally, it’s time to clock out. Jared punches out and changes his clothes in the locker room. It’s really cold, and the sun won’t rise for nearly an hour. This isn’t Jared’s favorite time of year. But all that falls out of his head when he walks into the store and sees Jensen. He’s ringing up a customer’s order, and Jared recognizes him as one of the deaf employees. At the end of the transaction, Jensen signs “thank you,” and the man smiles. 

“Hey, Jensen,” Jared says once the customer is gone. “How’s it going?”

“It’s picked up,” replies Jensen. “Good to see you. Sorry I couldn’t talk last night. Yesterday was brutal.”

“What happened?”

“Not only did they send Valentine’s, they mixed our regular order in with it,” says Jensen, scowling. “So we had four skids to sort through, on the floor, to find our weekly order.”

“Yikes.” Jared glances at the gum and mints on the shelf near the counter. 

“Yeah, dodging forklifts isn’t my idea of a good time.” Jensen opens up his stapler and starts loading new staples into it. “We brought two carts up and it took us about an hour to put it all out. And then we had a big delivery from 19 East to deal with as well.”

“Sorry you had such a crappy day.” Jared brings two bottle packs of grape gum to the counter. As Jensen reaches for one, Jared clasps his hand and squeezes it. Jensen’s cheeks color and he smiles shyly. “At least the busy season is almost over.”

“That’s true,” replies Jensen as he scans Jared’s gum. “I’m ready for it to slow down. We keep running out of handle bags because people are buying so much.”

“Man, y’all can’t catch a break.” Jared waves off Jensen when he pulls out a small paper bag. “I don’t need a bag. I’ll just stick them in here.” He sets his lunch cooler on the counter.

Jensen sticks the paper bag back under the counter. “No problem. That’ll be $5.34.”

Jared pulls out his debit card and taps it on the credit card machine. “Man, this is so much better than the old one.”

“Tell me about it,” says Jensen. “I don’t miss that piece of crap at all.” He hands Jared the two bottle packs and the receipt. “Are you going straight home, or…?”

“I can stick around,” Jared answers with a grin. “Keep you company.”

Jensen smiles, clearly pleased. “I won’t pass that up.”

Another customer comes in then, but she goes straight to the baking chips and comes to the counter with an armload of peanut butter and chocolate chips and two cocoa tins. Jensen rings it up and bags it for her with a practiced efficiency borne of experience. She pays and is off in just a couple minutes. 

“Are you still working this shift after Christmas?” asks Jared.

“Yeah, up until New Year’s,” replies Jensen. “Then Ruth comes back and I get to stop being late to my other job.” He smiles to take the sting out of the words.

“So, I have to ask,” says Jared. “How do you go from being a candy store clerk to a church secretary?”

“I used to work at the museum,” says Jensen. “The church is right across the street, and one of my coworkers sings in the choir there. She mentioned that they were looking for an administrative assistant, and she recommended me. I worked in the development office at Etown, so I had experience. And once I got the job, I started going to services. It’s a great church. I think you’d like it.”

Jared nods. “Well, if you like it, that’s good enough for me.” Jensen smiles. “How’d you end up here, then?”

“I wanted to start paying more on my student loans,” says Jensen. “So I applied to Chocolate World, but they wanted too many shifts. They recommended I apply to the employee store because it’s more flexible. So I did, and here I am. Originally I worked Tuesdays and Thursdays both, but I stopped Tuesdays because our boss changed the start time to 11:00 AM and that conflicted with my church hours. So I cover this shift when I can instead.”

“You don’t mind getting up early?”

Jensen chuckles. “Getting up at 4:30 isn’t my idea of a good time, especially in the winter, but I’ve learned to go to bed early.—both before and after.”

“Well, I’m glad you do, because I wouldn’t have met you otherwise,” says Jared.

Jensen grins. “Yeah, you’re definitely the best perk of this job.”

Another customer comes in then, so Jared moves away from the counter. But she doesn’t seem to know what she wants, so he goes back to talking to Jensen. “So, you’re off next Friday, right?”

Jensen nods. “Yeah, y’all are too, right?”

“Well, I work my normal shift Thursday night, but then I’m off Friday night,” replies Jared. “So do you want to do something Friday night?”

Jensen smiles. “What do you have in mind?”

“How about dinner?”

“That sounds great. You have a place in mind?”

“Well, what do you like?”

“Just about anything,” answers Jensen. “Pretty much anywhere outside of Hershey is fine.”

Jared chuckles. “Yeah, good call. How about Gilligan’s, the one on Jonestown Road? I could make a reservation.”

“That sounds fantastic,” says Jensen. “I haven’t been there in ages.”

“Well, then, it’s a date.”

The woman comes up to the counter with a bunch of Twizzlers, so Jensen rings her out and gets her on her way quickly. 

“I haven’t been on a date in years,” Jensen says quietly.

“I won’t hold that against you, I promise.” Jared smiles encouragingly. 

Jensen glances at the clock. “Crap, my boss will be here any minute. I didn’t realize it was so late.”

“No problem. I’ll get out of your hair.” Jared hoists his lunch cooler onto his shoulder.

“You probably want to get home, anyway.”

Jared shrugs. “I’m not that tired. But you’ve got to go, so I’ll text you when I get up tonight.”

“Sounds good to me.” Jensen smiles, that thousand-watt smile that makes Jared’s knees go weak. 

“Have a good day at the office,” says Jared with a big smile of his own.

“I’ll try.” Jensen opens the register and sticks an envelope in the bottom of the cash drawer. “Thanks for sticking around. You made the time go faster.”

“My pleasure.” 

Jensen reaches across the counter and grasps Jared’s wrist. He pulls Jared in and leans over the counter to give him a soft, sweet kiss. Jensen tastes like piña colada Ice Breakers, which are Jared’s favorite. Jensen must have a pack stashed behind the counter. “Good night, sweet dreams.”

Jared grins so wide he feels the stretch in his cheeks. “They will be now.”

[winchesterish]

Jensen wakes up with a smile, not unusual for him these days. He'd celebrated what would've been Dean's forty-fourth birthday yesterday, something that brings tears to his eyes if he thinks too much about it. Jared couldn't make it, something he swore to Jensen he had nothing to rearrange so he could make it.

He reaches over to run his hamd through Jared's hair, but the other side is cold and empty. Jensen stirs, fully awake. He slides into the slippers Drake had given Dean as a gift, something that warmed not only Jensen's feet, but his heart.

Jensen walks downstairs, quietly in case Jared fell asleep downstairs after a midnight snack. Instead, Jared's at the kitchen island, reading Dean's birthday cards with a strange expression on his face. Jensen doesn't notice this, he doesn't notice much.

"Hey babe, pretty cool everyone wrote him one huh?" He says, leaning over to kiss Jared's forehead. Jared doesn't even look up, "Him?"

"Yeah, Dean."

"Jen, most of these are from you. To Dean."

Jared's holding his head in his hands, leaning against the counter, "I mean, don't you think... it's strange? That you threw a birthday party for yourself and pretended you were Dean Winchester?"

Jensen blinks, "What's weird about that?"

Jared stares at him, stricken. "What's weird about that? I don't do that with Sam!" Jensen sighs, and sips his coffee, "You guys don't have what we have." Jared almost chokes, "What?!" Jensen hums, "Me and him, we're tight, you know?" Jared says nothing, just looks at Jensen like he's crazy.

"Yeah okay, whatever," Jared opens the fridge and grabs a piece of cake, "You can't have that," Jensen tells him. "I can't?"

"No, you have to ask Dean." Jared sets the cake on the counter, "Jensen, it's your cake. You bought it. For yourself." Jensen rolls his eyes, "I love when you're like this." He leans in for a kiss and Jared groans, heading upstairs, "I've got to— oh my god."

Jensen grabs a fork and picks up the piece of cake, he takes a bite, "Happy birthday, buddy."

i usually don't read rpf but i kinda want a j2 crackfic about jared breaking up with jensen over what happened yesterday

[wincestismyguiltypleasure]

Amber, I'm kind of obsessed with casino owner!Jensen and his pet. And how angry Jensen's gonna be when the new security guard Chad tries to 'rescue' Jared. And how Jared plays along with Chad, because he kinda wants to see what Jensen does and the guy's hot so it's fun. And how Jared's punished when Jensen finds out just how far he let things get with Chad, especially when Jared says "Well, if you'd fuck me more often maybe I wouldn't look for toys to play with while you're busy." (bad puppy!)

KELLY!! THIS IS WHAT I'M HERE FOR!!

If there's one thing Jared knows with complete certainty, it's that Jensen Ross Ackles is a possessive, vendictive son of a bitch. He does not share, and he does not take kindly to anyone putting their hands on what he considered his. Which is precisely why Jared was willing to bet his teeth that Jensen would go absolutely ballistic once he knew about Chad and the dark purple hickeys that he'd left all over Jared's, temporarily uncollared, neck.

But his dirty little secret was out in the open now, and Jensen hadn't so much as batted an eyelash. The casino owner's inate ability to foil him at every turn serving as painful reminder why Jared had quit gambling in the first place.

"You're right, Jared," Jensen says, taking a small step forward. Then another. Jared's blood pressure raising higher and higher the closer he got.

Of course, his first instinct was to reach out for Jensen, beg him for forgiveness, and keep his fingers crossed that he'd be able to sit down tomorrow morning. But that wasn't an option because Jared's pride had been hurt this time, and not in the break you down and make you beg for filthy things kind of way either. No, his Dom's reaction, or lack thereof, had made him feel unwanted. Like Jensen could care less who used his body just as long as Jared came crawling back to him after they were done.

So when Jensen reaches out, warm palm cupping his cheek tenderly, Jared resists the overwhelming urge he has to lean in and nuzzle against it. He'd be damned if he was going to let Jensen win that easily.

"You're absolutely right."

The rough pad of Jensen's thumb brushes over Jared's parted lips in a soothing manner. And even when Jared nips at him playfully, because he's desperate to get a rise out of his Dom, Jensen doesn't flinch. No signs of frustration darken his handsome features, or anger giving his hands a slight tremor. He just stands there in front of Jared, staring thoughtfully into those wide, innocent eyes.

It's intense, to say the least. But then again, intense was practically Jensen's middle name.

"I am?"

Jared blinks nervously a few times, clearly confused but Jensen doesn't give anything away. He just pats Jared's cheek softly and continues. "Mmhm. I really have been working too much lately."

Panic swells in Jared's chest, thick and suffocating, when he sees Jensen's lips twist upward into cruel smile. Realization hitting him full force in the gut like a freight train, and just like that, Jared finds himself whimpering in Jensen's embrace. The hot tears welling up in the corners of his eyes reminiscent of the first time that Jensen had caught Jared breaking the rules.

"Hey." Jared's chin is pinched between Jensen thumb and index finger before he can even blink. Grip tight enough to bruise as he forces the younger man to look him in the eyes. And right then Jared thinks damn, this is it. The moment that his Dom cuts the lovey dovey bullshit and puts him on his knees.

That's why when Jensen presses a soft kiss to his cheek instead of landing a cruel backhand, Jared is at a total loss. His bulletproof way of getting what he wanted from Jensen shattering all around him like jagged shards of broken glass.

"Don't pout, Jare. Tonight, I'm all yours."

"O-okay," Jared concedes, trying desperately to swallow down some of the acidic bile rising up in his throat. Barely managing a slight nod of agreement before Jensen turned on his heels and dissapeared, leaving Jared in his bedroom half-hard and shaking. The younger man not quite sure if Mr. Ackles had just made a threat or a promise.

---------

When Jensen calls him to the living room later that night, Jared gets his answer. It had been both a threat, and a promise.

"Ah, there's my boy," Jensen purrs, tracking every one of Jared's cautious movements with a predatory gaze. And suddenly, standing there in just a thin pair of light grey boxers, at his Dom's request of course, Jared feels more vulnerable and exposed than he has in over two years.

"Wh-what's going on?"

Jared takes a hesitant step forward, tearing his eyes away from Jensen with more difficulty than he'd like to admit to focus them on the blonde motionless heap just visible past Jensen's broad frame. A surprised gasp ripped from his lungs when Jared studies it a little closer and suddenly recognizes that longing gaze.

"I know I said we were going to have some alone time tonight, sweetheart," Jensen says, soft and apologetic. Yet still managing to look every bit like the pissed off alpha male that he was standing there in his navy blue Armani suit, clearly ready to do some serious damage. To Chad's vital organs or his ass, Jared wasn't quite sure. "But Mr. Murray just seemed so lonely out there on the casino floor. Hope you don't mind that I invited him over."

Behind Jensen, Chad's bright blue eyes were boring into the back of his boss' head with murderous intent. And Jared could tell by the state of his disheveled clothes and the fresh cut oozing blood above Chad's right eye, that he'd been thrown onto Jensen's couch rather than seated there. Hands bound behind him tightly with what Jared could only imagine was rope or a zip-tie. The single strip of silver duct tape secured across his mouth clearly the only thing keeping Chad's temper at bay.

"Jen-" Jared began, making a move toward Chad only to he stopped dead in his track when Jensen raised his finger. Those gorgeous green eyes buring bright with rage as he pointed to the ground, slow and deliberate.

"Sit."

Jared hears Chad make a wounded sound when he falls to his knees without question. His palms automatically resting flat on top of his bare thighs as he leaned back on his heels, head bowed in submission.

"Good boy."

Jensen's voice is smooth as honey. His words of praise drizzling down Jared's spine, warm and sticky-sweet, soothing him. And by the time Jensen had closed the gap between them, Jared's shoulders were relaxed. The last bit of tension draining from his body completely when Jensen reached out to scratch behind his ear.

"Very good, pet."

Jared hums his acknowledgement but he doesn't dare move. Because despite Jensen's words of affection and his gentle touch, Jared knows his Dom is one wrong move away from completely snapping.

Bending the rules now would only make things worse. And Jared is absolutely positive that neither he or Chad could handle that.

"Baby," Jensen coos, running his fingers gently through his pet's sweaty hair when he notices the pained expression on Jared's face. "I need you to talk to me."

Communication, this was good. This was something they'd learned together over the course of the death-defying rollercoaster ride that was their relationship. And it was definitely a relief to know that Jensen's finger was on the guard of the gun and not the tigger, so to speak.

"C'mon, Jare."

Jared takes a ragged breath and nods, daring to steal another glance at Chad before he looked up at Jensen, body trembling.

Outside he could hear the rain staring to pick up, thunder rumbling low and eerie in the distance but still, it was nothing compared to the storm raging in his Dom's eyes. So much for thinking Jensen didn't care.

"I'm worried about...him," Jared says, voice cracking. He makes sure to put an emphasis on the word "him" because Lord knows if Jensen had heard the guard's name come out of Jared's mouth, that there'd be six, not seven, bullets in the magazine of the Colt .45 Jensen kept tucked in his waistband and blood splatter all over his pristine white walls.

"Aw," Jensen mocks, eyes pitch black and full of venom. Clearly not giving a shit that he sounded petty. "Is my sweet puppy worried about his dumb little toy?"

A hard yank on his hair makes Jared lean up on his knees, whining. Chad's eyes growing wide with concern when Jensen's free hand found Jared's throat and squeezed. "Well, rest easy baby. I'm not going to kill this useless waste of space...Unless," Jensen pauses, tilting his head to the side like he's weighing his options. "Unless you want me to?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Jared can see Chad squirming a little, sad and helpless, and he hates himself for even considering Jensen's proposal. God, he wasn't this person. Or at least he'd convinced himself that he wasn't.

Before Jensen it was so much easier to ignore the darkness that had been gnawing at his insides for what felt like eons. But then this gorgeous, sadistic bastard came into his life, an unstoppable force, pushing Jared's boundries and offering him things that Jared would've NEVER asked for on his own. It was too much, and he wanted it all.

And yeah, the idea of Jensen bathed in the blood of a man who dared to put his hands on Jared was a (huge) turn on, but he can't do this, not to someone with a good heart like Chad.

"Jensen, please."

Jared's throat is dry, his voice raspy and broken as he reaches up to grab his Dom's wrist. "I'm so sorry. Just- punish me and let him go. This is all my fault." And it really is. Jared was never interested in Chad, at least not in the way he'd let the guard believe. Sure, they'd some fun, but it had all been a desperate attempt by Jared to get Jensen's attention. Everything Jared did, every time he acted out or pouted, it was all because he craved seeing that look in his Dom's eyes. This had always been about Jensen, and if he hadn't pretended that it wasn't, Jared knows now that he would've gotten everything that he wanted.

"That's very noble of you, baby." The older man digs his nails into Jared's sore skin as he hauls him up from the floor. There's a hint of amusement on Jensen's face now, standing there nose to nose with Jared. And somehow, this wild eyed, unstable version of his Dom terrifies Jared more than the cold, calculated one. "But I assure, I don't plan to hurt Mr. Murray. Well," Jensen stops short with a sly smirk before correcting himself, "you know what I mean."

"But I thought-" Jared's eyes dart from Jensen to Chad and back again, eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

"I know what you thought, Jare. I know everything that goes on in this pretty head." Jensen interjects, tapping his index finger lightly against Jared's temple. He smiles, bright and toothy, and Jared can feel the color drain from his face. "But believe it or not, Mr. Murray is here on his own volition."

Jared's jaw nearly hits the ground when he registers his Dom's words, teary gaze now focused on Chad who looks extremely apologetic and twice as embarrassed.

"The restraints?" Jensen is standing behind Jared now. He can feel the buttons on Jensen's dress shirt digging into his back, strong hands settling possessively on his hips, pulling him closer. "Just a precaution," Jensen explains, pressing a hot kiss to Jared's neck that makes him shiver. "In case he decided that he wanted to play the hero again."

Jared feels white-hot pain, sharp and intoxicating, twisting up his spine when Jensen bites down on one of the raw hickeys that Chad had left on his throat. Toes curling against the carpet as his dick throbs, dribbling pre-cum all over his boxers, head starting to spin. God, Jared doesn't think he's ever been this hard before in his life and it hurts so fucking good.

"Wh-what are you gonna do now?" Jared dares to ask while Jensen nibbles at his throat. Clearly trying to cover up Chad's handy work with a possessive mark of his own. And Jared's hand is trembling when he reaches up blindly, cupping the back of Jensen's head in his palm to bring him closer. Because fuck it. He'd already broken every rule in the book and he was still breathing, so why stop now?

"First," Jensen growls, delivering a sharp smack to Jared's outer thigh that immediately makes the younger man drop his arm. A half choked groan spilling from Jared's lips when his Dom suddenly flips him around so that they are face to face again. "I'm gonna spank your ass purple."

Jensen hands are warm and rough as they slid down Jared's sides, claiming every inch of smooth, tanned skin along the way. "And when you're so sore that you can barely think, begging for me to stop," he adds darkly, hands settle on Jared's ass. Fingers groping and kneading at the meaty flesh before Jensen pulls his ass cheeks apart, hold tight enough to make Jared whine and buck his hips. "I'm going to bend you over the coffee table and fuck you within an inch of your life. And I'm not going to stop until the only word that you can remember is my name and you're drooling all over Mr. Murray's cheap shoes."

Behind them, Chad is fighting against his restraints, mumbling something Jared can't quite make out but he's sure it's along the lines of "fuck you."

"And when you think you can't take any more," Jensen continues, completely ignoring Chad's temper tantrum, "I'm going to throw you over my shoulder, take you to the bedroom, and do it all again."

Jared's knees almost buckle when Jensen leans in to rub their noses together playfully. His lips ghosting over Jared's, so close and warm, daring his sub to close the gap between them and take what he wants without permission. But Jared's learned his lesson. Stays put even though he's dying to taste the jealousy on Jensen's lips.

"Can I wear my collar then?" He asks, soft and hopeful, pretty eyes locked with Jensen's.

"Of course you can, baby. I'm never going to let you leave the house without it on again."

Jared almost cries tears of joy when he hears the wicked tone in his Dom's voice. A sick part of him wishing that Jensen wouldn't even let him leave the house until he made sure Jared knew just who he belonged to.

"Thank you, Mr. Ackles."

"You're welcome, pet."

Jared feels a bit unsteady when Jensen steps back to take him in. His dark, hungry eyes giving Jared such a thorough once over that it makes the younger man's cheeks heat up with blush. He wants Jensen so bad right now that he can barely breathe. His need to be touched, to be controlled by the only man who knew how to handle him, hitting Jared like a sucker punch. He was so turned on now that it was causing him physical pain, and to make matters worse, Jared knew he had a long, torturous night of begging ahead of him before his Dom would even consider do anything about it.

"Oh, and don't worry Mr. Murray," Jensen says suddenly, looking over Jared's shoulder to address Chad directly for the first time that night, "If you sit still and behave, I'll make sure to leave the bedroom door open so you can hear my puppy scream."

Fuck, maybe Jared's plan had worked after all.

[writinginthesecrettrees]

Woke up to a lovely ask from @stridingathinline:

Just wanted to also let you know how much I appreciate the WONDERFUL Casino story you and Wincestismyguiltypleasure have been cooking up. And I simply adore the addition of JDM (and his cigar) and all the lovely fun they're going to have together. (Especially when Jensen feels the need to remind everyone present just who Jared belongs to. Maybe even leave a permanent mark on him.) Take care and smexy dreams! 💜

(sorry darling that I couldn’t just answer, Tumblr issues, you know 💕)

And yes!!! I am so glad that @wincestismyguiltypleasure took my idea and ran with it; we’re both having a lot of fun and I love seeing Amber’s responses to the anons she’s gotten.

oh, and Mr. Morgan getting a little too bold with Jensen’s pet!!! Especially now, when Jensen’s busy overseeing the construction of his new casino. And Jared knows he’s not supposed to play when Jensen’s not there, but he also knows that Jensen made a deal that includes access to him, so he’s not sure if this is allowed or not.

He does know that he’s helpless when Mr. Morgan’s rough hands slip up under his shirt, when Mr. Morgan’s scruff scrapes along his jaw, when Mr. Morgan says “C’mon, kid, feel so good on my lap,” pulls him in to sit sideways with a hot erection poking at his thigh, and he wiggles just to see the man’s eyes darken.

And he loves choking on Mr. Morgan’s dick, long and thick and Mr. Morgan doesn’t hesitate to push him down and hold him until his vision starts to go dark, and the chuckle that rumbles out of Mr. Morgan vibrates in his bones. Even better when a heavy hand slams down on his ass and Jared knows there’s gonna be bruises, knows that Jensen has never let Mr. Morgan leave a mark before but he can’t make himself disobey the man.

“Gonna spank you bare,” Mr. Morgan says, and Jared pretends it’s the dick in his mouth that keeps him from voicing a protest when big hands push his jeans down around his knees. “What d’ya think, boy, Ackles gonna be pissed at me for teasing this little hole?”

A finger rubbing dry over him makes Jared whine, and this is too far for sure but Mr. Morgan stops, backs away from that line before Jared can really pull away and that’s okay right? It’s okay that Jared lets him go back to what he’d been doing, shoving Jared’s face down his dick with one hand and spanking him black and blue with the other, and Jared’s cock is hanging hard and dripping beneath him and he needs this, yeah, but he’s not entirely sure he wants it. Doesn’t have time to figure it out before he’s coming on the leather couch at the taste of Mr. Morgan’s release in his mouth.

Jared collapses on his side, curls his knees towards his chest and lies with his head still cushioned on Mr. Morgan’s thighs, the man’s softening dick warm and wet against his cheek, and Mr. Morgan’s saying something but Jared can’t hear it as he starts to sob.

Rough hand rubbing over his bruised ass, squeezing the already tender flesh and making Jared sob harder, and of course that’s when Jensen walks into the room and Jared cringes inside, can’t even think about what his master’s gonna do to him now.

Jensen crosses the room in two steps, doesn’t even touch Jared but grabs the lapels of Mr. Morgan’s jacket, pulls him up and slams him against the wall.

Mr. Morgan laughs. “Take it easy, Ackles. Access to your toy is part of the deal, remember?”

Jensen shakes Mr. Morgan, slams him a little harder into the wall. “The deal,” he growls, “was you could watch while I play with Jared. And use his mouth, with me present. Not free access, not marking him him up, and absolutely not pushing him into things he knows he shouldn’t be doing.”

“Kid coulda said no.”

Jensen looks over at Jared, then, and Jared scrambles back, tries to shrink into the couch cushions. “I didn’t say no, Jensen, I’m sorry, I didn’t.”

There’s an unreadable look in Jensen’s eyes that makes Jared want to crawl to him, kneel at his feet and beg for a chance to do better, to fix this, but Jensen turns back to Mr. Morgan before he can.

“Wasn’t his place. You are the one who knew the deal, not Jared. And Mr. Morgan? Access is officially revoked.” He takes one hand off Mr. Morgan’s jacket to snap his fingers, and the ever-present security appears at his side to escort Mr. Morgan out of the penthouse.

Jared trembles when Jensen walks back to him, picks him up and that’s a little ridiculous with how tall Jared is but Jensen supports him easily, one arm around his back and the other under his ass and Jared can’t do anything but wrap his arms and legs around Jensen and bury his face in Jensen’s neck.

“Replace that,” Jensen tells someone, “burn it,” and he’s carrying Jared into the bedroom and closing the rest of the world out. He continues through to the bathroom with its luxury shower and jacuzzi tub, holds Jared as he runs a bath and adds the bubbles he’d sneered at as childish when Jared bought them. While the tub fills, he pulls Jared’s shirt off, kneels at his feet to remove his sneakers and pull his jeans fully off his legs and Jared whimpers softly.

Jensen strips, quick and efficient as always, and steps into the tub, pulls Jared in after him and sits in the bubbles, holding Jared in his lap. He runs a washcloth over Jared’s chest and shoulders, down his arms and over each finger before dipping underwater to wash the rest of him. When he’s done every inch of Jared’s body tingles from the thorough scrubbing. Jensen leans back in the tub, tugs Jared back to rest against his chest, and sighs.

“I’m sorry,” Jared says, and Jensen’s hand comes up to cover his mouth.

“Shut up.” There’s no heat in it. “I don’t blame you, pet. You... you know, you’ve never said no? To anything? Anyone, even, in all the time I’ve known you.”

Jared squirms around, soapy skin making it easy to turn and cuddle into Jensen’s arms. He slips one arm around Jensen’s waist and Jensen’s arms tighten around him.

“I’m not even sure you can say no,” Jensen finally says. “I mean, I think you’re happy here, with me, but...”

“I am,” Jared whispers. 

Jensen doesn’t seem to hear him. “But I see you with Morgan, and you’re not happy with the situation but you’re not exactly trying to get away, and... Look, we didn’t exactly start under the best circumstances, and I used to be just like that, didn’t care too much as long as I could say ‘well he didn’t say no,’ and I just... I don’t want it to be like that, with us.”

“It isn’t.”

“But how can I know when you never say no.” A giant sigh. “Maybe I should just... I dunno, let you go-”

“NO!” Jared is almost as surprised as Jensen looks at the shout that echoes in the marble-tiled room. He sits back down, embarrassed, one knee to either side of Jensen’s hips, leans in to press his forehead against his master’s. “I want to be with you.” He kisses Jensen’s lips, lingers against the soft mouth. “I like being with you.” Trailing over Jensen’s jaw, stubble prickling his lips. “I’ll fucking kill you if you try to get rid of me now.”

That startles a laugh out of Jensen, and Jared grins.

“I might be your pet, Mr. Ackles, but you know the thing about pets?”

Jensen shakes his head.

“They’re a lifetime commitment.”

“So, I’m stuck with you then?”

“Yup. And another thing: if a pet is misbehaving, it’s because their owner isn’t training them right.”

“Oh is it?”

“Uh-huh. You gotta give positive reinforcement, and correct bad behavior immediately. And lots of play time and cuddle time.”

Jensen laughs for real then, and the sound makes Jared fizz with warmth.

“Well, then, pet. You’ve had your cuddles, but you were pretty naughty there with Morgan.”

Oh, shit, Jared almost forgot that.

“And it was mostly his fault, but as you’ve just demonstrated: you are fully capable of saying no. So we’re gonna have to correct your bad behavior. His too.”

Jared shudders when he feels Jensen’s lips press against his ear, whispering, “How do you feel about branding?”

[uomo-accattivante]

Great, in-depth video/interview with Oscar Isaac and Jared Leto:

Oscar Isaac (“Dune,” “Moon Knight”) and Jared Leto (“House of Gucci,” “Morbius”) sat down for a virtual chat for Variety’s Actors on Actors, presented by Amazon Studios. For more, click here.

In “House of Gucci,” Jared Leto vanishes into a larger-than-life performance as fashion world ne’er-do-well Paolo Gucci. By contrast, Oscar Isaac’s turns in Paul Schrader’s “The Card Counter” (as William Tell, a poker player with a dark past in the Iraq War) and Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” (as Duke Leto, the head of a powerful interstellar dynasty) are tightly contained.

But the two actors still find many similarities to discuss, including their future as Marvel superheroes — Leto’s Morbius and Isaac’s Moon Knight — and their alternate careers as musicians starting in the 1990s. Isaac fronted the ska-punk band the Blinking Underdogs, which he left in 2001 to study acting at Juilliard, and Leto is the lead vocalist and songwriter for Thirty Seconds to Mars, which still tours.

OSCAR ISAAC: We have a lot of synchronicity with a lot of things. Some of our work that’s coming out, love of music and a real respect for the transformational part of performance.

JARED LETO: We both make music, and we both opened for Green Day.

ISAAC: Did you open for Green Day? That’s amazing!

LETO: It was a festival in Italy. This storm came outta nowhere and they shut the show down during our last song, and then Green Day actually never played. So technically, I don’t know if I did open for Green Day, but we were on the same bill.

ISAAC: We’re even more of a technicality. We played at the same festival, not even on the same stage. But we played beforehand. Still counts.

LETO: You were making music still with that particular band at the same time I was touring around, probably a lot of the same areas. We were signed in ’98, but our first breakthrough song was in 2006. So we had a lot of touring.

ISAAC: See, I went to drama school in 2001, so that’s when it really slowed down. And we were all based in Florida and never came near the amount of touring and success that you guys had. But that was the dream at first, you know, and that was really the first place that I really started performing for people and expressing, was musically on stage.

LETO: I remember when we played a show, and maybe there were 10 people there. And I was just so blown away that someone bought a T-shirt, like one shirt. I couldn’t believe that someone wasn’t embarrassed to wear our shirt. They actually spent their money to buy a fucking T-shirt because they liked the band and the music.

ISAAC: It’s like the first time you look out and there’s people that are singing along. You’re like, “They know this song? That’s crazy.” That’s an amazing feeling.

LETO: Our first album, it kind of got a cult following, it sold about 100,000 copies, but no one ever sang any of the songs. They were quite strange. I remember we opened for Incubus, and these are arenas full of people singing every word of every song. And I just thought, “Oh, we’re just not that kind of a band. That’s never going to happen to us.” But I was so wrong, and it is a beautiful thing when you do just look out and you’re like, “Wait, is that person … What’s going on there?” I guess they care enough and they’ve listened to the music enough and it’s connected in a deep enough way. I always thought that was a really pivotal part of the process. We make music, we make films, you create a character, you write songs, and then you give it away, and then people spend time with it and they make this connection to it.

ISAAC: How did you balance your acting aspirations with the music in those early days, like in ’98, ’99?

LETO: I really sacrificed the acting, to be honest. I guess the music was the primary focus, and I share the band with my brother. So it runs really deep, it’s a family project.

I was reading about your early days and that you went to an actual acting school. I remember when I was in art school I was studying to be a painter. I was still making music, but I would go visit the acting side of the school and I’d just be in awe of the actors and how brave they were to get up on that stage. It just blew my mind to see you guys do that. What was that like in the beginning for you? First you were on stage as a musician, and then an actor?

ISAAC: It’s funny, because when I was at acting school, I would go and look at the opera singers and the dancers and just be marveling at the theoretical knowledge that they have. I play everything by ear. I don’t know ever what I’m playing, but to see these people with their just vast amount of knowledge musically, they’re just savants. Juilliard primarily started as a music school. So to see that, I was astounded.

But yeah, I guess fifth and sixth grade I really got into plays, and it was also a really turbulent time at home with my parents divorcing, and so it just suddenly seemed like a real place of expression.

LETO: How did you get into a play? Was there a teacher at school?

ISAAC: Yeah, the assignment was to write a paragraph short story as an animal on Noah’s ark, and I wrote a musical that was like 20 pages. My teacher, Mrs. Stuckey, I still remember her, she was like, “We’re going to make this into a play and you’re going to be the main character, the platypus.” It was a weird Christian school where the plays that we would do were you just get up and lip sync to a preexisting track that would be a Christian story song about the devil and Jesus battling and having a boxing match in hell. [The next year,] I played the devil and I scared the teacher. And then girls started being interested in me, and I’m like, “This is amazing. I’ve found my calling.”

LETO: As soon as you played the devil, the girls came running.

ISAAC: I mean, that’s when it happened. Once I got into high school, I did a little bit of drama stuff in the beginning, but then I quickly moved over to music and I found this little crew, and we just started playing all the time. My dad, he’s played music his whole life and recorded music and made movies, just home movies with us. And so I really got the bug from him.

Do you approach any of your roles or breaking down a script or a character musically?

LETO: In the case of Paolo and “House of Gucci,” the voice was very musical. That lilting, melodious voice had a really wide range and specific register. Working as a singer for so many years, that’s taught me to be mindful about that.

ISAAC: What strikes me a lot about your work is your commitment to the transformational aspects of it. How did you find that way of working, that kind of commitment?

LETO: I’ve always loved immersive work. I’ve always admired that in actors. You know what it is, Oscar? I like to see people die for it. I really do. I like to see people bleed for it a bit. Whether you’re a painter or a singer or whatever it is, I love commitment, in athletes, in outdoor adventure, mountaineering. I think that kind of acting, for me, it’s big wall climbing. It’s the Himalayas, so to speak.

ISAAC: Is that why you gravitated towards Paolo?

LETO: Yeah, I think so. When I read the script, I just fell in love with the character. I didn’t know what he looked like and I didn’t really care. That wasn’t important to me, at that time. I just was struck by his heart and his humor. He had an impish quality about him. He had this spirit that I really related to, this desire to make something special and to share that with the world. And, of course, we all know a lot about failure, as well.

ISAAC: It’s such a heartbreaking scene, the one with Jeremy Irons, when [Paolo] comes in and shows all of his drawings and his designs, and there’s so much joy and excitement, and just the heartbreak that happens [when Irons’ character trashes the work]. It really feels like it’s a character that’s just trying to climb a greased pole the whole time.

LETO: That’s a good way to put it. That really is exactly what his life was like. The people closest to him were the very same people who never heard him, never supported him. It’s his family. That scene was my first scene. Jeremy Irons is just a legend. I was literally and figuratively shitting my pants. I could imagine what kind of diaper Paolo would wear. It was risky. I was just barfing Paolo up onto the set that day and everyone was seeing this for the first time. It was exciting and it was horrifying. But I remember seeing the drawings that I laid out, and I said, “Wow, they’re actually pretty good. There’s no reason that he should be shamed like this,” and then Ridley [Scott] comes up and says, “I’d like you to pull your pecker out and piss all over this scarf.” He had given me this wonderful gift, and it was the freedom to fail, absolutely. I love that. I want to be at that breaking point where I question my own abilities, where I’m on that tightrope. I love it as a singer and I love it as an actor.

What about you? Is that important to you when you’re working?

ISAAC: I’ve always been drawn to experiences that are way outside of my own. Those tend to be the characters that I get excited about. As I’ve done more work, what’s exciting is finding something that seems so far away and finding it, somehow, through my imaginative experience, I bridge that vast gap and suddenly feel like I’m living a life, even for just a few months of an experience that was completely unknown to me, but suddenly now exists. That’s a really magical thing that happens.

Sometimes, it can just be the voice being placed in a different place, and that difference creates a whole chain reaction of differences — the way you move and hold your chin and your shoulders. In the Schrader film, [it was] learning a new way of penmanship. I didn’t really know how to write in cursive, but I felt the character would write in cursive because it’s about control.

LETO: Did you read that script and say, “Oh, I have to play this part?” What was the thing about it that really attracted you to the role?

ISAAC: Paul Schrader. I think that’s what it was. One of the first auditions I ever had was for Paul Schrader, when I’d gotten out of drama school. It was in a little strip mall in the Valley somewhere, in a little black-box theater. It was for a movie called “The Jesuit” that never ended up happening, but I had gotten the part. And we kind of stayed in touch. When I saw “First Reformed,” I just wrote to him to tell him how amazing I thought it was and just what a beautiful film. And then, a year later, he sent me an email saying, “I wrote a script for you. Well, not for you, but you’re the first person I’m going to. Would you take a look?”

I didn’t totally understand it the first time I read it. He writes almost in a Harold Pinter kind of way. There’s so much space in-between the lines. He writes a lot of unconscious flow. But I knew I needed to do it and I wanted to do it. It had been a while since I had done something that was so point-of-view character study. I was a tiny, little movie, three million bucks, basically, in Biloxi for 20 days. I met with cardistry experts, just so it could look like I knew my way around a deck, and did a lot of research on trauma, and then went to my drama school with one of my old teachers, Moni Yakim, who’s been there since the beginning of Juilliard. We just worked with neutral masks and movement and rhythm.

LETO: What’s a neutral mask?

ISAAC: Basically, it’s just a blank mask that has no expression on it. It felt like this is this guy that wears a mask and, especially when playing poker, someone that doesn’t want to be seen. It was that kind of stuff — like you said, a full immersive experience.

LETO: And as far as the PTSD part of it all, tell me what you learned and what that was like to be in that place?

ISAAC: One of the books that Paul mentioned was “The Body Keeps the Score.” I don’t know if you’ve read that.

LETO: Oh yeah, I’ve read it.

ISAAC: It’s seminal writing on post traumatic stress disorder. That was a big point of reference for us. It’s about someone that has trauma because of the pain he inflicted on others. Then the national trauma— that’s what Paul’s amazing at, grafting a personal story onto a bigger one. “First Reformed,” it was this man who was dying of a disease on top of the world that’s dying of this environmental disease. And in ours, it was a person’s personal guilt grafted onto a nation’s guilt for what they’ve caused to others.

LETO: I feel like Paul Schrader in your film continues the tradition of the art movie. When I was young and even going to film school, I would just go to the art house theater. That was my teacher. I’m so glad that people are still making some of those films. Where are we going in the future with that? Where is that ecosystem of that culture of filmmaking?

ISAAC: You’re right, that was another feeling being on set with him. It felt subversive and punk rock. He purposefully does things to frustrate the audience at times. He’s like, “I know what you want here, and I’m not going to give it to you.” That’s a necessary part of this story and this style of storytelling, but it’s getting harder and harder these days. Luckily, I do think there is a lot of risk being taken in the streaming world. And something to talk about, too: we both jumped into the world of the Marvel hero. We both got these guys coming out that we did, both starting with the letter M!

LETO: Moon Knight and Morbius. Both interesting because [they’re] titles a lot of people are going to be introduced to for the first time, right?

ISAAC: I’d never heard of “Moon Knight” before, and I collected comics when I was younger. I’d heard of “Morbius,” but I’d never heard of “Moon Knight.” I don’t know how the process was for you because it’s a feature film, we’re a limited series. There was a lot of room to try stuff because there wasn’t the pressure that we got to make sure we make however many hundreds of millions of dollars on the opening weekend. So we could make it very point-of-view. We could make very weird decisions. At the moment, at least — and I don’t imagine it’s going to go backwards — it feels like that’s where more of the risk is being taken because it can financially.

LETO: I agree completely. It seems like there’s a lot of talent going in that area. It’s a beautiful thing that people are still interested in living with characters over a long period of time in this fragmented world where everyone’s just swiping on TikTok. I happen to have “House of Gucci” and “Morbius” both exclusively in theaters. So, we’re kind of like raising the flag and marching forward even the midst of COVID and everything.

ISAAC: “House of Gucci” did quite well for an adult drama.

LETO: Yeah. I think it was a film a lot of people went back to the theaters for the first time [to see]. I love cinema, I love theater, but I also love the idea that creative people can be flexible and not penalized for doing different kinds of work. You remember a time back in the day, if you did a series, it was either at the beginning or the end of your career. I like that there’s the flexibility there.

ISAAC: I still have that a little bit. It’s been very hard to let that go, that idea. And the truth is, my love is the cinema. I think there’s something incredible about the craftsmanship it takes to distill a story to a couple hours, give or take, with the beginning, middle, and end. That’s hard to beat for me.

LETO: Actually, “Dune” was the first movie that I went to the theater to see since before COVID.

ISAAC: Oh, wow.

LETO: It’s my first and only time back to the theater. I went by myself in New York. I snuck out and went by myself to the theater, and it was a beautiful experience and a beautiful performance as well. And you guys say, “Duke Lee-to”?

ISAAC: Duke Leto. Yeah…

LETO: Because it’s my fucking name.

ISAAC: I know, man!

LETO: It’s funny. I’m a super fan of “Dune,” both the book and the first movie. I thought it was genius.

ISAAC: And I saw the [SyFy] series too. When I got cast, I wrote to William Hurt because he played Duke Leto. And I just got his vibe on it. I met him on the Ridley Scott film, the “Robin Hood” movie.

LETO: Yeah, Denis. Of course, a gifted madman and “Blade Runner [2049]” was really a special one. I’m having these opportunities. I think it’s just confirmation that we’re living in a simulation because “Blade Runner,” one of my favorite movies of all time, watched it 700 times at least. And then I end up in the sequel, very strange.

And then there are these things that just come into play. Certain actors like Al Pacino was a person that taught me what was really possible. Taught me about choices. Taught about range. And with Paolo Gucci, I really felt like it was the opportunity of a lifetime. For me, Paolo was like, “This is the last role I’m ever going to play and I’m done.” I was just in love with the role, the experience, the challenge, the panic, the fear and just buried in all of it. It’s not like that every time.

ISAAC: Mm-hmm.

LETO: Having these moments and having Al there. I just remembered one day, he unleashed and he gave it to me. He brought something out of me in that moment. Jeremy did too. Jeremy has a way of putting angles on words, and syllables, and consonants — and throwing them at you like daggers, and they’ll hit you in the gut, and the heart, and the brain. There’s something about working with these older people, Oscar. There’s all these clichés about experience is overrated. But I have to say, wisdom is a beautiful thing, and it’s intoxicating to be around it.

ISAAC: Yep.

LETO: What’s the part that you’re dying to play?

ISAAC: There isn’t a role that I’m dying to go out and do. I generally get really excited about the possibility of working with people, like to work with Pacino, I would love that so much. I remember he came to “Hamlet.” I had invited him. And the way we did it was very much like, I look everybody [in the audience] in the eye and I talk to them, almost more like standup, even. I see him up there and I couldn’t resist: The moment when Hamlet sees the ghost of his father, I say [to Pacino], “My father, me thinks I see my father!” After intermission, I come back, and he’s moved three rows behind, and is wearing sunglasses. Probably made him so uncomfortable. But then he was so sweet and afterwards. We went out and talked, and he even gave me some thoughts about stuff.

So you know what? There are some plays I’d like to do. I’d like to do “The Caretaker” by Harold Pinter. I’d like to do Leontes in “The Winter’s Tale.”

LETO: And why theater? What do you get out of theater?

ISAAC: It’s the writing. I read those plays and there’s just something visceral that happens to me when I read them, particularly the Shakespeare plays. It collapses time when I read something, and it feels so immediate, and so true, and it’s so old. It just feels like you’re communing with something that’s outside of time and it’s like a magical, chilling feeling. Do you have any interest in theater?

LETO: No.

ISAAC: No. Even though you… How come? Because you do stage work, but with your music, and you’re an incredible actor.

LETO: My life is a theater, my friend. We tour relentlessly. I’m on stages all over the world. So I couldn’t imagine getting done with a global tour and saying, “Oh, let’s get on a stage over here.” I think it’s just not a need. I kind of have that itch scratched well and grateful for it.

ISAAC: Right.

LETO: My first love was film. I didn’t go to many plays. I’ve maybe been to five plays in my life and I haven’t read many plays, so it’s just something I’m not familiar with. Maybe if I educated myself more, I’d be fascinated by it. But I grew up on those films like “Blade Runner,” “Apocalypse Now,” or “Taxi Driver,” those kind of films that changed how we saw the world. That’s always been my first love. I don’t know how you do it. I mean, it seems like such an incredible commitment for that long a time. Aren’t you just in the middle of that saying like, “Just take me out the back and put me out of my misery?”

ISAAC: A little bit. But that’s like the Mount Everest climb, you know? That’s definitely what “Hamlet” was. It felt like out in the wilderness for a very, very long time, you know?

LETO: Yeah. I have a deep respect for that, and it seems like something very daunting, but maybe I need to come see you in a play and then I’ll be getting motivated to do it. But I don’t think anyone’s missing out on me not being in a play.

ISAAC: I don’t know, man. I feel like you’d have a lot to offer.

###

[paupermodern]

PAUPER MODERN OCT.2023 CHAMPION -Cyrus

I leave my house and hop on BART in eager anticipation of my first Pauper Modern tournament. Unfortunately, I miss the bus upon my arrival at the Balboa Park stop and have to briskly walk through campus only to still arrive at the tournament a few minutes late. Upon arrival, I am immediately presented with three options. Jared, the host of this event, has offered to let me borrow a deck. Like a young Pokémon trainer, I would need to choose my companion for this adventure. First up was Mono Black. I do enjoy playing decks with a lot of skulls… but wanted to see what else was available. Mono white caught my eye, but I had to see what the third option was… Kuldotha Boros! A deck I have at least played before in regular Pauper. I enjoy making a lot of decisions, and being assertive with creatures when I am forced to play with them, so this seemed like a good choice for the afternoon. I make sure I present a cohesive 75 with the flex-slots Jared has provided and shuffle up for Round 1!

Round 1: Daniel on Mono Blue Faeries Game 1: My opponent leads on a basic Island and I assume they are playing Faeries. My hand is okay in the matchup. I have a good number of creatures to get under their counter spells. However, I am quickly blown out by a few combat tricks and find myself on the backfoot. Luckily, I am able to string together a Kuldotha Rebirth with a Rally the Peasants and present lethal. Side boarding: This matchup is quite strong. However, one way you can lose is getting tempoed out with tricks, Faeries and Ninjas. For that reason, I prefer to shift into a control deck and bring in as many removal spells as possible. Swiftspear, Kuldotha Rebirth, and Rally the Peasants all do not fit this game plan post-board. Game 2: Seeker of the Way does a lot of work. That in conjunction with removal spells is enough to get the job done. I grab a couple of slices of pizza and chat with the other tournament goers. 1-0

Round 2: Chris on Storm Game 1: I hear Chris talking about Storm, so I figure that is what I am playing against. My favorite archetype across all formats! I know I must keep an assertive hand and am happy with my mulligan into a hand with multiple creatures. Chris casts Grapeshot for 6 to wipe my board, but I am able to rebuild and use Rally the Peasants to present lethal a few turns later. Side boarding: I decide that Lightning Bolt can help against Goblin Electromancer or just go face to help race. I also bring in End the Festivities for the Empty the Warrens tokens. I take out some number of the two-drop cantrip artifacts and the Thraben Inspectors as the matchup seems less about value rather than trying to end the game quickly. Game 2: I have a medium hand. My strategy of boarding out the cantrip artifacts feels awkward with a grip full of Skyfishers and Glint Hawks, but I decide a hand with multiple flying creatures is still worth keeping. I spend much of the game replaying my own lands, before Chris assembles a First Day of Class + Empty the Warrens for 12 2/2 hasty Goblins. I am able to just barely stabilize long with an army of Kor Skyfishers before a pair of End the Festivities in conjunction with Rally the Peasants ends the game. 2-0.

Round 3: Rob on Boros Game 1: I know I am in for a grind with the Boros champ himself! Luckily, I am on the draw and he mulls to 5. The game goes on for a while, but it is hard to overcome starting down 3 cards in the mirror. Game 2: Rob sequences his cantrip artifacts and creatures well before blowing me out with Makeshift Munitions and we are quickly shuffling up for Game 3. Game 3: I keep a sketchy hand on the draw. It has Glint Hawk, Kor Skyfisher and removal. It is powerful, but is also relying on 3 copies of Experimental Synthesizer along with 1 copy of basic Mountain as the only land. Of course my first 2 Synthesizers hit dual-lands and we are off to the races. #NeverLucky. We play a very long game with a lot of back and forth, but I eek out lethal with burn spells just as we are about to go to time. 3-0

Round 4: Isaac on Mono Blue Faeries Game 1: I get the pair down against Isaac and I know he is on Mono Blue. I have played both sides of this matchup extensively in regular Pauper and feel confident. The game follows as such with me playing a lot of removal and creatures while Isaac is unable to surmount attack into my high toughness threats and pile of removal. Isaac does flood out after being forced to cycle Lorien Revealed early to draw cards. Game 2: I board in close to 15 removal spells and settle in for a grind. At one point, my Experimental Synthesizer gets countered, opening the door to spend three consecutive turns resolving Kor Skyfisher (returning a life-gain land). The 2/3s are 2-free and I am able to pull off the second game. 4-0! Overall, 8-1 in games I believe. The deck ran very well. There are a couple of ways to take the deck. Today, I was especially impressed with Rally the Peasants, and could see a second copy being included in the deck. Swiftspear underperformed in the matchups I played. Props: Jared for hosting and lending me a deck. All of my opponents for being great. The Pizza for being delicious and Rally the Peasants for providing wins out of nowhere. Slops: The 43 bus leaving 2 minutes early and messing up my BART transfer. Thanks for having me and I hope to return to defend my belt! CyrusCG

[mauvecherie-writes]

Bad For You.

pairing: Lewis Hamilton x Black f!Reader

summary: The two of you were just best friends and had been for years. Why didn’t your boyfriend agree?

warnings: NSFW 18+, MINORS DNI, smut, implications of infidelity, rpf, daddy kink, creampie, greyish/darkish!Lewis.

word count: 3.7K

Note: Stand alone fic. I’m really proud of this one because I wrote after having a very difficult month mentally. I couldn’t write and it was hard to but I’m glad I was able to push through and write this! So please enjoy! Leave feedback please!

part ii

You had just gotten a promotion from work. You were now the new Senior Events Planner at the company you worked for and after five years, it was a promotion well deserved. Everyone had congratulated you, everyone but your own boyfriend of one and a half years, Jared.

He had been so wrapped up in his own work, you barely got acknowledged and it hurt to see him be so wrapped up in his own stuff that he never seemed to notice what was going on in your life. His behaviour for the last six months had been off and every time you tried to speak about it, he dismissed your concerns and claimed it was just stress from work.

Things would get better for a week or two but he would go back to his old ways. You were getting sick of it but at the same time you were holding onto the hope that things would get better. This had been your longest relationship in a very long time and you were determined to make it work.

You had arrived back at your apartment and you gasped at the flowers that covered half of the floor of your living room area. Red roses in the dozens with a card that stuck out at the top that read “Congratulations!” Your heart instantly swelled up with joy. You couldn’t believe that Jared had done this.

You knew that he was here as you had spotted his jacket and shoes by the door. You dropped everything and ran towards the kitchen where he most likely would be. You threw your arms around him and squeezed tight.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” You repeatedly chanted and kissed on his cheek. But the joy began to diminish as he pulled his hands away from you.

“I didn’t do that. Your other boyfriend did.” The flat tone in his voice made you frown.

“What other boyfriend are you talking about?”

“Don’t play coy with me YN. You know exactly who I’m talking about.”

“Are you really that angry that my best friend sent me flowers?”

“It’s not just about the flowers.”

“Then what is it about? Because literally the mention of his name makes you want to throw up.”

“Because he’s the third person in this relationship! We can’t do anything without you mentioning what he’s done. Not all of us are rich world championship Formula One drivers YN! So sorry I can’t take you to a five star restaurant without hearing he’s done it for you first!”

“Am I supposed to not do things with my friend just because you want to do it first? I’m sorry I didn’t meet you any sooner!”

Jared sighed in frustration. “It’s not just that YN. He takes you around the world to his races, red carpets, fucking vacations with his family like you’re his girlfriend. Leaving bloody flowers in your apartment!”

“Am I supposed to say no?! I’ve known him for over a decade and he’s happy for me! Something you haven’t shown me. I’ve been working for this promotion for years Jared YEARS! And you barely gave a fuck! At least I know someone gives a shit about me.”

“You think I wanna give a shit about a prissy little bitch who’s head is so far up her best friend’s arse she can’t see him for the shit he is.”

“Oh FUCK YOU!” You gasped in anger as you picked the glass towel that was beside you and threw it in his face. You were so angry that you snatched your keys and stormed back towards the door. “When I come back, I want all of your shit out of my place and leave my keys on the counter. It’s clear we need some space.”

You slammed the door and rushed back down to your car. You were so furious, you weren’t thinking straight but your body was leading you where you needed to be. How dare he say those vile words to you? Lewis and you were close — different to other friendships but that was just the way you operated.

Lewis was a very important person in your life and nothing and nobody was going to change that. You thought Jared would have been different because for the longest time, he acted like things were okay but clearly that was not the case.

He was wrong about Lewis being the third person in the relationship. You had tried to divide the two, lord you had tried but with the way Jared was behaving it was so hard not to lean on Lewis for support. It was like he had stopped putting effort in the relationship and he was just waiting for a reason for things to deteriorate.

And now he’s got it. YN couldn’t get the words he said to her, the dark and venomous tone in his voice. It was so hateful and that scared YN. Even though it was her apartment, she needed to leave, she couldn’t be around him and that energy.

You typed in the code to gain access to Lewis’s penthouse building. On the elevator, the memories of your argument were back at your forefront and you were pissed all over again. The doorman had most likely alerted Lewis of your presence because by the time you arrived on his floor, he was waiting at his door.

“Jared is a fucking asshole!” You exclaimed as you walked right past him into the penthouse.

“Evening to you too sweetheart.”

“Why couldn’t we just have a nice night in! He sees flowers and he fucking loses his mind.” You tried to explain but you ended up screaming in frustration instead. You felt Lewis’s hand on the outside of your thighs. You moved your hands away from your face and found him kneeling in front of you. His calming eyes and smiles eased the tension you felt and smiled back at him. His touch was soothing and you felt a calm wash over you.

“Tell me what happened.”

And you did. Detailing the argument but leaving out the part where he indicated that things were more than friendly between you and Lewis. Something you didn’t even want to admit to yourself and we’re angry you were being forced to.

“Does he know that you’re here?“ He asked as the both of you leaned back into his couch. The wine and conversation had been flowing and it was a great way to destress after a heated argument with your boyfriend Jared … putting a question mark on that.

“He might.” You shrugged. “I didn’t tell him where I was going.”

Lewis looked at you and your breath hitched in your throat. The eyes had gone completely dark but the twinkle was not lost but instead had intensified. When he licked his lips and smirked as he watched you unintentionally crossed your legs to ease the ache that was brewing in between your thighs.

“He’d throw a fit if he knew I was here.”

“Why?”

“He says that you’re the third person in our relationship. He seems to think that there’s something going on between us.

“There is though.” He states with a confidence that rocked your core. “You can’t deny that there isn’t.”

“We’re friends Lew, that’s it.” You moved to deny it even though it was fruitless.

“Do friends do what we did a few months back?” You deeply sighed as the memory washed over you as he spoke, inching closer to you.

“On holiday in Hawaii when everyone went to sleep and it was just the two of us left.”

“Lew.” You warned as your breathing increased but he furthered on.

“And I won that round of cards and you had to sit on my face as my reward. I remember you coming so fucking hard, I nearly came just from that. Do you remember?”

Your eyes had fallen close but his hand cradled your cheek and his fingertips brushed the edges of the hair at the nape of your neck. He applied small pressure which caused your eyes to open and there was little distance between you and him.

“I asked you a question.”

“I do remember.” You whispered as your fingers pinched the fabric on his cargo pants. You took deep breaths but each inhale flooded your senses with his intoxicating scent.

“Friends don’t do shit like that YN.” His thumb caressed your bottom lip parting them softly and you nearly, nearly sucked the digit into your mouth.

“God the things I want to do to you.” He groaned.

“Tell me…” The desperation laced within your voice on another day would have made you gag but right now with Lewis in your space, all your inhibitions were lost.

His chuckle rang out at you. “I thought we were just friends.” He teased as he began to pull his body away from you and you grabbed his wrists stopping him from moving any further. You were aching and needed him. When it was just the two of you, no matter how much you tried, denying Lewis was utterly useless. He had you within his grasps and you self admittedly did not want him to let go.

Lewis came back into your space and pressed his lips against yours. Your gasp allowed for his tongue to slip in and that was the beginning of your fall into the dark abyss. He had pulled you into his lap and held onto the back of your neck as he tongued your mouth. All the moans that escaped you, he swallowed as he dominated the kiss. Your pussy was throbbing so much and you seemed relieved by slowly moving your hips, the zip of his pants bumping into your clit sent small shockwaves through you.

You whimpered softly and the sound made Lewis groan in response. You were caught by surprise as he switched your positions and pressed you into the couch with him hovering above you. You held onto his neck with both hands and pulled your lips away before looking into his eyes.

“Tell me what you want to do to me.” You said which caused him to smirk.

“I’m about to show you.” He gave you one breathtaking kiss before he got down on his knees in between your legs.

“Want to know why Jared hates me so much?” He rhetorically asked as he pulled your biker shorts down your legs and discarded them to the side. He cussed softly as the sight of your small thongs drenched and stuck to your pussy. The drag of his fingers along your skin as he pulled the thong down sent shocks along your body but all settled in one place.

You had barely taken one leg out of your underwear before Lewis was forcing your legs up into the air, displaying your aching cunt up at his mouth.

“He hates me because I know you. I know you so intimately that it bothers him that he will never take my place in your heart. Even if he has no proof of what we did, deep down he knows I make you feel good. He sees the way I look at you and the way you look at me when you think no one is paying attention. He sees the way we’re affectionate with each other, how we care for each other. He knows it’s more than platonic and it grinds his gears because you’re supposed to be his. But here you are, with your pussy creaming at my words. Ready to be made completely mine.”

“Fffuuucckk Lewis baby, please.” You whined as your walls clenched around nothing, silently begging to be fucked. He placed soft kisses on your inner thighs before sitting up straight and pushing your leg deeper into the couch. Lewis brought his fingers to your slit and you gasped at the first contact, a whimper following right after as your juices coated his fingers.

“So fucking wet, fuck.” He groaned before delivering a swift and fast blow to your pussy which caused you to flinch away. The tingle of pain from the blow underlying the pleasurable result was an addictive feeling.

“You like your pussy being slapped like that baby?” He questioned doing it again, a moan slipping out this time round.

“I didn’t know I liked it until you did it.” You confessed. Your voice was thick with need and Lewis was prolonging your torture. His fingers dragged along your slit once more before using the pad of his thumb to rub your clit.

“Whatever shit you had going on with Jared, it’s over. You’re mine now. Your heart, your mind and this beautiful pussy is all mine.” His words were too intoxicating. Jared was a non-factor now, not when Lewis looked like he was about to devour everything that was you.

After what felt like an eternity, Lewis finally parted your pussy with his fingers and ran his tongue over your flesh. You trembled as he sucked on your clit, hard, forcing your back into an arch. He wasted no time feasting upon your cunt, unleashing all his frustration on your sensitive clit.

It was passionate, messy and you loved it all. In the heat of it all, his tongue trailed down all the way to your ass and the feeling was welcomed before ultimately moving back to lap on your clit.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck!” You chanted repeatedly as your chest heaved. Your orgasm came quickly as you had been on edge since the beginning of this night. You groaned as he then added his fingers into the mix. They twisted and turned until your cream was trailing down onto your puckered hole.

He pulled away from your clit and placed a kiss on your thigh. “Relax for me baby.” You tried to take calming breaths and the second you felt his thumb pushing past the barrier of your sphincter, you wanted to tense but allowed for the digit to ease in.

“Oh …”

“There you go.” He hummed as he gave you slow, shallow strokes. He looked up at you and sight was disastrous to your being. Your orgasm quickly rose to the surface yet again. Everything felt so good.

“I’m going to come baby.” You moaned loudly as your thighs began to tremble. He turned his attention back to your clit, flicking it over and over until your eyes rolled to the back of your head and you exploded into his mouth.

“Lewis!”

He buried his face even further into your cunt as your climax drew out. When he finally showed you mercy and pulled away.

“See how good you taste.” He growled before attacking your lips, shoving his tongue down your throat. He held your face in position, making sure you felt all of the energy he was pouring into you. You loved the way you tasted from his lips. Your natural musk coating his lips was like an aphrodisiac and before you could register your actions, you had reached for Lewis’s cargo pants and popped the button open.

“Fucking take this off now.” Lewis hissed as he pulled on your hoodie — originally his. As your bodies parted to take off your clothes, he pulled you up to your feet and melded you into the position he desired. Both your knees were on the couch and your hands were placed on the top of it.

You sighed softly as you felt his hot skin against your back. He placed kisses along your neck and back as the familial crinkling of foil reached your ears.

“Wait.”

“What?” He enquired with slight confusion.

“I want to feel you completely. I’m clean.” You whisper your admission and the rumble of his moan vibrates through you. He pressed his forehead against the back of your head and caressed your waist with both of his hands as he tried to control his emotions.

“Are you sure sweetheart?” He whispered, kissing your neck. You eagerly nodded your head. He was silent again before pressing the tip of his cock against your opening.

“I’m clean too.”

“Please Lew, I need you.”

“You need me? How much?”

“So fucking much. I’ve been needing you for so long, give it to me.”

Your slick folds drenched his hard length, getting him ready to sink into you. After torturous longing and wanting that damn near drove you insane, all the anticipation brought you to this moment.

Lewis was rocking back and forth rubbing himself against you, wrecking your nerves even more.

“Please Daddy.”

You barely had time to anchor yourself before Lewis slammed forward, filling you up with all his length. Your body had lunged forward from the power of the thrust but his sturdy grip on your hips kept you in place.

“FUCK!” You screamed as your walls death gripped him. He held onto you tightly as he wasted no time giving you long and deep strokes savouring up the drag of your walls along his length. You itched to plead him to move faster but his strokes were meant to disorient you — leave you completely insane. And they were working.

He moved your hair out of the way and laid wet kisses along your neck before he set one hand against the couch and the other wrapped around your torso and cupped your breast into his warm hand. He had trapped you in place which forced you to feel how deep he was going.

He fucked you just like that. Each thrust rattled your body but you took them without complaint. Even with his dick hitting your sweet spot so directly which made your moans louder each time he did so, you didn’t dare to push him away no matter how overwhelmed you felt.

“Too much for you baby girl?“ He mumbled in your ear before placing a kiss against your cheek.

You adamantly shook your head. “No Daddy.”

“Look at me.” You turned your head and he held your gaze as he pumped in and out of you, his heavy balls slapping at the back of your thighs.

“Kiss me.” You whispered and with no hesitation, his tongue snaked out and wrapped around yours in such an erotic manner, you clenched tighter around him. When his fingers began to strum at your clit and pull at your nipple - you began to lose your composure. Your body went white hot as you trembled with your impending orgasm and he could feel it too.

“Come for me sweetheart.” Your eyes scrunched close as a wordless scream left you as you came. The intensity did not stop Lewis from thrusting forward and rubbing on your clit faster.

“Keep fucking coming. I wanna feel you dripping.” The wetter you got, the more empowered he felt to fuck you harder and faster. You gripped onto him as your third orgasm of the night catapulted to the forefront.

“Just like that! Fuck!” Lewis growled before he buried his face in your neck and rutted into your pussy. You ran your hand through his locs and kissed his cheek, completely lost in the pleasure of it all, you uttered words you never thought you would.

“Come inside of me, please.”

“Yeah? You want me to come inside of you because you’re mine right? I own every part of you.”

“Fuuuuccckk yes yes yes please!”

Devastatingly, Lewis pounds into you harder and harder until his teeth sank down into your skin, your name growled as he filled you up. Then he softly pulled out of you and turned you in his arms. He searched for your lips as he wrapped your legs around his waist.

You moaned as he sucked your bottom lip into his.

“I meant every word I said. I’m tired of waiting and now that I have you in my arms, I’m never letting you go.”

You caressed his cheek as he picked you up and began walking to his bedroom.

“Now that I’m here, I don’t want you to.” Lewis smiled at your words and kissed you once more. And if it wasn’t for the fact that you were in a post-coital haze, you would have noticed the dark glint in his eyes …

- Six Months Ago … -

It was just the two of them standing on the balcony of Jared’s apartment. To you it was just your best friend and boyfriend having a quick chat about something. But as always between the two of them, you were the topic of discussion. Fake smiles and pleasantries are out of the window.

“I know you don’t like me and we honestly do not need to pretend that we do as long as we respect each other but I know that will never happen because your intentions are very clear and I see right fucking through you.” Jared hissed.

Lewis couldn’t help but chuckle as his head tilted to the side. “What are my intentions?”

“You want YN all to yourself. You act like it’s just the way of a best friend being over protective and no man will ever be good enough for her unless it’s you but you’re wrong.”

“Am I?”

“Yes, because she’s with me. She chose me and she’s mine.”

At those words Lewis let out the loudest laugh like he had just heard the funniest thing ever. He laughed so hard it confused Jared and the reaction honestly made him even more angry. And as sudden as a burst of laughter had come, it stopped and a serious expression adorned Lewis’s face.

“Let’s get one thing straight. YN is the sweetest girl you’ll ever meet and she always does everything with the most good of intentions so she’ll entertain you for a while, even fool herself into thinking she’s in love with you but that’s only because she’s afraid of admitting how she feels about me and what it means for our relationship. And so each time you fail to meet her expectations, she’s going to find herself comparing everything either it’d be emotionally, financially, physically, sexually — you’ll never be up to par. That’s when you’ll realise she was never yours to begin with and you wasted your time.”

“You’re a seriously fucked up individual do you know that?”

“And you’re not going to say anything about it? Because who’s going to believe you? The best friend who’s always had her best interests at heart or the boyfriend who’s jealous and is trying to stop our friendship?” Lewis then patted Jared’s shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze.

“Enjoy her while it lasts, Jared. Because you won’t be here for long.”

[shouldershimmycity]

Brother Knows Best (Rooster x Sister Reader)

"Hey! I absolutely loved your latest fic! Is there anyway I could request a reader who is Roosters adopted teenage sister she’s like 16 or 17 and he has custody over her.

Maybe she gets involved with a older guy who is around 19 or 20 and Rooster has a huge problem with it and starts a fight because he is so over protective and can see that he is bad news, and the reader sneaks out that night and runs away to the guy but ends up getting hurt and Rooster and maybe Maverick find her and she apologizes and it’s just a cute sibling moment.

I would love if you could write this but I also completely understand if you can’t!! Thanks in advance!!!"

FIRST OF ALL, YES I CAN ABSOLUTELY WRITE THIS!

SECOND OFF ALL, I LIKED THE IDEA TOO MUCH TO NOT WRITE IT TONIGHT SO MERRY CRISIS/CHRYSLER/CHRISM TO YOU DEAR ANON! *MWAH!* I KNOW IT'S KIND OF SHORT BUT I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!

TW: Assault, swearing, and being drunk

*****

You were tuning out your older brother. He was in the middle of scolding you for something you didn’t care about. He was too uptight, being a military man. You on the other hand, were the complete opposite. You weren’t even related to Bradley by blood, which explained so much about the differences between you two. 

Carole Bradshaw adopted you when you were six, and she died when you were ten. You loved her to death, but it made you upset to think about her when you ended up with him. Bradley was such a friggin’ control freak and it drove you up the wall. You looked over to find Bradley staring at you, waiting for a response.

“Sooooooo are we done?” you asked him, the boredom dripping from your tone. Bradley made a face that was something between frustration and just giving up. 

“You’re not seeing Jared again. He is seven years older than you! You are seven-fucking-teen!” he ordered.

“You joined the fucking Navy when you were eighteen, I’m basically an adult, Bradley!” you shouted back. He looked around and threw his hands up in the air. 

“I got a JOB, when I was eighteen, I didn’t date a MINOR!” he countered. 

You rolled your eyes and walked upstairs, Bradley shouting after you. FUCK he was so annoying. You slammed your door for good measure, and turned to read the text message that had caused your phone to ding. 

“Hey baby, we still on for tonight?”

You texted Jared back with zero hesitation, wanting nothing more than to piss your brother off again. 

“Hell yeah. Do you have my fake ID for me?”

‘“Course babe. Can’t fuck shit up without one.”

You turned your phone off and grinned like the Cheshire cat. 

Excellent.

*****

Bradley sat on the couch, flipping through the TV blankly. Maybe he was too hard on you. He knew you had been given the crappy cards, crappier than his. But he just wanted you to be safe, that’s all he needed to know. He sighed and turned the TV off, it was nearing eleven thirty at night and Bradley wanted to try and have a civil conversation with you so he could sleep alright tonight. 

He trudged up the stairs and knocked on your door lightly. You didn’t answer. He looked at the bottom of your door. Lights are on. He turned the knob and the door creaked open quietly. The pilot stuck his head into your room to peer around. SHIT. He pushed the door open all the way and looked chaotically around your empty room. He opened your closet to make sure you weren’t hiding from him, and he looked around maybe six times until he realized he was just spinning in circles.

Ripping his phone out of his pocket, he called the only person who knew you better than Bradley did. 

“Maverick, my sister snuck out, and I think she ran off with that dickhead boyfriend,” he explained quickly. 

“Any idea where they might have gone?” he asked, putting his shoes on in the background.

“None, maybe a bar? She wouldn’t go to the Hard Deck, Penny knows her. God, Mav, I have no idea,” he said, his words rushed and nervous. Maverick was quiet on the line for a second, and Bradley waited for the older man to answer him.

“Let me make some calls.”

*****

You were on the beach, sitting in the bed of your boyfriends truck. There was a bonfire going while Jared and his friends drank all the liquor your group of “friends” had collected. You were drunk, but not as drunk as Jared. 

Jared was going on a very loud tirade about how all military men were a bunch of cowards and bitches. It was starting to make you uncomfortable. You often got pissed off by your brother, but he was a hero for all the shit he’s done and gone through. Don’t even get started on Maverick. You would defend your uncle until the day you died. You were starting to want to leave.

You saw it before you heard it, what with traveling faster than the speed of sound. An F/A-18 flew in a low pass past the beach, and you smiled a little. Late night training. Jared, on the other hand, threw a bottle into the air, with the hope he could hit the aircraft that only a drunk man could have.

“FUCK! OFF!” he slurred, shouting. Alright, enough was enough. You got out of the bed of his truck, hopping down to talk to Jared.

“Jared, I’m ready to go now,” you stated. He gave you a sneer.

“I’m not going anywhere yet,” he said. You stared back at him.

“But I want to leave now,” you said, trying to reason with him. You didn’t like Jared when he was like this, drunk off his ass.

He turned to look at the rest of the group, who were glaring at you, then backhanded you across the face so hard you fell into the sand. His rings had cut your face in a few places and you stared at him in shock.

You stood back up shakily and he punched you in the gut, knocking the wind out of you. You looked at your boyfriend with wild eyes, unsure why he was doing this. He slapped you once more and this time you didn't stick around. You were, literally, pounding sand. You ran into the dark night, unsure of where you were going to go.

You needed your brother.

***** 

“They’re down by the beach, I had some late night trainees see if they could find his truck anywhere public they might be,” Maverick said, hanging up his cellphone.

Bradley’s phone began to buzz and he answered it before he could even read the caller ID. 

“Hello?” he asked, frantic.

“Rooster, I just saw your sister come into the Hard Deck about five minutes ago. She was looking for you, man. She’s got some cuts and bruises on her face,” Bobs voice filled the other end of the line, full of concern, “I tried to make it over to her but she left and I couldn’t find her.”

“Bob! You’re the best!” Bradley hung up his phone and grabbed his keys. On the way out to his Bronco he told Maverick the information Bob had relayed to him. 

The drive to the Hard Deck was about ten minutes, and Rooster gripped the wheel like his life depended on it. He was so concerned with finding you, it left the question of what Jared had done to you unanswered. Was Jared looking for you too? Were you in danger? Rooster was so caught up in his thoughts that Mavericks cry of surprise made him jump.

“There she is!” he shouted, pointing you out. Bradley pulled over and his headlights showed in your face. You squinted and prepared to bolt, scared that Jared found you and wanted to kill you or something. 

Then you heard your brother and Maverick call your name, Bradley walking out from behind the bright lights. 

“Bradley!” you sobbed, running into your brother's arms. You hugged him so tight he could take 9Gs of force and say awake. 

“Don’t you ever do that to me again! Oh my god are you hurt?” He pulled you away to look at your face. Bob was right, you were super banged up. “What happened? Did he do this to you? I’m gonna fucking kill him.”

You hugged Bradley again, sobbing loudly, and he just cradled you, rubbing your back and telling you it was all gonna be okay. 

“I’m so sorry Bradley,” you cried, pulling away, “I should have listened to you, the guy is a FREAK!” You hugged your brother again.

He didn’t care whether or not he was right or wrong, but he was right. He wasn’t going to ever vocalize it to you, but he just stood there, appreciating the fact that you were safe in his arms, his baby sister.

*****

“Bradley!” you shouted. 

“Will you hold on just one second!? God you are so impatient!” he complained across the house. 

You sat in front of the TV with the remote in your hands, as Bradley walked in with two bowls of ice cream. You laughed, then looked at him with the most intense deadpan stare that you could muster. 

“Bradley, is the ice cream in your hands, fudge brownie?” you demanded.

“What else would it be?” he asked, concerned.

“Thank God,” you smiled. Bradley shook his head at your antics, handing you your sundae. 

“You forgot my sprinkles, fucker.”

“Get them yourself.”

“If I ask for sprinkles, I expect sprinkles Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw!”

“Just press play.”

“Okay.”

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

If I Fell For You (Part 14) - Keep Close

Summary: The Ackles have the Padalecki’s over for dinner and let it slip that they’re engaged. Things seem to be going well but the anniversary of the accident is coming up and the reader comes up with the Ackles taking their first vacation together as a means of distracting Jensen as well reconnecting with Ray...

Masterlist

Pairing: Jensen x nanny!reader

Word Count: 4,800ish

Warnings: language, mention of sex, mention of a dead parent/spouse, anxiety

A/N: Please enjoy and let me know what you think!

________

“I’m stuffed,” said Jensen that night, the kids running around playing soccer in the yard after dinner. 

“I need that chicken recipe,” said Jared.

“I’ll write it down for you guys,” you said, sitting back in your chair. “You can do it with breast too if you like that better.”

“I want exactly this like, everyday from now on,” said Jared. Gen rolled her eyes and Jensen pulled out his phone. “Want me to take a pic?”

“I don’t need your freakishly long arms just yet,” chuckled Jensen. He turned around and took one of the four of you at the table before handing off his phone. “Mind getting one of us?”

“Your mom harassing you for engagement photos already?” asked Gen.

“By the time we were leaving they were both asking for photos and being obnoxious. Better than they were though,” said Jensen, smiling beside you. Jared took a few more and handed the phone back. 

“I still can’t believe your parents would act like that,” said Gen. “I mean obviously I’m super happy it got fixed but that’s so unlike them.”

“They made a mistake is all,” you said with a smile. “I don’t know about you guys but I’m going to finish this beer in the pool.”

“I think I’ll join you,” said Jared. He stood up and had a look on his face you caught too late. Before you knew it he had you picked up and was jogging over to the deep end and jumping in with you.

“Jared!” you said when you popped up. He giggled and swam off to the shallow end. “After I helped pick up the plates ya big lug.”

“We got it,” said Jensen, carrying over two beer cans and handing them to you. “We’ll join you guys in a few.”

About ten minutes later Jensen was leaning against the side of the pool in his bright red swim trunks, handing you the other half of his cookie cake piece.

“So any big plans for the wedding?” asked Jared, sat on the pool steps with Gen.

“I have a thought,” you said, turning to Jensen. “I haven’t discussed it with Jensen yet.”

“Vegas. Shotgun wedding,” he laughed. You shook your head and he grinned. “You’re thinking the farm, aren’t you.”

“What do you think? It could be outdoor or indoor, whatever it needs to be depending on the weather.”

“I’d love that,” he said, giving you a squeeze. “That’d be perfect for us.”

“You own a farm?” asked Jared. 

“Yeah, ten minutes from the brewery.”

“Dudes. You can open bar with your own beer. Oh and dibs on being a groomsmen.”

“Like that wasn’t gonna happen,” said Jensen.

“I don’t know on that,” you said. Jared’s face fell and you shook your head. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that you wouldn’t be one. Of course you would. I just don’t have a lot of close girlfriends. I think it’d be weird if Jensen had a ton and…”

“I don’t think it’s weird,” said Gen. “We didn’t have an even number at our wedding.”

“We got time to figure that stuff out,” said Jensen, holding your waist. You finished the last bite of cookie and hummed. 

“So you two having a kid?” asked Jared. Gen whacked his chest and he shrugged.

“Jesus, Jare. Don’t ask that.”

“They’re our best friends and godparents to our children...although I guess Y/N didn’t know that she inherited that until now but come on, I know you’re wondering too.”

“Shut up,” said Gen, crossing her arms. “Obviously if they decide, they’ll tell us when it happens.”

“Yeah, I think there’ll be at least one,” you laughed. Gen lit up and turned to Jared.

“Last time they said they were having a baby guess what we did? I can’t handle no more babies,” said Jared.

“Can you even get that thing up anymore?” teased Jensen, sipping on his beer.

“You’re one to talk, old man.”

“That shit still works just fine.”

“Just fine?” shot back Jared.

“Oh my God. You’re both good at sex. Y/N be grateful you’ve missed this same conversation over and over for the past sixteen odd years,” said Gen. 

“I’m still taller,” said Jared with a smirk.

“I can last longer,” said Jensen with one of his own. They narrowed their eyes at one another and Jared stood up.

“Go wrestle on the grass,” groaned Gen. They both huffed and got out of the pool before starting to playfully wrestle. “See, what you may not realize yet is you have another child right there.”

“Yeah but he’s hot,” you said, Gen laughing while you sat beside her. “Do you guys really talk about sex with each other?”

“Yes and no. The boys are you know, boys. They’d combust if they didn’t tease each other. I wouldn’t say there’s like, intimate details or anything ever shared. They’re both pretty private about that sort of thing. Dee and I would talk but more so say we had fun the night before. Shit we probably talked about sex toys more than anything.”

You stopped mid sip of your beer and she laughed.

“When your guy is thousands of miles away for that long out of the year, you gotta get off on your own. You get pretty good at phone sex too. You’re lucky. Jensen won’t be staying away so long ever again he said.”

“No, no. But uh...before Jensen I’d had the same boyfriend forever and he was as vanilla as could be. We didn’t do that stuff really together.”

“I can text you some links to stuff. It’s not like you have to go in some scary store or anything. It’s discrete and I think a small vibe would be great to start with. You can use it during sex or foreplay or whatever. Just you know, have fun.”

“Jensen and I kinda got busted by the cops a week or so back for...activities in the backseat,” you said. She started to laugh and you groaned. “Thankfully it was his friend that caught us so he let us off the hook but...it was kinda fun.”

“Good,” she said, sighing as Jensen pinned Jared down. “Hey so yeah about that wedding thing. Jared had two more groomsmen than I had girls. It doesn’t have to be matchy, matchy, you know?”

“I know. I don’t know if…” you trailed off. “I lost my friend group when I broke it off with my last boyfriend. We’d been together for over ten years and I kept turning down his proposals and they didn’t like that. I have some nanny friends but not a lot and no one I’m really close to. I don’t know if I’d even get more than five people to come for me. Everyone else is his family and friends and I didn’t think about that until just now. I mean what would they think, seeing that? I don’t know if I even want anyone there now.”

“I think what they’d see is someone they care about marrying someone he loves. Just because we’re Jensen’s friends doesn’t mean we’re not your friends too. I know we’re still getting to know each other but we’ll be as close as those two eventually. Ruthie was texting me and we’re having a girls night the next convention in Dallas. You literally have a built in crew ready to go from the show, the girls and the guys. You are so coming with me to the next night I have with my local girlfriends and you got our family. You even got Dee’s parents. You have more than you know, sweetie.”

“I never had a best friend growing up except for my mom. Until Jensen,” you said. “I’ve never really been good at the friend thing.”

“Were you bullied in school?” she asked quietly.

“Don’t tell anyone besides Jared but my dad wasn’t a good person. He hurt me and so I was afraid of getting in trouble so I didn’t talk to other kids all that much until I got old enough to understand what he was doing was wrong and that’s how I ended up being adopted.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Can’t do anything about it now. But I can have it not control my life too. I’ve been pretty good since I was nine in that department. My mom dying sucked and things have been up and down but I like where I am now. This is easily the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.”

“Jens’s not perfect.”

“I know. But he’s good enough. He gave me a certain confidence to live my life, like really live it.”

“He’s alright,” she smiled. “You know I have an idea about this bridesmaids thing you might like.”

“You?”

“Oh I would for sure but I meant more so I know two little girls that wouldn’t mind. Maybe there’s a boy too,” she said.

“I’m gonna need you to be my wedding planner at this rate,” you said.

“Job accepted,” she said. “I say we go farmhouse modern style.”

“Gen. I got engaged like two weeks ago. We have time,” you said. “We don’t even have a date.”

“At the very least can we go dress shopping?” she asked.

“I’m going to regret this,” you sighed as Jensen stepped back in the water.

“Get yourself a stronger man, Padalecki. That one is weak,” he said. Jared followed him right after and went to tackle him when Gen caught his arm.

“Boys, not in the water,” she said.

“Chicken?” asked Jensen.

“Losers pick up the tab for when we go out this weekend for dinner. Deal?” asked Jared.

“Well in that case, you’re on.”

Two Weeks Later

“Jensen,” you said, carding your fingers through his hair while he absentmindedly burnt some eggs. “You okay babe?”

“Yeah. We ought to pack up the kids, get on the road soon if we’re gonna hit the beach.”

“I’m gonna drive, okay?” you asked. He nodded and you got out the eggs again, making up a new batch. “Do you want to talk to Ray?”

“Why?” he asked quietly, leaning back against the counter.

“Anniversaries of traumatic events can be triggering,” you said. “My mom died two days ago. Well, you know what I mean.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked.

“Because it doesn’t trigger me anymore. But it did and this is the first time...the first one is the roughest.”

“Yeah,” he said. “I ought to talk to him.”

“Eat your breakfast. I’ll give him a call and get the kids ready while you guys talk, okay?” you said.

“Thank you,” he said. You kissed his cheek and hugged him before you went upstairs for your phone. It rang a few times but Ray finally answered, noise in the background.

“Y/N. Everything alright?” he asked.

“Hey. Yeah. We’re...we’re pretty good. Today’s the first anniversary of Jensen’s-”

“Ah. I understand.”

“Listen, I know it’s a Sunday and you don’t work the weekends but would you mind talking to him for a few minutes? We’re going down to Galveston for the week in a bit but he’s off this morning.”

“I’d talk to him even if he wasn’t your fiance but especially because of that. You know we’re actually down here ourselves for a few days. Just got down yesterday. If you guys are around...maybe we could get together for that swim.”

“I’d like that. You okay?” you asked.

“I always get a little down on the day but Sarah understands. You understand.”

“Yeah. I’m gonna put Jensen on and um, maybe we can meet at Arillo’s for dinner?”

“We got a reservation there ourselves tonight. How many in your crew? Five? I’ll call and ask for an update.”

“Yeah there’s five of us. Um, Ray?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry for being so horrible as a teenager after mom. You loved her as much as I did.”

“Thank you but you don’t have to apologize for that. You got too much pain in your life. I’m glad you found the good stuff too.”

“Are Geroge and Taylor there?” you asked.

“Yeah kids are here. Taylor’s got some internship but she does it online half the day and George is some research assistant thing for one of his professors but same kinda deal. We leave them to work in the morning while Sarah and I have some fun. Want me to let them know you’re coming?”

“Probably a good idea. Not sure how they’ll react,” you said, Jensen poking his head into the bedroom. “Here’s Jensen.”

“Okay, sweetie. We’ll see you guys soon.”

You handed the phone to Jensen and finished up packing while he sat on the bed. You tried to leave him be but couldn’t help listening in.

“Yeah I’m anxious...I don’t want her to drive down today...you know why...I guess...probably...I don’t want to be freaking out for three hours in the car...because it’s today...I know...I know...so I have to suck it up...I don’t want to have a panic attack in the car with the kids...no I haven’t...I’m scared I will though...yeah...I understand...dude that sounds so stupid...that’s not medically anything...no I don’t have my doctorate...I don’t wanna ask her...I said I don’t want to, not that I wouldn’t...I know...I will...maybe I’ll try that too...yeah, Y/N said the first year is the roughest too...I’ll let her be in charge until we get down to the beach today. I think I’ll feel better after the car...yeah I kinda figured out what she was doing planning a trip on today of all days...I need it...really? Yeah, I’m looking forward to meeting up down there too...thanks Ray.”

You finished with your suitcase and had his open for him when he walked into the closet. He swallowed and handed your phone back.

“All good?” you asked.

“Ray thought it might be a good idea if I had something of yours with me on the way down, to keep on me since I’m...anxious this morning about being in a car.”

“Something of mine…” you said, looking at your side of the closet. “Why don’t you pack up and I’ll get you something before the road, okay?”

He nodded and twenty minutes and about three bathroom trips later the SUV was packed up. You hopped behind the wheel, Jensen tapping the arm rest from the passenger seat. 

“Here,” you said, reaching into your pocket, pulling out a bracelet. It was fabric, the kind made from craft string, white, rusty orange and a light tan color mixed together. 

“I’ve never seen this,” he said as he held it between his fingers.

“I got it on vacation with mom and Ray. Last one we went on,” you said, tying it around his wrist. “You have it.”

He stared at you as you turned the engine on, watching you backout. 

“This is too important for me to take,” he said quietly.

“It’s fabric. I want you to have it, okay?” you said, pulling onto the street and closing the gate. He nodded and you turned the radio on low. “Coffee run?”

“Yeah. Coffee sounds good right about now.”

You were only about fifteen or so minutes away from the beach house you’d rented. The kids were either taking naps in the backseats or watching a movie on the ipad. You risked a glance at Jensen, his fingers absently toying with the bracelet while he looked out the window, the radio on low. 

“How you doing big guy?” you asked as you pulled off to the exit ramp. 

“Pretty good now,” he said softly. 

“Mind navigating for me?” you asked. He hummed and picked up your phone from where it sat in the console the past few hours. About twenty minutes or so you were stretching outside of the car, Jensen opening the front door of the house with the code you’d been given. The kids climbed out and were good about each taking their own backpacks while you and Jensen gathered up the rest. 

“Come here,” he said, leaving the bags by his feet and kissing you against the side of the car. You grinned and he picked you up in a big squeezing hug. “I love you.”

“I know,” you said. He set you down and kissed you again. “You seem like yourself again.”

“I needed that push, get over that fear. But now, I can enjoy my day with my girl and my kiddos and apparently we are having dinner with Ray and his family tonight?” he asked.

“If that’s alright,” you said.

“One hundred percent,” he said, Arrow jumping up and down nearby. “Honey, go use the bathroom in the house if you have to go.”

“No I’m excited!” she said. “Can we go play on the beach? Pretty please?”

“Hm, give daddy fifteen minutes and then we can go?” he asked. She turned to you and grinned.

“We’ll go really soon sweetie. I promise.”

“Hey guys,” said Jensen an hour later, the five of you down on the beach and mostly watching them build a sandcastle together. “Y/N and I want to tell you something.”

“Is it that you guys are getting married?” asked JJ, patting some sand with her shovel. You glanced at Jensen and he shrugged. “You were talking to Aunt Gen and Uncle Jared about it last night, right?”

“Well, yes we were,” said Jensen. “I suppose we were a little louder than we thought. But yes, Y/N and I have decided to get married. We’re not sure when exactly but in the next year I can say.”

“So we have a mom again?” asked Arrow, fixing her corner of the castle that kept caving in.

“Well you guys are kinda lucky. You’ll get two moms,” he said. “How’s that sound?”

“We missed mom’s day,” she said with a sigh. “Right?”

“We’ll catch it next year, promise,” said Jensen. “Do you guys have any questions or anything you want to say?”

“Do we call you mom now?” asked JJ. 

“You guys call me whatever you want,” you said.

“Can we call you mom?” she asked. You nodded and she went back to playing in the sand. 

“Anything else guys?” asked Jensen.

“Can I get a giraffe?” asked Zeppelin while he figured out how much water to add to the sand to get it to stick together.

“No sweetie. They wouldn’t fit at our house,” said Jensen. 

“Darn it,” he said.

“I can tell you’re all so invested in this topic,” chuckled Jensen.

“Oh! Can my flower girl dress be purple?” asked JJ. 

“Your dress can be whatever color you want it to be,” you said.

“Awesome,” she said. “Or black and purple. With lightning stripes.”

“Ah, I knew the classic rock would finally pay off,” said Jensen.

“Maybe Daddy’s suit can be black and white stripes, like a tiger,” you said.

“Like a White Snake music video more like it,” he laughed. “We’ll figure all that stuff out. We wanted to make sure you guys knew was all and if you have any questions or were nervous or anything you know you can ask either one of us.”

“Mom makes you happy again. Of course you gotta marry her!” said Arrow. “Oh and get her a pony. Girls like that.”

“Would you care for a pony, sweetheart?” asked Jensen as he shook his head. 

“Are we talking mustang kind of pony?” you asked.

“That’s my girl,” he said, wrapping an arm over your shoulders, kissing your cheek. “Let dad get a picture of you guys. We’re on vacation after all.”

Five Hours Later

“Jensen,” you said, changing into a light summer top and a pair of denim shorts after your shower. He was standing by his suitcase undressed, trailing his finger over his scar. “Honey?”

“A year ago was the worst day of my life and today was a really great one. I get to meet Ray more and even Sarah and the kids who all sound great and...I’m really happy I’m still here to see all this.”

“Me too,” you said, wrapping your arms around him. “Wear your red underwear.”

“Is that a request?”

“I like how you look when you take it off,” you said, gently smacking his ass as you went to go fix your hair.

“I am so grateful I found you,” he said to himself. You smiled and brushed your teeth quickly before checking yourself over and taking a selfie. You sat up on the counter and opened instagram, still silently grateful you’d always had it on private. There was nothing bad on it but Jensen and Jared had tagged you before and all of the comments always seemed to be negative.

“How do I look?” asked Jensen, walking in wearing a short sleeve navy button down and his red underwear.

“So sexy,” you giggled, Jensen digging through his other bag and finding his khaki shorts. 

“Can I get away with sneakers and a backwards baseball cap at this restaurant?” he asked.

“Totally. We always eat outside. It’s near the pier,” you said, putting up your post.

“Taking more pictures I can show off of you again?” he asked, grabbing your brush and getting some control of his damp hair back.

“Nobody even sees my instagram hardly,” you said.

“You know the internet knows we’re dating, right.”

“I’m pretty sure your fans still aren’t okay with that fact, even if they know.”

“Oh you’re mistaking the nutjobs for actual fans. The real ones, those guys are cool and nice. I actually got a lot of care packages and things from them last year. Still do. They really are good people. Those other ones that leave nasty comments? Fuck them. That shit don’t bother me anymore.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying family and friends know. Can I show off the woman I love to the world?” You wrapped your legs around his waist and pulled him in front of you, his head cocking. 

“Yeah,” you said. “Better late than never.”

“Okay,” he said. “For now though, I’m looking forward to this dinner.”

“I hope it goes well. It’s George and Taylor I’m more worried about. They were kids when I decided to stop coming around. I only knew them maybe two years, if even that. I know they were upset.”

“Give them some credit. Ray raised them too after all.”

“I’m all set!” said Zeppelin, walking into the bathroom with his paw patrol shirt and nothing else on.

“At least I was gonna wear underwear,” chuckled Jensen. “Little dude. Get some undies on and shorts in the next two minutes or else…” he trailed off as he came in and hugged Jensen’s leg. 

“I love you, daddy,” he said.

“I love you.”

“Can we get a giraffe now?” he asked. Jensen rolled his eyes and you released him.

“Let’s go finish getting you dressed, buddy.”

“So you guys were Sarah’s fosters?” asked Jensen towards the end of dinner, all three kids passed out asleep in the stroller or on the bench besides you while you picked at your shared dessert. Neither George or Taylor had said much aside from introducing themselves. 

“Guys,” said Ray, nudging Taylor. “I’m sorry for our children’s rudeness. I was afraid of this.”

“Shut up,” they both said, Sarah sighing.

“The kids were both big fans of Supernatural. They grew up watching it with me. It was something we bonded over at first in fact,” she said. 

“Oh,” said Jensen, a smirk forming on his face. “Sam or Dean girls? George come on buddy, it’s okay.”

“This isn’t happening,” said Taylor, her eyes squeezed shut.

“So you guys don’t want to hear about the movie, gotcha,” he said, both of them snapping their heads up.

“He really is a dork,” you said. 

“Movie?” asked George.

“Someday. You can count on it,” said Jensen. “Maybe I’ll go easy on you guys and ask what mom was?”

“You boys are a little young for my tastes but honestly the guy who played John was very attractive,” she said.

“Even I’d hit that,” said Ray, Sarah laughing to herself.

“You can see Ray wins his ladies over with his charm,” you said, glancing at Taylor and George. “Like you guys could literally ask anything you ever wanted about the show and get an unfiltered answer if you want.”

“Did you really keep the car?” asked George. Jensen nodded and held up his finger.

“When we’re back in town, you guys come over and you can take a spin in it,” he said.

“Okay, he’s cool with me,” said George. You cocked your head and he smiled. “That was the car from the show I always told you about.”

“Oh. I thought you were talking about batman or something,” you said, pursing your lips. “Sorry I wasn’t…”

“You always sucked at pretending to be happy,” said Taylor. You looked down and nodded. “We get it. You had to do your own thing.”

“Don’t hate me for leaving?”

“Maybe when we were little,” she said. “But we’re older and we get that you probably felt like a fifth wheel.”

“Yeah. A lot really,” you said. “It worked out though.”

“She’s a Dean girl by the way,” said Ray, cracking up as Taylor whacked his arm.

“Dad! Oh my God no I’m not! I like Sam!” she said.

“Want to talk to him?” grinned Jensen. Her face went red and you heard a quiet chuckle at the table. “You’re right, we’ll save that for in person.”

“You basically are marrying Dean Winchester without like, the trauma,” she said. Jensen tensed up but kept a smile on his face. You knew Ray caught it when he gave him a simple nod.

“Trauma’s not inherently bad,” said Ray. “Everyone at this table has gone through some.”

“I know, dad,” she said quietly. She looked at George and he nodded. “Our parents were in a house fire. So were we. I was five and Georgie was four.”

“She carried him out and went next door for help,” you said.

“I was in a car accident last year,” said Jensen. You turned your head. It wasn’t public knowledge that he was in the car. He’d flat out told you that aside from family and a few friends, no one besides you knew. “I almost died. My wife did but for other reasons. You can still have trauma and a really good life.”

“Very good point, Jensen,” said Ray. “You two rugrats wouldn’t be around if mom and I had moped around in our misery forever.”

“Was he always such a sap?” asked George.

“From the day I met him,” you said, Jensen grabbing your hand under the table. “Would you mind watching the kids for a second?”

“Not at all,” he said. You excused yourself and brought Jensen along with you, walking out to the beach area, the breeze cool but light.

“You alright?”

“Yeah. I can talk about it now. I went from having the worst year of my life to one of the best. Nothing bad’s gonna happen for saying what really happened. I want to let all that shit go and have the rest of that really good life I was talking about.”

“For someone who keeps a lot inside I sure have noticed a difference in you the past few weeks.”

“To quote both of the loves of my life, I gotta let that shit out more regularly,” he said. You smiled and wrapped your arms over his shoulders, giving him a kiss. 

“You know that’s what we call growth, babe.”

“I very easily could have gone the opposite way this year.”

“But you didn’t, cause you tried even though it sucks sometimes. I love you but I extra love happy you and you’re definitely a happier guy now than when I met you.”

“So are you, honey,” he said. “Must make a pretty good team or something.”

“Oh yeah, maybe that’s it.”

“We should honestly get like, married or something, you know?” he teased.

“First I have to know though, are you willing to do cookie cake for a wedding cake?”

“I’m willing to make that sacrifice,” he said. “The real questions is, are you willing to deal with the eventual dad bod that will happen as a result?”

“I love this bod, but I don’t love you for this bod,” you said. 

“Thank you for today,” he said softly. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” you said. He grinned and kissed your cheek, hugging you tightly. “What are best friends for?”

“Everything?”

“Hell yeah they are Ackles.”

_______

A/N: Read Part 15 here!

[katymacsupernatural]

Helpful Gossips

Jensen Ackles X Reader

1100 Words

Written For @spnchristmasbingo

Square Filled: Sharing a Bed

Story Summary: When all the hotel rooms are full, Jensen comes to the readers rescue

Warnings: Fluff

It was the last convention before the Holidays. Always a favorite of yours, and a favorite of the fans as well. The staff had outdone themselves this year. Christmas trees filled every available space of the ballroom. Lights were strung around the posts and doorways. Garland was wrapped around the stage. Everyone was dressed in their finest Christmas sweater, or ugliest if they chose. 

You loved staying in the background, watching the interactions between the fans and the main actors of the show. You were a lowly addition to the convention circuit, always an afterthought when others couldn’t attend.

It could also be because you were sleeping with one of the main actors. Not that many people knew. It was a secret, one that you fought hard to keep. Jensen didn’t seem to care if it was a secret as much as you. But for some reason, you didn’t want it to be public yet. So Jensen stayed patient.

“Ma’am, can I help you?” The hostess asked as you stepped up to the counter. After saying hello to the staff of the convention, you had headed to the front desk, ready to get your card and settle in for the night. In your own room. Until Jensen arrived and you could sneak over to his. 

“Yes. A room is reserved for me. I’m with the convention. It should be under Y/N, Y/L/N.”

The lady tapped away at her laptop, frowning before typing away again. 

“Is there a problem?”

She nodded. “It seems like you don’t have a room reserved.”

“That can’t be. The convention staff always make sure we have our rooms reserved,” you exclaimed. “Are you sure?”

“There’s no room under that name. I’m sorry,” she apologized. 

Sighing, you pulled out your own credit card. “Well can we at least get me a room until this all gets figured out?”

She typed away again, before shaking her head. “I’m sorry, but we are completely booked. There is not a single room available.”

“There has to be,” you couldn’t believe your luck. Or lack of it. There wasn’t another hotel for miles, and it was no doubt booked for the holiday season as well. 

“I’m sorry Ma’am. But there’s nothing I can do. Maybe go to talk to your staff and see if they can figure something out. Maybe put you up with another cast member?”

You nodded reluctantly. Pulling your suitcase behind you, you headed back towards the main ballroom, wondering if you would end up bunking down in the green room for the night. 

“Y/N!” Jensen called out as you rounded the corner. He had just walked through the back entrance, Jared not too far behind. “I thought you’d be settled into your bedroom by now.”

Jared winked at you before heading towards the elevator. He was one of the few that knew about your secret relationship with Jensen. 

You leaned against him, not caring at this moment if anyone realized. You were exhausted and ready to snuggle into bed. “Well, I would be if they hadn’t messed up and given my room to someone else.”

He pulled you to the side, his hands warm as they stayed on your shoulders, rubbing soothingly. “You know there is an easy fix to this,” he had a warm smile on his face. “People probably are already guessing that we’re together. Why not just make it official, and if people see you entering and leaving my room, it’s no big deal. Let’s stop with the hiding, and pretending.”

“Are you sure?” You asked him, turning the thought around in your mind. You had been the one hesitant to bring your relationship public. You weren’t sure you were ready for the criticism, the snide remarks. But you were more than ready to show the world that this man was yours. Being able to kiss him in public was worth so much more than any criticism that came your way.

“Sweetheart, I’ve been sure for quite some time,” he assured you. “I’ve just been waiting for you to feel the same.”

“Let’s do it,” you said the words out loud, relief flooding through you as you realized you wouldn’t have to pretend any longer. He led the way to the elevator, and up to his room. Pushing the door open, he let you enter first, and you stepped into the large, plush room. The large, king-sized bed called your name. 

“I don’t know about you, but I could sleep for a week,” you yawned, reaching into your suitcase for your favorite pajamas. An old Supernatural tour shirt along with a pair of buffalo plaid shorts. 

His yawn was his agreement as he tugged off his boots. “Tonight we stay in, maybe watch some tv. Tomorrow, we can go do whatever you like.”

Within minutes you were cuddled against his chest, your eyelids heavy as you tried to concentrate on the movie playing. Jensen’s chest rose and fell beneath you, slow and steady. Glancing up, you saw his eyes closed, his mouth slightly parted as he slept. Gently taking the remote from his hand, you turned the TV off, snuggling deeper against him, instantly falling asleep.

A loud knock on the door had you sitting straight up in bed. Jensen shot straight up, sliding out of the bed to open the door. It was Rich and Rob, who both pushed past Jensen to enter the room. “You’ll never believe the idea we’ve had. For tonight’s concert we were think…,” their words came to a halt when they noticed you laying in Jensen’s bed.

“I knew it!” Rich elbowed Rob. “Pay up!” 

“Wait a minute, you placed a bet that we were together?” You shouldn’t be surprised. The Supernatural family was always up to something, with these two often the instigators. 

Rob pulled out a wad of cash, peeling off a couple of twenties and handing them over. “You guys tried to hide it, but you weren’t very successful. We’re glad you’re together, but Jensen, we really need to talk to you.”

And just like that, you knew your relationship news would be passed around from staff to fans, and it would be made completely public before noon. But you didn’t care anymore. Not if it meant you could spend as much time in Jensen’s bed as possible.

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[wincestismyguiltypleasure]

I've been loving yours and Secrettrees' casino saga and wondered if I could propose an idea? Jared had been fascinated by that High Roller who won the Poker tournament. Well, more specifically his cigar. His eyes would widen when the man inhaled and the burning tip would blossom. He couldn't help wondering what it would feel like being lightly dragged over his skin or smashed into it or even just held centimeters away from some particularly tender areas. Jensen's knowing look made him shiver. 💜

Hi, my lovely anon!! First of all, thank you SO much!! I'm very happy to hear that you're enjoying it as much as Kelly @writinginthesecrettrees and I. 💕💕 And of course!! I LOVE THIS IDEA WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING!! THANK YOU FOR SEND IT IN!!

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Jared's knees are aching. His skin sore and rug burned as he watches Jensen closely from across the room. Heart slamming harder against his ribcage when he see his Dom pick up the silver clipper he had laying on his side table to cut the tip of the obscenely expensive cigar pinched between his fingers.

"C'mere, pet," Jensen drawls, slow and smooth as he tosses the clipper back on to the table, exchanging it for a lighter.

"Yes, sir."

Jared crawls over to his Dom carefully on his hands and knees until he reaches Jensen's feet. His stomach swarming with anxious butterflies when he sees the older man hold the end of his cigar just above a slow dancing yellow flame. Jensen's eyebrows drawn together in concentration as he gingerly rolled the cigar between his fingers to prime the tobacco.

Of course, only Mr. Ackles could make something so simple look so ridiculously hot.

"You nervous, baby?" Jensen asks, wicked gleam in his eyes as he leans back and brings the cigar up to those sinful cherry red lips.

"A l-ittle b-it."

Jared shivers, the words tumbling out of his mouth, shaky and jumbled. A sharp, excruciating pang of desire shooting up his spine when Jensen starts to puff at the cigar, thick light gray smoke filling his mouth. The sweet, earthy smell making Jared's nostrils flare, his body trembling in anticipation as he waited for Jensen's instructions. Shit, he was already so hard and Jensen hadn't even gotten him completely naked yet.

"Would a kiss help calm you down, baby boy?"

Jared doesn't waste any time shaking his head yes, and his enthusiasm earns him a soft chuckle from Jensen who leans forward in his seat a little, offering Jared a better angle.

"Please?" he adds in the sweetest tone he can manage just for good measure, excitement tingling at the base of his spine when his Dom smiles at him fondly.

And with a quick nod, Jared lifts up on his knees to get closer. Hands instinctively going to rest on Jensen's thighs when he suddenly remembers his Dom's rule and jerks them away quickly before he gets himself in trouble.

"You can touch me, Jare," Jensen laughs, giving his Sub a little scratch behind his ear. The sound is smooth and carefree but it twists Jared's insides into knots, makes him dizzy with need.

"C'mon, sweetheart."

Jensen puffs a little more on the slow burning cigar before leaning down to blow the smoke in Jared's face, thick and heavy. And Jared pretends that it's the reason he feels like he can't breathe when Jensen closes the gap between them and kisses him with purpose.

His Dom tastes like cinnamon and cherries and a hint of something bittersweet that Jared can't quite put his finger on but it's addicting, and he wants to chase every drop of it with his tongue until he's licked Jensen's mouth clean.

"Easy, baby," Jensen warns, a little out of breath when he breaks the kiss to lean back in his seat once more. Jared not realizing just how tight his grip on his Dom's thighs was until he looked down and saw that his knuckles had lost their color.

"Jensen, please," the younger man whines, leaning down to nuzzle his cheek against Jensen's crotch. Goosebumps breaking out all over his skin when he feels heat, white-hot and inescapable, slide across the length of his bare shoulders. The ashy tip of Jensen's cigar ghosting down his right arm, just close enough to trick Jared's mind into feeling the slightest sting of pain but not close enough to actually burn. It's intoxicating, and Jared is ready to sell his soul to the green eyed devil seated in front of him for even just a little bit more.

"Don't pout, baby," Jensen growls, handsome face clouded with smoke. "Good boys earn their rewards, you know that."

Jared can feel his eyes start to well up with tears when Jensen reaches down with his free hand to grab his chin. A weak groan caught in the back of Jared's throat as he fights to stay focused, his boxers soaked through, dick so hard at this point that it was becoming painful. Of course. Jensen could never dish out pleasure without causing a little agony first. And Jared hated to love that fact about his gorgeous Dom.

"Yes, Mr. Ackles."

His jaw throbs when Jensen finally lets him go but that doesn't stop Jared from going right back to nuzzling against the older man's crotch. Using that filthy tongue to tease the long, hard length of Jensen's cock through his slacks.

"That's it, pet," Jensen purrs, fingers carding softly through Jared's sweaty hair as he takes a few more puffs. And Jared's brain almost short circuits when he feels that familiar, intoxicating heat again, only his time on the back of his neck. Toes curling in ecstasy when he hears Jensen whisper, low and heady, "make me feel good with that pretty mouth of yours, Jared and maybe I'll give you what you want."

Fuck.

Honestly, Jared doesn't know if it's the condescending tone of his Dom's voice or the thought of feeling that unimaginable heat against his skin while he gags on Jensen's cock, but either way, he almost comes before they even get started. Clumsy fingers fumbling with Jensen's zipper, not able to work anywhere near as fast as his lust driven brain.