#cuz like last year when i stayed in my sisters room a lot she would play her songs a ton

[my-thirteenth-reason]

im lowkey dreading spotify wrapped (mostly just sharing it w my friends) or maybe im just sad that yorushika isn't in my top 10 artists anymore since i downloaded their songs. but also my top artist of the past 6 months on receiptify is one direction so. and apparently ive listened to tek it more than all the atarayo songs i listened to bc cafune is ranked higher than atarayo?? and even above those 2 is mitski?? what

[nvrsaidiwasinurcloset]

Hiii I saw ur recent post and idk if this is any help but what about an Ethan Landry x Carpenter! Reader smut? So basically reader is Sam and Tara’s little sister, she’s like one year younger anyways it can be something where they all go to the same college and are in the same friend group. And the reader has always had a crush on Ethan since she got accepted in Blackmore with her sisters and her and Ethan are really close like best friends so she doesn’t wanna ruin the friendship, but at the frat party they all decided to play spin the bottle and reader gets ethan and yk they make out but then after the party Ethan starts avoiding reader cuz he’s always liked her to he js got in his feelings and thought it was awkward. But after like reader cries to Tara and Sam and stuff Tara knocks sense into Ethan and they makeup and confess and well yk what they do next lmao but this js popped in my head and ur my favorite Ethan writer so pleaseeee consider writing this tyyy🩷

Hiiiii💕 This is the first thing I've fully written in a while, so I hope you like it!!

All I Want - Ethan Landry x Fem!Carpenter!Reader

This contains SMUT - Minors DNI

Summary: See ask box lmao. I probably ruined the suspense but that's okay💀

Contains: Underage drinking, Oral - f receiving, p in v (My brain is done for the day so if I'm missing anything, let me know.)

W/C: 7.7k

A/N: I'm still a little rusty, but this was the first thing I've written in forever that wasn't absolute fucking clown shoes lmaoooo. Also, if you see any spelling/grammatical errors, no you didn't 💀

When you moved in with your sisters right before you started your freshman year at Blackmore, the last person everyone expected you to get the closest to was Ethan. He wasn’t the most social, but that’s what drew you to him. He was really quiet the night you first met him, which only made you want to talk to him even more. You talked for hours, learning so much about each other as he came out of his shell, and you’ve been inseparable ever since.

Sam was just as protective over you as she was with Tara, and once she noticed you and Ethan were spending a lot of time together, she cornered him in the kitchen one night when he came out of your room to get a drink during one of your many study sessions.

“What’s going on with you and my sister?” Sam questioned, as Ethan’s cheeks turned bright red. He felt so awkward and uncomfortable as she stared him down. “Are you going to answer me?”

“Sorry,” he mumbled, as he leaned against the kitchen counter. “Nothing’s going on. We’re just friends.”

“There better not be anything going on,” Sam warned, “And I know you stayed over in her room the other night. I’m not okay with that.”

“Nothing happened,” he said, as he glanced at the floor. “It won’t happen again.”

“I swear, Ethan, if you try anything with her,” Sam got out, before Ethan got really frustrated with the situation.

“I can’t be her friend without wanting to get in her pants?” Ethan questioned, as Sam was taken aback at his tone change. “You’ve known me for a year now, and I know you worry about her just like Tara, but do you really think I’d do that?”

“I’m sorry,” Sam said, as she relaxed a little, realizing she was in the wrong for questioning him like that. “She’s been hurt before, and I don’t want her to go through that again.”

“I understand where you’re coming from, but I just want to be her friend. Guys and girls are allowed to be friends without there being something else going on,” Ethan said, as she sighed and nodded. “Do you care if I study in her room with her? Or would you rather have us in the living room so you can keep an eye on us?”

“You can study in her room,” she said, as Ethan walked away from her with his drink in his hand.

Ethan wasn’t lying when he said that nothing had happened between the two of you, but he was lying when he said he just wanted to be your friend. The only person he’d mentioned his crush on you to was Chad, who immediately shut it down, knowing that Sam would have no problem killing Ethan and disposing of his body if he ever did try anything with you. Chad knew Ethan was a good guy, but with how skeptical Sam was over his relationship with Tara at first, even though they’d been friends since childhood, she knew it would take a lot longer for her to even begin to warm up to the idea of you and Ethan being together. If that wasn’t enough of a reason to keep him from saying anything to you about the way he felt, the possibility of him making things awkward and fucking up the friendship if you didn’t feel the same definitely was.

When Ethan walked back in your room, he saw you laying on your stomach, stretched out across your bed as you looked at your phone.

“I thought you got lost,” you said, looking at him before you glanced back at your screen. “What took you so long?”

“I was busy getting grilled,” he said, as he was about to sit down beside you, before he sat in your desk chair instead, just in case Sam walked in.

“Getting grilled?” you asked, as you adjusted yourself so you were sitting up. “Why?”

“Wellll,” he said, shifting awkwardly in the chair. “Pretty sure your sister thinks I’m close to you because I’m trying to sleep with you.”

“Oh my god,” you said, as you hopped off the side of your bed, ready to confront her.

“Wait,” he said, as you hesitantly came to a stop and looked at him. “I kind of got pissed and raised my voice a little. That was terrifying enough. I don’t need you snapping on her and I end up on her shit list because she scares me.”

You laughed at Ethan’s words and the nervous look on his face before you went back over to your bed and sat down.

“Why did she have to make things weird?” you questioned, as you laid back and looked at the ceiling.

“It’s okay. I told her I’m only interested in being your friend,” he said, his words like a punch to your stomach as you felt your cheeks heat up in embarrassment. You’d always had a little crush on him, but now you felt stupid for feeling things he didn’t. “Oh, and I don’t think I should stay over ever again. She mentioned that, too.”

“We literally fell asleep with the lights on and our laptops in front of us,” you sighed, “The only reason she’s being weird is because she saw a box of condoms when I was unpacking after I got here.”

“Oh,” Ethan mumbled, his leg bouncing as he sat in silence for a few seconds. “Should I expect a boyfriend to come visit and want to kick my ass?”

You giggled at his words as you sat back up, “No, I just didn’t want to leave them at home and have my mom go through my stuff while I’m gone. I didn’t want to have that awkward conversation with her, but I ended up having it with Sam.”

Ethan cracked a smile as you cringed the more you thought about it. “Well, at least she knows you’re being safe.”

After that day, you decided to hang out with Ethan at his apartment instead. It was a lot less awkward than dealing with Sam wanting to play the role of a helicopter parent, and because Tara was always there, you got to hang out with her more than you did before.

“What do you guys want to do tonight?” Chad asked, as the four of you sat around the living room. “There’s a party at Kappa Sigma.”

“Oooh, my first college party,” you said, getting a little excited as Tara stared you down. “What?”

“I don’t think you should go to a frat party,” she said, before Ethan spoke up.

“I’ll make sure she’s safe.”

“College guys can be really convincing,” she said, ignoring Ethan’s comment. “I just don’t want some asshole to take advantage of you.”

“I’ll just stay with Ethan all night,” you said, before you turned your head to look at him. “If that’s okay.”

“Of course,” he said, as Tara sighed in frustration.

“I don’t think you should go,” she said, as you started to get really annoyed.

“I remember you calling me to vent when Sam was doing this same shit to you, and now you’re doing it to me,” you said, as you stood up from your spot on the couch. “I just want to have fun.”

Tara knew you were right, because she vividly remembered how pissed she got when Sam was a little extra-overbearing and wouldn’t let her do anything.

“Fine,” Tara said, taking a deep breath before she continued, “But you stay with Ethan all night, okay? And if you tell Sam, she’ll lose her shit on both of us.”

“Okay, wanna go home with me and get ready before Sam gets home from work, then?” you asked, as Tara nodded and kissed Chad before she stood up.

“We’ll met you guys there in an hour.”

You and Tara hurried to get back to the apartment and get ready before Sam got home, because even though she’d loosened the reigns on Tara, she hadn’t done the same for you. Once you were ready to go and you and Tara were about to leave, you heard the door unlock.

“Fuck,” you sighed, a defeated look on your face as Tara grabbed your hand and opened the linen closet door, before she pushed you inside. “What the fuck?”

“Shhh,” she said, as she closed the door.

You heard Sam greet Tara when she walked in, before she asked her what her plans were for the night. When she mentioned the party, she said it wasn’t set in stone that she was going, just that her and Chad had been talking about it. You rolled your eyes when Sam said you better come back home if they did go, because she didn’t want you left alone with Ethan. It was taking everything in you to not pop out of the closet and ask her what her problem was, but you decided to stay silent and listen instead.

“You know Ethan’s not a bad guy, right?” Tara questioned, “He’s not some creep.”

“I know he’s not,” Sam sighed, “I think she likes him, but after she got her heart broken last year, I don’t want her to go through that again.”

“If she does, she hasn’t said anything to me, and she tells me everything,” Tara said, as you heard the sound of Sam’s keys getting sat on the kitchen counter.

“That’s true,” Sam said, “I’m going to go shower. If you do go to that party, be safe.”

“I will,” Tara said, as you heard footsteps getting closer to the closet.

You jumped when the door was flung open, a nervous expression on your face until you realized it was Tara.

“Let’s get out of here,” she said, as you giggled and made your way to the front door.

As you and Tara walked the few blocks to get to the frat house, weaving around the people that were on the sidewalk, she got a little curious as she thought about the conversation she had with Sam.

“Do you like Ethan?” she asked, once you stopped at a crosswalk.

“Of course I like him. He’s my best friend,” you said, as the two of you rushed across the street.

“You know what I mean,” she said, as you sighed.

“Not like that,” you lied, “I’m not interested in having a relationship right now.”

“That’s too bad,” she said, “Because someone told me that he likes you.”

“Really?” you asked, as Tara came to a stop once she noticed the excitement in your voice. “I mean…who told you that?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, a smirk playing on her lips as your cheeks began to heat up. “You sure you aren’t interested in him?”

“I’m not interested in anyone right now.”

When you walked into the party, you were a little nervous when you saw the sea of people. Tara asked if you wanted to get a drink, and on the way to the kitchen, you bumped into Mindy and Anika.

“Hey!” Anika said, hugging you once she saw you, before she moved over to Tara. You noticed Mindy behind her, her eyebrow cocked as she stared at you.

“Something tells me Sam has no idea you’re here,” she said, as she took a quick sip of her drink. “I didn’t believe Ethan when he said you were coming.”

The mention of his name had the butterflies in your tummy going crazy. You thought about what Tara said, you were sure that Chad was the one that told her Ethan liked you, and he never lied. Mindy noticed you glancing around the party for him before she spoke up.

“He’s in the living room,” she said, the knowing look on her face making you roll your eyes.

“I need a drink. If he’s my babysitter tonight, I want to give him a reason to keep his eye on me,” you said, before you heard Anika mumble, “Yeah, like he needs a reason.”

Once you got your drink, you and Tara found Chad and Ethan leaning against the wall, talking about a new movie they wanted to see. Ethan smiled when he saw you, giving Chad a look before he whisked your sister away, leaving you and Ethan alone.

“Hey,” he said, as he snatched your drink out of your hand. “Sam would kill me if I let you drink.”

“Ethannnn,” you whined, as you tried to take it from him, but he held it out of your reach. “Can I please have my drink?”

“Only if you promise not to drink too much. I’d be worried about you all night after you go home,” he said, as he hesitantly lowered the cup so you could grab it.

“I promise,” you said, a soft smile playing on your lips as you took a sip of it. “So…what do you want to do?”

“Well, I can’t dance,” he said, as he looked at all the people grinding on each other in the middle of the living room floor. “You might not have that much fun with me.”

“I always have fun with you,” you said, your tone flirty as Ethan smirked at you. “We could always go somewhere and talk.”

“Okay,” he said, as he pushed off the wall. He grabbed your hand as he weaved between the crowd and through the house. You eventually ended up in a random bedroom, the sounds of the music thumping very faint as you took a seat on the bed.

You were nervous as you sat with Ethan, because you were trying to find a way to bring up what you were told. You liked Ethan and you loved hanging out with him, and the more you thought about it, you thought about how perfect you could be together.

“So, someone mentioned something to me today,” you said, as Ethan curiously looked at you.

“Oh? What was it?” he asked, and just as you were about to respond, the bedroom door was flung open.

You and Ethan both had wide eyes as a few frat guys and a handful of girls walked into the room, their expressions matching yours.

“If you guys are going to fuck, you need to go to another room,” one of the guys said, as you glanced over at Ethan and giggled once you saw the pink tint to his cheeks.

“We weren’t. We were just talking,” you said, as you stood up.

“Wait, are you guys together?” the same guy asked, as he looked you up and down.

“No,” you said, as he smiled at you.

“You guys want to play a game with us?”

You looked over at Ethan, silently asking him if that’s something he’d want to do before he shrugged.

“Sure,” you said, as you took another sip of your drink.

“Okay, come sit on the floor,” he said, as Ethan stood up and walked over.

You were a little confused once you noticed everyone was sitting in a circle. You and Ethan sat beside each other, waiting to hear what the plan was.

“Is this some kind of weird satanic ritual,” you joked, before the guy chuckled and grabbed an empty vodka bottle off the dresser.

“We’re going to play Spin the Bottle,” he said, as he sat down and put the bottle in the middle of the circle.

Ethan immediately got uncomfortable as he sat beside you, because he felt sick at the idea of watching someone else kiss you. You felt the same way when you noticed one of the girls looking at him, and even contemplated getting up and leaving the room.

“Is that really what we’re playing?” you asked, as a different guy spoke up.

“You don’t want to kiss a stranger?” he asked, “Because I was hoping when it was my turn, it’d land on you.”

“We’re just having fun,” the girl that was checking out Ethan said. “There are some rules, though. If a guy spins it and it lands on another guy, they get to spin again. If a girl lands on another girl, they can kiss if they want or spin again. But these losers like the girl-on-girl action a little too much.”

“Oh,” you said, “I don’t know if I want to play this.”

“Come on,” a different guy said, as you glanced over to Ethan. “You’re a freshman, right? Have a little fun.”

If you didn’t deal with enough peer pressure in high school, you realized it was just as bad in college. You took a huge gulp of your drink as the first person spun the bottle.

As the game progressed, you were a little surprised that no one had gotten you or Ethan. You were getting more and more buzzed as you sipped your drink, and once it was your turn to spin the bottle, Ethan got really nervous. He looked around the room at all the guys that were hoping it’d land on them, and he was a little irritated they were eyeing you like that.

As the glass bottle moved against the hardwood floor, you were relieved when it landed on Ethan. Relieved until you realized you actually had to kiss him. One of the guys groaned in the background as you looked at Ethan, his eyes huge as you leaned in.

“You’ve been drinking. You don’t have to kiss me if you don’t want to,” he said, soft enough for only you to hear him.

“I want to,” you whispered, before your lips touched his.

You couldn’t put into words what it felt like to kiss Ethan, but after he kissed you back and your mouths were moving together, you didn’t want it to stop. You weren’t sure if the feeling of your head spinning was from the alcohol or kissing the guy you’ve been crushing on since you first got to New York.

Just as Ethan’s tongue brushed against your bottom lip to deepen the kiss, the bedroom door flung open. You pulled away to see your sister and Chad’s panicked faces, the fear on Tara’s face turning to annoyance as she walked over and grabbed your hand to pull you up. You glanced around to see everyone staring at you, the awkwardness of the moment setting in before she yanked you out of the room, with Ethan following closely behind you.

“I asked you to keep an eye on her and you make out with her?” Tara asked Ethan as she shut the door. “What were you guys doing with those losers?”

“Wait, they were making out?” Mindy questioned, making her presence known as she and Anika leaned against the wall. “That’s the most action he’s gotten since he’s been here.”

If kissing you didn’t already have Ethan’s mind racing, the tension between him and Tara and the embarrassment of Mindy basically calling him an inexperienced loser was a little too much for him. He walked away and went straight to the door, leaving you to stand there, very confused. You thought Ethan was just as into it as you were, but once he walked away without saying anything, you wondered if Tara was wrong when she said he liked you.

Later that night when you got home, the party you secretly went to wasn’t a secret anymore when Sam walked into the bathroom to see you leaning over the toilet as Tara rubbed your back. She was livid, because she couldn’t forget the creep that tried to take advantage of Tara at the first college party she went to.

The next day, Sam wanted to talk to you about it, but you had no interest in having that conversation. The only thing you could think about was kissing Ethan, and how every text you’d sent to him got no response. The hangover made you feel awful, but what made you feel worse was the realization that you fucked up your friendship with the guy you’ve been spending time with almost every single day.

After a few days of you only leaving your room to go to class, Sam and Tara both came in your room to talk to you. Their faces showed how concerned they were while yours was blank, because as sad as you were, you’d already cried more tears than you thought was possible.

“What’s going on with you?” Sam asked, as you just sat there. “Can you talk to us? We’re worried about you.”

“I don’t want to talk,” you said, your voice showing how tired you were as Tara sighed.

“Did something happen at that party? Because Ethan’s acting the same way you are right now,” she said, the mention of his name making your eyes water. “What did he do?”

“He didn’t do anything wrong,” you said, your words cracking as you spoke. “I think you were wrong about him liking me.”

“This is what I was worried about,” Sam said, as she took a seat on your bed. Her words pissed you off, because her cornering Ethan to question him and talking to Tara about it instead of just coming to you had been bothering you for days. “I’ll kill him.”

“No, you won’t,” you snapped, “Maybe if you weren’t so fucking overbearing, he’d still be talking to me.”

“You’re blaming this on me?” Sam asked, the shocked expression on her face making you angrier.

“Okay, let’s calm down,” Tara said, trying to mediate the situation before it got worse. “So, you do like him?”

“Yes, I fucking like him,” you said, the tears streaming down your cheeks as she pulled you into a hug. “I don’t know what I did wrong.”

You talked to Sam and Tara for a while before you cried to the point of having a headache. Once you said you were going to take a nap, Tara left the apartment to go to Chad and Ethan’s.

“Hey, babe,” Chad said, the smile on his face as he opened the door for her dropping when he realized she was mad. “What’s up?”

“Where’s Ethan?” she questioned, as Chad stepped to the side for her to walk in.

“He’s in his room.”

She stormed down the hallway and gave his door a few loud knocks before she walked in, glaring at Ethan once she saw him in front of his computer playing games.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she snapped, as Ethan’s face showed how nervous he was. “My sister just cried on my shoulder for an hour because of you!”

“She was crying?” Ethan asked, the guilt weighing heavy on him as her nostrils flared. “I didn’t mean to upset her.”

“Then why did you?!” Tara questioned, as Ethan shifted uncomfortably in his desk chair. “I thought you liked her!”

“I do!” Ethan yelled back, before he took a deep breath and ran a hand through his curls. “I just needed some space to think. You know how bad I feel about making out with her like that when she’d been drinking? And Mindy saying that’s the most action I’ve gotten all year? I should’ve gotten her out of that stupid room that night.”

“Ethan,” Tara sighed, as she took a seat on his bed. “She really likes you; she wouldn’t be as upset as she’s been for the last few days if she didn’t.”

“She doesn’t think I’m just some creepy loser virgin?” he asked, as Tara shook her head. “Should I call her?”

“She’s asleep right now, but I think you need to talk to her in person,” she said, as Ethan stood up. “If you hurt her again, Ethan, Sam will be the least of your worries.”

Tara stayed at the apartment with Chad while Ethan walked to your apartment. He hated that you were so upset, and he was just hoping that him ghosting you for a few days wouldn’t be enough for you to not want to give him a chance to explain himself.

When he got there and knocked on the door, he was nervous about who was going to answer, but he had to make things right. Sam opened the door, but she didn’t have her usual cold expression painted on her face, a soft smile playing on her lips as she saw how frantic Ethan looked.

“She’s still sleeping,” Sam said, as she stepped to the side. “But I need to talk to you about something before you talk to her.”

“If you’re going to yell at me, I promise Tara laid into me pretty hard just now,” he said, as Sam smiled and took a seat at the kitchen table.

“I’ve taught her well,” she said, before she continued, “I’m sorry that I was a bitch a few weeks ago. I just worry about her, you know?” Ethan nodded in understanding, as Sam sighed. “She really cares about you, and I think you’d be great for her. I’m still mad that you upset her, but if you want to be with her, I’m okay with it. I won’t give you shit, I promise.”

“Seriously?” Ethan asked, smiling to himself as he heard your bedroom door creak open.

He snapped his head in the direction of the hallway, and once he saw how sad you looked, he started to tear up himself.

“I need to go to work,” Sam said, as she stood up from the table. “I’ll let you two talk.”

You stood at the hallway entrance as Ethan sat at the table, the two of you not looking away from each other. It wasn’t until Ethan wiped a stray tear off his cheek that you finally walked over to him.

“Hey,” you said softly, as he stood up from his chair.

“Hey,” he said, as he grabbed your hands and pulled you towards him, your head resting against his chest as he held you. “I missed you so fucking much.”

“I missed you, too,” you mumbled against him, before you pulled away. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable the other night.”

“You didn’t,” he said, as his hand cupped your cheek.

You smiled for the first time in days as he leaned down and placed his plus lips against yours. You felt that same head spinning feeling you’d felt before, but as the kiss was getting more heated, he pulled away.

“Can we talk?” he asked, as you nodded and laced your fingers with his, before you led him to your room.

“If I didn’t make you uncomfortable the other night, why’d you stop talking to me?” you asked, as you got comfortable on your bed and Ethan sat across from you.

“I kissed you when I’ve liked you for months and never thought anything would come from it, your sister yelled at me after she saw it, then Mindy had her little comment,” he said, taking a deep breath as he looked at you. “I feel bad that I was letting that kiss go that far when you were drinking, and I know you’d probably want a guy that has experience in the bedroom. Maybe I’m just overthinking it.”

“I don’t care about stuff like that, Ethan,” you said, as you reached over and grabbed his hands that were rubbing against his thighs. “And I kissed you because I wanted to. Me being buzzed just took the edge off so I wasn’t as nervous.”

“How long have you wanted to kiss me?” he teased, making you laugh a little.

“A while,” you said, as he smirked at you. “I didn’t know you liked me until right before that party.”

“Wait, how’d you find out?” Ethan questioned, as you looked down at his fingers playing with yours.

“Tara said someone told her; I think it was Chad,” you said, as Ethan rolled his eyes.

“I’m annoyed that he told my secret, but I’m happy he did,” he said, as you leaned closer towards him.

“Me, too.”

When Ethan closed the gap between the two of you and your lips moved with his, things felt different, but not in a bad way. You knew you both wanted to be with each other, and you could feel how happy he was to be kissing you.

As the kiss escalated to him on top of you, his tongue moving with yours as your hands tangled in his hair, his hips started to involuntarily squirm. He was about to pull away because he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, but once your legs wrapped around him and your own hips began to move, he groaned into the kiss.

When he pulled away to catch his breath, you started to kiss his neck all over, searching for his sweet spot. He gasped the second you found it, his eyes fluttering shut as he enjoyed how good it felt.

“I’m so fucking hard right now,” he whispered, a whimper building in your throat once you felt it rub against your pussy over the leggings you were wearing. “Does that feel good?” he asked, noticing the sounds you were making as he grinded himself against you.

“Yes,” you moaned as you pulled away.

You both just looked at each other, waiting for someone to make the next move. You didn’t want Ethan to feel like it was something he had to do, while he was worried that he was pressuring you. He was about to lean down to kiss you again, but you stopped him before he could.

“No pressure, but if you want this to go further, I’m okay with it,” you said, as he smiled at you.

“I want to,” he said, before he kissed you again.

He wasn’t sure what he was doing, but once you gasped into the kiss as his hand rubbed your exposed side from your shirt lifting a little, he inched it further up until it landed on one of your breasts, and he felt like he could cum in his pants from the feeling once he realized you weren’t wearing a bra. You moaned into the kiss as he squeezed, his hips rutting against you to give you both a little friction.

“Okay,” you said once you pushed him away a little to catch your breath. “I’m going to go crazy.”

“Why?” he asked, smirking at you as you sighed.

“We need to lose some clothes,” you mumbled, as you loosened the grip your legs had around his waist.

You reached over and grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted it, your bottom lip going in between your teeth as you checked out his toned stomach. After his shirt was over his head, he reached over and did the same to you. The second your chest was exposed to him, he pushed you back on the bed and immediately took one of your nipples in his mouth.

You moaned at the feeling as he licked, sucked, and swirled his tongue against you, your pussy throbbing as his mouth moved. As he went to the other side, you felt his hand on your thigh, slowly inching up it.

“You can touch me,” you said, your tone sounding like you were trying to convince him. He sighed against you before his hand was in between your legs, rubbing your pussy over the soft material of your leggings.

He pulled his hand away from you as he kissed down your body, the loss of contact making you want to whine, but you held it in. You giggled as you felt his curls tickling you, but once he made it to your leggings and hooked his fingers in them to pull them down, your breathing got a lot heavier.

“You’re sure this is okay?” he asked, as he lifted his head and his eyes connected with yours.

“More than okay,” you said, as he smiled and slid them down your legs.

When Ethan first met you, he never expected to experience anything like this with you. He might’ve let his mind wander there every now and then, because there were a few instances where you’d accidentally made him hard, but this was already better than anything he could’ve ever imagined.

His eyes stayed on your face as he rubbed you over your panties, a groan slipping past his lips once he felt how wet they were. Your eyes were pleading with him, and even though his nerves were kicking in again from the lack of experience, he knew he didn’t have to be nervous to do this with you.

He moved those off your hips and down your legs before he tossed them on the floor, but just as he was leaning down to get settled between your legs, he stopped to look at you.

“If something doesn’t feel good, tell me. Okay?” he asked, as you quickly nodded your head. “Or if you need me to do something different, let me know.”

“I will,” you said, as he smiled at you.

Once his head was in between your legs, he began to slowly lick your clit with the tip of his tongue. One of your hands went to his hair, tangling in the soft brown locks as you let out the softest moans. He knew the sound meant that he wasn’t doing a horrible job, so he really started to get into it. He noticed when he used more pressure, your moans got louder, and you were struggling to keep your hips still.

“Fuck, that feels so good,” you said, your breathing getting heavier as the grip on his hair got a little tighter. “You want to use your fingers, too?”

“How many should I use?” he asked after he pulled away to look at you.

“Start with one,” you said, as he nodded and looked down to see what he was doing.

You were so wet, his long middle finger sliding into you with ease. He slid it in and out of you as he looked back to your face to make sure it felt good.

“Okay…do this,” you said, demonstrating how he needed to move his finger, “There’s this spot that feels really,” you got out, but before you could finish getting your sentence out, he found it. “Fuck, right there. Keep hitting that.”

He did as you said before he leaned back down and gave your clit the attention it needed with his tongue, your moans getting whinier as your legs were tingling from the pleasure you were feeling. He took your clit in his mouth to roll over it with his tongue, and as you shakily praised him, telling him how good of a job he was doing, his cock was throbbing. You felt amazing around that single finger, the thoughts of how it would feel for him to be inside of you only making him even more hard.

“Use-fuck,” you got out, your thoughts getting cloudy as you tried to tell him what you needed. “Two fingers.”

He did as you asked, his ring finger sliding into your pussy. He kept hitting that spongy spot inside of you, and as his tongue moved against you, you felt that special feeling building deep in the pit of your stomach.

“Don’t stop,” you begged, your words making Ethan chuckle because there was no way in hell he was going to.

He softly sucked on your clit, and once he did, your whines got louder and closer together, your toes curling against the sheets as he worked you towards your orgasm.

“Fuck,” you whimpered, as your hips lifted off the bed, your eyebrows furrowing as you felt the white-hot feeling spread across your body.

Your pussy kept tightening around Ethan’s fingers, and he didn’t know when he was supposed to stop, so he didn’t. It only made your orgasm more intense as you tugged on his hair, the feeling making him moan against you.

Once your walls stopped fluttering and your body relaxed, he hesitantly pulled away and slid his fingers out, already missing all the sounds he was pulling from you moments before.

“Was that okay?” he asked, as you hazily looked at him.

“You’ve never done that before?” you asked, your disbelieving stare making him laugh as he shook his head.

“Never.”

“I think you’re lying because there’s no way you just gave me the best orgasm I’ve ever had your first time doing that,” you said, a huge smile appearing on his face at your words.

“The best?” he asked, “I thought I was going to be awful at it.”

“You definitely aren’t,” you said, as you sat up to face him. “What do you want to do next?”

“You said you have condoms, right?” he asked, remembering the conversation he had with you a few weeks before.

“Yeah,” you said, as you slid off the side of the bed. You stood there for a second to get your bearings, because your legs still felt like Jell-O.

You walked over to your dresser and looked through the second drawer, searching for the box that you hid with your socks. You heard Ethan rustling around behind you, the sound of the metal on his belt clanking against the floor letting you know that he was taking his jeans off.

Just as you’d found the box, you felt his arms wrap around you. You smiled as you leaned back against him, enjoying his warmth. That’s when you felt how hard he was, and even though you hadn’t actually seen what he was hiding in the confines of his boxers, you could already tell it certainly wasn’t small.

“Fuck,” he whispered, as you ass brushed against him. “I can’t wait to do this with you.”

“Then let’s do it,” you said, the excitement in your voice making him smile as he pulled away from you. “You wanna be on top?”

“Uh…is that okay?” he asked, as you nodded and laid back on your bed and got comfortable. He slid his boxers down his legs, your eyes growing wide as you looked at him. You could tell he was a little self-conscious when his cheeks turned pink and his hand moved to cover himself.

“Why are you doing that?” you questioned, “You just saw my pussy up close.”

“You were staring at it,” he said, his voice a little shy as you rolled your eyes.

“Yeah, because it’s about to be inside of me,” you said, as you sat up and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards you. You grabbed a condom out of the box and handed it to him as he crawled up on the bed. “Just…be gentle.”

“Okay,” he said, as he opened it and slowly rolled it on.

The expression on his face said he was fully confident in what he was about to do, but his shaky hands said otherwise. You knew it probably wasn’t going to last long, and that was okay. You didn’t want him to feel bad for it, so you were trying to figure out the best way to bring it up.

“Hey,” you said, as his nervous eyes met yours. “I want you to enjoy this, okay? Don’t think you have to last forever. Don’t worry about making me cum again.”

“But…isn’t that bad if I don’t make you cum?” he asked, his nerves fading a little as you smiled at him.

“You just did. I already told you that’s the best orgasm I’ve ever had,” you said, as he lined up with your entrance. “Just take it slow at first.”

“Okay,” he said, as he slowly pushed himself inside of you.

He was already dizzy at the feeling of your tight, wet pussy around his cock, and he felt relieved that he didn’t feel the pressure of making you cum again, because he was sure he wouldn’t be able to. He knew he’d be lucky if he didn’t bust within the first thirty seconds.

Some guys in bed were more vocal than others, and you were wondering what Ethan was going to be. Your question was soon answered when he started to move, and you heard him choking back the whimpers that were so close to pouring from his mouth.

“Don’t be quiet,” you said between your own sounds as he tried to find his rhythm, “I wanna hear you.”

He smiled at your words before his mouth fell open, finally letting you know exactly how good he was feeling. You wrapped your legs around his waist so he could go deeper, and the new angle, plus him hearing all your sounds and seeing all the faces you were making, had his orgasm quickly sneaking up on him.

“Oh fuck,” he whimpered, his breathing shaky as his hips began to falter. “I’m gonna cum.”

You were watching him as that feeling washed over his body, his eyes fluttering as he whined your name. You thought it was the hottest thing ever to see him fall apart so quick, all because of how good your pussy felt for him.

“I swear to god, I’m gonna make this up to you,” he said, as he slid out and laid on the bed beside you as he caught his breath.

“Make it up to me?” you asked, as you moved so your head was resting on his chest. His arm wrapped around you as he held you close. “Don’t feel bad about not making me cum just now.”

“I wanted to, though,” he sighed, “Next time I will.”

“I think after you get used to sex, you’ll have no problem making me cum,” you said, as your fingers traced pattern on his chest. “Especially if you bend me over. Like, all fours, on the bed.”

“You want me to bend you over?” Ethan asked, as you sat up to look at him.

“Mhm,” you hummed, your bottom lip between your teeth at the idea.

Ethan felt the blood rushing straight to his cock again from you mentioning him having you in a position like that, and when you glanced down to see him already half-hard again, you giggled to yourself.

“You forgot to take the condom off,” you said, his eyes growing wide as the blush spread to his cheeks.

“Sorry,” he said, as he slid off the side of your bed. “I couldn’t think straight after that.”

He took the condom off and tossed in in the wastebasket in your room before he walked back over towards you and sat on the bed.

“Uh, it’s totally okay if you don’t want to…but do you want to do it again?” he asked, as he glanced down to see that he was fully hard again. You looked at where his attention was, before his eyes connected with yours.

“Right now?” you asked, your tone playful as he smiled.

“If you want to,” he said, “I wanna know what it feels like to do it in every position.”

“How many days do you have?” you teased, as his eyes grew wide.

“Jesus Christ, how many are there?” he asked, “You know what? Let’s just focus on the basic ones for now.”

You wasted no time to toss another condom to Ethan, because even though you said it was okay for you to not cum the first time, you were craving that release. Well, that, and you loved the feeling of him inside of you.

Your pussy was still soaked as you got into the position on the bed, as he stood on his knees behind you.

“Fuck,” he mumbled, as he slowly pushed himself inside of you.

Ethan started off slow, wanting to pace himself so he wouldn’t cum as quickly as he did before. He had his hand on your hips as he got more into it, pulling them back to meet his thrusts. The position made it easy for him to hit that spot every single time, and you were letting out the softest moans.

When he sped up a little, you relaxed the upper half of your body onto the bed as your ass was stuck up in the air for him, a low groan leaving his mouth at the sight. Even though he was moving your hips, you started to throw them back, your actions giving him the motivation to go faster.

“Oh my god,” you whimpered, your hands clinging to your comforter as you felt that feeling start to build. Your skin was tingling, and you felt tiny little jolts of electricity running through your legs as he brought you closer to the edge.

Ethan knew he was close, but he was trying so hard to fight it off. He was thinking of some of the most depressing things to distract himself from the sounds you were making, and he knew as soon as he looked down at your back, he’d lose it.

You were trying to tell him how good everything felt, but that got a lot harder once it became difficult for you to even think of what you wanted to say. You were so close, right on the edge when you felt one of his hands that was on your hips move in between your legs, his fingers rubbing quick circles on your swollen bundle of nerves.

“Cumming,” you whimpered against your bed. Your pussy kept clenching and releasing Ethan’s cock, a low moan flying out of his mouth at the feeling.

“Fuck, baby. Me too.”

As you and Ethan laid in your bed talking about all the dates he wanted to take you on, places he wanted to take you to see, he had a realization.

“Ya know, I never asked you to be my girlfriend,” he said, as his hands ran over your back.

“You don’t have to. I’m already yours,” you said, as you sat up to kiss him.

“I never thought this would happen,” he sighed, a smile on his face as he lazily closed his eyes.

“What?” you questioned, as he opened his eyes and sat up, too.

“All of this. I never thought we’d be anything more than friends. I never thought Sam would be okay with it. I never thought I’d lose my virginity,” he said, the last part making you laugh as you rolled your eyes.

“Maybe you didn’t lose it before because you were supposed to do it with me,” you teased, as he mimicked your eyeroll.

“I also never expected it to happen twice in one night,” he said, as he bit his bottom lip, his eyes getting darker the longer he stared at you.

“Don’t look at me like that unless you want to go for round three,” you said, before he pushed you back on the bed.

“Okay, but you’re on top this time.”

[icarusignite]

Like an old melody, my heart resumes

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Summary: After years apart and with several misunderstandings between them, you meet Prince Daeron at what is meant to be his betrothal feast. When secrets and unspoken desires come to light, you and Daeron are faced with a choice: to let go of the past and embrace a love that has always burned between them or allow your tumultuous history to keep you apart. 

High Valyrian words: 

ñuha rūklon = my flower

kepa = father

Pairing: Daeron x Fem! Reader | (angst, hurt/comfort, fluff)

A/N: for the lovely @lady-targaryens-world and their request. Thank you, I had so much fun writing this. Daeron is a total sweetheart. I fancast him as Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen cuz he looks like how I imagined Daeron. Hope you like the fic and hope your exams went well 💙💙💙

Word Count: 4K

"What's on your mind, ñuha rūklon?"

Your head snapped up to meet the eyes of Daemon Targaryen as he leaned in the doorway of your room, observing you keenly. You shifted your position on your bed, sitting up straighter against the headboard, careful not to disturb the slumbering brunette whose head lay on your lap.

"Nothing, kepa," you smiled at him.

"You've been distant lately. Ever since news of our travel."

You sighed as your eyes strayed to the crumpled letter in your fist, "Do I have to go Kingslanding, kepa? May I not just stay here, please."

Daemons said your name disapprovingly and gave you a stern look, or tried to anyways, but he was powerless when faced with your mournful eyes pleading with him.

"Your grandsire would feel your absence deeply if you do not go. Not to mention your mother, she would like all her children in one place."

"But-"

"You will have a good time there my little flower, and you will have your brothers to keep you company," he stated firmly before leaving.

You rolled your eyes and huffed in frustration. This trip to King's Landing would be anything but fun. Your parents kept trying to tempt you with tales of festivities and merriment, but all you could think about was that the only reason such an event was even being held in the first place was that he had returned.

Him.

Daeron Targaryen, third son of King Viserys and Queen Alicent, your dearest childhood companion, and also the boy who broke your heart. You frowned at the letter in your hand once again, a choked melancholic feeling rising in your throat. It was the last letter he'd ever written to you, dated years ago, and although you had written many ever since then, you never received a reply. It was unfair. He had promised you that he wouldn't forget you, but he had. He had forgotten you within the first year of being sent to Oldtown, and now your parents expected you to attend what would be his betrothal feast with a happy disposition. You could not do it. Although years old, the ache of betrayal still felt fresh.

"You've been frowning an awful lot lately sister," came a sleepy mumbled sound from below you, and you looked down to see your younger brother, Lucerys, looking up at you in concern.

You grinned as you carded your fingers through his hair, "Don't worry your head over it, little Luke."

He rolled his eyes at the nickname and pushed your hand away in annoyance.

"I'm serious. Why are you so sad? Do you really not want to go? If you want I can pretend to be sick and tell Mother that I'm not fit to travel and then you'll have an excuse to stay behind with me."

"You don't have to do that for me, Luke."

"But I would. I don't like it when you're sad."

Your heart swelled with affection for your younger brother and you smiled at him, hands going to brush the hair from his forehead.

"I know you're looking forward to it Luke. You don't have to stay behind for me. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive!"

"Okay," he hesitated before raising his fist in the air. "But if anyone bothers you, you tell me, and I'll duel them!"

A giggle bubbled out of you at his heartfelt exclamation. You pushed his hand back down, thumbing the scar that stretched across the back of it.

"How about we leave the duelling to someone else? Wouldn't want our little prince to get hurt."

"You've got to stop calling me little!" he pouted and you couldn't help pinching his cheeks in affection.

"Oh, but you are little," you cooed. "You're so very little."

Luke grumbled your name sternly, and you laughed again, already in better spirits.

The great hall of King's Landing was ablaze with life and festivity. The air was filled with a symphony of chattering nobles, their voices blending together in a lively hum. The room echoed with laughter, gossip, and the occasional clinking of goblets, creating a vibrant backdrop to the grand event.

The hall itself was a sight to behold. Tall, arched ceilings stretched overhead, adorned with exquisite tapestries depicting scenes of Targaryen history. Soft candlelight bathed the space, casting a warm and inviting glow upon the gathered guests. The flickering flames danced upon the polished surfaces, reflecting in the shimmering armour of knights and the elaborate gowns of noble ladies. Long tables adorned with elaborate centrepieces and sumptuous feasts lined the hall, laden with platters of roasted meats, trays of fresh fruits, and delicate pastries. The tantalizing scents wafted through the air, mingling with the fragrance of perfumes and the rich aromas of fine wines. The air itself seemed to carry a sense of indulgence as if every breath was infused with the anticipation of revelry and celebration. The hopes and aspirations of potential suitors, the desires of ambitious families, and the excitement of a long-awaited reunion all converged in the great hall.

Nobles and courtiers, clad in their finest attire, mingled and exchanged pleasantries. Their colourful garments, embellished with intricate embroidery and delicate jewels, added to the opulence of the scene. Laughter rang out, accompanied by the occasional flirtatious whispers and stolen glances toward the newly arrived young prince.

Prince Daeron Targaryen sat upon the elevated dais, his family flanking him on either side. His presence commanded attention, drawing gazes from all corners of the hall. His posture was impeccable, his back straight and his chin held high, and his eyes scanned the crowd with a mixture of curiosity and expectation. As each of his prospective wives was introduced, Daeron's gaze fixed upon her, his expression charming and polite. He listened attentively to their names and the descriptions of their families, his demeanour respectful and gracious. Though his duty was to find a suitable match, there was a flicker of anticipation in his eyes as if he awaited the presence of someone special.

Just as one particular noble lady was stepping forward to be presented, the herald's voice echoed through the great hall.

"Announcing the arrival of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and her family!"

The grand entrance of Rhaenyra and her entourage commanded the attention of all present. Daeron's gaze shifted instinctively, his eyes seeking out the captivating figure of his niece. The noble lady, momentarily forgotten, hesitated mid-sentence, her words drowned out by the flurry of excitement and murmurs that filled the hall.

Daeron's heart quickened at the sight of you, his eyes locking with yours, and for a moment, the rest of the world faded away. The noble ladies, the festivity, everything paled in comparison to your presence. He had not seen you in years, but the time apart had only enhanced your beauty and grace. Your hair cascaded down your back, framing a face that bore a striking resemblance to the Rogue Prince who led the procession with your mother. Your eyes sparkled with a lively intelligence, and your gentle demeanour held an irresistible allure. That was until your eyes hardened and when your gaze turned away from his with a barely concealed sneer, he felt his heart plummet.

King Viserys Targaryen, seated at the head of the dais, greeted his daughter with a warm and open smile. His eyes lit up with joy and pride as Rhaenyra approached, the years apart momentarily forgotten in the embrace they shared. As Rhaenyra stepped back, her gaze shifted to her father, and the smile that graced his face widened further. The aging king's eyes were drawn to you, his beloved granddaughter, who stood beside her parents. There was a mix of tenderness and nostalgia in his gaze as he took in your features, seeing glimpses of his late wife, Queen Aemma, in them.

When he uttered your name, it was filled with warmth.

"It warms my heart to see you once more. You grow more radiant with each passing day, just as your mother did," he pulled you into an embrace.

"It is an honour to see you again, Grandsire!" you grinned and then presented him with the present you had been working on during your entire journey.

The parchment you handed to him depicted both King Viserys and Queen Alicent. A royal portrait of sorts, done in charcoal. Your grandsire's eyes widened with delight as he took the sketch in his hands. His weathered fingers traced the lines and curves, his expression filled with a mixture of joy and melancholy.

"Oh, my dearest," he said, his voice tinged with emotion, "this is a gift beyond measure."

He then turned to his wife, who stood by his side, and held up the sketch for her to see. A smile adorned her lips as she admired the work, her eyes shimmering with affection as she thanked you.

Eventually, the clamour subsided and Rhaenyra and her family took their seats at the grand table, finding their places on the dais. By some twist of fate, you found yourself seated between Daeron and your brother Jace. You settled into your seat and turned yourself so that you were facing your brother mostly, wanting to avoid speaking to your uncle for as long as you could.

Once everyone had been seated, King Viserys stood again, raising his goblet high to catch the attention of all those gathered in the grand hall. The room fell silent, and the flickering candlelight reflected in his eyes, revealing a mix of pride, nostalgia, and a touch of sadness.

"My esteemed guests, noble lords and ladies. Tonight, we celebrate not only the return of my son, Prince Daeron Targaryen but also his journey of growth and learning in Oldtown. By the end of tonight's event, it is my fervent hope that Daeron shall find a bride, a woman who will stand by his side as he takes his rightful place in the realm. Let this be an occasion for new beginnings and the forging of alliances that shall strengthen House Targaryen and the Seven Kingdoms."

Your heart sank at your grandfather's words. The affirmation that Daeron's search for a bride was the purpose of this grand celebration struck you with a wave of unexpected pain but you pushed it away and kept a placid smile pasted on your face. You turned your attention to your brother, seemingly engrossed in conversation with his own betrothed, Baela.

"Jace, my dearest brother," you whispered, nudging him with your elbow.

Jace turned to you with a raised eyebrow, "What is it now? You're being suspiciously polite."

"I am always polite, how dare you?"

"You want something, don't you? C'mon spit it out, what is it?"

You grinned, "May I borrow your handkerchief? My hands are in desperate need of cleansing from the clutches of charcoal."

"You shouldn't have been scribbling away then," he eyed your stained hands with amusement.

"Oh, come on. Please," you begged, tugging at his sleeve.

"But I just had it washed."

"Oh, brother, surely you can spare your dear sister a clean handkerchief to save her from the grips of artistic messiness. Think of it as an act of kindness."

Jace huffed, reluctantly reaching into his pocket and producing the handkerchief, "Fine, but promise me you won't turn it into another work of art."

"I would never do that!"

"Mhmm, and what happened to the last few I lent to you?"

"I don't even have any drawing instruments right now. I promise, dear brother, it shall remain unscathed. You have my word."

You accepted the handkerchief with a grateful nod, laughter bubbling forth at the sight of Jace's disgruntled expression. With a swift and discreet motion, you wiped away the charcoal smudges, returning your hands to their former cleanliness. You handed the handkerchief back to your brother, who grumbled good-naturedly, but with a playful glimmer in his eyes.

As Daeron watched you engage in laughter and conversation with your siblings, a pang of hurt settled within his chest. The tinge of disappointment lingered as he longed for your attention and connection and the weight of his unspoken emotions was not lost on his older brother, Aegon.

Aegon, noticing Daeron's gaze fixed on you, couldn't resist the opportunity to tease him. He leaned closer, a mischievous glimmer in his eyes, and nudged Daeron playfully.

"You seem awfully distracted, dear brother. Is it the beautiful ladies or something else that's caught your eye?"

"It's nothing, I'm just lost in thought."

"Lost in thought about a certain someone, perhaps?" Aegon teased, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Daeron scowled, "Leave it, Aegon."

"Well, well, dear brother, it seems our enchanting niece has indeed stolen your attention. You've had your eye on her since she arrived."

Daeron's cheeks flushed with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance. He tried to deflect Aegon's teasing, but the slight quirk of his brother's eyebrow told him that Aegon wasn't about to let him off the hook so easily.

"I said leave it, Aegon. It's none of your business," he muttered defensively, forcing his eyes away from where they lingered on the curve of your jaw.

"All right, all right. I won't tease you anymore. But I have to admit, I think she is quite lovely myself."

Daeron gave him a withering look, making him laugh even harder. He took a swig from his goblet of wine and leaned in close.

"You know, you have this entire hall of ladies to choose from. I don't think you should mind if I were to take a liking to our dear niece here."

"Don't you dare-"

"Don't be selfish, dear brother."

"Aegon," Daeron warned.

Aegon leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smirk, "Well, if that's the case, then you might wish to speak to her yourself. This feast may have been held to find you a wife, but she sure is garnering a lot of attention."

He gestured to the various noble lords and knights who had their eyes fixed on your graceful movements. Daeron turned his attention back to the banquet in annoyance, choosing to ignore the surge of jealousy that rose within him. He watched you laugh with a scowl on his face. He wanted to be the one making you smile like that, to be the one sitting next to you and sharing in your conversation, but you were pretending as though he didn't even exist, never once meeting his gaze, no matter how desperately he sought you out.

As Daeron sat there, nursing his wounded pride, a group of noble ladies approached him with flirtatious smiles and sparkling eyes. Their gowns swirled around them as they curtsied and extended their hands, inviting him to join them.

One of the ladies, a vivacious brunette with a playful tone, spoke up, her voice laced with excitement, "Prince Daeron, would you do us the honour of sharing a dance with us?"

Daeron glanced at the ladies, his initial reluctance warring with the desire to distract himself from his lingering disappointment. With a sigh, he relented and rose from his seat, offering a polite smile.

"I would be delighted, ladies. Allow me to make this evening memorable for us all."

You watched him leave, a mix of bitterness and sadness welling up within you. You had expected this, but now as you witnessed him embracing the company of other ladies, you couldn't help the surge of tears that forced their way into your eyes. You scolded yourself inwardly for feeling this way, knowing you had no right to claim his attention solely for yourself.

Berating yourself, you forced a smile and attempted to push your discontent aside. You knew that Daeron was at the age where a potential wife was being sought for him. These noble ladies, giggling and vying for his attention, were merely following the customs of courtship as they tried to make themselves as appealing as possible to him. Each attempted to capture his interest with their charms, their eyes sparkling with hope. They swirled around him, showcasing their graceful movements and engaging in light-hearted banter.

Daeron, despite his initial reluctance, allowed himself to be swept into the dance, making polite conversation and offering charming smiles to each lady in turn. He appreciated their efforts and acknowledged their beauty, but his heart remained distant, his thoughts still preoccupied with you. He thought he caught your gaze from across the room, but he couldn't be sure and he didn't want to delude himself into thinking that you actually cared.

It was only the trembling of your lips that gave you away and when you discreetly excused yourself to rush out of the great hall, Daeron abandoned his dance partner mid-step and made his way swiftly towards you. The noble ladies he left behind exchanged confused glances, their voices hushed in curiosity as they watched him break away from their company. He followed the path you had taken, emerging into one of the adjoining dimly lit corridors where you stood with your back toward him. Your shoulder shook as you clamped your hands over your mouth to stifle the sob building inside.

Daeron stood at a distance, not sure what to do or say. You must have sensed his presence though, because you straightened your back and quickly brushed away any lingering tears before turning to give him your brightest smile.

"My prince. Should you not be back in the great hall? You know, dancing with your future wife?"

Daeron frowned, "What future wife?"

"One of those ladies is meant to be your future wife, isn't she? So shouldn't you be spending time with her?" you snapped.

In the solitude of the corridor, Daeron's eyes flickered with hurt as your words cut through him. He had hoped for a warm reunion, a chance to express his feelings and seek understanding. Instead, he found himself facing your unexpected harshness.

"Is that what you truly want? To see me dance with others while you remain distant? Can you not find it in your heart to tell me why you're upset? Why you've been avoiding me?" he pleaded.

"Oh, that's rich, coming from you!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean!"

"How am I supposed to know when you won't say anything!"

A fresh wave of tears welled up in your eyes. How dare he be this audacious. He was pretending to be oblivious.

"You think I've been avoiding you? That I've willingly chosen to keep my distance? Perhaps you should look inward, Daeron. You never responded to a single one of the letters I wrote to you. You went to Oldtown and forgot all about me!" your voice broke, the tears running freely down your face now.

"Letters?"

"Do not pretend not to know!"

Daeron rushed toward you, entwining his fingers with yours, eyes boring into yours as he said your name.

"What letters? I swear I never received any letters. I thought it was you who had forgotten about me."

"Liar! I do not care if you did not care enough to respond but at least do not be a coward and pretend not to know about them altogether."

"Listen-"

"It doesn't even matter," you interrupted, wrenching your hands away from him. "I stopped writing last year, anyways."

"You...you wrote to me for six years?" Daeron's voice was soft in disbelief.

"What, is that supposed to be surprising? Not all of us can be callous and cruel like you. You were my friend, of course I wrote to you!"

Daeron took your hand once again, placing it on his chest so that you could feel his racing heartbeat, voice tinged with desperation.

"I swear on all the gods, the old and the new, that I never received a single one of your letters. I would never willingly ignore you or dismiss your words. Please, you have to believe me."

"Stop! Just, stop," you pleaded. "Go back to your dancing and select a wife from amongst the ladies grandsire has chosen for you."

You wanted to believe Daeron, to let go of the resentment that had consumed you, but the wounds ran deep, and trust was a fragile thread between you two.

"Why would I lie about this?" he implored again, stepping closer. "I have spent every moment longing for you, questioning why you had grown distant. If I had known about your letters, I would have responded, you know that."

"I find that I do not know you at all, so forgive me for disagreeing."

"Do not say that. Please do not say that. I have loved you since we were children!" Daeron's words came tumbling out of his mouth, making both of you freeze.

Your breath caught in your throat, eyes widening at his confession. Your anger and doubt began to crumble, replaced by a mix of astonishment and a glimmer of hope. You listened intently, heart yearning for the words you had always longed to hear.

"I cannot imagine marrying any of those women in the grand hall," he continued, his voice earnest. "Not when my heart has always been set on you. You are the one I have dreamed of, the one who has occupied my thoughts and fueled my hopes. Please, believe me when I say that you are the one I want to spend my life with."

Your breath was shaky as you struggled to absorb the weight of Daeron's confession.

"I... I don't know what to say," you whispered, your voice filled with a mix of vulnerability and bewilderment.

"Say you feel the same way. Say you love me too," he begged.

"I...you truly meant what you said?'

"I have never meant anything more in my entire life," he gently brushed away the tears from your cheeks, his touch filled with tenderness. "I understand your doubts and fears. But I want you to know that I am committed to proving my love to you, to mending what has been broken between us. I will do whatever it takes to earn your trust again and make you feel cherished."

"I...I don't know."

Daeron nodded, his eyes filled with unwavering patience and determination.

"I will give you all the time you need. I will be here, waiting for you, for all of eternity, if that is what it takes. Just know that you hold my heart in the palm of your hands, and nothing will change that."

You couldn't help the chuckle that escaped your lips as you met his desperate gaze.

"I do not think you have all of eternity, my prince. Grandsire expects you to be betrothed before the night is up."

"Whether or not I am betrothed by the end of tonight depends entirely on the lady I hope to be betrothed to. The decision is hers entirely."

You sniffled, "And who might such a lucky lady be?"

Daeron thumbed your cheekbone affectionately, tracing his fingers up your jaw and then settling them to cup your face. His other hand dropped to your waist, pulling you closer.

"There will never be another lady. Not when I belong to you wholly."

You sighed, leaning into his touch with your eyes closed. When you opened them, you were met with his startling intensity.

"I suppose I might be inclined to accept," you murmured, arms coming up to wrap around his neck.

His lips curled upward in a beam, "Is that a yes then?"

"Yes."

Daeron paused for a moment, his lips a hairsbreadth from yours, giving you a chance to pull away, before they met yours in a gentle kiss. Your lips moved in perfect harmony, a dance of affection and yearning. As your kiss deepened, Daeron's arms wrapped around you, pulling you impossibly closer, as if afraid to let go, his body pressing you into the cool stone wall behind you.

When you pulled away eventually, he pressed his forehead against yours and closed his eyes reverently as he whispered in the space where your breaths mingled.

"I am yours. I will be yours for all of eternity."

[itstokkii]

for @hwsasiaweek day 2: uzbekistan + food + "a smooth sea never made a skillful sailor"

in which uzbekistan can't let go of her qazon and explains why

‎‧₊˚✧[🇰🇿🇺🇿🇰🇬]✧˚₊‧

It was a Thursday afternoon, and all of Uzbekistan's siblings were staying at her house for a week in preparation for a regional conference.

While they were all in separate rooms of the house working on writing up important documents and presentations, Uzbekistan was cooking food for the evening, and as per tradition she was cooking osh. It was also her siblings' favorite food, and they insisted she cook it for them almost every time they got together.

As she was stirring the beef and onions, Kazakhstan came out of her study, sniffing around.

"Apa, are you making osh for tonight?"

"Yes. it is a Thursday, after all! Also if you guys eat enough of my food, perhaps you won't all be so grumpy at the conference."

"Speak for yourself," he chuckled. There was always some argument that would arise at one of these conferences, and many times Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan would be part of it.

Before she could respond with some lackluster excuse of those conflicts being in the moment and that it wasn't truly her and that she was definitely a mature lady and how he could say that to his dear older sister who is cooking food just for him, he points at the qazon she was cooking the osh in. the bottom was completely black after years of use.

"Hey, how long has it been since you've used this qazon?"

"Oh, um...I bought it at a market sometime around the 60s?"

"Apa, that's like 50 years!"

"Well, it's durable! Like the spatula I'm using to cook it with."

"But if you bought new ones...wouldn't it enhance the quality of your meals? New cooking technology and all..."

She gently added the chopped carrots to the qazon. "You know, a smooth sea never made a skillful sailor. You could buy all the latest utensils and completely revamp your kitchen, but!" She gestured at her hands. "It's all about your experience. Your skill. That's why you all love my food the most!"

"I don't know..." Kyrgyzstan stood on his tiptoes and looked over Kazakhstan's shoulder." Tajikistan was gushing about my dymdama last time. Her side of the plate was so clean, I think she used bread to wipe the leftover broth up."

"Why must you always make this about you? She was extremely hungry that time! Besides, that was then, and this is now." She closed her eyes briefly and tossed the carrots over.

The two spent the rest of the time bickering about the "deliciousness scores" that they had apparently been tallying up so far based on their other siblings' opinions of their food, while Kazakhstan tried his best to mediate.

Good practice for the actual conference I guess, he thought, though they've done this enough times I don't think I really need practice...

"If we're gonna talk about revamping your cooking, why don't you use a frypan next time? Your boyfriend already does that when he cooks osh-"

"HE DARE COMMIT SUCH BLASPHEMY?"

"Hey chill! You better keep that a secret cuz he told me to keep it a secret from you!"

Kazakhstan had to admit, she was pretty skilled at cooking. He could see it in the way she both argued passionately with their older brother and added the chickpeas and rice to the osh, never missing a step. Heck, she even managed to make some salad on the side as well.

And when the sky became a light purple and the crickets began to chirp, the evening wind brushing through their hair as they ate outside on the tapchan, Uzbekistan brought the hot, aromatic osh to the table to eat. Everyone cleared the plate within half an hour. She smiled smugly at Kyrgyzstan.

"That's 25 points for me since today, and you're still at 22~"

"I'M CATCHING UP, OKAY?!"

‎‧₊˚✧[🇰🇿🇺🇿🇰🇬]✧˚₊‧

notes: ALHAMDULILAH I MADE IT IN TIME ITS STILL 11:57 PM 💪💪💪

there's a lot of uzbek/central asian terminology here, and they're italicized:

osh: otherwise known as plov, it's uzbekistan's national food. it's a sort of fried? rice with carrots, meat, chickpeas, and raisins. each region in uzbekistan cooks it differently, but I tried my best to describe whatever I can remember from my mom's way. it's served to guests at home, weddings, and also eaten on the regular weekly, with osh being eaten on thursdays as a traditional custom.

qazon: the best way I can describe this in english is a cast iron cauldron. it's quite big and a lot of things can be cooked in it, like osh, qazon kabob, and dymdama.

apa: kazakh for "older sister."

dymdama: eaten in many central asian countries, it's a stew of beef, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, and other vegetables. in uzbekistan, it's called dimlama, and I only recently found out it's called dymdama in kyrgyzstan by a kyrgyz classmate!

tapchan: in a lot of uzbek houses with backyards, there's a small resting area with cushions and a table outside. in the spring and summer, families usually eat their breakfast, lunch, and dinner outside.

[yourlocalartsonist]

ROTTMNT Moths Fly In Packs - Chapter Four

A/N: Hello I have returned with yet another chapter for y'all to feed on! I am lowkey so happy the fanfic's going on for so long cuz I have a history of abandoning projects after like the third chapter, so clearly tis a sign I might actually keep this fic long running for years and years to come :D I know I have a lot of ideas for it so I'm def taking a few years on this one but oh well I'm having fun. Hope you guys like this one, tidepod duo is one of my favs and I got to implement some of my own lore bits here and there and foreshadow certain things... Also can y'all believe the Hidden City Zoo was mentioned in one of the episodes but we never got to actually see it like fuck u Nickelodeon, now I'm forced to write a self-indulgent fanfic so my brain can finally rest >:( But yee tell me your fav parts if y'all feel like it <3

Also! Credit to: @sweaterrat for being my beloved beta reader, and my irl friend "The Leo Hater Reading a Leo Fanfic" for inspiring some quotes~

*Phuphu means "paternal aunt" in Bangla

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

Chapter One

Disclaimer: Chapter involves themes of abusive family, mention of death, violence, and curse words. If you're sensitive to that stuff, scroll past and stay safe!

“Remember we’ll be back by nine, this place better be spotless or you’re staying up and making sure it is!”

“I know Phuphu*, I’ve got it. You and Meeta just enjoy your day.”

My aunt called for her daughter who was still at the mirror adjusting how she looked, smoothening out her patterned gold dress and putting any flyaway strands back in place. They were both going to a birthday party for one of my aunt’s friend’s sister’s brother-in-law’s son and, as usual, I wasn’t invited. Instead, I got tasked with keeping the apartment in check while they’re gone in case there’s an explosion or something. They never give me a better reason. 

“Hurry up child, we’re going to be late!”

“Mommy you’re the one who always says beauty takes time.” 

Meeta took one last look in the mirror and joined her mom at the door.

“Well, don’t you look stunning!”

“Um, of course I do? Have I ever not looked perfect?” There it is, my ever so humble cousin. I mean don’t get me wrong I admire her confidence, just crosses a line when she starts putting others down for not looking as good as her. And by others I mostly mean me.

But regardless, it was true. Meeta did look stunning all day everyday. She’s only fifteen but still considered the beauty of our family, especially to our relatives outside America. Tall, dark eyes, milky skin. Shiny black hair done up in a tight bun. Meeta takes great care to always look picture perfect.

I waved goodbye as they left for the party. It did feel a little bad, never getting to tag along and join them anywhere. But then again, eight years of technically being in debt to my aunt didn’t exactly leave any respect for me so parties are the least of my concerns. She acts as if not yelling at me for one minute would end with tragedy just because she’s letting me stay here for free. My only form of compensation: taking care of the house. Cleaning, shopping, running errands, all that jazz. It’s either that or a job so I chose household chores, it’s got more perks.

Like getting to choose my own schedule! As always, I was told ahead of time that they’d be out today so while my aunt and Meeta were sleeping last night, I got the majority of the cleaning done (with the exception of their rooms, of course). I asked Jaiden if we could hang out today and miraculously they agreed so I had to make sure today's cleaning would take no more than an hour, even if that sacrificed a little bit of sleep yesterday. All I’ve gotta do now is just some light sweeping. Totally worth it in my opinion.

Soon after I was done, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and saw it was a call from Jaiden. Fumbling with the buttons I eventually managed to answer.

“Jaiden? Are you out already? Give me like ten minutes I’ll-”

“I can’t make it.”

Wait, what? “Wh-what do you mean?”

“I can’t make it today, something came up. I just wanted to quickly call you and let you know.”

Beep!

They hung up.

My heart sank thinking about their words. Something came up? I’ve been so excited to hang out with Jaiden all day and now something came up? We already haven’t spent much time together lately. They don’t talk as much at school and stopped responding to my texts. I got worried I did something wrong but every time I’d gain the courage to ask they’d just say they were low on energy and I’d accept that answer because what else could I do? After all of this time of practically begging them, I finally got them to agree on making plans in hopes we could talk and now today of all days something just happened to come up? 

I sighed and quickly returned to rationality. It must be a last minute situation, I mean they barely even called for a minute. Probably something important or maybe a parent randomly said no. Jaiden did say their parents are a bit flip-floppy. Either way, no point in getting mad at Jaiden, it’s not in their control. I begrudgingly shoved my phone back in my pocket and paced around the house trying to entertain myself. I’ve already cleaned every nook and cranny I could bullshit into justifying as a mess so that’s not an option. I don’t really have any inspiration to work on my art or writing either. 

I went into my room and flopped on the bed. 

Ugh, this sucks! It’s only three pm, I still have so many hours to kill. Maybe I should just take a nap. 

Before I could try to doze off to dreamland, a sound forced my eyes back open.

A knock? At my window?

But when I stuck my head outside no one was there. So either the wind was being a little bitch or I’m so depressed I’m hallucinating. I groaned and was about to go back to bed but, the very second I turned my back, two voices shouted in unison before I got tackled to the ground. 

“Surprise attack!”

My poor back stung against the hard floor as the two mutant idiots curled around me. 

“Leo, Mikey! I missed you guys! But, um, I do still need to breathe.” 

We sat up, still on the floor and my soul eventually returned to my body. 

Mikey flashed a vibrant grin “So, whatcha doing? Any plans or are you free today!? Please say you’re free!”

“Oh, I am now, I guess. I was supposed to hang out with a friend but they canceled last minute so my day just about cleared up.”

“Aww sorry to hear that Salena.” And he’s back to hugging. I’d be more annoyed if Mikey didn’t give such great hugs, he’s as soft as a sponge. “But, on the bright side, that means you can come hang out with us now! Leo and I were planning on going to a zoo and-”

“A ZOO!?” 

Am I dreaming because holy daze it feels like I am! I could barely contain my giddy giggles the entire walk over. 

“I’ve always wanted to go to a zoo literally my entire life! Getting up close and personal with all the amazing different animals! I mean don’t get me wrong, books are great but it’d be so different to see one in person! I feel like I’d get carried away and go inside the enclosure, though, but that’s fine! Just the usual intrusive thoughts and stuff!” 

“Hey Salena, love the enthusiasm and it’s really great to see you so happy but, maybe you should save your energy for when we actually get there?”

“Sorry! I’m just so excited!”

“Yeah, I had a feeling you’d enjoy this.” He smiled and turned back to Mikey. “Hey Angelo, we there yet?”

“Yepperoni! Just give it a sec and let the Master of Mystic Arts do his thing.” Mystic arts?

He held out his hands and they started glowing. Contrasting with the neon blue I’m used to seeing, a portal opened up in sunset colors. 

“Guys, am I missing something? Why are we opening a portal?” I glanced over at Leo for some answers only to be met by his stupid amused smirk.

“So, we may have hidden a tiny little detail about this zoo trip.”

“Damn, you don’t say?” 

Mikey, the only thing between me and the glowing mystery hole, stepped off to the side. “We weren’t just gonna go to any regular zoo. We’re going to the Hidden City Zoo!”

Hidden City? Oh wait, that’s the place Raph talked about, the reason why there were so many Yōkai near my house! This is probably one of the gateways to it? I leaned in a bit closer, a little more cautious than usual. It sounded thrilling to explore the Hidden City but a zoo? What kind of animals could a mutant zoo have? 

“Um, we’re not gonna get immediately mauled death by some crazy rabid mutant lion or something, right?”

“Dunno. Only one way to find out!”

“What.”

The blue bastard pushed me through without hesitation as my poor knees made contact with the hard, rocky surface on the other side. I thought of letting my violent desires get the better of me for a minute. Until... 

The new world in front of me left me starstruck.

The sky painted in various hues of pink and gold, an enormous entrance built on seafoam-colored stone displaying the words Hidden City Zoo. Peeking inside it only got better, the place was littered with wild and wacky creatures I’ve never even dreamed could exist! And in the distance, I think I can make out a rollercoaster?

It seems like Mikey’s in just as much awe as I am “Omigosh look at how big it is! And it has an amusement park nearby? This place is even cooler than I thought!”

“Dudes, what’d I tell you, this was totally a great idea! Ugh, I should’ve gone here last time instead of that stupid spa.”

“Why didn’t you just go after the spa?”

“Oh cause we all got thrown in jail. A dumb bird and an evil wig framed me for theft so that kinda took up the whole day.”

“But Dad and I bailed them out and saved the day! Who’s the best turtle now Leon~” 

A giggle escaped my lips “The fact that I’m not even surprised. Now c’mon, enough blabbering, we gotta go explore!” 

A mutant zoo is somehow exactly what I expected it to be but also completely different at the same time. Most of these guys look like regular animals, just bigger and louder. But a few others actually reminded me of more traditional Yōkai I saw in a book about Japanese folklore. I remember Mom used to hate how interested I was in it, which was pretty strange since she herself was Japanese. That was the only thing I ever knew of her heritage. She kept trying to tell me Yōkai knowledge was useless and I’d have way more fun learning about real animals instead. Unfortunately for her, my curiosity was not one to be quenched so I simply ended up learning about both. 

I looked at one of the bear Yōkai, they’re called onikuma I think. We made eye contact and either I need to get my vision checked or it just smiled at me. Weren’t these supposed to be wild animals? Come to think of it actually, the more Yōkai-looking creatures resembled the mutants outside the zoo enclosures more than the ones inside. You know, the guys walking around on two feet wearing clothes and taking pictures on their phones the same way we were and are very obviously not wild animals. 

“Whatcha writing, Salena?” the tangerine looked over my shoulder while I was typing on my notes app.

“Oh, just trying to learn a bit more about these guys. I don’t know why but something just feels-” 

Before I could finish my sentence, my stomach chose violence sending a sharp pain through my body as it rumbled louder than a whale call. 

“Oh yeah, I forgot to eat today.”

“You do that too?”

Mikey let out a dramatically loud gasp “What is wrong with y’all? How can anyone forget to eat? We’re getting food right now.”

“Chillax Mikey, I’ll be fine! We can wait a little-”

“Don’t make me go Doctor Delicate Touch on you.”

“N-Nevermind.”

We were unwillingly dragged by the terrifying midget to a food booth nearby. I mean, it’s not too bad honestly, the food in the Hidden City is way better than in New York. We got a super delicious burger packed with juicy meat, creamy cheese, tomatoes that actually taste like something, and… worm fries. I avoided that last delicacy but Leo seemed to enjoy it. Mikey on the other hand wrote down every tiny detail while rambling to himself the whole time. 

“Don’t mind him, Mikey loves to cook. Sometimes he tries remaking recipes of any food we liked outside.”

“Ahem, I don’t just recreate them, I improve them!”  

I looked at the giant burger in my hands amazed at Mikey’s confidence. “You want to improve this? This is literally the best burger I’ve ever had in my life! How could you top this?”

“Yeah, Miguel, you sure you’re good enough for this one?” He glared as Leo playfully stuck out his tongue. 

“You’ll just have to wait and be impressed! But on another note, how’re you doing Salena? Enjoying the day so far?”

“Enjoying doesn’t even begin to describe it! Everything is so cool here! I’ve always wanted to go to a zoo like this. I bugged my parents about it a lot when I was younger but we never had enough money for the tickets and stuff. They promised they’d take me one day but…” They died before they could. 

I never realized how I completely forgot about that. Life got so busy that getting upset over zoos seemed too silly to do anymore.

I snapped back to reality feeling the boys’ eyes on me.

“Sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to ruin the mood-”

They hugged me. 

“It’s a good thing we took you here then!”

“Yeah, consider it a thank you gift for Mr. and Mrs. Moni.”

This feels… warm. And familiar? It’s a hug. I’ve hugged plenty of people. But those hugs felt different. I feel so small right now and that’s strangely a good thing. Everything is warm and cozy and a little dreamy. 

I think the last time a hug felt like this was when my parents were still here.

The rest of the day went by delightfully. We took a stupid amount of pictures - mostly because Leo wanted to boast to Raph and Donnie later - and Mikey even dragged us on to a few of the rides at the amusement park. The mood felt a little softer than before. I’m not entirely used to it but I honestly don’t mind.

But as usual, the pleasantly chill vibe can never last for too long. A loud crash grabbed our attention towards one of the exhibits where a bunch of employees were scrambling around with cages in their arms. Mikey managed to stop one of them mid-panic to ask what’s going on.

“Something broke the glass and now they all escaped!”

I caught Leo inspecting the broken glass. Following his eyes, they landed on what seemed to be a giant crab claw. He quickly noticed the two culprits in the distance frolicking around in acrobat uniforms and groaned. “Ugh, I think I know who that something was.”

“Who are those guys?”

“The Sando brothers. We just can’t enjoy a single day of peace can we?” Mikey grit his teeth with a murderous glint in his eyes. Like I said, soft as a sponge. Just when he’s mad, he’s as soft as a sponge left out too long without water.

The employee was focused more on the escaped critters and rushed off before we could ask anything else. “They’ll wreck everything! We need to catch them before they wreck everything!”

“Hey wait! What animal got loose!?”

I squinted at the label trying to read the small text, immediately filled with dread now understanding everyone’s panic. One of the raccoon-sized demons hissed to my right, preparing to pounce.

“Uh, guys? This was a shrew enclosure!”

“A what enclosure?”

“Duck!” 

“Wha- GAH!” It would seem I managed to avoid it at the expense of traumatizing the blueberry. “GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF ME!”

Mikey kicked the shrew off revealing poor Leo’s scratched up and terrified face. “Why are they so violent!?”

“They’re shrews, that’s their job! But they’re usually no bigger than a human palm, I can’t believe ooze could supersize them that much.” I quickly wrote down the new info on my phone as Mikey helped Leo up.

“Leo, what’s the plan?”

He looked at the crabs while dusting himself off “We should probably take care of the circus clowns before they destroy anything else. What do ya say, Angelo? Think you can keep up with professional acrobats?”

“You know I can! Cowabunga!”

“Wait! What do I do?” 

“Oh, Mikey and I can take care of this. You don’t wanna just lay low till we’re back?”

“And let you two hog all the fun? I thought you knew me better than that.”

He softly chuckled “Right, adrenaline junkie, how could I forget?” He looked at the several mutant shrews raging havoc all over the place “Well, we could use someone to help catch the… shrews right? You seem to know a bunch about them. Maybe you could help make sure they don’t destroy the whole place.”

My eyes lit up “You got it chief!” 

“If you need any help, holler!” 

I went over to the employees. Some of them were still trying to capture the tiny devils while a few others were getting a mystic wall ready where the glass broke, I’m assuming to temporarily keep them in. I’ll need a plan to get all the shrews in there. Mindlessly chasing around already proved to be a fail. 

I know I definitely read about this before. Shrews are carnivorous, they like eating things like snails and slugs but those were the regular-sized shrews. What could I feed these giants?

Think, think, think. There’s gotta be something around here I can bait them with…

“Wait! The burgers! Of course!”

I bolted inside a kitchen and scanned around for any giant clumps of meat.

“Hey, kid! Who are you, what are you even doing here?” 

“Sorry, I’m in a hurry. Shrew problems.” 

“What?”

I looked past the confused guy and saw what I was looking for. Shoving down my guilt, I grabbed a bunch of bacon patties and ran out the kitchen. 

“Hey!”

“I’m sorry, it’s a necessary sacrifice!”

Back outside, I found a shrew and waved one of the patties, catching its attention. 

“Over here, buddy!” Usually, thin bacon strips would be enough to lure them but I figured giant meat circles were more appropriate for these guys.

Once I got it close enough to the enclosure, I threw the patty in letting the shrew jump after it, getting trapped behind the transparent magic wall. One by one, all the menace mice were eventually recaptured. Not gonna lie, I’m still a little surprised it actually worked. 

“Salena, look out!” 

I dodged to Mikey’s instruction just in time for another giant crab claw to fly bullet-speed past me getting absorbed into the wall. It would seem mystic glass can’t really be broken, good thing too since the shrews escaping again would’ve broken my will to live alongside it. 

Unfortunately, I spent too long collecting myself and got snatched up by the back of my shirt, now facing the presumed Sando brothers.

“Look Carl, it’s the gross little human that keeps ruining our plan!” 

“Ha! Look at it swing!”

“Put me down you bald red freak!”

He suddenly looked at me in pain as if my dream of breaking his dumb claws open had actually come true “B-bald?..”

“Did you just call my brother bald!?”

“I can’t believe that’s the part you’re focused on.”

“I… I used to be so beautiful with my luscious long locks before I got turned into this! You still got to keep your hair, why was life so cruel to me!?” The red nuisance began pouring a waterfall of tears.

“See what you did!? Now you made him cry! Hey, it’s alright Ben, that human doesn’t know beauty when they see it.” Are you serious.

“You’re right! We should do something awful to it! Something that’ll make them regret calling me bald!”

“Yeah like!.. Like…”

“Ooh, I know! We should eat it!” 

“DUDE! Why is that the first thing you think of!?”

A familiar taunting voice joined in the conversation “Lame! You guys are so awful at plans, no wonder you got outsmarted by a regular ol’ human!” I’d be offended if I wasn’t preoccupied with my confusion. 

“Excuse me!? Did you just call my brother lame!?”

“Why does the universe hate me today!?”

“I’d like to see you idiots do any better!”

“Oh-ho we could do so much better, right Mikey?”

“What are you guys-”

“Duh! I mean there are rollercoasters everywhere and they didn’t even realize higher ground would speed things up by a trillion.”

HUH!? “No no no no no no! We do not need to go higher ground!”

“Hey come to think of it, Mike, dropping someone from a high place is a pretty heinous thing to do, too. Way worse than eating them.”

“OH YOU TWO ARE SO DEAD IF I’M NOT!”

“Ben, they actually have a point.”

“Y-yeah they kinda do… Welp doesn’t matter if we take credit for it, anyway! See ya later, jerks!”

They jumped onto the coaster as I helplessly awaited my fate, praying the dumbass turtles had some sort of plan and didn’t just use me as live bait for the crab monsters. 

“Look down at your death tiny pest! I bet it’d take you days just to finally hit the ground!”

“Woah, you really think we’re that high up, Ben?”

“Yeah! Or actually, no not really, I think it’ll only take like a minute or something.”

“Really? That doesn’t sound as cool. Should we go higher ground-”

“UGH! Why does it matter, I’m dead either way you buffoons!”

“Oh yeah, good point.” He let go of me and off I was screaming as I fall to my doom.

But just above me, a pair of chains wrapped around the rollercoaster and snapped it like a stick, sending idiot crab men falling down with me. Still in shock, I didn’t notice the blue katana fly by, teleporting a smirking turtle just in time to catch me. 

“Leo?”

“Missed me?~” He drew his blade mid-air and opened a portal landing us to safety. 

“You didn’t think we actually ditched you, did you?”

“Aha, I was starting to…”

I looked past his shoulder towards the sound of Mikey’s hyper yelps.

“It’s mystic time, baby!” I gawked as the orange portal, just like the one from earlier today, opened up swallowing the terrified acrobats and sending them to who knows where. 

“Mikey can open portals, too!?”

“Don’t tell me you thought there was a gateway to the Hidden City directly outside the zoo.”

“Actually, yeah I kinda did.”

Mikey walked over pressing against the glass wall between us. Wait, glass? Where even are we?

“Leo, Salena! Are you guys okay?”

“Don’t worry, little brother, we’re perfectly fine. We just gotta get out here.”

“Uh…L-Leo!” He followed my frightened gaze to the giant mutant bullfrogs behind us. 

“So that’s what the glass was for.”

“RUN!”

I grabbed his hand and started sprinting away from the green enemy, making sure to dodge the enormous pink tongue currently hunting us.

“You know, for someone who supposedly failed gym, you’re pretty light on your feet.”

I furrowed my brows, more towards his accusation than his inappropriately relaxed smirk “I did fail gym! You’re just lucky dodgeball’s the only sport I’m good at.”

We hid behind a nearby rock, gasping and trying to catch our breaths.

“Man, of all the places you could’ve picked, why’d you portal us here?”

“Hey, it’s not like I meant to! My portals mess up when I panic.”

“You were panicking?”

He looked just as surprised as I did “Ah-”

“Guys! Are you dead?!” his comms let out Mikey’s panicked voice.

“We’re okay, Mikey. Just resting for a bit.”

“Oh good. Cause uh, THE COPS ARE HERE! WE’VE GOTTA MOVE!”

“The cops? Eugh boy.”

“Wait why is that a bad thing? Does the Hidden City not have Good Samaritan laws or something?”

He laughed and rubbed the back of his neck “So uh, remember the whole ‘us getting thrown into jail’ thing? Yeah, we may or may not still be wanted criminals for that whole shebang.”

“You said you got bailed out!”

“I never said legally!”

“Oh my god.”

He peeked from behind the rock, making eye contact with Mikey still waiting for us outside the enclosure.

“Okay, I’ve got an idea but we’ve gotta make a run for it. You ready to leave the zoo?”

“Yeah, I think I’ve had enough mutant mayhem for one day.”

We raced past the mutant frog. Leo swung his sword one last time, creating a portal, and shoved it so it reached both sides of the glass barrier. The three of us dove in as it closed behind, falling back to a soft carpeted floor. 

I rubbed my head and looked around “My room… M-My room! Omigosh we made it guys, we’re alive!” 

Mikey and Leo were a little less celebratory than I thought they’d be. 

“Sorry for dragging you into a fight, Salena. Again. Man, that’s the second time that’s happened. Which, I guess it isn’t a lot, but still weird it happened twice.”

“Ugh, this was supposed to be a fun, relaxing trip to the zoo. I can’t believe those stupid crab jerks showed up and ruined it.”

I had no idea they’d be so dejected over this. 

“Who said anything about ruined?” They looked at me puzzled by my unfazed smile.

“Did you hit your head or something? We should check for injuries. Leo-”

“No, guys, I’m fine! Really!”

“You almost died twice today and you think that wouldn’t ruin anything?”

“Okay, yeah, that would’ve been inconvenient if I did, but I didn’t! I mean, come on! Think about literally everything else that happened! My first ever zoo and we just so happened to save it from disaster that exact same day? Guys, this was amazing!” I let myself breathe a bit, feeling the adrenaline calm down. “Life’s been so much better ever since I met you.”

Leo stared at me silently while Mikey caved into his emotions. “That’s it, I can’t take it anymore! Group hug!” 

The teary tangerine pulled us in. For a while, we all stayed like that, cuddled on the floor. Warm, cozy, and comfortable. As weirdly thrilling as the danger was, I think the hugs were still my favorite part about today. 

I would’ve loved to just enjoy it a bit longer but my phone alarm rang, the one I always set to be an hour before my oh so beloved family returned.

“You better go. I don’t think my aunt would be very happy with two random turtles in my room.”

After our goodbyes, I happily jumped into bed ready for some quiet downtime. I guess even though I didn’t get to hang out with the person I initially planned to, today might have turned out better this way. I opened up Instagram and started scrolling and catching up on everything else in the world. A YouTuber posted a new video, a couple and their cat went on vacation, an artist opened up commissions. All in all, seemed to be a pleasant day for everyone else, too. 

My thumb paused. A new post from Zane. They were pictures from a party he went to today, seemed like he had fun.

I got to the last picture on his post. My eyes went wide, staying glued to the person next to him. Heavy eyes. Dark hair straightened into a ponytail.

I felt my stomach doing flips realizing who it was. 

“Jaiden?”

Next Chapter

[kalisbaby]

My mom's in the ER with my sister because her (mom) sugar went up. And she hasn't been taking her medications or her insulin or gotten a new PCP after her old one suddenly up and closed his business. (Like deadass they scheduled an appointment for her and when she went they were shut down. No notices, no calls, no nothing!)

So both me and my sister are beyond frustrated and upset because she legit isn't taking care of her health and she will sit around all day in her phone and like not eat anything until one of us comes in the room and asks us to make her something. And that could be HOURS! And no matter how much I tell her to stop fasting she still does it cuz "God told her to" and not to question her faith or relationship with God but...fasting for over a year (or two idk how long at this point) for HOURS every. single. day. when you have a major health issue is ridiculous. I'm sure God didn't want her to maintain it for that long especially one where she doesn't pray or anything. She just like...watches TV and plays on her damn phone so, ma'am!, what kinda fast???

Anyway, I'm digressing.

THE POINT IS I need her to care for herself. Like I NEED her to want to do it for herself. I've said this time and time again, like it's a bad song on repeat at this point, but I cannot take care of her for herself.

I can make her meals but I can't make her eat them. I can sort out her medicines but I can't make her take them. I can see her appointments but I can't make her go to them or tell the truth while at them (a problem I also had with my dad btw. He just would not tell his doctor everything and I would be like, "Are you fr right now???" At one point the doctor just talked directly to me because my dad was acting like everything was fucking fine when it WASN'T!).

And I feel like my mom thinks we're SUPPOSED to care for her because she, and I quote, "did it for [her] mother" and yeah I get that. And honestly, I have no problems doing for my mother, but my grandmother also did for herself. When she needed help she asked for it but she was very much able to tend to her own needs up until the last few years of her life when her health deteriorated to the point where additional assistance was mandatory and we ALL helped then. (I legit flunked out of the second half of my first year of college to help my mom take care of my grandma and I still don't regret it to this day. It was a joy to care for her and to be with her in those last few months of her life.)

But my mom still has a lot of her mobility and functioning and I get that she's tired after nursing three children, two elderly parents, a husband, not to mention her actual nursing job, but I don't like her not trying. Like for HERSELF. It often feels like she's just like, "why do I have to do this when I have daughters?"

And it's like, we won't always be here. I'm here now but what about in the future? I wanna live more! I haven't even done an iota of and iota of what I want to do. And I get it, that's on me. Those are my choices and I accept them but it wouldn't be fair for me to never even try because I have to stay home and build my life around caretaking my mother while she's still relatively young and able bodied. Like if she wasn't then this wouldn't really be a discussion. I would have my frustrations,.for sure, but I would deal with them because I know my mother couldn't do for herself. But knowing that she CAN but just often WON'T??? That's a whole nother thing. A WHOLE nother thing.

I just...

I think about how ppl have repeatedly told me "there's always one that stays behind" meaning there's always a child that stays and takes care of the aging parents. And that one was my mother and I despise that saying for a plethora of reasons but mainly because people say it to me like "give up your dreams, your hopes, your goals because your life is already decided and it's taking care of your mother at the expense of everything else." It makes me bitter. And I don't deserve that. My mother doesn't deserve that.

She deserves to live her old age in peace as comfort and joy. And I deserve to live the last embers of my youth the same.

But how I do that if people are pre-determining my life to be built around someone else? Especially at the expense of the small facet of happiness I managed to eek out for myself? What cruelty!

And I still want children some day. So am I only meant to care for others and leave no care for myself??? Idk the answer to this but what I DO know is, I need my mother to get it together. To care enough about the rest of her life to want to actively live it and not just lie around wasting it away waiting for me or someone to do the very basic of shit for her.

I need her to care enough for herself. I can't do it for the both of us. I just can't. Something will eventually have to give and I fear when that time comes because I'm nto sure of what choice I'll make and I'd hate for it to be me at the risk of harming her. If that makes any sense.

I just want her to care. That's all. Just care about yourself, mommy. Love yourself enough to try. PLEASE! For the love of God, please!

[sunflowerinpearls]

Some information before reading:

- We moved out as a family of 5 from my in-laws fully furnished 3 bed, 1 bath basement apartment, & we lived there for 6 years. We moved into a 3 bed, 1 bath townhome and then we bought a house and my mental health went to the bottom real fast and I could no longer physically care for my children, because I couldn’t physically get out of bed. Our Children moved in with my In-Laws because of how bad things had gotten. The hardest choice I ever made was telling myself “you shouldn’t be the one that’s responsible for them when you can’t even handle the simplest things when it comes to caring for yourself!!!!!”

But it’s been 7 long years in recovery from C-PTSD, BPD, PD, MDD, SAD, & more… and I have learned a lot of things since the very beginning.

So without further ado, here ya go:

If I say “Give me my son/daughter/their name/child/etc, YOU SIMPLY TURN MY CHILD TO ME AND LET ME TAKE OVER FROM THERE. You do NOT keep fucking walking away from me. That was your LAST mistake! Your first one was trapping my 7 year old son, who is your Nephew first and foremost BEFORE you’re his GodParent, and you NEED to stay in your lane.

There are boundaries for all of us *TryingReallyHard* parents who have to set boundaries to keep their Special Need(s) Child(ren) SAFE, just to see Derek’s Mother & Sister continue stepping over the boundaries I’ve made.

There is absolutely none of this “I do this everyday at school and HE IS JUST FINE!”. He was NOT fine and your words and matched actions escalated things and then I stepped in because you messed up.

And then umm, that triggered my biggest fear now: Having his family try and keep my kids from me and shit, cuz I wouldn’t put that past them. Not after Roxi asked me straight up if she could “stop by her Lawyer ‘cause all she would have to do is sign a few papers & she can have Guardianship of the two- just in case of an emergency.” Uhhh. No I don’t think so. That’s not at all why she asked… She wants all of the Power & Control over my Children. Why? Because I am the Wife of her son and the Mother of her Grandchildren and she will NEVER accept it because I am “Mentally ill” and “Disabled” & she looks down on that as if at any moment, she couldn’t ever *possibly* become Disabled herself, ya know because she’s Invincible & Immortal. 🙄

Well you’ll be happy to know I fucking stood my ground when I saw Jack escalate and dereks sister kayla and grab him and put him in his room. She said “I got it Cecelia. I do it daily at school.”

“He’s my son.” Babble babble Roxi and me “first and foremost, he’s my son.”

Derek intervened, I walked toward the garage to exit and said “I’m leaving. I am done. I’m not doing this.” (Or something like that I really can’t remember now)… & the fucking way she cornered Jack in front of Roxi’s recliner, grabbed his upper arm and went to send him to his room, *I*

knew what Jack needed instantly when I saw him pace back and forth from being cornered. I don’t allow that. Hell to the fucking no. & I ended up getting Jack with me, outside in the freezing ass car waiting for Derek to finish a game. When I started to walk out, I heard faint whispering & definitely caught my name so they can *All* fuck off.

Derek raised his voice at idk his mom and sister? Saying that they need to let me handle it when I say I got it. And they also, can do other things other than sending a child away to be alone in their bedroom. That’s not how we are parenting our kids so you won’t be parenting them that way either and if you really wanna do it again & I will find out, guess what?

*YANK*

Like I said, there was a fucking reason I said “NO” 3 fucking times!!! When Roxi asked me for Guardianship of them.

He needed to be held as tight as possible with his arms folded across his body and brought back down very slowly and calmly.

Not be grabbed by his arm and be sent away to be by himself.

That is exactly how you teach kids that the world is against them and always against them and no one will ever help them and they’ll always be alone.

So, nope. You don’t get to do that!

I held him by the door and I told him he was okay, and sat with him until he was ready to go back inside.

And yeah, I did in fact take him home w me. And he slept so peacefully and warm in his bed and woke up around 6. He got 9 hours of sleep. I’m relieved for him for that.

Today I made him write down an apology letter to Kayla for breaking her “pretty” (decor). & he wrote 2 sentences & when I told him he owes her more than just 2 sentences and that he gets nothing (games, treats, etc) until he writes the letter and signs his name after but he has to write more than 2 sentences. He got immediately livid & impulsively put an X through the halfway done apology letter & then I told him he needed to step away for a minute, sit on the couch and take some deep breaths & not break anything on the way there, either! He sat and punched himself in the side of the head/face. I jumped up quickly, because I immediately thought of my past self, and did the following:

wrapped his arms around himself & held onto him tightly, & told him all the things he needs to tell himself and I made him repeat it all, too:

“I’m a good person”

“I have a beautiful heart and a beautiful soul”

“I’m a good boy!”

“I’m a good son”

“I’m a good brother to Christine and Lily”

“I’m a good Grandson”

“I’m a good Nephew & Cousin”

“Just because I make choices, does NOT mean I am a bad person”

And then I said “and my face is pretty cute”

And he smiled & then we were all smiling because when we looked around, Dad had been smiling the entire time in absolute awe of the way I love our children.

If it’s one thing I will never fail consciously, it’s my 3 Babies: Christine, Lily, Jack. ♥️

[koritoraa]

Tr characters at a Black cookout

A/n: Hella pressed I ain’t went to a cookout this year.

Warning: language

Feature: Takemichi, Baji, Mikey & Mitsuya

Part 2

Takemichi

-All the little kids would drag him, like they would be throwing shit at him and hitting him for no reason.

-At first when he arrive he would be awkward asf, then later on once he gets use to everything he would warm up a little.

-When all the cookout songs come on he would be confused asl and would not do the dances right, eventually someone’s gonna help him but he still will be bad. Oh well e for effort I guess.

-He would follow you everywhere since he don’t know any of your family members yet, until you introduce him to them.

-Literally help him socialize with your family members since he’s nervous and want to make a good first impression on them.

Baji

-He would be awll over the place, like you be like “where’s Baji ? He was just walking next to me.” Naww he over there dancing with ya uncle and your cousins.

-Why he’s over there with them if them niggas are smoking and drinking he gone smoke and drink along with them. Your uncles and cousins offered him to join them so ofc he wasn’t gonna turn that shit down.

-Would be teaching the kids how to fight and he would be fighting the bad ass ones.

-Plzz everyone wanna touch his hair. Like get ya mom, aunt, grandma and sister away from him they keep asking him for his hair routine.

-Nah cuz when that cha cha real smooth song come on best believe Baji’s ass gonna be in the front row. Everyone gonna be so impressed that he knows the dance already, they just wasn’t expecting it ya know.

-Okay so like when the kids are in the bouncy house guess what him and Mikey bout do join them, like he would kick them out and then “accidentally” pop the bouncy house 😐 then the kids would be bawling they eyes out. This nigga is the definition of a menace to society. That’s crazy

Mikey

-All I know is that he’s gonna be where all the food is at, he would definitely overflow his plate and all the aunties would be happy asl that he likes their food. He would have like 7 hotdogs and 8 hamburgers on his plate.

-He would be over at the grill eyeing the food as it’s getting cooked.

“Ay lil man you a little to close to the grill, ya betta watch out before you get burn”

“Oh shit ya right”

-He would personally introduce himself to everyone when you’re not with him. He would be like “Hi nice to meet you y/n’s mom( or whoever), my name is Mikey. I’m their boyfriend/friend” whatever you want him to be lmao. Stay around him cause he’s gonna be talking to everyone.

-I feel like he would get along with all the kids, like play games with them and make them laugh. They would love him. Or it could be the opposite if they start being annoying asl he’s gonna tell them some things and then you gonna see a whole crowd of kids crying they eyes out running away from him to Mitsuya. Ruthless mf

-After he’s finish eating he’s gonna go inside the house to go take a quick nap, but guess what he see a random ass baby on the bed sleeping so he’s gonna leave and find another room and to nap in. You gonna be looking for him everywhere, like the last place you wasn’t expecting to find him is in ya auntie room sleep (dw she ain’t in there)

“Mikey, get ya ass outta my auntie bed”

Mitsuya

-Idc everyone would love him. Especially the kids, they would be following him everywhere. I can see him carrying a lot of babies, he would ask the parents first ofc.

-He would get along with everyone there old or young, doesn’t matter.

-When the songs come on he would know how to do the dances unlike Takemichi. He would be in the front row along with Baji.

-If he’s not introducing himself to anyone else he would just be right by your side walking with you.

-He would think your family is cool since they are so welcoming and kind to him.

Thank you for reading <3 I stan U

[machine-gun-casie]

Co-Stars

request: Hey cutie! I love your writing and i was wondering if you could write a Pete imagine where he and the reader are in a movie together where they play a couple and he falls in love with her. Pretty please! ♡♡

wc: 2.6k

a/n: i made her the love interest for the king of staten island cuz i just watched the movie and its so good!! but dw no spoilers

You walked onto set with your iced coffee in hand and your earbuds blasting music in your ears. The set for this movie was probably the most fun and relaxing set you’ve ever been on. Except when Marisa Tomei or Steve Buscemi was there. It was only intimidating to you because of how new you were to the acting scene and how iconic they were.

But you had almost no scenes with them, all of your scenes were with Pete for the most part. Technically, you didn’t even need to come on set today. You just couldn’t stop yourself.

“Hey!” Maude called out to you when she saw you, motioning for you to come over. “Didn’t think you were needed on set today.”

“Oh, I’m not.” You replied and shrugged. “But I’ve got nothing better to do.”

“Really?” Maude raised her eyebrows at you. “You’re staying in New York City and you took the free ferry ride to Staten Island? Because you had nothing to do. In New York fucking City?!”

You furrowed your eyes and looked up in thought. “Well, when you phrase it like that…”

“y/n, it’s gonna sound weird no matter how I phrase it.” Maude chuckled.

You shoved her shoulder lightly and laughed with her as you explained. “I have no friends here, I have no one to hangout with.”

“Mhm, okay.” Maude teased you. “So we’re gonna pretend this isn’t about you-”

“Shut the fuck up Maude.” You hissed. “Shut up or I’ll tell your dad.”

“Tell her dad what?” Judd asked from behind you. You jumped slightly as you turned to face him as Maude snickered next to you. “Why’re you on set, y/n? We don’t need you today.”

“Because y/n has a crush on Pete.” Maude sang like she was teasing you on the school playground. 

“Maude!” You snapped at her. “He could hear!”

Judd laughed and shook his head. “Don’t worry, he’s filming.”

“In the firehouse?” You asked and your eyes lit up when Judd nodded. “Thanks Judd!” You yelled as you ran off to the front doors of the firehouse. 

“They really think they’re hiding it?” He asked his daughter.

“I think so.” She nodded, joining her dad in watching you run up the stairs. “If they’re not together by the time we wrap, I might strangle one of them.”

“Not if I do it first.”

You smiled and waved at the firefighters in the station today. Because the firehouse that was being used was still a functional one, the actors and the firefighters all became pretty well acquainted. You skipped over to the back room where you could hear them filming.

Bill and Pete were sitting at the table in front of the camera. You stood over by the sound guys and just watched them play out the scene. 

“What take is this?” You whispered to the closest person to you.

“Fourth.” They replied. “I think we got it, though. Fingers crossed we take fifteen after this.”

You nodded and leaned back to enjoy the show. Your favorite scenes to watch were when Pete and Bill were bickering. It was so clear that they both enjoyed it because they could improvise some jabs at each other. You noticed that Pete absolutely adored including the handlebar moustache during these scenes.

“Cut!” Someone called out. “Everyone take lunch!”

Pete looked around and made eye contact with you when the camera cut, smiling when he saw you. He turned to Bill and said a few parting words before coming up to you.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” He asked, leaning his shoulder against the wall to face you. “You don’t have any scenes today.”

“I don’t.” You nodded. “Came to see you.”

“You just can’t get enough of me, can you?” Pete smirked.

You rolled your eyes and turned slightly. “I’ll fucking leave, Pete.”

“Hey, no no no!” Pete stumbled over his words as he grabbed your arm. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Thank you for coming all the way out here for me. I am very very grateful.”

His hold on your arm slowly slid until he was holding onto your fingers, you curled your fingers into his and held his hand loosely. “You better be.” You scoffed. “Come on, let’s go grab lunch.” You gently pulled on your intertwined hands and led him out of the back room towards the front.

“Where do you wanna go?” Pete asked as his steps fell in tandem with yours. 

“You’re the local, you decide.” You looked up at him and swung your conjoined hands lightly in between you. “Surprise me.”

“Oh, so we’re doing romantic type shit now?” Pete laughed, raising his eyebrows at you. 

“Romantic type shit is my favorite, you know this.” You giggled, smiling and playing along. This little act you had going on was strange but somehow comforting. You would go on these ‘dates’ that were never called dates. And neither of you would discuss the logistics. But you both knew. And that’s what was comforting. There was no lying or hiding, just collective evading.

“I’ll take you to this place Casey and I would go to when we were kids.” He paused when he opened the door and motioned for you to go first. You walked down the stairs together and started walking along the sidewalk. “The owner knew my dad, so he used to give us free ice cream sometimes.”

“You think we can get some free ice cream today?” You asked, somewhat joking but also. Free ice cream.

“Not sure, but if he sees you we might.” Pete laughed and shook his head. “Last time I took a date there was during junior year. You should’ve seen his face, he was so fucking happy for me.”

“Junior year Pete was getting laid, huh?” You asked teasingly.

“Pfft, he fucking wishes.” He snorted. “Junior year Pete would pass out if he was here in my shoes right now.”

“I bet he would.” You hummed. “This movie is insane.”

“Not what I was talking about.” Pete said with a tight lipped smile on his face. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, looking at him for an answer. He simply looked down at your interlaced hands.

“Oh.” You smiled shyly, warmth blooming in your chest. “I thought the sappy stuff was my department?”

“I can contribute.” He shrugged as he came to a stop at a crosswalk. “It’s that one over there.” He pointed to the classic pizzeria looking joint right across from you.

“Thank god, I’m starving.” You sighed, stomach rumbling at the thought of food of any kind. 

You walked in and followed Pete as he led you to the booth in the back corner. You peaked behind you to look through the windows at the front and saw what Pete no doubt took notice of before you. A guy with a camera up to his face was on the sidewalk adjacent to the one you and Pete were walking on. Lovely.

The paps were a problem you weren’t expecting to face in Staten Island, but Pete warned you otherwise. They were a hindrance on set, but they were even worse off set. A few times you were followed when you would go to get food on your own or you were heading home for the night. Pete promised you to always accompany you whenever he could after that, not wanting you to deal with the paps alone.

Cozying up in the corner booth, you were almost sure they couldn’t see you from outside. You let out a sigh of relief and leaned back, letting your shoes bump into Pete’s. “So, what’s good here?”

“They’ve got this eggplant tower thing that barely tastes like eggplants. It’s crazy good.” Pete told you, hands going up to show you how big it would be. “Should be good for both of us.”

“Great, we’ll take that then.” You smiled and nodded, glad to not have the anxiety of looking over a menu for the first time and take forever to read through it only to end up with a cheese pizza or something basic like that. 

After flagging down a waiter in the semi busy restaurant and ordering the food, Pete dropped his arms onto the table and looked over at you. “Maude give you shit today?”

“I think she writes it down in her schedule.” You replied and laughed. “I think she means well, though.”

“She’s like my real little sister now.” Pete nodded as he spread open his palm next to your hand on the table. “Her and Casey have joined forces.”

Lifting your hand gently, you traced the lines on his palms with your fingers. “How is Casey? She excited to shoot next week?”

“Yeah, yeah. She’s a little nervous.” Pete replied as he held your hand in his, trapping your tracing fingers in between his. “She’s going back and forth on whether she wants to come or not.”

“No, she should come!” You said, whining at the thought of losing that scene in the movie. “She’s gonna be great. Did you tell her that she’s my favorite character in the movie?”

Sighing, Pete rolled his eyes and nodded. “I did and she won’t shut up about it.”

Lunch included lots of jokes and laughter, with your hand in his the whole time. Neither of you said anything about the hands, or the fact that you trapped one of his legs in between yours under the table. No lying or hiding, just collective evading. 

Both of you only managed to eat half of the truly gigantic eggplant tower, so you decided to have it packed up for later. You called over a waiter, a different one this time who seemed to be a teenager by the looks of it, who clearly recognized you or at least Pete. They quickly nodded and smiled, taking the plate of food from your table and the empty glasses. You saw them skitter off and whisper to one of their colleagues along the way, no doubt telling them that you were here.

“I think we’ve been caught.” You whispered to Pete. He looked over to where you were facing and sighed.

“I think we have.” Pete chuckled. “Watch, Andy’s gonna come out any minute now.”

Exactly as Pete predicted, a tall man with a huge grin on his face came out from the back. He marched over to your table with open arms. “Peter! It’s been so long, young man!”

Pete stood up and gave the man a hug. “Hey Andy, how are you?”

Andy pulled away and gave Pete a heavy pat on the shoulder. “I ain’t any younger pal, I can tell you that.” He said with the heaviest New York accent you’ve ever heard. He sneaked a few glances at you as he spoke, clearly curious. “Who’s your friend, Peter?”

Pete’s cheeks grew a little red as he cleared his throat. “Andy, this is y/n. She’s my co-star in this movie we’re shooting.”

“Co-star? Is that what they’re calling it nowadays?” Andy mumbled as he turned to look at you as you stood up to face him. “Is he treating you good?”

You laughed and nodded. “Of course he is, Pete’s a great guy. You should know, Pete says you’ve known each other since he was a kid.”

“I have, I have. Used to give him free ice cream. I bet he didn’t tell you that.” Andy pointed at Pete accusingly. 

“He did, actually.” You hummed. 

“Good, ‘cause you’re getting some today too.” Andy nodded before turning to face the kitchen. “Sammy! Get me two ice cream cones, mixed!”

“No, that’s alright-” You started before Andy interrupted you. 

“It’s my treat, kid.” Andy said with a kind smile. “For Pete and his co-star.”

With your ice cream cones and bag of leftover food in hand, you and Pete said your goodbyes to Andy as you left the restaurant. You kept close to Pete as you walked down the sidewalk, the same pap from earlier could be seen in the corner of your eye. But he didn’t seem to be following you, so you calmed down slightly. 

“Holy shit!” You gasped when it hit you, eyes wide. “We’re late! I didn’t even feel the time.”

Pete glanced at his watch and saw that it had been way more than fifteen minutes. You had been off set for almost forty minutes at this point. He looked at you and you both paused for a second before bursting into laughter. He shrugged with a frown. “Oh well.”

You continued your stroll in a comfortable silence as you both finished your ice cream. You spotted a little playground hidden behind a few trees as you popped the last bit of the crunchy cone in your mouth. “Look Pete, swings.” You pointed.

“You wanna go on the swings?” He asked and you nodded. “You’re not worried about Judd on set?”

“What set?” You asked with faux confusion. “I wasn’t called on set today.” Pete laughed as he let you pull him towards the swings.

Neither of you were swinging really, your younger self would have been disappointed at your lack of enthusiasm. You were both just swaying next to each other, holding the two chains in between you to keep yourself from swaying too far away. 

“Isn’t it weird how normal people don’t have to make things official?” Pete asked all of a sudden. “With relationships, I mean. If they figure that shit out with each other, that’s it. They don’t need to post something stupid on Instagram or whatever.”

“I guess, yeah.” You nodded. “But who do you consider to be not normal?”

“Us.” He said, eyes downcast at the bag of food he put on the ground between the swings.

You paused to articulate your thoughts. “We don’t have to do anything if we don’t want to. Fuck Instagram. We are normal people.”

Pete laughed at your tone, defensive but not against him. “We are.”

This time you looked down at the ground and avoided Pete’s gaze. “Is this… Is this about us? You and me?”

Pete didn’t answer. His silence on this topic has never scared you until now. Was he thinking of being serious with you? Or the opposite? Was this his messed up way of letting you down slowly? The collective evading was no longer comforting but frightening. Was he just playing around with your feelings while you thought it was a slow start to something you didn’t know you wanted?

“I think I’m in love with you.” 

With wide eyes you looked back up at Pete, seeing the anxiousness in his eyes. “What?” You asked softly.

“I-I wasn’t sure, but then I was talking to-” You cut him off with a kiss, pulling his swing closer to yours and placing a hand on his cheek. He moaned lightly into the kiss and placed his hand on your waist, turning your swing to face him properly.

You pulled away slowly and sighed. “I think I’m in love with you, too.”

That was your first kiss with Pete. The thought made you laugh. “What’s funny?” He asked.

“That was our first kiss.” You said and he nodded. “So you’re saying that you fell in love with me before we even kissed?”

“Yes?” Pete furrowed his eyebrows. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Not necessarily, no.” You shook your head. “But what if I was a bad kisser?”

Pete clicked his tongue and pulled away with a laugh. “You’re not a bad kisser.”

“But what if I was?” You retorted, giggling. “Would you still love me if I was a bad kisser?”

“First of all, yes.” Pete pointed out. “Second, you wouldn’t be a bad kisser.”

“But what if I was?” You repeated.

“We would have lots and lots of practice.”

[julemmaes]

Zero pressure cuz I know you’re working on other things but are u still planning on writing the sequel to I Love You with Cal?

I’m Sorry

acotar next gen fan fic

part two for this one shot here

A/N: I won’t be giving any summary cause it’s 1am and I’m crying cause I just want to be able to sleep, I just hope this will satisfy you all and maybe makes you cry a little cause it was hard to finish it. Please if there’s any mistakes don’t point that out to me, I’ll check tomorrow. Enjoy!

Masterlist

Word count: 3,857

Cal had returned home shortly after dinner. His family had already finished eating and he just wanted to get some rest after the long day he'd had with Raina.

They'd stayed up all night the day before because her parents hadn't been home, and during the day he'd found it difficult to focus on his classes, so much that he'd skipped one in order to take a nap in the university gardens. All of this, of course, hadn't stopped him from going straight back to Raina's house to spend more time together, and while they were supposed to be studying for the upcoming exam they were both taking, they had decided to spend the entire afternoon doing the nasty.

Now, lying on his bed, he tried not to laugh too loudly at the memes he was looking at, so as not to disturb Ezra who was studying despite the hour. Unlike him, his brother couldn't afford to fail an exam and his mother would surely hit him repeatedly if he tried to mess that up.

He was about to shut everything off and warn Raina that he was going to sleep, when Ezra sighed too loudly to be casual. Thinking it was just for the studying, Cal didn't give it that much thought and opened up the chat with his girlfriend, starting to type his goodnight.

"Fuck it." muttered Ezra, closing the book, "Cal, man?"

"Hmm?" he hummed from his spot on the bed.

"Yesterday after you left, something happened and I think you should know because it's partially your fault too and the rest of us have all apologized already." he said in a tone that was far too serious for the relaxed situation they were in.

Cal's head snapped towards him for a second as he saw Ezra get up and walk towards his bed, before returning his attention to the screen where Raina was telling him she was going to take a shower - and think about him in the process. An idle grin appeared on his lips and he held his breath when she sent him a picture in front of the mirror wearing only a pair of panties.

"Can you please listen to me without looking at your phone?" asked Ezra a little more pressing.

Cal huffed, running a hand through his hair and turning off the screen. He crossed his hands over his chest, smiling sarcastically at his brother, "You have my full attention."

It wasn't true. If he wanted to sleep that night, he too would have had to take a shower to get rid of that uneasy itch between his legs. The picture Raina had just sent him shone brightly etched into his eyelids, but he wasn't going to risk Ezra grabbing his phone out of his hands and seeing pictures of his half-naked girlfriend.

Not again, at least.

"You're not listening to me," Ezra blurted, his voice low.

"God you sound like mom when she gets pissed," he snorted. He pulled himself up on his elbows, jerking his chin, "What?"

"I caught Celia coming out of the tavern yesterday and she was crying," the other said, slipping off his shirt to put on his pajamas, "Mom and dad have already talked to her and me and the girls have apologized more than once, I slept in there with them last night, but-" he cleared his throat, running a hand over his face.

Cal forgot about Raina in a split second.

If Celia had cried and Ezra had felt the need to tell him, it meant it was something important.

"But?" urged Cal to continue, sitting up and setting the phone down on the nightstand.

Ezra looked him straight in the eye as he took off his jeans as well, then looked away, shaking his head, "Before I tell you, it's not your fault specifically, it was a lot of things that built up that made her break down for a moment-"

Cal interrupted him, "Can you get straight to the point, please? You're worrying me."

"It's not even that important, I just think you need to know."

"Jesus Christ, just tell me," he snapped.

"Celia had a complete nervous breakdown last night," Ezra said in one breath, kneeling on his bed without even looking at him. Cal's heart clenched in his chest. "She said we don't love her like we love the rest of us," he sighed, "that mom and dad never have time for her basically."

Then Ezra's icy eyes pierced into Cal's hazel ones, and he knew that whatever he said next would be the heaviest bit to hear. He tucked into his shoulders, breathing through his nose.

"She also said that Nora hates her. That you hate her."

Cal closed his eyes, bringing a hand to his forehead, "Fuck." he muttered, "She mentioned me and Nora specifically?"

Ezra didn't answer and Cal opened his eyes, seeing him nod with a grimace on his face, "Dad told her that's not true, obviously, but I think it would be good for her to hear it directly from you."

"Fuck." muttered Cal again. He put his feet on the ground, leaning forward and taking his head in his hands as he remembered how he'd dismissed Celia not once, but twice in the space of a few minutes when she had needed him.

To go have sex, of all things.

"Why didn't you call me? Texted me?" asked Cal, looking over his shoulder at Ezra, "I would have come home sooner." he sighed again when he suddenly remembered the conversation that had taken place only a couple of hours earlier with Celia.

They had been sitting on the couch in the living room in silence when Cal had asked her what movie she wanted to watch and she hadn't answered him right away. She hadn't even looked at him when she'd said, "You don't have to be pretend like you like to stay home with me." before getting up from the couch and going upstairs, probably to her room. Cal had been surprised by those words, but hadn't dwelled too much on his sister's tone of voice or her hurt expression, continuing to text Raina.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." he cursed himself again, thinking about how much that indifference of his had done nothing but prove her fears. He didn't dwell on the image of a distraught Celia crying that appeared in his head too.

Ezra clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, "Listen, if you go in there like this you're just going to scare her," he told him softly, "Calm down for a moment and take a couple of minutes to think, because it sounds like you've been given the worst news you can get, so breathe, think and if you can't get it all done before eleven maybe you should wait until tomorrow morning."

Cal wanted to tell him that it was one of the worst things anyone could say to him, but looking into his eyes he realised that he must have felt the same way the night before.

"Did you find her crying or..?"

Ezra lifted a shoulder, tucking himself under the covers and folding his arms behind his head, "I told you, she was downstairs and I didn't understand what she was doing there, then dad saw her and she burst into tears." a short pause before he resumed speaking in a lower voice, "I haven't heard her cry like that in a few years.  She has to be holding it all in for so long."

Cal ran a hand over his face, puffing out his cheeks.

His phone screen lit up with a notification from Raina.

He opened the chat without even checking the last picture she had sent him:

'I'll text you later princess, something came up and I'm not really in the mood to send you pictures. Sorry.'

Her reply didn't even take ten seconds to appear, 'No, I'm sorry, I wouldn't have sent anything if I knew something was wrong. You need me to call you?'

Cal smiled slightly at the phone, 'Don't worry, you couldn't have known.'

The message that followed sounded more threatening than anything else, 'Okay, but you didn't answer my question, do you want me to call you? I can be there in five if I have to. Or you can come back here, you know I'm alone.'

As tempting as that invitation was, Cal shook his head, knowing full well that it held no double meaning, just genuine concern. 'It's Celia. She wasn't well last night and no one thought to warn me.'

'Oh, what happened?'

'Can I text you later? I have to take care of this now. It's nothing to worry about, just, I'll tell you later.'

'Alright.' Cal chuckled. It was just like seeing her, biting the inside of her lip, thinking of all the possibilities.

'Love you.'

He didn't wait for her reply and lay back down on the bed, putting himself in the same position as his brother.

"Do you think I was an asshole?" he asked at one point, looking up at the ceiling.

He heard Ezra moving around on the bed and when he turned around, his brother was lying on his side, his head resting on one arm. He looked so much like their mum. "She didn't really elaborate when she said you hate her-"

"Could you stop saying I hate her as if it were true?" interrupted Cal, frowning.

Ezra arched an eyebrow, "Sorry." then looked at him attentively, "I was saying, she didn't say anything in particular, so I wouldn't know. What did you do to sweep her off her feet like that?"

Cal looked at him with a slightly wide mouth, "For someone who says it's not my fault, it sure as hell looks like you don't believe it."

"I'm just fucking with you, though, she said you kicked her out of the room," then grimaced, "Actually, dad and I did that too, so don't worry if it's true."

Cal shook his head, amazed, looking up at the ceiling again, "We're all assholes then."

"What did you tell her?" asked Ezra again.

"I just told her I'd help her with her homework, I guess, and then I left," he replied.

"For?" Cal turned to him with an expression that said it all. Ezra scoffed, "You could have helped her five minutes, before you went off to fuck."

Cal flinched at those words, knowing full well how true they were, "You could have done the same. What were you and dad doing anyway?"

Ezra took a while to answer, "We were supposed to be fixing the bike, but we were actually playing darts."

"Busted." he muttered, "We should scold dad too then." joked Cal, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"I think he's regretted it enough already," the eldest said in a serious tone, "He barely touched his food at dinner yesterday and then went straight to bed."

"Maybe he was just tired," Cal assumed, trying to kill time before the inevitable.

"I don't think so, he pretty much spent all day staring at Celia like she might break at any moment." he ran a hand through his hair, mussing it, "Sometimes I wonder how they manage with five kids. It must be hard."

Cal frowned, looking at his brother, trying to figure out if he was just playing around or not. When he saw Ezra staring at the ceiling with a lost gaze, he realized that no, he was one hundred percent serious.

That he didn't realize the help he gave his parents? It was true, Ezra was only four years older than Cal, but there was no way he shouldn't be considered some sort of third parent. The eldest of the siblings had taken care of all of them from day zero and had never backed down from such duty.

Cal's eyes widened, deciding not to broach that subject that evening.

One thing at a time.

"Do you think you'll talk to her tonight?" asked Ezra, "I only ask because - even if you don't have to tonight - I think you should go say goodnight, tell her you love her before you go to sleep."

"Give me ten more minutes and then I'll go," Cal murmured.

"As long as you need."

***

"The other day when I went out with Iria and we met one of the boys in her class," Nora said with bright eyes, "he asked me to give him my number and I don't think I should tell mom."

Celia giggled, hiding her face against the duvet on her bed, "She'd definitely tell dad and at that point you'd be quicker to jump in front of a train on your own."

Nora burst out laughing, looking up at her from the upside down position she was in, "Iria said the same thing too."

"What's his name?"

Her sister's face lit up, "Zeke. I don't know his last name." then she cackled, "Maybe I should ask him."

"Is he cute?" asked Celia just as the door opened and Cal appeared.

"Who's cute?" asked their brother, just the instant Nora said, "Don't you know how to knock?"

"An actor." replied the younger one, as any sort of excitement vanished inside her.

She didn't want the strange bubble that had been created over the last few hours to burst. She had finally managed to convince Nora to spend some time with her as they hadn't done in months and she hadn't had that much fun in too long.

Cal shifted his gaze from Nora to her, keeping his eyes fixed in hers for a while before turning back to Nora, "You're not telling me the truth."

"Why are you here?" the older one asked, turning on her stomach and looking at her brother standing in the doorway.

Celia felt herself blush for some reason when Cal's eyes settled on her again and said, "Could you come with me for a moment?"

She arched an eyebrow, "Why?"

The boy seemed to hesitate for a few seconds, "I'd like to talk to you."

Nora yawned, not covering her mouth, "The two of us would be talking."

Cal turned to the older of the two of them, "Stop being so bossy."

"I wouldn't have to if you knocked before coming into our room and then claimed to steal Lia from me," Nora replied tensely.

Celia pulled herself up to her seat, rubbing her hands over her face as she tried to suppress a smile.

She knew they weren't really fighting, but they were bickering to win her attention, her time, and she'd be lying if she said it wasn't warming her heart.

"I-" stammered Cal, gesturing to Nora, "What- I'm not trying to steal Cece from you, I just want to talk to her for five minutes."

"What do you want Cal?" she asked trying to figure out what she needed to discuss at this time of the night.

Cal gave her an exasperated look, "Ezra told me what happened last night, I wanted to apologize."

Both she and Nora straightened up, but Celia was the only one who held her breath, blinking a couple of times, hoping to erase any trace of surprise from her expression.

Nora cleared her throat, sitting up, "I think I'll go brush my teeth." she said getting up.

Celia frowned, "You've done that before with-"

"Brush my teeth!" she repeated loudly, closing the bedroom door behind her.

Now only she and Cal stood in the room.

"Cal, you don't-"

He interrupted her before she could say anything else, crossing the room with two wide strides, "I want to apologize."

Celia looked at him, pulling herself up to sit cross-legged as he plopped down on Nora's bed in front of her. She nodded her head to tell him to continue, "You already said that."

"I know," Cal whispered. Then he shifted his gaze outside the window that separated the girls' beds, "I know."

Her eyes fell on his hands and she saw that he was torturing his ring she knew Raina had given him for their first anniversary. A nervous tic that characterised practically every adult in that house. Celia was just waiting for the day when Nora, too, was given a ring and she, too, would start twisting it between the index finger and thumb of her opposite hand.

They were silent for a few seconds and Celia was about to speak, make his task easier by telling him that everything was fine, that it had just been a particularly tiring day, but the words caught in her throat when he looked back at her and in the most serious tone of voice she had ever heard him use, he said, "You know you're my best friend right?"

Celia didn't know how to respond. She wasn't even sure if she was actually breathing. That's why she forced herself to get some air into her lungs. That strained breath must have sounded like a sob or a gasp, because Cal grimaced before resuming.

"I know it's not always like this Cece, but you're my best friend.

"I'm sorry for leaving you like that last night. I was an asshole and I shouldn't have acted like that. I have no excuse for ignoring you and then leaving for Raina's without helping you first, but I want to tell you something." he looked at her with such intensity that she didn't understand how he could speak. She nodded slowly.

"You will always be my sister. You will always be the person I love most in the world. You, Nora, Andra, Ezra." he swallowed noisily, "You are my life and I love you. Understand?"

Celia nodded with slightly wide eyes.

"We're growing up. These years won't be like the ones we had when we were younger, but that doesn't mean I don't love you as much as ever. That I hate you." he shuddered at those words, "Hell, Ce, I could never hate you. Not even if you did me the greatest wrong in the world.

"We'll go back to being close, as close as... as-" he grunted, throwing his hands to the sky, "Like two broad beans in a pod."

Celia chuckled, frowning, "What are you talking about?"

"I don't know, it's not important," he smiled. "What is important is that you understand that no one in this family hates you. No one could ever hate you."

The words were out before she could stop them, "It seems that way sometimes."

Cal contracted his jaw, "I know, I'm sorry," he said in a lower voice, "I can tell you something that will probably make you feel better."

"Alright."

"Ezra and I are essentially five years apart, and," he straightened, running a hand through his hair, "There was a time when I was a senior in middle school, just like you, and when he was a junior in high school at the same time."

"That must have been hard for you," Celia whispered.

Cal nodded, smiling at her reassuringly, "It was one of the worst times of my life, I think. I was sure Ezra wouldn't consider me a friend anymore, just a brother, because he's legally forced to be that, you know." they both chuckled, "But no, Ezra was just growing up and you get to a point where your interests are too different to keep getting involved in everything the other does.

"It definitely happened to Nora with me and it's going to happen to Andra with you," then, seeing the scared look on her face that one day she would make her little sister feel the way her older siblings were making her feel at that moment, he added, "But Cece, that's life. I'm not saying it's easy, but it's not your fault. It happens."

"It still hurts." she pointed out again.

Cal reached out to her, putting both hands on her shoulders, "I know, but I can assure you that the second you get old enough and mom and dad will let you hang out with Nora, you'll completely forget you ever felt that way."

"Was it like that for you and Ezra?"

He nodded, getting up to sit on her bed next to her, "It took me a little longer than it will take you, because of the bigger age gap, but yeah." he nodded, smiling at her, "When Ezra and I started 'playing together' again," he said mimicking the quotes with his fingers, "It was like all the years we were too far apart to actually have fun together faded away. It was like finding an old friend you thought you'd never see again." he put an arm around her shoulders, bringing her against his side, "That's why I'm telling you not to worry."

Celia closed her eyes, muttering, "You were still an asshole, though. And so was Nora. And a little bit Ezra too."

She felt Cal shake while chuckling, "Andra wasn't? At least she's safe."

"Oh, shut up," she said, breaking free from her brother's grasp.

Cal looked down at her, a smile all too similar to their father's on his lips, "I love you, Cece." he said under his breath.

She nodded, feeling her cheeks heat up, "I love you too."

Then Cal laughed, running a hand over his face to stop the giggles and avoid waking their parents.

"What's up?" asked Celia in an amused tone.

"God," Cal breathed, trying not to laugh, "I can't wait until you and Nora are old enough to drink. Ezra and I have to take you to see so many places."

Celia rested her hands on her knees. She still didn't understand all that drinking hype, but she was sure her brothers would give her unforgettable experiences.

Cal let himself fall backwards on the bed, covering his face with an arm, "I'm sorry for acting like that yesterday, I'll try to pay more attention to your needs or whatever you want." he murmured after the laughter was fully subsided.

Celia lay next to him on the mattress, close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body, "It's nothing, I'm fine now."

"It's not nothing," Cal said, firmly, "The fact that you had to reach such a breaking point that you couldn't hold back the crying isn't nothing, don't even think that as a joke."

When she didn't answer, he took it as an invitation to continue.

"And I know dad already told you, but talk to us before you break down like that."

Celia swallowed, trying to chase away the tears, "I will." she finally whispered.

She heard Cal sigh, "Come here," before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards him. Celia closed her eyes, letting her older brother hold her, letting him give her the love they all said they felt for her.

Finally feeling the entirety of that weight being lifted from her shoulders, she fell asleep with Cal's voice promising her incredible adventures and memorable nights in a future Celia never imagined would be so close.

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[skeeter-110]

A Canvas of Past Experiences

By: @skeeter-110 for @littlemissagrafina

Rating: General Audiences

Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts / Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark

Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Summary: Penny loved getting tattoos and piercings. Of course, she only had her ears pierced in high school and a tiny stick-and-poke on her ankle; she wanted to look professional when applying to her dream college, of course. But she quickly learned that everyone was a lot more lenient about that kind of stuff than she thought. Although, of course, not everyone was lenient about it.

This fic is for @littlemissagrafina for the @friendly-neighborhood-exchange!!

They asked for the prompt: Peter or female Peter (whichever you're more comfortable with) has wanted tattoos and piercings for years and they finally start getting them. They hide them up until college when they get used to not covering up or taking the jewelry out around people and when they come home for break, Tony and the ironfam all have really shocked and surprised reactions. Especially Tony cuz Protective Irondad™

I really hope you enjoy this!!

Link to AO3

Penny had always loved the idea of tattoos and piercings. She loved the idea of someone being able to turn something so meaningful into a beautiful piece of art that you would wear forever.

Of course, when she started getting more into the idea of tattoos and piercings, she was one year away from high school, so the idea of getting a tattoo did not fly too well with her mom and dad. She was, however, allowed to get her ears pierced when she and Pepper went out for a girl's day, and that was good enough; for that moment.

But Penny never lost the love for it all.

Her first tattoo was when she was in high school. If you even really want to call it a tattoo.

She and M.J were having a sleepover together when the idea of doing stick and pokes came up. It was just a silly suggestion that passed, a “what if we got crazy tonight” kind of idea. But, after a while, the idea turned more into a reality, and before the two girls knew it, they were getting all the supplies ready.

It wasn’t anything crazy, just a tiny little star on her ankle. Penny knew she had to be careful with getting tattoos if she wanted to be able to get a professional job - and her parents would probably have a heart attack if they found out - so it stayed hidden underneath her sock. Although, none of that matters; the makeshift tattoo faded away before her junior year anyway.

But, despite wanting them, between wanting to look professional while she was applying for her dream school, and her overprotective father, Penny wasn’t able to get more than her ears pierced twice.

Until she went off to college.

Penny started considering getting another piercing - just to be able to test the limits of her newfound freedom - a few months after getting settled into her new life at college.

When she began asking her roommate who the best piercer in town was, though, her roommate really ran with the idea and the next thing Penny knew, they both were going with a group of friends to get tattoos.  

It kind of just snowballed from there.

One tattoo quickly turned into two, and then three, and then four. And then the next thing Penny knew, she was moving onto piercings; getting a stud in her nose, her belly button pierced, even an industrial in her ear.

She didn't really think much of it at the time. Her tattoos were placed so she could show them off, but also hide them at the same time, and she figured that she could enjoy her piercings now and just take them out later when need be.

It was so normal for other students to have piercings and tattoos, though, that Penny felt comfortable enough herself to not even bother hiding hers.

Until it was time for her to go home for the holidays, that is.

Her Dad had told her a couple of weeks ago over the phone that they planned on spending Christmas together at the house in Malibu - something about Morgan begging to make sand mermaids, whatever that meant - so Penny was to meet them at the airport there.

Because MIT was in Massachusetts, Penny arrived at the airport in sweatpants and one of her Dad's old hoodies, so her recent modifications were all basically hidden under clothes and hair; except for the stud in her nose.

In the future, whenever Penny thinks back to this moment, she likes to partially blame all that for what happens later. But, right now, in this current moment of time, all Penny could focus on was not running and throwing herself at her parents; her piercings and tattoos were - and the thought of hiding them - was the last thing on her mind. Especially when she heard a familiar little voice calling for her.

"Penny! Penny, Penny, Penny!" Morgan calls out as she runs down the hall. Penny couldn't help but laugh when she saw her younger sister, instantly getting down on one knee and opening her arms up.

"Hello, M. Oh, I missed you!" Penny coos as Morgan slams into her, quickly wrapping her younger sister up in a tight hug.

"Hey, don't hog all of her attention. Her parents would also like to see her." Tony teases as he and Pepper finally made their way over to the two girls.

"Oh, don't worry old man, there's plenty of me to go around." Penny jokes back, lifting Morgan up in her arms as she stood up.  As soon as Penny was upright, Tony pulled her into a hug, both of them breathing each other in. Three months was definitely too long.

"I missed you, Dad," Penny whispers, Tony giving his daughter one last squeeze in return before releasing her. And of course, that was the first time Tony had gotten a really good look at Penny since she went off to college.

"Woah, I know it's been a few months since we've seen each other, but I'm pretty sure you didn't have," Tony pokes the stud sitting in Penny's nose, "this when you left. What, are you joining a biker gang?" Tony questions, making both Penny and Pepper roll their eyes.

"Oh, Tony, leave her alone. It's just a tiny little stud." Pepper tries to placate while pulling Penny in for her own hug.

"I don't care if it's tiny, there's still a hole in our daughter's face where there wasn't a hole before." Tony continues to voice his displeasure.

"I think it's cool! Can I get one?" Morgan chimes in, causing Penny to burst into laughter at her father's reaction; he looked like he was about to have a heart attack at just the mere idea of Morgan also getting her nose pierced.

"How about we discuss getting your ears pierced in a couple of years instead." Pepper offers instead, everyone glad when that was enough to get Morgan off the subject for a while.

The key term there: for a while.

It didn't take too long for them to get the rest of Penny's luggage and to begin heading out to the beach house, but it definitely was long enough for the heat to reach it's high - causing Penny to sweat in her winter clothes - and for dinnertime to begin; causing everyone's stomachs to growl.

"Hey, Penny, do you want to go swimming in the pool with me while Daddy grills dinner?" Morgan excitedly asks, the small girl clearly over the moon to finally have her big sister back home.

"Yes, please. I'm roasting in these clothes." Penny whines, glaring at Tony when he began to laugh at her.

"That's what you get for wearing a hoodie and sweats when you know how hot it gets here." Tony light-heartedly says.

"Yeah, well, it's freezing in Massachusetts right now, you should know that." Penny snarks making Tony fondly chuckle. No doubt memories of when he went to MIT were flooding through his mind.

Almost as soon as they pulled up to the house, Penny was grabbing her luggage and dashing inside so she could change with Morgan right on her heels, both of them leaving their parents behind to get dinner started.

Penny took a bit longer than she usually would have getting dressed, taking her time afterward to put her stuff away and breathe in the familiar sight of her room.

Once she was dressed in a tank-top and shorts with her swimsuit underneath, Penny began making her way out to the patio where the pool was and where her Dad was, inevitably, grilling burgers. And that's where Penny messes up.

"Penny, what is all over your arms and legs?" Morgan calls from where she was sitting on the pool steps, making Penny cringe when she realized all her tattoos were on display.

"Penelope Virginia-" Penny heard her Father begin to grit through his teeth, making her whip around and put her hands up to try and placate him.

"-Dad, don't freak out-"

"-Stark! What the hell is all over your body?" Tony seethes as he walks around the grill and over towards Penny.

"They're just little tattoos; nothing too serious," Penny mumbles, knowing that any argument she gave in that moment wouldn't even be remotely good enough for her Dad.

"'Nothing too serious?'" Tony repeats in shock before spitting in his hand and rubbing it over the one tattoo Penny had over her shoulder.

"Eww, Dad, stop it, that's disgusting," Penny whines, pulling away and shoving Tony's hand off of her.

"Tony, leave her alone for-" Pepper begins to gripe as she walked out with more stuff for dinner, only stopping and gasping when she saw all the ink on Penny's skin. "Penelope, what did you do to yourself?"

"Can we please not make a big deal out of this. They're just tattoos and I promise that they're all in spots where they can easily be hidden and they all have meanings. Like the flowers on my thigh are all our birth flowers; they're not just meaningless little things." Penny tries to defend herself, knowing that it would be better for her if she could at least get her mom on her side.

One pissed-off parent is always better than two pissed-off parents.

"Well, I mean, Tony she is eighteen." Pepper gently slowly concedes.

"No. No, Pep, don't give in. This is bad. Our daughter permanently put ink all over her body." Tony says, already knowing he was going to lose this argument without Pepper on his side.

"And they can be hidden for when she gets a professional job, and they are meaningful. She's living on her own now and can make her own decisions so we can't stop or get mad at this." Pepper continues to soothe.

For a while all Pepper and Tony did was stare at each other, having one of the silent conversations that they've managed to master after so many years of being together.

Eventually Tony huffed before turning back towards Penny.

"I'm not happy about this, you know," Tony informs before pulling Penny into his side for a hug.

"Yeah, I'm aware." Penny chuckles a bit, relaxing into the hug.

"No more, though, young Miss. You're going to run out of skin at this rate." Tony says, trying - and slightly failing - to sound stern as he walked back to the grill.

"No promises," Penny says just to see the look on her Dad's face when she did so. She didn't really have any plans currently for more.

Figuring the excitement for the day was over, Penny was fully ready to just relax in the pool with her younger sister.

Penny jumped into the pool almost as soon as she could, smiling when she heard Morgan laughing at the water splashing her.

Morgan swam over to where Penny was, practically wedging herself in Penny's arms so her older sister had no choice but to hold her.

Once she was settled in Penny's arms, Morgan began to lightly trace one of the tattoos on her shoulder, making Penny smile at how precious the small girl was.

"They're really pretty." Morgan comments. Penny couldn't help but laugh a bit, finding Morgan's intrigue amusing. Although, it wasn't so amusing when Morgan shouted out her next question at their parents.

"Can I get a tattoo next?"  

I actually really enjoyed writing this prompt because I also have eight different piercings and seven different tattoos so this one was right up my alley haha I really hope you enjoyed reading this and it was what you were looking for as your gift!

Tag List: @spideyspeaches @lost-lunar-wolf @joyful-soul-collector @hatakehikari @thatcrackheadsadbitchtm

[zodiyack]

Like Mother Like Daughter

Requested by anon: Hello love! Would you write something about the reader being Polly's lost daughter that finally found her and she goes to her house and Polly of course is insanely happy and they catch up all night ,immediately connected. The next day she gets introduced to the rest of the family and Tommy is super rude to her because he thinks she's there for money,but she's just there for Polly and just as fierce as her mother, putting him in place? :)

Pairing: Shelby & Gray family + Gray!Female!Reader (No romance)

Warnings: Swearing, angst, fluff, probably a trash story that was also probably really horribly written, posting with out proofreading oops

Note: I apologize sincerely for the likelihood of a shitty background story of how reader discovers Pol being her mum. I am also so sorry if this sucks lol, I couldn’t think of good responses for the angsty part sigh. I really hope you guys like this one, again, I’m sorry if I didn’t quite write the situation all too well. However, the more I write, the more I get to know the characters, so this is a start haha

Taglist: @matth1w​, @redspaceace​, @simonsbluee​

masterlist | peaky blinders masterlist

Today was the day. Polly fiddled with her fingers nervously, anticipation for what was to come. Her daughter, Michael’s sister, was just confirmed alive and well, and was being sent to their home. Michael didn’t know he had a sister and Pol had been uninformed of her daughter’s state of health.

It was a surprise, the only person of the family who knew was Polly herself. Y/n was her daughter anyways. The boys could wait until after they caught up; she was eager to reconnect with this girl, who very dear to her heart. Her palms were sweaty, thanks to her nerves.

The news graced her ears just last month. Her lost daughter, alive and well, and pleading with her adoptive mother to let her go and seek out the mystery woman who’s name was with her’s on papers in her father’s office. The girl had no success, getting rejected over and over due to her parent’s hatred for her discovery. Polly, however, found a way to anonymously convince the parents to let her daughter go. Whether it was legal or not, it got it done, and that’s all that mattered.

The door creaked open, the light from the sun shining onto Y/n like a spotlight. Polly’s eyes filled with tears as she scanned her daughter with a small smile on her lips.

“Hi mum...” Y/n smiled back at her, inhaling deeply, not sure if it was real or just a dream. She wished, if it were a dream she could have it every night for the rest of her life.

Polly’s mouth opened slowly, but no words left her mouth. Her hand began it’s journey up to her mouth, stuttering half way, and covered her growing smile. She didn’t know what to do. She was so happy, she could hardly move. True, she was excited to have Michael back, but this was her daughter. A year younger than Michael. More naive than Michael. Lost longer than Michael.

Her words betrayed her, but her body made up for their faults. Pol stumbled towards Y/n and wrapped her arms around her in a bone-crushing hug. “Is that really you? My baby girl?” Her tears soaked into Y/n’s dress clad shoulder, but neither of them cared.

“Mhm.” Y/n too had no luck with her words, too caught up in emotions and snotty tears to give a shit. They chose to make use of their wordless greetings, hugging tightly for a few more minutes. Once they separated, Polly took Y/n’s face in her hands and let her eyes take in the image before her.

“You’re so beautiful... I wonder what you looked like as a child...” More tears fought to escape her eyes. Her breathing was unsteady, like she had just calmed herself from a crying fit, when really, she was doing the opposite, tears greeting her warm cheeks.

“Polly, it’s alright-”

“Mom.” She chuckled softly, “You can call me mum, dear. You are my daughter, after all.”

Y/n didn’t respond. She wracked her brain for words, but they fled at the quiver of her bottom lip. So, she did her plan B. She removed Polly’s hands from her face and quickly surged forward into Pol’s arms. Y/n felt Polly’s arms wrap around her figure protectively, like she was scared that if she let her go she would lose her again.

“Well, mom, we have a lot to catch up on...” They finally separated, but Polly’s hands gripped Y/n’s, the same fear as the hug taunting her heart.

“That is true...and you and your brother have some catching up to do as well, but that can wait until tomorrow.”

Y/n raised an eyebrow with pure curiosity, “Brother?”

. . .

Tommy was walking calmly and sleepily to the kitchen area until he heard laughter coming from a voice that he didn’t recognize. His pace quickened with the need of settling his confusion.

A girl sat next to Michael, laughing at something he said. Tommy felt a slight jab of anger at the sight of a stranger in their home, everyone seeming so comfortable with this new person not even a day into her arrival.

He stepped into the room fully. His brothers and aunt tried to greet him good morning but they were interrupted when he glared at the girl next to Michael. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Might as well as you the same thing, greeting not only a lady, but a relative with a shit attitude like yours.”

“She does have a point. Tom, this is Y/n, Michael’s sister and Pol’s daughter. Which, if you haven’t guessed already, means she’s our cousin.” Ada smirked, astonished at Y/n’s retort.

“Mhm. And she just, somehow showed up over night, am I correct?” 

“Actually she showed up before dark. You boys just didn’t meet her because I wanted to catch up with her as much as possible first. You would too if you had met your daughter whom you thought was dead for seventeen fucking years.” Pol’s attitude seemed to drop from cheery to annoyed.

“So? You chose to believe her?”

“Yes! She’s-”

“She could be a complete stranger who just wants out money or- or- maybe she is your daughter but she also just wants our money.” Tommy turned to Y/n, “Is that it? You’re just lookin’ to take from us? Is that your tactic? Pretend to be our Aunt’s daughter and steal? Or are you not after money? Maybe you work for someone? One of our enemies perhaps?”

Michael rubbed Y/n’s back, he was unsure to why Tommy was acting so shitty today. His reaction was more controlled than this when he met Michael, so why was meeting Y/n any different? Michael furrowed his eyebrows to his older cousin and squeezed Y/n’s hand. She smiled to her brother in reassurance before smiling back at Tommy, not letting his not-so-good-first impression get to her.

Polly, having enough of Tommy’s angsty mood, walked out of the room. She mumbled something about him ruining her day and the reunion.

He grunted and walked past the family, poured himself a shot, leaned against the wall next to the counter, and crossed his arms. Y/n snickered to herself as she viewed his actions. “Oi, what’s so funny?”

“You’re crossing your arms and leaning against the wall in an act of dominance. An attempt to intimidate others, but honestly, your word and argument choices betray your failed claims of top-dog.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well,” she got up from the chair and pushed it back in, walking over to Tommy, “you’re acting childish. Throwing out accusations willy-nilly without reason, acting over dramatic when we could talk like civilized adults, and to top it all off, crossing your arms and pouting when you don’t get your way.” She paused, smiling mischievously.

Her cousin stayed silent. His breathing was a bit off, telling her that she had indeed managed to, if not the tiniest bit, piss him off.

“I came here to see my mother, who I’ve never seen in my entire fucking life, and then I find out I have more family. You can imagine my surprise, happy and finally feeling at home. But now, can you imagine my reaction to the cousin my mum spoke so highly about acting the way you did?”

She didn’t give him time to answer before continuing, drawling out some words and sentences with the intent of mocking the Peaky Blinder.

“You see Tommy, tough guys are what Birmingham sees you, and those of your brothers who are adults, to be, yet I only see two out of the three of you as ‘tough guys’. And now, I’m looking at the missing piece to their ‘tough-guy’ count, but all I see is a whiny child who would rather believe paranoia than his own family. Which, by the way, Polly said you cared most about.”

Tommy’s jaw clenched. Y/n’s face held a victorious smile. “Oh, and one last thing.”

“And that is?”

She swiped the glass from his hands and walked back to her seat, holding Tommy’s shot-glass cautiously. “Trust me or don’t trust me, I don’t care much, but for you and your reputation's sake-” She downed the shot, “you should really man the fucking hell up, cuz.”

Y/n set his glass onto the table, giving him the bird joined with a kind smile before she left the room to chase after her mother. The family, minus Polly and Y/n, sat in silence, processing the personality shift of their newly discovered family member.

“...Yep. She’s Pol’s daughter alright.”

[little-diable]

All I need - Jasper Hale (fluff)

Request by anon: A Jasper fluff where they haven't seen each other in a while because the cullens when to visit the Denalis in Alaska and then he comes back after 3 weeks and sees how much she missed him and fluff ensures?

Maybe some of you know “avelynch” on Tiktok, found this song of hers, she posted it 2 days ago. The lyrics in the beginning are hers. Enjoy my loves. xxx

I wish I could remember what it feels like to touch your skin And what your voice sounds like in person I know FaceTime can distort it and I miss it And I’m sick of kissing you in my head Oh baby tell me when can it be real instead  cuz I would do anything to be close to you again and its hard being here half empty  when somewhere different is my favorite part of me if I could just hold you for real that's the only thing I’ll need Baby that's all I need All I need

Jasper had been away for a few days by now, off to Alaska, to visit the Denalis with his family, leaving (y/n) behind in Forks, knowing that they’d struggle with a human being near. The pair had never been away from each other for that long, (y/n) seemed to realize, that she was struggling quite a lot, without him by her side. Even though they’d talk almost everyday via FaceTime, it just wasn’t the same, she longed for his touch, for his calming words every time she’d wake from a nightmare, time couldn’t go by fast enough, she needed him near, he was like the oxygen she’d need to breathe. 

Snow was covering her garden in a white, thick blanket, Christmas was nearing, it would be the first time in three years, that she’d spend it without him by her side. Her heart was clenching as she thought of having to celebrate her favorite holiday, without the Cullens near, it just wouldn’t be the same, no matter how much her parents would try to cheer her up. She thought about mailing Jasper his present, but he’d be home a few days after Christmas anyways, (y/n) didn’t want to miss the smile on his face as he’d unwrap her present. 

“I just miss you.” she was laying on her side, phone placed next to her pillow, eyes focused on Jasper, he was sitting on the sofa, holding his phone in front of his face, he hated to be that far away from her, just like (y/n), he was struggling a lot more, than he had once thought, without her near, he was already counting down the days, till his departure, finally leaving for Forks. “I miss you too darlin’. Look, there’s Alice.”, he pointed the phone in his sisters direction, trying to ignore the wave of guiltiness that overcame him as he watched tears well up in her eyes. 

(Y/n) was sitting in the middle of her room, the soft fabric of her carpet was rubbing against her legs, soft music was blasting from her speakers, calming her down. She was currently trying to wrap up her presents, hands holding onto Jaspers, fingers moving across the fabric of the leather cover of the notebook, knowing how much Jasper liked to write down his thoughts, things that would haunt him at night, memories he made with (y/n), literally anything, that was roaming around in his mind. 

“Food is ready.”, her mom called from the kitchen, it was Christmas evening, (y/n) was dressed in a beautiful dress Alice had gifted her for her last birthday, a tight smile on her lips as she tried not to think about the Cullens too much. With a sigh she sat down at the table, not noticing the way her parents were smiling at each other, almost chuckling, taking in her almost tortured seeming appearance. Both of her parents were totally obsessed with Jasper and his family, they were extremely grateful for the way they cared for their daughter, how much they supported her and loved her like one of their owns. 

Her mother was intensely watching the clock, not keeping herself from smiling brightly as the door bell finally rung, (y/n)s head snapped upwards, “who is that?”,  annoyance clear in her voice. It wasn’t fair, that her parents had invited somebody, while she couldn’t invite Jasper, why did fate hate her that much? She felt like a whiney little child, (y/n) rose from her seat and walked towards the door, today was definitely not her day. 

Golden eyes found hers, “merry Christmas darlin’.”, she was full on sobbing, jumping into his arms, “what are you doing here?”, (y/n) sobbed against his neck, not letting go of him anytime soon. “I couldn’t keep away any longer, knowing how much both of us would suffer on Christmas evening without being close to one another.”, he kissed her forehead, stepping into her house, greeting her parents with a loving hug. 

The four of them were seated around the dining table, talking about all and nothing, (y/n)s fingers were interlaced with Jaspers, eyes completely focused on his handsome features. “Why don’t you go upstairs and pack a few things?”, (y/n) and Jasper would spend some days at the Cullens mansion, enjoying some time alone as his family was still staying with the Denalis. (Y/n) couldn’t shake off the massive smile on her lips, ready to make up for the past three weeks.  

His hands were wrapped around her waist, (y/n) was laying on top of him, head placed against his chest, eyes drawn to the tv, watching one Christmas movie after another, “I love you”, he pulled her in for a kiss, eyes full of love and adoration, it felt good to be home again, knowing that “home” was wherever his mate was. 

[thadelightfulone]

All I Want... 25 Days of Christmas Challenge, Day 22

December 25th - Part 1

Erik was at DeeDee’s house waiting for her to finish getting ready. He was relaxing on the couch when his phone rang. He went out to her patio to take the call.

“Merry Christmas man! What’s up?”

“Merry Christmas E! Reena and I wanted to know what you were doing today? You are more than welcome to spend the day with us and the kids.”

“Thanks Quis. You know I would but I already have plans for the day.”

“Take out does not count, E. I know how you are about today. And I don’t want to see you holed up in your hotel room while everyone is with family.”

“Quis! Relax.” He heard noise and turned back towards the apartment. “I promise you, I’m not alone.”

“Who could you possibly - nevermind.” 

Erik could hear another voice and some noise in the background.

“Get back woman. He doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“Put it on speakerphone, Marquis. NOW!”

“Fine.” 

Erik heard the click and started to laugh.

“Hello Erik and Merry Christmas.” Serena’s voice came through. 

“Good morning. And Merry Christmas to you too, Serena.”

“So, who are you spending the day with?”

“Don’t answer that.” Marquis’ yelled. “Ouch, woman. That hurt.”

“Answer the question, Erik.”

Erik laughed and smiled as DeeDee walked outside to him. 

“E, what are you doing outside?”

He pointed to the phone.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She whispered to him, “I’m ready when you are.” 

She turned to walk inside and Erik grabbed her hand, pulling her to him. 

“You aren’t interrupting anything. Quis and Reena are on the phone arguing about us.”

“About us? What do you mean?”

He pointed to the phone and put it on speaker.

“I told you he was gonna be with her. Pay me my money.” 

“Reena, you bet on that?” DeeDee looked at the phone.

“Oh, hey DeeDee girl. I mean I just had a hunch.”

They all heard a loud thump. 

“Quis, just get me my money and stop playing.” Serena’s voice sounded far away. “Look, I gotta finish cooking but you two have a wonderful day together.”

“Erik, be careful. She got a family full of women.”

“I think I’ll be ok.”

“We’ll talk to you later. We gotta get over to Ma Dear’s. Merry Christmas Oubres.”

“Merry Christmas DeeDee.” 

Erik hung up the phone, leaned against the wall and pulled DeeDee towards him.

“So, what am I truly getting myself into today?”

“You wanna ask that now?” DeeDee crossed her arms over her chest. “After what Quis said?”

“I don’t care as long as I am with you.” Erik held her in his arms. 

“Oh, they are going to eat you alive.” DeeDee fixed the collar to his shirt, “We could always order in and chill here.”

“Nope. Since you told me you weren’t cooking me a home-cooked meal.” Erik walked forward and backed DeeDee inside. “I gotta get that from somewhere before I leave.”

“I did say that, didn’t I?” She went and grabbed her coat and purse, “Well, then let me not keep you from eating good.”

He walked into the kitchen and grabbed the trays of food. 

She shrugged, “I figured all you wanted was pie.” 

Erik sighed and rubbed his temples, “You do not play fair, Miss DeeDee.”

“Fair? Don’t know the word.” She tugged at his arm, “Let’s go.”

---

The drive over to the house was comfortably quiet. Erik observed the scenery as he drove past the big trees lining the one-way streets and highways. He looked at some of the large one-story ranch homes as they entered the residential side of town.

Erik held DeeDee’s hand as she softly dozed in the passenger seat. They were bringing some of the desserts for today. And DeeDee told him store-bought was not an option. They spent last night making apple, pecan, and sweet potato pies from scratch. He had fun and he knew it had everything to do with the woman next to him.

He brought her hand to his lips for a kiss when he noticed a family outside in the cool winter morning. Some older women were sitting on the porch and watched the men of the family play catch or touch football in the front yard. A young mother stood at the top of the steps holding a baby and some little girls were running around with dolls in their hands. 

Erik smiled at the scene. He was his parents’ only child but he always wanted a big family, especially during the holidays. And even though he had his father’s family, they didn’t do holidays like this, not like he grew up with. But his DeeDee already had all of that down here. 

He couldn’t believe how intertwined their lives were and they only officially met a month ago. There was definitely something to what Miss Carrie told him last week, but he knew he was not the man that he is today. No telling what could have happened between them had they met before he was ready for her. 

“Erik.” DeeDee’s sleepy voice drew him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah.”

“You’re about to pass the house.”    

DeeDee pointed towards the house he was just admiring. 

“That’s Ma Dear’s house?”

“Yeah, she’s about 2 streets over from Mama.” 

“My bad, I was on autopilot to Miss Carrie’s.”

DeeDee laughed, “Yeah, I know.”

Erik pulled over and parked. They got out and moved to get the pies from the back seat. DeeDee tapped his arm from her side.

“Marquis didn’t lie. The women run my family. But you should know that since you know Mama.”

“Awww, are you worried about me, Miss DeeDee?”

“You? No. Me? Yeah.”

“Hey. Come here.”

DeeDee pushed the tray over to his side, closed the door on her side and walked over to the driver’s side with Erik. 

“What’s up?”

“A lot and nothing.” 

Erik lifted her chin.

“I don’t bring guests.”

“Just desserts?”

“They know who taught me. So, it’s a safe bet.”

“You say the word and we can go.”

DeeDee sighed, “Yeah.”

“I mean it. Deal?”

“Okay.” She looked at him, “Did I mention that most of my cousins are single?”

“What’s that got to do with me? There’s only one woman’s attention I want.”

 DeeDee smiled and nodded. 

“And that’s Miss Carrie.” Erik laughed and caught DeeDee’s hand when she tried to hit him. “Aht, aht, aht. I already have yours.”

“Maybe.” DeeDee laughed at his facial expression.

“Wow, ok.” He picked up the pies and grabbed her hand. “You ready?”

She looked down at their hands, “Yup.” 

---

“Is that little DeeDee? And with a man?” The man with the football called out, “Ma, you gotta see this!”

“Junior, why you yelling at me?” One of the women on the porch stood up, “I see her. Go sit down somewhere.” She shooed him away.

Erik and DeeDee came up the walkway and were approached by various members of the family. Erik squeezed her hand and DeeDee put a smile on her face.  

“Hey babies.” Miss Carrie pushed her way through the crowd, “Don’t worry about them. Come on inside and put them pies down.”

“Oooh, DeeDee made the pies again?” 

“There is a god.” 

DeeDee shook her head and waved to her cousins. 

They followed Miss Carrie into the house and the kitchen. Erik handed the pies over to a woman who looked like she could be DeeDee’s older sister. Same bright eyes, height, and smile, only her hair was streaked with white. She set the pies on the countertop and turned down the music.

Then she walked over and gave DeeDee a hug. “DeeDee, you gonna introduce us to your friend?” She sat down at the table and pulled a bowl of beans towards her.

“Ma, this is Erik.” DeeDee looked at him. “Erik, this is my mom, Gloria.”

“Call me Glory, everyone else does.”

“You already know Mama.” 

Erik stepped over and gave Miss Carrie a hug. He looked at the table and saw two more women who shared the family resemblance. 

“At the table with mom are my aunts, Randi and Kayla. They are her sisters.” 

DeeDee’s aunts nodded to Erik and continued with their work. DeeDee reached up into the cabinets and got out two glasses. She tapped Erik and gave him one, then walked over to the counter near the sink. Erik followed her as she got some sweet tea for herself.

“DeeDee, make sure he stays with the boys. You know them sorry daughters of mine.” 

“Aunt Kay!”

“Aunt Kay, nothing.” She picked up her glass of lemonade. “If they don’t bring someone, they searching and you know this.” 

“Don’t want to see you crying like Crystal was year before last when -” Randi tapped the table with a knife, “that Gregory boy was snatched up by one of them. I don’t understand why ya’ll don’t wait until you married to bring ya men around.”

“DeeDee, if one of them try you. I give you permission to snatch her bald.” Kayla continued.

Erik filled his glass with tea and lemonade. He leaned against the counter and took a sip while the ladies talked.

“Oh, I don’t think it will come to that. And my mama taught me better than that.”

“What I say? Cuz I am with them on this one. Don’t let them heffas try you over him.” Gloria looked at Erik, “Especially when he seems to be the type worth fighting for.”

“I know that’s right,” Kayla spoke up.

“Are you Mr. Erik?” Randi asked.

“Ma’am?”

“Worth fighting for?” Randi repeated.

“I believe I am.”

All the women nodded and Miss Carrie smiled from her corner. 

“We’ll see about that.” Gloria mumbled. 

“Let’s go. Time to introduce you to the boys.” DeeDee dragged Erik out of the kitchen. 

They walked outside with their drinks and DeeDee leaned on the railing. 

“Are they playing a real game of touch or just passing the ball back and forth?”

“You would have to ask them. I never pay them any attention when they’re outside.”

The two oldest men looked over at them. He had the ball and ran over to Erik and DeeDee. The rest followed. 

“Aye DeeDee. How you been girl?” 

“I’m fine Uncle AJ. And you?”

“You know I’m good.” He pointed the ball at Erik, “Whose your little friend?”

“Everybody, this is Erik.” She looked to him, “Erik, the two older gentlemen are my uncles, AJ and Rob. And the other two knuckleheads are my cousins, Junior and Darrick.”

“We’re Ma Dear’s boys. Have you met her yet?” Rob said.

“Not yet. I only know Miss Carrie.”

“Of course, he knows Mama.” Darrick spoke up, “You one of them Southern boys she be feeding at her restaurant?”

“Not anymore, but I used to be.”

“You play?” AJ held up the ball.

“Yeah, I do.” Erik sipped his drink.

“Good, we just messing around now. But we will have a game of touch later.”

“Just let me know when I’m down.”

DeeDee turned around and saw Ma Dear headed over to her chair. She pulled Erik in that direction.

“Hey Ma Dear.” DeeDee called out.

The older woman stopped and turned around to face them. DeeDee walked over and gave her a hug.

“Hey baby.” She looked at her, “You look good.” Ma Dear looked over at Erik, “And who is this fine young man you brought home?”

“This is Erik, ma’am.” 

He leaned forward and gave her a hug. “It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“Carrie!” Ma Dear yelled out.

“Yeah Etta?” She could be heard from inside the house through the front screen. 

“Is this that boy you were talking about?”

DeeDee dropped her head, “Seriously?”

Erik coughed to cover his laugh. Then Miss Carrie burst through the front door and looked over at them.

“Oh yeah, that’s him.”

“Hmmm. Well, she looks happy so I can’t complain.” Ma Dear sat down in her rocking chair, “Don’t ever let her smile drop son.”

“Yes ma’am,” He looked at DeeDee. “I don’t intend to.”

---

Everyone was scattered around the house after eating during the first round of food and taking the first of many naps. The second and third turkeys were finally done and the uncles brought the rest of the meat in off the grill. All the food was done for whoever arrived or was ready for their next plate.

DeeDee and Erik were sitting on the porch swing. Her legs were on his lap and she leaned back with her arms laid across her body. Before long, she was asleep again. Erik took out his phone and snapped a few shots of her. 

“Uh huh.” A voice came from the screen door before it opened. 

Erik looked over and saw Ma Dear as she walked out of the house. She sat down in her chair right next to him. 

“Ma’am.” 

“Does she know?”

“About?”

“You helping Carrie?”

“No ma’am.”

“Good. And the other thing?”

“What other thing?”

“That you love her?”

“No ma’am.”

“Don’t wait too long.”

“I actually plan to tell her -”

“Ma Dear! How are you?” A loud voice bounced up the steps.

DeeDee stirred on the swing and lost her balance, but Erik caught her before she fell. He looked up to see her friend from the other day.  

The young woman looked at him, “Erik, right. What are you doing here?���

“Phylly Phyll, what are you doing here?” DeeDee asked mid-yawn. 

DeeDee moved her legs off of him and sat up straight.

“Bev invited me like she does every year.”  

“And you finally came.” DeeDee said under her breath. “How nice. Where is she anyway?” She spoke up.

“Over there with Brandon. They are getting stuff out of the car.”

DeeDee tensed up at the mention of his name.  

“Bev is your other friend who I met on Friday, right?” Erik directed his question to DeeDee.

“Yeah. She’s also my cousin.”

“Let me go help them out. I’ll be back.” Erik tapped DeeDee’s leg and left the porch.

“Why would you bring him here?” DeeDee yelled at Phyllis. 

“Because he wanted to see you, duh.” Phyllis rolled her eyes, “How was I supposed to know you were bringing Mr. Note here for Christmas? Shouldn’t he be home with his folks anyway?”

“Little girl, you better not start no mess this year.” Ma Dear called out, “I will have my great-grands toss your fast ass right on out my house.” 

DeeDee stood up when Ma Dear got up and helped her inside. 

“I don’t understand why ya’ll keep her around?” Ma Dear mumbled as DeeDee closed the door behind her. “Ain’t that much friendship in the world.”  

DeeDee turned around and faced Phyllis. 

“Keep him away from me. I mean it Phyll.” 

“I have no control over a grown ass man.” Phyllis shrugged.

“WOW! Phyll.” DeeDee turned and stormed inside the house, slamming the screen door behind her.

---

Erik ran over to Beverly and Brandon down the street. 

“Bev?”

She turned around to see who called her name. Brandon stopped what he was doing to find out also. 

“Oh, Erik. Hey, did DeeDee send you over here?”

“No, Phyllis mentioned you were out here with stuff to bring to the house. Figured I could help.”

“Thanks man. But we got it handled.” Brandon responded. 

Erik looked him up and down. Brandon did not look a day over 16, but he recognized the smug look on his face. Fuckery was afoot and Erik was ready to play. 

“You sure about that?” Erik watched him struggle with some cases of water, “Let me get that for you.”

Erik took the case from Brandon, lifted it up and onto his shoulder. He picked up the other case from the trunk, put it on his other side and walked back to the house.

Taglist: @teakturn​ @ghostfacekill-monger​ @shaekingshitup​ @nahimjustfeelingit-writes​ @woahitslucyylu​ @ladymac82​ @bugngiz​ @eyeknowmywrites​ @ajspencer1892​ @arafatih​ @issimplyaamazinggg​​ @tchallasbabymama​​ @killmonger-fics​​ @beautifullmelodyxx​​ @raysunshine78​​ @fd-writes​​ @ljstraightnochaser​​ @just-peachee​​ @kaleidoscopeofsoul​​ @sincerelykas​​

[philicheesecake]

(U. L.) Reclaiming the Earth

Synopsis: The monsters who held a grudge against humanity rise up to take revenge.

Warnings: ?/F soft unwilling vore, death of pred, intense violence, implied death of characters, general chaos and peril

Warren slammed the book shut and hobbled over to take out another one. He collapsed against the wall as he started to skim through the pages. Two weeks felt like a year in this dull basement. The only company was an exhausted alchemist and a murderous giant who tried to kill him. He was afraid to tell Rebeka and Liss the extent of what happened. As far as they knew, he got into a car accident out of town and was staying at the hospital there with a friend. They knew nothing about his missing leg. He didn’t want to say anything about it, as if that would solidify the loss. Magic exists… Magic can fix anything, right? Why tell them if his leg wouldn’t be gone forever? He’d surely find a way to get it back if he tried.

Phantom limb syndrome was hell. The stump of his left leg was swelling up as it healed, and Olivia had to keep cleaning and treating it to avoid infection. The nerve endings were on fire, and even though the limb was gone, it felt like it was still there. Most of the stuff he could feel from it right now was just pain. 

“You know no magic can reverse that, right?”

Warren glanced up from the book to shoot Rhyka a glare. “Well that’s exactly what a careless murderer like you would say to make me give up. And I heard you the first hundred times.”

Rhyka sighed, leaning back in her chair. She was still tied down to it to avoid causing any trouble. She hadn’t tried to escape since they first captured her. It was almost unsettling how complacent she was here, not seeming worried at all about her predicament.

“I don’t expect you to listen to me, though your stubbornness can be amusing to watch. It says a lot about humans.”

Warren’s eyes narrowed at her, then he ignored her and stared back down at the book, continuing to flip through the pages. He stopped when he heard something from the floor above make its way downstairs. Olivia was there, looking tired as usual. Her carafe of coffee might as well be glued to her hand because of how seldom she was seen parted with it. Close behind her followed a familiar tall figure with unruly black hair and golden eyes. 

Warren perked up in confusion. “Eli?” The camouflaged giant’s eyes barely met the ex-hunter as Rhyka seemed to catch his eye. He took in a gasp and let out a hysterical chuckle. “What the-- fuck? You gotta be shitting me!” He grinned, hopping off the last stair and went over to Rhyka, laughing. Olivia followed behind, seeming too tired for this as she lazily sipped her coffee. 

“Oh stars, ya did it! The fuck are ya doin’ here!” Eli shot a glance over to Warren, still grinning. “Hey tiny. The fuck happened to your leg?”

“It’s fine- I’ll fix it.” Warren spoke hesitantly. 

“Still stuck in denial,” Rhyka’s expression was unphased and deadpanned at the other giant. “Hello, Arawn. Did the other giants scare you off again?”

Warren was curious as well, wondering why on earth Eli would come here of all places. He hated humans. Maybe he just came here to gloat over the Elder giant. Eli’s eyes narrowed at Rhyka’s words and he let out a snort. “Scare me? Nah. They’re just bein’ fuckin’ annoying. Too many giants out of rotation. I came here to hang out ‘till they scatter. I have no idea what the hell is goin’ on ‘cuz there was just a Banding, and there’s like, hundreds around. It’s impossible to get anywhere without their stench fuckin’ everything up.” He rolled his eyes. 

Warren’s eyes widened. “Wha-- hundreds?” His voice raised up a pitch in fear. “What-- what are they all doing here? It’s halloween! Everyone is going to be out late! It’ll be a bloodbath!”

Eli snorted. “Not like I fuckin’ care, tiny. I just don’t want ‘em off my ass.”

Rhyka tilted her head slightly and looked at Eli almost mockingly. “There are so many… Couldn’t you help but feel as if they are leaving you out of something bigger?”

Eli bared his teeth in a snarl. “Like I’d ever wanna be part of anything involving them after what they fuckin’ did. They’re all assholes. Every one of ‘em.”

Rhyka sighed, her lips still curled back into a slight smile. “Something bigger is coming, Arawn. Bigger than you and your petty grudges. Do you not want to be part of the redemption of our kind? You are so caught up in the past about what happened and have become blind to what the future holds for us. I remember you as a child. You were one of the most determined and loyal of the giants in your clan. You held so much more promise than your soft sister.”

Eli’s eyes flared in fury. Bones cracked and lengthened and he grew to his giant form, crouching beneath the low ceiling and propped up on all fours to stoop over Rhyka with an infuriated growl. “Olivia, I think I’m gonna to take this irritating prick off of your hands.”

The alchemist lifted the carafe from her lips briefly to mutter a tired. “Sure.”

Warren took in a nervous gasp and tried to stand, supporting himself against the back of a chair. Part of him wondered what Rhyka had meant with this ‘bigger thing’ that was coming, but that had quickly swept out of his mind at Eli’s actions. As much as he hated Rhyka, he didn’t want to see anyone sent to that sort of fate. “Wait— Eli—“

Eli ignored him, striking his claws through the ropes binding her to the chair and pinned her arms to her sides as he brought her closer. Warren took in shaky breaths and looked away. 

“You are so predictable, Arawn.”

CRASH!

The giant’s ears flattened backward at the sudden sound from upstairs. He glanced up briefly. “The fuck…?”

The basement door suddenly flew open and a figure appeared. They were short and lean in stature and wore a long dark blue hooded coat, a mask covering the lower half of their face, and the fanged lower jaw of some sort of animal attached to their mask. Their eyes were a blank white. 

They lifted their right hand and a white glow beamed from it. Eli was suddenly slammed backward against the opposite wall by an invisible force. Plaster and dust showered down from the ceiling from the impact. Rhyka flew from his hands and landed onto the floor. Warren gasped and crawled backwards, trying to hide beneath the staircase. 

Olivia set down her carafe, seeming more irritated than afraid of the sudden intrusion. She went over to her alchemist equipment and drew out a piece of green ice which melted into her hand upon contact. 

“Leave my shop.” She drawled. 

“Not until I’m done shopping for a special artifact.” The stranger replied in a high, amused voice. Their hand glowed again and Olivia was hurled against the wall next to Eli. Eli coughed, crouching beneath the ceiling and bared his fangs. “The fuck are you, prissy?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be readying the front lines?” The stranger raised a brow. “Ah, I see. This is one of the soft ones. Come along, Rhyka! We can’t miss tonight’s festivities!” 

“Fuck off. She’s mine to kill.” Eli growled and lunged to grab for Rhyka again, though something seemed to twist beneath his skin, forcing his hand backwards in an unnatural position. He let out a shriek of pain and was held back and immobilized, unable to reach further. 

“Respect your Elders, now. Did no one ever tell you that?” The stranger chuckled. Rhyka grinned, hurrying to her feet to follow the stranger. Olivia grunted in annoyance and held out her hand. Her hand seemed to turn into wood and long twisted vines erupted from her palm. They grappled for Rhyka’s leg and yanked her backwards. 

“You ruined… my evening. Did no one ever teach you to knock?” The alchemist frowned slightly. 

The white-eyed stranger withdrew something from their coat and crushed it between their fingers. Blood poured from their hand. Olivia suddenly choked and coughed. Blood splattered across her lips and soaked through her midsection from an invisible wound. She stumbled to the floor, coughing her lungs out before she went still in a growing pool of her own blood. The vines from her hand retreated to nothing. 

Rhyka got to her feet again and ran up to join the stranger by the stairs. “Ah, too bad you finished the job for me. I would have liked to kill her myself. And it’s a shame you chose not to join us Arawn. Maybe one day you will side with your own kind when we reclaim our world.”

An angered roar ripped from Eli’s throat, still fighting against the invisible force with no luck. The stranger cackled in amusement and turned to disappear up the stairs with Rhyka at their side. 

The invisible force seemed to vanish as soon as they left and Eli fell flat on his face. He growled, getting into his knees again and crawled toward the staircase. 

Warren was shaking, but managed to scoot across the floor towards Olivia. “Eli s-stop! You— you saw what they did to— to Olivia— You won’t stand a chance!” 

He bit back nausea building up in his throat and tried to lift Olivia off of the floor, holding pressure to the bleeding wound. He put his other hand to her neck to feel her pulse. For a moment he thought he had lost her, but the pulse could faintly be felt. She had lost so much blood it had become almost too subtle to detect. 

Eli stopped to glance back at Warren and scowled with a groan. Warren was right. He took a good look at Olivia that didn’t seem promising.

“Leave it, kid. She’s gone.”

Warren glared at Eli. “She— she’s alive. We just need… alchemy or— or something.” 

“It’s probably too late for—“

Eli’s voice was cut off as there was a sudden tremor that shook the whole basement. Cracks split through the ceiling and debris showered down. There was a sound like rumbling thunder. The quaking came in bursts. It would shake, then go silent, then it would shake again. 

Warren held Olivia closer, tensing up. His hand was now soaked in blood from trying to hold her wound closed. “What— what was that?” 

A louder boom made the room shake and Eli raised up his hands to shield himself from the debris coming from the ceiling. His nose scrunched up as if he had caught a bad smell. “The fuck— did the giants follow me here? They’re so close. But that scent...” His eyes widened. “Mountain giants.” 

As Eli was speaking, Warren struggled to hold in the blood. Olivia was growing cold and clammy. Her skin seemed even more pale now. He didn’t know how much time she had left. Warren glanced up at Eli nervously. “Mountain gi—? okay we can worry about that later— what— what alchemy thing smells the most like it’ll do some miraculous healing? She’s— she’s getting a lot worse.” 

“Worry about them later? Are ya out of your fuckin’ mind? And I told ya. She’s,” he paused and his eyes narrowed briefly. He glanced towards the alchemy equipment, seeming to smell something. He moved toward it and clawed off one of the drawers with his oversized hand and drew out a long white feather. He sniffed it, then held it out for Warren. “Ugh. We gotta press this to the wound, but we both should probably do it.”

He looked begrudging of the idea of helping Olivia, but Warren took it. Warren took hold of the feather and held it up against the wound with Eli’s hand touching the feather as well. A sudden pain shot through him and he felt like the blood had been drained from his body and a wound had pierced his middle. The color left his face, and he shuddered, watching the color begin to return to Olivia’s. 

Eli groaned, withdrawing his hand and put it to his middle. He seemed to be experiencing a similar pain. Blood stained his hand. The feather was now coated in blood, but Olivia’s wound had thankfully stopped bleeding. 

“What— the heck was that?” Warren gasped. 

“Caladrius feather. Learned how to hunt ‘em back when I was a kid.” The giant glanced up and held his arms up to brace himself as the room shook again with a rumble. “Okay, somethin’s up and I don’t want to be trapped in a goddamned basement when somethin’ sniffs out all that blood.”

He shifted back to his camo form and got to his feet. Warren looked up at him with wide eyes, still splattered in Olivia’s own blood. “Wait--” He bit his lip. “That crazy magic person… and Rhyka… They said... s-something big is coming. Something… Something’s happening out there. And my sisters are out in the open trick-or-treating.”

Eli glanced back at him, raising a brow. “Trick-or-treatin’s a hot spot for giants to snatch from anyways. Why the fuck would ya let ‘em go out doin’ that after knowing all this shit exists? You’re dumber than I thought.” 

“I didn’t think this would happen! I thought the rotation already passed! Just— if you see them out there, please—“

“I’m not your personal guard dog, ‘kay? I’d rather save my own skin from these giants than stick my neck out for some random humans.” Eli looked disgusted. His eyes studied Warren’s for a moment, almost seeming to second-guess his words before the look was gone in an instant. An almost defensive expression crossed his face before he let out a snort and headed up the stairs again. 

“Wait— wait!” Warren was ignored and left alone in the company of the unconscious alchemist. 

Eli stopped at the front of the alchemist’s shop and took a good sniff of the air as he glanced out the now shattered window. Past the billowing clouds of dust, smoke, and splintered concrete. His jaw dropped. 

“Fuck.”

***

Elsewhere…

“Don’t take off your hat, or no one will recognize what you are!”

“But it’s itchy!” A whiny voice returned. 

Rebeka shook her head, smiling. “Well then, I guess I’ll be the pirate for Halloween!”

The older sister reached over to take Liss’s pirate hat and set it on her head. The two sisters were making their way down the sidewalk for trick-or-treating as he sky darkened and the pale full moon crept out from the lacy clouds. Kids of every age with their parents were dressed up in fun and scary Halloween costumes. Skeletons, witches, demons, cats. 

Ten-year-old Liss has been proud of what she picked for Halloween. She was a pirate. And not just any pirate, but a captain with a fluffy red feather on top of her hat. She even brought along her plush dragon that would serve as a parrot for now. At the moment, instead of resting on her shoulder, it was propped up against the rim of her jack-o-lantern candy bucket to peer outside. 

Ever since Warren’s car accident, Rebeka had felt a bigger sense of protectiveness over their little sister. It made her anxious, though she hid it well. She worked at a hospital. She was used to dealing with keeping a calm facade over stress. She didn’t want to scare Liss. 

“But you can’t be a pirate! You’re a robber!” Liss said.

“A robber and a pirate can be the same thing. A pirate is just someone who steals things,” Rebeka responded, straightening the hat on her head. It did clash with the black-and-white striped prison garb that she wore, which made Liss feel even more upset. That was her captain hat. 

“No— give it back! I want to be the captain!”

Rebeka chuckled, pretending for a moment longer that she intended on keeping the hat, even taking out her phone to look at the reflection of how it looked on her before finally shrugging. 

“Hmm… Well I don’t want the hat to go to waste if you keep taking it off… But I can always take it back when you take it off again.”

The hat was withdrawn and offered to the little pirate again who quickly snatched it back. “I won’t take it off!”

Rebeka chuckled in a teasing tone. “If you say so,”

The last words were muted by a sudden deafening rumbling. The very ground quaked. Hairline cracks split across the ground, spreading across the pavement. Rebeka’s eyes widened and she quickly dropped her pillowcase candy bag, reaching out to bring Liss closer. The little girl screamed, hugging her sister. She even dropped her candy bucket, completely forgetting about her plush dragon. 

“What was that?” Liss shouted over the sounds. 

“I don’t know.” Rebeka said, keeping her voice level. Her heart pounded, but she had to stay calm around her sister. She lifted up Liss and hurried down the quaking street. The trembling ground made it hard to keep footing. It was hard to think. 

In a rush of adrenaline, she ran while carrying her little sister toward the center of the town. While she ran, she heard a deafening crashing sound behind her. The cracks in the ground widened and rubble tumbled down the mountainside. The road was split in half and there was no way of crossing back over. 

Thundering tremors seemed to pulse through the ground, spaced out with brief periods of silence and rumbles. Almost like the rhythm of a beating drum. Dust clouded up the streets from the rubble, clouding her vision. A police siren blared and people were shouting to get inside. A neighbor stood by their doorway, beckoning them inside. Liss could see something over Rebeka’s shoulder and screamed. Rebeka didn’t dare look back, but bolted into the house. The neighbor shut the door hastily and locked it. 

“What— what was that?” The neighbor gasped. 

“I didn’t see—“

“He was ginormous!” Liss was set onto the floor, staring back at the door with wide eyes. “And there was a wolf as tall as our house!”

Rebeka blinked. “A wolf? Here? Wolves don’t even get that big.”

She looked to the neighbor who only nodded fearfully. “I got a glimpse. At least ten feet tall or something. And that monster-thing! It must have been five stories—!”

There was suddenly a grinding screech that deafened their words. The ceiling shook, then stopped. Following a pause, there was a deafening crash. The ceiling caved inward nearby, impacted by a boulder— no, it wasn’t a boulder. 

A hand.

The massive appendage was nearly as tall as they were standing from wrist to fingertips and it was a dark stony grey color. It grabbed the neighbor, dragging them back screaming through the hole in the roof. “Oh my god!” Rebeka screamed, picking up Liss again to run toward the back door of the house. The woods laid beyond. Whatever these— these things were, they seemed to be targeting the people of the city. She knew some caves that would hopefully be too narrow for them to reach into. 

She ran into the trees and deeper into the forest. The ground still shook and frightening sounds came from the city. She could smell smoke. Moonlight shifted between the leaves in a chilly breeze as they fled. Up ahead, the hill sloped downward into a steep dip in the forest. In the center, boulders surrounded a narrow opening in the earth. Rebeka set Liss down and gasped to catch her breath. 

“C-come on— inside,” Rebeka took Lisa’s hand and started taking her toward the cave. The opening was narrow and eight feet high. Whatever that massive monster was couldn’t get them here. A part of her mind worried about bears, but she knew there were worse things to worry about. Liss whimpered and complained about going into the dark cave, but Rebeka got out her phone’s flashlight and shined it into the cave. 

The sisters hurried cautiously into the space and Rebeka immediately sat down, covering her face as she tried to catch her breath and get her bearings about what happened. She felt something move beside her as Liss hugged her. “I’m scared.”

“Me too,” Rebeka didn’t know what to make of the situation, what those things were, why they attacked, what they were doing to people… The old book, ‘War of the Worlds’ came to mind with the countless aliens coming to harvest humans and take over the planet for themselves. Would it be like that?

“I’ll check that the rest of the cave is safe. Stay here,” Rebeka said numbly. She got to her feet again and shined her flashlight into the dark depths of the cave. The stone walls grew narrower and winded deeper like a maze as she went. She didn’t venture too far. This place was giving her the creeps, and she didn’t want to leave Liss alone for long. 

Liss hugged herself as her sister left. She glanced outside the mouth of the cave again. She thought she could hear something moving in the distance. A shimmer of reflective eyes… Maybe it was a cat in a tree? Either way, it made her nervous. She liked cats, but this one didn’t move like a cat. She shivered against the cave wall nervously, hoping that Rebeka would come back soon. 

Something moved to Rebeka’s side within the deep passage. She gasped and in her panicked state, her phone slipped out of her grip. The cave was swallowed into a complete darkness. Something shimmered in the depths of the cave. Two white dots almost seemed to glow. Eyes. She got to the floor, hastily feeling around for her phone. She glanced back at where the eyes where and felt a pant of fear. They were gone. She could hear it moving again. A distant clicking sound like some sort of insect. A cracking, snapping sound like dry bones. Her heart beat faster. Her hand finally located her device and she lifted it up, shining it to her side—

A massive creature stood inches from her side. Easily twice her side. Its skin was bone-white and covered with glowing white, blue, red, and purple markings. It’s eyes were blank and bulbous like a deep sea fish. Jagged long fangs jutted out of its jaws. It almost seemed reptilian by its scaley skin, though a crest of plumage covered its face, back, and tail. Its fingers were long and spidery and topped with long sharp claws. It was bent into an unnatural position. Its joints seemed to defy all logic as they cracked and compressed to travel within the narrow passage.

Rebeka gasped, dropping backwards and tried to crawl away from it. It cocked its head at her and made clicking sounds through its fangs. One of its hands easily grabbed her by the legs and dragged her toward it. She struggled and kicked frantically, trying to pry the grip off of her legs. It let out a hissing screech and jerked her closer, clamping its jaws over her legs. Its long snake-like tongue wrapped around her legs to bind them in place, dripping saliva over her pants. 

Her phone dropped to the floor again as she lowered both hands to fight with the creature’s jaws to try to get it to let go, but instead of reacting, it gulped and her legs were drawn within the tight passage. Its long fangs pricked threateningly around her legs as more of her was drawn in. She could see the sides of its jaws dislocate like a snake’s. A horror dawned on her. It was going to swallow her whole?! She squirmed to try to claw at the cave floor to find something to grip onto, but the smooth floor offered no purchase. She was going to die. Liss— Would it come for her too?

“Liss!” She shouted. “Get— get out of here—!” She let out a pained scream as it’s jaws jerked back for another swallow, dragging her in up to her chest. She could feel herself mostly trapped within the throat now, and the creature was unyielding. Gross drool soaked the narrow throat as it pulsed in another gulp. She couldn’t hear if her sister had run, but only hoped she would get to safety. God, she didn’t want to die like this. 

One last gulp sealed her fate as she was drawn entirely into the creature and set downwards. She was squeezed into a tight fleshy chamber and gasped for air. She kicked against the stomach walls frantically, barely believing what had just happened. She wouldn’t accept this. She didn’t want to die like this!

***

Liss had heard the warning shout and took in fearful breaths, beginning to turn to run outside the cave before her blood froze. Those glistening eyes were staring through the cave entrance, and now she was beginning to make out the figure they belonged to. It looked a person, but it was far too huge to be a person. He was easily over three times as tall as her. His eyes weren’t normal, looking almost like a cat’s. Long fangs and claws were displayed as natural weapons to the large creature. He was entering the cave. She gasped and stumbled away. His face contorted into a scowl and he crawled into the cave, sniffing the air. 

“Don’t fuckin’ move, tiny, or you won’t be the only one who’s gonna get killed tonight,” his voice rumbled threateningly before he crawled right past her and deeper into the cave. She shakily curled up, nodding at the giant. He was scary, and he said bad words. He was probably a villain who was going to try to kill her anyways. She didn’t trust him, but she was too afraid to do anything but obey. 

The giant listened carefully through the cave. His eyes adjusted to the darkness easily. He could see something up ahead. A clicking.

 “Fuck,” He muttered under his breath. He could hear it already making its escape deeper into the cave passage. It was too narrow for the giant to get far, even on his hands and knees. He had to hurry. He could see the iconic glowing markings of the cave creature in the distance and hurried faster with his lips curled back into a threatening snarl. Its tail was beginning to round a corner and he roughly grabbed for it. An inhuman screech followed and it writhed in his grip like a fish, but he was unyielding. He dug his claws into the tail for grip and dragged it backwards. The creature was dragged into sight. 

A cave giant. Its body was contorted to fit through the cave passage, though it was significantly larger than the wood giant. This one must’ve been fifteen feet tall, though it was difficult to tell with it’s awkward position. The giant could see its middle was slightly bulging with its living meal writhing within. 

The cave giant let out a screech as it whirled around, slashing its longer claws toward the wood giant. They dug into his shoulder and dragged across his torso, cutting deep into the flesh. He hissed in pain, feeling his shirt already soaked down with his own blood. He lunged at the cave giant, driving his own claws into the creature’s chest and bit down near the neck, just missing the vitals by centimeters. Blood dripped from his fangs and he felt dizzy from his own blood loss at this point. He shoved the creature to the cave floor and pinned it at the throat. It squirmed weakly as it was losing consciousness from the wound in its neck. He jabbed his claws into its torso and dragged them downwards, making a long, wide cut through its stomach. The creature let out one last weak screech before choking on its own blood and went still. 

The giant felt lightheaded, barely conscious from his own blood loss. His wounds weren’t closing up quickly enough to make up for the lost blood. He ignored the pounding pain and finished the cut along the creature’s middle and a bedraggled, slimy person fell out onto the cave floor, covered in the cave giant’s own blood and stomach fluids. She reeked. A grimace formed on the giant’s face and he roughly grabbed her arm, dragging her back toward the mouth of the cave. She coughed up slime that had gotten into her mouth and gasped for air. She blearily tried to adjust to what had happened and the change of temperature outside of the creature’s stomach. Something else had caught her now. She couldn’t see well in the darkness, though she could make out his reflective golden eyes and his hulking silhouette that dwarfed her. She let out a frightened sound and kicked, struggling to get his grip off of her arm. “W-wait— p-please— let me go—“

She yelled as the grip was suddenly released and she dropped to the floor. She coughed, trying to get to her feet. She could see Liss curled up near the mouth of the cave and shakily got to her feet, stumbling forward. She tripped over her own feet and fell onto her face before she managed to gain her bearings back and rushed over to her sister to make sure she was alright.

“Yeah, don’t thank the giant that just saved your ass. Sure.” The giant grumbled, sitting against the cave wall as he pressed a hand to the injury across his torso. He grit his teeth slightly, cursing under his breath. “I’m so fuckin’ stupid. Ugh. Stars. Shit. Damnit.”

Liss hugged her sister in relief and instantly grimaced at the slime and repulsive smell. “Ew! What happened? You smell yucky.” The little girl withdrew and covered her ears as the giant cursed again. “He says a lot of bad words…”

Rebeka shuddered, shaking her head. “It’s f-fine,” she looked at the giant nervously. “Who— what are you? Why did you— why—“ she winced and sat on the floor of the cave, putting a hand to her head, trying to keep her breaths level. So much was going through her head right now. Too many scares. She didn’t know how to take this all in. 

“Name’s Eli. I’m a giant. Dumbass.” He groaned and laid down on his side. His wounds were bleeding so badly, he just needed time to heal. “Ugh, gonna get some… shuteye… heal… Don’t leave… don’t do anything fuckin’... stupid.” 

In moments, he was already asleep, leaving the two alone in the cave. Rebeka bit her lip, glancing down and tried to level her breaths after all that had happened. She couldn’t breathe. Her chest felt so tight. She felt a cold shiver run over her and her limbs slowly lost awareness. She slumped to the floor, unconscious. 

***

Poke.

Rebeka barely stirred. She rolled to her side and let out a tired snort in her sleep. 

Poke-poke-poke-poke-poke.

Her eyes shot open and she batted away the contact groggily. Liss was in her face leaning over her with a fearful whisper. “Beka-- Beka-- he’s-- he’s awake--”

Rebeka rubbed her face tiredly, grimacing as she became reacquainted to the gross smell that still clung to her since the incident with the cave giant. She grimaced and glanced down at her hands briefly. The slime had dried to her hands, making her feel all sticky and gross. She was still shocked at all that had happened, not sure if it was all real, and wasn’t sure how to take all of it. Her gaze shifted forward to where her little sister directed her attention. The sun had already risen high in the sky, casting its peaceful glow into the cave. The giant was sitting at the mouth of the cave, seeming to mess with an oversized leather satchel. His clothes were still stained with blood, though his injuries seemed to have closed up already, judging by the fact that he wore no bandages and they weren’t actively bleeding. 

He glanced over his shoulder towards the two humans with a raised brow. “Ya know I can fuckin’ hear ya, right?”

Liss let out a startled yelp and hid behind Rebeka. Rebeka sat up, biting her lip shakily. “W-who…” She took in a deep breath as she got to her feet, feeling dizzy from the motion, but leaned against the cave wall for support. She frowned slightly as she found her words. “Who are you? Why did you help us? Wh-what the heck is happening to my home?”

Eli snorted with a shrug, leaning against the wall of the mouth of the cave as he set down his bag. “Already toldja who I was, unless ya have a shitty memory. No clue what happened to the town though. Guess the monsters all decided to come out of hidin’ like a buncha fuckin’ idiots. Looks like we missed the burnin’ though. Nothin’ really seems to be left now.”

He got to his feet outside the cave, towering above the entrance as Rebeka digested these words. She felt empty. Autumn Ridge was gone? 

“Warren.” Her eyes widened. Warren was the next town over in a hospital (or at least she was told). How could she know if he was safe? “Oh god..” She reached for her phone, only to recall having dropped it earlier. 

Eli noticed her expression. “He’s alive. Probably. He’s just in the middle of that hellhole though. It’ll be impossible to go out there with the monsters guarding the down though. No tellin’ how far they took over though or how much they planned.” He sighed, rubbing his forehead and ignored her stunned expression. He had been told about this moment of history ever since he was a child. He just had never believed it would ever happen. The apocalypse that would reclaim the land for the monsters and drive humanity to extinction. This scared even him. He didn’t know what to expect. Rhyka’s words about something big coming were true. It was already here.

“How do you… You know Warren?”

“Yeh. Used to be a monster hunter. A fuckin’ pathetic one too.” He smirked slightly. “C’mon. He should be ‘round the edge of the town. We might have a small shot in gettin’ him outta there while the daylight lasts, and I ain’t babysitting you here for ya to get gobbled up by some other cave giant.” 

He rolled his eyes and began walking through the forest. Liss began to exit the cave after the giant and glanced nervously at him, then back at her older sister. “Warren hunted monsters?”

Rebeka held out her hand to hold Liss back as the little sister began to follow before debating her odds here. She bit her lip briefly before letting go to follow close beside Liss. Everything was dangerous now. Having a bigger ally was their only chance of survival. 

“Ya deaf? Yeah that’s what I just said, tiny. He tried to hunt me and did a fuckin’ awful job at it. Then ended up screwin’ up at it. Ya really don’t remember me?” He glanced down at the sisters with a smirk. He had seen both of them before when he was trapped in camo form, though he looked very different then. Rebeka’s brow furrowed briefly in thought. Eli let out a chuckle. “‘Bout a month or two ago. The random dude who gave him a ride home from a car race in a fucked-up pickup truck.”

Rebeka’s eyes widened in realization. “What--! You were-- you were normal-sized!”

“Ya mean tiny. I’m normal-sized. Y’all are just… eensy.” He gestured “tiny” with his fingers pinched together with an amused snort. “It’s called camo. It’s how giants managed to avoid humans’ radar for hundreds of years.”

The giant paused towards the edge of the forest, looking down the hillside. The town was in ruins. Fire and rubble were everywhere. Plumes of smoke arose from the burning houses. Cars were smashed in the streets. In the middle of the town, slumped against the town hall, three massive fifty foot tall giants with stony-grey skin lay fast asleep. Eli shook his head with a whistle of awe. “Well look at that. Seems they were redecorating. Fuckin’ fantastic.”

Rebeka stopped behind him and covered her mouth to withhold a gasp of terror. Liss began to cry, hugging her leg. “God…” She choked.

“Ain’t gonna get to your brother from here. Gotta make our way around first. C’mon. Quick.” Eli’s nose wrinkled from the scent of the smoke and blood coming from the town. He assumed any threats from the town were sleeping off any meals they had gathered during the raid, so they only had a small window of time before dusk to try to retrieve Warren and Olivia from the shop ruins. 

It was late afternoon by the time they reached the opposite edge of town. They only had mere hours before dusk when the monsters would likely awaken again. The town was a ghost town. Though Eli could still smell humans hiding within the city, they were all likely too afraid to come out of hiding. It was safe enough to walk within the crumbling streets. Houses were cracked and tilted sideways from the earthquakes. Large boulders from the landslide had fallen over even the most durable buildings, burying them in rubble. The giant eventually found the alchemist shop and bones cracked and shifted as he shrank down to his camo size. 

He could smell another scent in here and he didn’t like it. Rebeka watched in shock as the giant became deceivingly human right before her eyes and hesitantly followed into the shop and followed him towards the back, keeping Liss close. Eli stopped at the top of the staircase to the basement, cursing in his throat. “Ugh, crap.”

The entire basement had caved in. The stench of old blood was overwhelming. Rebeka stopped behind him, looking up at the camo’d giant. “W-what? What happened? Where is he?”

“We got here too late.” He muttered. He turned and froze, sniffing the air again. They weren’t alone here. His eyes narrowed and he drew out his claws. “Quit hidin’ there. I can fuckin’ smell ya, ya know.”

There was a shuffle behind the aisles and shelves of herbs and jars. A figure stepped into sight. He was tall and well-toned with an athletic build. He was wearing a pair of sunglasses over his eyes and held out an orb of golden ice. 

Eli withdrew his claws, rolling his eyes. “Ah great. The U.L. is here. We’re saved. The hell happened here, and don’t fuckin’ play dumb with me.”

“I was about to ask the same.”

He threw the ice at the giant. His hands instinctively went out to brace himself from the throw, causing the alchemic ice to contact his hands, melting into his hands instantly. Eli shivered, ducking to the floor at the weird sensation of it coming into effect.

Rebeka gasped, standing in front of him. “What did you do? Stop!”

“Putting down a pest,” The man came closer, rolling up his sleeve. Eli hissed through his teeth. “The fuck? I wasn’t even tryina fight ya!” Eli tried to stand, but the man quickly pushed Rebeka aside and grabbed him by the collar. With a swift motion, he clocked him in the face, knocking him out instantly. The giant slumped to the floor unconscious. 

“What are you-- Stop! He was trying to help us!” Rebeka felt Liss move behind her leg. The man ignored her, beginning to hoist the unconscious giant off of the floor into a fireman’s carry. “Please, you’re just confused. You don’t know this monster. If you were looking for the people who were in this shop, they’re already gone. I’ll take you to them. You just have to trust me, okay?”

Rebeka scanned his face nervously, but she didn’t have much of a choice. She bit her lip and nodded. She squeezed her sister’s hand in her fist and followed closely after the stranger into the street. Outside, a Jeep wrangler awaited. The man tied Eli’s hands together and put him in the back seat of the car. Rebeka followed into the car, seating her sister in her lap, just not trusting herself enough to let go of her sister for now. Everything was confusing and she was afraid. She hoped to god Warren was okay.

“My name is East. I’m sorry for everything the monsters might’ve put you through. We have people tracking monsters constantly, though we never anticipated anything like this.” He drove down the crumpling streets, keeping a shotgun in his lap at the ready.

“H-how bad is it?”

East sighed, drumming his fingers along the steering wheel. “It’s tough to tell. They planned this ahead and cut out the cell towers so it’s hard to reach other towns to gage the scale of this.”

Rebeka let out a nervous sigh, noticing Liss scoot toward the window to watch the crumpled remains of their hometown to pass by. They were using the roads towards the outskirts of the city, so they had avoided most of the damage in their path, though it could still be seen in the distance. She back at the rearview mirror to search East’s face. “You won’t hurt Eli-- the giant, will you? He saved our lives.”

“It depends on how much he’ll resist on giving us intel on this attack.” The hunter responded grimly. The car turned toward a country road and left the city in its rearview mirrors as the sun began to descend. Its golden flames were choked out by the smoke along the horizon that spread high into the darkening sky. 

----------------------

The rest of the series can be found here.

[taechaos]

Idea series oc sneaking Tae in the house after he had big fight with his father about something (your choice if it's smutty or fluff or angsty) with a peek of a vurberable Tae? Honestly i think he would change the topic as soon as he started it and prob with sex.

Anyway I'm really interest in their family dynamic since I remember don't know if it was in part one or two that you mention they have really religious parents? And seeing how harsh their dad is with Taehyung it have me wondering how is his relationship with the mother and ocs with both parents, despite everything the seem really distant from their kids, maybe thats why Tae and YN find comfort in each other. OC is the first real bond Tae made with someone so maybe that's the reason of his fear of being replaced and his obsession with her, and ocs mother probably don't pay that much attention to her so that's why even after the incident she still want him to be there. At this point I'm just rambling I'm sorry. And this ask is all over the place, started with a request and ended questioning characters life 💀💀. Sorry hehe.

when i read this yesterday i was literally blown away by this like hOLY shit your analysis is so in-depth at first i was like damn do my characters have more than oNE DIMENSION?? WHICH IS RLY FLATTERING BUT I THINK ITS JUST UR WORDS THAT MADE ME SOUND SMART 💀💀💀 the ending is chef's kiss tho made me bust a lung SHFJJD thank you so much for taking the time to write this its honestly so fucking amazing. hopefully u can see more of their family dynamic in this drabble :)

Rays of sunlight slither through the cracks in the blinds of the living room, allowing Taehyung's father enough light to scan the newspaper he holds in his hand, with the musical, happy chirping of mockingbirds filling in the silence. All of these beautiful signs of nature and peaceful rotation of the earth makes Taehyung tense up even more.

The moment he got back home from buying drugs, his father greeted him in monotone with a, "would you sit with me for a moment?" and he hasn't spoken since. The zipperbag in his pocket crinkles every time he shifts in his seat, making him cringe momentarily before he starts nervously fidgeting again.

This is so awkward and yet equivalent to hearing: we need to talk. God, why is he so silent?

Clearing his throat, Taehyung stands just as his father flips a page with a lick of his thumb. "I'm going to my room really quick."

"No."

"Oh." When will his step-mother return? She's his only hope as he sits down while avoiding looking at his father, whose gaze is set on the black and white printed pages.

It's only a minute later when he talks without diverting his gaze.

"Your sister is in her room, researching her major to get a headstart on a typical syllabus."

"Smart," he comments with disinterest and nibbles on his upper lip.

"Taehyung, how was your attendance in college?" he folds the newspaper and curiously peeks at his son, who is doing a poor job at hiding his nerves.

"It was alright–"

"Lying is a sin, son," his movements are aristocratic when he leans his chin on his fist. "Don't lie."

"I'm not," he stammers and his eyes flicker, "it was bad at the beginning of the year, but I fixed it."

His father pinches the bridge of nose where his frames lie. "I love your sister, Taehyung," he sighs and takes off his glasses, "I want her to do well. I've given up on you, but her? She can accomplish great things if you're not there to influence her. You're a bad influence. Are you following me?"

Taehyung nods dumbly with a racing heart before registering his words and shaking his head. "What?" he blurts. "I used to help her with her homework all the time–"

"You were home once every month."

"Just because you didn't see me doesn't mean I didn't see her," he coldly says. That's not entirely accurate, but it is true that he saw you more than he saw his parents before he started living here again. For you.

His father is taken aback, offended as he scoffs, "You avoided me and your mother, and yet have the face to stay in our home?" He stands up and passes the coffee table that was Taehyung's only barrier to hover over him with distance. "I expected so much more from you, but you can't even do the bare minimum. An adult without a stable job, respectable girlfriend, and embarrassing grades. I'm ashamed to have raised such a boy, for I can't even call you a man."

Taehyung abruptly stands but he continues, "If you can't even pay rent, go back to that landfill you came from."

"I have to pay rent to live with my family?" He's livid and his hands shake by his sides; they're taking you away from him because what? He isn't the son they wanted him to be?

"You've made it clear that the only thing keeping you here is my daughter," he blindly points at the closed door of your room, "and you will have to try much harder to see her again. Get your life together, and you can come back."

Taehyung's face is heated with anger from the injustice. "What the fuck?! This is such bullshit; you're kicking me out?"

His father frowns at his language, growling, "Taehyung! I will not let you drag her down that path with you. When you stop destroying everything you touch, I'll gladly let you live here."

Destroy? He hasn't done any harm to anyone—especially not you. He knows he's self-destructive, but it doesn't extend to his environment. If he fails, it's his failure, but his father takes it personally instead of encouraging him to do better.

The importance of reputation and success in this family enrages him; he's aware that he's not much of an affectionate person either, but a little love wouldn't hurt to witness in the household.

Instead of defending himself or speaking his mind, he obliges bitterly.

"You need to get laid," are his last words before he slams the door and opens the zipper bag to pop a pill. Ecstasy isn't so fun when you're not around, but he can use the distraction. It's been a bad day.

He flips off a stray cat idling around the garden before casually leaving the property.

—————

Studying isn't fun for you, never has been, never will be. Though you hate every second of it, it does give you something to do to make time pass faster. You've been tutoring yourself about things you'll learn sooner or later anyway, but you guess it doesn't hurt to have to study less when the time comes.

You check the time. It's approaching night at 9 PM, and your father wouldn't protest against a break now, hopefully. He only suggested that you should start studying, but you know what his suggestions really mean.

Do it, or get shamed into doing it with subtle glances.

As if that isn't enough, he constantly checked up on you throughout the day. He wasn't exactly giving you a choice, which irks you.

But that's done and over with, and there's a more pressing matter at hand: where is Taehyung? You heard bits and pieces of the argument, but you couldn't get the whole scoop. You worry he's going to go back to his old habits of never being here, rarely seeing you. He would've been hanging out with you six hours ago out of routine... It can't just be you being clingy. Something happened.

You: are you coming home tonight?

The response takes a few minutes.

taehyung: nop

taehyung: but i am coming to ur room

taehyung: cuz ik u cant sleep without me 😖

You: actually the opposite but ok lol

You: when are you coming

taehyung: whenever u want uwu

You: uwu...?

You: just come before it gets too late

—————

So that was a lie. It's 1 AM and still no word from Taehyung. Okay, maybe you're just being clingy now, but it's unlike him not to be clingy. Maybe he wanted to cool off for a long time after his tak with your step-dad, or simply wanted to hang out with his friends after spending all of his time with you.

That makes sense. What doesn't is the slide of your window and shuffling of your curtains. You instantly sit up in your bed and clutch your blanket closer. You watch a silhouette enter your room as you pick up your limp, your tense muscles relaxing only when you recognize the intruder. You put down the lamp with a click of your tongue, ignoring the relief in your pounding heart.

"Hey," he stupidly grins at you. He looks disheveled, clothes untucked and wrinkled, and from the little light you have, you can see his redshot eyes.

"There's also the door," you remark sassily. "Are you um... high?"

He shrugs and crawls in your bed, dismissive as usual. You both make an effort to keep your voices quiet.

"I talked to mom earlier," you ease into the discussion until he butts in.

"That's great."

You roll your eyes and prop an elbow to look down at him. His head lies on his hands while staring at you, mood strangely upbeat. He's definitely high.

"She was a little sad about something, and I know it involves you. I heard you talking to–" You're interrupted with a lingering peck, a little rough in its force but not unwelcomed.

"I've missed kissing you. Shouldn't you be asleep, by the way?"

Recovering from the unexpected attack, you reply, "It's not that late. I don't have to wake up early."

"You shouldn't ruin your sleep schedule," he tucks a hair strand behind your ear without taking his eyes off of you. "Staying up is hard to stop once you start."

"Yeah, you're a great example," you joke with a quiet giggle. Whispering with him feels intimate in a heart fluttering way. His heart pangs with a feeling he can't put a finger on. "You didn't answer my question."

"Hm?"

"Don't play dumb, I'm really curious. What happened with dad?"

"A lot of things happen with dad," he shrugs, "sometimes we play catch–"

"Taehyung," you give him a pointed look, and he giggles.

"You're right, he'd never play catch with me." He groans as he stretches in your bed before trapping you with his arms on either side of you in one motion. You don't know what he's trying to do, but you watch him above you in amusement. "No offence, but when is your mom not sad when my dad is around?" he laughs with a huff.

"That's rude, Tae," you remark seriously, "she's happy when you're around."

Taehyung's smile falters like yours, his happy guise crumbling when he says, "Are you?"

"Pfft," you roll your eyes, "What do you think? I was up waiting for you."

Ah. That's not a very good influence.

"I'm here now," he whispers, "go to sleep. It's okay, I won't do anything, I know you worked hard today."

You agree with a yawn and nod. But even in your sleepy state, you can read the room—Taehyung is especially attentive of his tone and volume aside from being so tense. "Are you alright?"

"I'm in and on ecstasy," he falls back on his former spot, "I can't not be alright."

"Taehyung, I haven't seen you all day–"

"Yeah, because I didn't want to be here," he looks at you dead in the eye, "and I don't want you to be here."

You blink rapidly, slightly shaking your head in confusion, "What are you saying?"

"Move in with me."

He's met with cold silence, so he persuades persistently, "Don't you want to get away from here? You'll have so much more freedom with me, and I can help you with your assignments and everything. It'll be perfect."

"I— do you... Where?" Taehyung is high and he doesn't know what he's saying is what you believe because this is so out of the blue, so irrational, but he describes it like it's utopia; you are not completely against the idea.

"I have enough money from drug dealing to rent an apartment, and you can tell dad that you want to move out to be like an adult or whatever, that you have a stable job, without mentioning me," he rambles, and his dilated pupils are more noticeable up close; it slightly puts you off.

"Wh-what about mom?"

He scoffs, "If she wants out, she can get her second divorce. Don't worry about them; after all, they're apparently the only real adults here," he relates back to not being worthy of being called a man. You shift away from him little by little. "Just trust me."

The phrase is triggering for you, a reminder of the time you were tricked into trusting him moments before your trauma. "We'll talk about this when you're sober," you meekly say, avoiding eye contact.

A wicked smile grows on his face, "I can't wait, princess."