#design canopy tent

[brandedcanopytentsusa1]

Grow Your business with the Art of Designing Canopy Tents

 Step into the world where functionality meets elegance as we delve into the intricate art of designing canopy tents. Explore the fusion of innovative engineering and aesthetic appeal that goes beyond mere shelter. Our blog unfolds the secrets behind crafting tents that not only shield you from the elements but do so with style. Discover the nuances of design, from selecting premium materials to incorporating cutting-edge features that redefine outdoor experiences. Whether it's a chic pop-up canopy for events or a robust shelter for adventurous outings, our insights guide you through the process of creating tents that stand out in the crowd. Embark on a visual journey through the latest trends and timeless designs that elevate your outdoor space. Uncover the inspiration behind each creation and understand how form seamlessly intertwines with function. From sleek modern designs to classic motifs, we explore the diverse landscape of canopy tent aesthetics. Join us as we unravel the tapestry of design possibilities, showcasing how thoughtful craftsmanship can transform a simple tent into a work of art. Elevate your outdoor lifestyle with canopies that not only provide shelter but make a statement. The artistry of designing canopy tents awaits – where every stitch, every choice, is a brushstroke on the canvas of outdoor elegance.

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6ft Fully Printed Branded Table Cover (Fitted Style- 4 Sided)

9ft - Double Sided Printed Flag (2 Qty) Complete Flag Kit: Includes Double-Sided Printed Flag, Flag Poles, Carrying Case, And Flag Mounting Brackets

*Flag Includes Brackets To Connect With Tent Frame

Deluxe - 40mm Hexagonal Aluminium Frame (Rust Proof)

(4) Velcro Loop Added To Inside Of Valance Edge (Easy To Connect Full Walls)

2 Years Warranty

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Contact Us: 

Branded Canopy Tents

Division Of Starline Exhibits International

125 Townpark Dr, #300

Kennesaw, Georgia 30144 USA

888-414-7340

sales@brandedcanopytents.com

[acap-arch-printing]

What to pay attention to when purchasing10x20 commercial canopy?

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[skywindowsaluminumproducts]

Custom-made canopy.

Glass canopies often consist of a free-span structure or an overhead aluminum awning with supporting posts and exposed sides. Simple overhead barriers and intricate radius barrel vault designs are both examples of canopies that deflect snow and rain.

[coloradocanopies]

Another great canopy ready for spring festivals, new design gif the new year. Commercial grade and heavy duty with our new 600 denier polyester tops! Get ready for spring and order your new pop up canopy today! #canopy #tent #popup #design #popcorn #festival #smallbiz #coloradocanopies https://www.instagram.com/p/CpQiGtGvy6c/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[brandedcanopytents1]

Showcase Your Business Message With Custom Canopy Tents

Shop custom canopy tents, logo-printed pop-up canopies and tent accessories at branded canopy tents. Most of our custom pop-up tents are portable and easily collapsible for quick setup and takedown. Showcase your business message with our 10x10 custom canopy tents. For more details visit our online store today.

[vintagehomecollection]

A tented canopy above the bed, a pretty Paisley pattern slightly tinged with mauve on walls and furniture, and a few exquisite little bits and pieces suffice to transform the bedroom into a boudoir.

The French Touch: Decoration and Design in the Most Beautiful Homes in France, 1988

[aboredindividual]

Nests- what from, for what and when for

Nesting is an instinct present in omegas that often brings them the most comfort. Nest are made of many soft materials such as linen, pillows, sheets, blankets, plushies etc. that hold scent for a long periods of time. They are highly personal and individual for each omega and being in one that hasn't been made by your family is an priviledge and an act of utter trust. But even if nests look similiar, they may vary in use and purpose.

Common Nest Materials

Bed

Not exactly a material per se but the most important part of nest, bed gives it ,,skeleton'' that make them more comfortable and less floory. Normal beds of course exists but there are some designs of them that are more appealing for omegas and have steady popularity because of it.

Omegas often choose beds that have closed space, resebling a nook that you can easily hide in. It can be achieved by building in the bed, equipping it with canopy, curtains or even snagging a tent! But remember that exceptions always exist and omegas can live in normal rectangle ones.

Blankets&Sheets

They are often made from soft, scent holding materials. They are commonly light but omegas can also buy heavy weighted ones for extra comfort if they wish. It depends on the person's tastes.

Pillows

Long and short, smooth or fluffy, round or squared etc etc. There are many great designs of soft pillows that can strike you fancy. Average pillows are the most often choosed option but long body ones are very close behind! Omegas like to hug things after all and there are also specially designed pillows for pregnant omegas and betas that can be a life saver

Clothes

Used clothes are common but not only restricted to them, they are most used in nests during heat and pregnancy. The longer used by them or significant other, the better!

Types of Nests

Comfort nests

They are the only type of nest that can be made by all secondary genders, even if omegas make them the most and best. Dynamics make them for as name descibes- comfort. They want to feel safe when they are for example sick, stressed, anxious or sad. They are constructed from closest available materials from bed and simply have to smell good and feel safe. They stem from childhood memories where babies spend their first years in mothers nest. All people associate them with security and stability because of this and often try to replicate them to feel safe, regardless of secondary gender.

Heat Nests

The most known nest type, omegas use them when they are close, in and little after their heat. When Omega has no mate, the nests are often similiar to comfort ones, albeit there are some things stolen from their family members as a buffer and source of additional comfort. When Omegas DO have a mate, they want to be surrounded by the scent of them, so they resort to cloth thievery and Laundry heists for maximum effect. The nest is a perfect combination of them and their mate.

Pregnancy Nests

They are the sturdiest and long-lasting of them all, being made during pregnancy and are used for it's remaining months, birth and first developmental years of ther childrens lives. Less priviledged people use their normal beds as the place they will build it in, but those with more money can dedicate entire room for such a nest. The beds are often round in shape or spacious, with curtains or something to separate the parents and children from outside world.

Kiddy nests

They are often made by the parent or the child themselves as a imitation behaviour or playing. The plushies and pillows are the most popular ingredient in those nests. Please note that young children under 8 doing this is a normal behaviour and doesnt at all reflect the childs future presentation.

[starcheols]

the 1 — choi seungcheol

⭑ it is said that no one ever forgets their first love, nor their first heartbreak. truer words have never been spoken as you leave the glamourous cities of europe to return to your small hometown, for the first time in seven years.

don't you think it would have been sweet, if it could have been me pairing :: smalltown!seungcheol x fashion designer!reader (gender neutral) genre :: nostalgia, gentle angst

warnings :: nothing major! just heartbreak i guess? mentions a glass of wine and a kiss. word count :: 1.4k

author's note :: i've never written a fan-fiction before so i'm marking this monumentous occasion with a slightly mediocre piece of writing that was floating around in my head for a week :)

links :: masterlist / ask to be added to the taglist!

The old bus station, with its peeling red paint and rugged masts, greeted you like an old friend as you took a step off the weathered vehicle, with its tires sagging next to the cracked curb. It seemed that autumn’s breath was whispering in the air, carrying a chill that nipped at you, prompting you to tug your cashmere coat tighter around yourself.

As you stood there, under the canopy of the station, the rhythmic plod of the primordial-era bus faded into the distance, and a familiar nostalgia settled over you like the autumn mist.

Your hometown had remained frozen in time, a canvas of memories painted against the backdrop of quaint architecture and cobblestone streets that echoed under the sharp clack of your heeled boots. 

As you rounded the corner of the bus station, the remainder of the small town, with its quaint buildings and centrepiece fountain, unfolded before you like a familiar tapestry of memories. 

And there, standing beneath the flickering street lights of the early morning, a broad-shouldered man stood with his back turned, the sun’s first tentative rays finding a home in his honey-blonde hair. And for that fleeting moment, you could have sworn you felt time suspend, the world tilting its axis beneath you, for it had been so long.

But then, reality asserted itself, like a gentle hand grounding you in the here and now. The features, upon closer inspection, were not those you had once known. The stranger's eyes, the curve of his jaw, all different from the one etched into the canvas of your memories.

You certainly could not resist the wave of relief that washed over you, and that sneaking adrenaline that had coiled within your chest slowly released its grip, leaving the heartache to dissipate along the morning dew beneath the frail sunlight.

Seven years since you had left this town, teary-eyed and clutching your suitcase, chasing dreams that led you across the world, to the capitals of Europe to pursue your degree and future. 

Milan, where you honed your craft, your fingers becoming extensions of your artistic vision. Paris, where the world of haute couture embraced you, and your name adorned the lips of those who appreciated the elegance of your designs. The bustle of fashion weeks, the allure of glamorous shows — it was a life you had dreamed of, a life you had made your own.

Yet, amidst the glittering lights of success, the echoes of that tearful departure still reverberated, often coming back to you after a stranger’s kiss or a glass of red perched on your dining table, up in the penthouses of Paris.

You remembered that fateful day, seven years ago to the date today, when the bus station had rather been a stage for a heartbreaking farewell. Seungcheol, your best friend with golden hair and big eyes that once held a world of shared secrets, stood before you.

Back then, you were just eighteen, brimming with dreams and aspirations. You had poured your heart out to Seungcheol, confessing a love that had blossomed within the cocoon of friendship. But his response, or rather the lack thereof, had cast a shadow over the farewell, dragging you over the edge to embarrassed silence and quiet tears. His eyes, ringed with long lashes that you longed to once press a soft kiss to, reflected not reciprocation, but a profound sadness and pity.

The bus had become your vessel of escape, your tears mingling with the rumble of the engine, as the vehicle pulled away from the same curb that you stepped out on today. The unspoken truth hung heavy in the air — Choi Seungcheol, the person you had thought of when you tossed pennies into the fountain’s pool and the person you loved the most in the entire world, (and really, what was the world of one who had just turned eighteen?), did not share the same sentiments at all.

The bench under the gnarled oak tree offered a momentary respite, and you took a seat, your coat enveloping you like a cocoon against the autumn chill. As you waited for your parents, who had vowed to meet you for breakfast, you watched the leaves dance in the breeze, a kaleidoscope of reds and golds that mirrored the hues of memories embedded in this town.

The quiet peace of the surroundings enveloped you, and you closed your eyes, allowing the crisp air to wash over you. The distant hum of the town, the gentle rustling of leaves, and the distant echo of a church bell created a symphony that resonated with a serene melancholy. The town hadn't changed much, and neither had the comforting embrace of its quiet corners.

A voice, a familiar voice, and one that you knew only all too well, cut through the tranquil ambiance. Your eyes snapped open, and the world seemed to shift on its axis again. There, standing before you, was Seungcheol —no longer the silent boy you tearfully left behind but a man, his honey-blonde hair still curling around his ears. His gaze met yours, and the years seemed to melt away in that moment, and how you hated the leap of your heart and the shake of your hands.

And it seemed your traitorous heart, a tempest of conflicting emotions, of love and grief, ran cold and hot simultaneously. Seven years had sculpted the features of the boy who you had loved from your childhood into a refined allure, the lines of boyhood replaced by the contours of a man who had weathered time with grace.

"Hey," he greeted you, a warmth in his eyes that could have deceived you into forgetting silent tears, and his pitying gaze years ago. "I heard you were back in town. It's been forever!"

Your brightest smile, a mask that you could credit from having being forged from your years of navigating the high celebrity ends of the world, adorned your own face, as you accepted his open arms, pulling yourself into the scent of him.

The old familiarity threatened to unravel the carefully constructed walls around your heart. How was it that he seemed genuinely excited to see you, to reconnect after all these years.

Seungcheol's infectious laughter filled the air, a melody that echoed through the town square, and one that you would have spent summers listening to on repeat, your arms intertwined. "I can't believe it, you know? I always knew you had that amazing potential, but seeing your name everywhere, in magazines and tabloids, isn’t that so cool? You've made it so big!"

The genuine admiration in his eyes was both heartwarming and disconcerting, for you. You could only nod, expressing gratitude for his kind words while trying to suppress the turbulent emotions churning beneath the surface. The town's quiet corners, once a sanctuary, now felt like a stage, each word and glance an act in the intricate dance of reunion.

And you won't believe who's behind me," Seungcheol continued, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "My wife's a huge fan of your work. She practically dragged me here to meet you."

As your eyes shifted to the figure approaching behind him, your breath caught. A woman, stunning with dark red hair, walked with two small children by her side. The bitterness, like a dormant ember, flickered within you, threatening to consume the facade of happiness you had meticulously crafted.

"Hey, look who's here!" Seungcheol called out to his wife, his voice brimming with excitement.

She turned, and for a moment, your eyes locked. A fleeting connection passed between you, a recognition of shared spaces in a world divided by time and choices. Her smile was warm, genuine, and you tried to match it with your own, though it felt brittle, a fragile façade that hid the tempest within.

Seungcheol introduced you, praising your work with an enthusiasm that only friends from the past could muster. The children, curious and full of innocent wonder, regarded you with wide eyes. As the conversation flowed, you couldn't help but wonder what could have been if, in that moment seven years ago, the trajectory of your lives had diverged in a different direction.

Seungcheol had moved on, creating a family, a chosen one. The pang of longing lingered, but you swallowed it down, resisting the temptation to wonder about alternate realities.

But we were something don't you think so? Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool. And if my wishes came true, it would have been you.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I've been dreaming of the Undersea Marauder.

There are so many rules in this world. So many shackles to keep him down.

Let nothing obstruct his errant path.

How does a moment last forever? How can a story never die?

A fish is bound to the water his entire life.

It’s not a life for him.

Floyd is on his back, set adrift in the face of the Coral Sea. His hands cradle the back of his head, and he finds himself staring up. A flock of birds form an arrow, slicing through the sky. He wonders where they're going, what they'll do there.

Some merpeople dreamed of trading scales for skin, but Floyd thinks about giving up his fins for feathers. A pair of wings with which to witness all manner of strange things…

He chuckles soft.

Wouldn't that be so freeing?

“Eheheh. I wanna try it, too! Wait up for me, birds. Here I come…!”

Floyd rights himself and dives unto the frigid waters. His powerful tail undulates like a teal ribbon, propelling him after and faster. He steadily gains, chasing the shadows of the birds that skim the surface of his home turf.

Floyd approaches, lifting himself toward the shimmering boundary between sea and sky. A second later, he breaks through with a mighty splash.

His body elegantly arcs in the leap. He’s a skipping dolphin, a flying fish.

Free.

Floyd launches higher and higher, zipping past the flock. He collides with some birds, screeching with laughter as they spin like cars out of control.

Here come the clouds now—he easily bursts through them. They’re made of cool and fine-grained beads of water, refreshing him as he flies.

And higher still he goes, the sky dimming, a gradient of light to dark.

Floyd is among the stars, each twinkling like diamonds in greeting. The planets, like massive globes of sugar orbiting him.

The eel is weightless, effortlessly floating through space. With his arms, he paddles--and though there should be no gravity, the space warps and gives like water, letting him sail as smoothly as a ship after a storm.

He reaches out and plucks a star out of the cosmos, giving it a curious lick. The taste is like sweetened milk, and so he pops the entire thing into his mouth.

Then begins his descent.

At the peak of his jump, surrounded by the stars, he bends downward and plunges.

But there are no longer any waters waiting for him.

He crashes through a canopy of leaves. They scatter like papers, raining down verdant, brown, scarlet, tangerine, and gold. Sunlight pierces them, giving each a magical glow.

Roots come, skittering by him like a snake might slink. Thin tendrils extend from them, brushing his face.

Maybe there is some other name for them? Hyph-something, myce-whatever. Floyd does not care to remember his twin's excitable rambling.

Alarmingly, he spies an ugly bulbous cap poking out from a root. His nose crinkles with disgust.

Shiitake mushroom.

Floyd paddles through the fungi and plants, the scent of dirt and chlorophyll filling his nostrils. It's fresh and green mixed with damp and earthy, nothing like the salty smell of the sea.

Jade would like this, he thinks.

Daisies push through, their petals tickling his skin. He takes a shaky breath, holds, shakes again, and...

Sneezes!!

A great gale is unleashed, clearing his surroundings in an instant. Floyd is sent flying up, up, and away--

He shoots out of the dunes. Sand scatters from the force he emerges with, throwing particle clouds up into the air. Floyd flails, trying to balance his body. No use--he flops uselessly under the pull of gravity.

A scream rips from his throat. Not of terror, but of joy.

The landscape unfolds into a sandy expanse. In the distance, he sees an oasis guarded by palm trees. And below, a great city crowning the desert.

There are bright tents and stalls pitched, merchants hawking their wares. Vases and lamps with unique patterns, ripe fruits, adornments in a variety of designs.

Families and friends mill about in the packed marketplace, satisfied with their mundane lives, the schedules they keep. So content, so peaceful.

Floyd grins.

And he lets himself plummet straight into a stall.

The weight of him collapses it with a loud THUD. The merchant looks on, horrified, and his circle of customers gasp, putting distance between themselves and Floyd. Sticky with fruit juices, he removes the strand of black hair that clings to his cheek.

"Eh, guess it could be worse," Floyd shrugs, tossing off a chunk of watermelon sitting like a hat on his head. A line of juice dribbles down his forehead.

He notices the crowd staring and wiggles his tail in a casual pseudo-wave. One person immediately faints--but luckily, they're caught by a concerned onlooker.

"Riffraff!" the merchant shouts, waving a fist. "Scoundrel!! I demand compensation for what you've wrecked!"

Floyd rolls his eyes. He sounds like Azul.

The eel hauls himself off the pile of fruit--and peels right past the feet of the customers. The merchant's face heats.

"Guards! GUARDS!! Come quickly, HELP!! There's a sea monster on the loose!!"

Floyd rapidly drags himself across the market, digging his talons into the ground, his tail pushing him forward. He gleefully writhes as people scream and flee, clearing a path for him. His laugh, cackling.

He's at the waterways that thread the city when heavy footsteps spill into the street.

"He went that way!!"

Floyd doesn't look back before he dives back into his natural element.

The water welcomes him, its streams washing off the sand that paints his skin, loosening the hair that clumped from fruit juices. A tender kiss, a kind hand.

He has returned to the sea.

The channel goes deeper than Floyd thinks. It widens, becoming an entire ocean bathed in sunlight. A coral reef teeming with life stretched out below him, and when he runs his hand along it, tiny seahorses escape and trail bubbles.

He turns his head this way--a school of rainbow tropical fish race by. The other way, a band is in full swing. A carp on the harp, the plaice on the bass, bass on brass.

Floyd twirls as he passes, happily humming along to the tune. The music wraps around him, giving a warm embrace. He almost misses his name being called, almost forgets himself.

"... od....... loyd... Floyd! There you are."

A face that matches his appears beside him. He is followed by a boy with lilac skin, a series of squirming tentacles at his beck and call.

“Where did you vanish off to?” Jade asks. “Azul and I were starting to get worried about your whereabouts. Weren’t we, Azul?”

“I’m more concerned for the places he visits rather than Floyd himself. Who knows how much collateral damage he could cause unsupervised,” the octopus merman grumbles.

“Oya, Azul… Could it be that you lack faith in Floyd? Even though he has unquestionably served you since middle school?"

"You're saying strange things again. I recall him losing interest and changing his mind last minute more often than 'unquestionably serving'." Azul raises a brow. "So? Where were you all this time?"

Floyd flings himself at the duo, slinging his arms around their shoulders and pulling them close.

"F-Floyd?! What is the meaning of this?" Azul sputters, struggling against his binds.

"I was everything and everywhere all at once," he responds with a laugh. "I was as free as a bird! I'll tell you guys about it~"

"Fufu, it sounds as though you've been away on quite an adventure. We would, of course, be more than happy to hear of your escapades."

[bookworm551]

The Great War | Part 2 | Neteyam Sully x Omatikaya!reader

Summary: You and Neteyam were childhood friends, always looking out for each other, but when the Sky People returned, neither of you could have anticipated the way it would affect your relationship with one another.

A/N: First off, I just want to say that for everyone who enjoyed the first part, I want to give y’all a lil kiss on the forehead. I definitely got carried away (again), so I split what was going to be part 2 into parts 2 and 3, so I’ll have the next one up real soon. Also, in case you can’t tell, I firmly believe that Neteyam’s love language is physical touch. Hope you enjoy!

6.1k words

Warnings: canon-typical violence, angst

Part 1 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

It was ten days before you were allowed outside the camp again. Though you had tried to get out sooner, you were under strict orders to rest from Neteyam and (more convincingly) Mo'at. You were bored out of your mind most of the time, but Tuk had been very sweet to visit you in her abundant free time. Kiri had also taken it upon herself to become your designated healer, much to Neteyam's comfort.

He had visited as often as he could. It was sweet, but you couldn't help but feel like he was hovering somewhat over you. He treated you like you were going to shatter if you so much as stood up. You knew he was just being cautious, but you were starting to feel suffocated in the tent.

Now, you had been given the all-clear to travel out into the forest for the first time. Your side still ached if you stretched too far, but for the most part, you felt fine. You still experienced headaches as a result of hitting your head against the crate, but you didn't want to be coddled any more than you already had been, so you didn't say anything about them.

Walking amongst the vibrant plants, you breathed in the fresh forest scent. It was refreshing to be in an open space after lying for so long in the dimness of the healing tent. You had no real destination in mind as you walked about, you just wanted to get out of the village. Besides, Kiri agreed that stretching your legs and being in the sun would do you some good after your days spent inside.

"Don't overdo it," she warned you as you pulled yourself over a large boulder. Your side ached dully, but you ignored it. "You sound like Neteyam," you called out over your shoulder. "I'll be fine." You heard her chuckle behind you. "If something happens to you, he'll skin me alive," she said.

You rolled your eyes. Even Kiri could see the overprotectiveness of her older brother. It was true though; he would be upset if something happened, which was why you didn't tell him you were going out.

"I want to go up," you told your friend as you stared up at the light dappling the leaves overhead. Catching up to you, Kiri followed your gaze at the canopy above. "We can go slow," she conceded. "But you have to tell me if you're hurting. If something happens, you're going to be back in the healing tents for another 2 weeks."

That was incentive enough for you to be mostly honest with her, but it was hard to be completely truthful when admitting you were in pain just made you feel weak. Before you could start climbing, however, a figure emerged from the brush nearby.

"What are you doing?" Neteyam asked as he caught sight of you up on top of the boulder you just climbed. You huffed in mild exasperation. Of course he was here. You had deliberately left while he was out to avoid his concerned objections.

"Getting some fresh air," you stated simply. "Care to join?"

He shot you and Kiri a look of disapproval. "You should not be climbing," he told you sternly. "You could reopen your wound." You sighed at his warning. You were starting to become annoyed by his constant caution. It was just a few days ago he protested the idea of you walking around, so you knew that at every milestone, you were going to hear some sort of resistance from him.

"She is doing fine," Kiri defended you. "I am with her to make sure she doesn't strain herself." Neteyam, you could tell, was still hesitant to let you out of his sight. "I'm just going around to stretch my legs," you said. "You can come, but you can't stop me from going."

He sighed and shook his head, but you were pleased by the small smile that tugged at his lips. Pulling himself up to where you and Kiri were standing, he said, "I don't think I can stop you from doing anything." You smiled back at him. "I'm glad you see the truth," you replied triumphantly.

The three of you pressed on through the foliage together. It wasn't long before Kiri became distracted by the beauty of the forest. You always found her endless wonder endearing. "How did you know we were out here?" You asked Neteyam as Kiri strayed away from the two of you.

"Tuk," he responded simply. You huffed out a sharp breath, peeved at the betrayal of the youngest Sully. He smirked at your reaction. "She didn't mean to tell," he explained. "She was complaining to a friend about how my grandmother made her stay behind to help her instead of going with you, and I just so happened to hear."

"I see," you replied solemnly. "Then I suppose she is forgiven." There was a brief pause, and you could feel his eyes on you. Meeting his gaze, you saw that he looked a little crestfallen. "You do not have to hide these things from me," he told you gently. You glanced away in discomfort. It wasn't that you were trying to hide things from him, but you just wanted a little break from his constant oversight.

"I know you're worried," you began carefully, "but sometimes, it feels like you are too worried. I am strong and healing well." You gestured to the laceration, now a large scab, that traced across the right half of your stomach. His eyes fixed on it for a moment before he blinked hard and looked away. You caught his moment of discomfort and sighed.

The both of you carried on walking in half-awkward silence. You pulled yourself up onto a large fallen log that was obstructing your path and leaped down onto the lower ground, the impact sending a jolt of pain across your stomach, but you managed to stifle your reaction.

"Did that hurt?" Neteyam asked. Okay, maybe you didn't manage as well as you thought.

"Just a little tight," you dismissed. He looked at you with a concerned gaze, evidently not believing you. Taking a deep breath, you turned to face directly in front of him and grabbed his broad shoulders with both hands. You held him for a moment and stared up into his eyes.

"You are too worried," you told him after a heartbeat. "I am not going to break. I need you to trust me when I say I am fine." You looked up at him pleadingly, keeping your hands resting on his shoulders. He gazed down at you softly with a small sigh. He brought his hands up and wrapped them around your forearms.

"I'm sorry," he said gently, rubbing his thumbs softly back and forth across your skin. "You are right, I am worried about you." You smiled faintly and corrected him, "Too worried." He rolled his eyes before nodding. "Alright, too worried," he conceded. "I will stop."

You nodded your head gratefully. "Thank you," you said, dropping your hands from his shoulders. Neteyam smiled at you, then made an exaggerated thinking face. "Well," he began reflectively, "I will never stop worrying about you. How can I not worry about you when you do stupid things all the time?" You rolled your eyes and shoved him playfully. He laughed.

"And you never listen to me!" He continued as you turned and started walking again. "How am I not supposed to worry?" You couldn't help but smile at that. "I do listen to you," you argued, "when you say something worth listening to."

After that day, you noticed Neteyam's overly cautious behavior diminish. Occasionally throughout the week, he would catch you wincing when you stretched your right arm up too quickly, or he would notice how you rubbed your temple when a migraine hit, but respecting the boundary you set, he never said anything.

A few days after your walk in the forest, you were invited by a handful of your tribesmen close to your age to join them in a morning hunt. You were extremely grateful for the chance to get out and do something more than wander around aimlessly with Kiri. For young adult Na'vi, hunting and foraging were sort of social events amongst friends, so you were eager to join.

As the sons of the Olo'eyktan, Neteyam and Lo'ak were also invited to come with the group. Besides the two Sully boys and yourself, there were three more in the party. Getting ready to go out, you could see the look of unease on Neteyam's face, but he said nothing until the rest of the group made their way toward the edge of the ikran rookery.

"Why don't we go on foot?" He asked. Everyone paused and looked at each other, mildly confused. "Why would we do that?" Lo'ak asked the question everyone else was thinking. Neteyam's eyes shifted to you uneasily, and you clenched your jaw, expecting him to call you out in front of the others.

"Isn't your ikran injured?" He asked you. It was a cover, and you knew it, but at least he didn't outright mention your injury as the reason for wanting to hunt on foot. You gave him a warning look. "I checked on her yesterday. Her injuries have healed nicely," you told him, emphasizing every word of your last sentence pointedly.

He understood your passive statement and held your stare. As subtly as possible, you gave him a look that said, Don't you dare. A beat of tense silence passed between you before he looked away and nodded. Taking your eyes off of him, you looked over at Lo'ak. His eyes were awkwardly glancing back and forth between you and his brother, one of his human-like eyebrows raised. He clearly caught the silent conversation you just had, and you felt your ears warm in embarrassment.

Walking into the rookery, you each called out to your ikran. Kazi descended before you, and you gave her an affectionate rub on the crest of her jaw. Her wings had indeed healed nicely in the time since the accident, and you were eager to take to the skies with her again. You could feel Neteyam's eyes on you as you checked the cinching of your saddle, and when you glanced over at him, you could read the apology on his face.

Huffing out a little sigh, you looked away. Sometimes, you wanted to stay mad at him, but he always made it so hard.

You attached your queue to Kazi and mounted onto her back. The six of you took off of the ground and rose over the trees. Feeling the rushing air around you made you realize just how cramped you've felt since your injury, and you couldn't help but give a few whoops of glee.

The sun shone brightly overhead. Even though you loved the feeling of its warmth on your skin, being in the brightness after spending so much time in the dimness of camp caused your head to hurt some. It didn't help that after 2 weeks of resting, your body wasn't so used to the physical demands of flying anymore. The tension in your core and thighs to stay balanced caused your breathing to become labored after a while, which didn't help with the onsetting headache.

Finally, the group swooped down to a clearing in the trees. There, you dismounted with the rest of the group and tried to hide your breathlessness. Taking your bow and a few arrows, you joined the others in descending to the forest floor. Given the time of year, you were all familiar with the migration habits of the deer-like yerik and knew there would be several in this area.

Jumping down from branch to branch gave you a rush of adrenaline you had been missing for so long. While still in the trees, you and your companions laughed and chatted together. Mekar, one of the hunters among you, was talking about the last mission the war party had flown just a few days prior. "Too bad you were taken out by a human," he told you with a laugh. "You could have seen how much damage we did."

His comment burned. It was embarrassing enough having to be on bed rest for so long, but it didn't help that everyone in the clan was aware of it, too. Already peeved by Neteyam's earlier attempt to coddle you, Mekar's words pushed you deeper into your irritation.

"That's not funny," Neteyam told him sharply. Being the son of Toruk Makto, his words held a lot of weight, so his quick reprimand shut down the other hunter. You moved in irritated silence, thinking about how you've been set back by your injury.

One of the worst consequences of your accident was that you were not able to conduct the Uniltaron trial at your designated time. The Dream Quest requires much mental and physical strength, both of which were affected by your injury. You were keenly aware that you and Lo'ak were the only ones in the group who had not completed the trial, though Lo'ak had nearly a full year left before he was eligible.

Your group finally reached the floor of the forest. You felt out of breath, and you could feel your heart beating hard in your chest which was making your head pound. Taking a few steadying breaths, you closed your eyes for a second, trying to ignore your migraine. When you looked up, you could see that your friends had already started to move in one direction, so you quickly sprinted after them.

You all moved in silence, looking for signs of a nearby herd. Lo'ak found it first, a single hoof print in the dirt. You all followed his lead, and soon enough, you could all see a large gathering of yerik through the foliage.

Lo'ak got first rights to the herd. He made a quick, clean kill of a buck, but as expected, the whole herd scattered as it fell. You all shot after the fleeing creatures, but Mekar was the only other hunter to catch one in the haunches, moving in swiftly to make a clean kill with his knife.

As you and the others gathered your arrows, you noticed a chittering noise in the distance, the sound of a forest hen. Perking up, you listened closely and turned in the direction it came from.

"There are forest hens over there," you told your friends, pointing in the direction of the noise. They listened attentively until another chittering noise echoed quietly in the distance. "Yeah," one of the other hunters, Meya, began, "but I would rather stay on the yerik." She pointed at where the herd had run off in the opposite direction of the forest hens.

The rest of the group deliberated until you all agreed on a strategy. Lo'ak and Mekar would take their kills back up to their ikran and try to find more quarry, Meya and the other member of the party, Nazátu, would pursue the herd, and you and Neteyam would go after the forest hens. You would all reconvene back at the top of the canopy by the time of high noon.

You and Neteyam set off in the direction of the forest hens. You were grateful to separate from the others since you felt that you didn't have to hide just how out of shape you were in front of Neteyam. You both kept a brisk pace through the brush, moving as silently as possible.

"You seem to be holding up well," he commented. "I should not have doubted you earlier." You smiled gratefully at him. "My head does hurt a little bit," you admitted. "But otherwise, I feel fine."

It was a half-truth. The whole truth was that your head hurt a lot. The pounding in your head hadn't diminished as you had hoped, but you refused to let it affect your ability to hunt.

You both reverted to careful silence as you stayed alert for the sounds of the hens. There were a few silvery feathers you found on the ground to encourage your tracking, and you carried on quickly in the direction they led to. You were eager to get this hunt over with now that your migraine had settled in deep into your temples.

A flutter through the trees caught your attention, and there a few yards ahead, you finally saw a flock of about 10 fowl-like creatures. Some were on the ground, but a few were walking along some low-hanging branches. Forest hens were bulky and had limited flight capabilities. They could be found scratching at the forest floor or low tree branches to eat any insects they could find.

Coming up beside you, Neteyam motioned at the ones on the ground and then pointed at himself. He was telling you that he would aim for the low ones while you could go for one in the branches. You nodded and notched an arrow. You aimed for the fattest bird you saw, and in sync, both you and Neteyam shot and hit your targets.

In a frantic flurry, the remaining hens took flight higher into the canopy. You managed to reset an arrow on your bow and shoot another one down as it was flying off before it could disappear with the rest of the flock.

Stepping out of your cover, you and Neteyam retrieved your quarry and arrows. "Looks like I'm beating you," you teased. He rolled his eyes at you playfully. "Show off," he muttered, tying his hen onto his hip. "Let's keep after them." You hesitated. Now that you had a prize to bring back, you were anxious to leave. You didn't want to raise any concern from Neteyam, but your migraine was really starting to get out of hand. Though you'd been having bad headaches since your accident, this was by far the worst one.

Despite your pain, you nodded at his suggestion wordlessly. You slung your hens over your shoulders and trekked after your friend. It didn't take you long before you caught up to the flock again. Aiming again, you both shot at the birds, hitting them cleanly.

As before, the rest of the flock scattered. This time, Neteyam got another shot in and took down another hen. He gave you a cheeky smile. "Now we're even," he said triumphantly. You tried to smile back, but your head was pounding painfully, causing you to falter.

He noticed your wince. "Is everything okay?" He asked in concern. You closed your eyes tightly for a moment and nodded. Looking up at him, his gaze was full of worry. You thought about what you had said to him in the forest a few days prior. I need you to trust me when I say I am fine. Well, now, you weren't so fine, and you felt you owed him your honesty.

"My head hurts," you admitted quietly. "It really, really hurts." You ground your teeth in pain. "Like an arrow through my head."

Setting his bow down, Neteyam put one hand at the base of your neck and looked into your eyes with care. "How long has it been hurting like this?" He asked with worry. You thought about it for a second. "It started when we left the village," you confessed, "but it did not get bad until we started tracking the yerik."

You waited for a lecture from him on how you should've told him sooner, but it never came. "Do you get them a lot?" He asked gently. You nodded reluctantly before clarifying, "Usually not this bad, though." He gave a small nod, and you could see all the concerned thoughts in his head, but he didn't say any of them. Instead, he lifted his hand from your shoulder to briefly cradle the side of your head. You leaned into his touch and sighed as the pain pulsed in your temples.

"Let's go," he said softly as he dropped his arm back to his side. "We can try to find Lo'ak and Mekar to let them know we're leaving." You nodded, disappointed in yourself for not being able to withstand the headache. How were you supposed to return to fight if you couldn't even manage an easy morning hunt?

Picking up your kills, the two of you headed back in the direction of where your ikran were waiting. The journey back up to the top seemed longer than you remembered, but maybe that was just the fact that going up is harder than coming down, especially with a raging migraine. Eventually, you found yourself at the top, but neither Lo'ak nor Mekar were anywhere to be found.

"Are you okay to go by yourself?" Neteyam asked. "If we both go, the others will think something has happened." You nodded. "I know, I'll be fine." He didn't look happy to let you go alone, but you took off on Kazi, leaving him behind as he watched your figure disappear over the trees.

When you made it back to the village, you immediately headed over to the healing tents, but to your sore disappointment, neither Mo'at nor Kiri were anywhere to be found. You thought about asking around, but you didn't want anyone to know you were in pain, and your pride won out as usual. You looked in one of the many baskets lying around the tent and found a bitter plant root that you knew would help you fall asleep.

You took and ate it as quickly as you could and washed it down with water. Then, you made your way to where your encampment was situated. You laid down on your sleeping mat, curled into a ball, and held your head until the root took effect, and you drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

Waking up, the pain had diminished significantly. You propped yourself upright and drank some water you had stored. Exiting your tent, it didn't take long before you found Neteyam, Lo'ak, and the others from the hunting party sitting together skinning their game. They must have returned not long ago, meaning it was just past high noon.

"Hey," Lo'ak called out as he noticed your approach, "you feeling alright?" You looked at Neteyam sharply. He subtly shook his head, silently telling you that he hadn't told them the reason why you left. "Yeah," you replied casually, "my body just isn't quite used to all the activity yet, so I came back early." Lo'ak nodded understandingly, and the rest of the group seemed to find your excuse acceptable. You shot Neteyam a grateful look, and he smiled softly.

"These are some nice birds," Meya complimented, nodding at the forest hens you and Neteyam had hunted. "Thanks," you replied sincerely, sitting down to clean them. You all worked to prepare your own game, talking and laughing in easy companionship for the rest of the afternoon.

Three days later, you were invited back to participate in the war meetings. You were eager to prove yourself again, and even more so to destroy as many humans as you could. You felt confident in your abilities, especially since you hadn't had even a minor headache since your hunting trip. There were a few reconnaissance missions that you flew with no action, but after gathering enough information, the Olo'eyktan believed it was time for another offensive attack.

You sat and watched as Jake outlined the plan for the next attack on the Sky People's weapons containment center. After a detailed description of the plan, Jake finished up his briefing with a nod and, "Dismissed." You all stood up together, and you started making your way toward Neteyam.

You called out to him to get his attention. He turned towards you, and you jogged to catch up to him. Approaching, you noticed the bizarre look on his face. He seemed startled out of deep thought. You couldn't deny that Jake's plan seemed bold, but you knew that you and the other warriors were more than capable of carrying it out. You opened your mouth to say something, but you noticed that Neteyam was looking past you at someone.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?" The voice of the Olo'eyktan was right behind you. You whipped around to face your leader in surprise. "Forgive me," you said respectfully and stepped out of the way to allow him to speak with his son.

"No, no," he said to you, glancing at Neteyam for a moment before looking back at you. "I want to speak with you." You felt your stomach tighten with sudden anxiety. "Oh," was all you could say. You glanced back at Neteyam, but he already had his back turned to you and was walking away.

"Listen," Jake began, "I know you are eager to join the party, and you are a fierce warrior." You felt your stomach sink with his words. It seemed that he could see the anxiety on your face because he sighed and glanced around in discomfort. "I think it's best that you remain behind," he said finally.

You felt your heart drop.

"What?"

Jake sighed again. "I need you to stay behind," he repeated. You shook your head faintly. You felt dazed, and your head started to ache for the first time since the hunt. "I am healed," you insisted urgently. "And my ikran is as well." He looked at you unconvinced. "I am well!" You repeated, gesturing to the fresh scar on your stomach.

Jake shook his head. "Listen," he said in a low voice, "I know what it is like when it feels like your head is going to split apart, okay? I know how it feels, and I know how distracting and debilitating it can be in a moment of action."

You were paralyzed, unable to say anything.

"You are a great fighter," Jake repeated, "but I need you to be all there when we fight. Any other condition and you become a liability to yourself and the others."

You felt like your chest was tightening. "No," you whispered desperately. "I can still fight." Your throat tightened as you fought off tears. Jake looked down at you regretfully. "I'm sorry," he said resolutely, "but I have made up my mind. If you are suffering from migraines, you should stay back."

You looked up at him in confusion. "But how..." you trailed off in the middle of your question and your blood ran cold.

Only one person knew.

The realization hit you like an angstik. He told. He told.

You looked away from the clan leader and stared at where Neteyam was just standing moments ago, trying to process what you'd just heard. How could he do that to you? The pain of Neteyam's betrayal quickly turned into boiling anger that filled your chest. Jake placed a hand on your shoulder in an attempt to comfort you, but you felt numb. "I'm sorry, kid," he said, but his words fell on deaf ears.

"Am I dismissed?" you managed to ask finally, not able to look the Olo'eyktan in the eye. "Yes, dismissed," he answered. You turned and walked away. For a moment, you walked aimlessly away from the war council, all your focus was directed at not crying in public, and the effort it took increased the intensity of your headache. The very thing that prevented you from fighting for your people.

With that thought, your hurt, confusion, and anger narrowed in your mind to point at one person: Neteyam. You broke into a brisk sprint towards his family's tent. You didn't think about what you would say to him or what you would do if his other family members were present. You didn't even really have any thoughts, just rage.

You burst into the tent. There he was, looking to be in the middle of packing some of his supplies and speaking to someone. When he looked up at you as you entered, his expression immediately turned to guilt. The sight of him caused tears to refill in your eyes, which just made you angrier.

In a flash, you crossed the floor of the tent and shoved him as hard as you could. He stumbled back but quickly regained his balance. "How could you?" you seethed. You had meant to scream it, but you were afraid that your voice would betray you if you raised it above a whisper. Neteyam raised one arm in front of him between you as a pacifying gesture, his fingertips a hair's breadth from your collarbone.

"Kiri, would you please give us a moment?" he asked the other person in the tent without looking away from you. You gave Kiri's sitting form a quick glance before returning your glare to Neteyam, but it was enough for you to see the startled expression on your friend's face.

"What is going—"

"Now," Neteyam punctuated with force.

Without another word, Kiri hurriedly stood up and walked out. With his sister gone, you smacked his raised arm away from yourself. You were fuming and didn't even know where to start with your anger. "Your father has grounded me from the mission," you told him and pointed an accusatory finger at him, "because of you."

Neteyam clenched his jaw and took a deep breath before speaking. "It is for your safety. If you are not well, you should not be flying during a dangerous miss—"

"I am well," you interrupted angrily. "I am well, and I can fly during a dangerous mission. You had no right to tell him what is not your concern. You have no right to interfere with anything." Your voice was getting louder now, the white-hot anger you felt in your chest burned in the words you spoke.

Neteyam scoffed quietly and looked at you with a scowl that would have chilled you if you hadn't already been so angry with him. "You are not well," he countered in a low, hard voice. "I saw you hunting. You were in so much pain, you couldn't even manage to focus on the trail. How is that supposed to make me feel knowing you wished to return to battle?" He gestured loosely to the entrance of the tent as though the battle was right outside.

"That was one time, Neteyam!" you shouted at him in frustration. "And now I can't join the mission because of a headache I had on a hunt." "But it was not just one time, was it?" he retorted in an accusatory tone. "You have had migraines since your accident, but you have been keeping them secret from everyone."

"No, I should have kept them a secret from everyone," you spat, tears returning to your eyes. "But I was a fool and told you instead. I trusted you." He flinched slightly at your cutting comment, but he didn't back down. "You have become a liability to yourself and the other warriors," he stated matter-of-factly. "I did the right thing and told my father to inform him of your weakness.

Weakness. That stung worse than anything he could've said to you.

Immediately, Neteyam realized what he had said. "No, I did not mean to—"

"Is that how you see me?" You cut him off quietly, voice filled with pain. "Weak?" You felt a single tear overcome all of your effort to withhold it and slide down your cheek. Neteyam shook his head apologetically and took a step toward you, but you took a step back away from him. "That is not true," he insisted gently. "I did not mean to say that."

You wanted to believe him, but memories of his behavior flashed through your mind over the past few weeks, and anger and hurt stirred in your chest. "But it is true," you accused as you glared up at him, wiping the tear off your cheek in anger. "You have been treating me like a helpless child ever since we invaded the Sky People's base."

Neteyam clenched his jaw and looked away from you in frustration. You continued yelling at him. "You have been consumed with a desire to control my every move ever since. I shouldn't wander too far into the forest alone. I shouldn't climb too high into the trees. I shouldn't ride Kazi anymore." With every sentence, you felt your anger and frustration melt into hurt and sadness, and you could feel more hot tears falling from your eyes. "And now I cannot fight anymore. I cannot fight because you think I'm weak!"

"You almost died!" Neteyam shouted.

You started and stood in mute surprise in front of him, all of your anger replaced by pure shock. He had never yelled at you before. After all of the strain that your relationship had been placed under, the snide comments, the frustrated arguments, he had never once raised his voice above an angry reprimand, and honestly, it was frightening.

"You almost died!" he repeated, still shouting. "And I could do nothing! Nothing!" His chest was heaving, and he glared down at you with so much anger and pain, it made you take a step back. He noticed the step, and it seemed to bring him out of his emotional outburst somewhat. He turned away from you and paced a few steps heatedly around the tent. You watched in mute shock.

"I cannot let you go too far into the woods alone or climb too high or ride your ikran because every second you are out of my sight, all I can see is the image of you bleeding out, unconscious, on the ground." You could see the tension in his whole body, his hands balled into fists at his sides as he spoke. He looked over at you after a moment, and you saw the anguish on his face as he recalled the memory. "I thought you were dead," he whispered in a taut voice. "And that was the worst moment of my life."

You were so overwhelmed that you couldn't stand to look at him anymore. Now, amongst the betrayal and anger you had been feeling, guilt stirred in your stomach, leaving the taste of bile in your throat. This was too much. You were feeling too many things to think rationally or come up with an argument. And your head hurt so much.

Neteyam heaved a regretful sigh, his own eyes shining with unshed tears. You had never seen him cry before. He crossed over to you, and even if you had wanted to back away, you felt rooted to the spot. Coming in closely, he grabbed your face with both hands. For one breathless moment, you thought he was going to kiss you, but instead, he just held you and stared at your face longingly.

"I do not think you are weak," Neteyam muttered finally, breaking the tense silence. "But you...you are my weakness. I am sorry I betrayed your trust, but I cannot see you harmed again. I will not allow it."

You didn't say anything. You couldn't say anything. You had reached your emotional limit. Your heart ached as you took in his image. He was strong and stern and beautiful, and you wished again for the millionth time that the war had never come to your home, had never come between you.

You sighed finally and shook your head. "You do not get to decide my fate for me," you said flatly, pulling away from his touch. "You do not have the right." Without waiting for an answer, you walked out of the tent.

Right outside, Kiri, Lo'ak, and Tuk were sitting together. They had obviously been listening to your fight, and the way they scrambled to stand did not make them appear any more innocent. You sighed and turned the other way, not wanting to talk to anybody at the moment. Kiri called your name, but you ignored her and walked away as quickly as you could.

The siblings stood in the darkness for a moment, embarrassed at being caught eavesdropping. Then, Lo'ak decided to go in and check on his brother. He walked in cautiously and found him with his eyes squeezed shut as he rubbed his forehead in exasperation. Hearing Lo'ak enter, Neteyam looked over at his brother with a burning glare.

"Bro, what did you do?" his younger brother asked with concern. Neteyam let out a deep sigh. After a second, he responded, "The right thing." Lo'ak was unconvinced, and so was Neteyam.

Part 3

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[trickstarbrave]

In the omegaverse do u think ppl would have different sleeping customs. And by sleep I mean actual sleep.

Do omegas prefer canopy beds or those weird tent beds? Do they sell pillows designed for nesting that are shaped almost like pregnancy pillows? Bedding has to be a huge thing in that world due to nesting. Is it traditional to have a bed pressed up against the wall even for two (or more) ppl like a Queen or king bc it’s assumed omegas sleep closest to the wall while their alpha guards them?

I gotta know

[joe9cool]

Collide- Epilogue 2- Lost in This Moment With You

A/N This is fan fiction purposes only. I do not know anyone on or associated with The Chargers. Also you do not have my permission to post my work anywhere else.

BREAKING: SARA WOZNIAK IS REPORTEDLY ENGAGED TO JUSTIN HERBERT!

ET EXCLUSIVE; SARA WOZNIAK IS ENGAGED TO NFL PRO JUSTIN HERBERT

Wedding bells are in the air for the [TV show] actress 28 and the Los Angeles Chargers Quarterback 26. The couple are engaged. People exclusively reported the news as the Academy Award nominee was spotted around LA wearing a sparkler on that finger.

A TIMELINE OF SARA WOZNIAK AND JUSTIN HERBERT'S RELATIONSHIP.

PATRICK HERBERT, JUSTIN HERBERT'S BROTHER COMMENTS ON SARA WOZNIAK ENGAGEMENT. "I'M VERY HAPPY FOR THEM."

There it was, the news now public. Justin and Sara had made the decision to go public with the news shortly after Sara's birthday. Both phones were blowing up like crazy, their management teams containing all of the press and requests for comments. Sara had begun wearing her ring in public, which was splashed all over tabloids as she walked the red carpet for the Royal Film Awards. People thought it was Sara's style, some thought it was ugly, others thought it was creative.

They were bombarded with packages from every designer, every venue far and wide, roses and expensive gifts from celeb brands and friends with personal boxes congratulating them. Some were cute, others were obnoxious and they had a laugh as they tore through them. There were even gifts for Eugene and Nova, as they made appearances on her social media.

The planning began, and they hired a low key wedding planner, someone who wasn't known for working with big celebrities.

They had a date set and stone.

May 24th 2025 in Oregon at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.

It was gorgeous and overlooking the coast. It was to be a full wedding weekend, with rehearsal, then the wedding, then a brunch to send the couple off to their honeymoon.

With everything booked, and save the dates being sent out next week, Sara could breathe some sigh of relief. They were in Pittsburgh, along with Justin's family for their engagement party that her parents were throwing at their house.

There were people everywhere, all of their friends and families. While her fathers side had nobody (Willa and her family were cut off) her mom had many siblings, cousins and friends who had children that grew up with the girls. Her dad had his friends, his business associates and clients who got to know the family and watched Sara grow up.

It was funny, because Sara always faded into the background with these kinds of get-togethers, most people didn't really care. But now, all eyes were on her and Justin, and they were both uncomfortable, it was a classic case of being careful what you wish for.

Back in Oregon, Mark and Holly threw a casual barbecue get together with Justin's side. His buddies from Oregon came, and Sara found herself blending in with them all so well. She laughed at the jokes and old stories they told, and teased Justin making him bright red at times. Her family didn't come to that, and she was glad as she didn't want to overwhelm the Herbert family at their house.

But now, they were all in her territory. Patrick and Mitch and their girlfriends, eyes widened at the big house that sat on secluded acre land. "Oh my god." Sara groaned as Justin drove up on the pebble-stone driveway.

Big white balloons were tied to the mailbox. Flowers lined up the driveway. Pink roses, her favorite. Cars were already parked, which meant a ton of people. Guests were already on the side of the house underneath a tent. There was a bartender with a full bar. Patrick laughed as he saw more balloons of rings and 'she said yes' sign above the door. "Oh man, we are wayyy out of our element."

Once parked and out of the car, they walked into the house, where tons of people were chatting. A sign that was held on a canopy.

Celebrate two lives becoming one,

Welcome to Justin & Sara's Engagement Party.

"There's the bride and groom!" Her uncle shouted, and all eyes were on them. They were passed around in hugs. Next thing they knew they were wearing 'Bride' and 'Groom' sashes (Sara knew Justin would never hear the end of it from his brothers)

Cathy introduced the Herbert family to everyone and quickly, they understood why Sara stayed away.

"We never thought she was going to find someone!"

"Can't believe she is going to be getting married! When I saw she adopted her cat I told my husband we should start worrying."

The group all laughed and Justin was immediately uncomfortable. "So tell us, son." Another guy continued. "Why her? I mean professional athletes you could have supermodels! I don't understand it."

Justin had enough. "Well you don't have to understand anything. We love each other and she's the most beautiful woman inside and out. Now excuse me." He walked away from the group to find Sara, heading into the kitchen where he ran Into his mom and dad speaking with one of her cousins. Once she walked away they turned to her son. "Wow. Her extended family sure is…" Holly started.

"Interesting." Justin finished. Not wanting to really say what he was thinking.

"How on God's name is Sara so cool and she comes from a family like this?" Patrick walked up with Carly.

"Patrick!" Carly scolded.

"What? It's true." Pat shrugged. "It is. But we don't need to say it out loud." Carly took a sip of her drink.

"Did you know what her cousin just said to us?" Mark scoffed. "Boy aren't you glad that the bride's family is paying. You wouldn't be able to afford all of this." He mocked her voice. Everyone's eyes widened. "What?" Justin's face was stern.

"That's nothing. Isabelle is calming Mitch down after what one of the old wall street dudes said about Sara." Justin faced his younger brother. "What did he say?"

"Uh.. it should probably wait til we leave." Carly saw Justin's anger and hoped her boyfriend got the hint."

He didn't. "He made a disgusting comment about hoping Sara went with a form fitting dress, one that accentuated her… he said her gifted chest…" He trailed off, not wanting to totally repeat the gross comment about his future sister in law.

Justin's face was red. "Point him out. I want to talk to him." Mark grabbed him. "Son now is not the time or place. Let's just get through this evening."

"Hey guys! Having fun?" Sara walked up to the group,and instantly everyone could see Justin look relaxed. She looked gorgeous, in a white jumpsuit with white lace heels. Her hair was styled to perfection. Justin squeezed her hand. "Yes babe, everything is great."

"Oh there they are! The bride and groom to be!" Two middle aged women walked up and hugged Sara. "Linda, Delilah, this is my fiance Justin, his parents Mark and Holly and his brother Patrick and his girlfriend Carly. Where's Mitch and Isabelle?" She looked around. "I Guess they are around somewhere, but these are my mom's friends."

"Congratulations baby girl!"  The two ladies smiled, then addressed the others. "We watched her grow up. To be honest, we thought she would never find someone!"

Justin bit his lip, this was the theme of the night. Everyone just loved to mention how they thought it was impossible for Sara to find someone. Sara just smiled. "Yeah that's what everyone has been saying."

"I mean, can you blame us?" They laughed, while the Herbert family stayed quiet. "So anyways. Where are you having the wedding? Mansions in the fifth are beautiful for weddings. Or are you thinking of New York like Ryan and Michelle?"

Sara smiled. "Actually. We are getting married in Oregon, at the golf course hotel off the coast" She looked up at Justin, who smiled down at her.

The one wrinkled her nose. "Sweetie, not there, Oregon is so redneck, and just not it. Trust me, you cannot have a nice wedding in Oreg-"

"Justin and his family live in Eugene." Sara bit back. Linda's eyes widened. "Oh really? Wow I'm so sorry. Well I'm sure it's beautiful if you live there." She covered up her insult with another insult. She then changed topics. "I see you haven't eaten."

"Oh I'm going to make a plate, I've been running around greeting everyone-"

"Well that's a good thing. You need as much weight off as you can to fit in the dress. I can actually give you the name of Macy's trainer, she will make you the thinnest you have ever been!" She pinched Sara's arm. "Tone up those arms!"

"Linda! Delilah! Can you help me with something?" Cathy called over her friends and they left. Holly addressed Sara. "Are you okay?"

Sara shook her head. "Yeah why do you ask?" Justin put his arms on her shoulders.  Mark cut in. "Those comments they made, and everyone else."

"Oh those! Yeah trust me I got used to it. I've heard shit like that my whole life." She grabbed a champagne flute off a waiter's tray. "If they say anything to you. Please let me know. I'll put them in their place."

Mark shook his head. "You shouldn't have to deal with that."

She waved her hand. "It's fine. Why do you think we chose Bandon Dunes?" She looked at Justin and he smiled at her. "The max is 190 people, but we will probably only have 100. Keep it close to family and friends."

"Have you two chosen the bridal party yet?" Holly asked.

"Yes, it's going to be 8 people on both sides. Our ask boxes are done, we just need to hand them out." Justin looked at Pat, "You and Mitch are obviously my best men."

Before they could say anything else Cathy yelled for the family to join in pictures. They had a professional photographer gather both immediate family and their partners, gathered under the big balloon arch. Then it was Sara's side, then Justin's then just the soon to be married couple and their parents. Once that was done Justin was pulled to have a celebratory cigar with Mike and his friends/business partners, while Sara was in the kitchen with her mom and sisters.

"So you guys settled on a venue? In Oregon." Sara didn't miss the tone of disappointment in her moms voice. She knew that it bothered Cathy that her youngest became closer to her fiance's side of the family. Sara popped a grape from the table in her mouth. "Yes, it's more low-key, and it's on a golf course. Plus it will be more convenient for Justin's family."

The Wozniak's had a ton of money, whereas the Herbert's were just a middle class family. So Sara wanted to be more accommodating to his family. Plus she was hoping it would deter a lot of friends and family from coming. She wanted to enjoy her day, Katie and Brittany spent most of their time going around and talking to people and thanking them. Alyssa had a small Vineyard wedding and got to enjoy her day.

That was what she wanted.

"There are so many gorgeous golf courses and hotels around the area. With all your connections and us paying for it. We could easily have four hundred people." Sara practically choked on her drink. "Yeah… uh that sounds terrible. But also mom, me and Justin can pay for our wedding."

"There's no doubt about that… but we didn't pay for your college.." She trailed off and everyone knew what she meant.

"It's fine. I got this. The venue is booked, I'm meeting with Valentino to design my dress. Justin and I have our bridal party picked. Our wedding planner is set. Easy peasy."

Brent walked up, hearing the last of the conversation. "Oh you naive fool." He kissed his sister in law on the cheek. "Sorry I'm late, you look gorgeous." He held up a bridal gift bag. "I'll set this on the massive gift pile in the dining room."

Sara was shocked. "I thought I said no gifts!" She followed Brent to the dining room and gasped as she saw the massive pile of perfectly wrapped presents, bags, and envelopes covering the massive table.

Brent snorted. "These people never listen. Any chance they can to flex their money they will." He laughed as he looked over the pile. "Damn I see a Waterford Crystal bag. Alyssa and I didn't even get that."

She laughed. She loved Brent, and Justin got along with him well, so well that he planned on asking the hockey player to be in his party.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------

Mike passed around Cigars to the group of trustees or whatever they were. Mark and Mitch were there, Mark taking one Justin and Mitch refused. He wasn't a smoker, it was way too toxic. Luckily Mike didn't press the issue. "Isn't Cathy going to be upset?" Justin raised his brows as he watched the group light theirs. Mike shrugged. "What Cathy doesn't know won't hurt her, besides I've done this with all of my daughters' weddings."

Charles walked up and took one of the cigars from the box on the patio furniture. Overlooking the crowd, one of the men spoke up. "Thought we'd never see the day Mike. I always thought Alyssa was the last one."

Mike nodded. "Believe me I thought that too." He clapped Justin on the back. "You sure you can handle her son?"

Justin laughed. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't love her."

"I'm glad. She deserves someone like you." Mike took a puff.

Another older, pudgy man cut in. "See my son over there?" Justin followed his finger to see a man in his thirties, scowling at Sara, who was a few tables over talking to her friends "He has the biggest crush on her. I tried to set them up but your daughter wasn't interested."

Justin's turn to scowl. How inappropriate was that to say in front of her fiancé? Suddenly he remembered Sara talking about a man hitting on her and attempting to set her up with his kid. Was this the guy from the steakhouse?

Mike shook his head. "Oh for the love of God let it go. You have been trying to set them up since they were teenagers. She doesn't want your son. They were interrupted by someone calling for Mike and he excused himself.

After a few minutes of silence the pudgy man kept talking. "You're a lucky son of bitch Justin."

His eyebrows rose. "I know." He spoke icily. He was hoping the man dropped it after that.

"The way she's going to fill out that dress is gonna be the main attraction for sure."

Maybe it was the fact that this dude knew Sara as a small child and was now saying inappropriate things about her, maybe it was the alcohol, or the fact that all afternoon he has to listen to the love of his life get cut up and made fun of and he finally snapped.

Before anyone could say anything, Justin was in the guy's face. Everyone around was frozen in fear. "Listen." He spoke slowly. "You will never get to see how MY WIFE looks on her day because you and your son won't be invited, and if you say one more comment about her I will throw you over this porch. I don't give a fuck if youre my father in laws associates. In fact I think he wouldn't take very kindly to you talking about his daughter like that, or the night at the steakhouse. Understood?" The older man's eyes widened, confirming he was the steakhouse guy.

The man, terrified, nodded. "Um yes. Umm I think me and Jonathan should go. Congratulations again." He walked off to gather his wife and son. Justin turned to the other men who had looks of shock on their faces. "That goes for all of you too. Understood?" They all nodded and went their separate ways besides Mark and Mitch. Justin was breathing heavily and Mark went to comfort him. "Good job son, that guy was an ass."

"Is everything okay?" They all looked to see Sara coming up the steps, looking worried as she approached Justin. "Gerald and Jonathan just came up to me asking what I saw in you?"

He saw red. Quickly turning, he went to find him but was held back by Sara, or as much as she could. "Hey hey baby what's wrong?" She got in front of him and stared at him with her big brown eyes and he felt himself melt. Bending down to kiss her, he blushed when the cheers of the crowd that had gathered around them.

"Awww that's so cute!"

"Practicing for the big day I see!"

—-------------------------------------------------------------------

"You both look gorgeous!" Pierpaolo greeted Sara and grabbed her hand to admire the ring. "Stunning. It fits you so well, and with the emeralds!" He looked at Justin. "You sir, did an excellent job!"

He blushed. "My brother's girlfriend helped a lot, I just knew I had to incorporate emeralds somehow."

The designer hummed. "Are the wedding bands going to have them too?"

"We were talking about it. We had a virtual consultation with the jeweler about the bands." Sara cut in.

"You can tell us all about it, come on! We have a lot of people wanting to celebrate with you!" He ushered the couple to the backyard of his massive mansion. Once the Pittsburgh celebration was over, Pierpaolo and his family insisted on a luncheon to celebrate their engagement.

Of course Sara insisted he keep it small, but designers never listened, and all of Sara's celeb friends, as well as others who just wanted it to be there for a social event were there.

Sara sensed Justin's anxiousness and grabbed his hand as they made it out to the backyard. They were dressed for the occasion, with Sara wearing a white halter dress mixed with green that Valentino designed, the straps made up of diamonds. Her hair was done up and she looked gorgeous. Justin looked handsome as well in a tailored suit.

They were met with tons of greetings from Timothee, Rosie and Jason, AnnSophie, Bella, and others. There were about fifty people, and it seemed small and intimate. Everyone mingled, and then they all sat down for a four course meal. While enjoying their meal Rosie spoke. "So I was doing a cover shoot for vogue and I overheard something from Anna."

Pierpaolo gasped. "You know Anna would blacklist you if she heard you speaking about confidential matters."

She waved her hand, "Please. But anyways, Anna wants to do a massive vogue feature on your wedding!"

Sara's eyes widened while Justin nearly choked on his wine. "Oh wow. That's amazing. I will definitely have to consider it."

"What's there to consider? Do you know how many people would love that! Plus they would set you up big. You know Anna, she would make sure that you have the best venue. Beverly Hills has the best hotel for weddings. It hosts for 500 people, plus Wolfgang Puck would cater."

Sara pushed her salad around. "I mean, we have already decided to get married in Justin’s home state, more private and lowkey."

"Well I suppose Anna could do something with that. You're from Washington right? She acknowledged Justin.

"Oregon, actually."

"Ooh that's different, I've never been there before, so Jason and I will have fun exploring when we arrive. Justin's eyebrows shot up. He glanced briefly at Sara, who was trying to hold back a small laugh. "Yeah its beautiful."

The rest of the night went by smoothly. Finally they departed, using Justin’s excuse to get ready for camp. Pierpaolo assistants loaded their car with gifts from the guest. Apparently no one liked to listen

When they got home, they tacked on the boxes in the guest room (they still haven't opened the ones from Pittsburgh, but Sara sent out thank you notes)

Justin looked over at Sara, "I'm off tomorrow before camp starts, should we tear these babies open?" Not saying a word, she walked over to the fridge and opened it. She held up a bottle of their favorite wine. "We need some encouragement to open these, especially from my family."

Taking sips straight from the bottle, Justin grabbed all of the gifts from the guest bed and began to open them. They opened the cards first and were pleased to see that whoever gave money to local charities in their honor.

The first box was wrapped delicately and while all of them were most likely professionally wrapped, there was a homey touch to this and Sara squealed knowing exactly who this was from. It was from her Great Aunt Kay, who at the age of ninety, still had a very sharp mind and could quilt with the best of them. All of the nieces that married were given a king sized quilt made by her, showing their personalities. They opened it and unfolded the custom quilt. It was white, with silver edges and in cursive at one corner, Justin and Sara Herbert.

"Wow." Justin whispered, feeling the luxurious material. He had met her Aunt Kay at the engagement party, and she was the sweetest lady. "This is beautiful." Taking it from Sara, he draped it over their bed before returning back to the pile where Eugene and Nova were inspecting to see if any of the gifts were for them. "Spoiled brats." Sara shooed them away, only for them to come straight back.

Justin grabbed the next gift, which was very oddly shaped and untied the bow, opening the purple wrapping, it was a gift basket that someone had put together.

Candles, crystals, prenatal vitamins, and pregnancy tests? "uhh" He turned it to face his fiancé, whose eyes widened. "Oh my god that's from my cousin Siobhan! She's a doula and very into all that! She gave my sister's one! It's all good luck with fertility!" She shook her head, "all of the women on my moms side including my sisters have gotten pregnant in the first six months! It's something of a weird tradition."

He laughed and tore the clear wrapping to get a better look at everything. He looked at the crystals as she explained each one relating to pregnancy and childbirth. "I didn't know you were into crystals"

She shrugged. "I mean I'm not an avid believer, but I think there is some truth, and she constantly talks about them all the time." There were two boxes of clearblue pregnancy tests, a small gray bear, and two candles as well as pregnancy booklets.

"Yeah those are definitely going in storage. We agreed on no kids until at least the first year." He nodded and put it off to the side before continuing.

There were household items, which was silly because living together they had pretty much acquired everything. Sara unboxed a big sign that read 'The Herbert's' established 2025. She giggled as Justin rolled his eyes at the corny item. Sara opened a grill kit followed by a voucher for a cooking class. Justin frowned. "You're a great cook." She laughed. "I think it's a case of something we can both do." Along the lines there were a ton of marriage books, cook books. Sara blushed as she pulled out tons of lingerie and skimpy night shirts, Justin examining every piece. "Oh my god!" She cried out pulling out a powder blue lace baby doll piece. It was completely see through, and the underwear was like a jersey with 'Herbert' and '10' on the butt.

He hummed as Sara held it up to her. "I'm definitely tearing that off. Matter of fact I think you should model it right now, make sure everything fits." He smiled. "If it doesn't I can rip it right now." He laughed as he dodged the balled up wrapping paper she threw at him.

After everything from her family and friends were opened they moved on to the small boxes from celebrities. Immediately Justin was floored. "Rolex watches? Who the fuck gives Rolex watches as an engagement gift."

Sara laughed. "Hollywood does." She opened a crystal vase, no doubt very expensive.

There was a grand total of at least $500,000 in gifts and despite being with Sara two years, he wasn't used to it. He almost fainted when Sara took him to meet Christopher Nolan.

Justin opened the last gift, which was a PR package. "Hell yes!" It was tons of Nike clothing, which included matching Bride and Groom Nike sweats for him and Sara. "This is awesome! I'll wear this on our wedding day!"

"You wear that at the altar and I'll walk backwards."

—--------------------------------------------------------------

Wedding planning was no joke.

It was October, and Justin was on a high professionally. The Chargers were ahead of the  Chiefs in the division, thanks to the win against them on the road.

However, personally, he was very worried.

Sara was working on promotional events, followed by wedding planning. He tried to help as much as he could by picking out the place settings (he didn't even know that was a thing) food. (Some people were vegetarian/vegan, others had dietary restrictions.) They finalized the dessert buffet and picked out the cake and the flavors.

He knew that her family was giving her a hard time about the location. They were worried her Aunt Kay wouldn't be able to travel to the west coast and in the midst of an argument with one of her sisters they called her selfish which left her in tears. (Justin had a mind to fly to Pittsburgh and give them a piece of his mind)

Then there was the issue of the officiant. Justin wasn't tied to any denomination, but Sara was technically raised catholic and made all of her sacraments, so they wanted her to be married in a church. That meant Justin would have to take classes and be baptized, and he would be willing to do it, but with the demands of the season it would mean punishing the whole wedding back a year. Something both he and his fiance didn't want.

The biggest upset was that Sara was in Cannes promoting a new film she was in. On an off day she went diving with some friends and was wearing a bikini.

There were pictures, and edited ones to make her look bad to the press. The comments calling her fat, her social media comments had to be limited, and she had to take a break.

Not to mention Taylor was taking joy in this She was throwing subtle shade at Sara in every way, so much so that there were news articles written about it.

She wore similar outfits that Sara wore and put shady captions, and liked comments that were trashing her. Justin wasn't stupid, he knew that got to her. While they were very much past it, it still hurt her to see her being attacked so lowly.

When he confronted his fiancé, she laughed it off, saying she had the ring and she was nothing but a jealous bitch. He knew her like the back of his hand. Not to mention her actions spoke otherwise.  

When she wasn't away she was constantly in the Chargers gym working out, she would come with him early in the morning and be a sweating, panting mess by the time he would check in on her.

It was so noticeable that a trainer pulled him aside. "We need to talk about Sara…." He started. "I know this is probably not my place, but she is overexerting herself. She got off the treadmill today and she nearly collapsed. I gave her a Gatorade but she refused, saying it's too much sugar."

"Oh my god." Justin walked by him and off the field, and quickly found one of the rooms, where Sara was hunched over, seemingly struggling to breathe.

He called out for help, and got down on his knees. "Baby. What's wrong?" The team doctor was there immediately and got Sara to sit up. He shined a light in her eyes before pinching the skin on her arm. "She's dehydrated, not enough electrolytes." The doctor shook his head. "We got to get you into the room so I can start an IV. Can you walk?"

She nodded, still breathing heavily before standing up for a second and falling back, immediately Justin lifted her in his arms and carried her to the recovery room, where the doctor started an IV. "Have you eaten today?"

She nodded. "I had a hard boiled egg and some avocado toast" the doctor shook his head, and the trainer spoke. "She's been on the stairmaster for an hour."

Justin's eyes widened. "Babe!" He looked over at her, who looked down "that is enough for that much workout. You know how I eat "

"I'm sorry, okay! Me and all of the bridesmaids got measurements this Wednesday for our dresses! I wanna look good."

"And you will! Sara I'm still going to be at the end of the aisle no matter what!" He shook his head. "Please, If you want to tone up that's fine. But this way isn't healthy and you know it."

At this point it was just the two of them in the room. She looked down. "I'm sorry, I'm just stressed. Everyone and everything is coming down on me, and work too."

"I'm sorry I haven't been around to help." She sighed. "It's not you, you have been more involved than most men, and you've been taking care of everything on your side with the groomsmen. I really didn't know what I was up against."

"What is the final count with the guest list?"

"Two hundred and fifteen people." Sorting out the list was hard. Justin's family was pretty decent sized. Sara didn't have too many family, but she did have friends, and so did he, plus Mike and Cathy did get to invite a couple family friends who Sara actually liked. They invited Jerry and his wife, both management teams, some of Justin's teammates and coaches and other people from the celebrity world. He snorted. "We can only hope many people don't come."

She laughed and he smiled, before kissing her quickly. "I'm taking you home" and then when I get off I'll bring home dinner. What do you want?"

"Salad sounds good." He gave her a look. He also knew she was dieting like crazy, when he noticed the absence of certain foods in the house. She sighed. "A burger and fries please. With a side salad."

He smiled. "There's my girl." I'll be right back

@DanielPopper: Herbert was called off of the field for a bit. He's back on now, maybe had something to do with his fiance, who I'm told has been coming to practices.

@user1: sounds excessive

@user2: why is she even there? So worried your man is going to cheat?

@user3: @user 2 Maybe she just wanted to spend time with him?

@user4: I don't understand why he chose her over Biscotti.

Liked by Taylor biscotti

—----------------------------------------------------------

"Doesn't she have a man? Why is she still so concerned with yours?" AnnSophie was helping taste test some of the food. The hotel, excited to host a marriage for the King of the state and his a list bride, where more than accommodating. Allowing them to bring in their own chef and catering for the day and shutting down the hotel for the weekend. Sara and Justin paid a decent price and would make sure to tip and send a thank you note to all the staff when it was all said and done.

"I don't know." Sara took a bite of the mushroom soup as one of the starters. "Ooh Annie this one is soo good!"  Her friend stuck her fork into the bowl and tasted it. "That is delicious. Does Justin like mushrooms?" Sara made a face. "I think so.." shooting a quick text to her fiance, she sighed. "I swear we should have eloped like you guys."

Her friend laughed, "Once the hoopla and the shock dies down its worth it. My mom's still pissed though." Sara rolled her eyes. "Yeah but your mom is a bitch and never liked Joey and tried to keep you guys apart."

"True." Sara's phone dinged and she picked it up. Reading the message, she wrinkled her nose. "Justin said no mushroom soup. He likes chicken noodles."

"How about you put the menu choices on the invitations? Let the guests decide?"

"And what If they don't mark anything?" Her friend shrugged. "Then they get what they get." Sara's phone dinged again and she grabbed it. "Oh it's Bella sending me a photo of her dress!" For the bridesmaids Valentino made sure they were done first and quickly. Sara chose sage green, satin material, and a loose, comfortable fit. They were beautiful, and so far the bridesmaids loved them. She was a little worried for her sisters and Isabelle, who had to send in their measurements because they were on the east coast. But Pierpaolo was a genius, and every girl looked gorgeous in their gown.

"So what is the timeline for the ceremony?" Sara was marking stuff down to send to catering. "Well, our ceremony is at 3:00pm. Give people and us enough time to get ready and take pictures, then cocktail hour is 3:30ish, then the reception starts at 4:30-9pm, then the after party begins at 9:15pm" She smiled devilishly. She wanted a few hours of debauchery with their friends and to play whatever music she wanted. "Get this, it's gonna be somewhat of a throwback 2010s emo party."

"No fucking way!" AnnSophie's eyes widened. "That's so cool!" Sara nodded. "And best believe me, I'm dancing on Justin."

"Girl he is going to be so red!" She nodded evilly. "I'm twerking on him for sure!"

—-------------------------------------------------------------

"So your mom sent me a copy of the vows she wanted the minister to read." Justin got into bed after a long day. Sara looked up from her IPad. "Oh god." She rolled her eyes and pet Nova, who was laying on her stomach. "I told her I didn't want a catholic ceremony. You know how long those are? An hour! Not to mention there is nothing personal about the couple! It's the same Bible verses and music! And my heels are sky high! I'm not standing that long!"

He laughed before pulling the text up on his phone. "I told her the ceremony is about thirty minutes, and we need the time for our vows. She wasn't too happy about that. But here it is." He gave her his phone and she read it, her nose wrinkling. "What's up?"

"For you it says 'love and honor you' , for me it says 'love, honor, and obey.' I'm not obeying shit, I don't even obey my dad." Justin busted out laughing. "You were sure to obey last week." He nuzzled his face in her neck and knew she was red.

"Well I'll just tell everyone I'm only obeying in the bedroom." He pulled back. "You wouldn't."

She laughed. "Watch me."  He growled and bit a spot on her neck and she squealed. "You know the week of the wedding you cant leave any bites"

He huffed. "What's the point of a fancy expensive makeup artist then?" She swatted at him. "Have you gotten the suits?"

"Yes. What about the bridesmaid dresses?"

She nodded. "They all pretty much have theirs, I'm going to New York next week with my mom, Katie, and Brittany  for the first dress fitting." She smiled. "I'm excited. I trust Pierpaolo with my vision."

"Can I get a peak?" She looked at him like he had four heads. "Absolutely not. You don't get to see my dress until the day." He huffed and she laughed. He tried a different tactic, snuggling into her neck. "Please." He whispered before kissing her neck. She moaned as he dragged his lips to a particular spot he knew she lined. "Just at least tell me some hints"

She needed a few minutes to get her thoughts together but then finally spoke. "It's A- line style, lace" He stopped and sat up. "I have to Google it." He admitted and she busted out laughing. "Baby please wait until the first look. I promise it will be worth the wait."

He smiled. "You always look good. So I'm extremely excited."

—---------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh Sara" Cathy gasped as Sara came out of the dressing room and stepped up on the platform, the assistant carrying the cathedral train. "God it feels so real seeing you in the dress." Brittany wiped her eyes, Katie was holding the phone as Alyssa was on facetime back in St.Louis.

Upon looking at herself in the mirror, it did feel real. Standing in the dress she would be wearing as both parents walked her down the aisle. Sara found herself getting emotional as this was the dress she always pictured herself in. It was simple, not too much for an outdoor ceremony by the coast. It was off the shoulder, hiding her broadness, it had a slight train and Pierpaolo suggested a long, cathedral lace veil.

It was a-line, like she wanted, not too puffy, but enough to give her the princess feel and still flatter her shape. "Now how are we doing the hair?" The assistant asked as she fluffed the train. Sara thought about it. "I honestly don't know, I have a hair trial tomorrow with Jonathan." Jonathan Van Ross was one of Sara's friends who offered his services for the wedding. "He thinks I should do a half up, half down thing. Like Kate Middleton"

Her mom cut in. "I still think we should do a soft updo. Sara sighed. "Well we will see tomorrow, don't forget to visit the jeweler for the wedding pieces, and the florist for the flowers and bouquets."

Once the appointment was finished, and the assistant made the final markings of where it needed to be tailored and with the custom made sky high heels Sara was in (she needed all the height standing next to Justin at the altar) Sara and her mom and sisters were walking the streets of New York. It was still early morning, so many people were on their way to work and couldn't stop and notice the famous celebrity bundled up in the chilly air.

The shrill ring of her phone began playing, and Sara looked to see it was Vogue's office, she sighed and answered. "Hello?"

"Hello Ms. Wozniak, I am the personal assistant to Anna Wintour, and she requested you and your family's presence at her brownstone for lunch this afternoon." Sara's eyes widened. Stopping to look back at her group, she put her hand on the mouth piece. "Anna Wintour wants us to have lunch with her later at her place."

"What!" Even after almost ten years of their sister being famous they were still in awe of the megastar she was. Who just gets invited to The editor of vogue's house on a whim? They nodded and she went back to her phone. "Yes, we accept. Um, what time should we be there?"

"Anna will send a car for you all to the hotel at noon." Okay so they had three hours. She didn't know how Anna knew they were all in town or what hotel they were at. Probably someone from the Valentino team tipped her off.

Window shopping was limited, but they managed to make it back to their hotel and be ready by the time the limo arrived. They walked to the car amid all the photographers outside, and their cars following them.

They were ushered inside the massive brownstone. Servants were walking briskly and carrying trays. "Wow." Katie whispered.

Upon walking into the living room, there were greeted by Anna herself, always fashionable and looking like she belonged in vogue herself. After exchanging greetings, they were relocated in the dining room. Anna immediately began asking Sara about wedding planning.

Sara cringed inside as the food was being placed in front of them. Lemon arugula salad and champagne for the first course. She now knew why Anna called her up at the last minute and insisted she and her family come.

She turned down the vogue offer shortly after Rosie mentioned overhearing the news. An extravagant, luxurious box came in the mail. It was a spa package for her and Justin, full of the most expensive facials and massage treatments from around the world. "What the hell is a gold facial?" Justin asked when reading the description, his eyes widened at the price he looked up. "Worth $500,000!"

Sara had wanted to send it back, but Heidi strongly advised against it, saying. "You can turn down the front cover offer, but you NEVER ever return a girl sent front Vogue or Anna herself. You will get blacklisted from all fashion shows." Thankfully Heidi worked in fashion PR before working for celebs.

She had hand written a note to Anna appreciating the offer and the gift, but at this time she would have to decline. Word spread around the fashion world and the press fast, and while many people praised Sara for wanting a private wedding and not wanting it splashed everywhere, others critiqued her for thinking people cared that much. They called her an entitled bitch, and Justin didn't escape critics. They blamed him for her changing herself. (Which was ridiculous, Sara was always a private person before him) but then NFL critics came after him, this was no surprise, as many people came after him, Bosa, and even Josh Allen, who was engaged to Hailee Steinfeld one of Sara's friends, of trying to be the next Brady.

It was ridiculous, and stupid. Sara wasn't going to be totally private. She understood that guests were going to take and share pictures, and she was fine with that, but she didn't want a whole spread and sell pictures for money and all that.

For some reason Anna didn't get that. "I love the fact that you're including so much of your fiancé's hometown in there. I must say, we never covered a celebrity wedding in Oregon."

And you won't Sara wanted to bite back, but she knew she had to be careful and respectful. Though she was an A list celebrity whose new film was getting Oscar buzz, Anna still had so much power and influence over the biggest connections, so she had to tread lightly. She wished Heidi was here, or someone from her team but this wasn't meant to be a business trip in any way. Anna knew that, so this was an opportunity to catch the star at a vulnerable moment.

Anna continued. "I can just see it now, you in your dress, and your fiancé, looking so handsome, posing overlooking the ocean with fireworks."

Sara took a sip of her cocktail waiting for her to continue, beside her, her mom and sisters were uncomfortable. It was clear that Anna had no plans to address them at all. The editor continued. "We can make the arrangement work. Although when we came to you back in July, we could have booked the Villa Pozzolo in Italy, seating over three hundred people."

"While that was much appreciated, Justin and I are sorta keeping it towards friends and family. We just want to be surrounded by people we know and love."

Anna hummed while taking a sip of her tea. "I noticed you haven't taken a bite of the food." Sara looked down at her plate. She had only taken a few bites while others had eaten. It was probably all of the knots in her stomach. "I'm not really an arugula person." Out of nowhere plates were taken away and replaced with a small cup of soup. "I kept the portions small. You look so good with your weight loss. I don't want to destroy your diet and force Pierpaolo to make all of these changes. Your dress is too gorgeous to make last minute alterations." How the fuck did she know what her dress looked like? "It is beautiful, exactly what  I wanted." Sara smiled.

"And just think, one of our photographers would capture every angle beautifully. Plus a full spread. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"And I acknowledge that, and I'm super honored for thinking of us, but we want this day to be about us celebrating with friends and family. Plus there are so many people attending that would not feel comfortable by all of this. I want everyone to relax and enjoy the day."

Anna pursed her lips, a tell tale sign she wasn't happy. "And you think your guests wouldn't be too happy with our presence? A day that is about you and you're worried about your guests?"

"Well yeah, I mean not all of them are used to this celebrity. I mean it was the main reason that Justin and I split when our relationship came to light. It's a lot for me sometimes, and I'm in this business." Sara didn't like to bring up the past in her relationship. In fact, this was the first time she spoke publicly to an outside member about the breakup. But fuck, this woman wasn't talking no for an answer.

She shook her head. "I swear I've always stood by celebs not mixing with athletes, but you can't help who you fall in love with I guess." They were interrupted by the waiter again, taking away the small soup and replacing it with a small portion of salmon. Ignoring the implied insult Sara continued. "We just don't really want all of this media attention, people can post photos and all of that. But we aren't going to be seeking out magazine specials."

Anna nodded again. "But you must at least allow us to cover the venue and give us small details. Maybe an official photo to post on our social media?"

It was never going to end. Anna was determined to get her way. Sara knew early on that was one of the main reasons she became editor in chief.

"I'll think about it." —-------------------------------------------------------------------

"I cant believe she was so insistent, why couldn't she take no for an answer?"

Isabelle and Sara were sitting outside her office. After she and her family left Anna's, Sara dropped everyone off at the airport. Once that was done, her stomach rumbled once the knots faded away and she realized she hadn't really eaten anything at the brownstone. It was still lunchtime, and she was close to Isabelle's office, so she called up her bridesmaid and they met for lunch. Sara giving her the recap of everything that happened. "I don't know, but she won't stand down. And I feel like I'm going to have to give in on something. Even if we have a minor feature, but I know they are going to take over. They want security so one gets a sneak peak of the ceremony before they post it, then everyone there is on edge."

Isabelle nodded. "I know, you guys had to tell his cousin to lock down their profile, and delete a bunch of people." Last year, she posted a summer recap, one photo included Justin and Sara snuggling on the beach, it was screenshotted and posted everywhere within a couple of hours. She received tons of messages asking about the couple, so she had to take it down and make some major changes. "I don't know, I just don't want to be this typical celeb. I want to make sure Justin’s friends and family love me."

"Sara, they absolutely do love you" Some friends of his had issues with the press when Sara came around, and she became a bit of bad gossip. It got back to her and Justin and he explained that this was his world and if they didn't like it they could distance themselves. Sara felt bad, and Justin had to reassure her that he didn't talk to those friends outside of the state. It was his good friends who didn't care, and they were now in the wedding party.

"I know, I guess all of this stress is getting to me. Justin and I should just run away to Scotland and elope. Someone's wedding video popped up on my YouTube and it was beautiful. I thought I wanted this wedding, but I just want to be married, and have his name already."

"You're taking his last name?" Sara nodded as she took a bite. "Yeah, I know everyone is sorta against that. But it's only personally I'll be known as Sara Herbert, professionally I'll stay Wozniak." She and Justin had agreed to the change. Call her old fashioned but she loved the idea of taking her husband's last name. It was sorta unifying. "I'm just sick of all these people acting like it's their wedding, or they have a right to be there. It's not a celebrity star studded event, it's not a chance for the elite to show off how much money they have or a fashion show. It's my fucking wedding!"

"Speaking of famous." Isabelle nodded to her left, following her glance, she saw in the distance A man hiding behind a long angled lens pointing in their direction. Sighing, they wrapped up their lunch and bid their goodbyes.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------

It was always nice to be home.

It was December 1st,  the wedding almost 5 months away. Bridesmaids and grooms attire was finished. Pierpaolo and his team did an amazing job making sure everything was tailored. All there was left to do was keep up with fitting so nothing had to be changed last minute. Her dress and veil were almost finished. Venue was picked out, cake was customized and ordered. Final guest list was completed, just needed to approve invitations and send them out, but that wouldn't be till February.

Speaking of, the Chargers were on top of the AFC, there was serious talk about them possibly going all of the way. Sara never mentioned it to Justin, but she felt like this was the team's year. It would be perfect and chaotic, her and Justin both getting rings.

November was the busiest month for the couple. Sara was all around Europe doing talk shows, finishing touches on a movie with Andrew Garfield, who was the most pleasant and respectful man she had ever worked with. Then there was the Lord Huron release party for the album in Los Angeles, then she had to be back in Oregon to check on venue prep, then it was back to New York for a photoshoot.

She had never been so tired in her life as she got in the door. Justin was in Texas for his SNF game and she was hoping to nap for a while so she could stay up and watch.

Unfortunately that wasn't the case, as her phone rang and she saw it was the planner. She stood there for a moment before deciding to pick it up. "Hello?"

"Hi sara." She sounded nervous over the phone. Uh oh. "What is it? I'm so tired, so this better be good."

"So uhh someone in your wedding party dropped out."

"Huh? Who?" Sara knew her entire party, and while she would be concerned, she would also rip them a new asshole for not telling her and instead going to her planner.

"It's the officiant." Her eyebrows drew together in concern. "Deacon Rodgers? Justin's family's preacher. I don't understand, Justin told me everything was fine on that end. He was supposed to come visit us next week!"

"Well he just informed me today he had some family issues and would not be able to officiate the wedding. Now the problem is everyone is booked because it is a four month notice. Everyone requires at least six months in advance."

Sara felt like she was going to have a full on bridezilla meltdown. She had done a good job keeping calm when things went wrong. Like Alyssa telling her that Brent might now be able to make it because of the NHL playoffs schedule going into June, her mom trying to invite all of their friends. Her dad wanting to pay for everything, wanting to make up for lost time. It was nice, but exhausting. In all honesty she was used to being ignored. She found solace in Justin's family. While she loved being close to hers, it was just chaos. Mark and Holly were just quiet people, they didn't have the money that the Wozniak's did, but they had each other.

Back to the issue at hand, she told her planner that she would deal with it, right now she just wanted to rest and watch Justin's game. After hanging up, her phone rang again, this time it was a three way call with her manager and agent, reminding her she had an appearance on a popular talk show promoting her guest appearance on Law and Order.

She washed her face and did her nighttime routine, even though it was the afternoon. Sara put down the blackout curtains so the room was dark. "Nova Eugene! Knock it off." She heard the cats stop wrestling, and within a few moments she was out.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------

"Baby. Wake up." She felt soft kisses on her face. Justin was home, she adjusted her eyes to the dark. "What time is it?"

He looked over at the clock on his nightstand. "2am. Did you see the game?" She shook her head. "Shit. I slept so long I was supposed to get up to watch. I guess I was more tired than I thought." He laughed and kissed her. "Go back to sleep babe."

Too late, she was wide awake now. "Well I slept for like 12 hours. I'm not tired anymore." Feeling mischievous and needing to relieve some stress, she climbed on top of Justin and began kissing him. "It's been a bad day, and I just want to forget." Pulling down his briefs, Justin flipped them over so he was on top. He missed her so much, and now that she was home with little to no obligations for quite some time he was excited to spend time with her when he could.

It didn't take long for them to come apart. Her gasping for air as he released with a groan, collapsing on her. After a few minutes, he rolled off. "Fuck I missed you." She cuddled up to him. "Same. I'm so glad I'm home. Did you win your game?" Feeling bad that she missed it. He nodded. "Yeah we won in overtime."

"Good." She paused, deciding to rip the band-aid off. "So Deacon Rodgers can't do the ceremony."

"Huh?" Justin didn't expect that to be the post sex convo. He looked over and rolled so he faced her. "What are you talking about? He was supposed to come visit us." She laughed. "Funny I said the same thing, but apparently last minute family issues."

"I don't see how that affects us. We are getting married in May."

"That's what I thought, but apparently now it's short notice to find someone."

"So what does that mean?" She shook her head. "I don't know. Do you know anyone who can officiate a wedding?" Justin shook his head. "I mean can't we hire a judge or something? Or Google someone?"

"I mean yeah, but can we find someone who would be willing to sign a NDA about us and our guests?"

"Good point." Sara sighed. "I just want to be married." He nodded. She cuddled closer to him. "Let's do it."

"Huh?"

"You have a Victory monday?" He nodded. "We won. So yeah."

"Let's go to the courthouse tomorrow and do it."

"But what about the wedding?"

"We can still do that. We will just have two dates." He laughed. "Sara, no."

"Huh?" He kissed her. "You told me before that you didn't like the idea of two anniversaries. Plus when we say our vows, I want them to be known to everyone that it's you and me."

Sara smiled. "You're right. It just sucks. We said small, and it's not shaping up that way. So many people are able to make this trip or want to come and it's just alot."

"We could scale it back, tell them to get lost." She chuckled. "Oh yeah Mr. Nice guy. Tell everyone to beat it." He laughed. "We could lie about the venue and We can figure this out tomorrow." He yawned. "I'm tired." Sara, still restless from the sleep schedule, threw off her covers and slipped on a big band t-shirt. Justin frowned. "Where are you going?"

"I'm hungry, and I forgot to feed the cats their dinner!" On cue, both cats meowed loudly.  "Just give them a few treats and come back quickly." He yawned again. Sara nodded,she wasn't going to do that.

Going into the kitchen, Sara took out their raw foods with their treats and goat milk. Once their bowls were filled, Sara grabbed boxed Mac and cheese and began making it. While she waited for the water to boil, she pulled out her laptop and began looking at their private wedding website. She edited the preacher's name off of the party section and looked at the timeline for the day. She still had to have a practice run for hair and makeup. Oh god she didn't even know how she wanted her hair! She would have to incorporate the heirloom hair piece somehow!

At this point she was assembling the Mac and cheese on autopilot. While eating she was searching for other things to incorporate at the reception. Photo booth, the lights on the dance floor-

"You do realize this is what we have a wedding planner for right?" She looked up from the laptop to see Justin with a sleepy smile. She nodded. "I know, I just don't want to seem like an uninvolved bridezilla. I want this wedding to scream 'us'." Justin came around the counter and wrapped his arms around her. Pressing a kiss on top of her head. "I know baby, it will, and I'm off so the rest of the day we can sit down and go over everything. We are way ahead of schedule, you know." She nodded, yawning again. He grabbed the bowl and scooped what was left from the pot in the bowl to store in the fridge for now. Once everything was cleaned up he carried her to bed. Climbing on top of her he told her. "You know if you aren't tired I could go for another round." He smirked.

She smiled. "Ehh I could take care of myself. You need your sleep." She tried to roll over but Justin grinded his hips into hers and she moaned. "Absolutely not too tired for this." He smashed his lips to hers and she moaned, wrapping her legs around his waist. Justin was grateful she forgot to slip on underwear as it was easier access. She moaned once Justin was inside of her. "Fuck I love you." He whispered in her ear and he began thrusting, her too breathy to reply back to him.

As she lost herself in pleasure, she knew everything would be okay, because in the end her and Justin would be married and that was all she wanted.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------

"What did I miss?" Sara was out of breath as she took her seat in the box. AnnSophie shrugged as she handed Sara a glass of wine. "Ehh nothing much, Jets are up by a field goal." It was the wild card game against the Jets, and Sara was nervous. Playoff season put her on edge and for good reason. It caused her to stress eat, which wasn't good because Valentino rep was supposed to come by next week for another full fitting for her dress. She saw Joe was fixing up a plate of food for his heavily pregnant wife. "Isn't Alisha like due to give birth any day?" Sara questioned as she saw her friend waddle over to grab the plate.

Joe looked over, hearing his friend. "Yes! And I'm on edge thank you very much! I was going to watch the game at home, but she wanted to go and you try arguing with a pregnant woman."

After a few glasses of wine, Sara made her way to the buffet table. AnnSophie was filling her plate. Having taken a break from modeling and stepping into behind the scenes of fashion since marrying Joey she was able to relax on dieting and other things.

However Sara was paying close attention to her friend and bridesmaid. She took no sips of her wine, and was avoiding certain foods at the table and yawning alot. Sara had never been pregnant, but AnnSophie had, and she remembered her friend's symptoms from the first time around. At halftime she cornered her by the buffet while she was chowing down on the Caprese salad.(AnnSophie hated tomatoes) "alright spill it, is Lexi going to be a big sister?"

AnnSophie pursed her lips for a moment, then sighed. "Okay I'm 8 weeks, I was going to tell you next week at the fitting. I promise I could still fit in my dress and I'll take care of any alterations." Sara stopped. "I'm so happy for you and Joey!" She hugged her friends. "Does anyone else know?"

Her friend shook her head. "No, we haven't even told his parents or brother and my family…." She trailed off. Sara smiled. "I swear I won't, I'm so excited for you guys and Lexi!"

The blonde laughed. "We haven't told her yet. Joey is worried that she is going to start asking where babies come from."

As they discussed the pregnancy in secret, they were interrupted by the game starting again. The Chargers were up by a touchdown, but before halftime, the Jets were close to the goal line.

It was a tough game, but the Chargers won, and Sara greeted Justin and they went back to the house to cuddle with the cats.

Sara had a good feeling about this year.

—--------------‐—-------------------------------------------------------

"THE LOS ANGELES CHARGERS ARE HEADING TO SUPER BOWL 59 IN NEW ORLEANS!" The announcer yelled as Sara and the WAGS went crazy in their seats. Sporting their customer made jackets with their guys name and number on the back. She had gotten the idea from Alyssa who said that every hockey team did a jacket for the wives in playoff season. Sara got Pierpaolo to design a navy blue jacket with the bolt logo, and on the back with the name and number.

It was a hit with the Chargers WAGs and the NFL, and people wanted the jackets to be put up for sale. Justin always loved Sara in his jerseys, so when he saw her in his jacket he loved it.

As she and Justin's family made it down to the field, she decided to stay off to the side and let Justin’s family share the joy and excitement on camera as Erin Andrews interviewed him. She looked around, the joy and celebration of everyone. She smiled as she saw Joey swing both AnnSophie and Lexi around, being careful of a pregnancy that was now public knowledge as of last week.

Sara couldn't help but think of a couple of years ago, when she watched Justin defeated at the Jags loss. Every announcer shitting on him and the team, questioning him and his capabilities. How heartbroken she was, then upset with the article and heartbreak of them splitting.

Now they were here, Justin was going to be playing in the superbowl, they were engaged to be married in less than six months. It all seemed like a dream, and she was going to wake up in her home and realize the last couple of years didn't happen-"

"Sara!" She broke free of her daydream and realized she was being lifted up into the air and swung around by her fiancé. Wrapping her legs around him he kissed her, and soon there was a swarm of cameramen and television stations surrounding them, capturing a very rare moment between them. Setting her down, they were met with a Los Angeles Fox news reporter wanting to ask Justin questions. She went to leave but Justin grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, an action that didn't go unnoticed by everyone who knew them.

Justin's large arm was wrapped around her the entire time as he was answering questions about the game, and all of that. Finally the reporter addressed Sara. "Sara, how excited are you to witness Justin and his team reach the superbowl?"

It was funny because being a veteran at Award shows and live interviews it was a totally different ballgame being on the field. Sports wasn't what she was known for, and seeing all of this surrounded her made her nervous. "Yes it's so exciting, I'm so proud of Justin and his teammates. It's a long season, and these guys played their hearts out. To see them being rewarded for all of their hard work it's such a great experience and I couldn't be prouder." She looked up and met Justin's eyes and they shared a smile.

"Well no matter what happens in New Orleans you will be getting a ring for sure." They all laughed, and Justin thanked the reporter before going to celebrate.

They took pictures on the field. Sara and Justin, then Justin and his family, and Sara and Justin with his family. It would be given that some members of her family would fly out to the superbowl.

The celebration back in the locker room was insane. They were in Kansas City, so they couldn't do too much damage, but the music was blasting, champagne was flowing and spilling, and someone was handing out cigars and cigarettes. AnnSophie took Lexi home, not wanting both her and her kids to be exposed to that. Sara took a cigarette and lit it up. Justin gave her a look as he wasn't smoking. She pointed at him, "I don't want to hear anything. I'm under a lot of stress and trying to relax." He left it alone, but she knew she would get some sort of lecture later.

Sara made sure Justin enjoyed the moment. Watching him joke around and dance with teammates. It was a perfect scene, and so far, life couldn't get better than this.

—---------------------------------------------------------------

The weeks leading up to the big game were insane. Sara made travel arrangements for her family to travel to Louisiana. Almost everyone besides Alyssa and Brent were attending. Her parents would be staying behind with the grandkids as Brittany, Katie and their husband's would be attending.

Then the Lady Chargers decided to throw Sara and another Bride a joint bridal shower. It was very sweet, and once again Sara found herself lugging gifts.

In between all of the sanity, she threw complete wedding control to the planner and her mom. She wrote down her major requests for the wedding after party and food. It was out of her hands until the game was finished. While Justin was packing in between practices and getting ready for the send off rally. Eugene decided to break his foot, so he had to be rushed to the vet and be put in a cast. Luckily, her assistant volunteered to stay behind to take care of the cats,as she was fond of them both being around Sara often.

Her stylist picked her superbowl outfit, and her hair and makeup artists would be making sure she looked pristine as well.

Before they knew it, Justin and his team boarded the plane to Louisiana while she and the other WAGS tended to last minute things. Luckily the Chargers team let the WAGS and their families private planes to travel.

It was the last day before she was set to leave. Her bags were packed, hotel arrangements  were made and she was to set out at 8am the next morning to pick up AnnSophie and Lexi.

While she was waiting for her assistant to show up to pick up the cats her doorbell rang. Figuring it was her fiancés manager she ran to let her in. However it was the last person she expected to see.

Latrell was the latest addition to her team, he was a lawyer who specialized in finances, recommended by Katie. He was sharp, all business, and he never cracked a smile or laughed. Justin told her he made him feel uneasy.

"Hello Ms. Wozniak. May I come in?" He never called her by her name, no matter how many requests she's made. "Um, actually it's a bad time since I'm getting everything ready for tomorrow."

"Yes, I know about your super bowl trip. Congratulations to Mr. Herbert by the way. You must all feel very proud."  She nodded. "We are all so proud. Now if you don't mind, what does this concern?"

He sighed and entered the home. Putting his briefcase on the couch he opened it and pulled out a stack of papers. "I've been trying to contact you since the news of your engagement, but you've been impossible to schedule a sit down appointment with, so I took the liberty to draw this up."

Sara shook her head confused. "I apologize, but I don't know what is so urgent that it couldn't wait til after the wedding." He stopped and gave her a hard look, and she felt like she was a child about to be given a lecture by her dad. "I hardly think a prenuptial agreement could wait till after the marriage documents are signed, correct?"

She couldn't say anything. She hadn't even thought about it. Her and Justin were worth tons of money. Sara did have generational wealth, and technically was due to inherit property from her parents and a generous lump sum of money.

Justin would never take that from her IF they divorced. But then again he did break up with her.

But that was so long ago…..

It was only two years ago….

"Ms. Wozniak?" Sara snapped out of her daydream. "I'm sorry Latrell, I wasn't purposely ignoring you, but I hadn't thought about that really."

He nodded. "That's why I'm here. I took the liberty of discussing matters with Justin’s team. They were trying to reach him, but to no avail." It made her feel good to know that she wasn't going to be the one blindsided by this. Latrell continued. "I drew up a basic agreement, anything money, property accumulated before your marriage will remain yours and vice versa. The California laws of a 50-50 marriage will not apply In the event of a divorce. If Mr. Herbert commits infidelity you will be entitled to half of his earnings during the marriage. Your future c-"

"Woah woah" Sara put her hands up. "I really appreciate this Latrell, but I think this should be a matter I discuss with my future husband, don't you think?"

"No offense Ms. Wozniak, I anticipate the next few months you are not going to have time to sit down and discuss this with Mr. Herbert."

"Well I'm not signing anything without reviewing this, and having Justin here is important. I'm sorry but this will have to wait."

Latrell shrugged and went to the door. "Suit yourself, but Sara, you guys aren't any average couple. It is in your best interest that your net worth of fifty million is protected. Don't you think so?"

She nodded. "I'll call you." She saw him at the door and bid goodbye.

This was the last thing she needed right now.

—------------------------------------------------------------

"Holy shit this is insane." Rachel Joseph-Day was looking around in awe. They were all seated towards the back in the first level of the stadium. Sara had never been to New Orleans, so this was an amazing experience.

She had been in contact with Justin through the phone, the tables had switched for the media obligations. Justin was the main star, which she knew he hated. He was very poised in all of his media, even answering a few questions about her that he knew they were going to ask.

She knew people thought it was weird that they hadn't posted publicly about each other. The only crumble they gave were liking each other's posts or being tagged in friends' postings. It worked for them, and love wasn't dead because they were private to the whole world. Private not secret

During the pregame show her nerves were growing. Fellow celebs were taking their seats, stopping to say a few words of congratulations and good luck.

Her nerves calmed once Justin's family arrived. They were sitting behind her, as the other wives and girlfriends were taking up two rows next to them were her family, and Justin's coach from Oregon. They all talked before she and Katie decided to get snacks for people who wanted them

The concession stands were busy, and people stopped to take videos of Sara walking, and some influencers stopped her for photos. "I know I've seen you be all famous, but it's still weird seeing you like this. To me you will always be the emo dork who would steal my makeup." Sara laughed as she was in line. "Yeah be lucky I stole all of the tits so I couldn't steal your shirts!"

Once they ordered they began to walk back to their area when they heard a voice. "Hello Sara."

She froze, she recognized that condescending, bitchy tone. She looked next to her and sure enough it was the NFL's very own Taylor. "Hi Taylor. Always good to see you again." Sara took the cordial route. It was all petty high school drama anyway.

The blonde huffed. "Wish I could say the same." Sara sighed. "Well it was nice seeing you." She went to walk away.

"Your outfit is a little weird don't ya think?" Sara looked at her sister,who was concerned. "Katie, this is Taylor, the one I told you about." Her sisters face hardened. "So nice to meet you Taylor, I've heard a lot about you."

"Good things?"

"Not really." Sara had to hold back a laugh. Taylor continued. "I really admire your baby sister, she has perseverance. I mean no matter how pathetic she looks she keeps going!"

"Listen bi-" Sara held her hand up to stop her sister. "Listen Taylor. I don't know what your problem is, we are almost in our thirties. Well, I am. Can't you grow up just a bit? You're just upset you didn't get to me, and I got the ring in the end." She held her hand up to show the sparkler. "See? It's over. I'm marrying Justin this summer and you're just mad because it isn't you." Taylor was speechless, Sara saw there were a few people looking. "It was so nice seeing you! Enjoy the game!" She gave the old friends appearance wave and walked back to the seat.

Katie smiled. "I'm so fucking proud of you. That was so mature-"

"I should have accidentally spilled something on her." Sara cut in.

"Well there goes my compliment about you being mature." They both laughed.

From her seat, she had a view of the press on the field. She saw Taylor, who was now using her position to be on the sidelines for most likely the entire game. They met eyes, and once again Sara's left hand went up to move a piece of hair from her face. The blonde scowled and looked away.

Before the group all knew it, the lights dimmed and the announcer came on, ready for the introductions. The Chargers were wearing the powder blue yellow pants combination. Sara loved the yellow pants, as it showed off everything.

Once everyone was on the field and they did their usual theriatrics it was officially time for the game to begin.

Sara felt like she wanted to throw up.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------

"Four minutes on the clock, do you think they can score and avoid OT?" Taylor Pipkens spoke as she was nervously tapping her nails against her drink. Sara had an urge to bite her acrylics, but she knew her mom would bitch her out if she was caught on TV. They were watching at home with the kids.

The Cowboys were resilient, constantly on the Chargers back and taking a slight lead in the third quarter, however Prescott threw a costly interception that tied them up.

Now the clock was winding down, and the Chargers had the ball. The punt return didn't give them much help as the Dallas defense seemed to have a second wind.

Sara and the group were in their own little world. A few times she was shown on the jumbotron and the major broadcasting channels flashed to her downing a glass of wine, which Heidi messaged her that she was now a meme on Twitter, she didn't see the tons of messages her friends texted her. She would be fighting for her life in the group chat the next morning. She'd worry about that later.

So far Justin decided to run to get a few first downs, and they were almost in the red zone. She couldn't sit down, she was standing up, as well as the other wives and Chargers fans. It had been quite the time since it was announced that the Cowboys would be facing the Chargers. She had been getting death threats and hate messages. Some were good natured ribbing, but there were some that definitely got blocked.

There was two minutes left as Justin threw to Mike, who got stopped at the five yard line. It was now second down, and everyone in their section held their breath as Justin dropped back, a quick search and he threw to Quentin in the end zone, who caught it easily despite being covered by the Cowboys safety.

"Yes!" Everyone erupted at once. High fives were passed around, and Sara hugged people she didn't even know. Reaching over to high five Mark and Holly, there was 1:10 left, and it was up to the defense to stop Dak.

She had faith. Joey had been playing amazingly, so much that he was named the top defensive player. It was wonderful that despite the bullshit he faced from the outside world, he came back and proved everyone wrong.

Unfortunately, The punt was good, and the Cowboys started at the Chargers 40 yard line. "I think I'm going to throw up." Sara spoke to herself.

"You know if mom sees you, you are getting it. You know mom hates that more than anything." Brittany laughed and she realized her hands were in her mouth. "Sorry." She muttered.

It was third down, and as Dak tried to run, Joey anticipated his move, and down the quarterback went and the ball came loose.

It was all slow motion for Sara as she saw a sea of blue dive for the ball.

"They got it!" Mitch yelled! And tears began to stream down Sara's face as the team celebrated.

That was it

The Chargers were Superbowl champions!

The clock ran out, and powder blue and yellow confetti began shooting all over the stadium. The next few minutes was all a blur for Sara as she was passed around for hugs. Holly was in tears as the whole Herbert family was. AnnSophie was holding Lexi tight with Joey's mom and brother.

The usher got them and escorted them down to the sidelines to watch Roger Godell present the Lombardi trophy to Justin. Through the blur of her tears she saw him raise it up as she was taking video after video.

Once they were allowed on the field. Justin immediately reached for her and picked her up, swinging her around. This time, the tears flowed between both of them. After sharing a passionate kiss Sara spoke. "I love you so much! I'm so proud of you! I mean look." She gestured to the celebrations around them. "This is all for you!"

He nodded. "It is for all of us, including you." She shook her head. "We will argue about that later." He put her down and greeted his family. Holly began taking the confetti and stuffing some in her purse.

"Justin! The NFL network wants to interview you." Ashley guided Justin towards Taylor with the microphone  and the cameraman. Before Justin could reach her he turned around and grabbed Sara's hand pulling her towards him. Her eyes widened. "No Justin, this is your moment."

"We are doing this together." Taylor's eyes were as wide as saucers as the couple approached. "Okay we are on in three, two, one."

Taylor had to conceal her shock. "I'm here with Justin Herbert, the superbowl MVP. Justin, how important is this win to the city of Los Angeles?"

He smiled. "It's big, the fans in LA and San Diego have deserved this for so long, and to get back on the plane and bring it home is exciting."

"Justin that final play of the game, what was the atmosphere? Was there any panic?" It was obvious that Taylor was going to act like she wasn't there, so Sara angled herself off camera as much as she could (Justin's arm was still around her) so she could greet other members of his family. She didn't hear his response but was pulled back by the blonde's next question

"I'm sure any off season plans will have to be delayed this summer."

"No, it will just make it more exciting. He looked at Sara who smiled back. "We got to get another ring in a few months. So it will be a great off season."

"Well congratulations again." They both didn't miss the bite in Taylor's voice. Once they were out of ear shot they busted out laughing.

Eventually, Justin and the team went to get changed and ready to head out for a night on the town.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Annie!! I love our baby but I wish you weren't pregnant right now!" Joey smiled as he took a swig of champagne. His wife rolled her eyes. "Someone has to keep your ass in check. I'll probably be heading back towards the hotel to relieve the babysitter soon."

In New Orleans fashion, a parade down Bourbon street was held. The team and their families were walking down the street to the cheers of the crowd. Even the ones with kids were there, although the celebration was anything but appropriate.

"You realize we are going to have to get on a plane hungover tomorrow?" Sara giggled as she took a sip of champagne from the bottle."

Justin chuckled. "Baby I think you had way more than I did." He adjusted the championship hat on her head.

People were popping champagne, others were popping confetti cannons. The scene was chaotic, and beautiful in some way. Jazz bands were playing, and people were dancing in the streets, not even caring about football, just wanting to enjoy the party atmosphere.

Fireworks began going off, and Justin was lost in the moment, Sara was dancing and laughing at a comment Mike yelled. It was a high he never wanted to let go off. He had everything he ever wanted, well except one thing and he couldn't wait till May.

Grabbing his fiancé's hand he pulled her off to the side. "Justin what's wrong?"

"Let's get married." She began giggling and he was confused. "What?"

"Justin we are!" She showed him her ring. "Remember? Are you sure you haven't had too many…"

It was his turn to laugh. "I mean tomorrow when we go home. Let's go to the courthouse and get married."

She sobered up quickly. "I thought you said…"

"I know what I said, and I was wrong, I don't want to wait another moment without you being my wife. I love you and I want to marry you as soon as possible." He grabbed her hand. "If you want to."

She thought about it. Her team would be upset, their families would be upset. But it wasn't about them.

"Let's do it."

A/N: I had to bust this up into two parts because it was wayyy too long. But what do you think? Should they marry at the courthouse or just wait til their actual wedding?

[blue-cordial]

UNEXPECTED VOWS PART 7 - RAFE CAMERON X READER

A week had passed since the fraught evening in the study, and the tension in the Cameron estate seemed to thicken with each passing day. Sofia's persistent presence continued to weave complications into Rafe and Y/N's fragile peace. Her subtle but deliberate maneuvers—showing up unexpectedly, sending provocative messages—seemed designed to test their resolve and sow seeds of doubt.

One serene evening, amidst the tranquility of the estate gardens under a canopy of stars, Rafe and Y/N found a rare moment alone. They stood close together, their gazes locked in an intense exchange that spoke volumes of the unspoken emotions simmering between them.

Rafe's heart raced as he looked into Y/N's eyes, the depth of his feelings for her stirring like a tempest within. He reached out tentatively, his hand cupping her cheek with a tenderness that belied the storm raging outside. Y/N leaned into his touch, her breath catching in anticipation.

"I don't know how much longer we can keep pretending," Rafe murmured, his voice husky with longing. "Sofia... she won't stop."

Y/N nodded softly, her fingers tracing the contours of Rafe's jaw. "We can't let her win," she replied, her voice steady despite the turmoil in her heart. "We have to stay strong."

Their intimacy deepened as they leaned closer, their lips brushing against each other in a hesitant yet impassioned kiss. In that fleeting moment, the world around them fell away, leaving only the echo of their shared desire and the promise of what could be.

Unbeknownst to them, Sofia watched from the shadows with simmering hatred and a heart seething with revenge. The sight of Rafe and Y/N entwined in each other's embrace ignited a fierce jealousy within her—a reminder of what she had lost and what she was willing to do to reclaim it.

With calculated precision, Sofia stepped forward suddenly, her presence shattering the tranquility of their stolen moment. The sound of her approach broke the spell, causing Rafe and Y/N to pull apart with a start, their hearts pounding with a mix of guilt and apprehension.

"Well, well, well," Sofia's voice cut through the night like a knife, her tone dripping with malice. "Isn't this cozy?"

Rafe's jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing as he faced Sofia with a mixture of frustration and defiance. "Sofia, what are you doing here?" he demanded, his voice laced with warning.

Sofia's lips curled into a mocking smile, her gaze flickering between Rafe and Y/N with a cold intensity. "Oh, just checking in on my dear sister and her new lover," she replied, each word laced with venomous intent.

Y/N felt a surge of anger rise within her, tempered by the raw vulnerability of being caught in such a private moment. "This isn't your place, Sofia," she retorted, her voice firm despite the tremor of uncertainty beneath.

Sofia's laughter rang hollow in the night air, a chilling sound that sent shivers down Y/N's spine. "Oh, but it is," she countered, her eyes locking onto Rafe's with a possessive glare. "You belong to me, whether you like it or not."

Rafe stepped forward, his posture rigid with restrained anger. "Enough, Sofia," he snapped, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. "You need to leave."

Sofia's expression darkened, her features contorting with rage. "You'll regret this, Rafe," she hissed, her voice a low growl of warning. With one final seething glance at Y/N, Sofia turned on her heel and disappeared into the shadows, leaving behind an atmosphere thick with unresolved tension and the bitter taste of impending confrontation.

Rafe and Y/N stood in silence, their hearts racing and their minds reeling from the confrontation. In the aftermath of Sofia's intrusion, they clung to each other, seeking solace and strength in the bond that had begun to deepen—a beacon of hope amidst the storm that threatened to engulf them all.

[terrible-eel]

"Astarion and Gale finally have a chance to have some time alone together and figure out a few sexy work-arounds to Astarion's touch repulsion"

Because I've been completely obsessed with bloodweave recently I thought I might as well get some of their cursed romance out of my head. I think I might turn this into a longer thing eventually.

Astarion walked down a small trail behind the encampment. The moon pierced the forest canopy, cascading over the dewy grass. He smiled to himself, watching it move gently in the wind.

“It looks like puddles of moonlight,” he thought fondly, stepping through the pale blue ripples, feeling the icy dew soak into his clothes.

The air out in the wilderness made him feel light and peaceful again. There was a rightness in the underbrush and little rivers that he would scarcely allow himself to feel in the company of others, but on the way to Gale's tent he was content with a solitary embrace of what the night had to offer… Which made approaching the tent all the more solemn.

Astarion began to roll the sleeves of his tunic shirt absently as he thought, an age old tell of his nerves.

He and Gale had been exchanging glances and small flirtations where they could manage as their camp grew larger with refugees. Neither of them felt comfortable letting any of their companions know of their affairs, sexual or otherwise, and it had left them exchanging letters and subtle conversations during the rare moments when they could find each other.

Fortunately, forming a more permanent settlement while they waited out the conflicts had allowed them the opportunity to meet up again. Gale had taken his tent far into the woods, using some excuse or another. Nobody paid him any mind, just as they paid Astarion no mind as he made his way out into the forest "for a hunt."

"Gale? It's me!" Astarion called from a few paces away.

Gale threw open the flap of his tent quickly upon hearing Astarion's voice.

Astarion’s heart skipped a beat, shock clear on his face. He quickly forced his jaw to shut but still stared with brows raised at Gale.

Astarion felt so underdressed for the occasion in his jodhpurs and old tunic. He didn’t even consider fastening a belt this time, but Gale was carrying himself beautifully in a fitted top he had never seen before. It was a deep enchanting purple, almost black, and though it was a long sleeved garment, there were expertly tailored openings revealing his collarbones and shoulders. Gale’s olive skin in the firelight was almost more than Astarion could take, but he made himself absorb the rest. Around his neck hung a long silver chain and turquoise pendant, which allowed his eyes to trail down to his pants. Beautiful purple brocade ran up the sides of the black fabric. He also took note that he was barefoot.

“Well, the least I can do is take my boots off before entering,” Astarion thought in embarrassment.

“Come in, Astarion,” Gale said with a knowing smirk, inviting the vampire in.

“You look lovely,” said Astarion, glancing up as he pulled his boots off, hoping Gale didn’t notice his shame.

“I’m glad you think so, I’ve been meaning to show these garments to you, I figured you may be interested in their design.” Gale boasted, clearly proud of himself for drawing such a reaction from Astarion.

Astarion smirked. “Well I’m clearly interested in the form they’re designed for.” To that Gale turned quickly away, moving further into the tent.

It was a modest thing from the outside, but Astarion was just as taken aback as usual when he walked in. It was much bigger on the inside, giving the appearance of a private study. Bookshelves lined the walls between things in jars and bottles. Astarion barely understood most of it, but he was familiar with a few things here and there. Of course there was a desk and a million half written papers thrown about, but in the middle of the room was a comfortable sitting area with large ornate pillows and furs over beautifully woven woolen rugs to keep the cold out.

The bed lay unattended in the corner. Astarion half wondered when Gale ever actually slept before a bone chilling sensation encompassed his body. Gale had taken him in his arms. The scratching of his beard felt like spiders. The light touch on his back burned like ice water.

And then the kiss. At first it warmed him to the other feelings. Astarion allowed himself to settle into the entanglement, trying to ignore the shivers like nails scraping against iron. Gale's mouth was warm and welcoming. Astarion tried to remind himself of how much he wanted it. How many weeks he had spent crafting letters of what he hoped they would do together; about their plans after their return to Baldur's Gate. He had even been so bold as to suggest they stay together in Gale's home in Waterdeep.

Astarion was desperate for a life where an embrace from Gale meant something romantic. He wanted the sunlight to rouse both of them from their dreams and to be able to cuddle into his shoulder as dawn sang sweet birdsongs.

"Why can't it just be like that now?" Astarion lamented as something crept into his mind. Books. Shelves like Cazador's. His study. Cazador taking notes. Astarion lay bound and watching him from a table-

Astarion pulled away quickly. Gale didn't try to hold him as he left his embrace. Gale had watched Astarion lose himself before and responded immediately with a loud distraction, hoping to pull him back to the present.

"Astarion! Let's start over, alright? You step outside now." Gale ushered Astarion back out of the tent.

The sudden feeling of icy dew on his bare feet and the soft smell of pine trees began to bring Astarion back to his senses. Gale hurried away and returned with two cups of hot chocolate he seemed to have had sitting for a while.

“He must have prepared that for me,” Astarion thought with a flutter in his chest that he prayed would not turn to guilt.

Gale swung one flap of the tent up and stood at the threshold.

"Let's start over, " he said again brightly. "Hello Astarion! Welcome to my room. I've made a drink for you- oh hells how long has it been cold- '' A purple glow came from his hand and the drink began to steam. "No matter, there you are." He placed the cup in Astarion's hand. The warm ceramic had grooves pressed in by some potter’s hand. Astarion began to trace the marks, feeling a sense of calm at the gentleness of the handcrafted object.

Astarion loved to watch Gale be charming. Perhaps the wizard didn’t know it, but whenever he began to show even a hint of what was on his mind, Astarion was charmed.

"Now, my dear, would you like to come in? I've added a little space since it will be the two of us. I wasn't sure if you would want your drink sweet, but I took the liberty of guessing you would. You do seem to have a sweet tooth."

Astarion finally smiled. "You're not wrong in that," he said, tasting the drink. "Oh, this is quite good. You really shouldn't have, sweetheart. Too many nice things and I might think you're flirting with me."

Gale smiled back with all the warmth he could manage. "There he is. Gods, I really need to stop approaching him so aggressively," Gale silently berated himself before speaking out loud:

"Well we couldn't have that now, could we. I suppose these biscuits I picked up at the market will be much too sweet and suggestive then. I will have to have them for myself," Gale said, opening his palm and pulling a small ginger jar to himself with his magic. Astarion intercepted it and tucked the jar under his arm, forcing Gale to release his hold before the thing shot out of Astarion’s grasp.

"No way you're retracting your sweets from me," Astarion chided, flopping down on Gale's many pillows. "I'll be eating all of them myself now," he said, making a valiant effort to do so.

Gale took a seat next to him. "Fine, I surrender. It's more fun watching you eat them anyway... I do love to see you satisfied."

Astarion lounged on his side and propped himself up on an elbow enough to look up at Gale. "I'm sorry for my behavior. It's just one of those days, it seems."

Inwardly, Astarion lamented. "I don't deserve someone so gentle. Look at him. I need to get myself under control. This is what he's been waiting for. I can't go back on every promise I've made. I need to stop behaving like a ridiculous child.-"

Astarion was pulled from his thoughts by Gale's gentle fingers running through his hair. His big warm hand was such a surprising and wonderful sensation. He leaned into the touch as he drank his cocoa.

"I'm so thankful I can see him happy like this," Gale thought, watching the man's expression soften as he settled down. "This is how I always want to see him. Just content and smiling. Maybe I'm going insane, focusing so hard on another's happiness again, but it feels different this time, I think. Astarion has been thinking of me as well. His little handmade gifts. His tending to my affliction. Rage towards our enemies as he comes to my aid... No. I know he's different." Gale wondered at Astarion as he leaned down to place a kiss on his forehead.

To Astarion these things finally felt right, but he knew that they would only go on for so long before the expectations would arise. He leaned onto Gale's lap, hoping to savor the affection before everything went sour.

"How would you like to have me," Astarion blurted out before he could catch himself.

"I'm sorry?" Gale asked, pulling his hand away.

"We had talked about this, why did I have to say that-"

"Remember we had-" Gale began.

Astarion sat up to face Gale directly.

"Talked about that, yes, I recall. I'm sorry. Look, frankly this is a situation we have both been anticipating, and with that anticipation there must be some expectation, no?" Astarion’s voice broke. He sounded more meek than he liked.

Gale pondered for a moment before responding: "Hm. I suppose… perhaps there is a bit too much of that. I myself am finding it difficult to know whether I'm going to be satisfactory for you. I had offered you the option to fuck me again in that letter…" Gale hesitated, and Astarion reached out and placed a hand over his, maintaining a reassuring grip until the man was able to continue. "Truth be told, you're the only man I had ever allowed to bed me at all, let alone in that way. I have no real reference with which to compare my own performance, I fear I am likely inadequate."

"Oh love, no, there's nothing to compare. I'm here because what I feel for you makes everyone else irrelevant to me." Astarion placed his cup and jar of sweets down on the floor and began to stand, bringing Gale to his feet along with him. He guided Gale into his arms, holding his left hand in his right, and pressed his body to Gale’s, swaying a little as if dancing with the man.

Astarion continued, “Let's just be here together now, in each other's arms, free of expectations," he whispered, feeling Gale lean into his shoulder. "You're wonderful in bed, but more than that, you're my treasure. You're who I want to spend my days with, as well as my nights. That's by far more important. I want nothing more from you than your love."

Gale's shoulders tensed and his face began to feel very hot on Astarion's collarbone. It was rare for Gale to become shy about anything, but Astarion was managing to find more and more ways to elicit the response recently. Together they tiptoed around the concept of love as they danced in silence.

"Alright. No expectations." Said Gale as he wrapped his arm around Astarion. "You have such a small waist. It just fits so perfectly in my hand."

"Hmm, perhaps it was made for your hand then," Astarion purred into his ear. "To hold, to caress, to scratch as I am inside you..."

Astarion could feel Gale's hand curling around the fabric of his shirt as Gale hid his face again. This time Astarion peeked down to see Gale's olive skin turning a deep crimson.

Astarion carried on, "There's my blush. Does my mage wish to feel me again?"

Gale's breath hitched in his throat, a delicious sound to Astarion. He had to have a taste of those lips. This time Gale's mouth tasted like chocolate. Warm and soft, his tongue coaxing Astarion for his kiss to go deeper, Astarion gladly moved in, eliciting a moan from Gale that made Astarion's body tense with arousal.

Gale's hand traced up Astarion's back and he felt that cold shivering malice run through him again. Slime like a snail's trail. Icy, dripping liquid. It was beginning to feel awful again. Slowly, Astarion began to pull away once more, taking a few steps back.

"What is it? You can tell me. Is it something I did?" Gale's voice was purely concerned. Astarion could tell consciously that he didn't want to hurt him, but the feeling was impossible to explain.

"It's not you, it's just…" Astarion looked down at the ground, hating that he couldn't bear to look Gale in the eye. He knew how pathetic he must have looked, but the idea of facing Gale was an even worse prospect than whatever the man thought of him at that point.

"It's just that tonight isn't really working for me…" Darling was usually the rest of his sentence, when these kinds of things came up; some flirtation to ease the tension, something to mask his worries a little, but all of that was gone. All that remained was hesitation and too much fear.

Gale felt an ache in his heart as he watched Astarion pull away. He hated to see that enchanting confidence be swallowed up by an anguish someone else had put there. Gale approached Astarion, reaching out and quickly drawing away when he saw the elf curl into himself.

"That's absolutely fine, Astarion. Another time, perhaps?" Gale took a step to the side where Astarion was staring off to, trying to at least meet Astarion's eyes.

"If he can see my sincerity, perhaps he would at least take comfort in the fact that everything is alright at the moment." Gale thought hopefully.

Astarion flashed him a glance through his lashes. When he saw Gale's worried expression, he turned on his heels, running both hands through his own hair in exasperation.

"Agh it's nothing so serious, it's not that I'm truly uninterested! Gods, I'd happily be fucking you right now! It's just the idea of sensation; the pressure of bodies is repulsing me, and of course it's happening now of all times! Right when we finally have time alone together, after so long. And then there's the hunger, I haven't fed properly in two days! This unpleasant mess-" Gale cut him off before he could continue.

"Might I interject with a solution -what you're going through is a relatable experience, if I'm being completely honest. It's not something I am taking lightly, I assure you. I may know at least a little of what touch repulsion may mean to you, is what I mean to say-"

Gale's voice, the notes of confidence and comfort, filled Astarion's ears like the low hum of a song. He could feel his jaw relax and his shoulders drop. Gale continued.

"There were points where an overabundance of affection from my goddess would become too much. Whenever I had experienced these awful, skin-crawling sensations, nothing my lover could do was a comfort to me. Contact was simply unbearable. And I believed that was that. That I was this untouchable, unlovable mess. To think I would be useless to her as a lover filled me with dread- well it didn’t help that she berated me for my performance issues, but it wasn’t that I was uninterested. It was just too much and too often. And the expectations she had for my performance…well perhaps her expectations were uniquely high as well. The more time I spend with you the more I understand the amount she would take from me while giving nothing in return."

Gale's words struck Astarion.

"So he truly does understand. He has nothing to gain by telling me this point of weakness…then why? Is he simply attempting to comfort me?" Astarion turned away from Gale and smiled. "He's too soft. The fool. So much more tender than he should be."

But the thought of intimacy; the thought that someone would want to share so much vulnerability with him just so he felt less alone in his needs, soothed his anxieties almost instantly. A blush rose in Astarion’s cheeks. Meanwhile, Gale had continued.

"However, there are very simple ways around things so pedestrian as physical contact with a body- that is, if you're still interested in something sexual, we needn't-"

This time it was Astarion's turn to interrupt.

He turned back to face Gale, this time locking eyes with hungry intensity. He wanted to savor Gale's next words. "I'm all ears," Astarion said in a low voice.

The sultry tone caught Gale off guard.

"Fuck. Don't give me that look," Gale thought as he felt a wave of arousal run down his abdomen.

Astarion could see more color rush to Gale's cheeks, a blush deepening over the human's neck. His heartbeat quickened in Astarion's ears, his scent filled his nostrils.

Gale struggled to keep his composure as a predatory shift overtook Astarion. As attractive as the idea of being taken by Astarion's instincts was in theory, he knew that Astarion had no true desire for intimacy past his vampiric needs, so he continued.

"Just because I can't touch you, doesn't mean I can't give you pleasure," Gale said with an eyebrow raised. Astarion bowed his head, peeking up hungrily. The posture of a beast on the prowl… And Gale could sense he had just become the prey.

"Is that so…" Astarion asked, taking a step towards Gale, who swallowed hard, attempting to move past the erotic focus Astarion had on him. "Then show me what you have in mind."

Another step and they were only a foot apart. Gale wanted to reach out and kiss him, to comfort him with touch, but he only smiled and kept his hands at his sides.

"Are you sure you want this?" Gale asked, searching Astarion's face for an honest answer. A smile crept up the corner of the elf's mouth and he raised his brow as if to suggest he continue.

"Then get on your knees." Gale instructed with more authority than Astarion thought he had in him. Astarion obeyed, curious where this would go.

"My abilities are not to be overlooked. Behold-" Gale raised his right hand, bending it at the elbow, pointing two fingers up and twisting his wrist to the side. A glowing purple ribbon fluttered into existence. Astarion watched the thing wrap itself gently around his wrists.

"Why is everything he does so beautiful?" Astarion thought as he let the ribbons draw his arms gently behind his back until he was secured in comfort.

Before he could think further, a sensation of pure pleasure ran up his arms, tingling and exciting but not overwhelming. It was enough for a soft moan to escape his lips. Then another stroke of pleasure, this time stronger, pulsing down to his groin so fast he thrust his head back in a gasp, and there he saw that Gale was standing directly over him now.

"This is better than I expected." Gale thought, admiring Astarion's body, watching how his heavy breaths escaped moist lips. Astarion was his now, finally, after so many nights of laying awake knowing that he was off with someone else, knowing that he was feeding on someone else's blood... No. Not this time. Now it was he who would be available for Astarion.

"I'm the one who's going to provide for you. I'll be the one who sustains you and makes you feel like this, more than anyone else. I’ve waited my turn."

As he spoke, the waves of pleasure grew in intensity. It was better than the touch of light fingernails on Astarion's skin, it was as if he was made of nothing but liquid pleasure. Gale was inside of every nerve in his body. Gale was going to take him over completely.

Astarion couldn't help but let his back arch, couldn't stop himself from gasping, couldn't stop the tight confinement of his erection pressing hard against his pants. Gale's words felt like they were burrowing down inside of him, erotic for their content but also hypnotic, like a spell was being sung into his heart. But it wasn't mind control. This was something so much more gentle. It was as if Gale was somehow cradling his joints, caressing his lungs, nurturing this feeling of pleasure; enveloping him in something Astarion could only guess was love.

"I'll be the one coursing through your veins from now on." Gale said as that magnetic hypnotism only increased in Astarion. Gale reached for the knife at his side and sliced a deep cut down his palm, spilling his blood onto Astarion's face. It dripped down his cheek and pooled between his lips.

At first Astarion recoiled, expecting the burning acrid taste to make him retch, but somehow, past the initial sour taste, past the burning in his heart as he swallowed, there was something sweet. Something like a fresh plum, just picked from its tree. He had never been so aroused from blood. His eyes rolled back for a moment and then he shut them hard. The blood kept coming.

The drops were like rain falling down inside of him, coating his throat, suffocating him. His head rattled like thunder. Shadows and rainstorms and dark fields. He lapped at the dripping wound. His tongue thrusted out, seeking the cut. It felt like he was finally satiated after starving for years. He drank and moaned and allowed the blood to pool down his face. It was the dripping caress of a lost lover; the answer to some divine mystery he had contemplated for that year in the dark.

He licked at Gale's hand until the ache in his pants was too much.

Astarion finally opened his eyes to see Gale's expression. The man was looking down at him with brows knit, the soft sheen of sweat at his temples, his mouth ever so slightly open. Astarion had to give him a teasing smile.

"Will you be the one to provide me some more now? Will you satisfy me?" Astarion nipped gently at Gale's pinky. "Will you fill me up like this every night?"

"Fuck, Astarion," Gale said in a low voice, biting down on his lower lip.

With his free hand repeating the same waving gesture, Astarion could feel the strings of his pants be undone. His nakedness instantly met with an unexpected wave of pleasure like something was running from the tip down the entire shaft, drawing out thrusts from Astarion as invisible motions pumped him at a tantalizingly slow speed. Gale raised his bleeding hand and squeezed more onto Astarion's face as he arched into his thrusts.

"That's it. Let me take you completely," Gale breathed as he watched Astarion's eyes widen.

He looked like he was begging for more, and with each plea, Gale quickened the pace, feeling his magic inside Astarion, pressing hard into his prostate until his moans became gasps. The feeling was dizzying but Gale began to support Astarion, commanding his magic to hold the elf up as he played with his body.

Astarion could feel this invisible force pressing into him, wrapping tightly around his thighs and neck, gliding down his body lightly enough to make him squirm. He shivered in pleasure. Astarion could barely lick his lips as the blood spilled down his throat. His moans were almost inaudible whimpers.

Gale’s voice was breathy with desire as he spoke. "Gods, you are impossibly beautiful,” he said, savoring the way Astarion's whole body began shaking as the sensations became unbearably intense.

“Now, come for me.” Gale’s voice filled Astarion’s mind until he felt himself lose control. With a sharp breath hitched in his throat, Astarion began to come as commanded, and the force that held him pushed the orgasm further and further until Astarion finally let out a gasp and his body relaxed, spent and exhausted.

Gale lowered him down gently so he could sit on his knees, still shaking, breathing heavy. The ribbon that bound him still gave him light pulses of pleasure.

Astarion didn't want the ribbons off yet. To be held by something so pure was blissful. It was Gale's intent, wrapped in his hands. He gripped the ribbons hard and looked up at Gale again.

“Take off your clothes,” Astarion said hungerly.

“Are you sure? But you had said-” Gale was cut off by Astarion’s voice, dripping with lust. “I said take them off. I want to feel your cock down my throat.”

“Are you sure?” Gale repeated with some hesitation.

“Darling, I’ve never been more sure of anything.” Astarion waited on his knees, pants down at his ankles, Gale’s blood beginning to crust along his neck. He was exactly where he wanted to be. The warmth of Gale’s blood was bringing him clarity like he had never imagined. There was nothing in the world but this room and this man in front of him, who’s muscles moved under soft skin, who’s arms rose above his head as he removed his shirt, whose pants came down tantalizingly slowly as he undid small knots at his hips, revealing a full and beautiful erection.

“Now come here, my doll, you can touch me now. I want to feel your hands as I take you.”

Gale looked away in shame. His modesty only served to attract Astarion further to him. He could feel his own dick begin to harden as he watched the crimson blush rise in Gale’s exposed chest. Gale reached out a hand and brushed Astarion’s bloody, sweaty hair from his face. He took Astarion’s cheeks lightly in his hands.

The two men held each other’s gaze for a moment. Both could feel their stomachs flutter with anticipation.

“Oh gods he’s perfect. I can’t be without him. I need him,” Astarion thought in wonder.

“How can this be happening? I’ve never needed someone so badly in my life. I need to be with him,” Gale thought with adoration.

Astarion slowly opened his mouth and leaned forward. Gale gently moved Astarion’s head, guiding his dick straight into the elf’s mouth, and then pulling back a little again, slowly back and forth, coaxing a moan from deep in Astarion’s throat. The sensation made Gale shiver.

Astarion moved down the shaft, taking him even deeper until Gale could feel the back of his throat. Gale’s hands gripped hard in Astarion’s hair as Astarion began lightly sucking and licking. Gale began to lose more and more control, soft moans escaped his lips which he threw a hand up to silence, but the grip in Astarion’s hair only tightened as he felt Astarion begin to lick at the base and back up to the tip, lapping at the precum he couldn’t repress. And again Astarion took him in his mouth, this time almost completely.

“Wait, I don’t want to choke you-” Gale breathed. He could feel Astarion’s mouth curl into a smile around him.

Astarion pulled away for a moment to say “my love, I don’t need to breathe. I’m dead.”

“Ah-but-” Before Gale could protest, Astarion’s mouth slid quickly around him again, this time even further. Gale watched Astarions eyes begin to tear up as his throat was impossibly filled. He could hear Astarion’s moans, feel Astarion choking, yet he continued that sucking pressure, moving even deeper. Gale couldn’t help it, he took Astarion’s head in both hands and began to thrust into him. The deeper he went, the harder he thrusted, the harder the moans from Astarion.

“Ah! Fuck! The sounds you make!” Gale exclaimed over the choking sounds of Astarion around his cock.

Gale pressed even harder, until all Astarion could do was whimper. That was enough to send Gale over the edge. He shuddered, letting himself thrust deep into Astarion’s throat, filling the elf’s mouth with cum. Astarion continued to suck through his orgasm, finally opening his mouth to release him, gasping as he tried to breathe through the cum that had begun to leak from his nose and throat.

“Gods! I’m sorry!” Gale cried as he released the ribbon tying Astarion's wrists and summoned a handkerchief which Astarion gladly took. Gale leaned down, trying to hold Astarion’s shoulders, but Astarion waved him off as he cleared his airways.

“Are you alright? What have I -” A sharp laugh cut through Gale’s fretting.

“Hush, Gale! Hah, you’re ridiculous.” Astarion giggled between coughs.

“That was fun for me, see?” Astarion gestured casually to the cum running down his leg. “It only took having you in my mouth to make me finish again. You have no idea what that does to me.” The deep purr of his voice made another shiver run through Gale.

“Can I please hold you, Astarion?” Gale asked.

“Yes you may, my love.” Astarion replied with a chuckle.

Astarion found himself in Gales' embrace faster than he anticipated. It was a fierce hug that held more passion than he was expecting. "I'm sorry. I was afraid I went too far." Gale mumbled into his neck. Astarion softened at the kindness, slowly allowing himself to return the embrace.

Astarion wiggled loose to look at Gale, who wore an expression of uncertainty, so he offered a reassuring smile. "Gods," Astarion complained with mock drama. "I feel I must have woken the whole forest, let alone the camp." Gale smiled back at that. They both couldn't help but laugh.

"I think we're fine. I have enough paranoia to put a little soundproofing around us," Gale said as lightly as he could.

A blush was returning to Gale’s cheeks. His bashful demeanor made Astarion's chest ache with adoration.

Gale asked with some hesitation: "What did you think? Did you like it?"

Astarion blinked. Beyond the surprise, there was this tender bubbling in his chest which he didn’t anticipate. “He’s too soft,” Astarion thought. But his judgment was gone, replaced with a deep admiration for the man’s kindness.

Astarion let his expression soften. He let that feeling wash over him; let the affection show through his eyes. More than anything he wanted Gale to know what he meant to him.

“You’ve done something for me like no one else has, Gale. You’ve seen me. Of course it was uniquely amazing, but more than that, you knew just who I was going in, and you chose to do that. More than satisfied, I’d say I’m charmed. I’ve never known anyone like you.” Astarion placed a hand on Gale’s cheek as the man's eyes widened a little at his words. “I think this is the first time I’m actually in love.”

Gale wrapped Astarion in his arms and tightly squeezed until Astarion collapsed helplessly, unsure what exactly it meant, until into Astarion’s hair he heard Gale whisper: “I love you too.”

[ceramiccity]

Coastal Stretch Tent Installation

stretch tent via mercury_bureau - Beach canopy, wavy design, seaside, coastal hills, cloudy sky, sandy shore. Follow Ceramic City on Tumblr Source: https://soudasouda.tumblr.com/post/747431602262573056/stretch-tent-via-mercurybureau-follow-souda-on