#domestic Life of One Winged Angle

[boundinparchment]

Lullaby

Sunday/Female Reader and their child, in which Sunday sings a lullaby. Domestic fluff. On AO3 here.

It was a rare experience to hear Sunday’s voice croon and bless the walls of your home.  

Every now and again, he would hum, lost in his own thoughts as he went about this or that.  An unconscious echo of a life you only knew from stories and hearsay, shared in quiet moments of the night when nostalgia moved from wistful to fuel an existential angst only he could pull himself out of.

But singing was a sacred act, full of purpose and soul, conscious in what it sought to weave in both musician and audience.  It came from a fountain of emotion that threatened to overflow if not directed just right.

Much like crying.

You’d spent the last twelve hours managing the tears and screams and fever of the little one in the other room, drifting off to sleep when you could.  Sunday returned home from a meeting with Elio and found you in the kitchen, half-asleep with your hands covered in dish soap.  Your husband was gone for months at a time prior to the change in your lives but now, thankfully, he was never far from reach.

Somehow, he’d managed to get you into bed, although you didn’t recall more than the kiss to your forehead and brushing of his wings against your cheeks.  Through the walls, you could feel the vibrations of someone vocalizing but you couldn’t make out more than that.  Blinking and accepting the fact that you’d slept longer than you intended, you rose and shuffled quietly out of the master bedroom and padded down the hall, where a sliver of light cut through the darkness.  You nudged the door open with your toe, careful of the creaking hinge.

Sunday kept his rhythm with the gentle rocking of the child in his arms, his footsteps just as silent as yours were as he paced the length of the nursery.  

The tune, familiar now that you could hear it properly, was one you were well-acquainted with.  He’d composed it himself after a rather restless week of sleep, when you’d both been dismayed to realize your child was a night owl and kept you up all night with flips and kicks.  Every chance he had, he whispered and sang to both of you, and his voice was the only thing that soothed the constant restlessness inside you.

At times, you thought perhaps it was a byproduct of the empathy that Halovians could extend one another.  It would be impossible to know for another few years, of course, given the human genetics in the mix.

And truthfully, what did it matter?

Your child, born of both of you, loved their father’s voice.  Few things brought you greater joy, especially when all previous memories of the act were tainted.

Eventually, the cries turned to whimpers and then gentle fussing.  Sunday pressed his lips to a tiny forehead, both an act of love and a dutiful check of the fever, and his face relaxed.  You watched, head tilted as you rested your weary body against the wall and watched your husband expertly navigate the latches of the crib and arrange the monitor just so.

He wasn’t surprised in the slightest when he turned and found you there.  His face bore traces of exhaustion and you held out a hand, beckoning him close.  Sunday stepped closer and took it, pulling you close.

“The fever is broken, finally.  That should be the worst of it,” he whispered, kissing your temple.  “Be sure to rest, my love; pushing yourself will do more harm.”

“You should take your own advice, too,” you replied, angling your head to capture his lips.  “I know Elio is eager to have you in the field again.  You can’t afford to get sick.”

“There’s so much to be done.”

You felt a tickle at the base of your skull that reminded you of the way a dam buckled under pressure.  Resignation stirred in your shoulders and you kissed Sunday again, gentle and coaxing.  Always taking up what needed to be finished.  Never resting until every item on the list was entirely crossed off.

“It can wait,” you replied.  “We’ll talk about everything once you’ve slept.”

You parted long enough to plea silently, earnestly, with gold and indigo eyes.  The sensations faded, replaced with a content hum, the way air felt in spring.  

Full of promise for an even better tomorrow.

[kayr0ss]

Rosewood

[Dungeon Meshi / Delicious in Dungeon, Farcille, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Proposal Fic, Woodworking / Furniture Making, Fluff and Humor, Touden Siblingisms] AO3 Link

Summary: Falin gets into woodworking, is kind of a (loveable) idiot, and Marcille loves every second of it

I.

“I believe us tall-men call it a quarter-life crisis.”

“How is it a crisis?” Marcille glared at Kabru. “Now that the kingdom’s relatively stable, she’s probably just looking for something new to do with her free time.”

Marcille ran into him at the tradesman’s courtyard—a rectangular wing of the castle with an open garden in the center. This wing housed wide rooms with high ceilings and windows facing the garden to flood them with natural light. Some were used for textiles and tailoring, others for working metal. Another section—Marcille’s intended destination—was for putting together and repairing furniture. She had stopped herself at the room’s threshold at the sight of ash-blonde hair, leaning against the doorway to allow herself a minute to just… look.

And that’s when Kabru found her—such terrible timing. She was trying to enjoy herself!

“That’s what a quarter-life crisis is,” he insisted.

Marcille scoffed. “Why can’t we just call it a hobby?”

“I mean we can.” Kabru hummed thoughtfully. “Those aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Falin’s interest in woodworking hadn’t come up out of the blue. Marcille remembers her having a small collection of books on it—as early as their school days. She’d read about Izgandan tools and scribble notes on the margins of her book on Eastern joinery. Marcille fondly remembers how she’d complain about neck pains—too much reading did her no favors—how she’d sigh to Falin about wanting a bookstand.

Oh, Falin had said back then. I’ll just make you one.

And she did—even if it took her a few years to get around to it.

It sat at the center of Marcille’s desk—Falin’s first ever project, imperfect and a little funny-looking but Marcille would never have it any other way. In a few short months, Falin had graduated from making cutting boards to specialized barstools for Chilchuck. Her most recent completion was a knife block for Senshi.

Today, she was starting on something new.

The most beautiful slab of rosewood was laid out on Falin’s work bench, and it seemed like she was working on flattening it. Falin worked with a large hand-planer, running it across the wood at an angle from its grain. Back and forth she went, spilling sawdust and shavings across the floor. Marcille couldn’t help but watch—she watched the way Falin’s arms moved with each pass, her brows knit together in a look of concentration. She watched the way Falin paused to fold up the sleeves of her loose, cotton shirt—further up to her elbows until Marcille could see tufts of soft, beautiful feathers. Marcille kept watching. Even as Falin wiped the sweat off her brow, running a towel across the side of her neck while she steadied her breathing. Still, Marcille kept watching—until finally, Falin gripped the handles of the planer again—her hands strong and steady, placing the tool back into position on the rosewood—

Kabru cleared his throat and Marcille quickly wondered if she could get away with murder.

“Wha—!” Marcille felt her blood pressure pitch into the high heavens. She burned, red, sputtering. “What are you even still doing here! I thought you were working?!”

“I am. It’s my job to remind the Royal Court Mage,” Kabru smiled diplomatically. “To stop ogling Lady Falin so openly in public.”

Kabru ducked—expertly dodging Ambrosia’s arc towards the back of his head.

--

II.

“What kind of wood is it?”

Marcille ran her hand along the scabbard Falin had crafted for Laios. She didn’t cover it with leather or paint, instead opting to stain it with a mild oil. Marcille had never seen wood with such odd grain patterns and color before. They curved almost anatomically, swirling into knots and unraveling like blood vessels.

“Uhm—It’s—” Falin looked to the corner of the room, nervously scratching at her check.

Marcille raised an eyebrow—then Laios excitedly barreled into the room.

“Falin!” He ran towards them, towering over his sister’s back and ruffling her hair.

“Get off!” Falin pouted, swatting him away. “Don’t ruffle my hair!”

“Did you finish it?” Laios blinked. Then he gasped, grabbing the scabbard excitedly from Marcille’s hands. “You did! My barometz scabbard!”

Marcille shrieked. “Barometz?!”

“Look, Marcille!” Laios held the scabbard right at her face—Marcille recoiled, pressing backwards against Falin who held wrapped her arms around her waist. “Do you see how the pattern branches out? It looks like wood grain but it’s actually a network of capillaries designed to provide nourishment to the creatures a baromtez grows—”

“Like a placenta!” Falin added softly.

“Exactly!” Laios laughed. “I have a sheath made out of—"

Marcille, exasperated, shoved her hands onto the two siblings’ faces to push them apart. “Barometz!?”

Falin flashed her sheepish grin.

“I just—you two!”

--

III.

Marcille was surprised to find Falin at Laios’ office—she had made a mess of the guest table at the center of the room, littering it with ribbons and decorative parchment. There were leathers laid out by the couch nearby, and Falin scrambled about, inspecting each one before coming back to a small box placed at the center of the table.

It was a beautiful jewelry box—another one of Falin’s projects. It had a body made from walnut and a checkered line that ran along its lid, made of cherry and pine. The colors reminded Marcille of the trees around her home. The lock was capped with a crest—one that surprised Marcille. Falin never cared for the posturing and ceremony that she and her brother now had to suffer, so why was her royal crest set in gold on this box?

“Oh—hi, Marcille.”

“Hey,” Marcille smiled, tugging on the front of Falin’s shirt to pull her closer. She got up on her tip toes, wrapping her arms around Falin’s shoulders to steal a small kiss.

“You found me,” Falin mumbled into their kiss, holding her by the waist.

“Mhm,” Marcille finally pulled back. “What are you doing here?”

“Sending a package. It’s going all the way up North so I needed good wrapping.”

“Is it this a jewelry box you made?”

“Mhmm.”

“It looks beautiful,” Marcille walked towards the table to inspect it. “Though I’m surprised that you used such an official symbol. That’s unlike you.”

“W—Well I heard jewelry boxes were a good gift for mothers.” Falin scratched at the back of her head. “And I wanted this one to be kinda… official looking?”

“Oh!” Marcille blinked. “Well, I’m sure your mother would love it!”

“Ah, no.” Falin’s natural flush deepened. “Not for my mom—”

“Hm?”

“It’s… for yours.”

Oh.

Marcille—stunned at first—smiled. Then she laughed, pulling Falin into a hug—her wonderful, loving, thoughtful Falin.

--

IV.

“Don’t you want to go tell her yourself?” Laios asked over dinner.

“I can’t.” Falin squirmed. “I’m too nervous.”

“She can’t be that strict!”

“Do you remember how Marcille was when we first met her in the tavern?”

Laios paled. “Yes. Is she even stricter?”

“I think so, yeah.”

“Understandable.

--

V.

“It’s so pretty!” Marcille swooned, hands clasped as she admired Falin’s hard work.

The rosewood desk that Falin had been working on was finally finished after weeks of work. It was polished impeccably, sealed with the finest wax to finish. It had all the drawers Marcille needed – shallow ones for her inks and pens, deeper ones for parchment and scrolls, and even a little platform towards the back where she could set her feet—Falin knew that sometimes the chair was too high for Marcille to be able to reach the ground.

“Oh, it’s perfect!” Marcille hugged Falin, who looked delightfully smug.

“No fair!” Laios pointed at his sister. “Falin—I want one too!”

“I already gave you a scabbard,” she shook her head.

“My desk is so big and boring though,” he slumped.

“It’s also a thousand-year hold antique,” Kabru supplied dryly. “It would do well for appearances to keep it.”

The new desk was heavy. Really, really heavy. It had taken nearly all of them to carry it up to Marcille’s office with how heavy and set it was. This was apparently by design, according to Falin, who can be so much like her brother and not know when to not say things, because—

“I made sure to use joinery instead of nails and angle irons,” Falin gave herself a self-satisfied nod. “I know that it bothers you how it creaks when w—”

Marcille turned so red they thought she might faint, hooking Ambrosia around Falin’s head and yanking her backwards hard enough to knock the air out of her lungs.

--

VI.

By the time winter started that year, all the furniture in Marcille’s room and office had been replaced by Falin’s handiwork: new shelves for her books and trinkets, an extension for her windowsill where she could keep plants and little felt toys.

Today, Marcille came into her office to a brand-new chair. It perfectly matched her desk, coming up a little higher than her old one to make writing and reading more comfortable.

“I asked the tailors for help with the upholstery,” Falin said, still in her apron and smelling of sawdust. “I’ve never been very good with sewing and leatherwork.”

“It’s amazing,” Marcille whispered as she traced along Falin’s simple engravings—she had started experimenting more artistically with her work. Beautiful, Marcille thought to herself. How wonderful it was to see Falin’s efforts engraved into something tangible—something permanent. “Thank you.”

Falin simply smiled back.

“You’ve gotten so good at this!”

“You think?”

“Yeah!” Marcille stood up to clasp their hands. “The gift you sent mom left such an impression on her that she’s planning to visit.”

Falin gasped. And then grinned, “I’m so glad!”

“Me too,” Marcille leaned forward, smiling against Falin’s shoulder and the feathers of her neck. “I’m happy you found a hobby you like so much. Between dungeons and politics, it seems like such a good break for you.”

“Mm, yeah.” Falin gently ran her fingers along Marcille’s hair. “I’ve always wanted to be able to build furniture for my wife one day.”

Marcille froze.

What?

She pushed herself backwards, looking up in surprise at Falin while still staying in their embrace. “Wife—? Wh—”

Falin was blinking, almost in a panic. Then she grew redder, and redder, and redder—like a kettle about to whistle. “I, uh—!” She stammered. She had that look on her face, the adorable expression of confusion as if she had just forgotten something very important. It reminded Marcille of their younger days. “You see—”

Marcille’s thoughts were running a hundred paces at a time—her mother visiting? Falin—wife?

“Marcille,” Falin looked at her resolutely. Lovingly. “Will you marry me?”

--

VII.

“You forgot to propose?” Chilchuck had his face in his hands.

“Well, technically I was still able to…” Falin said meekly.

“After all the time I put into helping you plan it!”

--

VIII.

By the next summer, Marcille found herself at the tradesman’s courtyard again. She had a tray of refreshments in her hands—one for herself and another for Falin. The condensation on the glass formed droplets of dew that ran along its side, mirroring the droplets on Falin’s brow. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail—messy with stray locks escaping this way and that. Her shirt was loose and bunched around her forearms and she was wearing a brand-new work apron that Senshi had made for her—with hooks and pockets and all.

Marcille, like so many times before, leaned against the woodshop’s doorframe to watch and wonder.

“Marcille,” Kabru cleared his throat, standing next to her with an arm full of scrolls.

“Kabru.”  

He nudged her shoulder. “May I remind the Royal Court Mage—”

“I can ogle my wife whenever I want!”

“I don’t wanna hear it!” Marcille scoffed, petulant yet still smiling.

She watched as Falin gripped the handles of her planer, firm and strong, her left hand glittering with new jewelry.

-

fin

-

A/N:

extremely self indulgent thanks i love these two, this was not beta read so sorry *throws it to AO3 and posts it* hope that you enjoyed!

[crimson-and-clover-1717]

Ed Teach, Gods, and Beautiful Things

We don’t know if Ed ever picked flowers as a boy. But if he did, he’d likely be thinking about the potential in owning a florist’s. Because Ed knows it’s not in god’s plan for him to have beauty for beauty’s sake.

Ed chides himself even in the gravy basket: ‘Everything’s got to have an angle for you’. ‘Hornigold’s’ shoes cannot simply exist as beautifully crafted objects. They need to be monetized. Ed continues to wrestle with his demons a long time.

Ed’s worldview is entirely rational for a child who knew hunger; who saw limited food thrown against walls in acts of domestic violence. Told he wasn’t one of those kinds of people. Who killed a brutal father in order to survive. Leaned into himself, trauma-driven.

But Ed’s also an artist. He thinks in metaphor. He cultivates a larger-than-life persona so convincing it smothers him. He can produce an astonishingly creative fuckery. But there’s motive to his art which usually involves pecuniary interest i.e. the plundering of a ship. Cloud-gazing serves a wider purpose. The romance removed from the rainbow. It’s not that Ed can’t see beauty for beauty’s sake; he believes he doesn’t have the right to see the world with such eyes. Nor the luxury. He’s hidden his silk. No time for sensibility with constant threat of storm. Extrinsic value is what matters. Don’t starve is what counts. Such an approach to life, however, is making Ed increasingly ill and world-weary.

Ed’s quest for security, financial and physical, and the extraordinary pantomime he’s built to achieve it, has buried him alive. He’s trapped within a chrysalis. A butterfly with unspread wings. And he’s attracted the fanatical devotion of a self-appointed little god, entirely in thrall to the hyper-masculine performance, who refuses to let the show end. When Ed wobbles after many years, and hints at changing the script, he is rebuked to his crew as increasingly insane and half-mad. He’s neither; but he is, at the very least, utterly depressed and passively suicidal.

When Ed hears of ‘The Gentleman Pirate’, and despite the obfuscation of his over-zealous prison-guard, he realises the door to the cell has opened a crack - this is a jailbreak. The chasing down of the Revenge is Ed’s decision to live with meaning, and to live freely. To find beauty in the world for beauty’s sake. To attempt to heal his inner child. To flip his middle finger at the gods…all of them. It’s still trauma-driven, but less strategy, more instinct. That in itself is a beginning.

Ed breaks open the chrysalis and heads for the light.

[emmyfairy]

Kandomere Wants a baby

kandomere has a realization as he watches you

a/n: alright friends Kandomere was the poll winner! this was inspired by real life events haha (sans the elf sadly) I hope you all enjoy, please like/ reblog if you do and my ask box is always open even just to say hi!

trigger warning: this fic discusses pregnancy!

gif not mine

It was late, the sun had long since set, but work is work, and so Agent Kandomere of the Magic Task Force arrived home late.

Again.

You couldn't fault him really, especially since this time he had sent a text message letting you know that a case had sprung up. You, as his lovely significant other, had taken the chance to make a nice dinner instead of being angry. 

As long as he came home in one piece you were happy.

You had prepared quite the spread, hearty pasta, bread, and an abundance of side dishes, knowing your man would be ravenous after such a taxing day.

Once Kandomere had finally gotten home, his face held a deep exhaustion, and annoyance, both of which disappeared as he wrapped his arms around you and saw the full table. The man had thanked you profusely for such a lovely dinner, before, during, and after finishing his two plates.

You brushed off his offer at doing the dishes, instead setting him on his nice chair in the living room with a glass of bourbon.

You could feel his eyes on you as you washed up at the sink, his chair positioned so the two of you could converse, discussing the idiots he had to deal with at work, Montehugh’s latest hobby update (apparently he is making donuts), and all the things you had gotten up to today.

Kandomere sat, sipping at his glass, his gaze heavy on you as he studied your form a bit more intensely than usual. From this angle he had a beautiful side view of you, watching your hips sway as you scrubbed the dishes. You had enjoyed the dinner as much as he did, and because of this the black slip dress you wore, which flattered your figure very well may he add, was clinging a bit tighter to the bloated tummy you were sporting. 

He knew you didn't care, bloating is a normal part of the digestive process, and he sure as hell didn't mind, in fact he loved it. He always enjoyed your soft bits, loving how they made you you and he showed his appreciation of them on the daily (if you know what I mean wink wink).

So as he watched you in the kitchen, his mind slipped into thoughts of other reasons your stomach could be poking out more, the way the dress was falling, made you look ethereal, made him think how perfect you would look pregnant.

In the past, the thought of his partner being pregnant would have made the elf balk, sick at the thought of such responsibility and never liking anyone enough to even consider such an atrocity. 

Now though, with you? The thought… it actually pleased him. Instead of adversity filling his stomach he felt excitement, the soft brushes of butterfly wings cluing the man into the fact that his feelings on the subject have changed drastically.

Suddenly he realized how much he actually wanted this. Wanted the future he had always sworn off, a house, a marriage license, and some kids. Kandomere was always someone who had feared domesticity, feared intimacy, but something has completely changed his view on it.

You.

He simply loved you, so much to the point where he suddenly understood everyone who gave him a look when he stated how much he didn't want a family, he understands now because he finally has the person he wants it with.

His person.

Kandomere was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the water shut off, or you turning to him, toweling off your hands and mouth poised to ask him if he wanted to go get ice cream. When your gaze fell onto him you noticed his far off look, and the fact that his eyes were planted directly where your ass was.

Typical.

“Kandomere?”

…

“Kandy?’

…

“...babe?”

Sighing and giving up, you threw the damp towel at him, hitting him squarely in the face, fabric hanging over blue hair and gray eyes. 

“Hey what the hell.”

His big hands reached up to yank the towel off of his head, glaring at you until he saw your smirk, knowing somehow he had embarrassed himself.

And yet, the man who would normally care so much about this fact, didn't care, because he didn't need to be bothered feeling embarrassed with you. 

You quirked your eyebrow up, closing the distance between the two of you, arms reaching towards him,

“What’s on your mind boy blue?”

Your hands rested on his shoulders, his wrapping around your waist, conveniently putting his face just about in line with the object of his thoughts. 

“Hmmm, just thinking about something.” 

“Clearly.”  You scoff.

Still, he remained oddly silent, gaze set on you, it worried you a bit.

“You sure you're alright?”

It took him a moment to answer, 

“Yeah, just…”

He didn't go on, seeming as though he was afraid to admit what was on his mind, unlike his usual bluntness. 

Your hand left his shoulder, tucking some hair behind his pointed ear, and laying against his cheek, ushering his eyeline towards yours. 

“Tell me baby.”

And frankly he’d give you anything you could ever want, so who was he, a mere elf, to hold the truth from you. 

“I want a baby.”

Now that threw you to the left field.

Your mind raced a mile a minute, not sure where to stop or what to say to the man holding you.

He let you take your time, knowing he just left quite the impact on you.

It was a very sudden confession from the man you knew to normally sneer at the sight of strollers in the street, but you couldn't help but feel a warmth blossom in you. Kandomere wanted a baby? With you?

You knew he loved you, but this, this, would be the biggest commitment the man could ever make. All of this thinking never included a doubt that you wanted this as well. You wanted to have a baby, to have his baby, more than anything. But before that…

You looked back down to the man sitting in front of you, the yearning and vulnerability in his eyes almost enough to make you cry,

“Well, guess you're gonna have to marry me then huh?”

[team-unveil]

Hi there! I'm sending this to you because I think this should get out there, no matter how hard Lynda tries to keep it hidden~

Below is an article with all the information you need. I hope you find this as interesting of aread as I did~

---

Shocking Reveal: Monsters of Alola!

Written by [[REDACTED]]

The stuff of monster movies comes to life,and this ain't no Twilight!

The well known and (seemingly) liked Champ of Alola, Lynda, has been hiding a terrifying secret from the public eye, along with her current husband, Silver. Our specialist photographer,[[REDACTED]], has these unearthly photos to show us!

[Image ID: A blurry photo of what appears to be a Silvally in the sky. However the creature has large wings that resemble those of a Ho-oh and Lugia, and the tail is much longer than a typical Silvally's. The colors are somewhat off, perhaps they're the shiny colorations? The angle of the image doesn't give any idea of what the top ofthe creature looks like.]

One of the monsters showing their true self, presumably Silver, while soaring through the sky and terrifying the local flying types.

[Image ID: A second blurry photo, it's of Lynda training with her Charizard, though the blur of her form is oddly shaped with a long tail, along with a pair of wings and horns. CharStar seems to have been thrown into a tree by her, wings flared, ready to go again.]

Shown here is the destructive violence of who we can only assume is Lynda, as she recklessly flings her own prized CharStar into a tree.

[Image ID: Once again the photo is blurry. It seems to be the creature from the first photo, tackling Lynda with a puff of smoke leaving her mouth, possibly from the sudden tackle. They seem to both be smiling.]

We even seemed to have caught them in a domestic dispute, how aggressive!

These crazy photos make us at [[REDACTED]] Magazine wonder why we still let these creatures of the night mingle with completely normal people.

It's hard to believe the people of Alola feel safe with these horrible terrors around!

//OOC Important Context:

This is an unpublished article that some hacker leaked to mess with Lynda. The images are from a photographer that stalked Lynda and Silver to send in for this article. The magazine this was going to published in was known for illegal information gathering methods and spreading misinformation.

This was also before Silver had managed to get complete control over his form.

Image one is just Silver in what we're calling his chimera form, practicing flying so he doesn't crash into things.

Image two is Lynda training with her charizard because he asked her to.

Image three is literally just Silver tackling Lyn for a hug, they are not fighting.

Obligatory account tags: @silveredfeathers @trainerlynda

[ingravinoveritas]

Just wow, that poster is gorgeous! Aziraphale looks so cuddly, handsome and adorable and Crowley the definition of sexy and beauty. I will never get over how good these two look together, they are complete opposites that fit together so well. The ultimate power couple.

Anon, I completely and 150% agree with everything you’ve written here...but earlier today on Facebook I saw someone say that it looks like their wings are scissoring, and NOW I CAN’T UNSEE IT...

(I know in the deepest recesses of my soul that Aziraphale/Crowley wing scissoring kink fic probably already exists on AO3, but if for some reason it doesn’t, it certainly will soon...)

To go back to what you were saying: Yes, to all of the above. I will say that I’ve been a bit perplexed by people on Twitter saying that Aziraphale looks “fatter” in the poster (in the sense of “fat and happy” because he is living the domestic life with Crowley). I understand what the intention was there, but the wording just didn’t quite rub me the right way, mostly because I don’t think Michael is fatter than in the first season. I think he is leaning in such a way that it makes his stomach stick out, AND is standing next to David, who is essentially a bamboo stick with hair, so of course that will automatically make Michael look bigger.

The other reason it bothers me is that it’s reminiscent of the interview from the first press tour where a journalist asked Michael if he was wearing a fat suit for the role. Michael talked about it when he and David were on Graham Norton in 2019, and while he deftly played it off as a joke, I think it really did hurt him, especially since he has a long history of being self-conscious about his appearance. So I just wish people would just think more carefully about the things they say.

But all that aside: Yes. That contrast between Aziraphale and Crowley is truly wonderful. They have always looked good together, and they still look so good together. The softness and curves of Aziraphale next to the sharp lines and angles of Crowley makes you think of not what is missing, but what they bring to each other--what one has that the other so desperately craves and loves.

So for me it’s not even that Aziraphale and Crowley are opposites; they are two pieces that were separated and have been trying to find their way back to each other--the missing halves of each other’s souls. Which is made all the more apparent by how they fit so well (as you said, Anon) and look so right with each other. I truly can’t wait to see them together in the second season...

[vnatureresorts]

A Blend of Nature and Luxury: Unveiling the Beauty of V Nature Resorts in Kanakapura 

Introduction:  

Resorts in Kanakapura settled amid the beautiful excellence of Kanakapura, about 60 kilometres from Bengaluru, V Nature Resorts may be a culmination getaway for those looking for peace and restoration absent from the urban hustle. Encompassed by lavish greenery, rolling slopes, and peaceful lakes, this resort offers a unique mix of enterprise, unwinding, and eco-friendly living. Whether you’re a nature lover, a globetrotter, or somebody seeking an end-of-week retreat, V Nature Resorts guarantees an involvement that caters to each taste. 

Characteristic Magnificence and Peaceful Environment 

Kanakapura, found on the banks of the Iravathi Stream, is known for its pleasant scenes, and V Nature Resorts takes full advantage of this natural beauty. The resort is set amid thick timberlands, giving visitors a chance to loosen up within the lap of nature. The chirping of winged creatures, the fresh air, and the tender stirring of trees make a climate of calm and unwinding. 

The area is also perfect for nature strolls, winged creature observation, and photography, making it a safe house for nature devotees. Visitors can investigate the adjacent woodlands and appreciate beautiful treks that lead to covered-up waterfalls and picturesque perspectives. 

Settlement and Offices 

V Nature Resorts in Kanakapura gives a run of housing, from well-equipped houses to eco-friendly tents, guaranteeing a comfortable stay while staying close to nature. The rooms are planned to mix with the characteristic environment and are prepared with advanced civilities. Whether you select a cozy room with a view of the slopes or a courageous tent, consolation is continuously guaranteed. 

The resort also boasts an array of offices, such as a multi-cuisine eatery that serves neighbourhood and worldwide dishes. The nourishment here is made utilizing new, natural fixings, numerous sourced locally. The feasting region itself is set in a peaceful spot where visitors can appreciate their suppers while dousing within the dazzling sees. 

Experience and Open air Exercises 

For experience seekers, V Nature Resorts in Kanakapura offers an assortment of open-air exercises that bring out the excitement of nature. The encompassing timberlands and slopes give a perfect setting for trekking, rock climbing, and cycling. The resort organizes guided treks to adjacent slopes, where visitors can appreciate breathtaking sunrises and investigate the vegetation and fauna of the locale. 

Other exercises incorporate kayaking, sailing, and angling within the quiet lakes around the resort. For those who are inclined toward remaining on arrival, there’s a bounty of space for playing outdoor games like volleyball, cricket, and badminton. 

Natural Life and Preservation 

One of the unique viewpoints of V Nature Resorts in Kanakapura is its commitment to eco-tourism and preservation. The resort effectively advances dependable tourism and has taken steps to play down its environmental effects. Water gathering, sun-based vitality utilization, and squander administration are fundamental parts of their operations. 

The locale around Kanakapura is domestic to an assortment of natural life species, and the resort works with neighbourhood organizations to moderate these territories. Visitors may have the chance to spot a few of the neighbourhood's natural life, including deer, wild pigs, and a wide assortment of birds during their stay. 

Wellness and Unwinding 

For those trying to unwind, the resort offers yoga and meditation sessions in quiet, normal settings. The new discussion, quiet environment, and guided sessions make it the ideal place to restore your intellect, body, and soul. 

Moreover, the resort offers spa administrations where visitors can enjoy conventional treatments and knees. These medicines, coupled with the common environment, make for a genuinely unwinding and mending involvement. 

Perfect for Families, Couples, and Corporate Withdraws 

Whether you’re arranging a family getaway, a sentimental getaway, or a corporate team-building occasion, V Nature Resorts in Kanakapura caters to all. The resort has an open feast and conference offices, making it a perfect scene for corporate gatherings, classes, and team-building exercises. 

For couples, the resort offers private eating encounters, nature strolls, and blaze nights, creating a sentimental and insinuating air. Families can appreciate the assortment of exercises accessible, guaranteeing that both adults and children have a paramount involvement. 

Conclusion 

V Nature Resorts in Kanakapura could be a place where nature, adventure, and unwinding come together in culminating concordance. It offers a reviving elude from the city, permitting guests to reconnect with nature and enjoy a peaceful, reviving remains. Whether you're trying to find an end-of-the-week getaway, a family holiday, or an experience trip, V Nature Resorts has something to offer for everybody. 

Get a handle on the greatness of nature, experience the fervour of open-air works out, and loosen up in a tranquil environment at V Nature Resorts. It’s not a reasonable getaway; it’s an experience that will take off you with recollections to cherish for a lifetime. 

[xprojectrpg]

Moment of Awesome - Clint Barton/Hawkeye: When he walks in on the Guthrie boys fighting, Clint steps in.

Clint had knocked before he opened the door. Twice. It wasn't his fault Guthrie the Second was yelling so loud neither he nor Sam could hear it. So Clint frowned and opened the door, only to see Jay grappling Sam on the couch. Sam wasn't fighting back, from what Clint could see -- his body language was all wrong for that -- but given the microexpressions he was picking up from the younger Guthrie, he knew that one was about to make some life choices that Clint definitely didn't agree with or support. Nevermind that both of them would probably tell him it was a family matter and he should stay out of it. Calling violence 'domestic' didn't make it any better or prettier or more tolerable.

Without conscious thought, Clint read the angles in the room, the trajectory and velocity of Jay's movements, and for just a moment it was like the world slowed down as he let his mutation calculate all the steps, leaps, and movements he'd need to complete in what order at what speed to put an end to what was going on before it could get worse. Then his brain clicked all the appropriate equations and answers into place and Clint set himself in motion.

Taking one step and then a leap to clear more distance, Clint braced his arm on the kitchenette's island countertop and vaulted himself over it and the chairs on the other side that made the island into an eating area. Next he parkoured over the side chair and table, perfectly avoiding the lamp, and landed right between the couch and the coffee table. He gripped Jay's wrist where it clutched at Sam's shirt hard enough to make his fingers release without actually injuring the teen, then gripped him by the back of his neck even as he braced himself and thrust the coffee table backward so he'd have space for what came next.

Clint used his grip on Jay's wrist and his neck to forcefully lift him off of Sam, avoided the young man's wings, and had him on his front on the ground with one knee pressed into his lower back. Because of all the jostling, one of the pillows had fallen to the ground before Clint's entrance, so Jay's face was twisted sideways on that and the archer made sure that, despite their flapping, the younger Guthrie wasn't doing himself any harm. "I dunno what you were yelling about, but I'm gonna tell you right now -- you don't lay hands on your brother unless you're sparring while being observed. I get your whole 'sibling' schtick. I've got two brothers. But there's that and then whatever the hell I just walked into. Do you understand?"

Trying to twist out of Clint's grip was instinctual, and opposed to the clear talent and experience behind what Clint was doing. Jay's hand loosened on Sam's shirt due to Clint's grip on him. He couldn't hit at Clint to let go of him with his hands, but he had two other limbs, but it was wild, trapped animal panic at being held down by something he couldn't see more than anything else. Of a hand on his neck. How dare this man who didn't know them, knew nothing about the two of them step in and try to get in the middle of a family spat- lay his hands on him, even! He wasn't gonna be pinned down and take this, he wasn't going to take bein' kept still and captive. (His skull hitting the pavement, the glint of a gun, the anger and grief...)

"Git offa me-!"

But then, the hands on his wrist and neck weren't there to harm. Even the knee on his back was shy of his oil gland. This was more like someone stepping in to stop an assault than trying to get anyone hurt. Jay had the realization that maybe Sam had been telling the whole truth about Clint being one of them superhero types. And not just because of how casually he had restrained him either- and Jay'd never heard of someone stopping a fight so cleanly. But he's stepped in because he must have thought Jay would seriously hurt Sam.

[domestic-life-owa]

Backflash Chapter-Football injury

Warnings: this includes shipping wrestlers, if you don’t like do not read

“You comin over?” Nick questioned as he tossed a basketball back and forth in his hands while he and Kenny walked down the hall leaving the auditorium. Nick had taken a liking to basketball over the summer, and Kenny was sure the drama club would lose the younger jackson brother to the sport soon enough.

“Na, I have some homework to finish.” Kenny told him, pushing open the side door of the school. To their left was the student parking, and their right was the football field where you could hear the team practicing. The season was coming to an end so they tended to go longer to get extra practice in.

“Ok, I’ll let Matt know. See you tomorrow.” And with that Nick was running off towards the parking lot. Kenny watched him run straight over to Cody and one of their other friends Brandi. Kenny was fairly sure Nick was developing a slight crush on Cody, but He’d opted not to ask the boy.

Kenny started towards the field, walking the chain length fence. His eyes ran over the players landing in number 10, Adam. Just as Kenny had spotted him he pulled his helmet off, showing off his golden blond hair. He was standing with Cash and Dax, two guys he had gotten close to while playing. Although Matt absolutely hated the men, Kenny did his best to get along with them. As Kenny walked he saw the rest of the team heading towards the school while Adam waved before jogging towards the athletics storage building. Kenny picked up his pace to meet Adam over there.

“Hey-“ Adam started to say as Kenny got behind it as he practically jumped on Adam. “Ken, you're gonna get gross. I'm all sweaty.”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t look so cute.” Kenny suggested, smiling when Adam blushed.

“I really should get back to the locker room. My stuff is all in there.”

“Ask Matt to grab it.” Kenny pulled Adam down into a kiss before he could respond, his hands in Adam’s hair. One of Adam’s hands was holding his helmet, but the other had gone to Kenny’s hip.

“Ken…” Adam pulled away, knowing what the other boy was trying to do.

“Come on. I’ve got clothes you can change into, and my parents are on another work trip.” As Adam looked at Kenny, he already knew what he was going to say and sighed.

“I’ll get my stuff before school. Don’t have much homework anyways.” Kenny beamed at his boyfriend, planting a quick kiss in his lips.

“Come on, I’m sure you want out of those clothes.

———————

Mama: Where are you?

Adam: Kenny’s house. Doing homework.

Adam sent the text before slipping his phone into the slightly too small sweatpants Kenny had lent him. He also had a sweatshirt Kenny had stolen from him once, and his hair was still damp from the quick shower he had taken. He pulled the door open before making his way to the living room where Kenny was waiting. Adam wasn’t sure exactly what Kenny’s parents did, but they went on a lot of trips leaving the house empty a lot. Perfect for the two boys.

“Hey.” Adam flopped down on the couch, laying his head on Ken’s lap. He turned to see some movie on, but he went back to looking at Kenny.

“You're gonna get my lap wet from your hair.” Kenny jokes, making Adam raise an eyebrow.

“You want me to move?”

“Only to do this.” After a moment of moving the two boys were laying with their arms wrapped around each other and their faces right next to each other. “See? Better.” Adam couldn't help but laugh at his convenience.

“You’re cute when you’re sure you're right.” Adam said, playing with a stray curl of Kenny’s hair.

“I guess I’m always cute, because I’m always right.” Adam leaned forward just a bit to give Kenny a lazy kiss, which slowly turned into a make out session. This was how these things tended to go, short make outs and watching movies. And always away from where anyone could see.

“What do you want to watch?” Kenny asked not long after. They were back to Kenny sitting with Adam’s head in his lap, allowing Kenny to play with the man's hair. Before he could answer the doorbell rang, making both men jump. “I’ll see who it is.” Kenny stood up and walked to the door.

The door was out of sight of the living room, so Adam strained a bit to listen.

“Oh! Kota, what are you doing?”

Adam cringed at that. No matter how many times Kenny told him the Kota was just a friend it still felt awkward to be around the man. Most of their conversations switched between English and Japanese, making it impossible for Adam to follow. But soon enough the door closed and Kenny came back in.

“Who was it?”

“Kota. Apparently his mom needs my help with something, which means I’ll end up being over there for a few hours.” Kenny looked a little guilty and Adam put together what he was saying.

“Ok, I’ll head home then. Don’t want to keep you from helping.” Adam stood up, and Kenny walked wrapping his arms around Adam’s waist.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbled, his face resting on Adam’s neck.

“You're fine. I would be more upset if you said you wouldn’t help.” Adam assured him, kissing the top of his head. “I’ll text you later tonight.”

Once they said their goodbyes Adam made the short walk back to the school to grab his car and drive home. The drive was relatively short, but Adam couldn’t help the thought that played in his head. That Kota would be a better boyfriend for Kenny, half the school thought they were dating anyways.

When he got home he grabbed his clothes from practice and headed into the house. Opening the door showed Ashley laying on the couch reading and Jacob watching a cartoon. “Hey guys.” Adam greeted, earning a wave from his sister and a small hi from his brother. He walked towards the kitchen, hearing his mom and Jeremy talking.

“I don’t get why you let him hang out with that boy.”

“We have no idea if he is or not Jeremy-“

“Come on, you’ve seen the boy. We both know, and soon enough it will rub off on him. You said you want to protect Adam.”

“I do! They just make him so happy- Adam!” His mom jumped up when she saw him walk in. Her hands went to steady her baby bump that was just starting to show. Jeremy’s kid.

“Hey.” Adam walked over to grab a glass of water.

“How was practice?”

“Fine. What were you talking about?” He turned to look at the two, taking a sip of water.

“Nothing.” She was quick to say.

“Mom, I heard you say my name. What are you saying?”

“Might as well tell him Joy.” Jeremy told her, standing to look at the other two better. “We don’t want you hanging around that Kenny kid.”

“Excuse me?” Adam was genuinely surprised. Kenny had never been anything but kind to them the few times they had met. Where was this coming from?

“Adam, we just feel that he’s not… he he best influence on you-“

“Adam it’s pretty obvious the boy is a queer. We don’t need you around something like that.” Jeremy explained.

“First off, I don’t think it’s your choice who I hang out with. Second, don’t ever talk about my friend like that again.” Adam directed both statements at Jeremy, completely ready for the fight that was coming.

“First off, you live in my house and will hang out with whoever the fuck I say you will. Secondly, I talk about anyone I want anyway I want. Don’t give a shit what you think about it-“

“Jeremy!” His mom snapped, grabbing his attention. “Doctor said no stress, please don’t.” Jeremy looked between the two before sighing and shaking his head at Adam.

“Whatever.”

—————————

The next night: Friday

Kenny pulled out his phone to check the time. He was holding up a sign to cheer on Adam, and Nick next to him had one for Matt. The two had made more of an effort to come to games this year. It was dark, and the football game was in its third quarter. If Kenny was honest with himself, he was miserable. He really didn’t like football, and he couldn’t see the numbers vary well from the student section on the bleachers.

“Hey Omega, Jackson.” Cody greeted the two men, while two women followed behind.

“Sup man. Who are they?” Nick questioned looking at the women. Kenny recognizes one of them, Brandi. She was in Kennys choir class, and they were friendly, he didn’t recognize the other.

“This is Brandi and Velvet. I have Chem with the two of them.”

“He means we got stuck with him in our group for chem.” Brandi corrected. Cody looked offended, making both Kenny and Nick laugh.

“Where have you been? I’m sure Dustin dragged you here a while ago.” Kenny asked.

“I went to hang out with some other friends.” Kenny hated Cody’s ‘other friends.’ He was sure it was someone he shouldn’t be around, and Cody always smelt like alcohol and weed when he came from being with them. “And I ran into Brandi and Velvet on my way back over.”

“Did you hear about Moxleys party?” Brandi asked suddenly. “Supposedly some guys from the other team are gonna be there.”

“He’s a transfer, what’s odd about that?” Velvet asked.

“Rumor is that A few football guys want to go over and start shit.” Brandi explained. “I almost want to go just to see what happens.”

“Count me out. That will be a shit show.” Nick rolled his eyes.

Kenny chuckled, but was pulled back to the game to see someone laying on the ground while Coach Rhodes started jogging out. The two teams stood back. “Whoa, what happened?”

“That kid got totaled.” Franki Canaria said, leaning into Kenny’s ear.

“Damn, that looks bad-“ Velvet started but Nick cut her off.

“Oh my god, that’s Adam!”

Kenny’s heart felt like it stopped when he saw the helmet get pulled off and he recognized the frizzy hair. Without thinking he jumped up and practically shoved himself down the bleachers. He heard his name a few times, but it was drowned out by the other people around him. He was able to get all the way to the field, but was pulled back by the ref.

“You can’t be out here son.” The ref told him while Kenny tried to push past.

“Please! He’s my friend!” He yelled. Coach Rhodes turned around, signaling to let Kenny through as he recognized him as a friend. Kenny kneeled next to Adam, and held his hand.

“Adam?”

“Hey Ken.” Adam gasped, taking shallow breaths. Kenny’s eyes scanned over Adam, and his eyes stopped at Adam’s inner thighs. The white pants seemed soaked with blood.

“You're gonna be ok.” Kenny whispered, rubbing his thumb over Adam’s hand.

“Hey, we need you to move now.” A hand came down on Kenny’s shoulder making him look up at Rhodes. “The paramedics are here.” Kenny nodded and stood up, moving out of the way while two people went to help Adam. Kenny felt another hand spinning him around. This time it was Matt.

“I can’t leave yet, but mom and Dad are taking a few people to the hospital. Go with her.” Kenny nodded dumbly and walked off of the field where Mrs Jackson was waiting.

“Come on honey.” She wrapped her arms around Kenny and steered him towards the parking lot.

“I can drive myself.”

“No you can’t.” She stated, leaving no room for arguing. Once to the van he saw that Nick, Mr Jackson, and Cody were already in the car. “Nick, help Kenny in.”

Nick opened the door and helped a shaking Kenny in. Mr Jackson waited until the ambulance went by before pulling out of the parking lot and heading towards the hospital.

“Here.” Mrs Jackson handed Kenny a few tissues, and Kenny finally realized he had been crying.

“He’s gonna be fine.” Cody tried to assure him, rubbing his back a bit. Kenny just shook his head and set it in his hands for the rest of the ride.

Once there they all went inside, and began the waiting. Only minutes after they got there Adam’s mom, step dad, and siblings came in. Admas mom followed a nurse back, while his step dad and siblings stayed in the waiting room. Within an hour Adam’s mom came back out and kindly told them Adam was in surgery. About 30 minutes later Coach Rhodes showed up with Matt.

Kenny found himself counting every second.

The five minutes it took for Adam’s mom to pace the whole waiting room.

How an hour after going into surgery Adam’s step dad took his siblings home to get some sleep.

And 20 minutes after that Coach Rhodes and Cody were pulled home, asking for updates when there were some.

3 hours in surgery. That’s how long. The doctor told the whole waiting room(only people there for Adam at that point) that there were multiple injuries in Adam’s left leg. From his groin area, to his knee. His leg was destroyed.

“Kenny, we are leaving. Do you need a ride?” It was the first time someone had spoken directly to Kenny the whole night. It was Mrs Jackson.

“Oh! Um, no thank you.” This made her frown.

“Your parents are out of town, how are you going to get home?”

“I don’t plan on leaving.”

“Kenny-“

“He can stay with me.” They both looked up to see Adam’s mom had walked over. “I’ll make sure he gets home.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.” She assured Mrs Jackson. Soon the Jackson’s were gone, and Adam’s mom had slid down to sit against the wall next to Kenny.

“Your Kenny omega, right?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Joy is fine.” She told him. “Anyways, Coach Rhodes was telling me that you ran right out when Adam got hurt, that you were there to help him. So, thank you.” Kenny nodded, unsure of what to say. Luckily, that was when a nurse came out to say Adam was somewhat lucid.

As the two of them walked into the room, Lenny held his breath. When they entered the room, he felt like he was going to throw up. He just wanted to run over and hold Adam, but he had to remind himself that Adam’s mom was right there.

“Adam!” His mom rushed over and fussed over him. “I’m so glad you are ok! Do you feel ok? Comfortable? Do you need anything? Oh! Someone’s here to see you.” Joy stepped out of the way so Kenny could walk over.

“Hey cowboy.” He whispered, letting his hand hold Adam’s lightly.

“Ken?” Adam whispered. “What time is it?” The words were slightly slurred but Kenny looked over at the clock in the room.

“About 12:30, why?”

“You should be at home. It’s late.” Kenny chuckle at Adam’s answer.

“We both know I’m normally up playing games anyways. Plus there was no way I would be able to sleep if I knew you were here.”

Adam didn’t say anything, but his hand tightened to hold Kenny’s back.

The rest of the weekend was a blur to Kenny. He refused to leave the hospital. The only reason he ate or changed was because Matt, Cody, or Nick forced him to. And only if one of them stayed in there with Adam while he was gone. And when Adam was awake Kenny was right there, talking and trying to make him laugh. And Cody, and the brothers shared knowing glances

[allegra-writes]

Don’t hate me, I come in peace 😁 but but could you do an outtake based on this little bit from The Great Escape I?

"Did we ever made it to Lombardi's?" Billy finally asked, referring to the promise he had made you long ago, as you shared a dinner just like this one, of taking you for real pizza once you both were back home.

It was probably a fluffy moment between Billy and Nightingale. I just need more of these two… you know… like a crack addict.

😘😘😘😘😘

Sadly, they never did make it to Lombardi's (you'll see why later) 💔

But I certainly can give you a little snippet of when the promise was made. Ps: I could never hate you, bestie, ILY 💖

"Pizza Night"

Moodboard by the lovely and talented @slut4benbarnes

Billy Russo x Reader

General Audiences

Warnings: War setting. Mentions of injury. Unapologetic fluff.

Part of the "Hopeless Romantic" series, can be read as a stand alone.

MY MASTERLIST | BUY ME A COFFEE

"Fuck, yeah, I got pizza!!"

Billy snapped his head up at Gunter's triumphant exclamation. He cursed internally, the entire team was aware Gunter was the biggest foodie among them, it was just his luck he would be the one to get the prized Menu 23, but so far nothing had been easy in Billy's life, this was hardly a challenge for him. Thinking quickly, he decided on bribing as his first plan, even though he knew it was a hard bargain. If it failed, if everything failed, anyway, he wasn’t above begging.

Not for this. Not for you.

"I'll give you all my desserts for three days if you trade with me"

It was enough to stop Gunter dead in his tracks before he even opened his package, surprise clear on his face.

"You watching your figure, Bill?" Frank called out from the other side of the tent, "You don't need to get anymore handsome, you know? You already the beauty of the team"

There were a couple of good natured cheers and calls of "Billy, the beaut!" from the others, but for once, he paid them no mind, eyes fixed on the hesitating Gunter.

"One week" Billy raised his offer, "starting right now"

Still, Gunter seemed reluctant, so he decided to go for the kill,

"I have a cinnamon roll right now..."

"Deal!" The soldier all but shouted, his sweet tooth making his decision for him. Billy smiled as they traded packets, shaking his friend's hand in mock formality under the bewildered gazes of the entire team. It was a peculiar scene for them, so far away from home and in such an inhospitable place where the simple, domestic pleasures of life were so few and far between , desserts were coveted and hoarded, sometimes even exchanged as currency, just like cigarettes. Gunter had definitely gotten the better end of the deal, outrageously so, and it wasn't like Billy. Cunning, brilliant Billy, the too-clever fox of the Raiders regiment, a man who had managed time and time again to strip his teammates of new socks, sweets and various goods in bargains and bets. It's was fishy, to say the least, and more than one of them wondered what the little bastard's angle was, especially as he took his price, dug out of his backpack for another little brown package and ducked out of the tent.

It was way too conspicuous for Frank not to follow him.

"What you up to, Blackbird? We both know this crap isn't worth a week's desserts..."

Billy stopped enough to let his friend catch up to him, it was no use trying to lose him or bullshit his way out of this one, not when you'd probably tell him about it tomorrow, and not when he knew Frank's intentions were good. He had taken you under his wing as soon as you had been assigned to the operation, in typical Castle way, not only showing you the ropes around their base but also making it completely clear to everyone, even Orange, that you were to be left alone, unless they wanted to answer to him, and by proxy, to Billy too. He didn't blame him, Billy too had seen the fucked up stuff a woman in the army was exposed too, and he would burn the entire Compound before letting anything like that happen to you.

Nah, honestly was probably the best policy here, so he replied,

"It's for Y/N. You know she's been in a bit of a funk since Harry..." He trailed off, but Frank needed no further explanation. They all had felt the loss of Sargent Bendix acutely, but none more than you did. You never said it, but they all suspected you felt personally responsable for not being able to save him. Hearing about the wife and little girl he had left behind probably didn't help either.

"Yeah, I've noticed. Don't know what shitty pizza's gotta do with this, tho"

"It's her comfort food" Billy explained, a peculiar feeling of heat creeping up his neck and face, "She told me how whenever she was down, back home, her best friend would show up with an entire pie and they would finish off the whole thing... I just thought, maybe, we could share a couple slices and it could cheer her up"

"In that case," Frank produced his own little brown package, "Mind if I crash your date?"

"Dude, you got pizza too?? You could have told me before I gave up all my desserts to freaking Gunter!"

Frank laughed at Billy's betrayed look, but quickly sobered up before asking,

"Have you given any thought to what we talked about? You know... The whole "quality over quantity thing"?"

"What's it got to do with pizza night?"

The older marine gaped at his friend, but seeing his genuine look of confusion, he decided to let it go, for now. Luckily, he was saved from having the oblivious Billy questioning him further by finally arriving to the medical tent.

"Hey doc!"

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite Raiders!" Your, admittedly subdued, smile was still enough to make Billy's stomach feel funny. "What can I do for you, boys?"

Billy shook his head,

"Oh, no. This time, is what we can do for you" At your raising eyebrows, Billy raised the MREs, "Would you like to join us for pizza?"

Your face lit up like the morning sky, intensifying the strange feeling In Billy's stomach. It wasn't a bad feeling though, it was warm and exhilarating, not unlike that first drop on a roller-coaster, or the first plane he ever rode taking off. He quickly decided he would go dessert-less for a month, if that's what it took putting that look on your face again.

Neither Frank nor him protested as you took hold of their sweaters and pulled them inside, it was always funny when you manhandled them as if they weren't almost twice your size. Billy idly wondered if that was what having a little sister would feel like, unbidden images of an idyllic childhood neither of you had crossinghis mind. Of picket fences and tiny hands pushing him around, bullying him into giving you another push at the swings, into pulling you up a tree, into a dance instead of a game of ball like he wanted... the bewildering realization that, in that fantasy, he was actually looking at the kids from the outside as you stood by his side on an imaginary porch that looked suspiciously like the Castles' made him shook his head, finally coming out of his reverie to find himself and Frank sitting behind a gurney, setting up the heaters to get dinner ready as you disappeared into the back of the tent.

... Only to return with-

"No way"

"No fucking wa-"

"How on earth did you get those in here?"

You cracked open the three beers, handing them over before replying,

"I have my ways"

"Which are..." Frank insisted.

"Classified" You winked at Billy.

"Woahhhhh"

"Ouch!"

"That's payback for all the times you gave me that answer"

"Oh, she's ruthless!" Frank laughed

"Come on, it's not our fault, our missions are classified!" Billy defended himself. Had it been up to him, he would have told you everything you wanted to know and more.

"It's frustrating" It wasn't the first time you complained about your lack of clearance, "Have you got any idea how difficult is to treat someone when you don't know how they got that way in the first place?"

"I can tell you how I always get hurt, saving his fat ass" Billy accused, pointing his pizza slice at Frank.

"Oh, no, I can tell you the truth about how he gets hurt" Frank countered, "trying to manwhore his way through the mission"

That got him a snort from you.

"I keep telling him: Bill, you can't flirt the enemy into submission. You need more than a Colgate smile and an ass that just won't quit to win the war, but he just won't listen..."

You were practically in stitches, pizza still untouched as you tried to get yourself under control again. Billy felt a strange pang of something a lot like jealousy directed at his best friend. It was childish and selfish, but everyone already preffered Frank, he wanted to be your favorite.

"I finished the book you gave me" The sudden change in subject wasn't an attempt to regain your attention. At all.

Your eyes lit up with excitement at that.

"And..." You prompted, your enthusiasm too adorable for Billy to keep playing dumb.

"And you were right" He admitted, "Leto II is a much more interesting character than Paul ever was"

"Yes! I told you he was! He's so much more complex and conflicted, he's both the best and the worst in humanity and-"

"And I will take both your books away if you don't start eating right now" Frank admonished, shifting almost involuntarily into father mode, "This shit is barely passable hot, and completely disgusting cold, so you better hurry finishing your diner"

"Oh, come on, it's not so bad, this is actually pretty good! You're just a couple of New York pizza snobs..."

"Only someone who hasn't tried real pizza can say that" Frank lamented.

"You know what? When we get back home, I'll take you to Lombardi's" Billy decided, "Best pizza in New York-"

"In the world!"

"- You'll love it"

You smiled, the first real smile you had smiled in a week, eyes trained on Billy and on Billy only, and it was as if the sun had arisen inside his chest, it was amazing, how you could warm him up inside, bring light to even the coldest, darkest parts of him.

"Great, it's a date" The picture of nonchalance, you took another bite, as Billy almost choked on his pizza and Frank simply stared with a smug, knowing smirk on his face.

[theotheroccassionalfanficwriter]

Heyhey! I think the cryo archon chlde one. Sorry for not being specific. Thank you

It's okay anon! No problem! This one has no smut and more murder couple and politics. I had fun writing this, thinking about how could you get kidnapped under lock and key and realized that it could only happen if it was allowed to so ta-da!

CW: descriptions of cruelty and gore.

The curse words, in order, are: bitch and whore

--

In a Quiet Lagoon, Devils Dwell

Summary: It was easy to forget that there was more to the Cryo Archon's face than a besotted husband and loving father. It was easier to forget that the beloved Tsaritsa was a dutiful Harbinger.

For all of Tartaglia’s meticulousness, he was not infallible as his worshippers made him to be. You knew that there were times he could be blindsided by things he didn’t take into consideration. As his wife, you took it upon yourself to ensure to cover for his blind spots, both in the battlefield and in running Snezhnaya. It required meticulous planning from both him and yourself, to ensure that the work would not interfere with your family’s life.

Tartaglia and his harbingers dealt with Snezhnaya’s foreign relations and problems. You dealt with the domestic problems; spies and dissidents that partnered with the Abyss Order, the occasional gods that wanted to dethrone Tartaglia, and on very rare occasions, traitors.

You cocked your head as you observed the room you were held in. Fine furnishings and lavish interior designs that were popular among the upper middle nobility of Snezhnaya. You were glad that your beloved son was with Tartaglia since it meant that you’d be able to get information out of this.

‘Well, at least before this reaches his ears’ You thought as you dreaded the bloodbath that would await you once this was over.

You stood up from the bed, gauging your current strength and frowning at the visible after effects of the drug.

“How troublesome”

You couldn’t locate your vision at your person, you applauded your captors for being thorough in that regard but pitied them for their worthless effort. You wobbled as you slowly walked around the room, inspecting the decors and checking out the windows. The door was locked with magic, you could tell with a cursory glance that the magic was intricate and would result into a backlash if opened with brute force.

‘Smart’ you praised them.

You moved to the windows and found the same magic. You sighed at the minor inconvenience this put you through. You could only forlornly stare at the white expanse of snow that was outside your window. The scenery was familiar to your eyes but its name eluded you.

‘And I wanted to welcome him when he returned.’

You sighed once more. Hoping that your captors would show themselves soon, you wouldn’t want to waste an opportunity to do some spring cleaning after all.

--

The moment Tartaglia returned to Zapolyarny Palace, the entire capital of Snezhnaya had drowned in his frosty wrath. He barely restrained himself from plunging the entire nation into frost, the thought of his darling son fearing him had kept him mostly sane. Pulcinella had taken his son away from the crime scene, a wise choice for the Harbinger if he wanted to keep on breathing.

Tartaglia could tell that the guards and maids stationed in your wing were all shaking. He spared no thought for them, postponing their inevitable demise for the kidnapping of his beloved wife.

“Your majesty” Dottore called from behind him.

Tartaglia kept on investigating the crime scene, scouring every detail so as to not miss any possible leads.

“The maids and guards have been questioned” Dottore reported, steeling himself to the cold hard stare of his Archon. Being subjected to it was suffocating, and he wondered how you could maintain eye contact with the Tsar when he was like this.

“I trust that you’ve brought me good news?”

The calmer Tartaglia was, the more pressure Dottore felt. His archon was fickle at best and volatile at worst. Most myths that surrounded him were almost never far from the truth and Dottore had no want nor need to be used as an example.

“Almost” He answered, “While we’ve yet to determine who is behind this attack we’ve narrowed down the list from the means used and there is ample reason to believe that the Tsaritsa has not been harmed.”

The silence was deafening. Dottore couldn’t wait to get out of Tartaglia’s warpath, seclude himself in his lab and experiment on the fools who had let this happen.

“Throw everyone stationed in this wing in the dungeons. Zapolyarny Palace will be in lock down” Tartaglia ordered as he moved out of your marital room and headed towards his former wing.

Dottore hastened to follow from behind, awaiting further orders now that the Tsar had made his move.

“Bring back everyone who entered and left the Palace. Those foolish nobles must have forgotten their place.”

For all of Tartaglia’s genial smiles and affable personality, it shouldn’t be forgotten that he was a man born to fight. One of the three archons from the original seven. A god who could stand toe to toe in the battlefield with Morax.

“As you command!” Dottore replied, face grim and yet he could not hide the excitement in his eyes. He had heard rumors, stories about the days when the entirety of the Snezhnayan ancient noble houses were almost culled in a blood bath.

There was no clear reason on why it had happened and no one dared to ask. But the one detail that remains in every iteration of the story was that the blood from those nobles were the reason for the odd patterns on the low parts of the wall of old establishments within the capital. Patterns that oddly resembled blood stains when seen from a certain angle.

--

You hummed as you saw the snow storm picking up from outside, a visible sign that Tartaglia had already learned your disappearance. You remained at your position by the window, back turned to the door as you listened to the rushing footsteps that were getting closer.

‘I do hope they can amuse me’ You thought just as the doors banged open behind you.

“How did you contact the Tsar?!”

‘Oh~ so it was them?’ You thought with mild amusement, you didn’t bother turning around to greet them.

“Is that the proper tone to use when speaking to your Tsaritsa?” You mocked them, eyes watching their angry face from the window’s reflection.

Behind you was the Count Potemkin, current head of the ancient noble House of Potemkin. Standing beside him was one of your former fiancé candidates, the heir apparent, Matvei.

“Answer me, you disgusting Сука!” Potemkin cursed making his way towards you.

You slowly turned around, a smile on your face just as he reached out to grab you. Before he could even breach your personal space his hand was pierced by ice protruding from the ground. He screamed in agony, clutching his arms as he squealed like a pig.

“Gosh, would you lower your voice? It’s unbecoming for such an ancient bloodline to act like an animal” You chastised as you took a step back and observed the damage.

“Ah, what a shame, I didn’t break your wrist at all” You commented as if you had not precisely calculated to pierce his hand through the most excruciating way.

“You Блять! Let my father go!” Matvei cursed as he struggled on his restraint “You’re no match for our family’s knights!”

You blinked at his words, tilting your head to the side, as if considering his words. He smirked on seeing your action, “That’s right! Even if you’re a harbinger you’re still just one person!”

“Would you stop squealing like a pig? It’s been minutes now, you should have gotten used to the pain!” You turned around to shut Count Potemkin’s mouth. Ice formed on his mouth, starting from the tongue and making its way outwards.

“Ah~ That’s better!” You ignored the pale looks from the father and son, “If you behave, I might just let you keep your mouth but if your son keeps on pissing me off…”

You trailed off, maintaining eye contact with the Count. Your eyes were filled with malice and sadism, “My hand will slip and blow your brains out~”

You smiled, sweet and disgustingly vile as you made your way to the couch and sat in it. The snow storm outside had turned stronger, hail fell through the skies, mixing with the rapidly falling snow. Just from that alone, you could tell that your time to wring out information from them was running out.

“What reason did you have to attempt something as stupid as this?” You asked as you formed ice shards that floated on top your fingertips.

Matvei remained silent.

“Not talking anymore?” Every move of your body was designed to mock them, a display of power that showed how easy it was for you to trample upon them, “I just remembered, the Count was raising his precious daughter outside wasn’t he? A pretty blonde child with green eyes…”

Matvei flinched and stared at you in horror, dread pooling in the pits of his stomach as you spoke,

“Inessa Yakova Potemkin” You laughed softly, “No wonder the Countess died of anger, her dear stupid husband had acknowledge his bastard child, sent her to the palace to be a handmaiden.”

“Imagine what kind of face the Tsar would make if he knew how the Potemkin family insulted me by sending an illegitimate child as a handmaiden” Your ice changed its shape into a dagger, “Even if House Potemkin is an ancient bloodline, it doesn’t erase that your house is lower than my duchal household.”

Matvei screamed in pain as your dagger cleanly sliced off his left ear. You smiled at them coldly, “Start speaking, you should know by now that any resistance would only lead to a painful death...I can’t guarantee your darling sister would be spared from it either.”

In another life, you wouldn’t threaten another’s family. You would have shown mercy but this wasn’t that life. You were the Tsar’s wife, a Harbinger, and most of all the child of Snezhnaya’s strongest ducal house. A slight against you was a slight against everything you stood for.

“Time’s running” You reminded Matvei.

“We couldn’t let you threaten the Tsar’s power! You’re Lord Pulcinella’s niece, a child of House Yusupov. We needed to remove you from the seat of power, at first we planned to get rid of your child but all of our attempts were foiled.”

Another dagger found its way to his thigh. He screamed in pain, wet stain growing on his crotch and you clicked your tongue in disdain.

“Please that’s all we know!”

This time blood spurted out from his father’s left shoulder, some of it landing on you, some on the table in front of you. You didn’t flinch, merely wiping the blood that landed on your face with your gloved hand.

“Father!”

“Let’s do this again, shall we?” You smiled.

“I-I really don’t-”

Spikes of ice burst out from his right thigh.

“Duke Izmaylov! It was him who planned all of this! Duchess Tolstoy funded the operations! Please spare me!”

“How disappointing” You sighed as you made his father’s eyes burst.

You sneered in disgust as Matvei vomited on the marble tiles in front of him. You looked up as you heard heavy footsteps and the sounds of scream echoing beyond the open doors. Moments later, Tartaglia was visibly walking towards you from the other end of the hallway.

“Ah. Time’s up.”

You stood up from the couch and made your way towards your husband, the Tsar, Tartaglia. His cold eyes melted and looked upon you with relief, his hands patted your body, looking for non-existent injuries. You let him do as he pleased, both of you ignoring the dying count and the vomiting Matvei.

“I came as fast as I could” Tartaglia burrowed his face on your neck, ignoring the discomfort from the height difference between the two of you “I thought I’ve lost you.”

You felt your heart ache at his tone, your arms automatically hugging him in comfort, laying a soft kiss to his cheek as you spoke, “I’ll make sure that will never happen.”

You signaled the Fatui waiting behind him to start rounding up the two.

“We’ll have to clean up Two ducal households and five Countdoms” You reported as you gently and comfortably let Ajax’ hand settle on your waist as he led you out of the mansion.

“I’ll handle that. You should take a rest with Teucer, our son was worried today.” Ajax replied as softly as he could but the tenseness had yet to fade away.

You leaned further into his embrace, “Mhm. By the way, the insider was Inessa, you should get rid of all the staff that had a relationship with her. It wouldn’t do if one of her lovers got the idea to avenge her.”

“As you wish.”

--

Three months later the public bore witness to a new cruelty of the Cryo Archon. At Krasnaya Square, a stage was set up, in it were the shackled and chained members of several noble households. Some from the ancient noble houses, and the others from the new nobles.

Tartaglia had intentionally spread the news of your capture and subsequent rescue. He wanted to make a show of power, one you approved of, if only to ensure that his plans for world domination and eventual downfall of Celestia would run smoothly.

Teucer, your 5 yr old son, sat on your lap watching the proceedings from the balcony area. The two of you were surrounded by Fatui guards, new ones. The entire area was secured and security was tight, there was no way a rescue for the condemned would occur.

Tartaglia had made sure of that.

“Close your eyes, dearest” You whispered to your son’s ears.

From below, all of the traitors had blood bursting out of their heads, spikes protruding from the inside of their brains as Pulcinella finished declaring their crimes and their sentence. You hummed a soft tune as Teucer asked, “Mamochka, can I open my eyes now?”

“Not yet dearest, not until Papa comes back.”

You gazed down at the crowd, watching as they rejoiced at the culling before your eyes were drawn at the corner. You smiled at the familiar blonde hair of Inessa, your eyes merciless as she stared at you with hatred.

'Ah, how she must have looked like once she realize all of it was a sham~'

You waved at the crowd from the balcony, pleased that the nobles would now learn to step back in line. You felt your husband’s stare and gave him a loving look.

“Mamochka?”

You sighed in fond exasperation, you figured that he could look now that the bodies were being carted away, “You can open them now, give Papa and the rest a good wave okay?”

Teucer did as you said, more cheers erupting from the crowd upon seeing their beloved Tsarevich waving at them. From his position below, Ajax smiled warmly at the sight of his family being safe and sound. The sun shined brightly in Snezhnaya’s eternal winter.

An auspicious sign from their Cryo Archon.

[donttouchtheneednoggle]

I love bees please tell me about bees

BEES 🐝🐝🐝

warning: bee violence described ahead

-ok ok so bumblebees are way more chill than honeybees and are much less likely to sting

-honeybees have barbed stings that hook into mammal flesh and tear out which is why they die when they sting u and bumblebees don't happy news!! This happens bc it means the venom can keep pumping in longer and it's more likely to incapacite the target

-this evolved bc honeybees have hives of like 30,000 so they've got a lot more to protect than bumblebees that have like 500 and each honeybee is more an extension of the hive superorganism so their goal is not to survive to reproduce themselves it's to protect the hive so it can survive and reproduce (below)

-when thinking about a hive as a superorganism and every bee as just a component of that, the way it really reproduces is when the old queen takes about two thirds of the workers and heads off to establish a new hive leaving a new queen to take over the old one

-bees (well wasps then bees evolved from wasps) evolved to be pollinators bc they used to eat pollen-covered beetles then began to prefer the pollen to the beetle 🤣

-stings are modified ovipositors (egg laying things) so only females can sting

-there are way more species of solitary bees than social ones but we don't act like it 😔

-the WAGGLE DANCE is the coolest thing everrr it's how workers communicate the location of good flowers to others in the hive. They move in a kind of figure of eight on the comb inside the hive, wiggling their abdomen. The direction of the middle bit of the 8 in relation to the hive is the angle from the sun the food source is, how long the dance lasts tells them how far away it is, and how fast the bee is wiggling is how exciting the food source is 🥺 they also do this when they're looking for a new hive and want to communicate their find

-there's literally no way to stop domesticated bees leaving their hive if they don't wanna be there whatever certain animal rights activists might say if they were barred from leaving the hive they couldn't go out and get nectar and pollen and make honey or pollinate or anything at all so if the hive decides they don't like their digs they can just leave at any time

-bees maintain their hive temperature at about 30 degrees c purely through UNHOOKING THEIR WINGS from their flight muscles and vibrating their flight muscles so all the energy is converted to heat

-one of the main predators of bees are wasps called BEE WOLVES

- Eastern honey bees in Japan have evolved alongside giant hornets that are capable of massacering an entire hive so the bees have evolved a strategy where they let the hornet enter the hive then ambush it and completely cover to make a BEE BALL then do the flight muscle vibration thing and literally COOK IT

-the western honey bee has been introduced all over the world but it hasn't been able to persist in japan bc they don't know how to cook hornets

-east african lowland honey bees were introduced to brazil and of course escaped and bred with western honey bees and spread over the americas and bc african honey bees are not domesticated and haven't had strong defensive response bred out of them like western honey bees they're way more likely to swarm and sting and be a lil like tracker jackers so that's what the whole killer bee thing is

-female bees come from fertilised eggs laid by the queen, and as larvae if they are fed ✨royal jelly✨ they grow into queens, otherwise they are workers

-new queens when they emerge fight to the death til only one is left

-they then go out and mate with several drones from other hives and stores their sperm so they can fertilise their eggs and don't have to mate again for the rest of their life

-the queen is constantly surrounded by COURT BEES that pass their pheromones around the hive pretty much by licking other bees so the hive knows the queen is still healthy and reproducing otherwise they will pretty much mutiny the queen is really not in charge

-workers progress through jobs as they get older:

-the youngest clean cells in the comb

- then they feed the older larvae then progress to feeding the younger ones

-then they do hive maintenance like twmperature control and producing wax to build with and getting rid of dead bodies and EMBALMING the larger ones to prevent disease (they're literally called undertakers)

-then they are on guard duty during which they learn from returning workers

-and then finally when they get old enough they go out to flowers and collect pollen and nectar

-male bees are called drones and hatch from unfertilised eggs the queen lays. Their sole purpose in life is to fly around and find queens from other hives to mate with. If they succeed in this, their genitalia literally explodes during it and they fall to the ground dead 💀

-if a drone doesn't achieve this most glorious of life purposes they will end up get kicked out of the hive to die come wintertime bc they can't rlly feed themselves and so beg from workers and are thus a waste of resources

-the reason this system of having a queen who is the only one who reproduces (called eusociality) is seen in mostly hymenoptera (bees wasps and ants) is thought to be bc of how their genetics work. Those that come from unfertilised eggs (dudes) share 100% of their DNA with their mother and, and those from fertilised eggs... how do i explain this ok

so coming from an unfertilised egg basically means you have half the number of chromosomes as those who come from fertilised eggs

so

When a queen with these chromosomes A B C D lays an unfertilised egg it will be a male (drone) with these chromosomes for example: A C (can be any combo of two of the above)

However, when they lay a fertilised egg:

Mother (Queen) + Father (Drone)

Chromosomes: A B C D + E F

= female with chromosomes: A C E F for example

other daughter might have these chromosomes: D C E F

But they will always get the same two from their father bc he only has two to give bc he came from an unfertilised egg

So workers can have have 50% up to 100% DNA in common with any of their sister and this gal above has 75% of the same DNA as their sister. If they had their own offspring they'd only share 50% of their DNA with them. So they're going to be perpetuating more of their genes (the whole basic endgame of life and evolution) if they help raise their siblings than their own kids.

this system of genetics js called haplodiploidy which is such a fun word and this absolutely not a scientifically accurate explanation but it's the gist i hope 😅

eusociality has also evolved in naked mole rats who absolutely don't do haplodiploidy but we don't talk about that

[wooobuddyletsgetnasty]

Lets gets some domestic hawks with nsfw

I am in LOVE with Hawks. Who had to go and make this mans so pretty??? Like excuse the FUCK out of me. Anywaysssss, I hope u like themmmmm !!

~My mans is a mess™

~But he is the CUTEST mess

~First off, Keigo didn’t ask you to move in with him

~You don’t think you even asked to move in with him either???

~You slowly just migrated into his apartment, and then you just stayed??

~He isn’t going to complain, he likes having someone to come home to 

~He will bring you flowers if you are mad at him 

~Are they crumpled, and possibly the ugliest flowers you have ever seen? 

~Yes, absolutely 

~But you kiss him, and put them in a vase anyways because at least he tried 

~FEATHERS EVERYWHERE 

~I headcanon that he goes through the thing where his feathers start to fall out (moulting??? mayybbeee)

~Either way, they get EVERYWHERE

~You gladly help him brush his wings out, and then clean up the feathers 

~He’s so grateful that you don’t think it’s gross, and are willing to help him when it’s happening 

~While we are on the topic of this, it will almost ALWAYS lead to him fucking you slowly on the couch

~His wings are sensitive, and you’re over there running your fingers over them and he’s weak for you anyways 

~The combined motion of your fingers trailing over him, and the look of concentration on your face 

~He can’t help himself, and he’s got you face down on the couch quicker than you can register what is happening 

~The type of man that will beg for your attention

~ “You’re going to be late Hawks.” 

~ “Well I know that already, so how about just one more kiss? I mean if I am already late, I might as well be really late. Please?”

~YOU BETTER GIVE THAT MANS ANOTHER KISS 

~Will also drag you onto the couch with him if you are just walking past, he’s gotta have you in his arms

~ITS WHERE YOU BELONG

~Does he wrap his wings around you when you are cuddling? 

~Yes, he absolutely does 

~It’s near impossible to take a bath/shower with Keigo

~He will end up knocking you the FUCK out if he turns too fast 

~His wings are BIG

~And you’re either gonna be too cramped in the shower, or he’s gonna be laying very uncomfortably on them in the bath 

~Do you still try though? 

~Yeeesss

~ABANDONMENT ISSUES?????

~Please let him know if you aren’t gonna be home when he gets there, or he’s gonna panic

~He’s not controlling, but he does like to know where you are, and when you are going to be home 

~You always let him know, you learned your lesson the first time when you came home a little later than he did, and he yelled at you

~Then he looked like you kicked his puppy, so you ended up feeling bad

~You have to MAKE him sit and talk to you 

~He’s not the best at communication, but if you want this relationship to work, you have to talk to him 

~Keigo is not the best housekeeper, and he’s gone a lot so you take it upon yourself to make sure the place is clean for him

~He appreciates it and it really does mean the world to him 

~HE KISSES YOU BEFORE HE LEAVES EVERY MORNING

~Even if you aren’t awake

~Just a sweet lil smooch and then a, “I’ll see you later, birdie. I love you.”

~Okay so now who is ready for some NSFW??????

~HELL YEAH

~This man has a high sex drive

~So you might as well just throw out all your pants 

~I don’t make the rules 

~You made dinner?? That’s so sweet! He’ll eat with you, but he wants to eat you first

~On the kitchen table???

~Yes

~The couch??

~Multiple times

~In the floor??

~Sure, just let him spread out a blanket first 

~In the shower?

~You’ve tried, it wasn’t very sexy when you got a mouth full of feather and then spat water into his face

~He thought it was hilarious though

~Gonna throw this out here too

~Keigo’s favorite way to take you is with you pressed face first against the wall

~He can get an amazing angle like that, and he can mutter nasty shit into the nape of your neck

~Basically, living with Hawks is like adopting a full grown toddler-man

~But he’s yours now

~Birds mate for life

~Good luck getting rid of him now

~12/10

~I love him 

[shuadotcom]

The One | JJK

∎ Summary: You and Jungkook decide to bring a dog into your home, but first you have to find the perfect one. ∎ Pairing: Jungkook x Gender Neutral!Reader ∎ Genre: Fluff, slice of life, established relationship, idolverse ∎ Rating: G ∎ Warnings: None ∎ Word Count: 1.9k ∎ A/N: For btsholidaybingo | Bingo Square: Jeon Jungkook

"Remember, we're only going for one dog."

"But what if a kitten falls in love with me?"

"No."

"Okay, but what if there’s like, two dogs that are bonded? We can’t just separate them, you know."

"Then we won’t get either."

"But what if-”

"I said no, Koo. No to any other possible scenarios you can think of. Do you want to do this or not?" The two of you have a staredown over the top of the car before Jungkook lets out a long, dramatic sigh, and you climb into the car.

You’ve recently taken the next step in your three-year relationship by moving in together. Jimin was unsurprisingly distraught and clung to Jungkook’s legs as he and the rest of the guys moved his things from the dorm. Of course, you had only moved a good ten minutes away from them in the first place.

Now that you’re accustomed to living and existing every night and day around each other, you agreed your home is missing the presence of a fluffy animal. Well, Jungkook has decided rather, and you gave in to his pouting and begging. Since he’s no longer sharing space with Yeontan, he wants a dog of his own around; thus, the decision to bring home a dog was made.

Neither of you has any idea what type of dog you want, but you agree that you’ll go and see which one stands out. According to Jungkook, you don’t pick a dog; a dog picks you. As someone who’s never had any pet other than hamsters, you’re inclined to believe him. As nervous as you are to be a first-time dog owner, the idea of being a cute, domestic couple raising a dog together is exciting.

The ride to the local shelter is only about ten minutes, and Jungkook is throwing his door open and bounding out of the car as soon as he parks. You follow your exuberant boyfriend inside at a much more leisurely pace. It doesn’t surprise you when you walk in and see the first thing he’s doing is leaning towards a cage full of kittens, cooing at them and letting them nip at his fingertips.

"Jungkook..." you say in a warning tone. He turns towards you, looking guilty.

"I just wanted to look!" He pouts. Once you’re at his side and you’ve greeted a few of the kittens yourself, you follow a volunteer to the wing of the shelter where the dogs are.

Jungkook is immediately drawn to a cage of golden retrievers. He leans over, sticking his fingers through the bars, which makes all of the tiny dogs run over to smell and lick him. You smile at him as giggles come out of his mouth. He soon moves on to a large, older looking pitbull and is whispering greetings to it as it pants excitedly. You leave him there to wander around, eyeing all of the cages, and can’t help but feel overwhelmed by all of the dogs around you, attempting to catch your gaze and silently begging you to take them home.

Your eyes continue to scan the signs hanging from the front of each cage, noting all of the breeds and their names.

A shih tzu, a maltese, a poodle, and a-

“Oh, hello, babies!” A cage with five corgi puppies yipping for your attention catches your attention the most.

As you make your way to the cage, the group of dogs notice and clamor over each other, their small noses raised in the air to try and catch a whiff of you. You smile at them and stick your hand near, letting them sniff you. They all have identical brown eyes and the classic corgi golden brown and white fur, which, while they’re cute, none stand out to you.

Pulling your hand back, you dig a bottle of hand sanitizer from your bag, ready to ask Jungkook if he’s made a decision when something in the corner of the corgi cage catches your attention.

Its eyes are what draw you in. Those gorgeous brown eyes are much lighter and wider than the rest of the liter. You hadn't noticed this one earlier, but looking at it now, you see it’s the only one with all-white fur. It’s the quietest puppy, opting to hang towards the back but still flashing you that wide dog smile. It’s excited, with the way it’s small, round body seems to be vibrating. Something in your gut told you this was the one.

"Koo! Jungkook, I found our dog!" Jungkook leaves the pug he’s talking to so he can come over and join you. He looks at the corgis, his eyes immediately finding the pup in question in no time. After inspecting the dog for a few seconds, he nods.

"That’s definitely the one. Stay here, and I'll go tell someone we've made our choice." Jungkook leans over and plants a kiss on your forehead before he leaves. You get close to the cage again, angling your fingers towards the quiet pup, and immediately it wobbles over, squeezing past the others to get to you. Your heart wells as you watch it give you a couple of licks, then lets out a tiny yip.

Jungkook comes back just as quickly as he had left with an older man in a shelter volunteer shirt. He points out the puppy you want, and the man unlocks the cage to reach around the hyper puppies for yours. He puts the puppy in your waiting hands, and you and Jungkook follow him out to the main part of the shelter. As you go, the man explains that your pup is a boy and that he and his siblings were found in a box in a park by someone who brought them in.

Jungkook fills a basket with toys, food, and treats from the on-site pet shop while the fluff ball in your arms watches him go. He stays quiet as Jungkook tries a few collars on him before settling for a bright blue one and claiming it as perfect.

Once everything is paid for and you’re on your way back home, he stands up in your lap and stretches his body out, examining Jungkook's car as he does.

"Please don't pee on the seats, little guy," Jungkook begs him playfully. As if he understands, the dog gives one small bark in response and moves to balance on your thigh so he can look out the window. "We need a name for him, you know."

"I know. Any ideas?"

"Jungkook Junior?"

"We are not calling our dog Jungkook Junior."

"Y/n Junior?" He receives a pointed look in reaction to that suggestion. "Well, what do you think we should name him then?" You look down at the dog in your lap, and he looks back, almost in curiosity.

"Hmm...how do you think Jimin would feel if we named him Mochi?" Upon hearing it, the puppy barks. "Is that a yes? You like the name?" He barks again.

Jungkook lets out a laugh and turns to look at the puppy once the car is parked and you’re back home. "So this is our little Mochi, huh? I think it fits." He reaches over and scratches under the pup's chin, his tongue lolling out and his eyes closing. You and Jungkook share a look similar to one proud parents would share about their successful children.

After all the supplies are carried upstairs to your apartment, you and Jungkook put all of the things away, taking turns keeping a watchful eye on him as Mochi explores and sniffs anything in the apartment he can get to. Jungkook wastes no time in calling everyone over to meet him.

"His name is Mochi?!” is the first thing out of Jimin’s mouth when you introduce him. He looks as if he’s so touched he could burst into tears. As soon as the boys walk in, Mochi is smelling and circling them, vying for attention from them all.

"For a new dog, he’s not very shy," Yoongi says when he sits down on the couch, and Mochi immediately dashes over, begging to be put into his lap.

A coo rings out through the room from everyone as the eight of you watch as he sprawls out on Yoongi’s lap, enjoying the belly rubs he offers him.

The boys spend the rest of the evening playing with the puppy. They talk to him as if he can understand, try and fail to teach him to sit, and unsurprisingly, Hoseok ends up rolling around on the floor with him.

He has his first almost accident during dinner, whining and pacing while everyone is eating, catching the room’s attention.

“He has to pee!” Taehyung warns. Jungkook shoots up from the couch, nearly knocking his pizza over in the process, and quickly opens the patio door, carrying Mochi out to the patch of turf he’d laid out earlier. Quickly after, he trots back inside and plops onto his doggy bed by the couch, eliciting various “awws” from all of you.

After dinner, everyone helps you and Jungkook clean up and play with Mochi a bit more before calling it a night. Before leaving, Hoseok promises he'll be back in the morning to walk his "new best friend." This causes Seokjin to scoff and argue that Mochi was his new best friend and that he'll be back in the morning. Jimin puts his two cents in about how Mochi is obviously his best friend since he’s named after him. Namjoon tries to use the fact that he secretly fed Mochi under the table as a way of winning the debate that they’re best friends, but it only earns him a whack on the arm from you.

Jungkook manages to usher his bickering friends out, telling them whoever gets to your apartment first in the morning could walk the dog. Of course, this will lead to chaos in the morning, but you and Jungkook will worry about it then.

As the two of you make your way down the long hall to your bedroom, you realize Mochi is still sitting at the end of the hallway, looking as if he’s contemplating whether or not to follow along.

Jungkook turns around and tilts his head. "Well, come on then!" The puppy lets out a chipper bark and bounds down the hallway as quick as his small legs allow him. He circles your feet excitedly, then busies himself with observing the new room as you get ready for bed.

When you’re finally snuggled up to Jungkook with the lights off you, take a look at the puppy as he stretches in the middle of the room.

"Can we bring him in the bed? Please?”

"Hmm...I don't know..." Jungkook taps his chin, pretending to think before calling the dog's name. He didn’t expect him to respond, having only had a name for a day, but to his surprise, Mochi barks and runs over to the bed. You watch him attempt to climb and jump onto the king-sized bed until Jungkook leans down and scoops him up. Mochi immediately turns himself in a circle and plops down on the bed between you two. "He's an extremely smart dog," Jungkook murmurs as he lets a yawn slip.

"He is. You know, I think you were right about letting the dog choose us."

"I know. Aren't I always right?" You reach over and swat his shoulder.

"Oh, hush, and go to sleep." He lets out a laugh before leaning over to kiss you.

"Love you, babe."

"Love you, Koo. Love you, Mochi." Right on cue, the dog lets out a loud yawn and snuggles closer to you. You smile and run your fingers through his soft fur before dozing off with your boys.

[floralseokjin]

The Zoom Halloween Party

⇢ and beyond timeline (after crystallised)

[saga index] [drabble index]

 kim seokjin x reader // slice of life, humour // 2,556 words  

a/n; thank you to all the anons who gave me ideas for this halloween drabble, it wouldn’t exist without you! 

“I have to say your costumes are pretty lame this year, you guys.”

“We’re having a Halloween party over fucking zoom, forgive us for not going all out.” 

Seokjin bit straight away, unable to help it. He and Namjoon were like cat and mouse at all times, but even you had to admit to being offended by your friend’s dismissal. 

Halloween was finally here, and while you couldn’t celebrate in person together, the marvels of technology were letting you celebrate virtually – although this was more like a Halloween hang out than a Halloween party. 

“I’m just saying,” Namjoon shrugged. “Hoseok went all out for his.” 

You looked over at Hoseok’s screen, watching him smile smugly. You had to admit he made a great Joker, but it was also the year 2020... He and his girlfriend, Nora were like two years behind with the whole Joker and Harley Quinn gimmick, it was old now. 

Seokjin rolled his eyes, willing to argue black and blue. “It’s only good because his mom helped him with the makeup.” 

“Oh shut up, you’re just jealous because me and Hoseok will win best dressed tonight!” Nora scoffed under Hoseok in her own little screen. 

Pouting like a baby, your boyfriend crossed his arms. “I’m not voting for you.” 

“If anything, I should win. I make a mighty fine Batman.” 

Attention back on Namjoon now, you all had to agree. But maybe that was because everyone was feeling sorry for him tonight. He was after all, the only single one amongst you. There was Jin and you, Lina and Jimin, Hoseok and Nora, and even though Sandeul was on his own tonight, he had Jess, who was working the night shift tonight. Two months ago there had also been Namjoon and Hana, but not anymore... Let’s just say Namjoon wasn’t having the best of time lately... Getting dumped during a pandemic wasn’t ideal. So he’d paired with Hobi and Nora tonight in some sort of DC-esque collab. He was definitely winning best dressed tonight, but maybe he’d see it as a pity vote… 

“You’re body looks amazing in that suit, Joon,” you complimented, hearing Lina hum in supportive agreement. 

“Hey!” Seokjin exclaimed, sounding mighty offended as he looked your way. You were smushed together on the couch, the takeout you’d ordered on your laps, but you were pretty full now, a belly full of wine already. 

“The devil and an angel though.” Jimin’s voice sounded awfully judgemental. “Come on guys, so basic.” 

“Well, who the hell did you to come as?” Seokjin was loud. 

“Zombie Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly,” Lina replied as if your boyfriend was dumb. 

“Lame,” Seokjin scoffed. “Half of these guys haven’t even watched The Office.” 

“It’s a way more original idea than yours.”

You scoffed. “Um, this is the epitome of everyone’s sexual fantasy, I’ll have you know.” 

“Whose?!” Lina roared, wrinkling her nose. She and Jimin were also squished together, but on his bed, the camera angle giving you an amazing shot of their chins... Not that you would tell your best friend that, of course. 

“We all know what they’re doing after this then,” Sanduel stated. He was dressed as some character from a game he and Seokjin played (a lot.) Nerds.  

“Stop,” Hoseok whined. “Does that mean you guys fucked as The Addams family couple last year?”

“Of course it does,” Namjoon replied matter-of-factly. 

“Jesus.” 

Ah yes, you two really had out done yourselves last year for Namjoon and Hoseok’s joint Halloween party. Thinking about it maybe your devil and angel costumes were quite lame this year…

“As if you didn’t guess,” Lina laughed. “They were reciting all those weird lines practically dry humping in the kitchen at one point.” 

That was your cue, slamming into action, although as luck would have it you had re-watched The Addams Family two nights ago. You gripped Seokjin’s face, yanking him to look at you. “Seokjin, last night you were unhinged.” You began dramatically. “You were like some desperate, howling demon. You frightened me.” A pause for effect. “Do it again!” 

Seokjin took your hand, in character immediately. He leaned down to kiss your knuckles. “Cara mia.” 

You opened your mouth, ready to purr out mon cher in your best French accent but you were interrupted by Namjoon’s gagging noises. “That’s it, I’m leaving.” 

Seokjin snapped his head around, unamused. “Bye.” 

Everyone laughed… just before Hoseok sighed. “Aw, this makes me so depressed. I miss last year, when things were simpler.” 

“This was the worst year to officially become an adult.” Nora joined in with a whine. 

They were 100% correct. There couldn’t have been a worse year to graduate… The past few months had been so stressful but thankfully you were now in a much more stable place. Granted, you hadn’t been able to start the post-graduate internship you’d bagged right before the pandemic hit yet but eventually it would happen, and in the meantime you still had your retail job – and your savings. 

Seokjin had truly lucked out, although his job at his father’s company had been set in stone since high school. He was working remotely until the end of the year (hopefully), rocking that business on top, casual down bottom fashion that he was so gleefully fond of – think a dress shirt and sweatpants ensemble – but you were so incredibly proud of him for adjusting so well after this shitfest of a year. He was your sexy, serious businessman. 

Your friends hadn’t been as lucky though – well, mainly Hoseok and Namjoon who had recently moved back home with their parents while they job hunted. (That’s why the former and Nora were on separate screens – she still lived close by for work.) Lina hated her new job and Jimin still had a year left at college, so maybe he was better off at the moment... Sanduel and Jess were okay too, and had recently moved in with one another, leaving you and Seokjin to… follow suit… 

It came as a surprise to you both, but it made more sense than the two of you living alone. You’d already grown used to it during those couple of months of lockdown at the start of the year and it felt weird after he’d left... It was a big step, but an easy one once you’d found the most perfect apartment to rent together. (You couldn’t officially live with one another in that shoebox of an old apartment, but it had been sad to leave it – you’d shared so many good times there.) It had only been about six weeks since you’d become official roomies, but you were loving every second of domestic bliss. Despite this crazy year, things were on the up, and you were very happy. 

“Now we’re freshly graduated bums.” Namjoon moaned, knocking back the last of his beer.

Seokjin laughed. “Speak for yourself.” 

“We can’t all have a CEO for a dad,” Namjoon shot. 

“That sounds like a you problem.” 

You pushed at your boyfriend’s shoulder, silently telling him to behave. Where was the sympathy for his heartbroken friend?

“At least you’re not stuck doing online classes.” Jimin piped up. 

“I’d actually kill to be back there,” Namjoon chuckled. “I’m sick of receiving rejection emails.” 

“Don’t give up hope, bro.” Hoseok told him. “I have an interview next week so fingers crossed.” 

Nora squealed. “I hope you get it, babe. You need to get your ass back here. I miss you.” 

You all missed him. And Namjoon. Even if you couldn’t all hang out like you were once able to, it was strange to think they were both living in different cities now. Last year seemed like an eternity ago, all you had were memories and even then they were murky. 

“Guys, please,” Namjoon wailed, forehead hitting the screen as he threw forward dramatically. “One of us is single here.” 

“Sorry.” 

In fact, you all felt the need to apologise, a string of them following for no real reason other than you felt really bad for the guy. You knew he’d find a job soon, that wasn’t the problem really – whatever the company they’d be a fool to turn him down – you were just concerned about his mood. Getting dumped had come out of the blue so he was still adjusting, all while his life turned upside down in other ways too. 

He hadn’t lost all sense of humour though, his trademark smirk growing across his face a few moments later. “So who will end up fucking on camera first?” 

Amongst the groans, Sanduel scoffed. “Probably Mr and Mrs. Devil.” 

“I’m an angel,” you corrected, a glass of wine back in your hand now. “Also, why would we fuck on camera? You guys don’t deserve the show.” 

“God, you’re so drunk,” Lina screeched. She wasn’t exactly sober herself. Beside her Jimin winced at the volume. 

“Of course I’m drunk, Lina, this is the first proper chance I’ve had in months.” Getting drunk alone was pretty miserable, now you had an excuse. 

“So it’s definitely them who’ll start fucking first…” Hoseok muttered. 

Seokjin heard him loud and clear though. He hooked his arm around your shoulders, pulling you against him. “Yeah if we leave randomly you know this angel got horny for some devil dick.” 

“Seokjin!” You exclaimed, pushing at his chest. He just laughed, reaching down to kiss you. 

He did look mighty fine dressed as a devil though. Yeah, the red cape was basic but so were your angel wings and halo, but with his dark hair pushed back above his forehead, two red devil horns visible and his eyeshadow off the scale (your doing), he made a very, very sexy Satan! 

Jimin pulled a face. “You’re actually going to fuck in those costumes, aren’t you?” 

“Of course we are.” Seokjin rolled his eyes. “That’s what Halloween’s all about.” 

“No, it’s not,” Nora laughed. 

“I don’t know why you’re all so surprised,” Sandeul sighed before shovelling down some candy corn. 

“You know them better than anyone,” Namjoon chuckled. 

“I was the first to know! Sworn to secrecy for weeks!”

“Yeah, and she didn’t tell me for so long,” Lina whined. Even though it was ages ago now you were still pretty sure she was salty about it. 

Hoseok snickered. “It was because she was embarrassed to be fucking him.” 

You scoffed, about to refute his claims but Sanduel had more to say apparently. “And then I had to deal with Jin moping around when she dumped him for that basketball player.” 

“She didn’t dump me,” Seokjin protested. “We won’t together then.” 

“Bro, you were still moping though.” 

“Awh, you guys,” you whined, running your fingers through the hair on the back of Seokjin’s head. “Stop teasing him.” You leaned in to kiss his cheek but he moved, stealing one from your lips instead. 

“Great Deul, you’ve started them off again.” Hoseok moaned. 

“I don’t care anyway. The amount of times I’ve heard them going at it has made me immune.” 

“Sanduel, we’re not that bad!” You complained, leaning forward to place your glass down on the coffee table. 

Seokjin had your back. “As if we haven’t heard you and Jess fuck before.” 

That however was not at all interesting to your friends though. They blatantly ignored it for a more interesting direction of topic.  

“Did you ever catch them?” Jimin asked, sounding weirdly excited. 

“No actually, which is baffling.” 

“You nearly did – multiple times,” Seokjin informed him, which instantly turned Sanduel grey. Not bothered, my ass. 

“Why are you guys so obsessed with our sex life?” You whined loudly. Was theirs that boring? 

“Ooo, let’s play a game!!” Lina exploded suddenly, sitting up, her head now cut off from the screen. “Who’s the freakiest!!!” 

Seokjin turned to you gleefully. “We got this in the bag, babe.” 

In your eyes, the questions were quite tame, so yes, you and Seokjin really were scoring first place left and right. Although you had a hunch Lina was holding back information. As her best friend you knew what she was like and she was being awfully quiet for someone who’d suggested the game… 

“Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever boned?” Nora asked, six questions in. 

Seokjin didn’t even need a second. “Namjoon’s bedroom.” Your eyes bulged immediately, surprised he’d gone there. 

“What?” Namjoon choked. 

“Sorry, man. It just kinda happened.” Seokjin glanced at you, deeply amused. Poor Namjoon didn’t need more bad news. 

“You guys have fucked in my bedroom?” 

“Well, technically it’s not your bedroom anymore, but yeah,” you shrugged.  

“When?” 

The third degree was real. “A while back.”  

“What the fuck you guys,” he groaned, his face a picture. “And you didn’t think to tell me?” 

“You don’t even know the half of it.” Lina couldn’t help but add. 

“You, be quiet!” You warned, although you knew she wouldn’t spill. Your secret was safe with her. 

Namjoon was looking more and more scared by the second. “What the fuck did you guys do in there?” Seokjin just laughed loudly. “Did you at least clean up?” He got no reply. He was deadly serious with his next question. “Did you make Ryan watch?” 

“Namjoon!” Seokjin cried, practically wiping tears from your eyes. Maybe he was more drunk than you… You hadn’t realised. “He’s a stuffed animal.” 

“That plush is all I have now.” 

“Pity, the guy’s recently been dumped. This is bullying,” Hoseok interrupted, sticking up for his friend. 

“It’s not,” your boyfriend insisted. 

“Aw, Namjoon, I’m sorry,” you apologised, feeling guilty now. How could you make it up to him? “When all this is over you can come over and fuck someone in our bedroom.” 

“What,” Seokjin protested. You ignored him. 

“Who though?” Namjoon asked, sounding sad. 

“You’ll meet someone new soon enough.” Lina reassured him. “You’re any girls dream guy.”  

He perked up at that. “You think so?”

“Legit, man,” Jimin joined in. 

“Wait,” Sandeul interrupted, seemingly realising something. “Is the costume roleplay exclusive to Halloween?” 

… Of course the conversation was back on you and Jin…

“Why?” You asked. 

“Because Namjoon had a fancy dress party for his birthday last year…” 

Seokjin shrugged. “Any celebration.” 

Sanduel instantly looked disgusted. “So you guys fucked as The Incredibles couple?” 

You and Seokjin didn’t reply, but your faces said it all. 

Namjoon groaned loudly. “I want to scoop my brain out.” Then he thought of something. “Was it in my bedroom?” 

“Noooo!” 

“Yes.” 

You both replied at the same time and you pushed Seokjin. Now he was just purposely teasing his friend. 

“Who’s lying?” Namjoon demanded, but Sanduel was too busy going through it, distracting you all. 

“The Incredibles is my favourite childhood movie, man, now I feel gross. I can’t watch it ever again because I’ll imagine you two trying to superhero fuck.” 

Your friends were way too dramatic. It wasn’t even a big deal, they were making it out to be way kinkier than it was, and Seokjin wasn’t helping matters. You were literally just having normal sex dressed up. That’s all. 

“This game has taught me I’m best friends with a bunch of vanilla ice creams,” Seokjin tutted. “It’s called having fun. Something you guys can’t seem to do.” 

“You all suck!” You agreed. 

Hm, maybe you were just as guilty as your boyfriend… It was just too damn amusing goading your friends… 

[wiypt-writes]

Riding High

Ch3: Chicken wings and Confessions.

Chapter Summary: Fliss heads to Frank and Mary’s for a cookout, and they both learn a little bit more about the other’s troubled past.

Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words. Talks of domestic violence and suicide.

Chapter Pairings:  Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

A/N: Again, as you will all know I’m a Brit so apologies if too much British horsey lingo slips into this…ASK away if you don’t understand. Tagging all my SSB/CSI readers…if you want in or off the list PLEASE just tell me.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding High Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 2

“Frank goes out most Fridays, but Saturday we hang out.” Mary explained about her weekends to Fliss as she sat on the chair with her juice box. Mary had finished her riding lesson roughly fifteen minutes ago and they were now sat in Fliss’ office waiting for Frank to finish working on the tractor. Fliss had noticed instantly that Mary’s demeanour around the two other girls on her lesson had changed, she had become a lot more introvert. Almost like the children bored her so to speak.

It had surprised Fliss a little, as normally it was the other way round, kids happy to be outgoing with people their own age and more reserved with grown-ups. But she had ignored it and introduced the three girls to one another, simply carrying on as normal. Mary had completely focussed on her riding, not really speaking to the other kids and Fliss was starting to understand now why Frank thought she needed to socially interact a little more with children.

“That’s cool.” Fliss smiled. “So what are you doing tonight then?”

“He said he was gonna do a BBQ.” Mary looked at her. “Roberta’s coming over. She’s our neighbour. She turns up uninvited all the time so Frank said we might as well ask her if she wanted to come as she’d just rock up anyway.”

Fliss grinned “Is Frank any good with BBQs?”

“He BBQs better than he cooks.” Mary answered and Fliss chuckled. “But that’s because it’s not really cooking is it? It’s just heating meat to a temperature so that all the bacteria is killed.”

“Talking about me again?” Frank leaned in the doorway of the office, wiping his hands on an old rag and Fliss looked up, smiling at him.

“Mary was just telling me about your cooking.”

Frank snorted “Yeah it’s not much to write home about.”

“It’s bad.” Mary grimaced. “Unless you get it out of a jar.”

At that Fliss tipped her head back in a loud laugh. “Oh God!”

Frank shook his head smiling to himself before he changed the subject. “Tractor’s all done.”

“You, Sailor, are a God send.” she smiled “What do I owe you?”

“Nothing” Frank shook his head “I had the parts lying around so…”

Fliss frowned, before she smirked at him, “Okay then, today’s lesson is on me again.”

Frank looked away shaking his head before he turned back, smiling “That’s how it is?”

“That’s how it is.” she nodded.

“Alright, quid-pro-quo.” he shrugged, tucking the rag he had been using into his back pocket.

“What are you doing tonight?” Mary asked and Fliss smiled.

“Well my Mum and Dad are away so I have the house to myself. I’ll probably grab a beer, lay by the pool for a bit and then…”

“You have a pool?” Mary’s eyes widened, cutting her off.

“My mum and dad do.”

“That’s so cool.” Mary looked at Frank “Why can’t we have a pool?”

“We do.”

“A communal one.” Mary rolled her eyes. “A private one is way better.”

“Yeah, well, sorry life is such a disappointment to you.” Frank looked at her, Mary pouted a little at him and Fliss smiled at the easy to-and-froing that was going on between the two. “And here’s another disappointment, time to go.”

“Why?”

“Because you’ve taken up enough of Miss Gallagher’s…”

“Fliss, please.”

“Fliss’ time, and I need to get to the store if you wanna eat anything tonight.”

Mary grumbled but stood up and trudged slowly towards the door.

“Before you go do you wanna book in for next week?” Fliss asked.

“You gonna let me pay for that one?” Frank looked at her.

“Depends if I find anything else for you to fix.” she shot back, Frank snorted and shook his head. “Same time?”

He nodded “That’s great, thanks.”

“No problem.”

She bid them both goodbye and Frank and Mary made their way to the truck, Frank’s hand dropping to the back of Mary’s head as they walked, keeping her from diverting her attention as she spotted Joanne bringing in one of the horses from the pasture.

“Do you not think Miss Gallagher might be lonely?” Mary asked Frank suddenly.

“Lonely?”  Frank looked at her, “Why do you think she might be lonely?”

“Because she’s on her own, at home.” Mary shrugged

“She lives near her parents.” Frank replied.

“Yeah but her parents have been away since Tuesday. And she told me that she doesn’t have a lot of friends round here.”

“Neither do you.” Frank looked at Mary.

Mary scoffed “I have you and Roberta, and Fred.”

“Well then Fliss has her family, her horses.”

“But why not us?”

“I’m not following?” Frank shook his head. “I mean why can’t we be her friends?”

“Well, we are.” he said, “Sorta, anyway.”

“So why doesn’t she come round tonight as well?”

“Well, I…” Frank paused and looked up. He’d only know the woman a week but he couldn’t deny he liked her company. They’d chatted over text most nights since, and in person it was just as easy to talk to her as it was behind a phone screen, but he didn’t know her in any detail… well, not yet anyway. He was hoping he would in time, because he found her a breath of fresh air to be around. She was someone who didn’t know anything about him, his life. She took him for who he was and he liked that.

Taking a breath he looked back down at Mary. “You think she’d wanna come?”

Mary shrugged before she hopped round to the other side of the truck.  Frank patted the roof and leaned through the open window of the driver’s side. “Wait her a minute.” he instructed, before he turned and walked back onto the yard.

“Fliss?” he called and she turned to face him.

“Forget something?” she asked, smiling.

“No, well kinda, look. If you want, and that’s only if, there’s no obligation at all but you’re welcome to join us tonight.”

“When I said I was alone, I wasn’t angling for an invite.” she explained and Frank shook his head.

“No, I know…” he assured her “But the offer’s there if you fancy it. Although my limits are burgers, sausages and steak.”

“No chicken wings?” she frowned “What kind of sorry ass BBQ is that?”

“You want chicken wings, you can bring them.” he laughed.

She looked at him for a second before she smiled “Alright, deal.”

“Say about half five? Will you be done here or…”

“I can get one of the girls to close up.” she smiled. “Half five is fine.”

“Ok, well I’ll text you the address.” he said with a nod “It’s not hard to find, we live near the dock not far from St Pete’s beach. It’s the little trailer-slash-prefab park.”

He paused, waiting for the usual judgmental look that came whenever he explained where he lived but it never arrived. Instead, Fliss smiled and nodded.

“Near the dock huh?” she grinned “That’s pretty cool.”

“Well it means the commute to work is acceptable” he shrugged and Fliss laughed.

“I bet the views are amazing.”

“Well, sadly we only have a single storey apartment so can’t see much.”

“Shame.” Fliss nodded. “I could quite happily lose a day watching sailors.”

There was a pause as Frank arched an eyebrow, as she held his gaze, smirking a little and he found his neck and cheeks going warm.

Was she flirting with him?

“Unfortunately you’ll have to make do with me.” He replied, testing the water.

“Yeah, that is a bummer.” She sighed. “Not sure how I’ll cope.”

There was a twinkle in her eye and Frank shook his head, giving a little chuckle.

Yup, definitely flirting.

“Okay, so I guess I’ll see you later.” He asked and she nodded, smiling.

“Yeah, you will.”

***** “Hi guys!” Fliss waved at the screen as her mom and dad squeezed in to say hello.

“Hey Titch!” her Dad grinned back “How’s it going? Burnt the house down yet?” “Yeah, fire brigade are dealing with it now” she rolled her eyes. “How’s Seattle?”

“Hot, like muggy hot, and full of people.” her dad grimaced and she heard her mum tssk in the background before she too appeared on the screen.

“Ignore him!”  Verity appeared on the screen, smiling “It’s wonderful!”

“Hmmmm” Bill rolled his eyes “I tell you what won’t be wonderful, my bank statement when I get it. You’ve hit every shop going.”

Fliss laughed as her parents began to bicker affectionately.

“So what are you up to tonight?” Verity turned to her daughter “Making the most of the peace and quiet?”

“Actually I’m going out.” she said, ignoring but not missing, the surprised look her parents exchanged. “Well, to a BBQ”

“A BBQ?” Bill asked.

“Yeah, Frank and Mary invited me so,” she shrugged, “I thought it beat sitting at home alone.”

Another significant look was exchanged between the parents.

“Oh and he fixed the tractor” Fliss said, in a hope that would divert her Dad’s attention. Luckily for her, Bill was a tactful man and could recognise when she was trying to change the subject so, to avoid her mother digging further, he took the initiative and began to ask her a few questions about it, which she answered as best she could. The call lasted for another ten minutes or so before the oven sounded, telling her the marinated chicken wings she had cooked to take with her were ready so she bid them both goodbye, promising to be at the airport to pick them up the following evening, and headed into the kitchen.

Once the wings were out cooling, she took a shower then set about trying to decide what to wear. Her stomach was churning a little, she was nervous for a number of reasons, the main one being she actually kinda liked Frank. He was easy to talk with, funny, flirty and even better to look at. Fliss had never imagined post her husband she’d ever feel as comfortable with a man so easily as she had with Frank, which could only be a good sign, right?

In the end she settled on a pair of cut-off jeans which grazed her ankles, a pair of brown, strappy flat sandals and a light green checked sleeveless button down. She kept her make up light, and pulled her long hair back into a loose bun. Once she had made sure the dogs were okay she grabbed the chicken wings and the beer she had also bought to take with her, double checked the directions and set off.

It wasn’t a long drive to the park Frank and Mary lived on. Fliss slowed down carefully, looking for the number she had been given and soon spotted Frank’s truck parked up in a space just off the little road. She stopped her Jeep behind it and clambered out, only to be almost bowled over by a flurry of blonde hair.

“Hi!” Mary said, giving her a hug. Fliss chuckled and bent down to hug her back.

“Mary you saw me like a few hours ago.” she laughed.

“I know but, I’m glad you came.” she beamed, letting go. Mary then reached down to pick up a ginger one-eyed cat which was following her. “This is Fred.” “Nice to meet you Fred.” Fliss grinned, giving the cat a scratch behind his ear.

“Mary for God’s sake give it a moment before you start bugging her half to death.” Frank’s voice sounded and Fliss looked up, smiling at him as he appeared from the side of the house. Fliss gave him the once over from behind her sunglasses. He was dressed in a pair of light blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and a pair of grubby white sneakers. As he crossed the lawn area towards them, he gave Fliss a smile which made her stomach twist and to distract herself she turned and opened the passenger side of the car, reaching in for the ceramic dish covered in foil

“You told me to bring chicken wings.” she smiled as she handed him the dish “I also brought beer.”

Frank laughed and shook his head “I wasn’t being serious…”

“Well, I did them anyway. And they’re already cooked so you just need to char them. No chance of food poisoning.”

“Good to know.” Frank nodded, before he gestured with his head “You err, wanna come in?”

Fliss looked over to their apartment and nodded. “Sure.”

Together they walked round to the back of the house and up a set of steps into a small kitchen.

“I’ll show you round!” Mary said, grabbing her hand. Fliss let the girl lead her into the main room of the house.

She looked around smiling softly, taking it all in. It was small, cluttered and packed with personal touches which gave it a homely feel. A small desk in the corner by another door, which she assumed led to a bedroom, which was loaded with books and school supplies. Underneath a window sat a small leather couch, and the walls were adorned a slightly shabby light coloured wooden panelling which gave the place the feel of a beach hut. It might not have been fancy, but it was nice, the vibe was good and Fliss could tell this was a home that saw a lot of love. And she instantly felt at ease.  

“Probably not what you’re used to huh?” Frank watched her as she looked around, suddenly a little conscious that she was more than likely coming from a fairly opulent background with the job she did and her family and sporting heritage.

“No, but,” she smiled at him,“I love it, feels like a home.”

“It’s not much but it does us.” Frank smiled at her comment as he moved back to the fridge. “Beer or…”

“Yeah, beer’s good.” she followed him back to the kitchen, standing in the doorway and nodding to the carrier bag of bottles she had put on the table.

“You know you didn’t need to bring any more.” he said, as he glanced inside it “I got plenty”

“I’m sure you do but my Mum always told me it was polite to take something with me when I go to someone’s for dinner.”

Frank smiled and began to place the bottles in the fridge before he pulled out two already chilled Bud Light and flipped the tops off before passing her one.

“Thanks” she smiled.

Mary walked past the pair of them, Fred shooting ahead of her as she tossed a ping pong ball into the grass of the yard and, with the hand that had just grabbed his aviators off the table, Frank gestured after her, questioningly. Fliss nodded and they stepped back outside onto the lawn area, where a BBQ and a small table and a few chairs sat were set up.

Fliss took a seat as Mary flopped onto a beanbag to their left on the grass.

“Frank bought the special burgers” she stated “Said if we had company that wasn’t just Roberta we should wheel out the good stuff.”

Frank groaned at his niece as he slid on his sunglasses. “Mary.”

“What?” she asked, and Fliss laughed.

“I’m glad you think I’m worthy of good burgers” she teased, and Frank noticed the corners of her eyes that weren’t hidden by her Oakley’s crinkling up as she smiled.

“And I’m offended to know I’m not.” A voice said, and Frank jumped slightly. Fliss turned to see a kindly faced black woman with chin lengthy curly dark hair rounding the side of the house. Mary jumped up to give her a hug and the woman greeted her before she smiled at Fliss who had stood up.

“You must be Fliss.”

“Roberta, yeah?” Fliss asked nodding as she shook the ladies hand “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Same here.” The woman nodded before she turned to Frank. “You going to get me a beer?”

“Get one yourself.” Frank shot back “Make yourself at home. You usually do.”

Fliss grinned as Roberta aimed a slap to his head and he dodged the hit as if he knew it was coming. Which he probably did, Fliss realised. There was a comfortable familiarity between the two of them, a mother-son kind of vibe, even if Frank was trying to be all gruff about it.

Roberta came back and dropped into a chair and they all settled into a comfortable chat. Roberta asked Fliss questions about her Yard, Mary interjecting comments here and there as Frank stood by the grill observing their food. Any tension that Fliss had been feeling quickly evaporated as she became even more comfortable in her surroundings, and she happily chatted away, instantly warming to Roberta as well. She told them about her brother, Steve and his twin boys Charlie and Joel who were both Mary’s age, where she was from in England, and her parents, revealing to Frank’s surprise that Bill wasn’t actually her biological father.

“I didn’t know that.” Frank looked at her.

“Why would you?” Fliss shrugged “It’s not important really. My actual dad left my mum before she had me and then he died when I was four months old. I never met him. Bill brought me up from the age of 2 and adopted me when he married mum, so he is my dad, in everything but blood.”

“You said they were out of town?” Roberta asked. “Anywhere nice?”

“Seattle.” Fliss smiled “Mum’s always wanted to go and, well last year they didn’t get much chance to travel what with everything that was going on so they’re just starting to get round to it. Kinda strange them not being here, it’s the first time since I’ve been in Florida that they haven’t.”

She pondered that for a moment, her nails lightly tapping on her beer bottle before she gave a grin and looked up at Frank. “I face timed them before. Their reaction when I told them I wasn’t simply sitting at home tonight like a total loser was priceless. I thought Mum was going to tell me to give her a ring when I got back home safely.”

Frank gave a little laugh and was about to reply when Mary cut in.

“Why’s that? You’re a grown up.”

Frank rolled his eyes at Mary’s nosey demeanour but Fliss didn’t seem to mind.

"Well like I told you, hun, I don't really have many friends here so I don’t go out a lot” Fliss shrugged "I only really know the guys from the yard and a few people through my parents. My friends are all in the UK, even the people I knew in Boston were more…” she trailed off before she took a breath and smiled “Well, I left them all behind when I moved."

"Well now you got us, right Frank?" Mary said simply as she sat on the large bean bag as she tossed a ping pong ball for Fred who obligingly chased it across the lawn.

"Sure does." Frank smiled, apologetically. “And we’re kinda hard to shake off. "

"Like a dose of the clap." Roberta dropped her voice so only Fliss and Frank could hear. Fliss choked on her beer, sputtering a laugh as Frank flipped the woman off.

"Fuck you" 

Fliss wiped the beer she had slopped onto the front of her blouse, taking a little longer than she needed as her eyes had watered up at the sudden sentiment of the moment. She had only known Frank and Mary a week, yet here she was in their home as if she’d known them forever. Friendship was something she had been aching to feel again for months and now she found herself suddenly surrounded by it and she was a little overwhelmed, but in a good way.

When she finally looked up, Frank was surprised to see there was a shine in her eyes as they had watered over. He shot her a wink, tactful enough not to mention it and then asked her if she would mind grabbing him a beer from the fridge whilst he kept an eye on the steaks, giving her chance to escape and compose herself. She shot him a grateful nod and headed inside, taking a deep breath.

“She alright?” Robert asked, standing up and moving to the grill “She looked a little upset.”

Frank shrugged, focussing on the grill before he looked at Roberta “Think I should go after her?”

Roberta shot him a look as if he had just asked the most stupid question in the world. “Dur.”

“Watch that.” he instructed, handing Roberta the tongs before he headed inside and Fliss turned to look at him, gesturing to the beer on the side.

“Was just about to try and find the bottle opener.” She spoke quietly and, reaching into his pocket Frank handed it to her and smiled.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” She nodded, before she took a deep breath. “It’s just, well, I’ve not done anything like this in a while, other than with my family so…” “Overwhelming?” he smiled softly and she gave a little shrug.

“A little, maybe. But it’s nice.”

“You might not be saying that when you taste my cooking.” Frank deadpanned and Fliss laughed, following him back outside.

******

To Frank’s delight the food was actually pretty damned good. Roberta had brought a potato salad with her and everything got eaten, there wasn’t a scrap left which was why he and Fliss were now sat on the chairs in the garden, Fliss groaning about being in a food coma. Roberta had left half an hour ago and Mary was now flat out on the bean bag, covered by a fleece blanket. Frank had moved the grill away and lit the small portable fire pit before he had retrieved another blanket for Fliss and himself from the stash down the side of the sofa.

Their conversation had turned to Frank’s work and he was telling Fliss about some of the people he had met, the pair of them giggling as he spoke about a real stuck up couple he had fixed a boat for, who had then only gone and crashed it into the side of another boat on the first day of them taking it back out.

“What a waste.” Fliss laughed, “All your hard work gone up in smoke.”

“Well I got paid.” Frank shrugged “And it was a nice boat to drive”

“Sail.” Fliss corrected him and he rolled his eyes.

"I'm as much of a sailor as you are a cowgirl."

Fliss grinned as she took another swig from her beer bottle before she turned to him, the reflection of the fire pit flashing in her eyes. “Well, if the boots fit" Frank laughed "Do you actually have a pair of cowboy boots?"

"I used to." She took a deep breath. "I spent a week in Texas one summer on a ranch, just to try my hand at Western riding. They gave me a pair of boots and a hat when I left. And then my husband burned them one night after I was late home, also breaking three of my Pandora bracelets that I spent years collecting charms for because I also brought back the wrong brand of coffee.”

Frank bowed his head.

"Sorry." Fliss sighed. "That kinda killed the conversation didn't it?"

Frank shook his head softly "In all honesty I was just thinking about what a prick he is. Something I'll never understand, a man laying hands on a woman."

"I tried to understand it for years." Fliss bit her lip. “Even after he was sent down I still wonder sometimes what I did to make him behave like that but I know it’s him with the problem not me." she paused and shook her head again “I have no idea why I’m telling you all this, sorry.”

“Don’t apologise.” Frank looked at her. “Like I said the other night, I’m a good listener.”

“Yeah, you are. You don’t talk much though.” she looked at him.

“What do you think I’m doing now?”

“That’s not what I mean.” she looked at him. “Just a pity I can’t google you like you did to me.” Frank took a deep breath and grimaced as he looked at her “My dad told me” she smiled.

“Yeah, sorry about that, Mary was curious”

“Its fine.” she sighed. “How much did you read?”

“Not much.” He replied honestly. “It isn’t really any of our business.”

“I wish most people thought like that.” She picked at the label on her bottle. “It attracted a lot of interest amongst the circuit. The main reason I left Boston was to get away from all of it but it seems it just follows me all over.”

“Well, no matter how much you try and leave the past behind it always has a habit of catching up on you.” Frank spoke, glancing at Mary. He hesitated before he turned to Fliss.

“Give me your phone.”

“My phone?” she frowned, reaching into her pocket. “I’m not…”

“Well, you might not be able to google me, specifically, but you can google my story.” He said as she unlocked it. “I’d do it but my phone isn’t geared for that type of thing, not really.”

She swiped at a screen then handed it to him where he hesitated for a second. Was he really sure he wanted to do this?

He supposed it was only fair so he typed in what he wanted before holding it out to her.

“The first day we met you asked me what I was running from.” He took a deep breath as Fliss took the phone from him with a questioning look before she glanced down at the article on display.

It was from the Boston Herald.com and her eyes were immediately drawn to the black and white picture of a pretty woman with short, light hair. She was the double of Mary. Across the top the headline read “A Mind for math: Is Diane Adler the missing female variable that finally solves the Navier-Stokes Equation?”

“That’s my sister.” Frank supplied “Mary’s mom. She was basically a genius. The Navier–Stokes equation they’re talking about, well, it’s of huge interest in a purely mathematical sense. It hasn’t yet been proven whether solutions always exist in three dimensions and, if they do exist, whether they are smooth or…”

“You’ve lost me.” Fliss shrugged “I was an English major, numbers and maths really not my strong point.”

Frank chuckled “Sorry, force of habit.” he smiled as Fliss handed him the phone back.

“So, what happened to her?” Fliss asked softly. “I mean, I figure something must have for you to end up with Mary but…”

“She killed herself.”

“Shit.” Fliss sighed, “I’m sorry Frank.”

He took a deep breath. “She was only 27. I was running late for a date of all things. She just showed up, on my doorstep. And she never did that unannounced, and more to the point she never simply showed up with Mary either.” Frank swallowed and Fliss waited patiently for him to continue. “She said she needed to talk. I told her I would talk to her when I got back and I left. I mean, couldn’t be late for a date could I? God forbid it damage my chances of getting’ laid.” Fliss noticed the bitter edge in his voice as he continued “Came home that night. Mary was on the couch…and I found Diane on the bathroom floor.”

Fliss gently touched his arm “Frank, there’s no way you could have known.”

“But I should have.” Frank shook his head, his voice soft. “She was my little sister, you know, I was two years older than her and when my Dad died but I promised then I’d always look after her but…”He shook his head. “Anyway, when she died as soon as I could we moved here. Fast forward 6 and a half years and, well, we’re still here.”

“I take it Mary’s father isn’t about?”

Frank snorted “No.”

“And your mom?”

“She turned her back on Diane when she got pregnant. Didn’t fit with her plan. That’s part of the reason I moved Mary and me here. She’s a very exacting woman, uncompromising, very British.”

At that Fliss raised an eyebrow and Frank looked at her, suddenly realising what he had said. 

“She’s from England.” he added, and Fliss smiled. “She hated the fact I gave up my job and, well we don’t speak.”

“What did you do before becoming a Sailor?” Fliss smiled and Frank chuckled slightly.

“I was an assistant professor at Boston University” he said. “Philosophy.”

“Wow.” Fliss smiled “That’s pretty smart.”

“You sound surprised?” he looked at her

“No, not at all.” Fliss protested.

He smiled again, “You know, sometimes I see so much of Diane in Mary, and she’s just a child. She comes out with stuff that’s way beyond her years. I mean earlier this week she asked me what I thought Executive Order 13769 was going to mean for all those refugees being refused entry…what seven year old talks about stuff like that?”

“A very smart one.” Fliss replied

“Exactly.” Frank nodded “I don’t want that life for her, the pressure associated with being a childhood genius like Diane was. Which is why she’s going to a normal school in September, where she’ll hopefully learn how to be a kid.”

Fliss looked at him.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t notice it before when she was with the other kids on the lesson.” Frank eyed her and Fliss looked down a little “See, she doesn’t know how to a normal seven year old, well, very rarely anyway. In fact the only time I’ve seen it recently is when she’s at the yard with you.

“She’s just a little socially awkward, that’s nothing to worry about.” Fliss looked at him.

“But I do worry.” Frank sighed

“Yeah, because you care.” Fliss said gently, her hand falling to his arm. “I think you’re being a little hard on yourself and her. She’s a good kid.”

“Yeah, considering I brought her up.” Frank chuckled.

“I think you’ve done a good job so far.” Fliss shrugged “It can’t have been easy.”

“Still isn’t” Frank sighed. “It’s not how I envisaged my life panning out that’s for sure.”

“Tell me about it.” Fliss snorted “If you’d have told me ten years ago that by the time I was thirty-three I’d have had my dreams cut short at the age of twenty-eight, then divorced after being hospitalised by the very man I moved thousands of miles to be with by the age of thirty-two, I’d probably have laughed but here we are.”

“He hospitalised you?” Frank frowned, suddenly feeling an inexplicable surge of anger towards this fucker, one which he really shouldn't feel so strongly considering he had known Fliss for all of a week.

“Did you not read that bit?”

Frank shook his head “No I stopped reading after it mentioned domestic abuse. Like I said, none of our business.”

“He wanted us to have a baby and frankly the thought of bringing a kid up, with him, in that environment…so when I found out I was pregnant I got rid of it. He found out and he beat me so hard he broke three of my ribs, ruptured my spleen and fractured my eye socket. I was in hospital for over a week.” 

“Shit, Fliss, I had no idea…”

She waved his apology away “In a sick, twisted way I’m almost glad it happened. It was the final push I needed to leave him for good. Wasn’t easy mind, I was low. Very low for a while and when the trial was going on…” she stopped again and shook her head “You know he plea bargained? Pleaded guilty to a lesser level of assault and got four years last summer. He’ll be out next June I expect if he applies for parole, which he will because, well, that’s John all over.”

“Fucker.” Frank bit out between gritted teeth.

“Yeah, well it’s behind me now.” she shrugged “I’m in a good place. I’m happy, my business is taking off and it’s a job I love. I have my family and, well, some friends.”

Frank smiled and nodded “What Roberta said before is true you know. We’re harder to get rid of than an STD.”

Fliss laughed loudly and drained her beer bottle “Well I’m glad to hear it, because I kinda like you Sailor.”

“Back at you Cowgirl.”

They changed the subject then, Fliss talking about her horses, in particular her chestnut mare that was her pride and joy, and then when Mary stirred Frank glanced at his watch and realised it was past midnight. He didn’t want to kick Fliss out but when he stood saying he should get the little girl in bed, Fliss nodded and agreed she should be going as it was late.

Frank told her to wait whilst he swept Mary up and carried her into the house before he came back out to walk her down to her car.

“We should do this again.” Fliss offered, “Only this time you can come to me. Although I’m a better cook than BBQ chef.”

“You’re on.” Frank said, “Although don’t mention it to Mary. It’s all I’ll hear about.” Fliss grinned and then leaned up on her toes to press a soft kiss to his cheek.

“Thank you, Frank. I had a lovely evening.”

He smiled as she climbed into her car and as she set off he tossed a hand at the tailgate as she rounded the corner. Once she was out of view, he turned and headed back inside, contemplating the evening. The chat had been hard going in some places, he hadn’t told anyone about Diane in a long time. Hell, Mary didn’t know a lot about her mother, he tried to keep her sheltered but he knew that as she grew older that was going to get harder to do and justify. With that in mind, he knew exactly how much it must have taken Fliss to open up the way she did.

It left him with a puzzlingly warm feeling in his chest, one he couldn’t really explain. And he had a feeling it was to do with the fact that he actually wanted to spend time with the woman and get to know her, instead of simply fucking her into his mattress.

Yup, for the first time in his life, Frank realised he’d extended an offer of no strings attached friendship to a woman.

And he couldn’t deny, it was nice.

**** Chapter 4