#fictober day 31

[underratedbananawerewolf]

Fictober Day 31

Prompt 31: "It's not your fault."

Fandom: Honkai Star Rail

Rating: G

Warnings:  Mild spoilers for Jingliu’s character quest

Stelle was concerned. First that mysterious letter for Dan Heng had arrived and then he had vanished. Himeko had told her he had returned to the Luofu that required his attention so the woman had let it go. She knew that if Dan Heng needed any help from the Express crew, he would have asked for it.

Still, it didn't rid her of her concern. Anything involving those from his past was rarely happy and anybody he might be going to see casually, such as Bailu or Jing Yuan, wouldn't require a secret letter and a vague explanation about leaving. Not that she could do anything about it unless he called for help. The Luofu was a massive ship. He could have been anywhere.

Stelle opened the door to the Archives, stepping into the now dimly lit room. A flip of a switch brought the lights up and she made her way over to the data bank. It was late by now but she found herself too keyed up to sleep. Perhaps reading would help quiet her thoughts enough to rest.

Was this what fear felt like? She didn't think so. Her friends and books had described the feeling of a knotted stomach, racing heart and an inability to think of anything. All she felt was worry over Dan Heng's wellbeing, hoping he was safe. Jing Yuan had revoked his exile but there were enough people who remembered his last incarnation. With a sigh she pulled up a number of entries on legends of the Xianzhou. Her friend might not have had much personal experience with the culture of his homeland but anything written down he had incorporated. She liked to think that her tendency to scavenge for anything that looked interesting contributed to his "dragon hoard"

Settling into the one chair in the room, she sat back to read. She must have dozed off given that she seemed to have lost some time since she had last seen the clock. It was very late, the lights once again dimmed from the lack of activity. Glancing about it was obvious that Dan Heng had yet to come home. What had woken her then if not the entrance of the room's resident?

Her phone pinged. Oh. That's it. Picking it up she squinted at the message and blinked in surprise. She knew that icon. Jing Yuan. Why was he texting her at this hour?

I'm sorry about my mentor's rude entry.

Mentor? Wait, hadn't she read something about this? Still staring at the messages Stelle struggled to coax the memory out of her mind. A name fluttered into view; the High Cloud Quintet, the Luofu's best warriors that had decimated any abomination of the Abundance. She knew that Jing Yuan was the last member that had managed to keep himself intact. Dan Feng had been another with Blade's former self alongside him. Another name fluttered in her mind's eye. Jingliu. The Trailblazer's eyes widened in realization. Jingliu, the previous Sword champion of the Xianzhou, erased from the records for her crime and Jing Yuan's mentor. But wasn't the woman dead? How, no, why had she come aboard long enough to drop off a letter for one of her former friends? Probably nothing good.

The hiss of a door brought her out of her thoughts and she looked over. Dan Heng stood there, looking absolutely exhausted. He so rarely showed what he was feeling that this heavy weariness was startling in its obviousness. Stelle immediately stood up causing the Vidyadhara to flinch back in surprise. He must have been beat if he hadn't noticed her immediately upon entering.

"Dan Heng..." She called out softly, walking over to him. A hand reached out to take his hand and for once he didn't protest. Carefully she drew him into the darkened room, the door sliding shut. "Are you okay?"

"I..." He hesitated, looking down to see that his fingers had closed around hers. The tight grip had to hurt but none of that showed on Stelle's face or even the smallest flinch. He forced his hold on her to loosen. "I don't know."

Stelle led him over to where his bed lay, books still set in haphazard piles around it. Sitting down on the futon she encouraged him to follow her. It didn't take much encouragement given how weak his legs felt. He was home, safe in his usual sanctuary, and yet nothing could protect him from his thoughts.

"What happened?" She kept her hand in his, shifting close enough so he could feel her body heat even if their only contact was their joined hands.

His answer was slow in coming, halting as he tried to arrange his thoughts enough to convey the events. It was harder than he could ever have believed. "Jingliu returned. She...insisted on visiting places on the Luofu that she remembered."

"I thought she was..." Stelle trailed off

"She fled the Xianzhou but chose to return to turn herself in and atone for her crimes."

The woman with him considered that. In any other circumstance he might have silently labeled her as cute. As subtle as her expressions were he had learned to read them. When in quiet moments she always took the time to think about what anyone said to her, absorbing it into the emptiness that was her memory up until she joined the Express crew mere months before. When she did finally speak it showed that she had pieced some of the puzzle together. "She called you to say that you still need to atone."

"Yes." He had a clearer idea now of what Dan Feng had done, even if the memories were hazy at best.

"Why? You're not Dan Feng."

He shook his head and then shook it again. "It doesn't matter. It's still my burden to carry. I have to do..."

Stelle reached up and put her hand over his mouth, stopping him from talking. He recognized that stubborn look, the glint in those gold eyes as firm as any rock. Despite that firmness, her voice was soft as she lowered her hand. "It's not your fault, Dan Heng. You are not Dan Feng. You paid enough of a price for what he did. No matter what anybody else says, you don't have to atone for any past sin."

"..." He opened his mouth but when she raised hand again, he promptly closed it again before she could force silence from him.

"You can help fix what happened but that isn't the same as making up for doing something wrong."

A hint of a smile played about Dan Heng's lips despite the situation. "When did you get to be so wise about this?"

She smiled gently in return. "I know I have a lot to learn still but I know this much." She stepped forward to angle his head down just enough so she could kiss his forehead. "No matter what Jingliu, Blade, or whoever else says, Dan Feng's crimes aren't yours. Make things better, help those that he hurt, but don't let it turn into an obsession, okay?"

He sighed again, his eyes closing before he reached out and wrapped his arms around her to pull her into a hug. "I'll try, Stelle. Thank you."

[randomfoggytiger]

"Sooner or Later a Man's Gotta Face His Demons"

(Fictober, Day 31)

An end to my first Fictober-- what a fun time it's been~.

*****

They were on a stakeout, an aspect of the in-betweens, of the wait-and-chase, hunt-and-catch, nine-to-five that came with the job. More mainstream work-- the everyday kind excluding conspiracies and monster men, generally-- that required hiding in plain sight. It was an opposite set of skills to their usual modus operandi, a good exercise to knock the rust from their joints and reacquaint themselves with procedure. Less satisfying, but no less rewarding. 

The idling car was wrapped in fog, the yellow glare of the headlights splicing through the breathy autumn air. Warmth languidly settled on its passengers, coating them in a bone-deep relaxation that was battled every hour or two by fiddling with the temperature. No place to go but here, no other person in the world except the one on either side of the seat. 

Scully half-expected her breath to mark the air when she broke the silence. “Mulder, how come we’ve never investigated a case on Samhain?” 

“What do you mean?” The unspoken commandment now broken, he greedily cracked open a sunflower seed. The sacred dark was next to be disturbed: the driver side door popped open unceremoniously-- the window still fixedly stuck-- and a shell was spit across the frosty road. Maybe, hopefully, it would snow soon.  

“Samhain? Gaelic pagan tradition? Predecessor to All Saints Day which precedes All Souls Day? Men and women and children parading in masks, going door to door to ward off demons? The door to the spirit realm being opened once a year? Any of this--” she paused, accepted the shelled compact of salt Mulder handed her, “--ringing a bell?” 

“You got any fairies you want to catch up with, Scully?”

“Samhain, Mulder.”

He shrugged. “We just… never got around to it.” 

“...'We’.” 

“There is a partnership here, Scully-- yin and yang, push and pull, give and take.”

She weighed his words, rolling the seed around in her palm. “So, we never investigated Samhain because I never brought it up.”

“And because you, the resident Irish Catholic,” Mulder reminded, pointing a finger in her direction, “never brought it up, I thought it was unimportant. Therefore, no Samhain.”

“I think you’re afraid.” Scully was surprised-- and pleased-- that she had so swiftly and so thoroughly appalled her partner.

“Afraid? We’ve already seen ghosts, Scully-- a few more spooks or spirits isn’t going to bother me. Besides, you seem to attract them in abundance, little Gaelic woman.” 

“And the ritualistic, celebratory bonfires have… no sway in your decision?”

The silence was back for a temporary pit stop, crackling with suppressed sheepishness and bubbling mirth as Mulder smirked, caught, and Scully grinned, amused. He reached forward to fiddle with the heater, and she sat back to avoid the expected colder blast of air. 

“Scully, did I ever tell you about the time we almost investigated a fire-breathing goblin in Minnesota?” 

“No kidding.” 

She shifted closer, letting her eyes drift to his recently razed hair. Remembered the patches over his surgical scars, remembered his determined eyes when he asked her to cut it shorter. Reclamation, they’d both thought; vanity they’d both bantered. Mulder the phoenix, brain on fire and rising from the ashes. Waited for him to dole out another of the hoarded secrets he’d been sharing since his recovery.  

“The locals called it 'the cinder leprechaun’ until an Irishman got into a public brawl over the finer points of Irish mythology. He was running for mayoral election; and you can guess how popular he was at the polls that year.”

“I see. And was he the first to witness this fire-breathing goblin?” 

“Almost; but not quite.” 

Mulder shifted closer as well, placing the sunflower bag in a coaster and scooping up his discarded coat from the back. Scully let him settle it around her, even let him tuck her in before nudging her partner back on track. 

“Mulder, who did see it first?”

“Two witnesses-- same time, different stories. Both sober or thereabouts.” 

She burrowed deeper into her new blanket. “Then what really happened?”

“Well, without being there to know for certain, I'd say it's the same as always, Scully.” Mulder left her in suspense-- not purposefully-- as he mulled over life, Samhain, and the pursuit of leprechauns. “The truth happened somewhere in-between.” 

Scully nodded, playfully tilting her head in his direction. "Where does my Samhain bonfire come into this, Mulder?"

As one unit they chuckled, grabbed another snack, and communed in the language of their own traditions.

Neither were disappointed.

*****

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

Tagging @today-in-fic and @xffictober2023 and @fictober-event

[farfromstrange]

Fictober 2024 [Announcement and Masterlist]

I am so happy to finally announce to you: Fictober 2024! I wanted to do something different from my Kinktober last year, so I decided to mix fluff with smut instead! Why just give you porn when I can also give you some romance? Like, yes we want to be railed, but we want to be loved, too.

Once again, I will be writing for our boy Matt Murdock only because I am most comfortable with him. So, a very happy Daredevil Fictober to you all!

31 prompts. 31 days.

Sound good to you? Then I encourage you to join me for this year’s Fictober! If you want to be tagged for this event and you aren’t already on my usual tag list (which I will most certainly be using), let me know in the comments!

I’m so excited for this because there has been quite the writing drought in my life these past couple of months. I can’t wait, and if you want to participate in this by reading or even writing yourself, feel free to do with this as you will. October is by far the most exciting month for fic writers and readers. It’s like Christmas, only… sluttier? Anyway.

Happy Fictober everyone!

Under the cut, you will find all the prompts I will be using, including the schedule for this year. Dive in, or wait and be surprised on October 1st…

(Edit: This post will now also function as the Masterlist for this event, so all fics I post can be found here!)

FICTOBER 2024.

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Reader | ✨ = smut; 🌼 = fluff.

October 1st: Baking Cookies 🌼 [1/10/2024]

October 2nd: Phone Sex ✨ [2/10/2024]

October 3rd: Finding a pet 🌼 [3/10/2024]

October 4th: Thigh riding ✨ [4/10/2024]

October 5th: Back scratches 🌼 [5/10/2024]

October 6th: Fingering ✨ [6/10/2024]

October 7th: Morning After ✨🌼 [7/10/2024]

October 8th: Sex Toys ✨ [9/10/2024]

October 9th: Love confessions 🌼 [9/10/2024]

October 10th: College!Matt ✨🌼 [11/10/2024]

October 11th: Girl Dad 🌼 [11/10/2024]

October 12th: Rainy Days 🌼

October 13th: Lingerie ✨

October 14th: Sickfic 🌼

October 15th: Mutual masturbation ✨

October 16th: Touch starved 🌼

October 17th: Face sitting ✨

October 18th: Mirror Sex ✨

October 19th: Nightmares 🌼

October 20th: Black Suit ✨

October 21st: Spanking ✨

October 22nd: Aftercare 🌼✨

October 23rd: Comfort/Crying 🌼

October 24th & 26th: Against a wall ✨

October 25th: Love Language 🌼

October 27th: Slow dancing 🌼

October 28th & 29th: Roleplay/religion kink & Face fucking ✨

October 30th: Somnophilia ✨

October 31st: Shibari Ropes ✨

[allzelemonz]

Boys’ Night: The Van der Linde Boys X Male Reader

Dutch Van der Linde, Arthur Morgan, Charles Smith, Bill Williamson, Micah Bell, Sean MacGuire, Kieran Duffy, Javier Esquella

Fictober Prompt: Day 31, Orgy Pronouns: None Mentioned Physical Sex: AMAB Rating: E/Smut Warnings: Orgy, threesomes, kissing, anal fingering, anal sex, oral sex, blow jobs, rough sex, voyeurism, exhibitionism, Sean’s drunken mind, marking, viagra-esc tonics, almost everyone is passed around to everyone else, Reader takes both top and bottom roles Summary: Sean has an idea that leads most of the boys in the gang to a damn fun time.

Sean, in his mildly drunken wisdom, decided that a boys’ night needs more than just poker, five finger filet, and songs. With most of the older folks and women out of camp for a special con, Sean knows his only hindrance might be Dutch. So he enlists the best sycophant he’s ever met.

“Can’t tell me it won’t be fun.” Sean grins. “All a’ us-“

“I ain’t gonna be a part a’ some invert orgy.” Micah mutters.

Sean leans closer. “Oh, really? Even if a certain cowpoke’s involved?”

Micah glares up at Sean from his seat by the scout fire, then follows the Irishman’s eyes to the filet table. There you stand, arms crossed as you watch Morgan and Marston play. And Micah might be able to turn it down, let his senses say no again, but then Dutch leans a little closer and whispers something in your ear. Micah’s head swims with lewd images of the two men he finds himself pining for in his alone time despite his best efforts.

“Fine.” He snaps, holstering his gun and glaring at Sean. “But ain’t no one ta know ‘bout this, understand that?”

Sean grins with a little chuckle. “Ya mean ‘side from the boys fuckin’ ya?”

Micah’s fists clench at his sides, but he stops himself from punching Sean. He’s in too deep at this point, half hard in his pants and more frustrated than he’s ever been. “Shut yer damn mouth, cowboy, ‘for I decide ta leave ya with blue balls.”

Sean puts his hands up, giggling to himself. “Got it, big man.”

Micah stomps off and Sean watches him carefully. The blond makes his way over to Dutch, coaxing him away from the table and back to the fire. This might be easier than he thought.

Dutch is skeptical at first, concerned about how the gang might take such a proposition. But with Micah’s easy words, Sean watches the gang leader become so much more comfortable with the idea of the gang doing this for bonding and morale.

And the word spreads fast.

Folks are a little nervous at first, shuffling and unsure. Plenty of pining goes around camp on the average day, but being given the green light is a little daunting. So, Dutch being Dutch, he makes the first move. Shedding the hat from the blond’s head, Dutch pulls Micah into a kiss by the collar of his shirt. Most of the gang watches as he walks Micah back into the filet table and lets his hands wander. Sean gets the next burst of confidence, practically lunging to kiss Lenny. John bursts out laughing when they fall onto the ground together, but he’s silenced quickly by Javier. Then Bill sheepishly cups Kieran’s face before the former O’Driscoll puts his arms over Bill’s shoulders and kisses him as if he’s been waiting to for years. It’s only yourself, Charles, and Arthur left standing in the midst of the mess, looking around at the others of the gang in various states of intimacy and undress.

Arthur clears his throat, the red of his face only getting worse as he glances around. “Well… suppose…”

You look over at him, those pretty eyes staring back at you. “You…uh, you wanna…?”

There’s a weight on your shoulder and you turn to see Charles, his other hand held out towards Arthur. The workhorse dips his head, his hat hiding his face as he steps forward and takes Charles’s hand.

“We could go somewhere a little private.” Charles suggests, nodding towards Arthur’s tent.

The thought is comforting, making your pounding heart calm a bit. Most others have simply started at their partners where they happened to fall. Only Bill and Kieran have moved behind the chuck wagon. Sean nearly has Lenny out of his pants on the ground, Javier is shamelessly grinding into John against the tree, Dutch has Micah surprisingly whimpering at the attention he gets, Charles simply leads you and a bashful Arthur away from the others.

Arthur sits on his cot, rubbing a hand down his face as he takes a breath. You don’t blame him given the circumstances.

“We don’t have to.” Charles says, sitting next to him with a kind hand on his shoulder. “Just because Dutch said it would be a good idea, doesn’t make it true.”

Arthur shakes his head. “No… I been…” He sighs. “Been wantin’ somethin; fer a while.” His hand reaches up to hold Charles’s on his shoulder, his eyes finding yours as they scrunch from a smile. “Guess I got a dirty mind.”

You chuckle lightly at the joke, happily taking Charles’s hand again as he pulls you into his lap. Charles kisses you softly, one of his hands on your waist. You gasp, pulling back slightly, when he starts to rut against you with a half-hard dick. Arthur has moved behind Charles, kissing at his neck while his hands lift up his shirt. Charles’s chest is broad and built, firm to the touch when you rest your hands on him. You watch Arthur’s hand move, twisting into your shirt to pull you forward. You’re pressed flush against Charles as Arthur kisses you over the other man’s shoulder. It’s Charles’s turn to give neck kisses now, his hands firmly holding your hips so you grind down into him.

“I want ya.” Arthur mutters against your lips. “Ya wanna fuck me, partner?”

You nod, kissing him again.

“What do you want from me?” Charles asks, his hand tilting Arthurs head so they can look at each other over his shoulder.

Arthur’s breath hitches as he looks at the man. “I… I wanna suck ya off, Charles.”

Charles smiles and that in itself is a slight. “Of course you do.”

The three of you move, hands guiding and wandering as clothes are shed. In the distance, Sean can be heard begging and groaning, there’s some curse shouted in Spanish, and the camp echos with skin slapping skin and the slurping, popping, and smacking of spit. It’s all overwhelming and you try to focus on what’s in front of you.

Arthur’s on his back, Charles nearly sitting on his chest as his dick is sucked. You’ve already spread Arthur’s legs, the tube of gun oil feeling heavy in your hand. You open it quickly, spilling half of it before getting your fingers covered and entering Arthur. In front of you, Charles throws his head back with a deep groan as his hips begin to stutter and fuck into Arthur’s mouth. You can’t help your free hand pumping yourself as you watch, your other scissoring Arthur open. It’s premature, you know it is, but you can’t take it anymore. You should stretch him more, but your dick aches in your hand and you retract your hands to grip Arthur’s hips instead.

You press into him and hear a muffled moan as Charles shivers from the vibrations it brings. Both of you still, giving Arthur time. You watch his hand grip at Charles’s hip, pulling him forward. Charles sits up, propping himself on the box behind Arthur’s cot so he can get the proper angle to fuck down into Arthur’s mouth. You start your pace, rough and fast like Charles. Arthur’s legs shake as he wraps them around your waist, his hand squeezing at Charles’s ass. You wish you could see their faces, but you can imagine. Charles’s is likely twisted in pleasure and concentration, Arthur’s might be slobbery and tear stained.

It’s Arthur that comes first, his dick untouched as it releases a flood of cum onto his stomach, a few spurts hitting Charles’s ass. Arthur’s body goes still as he whines, being used as a set of holes by now. Charles is next and you watch the bounce of his ass lose its nice rhythm as he shoots his release down Arthur’s throat. Charles seems to bury himself deep and Arthur grips his hips as he swallows what he’s given. You double your efforts, wanting to fill Arthur from both ends. You gaze falls downwards to watch yourself fuck into Arthur’s tight hole. Charles catches you off guard, tilting your head up for a kiss as he straddles Arthur’s stomach. His hand reaches down, passing your furious thrusting to fondle at your balls as they bounce off of Arthur. The heat builds fast and you release just as Charles bites at your lip.

When you let go of Arthur’s hips, he falls back down to his cot completely. Charles continues to kiss you as you pull out, smiling into it. You can hear Arthur’s labored breaths beneath you and you’re so in your own head that you don’t register the footsteps.

“Mind if I try somethin’, fellas?”

You turn from Charles to see Micah leaning against Arthur’s shaving stand. He only has his red shirt on, half buttoned, and a smirk rests on his face. Charles’s hand has yet to leave your balls and you feel him squeezing slightly as his other turns your head back to him for another kiss, silently telling you to ignore Micah.

“Aw, come on, Smith.” Micah drawls. “Lemme have a turn.”

Charles pulls back, his lips wetted and dark from all the kissing. “A turn?”

You hear Micah take a step forward and Charles moves fast. He leaves you and you nearly fall onto Arthur, only just catching yourself before collision. You look over your shoulder to watch Charles push Micah down to bend over Arthur’s weapon’s chest. A new pool of heat starts when Charles sucks on his fingers before shoving them into Micah, eliciting a moan from the older man.

“Shit…” Arthur mutters under you.

You turn to look down at him, chuckling. “Don’t think it’s what he had in mind.”

Arthur smirks. “Yeah, I doubt it.”

His hand finds the back of your neck and pulls you down for a kiss. Micah’s whimpers and curses fill the tent and you feel yourself getting hard again. Arthur grunts against you, pressing up until he brushes his dick to yours.

“‘m gettin’ too old fer this.” He mutters, blushing at his still soft dick.

Behind you, Micah gasps and you look back to watch him bury his face in his arm as Charles enters him roughly. Charles thrusts like a beast, fucking every last pathetic noise he can out of Micah. Kind of serves him right.

“C-Charlie…” Micah gasps, his voice light and breathless. “Ah! Fuck…”

Arthur hisses, his hand wrapping around his dick and trying to get himself going again. You trail your hand down, helping him stroke himself, but to no avail. After a few seconds a bottle lands beside Arthur on the cot, a tonic bottle. You look up as Arthur cranes his neck in the same direction. Standing to the side is Bill, a timid looking Kieran right behind him. Both of them are bare besides a blanket draped over Kieran’s shoulders.

“It helps.” Bill mutters, his eyes trailing over to watch Charles and Micah for a moment. “Works fer whiskey dick at least.”

Arthur looks the other outlaw up and down strangely. “Thanks.”

Bill clears his throat. “Ya wanna trade, Morgan?”

You look down at Arthur who glances between you and Kieran. He catches your nod before looking at Bill. “Sure.”

Kieran steps forward, a sheepish grin on his face. You give Arthur a final kiss before standing. As you pass him, you chance giving Kieran a kiss and he accepts it, melting into you for the few seconds it lasts. When you pull away and turn to Bill, the large man has taken himself in his hand at the sight. Your eyes catch on that motion, swallowing thickly at the size, nearly as big as Charles. You find the sense to step closer to Bill and kiss him. Behind you, Kieran squeaks from something and Arthur mumbles an apology. Bill’s hands find your hips, pulling you against him well enough to smush your dicks together between your stomachs.

Charles practically growls behind you and you hear Micah gasp again. “How’s that for a darkie, Micah?”

There’s a thud and you imagine Charles let Micah go or maybe even threw him on the ground. A few beats later, Sean calls out to Charles with a drunken shake to his voice. Bill pulls you with him, keeping his lips busy on your neck until he turns you around to bend you over Staruss’s little table. Bill fumbles, finding a tonic on the ground and pouring it over his hand before he pushes his fingers inside. You spread your legs for him, raising your ass a bit now that you’ve lost whatever care for shame you had at the start of all of this.

“Gentlemen.” Dutch greets, settling himself against the tree behind the two of you. “Don’t mind me.”

Bill’s finger’s stall for a moment, likely nervous about fucking someone in front of his boss, but he continues after a few seconds. You try not to think about Dutch watching you, feeling that same set of performance nerves. Bill fumbles more as he moves, spreading your ass cheeks apart with one hand as he guides himself inside. Both of you groan as he enters and pushes himself in fully. Bill leans forward, pressing a kiss to your shoulder before he starts thrusting. You fix your feet steady on the ground when the table under you shakes from the combined weight. Bill’s thrusts are moderate and steady, hitting deep and brushing heavenly every time.

There’s a small groan, sounding like Kieran, that makes you shiver when you think about what Arthur is doing to him. A few more thrusts from Bill makes you grip the table tighter as your legs feel shaky. Then there’s a shout of Spanish with Charles’s name mixed in. Bill’s hands wander up your body a bit, caressing your sides as he keeps up his steady fucking. A low groan reminds you that Dutch is watching and you have half a mind to look back at him, but Bill picks up his speed and you bury your face into your arm instead. Bill’s climax pumps you full, the trickling feeling distinct as his dick already starts to push the excess out with a few final thrusts.

Only a moment after Bill has stepped back there are hands on your hips. Sean pulls you to him, falling to his knees in front of you and taking you in his mouth too fast for you to think. Your hands go to his soft hair and he relents immediately, letting you fuck his mouth without question.

“Arthur!” Kieran cries somewhere in the background.

Behind you, hands grip your hips as kisses are pressed to your neck. The tickle of a mustache tells you it’s likely Javier, but you’re too occupied with fucking Sean’s willing mouth to think further. You release for the second time, letting Sean take everything you have. In the midst of your high, Javier presses inside of you and starts fucking without inhabition. His hands on your waist hold you still, his lips beginning to suck in a mark to your neck. Sean stands, grinning at you before he runs over to Arthur and all but jumps on the older man’s dick. Javier wraps his arms around you, filling your ears with mumbled Spanish that is slurred by ecstasy.

Your eyes move around camp, finding several things to admire. Bill has Micah in his lap, stroking him with one hand and fingering him with another. John and Lenny each have each other in hand as they kiss, Charles watching them from the campfire. Dutch has Kieran on the ground, fucking him roughly as he mutters about O’Driscolls but Kieran moans all the same. Arthur stares from afar, Sean bouncing on his dick as he watches the sight of Javier finally burying himself deep and mixing his cum deep inside of you with Bill’s.

“You’re so warm, cariño.” Javier mutters in your ear before he chuckles. “Who’re you seeing next?”

“Not sure.” You take a few breaths. “Haven’t seen half of them yet.”

Javier pulls himself out, causing the mixed cum to leak out. “John’s a good hole, dirty mouth too.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

You turn in time for Javier to kiss you before he heads over to Arthur, teasing words spilling out as he climbs onto the older man’s lap to replace a spent Sean. When you turn back, Dutch is a few feet away. He beckons, gesturing to the ground and some part of wanting to please your boss makes you sink to your knees without question. Dutch guides his dick to your lips and, once again, you don’t hesitate. You only get a few bobs in before Dutch clutches at your head, beginning to use you without care.

“Shit!” Bill yells, not sounding pleased. “Wagons!”

Dutch pulls you off and you turn your head to peer through the trees. Glimpses of horses, a few colorful dresses… shit indeed. Everyone scrambles, hiding in tents, pulling clothes back on, trying to clean up cum from various surfaces. You all but fall into your tent, rummaging for at least a union suit or some kind of underwear. Pants, you find pants and pull them on.

“Dutch…” Hosea calls. “What’s gone on here?”

From your tent you can see Bill hiding behind a tree, not a thing covering him. Dutch comes out of his tent, somehow fully dressed, and greets Hosea as if he hasn’t fucked half of his men in the last hour. Miss Grimshaw looks around, sniffing with a crease in her brow for a moment. She’s distracted by Tilly asking a question and you take the opportunity to grab the union suit you know to be Bill’s on the ground in front of you before running over to him in the trees.

“Owe ya.” He mutters, pulling on the covering.

You nod, turning to leave, but Bill catches your arm and pulls you closer to kiss your cheek. You give him a smile before circling around the trees, acting like you’d gone out to piss. Passing Lenny and Sean hiding out by the lake with a single fishing pole as an excuse, you sneak as best you can to Arthur’s tent. As if expecting you, a half dressed Arthur with a bulge in his pants, hands you the clothes you’d shed earlier. You dress the rest of the way next to the munitions, eyes checking for onlookers on occasion.

The camp settles, the secret kept. Everything is well and most of the boys have elected not to bring it up, others whisper and snicker about it. It’s dark when Micah sits next to you and you look at him, finding flushed cheeks for only a moment before he kisses you. It’s surprisingly soft despite the chapped and bruised lips. He pulls back, glancing to see if anyone saw before looking back at you with a sparkle in his blue eyes.

“Didn’t get the chance, cowpoke.”

[voxslays]

Hazbin Hotel “Haztober” Prompt List

I personally love love love Flufftober, Angstober, Kinktober, and Fictober! That’s why this year I am making my own! Every day I will write about one (or more) Hazbin Characters, using the daily prompts below:

Day 1: Making Caramel Apples

Day 2: Seasonal Shopping (Clothes, decor, etc.)

Day 3: “The leaves are changing!”

Day 4: ‘We fell in love in October.’

Day 5: Autumn Breeze

Day 6: Overcast Morning

Day 7: Dinner Parties

Day 8: The night I lost you

Day 9: The night I found you

Day 10: Love Potion

Day 11: The Elevator~

Day 12-15: The One (Series)

Day 16: By The Fireplace

Day 17: Pumpkin Patch Visit

Day 18: For a Fortnight

Day 19: Apple Cider, Hot Chocolate, & Pumpkin Spice

Day 20: Jumping in a leaf pile

Day 21: Making Cookies!

Day 22: Kissing (and singing) In the rain

Day 23: The red means I love you~!

Day 24: Under the Weather

Day 25: Black Cats

Day 26: Apple Pies

Day 27: Full Moon

Day 28: Underneath the Sky

Day 29: Carving Jack o’ Lanterns

Day 30: Costume Party

Day 31: Trick or Treat/Halloween

Day 32: Supriseee!!!

I’m super not excited to torture myself into writing everyday…but in the end…it will be so worth it!

Masterlist

[richonneevents]

Richonne Fictober 2024 Rules, Guidelines, & Calendar

Richonne Fictober 2024 is a 31 day challenge for fanfiction writers/creators to write/create and publish a Richonne-centric story or related content everyday for the month of October.

Fics should be between 100 and 5,000 words. Rick and Michonne must be the main pairing. Richonne is an interracial pairing, so be mindful of tropes and language that perpetuates racism and misogynoir. Rick is a canonically disabled character, so be mindful of using tropes and language that is ableist. Fanartists should be mindful of not whitewashing Michonne, Andre, and RJ in their pieces.

Please tag @richonneevents and use the tag: #richonnefictober24

Be sure to tag your prompt and which day you are filling.

In addition to Richonne-centric fanfiction, creators are encouraged to make fanart; playlists; edits; moodboards; rec lists; graphics; podfics; gifsets; photo sets; fanvids etc.

WEEK 1

Day 1: Making Caramel / Candy Apples

Day 2: Seasonal Shopping (Clothes, decor, etc.)

Day 3: “The leaves are changing!”

Day 4: “Pumpkin spice...what?!”

Day 5: Autumn Breeze

WEEK 2

Day 6: Overcast Morning

Day 7: Bobbing for Apples

Day 8: Pumpkin Patch Visit

Day 9: Rainy Day

Day 10: Scarecrow

Day 11: Haunted Hayride / Haunted House

Day 12: Horror Movie Marathon

WEEK 3

Day 13: Jumping in A Leaf Pile

Day 14: Warm Apple Cider / Hot Chocolate etc

Day 15: Corn Maze

Day 16: By The Fire(place)

Day 17: Candles 

Day 18: Flannel

Day 19: Nestled Under Blankets

WEEK 4

Day 20: Festival 

Day 21: First Frost

Day 22: Kissing In The Rain

Day 23: Baking Pies

Day 24: Cemetery Stakeout 

Day 25: Black Cat

Day 26: Dead-End

WEEK 5

Day 27: Underneath The Sky

Day 28: Full Moon

Day 29: Carving Jack o’ Lanterns

Day 30: Costume Party

Day 31: Trick or Treat

[orimuraa]

₊˚⊹⋆🍁⋆⊹ Day 31: You had me at... - Han Yujin

(synopsis) 🍂 matching costumes with your boyfriend! ₊⊹

han yujin x fem!reader 🍂 flufff 🍂 petnames 🍂

masterlist

"jinnie!! come here, i got us matching costumes!" you yell, trying to suppress your giggles.

your boyfriend walks through the door, immediately stopping at the sight of the two two fluffy onesies in your hands.

"do you like them?" you smile, knowing he loves them but deciding to tease a bit.

"i-i...they're...wonderful," he chuckles, finally moving closer to inspect them more.

"baby..be honest...it's okay if you don't-"

"NO! i mean..no, it's chill. honestly, you had me at matching costumes right then and there." yujin smiles.

safe to say that you ate.

k so this actually sucks but i feel its only right to end this fictober properly since i missed the last one. i just felt kinda burnt out with it and the lack of motivation rlly hit me hard sooo...yeah...here is this awful drabble! sorry its so bad TT im so tired rn lmao

⚘. Perm taglist: @vmpivory, @yuvany, @seozii, @pinknjm, @greentulip, @jomisu

[fuunhyde]

I took part in fictober this year!

I did most promts up to this day, from the list from @fictober-event <3

I'm ending early this year, so I decided to post a whole list of what I wrote instead of posting everyday up to date hah He're the whole collection:

But if someone prefer's it more specific, here's the list:

1. "Energy Rush" — Traffic Liht Trio — fluffy, silly goofy short — "that was good work" — wc: 587

2. "all that's left is us"—ShadowPeach—bittersweet, light angst and fluff—"it's been a long time" — wc: 1889

3. "Cyan" — ShadowPeach— bittersweet, light angst and hurt/comfort —"I know you better" — wc: 2035

4. "Found, not Funded" — MK, MEI, WUKONG, MACAQUE — some silly goffy short —"no, we're not doing that" — wc: 1303

5. "Sacrivaces and Devotion"— LBD and Mayor — sweet short fluff—"it's a new day, let's go" — wc: 459

6. "how can hands that hurt each other fit so well together?" — ShadowPeach— angst, hurt/comfort —"I'm not giving up" — wc: 1863

7. "Univited" — SpicyNoodles — short fluff —"follow me if you want to live" — wc: 810

8. "Winds of the Past" — Macaque-centric, slight shadowpeach — a bit of angst but with a happy payoff —"are we happy?" — wc: 1287

9. "Focus"— SpicyNoodles — short and attempt at humor I guess—"don't listen to me, listen to them" — wc: 435

10. "Pot" — Pigsy and Tang and smol MK — fluf but short —"is this normal?" — wc: 379

11. "managing a noodle shop" — Chimera — sweet and short —"well, that worked out great" — wc: 306

12. "Slight Fright" — ShadowPeach— hurt/comfort, fluff —"did you hear that?" — wc: 1065

13. "Sorry, sorry for what" — ShadowPeach— hurt/comfort —"that's not the point" — wc: 898

15. "bumped cars" — ShadowPeach— fluff, suggestive, talk about sex, +18—"let's try this" — wc: 552

16. "scratching scars" — ShadowPeach— hurt/comfort —"no, I'm not okay" — wc: 876

17. "Shadows and Spices" — Macaque and Red Son — sweet, short familly fluff —"strangest thing I ever heard" — wc: 420

18. "thinking inside the box" — ShadowPeach— hurt/comfort —"you always have a plan" — wc: 622

19. "Dress Up" — ShadowPeach— mild smut, suggestive, +18 —"this is getting ridiculous" — wc: 444

20. "explosions in your eyes" — ShadowPeach— fluff and hurt/comfort—"I saw your eyes light up" — wc: 455

21. "consequences" — ShadowPeach— mild smut, suggestive , +18—"we've done worse" — wc: 571

22. "peeping from the shadows" — Macaque and Red Son — very short, fluff and humor —"why are we doing this again?" — wc: 228

23. "rotting away" — ShadowPeach— angst, hurt/comfort, death, hopeful ending—"we can fix this, I know we can" — wc: 1065

25. "burns" — Mei and Red Son — hurt/comfort, short & sweet—"it consumes me" — wc: 520

27. "My hands are rough, but you don't seem to mind"— ShadowPeach— smut and angst —"let me remind you" — wc: 1544

So that's my addition in this year! 24/31 works, maybe not a full deck like last year, but I've been busy, so I still count it as a win haha

See ya all next year!

=)

[baronessblixen]

Fictober Day 31: No Matter What They Say About Us

Prompt: "It's always been you"

For the anon who asked: Awww I love your latest fic! Can I request an expansion on the universe? Can you write something with HR when the two come back to the XF in the revival? And maybe another round of water cooler gossip about Mr & Mrs Spooky once again prowling with allegations. Rating: T, wc: 1,723

(companion piece to: Let's Give Them Something To Talk About)

Tagging @today-in-fic @xffictober24

Sitting in the HR reception area, his hands neatly folded in his lap, he’s taken back to 20 years ago when they were doing this for the first time.

Today is the day when they let the FBI know that Mulder and Scully are back together – not just as FBI partners, but as life partners. He hasn’t told Scully, but he’s ordered muffins – vegan, of course – to celebrate later. He’s even willing to share with other agents. If they play nice. He’s just too excited that this is happening. Again.

Scully isn’t here yet and he trusts her, so her getting cold feet doesn’t even cross his mind. Not until she’s ten minutes late, that is. His phone is quiet and he can’t help but worry. The secretary is eyeing him and he can’t blame her.

“Agent Scully will be here shortly,” he says, tapping his phone. The young woman just nods and pretends to return to her work.

He quickly types a “where are you” into his phone and waits for her to answer. This wouldn’t have happened if they hadn’t gone their separate ways this morning. Scully assured him that she didn’t need him to come to her house to pick up the last few things.

Moving back into their house was a swift affair; she was leaving most of her furniture behind and it was just personal belongings that she was bringing over. Mulder would have personally carried over anything she wanted to have in the house. All he wants – and needs – is her.

“Do you want to postpone?” The secretary asks him.

“No,” Mulder says quickly. “She’ll be right here. I promise.” He tries to give her another smile, but she’s already looking away.

Even HR isn’t what it used to be anymore. There are new forms to fill out. Back in the day, it was enough to just let HR know they were in a romantic relationship. Now they have to put it in writing. It’s going to be official.

Maybe Scully got cold feet after all.

Just as he’s about to postpone the appointment – if for no other reason than to flee from the secretary’s scary glances – Scully comes through the door, breathing hard.

“I’m sorry,” she says to Mulder and the secretary. “I know I’m late.”

“No problem, Agent Scully.” Mulder doesn’t question why the secretary is suddenly super nice. People can’t be mad at Scully for too long. He knows that feeling all too well. When the other woman disappears, Mulder turns to Scully.

“Did anything happen? I was worried.”

“Just traffic,” she says, but the way she’s avoiding his eyes, he knows there’s more. This is neither the right time nor place to probe. So he just puts his hand on top of hers.

“Ready to make it official?” he asks, hoping to ease the moment.

“Hmm.”

“Scully?”

“I’ll be right back.”

And just like that, she’s gone again.

Of course, the secretary chooses this exact moment to return. Her smile slips from her face when he sees Mulder sitting there all alone.

“You can go in now,” she says, trailing off at the end. “Is Agent Scully not joining you?”

“She is,” he says, walking toward the open door. “She just needed the bathroom.”

He hopes he’s not wrong.

*

They fill out the forms, Mulder glancing over at Scully as though trying to compare their answers. They match. They’re both entering this relationship on their own free will. Nothing about their partnership will change. Scully changes her address back to their house and it makes his stomach somersault.

His smile is goofy when they leave HR behind – their relationship once again FBI official.

“How do you feel?”

“Tired,” Scully says.

“I meant about having made it official.”

“Oh.” She chuckles, squeezing his hand. “Good. I feel good about us, Mulder.”

“Should I be worried about you being tired?” he asks as they make their way down to the basement.

“It’s just been a few long days. I’m fine, Mulder.”

He waits for her to say more, but she doesn’t, and the nagging worry in his stomach remains.

He can’t focus on work. He’s focused on Scully. She, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be worrying about anything. She’s wearing her glasses – a different source of distraction – and immersed in research. Their caseload is light at the moment. He doesn’t want to pester her; definitely not at work. They’re supposed to keep their romantic life out of the office. It’s just more difficult than he imagined.

“I’m going to pick up the muffins,” Mulder says, taking his coat. “Do you want anything else?”

“Muffins?” She looks up at him, her expression hungry. It makes Mulder smile.

“Celebratory muffins. Vegan chocolate.” They’re her favorite. He watches her lick her lips in anticipation.

“I love you, Mulder. In case you didn’t know.”

“I did know, but I’m always happy to hear it again. Give me ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes?” She raises an eyebrow.

“For you, I’ll make it five.”

He hears her laugh as he sprints out the door.

*

In the end, he’s gone longer than ten minutes. He stops at the water cooler, sharing some of the muffins out of sheer goodwill and joy.

He should have known better.

The other agents – all so much younger than him and Scully – treat him like a peer, smile, and thank him for the treat. As soon as he’s out of their sight, but not earshot, he realizes that some things never change.

Including gossip.

“Did you hear about Agent Scully?”

“No, what?” someone asks, their mouth full of muffins. Mulder presses himself against the wall. He knows he shouldn’t eavesdrop; nothing good has ever come out of it, but he can’t stop himself.

“I heard that she’s having an affair – with AD Skinner!”

“No way!”

That makes Mulder chuckle. He has to tell Scully that one.

“Yes way! There’s more. Trish will kill me for this but… she was in the bathroom with Agent Scully today and…”

And what? Mulder wants to scream, all the humor suddenly gone.

“Trish was washing her hands, and Agent Scully ran past her and then got sick.” Mulder hears gasps and he’s certain one of them is his own.

“Agent Scully is having a baby with AD Skinner,” one of the young agents says. “I feel almost sorry for Agent Mulder. Didn’t they just get back together?”

“I’m not sorry,” a female voice says. “I’d be happy to dry his tears and more.” A round of laughter follows and Mulder knows he’s heard enough.

*

Back in the office, Scully greets him with a smile, and once again, he’s just staring at her, struggling to return her smile.

“You were gone a while,” she says.

“Thought I’d share some of these babies.” It’s meant to be a joke, but she winces. He doesn’t believe any of the rumors he’s just heard. But he knows Scully ran out of the office earlier. He knows that she was late to their appointment and that she hasn’t wanted to talk about why.

The pieces fit together – even though they shouldn’t.

“Guess what?” he says, peeling off the paper from one of the muffins. Scully is already chewing on one, solidifying his theory. When has he ever been wrong about a hunch?

“What?” she asks with her mouth full, already halfway through her treat.

“I heard another rumor.”

“About us? Aren’t we too old to be interesting to these people?”

“We’re legends, Scully.” He’s grinning at her and it has nothing to do with them being water cooler fodder. “So, you and Skinner, huh?”

“Excuse me?” She looks like a chipmunk with her muffin-filled cheeks.

“Allegedly you and Skinner are having a sordid affair.”

“Mulder you know that’s ridiculous.”

“I know,” he says with a chuckle, “but you might want to dispel the rumor if, um… well.”

“What else did they say?” she asks, sounding decades younger.

“You weren’t alone in the bathroom this morning,” he says softly.

“Shit.”

“Is that- what the other Agent said. You’re not sick, are you?” He knows she isn’t. It’s a gut feeling. A hunch. Her complexion is healthy. It’s rosy. He’s seen her like this before. Once. Back then, he hadn’t put two and two together, and the next time he saw her, she was ready to pop.

As unlikely as it is - and Mulder can’t quite believe it at their age - but everything points to Scully being pregnant.

“I wanted to tell you at home,” she murmurs. “I’m not even sure that- Mulder, logically it can’t be true.”

“Have you taken a test?” She nods and it all makes sense. This is why she was late. He’s by her side in an instant. His knees will hate him later and into next month, but he’s crouching in front of her, his hands on her knees.

“Hey,” he says, making her look at him. “Guess there’s another meeting with HR in our future soon, huh? Disclose the new situation.”

“Aren’t you at all worried?”

“No,” he says honestly.

“Mulder, we’re old. We don’t know- there are so many things that could…”

“I believe in us. Yes, we’re older. This might be a crazy idea and Scully, I will be with you all the way. Whatever decision you make. How are you feeling? Emotionally? Physically?”

“It’s all just so overwhelming. I feel fine – really fine. Today was the first time I experienced morning sickness. I’m tired, but… I’m feeling good.” He smiles at her, relieved. “I made an appointment with my doctor for tomorrow,” she continues, glancing at him. “Will you come with me?”

“Of course.” He picks up her hands and kisses them, knuckle by knuckle.

“Why do people think I’m having an affair with Skinner?”

“No idea.” He grins. “Skinman is a good-looking guy.”

“You have the affair with him then.”

“I’m happy with what I have,” he says. “We’ll be the number one topic at the water cooler again.” He’s grinning, happiness flooding him. A baby. A second chance at all of this.

“You really think they care about us that much?”

“It’s always been you and me, babe,” he says and she laughs. No matter what will happen tomorrow, or the day after, whether there will be another baby or not, they’ll be just fine.

[oddberryshortcake]

I'll be participating in fictober this year!

I created a rarepair fictober challenge for myself where, for 31 days, I'll write a fic around 1k words for a rarepair ship...SebJami! (no one is surprised by this)

I made this in chronological order from a relationship's start to it's happily ever after/ending, so when all 31 prompts are put together it should look like a nice story about life and relationships. At least, that's the goal. I have no idea how successful I'll be at that, but that's the point of a challenge lol

I know rarepairs are hard to sell, but hopefully there'll be something to gained from this challenge.

You're free to use my template and challenge for yourselves if you want!

It doesn't have to be for a rarepair, nor two canon characters and you don't have to credit me if you don't want to either. I'm not expecting this to be huge or get really far at all, just something fun for myself that I wanted to share.

[multi-fandom-imagines8]

Fictober Challenge

Hello everyone! I wanted to get back into writing since it’s been so long (other than the Az fic). With October around the corner, I’m excited to do another writing challenge and would love some inspiration. So please send in some requests! I prefer angst, but I’m open to any ideas.

A/N: Writing every day for a whole month was nothing short of a whirlwind. There were moments of exhaustion and moments of inspiration, but somehow, I pushed through. Sometimes, I had to improvise and pull ideas out of thin air, and there were days when I found myself writing two or three pieces just to keep up. It was both draining and deeply rewarding. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy this collection that came from hard work and late nights! 🧡

Fluff🍁

Appropriate amount of angst? 🍂

Pure/heavy angst 🌧️

Day 1: Still Not Over You Qimir x reader 🍂

Day 2: Bound by Duty part 1 Cassian x reader 🍁🍂

Day 3: The Price of Vengeance Sam Winchester x reader 🌧️

Day 4: Shadow of the Past Alexander Morozova x reader 🍂

Day 5: What We Could’ve Been Part 1 Eris Vanserra x reader 🍁

Day 6: A Heart Off Guard drabble Steve Rogers x reader 🍁

Day 7: Forever in the Dark Part 1 Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader x reader 🍁🍂

Day 8: Forever in the Dark Part 2 Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader x reader 🍁🌧️

Day 9: A Song of Ice & Shadow Part 10 Azriel x reader 🍁🍂

Day 10: Drowning in Silence Dean Winchester x reader 🍁🍂

Day 11: Behind the Walls Erik Lehnsherr x reader 🍁🍂

Day 12: In Another World Part 1 Kylo Ren x reader 🍂

Day 13: More Than Enough Azriel x reader. 🍁🍂

Day 14: Trouble Xaden Riorson x reader 🍁🍂

Day 15: No More Running Qimir x reader 🍁🍂

Day 16: A Heart Off Guard Steve Rogers x reader 🍁🌧️?

Day 17: A Song of Ice & Shadow Part 11 Azriel x reader 🌧️

Day 18: Forbidden Desire Rhysand x reader 🍁

Day 19: Torn by the Dark Part 1 Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker x reader 🍂

Day 20: Fading Love John Shelby x reader 🌧️

Day 21: The Mighty Cold Thor Odinson x reader 🍁

Day 22: Torn by the Dark Part 2 Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker x reader 🌧️

Day 23: Only One of You Rhysand x reader 🍁🍂

Day 24: Convenient Inconvenience Xaden Riorson x reader 🍁

Day 25: Bound by Duty part 2 Cassian x reader 🍁🍂

Day 26: A Song of Ice & Shadow Part 12 Azriel x reader 🌧️

Day 27: In Another World Part 2 Kylo Ren x reader 🍁🍂

Day 28: Die for Love Jaskier x reader 🌧️

Day 29: What We Could’ve Been Part 2 Eris Vanserra x reader 🍁🌧️

Day 30: A Comforting Presence Anakin Skywalker x reader 🍁🍂

Day 31: Not So Rational Azriel x reader 🍁

[val-creative]

Fictober Day 31 “it’s always been you”

Agatha/Rio (Agatha All Along)

For @fictober-event Day 31 prompt!

Type: Fanfiction | Fandom: Agatha All Along | Ship: Agatha Harkness/Rio Vidal | Warnings & Triggers: Mild Language.

---

The look of utter dismay makes Agatha cackle aloud--

"FINALLY! I am FINALLY free of your scary little bony ass!"

"You!" Rio growls, prowling up and lifting a hand high as if to slap her. "You BITC--!" She's interrupted by Agatha cackling and swooping down, passing through Rio's corporeal form, and reappearing again.

"Awh, sweetheart. Don't be get mad, get even."

Pretending to pat herself off, she watches Rio's expression darken. The edges of Rio's skull-face expose. Talk about a temper tantrum.

"I would if I could." Rio sneers softly. "I hate ghosts," she complains.

"Well--I have a newfound respect for them!" Agatha twirls her hand cheerfully. "You don't control me anymore and you don't matter!"

After a moment of thickening tension, Rio's eyes water.

(If Agatha had a beating heart, it would be skipping from the guilt.)

"Is that really what you thought about me... all of this time, Agatha?" she mumbles, and Agatha finds herself sighing heavily. Without the lung power. Returning as a ghost definitely its perks and its faults.

She hovers down, and Rio begrudgingly looks away from Agatha's gaze, wiping a knuckle under one of her eyes. "The only one I loved as much as Nicky was you. It's always been you... but I can't... do what I need to yet." Agatha shrugs. "So... I'm gonna stick around a while."

At the soft scoffing noise out of her ex, Agatha leers.

"You're gonna have to learn to... at the very least... like ghosts."

"Fiiiiiine."

[captainsophiestark]

A Bad Idea

Obi-Wan Kenobi x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for Fictober 2023!

Fandom: Star Wars

Day 31 Prompt: "It's not your fault."

Summary: Obi-Wan and his best friend/fellow Jedi are getting Hondo's help on a mission. Predictably, things don't go according to their plan.

Word Count: 2,045

Category: Fluff, Humor

A/N: That's a wrap for Fictober gang! Thank you so much to @fictober-event for putting this whole thing on and to everyone who's read one of my stories! Honestly can't believe the amount of writing I got done for this event

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"I think this might be the worst idea we've ever had."

"If you don't count ideas that Anakin came up with and we agreed to, then yes, it probably is."

Obi-Wan Kenobi and I stood shoulder to shoulder on the ramp of our ship, waving as the one and only Hondo Ohnaka came towards us. We'd recently gotten information that the Separatists were using a different group of pirates to smuggle things out of reach of the Republic, and together, Obi-Wan and I had decided the best way to infiltrate a pirate base was with the help of another pirate. On paper, it sounded perfectly rational, especially since we had a pirate contact we could go to. In reality, it was probably going to get us killed.

"Kenobi!" called Hondo once he got within earshot of us. "It is wonderful to see you again! And who is your lovely friend? A girlfriend, perhaps?"

Heat and embarrassment rushed through me, and I felt a wave of discomfort coming off of Obi-Wan in the Force too.

"Jedi don't typically date," he quickly explained, waving Hondo off. "And it wouldn't be any of your business anyway."

"I'm a friend of Obi-Wan's," I continued. "We grew up at the Temple together."

Hondo gave me a quick once over, then evaluated Obi-Wan the same way. Then, he smiled and held out his hand to me.

"Well, any friend of Obi-Wan's is a friend of mine! It is very nice to meet you, I'm sure!"

I forced a smile as I took his hand and shook it. I didn't think he'd meant to, but Honda had hit a very sore spot for me. I'd harbored feelings for my best friend for years now, against the Code, and I'd done my best every single day to hide them from him and from anyone else. A hundred Jedi who'd known me since birth couldn't tell, but this Weequay had hit the bullseye within moments of seeing me for the first time.

"Come on," Obi-Wan whispered to me, leaning in close to my ear so Hondo couldn't hear him as the Weequay moved past me into the ship. "The sooner we start this mission, the sooner it's officially over."

"Can't wait," I muttered. "And you said this guy was your friend?"

Obi-Wan shrugged. "More like... acquaintance who tries to kill me sometimes. Although I think he unironically considers me his best friend."

I smiled a little at that, especially as Obi-Wan moved into the ship after Hondo and Hondo immediately flung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in. Based on the conversation I could hear as I brought in the ramp, Hondo was trying to convince Obi-Wan to sell him some of our Republic tech at a frankly ridiculous price. To no one's surprise (except maybe Hondo's), Obi didn't budge. He was remarkably gentle in his refusal, though.

After a brief challenge where Hondo insisted on piloting the ship and Obi-Wan had to convince him to sit in the passenger seat instead, we were on our way. With Hondo's help, we quickly found the pirate base we were looking for.

"Do you guys just constantly share locations with each other?" I asked as we came in for a landing not too far from the gates. Hondo shrugged.

"We do business with each other from time to time. Helps to know where your business partners are."

"Hm. Makes sense."

Hondo grinned at me. He clapped me on the shoulder and started walking down the ramp, and a moment later Obi-Wan took his place next to me.

"Don't turn your back on him," he warned. I turned, coming face to face with Obi-Wan. We'd known each other for most of our lives; I'd seen him a million times or more. But for this mission, we weren't in the typical Jedi robes, in an effort to go undercover. And seeing him standing next to me in a dashing pirate costume made my heart beat a little faster.

"Don't worry, I wasn't planning on it." Obi-Wan stared off after Hondo, his expression clouded, so I reached out and gently squeezed his shoulder. "We'll be fine, okay? We've survived everything we've gone through so far. What's a couple pirates?"

"The last time I interacted with pirates, Anakin and I ended up handcuffed to Count Dooku."

I laughed as we started strolling down the ramp together to catch up to Hondo.

"Well, if we find ourselves in a similar situation, I promise to make fun of Dooku even more than Anakin did with you."

"That, I would look forward to seeing." He sighed, nudging my shoulder with his just before we caught up to Hondo. "I suppose there's nothing left for us to do but dive straight in."

"Like you said. Sooner we start, sooner we get to go back to Cody and other, saner partners in crime."

"The fact that Anakin is significantly more rational and predictable than Hondo is... concerning."

I chuckled, and Obi-Wan and I shared a smile. Hondo clapped us both on the shoulders once we'd caught up with him at the door to the pirate's fort, and then we headed inside.

The next thing I remember, I was waking up on a concrete floor, my head pounding. I groaned, lifting one hand to my head, and to my surprise something dragged my other hand with it. I opened my eyes.

I was handcuffed. More than that, I was apparently handcuffed to someone else. I turned to my right to see Obi-Wan, already sitting up and looking at me.

"Good morning."

"What happened?"

"We were played." I sighed and flung my head back. All that talk about having each others' backs and not trusting Hondo, and it had been for nothing. "We were jumped as soon as we made it through the gates. Hondo turned us over and went to collect a bounty for us from the other pirates."

"Oh wonderful," I sighed, slumping back against Obi-Wan. My heart sped up a little bit at our close proximity, but unlike every other time we'd been close, this time I couldn't chicken out. It was lean against him, or very clearly, obviously, and uncomfortably lean away from him.

"I should've known we couldn't trust him," Obi-Wan said. "I just thought that this time we were prepared, so Hondo wouldn't be able to get one over on us. I should've known better."

"It's not your fault. Even I'd started to believe Hondo was honestly going to work with us for this mission. The fact that he'd already double-crossed us, before we even got on the ship..."

I trailed off, shaking my head. Obi-Wan sighed, and we spent a few moments leaning against the wall and each other, hands close together and heads resting against each other. I could've stayed like that for a long time, if we hadn't been sitting in a jail cell.

"So..." I finally started, still not moving an inch. "What did you do the last time you were in this situation?"

Obi-Wan sighed heavily. "Bickered with the Count, mostly. And made a few escape attempts. We would've been successful from the beginning had it not been for Dooku."

I huffed a small laugh. "Well, it's a good thing I'm here instead of him then, isn't it?"

"I truthfully can't think of anyone else I'd rather be stuck with."

We shared a smile, a warm feeling quickly dominating my chest. I couldn't quite stop myself from leaning forward ever so slightly, like Obi-Wan had his own gravity pulling me in. In this place, out of sight and temporarily forgotten by everyone else, being close to him didn't feel as scary as it did in the Temple or aboard the Negotiator.

To my immense surprise and delight, Obi-Wan leaned in too, a moment after me. He huffed a small laugh, his blue eyes sparkling.

"This is... probably a bad idea."

I didn't need to ask what he was talking about. I gave him a small smile and shrugged.

"No worse an idea than the one that got us in here in the first place."

"You certainly make a good point."

As one, we smiled and closed the remaining distance to each other, our lips meeting in a kiss I'd thought about a thousand times. It was even better than I'd imagined it would be, especially as I could feel Obi-Wan through the Force. My best friend, the man I'd loved a thousand different ways before I even really knew what the word meant, glowed with a happiness that matched mine.

No one had ever really found evidence that soulmates were real, despite all the mystical forces that did exist in the galaxy. But as I sat on the filthy floor of that cell and kissed my best friend, our energies twining together in the Force, I thought we'd come pretty close.

"Oh, this is very gross. And yet, it's exactly what I'd hoped to find."

Obi-Wan and I broke apart to find Hondo staring at us through the bars of the cell, a grin on his face. We fixed him with matching scowls.

"Come now, what are those looks for? You should be happy, look at the two of you!"

"Happy might be a stretch, since you double-crossed us," I said. Hondo's mouth dropped open and a hand flew to his chest.

"Double-crossed? No no no, I have done no such thing."

"Then why did we wake up handcuffed in a cell?" Obi-Wan demanded. "In my case, again."

"Ah, you see, it was all part of my brilliant plan!"

Obi-Wan and I shared a very, very skeptical look. Undeterred, Hondo pulled a ring of keys out of his pocket, still beaming at us.

"You thought the two of you, two Jedi, could actually sneak in here unnoticed? Ha! It never would have worked. So, I pretended to double-cross you, and while the two of you were in here admitting feelings for each other, I found your documents! After collecting the credits for turning you two over as prisoners, of course."

Obi-Wan and I stared, dumbfounded, as Hondo explained his plan and removed our handcuffs. We stood, helping each other up, both a little stunned that the Weequay had really outplayed everyone here.

"Come on, we must hurry," said Hondo, waving us after him as he headed for the cell door. "It won't take them long to figure out what we've done."

We spared one last shocked glance at each other, then hurried after Hondo through the winding halls of the pirates' lair.

"If you got your money and information, why did you come back for us?" asked Obi-Wan, suspicion dripping from his words. "Why not leave us to be cashed in for a bounty?"

I wanted to smack him for asking that question before we were safely back on our ship, but Hondo just turned to us, looking hurt and outraged that Obi-Wan would even suggest it.

"Kenobi, I am hurt! I would never do such a thing to such a good friend!" He turned, ignoring Obi's raised eyebrow as we at last made it out of the hideout. "Besides, there were no more credits to be gained by leaving you here. The only thing that would've happened was a profit for my competition."

I failed to fight off a smile. Now it all made sense.

Obi-Wan and I trailed just behind Hondo the last bit of distance to our ship, and cautiously, I slipped my hand into his. He gave it a gentle squeeze, turning to fix me with a small smile.

"You know this is going to complicate our lives beyond belief, don't you?"

"Yeah. But I think it's worth it. Our lives are already wildly complicated anyway."

Obi-Wan huffed a small laugh. "I agree."

"With which part?"

"All of it. But especially the part about this being worth it."

He gave my hand one last squeeze, and we shared another tender look before reaching the ramp of the ship and returning to business mode. I let Obi-Wan lead the way, and as I closed the ramp, I could already hear Hondo bargaining with Obi-Wan for credits in exchange for the information he'd retrieved while we'd been in the cell. Despite the exasperation on Obi-Wan's face and in his tone, I could still feel that glowing happiness radiating off of him in the Force, a mirror to my own. We were going to be just fine.

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

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury

[myevilmouse]

We did it guys! We got to the end of Evilmousetober 2024!

If you'd like to read all the drabbles from the last 31 days in one easy spot, you have two options! You can scroll through the link here, or you can read the "fic" I posted on AO3 here. Also remember all the previous years of drabbles are also on my AO3 account!

Enjoy drabble lovers 🥰

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars Legends: Thrawn Trilogy - Timothy Zahn, Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017), The Mandalorian (TV), Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett (TV) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Mara Jade/Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa/Han Solo, Grogu | Baby Yoda & Luke Skywalker, Arihnda Pryce/Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo, Ben Skywalker (Star Wars Legends) & Luke Skywalker, Luke Skywalker & R2-D2, Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo/Original Female Character(s), Chewbacca & Han Solo, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Callista Ming/Luke Skywalker, Luke Skywalker & Han Solo, Sienn'rha/Luke Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Lando Calrissian & Han Solo, Mara Jade & Mirax Terrik Characters: Luke Skywalker, Grogu | Baby Yoda, Arihnda Pryce, Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo, Ben Skywalker (Star Wars Legends), R2-D2 (Star Wars), Han Solo, Chewbacca, Wookiee Characters (Star Wars), Leia Organa, Callista Ming, Hera Syndulla, Sienn'rha (Star Wars), Mara Jade, Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, Zeltron Characters (Star Wars), Lando Calrissian, Mirax Terrik, Jaina Solo, Jacen Solo, Millennium Falcon Additional Tags: October Prompt Challenge, Fictober, Flufftober 2024, Angstober 2024, Whumptober 2024, Kinktober 2024, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, Jedi Training (Star Wars), Kissing at Midnight, Droids (Star Wars), Prostitution, Twi'lek Species (Star Wars), Bounty Hunters, Rodian Species (Star Wars), Rescue Missions, X-Wing Fighters (Star Wars), Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Pets, Destruction of Alderaan (Star Wars), Jedi Funerals (Star Wars), Tattoos, Weddings, Crossover, Pokemon References, Cybernetics, Walks In The Park, Character Death Series: Part 1 of Evilmousetober Collection Summary:

Welcome to another year's collection of 31 days of 100 word drabbles, all Star Wars related. Once again, rather than choose just one set of October writing prompts, I went all over the place! Enjoy a variety of characters in a variety of situations is very precise, bite-sized chunks this Evilmousetober!

[those70scomics]

Fictober Day 31: "it's always been you"

That '70s Show Fanfiction

Hyde and Jackie stood in the Formans' backyard, wearing coats over their Halloween costumes. Like the other Halloween party guests, they were willing to bear the cold of evening. Mrs. Forman had ushered them all outside for the last and best of the party's surprises.

Hyde pointed to the skeleton he and Red had constructed from car parts. It was lashed to a tree, and Red was about to introduce guests to it. Hyde and Jackie weren't far away, and he whispered to her, "Watch and listen."

Red brought the Wilsons to the skeleton first. "Would you look at that beauty," Joe Wilson said. "How did you -- "

"Hey, there. Hi, there. Ho, there!" Bob's voice greeted from inside the metal ribs.

Red jumped backward, startling the Wilsons. "What the hell?"

"I love salty ... and I love sweet," the skeleton said with Bob's voice. "Some of you smell delicious."

"Steven!" Red shouted, but Hyde led Jackie to the other side of the backyard, to an area crowded with guests. He laughed the whole time.

Jackie giggled and patted Hyde's arm. "That was amazing! You tricked Mr. Forman at his own party, and he didn't suspect it the whole month. ... Your genius is so sexy."

It wasn't genius. It was deviousness, but he didn't deny her evaluation out loud.

"Let's skip out on the cake and make love in your old room," she said.

"There's a different kind of skeleton in there," he said.

"Your past is the past -- "

He slid his arm around her back to draw them closer to each other. "An actual skeleton, for Halloween," he whispered. "And we'd miss out on Forman and Donna's announcement."

"I don't care. We know the news already. ... Okay, we guessed it. Whatever."

"Don't you want to congratulate 'em?"

She tugged on his coat sleeve. "Are you avoiding having hot Halloween sex with me?"

"I'm using every freakin' ounce of willpower not to give in." They needed to be here for their best friends and the Formans. They wouldn't be here, together, if not for their friends and family.

"Fine," she said. "As the best friend, Donna will be happiest at hearing my reaction. But afterward, we're doing it in your old room."

He held her hand. It was warmer than his, and he said, "Yes, dear."

***

Fez presented his and Miss Kitty's cake in the backyard to cheers. He and Rhonda had carried the beautiful monstrosity to the outdoor table. The cake resembled an evil jack-o'-lantern, and Rhonda set off the pyrotechnics.

Sparks flew out the top of the cake, from the hollow eyes and menacing mouth. The crowd cheered louder and applauded while Fez, Miss Kitty, and Rhonda exchanged satisfied looks.

"I was worried about losing a finger, despite the expert's lesson," he said.

Rhonda indicated herself. "That's why I set off the cake fireworks."

Warmth spread through his chilled body. He looked up at her face and said, "You'd risk your finger for me. That is the height of love."

"I'd risk everything for you. When I went back to Mississippi, I tried dating other guys and falling in love again, but it's always been you."

She actually did risk everything by giving him another chance. The realization overwhelmed him with emotion, and he blurted, "Do you want a baby?"

"Now? No way. I've still got ten years before my eggs go bad. We can wait."

Her words sobered Fez's mind. "I don't want a baby yet either."

She grasped the sides of his face and kissed him. He kissed her back, and the white noise of party guests faded as he and Rhonda made out.

***

Kitty sliced pieces of the sheet cakes for guests without the help she'd expected. Fez and Rhonda were busy being a groping, sloppy mess in a corner of the backyard. She would've broken up their display, but the line of guests wasn't getting any shorter or more patient.

"Could you use a hand or maybe two?"

Donna was standing beside her. Kitty hadn't spotted her approach and said, "You're an absolute angel!"

Guests got their slices of cake efficiently now, and the grumbles stopped. Donna's cheeks were red from cold or maybe joy. Kitty hoped it was the latter.

"When do you and Eric want to make the announcement?"

"Really soon," Donna said and passed two guests slices of cake. "Are you still okay with us ... you know?"

"I'm more than okay. I'm happy." Kitty wiped orange-colored frosting off her fingers with a napkin. "I'm excited you two will finally share your happiness with everyone."

Donna put down the cake knife and wrapped Kitty in a hug. "Thank you. I love you."

Kitty teared up. That was the first time Donna had said those three words to her, and Kitty said, "I love you, too ... and I'll be right back to announce that you and Eric have an announcement."

The cake line had become manageable by one person. Otherwise Kitty wouldn't have dashed off to her next party checkpoint.

***

Kelso was setting rocket fireworks for the party's finale. The sidewalk behind the Formans' backyard was the perfect spot. The backyard lights let him see what he was doing, but two shadows fell over him.

The Formans were here, and he yelped. He looked around for a blanket or tarp -- anything -- to hide the fireworks. He started to pull off his jacket, but Red said, "It's okay, Kelso. We already know about your fireworks show. Your wife told us."

"But I swore Brooke to secrecy! She promised."

"Did she promise or plomise?" Mrs. Forman said.

Kelso thought back to his and Brooke's conversation. "Damn! She did plomise."

Red raised his gaze to the night sky, but Mrs. Forman's attention remained on Kelso. "Eric and Donna are about to make an announcement." She tapped the walkie-talkie sticking out from her coat pocket. "I'll signal Red, and he'll help you set off the fireworks.

"Announcement? About what?"

"You won't have long to wait." She smiled at him mischievously and returned to the backyard.

Red, meanwhile, had begun to inspect Kelso's fireworks placement.

"You don't gotta stay," Kelso said. "I had a professional teach me fireworks safety."

"That's all well and good." Red stood at his full height, which was shorter than Kelso's by an inch, but he seemed a foot taller. He always had. "But I have experience with pyrotechnics. And since this is my house, I'll be supervising."

"You shot off fireworks during the wars you fought in?"

"No, I shot -- never mind. My experience was after the Korean war."

Both relief and disappointment spread through Kelso's chest. "Man, I wanted to prove to Brooke -- " and himself -- "that I could be responsible with explosive objects."

"I'm just here as backup. You're doing the work."

"Oh. Okay." Kelso grinned and continued arranging the rocket fireworks on the sidewalk.

***

Donna and Eric stood by the table where the remnants of the cake were. Kitty had returned and shouted through a bullhorn for everyone in the backyard to listen.

"My son and daughter-in-law have something important to share with all of you." She passed the bullhorn to Donna.

Donna's heart pounded, and the beats pulsed through her fingers, but she was ready. "Hi, everyone!" she said into the bullhorn. "Thank you for coming to this amazing party. And thank you to all the friends and family who made it happen!"

The guests cheered and whistled.

"Eric and I have very happy news: I'm pregnant!"

The cheers grew even louder, and Donna leaned into Eric at the response. But from somewhere inside the crowd of guests, a lone voice shouted, "Is the baby Eric's?"

"Mitch," Eric muttered and took the bullhorn from Donna. "Of course it's mine! Anyway, we're overjoyed we can finally tell you about Baby Forman. It's a lot like when Luke fires two torpedoes into the Death Star during -- "

Donna nudged him and whispered, "We said no Star Wars analogies, remember?"

Eric whispered back, "I already agreed to not naming our kid after a Star Wars character. Are you trying to erase Star Wars from my life completely?"

Her eyes widened, and more adrenaline spilled into her body, giving her the shivers. Her pregnancy hormones had affected her ability to edit herself. "I'm sorry. I'm being extra controlling lately, but I don't mean to be."

"Our child will be watching Star Wars with me," he whispered. "I won't budge on this."

"I don't expect you to. Just let them discover the truth about Luke and Leia's relationship on their own."

"I thought we wanted to spare our children unnecessary pain -- "

"Hey, Forman," Hyde shouted from nearby, "we can all hear your discussion, man! Bullhorn's still on, and look where you're holding it!"

Eric was holding the bullhorn between his and Donna's faces. "We're having a baby!" he said directly into the mouthpiece.

Seconds later, fireworks burst high above the backyard. The sight wasn't just dazzling; it was a godsend. Donna's "private conversation" with Eric seemed to have been forgotten by the party guests. They were all looking up and reacted vocally to the colors exploding in the sky.

This display had to be the surprise Kitty mentioned. The fireworks reinvigorated Donna excitement. Her family's future would be the present soon, and she kissed Eric. He put the bullhorn on the cake table, held her close, and they watched the colorful sky.

***

Party guests, including family and friends, approached Eric and Donna in congratulations. A few people put their hand on Donna's belly without asking. Mitch was about to do the same, and Donna said, "My belly is officially off-limits! No touching!"

Eric worried she'd grab the cake knife if Mitch refused to listen, but Mitch redirected his attention to Eric. "Well, Forman, you bested me. I'm man enough to admit it."

"Thanks. Thank you, Mitch."

"Hey, don't gloat too much. You're a big fish in a small pond, and I'm going to be a big fish in a much bigger pond."

Eric had the perfect burn for that comment, but he allowed Mitch this one last dig -- and to walk away without Eric shoving cake in Mitch's smug face. Mainly, though, he didn't want to provoke Mitch into not moving to Milwaukee.

Bob and Joanne congratulated Eric and Donna next with hugs and happy words. Then Bob said, "Since your kid's grandparents live next door to each other, they can spend all their holidays here in Point Place. ... Hey, why don't you just move back here? There's a house across the street that just became available. Old Agnes finally kicked the bucket."

Joanne swatted Bob's chest. "I liked Agnes."

"You hated her."

"I .. okay, I disliked her."

"She used to rifle through our garage and gossip about us to neighbors. You're as glad old-age caught up with her as I am," Bob said, and Joanne turned her face away. She seemed to be laughing.

Bob looked at Eric and Donna with obvious hope. Eric fought not to cringe. He hated to upset Bob, especially because he was a crier, but Donna said, "Dad, we love you, but we're not moving back. Our lives are in Appleton."

"But your family's here," Bob said.

Donna hugged Eric around the waist. "It's also in Appleton ... and Mom's in California."

"All right, pumpkin. It was worth a shot."

He and Joanne left, and Hyde and Jackie took their place.

"Congratulations!" Jackie said and flung her arms around Donna's neck.

Hyde shook Eric's hand then pulled Eric into an embrace. "Congrats ... Dad."

"Did you two already know?" Donna said when she and Eric were no longer tangled in their friends' arms.

"No," Jackie said.

Donna shook her head a little. "Wow. I thought for sure you --"

"We absolutely knew!" Jackie laughed so hard she was cackling. Eric despised that sound. It raised the hairs on the back of his neck.

"Yeah, we did," Hyde said. "A couple of clues gave it away."

Jackie continued to cackle but covered her mouth until she could speak properly. "We're thrilled you're having a baby. And don't worry, with Steven and I as their uncle and aunt, they won't turn out to be a loser."

"Jackie!" Donna shouted.

"I said don't worry." Jackie indicated the guests behind them. "Anyway, we want to let other people congratulate you now. If we don't see you again tonight, that'll be because Steven and I are making love in his old room. Bye!"

Jackie pulled Hyde by the hand to the basement stairs in the backyard.

"Those two ... " Eric was both amused and annoyed. "I hope Hyde gets Jackie pregnant tonight."

Minutes later, Laurie and her husband, Tim, stepped up to him and Donna. They gave their congratulations, and Laurie said, "I want our kids to grow up like siblings."

Eric's breath caught in his throat. Siblings ... the idea was horrifying. He didn't want that at all. Although he and Laurie had a healthy relationship now, he couldn't shake the fear of her stabbing him with the cake knife. "We grew up hating each other."

"I didn't say like us. Tim has an older brother and a younger sister, and they were always close."

Tim scratched his beard. "We had the kind of arguments siblings have, but we made up quickly. Usually."

"Oh." Eric's breath escaped as white smoke into the cold night air. "I'd like that, too."

Kelso, Brooke, and Betsy arrived after friends of Eric and Donna's parents came and went. Warm congratulations were given all around: Kelso, Brooke and Betsy about Eric and Donna's baby, Eric and Donna about Kelso's fireworks show.

"Can I feel your tummy?" Betsy said. Donna allowed it. "I don't feel a baby."

"That's because the fetus hasn't developed enough yet," Brooke said. "It's early."

Betsy nodded in understanding then a grin spread on her face. "Mom and Dad are having a baby, too," she said to Donna. "But it's even earlier because Dad hasn't knocked her up yet."

Brooke's mouth dropped open, but Kelso chuckled nervously. "Ten-year-olds, big imaginations. Am I right?"

"Michael, she obviously knows!" Brooke directed Kelso to look at her. "Don't act like she's a liar. You told her!"

"But I didn't!"

Brooke began to argue, but Betsy jostled her arm. "He didn't, Mom. I heard you and Dad talking about it last week. You're bad at keeping secrets."

"I guess we are." Brooke stroked the back of Betsy's hair and apologized to Kelso. Then she said to Betsy, "How do you feel about having a little sister or brother?"

"It's the best present ever! Can I name it?"

"Sure," Kelso said.

Brooke spoke over him: "We'll talk about it."

She and Kelso congratulated Eric and Donna again before chasing after an exhilarated Betsy through the backyard.

"I can't believe Kelso is finally is okay with having another kid," Donna said to Eric.

He focused on the stairs leading to the basement. "Now I really hope Hyde gets Jackie pregnant. It would be perfect ... almost perfect. Fez has got to knock up Rhonda. Let me try to convince them -- "

Donna held him back and said, "It's really sweet you want to recreate for our baby the childhood we had growing up, full of friends who're like family. But our kid will make friends of their own in Appleton. And they'll have more here and in Milwaukee and Chicago."

Eric rubbed his hands together and blew on them. He should've worn gloves, but they didn't go with his Obi-Wan Kenobi costume. October nights were cold in Wisconsin, but everyone around them warmed him in a significant way.

"You know, we're really lucky," he said. "We grew up with people who are still our friends -- family -- after ten, twenty years. Our parents are still alive and healthy. ... " His sense of security collapsed into fear. "Did I just jinx us?"

"Of course not! I don't know where that superstition came from. Being grateful for what we have and saying it out loud is a good thing."

"Where's some wood? I need to knock on it three times -- "

Donna grasped his shoulders. "Would you knock it off? I know I was superstitious -- scared -- about revealing my pregnancy during the first trimester. But we'll handle whatever happens. We always have. Together."

Together. That was one of Eric's favorite words. He held Donna gently but kissed her like he hadn't seen her in years. She responded, and they sneaked into the house.

***

Eric's childhood bedroom upstairs remained largely as he'd left it, but framed nature paintings adorned the walls, and the bed had a boring navy-blue comforter.

Still, it was a bed, and he pulled aside the sheets.

A witch sprang up from underneath, cackling. He and Donna stepped back while Eric shrieked. That cackling ...

"What the hell?" Donna said.

"Mom said the bedrooms weren't part of the party! ... Wait, there's a note."

He pulled the piece of paper off the witch's broom. The note was written in his dad's handwriting:

"Son, if you and Donna have come up here to do anything but rest, forget it. I've got this thing rigged to alert me it's been triggered. Happy Halloween, dumbass."

Donna hooked her chin over Eric's shoulder: "Just imagine: someday you'll get to do this to our child."

He reached behind himself and mussed the back of her hair. "We're living the dream," he said with a sigh, but everything would be all right. Not only did this trick count as a the jinx he'd worried about, it also reminded him that he and Donna weren't alone. This party, this whole month, proved it. He and Donna truly were lucky.

And their child would be, too.

[richonneevents]

Richonne Fictober 2024 is a 31 day challenge for fanfiction writers/creators to write/create and publish a Richonne-centric story or related content everyday for the month of October.

In addition to Richonne-centric fanfiction, creators are encouraged to make fanart; playlists; edits; moodboards; rec lists; and graphics; podfics; gifsets; photo sets etc.

You can find the prompt list here.

You can find the Richonne Fictober Calendar and Guidelines here.

Please tag @richonneevents and use the tag: #richonnefictober24

Happy creating!