#full disclosure i DID finish some at home

[hugh-lauries-bald-spot]

sometimes its just a guy, a late bus, the 4 colored pencils in his bag and a piece of paper against the world

[suzukiblu]

Ko-fi thank-you sentences for J behind the cut; Jason gets knocked up and accidentally goes home about it. Full disclosure, I took a lot longer than I should've finishing these 'cuz I was trying to use them to stitch together previous scenes and finish the whole fic. I did NOT manage that, but I did realize I'd written a lot more than I'd intended to, so I decided "fuck it" and just wrote another chunk of sentences to actually give J what I owed them, hah. ( chrono || non-chrono )

Then Alpha steps into view too, Alpha’s mate right behind him, and Jason forgets everything else and purrs. 

Alpha’s home. Alpha came this time. 

Alpha came for him this time. 

That’s all he ever wanted him to do. 

Alpha stares. He looks around the room just briefly, because it’s Alpha so of course he does–but then he stares. 

“Jason?” he says, and Jason purrs louder. 

Alpha came. 

“He’s, you know–definitely feral-brained right now, obviously,” Little Brother says, gesturing sheepishly. Jason wonders who he’s talking about, idly, but isn’t really worried about it. “Kinda just showed up and let himself in, and then, uh . . . well, he’s, uh, presented to Alfred and Dick so far and been teaching Damian how to nest, so . . .” 

“He did?” Alpha’s voice sounds a little–choked, maybe. Jason wonders why. 

He’s still over in the doorway, for some reason. Jason wonders why that’s a thing too. 

Alpha should know he’s allowed in the room, after all. 

“Alpha,” he hums, loosening his grip on Pup Brother just enough to half-reach for Alpha. What’s taking him so long over there, anyway?

It’s dumb. 

“Jaylad,” Alpha says tightly, half-taking a step forward and then–stopping, for some reason, just outside the doorway. Gripping one side of it, but not coming through it. 

Dumb, Jason thinks, and furrows his brow impatiently. 

“Alpha,” he insists, smacking the side of the nest once. 

Really, really dumb. 

“He accepted clothes with your scent, so . . .” Big Brother trails off. 

“And a blanket with it, as well,” Grandpa puts in. “One he used on a foundational layer of the nest.” 

“Ah,” Alpha says roughly, tightening his grip on the doorframe. 

“Don’t hover, Father, Todd clearly expects your presence,” Pup Brother says in exasperation, which is much more useful. Jason purrs appreciatively and nuzzles him, and Pup Brother sighs in aggravation, but doesn’t try to squirm away or anything. 

Good, Jason thinks, and nuzzles him harder. 

Pup Brother rolls his eyes and sighs. 

Alpha finally steps into the room, which is a start. Jason reaches towards him again with another, deeper purr. 

Alpha . . . swallows, visibly, and then comes over to the nest; kneels down outside it beside Big Brother. 

Close enough, Jason figures lazily, and catches Alpha’s wrist to drag his hand to his own stomach. He’s not wearing body armor, but it’s fine. It’s Alpha. 

It’s . . . 

“Present, Dad,” he hums, letting his eyes close. 

Alpha makes a very tight noise, and his hand presses in very, very gently against Jason’s stomach. And the pup, obviously. 

“Jaylad,” Alpha says, cracked and hoarse. Jason hums back contentedly, squeezing Alpha’s wrist once. 

Good. That’s everybody, then. 

Good, yeah. 

“Who’s the sire?” Alpha’s mate asks curiously from the doorway, leaning against the frame. She hasn’t come in yet. Jason should probably tell her it’s fine, but he’s a little . . . distracted, maybe. Distracted. Yeah. 

Mmm. 

“He says either Kori or Roy, so we’re not technically sure, but the suspect list is pretty short,” Big Brother says, and Alpha’s mate laughs. 

“Could be both,” she points out teasingly. “Up for double grandkittens, Bruce?” 

“More concerned about the risk of having Oliver Queen for an in-law, thanks,” Alpha says dryly, letting out a rough little noise that isn’t quite a laugh and curling his fingers gently against Jason’s stomach. 

“Jason might’ve mentioned they offered to mate him, so yeah, that’s a concern,” Big Brother confirms with a laugh of his own. “But Kori and Roy definitely don’t know about the pup yet. Even if he managed to slip ‘em, there’s no way I wouldn’t have heard from either of them if they were trying to find him while they knew he was bred.” 

Jason huffs, because what does Big Brother mean “managed” to slip them? He could absolutely lose them whenever and wherever he felt like it. And anyway, he texted them earlier. So it’s not like they don’t know where he is. 

. . . or have extrapolated where he is, anyway. But whatever, same difference. 

“Ah,” Alpha says again, and swallows again too. Jason rolls his head back enough to peer up at him a little closer, not really sure what’s going on with him. Hm. 

Well. He’s here. That’s all that really matters, really. 

Except . . . 

“Alpha?” he says again, not sure if . . . Alpha hasn’t taken his hand off his stomach, but he doesn’t seem–happy, really. Or pleased. Or . . . anything like that. 

Jason’s not . . . sure, exactly. 

Alpha’s hand presses in a little firmer against Jason’s stomach. Not too firm–not too much. But like . . . comfortably firm. If that makes sense, or whatever. 

It feels nice, and Jason relaxes a little. Okay. That’s–better, he thinks. Right? 

Alpha’s here, so . . . it’s better, yeah. 

And it means he’s doing alright. He’s being a good omega. He brought home a good pup to present to the pack–good pups, maybe, if he’s lucky. Alpha will like that, right? If it’s more than one pup? 

Any pup would be good, he thinks. Kori and Roy are both good sires. Lian’s great, for one. And Roy and Kori are great too. Just–definitely, yes. They’re gonna be such a good pup. 

Even with–him in them, they’ll be a good pup. 

He thinks so, anyway. They’ll have . . . better things than he did. They’ll be safer. 

Won’t ever end up alone in an alley without a pack or alone on a warehouse floor with no backup coming. 

Won’t ever doubt who actually loves them. 

Alpha makes a strange, choked noise. Jason doesn’t know why, really. Someone’s purring really loud, but he doesn’t know who it is. Not Pup Brother, and there aren’t any other omegas in the pack, so . . . 

Hm. Weird, yeah. 

Well, everyone’s here, so he’s not worried about it anyway. 

He’s being a good omega, and he brought his pup home to present. Grandpa and Big Brother were happy about it, and everybody else is here and settled in and safe. That’s all that matters, really. 

As long as Alpha’s happy about the pup too, anyway. And Alpha’s hand is still on his stomach, and Alpha’s still next to the nest, so . . . yeah. That means he is, right? 

So it’s good. Yeah. 

The purring gets louder. Jason nuzzles Pup Brother’s hair and melts under Alpha’s hand and in Quiet Sister’s arms. 

It’s definitely good. 

Nice. 

“Jason,” Alpha says tightly, and Jason cracks an eye open to look at him again. He doesn’t really remember when he closed them, but it’s not really important or anything.

Alpha has a hand half-over his face, and his head’s ducked down. Jason blinks sleepily, tilting his head to peer up at him again, but he can’t see his expression, really. He squeezes the hand he has around Alpha’s wrist; a little bit absent, a little bit like a reflex. 

He missed Alpha so much. 

The purring’s gotten really loud.

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

The Start of Something New

Summer of Bad Batch 2024 | Week 10 | Prompt: "Just when were you planning on telling us that?"

Summary: This was the start of something completely new for Tech, and Hunter couldn’t be happier for him. POV: Hunter Rating: G (Word Count: 2971)

Read on Ao3

Notes: Yes, this is another Tech Lives story! The first part of the story takes place pre-"Tipping Point" (episode 14 of season 2); the second part of the story takes place post-epilogue/post-my other Tech Lives work. ( @domino-twinss This isn't exactly a chapter 2 for Lost and Found, but it kinda works as an unofficial follow up?)

Hunter leaned back, resting his elbows on the garden wall in Shep’s backyard, and closed his eyes briefly, welcoming the slight breeze that played across his face. He had just returned from a long but productive day helping move supplies to rebuild more of the homes damaged in the tidal wave. Tech had apparently finished his task of restoring power to the dozen or so homes that had been completed, for he had already been sitting at the table looking at his datapad when Hunter had arrived. Wrecker and Omega, who had both spent the day down at the docks, should be coming back any minute…

Hunter heard the telltale sound of running footsteps, and smiled as his brother and sister burst through the gate. Omega greeted him with a happy grin and a wave, but it was to Tech that she directed her first statement.

“Lyana says the reason why you came in late last night was because you asked Phee to go out on a boat with you,” she declared, her face bright with curiosity as she rested one hand on Tech’s forearm and slightly shook it in her excitement.

“When were you going to tell us you spent time with Phee?” Wrecker asked in barely concealed delight.

Hunter, his brows raised in mild surprise at this revelation, awaited the answer. He had assumed Tech had been on the Marauder completing one of his many research projects yesterday evening; he would never have guessed his brother had actually gone out with Phee.

Tech, who had remained completely unperturbed by Omega's enthusiasm, now glanced up from his datapad, looking slightly puzzled by Wrecker's question. “I wasn’t planning on saying anything," he replied. 

Omega and Wrecker both visibly wilted in disappointment at this answer, and Hunter had to bite back a laugh. Omega quickly recovered, though, and eagerly patted Tech’s arm again.

“Well, since we know about it… Come on, tell us! How did it go? How did you decide on taking a boat out at night?" 

Tech shrugged. "Phee mentioned she is interested in sea creatures, and many of the species found near this island have bioluminescent traits that are especially well observed at night, even with a full moon. I concluded she might enjoy some time on the water to see them.”

“You spent the entire time talking about the creatures and bioluminescence, didn’t you?” Hunter cut in drily.

“Most of the time, yes. What else were we supposed to talk about? At any rate, Phee is already remarkably well versed in marine science, and she was quite interested in learning more about the aiwhas on Kamino. I was more than happy to oblige.”

“I still can’t believe you weren’t going to tell us about it,” Wrecker protested.

“We’ve all spent time with Phee before, you know,” Tech stated, as if that fully explained his lack of disclosure.

“Yeah, but not on a date!”

 “This was not a date. It was simply a friendly outing.”

Wrecker groaned in frustration, but Omega piped up again. “Well, we’d still like to hear about them!”

At Omega’s plea, Tech sighed and capitulated. “Very well, if it’s so important to all of you…”

“Good, you’re all back!” Shep called from the doorway. “Oh, Tech, Phee told Lyana and me how much she enjoyed last night.”

“That is… gratifying to hear,” Tech said steadily, seemingly ignoring Omega’s giggle, though Hunter got the distinct impression that, in this particular situation at least, the more solemn Tech appeared, the more embarrassed he was actually feeling. 

“Dinner is about ready,” Shep continued gamely, “just a few more minutes.”

“Anything I can do to help?” Omega offered, moving toward their host.

“Well, if you want, you can help Lyana get the plates,” Shep smiled.

“I’ll come with you,” Wrecker instantly volunteered.

As the others trooped into the house, Tech silently put down his datapad and stood to follow them, turning back when Hunter spoke.

“Are you going to invite Phee to join you on more friendly outings?” Hunter asked, careful to keep any hint of amusement out of his voice.

“I intend to, yes,” Tech replied without hesitation, before his expression shifted; and while Tech often wore thoughtful expressions, Hunter had never before seen this particular brand of introspection on his brother’s face – it was almost as if Tech, for the first time since he had learned to speak, was grappling for the right words to express his thoughts. “She… is an exceptional woman,” he finally finished, a touch awkwardly though clearly sincere.

And as Tech made his way toward the door to join the others in the house, Hunter smiled.

This was the start of something completely new for Tech, and Hunter couldn’t be happier for him.

*******

Hunter, glancing out the cabin window, saw that Tech had returned from his visit with Phee and had taken up position standing by the low wall that separated the property from the long stretch of rocky soil leading out to the beach some distance away.

Gesturing to Batcher that she should stay where she was, curled up comfortably by the table, Hunter stepped outside to join his brother. It was perfect weather, a light breeze was stirring the air, and Omega would have been enraptured by the scenery of the sunset if she were here; but Tech had already pulled out his datapad and was taking notes. Hunter smiled a bit – despite time, aging, and critical life experiences, some things never changed, and Tech’s curiosity combined with his need to always keep his mind and hands busy were among those things that remained constant.

Any concerns Hunter may have had about Tech being able to adjust to life on Pabu with brothers who had changed so much in the intervening years had been short lived. The impossible had happened – the entire family was reunited – and the growth and life-altering changes they had each experienced in the past decade or so only served to enhance their immense gratitude for the chance they had to all be together again. Tech had offered to continue helping Omega and Echo with decryption and other coding tasks for their rebel missions, but only in a remote capacity; he sympathized with the Rebellion’s cause, of course, but he wanted to stay on Pabu. And while Phee had said nothing aloud upon hearing of this decision, none of the brothers had missed the fact that her stays on Pabu had progressively lengthened over the past year.

Hunter knew Tech and Phee had become extremely close ever since Tech’s return – the spark of mutual interest that had existed early on between them had quickly grown into a flame – and the two of them spending the entire day together had become the norm; but as he stood next to his brother now, Hunter could tell something was different, something had changed today - and Hunter couldn't be more thrilled.

“So, when were you going to tell us?” he prodded.

Tech looked at him, eyebrows slightly raised, but couldn’t keep a small smile from playing on his lips: he knew Hunter knew exactly what had happened. “Tonight,” he replied levelly, “when Omega contacts us. She always includes Echo in her transmissions, and that way we can tell the whole family at once. At least, that was the plan,” he finished wryly. 

“Do you have a date set yet?”

“If Omega and Echo can come by month’s end, we will wait for them; if not, it may be sooner. Phee and I want to be married before we begin any travels.”

Hunter was careful to keep his expression and his voice steady, even as his heart now sank. “So you won’t be staying on Pabu?”

Sometimes Hunter wondered if Tech had somehow developed enhanced senses of his own; based on the glance Tech gave him now, Hunter thought the other must have somehow sensed his dismay. “This is still our home, Hunter. Phee says she was already considering retiring for some time before I returned, and you know she hasn’t set off on any acquisition operations for months now. But the news of what the Empire did to the refugees on Ghirtin II really shook her. She says it’s high time a liberator of ancient wonders became a liberator of modern people. She wants to do more to help those displaced by the war, and I want to help her.”

Hunter nodded and even managed a smile. He had known the moment he had witnessed Tech’s face light up upon first seeing Phee again that his brother was as devoted to her as he was to his siblings, and devotion such as Tech’s knew no bounds. And Hunter had been thrilled both for his genius, quirky brother and the strong-willed, witty woman who had always been such a loyal friend to the entire family; he had known they would make each other immensely happy, and Hunter, who had only ever wanted all his family to be safe and happy, couldn’t wish for more.

But…

“What is it, Hunter?” Tech asked almost gently.

Hunter sighed. “I’m happy for you, Tech," he said sincerely. "I know you and Phee will take care of each other – and really, the two of you combined will be unstoppable. It’s just…" taking a breath to give himself time to gather his thoughts, he continued, "It’s been almost a year, but it still feels like we just got you back. I don’t…” he trailed off, feeling that it would be far too selfish and shameful for him to say aloud I don’t want to let you go again.  

It was moments like these that made him realize he had never, ever fully released the grief and shame of his failure as a leader, as a brother, as he had watched Tech fall out of sight on Eriadu. Even now, after finally and unexpectedly being reunited, and with so much good happening in their lives in spite of the stranglehold the Empire had on the galaxy, Hunter still felt the pang of regret of all the years missed, all the time Tech had spent lost and alone, working so hard on his own to regain his lost memories and discover where he belonged…

Hunter couldn’t look at his brother, and blinked rapidly to will away the tears.

He felt Tech place a firm, reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I know,” Tech said in a voice that prompted Hunter to look at him despite the threat of tears; and in the long moments of silence that followed, the look in Tech’s eyes said it all: he not only knew exactly what Hunter felt, he understood – and he wished Hunter would finally forgive himself for circumstances that had been outside any of their control.

“We’ll be here on Pabu far more often than we will be away, though,” Tech now continued matter-of-factly. “Besides, compared to any trouble Phee and I may find ourselves in, we all are in significantly greater peril whenever we allow Wrecker or Crosshair to man the boats during fishing expeditions.”

Hunter snorted – this observation was unfortunately all too accurate – and Tech gave a small smile.

“Well, just let me promise you what I promised Omega: if you or Phee ever need us, we’ll be there,” Hunter said.

Tech nodded. “It is, perhaps, obvious; but if you ever are in need of anything, you only need ask,” he replied.

Grinning now, Hunter slipped his arm over Tech’s shoulders, with Tech soon following suit so that they stood arm in arm, side by side, brothers as they always had been and always would be, come what may.

The sun’s last rays were now slipping beneath the horizon, but there was still enough light in the minutes before twilight that both brothers could clearly see Crosshair and Wrecker now coming up the path to the cabin. Hunter and Tech turned to greet them, and Wrecker waved as he drew closer, before abruptly stopping and dropping the package he was carrying, a wide smile stretching across his face as he looked at Tech.

“Don’t tell me, you and Phee are getting married!” he exclaimed.

Sure hope Tech and Phee weren’t planning on keeping this quiet, because with how loud Wrecker is, the entire island knows about it now, Hunter thought with amusement. 

Tech, as usual, was unflustered as he replied, “Well, since you clearly already know about it, there's not much point in me telling you.”

Crosshair’s initial look of surprise at the revelation now turned into a smirk. “Did you ask Phee, or did she have to ask you?”

Instantly intuiting that an overly detailed explanation was forthcoming as an answer, Hunter settled in for the inevitable as Tech replied: “Well, we came to what might be termed a mutual understanding regarding our status as partners some time ago; but last week I came to the conclusion that it was time for me to issue Phee a formal request for her agreement to our eventual commitment to each other as spouses, and I completed that objective today."

"Tech, you can just call it a proposal, we all know what that is," Hunter muttered. 

"Wait, you were planning this for a week?" Wrecker said. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Yeah, we would have helped," Crosshair added. 

"That is precisely why I didn't tell you," Tech said candidly, earning outraged squawks from the other two and a chuckle from Hunter. 

"She said yes, so I guess you did it right even without our help, Tech," Hunter said, clapping his brother on the back. 

A new thought had obviously struck Crosshair, for he now frowned a little. "Wasn't Phee talking a few weeks ago about wanting to help transport refugees or something?"

"That is correct," Tech nodded. "I'll be going with her."

"So, you won't be living here anymore?" Wrecker asked, looking rather crestfallen now. 

"We will, we'll only be traveling occasionally."

"Oh, well that's alright then," Wrecker smiled, lightly knocking against Tech's shoulder. 

Crosshair couldn't hide the flash of sadness in his eyes upon hearing that Tech would be leaving, even if only for a short while; but his smile was genuine. "Good man, Tech," he said; and Hunter knew that, while any separation would be painful, Crosshair would fully support his brother in this decision. 

"You're going to tell Omega and Echo tonight, right?" Wrecker asked eagerly. 

"Yes," Tech said, adding wryly, "though at this point, if Phee and I didn't tell them, you probably would." 

"We should head in now to get all that put away before she contacts us," Hunter interjected, nodding at the large package of supplies Wrecker had dropped; and the brothers moved to act on Hunter's suggestion. 

They had put away the supplies and just settled in to await the transmission when a brisk knock sounded on the door and Phee let herself in. One look at the brothers, and Phee shook her head ruefully. 

"They all know already, don't they?" she addressed Tech. 

"Yes, though I myself did not tell them," Tech answered. 

"I should have known they'd figure it out themselves," she said, settling down next to Tech and sharing a quick kiss with him before grinning cheekily at Crosshair's usual grunt of mock disgust at the display. Tech took her hand in his, as had long since become his custom; and she squeezed his hand affectionately in return as she continued, "We just waiting on the rebels now?"

"As usual," Crosshair nodded. 

"Do you want to share your news first, before Omega catches us up on her end?" Hunter queried.

Ever since Omega had joined the Rebellion, Phee had joined in on every transmission whenever she happened to be on Pabu, and was well aware of the typical flow of these conversations. Now, she glanced at Tech before shaking her head. "Nah, let Omega go first. No need to break tradition."

"Any minute now..." Wrecker said. 

At that moment, the communications array beeped to indicate an incoming transmission, and Wrecker lunged forward to accept the message. Omega's image, with her bright smile and uplifted expression, blossomed into view before them; surprisingly, Echo appeared directly beside her, rather than coming in as a separate transmission. 

"Hi!” Omega greeted them before excitedly continuing, “Guess what? Echo and I have been assigned to the same mission! Can you believe..."

Omega's eyes had been roving over her audience; now, her gaze falling on Tech and Phee, she abruptly paused, eyes widening, before she let loose an ecstatic high pitched squeal. 

"You two are finally getting married??!?"

The surprised silence that followed was quickly broken by Wrecker bursting into a hearty guffaw, and Hunter couldn't help chuckling at the sight of Phee's stunned face. Tech, of course, remained composed as ever, though his lips curved up into a smile. 

"How could you tell?" Crosshair, clearly holding back a laugh, asked Omega. 

"I don't know," Omega replied, waving her hands helplessly at them as if this would help explain the unexplainable, "it's just obvious!"

"Good thing we didn't try to elope," Phee joked.

Tech just shook his head resignedly before saying, "If these three" - gesturing to Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair - "figured it out, I'm not surprised Omega did as well."

"Congratulations," Echo put in, nodding cordially at the pair. This was all he managed to say, however, before Omega erupted with more questions. 

"How did Tech propose? Or did you ask him, Phee? When is the wedding? It'll be on Pabu, right? Can you wait for us to come? Will you be getting your own house now?" 

And as Tech and Phee began explaining all their plans, Hunter, quietly basking in the celebratory atmosphere, sat back and smiled. 

This was the start of something new for Tech and Phee, and Hunter couldn’t be happier for them. 

@summer-of-bad-batch

[svltzmans]

Can you write a Fiona Gallagher x fem reader of any kind could be about anything

latch - f.g.

a/n: hi! i'm so excited i got a fiona request i'm obsessed with her 😭 i came up with this little idea while i was listening to the song latch by disclosure which i think fits fiona's vibe pretty well? anyway i hope you like this :) its short and unedited but yolo!!!

warnings: alcohol mention, suggestive content, seckshual tension bc of course 😗

the music is blasting so loud that y/n can feel each beat reverberating through her head.

chicago is new to her, having just moved from a small town with her best friend who had always wanted more adventure.

and, of course, adventure involves going out to clubs and bars.

sure, y/n enjoyed spending time with her best friend and being social. but admittedly loud clubs weren't exactly her scene.

regardless, she sits at one of the tables, her best friend beside her.

"come on, let's dance!"

before y/n can respond, her best friend has disappeared into the crowd.

keeping an eye on her, y/n doesn't follow, taking a sip of her drink and continuing to people-watch.

there are several waitresses walking with trays of drinks, delivering both fancy cocktails and bottles of cheap beer to awaiting customers.

they pass her by, seeing that she has a mostly full drink in front of her.

that is, until, a brunette with dark eyeshadow approaches her, empty tray in hand.

"hey gorgeous, can i grab you something?"

y/n is almost speechless, completely in awe of the woman standing in front of her. she knew she would be able to explore her sexuality in chicago more than she did back at home, but she didn't expect to fall in love at first sight.

"i think i'm okay for now. i'm kinda babysitting this drink. thank you though."

the woman smiles, making y/n feel weak in the knees.

"just wave me down if you need another drink. my name is fiona, in case you need my attention."

and then she winks, and y/n swears she almost loses consciousness.

finally standing up to find her best friend, leaving her finished drink behind, y/n makes her way into the crowd.

she finds herself gently moving with the music, finally linking arms with her best friend to dance.

"i'm gonna go get us some more drinks," y/n proposes, watching her best friend continue dancing.

she simply nods, and y/n makes her way to the bar, only running into fiona refilling her tray.

"hey beautiful, whatcha doing up here? i would have brought you a drink."

"oh, i, uh..."

"don't get nervous, honey. i'm just playing around with you. what can i get for you?"

"oh, nothing for me. just a vodka soda for my friend, please."

"i got you, babe. but my shift ends in a few. wanna dance?"

y/n can't respond in any other way but nodding.

"here's a vodka soda for your friend. meet me on the dance floor in a few," fiona replies, gently touching y/n's shoulder.

"you're not gonna believe this. that hot waitress has been flirting with me," y/n looks at her best friend, still in disbelief that she had gotten so lucky.

"damn, y/n. you better bring her back to the apartment later," her best friend teases, tipsy from the night's events.

"she asked me to dance, i guess we'll see how that goes."

fiona starts walking toward y/n, trying to move through the crowd without distraction.

"i just realized i never got your name. i was just too distracted by how hot you are."

y/n is almost frozen in time hearing the woman call her hot.

"y/n. i'm still pretty new to the area but you are definitely the prettiest girl i've seen."

y/n and fiona quickly fall into stride together, moving to the music against each other. it's almost ethereal, the way the rest of the crowd fades away and they feel like the only two people in the room.

fiona comes behind y/n, resting her head on her shoulder so she can whisper in her ear.

"you're a pretty good dancer, y/n."

y/n moves her face almost too close to fiona's, their lips just barely missing each other.

"let's get out of here."

[theoldsports]

unlucky.

remus lupin x reader | 2k words (requests are open)

marijuana, alcohol, mentions of addiction issues, pregnancy.

Remus Lupin turned up early from work. It was rare he was home early like this. Considering how strict Werewolf Disclosure laws were getting in the workplace, Remus found a job at a Muggle pub evenings. His days were spent working on a comprehensive and illustrated guide to using defensive spells against blokes you don’t like. Remus thought he would never finish it, but if he did, he imagined it would sell well to a publisher.

It was rare he was home early like this.

Remus stepped through the door and kicked off his boots and hung his heavy brown corduroy coat on the coatrack. He assumed he was alone. He worked evenings, his girlfriend worked two jobs most days. Childcare near Diagon Alley in the morning, shopkeeping at Aurel and Arnie’s Auditory Alternatives: Music, Noise and Audible Toys. Remus hated how hard [Y/N] felt she had to work, but he didn’t do much to alleviate it these days.

He knew that [Y/N] wouldn’t be home for a while yet. It was typical that their schedules didn’t line up like this. Sighing, Remus sat down on the couch and reached for the blue-green bong sitting on the coffee table to pack a bowl.

Then, Remus heard a sniffle from the next room. His brow furrowed (a familiar position for his brow to be in). He took a rip off the bong before setting it down on the table. With a quick cough, Remus stood shakily from the couch and proceed to the bedroom. Without knocking, he opened the door. “Love?” Remus muttered, coughing again.

[Y/N] sighed in bed and rolled over. She was laying on top of the sheets, still in her work clothes from Aural and Arnie’s down to the beat up black leather boots. [Y/N] moaned and rolled over to face the door. “‘The hell are you doing here?”

“I live here. I sleep,” Remus pointed at his side of the bed and leaned against the doorframe. “There. The hell are you doing here too?”

“Went home early.” [Y/N] said flatly.

Remus nodded smartly. “Ah, yeah. Didn’t realize,” He said sarcastically. Remus sat on the edge of the bed and started to untie the laces on [Y/N]’s dragon-leather boots. “Me too.”

“‘S’wrong? Feeling ill?” [Y/N] asked, almost beginning to sit up. She hadn’t thought it was so close to the full moon that he would be in any pain, but things still came up. Lycanthropy was sort of like a chronic illness and both were used to treating it that way.

Remus shook his head, amazed by how she cared enough to ask. “Nah, just some new boys that needed training. They sent me home after. Easy shift’s all, like.” Remus set each of her boots on the floor with a firm thunk. “Why’re you back?”

[Y/N] shrugged.

Remus shrugged back at her. “Oh, we’re goin’ ta do that?” He shrugged again. “Just,” he shrugged a third time. “That?”

[Y/N] shrugged again. “Mhmm.”

The shrug joke hadn’t even made a smile appear on [Y/N]’s soft lips. Shit like that usually worked. Remus cocked his head.

“Cuppa tea?” Remus asked once he figured out this subject wasn’t going anywhere. He patted her on the leg as he stood up to move to the kitchen.

“RJ, you don’t have to…” [Y/N] rarely called him much else other than the nickname RJ. He loved it.

“No, ‘want to,” Remus replied, moving out of the room into their small kitchen. “You feeling okay, love? Something the matter?” He shouted down the small hallway towards the bedroom while he willed the kettle. Remus set the kettle on the burner. He was going to make her a nice strong cup of earl grey with a bit of whiskey in it, like he always did. Remus felt that he was dreadful at comforting his lover, but he knew it helped when did that. So this would be a start.

[Y/N] was silent in reply.

“[Y/N]?” Remus said.

Nothing.

“[Y/N]? Darlin’?” He repeated. Remus trodded back down the hall. [Y/N] was curled up on the bed, face down on the pillow.

This wasn’t [Y/N]. She never did this. Normally, she was up and working like a machine. Reading ferociously. Helping Remus make lunch. Trying to out-drink him on Saturday nights. Riding on the back of Sirius’s bike when she was the only one brave enough to try it out during that fateful first week. Remus’s eyes widened. He sat at the foot of the bed again, “[Y/N], hey. What’s wrong, love?” Remus said, placing a hand on her bare ankle. “You can talk to me, if you feel like it. Did something happen?” Remus would become inconsolable if it was his fault, so he prayed it wasn’t that. Or god forbid someone had hurt her.

“Remus, please.”

That almost aggravated him. “Please what? What the bloody hell’s that mean?”

“Merlin, sorry for trying to be polite.” She answered.

Remus sighed at his own temper and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t need to be no sorry, but tell me what you need.”

“Just leave me alone. I feel like shit; I don’t wanna rub off on you.”

“If you’re sick, I can pop by Molly’s and get a tonic or some shit— I… Are you ill?”

[Y/N] hauled her face out of the pillow. “RJ, I’m pregnant,” Her words knocked all the air from Remus’s belly. His eyes widened and his lips thinned. He inhaled sharply. All of this, and he still had no words. “Stay or don’t, then. I need to lay here and have a think for a while. I didn’t want it to happen like this, and you may not like it, but there it is,” She snapped. “If you’re leaving, lock the door on your way out and leave the key under the mat.” [Y/N] said and flopped her head back down away from Remus.

She had wanted to be able to tell him comfortably and sweetly, like some good wife in a movie, when they were grown up and married and ready and when there wasn’t a war waging outside. Or maybe even never having to tell him at all. Being a mother was not on her radar. But here she was.

Remus was stunned. He blinked. Never had he wanted to be a father. Men like Remus Lupin simply weren’t fathers. “I see.” Without another word, Remus stood up to fetch the kettle before it let out that infernal sound. His thoughts raced beyond measure. How could he do this? How could [Y/N]? Remus wanted to throw up. He also wanted to smile. He couldn’t seem to do either.

He prepared two mugs of his Irish-bottom tea and strode back to the bedroom. When Remus sat down on his side of the bed with the mugs, [Y/N] looked up. Her eyes were wet with tears. It was obvious to Remus that [Y/N] had assumed he had left; done the whole key under the mat song and dance.

“You’re still here?” She asked softly.

“‘Course. Cuppa?” Remus said with flat nerves. He gently extended the cup to her with a shaking hand.

“On the nightstand, please,” [Y/N] sniffled and Remus obliged. “It’s… It’s yours, obviously.”

“I know.”

The two were silent, save Remus sipping his tea as his high really began to kick in.

“Shall I get rid of it, then?”

“What?”

A surprised pause. [Y/N] stared at Remus. He never said what he was thinking. She always wondered what was happening in that head of his.

“No way we’re able to… You know. At least right now. And I know my parents were young, but RJ, I feel like I’m still a little girl and—.”

Remus’s head felt heavy. He shook his head. “But Lily and James—“

“I’ve been thinking about them too. How the fuck are they managing this…” [Y/N] chiefly held back another wave of tears.

Remus set his free hand on her back and clumsily moved it back and forth in circles in an attempt at comfort. He set his mug down on the nightstand by his side of the bed and pulled [Y/N] into his chest.

She almost tried to squirm away. She wasn’t used to being held. Remus normally didn’t hold her this way. He would come up behind her in the kitchen, or rest his head on her, maybe hold her on his lap. Frankly, [Y/N] was normally the one that held him like this. Her body tensed up. [Y/N] didn’t quite know how to be held at all.

No doubt Remus felt it. He felt a bit of shame. There was no way he treated her how she deserved. His eyes filled with sorrow.

“RJ, I’m scared.”

At every turn, [Y/N] had been there to be brave for Remus. She was as good as Atlas to him. As he felt he small hands cling to the back of his jumper, and her eyes become damp against his chest, he knew it had to be his turn to be brave for her. “My love, hey… I’ve got you, right? I’m not going anywhere,” Which was true, but also saying a lot because Remus wanted to take off running. No way in hell he would dare, though. “What’d’you need right now?”

“Just stay where you are.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he repeated. Remus kissed the top of [Y/N]’s head. “I’m not going anywhere. You hear me?” Remus whispered, dragging his long fingers through her hair in his best attempt at comfort. He kissed [Y/N]’s forehead. “You’re my girl. Nothing you could do that would have me runnin’. We’ll sort this out together, yeah?”

“Yeah, right.”

“See? There she is. That’s my girl.”

[Y/N] almost chanced a smile. She inhaled the smell of his jumper. Liquor from the pub, pot, coffee, cigarettes and a simple and clean musky deodorant. “You smoke before you came in here?” She asked.

“Yeah,” Remus stifled a giggle. It was an inappropriate time. “I’m high as a broom right now. It’s startin’ to hit,” Remus’s accent always got a little sloppy when he drank or used. That sing songy Swansea lilt he tried so desperately to repress muscled its way to the front. All of his consonants lisped right behind his teeth. “Oops.” He laughed.

[Y/N] started to laugh, and laugh hard.

“What?” Remus asked, eyebrows raised

[Y/N]’s laugh persisted. She was in hysterics. “This… This is awful,” she wheezed, smiling. “This is awful. Like, really awful.” she was laughing so hard that Remus let his own laugh slip into the mix.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Remus jeered.

“I’m pregnant. And I didn’t want to tell you. And I tell you… And you’re stoned. You should see your face right now. You’re toasted, RJ. The world is ending out there, I’m pregnant, you’re stoned. You can’t get a normal job because of the ministry shitheads. I’ve three St. Mungo’s training applications rejected. We have… rotten fucking luck. Our friends are dying. And if this goes how shit normally goes for us, we’re gonna be parents,” [Y/N] laughed desperately, while Remus’s big green eyes ringed with red went wide. “We’re going to be very unlucky, poor parents.”

“Wait, wait, wait, hypothetically, isn’t it going to be, like, two negatives make a positive then? Maybe this kid’s the next Merlin, or somethin’.”

“I think you’re think of ‘two wrongs don’t make a right.’”

Remus thought, scrunching his nose. “No, I don’t think that’s it.”

Their conversation lulled with their laughter. Clumsy fingers dragged up and down [Y/N]’s back. Remus spoke first after a few moments. “Love?” He asked. [Y/N] hummed in response. “If we have this thing, it’s going to be very good at reading, isn’t it?” Remus began. [Y/N] smirked like she had something rude to say. “No, shut it. You said yours, lemme say mine. It’s going to be a truly voracious reader, and smarter than all of its little loser friends. And it is also going to have addiction issues and dreadful eyesight, reading AND far off, probably between the two of us, but it’s okay. Because we were so damn unlucky first, so we’ll know what to do. That’s not too bad.”

“You’re implying we have had so much experience being poor in luck that we already know the loopholes.”

“Precisely.”

“I’m in love with you.” [Y/N] said teasingly, planting a kiss on Remus’s scruffy chin.

“We’re not totally out of luck then, are we?”

[marmie-noir]

Stubborn

Full disclosure, I haven't even finished Tulsa King yet but this man with his .5 seconds of screen time did this to me. Life is a cruel, cruel mistress istg.

Enjoy ;)

All in all I liked working at the Bred-2-Buck. The next few weeks went by and I spent a lot of time there, being new to town and needing the money to get a place. Mitch was, as expected, lovely. He was quite a lot but when he spoke it was always interesting. 

I made enough the first night to stay at a motel but had ended up in the spare room at Mitch’s place. Didn’t want me to waste my money, he said, and I appreciated being in a bed that I didn’t have to fear bedbugs from. Or weird shower fungus, motel bathrooms are really a hit or miss. Plus, while his place a little bare of personal items in some areas, his home was nice. Big enough we were tripping over one another, and I was rather fond of his father. The old man loved himself some sports and news, so it wasn’t odd to find him parked on the overstuffed chair, sipping a beer at any time and watching the large tv.  

Today I showed up an hour before my shift, classifieds in hand and a few to go coffees in the other. I passed one one to Mitch’s father, who I now affectionately called Pops, and Mitch before plopping next to the old man and flipping through the for rent section. 

“You know I make coffee, right?” “Folgers.” I said with no lack of distaste, looking up at Mitch before playfully edging his cup towards him. He didn’t look amused but did take the cup anyway, lifting it to his lips without further complaint. It was frustrating how small the cup looked in his hand versus mine. Narrowing my eyes slightly I made myself focus back at the paper before me. He leaned on the bar on the opposite side, glancing down at what I was doing. “Whattcha got there, darlin?” “Looking for a place to rent.” I said, setting my cup down and blindly reaching for my pen, circling a few places that sounded like I could afford them and weren’t in horrible neighborhoods. Not that I was super familiar. “Can’t take up your spare room forever, sure you are tired of me.” I murmured, distracted with my task. I didn’t see the way Pops glanced at Mitch, sending him a stern look. Mitch cleared his throat, snatching the paper from before me, making me huff at him with a confused crease between my brows. He looked over the circled items before looking at me under his brows, looking rather unimpressed. “Darlin’, these are bad neighborhoods.” “Well, if my boss would give me a raise I could afford that mansion I’ve had my eye on.” I sassed, rolling my eyes and reaching to snatch the paper back. He was faster, my fingertips just brushing the thin paper. Mitch rolled it up, shaking his head at me as he bopped me on mine before tucking it into his back pocket. “You are staying until we can get you somewhere safe. No point in putting yourself in a bad situation.” He said, a tone of finality to his voice, making sure that paper was firmly in place so I couldn’t snatch it back. I huffed, resting my arms on the bar as I looked up at him with a frown, really fighting the urge to pout. “Mitch.” “Sunny.” The southern drawl of my name leaving his lips made me finally give into my pout, looking up at him. “You are a good girl.” Pops said, surprising me from my childish reaction. His heavy hand landed on my shoulder, patting for a moment before refocusing on the tv playing some sort of sports rerun above the mirror backing of the bar, sipping on the coffee I brought him. I pressed my lips together, looking at Mitch who dared to look a little smug. I narrowed my eyes at him, sticking out my tongue, which only made him grin and shake his head. “Stuck with ya now, darlin’.” “Till I can find a nice place, cowboy.” “Mhm.” He said, pushing off the bar and disappearing into the back. I was not getting that newspaper back. 

Read more Sunny and Mitch here

[gizkasparadise]

2023 wrapped: kdrama edition!

taking a page from @dangermousie, here's a list of all the kdramas ive watched this year, in order from least liked to most liked! because i dont have a spotify wrap-up to share :'D

cdrama one here!

and i'll do a webtoon one too /o/

overall i didnt watch too many kdramas this year, and finished less. kind of a "meh" kdrama year for me overall (with 1-2 exceptions). with that in mind, full disclosure that i didnt love a ton of what i watched this year in kdramaland:

we barely knew ye: ones i dropped only a few eps in

sweet home 2. dropped after ep 2. direction it went in is v much not my thing, my fave surviving characters were either killed off or put on the bench, and im not that motivated to see what happens next. might jump back into the franchise if word-of-mouth on s3 is good, we'll see

moon in the day. first ep was actually great and i enjoyed it a lot!! but im not doing cancer storylines rn so that killed momentum. may try this one again later

king the land. watched the first ep. simply did not vibe.

death's game. ditto ^

black knight. i LOVE a good dystopian scifi. this was not that. i was really bored after the first ep and didnt bother with the rest

my dearest. i watched the first ep and liked it, but just wasnt in the mood/wasn't immediately hooked. i'm going to give this one another try when i hit the Angsty Sageuk craving again

dramas i watched at least half of

6. twinkling watermelon.

it's pretty wild to put what i believe is the current #1 show on mydramalist as my bottom pick for the year, especially since it's written by my favorite screenwriter, but here we are. this one is far from objectively the worst drama but it's here because it made me the most mad!! the female lead and second male leads were both off-putting and selfish to me, and the whole drama i was actively rooting for ryeoun's earnest and endearing male lead and shin eun soo's underwritten second female lead to escape and have mother/son adventures on their own away from the rest of everyone else

5. arthdal chronicles: sword of aramun.

sigh. i was a big believer/supporter of this season, even with all of the recasts. but despite a few moments of brilliance, it was overall a slog to watch and just kind of joyless. too much time spent on the ago tribe, too many nonsensical victories and deus ex machina coincidences, and the bag was very much fumbled with some of the characters (particularly saya, who was to me the most interesting character in s1 and you KNOW ljk could have rocked that ruthlessness). positive standouts were kim ok bin flawlessly scene-chewing as taealha and lee joon ki working what he was dealt

4. worst of evil.

adored this drama for the first 2/3rds! it was gritty, neo-noir that reminded me a lot of the old school hong kong crime films like infernal affairs. lots of style, great acting, messy and flawed characters. but the last arc/ending was a boring dud for me. still very much enjoyed the ride up to that point though!

3. perfect marriage revenge.

so! much!! fun!!! just. full commitment to making a show as gloriously makjang/soap operay as it could get and it was a blast watching because of it. made on pocket lint for a budget but it rocked what it had and a special shoutout to lee min young's absolutely fantastically camp evil stepmother. the excitement died down a little toward the end, but still a good time overall

2. the glory, part 2.

a satisfying ending to a really excellent first half. love that the female lead just got to execute revenge and there was no moral or sanctimonious hangups about it. enjoyed the way the ending was set up as "the adventure continues," and all in all this was a really solid and enjoyable dark drama! only thing that was kind of a bummer is that the time split between airing the first and second halves killed the momentum a little, but that's entirely netflix fuckery and not the fault of the show

moving

hands-down the best kdrama i watched this year, and possibly my favorite kdrama ever. i didnt plan to watch this one because im sick of superhero everything, but the cast got me wanting to at least try it and omg im glad i did. great acting from literally everyone, wild action scenes, and just beautiful characters and dynamics across every level. the family narratives are so, so good and the whole show is expertly grounded in the concept of planting seeds so your children can see flowers. please give this one a try if you're on the fence about it!

2023 kdramas that i plan to watch (but didnt get to yet!)

my lovely liar

a good day to be a dog

my perfect stranger

revenant

mask girl

bloodhounds

my demon

AWARDS

Favorite ship: juwon and jihee from moving absolutely destroyed me in the like 3 eps they were in, so they win this one. he's a gangster who gets the shit kicked out of him for a living and loves stories with happy endings. she's a weary but always brave sex worker (coded, but still) who decides to trust a lonely man crying in the street. i never thought a motion-sensor light could wreck me the way theirs did. "you have worth to me, and i have worth to you."

Favorite FL: song hye kyo's dong eun in the glory just barely edges out han hyo joo's mihyun in moving. song hye kyo needs to play, like, all the villains and anti-heroes ASAP because that's been the most fun ive had watching her. she took on a dark character and rocked it

Favorite ML: juwon from moving, definitely. to quote my older post:

Moving really said hi this is Juwon. he has scars from gunshots all down his arm. he opened a chicken restaurant. he’s a gangster. he loves pro wrestling because the good guys win. he tried to rip out his own galbladder to prove a point. he’s a proud girl dad. he is unkillable. he stands in the street and cries.

Favorite 2FL: lee min young's incredible, over the top, villainous camp queen lee jung hye from perfect marriage revenge was just so much fun to watch and she ate every single scene she was in. 10/10 would watch her throw lawn chairs in a ballgown all day

Favorite 2ML: i would die for bongseok from moving. precious sunshine child who deserves only the best

Best Cast: im a broken record, but moving. so many characters with such great depth given to them and this was truly an ensemble show A+++

Best WTF: yura eating her paternity results in perfect marriage revenge!!

[forabeatofadrum]

The Still Untitled Klaine December Challenge Fic (1/21)

Summary: Kurt and Blaine fell in love in Ljubljana, but all things must come to an end. Kurt's semester abroad and Blaine's job are finished and they must go back home, with each of them living on the other side of the country. It's difficult to be long-distance, especially since Blaine doesn't know how to come out to his family and Kurt's friends have all moved on to bigger things while he was away. But all is not lost. Kurt's trying to figure out if he can do an internship in Los Angeles and Blaine's aiming for a job in New York. The problem is that they're unaware of the other's plan.

Notes: Yes, the placeholder title is a mouthful, so I am once again open for suggestions. I almost titled it [placeholder Slovene title], because yes, Slovenia! This is a sequel to last year's Klaine Advent fic Ljubim te! Ever since I finished that one, I've been going back and forth on this sequel idea, so full disclosure, I have no clue where this is going and I think this fic will be shorter than Ljubim te, but I'm excited to find out. I really like this universe that I created and even though I haven't been away for that long, I am glad to return. I hope y'all enjoy it as well.

AO3 | S&C

--

PLEAD

“I love you.”

This isn’t the first time that someone confessed their love for Blaine at an airport, but this is the first time that Blaine can say it in return.

“I love you too,” he says with a big smile that matches the one on Kurt’s face.

“It’s only for a little while,” Kurt reminds Blaine.

Blaine nods. He knows this, but that doesn’t make it any easier. He’s been dreading this moment for a while. Blaine is going back to Los Angeles, leaving Kurt behind in Ljubljana.

Well, it’s not like Kurt’s staying that much longer. He’s flying back to New York tomorrow. But it is the end of an era. He’s moving away and the time that he’s shared with Kurt in this city, in this country, is about to end.

Kurt’s right. They will see each other soon. Blaine will return to LA to fix whatever mess he and Quinn have made and then he’ll visit Kurt in New York. Kurt also doesn’t know this yet, but Blaine’s looking into getting a position in his dad’s business’s New York office. Only Quinn knows of this plan. Okay, and Sunil, because Blaine just couldn’t keep his mouth shut. But Kurt doesn’t know it, because Blaine doesn’t want to possibly disappoint him. Blaine’s dad was satisfied with the work that Blaine did in Ljubljana, although Blaine can hardly call it work, so there’s a chance, but a position in New York would be bigger and Blaine’s not sure his dad will let him do it.

But first, Blaine will just visit Kurt.

“Alright, this is it,” Kurt says, and Blaine hears that he’s trying not to cry.

“I ljubim te you,” Blaine says back and they share a private smile. They know it is grammatically wrong, but this is their thing now.

“I ljubim te you too. Have a safe flight. Text me when you get home.”

“I will.”

“And say hi to Quinn and Denise for me.”

“I will,” Blaine repeats.

Then, Kurt pulls him into a warm embrace. Blaine breathes in Kurt’s scent. They’re acting as if they’re never seeing each other again, but that is how it feels in this moment. Blaine almost wants to plead to some higher power to let them stay here, just for a bit longer, but Kurt’s semester has come to an end and Blaine’s job is also done. They can visit Ljubljana again, and they will, but they won’t be living here.

It's time to go, but before Blaine moves, he kisses Kurt. Kurt wraps his arms around him and kisses back. It sucks to leave, but it is how it is.

It really, really is time to go. Blaine breaks apart and says a quick goodbye. He can’t dwell on it any longer. Kurt understands.

Blaine turns around and walks towards customs.

--

A couple of hours later, he’s at LAX. As promised, he texts Kurt to say he’s landed safely, and he also texts Quinn to say that he’s going to the baggage claim.

QF: Okay, we have a situation here

BA: Are you stuck in traffic???

QF: No

QF: worse

BA: ???

QF: we’re stuck with your fucking brother

BA: ??????????????

Blaine frowns deeply. Cooper? Blaine had let Cooper know that he’s returning home today, but he also very clearly told him that Quinn is picking him up. He meant to imply that he wanted “a private moment with his girlfriend” or something, since Cooper doesn’t know that they’re broken up and that Blaine’s gay. That, and Quinn asked if Denise could join them and Blaine agreed. How on earth did Cooper get mixed up in this?

He assumes that Quinn tried to hold Cooper off, but if Cooper’s put his mind on something, it’s hard for anyone to convince him otherwise.

Blaine braces himself. This is the last thing he needed. He wants to call Kurt, but it’s past midnight in central Europe now. Kurt said he’d try to wait up, but he hasn’t replied to Blaine’s text, so he probably failed. Blaine doesn’t mind.

So, after half an hour, he’s face to face with Quinn, his best friend and ex-girlfriend, Denise, his ex’s new girlfriend, and Cooper, his brother who doesn’t know he’s gay. This must be some kind of slapstick.

 “Blaine!” Quinn immediately runs towards him and she throws herself on him.

Blaine spins her around. He’s missed her, even though he last saw her in April. Blaine puts her down and moves his attention to Denise.

“And you must be the famous Denise Jackson-Smith,” he holds out his hand.

“The famous Blaine Anderson,” Denise says back and she shakes his hand. Quinn’s told him that Denise didn’t always like him, but that was before the whole gay realisation and break-up happened. Denise’s warmed up to him, and this is the first time they’re meeting.

But they can’t spend too much time on why that is a big deal, because Cooper breaks in.

“Welcome home!” Cooper also hugs Blaine, which admittedly is nice.

“What a surprise,” Blaine feigns happiness.

“I haven’t seen you in so long, squirt!”

Blaine’s touched, truly, but the timing is just icky. Cooper must pick up on some of Blaine’s displeasure, because he leans in to whisper something in Blaine’s ear.

“Sorry for crashing your reunion with your girl, but if Quinn’s new bestie can crash it, so can I.”

“Right.”

My girl, Blaine thinks. Meanwhile, his boy is on the other side of the world.

Cooper pulls away and he takes one of Blaine’s suitcases.

“Shall we?” he nods towards the entrance.

 Blaine takes a deep breath. It feels so silly, but when he leaves the airport, then it means his adventure is over and that he’s back home to his old life.

He’ll see Kurt soon enough. That’s what he needs to remind himself. He feels like a love sick puppy, but the thought does put him more at ease. The Ljubljana chapter of his life might be over, but his story with Kurt is only just beginning.

[accirax]

A Thought on Hu's Secret

Throughout the past couple of months, I've been rewatching DRDT (more on that once I finish it) through Weeby Newz's streams. They're very fun, and I recommend them if you want to experience DRDT in an audio format, but, that's neither here nor there. I've just reached the start of Chapter 2, and with it, the area investigation that kicks off the chapter. Rewatching the scene introducing the Dress-up Room got me thinking-- not necessarily about the murder, but instead, about Hu's backstory and how it might intertwine with her secret. (CW for DRDT spoilers through 2-2 and discussion of suicide/suicidal thoughts, specifically overdosing.)

Despite the hesitancies I've had in the past, I am now of the belief that Hu probably has the secret, "You were quite the hopeless child. Dying once wasn't enough, so you attempted suicide three times." It's mostly because I don't think that that secret would make sense for Levi, Min, or anybody else, anymore. But, evidence such as Hu not wanting to share the self harm secret line up with this interpretation too. So, I'm not trying to argue that Hu doesn't have that secret here, because I still think it's the most likely. Instead, I want to pass something on to everybody else who thinks Hu is the hopeless child to see what you all think.

After Teruko, Whit, and Hu get their makeovers, Hu comments on her new dress being very similar to what she wears at home, down to the brand. Whit keeps the ball rolling by pointing out that a lot of things about the set seem to be creepily catered to the students. One such thing he brings up is students' prescriptions. Here's what he has to say:

In my mind, ever since solidifying on the belief that Hu was the hopeless child, I believed that Hu was one of the students with the prescriptions. If Hu were that suicidal, it would make sense if she was taking something to counteract that. And Hu is a friendly enough person that I could fully believe Whit talking with her about a sensitive subject such as this.

But... was Hu actually one of the people who takes a prescription? On a second read, I think the answer may be, "no."

If Whit already knew that Hu took a prescription, why would he ask her? And, yes, he immediately followed it with "that was a rhetorical question," which could be in an attempt to save Hu from having to admit she took a medication in front of Teruko. However, if he already knew, it would have been very easy for him to just lead with "I've talked to some people around here who take prescriptions, and..." To me, asking Hu and Teruko if they take any prescriptions is an indicator that he did not talk to either of them before about that aspect of their lives. Instead, commenting on the rhetorical question was a countermeasure to his slip up of accidentally pressuring Hu and Teruko into discussing something private.

Okay, that's not the most solid evidence. What about Hu's response?

Once again, this seems like something that Hu would only say if she had never thought about something like this before. At the very least, it would be something that she hadn't talked about with Whit before, unless they're both putting on an elaborate performance for Teruko's sake. I wouldn't go so far as to say that doing something like that would be fully out of character for Hu, but it does seem like a pretty weird thing for her to do based on what we've seen of Hu so far.

So, what does that mean? Well, it means that, assuming that Hu does in fact have the hopeless child secret, Hu attempted suicide three times, and yet may not take any medications for it. We can't guarantee that she doesn't, because if Whit and Hu never discussed medications before, it's possible that she does and Whit just didn't know about it. However, on DRDTdev's end, it would seem a little strange to me to have a list of unknown students who take medications, not have Hu be part of that list, but have Hu still take medications.

Now, full disclosure, I have never needed to take any medications before, so I could have things wrong. If I do, I apologize, and I would be happy to correct myself via feedback from anyone who does who's comfortable sharing.

After some very brief research, it does seem like some suicidal people aren't prescribed any medications by their doctors, because 1) either the source of their suicidal tendencies isn't something that can be treated by medicine, 2) the doctor is worried that a misdiagnosis could increase the suicidal tendencies to a dangerous degree, or 3) the doctor is worried that the patient might use the medication to overdose. However, antidepressants and anxiety medications are often used as counter-suicide methods for patients whose suicidal tendencies stem from depression or anxiety respectively. Antipsychotics and mood stabilizers are also sometimes prescribed to suicidal people with conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

So, if Hu both has the hopeless child secret and doesn't take any medications for it, it could imply a couple of scenarios:

The impetus behind Hu's suicide attempts does not include depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder.

No doctors were ever made aware of Hu's suicide attempts.

Despite having depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and/or bipolar disorder, any doctors that Hu saw did not see it fit to prescribe her any medications. (Due to Hu's seemingly traditional upbringing, it could be that any doctors Hu's family brought her to don't believe in medicine. Huh? Amane who? /j)

Despite being offered medication, Hu chooses not to take it. If extreme enough, this could even line up with her preferences being for them to not exist in her room at all.

I think that any of these possibilities have some very interesting implications on Hu's backstory, which we know very little about at this point.

Of course, to even get here, you have to rely on several inferred implications, including the idea that Hu even has the hopeless child secret in the first place! It's definitely possible that I'm the only one who even believes in the conditions that led me to my three potential conclusions in the first place. Or, maybe this line of logic was already obvious to everyone else, and I'm not really bringing anything new to the table here. Still, I feel that Hu doesn't often get a chance to shine in the DRDT theorizing zone, so when I had this thought, I decided to put it out there.

Thanks for listening, and, if you have anything to say, feel free to respond! Here's hoping that, in one way or another, we learn a little more about Hu's backstory soon after the story resumes. Until next time!

[applesontheground]

🩸 bloodfest || week one 📞

prompt: fire, wounds, suburb, bondage | keywords: acrid, malignant

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER! also, full disclosure, i had a clear idea of who was under the costume but i don't end up directly revealing it (you can def get bonus points for guessing who, though!), so let's let this be whoever suits the fancy.

NSFW | Word Count: 1,045 | Ghostface x GN Reader contains DUBCON, pain play, injury to reader (glass mention), B&E elements, hints at bondage 🎼: x

There was something rather acrid about visiting the house your parents had owned for most of your life as an adult. Maybe it was just because the prospect of having your own was slipping further away from your reach along with the state of the world, or maybe it was just because the older they got the more they decorated in a way that made you feel as though you were wearing an itchy sweater whenever you were here.

It was almost like a malignant part of your memory that walked alongside you in most things, never really being seen until you were staring it in the face like this. Either way, it was something so unmistakably home – and then becoming something far different than that.

Maybe the real putrid truth of it was that time was passing, and between you, your parents, and the house, it was something you were unable to really swallow.

Still, they asked for you to watch the place for you while they had to go out of town. You couldn’t feel too awful knowing that it’d just be you and the tacky curtains for another two days, then it could fall to the wayside again.

You paced through the small space between the kitchen and living room, staring through the windows towards the front of the house that gave glimpses of an aging night in the suburbs between sips of wine. The crevices began filling in memories – some painful, some awfully bland, some too blurry to really place into the current world you were living in again.

When it became too much to keep thinking about, you found one of your parents’ candles and a lighter.

A desolate ring from the dust-covered landline from the home office made you pause. After the initial shock passed, eyes wide and casting into a darker corridor of the house, you assumed it was a telemarketer behind in the times. Turning away from it to block the fear out, catching your breath and letting the old-fashioned tone drone as you finished your glass. After the candle was lit, you looked for the half-finished bottle, figuring you had nothing to lose by topping yourself off.

The phone was silent, as was the world again. A deep breath in, you let that airy bliss start to take over, not quite disoriented but feeling yourself fall spacey as you poured the wine.

It was rudely cut off by the landline again. After the second ring, just as you dared look back towards the home office. There was a brief wrap against the windowpane in the hallway, a cascading figure illuminated by the gaudy backyard lights coming through. Any bubbles remaining in your chest popped in a sharp inhale, the crash and burn into being sobered up as you set the glass down. An impulse made you want to hold the air in your chest, and you did just that as you dared approach the window.

You maybe made it three steps into the dim glow of the yard before the pane was revealed to have been broken, now pried open by an imposing hand. It had gotten unlocked from the inside – somehow, someway along with being shattered. You skidded bare feet along the floor and up against the opposite wall as the assailant was quick to slip through the frame.

They were wearing something rather gaudy: a black cloak and terrifyingly hollow apparition of a mask. It was a popular costume you had seen before, sure, but the early Autumn’s timing gave no excuse for someone to wear it. Of course, you figured as they imposed in a matter of two strides in your direction and with a bony forearm got you up against your own wall that there were bigger red flags in front of you.

When you jerked, more out of reflex of feeling them try to close in on your windpipe than any sort of defense, you felt a sharp sting in the sole of your foot. Glass was scattered over the hardwood from a sloppy window job and it had been quick to embed into your skin when you had started to fumble.

Wincing, you peered up at the mask and spat a breathless curse. “Ah ah,” A voice muffled by plastic, too soft to be discernable solely by tone, tutted at you. Just to be safe, they then pressed the thin black fabric cladding the palm of their hand into your mouth, slightly catching your nose with it and making your shivering breaths a little more audible, warming your upper lip in the process.

The shoes they had on were merely brushing against your bare feet, and when there was a noticeable pain in just that motion the rough edge of its sole came down on the top of the soft skin where your ankle met the bridge of your foot, and you cried out into their palm. No words, just a lingering face to face moment as you writhed from the aftershock.

A knee slid up the wall, finding the V between your legs and making you squirm again as they closed the space even tighter between the two bodies in a hallway – one that ws losing any sort of sentimental value in favor of the terror that was mixing terribly with the wine in the pit of your stomach. When their knee, abrasive and denim clad, pressed into your crotch to keep you still, the hand on your throat slipped down to a pocket in the cloak.

Even with the feeble attempt to try and squirm from a lack of hold on you, another powerful slam of your head with the hand that was holding your mouth made you slouch into the wall again, seeing stars briefly as your hands were brought in to rest against your stomach.

“There, there we go.” Another quiet mumble, more for himself than anything you could get out of it, was spoken as you felt the edged plastic skim your wrists and ultimately bind them to each other with a sharp hiss of the tie.

Zip-tie. You looked at him with a clench of your jaw and realized that power was not only gone.

It was practically out the window at this point.

[uncloseted]

Do you have any tips or advice for us ADHD girlies that are either working from home on our laptops all day or finishing our university degree the same way :( i know in person learning and working is usually most optimal but i don't have a car at the moment and i'm from a really small town so my only choice for either is digital :(

Ooh! Yes! I work from home and actually really like it (although full disclosure, I'm avoiding doing work right now).

The biggest thing I can recommend is adjusting your space so that it works for you. This will depend on what your symptoms are and how they manifest, since not everyone's ADHD works the same way, but here are some things that may help:

If you struggle with sitting still, getting a standing desk (or just sticking your laptop on top of a bookcase or stack of items), under-desk treadmill, or other way to move while working may help keep you on track. You can also schedule regular breaks to get up and walk around or do some exercise. In the same vein, a fidget toy can help to keep you focused while in meetings or lectures.

Have a dedicated space where you do your work, and try to make it so that space isn't facing any distractions. For example, you might set up an office in a closet (that's what I did) or just have a desk that faces a wall instead of facing the rest of the room. The fewer things you can see, the easier it is to avoid distractions.

To further avoid distractions, set up a "do not disturb" function on your phone and laptop so that you don't get random notifications and alerts that can pull your attention in a different direction. If you have noise cancelling headphones, that can also be useful for avoiding distractions.

This one is a YMMV, but it works for me so I'll include it... I put on some background music that I only play when I'm working (usually one of the lo-fi beats to study to videos on YouTube) and then set a Pomodoro timer. I focus on only my work for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minute break to walk around, then start the timer again. 25 minutes is the upper limit that most people can work on one thing without getting distracted, and the music is kind of a Pavlovian trigger where my brain goes "okay, we're doing work now." Plus, dividing your day into 25 minute chunks means that you can bounce between tasks if you're bored with what you're doing while still maintaining productivity.

Put everything into your calendar the minute you're told about it. If you're anything like me, you always tell yourself that you'll remember, and then it immediately disappears from your brain. Getting into the habit of writing things down and setting reminders has made a big difference in terms of actually remembering everything that has to get done.

Try finding someone to "body double" for you when you're doing work, either virtually or in-person. This can be one of your coworkers or classmates, but it can also just be a friend (or even one of those "do work with me/study with me" Twitch streams, if nothing else). Having someone working with you can help to keep you on task and keep you accountable.

At the beginning or end of every day (whichever works better for you) do a brain dump of everything that needs to get done. Prioritize them by how important they are and how soon they need to get done. Then, identify 3-5 tasks that you need to do today (whichever ones are the more important, urgent, or are stressing you out) and just focus on those. Cross them off your list once they're done. Keep these tasks easily visible so that you're reminded to stay on track.

I'm sure there are others, but these are the ones that have worked the best for me for the past few years.

[theradicalscrivener]

A Little peek behind the screen of sorts. I had mentioned that I had written A Lot of stuff for Trevor in advance. I'd say the next five or six chapters are already ready. Here's kind of how the writing process worked. Chapters I wrote:

Noah's deam (Title: Dream a Little Dream) The cafe scene (Full Disclosure) The day of the experiment (Push the Buttom) Simon and Co. going to meet Noah after the experiment. (Name Pending)

I wrote these scenes all in one night, but then over the next few weeks I went back and tidied them up, and added more stuff to make them flow better as well as gathered some other unfinished WIPs to intersperse them throughout the Noah saga. The reason for this was to

a) not just spend all my time on one character

b) drive home that there's a noticeable amount of time between each Noah chapter. He didn't just wake up one day and decide to go through with it. This was building for A While.

This is why the order went the way it did.

Dream a Little Dream (Noah) Scenes from an Italian Restaurant (Ashton and Devon) Full Disclosure (Noah and Simon + Trevor (and technically Rex) All in a Day's Work (Simon and Trevor) Push the Button (Noah)

So, the next chunk of chapters will focus heavily on Noah. This is because these scenes are sort of time sensitive. Everything from the day that Noah goes through with the experiment and comes back home takes place in the span of roughly a week. Also, given that this is a bit of a stressful time for the other characters, I don't think they'd be out partying too hard while waiting for news.

I'm going to try to get back in the habit of posting a chapter a week. As silly as it sounds, the main reason I had been so slow on posting was because I didn't want people think I was focusing all my time on this instead of Acorn. Acorn is a much more popular piece, and now that it's getting into the finale, I'm spending more time on it to make sure that the last three chapters flow properly. TBH the closer I get to the end, the more stressful it gets, which kind of has me double checking and rethinking a lot of what happens in the finale. So, I'm my own worst enemy in finishing that in a timely fashion. That's kind of why I also hadn't posted the next bit of the antics of The Little Spoon guys.

I've also got a buncha WIPS that are in various stages of complete. A few of those are Troy and the boys. Some of it is Lumen. I mentioned this on twitter, but one of the issues I have when writing Lumen is that I keep introducing new stuff that requires a lot of groundwork. Like, it's loosely based on DND, and I know that most people don't play that, and I also don't want to have to stick to the rules and lore that they laid out, so I have to thread the needle between introducing new stuff in a way that people who already know the gist don't get bored and introducing stuff in a way that those who have no point of reference can pick it up on the fly.

[urrone]

wip amnesty - jordan eberle/taylor hall

Full disclosure, I think I've posted this before, but I'm officially posting it again just to get it off my chest and out of my active fics folder. It's never getting finished. At the end I will include my notes for how I would have ended it if I had the willpower to do so. I created this document in the year of our eldritch horror TWO THOUSAND THIRTEEN so that's how long it's been muddling through existence.

--

the new normal

It’s not that Taylor hasn’t heard of Oklahoma before, of course he has, though he doubts he could have ever picked it out on a map of the US. He’s just never, like, had to physically acknowledge its existence with his own presence, and it’s weird. 

“Is it as flat as you thought?” Jeff, the intern the team sent to pick him up at the airport, carefully keeps his hands at 10 and 2 on the wheel. Bringing his truck down from home hadn’t made sense given he’s sure he won’t be here long, but Taylor misses driving already. 

“I didn’t really think about it,” he says, and that’s definitely true. Foreign places always resemble a slightly different Canada in his mind until he sees them. And it’s not like anywhere in the US is really that different, not like going overseas. 

And honestly, it does kind of remind him of Edmonton, only with fewer trees. 

Jeff laughs when he says it out loud, and starts pointing out landmarks on the way to the apartment Taylor will share with Jordan. He’s never lost this much playing time before, and he isn’t sure if it’s that or seeing Jordan for the first time since April that has him wiping sweat off his palms every five minutes. 

Taylor lets Jeff’s inane chatter ease him all the way to his new front door, on the second floor of a low rise apartment building that Jeff assures him is only a five-to-ten-minute bike ride from the arena. “It doesn’t look like a lot, but there’s some good stuff in Midtown,” Jeff says, gesturing vaguely to the road behind them. 

Taylor doesn’t know how to respond to this but it doesn’t really matter because Jeff’s already gone.

--

“Are you telling me you actually brought your dirty laundry from Canada to wash down here?” Jordan says, looking at the pile of clothes in front of the washer. “You moved down here just so I'd do your laundry again, didn't you?”

Taylor laughs and chucks the socks he'd been wearing on top of the pile. It’s almost a relief to just fall back into chirping each other like they always used to. It helps him talk through the fluttery bits in his stomach. “Yep, it had absolutely nothing to do with finally being able to play again. I got tired of washing my own socks.”

Jordan picks one of the socks up and flicks it back at Taylor's face. “It doesn’t look like you’ve washed a sock since last season.” 

Taylor bats it away, laughing around the new tight feeling that’s taken up residence in his chest. He'd really missed just being in the same room with Jordan, sitting on their mutually owned couch playing xbox, buying groceries they’d forget to eat, watching Jordan sort their dirty laundry.

“Why aren't you holding up your end then?” Jordan asks. He's given up bitching and started dumping the pile of clothes into the washer. “When's the last time you went grocery shopping?”

“Chill out, I just got here.”

“We can't eat at Earl's every day, dude.”

It's weird that he can eat at a place called Earl's in two different countries. Did they run out of restaurant names? The one down here doesn't have the variety of Edmonton’s, but their brisket is delicious, and Taylor doesn't see why they can't eat it every day if they want to. He says as much.

“The nutritionist might object.”

Fair point to Jordan. “Do you think Tubes would let me borrow his car?”

Jordan snorts. “No.”

Taylor flops down on the couch. “Well do you think he'd give me a ride to the grocery store?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“Whether or not he's already going to the store.” Jordan flops down next to him, and it's not their awesome giant wrap around couch that Jordan’s mom bought them when they moved in, so next to him is kind of on top of him given the way that Taylor's sprawled, but Taylor doesn't mind. He likes Jordan's warm weight against him, even though it's kind of hot in their apartment, despite the air conditioning. It's weird that it's 30C in late October anywhere in the world.

“If we had Vespas we could go to the store.”

“How is grocery shopping with a Vespa different than grocery shopping with your bike?”

Taylor tries to shrug but his shoulders are stuck to the leather. “I'd get there faster?”

“Do you even know what a Vespa is?” Jordan nudges Taylor with his foot. “You still wouldn't have anywhere to put the groceries.”

Taylor doesn’t want to admit that no, he still doesn’t know. “I wouldn't get much. It's not like you're going to cook it.”

“Can't fit a lot of coconut water on a Vespa.”

“I could fit enough.” He nudges Jordan back with his knee, since his feet are currently trapped under Jordan's calves.

“Hey, Cheds.” Sometimes Taylor regrets ever telling Jordan about that nickname, but sometimes he likes that Jordan is the only one to use it anymore.

“What?”

Jordan won't make eye contact with him for a minute, which is weird because it's Jordan and Jordan has never been uncomfortable around Taylor, not even when they first met. “I just. I really missed you.”

It's weird to say his heart flips in his chest, because hearts don't actually do that, really, but Taylor might finally know what people mean when they say that, like this sick warm weird feeling right there behind his sternum. It's awesome and terrifying and he doesn’t know what to do with it. 

He waits until it passes and pats Jordan's shoulder, because Jordan's still looking weird. Which, granted, they hardly ever talk about their feelings for things other than food or hockey, but still. “I missed you too, you non.”

Jordan doesn't even smile at that, and Taylor suddenly feels like they're having two different conversations. “No,” Jordan says. “I mean. I missed. Jesus, Taylor, it was like <i>six months</i>.”

“No it wasn't, I was back in Edmonton that whole time. I mean, except for the surgery.”

“Not on the ice.”

“Well no, but—”

“Not over the summer.”

“We never spend the summer together.”

Jordan's looking at him now, but it's with the distinct impression that says Taylor's missing something big, and fuck if Taylor knows what it is. He kind of does though, because even when he'd been out with his ankle his rookie year, they'd still been around, and it hadn't been some planned thing like his shoulder where they knew it'd go through next season. 

The shoulder thing had kind of scared him, and he guesses it must have scared Jordan a bit too. He puts his hand on Jordan's shoulder again, but leaves it there and holds on. “I get it,” he says, even though Jordan's still looking at him like he really doesn't. “I really did miss you too. And playing with you. And winning with you.”

Jordan looks kind of okay with that, and he reaches up to pat Taylor's hand.

“You want to hug it out?” Taylor asks.

Jordan laughs at that and smacks his hand away and things feel normal again, but a different kind of normal. “Fuck you, turn on the TV.”

If this is going to be their new normal, Taylor could be okay with that. 

–

Practice is weird and it isn’t just because he hasn’t actually had a team practice since last season.  Jordan and Ryan have been down for a month already, since before the home opener, and Taylor hates feeling a step behind. He knows some of the guys from training camp last year, but Schultz is new and Ryan follows him around like a duckling. 

He’s also missed out on several months worth of inside jokes, which he hates almost more than feeling winded after sprints. During practice Justin hip checks Jordan and they both say “sauce” and crack up laughing. Taylor doesn’t feel bad at all when they both land on their asses and get yelled at. 

Tubes laughs at Taylor when he mentions the grocery store, but Hamilton takes pity on him. (Taylor hadn't really planned this well and asked in the locker room. If anyone chirps him about it, he's totally throwing Jordan under the bus about the laundry. Cereal is way better than socks.)

“We can go after practice,” Hammy says. “I've gotta go anyway.”

They end up driving way further north than Taylor's been before, he hasn't really made it past 23rd St on his bike, and stopped there because there wasn’t a bike lane. He figures if it isn't in the confines of downtown, he doesn't really need it.

“But you do,” Hammy says. “Because they don't have a Whole Foods down there.” He then spends about fifteen minutes bitching about the grocery store situation in Oklahoma, because apparently the liquor laws in the States are different than Canada, and for some reason that means no good grocery stores exist in this state. “It's a big fucking mess,” Hammy finishes, just as he parks. He catches Taylor giving him whatever look must have been on his face, because really, <i>grocery stores</i>. “What?” Hammy asks.

“I had no idea someone could have so many feelings about grocery stores.”

Hammy just pushes him into a parked car, and they both run when the alarm starts blaring.

–

“Did you know it's not even called KD down here?” Taylor asks, neatly arranging the offensively labeled blue boxes in the cupboard.

“I did, actually,” Jordan says, not even looking up from the TV.

“You could have warned me.”

“I'm sorry, was it a shock to your delicate nature?”

Taylor lobs one of the wet sponges on the sink at Jordan's head, and fuck yeah he's got excellent hand-eye coordination, it hits Jordan right in the ear. Jordan yelps and comes at him, and Taylor barely gets out “I'm sorry, was it a shock to your delicate ear?” before Jordan has him pinned on the kitchen floor, laughing into the tile. 

Taylor gets his hands under him and shoves up. He's got height and weight on Jordan, which has always made wrestling pathetically unmatched, especially when Jordan forgets to do shit like pin his hands. He gets Jordan wedged into the corner between the cabinets and the floor, and even with Jordan squirming and kicking his truly massive thighs around, he can't dislodge Taylor. Taylor is the fucking master of pinning people.

“Say it,” he says. It's unfortunately a little muffled because he's got Jordan's shoulder pinned with his head, and his mouth is full of Jordan' shirt. Still, it's a familiar enough routine by now, and Jordan's face is free and clear.

“No.”

Taylor presses down harder, his feet hooked over Jordan's legs and their arms tangled. It'd be horrible form if either of them had ever actually officially wrestled in any kind of formal manner, but there aren't any rules here. They're touching knee to head and it’s apparently part of the new normal that Taylor notices this time. Notices exactly how they line up, how Jordan's thigh flexes between his, how Jordan's breath pants across Taylor's forehead as he struggles. He doesn't know why he's never thought about this before, how good everything feels. He's missed it. They've had to be too careful about Taylor's shoulder for so long.

“Say it,” he says again, and hopes his voice doesn't sound as wrecked as he feels.

“You're better than me!”

“At what.”

Jordan sags against the floor and Taylor finds himself resisting absolutely nothing, and then they're just two guys, cuddling on the kitchen floor. “At literally everything,” Jordan says.

Taylor lifts his head. “That escalated quickly.”

“Fuck you, don't quote <i>Anchorman</i> at me.”

“Don't say ridiculous shit.”

Jordan shrugs and Taylor feels it with his whole torso and remembers that, oh yeah, he's still basically laying on top of Jordan, and it isn't for wrestling reasons anymore. He gets up and offers a hand to Jordan. “NHL 13?”

He laughs when Jordan slaps his hand away. “I'm gonna kick your ass,” Jordan says, levering himself up against the cabinets.

“Yeah, we'll see.”

–

Taylor's first week playing with the team for real and not just practicing involves a road trip down to Texas. On a bus. Taylor remembers taking buses to games, it honestly hasn't been that long, but the drive from OKC down to Houston is going to be like eight hours. And because he’s who he is he decides to complain about it out loud in the middle of Earl’s. “Welcome to the AHL,” he mutters.

“It's not that bad,” Jordan says.

“You're like a foot shorter than me, of course you don't think it's that bad.”

Jordan flicks a fry at him. Taylor tries unsuccessfully to catch it in his mouth. “I'm like inches shorter than you,” Jordan says. “Very few inches.”

“At least two,” Ryan says helpfully.

Justin nods. “But not more than six.”

“Fuck you both, it's not six inches.”

Taylor flicks a pickle at Jordan. Fries are too precious to waste, and he's really not a fan of pickles. “I can see over your head without even trying. It's enough.”

“You cannot.”

“I can.”

“Prove it.”

“Right now?”

Jordan gets up from their booth and stands next to it, hands on his hips. “Yes, right now.”

“You look stupid.” Taylor looks at Ryan and Justin, but they're both concentrating really hard on eating right now and are exactly no help. “Seriously?”

Justin looks up from his barbecue. “It makes Nugget really uncomfortable when his parents yell at each other,” he says, with a truly impressive deadpan expression. Taylor is forced to begrudgingly admit, only to himself, that Justin could teach lessons.

Taylor sighs heavily and ridiculously and throws his napkin down. “Fine.” He knows he's exaggerated his and Jordan’s height differences. Jordan knows he's exaggerated their height differences. Literally everyone knows he's exaggerated their height differences, and he stands up and his eyes are right on Jordan's forehead and of course he can't see shit over his head and he hates that he had to stand up and leave his barbecue behind. “Whatever, you non. Fine.” He sits back down again. “Two inches. Why were we talking about this again?”

Jordan is insufferably triumphant with his shit-eating grin. “The bus,” Jordan reminds him. “It's not that bad, so quit your fucking whining.”

“Language, Ebby,” Taylor says. “This is a family establishment.”

Jordan kicks him under the table, and it's really fucking hard actually, but then he leaves his leg pressed up against Taylor's until they leave.

–

Taylor shifts around for the millionth time in as many minutes. The bus is too hot and too cold and too cramped and too . . . everything. He's got his iPad out and has Dexter queued up but can't find a good position for the iPad and his legs and his shoulders. Jordan shotgunned the window seat on the way to the bus and at first Taylor thought that the aisle would be awesome, more room for his legs, but then Arco spread out a blanket, grabbed his pillow, and camped out in the aisle. It's a mad genius idea and Taylor wishes he'd thought of it first, but now he's got nowhere for his legs except under the seat in front of him.

“Stop squirming,” Jordan says, shoving at his shoulder. “I can't sleep when you squirm.”

“I can't get comfortable,” Taylor says, shoving back. “This is the worst.”

House kicks his seat. “Tell us again how wonderful the Oilers plane is, seriously.”

Taylor hunches down in his seat. This is the worst, the absolute worst, but he might be down here for the whole season, given the way the negotiations are going, and he doesn't really want to be <i>that guy</i>.

“Here, just.” Jordan starts manhandling him a bit. “Sit up a minute, will you?” Taylor does and Jordan pulls his leg up behind Taylor and Taylor does not at all see how this is going to be comfortable? But then Jordan grabs his shoulders and turns Taylor away from him and pulls his back into Jordan's chest, so Taylor is basically reclining in a Jordan chair. Taylor tries really hard and really unsuccessfully to not think about every point of contact between them. 

He swings his legs up onto the armrest across the aisle, basically right over Arco's head, but he's asleep and Danis is all alone across the aisle and sleeping with his face mashed against the window and obviously not using the arm rest right now.

“Better?” Jordan whispers, and it's right in his ear and that's definitely what makes the goosebumps spread across the back of his neck. He wonders what Jordan will attribute his full body shudder to, but Jordan doesn't actually ask. Also is it better? No. And yes. 

“Yeah,” he says, just as quiet. It really has no business being comfortable, because they're still two tall, muscular dudes shoved into a seat made for people roughly half their size, but somehow it is, and it’s weird that it is. 

Jordan slings his arm over Taylor's shoulder, because it's that or leave it mashed between Taylor and the seat. He can feel when Jordan falls asleep again, because his breath gets deep and even against Taylor's shoulder.

Taylor puts his earbuds in, props the iPad against his knees, and hits play. He’ll deal with how good all of this feels later.

–

It’s Justin’s idea to go see Cloud Atlas. Taylor doesn’t really like going to movie theaters, he gets bored just sitting there trying to follow along with a plot he doesn’t really care about. He relents when Jordan tells him to stop being a non and promises to buy him a popcorn and lemonade, so he gets on his bike and follows them all down the street to the theater. 

Somehow, when they all go to sit down, Taylor ends up on the end of the row next to Justin, and Jordan’s on the other end next to Ryan, and all Taylor has is his watery lemonade. Ryan and Justin do this thing during the previews where they do a thumbs up or down on whether or not they’ll go see the movie. Jordan starts giving his opinion after he sees Ryan and Justin doing it. 

Taylor keeps his thumb down the whole time and eventually Justin stops turning to ask. 

He only makes it thirty-seven minutes into the movie. By the sixth time a new storyline is introduced and he’s leaned over again to Justin to ask if that’s still Tom Hanks under all the makeup and Justin has shushed him yet again, he just gets up and leaves. He waits in the lobby to see if anyone follows him but eventually Taylor has to concede that they might not have even noticed he’d left. Or maybe they just thought he was taking an extended bathroom break.

The lobby of the movie theater is boring and doesn’t have any couches and he’s actually pretty close to home because everything is pretty close to their apartment, so he just leaves.

He bikes around downtown. There’s a little canal area near the theater and a big statue of a covered wagon. He likes the canal. It’s absolutely nothing like the river in Edmonton but whatever, it’s trying. He stops outside Toby Keith’s restaurant to tweet about the movie and laughs at Whits’ response. 

Most of the time he’s not sure if it’s Oklahoma City that he likes or his anonymity. No one recognizes him here. No one stops him on the sidewalk to ask about their Cup chances. No one laments to him about their godawful power play, or how long it’s been since their last playoff run. No one gives him their insider tips or advice on going top shelf or five hole. He hasn’t been this anonymous in a really long time. 

If he’d stopped to think about it, and he never had, obviously, he’d have assumed he’d find it lonely, isolating. The first time he’d left the country, to go someplace that wasn’t the United States, he’d gone all the way to Russia for hockey. They had people to help them around, translators assigned to help them order dinner and find their way to the bathrooms. And, other than thinking they were obnoxious tourists, the Russians hadn’t really cared much about who he was. He keeps thinking about that time, about being in the middle of a crowd of people and completely unable to communicate with any of them unless they spoke English. 

They speak English in Oklahoma but it’s the same feeling, like there’s something lost in translation between him and the people strolling along the canal. 

He’d never been alone in Russia though, Jordan had been with him. He wonders why he feels more alone now, and he kind of hates it. 

As he’s contemplating that feeling, he realizes he’s hit the highway. And because he’s hit the highway, he doesn’t actually know where he is. It should be easy just turn around and go back the way he came, plus all the streets in Oklahoma City are numbered, but he can’t figure it out. He lets Siri direct him back to the apartment.

-

That's where it ends, these are the notes:

Lockout ends and they go back and Taylor is still pissy and doesn’t know why

Jordan confronts him about it

Taylor finally says that OKC was balls but he missed feeling like they were about to start something, like they were removed from their normal lives in a place where anything could happen

Jordan calls him an idiot and kisses him

“It was like. Anything could happen there. We could have just been two normal guys. And it made me think, if we were just two normal guys, what would I do.” 

“But you didn’t do anything.” 

Taylor shrugs. “We still weren’t normal guys, even though it felt like it.” 

“What’s normal? Nothing’s normal. There’s no such thing as normal.” 

“You know what I mean.” 

“So we make a new normal,” Jordan says, and kisses him. 

Okay but now that I’ve been reminded of it I need to add something in there about bonking their heads together as they kiss. 

[tutuandscoot]

Part three of the interwiew moment feels thing. Is Scott dissing current ice skating saying they grew up in an era where they had to take risks? Also i find the fact that they sometimes choose what to do based on what would be more unexpected hilarious. And Scott mentioning Suzanne by name saying she sort of lay the groundwork for that, like yea give that woman all the credit she deserves. Oh and them talking a lot whenever they do meet up now thats really endearing, sort of derailing the interwiew. Their parents waking up at 4 in the morning every day for years oh they really must have loved seeing their kids doing what they loved, it seems like a small thing but really its huge, how much they did for their kids. And the train analogy is nice and Scott saying he really likes it too when tessa is wondering if shes taking it too far. They really support each other so much. And them ending the interwiew saying they wouldnt be where they are without all the people supporting them. Its a really nice way to end the interwiew not focusing on themself but on others. And yea thats the interwiew. I hope this wasnt too rambling for you. If I manage to form more coherent thoughts about parts of this, il send you another ask. But yea the interwiew had a really nice vibe to it, being serious but not at the same time.

No this was a more coherent summary than I could’ve done!

This bit about their parents sacrificing so much for them:

So heads up I’m not a parent and I’m an only child so i might be speaking out of my arse here and of course every family situation is different

Disclosures out of the way;

When I was growing up dancing and being super into it and quite talented- starting to look for more opportunities out side of just my crappy dance school, my mum would basically drop everything for me. She wasn’t a single parent but she basically was bc my dad did nothing for me in this respect, she had one part time job that didn’t pay much and every single cent went to me and my dancing. I didn’t have the early wake ups like vm did thankfully but I had to travel really far away to get better training. She would pick my up from school after work 3 days a week and we would drive 2 hours away for 4 hours of dance, finish at 9 and drive home for 2 hours while I sleep in the car and the next day I would have to be at school at 6 am for school dance, then there was the exorbitant fees for training, pointe shoes, uniforms, physio, competitions, travel- my first international competition I got to the finals and she didn’t have enough money left to get a ticket to watch me, so she waited in the dressing rooms listening over the sound system.

She did so much for me and when I stopped dancing due to my back problems she layed an enormous amount of guilt on herself thinking it was her fault/ she shouldn’t have let me pursue this when my back condition developed bc it ended in so much pain and heart break. That was really hard for us and we fell out of our very close relationship over that grief, but we’re now getting back on better terms.

(I’m sorry this is a little life story)

On the contrary:

My best friend growing up who I danced with, she was one of 3 kids and her family was far more well off than me, she did dance and gymnastics- I’m pretty sure at one point she was national level at gymnastics. Anyway, one day her mum said to my mum “I could never do what you do for your daughter (me)”.

Now she had 3 young kids, worked full time, understandable it would be hard to take her daughter all around the place.

But VM’s parents did it.

They both have multiple siblings, yes some of T’s were much older when she was a child starting skating, but Scott’s were closer in age. T’s parents worked full time- her grandma helped out a lot. Skating is RIDICULOUSLY expensive and very hard to get funding for- a lot of adult skaters work other jobs to support themselves. They did it- they did all that for their kids- their youngest kids at that which a) in a way the others were older and could take care of themselves more but b) raising kids is expensive and again I’m not a parent but I imagine by kid 3 or 4 this gets exhausting- so now having the last kids to be born in each family be the ones doing the most and having the most insane- as VM said, depraved lifestyle full of strictness most kids don’t ever insure- their parents still did that for them.

This is not a comment on good and bad parenting- as I said people have different situations- but there are some that really do go above and beyond and don’t let anything/ don’t make excuses for themselves as parents for not giving their children everything to succeed- VM’s parents are incredible they deserve so much credit for what wonderful children they raised- NO MEDIA TRAINING- they were just raised so well to be kind and empathetic and appreciate every opportunity to afforded them.

Parents of the freaking century!!

[quordleona03]

I have never had to make a seder for Passover, and I haven't attended more than two seders in my life: I am by upbringing and heritage a Gentile.

I have, however, with assistance, made a Reform seder for Passover in New York City, in Sidney Freedman's West Side home, those present a nice assortment of nuts and fruits.

And I was not able to use the orange on the seder plate, because this seder for Passover takes place on 8th April 1963, which is thirty years too early for Susannah Heschel's inspired addition. Sidney Freedman in my story is sixty years old in 1963: it's just possible he lived long enough to add an orange to his seder plate on Passover - because, after he came back from Korea, he and his lover decided this was the night they would welcome the stranger and feed the famished within their gates.

Sidney Freedman, 1963

In research for this one chapter, I read a lot of haggadot, and looked in particular for a Reform Haggadah that was old enough to have been the one Sidney and his lover would have had multiple copies of in the 1960s. (I went with the 1923 Union Haggadah - the revised edition is still available.)

I looked up endless Sephardic recipes for Passover. Most of them don't actually show up in the story, except for dafina.

And not exactly for research, but for the story: I watched a whole lot of Passover episodes. I listened to Six13 on Youtube. I read Herman Wouk's novel Marjorie Morningstar, which I cannot honestly recommend, and Georgia Hunter's novel We Were the Lucky Ones, which was great. (Full disclosure: I could not actually finish Wouk's novel. I'd got it out of the library for the seder chapter, and I skim-read the rest of it.) I was trying to think my way into how to write the seder chapter I'd planned for All We Know when I had realised with the thoughtless cheerfulness of the pre-first-draft writer that the date of Passover in 1963 fitted very neatly into the timeline of my story, and fitted too my thoughts about Hawkeye Pierce being Jewish and non-practicing.

I know this is going to sound weird, but the moment when things clicked with me and I thought "I can write this" was when I was attending my local Transgender Memorial Day reading of the names, as a hench of the Order of Perpetual Indulgence. As a cis lesbian, I didn't have anything to contribute, except to stand there in my henching robes and bear witness, and what I thought was (forgive me if this sound awfully Gentile): There are some things that are important to do, and we do them every year, because we need to remember, to publicly bear witness, to tell the story. To outsiders this may look silly, but we are not doing it for them but for us: we share our stories, we remember our history, we ensure our past is not forgotten. When I - as I thought then - finished writing Sins and Virtues in 2006, "Jewish Hawkeye Pierce" wasn't a fannish concept. (Alan Alda talking about how Passover is his favourite holiday is probably the origin.) But as I was thinking through the story I meant to write, of the year July 1962 to July 1963, the more I felt "Hawkeye is Jewish" would work for the story. What had not occurred to me as I finished writing the short chapters of February and the long, long chapters of March, and began - last November - to think about Hawkeye and Mulcahy going to the seder for Passover that Sidney Freedman is making - a sober seder for his friends - was how gormlessly little I knew.

So I did what you have to: I wrote the shitty first draft. And then I rewrote it. And then I asked a friend if she would sanity-check it for me, and she said no, because British seders are different from East Coast Reform seders, and she referred me on to another friend, who very generously read the chapter and sent me multiple line-edits and suggestions and saved me from at least three major howlers and I am endlessly grateful to him. (Thank you, Rich.)

(My demonic proofreader also gave it her usual seeing-to, which was as consistently helpful as ever. )

So there it is: Hawkeye Pierce's Pesach, 1963, the latest chapter of All We Know.

[ruthless-rainbow]

Broke For Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day, ya’ll! I honestly didn’t think I was gonna finish before actual vday but I did it! 😊And as promised, I wrote my very first drabble to go with it.

Full disclosure I’m not really a writer but I wanted to at least try it. I hope you enjoy. 💜

....

Valentine's Day. The day that Theo is excited, nervous, and has been dreading for at least two weeks now is just two days away. He's excited and nervous because it's his and Liam's first Valentine's Day together. (His first Valentine's Day, period.) It should be cheesy and lame and Theo shouldn't care. But he does. He does and he wants to make it special for Liam. Because he is so gone for this beautiful blue-eyed boy that tore down all of his walls and stole his already borrowed heart. He's dreading it because money is tight this month and he has virtually no wiggle room money-wise. Having to pay bills while being in college and dealing with everyday pack BS that comes with living in Beacon Hills, he had no time to pick up extra hours at work. He decides the least he can do is use his cooking talents to try and make the day special. And hey, when had Liam ever turned down a delicious meal? Especially if Theo is the one cooking it. He even calls Jenna and gets a recipe for one of Liam's favorite childhood desserts, just to make it a little bit more special. He'd do anything to see Liam's smile, sunny and bright. The day before on his way home from work, he stops by the market to get ingredients. He finds everything for the dessert easy enough and quickly heads over to the produce section. He browses the vegetables marked at a reduced price. Most of them are unappealing and sad looking, but before he can really begin to become frustrated, he finds some fresh Brussels sprouts marked at half-price. And they are still nice and pretty. Theo already has all the ingredients at home to make a delicious balsamic glaze to toss them in and roast them up. He even finds a twin pack of russet potatoes on sale! Baked potatoes it is! After acquiring his sides, he grabs a few toppings for the potatoes and makes his way over to the proteins. Again, he browses the meats marked for a reduction but avoids the seafood, because that seems sketchy. He does find a pack of beautiful-looking ribeyes. Even reduced, the price makes Theo wince slightly. But they are perfect. He knows exactly how to treat them and knows Liam will definitely approve. He slips them into his cart, 'cause what the hell? His boyfriend is worth it! He heads to the check out next, but before he can even get there, he passes a display chock full of everything Valentine's Day and he stops. Something catches his eye. A pair of holiday-themed boxer briefs. They are shiny black with hearts on one side and a large "xoxo" on the other. He grabs them off of the display, liking the silky feel of the material sliding through his fingers. He tosses them into his cart before he can decide against it, makes a beeline to the (self) checkout, pays, and gets the hell out of there. … The next day at work, Theo can hardly focus on anything else but his evening plans. His nerves are back with a vengeance, but he also misses Liam. He hasn't seen him in over a week. Between both of their busy schedules and Liam being away on a trip for one of his university classes, they have only been communicating through text messages and a few… interesting phone calls. Theo is going a little crazy. Eager to have Liam back in his arms again. To feel his skin under his fingertips, to taste his kiss, and to breathe in his scent. It's after he's dropped something for about the 6th time that his manager pulls him aside to ask him what his deal is. He apologizes profusely and tells her that he's just a little distracted. She smiles a little knowingly. And tells him that he can go ahead and clock out a little early if he wants. They are slow today, and another employee is already clocking in for their shift, so they will be okay without him. Theo probably shouldn't, he could use the money, but he also wants to have the dinner and the dessert ready for Liam when he comes home from his trip. He thanks her, incredibly grateful. And she smiles again and tells him to have a goodnight. … Theo gets home and immediately whips up the incredibly simple dessert. Just confectioners sugar, cream cheese, and cool whip all blended up with a Graham cracker crust. He pops on the cherry pie filling and places it in the fridge to set. Dessert done. He gives the potatoes a good scrub, coats them in olive oil and sea salt, and pops them into his preheated oven. While that pre-bake, he makes quick work of tidying his apartment and heads back into the kitchen to tend to the Brussels sprouts. He tosses them in the balsamic glaze and slides them in with the potatoes to roast. While those are cooking, he sets the table. Plates, glasses, and even some candles. Next, he chops an onion and tosses it into a pan with some fresh garlic, butter, and some more olive oil and browns it up while he tends to the meat. Rubbing his own special blend of seasonings onto the ribeyes before placing them in the pan with a little more butter. He washes his hands and checks on the vegetables. He turns the potatoes and stirs the sprouts. He feels much calmer now than he has in days. Lost in the process of preparing their evening meal. He gets so lost, that in fact, he doesn't even notice Liam has come home early. He's turning over the steaks when he hears an appreciative, "Something sure smells good," just moments before he feels arms snake around his middle, and a soft kiss is pressed to the side of his neck. His skin heats just a little and he says, "You're home early. I was hoping you'd get here when everything's finished." Liam just hums and nuzzles into his neck some more and whispers out a soft, "That's okay. I like to watch you work. It's hot. And just… look at you. All pretty in pink too," He purrs, plucking the sleeve of Theo's t-shirt. "Shut up," Theo snorts with an eye roll, his cheeks pinkening slightly and giving him away. "Come on," Liam responds with a snort of his own, "like you didn't wear this just for me. This is the one Mase and I picked out for you." "Well, it's Valentine's Day after all. And if you don't want your special meal burned, I'd suggest you go sit down and stop distracting me." Liam pouts but steps back, giving Theo his space as he makes his way over to their tiny little dining table to watch him work. It's not long before a plate is set in front of him. Looking every bit as delicious as the man that prepared it. Theo tells him to make room for dessert because he made something special. They dig in and talk about his trip. Liam is just so happy to be back home with his boyfriend on Valentine's Day. While Theo goes to get dessert, Liam quickly goes and fetches Theo's gift that he's had hidden in the back of the closet for at least two weeks. He comes back and sees the Cherry Delight on the table and smiles so wide. It was his favorite growing up. "I called Jenna and got the recipe from her." And something about that just makes Liam feel so warm inside. He pulls Theo in and crashes their mouths together in a hungry kiss. When he pulls back, Theo is a little dazed looking and he shoves the gift bag into his hands. "Open it", he insists, no room for argument. And plops back down to dig into his dessert. He watches as Theo reaches into the bag and pulls out the box. A surprised gasp leaving his lips. Theo opens the box and pulls out a gorgeous set of professional chef's knives. He runs his fingers along the gleaming handles of one. He knows these were expensive and his heart falls into his stomach. Liam can scent the change in his chemosignals and is immediately on alert. "What's wrong, baby? Did I get the wrong set? I thought they were the ones you wanted, but I kept the receipt if-" But Theo shakes his head firmly. "They are beautiful, Li… Perfect. But I know how expensive they are and I didn't..." His voice trails off, but Liam understands anyway. He gets up and crouches down in front of Theo, where he's seated at the table, fingers still caressing the set of knives, completely somber. He hooks a finger under Theo's chin and makes him look him in the eye. "All of this. Dinner. My favorite dessert. It's perfect, Theo. I mean it. I couldn't ask for better." And then he's kissing Theo again to emphasize just how happy he is with everything he's done. How happy he is just to have him. Theo breaks the kiss and says softly "I did have one small surprise…" Liam nods and Theo gets up and heads to the bedroom, finding the bag and heading to the bathroom to put on the Valentine's themed underwear he bought on a whim. This wasn't a good idea because now that he's actually wearing them, he feels utterly ridiculous. What the hell was he thinking?! … Liam waits in their bed, just scrolling through Facebook. After what feels like forever, he finally calls out, "Babe? Are you ever coming outta there? You said you had a surprise." "Yeah... No. I changed my mind," comes Theo's voice, muffled through the bathroom door. Liam simply rolls his eyes and shouts back, "Quit being fucking weird and get out here!" He hears the door open, and Theo mumbling, "I don't know what I was thinking. I thought they were a good idea when I bought them but-" "Theo what are you even talk-" Liam finally looks up, his phone slipping from his hand, landing on his stomach with a hard smack, and nearly chokes on his own tongue at the sight that greets him. Theo is clad only in a pair of silky black boxer briefs, hearts on one side and 'xoxo' on the other. Every other glorious inch of the chimera's perfect body on display. His cock twitches in his jeans. "Are you serious?! You look incredible. Get over here." His voice comes out low and husky. But he's moving before Theo can even take another step. Standing and taking in the full sight once more. The slight flush on Theo's cheeks and chest darkened further under the heat of Liam's gaze. Once close enough to touch, he pulls Theo in the rest of the way and kisses him. Kisses him until they're both hard and breathless. "Can we have sex now?" Liam asks, catching Theo off guard. He erupts into fits of laughter. Rolling his eyes, he teases, "Well, I suppose. It's Valentine's Day after all" He echoes from earlier in the evening, "But you better hurry before I change my- SHIT-" He doesn't get to finish his sentence because Liam is quite literally sweeping him off his feet and tossing him onto the bed with a soft 'oof'; his body being covered by Liam's not even a second later. And as he gazes up into those blue eyes, into the face of the person who means everything to him, he realizes he has one more gift for Liam. Always too afraid to say it before, but now he can't keep it in, "I love you" he breathes. He says it with every ounce of emotion he feels in his chest. "I love you, Liam Dunbar." Liam's face splits into his gorgeous sunshine-y smile. He chuckles softly, and Theo thinks he can see that his eyes look a little wet when he says, "I love you too, Theo Raeken. Happy Valentine's Day."